Ia of Cornwall (also known as ''Eia'', ''Hia, Ive'' or ''Hya'') was an evangelist and

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

of the 5th or 6th centuries, flourishing in the area of

St Ives, Cornwall St Ives (, meaning "Ia of Cornwall, St Ia's cove") is a seaside town, civil parish and port in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town lies north of Penzance and west of Camborne on the coast of the Celtic Sea. In former times, it was comm ...

. She is said to have been an Irish princess, the sister of Erc of Slane.

Legend

Ia went to the seashore to depart for Cornwall from her native Ireland along with other saints. Finding that they had gone without her, fearing that she was too young for such a hazardous journey, she was grief-stricken and began to pray. As she prayed, she noticed a small leaf floating on the water and touched it with a rod to see if it would sink. As she watched, it grew bigger and bigger. Trusting God, she embarked upon the leaf and was carried across the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...

. She reached Cornwall before the others, where she joined Gwinear and Felec of Cornwall. John Leland gives details from a Latin

hagiography A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian ...

of Ia, which is no longer extant. Legend holds that they had up to 777 companions. She is said to have founded an oratory in a clearing in a wood on the site of the existing Parish Church that is dedicated to her. Ia was martyred under "King Teudar" (i.e., Tewdwr Mawr of

Penwith Penwith (; ) is an area of Cornwall, England, located on the peninsula of the same name. It is also the name of a former Non-metropolitan district, local government district, whose council was based in Penzance. The area is named after one ...

) on the River Hayle, and St Ia's Church was erected over her grave. Through local veneration of Ia, she gave her name to the town of St Ives, which grew up around the church. Window in Zennor Church - geograph

Veneration

Like many Cornish saints, public and liturgical veneration of Ia is mostly limited to the area surrounding her patronal town. Ia has two churches dedicated to her, both in St Ives: St Ia's Church, which is of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

, and a Catholic church dedicated to the

Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus () is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus Christ is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devotion to Christ is p ...

and Saint Ia. A now ruined chapel near

Troon Troon (Scottish Gaelic: ''An Truthail'') is a town and sea port in South Ayrshire, situated on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland, about north of Ayr and northwest of Glasgow Prestwick Airport. Troon has a port with ferry and freight serv ...

was also dedicated to her, initially built around the 10th century near a

holy well A holy well or sacred spring is a well, Spring (hydrosphere), spring or small pool of water revered either in a Christianity, Christian or Paganism, pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualitie ...

. The church of Plouyé in

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 ...

was probably dedicated originally to this saint as well. St Olaf's Church, Poughill, St Senara's Church, Zennor, and St Uny's Church, Lelant have stained glass windows depicting her. Her

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 3 February.

References

External links

* *
St Ia's Parish Church website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ia of Cornwall Ancient Christian female saints 5th-century Christian saints 5th-century Christian martyrs 6th-century Christian saints Medieval Irish saints of Cornwall People from County Meath St Ives, Cornwall Year of death unknown Year of birth unknown Irish princesses 5th-century Irish women 6th-century Irish women 5th-century Irish people 6th-century Irish people Female saints of medieval Ireland Virgin martyrs

Legend

Veneration

See also

References

External links