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AN ESSAY

WELSH SAINTS

PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANS

USUALLY CONSIDERED TO HAVE BEEN TUB

FOUNDERS OF CHURCHES

WALES

THE REV. RICE REES, M. A. <^^A*^-n,

FELLOW OF JESUS COLLEGE, OXFORD, AND PROFESSOR OF WELSH AT
ST. DAVID'S COLLEGE, LAMPETER.

LONDON:

LONGMAN, REES, ORME, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMAN;
REES, LLANDOVERY; AND BIRD, CARDIFF.

MDCCCXXXyi.

WILLIAM RKES, PRI.VTEn, LOWER STREET, LI. ANDOVE RY.

TO THE MOST HONOURABLE

THE MARQUESS OF BUTE,

PRESIDENT,
AND OTHERS, THE COMMITTEE,

GWENT AND DYPED ROYAL EISTEDDFOD,

HELD AT CARDIFF AUG. 20, 21, & 22, 1834;

THE FOLLOWING ESSAY,

HONOURED WITH THEIR PATRONAGE UPON THAT OCCASION.

IS MOST RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED

BY THEIR HUMBLE SERVANT,

THE AUTHOR.

776701

'^The existence of a British Church before the arrival of

AUGUSTIN IN the YEAR 597 IS A FACT CLEARLY ESTABLISHED. ItS INDE-
PENDENT ORIGIN IS SUFFICIENTLY ATTESTED BY THE SUBJECTS OF
CONTROVERSY BETWEEN THE! AnGLO-RoMAN AND BRITISH CHRISTIANS.

—The Britons had churches of their own, built after a fashion
of their ownj their own saints; their own hierarchy."

Blunt's Reformation in England, Chap, I.

PREFACE,

As an apology for presenting these pages to the public, it
is perhaps necessary to inform the reader that they were ori-
ginally written with a view to competition for a premium,
offered by the Committee of the Gwent and Dyfed Royal
Eisteddfod, for the best dissertation on the following
subject :—

''The Notices of the Primitive Christians, by whom the
Welsh Churches were founded, and to whom dedicated."

Out of several compositions transmitted for the approbation
of the Society, the Essay, now printed in an enlarged form,
was adjudged to be successful, accompanied with a recom-
mendation that it should be published ; and though some time
has elapsed since the occasion which called it into existence,
it is hoped that the interest naturally attached to its subject
will ensure it a favourable reception.

Historians have laboured to trace the origin of the Britons,
a profusion of learning has been expended in the endeavour
to unravel the mysteries of Druidism, and the antiquarian,
who finds any vestiges of the occupation of this island by the
Romans, carefully records the discovery ; — so long as the
inhabitants of Britain feel an interest in the history of their
forefathers, disquisitions upon those subjects must demand
attention, though the materials of information are exceedingly
scanty. Every author, therefore, who treats of the affairs of
this country, prior to the departure of the Romans, has been

vi PREFACE.

diligently consulted, and his expressions construed into every
variety of meaning so as to obtain a new illustration of the
points of enquiry. The present researches, however, relate to
a period comparatively neglected ; their object being to trace
the ecclesiastical history of the Britons, from the introduction
of Christianity, or more especially from the termination of the
Roman power in Britain, to the end of the seventh century.
From the close of this period, the annals of Wales have been
minutely detailed by several chroniclers whose labours are
extant ; before its commencement, the history of Britain may
be collected from the scattered notices to be found in classical
writers ; and if those notices are not so numerous as can be
wished, they are authentic, and are as many as may be ex-
pected when the distance of the island from the capital of the
Roman empire is considered. The interval between these
points is a historical blank ; for it must be confessed that the
Welsh, though possessed of a variety of records relating to
that time, have not preserved a regular and connected history
of their ancestors who rose into power upon the departure of
the Romans, and who, notwithstanding their dissentions, main-
tained a longer and more arduous struggle against the Saxons,
than the continental parts of the empire did upon the irruption
of the Goths and Vandals. In the middle ages, those records,
to which was added a large store of tradition, attracted the
attention of the romance-writers, who gradually invested
them with a cloud of fable, which at last, when arranged and
regularly digested, was suffered to usurp the place of history.
This remark is applied particularly to the Armorican chronicle
usually attributed to Geoffrey of Monmouth. It should, how-
ever, be allowed in justice to that person, that he was not its
inventor, for a Welsh version of the original is preserved,
which shows that he merely made a free translation, inserting
occasionally interpolations of his own. When the chronicle

PREFACE. vli

alluded to was brought from Brittany to Wales by Walter de
Mapes in the twelfth century, its contents were found to be so
flattering to national vanity, that it was soon received as an
authentic record of facts, to the disadvantage of other records
of a less pretending nature. For a long time implicit faith
was given to the story of Trojan-British kings, and the super-
human actions of Arthur and his valorous knights commanded
the admiration of Europe, few caring to question the truth of
tales which suited the taste of the age and filled their readers
with delight. The criticism of later years has however deter-
mined the race of Trojan-British kings to be a pure fabrica-
tion, and most writers are contented to commence the history
of Britain with the invasion of Julius Caesar, following the
Latin authorities until the termination of the Roman power in
the island, when, for want of more satisfactory information,
they are obliged to have recourse to records which they know
not where to trust, or leaving the affairs of the Britons in that
darkness which they could not dispel, they have confined
their researches to the Saxons.

It is but right to state, that the substance of several of the
fables in the Armorican chronicle was known in Wales before
the time of Walter de Mapes, a fair specimen of which may
be seen in the works of Nennius ; but the Welsh were also
possessed of records of another and a different kind; these
were a collection of poems, triads, and genealogies, preserved
by the bards and written in the national tongue. The in-
y formation to be derived respecting the Britons of the fifth and
two following centuries may, therefore, be divided into the
bardic and the legendary. The latter kind, which was pre-
served by the monks or clergy, was written principally in
Latin, and consists of the History of Nennius and the lives of
several Welsh saints. The genuineness and authenticity of
the works attributed to Gildas are questionable, and yet as

viii PREFACE.

they are undoubtedly ancient they are deserving of some
attention. But it is remarkable that in all the records of the
Britons, both in Welsh and Latin, before the twelfth century,
historical allusions abound, which are at variance with the
narrative of the Armorican chronicle ; even the most extra-
vagant tales in Nennius are more limited than those of the
later fabulist ; and the various ways in which the same tales
are related by the former, prove that in his time they had not
reached the consistency of history, whereas in the latter there
is no hesitation, but every story is told as positively as if the
writer were an eye-witness.

The amount of information, or rather tradition, preserved by
the Welsh relative to the Britons before the invasion of Caesar
and during the sojourn of the Romans, is small, and that little
is intimately blended with bardic mythology. But it may be
asked, whether it is possible, discarding entirely the Armori-
can chronicle and its followers, to construct, out of the before-
mentioned older materials, a history, which shall supply the
hiatus between the departure of the Romans and the beginning
of the eighth century, where the authentic chronicles com-
mence.— The present is the first attempt, upon such a system,
to supply the deficiency. The attempt, however, is but a
partial one ; for as the purpose of this Essay was to treat of
the Welsh saints or founders of churches, national affairs are
only noticed incidentally. Whatever success therefore may
attend the present undertaking, it is hoped that if the idea be
approved, a more extended research may employ some maturer
judgment and an abler pen. The result of an accumulation
of the most authentic notices that can be collected, would be
the production of a history, displaying indeed many of
those moral features which distinguished the Welsh at a later
time, but bearing a very slight resemblance to its representa-
tion.in the pages of Geoffrey.

PREFACE.

In groping through this period of darkness, some glimmer-
ings of light may be borrowed from Bede, the contemporary
■writers of Gaul, and perhaps from the Irish historians ; and
in compiling such a history, where authorities of the legendary
kind must be consulted, a simple rule may be observed,
which, if does not always elicit the truth, will produce the
nearest approximation to it, namely to take the story of the
oldest writer, which also is generally found to be the most
limited. The character of fable is progressive, and a story,
which originally was true, is in most cases repeated with
additions. This rule has been established with great clearness
by the author of "Europe in the Middle Ages," (in Lardner's
Cyclopaedia, vol. iv. p. 67:) observing the manner in which
Nennius has been amplified by Geoffrey, he adds : — " There
is no greater difference between Geoffrey of Monmouth and
Nennius, than between Nennius and Gildas. This fact is
very instructive; it may enable the judicious investigator into
the antiquities of ancient Britain, and of Britain even in the
Anglo-Saxon period, to steer his way through the darkest
path ever traversed by historian."

The learned writer, whose words are quoted, regrets that he
had not access to the ancient relics subsisting in the Welsh lan-
guage, which he supposed must contain stores of information
but little known to the public. Those relics, so far as they
have been printed, form the principal materials of the follow-
ing dissertation ; and meagre as they may seem, they strongly
confirm the presumption of their antiquity by the circum-
stance, that they are frequently at variance with the legendary
authorities ; and wherever they appear to agree, their state-
ments are more circumscribed than those of the latter, pre-
senting as it were the germs out of which subsequent fables
have sprung. An examination of the bardic records, there-
fore, if it will not discover authentic materials of history, will

X PREFACE.

at least be of service in tracing the origin of romance, and in
this respect may tend to elucidate a large portion of the
literature of Europe.

Leaving the task of demonstrating the progress of fable to
the general writer, the business of the antiquary, whose object
is the history of his country, is to search after the oldest
authorities that can be procured, and afterwards to consider
them by themselves, divested of the misconceptions and ex-
aggerations of later ages. By this mode of proceeding, many
statements which receive current belief, will be found to rest
on a slight foundation ; and much of the remainder, being
placed in a new light, will assume a different character. The
operation of this rule is the cause why many assertions, which
have hitherto been credited, are rejected in the following
pages ; but wherever such cases occur, the particular reason is
added, and the reader must decide according to his own
judgment upon its validity. It will be observed that even the
Welsh records are not allowed to pass without a scrutiny ; many
of their positions, which are shown to be untenable, are sur-
rendered ; and that mistakes should have been committed, can
by no means be surprising, when the remoteness of the times
to which they refer is considered, as well as the neglect under
which they have been suffered to remain.

The documents, for the possession of which Wales has long
been celebrated, and to which of late years little attention has
been paid, are its genealogies. Of these a large store is pre-
served in manuscript, and though from their minuteness of
detail they must necessarily contain inaccuracies, yet, as the
pedigrees are numerous, they may be rectified upon compari-
son with each other. An attempt is now made to render them
available for the purpose of history, by arranging them so as
to construct an artificial chronology. In endeavouring to
connect the Roman period with the eighth century, such a

PREFACE. Xi

plan was absolutely necessary, for in the lapse of three hun-
dred years very few dates occur upon which any reliance may
be placed; and without attention to this arrangement, the
events reported present only a mass of confusion. It is how-
ever satisfactory to learn, that the few dates that have been
ascertained, agree undesignedly with the arrangement of the
pedigrees, and so far confirm their correctness. The dates,
collected by Archbishop Usher in his " Britannicarum Eccles-
arum Primordia," and which he perpetually shows to be con-
fused and contradictory, belong to chroniclers of the Armorican
school, and are of little value : the work of the Archbishop
however contains, amidst much irrelevant matter, a fund of
valuable information, for which the present writer is greatly
indebted. The reason why the pedigrees have been neglected
is their intricacy, and at first sight they are certainly un-
promising, but as they are interspersed with historical notices
they are deserving of attention ; and it should not be forgotten
that for many ages the only historians whom the Welsh pos-
sessed were their genealogists.

y Localities are a very powerful auxiliary in forming a con-
structive history. In this respect the Armorican chronicle is
exceedingly deficient ; for the few localities mentioned in it
are certain towns and places which were well known and
flourishing at a late period, proving, not only that the record
was recent, but also that it was compiled in a distant coimtry.
The scene of the fable is laid down in Britain, but the places
introduced are such as were of sufficient celebrity to be known
abroad. The events of history do not always occur at dis-
tinguished towns, and it might be expected that places, which
were celebrated in past ages, had afterwards become obscure.
National traditions often refer to a spot, it may be the summit
of a hill or a pass between mountains, which, but for those
traditions, might have possessed nothing remarkable. The

Xii PREFACE.

\^ Welsh traditions and records abound in localities, the notices
of which are generally precise ; among these the situations of
churches are not the least distinguished. A vast number of
churches are called after the names of native saints, and there-
fore may be considered as so many undoubted monuments of
existence of those persons; but Welsh tradition proceeds
f further and asserts, that the churches were so called, not so
much because they were dedicated to the saints, as because
they were founded by them.

If the assertion be true, it follows that many churches exist
in the Principality, the origin of which must be dated from the
fifth and sixth centuries, for in those ages most of the saints
alluded to flourished. That churches, though frequently
rebuilt, should continue uninterruptedly in the same situations
from such high antiquity, will not be deemed extraordinary,
when it can be proved by authentic testimony that the ground,
on which the church of St. Martin at Canterbury stands,
has been the site of a church, bearing the same name, from
a date prior to the departure of the Romans. The cathedral
in that city is another instance of equal antiquity, which also
shows that wherever, from war or other causes, a sacred
edifice had been demolished or had been for some time in
ruins, such was th€ veneration attached to a spot once conse-
crated, that a new edifice was erected in the same situation ;
and it should be remembered that the Christianity of Wales •
did not, like that of Kent, suffer an eclipse from the inter-
vention of paganism.

In the first three sections of this Essay it is shown by prin-
ciples of induction that the churches, presumed to have been
founded by the saints whose names they bear, are more
ancient than those which are dedicated to the Apostles and the
saints of the Romish Calendar ; and therefore that the current
opinion of their foundation is confirmed by existing circum-

PREFACE. xiii

stances. They were founded at a time when the Britons were V
not in communion with the Church of Rome, and before the
practice of dedicating to saints according to the usual mode
had become customary. From the testimony of Bede, it
appears that the mode of consecration, practised by the Primi-
tive Christians of this island, was peculiar. — Wherever a
church was intended to be erected, a person of reputed sancti-
ty was chosen to reside on the spot, where he continued forty
days in the performance of prayer, fasting, and other religious
exercises ; at the expiration of the time, the ground was held
sacred, and a church was erected accordingly. — It would na-
turally follow that the church should be called after the name
of the person by whom the ground was consecrated, and in
this sense the word "founder," as applied to the subject under
consideration, must be understood. It remained for subsequent
generations to regard the founder in the character of patron
saint.

Popiilar opinion seems to maintain that all churches, which
are named after Welshmen, were founded by them. An
exception, however, should be made with respect to such as
are, or may be proved to have been, chapels, which, for
reasons that shall appear, cannot claim so early an origin ; and
with respect to parent churches the proposition may not
indeed be true in every instance, but is assumed as a general
fact, there being no criterion by which its exceptions may be
distinguished. Edifices as they now exist, being purely an
architectural question, constitute no part of the enquiry. The
original churches of the Britons were all of them built of wood
and covered with thatch, and it is singular that this circum-
stance was made a ground of objection to them by the
Catholics.

So numerous are the Welsh saints, that their history is in a
manner the ecclesiastical history of their time ; but it must be

XiV PREFACE.

confessed that nothing further is known of many of them than
their genealogy and their churches. The question of the cele-
bration of Easter, and other points, on which the Primitive
Christians of Britain differed from the Romanists, have been
ably discussed in other publications ; the object of this treatise
is, if possible, to add to the stock of information from materials
which have been but partially investigated. To his prede-
cessors, whose works have facilitated these researches, among
whom may be named the authors of " Horse Britannicae" and
" Hanes Crefydd yn Nghymru," the writer acknowledges his
obligations ; and though he has sometimes differed from their
conclusions, he has done so with diffidence, and is aware that
the same fate will in turn befal the present undertaking.
Knowledge is the accumulation of past experience, and all
that the best informed writer can expect to accomplish, is to
contribute but a trifle to the general heap, leaving its amount
to be estimated by his successor.

St. David*s College,
Nov. 24, 1836.

AN ESSAY, ETC.

ANALYSIS OF CONTENTS.

SECTION I.

The comparative Antiquity of the Foundation of Churches and

Chapels in Wales, ascertained from the nature

of their Endow»ients.

Churches at first few, and their parishes extensive
Subdivision of ancient parishes; Chapelries
Origin of vicarages

Instances of Churches of the earliest Foundation
Churches of later Foundation . ,

Vested rights of Churches respected by the Welsh Princes
Parochial Chapels, and Chapels of Ease
Cells, Oratories, and Hermitages
Use of the words " Llan, Capel, and Bettws"
The establishment of parishes gradual
Effects of the Law of Gavelkind
Parent Churches not converted into Chapels
Subordination of Churches and Chapels proved from the
Charters of Monasteries

11
12
13
15
15
16
18
19
20
21
21
23

SECTION II.

The Subordination of Churches and Chapels considered with

reference to the Saints to whom they are dedicated.

Churches dedicated to St. Mary . . .27

Their late origin proved from their situations historically

considered . . . .32

And from Domesday Book . . .35

Churches dedicated to St. Michael . , .36

More ancient than those dedicated to St. Mary} but . 40

Not so ancient as those ascribed to Welsh Saints . 42

Churches ascribed or dedicated to St. David . . 43

Their antiquity . . . .45

4 AN ESSAY, &c.

Testimony of Gwynfardd Brycheiniog about A. D. 1200 48
Amended list of Churches of St. David, of which the . 52

Parent Churches were probably founded by him, but the 54
Chapels and Subordinate Churches were erected after his

decease . . . . ,55

Their situations not arbitrarily chosen . . 56

SECTION III.

General Observations on the Welsh Saints as distinguished from

THOSE OF the Roman Catholic Church.

Dedication to Saints, not the practice of the ancient Britons 57
Separation of the Britons from the Church of Rome 58

Architecture of the British Churches . . 59

Mode of Consecration practised by the Primitive Christ-
ians of Scotland . .60
The same mode used apparently by the Primitive

Christians of Wales j its effects . . .61

Invocation of Angels , . . .61

The homage paid to St. Mary, of late introduction . 62

The Welsh Saints, the Founders of most Churches which

bear their names , .64

Second Class of Foundations . . .64

The Welsh brought into communion with the Church of

Rome in the Eighth Century . , .65

Romish Computation of Easter introduced by Elbodius,

Archbishop of Bangor . . .66

First notice of a Church dedicated to St. Michael, A. D. 717 67
Third Class of Foundations . . .69

Chapels named after Welsh Saints . . .69

Churches consecrated a second time . , .70

Catholic Saints of Britain . . . .71

Welsh Authorities; "Bonedd neu Achau Saint Ynys

Prydain" . . . , .73

Triads . . . . .75

SECTION IV.
The Welsh Saints from the Introduction of Christianity to the
end of the second century.
Account of the Introduction of Christianity into Britain

by Bran ab Llyr . . . .77

Its authenticity questioned . . .78

Account of Bran in the Mabinogion . . .80

CONTENTS. 5

Companions and Descendants of Bran . . 81

Lleurwg or Lucius . . .82

His History uncertain . . .83

Dyfan, Ffagan, Medwy, and Elfan . . .84
Lucius possibly the founder of a Church at LlandafF, said

to have been the first in Britain . . 85

Memorials of his Contemporaries . . .86

SECTION V.

An Examination of the early Welsh Pedigrees, with a view to

ascertain the period about which the commencement

of their authenticity may be dated.

Deficiency of Welsh tradition from Lucius to Maximus

A. D. 383 . . . . . 88

Descendants of Bran ab Llyr . . .89

Inconsistencies in the Pedigree . * .90

Descendants of Bel i Mawr . . . .91

Fabrication of Pedigrees which relate to the Roman-
British Period . . . .92
Cadfrawd, a Saint and Bishop . . .92
Mistakes, in the presumed Lineage of Bran ab Llyr,

explained . . . .93

Age of Cadfrawd, Coel Godebog, and CynanMeiriadog . 94
The Authenticity of Welsh Pedigrees commences in the

fourth century . • . .94

SECTION VI.
The Welsh Saints from a. d. 300 to a. d. 400.

Alban, Amphibalus, Aaron, and Julius . . 96

Constantine the Great, not a native of Britain . . 97
Helen, not a British Saint . . .98

British Bishops at the Council of Aries A. D. 314 . 100

Councils of Sardica and Ariminum . . 101

Descendants of Coel Godebog . • 103

Settlement of Cynan Meiriadog in Armorica . . 104

St. Ursula and the eleven thousand Virgins . . 105

Pelagius ..... 105

SECTION VII.

The Welsh Saints from a. d. 400 to a. d. 433.

Emancipation of Britain from the Romans A.D. 408 or 409 106

Owain ab Macsen Wledig, Chief Sovereign of the Britons 107

Q AN ESSAY, &c. ,

Descendants of Macsen Wledig or Maximus . . 108

Cunedda Wledig, a Chieftain of the Northern Britons . 108

Settlement of the Sons of Cunedda in Wales . .109

Ancestry of Brychan, regulus of Brecknockshire . 110
Descendants of Cunedda .... Ill

Age of Brychan . . . . 113

Other British Chieftains . . . .113

Lands given to the Saints by Cunedda . .114

Peblig, a saint . . . . .115
MorabCeneu ; Notice of his Churches by Llywarch Hen 117

Visit of Germanus and Lupus to Britain . .119

Examination of the testimony of Prosper . . 120

« Victoria Alleluiatica" . . . .121

Welsh Account of Garmon or St. Germanus . . 122

Locality of the AUeluiatic Victory . . 125

Churches ascribed to St. Lupus . . .126

SECTION VIIL
The Welsh Saints from a. d. 433 to a. d. 464.

Cystennyn Fendigaid or Constantine the Ble^ed
Welsh tradition of St. Patrick
His supposed residence at Menevia or St. David's
Second Visit of St. Germanus

He is hospitably received by Cadell Deyrnllug, and
Insulted by Vortigern
Churches ascribed to him .
Gwrtheyrn or Vortigern .
Cynllo ....

Gwrthefyr or Vor timer
Rencounter between St. Patrick and Ceredig ab Cunedda
Family of Brychan
Sonsof Brychan ; St. Cynog, &c.
Daughters of Brychan . . .

Legend of St. Keyna
Brynach Wyddel
Distribution of Churches ascribed to the Family of

Brychan . .

The Welsh Saints, an order of primitive monks
Female Saints ....
Cornish List of the Children of Brychan

127
128
129
129
130
130
131
132
132
134
135
136
138
146
153
156

157
158
159
160

CONTENTS.

SECTION IX.

The Welsh Saints from the Accession of Vortimer a. o. 464 to
THE Death of Ambrosius a. d. 600.

Descendants of Cadell Deyrnllu|

Gynyr of Caer Gawch

Gistlianus, bishop of Menevia ; Uncle of St. David

Tewdrig ab Teithfallt, prince of Glamorgan .

Descendants of Emyr Llydaw

Expulsion of the Gwyddyl Fficbti from North Wales by

Caswallon Lawhir
Retreat of several of the Northern Britons to Wales
Pabo Post Prydain

Geraint ab Erbin, a chieftain of Devon
Gwynllyw Filwr, chieftain of Gwynllwg, Monmouthshire
Dyfrig or St. Dubricius
Archbishoprick of Caerleon
The dignity removed to Menevia, and afterwards to

LlandafF ....
Its power lost between contending parties
Colleges of Llancarfan, Caerworgorn, and Caerleon,

founded by St. Dubricius
CattwgDdoeth
Churches ascribed to him
lUtyd or St. Iltutus
Churches of St. Iltutus
British Monastic Institutions
Use of the terms « Cor and Bangor"
The Members of the British Monasteries or Colleges

very nnmerous
Death of Tewdrig ab Teithfallt
Meurig ab Tewdrig
Not the same person as Uther Pendragon the Father

of Arthur ....
Arthur, a Native of Cornwall
Paulinus or Pawl H6n
Ffraid or St. Bride

SECTION X.
The Welsh Saints from the Accession of Uther Pendragon a. d. 500
TO the Death of Arthur a. d. 542,
Synod at Llanddewi Brefi respecting the Pelagian Heresy 191
The Heresy refuted by St. David, who is elected Arch-
bishop of Caerleon .... 192

161
162
162
164

165

166
167
168
169
170
170
173

174
174

176
176
177
178
179
181
181

181
184
184

185
185

187
189

Q AN ESSAY, &c.

Death of St. Dubricius . . . .192

Relics not worshipped by the Primitive Christians . 193

Dewi or St. David . , ^ . . 193

Brought up under Sts. lltutus and Paulinus . . 194

Founds a Monastery in the Valley of Rosina, afterwards

called Menevia .... 195

His Character . . . . .196

He removes the Archbishoprick from Caerleon to Menevia 197
Extent of his Diocese . . . . 198

Traces of his Memory in Devon and Cornwall . 199

His Death . . . . .200

Canonization by Pope Calistus . . . 201

Expulsion of the Gwyddyl Ffichti from South Wales by

UrienRheged . . . .202

North Britain . . .203

Account of the Britons of Cumberland . 204

Dunawd, Founder of the Monastery of Bangor Iscoed 206
Brochwel Ysgythrog, defeated by Ethelfrith . . 208

Saints of the Line of Cunedda . . . 208

AfanBuallt . . .208

Carannog or St. Carantocus ; His Legend . . 209

Einion Frenhin .... 212

Arrival of Cadfan with a company of Saints from Armorica 213
Padarn, the First Bishop of Llanbadarn Fawr . 215

Tydecho^ Amwn Ddu, and other Armorican Saints . 218

Family of Caw ..... 224
Aneurin 5 Question of his identity with Gild as . 225

AeddanFoeddog, Bishop of Ferns . . . 227

Samson, Archbishop of York . . . 228

Archiepiscopal Pall claimed by the Bishops of St. David's 229
Maelog ab Caw .... 230

Family of Geraint ab Erbin . . 232

Families of Gwynllyw Filwr, and Ynyr Gwent . 233

Inundation of Cantrefy Gwaelod . . . 234

Romance of Taliesin .... 236

Legend of St. Justinian .... 238
Festivals of Saints represented by modern Fairs and Wakes 240

SECTION XI.

The Welsh Saints from the Accession of Cystennyn Goronog

A. D. 542 to the Death of Maelgwn Gwynedd a. d. 566.

Cynog, Bishop of Llanbadarn and Archbishop of Menevia 242

CONTENTS.

Teilo, Bishop of Llandaff ..... 242

He retires to Armorica .... 243

He returns and is appointed Archbishop of Menevia . 244

The Archbishoprick removed to LlandafF , . 244
Diocese of St. Teilo . . .244

List of his Churches .... 245

Grant to the Church of LlandaflF by Rhydderch ab lestin 246
Death of St. Teilo . . . .250

Ismael, Tyfei, and Oudocens . . . 251

Samson, Bishop of Dole in Armorica . . 252

Disputes between the Bishops of Dole and Tours . 255

Welsh Saints in Armorica . . 256

Gwynno or Gwynnog ab Gildas . . . 257

Daniel or Deiniol, the First Bishop of Bangor . 258

Consecrated probably by St. David . • 259

Cyndeyrn or St. Kcntigern, the First Bishop of Glasgow 261

He retires to Wales, and founds the Bishoprick of St.Asaph 262

His alleged Correspondence with the Pope . . 262
Consecration of British Bishops not deemed valid by the

Romanists . . • * •

Cybi .....

Beuno . . . . •

Ancient Welsh Bards ....
Did the Primitive Christians of Wales possess a Trans-
lation of the Scriptures ? .

SECTION XII.
The Welsh Saints from the Death of Maelgwn Gwynedd a. d. 5C6

TO THE CLOSE OV THE SiXTH CeNTURY.

Advance of the Saxons . . . •

St, Oudoceus, Bishop of LlandafF .
Tyssilio, Bishop of St. Asaph

Not the Author of the Chronicle of the Kings of Britain
His Churches .....
St. Columba, Founder of the Monastery of lona
Landing of St. Augustin ....
SECTION XIII.
The Welsh Saints from a. d. 600 to the Death of Cadwallon ab
Cadfan a. d. 634.
View of National Affairs . . 283

Bede's Account of the Conference between St. Augustin

and the Monks of Bangor Iscoed . . 284

Observations upon Bede's Account . . 288

264
266
268
271

272

273

274
277
277
278
281
281

10 AN ESSAY, &c.

Refusal of the Britons to submit to the Pope . . 288

Alleged Reply of Dunawd to St. Augustin . , 289

Silence of Bede respecting an Archbishoprick in Wales . 291

Commissions received by St. Augustin from Pope Gregory 291

Seven Bishops of the British Church at this time . 292

Massacre of the Monks of Bangor by Ethelfrith . 293

Legend of Gwenfrewi or St. Winefred . 295

SECTION XIV.

The Welsh Saints from the Death of Cadwallon a. d. 634 to
THE Death of Cadwaladr a. d. 664.

Reign of Cadwaladr .... 299

Confounded with Ceadwalla, King of Wessex . 300

Cadwaladr esteemed a Saint . . . 301

Peris ..... 302

Edwen ..... 303

SECTION XV.

The Welsh Saints FROM THE Death OF Cadwaladr a.d, 664toth}3 End
OF the Seventh Century, including those of uncertain date.

Little known of the history of this Generation . 304

Degeman or St. Decumanus , . . 305
Saints after the Conformity of the Welsh to the Church

of Rome ..... 305

Welsh Saints of uncertain date . . . 306

Curig Lwyd ..... 307

Objection respecting the number of Saints . . 309
Epistle of St. Aldhelm to Geruntius respecting the Ton-
sure and Paschal Cycle . . .311

The Britons at this time not under Papal Jurisdiction . 312

Concluding Observations .... 313

Appendix, No. I.— Saints of Britain from Cressy's « Church History

of Brittany" ...... 315

Appendix, No. II. — Anglo-Saxon Saints to whom Churches have

been dedicated in Wales . . . . 322

Appendix, No. HI.— A List of Churches and Chapels in Wales, in-
eluding the County of Monmouth and part of the County of
Hereford ...... 323

Index . . . . .353

SECTION I.

The comparative Antiquity of the Foundation of Churches and Chapels
in Wales ascertained from the nature of their Endowments.

According to popular opinion, many of the churches in
Wales were founded by certain holy persons or Saints whose
names they retain, as if Llangadog and Llandeilo,* or the
Churches of Cadog and Teilo, were not so called in con-
sequence of any formal dedication, but named after their
founders, who are alleged to have lived in the fifth and sixth
centuries. Lest however it should be urged that the Welsh
Records and Traditions, which support this opinion of their
high antiquity, are of insufficient authority, it may be proved
that churches of the class alluded to are necessarily, from the
nature of their endowments, the most ancientt in the Prin-
cipality, if indeed they were not founded in the early age to
which they are attributed.

In the absence of positive evidence to the fact, it will
readily be granted that the Welsh churches were at first few,
and that they were afterwards multiplied to serve the oc-
casions that required them. How soon certain districts were
apportioned for their maintenance, cannot well be determined.
It is, however, probable that the districts first appropriated

♦ Usually written " Llangadock" and "Llandilo," but the Welsh mode of
spelling is here preferred, in order to render the meaning of the names
more obvious.

t These observations apply to churches as regards their original establish-
ment, the antiquity of the edifices which now exist, being more of an
architectural question, docs not belong to the purpose of this Essay.

12 COMPARATIVE ANTIQUITY

were extensive ; but when once they were attached to par-
ticular churcheSj the sacred nature of ecclesiastical property
would tend to preserve their limits inviolate. If therefore
any such extensive appropriations can be discovered^ it may
be presumed that the churches to which they belong are those
of the earliest date. An example may be taken from the
northern part of Radnorshire, where the churches of Nantmel,
Llangynllo, and Llanbister are ascribed or dedicated to
Cynllo. This tract of country was probably the scene of his
ministry, or it will be sufficient if it be allowed that he pos-
sessed some influence over it. Whenever tithes would be
assigned for the support of the clergy, this tract would be
divided into three districts, which should maintain the
ministers of the three churches mentioned. It would after-
wards be found that these churches were insufficient for the
accommodation of districts so extensive. Chapels of Ease
were therefore built in the more remote parts ; and whenever
the minister of the mother church found it inconvenient to
attend in person, he would appoint Curates, to whom he
allowed a certain stipend out of his own income ; for he still
maintained his right to the tithes of the whole district as
before. In process of time the district would be subdivided,
and certain parts assigned to the Curacies, which would thus
become Parochial Chapelries ; and though the Curacy might
become Perpetual, the minister still retained the right of
nomination. He also maintained his right, though perhaps
little more than nominal, to the tithes of the several parts
which would together constitute so many parishes according
to their modern arrangement.

At this day the district of Nantmel, in the county of
Radnor, includes the several parishes of Nantmel, Llanfi-
hangel-Helygen, Llanyre, and Rhayader. Nantmel is a
Vicarage in the patronage of the Bishop of St. David's;
Llanfihangel and Rhayader are Perpetual Curacies in the gift
of the Vicar of Nantmel, and the Curacy or Chapelry of

OF CHURCHES AND CHAPELS. Uj

Llanyre is vested in the Vicar himself, who thus, either
directly or indirectly, provides for the religious instruction
of the whole district. The Vicar, it is true, does not possess
a share of the tithes of all the four parishes, but this right is
still claimed and exercised by the Impropriator, who, as
regards the original founder, must be considered as one and
the same person with the Vicar : for it is agreed by eccles-
iastical historians, that the subdivision of tithes into rectorial
and vicarial was an arrangement posterior to the foundation,
and first made to suit the convenience of the minister.
Originally the Incumbent of every parish was a Rector, and
under him the Vicar held a situation precisely analogous to
that of Assistant Curate in modern times. When it was
found that the Vicar could perform the whole of the duty for
a part of the emolument, so much was given him by way of
endowment, and the remainder was applied to the maintenance
of a Monastery or the Cathedral of the Diocese. The Vicar
would readily consent to this arrangement, as, instead of
having a precarious stipend and being removable at pleasure,
his place and salary were made permanent. The same fate
befel the clergy who performed service in the remote
chapels ; certain portions of the parish were assigned them
for their separate ministry, out of which they received a
certain small allowance as a fixed stipend, but, as an equi-
valent, their Curacies were made Perpetual ; while the far
greater portion of the tithes of the entire district maintained
some distant religious establishment, which thus continued to
represent the original Rector. This arrangement was not
without its evils. Jealousies broke out between the monastic
and parochial clergy; and, at the Reformation, the tithes,
which had been attached to Monasteries, passed from them,
by an easy transition, into the hands of Lay-impropriators.
Those tithes, however, which had been assigned for the sup-
port of Cathedrals and Collegiate Chapters were suffered to re-
main, and are still an illustration of the system here described.

14 COMPARATIVE ANTIQUITY

There are also instances of parishes appropriated to a
monastic institution, where the parochial duties were left
to be performed by a Perpetual Curate without the inter-
vention of a Vicar ; but such parishes are generally smaller
than those now under consideration.

The expression " mother church" can only mean that the
edifice so designated is of older foundation than the several
chapels dependent upon it, and this rule is very generally
admitted. But if the view of ecclesiastical foundations, just
described, be correct, the chapels mentioned as subordinate
to Nantmel, must not only have been built after the mother
church, but at a time when its endowment was fully recog-
nized and established. If the chapels were of older date,
it is not likely that the founder of Nantmel would have
endowed his church with the tithes of an extensive district,
to the prejudice of places of worship already existing in the
country; but, the tithes being once disposed of^ no provision
would remain for the support of additional churches, except
as dependent upon the Rector of the first establishment*

The district of Llanbister, also in the county of Radnor,
comprises the parishes of Llanbister, Llananno, Llanbadarn-
Fynydd, Llanddewi Ystrad Enni, and Llanfihangel Rhyd-
eithon; the last four are chapelries subject to the former;
they are also Perpetual Curacies in the patronage of the
Chancellor of Brecon, or his Lessee, who represents the

* " The Constitutions of Egbert, Archbishop of York, in the year 750, do
take care that churches of ancient institution should not be deprived of
tithes, or any other rights, by giving or allotting any part to new oratories."
{Fide Burn's Ecclesiastical Law, Vol. I, sub voce Chapel.)

If existing rights were so well defined in England as early as A. D. 750,
it is not too much to expect that they were equally well defined about the
same period in Wales, where Christianity had been longer and more per-
manently settled. In the Principality the integrity of benefices appears to
have b'jen first disturbed by foreigners, though it must be regretted that the
new arrangement introduced by them was not adopted generally by the
native princes.

OF CHURCHES AND CHAPELS. ]5

Rector, and who still claims and receives the whole tithes of
the five parishes, except the vicarial tithes of Llanbister. The
district of Llangynllo extends over the parishes of Llangynllo
and Pilleth, and it probably included originally one or two
small parishes adjoining, which are now separate benefices.
As these districts are very extensive it may safely be con-
cluded, that the places of worship to which they are appro-
priated were first built when churches were few. Leaving
therefore the question of chapclries for a future consideration,
it may be assumed, that Niintmel, Llanbister, Llangynllo,
and other churches of a similar endowment, are churches of
the first or oldest foundation.

As Christianity became more general, the want of places
of worship in districts unappropriated would come next to
be considered. The necessity of multiplying churches would
now be felt, and the tithes to be attached to them Would
necessarily extend over tracts of country varying much in
extent according to the nature of the ground before un-
occupied. These parishes cannot be formed into a separate
class from the preceding, for their extent alone will not
determine the order of their foundation; and, though the
largest endowments are necessarily ancient, there is nothing to
prevent a small endowment from being of equal antiquity.
But when parishes of very unequal limits are intermingled
together, their arrangement must be attributed to the natural
obligation of circumstances.

So far the endowments of churches proceed systematically,
without any prejudice to existing rights. There are, however,
districts of the Principality where the system is broken up,
and the country is studded with numerous churches, all of
them small rectories, as if the chapelries which before existed
had been converted into separate benefices. A slight ac-
quaintance with the history of these localities will show that
this new arrangement is the result of foreign conquest. These
churches are principally found in the southern part of Pem-

IQ COMPARATIVE ANTIQUITY

brokeshire,* in the Vale of Glamorgan,t and on the borders
of England; while the system of subordinate chapelries is
most perfect in those parts of the country where the inde-
pendence of the natives was of longest continuance. The
Welsh Princes, notwithstanding their endless dissensions,
respected the vested rights of their churches; J but the
Normans and Flemings, asserting the claims of conquest,

♦ Occupied by a colony of Flemings about A. D. 1100.

t Conquered by Norman adventurers about A. D. 1090.

J This is not only proved from the existing state of churches in Wales,
but Giraldus Cambrensis, who wrote his " Cambriae Descriptio" in the reign
of King John, mentions this particular as if it were a national characteristic.
The following passage is extracted from that work as translated by Sir
Richard Colt Hoare.

" We observe that they show a greater respect than other nations to
churches and ecclesiastical persons, to the relics of saints, bells, holy books,
and the cross, which they devoutly revere; and hence their churches enjoy
more than common tranquillity. For peace is not only preserved towards all
animals feeding in churchyards, but at a great distance beyond them, where
certain boundaries and ditches have been appointed by the Bishops in order
to maintain the security of tlie sanctuary. But the principal churches, to
which antiquity has annexed the greater reverence, extend their protection to
the herds as far as they can go to feed in the morning and return at night."
(Book I. Chap. 18.)

This passage is further remarkable as it shows that there existed in the
time of the writer a class of churches distinguished for their antiquity; and
if such churches were the most extensively endowed, it will readily appear
why they are called "the principal." So tenacious were the Welsh of the
integrity of their benefices, that, even when they were inconvenient from their
great extent, rather than subdivide them, they appointed several clergymen
to the same living. Giraldus says, —

""Their churches have almost as many parsons and parties as there are
principal families in the parish; the sons, after the death of their fathers,
succeed to the ecclesiastical benefices, not by election, but by hereditary right
possessing and polluting the sanctuary of God. And if a prelate should by
chance presume to appoint or institute any other person, the people would
certainly revenge the injury upon the institutor and instituted." (Description
of Wales, Book II. Chap. 6.)

Giraldus Cambrensis was Archdeacon of Brecknock, and in one of his
Visitations, he speaks of a church in Radnorshire as having six or seven

OF CHURCHES AND CHAPELS 17

would establish churches where they thought expedient.
All churches of this description may be considered as of the
last foundation, leaving those which are intermediate in un-
certainty for the present.

It may be objected by some, that the extent of benefices
depends not so much upon their subjection to Welsh Princes,
or Norman Lords, as upon the barrenness, or fertility of the
country in which they are situate. A glance at the map of
Wales will be sufficient to show, that though parishes may be
large or small for the reason specified, the objection does not
apply to endowments. The fertile vale of Towy, in the county
of Carmarthen, is filled with endowments of the first class,
which are subdivided into parishes, of greater or less extent,
to suit the nature of the country; and on the other hand,
places of worship are sometimes numerous in districts the
most barren. The recesses of the mountains appear to have
been more populous formerly than at present, for the in-
habitants of Wales chose to live in such situations as were
most secure from foreign aggression ; and thus the county of
Carnarvon contains more churches than the larger and more
fertile county of Montgomery,

Though churches, strictly so called, were few, it was not on
account of the scantiness of population, for chapels of every
description were scattered over the Principality, which would

clergymen. C'Clerici sex vel septem, more Walensium, participes Ecclesiae
illius.") The custom of dividing a benefice between several portionists,
without compromising its integrity, continued in some of parts of the Diocese
of St. Asaph until after the subjugation of Wales; several instances may be
found in the Taxation of Pope Nicholas, A. D. 1291, but the following
extract, relating to the church of Corwen, Merionethshire, will suffice.

Porcio Gynon ap Ednefed.... 8 13 4

Porcio Kenewyrc' 5 0 0

Ecclia de Corvaen. Porcio Gwyn ap Twdyr .... 5 0 0

Porcio G re go r p'bri 3 6 8

Porcio Vicar' • 6 0 0

|§ COMPARATIVE ANTIQUITY

not have been requisite unless the country were well peopled.
From what has been already written^ it will appear that the
definition of "church" has been considered to be a place of
worship endowed with tithes. A '^ chapel," on the contraiy,
is considered to be a place of worship without any such en-
dowment. It has been already stated that chapels are of
later erection than the churches to which they are subject.
Some of them are ancient; and an attempt will be made to
form such a classification of them as will assist in determining
generally the eras in which they were built.

Parochial Chapels are considered to be the most ancient,
being a necessary consequence of the great extent of the
district assigned to the mother church, which was soon found
insufficient for the instruction of people spread over so wide
a territory. There is reason for supposing that chapels of
this description are coeval with churches of the intermediate
foundation. They were erected before the division of the
country into parishes as at present constituted,, for such a
subdivision of the older districts could have been of no
utility unless chapels were already built; and the existence
of these places of worship, which at first were only chapels of
ease, suggested the division for the sake of convenience.

Between Parochial Chapels and Chapels of Ease there was
at first no distinction, but the latter are now known from the
circumstance that they have no separate districts assigned
them, being always situate in the same parish as the mother
church. As a general rule, these chapels are of later erection
than the former, being the result of a demand for an increased
supply of places of worship. They belong to a time when
the boundaries of parishes were so far permanently settled
that it was not expedient to disturb them.

There is reason, however, to believe that the Normans and
Flemings, wherever they made their settlements, converted
such chapels as they found in the country into separate
benefices. But they also built many churches in addition.

OF CHURCHES AND CHAPELS. 19

making a new distribution of parishes. Thus the Rectories
in the Deaneries of Rhos and Castlemartin, Pembrokeshire;
in the peninsula of Gower, and the Vale of Glamorgan,
average at about half the extent of parochial chapelries in
most of the other districts of Wales. This distribution,
however, belongs to a period in which so much information
may be collected from history, as will serve to distinguish
the older churches from their more modern neighbours.

There are also other Chapels, which do not appear to
have been used for the purposes of public, or congregational
worship; such as Cells, Oratories, and Hermitages, where
prayers and offerings were made in private. They are some-
times distinguished from public churches by their situation,
either in the solitude of an island, or promontory, over the
well of a favourite Saint, or adjoining to a church where
provision was already made for public worship; and were
so small that they could contain but few persons. They
may also be distinguished by their present state, being all
of them in ruin, and the situations of most of them are
known only by tradition. Being of no use as public churches,
and the offerings to them ceasing, they were suffered to fall
to decay soon after the Reformation. Nearly all parochial
chapels, inasmuch as they are repaired at the cost of their
respective parishes, have been preserved entire to the present
time. Several chapels of ease, however, for want of a similar
provision, have become ruinated, and In some cases their
situation is almost forgotten ; yet the names of most of them
may be recovered from various ecclesiastical documents and
editions of the *^ Liber Regis."

In treating of the Saints, it is intended to give such
notices of cells, and oratories, as may be supplied from the
vague information which remains respecting them. If there
were any small chapels of this description in ancient times,
the veneration attached to them would suggest their en-
largement into churches or parochial chapels, whenever a

20 COMPARATIVE ANTIQUITY

demand might be made for an increased number of public
places of worship; unless their situations were such as to
render the change useless or impracticable.* It may be
presumed that the earliest oratories, founded after the final
settlement of parishes, were frequently converted into chapels
of ease ; and while it is the tendency of ecclesiastical estab-
lishments gradually to rise in importance,t it may be con-
cluded that those, which as a class have remained in the
/ lowest rank, were the latest. Chapels erected over wells owe
their origin to the superstition of the middle ages, and those
which are contiguous to a larger church, or cathedral, have
their antiquity limited by the date of the fabric to which
they are adjoined.

At this stage of proceeding, it will be proper to observe
that the Welsh word '*^Llan" was at first applied to churches
and chapels indiscriminately ; in determining the antiquity
of chapels, it may be considered that such as have their
names compounded with this word are of the older kind.
The word " Capel" appears to be of subsequent introduction,
as it is seldom attached to the names of parochial chapels,
but applied principally to chapels of ease and decayed ora-
tories. Another designation applied to chapels in Wales is
" Bettws ;" and though several places so named have been
formed into independent benefices, there are proofs remain-
ing sufficient to show that they were originally subject to
other churches in their neighbourhood. Sometimes the two
latter appellations are used together, as Capel Bettws Lleicu,

* The exception applies principally to cells said to have been founded by
the primitive Christians of Wales in certain snaall islands, to which they
retired for the sake of security.

t This observation, though intended to apply to churches and chapels, is
also true of monastic institutions; Priories, being of later foundation than
Abbeys, remained unequal to them in revenues and importance : it may also
be noticed that the relationship subsisting between a superior convent and
its cells is in some degree analogous to that betweeo a church and its chapels.

OF CHURCHES AND CHAPELS. 21

Cardiganshire, and Capel Bettws, subject to Trelech, Car-
marthenshire.*

Great stress has been laid upon parochial divisions, for the
reason that they determine the comparative antiquity of the
churches to which they belong. The idea that parishes in^
Wales were established by a general Act of the Legislature
can never be maintained. Without entering further into the
question, it is sufficient to say that they existed in the times of
of Welsh independency, when no Acts of the English Parlia-
ment could affect them ; and the Welsh annals record no ordi-
nance for their arrangement, which in the state of the country,
divided between contending Princes, was almost impossible.
Their establishment was gradual, and their limits were
determined by the territory of the person who endowed each
church with tithes. This is the only way to account for
their unequal extent, and the inconvenience of their distri-
bution. A chieftain might divide his lands between his
his sons, and this arrangement might form some criterion
for the division of an endowment of the first class into pa-
rochial chapelries; but he could make no partition of the
tithes, for as they had been already given away, they were
no longer in his power; and it rested with the ministert
of the mother church to make his own arrangements with
the curates of the chapelries.

Property in Wales descended by the law of Gavelkind,

* Llan appears to be indigenous in the Welsh language, meaning not
only the church, but the sacred spot which surrounds it, and in this
sense it corresponds with the Greek word "T6/t6vos\" The idea of "en-
closure^^ is also observable in its compounds, gwinllan, perllan, corlan,
ydlan, &c. Capel is derived from " Capella," a Latin word of modern
invention. The derivation of Bettws is uncertain. Qu. from the Anglo-
Saxon — " Bead-house."

f Giraldus Cambrensis does not inform us by what scale the tithes
were divided between a plurality of Rectors, but he loudly declaims
against the whole system as an abuse.

22 COMPARATIVE ANTIQUITY

which ordained that sons should inherit their father's terri-
tory in equal proportions. Such was the theory of the
institution, but in practice it was very defective. Feuds
always arose about the distribution. Might would overcome
right, and as a necessary consequence the divisions were very
unequal, and sometimes intermixed with each other. Tracts
of country may therefore be found, where the church appears
to have been endowed when affairs were in the state des-
cribed. In the Rural Deanery of Maelienydd in the county
of Radnor, which contained the districts of Nantmel, Llan-
bister, and Llangynllo, the division was regular ; but it was
otherwise in the Deanery of Builth in the county of Brecon.
In the latter, the district of Llanafan includes the continuous
parishes of Llanafan Fawr, Llanfechan, Llanfihangel Bryn
Pabuan, and Llanfihangel Abergwesin; and also the parish
of AUtmawr, which is separated from the others by the inter-
vening parishes of Llanddewi'r Cwm and Builth. The
district of Llangaramarch includes the pai'ishes of Llangam-
raarch, Llanwrtyd, and Llanddewi Abergwesin, and there
is reason to suspect that Llanddulas ought to be added to
the number. But what is more surprising, there is docu-
mentary evidence* to prove that it formerly included the
extensive parish of LlansanfFraid Cwmmwd Deuddwrf though

* The authority alluded to is the "Valor Ecclesiasticus" of Henry VIII.
under the heads of " Llangammarch" and <' LlanseyntfiFrede." The con-
nexion is also proved by another authority more ancient; in a Deed of
Agreement with the Abbey of Strata Florida, to which the Chapter of
Abergwilly was a party, dated March 21, 1339, mention is made of the
Prebendary of " Llangammarch Readr" alluding to the town of Rhayader,
in a suburb of which the church of Llansanffraid is situated.

t The name "Cwmmwd Deuddwr" is restored from a passage in the
Valor Ecclesiasticus, where it is said to be a part of the possessions of
Strata Florida. (See also the enumeration of parishes in the second Vol.
of the My vyrian Archaiology.) It is now generally written " Cwm
y Toyddwr."

OF CHURCHES AND CHAPELS. 23

divided from it by the interposition of Llanafan Fawr. The
parishes of Llanfihangel Bryn Pabuan and Llanafan Fawr
intervene between Llanwrthwl and its subordinate parish of
Llanlleonfel ; and Llanganten is in a similar manner separated
by Maesmynys and Llanddewi'r Cwm from its chapelry of
Llangynog. When it is added that Llanddewi'r Cwm* is the
mother church of Builth, and Maesmynyst the mother
church of Llanynys, all the parishes in the Deanery are
enumerated, and the last two districts alone are entirely
continuous.

If it be objected that chapelries may have been originally
separate benefices which were afterwards consolidated, it may
be replied that the extinction of a benefice and its conversion
into a chapelry is contrary to the progress of ecclesiastical
polity. So far from the fact of churches uniting together to
form one benefice, the tendency is the reverse ; chapels are
frequently detached from the older church and become in-
dependent benefices. Even when the whole tithes of a living
were appropriated to a Monastery or Collegiate Chapter,
the benefice did not lose its existence and become subject to
some neighbouring parish, but it continued its independence
under the name of prebend or curacy. Whenever, from the
smallness of their value, two rectories or vicarages are con-
solidated, neither of them merges into the other, or becomes
a chapel; but they preserve their original designation as
separate benefices, and are only said to be annexed. These
points do not depend upon accident, as they affect the interests
of every clergyman upon his institution to a living. Churches,
which are described as benefices in the survey of Pope
Nicholas in the reign of Edward the First, continued to be,
for the most part, so described in the surveys of Henry the
Eighth, and Queen Anne, and are found to be similar with

* Taxation of Pope Nicholas, and Jones's Brecknockshire, Vol. II. p. 293.
t Taxation of Pope Nicholas.

24 COMPARATIVE ANTIQUITY

a few exceptions at this present time.* Sometimes, from
being a larger edifice or more favourably situated, the chapel
may take precedence of the parent church ; but this accident
does not compromise the integrity of the benefice. It has
been the interest of every incumbent to observe that his
rights were not infringed upon by his neighbour; and if he
held a plurality of livings, they were generally separated
upon his decease.

Should ever such a consolidation, or rather extinction of
benefices have taken place ; it may naturally be supposed
that it was formed for the purpose of aggrandizing Monaster-
ies, or the dignitaries of collegiate bodies. But the system of
subordination is of older date ; for the foundation Charters of
Abbeys in Wales describe it as already existing. Chapels
are enumerated under their respective churches as at present,
with the exception, as may be expected, that some of them
have since been converted into separate benefices, but this i*s
a proceeding the reverse of consolidation. In Dugdale's
Monasticon is a Chartert of Edw. III. confirming a prior
Grant made by certain Princes of South Wales in the time of
Henry III. to the Abbey of Talley in Carmarthenshire.

* In examining ecclesiastical documents, care must be taken to as-
certain whether the word "ecclesia" be used generically or specifically,
and irregularities must be rectified by a comparison with other author-
ities.

tThe information, to be derived from a perusal of documents of this
nature, may be demonstrated by another example from the Monasticon,
in the words of the original. — "A. D. 1141, Mauritius de London, fiUus
Willielmi de London, dedit ecclesiae Sancti Petri Glouc. ecclesiam S. Mi-
chaeiis de Ewenny, ecclesiam S. Brigidae, cum capella de Ugemor de
Lanfey. Ecclesiam S. Michaelis de Colveston cum terris, &c. — ita ut
conventus Monachorum fiat." — The Grant of these churches to the
Monastery of St. Peter's Gloucester was made with a view to the es-
tablishment of a Priory, subject to that society, at Ewenny in the county
of Glamorgan. The church of St. Bridget, mentioned therein, is St.
Bride's Major in the same county. Tlie capella de Ugemor was probably

OF CHURCHES AND CHAPELS. 25

These Welsh Princes "were the founders of the Abbey, and
in their Grant the churches of Llansadwrn, Llanwrda, Llan-
sawel, and Pumsant are mentioned as chapels under Cynwyl
Gaio. Of these, Llansadwrn now forms a separate vicarage,
having Llanwrda annexed to it as a chapelry ; Llansawel is
still subject to Cynwyl Gaio, and Pumsant is the name of a
place in the parish of Caio, where tradition states there was
formerly a chapel, of which no vestiges now remain.

The subordination of churches, described as prevailing to
so great an extent in Wales, may at first appear surprising ;
it is however no theory, for it actually exists at this very
day, and all that has been done is to endeavour to account
for the causes which produced it. The arrangement made
will be found intimately connected with the Saints to whom
the Welsh churches are dedicated ; for if any of them were
founded by the persons whose names they bear, they must
be those which retain the greatest evidences of antiquity.

in the castle of Ogmore, on the bank of a river of the same name, as the
curacy of Wick, now subject to St. Bride's, is too far from the river to
merit the appellation, and most large castles had formerly d. chapel within
their precincts. The chapel of Llamphey must have been situate in the
hamlet so called in the parish of St, Bride's, and the omission of Wick
affords a presumption that it was founded after the date of the Grant.
In those documents, however, where chapels are altogether omitted, it must
follow, that if they existed in the time of the record, the name of the
mother church was considered suflBcient to include its dependencies.

SECTION II.

The Subordination of Churciies and Chapels considered in reference to
the Saints to whom they are dedicated.

In an enquiry into the question, by whom and at what
time the several churches of Wales were founded, great
assistance may be derived from the names of the Saints to
whom they are dedicated. In forming a classification, two
grand divisions immediately present themselves ; — the Saints
which have been admitted into the Romish Calendar, and
those who are natives of the country, or otherwise connected
with its history. The characteristics of both kinds are so
different, that they can hardly be conceived to belong to the
same people, or indeed to the same religion. In the time of
St. Augustin the Monk,* there was already in Wales a
Christian Church, furnished with Bishops, Monasteries, stated
places of worship, and other appendages of a religious es-
tablishment.t It refused to submit to the authority of the
Pope, and proofs are not wanting to show that it continued
its independence for some time afterwards, until, from the
intercourse of foreigners, and the gradual subjugation of the
Welsh people, it merged into Catholicism. It might naturally
be concluded that the native Saints belonged to the primitive
Church of the country, and that the places of worship called
after their names were of older foundation than those dedi-
cated to Saints of the Catholic Calendar. It will not be
amiss, therefore, to give the result of an examination of all

* A. D. 600.

t Bede's Ecclesiastical History, Book H. Chap. 9,

DEDICATIONS OF CHURCHES, &c. 27

the dedications in Wales, according to Ecton's Thesaurus,
edited by Browne Willis;* and greater pleasure is felt in
appealing to that book, as it is of generally received authority,
and its Editor was utterly unconscious of the conclusions
that are here sought to be maintained.

The Saints, to whom the greatest number of churches are
dedicated, are St. Mary the Virgin, St. Michael, and St.
David. Those dedicated to St. Mary are as follow, and it
should be observed that care is taken to distinguish chapelries
from benefices.t

DIOCESE OF ST. DAVID'S.

PEMBROKESHIRE.

Hayscastle, V. — 1 Chapel, Forde. Nangle, R. & V.

Fishguard, V. PwUcrochan, R.

Llanfair, — chapel to Letterstone Tenby, R. & V.

(St. Giles.) St. Mary's, Pembroke, V.— -I

Maenor Nawen, C. Chapel, St. Anne's, in ruins.

Ambleston, V. Warren, V.

Maenclochog, V. Coedcanlas, — chapel to Martletwy

Spittle, C. (St. Marcellus.)

Walton-East, C. Newport, R.

Wiston, C. Puncheston, R.

Herbranston, R. Cilgwyn, — chapel to Nevern (St.

St. Mary's, Haverford West, V. Brynach.)

Roch, V. Llanfair Nantgwyn, — chapel to

Talbenny, R. Whitchurch (St. Michael.)

♦ Bacon, in his "Liber Regis," appears to follow the authority of
Browne Willis, with a few corrections.

t The letters R. V. P. and C. aflBxed to benefices, denote Rectory,
Vicarage, Prebend, and Curacy •, and it must be noticed that those Cura-
cies only are so designated which do not acknowledge a dependence upon
any other church. The chapels, subject to churches of St. Mary, are
printed in Italics; and their Saints, as well as those of parent churches,
connected with the names in the list, are added, except where omitted
by Browne Willis.

DEDICATIONS OF CHURCHES

BRECKNOCKSHIRE.

Aberyscyr, V.

St. Mary's, Brecon, — chapel to

St. John's.
Ystrad Fellte, — chapel to Dyfyn-

og (St. Cynog.)
Cantref, R. — 1 Chapel, Nant Du.
Llanywern, C.
Lrwynllys, V.
Talachddu, R.

Hay, V. — 1 Chapel, St. John's,

in ruins. ,

Aberllyfni, \^ Pipton, ruinated, ^- /

— chapel to Glasebury, (St. ^ /

Peter.) ^
Crugcadarn, — chapel to Llan-

dyfalle (St, Matthew.)
Llanfair in Builth, C.

HEREFORDSHIRE.

Creswell,^^hapel to Clodock, Walterstone, C.
(St.Clydog.)

MONTGOMERYSHIRE.
Kerry, V;*

RADNORSHIRE.

Bleddfa, R,

Abbey Cwm-Hir, — chapel to

Llanbister (St. Cynllo.)
Pilleth, — chapel to Llangynllo

(St. Cynllo.)
Gladestry, R.

Newchurch, R.

Bettws, — chapel to Diserth (St.

Cewydd.)
Llanfaredd, — chapel to Aberedw

(St. Cewydd.)

CARMARTHENSHIRE.

Eglwys Fair a Churig, — chapel CoJcer ; Cadog (St. Cadog ;)

to Henllan Amgoed (St. David.) and St. Thomas.

Eglwys Fair Lant^f, — chapel to Llanfair ar y Bryn,^ — chapel to

Llanboidy (St. Brynach.) Llandingad (St. Dingad.)

Kidwelly, V. — 5 ruinated Chap- Capel Mair, in ruins, — chapel to

els.—Capel Teilo (St. Teilo;) Talley (St. Michael.)

hlanfihangel (St. Michael;)

* Kerry is dedicated to St. Michael ; but the authority of Browne
Willis is followed, in order to preserve the proportion which this and
the two succeeding lists bear to each other, including all inaccuracies.

ARRANGED AND EXAMINED.
GLAMORGANSHIRE.

Rhosili, R.

Penard, or Penarth, V.

St. Mary's, Swansea, V. — 1 Chap-

ely St. John's.
Penrice, C.

CARDIGANSHIRE.

St. Mary's, Cardigan, V. Llanfair Trefhelygen, — chapel to

Llanfair Orllwyn, R. Llandyfriog (St, Tyfriog.)

Bryngwyn, — chapel to Penbryn Llanfair Clydogau, C.

(St. Michael.) Strata Florida, or Ystrad Flur, C.

SUMMARY OF ST. DAVID'S.

Pembrokeshire
Brecknockshire
Herefordshire
Montgomeryshire -
Radnorshire

23 Carmarthenshire

1 1 Glamorganshire

2 Cardiganshire

7 In the Diocese

4
6

DIOCESE OP ST. ASAPH.

FLINTSHIRE

Ysgeifiog, R. & V.
Halkin, or Helygen,
Kilken, R. & V.
Rhuddlan. V.
Whitford, R. & V.
Gwaunesgor, R.
Nannerch, R. & V.

St. Mary's, Flint, — chapel to

Northop (St. Peter.)
St. Mary's, Mold, V.— 2 Chapels,

Nerquis and Treuddin.
Nerquis, — chapel to Mold.
Treuddin, — chapel to Mold.
Overton, — chapel to Bangor in

Maelor (St. Dunawd.)

MONTGOMERYSHIRE.

Llanfair Caereinion, R.
Welsh Pool, v.— 1 Chapel,But-
tington (All Saints) Salop.

Newtown, R.
Llanllugan, C.
Llanbrynmair, R. & V.

30 DEDICATIONS OF CHURCHES

MERIONETHSHIRE.

Gloddaeth,* — a free chapel. Bettws Gwerfyl Goch, R.

DENBIGHSHIRE.

Penrhyn,* — a free chapel. Rhiwfabon, V.

Llannefydd, V. Chirk, or Eglwys y Waun, V.

Llanfair Talhaiarn, C.

SHROPSHIRE.

Syllatyn, R. Knocking, R.

Kinnersley, V.

Total in St. Asaph 27.

DIOCESE OF BANGOR.

CARNARVONSHIRE.

Llanfair Isgaer, V. — 1 Chapel^ Trefriw, R. — 2 Chapels^ Llan.

Bettws Garmon (St. German- rhychwyn, (St. Hhychwyn ;)

us.) and Bettws y Coed (St. Mi-

St. Mary's, Carnarvon, — chapel chael.)

to Llanbeblig (St. Peblig.) Penllech,— chapel to Llaniestin

Caer-rhun, V. (St. lestin.)

Conway, V. Beddgelert, C.

Llanfair Fechan, R.

MERIONETHSHIRE.

Dolgellen, R. Llanfair juxta Harlech, R.

Llaiiegryn, V. Tal y Llyn, — chapel to Towyn
Maentwrog,— chapel to Festiniog (All Saints.)
(St. Michael.)

* Properly speaking, Gloddaeth and Penrhyn are chapels in the parish
of Eglwys Rhos, Carnarvonshire.

ARRANGED AND EXAMINED.

DENBIGHSHIRE.

Derwen yn 1^1, R.
Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd, V.

CyiFylliog,— chapel to Llanynys
(St. Saeran.)

ANGLESEY.

Gwaredog, — chapel to Llantri-
sant (St. Sanan, Afran, and
lefan.)

Llanfair Ynghornwy, — chapel to
Llanddeusant (St. Marcellus
and Marcellinus.)

Llannerch y Medd, — chapel to
Llanbeulan (St. Peulan.)

Tal y Llyn. — chapel to Llanbeu-
lan (St. Peulan.)

Llanfair is Cwmmwd, — chapel to
Llannidan (St. Aidan.)

Llanfair Pwll Gwyngyll, R. —

1 Chapel, hlandyssilio (St.

Tyssilio.)
Beaumaris,— chapel to Llandeg-

fan (St. Tydecho.)
Bodewrid, — chapel to Llanelian

(St. Elian.)
Pentraeth, — chapel to Llanddyf-

nan (St. Dyfnan.)
Llanfair Mathafarn, — chapel to

Llanddyfnan (St. Dyfnan.)

Total in Bangor

DIOCESE OF LLANDAFF.

GLAMORGANSHIRE.

Bonvilleston, C.

Penmark, V.

Wenvo, R.

St. Mary's, Cardiff, (originally

the parish church,) — 1 Chapely

St. John's.
Caerau, C.
Whitchurch, — chapel to Llan-

daff (St. Teilo & St. Peter.)
Coetty, R. — 1 Chapel, Nolton.

Nolton Bridgend,— chapel to

Coetty.
Aberafon, V. — 1 Chapel, Baglan

(St. Baglan.)
Cowbridge,— chapel to Llanbledd-

ian (St. John the Baptist.)
St. Mary Hill, R.
St. Mary-church, R.
Margam, C.
Monknash, C.

MONMOUTHSHIRE.

Llanfair Cilgedin, R.
Abergavenny, V. — 1 Chapel, St.
John's.

Dynstow, V. — 1 Chapel, Tregaer,
Tregaer, chapel to Dynstow.
Chepstow, V.

32 DEDICATIONS OF CHURCHES

Llanwern, R. Llanfair Discoed, C.

^or, V. Mai pas, C.

Nash,— chapel to Goldcliff (St. Pautedge, R. (Qu. Pant-teg.)

Mary Magdalen.) Usk, V.

Parsenet, alias Porthskewit, R.

Total in LlandaflF 27.

OUTLYING PARISHES OF WALES.

DIOCESE OP HEBEPORD.

Newton Wallica, C. Monmouth- New Radnor, V. Radnorshire.

shire. Kenarton, alias Keynarth, — chap-

St. Mary's, Monmouth, V. el to Old Radnor (St. Stephen.)

SUMMARY.

St. David's 59 Churches* 98

St. Asaph 27 Chapels -.--.. 45

Bangor _.---. 26

Llandaff 27

Other parishes 4

143 143

The list, notwithstanding its apparently large amount, bears
but a small proportion to the churches dedicated to this
Saint over the same extent of territory in England; and it
must not be forgotten that the great majority is to be found
in such parts of Wales as became first subject to the English

* If it were allowable to amend the list given from Ecton, it might be
shown, from the Taxation of Pope Nicholas, that Llanbrynraair was
once a chapel under Darowain, though it now forms a separate benefice ;
Builth was formerly subject to Llanddewi'r Cwmj Strata Florida is in
the parish of Caron, and therefore subordinate to the church of Tregaron.
Other corrections might be adduced ; and if decayed chapels and oratories
not mentioned by Ecton were included, the number of chapels dedicated
to the Virgin would be considerably augmented.

ARRANGED AND EXAMINED. 33

or Flemings. Forty five out of the number are chapels, and
therefore of later date than the churches to which they belong.
The remainder are, nearly all of them, churches of the last
foundation; and in those parts of Wales which preserved
their independence longest, the proportion is very small.
This would almost induce a suspicion that the homage paid to
the Virgin was not of native growth, but was forced upon the
inhabitants of the Principality by their English neighbours.
But with the aid of a map, and some knowledge of the history
of the country, the subject may be examined more narrowly.

The number in Pembrokeshire alone is twenty three, but
many of these parishes do not even possess a Welsh name,
and in the greatest part of the county the system of Welsh
endowments is entirely subverted. This tract was colonized
about A. D. 1100 by English and Flemings, whose descend-
ants still remain; and the churches enumerated probably
date their origin from that period. In the adjoining counties
of Carmarthen and Cardigan, the numbers are only five
and six, being the smallest proportions of any, and four of
the former are chapels; but these counties preserved their
independence down to the time of Edw. I. In Glamorgan-
shire, the number is eighteen, but the same reasons apply
to this county as to Pembrokeshire, it being conquered by
Norman adventurers from England, who divided the county
between them about A. D. 1090. The proportions in Breck-
nockshire and Monmouthshire must be referred to the
conquest of both of them by Bernard Newmarch and others.
Out of eight, the number in Radnorshire,* five are chapels.
In Carnarvonshire also, the number is eight, two of which
are chapels ; and if these churches were not founded after
the death of the last Llewelyn, they at least present a fair
specimen of the number to be looked for under the supremacy

* Including that portion of the county which forms a part of the
Diocese of Hereford.

34 DEDICATIONS OF CHURCHES

of the Welsh Princes. In Montgomery, Merioneth, and
Denbigh the proportion is small. Out of ten, the number for
Anglesey, there are nine chapels; -while in Flint, being a
border county, and at one time an appendage of the Earldom
of Chester, the proportion is large,*
y Most of the towns in Wales are of late origin, being built
to suit the convenience of castles in their vicinity, which are
known to have been erected by Norman and other adven-
turers. It might, therefore, be expected that the churches of
these would present the features of a late foundation. Upon
referring to the list, churches are found at Fishguard,t New-
port, Haverford West, Tenby, Pembroke, Brecon, Hay,
Builth, Kidwelly, Swansea, Cardigan, Rhuddlan, Flint, Mold,
Llanfair Caereinion, Welsh Pool, Newtown, Carnarvon, Con-
way, Dolgelleu, Beaumaris, Cardiff, Bridgend, Cowbridge,
Abergavenny, Chepstow, Usk, Monmouth, and New Radnor,
dedicated to St. Mary, comprising nearly half the towns in
the Principality. Several others, as Roch, Brwynllys, and
Coetty, are in the neighbourhood of Norman castles, where
no towns have been built; and a few more, as Abbey Cwm
Hir, Strata Florida, Margam, Beddgelert, and Creswell, owe
their dedications to the Monasteries which formerly existed
on their sites.

The late introduction of the homage of St. Mary may be
proved by another mode of computation. Forty five of her
places of worship are chapels, while only sixteen of her
churches are of sufficient antiquity or importance to have
chapels under them. Again, twenty four J chapels, dedicated

* Three churches in the list are in the county of Salop, and four more,
including one chapelry, are in the Diocese of Hereford.

t In Carlisle's Topographical Dictionary of Wales, reasons are given
for the supposition that the parish of Fishguard was formed upon the
dissolution of two others more ancient.

% 13y an amendment of tl\e list, without the Introduction of any new
names, this number may be increased to thirty three. The five ex-

OF CHURCHES AND CHAPELS. 35

to St. Mary, are found subordinate to churches ascribed to
Welsh Saints; while only five chapels named after Welsh
Saints are subordinate to churches of St. Mary. The in.,
ference is, that the custom of ascribing churches or chapels to
Welsh Saints had nearly ceased before that of dedicating to
St. Mary had commenced; and perhaps the exceptions to the
rule may be referred to an accident, where the chapel had
taken precedence of the mother church.

The justness of these conclusions, as regards one county,
can be verified from a document of unquestionable authority.
In the preceding list, the county of Flint has a proportion
about three times greater than any of the rest ; as the entire
number of its churches and chapels is only twenty eight,
twelve of which are dedicated to St. Mary; and of these
twelve, eight are in the ancient Lordship of Tegeingl, or
Englefield. It happens that this Lordship, as being part of
the Palatinate of Chester, is included in the Survey of Domes-
day Book, made by order of William the Conqueror ; and in
the enumeration of its churches, two* only of those dedicated
to St. Mary are mentioned as then existing. It must therefore
be concluded that the remainder were built at a later period;
and as the same document describes this Lordship, which it
calls the Hundred of Atiscros, as if it had been some time
in the occupation of the Saxons, the dedication of the two
churches mentioned may be attributed to their influence.

ceptions are the chapels of Cadog and Teilo under Kidwelly, Llanrhych-
wyn subject to Trefriw, Llandyssilio subject to Llanfihangel Pwll
Gwyngyll, and Baglan subject to Aberafon. As the church of Kidwelly
is presumed to be of a date subsequent to the erection of a castle there by
William de Londres, a Norman adventurer, A. D. 1094, the parish church
before that time was probably the chapel of Cadog, or, as it is called,
Llangadog, to which the chapel of Teilo might have been subordinate.
A similar reason may perhaps be found to account for the three remain-
ing irregularities.
* '* Widford" (Whitford,) and « Roeland" (Rhuddlan.)

DEDICATIONS OF CHURCHES

The next Saint, to whom the largest number of churches
is dedicated, is St. Michael, the Archangel.

DIOCESE OF ST. DAVID'S.

PEMBROKESHIRE.

Rudbacston, R.

Stackpoole Boscher, alias Bo-

sheston, R.
Castle Martin, V. — 1 Chapel,

Flimston.
Cosheston, R.

St. Michael's, Pembroke, V.
Whitchurch, R. — 1 Chapel ^
Llanfair Nantgwyn, ( St. Mary.)
Castle Beith, R.
Llanfihangel Penbedw, R.

BRECKNOCKSHIRE.

Llanfihangel Nant Bran, C.
Llanfihangel Fechan, — chapel to

Llandyfaelog (St. Maelog.)
Llanfihangel Cwm Du, R. & V.—

1 ChapeU Tretwr.
Cathedin, R.

Llanfihangel Tal y Llyn, R.

Llanfihangel Abergwesin, — chap-
el to Llanafan Fawr, (St. Afan.)

Llanfihangel BrynPabuan,— chap-
el to Llanafan Fawr, (St. Afan.)

HEREFORDSHIRE.

Dulas, C.
Ewyas Harold, C.

Michael-church, Eskley, C.

RADNORSHIRE.

Cefn Llys, R.
Bugeildy, V.
Cascob, R.
Bryngwyn, R.

Clyro, P. & v.— 1 Chapel, Bet-
tws Clyro.

Llanfihangel Nant Melan, V.

Llanfihangel Rhydeithon, — chap-
el to Llanbister, (St Cynllo.)

Llanfihangel Helygen, — chapel to
Nantmel, (St. Cynllo.)

ARRANGED AND EXAMINED. 37

CARMARTHENSHIRE.

Egermond, C. Llanfihaiigel Rhos y Corn, —

Llanfihangel Abercywyn, — chap- chapel to Llanllwni, (St. Llw-

el to Meidrym (St. David.) ni.)

Llanfihangel, in ruins, — chapel to Llanfihangel Aberbythych, C.

St. Mary's, Kidwelly. Talley, C. — 5 Chapels, all in

Cil y Cwm, V. ruins, Capel Crist (Holy Trin-

Llanfihangel Fach Cilfargen, R; ity ;) Capel Mair, (St. Mary;)

Llangathen, V. Llanfihangel, (St. Michael;)

Llanfihangel Ararth, V. — 1 Chap- Cynhwm and Teilo, (St. Teilo.J

el, Pencadair. Llanfihangel, in ruins, — chapel to

Llanfihangel Uwch Gwyli, — Talley, (St. Michael.)

chapel to Abergwyli, (St. Da- Myddfai, V.

vid.)

GLAMORGANSHIRE.

Llwchwr, or Loughor, R.

CARDIGANSHIRE.

Llanfihangel Ystrad, P. & V. Tremain, C.

Llanfihangel Penbryn, V. — 2 Llanfihangel Geneu'r Glyn, V.

Chapels, Bettws If an, (St. Llanfihangel y Creuddin. 1

John,) and Bryngwyn, (St. Chapel, Eglwys Newydd.

Mary . ) Lied roed , P .

Troedyraur, R. Rhosdeiau, R.

Total in St. David's 48.

DIOCESE OF ST. ASAPH.

FLINTSHIRE.

Caerwys, R. & V. Rhelofnoid, C.

M0NTG03IERYSHIRE.

Llanfihangel y Gwynt, R. Manafon, R.

38 DEDICATIONS OF CHURCHES

DENBIGHSHIRE.

Abergele, V. Llanfihangel, R.

Bettws, v.*

SHROPSHIRE.

Llanyblodwel, R.— 1 Chapel^ Morton.
Total in St. Asaph 8.

DIOCESE OF BANGOR.

CARNARVONSHIRE.

Llanrug, R. Llanfihangel y Pennant, C.

Bettws y Coed, — chapel to Tref- Treflys, — chapel to Cricciaeth

riw (St. Mary.) (St. Catherine.)

Llanfihangel Bachellaeth, — chap-
el to Llanbedrog (St. Pedrog.)

MERIONETHSHIRE.

Ffestiniog, R. — 1 Chapel, Maen- Llanfihangel y Traeth, — chapel

twrog (St. Mary.) to Llandecwyn (St. Tecwyn.)

Llanfihangel y Pennant, — chapel
to Tywyn (All Saints.)

MONTGOMERYSHIRE.

Trefeglwys, R.

DENBIGHSHIRE.

Efenechtyd, R.

* Bettws was formerly a chapel to Abergele.— See Edwards's "Cath-
edral of St. Asaph."

ARRANGED AND EXAMINED.

ANGLESEY.

Llanfihangel yn Nhywyn, — chap-
el to Rhoscolyn, (St. Gwen-
faen.)

Llanfihangel Ysgeifiog, C. — 1
Chapel.. Llanffinan ( St.FJinan.)

Llanfihangel Tinsilwy, — chapel
. to Llaniestin (St. lestin.)

Llanfihangel Tre'r Beirdd,— chap-
el to Llandyfrydog (St. Dyf-
rydog.)

Llugwy, — chapel to Llaneigrad
(St. Eigrad.)

Penrhos, C.

Total in Bangor

16.

DIOCESE OP LLANDAFF.

GLAMORGANSHIRE.

Michaelston le Pit, R.
St, Michael's upon Ely, R.
Colwinston, V.
Fleminston, R.

Michaelston, alias Llanfihangel,

near Cowbridge, R.
Ewenny, C.
Michaelston, super Afon, C.

MONMOUTHSHIRE.

Llanfihangel Istern Llewem, R.
Llanfihangel juxta Usk, R.
Llanfihangel Crug cornea, V.
Llanfihangel, R. (in Deanery of

Nether Went.)
T intern Parva, R,
Machan, or Maghen, R.
St. Michael's near Rumney, or

Michaelston Vedo, R.

Troy, or Mitchel Troy, R.—l

Chapel, Cwmcarfan.
Kemmys, (Cemmaes,) R.
Gwernesey, R.
Llanfihangel Tormynydd, R.
Llanfihangel Pontymoel, C.
Llanfihangel juxta Llantarnam, C.

Total in Llandaff 20.

OUTLYING PARISHES OF WALES.

DIOCESE OP HEREFORD.

Discoed, — chapel to Prest^ign
(St. Andrew,) Radnorshire.

Michaelchurch upon Arrow, —
chapel to Kington (St. Mary.)

40 DEDICATIONS OF CHURCHES

SUMMARY.

St. David's 48 Churches 73

St. Asaph 8 Chapels - - - - - - 21

Bangor ------ iq

LlandafF 20

Other parishes ----- 2

94 94

These churches, unlike those dedicated to St. Mary, do
not crowd the English districts, but are dispersed over the
country with greater regularity. They are found in the in-
terior as well as in the outskirts, and are so far characteristic
of the Principality, that the proportion they bear to other
churches is twice as great as that of those dedicated to St.
Michael in England.* This national distinction would show
that they were mostly founded by the native princes, and
their more general dispersion would indicate that they be-
longed to an era prior to the permanent occupation of parts of
Wales by foreigners. Another mark of nationality, as well as
of higher antiquity, is the greater number of Welsh names in
the list of St. Michael than in that of St. Mary.f But the
best criterion, in the absence of historical records, is the ar-
rangement of parishes. Except in those parts where English
and Norman settlers may have made a new distribution, the
parishes dedicated to St. Michael are generally of much larger
extent than those dedicated to St. Mary, some of them being
eight, and even ten miles in length. While only nine out of

* According to Ecton, or Browne Willis, there are in the Diocese of
Lincoln about 1520 churches, including extinct chapelries, sixty of which
are dedicated to St. Michael. According to the same authority, there are in
the Dioceses of St. David's and Bangor 720 churches, or less than half the
number in Lincoln, sixty four of which are dedicated to St. Michael.

t Only two churches situate in towns, St. Michael's Pembroke, and
Caerwys, occur in the list.

ARRANGED AND EXAMINED. 41

eighty five places of worship, in the Dioceses of St. David's
and Bangor, named in the first list, were of sufficient antiquity
or importance to have chapelries under them ; the proportion
in the list of St. Michael, for the same Dioceses, is ten out of
sixty four. Four chapels of St. Mary are subject to churches
of St. Michael, and two* vice versa. Out of nineteen chapels
dedicated to St. Michael, fourteen are parochial,t which for
reasons already stated are more ancient than chapels of ease ;
while of those consecrated to St. Mary, the proportion is less,
being twenty out of thirty three. From these calculations the
Dioceses of St. Asaph and LlandafF are excluded, owing to the
singular circumstance that, according to the authority of
Ecton, there are no chapels dedicated to St. Michael in either
of them.

These Dioceses therefore require a separate consideration,
and the circumstance alluded to is an illustration of the truth
of Welsh history. The Diocese of St. Asaph extends more
along the English frontier than the rest ; and long before the
Norman conquest, according to the Welsh Annals, it appears
to have suffered severely from the ravages of the Anglo-
Saxons, who are even recorded to have taken possession of
the territories comprised in it ;X and though they could not

* Namely, Llanfihangel, in ruins, subject to St. Mary's Kidwelly, and
Bettws y Coed subject to Trefriwj but the irregular situations of both
the superior churches has been already noticed, in note page 35. Another
irregularity is Michael-church upon Arrow subordinate to Kington ; both
these churches however are in the Diocese of Hereford.

t This particular is ascertained from Carlisle's Topographical Dic-
tionary.

X Between A. D. 810 and 820, as stated in two Chronicles printed in the
Myvyrian Archaiology, the Saxons took possession of Rhufoniog, or the
western part of Denbighshire. In about ten years afterwards, according
to three Chronicles in the same collection, they took possession of the
"kingdom" or principality of Powys, comprising the county of Mont-
gomery, with the remainder of Denbigh, and parts of Flint, Merioneth,

42 DEDICATIONS OF CHURCHES

maintain their footing, their continual inroads must have de-
solated the country. To this cause may be attributed the
fact that all the churches dedicated to St. Michael in this
Diocese are only eight; and also, that though it is, perhaps,
the second of the Welsh Dioceses in point of extent, it con-
tains fewer churches considerably than either of the other
three.* In Llandaff, the least extensive Diocese in Wales,
the number of churches dedicated to St. Michael is twenty,
not one of which is a chapel ; but the Normans formed their
settlements in this district at a later period, and it may be
presumed that, according to their usual rule, they converted
such chapels as existed in the country into independent
benefices.

