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Saint Elen (Welsh:Elen Luyddog,lit. "Helen of the Hosts"), oftenanglicized asHelen, was a late 4th-century founder of churches inWales. Although never formallycanonized byRome, Elen is traditionally considered asaint in theWelsh Church; in English she is sometimes known asSaint Helen of Caernarfon to distinguish her fromSaint Helena ("Helen of Constantinople").
Traditionally, she is said to have been a daughter of theRomano-British rulerOctavius / Eudaf Hen (and therefore sister ofConan Meriadoc) and the wife ofMagnus Maximus / Macsen Wledig, the 4th-centuryemperor inBritain,Gaul, andSpain who was killed in battle in 388.[1]
Elen was mother of five, including a boy named Custennin or Cystennin (Constantine). She lived about sixty years later thanHelena of Constantinople, the mother ofConstantine the Great, with whom she has often been confused.[2] She ispatron of Llanelan in WestGower and of the church at Penisa'r-waun nearCaernarfon, where her feast day is22 May. Together with her sons, Cystennin and Peblig (Publicus, named in the calendar of theChurch in Wales), she is said to have introduced into Wales theCeltic form of monasticism from Gaul.[citation needed] SaintGregory of Tours andSulpicius Severus record that Maximus and his wife met SaintMartin of Tours while they were in Gaul.[3]
Elen's story is told inThe Dream of Macsen Wledig, one of the tales associated with theMabinogion.Welsh mythology remembers her as the daughter of a chieftain of north Wales named Eudaf or Eudwy, who probably lived somewhere near the Roman base ofSegontium, nowCaernarfon.[1] She is remembered for having Macsen buildroads across her country so that the soldiers could more easily defend it from attackers, thus earning her the nameElen Luyddog (Elen of the Hosts).
She is said to have ordered the making ofSarn Helen, the great Roman road running from Caernarfon to south Wales viaDolgellau,Pennal and Bremia (Llanddewi Brefi). Though this road bears her name, it is considerably older than Elen's accepted time period. Many other Roman roads in Wales bear her name (e.g. Llwybr Elen) and she is thus acknowledged as the patron saint of British roadbuilders and the protectress of travellers. There are over 20holy wells in Britain dedicated to a "Saint Helen", although these are frequently taken as honoring the mother ofConstantine the Great.