Saint Pompeia of Langoat
Stained-glass window featuring Saint Pompeia
Queen of Brittany
BornDomnonée, Brittany
DiedAD 545
Langoat, Brittany
Venerated inRoman Catholic Church
Major shrineLangoat
Feast2 January
AttributesQueen holding a distaff, book at her feet

Saint Pompeia (in Latin: Alma Pompeia or in Breton: Koupaia [1]), also known as Aspasia, is a legendary Breton saint who supposedly lived in the 6th century. Her feast day is celebrated on 2 January.

Legendary biography

According to the life of her son, Tudwal, Pompeia was the sister of King Riwal II of Domnonée.[2] Tradition at Langoat further asserts that she became one of the wives of the fictional King Hoel Mawr (or the Great) who was invented by Geoffrey of Monmouth as a supposed overlord of all Brittany.[3] After being exiled in Britain for some years, Pompeia eventually returned to her husband's kingdom with her daughter, Saint Scaeva, and her son, Saint Tudwal.[2] She settled near the monastery of Tréguier, founded by the latter, and died where the church of Langoat stands today.[2] Her relics are still preserved there and a shrine has been erected to her memory.

Family

Saint Pompeia was the mother of:

Breton legacy

  • Langoat: Saint Pompeia's Church in the shape of a Latin cross stands there. Inside is the shrine said to be of Saint Pompeia and bas-relief panels recounting her legend.
  • Sainte-Sève: Saint Scaeva's Church there contains a statue of Saint Pompeia; the name of the locality, Trébompé, probably stems from a corruption of the name Pompeia.
  • Valley of the Saints: A statue of Saint Pompeia sculpted by P. Le Guen and P. Leost in blue granite from Lanhelin, was erected in 2012.
  • Trézény: There is a stained glass window representing Saint Pompeia in the Saint Zény's Church.

References

  1. ↑ Couffon, R (1938). "Répertoire des Eglises et Chapelles du Diocèse de Saint-Brieuc et Tréguier" [Directory of Churches and Chapels of the Diocese of Saint-Brieuc and Tréguier]. Société d'émulation des Côtes-du-Nord Bulletins et Mémoires (in French). 70: 188–189. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Le Grand, Albert (1837). Les Vies des Saints de la Bretagne-Armorique. Brest & Paris. pp. 783–797.
  3. ↑ Ford, David Nash (201). "St. Tugdual alias Tudwal". Early British Kingdoms. Nash Ford Publishing. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
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