On the other hand, the churches of St. Michael, though
more ancient than those of St. Mary, are not the most ancient
in the Principality. Onet only of the chapels subordinate to
them is dedicated to a Welsh Saint; while fourteen of the
chapels dedicated to St. Michael are subordinate to churches
ascribed to Welsh Saints ; and this want of reciprocity can be
accounted for on no other principle than that the commemor-
ation of the native Saints is of older date. The parishes de-
dicated to St. Michael vary considerably in extent, according
to the nature of the ground unoccupied by previous en-
dowments; but even the most extensive of them do not
possess the characteristics of endowments of the first class.
That which approaches nearest is Llanfihangel Penbryn in
Cardiganshire, which contains the subordinate parishes of

and Salop. The occupation of the remaining part of Flintshire by the
Saxons has been already noticed, and it will be observed that the terri-
tories described are situated principally in the Diocese of St. Asaph.
(Myvyrian Archaiology, Vol. II. pp. 392, 475, & 476.)

* The number of churches in St. David's, including extinct chapelries,
as far as can be collected from Browne Willis, is 626; in LlandafiF276;
Bangor 194 j and St. Asaph 145.

t Capel Teilo, a decayed chapel under Talley, Carmarthenshire.

ARRANGED AND EXAMINED.

Bettws Ifan and Bryngwyn. But this district, the only one
in the list which possesses a plurality of parochial chapelries,
shows the marks of a later origin so far that its chapels have
not been formed into Perpetual Curacies, and continue to be
served by the Vicar of Penbryn, or his stipendiary Curate.

The next Saint, whose churches were to be considered, was
St. David, and the list according to Ecton is as follows. —

DIOCESE OF ST. DAVID'S.

PEMBROKESHIRE.

The Cathedral (St. David and St.

Andrew. )~5 Chapels, Gwrhyd;

Non, (St.Non;) Padrig,(St.

Patrick ;) Pistyll ; and Stinan,

(St. Justinian.)
Brawdy, V.
Whitchurch, V.
Prendergast, R.

Hubberston, R.

Bridell, R.

Llanuchllwydog, R. — 1 Chapel,

Llanllawen.
Llanychaer, R.
Llanddewi FelfFre, R. & V.
Maenor Deifi, R.

CARDIGANSHIRE.

Llanddewi Brefi, C. — 4 Chapels,
Bettws Lleicu ; Blaenpennal,
(St. David',) Gartheli; Given-
fyl, (St. Gwenfyl.)

Blaenporth, P.

Bangor, R. — 1 Chapel, Henllan,
(St. David.)

Henfynyw, C,

Llanddewi Aberarth, P.

Henllan,— chapel to Bangor (St.
David.)

Blaenpennal, — chapel to Llan-
ddewi Brefi (St. David.)

CARMARTHENSHIRE.

Henllan Amgoed, R. — 1 Chapel,
Eglwys Fair a Churig.

Meidrym, V. — 1 Chapel, Llan'
hangelAhercywyn( St. Michael.

CapelDewi, — chapel to Llanelly
(St. Ellyw.)

Llanarthneu, P. & V. — 1 Chapel,
Llanlleian.

Abergwilly, or Abergwyli, V. —
3 Chapels, Llanfihangel Uwch
Gwyli, (St. Michael;) Llan-
pumsant ; and Llanllawddog,
(St. Llawddog.)

Bettws, C.

Llanycrwys, C.

Llandyfeisant, C.

DEDICATIONS OF CHURCHES

BRECKNOCKSHIRE.

Gartlibrengi, P.

Trallwng, P.

Llywel, V. — 1 Chapel, Rhydy-

briw.
Llanfaes, V.
Maesmynys, R.

Llanddewi Abergwesin, — chapel
to Llangammarch (St. Cam-
march.)

Llanwrtyd, — chapel to Llangam-
march (St. Cam march.)

Llauddewi'r Cwm, C.

RADNORSHIRE.

Hey op, R.

Whitton, R.

lilanddewi Ystrad Enni, — chapel

to Llanbister (St. Cynllo.)
Cregruna, R. — 1 Chapel, Llan-

badarny Garreg, (St.Padarn.)
Glascwm, V. — 2 Chapels, Coif a,

CSt. David ;J and Mhiwlen, (St.

David,)

Colfa, — chapel to Glascwm (St.

David.)
Llanddewi Fach, — chapel to Lly-

wes (St. Meilig.)
Rhiwlen, — chapel to Glascwm (St.

David.)

GLAMORGANSHIRE.

Llanddewi in Gower.

DIOCESE OF LLANDAFF.

GLAMORGANSHIRE.

Bettws, — chapel to Newcastle (St. Laleston, — chapel to Newcastle
llltyd.) (St lUtyd.)

MONMOUTHSHIRE.

Llanddewi Sgyryd, R.
Llanddewi Rhydderch, V.
Llanddewi Fach, C.

Bettws, — chapel to Newport (St.

Gwynllyw.)
Trostrey, alias Trawsdre, C.
Llangyniow, C. Qu. Llangyfyw?

ARRANGED AND EXAMINED. 45

DIOCESE OF HEREFORD.

HEREFORDSHIRE.

Kili3eck, C. (St. Mary & St. Da- Littte Dewchurch, chapel to

vid.) Lugwardine (St. Peter.)

Dewchurch Magna, V.

SUMMARY.

Pembrokeshire - - - - 10 Glamorganshire - - - - 2

Cardiganshire 7 Monmouthshire ... - 6

Carmarthenshire - - - - 8 —

Brecknock 8 Diocese of Llandaff - - - 8

Radnor ------- 8 Diocese of Hereford - - - 3

Glamorgan ------ 1

Diocese of St. David's - - 42 Total 53

Churches 40, Chapels 13.— 53.

It is remarkable that there is not one church or chapel,
dedicated to St. David, in the w^hole of North Wales. The
nationality of these churches will not be questioned, as the
person, to whom they are dedicated, was the tutelar Saint of
the country. Their antiquity appears from the fact that they
are dispersed without reference to the petty conquests, or to
the towns of later ages ; and as they are to be found, in a
certain quarter, beyond the borders of the Principality, they
belong to an era when its limits were more extensive than at
present. Their foundation is popularly ascribed to St. David
himself; but in order to shew whether any of them can
advance a plausible claim to so early a date, they must be
submitted to the same kind of examination as the preceding ;
and the test is the more necessary, because, from the circum-
stance of his being canonized by the Pope in the twelfth
century, he was adopted into the Romish Calendar, and several
churches may have been dedicated to his memory in later

46 DEDICATIONS OF CHURCHES

times. Four endowments, in the list, are of the first class,
having a plurality of chapels dependent on them ; seven more
have one chapel each ; and most of these subordinate chapels
are dedicated to St. David himself, or to Welsh Saints, his
contemporaries. The chapels dedicated to St. David, and, for
that reason, allowed a place in the front of the list, are sub-
ject to churches attributed to the same person, or to other
Welsh Saints of contemporary or older date. Their relative
situation would therefore show that both churches and chapels
where founded in an age, when indiscriminate dedications had
not become customary ; for, according to Ecton, only one* of
the chapels, dedicated to St. David, is subordinate to a church
dedicated to one of the Apostles, and this exception does not
occur within the present limits of Wales. Out of the thirteen
chapelries assigned to St. David, eleven are parochial,t being
a larger proportion than appears in the lists of those of
St. Mary, or St. Michael. But it may be urged against the
antiquity of the beneficed churches, that only four out of forty
have endowments of the first foundation. A review of the
list, however, compared with a map of the country, and some
knowledge of its localities, will show that the majority of
these benefices do not stand singly in their situations, but are
joined by two, and sometimes by three together. Thus
Whitchurch is contiguous to St. David's, Llanuchllwydog and
Llanychaer are adjoining parishes, and the same may be said
of Maenor Deifi and Bridell. Henfynyw and Llanddewi
Aberarth are contiguous; so are Trallwng and Llywel; Maes-
mynys and Llanddewi'r Cwm; as well as Glascwm and Creg-
runa. The number of benefices, which stand alone and
without chapels, is therefore reduced to twenty. To proceed.

* Little Dewchurch, subject to Lugwardine, (St. Peter,) in the Diocese
and county of Hereford.

t Ascertained from the Population Returns for 1831, printed by order of
the House of Commons.

ARRANGED AND EXAMINED. 47

Brawdy and Whitchurch, though not contiguous, are nearer
to each other than many detached chapelries. The same may
be said of Henllan Amgoed and Llanddewi FelfFre, and also
ofLlanddewi Brefi and Llanycrwys; Garthbrengi and Llan-
faes are so situate with respect to each other,* that is probable
they were first separated by the arrangements of the followers
of Bernard Newmarch.t In Monmouthshire, Llanddewi
Sgyryd and Llanddewi Rhydderch are near each other; as
are also Trostre and Llangyniow ; and the same rule will
apply to the three churches in Herefordshire. The single
churches which remain, are only nine; of which number,
Prendergast, Hubberston, and Llanddewi in Gower, are situate
in districts avowedly Flemish; so that it cannot be said what
was the original extent of their endowments, and what
churches might have been detached from them. Hey op and
WhittonJ are so situated, that there is reason to suppose they
were once subordinate to the neighbouring church of Llan-
gynllo : their churches are very small, and belong to a district
which was one of the first to become subject to the Lords
Marchers. Blaenporth, Cardiganshire, and Llanddewi Fach,
Monmouthshire, may perhaps be ancient, but they afford no
criterion to prove their antiquity.

♦ The author of the '* History of Brecknockshire" (Vol. IT. p. 147.) gives
his reasons for the supposition that Llanfaes was originally a chapel under
Llanddew, a parish which intervenes between it and Garthbrengi. He
further supposes Llanddew to be an abbreviation ofLlanddewi; but while
the connexion between the several parishes is admitted, there are certain
objections to his etymology, into which it is at present unnecessary to
enter. (See Appendix.)

f A Norman adventurer, who took forcible possession of the county of
Brecknock about A. D. 1090.

X The district around Whitton is included in the Survey of Domesday
Book, and while the names of the surrounding churches are mentioned,
that of Whitton is omitted; from which it may be inferred that the latter
was founded after the Conquest, and the tract, assigned for its endowment,
must have been taken from one of the adjoining parishes.

48 DEDICATIONS OF CHURCHES

The almost uniform disposition of these churches in clusters
is too remarkable to be the effect of accident. From the
analogy of other cases, there is reason to suppose that the
parishes of each cluster formed originally a single endowment,
in support of one, or perhaps two churches, to which the
rest served as so many chapels ; and the supposition is con-
firmed from the analogy of Glascwm, and other districts,
where the chapels are dedicated to the same Saint as the
mother church. But great light may be borrowed from the
testimony of Gwynfardd Brycheiniog, a Bard, who is stated
to have lived between the years 1160 and 1230. In a poem
composed by him in honour of Dewi, or St. David, and in-
serted in the Welsh Archaiology, Vol. I. page 270, occurs a
passage, which is thus translated by Williams in his " Disser-
tation upon the Pelagian Heresy." —

" Dewi* the great of Menevia, the wise sage ;

And Dewi of Brefi near the plains ;

And Dewi is the owner of the superb church of Cyfelach,

Where there is joy and great piety.

And Dewi owns the choir that is

At Meidrym, a place affording sepulture to multitudes ;

And Bangor Esgor ; and the choir of Henllan.

Which is a place of fame for sheltering yews;

And Maenor Deifi, void of steep declivities ;

And Abergwilly, containing mildness and modesty ;

And fair Henfynyw, by the side of the Glens of Aeron,

Fields prolific in trefoil, and oaks productive of acorns.

• * The following is the original, adapted by Williams to the orthography
now current in the principality. —

" Dewi mawr Mynyw, syvv Sywedydd, A Bangor Esgor ; a Bangeibyr Henllan,

A Dewi Brefi, get ei broydd ; Y sydd i'r clod-fan y clyd Ywydd j

A Dewi bieu balch Ian Gyfelach, Maenawr Deifi di-orfynydd ;

Lie mae morach, a mawr grefydd. Abergwyli bieu gwyl-wlydd j

A Dewi bieu Bangeibyr y sydd Henfynyw deg o da glennydd Aeron,

Meidrym, le a'i mynwent i luossydd ; Hyfaes ei meillion, hyfes goedydd ;

ARRANGED AND EXAMINED. 49

Llanarth, Llanadneu, churches of the Patron Saint;

Llangadog, a privileged place, enriched by chiefs :

Llanfaes, a lofty place, shall not suffer by war ;

Nor the church in Llywel from any hostile band ;

Garthbrengi, the hill of Dewi, void of disgrace ;

And Trallwng Cynfyn by the dales ;

And Llanddewi of the Cross, with a new chancel ;

And Glascwm, and its church by Glas Fynydd, (the
green mountain,)

A lofty sylvan retreat, where sanctuary fails not ;

The rock of Vuruna fair is here, and fair its hilly pros-
pects ;

And Ystrad-fynydd, and its uncontrouled liberty."

In these verses, the Bard considers St. David to be " the
owner" of twenty churches, fifteen of which are ascribed to
him in the foregoing list. But as not one of those enumerated
happens to be a chapelry, it is probable the Bard mentions
such out of every cluster as were endowed at the time the
poem was written, and the rest, being chapels, are omitted.
Thus the Cathedral church of St. David's, then called Mynyw
or Menevia, is mentioned without Whitchurch and Brawdy ;
Llanddewi Brefi without its chapels; Maenor Deifi without
Bridell; Abergwyli without its chapels; and Henfynyw
•without Llanddewi Aberarth. In the Brecknock cluster, the
churches are more numerous ; and there are two in the cluster
of Radnorshire. But what is most remarkable is the fact, that
with the exception of Brecknock, his native district, the Bard
mentions nothing of the churches of those parts which, in that
or the preceding generation, had been occupied by the En-

Llanarth, Llan-adneu, llannau llywydd j A Thrallumg Cynfyn ger y dolydd ;

Llangadawg, lie breiniawg rannawg ri- A Llanddewi y Crwys, Llogawd newydd ;

hydd ; A Glascwm a'i eglwys ger glas fynydd,

Nls arfeidd rhyfel Llanfaes, lie uchel ; Gwydd-elfod aruchel, nawdd ni achwydd ;

Na'r Han yn Llywel, gan neb lluydd ; Craig Furuna deg yma, teg ym mynydd ;

Garthbrengi, bryn Dewi, digywilydd j Ac Ystrad-fynydd, a'i ryddid rydd."

50 DEDICATIONS OF CHURCHES

glish, Normans^ and Flemings; — were they destroyed^ or did
he omit them from patriotic indignation, because Dewi was
not then the owner of them? The multiplied number near
Brecon may be due to Bernard Newmarch, who, according to
the usual mode, may have subdivided the endowment, and
converted the chapels into churches; and even the Bard
alludes to certain circumstances of hostility, from which he
either hopes, or predicts, that the churches of Llanfaes and
Llywel should be spared. Gwynfardd ascribes also to St.
David the churches of Llangyfelach, Glamorganshire, Llan-
arth, Cardiganshire, and Llangadog, Carmarthenshire; but
if any dependence can be placed on the names of these
churches, the first and last must have had a double dedica-
tion. With respect to Llangadog this is highly probable, as
there is a place in the parish called Llwyndewi; but there
is evidence to the fact in the " Greefes of Rees Vachan of
Stratywy,"* printed in Latin and English at the end of War-
rington's History of Wales, in which occurs the following

" In the church of S. Dauid, which they call Lhangadoc, they
made stables, * * * * and took awaie all the goods of the
said church, and burning all the houses, wounded the preest
of the said church before the high altar, and left him there
as dead."

Cyfelacht was the name of the twenty second Bishop of
Llandaff, but whether Llangyfelach is so called from him, or

* Rees Vachan, or rather Rhys Fychan, was a chieftain of the Vale of
Towy, who, in the reign of Edward the First, presented to the Arch-
bishop of Canterbury a statement of grievances, or acts of oppression
committed in his territories by the English.

t See Godwin, De Praesulibus Anglise, who calls him " Cimeliauc,"
and states that he died A. D. 927. A chronicle in the Welsh Archaiology
(Vol. II. page 473,) states that he was killed in battle at Hereford A. D.
754; but this assertion is probably a mistake, as it is unsupported by the
testimony of three other chronicles in the same collection.

ARRANGED AND EXAMINED. 51

from another person, is doubtful^ as he lived about three
centuries after the era in which nearly all the Welsh Saints
flourished ; it is possible, however, that he either rebuilt the
church, or enlarged its privileges : but the connexion of St,
David with that place is more certain, for it is recorded by
Giraldus Cambrensis, and Ricemarchus,* a still older author-
ity, that he was the founder of the ^' Monastery of Llangyfel-
ach in Gower." Browne Willis attributes Llanarth to St.
Vystygy, which is, perhaps, an error, as the name does not
occur elsewhere.t For the "Llanadneu" of Gwynfardd may
be read Llanarthneu from Ecton's list, as it harmonizes ad-
mirably with the preceding word in the original, according
to the laws of the metre ; and there is no place in the Prin-
cipality which bears the name of Llanadneu. By Henllan
in Gwynfardd may be understood Henllan Amgoed, and
not the chapel of that name subject to Bangor. Llanddewi
y Crwys is Llanycrwys in Carmarthenshire, which, in
the Charter of the Abbey of Talley, is called "Landewi-
crus." The rock of Vuruna, or Craig Furuna, is Creg-
runa in Radnorshire; and the order of succession would lead
to the supposition, that by Ystrad Fynydd is meant the clus-
ter in the neighbourhood of Builth. The cluster of Llanuch-
Uwydog, being in the territory of the Lords of Cemmaes, is
omitted. The clusters of Hereford and AbergavennyJ were
at that time subject to the Lacies, Lords of Ewyas, and the
cluster of TrostreyJ was probably in a similar situation.

* Ricemarchus, or Rhyddmarch, was Bishop of St. David's from A. D.
1088 to 1098. A Life of St. David by Giraldus, and fragments of
another by Ricemarchus, are printed in the second volume of Wharton's
Anglia Sacra.

t It has been remarked that modern fairs have, in many instances,
succeeded to wakes or festivals 5 and, in support of the testimony of
Gwynfardd, it may be stated that a fair is held at Llanarth on the twelfth
of March, or St. David's Day, Old Style.

X Qu. Was not the circumstance of their being included in the Diocese
of Llandaff, the reason of their omission ?

52 DEDICATIONS OF CHURCHES

The list compiled from Ecton is very imperfect, and use
has been made of it in order to shew that the inferences of
this Essay are drawn from premises generally acknowledged.
The list, as proposed to be amended, is as follows. —

The Cathedral of St. David's.

Whitchurch, V. (St. David.) Brawdy, V. (St. David.)
Capel Gwrhyd;* Capel Non (St. Non.) Capel Padrig
(St. Patrick.) Capel y Pistyll; Capel Stinan (St. Justin-
ian.)

Llanuchlwydog, R.

Llanychaer, R. (St. David.) Llanllawen chapel.

Maenor Deifi, R.

Bridell, R. (St. David. Cilfywyr chapel.

Llanddewi Brefi, C.

Llanycrwys, C. (St David.) Blaenpennal chapel (St. Da-
vid.) Capel Bettws Lleicu (St. Lucia.) Capel Gartheli
(St. Gartheli.) Capel Gwenfyl (St. Gwenfyl.)

Bangor Esgor, R.

Henllan chapel (St. David.)

Henfynyw, C.

Llanddewi Aberarth, P. (St. David.)

Llanarth, V.

Llanina chapel (St. Ina.) Capel Crist (Holy Cross.)

Henllan Amgoed, R.

Eglwys Fair a Churig (St. Mary & St. Curig, or Cyrique.)
Llanddewi FeliFre, R. & V. (St. David.) Henllan, in the
parish of Llanddewi.

Meidrym, V.

Llanfihangel Abercywyn, C. (St. Michael.)

Llanarthneu, P. & V.

Llanlleian chapel ; Capel Dewi (St. David.)

Abergwyli, V.

Llanpumsant (Sts. Celynin, Ceitho, Gwyn, Gwynno, and
Gwynnoro.) Llanllawddog (St. Llawddog.) Llanfihangel
Uwch Gwyli (St. Michael.) Bettws Ystum Gwyli ; Capel
Bach.

Llangadog, V.

Llanddeusant, (St. Simon & St. Jude.) Capel Gwynfai;
Capel Tydyst.

Llangyfelach, V.

Llansamled, C.

* The chapels printed in Italics arc decayed or extinct.

ARRANGED AND EXAMINED. 53

Garthbrengi, P.

Llanddew, C. (Holy Trinity.) Llanfaes V. (St. David.)
St. Nicholas's church.

Llywel, V.

Trallwng, P. (St. David.) Capel Rhydybriw ; Dolhywel*
(St. David.)

Maesmynys, R.

Llanynys, R. (St. David.) Llanddewi'r Cwm, C. (St. Da-
vid.) Llanfair in Builth, C. (St. Mary.)

Glascwm, V.

Colfa chapel (St. David.) Rhiwlen chapel (St. David.)

Cregruna, R.

Llanbadarn y Garreg chapel (St. Padarn.) Llannon (St.
Non.)

Llanddewi Sgyryd, R,

Llanddewi Rhydderch, R. (St. David.)

Rhaglan, or Ragland, V.+ Monmouthshire.

Trostrey, or Trawsdre, C. (St. David.) Llangyfyw. Qu.

Dewchurch Magna, V. Herefordshire.

Little Dewchurch (St. David.) Kilpeck, C. (St. David.)
Dewshall, V. (St. David.) Callow, (St. Michael,) chapel
to Dewshall.

Prendergast, R. in the country of the Flemings, chapels unknown.

Hubberston, R. ditto

Llanddewi in Gower ditto

Blaenporth, P.

Llanddewi Fach, C. Monmouthshire.

Llanthony, or Llanddewi Nant Honddu, C. Monmouthshire. :|:

* The hamlet of Dolhywel is now included in the parish of Myddfai;
but in the foundation Charter of Talley, the church is called, "Ecclesia
sancti David de Dolhowel," as if it was formerly an independent benefice.
It was situated on the confines of the parish of Llywel. (See Dugdale's
Monasticon.)

f According to Browne Willis, Ragland is dedicated to St. Cadocus ;
but it is here assigned to St. David on the authority of Ricemarchus and
Giraldus Cambrensis.

% Llandyfeisant, C. Carmarthenshire, is omitted in this list, as there are
grounds for the supposition that it was so called from Tyfei, the nephew
of St. Teilo. There was formerly a chapel, dedicated to St. David, in the
castle of Dinefwr, in the same parish j which, in the Charter of Talley, is
called " Ecclesia sancti David de Dinewr," and is mentioned separately
from "Ecclesia de Lantevassan." The former, from the circumstance of

54 DEDICATIONS OF CHURCHES

The chapels of St. David, subject to churches of other
Saints, are also occasionally grouped. —

Llanddewi Abergwesin, Llanwrtyd, and another Llanddewi in ruins
are subject to Llangammarch, (St. Cammarch,) Brecknockshire.

Bettws, and Laleston, subject to Newcastle, (St. lUtyd,) Glamor-
ganshire.

Heyop, and Whitton, subject to Llangynllo, (St. Cynllo,) Radnor-
shire.

Llanddewi Ystrad Enni, to Llanbister, (St, Cynllo,) Radnorshire.

Capel Dewi, to Llanelly, (St Ellyw,) Carmarthenshire.

Bettws, C. Carmarthenshire. The original parish church destroyed ;

dedication uncertain.
St. David's chapel, in the castle of Dinefwr, subject to Llandyfeisant,

(St. Tyfei,) Carmarthenshire.
Capel Dewi, subject to Llandyssul, (St. Tyssul,) Cardiganshire.
Llanddewi Fach, chapel to Llywes, (St. Maelog,) Radnorshire.
Bettws, chapel to Newport, (St. Gwynllyw Filwr,) Monmouthshire.

This list, if its arrangements be correct, presents a series of
extensive endowments ; and it will readily be allowed that the
churches, which, in the several groups, are considered as the
parents of the rest, belong to a class of foundations the most
y ancient in the Principality. In what age, or by whom, these
parent churches were endowed with the tithes of the sur-
rounding districts is unknown; for none of the documents
extant, which relate to the history of Wales, have recorded the
event. But the precise period is immaterial to the present
question, for the original church might have been supported
by the offerings of the people long before a perpetual endow-
ment was granted. The way is, therefore, clear for the belief,
that the most ancient churches of Wales were founded by the
persons to whom they are usually attributed ; and the word
" foundation" may be taken to mean the first erection of a

its being called " ecclesia," must have been a free chapel, or exempt from
ordinary jurisdiction. (See the word "Chapel" in Burn's Ecclesiastical
Law.)

ARRANGED AND EXAMINED. 55

building devoted to the purposes of religion, though some " '
time may elapse before a revenue is appropriated for its main-
tenance. Chapels, on the contrary, were erected after the
endowment became a vested rights for upon this principle, as
already shown, depends the circumstance of their subordina-
tion. It will, therefore, follow that the chapels and subordi-
nate churches, which are assigned to St. David, in the
preceding list, were not founded by him, but dedicated to his
memory after his decease ; and though the distinction is not
carefully observed in popular opinion, it may be stated in con-
firmation of the view here given, that, in the writings of the
middle ages, specific mention occurs of only one of these
chapels as founded by the Saint to whom it is ascribed. The
instance alluded to is that of Colfa, subject to Glascwm, which
Ricemarchus and Giraldus* describe as one of the Monasteries
founded by St. David ; but, as the passages in which it occurs
are very corrupt, the statement may be a mistake. It is in-
consistent with analogy, as well as with the testimony of
Gwynfarddj but allowing its correctness, the solitary exception
will not invalidate the general rule.

St. David is stated to have been canonized by Pope Calix-
tus, between A. D. 1119 and 1124; it might, therefore, be
expected that churches were dedicated to his memory after
that event ; and also that, according to the practice with other
Saints of the Romish Calendar, churches were called after his
name in places which had no connexion with his history, the
selection of the patron Saint being left arbitrarily to the
founder of the building. His canonization appears, however,
to have resulted from, rather than^have caused the celebrity in In I
which he was held by his countrymen; and upon the churches
of Wales it appears to have had no further effect than perhaps
to increase the number of his chapels ; but numerous as these
may be, it will be inferred, from the following considerations,

* Life of St. David, in Wharton's Anglia Sacra.

56 DEDICATIONS OF CHURCHES, &c.

that the great majority of them are more ancient, and belong
to a time when arbitrary dedication was not the usual practice.
Many of them are dedicated to the same Saint as the mother
church ; but this, it will be observed, is an extension of the
principle of subordination. The remainder are almost uni-
formly subordinate to churches of Welsh Saints of contem-
porary or older date. If it were the custom to build chapels
and dedicate them to St. David in later ages, they would be
found occasionally subordinate to Saints of a later generation,
or to those of the Romish Calendar ; but such is not the case.
If it were the custom to dedicate churches to St. David as to
St. Peter, St. John, and others, it would be expected that they
were dispersed over the country indiscriminately; but, on the
contrary, they are strictly local, being grouped together in
certain districts, over which his personal influence must have
extended. In the six counties of North Wales there is not one
church that bears his name. In the original Diocese of Llan-
dafF he has but two chapels, and only three in what is sup-
posed to have been the original Diocese of Llanbadarn; all
the rest, including every one of the endowments, are in the
district of which, as Archbishop of Caerleon, or Menevia, he
was himself the Diocesan. The Cathedral of St. David's is
in the territory of his maternal grandfather, the neighbour-
hood of Henfynyw appears to have been the property of his
father, and Llanddewi Brefi is situated on the spot where he
refuted the Pelagian Heresy.

SECTION III.

General Observations on the Welsh Saints, as distinguished from those
of the Roman Catholic Church.

The three Saints,* whose churches have been examined,
happen to be the best specimens that could have been selected
to represent so many classes of foundations ; and it is hoped
the arrangement will not prove inconsistent with the testi-
mony of ecclesiastical historians. The oldest churches in
Wales are called after the names of certain holy persons^ who
are reputed to have been their founders; but a difficulty
presents itself in the question — to whom were they dedicated ?
for their patron Saints are unknown, and it cannot be sup-
posed that their founders would raise churches in honour of
themselves. The objection, that they must have been erected
to the memory of these persons after their decease, would
perhaps be admitted as insuperable, if it could not be shown
from authentic documents, that the belief current in the Prin-
cipality since the eleventh century has been to the contrary.
The popular explanation is, that they were called after the
names of their founders, upon the principle that a house is

* The pre-eminence of these Saints did not escape the notice of Gwyn-
fardd ; the concluding lines of his poem are,—

" Cyfodwn, archwn arch ddiommedd, Drwy eirioledd Mair, mam radlonedd,

Drwy eirioledd Dewi, a Duw a fedd. A Mihangel, mawr ym mhob arfedd.

Gwae a n4d gwen-wlad gwedi masvr- Dychyfarfyddwn ni lu am ei lariedd;
edd. Dychyfarfyddwn ninnau am drugaredd."

58 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS

frequently named after its builder; and if they never had any
other patron Saints, the inference naturally follows, that they
must have been founded before formal dedications were cus-
tomary. It must have remained for the superstition of suc-
ceeding generations to dignify these founders with the title
of Saints; but, as they flourished in the fifth and sixth centu-
ries, it may be urged that formal dedications were at that time
usually practised on the continent. The superstitions of
Britain, however, were those prevalent in the Catholic or
Universal Church in the fourth century ; for shortly after the
commencement of the fifth, the communication between the
Britons and their continental neighbours was interrupted ; so
that while the Catholic Church was inventing new ceremonies,
the Britons continued stationary ; and in the seventh century
the discrepancy was so great, that the Christians of Wales
would hold no communion with the Saxons, who had adopted
the Roman ritual.* In Italy and the Eastern Empire, in-
stances occur of churches formally named after Saints as early
as the time of Constantine; how rapidly this practice may
have spread westwards is uncertain ; but Bede mentions two
churches so dedicated in Britain in the beginning of the fifth
century. The first is the church of St. Martin at Canterbury,
which however is intimated to have been built by the Romans
rather than the Britons.t The second is the church of Can-
dida Casa, or Whithern, in Galloway, North Britain, dedicated
also to St. Martin; but it is stated that Ninia, its founder,
received his religious education at Rome, and it is added that
this church was built of stone contrary to the usual custom of
the Britons, t About A. D. 710, Naiton, king of the Picts,
upon conforming to the Romish ritual, desired that architects
should be sent him, to build a church of stone in his country
according to the fashion of the Romans, which he promised to

* Bede\s Eccl. Hist, f Ibid. Book I. Chap. 26. t Book III. Chap. 4.

ON THE WELSH SAINTS. 59

dedicate to the prince of the Apostles, adding that thencefor-
ward he and his people would adopt the customs of the holy
Roman and Apostolic Church, so far as they could be learnt
by persons so distant from the language and nation of Rome.*
Though the Britons of Wales were not so remote from Rome
as their brethren of Scotland, they persisted more obstinately
in their non-conformity, and are described by Bede, in his
own time, as celebrating the Passover without fellowship with
the church of Christ.t The full amount of difference is not
stated, but it is a satisfaction to remark that the historian does
not charge them with errors of doctrine. That their religious
ceremonies were conducted with a degree of primitive sim-
plicity might be expected from their poverty and seclusion.
It is evident, however, that the churches of the Britons were
built of wood, and covered with reeds, or straw ; and from the
situation of their representatives in Wales, it would further
appear that they were not formally dedicated to Saints. The
grounds upon which this opinion rests are, that the churches,
which from their endowments are shown to be the most
ancient, have no other patron Saints than the persons alleged
to have been their founders ; the next in point of antiquity are
called after St. Michael,^he Archangel, being the first advance
in the way of superstition ; afterwards follow those dedicated
to the Apostles and other Saints, still retaining certain marks
of distinction. But not to depend entirely upon speculation,
however well supported by existing circumstances, two pas-
sages in the writings of Bede will perhaps decide the question.
The first is to the following effect.

^' Aidan, the Bishop, having departed this life,J Finan, who
had been ordained and sent by the Scots to succeed him in
his Bishoprick, built, in the island of Lindisfarne, a church fit
for an Episcopal See ; which however, after the manner of the

♦ Bede, V. 21. t Eccl. Hist. V. 21.

X A. D. 652.

60 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS

Scots, he did not erect of stone, but of sawn timber,, covering
it with reeds. At a later time, it was dedicated by the
most reverend Archbishop Theodore in honour of the blessed
Apostle, Peter. But Eadbert, Bishop of that place, stripping
off the reeds, covered the entire building, both roof and sides,
with sheets of lead." (Eccl. Hist. III. 25.)

From this passage it is clear that Finan, who was a Christian
of the British school, founded a church of cathedral rank
without appointing a patron Saint ; and though he presided
over the See of Lindisfarne ten years, and was succeeded by
Colman, one of his countrymen, it may be collected that
four years intervened between the resignation of the latter
and the arrival of Archbishop Theodore in Britain.*

The next passage is important, as it describes the mode of
consecration practised by the Scots. It must be premised that
the historian is speaking of Cedd, Bishop of the East
Saxons,t to whom Oidivald, King of Deira, had given a spot
of ground for the purpose of founding a Monastery. —

" The man of God, wishing by prayer and fasting to purge
the place of its former pollution of wickedness, and so to lay
the foundations of the Monastery, entreated the king that he
would grant him the means and permission to dwell there,
for that purpose, during the whole time of Lent, which was
then at hand. In all the days of this time, except on the
Sabbath, he always prolonged his fast, according to custom,
until the evening ; and even then he took only a small piece
of bread, and one egg, with a little milk mixed with water.
He said that this was the custom of those from whom he had
learned a rule of regular discipline, that they should first
consecrate with prayer and fasting those places which had
been newly obtained for founding a Monastery, or church.

* Bede's Eccl. Hist. HI. 25, 26, and IV. 2. The Saxon Chronicle
translated by Dr. Ingram, A. D. 064. and 688.
t From A. D. 653 to 664.

ON THE WELSH SAINTS. Ql

When ten of the forty days were remaining, a person came,
and summoned him to the king; but that the sacred work
might not be discontinued on account of the king's business,
he desired his presbyter, Cynibill, who was also his own bro-
ther, to complete the pious beginning; who having readily com-
plied, and the exercise of fasting and prayer being completed,
he (Cedd) built there a Monastery, which is now called
Laestingaeu, and established it with religious customs, accord-
ing to the practice of Lindisfarne, where he had been edu-
cated. After he had held his Bishoprick for many years in
the aforesaid province, and by appointing superintendents
had conducted also the management of this Monastery; it
happened that he arrived at the Monastery about the time of
his mortality, and, being taken with infirmity of body, he
died. He was at first buried without; but in process of time,
when a church was built of stone in the Monastery, in honour
of the blessed Mother of God, his body was laid within, at the
right side of the altar." (Eccl. Hist. III. 23.)

This mode of consecration was so different from that prac-
tised in the Romish Church, that Bede thought proper to
describe it at length ; and from the analogy of their situation,
it may be presumed that the practice of the southern Britons
was similar. No patron Saint is mentioned, and the church
of stone, in honour of the Virgin, was not built until after the
death of the original founder of the Monastery. If the con-
secration of a place depended upon the residence of a person
of presumed sanctity, who for a given time should perform
certain religious exercises upon the spot, it will at once appear
how the Primitive Christians of Wales were, at first, the found-
ers, and afterwards, in default of the usual mode of dedication,
were considered to be the Saints of the churches which bear
their names.

In the Eastern Empire, the invocation of angels commenced
so early that the Council of Laodicea had occasion to condemn
it in A. D. 366. It was a more easy deflection from the purity

(52 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS

of Christianity than the invocation of Saints ; the latter, how-
ever, soon followed ; but the custom of dedicating churches to
them arose from purely local circumstances. About the end
of the fourth century, it was a practice to erect a church in
memory of a martyr over his grave. St. Augustine, who died
A. D. 430, says, — '' We do not erect temples to our martyrs,
as if they were Gods ; but memories as to dead men, whose
spirits live with God." This extract is given on the authority
of Bishop Burnet in his Exposition of the twenty second
Article, who in a preceding part of the same Exposition
says,—

" It was a remnant both of Judaism and Gentilism, that the
souls of the martyrs hovered about their tombs, called their
memories ; and that therefore they might be called upon and
spoke to there. St. Basil, and the other Fathers, that do so
often mention the going to their memories, do very plainly
insinuate their being present at them, and hearing themselves
called upon. This may be the reason, why among all the
Saints that are so much magnified in that age,* we never find
the blessed Virgin so much as once mentioned. They knew
not where her body was laid, they had no tomb for her, no,
nor any of her relicks or utensils. But upon the occasion of
Nestorius's denying her to be the Mother of God, and by car-
rying the opposition to that too far, a superstition to her was
set on foot, it made a progress sufficient to balance the slow-
ness of its beginning ; the whole world was then filled with
very extravagant devotions for her."

If this view of the learned Prelate be correct, the churches
generally founded in the fourth century were those called by
ecclesiastical historians "martyria," or '^memoriae martyrum."t
They were necessarily confined to the spot where the Saint
was buried, in honour of whom, therefore, only one church of

* The fourth century,
t Bingham'b Antiquities of the Christian Church, VIII. Chap. 1. Section 8.

ON THE WELSH SAINTS. 63

this description could be erected. The custom would^ how-
ever^ lead to the erection of churches to the memory of Saints
in other indifferent places ; and the belief, that martyrs could
hear themselves called upon over their graves, would lead to
the practice of invocation generally. But the concurrence of
the view, here taken, with the preceding arrangement of
Welsh foundations, is most obvious in the late introduction of
the homage of St. Mary. The heresy of Nestorius occupied
the attention of the Church, in the East, from the third
General Council at Ephesus A. D. 431 to the fourth General
Council at Chalcedon A. D. 451. Sufficient time must be al-
lowed for the spread of these superstitions, and they would
hardly reach Britain before most churches of the earliest
foundation were built. The secluded state of the Britons, and
their refusal to submit to the authority of the Pope, inter-
posed a further delay, until long after the conversion of the
Saxons.*

To the class of St. David belong all the foundations of
churches erected by the Primitive Christians of Wales, from
the earliest period to the middle of the seventh century. The
mean peirod of their establishment is from the year 500 to 550.

* In the works of the " Cynfeirdd," or Primitive Bards, the second
person in the Trinity is often called *' mab Mair," or the son of Mary ;
which would indicate the side the Britons would have taken in the Nes-
torian controversy if it had reached them. But in the poems, which,
there is reason to suppose from their style, were written before the year
900, the intercession of the Virgin is mentioned only in an ode the author
of which is not known. (My vyrian Archaiology, Vol. I. pp. 187, 188.)
Her name is spoken of in terms expressive of superstition in three other
poems which have been attributed to the earlier Bards, but the language
in which they are composed is too modern to allow them to be genuine.
(Myv. Archaiol. Vol. I. pp. 16, 26, 552.) In the Ecclesiastical History
of Bede, the Virgin does not occupy the pre-eminent situation to which
she afterwards attained ; the favourite Saint of the Anglo-Saxons, in the
infancy of their Church, being St. Peter.

(^4 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS

Their general antiquity may be shown by the methods of
proof already employed, and accords well with the notion that
they were founded by the persons to whom they are ascribed,
who are also ascertained to have lived principally in the fifth
and sixth centuries. Very few of these persons have been
admitted into the Romish Calendar ; and, if credit be given to
the authority of the Welsh Triads, only six of them were
canonized.* They also differ from Roman Catholic Saints in
one important particular, that few of them have been dignified
with the title of martyr. They lived at a time when Christian-
ity was the common religion of their country ; and if some
individuals of their number met with a violent death, it ap-
pears to have been at the hands of the enemies of their nation
rather than their faith. That they were men of holy lives is
recorded in all the scanty accounts which remain respecting
them ; and it is evident that many of them made a formal
profession of religion according to the system of Monachism
prevalent in the early ages of Christianity. But the character,
in which, more especially, their names have been handed
down to posterity, is that of founders of churches. Many of
them had more than ordinary opportunities of conferring this
blessing upon their country; for they were related to its
chieftains, and the churches they founded were often situate
within the territories of the head of their tribe. Others, not
so fortunate as to birth, are ascertained to have founded
churches in places connected with ther own history, and
probably they depended upon their influence with some
neighbouring chieftain. In nearly all cases, the assumption
of their names, so far from depending upon chance, is attri-
butable to local causes.

The second class of foundations, or those dedicated to
St. Michael, commenced when the Britons were beginning to

* Cambrian Biography, vocibus Gwrthefyr, & Teilo.

ON THE WELSH SAINTS. (55

conform to the religious observances of their neighbours, and
the mean period of their establishment may, for various
reasons, be assigned to the time from A. D. 800 to 850.
Shortly before this period, it is recorded that the affairs of
the Church made unusual progress. Charlemagne had es-
tablished the civil obligation of tithes over his dominions in
France, Germany, and Italy; and a similar ordinance had
been passed by Offa in England. It is probable that the ex-
ample of these might so far have had effect upon the people of
Wales, as to cause generally the erection of churches in places
not yet supplied with them, and to assign for their mainte-
nance the tithes of lands not appropriated by previous endow-
ments. This notion, though highly probable, is only a sup-
position ; but it is recorded, that in the latter part of the
eighth century the Welsh were brought gradually into com-
I munion with the Church of Rome, for during the time the pri-
j mitive founders flourished the British Church was independent.
The first public act, which acknowledged a submission to the
Papal See, has been thought to have been the resignation of
his kingdom by Cadwaladr, that he might make a pilgrimage
to the eternal city, where it is said he died in 688. But great
obscurity seems to hang over the accounts of this performance;
and as this, and other actions in the life of that Prince, are
related in almost the same words of his contemporary, Cead-
walla. King of the West Saxons, who died at Rome in that
year, there is reason to believe that the monkish historians*
have confounded the one with the other. It is clear, however,
that the Welsh did not conform to the Romish time of the
celebration of Easter till the year 755. The Britons had been
accustomed to calculate this festival from a cycle, according to
which it was generally held a week earlier than it was ob-
served at Rome; and the subject, though trifling in itself, was
considered to be of such importance that it was made the test

* Walter de Mapes, Geoffrey of Monmouth, and their followers.
I

C6 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS

of difference, and those who refused to adopt the Romish com-
putation were deemed without the pale of the Catholic Church.*
In 755, Elfodj or Elbodius, became Archbishop of Bangor.
A modern writert states that he was appointed by the Pope ;
and though the assertion is not supported by a reference to
authority, the circumstance is by no means improbable. Upon
his accession, he induced the people of North Wales to adopt
the Romish cycle. The Bishops of South Wales, however,
refused to comply ; in consequence of which the Saxons in-
vaded their country, and a battle was fought at a place called
Coed Marchan, in which the Welsh gained an honourable
victory.^ What further measures were taken is not recorded,
but in 777 the time of Easter was altered in South Wales.§
In this state it appears to have continued until the death of
Elbodius in 809, when the South-Welsh Bishops refused
to acknowledge the authority of his successor. || The con-
troversy of the celebration of Easter was again renewed,
and though it is not stated how soon it subsided into com-
pliance with the Romish computation, there is reason to
suppose that the Welsh were still slow to surrender their
ancient custom.*

Those Welsh Chronicles, which are generally deemed au-
thentic, commence about A. D. 700 ; and it is to be regretted.

* Bede*s Eccl. Hist, passim,

t Warrington ; in his account of the Church at the end of the "History
of Wales."

+ Brut y Ty wysogion, or Chronicle of the Princes, the second copy,
Archaiology of Wales, Vol. II. page 473.

§ Archaiology of Wales, Vol. II. p. 474.

II Ibid.Vol. II. pp. 474, 476.

* The following is extracted from Hughes's Horse Britannicae.— " We
find in the Greek life of St. Chrysostora, that certain clergymen, who
dwelt in the isles of the ocean, repaired from the utmost borders of the
habitable world to Constantinople, in the days of Methodius, (who was

ON THE WELSH SAINTS. 67

that, for the first century after their commencement^ they are
so brief that they afford but few data for tracing the progress
of superstition. But the introduction of the custom of dedi-
cating churches to Saints, after the Catholic method, would
have been so remarkable an innovation that it could hardly
pass unobserved. Accordingly, in two of these Chronicles,
the following curious notices occur. In Brut y Tywysogion,
or the Chronicle of the Princes, it is stated that between
A. D. 710 and 720 "a church of Llanfihangel was consecra-
ted;" and in Brut y Saeson, or the Chronicle of the Saxons, it
is said "in 717 was consecrated a church of Michael."* Nei-
ther of the Chronicles offers any further explanation, but as
there is no church of St. Michael in Wales of eminence suf-
ficient to deserve this special notice, the most rational inter-
pretation of the record is, that the church alluded to was the
first, in the Principality, dedicated to the Archangel, and the
date alleged occurs at a time when such a circumstance might
reasonably be expected.

It must not, however, be denied that in the works of
Bards who flourished before A. D. 700, some traces may be
found of the corruptions of Christianity; for to state, that the
Welsh Church was entirely free from them, would be an
assertion which it would be impossible to maintain. But
these traces are slight. Allusions to religious subjects are
very frequent, and it would appear that some respect was paid
to the memory of Saints ; but on the supposition that all the

patriarch there, from the year 842 to 847,) to enquire of certain eccks-
tical traditions^ and the perfect and exact computation of Easter. It is
to be inferred from hence, that as there can be no doubt that the British
isles arc referred to, that the disputes respecting Easter were not yet laid
to rest J and that our Britons, not being satisfied with the determination of
the Pope of Rome, resorted to the decision of the bishop of Constanti-
nople." (Vol. II. p. 317.)

* Archaiology of Wales, Vol. XL p. 300. t Ibid. Vol. II. p. 471>

68 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS

poems ascribed to that age are genuine,* a point which is
more than questionable, the intercession of Saints is noticed
only three times ; namely, once respectively in two compo-
sitions which an ancient MS. attributes, with an expression
of doubt, to Taliesin ; and the third instance occurs in a poem,
ascribed in the Archaiology of Wales to the same author, but
since acknowledged to be modern. t The oldest composition,
in which the Welsh Saints are spoken of superstitiously, is
attributed to Golyddan, a contemporary of Cadwaladr, near
the close of the period in question.

The dedication of churches to St. Michael, doubtless, led
the way to the erection of others in honour of St. Peter and
the rest of the Apostles, which were founded as occasions
required them until modern times. In arranging the latter,
those, which from the nature of their endowments show that
they have some claim for consideration on the score of anti-
quity, may be ranked in the same class with the former ; and
the list may also include those dedicated to St. John the
Baptist, St. Stephen, and St. Mary Magdalene, as well as the
older churches of St. Mary the Virgin.J But the churches

* The number in the Archaiology of Wales is upwards of a hundred,
and those which are spurious may be distinguished from the rest by the
modern style in which they are written.

fThe acknowledgment is made by one of the editors of the Archaio-
logy, who thus explains the rule observed during its publication. —

'<The editors of the Myvyrian Archaiology were bound to give to the
world all the pieces, whatever their origin, which were ascribed to the
poets whose works were comprised in that collection, leaving it to the
critic to elucidate the various styles, and pronounce upon the authenticity
of the productions — this department was not within the scope of their
undertaking." (Dr. Owen Pughe, in the Cambrian Quarterly Magazine,
Vol. V. p. 109 & 204.) The first two poems, alluded to above, are inserted
in the Archaiology, Vol. I. pp. 76 — 77 and 169 — 170, and the last in p. 83
of the same Voluma.

X The time whe.n the dedication of churches to the Virgin first com-
jnenced in Wales cannot be ascertained j but the earliest instance upon

ON THE WELSH SAINTS. Qg

dedicated to the Apostles, in Wales, are not many; and of
those enumerated by Ecton, nearly one half can be shown
to have had Welsh Saints for their original founders.

The mean period of the erection of churches of the last
foundation is the twelfth century. To this class belong, be-
sides the remainder of the Apostolic churches, all such as are
dedicated to inferior Saints of the Roman Catholic Calendar,
such as St. Nicholas, St. Lawrence, &c. which were erected
principally by foreign adventurers. But the great pre-
ponderance at this period of churches dedicated to St. Mary,*
may in some degree be attributed to the Cistercian monks,
whose order was the most prevalent in Wales ; and it was a
rule of the fraternity that their religious houses should be
dedicated to the Virgin. t

As formal dedication in honour of Saints was not the ori-
.ginal custom of the Welsh, the question which remains is, the
era of those chapels which have been built in honour of natives
of Wales ; that they are ancient may be shown from the fact
that the great majority of them are parochial, and few o f them
are subject to churches dedicated to the Apostles and other
Saints whose homage was introduced at a later period. When
the Welsh began to honour Saints after the Catholic method,
they would naturally direct their attention to those who de-
served that respect among their own countrymen. But it
appears to have been under certain limitations ; and compared
with the Apostles, and other celebrated names, the holy men

record is that of a church, near the Cathedral of Bangor, which was
founded, in honour of St. Mary, in A. D. 973, by Edgar, King of England.
(Wynne's History of Wales, — Beauties of North Wales, p. 443.)

* An examination of the poems of the Welsh Bards, in the order in
which they stand in the Myvyrian Archaiology, will show that St. Mary
began to receive distinguished attention about A. D. 1200, which pre-
eminence appears to have continued until the Reformation. Vol. I.
pp. 315, 324.

+ Tanner's Notitia Monastica. #

70 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS

of Wales could only rank as saints of an inferior class. To
regard the founders in the character of tutelar Saints of their
respective churches was an obvious mode of proceeding ; but
in the establishment of new foundations preference would be
given to Saints of more extensive reputation ; and the only
edifices, erected in honour of Welshmen, would be chapels in
places where they had lived, or subject to churches connected
with their history. In other countries where the Romish
Church has prevailed, many persons who never were canonized
have been allowed the honours of sanctity in their immediate
neighbourhood, and in this local character the saints of Wales
must be considered. Accordingly many of the chapels called
after Welshmen are found to be dedicated to the Saint of the
mother church, to his relatives, or to persons whom tradition
has connected with the place ; and the prevalence of known
cases of the last kind is sufficiently great to justify a similar
inference being drawn where the tradition has been entirely
forgotten. Chapels of this description must generally have
been erected while the memory of their Saints was compara-
tively recent, and may therefore be deemed coeval with
churches of the second foundation. The perishable nature of
tradition, and the occupation of several parts of Wales by
foreigners will sufficiently explain why no material increase
was afterwards made to their number.

Z' That the Roman Catholics, or, at least, the various conquer-
ors of Wales, all of whom professed that religion, hardly con-
sidered the primitive founders in the light of Saints, will
further appear from the circumstance that in many instances
they gave their churches a new dedication. To show how far
the practice prevailed the following list is adduced.

St. David's Cathedral, Pembrokeshire, St. David and St. Andrew.
Stainton, Pembrokeshire, (St. Kewill in tlie Monasticon,) St. Peter.
Stackpool Elider, Pembrokeshire, St. Elider, St. James.
Llantoni, Monmouthshire, St. David, St. John the Baptist.
Llanvcuno, Herefordshire, St. Beuno, St, Peter.

ON THE WELSH SAINTS 7|

Llansilloe, Herefordshire, St. Tyssilio, St. Peter.
Llangathen, Carmarthenshire, St. Cathen, St. Michael and All
Saints.
St. Thomas, alias St. Dogmael's, Pembrokeshire.
Northop, (Llaneurgain,) Flintshire, St. Eugain, St. Peter.
Llangynyw, Montgomeryshire, St. Cynyw, All Saints.
Llanegryn, Meri(methshirc, St. Egryn, St. Mary.
LlandafF Cathedral, Glamorganshire, St. Teilo and St. Peter.
Llanbleddian, Glamorganshire, St. Bleiddian, St. John the Baptist.
Llanfabon, Glamorganshire, St. Mabon, St. Constantine.
Dynstow, or Dyngestow, Monmouthshire, St. Dingad, St, Mary.
Llangyniow, Monmouthshire, St. Cynyw, St. David.
Kilpeck, Herefordshire, St. David and St. Mary.

It is not necessary to extend the list further, but the hypo-
thesis must depend upon the supposition that Ecton is correct
in assigning those dedications which differ from the Welsh
names of the churches, or from the known history of their
founders. It can, however, be verified in certain cases. For
y^ instance, the church of Llantoni, which was originally found-
ed by St. David and called after his name, is now stated to
be dedicated to St. John the Baptist. But in A. D. 1108, a
Priory of Black Canons was built on the spot, by Hugh Lacy,
to the honour of St. John the Baptist, which accounts for its
present dedication. The second dedication of the two Cath-
edrals is well attested. And of all the religious houses found-
ed in Wales since the tenth century, not one, except perhaps
the Collegiate church of Llanddewi Brefi, was dedicated to a
Welshman.

The Romish Church was however determined to have its
martyrology of Britain; and out of "Cressy," the Catholic
historian of this kingdom, may be enlisted about a hundred
British Saints and Martyrs, from the first dawn of Christianity
to the close of the sixth centry. A few only of their names
are to be found in the Welsh accounts, and as for the rest,
persons acquainted merely with the history of Wales might well
wonder from whence they came. Their legends, however.

72 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS

were at one time regularly read, and their martyrdoms duly
commemorated in the Catholic Church. They are not so
much distinguished for the churches they founded, as for their
miracles and the sufferings they underwent for the spread of
the Gospel. They claim for their names a most remote anti-
quity, prior to the age of the Welsh founders ; but it will be
no part of this Essay to substantiate their pretensions, or
indeed to maintain their existence. It will therefore be deem-
ed sufficient to append to these pages a list of them, chrono-
logically disposed, according to Cressy.

The catalogue of founders is less pretending, and has refer-
ence generally to a later period; and though the persons
contained in it have been dignified from an early time with
the title of Saints by their grateful countrymen, there are
but few notices in the Welsh language of miracles performed
by them.* Such marvellous relations as exist were nearly all
of them written in Latin, and from the silence of the Welsh
Bards upon the subject it may be presumed they were better
known abroad than at home. It will be allowed that these
legends were the productions of the monks, if they were not
of foreign manufacture. The accounts of renowned Britons,
current in Cornwall and Arraorica, and in England and
France generally, have been more extravagant than in Wales.
In the latter country, Lucius, Merlin, Arthur, and St. David

* The poem ascribed to Golyddan is the oldest composition in which
it is intimated that a Welsh Saint wrought miracles; and, if it were
genuine, it would prove, that in about a century after the death of
St. David, a belief was current that he was possessed of miraculous
powers. There is, however, sufficient evidence to prove that the poem,
though ancient, was written after the time of Golyddan, (A. D. 660,) but it
is not necessary to enter into the question, as, at the period alluded to, the
era of the Welsh Saints was passing by, and had nearly terminated.
Mr. Sharon Turner, in his "Vindication of the Ancient British Poems,"
p. 269, supposes the composition of Golyddan to have been written in the
eighth century.

ON THE WELSH SAINTS. 73

are reduced to reasonable dimensions. The grand parent of
these absurdities, the Chronicle of Geoffrey of Monmouth,
with its long line of British Trojan kings, is acknowledged to
have been borrowed from Armorica. There are, it is true, a
few stories current in the mouths of the peasantry, but the
fact that they never have been written, is a proof that the
Bards of the middle ages did not think them worthy of credit.
It is, however, not an unlikely supposition that these stories
were derived from such accounts as the monks would take
care to publish.

In a subject so likely to be mixed up with fable as the his-
tory of Saints, it is of the greatest importance to ascertain what
accounts relative to the Saints of Wales may be depended
upon as true. The Welsh authorities, upon which the great-
est reliance has been placed, are the catalogues or genealogies,
usually called " Bonedd," or " Achau y Saint." The fondness
of the Welsh for pedigrees has always been acknowledged,
and genealogies are a species of record in which, owing to the
complicated nature of the details, forgery is most easily de-
tected. Owing to intermarriages and descents from a common
ancestor, family connexions are so interwoven, that a variety of
pedigrees, derived from different sources, would be contra-
dictory unless their statements were true. To record these
affinities, while they were well known, was the office of an
order of Bards called " Arwyddfeirdd" or Heralds ; a great
part of whose multifarious productions have survived the
ravages of time, and a fair specimen of them may be seen in
Jones's History of Brecknockshire. It is not likely that such
persons would neglect the genealogy of the founders of
churches, related as so many of them were to the chieftains
of the country. Accordingly a variety of catalogues of
Saints, with their more immediate ancestors, have been col-
lected from different sources and apparently in different
parts of the Principality. Two only of these catalogues
have been published. The first, called " Bonedd Saint Ynys

74 GENEKAf. OBSERVATIONS

Prydain/'* is inserted in the Welsh Archaiology, where it is
professed to have been taken from the book of Hafod Ych-
dryd. Its orthography is ancient, and from the names it
contains it would appear to have been formed in Cardigan-
shire.t The second is also published in the same Archaiolo-
gy, under the name of "Bonedd, neu Achau Saint Ynys
Prydain/'t being a collection by Lewis Morris from various
old MSS. in North Wales, some of which are still in
existence.§ There is also a third catalogue which has not
been printed in an entire form^ but a great part of its
contents have been made known to the world in detached
notices. It is styled "Achau Saint Ynys Prydain,"|| and
gives a more full account of such Saints as lived in Si-
luria, where it seems to have been collected. Each of these
catalogues contains a variety of detail not to be found in the
others ; but they also contain a great many names in common,
and, in treating of them, their statements are seldom so con-
flicting but that they may be reconciled. With the exception
of some interesting historical notices in the Silurian record,
the information they supply is but meagre ; but it is so far

* <' The Gentility of the Saints of the Isle of Britain."
+ A short list of Saints, without reference to their genealogy, has been
published in the Cambrian Register, Vol. III. p. 219. It appears to have
originated in Cardiganshire, but it is perfectly distinct from the above, and
contains a few curious notices not to be found elsewhere.

J" Gentility, or Pedigrees of the Saints of the Isle of Britain."
§The MSS. consulted by Lewis Morris, amounting to nine in number,
are specified in the Welsh Archaiology, Vol. II. p. 26.

II The attention of the public was first directed to this catalogue by the
late Mr. Edw. Williams, the distinguished antiquary of Glamorganshire,
by whom it was transcribed from a MS. written, about A, D. 1670, by
Thomas ab levan of Tre-bryn in the same county. As this appears to be
one of the most interesting of the Welsh records, its publication, accom-
panied with various readings and additions from other MSS. known to
exist in the same part of the Principality, is a desideratum which it is
hoped will not long be left unsupplied.

ON THE WELSH SAINTS. 75

valuable that it is capable of chronological arrangement. If
the period, when any one mentioned in the list is said to have
flourished, be known, the usual computation of thirty three
years to a generation, or a century to three generations, will
assign within reasonable limits the era of his kindred both
ascending and descending.* And if any one of another line
be found contemporary with either of these, the same com-
putation will avail with sufficient accuracy to determine the
order of succession. The circumstances of their history may
next be collected together, and embodied forth from other
y sources of information. The principal of these are the Triads,
a species of record not to be relied upon implicitly, but de-
serving of consideration as they give a fair representation of
such traditions, relating to the history of the Welsh nation, as
existed prior to the inventions of the monks. Some collateral
testimony may also be derived from the poetry of the Welsh
Bards, though, as already observed, there are few allusions to
Saints in poems which are of early date. The Romish legends
will be used but sparingly, and only when their statements are
within the verge of probability.

*ln forming an artificial chronology, computation by generations is
much more satisfactory than by a succession of kings, whose reigns for
various reasons are of uncertain duration. Sir Isaac Newton objects to
the chronology of the kings of Rome, and other ancient nations, upon the
plea that the reigns, averaging at about thirty five years each, are too
long J and the following is the result of his observations after a careful
examination of different authorities. —
y "Generations from father to son may be reckoned one with another at
about thirty three or thirty four years apiece, or about three generations to
a hundred years 5 but if the reckoning proceed by the eldest sons, they are
shorter, so that three of them may be reckoned at about seventy five or
eighty years j and the reigns of kings are still shorter, because kings are
succeeded not only by their eldest sons, but sometimes by their brethren,
and sometimes they are slain or deposed 5 and succeeded by others of an
equal or greater age, especially in elective or turbulent kingdoms." (Re-
marks prefixed to Hooka's History of Rome.)

76 GENERAF^ OBSERVATIONS, &c.

Where the materials of history are scanty, the deficiency
may, in part, be supplied by existing monuments, provided
they are sufficiently numerous to allow of inferences being
drawn upon fair principles of induction; and in support of
the genealogies it may be stated, that the order of succession
deduced from them is, to a certain extent, observable in the
arrangement of churches. As the chapels called after Welsh
Saints have been dedicated to them for local reasons, so it is
found that they are named after relatives, or contemporaries,
possibly companions, of the founder of the mother church ;
and where this is not the case, they are dedicated to persons of
a later generation, who perhaps enlarged the foundation, or
were distinguished ministers at the place. The occasional
recurrence of the same names together is also a circumstance
which could not have happened, unless some connexion, of
the nature alluded to, originally subsisted between them.
On the other hand, chapels are but seldom dedicated to per-
sons of a generation earlier than the founder, for the first
Saint who resided in the district was the most likely to es-
tablish its place of worship ; persons, however, of the gener-
ation immediately preceding may be deemed contemporary,
for a great part of their lives may have been concurrent. The
few chapels, named after native Saints, which are subject to
churches dedicated to the Apostles, are of a date comparatively
modern ; and, with others founded at a similar period, may be
known by the technical appellatives of "Capel" and "Bettws,"
in contradistinction to " Llan," which in an earlier age was
applied to churches and chapels indiscriminately.

SECTION IV.

The Welsh Saints from the Introduction of Christianity to the end of the
second century.

To proceed chronologically with the notices of such Saints
as are to be found in the Welsh accounts, the commencement
should be made with the introduction of the Gospel into
Britain.

The credit of this glorious work has been claimed for the
Apostles — St. Peter, St. Paul, St. James, and Simon Zelotes,
as well as for Joseph of Arimathea; but without entering
further into the subject, it will be sufficient to observe that the
Welsh records and traditions are silent as to their pretensions,
and their claims must rest upon the support they receive from
testimonies in other languages. According to the Triads,*
and more especially the Silurian copies of Achau y Saint, the
blessed instrument was " Bran ab Llyr," the father of Caradog
or Caractacus. It is said that he and his son were betrayed to
the Romans through the treachery of Aregwedd Foeddog,
generally understood to be Cartismandua. He was detained
at Rome as a hostage for his son seven years, and by this
means obtained an opportunity of embracing the Christian
faith. Upon his return, he brought with him three, or ac-
cording to others, four teachers of the names of Hid, Cyndaf,
Arwystli Hen, and Mawan ; and through their instrumentality
the Gospel was first preached in this country. Such is the
collective statement of the Welsh authorities, and it is so far
plausible, that Stillingfleet, without being aware of this testi-

* Triads 18 and 35, Third Series, Myv. Archaiol. Vol. II.

78 T'HE WELSH SAINTS

mony, conjectured that a similar circumstance was likely
to have taken place.* If the account were correct, the return
of Bran must have happened in A. D. 58, allowing seven years
to elapse from the capture of Caractacus, which occurred in
A. D. 51. t It is, however, beset with difficulties which it is p
to be feared are insurmountable. In the first place, Tacitus, •
who mentions the capture or surrender of the several members
of the family of Caractacus, and describes the appearance of
the same persons seriatim before the Emperor Claudius.^: says
nothing of Bran. When the historian particularizes twice the
wife, daughter, and brothers of the captive chieftain, the
omission of so important a personage as his father affords a
strong presumption that he was not at Rome, and had not
been taken prisoner. If an attempt were made to account for
the omission, it would be met by another difficulty. Dion
Cassius states that the father of Caractacus§ was Cunobelinus,
who died before the war with the Romans had commenced,
and was succeeded in his kingdom by two sons, of whom
Caractacus was one, the name of the other being Togodumnus.
The latter testimony precludes the possibility of Bran being p
Cunobelinus under another name ; and would imply that '
Caractacus was not originally a chieftain of Siluria, but of the
Trinobantes in the neighbourhood of London, where he is
said to have fought a battle with the Romans in the first year
of their invasion. In the ninth year following || he was taken

* Origines Britannicae.

t Tacitus's Annals, XII. 17.

+ Ibid. Annals, XII. 35 and 36.

§ Dio, or Dion Cassius composed his History of Rome in Greek ; and,
according to the usual practice, altered the name of Caractacus to Katara-
takos, to accommodate it to the sound of the language in which he wrote.
(Lib LX.)

II " Nono post anno, quam bellum in Urilannia coeptum." (Taciti
Annales, Lib. XII. cap. 36.)

FROM A. D. 58 TO A. D. 200. 79

prisoner, having opposed the Roman arms the whole of the
interval, in the latter part of which the war had reached
the Silures.

In a conflict with classical historians the Welsh traditions
must give way, and if the foregoing prove a correct interpre-
tation of the meaning of Tacitus and Dion Cassius, the claims
of Bran ab Llyr to be considered the founder of Christianity
in Britain must be surrendered. That traditions which relate f
to so early a period as the first and second century should
prove inaccurate might be expected ; but as they may have
originated in an obscure notion of facts, they are deserving of
respect, and should not be relinquished without a careful ex-
amination. That the story of Bran is not a modern forgery is
clear, as the inventor would have taken care to avoid the diffi-
culties presented by classical writers, which, if he were unac-
quainted with the original languages, he could have learnt
from various histories of England. The Triads which support
it, are professed to be taken originally from the Book of Cara-
dog of Llancarfan,* who died in A. D. 1156; so that the
opinion may have been current in Wales before the pubhcation
of the romance of Geoffrey of Monmouth. When these and
other Triads were first written does not appear ; but as they
relate principally to circumstances which took place in the
sixth century, most of them must have been formed after that
time. They, however, belong to different dates, being a
method of arranging ancient traditions together, as they oc-
curred to the mind of the inventor ; and as they are insulated
compositions, the incorrectness of some of them does not ne-
cessarily affect the authenticity of the rest. If Bran were the
first British Christian, it might be expected that the Bards of
the sixth century would celebrate him in that character. The
only poem of that era in which his name occurs, is attributed
to Taliesin, in which he is alluded to as the hero of a raytho-

* Myv. Archaiology, Vol. II. p. 75.

^0 THE WELSH SAINTS

logical story or romance now extant.* After this there is no
mention of his name in an authenticated composition until the
twelfth century, when he is described by Cynddelw as a dis-
tinguished warrior.t The weight of evidence would show
that if the Triads, which relate to his character as a Saint,
were as ancient as the twelfth century, they were then com-
paratively recent and not generally received.

Bran, on account of the supposed introduction of Christian-
ity, has had the epithet of " Bendigaid" or Blessed attached to
his name ; and in the Triads he is classed with Prydain and
Dyfnwal, as one who consolidated the form of elective sover-
eignty in Britain.J Nothing further is related of him, except
as the subject of romance. In the " Mabinogion," or Juvenile
Tales, is described an expedition of Bran to Ireland to re-
venge an insult offered to his sister, Bronwen, by Matholwch,
the Irishman. From this expedition, only seven returned,
after having destroyed nearly all the people of the country ;
and Bran, being mortally wounded, ordered his companions
who survived to carry his head to be interred in the White Hill
in London, as a protection against all future invasions, so long

*"Bura i gan Vran yn Iwerddon." (Kerdd am Veib Llyr ab Brych-
wel. Myv. Archaiology, Vol. I. p. 66. See also Turner's Vindication,
p. 284.)
f'Rhudd ongyr Bran fab Llyr Llediaith,
Rhwydd ei glod o gludaw anrhaith."
The bloody spears of Bran, the son of Llyr Llediaith,
Of unrestrained fame as the bearer of the spoil.

Myv. Archaiol. Vol. I. p. 212.
" Rhybu Fran fab Llyr, llu rwymadur mad,
Ynghamp, ynghywlad, ynghSd, ynghCir."
Bran the son of Llyr has been, — the excellent commander of the host,
In the games, in the assembly of i\ni country, in battle, in anxious care.

Ibid. Vol. I. p. 248.
J No. 36, Third Series, and Cambrian Biography voce Bran.

FROM A. D. 58 TO A. D. iOO. 81

as it remained there.* It was afterwards removed by Arthur,
who would not have this island defended by other means than
his own prowess.t

Hid and Cyndaf, the reputed companions of Bran from
Rome, are said to have been " men of Israel," which would
imply that they were converted Jews; while Arwystli is
styled " a man of Italy," or a Roman. In the Silurian cata-
logue he is said to have been the confessor or spiritual
instructor (periglor) of Bran; and by some modern com-
mentators he is identified with Aristobulus, mentioned in the
> Epistle to the Romans, xvi. 10. It is, however, remarkable
that according to the Greek Martyrology, as cited by Arch-
bishop Usher, J Aristobulus was ordained by St. Paul as a
Bishop for the Britons. Cressy also says that St. Aristobulus,
a disciple of St. Peter, or St. Paul at Rome, was sent as an
Apostle to the Britons, and was the first Bishop in Britain ;
that he died at Glastonbury A. D. 99, and that his Comme-
moration or Saint's day was kept in the Church, March 15.

Two of Lewis Morris's authorities§ state that Meigent or
Meugant, was the son of Cyndaf, "a man of Israel;" but this
is probably a mistake, as the catalogues of North Wales make
no other allusion to Bran or his companions. || The Saint in-
tended appears to be Mawan, who according to one of the
copies of the Silurian catalogue is said to have been a son
of Cyndaf, and to have accompanied Bran from Rome to
Britain.

The descendants of Bran are styled in the Triads, one of
the three holy families of Britain. It is not stated that Carac-
tacus himself embraced Christianity; but Eigen, a daughter of
Caradog ab Bran, or Caractacus, is recorded as the first female

* Dr. O. Pughe, in Preface to Gunn's Nennius.
+ Triads.

X De Brltannicarum Ecclesiarum Primordiis, page 9.
§ My V. Archaiology, Vol. II. 47.

II Qu. Is there any notice of Bran in the Regestum Landavense?

82 THK WELSH SAINTS

V Saint among the Britons. " She lived in the close of the first
century, and was married to Sarllog, who was lord of Caer
Sarllog, or the present Old Sarum."* Cyllin, the son of Ca-
radog, is also called a Saint, and with him is closed the list of
primitive Christians of the first century ; none of whom, ex-
cept Arwystli, have been noticed by the monkish writers,
and no churches in the Principality are known to bear their
names.t

That Christianity, however introduced, had taken deep root
in Britain in the second century is clear from the testimony of
Tertullian, a contemporary writer, who states that certain
parts inaccessible to the Romans were subdued by Christ.^
The first Saint of this period, mentioned in the Welsh ac-
j- counts, is Lleurwg, or Lleufer Mawr, the grandson of Cyllin.
One Triad states that he was the person " who erected the
first church at LlandafF, which was the first in the Isle of
Britain ; and he bestowed the freedom of country and nation,
with the privilege of judgment and surety upon those who
might be of the faith in Christ."§ Another Triad, speaking
of the three Archbishopricks of the Isle of the Britons, says,
*' the earliest was LlandafF, of the foundation of Lleurwg ab
Coel ab Cyllin, who gave lands and civil privileges to such as
first embraced the faith in Christ." || And the Silurian cata-
logues of Saints further relate that he applied to Rome for
spiritual instruction ; upon which, four persons, named Dyfan,

* Cambrian Biography. — Claudia, the wife of Pudens and reputed
daughter of Caractacus, is not noticed in the Welsh records.

+ Llanilid, Glamorganshire, supposed by some to have been called after
Hid, is dedicated to Julitta and Cyrique. See the List of Parishes, at the
end of the Myvyrian Archaiology, Vol. IL with lolo Morganwg's note.

\ " Britannorum inaccessa Romanis loca, Christo vero subdita."

§ Triad 35, Third Series. — The privileges, which are scarcely intel-
ligible, appear to mean redress in courts of justice, and the obligation of
contracts made by a Cliristian.
/ II No. 62, Third Series— The title of Archbishop was not known until
after the council of Nice, A. D. 325.

FROM A. D. 58 10 A. D. 200. gg

Ffagan, Medwy, and Elfan, were sent him by Eleutherius,
Bishop of that See. This is all the account the Welsh author-
ities give respecting a person about whom so much has been
written under the name of Lucius, or Lies ab Coel. Not con-
tent with these statements, Walter de Mapes, and Geoffrey of
Monmouth, whose authority, as observed, is not Welsh but
Armorican, must make him the king of all Britain ; and
gravely relate, that by a decree of his sovereign power he con-
verted all the heathen temples in the kingdom into churches,
that he transformed the Sees of twenty eight Flamens and
three Archiflamens into so many Bishopricks and Archbishop-
ricks, and in fact established a national religion more complete
in its provisions than that which is the pride of England at
this day. But this was not sufficient to satisfy some Catholic
writers ; they must needs add, that after he had Christianized
the whole of his dominions, he laid aside his crown ; and, in
company with his sister, St. Emerita, he toiled his weary way,
as a missionary, through Bavaria, Rhaetia, and Vindelicia,
until at last he suffered martyrdom near Curia in Germany.*

After this extravagance of fiction, it can be no wonder that
some modern writers have denied altogether the existence of
Lucius ; and it must be admitted that his history, though
upon the whole better attested than that of Bran, is, with its
most confined limitations, involved in uncertainty. The
/Welsh accounts authorize no further supposition than that he
was the chieftain of that part of Siluria, which was afterwards
known by the joint names of Gwent and Morganwg. But
even these accounts must be received with caution. The
second Triad, just quoted, as it would appear from the re-
mainder of its contents, is of no higher date than the seventh
century ;t. and some of its statements are so manifestly inaccu-
rate that it must be rejected entirely. The statement of the

* Cressy's Church History of Brittany.

t It speaks of the Archbishopricks of Canterbury and York : the latter,
as a Saxon church, was not founded till A. D.62d.

S4 THE WELSH SAINTS

first Triad is not incredible, only that the privileges, which
could have been granted by a chieftain retaining his patri-
mony under the Roman jurisdiction, must have been limited.
As for the mission to Rome, the Welsh authorities make no
mention of an alleged epistle of Eleutherius, still extant ; and
it may be observed that the four names Dyfan, Ffagan,
Medwy, and Elfan are not Roman, but British. Some ac-
counts* state that Medwy and Elfan were Britons, and that
being sent to Rome with the message, they brought Dyfant
and Ffagan with them on their return. Amid these doubts
and contradictions, the reader must exercise his own judg-
ment, and perhaps he will reject the idea of a mission to Rome
as a monkish fabrication. There are, however, local indica-
tions in the neighbourhood of Llandaff which support the
belief of the existence of these persons. Four churches have
y been called after the names of Lleurwg, Dyfan, Ffagan, and
Medwy ; and their locality not only determines the situation
of the patrimony of Lucius, but, in some respects, the con-
fined sphere to which the labours of these Christian teachers
were limited; for in no other part of Wales has a tradition of
their presence remained, a fact inconsistent with the notion
that they evangelized the whole of Britain.

Lleur wg was also called '^ Lleufer Mawr," or the Great Lu-
minary, which probably was an epithet bestowed upon him at
at a later age in consideration of his haying promoted the
cause of Christianity. The Latin name corresponding to this
epithet was Lucius from Lux. Lies, on the other hand, first
occurs in the fabulous chronicles, and is perhaps due to those
later authors who formed a Welsh imitation of Lucius. Geo-
ffrey of Monmouth also gives him a different pedigree to that

* The Latin Book of Llandaff, and the Life of St. Dubricius in John of
Teignraouth and Capgrave. (See Usher de Primordiis, pp. 49, 50.)

+ If any dependence could be placed upon the genealogies of this period,
it would appear that Dyfan was a Briton by descent j his pedigree is
given under his name in the "Cambrian Biography."

FROM A. D. 58 TO A. D. 200. 85

in Achau y Saint and the Triads; for he makes his grand-
father to be Mcirig, King of Britain, instead of Cyllin, the
Saint; and thus carries his genealogy to Brute and the
Trojans. As for the time in which he lived. Archbishop
Usher* has cited above fifty Latin authorities with a view to
ascertain the year of his conversion, a few only of whom agree
together; and even the name of the Bishop of Rome with
whom he is said to have corresponded is differently mentioned,
some saying it was Euaristus, while a more numerous party
maintain it was Eleutherius. But most of them agree in
saying that Lucius flourished in the latter part of the second
century, which is rather later than the order of generations in
the Welsh account from the known date of Caractacus. If
the Welsh computation be correct, he must have flourished
about the middle of the second century, in the reign of either
of the two Antonines, whose edicts in favour of the Christians
would give him the opportunity of promoting the new re-
hgion. That a native chieftain was allowed to exercise some
degree of power, is probable from the known policy of the
Romans in Britain and elsewhere. And Tacitust indeed
relates that such was their conduct in this country in the time
of Ostorius, the captor of Caractacus.

Under these circumstances it is certainly possible, if it be
not probable, that, according to the first of the two Triads
last quoted, some place might have been set apart for the
purposes of religious worship by Lucius at Llandaff. But
the declaration of the second Triad, that he gave lands to the
faithful, cannot be admitted. According to the general testi-

* De Brit. Eccl. Primordiis, Cap. IIL

\ His words are — " Consularium primus Aulus Plautius praepositus, ac
subinde Ostorius Scapula, uterque bello egregius : redactaque paulatiin in
formam provinciae proxima pars Britanniae, addita insuper veteranorum
colonia; qucedam civitates Cogiduno rec/i donatoB, vetere ac jam pridem
recepta populi Romani consuetudine, ut haberet instrumenta servituti$
et reges.'' Life of Agricola, Cap. XIV.

S6 THE WELSH SAINTS

mony of ecclesiastical historians, endowments for the main-
tenance of religion did not commence until several generations
afterwards ; and from another Triad* in the same collection is
seen that they did not commence in Britain until about the
end of the fourth century. If any reliance can be placed upon
Welsh traditions which relate to so early a period, it will be
sufficient to acquiesce in the testimony of the first Triad,
which implies no more than that he built a church, said to
have been the first erected in Britain. That LlandafF was one
of the oldest churches in this country is not improbable, as the
circumstance would afterwards be a reason for the selection of
the place to be the seat of a Bishoprick ; but, whether true or
false, in the simple statement of the Triad may be recognised
the germ of that story which afterwards grew to be the won-
der of Christendom. t

As for the other four churches which have passed under the
names of Lleurwg, Dyfan, Ffagan, and Medwy, there is
nothing in the present state of their endowments from which
>^they may be judged to belong to the most ancient class. It
might be said that in this age places of worship were sup-
ported by the voluntary contributions of the people; and
though there is every reason to believe that such was the fact,
still had these churches existed at so early a period, the vener-
ation attached to their antiquity would, in some way or other,
have distinguished them from their neighbours ; but there are
not any traces of pre-eminence to be observed. That they
were built long after the time of the persons whose names

* Triad 18, Third Series. Archaiology of Wales, Vol. 11.

t In the Catholic Church, the anniversary of the Baptism of Lucius was
celebrated May 26, and that of his martyrdom Dec. 3. The festival of
Dyfan was held April 8, and of Ffagan August 85 they were also com-
memorated together May 24. The Saint's day of Elfan was held Sept.
26; that of Medwy is unknown, except it be identified with the festival of
Medwyn, which according to some Calendars occurred Jan. 1. (Cressy. —
Sir Harris Nicolas's Chronology of History.)

FROM A. D. 58 TO A. D. 200. 87

they bear is evident in the instance of Merthyr Dyfan, the
designation of which implies that it was a martyrium, and the
erection of places of worship of this description did not com-
mence before the fourth century. Ecton, or rather Browne
Willis, asserts that the patron Saint of Merthyr Dyfan was
Teilo; it is not known upon what authority he gives the
name, but if he were correct, it might be said that the church
was founded in memoriam martyris Duviani by Teilo in the
sixth century. The most safe conclusion is that these four
churches were built at a later age to the memory of the per-
sons whose names they bear, and in situations which tradition
reported to have been the scene of their labours.

The monkish historians mention that Elfan was the second
Bishop of London ; and, according to the authors of the Latin
account of the origin of the church of LlandafF, it would ap-
pear that he was ordained a Bishop at the time of his visit to
Rome, while his companion Medwy, was created a Doctor.
Upon these points the Welsh authorities are silent ; and all
that is related of Elfan is that he presided over a congregation
of Christians at Glastonbury ; but this allusion to the church
founded by Joseph of Arimathea savours of a monkish origin.
The monks are also prolix in their detail of the acts of Dyfan
and Ffagan in various parts of Britain ; but setting the
legends aside, it will be sufficient to add, to the little in-
formation to be gleaned from the Welsh historical remains,
the supposition that the former suffered martyrdom at the
place now called " Merthyr Dyfan ;" and as for Ffagan and
the rest, the conjecture may be hazarded that they lived and
died in Glamorganshire, as in this county alone they seem
to retain traces of

" A local habitation and a name."

SECTION V.

An Examination of the early Welsh Pedigrees, with a view to ascertain
the period about which the commencement of their authenticity may
be dated.

With the foregoing Saints is concluded the list for the
second century. From the age of Lleurwg, the Triads and
the Poems of the Bards present a perfect blank until the time
of Macsen Wledig, generally supposed to be Maximus, Em-
peror of Rome^ who began to reign A. D. 383. But not so
the Genealogists, for they carry the ancestry of the British
Chieftains and Saints, without interruption, through the
period of Roman ascendancy. The alleged descendants of
Bran Fendigaid are, therefore, drawn up in a tabular form, as
it appears on the opposite side.

