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, considered to be one of the
seven founder saints of Brittany.
Life
Tudwal was said to be the son of
Hoel Mawr (Hoel I) and his wife,
Pompeia, and a brother of Saint Lenorius. Tudwal travelled to
Ireland to learn the
scriptures, and then became a
hermit on
Saint Tudwal's Island East, off the coast of
North Wales. Tudwal later immigrated to Brittany, settling in Lan Pabu with 72 followers, where he established a large
monastery under the patronage of his cousin, King Deroch of
Domnonée. He traveled to Paris to obtain confirmation of the land grant from King
Childebert I, 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, 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
File:St Yves Treguier 2005 petite.jpg, The relics of Saints Ives and Tudwal in a procession at the gate of Tréguier Cathedral in 2005
See also
*Blessed Julian Maunoir, "Apostle of Brittany"
*St Tugual's Chapel
St Tugual's Chapel is a non-denominational and non-consecrated chapel which dates from the 11th century. It is located on Herm, the smallest of the Channel Islands open to the public. The Chapel is currently listed on the Register of Ancient Monu ...
, chapel named after St Tudwal
* Llanstadwell, the name derives from the dedication of the parish and 12th century church to St Tudwal
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