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 peop ...

for "Iron

Eyebrows An eyebrow is an area of short hairs above each Human eye, eye that follows the shape of the lower margin of the Supraorbital ridge, brow ridges of some mammals. In humans, eyebrows serve two main functions: first, human communication, communica ...

";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. 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 largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

church in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

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 Bailiw ...

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

Severn valley The Severn Valley is a rural area of the West Midlands region of England, through which the River Severn runs and the Severn Valley Railway steam heritage line operates, starting at its northernmost point in Bridgnorth, Shropshire and runni ...

around Shrewsbury. Aelhaiarn was said to have been a disciple of Saint Beuno, who also a member of the dynasty and thus a cousin. Beuno's activity was sponsored by Cadfan and other members of Gwynedd's

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 ''Cuned ...

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 t ...

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 at

Llanaelhaearn __NOTOC__ Llanaelhaearn is a village and community on the Llŷn Peninsula in the county of Gwynedd, Wales. The community includes the larger village of Trefor and has a population of 1,067, increasing to 1,117 at the 2011 Census. Name The to ...

provides a folk etymology 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. 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.
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 h ...

, 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, an ...

's restoration of his goats Snarler and Grinder in the ''

Prose Edda The ''Prose Edda'', also known as the ''Younger Edda'', ''Snorri's Edda'' ( is, Snorra Edda) or, historically, simply as ''Edda'', is an Old Norse textbook written in Iceland during the early 13th century. The work is often assumed to have been t ...

''. 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

bier A bier is a stand on which a corpse, coffin, or casket containing a corpse is placed to lie in state or to be carried to the grave.''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'' (American Heritage Publishing Co., Inc., New York, ...

s and one was taken by each faction. (A similar miracle is credited to

Saint Teilo Saint Teilo ( la, Teliarus or '; br, TeliauWainewright, John. in ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'', Vol. XIV. Robert Appleton Co. (New York), 1912. Accessed 20 July 2013. or '; french: Télo or '; – 9 February ), also known by his ...

, whose relics were claimed by three separate churches.)

Legacy

Saint Aelhaiarn was separately venerated at

Guilsfield Guilsfield ( cy, Cegidfa, " Hemlock-field") is a village and local government community in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales. It lies beside Guilsfield Brook about three miles north of Welshpool. It is located on the B4392 road and a disused b ...

( cy, Cegidfa, " Hemlock-field") near

Welshpool Welshpool ( cy, Y Trallwng) is a market town and community in Powys, Wales, historically in the county of Montgomeryshire. The town is from the Wales–England border and low-lying on the River Severn; its Welsh language name ''Y Trallwng'' m ...

Powys Powys (; ) is a county and preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain. Geog ...

and at

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. Mu ...

in 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 Bangor ...

(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 In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

.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* In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. 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 Yorkshir ...

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

Both locations included a

holy well A holy well or sacred spring is a well, spring or small pool of water revered either in a Christian or pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualities, through the numinous presence of its guar ...

. 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: th ...

. 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 Meirio ...

also bore a parish named Llanaelhaiarn near modern Gwyddelwern in Denbighshire. It was united with Gwyddelwern in 1550 and the site of its chapel is now only marked with a

yew tree Yew is a common name given to various species of trees. It is most prominently given to any of various coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Taxus'': * European yew or common yew (''Taxus baccata'') * Pacific yew or western yew (''Taxus b ...

.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