And it is a fact that nowhere else in England
are there so many villages bearing the names of
saints, and these names strange, and such as may
be sought out in vain in the calendars that are easily
accessible. One is impressed with the idea that the
vast majority of these saints are unknown and
negligible quantities.
This, however, is an entirely false assumption, and it is based on the fact that their history has not been studied.
On close examination it will be found that the saintly names in Cornwall belong to certain well- defined groups, and when we have determined the localities occupied by these groups we have taken the first step towards the elucidation of some important problems in the early history of Cornwall.
Now let us look at these groups.
I. The first belongs to members of the royal Dumnonian family that ruled Devon and Cornwall.
The first - known prince was Constantine the Blessed (about 460), whose brother Aldor migrated to Brittany, and married the sister of Germanus of Auxerre, who came to Britain in 429 and 447 to oppose the spread of the Pelagian heresy.
Constantine's son Erbin, prince of the Dumnonii, died about 480. We know nothing of him save that he was the father of Geraint, the heroic king who fell at Langport, in Somersetshire, in 522, fighting against the Saxons.
His name is familiar to us as the husband of Enid, daughter of the lord of Caerleon, whose virtues and pathetic story have been revived with fresh interest
