Dympna (fl. 650)
Dympna (fl. 650)
Martyr and saint. Name variations: Dimpna. Born the dau. of a pagan Irish, British or Armorican king and a Christian princess.
The dau. of a pagan king and a Christian princess, was baptized and instructed in the Christian faith before mother died when Dympna was still young; because she resembled her mother and the king had idolized his wife, is said to have invoked an incestuous lust in her father as she grew up; fled to Antwerp with St. Gerebernus, her confessor; built a site that is now the town of Gheel, and prepared to live as solitaries; discovered by the king, refused to return with him; was beheaded by father. Patron saint of mental illness, epilepsy, possession by the devil, and sleepwalkers.
See also Women in World History.
More From encyclopedia.com
You Might Also Like
NEARBY TERMS
Dympna (fl. 650)