Klervi (

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally **Breton people **Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Gale ...

: Klerwi;

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

: ''Clervie'';

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

: ''Creirvia'';

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

: ''Creirwy''; born ) was a 5th-century

pre-Congregational saint In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, passi ...

from the

settlement of

Ploufragan Ploufragan (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department of Brittany in northwestern France. Ploufragan lies adjacent to the southwest of Saint-Brieuc Saint-Brieuc (, Breton language, Breton: ''Sant-Brieg'' , Gallo language, Gallo: ' ...

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 ...

, later a part of

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 ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Lineage and life

Parentage, ancestry and flight

Klervi was the daughter of Prince Fragan (Fracan) and the Princess Gwen Teirbron (Gwen the Three Breasted), both also considered saints. Fragan's lineage is disputed; some sources claim he was the nephew of King Cadwy 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, ...

and the son of Prince Selyf of

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, ...

. In this scenario he would be the prince of Cornwall and the brother of

Saint Cybi Saint Cybi ( Welsh), or Cuby ( Cornish), was a 6th-century Cornish bishop, saint, and, briefly, king, who worked largely in Cornwall and North Wales: his biography is recorded in two slightly variant medieval 'lives'. Life in Cornwall The ''vi ...

. That lineage places him as having inherited the

Kingdom of Cornwall The history of Cornwall goes back to the Paleolithic, but in this period Cornwall only had sporadic visits by groups of humans. Continuous occupation started around 10,000 years ago after the end of the last ice age. When recorded histor ...

upon Selyf's death. Other sources claim that Fragan was the Prince of Albany in Scotland, although that claim is less corroborated. Gwen Teirbron was a Breton noblewoman and the daughter of Budic II of

. Fragan was Gwen Teirbron's second husband, her first being Eaneas Lydewig, also called Eneas the Breton. Fragan accepted his stepson born from Gwen's first marriage as his own and so brought him to Brittany as part of his entourage. The reason for Fragan and Gwen Teirbron's flight to Armorica is similarly debated. Some sources cite a plague believed to have broken out in

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 507 caused Fragan to bring his family and a large number of his subjects onto ships on the English Channel. From there they fled to Gwen's homeland in Brittany and were permitted to create a permanent settlement. Another claim is that the flight was in response to Brittonic defeats by the invading

Anglo-Saxons The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

. Many sources simply state that Fragan resolved to relocate his family. Upon the party's landing in Armorica and subsequent settling in arable land, Gwen appealed to her father and the family gained an official claim to the territory on which they founded their settlement, so founding the still existing commune of

Siblings

Klervi had three older brothers and an older half brother: *

Cadfan Cadfan or St Cadfan might refer to: * The Battle of Cadfan, fought between English and Welsh armies in 1257 * Cadfan ap Iago, King of Gwynedd (7th century floruit) * John Cadvan Davies (1846–1923), Archdruid of Wales, used the bardic name ''Ca ...

(Gideon), the overall eldest and her half-brother *

Jacut Jacut was a 5th-century Cornish Saint who worked in Brittany. He is commemorated liturgically on 6 February. His father was Fragan, a prince of Dumnonia, and his mother Gwen Teirbron. The young family had fled to Brittany to avoid the plague rag ...

(James), her second or third brother *

Wethenoc Wethenoc or Gwethenoc or Guethenoc was a 5th-century pre-congregational Breton saint.Baring-Gould, Sabine and Fisher, John. The Lives of the British Saints: The Saints of Wales and Cornwall and Such Irish Saints as Have Dedications in Britain', vo ...

(Gwethenoc, Guethenoc), her second or third brother *

Winwaloe Winwaloe (; ; or ; – 3 March 532) was the founder and first abbot of Landévennec Abbey (literally " Lann of Venec"), also known as the Monastery of Winwaloe. It was just south of Brest in Brittany, now part of France. Life Winwaloe was th ...

, (Gwenole) the youngest of her brothers All four of her brothers, as with her parents, are considered

pre-congregation In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, pas ...

saints and all of the brothers were educated by Budoc of Dol.

gained individual fame and is the namesake of numerous population centers including

Saint-Jacut-de-la-Mer Saint-Jacut-de-la-Mer (, literally ''Saint-Jacut of the Sea''; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor département of Brittany in northwestern France. Population Inhabitants of Saint-Jacut-de-la-Mer are called ''jaguens'' (masculine) and ''jagu ...

is exceptionally famous throughout Breton, French, Welsh, Cornish, and English history and extending to the modern day for his piety and the fame of his abbey. Cadfan founded

Tywyn Tywyn (; ), formerly spelled Towyn, is a town, community, and seaside resort on the Cardigan Bay coast of southern Gwynedd, Wales. It was previously in the historic county of Merionethshire. It is famous as the location of the Cadfan Stone, a ...

, where he was the first abbot.

Veneration

Referencing an incident in her childhood, Klervi frequently stated that she "owed her eye" to her much older brother,

. More modern historians, particularly

Sabine Baring-Gould Sabine Baring-Gould (; 28 January 1834 – 2 January 1924) of Lew Trenchard in Devon, England, was an Anglican priest, hagiographer, antiquarian, novelist, folk song collector and eclectic scholar. His bibliography consists of more than 1,240 pu ...

, have concluded that the original story was likely that a Goose flew toward the very young Klervi and would have likely pecked her eye out without Winwaloe intervening. Baring-Gould concluded that over the centuries, the story was hyperbolized and morphed into something more miraculous. The traditional story goes that Klervi was driving wild geese and one of the geese became aggressive and took either one or both of her eyes. Saint Winwaloe, who was praying in his monastery, was informed of the incident by an angel. Winwaloe returned home, grabbed the goose, cut its stomach open, pulled the eye(s) out and put it/them back into Klervi's eye socket(s). He then made the sign of the cross on it, and Klervi fully regained her sight and was "as beautiful as ever." There is a statue of Klervi, Winwalo and the goose on the fountain of St. Genoa in Saint-Frégant in Finistère, and on the doors of the nearby church. The statue shows Winwaloe holding the goose in one hand and an eyeball in the other with the much younger Klervi standing at his side.

References

{{Reflist Breton saints 5th-century births Welsh saints 6th-century deaths Armorica