St Miliau or Miliav is 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 ...

saint and

eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

of the village of

Guimiliau Guimiliau (; br, Gwimilio) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. It is noted for the Guimiliau Parish close. It should not be confused with the neighbouring commune and village of Lampaul-Guimiliau. Pop ...

, where he is particularly venerated. He is said to be a good saint to invoke in cases of

rheumatism Rheumatism or rheumatic disorders are conditions causing chronic, often intermittent pain affecting the joints or connective tissue. Rheumatism does not designate any specific disorder, but covers at least 200 different conditions, including art ...

. St Miliau is a figure of some importance in Breton cult and legend. He is sometimes represented as a

cephalophore A cephalophore (from the Greek for "head-carrier") is a saint who is generally depicted carrying their own severed head. In Christian art, this was usually meant to signify that the subject in question had been martyred by beheading. Depicting the ...

, i.e. holding his own severed head. It is hard to be sure what historical core there might be to the legends.

Legend

The legend of St Miliau, as retold in Brittany, pictures him as a good and just prince, slain by his evil brother. Miliau was the son of Budic and grandson of Alain le Long, kings of

Armorica Armorica or Aremorica (Gaulish: ; br, Arvorig, ) is the name given in ancient times to the part of Gaul between the Seine and the Loire that includes the Brittany Peninsula, extending inland to an indeterminate point and down the Atlantic Coast ...

in Brittany. His brothers were Theodoric and Rivod. Miliau is said to have married Haurille and their son was St Melar. Miliau was famous as a protector and benefactor of the poor, and is represented as dividing his cloak with a beggar, like

St Martin of Tours Martin of Tours ( la, Sanctus Martinus Turonensis; 316/336 – 8 November 397), also known as Martin the Merciful, was the third bishop of Tours. He has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints in France, heralded as the ...

. When he succeeded to the throne, Rivod had him assassinated by

decapitation Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the i ...

, around 531. A few years later, Rivod eliminated Melar in the same way."Saint Miliau", Nominis
/ref> However, the historical

Alan I, King of Brittany Alan I (french: Alain; died 907), called the Great,F. McNair (2015), "Vikings and Bretons? The Language of Factional Politics in Late Carolingian Brittany", ''Viking and Medieval Scandinavia'' 11: 183–202. was the Count of Vannes and Duke of Bri ...

, flourished in the 9th century and died in 907. He really did have a son called Budic, who did not succeed him as king. The date 892 is sometimes given for the martyrdom of St Miliau, making him a contemporary of the

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippin ...

emperors, rather than the early

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...

kings. This seems a better fit with the alleged ancestry of St Miliau, and it is reasonable to suppose that Budic might have had two sons who quarreled over their ranking within the kingdom. This dating separates Miliau from St Melar by more than three centuries. On the other hand, the paternity, and even the geographical origins, of Melar are disputed, and it possible that the connection between the two is based on a misunderstanding. A further confusing factor is that St Hervé, whose date of death (as an old man) is generally given as 556, is also regarded as a native of

. Even the earlier dating for Miliau would make it improbable that Hervé was born in a village of that name, though it would not exclude the possibility that he was born in that locality some time before Miliau.

References

Medieval Breton saints Cephalophores 6th-century Christian saints {{France-saint-stub