Celtic and Old English Saints 18 November =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= * St. Mawes of Brittany * St. Ronan of Drumshallon * St. Constant of Ireland * St. Keverne of Cornwall * St. Mabyn of Cornwall * St. Momble of Lagny =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
St. Mawes, Abbot (Maws, Maudetus, Maudez), ------------------------------------------------ Died 6th century. The lives of the 6th century Irish saints frequently contain startling elements, and that of Saint Mawes is no exception. Even his birth was remarkable. His mother was called Azenor and lived in Brittany. One day she was thrown into the sea near Brest, with only a barrel for a boat. There Mawes was born. Mother and son stayed in the cask for five months, till they were washed up alive on the coast of Ireland. (This is the same birth story as Saint Budoc (Beuzec; f.d. December 8). Budoc's name is associated with Mawes, no doubt they were both missionary monks of Welsh origin, who founded monasteries in Cornwall and Brittany, perhaps at Dol.) He moved from Ireland as an adult to live as a hermit near Falmouth in Cornwall, thus founding a fishing village of which he is the patron. Then, in the days of King Childbert I, Saint Mawes decided to return to the land of his mother. On his way to Brittany, he visited Devon and Cornwall, preaching outdoors and founding a town on the River Fal named after him. Then he and his followers sailed for Brittany. Landing on an island just off the coast of France near Leon, Ile Modez (Maudez), the saint showed his skill by clearing it of vermin, setting fire to the dried vegetation to do this. He also gained a reputation as a fine teacher. Many churches in the region are dedicated to him--testifying to his influence and missionary zeal. One reason for Saint Mawe's return to Brittany is said to have been to escape yellow fever in Ireland. He subsequently became famed for his ability to cure many kinds of sickness. After his death, the earth under which he was buried was often taken away, mixed with water and used as medicine. The saint eventually established a monastic community on Saint Maudez Island. One day the last fire on the island was accidentally extinguished. Mawes sent a serving boy at low tide to cross to the mainland and bring back a flame. As the boy set off back, the tide came in. The waves rose higher and higher, threatening to engulf the flame; but the boy stood on a rock, prayed to Saint Mawes, and discovered the rock rising miraculously so that it never sank beneath the sea. When the tide went out again, the flame was successfully transported to Saint Maudez (Attwater, Benedictines, Bentley, D'Arcy, Encyclopaedia, Farmer). In art Saint Mawes is portrayed as a schoolmaster (according to Leland). He is venerated at Falmouth and in Brittany (Roeder), where 60 churches and chapels are named after him. The relics of Saint Mawes are venerated at Quimper, Treguier, Lesneven, and Bourges (which claims his body). He is invoked against headache, worms, and snake bite (Farmer). Troparion of St Mawes tone 8 Despite thy royal birth thou didst embrace the monastic life in infancy, O Father Mawes, boast of ascetics and banisher of snakes./ As we are blessed to have thy precious relics with us to this day,/ pray O Saint, that we may be worthy of Christ's mercy and that our souls may be saved. St. Ronan of Drumshallon ----------------------------------------------- http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13180a.htm There are twelve Irish saints bearing the name of Ronan commemorated in the "Martyrology of Donegal"; of these the most celebrated are: St. Ronan of Ulster, brother of St. Carnech, and grandson of Loarn, d. 11 January, 535; St. Ronan, son of Berach, a disciple of the great St. Fechin of Fore. He became first Abbot of Drumshallon, and d. 18 November, 665. St. Ronan Fionn is honoured as patron of Lan Ronan (Kelminiog) in Iveagh. His feast is celebrated on 22 May, both in Ireland and Scotland. St. Ronan of Iona is explicitly referred to by St. Bede as one of the protagonists of the Roman custom of celebrating Easter as against the Irish tradition, and he had a warm controversy