Saint Tudwal (died c. 564), also known as Tual, Tudgual, Tugdual, Tugual, Pabu, Papu, or Tugdualus (Latin), was a

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 ...

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 ...

, considered to be one of the

seven founder saints of Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period of ...

Life

Tudwal was said to be the son of

Hoel Mawr King Hoel ( br, Hoel I Mawr, "Hoel the Great"; la, Hoelus, Hovelus, Hœlus), also known as Sir Howel, Saint Hywel and Hywel the Great, was a late 5th- and early 6th-centuryFord, David Nashat ''Early British Kingdoms''. 2001. Retrieved 1 D ...

(Hoel I) and his wife, Pompeia, and a brother of Saint Lenorius. Tudwal travelled to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

to learn the scriptures, and then became 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 ...

on Saint Tudwal's Island East, off the coast of

North Wales , area_land_km2 = 6,172 , postal_code_type = Postcode , postal_code = LL, CH, SY , image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg , map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...

. Tudwal later immigrated to Brittany, settling in Lan Pabu with 72 followers, where he established a large

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

under the patronage of his cousin, King Deroch of

Domnonée Domnonée is the modern French form of Domnonia or Dumnonia (Latin for "Devon"; br, Domnonea), a historic kingdom in northern Armorica (Brittany) founded by British immigrants from Dumnonia ( Sub-Roman Devon) fleeing the Saxon invasions of Britai ...

. He traveled to Paris to obtain confirmation of the land grant from King

Childebert I Childebert I (c. 496 – 13 December 558) was a Frankish King of the Merovingian dynasty, as third of the four sons of Clovis I who shared the kingdom of the Franks upon their father's death in 511. He was one of the sons of Saint Clo ...

, who insisted be was Bishop of Tréguier. Tudwal is shown in

iconography Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...

as a bishop holding a

dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

, now the symbol of Tregor. 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 celebrated on 30 November or 1 December. Tro Breizh (Breton for "Tour of Brittany") is a pilgrimage that links the towns of the seven founding saints of Brittany. These seven saints were Celtic monks from Britain from around the 5th or 6th century who went to Brittany to minister to the Britons who had settled there after the Anglo-Saxon incursions in their homeland.Taylor, Thomas. ''The Celtic Christianity of Cornwall'', Longmans, Green & Company, 1916, p. 52
/ref> Among the first bishoprics was

Tréguier Tréguier (; br, Landreger) is a port town in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. It is the capital of the province of Trégor. Geography Tréguier is located 36 m. N.W. of Saint-Brieuc by road. The port is situat ...

, Saint Tudwal's town.

Notable namesake

Tugdual Menon Tugdual Menon (also in sources Tuttvalle, Tugdualo, Tudual, Tuttuale, Tuduuale, Jugdulus; before 1502 – 1566/1568), was a French composer. He was likely teacher of the organist Claudio Merulo. Life Menon was born in Brittany before 1502, and i ...

Joseph Tidwell. 15th century monk of the Franciscan order. Noted for being a shepherd and roving the coastline to help travellers stranded by shifting sands. Despite his vows, it is implied in local burial records that he fathered 9 children from 4 different women including his cousin Mary

Gallery

File:Tugdual (Saint-Pol-de-Léon).jpg, A statue of the saint at

Saint-Pol-de-Léon Saint-Pol-de-Léon (; br, Kastell-Paol) is a commune in the Finistère department in Brittany in north-western France, located on the coast. It is noted for its 13th-century cathedral on the site of the original founded by Saint Paul Aurelian ...

File:St Yves Treguier 2005 petite.jpg, The

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

of Saints

Ives Ives is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname: * Alice Emma Ives (1876–1930), American dramatist, journalist * Burl Ives (1909–1995), American singer, author and actor * Charles Ives (1874–1954), Ame ...

and Tudwal in a procession at the gate of Tréguier Cathedral in 2005

References

{{Authority control 564 deaths 6th-century Breton bishops Bishops of Tréguier Medieval Breton saints Medieval Welsh saints 6th-century Christian saints Year of birth unknown

Life

Notable namesake

Gallery

See also

References