We must bear in mind also that in Celtic times there were no Parishes and no Dioceses. The little colonies of the Saints were independent communities; they kept their own Bishops, who held quite a subordinate position; at Kildare, St. Bridget had a number of Bishops under her orders, so had Ninnock in Brittany and Columba in Iona. Our conception of a diocese was altogether foreign to the Celtic mind.[15] Bishops were kept as a species of ecclesiastical Queen Bee. The Saintship or headship of the community was hereditary, descending from father to son. The manner of life of the Saints was rude and barbarous in the extreme. They wore a thick outer garment of wool or of skin, with an inner garment of lighter texture; on their feet they wore sandals, they slept on hides with a pillow of straw.[16] With the foundation of Churches at Breage and Germoe by Breaca and Germoe, thick mist closes in again over the history of the Parish for several hundred years. The communities these two Saints founded would continue to live peacefully in all probability under the rule of their successors until the coming of the time of the Saxon settlement. No doubt at some time during this period of darkness the Church life and administration would come to be organised more and more on the plan with which we are familiar. As a line of Cornish Bishops in communion with Canterbury and the rest of the Church gradually asserted their authority, the old rule of the Saints over separate and distinct Christian communities would gradually pass away, and thus the separate atoms would coalesce and become united under one single authority--the Bishop of the Diocese in which their community was settled. In 813 Egbert, the Saxon King, invaded Cornwall, and marched from one end to the other, spreading fire and sword in his path. In 926 Athelstan, the Saxon King, defeated the Cornish at the battle of Hingeston Down near Calstock. The complete subjugation of Cornwall quickly followed, and with this conquest the soil of our parish would soon pass under the hands of Saxon lords, and the Saxon system of government would quickly supplant altogether the old systems of Celtic times. [Illustration] FOOTNOTES: [1] See Professor Rhys "Origin and growth of Celtic Religion" pp. 225, 236, 245. [2] See Frazer's "Attis, Adonis and Osiris." [3] See Frazer's "Attis, Adonis and Osiris." [4] Account by Revd. Alexander Hislop, Minister of Arbroath in "The Two Babylons." [5] Bucca connected with Scottish "Bogle." Bogle always in Scotland means a disembodied spirit. Bucca with Bogle said to be akin to Sclavonic "Bog" _i.e._ God. We incline to think Cornish "bucca" and Scottish "bogle" may be taken as equivalent in meaning. See Wentz "Fairy Faith of Celtic Countries" pp. 164 and 165. [6] See Andrew Lang "Secret of the Totem." Also W. Gregory "The Dead Heart of Australia" pp. 188 to 195.