Salomon (also known as Selyf, Selevan) was a late 5th century Cornish 'warrior prince', possibly a King of Cornwall. His feast day is Oct. 18. He was the father of the Cornish bishop

Saint Cybi Saint Cuby (in Cornish) or Saint Cybi (in Welsh) was a 6th-century Cornish bishop, saint and, briefly, king, who worked largely in Cornwall and North Wales: his biography is recorded in two slightly variant medieval 'lives'. Life in Cornwall ...

Narrative

According to

Sabine Baring-Gould Sabine Baring-Gould ( ; 28 January 1834 – 2 January 1924) of Lew Trenchard in Devon, England, was an Anglican priest, hagiographer, antiquarian, novelist, folk song collector and eclectic scholar. His bibliography consists of more than 1,240 ...

, Salomon was the son of Geraint ab Erbin, Prince of

Dumnonia Dumnonia is the Latinised name for a Brythonic kingdom that existed in Sub-Roman Britain between the late 4th and late 8th centuries CE in the more westerly parts of present-day South West England. It was centred in the area of modern Devon, ...

. This agrees with the ''

Bonedd y Saint The ''Bonedd y Saint'' or ''Seint'' (Welsh for "Descent of the Saints") is a Welsh genealogical tract detailing the lineages of the early British saints In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degr ...

'', a Welsh genealogical tract detailing the lineages of the early British saints. Salomon married Gwen ferch Cynyr, the daughter of Cynyr Ceinfarfog who had settled at Caer-Goch near

St David's St Davids or St David's ( cy, Tyddewi, , "David's house”) is a city and a community (named St Davids and the Cathedral Close) with a cathedral in Pembrokeshire, Wales, lying on the River Alun. It is the resting place of Saint David, W ...

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The count ...

. Gwen ferch Cynyr was the sister of Saint Non.Baring-Gould, Sabine. ''The Lives of the British Saints'', vol. IV. London. The Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion, 1913, p. 180
According to the ''Life of St Cybi'', Selevan, (a Celtic form of Solomon) was a Cornishman and the father of Cybi. Salomon is described as a ''princeps militiae'' at a court between the

River Tamar The Tamar (; kw, Dowr Tamar) is a river in south west England, that forms most of the border between Devon (to the east) and Cornwall (to the west). A part of the Tamar Valley is a World Heritage Site due to its historic mining activities. T ...

and the

River Lynher The River Lynher ( kw, Linar) (or St Germans River downstream from its confluence with the Tiddy) flows through east Cornwall, England, and enters the River Tamar at the Hamoaze, which in turn flows into Plymouth Sound. Navigation The nor ...

, possibly Gelliwig. Welsh historian

Arthur Wade-Evans Arthur Wade Wade-Evans (born Arthur Wade Evans) (31 August 1875 – 4 January 1964) was a Welsh clergyman and historian. Biography Evans was born in Fishguard, Pembrokeshire, in south Wales on 31 August 1875 and did not include his mother's ...

interpreted this title as 'captain of the guard', while others believe he was a sub-king of

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 ...

. David Nash Ford suggests that he succeeded to the realm of his cousin,

King Mark Mark of Cornwall ( la, Marcus, kw, Margh, cy, March, br, Marc'h) was a sixth-century King of Kernow (Cornwall), possibly identical with King Conomor. He is best known for his appearance in Arthurian legend as the uncle of Tristan and the husb ...

Lansallos Lansallos ( la, Lansalux; kw, Lansalwys, meaning ''St Salwys' church'') is a village in the civil parish of Polperro in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated between Polruan and Polperro about 5 miles (8 km) east of Fowey ...

is a foundation of Salomon. Baring-Gould mentions a holy well of his sister-in-law, Non, and a church of his son, Cybi, in the area between Roseland and

Grampound Grampound ( kw, Ponsmeur) is a village in Cornwall, England. It is at an ancient crossing point of the River Fal and today is on the A390 road west of St Austell and east of Truro.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 204 ''Truro & Falmouth'' ...

. Salomon is identified with Selevan, of

St Levan St Levan ( kw, Selevan) is a civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The parish is rural with a number of hamlets of varying size with Porthcurno probably being the best known. Hewn out of the cliff at Minack Point and overlooking the ...

in Cornwall and

Penmon Penmon is a promontory, village and ecclesiastical parish on the eastern tip of the Isle of Anglesey in Wales, about east of the town of Beaumaris. It is in the community of Llangoed. The name comes from cy, pen (which can mean "head", "end" ...

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

. On the cliff at

is St Levan's Well and below it the probable remains of his chapel, which were described by

William Borlase William Borlase (2 February 169631 August 1772), Cornish antiquary, geologist and naturalist. From 1722, he was Rector of Ludgvan, Cornwall, where he died. He is remembered for his works ''The Antiquities of Cornwall'' (1754; 2nd ed., 1769) ...

in his ''Antiquities''. The "Selus stone" at St Just in Penwith Parish Church is thought to refer to Salomon. The identity of Saint Just is not known. Among the possibilities mentioned is the Welsh hermit, Saint Iestyn, said to be a son of Geraint ab Erbin. In the department of

Morbihan Morbihan ( , ; br, Mor-Bihan ) is a department in the administrative region of Brittany, situated in the northwest of France. It is named after the Morbihan (''small sea'' in Breton), the enclosed sea that is the principal feature of the coastli ...

in Brittany are four places connected to a Saint Saloman. Baring-Gould suggests this is a second, separate individual.

References

Sources

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 ...

(1964). ''The Saints of Cornwall'', part 3. Truro: Dean and Chapter; pp. 105–132 *Wade-Evans, A. W. (ed.) (1944). ''Vitae Sanctorum Britanniae et Genealogiae''. Cardiff: University of Wales Press Board {{authority control Monarchs of Cornwall 5th-century Christian saints 5th-century English monarchs Selevan