on the subject with his countryman St. Finan, Bishop of Lindisfarne, 660. This controversy was ended at the Synod of Whitby, in 664, when St. Ronan's views were upheld. St. Ronan of Lismore was a distinguished successor of St. Carthage, and several Munster churches were built in his honour. His feast is celebrated on 9 February 763. Another saint of this name is best known by the ruined church of Kilronan, Co. Roscommon, where Turlogh O'Carolan and Bishop O'Rourke are buried. St. Constant, Martyr -------------------------------------------- Died 777. Saint Constant, an Irish priest-hermit at Lough Erne, was known for his sanctity and the miracles wrought at his intercession. He died under circumstances that led to his being venerated as a martyr (Benedictines, Husenbeth). St. Keverne of Cornwall -------------------------------------------- 6th century. Saint Keverne is associated with Saint Kieran (f.d. March 5) or Pyran (f.d. March 5). He may have been a friend of the latter or may indeed be the same person (Benedictines). The Five parishes of St Anthony, Manaccan, St Martin, St Mawgan and St Keverne form that part of the Lizard Peninsula known as the Meneage, "the land of Monks". The stones on the window ledges in the North Aisle are thought to have come from the ruins of the monastery. < http://homepages.tesco.net/~k.wasley/Keverne.htm > St. Mabyn (Mabenna) --------------------------------------------------------- 6th century (?). The nun Saint Mabyn is said to have been one of the daughters of the prodigious Saint Brychan of Brecknock (f.d. April 6). She migrated from Wales to Cornwall and founded the church of the town now called after her. The church of Saint Neot in Cornwall has an image of Mabyn in its 16th-century stained glass Wives Window (Farmer). St. Momble of Lagny, Abbot (Mummolus (Mumbolus, Momleolus) ------------------------------------------------------------- Died c. 690. The Irish monk Saint Mummolus was a companion of Saint Fursey (f.d. January 16), whom he succeeded as abbot of Lagny, in the diocese of Meaux. But he did not remain in that position long because too many of his monks thought that his rule was too strict. So Mummolus retired to a hermitage where he lived out his days in secluded prayer. His relics were translated and solemnly enshrined in 831 in the diocese of Meaux (Benedictines, D'Arcy, Fitzpatrick, Gougaud, Montague, O'Hanlon). Sources: ======== Attwater, D. (1983). The Penguin Dictionary of Saints, 2nd edition, revised and updated by Catherine Rachel John. New York: Penguin Books. Benedictine Monks of St. Augustine Abbey, Ramsgate. (1947). The Book of Saints. NY: Macmillan. Bentley, J. (1986). A Calendar of Saints: The Lives of the Principal Saints of the Christian Year. NY: Facts on File. D'Arcy, M. R. (1974). The Saints of Ireland. Saint Paul, Minnesota: Irish American Cultural Institute. [This is probably the most useful book to choose to own on the Irish saints. The author provides a great deal of historical context in which to place the lives of the saints.] Encyclopaedia of Catholic Saints, October. (1966). Philadelphia: Chilton Books. Farmer, D. H. (1997). The Oxford Dictionary of Saints. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Fitzpatrick, B. (1922). Ireland and the Making of Britain. New York: Funk and Wagnalls. Fitzpatrick, B. (1927). Ireland and the Foundations of Europe. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. Gougaud, Dom L. (1923). Gaelic Pioneers of Christianity, V. Collins (tr.). Dublin: Gill & Sons. Husenbeth, Rev. F. C., DD, VG (ed.). (1928). Butler's Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Other Principal Saints. London: Virtue & Co. Montague, H. P. (1981). The Saints and Martyrs of Ireland. Guildford: Billing & Sons. O'Hanlon, J. (1875). Lives of Irish Saints, 10 vol. Dublin. Ryan, J. (1931). Irish Monasticism. Dublin: Talbot Press. Roeder, H. (1956). Saints and Their Attributes, Chicago: Henry Regnery. For All the Saints: http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/ss-index.htm These Lives are archived at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/celt-saints ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
