Saint Maethlu

Saint Maethlu of Llanfaethlu, Anglesey, Wales (6th century) was a Welsh hermit from Anglesey. His feast day is December 26. Welsh genealogical lists of saints identify Saint Maethlu as the son of Caradog ap Tegonwy. Thus, he was a brother to Saints Cadfarch, Cawrdaf, and Tangwn, and belonged to the fifth generation of saints descended from Coel Hen. In later sources, the saint's name is written as Amaethlu, though the initial letter in this variant is a Welsh conjunction. It is said that Maethlu was a saint in the locality of Carneddor on the island of Anglesey, which is also his burial place. He is considered the patron saint of Llanfaethlu, the parish of which is also named in his honor. There, he erected a church that bears his name. Ancient calendars of saints did not preserve a feast day for Maethlu; however, Browne Willis, an 18th-century antiquarian and church historian, cites the date of December 26. In the Orthodox calendar of the Celtic, British, and Serbian churches, his feast is observed on December 26 (January 8).