Saint Cornely

Polychrome earthenware, circa 1950.

Patron saint of the parish of Carnac, Saint Cornély is the best-known protector of livestock, particularly horned animals.

According to legend, Saint Cornély, pope of Rome, was pursued by an army of pagans. He finds himself trapped between the sea and his assailants, and ends up hiding in the ear of one of the two oxen accompanying him, then turns the pursuing troop into stones. This is how the Carnac alignments came into being, when this army was transformed into petrified soldiers around the 3rd century AD.