Saint Gwinear

For the civil parish of Gwinear-Gwithian, see Gwinear-Gwithian. For the village of Gwinear see Gwinear, Cornwall

Gwinear was a saint of the early Celtic period, one of only two early Cornish saints whose biographies survived the Reformation. It was written about 1300 by a priest named Anselm and has sometimes been printed among St Anselm's works (Doble (1960) includes a translation of a large part of the text in which the saint's name is given as Guigner; Doble suggests that the Breton form indicates a connection with Brittany where the saint is also venerated).

Born in Ireland, he was converted to Christianity by St Patrick and after spending time in Brittany went with 7 (or 777) companions to Cornwall, where he was martyred by King Teudar[1][2][3]

References

  1. ^ Ogden, R. A. The Life of Saint Gwinear, in: An Unknown Planet?, Park Corner Press, Warrington, 2008; pp. 1-52
  2. ^ Doble, G. H. (1960) The Saints of Cornwall: part 1. Truro: Dean and Chapter; pp. 100-110
  3. ^ King Teudar also appears as a tyrant in the early 16th-century plays Beunans Ke and Beunans Meriasek, in which he comes into conflict with Saint Kea and Saint Meriasek, respectively.