Saint Cadfan ( la, Catamanus), sometimes

Anglicized Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...

as Gideon, was the 6th century founder-

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...

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 ...

(whose church is dedicated to him) and Bardsey, both in

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 ...

, Wales. He was said to have received the island of Bardsey from Saint

Einion Frenin Saint Einion Frenin (Welsh: old ', mod. ' or ', "Saint Einion the King"; la, Ennianus or ''Anianus'') was a late 5th-Abersoch Virtual Guide"History: The Pilgrim's Trail and Some of Its Churches" Accessed 18 Nov 2014. and ...

, king of Llŷn, around 516 and to have served as its abbot until 542.

Life and legacy

Most of the information we have about Cadfan is from the

awdl In Welsh poetry, an ''awdl'' () is a long poem in strict metre (i.e. ''cynghanedd''). Originally, an ''awdl'' could be a relatively short poem unified by its use of a single end-rhyme (the word is related to ''odl'', "rhyme"), using cynghanedd; ...

by Llywelyn the Bard in the 12th century. According to this he sailed from Brittany to

with 12 other saints, although some suggest that they came instead from Llanilltud Fawr. A Breton nobleman, he was said to be the son of Eneas Ledewig (Aeneas of Brittany) and Gwen Teirbron (Gwen Three Breasts), daughter of Budic II of

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

. He journeyed to Britain accompanied by the children of

Ithel Hael Ithel Hael or Ithel Hael o Lydaw was a prince of Armorica Armorica or Aremorica (Gaulish: ; br, Arvorig, ) is the name given in ancient times to the part of Gaul between the Seine and the Loire that includes the Brittany Peninsula, extending i ...

o Lydaw (of Brittany): Baglan, Flewyn, Gredifael, Tanwg, Twrog, Tegai, Trillo, Tecwyn and Llechid. Other reputed followers include

Maël Mael is an old Celtic name from Ireland, Wales and Brittany. Nowadays this first name is popular in France. The French masculine name of Breton origin meaning "chief, prince." It was popularized by a fifth-century saint Maël who lived in Wal ...

and Ilar. Wade-Evans thought ''Kentinlau'', who accompanied Cadfan to

Ceredigion Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cere ...

, should be identified with

Cynllo Saint Cynllo () is a British saint, who lived in the late 5th and early 6th centuries, generally described as a brother of Saint Teilo. Cynllo was known for "...the sanctity of his life and the austerity of his manners." Life Cynllo is various ...

.Wade-Evans, A. W. (1944). ''Vitae Sanctorum Britanniae et Genealogiae''. They may have fled the

Franks The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...

. At

Llangadfan Llangadfan is a small village in Powys, Wales, based in the community of Banwy. The village lies on the A458 between Foel and Llanerfyl, from Llanwddyn. Dyfnant Forest is located nearby. The village is said to be known for its country dances. ...

in northern

Powys Powys (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh succession of states, successor state, petty kingdom and princi ...

he founded a church before moving on to Bardsey. He also established a ''clas'' at

(traditionally the first such ''clas'' in Wales) which became a wealthy site, served by an abbot and clerics from 1147 to 1291, mother church of the

cantref A cantref ( ; ; plural cantrefi or cantrefs; also rendered as ''cantred'') was a medieval Welsh land division, particularly important in the administration of Welsh law. Description Land in medieval Wales was divided into ''cantrefi'', which were ...

Meirionnydd Meirionnydd is a coastal and mountainous region of Wales. It has been a kingdom, a cantref, a district and, as Merionethshire, a county. Kingdom Meirionnydd (Meirion, with -''ydd'' as a Welsh suffix of land, literally ''Land adjoined to Meirio ...

south of the

River Dysynni , name_etymology = , image = Afon Dysynni & Morfa Gwyllt - geograph.org.uk - 194680.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = Dysynni estuary , map = , map_size = , map_caption ...

. His feast day is 1 November.

References

Sources

Biography from the Dictionary of Welsh Biography
*The Welsh Academy

Encyclopaedia of Wales The ''Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales'', published in January 2008, is a single-volume-publication encyclopaedia about Wales. The Welsh-language edition, entitled ''Gwyddoniadur Cymru'' is regarded as the most ambitious encyclopaedic work ...

, University of Wales Press, 2008,

External links

St. Cadfan - Saints & Angels
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cadfan Medieval Breton saints Medieval Welsh saints Companions of Cadfan Roman Catholic monks Welsh Roman Catholic saints Year of birth unknown Year of death missing