Saint Eluned
Encyclopedia
Saint Eluned was a 5th century female Welsh
saint from Brecon
.
of Brycheiniog
, a sub-Roman
monarch, who had embraced the new faith of Christianity
. Eluned became a Christian at a young age, but was pursued by a pagan prince. She spurned his advances and, like many women of her time, she ran away to keep from being forced into the relationship. She traveled to Llanddew
where she was ousted by the locals, and then to Llanfilo. Here again, she was ousted by the inhabitants, on the pretext of thievery. She then travelled to Llechfaen (now Llechen), where she was again thrown out of the community. She would not find peace until her arrival at Slwch Tump, where the local lord gave her protection. However, Eluned's pursuer found her. When she ran from him, he chased her down the hill and beheaded her. Her head rolled down the hill and hit a stone. In that spot, a spring arose.
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia she is "the Luned of the "Mabinogion" (Lady Guest, I, 113-14, II, 164) and the Lynette of Tennyson's "Gareth and Lynette"."
arrived in Brecknockshire
in the 11th century, the well at Slwch was associated with healing and other miracles. Like so many other such sites, Eluned's well and chapel were destroyed during the Reformation
. Welsh
historian, Hugh Thomas
in his essay on the history of Brecknockshire (1698), speaks of the chapel, in his time, as:
Her feast day is August 1, which was also the date a pagan harvest festival was celebrated.
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
saint from Brecon
Brecon
Brecon is a long-established market town and community in southern Powys, Mid Wales, with a population of 7,901. It was the county town of the historic county of Brecknockshire; although its role as such was eclipsed with the formation of Powys, it remains an important local centre...
.
Life
Eluned is believed to have been one of the twenty-four daughters of King BrychanBrychan
Brychan Brycheiniog was a legendary 5th-century king of Brycheiniog in South Wales.-Life:Celtic hagiography tells us that Brychan was born in Ireland, the son of a Prince Anlach, son of Coronac, and his wife, Marchel, heiress of the Welsh kingdom of Garthmadrun , which the couple later inherited...
of Brycheiniog
Brycheiniog
Brycheiniog was a small independent petty kingdom in South Wales in the Early Middle Ages. It often acted as a buffer state between England to the east and the powerful south Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth to the west. It was conquered and pacified by the Normans between 1088 and 1095, though it...
, a sub-Roman
Sub-Roman Britain
Sub-Roman Britain is a term derived from an archaeological label for the material culture of Britain in Late Antiquity: the term "Sub-Roman" was invented to describe the potsherds in sites of the 5th century and the 6th century, initially with an implication of decay of locally-made wares from a...
monarch, who had embraced the new faith of Christianity
Celtic Christianity
Celtic Christianity or Insular Christianity refers broadly to certain features of Christianity that were common, or held to be common, across the Celtic-speaking world during the Early Middle Ages...
. Eluned became a Christian at a young age, but was pursued by a pagan prince. She spurned his advances and, like many women of her time, she ran away to keep from being forced into the relationship. She traveled to Llanddew
Llanddew
Llanddew is a small village, about two miles from Brecon, Wales.Its manor belongs to the bishops of Saint David's, who had formerly a castellated mansion or bishops palace there, of which some ruins still remain and incorporate a double-sided vaulted well, known as Bishop Gower’s Well.Llanddew...
where she was ousted by the locals, and then to Llanfilo. Here again, she was ousted by the inhabitants, on the pretext of thievery. She then travelled to Llechfaen (now Llechen), where she was again thrown out of the community. She would not find peace until her arrival at Slwch Tump, where the local lord gave her protection. However, Eluned's pursuer found her. When she ran from him, he chased her down the hill and beheaded her. Her head rolled down the hill and hit a stone. In that spot, a spring arose.
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia she is "the Luned of the "Mabinogion" (Lady Guest, I, 113-14, II, 164) and the Lynette of Tennyson's "Gareth and Lynette"."
Veneration
When the NormansNormans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
arrived in Brecknockshire
Brecknockshire
Brecknockshire , also known as the County of Brecknock, Breconshire, or the County of Brecon is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, and a former administrative county.-Geography:...
in the 11th century, the well at Slwch was associated with healing and other miracles. Like so many other such sites, Eluned's well and chapel were destroyed during the Reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
. Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
historian, Hugh Thomas
Hugh Thomas
Hugh Thomas , is a British historian and life peer.Hugh Thomas may also refer to:* Hugh Thomas , American choral conductor, pianist and educator* Hugh Thomas , Australian rules football coach...
in his essay on the history of Brecknockshire (1698), speaks of the chapel, in his time, as:
- standing, though unroofed and useless; the people thereabouts call it St. Tayled. It was situated on an eminence, about a mile to the eastward of Brecknock, and about half a mile from a farm-house, formerly the mansion and residence of the Aubreys, lords of the manor of Slwch, which lordship was bestowed upon Sir Reginald Awbrey by Bernard Newmarche, in the reign of William Rufus. Some small vestiges of this building may still be traced, and an aged yew tree, with a well at its foot, marks the site near which the chapel formerly stood.
Her feast day is August 1, which was also the date a pagan harvest festival was celebrated.
Further reading
- Giraldus CambrensisGiraldus CambrensisGerald of Wales , also known as Gerallt Gymro in Welsh or Giraldus Cambrensis in Latin, archdeacon of Brecon, was a medieval clergyman and chronicler of his times...
. The Journey Through Wales - Journey through Hay and Brecheinia - Forgotten Sanctuaries, an article published in the 1903 Archaeologia Cambrensis.
- Catholic Encyclopedia article