Collen was a 7th-century

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 ...

who gave his name to Llangollen (from the

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

llan Llan may be: * Llan (placename), a Celtic morpheme, or element, common in British placenames ** A short form for any placename . * Llan, Powys, a Welsh village near Llanbrynmair * Llan the Sorcerer La Lunatica Lacuna Lady Bullseye Lady De ...

meaning 'enclosure' and ''gollen'' being a

mutation In biology, a mutation is an alteration in the nucleic acid sequence of the genome of an organism, virus, or extrachromosomal DNA. Viral genomes contain either DNA or RNA. Mutations result from errors during DNA or viral replication, mi ...

of "Collen"). Collen is said to have arrived in Llangollen by coracle and founded a church beside the river there. As there are no other churches in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

dedicated to Collen, it is possible that this Saint Collen may also have connections in both Colan, Cornwall, where Colan Church is dedicated to him, and Langolen,

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

. There are legendary Lives connecting him with Wales, Rome and Glastonbury, but nothing is known for certain about him, though from the dedication of a church to him in Brittany it may be conjectured that he resided for some time in that country.

Narrative

According to the ''Buchedd Collin'' ('Life of Saint Collin'), he was the son of Gwynawc, ab Caledawc. After having travelled through many foreign lands he returned to Britain and became

Abbot of Glastonbury __NOTOC__ The Abbot of Glastonbury was the head (or abbot) of Anglo-Saxon and eventually Benedictine house of Glastonbury Abbey at Glastonbury in Somerset, England. The following is a list of abbots of Glastonbury: Abbots See also * Abbot's Ki ...

. He banished Gwyn ap Nudd, King of the Tylwyth Teg, and his retinue from Glastonbury Tor with the use of holy water."St Collen and the King of the Fairies", BBC Wales
/ref> Collen died on 21 May, probably sometime in the early 7th century. He was buried in his chapel. For centuries, it was known as the "Old Church" and stood immediately to the west of the present medieval church of St Collen in Llangollen.

References

External links

Celtic and Old English Saints 21 May
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collen, Saint Medieval Welsh saints 7th-century Christian saints