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Arnaud Jézéquel

3D Character Artist / Animator

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St Armel

It is said that Henry Tudor prayed to St Armel at Merevale Abbey on the night before the Battle of Bosworth. He commemorated his victory by sanctioning a new stained glass window depicting Armel (second from the left). The decision to use a saint that was very personal to him suggests Henry felt a deep connection with Merevale and wanted to convey his gratitude. Armel also appears twice in the Lady Chapel which Henry built at Westminster Abbey and where he is buried.

When the Yorkist Edward IV regained the throne in 1471, Henry aged 14 fled with other Lancastrians to Brittany. He spent most of the next 14 years under the protection of Francis II, Duke of Brittany. There are a number of churches consecrated to Armel in Brittany. It’s quite possible that Henry developed a feeling for St. Armel while he was in Brittany.

According to legend, Armel was a cousin of the better known Saints Samson and Cadfan. With them he left Wales in the middle of the sixth century possibly as a result of the yellow plague. He travelled to Brittany and settled there, founding monasteries at Ploermel (where his relics were venerated) and at Saint Armel-les-Boscheaux.