- Betheney
Betheney was the original name of the town of
Stafford (Stadford, Staffort, Stafforde) inStaffordshire , England. The name was said come fromBerthelin , a hermit (later a Saint) who lived here. The first authentic mention of it is in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, where it is stated thatAethelflead , lady of theMercians , in 913 built a fort at Stafford. It was a place of considerable importance in later Anglo-Saxon times, and the evidence of coins shows that a mint then existed here. Stafford is described as a borough in theDomesday Book , and at the time of the survey it was the chief place in the county though many of the houses were "wasted."The legend of St Bertelin derives from the 14th century account of him by
Capgrave in his "Nova Legenda Anglie", retold by Dr Robert Plot in his "Natural History of Staffordshire" (1686). He is reputed to have been the son of the Mercian prince, the friend and disciple ofSt Guthlac who, after St Guthlac's death c 700, continued his holy vocation on the islet of Betheney now Stafford. Here, he remained until forced to retreat from the ill-will of jealous detractors, when he repaired to Ilam, in Dovedale, Derbyshire where ultimately he died. His burial place in Ilam church was once a place of pilgrimage.[http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Stafford Stafford]
[http://www.staffordbc.gov.uk/static/page149.htm Stafford Borough Council]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.