Saint Elli was a 6th-century Welsh

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 ...

, or possibly two saints.

Llanelli ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire and the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is on the estuary of the River Loughor and is the largest town in the Principal areas of Wales, ...

in Carmarthenshire and

Llanelly Llanelly () is a village, Community (Wales), community, and parish in the county of Monmouthshire, South East Wales. It formerly existed in the historic county of Brecknockshire. The population of the community and ward at the 2011 United Kin ...

in Monmouthshire are both named after Elli. There are traditions about a male saint Elli and a female saint Elli, and there are depictions of a male and of a female saint. According to one legend, Elli or Ellyw was a daughter or granddaughter of King Brychan. Elli founded a church on the banks of the River Lliedi, which attracted peasants who settled nearby. This community became the town of Llanelli in Carmarthenshire. A different account is given in the 11th century ''Vita Cadoci'' (life of

Cadoc Saint Cadoc or Cadog (; also Modern Welsh: Catawg or Catwg; born or before) was a 5th–6th-century Abbot of Llancarfan, near Cowbridge in Glamorgan, Wales, a monastery famous from the era of the Celtic church as a centre of learning, wher ...

), which says that Elli was the son of the Queen of the Islands of Grimbul, and the foster son of Saint Cadoc. When travelling in foreign lands, Cadoc landed on the islands of Grimbul. Grimbul's queen was barren, but after Cadoc interceded for her she bore a son, Elli, who she entrusted to the care of Cadoc. Cadoc took Elli to the '' clas'' (ecclesiastical settlement) at Llancarfan, where he was educated. The ''Vita Cadoci'' says that Elli succeeded Cadoc as Abbot of Llancarfan when Cadoc was preparing to leave for

Benevento Benevento ( ; , ; ) is a city and (municipality) of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino (or Beneventano) and the Sabato (r ...

. The hagiographer

Sabine Baring-Gould Sabine Baring-Gould (; 28 January 1834 – 2 January 1924) of Lew Trenchard in Devon, England, was an Anglican priest, hagiographer, antiquarian, novelist, folk song collector and eclectic scholar. His bibliography consists of more than 1,240 pu ...

(1834–1924) argued that Llanelieu Church in Powys was dedicated to the female St Ellyw or Elyw, but doubts that she was related to Brychan. He connects Llanelli and Llanelly with the male disciple of Cadoc. Two

Church in Wales The Church in Wales () is an Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The position is currently held b ...

churches are dedicated to St Elli, St Elli Church in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, and St Elli's Church in Llanelly, Monmouthshire. Saint Elli is also venerated in both the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

References

6th-century Christian saints 6th-century births Welsh hermits Roman Catholic monks Medieval Welsh saints Female saints of medieval Wales Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown 6th-century Christian monks 6th-century Welsh people {{Saint-stub