Ceitho was an

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

and a

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

living in

West Wales West Wales () is a region of Wales. It has various definitions, either covering Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, which historically comprised the Welsh principality of ''Deheubarth'', and an alternative definition is to include Swa ...

in the 6th century. According to legend he was one of the five sons born to Cynyr Farfdrwch of

Cynwyl Gaeo Cynwyl Gaeo is a parish and community located in rural Carmarthenshire, Wales, near the boundary with Ceredigion, in the upper Cothi valley about halfway between Lampeter and Llandovery. The population of the community at the United Kingdom Ce ...

, and a descendant of the ancient Welsh king

Cunedda Wledig Cunedda ap Edern, also called Cunedda ''Wledig'' (reigned – c. 460), 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'' (spelle ...

. Along with his brothers

Gwynno Gwynno, or Gwynnog ab Gildas, is the name of a 6th-century Celtic Christianity, Welsh saint. Archives at the Vatican City, Vatican record that his festival is 26 October; that he is regarded as a confessor; and that there is said to be a sacred w ...

, Gwynoro, Celynin, and Gwyn, he became a saint. The five brothers are said to have founded the village of

Llanpumsaint Llanpumsaint (; Welsh "Llan" church + "pum" five + "saint" saint(s)) is a village and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales. In the 2001 UK Census, Llanpumsaint community had a population of 595. It is not to be confused with Pumsaint, a small v ...

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire (; or informally ') is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. ...

. Ceitho is also the patron saint of

Llangeitho Llangeitho is a village and community (Wales), community on the upper River Aeron in Ceredigion, Wales, about four miles (6 km) west of Tregaron and north of Lampeter. Its population of 874 in 2001 fell to 819 at the 2011 census. Nonconformism ...

Ceredigion Ceredigion (), historically Cardiganshire (, ), is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the West Wales, west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the River Dyfi, Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire t ...

, and is said to have founded an

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

in which he secluded himself to live as a

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Chr ...

. Near the village can be found Ffynnon Geitho ('Ceitho's Well'), a natural spring which is said to run cold in summer and warm in winter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ceitho Children of Cunedda 6th-century Christian saints 6th-century Welsh people