CHRONICLES OF CORNISH SAINTS. VI.—S. BURIAN. 141 
in the opinion of Whitaker,* being identical with Burian; and in 
one of the Lives of St. Piran, we find an account of a certain 
holy woman called Bruinecha, who is conjectured by Colgan to be 
identical with Bruinsecha, and is no doubt the Bruinet mentioned 
by Leland. Hence we may I think assume, without hesitation, that 
the name by which Burian was known in her native land was 
Bruinecha, alias Bruinsecha ; and that she is the person concerning 
whom there is a legendary narrative in the life of S. Piran which 
may be thus paraphrased :—“The mother of Piran, who had 
become a faithful Christian and a holy servant of God, through 
the instrumentality of her son, wished to reside with him, so he 
built for her an abode not far from his cell; and she dwelt there 
with a community of devout women, whom she had gathered 
around her; amongst them was a certain virgin exceedingly fair, 
Bruinecha by name, the daughter of a chieftain; and the holy 
mother of Piran loved her deeply, because she was her foster-child, 
and also because she was beautiful in character as well as in person 
But the chief of the country of Hua Fiack, whose name was Dymna, 
having heard the fame of the virgin’s beauty, came with his 
soldiers and carried her by force from her cell. Many days he kept 
her imprisoned in his castle, and her beauty fascinated him. Then 
Piran arose and came to Dymna, to demand his sister; but on no 
account, nor by any persuasion, could the chief be induced to give 
her up. “Never,” said he in derision, “will I let her go, unless 
to-morrow at day-dawn a swan shall rouse me from sleep”! It 
was then the dead of winter, and in the night there was a great 
fall of snow, but not a flake fell where the man of God and his 
companions tarried. When the morning dawned, behold upon 
every turret of the chieftain’s castle a swan was perched, uttering 
plaintive cries! The tyrant in alarm arose, hurried to the saint, 
prostrated himself before him, and dismissed the damsel.”’} 
Subsequently, however, being unable to conquer his violent 
passion, he resolves again to seize and carry her off; but the 
maiden swoons away and dies as soon as she is aware of his 
approach ; and so his evil purpose is frustrated. Then follows an 
account of his raging grief, succeeded by sudden misfortunes, 
* Cathedral of Cnrnwall, vol. i, p. 25. 
+ Colgan. Acta Sanctorum Hibernia, vol. i, 459. 
