Émilien of Nantes (; died ) was a French religious leader who was canonized by the church as a martyr for dying in a fight against the

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Rom ...

s in

Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...

in 725 AD. No written records earlier than the 16th century survive, and there are no records of a Bishop Émilien of

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

. The legend probably has its roots in a real clash with the Saracens, who were present in the region at the time, but has been considerably embroidered.

Legend

There are no written records of the story of Saint Émiland before the 16th century, only an oral tradition of a warrior bishop who came from Brittany with an army to fight the Saracens, met them at Saint-Jean-de-Luze, near

Autun Autun () is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Saône-et-Loire Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region of central-eastern France. It was founded during the Principate era of the e ...

, died there after a bloody battle, and was buried there with his companions in stone coffins that fell from the sky. This bishop was called "Millan" by the local people. The story as it is told now is that Émilien was Bishop of Nantes when the

s crossed the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

mountains into what is now France. Hearing of the advance of the Saracens, he gathered a crowd of the faithful in Nantes to fight against the infidel. He sailed up the Loire from

and past the

Morvan The Morvan (; historically Morvand from the Latin ''Murvinnum'' 590)Pierre-Henri Billy, ''Dictionnaire des noms de lieux de la France'', éditions Errance, 640 pages, 2011 , is a mountainous massif lying just to the west of the Côte d'Or esc ...

. The Saracens numbered 26,000 cavalry and numerous foot soldiers. They advanced to Autun and laid siege to the town. Émilien led his forces and the people of the town against the attackers. He was victorious at first, but the tide turned and after a valiant struggle he was killed at the head of his forces. The Saracens cut off his head. He was buried in the village now called

Saint-Émiland Saint-Émiland () is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. It is named after Émilien of Nantes. See also *Communes of the Saône-et-Loire department The following is a list ...

First written records

During the episcopate of Jacques Hurault of Autun (1512–1546) a brotherhood was founded under the patronage of Saint Émiland, and the village of Saint-Jean-de-Luze was renamed Saint-Émiland. A festival was fixed for the Sunday following the feast of Saint John the Baptist. Saint Aemiliani is first mentioned in a Missal of 1556, which describes him as a bishop but does not name his see. There are no records of a bishop by that name in Nantes. A set of verses and prayers was composed by Étienne Chaffault in 1592 for services in Autun Cathedral. It names the saint as Bishop of Nantes and describes his decision to fight the Saracens, the battle and his death. The work was translated from Latin into French, with some details added, and printed in 1607. It omits the story of the coffins falling from the sky. The local people told the story, including the falling coffins, to the Benedictine

Jean Mabillon Dom Jean Mabillon , (; 23 November 1632 – 27 December 1707) was a French Benedictine monk and scholar of the Congregation of Saint Maur. He is considered the founder of the disciplines of palaeography and diplomatics. Early life Mabillon w ...

in 1682 when he visited the village and was struck by the number of stone coffins in the local graveyard.

Later developments

Émilien was little known in the diocese of Nantes until the 19th century. The bishop of Nantes, Alexandre Jaquemet, managed to have the saint reintroduced in the liturgical calendar with the blessing of

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...

. On 6 November 1859 the relics of the saint were taken to Nantes in a solemn ceremony. That year the Abbé Cahour published a book named ''Notice historique et critique sur saint Emilien, évêque de Nantes'' that gives a very complete account of what is known or conjectured about the saint's life. The parish of

Saint-Émilien-de-Blain Saint-Émilien-de-Blain is a village and parish in France, part of the commune of Blain, Loire-Atlantique. The parish and village are named after Saint Émilien, Bishop of Nantes, who died when trying to save the city from the Arabs during thei ...

near Nantes is now named after the saint, as is

, Saône et Loire, near Autun. There is also a Saint-Émiland near Tonnerre, Yonne. Nantes has a short street named ''Rue de l'Évêque Émilien'' between the ''Place des Enfants Nantais'' and the ''Rue Général Buat''. In March 2012 it was reported that the Society of St. Pius X was planning to build a large new church in Nantes dedicated to Saint-Émilien. The saint is thought to help cure headaches, kidney stones and hernias.

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