Petroc or Petrock (; ; ; ) was a

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prince and

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saint. Probably born in South

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 ...

, he primarily ministered to the Britons of

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 ...

(Dewnens) and

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(Kernow) then forming the kingdom of Dumnonia where he is associated with a monastery at

Padstow Padstow (; ) is a town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town is situated on the west bank of the River Camel estuary, approximately northwest of Wadebridge, ...

, which is named after him (Pedroc-stowe, or 'Petrock's Place'). Padstow appears to have been his earliest major cult centre, but

Bodmin Bodmin () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated south-west of Bodmin Moor. The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character. It is bordered ...

became the major centre for his veneration when his relics were moved to the monastery there in the later ninth century. Bodmin monastery became one of the wealthiest Cornish foundations by the eleventh century. There is a second ancient dedication to him nearby at Little Petherick or "Saint Petroc Minor". In Devon ancient dedications total a probable seventeen (plus Timberscombe just over the border in Somerset), mostly coastal and including one within the old Roman walls of

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

as well as the villages of Petrockstowe and Newton St Petroc. In Wales his name is commemorated at St Petrox near Pembroke, Ferwig near Cardigan and Llanbedrog on the

Llŷn Peninsula The Llŷn Peninsula ( or , ) is a peninsula in Gwynedd, Wales, with an area of about , and a population of at least 20,000. It extends into the Irish Sea, and its southern coast is the northern boundary of the Tremadog Bay inlet of Cardigan Ba ...

. He also became a popular saint 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 ...

by the end of the tenth century.

Life

The earliest ''Life'' of Petroc states that he was a younger son of an unnamed Welsh chieftain: the twelfth century version known as the ''Gotha Life'', written at Bodmin, identifies that king as Glywys of

Glywysing Glywysing was, from the sub-Roman period to the Early Middle Ages, a petty kingdom in south-east Wales. Its people were descended from the Iron Age tribe of the Silures, and frequently in union with Gwent, merging to form Morgannwg. Name ...

(Orme 2000, p. 215) and Petroc as a brother of Gwynllyw and uncle of Cadoc. He studied in Ireland, where later he is said to have been the teacher of Kevin of Glendalough. He made a pilgrimage to Rome, and returning to Cornwall, the wind and tide brought him to Trebetherick. He founded a monastery and school at Lanwethinoc (the church of Wethinoc, an earlier holy man), at the mouth of the river Camel on the North Cornish Coast. It came to be called Petrocs-Stow (Petroc's Place), now Padstow. Guron founded a hermitage at Bodmin, but left for the coast upon the arrival of Petroc. St Guron's Well is located at the western entrance to the churchyard of St Petroc's Church, Bodmin. All accounts indicate that Petroc retired from Padstow to Bodmin. Petroc ministered throughout Dumnonia, which centred in Dewnans (Devon), and included Kernow (Cornwall), Somerset and Dorset. He also served in Brittany. Petroc founded churches in Little Petherick and in many parts of Britain, Wales and Brittany. He is said to have converted Constantine of Cornwall to Christianity by saving a deer Constantine was hunting. Constantine later established a hermitage at what is now called Constantine Bay. After thirty years, legend says that Petroc went on the pilgrimage to Rome by way of

. The place of his death was reputedly at a house belonging to a family named Rovel, thought to be a farm now called Treravel near Little Petherick.

Veneration

With Piran and

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

, he is one of the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

s of

. He was described by Thomas Fuller as "the captain of Cornish saints".

Humility Humility is the quality of being humble. The Oxford Dictionary, in its 1998 edition, describes humility as a low self-regard and sense of unworthiness. However, humility involves having an accurate opinion of oneself and expressing oneself mode ...

is a virtue strongly associated with Petroc. One of the pervasive stories about this describes his return from the pilgrimage to Rome and Jerusalem. As he set foot home in Britain under a heavy rain, he confidently told his companions that it would clear up by morning. Instead, the downpour lasted for many days and Petroc, ashamed of his presumptuousness, is said to have left on another pilgrimage, this one of

penance Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of contrition for sins committed, as well as an alternative name for the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession. The word ''penance'' derive ...

. Legendarily he travelled as far as

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where he is said to have tamed a wolf. In

iconography Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...

, he is frequently depicted with this unlikely pet. Also, like several other British saints, Petroc is often shown with a stag. In 936, King Athelstan of England annexed Cornwall and granted privilege of sanctuary to Padstow, there only being two other churches in Cornwall with this privilege. His

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 4 June. His major

shrine A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: ''escri ...

was always at St Petroc's Church, Bodmin. In 1177, a Breton stole his relics from Bodmin and gave them to the Abbey of St Meen. However, Henry II restored them and, though the relics were thrown out during the

English Reformation The English Reformation began in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away first from the authority of the pope and bishops Oath_of_Supremacy, over the King and then from some doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church ...

, their ivory casket is still on public display at St. Petroc's in Bodmin. His remains were reputed to have ended up in the bay of Hailemouth near Padstow. A list in the Leofric missal and another manuscript list in Exeter Cathedral record that the cathedral possessed relics of the saint. It is likely that they had been presented by King Athelstan. Petroc is remembered in 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, ...

with a commemoration on 4 June.

Legacy

* Saint-Perreux in Brittany is named for him. * The Flag of Devon is dedicated to Saint Petroc. Designed by Ryan Sealey, it was the winner of a competition organised by the BBC in 2003. It has been used by residents and, since October 2006, by Devon County Council. * St Petrock's (Exeter) is a charity working with people who are homeless and vulnerably housed in Devon. * The St. Petroc's Society is a charity working to address homelessness in Cornwall. * St Petroc's Orthodox Monastery in

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

, which used the Sarum Rite, was named after him from 1992 until its closure in 2012. * The 2008 merger of North Devon College and East Devon College led to them being re-branded under the name Petroc College in 2009.

References

Sources

* Doble, G. H. (1938) ''Saint Petrock, a Cornish Saint''; 3rd ed. endron: the author* Doble, G. H. (1965) ''The Saints of Cornwall: part 4''. Truro: Dean and Chapter; pp. 132–166 * Jankulak, Karen (2000) ''The Medieval Cult of St. Petroc'' Boydell Press (19 Oct 2000) * * Orme, Nicholas (2000) ''The Saints of Cornwall'' Oxford: U. P. (6 Jan 2000) * Stacey, Robin Chapman, review of Karen Jankulak. "The Medieval Cult of St. Petroc" ''Albion: A Quarterly Journal Concerned with British Studies'', Vol. 34, No. 1 (Spring, 2002), pp. 180–181

External links

St Petroc: the hagiographical sources

"St. Petroc March", Coldstream Guards
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petroc 564 deaths Welsh royal saints People from Glamorgan Southwestern Brythonic saints Welsh Roman Catholic saints 6th-century Christian saints Medieval Cornish saints Year of birth unknown Anglican saints