Winwaloe (; ; or ; – 3 March 532) was the founder and first abbot of
Landévennec Abbey
Landévennec Abbey () is a Benedictine monastery at Landévennec in Brittany, in the department of Finistère, France. The present monastery is a modern foundation at the site of an early mediaeval monastery, of which only ruins survive.
First ...
(literally "
Lann
Lann is an Irish language feminine given name.
Bearers of the name
* Lann ingen Dúnlainge, Princess of Osraighe and Queen regnant, Queen of Midhe, died 866.
* Lann ingen Donnchadha, Princess of Ailech, died 940.
* Lann ui Selbachan, Abbess of Ki ...
of Venec"), also known as the Monastery of Winwaloe. It was just south of
Brest 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 ...
, now part of
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 ...
.
Life
Winwaloe was the son of
Fragan (or Fracan), a prince 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 his wife
Gwen the Three-Breasted, who had fled to Brittany to avoid the plague.
[Butler, Alban. ]
The lives of the fathers, martyrs, and other principal saints
', volume 1, p. 275 (Henry & Co. 1857).
Winwaloe was born about 460, apparently at
Plouguin
Plouguin (; ) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France.
It lies northwest of Brest, about from the English Channel in the far west of the Leon peninsula.
Population
Inhabitants of Plouguin are called in ...
, near
Saint-Pabu
Saint-Pabu (; ) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France.
Population
Inhabitants of Saint-Pabu are called in French ''Saint-Pabusiens''.
Toponymy
The name ''Pabu'' comes from one of the names of Saint Tu ...
,
[ where his supposed place of birth, a feudal hillock, can still be seen. Winwaloe grew up in ]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: ' ...
near Saint-Brieuc
Saint-Brieuc (, Breton language, Breton: ''Sant-Brieg'' , Gallo language, Gallo: ''Saent-Berioec'') is a city in the Côtes-d'Armor Departments of France, department in Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in northwestern France.
History
...
with his 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 ...
, and his 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 ...
.Creirwy
Creirwy () is a figure in the ''Mabinogion'' and the ''Hanes Taliesin'' (the story of Taliesin's life), daughter of the enchantress Ceridwen and Tegid Foel ("Tacitus the Bald"). The Welsh Triads name her one of the three most beautiful maids of th ...
, and still later by 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 ...
. He was educated by 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 ...
of Dol on Lavret island in the Bréhat archipelago near Paimpol
Paimpol (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwest France.
It is a tourist destination, especially during the summer months when people are attracted by its port and beaches.
Geography
The town is located in t ...
.
As a young man Winwaloe conceived a wish to visit Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
to see the remains of Saint Patrick
Saint Patrick (; or ; ) was a fifth-century Romano-British culture, Romano-British Christian missionary and Archbishop of Armagh, bishop in Gaelic Ireland, Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Irelan ...
, who had just died. However, the saint appeared to him in a dream to say that it would be better to remain in Brittany and found an abbey. So, with eleven of Budoc's other disciples, he set up a small monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...
on the ÃŽle de Tibidy
Ile or ILE may refer to:
Ile
* Ile, a Puerto Rican singer
* Ile District (disambiguation), multiple places
* Ilé-Ifẹ̀, an ancient Yoruba city in south-western Nigeria
* Interlingue (ISO 639:ile), a planned language
* Isoleucine, an amino aci ...
, at the mouth of the Faou. However it was so inhospitable that after three years, he miraculously opened a passage through the sea to found another abbey
An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...
on the opposite bank of the Landévennec estuary.
Winwaloe died at his monastery on 3 March 532.
Veneration
Winwaloe was venerated as a saint at Landévennec until Viking
Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9â ...
invasions in 914 forced the monk
A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...
s to flee, with his body, to Château-du-Loir
Château-du-Loir (; literally 'Château of the Loir') is a former commune in the Sarthe department in the region of Pays de la Loire in north-western France. On 1 October 2016, it was merged into the new commune Montval-sur-Loir. and then Montreuil-sur-Mer
Montreuil-sur-Mer (; or ; ), Montreuil-on-the-Sea, is a subprefecture in the Pas-de-Calais Department in northern France. Though commonly called by this name since at least the twelfth century, it was legally known as Montreuil until 31 Decemb ...
. 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 often taken on procession through the town.
Winwaloe's shrine was destroyed during the French Revolution in 1793.
