Saint Rhystyd was a late 6th-century British saint reputed to be a grandson of Hywel the Great (Hywel fab Emyr Llydaw) and brother to Saint Cristiolus and Saint Silin. [1] [2] [3] The village of Llanrhystud is named for the parish church which is dedicated to him.
Rhystyd is thought to represent the Latin Restitutus, a common ecclesicatical name borne by the earliest known Bishop of London who attended the Council of Arles in 314. [1] The name also appears as Rhystud. He is sometimes confused with a Saint Rhystyd Hên who was Bishop of Caerleon-on-Usk.
His feast is said to have been celebrated on the "Thursday in the Ember Week before Christmas" in the form of a fair. [1] The Ember Week before Christmas traditionally takes place in the 51st week of the year (the penultimate week in non-leap years).
An apocryphal poem by the celebrated 14th century Welsh bard Dafydd ap Gwilym associates Rhystyd with Saint Dwynwen: [1]
Rhystud Sant, rhyw ystod serch,
A'i elinedd ar lanerch,
A'i ben ar Ddwynwen enyd,
Huno bu'n hwya'n y byd
— Dafydd ap Gwilym, Yr Hun Felys, lines 51-54
A stained-glass window depicting Rhystyd dating to 1965 is located on the eastern wall of the south aisle of St Rhystyd's Church, in Llanrhystud. [4]