{{Short description|6th-century Bishop of Rennes}} {{About|the Bishop of Rennes|the 4th-century, possibly legendary, Bishop of Rouen|Mellonius}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2015}} {{Use British English|date=October 2015}} thumb|A statue of Melaine at the Chapelle Saint-Philibert et Saint-Roch de Moëlan-sur-Mer. Saint '''Melaine''' (Latin: '''Melanius''' or '''Mellanus'''; Breton: '''Melani'''; Cornish: '''Melan'''; Welsh: '''Mellon''') was a 6th-century Bishop of Rennes in Brittany (now in France).
==Traditional history== Melaine was born at near Redon in Plaz in Brain, to a Gallo-Roman family.<ref name=nominis>[https://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/380/Saint-Melaine-de-Rennes.html "Saint Melaine de Rennes", Nominis]</ref> He became a monk and then abbot of a small monastery he established near his home. He was nominated the successor to Bishop Amand of Rennes. Traditions recounted by Baring-Gould state that on the death of Amand, he was compelled by the local population to become the next Bishop, accepting the role with great reluctance; that he performed many miracles and put an end to heathen practices; and that following his death at La Vilaine, his body was placed on a boat which then returned to Rennes against the current without the assistance of rowers or sails.<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/livesofsaints01bariiala#page/85/mode/2up Baring-Gould, Sabine. ''The Lives of the Saints'' - Vol. I, 1914]</ref> (However, Louis Duchesne is of opinion that the Amandus reckoned among the bishops of Rennes at the end of the fifth century is the same as Amand of Rodez. He therefore excludes him from his list of authentic bishops of Rennes.<ref>Duchesne, Louis (1910). Fastes épiscopaux de l'ancienne Gaule: II. L'Aquitaine et les Lyonnaises. Paris: Fontemoing (1910), pp. 344–345.</ref>)
During his rule, Clovis took over the area and Melaine became his trusted advisor.<ref name=monks>[https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-melanius/ Monks of Ramsgate. “Melanius”. ''Book of Saints'', 1921. CatholicSaints.Info. 12 April 2015]</ref> He opposed immigration from Britain and attended the First Council of Orléans in 511.<ref name=nominis/> He died at Plaz in 530<ref name=monks/> and was buried in the Abbey Church of Notre-Dame en Saint-Mélaine in Rennes.<ref name="Doble">Doble, G. H. (1962). ''The Saints of Cornwall Part II''. Truro: Dean and Chapter; pp. 109–119</ref>
==Veneration== Melaine quickly became revered as a saint, especially after the wooden tower above his grave burnt down and his tomb miraculously survived. Saint Melaine is the principal patron saint of the Diocese of Rennes.<ref>[https://rennes.catholique.fr/annuaire/services/la-peiniere/copie-de-sanctuaire-notre-dame-de-la-peiniere/saint-goulven-pres-la-peiniere/3143-eglise-saint-melaine-a-saint-melaine/ "Eglise Saint Melaine à Saint Melaine", Diocese de Rennes, October 12, 2015]</ref> The abbey church of Notre-Dame-en-Saint-Melaine in Rennes was dedicated to him.
His feast day is 6 November.<ref name=nominis/><ref name="Doble"/> In the 2004 edition of the Roman Martyrology, Melaine is listed under 6 November, with the Latin name ''Melánii''. He is mentioned as follows: 'At ''Rhedónibus'' (Rennes) in Brittany, bishop, who passed to God in the place called ''Plácium'' on the River ''Vicenóniam'' (Vilaine), where with his own hands he built a church and gathered a congregation of monks and servants of God'.<ref>''Martyrologium Romanum'', 2004, Vatican Press (Typis Vaticanis), page 609.</ref>
In the English translation of the 1956 edition of the Roman Martyrology, he is listed under 6 January with the citation: At Rennes, in France, St Melanius, Bishop and Confessor, who displayed innumerable virtues, and with his thoughts ever fixed on heaven, passed from the world in glory.<ref>''The Roman Martyrology'', 1961, The Newman Press, Westminster & Maryland, page 5.</ref> In the Diocese of Quimper his feast is celebrated on 6 January.<ref>[https://www.diocese-quimper.fr/les-saints/saint-melaine/ "Saint Melaine", Diocese of Quimper and Leon]</ref>
In Cornwall, he is the patron of the villages of St Mellion and Mullion, where there is a tradition of his visit.<ref name="Doble"/>
In Wales, his feast is celebrated locally on 10 October rather than 11 October at St Mellons, in modern-day Cardiff, though there is ambiguity over whether Melaine is the Saint 'Mellonius' said to have been born there.
==References== {{Reflist}} {{commonscat|Saint Melaine}}
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Category:5th-century births Category:6th-century deaths Category:6th-century Christian saints Category:Bishops of Rennes Category:Medieval Breton saints Category:Medieval Cornish saints Category:Medieval Welsh saints Category:Welsh Roman Catholic saints Category:6th-century Breton bishops