Saint Gwynno | |
|---|---|
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church; Eastern Orthodox Church Anglican Communion |
| Feast | 26 October |
Gwynno, orGwynnog ab Gildas, is the name of a 6th-centuryWelsh saint.
Archives at theVatican record that his festival is 26 October; that he is regarded as aconfessor; and that there is said to be a sacred well, Ffynnon Wyno, associated withLlanwonno, inGlamorganshire.[1]
Gwynno appears to have been the son of Cau, called Euryn y Coed aur.[2]
During theYellow Plague of 547, the monks of the deadIlltyd went for safety fromWest Wales toBrittany. Instead of returning toPembrokeshire, they travelled east to Glamorgan to settle atLlantwit Major (Llanilltud Fawr inWelsh). It appears that Saint Illtud's monks were accompanied to Glamorgan by several of his disciples and associates, some of whom wereBretons, among them Gwynno.[3]
The Celtic bishop, SaintDyfrig, founded three centres of learning inSouth East Wales - at Llancarfan (nearCowbridge), Caerworgorn (now Llantwit Major), andCaerleon. Gwynno was one of the early members of the community at Llancarfan.[4] Under the name of Gwynno, he is considered to have been one of the three founders ofLlantrisant, Glamorganshire, together with Illtyd andDyfodwg;Llanwynno, a chapel under Llantrisant, is dedicated to him.[4]
At Llanwonno, the farmhouse at Darwonno (Welsh: Daearwynno) was not far from the church; indeed Gwynno may have lived there, and may have owned the land around it. It is significant that the nearest farmhouse to the church was always known as Daearwynno -Gwynno's land, but it is not clear whether the land belonged to Gwynno the saint, or whether it was a later acquisition of the church. There is no mention of Gwynno ever having performed miracles; no one knows of his work, or of the whereabouts of his grave, and not one of his writings has been preserved. Only Gwynno's name and Gwynno's church remain as a definite indication that he did exist and as a monument to his work.[2]
Llanwnog in the county ofMontgomeryshire claims him for its founder under the name of Gwynnog; and in thechancel window of this church he is delineated in painted glass in episcopal habits, with amitre on his head, and acrosier in his hand; underneath is an inscription in old English characters, "Sanctus Gwinocus, cujus animae propitietur Deus. Amen."[4]
He is not to be confounded withGwenog, a virgin, the saint of Llanwenog,Cardiganshire.[4]