Kea (Ke, Quay), monk and bishop, who worked in Devon and Cornwall, where Landkey (Devon) and Kea (Cornwall) bear his name. He is identical with Breton Quay (Saint-Quay in North Brittany) and Saint-Quay-Portrieux near Saint-Brieuc), whose Legend survives. It seems likely that Kea, Fili, and Rumon came from Glastonbury; as they travelled into Devon and Cornwall they founded Christian centres. Noble parentage is claimed for Kea and some association with Gildas, who is brought into the story as a bellfounder. He is also associated with stags in his Legend and in Breton pictures of him. It is probable that Kea migrated to Brittany and died there. He is invoked for the cure of toothache. Feast: 5 November.
Bibliography
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- G. H. Doble, The Saints of Cornwall, iii (1964), 89–104
