CORNWALL canonisation whatever. There were two centres of social life : the court of the chieftain, the religious settlement or monastery. Any one who belonged by birth or adoption to the religious house, family or tribe, belonged to the tribe of saints. This does not mean that the word "saint" was prefixed to his name; even in the greatest instances this was not done — Patrick was Patrick, Piran was Piran. This prefix began, in Cornwall, certainly not earlier than the tenth century ; in many instances, such as Crantock, Sennen, Madron, Gwennap, the prefix " St." is omitted to this day. When a missionary saint left one of the monastic centres to found other churches, he would select his site, and there fast for forty days, after which he would construct his hut and his oratory. If he gave it no other name, it would be natural that his own name should attach to this little church, which perhaps might soon grow to be an important centre of religious activity ; but sometimes he would give it the name of the chief saint of the monastery or tribe from which he came. Thus, when a church bears the name of a certain saint, we can rarely be absolutely certain that this saint him- self founded or even visited it. This more especially applies in the case of saints of wide fame, such as Piran, Petrock, or Samson ; in such an instance as this of Gwennap, we may feel tolerably sure that the place was his own foundation. The name survives, the man is forgotten. Except for its separated bell-tower,
