Aelhaiarn
Welsh saint, disciple of Beuno

Saint Aelhaiarn or Aelhaearn (Welsh for "Iron Brow"; fl. early 7th century) was a Welsh confessor and saint of the British Church. He was a disciple of Saint Beuno. His feast day was usually observed on 2 November, although it is sometimes recorded as the 1st and is no longer observed by either the Anglican or Catholic church in Wales.
Life
Saint Aelhaiarn is listed among the Bonedd y Seint (Genealogies of the Saints). He was the brother of saints Llwchaiarn and Cynhaiarn and son of Hygarfael (or Cerfael), son of Cyndrwyn, a prince of Pengwern, in modern-day Shropshire. The area of Cyndrwyn's control was centred on the Severn valley around Shrewsbury. Aelhaiarn was said to have been a disciple of Saint Beuno, who also a member of the dynasty and thus a cousin. Beuno's activity was sponsored by Cadfan and other members of Gwynedd's Cuneddan dynasty; Aelhaiarn seems to have accompanied him out of Powys to Edeirnion and thence to northeastern Llŷn.
Miracles
The principal miracle associated with Aelhaiarn was actually performed by Beuno, who was said to have raised him from the dead (among six others).
“Aelhaiarn” enters the record as welsh saint, disciple of Beuno. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Aelhaiarn, Welsh and saint can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Aelhaiarn” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Aelhaiarn, Welsh and saint provides the most credible route into that argument.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q18593818. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Aelhaiarn”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Aelhaiarn primary sources, Aelhaiarn archive and Aelhaiarn research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Aelhaiarn”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Aelhaiarn” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.