| Saint Cenydd | |
|---|---|
| Died | 6th century |
| Honored in | Orthodox Church, Roman Catholic Church, Church in Wales |
Cenydd (also known as Keneth, modern Welsh Cennydd, modern English Kenneth, French Kinède) was a Christian hermit saint who lived in Britain in Gower and in France in Brittany, probably in the 6th century. He should not be confused with Saint Kenneth (Saint Canice), the Irish saint popular in Scotland.
According to the unreliable Iolo Morganwg, Cenydd was a son of Gildas, and married and had a son before entering Llanilltud Fawr as a monk under Saint Illtud. But place-name evidence indicates only that he was the founder of the church of Llangennith on the Gower Peninsula and travelled to Brittany, where his cultus is centred around Languidic. He also had a chapel at Ploumelin.
Cenydd's unusual legend was collected in the 15th century by John Capgrave from Welsh sources, and is found in the Nova Legenda Angliae. According to this, the saint was a Breton prince, the son of King 'Dihoc' (presumably Deroch II of Domnonée) born of incest apparently at Loughor in Glamorgan while his father was attending King Arthur. As an unwanted cripple, Cenydd was placed in a cradle made of osiers, cast into the estuary of the River Loughor and eventually landed on 'Ynys Weryn' or Worm's Head island. Here seagulls and angelic interventions, involving a miraculous breast-shaped bell, ensured that he survived, and that he was educated as a Christian. He became a hermit, 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. According to the legend Saint David later cured Cenydd of his deformity while travelling to the Synod of Brefi in 545 but the hermit preferred to remain as he was born and prayed for his previous condition to be restored. The story breaks off abruptly at this point.
Liturgical calendars and place-name evidence suggest the historical existence of Cenydd. His legend, however, appears to be pure fabrication.
Cenydd's feast day is celebrated at Llangennith on 5 July (colloquially referred to as his 'Mapsant day', from the Welsh words 'sant' - holy, and 'mab' - son: see also 'Gŵyl Mabsant'). 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 or bread and butter pudding (see also Cuisine of Gower). The practice has been revived in recent years. William Worcester also records the feast of his translation, apparently to somewhere in North Wales, on 27 June.
An incised stone monument featuring images apparently of the Cenydd legend was discovered during renovation work at St 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.