Maudez is a Breton

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 ...

who lived in the 5th or 6th century. He is also known as Maudé, Maudet (Breton French), Maodez or Modez (Breton), Maudetus (Latin), Mandé (French) and Mawes (in Cornwall). In the Breton calendar his feast is 18 November.

Biography

Maudez is variously said to have come from Ireland, or Wales,"Saint Maudez", Nominis
/ref> but most sources say Brittany. He first settled on the south coast of Cornwall where the village of

St Mawes St Mawes () is a village on the end of the Roseland Peninsula, in the eastern side of Falmouth, Cornwall, Falmouth harbour, on the south coast of Cornwall, England. The village, formerly two separate hamlets, lies on the east bank of the Carri ...

took his name. A chapel dedicated to him was subsequently abandoned during the reign of

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

. A second chapel was built by the Earl Temple on Church Hill in 1807; and rebuilt in 1881. St Mawes' Church was opened by the

Bishop of Truro The bishop of Truro is the ordinary (diocesan bishop) 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 De ...

George Wilkinson on 5 December 1884. Local opinion holds that St Mawes built the first landing at the harbour to help pilgrims access his Holy Well, which is preserved on nearby Grove Hill. St Mawes Holy Well - geograph

Mawes then went to Brittany and tradition has it that he landed in Pleubian. From there, he visited many monasteries in the region of Tréguier, Dol and the country of

Leon Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...

. He built his first hermitage at Lanmodez (enclosure of Modez or Maudez). He moved to the small deserted island of Gueldénez (now called Île Maudez] in the Île-de-Bréhat, Bréhat archipelago where he settled with two disciples,

Budoc 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 both Brittany (in France) and Devon (in England). Budoc is the patron saint of Plourin in Finistère wher ...

and

Tudy of Landevennec Tudy (Tudi, Tudec, Tudinus, Tegwin, Thetgo, Tydie) of Landevennec was a Breton saint of the 5th or 6th century. He was a hermit who founded monasteries at Landévennec in Brittany, France and in Cornwall, England. The village of St Tudy in Corn ...

probably in the second half of the 5th century."Saint Maudez", Le Diocése de Quimper et Léon
/ref> Traces of a beehive hut known as Forn Modez (Maudez's oven) are visible on the island. Budoc later founded on monastery on the nearby island of Laurea.

Veneration

Maudez is, after Yves, one of the most revered among the saints of Brittany. He is invoked mainly against fevers and snakes. In the 9th century his

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...

s were taken to

Bourges Bourges ( ; ; ''Borges'' in Berrichon) is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre (Cher), Yèvre. It is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Cher (department), Cher, and also was the capital city of the former provin ...

and to

Saint-Mandé Saint-Mandé (; named for Saint Maudez) is a Communes of France, commune in the Val-de-Marne Departments of France, department in Île-de-France, in the high-end eastern inner suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre zero, cent ...

(Saint-Maudez), near Paris to escape from the

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...

. There a chapel was dedicated to Saint-Maudez. When the relics were returned to Brittany they were divided between nine churches. The church of Lennon, Finistère preserves a reliquary of Saint Maudez. Mawes is venerated at Saint Mawes in Cornwall and in the Isles of Scilly under the name Saint Mawes''. St Mawes Day is celebrated on 18 November."St Mawes Day", Roseland Visitor Centre
/ref> In Lanmodez, a

pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

takes place on the 4th Sunday of August.

Legacy

* The village of Saint-Maudez is in the canton of Plélan-le-Petit. * More than 60 churches or chapels are dedicated to the saint, e.g.

Guiscriff Guiscriff (; ) is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.Lanvellec. Image:Chapelle Saint-Maudez de Lanvellec 01.JPG, Chapelle Saint-Maudez de Lanvellec Image:St Mawes' Church, St Mawes.JPG, St Mawes' Church, St Mawes, Cornwall Image:Chapelle Saint-Maudé (La Croix-Helléan) 5050.JPG, Chapelle Saint-Maudé (La Croix-Helléan)

Butler's account

The hagiographer

Alban Butler Alban Butler (13 October 171015 May 1773) was an English Roman Catholic priest and hagiography, hagiographer. Born in Northamptonshire, he studied at the English College, in Douai, Douay, France where he later taught philosophy and theology. He s ...

( 1710–1773) wrote in his ''Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Other Principal Saints'', under May 18,

References

Sources