He apparently acquired a priapic
In Greek mythology, Priapus (; ) is a minor rustic fertility god, protector of livestock, fruit plants, gardens, and male genitalia. Priapus is marked by his oversized, permanent erection, which gave rise to the medical term priapism. He became ...
reputation through confusion of his name with the word ''gignere'' (French ''engendrer'', "to beget") and was thus a patron of fertility as one of the phallic saint
Phallic saints are representations of saints or local deities who are invoked for fertility. The representations of the phallus are benevolent symbols of prolificacy and reproductive fruitfulness, and objects of reverence and worship especiall ...
s. He is also the patron of Saint-Guénolé in Penmarch
Penmarch (, ) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany, northwestern France.[Finistère
Finistère (, ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France in the extreme west of Brittany. Its prefecture is Quimper and its largest city is Brest, France, Brest. In 2019, it had a population of 915,090.][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, ...]
, Winwaloe is the patron of the churches at Tremaine, St Wynwallow's Church, Landewednack, Gunwalloe
Gunwalloe ( ) is a coastal civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated on the Lizard Peninsula south of Helston and partly contains The Loe, the largest natural freshwater lake in Cornwall. The parish population includin ...
and Poundstock
Poundstock () is a civil parish and a hamlet on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The hamlet is situated four miles (6.5 km) south of Bude half-a-mile west of the A39 trunk road about one mile from the coast.
Poundstock ...
as well as East Portlemouth 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 ...
and two lost chapels in Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
. His feast day is 28 April and Gunwalloe feast is celebrated on the last Sunday of April. The churches of St Twynnells, near Pembroke, Pembrokeshire
Pembroke ( ; ) is a town and community (Wales), community in Pembrokeshire, Wales, with a population of 7,552. The names of both the town and the county (of which the county town is Haverfordwest) have a common origin; both are derived from th ...
and Wonastow
Wonastow () is a village in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. It is located south west of Monmouth.
History and amenities
Wonastow has a twelfth-century church dedicated to St. Wonnow or Saint Winwaloe, believed to have been built on a seven ...
, Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...
may have been originally dedicated to him.[Bowen, E. G. (1969) ''Saints, Seaways and Settlements''. Cardiff: University of Wales Press (2nd ed. 1977), p. 189] They were probably founded by his successor at Landévennec, Gwenhael
Saint Gwenhael (; ; Old Breton: ''Gwenhael'') was a Brittany, Breton saint of the 6th century, born at Ergué-Gabéric (Finistère), the second abbot of Landévennec Abbey, successor in 532 to the founder, Winwaloe, Saint Winwaloe (Gwenole). The ...
, who certainly made trips to Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
. Exeter Cathedral
Exeter Cathedral, properly known as the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter in Exeter, is an Anglican cathedral, and the seat of the Bishop of Exeter, in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Exeter, Devon, in South West England. The presen ...
, Glastonbury Abbey
Glastonbury Abbey was a monastery in Glastonbury, Somerset, England. Its ruins, a grade I listed building and scheduled ancient monument, are open as a visitor attraction.
The abbey was founded in the 8th century and enlarged in the 10th. It wa ...
, Abingdon Abbey
Abingdon Abbey (formally Abbey of Saint Mary) was a Order of St. Benedict, Benedictine monastery in Abingdon-on-Thames in the modern county of Oxfordshire in the United Kingdom. Situated near to the River Thames, it was founded in 675 AD and was ...
and Waltham Abbey Church
The Abbey Church of Waltham Holy Cross and St Lawrence, also known as Waltham Abbey or Waltham Abbey Church, is the parish church of the town of Waltham Abbey, Essex, England. It has been a place of worship since the 7th century. The present bui ...
held small relics. He was also popular in East Anglia
East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included.
The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...
where the abbey at Montreuil had a daughter house; St Winwaloe Priory in Norfolk
Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
was dedicated to him.
See also
* Ys
References
Main sources
*
*
*Latouche, Robert (1911)
''Mélanges d'histoire de Cornouaille (VI-XI siècle)''
Paris: Honoré Champion. (Bibliothèque de l'école pratique des hautes études, Vol. 192), pp. 2–39. (showing that the documents and the life are forgeries)
*
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winwaloe, Saint
5th-century births
6th-century Christian saints
532 deaths
French abbots
Medieval Breton saints