saint guinefort

“In the diocese of Lyon, close to the village of the nuns called Villeneuve, on the estate of the lord of Villars-en-Dombe, there was a certain castle whose lord had a baby son from his wife. But when the lord and lady and the nurse too had left the house, leaving the child alone in his cradle, a very large snake entered the house and made for the child’s cradle. Guinefort dashed swiftly under the cradle in pursuit, knocking it over, and attacked the snake, answering bite with bite. The dog killed the snake and threw it far away from the child’s cradle, which was now covered in blood, snake and dog alike. When the nurse returned, she thought the child had been killed and eaten by the dog and so gave out an almighty scream. The child’s mother heard this, rushed in, thought the same and she too screamed. Then the knight similarly once he got there believed the same, and drawing his sword killed the dog. Only then did they approach the child and find him unharmed and sleeping sweetly.
The lord and his wife quickly discovered their fatal error, and ashamed and embarrassed by what they had done, they buried the Guinefort outside the castle walls. In due time the castle was destroyed and the land left deserted. But the local peasants, “hearing of the dog’s noble deed and innocent death, began to visit the place and honor the dog as a martyr in quest of help for their sicknesses and other needs.”