Saint Aelhaiarn or Aelhaearn (

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

for "Iron Eyebrows";Baring-Gould, Sabine & al
''The Lives of the British Saints: The Saints of Wales and Cornwall and Such Irish Saints as Have Dedications in Britain'', Vol. I, pp. 101 ff
Chas. Clark (London), 1908. Hosted at Archive.org. Accessed 18 November 2014. early 7th century) was a

confessor Confessor is a title used within Christianity in several ways. Confessor of the Faith Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith but not to the point of death.saint of the British Church. He was a disciple of

Saint Beuno Saint Beuno ( la, Bonus;Baring-Gould & Fisher, "Lives of the British Saints" (1907), quoted a Early British Kingdoms website by David Nash Ford, accessed 6 February 2012 640), sometimes anglicization of names, anglicized as Bono, was a 7 ...

. His feast day was usually observed on 2 November, although it is sometimes recorded as the 1st and is no longer observed by either the Anglican or

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

church in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

Life

Saint Aelhaiarn is listed among the '' Bonedd y Seint'' (Genealogies of the Saints). He was the brother of saints Llwchaiarn and Cynhaiarn and son of Hygarfael or Cerfael, son of Cyndrwyn, a prince of the Powysian dynasty descended from

Vortigern Vortigern (; owl, Guorthigirn, ; cy, Gwrtheyrn; ang, Wyrtgeorn; Old Breton: ''Gurdiern'', ''Gurthiern''; gle, Foirtchern; la, Vortigernus, , , etc.), also spelled Vortiger, Vortigan, Voertigern and Vortigen, was a 5th-century warlord in ...

king of Britain The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bail ...

. The area of Cyndrwyn's control was centred on the Severn valley around

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'S ...

. Aelhaiarn was said to have been a disciple of

, who also a member of the dynasty and thus a cousin. Beuno's activity was sponsored by Cadfan and other members of

Gwynedd Gwynedd (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the North West Wales, north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County B ...

Cunedda Cunedda ap Edern, also called Cunedda ''Wledig'' ( 5th century), was an important early Welsh leader, and the progenitor of the Royal dynasty of Gwynedd, one of the very oldest of western Europe. Name The name ''Cunedda'' (spelled ''Cunedag ...

dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

; Aelhaiarn seems to have accompanied him out of Powys to

Edeirnion Edeirnion or Edeyrnion is an area of the county of Denbighshire and an ancient commote of medieval Wales in the cantref of Penllyn. According to tradition, it was named after its eponymous founder Edern or Edeyrn. It was included as a Welsh ...

and thence to northeastern Llŷn.

Miracles

Eglwys S Aelhaearn Llanaelhaearn - geograph

The principal

miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divi ...

associated with Aelhaiarn was actually performed by Beuno, who was said to have raised him from the dead (among six others). The 18th-century version of the story given to

John Ray John Ray FRS (29 November 1627 – 17 January 1705) was a Christian English naturalist widely regarded as one of the earliest of the English parson-naturalists. Until 1670, he wrote his name as John Wray. From then on, he used 'Ray', after ...

at Llanaelhaearn provides a

folk etymology Folk etymology (also known as popular etymology, analogical reformation, reanalysis, morphological reanalysis or etymological reinterpretation) is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a more famili ...

for Aelhaiarn's unusual name. It claimed that Beuno (Byno) was accustomed to disappearing from his cell near Clynnog every night to travel to pray on a flat stone in the middle of the

Afon Erch The Afon Erch is a short river on the Llŷn peninsula, Gwynedd, Wales. It arises on the slopes of Bwlch Mawr, flowing south and southwest towards the hamlet of Llwyndyrys where it turns abruptly eastwards and curves around to the south, passing ...

. One night, as Beuno returned, he saw a man hidden in the dark; he then prayed that, if the stranger were on some good errand, he should attain it but, if his intent were ill, that some example be made of him. Immediately upon saying this, he saw wild animals appear from the forest and rend the man limb from limb. Beuno reconsidered when he discovered that it was his own servant who had been spying upon him. The saint set the bones and limbs together except for the bone beneath his brow, which was lost. This, he replaced with an iron bit from his pike spike.Ray, John
"Itinerary III" in ''Memorials of John Ray... with His Itineraries, etc.'', pp. 169 ff.
C. & J. Adlard (London), 1846.

Cadw (, a Welsh verbal noun meaning "keeping/preserving") is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage ...

.
Church of St Aelhaearn, Llanaelhaearn
. 1971. Hosted at British Listed Buildings. Accessed 21 November 2014. (

Thomas Pennant Thomas Pennant (14 June OS 172616 December 1798) was a Welsh naturalist, traveller, writer and antiquarian. He was born and lived his whole life at his family estate, Downing Hall near Whitford, Flintshire, in Wales. As a naturalist he had ...

, in his ''Tour in Wales'', called the story "too absurd to relate" and didn't.Pennant, Thomas
''A Tour in Wales'', Vol. II, p. 208
Henry Hughes (London), 1778.) Baring-Gould, recounting it, compares it with

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing ...

