Texts

Vita et homelia sancti Winwaloei

Wrdisten
  • Latin
  • prose

A letter written probably by Wrdisten, abbot of Landévennec and author of the vita longior of Winwaloe, to John, bishop of Arezzo. The letter was intended to accompany a gift of relics sent to the bishop and offers a summary of Winwaloe’s life by the same author. BHL 8960.

Title
Vita et homelia sancti Winwaloei
Title after Poulin (1996).
First words (prose)
  • Beatissimo Johanni Aretinensi episcopo sanctorum episcoporum consorti Uurdistenus ... Sanctus igitur Uinualoeus a vigesimo et primo aetatis suae anno
Speaker/Addressee
Addressee: John I [bishop of Arezzo]John I ... bishop of Arezzo
Entry reserved for but not yet available from the subject index.

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Author
Wrdisten
Wrdisten (Gurdisten)
(fl. 9th century)
Abbot of Landévennec and author of a Life of St Winwaloe/Gwenolé.

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Language
  • Latin
Form
prose (primary)
Textual relationships
(Possible) sources: Vita (longior) sancti WinwaloeiVita (longior) sancti WinwaloeiLonger version of the Latin Life of Winwaloeus (Guénolé) written by Wrdisten. BHL 8957–8958. The bulk of the work is in prose (BHL 8957), while the final part gives a shorter, metrical account (BHL 8958).
Related: Homelia die natali sancti WinwaloeiHomelia die natali sancti WinwaloeiWrdisten’s sermon for the feast of St Winwaloe. BHL 8959.

Classification

Subjects

origins of Brittany (narrative world), c. 4th-6th centuuries
origins of Brittany (narrative world), c. 4th-6th centuuries
id. 63849

The time of migration and settlememt in Brittany, c. 4th-6th century, typically associated with the founding rulers (Conan Meriadoc, Gradlon/Grallon, Guiomar/Guigemar, etc.) and early founding saints (e.g. Paul Aurelian, Samson of Dol, Tudwal/Tugdual of Tréguier, Winwaloe of Landevenneg, Brioc, Malo, Corentin of Quimper, Paternus/Padarn, Goueznou).

Gwenolé
Gwenolé
(supp. fl. 6th c.)
Reputed founder, first abbot and patron saint of Landévennec in Cornouaille (now in Finistère, Brittany).

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Sources

Primary sources Text editions and/or modern translations – in whole or in part – along with publications containing additions and corrections, if known. Diplomatic editions, facsimiles and digital image reproductions of the manuscripts are not always listed here but may be found in entries for the relevant manuscripts. For historical purposes, early editions, transcriptions and translations are not excluded, even if their reliability does not meet modern standards.

[ed.] Garavaglia, Chiara, “Un monastero bretone nell’alto medioevo: l’abbazia di san Guenole a Landevennec”, unpublished MA thesis, Università degli Studi di Milano, 2001.
123–131
[ed.] [tr.] Brillet, Denis, “La Vie de saint Guénolé envoyée à Jean d'Arezzo (BHL 8960): Ms. Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, Fondo Naziolane (Fondo Principale), II. I. 412 (Badia Fiorentina, I): texte, traduction, commentaires”, thesis, Université Paris VII, mémoire de DEA, 2000.
67–83 (text); 84–94 (translation) Not seen.
[ed.] Fawtier, Robert, “Une rédaction inédite de la Vie de saint Guénolé”, Mélanges d'archéologie et d'histoire de l'Ecole Française de Rome 22 (1912): 27–44.
Gallica: <link> Persée: <link>
28 (address); 34–44 (vita)
[tr.] Le Jollec, Joseph, Guénolé le saint de Landévennec: vie, oeuvre, culte, Roz Avel, Quimper: self-published, 1952.
Gallica: <link>  : <link>
244–245 French translation of the letter addressed to John, but not the life.

Secondary sources (select)

MIRABILE, Online: Studio del Medioevo Latino, 2009–present. URL: <http://www.mirabileweb.it>. 
abstract:
MIRABILE è un knowledge management system per lo studio e la ricerca sulla cultura medievale promosso dalla Società Internazionale per lo Studio del Medioevo Latino e dalla Fondazione Ezio Franceschini ONLUS di Firenze.
Garavaglia, Chiara, “Saint Guénolé dans des anciennes litanies arétines de l’église Sainte-Flore et Sainte-Lucille”, Bulletin de la Société archéologique du Finistère 131 (2002): 481–485.

Presents medieval litanies as evidence for Winwaloe’s cult in the diocese of Arezzo, a development related to Wrdisten’s letter.

Poulin, Joseph-Claude, “Sources hagiographiques de la Gaule [SHG], V: Le dossier de Saint Guénolé de Landevennec (Province de Bretagne)”, Francia 23:1 (1996).
 : <link>
194–199, 200 (table of comparison)
Contributors
Dennis Groenewegen
Page created
January 2023, last updated: June 2023