Brynach

Last updated
Saint Brynach
Saint Non's Chapel - Fenster 4 St.Brynach.jpg
Our Lady and Saint Non's chapel (St Davids, Wales). Stained glass window (1934) showing Saint Brynach.
Abbot
Died6th century
Nevern, Pembrokeshire
Venerated in Eastern Orthodox Church
Roman Catholic Church
Anglican Communion
Major shrine Nevern, Pembrokeshire
Feast 7 April
Attributes Monk or abbot with cuckoo and/or the Nevern Cross
Patronage Spring

Saint Brynach was a 6th-century Welsh saint. He is traditionally associated with Pembrokeshire, where several churches are dedicated to him.

Contents

Life

The Church of St Brynach's ruins, Cwm-yr-Eglwys St Brynach's belfrey, Cwm yr Eglwys - geograph.org.uk - 298619.jpg
The Church of St Brynach's ruins, Cwm-yr-Eglwys

A 12th-century account of Brynach's life states that sometime in the early 6th century, Brynach travelled (from where is unstated) to Rome [1] and Brittany, and then on to Milford Haven. He erected various oratories near the rivers Cleddau, Gwaun, and Caman and at the foot of Mynydd Carningli (translated as 'Mountain of the Angels'), which was his most famous foundation. This monastery founded by Brynach was at present-day Nevern (in Welsh, Nanhyfer). The land was given to him by the local lord, Clether, who retired to Cornwall. Brynach was harassed by King Maelgwn of Gwynedd for a while, until he wrought miracles and the two came to terms. Saint Brynach died on 7 April, on which day his feast is celebrated. His church, beside the River Nevern, is his lasting memorial.

The "Life of St Brynach" portrays him as something of a wild fellow in his youth but very virtuous after his conversion. The descriptions of his adventures (including amorous and ghostly encounters) display a degree of humour unusual in the writers of saintly lives. [1]

Problems of identification

Brynach may be a form of the Irish name, Bernach. This possibly etymology has led to speculation that Saint Brynach came from Ireland: Iolo Morganwg, followed by Baring-Gould, supposed that he is the same as the chieftain 'Fernach' who came to Wales from Ireland with the young Brychan of Brycheiniog. However, Egerton Phillimore rejects this identification A 'Brennach Wyddel o'r Gogledd' or Brennach the Irishman of the North [of Britain] appears in the Welsh Triads: Rachel Bromwich does not believe Saint Brynach is meant.

Dedications

Dedications of churches to Brynach in Pembrokeshire include Nevern, Dinas Cross, Llanfyrnach, Henry's Moat and Pontfaen. In Carmarthenshire there are Llanboidy and a chapel in Llanddarog, and there are scattered dedications in Glamorgan, Brecknockshire and Monmouthshire. The distribution of these is similar to that of Ogham stones in south Wales, and defines a distinct Irish-influenced province that existed in the Age of the Saints. [2]

Notes

  1. 1 2 "Life of St. Brynach", Vitae Sanctorum Britanniae et Genealogiae, ed. A. W. Wade-Evans. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1944
  2. Bowen, E. G. (1977) Saints, Seaways and Settlements in the Celtic Lands Cardiff: University of Wales Press ISBN   0-7083-0650-0, p. 105

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gwen Teirbron</span> Sixth-century Breton saint

Gwen Teirbron was a Breton holy woman and wife of Fragan who supposedly lived in the 5th or 6th century. Her epithet is Welsh for '(of the) three breasts'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nevern</span> Village, parish and community in Pembrokeshire, Wales

Nevern is both a parish and a community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The community includes the settlements of Felindre Farchog, Monington, Moylgrove and Bayvil. The small village lies in the Nevern valley near the Preseli Hills of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park 2 miles (3 km) east of Newport on the B4582 road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peredur</span>

Peredur is the name of a number of men from the boundaries of history and legend in sub-Roman Britain. The Peredur who is most familiar to a modern audience is the character who made his entrance as a knight in the Arthurian world of Middle Welsh prose literature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Welsh Triads</span> Group of related texts in medieval manuscripts

The Welsh Triads are a group of related texts in medieval manuscripts which preserve fragments of Welsh folklore, mythology and traditional history in groups of three. The triad is a rhetorical form whereby objects are grouped together in threes, with a heading indicating the point of likeness; for example, "Three things not easily restrained, the flow of a torrent, the flight of an arrow, and the tongue of a fool."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Máedóc of Ferns</span> Irish bishop and saint

Saint Máedóc of Ferns, also known as Saint Aidan, Saint Madoc or Saint Mogue, was an Irish saint who was the first Bishop of Ferns in County Wexford and the founder of thirty churches. His birth name was Áed, the name of the Irish god of the underworld, meaning "fire". The name Aidan is a diminutive form of Aed or Aodh, and was also a form of the Latin name Dominus. Máedóc and Mogue are other pet forms of Aed or Aodh, formed from the Irish affectionate prefix mo- and the diminutive suffix -óg, meaning "young", making for something like "my dear little Aodh".

