Saint Piran or Pyran ( kw, Peran; la, Piranus), died c. 480,
Patrons - The Orthodox Church of Archangel Michael and Holy Piran
'' Oecumenical Patriarchate,

Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain The Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain is an archdiocese of the Eastern Orthodox Church, part of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Its present head is Archbishop Nikitas Loulias. Its jurisdiction covers those Orthodox Chri ...

. Laity Moor, Nr Ponsanooth, Cornwall. TR3 7HR. Retrieved: 16 February 2016.William Haslam (Rev).
Perran-Zabuloe: With an Account of the Past and Present State of the Oratory of St. Piran in the Sands
'' London: John Van Voorst, Paternoster Row, 1844. p. 56. was a 5th-century Cornish

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. Th ...

and saint, of Irish origin. He is the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of tin-

miners A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face; cutting, blasting, ...

, and is also generally regarded as the patron saint of

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a Historic counties of England, historic county and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people ...

, although

Saint Michael Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

and

Saint Petroc Saint Petroc or Petrock ( lat-med, Petrocus; cy, Pedrog; french: link=no, Perreux; ) was a British prince and Christian saint. Probably born in South Wales, he primarily ministered to the Britons of Devon (Dewnans) and Cornwall (Kernow) then ...

also have some claim to this title. Traditionally, St Piran has been identified as the Irish saint

Ciarán of Saigir Ciarán of Saigir (5th century – ), also known as Ciarán mac Luaigne or Saint Kieran ( cy, Cieran), was one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland and is considered the first saint to have been born in Ireland,''Catholic Online''St. Kier ...

.Rev.

Alban Butler Alban Butler (13 October 171015 May 1773) was an English Roman Catholic priest and hagiographer. Biography Alban Butler was born in 1710, at Appletree, Aston le Walls, Northamptonshire, the second son of Simon Butler, Esq. His father died when ...

(1711–73).
March 5 - St. Kiaran, or Kenerin, Bishop and Confessor
'' The Lives of the Saints - Volume III: March (Bartleby.com). 1866. Retrieved: 15 September 2015.
.'' New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge''; Vol. III: Chamier - Draendorf. p. 117.William Haslam (Rev).
Perran-Zabuloe: With an Account of the Past and Present State of the Oratory of St. Piran in the Sands
'' London: John Van Voorst, Paternoster, 1844. pp.53-56.

Saint Piran's Flag Saint Piran's Flag ( kw, Baner Peran) is the flag of Cornwall. The earliest known description of the flag as the Standard of Cornwall was written in 1838. It is used by some Cornish people as a symbol of their identity. The flag is attribut ...

, a white cross on a black background, traditionally the emblem of the Cornish tinners, is the Cornish national flag.

Saint Piran's Day Saint Piran's Day ( kw, Gool Peran), or the Feast of Saint Piran, is the national day of Cornwall, held on 5 March every year. The day is named after one of the patron saints of Cornwall, Saint Piran, who is also the patron saint of tin miners ...

falls on 5 March.

Suggested Irish origins

Piran is the most famous of all the

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Or ...

s said to have come to Cornwall from Ireland. By at least the 13th century, since

Brittonic languages The Brittonic languages (also Brythonic or British Celtic; cy, ieithoedd Brythonaidd/Prydeinig; kw, yethow brythonek/predennek; br, yezhoù predenek) form one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic language family; the other is Goidelic. ...

and

Goidelic languages The Goidelic or Gaelic languages ( ga, teangacha Gaelacha; gd, cànanan Goidhealach; gv, çhengaghyn Gaelgagh) form one of the two groups of Insular Celtic languages, the other being the Brittonic languages. Goidelic languages historically ...

regularly alternate p and k sounds (see the classification of Celtic languages for an explanation), he had become identified as the Irish Saint

who founded the

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

Seir-Kieran Saighir (''Seir Kieran''; also named ''Seirkieran'', in Irish ''Saighir Chiaráin''), is a monastic site in Clareen, County Offaly, founded by Ciarán of Saigir. History According to his hagiographers, Ciarán was born in pagan Ireland and le ...

County Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is named after the Ancient Ireland ...

