Inside
St Cadfan's Church,
Tywyn
Tywyn (Welsh: ; in English often ), formerly spelled Towyn, is a town, community, and seaside resort on the Cardigan Bay coast of southern Gwynedd, Wales. It was previously in the historic county of Merionethshire. It is famous as the loc ...
,
Gwynedd
Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and C ...
is an inscribed stone cross called the Cadfan Stone (or the ''Tywyn Stone''). On it are the earliest known inscriptions in the
Welsh language
Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language family, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut P ...
, specifically in
Old Welsh
Old Welsh ( cy, Hen Gymraeg) is the stage of the Welsh language from about 800 AD until the early 12th century when it developed into Middle Welsh.Koch, p. 1757. The preceding period, from the time Welsh became distinct from Common Brittonic ...
.
Recent scholarship dates the inscriptions to the 9th century. They were previously considered to be older.
Ifor Williams
Sir Ifor Williams, (16 April 1881 – 4 November 1965) was a Welsh scholar who laid the foundations for the academic study of Old Welsh, particularly early Welsh poetry.
Early life and education
Ifor Williams was born at Pendinas, Tregarth near ...
dated them to the 8th century, and a late 7th century or early 8th century date was suggested by
Kenneth H. Jackson
Prof Kenneth Hurlstone Jackson CBE FRSE FSA DLitt (1 November 1909 – 20 February 1991) was an English linguistics, linguist and a translator who specialised in the Celtic languages. He demonstrated how the text of the Ulster Cycle of tales, wr ...
. A date between the 7th century and the 9th century is suggested by ''Coflein'', the website of the
.
Originally the stone stood over 2.3 metres tall, but it now measures 2.18m tall by 0.25m and 0.2m.
Below is the interpretation given in the most recent study of the stone (sides A, B, C and D) by Nancy Edwards.
;A/D. ''Tengr(um)ui cimalted gu(reic) / Adgan // anterunc du But Marciau''
'Tengrumui wedded wife of Adgan (lies) fairly near ('' or '' very near) to Bud (and) Marciau (''or'' But Marciau).'
;A. ''m(ortci)c ar tr(i)''
'The mortal remains of the three'
;B/C. ''Cun ben Celen // tricet nitanam''
'Cun woman (''or'' wife of Celyn), a mortal wound remains.'
;C. ''mort/cic pe/tuar''
'The mortal remains of four'
Despite its undoubted significance, the Cadfan Stone has been given relatively little attention from Welsh authors and poets. Exceptions include the poems 'Cofebion Tywyn' by
Owain Owain
Owain Owain (11 December 1929 – 19 December 1993) was a Welsh novelist, short-story writer and poet. He also founded '' Tafod y Ddraig'' (The Dragon's Tongue), which became the Welsh Language Society's main voice from its birth in the 1960 ...
and 'Y boen' by
Myrddin ap Dafydd
Myrddin ap Dafydd (born 25 July 1956) is a Welsh writer, publisher and chaired bard. In 2018 he was elected Archdruid of Wales.
Myrddin ap Dafydd was born in Llanrwst, north Wales. He was educated in the town's schools and at the University Col ...
.
[Myrddin ap Dafydd, ''Clawdd Cam'' (Llanrwst, 2003), p. 32.]
References
{{reflist
Monuments and memorials in Gwynedd
Welsh literature