QUIMPER-VANNES

Illtud was the founder of the Cor Tewdws seminary at Llanilltud Fawr (Llantwit Major) in the 6th century - one of Britain’s earliest educational establishments. Illtud was the son of Bicanus, a Breton prince, and at first pursued a military career (some say he served with his cousin King Arthur). This explains why he is is sometimes called St. Illtud the Knight. Saint Cadoc persuaded him to turn to the spiritual life after an incident where many of his colleagues disappeared on a hunt by being swallowed by a deep muddy bog. He renounced his wife and became a hermit in the Vale of Hodnant in Glamorgan.  Here he founded his monastery school which at its height had over 1000 pupils and schooled many of the great saints of the age, including Saint Patrick, Saint David, Saint Gildas and Saint Samson. Gildas called him ‘the most refined teacher in the whole of Britain’. When Illtud heard of the plight of his native Brittany during a famine, he organis...

Saint Goeznovius/Gwyddno was a 6th century Cornish-born monk.  He was a disciple of St Paul-Aurélian and later  became Bishop of Léon. He founded a monastery at Langoeznou (now  Gouesnou) in Finist ère and his name also appears at  Saint-Gouéno in C ôtes d'Armor .  Recently he has become famous because his ‘Life’ has an extraordinary Preface which outlines the career of King Arthur .  This is one of the earliest recorded mentions of King Arthur. It comes from the Preface to the 'Life of Saint Goeznovius', written by William, Chaplain to Bishop Eudo of L éon.  It was written in 1019, over 100 years before Geoffrey of Monmouth's  Historia Regum Britanniae ("History of the Kings of Britain"), the book which really fired up the King Arthur Legend [see also: King Arthur Lived in Brittany ].  William claimed ' Ystoria Britannia' was the source of his information - a book which is now lost.  Geoffrey's book too claimed to be based on '...

A class of wandering minstrels, with histrionic talents, found that this new material captivated barons and their ladies, not only in Brittany but wherever French was understood. More and more they adapted fantastic tales to French tastes...and introduced the pageantry of chivalry. Their audiences...were fascinated by the new and various tales of love and marvel and adventure, and were more easily persuaded to accept the Breton image of Arthur as the nonpareil of kings. (Roger Loomis) Whichever way you look at it King Arthur has Breton connexions.  Either as the real historical figure: the soldier-hero, behind the myth.  This historical Arthur could, some say, be Riothamus (' the greatest king ') a 5th century 'king of the Britons' who led an army into Gaul and whose last recorded position was near the Burgundian town of Avallon.  This identification has appealed to experts such as Leon Fleuriot and Geoffrey Ashe. Others are fond of spotting Arthurian loca...