A
holy well or
sacred spring is a
spring or other small body of water revered either in a
Pagan or
Christian context, often both. Holy wells were frequently pagan sacred sites that later became
Christianized. The term
holy well is commonly employed to refer to any water source of limited size (i.e. not a lake or river, but including pools and natural springs and seeps), which has some significance in the
folklore of the area where it is located, whether in the form of a particular name, an associated
legend, the attribution of healing qualities to the water through the
numinous presence of its guardian spirit or Christian
saint, or a ceremony or
ritual centred on the well site. In Christian legend, the water is often said to have been made to flow by the action of a saint, a familiar theme especially in the
hagiography of Celtic saints.