Saint Yared (Ge'ez: ቅዱስ ያሬድ; 25 April 505 – 20 May 571)[2][3][4] was an Aksumite composer in the 6th century.

St. Yared was from Axum; according to traditional legend, his earlier education dwindled after his father's death, and his mother subsequently sent him to parish priest Abba Gedeon.

Upon embarking on exile to his uncle's birthplace in Murade Qal, St. Yared remorsed from his failure in education after he saw the exemplification of a caterpillar's effort to climb up a tree to its peak.

During the Nine Saints expedition from the Byzantine Empire, St. Yared cooperated with them to build several churches in Tigray.

It was widely accepted that St. Yared was born on 25 April 505 in the city of Axum, Axumite Kingdom from his mother Tauklia and his father Adam.

Unable to raise him, his mother Tauklia left him to his uncle Abba Gedeon, who was a parish priest.

Gedeon was a teacher of Old and New Testament in Saint Mary of Sion and he began translating Holy Scriptures into Ge'ez from Hebrew and Greek.

At that time St. Yared was in poor education and unable to acquire knowledge, which led him severe punishments and mockery at school.

Due to heavy rain, St. Yared sheltered under a nearby tree in place of Murade Qal.

Pondering his life, St. Yared rested and noticed a caterpillar climbing the tree to eat leaves.

He then returned to Axum at the age of nineteen, becoming the chief priest in the Holy Ark of Sion.

St. Yared also composed ten tones with notations, unlike the European modes consisting of six notes.

The Nine Saints, who were expelled by religious persecution from Byzantine Empire and who reached Ethiopia in the 5th century, met with St. Yared, with whom he visited individual churches and aided them in building with the assistance of Axumite Emperors.

Through the assistance of Pantelewon, Aragawi and Abba Yesehaq, St. Yared acknowledged the Western culture.

After two years, they went to Gayint and built a church called Saint Mariam at Zur Amba.

[6] 19 May is conceived as his feast day and the Orthodox Tewahedo Church venerate in commemoration of his death.

St. Yared thought to gather his pupils to teach his musical system after asceticism in monastic life.

He has been said to bequeath musical heir where the practice also revolutionised "a genealogy of masters from St. Yared in the 6th-century to Aleqa Mersha in the 20th-century".

The most contentious is the use of church treasures such as drum, sistrum, clothes and sticks currently used by Protestant followers.

His musical work swayed Yohannes of Gebla in Wollo and Tewanei of Deg Istifa in Gojjam, who improvised into complex forms.