This pedigree is arranged according to the " Cambrian Bi-
ography,"* where each connecting link may be found upon
reference to most of the names included, but more especially
under the names Caradog ab lestin, Cadfrawd, Tudvval Befr,
and Eldad. The names printed in Italics are those of reputed
Saints, and the rest are introduced for the sake of preserving
the lineage unbroken. It has been already stated that gene-
alogy, if its details be at all complicated, can hardly fail of
betraying itself whenever it is not founded in fact. Thus Ys-
trafael, the daughter of Cadfan, is said to have been the wife
of Coel Godebog ; and she is placed in the pedigree in the

* It is to be regretted that Dr. Owen Pughe, to whom Welsh literature
is already under greater obligations than to any other individual, does not
favour the public with a new and enlarged edition of this useful work.

EARLY WELSH PEDIGREES.

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90 EXAMINATION OF THE

seventh generation from Llyr Llediaith inclusive. The an-
cestry of Coel Godebog is also given under his name in the
Cambrian Biography, and the number of generations there
enumerated agrees with the statements usually given. The
ancestor of Coel, according to that list contemporary with Llyr
Llediaith was Afallach ; but from Afallach to Coel there are
fourteen generations, precisely double the number of those
from Llyr Llediaith to Ystrafael, the wife of Coel ; and this
large discrepancy must have happened in the short space of
250 years, for Afallach and Llyr Llediaith were of a gener-
ation commencing with the Christian era, while Coel Godebog
is stated to have lived about the middle of the third century.
There are reasons for placing Coel a few generations later than
the date usually assigned him; but Ystrafael must also be
brought down to the same period, and, early or late, both
lineages cannot be true together. It is possible and often hap-
pens that a son is born after his father is fifty years of age,
but the accident must be repeated twice before a century can
pass with only two generations ; the line of Ystrafael would
render it necessary for the accident to happen five or six times
in regular succession. It happens equally as often that a son
is born when his father is twenty five years of age or under,
but this accident must be repeated four times successively
before a century can pass with four generations; in the line of
Coel the accident must have happened about fourteen times
in about three centuries and a half. But in every examination
of well authenticated genealogies the accidents generally cor-
rect each other, and the average in a long pedigree is three
generations to a century.* In this respect, whenever the]

* From the birth of William the Conqueror A. D. 1027 to the birth of
William the Fourth A. D. 1765, twenty four generations may be reckoned,
the average duration of each of which is thirty years and nine months 5
and the proportion is maintained under the disadvantage of a succession,
in every possible case, of elder children.

EARLY WELSH PEDIGREES.

Welsh pedigrees attempt to penetrate the Roman-British
period they are all of them faulty.* With the exception of
the line of Eudaf ab Caradog ab Bran, already given, they are
during this period a mere string of names, without a single
marriage, plurality of issue, or reference to historical events,
by which their correctness may be determined. Those Avhich
pass through the period in question are five in number, two of
which have been given already, and the remainder may be
added by way of illustration.

[Table II,]

BELI MAWR.
1

Lljidd

Aflech

Caswallon, or Cassibelaunua

Casfar VVledlg
Llary

Rhun Rhudd Baladr

I
Bywdeg . . . .

Gwyrlleu

Gwineu Daufreuddwyd

Teon

Tegonwy

lorwerth Hirflawdd, A. D. 430

Ovvain

Brychwyn

Diwg

Onwedd

Onweredd

Gorddyfyn

- Dyfyn

Gwrddoli

Doli

Gwrgan

Cain

I
Genedawg

lago

Tegyd

Padarn Beisrudd
Edeyrn
Ciinedda Wledig, A. D. 400

Afallach
Enddolen

Enddos
Enyd

Endeyrn
Endigant
Rhydderch

Rhyfedel

Gradd

I
Urban

Tudbwyll

- Deheufraint

Tegfau

Coel Godebog, A. D.

* In the first table it may be noticed, that the date of Teithfallt, the
seventeenth descendant from Llyr Llediaith in one line is A. D. 430 j while
that of Cystennyn Goronog, the ninth descendant in another line, is
A. D. 542.

92 EXAMINATION OF THE

These pedigrees are generally given without any variation ;
but to say nothing of the improbability that such memorials
should be preserved during the three centuries and upwards
of Roman ascendancy, they receive no confirmation from
other authorities until the lower dates affixed, being the
first that could be ascertained with any tolerable degree of
accuracy. From those dates downwards, however, these
pedigrees divide into several branches; their relationships
multiply, and are so complex and interwoven that they could
not have been traced with any degree of correctness unless
they were recorded soon after the times in which they oc-
curred, and it should not be forgotten that they are almost
always reconcilable with chronology. It will be observed that
the dates in question, to which may be added Teithfallt A. D.
430, and Ystrafael A. D. 330 from the first table, occur shortly
before or soon after the departure of the Romans from Britain.
May it not, therefore, be supposed that all the generations
from thence upwards were invented to support the pretensions
of those chieftains, who rose into power upon the decline of
the Roman interest; for that they were forged at an early
time is probable from the fact that they are at variance with
the monkish stories respecting the British parentage of Con-
stantine the Great. These worthies were likely to owe their
influence to the system of clanship prevalent among the Celtic
nations, and they would find it politic to show their descent
from the families of Cassibelaunus and Caractacus, of whose
existence and prowess they could be informed by their Roman
masters, even if there had been no native traditions remain-
ing.

The line of Eudaf ab Caradog, in the first table, demands a
more especial attention upon the present occasion, inasmuch
as it contains the names of several Saints ; and as its details
are more complicated, it presents features very different from
the rest. Cadfrawd, the son of Cadfan, appears in a genera-
tion immediately succeeding that of Lleurwg ; and upon re-

EARLY WELSH PEDIGREES. 93

ference to the Cambrian Biography, it is seen that this person
was ''a. Saint and Bishop who lived about the beginning of
the third century." It would appear that the editor of that
work employed as his authority the Silurian catalogue of
Saints, and that he calculated the dates accordingly ; but in a
lower part of the line the dates of other members of the
family may be ascertained from the known era of their con-
temporaries in history. These dates, however, are so much at
variance with the former that the whole chronology is con-
fused. There is reason to think that the inconsistency has
arisen from a very simple mistake on the part of some compilers
of genealogies in the middle ages ; and to explain it a third
table may be produced on the authority of George Owen
Harry. —

[Tablb III.]

BRAN FENDIGAID.

1 Caradog.

2 Eudaf, or Euddaf

3 Cynan
I I

4 Cadfan 1 Caradog

I I ' 1

Stradweu, wife of Coel 2 Eudaf (Caradog)

Ceneu Gwavvl, wife of Edeyrn Elen, wife of 3 Cynan Meiriadog, A. D. 380

I ' I Maximus |

Gwrwst Cunedda Wledig 4 Cadfan

I I

Meirchion Morfawr

Cynfarch Oer Tudwal
Llew, married Anna, daughter of Uther, A. D. 500 to 550 - - (Cynfor)

Constantine, A. D, 433 Androenus

, -, 1 , I

Coustans Emrys or Ambrosius Uther Emyr Llydaw

Arthur Anna, wife of Llew

ab Cynfarch

In this table it is necessary first to point out an error. In
the Triads, Cynan Meiriadog is invariably said to be the
brother of Elen; and if she was the daughter of Eudaf, Cynan
must also have been the son of Eudaf. The name of Caradog
may have slipt into the place of Eudaf from the generation

94 EXAMINATION OF THE

preceding. If this arrangement be the correct one, it will
immediately be observed that the names marked 1, 2, 3, and
4, are repeated twice over, and the mistake alluded to is
simply this : — Cadfan the father of Stradwen, and Cadfan the
father of Morfawr have been thought to be the same person,
and the ancestry of the latter has been given to the former.
Cadfan, the father of Stradwen^* which is only another name
for Ystrafael, must be considered the first person or founder
of his family, and the time in which he lived will depend
upon the known date of his descendant Llew ab Cynfarch,
who was contemporary with Arthur. Cadfrawd and Ystrafael
will thus be placed in the first part of the fourth century ; and
Coel Godebog will be coeval with Constantine the Great,
instead of being his grandfather, as reported in the legends.
The pedigree of Cynan Meiriadog must commence with his
grandfather Caradog,t and the notion that he was a descend-
ant of the great Caractacus must be set aside. The general
period in which he lived may be known from his connexion
with the emperor Maximus, the date of whose usurpation is
A. D. 383. But if Cynan Meiriadog was living in A. D. 380,
it is impossible that his descendant in the fourth or fifth
degree should be king of the Britons in A. D. 433. It ap-
pears, however, that George Owen Harry has confounded
Constantine, the father of Ambrosius, with Cystennyn Go-
ronog, a descendant of Cynan, and who succeeded to the
sovereignty of Britain on the death of Arthur A. D. 542.

So much may be said for the sake of establishing the order
of succession from the beginning of the fourth century, so as

* George Owen Harry, to fill up the chronology, has heaped the pre-
sumed ancestors of Stradwen and Morfawr, one upon the other; but not-
withstanding this accumulation, the pedigree falls short of the era of
Caractacus by a whole century.

t According to the first table, Caractacus and Caradog the grandfather
of Cynan were the same person, which cannot be admitted without com-
mitting an anachronism of two centuries.

EARLY WELSH PEDIGREES. 95

to include the immediate ancestors of those chieftains who
rose into power upon the departure of the Romans. It has
been already observed that the Triads and the poems of the
Bards allude to no affairs which were transacted in the third
century ; and if the arrangements just made be correct, the
genealogies afford no information as to the Saints who lived in
the same period. This chasm in Welsh tradition is due to the
quiet submission of the people under a foreign power ; and if
those accounts which relate to the age preceding prove un-
certain, and occasionally incorrect, the remoteness of the time,
as well as the interruption, must in fairness be sufficient to
account for their inaccuracy and uncertainty. The third and
early part of the fourth centuries include the usurpation of
Carausius and the accession of Constantine, both of which
happened in Britain, but these events more especially con-
cerned the Romans. As regarded the history of the Britons
as a nation, this was an eventful period. The Christian
religion, doubtless, continued to make progress; but as for
those who were engaged in the work of promoting it, no
friendly Bard has preserved their names.

Omnes illachrymabiles

Urgentur, ignotique longa

Nocte, carent quia vate sacro.

SECTION VI.

The Welsh Saints from A. D. 300 to A. D. 400.

In the year 303 occurred the persecution under Dioclesian,
in which St. Alban, the Proto-martyr of England, and his
contemporaries, Amphibalus, Aaron, and Julius, are said to
have suffered martyrdom ; and though their history is obscur-
ed with fable, the credit of their existence may be maintained
upon the testimony of writers of great antiquity;* but as
their names are not noticed in any catalogue of Welsh Saints,
it will not be necessary to say much respecting them. They
appear to have been Romans rather than Britons, which may
account for the circumstance of their having passed almost
unregarded by the Welsh people. There is no church in
Wales dedicated to Alban, or Amphibalus. Julius and Aaron
are said to have been inhabitants of the Roman city of Caer-
leon upon Usk, where, according to Walter de Mapes, Geoffrey
of Monmouth, as well as Giraldus Cambrensis, two illustrious
churches were dedicated to their memory, and adorned with a
convent of nuns and a society of regular canons. But as those
authors, who flourished from A. D. 1150 to 1200, admit that
these establishments did not exist in their time, but were
among the glories of Caerleon which had passed away, the
whole account may be regarded as a monkish fable, it being
inconsistent with the history of the age to which it is referred.
Soon after the Norman Conquest there was an ordinary
church at Caerleon, dedicated to Julius and Aaron jointly.

* Constantius of Lyons, who wrote the life of St. Germanus about
A. D. 500, Venantius Fortunatus, and Bede.

THE WELSH SAINTS, &c. 97

which was about the same time granted by Robert de Candos
to the priory of GoldclifF.* According to Bishop Godwin,
there existed, in the recollection of the generation preceding
that in which he wrote,+ two chapels called after Julius and
Aaron, on the east and west side of the town, and about two
miles distant from each other; but so little respect appears to
have been paid to these edifices that antiquaries are not quite
agreed as to their situations. Llanharan in Glamorganshire,
considered to be dedicated to Julius and Aaron, is but a
chapel ; and its mother church, Llanilid, is also of late dedi-
cation, being consecrated to Julitta and Cyrique, French
Saints J whose homage was introduced probably by the
Normans.

In A. D. 306 Constantine was proclaimed Emperor of Rome
upon the death of his father Constantius, an event which took
place in Britain. From this circumstance the Armorican
chronicle has taken occasion to fill the world with the story,
that he was a native of this island, and that his mother, Helen,
was the daughter of Coel, a British king. This tale has been
much controverted, and since the time of Gibbon the decision
of most historical writers is in the negative. The best au-
thorities in support of it are, the following passage from
Eumenius, the Rhetorician, — " O fortunate Britain, and now
happier than all countries, which hast first seen Constantine
Ccesar:" and the following from another panegyrist; — "He
(thy father Constantius) delivered Britain from bondage, but
thou by arising from thence hast made it illustrious." J But
these passages can surely mean no more than his accession, as

* Dugdale's Monasticon.

t Sometimes called Julietta and Cyr, their Welsh names are Hid and
Curig.

X These passages are originally thus: — "O fortunata, et nunc omnibus

beatior terris Britannia, quae Constantinum C^Bsarew prima vidisti."

" Liberavit ille (pater videlicet Constantius) Britannias servitute, tu etiam
nobiles illic oriendo fecisti."— With respect to the meaning of " oriendo,"

98 THE WELSH SAINTS

Ccesar, to a share of the Imperial government. The opinion
of Archbishop Usher is to the contrary,* but it is surprising
that the learned Primate should not have examined the subject
with his usual chronological skill. Constantine was of full age
A. D. 306, when he was proclaimed Emperor upon the death
of his father ; indeed Usher produces authorities to show that
he was created Caesar before that time. Now Constantius
visited Britain, for the first time, in 296 ; and allowing that
Constantine was born that year, he could only have been ten
years old at the time of his accession to the empire ; he was,
therefore, not born in Britain, Besides, Helen was the wife
of Constantius*s younger years, and, as she was divorced by
him as early as A. D. 286, ten years before his arrival in this
country, she was not likely to have been a Briton. But chrono-
logy and the monkish historians are always at variance, and
the attempt to reconcile them would be a fruitless under-
taking. A modern writert asks, how has it happened that
such a tradition, as that of the British parentage of Constan-
tine, should become perfectly national? To this it may be
replied, that in all the works of the earlier Bards, the cata-
logues of Saints, the older pedigrees, and all the Triads,
except one, there is not the slightest allusion to the circum-
stance; J and the omission of a fact, which would have gra-
tified the national pride of the Welsh, is a presumptive proof
that they were not acquainted with it. When the story was
communicated to them by the monks in the middle ages, they
received it with avidity. The solitary Triad to the contrary
is No. 6, second series, in the Myvyrian Archaiology ; but a

it is sufficient to say that Eumenius describes the accession of Constantius,
the father of Constantine, in similar terms.

* De Brit. Eccl. Priraordiis, Cap. VHI.

t Roberts, in his Chronicle of the Kings of Britain.

X It appears to have been unknown to Bede, to the author of the com-
position ascribed to Gildas, and to the compilers of the Saxon Chronicle
translated by Dr. Ingram.

FROM A. D. 300 TO A. D. 400. 99

single reading of it will discover its monkish origin. The
only Triad besides, in which even the name of Constantine is
mentioned, is the Triad respecting Archbishopricks,* which
may also be referred to the same manufactory.

Helen and Constantine were canonized by the Romanists ;
but the name of the latter does not occur in any Welsh list of
Saints, and that of the former is omitted in almost all the
existing catalogues. t There is a church in Glamorganshire,
called Eglwys Ilan, which is supposed by Browne Willis to
be dedicated to Helen; and to render the dedication more
complete, the subordinate church of Llanfabon, despite the
name it bears, is attributed to Constantine.J Another church,
in Cardiganshire^ is called Tref Ilan ; but the identity of Ilan
with Helen is, at least, questionable, as in all the current
stories respecting the latter the name is never corrupted. A
church in Monmouthshire is called distinctly Llanelen; but
not to lay too great a stress upon names, it may be allowed
that these churches, as well as a chapel of St. Helen§ which
once existed at Carnarvon, were dedicated to her in the
middle ages ; and if the story of her British origin were true,
it would be surprising that such dedications were not more
numerous. A church in Carnarvonshire, called Llangysten-
nyn,|| is perhaps dedicated to Constantine the Great; but
this must be uncertain, as soon after the departure of the
Romans there was a sainted king in Britain, called Cystennyn
Fendigaid, or Constantine the Blessed.

* No. 62, Third Series, Myv. Archaiology.

t It is mentioned in only two of the MSS. cited in the Myvyrian Ar-
chaiology.

X Llanfabon is called after Mabon, the brother of Teilo, Bishop of
LlandafT j and Eglwys Ilan may derive its name from a Welsh Saint, of
whom all other memorials have perished.

§ Rowlands' s Mona Antiqua, Section XL

H This church does not appear to be ancient, as in the time of Edw. L it
was a chapel under Abergele (St. Michael.)

100 THE WELSH SAINTS

During this vacuity of Welsh tradition, which later legends
have endeavoured to occupy with fable, it is gratifying to
learn, from testimonies of another kind, that Christianity must
have made considerable progress. Of this the most irrefra-
gable proofs remain in the fact on record, that there were
British Bishops present at the Councils — of Aries in Gaul
A. D. 314, of Sardica in Illyria A. D. 347, and of Ariminum
in Italy A. D. 359. The Council of Aries was convened by
Constantine for the sake of suppressing the heresy of the
Donatistsj and it is satisfactory to know that at that time,
seventeen years before the general edict in favour of Christian-
ity, there were at least three Bishops in Britain. The names
of those who attended upon that occasion, as given by Usher,
and Spelman, were: —

"Eborius Episcopus, de civitate Eboracensi, provincia
Britannia.

Restitutus Episcopus, de civitate Londinensi, provincia
suprascripta.

Adelfius Episcopus, de civitate Colonia Londinensium : —
exinde Sacerdos Presbyter, Arminius Diaconus."

None of these Bishops are mentioned in any catalogue of
Welsh Saints, unless it be admitted that Adelfius is identical
with Cadfrawdy for the names are almost a translation of each
other.* The British rendering of Eborius and Restitutus
would be Efrog and Rhystyd, both which names were in use
in Wales a few generations later. Colonia Londinensium is
evidently an error, as there was no place place known by
that name in Britain, and the Bishop of London is already
mentioned. Stillingfleet proposes, therefore, to read "Legion-
ensium" for Caerleon upon Usk ; Urbs Legionis being the
name by which that town was known to Latin writers in the

* Adelfius appears to be formed from the Greek word 'A^e\0os^
a brother ; and the Welsh Scholar will recognise Brawd in the com-
position of Cadfrawd.

FROM A. D. 300 TO A. D. 400. 101

middle ages. The same place was also in the Roman division
of the country* the capital of the province of Britannia Se-
cunda, as London was of Britannia Prima, and York of
Maxima Caesariensis. Welsh tradition has always reported it
to have been a Bishop's see from the earliest times; and the
importance of these three places enabled their Diocesans
in a subsequent age to assume the title of Archbishop. No
further information can be gleaned respecting Sacerdos
and Arminius, but they attended probably as representatives
of the different orders of priesthood.

The list of the Bishops, who subscribed the articles of the
Council of Sardica, is not preserved; but it is asserted by
Athanasius that Bishops from Britain were present, and that
they joined in the condemnation of Arius and vindication of
himself. In a few years afterwards, Hilary, Bishop of Poic-
tiers, in an epistle from Phrygia, congratulates the Britons,
amongst others, on their freedom from heresy.f

The Council of Ariminum was convened by Constantius,
the son of Constantine, to decide, like the preceding, upon
the Arian heresy, to which the Emperor himself was favour-
able. Sulpitius Severus relates that more than four hundred
Bishops of the Western Church were assembled together
upon the occasion, and adds — ^'^unto all of whom the Em-
peror had ordered provisions and apartments to be given.
But that was deemed unbecoming by the Aquitans, Gauls, and
Britons ; and refusing the imperial offer, they preferred to live
at their own expense. Three only from Britain, on account
of poverty, made use of the public gift, after they had rejected
the contribution offered by the others ; considering it more pro-

* '*It plainly appears that the Church was divided into Dioceses and
Provinces much after the same manner as the Empire, having a Metro-
politan or Primate in every Province." — (Bingham's Antiquities, Book IX.
Chap. I.) — Under each of these provincial Bishops were several Chorepis-
copi or Suffragans.

+ Usher de Brit. Eccl Primordiis, Cap. VIII,

102 ''HE WELSH SAINTS

per to burden the exchequer than individuals.*" — This passage
has been, by a mistake, adduced to show the poverty of the
Bishops of Britain in general, when it states, that such was
their sense of propriety that they had rather defray their own
costs and charges than subsist upon the Emperor's bounty.
The three, who did partake of it, are mentioned only as an
exception, as if the independent Bishops were the more nu-
merous party. Out of four hundred, which number included
only those of the Western Church, a proportion of ten or
upwards may well be allowed for Britain, whose distance from
Italy must have added greatly to the expense of their journey.
The prelates assembled at this Council were forced to submit
to the doctrines of Arius through the undue influence of the
Emperor; but in the year 353, Athanasius describes the
churches of Britain, and other churches in the west, as ad-
hering to the faith of the council of Nice.t

Besides Cadfrawd, already mentioned, the period just
passed over includes Gwerydd and lestyn, brothers, and Cad-
gyfarch and Gwrmael, sons, of Cadfrawd ; all of whom are
said to have been Saints, but their feast-days are unknown,
and no churches have been dedicated to them.

Coel Godebog was a chieftain who flourished in the former
part of this century. He married Ystrafael or Stradwen, the
sister of Cadfrawd, by whom he had a son, Ceneu, whose
name appears in the catalogues of Saints, and a daughter,
Gwawl, who married Edeyrn, the father of Cunedda Wledig.
According to the fabulous chroniclers he had only one child, a

♦ The original words are these,— "Qui bus omnibus annonas et cellaria
dare Imperator prseceperat. Sed id Aquitanis, Gallis, ac Britannis in-
decens visum; repudiatis fiscalibus, propriis sumptibus vivere maluerunt.
Tres tantum ex BritanniS, inopi^ proprii, publico usi sunt, cum oblatam a
caeteris coUationera respuissent; sanctius putantes fiscum gravare, quam
singulos." — Sulpitii Severi Sacree Historiee, Lib. IL Cap. LV.

t Usher, de Brit. Eccl. Primordiis, Cap. VIIL

FROM A. D. SOO TO A. D. 400.

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104 THE WELSH SAINTS

daughter,* who was afterwards the mother of Constantine the
Great. But setting fable aside, no transactions of his life
have been recorded, and to the Welsh genealogists he is
known only as the founder of a large family of descendants.
He was probably regarded as the head of a tribe in the sys-
tem of clanship, which, as it is found flourishing in full vigour
upon the departure of the Romans, must have been maintained
in some degree under their supremacy.

Ceneu, the son of Coel,t probably spent his life in the ser-
vice of religion, for which reason he has been called a Saint ;
but no churches have been consecrated to his memory ; Llan-
geneu in Brecknockshire being assigned to Ceneu, a daughter
or grand-daughter of Brychan.

With Cynan Meiriadog and Macsen Wledig, who flourished
about A. D. 380, the history of Britain according to the
Triads may be said to recommence. Macsen Wledig, or
Maximus, is reported to have married Elen Luyddog, the
sister of Cynan, who was the chieftain of Meiriadog in North
Wales ; and in this story may be recognised the prototype of
the fable that Helen, the daughter of Coel, was married to
Constantius. It is further said, that Cynan led over an army
of 60,000 men into Gaul to support the claims of Maximus,
and that this army afterwards settled in Armorica. Though
some modern French writers find reasons for discrediting the
whole of the story,t it should not, upon that account, be dis-
missed without examination; but as its truth or falsehood
forms no part of the present enquiry, it is only necessary in
this place to establish the date of the expedition, A. D. 383,
so far as it may affect subsequent events.

* " Ny t oed o plant oy that namyn hy ehunan."— Brut Gr. ab Arthur,
Myv. Archaiology, Vol. II. p. 207.

+ He is not to be confounded with another Ceneu ab Coel, a warrior
who flourished in the time of Arthur.

I Turner's Anglo Saxons, Appendix to Book VI. Chap. II.

FROM A. D. 300 TO A. D. 400. 105

The monkish chronologists thought that these 60,000 men
wouldj of course, be in want of wives ; and therefore they
appended the tale of St. Ursula and the eleven thousand, nay
seventy thousand virgins, who, on their voyage from Britain
to Armorica, were captured by pagan pirates, and all suffered
for their faith. But this grave narration is so improbable
throughout, that the whole may, without scruple, be pro-
nounced a fiction.*

There is a church in Cardiganshire called Llanygwyryfon,
or Llanygweryddon, which is supposed to be dedicated to
St. Ursula and the virgins ; and if so, it is obviously of late
foundation.

Before the end of this century the celebrated Pelagius, who
was a Briton, commenced his career; but as the name of this
person has not been enrolled in any catalogue of Saints, it will
be enough to observe that his heresy was first promulgated in
Italy, and was soon afterwards brought to Britain by his
disciple, Agricola.

* The story may be seen at length in Cressy's " Church History of
Brittany."

SECTION VII.

The Welsh Saints from A. D. 400 to A. D. 433.

The list of primitive Christians has reached the beginning
of the fifth century, and it may be stated that of all those
hitherto mentioned, none, with the exception perhaps of
Lleurwg, were founders of churches in the usual sense of the
term. But the reader is now about to enter upon a time,
when, in consequence of the distresses of the Romans, the
Britons threw off their yoke, and the affairs of the island
underwent a complete revolution. From the Welsh genealo-
gies it would seem as if the country came at once into the
possession of several chieftains, who rose into power, either as
elders of tribes according to a system of clanship, or from
their activity in resisting the northern invaders.

This event took place, according to Zosimus, in A. D. 408
or 409; and he says it happened in consequence of an ir-
ruption of barbarians into Gaul, which cut off the communi-
cation between Britain and the rest of the Roman empire.
His words may thus be rendered : — >

*'The barbarians above the Rhine, invading all parts with
unrestrained freedom, forced, of necessity, the inhabitants of
the island of Britain, and some of the Celtic tribes, to revolt
from the dominion of the Romans, and to live independent,
no longer obeying the Roman laws. The Britons, therefore,
armed themselves, and, facing the danger on their own ac-
count, delivered their cities from the barbarians that infested
them. And all Armorica and other provinces of Gaul, imi-
tating the example of the Britons, set themselves free in like

THE WELSH SAINTS, &c. JQT

manner; expelling the Roman governors, and setting up a
native form of government at their own liberty. This revolt
of Britain and the Celtic tribes happened during the time of
the usurpation of Constantine, when the barbarians liad
made an incursion through his neglect of the affairs of the
empire."*

This is the statement of a contemporary historian, for Zosi-
mus died A. D. 420 ; and though it does not enter into par-
ticulars as much as could be wished, it is of incomparably
greater value than all the dreaming of Gildas and the monkish
writers about the '^groans of the Britons," whom they re-
present as the most imbecile of the nations of antiquity. It is
pleasing, however, to find historians of such eminence as
Gibbon, Mr. Sharon Turner, and Dr. Lingard, giving to the
testimony of Zosimus the respect to which it is entitled ; and
they proceed to describe the state of Britain after its emanci-
pation, in terms perfectly consistent with the information to
be gleaned from the Welsh authorities. Gibbon indeed
quotest a passage from Procopius to show that the Romans
could never recover possesssion of the island, which continued
from that time under the government of tyrants ; and by the
latter term, in the original vtto TvpavvoL<s, which is not always
used in a bad sense, it is obvious the writer intended to de-
signate the native chieftains.

From the Triads it would appear that the emperor Maxi-
mus left a son in Britain, called Owain ab Macsen Wledig,
who was by national convention elected to the chief sovereignty
of the Britons. It is said that under him Britain was restored
to a state of independence, and the annual tribute which had
been paid to the Romans from the time of Julius Caesar was
discontinued. It is added that the Romans, under pretence of
consenting to these proceedings, withdrew their troops, and

* Zosimi Historiarum Lib. VL Cap. 5, 6,
t Decline and Fall, Chap. XXXL Notes 177 and 186.

108 THE WELSH SAINTS

brought away at the same time the best of the Britons who were
able to bear arms, by which means the country was so weakened
that it became a prey to its enemies.* — In this traditional ac-
count may be perceived a confused notion of the events which
took place as related by Zosimus; and if the Roman and Greek
writers make no mention of so distinguished a person as
Owain the son of Maximus^ it was because all communication
with Britain had been intercepted. One of the Triadst states
that Owain was raised to the dignity of Pendragon or chief so-
vereign of the Britons, though he was not an elder, from which
it may be concluded that he was a young man at the time of his
election. The editor of the Cambrian Biography says that he
was also called Owain Finddu, and that he has been considered
a Saint by his countrymen; but there are no churches existing
which bear his name.

[Table V.]

MACSEN WLEDIG married ELEN, daughter of Eiiddaf.

I 1 ' 1 1

Owain Peblig Ednyfed Cystenuyn

Madog Dyfnwal Hen

I 1 ' 1 1

Gafran Cerli? Gortynion Gvvrwst Briodor

I 1 ' 1 I I

Aeddan Tiidwal Senyllt Gvvyddno Elidyr

Fradog Tiidglyd I Garanhir Mwyrifawr

Gafran Rhydderch Melungell Gwenfron Nudd Elffin
Hael Hael

I 1 '

Llidnerth Dingad m. Tonwy dr. of Llewddyn Luyddog

Lleuddad Baglan Gwytherin Tygwy Tijp'iog Eleri, dr.

According to the Welsh accounts, one of the most distin-
guished chieftains of this time was Cunedda Wledig. His
territory is said to have been in the north, an expression
used indefinitely for any part of the tract reaching from the

* Triads 21 and 84. Third Series, Myv. Archaiology.

fNo. 17. Third Series. Qu. Was not his disqualification owing to
the foreign origin of his father, which prevented him from being the
elder of a clan of native Britons ?

FROM A. D. 400 TO A. D. 433. 109

Humber to the Clyde; the particular district is not mentioned,
but owing to the remoteness of the country from Wales it can-
not be expected that the tradition should be precise. In right
of his mother, Gwawl, Cunedda was also entitled to the head-
ship of the clan of Coel Godebog in the south ; Ceneu and
Mor, the proper representatives of that tribe, being eccles-
iastics.* Soon after the departure of Maximus to the conti-
nent, a people, called Gwyddyl Ffichti, or Irish Picts, to
distinguish them the Picts of the north, landed on the western
coasts of Britain,t and occupied the whole of North Wales, as
well as the Dimetian countiesj of South Wales. At a later
time, the northern Picts made one of their irruptions into the
country of their more civilized neighbours ; and Cunedda,
being unable to resist them, was forced to seek an asylum to
the southward. The probability is that he retired to his
maternal kindred. He was the father of a numerous family ;
and his sons, being reduced to the condition of adventurers,
undertook the enterprise of delivering Wales from the Irish
marauders. In this it is presumed they were assisted by the
rightful inhabitants ; and they were so far successful that they
recovered a great part of South Wales, and the whole of
North Wales, except Anglesey and some portions of Denbigh-
shire. The country recovered was divided between them,
and they became the founders of so many clans which gave
names to the districts that they occupied, some of which
names are retained to this day. Thus Ceredig had Ceredig-
ion, comprising the present county of Cardigan with a great
part of Carmarthenshire ; the word, Ceredigion, being the

* Saints.

t In this statement the Welsh authorities are confirmed by the Irish
historians, who relate that an invasion of Britain, on an extensive and
formidable scale, took place towards the close of the fourth century under
the auspices of a king of Ireland, called Nial of the Nine Hostages.—
Moore's History of Ireland, Chap. VII.

X The present counties of Cardigan, Pembroke, and Carmarthen.

] 10 THE WELSH SAINTS

plural of Ceredig, and meaning his followers. Arwystl had
Arwystli, or the western part of Montgomeryshire. Dunod
had Dunodig, or the northern part of Merioneth with part of
Carnarvonshire. Edeyrn had Edeyrnion, and Mael had Din-
maelj both in the eastern part of Merioneth. Coel had Coel-
eion, and Dogfael had Dogfeilin^ both in Denbighshire.
Rhufon had Rhufoniog, in Denbigh and Carnarvon shires.
Einion had Caereinion in Montgomery, and Oswal had Os-
weilin on the borders of Shropshire. Tibion_, the eldest son of
Cunedda, died in the Isle of Man ; but his son, Meirion, was
one of these adventurers, and had Cantref Meirion. The date
which may be assigned to this expulsion of the Irish is the
period between A. D. 420 and 430.*

^-^ Another chieftain, contemporary with Owain ab Macsen
and Cunedda, was Brychan, the regulus of Brecknock. It is
said that his mother was Marchell, the daughter of Tudur or
Tewdrig, who is styled the king of Garthmadryn, by which is
conceived to be meant the present county of Brecknock south-
ward of the Eppynt hills.t The genealogy of Tewdrig is
carried up to Gwraldeg, king of Garthmadryn, who is com-
puted to have lived about A. D. 230. But here the same
process may be detected at work which has been demonstrated
in the case of Cadfrawd ab Cadfan and Cynan Meiriadog.J
Two, if not three pedigrees show that the ancestry of Meirig
ab Tewdrig, who lived about A. D. 500, has been given to
Tewdrig of Garthmadryn, who must have flourished about
A. D. 370. The majority of authorities, it is true, give the
older names differently, but they all agree in saying that the
father of both the persons named Tewdrig was Teithfallt or
Teithffaltim. Notwithstanding the opinion of the historian of

* The Silurian Achau y Saint, and Nennius.

t According to Nennius, the hundred of Builth, or the northern part
of the county was included in the possessions of Vortigern.
% Page 94* of this Essay.

FROM A. D. 400 TO A. D. 483.

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112 THE WELSH SAINTS

Brecknockshire,* there is reason to conclude, as shown by the
minority, that one Tewdrig has been mistaken for the other ;
since the alternative would render it necessary to explain how
the ancestry of the elder Tewdrig could have been preserved
at so early a time ; and it should be noticed that the pedigree
is disjointed within two generations of the departure of the
Romans, about the very period at which the authority of other
genealogies seems to commence. The claims of clanship were,
doubtless, acknowledged by the Britons, as they are by most
nations in a rude state of society ; but as the heads of families
were in a state of dependency, there could have been no great
inducement to preserve the memory of their affinities. From
the departure of the Romans, downwards, the celebrity and
independence of the chieftains, together with the claims of
their descendants' to the inheritance of their territories, are a
sufficient reason to account for the preservation of the record.

Marchell, the daughter of Tewdrig, is said to have been
married to Anllech Goronog, " Brenhin Ewerddon," or, ac-
cording to others, to Aulach, the son of Cormac mac Cairbre,
one of the kings of Ireland. He was, probably, the captain of
a band of Irish rovers who infested the coast of Wales after
the departure of Maximus, and might have penetrated into
the interior. The fruit of this union was Brychan. In the
"History of Brecknockshire" may be found a long legend
respecting the visit of Marchell to Ireland, and her marriage
there, attended with the parade which a writer of romance
might deem necessary upon such an occasion ; but as the
story, which has been recorded in Latin and English, has
never appeared in the Welsh language, it may be said that
the silence of the earlier Welsh writers, as to everits which
concerned the honour of their country, affords a presumption
that such events were either unknown or discredited.

* Mr. Theophilus Jones, in Vol. I. Chap. II. of his *' History'* of
that country,
t Vol. 1. Chap, n, and Appendix No. VI.

FROM A. D 400 TO A. D. 433. 113

Brychan is computed to have reigned^ such is the term, from
A. D. 400 to A. D. 450.* The computation may, however,
be altered so far as to bring down the commencement of his
reign to about A. D. 410, in order to allow a sufficient interval,
after the departure of Maximus in 383, for the marriage of his
mother with an Irish adventurer, as well as for his own
growth to manhood. That he commenced his reign later than
A. D. 410 is not likely from the chronology which it is ne-
cessary to give to his descendants. His grandfather and
mother must have lived in the Roman time, and therefore in a
state of dependence, if not of obscurity; for, that Brychan at-
tained to power not possessed by his ancestors is probable
from his having given his name to the district where he
exercised his authority ;t and the date here assigned to his
accession agrees well with the time in which, according to
Zosimus, the Britons threw off the Roman yoke.

A fourth chieftain, contemporary with the preceding, was
Cystennyn Gorneu, the founder of a family in Cornwall.
No further particulars are known respecting him; but the
pedigree of his descendants, which includes several Saints, is
given as follows. —

[Table VII.]

CYSTENNYN GORNEU.

Erbin

I 1-" .

Digain Ysgin Geraint

Garwy Cado Sdyf

CyH

I.
Cyngar lesiyn

A fifth chieftain of this time was Cadell, who is often con-
founded with Cadell Deyrnllug. From the pedigree of his

* Jones's Brecknockshire, Vol. I. Chap. III.

t The names " Brecon and Brecknock" are but English modifications of
" Brychan and Brycheiniog."

114 THE WELSH SAINTS

family it may be concluded that his territories lay in Gla-
morganshire and Monmouthshire.

[TABLE VIIL]

CADELL

Tegyd

Glywys of Glewyseg

Gwynllyw Filwr of Gwynllwg

T- — : — — r" — I": — T-r

Cattwg Cammarch Glywys Cerniw Hywgu Maches Cynfyw or Cyfyw Gwyddlew
Ddoeth I I I

Gwodloew Beuno Carmen

Cadrod Calchfynydd is the last that may be mentioned of
this early date. His territories were situated about the middle
of England.

Of these contemporary chieftains there are reasons for
V* adjudging the seniority in respect of age to Cunedda.* But
he is deserving of notice more especially, as the Triads record
that he was the first who gave lands and privileges to God and
the Saints in the island of Britain ; by which may be under-
stood that this was the first time the Church received temporal
possessions and endowments in this country. It is not stated
what particular churches were thus endowed by Cunedda^
but they probably existed in his northern territories, or in
England, and subsequent revolutions have swept away every
trace of them. Before this time the British chieftains were
not in a condition to give lands to the Church, and perhaps
the practice did not commence elsewhere before the con-

• An elegy on the death of Cunedda is printed in the Myvyrian Ar-
chaiology of "Wales, Vol. I. p. 71, from which his character as a warrior
and some particulars of his history may be collected. It was composed
by a Taliesin, older than the Bard usually known by that name, and is
perhaps the earliest specimen of Welsh poetry extant. An English
translation of it is given in Davies's Claims of Ossian, Section I, accom-
panied by several interesting and appropriate remarks.

FROM A. D. 400 TO A. D. 483. 115

Tersion of Constantine; but before the end of the fourth
century it was not uncommon.

It has been observed that no church in Wales bears the
name of Owain ab Macsen ; the same may be said of his
brother, Ednyfed, who is also included in the catalogue of
Saints. The church of Llanbeblig near Carnarvon is called
after Peblig, another brother of Owain; and this is the first
instance of a church in Wales bearing the name of a Saint not
admitted into the Romish Calendar. The circumstance of the
name may, therefore, be attributed to the supposition that he
was the founder, having previously consecrated the place by
the performance of certain religious exercises, after the man-
ner which Bede describes as customary among the Christians
of North Britain.* It is necessary, however, to suppose that
this church was founded after the expulsion of the Irish, and
it would not require that Peblig should be more than sixty
years of age to extend his life down to the time ; since Maxi-
mus left Britain in 383, and the Irish were driven from North
Wales before A. D. 430. The first churches would naturally
be erected in towns, where the greatest population was col-
lected; an opinion which ecclesiastical writers in general
maintain. Llanbeblig is the parish church of Carnarvon, but
it is not situate in that town, nor at the neighbouring Roman
station of Segontium. The Romans had quitted the country,
and whatever buildings were left at Segontium were likely to
have been destroyed by the Irish. Carnarvon, on the other
hand, is of later origin, though of very ancient date. The in-
ference drawn is, that Llanbeblig was founded before the
existence of Carnarvon. But another circumstance which
miffht have contributed to the foundation of this and other
churches in the age of Peblig, was the visit of St. Germanus
to Britain in 429, and that he visited Carnarvonshire is pro-

* See page 60 of this Essay.

116 THE WELSH SAINTS

bable from the traces of his name which still remain in that
county.*

The chapels subject to Llanbeblig are, St. Mary's, or the
present church of Carnarvon; and St. Helen's, which formerly
existed in that town. The author of Mona Antiqua supposes
the latter to be dedicatedt to Helen, the wife of Maximus,
and the conjecture is supported by the circumstance that she
was also the mother of Peblig. The coincidence might be
thought sufficient to determine the question, if it could be
shown that the wife of Maximus has ever been considered a
Saint ; angl the cause of doubt is increased by the equally
plausible conjecture, supported by similar local reasons, that
the person intended was the elder Helen, whose saintship is
undisputed. A belief, though founded on insufficient grounds,
is known to have existed so early as the time of Nennius, that
either Constantius, the emperor, or his grandson of the same
name, was buried at Carnarvon ; and_, in proof, it was alleged
that a stone with a certain inscription pointed out the place of
bis grave. J This, however, is contradictory to the testimony
of classical writers, who state that the first Constantius was
buried at York, and the second at Mopsuestia in Cilicia; but

* Llanarraon (St. Germanus) chapel to Llangybi j and Bettws Garmon,
subject to Llanfair Isgaer, all in Carnarvonshire.

t The editor of the Beauties of North Wales, carrying the popular
opinion too far, states that this chapel was founded by Helen. Had this
been the case, according to the principles laid down in the first Section of
this Essay, it would, at the time of the institution of tithes and the division
of parishes, hBve received its separate endowment j but, being founded
after that time, no means remained for its maintenance except as depend-
ent upon the church of the parish in which it was situated.

% Nennius, who flourished in the ninth century, says that the person
commemorated was Constantius, the son of Constantino j while Matthew
of Westminster states that A. D. 1283 the body of Constantius, the father
of that emperor was found by digging, and was, by order of Edward the
First, honourably interred in the adjacent church. See also Hanes Gruff-
odd ab Cynan, Myv, Avchaiology, Vol. II, 695.

FROM A. D. 400 TO A. D. 433. 1 17

as the words of the words of the inscription have not been
preserved, and as the name Constantius can be proved to have
been common in Britain for some time after the retirement of
the Romans, the stone probably commemorated some other
person, who was afterwards mistaken for the emperor.

As Mor, the son of Ceneu ab Coel, was a Saint contempor-
ary with Cunedda and Peblig, he may be considered the
founder of the churches of Llannor or Llanfor in Carnarvon-
shire, and Llanfor in Penllyn, Merionethshire, The first of
these may claim a higher antiquity than the town of Pwllheli,
which is situate at the distance of three miles in a subordinate
chapelry.* Had the town existed first, the probability is that
the mother church would have been built in it. Llanfor in
Merioneth is said by Browne Willis to be dedicated to St.
Deiniol, and the names of both these churches have been
thought to be corruptions of Llan-fawr, anglice "the great
church j" but to set aside etymological conjectures, both of
them were known by the name of Llanfor as early as the
time of Llywarch Hen, a Bard who died about A. D. 660, and
the verses in which he speaks of them may thus be trans-
lated :t—

Trust not Bran, trust not Dunawd,

That thou shalt not find wounded by them

The pastor of the flock of Llanfor who guides our path.

There is a Llanfor beyond the tide,
To whom the sea pours forth its praises,
Whether she be equal to ours I know not.

* The chapel of Pwllheli, alias Denio, is dedicated to St. Beuno, who
flourished A. D. 580.

tThe following is the original, from the My v. Archaiology, Vol. I.
page 120. —

Na chred Vran na chred Dunawd Yssydd Lanvor dra gweilgl

Na chai ganthudd yn fosawd Y gwna m6r molud withi

Bugail Hoi Llanror Uwybrawd. Llallogan ni wn ai hi.

1[8 THE WELSH SAINTSr

There is a Llanfor, towering aloft,
Where the Clwyd flows into Cly wedog,
And I know not whether she be her equal.

The Dee winds within her borders,

From Meloch to Traweryn ;

The pastor of the flock of Llanfor is our conductor.

Here three churches are mentioned together in such a way
that their enumeration may best be attributed to the circum-
stance of their being founded by the same Saint^ since the
descriptive term — "great church" — was not likely in those
days to have passed for a proper name. The Bard spent the
latter part of his life at Llanfor in Merionethshire, where he
died, and in these stanzas he appears to warn his spiritual
instructor against some impending danger. Situated where
he was, unless he was a good topographer, he could easily
conceive that the upper part of Cardigan Bay intervened
between him and Llanfor in Lleyn Carnarvonshire, the parish-
ioners of which place are near enough to the sea to hear the
music of the waves. The Bard mentions also another church
which is conceived to be Llanynys* in Denbighshire, the
name of which, in English " the church of the island," is des-
criptive of its situation between the rivers Clwyd and Clyw-
edog. This church has been ascribed to St. Saeran from the
circumstance of his having been buried there ;t but as Welsh
churches are sometimes found to claim the honour of two
Saints,J this will interpose no difficulty, since the oldest Saint
may be allowed to be the founder, and the younger may have

Yssydd Llanvor tra bJlnawg Heis Dyvyrdwy yn el therryn

ydd aa Clwyd yn Nghlywedawg O Veloch hyd Traweryn

Ac ni wn ai hi Uallawg. Bugail lloi Llanvor llwybryn.

* Chapel to Llanynys — CyfFylliog, St. Mary.
t Myv. Archaiology, Vol, II. page 61,

% The two Saints are rather a proof that there was no formal dedication,
and that the church was called after the name of the person whose me-
mory was most associated with it.

FROM A. D. 400 TO A. D. 433. 119

been a distinguished minister, or one who increased the pri-
vileges of the church. In the last stanza, the Bard returns to
his own parish; and the Dee, Meloch, and Traweryn, are
rivers in that neighbourhood which still retain those names.

About this time (A. D. 420 to 430) it is said that the
Church in Britain was infected with the Pelagian heresy ; and
that the orthodox clergy, being unable to stem its progress,
sent to Gaul desiring assistance. Upon which it was deter-
mined in a full synod of the Gallican Church, that Oermanus,
Bishop of Auxerre, and Lupus, Bishop of Troyes, should be
sent to Britain to confute the heretics. The date assigned to
this event by Prosper, a contemporary writer, is A. D. 4^9 ;
but he speaks of Germanus only, who, he says, was sent b^
Pope Celestine at the suit of Palladius, the Apostle of Scot-
land. Constantius of Lyons, the biographer of St. G/rmanus, Vj
who wrote while several persons Avho had been acquainted with
that Prelate were living, relates the affair differently ; and his
words may be rendered as follows.* — ^^ At that time a depu-
tation, direct from Britain, announced to the Gallican Bishops,
that the Pelagian heresy was gaining an extensive hold upon
the people in that country ; and that assistance ought to be
given as soon as possible to the Catholic faith. For which
reason a large synod was convened, and with one consent, the
prayers of the whole assembly were directed to those bright
luminaries of religion, Germanus and Lupus, Apostolic priests,
who while their bodies were on earth had their minds fixed on
heaven. And inasmuch as the necessity appeared the more

* The original, as given by Archbishop Usher, is, — '*Eodem tempore
ex Britanniis directa legatio Gallicanis Episcopis nunciavit, Pelagianam
perversitatem late populos occupasse, et quaraprimum fidei catbolicae de-
bere succurri. Ob quam causam Synodus nuraerosa coUecta est: omnium-
que judicio duo praeclara religionis lumina universorum precibus arabi-
untur, Germanus et Lupus, Apostolici sacerdotes, terrara corporibus,
coelum meritis, (seu mentibus) possidentes. Et quanto necessitas laboros-

120 THE WELSH SAINTS

urgent, so much the more readily did those devoted heroes un-
dertake the task, hastening the despatch of the business, to
which they were stimulated by their faith." — This narrative
amounts to a full contradiction of the other as regards the
interference of the Pope, or Palladius. Baronius endeavours
to reconcile the statements by supposing that Celestine might
have entrusted the affair to the Gallican synod, and approved
of their choice. But the haste with which, according to Con-
stantius, t^ie business was transacted will allow of no such
supposition. Besides which, Baronius ought to have known
that at that time the Pope and the Gallican Church were at
variance. The latter were charged with Semi-Pelagianism,
jjnd Celestine was not likely to trust the suppression of Pela-
gianism to those persons whom he himself accused of an
approximation to it. It would appear that when Prosper
found that the mission of Germanus and Lupus had been
attended with unwonted success, he wished to claim a share
of the credit for his friend, the Pope ; for he was himself also
one of the greatest opponents of the Semi-Pelagians, and per-
haps the reason why he omits the name of Lupus is because
that person was brother to Vincentius Lirinensis, who was a
distinguished leader of the adverse party.*

Stress is laid upon these particulars because Prosper would
insinuate that Britain was brought under the Papal jurisdic-
tion; but, unfortunately for his pious fraud, the clearest
proofs of British independence appear after his time. The
historian Bede, who was a zealous Catholic, gives an account
of this transaction in nearly the same words as Constantius.
In the latter writer may also be found an inflated account of

ior apparebat, tanto earn promptius heroes devotissimi susceperunt, celeri-
tatem negotii fidei stimulis raaturantes."— De Brit. Eccl. Primordiis,
Cap. XI.

* Usher de Primordiis, Cap. XI. and XII. Hughes's Horse Britannicee,
Vol. II. Cap. VII.

FROM A. D. 400 TO A. D. 433. 121

the zeal, and success of the preaching of Germanus and Lupus
until the Pelagians were triumphantly vanquished at a general
conference, supposed to have been held at Verulam. Then
follows the discovery of the relicks of St. Alban, and a des-
cription of a mass of earth still reeking with his blood, which
Germanus carried away to Gaul. The next occurrence is the
miraculous victory obtained by the Britons, under Germanus,
over the Saxons and Picts, by suddenly shouting the word
'^Alleluia," upon which the enemy fled in great conster-
nation. It seems strange that Constantius should describe
such miracles within fifty years after the death of the Saint,
but this was the age of religious imposture, and stories could
be related at Lyons, with perfect safety, of events which took
place in an obscure corner of Britain. It does not appear
that any of these tales are to be found in Welsh MSS. and it
was the occurrence of the name of " Maesgarmon,"* in the
parish of Mold, Flintshire, that led Archbishop Usher to fix
upon that spot for the " Alleluiatic Victory." That a battle
was fought there, under circumstances which were afterwards
improved into a miracle, is not improbable; and there are
names of places in that neighbourhood, which show that the
district has, for some reason or other, been tenacious of the
memory of the Saint. The alliance of the Saxons and Pictst
about a score of years before the landing of Hengist, is
possibly a mistake, into which Constantius was led for want
of the means of accurate information.

The mission of St. Germanus, or as he is called by the
Welsh, Garmon, may have lasted about two or three years,
and, according to Constantius, he visited Britain a second
time, upon which occasion he was accompanied by Severus,
Bishop of Triers. Archbishop Usher calculates that the
second mission was performed A. D. 447j, and that it was of
short continuance. On the other hand, the Welsh authorities
would imply that he visited this country but once, which was

* " The field of Germanus." t Qu. GwyUdyl Ffichti?
Q

122 THE WELSH SAINTS

about the time of the last date,* when he was accompanied by
Lupus, for they make no mention whatever of Severus. Par-
tiality for national traditions must give way in a point in
which Constantius could not easily have been mistaken ; be-
sides which, there is an incongruity in the Welsh accounts
themselves which ought to be rectified. The following is
extracted from Achau y Saint, as translated in the Horae
Britannicae. (Vol. II. page 161.)

''Garmon was a Saint and a bishop, the son of Ridigius
from the land of Gallia ; and it was in the time of Constantino
of Arraorica that he came there ; and continued here to the
time of Vortigern; and then he returned back to France
where he died. He formed two choirs of saints, and placed
bishops and divines in them, that they might teach the
Christian faith to the nation of the Cymry, where they were
become degenerate in the faith. One choir he formed in
Llan Carvan, where Dyfric (Dubricius) the Saint was the
principal, and he himself was bishop there. The other was
near Caer Worgorn,t where he appointed Iltutus to be princi-
pal; and Lupus (called Bleiddan) was the chief bishop there.
After which he placed bishops in LlandafF; he constituted
Dubricius archbishop there; and Cadoc, the Saint, the son of
Gwynlliw, took his place in the choir at Llancarvan, and the
archbishop of Llandaff was bishop there also."

Now it happens that another note in Achau y Saint says
that the College^ of Caerworgorn was founded by Cystennyn
Fendigaid, and soon afterwards destroyed by the Irish. At
that time its principal was Padrig. It might be said that
Gerraanus restored the foundation in A. D. 447, when he ap-

* " Garmon ap Redgitus o Ffrainc i'r henyw, ac yn amser Gwrtlieyrn
Gwrthenau i doeth i'r ynys hon." — Myv. Archaiology, Vol. II. p. 43.

f Llancarvan and Caerworgorn, the latter of which is now known by
the name of Llanilltyd or Lantwit, are both in Glamorganshire.

J " College"— 30 the word Bangor — the Welsh term for the monastic
institutions of the fifth and sixth centuries, is generally rendered.

FROM A. D. 400 TO A. D. 483. 123

pointed Iltutus to be its principal. But the genealogies show-
that Iltutus must have been at that time too young for the
office, since about eighty years afterwards he is known to
have flourished in the court of Arthur, and in his younger
days he was not an ecclesiastic but a soldier. The relationship
in which he stood to German us was that of sister's grandson,
as will appear from the following scale. —

[Table IX.]

CYNFOR RHEDYW

-I

Constamine Aldor married .... dr. Garmon

Uther Emyr Llydaw Rhiain m. to Bicanus

I , \ , , , 1

Arthur Tewdwr Hywel Gwyndaf llltyd

Canna Meugan Crallo

It does not follow that these generations should be ne-
cessarily parallel, but the Chronicles and Triads state that
Arthur, Hywel, and Iltutus or llltyd were contemporary; and
if it be said that Iltutus was appointed by St. Germanus in his
first visit, the inconsistency will appear more glaring.* But while
all other accounts agree that Iltutus was the first principal of the
College which afterwards bore his name, the Book of Llandaff
decides the question by saying that he received his appoint-
ment from St. Dubriciust who lived in an age succeeding
that of Germanus. If the foregoing extract be compared with
the narration of Constantius, its incongruities increase. Lupus
did not accompany Germanus the second time, and therefore
could not have been Bishop of Caerworgorn. The same note

* The anachronism did not escape the acuteness of Archbishop Usher —
"Iltutus S. German! fuisse discipulum, et in Vincentii Speculo Historiali,
et in Landavensium Regesto legimus ; licet id cegre temporum ratio
patiatur.^^ Cap. XIII.

t"A Dubricio Landavensi episcopo in loco, qui ab illo Lan-iltut, id
est EcclesisE Iltuti accepit nomen, est constitutus." Usher, from the Re-
gestum Landayense.

124 THE WELSH SAINTS

implies that Germanus lived to remove Dubricius to Llandaff,
and place Cadog or Cattwg in his room; but Archbishop
Usher puts an end to this idea, by showing that Germanus re-
turned to Gaul, and died in the second year of his last mission.
That Dubricius received any appointment from St. Germanus,
except perhaps the bishoprick of Llandaff, is questionable;
and, by the order of time, it would appear that the connexion
of Germanus and Lupus with the institutions of Caerworgorn
and Llancarvan was altogether apocryphal.

Authorities are not wanting to show that Germanus was the
founder of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, but
they are not worthy of a serious refutation, and even the cre-
dulous Constantius does not make mention of any schools
founded at this time in Britain. That Germanus made regu-
lations for the stability of the British Church is very probable;
and if credit be given to an anonymous treatise which Usher
says was written in the eighth century, he introduced the
Gallic liturgy into this country. It is certain, however, that
his visit was the commencement of a frequent intercourse
which subsisted for some time afterwards between the Cam-
brian and Armorican Churches ; and it was by no means
unlikely that the one Church should adopt some of the re-
gulations of the other.

In the Welsh accounts Garmon or St. Germanus is called
the son of Rhedyw, Rhedygus, Ridicus, or Redgitus; and
notwithstanding the variety of names in different MSS. there
can be little doubt that the same person is intended.* It is
further stated that he was a native of Armorica; and as proofs
remain that his countrymen spoke the same language as the
Britons, he may have derived from that circumstance one of
the qualifications which fitted him for his mission. His sister
is said to have been the mother of Emyr Llydaw, an Armori-
can prince; but as Usher does not quote this relationship

* From other authorities it appears that tho correct name was Rusticus.

FROM A. D. 400 TO A. D. 433. 125

from Constantius, it is probable the prince did not aspire to a
higher rank than that of an ordinary chieftain.

Several churches in Wales bear the name of Garmon ; but
as he visited this country twice, only one of them can be dis-
tinctly referred to his first mission, namely Llanarmon in lal,
Denbighshire. It is singular that the parish attached to it
adjoins that of Mold, in which the " Alleluiatic Victory" is
said to have been gained ; and if Archbishop Usher has cor-
rectly determined the locality of the engagement, the church
in question is possibly situated on the spot where Germanus is
described to have raised a sacred edifice,* formed of the
branches of trees interwoven together, in which he and his
followers celebrated the services of Easter, and baptized the

* From the manner in which tlie story is related it may be gathered
that the mode of consecration used upon the occasion was no other than
the performance of the religious exercises of Lentj and though it does
not appear that the consecration of ground for the erection of churches
was necessarily confined to that season, yet the time when a similar oc-
currence took place, as described by Bede, is a remarkable coincidence.
The following is a close version of the words of Constantius which relate
to this particular. — "The sacred days of Lent were at hand, which the
presence of the divines rendered more solemn, insomuch that those in-
structed by their daily preaching flocked eagerly to the grace of Baptism.
For the great multitude of the army was desirous of the water of the laver
of salvation. A church, formed of interwoven branches of trees (frondibus
contexta) is prepared against the day of the resurrection of our Lord, and
though the expedition was encamped in the field, is fitted up like that of a
city. The army, wet with baptism, advances, the people are fervent in
faith, and neglecting the protection of arms, they await the assistance of
the Deity. In the mean time this plan of proceeding, or state of the camp,
is reported to the enemy, who, anticipating a victory over an unarmed
multitude, hasten with alacrity. But their approach is discovered by the
scouts ; and when, after concluding the solemnities of Easter, the greater
part of the army, fresh from their baptism, were preparing to take up arms
and give battle, Germanus offers himself as the leader of the war." — An
exaggerated description follows of the rout of the enemy, who were
thrown into consternation upon hearing the word Alleluia shouted thrice
by the Britons.

126 THE WELSH SAINTS

greater part of the army of the Britons, before they proceeded
to meet their enemies.

Lupus, it would appear, was the younger and less obtrusive
of the two legates, as nothing is related of him in which the
other does not bear a part. His name is rendered in Welsh by
Bleiddian, a word of similar import. The churches ascribed
to him are, Llanfleiddian Fawr in Glamorganshire, which
bears the same relation to the town of Cowbridge as Llan-
beblig and Llannor do to Carnarvon and Pwllheli; — and Llan-
fleiddian Fach, or St. Lythian's, in the same county. The
latter is a small parish, but probably some parts have been
detached from it by the Normans; and the occurrence of these
names perhaps gave rise to the tradition, that Lupus was con-
nected with the College afterwards founded at Caerworgorn.
The chapels subject to Llanfleiddian Fawr are, Cowbridge
(St. Mary,) and Welsh St. Donat's (Dunwyd :) and, according
to the Martj^rology of Bede, the commemoration or festival of
St. Lupus was held on the twenty ninth of July.

The foregoing are all the churches whose foundations may
be attributed to this generation, ending with the accession of
Constantine the Blessed, A. D. 433; most of which are situate
in the territories of the sons of Cunedda, under whose pro-
tection it is obvious they were established. Nearly all the
parishes annexed to them are of considerable extent, and have
their subordinate chapelries, in which the Saints of the Catho-
jt lie, or more modern character, predominate. For the support
which they gave to the cause of Christianity, the children of
Cunedda are called, in the Triads, the second holy family of
Britain ; the first being that of Bran ab Llyr Llediaith.

SECTION VIII.
The Welsh Saints from A. D. 433 to A. D. 464.

It is proposed that the next generation shall commence
with the accession of Constantine A. D. 433, and terminate
with the deposition of Vortigern A. D. 464; not that any
reliance can be placed upon the history or chronology of the
" Kings of Britain," but, since it has been generally received,
it will give the reader a clearer idea of the succession of
events.

The chronicles of Walter and Geoffrey relate that about
this time, the Britons were so oppressed with the inroads of
barbarians, that they applied to Aldor, king of Armorica, for
assistance ; upon which he sent them his brother Constantine
with a large body of troops ; and it would appear that Con-
stantine performed such important services after his arrival
that he was elected to the headship of the confederated states
of the island. The Triads confirm this account so far as to
say that Cystennyn Fendigaid, or Constantine the Blessed,*
was one of the three foreign princes of Britain; and the
" Genealogy of the Saints" calls him Cystennyn Llydaw, or
Constantine of Armorica. In his person the office of Pen-
dragon of the Britons assumed, for the first time, the ap-
pearance of a monarchy, but it still continued to be elective.
Upon his death in 443, his son Constans was elected to suc-
ceed him. This person was in 448 murdered by Vortigern,
who usurped the kingdom until 464, when he was deposed
and his son Vortimer chosen in his room.

* He is distinguished from Constantine the Great, who is called Cys-
tennyn Amherawdwr and Cystennyn ab Elen.

128 THE WELSH SAINTS

Constantine has been surnamed *^the Blessed" in conse-
quence of being considered a Saint of the British Churchy and
Llangystennyn near Conway is perhaps dedicated to his me-
mory. In "Achau y Saint" the following curious notice
occurs respecting him : — " It was the glory of the emperor
Theodosius in conjunction with Cystennyn Llydaw, surnamed
the Blessed, to have first founded the College of lUtyd, which
was regulated by Balerus, a man from Rome; and Padrig,
the son of Mawon, was the first principal of it, before he was
carried away captive by the Irishmen."* — The College here
mentioned was that of Caerworgorn, which was also called
Cor Tewdws; but what authority Theodosius the Second,
who was at this time emperor of Rome, or rather of the East,
could have exercised in Britain is more than can be explained;
unless it be supposed that the name was given to the College
in compliment to him because Balerus was a Roman. The
account will not justify the supposition that it was founded by
Theodosius the Elder, or by Theodosius the Great, neither of
whom was a contemporary of Cystennyn Llydaw. But the
most remarkable part of the statement is a Welsh tradition
respecting the great Apostle of Ireland, who, according to the
Silurian catalogue of Saints, was the son of Mawon, and a
native of the country of Gwyr or Gower in Glamorganshire.
He was also called Padrig Maenwyn ; and as Caerworgorn
was situated near the sea coast, the story that he was carried
away from thence by the Irish in one of their expeditions
would be thought by no means improbable, if it were supported
by other testimonies. In a composition acknowledged to be a
genuine production of St. Patrick, and entitled his '' Con-
fession," he states that he was but sixteen years of age when
he was made captive ; his youth, therefore, precludes the idea
that he was at that time the principal of a College. He
further explains that his father was Calpurnius, a deacon, who

* Cambrian Biography, voce Padrig.

FROM A. D. 433 TO A. D. 464. 129

lived at "Bonavem Taberniae," near to which was the village
of '^ Enon," from which he was himself taken into captivity.
The situation of these last places is disputed ; and while they
are generally considered to have been in North Britain, others
contend that they should be looked for in Armorica. To
enter into the circumstances of his life would be needless
upon the present occasion, and, until the evidence of his
connexion with the Principality were better supported, all
further investigation would be deemed irrelevant. Ricemar-
chus, Giraldus Cambrensis, and John of Teignmouth relate that
he settled at one time in a small valley at Menevia, called
Vallis Rosina, where he built a monastery and intended to pass
his days in religious seclusion. But an angel, appearing, com-
manded him to preach the Gospel in Ireland ; and, in confirm-
ation of his mission, displayed to him the whole of that country
in a vision from the spot where he stood. The legend adds that
the same angel foretold that Menevia should be famed for
another Saint, who should be born there thirty years after that
day. The Saint predicted was St. David ; and absurd as the
whole fable may appear, the latter part of it was embodied in
one of the collects of the Breviary of Salisbury, and devoutly
repeated over a great part of England before the Reformation.
The only religious edifice in Wales, known to have been de-
dicated to St. Patrick, was a chapel, which once existed in the
parish of St. David's Pembrokeshire ; and, according to John
of Teignmouth, was situated close to the spot where the angel
showed him the vision of Ireland.*

The year 447 is the date of the second mission of St. Ger-
manus to Britain. His stay was short, as, according to the
computation of Usher, he died in Italy the following year.
His former colleague. Lupus, survived him thirty years, but
upon this occasion he was accompanied by Severus, Bishop of

* Llanbadrig in Anglesey is reported to have been named from another
Padrig, the son of Aelfryd ab Goronwy.

^ ^

13Q THE WELSH SAINTS

Triers. Several fables are related by Nennius and others as
to the acts of his second mission, the whole circumstances of
which are too absurd to repeat. One of them is in brief: —
Ketelus, or Cadellus, the swineherd of Benly, king of Powys,
offered the Saint that hospitality which had been refused by
his master ; in consequence of which Benly was deposed by
the Saint, and the swineherd was elected in his room, whose
descendants continued afterwards to possess the territory.*
It so happens that the Welsh accounts mention the name of
Benlli Gawr, who, according to Mr. Owen,t was a chieftain of
a district in the present county of Denbigh about the middle
of the fifth century ; but he was succeeded by his son Beli.
By Ketelus is meant Cadell Deyrnllug, J " a prince of the Vale
Royal and part of Powys," who rose into power about this
time. These facts show that there is some foundation for the
story, though they are no proof of its correctness. It is re-
markable that there is a church dedicated to St. Germanus,
called Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog, in the district which might
have been part of the possessions of either Cadell or Benlli ;
and a chapel, subject to the church of an adjoining parish, is
called Llanarmon Fach.

Another story relates that Vortigern endeavoured in a
council of the Britons, held in Gwrtheyrnion, to palm upon
the Saint the fruit of his own incest ; for which he was cursed
by the Saint and the whole body of the clergy assembled; and
that afterwards Vortimer, the son of Vortigern, to appease the
Saint, gave him the lands upon which he suffered the insult to
be his for ever. Gwrtheyrnion is a district of Radnorshire,

* See Usher, De Primordiis, Cap. XI, who attributes this tale to the
first mission; but the arrangement here attempted is more consistent with
chronology. The names are given according to Gildas, as of better
authority than Ranulphus Cestrensis.

f Cambrian Biography.

% Nennius, as quoted in Jones's Brecknockshire, Vol. I. page 52, says
that Cadell Deyrnllug was conveited and baptized by St, Germanus.

FROM A. D. 433 TO A. D. 464. 131

forming the present hundred of Rhayader ; and there is in it
at this day a church, which under the name of St. Harmon's
is ascribed to St. Germanus. Whether these stories were in-
vented to account for the origin of the churches, or whether
the churches owe their dedications to the previous existence of
the stories, is more than can be determined ; but the coinci-
dence is singular.

The festival of St. Germanus was observed July 31, or,
according to other authorities, August 1. The churches, the
foundations of which may be ascribed to him, are — Llanarmon
in lal, Denbighshire, Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog, ditto, St.
Harmon's, Radnorshire, and Llanfechain, Montgomeryshire ;
and the chapels dedicated to him are — Llanarmon under Llan-
gybi, Carnarvonshire, Bettws Garmon under Llanfair Isgaer,
ditto, Capel Garmon under Llanrwst, Denbighshire, and
Llanarmon Fach under Llandegfan, ditto.

That Germanus effected a great change in the religious
condition of the Britons is not unlikely from the respect so
generally paid to his name; and it may be observed that
there are no parish churches in Wales which can be traced to
a higher date than his first visit, and even those that may be
so ancient are few. Parochial churches did not belong to the
yearly ages of Christianity, According to the concurring testi-
mony of ecclesiastical writers, the clergy lived for some time
in towns in communities under their Bishop, from whence
they itinerated about the country, and on their return brought
with them the offerings which they had collected for the com-
mon support of the society. But about the beginning of this
century the ecclesiastical system was undergoing a change,
and Germanus would regulate the British Church after the
model of the Gallican. Accordingly, in the Council of Vaison
in Gaul A. D. 442, a decree was made " that country parishes
should have presbyters to preach in them as well as the
city-churches;* — and to the influence of this circumstance,

* Bingham's Ecclesiastical Antiquities, Book IX. Chap. 8. Section 1.

132 THE WELSH SAINTS

the origin of country churches in Wales may perhaps be
traced.

About the commencement of this generation, Gwrtheyrn, or
Vortigern, first appears among the chiefs of the Britons.
According to Nennius his territories included the northern
part of the present counties of Radnor and Brecon, and some
of the Welsh genealogists state also that he was the regulus of
Erging or Erchenfield in Herefordshire. From these two
points being considered together it would appear that his do-
minions, as the leader of a clan, extended along the vale of the
river Wye. But in 448, or about the time of the second
visit of Germanus, he became by treachery or otherwise the
Pendragon or chief ruler of Britain. To trace the various cir-
cumstances of his history would require a separate treatise; for
they have been obscured with the extravagancies of romance,
and a careful investigation would be necessary to distinguish
the truth from fable.* Suffice it for the present purpose to
say that his ancestors, as given in the mutilated orthography
of Nennius, were " Guortheneu,t M' Guitaul, M' Guitolin,
M*^ ap Glou j" and the following is the pedigree of his des-
cendants according to Achau y Saint ; —

[Table X.]

GWllTHEYRN GWRTHENEU

, I

Gwrthefyr Fendigaid, Cyndeyrn Fasgeii A daughter, and other

or Vortimer sons as below,

1 ' 1

Anna dr. married to Cynyr of Caergawch Madrun dr. m. to Ynyr Gwent

I 1 1 ' 1 1

Ceidio Tegiwg dr. Iddon Caradog Cynheiddion

GWRTHEYRN GWRTHENEU

n I ' — I 1

Edeyrn Aerdeyrn EUdeyrn Gotta, son of Rhonwen

or Kowena

* Instances of the confusion, with which Geoffrey of Monmouth has
clouded the life of Vortigern, have been shown by Mr. S. Turner in his
« History of the Anglo Saxons," Vol. T. Book II. Chap. VII.

t While nearly all accounts agree that the father of Gwrtheyrn was
Gwrthenau, some modern pedigrees state that his grandfather was Rhy-

FROM A. D. 433 TO A. D. 464. 133

In passing through the different families seriatim, and ob-
serving the Saints whose names fall in with this generation,
the only one that occurs in the line of Macsen Wledig is
Madog, the son of Owain ; but as other persons of the name
of Madog have received the honours of sanctity, the churches
to be assigned to each of them separately are uncertain.

In the line of Coel Godebog, Cynllo, the son of Mor, pre-
sents himself to notice. He was the tutelar Saint or founder
of the three churches in Radnorshire, whose extensive endow-
ments have been already described. He was also the founder
of Llangynllo, and Llangoedmor, in Cardiganshire; to the
latter of which, the neighbouring churches of Mount and
Llechryd, both dedicated to the Holy Cross, were formerly
subject. Cynllo is commemorated in the Calendar, July 17,
under the name of Cynllo Frenhin,* or the King ; and as he
belonged to a powerful family it is probable that he was ori-
ginally a chieftain, and might afterwards, according to the
practice of the age, have embraced a life of religion. The
Pseudo-Taliesin says of him —

" The prayer of Cynllo shall not be in vain."t
—a proof that in after times his intercession was considered
efficacious.

In the line of Cynan Meiriadog occurs the name of Tudwal
Befr, J who is described as a Saint and Bishop ; and as his
diocese is not mentioned, it is possible that he was a Chorepis-

deyrn, whose descent is traced in the ninth, or according to others in the
fifteenth degree from Beli Mawrj but the older and better supported au-
thority of Nennius must be preferred. The discrepancy coincides with the
time of the retirement of the Romans, and the names given by Nennius
are no more than might easily have been retained from the period before
that crisis.

* See the old Editions of the Welsh Common Prayer.

t"Ni bydd coeg gweddi Cynllo." Dyhuddiant Elphin. Myvyrian
Archaiology, Vol. II. p. 83.

X Son of Morfawr ab Cadfan ab Cynan, in Table I.

134 THE WELSH SAINTS

copus or local Bishop, an office which -was at this time not
uncommon. An island off the coast of Carnarvonshire is
called after him, in which are the ruins of a small chapel,
dedicated to the same person,* and subject, as it would seem,
to the church of Llaneingion Frenhin on the main land.
Another church in the neighbourhood is named Tudweiliog,
but the word is more descriptive of a district or clan of follow-
ers than of a religious edifice ; and Carlislet says that the
parish festival is that of St. Cwyfen, which is holden on the
third of June. Tudwal Befr was married to Nefydd, daugh-
ter of Brychan, and is reported to have had a son, Ifor ab
Tudwal, who is said to have been a Saint, but no churches
are ascribed to him.|

The Saints of the family of Cystennyn Gorneu are, Erbin
ab Cystennyn Gorneu, and Digain his brother ;§ to the latter
of whom the foundation of Llangerniw, or the " church of the
Cornishman," in Denbighshire, is attributed. His festival is
held Nov. 21.

The date of some of the descendants of Vortigern renders it
necessary to place the age of his son, Gwrthefyr or Vortimer,
in this generation ; and though this arrangement differs from
the chronology which has been generally followed, it is agreed
on all hands that both these persons were engaged in active
life together, and the inference to be drawn is that Vortimer
was born when his father had scarcely passed the time of
youth. It would appear, however, that the monkish chrono-
logists have placed the era of Vortigern several years too late ;

* Is there any tradition that this chapel was actually founded by St.
Tudwal J its peculiar situation would prevent it from becoming after-
"wards a parish church?

t Topographical Dictionary. — ^Browne Willis states that Tudweiliog is
a chapel, subordinate to Llangwynodl, and dedicated to St. Cwyfen.

% Qu. Is not Llanstadwel, Pembrokeshire, an abbreviation of Llansant-
tudwal ?

§ In Table VII. Digain was erroneously shown to be a son of Erbin.

FROM A. D. 433 TO A. D. 464. 135

for they extend his reign from A. D. 448 to 464, when he is
superseded by his son for four years, after which he unac-
countably reigns again until A. D. 481. All this is inconsis-
tent with their statement that Vortimer, who is known from a
respectable authority* to have died before the battle of Cray-
ford in 457, was of age to take the chief command of the
Britons in the field so early as 455 ; and though it is uncertain
how long Vortigern may have survived his son, it is probable
that the date usually assigned to his deposition is in truth the
date of his decease. Vortimer, who has been surnaraed
"Bendigaid, or the Blessed," has been accounted a Saint; and
as he was not an ecclesiastic, the honour is perhaps due to his
care in restoring those churches which had been destroyed by
the Saxons, and the respect which he paid to men of religion. t
In the Triads he is styled one of the three canonized kings of
Britain.

The sons of Cunedda were all of them warriors, and though
several of his grandchildren might have flourished in this
generation, the order of succession would be better preserved
by referring them to the next. Tlie name of Ceredig ab
Cunedda, the time in which he lived, and the situation of his
territories, determine him to be the hero of the following
rencounter with St. Patrick; and the circumstances of the
incident, which exhibit a curious picture of the manners of
the age, are thus related by Mr. Moore in his " History of

* Henry of Huntingdon.

t Matthseus Florilegus says — "Vortimerus, victoriara adeptus, coepit
possessiones amissas civibus indigenis restituere, ipsosque diligere, Ec-
clesias destructas restaurare, atque viros Ecclesiasticos, praecipue reli-
giosos, honorare." — (Usher De Primordiis, Cap. XII.) "Gwedy kafFael
o Werthyfyr e wudugolyaeth dechreu a oruc talw y pawb tref y dat ac eu
kyvoeth or ar rydugassey e sayson y arnadunt. ac y gyt a henny hevyt
karu y wyrda ac eu hanrydedu ac o arch Garmawn ae kynghor adnewyd-
hau er eglwyseu."— Brut G. ab Arthur. Myv. Archaiology, Vol. II.
p. 252.

136 THE WELSH SAINTS

Ireland." — "The event, in consequence of -which the Saint
addressed his indignant letter to Coroticus,* the only authentic
writing, besides the Confession, we have from his hand, is
supposed to have taken place during his stay on the Munster
coast, about the year 450. A British prince, named Coroticus,
who, though professing to be a Christian, was not the less, as
appears froni his conduct, a pirate and persecutor, had landed
with a party of armed followers, while St. Patrick was on the
coast, and set about plundering a large district in which, on
the very day before, the Saint had baptized and confirmed a
vast number of converts. Having murdered several of these
persons, the pirates carried off a considerable number of
captives, and then sold them as slaves to the Picts and Scots,
who were at that time engaged in their last joint excursion
into Britain. A letter despatched by the Saint to the ma-
rauders, requesting them to restore the baptized captives, and
part of the booty, having been treated with contumely, he
found himself under the necessity of forthwith issuing the
solemn epistle which has come down to us, in which, de-
nouncing Coroticus and his followers as robbers and ma-
rauders, he in his capacity of ' Bishop established in Ireland'
declares them to be excommunicated."

/The family most distinguished in the Church during the
present interval was that of Brychan, who is said, in Bonedd
y Saint, to have been the father of twenty four sons and
twenty five daughters, in all forty nine children ! ! Statements,
however, vary, of which this is the largest. The smallest
statement is twenty four for the whole number. In explana-
tion it is said that he had three wives,t though it is not men-
tioned that they were living at the same time ; and it appears

* In some printed accounts of St. Patrick, this name is spelled — Coreti-
cus, and Cereticus,— the latter of which is but a slight deviation from the
Welsh orthography.

t Eurbrawst, Rhybrawst, and Peresgri.

FROM A. D. 433 TO A. D. 464. 137

that four, at least, of his sons were illegitimate. It is, how-V
ever, supposed by the Historian of Brecknockshire and the
Author of the Horae Britannicae that the names of the grand-
children of Brychan have crept into the list of his children ;
and, in confirmation of this opinion, it may be stated that the
Triads record that Brychan "brought up his children and
grandchildren in learning and the liberal arts, that they might
be able to show the faith in Christ to the nation of the Cymry,
wherever they were without the faith :" from which it would
be inferred that the grandchildren of Brychan were Saints,
and it might be expected that their names were inserted in
the existing catalogues. But as few such names appear,*
when the grandchildren would naturally be the most numer-
ous, the supposition, that they have been included in the list
of children, is the most rational way of accounting for the
deficiency. Their intermarriages also show that they belong
to times a considerable distance asunder ; and though genera-
tions are never strictly concurrent, it is too much to suppose
that two daughters of the same man should be married to
persons who flourished two thirds of a century apart from
each other. Those alluded to are, Gwrgon, wife of Cadrod
Calchfynydd who flourished about A. D. 410, and Gwladus,
wife of Gwynllyw Filwr who flourished about A. D. 480;
but if the latter be considered a grand-daughter of Brychan,
no difficulty will appear in the case. Between the wife of
Ceredig who flourished about 430, and the wife of Cyngen
ab Cadell who flourished about 500, the discrepancy is equally
as great.

This being the case, Bonedd y Saint leaves the antiquarian
at liberty to acquiesce in the authority of the legend, en-
titled "Cognacio Brychan," in which several of the child-
ren and grandchildren are actually distinguished. But in
treating of the family seriatim, it is proposed to follow the

* Only five or six, and those mentioned incidentally.

138 THE WELSH SAINTS

list in the My vyrian Archaiology of Wales, which, allowance
being made for the intermixture of two generations, appears
to give the names most correctly. It is supported by a
greater number of authorities than the list to which the His-
torian of Brecknockshire has given a preference, and the
names included are more consonant with the names of
churches now existing. But in this part of the subject it is
impossible to proceed with the satisfaction that can be wished ;
all the lists of this family are evidently so corrupt that the
result of a comparison of them can be only a distant approach
to the truth, and a great number of cases must be left un-
decided.

/ 1. Cynawg or Cynog, according to all the lists, the eldest
son of Brychan, by Banhadlwedd the daughter of Banhadle
of Banhadla in Powys. " Soon after his birth he was put
under the care of a holy man named Gastayn, by whom he
was baptized."* Cressy says — ''the fame of his sanctity was
most eminent among the Silures ; his name is consigned
among our English Martyrology on the eleventh of Febru-
ary,t where he flourished in all virtues about the year of
Christ 492."— The latter part of the sentence is ambiguously
expressed, but the year mentioned may be taken for the date
of his death, which is more agreeable to the chronology of the
family than that he should have flourished in the prime of life
at that time. The Truman MS. J states that he was murdered

* Jones's Brecknockshire, Vol. I. Chap. III. and Cognacio Brychan.

f Sir Harris Nicolas, in his Chronology of History, gives Oct. 7 as the
festival of St. Cynog ; which would seem to be correct, as the wake of
that Saint was formerly held in the month of October in the parish of
Defynog, Brecknockshire. According to Edwards's Cathedral of St. Asaph,
the wake of Llangynog, Montgomeryshire, should be held Oct. 8, the
difference between which and the authority of Sir H. Nicolas arises only
from an error of computation, where Edwards should have deducted a
day from the reckoning at the commencement of the present century.

X Cited in Jones's Brecknockshire, Vol. I. Chap. III.

FROM A. D. 438 TO A. D. 464. 139

by the Pagan Saxons, upon a mountain called the Van, in the
parish of Merthyr Cynog in Brecknockshire; and if so, it
may be concluded that the church of Merthyr was erected as
a martyrium to his memory, and built over his grave.* But it
does not appear how the Saxons could have penetrated so far
westward at so early a date,t unless it be supposed that in
their piratical excursions they occasionally landed upon the
coast of Wales, and the MS. just quoted mentions an instance
in which they joined arms with the Gwyddyl Ffichti.

