St. Theneva of Glasgow, Mother of Saint Kentigern Mungo
(Dwynwen, Thaney, Thenaw, Thenog, Thenova)
7th Century Saint. Theneva was a British princess and the daughter of Lothus, a British prince (from whom the province of Lothian was called). She was tossed down a cliff after it was revealed she had conceived out of wedlock,unharmed at the bottom . She was left drifting in a boat on the Firth of Forth, . She was supposed to drown at sea, but God had different plans for her.
She landed at Culross, where she was sheltered by Saint Serf and gave birth to Saint Kentigern, named Mongo (“darling”) by his foster-father, Serf. Kentigern remained with Saint Serf until he reached manhood.
Saint Theneva gave her name to Saint Enoch’s Square and Railway Station in Glasgow, Scotland, where she is co-patron together with her son (Benedictines, Delaney).
Celtic and old English Saints:content © 2021, Ambrose Mooney
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Page last updated: 30 November 2020
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Second Account: Calendar of Scottish Saints – Saint Thenew or Thenog
514 A.D. The early years of this saint’s life are shrouded in mystery. There are several legends surrounding it, but subsequent historians have dismissed them as false. Saint Thenew was the mother of Saint Mungo or Kentigern; she is claimed to have been befriended by Saint Serf and baptised by him when she was cast ashore near his residence by Jocelin in his life of Saint Mungo (written at a later era). Modern critics, on the other hand, reject the reality due to chronological complications.
A chapel dedicated to Saint Thenew once stood in Glasgow, but it was demolished during the Reformation. For decades, the route leading to this chapel was known as “Saint Thenew’s Gate,” although it is now known as Argyll Street. The church was dubbed “San Theneuke’s Kirk” by locals, and its name lives on in the corrupted form of “Saint Enoch’s” — the present name for a prominent square in the city that houses a huge railway station and hotel. A holy well bearing the saint’s name is located near the chapel.( Paraphrased) Calendar of Scottish Saints – Saint Thenew or Thenog
Also on the 18th: Ss. Edburga and Edith of AylesburySt. Goneri of Brittany, St. Minnborinus of Cologne