Saint Carantoc ( cy, Carannog; ga, Cairnech; br, Karanteg; la, Carantocus), also
anglicized
Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influenc ...
as Carantock, Carannog and by other spellings, was a 6th-century
abbot
Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The ...
,
confessor
Confessor is a title used within Christianity in several ways.
Confessor of the Faith
Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith but not to the point of death.saint in
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
and the
West Country
The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Glo ...
. He is credited with founding
Llangrannog
Llangrannog (sometimes spelt as Llangranog) is both a village and a community in Ceredigion, Wales, southwest of New Quay. It lies in the narrow valley of the River Hawen, which falls as a waterfall near the middle of the village. Llangran ...
,
Ceredigion
Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cer ...
,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
Cornish Saints
This is a list of Cornish saints, including saints more loosely associated with Cornwall: many of them will have links to sites elsewhere in regions with significant ancient British history, such as Wales, Brittany or Devon.
List of some o ...
. Carantoc's is one of five insular saints' lives and two Breton ones that mention
Arthur
Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...
in contexts that may be independent of
Geoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth ( la, Galfridus Monemutensis, Galfridus Arturus, cy, Gruffudd ap Arthur, Sieffre o Fynwy; 1095 – 1155) was a British cleric from Monmouth, Wales and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography ...
's ''
Historia Regum Britanniae
''Historia regum Britanniae'' (''The History of the Kings of Britain''), originally called ''De gestis Britonum'' (''On the Deeds of the Britons''), is a pseudohistorical account of British history, written around 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. I ...
''. He is venerated by the
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...
and
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
.
Life and legend
Cadoc's early '' vita'' takes the form of a short homily. Many details of his life are obscure or contradictory.
Ceredigion
Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cer ...
is given as his birthplace, ''sua proprio regio.'' He was the son of Corwn, grandson of King Ceredig and Queen
Meleri
Saint Meleri was a late 5th century Welsh saint and Queen of Ceredigion.
Meleri was one of the 24 daughters of King Brychan Brycheiniog of Brycheiniog (now Brecknockshire) in Wales.
She married King Ceredig of Ceredigion, one of the son of Cune ...
of
Ceredigion
Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cer ...
. To escape being elected king, he fled to Llangrannog. The shavings he produced for lighting a fire there were carried away as soon as they were made by a dove: where the bird alighted, Carantoc built the present church (This story is sometimes ascribed to
Crantock
Crantock ( kw, Lanngorrow) is a coastal civil parish and a village in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The village is approximately two miles (3 km) southwest of Newquay.
Crantock dates back to 460 AD when a group of Irish hermits founded an ...
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 ...
, where the
parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...
is dedicated to Saint Carantoc but according to the early ''Life'' in the Léon Breviary, which concentrates on Carantoc's early life, set in Ireland, occurred in Wales).
He probably moved to Cornwall before preaching for some time in
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 ...
County Meath
County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the ...
and Inis-Baithen in
Leinster
Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of ...
. It is also sometimes said that he spent time in
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 ...
where there is a town also named
Carantec
Carantec (; br, Karanteg) is a Communes of France, commune in the Finistère Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in north-western France.
Carantec is located on the coast of the English Channel. It con ...
: stories set in Brittany replicate those from Britain.
Carantoc's place of death and burial is disputed between Inis Baithen and Dulane. His feast day is 16 May. Ὁ Ὅσιος Καραντόκιος '' 16 Μαΐου. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ.
Carantoc and Arthur
In the most famous incident of Carantoc's life, the saint, having returned to Wales, crossed the Bristol Channel, looking for his portable altar. He arrived on the banks of the River Willett and came into conflict with both King Cado 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, ...
Dunster
Dunster is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England, within the north-eastern boundary of Exmoor National Park. It lies on the Bristol Channel southeast of Minehead and northwest of Taunton. At the 2011 Unit ...
in
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
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.
Carantoc was eventually obliged to defeat a ferocious dragon in order to retrieve his altar and, in return, was given land at nearby Carhampton to found a
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 whi ...