Saint Cenydd | |
|---|---|
 St Cenydd's Church,Llangennith | |
| Died | 6th century |
| Venerated in | Orthodox Church,Roman Catholic Church,Church in Wales |
| Majorshrine | Llangennith (Wales) Languidic (Brittany) |
| Patronage | Llangennith |
Saint Cenydd (ModernWelsh:Cennydd;French:Kinède;fl. c. 6th century), sometimesanglicised asSaint Kenneth, was aChristianhermit on theGower Peninsula inWales, where he is credited with the foundation of the church atLlangennith.[1]
Liturgical calendars andplace-name evidence suggest the historical existence of Cenydd. Hislegend, however, is too late and too obviously derivative to be relied upon. According to Welsh sources collected in the 15th century byJohn Capgrave and published in theNova Legenda Angliae, Cenydd was aBretonprince, the son of "King Dihoc" (presumably Deroch II ofDomnonée) by an allegedlyincestuous relationship with his own daughter.[2] While the poor girl was pregnant, Deroch was summoned byKing Arthur to attend the Christmas festivities being held at his court in Aber Llychwr (Loughor).
A cripple, Cenydd was placed in acradle made ofosiers and cast into the estuary of theRiver Loughor (a fate that befell severalearly British saints) and eventually landed onWorm's Head.Seagulls andangels with amiraculous breast-shaped bell ensured that he survived and was educated as aChristian.
He became ahermit, his only companion being an untrustworthy servant whose dishonesty was revealed when he stole a spear from one of a group of robbers who had been hospitably received by his master. In 545,Saint David cured Cenydd while traveling to theSynod of Brefi but he preferred to remain as he was born and prayed for his infirmity to be restored.
An incised stone monument featuring images apparently of the Cenydd legend was discovered during renovation work atSt Mungo's Church, Dearham (Cumbria), in the 1880s and is displayed there as the 'Kenneth Stone'. The Saint's connection with Cumbria is currently unexplained.
According to the unreliableIolo Morganwg, Cenydd was a son ofGildas and married and had a son before enteringLlanilltud Fawr as amonk under SaintIlltud. Cenydd's son, Ffili, later a Bishop, was said to be the namesake ofCaerphilly.[3]
Cenydd is associated with the remains of a Pre-Norman hermitage onBurry Holms, an island at the northern end of Rhossili Bay.[4] InBrittany, he is chiefly associated withLanguidic, but there is a chapel (Saint-Quidy) dedicated to him in Ploumelin or, with more modern French spelling,Plumelin - not to be confused withPlomelin which is also in Brittany.
Cenydd'sfeast day is celebrated at Llangennith on 5 July. Up to the early twentieth century the festival was traditionally marked by the displaying of an effigy of a bird from a pole on the church tower, symbolising the legendary birds who cared for the infant Cenydd, and the consumption of whitepot or 'milked meat' a dish made of flour, milk, sugar and dried fruits, not unlike a rice pudding orbread and butter pudding (see alsoCuisine of Gower). The practice has been revived in recent years.William Worcester also records the feast of his translation, apparently to somewhere inNorth Wales, on 27 June.
The Church of St Peter and St Cenydd is located inSenghenydd. St. Cenydd Community School is in Caerphilly,[5] as is the St Cenydd Leisure Centre.[6]