Bleiddud was Bishop of St David's (then known as

Menevia The Roman Catholic Diocese of Menevia is a diocese of the Catholic Church in Wales. It is one of two suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Cardiff and is subject to the Archdiocese of Cardiff. History On 12 May 1898, the Apost ...

) in Wales from 1061 to 1071. Little is known of him. His name is sometimes given as Bedwd. The name ''Bleiddud'' appears to be derived from the

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 ...

''blaidd'', wolf, and ''tud'', tribe or the territory of a tribe. A bishop of the diocese named Joseph died in 1061, and Bleiddud was his successor. He is reported to have been consecrated by Æthelnoth,

archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

,William Basil Jones, Edward Augustus Freeman, ''The history and antiquities of Saint David's'' (1856)
p. 267
/ref> who died in 1038, suggesting that he was translated to St David's having been a bishop elsewhere. The chapter of St David's, in an address to

Pope Eugenius III Pope Eugene III ( la, Eugenius III; c. 1080 – 8 July 1153), born Bernardo Pignatelli, or possibly Paganelli, called Bernardo da Pisa, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1145 to his death in 1153. He w ...

of the year 1145, stated that a man named Melan of

Llanelwy St Asaph (; cy, Llanelwy "church on the Elwy") is a city and community on the River Elwy in Denbighshire, Wales. In the 2011 Census it had a population of 3,355, making it the second-smallest city in Britain in terms of population and urban ...

(''Melanus Llanelvensis'') was

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

bishop of St Asaph The Bishop of St Asaph heads the Church in Wales diocese of St Asaph. The diocese covers the counties of Conwy and Flintshire, Wrexham county borough, the eastern part of Merioneth in Gwynedd and part of northern Powys. The Episcopal seat is loca ...

by Bleiddud while he was bishop of St David's. This event has been dated to about the year 1070. A "Bishop Begard" is addressed in a Coventry writ of

Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor ; la, Eduardus Confessor , ; ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was one of the last Anglo-Saxon English kings. Usually considered the last king of the House of Wessex, he ruled from 1042 to 1066. Edward was the son of Æth ...

of 1060, concerning the king's grant of judicial rights to Bromfield Minster in Shropshire, and it has been suggested that this is an error for Bleiddud. According to the '' Annales Cambriae'', Bleiddud died in 1071 and was succeeded as Bishop of St David's by

Sulien Sulien was an 11th-century Bishop of St David's, for two periods (1073-1078 and 1079/80-1085/6). He died about 1090/1. Sulien is closely associated with the '' clas'' church at Llanbadarn Fawr near Aberystwyth where it appears that he took refuge ...

. According to the account of '' Brut y Tywysogion'' for the year 1071, By the ninth century, and later, the right of the clergy to marry was well established in Wales, and an entry in the Book of St Chad records the grant of freedom to Bleiddud, son of Sulien, this apparently being the Sulien who succeeded Bishop Bleiddud. Gerald of Wales also notes that at the time it was usual for sons to follow fathers in church

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

s. The '' Book of Llandaff'', dating from around 1125, also records a "decree of the liberty of Bleiddud and his offspring". W. J. Rees, ed., ''The Liber Landavensis, Llyfr Teilo, or the ancient register of the cathedral church of Llandaff'' (W. Rees for Welsh MSS. Society, 1840)
p. 618
"Whoever will keep this decree of the liberty of Bleiddud and his offspring, may he be blessed ; and whoever will not keep it, may he be cursed by God..."

Notes

{{authority control 1071 deaths Bishops of St Davids Welsh scholars and academics 11th-century English Roman Catholic bishops Year of birth unknown