Tyfrydog (sometimes given as Tyvrydog) [1] was a Christian from north-west Wales in the fifth or sixth century, who was later venerated as a saint. He is said to have established a church in Anglesey, and although no part of the original structure remains, the current church is still dedicated to him. A nearby standing stone is said to be the remains of a man who he punished for stealing a bible from the church.
Little is known for certain about Tyfrydog's life, and his dates of birth and death are unknown. He is said to have lived towards the end of the sixth century, although another account has him as active during the middle of the fifth century. [1] [2] His father is recorded as being Arwystli Glof ab Seithenyn, active in the middle of the sixth century. Both he and his father are said to have been part of the Christian community on Bardsey Island, at the tip of the Llŷn Peninsula in north-west Wales. [1] [3] Some of his siblings are also venerated as saints. Twrnog is commemorated at the church in Llandyrnog, Denbighshire, in north-east Wales, while his brother Tudur (or Tudyr) was recorded as a saint from Darowen, Powys, in west Wales. [4] [5] His sister, Marchell, is reported to have established Ystrad Marchell, near Welshpool in mid-Wales, where an abbey (Strata Marcella) was later built. [4]
Tyfrydog is the patron saint and the reputed founder of St Tyfrydog's Church, Llandyfrydog, a small village in Anglesey, north Wales. The tradition is that he established the church in about 450. [2] [6] No part of a building from that period survives; the earliest parts of the present structure date from about 1400. [7] Llandyfrydog takes its name from the church and the saint: the Welsh word llan originally meant "enclosure" and then "church", and "-dyfrydog" is a modified form of his name. [8]
He is venerated as a saint, although he was never canonized by a pope: as the historian Jane Cartwright notes, "In Wales sanctity was locally conferred and none of the medieval Welsh saints appears to have been canonized by the Roman Catholic Church". [9] The feast day of St Tyfrydog is 1 January. [4]
About 1 mile (1.6 km) from the church, there is a field with an upright stone about 4 feet (1.2 m) high. The stone is known as "the thief of Dyfrydog". It is said to be a man turned into stone by St Tyfyrdog for stealing the church's bible; the lump near the top of the stone is said to be the sack on the man's shoulder. [6] [10] It is also said that the man's soul is periodically chased around the field during the night, chased by "demons with red-hot pitchforks." [10]
Other Anglesey saints commemorated in local churches include:
Salomon was a late 5th century Cornish 'warrior prince', possibly a King of Cornwall. His feast day takes place on the 18 October. He was the father of the Cornish bishop Saint Cybi.
Llan and its variants are a common element of Celtic placenames in the British Isles and Brittany, especially of Welsh toponymy. In Welsh the name of a local saint or a geomorphological description follows the Llan morpheme to form a single word: for example Llanfair is the parish or settlement around the church of St. Mair. Goidelic toponyms end in -lann.
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.
St Peulan's Church, Llanbeulan is a redundant Anglican church in Llanbeulan, in Anglesey, north Wales. The nave, which is the oldest part of the building, dates from the 12th century, with a chancel and side chapel added in the 14th century. The church has a font of early date, possibly from the first half of the 11th century: one historian has said that it would initially have been used as an altar and that "as an altar of the pre-Norman period it is a unique survivor in Wales and, indeed, in Britain".
St Iestyn's Church, Llaniestyn is a medieval church in Llaniestyn, Anglesey, in Wales. A church is said to have been founded here by St Iestyn in the 7th century, with the earliest parts of the present building dating from the 12th century. The church was extended in the 14th century, with further changes over the coming years. It contains a 12th-century font and a 14th-century memorial stone to Iestyn, from the same workshop as the stone to St Pabo at St Pabo's Church, Llanbabo.
Iestyn was a Welsh hermit and confessor in the 6th or 7th century who is venerated as a saint. He was the founder of two churches, one in Gwynedd and another in Anglesey, both in north Wales.
