Saint Henwg of Caerlleon
upon Usk was a 5th-century
saint
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...
and church builder.
Family
Henwg was a
pre-congregational
saint
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...
of
Wales, born about 487. His father was reputed to have been
Umbrafel
Umbrafel (born in 466 AD) was a 6th-century saint of Wales and nobleman of Brittany.
Umbrafel, born in 476 AD was a son of Budic I of Brittany. He was the brother of Miliau, , , the father of Maglorius. His wife Afrelia, was, in the fiction of ...
son of
Budoc and his mother,
Afrelia
Afrella or Arilda was an early 6th century Welsh saint.
Afrelia was the daughter of "a high-ranking official at the royal court of Gwent" whom it has been suggested was Vortimer, a son of Vortigen and his queen Severa Verch Macsen (daughter of R ...
the daughter of
Vortimer Fendigaid, a son of
Vortigen
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 ...
and
Severa Verch Macsen
Sevira (a Vulgar Latin spelling of the Classical Latin name ''Severa'') was a purported daughter of the Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus and wife of Vortigern mentioned on the fragmentary, mid-ninth century C.E. Latin inscription of the Pillar of Elis ...
.
His brother is said to be
Maglor Ap Umbraphel (485-575), and another Unknown sibling.
Life
He was reputed to be from
Caerleon in
South Wales
South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...
and legend associates him with
King Arthur
King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain.
In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...
and
Constantine the Great
Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...
. Very little is factually known of his life: most of what is known come from the songs of
Taliesin the bard, his son who built a
Church in his memory at
Llanbenwg.
[C. Schreiber, The Mabinogion (Google eBook) (Рипол Классик, In the library of Jesus College, Oxford]
page 471
He is recorded as having gone on a mission to
Rome to ask the
Roman Emperor to send Saint Germanus and
Saint Lupus to assist in the
Christianisation of Britain.
References
Medieval Welsh saints
Year of birth unknown
{{Saint-stub