Thursday, November 8, 2012

King Arthur...St. Armel?

Well, this is cool.  Anyone know if it's true?  Excerpts:
...St Armel, a 6th century saint born on Welsh soil to of noble Breton lineage, is a lesser renowned missionary recorded briefly in an episode detailing his duel with a dragon in the Forest of Teil.

It is said that having been educated in Welsh monasteries, he went on to fight on the side of King Iuthahel of Brittany in AD 555 against marauders and invaders.

So impressed was Iuthahel with the noble fighter that he granted Armel lands in the forest where he was noted and revered for founding a monastery.

Having previously performed miracles of restoration at the court of King Childebert, the soldier-saint soon took orders and settled into holy life.

Yet no sooner had he done so than the monastery and the neighbouring towns found themselves under fire from a rogue dragon.

Not flinching from his duties, St Armel set out into the dark forest and faced off against the dragon, eventually strangling the beast with his vestments and drowning it in a river.

Such is where the fantastical element of St Armel story ends… except for one small detail.

Armel was also, prior to accepting holy orders, known as Arthmael, a name which is more commonly translated in modern English as Arthur...

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