Saint Cwyllog (or Cywyllog)Baring-Gould, p. 279. was a Christian holy woman who was active in

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

, Wales, in the early 6th century. The daughter, sister and niece of saints, she is said to have founded

St Cwyllog's Church, Llangwyllog St Cwyllog's Church, Llangwyllog, is a medieval church near Llangwyllog, in Anglesey, north Wales. St Cwyllog founded a church here in the 6th century, although the exact date is unknown. The existence of a church here was recorded in 1254 and p ...

, in the middle of Anglesey, where a church is still dedicated to her.

Life and commemoration

Little is known for certain about Cwyllog (sometimes written as Cywyllog); her dates of birth and death are not given in the sources. She is said to have been one of the daughters of

St Caw King Caw or Cawn ( fl. 495–501 AD) was a semi-legendary king of Strathclyde in Scotland. Very little hard fact is known of him. He flourished in the ''Hen Ogledd'' Period of Sub-Roman Britain and ruled from a castle at ''Alt Clut''. Legend ho ...

. He was a king in northern Britain who lost his lands and sought safety with his family in

, where the ruler

Maelgwn Gwynedd Maelgwn Gwynedd ( la, Maglocunus; died c. 547Based on Phillimore's (1888) reconstruction of the dating of the ''Annales Cambriae'' (A Text).) was king of Gwynedd during the early 6th century. Surviving records suggest he held a pre-eminent position ...

gave him land in the north-east of the island, the district known as

Twrcelyn Twrcelyn is an electoral ward in the north of Anglesey, Wales. It includes the communities of Amlwch, Llanbadrig, Llaneilian, and Rhosybol. Twrcelyn elects three county councillors to the Isle of Anglesey County Council. Twrcelyn was cre ...

. Other saintly relatives of Cwyllog included St Iestyn and St Cyngar (brothers of Caw) and her sisters Cain, Peithian and Gwenafwy as well as various brothers including

St Gildas Gildas ( Breton: ''Gweltaz''; c. 450/500 – c. 570) — also known as Gildas the Wise or ''Gildas Sapiens'' — was a 6th-century British monk best known for his scathing religious polemic ''De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae'', which recounts ...

(although the number of Caw's children varies from 10 to 21 between different manuscripts).Baring-Gould, pp. 92–94 Cwyllog is said to have been the wife of

Mordred Mordred or Modred (; Welsh: ''Medraut'' or ''Medrawt'') is a figure who is variously portrayed in the legend of King Arthur. The earliest known mention of a possibly historical Medraut is in the Welsh chronicle ''Annales Cambriae'', wherein he ...

(or Medrod), the treacherous son and nephew of

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 mother of his sons. According to the 19th-century Welsh antiquarian

Angharad Llwyd Angharad Llwyd (15 April 1780 – 16 October 1866) was a Welsh antiquary and a prizewinner at the National Eisteddfod of Wales. She is generally considered one of the most important collectors and copiers of manuscripts of the period. Biography ...

, in her ''History of Anglesey'', Cwyllog decided to follow a religious life after her husband's death in battle against Arthur at the

Battle of Camlann The Battle of Camlann ( cy, Gwaith Camlan or ''Brwydr Camlan'') is the legendary final battle of King Arthur, in which Arthur either died or was fatally wounded while fighting either with or against Mordred, who also perished. The original leg ...

in 537. She is said to have founded

, towards the middle of Anglesey but within the area granted to her father, in the 6th century. The current church there (which is still dedicated to her) is of a later date, with the walls possibly dating from about 1200. Her

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...

there has been recorded as being 7 January, although this date does not appear in the Welsh calendars of saints. According to critics, Cwyllog may be a fictional creation. Her name could be a back-formation from the place-name Llangwyllog. The original saint of that location would be Gwrddelw, son of Caw, whose feast day is also 7 January. Cwyllog's connection to Mordred originated with readings of

Hector Boece Hector Boece (; also spelled Boyce or Boise; 1465–1536), known in Latin as Hector Boecius or Boethius, was a Scottish philosopher and historian, and the first Principal of King's College in Aberdeen, a predecessor of the University of Abe ...

, who said Mordred's wife was a daughter of Gawolane. Some scholars identified "Gawolane" as Caw of Prydyn, which caused Welsh antiquary

Lewis Morris Lewis Morris (April 8, 1726 – January 22, 1798) was an American Founding Father, landowner, and developer from Morrisania, New York, presently part of Bronx County. He signed the U.S. Declaration of Independence as a delegate to the Continen ...

to list

Gildas Gildas (Breton: ''Gweltaz''; c. 450/500 – c. 570) — also known as Gildas the Wise or ''Gildas Sapiens'' — was a 6th-century British monk best known for his scathing religious polemic ''De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae'', which recounts ...

as Medrawd's brother-in-law and, eventually, “Kwyllog” as Medrawd's wife.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * {{Authority control Medieval Welsh saints 6th-century Christian saints Christian female saints of the Middle Ages

Life and commemoration

See also

References