. The Celtic Scholar

Charles Plummer Charles Plummer, FBA (1851–1927) was an English historian and cleric, best known as the editor of Sir John Fortescue's ''The Governance of England'', and for coining the term "bastard feudalism". He was the fifth son of Matthew Plummer of St ...

suggested that Ciaran of Clonmacnoise was the patron saint of Cornwall Saint Piran, challenging the more broadly accepted belief that he was Ciaran of Saigir. The difference in spelling is for dialect or linguistical reasons between the two

Insular Celtic languages Insular Celtic languages are the group of Celtic languages of Brittany, Great Britain, Ireland, and the Isle of Man. All surviving Celtic languages are in the Insular group, including Breton, which is spoken on continental Europe in Brittany ...

. Brytonic was categorized as

P-Celtic The Gallo-Brittonic languages, also known as the P-Celtic languages, are a subdivision of the Celtic languages of Ancient Gaul (both '' celtica'' and '' belgica'') and Celtic Britain, which share certain features. Besides common linguistic i ...

, as it replaced the harder 'c' or k sound in the

with the softer letter 'p'. On the other hand, Goidelic was seen by scholars as being Q-Celtic, as one of the earliest

Ogham Ogham ( Modern Irish: ; mga, ogum, ogom, later mga, ogam, label=none ) is an Early Medieval alphabet used primarily to write the early Irish language (in the "orthodox" inscriptions, 4th to 6th centuries AD), and later the Old Irish langu ...

inscriptions used a 'Q' represented by Queirt, which was symbolised by the

Apple Tree An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ...

to phonetically pronounce the k sound, although Q was later replaced by the letter 'C' in the Old Irish alphabet. The fourteenth-century ''Life of Saint Piran'', probably written at

Exeter Cathedral Exeter Cathedral, properly known as the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter in Exeter, is an Anglican cathedral, and the seat of the Bishop of Exeter, in the city of Exeter, Devon, in South West England. The present building was complete by about 14 ...

, is a complete copy of an earlier

Middle Irish Middle Irish, sometimes called Middle Gaelic ( ga, An Mheán-Ghaeilge, gd, Meadhan-Ghàidhlig), is the Goidelic language which was spoken in Ireland, most of Scotland and the Isle of Man from AD; it is therefore a contemporary of late Old Engl ...

life of Saint Ciarán of Saighir, with different parentage and a different ending that takes into account Piran's works in Cornwall, and especially details of his death and the movements of his Cornish

shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon, or similar figure of respect, wherein they ...

; thus "excising the passages which speak of his burial at Saighir" ( Doble). However, there is no shrine to him in Ireland. 5 March is the traditional feast day of both St Ciarán of Saighir and St Piran. However the

Calendar A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is also a phy ...

of Launceston Church records an alternative date of 18 November for the latter.F. Wormald. "THE CALENDAR OF THE AUGUSTINIAN PRIORY OF LAUNCESTON IN CORNWALL." ''The Journal of Theological Studies,'' Vol. 39, No. 153 (JANUARY 1938), p. 4. In Perranzabuloe parish Perran Feast is traditionally celebrated on the last Monday in October. On the previous Sunday there are services at the site of St Piran's Oratory and in the parish church of St Piran.

Views from modern scholars

suggested that St Piran might, instead, be identified with St

Ciarán of Clonmacnoise Saint Ciarán of Clonmacnoise (c. 516 – c. 549), supposedly born Ciarán mac an tSaeir ("son of the carpenter"), was one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland and the first abbot of Clonmacnoise. He is sometimes called Ciarán the Youn ...

, who founded the monastery of

Clonmacnoise Clonmacnoise ( Irish: ''Cluain Mhic Nóis'') is a ruined monastery situated in County Offaly in Ireland on the River Shannon south of Athlone, founded in 544 by Saint Ciarán, a young man from Rathcroghan, County Roscommon. Until the 9th cen ...

also in

, but this is doubtful since this saint is believed to have died of

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. ...

at the age of thirty-two and was buried at Clonmacnoise. His father is, however, sometimes said to have been a

Cornishman The Cornish people or Cornish ( kw, Kernowyon, ang, Cornƿīelisċ) are an ethnic group native to, or associated with Cornwall: and a recognised national minority in the United Kingdom, which can trace its roots to the ancient Britons ...

. *

Joseph Loth Joseph Loth (27 December 1847 – 1 April 1934) was a French linguist and historian who specialised in the study of Celtic languages. Early life Loth was born in Guémené-sur-Scorff, Brittany. After his studies at Sainte-Anne-d'Auray, he bec ...

, moreover, has argued, on detailed

philological Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as t ...

grounds, that the two names could not possibly be identical. * G. H. Doble thought that Piran was a Welshman from

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Mot ...

