Saint Endellion

In 5th-century southern Wales we find the Kingdom of Brycheiniog (circled red on the map), ruled by King Brychan. Brychan had many children, one of whom was named Cenheidlon, whose Latinized name was Endellion.

At some point in her life she crossed the Bristol Channel to North Cornwall where her siblings were working to convert the local population to Christianity, stopping first at the Isle of Lundy to found a small chapel (the ruins are listed as a "Scheduled Monument"; it was later erroneously named "St. Helen" [link]). She then traveled to stay with her brother before moving on. Although she frequently went back to spend time in Lundy, she settled in Trentinney near what is now the town of St. Endellion.

She lived as a hermit, supposedly subsisting on nothing but the milk of a certain cow and water (there are two wells named for her near the town of Endellion). Her sister, also a saint, lived nearby. Where the two would occasionally meet to spend time together, it is said that the grass where they walked always grew more lush and green afterward. (If you are realizing that we strayed from historical record to legend, hang on: there's more to come.) A chapel where she lived was destroyed during the Reformation; only a bare foundation remains.

Her cow strayed into the herd of the Lord of Trentinney, who killed it. Legend says that her godfather, King Arthur, killed the Lord of Trentinney for killing the cow, but Endellion was so unhappy to have someone killed on her behalf that she restored the man to life.

The Church of St. Endellion in the town of St. Endellion is supposedly the site of her gave. Prior to her death, she asked that her burial site be chosen by putting her body on a sledge pulled by bullocks. The bullocks were to be given free rein, and wherever they stopped was where she should be buried. The bullocks stopped at the top of a hill. She was buried there and the Church of St. Endellion was built on the site.

I mentioned that her sister was also a saint, Saint Dilic. So was her brother. So was...well, the family was quite religious-minded, and I'll tell you more about them tomorrow.