Saint Tanwg is the patron saint of
Llandanwg
Llandanwg () is a village in the Ardudwy area of Gwynedd, in Llanfair community Wales. It is situated on the coast, has a railway station, and a medieval church in the sand dunes behind the beach which is a Grade II listed building.
The villag ...
,
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
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
. He is presumed to be the founder of
St Tanwg's Church, the small church at Llandanwg near
Harlech
Harlech () is a seaside resort and community in Gwynedd, north Wales and formerly in the historic county of Merionethshire. It lies on Tremadog Bay in the Snowdonia National Park. Before 1966, it belonged to the Meirionydd District of the 197 ...
, although the presence of an inscribed stone which has been dated to the 5th century suggests the church was already in existence when Tanwg and his brothers arrived in the area early in the 6th century. This '' Llandanwg Stone'' is inscribed with two names, one being Ingenui (meaning 'of Ingenuus'); the other is indecipherable. The stone is not local. It is thought to have come from the Wicklow Hills in Ireland. This means that it was probably brought over by a rich person. It is a reasonable conjecture that Ingenuus may have been the founder of the church in the late fifth century, and that St. Tanwg lived at this llan a generation or two later. Another stone, called the ''Equester Stone'', is of 6th century date. It is inscribed ''Equestrinomine'', an unusual form of wording otherwise known only from 4th century inscriptions in Italy and Gaul.
The church building is
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
, probably dating from the 13th century.
The parish church of Harlech was built in 1840 to replace the Llandanwg church is also dedicated to Saint Tanwg.
Saint Tanwg is said to have been the son of Ithel the Generous 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 inland to an indeterminate point and down the Atlantic Coast ...
and the cousin of
St Cadfan.
[The Cambrian Quarterly Magazine and Celtic Repository](_blank)
volume 2 (1830), p. 11. According to ''Enwogion Cymru'', he was 'a saint who lived in the early part of the sixth century. He was one of the sons of
Ithel Hael
Ithel Hael or Ithel Hael o Lydaw was a prince of Armorica who lived in the early part of the sixth century. He was the father of Baglan, Flewyn, Gredifael, Tanwg, Twrog, Tegai, Trillo, Tecwyn and Llechid, saints who accompanied Cadfan Cadf ...
and he accompanied
St Cadfan from Armorica to Britain. ('' Enwogion'' says this was in the time of
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 ...
"who procured wise men and divines from Gaul, now called France, to renovate Christianity in this Island, in consequence of the decay and failure that had befallen the faith in Christ"
but this is impossible as Vortigern ruled from c.425 to c.474. Besides, he is not known to have favoured Christianity.)
St Cadfan reportedly was one of the founders of the college of
Bardsey as a monastery in 516 AD and to have been Abbot there until 542. He was the brother of Sts.
Baglan,
Trillo,
Tegai,
Twrog,
Tecwyn,
Gredifael,
Flewyn and
Llechid, and is commemorated 10 October.
Enwogion Cymru: A Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Welshmen, from the Earliest Times to the Present, and Including Every Name Connected with the Ancient History of Wales
By Robert Williams, Llandovery, 1852.
Gallery
File:Llandanwg_Church_from_the_churchyard.jpg, Llandanwg church from the churchyard
In Christian countries a churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church, which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language and in both Scottish English and Ulster-Scots, this can also ...
File:Llandanwg_Church_from_the_Maes.jpg, Llandanwg church from Y Maes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tanwg
Companions of Cadfan
Medieval Welsh saints