Judicael or Judicaël ( – 16 December 647 or 652) (), also spelled Judhael (with many other variants), was the King of Domnonée, part of

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

, in the mid-7th century and later revered as a Roman Catholic saint.

Background

According to

Gregory of Tours Gregory of Tours (born ; 30 November – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours during the Merovingian period and is known as the "father of French history". He was a prelate in the Merovingian kingdom, encom ...

, the Bretons were divided into various ' (minor kingdoms) during the sixth century, of which Domnonée, Cornouaille, and Gwened are the best known. They initially pledged themselves to

Childebert I Childebert I ( 496 – 13 December 558) was a Frankish King of the Merovingian dynasty, as third of the four sons of Clovis I who shared the kingdom of the Franks upon their father's death in 511. He was one of the sons of Saint Clo ...

in exchange for legitimacy. They attempted to escape Frankish rule during the time of

Chilperic I Chilperic I ( 539 – September 584) was the king of Neustria (or Soissons) from 561 to his death. He was one of the sons of the Franks, Frankish king Clotaire I and Queen Aregund. Life Immediately after the death of his father in 561, he ...

, who subdued Waroch II and at least the eastern realms of the region.

Guntram Saint Gontrand ( 532 in Soissons – 28 March 592 in Chalon-sur-Saône), also called Gontran, Gontram, Guntram, Gunthram, Gunthchramn, and Guntramnus, was the king of the Kingdom of Orléans from AD 561 to AD 592. He was the third-eldest and seco ...

, Chilperic's brother, retained his lordship over Waroch and the ''Brittani'' formed a Frankish tributary-vassal state through the reign of Dagobert I.

Hagiographic life

Judicael was born around the year 590, the eldest son of Judael or Judhael, King of Domnonée, and Queen Prizel, the daughter of Ausoch, Count of Léon. He was the eldest of fifteen brothers and five sisters, several of whom, such as Judoc and Guinien, were revered as saints. When Judhael died around 605, although Judicael was his eldest son and heir, the throne was usurped by his younger brother, Haeloc, while Judicael preferred to retire to St John's Abbey in Gaël. After the death of Haeloc in about 615, Judicael finally left the monastic life behind in order to rule Domnonée. For twenty years, he ruled the kingdom with authority and wisdom. Around 642, Judicael retired again to St John's Abbey at Gaël or possibly to the monastery of Paimpont which he had founded. He left the throne to his brother, Judoc (aka Josse), and embraced the monastic life. The subsequent kings of Domnonée are unknown. Judicael died on Sunday 16 December in either 647 or 652. He was buried at Gaël Abbey, next to the founder and his abbot, Méen, and was later declared a saint. He is traditionally said to have been the brother of Judoc and Winnoc.

Historicity

Bishop Ouen of Rouen, in his 'Life of Éloi of Noyon' and the pseudo-Fredegar in his '

Chronicle A chronicle (, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events ...

' relate that in 635/636 during the reign of Dagobert I, the Bretons attacked the borders of the Franks. Threatened by the intervention of the Burgundian army which had just defeated the Basques of Soule, King Judicael agreed to come and meet the Frankish king in his palace in Clichy. Judicael exchanged presents with Dagobert, recognised his suzerainty and concluded peace. However, he was "a very religious man and had a great fear of God" and fearful of the irreligious ways of the royal court, he refused further hospitality. Judicael is known to have minted his own coins.

Later interpretations

In the Cartulary of Redon, it is recorded that a noblewoman called Roiantdreh adopted King Solomon of Brittany as heir to her lands in AD 869, her son Owain having predeceased her. At the end of the document, she details her paternal ancestry over eight generations: "Jedechael begat Urbien, Urbien begat Judon, Judon begat Custentin, Custentin begat Argant, Argant begat Judwal, Judwal begat Louenan, Louenan begat Roiantdreh". Some historians, including recently Alan J. Raude, believe that, due to the presence of names from the family of the kings of Domnonée, Roiantrdreh's ancestor 'Jedechael' is King Judicael of the early 7th century. Arthur de la Borderie, however, doubted this identification because there was no mention of him being 'king and saint' as was customary. The 'Life' of Saint Judicael written in the 11th century by a monk called Ingomar states that "all the princes who reigned in Brittany since Judicael were descended from this king" and Dom Morice uses this to postulate that he was an ancestor of a pseudo-Erispoe, Count of Rennes, and of the later kings of Brittany, designating the latter as the father of King

Nominoe Nominoe or Nomenoe (; ; 763, 7 March 851) was the first Duke of Brittany from 846 to his death. He is the Bretons, Breton ''pater patriae'' and to Breton nationalism, Breton nationalists he is known as ' ("father of the country"). Or ...

. In 1514, Alain Bouchart, in his 'Grandes Chroniques' constructed a complete list of 'Kings of Brittany' largely based on the fictional work of

Geoffrey of Monmouth Geoffrey of Monmouth (; ; ) was a Catholic cleric from Monmouth, Wales, and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography and the popularity of tales of King Arthur. He is best known for his chronicle '' The History of ...

and claimed they descended from the legendary King Conan Meriadoc. To the 10th king in the list, he gives the name, Judicael, taken from the historical king of Domnonée.. This fictional character's existence was accepted well into the eighteenth century in the works of Pierre-Hyacinthe Morice de Beaubois.

References

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