, citing the lost chapel once dedicated to him in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

. * David Nash Ford accepts the Ciarán of Clonmacnoise identification, whilst further suggesting that Piran's father in the Exeter life, Domuel, be identified with Dywel ab Erbin, a fifth-century prince of

Dumnonia Dumnonia is the Latinised name for a Brythonic kingdom that existed in Sub-Roman Britain between the late 4th and late 8th centuries CE in the more westerly parts of present-day South West England. It was centred in the area of modern Devon, ...

(

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

and Cornwall). * The St Piran Trust has undertaken research which suggests that St Piran was either St Ciarán of Saighir or a disciple, as indicated by Dr James Brennan of Kilkenny and Dr T. F. G. Dexter, whose thesis is held in the

Royal Cornwall Museum The Royal Cornwall Museum in Truro holds an extensive mineral collection rooted in Cornwall's mining and engineering heritage (including much of the mineral collection of Philip Rashleigh (1729-1811), Philip Rashleigh). The county's artistic her ...

. * Professor Nicholas Orme writes in his ''Churches of Medieval Exeter'', that "it may well be that Piran was the inspiration for the Kerrian dedication (in

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

), albeit believed (as Piran usually was) to be identical with

Ciarán Ciarán (Irish spelling) or Ciaran (Scottish Gaelic spelling) is a traditionally male given name of Irish origin. It means "little dark one" or "little dark-haired one", produced by appending a diminutive suffix to ''ciar'' ("black", "dark"). ...

."St Kerrian
. In: Nicholas Orme (Professor). ''The Churches of Medieval Exeter''. Impress Books, 2014. . Also, the saint of the church in Exeter was ''Keranus'' or ''Kyeranus'' ueranusin Latin documents, with ''Kerrian'' being the local vernacular pronunciation.

Legends

* The Irish tied him to a mill-stone, rolled it over the edge of a cliff into a stormy sea, which immediately became calm, and the saint floated safely over the water to land upon the sandy beach of

Perranzabuloe Perranzabuloe (; kw, Pyran yn Treth) is a coastal civil parishes in England, civil parish and a hamlet in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Perranzabuloe parish is bordered to the west by the Atlantic coast and St Agnes, Cornwall, St Agnes par ...

in Cornwall. His first disciples are said to have been a badger, a fox, and a bear * He landed in Cornwall, and there established himself as a hermit. His sanctity and his austerity won for him the veneration of all around, and the gift of miracles, with which he was favoured, brought many to seek his charitable aid. * He was joined at Perranzabuloe by many of his Christian converts and together they founded the Abbey of Lanpiran, with Piran as abbot. * St Piran 'rediscovered' tin-smelting (tin had been smelted in Cornwall since before the Romans' arrival, but the methods had since been lost) when his black hearthstone, which was evidently a slab of tin-bearing ore, had the tin smelt out of it and rise to the top in the form of a white cross (thus the image on the flag).

Death and veneration

It is said that at his death, the remains of the Blessed Martin the Abbot which he had brought from Ireland were buried with him at

. His own remains were subsequently exhumed and redistributed to be venerated in various

reliquaries A reliquary (also referred to as a '' shrine'', by the French term ''châsse'', and historically including '' phylacteries'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary may be called a ''fereter'', and a chapel in which it is housed a ''f ...

was reputed to be the possessor of one of his arms, while according to an inventory, St Piran's Old Church, Perranzabuloe, had a reliquary containing his head and also a hearse in which his body was placed for processionals. In 1443, Cornish nobleman, Sir John Arundell bequeathed money in his Will for the preservation of the head of St Piran in the chapel at Perranzabuloe. The churches at Perranuthnoe and Perranarworthal were dedicated to Piran and holy wells at Perranwell and

Probus Probus may refer to: People * Marcus Valerius Probus (c. 20/30–105 AD), Roman grammarian * Marcus Pomponius Maecius Probus, consul in 228 * Probus (emperor), Roman Emperor (276–282) * Probus of Byzantium (–306), Bishop of Byzantium from 29 ...

, Cornwall are named after him. In

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

St. Peran, Loperan and Saint-Perran are also named after him. The former Methodist chapel at Laity Moor has served as the Orthodox Church of

Archangel Michael Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

and Holy Piran since 1996. The earliest documented link to the design of the St Piran's Flag with St Piran is on the coat of arms of the ''de Saint-Péran'' or ''Saint-Pezran'' (pronounced ''Péran'') family from

Cornouaille Cornouaille (; br, Kernev, Kerne) is a historical region on the west coast of Brittany in West France. The name is cognate with Cornwall in neighbouring Great Britain. This can be explained by the settlement of Cornouaille by migrant princ ...

in Brittany. The earliest evidence known comes from the 15th century, with the arms being ''De sable à la croix pattée d'argent.'' (a black shield with a white

cross pattée A cross pattée, cross patty or cross paty, also known as a cross formy or cross formée (french: croix pattée, german: Tatzenkreuz), is a type of Christian cross with arms that are narrow at the centre, and often flared in a curve or straight ...

