Saint Madron or Maddern was a Pre-Congregational Saint,

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

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 ...

Life

He is honoured 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 ...

St Maddern's Church St Maddern's Church is the parish church of Madron, near Penzance in Cornwall and was once the mother church of Morvah and Penzance. It is a Grade I listed building. Architecture The church is a large building of the 15th century; however it re ...

in the village of

Madron Madron ( kw, Eglos Madern) is a civil parish and village in west Cornwall, Great Britain. Madron is named after Saint Madern's Church. Its annual Trafalgar Service commemorating the death of Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson was started on 27 Octo ...

. He also has a

Holy well A holy well or sacred spring is a well, spring or small pool of water revered either in a Christian or pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualities, through the numinous presence of its gua ...

, noted for its healing powers. Madron was born in

and was a

disciple A disciple is a follower and student of a mentor, teacher, or other figure. It can refer to: Religion * Disciple (Christianity), a student of Jesus Christ * Twelve Apostles of Jesus, sometimes called the Twelve Disciples * Seventy disciples in t ...

of Saint Ciarán of Saigir. Very little is known of him except that many

miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...

s were attributed to him. He died c.545 AD near

Land's End Land's End ( kw, Penn an Wlas or ''Pedn an Wlas'') is a headland and tourist and holiday complex in western Cornwall, England, on the Penwith peninsula about west-south-west of Penzance at the western end of the A30 road. To the east of it is ...

, Cornwall, and is remembered in

Madron Parish Church St Maddern's Church is the parish church of Madron, near Penzance in Cornwall and was once the mother church of Morvah and Penzance. It is a Grade I listed building. Architecture The church is a large building of the 15th century; however it re ...

( Madron Village) and his

Feast Day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...

is 17 May.

Identification

John T. Koch John T. Koch is an American academic, historian and linguist who specializes in Celtic studies, especially prehistory and the early Middle Ages. He is the editor of the five-volume ''Celtic Culture. A Historical Encyclopedia'' (2006, ABC Clio). He ...

has suggested that the saint was not a historical figure but rather a

Christianisation Christianization (American and British English spelling differences#-ise.2C -ize .28-isation.2C -ization.29, or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of ...

of the Mythical Celtic ''

Modron Modron ("mother") is a figure in Welsh tradition, known as the mother of the hero Mabon ap Modron. Both characters may have derived from earlier divine figures, in her case the Gaulish goddess Matrona. She may have been a prototype for Morgan le ...

'' the mother goddess. Indeed, some aspects of the veneration at Madron's well do appear to derive from

Pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...

origins. Others have suggested that the saint's life is a retelling of the story of St. Madrun, a daughter of

Vortimer Vortimer (Old Welsh Guorthemir, cy, Gwerthefyr), also known as Saint Vortimer ( cy, Gwerthefyr Fendigaid, "Vortimer the Blessed"), is a figure in Matter of Britain, British tradition, a son of the 5th-century Britons (historical), Britonni ...

, a king of Gwent.

Gallery

Image:Madron baptistry from the north west.jpg, The baptistry near Madron Well Image:Madron baptistry south west corner.jpg, Basin in the south-west corner of the baptistry Image:Madron baptistry altar stone.jpg, Altar at the eastern end of the baptistry Image:Boswarthen cross near madron.jpg, A wayside cross, Boswarthen (near Madron Well)

Notes

References

* * * * * * * {{authority control Medieval Cornish saints