Mewan ( la, Mevennus, br, Meven, french: Méen)Mavenus, Mevenus, Mevennus, Meven, Mewan, Maine. (born ca. 540, died 617) was a Celtic saint active 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 ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

and

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 ...

. Most documentation of his life can be found in the Breton 'Vita Meveni', perhaps written in 1084 by Ingamar.

Wales and Cornwall

Mewan was of a Welsh family from

Ergyng Ergyng (or Erging) was a Welsh kingdom of the sub-Roman and early medieval period, between the 5th and 7th centuries. It was later referred to by the English as ''Archenfield''. Location The kingdom lay mostly in what is now western Herefordshir ...

and was a relative of Saint

Samson of Dol Samson of Dol (also Samsun; born late 5th century) was a Cornish saint, who is also counted among the seven founder saints of Brittany with Pol Aurelian, Tugdual or Tudwal, Brieuc, Malo, Patern (Paternus) and Corentin. Born in southern Wale ...

. He travelled to Cornwall with Samson and

Austol Saint Austol ( cy, Austel; la, Austolus) was a 6th-century Cornish holy man who lived much of his life in Brittany. He was a friend of Saint Méen, who founded the Saint-Méen Abbey in Brittany. Méen is said to have been his godfather. The ...

and founded the church at

St Mewan St Mewan ( kw, Sen Mewen) is a civil parish and village in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is approximately one mile (1.6 km) west of St Austell. It is a small settlement, comprising the parish church, rectory, a sc ...

, near

St Austell St Austell (; kw, Sans Austel) is a town in Cornwall, England, south of Bodmin and west of the border with Devon. St Austell is one of the largest towns in Cornwall; at the 2011 census it had a population of 19,958. History St Austell wa ...

Doble, G. H. Gilbert Hunter Doble (26 November 1880 – 15 April 1945) was an Anglican priest and Cornish historian and hagiographer. Early life G. H. Doble was born in Penzance, Cornwall, on 26 November 1880. His father, John Medley Doble, shared his enth ...

(1970) ''The Saints of Cornwall: part 5. Truro'': Dean and Chapter; pp. 35-58

Brittany

Later, Mewan and Austol followed

to Brittany. After Samson of Dol's passing, Mewan travelled to meet the Breton King

Waroch II Waroch ( br, Gwereg) was an early Breton ruler of the Vannetais ('). Waroch, or his grandfather Waroch I, gave his name to the traditional Breton province of Bro-Waroch ("land of Waroch"). However, it is possible that there were several success ...

Bro Gwened Gwened, Bro-Gwened (Standard br, Bro-Wened) or Vannetais (french: Pays Vannetais) is a historic realm and county of Brittany in France. It is considered part of Lower Brittany."AM""Gwened (Vannes/Vannetais)" in ''Celtic Culture: A Historical En ...

and had to cross the vast

Paimpont forest Paimpont Forest (french: Forêt de Paimpont, br, Koad Pempont), also known as Brocéliande Forest (french: Forêt de Brocéliande), is a temperate forest located around the village of Paimpont in the department of Ille-et-Vilaine in Brittany, ...

. There he met a wealthy landowner named Cadfan who offered him lodging and food for the night. After spending the evening conversing with Mewan, Cadfan could not resolve himself to let Mewan go. Deeply moved by what he had heard, Cadfan offered to donate all his possessions to erect a church and an abbey at

Gaël Gaël (Gallo: ''Gaèu'') is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in northwestern France. It lies southwest of Rennes between Saint-Méen-le-Grand and Mauron. In the 18th century, a fair was held twice a year in August and ...

, on the condition that Mewan himself would build and inhabit it. Originally dedicated to Saint

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

, the abbey was later named the

Abbey of St-Méen 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 Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...

or Saint-Méon.Latin Saints of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Rome
/ref>

Feast date

Saint Méen's feast day is 21 June.

Notes

References

External links

617 deaths Medieval Cornish saints Medieval Welsh saints Medieval Breton saints People from Herefordshire 7th-century Christian saints Year of birth unknown 7th-century Breton people {{saint-stub