Member-only story
St Werburg And The Geese
A legend from Anglo-Saxon Mercia
Werburg, the patron saint of women and children, and of the city of Chester, was the daughter of St Erminilda and Wulfhere, who ruled the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia for a time during the 7th century.
From early childhood, Princess Werburg showed a strong desire for the religious life, rather than that of her father’s court. Her piety and organisational ability led to her becoming the mother superior of a number of convents and eventually the chief abbess of all Mercia.
The Legend of the Geese
Stories about the miraculous doings of saints are often intriguing and completely unbelievable. This one about St Werburg certainly fits those criteria.
One of her convents was at Weedon Abbey in Northamptonshire. While she was there, the local villagers were troubled by a gaggle of geese that swooped down on their crops and orchards and threatened to eat everything before it could be harvested.
The villagers went to the abbey and begged Werburg to help them. She sent her servants to round up the geese and bring them to the abbey. The geese had no problem with this and allowed themselves to be penned up.
The next morning, Werburg went to the goose pen and gave the geese a severe…
