Saint Kea (
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 ...
and
Cornish: ''Ke''; french: Ké) was a late 5th-century
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
saint
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...
from the ''
Hen Ogledd
Yr Hen Ogledd (), in English the Old North, is the historical region which is now Northern England and the southern Scottish Lowlands that was inhabited by the Brittonic people of sub-Roman Britain in the Early Middle Ages. Its population spo ...
'' ("Old North")—the
Brythonic-speaking parts of what is now
southern Scotland and
northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...
. According to tradition he was chiefly active in
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 ...
,
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
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 ...
, and his
cult
In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...
was popular in those regions as well as throughout
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 ...
and the
West Country
The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Gloucesters ...
. St Fili or Filius, to whom the parish church of
Philleigh
Philleigh ( kw, Eglosros) is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom; one of the four in the Roseland Peninsula.
Philleigh lies within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Almost a third of Co ...
is dedicated, probably came from Wales and is said to have been a companion of St Kea.
Legend
![Saint Kea assumed travels](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Saint_Kea_assumed_travels.svg)
Kea is chiefly known through a
French summary of a lost
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
hagiography
A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies migh ...
written by Maurice of Cleder in the 17th century, as well as ''
Beunans Ke
''Bewnans Ke'' (''The Life of Saint Ke'') is a Middle Cornish play on the life of Saint Kea or Ke, who was venerated in Cornwall, Brittany and elsewhere. It was written around 1500 but survives only in an incomplete manuscript from the second ha ...
'', an incomplete 16th-century
Cornish-language
Cornish (Standard Written Form: or ) , is a Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language family. It is a revived language, having become extinct as a living community language in Cornwall at the end of the 18th century. However, k ...
play
Play most commonly refers to:
* Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment
* Play (theatre), a work of drama
Play may refer also to:
Computers and technology
* Google Play, a digital content service
* Play Framework, a Java framework
* Pla ...
rediscovered in 2000.
According to these, he was the son of King
Lleuddun Luyddog of
Lothian
Lothian (; sco, Lowden, Loudan, -en, -o(u)n; gd, Lodainn ) is a region of the Scottish Lowlands, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills and the Moorfoot Hills. The principal settlement is the Sco ...
, and served as
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
in North Britain before moving on to become a
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 ...
. He first went to
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 ...
and then moved south, founding churches at
Street
A street is a public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of dirt, ...
,
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
and
Landkey
Landkey ( kw, Lannke) is a small village in the county of Devon in the south-west of England with a population of 2274, falling to 1,734 at the 2011 census. It is situated from the nearest town of Barnstaple. The village is a major part of ...
,
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
(holy place of St Kea). He finally settled at
Old Kea
Old Kea ( kw, Lanndege) is a hamlet in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated on the west bank of the Truro River approximately two miles (3 km) south of Truro.
This and the nearby village of Kea are said to have been named a ...
in Cornwall, which was subsequently named for him.
He was harassed by the
Cornish king,
Teudar, when he sheltered a deer that Teudar was hunting. Having his oxen confiscated, he used the deer to plow the soil instead. He later travelled over the
Channel
Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to:
Geography
* Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water.
Australia
* Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...
to
Cleder in
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 ...
, where he eventually died. In Brittany, he is known as "St. Quay".
The work also describes Kea's dealings with
King Arthur
King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain.
In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...
s passage probably explains the Arthurian section in ''Beunans Ke'', which describes Arthur's conflict with the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
emperor
Lucius Hiberius
Lucius ( el, Λούκιος ''Loukios''; ett, Luvcie) is a male given name derived from ''Lucius'' (abbreviated ''L.''), one of the small group of common Latin forenames (''praenomina'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Lucius derives from L ...
and Mordred's subsequent treachery.
![Plaque at Playing Place - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/Plaque_at_Playing_Place_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1058923.jpg)
An alternate legend describes Kea as an Irish monk, who, standing on the shore watching Christian missionaries depart for Cornwall, prayed that he not be left behind. At that point, the granite slab upon which he stood began to float and carried him across.
Hunt, Robert. "St. Kea's Boart", ''Popular Romances of the West of England'', 3rd ed., London, Chatto and Windus, 1903
/ref> A similar tale is told of Saint Piran
Saint Piran or Pyran ( kw, Peran; la, Piranus), died c. 480,Patrons - The Orthodox Church of Archangel Michael and Holy Piran'' Oecumenical Patriarchate, Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain. Laity Moor, Nr Ponsanooth, Cornwall. TR3 7H ...
, who is said to have floated safely over the water to land upon the sandy beach of Perranzabuloe in Cornwall.
Plays featuring St Kea were performed at Playing Place
Playing Place is a village southwest of Truro in Cornwall, England, UK. It is to the east of the A39 road.Ordnance Survey ''One-inch Map of Great Britain; Truro and Falmouth, sheet 190''. 1961 The name derives from Cornish ' plain an gwarry' (me ...
, where a plaque marks the plain-an-gwarry
Plain-an-Gwarry ( kw, Plen an Gwari) is a hamlet in the west of Redruth, 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 home ...
field in which they were staged.
References
Further reading
*Henderson, James Charles (1929) ''Four Saints of the Fal: St Gluvias, St. Kea, St. Fili, St Rumon'' sus
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kea
6th-century Christian saints
Arthurian characters
Medieval Breton saints
English hermits
Medieval Cornish saints
Northern Brythonic saints
People from Midlothian
Southwestern Brythonic saints
6th-century English people