Ivo of Huntingdonshire
Encyclopedia
Saint Ivo was a Cornish
bishop
and hermit
, and became the eponymous saint
of St Ives, Huntingdonshire. He appears in the historical sources in 1001/2 when a peasant allegedly found his coffin while ploughing at Slepe (what became St Ives). The Abbot of Ramsey, Eadnoth the Younger, founded a monastery there as a daughter-house of Ramsey Abbey
, providing Slepe as well as part of Elsworth
and Knapworth as endowment. On 24 April 1002, Abbot Eadnoth translated Ivo's body, along with two of his companions, to the mother house at Ramsey.
Ivo was a Cornish
saint. Rumours of a Persian link came about when Withman, Abbot of Ramsey, heard in the Holy Land
of a Persian bishop named Ivo; subsequently the link to the Fenland Ivo was written down by Goscelin
of St Bertin. The tradition is completely spurious. It is possible that Saint Ivo is a male double of Saint Neot
, a suggestion made by historian Cyril Hart on the basis of the strangeness of two Cornish saints so close together far away in eastern England. Saint Neot turned up in Huntingdonshire
around 1000 too.
Cornish people
The Cornish are a people associated with Cornwall, a county and Duchy in the south-west of the United Kingdom that is seen in some respects as distinct from England, having more in common with the other Celtic parts of the United Kingdom such as Wales, as well as with other Celtic nations in Europe...
bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
and hermit
Hermit
A hermit is a person who lives, to some degree, in seclusion from society.In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a religious conviction, namely the Desert Theology of the Old Testament .In the...
, and became the eponymous saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
of St Ives, Huntingdonshire. He appears in the historical sources in 1001/2 when a peasant allegedly found his coffin while ploughing at Slepe (what became St Ives). The Abbot of Ramsey, Eadnoth the Younger, founded a monastery there as a daughter-house of Ramsey Abbey
Ramsey Abbey
Ramsey Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey located in Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, England, southeast of Peterborough and north of Huntingdon, UK.-History:...
, providing Slepe as well as part of Elsworth
Elsworth
Elsworth is a village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England, 9 miles west of Cambridge. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 657.-History:...
and Knapworth as endowment. On 24 April 1002, Abbot Eadnoth translated Ivo's body, along with two of his companions, to the mother house at Ramsey.
Ivo was a Cornish
Cornish people
The Cornish are a people associated with Cornwall, a county and Duchy in the south-west of the United Kingdom that is seen in some respects as distinct from England, having more in common with the other Celtic parts of the United Kingdom such as Wales, as well as with other Celtic nations in Europe...
saint. Rumours of a Persian link came about when Withman, Abbot of Ramsey, heard in the Holy Land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
of a Persian bishop named Ivo; subsequently the link to the Fenland Ivo was written down by Goscelin
Goscelin
Goscelin of Saint-Bertin was a Benedictine hagiographical writer, born between 1020–1035 and who died shortly after 1107...
of St Bertin. The tradition is completely spurious. It is possible that Saint Ivo is a male double of Saint Neot
Saint Neot
Neot is a saint of the 9th century who lived as a monk in Cornwall. He is mentioned in an interpolated passage in Asser's Life of King Alfred and died around AD 870....
, a suggestion made by historian Cyril Hart on the basis of the strangeness of two Cornish saints so close together far away in eastern England. Saint Neot turned up in Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire is a local government district of Cambridgeshire, covering the area around Huntingdon. Traditionally it is a county in its own right...
around 1000 too.