Saint Kea
Encyclopedia
Saint Kea was a late 5th-century saint
from the Hen Ogledd
, the Brythonic
-speaking parts of what is now southern Scotland
and northern England
. According to tradition he was chiefly active in Cornwall
and in Brittany
, and his cult was popular in those regions as well as throughout Wales
and the West Country
.
summary of a lost Latin
hagiography
written by Maurice of Cleder in the 17th century, as well as Beunans Ke, an incomplete 16th-century Cornish language
play rediscovered in 2000. The play is held by the National Library of Wales
. According to these, he was the son of King Lleuddun Luyddog
of Lothian
, and served as bishop
in North Britain before moving on to become a hermit
. He first went to Wales
and then moved south, founding churches at Street
, Somerset
and Landkey
, Devon
. He finally settled at Kea
in Cornwall
, which was subsequently named for him. He was harassed by the Cornish king
, Teudar, when he sheltered a deer he was hunting. Having his oxen confiscated, he used the deer to plow the soil instead. He later travelled over the Channel
to Cleder
in Brittany
, where he eventually died.
The works also describes Kea's dealings with King Arthur
. According to the summary, Kea was called from Brittany to negotiate a peace between Arthur and his nephew Mordred
before the Battle of Camlann
. Kea then criticizes Arthur's wife Guinevere
for her adultury with Mordred, leading her to regret her behavior. This passage probably explains the Arthurian section in Beunans Ke, which describes Arthur's conflict with the Roman
emperor Lucius Hiberius
and Mordred's subsequent treachery.
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
from the Hen Ogledd
Hen Ogledd
Yr Hen Ogledd is a Welsh term used by scholars to refer to those parts of what is now northern England and southern Scotland in the years between 500 and the Viking invasions of c. 800, with particular interest in the Brythonic-speaking peoples who lived there.The term is derived from heroic...
, the Brythonic
Brythonic languages
The Brythonic or Brittonic languages form one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic language family, the other being Goidelic. The name Brythonic was derived by Welsh Celticist John Rhys from the Welsh word Brython, meaning an indigenous Briton as opposed to an Anglo-Saxon or Gael...
-speaking parts of what is now southern Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and northern England
Northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North or the North Country, is a cultural region of England. It is not an official government region, but rather an informal amalgamation of counties. The southern extent of the region is roughly the River Trent, while the North is bordered...
. According to tradition he was chiefly active in Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
and in Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
, and his cult was popular in those regions as well as throughout Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and the West Country
West Country
The West Country is an informal term for the area of south western England roughly corresponding to the modern South West England government region. It is often defined to encompass the historic counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset and the City of Bristol, while the counties of...
.
Biography and legends
Kea is chiefly known through a FrenchFrench language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
summary of a lost Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
hagiography
Hagiography
Hagiography is the study of saints.From the Greek and , it refers literally to writings on the subject of such holy people, and specifically to the biographies of saints and ecclesiastical leaders. The term hagiology, the study of hagiography, is also current in English, though less common...
written by Maurice of Cleder in the 17th century, as well as Beunans Ke, an incomplete 16th-century Cornish language
Cornish language
Cornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
play rediscovered in 2000. The play is held by the National Library of Wales
National Library of Wales
The National Library of Wales , Aberystwyth, is the national legal deposit library of Wales; one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies.Welsh is its main medium of communication...
. According to these, he was the son of King Lleuddun Luyddog
King Lot
Lot or Loth is the eponymous king of Lothian in the Arthurian legend. He is best known as the father of Sir Gawain. Such a ruler evidently first appeared in hagiographical material concerning Saint Kentigern , which feature a Leudonus, king of Leudonia, a Latin name for Lothian...
of Lothian
Lothian
Lothian forms a traditional region of Scotland, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills....
, and served as bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
in North Britain before moving on to become a hermit
Hermit
A hermit is a person who lives, to some degree, in seclusion from society.In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a religious conviction, namely the Desert Theology of the Old Testament .In the...
. He first went to Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and then moved south, founding churches at Street
Street, Somerset
Street is a small village and civil parish in the county of Somerset, England. It is situated on a dry spot in the Somerset Levels, at the end of the Polden Hills, south-west of Glastonbury. The 2001 census records the village as having a population of 11,066...
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
and Landkey
Landkey
Landkey is a small village in the county of Devon in the south-west of England with a population of 2274. It is situated from the nearest town of Barnstaple.-Origin:...
, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
. He finally settled at Kea
Kea, Cornwall
Kea is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is a "large straggling parish" in a former mining area south of Truro.Kea village is situated just over one mile southwest of Truro....
in Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, which was subsequently named for him. He was harassed by the Cornish king
Kingdom of Cornwall
The Kingdom of Cornwall was an independent polity in southwest Britain during the Early Middle Ages, roughly coterminous with the modern English county of Cornwall. During the sub-Roman and early medieval periods Cornwall was evidently part of the kingdom of Dumnonia, which included most of the...
, Teudar, when he sheltered a deer he was hunting. Having his oxen confiscated, he used the deer to plow the soil instead. He later travelled over the Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
to Cleder
Cléder
Cléder is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France.-Population:Inhabitants of Cléder are called in French Clédérois.-Internation relations:Cléder is twinned with Ashburton, Herleshausen and Taninges.-References:*...
in Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
, where he eventually died.
The works also describes Kea's dealings with King Arthur
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
. According to the summary, Kea was called from Brittany to negotiate a peace between Arthur and his nephew Mordred
Mordred
Mordred or Modred is a character in the Arthurian legend, known as a notorious traitor who fought King Arthur at the Battle of Camlann, where he was killed and Arthur fatally wounded. Tradition varies on his relationship to Arthur, but he is best known today as Arthur's illegitimate son by his...
before the Battle of Camlann
Battle of Camlann
The Battle of Camlann is best known as the final battle of King Arthur, where he either died in battle, or was fatally wounded fighting his enemy Mordred.-Historicity:...
. Kea then criticizes Arthur's wife Guinevere
Guinevere
Guinevere was the legendary queen consort of King Arthur. In tales and folklore, she was said to have had a love affair with Arthur's chief knight Sir Lancelot...
for her adultury with Mordred, leading her to regret her behavior. This passage probably explains the Arthurian section in Beunans Ke, which describes Arthur's conflict with the Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
emperor Lucius Hiberius
Lucius Tiberius
Lucius Tiberius is a fictional Roman Emperor from Arthurian legend appearing first in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae. No Roman Emperor of that name ever existed; Geoffrey either heard of him from folk tradition or made him up...
and Mordred's subsequent treachery.