'The most notable tale about him is that he was supposedly only 15 inches tall!'

By Andrew Chapman.

Cornwall has dozens of saints unique to the area. One of them who lent his name to a village there is St Neot.

Writing a biography of St Neot (or 'Anietus') is something of a challenge given how little seems to be known about him, but his reputation as 'the pygmy saint' is intriguing enough to encourage an attempt.

Neot was a monk and hermit at Glastonbury Abbey in the 9th century - we don't know when he was born, but accounts say that he died in 877 of natural causes. Before he undertook his devotions at Glastonbury he is believed to have been a soldier. At Glastonbury he was a sacristan (in charge of sacred vessels and vestments); afterwards he lived alone on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall, later joined by other monks, and he gained a reputation for caring for the poor.

His name has been given to just two places, both in England, but in different areas. One is the village of St Neot in Cornwall, where a stone in the churchyard that formed the base of a 10th century cross is known as St Neot's Stone. Also there is the saint's Holy Well, marking where fact and legend about Neot seem to collide. The most notable tale about him is that he was supposedly only 15 inches tall! He is said to have stood in the well here every day up to his neck (the well was clearly not all that deep...) and recited the Psalter. Tales tell that he had to throw his key into the lock to be able to open the church door!

According to legend, one day an angel helped him find three fish in the well, though he was told never to take more than one. When Neot later fell ill his servant Barius visited the well and took two of the fish to his master. Neot ordered these to be returned and they were restored to life - a local miracle for a local saint.

Neot is also remembered in the Cambridgeshire town of St Neots. This takes its name from the saint's bones being taken to a mediaeval priory here in what seems to have been some sort of relic raid - the story goes that a gang of angry Cornishmen pursued the monks that took the bones. The bones themselves were lost during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, although relics supposedly remain in St Neots church and at the abbey of Bee in Normandy. A mosaic based on the Saxon Alfred Jewel commemorates Neot in the town - and tradition states that King Alfred himself used to visit Neot for his advice. The story of the burning cakes comes from a book about St Neot.

Neot is said to have worked miracles with animals and birds as well as fish - apparently he could make crows obey him - and some of these are recalled in the stained glass at his church in Cornwall. Another story says that when his oxen were stolen a pair of stags came forward and offered themselves to the plough. Neot's memorial day is 31 July and he is the patron saint of fish.

Other 'N' saints:

St Nicholas of Myra (d346) in Turkey is the man who became Santa Claus, about whom many tales of kindness and generosity, particularly to children, are told. His memorial is 6 December and he is patron, among many other things, of apothecaries, barrel makers and murderers, as well as schoolchildren and the University of Paris.

St Ninian (c360-432) was a Cumbrian who helped to found the Church of Scotland, building a stone church at Whithorn, where he died. He spread Christianity among the Picts. His memorial is 16 September and he is patron of Galloway, Scotland and Nova Scotia, Canada.

• Andrew Chapman

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Find out more about the saints:
• Catholic Forum
• Catholic Encyclopaedia