). Mount St. Piran is a mountain in

Banff National Park Banff National Park is Canada's oldest national park, established in 1885 as Rocky Mountains Park. Located in Alberta's Rocky Mountains, west of Calgary, Banff encompasses of mountainous terrain, with many glaciers and ice fields, dense co ...

near Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada, named after the saint. St Piran's crab, '' Clibanarius erythropus'', was also named in his honour, in 2016.

St Piran's Day

St Piran's Day on 5 March is popular in Cornwall and the term 'Perrantide' has been coined to describe the week prior to this day. Many Cornish-themed events occur in the Duchy and also in areas in which there is a large community descended from Cornish emigrants. The village of

Perranporth Perranporth ( kw, Porthperan) is a seaside resort town on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is 1 mile east of the St Agnes Heritage Coastline, and around 8 miles south-west of Newquay. Perranporth and its long beach ...

('Porthpyran' in Cornish) hosts the annual inter-Celtic festival o
'Lowender Peran'
which is also named in honour of him. The largest St Piran's Day event is the march across

the dunes ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

to St Piran's cross which hundreds of people attend, generally dressed in black, white and gold, and carrying the Cornish Flag. A play of the Life of St Piran, in Cornish, has been enacted since 2000 at the event. Daffodils are also carried and placed at the cross. Daffodils also feature in celebrations in

Truro Truro (; kw, Truru) is a cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its population was 18,766 in the 2011 census. People of Truro ...

, most likely due to their 'gold' colour. Black, white and gold are colours associated with Cornwall due to St Piran's Flag (black and white), and the

Duchy A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a medieval country, territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important difference between ...

Shield (gold coins on black). In 2006 Cornish MP Dan Rogerson asked the government to make 5 March a public holiday in Cornwall to recognise celebrations for St Piran's Day.
St Piran's holiday
'' BBC News. 2 March 2006, 12:19 GMT. Retrieved: 15 September 2015. In 2010, a short movie about St. Piran was made and premiered at the Heartland Film Festival.

Notes

References

Sources

* Carter, Eileen. (2001). ''In the Shadow of St Piran'' * Doble, G. H. (1965). ''The Saints of Cornwall''. Dean & Chapter of Truro. * Loth, J. (1930). 'Quelques victimes de l'hagio-onomastique en Cornwall: saint Peran, saint Keverne, saint Achebran' in ''Mémoires de la Société d'Histoire et d'Archéologie de Bretagne''. * Plummer, Charles. (1922). ''Betha Naem nErenn'' * Tomlin, E. W. F. (1982). ''In Search of St Piran'' * Rev.

Charles William Boase Charles William Boase (1828–1895) was an English academic, antiquarian and librarian. Life Born in Chapel Street, Penzance, on 6 July 1828, was the eldest child of John Josias Arthur Boase (1801–1896) and his wife Charlotte (1802–1873), sec ...

, M.A. (Fellow and Tutor of Exeter College, Oxford).
PIRANUS, ST
'' In: William Smith and Henry Wace. A Dictionary of Christian Biography, Literature, Sects and Doctrines During the First Eight Centuries. Volume IV: N-Z. London: John Murray, Albemarle Street, 1887. pp. 404–405.

External links

St Piran's holiday
BBC News. 2 March 2006, 12:19 GMT.

An Daras: The Cornish Folk Arts Project.
St. Piran's celebrations
BBC Home.
St. Piran's Day in Truro
BBC Home.
St. Piran's Oratory – Morley B Collins, 1910

St Piran Trust website

The Orthodox Church of Archangel Michael and Holy Piran
Laity Moor, Nr Ponsanooth, Cornwall. TR3 7HR.
The medieval life of St Piran
- Latin text and English translation. {{DEFAULTSORT:Piran 6th-century Irish abbots 6th-century Christian saints Burials in Cornwall Cornish culture Cornish nationalism Irish expatriates in England Medieval Irish saints of Cornwall Medieval Cornish saints Tin mining Miracle workers