Cynhaiarn was a 5th-century
Pre-Congregational saint of
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
, and the brother of
Aelhaiarn
Saint Aelhaiarn or Aelhaearn (Welsh for "Iron Eyebrows";Baring-Gould, Sabine & al''The Lives of the British Saints: The Saints of Wales and Cornwall and Such Irish Saints as Have Dedications in Britain'', Vol. I, pp. 101 ff ...
.
[Baring-Gould, Sabine & al. The Lives of the British Saints: The Saints of Wales and Cornwall and Such Irish Saints as Have Dedications in Britain, Vol. I, pp. 101 ff. Chas. Clark (London), 1908. Hosted at Archive.org. Accessed 18 November 2014.]
Very little is known of his life, other than he was a prince of the
Powys
Powys (; ) is a county and preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain.
Geog ...
ian dynasty descended from
Vortigern
Vortigern (; owl, Guorthigirn, ; cy, Gwrtheyrn; ang, Wyrtgeorn; Old Breton: ''Gurdiern'', ''Gurthiern''; gle, Foirtchern; la, Vortigernus, , , etc.), also spelled Vortiger, Vortigan, Voertigern and Vortigen, was a 5th-century warlord in ...
, king of Britain, and brother of
Llwchaiarn and
Aelhaiarn
Saint Aelhaiarn or Aelhaearn (Welsh for "Iron Eyebrows";Baring-Gould, Sabine & al''The Lives of the British Saints: The Saints of Wales and Cornwall and Such Irish Saints as Have Dedications in Britain'', Vol. I, pp. 101 ff ...
.
Cynhaiarn was a cousin and disciple of
Saint Beuno
Saint Beuno ( la, Bonus;Baring-Gould &
Fisher, "Lives of the British Saints" (1907), quoted a Early British Kingdoms website by David Nash Ford, accessed 6 February 2012 640), sometimes anglicized as Bono, was a 7th-century Welsh abbot, ...
, sponsored by
Saint Cadfan
Saint Cadfan ( la, Catamanus), sometimes Anglicized as Gideon, was the 6th century founder-abbot of Tywyn (whose church is dedicated to him) and Bardsey, both in Gwynedd, Wales. He was said to have received the island of Bardsey from Saint ...
, and is remembered in the
St Cynhaearn's Church, Ynyscynhaearn.
References
Medieval Welsh saints
{{Wales-saint-stub