Saint Non of Wales

Historical Context and Sources

Almost all that is recorded of Non comes through the life of her son. The earliest substantial source is Rhigyfarch's Life of St David (c. 1095), composed at a remove of nearly six centuries from the events it describes, so much of the surviving account has the character of hagiographical tradition rather than contemporary record.

Accounts differ on the circumstances of David's birth. Several traditions relate that Non was assaulted by Sanctus, king of Ceredigion, and conceived David as a result; other versions describe a chieftain named Sant or Sanctus as David's father, and disagree over whether the two were married before or after the birth. The tradition consistently emphasises Non's subsequent celibate and ascetic life.

Cult, Relics and Shrines

Non's veneration left a dense trail of dedications along the Welsh, Cornish, and Breton coasts. In Pembrokeshire, the Chapel of St Non (Capel Non) marks the traditional site of Non's birth, with an associated holy well nearby; a chapel dedicated to Our Lady and Saint Non was built there in 1934. Multiple churches in Devon, Ceredigion, and Carmarthenshire bear her name.

In Cornwall she is patroness of Pelynt, which has St Nonna's Holy Well, and St Nonna's Church stands at Altarnun; a further dedication is found at Bradstone in Devon. Her relics were initially venerated at Altarnun but were destroyed during the Reformation.

Her shrine at Dirinon in Brittany, where tradition holds she died and was buried, can still be seen in the parish church.

Traditions and Legends

Traditional Accounts: A vivid birth narrative attaches to the storm in which David was said to have been born. Tradition holds that Non's pain was so intense that her fingers left marks in the rock she grasped, and that the stone split asunder — in some versions struck by lightning — in sympathy with her labour. Legend adds that the broken pieces of rock became foundation stones for St David's Cathedral and St Non's Chapel.