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St Yves' Day Breton Phrases
Gouel Erwan
St Yves' Day is called "Gouel Erwan" in Breton.
St Yves' Day, 19 May, is Gouel Erwan in Breton: gouel is a feast and Erwan is the Breton form of Yves. Below are the words for the saint, the feast and the pardon held in his honour.
Useful words
Gouel Erwan
St Yves' Day
Gouel means feast; Erwan is Yves.
Erwan
Yves
The Breton form of the saint's name, also a common first name.
gouel
feast, festival
The plural is gouelioù. Related to Welsh gŵyl and Cornish gool.
pardon
pardon (religious festival and pilgrimage)
The plural is pardonioù.
Breizh
Brittany
St Yves is its patron saint.
The history of Gouel Erwan
Ivo of Kermartin (1253–1303), known in Breton as Erwan, Iwan, Youenn or Eozenn, was a parish priest who worked among the poor. He is the patron saint of Brittany, of lawyers and of abandoned children, and his feast day is 19 May. A pardon is a traditional Breton pilgrimage held on the feast of a church's patron saint; the pardon of Saint Yves at Tréguier, near his birthplace, is known as the pardon of the poor.
Common questions
What is Gouel Erwan?
St Yves' Day, 19 May. Erwan is the Breton form of Yves, the patron saint of Brittany.
Further reading
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Breton phrases for everyday occasions
Sources
Every phrase and fact on this page was checked against the sources below. Last checked 2026-10-20.
- Wikipedia
- Wikipedia
- blas. course data
- Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org
- Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org
- Geriafurch Breton dictionaries (TermOfis, Ofis Publik ar Brezhoneg)
- Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org
Credit: Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.