To Cynog are to be attributed the churches of Defy nog,
Ystrad Gynlais, and Penderin, in Brecknockshire, forming
v/ith their parishes and chapelries three extensive and con-
tinuous endowments of the first class. To Defynog the fol-
lowing chapels are subject — Capel lUtyd, (St. Iltutus;) Llan-
ulid, (St. Julitta;) Capel Callwen, (St. Callwen;f) and
Ystrad Fellte, (St. Mary.) Ystrad Gynlais has but one
chapel, Capel Coelbren. Penderin stands alone. The parish
of Merthyr Cynog, which, like that of Defynog, is of sufficient
importance to give name to the Hundred in which it lies,
formerly included the church of Llanfihangel Nant Bran, (St.
Michael, II) as well as the chapelry of DyfFryn Honddu. Battel
chapel, now independent, and Llangynog subject to Llan-
ganten, (St. Cannen,) are also dedicated to Cynog ;§ and it

* This inference from a general custom, explained in page 62 of this
Essay, is confirmed by Cognacio Brychan, which says — '*Sepulchrura
Cynawc in Merthyr Cynawc in Brechenawc." — The words of Bonedd y
Saint are to the same purpose — " Kynawc ap Brychan, Merthyr, ac ym
Merthyr Cynawc ym Mrecheiniog y mae'n Gorwedd."

+ Hengist is usually believed to have carried devastation into the re-
motest corners of the island, but Mr. Sharon Turner has well observed
that all his battles, particularized by the Saxon authorities, were fought
in Kent.

X In one list of Saints, Callwen is saic to have been a daughter of
Brychan, and was therefore a sister of Cynog.

11 Jones's Brecknockshire, Vol. II. page 193.

§ There are reason for supposing that LI an gun og, a chapel in Carraar-

140 THE WELSH SAINTS

may be observed that all these religious edifices are situated in
the territory of his father Brychan, a circumstance sufficient to
account for his influence as a founder. Llangynog in the
county of Montgomery is also attributed to him.

2. Clydwyn^ the second^ or as others will have it^ the third
son of Brychan, embraced a military life, and it is said that he
conquered South Wales ;* but this assertion must be taken
with great limitation, as it would seem to contradict the tra-
ditional accounts of Glamorganshire, Cardiganshire, and Rad-
norshire, where the native princes of this generation are
known to have maintained possession. It may, therefore, be
understood to mean that he established his dominion over the
Gwyddyl Ffichti, who still remained in Carmarthenshire and
Pembrokeshire ; and, to confirm the explanation, it may be
shown that the churches dedicated to his family are more
numerous in that district than in any other, and one church,
Llanglydwyn, upon the confines of the two counties included,
bears the name of the warrior himself. According to Mr.
Theophilus Jones, he succeeded his father in the government
of the western and more mountainous parts of Brecknock-
shire. His commemoration or festival is Nov. 1.

3. Dingad, son of Brychan, the founder of a church in
Carmarthenshire called Llandingad, and of another called
Llaningad or Dingatstowet in Monmouthshire, where it is
said he was buried. " He was of the congregation of Cattwg, J
but like many others he must have entered that society in his
old age. He is not to be confounded with another Saint,
called Dingad ab Nudd Hael. The commemoration of Din-
gad ab Brychan is Nov. 1 ; and the chapels subject to Llan-

thenshire, is dedicated to another Cynog, who succeeded St. David as
Archbishop of Menevia.

* Cognacio, and Bonedd y Saint.

t Generally written Dingestow or Dynstow.

X Cambrian Biography.

FROM A. D. 433 TO A. D. 464. 141

dingad are Llanfair ar y Bryn (St. Mary,) Capel Peulin (St.
Paulinus,) Capel Cynfab (St. Cynfab,) and Eglwys Newydd,
the last two of which have been some time in ruins. Dingat-
stowe has one chapel^ Tregaer (St. Mary.)

4. Arthen, the fourth son, is stated in Bonedd y Saint to
have been buried in the Isle of Man ;* and according to the
Truman MS. there was a church dedicated to him in Gwyn-
llwg, Monmouthshire, which was demolished by the Saxons.
The Cognacio says he was the father of Cynon who lived near
Llynsafaddan, or Llangorse Pool, Brecknockshire.

5. Cyflefyr; — as the Cognacio and the MS. of Llewelyn
OfFeiriadt state that he was the son of-4)ingad and grandson of
Brychan, he may, upon their authority, be considered as such,
and restored to his proper generation. The Cognacio inti-
mates that he suffered martyrdom at a place since called
Merthyr Cyflefyr, and the Truman MS. says that he was
murdered by the Saxons in Cardiganshire ;J but it does not
appear where Merthyr Cyflefyr is situated, as no place is
known by that name in the county which the two authorities
taken together would indicate. ||

6. Rhain, surnaraed Dremrudd, was the only son of Brych-
ad, who, besides Clydwyn, embraced a military life. He
succeeded to the eastern part of his father's possessions, which
he transmitted to his descendants ; and according to the Cog-

* Qu. Mona, Anglesey ?

t In the archives of Jesus College, Oxford.

J Jones's Brecknockshire, Vol. I. p. 59.

H There is, or was lately, a stone in the parish of Crickhowel, Breck-
nockshire, with an inscription, part of which a writer in the Gentleman's
Magazine for 1768 conjectured to be— VERI TR FILIUS DUNOCATI,
and if this reading were correct, it might point out the burying-place of
Cyflefyr the son of Dingad ; but the Historian of Brecknockshire says
those letters may be "any thing the antiquary supposes or wishes them to
be," and another part of the inscription, more legible, shows that the
stone was erected over the grave of Turpilius. — Jones's Brecknockshire,
Vol. II. p. 433, and Plate VI. Fig. 4.

142 THE WELSH SAINTS

nacio, as explained by Mr. Theophilus Jones^* he was buried
at Llandefaelog Fach near Brecon. The catalogue in the
Archaiology of Wales, which says he was a saint in Lincoln-
shire, is therefore mistaken, the solitary instance of connexion
with so distant a county being of itself improbable ; and when
it is stated by the same authority that he had a church in the
Isle of Man, he appears to be confounded with one of his
brothers, named Rhwfan or Rhawin.

7. Dyfnan son of Brychan, was the founder of Llanddyfnan
in Anglesey, where he was buried, t Its chapels are Llanbedr
Goch (St. Peter,) Pentraeth (St. Mary,) and Llanfair ym
Mathafarn Eithaf (St. Mary.) The festival of St. Dyfnan is
April 23.

8. Gerwyn, or as others Berwyn, son of Brychan, a saint
who settled in Cornwall. Mr. Owen, from Achau y Saint,
says he was slain in the isle of Gerwyn ; but as it is also
recorded that there was another Gerwyn, the son of Brynach
Wyddel, by Corth one of the daughters of Brychan, it may
be concluded that they were the same person, and that the
latter account is the true one, thus adding one more to the list
of grandchildren. Gerwyn, the son of Brynach Wyddel, is
said to have had three sisters — Mwynen, Gwennan, and
Gwenlliw, who in one MS. are all called daughters of Bry^
chan,i affording another instance of the confusion of two gene-
rations, though their names do not appear in the list of
children in the Myvyrian Archaiology.

^ 9. Cadog, the son of Brychan, is said to have been buried
in France, which identifies him with Rheidiog in the Cognacio
and Llewelyn OfFeiriad. He is not to be confounded with
Cattwg the abbot of Llancarfan, who was a descendant of

* History of Brecknockshire, Vol. I. p. 61, and Vol. H. p. 174.
t Myv. Archaiology, Vol. H. p. 39.

X Compare "Mwynen" in the Myv. Archaiology, Vol. H. p. 40. with the
two names '* Gerwyn" in the Cambrian Biography,

FROM A. D. 433 TO A. D. 464. 143

Brychan in the second, if not in the third, degree. The dis-
tinction did not escape Cressy, who falls into a great part of
the confusion, though he warns his reader against it. Ac-
cording to this author, he died A. D. 490, and is commemor-
ated in the Calendar Jan. 24. The churches founded by him
are — Llanspyddyd, Brecknockshire, subject to which is the
chapel of Bettws or Penpont ; and Llangadog Fawr, Carmar-
thenshire, under which are Llanddeusant (St. Simon and St.
Jude,) Capel Gwynfai, and Capel Tydyst now in ruins.
There was formerly a chapel in the parish of Kidwelly dedi-
cated to Cadog, and perhaps one or two churches, which have
been confounded with those attributed to Cattwg, ought to be
added to the number.

10. Mathaiarn was a saint in Cardiganshire, or, according
to the Cognacio and Llewelyn OfFeiriad, in Cyfeiliog, Mont-
gomeryshire, where there is a place still called Mathafarn.
In the list of Llewelyn this saint is called Marchai.

11. Pasgen, NefFai, and Pabiali, according to Bonedd y
Saint, were all of them sons of Brychan by a Spanish woman,
and they went to Spain, where they became saints and legis-
lators ; but as the distance of Spain renders this story un-
likely, those authorities are more probable which say that
Pasgen was the son of Dingad, and therefore a grandson
of Brychan.*

12. NefFai is not mentioned in the Cognacio and Llewelyn's
MS. unless he be the same as Dedyn or Neubedd, the son
of Clydwyn.

* It has been suggested that a stone, which formerly existed in the
church-yard of Tywyn, Merionethshire, having on it the letters PAS-
C3NT without any further explanation, was a monument to the memory
of the son of Dingad j and though the circumstance of other persons,
named Pasgen, occurring in Welsh history, may so far render the fact
uncertain, the coincidence that Gwenddydd, a daughter of Brychan, is re-
corded as one of the Saints of the place, seems to offer a strong con-
firmation of the supposition.

144 THE WELSH SAINTS

13. Pabiali is called Papai by the Cognacio and Llewelyn.
He is described as the son of Brychan, and it is added that
the Irish call him Pianno^, Pivannus, and Piapponus.

14. Llecheu lived at Tregaian in Anglesey, or, as others, at
Llanllecheu, in Ewyas, Herefordshire.*

15. Cynbryd was the founder of Llanddulas, Denbighshire,
and Vas slain by the Saxons at a place called Bwlch Cynbryd.
His commemoration is March 19.

16. Cynfran, the founder of Llysfaen in Rhos, Denbigh-
shire, where, according to Edward Llwyd, there is a well
called Ffynnon Gynfran, at which offerings used to be made
to the saint to procure his blessing upon cattle.

17. Hychan, the saint of Llanhychan in the vale of Clwyd.
No further particulars are known of him ; but as neither this,
nor the three saints preceding, are to be found in the lists of
the Cognacio and Llewelyn Offeiriad, it may be suspected
they were grandsons of the Brecknockshire chieftain. The
festival of Hychan is Aug. 8.

18. Dyfrig ; the Truman MS. says, with the appearance of
correctness, that he was Dubricius, the Archbishop of LlandafF,
and the time, in which the latter flourished, agrees with the
probable date of the grandchildren of Brychan; but the parti-
culars of his life must be reserved for the next generation.
Another authority,t which says he was a saint in Cardigan-
shire, appears to have mistaken him for the saint of Llan-
dyfriog in that county, who was the son of Dingad ab
Nudd Hael.

19. Cynin, according to the Cognacio, was the son of Tudwal
Befr by a daughter of Brychan. He was the founder of
Llangynin near St. Clears, Carmarthenshire.^ Achau y Saint

* Jones's Brecknockshire, Vol. I. p. 59.

fMyvyrian Archaiology, "Vol. II. p. 39.

X Llangynin is now a chapel subject to St. Clears, but as the latter is
of Norman dedication, tlie chapel and church have probably changed
their>elationship.

FROM A. D. 433 TO A. D. 464. 145

says moreover that he was a bishop ; and as the church, which
he founded, has been called Llangynin a'i Weision neu a'i
Feibion,* the additional designation of "his servants or his
sons" may mean the clergy in attendance upon him.

20. Dogfan, according to the Silurian MSS. was slain by
the pagan Saxons at Merthyr Dogfan in Dyfed, or Pembroke-
shire, where a church was consecrated to his memory, the
particular situation of which is at present unknown. He is
also the patron saint or founder of Llanrhaiadr ym Mochnant,
Denbighshire, to which are subject — Llanarmon Mynydd
Mawr (St. Germanus,) Llangedwyn (St. Cedwyn,) Llanwddin
(St. Gwddin,) and Llangadwaladr (St. Cadwaladr.) His
commemoration is July 13.

21. Rhawin, a son of Brychan, whom Llewelyn OfFeiriad
calls Rhwfan, and states that he settled in the Isle of Man,
where there was a church dedicated to him; but the Silurian
MSS. record that he, and one of his brothers named Khun,
were slain on a bridge called Penrhun at Merthyr Tydfyl,
while defending it against the Saxons; which, if both ac-
counts were true, would imply that he had returned from the
Isle of Man, and that persons, who have obtained the honours
of sanctity in Wales, occasionally took up arms in defence of
their country.

22. Rhun, a son of Brychan, of whom the Cognacio records
that he was a saint near Mara, or Llangorse Pool, Brecknock-
shire, and the Silurian MSS. state that he was slain together
with Rhawin by the Saxons at Merthyr Tydfyl. He appears
to have had two sons, Nefydd and Andras, both of whom
were saints ; and the surname of Drerarudd has been occa-
sionally given him, apparently by confounding him with
Rhain already mentioned.

. 23. Cledog or Clydog, " it is agreed by all the MSS. was
buried at Clodock in Herefordshire,"t of which church he is

* See Cynin in the Myvyrian Aichaiology, Vol. II. p. 35.

f Jones's Brecknockshire, Vol. II. p. 59.

146 THE WELSH SAINTS

supposed to be the founder. The Cognacio and Llewelyn
mention that he was the son of Clydwyn and grandson of
Brychan ; he appears to have had a brother, whom different
MSS. call Dedyn or Neubedd, and a sister, St. Pedita. Cressy
states that he suffered martyrdom A. D. 492, and is comme-
morated in the martyrology on the nineteenth of August. The
chapels to Clodock are — ^Llanfeuno (St. Beuno,) Longtown
(St. Peter,) and Cresswell (St. Mary.)

24. Caian, perhaps a grandson of Brychan, as his name is
omitted in the Cognacio and Llewelyn's MS. Tregaian, a
chapel under Llangefni in Anglesey is dedicated to him, and
his festival occurs in the Calendar on the twenty fifth of Sep-
tember.* The Silurian catalogue of Saints omits this name,
and inserts in its stead, Nefydd, who was the son of Rhun
ab Brychan.

It is recordedt that Nefydd, in his younger days, collected a
party of followers, and put to flight the Saxons who had killed
his father at Merthyr Tydfyl. He was afterwards a bishop in
North Britain, where he was slain by the Picts and Saxons.
Andras, a son of Rhun and brother of Nefydd, is also des-
cribed as the founder of St. Andrew's or Dinas Powys near
Cardiff, and should therefore be considered as its patron saint
instead of St. Andrew the Apostle.

The alleged daughters of Brychan are the following :

1. Gwladus, the wife of Gwynllyw Filwr ab Glywys of
Glywyseg or Gwynllwg in Monmouthshire. From the dates
of her husband and children, which are easily computed, it
would appear that she was a grand-daughter, rather than a
daughter, of Brychan.

2. Arianwen, called by Llewelyn Offeiriad, Wrgren, pro-
bably another grand-daughter, married lorwerth Hirflawdd of
Powys, son of Tegonwy ab Teon. She was the mother of

* Sir Harris Nicolas's Chronology of History,
t Achau y Saint.

FROM A. D. 433 TO A. D. 464. 147

Caeiiog Mawr, to whom Clog-caenog in Denbighshire is
ascribed.*

3. Tanglwst, Tudglyd, or Gwtfil, married to Cyngen, the son
of Cadell Deyrnllug. She was mother to Brochwel Ysgythrog;
and without bringing the life of her son down to A. D. 600,
about which time he is alleged to have commanded the Britons
in the battle of Bangor Iscoed, the era of her husband would
render it necessary to consider her a grand-daughter of
Brychan. She had two other sons, Maig and leuaf.

4. Mechell, according to some MSS. the eldest daughter
of Brychan, was married to Gynyr of Caergawch near Me-
nevia.t

5. Nefyn, probably a grand-daughter, was married to Cynfarch
Oer, the father of Urien Rheged; and may perhaps be ac-
counted the founder or patron saint of Nefyn,J Carnarvon-
shire.

6. Gwawr, seemingly a grand-daughter, was the wife of
Elidyr Lydanwyn, by whom she was the mother of the bard
Llywarch Hen.

7. Gwrgon, daughter of Brychan, was married to Cadrod
Calchfynydd, who flourished about A. D. 430.

8. Eleri, daughter of Brychan, married to Ceredig ab Cun-
edda, of the same generation as the preceding. She was the
paternal grandmother of St. David.

9. Lleian, the wife of Gafran ab Dyfnwal Hen, by whom
she was the mother of Aeddan Fradog, who after his defeat in
the battle of Arderydd, in North Britain, was compelled to
fly for safety to the Isle of Man. The Cognacio says that
Lleian herself settled in that island, and the era of her son§

* My V. Archaiology *m6 voce Arianwen.
t Cambrian Biography.

:{: The modern saint of this church is St. Mary the Virgin.
§ *' On the death of Conal, king of the British Scots, in the year 372-3,
Aldan, the son of Gauran, succeeded to the throne ; and it is mentioned as

148 THE WELSH SAINTS

which is determined by the concurrent testimony of the Irish
and Welsh authorities, would indicate that she was one of the
youngest of the grand-daughters of Brychan. There is a
chapel subject to Llanarthne in Carmarthenshire, called Capel
Llanlleian, and probably named in honour of this person, unless
the words be taken to mean simply " the chapel of the nun."

10. Nefydd, daughter of Brychan, and wife of Tudwal Befr.
One of the authorities in the Myvyrian Archaiology says she
was a saint at Llechgelyddon in North Britain ; but this state-
ment arose probably from confounding her with Nefydd, the
grandson of Brychan, already mentioned, and it is, perhaps,
the same mistake which led Llwyd to say that Tudwal was " a
prince of some territory in Scotland."* The connexions of
Nefydd and her husband appear to have been confined to
Wales. The churches ascribed to Tudwal have been enumer-
ated already, and to Nefydd may be attributed the foundation
of Llannefydd in Denbighshire. Besides her son, Cynin, who
was the founder of Llangynin in Carmarthenshire, she appears
to have had another, called Ifor ab Tudwal, of whom nothing
more is recorded than that he was a saint. The Cognacio
confounds Nefydd with Goleu or Goleuddydd.

11. Rhiengar, or according to others, Cyngar, is said to
have been a saint at Llech in Maelienydd, and to have been
the mother of Cynidr, a saint of Maelienydd ;t but there
are no means of deciding whether she ought to be placed
in the list of the daughters, or the grand-daughters.
Maelienydd is the ancient name of a district in Radnorshire, a
subdivision of which, or of the adjoining district of Elfael, was

a proof of the general veneration, in which Columba was then held, as
well by sovereigns as by the clergy and the people, that he was the per-
son selected to perform the ceremony of inauguration on the accession of
the new king.*' — Moore's History of Ireland, Chap. XII. The defeat of
Aeddan at Arderydd probably took place some years before his elevation
to the kingdom of the Scots.

t Jones's Brecknockshire, Vol. 1. p. 53.

FROM A. D 433 TO A. D. 464. 149

once called Llech Ddyfnog ;* and though the situation of the
.' latter is uncertain,, the statement on recordt that Cynidr was
buried at Glasebury, may assist in determining it. Llan-
gynidr^J and Aberyscir, two churches in Brecknockshire, of
which Cynidr may have been the founder, are dedicated to
him jointly with the Virgin Mary ; and under the former of
them there was once a chapel called Eglwys Vesei.

12. Goleuddydd, a saint at Llanhesgin in Gwent, the mo-
dern designation of which place is unknown ; and it would
appear from the Cognacio and Llewelyn Offeiriad, that Goleu-
ddydd was only another name for Nefydd, the wife of Tud-
wal Befr.

13. Gwenddydd, a saint at Tywyn in Merionethshire ;§ but
other authorities, who give her the name of Gwawrddydd,
state that she was the wife of Cadell Deyrnllug,|| and conse-
quently the mother of Cyngen, who is already described as
having married one of the grand-daughters of Brychan.

14. Tydie, a saint "yn y Tri gabelogwar/'* which the His-
torian of Brecknockshire interprets to mean that she lived at
Capel Ogwr or Ogmore Chapel, formerly subject to St. Bride's
Major, Glamorganshire.

15. Elined, the Almedha of Giraldus Cambrensis, who says
that she suffered martyrdom upon a hill called Penginger near
Brecknock, which the Historian of that county, so often

* Ancient Surveys of Wales in the Myv. Archaiology, Vol. II.
f Jones's Brecknockshire, Vol. I. p. 47, & 343.

J Called Llanfair a Chynidr, or the church of St. Mary and Cynidr, in
the list of Parishes in Wales in the Myv. Archaiology. The double dedi-
cation of Aberyscir may be learnt from Jones's Brecknockshire, Vol. I.
p. 47; where it may be observed that Cressy and others have confounded
Cynidr with Cenydd or St. Kenneth.

§ See Cadfan, infra

II Myv. Archaiology, Vol. II. p. 43.

* Ibid. Vol. II. p. 64.

150 THE WELSH SAINTS

quoted, identifies with Slwch. "Crug gorseddawl,"* mentioned
after the name of Elined in the Myvyrian Archaiology, has
been taken for Wyddgrug or Mold in Flintshire ; but it may
be no more than a descriptive appellation of Slwch, on which
there were lately some remains of a British Camp.t Cressy,
speaking of St. Almedha, says '' This devout virgin, rejecting
the proposals of an earthly prince, who sought her in mar-
riage, and espousing herself to the eternal king, consummated
her life by a triumphant martyrdom. The day of her solemni-
ty is celebrated every year on the first day of August."

16. Ceindrych, or according to Bonedd y Saint, Ceindreg,
lived at Caergodolaur, a place at present unknown ; but the
Cognacio states that Kerdech lived at Llandegwyn, which is
the name of a church dedicated to another saint in Merion-
ethshire.

17. Gwen, grand-daughter of Brychan, and wife of Llyr
Merini, by whom she was the mother of Caradog Fraichfras.
Llewelyn OfFeiriad says she was buried at Talgarth, Breck-
nockshire, where according to the Truman MS. she was mur-
dered by the Saxons. Ecton calls her St. Gwendeline.

18. Cenedlon, '^a saint on the mountain of Cymorth." It
does not appear where this mountain is situated, but from the
association of Cenedlon, Cymorth, and their sister Clydai, it
may be looked for in the neighbourhood of Newcastle in
Emlyn.

19. Cymorth, from whom the mountain just mentioned de-
rives its name, was a daughter of Brychan, and is said to have
lived in Emlyn,J a district divided between the present
counties of Carmarthen and Pembroke. In the Cambrian

* Crug gorseddawl — "the hill of judicature." — Dr. Pughe's Welsh
Dictionary.

+ " Elyned in monte Gorsavael, quse pro amore castitatis martyrizata
est." — Cognacio, in Jones's Brecknockshire.

X "Cymorth 'ch Brychan a'i chwaer Clydai gyda hi yn Emlyn." My v.
Archaiology, Vol. II. p. 35.

FROM A. D. 433 TO A. D. 464. 15 1

Biography* she is called Corth, and stated to have been the
wife of Brynach Wyddel, by whom she was the mother of
Gerwyn, already mentioned, together with his sisters, Mwyn-
en, Gwennan, and Gwenlliw.

20. Clydai, the sister of Cymorth and Cenedlon, and the
reputed founder of a church, called Clydai, in Emlyn. Her
festival is Nov. l.t

21. Dwynwen, the founder of a church in Anglesey called
Llanddwynwen or Llanddwyn. By the Welsh bards she has
been considered the patron saint of lovers. Her commemor-
ation occurs on the twenty fifth of January.

22. Ceinwen, a saint to whom the churches of Llangeinwen
and Cerrig Ceinwen in Anglesey are ascribed. As this and
the preceding person are omitted in several of the lists of the
children of Brychan, it may be presumed they were his grand-
daughters. The wake of Ceinwen was observed on the eighth
of October, which is also the feast day of Ceneu, another
member of this redoubtable family. Llangeinwen has one
chapel, LlangafFo (St. Caffo.)

23. Tydfyl, a daughter of Brychan, is by some authorities
confounded with Tanglwst already mentioned. She suffered
martyrdom at a place, which from that circumstance has been
called Merthyr Tydfyl. According to the Cambrian Biogra-
phy,:}: upon the authority of the Truman MS. she met her
father, when he was an old man, attended by some of her
brothers, whereupon they were beset by a party of Saxons and
Gwyddyl Ffichti, and she, her father, and her brother Rhun
Dremrudd, were murdered ; but Nefydd the son of Rhun,
then a youth, exerted himself in raising the force of the
country, and afterwards put the enemy to flight. — Such is the

* Voce Gerwyn.

t The list in Bonedd y Saint is corrupt in this place, and omits Clydai,
which is restored from a separate notice in the same record, thereby in-
creasing the number of reputed children to fifty.

X Voce Tydfyl.

]52 J'HE WELSH SAINTS

brief account; but it is remarkable that no memorials have
been preserved of these early inroads of the Saxons into South
Wales, except a few scattered notices in the Welsh genealogies.
They appear to have been repeated at various intervals from
about the year 460 to 500, during which time it is generally
agreed that the Saxons and Picts were in alliance; and the
former, whose piratical character is acknowledged, were not
unlikely to land on the western coasts of the island, where the
Gwyddyl Ffichti, or Irish Picts, would aid their progress into
the interior. But this is merely a suggestion in support of
accounts not inconsistent in themselves ; and if it be too much
to insist at once that the notices alluded to are authentic, the
possibility of their truth is a subject worthy of investigation.
The day of the commemoration of St. Tydfyl is the twenty
third of August.

24. Enfail, a saint at Merthyr Enfail, which a writer in the
Cambro Briton states is in Carmarthenshire ; and if his as-
sertion be correct, the place in question may be the church of
Merthyr near Carmarthen.

25. Hawystl — ^lived at Caer Hawystl, supposed by the His-
torian of Brecknockshire to be Awst in the county of Glou-
cester.

26. Tybie, a saint, of whom it is recorded that she was
murdered by pagans at a place in Carmarthenshire, where
there is a church still called Llandybie. Her festival is Jan-
uary 30.

The last specified terminates the lengthy catalogue of the
children of Brychan according to Bonedd y Saint. The Cog-
nacio, however, mentions two names which cannot be identi-
fied with any of the preceding ; — " Keneython at Kidwelly on
the mountain of Kyfor," and " Keurbreit at Caslogwr."* The
first has reference to Llangynheiddon, an extinct chapel in the

♦ "Keneython apud Kydwely in monte Kyfor, Keurbreit apud Cas-
logwr." Jones's Brecknockshire, Vol. I. p. 343.

FROM A. D. 438 TO A. D. 464. 153

parish of Llandyfaelog, Carmarthenshire, near to which is a
hill called Mynydd Cyfor ; and the other is perhaps the saint
of Lloughor, or_, as it is vernacularly called, Casllwchwr,
Glamorganshire, the church of which place is generally under-
stood to be dedicated to St. Michael. Upon this authority
they may both be regarded as belonging to the family of the
Brecknockshire chieftain ; and Llewelyn Offeiriad, who calls
the former '' Rhyneidon of Cydweli/' says she was his
daughter.

To such a length has the practice been carried of ranking
all the members of this tribe as the immediate offspring of its
founder, that in a short list of Saints, published in the Cam-
brian Register,* two sons, Gwynau and Gwynws, and two
daughters, Callwen and Gwenfyl, are added to the number.
It is quite enough to suppose they were descendants without
enquiring into the degree of their descent. The festival of
the first pair is Dec. 13, and that of the second Nov. 1.
Gwynws is the saint of Llanwnws, Cardiganshire, and may
be deemed its founder; a chapel, now extinct, subject to
Llanddewi Brefi in the same county, bore the name of Gwen-
fyl; and another in the parish of Defynog, Brecknockshire, is
dedicated to Callwen.

Cressy, the Catholic writer, treats his readers with a won-
drous tale of "St. Keyna the daughter of Braganus," evidently
the same person as Ceneu, which appears in some of the lists,
but her identity with Ceinwen already mentioned is doubtful.
He relates that "when she came to ripe years, many nobles
sought her in marriage, but she utterly refused that state ;
having consecrated her virginity to our Lord by a perpetual
vow; for which cause she was afterwards by the Britons
called Keyn wiri,t that is Keyna the virgin : at length she
determined to forsake her country and find out some desert
place, where she might attend to contemplation. Therefore

* Vol. III. p. 219. t Cein-wyryf.

154 THE WELSH SAINTS

X directing her journey beyond Severn, and there meeting a
woody place, she made her request to the prince of that
country, that she might be permitted to serve God in that
sohtude. His answer was, that he was very willing to grant
her request, but that the place did so swarm with serpents
that neither man nor beast could inhabit it : but she constantly
replied, that her firm trust was in the name and assistance of
Almighty God to drive all that poisonous brood out of that
region. Hereupon the place was granted to the holy virgin,
who presently prostrating herself to God obtained of him to
change the serpents and vipers into stones ; and to this day,
the stones in that region do resemble the windings of serpents
through all the fields and villages, as if they had been framed
so by the hand of the engraver." — From the appearance of the
fossils, called by geologists, ''^ Ammonites," Camden identifies
the place with Keynsham in Somersetshire, and describes a
specimen from that neighbourhood which he had seen. — It is
related afterwards that *' her nephew St. Cadoc, performing a
pilgrimage to the Mount of St. Michael, met there with his
blessed Aunt St. Keyna, at whose sight he being replenished
with joy, and being desirous to bring her back to her own
country, the inhabitants of that region would not permit him ;
but afterwards, by the admonition of an angel, the holy maid
returned to the place of her nativity ; where, on the top of a
hillock, seated at the foot of a high mountain, she made a
little habitation for herself, and by her prayers to God ob-
tained a spring there to flow out of the earth, which by the
merits of the holy virgin afFordeth health to divers infirmities.
She is said to have departed this life on the eighth day of the
Ides of October, A. D. 490, and to have been buried in her
own oratory by her nephew St. Cadoc." — The latter part of
the story has reference to certain places on the borders of the
Principality. The Mount of St. Michael is the name of a hill
near Abergavenny, which still maintains its sacred character.
In the same neighbourhood is the parish of Llangeneu, in

FROM A. D. 433 TO A. D. 464. 155

which, according to Mr. Theophilus Jones, is to be found the
well of the saint, and the situation of her oratory may yet be
traced. The St. Cadoc here mentioned was Cattwg, the son
of Gwynllyw Filwr and founder of Llangattock Crickhowel,
of which Llangeneu is one of the subordinate chapelries.
From the omission of Ceneu in several of the lists, it may be
inferred that she was a grand-daughter, and in that case
Cattwg would be her sister's son ; but if she were a daughter
of Brychan, and Cattwg were her great nephew, it would by
no means violate the unity of the story ; and it is obvious that
Cadog, the son of Brychan, was not the person intended, as he
must have been either the brother or uncle of Ceneu, and not
her nephew. The oratory alluded to was situated on a hill at
some distance from the present church of Llangeneu ; and if it
were founded by the saint herself, as the legend would imply,
its subordinate condition, for its modern representative is only
a chapelry, would seem to violate the principle laid down in
the first section of this Essay, namely, that upon the institu-
tion of tithes, and consequent division of the country into
parishes, every primitive religious edifice received a separate
endowment. It is clear, however, that the legend is a fabri-
cation, for it does not appear why an oratory, of such high
antiquity and honoured with so many sacred recollections,
should afterwards be neglected, and its very name transferred
to a church in another situation ; but the following passage
from the tale, in the words of Cressy, will explain that it was
of late erection, and built by some foreign devotees who pre-
tended to discover the burying-place of the saint. — " Some
time before her death she had a prospect of her eternal happi-
ness in a future world in a vision, being ministered to and
comforted by angels, when she thus prophesied to her nephew
St. Cadoc ; — this is the place of all others beloved by me, here
my memory shall be perpetuated, this place will I often visit
in spirit if it may be permitted me, and I am assured it shall
be permitted me, because the Lord hath granted me this place

150 THE WELSH SAINTS

as a certain inheritance. The time will come when this place
shall be inhabited by a sinful people, which, notwithstanding,
I will violently root out of this seat. My tomb shall lie a long
time unknown J until the coming of other people, whom hy my prayers
I shall bring hither ; them will I protect and defend, and in
this place shall the name of the Lord be blessed for ever."

According to Jones's Brecknockshire, Elly w or Elyw, whose
name is not mentioned in any of the lists, was a grand-daugh-
ter of Brychan. With her may have originated the establish-
ment of Llanelly, Carmarthenshire, subject to which are Llan-
gennech and the extinct chapels of Dewi, (St. David,) Ifan,
(St. John,) and Berwick or Dyddgen chapel. The church of
Llanelieu, Brecknockshire, is called after her ; and she is also
the patron of Llanelly, subject to Llangattock Crickhowel in
the same county, where her wake is held on the Sunday next
before the first of August O. S. and renders it probable that
her name is only an abbreviation of Elined, already noticed,
upon whose festival the wake depends.*

The legendst relate that the spiritual instructor of Brychan
was Drichan or Brynach, who is called in the Triads Brynach
Wyddel or the Irishman, and is said to have married Corth or
Cymorth, one of the daughters of Brychan, by whom he had
four children already mentioned. He is considered to be
the founder of Llanfrynach, Brecknockshire, Llanfrynach
alias Penllin, Glamorganshire, Llanboidy, Carmarthenshire,
and Llanfernach, Din as, and Nefern, Pembrokeshire. J It
may also be inferred, from the analogy of similar cases, that
Henry's Moat, and Pontfaen, in the neighbourhood of the
three latter, which Ecton ascribes to St. Bernard, should be

* History of Brecknockshire, Vol. II. p. 473.

+ The Cognacio, and an English legend cited in the History of Breck-
nockshire, Vol. I.

X Eglwys Fair Lan Taf. (St. Mary,) chapel to Llanboidy; and Cil-
gwyn, (St. Mary,) chapel to Nefern.

FROM A. D. 433 TO A. D. 464. 157

attributed to Brynach, whose parishes would thus form a
continuous endowment which was afterwards disturbedby the
Norman Lords of Cemmaes. The parish of Clydai, and the
locahties of Cymorth and Cenedlon, are immediately adjoin-
ing, if not partly included in, the district. Cressy states that
" St. Bernach" was an abbot, and that he is commemorated in
the Church on the seventh of the Ides of April,

According to the Cognacio, the spiritual instructor of Cy-
nog, the eldest son of Brychan, was a holy man named
Gastayn, to whom the same document attributes the church of
Llangasty Tal y Llyn, Brecknockshire. This name may con-
clude the connexions of a family of saints, which for its ce-
lebrity has been styled the third holy family of Britain.

It is stated in the Triads that Brychan educated his children
and grandchildren to qualify them " to show the faith in Christ
to the nation of the Cymry where they were without faith ;"*
and upon this statement an argument has been grounded to
show that there were parts of Wales which had not yet em-
braced Christianity. Evident proofs remain that the Britons
had not entirely emerged from heathenism, and Druidical
superstitions were rooted in the minds of the people until late
in the following century, which the foundation of churches
about this time must have tended mainly to eradicate; still
the allegation, that the Welsh race should have been converted
by missionaries from a family whose origin was Irish, is so
singular as to demand some inquiry into the correctness of the
original assertion. The question may be determined by con-
sidering the districts in which the churches and chapels dedi-
cated to the family of Brychan, including those of Brynach
and Gastayn, are distributed. They are about fifty five in
number, out of which twenty two are in Brecknockshire, or

* " Brychan Brycheiniog, a ddug ei blant a'i wyrion ar ddysg a bonedd,
fal y gallent ddangos y Ffydd yng Nghrist i Genedl y Cyrary, lie ydd
oeddynt yn ddiffydd." Triad 18, Third Series.

158 THE WELSH SAINTS

immediately upon its borders. Those situated in Carmar-
thenshire and Pembrokeshire, at that time occupied by the
Gwyddyl Ffichti, are sixteen. Five more are in Anglesey,
and three of the family settled in the Isle of Man, both occu-
pied by the same tribe. Most of the remaining churches are
situated together in Denbighshire; and as parts of North
Wales are said to have still continued in the possession of the
Irish,* it may be judged by analogy that this was one of the
districts so retained. The conclusion presented by a consider-
ation of these localities, is, that the people without the faith,
who from their settlement in Wales have been mistaken for
the nation of the Cymry, were not Welshmen but Irish. The
latter race had not received the truths of the Gospel, for this
was the age in which St. Patrick was employed in imparting
Christianity to their countrymen in Ireland, and in Wales the
hostility of the native inhabitants would prevent them from
obtaining that blessing : but upon the family of Brychan they
could prefer the claim of a kindred origin ; and to this, to-
gether with the territorial influence of Clydwyn, it may be
added, that Brynach, who was adopted into the family, and
who for a single member seems to have founded the greatest
number of churches, was himself an Irishman.

Saintship in Wales was already a profession, and those who
belonged to it were persons, who, in the character of eccles-
iastics of various grades, devoted their lives to the service of
religion. In the next generation it will be discovered that
many of them belonged to an order of primitive monks, such
as flourished in Gaul in the fifth century,t and the foundation
of several monasteries will soon be noticed. But it is reraark-

* Cambrian Biography, sub voce Meigyr, from Achau y Saint.

+ "That there were monks in Gaul long before the time of St. Bene-
dict is evident from the unquestionable authority of Gregory of Tours.
It is, however, certain that prior to the sixth century there was no com-
mon observance among them ; and that though the men, who fled from
the world to practise unusual austerities were held in reverence, the new

FROM A. D 433 TO A. D. 464. 159

able that no nunnery is known to have been established in the
Principality for several hundred years later than the period
under consideration. It is^ therefore, an interesting inquiry —
what rank did female saints hold in the Church of the ancient
Britons ? They were not numerous compared with those of
the other sex, and by far the largest quota seems to have been
furnished by the progeny of Brychan. A review of the list
will show that only half the reputed daughters of that prince
have received the honours of sanctity. No churches bear the
names of the remaining half, no festivals have been kept to
their memory, and they are known only as the wives of chief-
tains. Some, even of those particularized as saints, are des-
cribed as having married, and become the mothers of children ;
but it does not appear whether they afterwards renounced the
marriage state, or whether, as is more probable, they devoted
themselves to religion upon the death of their husbands. A
few individuals, however, are specified in the legends as
having made a vow of virginity in their youth ; and from the
contemporary practice of Gaul it may be learned that, before
the institution of nunneries, they were consecrated by bishops,
and led religious lives in the society of their kindred. The
fact on record, that St. Germanus, while proceeding upon his
mission, was a party to a consecration of the nature described,
leaves a fair inference that he introduced the custom into
Britain.* On the other hand, it was by no means uncommon
for men, in this age, to exchange the state of matrimony for

mode of life did not rise to the dignity of an institute, nor obtain any
degree of organization."— Europe in the Middle Ages, by S. A. Dun-
ham, Esq. Vol. II. Chap. II.

* *' In Gaul, as in other parts of the Christian world, women, previous
to the establishment of nunneries, were consecrated to God by bishops j
and they led religious lives in the houses of their parents or nearest kin-
dred. There is something peculiarly striking in the manner in which
Genevieve, when in her fifteenth year, assumed the irrevocable obligation.
She was among the inhabitants of Paris who went forth to receive the two

160 THE WELSH SAINTS, &c.

that of monachism ; and St. Lupus, after he had been married
seven years, became an inmate of the monastery of Lerins ;
but celibacy formed no part of the discipline of the secular
Welsh clergy as late as the thirteenth century.

The natives of Wales may be surprized to find that Leland
has given, out of the life of St. Nectan, a list of the children
of Brychan, twenty four in number, two only of which, or at
most three, can be identified with the names in the Welsh
lists. They are as follow : —

"Nectanus, Joannes, Endelient, Menfre, Dilic, Tedda,
Maben, Weneu, Wen sent, Merewenna, Wenna, Juliana, Yse,
Morwenna, Wymp, Wenheder, Cleder, Keri, Jona, Kananc,
Kerhender, Adwen, Helic, Tamalanc. All these sons and
daughters were afterwards holy martyrs and confessors in
Devon and Cornwall, where they led an eremitical life."

It is perhaps sufficient to decide the fate of this list to say
that it depends solely upon the authority of one or two monk-
ish writers, and the compiler has forgotten to explain why all
these saints should have quitted their country in a body, and
settled in Devon and Cornwall. In Wales, with the exception
of the two or three who may be recognised in spite of their
disguise, they have left not even a memento of their ex-
istence.

saints, Germajius and Lupus, then on a mission to Britain. Her devotion,
during the exhortation of the former, and the enthusiastic zeal which there
was in her countenance, principally attracted his notice. He caused her
to approach him; and, on enquiring into her sentiments and feelings,
found that she was resolved to consecrate her virginity to God, a resolu-
tion which he was not backward to strengthen. They entered the church,
and joined in certain prayers and hymns suited to the occasion; but Ger-
manus would not give her the veil until she had passed the night in vigils,
in self-examination." Europe in the Middle Ages, Vol. II. Chap. II.

SECTION IX.

The Welsh Saints from the Accession of Vortimer A. D. 464. to the
Death of Ambrosius A. D. 500.

The founders of new families which appear for the first
time in this generation, are Cadell Deyrnllug, Gynyr of Caer
Gawch, Ynyr Gwent, Tewdrig ab Teithfallt, Emyr Llydaw,
and Ithel Hael. Cadell's descendants are as follow : —

[Table XL]

CADELL DEYRNLLUG married Gwawrddydd, daughter of Brychan

I - ' ■ 1

Cyuan Glodrydd Cyngen Sant m. Tanglwst, grand- daughter of Brychan

Cleddyfgar Maig leuaf Mawan Brochwel Ysgythrog m. Arddun, daughter of
j j I Pabo Post Prydain

Caranog Ystyffan Tysilio Cynan Garwyn Llyr

pj 1 P_ ' ■ I

Geraint Gwedrog Selyf Enghenel

H 1 I H 1

Eldad Ysteg Gwrydr Drwm Mael Mynau Dona

Egryn Beli

Cynllo

Elisau

Brochwel

Cadell, obiit A. D. 804.

I ' 1

Nest, mother of Merfyn Frych. Cyngen, murdered at Borne A. D. 854,

Cadell Deyrnllug flourished partly in the preceding genera-
tion, and the legend of his accession to power has been already
related. He married Gwawrddydd, one of the daughters of
Brychan, and his domains lay in the Vale Royal and the
upper part of Powys. Before the close of this generation he
appears to have been succeeded by his son, Cyngen, who is
distinguished for the patronage which he afforded to the
saints, and for the liberal endowments which he gave to
the Church.

162 THE WELSH SAINTS

The order of birth would also determine Gynyr of Caer
Gawch to belong to the preceding generation, but he is intro-
duced in the present in order that he may be placed with his
family. He appears to have been the chieftain of a district in
Pembrokeshire, since called Pebidiog or Dewsland, in which
the town of St. David's is situated ; and he probably rose into
power upon the reduction of the Gwyddyl Ffichti by Clyd-
wyn. His first wife was Mechell, daughter of Brychan, by
whom he had issue a daughter called Danadlwen; whose
husband, Dirdan, is included in the catalogue of saints, but no
churches are ascribed to him. The second wife of Gynyr was
Anna, daughter of Gwrthefyr Fendigaid, or Vortimer, king of
Britain ; and the fruit of this union was a son, named Gist-
lianus,* together with two daughters, Non, the mother of
St. David,t and Gwen, the mother of St Cybi. From con-
founding Anna, the daughter of Gwrthefyr Fendigaid,
with Anna, the daughter of Uther Pendragon, arose probably
the legendary story that St. David was related to king Arthur,
but this tale is at variance with all the pedigrees.

Gynyr of Caer Gawch, is said to have embraced a religious
life, having given all his lands to the Church, for which reason
he has been enrolled among the saints. It may be learned
from Giraldus Cambrensis that his son, Gistlianus, was a
bishop at Menevia some time before the elevation of St. David
to that dignity, and his residence or see, which was perhaps
the particular establishment endowed by Gynyr, was situated
at some distance from the present cathedral. It was after-
wards removed by him to the valley of '' Rosina," where the
cathedral now stands, at the instance of St. David ; who, as
the legend relates, had received a warning from an angel to

* Giustilianus, according to the orthography of Riceraarchus j the Welsh
form of the name is not preserved.

t The succession from Vortimer to St. David is rapid, and allows
scarcely more than twenty years to a generation.

FROM A. D. 464 TO A. D. 500. 163

the effect, that the place first chosen was not accepted by the
Deity, for he foresaw that little or no fruit would be produced
from it; but there was another place, not far from thence,
more suitable for devotion and the purposes of a holy congre-
gation.*— This brief narrative, the miraculous part being set
aside, is not unlikely to be true ; and if, as the same author
asserts elsewhere, a monastery had been founded by St. Patrick
in the valley of Rosina, thirty years before the birth of St.
David, t it would have furnished Gistlianus with a more
obvious reason for changing his residence; but an appoint-
ment less than divine would ill become the hallowed glories of
a spot regarded by the Welsh as the most sacred in Britain.

It would appear from the " Genealogy of the Saints" that
Gynyr had a grandson, Ailfyw, the son of Dirdan by Danadl-
wen, who might have flourished about the end of this genera-
tion or the beginning of the following ; and a church near the
town of St. David's, called Llanail^w or St.Elfeis, is considered
to be dedicated to him. He derived his name most probably
from St. Albeus or Ailbe, bishop of Munster in Ireland; who
visited this district, and is recorded to have baptized St. Da-
vid, the other grandson of Gynyr.

Non, the daughter of Gynyr, was married to Sandde the son
of Ceredig ab Cunedda ; and the following religious edifices

* " Post longa tam discendi prirao, quam postea quoque docendi tein-
pora, ad locum unde discesserat, Meneviara scilicet, demum vir sanctus
(David) repatriavit. Erat autem eodem tempore ibidem Episcopus avun-
culus ejus, vir venerabilis, cui nomen Gistlianus. Huic igitur Angelica,
quae jam susceperat, monita nepos in hunc modum recitavit. Locus, inquit
Angelus, in quo Deo servire proponis, non est ei acceptus. Modicum enim
vel nullum sibi futurum fructum inde providit. Veruntamen est alius non
procul hinc locus, ostendens Vallem Rosinam, ubi sacrum hodie Cimiter-
ium extatjlonge religioni et sanctaecongregationi corapetentior." — Giraldus
Cambrensis de VitS, S. Davidis, apud Wharton, Tom. II.

t The residence of St. Patrick at Menevia, though noticed by Gwyn-
fardd, is at variance with chronology and the most approved histories of
his life.

164 THE WELSH SAINTS

have been dedicated to her memory: — Llan Uwch Aeron, a
church in Cardiganshire ; Llannon, a chapel under Pembre,
Carmarthenshire, St. Nun's chapel in the parish of St. Da-
vid's, Pembrokeshire ; and Llannon, formerl}- a chapel under
LlansanfFraid, Cardiganshire ; all of which are situated in the
immediate neighbourhood of churches ascribed to St. David.
The festival of St. Non was kept on the third of March.

The next founder of a family, that may be noticed, is Ynyr
Gwent, who married Madrun, another daughter of Gwrthefyr
or Vortimer. His territories consisted of a part of the present
county of Monmouth, and he is considered a saint, probably
on account of having founded a college or monastery at Caer-
went under the superintendence of St. Tathan. His wife,
Madrun, in conjunction with Anhun her handmaid, is said to
have been the foundress of the church of Trawsfynydd,
Merionethshire.*

Tewdrig, the son of Teithfallt ab Nynio, was a prince, or
king as he is called, of Glamorgan ; the sovereignty of which
was retained by his descendants until it was wrested from
them by the Normans in the eleventh century. The* era of his
life belongs to the past generation, but the first particulars,
which are known of him, occur in the present. According to
the most consistent authorities his pedigree commences with
his grandfather, Nynio, whose age immediately precedes the
departure of the Romans ; while others, who state that his
grandfather's name was My nan, derive his descent from
Caractacus.

Table XII.

TEWDRIG

Meirig, king of Glamorgan

Arthwys Anna, dr. Gwenonwy, dr.

(married to Amwn Ddu married to Gwyndaf H6n

, \ , , \ ,

Morgan Samson Tathan Meigant Hywyn

Eunydd, ancestor of lestyn ab Gwrgan.

* For the children of Ynyr, see Table X. p. 132

FROM A. D. 464 TO A. D. 500.

165

Emyr Llydaw was the prince of a certain territory in
Armorica, and nephew to St. Germanus. He flourished in
the early part of this generation, and is noticed here on ac-
count of his descendants, whose names appear conspicuous in

the catalogue of saints.

Table XIII.

Gwenteirbron, dr.
m. to Eneas Lydewig

Cadfan Hywel
Fychan

Amwn Ddu
Tydecho Samson Tathan

EMYR LLYDAW

Hywel

others as below

Derfel Divywau Cristiolus
Gadarn

EMYR LLYDAW
4

Pedredin or Petrwn

Padarn Lleuddad

Rhystyd Sullen.

''aIc

Llonio Llynab.

EMYR LLYDAW

Gwyndaf Htn

Meigant

Hywyn

Difvvng
Trinio

Tewdwr Mawr
Carma, dr.
Crallo.

Gwyddno

Meilyr

Maelrys

Ithel Hael o Lydaw was another Armorican prince, whose
children in this and the following generation accompanied
Illtyd and Cadfan to Britain, and became saints of the Welsh
Church.

To return to the older families, the distinguished hero of
the line of Cunedda, during this period, was Caswallon Law^-
hir. His history as related in Achau y Saint, under the head
of Meigyr, is as follows : — " Meigyr, with his brothers, Cynyr
and Meilyr, accompanied Caswallon Lawhir, their cousin, to
drive the Ffichti out of Mona,* to which island they had
retreated from the sons of Cunedda, and had strengthened
themselves there. After cruel fighting they drove the Gwy-
ddelians out of Mona, in which Caswallon slew Serigi, the
Gwyddelian, with his own hand. This Serigi was the leader

Anglesey.

166 THE WELSH SAINTS

of the Gwyddelians and the Ffichti that had overrun Gwyn-
edd* from the time of Macsen Wledig. And after driving
the strangers out of Mona, the Cymry took courage, and
• chased them from every part of Gwynedd, so that none re-
mained in the country but such of them as were made
slaves."t — This account is important as it -records the final
expulsion of the Gwyddyl Ffichti from North Wales ,• and
though the precise time of the event is not mentioned, there
are reasons for supposing that it took place near the close of
the century. There was formerly a chapel near the church of
Holyhead, called Eglwys y Bedd or Llanygwyddyl, which, as
reported by tradition, had been erected over the grave of
Serigi.J

Meigyr was the son of Gwron ab Cunedda ; he and his
brother, Meilyr, are included in the Silurian catalogue of
saints, though there are no churches which bear their names.
The same may also be said of Sandde ab Ceredig ab Cunedda,
who married Non, the daughter of Gynyr of Caer Gawch, by
whom he became the father of St. David. The only remaining
saint of the family, for this generation, was Gwenaseth,
daughter of Rhufon ab Cunedda, who was married to
Pabo Post Prydain : but in connexion with the tribe
may be mentioned, Tegwedd, the daughter of Tegid Foel
of Penllyn, Merionethshire. She was married, first to
Cedig ab Ceredig ab Cunedda, by whom she became the
mother of Afan of Buallt ; and secondly to Enlleu ab Hydwn

* North Wales.

f Translated in the Cambrian Biography.

J The author of a *' History of Anglesey," London, 1775, says, — " The
ruins of it a few years ago were removed in order to render the way to the
church more commodious. Here formerly was the shrine of Sirigi, who
was canonized by the Irish. It seem to have been held in exceeding great
repute for several very wonderful qualities and cures: but according to an
old Irish chronicle, it was carried oflF by some Irish rovers, and deposited
in the cathedral of Christ Church, in Dublin."

FROM A. D. 464 TO A. D. 500. 167

Dwn ab Ceredig, by whom she had Teilo, bishop of LlandaiF.
A church in Monmouthshire, called Llandegfyth, is ascribed
to her, at which place, according to Achau y Saint, she was
murdered by the Saxons.

It appears that upon the progress of the Saxon arms in the
south of Britain, the families of Coel Godebog and many
others retreated to the north,* where, as in Wales, the Britons
endeavoured to concentrate themselves. Here, however, they
were obliged to maintain an unequal contest with the Picts on
one side and the Saxons on the other. And though the
Britons of Cumberland, and more especially those of Strath
Clyde, maintained their independence for some two or three
centuries, the chieftains of other districts were not equally
fortunate; and when stripped of their territories by the con-
tinual aggressions of the invaders, their practice was to seek
an asylum in Wales, and, in several instances, to devote their
lives to the service of religion. Of the latter description was
Pabo Post Prydain, the descendant of Coel in the fourth
degree. He first distinguished himself as a brave warrior, but
eventually he was obliged to give way and leave his territory
in the north. He sought refuge in Wales, and was hospitably
received by Cyngen ab Cadell, the prince of Powys, by whom
he had lands given to him. He afterwards lived a holy life,
and was accounted a saint of the British Church. To these

* The cause of this migration, which is more probably due to internal
warfare, is here given in accordance with popular opinion, as the subject
requires a more extensive investigation than could be included within the
limits of this Essay. The slow progress of the Saxons has been well
described, according to their own authorities, by Mr. Sharon Turner j and
it is remarkable that the Welsh records of the sixth century allude to but
few instances of conflict with that people. Between them and the Cymry
from whom the Welsh are descended, another race of Britons, alike hostile
-to both, intervened. They were called Lloegrwys, and appear to have
been incorporated with the Saxons upon the establishment of the kingdom
of Mercia.

168 THE WELSH SAINTS

particulars may be added^ from the Cambrian Biography, that
he married Gwenaseth, daughter of Rhufon of Rhufoniog ;
which is more consistent with chronology than the statement of
others who assert that Gwenaseth was the wife of Sawyl^his son.*
Pabo is considered to be the founder of Llanbabo in Anglesey,t
where a stone still remains, bearing his effigy, with the follow-
ing inscription,— HIC JACET PABO POST PRUD COR-

PORS TE .PRIMA. The author of Mona Antiqua is

of opinion that he was the earliest saint in that island, though
it is clear from other authorities that some of the children of
Brychan must have preceded him. His commemoration is
November 9.

Talhaiarn, the son of Garthwys of the line of Coel, was a
celebrated bard and saint of the congregation of Cattwg. " He
composed a prayer which has always been the formula used in
the Gorsedd Morganwg or Session of the bards of Glamor-
gan."J His residence was originally at Caerleon, where he
was chaplain to Emrys Wledig or Ambrosius, king of Britain;
but when that prince was slain, he lived as a hermit at a
place in Denbighshire since called Llanfair Talhaiarn, where a
church was founded and dedicated to him in conjunction with
the Virgin Marj\

In another branch of the family of Coel, occurs the name of
Cynfarch Oer, a chieftain of North Britain ; but who after-
wards became a saint in Wales. He is said to have been the

* Cambrian Biography, voce Gwenaseth ; and " Asaph" in Bonedd y
Saint, Myv. Archaiology, Vol. II.

t As Llanbabo is now a chapel subject to Llanddeusant, it must be sup-
posed that some change has taken place in the relative condition of these
edifices if Pabo was the founder of the first of them. It is possible, how-
ever, that the chapel was built over his grave at a later period, and dedi-
cated to him. The stone monument alluded to was discovered, in the
reign of Charles the Second, by the sexton while digging a grave j and an
engraving of it is given in Rowlands*s Mona Antiqua, Second Edition.

X Cambrian Biography.

FROM A. D. 464 TO A. D. 500. 169

founder of Llangynfarch in Maelor, Flintshire, which was
destroyed by the Saxons in the battle of Bangor Orchard
A. D. 603 ;* and he is associated with the Virgin Mary as the
patron of Llanfair DyfFryn Clwyd^t Denbighshire. His wife
was Nefyn, a grand-daughter of Brychan^ by whom he was
the father of Urien Rheged.

>• Llyr Merini, of the line of Coel and father of Caradog
Fraich Fras, is classed among the saints. Llanllyr, now called
Llanyre, a chapel to Nantmel in Radnorshire ; and Llanllyr,
formerly a nunnery in Cardiganshire, are dedicated either to
him, or to another saint of the name of Llyr, a virgin, whose
commemoration was kept Oct. 21. Llyr Merini married
Gwen, a grand-daughter of Brychan.

The last saint to be mentioned, of the line of Coel, was
Madog Morfryn, whose life must have extended into the
following century. He was a member of the congregation or
monastery of lUtyd, where he is said to have distinguished
himself as a teacher ; J but he is more generally known as the
father of the bard, Myrddin Wyllt.

In the line of Cystennyn Gorneu occurs Geraint ab Erbin, a
chieftain of Dyfnaint or Devon, who is called a saint. It does
not appear how he merited the distinction ; for he was not an
ecclesiastic, and it is recorded that he fell fighting at the head
of his men in the following century. It is said that there was
a church dedicated to him at CaerfFawydd or Hereford. An
elegy to his memory by Llywarch Hen is published in the
Myvyrian Archaiology ; and the following passage, ac-
cording to " Owen's Translation," describes his death : — .

In Llongborth I saw hard toiling

Amidst the stones, ravens feasting on entrails,

And on the chieftain's brow a crimson gash.

* Cambrian Biography.

t Bonedd y Saint, My v. Archaiology.— Qu. Is not St. Kinemark's,
Monmouthshire, dedicated to Cynfarch ?
J Triad 98, Third Series.

170 THE WELSH SAINTS

In Llongborth I saw a confused conflict,
Men striving together and blood to the knees,
From the assault of the great son of Erbin.

At Llongborth was Geraint slain,

A strenuous warrior from the woodland of Dyfnaint,

Slaughtering his foes as he fell.

Ysgin ab Erbin, brother of the preceding, is mentioned in
Bonedd y Saint ; and to him, perhaps, the name of Llanhes-
gin, Monmouthshire, may be traced.

To this generation belongs Gwynllyw Filwr, the son of
Glywys ab Tegid ab Cadell, and chieftain of Gwynllwg or
Gwentloog in Monmouthshire, which is supposed to take its
name from him. He is called by the Latin writers of the mid-
dle ages St. Gundleus, and according to John of Teignmouth he
was the eldest of seven brothers, who, in compliance with the
custom of gavel-kind, divided the territories of their father
between them, the six younger paying homage to Gwynllyw
as the elder. He married Gwladus, a grand-daughter of
Brychan ; and was the father of a large family of children,
most of whom resigned their temporal possessions' and em-
braced a life of religion. From the epithet attached to his
name it may be judged that he was originally a warrior, but
in course of time he surrendered his dominions to his son
Cattwg, and built a church where he passed the remainder of
his life in great abstinence and devotion.* The church alluded
to is supposed to be that of Newport, Monmouthshire, situated
in the hundred of Gwentloog, and dedicated to him under the
name of St. Woolos. His festival was held on the twenty
ninth of March.

All the family of Brychan for obvious reasons were des-
cribed in the last generation, except Dyfrig or St. Dubricius,

* "Regno Cadoco filio suo commendato, Ecclesiam construxit, ibique
in magna abstinentia et vitse sanctimonia vivere ccepit."— Johannes Tin-
muthensis, apud Usher.

FROM A. D. 464 TO A. D. 500. 171

who for his celebrity deserved a more particular notice. Two
localities rather ill defined contend for the honour of his
birth, namely the banks of the Gwain near Fishguard, Pem-
brokeshire,* and the banks of the Wye in Herefordshire. On
the part of the former it has been contended that he has been
called " Dyfrig of Langweyn, Gwaynianus, and Vaginensis,"
^-vagina being the Latin translation of the Welsh name
" Gwain." On behalf of the latter, the Life of Dubricius by
John of Teignmouth, and another by Benedict of Gloucester,t
affirm, that he was born at Miserbdil on the Wye, and that
the name was afterwards changed by Dubricius to Mochros:
The claims of either place would be equally consistent with
the idea that he was a grandson of Brychan, but the Welsh
genealogies are silent upon the subject. The weight of evi-
dence is in favour of the latter, as there happen to be in a
part of Herefordshire, called Erchenfield, a church (Whit-
church) and two chapels (Ballingham and Hentland, subject
to Lugwardine,) which are dedicated to Dubricius, all of
which are situated near the Wye.J While in Pembrokeshire
there is not a single church which bears the name of the saint.
As for the translation of Gwain into Vagina, it should not be
forgotten that the Latin name of the Wye was " Vaga," from
which in the corrupt state of the Latin language there would
be no difficulty in forming the adjective Vaginensis. John of
Teignmouth says that his mother was Eurdila,§ the daughter
of Peiban, a certain regulus of Cambria, but that his father's
name was unknown. One of the Warwick chroniclers says
that his father was a king of Erging or Erchenfield, by name

* Cambrian Register, Vol. 11. p. 202.

t Benedict was a monk of Gloucester, and his Life of St. Dubricius,
written about A. D. 1120, is published in Wharton's Anglia Sacra.

% Qu. Is not St, Devereux, Herefordshire, a Norman rendering of Du-
bricius ?

§ Eurddyl,

172 THE WELSH SAINTS

Pepiau ;* and an old commentator upon the Book of LlandafF
asserts that the same statement originally appeared in that
document, but that a later hand, wishing to make a correction,
had mutilated the manuscript.t If these authorities can be
depended upon, the unknown person is discovered, for Pa-
biali, the son of Brychan, is also called Papai; and the
hypothesis that Dyfrig was a grandson of Brychan is satisfac-
torily explained. It is said that he founded a college at Hen-
llan on the Wye, where he remained seven years before he
removed to Mochros on the same river ; and in support of
the assertion it may be said that Hentland in Erchenfield,
where on a farm called Lanfrother traces of former importance
were lately remaining, is dedicated to St. Dubricius. The other
place is supposed to be Moccas, in the same district and not
many miles distant. John of Teignmouth gives a list of his
most distinguished disciples at Henllan, which it is needless
to transcribe as it is not chronologically correct. According to
Achau y Saint he was consecrated bishop of LlandafF by St.
Germanus, which can hardly be admitted, for Germanus died
A. D. 448, and Dubricius was living in 520, so that he must
have held his episcopal honours for the improbable period of
seventy years. The utmost that can be granted is to suppose
with Archbishop Usher, that he was appointed bishop of
LlandafF about A. 1). 470, which however is rather too early;
and that he was raised by Ambrosius to the archbishoprick
of Caerleon, upon the death of Tremounus or Tremorinus,
in 490.t

* Usher de Primordiis, Cap. XHI.

f De Jure et Fundatione Landavensis EcclesisB a Registro Landavensi.
—"Supra dictus rex Ergic, Peipiau nomine, fuit pater Sancti Dubricii j
prout habetur in Chronicis apud Collegium de Warwick j et supra nomen
dicti Regis patris Sancti Dubricii prius recte scribebatur antiquSmanu, et
quidara novellus voluit corrigere, sed scripturam antiquam corripuit et
malefecit.'* (Additamentum recentius.) Wharton's Anglia Sacra.

X Usher de Primordiis, Cap. V. et Index Chronologicus.

FROM A. D. 464 TO A. D. 500. I73

In this part of the subject, it is necessary to pause awhile to /
consider the general state of the Church. It does not appear
that the Principality of Wales was in this age divided into
dioceses, or that there were any established bishops' sees ; for
it is generally agreed upon that the bishopricks of St. David's,
Llanbadarn, Bangor, and St. Asaph, were not founded till
some time in the following century.* The archbishoprick of
Caerleon was the only exception, and its permanency de-
pended upon the importance which that place had maintained
from the time it was occupied by the Romans. The juris-
diction of its archbishop, according to the rule observable in
other parts of the Empire, would be co-extensive with the
Roman province of Britannia Secunda; and his suffragans
were so many " Chorepiscopi" without any settled place of re-
sidence ;t thus the names occur of Tudwal in Carnarvonshire,
Cynin at Llangynin, Gistlianus at Menevia, Paulinus at Ty-
gwyn, all of whom are called bishops, and to their number
may be added Dubricius, bishop of LlandafF. The influence
of the latter, together with the liberality of Meurig ab Tew-
drig, king of Glamorgan, was the means of making the see of
Llandaff permanent ;% whence Dubricius is said to have been
its first bishop. It appears, however, that after his promotion
to the archbishoprick of Caerleon, he still retained the bishop-
rick of Llandaff; and that he mostly resided at the latter
place, from which he is called archbishop of LlandafF. § But
that the title still belonged to Caerleon, is clear from the fact
that St. David, his successor in the primacy, was appointed
archbishop of Caerleon ; and though the bishoprick of Llan-

* In strictness the see of St. David's may be said to have commenced
with Gistlianus, but as it had no diocese until it is was formed into an
archbishoprick by St. David, its existence is usually dated from that event.

t Bingham's Antiquities of the Christian Church, Book II ; and Stil-
lingfleet's Origines Britannicse, Chap. II.

% Registrum Landavense apud Godwin et Usher.

§ Achau y Saint, Registrum Landavense, and Godwin's Bishops.

174 THE WELSH SAINTS

dafF merged into the archbishoprick in the person of Dubri-
ciusj it was not extinguished ; for, upon his resignation of the
primacy, Teilo was appointed bishop of Llandaff, as if the
title had been kept distinct. St. David, after his election, re-
moved the archiepiscopal see from Caerleon to Menevia,
where he had lived before as Chorepiscopus. His successor
was Cynog, who was translated to Menevia from Llanbadarn.*
The third primate after Dubricius was Teilo, who, having
appointed a suffragan at Menevia, continued his residence at
LlandafF;t and is therefore styled its archbishop; J but the
migratory nature of the primacy seems to have weakened its
stability, and it is not certain who was the next metropolitan.
The partizans of the church of LlandafF, at a later time, con-
tended that St. Oudoceus, its third bishop, succeeded to the
archiepiscopal honours of Teilo ;§ while the clergy of Mene-
via, who exhibit the name of Teilo in their own catalogue,
maintained that Ceneu, their fourth archbishop, transmitted
the primacy to a long list of successors. From a comparison
of a variety of testimonies, it appears that upon the death of
Teilo, the dignity sunk between contending parties ; and at
the time of the conference between St. Augustine and the
British bishops it does not seem to have retained its ex-
istence. || The title was, however, occasionally assumed by
the different prelates who contended for it ; and in the year
809 there were no less than three candidates for supremacy, a
claim having been set up by the bishop of Bangor.* The
bishops of Wales, as well as its princes, were jealous of each

* Giraldus Cambrensis.

t Usher de Priraordiis, Cap. XIV. p, 560.
J Godwin. Usher, Cap.V.
§ Usher, Cap. V. p. 85.

II Bede, Lib. I. Cap. 27, Lib. 11. Cap. 2. — Giraldi Retractationes, apud
Wharton.

* <' Oed Crist 809, y bu farw Elfod Archescob Gwynedd, ac y bu dilfyg
ar yr haul, ac y bu terfysg mawr ym mhlith y Gwyr Eglwysig achaws y

FROM A. D 464 TO A. D. 500. 175

other's ascendancy ; and it is clear that a title so ill defined
could be only a dignity of assumption, but the preponderance
seems generally to have inclined in favour of Menevia or
St. David's. These irregularities, though perplexing to the
antiquary, are important as a proof of the independence of
the ancient British Church ; for bad it been subject to the see
of Rome, an appointment from the Pope would have settled
all disputes; and Giraldus Cambrensis, upon referring the

(question to that tribunal in the twelfth century, was unable to
prove that any Welsh prelate had ever received the palL* The
constitution of an archbishoprick, in the first instance, was a
continuation of the plan established under the Roman govern-
ment ; but when its authority was once shaken, the intermi-
nable commotions of the people would prevent its effectual
restoration : and in the register of the Catholic Church, exhi-
bited by the Pope to Giraldus, the names of the four Welsh
bishopricks are given simply, without explaining that any one
of them had authority over the rest, or that they were subject
to a foreign metropolitan.t The gradual reduction of Wales
by the English, obliged them to submit to the jurisdiction
of Canterbury.

Pasc, canys ni fynnai Escobion Llandaf a Myny w ymroddi dan Archescob
Gwynedd lie yr oeddynt eu hunain yn Archescobiou h;^n o fraint."— My v-
yrian Archaiology, Vol. II. p. 474.

* The whole controversy may be seen in Wharton's Anglia Sacra. The
story of Samson, archbishop of St. David's, and the pall, which was vir-
tually surrendered by Giraldus in his chapter of Retractions, is completely
overthrown by Archbishop Usher. Primordia, Cap. V.

t The account of this particular must be given in Giraldus's own words,
as the force of the argument depends upon the construction of Latin. —
" Accidit autem, ut vespera quadam, cum ad Papam in camera sua Giraldus
accessisset ; cum semper eum benignum satis et benevolum, ut videbatur,
invenire consueveritj tunc forte praeter solitum amicabilem magis et
afFabilem ipsum invenit. Inter primos igitur affatus, cum de jure Mene-
vensis Ecclesiae Metropolitico mentio facta fuissetj praecepit Papa Regis-
trum afferri, ubi de universo fidelium orbe singulorum regnorum, tarn

176 THE WELSH SAINTS

Diibricius is distinguished as the founder of colleges ; and
besides those, already mentioned, on the banks of the Wye, it
is more rational to suppose that he, and not St. Germanus, was
the founder of the colleges of Llancarfan, Caerworgorn, and
Caerleon. At any rate, if the origin of those institutions be
referred to this generation, which it is necessary to do to avoid
anachronisms, they are situated so closely under the juris-
diction of Dubricius that they could not have been founded
>» without his concurrence. The first principal or abbot of
Llancarfan was Cattwg, the eldest son of Gwynllyw Filwr, of
whom it is recorded that he chose a life of religion and learn-
ing rather than succeed to his father's principality. On
account of his wisdom he is generally known by the appella-
tion of Cattwg Ddoeth, or the Wise, and a large collection of
his maxims and moral sayings, both in prose and verse, is
preserved in the third volume of the Myvyrian Archaiology.
His college, like all the rest founded in Wales in the infancy
of monastic institutions, seems to have partaken of the charac-
ters both of a monastery and a place of education ; and several

Metropoles per ordinem, quam earum quoque Suffraganese nuraerantur
Ecclesiae Pontificales. Et cum verteretur ad regnum Anglorum, scriptum
in hunc modura ibidem et lectum fuit. " Cantuariensis Metropolis Suff-
raganeas habet Ecclesias istas, Roffensem, Londoniensem" et cseteras
per ordinem. Enumeratis autem singulis SufFraganeis Ecclesiasticis
Anglise; interposita Rubrica tali De TTaZZia, prosequitur in hunc modum.
"/w Wallia Menevensis Ecdesia, Landavensis, Bangoriensis, et de
Sancto Asaph.^^ Quo audito, subjecit Papa quasi insultando et subri-
dendo. Ecce Menevensis Ecclesia connumeratur. Respondit Giraldus.
Sed non eo modo connumeratur ista vel aliae de Walli^ per accusativura
scilicet, sicut Suffraganeae de Angli-S. Quod si fieret, tunc revera reputari
possent subjectae. Cui Papa. Bene, inquit, hoc notasti. Sed est et aliud,
quod similiter pro vobis et EcclesiS vestrS. facit, de Rubrica scinterpositS;
quae quidem in Registro nusquam apponitur, nisi ubi transitus fit, de regno
ad regnum, vel Metropoli ad Metropolim. Verura est, inquit Giraldus }
Et Wallia quidem portio est regni Anglicani et non per se regnum. Ad
quod Papa. Unum sciatis, quod non est contra vos Registrum nostrum.

FROM A. D. 464 TO A. D. 500. 177

of the most eminent of the Welsh bards and clergy were
ranked among its members. Though it is said to have been
situated at Llancarfan, the particular spot on which it stood
was called Llanfeithin, for which reason the names are used
indiscriminately. It is said that Dubricius was so partial to the
society of Cattwg that he made him his companion in his travels ;
and, that they might be more constantly together, Dubricius
continued to live at a place, near Llanfeithin, called Garn-
llwyd, after he was appointed bishop ; but the statement must
be received with some qualification, as his usual residence was
at LlandafF or Caerleon. Cattwg was an attendant at the
court of Arthur ; and though for the sake of convenience the
particulars of his life are detailed in this generation, his history
belongs more properly to the following, as he is said to have
lived to the patriarchal age of a hundred and twenty years,*
and the assertion is in some measure borne out by the great
discrepancy in the ages of persons who shared his instructions.
He is considered to be the founder of several churches, of
which the following is a list.

Llangattock Crickhowell, R. with 2 chapels, Llangeneu (St. Ceneu)
and Llanelly (St. Ellyw) Brecknockshire.

Porteinion, R. Glamorganshire.

Gelli Gaer, R. — 1 chapel, Brithdir, Glamorgan.

Cadoxton juxta Barry, R. Glam,

Llancarfan, V. — 2 chapels, Llanfeithin^ Liege Castle, Glam.

Pendeulwyn, V. Glam.

Pentyrch, R. Glam.

Llanmaes, R. Glam.

Cadoxton juxta Neath, V. — 2 chapels, Creinant, Aberpergwm,
Glamorganshire.

Llangattock near Usk, R. Monmouthshire.

Llangattock Lenig, V. Monm.

Llangattock Lingoed. V. Monm.

Llangattock Feibion Afel, V. — 1 chapel, St. Moughan's (Qu.
Meugan?) Monm.

Caerleon upon Usk, V. Monm.

Besides the foregoing, Penrhos, subject to Llandeilo Cres-
enni, Monmouthshire, and Trefethin under Llanofer, in the

* Myvyrian Aichaiology, Vol. III. p. 2.

178 THE WELSH SAINTS

same county^ are dedicated to him. None of these require
any particular notice, except Caerleon, which, from its situ-
ation, might be suspected to have been the metropolitan
church of Cambria. The cathedral must, however, have been
some other building, as the archbishoprick was founded before
the time of Cattwg, and those who filled the see must have
possessed a church from which they derived their title.
Geoffrey of Monmouth, who, for want of better authority, may
be followed in this instance, says* the cathedral was dedicated
to St. Aaron, the martyr ; but it was not in existence in the
time of that writer, and all traces of it have been forgotten.
The epithet of Doeth, attached to the name of Cattwg, has
induced certain Romish writers to confound him with St.
Sophias, bishop of Beneventum in Italy, and the accumulated
history of these persons may be seen in Cressy. Cattwg is
commemorated in the Calendar, Feb. 24.t

The next college is Caerworgorn, the first principal of
which was Illtyd or St. Iltutus, from which it was called Cor
or Bangor Illtyd. The place at which it was situated is now
known by the name of Llanilltyd Fawr, or Lantwit Major :
but with respect to the age of Iltutus some uncertainty pre-
vails ; for while one account says that he was appointed to
this college by St. Germanus,J and therefore before A. D.
450, another account states that he was a soldier in the train of
Arthur, and that he was persuaded by Cattwg Ddoeth to
renounce the world and devote himself to religion. § The
last statement would bring down the date of his appointment
to A, D. 520. The first date has been already shown to be
wrong, and the last depends upon his legendary life. His

* According to the Latin copy, as quoted by Usher.
t Mr Sharon Turner cites a Latin Life of Cattwg under the name of
Cadocus, from the Cottonian MSS. Vesp. A. 14. and Titus D. 32.
X Achau y Saint.
§ Johannes Tinmuthensis, apud Usher.

FROM A. D. 464 TO A. D. 500. 179

position in his own genealogy, and the age of persons said to
have been members of his college, would show that his
appointment took place before the close of this century.* He
was by birth an Armorican, being the son of Bicanys by a
sister of Emyr Llydaw, whom John of Teignmouth calls Rien-
iguilida; and was therefore the great nephew of St. Ger-
manus.t As the Welsh authorities call him Illtyd Farchog,
or the knight, he was probably distinguished for his military
career before he left his native country. Like Cattwg he
attended the court of Arthur, and though both of them are
said in the Triads to have been knights there, the title must
have had reference to their past achievements, for it is immedi-
ately added that they were devoted to the law of God and the
faith in Christ.J According to the Regestum Landavense,§
Iltutus, having built a church, and afterwards a monastery at
Lantwit under the patronage of Meirchion, a chieftain of
Glamorgan, opened a school, which was filled with a large
number of disciples. But as some of those whose names are
enumerated, are also known to have studied elsewhere, it may
be inferred that it was not an unusual practice to migrate from
one college to another. There appears to have been no ap-
pointed age at which members were admitted. Besides the
youth who resorted to these institutions for instruction, old
men often passed the remainder of their days in them, de-
voting their time to religious exercises; and these contin-
gencies being borne in mind, much apparent contradiction
will be obviated.

The name of Illtyd is connected with several churches,
besides that of Llanilltyd Fawr or Lantwit; he may be consider-

* The Regestum Landavense says he was appointed by St. Dubricius.
t In another account it is said that his mother was Gweryla, daughter of
Tewdrig, king of Glamorgan.
X Triads 121 & 122, Third Series.
§ Apud Usher, Cap. XIII.

180 THE WELSH SAINTS

ed the founder of Penbre, Carmarthenshire,* Ilston, and New-
castle, Glamorganshire ;t and also of Llantrisaint in the latter
county in conjunction with St. Tyfodwg and St. Gwynno,
from which circumstance the church derives its name, imply-
ing " the church of the three saints."^ Ecton records Illtyd
as the patron saint of Llanhary, and Llantryddid, Glamorgan-
shire, as well as of Llanhileth, Monmouthshire, and Llantwood
or Llantwyd, Pembrokeshire. The following chapels are de-
dicated to him, — Llanilltyd Faerdre under Llantrisaint, and
Lantwit subject to Neath, Glamorganshire, Capel Illtyd sub-
ject to Dyfynog, Brecknockshire, and Llanelltyd under Llan-
fachraith, Merionethshire. Independently of the churches
which he founded, the memory of Illtyd is honoured by the
Welsh on account of his having introduced among them an
improved method of ploughing: before his timd they were
accustomed to cultivate their grounds with the mattock and
over-treading plough (aradr arsang,) implements, which, the
compiler of a Triad upon husbandry observes, were still used
by the Irish. § Mr. Owen says he died about A. D. 480, but
it is evident his life extended through a considerable part of
the sixth century, which may more properly be said to be the
age in which he flourished. According to Cressy his com-
meraoration was held Feb. T, but the year in which he died

* Chapels to Penbre, — Llannon (St. Non) and Llandurry. There ap-
pears also to have been a chapel dedicated to St. Non in the parish of
Ilstou.

t Chapels to Newcastle, — ^Bettws (St. David,) Laleston (St. David,) and
Tithegston (St. Tudwg ab Tyfodwg.)

X Chapels to Llantrisaint, — Llanilltyd or Lantwit Faerdre (St. Illtyd,)
Ystrad Dyfodwg (St. Tyfodwg,) Llanwonno (St. Gwynno,) Aberd^r (St.
John the Baptist,) and St. John's chapel (St. John the Baptist.) In the
dedications of the foregoing chapels, some historical allusions may be
traced. Four of them seem to refer to the fact, that St. David, who was
the son of Non, was a pupil of St. Iltutus, and three others have reference
to the founders of the mother church.

§ Triad 66, Third Series. .

FROM A. D. 464 TO A. D. 500. Igl

was uncertain. Tradition affirms that he was buried near the
chapel that bears his name in Brecknockshire, where there is
a place called Bedd Gwyl Illtyd, or the grave of St. lUtyd's
eve, from its having been a custom to watch there during the
night previous to the saint's day.* In the church-yard of
Lantwit Major a large stone may be seen with three several
inscriptions, one of them purporting that it was the cross of
Iltutus and Samson, another that Samson raised the cross for
his soul, and the third that one Samuel was the carver.t

The last college, the foundation of which may be attributed
to Dubricius, was at Caerleon ; and, according to some copies
of Geoffrey of Monmouth, it contained two hundred philoso-
phers who studied astronomy and other sciences.

The British monastic institutions require further notice.
Little is known respecting their internal regulations, but it
would appear that choral service formed an important part of
their arrangements. The Welsh terms, which have been
generally rendered " college or congregation," and by Latin
writers invariably " monasterium," are Cor, choir ; and Ban"
gor, high choir.J According to the Triads, the three societies
of the first class, of which Bangor Illtyd was one,§ contained
no less than two thousand four hundred members ; one hun-
dred being employed every hour, in order that the praise and
service of God might be continued day and night without
intermission. The number, however, in other establishments
varied exceedingly; and the magnificent scale of those alluded

* Jones's Brecknockshire, Vol. II. p. 683.

t Gibson's Camden, Vol. II. — There is a Life of St. Illtut, abbot, in the
Cottonian MSS. Vespasian A. XIV.

J Sixteen communities in Wales, which bore these appellations, are
enumerated by the intelligent author of the Horae Britannica?, Vol. II.
Chap. VII.

§ The other two were Cor Emrys yng Nghaer Caradawg, probably at
Old Sarumj and Bangor Wydrin at Glastonbury. Triad 80, First Series,
and 84 Third Series.

182 THE WELSH SAINTS

to would be thought mcredible, if it were not for the authentic
testimony of Bede, who flourished about a century after the
destruction of the monastery of Bangor Iscoed. That author,
whose accuracy is universally admitted, says that the number
of its monks was two thousand one hundred, who were di-
vided into classes, of three hundred each, under their res-
pective superintendents; and, that his readers might not be
ignorant as to the manner in which so vast a society was
supported, he adds that they all lived by the labour of their
own hands.* Compared with this, the assertion that Du-
bricius had upwards of a thousand pupils at Henllan,t will
will not appear strange ; and it is said that Cattwg, who re-
tained a part of his father's territories for the purpose, was
wont to maintain a hundred ecclesiastics, as many paupers,
and the same number of widows, besides strangers and guests,
at his own expense. J The traces of extensive ranges of build-
ings still observable at Bangor Iscoed and Lantwit Major
confirm the asseverations of ancient writers ; and an old manu-
script, extant in the reign of Elizabeth, affirmed that the saints
at the latter place had for their habitations seven halls and
four hundred houses. § The abbots of these institutions are
sometimes styled bishops, and it is not improbable that they
exercised chorepiscopal authority in their respective societies ;
but it is agreed that they were all of them subject to the
bishop of the diocese ; and there is an instance on record of
St. Dubricius interfering to correct certain abuses and jealousies
which had broken out at Lantwit Major. || Some of these

* Eccl. Hist. Lib. II. Cap. 2.

t Johannes Tinmulhensis, apud Usher.

