Saint Gwinear
Cornish saint / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gwinear, Guigner, was a Celtic martyr, one of only two early Cornish saints whose biographies survived the Reformation. The Life of Gwinear was written in the early 14th century by a priest named Anselm, and has sometimes been printed among the works of Anselm of Canterbury.[Notes 1] His feast day is March 23.
Saint Gwinear | |
---|---|
Martyr | |
Born | Ireland |
Died | 6th century Hayle, Cornwall |
Venerated in | Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church |
Canonized | Pre-Congregation |
Feast | 23 March |
Born in Ireland with the Irish name of Fingar, he was converted to Christianity by Saint Patrick and after spending time in Brittany went with 7 (or 777) companions to Cornwall, landing at Hayle, where he was martyred by King Teudar.[Notes 2][1][2] Gwinear was said to have died with his followers by being thrown into a pit of reptiles. An alternative version sets the story in Brittany with Guigner being martyred at the hands of Prince Tewdwr.[3]
The Victorian clergyman, hagiographer and antiquary Sabine Baring-Gould believed that an Irish group, driven from their homeland in Ossory in the fifth century, invaded Penwith (="pen-gwaeth", the "bloody headland"), and that the legend of Gwinear was a distorted recollection of these events.[4]