Skip to main content

Why does the Catholic Church only recognize 3 of the 300 or more Breton saints?


Because the  others were wearing sunglasses!

Only three Breton saints are recognized by the Catholic Church: St. Yves (12-13th century); St. Corentin (Bishop of Quimper, 5th century) and St. Clair (the first Bishop of Nantes in the 3rd century). 

This is because up to the 10th century there was no specific procedure for canonization and if the Bishop and congregation spontaneously decided to worship a deceased monk or priest, then his relics would be enshrined and he would be made a saint.

The Breton saints belonged to a older era which measured and defined their saintly contributions in a different way, and not simply in terms of martyrdom, miracle-working and spiritual perfection.

Often the Breton 'saints' were the semi-monastic clergy who supervised the migration from Britain to Brittany from the 6th century onwards and served their flock in both spiritual and political roles.  

Also, the concept of 'saintliness' has changed. 
In the early days of the church sanctus meant to be consecrated by rite and those who had been baptised were 'saints'. In the 4th century onwards Christianity had taken root and the title 'saint' was reserved for the clergy (especially monks) and normally it was honorific. This use of the title 'saint' (which had disappeared elsewhere) was imported into Brittany by migrating Britons and continued until the 7th century.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

What really links place names in Brittany, Cornwall and Wales (apart from a few hundred Celtic saints)?

Place Name Elements in Breton, Welsh and Cornish (with examples and English gloss) BRETON CORNISH WELSH ENGLISH EXAMPLES C=Cornwall; W= Wales aut , alt, aod alt, als, aulz allt hill, slope, cliff Duault (22), Nansalsa (C), Allt-golau (W) ael ael ael summit, brow, ridge Hirael (35), Aelbryn (W) aval aval, avallen afal, afallen apple Availles-sur-Seiche (35), Rosevallen (C), Dolafallen (W) aon, aven auon, awan afon river Pont-Aven (29); Arrowan (C), Aberavon (W) arcae - argae dam, embankment Erquy (22), Argae Alwen (W) ard, art, arz are, ard, arth ardd hill, elevation Arzon (56); Trenarth (C), Pennard (W) arz, arzh art, arth arth bear Île-d'Arz (56), Carn Arthen (C), Aber-arth (W) ascorn - asgwrn, esgyrn bone/s Coatascorn (

Why all the Ermine?

The ermine ( Mustela erminea ) a.k.a. stoat or short-tailed weasel  is the national emblem of Brittany. Its much sought after white winter coat was used for the cloaks, crowns and caps of the aristocracy. Ermine The eleven 'ermine spots' which form the pattern in the top left corner of the Breton flag represent the way the black-tipped tails were hung on the white fur.  This heraldic ermine canton was a feature of the arms of the Dukes of Brittany.  Breton flag with ermine canton The story goes that Anne de Bretagne,  the last independent Breton ruler and the wife of two successive French kings,   saw a group of hunters chasing after an ermine. When the ermine reached the edge of a muddy lake the ermine decided to stand up to his attackers rather than risk soiling his beautiful white fur.  ANNE DE BRETAGNE Anne, it appears, was so impressed that she saved the ermine and adopted it as the emblem of her dynasty along with the motto: Plutôt la mort que la

The legend of Saint Gwen of Brittany and Dorset

The church of Whitchurch-Canonicorum in Dorset is dedicated to Saint-Candida (a.k.a Saint-Wite). Below the east window there is an altar tomb with  three openings which allowed devotees to reach inside the shrine in the hope of a miraculous cure for whatever ailed them.  On the top of this there used to be a 14th century coffin built into a slab of local marble. When the local vicar opened it in 1848 he found a stone box. Inside the stone box he discovered a Saint's relics.  When the coffin was examined again in 1899 another vicar found teeth, a lot of  bones resembling those of small, forty year old woman and an inscription: Here lie the relics of Saint Wite What was even more extrordinary about this find was that all relics such as these had been destroyed during the Protestant Reformation. The only other collection of saint's remains still extant were those of St Edward the Confessor in Westminster Abbey. Perhaps this shrine looked more like a tomb then a