J Ibid.

§ Horae Britannicae, Vol. II. p. 355.

II *' Vir beatse memoriae Dubricius visitavit locum Sti. Ilduti tempore
quadragesimali,ut quae emendanda erant corrigeret, et servanda consolidet,
ibidem enim conversabantur multi sanctissimi viri, quodam livore de-
cepti."— Liber Landavensis, as quoted in the Horse Britannicae.

FROM A. D. 464 TO A. D. 500. 183

establishments were not of long continuance, and appear to
have declined upon the death of their first abbot; while
others, which were endowed with lands, remained for a longer
time, but even these dwindled away, or were re-modelled
upon the introduction of monasteries of the regular orders in
the middle ages. The primitive British institutions followed
no uniform rule, and may in some degree have resembled the
monasteries of Gaul before the adoption of the rule of St. Be-
nedict; but in borrowing analogies from the continent, to
supply the lack of positive information, allowance must be
made for the secluded situation of the Britons, and their more
partial advance in civilization. The monasteries of Wales
appear to have borne a closer resemblance to those of Ireland,*
for which reason the writings of Irish historians may be con-
sulted with advantage by the Welsh antiquary.

The abbots of Llancarfan and Lantwit exercised great
influence in the diocese of LlandafF; and the records of that
see associate with them a third dignitary, the abbot of Do-
cunnus, but the situation of the monastery of that name is at
present unknown. It is said to have been bounded by Cun-
garus, who is also called Docwinus ;t and in Achau y Saint it
is stated that Cyngar founded a congregation at a place in
Glamorgan which, in the time of the compiler, was called
Llangenys. But wherever this place may be situated, there is
some uncertainty in the accounts which have been received
respecting the founder of the community, as in the pedigrees
there are two persons of the name of Cyngar ; and both of
. them are distinguished from Dochdwy, who might be thought
to be the same person as Docwinus.
y Tewdrig ab Teithfallt has been considered a saint, and is

I- — —
* The monastery of Beanchor in Ulster is reported to have contained
three thousand monks under the caie of St. Comgallus.
t Capgrave in Vita S. Cungari.

184 THE WELSH SAINTS

y canonized kings of Britain. The history of this person and
his family is involved in confusion. One account identifies
him with an ancestor of Brychan Brycheiniog, while others
make him contemporary with St. Oudoceus about the close of
the sixth century ; but the only position, that can be assigned
him consistently with his genealogy, would show that he
flourished between A. D. 440 and 470 ; and this arrangement
is the one best supported by collateral testimony. It is said
that in his old age he resigned the government of Glamorgan
into the hands of his son, Meurig, and retired to lead a re-
ligious life in the solitude of Tinteyrn, Monmouthshire. He
was afterwards induced to appear once more in defence of his
country against the Saxons, and, receiving a wound in battle
which he expected to be mortal, he requested that a church
should be raised upon the spot where he should expire. His
request was performed accordingly. The church was called
from the circumstance Merthyr Tewdrig, and is now known
by the name of Mathern.*

Meurig ab Tewdrig, by whom the church just mentioned
was built, was also the prince under whose protection the
bishoprick of LlandafF and the monastery of Llancarfan were
founded. If reliance can be placed upon certain records
of Llar.daff, he endowed that see with lands and churches,
from the situations of which it would appear that he held
paramount authority over a tract forming the principal part of
the present county of Glamorgan, the whole of Monmouth-
shire, and so much of the county of Hereford as lies to the
south-west of the river Wye. Citations from grants securing
these endowments, and other privileges and immunities, to

* "His bones lie entoombed, uppon the North side of the sayde Church,
And his sonne not contented therewithal!, gaue moreouer the lands and
territory adiacent unto the same to the Bishoppe, whose Successors in
processe of time built a house there, to witte at Mertherne or as now we
tearme it Matherne, beeing the only mansion house now left unto him." —
Godwin, Bp. of Llandaff in 1615.

FROM A. D. 464 TO A. D. 500. j[§5

the bishop and his successors, are still extant.* But whatever
may be the antiquity of these documents, they certainly do
not belong to the fifth century, and seem to describe the
diocese of Llandaff and principality of Gwent at a later era.
They should not, however, be rejected without examination,
as they supply important links of history, which would other-
wise have been wanting ; and it should not be forgotten, that
such grants and charters as were fabricated in the middle
ages, were, in every practicable case, palmed upon real per-
sonages in order to obtain credit for genuineness.

A proposition has been advanced in the Cambrian Biogra-
phy, which has been copied into other publications, that the
real Uther Pendragon, the father of Arthur, was no other than
Meurig ab Tewdrig.f It is, however, no more than a genea-
logical mistake, arising from the supposition that Arthruis,J
or Arthwys, a son, and Anna, a daughter of Meurig, were the
same persons as Arthur and Anna, two of the children of
Uther. The history and connexions of both the families are
so different as to render it surprising that such an error should
have been committed, were it not for the fact that Meurig and
Uther were contemporaries, and that Arthur is reported to
have held his court at Caerleon in the territories of the Silur-
ian chieftain. From a comparison of the most ancient author-
ities extant upon the subject, including the oldest of the Welsh
remains, it may be collected that Arthur was a native of
Devon or Cornwall, and that his connexion with the Cymry of
Wales and North Britain was almost entirely of an intrusive
kind. He appears, indeed, to have obtained the chief sover-
eignty of the Britons, but it was by usurpation, and he was

♦ Wharton's Anglia Sacra, Vol. II. and Godwin's Bishops.

+ Cambrian Biography vocibus Anna, Arthur, Meirig, and Uthyr.

J Registrum Landavense, and Godwin's Bishops. He is called " An-
dros"in the Cambrian Biography, page 40; and « Adras" in Triads 113
and 118, Third Series.

Igg THE WELSH SAINTS

more often engaged in conflict with his own countrymen than
with the Saxons. The documents,* which exhibit Meurig as
the paramount ruler of Gwent, imply that there were several
chieftains subordinate to him. He was succeeded by his son,
Arthruis, who was the father of Morgan Mwynfawr ;+ but the
acts and territories of the family are on a scale too small, even
for the limited description of Arthur which may be drawn
from Nennius and the poems of the Welsh bards. J

The name of Gwrtheyrn, or Vortigern, is more implicated
with the Welsh genealogies than that of Arthur ; and it is re-
corded that Edeyrn, one of his sons, who was a saint of the
congregation of Cattwg, established a religious community of
three hundred members at a place in Glamorganshire which
was afterwards called Llanedeyrn. Two others of his sons
have obtained the reputation of sanctity in the same county; —
Aerdeyrn, to whom it is said there was a church dedicated in
Glamorgan ; and Elldeyrn, who is the patron of Llanelldeyrn
or Llaniltern, a chapel under St. Fagan's. Nennius, who does
not mention the three preceding, relates that Faustus, one of
his sons, built a large place on the bank of the river Renis,
which remained till the time in which he wrote. No further
mark of locality is added, and as the Welsh name of Faustus
is unknown, it has been conjectured that he was the same per-
son as Edeyrn, and that the Rhymni which passes by Llan-
edeyrn is the Renis.§ Faustus was born in his father's old
age ; which it is presumed was the case with the other two, or
it may be three, persons, as they are not noticed in the current

* The records of Llandaff.

t Godwin's Bishops, and Triads 113, 118.

J This question is discussed by Mr. Sharon Turner in his "Anglo-Saxons,**
Book III. Chap. III. and by Mr. Ritson in his « Life of King Arthur ;*'
but it is to be lamented that the latter person, with all his erudition and
talent, should, in his desire to maintain a favourite position, deform his
•work with unfair criticism and reckless abuse.

§ Notes to Gunn's Nennius,— and Usher, p. 1002.

FROM A. D. 464 TO A. D. 500. 1S7

accounts of the life of Vortigern ; and their date is therefore
referred to this generation.

Paulinus, or Pawl Hen, was originally a North Briton, and
it may be inferred from one or two manuscripts that he re-
sided for some time in the Isle of Man.* The cause of his
removal is not stated, but his next residence that is known
was at Caerworgorn, where he became a saint of the monastery
of Iltutus. He afterwards founded a similar institution at
Ty-gwyn ar Daf, or Whitland, in Carmarthenshire, of which
he was himself the first abbot, and where he was also styled a
bishop,t though it does not appear that he had the care of a
diocese. His institution soon became famous as a place of
religious education; and as Paulinus was eminent for his
acquaintance with the sacred Scriptures, David, Teilo, and
other distinguished saints removed to Ty-gwyn to share his
instruction S.J It is said that he placed at the head of his
society two persons, named Gredifael and Fflewyn, who as
they held office jointly were probably superintendents of
classes, similar to those described by Bede in the monastery of
Bangor Iscoed. He is the patron saint of the church of Llan-
gors, Brecknockshire, and of Capel Peulin,§ a chapel sub-
ordinate to Llandingad, Carmarthenshire. As he lived to
attend a synod held at Llanddewi Brefi,|| the date of which is
generally assigned to the year 519, his life must have reached
to a considerable part of the sixth century ; and it is remark-
able that the most lasting traces of his memory remain in the
neighbourhood of that place. Capel Peulin, which bears his

* Cambrian Biography.

+ Life of St. David by Giraldus Cambrensis.

J Life of St, Teilo written about A. D. 1120 by Galfridus alias Stephan-
us, brother of Urban Bp. of Llandaff, and published in Wharton's Anglia
Sacra.

§ Called « Capella Sancti Paulini" in one of the charters of the abbey of
Strata Florida.

I) Life of St. DaYid by Giraldus.

188 THE WELSH SAINTS

name, is on the borders of the parish of Llanddewi Brefi ; and
in the parish of Caio, adjoining the latter, still exists a stone
with the following inscription : — .

SERVATVR FIDiEI
PATRIEQ: SEMPER
AMATOR HIC PAVLIN
VS lACIT CVLTOR PIENT—
SIMVS iEQVI

The localities being considered, it would appear that this
stone commemorated the interment of Paulinus the saint, and
not that of a Roman general as has been supposed.* The ex-
pression ^' Servator Fidei" implies that the person interred
was a Christian ; and the whole inscription consists of two
Hexameter lines which belong to a period when Latin versifi-
cation was more corrupt than at the time of the departure of
the Romans from Britain.t Paulinus was commemorated on
the twenty second of November under the name of Polin,
Esgob, or the bishop. J

* Cambrian Register, Vol. HI. p, 38 and 39.

■\ A facsimile of the inscription may be seen in the account of Carmar-
thenshire in Gibson's Camden 5 and the words when placed in their
proper form are :

Servator fidei, patriaeque semper amator,
Hie Paulinus jacet, cultor pientissimus sequi.

The last syllable of patriaeque is an error in prosody, unless the author
intended the v, for a vowel, and so formed the end of the word into a
dactyl. In the second line he appears to have had for his model the poets
before the Augustan age, who frequently omitted the final s, and allowed
the vowel preceding to assume its natural quantity j the last u in Paulinus
is therefore short. The n in pientissimus must have been quiescent, in
which case the vowel before it would be short, as in *' pietas" from whence
the word is derived. This interesting relic of antiquity lay originally at a
place called Pant y Polion, obviously a corruption of Pant Polin ; and is
now removed for preservation to Dolau Cothi,the seat of J. Johnes,Esq.

X Cambrian Register, Vol. p. 220.

FROM A. D 464 TO A. D. 500. 189

It would not be proper to close this generation without
some notice of Ffraid, for though she was not a Welsh saint,
her memory has been held in great respect in the Principality.
She is more generally known by the names of St. Bridget or
St. Bride, and, according to Llyfr Bodeulwyn,* she was the
daughter of Cadwrthai, an Irishman ; but other MSS. state
that she was of Scottisht parentage, being the daughter of
Dwyppws ab Cefyth or Dwpdagws. The Latin life of this
saint says that her father, Dubtachus, was an Irishman, and
that she was born at Fochart, in the county of Lowth ; and
Archbishop Usher places the date of her birth in the year 453.
The Welsh and Irish accounts agree in describing her as a
nun, and it is said that she received the veil from Maccaleus,
one of the disciples of St. Patrick. In her native country her
celebrity appears to have been exceeded only by that of the
great Apostle of Ireland himself, and in Wales no less than
eighteen churches and chapels are dedicated to her, as may be
seen by the following catalogue.

Diserth, C. Flintshire.

Llansanffraid Glyn Conwy, R. Denbighshire.

Llansanffraid Glyn Ceiriog, C. Denb.

LlansanlFraid in Mechain, R. — New Chapel, Montgomeryshire.

Llansanffraid Glyndyfrdwy, R. Merionethshire.

Capel Sanffraidy in ruins, a chapel to Holyhead, Anglesey.

St. Brides, R. — 1 chapel^ in ruins, Pembrokeshire.

Llansanffraid, V. — 1 chapel, Llannon (St. Non,) Cardiganshire.

Llansanffraid Cwmmwd Deuddwr, V. — 2 chapels, Llanfadog (St.
Madog,) and Nantgwyllt, Radnorshire.

Llansanffraid in Elfael, V. Radn.

Llansanffraid, R. Brecknockshire.

St. Brides Minor upon Ogmor, R. Glamorganshire,

St. Brides Major, V. — 3 chapels, Wick, (St. James,) Llamphey
(St. Faith,) and ''^capella de Ugemory'' Glam.

St. Brides super Elai, R. Glam.

St. Brides, alias Llansanffraid, R. Monmouthshire.

Skenfreth, or Ysgynfraith, V. Monm.

St. Brides, in Netherwent, R. Monm.

St. Brides Wentloog, C. Monm.

* A manuscript cited in the Myv. Archaiology, Vol. II. p. 51.
t '* O rieni Yscotiaid," meaning of course the Scots of Ireland.

190 THE WELSH SAINTS

From the extent of the parishes attached, it may be inferred,
that the foundations of several of these churches are of consi-
derable antiquity, and seem to belong to the class of those
dedicated to St. Michael and St. Peter. There is a vague
tradition that St. Bridget visited Wales, which may in some
degree account for the homage she has received; but ve-
neration for this holy person has, for some unknown cause
/of preference, been diflfused so widely, that she deserves to be
called pre-eminently the saint of the British Isles; for
churches have been consecrated to her memory throughout
England and Scotland, in the Isle of Man, and especially in
the Hebrides. Her remembrance, however, was in no place
cherished with more fond assiduity than at Kildare in Ireland,
where a sacred fire kindled by her own hands was kept per-
petually burning, and according to Giraldus Cambrensis had
not been extinguished for six hundred years. Her death is
supposed to have happened about A. D. 525, and the first
of February was held as a festival in her honour.

Colman was a saint who flourished in Ireland about the
same time as Ffraid. Llangolman, subject to Maenclochog,
and Capel Colman, subject to Llanfihangel Penbedw, both in
Pembrokeshire, are dedicated to him, but it is not known
"whether he had any personal connexion with that county.
He is sometimes called Colman the elder, to distinguish him
from another Colman, the third bishop of Lindisfarn.

SECTION X.

The Welsh Saints from the Accession of Uther Pendragon A. D. 500,
to the Death of Arthur A. D. 542.

The saints of this generation are exceedingly numerous,
and the history of one or two already noticed remains to be
concluded.

Dubricius still continued to preside over the see of Caerleon,
and it is said that he had the honour of crowning king Arthur.
In his time the Pelagian heresy, which for a while had been
suppressed by St. Germanus, had increased to such a degree
that it required an extraordinary effort to check its progress,
and, if possible, to extinguish it. Accordingly a synod of the
■whole clergy of Wales was convened at Llanddewi Brefi, in
Cardiganshire, and the following is the account given of it by
Giraldus Cambrensis in his " Life of St. David." —

" The detestable heresy of the Pelagians, although formerly
extinguished through the labours of Germanus of Auxerre,
and Lupus of Troyes, when they came over to this island ;
this pestilence, although once suppressed, sprung up anew,
and gave occasion for convening a general synod of all the
churches of Wales. All the bishops, and abbots, and religious
of different orders, together with the princes and laymen,
■were assembled at Brefi in the county of Cardigan. When
many discourses had been delivered in public, and were in-
effectual to reclaim the Pelagians from their error, at length
Paulinus, a bishop, with whom David had studied in his youth,
very earnestly entreated that that holy, discreet, and eloquent
man might be sent for. Messengers were therefore despatched
to desire his attendance ; but their importunity was unavailing
"with the holy man, he being so fully and intently given up to

192 THE WELSH SAINTS

contemplation that urgent necessity alone could induce him to
pay any regard to temporal or secular concerns. At last, two
holy men, namely Daniel* and Dubricius, went over to him.
By them he was persuaded to come to the synod ; and after
his arrival, such was the grace and eloquence with which he
spoke, that he silenced the opponents, and they were utterly
vanquished.t But Father David, by the common consent of
all, whether clergy or laity, (Dubricius having resigned in his
favour,) was elected primate of the Cambrian Church." —

This is the account generally received, and it is said that St.
Dubricius, worn down with years and longing for retirement,
withdrew to a monastery in the island of Enlli or Bardsey,
where he died A. D. 522. He was buried in the island, where
his remains lay undisturbed till A. D. 1120, when Urban,
bishop of LlandafF, through the favour of Radulphus, archbishop
of Canterbury, obtained the permission of David, bishop of Ban-
gor, and Griffith, prince of North Wales, to remove them.t
They were accordingly translated to Llandaff, where they
were interred with great pomp and solemnity in the cathedral,
which had been rebuilt a short time before from its foundation.
But the most remarkable feature in the history of the pro-

* Intended for Daniel, the first bishop of Bangor, whose life, to avoid
an anachronism, should be placed a full generation later.

f Tradition points to the site of the cliurch of Llanddewi Brefi as the
spot where this memorable sermon was preached, and Cressy relates, with
a devout faith, that the following miracles took place upon the occasion.—
"When all the fathers assembled enjoined David to preach, he commanded
a child which attended, and had lately been restored to life by him, to
spread a napkin under his feet, and standing upon it, he began to expound
the Gospel and the Law to the auditory : all the while that this oration
continued, a snow-white dove descending from heaven sat upon his shoul-
ders ; and moreover the earth on which he stood raised itself under him
till it became a hill, from whence his voice like a trumpet was clearly
heard, and understood by all, both near and far oflFj on the top of which
hill a church was afterwards built, and remains to this day.'*

X Life of St. Dubricius in Wharton.

FROM A. D. 500 TO A. D. 542. 193

ceeding is the fact that the bones of the saint were discovered X
with great difficulty. Inquiry was made into the monuments
of the past, and the oldest writings were searched in order to
ascertain where his body had been deposited ; by whom, how,
and at what time it was buried. The passage of the Book of
LlandafF, which records these particulars, though written when
the Romish religion was at its highest ascendency, has there-
fore, in making this admission, betrayed the inference, that in
whatever esteem the Britons of the primitive Church might
have held the memory of their holy men, they could not have
worshipped their relics. The body of the great archbishop of
Caerleon, whose reputation for sanctity was almost equal to that
of St. David, lay unenshrined for six centuries. His example,
however, in retiring to close his life in Bardsey, was so extensive-
ly followed, that according to the exaggerations of after ages, no
less than twenty thousand saints were interred in the island,
the entire surface of which was covered with their ashes ; but
his remains were so little regarded that other bodies were
buried over him, and how his relics were afterwards dis-
tinguished from the general heap is a problem which the
author of the record has left unexplained.* His death was
commemorated on the fourth of November, and his translation
on the twenty ninth of May.

The most eminent saint of Wales must now be introduced
to the reader ; David, or, as his countrymen call him, Dewi,
was the son of Sandde ab Ceredig ab Cunedda, by Non, the
daughter of Gynyr of Caergawch. To repeat all the fabulous
legends invented respecting him, would be to heap together a
mass of absurdity and profaneness; for the monks, in the

* " Quod vero postraodum investigatum est, et adquisitum monumentis
seniorum, et antiquissimis scriptis literarum, quo loco sepultus est infra
sepulturam sanctorum virorum Enlli ; quoque situ firraiter huraatus est;
et a quo, et qualiter, quorumque principum tempore." — Lib. Landav. MS.
as quoted in Roberts's Chronicle of the Kings of Britain, p. 338.

194 THE WELSH SAINTS

excess of their veneration, have not scrupled to say that his
birth was foretold thirty years before the event, and that he
was honoured with miracles while yet in the womb. But to pass
by these wretched imaginations of a perverted mind, it will be
sufficient to notice only those statements of his history which
have an appearance of truth. It is said by Giraldus that he
was born at the place since called St. David's, and that he was
baptized at Forth Clais in that neighbourhood by ^Iveus, or
rather Albeus, bishop of Munster, " who by divine providence
had arrived at that time from Ireland." The same author
adds, that he was brought up at a place, the name of which,
meaning "the old bush," is in Welsh "Hen-meneu,"* and in
Latin " Vetus Menevia." — The locality of Hen-meneu is un-
certain, and a claim has been set up on behalf of Henfyny w in
Cardiganshire,t which answers to the name, and its church is
dedicated to the saint ; but it is clear that Giraldus and Rice-
mar chus, from whom the information is derived, intended to
designate some spot near the western promontory of Pem-
brokeshire, possibly the Roman station of Menapia, for the
latter writer intimates that the " Old Bush," as he calls it, was
the place where Gistlianus resided before he removed to the
valley of Rosina. J

St. David is reported to have received his religious educa-
tion in the school of Iltutus; and afterwards in that of Paulinus
at Ty-gwyn ar Daf, where he is said to have spent ten years
in the study of the Scriptures, and where Teilo, the second
bishop of LlandafF, was one of his fellow-students. It would ap-
pear from Giraldus that he was ordained a presbyter before he
entered the school of Paulinus, and the same author states that

* His etymology of the word is borrowed from two languages, hin
being the Welsh for oldy and muni, as he says, is the Irish term for
a hush.

t Carlisle's Topographical Dictionary of Wales, roce Henfyny w.

X Various readings to Giraldus, in Wharton Vol. II. — See also page 1C2
of this Essay.

FROM A. D. 500 TO A. D. 542. 195

David, Padarn, and Teilo, visited Jerusalem together, where
they -were consecrated to the order of Bishops by the Patri-
arch. Whether this event should be considered to have hap-
pened before, or after, the time that David became principal of
the monastery in the valley of Rosina is of little consequence,
as the story is so improbable that it may be rejected entirely.
From its construction it appears to have been borrowed by
Giraldus from one of the lost Triads, and it was probably in-
vented by some bard who wished to show that the Welsh
bishops traced their consecration to higher authority than that
of the Pope. It is, however, admitted that St. David founded
or restored a monastery in the valley of Rosina,* which was
afterwards called Menevia ; and as the abbots of similar re-
ligious societies were in those days considered to be bishops in
the neighbourhood of their respective communities, St. David
enjoyed the dignity of a Chorepiscopus before his elevation to
the archbishoprick of Cambria. In the retirement of Mene-
via, he appears to have lived with his disciples, practising
those religious austerities which were sanctioned by the super-
stition of the times. He denied himself the enjoyment of
animal food, and his only drink was water. Except when
compelled by urgent necessity, he rigidly abstained from
every interference in temporal affairs, all his time being de-
voted to prayer and spiritual contemplation. It is not stated
how long he continued to practise these exercises ; but he is
said to have experienced considerable molestation from a
chieftain of the Gwyddyl Ffichti, named Boia,t who with a
band of followers had occupied the surrounding district.
Such, however, was the patience with which David and his
associates endured this persecution, that the chieftain relin-

* Its Welsh name is Rh6s, and Giraldus, who occasionally indulges
in a pun, says there were no roses in the valley, — rosina non rosea.

t Riceraarchus calls him a Scot ; Galfridus, a Pict ; and Gwynfardd in-
timates that he was an Irishman (Gwyddyl ;) the name Gwyddyl Ffichti is
adopted above, as being applicable to the three in common.

196 THE WELSH SAINTS

quished his hostility, and was at last converted and baptized,*
St. David was first roused from his seclusion to attend the
synod of Brefi in the manner already related. It is recorded
that he accepted the archbishoprick with reluctance ; but after
his entrance into public life he was distinguished for his
activity. As the Pelagian heresy was not entirely suppressed,
he convened another synod, which it would appear from the
Annales Menevenses was held at Caerleon. His exertions
upon this occasion were so successful that the heresy was
exterminated, and the meeting has been named, in consequence,
" the Synod of Victory."

After these councils he is said to have drawn up with his
own hand a code of rules for the regulation of the British
Church, a copy of which remained in the cathedral of St.
David's until it was lost in an incursion of pirates. Under his
presidency the cause of religion attained to great prosperity,
and, to use the words of Giraldus : — " In those times in the
territory of Cambria the Cliurch of God flourished exceedingly,
and ripened with much fruit every day. Monasteries were built
every where ; many congregations of the faithful of various or-
ders were collected to celebrate with fervent devotion the sac-
rifice of Christ. But to all of them. Father David, as if placed
on a lofty eminence, was a mirror and a pattern of life. He in-
formed them by words, and he instructed them by example ;
as a preacher, most powerful through his eloquence, but
more so in his works. He was a doctrine to his hearers, a
guide to the religious, a life to the poor, a support to orphans,
a protection to widows, a father to the fatherless, a rule to

* Life of Teilo by Galfridus. Giraldus*s version of the story is, that
Boia, attempting to molest the saints, suffered the vengeance of heaven,
being himself aflBicted with a fever, and his cattle perishing by disease;
upon which he solicited the peace of the holy men, and through their inter-
cession obtained a removal of the j idgment, his cattle being restored to
life ; but his wife, making a second attempt at molestation, was deprived
of her reason, and Boia was soon afterwards slain by an enemy.

FROM A. D. 500 TO A. D. 542. 197

monks, and a path to seculars, becoming all to all, that he
might gain all to God." — This character is, of course, over-
charged; but it is recorded in the Triads that the three blessed
visitors of the Isle of Britain were Dewi, Padarn, and Teilo.
. — " They were so called because they went as guests to the
houses of the noble, the plebeian, the native and the stranger,
without accepting either fee or reward, or victuals or drink ; but
what they did was to teach the faith in Christ to every one
without pay or thanks. Besides which, they gave to the poor
and needy, gifts of their gold and silver, their raiment and
provisions."

After his elevation, St. David appears to have resided for a
while at Caerleon, the proper seat of the primate ;* but his
stay was not of long continuance before he obtained the per-
mission of Arthur to remove the see to Menevia. No reason
is alleged for this proceeding, and probably it arose from the
mere desire of dignifying a place to which he had become
attached from early associations.t The churches founded by
him have been enumerated already,^ and the list is worthy of
another consideration as it serves to point out the country
which, though archbishop, he held under his peculiar juris-
•diction. It is generally agreed that Wales was first divided
into dioceses in his time, and local indications are exceedingly
valuable wherever they are sufficiently numerous to establish
an inference upon inductive principles. The diocese of St.
David, therefore, as may be judged from the foundations at-

* Triad 7, First Series.

f The Latin copy of Geoffrey says that he loved Menevia above all
other monasteries of his diocese, because St. Patrick, by -whom his birth
had been foretold, had founded it ! Bp. Godwyn suggests : *' It seemeth
he misliked the frequency of people at Caerlegion, as a meanes to with-
draw him from contemplation, whereunto that hee might be more free, hee
made choice of this place for his See rather than for any fitness of the
same otherwise."

J Page 52.

198 THE WELSH SAINTS

tributed to him, extended over the entire counties of Pem-
broke and Carmarthen ; its northern boundary in Cardigan-
shire included the parishes of Llanddewi Aberarth, and
Llanddewi Brefi ; from whence it seems to have followed the
course of the Irfon through Brecknockshire,* and in Radnor-
shire it included the parishes of Cregruna and Glascwm.
North of this line was the diocese of Llanbadarn, in which
there are no church-foundations attributable to St. David;
and the three chapels dedicated to him, as mentioned before,t
date in all probability subsequent to the time when this dio-
cese merged into that of Menevia. From Glascwm the boun-
dary of St. David's seems to have passed southwards to the
Wye, and to have followed the course of that river to its
junction with the Severn, including the districts of Ewyas
and Erehenfield in Herefordshire, and the whole of Mon-
mouthshire with the exception of the lordship of Gwynllwg.
The southern boundary seems to have commenced, as at
present, between the rivers Neath and Tawe, and afterwards
to have passed along the hills which naturally divide Breck-
nockshire from Glamorganshire, as far as Blaenau Gwent;
from this point it followed the present limits of Gwynllwg to
the mouth of the Usk. South of this line was the original
diocese of Teilo ; in which the only edifices, dedicated to St.
David, are the chapels of LalestonJ and Bettws, subject to
Newcastle, Glamorganshire, and Bettws, subject to Newport,
Monmouthshire; but they appear to be of modern origin.
The Lordship of Gwynllwg was co-extensive with the present
deanery of Newport, and until the Union of England and

♦There were formerly not less than six churches and chapels ascribed or
dedicated to St. David in the Hundred of Builth, Brecknockshire, and it is
remarkable that they were all on the south side of the Irfon. Five of
them still remain.

t Llanddewi Ystrad Enni, Heyop, and Whitton.

X Built about A. D. 1110, by Lales, architect to Richard Granville, Lord
of Neath.

FROM A. D. 500 TO A. D. 542. |99

Wales it was considered a part of Glamorgan.* It is singular
that the parishes of Caerleon and Llanddewi Fach, though
west of the Usk, do not form part of this district; and they
remain to this day a confirmation of the arrangement which
would place them in the diocese of St. David's. They are at
no great distance from the town of Llandaff, but David
might have weakened his authority, as archbishop of Menevia,
had he surrendered the place from which he originally de-
rived the title of Metropolitan ; and he is, by some writers,
called archbishop of Caerleon to the time of his death.

As it was the custom in the early ages of Christianity for
the bishop to receive a share of the offerings presented in all
the churches under his superintendence, the boundaries of his
diocese would soon be determined with considerable precision;
and he could not intrude into the diocese of another without
an infringement of rights. The tract described includes all
the churches, named after St. David, in Wales and the ad-
joining counties. There are, however, three churches and a
chapel in Devon and Cornwall, of which he is considered the
patron saint :t and though none of his ancient biographers
have noticed that he passed any portion of his life in that
country, the circumstance that he visited it, probably in the
early part of his life, is intimated in the poetry of Gwynfardd, J
who says that he received ill-treatment there at the hands of a

* Description of Wales, by Sir John Price.
t Bacon's Liber Regis.

J "A goddef palfawd, dymawd trameint,
Y gan forwyn ddifwyn, ddiwyl ei deint,
Dialwys, peirglwys pergig Dyfneint,
A'r ni las Uosged "

He endured bufFetings, very hard blows,
From the hands of an uncourteous woman, devoid of modesty,
He took vengeance, he endangered the sceptre of Devon,
And those who were not slain were burned.—

My V. Archaiol. Vol, I. p. 270, and Williams's Pelagian Heresy.

200 THE WELSH SAINTS

female, on account of which the inhabitants suffered his ven-
geance. The edifices alluded to are the following.—

Tilbmge, alias Thelbridge, R. Devon.
Ashprington, R. with the chapelry of Painsford, Devon.
St. David's, a chapel to Heavitree, in the city of Exeter.
Dewstowe, alias Davidstow, V. Cornwall.

Some of these were possibly founded by the saint; but they
may, at least, be thought to confirm the tradition of his pre-
sence, which is further strengthened by the existence, in the
same quarter, of the following, dedicated to St. Non, his
mother.

Bradstone, R. Devon.

Plenynt, alias Pelynt, alias Plint, V. Cornwall.

Alternon, V. Cornwall.

There are three religious edifices dedicated to St. David in
the rest of England,* so few and far between, that no historical
inference can be deduced from them, except that they were
consecrated to his memory long after the conversion of the
/' Saxons. The county of Devon remained in the possession of
the Britons so late as the year 900.

Geoffrey of Monmouth states that Dewi, archbishop of
Caerleon, died in the monastery which he had founded at
Menevia, where he was honourably buried by order of Mael-
gwn Gwynedd. This event is recorded by Geoffrey as if it
happened soon after the death of Arthur, who died A. D. 542.
According to the computations of Archbishop Usher, St.
David died A. D. 544, aged eighty two, which is certainly
more probable than the legendary accounts of Giraldus and
others, who assert that the saint lived to the patriarchal age
of a hundred and forty seven years, sixty five of which he pre-
sided over his diocese. But it must be allowed that the dates

* Barton David, V. Somersetshire ; Moreton in the Marsh, a chapel to
Bourton on the Hill, Gloucestershire j and Armin, a chapel to Snaith,
Yorkshire.

FROM A. D. 500 TO A. D. 512. 201

quoted by Usher are very uncertain, and depend upon the
authority of writers who lived many centuries after the events
which they record. The order of generations, and the names
of contemporaries, render it necessary to place the birth of
David about twenty years later than it is fixed by Usher ; and
his life may be protracted to any period short of A. D. 566, to
which year the death of Maelgwn Gwynedd is assigned in the
Annales Menevenses.*

He was canonized by Pope Calistus about A. D. 1120, and
his commemoration was held on the first of March, the anni-
versary, according to Giraldus, of the day on which he died.
It has been lately observed, that the reputation which he has
acquired of being the patron saint of Wales, is of modern in-
troduction ; and the observation is certainly true in the sense
of the words '• tutelar saint," as understood by those who
compiled the romances of the " Seven Champions of Christen-
dom." It may also be said that the story of the leek, and its
adoption as a national emblem, is not noticed by his early
biographers. But these remarks should not be made with a
view to disparage his memory. He has long maintained the
highest station among the saints of his country ; and whether
the number of churches attributed to him, or his exertions in
the overthrow of Pelagianism, be considered, he professes the
fairest claim to such a distinction. Since the twelfth century
his pre-eminence has been undisputed; and the poem of
Gwynfardd, written in that age, lauds him in terms as if he
were second only to the Almighty. So famous was his shrine
at Menevia, that it attracted votaries, not only from all parts

* Lives of St. David have been written — ^by Rieeraarchus about A. D,
1090, a copy of which is preserved in the British Museum, Cotton MSS.
Vespasian A. XIV; by Giraldus Cambrensis about A. D. 1200, published
in Wharton's Anglia Sacra; by John of Teignmouth, a contemporary of
Giraldus, inserted in Capgrave's collection ; and by Leland, in the reign of
Henry VIII, which is published in his « Collectanea." There is also an
ancient Welsh Life in the British Museum, Cotton MSS. Titus D. XXII.

202 THE WELSH SAINTS

of Wales, but also from foreign countries ; and even three of
the kings of England* are recorded to have undertaken the
journey, which when twice repeated was deemed equal to one
pilgrimage to Rome.t

To take a short notice of temporal affairs ; the Gwyddyl
Ffichti, who were conquered by Clydwyn, the son of Brychan,
are in this generation found to be independent. According to
an authority, J cited in Jones's History of the county of Brecon,
Dyfnwal, a Pictish or Caledonian prince, had exterminated
the race of Clydwyn and assumed the soveignty. In conse-
/ quence of which, Caradog Fraichfras, the son of a grand-
daughter of Brychan, appears to have marched westward from
the Severn, and to have recovered the principal part of
Brecknockshire, which he transmitted to his descendants.
The Irish were also in possession of Carmarthenshire, and the
names of Liethali, and Ceing or Ceianus, two of their chief-
tains in that county, have been recorded ;§ but about the
same time, Urien Rheged, whose father, Cynfarch Oer,|| had
been obliged to leave his territories in North Britain and seek
a refuge in Wales, undertook to clear the country of these
foreign settlers. He was successful; and accordingly was
allowed to take possession of the district lying between the
rivers Towy and Neath, which his descendants continued
to inherit after him. These events took place in the early

* William the Conqueror, Henry IT, and Edward I; the latter of whom
was accompanied by his queen, Eleanor, Nov. 26, 1264.
t This opinion was expressed by the monks in the verse, —

" Roma semel quantum, dat bis Menevia tantum."
and more especially in the following couplet}

" Meneviam si bis, et Romam si semel, ibis,
Merces sequa tibi redditur hie et ibi."

+ HarleianMSS. No.6832.

§ Gunn's Nennius ; Camden's Britannia.

II Of the line of Coel Godebog.

FROM A. D 500 TO A. D. 542. 203

part of this century, and they seem to have afforded to St.
David the opportunity of establishing a number of churches
in the country thus recovered,* in which none are found of
older date, except those which were dedicated to the children
of Brychan. Urien, after performing these services in Wales,
appears to have proceeded to North Britain, where he re-
gained his father's dominions ; and with the assistance of his
sons, supported a long and well contested struggle with Ida,
the king of the Angles. His exertions against the invaders
in this quarter, which entitle him to be considered one of the
most illustrious Britons of his age, would have succeeded in
their expulsion, had he not been embarassed with the dissen-
sions of his countrymen; and he was at last treacherously
slain while besieging Deoric, the son of Ida, in the island of
Lindisfarne.t It has been said that he was a saint of the con-
gregation of Cattwg, but the assertion is inconsistent with his
character as a warrior, which he maintained to the close of his
life. He was the patron of the bards, Llywarch Hen, and
Taliesin ; and his heroic deeds have been celebrated in some
of the best effusions of the Welsh muse.J

The name " North Britain" is here used indefinitely for any
part of the country reaching from the Humber to the Clyde,
as the writer is unable to determine the location of its princes.
^This tract was occupied by the Cymry, or Britons of the
same race as those Avho now inhabit the Principality of Wales,
and whose name may be traced in the modern appellation of

* That it was not originally under his jurisdiction is strongly implied in
an abrupt passage in his Life by Ricemarchus, which says that Boducat
and Maitrun, two saints of the province of Kidwelly, submitted themselves
to him. — "Duo quoque Sancti, Boducat et Maitrun, in provincia Get-
gueli, dederunt sibi manus."

t Nennius, and Poems of Taliesin and Llywarch H^n.

; Urien Rheged is the Sir Urience of the romances of Arthur, and Car-
adog Fraichfras is Sir Carados bris bras.

204 THE WELSH SAINTS

the county of Cumberland.* Their history, though involved
in obscurity, is capable of investigation ; and it is to be hoped
that the Welsh traditions, which throw light upon the subject^
will not long be left unexamined. Meanwhile the following
extracts from the pages t of a living historian, having reference
to this people at a later period, may be read with interest. —
'' The Britons of Cumbria occupy a tolerably large space on
the map, but a very small one in history ; their annals have
entirely perished ; and nothing authentic remains concerning
them except a very few passages, wholly consisting of inci-
dental notices relating to their subjection and their misfor-
y tunes. — From the Ribble in Lancashire, or thereabouts, up to
the Clyde, there existed a dense population, composed of
Britons, who preserved their national language and customs,
agreeing in all respects with the Welsh of the present day.
So that even in the tenth century, the ancient Britons still
inhabited the greater part of the western coast of the island,
however much they had been compelled to yield to the politi-
cal supremacy of the Saxon invaders. * * * The ' Regnum
Cumbrense' comprehended many districts, probably governed
by petty princes or Regulij in subordination to a chief Monarch
or Pendragon. Reged appears to have been some where in
the vicinity of Annandale. Sirath-Clydei is, of course, the
district or vale of Clydes-dale. In this district, or state, was
situated Alcluyd, or Dunhritton, now Dumbarton, where the

* The portion of Britain to the south of the Humber and east of the Se-
vern, was inhabited by another race of Britons called " Lloegrwys." The
name by which the Welsh have invariably called themselves in their own
language is "Cymry."

t Sir Francis Palgrave's History of the Anglo Saxons 5 a work which
displays great research, and is illustrated with maps of the territories of
the Britons and Anglo-Saxons at different eras.

X The word strath is still universally used over all Scotland, highland
and lowland, for valley. (Palgrave.) The corresponding word in Wales
is ystrad.

FROM A. D. 500 TO A. D. 542. 205

British kings usually resided ; and the whole Cumbrian king-
dom was not unfrequently called ^ Strath- Clyde/ from the
ruling or principal state. — Many dependencies of the Cum-
brian kingdom extended into modern Yorkshire, and Leeds
was the frontier town between the Britons and the Angles ;
but the former were always giving way, and their territory
was broken and intersected by English settlements. Carlisle
had been conquered by the Angles at a very early period ;
and Egfrith of Northumbria bestowed that city upon the see
y of Lindisfarne. * * * The Britons of Strath-Clyde, and Re-
ged, and Cumbria, gradually melted away into the surround-
ing population; and, losing their language, ceased to be
discernible as a separate race. Yet it is most probable that
this process was not wholly completed until a comparatively
recent period. The 'Wallenses' or Welsh, are enumerated by
David the Lion amongst his subjects, (A. D. 1124 — 1153;)
and the laws or usages of the Brets or Britons continued in
use until abolished by Edward I. at the period when Scotland,
by his command appeared, by her representatives, in the
English parliament at Westminster ; (A. D. 1304.) In the
bishoprick of Glasgow, comprehending the greatest portion of
the ancient Cumbrian kingdom, the ' barbarous' British speech
generally gave way to that dialect of the Saxon English,
which is usually called lowland Scottish, about the thirteenth
century ; but in some secluded districts the language is
thought to have lingered until the Reformation, when it was
possibly destroyed by the ministration of the Protestant
clergy. In our English Cumberland and the adjoining
Westmoreland, a few British traditions yet survive
among the people. Pendragon Castle reminds the traveller
of the fabled Uther. Some of the mountains which adorn
the landscape retain the appellations given them by the
original population ; and * Skiddaw' and ' Helvellyn' now
rise, as the sepulchral monuments of a race which has passed
away." —

206 THE WELSH SAINTS

One of the chiefs of North Britain, contemporary with
Urien Rheged, -was Dunawd or Dunod Fyr,* the son of Pabo^
of the line of Coel Godebog. He appears to have gained some
distinction as a warrior, and in the Triads he is called one of
the three pillars of his country in battle. It is uncertain
whether he accompanied his father, whose retreat to Wales
has been already described ; but in this generation he is found
engaged in the north, where he disgraced his arms by fighting
against the sons of Urien.t A reverse of fortune, however,
obliged him to leave his territories, and to place himself under
the protection of Cyngen ab Cadell, the prince of Powys, who
had afforded his father an asylum. He afterwards embraced a
life of religion ; and under the patronage of Cyngen, he be-
came the founder, in conjunction with his sons, Deiniol, Cyn-
wyl, and Gwarthan, of the celebrated college or monastery of
Bangor Iscoed on the banks of the Dee in Flintshire. J This
institution, over which he presided as abbot, was one of the
most eminent in the island ; and, according to Bede, such was
the number of its monks, that when they were divided into
seven classes under their respective superintendents, none of
these classes contained less than three hundred persons, all of
whom supported themselves by their own labour.§ It fur-
nished a large proportion of the learned men, who attended
the Welsh bishops in their conference with St. Augustin, at

* Sometimes called "Dunawd Fawr'* and "Dunawd Wr ;" but it is un-
certain which of the three epithets is the right one. The Latin name is
<' Dinothus ;" and in Bede, " Dinoot Abbas."

f Poems of Llywarch Hen.

I Achau y Saint, Silurian copies. The monastery has often been styled,
Bangor in Maelor, from its situation in a district of that name ; and Bangor
Dunod from its founder.

§ "Tantus fertur fuisse numerus Monachorum, ut cum in septera portio-
nes esset cum praepositis sibi Rectoribus Monasterium divisum, nulla harum
portio minus quam trecentos homines haberet, qui omnes de labore manu-
um suarum vivere solebant." — Hist. Eccl. Lib. IL Cap. 2.

FROM A. D. 500 TO A. D. 542. 207

which time Dunawd was still its abbot, though he must have
been far advanced in years, for the earliest date assigned to
that event is A. D. 599. The destruction of the monastery by
Ethelfrith, king of Northumbria, soon followed, and it was
never afterwards restored. Dunawd is the patron saint of the
present church of Bangor in Flintshire,* and his festival was
held on the seventh of September. His wife, Dwywe, the
daughter of Gwallog ab Llenog, has been classed with the
saints, but there are no churches which bear her name.

Cyngen, the son of Cadell, in whose territories the monas-
tery of Bangor Iscoed was situated, is said to have endowed
it with lands, for which he has had the reputation of sanctity,
and there was once a church, dedicated to him, at Shrews-
bury. One of his sons, Mawan ab Cyngen, whose life belongs
to this generation, has also been deemed a saint, but nothing
further is known respecting him.

Sawyl Benuchel, the brother of Dunawd, is described as an
overbearing prince ; and on account of his oppression, his
party joined alliance with the Saxons, with whom they became
one people.t He afterwards devoted himself to the service of
religion, which appears to have been the common practice of
the British chieftains upon the loss of their dominions, and the
growing superstition of the age was favourable to such a
custom. He closed his life in the monastery of Bangor Is-
coed, and is the patron saint of Llansawel, a chapel under
Cynwyl Gaio, Carmarthenshire.

Carwyd, another brother of Dunawd, was also a saint, and
an inmate of Bangor Iscoed, where he likewise ended his
days.

Arddun Benasgell, the sister of Dunawd, was married to
Brochwel Ysgythrog, a son of Cyngen ab Cadell. The Cam-

* Chapels to Bangor, — Worthenbury (St. Deiniol ab Dunawd,) and
Overton or Orton Madoc (St. Mary.)
t Triad 74, Third Series.

208 THE WELSH SAINTS

brian Biography says that some Welsh churches are dedicated
to her, but it does not appear where they are situated. Her
husband, Brochwel, succeeded his father in the principality of
Powys, and lived till after the time of St. Augustin, when he
commanded the reserve left for the protection of the monks of
Bangor upon the advance of Ethelfrith. The Northumbrian,
however, instead of directing his first attack against the main
army of the Britons as had been expected, proceeded against
the monks, who were praying at some distance ; and Broch-
wel, unprepared with a force sufficient for such an emergency,
was defeated.*

To proceed with the line of Coel ; Gwenddolau, Cof, and
Nudd, were the sons of Ceidio ab Garthwys, a chieftain of
North Britain. They were all instructed in the Christian
faith in the college of Iltutus, but no other reason is alleged
why they should be enumerated among the saints. Gwen-
ddolau was the patron of the bard, Myrddin the Caledonian,
and was slain at the battle of Arderydd, A. D. 577*

Cynwyd Cynwydion, the son of Cynfelyn ab Garthwys, was
a saint of the congregation of Cattwg, and is presumed to be
the founder of Llangynwyd Fawr, Glamorganshire. t

Tangwn, the son of Talhaiarn ab Garthwys, was the founder
of a church in Somersetshire " which is now called Tangyn-
ton."i

The saints of the line of Cunedda, besides David, arch-
bishop of Menevia, were : —

Afan Buallt, a son of Cedig ab Ceredig, by Tegwedd,
daughter of Tegid Foel of Penllyn; and, therefore, uterine
brother to Teilo. He was the founder of Llanafan Fawr in
the county of Brecon, and Llanafan Trawsgoed in Cardigan-
shire; and was buried at the former place, where his tomb

* Bedffi Historia Ecclesiastica, Lib. II. Cap. 2.

t One chapel, Bayden.

X Cambrian Biography. Qu. Taunton ?

FROM A. D. 500 TO A. D 542. 209

still remains, with the following inscription, from which it
may be learned that he was a bishop : —

HIC lACET SANCTVS AVANVS EPISCOPVS

As there are reasons for extending his life into the next
generation, it is not improbable that he was the third bishop of
Llanbadarn; and his churches are situated in the district
which may be assigned to that diocese. Llanfechan, one of
the chapels under Llanafan Fawr, is dedicated to him,* and
his memory has been celebrated on the sixteenth of Nov-
ember.

Doged, sometimes styled Doged Frenhin, or " the king ;"
he was the brother of Afan, and founder of a church in Den-
bighshire called Llanddoged.

Tyssul, a son of Corun ab Ceredig ; the founder of a church
in Cardiganshire, called Llandyssul,t and of another of the
same name in Montgomeryshire. His festival is Jan. 31.

Carannog, in Latin " Carantocus," a brother of Tyssul, and
the founder of the church of Llangrannog, Cardiganshire.
The day of his commemoration is May 16.J John of Teign-
mouth makes him to be a son, instead of a grandson of Cered-
ig, and the following extracts from that author, as translated
by Cressy, may be taken as a fair specimen of the manner in
which the lives of saints were written in the middle as^es.
After stating that St. Carantac was '' by descent and countrey
a Brittain, son of Keredic, Prince of the Province of Cardigan,
Cereticcs Hegionis;" the translator proceeds: — A certain prince,
named Keredic, had many children ,- among which, one was
called Carantac, a child of a good disposition, who began early

* For the other chapels, see page 22.

t Chapels to Llandyssul, all in xMmSy—Llandyssulfed (St. Sylvester,

Iqu.) Llanfair (St. Mary,) Faerdre, Capel Dewi (St. David,) Capel Ffraid
(St. Bridget,) and Capel Borthin.
X There is a Life of St. Carantoc in the British Museum, Cottonian
MSS. Vesp. A. XIV.
2 B
I

210 THE WELSH SAINTS

to do those things which he thought would be pleasing to God.
Now in those days the Scotts did grievously vex Brittany,* so
that his father, unable to sustain the weight and troubles of
government, would have resigned the province to Carantac.
But he, who loved the celestial King far more than an earthly
kingdom, fled away; and having bought of a poor man a
wallet and a staff, by God's conduct was brought to a certain
pleasant place, where he, reposing, built an oratory, and there
spent his time in the praises of God. From his childhood he
embraced purity and innocence. At last he passed over into
Ireland, invited by his affection to St. Patrick. Whither being
come, by common advice they determined to separate them-
selves, and that one of them should travel in preaching the
Gospel toward the right hand, the other toward the left. In
their company there were many Ecclesiastical persons attend-
ing them ; and they agreed once every year to meet together
at an appointed place. Whithersoever this holy man went, an
angel of our Lord, in the likeness of a dove, accompanied him,
who changed his name from Carantac into Cernach, which was
an Irish appellation. All along his voyage he wrought great
miracles for the confirmation of the faith preached by him,
and healed many thousand. — The wonderful Gests of this holy
man, Cernach or Carantac, are to be read in Irish historians,
and how the grace at first given to the Apostles was plenti-
fully given to him. He was an admirable soldier and cham-
pion of Christ, a spiritual and devout abbot, and a patient
teacher, not refusing to preach saving truth to every one.
During many years spent by him at that Island, he brought an
incredible number to wash away their sins by Penance, and
both day and night he offered innumerable prayers to God.
After he had converted much people to our Lord, who
wrought many miracles by him, he at last returned to his own
native country in Brittany, where he retired to his former

* Giessy invariably uses the words— '^Brittain" for Briton, and "Brit-
tany" for Great Britain. He styles Arinorica " Lesser Brittany."

FROM A. D. 500 TO A. D. 542. 21 1

cave, accompanied by many disciples. There having built a
church he determined to abide. But not long after, being
again admonished by a voice from heaven, he returned to
Ireland, where in a good old age, and full of holy works, he
rested in peace on the seventeenth of the Calends of June,*
and was buried in his own city, which from him was called
Chernach.

Pedrwn, brother of Tyssul, enrolled among the saints, but
there is no church at present called after his name.

Pedr, brother of Tyssul ; his churches, if he founded any,
cannot be distinguished from those which are dedicated to
St. Peter, the Apostle.

Tyrnog, or Teyrnog, brother of Tyssul, a saint, but there are
no churches ascribed to him. Llandyrnog, Denbighshire, is
attributed to another person of the same name.

Cyndeyrn, a son of Arthog ab Ceredig ; a saint to whom
Llangyndeyrn, formerly subject to Llandyfaelog, Carmar-
thenshire is dedicated. His festival occurs on the twenty
fifth of July.

Cyngar, the brother of Cyndeyrn ; it is said that he " es-
tablished a congregation in Glamorgan, at a place now called
Llangenys ;"t but perhaps the statement is an error, arising
from confounding this person with another Cyngar, who is
said to have founded the college of Cungarus in the diocese
of LlandafF.

Dogfael, the son of Ithel ab Ceredig, was the founder of St.
Dogmael's in Cemmaes, St. Dogwel's in Pebidiog, Monachlog
Ddu, and Melinau, all in Pembrokeshire ; and has been ac-
counted the patron saint of Llanddogwel under Llanrhyddlad,
Anglesey, Festival, June 14.

* Corresponding to May 16; eleven days after which, or on the twenty-
seventh of the same month, being the festival of St. Carantoc, Old Style, a
fair is held at Llangranuog in Cardiganshire.

t Cambrian Biography.

212 THE WELSH SAINTS

Einion, surnamed Frenhin, or the king, was the son of
Owain Danwyn ab Einion Yrth ab Cunedda ; and was the
founder of a church in the district of Lleyn, Carnarvonshire,
which has since been called Llanengan, or Llaneingion Fren-
hin. He also established the college of Penmon in Anglesey,
over which he placed his brother, Seiriol, as the first princi-
pal ; and in conjunction with St. Cadfan, he founded a monas-
tery in the Isle of Bardsey, of which that person was the first
abbot. There was an inscription, now effaced, upon the tower
of the church of Llanengan, the latter part of which, as de-
cyphered by the author of Mona Antiqua, asserted that the
founder of the edifice was a king of Wales : —

ENEANUS REX WALLI^ FABRICAVIT.

The title, however, must be received with some limitation,
as the presence of contemporary chieftains would show that
the sovereignty of Einion must have been confined to the
neighbourhood of Carnarvonshire. The form of the letters, as
represented in the Mona Antiqua, is not ancient, and the
name " Wallia" was not employed to describe the territories of
the "Cymry" until the middle ages. The festival of this
royal saint is February the ninth.

Seiriol, the brother, or according to other accounts, the
nephew, of Einion Frenhin, was the first president of the
college of Penmon, which became so celebrated that " the men
of Llychlyn," or the Scandinavian rovers, resorted there for
religious instruction. Subordinate to this institution was a
cell in the island of Glanach, or Priestholm, off the coast ad-
jacent, of which Seiriol has been deemed the patron saint.

Meirion, another brother of Einion Frenhin, was a saint,
and Llanfeirion, formerly a chapel of ease under Llangadwal-
adr, Anglesey, has been dedicated to him. His wake has
been held on the third of February.

Cynyr Farfdrwch,* the son of Gwron ab Cunedda, lived at
Cynwyl Gaio in Carmarthenshire, and was the father of six

* He is also called Cynyr Farfwyn, and Cynyr Ceinfarfog.

FROM A. D. 500 TO A. D. 542. 213

sons, five of whom were saints. The names of the five saints
were Gwyn, Gwynno, Gwynnoro, Celynin, and Ceitho ;* and,
according to the fable reported of them, they were all pro-
duced at one birth. There was formerly a chapel of ease in
the parish of Caio, called Pumsaint, which, as well as Llan-
pumsaint, still existing, subject to Abergwyli, Carmarthenshire,
was dedicated to them. Their festival is said to have been
held on the day of All-Saints ; but no further information can
be obtained respecting them, except that Ceitho is presumed
to be the founder of Llangeitho in Cardiganshire, and his fes-
tival was kept on the fifth of August.

Between the commencement of this century and the synod
of Brefi, may be dated the arrival of Cadfan at the head of a
large company of saints from Armorica. He appears to have
been a person of distinction, being the son of Eneas Lydewig,
by Gwenteirbron, a daughter of Emyr Llydaw, one of the
princes of that country. Among his companions are men-
tioned, Cynon, Padarn, Tydecho, Trinio, Gwyndaf, Dochdwy,
Mael, Sulien, Tanwg, Eithras, Sadwrn, Lleuddad, Tecwyn,
Maelrys, and several others. As most of these were men of
princely family and relatives of Cadfan, the analogy of other
cases suggests that the reason, which induced them to leave
their country and devote themselves to religion, was the loss
of their territories : for the Armoricans struggled hard to
maintain their independence against the Franks, who, under
Clovis, were at this time establishing their dominion in Gaul.f
Cadfan, after his arrival in Wales, became the founder of the
churches of Tywyn':|: Merionethshire, and Llangadfan, Mont-

* The other son was Cai, who possibly gave name to the district in
which he lived.

t The Welsh accounts do not mention this circumstance, but the chro-
nological coincidence is remarkable. Paris was made the capital of the
dominions of Clovis in the year 510.

J Chapels.— Llanfihangel y Pennant (St. Michael,) Pennal (St. Peter,)
and Tal-y-llyu (St. Mary.)

214 THE WELSH SAINTS

gomeryshire ; but he is known more especially as the first
abbot of a monastery, founded by him in conjunction with
Einion Frenhin, in the Isle of Bardsey, off the western pro-
montory of Carnarvonshire. It was, probably, the establish-
ment of this institution that induced St. Dubricius to make
choice of the spot, as the place where, remote from the world,
he might end his days in the uninterrupted practice of de-
votion. Other holy men retired thither for the same purpose ;
in consequence of which, the soil of the island at length ac-
quired a sacred character, and it was deemed meritorious to be
buried there. Its narrow limits, scarcely exceeding three
miles in circumference, were said to enclose the bodies of
twenty thousand saints. Pilgrimages were made to it for the
sake of obtaining the intercession of the departed ; and as the
voyage was often attended with danger, several of the bards
have employed their verse in describing its difficulties, not
forgetting to celebrate the guardian influence to which the
faithful owed their protection amid the waves. Nor has the
church of Tywyn remained without its eulogy ; in a poem*
written between the years 1230 and 1280, the author asserts
that it possessed three altars,t and was furnished like the
church of David, meaning that of Llanddewi Brefi, where,
according to Gwynfardd, the number of altars was five. He
proceeds to praise "its choir, and sanctuary, and its music, its
warriors, and its waters of grace;" and maintains that it was
not right to pass over the place in silence, for its dwellings
were equal to the mighty mansions of heaven. J — There were

* Canu i Gaduan, Llywelyn Vart ae cant, Myv. Arch. Vol. p. 360.
t The first belonged to St. Mary, the second to St. Peter; and the third,
"happy was the town in its privilege of possessing it, for it was sent by a
hand from heaven," was dedicated to St. Cadfan.

% Cadr y ceidw Cadfan glan glas weilgi,
Cadr fab Eneas, gwanas gweddi,
Cadr fryn yw Tywyn, nid iawn tewi ag ef,
Cadr addef nef ail ei athrefi.

FROM A. D. 500 TO A. D. 542. 215

some years ago, in the church-yard of Tywyn, two rude
pillars, one of which, of the form of a wedge, about seven feet
high, and having a cross and inscription upon it, went by the
name of St. Cadfan's stone, and was thought to have been a
part of his tomb. Engravings of the inscription, as copied at
two several periods in the last century,* are given in Gough's
Camden, from w^hich it appears that the letters resembled
those used by the Anglo Saxons, but the only word legible
was the name of Cadfan. As there is a tradition that the
saint was buried in Bardsey, which an obscure passage from
the poem just quoted, would seem to confirm, it may be judged
that the stone was merely a rude cross of which similar
specimens, bearing the names of sainted persons, may be found
in other parts of the Principality. He has been considered to
be the patron of warriors, which countenances the supposition
that he led a military life in Armorica ; and his festival has
been celebrated on the first of November. His mother,
Gwenteirbron, is mentioned as a saint in one of the catalogues,
but no churches have been erected to her memory.

Cynon accompanied Cadfan to Bardsey, where he was made
chancellor of the monastery ; but whatever was the nature of
this and other offices occasionally attributed to the primitive
Christians, it may be said that the compiler of Achau y Saint
has chosen to call them by names which were familiar in his
own time. Cynon is the reputed founder of the church of
Tregynon, Montgomeryshire; and Capel Cynon subject to
Llandyssilio Gogo, Cardiganshire, is dedicated to him.

Padarn, the son of Pedrwn, or Pedredin, ab Emyr Llydaw,
visited Britain, according to Usher, in the year 516; and
though no ancient authority is given for the date, it may be
presumed upon as the time when Cadfan and his companions
arrived in this country. According to Achau y Saint, Padarn,
after his arrival in Wales, became a member of the college of

♦ By Lhuyd before 1709, and by Dr. Taylor in 1761.

216 THE WELSH SAINTS

Illtyd. He afterwards established a religicfus society, consist-
ing of a hundred and twenty members,* at a place in Cardi-
ganshire since called Llanbadarn Fawr;t where he also
founded an episcopal see, of which he became the first bishop.
He was the founder of the churches of Llanbadarn Trefeglwys
or Llanbadarn Fach, and Llanbadarn Odin, Cardiganshire, and
of Llanbadarn Fawr, Radnorshire. The chapels of Llanbadarn
Fynydd under Llanbister, and Llanbadarn y Garreg under
Cregruna, both in Radnorshire, are named after him ; and the
situations of some of these places serve to point out the extent
of his diocese to the southward, along the limits which have
been assigned to the diocese of St. David. To the north its
extent is uncertain, but it probably included a considerable
part of Montgomeryshire. How long Llanbadarn continued
to be the capital of a bishoprick cannot be ascertained, as very
little is known of its history, and the last notice of it, under
that character, in the Welsh Chronicles, is in the year 720 ;
when it is recorded that many of the churches of LlandafF,
Myny w, and Llanbadarn, meaning the three dioceses of South
Wales, were ravaged by the Saxons. J It is reported, however,
to have lost its privileges through the turbulent conduct of
its inhabitants, who killed their bishop ; and the diocese was
in consequence annexed to that of Menevia. From the Latin
Hexameters of Johannes SulgenusJI it may be learned that
Padarn presided over the see twenty one years, during which
time he spent his life in the practice of such religious exercises

* John of Teignmouth differs from the Welsh accounts, in saying that
this institution contained eight hundred and forty seven monks, who came
•with St. Paternus from Armoricaj and adds that it was governed by an
ceconomus, a provost, and a dean.

t Its Latin name is Mauritania, which Archbishop Usher observes is
derived from Mawr, great, an epithet added merely for the purpose of dis-
tinguishing this Church from others of less importance.

X Brut y Ty wysogion, My v. Archaiology, Vol. II. p. 472.

11 Son of Sullen, or Sulgen, Bishop of St. David's in 1070.

FROM A. D. 500 TO A. D. 542. 217

as were approved in the age ;* and the Triads assert that he
went about the country preaching the faith in Christ without
pay or reward to all ranks of people^ for which reason he was
counted one of the three blessed visitors of the Isle of Britain.
It is mentioned by John of Teignmouth that he built monas-
teries and churches throughout the whole region of Ceretica ;
and that he rebuked Maelgwn Gwynedd^ from whom he had
received certain injuries in an excursion of that prince into
South Wales : but no other incidents of the time spent at
Llanbadarn are recorded, upon the truth of which any reliance
may be placed. At the expiration of the twenty one years he
returned to his native country, where he was made bishop of
Vannes. A dissension, however, broke out between him and
the other Armorican bishops ; upon which a synod was con-
vened, and a reconciliation effected. Notwithstanding this,
he continued to dread their hostility, and retired to the
Franks, among whom he remained till the close of his life.
He subscribed the decrees of the council of Paris,t which was
held in the year 557, and is commended both as an abbot and
a bishop in the writings of Venantius Fortunatus, a Latin
poet of Gaul, who was his contemporary. J One of his early
biographers, quoted by Usher, says that three days were held
sacred to his memory ; April 15, being the anniversary of his
death ; June 20, in remembrance of his consecration as bishop;
and Nov. 1, on account of his reconciliation with the prelates
of Armorica.

* They are thus summed up by Sulgenus : —

"Orans, jejunans, vigilans, lachrymansque, gemensque,
Esuris alimenta simul, nexisque levamen,
Hospitibus pandens aditum, sitientibus haustum,
Mgrotis curam, nudis miseratus amictum j
Prudens quseque gerens, perfecit cuncta potenter."
t Usher, Cap. XIV.

% Cressyj who gives the following references,— 1. 7. Epig.3. and 1. 3.
Epig. 52.

218 THE WELSH SAINTS

Tydecho, the son of Amwn Ddu ab Emyr Llydaw, and
cousin to Cadfan, left Armorica, and settled in company with
his sister, Tegfedd, in the district of Mawddwy, Merioneth-
shire, where he founded the church of Llanymmawddwy, to
which the neighbouring churches of Mallwyd and Garth-
beibio, both dedicated to him, were formerly subject.* In
this retreat he is said to have suffered from the violence and
oppression of Maelgwn Gwynedd, the prince of North Wales ;
upon whom, as the legend relates, he retaliated with such a
host of miracles, that the tyrant was glad to make amends, and
grant him several immunities. Tegfedd also was forcibly
carried away by another chief, named Cynon, who in like
manner was compelled to restore her unhurt, and purchase the
peace of the saint by a grant of the lands of Garthbeibio-f He
is considered to be the patron of Cemmaes, Montgomeryshire,
and a chapel was consecrated to his memory in the parish of
Llandegfan, Anglesey. His festival is Dec. 17'

It is uncertain whether Amwn Ddu, the father of the pre-
ceding, left Armorica at the same time with Cadfan, but it is
recorded that he quitted that country, where he had been
sovereign of a district called Graweg ; and settling in Wales,
he married Anna, a daughter of Meurig, the prince of Glamor-
gan, by whom he had two sons, Samson and Tathan, who were
afterwards eminent for their sanctity. J It is said that he
enjoyed the friendship of Dubricius, as well as of Iltutus of
whose institution he became a member ; and that he resided
in a small island near Llantwit Major, until he removed to a
desert on the shores of the Severn, where he seems to have
passed the remainder of his life. The locality of this desert is
not well defined, but it would appear that Anna settled in the

* They now form separate benefices, but are described as chapels to
Llanymmawddwy in the Taxation of Pope Nicholas,
t See a Welsh poem inserted in the Cambrian Register, Vol. II. p. 375.
J Achau y Saint, Silurian copies.

FROM A. D 500 TO A. D. 542. 219

same quarter, and built a church there, which was consecrated
for her by Samson.*

Gwyndaf Hen ab Emyr Llydaw, an Armorican and brother
of Arawn Ddu, married Gwenonwy, another daughter of
Meurig, by whom he was the father of St. Meugan. He was
a confessor or chaplain in the monastery of Illtyd, and after-
wards superior of the college of Dubricius at Caerleon. In his
old age he retired to Bardsey, where he died. He may be
deemed the founder of Llanwnda in Carnarvonshire, and of
another church of that name in Pembrokeshire.

Hywyn, the son of Gwyndaf Hen, is said to have accom-
panied Cadfan from Armorica, which makes it probable that
he was the issue of a former marriage. He was confessor to
the congregation of saints assembled in the Isle of Bardsey,
and the foundation of Aberdaron, on the opposite coast of
Carnarvonshire, from whence pilgrims generally crossed over
to the island, is ascribed to him.

According to the Life of St. Maglorius,t Umbrafel, another
brother of Amwn Ddu, married Afrella, a third daughter of
Meurig. He is not noticed by the genealogists, but the
*' Book of LlandafF" states that after having been ordained a
priest, he was appointed abbot of a monastery in Ireland, by
his nephew, St. Samson. J

Trinio, the son of Difwng ab Emyr Llydaw, was a saint
who emigrated with Cadfan, and afterwards settled in the Isle
of Bardsey. He was the founder of Llandrinio, Montgomery-
shire. §

Dochdwy, whose genealogy is unknown, accompanied Cad-
fan to Bardsey, where he was ordained a bishop : it does not

* Liber Landavensis, as quoted by Usher,
t Apud Surium, torn. 6. Oct. 24.
J Usher, cap. XIV.

§ Chapels— Llandyssilio (St. Tyssilio,) Melverley (St. Peter,) and New
Cliapel (Holy Trinity.)

220 THE WELSH SAINTS

appear that he derived the title from any particular see ; but
it is recorded that he was entrusted with the care of the
diocese of LlandafF during the absence of Teilo, who was in-
vited to Bardsey to regulate the affairs of the monastery upon
the death of Cadfan. He is, perhaps, the founder of two
churches in Glamorganshire, called Llandoch or Llandocha.*

Mael, a companion of Cadfan ; he is the saint, in conjunc-
tion with Sulien, of the churches of Corwen, Merionethshire,
and Cwm, Flintshire, and their joint festival is May 13.
y Sulien, called also Silin, a son of Hywel ab ^myr Llydaw,
is said to have settled in Bardsey. He was the founder of
Llansilin and Wrexham, Denbighshire, and of Eglwys Sulien,
Cardiganshire. The chapels of Capel Silin under Wrexham,
and Capel Sant Silin in the parish of Llanfihangel Ystrad,
Cardiganshire, both in ruins, were called after him. His
commemoration is Sept. 1. which led Browne Willis to con-
found him with St. Giles, whose festival occurs on the same
day.

Cristiolus, another son of Hywelt ab Emyr Llydaw, and
cousin to Cadfan, is reputed to be the founder of Llangrist-
iolus, Anglesey, and of Eglwys Wrw, and Penrydd, Pem-
brokeshire. Ecton attributes also to him the church of Clydai,
Pembrokeshire, of which, however, he must have been the
restorer, if it be true that the original founder was Clydai, the
daughter of Brychan. Festival Nov. 3.
y^ Rhystud, a brother of Sulien and Cristiolus, was the found-
er of Llanrhystud, Cardiganshire ; and it is said that he was
for some time bishop of Caerleon upon Usk ; in which capa-
city he must have served as suffragan to the prelates of Me-
nevia or Llandaff ; the expression, however, may mean no
more than that he was abbot of the monastery established

* Anglice Llandough.

t According to some accounts, he was a son of Hywel Fychan ab Hy.
wel, ab Emyr Llydaw.

FROM A. D. 500 TO A. D. 542. 221

there by Dubricius. His wake was held on the Tuesday
before Christmas.

Derfel, called also Derfel Gadarn, a brother of the pre-
ceding, was the founder of Llandderfel, Merionethshire ; from
whence, his image, made of wood, was taken, and burnt at
Smithfield at the time of the Reformation. His festival oc-
curs on the fifth of April.

Dwywau, another brother of the preceding, is the patron
saint of Llanddwywau, a chapel under Llanenddwyn, Merion-
ethshire.

Alan, an Armorican and one of the sons of Emyr Llydaw,
appears to have left his country and become a saint in the
college of Illtyd or Iltutus. The three following were his
sons : —

Lleuddad ab Alan, a member of the college of Illtyd ; after
the death of Cadfan he was appointed abbot of the monastery
of Bardsey, in consideration of which dignity he was also
styled a bishop. Next to his predecessor, he has been es-
teemed the guardian saint of the island ; and there are poems
extant, in praise of the protection, which he afforded to pil-
grims on their passage to the sacred cemetery.*

Llonio Lawhir ab Alan was a member of the college of
Illtyd, and afterwards dean of the college of Padarn at Llan-
badarn Fawr. He was also the founder of Llanddinam,
Montgomeryshire; and it is said that there was a church
dedicated to him in Cardiganshire, which, if it be identified
with the modern name " Llanio," must have been a chapel to
Llanddewi Brefi.

Llynab ab Alan accompanied Cadfan to Britain, where, like
his brothers, he became a member of the college of Illtyd. In
his old age he retired to Bardsey. The statement, in Achau y
Saint, that he was archbishop of LlandafF, is probably a mis-
take, as it is inconsistent with all other accounts of that see.

* Myv. Archaiology, Vol. I. p. 360, and Cambrian Register, Vol. HI.

222 THE WELSH SAINTS

Meilyr, and Maelerw^ or rather Maelrys, sons of Gwyddno
ab Emyr Llydaw, and cousins to Cadfan, were saints who
settled in Wales ; the latter of whom resided in the Isle of
Bardsey, and is the patron of Llanfaelrys, a chapel under
Aberdaron, Carnarvonshire. His commemoration is Jan. 1.

Sadwrn, a son of Bicanys of Armorica, called also Sadwrn
Farchog, was the brother of St. Iltutus, and nephew of Emyr
Llydaw. He accompanied Cadfan to Britain in his old age,
and is presumed to have been the founder of Llansadwrn in
Anglesey. The church of Llansadwrn in Carmarthenshire,
formerly a chapel under Cynwyl Gaio, is called after his
name.

Canna, a daughter of Tewdwr Mawr ab Emyr Llydaw,
was the wife of Sadwrn, to whom she was related before
marriage, but she appears to have been a generation younger.
She accompanied her husband from Armorica ; and is consi-
dered the founder of Llanganna, commonly called Llangan,
Glamorganshire, and Llangan, Carmarthenshire. After the
death of Sadwrn she married Gallgu Rieddog, by whom she
became the mother of Elian Geimiad.

Crallo, the son of Sadwrn and Canna, probably came over
to Britain at the same time with his parents. He was the
founder of Llangrallo, otherwise Coychurch, Glamorgan-
shire.

Besides the tribe of Emyr Llydaw, the children of Ithel
Hael, another Armorican prince, are said to have joined in
this migration, and taken upon them the profession of sanctity
in Wales. Of these, Tanwg may be deemed the founder of
Llandanwg,* Merionethshire.

Gredifael and Fflewyn, sons of Ithel Hael, were appointed
superintendents of the monastery of Paulinus at Tygwyn ar
Daf, Carmarthenshire. Gredifael, whose festival is Nov. 13,

* Llanbedr (St. Peter,) and Harlech (St. Mary Magdalen,) chapels to
Llandanwg.

FROM A. D. 500 TO A. D 542. 223

may be considered the founder of Penmynydd, Ansflesey ;
and Fflewyn is the saint of Llanfflewyn, a chap j1 Lubjsct to
Llanrhyddlad in the same county.

Tecwyn ab Ithel Hael, the founder of Llandecwyn, Merion-
ethshire.* Festival Sept. 14.

Trillo ab Ithel Hael, the founder of Llandrillo in Rhos,
Denbighshire^ and Llandrillo in Edeyrnion, Merionethshire.
Festival June 16.

Tegai ab Ithel Hael, the founder of Llandegai, Carnarvon-
shire, which place it would appear was at one time called
called Maes Llanglassawg.

Twrog ab Ithel Hael, the founder of Llandwrog, Carnar-
vonshire. He is also the patron saint of Maentwrog, a chapel
subject to Ffestiniog, Merionethshire, and his festival has been
held on the twenty sixth of June.

Baglan, a son of Ithel Hael, has obtained the credit of
sanctity ; but as there was another saint of the same name, it
is uncertain to which of them the patronage of the two chapels
following should be ascribed; — Llanfaglan under Llanwnda,
Carnarvonshire, and Baglan subject to Aberafon^ Glamor-
ganshire.t

Llechid, a daughter of Ithel Hael, was the foundress of
Llanllechid, Carnarvonshire, and has been commemorated on
the second of December.

Tyfodwg was one of the associates of Cadfan, but the pedi-
gree assigned to him in the Cambrian Biography is inconsis-
tent with chronology. He was the founder of Llandyfodwg,
Glamorganshire, and one of the three founders of Llantrisaint
in the same county. There is also a chapel under Llantri-
saint, called Ystrad Tyfodwg.

* Chapel, Llanfihangel y Traethau (St. Michael.)

t Rhychwyn is said in one MS. to have been a son of Ithel Hael, appa-
rently by mistake for one of the sons of Helig ab Glanog. Myvyrian
Archaiology, Vol. II.

224 THE WELSH SAINTS

liarj sometimes styled liar Bysgottwr, or "the Fisherman/*
was the founder of Llanilar^ Cardigan shire^ and probably of
other churches now thought to be dedicated to St. Hilary.

Ust and Dyfnig accompanied Cadfan to Britain, and were
the joint-founders of Llanwrin, Montgomeryshire.'^

Eithras, Llywan or Llywyn, and Durdan, were companions
of Cadfan, of whose lives no particulars can be traced ; except
that the last mentioned settled in Bardsey, and has been con-
sidered one of the presiding saints of the island.

The foregoing list is thought to comprise the entire num-
ber of holy persons who emigrated from Armorica in this gen-
eration, and it may be interesting to enquire how far the
situations of their churches illustrate the history of their
settlements. Before the close of the present period, another
large emigration is reported to have been made by the chil-
dren of Caw, who were obliged to leave their dominions in
North Britain, and become saints in Wales under similar cir-
cumstances.

Caw was the lord of Cwm Cawlwyd or Cowllwg, a district
in the North, but its particular situation is uncertain.t Ac-
cording to Achau y Saint, he was deprived of his territories
by the Gwyddyl Ffichti, or as the general term may be inter-
preted, by the Picts and Scots ; in consequence of which he
and his numerous family retired to Wales. He settled at
Twrcelyn in Anglesey, where lands were bestowed upon him
by Maelgwn Gwynedd ; and it is also said that lands were
granted to some of his children by Arthur in Siluria. His
name is enrolled in the catalogue of saints ; and his children
are, in one record, J styled the third holy family of Britain ;
an honour, to which they are fairly entitled if the accounts of

* Myv. Archaiology, Vol. II.

t A Life of Gildas, from the Monastery of Fleury in France, published by
Johannes a Bosco, and quoted by Usher, says that Caunus (Caw) lived in
Arecluta, or Strath Clyde.

X Llyfr Bodeulwyn, Myv. Archaiology, Vol. IL i». 29.

FROM A. D. 500 TO A. D. 542. 225

Bran ab Llyr, to whom the first place in the Triad is usually
assigned^ have been proved to be without foundation.

Hywel, the eldest son of Caw, was slain in a civil war by
Arthur ;* an event which probably took place before the emi-
gration of his brothers.

Ane ab Caw CowUwg was a saint, and Coed Ane, a chapel
under Llanelian, Anglesey, is called after his name.

Aneurin, a son of Caw, was engaged in the battle of Cat-
traeth, the disasters of which he deplored in a long poem,
called " Y Gododin," still extant, and deemed to be a com-
position of great merit for the age in which it was written.
Out of upwards of three hundred British chieftains who
entered the field, only four, of whom the bard was one, es-
caped with their lives. He was afterwards taken prisoner,
loaded with chains, and thrown into a dungeon, from which
he was released by Ceneu a son of Llywarch Hen. Upon his
deliverance he appears to have retreated to South Wales,
where he became a saint of the congregation of Cattwg at
Llancarfan, but nothing further is known of him under the
name of Aneurin, except that his death was occasioned by the
blow of an axe from the hand of an assassin. It has, however,
been suggested by two eminent antiquaries,t to whose re-
searches the present writer acknowledges himself greatly
indebted, that Aneurin was no other person than the cele-
brated Gildas. The reasons alleged are : — *^^ Aneurin, as well
as Gildas, is reckoned among the children of Caw in our old
manuscripts ; but both do not occur as such in the same lists ;
for in those where Aneurin is said to be the son of Caw, the
other is omitted ; and on the contrary, where Gildas is in-
serted, the other is left out."J — Besides which, the name Gildas
is a Saxon translation of Aneurin, according to^a practice not

* Caradocus Lancarbanensis in Vita S. Gildse.

+ Mr. Edward Williams (lolo Morganwg) and Dr. Owen Pughe.

% Cambrian Biography.

226 THE WELSH SAINTS

uncommon with ecclesiastics in the middle ages ; and even the
various ways in which the names are written — " Gilda, Gildas
y Coed Aur, Aur y Coed Aur, and Aneurin y Coed Aur" — all
of similar signification, confirm their identity. Cennydd, a son,
and Ufelwyn, a grandson, of Gildas, are sometimes called the
son and grandson of Aneurin.* So far, therefore, the point is
clear; that the Welsh genealogists have always considered the
names Gildas and Aneurin convertible. The monkish writers
of the Life of Gildas also state that he was a native of North
Britain, and the son of Cau,t a king of that country. But
here the agreement ends ; for they mention nothing of the
battle of Cattraeth, and instead of showing that their saint was
originally a bard and a warrior, they assert that he embraced
the sacred profession at an early age, and was employed in
Ireland, preaching the Gospel, until he heard that his eldest
brother had been slain by Arthur ; upon which he came over
to Britain, and was reconciled to the king, who had solicited
his pardon. He then removed to Armorica, where, after a
residence of ten years, he wrote his "Epistle" arraigning the
kings of Britain for their vices. Upon his return, he abode
for some time at Llancarfan, and was requested by St. Cadocus
to direct the studies of the school at that place for one year ;
which he undertook, and performed to the great advantage of
the scholars, desiring no other reward than their prayers.
After this the two saints withdrew to two small islands, not
far distant, intending to spend their days in retirement. Gil-
das, however, was disturbed by pirates, and in consequence
removed to Glastonbury, where he wrote his " History of the
Britons," and remained to the close of his life.J — Such is a
brief summary of their narrative, divested of several fables and

* Compare Cennydd and Ufelwyn in the Cambrian Biography.

t Caw, Capgrave; Caw»M«, Floriacensis ; Nau, Caradocus Lancarban-
ensis.

X The supposition, that there were two persons calle4 Gildas, the one
surnamed Albanius,>nd the other Badonicus, is apparently a modern dis-

FROM A. D, 500 TO A. D. 542. 227

inconsistencies, for these writers differ in several particulars
with each other ; and uncertain as the authority of the gene-
alogists may sometimes appear, it is better supported by
external evidence than that of the monks, who have framed
their account to suit the life of the author of the reputed
works of Gildas ; which, though ancient,* are not likely to 7
have been written by Aneurin, or indeed by any one of British '
race. Their spirit is anti-national, and their design is obvious-
ly to depreciate the Britons. It is not improbable that they
were intended to pass for the productions of the bard, for
they contain no invective against the princes of the North;
but while Aneurin laments that the confederated chiefs should
have entered the field in a state of intoxication, which he
seems to regard more as a misfortune than a crime, he dwells
upon the praises of his heroes, and treats his countrymen
throughout with a friendly feeling.

Caffo ab Caw, a saint, and the patron of Llangaffo, a chapel
imder Llangeinwen, Anglesey.

Ceidio ab Caw; Rhodwydd Geidio, subject to Llantri-
saint, Anglesey, and Ceidio, Carnarvonshire, are dedicated
to him.

Aeddan Foeddog, a son of Caw. With respect to the name.
Archbishop Usher observes: — ^danus, the bishop, is called
by the Irish " Moedhog and Maedog," and by Giraldus Cara-
brensis " Maidocus." — John of Teignmouth says : — This holy
person is named " Aidanus" in the Life of St. David, but in
his own Life "Aidus;" and at Menevia, in the church of
St. David, he is called "Moedok," which is an Irish name,
and his festival is observed with great veneration at that
place. — All the legends agree that Aeddan was a disciple of

tinction, for the older biographers attribute both titles to the same in-
dividual.

