CHRONICLES OF CORNISH SAINTS. VII.—S. CRANTOCK. 273 
Cornishman.* By the Welsh he is claimed as the son of one of 
their chieftains, and is known as Carannog ; and by the medieval 
hagiologists his name is given as Carantocus. There is in the 
Library of the British Museum an old MS. Life of the Saint, 
supposed to have been written by John of Tynmouth; from 
which we gather that he was the son of Keredic, a chief who 
swayed the country of Keredigion, now Cardiganshire ; and that 
when his father grew old and incapable of wielding the sword 
against the Scots, who at that time were devastating his territory, 
the elders of the people requested him to resign the sovereignty 
in favour of his son Carantoc, in order that they might have a 
leader who could go forth with them to repel the invaders. But 
war was not congenial to Crantock’s taste; so he stole away with 
a wallet and staff, “following a dove which was sent by God to 
direct his course.” At length he crossed over into Ireland, 
attracted by the fame of St. Patrick, who was then labouring 
there; and he became a zealous coadjutor of the great Irish 
apostle. Subsequently he returned to his own country with many 
companions, and lived some time in a cave, from whence he sailed 
down the Severn, and landed at Dindrarthon, where Cato 
(Cador(?)) and Arthur were living. Much the same account is given 
by Capgrave, Alford, Ussher, and the Salisbury Martyrology ; but, 
as the earliest compilation of Crantock’s life was made centuries 
after his death, those records of the legends which were current 
concerning him in the middle ages, would deserve but little credit, 
if they were not supported by other and more independent 
memorials. Several such may be adduced from ancient Irish and 
Welsh sources, which prove, beyond all reasonable doubt, not 
only that there was such a Cornish saint as St. Crantock, but that 
the above outline of his life is in the main correct. 
I. As to his parentage. His family being Welsh, we naturally 
turn for information to the Welsh Pedigrees of the Saints; and 
* In the Feilire of Aenghus—an account of the Festivals of the Church, 
written by Aenghus the Culdee at the end of the 8th Century,—his death is 
thus recorded: ‘‘ The illustrious death of Carnech, the truly powerful; ” and 
the following gloss is added: ‘‘i.e., Carnech of Tuilen, in the neighbourhood 
of Cenannas (Kells), and he is of the Britons of Corn.” (Cornwall), There 
is another Saint of the same name, who flourished in Ireland about a 
century later; and the two are sometimes confounded. The Feast Day of 
our Saint is May 16; and that of the other Carnech, March 28. 
