Bega

Bega (Bee, Bega of Cumberland) is a medieval Irish saint of Northumbria, venerated chiefly in the town of St Bees in England. Her story is largely legendary. She is venerated in the Western Church; her day is 31 October, still celebrated at St Bees.

According to the Life of Saint Bega, she was an Irish princess who became an anchoress and valued her virginity. Promised in marriage to a Viking prince, the son of the king of Norway, she fled across the Irish Sea and landed at St Bees on the Cumbrian coast. She settled there for a time, leading a life of exemplary piety, then, fearing the raids of pirates, moved over to Northumbria. An angel is said to have brought her a bracelet with the sign of the cross, and she, fearing the loss of her virginity, left the place, but left the bracelet behind so that miracles might be performed in the neighborhood in ages to come. The account makes her the founder of Hartlepool Abbey, but historians believe the writer of the Life created a composite Bega, with events from the lives of Heiu, who founded that convent, and Begu, mentioned in Bede's life of Saint Hilda of Whitby. This confusion put Bega into the 7th century, which is inconsistent, as the Vikings began raiding Ireland only from about 795; the most likely time would be after 850.

The most famous miracle is the "snow miracle": after Ranulf le Meschin had endowed the monastery with lands, a lawsuit developed about their extent. On the day appointed for walking the boundaries a thick snowfall covered all the surrounding lands, but not a flake fell upon the lands of the priory. The story is late, and the saint's identity, time and life remain uncertain.