* They were extant as early as the time of Bede, who quotes them as
if they wt^re authentic.

228 THE WELSH SAINTS

St. David at Menevia, from whence he passed over into Ire-
land, and was appointed the first bishop of Ferns. It was
doubtless a reference to this circumstance that induced the
clergy of Menevia, in a later age, to assert that the bishoprick
of Ferns was once subject to the archbishoprick of St. David's,
a proposition which Usher is not willing to admit. Giraldus
tells a marvellous story of the manner in which St. Aeddan
carried over a swarm of bees to Ireland ; for such creatures
were never seen in that country before, and have never been
seen at Menevia since ! ! Traces of his memory are still re-
tained in Pembrokeshire, as he is the reputed . founder of
Llanhuadain or Llawhaden in that county, and the churches
of Nolton and West-Haroldston are ascribed to him under the
name of Madog. His festival is Jan. 31.

Cwyllog, a daughter of Caw, was the wife of Medrawd or
Mordred, the nephew of Arthur; and is thought to have
founded the church of Llangwyllog, Anglesey.

Dirynig, one of the sons of Caw ; to whom it is said there
was a church dedicated at York.

Cain, daughter of Caw ; a saint, and the patroness of Llan-
gain, Carmarthenshire.

Eigrad, one of sons of Caw ; a member of the society of
lUtyd, and the founder of Llaneigrad, Anglesey.

Samson, a son of Caw, was a saint of the college of lUtyd,
and had a church at Caerefrog or York, — This person has
been magnified by certain legendary writers into an arch-
bishop of York ; and they relate that when the Saxons took
the city, and destroyed its cathedral, the prelate saved himself
by flight; and carrying with him the ensigns of his dignity to
Armorica, he was, by virtue of their possession, constituted
archbishop of Dole in that country, a see which he continued
to hold until his death, when he was succeeded by another
Samson, who had arrived in the same country from Wales.
The history of the two persons is frequently confounded ; but
if the circumstances related of the archbishoprick of the elder

FROM A. D. 500 TO A. D. 542. 229

Samson were true, it is remarkable that the Welsh authorities
should have omitted to mention them ; for without allusion to
his station, they merely imply that he retired from the ad-
vance of the Saxons, and that, like several of his brothers, he
passed the latter part of his hfe in the college of Illtyd. There
was, however, another Samson at that college about the same
time, the son of Amwn Ddu, who is recorded in Achau y
Saint to have passed over into Armorica, and to have been
elected bishop of Dole. His history, which is better attested
than that of his namesake, is reserved to the next generation.
But the question of the dignity, as well as the identity, of the
elder Samson derives importance from its having been the
subject of an appeal to Rome, grounded on the assertion that
he had carried a pall into the country of his exile ; in consi-
deration of which, it was alleged, palls were likewise granted
to his successors at Dole, who exercised archi episcopal author-
ity until their privileges ceased through the intervention of
the archbishop of Tours.* In the twelfth century, the clergy
of St. David's maintained, that the pall, which was taken to
Armorica, belonged to their church, and that it was carried
over, not by an archbishop of York, but by Samson, the
the twenty-fifth archbishop of Menevia ; they, therefore, ap-
pealed to the Pope for the restoration of the dignity, and
claimed to be independent of the jurisdiction of Canterbury.
Their cause was advocated with all the learning and ability of
Giraldus Cambrensis, who made three several journeys to
Rome in its behalf; but after a long hearing, the prerogatives
'of Canterburj^ were confirmed ; the evidence, adduced upon
the occasion, not being sufficient to prove, that a pall had been
sent from Rome to Menevia, or to any bishop in Britain
before the mission of St. Augustin.

♦ " Contigit ut ob Pallii gratiara quod Samson illuc attulerat, succe-
dentes ibi Episcopi usque ad nostra haec fere tempora (quibus prsevalente
Turonorum Archipraesule, adventitia dlgnitas evanuit) pallia semper ob-
tinuerunt."— Giraldus in Dialogo de Ecclesia Menevensi.

230 THE WELSH SAINTS

Eigron, the son of Caw, is stated to have founded a church
in Cornwall.

Gwenafwy, Peillan, and Peithien ; daughters of Caw, and
saints, but there are no churches which retain their names.

Gallgo ab Caw, a saint, to whom Llanallgo, a chapel sub-
ordinate to Llaneigrad, Anglesey, is dedicated. Festival,
Nov. 27.

Peirio ab Caw, a member of the congregation of Illtyd,
after whose death he was elected principal of that society ;
but he is said to have died on the following day, and to have
been succeeded by Samson ab Amwn Ddu, Rhospeirio, sub-
ject to Llanelian, Anglesey, is dedicated to his memory.

Cewydd ab Caw was the founder of Aberedw, and Diserth,
Radnorshire, and of Llangewydd, an extinct church near
Bridgend, Glamorganshire.
y Maelog ab Caw, a saint of the congregation of Cattwg.
The following curious notice of him occurs in the Life of
Gildas from the Library of Fleury :* — "Caunus, the father of
Gildas, is said to have had four other sons ; namely, Cuillus,t
a man of great prowess in arms, who, upon the death of his
father, succeded to his kingdom; next, Mailocus, who was
destined by his father to the study of sacred literature, in
which he was well instructed ; he left his father, and bidding
adieu to his paternal estate, came to '^ Lyuhes' in the district
of ' Elmail,' where he built a monastery, in which, after having
served God incessantly with hymns and orations, with watch-
ings and fastings, he rested in peace, illustrious for his virtues
and miracles. Egreas, moreover, with Allaecus, his brother,
and Peteona, their sister, a virgin consecrated to God, in like
manner leaving their father's estate ; and renouncing all
worldly pomp, withdrew to the farthest part of that country,
where, not far from each other, they built their several monas-

* For the original, see Usher, Primordia, page 676.
t Hywel, as he is called by other authorities.

FROM A. D. 500 TO A. D. 542. 231

teries, placing their sister in the midst." — In this extract
'^Lyuhes in the district of Elmail" is obviously Llowes in
Elfael, Radnorshire, which according to Ecton, is dedicated
to St. Meilig. Egreas, Allaecus, and Peteona, are Eigrad,
Gallgo, and Peithien ; and " the farthest part of the country"
is the Isle of Anglesey, where Llaneigrad is situated with its
chapel of Llanallgo, and another chapel called Llugwy,* which
possibly may be the one intended for Peteona or Peithien.
Maelog is the reputed founder of Llandyfaelog Tref-y-Graig,
and another Llandyfaelog, Brecknockshire, and Llandyfaelog,
Carmarthenshire ; the syllable dy in these names being either
epenthetic, or borrowed from the Norman c?e.t Llanfaelog, a
chapel imder Llanbeulan, Anglesey, is an instance where the
syllable is omitted.

Meilig ab Caw, a saint to whom no churches are ascribed,
except Llowes, Radnorshire, attributed to Maelog in the pre-
ceding notice. It is not improbable that the author of the
Life of Gildas supposed that Maelog and Meilig were merely
two modes of pronouncing the name of one individual ; but it
would appear that they belonged to different persons from the
circumstance that Maelog is commemorated on the thirty-first
of December, and Meilig on the fourteenth of November.^
The latter appears to have been the founder of Llowes, as
there is a place in the parish, called Croes Feilig, or St. Mei-
lig's cross.

Gwrddelw ab Caw, a saint who is said to have had a church
at Caerleon upon Usk.

Gwrhai ab Caw, the founder of Penystrywad in Arwystli,*
Montgomeryshire*

* Ecton names St. Michael as the patron of Llugwy.

t In the Taxation of Pope Nicholas, Llangadock, Carmarthenshire, is
spelled " Landekadok."

X Sir Harris Nicolas's Chronology of History. — The compiler of a "His-
tory of Anglesey" says that the festival of St. Maelog is Jan. 30.

232 THE WELSH SAINTS

Huail ab Caw distinguished himself as a warrior in the
service of Arthur. He passed the latter part of his life in the
monastery of Cattwg ; and it is said that there was a church
dedicated to him in Euas, Herefordshire.

In this list of the family of Caw, the names of nine sons,
who devoted their lives entirely to war, are not recounted;
but the number of children assigned to him is too great to be
received with credit, except upon the supposition that it in-
cludes his grand-children, and, perhaps, other relatives, who
were his followers and composed his clan. The death of Ger-
aint ab Erbin, one of the princes of Devon, who was slain,
while fighting under Arthur at the battle of Llongborth, has
been noticed already.* Four of his sons, who seem to have
imitated the example of the children of Caw, Avere, Selyf,
Cyngar, lestin, and Cado or Cataw, all of whom were saints of
the college of Garmon.

Selyf ab Geraint was the person who is called, in the le-
gendary accounts, Solomon Duke of Cornwall. There are no
churches in Wales which bear his name.

According to Capgrave, Cungarus, the founder of a monas-
tery or college in the diocese of LlandafF, came from Cungres-
bury in the county of Somerset ; which suggests the opinion
that the founder of the college of Llangenyst was Cyngar ab
Geraint, and not Cyngar ab Arthog ab Ceredig. He is the
patron saint of Badgworth, and Cungresbury, Somerset ; and
of Hope, Flintshire, and Llangefni, Anglesey.

lestin ab Geraint was the founder of Llaniestin in Lleyn,
Carnarvonshire ; and also of Llaniestin in Anglesey, where a
stone was seen in the last century with an inscription pur-
porting that he was buried there.J

Cado or Cataw ab Geraint, a saint, but there are no
churches ascribed to him in Wales.

Page 169. f Page 183 antca.

X Mona Antiqua; My v. Archaiology, Vol. II. p. 46.

FROM A. D. 500 TO A. D. 542. 233

Of the sons of Gwynllyw Filvvr, chieftain of Gwynllwg,
Monmouthshire ; Cattwg, the eldest, was the first president of
the college of Llancarfan ; the rest, who have had the credit
of sanctity, were : —

Cammarch ab Gwynllyw, the founder of Llangamraarch,
Brecknockshire.

Glywys Cerniw, the founder of a church at Coed Cerniw in
Gwynllwg, Monmouthshire.

Hywgi, otherwise Bugi, the father of St. Beuno. He gave
all his lands for the endowment of his brother's college at
Llancarfan, where he spent the latter part of his life.

Cyfyw ab Gwynllyw, an officer in the college of Cattwg,
and patron saint of Llangyfy w near Caerleon.

Cynfyw, or Cynyw ab Gwynllyw; possibly another pro-
nunciation of the preceding name, as Llangyfyw is written,
by Ecton, " Llangyniow." There is a church, called Llan-
gynyw, in Montgomeryshire, of which he may have been the
founder.

Gwyddlew, Cyflewyr, and Cammab; sons of Gwynllyw,
and saints, but nothing farther is known respecting them.

Maches, a daughter of Gwynllyw, suffered martyrdom at a
place since called Merthyr Maches, or Llanfaches, in Mon-
mouthshire, " She gave alms to all who asked ; and a pagan
Saxon, who appeared before her as a mendicant, stabbed her
with a knife."*

The children of Ynyr Gwent by Madrun, daughter of Gwr-
thefyr Fendigaid, were another Silurian family that flourished
about this time. Caradog, the eldest, lived at Caerwent, and
succeeded to his father's territories ; he married Derwela, one
of the sisters of Amwn Ddu.t

Iddon ab Ynyr Gwent was a chieftain, who afterwards de-
voted himself to religion. It is said that he made a grant, to
the see of Llandaff, of— " Llanarth with all the landes there.

Cambrian Biography. f Usher, p. 632.

234 THE WELSH SAINTS

and Lantelio Porth-halawg with the territory unto the same
belonging, and certaine landes at Lantelio Crissenny ; all in
thankfulnesse to God for a victory obtained against the Sax-
ons."* It is also stated that he made a grant of " Lancoyt ;"
and the charters conferring these donations are cited from the
register, or " Book," of LlandafF jf but without attempting to
assert their genuineness, J it is right to observe that the alleged
date of these grants is misplaced by Godwin, who says they
were made in the time of Comegern and Argwistill, the eighth
and ninth bishops of the see. The prelate, contemporary with
Iddon, was Teilo ; the second on the list, and a principal
witness to the grants in question. §

Ceidio and Cynheiddion, sons, and Tegiwg, a daughter, of
Ynyr Gwent, were saints of whose history no particulars have
been recorded, except that Ceidio was a member of the monas-
tery of Llancarfan.

The period between the years 500 and 550 is believed to
include the date of a calamity on the coast of Wales, of which
the most exaggerated and mystified accounts have reached
posterity :|| for it is asserted that an irruption of the sea broke
in upon a large tract of country, which it has since continued
to cover, forming the whole of the present Cardigan Bay. It
is not necessary to dwell upon the proofs, that such a calamity
could not have occurred to the extent related ; as the testi-
mony of Ptolemy, the geographer, is, so far, conclusive against

* Godwin's English Bishops.— These churches, which still retain their
names, are situated in Monmouthshire, and acknowledge Teilo for their
patron saint.

t This record, one or two transcripts of which are reported to be extant,
is still unpublished.

J See pp. 184, 185 of this Essay.

§ In Chartis Donationum Idonis regis, filii Ynir Guent, inter testes e
Clericis, primo loco cernitur Teliaus Archiepiscopus.— Usher, p. 98.

II Triad 37, Third Series. — See also Davies's Mythology of the Druids,
page 242, and Carabro Briton, Vol. I. p, 361.

FROM A. D. 500 TO A. D_: 542. 235

the tradition. That author, who lived in the second century,
marks the promontories by which Cardigan Bay is confined,
and the mouths of the rivers which it receives, in nearly the
same relative situations which they retain at present ; giving
the latitude and longitude of each place according to his mode
of computation. It is not unreasonable, however, to suppose
that an event took place, similar to that which laid under
water the lands of Earl Godwin on the eastern coast of Eng-
land. A tract of low land along the coast of Cardiganshire
and Merionethshire, of which some vestiges still remain,*^ was
overflowed ; and as it had been called Cantref y Gwaelod, it

* "Submarine Forest in Cardigan Bay." — (From the proceedings of the
Geological Society in London.) At a Meeting of the Society, held on the
7th of November, 1832, a notice of a submarine Forest in Cardigan Bay,
by the Rev. James Yates, M. A., F. G. S. and L. S. was read. The Forest
extends along the coast of Merionethshire and Cardiganshire, being di-
vided into two parts by the estuary of the river Dovey, which separates
these counties. It is bounded on the land side by a sandy beach and by a
wall of shingles. Beyond this wall is a tract of bog and marsh, formed by
streams of water, which are partially discharged by oozing through sand
and shingles. The author argues that as the position of the wall is liable
to change, it may have inclosed the part which is now submarine, and that
it is not necessary to suppose a subsidence effected by submarine agency.
The remains of the forest are covered by a bed of peat, and are distin-
guished by an abundance of Pholas Candida and Teredo Nivalis. Among
the trees of which the forest consisted, is the Pinus Sylvestris or Scotch
Fir; and it is shown that this tree abounded anciently in several northern
counties of England. The natural order of the Coniferce may thus be
traced from the period of the independent coal formation to the middle of
the seventeenth century, although the Scotch Fir is excluded from the
native Flora. The amentaceous wood presents matter for reflection in
consequence of the perfect preservation of its vascular structure, while the
contents of its vessels are entirely dissipated. The tract is known to the
Welsh under the name of Cantref y Gwaelod, i. e. the Lowland Hundred.
The author refers to the Triads of Britain, and to the ancient Welsh testis
monies, which prove that it was submerged about A. D. 520, and ascribe
the disaster to the folly of ' Seithenyn the Drunkard,' who in his drink let
the .sea over Cantref y Gnaelod.'^

236 THE WELSH SAINTS

was probably of no greater extent than a '^Cantref," or ''Hun-
dred," in any other part of Wales. This district had been
divided between two chieftains, of the names of Seithenyn and
Gwyddno, whose children, in consequence of the loss of their
inheritance, were induced to embrace a religious life. The
sons of Seithenyn, who were all of them, except Arwystli
Gloff, members of the college of Dunawd at Bangor Iscoed,
were the following :—

Gwynodl ab Seithenyn, the founder of Llangwynodl, Car-
narvonshire. Festival, Jan. 1.

Merin, or Merini ab Seithenyn ; presumed to be the found-
er of Llanferin, or Llanfetherin, Monmouthshire. Bodferin,
the signification of which implies the place of his residence, is
the name of a chapel under Llaniestin, Carnarvonshire. Fes-
tival, Jan. 6.

Senefyr, or Senewyr ab Seithenyn, a saint.

Tudglyd ab Seithenyn.

Tudno ab Seithenyn, the founder of Llandudno, Carnarvon-
shire ; his commemoration occurs on the fifth of June.

Tyneio ab Seithenyn ; Deneio, or Pwllheli, a chapel under
Llanfor, Carnarvonshire, is supposed to be named after
him.*

Arwystli Gloff ab Seithenyn, was an inmate of the monas-
tery of Bardsey, and is said to have been the founder of a
church, but its situation is not known.

Elffin, the only son of Gwyddno whose name is preserved,
was a saint of the college of Illtyd. A story, which, however,
is confessedly a fable, relates that Gwyddno had a fishing wear
on the sands between the Dovey and Aberystwyth, the annual
profits of which were very considerable. But Elffin was the
most unlucky of men and nothing prospered in his hands,
insomuch that his father was grieved at his ill successes, and
feared that he was born in an evil hour : wishing, however, to

» Myv. Archaiology, Vol. II. pp. 30,55.

FROM A. D. 500 TO A. D. 542. 237

give the fortunes of his son a further trials he agreed to allow
him the profits of the we^r for one whole year. On the mor- ^'
row, Elffin visited the weir, and found nothing, except a t
leathern bag fastened to one of the poles. He was immediate-
ly upbraided for his ill luck by his companions, for he had
ruined the good fortune of the we^r, which before was wont il
to produce the value of a hundred pounds on May eve. Nay,
replied Elffin, there may yet be here an equivalent for the
value of a hundred pounds. The bag was opened, and the
face of a child appearing from within, " What a noble fore-
head," exclaimed the opener. " Taliesin be his name," re-
joined Elffin,* and commiserating the hard fate of the infant
exposed to the mercies of the sea, he took it in his arms, and
mounting his steed, conveyed it to his wife, by whom it was
nursed tenderly and affectionately : from that time forward,
his wealth increased every day. — Such is the story of the dis-
covery of the chief bard of Wales, committed by his mother to
the chances of the tide, and saved in the manner described.
In return for the kindness of his benefactor, adds the tale, he
composed, while a child, his poem, entitled the " Consolation
of Elffin," rousing him from the contemplation of his disap-
pointments and cheering with the prospect of blessings which
still awaited him ; and afterwards when Elffin was imprisoned
in the castle of Dyganwy by Maelgwn Gwynedd, Taliesin,
through the influence of his song, procured his release.t

The children of Pawl Hen, or Paulinus, of Ty-gwyn ar
Daf, were : — Peulan, the founder of Llanbeulan, Anglesey ;
Gwyngeneu, to whom Capel Gwyngeneu under Holyhead was
dedicated; and Gwenfaen, a daughter, who was the foundress
of Rhoscolyn, Anglesey. The festival of St. Gwenfaen is
Nov. 5.

* Admirable phrenologists 5 — the English reader must understand that
'* noble forehead" is the translation of *'Tal-iesin."

t From the Mabinogion or Welsh Romances; — Cambrian Quarterly
Magazine, Vol. V. and My v. Archaiology, Vol. T.

238 THE WELSH SAINTS

The only saint of the family of Brychan, who belongs to
this generation, is Nefydd, a son of Nefydd Ail ab Rhun
Dremrudd.

About this period lived Tegfan, the son of Carcludwys of
the line of Cadrod Calchfynydd, and though the number of
generations between him and his ancestor exceeds the usual
allowance for the interval of time, it does not exceed the
bounds of probability. He was the brother of Gallgu Rhi-
eddog, and is said to have been the founder of Llandegfan,
Anglesey.

According to Achau y Saint ; Teon, and Tegonwy ab Teon,
were members of the college of Illtyd ; but the statement caij-
not be admitted without incurring a great anachronism, if it
be true that lorwerth Hirflawdd, a son of Tegonwy, married
one of the daughters of Brychan. The mistake seems to
have arisen from confounding Teon, who stands at the head of
a long pedigree of Welsh chieftains,* with Teon, who, ac-
cording to Geoffrey of Monmouth, was bishop of Gloucester
about A. D. 542, when he was translated to the archbishoprick
of London ; but, unfortunately for Geoffrey, London was in
the possession of the Saxons before the year 542.

Bedwini, another bishop mentioned in the Welsh accounts,
is said to have been the primate of Cornwall in the time of
Arthur, and to have resided at a place called Celliwig.

Stinan, or Justinian, according to his Life by John of Teign-
mouth, was born of noble parentage in Lesser Brittany ; and
having spent his youth in the study of learning, he received
the order of priesthood, and was, by a divine oracle, com-
manded to leave his country. After wandering for a while,
he came to the coast of Wales, and landed in a certain island
called "Lemeney," where he led a religious life in company
with Honorius, the son of king Thefriaucus. Cressy says: —

* It would appear, from the dates of his descendants, that he flourished
about A. D. 400.

FROM A. D. 500 TO A. D. 542. 239

" The authour of his life relates at large the envy and malice
with which the Enemy of mankind impugned the devout and
mortified life of this Holy man, seeking to interrupt it by
severall and frequent illusions, and by suggesting scandalous
lyes concerning him. But in conclusion, when he saw him-
self every way vanquished by the Holy man, and that neither
by violent assaults nor malicious suggestions he could withdraw
him from the service of God : he attempted other arts and
guilefull machinations: For he infused the poyson of his
malice into the hearts of three of the Holy mans servants : In-
somuch as they having been reproved by him for their idlenes
and mispending the time, they were inflamed with fury against
him, insomuch as rushing upon him, they threw him to the
ground, and most cruelly cutt off his head. But in the place
where the sacred head fell to the ground, a fountain of pure
water presently flowd, by drinking of which in following
times many were miraculously restored to health. But mi-
racles greater than these immediately succeeded his death.
For the body of the Blessed Martyr presently rose, and taking
the head between the two arms, went down to the sea shore,
and walking thence on the sea, pass'd over to the port call'd by
his name : and being arrived in the place where a Church is
now built to his Memory, it fell down, and was there buried
by Saint David with spirituall Hymns and Canticles." — Cressy
next proceeds to explain that the island Lemeney — '^ hath in
English obtain'd a new name being calld Ramsey ;" and that
" It lyes opposite and in sight of Menevia the Episcopall seat
of St. David." The church, mentioned in this most out-
rageous legend, is evidently the chapel of Stinan in the parish
of St. David's, Pembrokeshire ; as the church of Llanstinan, in
the same county, is too far distant to answer the description.

Ffinian, an Irish saint, is said to have visited St. David at
Menevia about A. D. 530, and to have remained in Britain
thirty years, in which time he built three churches, but their
names are unknown. There was another Irish saint, and con-

240 THE WELSH SAINTS

temporary, called Ffinan, whose Welsh name, according to
Usher, was Winnin. It is uncertain to which of them, Llan-
ffinan, subject to Llanfihangel Ysgeifiog, Anglesey, is dedi-
cated.

Senanus, an Irish saint and bishop, who was intimately
acquainted with St. David, died A. D. 544. Llansannan,
Denbighshire, and Bedwellty, Monmouthshire, are under his
tutelage; and his festival is March 1.*

/ In ascertaining and verifying the commemorations or saints'
days, great assistance may be derived from the list of fairs
now held in the Principality ; it being an opinion generally
received among antiquaries that parochial wakes were the
means of assembling people, who afterwards converted the
occasion into an opportunity of buying and selling. Many
of the village fairs in Wales are held on the saint's day Old
Style, or rather eleven days later than the proper time accord-
ing to the Gregorian Calendar ; for the Welsh peasantry have
seldom taken into account, that since the year 1800 the dis-
crepancy between the Old and New Styles has increased to
twelve days. Thus it may be learned from a list of saints
printed in the Cambrian Register,t and also from the Alpha-
betical Calendar of Sir Harris Nicolas,:}: that the festival of
St. Gwenog should be held on the third of January ; eleven
days being added to that date will point out to Jan. 14, the
day upon which, according to the Welsh almanacks, a fair is
held at Llanwenog in the county of Cardigan. By inverting the
computation, a satisfactory method is obtained of deciding
between contradictory statements ; for instance the list in the
Cambrian Register states that the festival of St. Tyssul was
kept on the third of February, while according to Sir H. Ni-

*'*Eoclem tempore quo David Menevensis praesul, cui conjunctissimus
vixit, lucis banc usuram reddidisse traditur."— Usher, p. 874.
t Vol. in. p. 219.
\ Inserted in his Chronology of History.

FROM A. D. 500 TO A. D. 542. 241

colas's authorities it was held Jan. 31. A fair, however, is.^
held at Llandyssul, Cardiganshire, Feb. 11 ; and eleven days,
reckoned backwards from that time, will bring the calculation
to Jan. 31, proving the last of the two statements to be the
correct one. Sir H. Nicolas assigns the festival of St. Caron
to March the fourth or fifth, as if Jiis authorities were doubtful
as to the precise time ; but eleven days, counted backwards
from a fair at Tregaron on the sixteenth of March, will show
that the commemoration of the saint ought to be kept March
5. The other day, March 4, was fixed apparently by some
person, who followed the inverted mode of computation, but
reckoned twelve days from the fair. In some villages it has
been the custom to hold the fair on the vigil, or eve, before
the festival ; which is easily ascertained, as in that case the
difference of reckoning is only ten days. The saints of Llan-
gynidr, Brecknockshire, are Cyriidr and St. Mary ; one of its
fairs is kept on the fourth of April, or ten days after the
twenty fifth of March, the feast of the Annunciation of the
Blessed Virgin. In like manner St. Mary is the patron saint
of Nefyn, Carnarvonshire, and three of its fairs are held, ac-
cording to Carlisle's Topographical Dictionary, on the fourth
of April, the twenty fifth of August, and the eighteenth of
September, being ten days respectively after the feasts of her
Annunciation, Assumption, and Nativity.*

In the large families, included in the period of this gener-
ation, there must be great disparity of age, and the lives of
many of the persons named may be found to extend through
the period assigned for the next generation.

♦.The festivals in this Essay are given principally according to Sir
H. Nicolas, but they have not been compared with the fairs in every
instance.

SECTION XI.

The Welsh Saints from the Accession of Cystennyn Goronog A. D. 542
to the Death of Maeigwn Gwynedd A. D. 566.

This period includes the reigns of Cystennyn, Cynan
Wledig, Gwrthefyr or Vortiraer the Second, and Maelgwn ;
who are popularly styled kings of Britain, though it would
appear from the writings ascribed to Gildas, that three, at least,
of them were contemporary princes, reigning at the same time
in separate provinces,* which is more consistent with the view
of affairs presented by the bards and genealogists.

The second bishop of Llanbadarn was Cynog, who was
raised, upon the death of St. David, to the archbishoprick of
Menevia. He appears, however, to have presided but a short
time at both places, as no particulars of his life have been re-
corded, and his parentage, churches, and festival, are alike
unknown. The short duration of his presidency at Menevia
is shown by the fact that he was in turn succeeded by Teilo,
who had been the associate and fellow-student of his pre-
decessor.

Teilo,t the second bishop of Llandaff, was the son of En-
Ueu ab Hydwn Dwn ab Ceredig ab Cunedda, by Tegfedd,
daughter of Tegid Foel of Penllyn. His Latin name was
Teliaus, and, by a sort of monkish trifling with the sound of

* Namely 5 Constantinus, the tyrant, as he is called, of the Damnonii, or
people of Devon and Cornwall ; Vortlporius, the tyrant of the Dimetae, or
inhabitants of the western part of South Wales j and Maglocunus, the
tyrant of North Wales.

t "Nai, fab Cefnder i Ddewi.'*— Myv, Archaiology, Vol. II. p. 63.

THE WELSH SAINTS, &c. 243

of the word, he was also called HX«o9 and Elind.* He was
born at a place once called " Eccluis Gunnian/' or " Gunniau,"
in the neighbourhood of Tenby, Pembrokeshire. It is said
that he studied first under Dubricius, by whose assistance he
attained to great proficiency in the knowledge of the Scrip-
tures j his next instructor was Paulinus, under whom he pur-
sued the same study, and in whose school he was the associate
of St. David. Under the patronage of Dubricius, he opened a
college at LlandafT, which was called Bangor Deilo ; and his
settlement at that place may serve to account for his appoint-
ment to fill the see of LlandafF upon the retirement of his
patron to the Isle of Bardsey. The idea that he was made
bishop of LlandafF at the time Dubricius was raised to the
archbishoprick of Caerleon is irreconcilable with chronology ;
and the assertion that he succeeded Dubricius as archbishop,
without the intervention of St. David,t is contrary to all re-
ceived history, unless it be supposed that LlandafF was an
archbishoprick independent of Caerleon, a position which is
certainly untenable. The original diocese governed by Teilo,
as ascertained by the absence of churches founded by St. Da-
vid, was coextensive with the ancient Lordship of Glamorgan,
containing the present rural deaneries of Groneath, LlandafF,
and Newport. How long he continued to preside over this
limited district is uncertain; but in the reign of Maelgwn
Gwynedd, a plague, called " Flava pestis," and in Welsh " Y
Fall felen," is recorded to have desolated the Principality.

* "Post incrementura aetatis, virtutum et sapientise, congruo nomine
Helios a sapientibus nuncupatus est. Elios autera Graece Latine Sol inter-
pretatur. Fulget enira ut Sol ejus doctrina, fidelium illustrando corda.
Sed illiteratis horainibus extremum vocabuli corrupt^ proferentibus, ad-
olevit quod non Helios sed Heliud appellatus est." — Life by Galfridus. —
«Non Elios sed Eliud."— John of Teignmouth.

t The assertion was made in the Regestum Landavense, at a time when
the clergy of Llandaff wished to show that their diocese had never been
subordinate to the primacy of Menevia.

244 THE WELSH SAINTS

Upon this occasion, Teilo, with several others, retired to Corn-
wall, and afterwards to Armorica, where he was honourably
received by Samson, the bishop of Dole. After he had re-
mained seven years and as many months in Armorica, he
returned, with several of his disciples, to his native country ;
and upon his arrival was elected to the archbishoprick of
Menevia, then vacant by the death of Cynog. Like St. David,
however, he retained a predilection for the seat of his original
bishoprick, and, appointing Ismael to the situation of bishop
of Menevia, he removed the archbishoprick to LlandafF.* In
order to maintain his title to the primacy undisturbed, he
appears to have kept under his immediate government the
whole of the diocese held before by St. David, with the ex-
ception of the part north of the river Tivy, which was hence-
forth attached to the diocese of Llanbadarn.t In support of
this view it may be explained that churches founded by Teilo
still exist throughout the whole of the country specified, and
that one of them, Llandeloi, is situated within a few miles of
the cathedral of St. David's; but north of the Tivy, no church
of this description is to be found. The proof, however, does
not rest solely upon the analogy of existing monuments ; for
the records of LlandafF show that its bishops continued for
several centuries to claim the whole of the country from the
mouth of the Taradr, or extreme point of Monmouthshire, to
the mouth of the Tivy,J including, of course, Pembroke-
shire and so much of Herefordshire as lay to the west of the
river Wye. It does not appear that any separate district was
apportioned as a diocese for Ismael, who must have been no
more than an assisting suffragan, and his name is not inserted

* Regestum Landavensej Life by Galfridusj and Usher pp. 83, 617,
659, 560.

t The extension of the diocese of Llanbadarn confirms the supposition
that its bishop at this time was Afan, the brother of Teilo.

% There is abundant evidence of this in the formulse of the Councils of
LlandafT, which are inserted at length in Spelman's Concilia.

FROM A. D. 542 TO A. D. 566. 245

in the list of prelates of St. David's. In his time, therefore,
the diocese of Menevia was united to that of LlandafF; and
the circumstance may account for the claim afterwards made
by the bishops of LlandaflT, which, if maintained, would have
involved the existence of the bishoprick of St. David's, which
it went to deprive of its entire territory. But in effect it was
little better than nominal, though attempts were not wanting
to enforce it. There is reason to suppose that Oudoceus, the
successor of Teilo at LlandafF, retained Monmouthshire and
the adjacent part of Herefordshire under his jurisdiction ; but
he did not succeed to the bishoprick of St. David's,* the
affairs of which were administered by Ceneu ;t and though the
extent of its territories at the time of its separation, and for
two centuries afterwards, is not determinable, it is clear that
from the ninth century, or the establishment of the princes of
Dinefwr of the line of Rhodri Mawr, it has maintained, with
an occasional intrusion from the bishops of LlandafF, nearly
the same limits as at present.

The churches founded by Teilo, or dedicated to him, which
still exist, are the following : —

DIOCESE OF ST. DAVID'S.

Llandeilo Fawr, V. — 3 chapels, Taliaris (Holy Trinity,) Cajiel yr
Ywen, and Llandyfaen^ Carmarthenshire.

Brechfa, C. Carm.

Llandeilo Abercywyn, C. Carm.

Trelech a'r Bettws, V. — 1 chapel, Capel Bettws, Carm.

Llanddowror, R. Carm.

Cilrhedin, R. — 1 chapel, Capel Ifan (St. John,) Carin. and Pem-
brokeshire.

Llandeilo, C. Annexed to Maenclochog, Pemb.

Llandeloi, V. — 1 chapel, Llanhywel (St. Hywel,) Pemb.

Llandeilo Graban, C. Radnorshire.

Llandeilo'r F^n, C. — 1 chapel., in ruins, Brecknockshire.

* Usher, p. 1155.
t Giraldus, and Records of St. David's quoted by Godwin.

246 THE WELSH SAINTS

Llandeilo Talybont, V. Glamorganshire.

Bishopston, alias Llandeilo Ferwallt, R. — 1 chapel, Caswell Glam.

DIOCESE OF LLANDAFF.

Llandaif Cathedral, (St. Teilo and St. Peter.)—! chapel, Whit-
church (St. Mary,) Glamorganshire.

Merthyr Dyfan, R. Glam.

Merthyr Mawr, C. — St. Roque's Chapel, in ruins, Glam.

Llandeilo Cressenny, V. — 1 chapel, Penrhos (St. Cattwg,) Mon-
mouthshire.

Llanarth, V. Monm.

Llandeilo Bertlioleu, or Porth-halawg, V. Monm.

The foregoing list, so far as regards the diocese of St. Da-
vid's, may be compared with another which is curious for its
antiquity. Between the years 1022 and 1031, in the reign of
Canute, king of England ; Rhydderch ab lestin, a prince of
Glamorgan, obtained the sovereignty of South Wales,* and
taking advantage of the opportunity, made an endeavour to
restore the ancient diocese of Teilo. He therefore granted to
the church of Llandaff, all such churches in the counties of
Carmarthen, Pembroke, Brecon, and Radnor, as bore the name
of that saint, together with several manors, lands, and villages,
according to the following schedule ;t extracted literatim from
" Godwin's Bishops."

IN CANTREF MAURJ

1 Lantelia maur cum suis duob. 3 Lanteliau garth teuir.

territories. 4 Lanteliau maur brumur.

2 Lanteliau nant seru. 5 Lanteliau bechan in diffrinteiui.

* Welsh Chronicles in the Myv. Archaiology.

+ Its heading, according to the first edition of Godwin, is :— De omnibus
subscriptis vestita fuit ecclesia Landauensis, simul et episcopus Joseph,
pace quiets, et tranquillS, tempore regnantis Ritherich per totam Gualiara,
et admonitione iElnod Archiepiscopi Cantuarensis simul cum Uteris com-
mendatitiis Cnut regnantis Angliam.

% The Hundreds of Caio and Catheiniog, in Carmarthenshire, between the
rivers Towy and Tivy. The names of some of the places in this docu-

FROM A. D. 542 TO A. D. 566.

IN CANTREF GUARTAN.*

247

6 Lanteliau landibr guir maiii-

aur.

7 Lantelian treficerniu.

8 Lantoulidauc icair.

9 Lanteliau aper coguin.

10 Lanteliau penn tiuinn.

11 Lanteliau luin guaidan, villa

tantum, in euiltVe.

12 Lanrath.

13 Lanconguern cum trib. terri-

torijs. Finis illarum Ofruit
Gurcant Lutglanrath,

14 Tref earn, Villa tantum, sine

ecclesia.

15 Laythty teliau, villa tantum su-

per ripam ritec iuxta penalun.

16 Menechi arglann ritec iuxta

penalun.

17 Pull arda iuxta mainaur pir,

villa tantum.

18 Luin teliau, villa tantum.

19 Eccluis Gunniau, vbi natus est

S. Teliaus.

20 Forth medgen, villa tantum

21 Forth manacli mainaur mam-

ithiel.

22 Din guenhalf inlonian, villa

tantum.

23 Lantelian litgarth in findou-

cledif hache mei mainaur.

24 Lantelia cil retin in emm-

lim.

IN ROS.t

25 Lan issan mainaur.

26 Bronu lann.

27 Langurfrit.

28 Telich elouuan.

ment are disguised by its orthography, and others have been changed by
lapse of time ; those that can be recognised, are as follow, according to
their numbers. 1, Llandeilo Fawr ; 2 & 3, one of these probably repre-
sents the church of Brechfa. 4 Llandeilo Rwnnws, an extinct chapel in
the parish of Llanegwadj it is called " Llanteilan Brunus" in a charter of
the Abbey of Talley.

=* The western part of Carmarthenshire with a large portion of Pem-
brokeshire. 6, Llanddowror. 7, The relative position of this church
■ agrees with the locality of Trelech. 9, Llandeilo Abercywyn. 11, Llwyn-
Gwaddan near Llanddewi FelflFre ; the name indicates that a church once
stood there, which appears to have been in ruins at the time of the grant.
14, Trefgarn, now the name of a church and parish. 15 & 16, Penalun
may be recognised in Penaly near Tenby. 17, Mainaur pir,— Maenor B5^r,
" vulgo MsLnorheer. 18, Written — "LwynTeilau" — in the second edition
of Godwin. 22, Lanion, near Pembroke. 23, Lege Llandeilo Lwydgarth,

tin fin Daugleddyf a Chemmaes maenor ; intended for Llandeilo, near Maen-
clochog, on the borders of the Hundreds of Dungleddy and Cemmaes. 24,
Cilrhedin in Emlyn.

248 THE WELSH SAINTS

IN PEMBRO.*
9 Ciltutuc. 30 Penclecir

IN PEPITIAUE.t
31 Mainaur mathru. 32 Cenarth maur.

IN BRECUA.J

33 Languruaet mainaur.

IN CANTREF SELIM.§

34 Lancoit.

IN CANTREF TALACARN.I

35 Langors. 37 Lan idoudec seith. '

36 Lauraihacgel meuion gratlann.

IN CLIUAIL.*

38 Lan meilic bah gueir. 39 Lanteliau iciliou idifFrin mach-

agui.

* Part of the Hundred of Castle Martin, Pembrokeshire,
f Pebidiog or Dewsland, Pembrokeshire, 31, Mathry.

J Qu. Brycheiniog, Brecknockshire, as the place now called Brechfa was
included in Cantref Mawr. 33, This manor, probably has reference to
Llandeilo'r Fdn, the only existing church of Teilo, in the diocese of St.
David's, which is not mentioned in this list.

§ Cantref Selyf, Brecknockshire. 34i, Llangoed, in the parish of Llys-
wen.

II The Hundred of Talgarth, Brecknockshire. 35, Llangors. 36, Pro-
bably Llanfihangel Cwm Du.

* The rural deanery of Elfael, Radnorshire. 38, Llowes, dedicated to
St. Meilig. 39, Le(/e Llandeilo y ciliau yn nyffryn Machawy,— intended
for Llandeilo Graban.

FROM A. D. 542 TO A. D. 566. 249

If this grant ever took effect, it was only for the short reign
of Rhydderch ab lestin ; for the Diraetian princes, consider-
ing him to be an usurper, took up arms against him, and a
battle ensued in which he was slain, leaving his principality
to be divided between the conquerors.* Subsequent events
prove that they did not confirm his benefactions; and his
reason for bestowing these possessions upon the see of Llan-
dafF, if grounded upon the supposition that they once belonged
to Teilo, must have rested upon a false foundation, for that
prelate was also the acknowledged archbishop of Menevia.
That the grant was reckoned invalid, is evident from the cir-
cumstance that, about a century after the period in question.
Urban, bishop of LlandafF and a zealous assertor of its privi-
leges, claimed to his diocese only so much of Carmarthenshire
as lay to the south of the river Towy, together with the south-
ern part of Brecknockshire, and that portion of the county of
Hereford which lay on the western side of the Wye. He rested
his claim, mainly, upon the right of former occupation, contend-
ing that his predecessor had exercised authority and instituted
several persons to benefices in the disputed country. Upon
his appealing to the Pope, an inhibition was issued to the
bishops of St. David's and Hereford, commanding them to
with-hold the exercise of their authority in the districts then
called Gwyr, Cydwely, Cantref Bychan, Ystrad Yw, and Er-
ging; which were committed to the care of the bishop of
LlandafF, until the other bishops should prove their title.t
The remainder of the history of this controversy is lost;. but

* Welsh Chronicles in the My v. Archaiology. Their compilers, though
agreeing generally as to facts, sometimes betray the bias of their respective
provinces ; Brut leuan Brechfa, written by a Dimetian, asserts that Rhy-
dderch was an usurper ; while Brut y Tywysogion, written by Caradog,
a Silurian, contends that he was entitled to the sovereignty of South
Wales by inheritance.

t Wharton's Anglia Sacra, Vol. II. and Godwin's Bishops.

250 THE WELSH SAINTS

its issue may be inferred from the fact, that the earliest notice*
of these districts subsequently, exhibits them included in the
diocese of St. David's and Hereford, in the state they are
found at present.

The grant contains the names of one or two chapels, which
must have been erected after the institution of parishes, and
therefore at a later period than the era of Teilo. But as the
bishops of St. David's were not likely to consecrate such
edifices to the memory of a saint whose name implied sub-
jection to the rival see ; it may be gathered that the bishops
of Llandaff had, upon some occasion, obtained a transient
ascendancy before the time of Rhydderch. This appears to
have been the case about the end of the eighth century, when
Maredudd was king of Dyfed or Dimetia ;t for it is recorded
that he gave six churches to Llandaff in the time of Guodloiu,
its eleventh bishop. J

Teilo lived to an advanced age, and most of the churches
"which perpetuate his name must have been founded by him
after he succeeded to the honours of Cynog ; but the account,
which asserts that he was living at the time St. Augustin
visited Britain, can hardly be admitted.§ It is said that he
died at Llandeilo Fawr, and the following legend is related
respecting his body. Three places put in their claims for the
honour of his interment ; Llandaff, where he had been bishop;
Llandeilo Fawr, where he died; and Penalun,|| where his
ancestors had been buried. The dispute was not likely to be
settled, when, by a miracle, three bodies appeared in the room
of one, so like that the real one could not be distinguished !
It was therefore agreed to bury one body at each of the three

* The Taxation of Pope Nicholas,
t Obiit A. D. 796. Welsh Chronicles.

J Godwin j who says that Maredudd was a son of Rein, king of West
Wales.

§ Usher, p. 1155.

II Penaly near Tenby.

FROM A. D. 542 TO A. D. 566. 251

places, trusting to the chance which of them might be the iden-
tical corpse of the saint!!* He was commemorated on the
ninth of February, and has been recorded in the Triads as one
of the tliree canonized saints of Britain ; the two others were
Dewi and Cattwg.

Mabon, the brother of Teilo, called also Mabon Wyn and
Mabon Hen, was a saint ; and Llanfabon, a chapel subject to
Eglwys Ilan near LlandafF, is dedicated to him. It is worthy
of remark that in the parish of Llandeilo Fawr, there are two
manors, the one called Maenor Deilo, and the other Maenor
Fabon ; affording an example of the mode in which names of
places frequently bear reference to historical associations.

It would appear that Teilo encouraged the poetic genius of
his countrymen. Gwrhir, one of his bards, was a saint and
the founder of Llysfaen, Glamorganshire.

Ystyifan, another of the bards of Teilo, was the son of Maw-
an ab Cyngen ab Cadell.t He was the founder of LlanstyfFan,
Carmarthenshire, and LlanstyfFan, in the county of Radnor ;
both of which churches have others attributed to Teilo in the
parishes adjoining.^ A collection of stanzas, composed by
him, is inserted in the third volume of the Myvyrian Archai-
ology.

According to the " Life of St. Oudoceus,"§ Budic, a native
of Cornugallia in Armorica, and related to its chieftains, was
forced to leave his country ; and putting to sea with a fleet, he

* "Howbeit by diuers miracles done at the place of his buriall at Llan-
daffe, it appeareth that there the true body lyeth."— Godwin, from the
Liber Landavensis.

t Page 207.

; Llandeilo Abercywyn, Carmarthenshire, and Llandeilo Graban, Rad-
norshire j which would imply that their association is due to the friend-
ship of their founders.

§ Quoted by Usher p. 561, from the Regestum Landavense. The names
" Budic" and « Anaumed" are here given in their Latin orthography, as
they have not been seen in any Welsh writer.

252 THE WELSH SAINTS

landed in Dyfed, or Pembrokeshire, -which was at that time
under the government of a prince, named Aercol Lawhir,
He was hospitably received, and making his abode in Dyfed,
he married Anaumed, the daughter of Ensic or Enlleu, by
whom he had two sons, Israael already mentioned, and Tyfei.
Both the children were devoted to the service of religion by
their mother, who was the sister of St. Teilo ; and in course of
time Israael received from his uncle the appointment of suffra-
gan bishop of Menevia. He was the founder of St. Ishmael's
near Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire, and of Camros, Usmaston,
Rosemarket, St. Ishmael's, and East Haroldston, Pembroke-
shire.

Tyfei, the brother of Ismael, was accidentally slain, when a
child, by a person named Tyrtuc,* and has therefore been styled
a martyr, though it is difficult to understand how a case of man-
slaughter could be construed into a death in testimony of the
faith of the sufferer. He was buried at Penaly, Pembroke-
shire ; and is the patron saint of Llampheyt in that county.
A church near Llandeilo Fawr is called Llandyfeisant ; and
the relationship of Teilo, who died in the adjoining parish,
would justify the suggestion that the name means — "the
church of St. Tyfei," and not " the church of St. Dewi" as
commonly supposed.

While Budic continued to reside in Dyfed, ambassadors
came from Cornugallia, announcing to him the death of their
king, and that the people, wishing to elect a successor of the
same family, had made choice of him, and were desirous that
he should undertake the government. The proposal was ac-
cepted. Budic, taking with him his wife and family, returned
to his native country, and had the good fortune to estabHsh
his dominion over the whole of Armorica. Soon after his

* Godwin's Bishops.

t Written " Lantefei" by Giraldus Cambrensis, and by Browne Willis
Llantilfi."

FROM A. D. 542 TO A. D 566. 253

arrival he had another son, named Oadoceus, who, in com-
pliance with a promise previously made to Teilo, was, like his
brothers, destined for the profession of religion. From his
childhood, Oudoceus excelled in learning and eloquence, as
well as in the purity and holiness of his life ; and when Teilo
visited Armorica, his virtues were shining as a burning light.*
He attracted the especial notice of his uncle, whom he accom-
panied on his return to Wales ; but the time when he suc-
ceeded him as bishop or archbishop of LlandafF, belongs to
the next generation, t

Among the companions of St. Teilo, after his return from
Armorica, are named Lunapeius, Gurmaet, Cynmur, Toulid-
auc, Luhil, and Fidelis.J The orthography of their names is
corrupt, and only three of them can be recognized. Toulid-
auc was the saint of a church, once called Llandeulydog, in
the southern part of Pembrokeshire, § which was bestowed by
Rhydderch ab lestin on the bishoprick of LlandafF, probably
on account of the connexion subsisting between Teilo and
its founder. Gurmaet was the saint of a church called, in the
grant of Rhydderch, " Languruaet," which was also given to
the bishoprick of LlandafF, apparently for the same reason ;
its situation corresponds with that of Llandeilo'r Fan, Breck-
nockshire. Luhil was the saint of Llywel, a parish adjoining
Llandello'r Fan, and which had three saints ; the two others
being David and Teilo.

Samson was the son of Amwn Ddu ab Emyr Llydaw by
Anna, daughter of Meurig ab Tewdrig. As he was born in
Glamorganshire, 1 1 his birth may be dated after the general
emigration of the Armorican saints under Cadfan; and as

* " Ut candela supra candelabrum," is the Latin illustration,
t Vita S. Gudocei a Regesto Landavensi.

J Regestura Laudavense.
§ Godwin's Bishops, and My v. Archaiology, Vol. III. p. 369.

II Regestum Landavense.

254 THE WELSH SAINTS

none of the before-mentioned children of Amwn Ddu* are des-
cribed to have been children of Anna^ it may be concluded that
Anna was a second wife of Amwn Ddu, married to him after his
arrival in Britain. The Life of this saint, in the Regestum
Landavense, contains several inconsistencies ; but it may be
learned from Achau y Saint that he was a member of the
college of Illtyd, and that upon the death of Peirio he suc-
ceeded to the presidency of that society : he afterwards went
over to Armorica, where he was appointed bishop of Dole.
This last circumstance, as already shown,t has been attributed
to two other persons of the same name ; and the confusion
thence arising has thrown an appearance of doubt upon the
history of the son of Amwn Ddu, for whom some writers have
claimed the rank of archbishop. The existence, however, of
Samson a bishop, whose age corresponds with the present, is
maintained upon authentic testimony ; since it is shown by
Usher, from the Concilia Galliae, that a prelate of that name
subscribed the decrees of the Council of Paris in the year 557.
That this was the person who held the see of Dole is generally
acknowledged, and the traditions of that place agree with the
Welsh authorities as to his family and connexions. But he was
only a bishop, as appears by his signature, though it is pro-
bable that he was appointed without the consent of his metro-
politan ; for the church of Tours, which claimed a superior
jurisdiction over Armorica, was in the country of the Franks,
and the Armoricans were at this time struggling for political
independence. Such was the view of the question given by
the clergy of Tours to the Pope, at the time Giraldus demand-
ed the restitution of the pall to Menevia ;t and the explanation

* Page 218.

t Page 229.

J The statement made by the clergy of Tours was as follows: —
« Cum olim tola Britannia (Minor) fuisset Turonensi ecclssise tanquara
metropoli suse subjecta ; Britannis tandem conspirantibus contra regem
Francorum, et proprium sibi constituentibus regera, occasione Beati Sam-

FROM A. D. 542 TO A. D. 566. 255

is supported by the authenticated fact that a council was held
at Tours A. D. 567, in which the archbishop of Tours was
acknowledged to be the metropolitan, and it was decreed that
no one should presume to ordain either a Briton or a Roman
to the office of a bishop in Armorica, witliout the consent and
permission of the metropolitan or the other bishops of the pro-
vince.* The independence of Armorica seems to have been
asserted by Budic, who was the friend of Samson ; but there
appears also to have been another chieftain, named ludual or
Juthael, who was deprived of his dominions by an usurper
named Commorus, and sent a prisoner to Childebert, king of
the Franks, when the intercession of the bishop procured his
release, and he was restored to his possessions.t The Welsh
accounts proceed to say, though the reason is not explained,
that Samson returned from Armorica to the college of lUtyd,
where he died ; and in the church-yard of Lantwit Major,
two large stone crosses still remain, one of them having three
several inscriptions, the first purporting that it was the cross
of Iltutus and Samson, the second that Samson erected the
cross for his soul, and the third that one Samuel was the
carver ; the other cross has but one inscription, which, how-
ever, is longer and more legible than those on its neighbour.

sonis qiiondara Eboracensis archiepiscopi, qui dura in partibus BritatiniaB
pateretur exilium, in Dolensi ecclesiS cum archiepiscopalibus insignibus
ministrSrat, Dolensis ecclesia contra Turonensem supercilium elationis
assumpsit: Britannis volentibus sibi novum archiepiscopum, sicut novum
regem creaverant, suscitare." — ^Usher, from the Register of Pope Innocent
III. A. D, 1199. The only error in this explanation seems to have been,
that Samson was an archbishop of York.
& * In Turonensis II. hisce temporibus (anno videlicet DLXVII.) habiti
^■l Canone IX. Metropolitani nomine non alium quam Turonensem archiepis-
^^Bijopum designatum constet ; ubi cautum est, nequis Britannum aut Ro-
^^Mmanum in Armorico, sine metropolitani aut comprovincialium voluntate
^^maut Uteris^ episcopum ordinare pressumat. Usher, page 1011.
^m t Usher, pp. 1013, 1141.

256 THE WELSH SAINTS

and state that it was prepared by Samson for his soul, and for
the souJs of Juthael the king, and Arthmael.*

Tathan^in Latin Tathae us, another son of Amwn Ddu and Anna,
was a member of the college of Illtyd, after which he settled
at' a place in Glamorganshire where he founded a church,
since called Llandathan or St. Athan's. From hence he was
called away to be the first president of a college or monastery
at Caer-Went in Monmouthshire, under the patronage of
Ynyr Gwent, to whom he became confessor. In his old age
he returned to the church which he had founded, and ^vas
buried there. From the '^ Life of St. Tathaeus" by John of
Teignmouth it appears that he was patronized, not by Ynyr
Gwent, but by Caradog, the son of Ynyr, which is more con-
sistent with the chronological arrangement here adopted.

Armorica, from whence a large number of saints had emi-
grated in the past generation, seems now to have received a
supply from Wales. The successor of Samson in the bishop-
rick of Dole was St. Maglorius, whose parents were Umbrafel
a brother of Amwn Ddu, and Afrella a sister of Anna; he
was therefore doubly related to his predecessor, whom he ac-
companied to that country, after having been brought up
together with him in the school of Iltutus. In like manner,
Machutus or Maclovius, a son of Caradog ab Ynyr Gwent by
Derwela a sister of Amwn Ddu, is recorded to have passed
over, and become bishop of Aletha, now St. Malo's. To the
number may be added, Paulus and Leonorius, members of the
college of Iltutus, the former of whom was appointed bishop of
Leon. Their lives have been written by the biographers of
the Gallican saints, a reference to whose works may be of ser-
vice in authenticating Welsh traditions.t

* A facsimile of the last inscription, with an interesting account of the
manner in which the cross was discovered by the late Mr. Edward Williams,
may be seen in Turner's Vindication of the Ancient British Poems.

fThe names of the four saints in this paragraph are in their Latin
orthography.

FROM A. D. 512 TO A. D. 566. 257

Isan, a saint of the college of Illtyd ; his genealogy is not
given, but as he was a contemporary of Samson, his date may
be assigned to this period. He was the founder of Llanishen,
Glamorganshire, and Llanishen, Monmouthshire.

Cennydd, a son of Gildas ab Caw, was at first a member of
the college of Cattwg, and afterwards the founder of a re-
ligious society, called Cor Cennydd, at a place in Gower,
Glamorganshire, where the church of Llangennydd is now
situated. It is said that he founded a church above Cardiff,
which gave name to the district of Seinghennydd,* but it has
not been identified with any of the churches at present ex-
isting in that neighbourhood.

Madog ab Gildas was a saint of the college of Cennydd, and
the founder of Llanfadog, a church in the vicinity of Llan-
gennydd.

Dolgan ab Gildas, a saint of the college of Cattwg.

Nwython, or Noethon ab Gildas, a member of the society of
Cattwg. It is said that there were formerly chapels dedicated
to him and his brother, Gwynnog, under Llangwm Dinmael,
Denbighshire.t

Gwynno, or Gwynnog ab Gildas, a member of the society of
Cattwg, and the patron saint of Y Faenor, Brecknockshire.
Under the name of Gwynno, he is considered to have been
one of the three founders of Llantrisaint, Glamorganshire ; and
Llanwynno, a chapel under Llantrisaint, is dedicated to him.
Llanwnog in the county of Montgomery claims him for its
founder under the name of Gwynnog ; and in the chancel
window of this church he is delineated in painted glass in
episcopal habits, with a mitre on his head, and a crosier in his
hand ; underneath is an inscription in old English characters,
"Sanctus Gwinocus, cujus animae propitietur Deus. Amen."J

* Cambrian Biography.

t Myvyrian Archaiology, Vol. II.

X Cambrian Quarterly Magazine, Vol. I.

258 THE WELSH SAINTS

His| festival is Oct. 26; and he is not to be confounded with
Gwenog, a virgin, the saint of Llanwenog, Cardiganshire.

Tydecho ab Gildas appears in one catalogue of saints, pro-
bably by mistake for Tydecho, the son of Amwn Ddu.
Dolgar, a daughter of Gildas ab Caw.

Garci, the son of Cewydd ab Caw ; a saint to whom it is
said there was a church dedicated in Glamorganshire.*

Tudwg, the son of Tyfodwg, was a member of the institu-
tion of Cennydd. Llandudwg, or Tythegston, subject to
Newcastle, Glamorganshire, is dedicated to him.

Daniel, who has been mentioned as being present at the
Synod of Brefi,t was no other than Deiniol Wyn, the son of
Dunawd Fyr by Dwywe, a daughter of Gwallog ab Llenog.
He assisted his father in the establishment of the monastery of
Bangor Iscoed; and it is said that in 516 he founded another
monastery in Carnarvonshire, called Bangor Deiniol and Ban-
gor Fawr, of which he was abbot. Soon afterwards this place
was raised by Maelgwn Gwynedd to the rank of a bishop's
see, of which Deiniol was the first bishop ; and as it is stated
that he received episcopal consecration from Dubricius, the
event must have occurred before the end of the year 522.
According to Geoffrey of Monmouth he died in 544. — Such is
the chronology of his life as arranged by Usher, but it depends
on the authority of writers comparatively late, and is sur-
rounded with difficulties which are fatal to its reception. It
appears from the authentic testimony of Bede that Dunawd,
the father of Deiniol, was living at the time of the conference
with St. Augustin about the year 600, a circumstance incom-
patible with the supposition that the son could have flourished
so early as 516. The poems of Llywarch Hen, a contem-
porary, prove that Dunawd was engaged in battle with the
sons of Urien Rheged, whose age is determined by the cir-

* Cambrian Biography,
t Page 192.

FROM A. D. 542 TO A. D. 566. 259

cumstance that their father was living so late as the year 560.*
Dunawd, therefore, was not a saint till near the close of the
past generation, about which time he might have founded the
monastery of Bangor Iscoed. The monastery of Bangor
Deiniol was founded afterwards ; and the situation of Deiniol
in his own pedigree assigns him to the present generation,
which agrees also with the time when Maelgwn Gwynedd, his
acknowledged patron, was at the height of his power. Stress
is laid upon this point, as it involves the date of the foundation
of the present bishoprick of Bangor ; but the churches attri-
buted to Deiniol are few, and not disposed in such a way as to
afford a criterion for ascertaining the extent of his diocese.
He was consecrated, probably, by St. David, as there is reason
to assert that he and his relatives lived for some time under
the protection of that saint at Llanddewi Brefi,t where
churches still retain their names ; but the synod of Brefi and
the death of Dubricius were events which must have happen-
ed when he was a child. Few particulars of his life can be
collected, for tradition and the legendary writers have been all
but silent respecting him. It is said that he was a bard,
though none of his poems remain. He was buried in the Isle

* He survived Ida, the king of the Angles, whose death is placed in
559. — Compare Nennius with the Saxon Chronicle.

t Gwynfardd, enumerating the privileges of St. David at Brefi, says,
that he had the happiness —

To have around him, about his plains,

Men liberal and kindly disposed, and fair towns j

He ensured protection to a quiet people,

The tribe of Daniel, highly exalted, their equal

Exists not, for lineage and morality and courtesy.

A bod o'i gylchyn, cylch ei faesydd,
Haelon, a thirion, a theg drefydd ;
A gorfod gwared lliwed llonydd,
Llwyth Daniel oruchel, eu hefelydd
Nid oes, yn cadw oes, a moes, a mynudydd.

260 THE WELSH SAINTS

of Bardsey, and his memory has been celebrated on the tenth
of December. The churches founded by him were^ Llan-
ddeiniol in Cardiganshire, which is perhaps due to his con-
nexion with St. David at Llanddewi Brefi ; Llanddeiniol, or
Itton, Monmouthshire ; Hawarden, Flintshire ; and Llan-
uwchlyn, Merionethshire : and the chapels under his tutelage
are. Worth enbury, Flintshire, formerly subject to Bangor
Iscoed, but now a separate benefice ;* and St. Daniel's, sub-
ject to Monktown, Pembrokeshire.

Cynwyl, a brother of Deiniol, appears also to have lived
under the protection of St. David, and has been deemed the
founder of Cynwyl Gaio, the church of a parish adjoining that
of Llanddewi Brefi. Another trace of this family may be found
in the name of Llansawel, a chapel subordinate to Cynwyl
Gaio,f which is dedicated to Sawyl,} the uncle of Deiniol.
The churches of CynwylElfed, Carmarthenshire, and Aberporth,
Cardiganshire, have likewise been attributed to Cynwyl, and
according to Ecton he is the patron saint of Penrhos, a chapel
under Abererch, Carnarvonshire. He assisted at 'the estab-
lishment of the monastery of Bangor Iscoed ; and his wake or
saint's day is April 30.

Gwarthan, another brother of Deiniol, assisted at the estab-
lishment of the monastery of Bangor Iscoed, but nothing
further is known respecting him.

Cynfelyn, a son of Bleiddyd ab Meirion of the line of Cun-
edda, was the founder of Llangynfelyn, Cardiganshire ; and of
a church at Welsh Pool, Montgomeryshire, which was pro-
bably connected with the religious society established there by
his brother, Llewelyn ab Bleiddyd.

* Separated by Act of Parliament in the second year of William and
Mary.— B. WiUJs.

+ The Ordnance map notices an upright stone in this neighbourhood,
which it calls *' Crossgonwell," i. e. Croes Gynwyl, or St. Cynwyl's
Cross,

X Page 207, antea.

FROM A. D. 542 TO A. D. 566. 261

Llewelyn ab Bleiddyd ab Tegonwy ab Teon, by mistake for
Llewelyn ab Bleiddyd ab Meirion ab Tibion, is said to have
founded a religious house at Trallwng, now called Welsh
Pool. He ended his days in the monastery of Bardsey.

Mabon, a brother of Llewelyn, is presumed to have been
the founder of Rhiwfabon, Denbighshire.

Cynudyn ab Bleiddyd ab Meirion, was a dean of the college
of Padarn at Llanbadarn Fawr. Lewis Morris suggests that a
stone in the churchyard of Llanwnws, Cardiganshire, with
the inscription " Canotinn" was a monument to the memory
of this person.*

Gwynlleu, the son of Cyngar ab Arthog of the line of Cun-
edda, was probably the founder of Nantgwnlle, Cardigan-
shire.

Eurgain, daughter of Maelgwn Gwynedd and wife of Elidyr
Mwynfawr, was the foundress of Llaneurgain, or Northop,
Flintshire.

Cyndeyrn or St. Kentigern, according to Bonedd y Saint
was the pn of Owain ab Urien Rheged and Dwynwenf the
daughter of Llewddyn Lueddog of Dinas EiddynJ in the
north. According to John of Teignmouth he was born in
North Britain, where he was placed under the instruction of
Servanus, an Irish saint ; and it is said that he earned the
esteem of his instructor to such a degree that he was styled by
him Mwyngu or " amiable," which later writers have rendered
into St. Mungo, a name by which he is frequently known.
When he grew up he founded the bishoprick of Glasgow, or,
as the Welsh writers term the place, Penryn Rhionydd ; but
after a time the dissensions of his countrymen forced him to
retire to Wales, where he was kindly received by St. David.

* Myv. Archaiology, Vol. II. — This stone is not noticed in Meyrick's
Cardiganshire,
t John of Teignmouth calls her "Tanen."
t Dinas Eiddyn is almost a literal translation of Edenburgh.

2C2 THE WELSH SAINTS

While he remained in Wales he founded another bishoprick
atLlanelwy* in Flintshire about A. D. 550; and though in
its establishment he experienced some opposition from Maelgwn
Gwynedd, that chieftain was eventually reconciled and became
one of his patrons. After a few years he was recalled to his
native country by " Rederech" or Rhydderch Hael, chief of
the Strath Clyde Britons ; and resigning the see of Llanelwy
to Asafj one of his disciples, he resumed the bishoprick of
Glasgow, at which place he died at an advanced age.t He
has been a great favourite with the legendary writers, who, in
order to enlist his name in behalf of the prerogatives of Rome,
have asserted that, being dissatisfied with the mode of his con-
secration, he applied to the Pope intreating his Holiness to
rectify its irregularities. The following is Cressy's elucidation
of the subject :—

" When he was come to an age wherein he might dispose
his own actions, the man of God, Kentigern, went from his
Master (Servanus) to a place called Glashu,t where he lived
alone in great abstinence, untill the King and Clergy of that
Region, calld then Cumbria (now Galloway) together with
other Christians, who were but few, chose him for their Pas-
tour and Bishop, notwithstanding the utmost resistance he
could make. And sending for one single Bishop out of Ire-
land they caused him to be consecrated after the then usuall
custome among the Brittains and Scotts. For at that time a
practise had gott footing to use no other Ceremonies in the
Consecration of a Bishop, but onely the infusion of Sacred
Chrism on their heads with invocation of the Holy Spirit,
benediction, and imposition of hands. For those Islanders,

* St. Asaph.

t There are several churches dedicated to St. Kentigern in Cumberland,
which^ remain as monuments of the occupation of that country by the
Britons.

X Qu. Glasgow ?

FROM A. D. 542 TO A. D. 566. 263

removed as it were from the World, by meanes of their conti-
nuall infestations by Pagans, were become ignorant in the
Ecclesiasticall Canons. For which reason the Law of the
Church condescended to them, and admitted an excuse in this
regard, so that Ecclesiasticall censures did not touch them.
* * * But a more authentic proof of the respect and depend-
ance which the British Churches had of the Roman cannot be
imagined, then the behaviour of S. Kentigern himself. For
being afterwards afflicted in his mind for the foresaid defects
in his Ordination, he did not seek for Counsel or remedy from
any Metropolitans in Brittany, Ireland, or France, but onely
from Rome and the Supreme Bishop thereof, to whom the
Custody of Ecclesiasticall Canons was by the Church com-
mitted, and who had authority to enjoyn the observation of
them, to punish the transgression, and to supply or dispence
with the defects either by negligence or necessity occurring
in the execution of them. This is expressly declared by John
of Tinmouth in his prosecution of the Life of S. Kentigern :
where he tells us, ' That the JMan of God went seaven severall
times to Rome, where he simply and particularly layd open
his whole life, his Election, Consecration, and all the accidents
which had befalln him to S. Gregory the speciall Apostle of
the English. Upon which the Holy Pope perceiving that he
was a sincere man of God and full of the Grace of God's holy
Spirit, confirm'd his Consecration, knowing that it came from
God. Moreover at his often and earnest request, yet with
great unwillingnes, he condescended to supply those small
defects which were wanting in his Consecration, and having
done this he dismissed him to the work of the Ministry which
was enjoy ned him by the Holy Ghost.' — Hence appears that
in the Ordination of S. Kentigern nothing was omitted that
was of any necessity, since it was only upon his importunity
and for satisfaction of his Scrupulosity that S. Gregory sup-
plied the omission of certain Rites required by the Canons.
The greatest fault that the Holy Bishop could impute to him-

264 "THE WELSH SAINTS

self, was his being consecrated by one onely Irish Bishop,
against the Expresse Canon of a General Council.* But con-
sidering the unquietnes and danger of the times, and the want
of Bishops, though there was a transgression of the words of
the Canon, yet there was none of the mind of it, which cer-
tainly does not oblige to impossibilities."

The only authority for the narrative part of this dissertation
is that of John of Teignmouth, who lived in the twelfth cen-
tury ; but granting that his assertions, so far as they related
to St. Kentigern, were correct, it would still remain, that the
mode of consecrating bishops in the British and Scottish
churches was different from that practised in the Church of
Rome, and that the opinions of St. Kentigern as an individual
were at variance with those of his brethren. No change could
have been effected by his example, for in the next century the
Britons are found resolutely adhering to their peculiar cus-
toms, and refusing to hold intercourse with the Romish clergy.
But it is not necessary to make so large a concession. The
silence of St, Gregory and the writers of the following age,
upon so important a subject, affords a strong presumption
that no communication passed between him and St. Kenti-
gern ; and evidence of this kind, though negative, is of greater
value than the assertions of a legend written six hundred
years after the events which it pretends to describe. As for
the statement upon which Cressy, presuming upon the truth
of his author, lays so much stress, that the saint was conse-
crated by one bishop instead of three ; the number would not
have been so much the ground of objection as the fact that the
Britons and Scots were out of the pale of the Church of Rome,
that the consecrations of their bishops, and consequently the

* " The first Canon of the Apostles, confirmed by many Councils, en-
joyn'd that every Bishop should be ordained by at least two or three
Bishops : Whereas S. Kentigern was consecrated by one single Bishop,
and him a stranger of a forraia Nation,"— Cressy.

FROM A. D. 542 TO A. D. 566. 265

titles of their inferior clergy, were not considered valid by the
Catholics. Between the years 664 and 669, St. Chad, a bishop
of the Anglo-Saxons, was consecrated by a Romish, or as it
was then termed, a canonical bishop, assisted by two British
bishops ; and the reason for this expedient was the circum-
stance that there was at that time but one Catholic bishop in
all Britain.* It was afterwards determined, that in conse-
quence of the British bishops assisting, the ceremony was
invalid ; and St. Chad was prepared to resign his office, when
in consideration of his humility and submission, Theodore,
who had then been appointed archbishop of Canterbury, con-
sented to grant him a fresh consecration.t In the same inter-
val, Wilfrid, archbishop of York, undertook a journey to
Gaul, *^' rather than be consecrated by prelates not in com-
munion with Rome as the Britons and Scots, or by those who
agreed with schismatics.''^

Asaf was the son of Sawyl Benuchel and Gwenaseth daugh-
ter of Rhufon Rhufoniog. He was the disciple of Cyndeyrn,

* '* Diverterunt ad provinciam Occidentalium Saxonura, ubi erat Vini
Episcopus ; et ab illo est vir praefatus (Ceadda) consecratus Antistes,
adsumptis in societatem ordinationis duobus de Brittonura gente Episcopis,
qui Dominicum Paschae diem, ut saepius dictum est, secus morem canorii-
cura a quarta deciraa usque ad vicesimam Lunam celebrant. Non enim
erat tunc uUus, excepto illo Vine, in totS, BritanniS. canonice ordinatus
Episcopus."— Bede, Lib. III. Cap. 28.

+ " Itaque Theodorus perlustrans universa, ordinabat locis opportunis
Episcopos, et ea quae minus perfecta reperit, his quoque juvantibus corri-
gebat. In quibus et Ceadda Episcopum cum argueret non fuisse rite con-
secratum, respondens ipse voce humillima : ' Si me, inquit, ndsti Episco-
patum non rite suscepisse, libenter ab officio discedo : quippe qui neque
me unquam hoc esse dignum arbitrabar; sed obedientise causS jussus
subire hoc, quamvis indignus consensi.' At ille audiens humilitatem res-
ponsionis ejus, dixit, non eum Episcopatum dimittere debere; sed ipse
ordinationem ejus denuo Catholica ratione consummavit." — Bede, Lib. IV.
Cap. 2.

X Eddius, Vita Wilfridi, apud Gale.

266 THE WELSH SAINTS

whom he succeeded about A. D. 560 in the bishoprick of
Llanelwy, which from this circumstance has ever since been
known in English by the name of St. Asaph, though in Welsh
it retains its original appellation. Asaf is also known as the
founder of the church of Llanasa in Flintshire.

Pedrog, according to Bonedd y Saint, was the son of Cle-
ment prince of Cornwall ; but Cressy insists that he was born
of princely parentage in Wales. Usher makes it appear that
he was contemporary with St. Kentigern. He was the founder
of the churches of Llanbedrog, Carnarvonshire, St. Petrox,
Pembrokeshire, and of several others in Cornwall and Devon,
of which counties he may be considered the tutelar saint. He
was buried at Bodmin, where, according to some authorities,
he had established a bishoprick.

Cybi was the son of Selyf ab Geraint ab Erbin, and as his
mother was Gwen, daughter of Gynyr of Caer-gawch, he must
have been a cousin and contemporary of St. David, though ap-
parently some years younger. If the verses, said to have been
written by Aneurin or Cattwg Ddoeth, upon the departure of
the saints for Bardsey, can be trusted, Cybi was present at the
Synod of Brefi ;* and it may be said that the memory of his
presence is preserved in the name of the church of Llangybi
in the immediate neighbourhood of Llanddewi Brefi. He was
also the founder of Llangybi near Caerleon, which confirms
the probability that he was acquainted with St. David. But
he is more especially distinguished as the founder of a religious
society at Caergybi or Holyhead in Anglesey, near to the spot
where Caswallon Lawhir had slain Serigi, over whose grave a
chapel was afterwards erected. As Cybi was the president of
his society, he was, according to the usual practice of the
times, styled a bishop, though he never held jurisdiction over
a diocese. The anachronism which places him in the fourth

* See My V. Archaiology, Vol I. p. 181, and Vol. III. p. 3. but the verses
are too modern for the authors assigned.

FROM A. D. 542 TO A. D. 566. 267

century and. makes him acquainted with St. Hilary, Bishop of
Poictiers, may be attributed to the circumstance that one of
his contemporary saints in that island was called Elian, a name
which the Welsh give also to St. Hilary. Besides the churches
already mentioned, Cybi was the founder of Llangybi in Car-
narvonshire. Festival, Nov. 6.

According to tradition Cybi and Elian used to meet at a
place called Llandyfrydog, between Llanelian and Holyhead,
to confer upon subjects of religion. A similar story is told of
Cybi and Seiriol of Penmon, who used to hold weekly meet-
ings at Clorach near Llannerch y Medd. " From the circum-
stance of Seiriol travelling westward in the morning and east-
ward in the evening, and Cybi on the contrary always facing
the sun, they were denominated ' Seiriol Wyn a Chybi Felyn,
^-Seiriol the Fair, and Cybi the Tawny." These stories,
though obviously fabulous, are chronologically consistent, as
the three saints, according to their genealogy, were living at
the same time.

Elian Geimiad was the son of Gallgu Rieddog ab Carclud-
wys of the line of Cadrod Calchfynydd, and his mother was
Canna, a daughter of Tewdwr Mawr o Lydaw and widow of
Sadwrn. The epithet Ceimiad (pilgrim) has by one writer*
been changed into Cannaid (bright) to correspond with the
Latin Hilarius ; but the conjecture was unnecessary, as the
sound of the name Elian, which the Welsh have thought con-
vertible with Hilary,t is sufficient to account for the confusion.
Elian is celebrated in the superstitions of the Principality ;
miraculous cures were lately supposed to be performed at his
shrine at Llanelian, Anglesey; J and near to the church of
Llanelian, Denbighshire, is a well called Ffynnon Elian,
which is thought by the peasantry of the neighbourhood to

* The author of a *' History of Anglesey."

t In the Welsh Calendar, St. Hilary is called Elian Esgob.

X History of Anglesey, 1775.

268 THE WELSH SAINTS

be endued with miraculous powers even at present. His wake
is held in the month of August, while the festival of St. Hi-
lary occurs on the thirteenth of January.

Beuno was the son of Hywgi or Bugi ab Gwynllyw Filwr
and PerfFeren daughter of Llewddyn Luyddog of Dinas
Eiddyn in the North. He was, therefore, nearly related to
Cattwg and Kentigern, with the latter of whom he was con-
temporary. Few particulars of his life are known, though it
must have extended into the following century, as it is record-
ed that he founded a religious society at Clynnog Fawr in
Carnarvonshire in 616. The land, upon which the college or
monastery of Clynnog was built, was granted by Cadfan, the
reigning prince of North Wales, to whom St. Beuno gave a
small golden sceptre as an acknowledgement for the donation.
He was in his old age one of the instructors of Gwenfrewi or
St. Winefred ; his festival is April 21 ; and the churches and
chapels dedicated to him are the following : —

Berriew, alias Aber-rhiw, V. Montgomeryshire.

Bettws, V. Mont.

Llanycil, R. Merionethshire.

Gwyddelwern,* R. Merioneth.

Clynnog Fawr, R. Carnarvonshire.

Carngiwch, a chapel to Edeyrn (St. Edeyrn,) Cam.

Pistyll, a chapel to Edeyrn (St. Edeyrn,) Carn.

Penmorfa, R. — 1 chapel, Dolbenmaen (St. Mary,) Carn.

Aberffraw, R.— 1 chapel, Capel Mair (St. Mary,) Anglesey.

Trefdraeth, R. — 1 chapel, Llangwyfen (St. Cwyfen,) Anglesey.

Llanfeuno, a chapel to Clodock (St. Clydog,) Herefordshire.

Cannen, the son of Gwyddlew ab Gwynllyw Filwr, is pre-
sumed to have been the founder of Llanganten, near Builth,
Brecknockshire.

Gwodloew, the son of Glywys Cerniw ab Gwynllyw Filwr,
is said to have been at first a teacher in the college of Cattwg,
and afterwards bishop of Llandaff; but the last assertion is

* Built by St. Beuno on land granted to him by Cynan ab Brochwel
Ysgythrog, prince of Powys. — Cambrian Register, Vol. I.

FROM A. D. 542 TO A. D. 566. 269

incorrect, as " Guodloiu" in the catalogue of bishops of Llan-
dafF* must have lived at an age too late for the son of Glywys
Cerniw.

Meugan or Meigant, a son of Gwyndaf Hen ab Emyr
Llydaw and Gwenonwy the daughter of Meurig prince of
Glamorgan, was originally a member of the college of Iltutus,
from whence he removed to the college of Dubricius at Caer-
leon, of which society his father was the president. In his
old age he retired to Bardsey, where he died. He may be
deemed the founder of Llanfeugan, Brecknockshire ; and the
chapels consecrated to his memory are St. Moughan's under
Llangattwg Feibion Afel, Monmouthshire ; and Capel Meu-
gan, formerly subject to Llandegfan, Anglesey. Two poems,
composed by Meugan, who is thought to have been the same
person as the saint, are inserted in the Myvyrian Archai-
ology.

Melangell, the daughter of Tudwal Tudglyd of the line of
Macsen Wledig, was the foundress of Pennant Melangell, t
Montgomeryshire. She was a sister of Rhydderch Hael of
Strath Clyde ; and her mother was Ethni, surnamed Wydd-
eles or the Irish- woman. Festival, May 27.

Dingad, the son of Nudd Hael of the line of Macsen
Wledig, is called a saint, but no churches are ascribed to him.
His wife was Tonwy or Trefrian, a daughter of Llewddyn
Luyddog of Dinas Eiddyn.:|:

Llidnerth ab Nudd, a brother of Dingad, and a saint.

♦ He is the eleventh bishop in Godwin's list, and is mentioned as con-
temporary with Maredudd, king of Dyfed, about A. D. 790.

f *' It is distinguished from other Pen Nants by the addition of Melangell,
i. e. Monacella, the patron saint, whose Latin Legend is still extant j her
history is also rudely sculptured on the gallery of the churchy and several
of her relics are still (1811) shown to the credulous, who happen to visit
this sequestered spot. The cell of Diva Monacella is in a rock near the
church." — Carlisle's Topography.

X Page 261, antea.

270 THE WELSH SAINTS

Clydno Eiddyn, Cynan, Cynfelyn Drwsgl, and Cadrod, sons
of Cynwyd Cynwydion of the line of Coel Godebog, were
chieftains of North Britain, who are said to have embraced a
religious life.*

> Cawrdaf, the son of Caradog Fraichfras of the line of Coel,
succeeded his father as sovereign of Brecknockshire, and is
distinguished in the Triads for his extensive influence, for
whenever he went to battle the whole population of the
country attended at his summons.t He is said to have em-
braced a religious life in the college of Illtyd ; and Llangoed,
a chapel subordinate to Llaniestin, Anglesey, is dedicated to
him in conjunction with his brother Tangwn. It has been
suggested that the name of Llanwrda, Carmarthenshire, is
derived from Cawrdaf,:j: though the more obvious meaning of
the word is " the church of the holy man," without intending
to describe any particular saint. The festival of St. Cawrdaf
is Dec. 5 ; while the wake of Llanwrda depends upon Nov.
12, or All Saints' Day, Old Style.

Cadfarch, a brother of Cawrdaf, was the founder of Penegos,
Montgomeryshire, and Abererch, Carnarvonshire. Festival,
Oct. 24.

Tangwn, brother of Cawrdaf, was one of the saints to whom
Llangoed, Anglesey, is dedicated.

Maethlu or Amaethlu, brother of Cawrdaf, the founder of
Llanfaethlu, Anglesey, and possibly of Llandyfalle, Breck-
nockshire. The syllable dy is introduced into the last name
upon the same principle as Llandyfaelog is formed from
Maelog ; both the names so formed occur in Brecknockshire,
while the corresponding appellations in Anglesey omit it.§
Festival, Dec. 26.

Cambrian Biography, voce Cynwyd Cynwydion.

t Triad 41, Third Series.

X Joneses Brecknockshire, Vol. I. p. 70.

§ Page 331, antea.

FROM A. D. 542 TO A. D. 566. 271

Tewdwr Brycheiniog, the son of Nefydd ab Nefydd Ail ab
Rhun ab Brychan, a saint of whom nothing more is known
than his pedigree.

Ciwg, the son of Aron ab Cynfarch of the line of Coel, was
the founder of Llangiwg, commonly called Llanguke^ in Gla-
morganshire.

Elaeth, sometimes styled Elaeth Frenhin or " the king/' was
the son of Meurig ab Idno of the tribe of Coel, and Onen
Greg, a daughter of Gwallog ab Llenog. In the former part
of his life he was a chieftain in the North, from whence he
was driven by a reverse of fortune to spend the remainder of
his days in the college of Seiriol in Anglesey, and he is also
considered to have been the founder of the church of Amlwch
in that county. He was a bard, and a few religious stanzas
attributed to him are preserved in the Myvyrian Archaiology,
Festival, Nov. 10.

