Brioc ( Breton: ''Brieg''; ; ; ; died c. 502) was a 5th-century Welsh holy man who became the first

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

Saint-Brieuc Saint-Brieuc (, Breton language, Breton: ''Sant-Brieg'' , Gallo language, Gallo: ''Saent-Berioec'') is a city in the Côtes-d'Armor Departments of France, department in Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in northwestern France. History ...

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 ...

. He is one of the seven founder saints of Brittany.

Life

Very little is known about Brioc's early life, as his 9th century '' Acta'' is not altogether reliable. It states that he came from

Ceredigion Ceredigion (), historically Cardiganshire (, ), is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the West Wales, west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the River Dyfi, Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire t ...

where the church at Llandyfriog was originally dedicated to him. He received his education in Ireland and then studied under

Germanus of Auxerre Germanus of Auxerre (; ; ; 378 – c. 442–448 AD) was a western Roman clergyman who was bishop of Autissiodorum in Late Antique Gaul. He abandoned a career as a high-ranking government official to devote his formidable energy towards the pr ...

. He is believed to have spent time at Rothesay on the Isle of Bute in Scotland, where a church was dedicated to him and his name was commemorated in the annual St. Bruix Fair. He most likely returned to France early in 431, accompanied by Illtud. In 480, he settled in Armorica, and founded a monastery at Landebaeron. He then traveled to Upper Brittany where he established an oratory at St Brieuc-des-Vaux, between St. Malo and Land Triguier, where he eventually became the

of a monastery. Authorities differ as to date of Brioc's death, but it was probably in 502, or in the early years of the sixth century. He died in his own monastery at St. Brieuc-des-Vaux and was interred in his cathedral church, dedicated to

Saint Stephen Stephen (; ) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first martyr of Christianity."St ...

Veneration

His ''Acta'' cites numerous miracles, especially his cure of Count Riguel, who gave Brioc his own Palace of Champ-du-Rouvre as also the whole manorial estates. He is represented as treading on a dragon or presented with a column of fire as seen at his ordination. Brioc's relics were moved to the Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus of

Angers Angers (, , ;) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Duchy of Anjou, Anjou until the French Revolution. The i ...

in 865, and again, in a more solemn manner, on 31 July 1166. However, in 1210, a portion of the relics was restored to St. Brieuc Cathedral, where Brioc's ring is also preserved. In honour of Brioc's link between

and

, the town of St Brieuc has been twinned with

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth (; ) is a University town, university and seaside town and a community (Wales), community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the largest town in Ceredigion and from Aberaeron, the county's other administrative centre. In 2021, the popula ...

since 1974 and a road, Boulevard St Brieuc, is located in the town. His

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...

is 1 May. The festival of Saint Brioc was celebrated on 1 May, but in 1804, the festival has been held on the second Sunday after Easter. Churches in England, Ireland, and Scotland are dedicated to this early Celtic saint, including the parish church of St Breock in Cornwall. He is considered the patron saint of pursemakers.''Dictionary of Christianity''; edited by J. C. Cooper; 2013; p. 36

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brioc 500s deaths Medieval Welsh saints Welsh Roman Catholic saints Medieval Breton saints Medieval Cornish saints French abbots People from Ceredigion 6th-century Christian saints Year of birth unknown Roman Catholic monks 5th-century Breton people

Life

Veneration

See also

References