Saint Meleri was a late 5th century Welsh saint and Queen of Ceredigion.
Meleri was one of the 24 daughters of King
Brychan Brycheiniog
Brychan Brycheiniog was a legendary 5th-century king of Brycheiniog (Brecknockshire, alternatively Breconshire) in Mid Wales.
Life
According to Celtic hagiography Brychan was born in Ireland, the son of a Prince Anlach, son of Coronac, and hi ...
of Brycheiniog (now Brecknockshire) in Wales.
She married King
Ceredig of Ceredigion, one of the son of
Cunedda Wledig
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 ...
and was the mother and grandmother of several children who later became saints, including
Saint David
Saint David ( cy, Dewi Sant; la, Davidus; ) was a Welsh bishop of Mynyw (now St Davids) during the 6th century. He is the patron saint of Wales. David was a native of Wales, and tradition has preserved a relatively large amount of detail ab ...
.
Although there are no churches dedicated to her, the influence of Meleri in introducing
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
to
Ceredigion
Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cere ...
cannot be underestimated as the saints active there were almost all her children, grandchildren or great grandchildren.
[Breverton, T.D. 2000, The Book of Welsh Saints, Glyndwr]
References
{{Reflist
Female saints of medieval Wales
Children of Brychan
People from Ceredigion