St. Piran of Cornwall COLLECTION (SAE 01)

In the Early Middle Ages, Ireland was the source of many missionaries. Perhaps no Irish monk set out for his mission in a more dramatic fashion than St. Piran (Peran in Cornish; d. 480): He was thrown off a cliff in the middle of a storm with a millstone tied round his neck. Already somewhat advanced in years and with a well-deserved reputation for healing, St. Piran had incurred the jealousy of the local Irish chieftains. He did not die according to plan, however. Tradition tells us that the millstone popped up like a cork, acted as a raft, and St. Piran floated on it safely to the coast of Cornwall, England. Upon disembarking at Perran Beach, he made his first converts: a bear, a badger, and a fox. He built an oratory nearby which is, perhaps, still “the oldest place of Christian worship in England with its four walls still standing”. And, he established the Abbey of Lanpiran and several other churches, chapels, and holy wells. St. Piran died at his Oratory of natural causes on 5 March 480. + The figure of St. Piran, a Saints_Aplenty exclusive, is a pastiche of elements—a hand here, another hand there, etc.--primarily drawn from various Pustet devotional prints grafted onto the base figure of St. Simon Stock. Attributes and supplementary illustrations are either from 19th-century engravings or trade cards. + St. Piran is patron saint of Cornwall, tin miners (and, by extension, miners in general), and Piran, Slovenia. [Other than the coincidence of name, we are at a loss to explain the Saint’s patronage of the Slovene city. Rather, St. George is usually cited. Clarification welcome.] + Feast: March 5