Saeran, a saint, is said to have been the son of Geraint, sur-
named Saer, or '' the artisan," of Ireland. He was buried at
Llanynys, Denbighshire, from which circumstance that church
has been thought to have been dedicated to him ; but its
original founder, according to Llywarch Hen, was Mor ab
Ceneu ab Coel. According to Usher, Kieranus Jilius arlificis
was an eminent saint who founded the bishoprick of
Cloyne in Ireland between the years 520 and 550 ; and the
similarity of the names suggests the idea that he was the same
person as Geraint Saer, the father of Saeran, in which case the
Welsh appellation ought to have been written Geraint ah
y Saer.

/^ The period just passed over includes the principal part of
the lives of Aneurin, Taliesin, Llywarch Hen, and Myrddin,
four bards, of whose compositions a very considerable portion
has remained to posterity; and rude and obscure as these
poems may seem to a modern reader, they should be received
with the indulgence due to their antiquity, for they are per-
haps the earliest specimen of a vernacular literature possessed

272 THE WELSH SAINTS

by any of the existing nations of Europe. They are, however,
not destitute of the spirit of poetry, and their violation of the
rules of criticism is amply compensated by their value as his-
torical records ; for they abound in allusions to passing events,
and when their scattered notices are collected together and
embodied, an interesting dissertation may be written upon the
history and manners of the times. The names of several other
bards of this date are preserved, whose works are entirely lost.
But the question more deeply interesting to the ecclesiastical
historian, as well as to the best feelings of the Christian, is —
/'Did the Welsh at this early age possess, in their own language,
a version of any part of the sacred Scriptures ? Without an-
swering this question absolutely in the negative, it may be
said that no traces of such a version have yet been discovered,
and it is to be feared that in this respect the British Church
was not so highly favoured as the Anglo-Saxon.* But the
disadvantages of the former will appear much lessened when it
is remembered that the Latin language must have been known in
Wales to a considerable extent; for the Britons had formed a part
of the Roman empire, from which they had not been separated a
full century before the establishment of the monastic institutions
so often noticed ; and if the system of instruction adopted in
those communities was conducted in Latin, as was the case in
similar institutions on the continent, it must have had a
powerful tendency to preserve the knowledge of a language,
in which the government of the people had so lately been
administered.

* About the year 706, Aldhelm, the first bishop of Sherborne, translated
the Psalter into Saxon : and at his earnest persuasion, Egbert or Eadfrid,
bishop of Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, soon afterwards executed a Saxon
version of the four Gospels. Not many years after this, the learned and ven-
erable Bede, who died A. D. 735, translated the entire Bible into that lan-
guage.

SECTION XII.

The Welsh Saints from the Death of Maelgwn Gwynedd A. D. 566 to the
close of the Sixth Century.

The princes of North Wales in this interval were suc-
cessively Rhun ab Maelgwn, Beli ab Rhun, and lago ab
Beli ;* but according to Geoffrey of Monmouth the sovereignty
of the Britons was assumed by Ceredig, a man of turbulent
disposition, who was perpetually engaged in feuds with other
chieftains, by which the nation was so much weakened that it
could oppose but a feeble resistance to the Saxons, from whose
ravages it suffered to a degree unprecedented ; and though the
bards and genealogists mention nothing of Ceredig, sufficient
evidence may be gathered from their testimony to show that
their countrymen were at this time harassed with intestine
warfare. The Saxons also, as may be learned from their
own accounts, had pushed their conquests so far as the Severn,
and founded the kingdom of Mercia, the last and most exten-
sive of the states of the Heptarchy. Under these circum-
stances it cannot be surprising that the saints of this period
are few, and the information to be gleaned respecting them,
though at all times meagre, is henceforward exceedingly
scanty. Tradition loves to dwell on the events of prosperity,
and nations, like individuals, are not fond of recounting their
ill-successes.

* Maelgwn Gwynedd must have lived to a great age, for his generation
properly belongs to the commencement of the century. Rhun, Beli, and
lago, (who are respectively his son, grandson, and great-grandson,) fol-
lowed in rapid succession, and it is agreed that Cadfan, his descendant in
the fourth degree, commenced his reign soon after the year 600.

274 THE WELSH SAINTS

The bishop who presided over the see of LlandafF was
Oudoceus, of whom it was asserted in the middle ages, that he
made an acknowledgement of submission to St. Augustin,
archbishop of Canterbury, and received consecration at his
hands ;* but the legend, for it deserves no better name, is so
contrary to authentic history and inconsistent with the state of
the Welsh Church for two centuries after the time of Oudo-
ceus, that it does not require a serious refutation. Had the
early Catholic writers of this islandt been able to prove that a
Welsh bishop had submitted to Canterbury, they might have
gained a political purpose and terminated an important eccles-
iastical controversy ; but they invariably describe the British
Christians as holding no communion with the Anglo-Saxons,
and celebrating the passover without fellowship with the
Church of ChristJ The memory of Oudoceus has been held
in great reverence at Llandaff, where he has had the honour of
ranking with Dubricius and Teilo as one of the patron saints
of the cathedral. His commemoration is July 2.

Ceneu, the bishop of Menevia contemporary with Oudoceus,
was the founder of Llangeneu, a church which once existed in
Pembrokeshire, but the settlement of the Flemings in that
county has obliterated all traces of its situation. §

Lleuddad, called also Llawddog, the son of Dingad ab Nudd
Hael and Tefrian or Tonwy a daughter of Llewddyn Luydd-
og ; he ended his days in the Isle of Bardsey, and is sometimes

* Liber Landavensis.

t Aldhelm, Eddius, and Bede.
^ J The first instance of submission to Canterbury, that can be authenti-
cated, happened between the years 871 and 889, when Lwmbert or Hubert
Sais, bishop of St. David's, and Cimeliauc or Cyfelach, bishop of Llan-
dafF, were consecrated by Ethelred, its eighteenth archbishop. The
second instance of submission on the part of the bishops of St. David's did
not occur before the eleventh century. — Compare the Welsh Chronicles
vith the notes to the Latin edition of Godwin's Bishops.

§ It is noticed in the Laws of Hywel Dda. My v. Archaiology, Vol. III.

FROM A. D. 566 TO A. D 600. 275

confounded with Lleuddad, the companion of Cadfan, who
was at least half a century older. The chapel of Llanllawddog
under Abergwyli, Carmarthenshire^ is dedicated to the son of
Dingad, who was also the founder of Cenarth, and Penboir,
Carmarthenshire^ and Cilgerran, Pembrokeshire. Festival
Jan. 15.

Baglan, a son of Dingad, was the saint to whom Llanfaglan
under Llanwnda, Carnarvonshire, and Baglan under Aberafon,
Glamorganshire, are dedicated.

Gwytherin ab Dingad, the founder of a church called
Gwytherin in the county of Denbigh, at which place Gwen-
frewi or St. Winefred was afterwards buried.

Tygwy ab Dingad, a saint to whom Llandygwy or Llan-
dygwydd, Cardiganshire, is ascribed.

Tyfriog, otherwise Tyfrydog, ab Dingad, the founder of
Llandyfriog in the county of Cardigan, which has also been
called Llandyfrydog.

Eleri, daughter of Dingad, a saint who lived at Pennant in
the parish of Gwytherin, Denbighshire.

Aelhaiarn, a son of Hygarfael ab Cyndrwyn of Llystin-
wennan in Caereinion, Montgomeryshire. He was the founder
of Llanaelhaiarn, Merionethshire, and Cegidfa or Guilsfield in
the county of Montgomery. Festival, Nov. 1.
" Llwchaiarn, another son of Hygarfael ; the patron saint of
Llanllwchaiarn and Llanmerewig, Montgomeryshire, and of
Llanychaiarn, and Llanllwchaiarn, Cardiganshire.* Festival,
Jan. 11.

Cynhaiarn, brother of Llwchaiarn, a saint to whom Ynys
Cynhaiarn, a chapel under Cruccaith, Carnarvonshire, is
dedicated.

* Llanmerewig was formerly a chapel to Llanllwchaiarn, its neighbour;
and Llanychaiarn, Cardiganshire, was subject to Llanbadarn Fawr in the
same county.

276 THE WELSH SAINTS

Ty fry dog, the son of Arwystli GlofF ab Seithenin and Ty-
wynwedd daughter of Amlawdd Wledig ; he was the founder
of Llandyfrydog, Anglesea. Festival^ Jan. 1.

Twrnog or Teyrnog, brother of Tyfrydog; Llandyrnog,
Denbighshire, is attributed to him.

Tudur, brother of Tyfrydog, a saint to whom Darowain,
y Montgomeryshire, is attributed. Mynyddyslwyn, Monmouth-
shire, is ascribed by Ecton to St. Tudur, but it is doubtful
whether the same person is intended. Festival, Oct. 15.*

Dier or Diheufyr, a brother of Tyfrydog, and founder of
Bodfari in Flintshire. He is called Deiferus in the legend of
St. Winefred.

Marchell^ a sister of Tyfrydog, the foundress of Ystrad
Marchell in Montgomeryshire, where an abbey was afterwards
built, called Strata Marcella. Capel Marchell under Llanrwst
is called after her name.

Ufelwyn, or as he is styled in Latin, Ubilwynus, the son of
Cennydd ab Aneurin y Coed Aiir, was the founder of a church
in Glamorganshire called Llanufelwyn; the situation of which
seems to correspond with St. George's near Cardiff, as in the
division of the county upon the settlement of the Normans,
the lordship of St. George, which was granted by Robert
Fitzhammon to John Fleming, is sometimes called the lordship
of Llanufelwyn.t Ufelwyn succeeded St. Oudoceus as bishop
of LlandaJfF.J

Ffili, the son of Cennydd ab Gildas§ y Coed Aur ; a saint

* The wake at Darowain is held eleven days afterwards. See page 240.

f Myv. Archaiology, Vol. II. p. 526.

\ It is not known who was the successor of Ufelwyn, as, according to
the Chronicle of Caradog, Aidan, the next bishop in Godwin's list, was
slain by the Saxons in the year 720, a full century after the age of Ufel-
wyn ; but the lists of bishops of Llandaff and St. David's are very corrupt
between the sixth and ninth centuries.

§ '* Gildas"— the same person as Aneurin in the notice of the preceding
saint.— See page 225.

FROM A. D 566 TO A. D. 600. 277

to whom it is said the church of Rhos Ffili in Gower, now
known by the name of Rhos Sili^ is dedicated.*

Tyssilioj the son of Brochwel Ysgythrog ab Cyngen ab
Cadell and Arddun daughter of Pabo Post Prydain, is said to
have been bishop of St. Asaph ; and according to the situation
which he occupies in his pedigree he must have been the im-
mediate successor of Asaf^, to whom he was cousin in the first
degree. His father^ Brochwel, was the reigning prince of
Powys ; and Cynddelw, a bard of the twelfth century, adverts
with pride to the circumstance that the saint was ^'^ nobly des-
cended of high ancestry."t The life of Brochwel, which
extends beyond the usual period, was protracted to the next
generation, but the military affairs of the province were al-
ready administered by Cynan Garwyn, one of his sons, who
shared largely in the feuds of the times, and a poem of Tal-
iesin:}: describes his victorious career along the banks v ** the
Wye, in the Isle of Anglesey, on the hills of Dimetia, and in
the region of Brychan ; chieftains trembled and fled at his
approach, and he slaughtered his enemies with the gory blade.
On the other hand, the pursuits of Tyssilio, independently of
his profession, were of a peaceable nature. He was a bard,
and is reported to have written an ecclesiastical history of
Britain, which is now lost, though it is alleged to have been
preserved in manuscript so late as the year 1600. § It has
been said that the fabulous Chronicle of the Kings of Britain,
edited by Walter de Mapes and afterwards amplified by Geoff-
rey of Monmouth, was originally compiled by Tyssilio; but it
is now generally agreed that the statement is unfounded, and
the Chronicle contains a heap of extravagant fables respecting

Cambrian Biography. Qu. From whom does Caerffili derive its

name

t " Mat ganet o genedyl voned." — My v. Archaiology, Vol. I. p. 244.
J Trawsganu Cynan Garwyn. Myv. Archaiology, Vol. I. p. 168.
§ Correspondence of the late Rev. Evan Evans (Prydydd Hir,) published
in the Cambrian Quarterly, Vol. I. p. 396.

278 THE WELSH SAINTS

Arthur which no historian would have ventured to publish as
belonging to an age immediately preceding his own, when
existing facts and the memory of persons living might have
contradicted him. According to Browne Willis, the churches
and chapels, which own Tyssilio for their patron saint, are: — -

Meifod, V. Montgomeryshire.

Llandyssilio, a chapel to Llandrinio (St. Trinio,) Mont.

Llandyssilio, C. Denbighshire.

Bryn Eglwys, C. Denb.

Llandyssilio, a chapel to Llanfair PwU Gwyngyll (St. Mary,)
Anglesey.

Llandyssilio yn Nyfed, V. Carmarthenshire,

Llandyssilio Gogof, V. — 1 chapel, Capel Cynon (St. Cynon,) Car-
diganshire.

Sellack, V. (in the Diocese of Hereford.) — 3 chapels, King's Cha-
pel (St. John the Baptist,) Marstow (St. Martin,) and Pencoed (St.
Dennis,) Herefordshire.

To these should be added Llansilio near Longtown in the
county of Hereford, as shown by the obvious signification of
the name, though it is commonly said to be dedicated to St.
Peter; but this is one of the numerous instances in which
British saints have given way to others approved of by the
Saxons and Normans. The bard Cynddelw, enumerating the
churches founded by Tyssilio, says —

A church* he raised with his fostering hand,
Llanllugyrn, with a chancel for the offertory ;
A church beyond the floods, by the glassy streams ;
A church filled to overflowing, by the palace of Dinorben;
A church in Armorica, through the influence of his liberality ;
The church of Pengwern, the best upon the earth ;
A Church of Powys, the paradise of bliss ;

The church of Cammarch (he raised) with a hand of respect for
its owner.

* Llan a wnaeth a'i lawfaeth loflen, Llan Llydaw gan Uydwedd wohen ;

Llanllugyrn, llogawd offeren j Llan Bengwern, bennaf daearen j

Llan tra Uyr, tra lliant wydrlen ; Llan Bywys, Baradwys burwen j

Llan drallanw, dra llys Dinorben j Llangammarch, llaw barch ei berchen.

Myv. Arcbaiology, Vol. I. p. 246.

FROM A. D. 566 TO A. D. 600. 279

The bard then proceeds to celebrate the praises of Meifod,
about which he is more diffuse but equally obscure.* Llan-
llugyrn, literally — the church of war-horns, is probably Llan-
llugan in Montgomeryshire: of the church in Armoricaf
nothing is known : Pengwern is the ancient name of Shrews-
bury, where Brochwel is said to have resided, and which town
was long afterwards considered the capital of Powys: the
church of Cammarch is Llangammarch in Brecknockshire, of
which Tyssilio may have been the second or assistant founder,
as it is acknowledged that Cammarch was already its owner :
and the other churches, which are vaguely described without
their names, may be some of those included in the list from
Browne Willis. Tyssilio seems to have founded religious
edifices beyond the limits of his diocese, taking advantage
probably of his brother's conquests ; and there is an unusual
proportion of saints from Powys in this generation, which in-
dicates the ascendancy of that province ; its prosperity, how-
ever, was reduced upon the defeat of the Britons by Ethelfrith
at the battle of Bangor Iscoed. The memory of St. Tyssilio
has been celebrated on the eighth of November.

Gwrnerth, the son of Llewelyn ab Bleiddyd of Trallwng or
Welsh Pool, is said to have been a saint; and a religious
dialogue in verse between him and his father, Llewelyn, is
inserted in the Myvyrian Archaiology, the composition of
which is attributed to St. Tyssilio.

* One of the designations, which he applies to Meifod, is — *'the abode
of the three saints" (trefred y triseint;) and it is singular that its church-
yard once contained three churches, all standing at the same time, the
oldest was named after St. Gwyddfarch, the next after St. Tyssilio, and
the third, which was consecrated in the year 1155, was dedicated to St,
Mary. — See also Cambrian Quarterly Magazine, Vol. I. p. 321.

t The expression — " Llydaw" in the original, here translated Armorica,
may perhaps be an appellative, meaning maritime, as explained in Dr.
Pughe's Dictionary; and if so, the description is applicable to Llandyssilio
Gogo in Cardiganshire.

280 THE WELSH SAINTS

Mygnach, the son of Mydno of Caer Seont or Carnarvon,
was for some time the registrar of the college of St. Cybi at
Holyhead, and afterwards became the principal of that so-
ciety.* A dialogue in verse between him and Taliesin is pub-
lished in the My vyrian Archaiology.

Cedwyn, the son of Gwgon Gwron ab Peredur of the line
of Coel ; he has been accounted the patron saint of Llanged-
wyn, a chapel under Llanrhaiadr, Montgomeryshire.

Gwrfy w, the son of Pasgen ab Urien Rheged ; a saint, to
whom it is said there was a church dedicated in Anglesey ;
there was also a chapel called after his name at Bangor Uwch
Conwy in Carnarvonshire.t

Mor, another son of Pasgen ab Urien ; a saint, who was
buried in the Isle of Bardsey.

Mydan ab Pasgen ab Urien, a member of the congregation
of Cattwg.

Lleminod Angel ab Pasgen ab Urien, a saint.

Mechydd, a saint, was the son of Sandde Bryd Angel ab
Llywarch Hen.

Buan, the son of Ysgwn ab Llywarch Hen, was the founder
of Bodfuan, Carnarvonshire, and his festival has been held on
the fourth of August.

Cathan or Cathen, the son of Cawrdaf ab**naradog Fraich-
fras, was the founder of Llangathen, Carmarthenshire. The
Hundred of Catheiniog in the same county is supposed to
derive its name from him. Festival, May 17.

Medrod and Iddew brothers of the preceding, have been
ranked among the saints ; the resemblance of the names in-
duced the compilers of the Triads to confound them with
Medrod and Iddog Corn Prydain, the leaders of the conspi-
racy which proved fatal to Arthur.

Elgud, a saint, the son of Cadfarch ab Caradog Fraichfras.

* Cambrian Biography,
t MyT. Archaiology, Vol. U. and Cambrian Biography.

FROM A. D. 566 TO A. D. 600. 281

Cynddilig, a son of Cennydd ab Gildas ; his memory has
been celebrated in the parish of Llanrhystud, Cardiganshire,
on the first of November.

The last holy person, whose life may be assigned to this
generation, is Deiniolen, or Deiniol ab Deiniol Ail, called also
Deiniol Fab. He was a son of Deiniol, the first bishop of
Bangor in Carnarvonshire ; and a grandson of Dunawd, the
founder of the monastery of Bangor Iscoed in Flintshire. It
is recorded that he was a member of the society of Bangor Is-
coed under the presidency of his grandfather, and after the
destruction of that institution he retired to Bangor in Car-
narvonshire, where he became the president of a similar society
which had been established by his father, and of which his
father had been the first abbot;* — the younger Deiniol, there-
fore, succeeded to the monastic honours of the elder, but
whether he succeeded also to his father's bishoprick is left
unexplained. It is stated that he founded the church of
Llanddeiniolen in the county of Carnarvon in the year 616.t
His festival has been celebrated on the twenty third of No-
vember ; and Llanddeiniol Fab, a chapel under Llannidan,
Anglesey, has been called after his name.

If the Welsh Church, in the period just concluded, was
depressed by adverse circumstances, it is a gratification to
learn that the Churches of the Scots were flourishing. St.
Columba had already founded the monastery of Iona,:{: and
his disciples were now engaged in diffusing the blessings of
Christianity to the dark corners of the Highlands and West-
ern Isles. The light of the Gospel had also dawned upon the
Saxons. St. Augustin had landed in Kentj§ and laid the
foundation of a mission, one of the most successful that have
appeared since the age of the Apostles ; for in less than
a century after its commencement, the whole nation of

* Page 258, antca, t Cambrian Biography.

X A.D.565. § A. D.697.

282 THE WELSH SAINTS

the Saxons and Angles became, at least nominally. Christian.
The instruments, however, in effecting the principal part
of this conversion were the monks of lona,* the conflict
between whom and the clergy of Rome is an irrefragable proof
of the independence of the primitive Churches of Britain ;
and it is not unreasonable to suppose that from this source
the Anglo-Saxons derived their notions of religious liberty,
for they never acknowledged an entire submission to the
Pope before the Norman Conquest, and even afterwards their
allegiance was badly sustained.t

* Bede, Lib. IIL 3, 4.
fSoames's Anglo-Saxon Church, — and Southey*s Book of the Church.

SECTION XIII.
The Welsh Saints from A. D. 600 to the Death of Cadwallon A. D. 634.

Iago ab Beli, the last prince of North Wales mentioned in
the preceding period, was killed in the year 603^ when he was
succeeded by his son, Cadfan ab Iago, who, upon the departure
or expulsion of Ethelfrith from Powys, became the Pendragon
or chief sovereign of the Britons, but the duration of his reign
and the year of his death are uncertain. His honours were
continued to his son, Cadwallon* ab Cadfan ; who, soon after
the assumption of his power, was defeated by Edwin, king of
Northumbria, driven from his dominions, and forced to seek
an asylum in Ireland, where he remained seven years. Upon
his return, be formed an alliance with Penda, king of Mercia ;
and joining their forces, they marched to Northumbria, where
Edwin was totally routed, himself slain, and most of his army
destroyed. Cadwallon continued his victorious course ; several
of the princes of the Angles fell into his hands, and were put
to death ;t such indeed were his successes, that it was believed

* This name has been variously written j Bede spells it Caedualla ;
"Senmusy Catgublaun ; the Saxon Chromcle, Ceadwalla ; and the Welsh
writers, Cadwallon and Katwallawn: and though the identity of the per-
son may be clearly proved, it is necessary to observe these particulars to
distinguish him from Cadwaladr, and from another Caedualla or Cead-
walla, a king of the West Saxons j all of whom, inasmuch as they lived
within a short time of each other, have been frequently confounded to-
gether.

t That Cadwallon struck terror into the nation of the Angles is evident
from the manner in which Bede describes the havock which he committed,
as if he ravaged the country, slaughtering its inhabitants without regard

284 THE WELSH SAINTS

the time had arrived when the Britons should expel the Saxons
and Angles^, and be restored to the entire possession of the
island. Their good fortune^ however, received a sudden check.
Cadwallon was defeated by Oswald the Bernician, and killed
in battle.* The return of the Britons to their ancient pos-
sessions never became probable again.

St. Augustin had gained a firm footing in Kent, and was
extending his mission to other parts of the island, when he
undertook the design of bringing the Britons to a conformity
with the Church of Rome, and reducing them under his own
jurisdiction. The following is the narrative of his attempt, as
extracted from the works of Bede ;t —

" In the mean time, Augustin, availing himself of the assist-
ance of king Ethelbert ( Mdilhercl,) summoned to a conference
the bishops or doctors of the nearest province of the Britons,
at a place which is still called in the language of the Angles
A%igustinaes ac, or the Oak of Augustin, J on the confines of the
Huiccii and West Saxons : and he began to advise them with
brotherly admonition, that they should enter into a Catholic
peace with himself, and undertake for their Lord the common
labour of preaching the Gospel to the heathen. For they were
not accustomed to celebrate the feast of the Passover of our
Lord at its proper time, but from the fourteenth to the twen-
tieth day of the moon, a computation which is comprised in a

to age or sex, putting women and children to a cruel death -with the feroci-
ty of a brute. Penda, that author says, had not embraced Christianity ; but
Caedwalla, though a Christian, was a barbarian more savage than a
pagan.— Lib. 11.20, and IIL 1.

* Bede, Nennius, and the Triads.— -Caradog of Llancarvan, and the fol-
lowers of Geoffrey of Monmouth, whose account of Cadwallon is as
fabulous as any part of his history, place the death of that prince in 660,
while Bede, who was almost a contemporary, fixes it in the year 634. —
See also Turner's Anglo-Saxons, Book III. Chap. VII.

t Hist. Eccl. Lib. 11. Cap. II.

X Situated apparently, within the modern county of Worcester.

FROM A. D. 600 TO A. D. 634. 285

cycle of eighty four years; and they were wont to perform
many other things also contrary to the unity of the Church.
Who^ after holding a long dispute, were not willing to give
assent to the entreaties, the exhortations, and the rebukes of
Augustin and his friends, but preferred their own traditions
rather than those of all the churches which throughout the
world agree in Christ. The holy father, Augustin, therefore
put an an end to this laborious and long debate, by saying : —
' We pray God, who hath made men to be of one mind in the
house of their father, that he vouchsafe to signify to us by
signs from heaven, which traditions must be followed, by what
way we must hasten to the entrance of his kingdom. Let
some sick person be brought ; and by whosesoever's prayers
he shall be healed, let the faith and service of that man be
acknowledged as devoted to God and be followed by all.'—
To which proposal, when the adversaries, though unwillingly,
had agreed, a certain person of the nation of the Angles, de-
prived of the sight of his eyes, was produced ; who, when
presented to the priests of the Britons, obtained no cure or
recovery by their ministry, until Augustin, forced by the
necessity of the case, bent his knees to the father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, praying that he would restore to the blind that
sight which he had lost, and by the bodily illumination of one
man would kindle the grace of spiritual light in the hearts of
many believers. Without delay the blind receives his sight,
and Augustin is proclaimed by all to be the true herald of
light from heaven. Then indeed the Britons confessed that
the true way of righteousness was that which Augustin
preached, but they could not renounce their ancient customs
without the consent and permission of their countrymen.
Whence they demanded that a second Synod should be held,
at which a greater number of persons should meet."

" Which being appointed, there came, as they relate, seven
bishops of the Britons, and many very learned men, prin-
cipally from their most famous monastery, called in the

286 THE WELSH SAINTS

V language of the Angles Bancot^vmhiirg* over which Dinoot^t
the Abbotj is said to have presided at that time ; who, being
about to attend the Council just mentioned, came first to a
certain holy and prudent man, who was wont to lead the life
of an anchorite in that country, to consult him whether they
should forsake their traditions at the preaching of Augustin.
He answered, ^ If he be a man of God, follow him. ' They
said, ' Whence shall we prove this ?' He replied, ' The Lord
hath said. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am
meek and lowly in heart. If therefore Augustin is meek and
lowly in heart, it is to be expected that, because he bears him-
self the yoke of Christ, he will offer it to be borne by you ;
but if he is not meek but proud, it is clear that he is not of
God, his speech is not to be regarded by us.' They said
again, ' And whence shall we discover this also ?' He said,
' Contrive that he come first, with his friends to the place of
the Synod ; and if he shall rise when you approach, hearken
to him obediently, knowing that he is the servant of Christ ;
but if he shall despise you, and be not willing to rise in your
presence when you are more in number, then let him be des-
pised by you.' — They did as he had said, and it was brought
to pass, that when they came, Augustin continued to sit in his
chair. Seeing which, they were soon moved to anger, and
charging him with pride strove to contradict every thing
which he said. But he told them, ' Since in many things ye
act contrary to our custom, and even to that of the universal
Church, yet if ye will obey me in these three points ; that ye
celebrate the Passover at its proper time ; that ye perform the
service of Baptism, by which we are born again to God, after
the manner of the holy Roman and Apostolic Church ; and
that ye preach with us the word of God to the nation of the
Angles ; as for the other things which ye do, although con-

* Bangor Iscoed,
t Dunawd. See page 206.

FROM A. D. 600 TO A. D. 634. 287

trary to our customs^ we will bear them all with patience/
But they answered that they would perform none of these,
neither would they have him for an archbishop ; considering
among themselves, that if he would not rise up to them at
that time, how much more would he despise them if they
became subject to him."

"To whom, Augustin, the man of God, is said to have fore-
told in a threatening tone, that because they would not have
peace with brothers, they should have war with enemies ; and
if they were unwilling to preach to the nation of the Angles
the way of life, by their hands they should suffer the vengeance
of death. Which, by the agency of divine judgment, was so
performed in all respects as he had foretold."

" Since after this, Ethelfrith (Aedilfrid,) the most powerful
king of the Angles, having collected a large army, made a
very great slaughter of that perfidious race, at the city of
Legions, which is called by the people of the Angles Legacaes-
tir* but by the Britons more properly Carlegion. And when,
being about to give battle, he saw, standing by themselves in
a place of greater safety, their priests who had come to pray
to God for the soldiers engaged in the war, he enquired who
were those, and for what purpose they had come thither?
But most of them were from the monastery of Bancor, in which
the number of monks is said to have been so great, that when
the monastery was divided into seven classes, with superin-
tendents set over them, none of those classes contained less
than three hundred men, all of whom were accustomed to live
by the labour of their own hands. Most of these therefore,
having performed a fast of three days, had come together, with
others, to the before-mentioned field for the sake of prayer,
having a defender, by name Brocmailjf to protect them while
intent upon their prayers from the swords of the barbarians.

* The present town of Chester, which the "Welsh still call Caerlleon.
tBrochwel Ysgythrog. See page 208.

288 3'HE WELSH SAINTS

Wllen king Ethelfrith understood the cause of their arrival,
he said, ' Then if they cry to their God against us, surely even
they, although they do not bear arms, fight against us when
they oppose us with their hostile prayers.' He then ordered
his arms to be turned against them first, and afterwards des-
troyed the other forces of that impious war, not without great
loss in his own army. They relate that there were killed in
that battle about twelve hundred men of those who had come
to pray, and that only fifty escaped by flight. Brocmail and
his troops, upon the first approach of the enemy, turned their
backs, and left those, whom he ought to have defended, un-
armed and naked to men who fought with swords. And thus
was accomplished the prediction of the holy pontiff Augustin,
although he had long before been raised to a heavenly king-
dom ; so that by the vengeance of a temporal death the per-
fidious people might perceive, that they had despised the
counsels of everlasting salvation, which had been offered to
them." —

Such is Bede's description of this memorable controversy,
the several clauses of which have been variously interpreted
according to the bias of different commentators ; some Pro-
testants, in their zeal against Popery, contending that the
Britons differed from the Romish Church in doctrine, as well
as in discipline and ecclesiastical government ; while certain
Roman Catholic writers insist, that not only was there no
difference in matters of faith, but that the apparent refusal of
submission to the Pope extended merely to their rejection of
Augustin for their archbishop, as if they were unwilling to be
subject to Rome through him as an intermediate prelate.* The
question may however be fairly balanced.t The points in
dispute regarded only discipline, rituals, and ecclesiastical
government ; for no difference in doctrine is mentioned, and

* Butler's Book of the Roman Catholic Church, Letter IV.
t Soames's Anglo-Saxon Church ; and Europe in the Middle Ages, by
S. A. Dunham, Vol. III.

FROM A. D. 600 TO A. D. 634. 289

if any had existed to a material degree, Augustin would not
have desired them to join him in preaching to the Saxons.*
Bede is not explicit as to the reason why the Britons refused
to accept Augustin for their archbishop, nor does it appear
how this point was introduced to their consideration ; but the
differences in discipline and ritual are the proof that they did
not acknowledge the jurisdiction of the Pope. No fact is
more clearly asserted than that the Britons were not in com-
munion with the Catholic Church, for it is repeated through-
out the Ecclesiastical History of Bede, who was himself a
Catholic. The Catholics treated the British people as schis-
matics and heretics, and maintained that the consecration of
their bishops was invalid; while the Britons on the other
hand regarded the Romish clergy as unclean, and refused to
eat or hold intercourse with them until they had first under-
gone a purification ;t and it is a singular argument in con-
firmation of British independence, that whenever terms of
reconciliation were offered, the Britons refused them, proving
that their separation was the effect of choice, and not an in-
voluntary exclusion.

It is to be regretted that the Welsh have not preserved any
authentic detailed account of these Councils, by which the
question of the archbishoprick, which Bede has not sufficiently
explained, might be placed beyond dispute. The chronicles
of Walter de Mapes and Geoffrey of Monmouth have en-
deavoured to supply the deficiency ; and a speech, alleged to
have been taken from an ancient manuscript, has been repeat-
edly printed, purporting to be the reply of Dunawd, the
Abbot, to Augustin; in which the supremacy of the Pope is

* Milner, in his Church History, treats the case of the Britons most un-
fairly ; and in his eagerness to shew that the doctrine of Gregory and
Augustin was orthodox, he insinuates that the former retained some of the
leaven of Pelagianisra. Their oi>i onents, and Bede amongst the rest,
would not have been slow to advance the charge if it were true.

t Aldhelm's Letter to Geruntius.

290 THE WELSH SAINTS

positively denied, and it is declared that the Britons acknow-
ledged no spiritual ruler under heaven superior to the bishop
of Caerleon. Unfortunately the language and style of this
speech,* as well as the manner in which its subject is treated,
are too modern to allow its genuineness; and the preservation,
during many centuries of Catholic ascendancy, of a document,
in which the claims of the Pope are so openly impugned,
presents a difficulty not easily overcome. Walter and Geoffrey
state that Dunawd was the leader of the opposition to Au-
gustin, and, without alluding to the Pope, assert that the
ground of the refusal of the Britons to submit to the juris-
diction of Canterbury, was the circumstance that they had an
archbishop of their own at Caerleon. These authors, however,
whose testimony is always of little value, wrote when the papal
power was at its height ; and the only authority, upon which
any arguments relative to the subject can be founded, is that
of Bede, who lived while the separation alluded to still con-

* It is thus printed in Spelman's Concilia, from the MS. of Peter Mos-
tyn, Gent. — "Bid yspys a diogel i chwi, yn bod ni hell un ac arall yn
uvydd ac ynn ostyngedig i Eglwys Duw ac i'r Paab o Ruvain, ac i boob
kyur grissdion dwyuol, i garu pawb yn i radd mewn kariad perflFaith, ac i
helpio pawb o honaunt a gair a gweithred i fod ynn blant i Dduw : Ac am-
genach ufudddod no hwn nid adwen i vod ir neb ir yddych chwi yn henwi
yn Baab ne yn Daad o daade, yw gleiraio ac yw ovunn : Aruvydddod
hwn ir yddyra ni yn barod yw roddi ac yw dalu iddo ef, ac i bob Krisdion
yn dragwyddol. Hevyd ir ydym in dan lywodraeth Esgob Kaerllion ar
wysg yr hwn ysydd yn olygwr dan Dduw arnora ni y wneuthud i ni gadwyr
ffordd yshrydol."— Translation. Be it known and certain to you, that
we are, all and singular, obedient and subject to the Church of God, and
to the Pope of Rome, and to every true and pious Christian, to love every
one in his degree with perfect charity, and to help every one of them by
word and deed to become the sons of God : and other obedience than this
I do not know that he whom you name the Pope, or the father of fathers,
can claim and require : bnt this obedience we are ready to pay to him and
to every Christian for ever. Moreover we are under the government of the
bishop of Caerleon upon Usk, who is superintendent under God over us to
make us keep the spiritual way.

FROM A. D. 600 TO A. D. 634. 291

tinued, and who could not in his time foresee the
effect which his admissions might have upon the question of
the supremacy of Rome as maintained at a later age. He says
nothing of an archbishoprick of the Britons ; the claims of
Augustin are rejected without noticing the rights of a rival
metropolitan; and the inferences presented by the Welsh
records would show that the dignity once assumed by the
prelates of Caerleon and Menevia had become extinct, if indeed
it had ever been firmly established.* Its continuance at the
time of the Council must have produced a collision with the
pretensions of Augustin, which it would have been disingenu-
ous in Bede to pass unobserved, and its extinction is the most
obvious mode of explaining the incidental manner in which
the subject is introduced. The plea, upon which submission
was refused, is therefore incorrectly stated by Walter and
Geoffrey. It was not a dispute respecting the rights of two
intermediate prelates, but the rejection of an archbishop sent
by the Pope.

That St. Gregory designed that the jurisdiction of Augustin
should extend over the bishops of Wales is indisputable, for in
answer to one of the questions of his missionary he says : —
" We commit to thee, our brother, all the bishops of the pro-
vinces of Britain, that the unlearned be instructed, the weak
be strengthened by persuasion, the perverse be corrected by
authority ."t — Here is no recognition of the rights of a British
metropolitan. It was the intention of that Pontiff that there
should be two archbishopricks in the island, London and York,
the archbishops of which places should take precedence of
each other by priority of consecration ; but in reference to
Augustin, with whom this ecclesiastical polity should com-

* See page 174.

t " Britanniarum vero omnes Episcopos tuae fraternitati committimus, ut
iudocti doceantur, infirmi peisuasione roborentur, perversi auctoritate cor-
rigantur."— Bede, Lib. I. Cap. 27.

292 THE WELSH SAINTS

mence, he says, as his words may be literally rendered ;—
" And thou J our brother, shalt have in subjection, not only
those bishops whom thou shalt ordain, nor those only who shall
have been ordained by the archbishop of York, but also all
the clergy of Britain, by the authority of our Lord Jesus
Christ."* — These were the commissions to which the bishops
and clergy of Wales refused to submit, and the same inde-
pendence was maintained by the Christians of Cornwall and
Scotland. Augustin had asked whether his jurisdiction ex-
tended to Gaul, a concession which St. Gregory declined to
grant, because the Popes, his predecessors, had from ancient
times sent a pall to the archbishops of Aries, who by virtue of
its possession were the metropolitans of that country ;t but as
there was no similar reason for abridging the authority of that
prelate in Britain, the inference remains, that none of the
British Christians had received that emblem of dignity ; the
prerogative of their Churches had never been sanctioned at
Rome; and now, when it was intended they should merge into
the Church of the Angles, they maintained their separate ex-
istence in spite of a papal decree.

The names and titles of the seven bishops who attended the
second Council are not specified, and later writers, J who differ
considerably with each other, have endeavoured to point out
the seven dioceses to which they belonged. The bishopricks
regularly established in Wales were five, Menevia or St. Da-

* "Tua vero fraternitas non solum eos Episcopos quos ordinaverit, De-
que hos tantummodo qui per Eburacae Episcopura fuerint ordinati, sed
etiam omnes Britanniae Sacerdotes habeat, Deo Domino nostro Jesu Christo
auctore, subjectos." — Bede, Lib. I. Cap. 29.

t '* In Galliarum Episcopis nullam tibi auctoritatem tribuimus : quia ab
antiquis prsedecessorum meorum temporibus Pallium Arelalensis Epis-
copus accepit, quem nos privare auctoritate percept^ minime debemus."—
Bede, Lib. I. Cap. 27.

J Roger Hoveden, Bale, and the Archives of Menevia.— They are com-
pared with each other in Spelman's Concilia, and Usher, Chap. V.

FROM A. D. 600 TO A. D 634. 293

vid's, Llandaff, Llanbadarn, Bangor, and St. Asaph. To these
may be added Gloucester, where according to the Welsh gene-
alogies a British bishop resided about this time. The seventh
must be left to conjecture ; but as the Cornish or Western
Britons must have had several native prelates in this age, and
it has been asserted that there was a British bishop in Somer-
set so late as the reign of king Ina,* the distance of their
country from the place of meeting is not too great to suppose
that some one of them was present. The most probable date
of the two Councils, for both are believed to have been held in
the same year, is 603. Augustin died in 605; and the battle
of Chester, or as the Welsh have named it " the battle of the
Orchard of Bangor," appears to have been fought in 607-
Several modern commentators have charged Augustin with
instigating the inhuman slaughter of the monks which ensued
upon the last occasion, and to minds impressed with this idea
it would seem as if the assertion of Bede, that he was dead
long before,t arose from a solicitude to clear the archbishop
from a suspicion which that author knew was attached to him.
But the text warrants no such uncharitable inferences. The
solicitude of Bede, who does not regard the slaughter of the
monks as a crime, but rather applauds it as the just judgment
of heaven, was merely to establish the credit of Augustin as a
prophet, by proving that he was not a party to the fulfilment
of his own predictions. The threat of the archbishop was
only the ebullition of disappointment ; the invasion of Wales

* A. D. 688 to 725.— The authority for this statement is a Chronicle of
Glastonbury quoted by Usher, whp says it was written in 1259. — Brit.
Eccl. Pritnordia, Cap. V.

t " Ipso jam multo ante tempore ad celestia regna sublato."— As there
is nothing answerable to these words in King Alfred's Anglo-Saxon trans-
lation it has been conjectured by some that they are an interpolation j but
Dr. Smith, the editor of Bede, observes they are to be found in all the
Latin MSS. extant, and that the work of Alfred, being a paraphrase, has
other similar omissions.

2.94 THE WELSH SAINTS

by Ethelfrith was one of the casual operations of war ; and
the massacre of the monks was owing to the accident of
their appearance on a neighbouring hill ; for had the invasion
been made for the purpose of exterminating them, would
Ethelfrith have inquired ignorantly who they were, and what
were they doing ? He then puts them to the sword, because
they were praying to their God for his defeat. Ethelfrith was
a pagan, and therefore could feel no interest in a religious con-
troversy between Christians ; he was a Northumbrian, and
came from a province of the Anglo-Saxons the most remote
from the influence of Augustin ; in short, he was the chief of
the only province in the nation which refused to acknowledge
the sovereignty of Ethelbert,* the patron of the archbishop.

The destruction of the monastery of Bangor Iscoed followed
the massacre of its members, and the calamity must have
caused a great diminution in the number of the Welsh Saints;
but the national Church soon afterwards underwent a more
general depression owing to the conquests of Edwin, who for
a short time reduced the whole of the Britons nnder his
sway ;t and Wales, which had so often afforded an asylum to the
religious of other parts, was in turn exposed to the ravages of
the Saxons. From these the re-appearance of Cadwallon
procured a short respite, but the interval was spent in retal-
iation, and little attention appears to have been paid to the
duties of religion and peace. The few holy persons of this
generation, whose names have reached posterity, must now be
noticed.

Grwst, the son of Gwaith Hengaer ab Elffin ab Urien Rhe-
ged, and Euronwy the daughter of Clydno Eiddin ; he is the

* This fact, "which Bede (Lib. II. Cap. V.) discloses without reference
to the disputed question, overthrows the assertions of Walter and Geoffrey
that Ethelbert was the person who influenced Ethelfrith to invade and
murder the British ecclesiastics.

t Bede, Lib. II. Cap. V. & IX.

FROM A. D. 600 TO A. D. 634. 295

reputed founder of Llanrwst, Denbighshire, and his festival
has been held on the first of December.

Nidan, the son of Gwrfyw ab Pasgen ab Urien, was an
officer in the college of Penmon, Anglesey ; and the church of
Llannidan in the same county was named after him.* Festival,
Sept. 30.

Cadell, the son of Urien Foeddog ab Rhun Rhion ab Llyw-
arch Hen ; a saint to whom Llangadell, a church formerly in
Glamorganshire, was dedicated.

Dyfnog, the son of Medrod ab Cawrdaf ab Caradog, was
probably the second saint of Dyfynog, Brecknockshire,
which was originally founded by Cynog ab Brychan. Festi-
val, Feb. 13.

Cynhafal, the son of Elgud ab Cadfarch ab Caradog Frai ch-
fras and Tubrawst daughter of Tuthlwyniaid ;f he was the
founder of Llangynhafal, Denbighshire, and has been com-
memorated on the fifth of October.

Gwenfrewi, or St. Winefred, owes her celebrity more to the
well that is called after her name than to any thing that is said
of her in Bonedd y Saint ; for even her parentage is not men-
tioned in the Welsh accounts, and the time in which she lived
is ascertained only from the names of her contemporaries
which occur in her legendary Life. The Legend says that
" Theuith," a powerful man, the son of " Eluith," gave Beuno
a spot of ground for the erection of a church, and appointed
him to be the religious instructor of his only daughter, Wine-
fred. Caradog, the son of Alan, a neighbouring chieftain,
endeavoured to force the chastity of Winefred, upon which she
fled towards the church of Beuno. In her flight, however,
she was overtaken, when — " the young man mad with lust and
rage presently strook of her head :J and immediatly in the
place where it fell to the earth a most pure and plentiful!

* Cambrian Biography. f Bonedd y Saint.

% Literatim from Cressy.

296 THE WELSH SAINTS

Spring gushed forth, which flowes to this day, and by the
Holy Virgins merits gives health to a world of diseased per-
sons. It being in the steep descent of a hill where the Virgins
head was cutt of, it lightly rouling down to the bottom, slidd
into the Church: whereas the body remaind in the place
where it first fell. The whole congregation there attending
to Divine Mysteries were wonderfully astonished to see the
Head tumbling among their feet, detesting the crime of the
murderer, and impreciating divine vengeance on him. But
the parents of the Virgin broke forth into tears and sad com-
plaints. They all went out, and found the murderer near the
liveles body, wiping his sword on the grasse." — Beuno takes
the head of the Virgin in his hands and pronounces a curse
upon the young man, who immediately gives up the ghost and
his corpse vanishes out of sight. — ^" But the man of God often
kissing the head which he held in his hands could not refrain
to weep bitterly. Afterwards ioyning it to the body, and
covering it with his mantle, he returned to the Altar, where
he celebrated Masse." — He then preaches a sermon over the
body, and intreats the congregation to unite with him in
prayer for the restoration of the Virgin. — " This Prayer being
ended, to which all the people cryed aloud. Amen : the Vir-
gin presently rose up, as if from sleep, cleansing her face from
the dust and sweat, and filled the Congregation with wonder
and ioy. Now in the place where the head was reioyned to
the body there appeared a white Circle compassing the neck,
small as a white thread, which continued so all her life, shew-
ing the place where the Section had been made. And the
report in that countrey is that from that white circle she had
the name of Winefrid given her, whereas at first she had been
called Breuna: For in the British language Win signifies
White. And moreover the Tradition is, that after her death
whensoever she appeared to any, that White mark was always
visible. The place where her blood was first shed was not
much distant from a Monastery in North Wales calld Basing-

FROM A. D. 600 TO A. D, G34. 297

werk: The name of it formerly was, The dry vale, but after
her death to this day it is called Saint Winefrids Well. The
Stones likewise, both where the spring gushes forth, and
beneath in the Current, having been sprinkled with her blood;
retain the rednes to these times: which colour neither the
length of so many ages, nor the continuall sliding of the water
over them, have been able to wash away, and moreover a
certain Mosse which sticks to the said stones, renders a
fragrant odour, like Incense/'* — The Legend proceeds to
relate her interviews with Diheufyr, Sadwrn, and Eleri ; and
to say that she became abbess of a convent at *' Witheriacus"
(Gwytherin in the county of Denbigh,) where she died
and was buried near the graves of the saints Cybi and
Sannan. The eldest authority for this nonsensical fable is
Robert, Prior of Shrewsbury, who says that the body of
" Wenefreda" was translated from Gwytherin to the church of
St. iEgidius at Shrewsbury in the reign of King Stephen.t
But it is remarkable that in the survey of Domesday Book,
which includes the county of Flint, neither church, chapel,
nor well of St. Winefred are mentioned, affording a pre-
sumption that the story and celebrity of the saint are of a
later date than the Norman Conquest. J Festival, Nov. 3.

Enghenel, grandson of Brochwel Ysgythrog ; a saint to
whom Llanenghenel under Llanfachraith, Anglesey, is dedi-
cated.

Usteg, the son of Geraint ab Carannog, of the line of Cadell
Deyrnllug, is said to have "officiated as dean of the college of
Garmon.."§

* Cressy. f Leland, Vol. IV. Appendix.

% This argument, the want of ancient testimony, did not shake the faith
of Cressy, who says — ^*'It ought not to be esteemd a preiudice or ground
of suspicion of the Truth of these Gests of Saint Winefride, that Saint
Beda and some other of our ancient Saxon Historians have not mentioned
her among the other Saints of this age ;" — for no intercourse passed be-
tween the Britons and Saxons who were continually at war.

§ Cambrian Biography.

298 THE WELSH SAINTS, &c.

Eldad, a brother of Usteg, was a saint of the society of
lUtyd, and afterwards bishop of Gloucester, where he was
slain by the Saxons.

Another Eldad, the son of Arth ab Arthog Frycb, and a
descendant of Cynan Meiriadog, was a member of the college
of Illtyd about the same time.

Egwad, a son of Cynddilig ab Cennydd ab Gildas ; he was
the founder of Llanegwad and Llanfynydd, Carmarthen-
shire.

Edeyrn, the son of Nudd ab Beli ab Rhun ab Maelgwn
Gwynedd, was a bard, who embraced a life of sanctity, and
the chapel of Bodedeyrn under Holyhead is dedicated to him.
Some pedigrees say that the father of Edeyrn was Beli,
omitting Nudd. Festival, Jan. 6.

Padrig, the son of Alfryd ab Goronwy ab Gwdion ab Don ;
a saint of the monastery of Cybi at Holyhead, and the founder
of Llanbadrig in Anglesey.

Idloes, the son of Gwyddnabi ab Llawfrodedd FarfogCoch;
the founder of Llanidloes, Montgomeryshire.

Sadwrn, who is mentioned in the Legend of St. Winefred,
is considered to be the patron saint of Henllan in the county
of Denbigh, but his genealogy is not known.

Helig Foel, the son of Glanog ab Gwgan Gleddyf Rhudd
ab Caradog Fraichfras, was the chieftain of a tract of low
land on the coast of Carnarvonshire, called Tyno Helig;
where a calamity similar to the reported submersion of Can-
tref y Gwaelod* is said to have happened, and the lands
overflowed form the present Lafan Sands in Beaumaris Bay.
After the loss of his property Helig embraced a religious life,
and has in consequence been classed among the saints, but no
churches are dedicated to him. His grandfather was engaged
in the in the battle of Bangor Iscoed, A. D. 607.

* Page 834.

SECTION XIV.

The Welsh Saints from the Death of Cadwallon A. D. 634 to the Death
of Cadwaladr A. D. 664. -

Cadwaladb, whose reign is commensurate with this interval,
was the son of Cadwallon, and was the last of the Welsh
nation who assumed the title of chief sovereign of Britain.*
His power, however, was narrowly circumscribed, and in the
early part of his reign he must have held the situation of a
dependent prince ; for Oswald the Bernician, upon the con-
quest and death of Cadwallon, is said to have extended his
government over all the Britons as well as the Saxons.t After
a few years Penda the Mercian revolted, and Oswald was slain
in battle; upon which occasion it would appear the Welsh
recovered their independence, as it is not recorded that Oswy,
who succeeded Oswald as Bretwalda or chief sovereign of the
Saxons, exercised the same authority over the Britons. It is
generally agreed that Cadwaladr was of a peaceable diposition ;
his life passed without any remarkable events ; and the vener-
able historian of the Anglo-Saxons, who lived in the next
generation, does not mention his name. In the year 664 a
plague broke out, which spread desolation over Britain and
Ireland, and in the latter country, where it lasted three years,
is swept away two thirds of the inhabitants. J In Britain its
continuance was much shorter, but great numbers perished, ||
and Cadwaladr was one of its victims.§

* " A Phrydein dan un paladyr
Goreu mab Kymro Katwalatyr."

Kyvoesi Myrdin : Myv. Arch. Vol. I. page 140,
t Bede II. 6, and III. 6. J Annals of Ulster. |1 Bede, III. 27.

§ Nennius apud Gale.

300 THE WELSH SAINTS

The chronicles of Walter and Geoffrey terminate with the
death of this prince and the appointment of his successor, but
they terminate in a way worthy of their previous character ;
for having begun and continued a course of fable, which has
too long usurped the place of history, they end in a blunder.
According to them the plague htSted eleven years, and mis-
placing the age of Cadwaladr rLey assert that to avoid its
ravages he retired to the court of Alan, the king of Armorica.
He was hospitably received, and after a while was preparing
to return, when an angel appeared, commanding hira to re-
linquish his purpose and undertake a pilgrimage to Rome.
Resigning his kingdom, therefore, in favour of Ifor, his son,
he proceeded to Rome, where having been admitted among
the saints by Pope Sergius, he died on the twelfth of May,
688.* — Persons acquainted with the history of the Anglo-
Saxons will immediately perceive that Walter and Geoffrey
have confounded their hero with Ceadwalla the king of Wessex,
who resigned his kingdom, and making a pilgrimage to Rome
was baptized there by Pope Sergius, where he died on the
twelfth of the calends of May, 688. t — The story is true as
regards Ceadwalla, for it is related by Bede, who was his con-
temporary and who could not have mistaken a circumstance
affecting the government of one of the most powerful of the
Saxon states. Walter and Geoffrey were deceived by the
sound of the name ; and three other chroniclers in the Myvyr-
ian ArchaiologyJ have followed in the wake of the error, by
assigning the true history of Ina, the king of Wessex and
successor of Ceadwalla, to Ifor, the supposed successor of Cad-
waladr. A notion prevailed In the beginning of the t\\ 3l^:,!i

* Myv. Archaiology, Vol. II. page 388.

+ So in the Saxon Chronicle. Bede is more precise, and though he admits
that Ceadwalla resigned his kingdom in 688, he says he did not reach
Rome till the year following, when, after receiving baptism, he died on the
day of the month above stated.

X Vol. II. p. 470.

FROM A. D 634 TO A. D. 664. 301

century, and is embodied in certain fictitious prophecies of
Myrddin,* that Cadwaladr should re-appear and expel the
Saxons from the island, restoring the Cymry to their ancient
possessions ; but nothing is said of his visit to Rome or even
to Armorica, and if the words of Nennius,t the oldest author-
ity by whom he is noticed, be rightly interpreted, he must
have died of the plague in his own country. He has had the
credit of sanctity, an honour apparently of modern growth,
and the epithet of " Bendigaid" or " Blessed" is frequently
attached to his name. In the Triads he is called one of the
three canonized kings of Britain. According to tradition he
rebuilt the church of Eglwys Ael in Anglesey, where his
grandfather, Cadfan, had been buried, and which after its
restoration obtained the name of Llangadwaladr. He is
deemed the patron saint of Llangadwaladr alias Bishopston,
Monmouthshire, and of Llangadwaladr under Llanrhaiadr in
Mochnant, Denbighshire, and his festival occurs on the ninth
of October. J

The inundation which formed the Lafan Sands, already
alluded to,|| appears to have occurred in this generation, while
Helig was still living ; his sons, upon the loss of their patri-
mony, embraced a monastic life in the colleges of Bangor
Deiniol§ and Bangor Enlli ;* their names were :—

* Myvyrian Archaiology, Vol. I. p. 145.

t "Verba ejus haec sunt: — <Osquid (Osmy) filius Eldfrid (Ethelfrith)
regnavit XXVIII annis et VI mensibus ; dum ipse regnabat, venit mor-
talitas hominura, Catgualat {al. Catgualiter) regnante apud Britones post
patrem suum, et in eft periit.' — Si autem haec verba—* in eS perilt,'— ad
Cadwaladrum referenda sunt, omnia plana erunt. Oswius enini vixit
annius V (rectiun VI) post A. D. DCLXV (rectius DCLXIV) in quo mor-
talitas ilia accidit." — Mm Carabrobritannicae, accuranle Mose Gulielmo,
published at the end of Humphrey Llwyd's Britannicee Descriptionis Com-
mentariolum. London, 1731.

X Alphabetical Calendar in Sir H. Nicolas's Chronology of History.

II Page 298.

§ Bangor in Carnarvonshire. * The Monastery of Bardsey.

302 THE WELSH SAINTS

Aelgyfarch, and Boda, saints.

Brothen, the founder of Llanfrothen, Merionethshire. Fes-
tival, Oct. 15.

Bodfan, the patron saint of Aber, or Abergwyngregyn,
Carnarvonshire. Festival, June 2.

Bedwas, possibly the person from whom a church so called
in Monmouthshire has derived its name.

Celynin, the founder of Llangelynin, Merionethshire. Fes-
tival, Nov. 20.

Brenda, Euryn, and Gwyar ; sons of Helig, and saints.

Gwynnin, the patron saint of Llan dy gwynnin, Carnarvon-
shire; commemorated Dec. 31.

Peris, described as " a saint and cardinal of Rome ;" — the
description is probably a mistake, but it is the only instance ad-
mitted in Bonedd y Saint of connexion with the papal see. He
was the founder of Llanberis, Carnarvonshire ; and Llangian, a
chapel under Llanbedrog in the same county is dedicated to
him in conjunction with Cian, who was his servant.
The memory of Peris has been celebrated on the twenty
sixth of July, and that of Cian on the eleventh of De-
cember.*

Rhychwyn ab Helig, the patron saint of Llanrhychwyn, a
chapel under Trefriw, Carnarvonshire. Festival, June, 10.

Other holy persons, who flourished about this time,
were :—

Dona, the son of Selyf ab Cynan Garwyn ab Brochwel ;
the founder of Llanddona, Anglesey. His wake is Nov-
ember 1.

Collen, the son of Gwynog of the line of Caradog Fraich-
fras ; or, according to some, the son of Petrwn ab Coleddog ab
Rhydderch Hael. He was the founder of Llangollen, Den-
bighshire, and has been commemorated on the twentieth
of May.

* Cambrian Register, Vol. III.

TROM A. D. 634 TO A. D. 664. 303

Edwen, a female saint of Saxon descent, who has been
allowed a place among the saints of Wales. She is said to
have been a daughter or niece of Edwin, king of North-
umbria ; and the statement derives probability from the cir-
cumstance admitted by the English historians, that Edwin
was brought up in the court of Cadfan, king of North Wales,
at Caerseiont or Carnarvon.* Llanedwen in Anglesey is de-
dicated to her, and her festival has been kept on the sixth
of November.

Bonedd y Saint. Myv. Archaiology.

SECTION XV.

The Welsh Saints from the Death of Cadwaladr A. D. 664 to the End of
the Seventh Century, including those of uncertain date.

Little is known of the history of this time, and it forms
ahuost a blank in Welsh tradition. The nominal sovereigns of
Wales were successively a son of Cadwaladr, named Idwal
Iwrch, and Hywel ab Cadwal,* the latter of whom was suc-
ceeded by Rhodri Molwynog in 720.

The saints who may be assigned to this generation are : —

Egryn, the son of Gwrydr Drwm ab Gwedrog of the line of
Cadell Deyrnllug. He was the founder of Llanegryn, Mer-
ionethshire.

Cwyfen, the son of Brwyno Hen ab Dyfnog ; a descendant
of Caradog Fraichfras, and the founder of Llangwyfen, Den-
bighshire. Tudweiliog, Carnarvonshire, and Llangwyfen a
chapel under Trefdraeth, Anglesey, are dedicated to him.
His mother was Camell of Bodangharad in Coleion, Den-
bighshire. Festival, June 3.

"Baruck," a saint who is not mentioned in the Welsh
accounts, but according to Cressy he was — " a Hermite, whose
memory is celebrated in the Province of the Silures and
region of Glamorgan. He lyes buried in the Isle of Barry,
which took its name from him." — " In our Martyrologe," adds
that author, " This Holy Hermit Baruck is said to have
sprung from the Noble Blood of the Brittains, and entring
into a solitary strict course of life, he at this time (A. D. 700)
attained to a life immortall." Festival, Nov. 29.

* Kyvoesi Myrdin, Myv. Archaiology, Vol. I. p. 140.

THE WELSH SAINTS, &c. 305

Degeman, in Latin Decumanus, a holy person, of whom
Cressy says that he was "^ born of Noble parents in the South-
western parts of Wales, and forsaking his countrey the more
freely to give himself to Mortification and devotion, he passed
the river Severn upon a hurdle of rodds, and retired himself
into a mountainous vast solitude covered with shrubbs and
briars, where he spent his life in the repose of Contemplation,
till in the end he was slain by a murderer." — According to
Camden, he was murdered at a place called St. Decombe's in
Somersetshire, where a church was afterwards raised to his
memory. He is the patron saint of Rosecrowther in the
county of Pembroke ; and of Llandegeman, an extinct chapel
in the parish of Llanfihangel Cwm Du, Brecknockshire. He
died A. D. 706, and has been commemorated on the twenty
seventh of August.

The Primitive Church of Wales continued to maintain its
existence, but the above are its last saints of whom any account
has been preserved. In the latter part of the next century the
Welsh were forced to adopt the Catholic computation of
Easter, and thereby to join in communion with the church of
Rome. Since that time, only five Welshmen have obtained
the honours of sanctity, including Elfod or Elbodius, the pre-
late through whose exertions the change alluded to was
effected.* The other four were : — Sadyrnin, bishop of St.
David's, who died A, D. 832; his name is borne by the church
of Llansadyrnin in Carmarthenshire : — Cyfelach, bishop of
LlandafF from about the year 880 to 927 ; he probably gave
his name to the church of Llangyfelach, Glamorganshire, the
original founder of which was St. David : — Caradog, a hermit
of Haroldston East, Pembrokeshire, and patron saint of Law-
renny in that county ; he was canonized by the Pope at the
solicitation of Giraldus Cambrensis:t — Gwryd, a friar, who

* See page 66 of this Essay,
t Wharton's Anglia Sacra, Vol. II.
2o

306 THE WELSH SAINTS

lived about the end of the twelfth century and has been com-
memorated on the first of November.* There are, however,
several saints whose genealogy is lost or imperfect, and therefore
their era cannot be determined ; but it may be presumed that
they belonged to the Primitive rather than the Catholic Church,
as the names of only two Welshmen, who can be proved to
have lived after the conversion of their country to Catholicism,
have been given to religious edifices on the score of saintship ;
Lawrenny does not appear to have borne the name of St. Ca-
radog, though dedicated to him, and no churches have been
called after Elbodius and Gwryd. The following is an alpha-
betical list of the saints of uncertain date, with their churches
and festivals.t —

Aelrhiw ; Rhiw, Carnarvonshire ; Sept. 9.

Amo or Anno ; Llananno, Radnorshire ; and Newborough,
anciently Llananno, Anglesey. J

Bach ab Carwed, a chieftain ; reported to have been the
founder Eglwys Fach,§ Denbighshire.

Caron, a bishop ; Tregaron, Cardiganshire, March 5.

Cedol; Pentir chapel, alias Llangedol, subject to Bangor,
Carnarvonshire, Nov. 1.

Celer, a martyr; Llangeler, Carmarthenshire.

Cennych; Llangennych, Carmarthenshire.

* Cambrian Register, Vol. IH. p. 221; where it is said that he relieved
Einion ab Gwalchraai of some oppression, probably mental, which had
afflicted him for seven years. Einion ab Gwalchmai was a bard who
flourished between A. D. 1170 and 1220.

t Some of the names in the Myvyrian Archaiology, which are not sup-
ported by a reference to MSS. but seem to be conjectured from the names
of churches, are omitted in this list. Some of the names in the Cambrian
Biography are also omitted, which appear to be various readings of MSS.
through the carelessness of transcribers.

X Myv. Archaiology, Vol. II, p. 28.

§ The compiler of Bonedd y Saint in the Myvyrian Archaiology adds— •
« if the story be true" (os gwir y chwedlj) the obvious signifiation of
Eglwys Fach is <* the small church.*'

FROM A. D. 664 TO A. D. 700. 307

Ciwa; Llangiwa, Monmouthshire.

Cloffan ; LlanglofFan, Pembrokeshire.
^ Cofen ; Llangofen^ Monmouthshire ; and St. Goven's cha-
pel, Pembrokeshire.

Curig Lwyd, a bishop, probably of Llanbadarn Fawr ; he
was the founder of Llangurig, Montgomeryshire, and his
crosier was preserved in the neighbouring church of St. Har-
mon's in the time of Giraldus Cambrensis. There was another
Curig or Cyrique, a saint of Tarsus in Cilicia, who was mar-
tyred while an infant at the same time with his mother, Juliet
or Julitta. Llanilid a Churig,* Glamorganshire, and " Capel
Curig a'i fam Iulita,"t Carnarvonshire, are dedicated to Juliet
and Cyrique together. Juliet is also the saint of Llanulid
under Dyfynog, Brecknockshire. It is uncertain to which of
the persons named Curig, the churches of Porth Curig, Gla-
morganshire, and Eglwys Fair a Churig, Carmarthenshire, are
dedicated. The festival of Juliet and Cyrique is June 16,

Cwyfyn, the son of Arthalun of the vale of Achlach in
Ireland.

Cwynrau.

Cynfab ; Capel Cynfab formerly in the parish of Llanfair ar
y Bryn, Carmarthenshire. Nov. 15.

Cynfarwy ; the son of Awy ab Llenog, a prince of Corn-
wall; Llechgynfarwy, Anglesey. Nov. 7«

Dwyfael, the son of Pryderi ab Dolor of Deira and Ber-
nicia.

Elenog,

Enddwyn; Llanenddwyn, Merionethshire.

Eurfyl ; Llaneurfyl, Montgomeryshire. July 6.

Gartheli; Capel Gartheli, Cardiganshire.

Gwenllwyfo; Llanwenllwyfo, Anglesey.

Gwenog, a virgin ; Llanwenog, Cardiganshire. Jan. 3.

Myv. Archaiology, Vol. II. p.
t Ibid. p. 36.

308 THE WELSH SAINTS

Gwrthwl; Llanwrthwl, Brecknockshire; and Maesllan-
wrthwl in Caio, Carmarthenshire. March 2.

Gwyddelan ; Llanwyddelan, Montgomeryshire ; and Dol-
"wyddelan^ Carnarvonshire. August 22.

Gwyddfarch; the son of Amalarus, prince of Pwyl. He
was one of the saints of Meifod, Montgomeryshire.

Gwynen. Qu. Llanwnen^ Cardiganshire.

Gwynio ; Llanwynio, Carmarthenshire. March or May 2.*

Gwyrfarn ; — Trinity Sunday.

Illog ; Hirnant, Montgomeryshire. August 8.

'^Issul or Ishaw/'t a martyr; Partricio or Partrishaw, a
chapel under Llanbedr, Brecknockshire. October 30.

Llawdden.

Lhbio ; Llanllibioj Anglesey. February 28.

Llwni ; Llanllwni, Carmarthenshire. August 11.

Llwydian ; Heneglwys, Anglesey. November 19.

Llyr, a virgin ; Llanllyr, Cardiganshire ; and Llanllyr yn
Rhos, now written Llanyre, Radnorshire. October 21,

Machraith ; Llanfachraith, Anglesey ; and Llanfachraith,
Merionethshire. January 1.

Mechell or Mechyll, the son of Echwydd ab Gwyn Go-
hoy w. He was the founder of Llanfechell, Anglesey; and
was buried in the church-yard of Penrhos Llugwy in the same
county, where there was lately a stone with the following
inscription, HIC lACIT MACCVQ ECCETI-t

Mordeyrn; Nantglyn, and Mordeyrn's chapel formerly
in the parish of Nantglyn, Denbighshire. July 25.

Morfael.

Morhaiarn; Trewalchmai, Anglesey. November 1.

Mwrog; Llanfwrog, Anglesey, Jan. 6, or Jan. 15.

Myllin; Llanfyllin, Montgomeryshire. June 17*

* Sir H. Nicolas's Chronology of History,
t The correct orthography of this name is unknown.
X Rowlands's Mona Antiqua.

►

FROM A. D. 661 TO A. D. 700. 309

Rhediw; Llanllyfni, Carnarvonshire. November 11.

Rhian ; Llanrhian, Pembrokeshire. March 8.

Rhiclian, a member of the college of Cennydd at Llangen-
nydd in Gower ; — Llanrhidian^ Glamorganshire.

Rhuddlad, a daughter of a king of Leinster in Ireland;*
Llanrhuddladj Anglesey. September 4.

Rhwydrys ; a son of Rhwydrim or Rhodrem, king of Con-
naught. Llanrhwydrys, Anglesey. November 1.

Samled ; Llansamled, Glamorganshire.

Tudwen ; Llandudwen, Carnarvonshire.

Ulched ; Llechulched, Anglesey. January 6.

The foregoing list concludes the series of Primitive Christ-
ians, whose names have been collected from various authorities
but principally from the records of the Welsh genealogists;
and on a comparison of these records with each other, and
with collateral testimony wherever accessible, has been founded
the present attempt to bring order out of confusion by tracing
the history of the saints, as nearly as possible, according to
their chronological succession : — with what success, the reader
y must judge for himself. At first sight the Welsh pedigrees
present the appearance of an entangled maze, but when un-
ravelled and adjusted they form a regular tissue, the figures
interwoven in which are consistent, and by their analogies
clearly demonstrate where the threads are broken, and how
far the ravages of time may be repaired. The clue to the
arrangement is that the web should commence about the de-
parture of the Romans, and, this being attended to, its several
pieces will agree together, f One objection, however, to the
testimony of the genealogists, as regards the saints, must be
obviated. From their representation it would appear that
large crowds of people, chieftains with their families and
dependents, renounced together the pursuit of arms, and be-
coming inmates of a monastery, devoted themselves to religion.

* Rowlands's Mona Antiqua.

310 THE WELSH SAINTS

This it miglit be urged was a practice unusual in other
countries, and that the representations of the genealogists were
therefore improbable; but the objection is overthrown by
Bede who declares that a similar practice prevailed in North-
umbrian where it had degenerated into open abuse;* for
chieftains uncontrolled by ecclesiastical discipline founded
monasteries, the government of which they assumed to them-
selves, inviting together all sorts of persons and especially
their dependents, many of whom retained their wives and con-
tinued to have children.t In their lives they differed little
from laymen, and Bede in his Epistle to Egbert, archbishop
of York, earnestly intreats him to interfere and put an end to
such irregularities. The abuse of the system is not charged
against the Britons, who also differed from the Northumbrians
in another particular, — they had no nunneries ; J while those
in Northumbria were numerous, and in many instances their
government was irregularly committed to the wives of
chieftains.§

To the churches founded according to the peculiar mode of
consecration practised by the Britons, 1| succeeded in due
course those of the second and third foundation, upon which
it is not necessary to enlarge, as sufficient has been said al-
ready. Both these classes were Catholic, the second being
founded chiefly by native princes, and the third by foreigners.
But as it must be a source of gratification to Welshmen, to
reflect that their churches of the first and most important

* " Adridente pace ac serenitate temporura, plures in gente Nordanhym-
brorura, tain nobiles quam privati, se suosque liberos, depositis armis
satagunt magis accepts. tonsurS, monasterialibus adscribere votis, quam
bellicis exercere studiis. Quae res quem sit habitura finem posterior setas
videbit."— Bedse Hist. Eccl. A. D. 731.

t Epistola ad Ecgberctum Antistitem.

X Page 150.

§ Epistola ad Ecgberctum.

11 Page 61.

FROM A. D. 664 TO A. D. 700. 31 J

class were established at a time when their ancestors did not
acknowledge the authority of Rome, it may not be improper
to adduce some positive evidence as to the degree of separa-
tion which existed between the Britons and the Catholics^, and
such may be found at the period where these researches ter-
minate. In the year 692, Aldhelm, a priest who was after-
wards bishop of Sherborne^ was deputed at a general synod of
the Saxons to write a treatise against the Paschal cycle and
form of Tonsure adhered to by the Britons. He accordingly
wrote an epistle to Geruntius, king of Cornwall, which is still
extant, and is important as it proves, that though the points in
dispute were in themselves of little consequence, the division
amounted to an entire separation of communion. The fol-
lowing extracts are given according to the translation of
Cressy.—

"But besides these enormities (the Tonsure and Paschal
cycle) there is another thing wherein they doe notoriously
swerve from the Cathohck Faith and Evangelical Tradition,
which is, that the Preists of the Demetae, or South-west
Wales, inhabiting beyond the bay of Severn, puffed up with a
conceit of their own purity, doe exceedingly abhorr commun-
ion with us, insomuch as they will neither ioyn in prayers with
us in the Church, nor enter into society with us at the Table :
yea moreover the fragments which we leave after refection
they will not touch, but cast them to be devoured by doggs
and unclean Swine. The Cupps also in which we have drunk,
they will not make use of, till they have rubbed and cleansed
them with sand or ashes. They refuse all civil salutations or
to give us the kisse of pious fraternity, contrary to the Apos-
tles precept, ' Salute one another with a holy kisse.' They
will not afford us water and a towel for our hands, nor a vessell
to wash our feet. Whereas our Saviour having girt himself
with a towell, washed his Disciples feet, and left us a pattern
to imitate, saying ' As I have done to you, so doe you to
others.' Moreover if any of us who are Catholicks doe goe

312 THE WELSH SAINTS

amongst them to make an abode, they will not vouchsafe to
admitt us to their fellowship till we be compelled to spend
forty days in Pennance." — (Addressing Geruntius and his
subjects, Aldhelm says :) — '' Since therefore the truth of these
things cannot be denyed, we doe with earnest humble prayers
and bended knees beseech and adjure you, as you hope to
attain to the fellowship of Angels in Gods heavenly kingdom,
that you will no longer with pride and stubbornes abhorr the
doctrines and Decrees of the Blessed . Apostle S. Peter, nor
pertinaciously and arrogantly despise the Tradition of the
Roman Church, preferring before it the Decrees and ancient
Rites of your Predecessours. For it was S. Peter, who having
devoutly confessed the Son of God, was honoured by him with
these Words, ' Thou art Peter, and upon this Rock will I
build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevayle
against it : And to thee will I give the keyes of the kingdom
of heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be
bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth
shall be loosed in heaven/ If therefore the Keyes of the
kingdom of heaven were given to S. Peter, who is he, who,
having despised the principall Statuts and ordinances of his
Church, can presumingly expect to enter with ioy, through
the gate of the heavenly Paradise ? And if he by a peculiar
Priviledge and happines received the power of binding and
the Monarchy of loosing in heaven and earth, who is he, who,
having reiected the Rule of the Paschall Solemnity, and the
Rite of the Roman Tonsure, will not rather apprehend to be
indissolubly bound than mercifully absolved from his sins."*

Than the above, no greater proof of separation can be re-
quired, the arguments for the supremacy of the Pope being
precisely the same as a modern Catholic would employ against
a Protestant; and in the following observation, Aldhelm
seems to allude to the Welsh saints : — " What proffit can any

♦ Cressy, Book XIX, Chap. 17.

FROM A. D. 664 TO A. D 700. 313

one receive from good works done out of the Catholick
Church, although a man would be never so strict in Regular
Observances, or retire himself into a desart to practise an
Anachoreticall life of Contemplation." — The priests of the
Demetae, or Diocese of St. David's, are noticed, probably
because they were those with whom the writer was best ac-
quainted,* for no other author has observed a distinction
between them and the rest of the clergy of Wales ; and the
charge brought against them may, therefore, be extended to
their brethren generally. According to Bede, the exertions of
Aldhelra were able to reduce to conformity, only so many of
the Britons as were subject to the kingdom of Wessex;t from
which it may fairly be presumed that they owed their con-
version to the influence of their conquerors: those who main-
tained their independence as a nation, continued to adhere to
the religion of their fathers.^ The manner, in which Catholi-
cism was afterwards introduced, has been already explained.§

The evidence that the Britons, at this time, rejected with
indignation the spiritual authority of Rome is the best that
can be desired, for it rests upon the testimony of contemporary
writers, who themselves were Catholics, and who were not
Britons but Saxons. || These researches, therefore, close,
leaving the Welsh in the possession of a National Church and
in the enjoyment of religious liberty. Why they were per-
mitted to lose these valuable privileges is best known to the
Ruler of events, who disposes all things for good. Posterity,
however, cannot fail to observe a species of historical justice.
To the descendants of the ancient Britons the Reformation
was not only a restitution of blessings, which He who gave had

* The explanation — *' inhabiting beyond the bay of Severn," added after
Demetse, applies equally to the Diocese of Llandaflfj and South Wales
taken as a whole, was the portion of Wales nearest to Wessex where
Aldhelm resided.

t Hist. Eccl. V. 18. + Ibid. II. 20 ; et V. 23.

§ Pages 65, 66, and 305. \\ Aldhelm, Eddius, and Bede.

314 TflE WELSH SAINTS, &c.

every right to take away, but it brought an overwhelming V
recompense in a translation of the Scriptures, which until that
time the Welsh do not appear to have possessed ; and while
it may be argued on the credit of history, that the Pope has
no prescriptive claim to the supremacy of the Church in this
island, for the religious liberty of the Britons may be asserted
upon an older title, yet the Bible is the great charter of Pro-
testants. Upon this record must they ground their reasons
for refusing to join in communion with Romanists, and so long
as an unrestricted perusal of the Sacred volume is permitted to
the people in their own language, a safeguard against error is
established, which had the Britons possessed, they might have
resisted the aggressions of Popery with better success. May
their descendants, therefore, appreciate the gift ; and so long
as they adhere faithfully to doctrines derived immediately
from Scripture, they are assured their privileges shall never
be taken away. The word of God remaineth for ever. Dis-
tant ages may look upon Catholicism as a short episode in the
annals of the past, but the Bible, rendered into the vernacular
tongue, unfolds to the illiterate a prospect far beyond the
merits and the duration of contending Churches, displaying,
as it does, to the weakest understandings, the sure hope of
salvation and the glories of a happy immortality.

APPENDIX, No. I.

SAINTS OF BRITAIN, FROM CRESSY'S CHURCH HISTORY OF
BRITTANY.

1. Joseph of Arimathea; apostle of the Britons and founder of a
church at Glastonbury. Commemorated March 17. Died at Glas-
tonbury July 27, A. D. 82.

2. Mansuetus, a Caledonian Briton ; disciple of St. Peter at Rome,
and afterwards bishop of Toul in Lorrain. Comm. Sept. 3. Died
A. D. 89.

3. Aristobulus, a disciple of St. Peter or St. Paul ; sent as an
apostle to the Britons and was the first bishop in Britain. Comm.
March 15. Died at Glastonbury A. D. 99.

y^ 4. Claudia, supposed to have been a daughter of Caractacus, and
the wife of Pudens. Comm. Aug. 7. Died at Sabinum, a city of
Umbria in Italy A. D. 110.

5. Beatus, converted in Britain, afterwards a disciple of St. Peter at
Rome. His first name was Suetonius. He became the apostle of the
Helvetians. Comm. May 9. Died A. D. 110, at Underseven in
Helvetia.

6. Phagan ; successor to Joseph in his Prefecture at Glastonbury.

7. Marcellus, a Briton ; bishop of Tongres and Triers ; the first
British martyr, but he suffered out of the island. Comm. Sept. 1..
Martyred A. D. 166.

/ 8. Timotheus, a son of Pudens and Claudia, and born at Rome ;
apostle to the Britons. Martyred at Rome A. D. 166, and com-
memorated March 24.

9. Theanus, the first bishop of London, about the year 185.

10. Elvanus, successor to St. Theanus. Cressy mentions his com-
panion Medwinus, but does not call him a saint.

316 APPENDIX, No. I.

11. Lucius, king of Britain, "the first among kings which re-
ceived the faith of Christ." Converted in his old age A. D. 182, and
his baptism is commemorated by the Romish Church May 26. After
having established Christianity over the whole of his dominions he
became the apostle of Bavaria, Rhaetia, and Vindelicia. He was slain
near Curia in Germany A. D. 201. His martyrdom is comm. Dec. 3.

12. Emerita ; sister of Lucius, and his companion in Germany ;
martyred at Trimas near Curia, A. D. 193. Comm. Dec. 4.

13. Fugatius or Phaganus ; — and

14. Damianus or Diruvianus ; — Legates sent from Rome by Pope
Eleutherius to baptize King Lucius. They both died in the year
191, and are commemorated together May 24.

15. Mello, Mallo, Melanius, or Meloninus, a Briton ; bishop of
Rouen in France. Comm. Oct. 22. Died A. D. 280.

16. Albanus of Verolam, the first martyr in Britain. His memory
is celebrated in the English Martyrology on the twenty second of
July, and in the Galilean on the twenty second of June. Martyred
A. D. 287.

17. Amphibalus, a native of Caerleon, and the instructor of St.
Alban. Martyred at Rudburn A. D. 287. His translation is comm.
June 25.

18. Julius; — and

19. Aaron ; — natives of Caerleon, at which place they were mar-
tyred together, soon after the martyrdom of St. Amphibalus. Comm.
together July 1.

20. Stephanus;— and

21. Socrates; — "two noble British Christians" and disciples of
St. Amphibalus, martyred in the persecution of Dioclesian.

22. Nicholas, a bishop of North Britain, for his piety styled Cul-
daeus. Mart. A. D. 296.

23. Stephanus, the seventh bishop of London, is called a martyr,
though he died a natural death, A. D. 300.

24. Augulus, eighth bishop of London, Died in the year 305,
and comm. Feb. 7.

25. Helena, wife of Constantius emperor of Rome, and the mother
of Constantine. Died A. D. 326; comm. Aug. 18.

26. Constantine, emperor of Rome. Died A. D. 337; comm.
May 21.

CRESSY'S SAINTS. 317

27. Gudwal, a bishop of Britain. In the latter part of his hfe he
lived in Flanders, where he died June- 6, A. D. 403, on which day
he is also commemorated. The feast of the translation of his body to
the monastery of Ghent is celebrated on the third day before the
Nones of December.

28. Kebius, a son of Solomon duke of Cornwall, and disciple of
St. Hilary bishop of Poictiers, He was consecrated a bishop by
St. Hilary, and he placed his see in the Isle of Anglesey, where he
died A. D. 370.

29. Moses, apostle of the Saracens ; said to have been a Briton.
Comm. Feb. 7.

30. Regulus, a native of Greece ; missionary to the Picts. Comm.
August 28.

31. Melorus, son of Melianus duke of Cornwall. Martyred A. D.
411. Festival August 28.

32. Palladius, a Roman; apostle to the Scots. Died in 431.
Comm. January 27; He had two distinguished disciples, Ser-
vanus, bishop of the Orkneys, and Tervanus, successor to St. Nin-
ian or Ninianus.

33. Carantac or Cernac, son of Keredic prince of Cardigan ; a
disciple and attendant of St. Patrick. Died at Chernach in Ire-
land on the seventeenth of the Calends of June.

34. Luman, a British saint and companion of St. Patrick. Founder
of the church of Trim in Ireland.

35. Winwaloc, a famous British saint, who settled in Armorica.
His death A. D. 432 is commemorated March 3, and his translation
to the Blandin monastery at Ghent is celebrated August I.

36. Ninianus, a Cumbrian Briton; the first bishop of the Southern
Picts. He died A. D. 432.

37. Germanus, bishop of Auxerre ; — and

38. Lupus, bishop of Troyes ; — deputed by Pope Celestine to
reform the British Church in 429. St. Germanus visited Britain a
second time A. D. 435, accompanied by Severus, bishop of Triers.

39. Briocus, a Briton of the province of Corticia ; a disciple of St.
Germanus, and bishop of Brieu in Armorica. Comm. April 30.

