Aaron of Aleth (died after 552), also called ''Saint Aihran'' or ''Eran'' in
Breton
Breton most often refers to:
*anything associated with Brittany, and generally
** Breton people
** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany
** Breton (horse), a breed
**Ga ...
, was a sixth-century
hermit
A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions.
Description
In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...
,
monk
A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...
and
abbot
Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...
at a monastery on
Cézembre
Cézembre is an island in Brittany, in the Ille-et-Vilaine ''département'' of France, near Saint-Malo. The island is uninhabited, with a surface area of approximately 18 hectares (44 acres), a length of , and a maximum width of .
The island feat ...
, a small island near
Aleth
Saint-Servan (often abbreviated as St. Servan; br, Sant-Servan) is a town of western France, in Brittany, situated 2 miles from the ferry port of Saint-Malo. It is renowned for its shops and restaurants.
History
In June 1758, during the Seven Ye ...
, opposite
Saint-Malo
Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany, on the English Channel coast.
The walled city had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth from local extortion and overseas adventures. In 1944, the Alli ...
in Brittany, France.
Some sources suggest he may have migrated from
Celtic Britain
The British Iron Age is a conventional name used in the archaeology of Great Britain, referring to the prehistoric and protohistoric phases of the Iron Age culture of the main island and the smaller islands, typically excluding prehistoric Ire ...
to take up residence in
Armorica
Armorica or Aremorica (Gaulish: ; br, Arvorig, ) is the name given in ancient times to the part of Gaul between the Seine and the Loire that includes the Brittany Peninsula, extending inland to an indeterminate point and down the Atlantic Coast ...
n
Domnonia.
He lived alone near
Lamballe
Lamballe (; ; Gallo: ''Lanball'') is a town and a former commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Lamballe-Armor.
It lies on the river Gouessant east-sout ...
and
Pleumeur-Gautier
Pleumeur-Gautier (; br, Pleuveur-Gaoter) is a Communes of France, commune in the Côtes-d'Armor Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in northwestern France.
Population
Inhabitants of Pleumeur-Gautier ...
, before finally settling on an island separated from the settlement of
Aleth
Saint-Servan (often abbreviated as St. Servan; br, Sant-Servan) is a town of western France, in Brittany, situated 2 miles from the ferry port of Saint-Malo. It is renowned for its shops and restaurants.
History
In June 1758, during the Seven Ye ...
. He attracted many visitors while there, including
Malo
Mal, which in Spanish means ''bad or evil'', may also refer to:
Places
*Malo, Italy, a town
*Malo Island, formerly known as St. Bartholomew, Vanuatu
* Malo (Solomon Islands), an island
*Malo, Washington, Ferry County, Washington, United States
* ...
,
Monks of Ramsgate. "Saint Aaron". ''Book of Saints'', 1921. CatholicSaints.Info. 27 April 2012
/ref> it is said, in 544, and became their abbot. He died soon afterwards. Malo then succeeded to the spiritual rule of the district subsequently known as Saint-Malo, and was consecrated first Bishop of Aleth
The former Breton and French Catholic Diocese of Saint-Malo ( la, Dioecesis Alethensis, then la, Dioecesis Macloviensis, label=none) existed from at least the 7th century until the French Revolution. Its seat was at Aleth up to some point in the ...
. Aaron's feast day is 21 June (at Saint-Malo) or 22 June (elsewhere). He is mentioned in '' Les Vies des Saints de Bretagne''.[Holweck, F. G. ''A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints''. St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co. (1924)]
The town of Saint-Aaron
Saint-Aaron is a village in the commune of Lamballe, in Brittany, a region of France. Having originally be settled by the Celtic Bretons, it is named after the Celtic Saint Aaron of Aleth, who was born somewhere in Wales or perhaps Brittany. Saint- ...
in Lamballe, France is named after him.
See also
* List of Catholic saints
This is an incomplete list of people and angels whom the Catholic Church has canonized as saints. According to Catholic theology, all saints enjoy the beatific vision. Many of the saints listed here are to be found in the General Roman Calend ...
* Julian Maunoir
Julien Maunoir (1 October 1606 – 28 January 1683) (also Julian; br, Juluan Maner), was a French-born Jesuit priest known as the "Apostle of Brittany". He was beatified in 1951 by Pope Pius XII and is commemorated by the Catholic Church on 29 ...
, "Apostle of
Notes
Sources
*
* (contains a reference to Aaron)
Catholic Forum
* Holweck, F. G.
Frederick George Holweck (born Friedrich Georg Holweck; 29 December 1856 – 15 February 1927) was a German-American Catholic parish priest and scholar, hagiographer and church historian. Monsignor Holweck contributed some articles to the ''Catho ...
''A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints''. St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co. (1924)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aaron Of Aleth
Date of birth unknown
Date of death unknown
Medieval Breton saints
Medieval Welsh saints
French hermits
French abbots
6th-century Breton people
6th-century Christian saints
Welsh hermits