Saint Melor

Melor (also known in Latin as Melorius; in Cornish as Melor and in Cornu-English as Mylor; in French as Méloir; and other variations) was a 10th-century Breton saint who, in England, was venerated in Cornwall and at Amesbury Abbey, Wiltshire, which claimed some of his relics. There were probably two or three Breton saints named Melor who were conflated, and a handful of late medieval hagiographies record legends relating to him. Several churches in Brittany and two in Cornwall are dedicated to Melor; the primary cultic center was at Lanmeur. After his relics were acquired by Amesbury Abbey, he was adopted as a co-patron saint. Melor's legend makes him a prince who was only seven when his uncle, Rivod, murdered his father, St Miliau or Milio. Riwal wished the child's death also, but was dissuaded from carrying out his intentions by a council of bishops. At their intervention, he decided instead to maim the boy, cutting off his right hand (later replaced by a silver prosthesis) and left foot (replaced with one of bronze). Melor was then sent away to Quimper Abbey to be educated. Here, his metal limbs began to work as if they were natural, and to grow along with him. By the time the prince was fourteen, Rivod decided that he must die and ordered his guardian, Cerialtan, to kill him. The boy was decapitated. Rivod is said to have touched the severed head and to have died three days after. Melor was subsequently buried at Lanmeur in Brittany. The cult of St Melor in Brittany grew to considerable importance and there are a number of place names and dedications to him. Locmélar (hermitage of Melor) is a parish in Finistère. The parish of Saint-Méloir-des-Ondes, in eastern Brittany, was founded by the monks of Mont Saint-Michel in the early 11th century. Melor's cult probably spread to Cornwall from Brittany. There are churches dedicated to him at Mylor and Linkinhorne in Cornwall, and at Amesbury in Wiltshire.