Aaron of Aleth (died after 552), also called ''Saint Aihran'' or ''Eran'' in Breton, was a sixth-century

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite ( adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a C ...

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

and

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 ...

at a monastery on Cézembre, a small island near Aleth, opposite

Saint-Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany, on the English Channel coast. The walled city had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth from local extortion and overseas adventures. In 1944, the A ...

in Brittany, France. Some sources suggest he may have migrated from

Celtic Britain The British Iron Age is a conventional name used in the archaeology of Great Britain, referring to the prehistoric and protohistoric phases of the Iron Age culture of the main island and the smaller islands, typically excluding prehistoric I ...

to take up residence in

Armorica Armorica or Aremorica ( Gaulish: ; br, Arvorig, ) is the name given in ancient times to the part of Gaul between the Seine and the Loire that includes the Brittany Peninsula, extending inland to an indeterminate point and down the Atlantic Co ...

n Domnonia. He lived alone near Lamballe and

Pleumeur-Gautier Pleumeur-Gautier (; br, Pleuveur-Gaoter) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department of Brittany in northwestern France. Population Inhabitants of Pleumeur-Gautier are called ''pleumeuriens'' in French. See also *Communes of the Côtes- ...

, before finally settling on an island separated from the settlement of Aleth. He attracted many visitors while there, including Malo,Monks of Ramsgate. "Saint Aaron". ''Book of Saints'', 1921. CatholicSaints.Info. 27 April 2012
/ref> it is said, in 544, and became their abbot. He died soon afterwards. Malo then succeeded to the spiritual rule of the district subsequently known as Saint-Malo, and was consecrated first Bishop of Aleth. Aaron's feast day is 21 June (at Saint-Malo) or 22 June (elsewhere). He is mentioned in ''

Les Vies des Saints de Bretagne ''Les Vies des Saints de Bretagne'' is a book by Guy Alexis Lobineau, O.S.B. It was published in Rennes in 1725. It describes several saints of Brittany, and their feast days. These include the following individuals, listed by feast day: June *21 ...

''.Holweck, F. G. ''A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints''. St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co. (1924) The town of Saint-Aaron in Lamballe, France is named after him.

Notes

Sources

* * (contains a reference to Aaron)
Catholic Forum
* Holweck, F. G. ''A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints''. St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co. (1924) {{DEFAULTSORT:Aaron Of Aleth Date of birth unknown Date of death unknown Medieval Breton saints Medieval Welsh saints French hermits French abbots 6th-century Breton people 6th-century Christian saints Welsh hermits