Wise, Gildas the, Saint
Confessor , born possibly Dumbarton, Scotland, c.516; died Houat, Brittany, c.570. He studied in Wales and Ireland , where he was ordained. He retired to the isle of Houat, and subsequently founded a monastery at Rhuys on the mainland. He is the earliest British historian; “De excidio Britannire liber querulus” is his chief work. Patron of several churches and monasteries in Brittany and elsewhere; invoked against rabies. Relics in cathedral of Vannes. Feast , 29 January .