Saint Melaine (Latin: Melanius or Mellanus; Cornish: Melan; Welsh: Mellon) was a 6th-century

Bishop of Rennes The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rennes, Dol, and Saint-Malo ( Latin: ''Archidioecesis Rhedonensis, Dolensis et Sancti Maclovii''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Rennes, Dol et Saint-Malo''; br, Arc'heskopti Roazhon, Dol ha Sant-Maloù) is a dioce ...

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 ...

(now in France).

Traditional history

Melaine grew up at Plaz in

Brain A brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as Visual perception, vision. I ...

, near Redon. He was a pious child, often being punished for spending too long at his prayers. He became a

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 dedic ...

and then

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. Th ...

. He was nominated the successor to Bishop Amand of Rennes. Traditions recounted by Baring-Gould state that on the death of Amand, he was compelled by the local population to become the next Bishop, accepting the role with great reluctance; that he performed many miracles and put an end to heathen practices; and that following his death at La Vilaine, his body was placed on a boat which then returned to Rennes against the current without the assistance of rowers or sails. (However,

Louis Duchesne Louis Marie Olivier Duchesne (; 13 September 1843 – 21 April 1922) was a French priest, philologist, teacher and a critical historian of Christianity and Roman Catholic liturgy and institutions. Life Descended from a family of Breton sailor ...

is of opinion that the

Amandus Amandus ( 584 – 679), commonly called Saint Amand, was a bishop of Tongeren-Maastricht and one of the great Christian missionaries of Flanders. He is venerated as a saint, particularly in France and Belgium. Life The chief source of details ...

reckoned among the bishops of Rennes at the end of the fifth century is the same as Amand of Rodez. He therefore excludes him from his list of authentic bishops of Rennes.) During his rule, Clovis took over the area and Melaine became his trusted advisor.Monks of Ramsgate. “Melanius”. ''Book of Saints'', 1921. CatholicSaints.Info. 12 April 2015
/ref> He opposed immigration from

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

and attended the

First Council of Orléans The First Council of Orléans was convoked by Clovis I, King of the Franks, in 511. Clovis called for this synod four years after his victory over the Visigoths under Alaric II at the Battle of Vouillé in 507. The council was attended by thirty-two ...

in 511. He died at Plaz in 530 and was buried in the Abbey Church of Notre-Dame en Saint-Mélaine in

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine departme ...

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 enthus ...

(1962). ''The Saints of Cornwall Part II''. Truro: Dean and Chapter; pp. 109–119

Veneration

Melaine quickly became revered as a

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Or ...

, especially after the wooden tower above his grave burnt down and his

tomb A tomb ( grc-gre, τύμβος ''tumbos'') is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called ''immureme ...

miraculously survived. He has three feast days: 6 November (death), 6 January (burial) and 11 October (translation). 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 ...

, his feast is celebrated locally on 10 October rather than 11 October at St Mellons, in modern-day Cardiff, though there is ambiguity over whether Melaine is the Saint '

Mellonius Saint Mellonius (229-314) was an early 4th-century Bishop of Rotomagus (now Rouen) in the Roman province of Secunda Provincia Lugdunensis (now Normandy in France). He is known only from a 17th-century 'Life' of little historical value, meaning ...

' said to have been born there. In

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a Historic counties of England, historic county and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people ...

, he is the patron of the villages of

St Mellion St Mellion ( kw, Sen Melyan) is a village and rural civil parish in east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The parish is about south of Callington and is in the St Germans Registration District. To the north, the parish is bordered by Callingto ...

and

Mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid sup ...

, where there is a tradition of his visit. In the English translation of the 1956 edition of the

Roman Martyrology The ''Roman Martyrology'' ( la, Martyrologium Romanum) is the official martyrology of the Catholic Church. Its use is obligatory in matters regarding the Roman Rite liturgy, but dioceses, countries and religious institutes may add duly approve ...

, he is listed under 6 January with the citation: At Rennes, in France, St Melanius, Bishop and Confessor, who displayed innumerable virtues, and with his thoughts ever fixed on heaven, passed from the world in glory. In the 2004 edition of the Roman Martyrology, Melaine is listed under 6 November, with the Latin name ''Melánii''. He is mentioned as follows: 'At ''Rhedónibus'' (Rennes) in Brittany, bishop, who passed to God in the place called ''Plácium'' on the River ''Vicenóniam'' ( Vilaine), where with his own hands he built a church and gathered a congregation of monks and servants of God'.''Martyrologium Romanum'', 2004, Vatican Press (Typis Vaticanis), page 609. The abbey church of Notre-Dame-en-Saint-Melaine in Rennes was dedicated to him.

References

{{Authority control 5th-century births 6th-century deaths 6th-century Christian saints Bishops of Rennes Medieval Breton saints Medieval Cornish saints Medieval Welsh saints Welsh Roman Catholic saints 6th-century Breton bishops