's restoration of his goats Snarler and Grinder in the '' Prose Edda''. After Llanaelhaearn had been established on the site of the servant's resurrection, Beuno charged him to oversee it but, "for a punishment", prayed that the bells of Clynnog would be heard throughout the village but not within Llanaelhaearn's church. At the death of Aelhaiarn, his southern countrymen claimed his body; this was disputed by the monks of Clynnog. A fight was said to have broken out that continued into the night. At dawn, there were two coffins on two biers and one was taken by each faction. (A similar miracle is credited to Saint Teilo, whose

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tang ...

s were claimed by three separate churches.)

Legacy

Saint Aelhaiarn was separately venerated at Guilsfield ( cy, Cegidfa, " Hemlock-field") near Welshpool in

Powys Powys (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh succession of states, successor state, petty kingdom and princi ...

and at Llanaelhaearn on the

Llŷn peninsula The Llŷn Peninsula ( cy, Penrhyn Llŷn or , ) extends into the Irish Sea from North West Wales, south west of the Isle of Anglesey. It is part of the historic county of Caernarfonshire, and historic region and local authority area of Gwynedd. ...

. (The latter, however, was long known as "Llanhaiarn" through a corruption of his name; the nearby estate known as Elernion ("St Elern's") is thought to have a similar origin.) The church at Guilsfield has been variously credited to Saint Giles (from the parish's name), to All Saints (from Aelhaiarn's nearby feast day), and to

Saint Tysilio Saint Tysilio (also known as/confused with Saint Suliac; la, Tysilius, Suliacus; died 640 AD) was a Welsh bishop, prince and scholar, son of the reigning King of Powys, Brochwel Ysgithrog, maternal nephew of the great Abbot Dunod of Bango ...

(from the local fair which was held on 8 November). Most of the present church dates to the 14th & 15th-century expansion of a 12th- or 13th-century core; it was refurbished between 1877 and 1879 and a small clock inset into the middle of its medieval tower. It is now a Grade I listed building.Cadw.
Church of St. Aelhaiarn including Outbuilding to W End of N Aisle and Outbuilding on W Side of Porch, Guilsfield
. 1950. Hosted at British Listed Buildings. Accessed 21 November 2014. Its garden is also noted as an example of ancient yew trees set in a designed scheme. The church at Llanaelhaearn bears walls from around the 12th century and was last refurbished in 1892. It is listed as Grade II*. During expansion of the churchyard in 1865, workers discovered the Latin-inscribed gravestone of an Aliortus of

Elmet Elmet ( cy, Elfed), sometimes Elmed or Elmete, was an independent Brittonic kingdom between about the 5th century and early 7th century, in what later became the smaller area of the West Riding of Yorkshire then West Yorkshire, South Yorks ...

, possibly indicating the existence of a religious settlement at the site before the arrival of Beuno and Aelhaearn.

Both locations included a holy well. The well at Guilsfield (') was formerly visited by parishioners for a drink on

Trinity Sunday Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christian liturgical calendar, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity. Trinity Sunday celebrates the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, the three Persons of God: the ...

. St Aelhaiarn's Well (') at Llanaelhaearn was a major station on the northern

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

route to

Bardsey Island Bardsey Island ( cy, Ynys Enlli), known as the legendary "Island of 20,000 Saints", is located off the Llŷn Peninsula in the Welsh county of Gwynedd. The Welsh name means "The Island in the Currents", while its English name refers to the "Islan ...

and much frequented for the miraculous cures associated with the "laughing" or "troubling of the water", an irregular appearance of upwelling bubbles throughout the well. By the 19th century, the Llanaelhaearn well was surrounded with an oblong basin and stone benches; devotees would rest on them while waiting for the water to "laugh". A

diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild clinical course, but in some outbreaks more than 10% of those diagnosed with the disease may die. Signs and s ...

outbreak in 1900, however, caused the local council to, first, enclose and roof the well and, then, to lock it away from the public. The well's ownership is disputed and it remains inaccessible; the present enclosure dates from 1975.Coflein
"Ffynnon Aelhaearn; St Aelhaearn's Well"
Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales, 2014. During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, the inland reach of

Meirionydd Meirionnydd is a coastal and mountainous region of Wales. It has been a kingdom, a cantref, a district and, as Merionethshire, a county. Kingdom Meirionnydd (Meirion, with -''ydd'' as a Welsh suffix of land, literally ''Land adjoined to Me ...

also bore a parish named Llanaelhaiarn near modern

Gwyddelwern Gwyddelwern is a small village and community of 508 residents, reducing to 500 at the 2011 census, situated approximately north of Corwen in Denbighshire in Wales. Historically the village was part of the Edeyrnion district of Meirionnydd. Edey ...

in Denbighshire. It was united with Gwyddelwern in 1550 and the site of its chapel is now only marked with a yew tree.Coflein.
Capel Aelhaiarn, Chapel Site, Pandy'r Capel
. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales, 2014. In the early 20th century, its local village was still named Aelhaiarn but it is now known as Pandy'r Capel ("Chapel Fulling Mill").

References

External links

*
Ffynnon Aelhaearn
(St Aelhaiarn's Well in Llanaelhaearn) at ''Well Hopper'' {{DEFAULTSORT:AELHAIARN 7th-century Welsh people Welsh royalty Medieval Welsh saints Welsh Roman Catholic saints 7th-century Christian saints Llanaelhaearn