Saint Eluned

Saint Eluned (Welsh: Eiliwedd; Latin: Almedha or Elevetha), also known as Aled and by other names, was a 5th- or 6th-century virgin martyr from modern Brecon. George Phillips, writing for the Catholic Encyclopedia, calls her "the Luned of the Mabinogion and the Lynette of Tennyson's Gareth and Lynette.". Her small chapel and holy well at what is now Slwch Tump were destroyed during the English Reformation.

Legend

One of the many daughters of King Brychan of Brycheiniog in South Wales (a sub-Roman monarch who embraced the new faith of Christianity), Eluned became a Christian at a young age. She spurned the advances of a pagan prince and, like many women of her time, ran away to avoid being forced into the relationship. She travelled first to Llan Ddew where she was ousted by the locals, then to Llanfilo. Here again, she was ousted by the inhabitants, on the pretext of thievery. She then travelled to Llechfaen, 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; as in the story of Saint Winefride, a healing spring burst from that spot.