Saint Peulan was a Welsh holy man in the early part of the 6th century, the son of Paulinus, a saint from south Wales who taught Saint David. A follower of Cybi, a saint associated with the island of Anglesey in north Wales, Peulan is commemorated in the dedication of the church he reportedly founded, St Peulan's Church, Llanbeulan, on Anglesey.
St Cwyllog's Church, Llangwyllog, is a medieval church near Llangwyllog, in Anglesey, North Wales. St Cwyllog founded a church here in the 6th century, although the exact date is unknown. The existence of a church here was recorded in 1254 and parts of the present building may date from around 1200. Other sections are from the 15th century, with an unusual annex. added in the 16th century. The church contains some 18th-century fittings, including a rare Georgian three-decker pulpit and reading desk.
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.
Elaeth was a Christian king and poet in Britain in the 6th century who is venerated as a saint. After losing his territory in the north of Britain, he retreated to Anglesey, north Wales, where he lived at a monastery run by St Seiriol at Penmon. Some religious poetry is attributed to him, as is the foundation of St Eleth's Church, Amlwch, also in Anglesey.
St Eleth's Church, Amlwch is a parish church built in the Neo-classical style in 1800 in Amlwch, a town on the island of Anglesey in north Wales. It stands on the site of earlier buildings, with the first church here said to have been established by St Elaeth in the 6th century. Increasing prosperity in the town through copper mining during the 18th century led to the construction of a new church to serve the growing population.
St Tyfrydog's Church, Llandyfrydog is a small medieval church, in Llandyfrydog, Anglesey, north Wales. The date of establishment of a church on this site is unknown, but one 19th-century Anglesey historian says that it was about 450. The oldest parts of the present building are dated to about 1400, with the chancel dating from the late 15th or early 16th century. It is built from rough, small, squared stones, dressed with limestone. One of the windows on the south side is raised to illuminate the pulpit, a decision that in the eyes of one 19th-century commentator "disfigures the building."
St Ffinan's Church, Llanffinan is a small 19th-century parish church built in the Romanesque revival style, in Anglesey, north Wales. There has been a church in this area, even if not on this precise location, since at least 1254, and 19th-century writers state that St Ffinan established the first church here in the 7th century. The church was rebuilt in 1841, reusing a 12th-century font and 18th-century memorials, as well as the cross at the eastern end of the roof.
St Caffo's Church, Llangaffo is a 19th-century church, in the south of Anglesey, north Wales, about 5 miles (8.0 km) from the county town, Llangefni. It was constructed in 1846 to replace the previous medieval church in the village of Llangaffo. The new building includes a number of monuments from the old church, and has a spire which is a prominent local landmark. The churchyard has part of a stone cross dating from the 9th or 10th century, and some gravestones from the 9th to 11th centuries. It is dedicated to St Caffo, a 6th-century martyr who was killed in the vicinity.
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.
St Caian's Church, Tregaian, also known as St Caean's Church, Tregaean, is a small medieval church dating from the 14th century in Anglesey, north Wales. It is dedicated to St Caian, a Christian from the 5th or 6th century about whom little is known. The building contains a late 14th-century east window and a late 15th-century doorway. The churchyard contains the grave of William ap Howel, who died in 1581 at the age of 105, leaving over forty children between the ages of 8 and 89 and over three hundred living descendants.
Gwenllwyfo was a Christian woman recognised as a saint. She is commemorated in the dedication of two churches near Dulas, Anglesey, in Wales: St Gwenllwyfo's Church, Llanwenllwyfo and its medieval predecessor, the Old Church of St Gwenllwyfo, Llanwenllwyfo, which is now in ruins.
Cynfarwy was a Christian in the 7th century about whom little is known. He was venerated by the early church in Wales as a saint, although he was never formally canonised. St Cynfarwy's Church in Anglesey is dedicated to him, and his name is also preserved in the name of the settlement around the church, Llechgynfarwy. His feast day is in November, although the date varies between sources.
Ystrad Marchell was a medieval commote in the cantref of Ystlyg in the Kingdom of Powys. It roughly coincides with the parish of Welshpool.
The Age of the Saints was the period of Christianity in Wales around 500–700 AD.