Rhun ap Maelgwn Gwynedd, also known as Rhun Hir ap Maelgwn Gwynedd, sometimes spelt as 'Rhûn', was King of Gwynedd. He came to the throne on the death of his father, King Maelgwn Gwynedd. There are no historical records of his reign in this early age. A story preserved in both the Venedotian Code and an elegy by Taliesin says that he waged a war against Rhydderch Hael of Alt Clut and the kings of Gododdin or Manaw Gododdin. The small scattered settlement of Caerhun in the Conwy valley is said to be named for him, though without strong authority. Rhun also appears in several medieval literary stories, as well as in the Welsh Triads. His wife was Perwyr ferch Rhûn "Ryfeddfawr" and their son was Beli ap Rhun "Hîr".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cynllo</span> 5th and 6th-century Welsh saint

Saint Cynllo is a British saint, who lived in the late 5th and early 6th centuries, generally described as a brother of Saint Teilo. Cynllo was known for "...the sanctity of his life and the austerity of his manners."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Llanboidy</span> Village and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales

Llanboidy is a village and community in Carmarthenshire, West Wales. The community includes the village of Llanglydwen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Afan</span> 6th-century Welsh saint

Afan of Builth was an early 6th-century Welsh bishop, martyr, and saint. His feast day is generally placed on 17 November, although the Demetian Calendar formerly used in southern Wales placed it on the 16th; it is no longer observed by either the Anglican or Catholic church in Wales.

Cadfan, was the 6th century founder-abbot of Tywyn and Bardsey, both in Gwynedd, Wales. He was said to have received the island of Bardsey from Einion Frenin, king of Llŷn, around 516 and to have served as its abbot until 542.

Talhaearn Tad Awen, was, according to medieval Welsh sources, a celebrated British poet of the sub-Roman period. He ranks as one of the earliest, if not the earliest, named poets to have composed and performed in Welsh. The better known poets Aneirin and Taliesin, who may have been slightly younger contemporaries, also belong to this early generation, the first of those known to modern scholars as the Cynfeirdd. Whereas medieval Welsh manuscripts preserve verse composed by or otherwise ascribed to the latter two figures, no such work survives for Talhaearn and in fact, his former fame seems to have largely vanished by the later Middle Ages.

Nidan was a Welsh priest and, according to some sources, a bishop, in the 6th and 7th centuries. He is now commemorated as a saint. He was the confessor for the monastery headed by St Seiriol at Penmon, and established a church at what is now known as Llanidan, which are both places on the Welsh island of Anglesey. He is the patron saint of two churches in Anglesey: St Nidan's Church, Llanidan, built in the 19th century, and its medieval predecessor, the Old Church of St Nidan, Llanidan. Midmar Old Kirk in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, is also dedicated to him: Nidan is said to have helped to establish Christianity in that area as a companion of St Kentigern. St Nidan's, Llanidan, has a reliquary dating from the 14th or 16th century, which is said to house his relics.

Saint Cwyllog was a Christian holy woman who was active in Anglesey, Wales, in the early 6th century. The daughter, sister and niece of saints, she is said to have founded St Cwyllog's Church, Llangwyllog, in the middle of Anglesey, where a church is still dedicated to her.

Drudwas ap Tryffin is a knight of King Arthur's court in early Arthurian mythology and the owner of the magical Adar Llwch Gwin. His father, Tryffin, is described as the king of Denmark, while his sister, Erdudwyl, was, according to The Death of Drudwas, supposedly a “mistress” of Arthur.

Caffo was a sixth-century Christian in Anglesey, north Wales, who is venerated as a saint and martyr. The son of a king from northern Britain who took shelter in Anglesey, Caffo was a companion of St Cybi, and is mentioned as carrying a red-hot coal in his clothes to Cybi without his clothes getting burnt. After leaving Cybi, Caffo was killed by shepherds in the south of Anglesey, possibly acting in retaliation for insults Caffo's brother had paid to the local ruler. The area where he died has a village, Llangaffo, named after him, as well as the parish church of St Caffo, Llangaffo.

Creirwy is a figure in the Mabinogion and the Hanes Taliesin, daughter of the enchantress Ceridwen and Tegid Foel. The Welsh Triads name her one of the three most beautiful maids of the Isle of Britain. Born in Penllyn in Powys, Wales, Creirwy has a dark, hideous brother named Morfran and a foster brother, Gwion Bach. She does not appear in the stories about Afagddu and Taliesin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fagan (saint)</span> Welsh saint

Fagan, also known by other names including Fugatius, was a legendary 2nd-century Welsh bishop and saint, said to have been sent by the pope to answer King Lucius's request for baptism and conversion to Christianity. Together with his companion St Deruvian, he was sometimes reckoned as the apostle of Britain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Einion Frenin</span> Welsh confessor and saint of the Celtic Church

Saint Einion Frenin was a late 5th and early 6th century Welsh confessor and saint of the Celtic Church. His feast day was originally given as 9 February, although this had moved to the 10th or 12th by the 16th century and is no longer observed by either the Anglican or Catholic church in Wales.

References