Sant Trillo St Trillo Betws yn Rhos Conwy Gogledd Cymru North Wales 16

Elian was 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 ...

who founded a church in

North Wales North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...

around the year 450. His

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...

is 13 January. The legend of St. Elian says he was related to

Isfael Isfael or Ismael (), often anglicised as Ishmael, was a 6th-century medieval Welsh bishop of Rhos and saint. He was allegedly also a Breton prince of Armorica. Although his anglicized name invites association with the Biblical Ishmael, Isfael ...

(another Welsh saint) and laboured in the missions of

Cornwall, England Cornwall (; or ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, Devon to the east, and the Engli ...

. Tradition holds that he came by sea from

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

bringing with him oxen and other livestock and landed in

Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...

at Porth yr Yehen, where he built his church. One folk tale says he forbade the keeping of

greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a dog breed, breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Some are kept as show dogs or pets. Greyhounds are defined as a tall, muscular, smooth-c ...

s after one killed or disturbed a doe in his care.

Cambrian Archaeological Association The Cambrian Archaeological Association () was founded in 1846 to examine, preserve and illustrate the ancient monuments and remains of the history, language, manners, customs, arts and industries of Wales and the Welsh Marches and to educate t ...

(1876). ''Archaeologia cambrensis.'' W. Pickering According to tradition, Elian and

Saint Cybi Saint Cybi ( Welsh), or Cuby ( Cornish), was a 6th-century Cornish bishop, saint, and, briefly, king, who worked largely in Cornwall and North Wales: his biography is recorded in two slightly variant medieval 'lives'. Life in Cornwall The ''vi ...

used to meet at Llanfrydog, midway between Llanelian and

Holyhead Holyhead (; , "Cybi's fort") is a historic port town, and is the list of Anglesey towns by population, largest town and a Community (Wales), community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales. Holyhead is on Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island ...

, to confer on religious matters. Saint Eilian was especially invoked for the healing of sick children.

Llanelian Road Llanelian Road (), also known as the Blue Turtle Arena for sponsorship purposes, is a multi-use stadium in Old Colwyn, North Wales. It is currently used mostly for association football, football matches and is the home ground of Colwyn Bay F.C. ...

Colwyn Bay Colwyn Bay () is a town, Community (Wales), community and seaside resort in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales overlooking the Irish Sea. It lies within the historic counties of Wales, historic county boundaries of Denbighshire (h ...

, is named after him, as is St. Elian's Church in Llanelian. His nearby holy well, ''Ffynnon Elian'', was, at one time, one of the most famous holy wells in Wales."Llanelian St. Elian", National Churches Trust
/ref> The former civil parish of Llanelian-yn-Rhos in

Conwy County Borough Conwy County Borough () is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough in the north Wales, north of Wales. It borders Gwynedd to the west and south and Denbighshire to the east. The largest settlement is Colwyn Bay, and Conwy is the administrativ ...

was named after him. His connection with

Eglwysilan Eglwysilan is an ecclesiastical parish and Hamlet (place), hamlet in Wales, within the Community (Wales), community of Aber Valley in the unitary authority of Caerphilly County Borough. History of the parish During the 12th-century Norman inva ...

near Caerphilly is unclear.

References

Further reading