Budoc of Dol (also Budeaux or Beuzec) was a 5th-century Breton monk and Bishop of Dol, who has been venerated since his death as a

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

in both

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 ...

(in France) and

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 ...

(in England). Budoc is the

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

of Plourin in

Finistère Finistère (, ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France in the extreme west of Brittany. Its prefecture is Quimper and its largest city is Brest, France, Brest. In 2019, it had a population of 915,090.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 ...

was originally celebrated on 8 December, the date still used in Devon, but in Brittany this has been transferred to 9 December."Budoc", ''Oxford Dictionary of Saints
/ref>

Name

The name Budoc, or Beuzec, means "saved from the waters" from the Breton ''beuziñ'' meaning "drown"; but Baring-Gould finds this "fanciful". In old Celtic, ''boudi'' means "victory" and "profit".

Life

Baring-Gould suggests that the princess Azenor fled

Armorica In ancient times, Armorica or Aremorica (Gaulish: ; ; ) was a region of Gaul between the Seine and the Loire that includes the Brittany Peninsula, and much of historical Normandy. Name The name ''Armorica'' is a Latinized form of the Gauli ...

with her young son due to dynastic conflict. Arriving first in Cornwall, they then proceeded to Ireland, where Budoc became a

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

. They later returned to Brittany, landing at Porspoder near Brest.Baring-Gould, Sabine. "S. Budoc, Abbot and Confessor", ''The Lives of the British Saints'', C. J. Clark, 1907, p. 329
/ref> Hagiographer G.H. Doble is of the opinion that Budoc was a once-famous abbot whose chief establishment was on the Breton coast. The '' vita'' by the monk Winwaloe describes Budoc as a teacher living on the island of

Laurea In Italy, the ''laurea'' is the main post-secondary academic degree. The name originally referred literally to the laurel wreath, since ancient times a sign of honor and now worn by Italian students right after their official graduation ceremo ...

. Later Budoc succeeded

Samson of Dol Samson of Dol (also Samsun; born late 5th century) was a Welsh saint, who is also counted among the Brittany#Religion, seven founder saints of Brittany with Paul Aurelian, Pol Aurelian, Saint Tudwal, Tugdual or Tudwal, Brieuc, Saint Malo (saint ...

and Magloire as bishop of Dol and ruled for 26 years (according to the 10th-century ''vita'' of Magloire and the 11th-century ''Chronicle of Dol''). Baring-Gould distinguishes between the Abbot Budoc and the successor to Bishop Magloire at Dol.

Legend

Budoc is reputed to have been a grandson of the legendary Count Even of Brest, Viscount of Léon. His mother, Princess Azenor, was falsely accused of infidelity by her jealous stepmother, which enraged her husband, the King of , who ordered that the pregnant Azenor be thrown into the sea in a cask. (A tower of the Château de Brest is named for her.) Azenor invoked the help of Saint Brigid. The cask drifted for five months. Shortly after Azenor's baby was born, the cask washed ashore on the coast of Ireland. The story echoes Greek myth. A villager who found the mother and newborn child summoned the abbot of Beau Port, near

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

, and the child was christened the next day. Azenor became the washer-woman of the monastery, and Budoc was raised there. Azenor's stepmother fell ill, and upon her deathbed she recanted the evil lies she had spread. Azenor's husband then sailed in search of her, and, arriving in Ireland, the couple was reconciled, but both died before they could return to Brittany. (However, a tradition in Cornouaille has Azenor founding a religious establishment at Cap Sizun). Growing up, Budoc studied at a monastery at Ardmore, thought to have been founded in the early 5th century by

Declán of Ardmore Declán of Ardmore (; ; ; died 5th century AD), also called Déclán, was an early Irish people, Irish saint of the Déisi Muman, who was remembered for having converted the Déisi in the late 5th century and for having founded the monastery of ...

, where he became a monk and later

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 ...

. He eventually left Ireland, sailing in a stone trough that landed at Porspoder. Two stained-glass windows in the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

of Saint-Budoc Church in Porspoder depict scenes from the life of the saint.Loukianoff, Yannick. "Saint-Budoc Church", Patrimoine D'Irois
/ref> At some unknown point, Budoc made his way to Dol, where he was named bishop of the region, possibly in connection with a monastery allegedly founded by

, whom he is believed to have succeeded as the local bishop.

Budoc in Southwest England

Budoc is reputed to have sailed across the

Plymouth Sound Plymouth Sound, or locally just The Sound, is a deep inlet or sound in the English Channel near Plymouth in England. Description Its southwest and southeast corners are Penlee Point in Cornwall and Wembury Point in Devon, a distance of abo ...

, until he found an inlet on the Devon side of the

River Tamar The Tamar (; ) is a river in south west England that forms most of the border between Devon (to the east) and Cornwall (to the west). A large part of the valley of the Tamar is protected as the Tamar Valley National Landscape (an Area of Outsta ...

. He landed in Budshead Creek, part of the present district of

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

called St Budeaux. His supposed activity suggests the foundation of an early church in Plymouth.http://members.fortunecity.com/gerdewnansek/devonssaints.html
However, there is no evidence of the name in Devon prior to the 16th century. There is also an ancient church said to have been dedicated by him at Budock 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, ...

, and there was once one in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

too. Doble, G. H. (1964) ''The Saints of Cornwall: part 3''. Truro: Dean and Chapter; pp. 3-14 Budoc's feastday is celebrated in Devon on 8 December.

Troparion A troparion (Greek , plural: , ; Georgian: , ; Church Slavonic: , ) in Byzantine music and in the religious music of Eastern Orthodox Christianity is a short hymn of one stanza, or organised in more complex forms as series of stanzas. The wi ...
of Saint Budoc

''Thou wast miraculously preserved from the ocean's fury''
''and, being sustained by the hand of God,''
''thou didst devote thyself to his service, O Hierarch Budoc.''
''Being showered with both temporal and spiritual honours both in

Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...

and in Dol,''
''thou didst labour to win souls for Christ,''
''therefore we implore thine aid,''
''begging Christ our God that he will save our souls''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Budoc 6th-century Breton bishops Bishops of Dol Southwestern Brythonic saints 6th-century Irish abbots 6th-century Christian saints Medieval Irish saints Irish expatriates in France Medieval Breton saints