Sainte Noyale

Francais

Sculptures and stained glass windows at the church of Sainte-Noyale at Noyal-Pontivy in the Morbihan (department 56), France

In the 6th century, Noyale, daughter of King Cambrie of England, having refused to marry in order to devote herself to God, fled to Brittany, accompanied by her servant. They crossed the Mor Breizh, the Channel on a leafy branch then climbed le Blavet seeking a hermitage.

Nizan, a tyrant of Bezo, took her to Noyale and wanted to marry her. When she refused him he had her decapitated.

Noyale, deserted, gave her soul to God beside a stream, leaning on her stick. She walked through the town of Noyal, holding her severed head close to her heart, and several kilometers further on, three drops of blood fell from the head, causing a spring to rise out of the ground. Here, Noyale knelt on a stone, placing her head on a rock. She planted her stick in the ground and this became a hawthorn bush, while her servant's stick became a beech tree. The rocks served as a bed.

The church was built on this spot.

Wishing to destroy it, Nizan built a dam hoping that she would be carried away by the flood, but this failed and he drowned.

Régor R. Mougeot