This article relies largely or entirely on a single source .(November 2022) |
Saint Miliau | |
---|---|
Martyr | |
Born | Brittany |
Died | 6th century? Brittany |
Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
Major shrine | Guimiliau, Brittany |
Feast | 24 July |
Attributes | depicted as a cephalophore; in royal garb |
Patronage | against rheumatism |
St Miliau or Miliav is a Breton saint and eponym of the village of Guimiliau, where he is particularly venerated. He is said to be a good saint to invoke in cases of rheumatism. St Miliau is a figure of some importance in Breton cult and legend. He is sometimes represented as a cephalophore, i.e. holding his own severed head. It is hard to be sure what historical core there might be to the legends.
The legend of St Miliau, as retold in Brittany, pictures him as a good and just prince, slain by his evil brother. Miliau was the son of Budic and grandson of Alain le Long, kings of Armorica in Brittany. His brothers were Theodoric and Rivod. Miliau is said to have married Haurille and their son was St Melar. Miliau was famous as a protector and benefactor of the poor, and is represented as dividing his cloak with a beggar, like St Martin of Tours. When he succeeded to the throne, Rivod had him assassinated by decapitation, around 531. A few years later, Rivod eliminated Melar in the same way. [1]
However, the historical Alan I, King of Brittany, flourished in the 9th century and died in 907. He really did have a son called Budic, who did not succeed him as king. The date 892 is sometimes given for the martyrdom of St Miliau, making him a contemporary of the Carolingian emperors, rather than the early Merovingian kings. This seems a better fit with the alleged ancestry of St Miliau, and it is reasonable to suppose that Budic might have had two sons who quarreled over their ranking within the kingdom. This dating separates Miliau from St Melar by more than three centuries. On the other hand, the paternity, and even the geographical origins, of Melar are disputed, and it possible that the connection between the two is based on a misunderstanding.
A further confusing factor is that St Hervé, whose date of death (as an old man) is generally given as 556, is also regarded as a native of Guimiliau. Even the earlier dating for Miliau would make it improbable that Hervé was born in a village of that name, though it would not exclude the possibility that he was born in that locality some time before Miliau.
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John V, sometimes numbered as VI, bynamed John the Wise, was Duke of Brittany and Count of Montfort from 1399 to his death. His rule coincided with the height of the Hundred Years' War between England and France. John's reversals in that conflict, as well as in other internal struggles in France, served to strengthen his duchy and to maintain its independence.
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Conan Meriadoc is a legendary Celtic leader credited with founding Brittany. Versions of his story circulated in both Brittany and Great Britain from at least the early 12th century, and supplanted earlier legends of Brittany's foundation. His story is known in two major versions, which appear in the Welsh text known as The Dream of Macsen Wledig, and in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae. Both texts associate him with Magnus Maximus, a Roman usurper against the Valentinianic dynasty who was widely regarded as having deprived Britain of its defences when he took its legions to claim the imperial throne. Conan's cousin or sister, Saint Elen, is said to have been Macsen Wledic's wife.
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Guimiliau is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France.
Lampaul-Guimiliau is a commune in the Finistère department and administrative region of Brittany in north-western France. It is noted for its parish close.
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Saint Teilo, also known by his Cornish name Eliud, was a British Christian monk, bishop, and founder of monasteries and churches. He was from Penalun (Penally) near Tenby in Pembrokeshire, south Wales.
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The Lampaul-Guimiliau Parish close is located at Lampaul-Guimiliau in the arrondissement of Morlaix in Brittany in north-western France. It is a monumental churchyard belonging to the Église Notre-Dame in that town. This church was built in the late 16th century to replace an older one. The structures in the parish close date to the 16th and 17th century. It is a listed historical monument since 1910.
The Guimiliau Parish close is located at Guimiliau in the arrondissement of Morlaix in Brittany in north-western France. The parish takes its name from Saint Miliau who was beheaded in 792 on his brother's orders. He is a saint called upon by those suffering from ulcers and rheumatism.
The Locmélar Parish close is located at Locmélar in the arrondissement of Morlaix in Brittany in north-western France. It is a listed historical monument since 1934.
Herve VII of Léon was a Breton lord, son of Herve VI, Lord of Léon and his wife Joanna of Montmorency. Also known as Herve. He succeeded his father as Lord of Léon in 1337. He was also Lord of Noyon-sur-Andelle. The Lords of Léon were a junior branch of the Viscounts of Léon which was founded by Harvey I, second son of Guihomar IV, Viscount of Léon. Herve VII won fame during the War of the Breton Succession.