Saint Euny or Uny (6th century) is the patron saint of the churches of
Lelant
Lelant ( kw, Lannanta) is a village in west Cornwall, England, UK. It is on the west side of the Hayle Estuary, about southeast of St Ives and one mile (1.6 km) west of Hayle.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 ''Land's End'' The vi ...
and
Redruth
Redruth ( , kw, Resrudh) is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England. The population of Redruth was 14,018 at the 2011 census. In the same year the population of the Camborne-Redruth urban area, which also includes Carn Brea, Illogan a ...
in west Cornwall, England, UK.
Life
William Worcester
William Worcester, also called William of Worcester, William Worcestre or William Botoner (1415) was an English topographer, antiquary and chronicler.
Life
He was a son of another William of Worcester, a Bristol whittawer (worker in white leat ...
in his account of travels in Cornwall in 1478 records that St Uny, the brother of St Herygh, was buried at the parish church of St Uny near the town of Lelant, and that his feast day was 1 February. According to him Uny and
Herygh (patron of St Erth) were the brothers of
St Ia, patron of
St Ives (St Ia was an Irish princess who evangelised part of Cornwall). This account is the first record of the spelling "Uny", no doubt because it was recorded as spoken rather than written. The correct spelling is "Euny" though the spelling "Uny" is used after the mid 16th century.
As well as being the patron of Lelant and Redruth Euny is the joint patron of
Crowan
Crowan ( kw, Egloskrewen (village), Pluw Grewen (parish)) is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is about three-and-a-half miles (6 km) south of Camborne.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 ''Land's End'' A fo ...
. In all three churches the feast day is the Sunday nearest to 1 February, the day mentioned by William Worcester. In some 18th-century documents there is evidence that the parish of Crowan was called Uni-Crowan and this may be connected to the fact that the parish was in two parts, one in
Penwith
Penwith (; kw, Pennwydh) is an area of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, located on the peninsula of the same name. It is also the name of a former local government district, whose council was based in Penzance. The area is named after one ...
and one in
Kerrier Hundred. The Kerrier portion was once a separate chapelry and may have had St Euny as its patron saint.
Lelant was the centre of Euny's missionary work and the focus of the cult after his death; it was until the Middle Ages an important port at the north end of the short land crossing to
St Michael's Mount
St Michael's Mount ( kw, Karrek Loos yn Koos, meaning " hoar rock in woodland") is a tidal island in Mount's Bay, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The island is a civil parish and is linked to the town of Marazion by a causeway of granite s ...
. Redruth church stands below
Carn Brea where there are remains of a prehistoric town. The town must have been the capital of the district 2000 years ago. This collocation suggests that St Euny was able to convert the chieftain of this land and was given a site for the church.
In the parish of
Wendron
Wendron ( kw, Egloswendron (village), Pluw Wendron (parish); historically St. Wendron) is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, to the north of Helston. The parish population at the 2011 census was 2,743. The elect ...
is a farm called
Marooney. (It was recorded as Mertharuny in 1751 and Metheruny in 1756.) In a circular garden still known as "the churchyard" in which human bones have been dug up are the remains of a small chapel. Nearby is "a magnificent Celtic cross of an enriched and most original design". This chapel is on the site of a very ancient church in honour of St Euny. After the
Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and i ...
it was allowed to decay. In the parish of
Sancreed
Sancreed (''Cornish: Eglossankres'') is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, England, approximately three miles (5 km) west of Penzance.
Sancreed civil parish encompasses the settlements of Bejouans, Bosvennen, Botreah, Drift, Sanc ...
there is a famous holy well called
Chapel Euny. In Brittany are two parishes,
Plevin and
Plouyé; their names have been interpreted by
Joseph Loth as containing the names of St Euny and St Ia.
[Doble (1960), pp. 70-86]
See also
*
References
{{Authority control
6th-century Christian saints
Medieval Irish saints of Cornwall
Medieval Cornish saints
6th-century English people