40. Bachiarius, — "by Nation a Brittain and Disciple of Saint
Patrick ; he addicted himself to the study of litterature at Caer-leon."
Obiit A. D. 460.

3I§ APPENDIX, No. I.

41. Ursula, daughter of Dionatus prince of Cornwall. Martyred
with the eleven thousand virgins, A. D. 453. Comm. Oct. 21.

42. Cordula, one of the eleven thousand virgins ; Oct. 22.

43. Voadinus, archbishop of London ; martyred by the Saxons
A. D. 457, Comm. July 3.

44. Patrick, the apostle of Ireland. Born A. D. 361 in a valley of
the country of the Demetae, called " Rossina," where the cathedral of
St. David's was afterwards built. Died at Glastonbury A. D. 472,
aged 111.

45. Brigit, an Irish saint and disciple of St. Patrick ; she visited
Britain in 488. Died at Down in Ireland A. D. 502. Com-
memorated Feb. 1.

46. Sophias, the son of Guilleicus prince of the Ordovices. "He
was by another name called Cadocus." Consecrated bishop of Bene-
ventum in Italy. Died A. D. 490 ; comm. January 24. (Cressy
says this person ought not to be confounded with another St. Ca-
docus, who was an abbot.)

47. Keina, "daughter of Braganus prince of Brecknock." She
died on the eighth day before the Ides of October, A. D. 490.

48. Almedha, a martyr; sister to St. Keina. Commemorated
August 1.

49. Canoe, eldest son of Braganus. Comm. February 11. Floruit
circa 492.

50. Clitanc or Clintanc, " King of Brecknock and Martyr, A. D.
482. Comm. August 19.

51. Richard, born in Britain A. D. 455. Consecrated bishop of
Andria. The first converted Saxon. Comm. April 9.

52. Gunleus, "Prince of the Southern Brittains." Comm.
March 29.

53. Cadoc, abbot of Llancarvan ; son of St. Gunleus. Died about
A. D. 500. Comm. February 24.

54. Tathai, a British saint ; president of a college at Caerwent, and
tutor to St. Cadoc the abbot.

55. Dogmaelor Tegwel. "A famous Abbey in Pembrokeshire
took its name from him." He died about the year 500. Commem-
orated June 14.

56. Bernach, an abbot; commemorated on the seventh of the
Ides of April.

CRESSY'S SAINTS. 319

67. Petrock, born of princely parentage in Wales. He lived some
time in Ireland and afterwards settled in Cornwall, where he died
A. D. 564.

58. Meven, patron of a monastery in Armorica. He was born in
Britain, but the time when he lived is not mentioned. "Judicael,
Prince of the Armorici or Lesser Brittany, who descended from our
Brittany, built the said Monastery."

59. Gildas Albanius, son of Can the king of Albania. Died on the
fourth day before the Calends of February A. D. 512. Commemor-
ated January 29. Not to be confounded with St. Gildas, abbot of
Bangor, who is styled Sapiens, Historicus, and Badonicus.

60. Daniel, the first bishop of Bangor. Died A. D. 544, and is
commemorated December 10.

6L Justinian, a native of Armorica, who suffered martyrdom from
the hands of his own servants in the island of Ramsey. Commemor-
ated August 23.

62. Paternus, a native of Armorica ; he visited Wales in 516, and
was the first bishop of Llanbadarn Fawr in Cardiganshire. Comm.
May 15.

63. Darerca, born in Britain ; sister of St. Patrick. Died A. D. 518.

64. Mel, a son of St. Darerca.

65. Rioch, a son of St. Darerca : — " by Nation a Brittain,
near kinsman to Patrick, by whom he was ordained a Bishop in
Ireland."

66. Menni, a son of St. Darerca.

67. Sechnallus or Secundinns, a son of St. Darerca.

68. Auxilius, a son of St. Darerca ; consecrated bishop of Leinster
by St. Patrick.

69. Dubricius ; consecrated bishop of LlandafF by St. Germanus in
436, and raised to the archbishoprick of Caerleon in 492. Died in
the Isle of Bardsey A. D. 522. His remains were translated to Llan-
dafF on the Nones of May, 1120, and buried there on the fourth day
before the Calends of June by Bp. Urban.

70. Theliau. He succeeded St. Dubricius as bishop of Llandaff —
"and if the authority of the English Marty rologe fayle not, he dyed
not untill the coming of S. Augustin the Monk into Brittany." He
died on the fifth day before the Ides of February, but is commemor-
ated as a martyr November 26.

320 APPENDIX, No. I.

71. Paulens or Paulinus, a disciple of St. Germanus, and instructor
of St. David and St. Theliau.

72. Nennion, a bishop of North Britain, successor to St. Ninianus.
Floruit circa 520.

73. Kined, an anchorite of Western Gower; probably the same
as St. Keneth. He was contemporary with St. David.

74. ^dan, a disciple of St. David and the first bishop of Ferns.
He is called by the Irish St. Maidoc or Moedhog.

75. David, the first archbishop of Menevia. Died March 1.
A. D. 544, aged 82.

76. John, a British saint in France. Obiit 537 ; comm. June 27.

77. Mochta or Mochseus, a British saint in Ireland ; consecrated
bishop of Lowth by St. Patrick. Died in 537 ; commemorated on
the thirteenth day before the Calends of September.

78. Iltutus, a saint in Glamorganshire, contemporary with St. Ca-
docus. The year in which died is uncertain. Comm. November 7.

79. Sampson, a disciple of St. Iltutus, and afterwards archbishop of
Menevia and of Dole in Brittany. Obiit A. D. 599 ; comm. July 28.

80. Piro, an abbot of a monastery not from far that of St. Iltutus,
with whom he was contemporary.

81. Conaid, called by the French St. Mein or Mevennius. (Qu.
the same as No. 58.) He accompanied St. Samson to Bretagne,
where he died in 590 ; comm. June 15.

82. Malo, Maclovius, or Machutus, a native of Glamorganshire ;
he was a kinsman of St. Sampson, and went with him to Bretagne,
where he was appointed bishop of Aleth. He died in France A. D.
564; commemorated November 15.

83. Doc, "a Holy British Abbot," who flourished about the
year 540.

84. Kentigern, a North Briton ; bishop of St. Asaph in Wales
and of Glasgow in Scotland. Obiit A. D. 601, aetatis suae 85 ; comm,
Jan. 13.

85. Theodoric, prince of Glamorganshire. He died at Merthyr
Teudric, now called Merthirn.

86. Oudoceus, successor of St. Theliau in the see of Llandaflf; com-
memorated on the sixth day before the Nones of July.

87. Gildas Badonicus; the historian, and second apostle of Ireland.
Obiit A, D. 583 ; comm. Jan. 28.

CRESSY'S SAINTS. 321

88. Columba, a native of Ireland, and missionary to the Picts.
Died A. D. 597.

89. Beuno, a monk of North Wales, and instructor of St. Wine-
fride. Died A. D. 660 ; comm. Jan. 14.

90. Senan, another instructor of St. Winefride. Obiit 660; comm.
April 29.

91. Winefride, a holy virgin of North Wales ; comm. Nov. 3.

92. Deifer, the successor of St. Beuno in the tuition of St. Wine-
fride. Died A. D. 664; comm. March 7.

93. Elerius, abbot of a monastery in the Vale of Clwyd. He
flourished about the year 650.

94. Winoc, a son of Judicael king of the Britons : he and three of his
brothers, Kadanoc, Ingenoc, and Madoc, were monks of the monas-
tery of St. Sithiu under St. Bertin. Obiit 717 ; comm. Nov. 6. This
saint founded the monastery of St. Winoc on the confines of France
and Flanders.

95. J udoc, another brother of St. Winoc; he flourished about 650.

96. Baruck, a hermit. Buried in the Isle of Barry, Glamorgan-
shire, about the year 700.

97. Decumanus, a hermit, born of noble parents in tlie South-
westeni parts of Wales. Murdered A. D. 706; comm. Aug. 27.

98. Juthwara, a devout British virgin, martyred in some part of
South Wales, A. D. 740 ; comm. Dec. 23.

99. Eadwara, —

100. Wilgitha,— and

101. Sidwella; sisters of St. Juthwara.

APPENDIX, No. II.

ANGLO-SAXON SAINTS, TO WHOM CHURCHES HAVE BEEN
DEDICATED IN WALES.

Oswald, king of Northumbria ; he died A. D. 642. JefFreyston,
Pembrokeshire ; and Oswestry, in the county of Salop but in the
diocese of St. Asaph.

Ina, king of Wessex ; he died at Rome in the year 727, and is
commemorated on the seventh of February. Llanina, Cardiganshire.

Tecla, a female saint, born in England ; abbess of the monastery of
Kirzengen at Ochnafort in Germany. Obiit A. D. 750; comm.
Oct. 15. Llandegla, Denbighshire ; and Llandegle, Radnorshire.

Tetta, abbess of Winburn in Wessex about A. D. 750. Llan-
ddetty, Brecknockshire.

Milburg, a virgin ; abbess of Wenlock in Shropshire about the
middle of the seventh century. Comm. February 23. Llanfilo,
Brecknockshire.

Kenelm, king of Mercia and martyr. Obiit A. D. 819. Rock-
field, Monmouthshire.

Edmund, king of the East Angles, murdered by the Danes A. D.
870 ; commemorated November 20. Crickhowel, Brecknockshire.

Edith or Editha -, Five Saxon saints of this name. Llanedy, Car-
marthenshire.

Edward, king and martyr, A. D. 979. Comm. February 18,
March )8, and June 20. — Do. king and confessor ; Obiit A. D. 1066.
Commemorated Jan. 5, and Oct. 13. Knighton, Radnorshire.

APPENDIX, No. III.

A LIST OF CHURCHES AND CHAPELS IN WALES,

Including the County of Monmouth and part of the County of Hereford,
arranged with reference to their subordination.

N. B. The names at the head of each group are those of parent
churches, or such as are not known to have been chapels ; and wherever
the names are printed in Italic, the church or chapel is extinct or in ruins.
The name of the patron saint is placed after that of the edifice.

ANGLESEY.*

Aberffraw, Beuno. Eglwys y Baili. Capel Mair, St Mary.
Amlwch, Elaeth. Llanwenllwyfo, Gwenllwyfo. Llangadog, Cadog.

Llanlleianau.
Heneglwys, Llwydian. Trefwalchmai, Morhaiarn.
Holyhead alias Caergybi, Cybi. Llanygwyddyl. Capel y Llochwyd.

Capel y Gorlas. Capel Sanffraid, Ffraid. Capel Gwyn-

geneUf Gwyngeneu. Bodedeyrn, Edeyrn. Bod-Twrog, Twrog.

Llandrygarn. Gwndy.
Llanbadrig, Padrig.
Llanbeulan, Peulan. Llechulched, Ulched. Llanfaelog, Maelog.

Tal-y-llyn, St. Mary. Llannerch-y-Medd, St. Mary. Ceirchiog

or Bettws-y-Grog, Holy Rood,

* This county contains more chapels dedicated to Welsh saints than any
other J but it was, at an early age, considered to be the most populous
and fertile part of Wales ; and according to Bede, it contained, in the
eighth century, nine hundred and sixty families, or about three times the
population of the Isle of Man.

324 APPENDIX, No. HI.

Llanddeusant, Sts. Marcellus and Marcellinus. Llanbabo, Pabo.

Llanfair Ynghornwy, St. Mary.
Llanddona, Dona.

Jjlanddwyn or Llanddwynwen, Dwynwen, a parish church in ruins.
Llanddyfnan, Dyfnan. Llanbedr Goch, St. Peter. Llanfair ym

Mathafarn Eithaf, St. Mary. Pentraeth or Llanfair Bettws

Geraint, St. Mary.
Llandegfan, Tegfan. Capel Meugan, Meugan. Capel Tydecho,

Tydecho. Llanfaes, St, Catherine. Beaumaris, St. Mary. A

Chapel in the Castle of Beaumaris.
Llandyfrydog, Tyfrydog. Llanfihangel Tre'r Beirdd, St. Michael.
Llaneigrad, Eigrad. Llanallgo, Gallgo. Llugwy^ St. Michael.
Llanelian, Elian. Coed Ane, Ane. Rhos Peirio, Peirio. Bodewryd.
Llanfachraith, Machraith. Llanenghenel, Enghenel. Llanfigel,

St. Vigilius.
Llanfaethlu, Maethlu. Llanfwrog, Mwrog.
Llanfair Pwll Gwyngyll, St. Mary. Llandyssilio, Tyssilio.
Llanfechell, Mechell. Llanddogfael^ Dogfael.
Llanfihangel Ysgeifiog, St. Michael. Llanffinan, Ffinan.
Llangadwaladr or Eglwys Ael, Cadwaladr. Llanfeirion, Meirion.
Llangefni, Cyngar. Tregaian, Caian,
Llangeinwen, Ceinwen. Llangaifo, Caffb.
Llangristiolus, Cristiolus. Cerrig Ceinwen, Ceinwen.
Llangwyllog, Cwyllog.
Llaniestin, lestin. Llangoed, Cawrdaf and Tangwn. Llanfihangel

Tinsylwy, St. Michael.
Llannidan, Nidan. Llanddeiniol Fab, Deiniolen. Capel Cadwal-
adr, Cadwaladr. Llanedwen, Edwcn. Llanfair yn y Cwm-

mwd, St. Mary.
Llanrhuddlad, Rhuddlad. Llanfflewin, Fflewin. Llanrhwydrys,

Rhwydrys.
Llansadwrn, Sadwrn.
Llantrisaint, Sannan, Afran, and leuan. Llanllibio, Llibio. Llech-

gynfarwy, Cynfarwy. Rhodwydd Geidio, Ceidio. Gwaredog,

St. Mary. Bettws Bwchwdw.
Newborough anciently Llananno,* Amo or Anno, and St. Peter.

* Myvyriao Archaklogy, Vol. II,

CHURCHES, &c. IN BRECKNOCKSmRE. 325

Peiimon, Seiriol. A Chapel in Priestholm Island.

Penmynydd, Gredifael.

Penrhos-Llugwy, St. Michael.

Rhos Colyn, Gwenfaen. Llanfihangel yn Nhywyn, St. Michael.

Llanfair yn Neubwll, St. Mary.
Tref-draeth, Beuno. Llangwyfen, Cwyfen.

BRECKNOCKSHIRE.

Aberysgyr, Cynidr and St. Mary.

Brecon, St. John the Evangelist. Do. St. Mary. Battle, Cynog.

Slwch Chapel, Elined or St. Almedha. Llanywcrn or Monkton,

St. Mary. A Hospitium, St. Catherine.
Brynllys or Brwynllys, St. Mary.
Cantref, St. Mary. Capel Nant Du.
Cathedin, St. Michael.

Crickhowel, St. Edmund. Llanfair Chapel, St. Mary.
Devynock or Dyfynog, Cynog and Dyfnog. Llanilltyd, lUtyd, Capel

Callwen, Callwen. Llanulid or Crai Chapel, St. Julitta. Ystrad

Fellte, St. Mary.
Y Faenor, Gwynno or Gwynnog.
Garthbrengi, Dewi or St. David. Llanddew or Llandduw, Holy

Trinity.* Llanfaes, St. David. Christ's College, Holy Trinity,

formerly a church of St. Nicholas. ^

Glasbury, Cynidr and St. Peter. Aberllyfni #•* Pipton. Velindre

Chapel.
Gwenddwr.
Hay, St. John. Do. St. Mary, now the parish church. A Chapel

in the suburbs.

* Jones in his History of Brecknockshire supposes Llanddew to be an
abbreviation of Llanddew i 5 but as the parish wake is held upon Trinity
Sunday, the true etymology appears to be Llandduw *' the Church of
God," which was once the name of Llandrindod, or the Church of the
Holy Trinity, in Radnorshire; there is also a church in Glamorganshire,
dedicated to the Trinity, the name of which is generally written "Llan-
dow."

320 APPENDIX, No. III.

Llanafan Fawr, Afan. Llanfechan, Afan. Llanfihangel Bryn Pabuan,
St. Michael. Llanfihangel Abergwesin, St. Michael. Capel
AlUmawr. Llysdinam. Gelli Talgarth or Rhos y Capel.

Llanbedr Ystrad Yw, St. Peter. Partrishow, Issui or Ishow.

Llanddetty, St. Tetta. Taf-fechan Chapel.

Llanddulas or Tir yr Abad.

Llandeilo'r F*An, Teilo. Capel Maes y Bwlch.

Llandyfaelog Fach, Maelog. Llanfihangel Fechan, St. Michael.

Llandyfalle, Maethlu. Crug-cadarn, St. Mary.

Llaneigion or Llaneingion, Eigion or Eingion. Cilonw Chapel.
Capel y Ffin.

Llanelyw, EUyw.

Llanfeugan, Meugan. Capel Glyn CoUwyn. A Free Chapel in the
Castle ofPencelli, St. Leonard.

Llanfihangel Cwm-du, St. Michael. Llandegeman, Degeman or St.
Decumanus. Tretwr Chapel, St. John.

Llanfihangel Tal-y-llyn, St. Michael.

Llanfilo, St. Milburg. Llandyfaelog Tref y Graig, Maelog.

Llanfrynach, Brynach Wyddel.

Llangammarch, Cammarch. Llanwrtyd, St. David. Llanddewi
Abergwesin, St. David. Llanddewi at Llwyn y Fynwent,
St. David. Llansanffraid Cwmmwd Deuddwr, Ffraid. Llan-
fadog, Madog. Nantgwyllt Chapel. (The last three are in the
county of Radnor.)

Llanganten, Cannen. Llangynog, Cynog.

Llangasty Tal-y-Llyn, Gastayn.

Llangattwg Crug-hywel, Cattwg. Llangeneu, Ceneu. Llanelly,
EUyw. Oratory of St. Keyna, Ceneu.

Llangors, Pawl Hen or St. Paulinus.

Llangynidr, Cynidr and Mary. Eglwys Vesey.

Llanhamlech or Llanamwlch, lUtyd and St. Peter. Llechfaen
Chapel.

Llansanffraid, Ffraid or St. Bride.

Llanspyddyd, Cadog. Capel y Bettws or Penpont Chapel.

Llanwrthwl, Gwrthwl. LlauUeonfel.

Llyswen.

Llywel, David, Teilo, and Llywel. Trallwng, St. David. Rhydy-
briw Chapel. Dolhywel, St. David.

CHURCHES, &c. IN CARDIGANSHIRE. 327

Maesmynys, St. David. Llanynys, St. David. Llanddewi'r Cwm,

St. David. Llanfair in Builth, St. Mary.
Merthyr Cynog, Cynog. Llanfihangel Nant Bran, St. Michael.

Capel DyfFryn Honddu.
Penderin, Cynog.
Talachddu, St. Mary.
Talgarth, Gwen.
Ystrad Gynlais, Cynog. Capel Coelbren.

CARDIGANSHIRE.

Aberporth, Cynwyl. Llanannerch.

Bangor, St. David. Henllan, St. David.

Bettws Bledrws.

Blaenporth, St. David.

Cardigan, St. Mary. Tremaen, St. Michael.

Caron or Tregaron, Caron. Ystrad Fflur or Strata Florida, St.

Mary.
Cellan, All Saints.
Ciliau Aeron, St. Michael.
Dihewyd or Llanwydalus, St. Vitalis.
Henfynyw, St. David. Llanddewi Aberarth, St. David.
Llanafan, Afan. Llanwnws, Gwynws. Ysbytty Ystwyth, St. John

the Baptist. Ystrad Meurig, St. John the Baptist.
Llanarth, St. David. Llanina, St. Ina. Capel Crist, Holy Cross.
Llanbadarn Fawr, Padarn. Llanychaiarn, Llwchaiarn. Llanger-

waen. Yspytty Cenfaen, St. John the Baptist. Aberystwyth,

St. Michael.
Llanbadarn Odin, Padarn.

Llanbadarn Trefeglwys, Padarn. Cilcennin, Holy Trinity.
Llanbedr Pont Stephan or Lampeter, St. Peter. St. Thomas's

Chapel. Capel Ffynnon Fair, St. Mary.
Llanddeiniol or Carrog, Deiniol.
Llanddewi Brefi, St. David. Blaenpennal, St. David. Capel Bettws

Leuci, St. Lucia. Capel Gartheli, Gartheli. Capel Gwenfyl,

Gwenfyl.
Llandyfriog, Tyfriog or Ty fry dog. Llanfair Tref Helygen,

St. Mary.

328 APPENDIX, No. III.

Llandygwy or Llandygwydd, Tygwy. Pare y Capel. A Chapel

near Cenarth Bridge.
Llandyssilio Gogo, Tyssilio. Capel Cynon, Cynon.
Llandyssul, Tyssul. Llandyssulfed, St. Sylvester. Llanfair, St.

Mary. Faerdre. Capel Dewi, St. David. Capel Ffraidy St.

Bride. Capel Borthin^ St. Martin.
Llanfair y Clywedogau, St. Mary.
Llanfair Orllwyn, St. Mary.
Llanfihangel y Creuddin, St. Michael. Llantrisaint. Eglwys

Newydd.
Llanfihangel Genau'r Glyn or Llanfihangel Castell Gwallter, St.

Michael. Eglwys Fach or Llanfihangel Capel Edwin, St.

Michael.
Llanfihangel Lledroed, St. Michael.
Llanfihangel Ystrad, St. Michael. Llanllyr, Llyr Forwyn. Capel

Sant Silin^ Silin.
Llangeitho, Ceitho.

Llangoedmor, Cynllo. Llechryd, Holy Cross. Mount, Holy Cross.
Llangrannog, Carannog.
Llangybi, Cybi.
Llangynfelyn, Cynfelyn.
Llangynllo, Cynllo.
Llanilar, liar.

Llanllwchaiarn, Llwchaiarn.

Llannerch Aeron or Llan Uwch Aeron, Non mam Dewi.
Llanrhystud, Rhystud. Capel Cynddilig, Cynddilig.
LlansaniFraid, Ffraid or St. Bride. Llannon, Non.
Llanwenog, Gwenog. Capel Wh^l. Capel Santesau. Llanfechan.

Capel Bryneglwys.
Llanygweryddon, St. Ursula and the Eleven Thousand Virgins.
Nantgwnlle, Gwynlleu.
Penbryn or Llanfihangel Penbryn, St. Michael. Bettws Ifan, St.

John. Bryngwyn, St. Mary. Capel Gwnda^ Gwyndaf.
Rhosdeiau, St, Michael.

Silian or Llansilian, Sulicn. Llanwnen, St. Lucia.
Trefilan, St. Hilary.

Troed yr Aur, St. Michael. Capel Twr Gwyn.
Verwick, Pedrog.

CHURCHES, &c. IN CARMARTHENSHIRE. 329

CARMARTHENSHIRE.

Abergwyli, St. David. Llanpumsant, Celynin, Ceitho, Gwyn,
Gwynno, and Gwynnoro, Llanllawddog, Llawddog. Llan-
fihangel Uwch Gwyli, St. Michael, Bettws Ystum Gwyli.
Henllan. Capel Bach. Capel Llanddu.

Abernant, St. Lucia. Cynwyl Elfed, Cynwyl. Capel Troed y
Bhiw.

Bettws, St. David. Pentre'r Eglwys.

Brechfa, Teilo.

Carmarthen, St. Peter. Do. St. Mary. Llangain, Cain. Llanllwch.
Newchurch or Llannewydd. Capel y Groesfeini. The Bood-
church, a Free Chapel in the Castle of Carmarthen, Holy Cross.

Cenarth, Llawddog. Newcastle in Emlyn Chapel.

Cilrhedin, Teilo, in Pembrokeshire. Capel Ifan, St. John, in Car-
marthenshire.

Cil-y-Cwm, St. Michael.

Cilymaenllwyd, St. Philip and St. James. Castell Dwyran.

Cynwyl Gaio, Cynwyl. Llansawyl, Sawyl. Llansadwrn, Sadwrn.
Llanwrda. Pumsant, Celynin, Ceitho, Gwyn, Gwynno, and
Gwynnoro. Maesllanwrthwl, Gwrthwl. Henllan or Bryneg-
Iwys. Cwrt y Cadno. Aberbranddu.

Egermond, St. Michael.

Eglwys Cymmun, St. Margaret Marios.

Henllan Amgoed, St. David. Eglwys Fair a Churig, St. Mary and
Curig.

Kidwelly, St. Mary. Llangadog, Cadog. Llanjihangel, St. Mi-
chael. Capel Teilo, Teilo. Capel Coker.^ St. Thomas's
Chapel.

Laugharne, St. Martin. CyfFyg. Marros, St. Laurence. Crase-
land.

Llanarthne, St. David. Llanlleian Chapel. Capel Dewi, St. David.

Llanboidy or Llanbeudy, St. Brynach. Eglwys Fair Lan T^f,
St. Mary.

Llandawg, St. Margaret Marios. Pend^n.

Llanddarog. An old Chapel, St. Bernard. Capel Bach.

* Named after Galfridus de Coker, Prior of Kidwelly in 1301.
2r .

330 APPENDIX, No. IH.

Llanddowror, Teilo.

Llandeilo Abercywyn, Teilo.

Llandeilo Fawr or Llandilo, Teilo. Taliaris Chapel, Holy Trinity.

Llandyfaen. Capel yr Ywen. A Chapel in Carreg Cennen

Castle.
Llandingad, Tingad or Dingad. Llanfair ar y Bryn, St. Mary.

Capel Peulin, St. Paulinus or Pawl Hen. Capel Cynfab, Cyn-
fah. Eglwys Newydd.
Llandybie, Tybie. Capel yr Hendre. Glyn yr Henllan.
Llandyfaelog, Maelog. Llangynheiddon, CynJieiddon. Llangyndeyrn,

Cyndeyrn. Capel Ifan, St. John. Capel Dyddgen. Bettivs.
Llandyfeisant, Tyfei. A Chapel in Dinefwr Castle^ St. David.
Llandyssilio yn Nyfed, Tyssilio.
Llanedy, St. Edith.
Llanegwad, Egwad. Llandeilo Rwnnws, Teilo. Llanhtrnin. Capel

Gwilym Foethus. Dolwyrdd Chapel.
Uanelly, EUyw. Llangennych, Cennych. Capel Dewi, St. David.

Capel Ifan, St. John, Berwick Chapel.
Llanfallteg.

Llanfihangel Aberbythych, St. Michael.
Llanfihangel ar Arth, St. Michael. Pencadair Chapel.
Llanfihangel Cilfargen, St. Michael.
Llanfynydd, Egwad.
Llangadog Fawr or Llangadock, Cadog and St. David. Llanddeu-

sant, St. Simon and St. Jude. Capel Gwynfai. Capel Tydyst.
Llangan, Canna.

Llangathen, Cathan. Capel Penarw.
Llangeler, Celer. Capel Mair, St. Mary.
Llanglydwyn, Clydwyn.
Llangynnor.
Ldanllwni, Llwni. Llanfihangel Rhos y Corn, St. Michael. Capel

Maesnonni. Ffynnony Capel.
Llansadyrnin, Sadyrnin.

Llanstephan, YstyfFan. Llangynog, Cynog. Llanyhri, St. Mary.
Llanwynio, Gwynio.
Llanybyddair, St. Peter.- Abergorlech. Capel lago, St. James.

Capel Mair, St. Mary.
Llanycrwys, St. David.

CHURCHES, &c. IN CARNARVONSHIRE. 331

Meidrym, St. David. Llanfihangel Abercywyn, St. Michael.

Merthyr, Enfail.

Myddfai or Mothvey, St. Michael.

Penboir, Llawddog. Trinity Chapel, Holy Trinity.

Penbre, Illtyd. Llan-non, Non, Llandurry.

Pencarreg.

St. Clare's. Llangynin, Cynin.

St. Ishmael's or Llanishmael, Ismael. Llansaint, All Saints. Ferry

Side, St. Thomas,
Talley or Tal-y-Llychau, St. Michael. Llanfihangel, St. Michael.

Capel Mair, St. Mary. Capel Crist, Holy Trinity. Capel

Cynhwm. Capel Teilo, Teilo.
Trelech a'r Bettws, Teilo. Capel Bettws.

CARNARVONSHIRE.

Aber or Abergwyngregyn, Bod fan.

Aberdaron, Hywyn. Llanfaelrys, Maelrys. Eglwys Fair, St. Mary.

Abererch, Cawrdaf. Penrhos or Llangynwyl, Cynwyl.

Bangor Fawr, Deiniol. Pentir or Llangedol, Cedol, Capel Gwrfyw,

Gwrfyw. King Edgar's Chapel, St. Mary.
Bardsey or Ynys Enlli, Cadfanand Lleuddad ; now Extra- parochial.
Beddgelert, St. Mary. Nant Hwynen Chapel.
Bodfuan, Buan.
Caer-rhun, St. Mary.
Ceidio or Llangeidio, Ceidio.
Clynnog Fawr, Beuno.
Conway or Aberconway, St. Mary.
Cruccaith, St. Catherine. Ynys Cynhaiarn, Cynhaiarn. Treflys,

St. Michael.
Cyffin, St. Benedict.
Dolwyddelan, Gwyddelan.
Dwygyfylchi, Gwynnin.

Edeyrn, Edeyrn, Carngiwch, Beuno. Pistyll, Beuno.
Eglwys Rhos, St. Hilary. Penrhyn, a Free Chapel, St. Mary.
Llanaelhaiarn, Aelhaiarn.

Llanbeblig, Peblig. Carnarvon, St. Mary. Do. St. Helen.
Llanbedr y Cennin, St. Peter,

332 APPENDIX, No. III.

Llanbedrog, Pedrog. Llangian, Cian and Peris. Cir Ferthyr.

Llanfihangel Bachellaeth, St. Michael.
Llanberis, Peris.

Llanddeiniolen, Deiniolen. Dinas Orweg Chapel.
Llandegai, Tegai. Capel Curig, Curig, or Cyrique and Ju-

litta.
Llandudno, Tudno.
Llandwrog, Twrog.

Llanengan or Llaneingion Frenhin, Einion. Ynys Tudwal, Tudwal.
Llanfair Fechan, St. Mary.

Llanfair Isgaer, St. Mary. Bettws Garmon, St. Germanus.
Llanfihangel y Pennant, St. Michael.
Llanfor, Mor. Pwllheli or Eglwys Dyneio, Tyneio.
Llangelynin, Celynin.
Llangwynodl, Gwynodl. Tudweiliog, Cwyfen. Bryn Croes, Holy

Cross.
Llangybi, Cybi. Llanarmon, St. Germanus.
Llaniestin, lestin. Llandygwynnin, Gwynnin. Bodferin, Merin

or Merini. Penllech, St. Mary. St. Julian's Chapel.
Llanllechid, Llechid.
Llanllyfni, Rhedyw.
Llanrhug, St, Michael.

Llanwnda, Gwyndaf Hen. Llanfaglan, Baglan.
Llanystyndwy, St. John the Baptist.
Melldeyrn, St. Peter ad vincula. Bod-twnog, Beuuo.
Nantgyndanyll, Deiniol.
Nefyn, St. Mary.
Penmachno, Tyddud.

Penmorfa, Beuno. Dolbenmaen, St. Mary.
Rhiw, Aelrhiw. Llandudwen, Tudwen.
Trefriw, St. Mary. Llanrhychwyn, Rhychwyn, Bcttvvs y Coed,

St. Michael.*

* For Llangystennyn and Llysfuen, see Abergele and Llundrillo, Den-
bighshire,

CHURCHES, &c. IN DENBIGHSHIRE. 333

DENBIGHSHIRE.

Abergele, St. Michael. A Chapel in the Church-Yard of Ditto, St.
Michael, Bettws Abergele, St. Michael. Llangystennyii in
the County of Carnarvon, St. Constantino. Llanwddin, Gwddin.

Bryn Eglwys, Tyssilio. Llandyssilio, Tyssilio.

Cegidog or Llansansior, St. George.

Cerrig y Drudion or Llanfair Fadlen, St. Mary Magdalen.

Chirk or Eglwys y Waun, St. Mary.

Clog-caenog, Caenog.

Denbigh, St. Marcellus. Do. St. Hilary. A Free Chapel in the
Castle.

Derwen yn Ml, St. Mary.

Efenechtyd, St. Michael.

Eglwys Each, St. Martin.

Erbistock, St. Hilary.

Gresford, All Saints. A Chapel at Rosset Green. Holt, St. Chad.
Iscoed Chapel.

Gwytherin, Gwytherin.

Henllan, Sadwrn. The Abbey Chapel.

Llanarmon DyiFryn Ceiriog, St. Germanus.

Llanarmon yn It\l, St. Germanus.

Llanbedr, St. Peter.

Llanddoged, Doged.

Llanddulas, Cynbryd.

Llandegla, St. Tecla.

Llandrillo in Rhos* or Dinerth, Trillo. Llanelian, Elian. Llan-
sanfFraid Glyn Conwy or Diserth, Ffraid. Capel Sanffraid,
Ffraid. Llysfaen in the County of Carnarvon, Cynfran.

Llandyrnog, Tyrnog.

Llanelidan.

Llanfair DyfFryn Clwyd, Cynfarch and St. Mary.

Llanfair Talhaiarn, Talhaiarn and St. Mary.

Llanferras.

*" Llanelian, LlansanfFraid. and Llysfaen are supposed to have been
Chapels of Ease to this paiish, because the Rector and Vicar have a share
of the tithes in each."— Edwards's Cathedral of St. Asaph,

334 APPENDIX, No. Ilf.

Llanfihangel Glyn y Myfyr, St. Michael.

Llanfwrog, Mwrog.

Llangerniw, Digain. Marchaled or Capel Foelas.

Llangollen, Collen. Trefor Isaf Chapel.

Llangwm Dinmael, St. Jerome.

Llangwyfen, Cwyfen.

Llangynhafal, Cynhafal.

Llanhychan, Hychan.

Llannefydd, Nefydd.

Llanrhaiadr, Dyfnog.

Llanrhaiadr in Mochnant, Dogfan. Llanwddin in the County of

Montgomery, Gwddin. Llanarmon Mynydd Mawr, St. Ger-

manus. Llangedwyn, Cedwyn. Llangadwaladr, Cadwaladr.
Llanrhydd, Meugan. Rhuthin, St. Peter.
Llanrwst, Grwst. Capel Garmon, St. Germanus. Capel Marchell,

MarchelL Capel Rhyddyn. Gwydir Chapel.
Llansanffraid Glyn Ceiriog, Ffraid,
Llansannan, Sannan or St. Senaiius.
Llansilin, Silin or Sulien.

Llanynys, Mor and Saeran. CyfFylliog, St. Mary.
Nantglyn, Mordeyrn. Mordeyrn's Chapel, Mordeyrn.
Rhiw Fabon, Mabon.
Wrexham, Silin or Sulien. Capel Silin, Silin. Minera Chapel.

Berse Drelincourt Chapel.
Ysbytty Ifan, St. John the Baptist.*

FLINTSHIRE.

Bangor Iscoed or Bangor in Maelor, Dunawd. Worthenbury,
Deiniol. Overton or Orton Madoc, St. Mary. Marchwiail in
the County of Denbigh, Deiniol.

Bodfari, St. Stephen. Hwlkiri's Chapel.

Caerwys, St. Michael. St Michael's Chapel near the Well.

Cilcain or Kilken, St. Mary.

Cwra, Mael and Sulien.

* For Marchwiail, see Bangor Iscoed, Flintshire.

CHURCHES, &c. IN GLAMORGANSHIRE. 335

Diserth, Ffraid or St. Bridget. Rhywlyfnwyd.

Dymeirchion, Holy Trinity.

Estyn or Hope formerly Llangynfarch, Cynfarch. Plds y Bivl

Chapel.
Gwaunesgor, St. Mary.
Halkin or Helygen, St. Mary.
Hanoier, St. Chad.
Hawarden, Deiniol.

Holywell, Gwenfrewi or St. Winefred. A Chapel over the Well.
Iscoed, a Chapel to Malpas (St. Oswald) in the County of Chester.
Llanasa, Asaf. Capel Beuno Yngwespyr, Beuno.
Meliden.
Mold, St. Mary. Nerquis, St. Mary. Treuddin, St. Mary. Capel

y Spon.
Nannerch, St. Mary.
Newmarket.
Northop or Llaneurgain, Eurgain afterwards St. Peter. Flint,

St. Mary.
Penley in Maelor, St. Mary, a Chapel to Ellesmere (St. Mary) in
the County of Salop.

Rhuddlan, St. Mary. A Chapel at Cefn Du.

St. Asaph, Cyndeyrn or St. Kenligern and Asaf.

Whitford, St. Mary. Capel y Gelli. TreW Abad Chapel.

Ysgeifiog, St. Mary.

GLAMORGANSHIRE.

Aberafon, St. Mary. Baglan, Baglan.

Barry, St. Nicholas. A Chapel in Barry Island, St. Baruck or

Barrog. Another in Do.
Bishopston or Llandeilo Ferwallt, Teilo. Caswell Chaphl.
Bonvilston, St. Mary.
Britton Ferry, St. Mary.
Cadoxton juxta Barry, Cattwg.
Cadoxton juxta Neath or Llangattwg Glyn Nedd, Cattwg. Creinant,

St. Margaret. Aberpergwm.
Caerau, St. Mary.

336 APPENDIX No. III.

Cardiff,* St. John the Baptist. Do St Mary. St. Ferine' s Chapel

A Chapel near Miskin Gate.
Cheriton.

Cilybebyll, St. John the Evangelist.
Coetty, St. Mary. Nolton Chapel, St. Mary.
Cogan, St. Peter.
Colwinston, St. Michael.
Coyehurch or Llangrallo, Crallo. Peterston super Montein or Llan-

bedr ar Fynydd, St. Peter.
Eglwys Brewys, St. Brise.
Eglwys Ilan or Eglwys Elian, Elian. Llanfabon, Mabon. Caer-

ffili, St. Martin.
Ewenny, St. Michael.
Flemingston, St. Michael.

Gelligaer, Cattwg. Brithdir Chapel. Capel Gwladus, Gwladus.
Gileston, St. Giles.

Glyncorwg, St. John the Baptist. Capel Blaengwrach.
Ilston or Llanilltyd, Illtyd. Llannon, Non.
Kenfig, St. Mary Magdalen. Pyle, St. James.
Lantwit Major or Llanilltyd Fawr, Illtyd. The Lady's Chapel,

St. Mary.
Lantwit juxta Neath, Illtyd. Neath, St. Thomas.t Resolven.

Ynys Fach Chapel.
Leckwith, St. James.
Llanbleiddian, Bleiddian or St. Lupus, afterwards St. John the

Baptist. Llanddunwyd or Welsh St. Donat's, Dunwyd. Cow-
bridge, St. Mary.
Llancarfan, Cattwg. Llanfeithin. Llangadell, Cadell. Liege

Castle.
Llandaff or Llandeif, Dyfrig, Teilo, and Oudoceus, afterwards St.

Peter. Whitchurch, St. Mary.

*"Ther be 2 Paroche Chirches in the Towne, wherof the principale
lying sumwhat by Est is one, the other of our Lady is by Southe on the
Water side. There is a Chapelle beside in Shoemaker streat of S. Perine,
and a nother hard withio Meskin Gate side." — Leland.

t Neath, now a Rectory, is called a Chapel in the Grant of Richard de
Grainville to the Abbey of Savigny. — Dugdule's Monasticon.

CHURCHES, &c. IN GLAMORGANSHIRE. 337

Llanddewi in Gower, St. David. Knelston, St. Maurice.

Llandeilo Talybont, Teilo.

Llandough or Llandocha near Cardiff, Dochdwy.

Llandough or Llandocha near Cowbridge, Dochdwy.

Llandow or Llandduw, Holy Trinity.

Llandyfodwg, Tyfodwg.

Llandymor, an extinct church in Gower.

Llanedeyrn, Edeyrn.

Llanfedwy, Medwy or Medwinus. Llanfihangel or Michaelston

Fedwy in the County of Monmouth, St. Michael.
Llanfihangel y Bont Faen, St. Michael.
Llanfrynach, Brynach Wyddel. PenUin.
Llanganna or Llangan, Canna.
Llangeinwyr, Ceneu or Ceinwyry'.
Llangennydd, Cennydd.
Llangiwg, Ciwg.
Llangyfelach, St. David afterwards Cyfelach. Llansamled, Samled.

An old Chapel, St. Mary. Morriston.
Llangynwyd Fawr, Cynwyd.

Llanhary, Illtyd. [Sts. Julius and Aaron.

Llanilid, Hid a Churig or Sts. Julitta and Cyrique. Llanharan,
Uanisan, Isan.
Llanmadog, Madog.
Llanmaes, Cattwg.

Llanrhidian, Rhidian. Llanrhidian Chapel. Llanelen, St. Helen.
Llansannwr. Brigam Chapel.
Llantrisaint, Illtyd, Tyfodwg, and Gwynno. Llanilltyd or Lantwit

Faerdre, Illtyd. Ystrad Dyfodwg, Tyfodwg. Llanwynno,

Gwynno. Aberd-Ar, St. John the Baptist. St. John's Chapel,

St. John the Baptist. Talygarn,
Llantryddid, Illtyd.

Llavernock, (Qu. Llanfyrnach?) St. Laurence.
Llysfaen, Gwrhir afterwards St. Dennis.
Llyswerni, Tydfyl. Nash.
Loughor or Castell Llychwr, St. Michael.
Marcross, Holy Trinity.
Margam, St. Mary. Eglwys Nunyd, Hafod y Forth. Trisaint,

Craig y Capel.

338 APPENDIX No. III.

Merthyr Dyfan, Dyfan and Teilo.

Merthyr Mawr, Teilo. St. Rogue's Chapel.

Merthyr Tydfyl. Tydfyl.

Michaelston. upon Afon, St. Michael.

Michaelston upon Elai, St. Michael.

Michaelston le Pitt or Llanfihangel yn y Gwaelod, St. Michael.

Monk Nash, St. Mary.

Newcastle, lUtyd. Llangewydd, Cewydd. Bettws, St. David.

Laleston, St. David. Tithegston, Tudwg.
Newton Nottage, St. John the Baptist.
Nicholaston, St. Nicholas.
Oxwich, Illtyd.
Oystermouth, AU Saints.
Penard or Penarth in Gower, St. Mary.
Penarth near Cardiff, St. Augustine.
Pendeulwyn, Cattwg.
Penmaen, St. John the Baptist.

Penmark, St, Mary. East Aberddaw. Rhos Chapel.
Penrice or Penrhys, St. Mary.
Pentyrch, Cattwg.

Peterston upon Elai or Llanbedr ar Fro, St. Peter.
Porthcurig, Curig.
Portheinion, Cattwg.
Radyr, St. John the Baptist.
Reynoldston, St. George.
Rhosili, St. Mary.

Roath, St. Margaret. [Andrew the Apostle.

St. Andrew's Major or Llanandras, Andras ab Rhun, afterwards St.
jS^^. Andrew's Minor, St. Andrew the Apostle.
St. Bride's upon Elai, Ffraid, St. Bridget, or Bride.
St. Bride's Major, Ffraid. Ogmore Chapel, Llamphet/, St. Faith.

Wicky St. James.
St. Bride's Minor, Ffraid.
St. Donat's, Dunwyd.
St. Pagan's, (in ruins,) Ffagan. St. Pagan's, (the present Church,)

St. Mary.* Llanelldeyrn, Elldeyrn. Llanfair, St. Mary.

* « The Paroch Chirch of S. Pagan is now of our Lady ; but ther is yet by
the Village a Chapelle of S. Fagan sumtime the Paroch Chirch." — Leland,

CHURCHES, &c. IN HEREFORDSHIRE. 339

St. George's or Llanufelwyn, Ufelwyn or Ubilwynus, afterwards

St. George.
St. Hilary. Beaupre Chapel, St. Mary.
St. Lythian's or Llanfleiddian Fach, Bleiddian or St. Lupus.
St. Mary Church or Eglwys Fair, St. Mary.
St. Mary on the Hill or Eglwys Fair y Mynydd, St. Mary.
St. Nicholas.
St. Tathan's, Tathan,
Sully, St. John the Baptist.

Swansea, St. Mary. Do. St. Thomas. Do. St. John.
Wenvo, St. Mary.
Ystrad Owain.*

HEREFORDSHIRE,

SOUTH-WEST OP THE RIVER WYE.

Abbey-Dore, Holy Trinity and St. Mary.

Acornbury, St. John the Baptist,

Allensmore, St. Andrew.

Arcop or Orcop, St. Mary.

Bacton, St. Faith.

Birch Magna or Much Birch, St: Mary and St. Thomas k Becket.

Birch Parva or Little Birch, St. Mary.

Blackmere, St. Leonard.

Bredwardine, St. Andrew.

Bridstow, St. Bride or Bridget. A Chapel in Wilton Castle.

BuUingham, a Chapel to All Saints in the City of Hereford.

Clehonger, All Saints.

CliflPord, St. Mary.

Clodock, Clydog. Llanveyno or Llanfeuno, Beuno afterwards St.
Peter. Llanwynnog, Gwynnog. Longtown, St. Peter. Cress-
well, St. Mary.

Cusop, St. Mary. Pen Henllan.

Dewchurch Magna or Much Dewchurch, St. David. Little Dew-
church, St. David. Kilpeck, St. David afterwards St. Mary.
Dewshall, St. David.

♦ For Rhydri, see Bed was, Monmouthshire.

340 APPENDIX, No. III.

Dindor, St. Andrew. Rotherwas, St. Mary.

Dorston, St. Peter. Snodhill.

Eaton Bishop, St. Michael. Sugwas Chapel.

Ewyas Harold, St. Michael. Dulas, St. Michael.

Foy, St. Faith.

Ganerew, St. Swithin. St, Wolstori's Chapel.

Garway, St. Michael.

Goderich or Goodrich, St. Giles.

Harwood or Hare wood, St. Dennis.

Horn Lacy, St. Cuthbert. Bolston.

Kenderchurch, St. Mary.

Kentchurch. St. Mary. Llanithog.

Kingston, St. Michael.

Llandinabo.

Llanfrother or Llanfrodyr, Dyfrig or St. Dubricius. Hentland or

Henllan, Dyfrig. Llangaran. Deiniol. Ballingham, Dyfrig.

St. Weonard's Chapel.*
Llanrothal.
Llansilio, Tyssilio.

Llanwarn or Llanywern, St. John the Baptist.
Madley, St. Mary. Tibberton.
Michaelchurch Eskley, St. Michael.
Moccas, St. Michael.
Peterchurch, St. Peter.
Peterstow, St. Peter.
Preston on Wye, St. Laurence.
Rowlston, St. Peter.
Sellack, Tyssilio. King's Capel, St. John the Baptist. Marstow,

St. Martin. Pencoed, St. Dennis.
St. Devereux, Qu. Dyfrig or St. Dubricius.
St. Margaret.

Thruxton, St. Bartholomew.
Tretire, St. Mary. Michaelchurch, St. Michael.
Turnaston, St. Mary.
Vowchurch, St. Bartholomew.
Walterston, St Mary

* These four Chapels are now dependencies of Lugwardine.

CHURCHES, &c. IN MERIONETHSHIRE. 341

Welsh Newton, St. Mary.
Whitchurch, Dyfrig or St. Dubricius.
Wormbridge, St. Thomas.*

MERIONETHSHIRE.

Bettws Gwerfyl Goch, St. Mary.

Corwen, Mael and Sulien. Rug Chapel.

Dolgelleu, St. Mary.

Ffestiniog, St. Michael. Maentwrog, St. Mary.

Gwyddelwern, Beuno.

Llanaber, St. Mary.

Llanaelhaiarn, Aelhaiarn.

Llandanwg, Tanwg. Llanbedr, St. Peter. Harlech, St. Mary
Magdalen.

Llandderfel, Derfel Gadarn.

Llandecwyn, Tecwyn. Llanfihangel y Traeth, St. Michael.

LlandriUo, Trillo.

Llanegryn, Egryn.

Llanenddwyn, Enddwyn. Llanddwywe, Dwywe.

Llanfachraith, Machraith. Llanelltyd, lUtyd. Capel Gwanog, St.
John the Baptist.

Llanfair juxta Harlech, St. Mary.

Llanfrothen, Brothen.

Llanfor, Mor and Deiniol.

Llangar, All Saints.

Llangelynin, Celynin. Arthog Chapel.

Llangywair, Cywair.

Llansanffraid Glyn Dyfrdwy, Ffraid.

Llanuwchllyn, Deiniol.

Llanycil, Beuno.

Llan ym Mawddwy, Tydecho. Mallwyd in the County of Mont-
gomery, Tydecho. Garthbeibio in Do. Tydecho. Dinas
Mawddwy Chapel.

* The compiler suspects there were Churches formerly at Llangynog
and Llanfyrnach near Tretire, and at Llan-non nearMichaelchurch Eskley 5
their saints were Cynog, Brynach Wyddel, and Non,

342 APPENDIX, No. III.

Trawsfynydd, Madrun and Anhun.

Tywyn Merioneth, Cadfan. Llanfihangel y Pennant, St. Michael.
Pennal, St. Peter ad vincula. Tal y Llyn, St. Mary.

MONMOUTHSHIRE.

Abergavenny, St. Mary. St. John the Baptist's Chapel.

Basaleg. Llandderfel, Derfel Gadarn. Henllys, St. Peter. Ris-
ca, St. Peter.

Bedwas, Barrog or St. Baruck. Rhydri in the County of Glamor-
gan, St. James.

Bedwellty, Sannan.

Bicknor Wallica or Welsh Bicknor, St. Margaret.

Bryngwyn, St. Peter.

Caerleon, Cattwg. St. Julius's Chapel. St. Aaron's Do.

Caerwent, St. Stephen.

Caldicot.

Chapel Hill or Tinteyrn Magna.

Chepstow, St. Mary.

Christ- Church or Eglwys y Drindod, Holy Trinity.

Cilgwrwg.

Coedcerniw, All Saints.

Cwm Yoy or Cwm lau, St. Martin.

Dingatstow or Llaningad, Dingad afterwards St. Mary. Tregaer,
St. Mary.

Dixton, St. Peter.

GoldclifF* or Gallteurin, The Blessed Saviour, St. Mary Magdalen,
and St. Mary the Virgin. Nash, St. Mary the Virgin.

Goytre or Coed-tre, St. Peter.

Grosmond, St. Nicholas.

Gwernesey, St. Michael.

Ifton.

Kemmys or Cemmaes, St. Michael.

Kemmys Commander, All Saints.

Langston.

Llanarth, Teilo. Bettws Newydd. Clitha Chapel.

♦ Founded by Robert de Candos A. D. 1113.

CHURCHES, &c. IN MONMOUTHSHIRE. 343

Llanbadog.

Llauddewi Fach, St. David.

Llanddewi Ysgyryd, St. David, Uanddewi Rhydderch, St. David.

Llandefdd. Llanbedr, St. Peter.

Llandegfedd or Llandegwedd, Tegwedd.

Llandeilo Bertlioleu or Llandeilo Porth-halawg, Teilo.

Llandeilo Cressenny or Llandeilo Groes Ynyr, Teilo, Penrhos,

Cattwg.
Llandenny or Llandenfi.
Llandogo,

Llanelen, St. Helen.
Llanfabli, Mabli.
Unnfaches, Maches.
Llanfair Cilgydyn, St. Mary.
Llanfair Disgoed, St. Mary. Dinam Chapel.
Llanferin or Llanfetherin, Merin.
Llanfihangel Crug-corneu, St. Michael.
Llanfihangel in Netlier Went, St. Michael.

Llanfihangel Lantarnam or Llanfihangel Tan y Groes, St. Michael.
Llanfihangel Pont y Moel, St. Michael.
Llanfihangel Tor y Mynydd, St, Michael.
Llanfihangel juxta Usk, St. Michael.
Llanfihangel Ystern Llewern, St. Michael.
Llanfoist, St. Faith.
Llanfrechfa.

Llangadwaladr or Bishopston, Cadwaladr.
Llangattock or Llangattwg Feibion Afel, Cattwg. St. Moughan's

Chapel, Meugan.
Llangattwg Lenig, Cattwg.
Llangattwg Lingoed, Cattwg.

Llangattwg DyfFryn Wysg or Llangattock juxta Usk, Cattwg.
Llangiwa, Ciwa.

Llangofen, Cofen. Penclawdd, St. Martin.
Llangwm Ucha. Llangwm Isa.
Llangybi, Cybi.

Llangyfyw or Llangynyw, Cyfyw or Cynyw^.
Llangynog, Cynog ab Brychan.*

♦There is a place near the site of this Church called " Cwrt Brychan."

344 APPENDIX, No. in.

Llanhenog or Llanhynog, St. John the Baptist.
Llanhileth or Llanhyledd, Illtyd.
Llanisan or Llanishen, Isan.
Llanllywel, Llywel.
Llanmartin, St. Martin.
/Llanofer, St. Bartholomew. Mamhilad. Trefethin, Cattwg.
LlansanfFraid or St. Bride's near Abergavenny. Ffraid or St. Bride.
Llansanffraid or St. Bride's in Nether Went, Ffraid.
LlansanfFraid or St. Bride's Wentloog, Ffraid.
Llansoy.
/^Llantoni or Llanddewi Nant Honddu, St. David afterwards St. John

the Baptist.
Llantrisaint, St. Peter, St. Paul, and St. John. Bertholeu Chapel,

St. Bartholomew.
Llanwenarth, St. Peter. Aberystruth or Blaenau Gwent, St. Peter.
Llanwern, St. Mary.
Machen or Mechain, St. Michael.
Magor or Magwyr, St. Mary. Redwick, St. Thomas.
Malpas, St. Mary.
Marshfield.

Mathern or Mertheyrn, Tewdrig. Crick. Runston.
Merthyr Geryn, Geryn.
Monkswood.

Monmouth, St. Mary. Do. St. Thomas.
Mounton.

Mynyddyslwyn, Tudur ab Hywel.
Newchurch or Eglwys Newydd ar y Cefn.

Newport alias St. Woolos, Gwynllyw Filwr. Bettws, St. David.
Oldcastle, St. John the Baptist.
Pant-teg, St. Mary.
Penhow, St. John the Baptist.
Penterry.

Peterston Wentloog or Llanbedr Gwynllwg, St. Peter.
Portskewet or Porthysgewydd, St. Mary. Sudbrook or Southbrook,

Holy Trinity.
llagland, St. David. Trostrey or Trawsdre, St. David,
llogiet.
Rockfield, St. Kenelm. ^

CHURCHES, &c. IN MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 345

Rumney or Rhymni, St. Augustine.

Shire-Newton or Trenewydd Gellifarch, St. Thomas a Becket.

Skenfreth or Ysgynfraith, Ffraid or St. Bride.

St. Aryan's. Porthcaseg.

St. Kinemark's, Cynfarch.

St. Melan's.

St. Pierre's, St. Peter.

Tintern Parva, St. Michael.

Tredonock or Trefrhedynog, St. Andrew.

Treleck or Try leg, St. Nicholas. Penallt. Treleck's Grange.

Troy, Michel Troy, or Llanfihangel Troddi, St. Michael. Cwm-

carfan Chapel.
Undy or Gwndi.
Usk, St. Mary.
Wilcrick or y Foelgrug.
Witston.

Wolves-Newton, St. Thomas a Becket.
Wonstow or Llanwarwg, Gwynno-
Ytton or Llanddeiniol, Deiniol.*

MONTGOMERYSHIRE.

Aberhafesb, Gwynno or Gwynnog.

Berriew or Aber-rhyw, Beuno. Bettws, Beuno.

Carno, St, John the Baptist.

Castell Caer-Einion, Garmon or St. Germaiius.

Cemmaes, Tydecho.

Chirbury in the County of Salop, t St. Michael. Church Stoke,
St. Nicholas. Forden. Hissington. Montgomery, St. Ni-
cholas. Snead.

* For Michaelston Fedwy, see Llanfedwy, Glamorganshire. The Com-
piler is unable to determine the situation of the following, from a list in
the Myvyrian Archaiology: — Llaniau, Llanirwydd, Llanwnell, Hywig
Fach, Carn, Tredelerch, Llanrhyddol, Meiryn, and Llanleirwg. He
suspects there were Churches formerly at Dewstow near Caldicot, and
at Llanwyny, Llanfair, and Llanardil near Llangofen.

t Its Chapels are in the County of Montgomery.

2 T

346 APPENDIX No. III.

Crug^on, a Chapel to Alberbury (St. Michael) in the County of Salop.

Darowain, Tudur. Llanbrynmair, St. Mary. Talerddig Chapel.

Guilsfield or Cegidfa, Aelhaiarn. Llanfechan.

Hirnant, Illog.

Kerry or Ceri, St. Michael. Gwernygo Chapel.

Llanddinam, Llonio. Benhaglog Chapel.

Llandrinio, Trinio. Llandyssilio, Tyssilio. Melverley. New

Chapel, Holy Trinity.
Llandyssul, Tyssul.
Llaneurfyl, Eurfyl.

Llanfair Caer-Einion, St. Mary. Cilyr^ch Chapel.
Llanfechain, Garmon or St. Germanus.
Llanfihangel y Gwynt, St. Michael.
Llanfyllin, Myllin.
Llangadfan, Cadfan.
Llangurig, Curig.
Llangynog, Cynog.
Llangynyw, Cynyw.
Llanidloes, Idloes.

Llanllwchaiarn, Llwchaiarn. Llanymerewig, Llwchaiam.
Llanlugan or Llanllugyrn, Tyssilio afterwards St. Mary.
Llansanffraid in Mechain, Ffraid.
Llanwnog, Gwynno or Gwynnog.
Llanwrin, Ust and Dyfnig. Penegos or Penegwest. Cadfarch.

Machynllaith, St. Peter.
Llanwyddelan, Gwyddelan.
Manafon, St. Michael. T>olgynfelyn Chapel.
Meifod, Gwyddfarch. Do. Tyssilio. Do. St. Mary.
Moughtre or Mochdref, All Saints.
Newtown, St. Mary.
Pennant Melangell, Melangell.
Penystrywad, Gwrhai.
Trefeglwys, St. Michael.
Tregynon, Cynon.
Welshpool, Cynfelyn afterwards St. Mary. Buttington in the

County of Salop, All Saints.*

* For Llanwddin, see Llanrhaiadr in Mocbnant, Denbighshire} and for
Mallwyd and Garthbeibio, see Llan ym Mawddwy, Merionethshire.

CHURCHES, &c. IN PEMBROKESHIRE. 347

PEMBROKESHIRE.

Ambleston or Tref Amlod, St. Mary.

Amroth, Elidyr.

Angle or Nangle, St. Mary.

Bayvil, St. Andrew.

Begelly or Bugeli. Williamston. Reynoldston.

Bosheston or Stackpool Boscher, St. Michael. St. GoverCs Chapel,

Gofen.
Boulston.
Burton.

Camros, Ismael.

Carew, St. John the Baptist. Redbert.
CasUe Beith, St. Michael.
Castle Martin, St. Michael. Flimston.
Cilgerran, Llawddog. Capel Bach in the Castle,
Clarbeston, St. Martin.
Clydai, Clydai.
Cosheston, St. Michael.
Crinow.

Cronwear, Elidyr.
Dale, St. James.
Dinas, Brynach.

Eglwys Erw, Cristiolus. Pencelli Chapel.
Frey strop.

Grandston, St. Catherine.
Gumfreston.

Haroldston East, Ismael.
Haroldston West, Madog.
Hasguard, St. Peter.

Haverford West, St. Mary. Do. St: Thomas. Do. St. Martin.
Hays Castle or Castell yr Haidd, St. Mary. Forde Chapel.
Henry's Moat or Castell Harri, St. Bernard.
Herbrandston, St. Mary.
Hodgeston.

Hubberston, St. David.
Jeffreyston, St. Oswald.
Johnston.

348 APPENDIX, No. IH.

Jordanston or Tref Iwerddon.

Lambston or Lammerston.

Lampeter Velfrey or Llanbedr FelfFre, St. Peter.

Lamphey or Llandyfei, Tyfei.

Lawrenny, Caradog.

Letterston or Treletert, St. Giles, Llanfair Nant y Gof, St. Mary.

Little Newcastle, St. Peter.

Llanddewi Felffre, St. David. Llandeilo Llwyngwaddan, Teilo.

Henllan.
Llandeilo, Teilo.
Llandeloi or Llandylwyf.

Llanfihangel Penbedw, St. Michael. Capel Colman, St. Colman.
Llanfyrnach, Brynach, A Chapel in ruins.
Llangolman, St. Colman.
Llangwm.
Llanhywel.
Llanrheithion.
Llanrhian, Rhian.
Llanstadwel, Tudwal.
Llanstinan, Stinan or St. Justinian.
Llantwyd or Lantwood, lUtyd.

Llanuchllwydog, St. David. Llanychaer, St. David. Llanllawern.
LlanUst, Ust. Llanfartin, St. Martin. Capel Llanjihangel, Sf.

Michael; all included in the modern parish of Fishguard,

St. Mary.*
Llanwnda, Gwyndaf.
Llan y Cefn.
Llawhaden, Llanhuadain, or Llanaeddan, Aeddan. Bletherston.

St. Mary''s Chapel.
Llys y Fran, Meilyr.
Loveston.

Ludchurch or Eglwys Lwyd, Elidyr.
Maenclochog, St. Mary,
Maenor B^r or Manorbeer, St. James.

Maenor Deifi, St. David. Bridell, St. David. Cilfywyr Chapel.
Maenor Owain or Maenor leuan, St. Mary.

* Carlisle's Topography, voce Fishguard.

CHURCHES, &c. IN PEMBROKESHIRE. 349

Marloes, St. Peter.

Martletwy, St. Marcellus. Coed Canlas, St. Mary.

Mathri or Merthyri, The Holy Martyrs.

Melinau, Dogfael.

Minwear.

Monington or Eglwys Wytliwr, St. Nicholas.

Morfil, St. John the Baptist.

Moylgrove or Trewyddel.

Mynachlog Ddu, Dogfael.

Narberth, St. Andrew. Robeston Wathan. Mounton or Monkton.

Templeton.
Nash. Upton.

Nefern, Brynach. Cilgwyn, St. Mary.
New Moat, St. Nicholas.
Newport, St. Mary.
Newton.

Nolton or Knowelton, Madog. Druidston Chapel.
Pembroke, St. Nicholas, alias Monktoiji. Do. St. Mary. Do. St.

Michael. St. Daniel's Chapel, Deiniol. St. Anne's Chapel.

St. Mary Magdalen'' s Do.
Penaly. A Chapel in Caldey Island or Ynys Pi/r.
Penrhydd, Cristiolus. Castellan.
Pontfaen, St. Bernard.
Prendergast, St. David.
Pimcheston or Castell M^l, St. Mary.
PwUcrochan, St. Mary.
Robeston or Robertston West.
Roch, St. Mary. Two Chapels in ruins.

Rosecrowther or Rhos Gylyddwr, Degeman or St. Decumanus.
Rosemarket, Ismael.
Rudbaxton, St. Michael. St. Catherine's Chapel. St. Leonard's

Do.
Slebech, St. John the Baptist.
Spittal, St. Mary.

Stackpool Elidyr or Cheriton, Elidyr and St. James.
Stainton, St. Cewyll afterwards St. Peter. A Chapel near Pille,

Milford, St. Catherine.
St. Bride's, Ffraid or St. Bride. " The ChapeV

350 APPENDIX, No. in.

St. David's Cathedral, St. David and St. Andrew. Whitchurch,

St. David. Brawdy, St. David. Capel y Gwrhyd, St. David.

Capel Non, Non. Capel Padrig, St. Patrick. Capel y Pistyll.

Capel Stinan, St. Justinian. St. Mary's Chapel adjoining the

Cathedral.
St. Dogmael's or Llandudoch, Dogfael afterwards St. Thomas.
St. Dogwel's, Dogfael.
St. Edren's or Llanedeyrn, Edeyrn.
St. Elveis or Llanailfyw, Ailfyw.
St. Florence.
St. Ishmael's, Ismael.
St. Issel's or Llanussyllt.
St. Laurence.
St. Nicholas.

St. Petrox or Llanbedrog, Pedrog.
St. Twinel's.
Talbenny, St. Mary.

Tenby, St. Mary. A Free Chapel^ St. John the Baptist.
Trefgarn.

Uzmaston or Osmundeston, Ismael.
Walton East, St. Mary.
Walton West.

Walwyn's Castle. St. James.
Warren, St. Mary.
Whitchurch or Eglwys Wen, St. Michael. Llanfair Nantgwyli,

St. Mary.
Wiston, or Castell Gwys, St. Mary.
Yerbeston, St. Laurence.*

RADNORSHIRE.

Aberedw, Cewydd. Llanfaredd, St. Mary.

Bleddfa, St. Mary.

Boughrood or Bochrwd, Cynog. Llanbedr Painscastle, St. Peter.

Bryngwyn, St. Michael.

Bugeildy, St. Michael. Velindre Chapel.

* For Cilrhedin, see Carmarthenshire.

CHURCHES, &c. IN RADNORSHIRE. 351

Casgob, St. Michael.

Cefn Llys, St. Michael.

Clyro, St. Michael. Bettws Clyro.

Cregruna or Craig Furuna, St. David. Llanbadarn y Garreg, Pa-
darn. Llannon, Non.

Disei-tli, Cewydd. Bettws Diserth, St. Mary.

Gladestry or Llanfair Llethonw, St. David.

Glascwm, St. David. Colfa, St. David. Rhiwlen, St. David.

Knighton, St. Edward, a Chapel to Stow (St. Michael) in the County
of Salop.

Llanbadarn Fawr, Padarn.

Llanbister, Cynllo. Llanbadarn Fynydd, Padarn. Llananno, Amo
or Anno. Llanddewi Ystrad Enni, St. David. Llanfihangel
Rhydeithon, St. Michael. Caerfaelog, Maelog. Llanfair
Trellwydion, St. Mary. Abbey Cwm Hir, St. Mary.

Llandegle, St. Tecla. Llanifan, St. John.

Llandeilo Graban, Teilo.

Llandrindod anciently Llandduw, The Holy Trinity, hlanfaelog,
Maelog.

Llanelwedd.

Llanfihangel Nant Melan, St. Michael.

Llangynllo, Cynllo. Pilleth, St. Mary. Llanhrynhir. And pro-
bably Heyop, St. David. Whitton, St. David.

Llansanifraid in Elfael, Ffraid or St. Bridget.

Llanstephan or LlaiistyfFan, YstyfFan.

Llowes, Maelog or Meilig. Llanddewi Fach, St. David.

Michael-church upon Arrow or Llanfihangel y DyfFryn, St. Michael,
a Chapel to Kington (St. Mary) in the County of Hereford.

Nantmel, Cynllo. Llanfihangel Helygen, St, Michael. Llanyre or
Llanllyr yn Rhos, Llyr Forwyn. Rhayader Gwy, St. Clement.
Pant yr Eglwys near Rhayader.

Newchurch, St. Mary.

New Radnor,* The Old Church. Do. The present Church, St.
Mary.

* "There is an olde Churche stondynge now as a Chapell by the
Castle. Not very farre thens is the new Paroche Churche buildyd by
one William Bachefield and Flory his Wyfe."— Leland.

352 APPENDIX, No. III.

Old Radnor, St. Stephen. Kinnerton, St. Mary. Ednal. Llaniago,

St. James.
Presteign or Llanandreas, St. Andrew. Norton, St. Andrew. Dis-

coed, St. Michael. Lingen in the County of Hereford, St.

Michael. Kinshaai Ford in Do. By ton in Do. St. Mary.
St. Harmon's, Garmon or St. Germanus. Drysgol Chapel.*

* For Glasebury and Llansanffraid Cwramwd Deuddwr, see Glasebury
and Llaugammarch, Brecknockshire.

INDEX TO THE NAMES OF SAINTS.

Aaron

. 96

Bleiddian or St

• Lupus 119,126,160

Aeddan Foeddog

. 227

Boda ,

. 302

Aelgyfarch

. 302

Bodfan.

. 302

Aelhaiarn

. 275

Bran ab Llyr

. 76

Aelrhiw

. 306

Brenda

. 302

Aerdeyrn

. 186

Bride, Bridget,

or Ffraid . 189

Afan Buallt .

. 208

Brynach Wyddel . .156

Ailfyw

. 163

Buan .

. 280

Alan .

. 221

Bugi or Hywgi

. 233

Alban .

Amaethlu or Maethlu

. 96
. 270

Cadell

Cad fan
Cadfarch

. 295

Amo or Anno .

. 306

. 213
. 270

Araphibalus .

. 96

Cadfrawd

92, 100

Amwn Ddu
Andras ab Rhun

. 218
. 146

Cadgyfarch

. 102

Cado or Cataw

. 232

Ane ab Caw

. 225

Cadog
Cad rod

Aneurin or Gildas

. 225

. 142

. 270

Anhun

. 164

Cadwaladr

299, 301

Anna, daughter of Meurig

. 218

Caffo .

. 227

Anno or Amo .

. 306

Caian .

. 146

Arddun

. 207

Cain .

. 228

Arianwen

. 146

Callwen

. 153

Arthen

. 141

Cammab

. 233

Arwystli Gloff

. 236

Cam march

. 933

Arwystli H6n .

75, 81

Canna

, 222

Asafor St. Asaph

262, 265

Caradog

. 305

Bach ab Car wed

. 306

Carannog

. 209

Baglan ab Dingad

. 275

Caron .

. 306

Baglan ab Ithel Had .

. 223

Carwyd

. 207

« Baruck"

. 304

Cattwg Ddoeth

155, 176, 233

Bedwas

. 302

Cathan or Cath

en . . 280

Bedwini

. 238

Cawrdaf

. 270

Beuno

. 268

Cedol

. 306

2 V

354

INDEX TO THE

Cedwyn

280

Cynan

. 270

Ceidio ab Caw

227

Cynbryd

. 144

Ceidio ab Ynyr Gwent

234

Cyndaf

76,81

Ceindrych

150

Cynddilig

. 281

Ceinwen

151

Cyndeyrn ab Arthog .

. 211

Ceitho

213

Cyndeyrn or St. Kentigern

. 261

Celer

306

Cynfab

. 307

Celynin ab Cynyr

213

Cynfarch

. 168

Celynin ab Helig

302

Cynfarwy

. 307

Cenedion

150

Cynfelyn ab Bleiddyd

. 260

Ceneu, a'bishop

245

,274

Cynfelyn Drwsgl

. 270

Ceneu ab Coel

102

,104

Cynfran

. 144

Ceneu or St. Keyna

153

Cynfyw or Cynyw

. 233

Cennych

306

Cyngar ab Arthog

. 211

Cennydd

257

Cyngar or Docwinus .

. 183

Cewydd

230

Cyngar ab Geraint

. 232

Cian .

302

Cyngen ab Cadell

161,207

Ciwa .

307

Cynhafal

. 295

Ciwg .

271

Cynhaiarn

. 275

Cloffan

307

Cynheiddion .

. 152

Clydai

151

Cynheiddion ab Ynyr Gwent . 234

Clydno Eiddyn

270

Cynidr

. 148

Clydog

145

Cynin .

. 144

Clydwyn

140

Cynllo

12, 133

Cof . .

208

Cynmur

. 253

Cofen .

307

Cynog ab Brychan

. 138

Collen .

302

Cynog of Llanbadarn .

241, 244

Colman

190

Cynon

. 215

Constantine the Great

Cynudyn

. 261

Crallo .

222

Cynwyd

208, 270

Cristiolus

220

Cynwyl

206, 260

Curig Lwyd .

307

Cynyw or Cynfyw

. 233

Curig or Cyrique

,307

Daniel or Deiniol 192

206, 258

Cwyfen

304

David or Dewi 43, 162

191, 193

Cwyfyn

307

Dedyn or Neubedd

. 146

Cwyllog

228

Degeman

. 305

Cwynrau

307

Deiniol or Daniel 192,

206, 258

Cybi

162

,266

Deiniolen or Deiniol Fab

. 281

Cyfelach

50, 274

,305

Derfel Gadarn

• 221

Cyflefyr

141

Dewi or St. David 43, 162,

191, 193

Cyflewyr

233

Dier or Diheufyr

. 276

Cyfyw

233

Digain

. 134

Cyllin

Diheufyr or Dier

. 276

Cymorth

150

Dingad ab Brychan .

. 140

NAMES OF SAINTS.

355

Dingad ab Nudd Hael

. 269

Elfod or Elbodius

66, 305

Dirdaa

. 162

Elgud .

. . 280

Dirynig

. 228

Elian .

. 207

Dochdwy . . 183, 219

Elined

. 149

Docwinus or Cyngar .

. 183

EUdcyrn

. 186

Dog-ed

. 209

Ellyw

. 156

Dogfael

. 211

Emyr Llydaw

. 165

Dogfan

. 145

Enddwyn

. 307

Dolgan

. 257

Enfail

. 152

Dolgar

. 258

Enghenel . ,

. 297

Dona

. 302

Erbin

. 134

Dubricius or Dyfrig 144,170,176, 191

Eurfyl

. 307

Dunawd Fyr .

. 206

Eurgain

. 261

Durdan

. 224

Euryn

. 302

Dwyfael

. 307

Dwynwen
Dwywau

. 151
. 221

Ffagan

Ffili .

83, 84
. 276

Dwywe

. 207

Ffinan

. 240

Dyfan

82,84

Ffinian

. 239

Dyfnan

. 142

Fflewyn

. 222

Dyfnig

. 224

Ffraid or St. Bride

. 189

Dyfnog

. 295

•' Fidelis"

. 253

Dyfrig or St. Dubricius 144, 170, 176,

Gallgo

. 230

191

Garci

. 258

Edeyrn ab Gwrtheym

. 186

Garmon orSt.Germanu
Gartheli

s 119,129, 159
. 307

Edeyrn ab Nudd

. 298

Gasty or Gastayn

. 157

Ednyfed

. 115

Geraint ab Erbin

. 169

Edwen

303

Germanus or Garmon

119, 129, 159

Egryn

. 304

Gerwyn

. 142

Egwad

. 298

Giidas or Aneurin

. 225

Eigen .

Gistlianus

. 162

Eigrad

. 228

Glywys Ccrniw

. 233

Eigron

. 230

Goleuddydd .

. 149

Einion Frenhin

. 212

Gredifael

. 222

Eithras

. 224

Grwst .

. 294

Elaeth

. 271

"Gurmaet"

. 253

Elbodius or Elfod

66, 305

G war than

. 260

Eldad ab Arth

. 298

Gwawr

. 147

Eldad ab Geraint

. 298

Gwen .

. 150

Elenog

. 307

Gwenafwy

. 230

Eleri, daughter of Brychan

. 147

Gwenaseth

. 166

Eleri, daughter of Dingad

. 275

Gwenddolau .

. 208

Elfan .

83, 87

Gwenddydd

. 149

Elffin ,

. 236

Gwenfaen

. 237

356

INDEX TO THE

Gwenfrewi or St. Winefred

. 295

Hywyn

. 219

Gwenfyl
Gwenlliw

. 153
. 142

Iddew .

. 280

Gwenllwyfo

. 307

Iddon

. 233

Gwennan

. 142

Idloes

. 298

Gwenog

258, 307

lestyn ab Cadfan

. 102

Gwenteirbron

. 215

lestyn ab Geraint

. 232

Gwerydd
Gwladus

. 102
. 146

Ifor ab Tudwal
liar

. 148
. 224

Gwodloew

. 268

Hid

76, 81

Gwrddelw

. 231

Hid or Julitta

82, 307

Gwrfyw
Gwrgon
Gwrhai

. 280
. 147
. 231

Illog

Illtyd or St. Iltutus

Isan

. 308

125, 178

. 257

Gwrhir

. 251

Ismael

244, 252

Gwrmael

. 102

" Issui or Ishaw"

. 308

Gwrnerlh

. 279

Julitta or Hid

82, 307

Gwrthefyr or Vortimer

. 134

Julius

. 96

Gwrthwl

. 308

Justinian or Stinan

. 238

Gwryd

. 305

Gwyddelan

. 308

Kentigern or Cyndeyrn . 261

Gwyddfareh

. 308

« Keurbreit"

. 152

Gwyddlew

. 233

Keyna or Ceneu

. 153

Gwyn

. 213

Leonorius

. 256

Gwynau

. 153

Llawdden

. 308

GwyndafH^n
Gwvnen

. 219
. 308

Llawddog or Lleudd

ad . 274

Llecheu

. 144

Gwyngeneu

. 237

Gwynio

. 308

Llechid .

. 223

Gwynlleu

. 261

Lleian

. 147

Gwynllyw Filwr

. 170

Llcminod Angel

. 280

Gwynnin

Gwynno ab Cynyr .

. 302

Lies ab Coel or Luc

ius . 83

. 213

Lleuddad ab Alan

. 221

Gwynno or Gwynnog

. 257

Lleuddad or Llawdt

log . 274

Gwynnoro

. 213

Lleurwg or Lucius

. 82

Gwynodl

• 236

Llewelyn

. 261

Gwynws

. 153

Llibio

. 308

Gwyrfarn

. 308

Llidnerth

. 269

Gwytherin

. 275

Llonio Lawhir

. 221

Gynyr of Caer Gawch

. 162

Llwchaiarn

. 275

Llwni

. 308

Hawystl

. 152

Llwydian

. 308

Helen

Llynab

. 221

Helig Foel

. 298

Llyr Forwyn

161, 308

Huail

. 232

Llyr Merini

. 169

Hychan

. 144

Llywan

. 224

Hywgi or Bugi

. 233

Llywel

. 253

NAMES OF SAINTS.

357

Lucius, Lies, or Lleurwg
" Lunapeius"
Lupus or Bleiddian

. 83

. 253

119, 126, 160

Mabon ab Bleiddyd

Mabon ab Enlleu

Marhes

Machraith

Machutus or Maclovius

Madog ab Gildas

Madog Morfryti

Madog ab Owain

Madrun

Mael

Maelog

Maelrys

Maethlu or Amaethlu

Maglorius .

Marchell

Mathaiarn

Mawan

Mawan ab Cyngen

Mechell, daus^hter of Br

Mechell ab Echwydd

Mechydd

Medrod ab Cawrdaf

Medwy

Meigyr

Meilig

Meilyr ab Gwron .

Meilyr ab Gwyddno

Meirion

Melangell

Merit! or Merini

Meugan or Meigant

Meurig ab Tewdrig

Mor ab Ceneu

Mor ab Pasgen

Mordeyrn

Morfael

Morhaiarn

Mwrog

Mwynen

Mydan

Mygnach

Myllin

. 261

. 251

. 233

. 308

. 256

. 257

. 169

. 133

. 164

. 220

. 230

. 222

. 270

. 256

. 276

. 143
76,81

. 207

ychan 147

. 308

. 280

. 280
83,84

. 166

. 231

. 166

. 222

. 212

. 269

. 236

. 269

. 184

. 117

. 280

. 308

. 142

. 280

. 308

Neffai . . . 143

Nefydd, daughter of Brychan 148

Nefydd ab Nefydd Ail . 238

Nefydd ab Rhun . . 146

Nefyn . . . 147

Neubedd or Dedyn . 146

Nidan . . . 295

Non . . .163

Nudd . . . 208

Nwython . . 257

y)UDOCEUS

Owain ab Macsen

Pabiali or Papai

Pabo Post Prydain

Padarn

Padrig ab Alfryd

Padrig or St. Patrick

Papai or Pabiali

Pasgen

Paul deLeon

Pawl H6n or Paulinus

Peblig

Pedita

Pedr

Pcdrog

Pedrwn

PeiUan

Peirio

Peithien

Peris

Peulan

Rhain Dremrudd

Rhawin

Rhediw

Rliian

Rhidian .

Rhiengar

Rhuddlad

Rhun

Rhwydrys

Rhystud

Sadwrn Farchog
Sadwrn of Henllan
Sadyrnin

253, 274

. 108

. 144

. 167

197, 215

. 298

. 128

. 144

. 143

. 256

187, 191

. 115

. 146

. 211

. 266

. 211

. 230

. 302

. 237

. 141

. 145

. 309

. 148

. 309

. 145

. 309

. 220

. 222

. 298

. 305

358

INDEX, &c.

Saeran

118, 271

Tudno .

. 236

Samled .

. 309

Tudur

. 276

Samson ab Amwn Ddu 228, 253

Tudwal Befr

. 133

Samson ab Caw

• 228

Tudwen .

. 309

Sandde .

. 166

Tudwg

. 258

Sannan

. 240

Twrnog- or Teyrnog

. 276

Sawyl .

. 207

Twrog

. 223

Seiriol

. 211

Tybie .

. 152

Selyf

. 232

Tydecho ab Amwn Ddu

. 218

Senefyr or Senewyr

. 236

Tydecho ab Gildas

. 258

Silin or Sulien

. 220

Tydfyl .

. 151

Stinan or St. Justinian . 238

Tydie .

. 149

Sulien or Silin

. 220

Tyfei

. 252

Tanglwst

. 147

Tyfodwg .

. 223

Tangwn ab Caradog

. 270

Tyfriog or Tyfrydog

. 275

Tangwn ab Talhaiarn . 208

Tyfrydog ab Arwystli Gloff

. 276

Tanwg .

. 222

Tyfrydog or Tyfriog

. 275

Tathan

. 256

Tygwy .

. 275

Tecwyn

. 223

Tyneio

. 236

Tegai .

. 223

Tyrnog or Teyrnog

. 211

Tegfan .

. 238

Tyssilio .

. 277

Tegfedd

. 218

Tyssul .

. 209"

Tegiwg

. 234

Ulched

. 309

Tegonwy

. 236

Urabrafel

. 219

Tegwedd
Teilo

. 167
. 195,197,241

Urien Rheged

Ust

. 203
. 224

Teon

. 238

Usteg .

. 297

Teulydog

. 256

Tewdrig ab Teithfal

It . 138

VoRTiMER or Gwrthefyr

. 134

Tewdwr Brycheiniog

r . 271

Teyrnog or Twrnog

. 276

WiNEFRED or Gwenfrewi

. 295

TeyrnogorTyrnog

. 211

Trillo

. 233

Ynyr Gwent

. 164

Trinio

. 219

Ysgin ab Erbin

. 170

Tudglyd

. 236

Ystyffan .

. 251

WILLIAM REES, PRINTER, LLANDOVERY.

■^^f'1-!i:^l'.-^y-Ti^'

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