Rumon of Tavistock (also Ronan, Ruadan, or Ruan) is a saint venerated in the traditions of the

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...

, and

Western Orthodox Western Rite Orthodoxy, also called Western Orthodoxy or the Orthodox Western Rite, are congregations within the Eastern Orthodox tradition which perform their liturgy in Western forms. Besides altered versions of the Tridentine Mass, congrega ...

churches.

Biography

Rumon was likely a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

originally from

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. According to

Alban Butler Alban Butler (13 October 171015 May 1773) was an English Roman Catholic priest and hagiography, hagiographer. Born in Northamptonshire, he studied at the English College, in Douai, Douay, France where he later taught philosophy and theology. He s ...

, Rumon was a bishop, though it is not known of what see. Antiquary John Leland said that a manuscript discovered at

Tavistock Tavistock ( ) is an ancient stannary and market town and civil parish in the West Devon district, in the county of Devon, England. It is situated on the River Tavy, from which its name derives. At the 2011 census, the three electoral wards (N ...

at the time of the dissolution claimed that Rumon emigrated from Ireland in the fifth or sixth century and established a hermitage near

Falmouth, Cornwall Falmouth ( ; ) is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Falmouth was founded in 1613 by the Killigrew family on a site near the existing Pendennis Castle. It developed as a po ...

. Some authorities believe him to be the same historical figure as Ronan who is venerated in

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

on 1 June. A "Life of St. Rumon", likely written at Tavistock sometime between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries, adapts the Life of St. Ronan. Historian

Nicholas Orme Nicholas Orme FSA FRHistS (born 1942) is a British historian specialising in the Middle Ages and Tudor period, focusing on the history of children, and ecclesiastical history, with a particular interest in South West England. Orme is an eme ...

considers the only accurate part is that pertaining to Ruan Lanihorne and Tavistock. A ''sanctum vita'' of Rumon in a fourteenth-century manuscript in the Ducal Library of

Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...

, Germany is also based on a tenth-century Life of the Breton saint Ronan. Portions of this text relating to Rumon are quoted in the fourteenth-century ''Catalogus sanctorum in Anglia pausancium'', a list of the resting places of English saints.

Veneration

In 974, Ordulf, Earl of Devon, established the Abbey of Saint Mary and Saint Rumon at Tavistock. On 981, the relics of Rumon, minus his head, were translated from the Celtic monastery at Ruan Lanihorne to Tavistock.

Henry I of England Henry I ( – 1 December 1135), also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135. He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in 1087, Henr ...

granted the abbey the privilege of a fair for three days at the feast of St. Rumon. In the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, the

feast A banquet (; ) is a formal large meal where a number of people consume food together. Banquets are traditionally held to enhance the prestige of a host, or reinforce social bonds among joint contributors. Modern examples of these purposes inc ...

of Saint Rumon is observed on various dates in different

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

locations. The translation of Saint Rumon is celebrated on 5 January in both the Catholic Church and

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

. The Holy Hierarch Rumon is venerated on 30 August according to the

Julian Calendar The Julian calendar is a solar calendar of 365 days in every year with an additional leap day every fourth year (without exception). The Julian calendar is still used as a religious calendar in parts of the Eastern Orthodox Church and in parts ...

in Western Orthodoxy. Rumon is the patron of

and

Romansleigh Romansleigh is a village and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

and of Ruan Lanihorne in

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

. Ruan celebrates its patronal festival every year on the last Sunday in August. Rumon is depicted as a bishop in a stained glass window in the Lady Chapel of St Eustachius' Church, Tavistock. Several churches in Devon and Cornwall are named after him as well as the village of

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rumon Of Tavistock 6th-century Irish Christian clergy Christian missionaries in the United Kingdom 6th-century Christian saints Christianity in Devon Medieval Cornish saints