Major, which stands on what is believed to have been the site of the monastery. Many other places are dedicated to him is because they belonged to the Llantwit monastery. Near to Llantwit itself are the villages of Llantrithyd, Llantwit Fardre, and Llantrisant and at Newcastle and Bridgend churches are dedicated to St Illtud. In Brecknockshire, the church at Llanhamlach east of Brecon is dedicated to him, and lies south of a Megalithic grave called Ty Illtud, which was a site of mediaeval pilgrimage, the inside walls of the grave bearing incised crosses. The grave is thought to have been a retreat of the saint, as was a similar megalithic monument Roc'h Ildut near Coadut (Coat Ildut/Coed Illtud/ Illtud's Wood) in Brittany, demolished in the 19th century. Llantrisant's three saints were Illtud, Gwynno and Tyfodwg. In Merthyr Tudful there are holy wells of Gwynno and Illtud. West of Brecon, the church of Llanilltud is on a mountain known as Mynydd Illtud. Dedications in and around Gower include Ilston, formerly Llanilltud Gwyr, Oxwich, a holy well of S. Iltut in Llanrhidian, Llanilltud Fach, or Llantwit-juxta-Neath and Pen-bre. A 13th century church on Caldey Island, Pembrokeshire, is dedicated to the saint. In North Wales, there is a Llanelltyd near Dolgellau. In Brittany, there are approximately 24, if other place-names like Aberildut are included; largely confined to the ancient dioceses of Leon, Treguier and Vannes, with small outliers in the region of Saint Malo, originally in the diocese of his pupil Samson. John Stowe's 1603 list of the bishops of London includes an "Iltuta" who is sometimes conflated with Illtud. Arthurian connections According to the 12th century Life of St. Illtud, Illtud's father was Bicanus, a minor Breton prince, and his mother was Rieingulid, a princess and daughter of Anblaud, king of Lesser Britain (Brittany). This is probably meant to be Ewyas, an area on the Herefordshire-Monmouthshire border, which retains many memories of Arthur and Illtud's family. He was alleged to be the cousin of the legendary King Arthur, serving him as a young soldier. One medieval Welsh document names Illtud, in his knightly days, as one of the triumvirate (the others were named Cadoc and Peredur) to whom King Arthur gave custody of the Holy Grail. On this basis, some scholars have tried to identify Knight Illtud with Sir Galahad. References External links 5th-century births 6th-century Christian saints 6th-century deaths Arthurian characters