Couvoyon, Saint

Couvoyon, Saint a Breton abbot, was born at Combsac in 788, being the son of a gentleman named Conon. He entered the priesthood, became archdeacon of Vannes, and soon after retired to a solitude in Redon, where he built a monastery under the Benedictine rule, with the aid of Ratwil, lord of the region. In 848 he obtained a decision of pope Leo IV on a question of simony, and thereupon prosecuted four of the neighboring prelates, who were deposed. In 865 he took refuge from the invasion of the Normans with the prince of Bretagne, who built for him a monastery at Plelan, afterwards called that of St. Maxentius. He died there in 868, and his remains were transferred in the 10th century to Redon. His festival is on December 28. See Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Generale, s.v.