Kenelm, St

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Kenelm, St (d. 812 or 821), a prince of the Mercian royal family, who may have died in battle against the Welsh, and was buried at Winchcombe. In the later Kenelm Legend of the 11th century, he is said to have been murdered in infancy on the orders of a jealous sister; the whereabouts of his body was later revealed by a document in Old English, dropped by a dove on to the high altar of St Peter's, Rome, which was read by English pilgrims. His feast day is 17 July.

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