Celtic and Old English Saints 6 November =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= * St. Illtud of Llantwit Major * St. Edwen of Anglesey * St. Efflam of Brittany * St. Pinnock of Cornwall * St. Winnoc of Wormhoult =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
St. Illtud, Monk and Founder of Llantwit Major Monastery, Wales, Cousin of King Arthur (Illtyd, Iltut, Illtut) --------------------------------------------------------------- Died c. 505 (another source says 450-535); feast day formerly on July 7. Illtud, clearly an outstanding figure and one of the most celebrated Welsh saints, laboured chiefly in the southeastern part of the country. His "vita" written circa 1140 has little historical value; but the "Life of Saint Samson" (f.d. July 28), composed about 500 years earlier, has some important references. This author names him as a disciple of Saint Germanus of Auxerre (f.d. July 31), who ordained him. It calls Illtud 'the most learned of the Britons in both Testaments and in all kinds of knowledge,' and speaks of his great monastic school. This establishment was Llanilltyd Fawr (Llantwit Major in Glamorgan), where other prominent saints besides Samson are said to have been Illtyd's pupils. The monastery of Llantwit survived in one form or another until the Norman conquest (1066). The author of Samson's Life also describes Illtud's death, in illustration of the saint's power of prophecy. The passage is an impressive one, but it does not state where or when the death took place. He was the son of a Briton living in Letavia, Brittany (some scholars believe Letavia is an area in central Brednock, England, rather than in Brittany), who came to visit his cousin King Arthur of England about 470. The later "vita" says that Illtud married Trynihid and then served in the army of a Glamorgan chieftain. When one of his friends was killed in a hunting accident, Saint Cadoc (f.d. September 25) counselled him to leave the world behind. Illtud and Trynihid took Cadoc's advice and lived together as recluses in a hut by the Nadafan River until he was warned by an angel to separate from her. He left his wife to become a monk under Saint Dubricius (f.d. November 14), but after a time resumed his eremitical life by a stream called the Hodnant. He attracted many disciples and organised them into the Llanwit Major monastery, which, according to the ninth-century "Life of Saint Paul Aurelian" (f.d. March 12), was originally "within the borders of Dyfed, called Pyr," usually identified as Calder (Caldey) Island off Tenby. The monastery soon developed into a great foundation and a centre of missionary activity in Wales. Many miracles were attributed to him (he was fed by heaven when forced to flee the ire of a local chieftain and take refuge in a cave; he miraculously restored a collapsed seawall), and he is reputed to have sent or taken grain to relieve a famine in Brittany, where the place and church names attest to some connection with Illtud. His death is reported at Dol, Brittany, where he had retired in his old age, at Llanwit, and at Defynock. One Welsh tradition has him as one of the three knights put in charge of the Holy Grail by Arthur, and another one even identifies him as Galahad (Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney, Doble, Walsh). Troparion of St Illtyd Tone 6 O wise Illtyd, thou wast noble by birth and noble in mind/ and didst train many saints in the way of holiness./ Pray to Christ our God to raise up saints in our days/ to His glory and for our salvation. 12th century Life of Saint Illtud http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/celtic/ctexts/illtud.html Pictures of Saint Illtud's church and the Celtic crosses http://www.cymru9.fsnet.co.uk/page14.html St. Edwen of Anglesey, Virgin --------------------------------------------------------------- 7th century. The presumed patron saint of Llanedwen, Anglesey, Edwen is described as having been a daughter of King Saint Edwin (f.d. October 12) of Northumbria (Benedictines). St. Efflam of Brittany --------------------------------------------------------------- Died 512. Efflam ( Inflananus) son of a British prince and an Irish monk who settled in Brittany as a hermit in 480. Became Abbot of the monastery which he founded and the site developed into the town of St-Efflam. He is depicted in art protecting King Arthur by fighting a dragon. (Benedictines). St. Pinnock --------------------------------------------------------------- A church in Cornwall is called Saint Pinnocks, but it is probable that Pinnock is a corruption of Winnoc (f.d. today). St. Winnoc (Winoc) of Wormhoult, Abbot --------------------------------------------------------------- Died 717. Winnoc was of royal blood and, while probably of British origin, was raised in Brittany. It is likely that, like many others, his family fled to the Continent to escape the Saxons. He became a monk at Sithiu under Saint Bertin (f.d. September 5), by whom he was eventually sent with three companions to establish a new foundation among the Morini at Wormhoudt near Dunkirk. He became its first abbot and from that centre evangelized the whole neighbourhood. Winnoc's name figures in many medieval English calendars; he is apparently titular saint of Saint Winnow near Lostwithiel (Attwater, Benedictines). Saint Winnoc is depicted as an abbot with a crown and sceptre at his feet, turning a hand-mill. There is generally a church and a bridge near him. Sometimes he is shown (1) in ecstasy while grinding corn, or (2) with Saint Bertinus. Abbot of Wormhoult. Venerated at Sithiu (Roeder). He is the patron of millers (Encyclopaedia). Sources: ======== Attwater, D. (1983). The Penguin Dictionary of Saints, NY: Penguin Books. Benedictine Monks of Saint Augustine Abbey, Ramsgate. (1947). The Book of Saints. NY: Macmillan. Delaney, J. J. (1983). Pocket Dictionary of Saints, NY: Doubleday Image. Doble, G. H. (1944). Saint Iltut. Encyclopaedia of Catholic saints, October. (1966). Philadelphia: Chilton Books. Walsh, M. (ed.). (1985). Butler's Lives of the Saints. San Francisco: Harper & Row. For All the Saints: http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/ss-index.htm Icons of Western Saints http://www.allmercifulsavior.com/icons/Western.html These Lives are archived at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/celt-saints ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
