The legend of St Miliau, as retold in Brittany, pictures him as a good and just prince, slain by his evil brother. Miliau was the son of Budic and grandson of Alain le Long, kings of
Armorica in Brittany. His brothers were Theodoric and Rivod.
Baring-Gould says Miliau may have had his residence at
Plonévez-Porzay near Quimper. After the death of Budic, Miliau held the chiefdom of
Léon. For seven years no rain nor snow fell, but the land still yielded an abundance. Miliau is said to have married Haurille, a woman from
Domnonia; their son was
St Melar. of the
Passion at
Lampaul-Guimiliau, showing the martyrdom of St Miliau.
Blood gushes from his neck as he holds his severed head. However, the historical
Alan I, King of Brittany, flourished in the 9th century and died in 907. He really did have a son called Budic, who did not succeed him as king. The date 892 is sometimes given for the martyrdom of St Miliau, making him a contemporary of the
Carolingian emperors, rather than the early
Merovingian kings. This seems a better fit with the alleged ancestry of St Miliau, and it is reasonable to suppose that Budic might have had two sons who quarrelled over their ranking within the kingdom. This dating separates Miliau from
St Melar by more than three centuries. On the other hand, the paternity, and even the geographical origins, of Melar are disputed, and it is possible that the connection between the two is based on a misunderstanding. A further confusing factor is that
St Hervé, whose date of death (as an old man) is generally given as 556, is also regarded as a native of
Guimiliau. Even the earlier dating for Miliau would make it improbable that Hervé was born in a village of that name, though it would not exclude the possibility that he was born in that locality sometime before Miliau. Miliau is the patron saint of
Trébeurden. ==References==