Saint Cynllo () is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

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 ...

, 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 variously described in the genealogical ''

Bonedd y Saint The ''Bonedd y Saint'' or ''Seint'' (Welsh for "Descent of the Saints") is a Welsh genealogical tract detailing the lineages of the early British saints In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degr ...

'' as the son of Usyllt and brother of

Teilo Saint Teilo ( la, Teliarus or '; br, TeliauWainewright, John. in ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'', Vol. XIV. Robert Appleton Co. (New York), 1912. Accessed 20 July 2013. or '; french: Télo or '; – 9 February ), also known by his C ...

. Later genealogies have him a grandson of

Coel Hen Coel (Old Welsh: ''Coil''), also called ''Coel Hen'' (Coel the Old) and King Cole, is a figure prominent in Welsh literature and legend since the Middle Ages. Early Welsh tradition knew of a Coel Hen, a 4th-century leader in Roman Britain, Rom ...

.Baring-Gould, Sabine. ''The Lives of the British Saints: The Saints of Wales and Cornwall and Such Irish Saints as Have Dedications in Britain'', Vol. 2, C. J. Clark, 1908, p. 263
/ref> Wade-Evans thought he should be identified with ''Kentinlau'' who accompanied

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 E ...

from

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 ...

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 ...

. References to him as ''Cynllo Vrenin'' (Cynllo the King) suggest that he was in possession of his ancestral dominions before devoting himself to religious life.Williams, Robert. ''A biographical dictionary of eminent Welshmen'', W. Rees, 1852, p. 93
/ref> Cynllo's knee imprints, made as he said his devotions, are said to exist in a rock, near the farm Felin Gynllo, which lies just outside

Llangoedmor Llangoedmor is a village 2 miles east of Cardigan, Ceredigion, Wales. It is also the name of a community Council which encompasses Llechryd, Pant-gwyn, Ceredigion, and Neuadd Wilym. Llangoedmor ( cy, the church the great wood), is derived fro ...

in Ceredigion. A

Middle Welsh Middle Welsh ( cy, Cymraeg Canol, wlm, Kymraec) is the label attached to the Welsh language of the 12th to 15th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This form of Welsh developed directly from Old Welsh ( cy, Hen G ...

poem, ''The Consolations of Elffin'', attributed to the infant

Taliesin Taliesin ( , ; 6th century AD) was an early Brittonic poet of Sub-Roman Britain whose work has possibly survived in a Middle Welsh manuscript, the '' Book of Taliesin''. Taliesin was a renowned bard who is believed to have sung at the courts ...

includes the line, ''Ni bydd coeg gweddi Cynllo'', "The prayer of Cynllo will not be in vain." Several churches are dedicated in his honour, but there is no reliable account of him. Churches and chapels were dedicated to him over almost the whole of Gwerthrynion and

Maelienydd Maelienydd, sometimes spelt Maeliennydd, was a cantref and lordship in east central Wales covering the area from the River Teme to Radnor Forest and the area around Llandrindod Wells. The area, which is mainly upland, is now in Powys. During the M ...

. There is a church in

commemorating Saint Cynllo at Llangynllo (said to stand on the site of his monastic cell) and

Nantcwnlle Nantcwnlle is a community in Ceredigion, Wales, including the villages of Talsarn, Ceredigion Talsarn is a hamlet in the community of Nantcwnlle, Ceredigion, Wales. It lies some 16 miles (26 km) south of Aberystwyth, 64 miles (103 ...

, and also the church of St Cynllo in the

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

Nantmel Nantmel is a village and a community in Radnorshire, Powys, Wales, and is 76.5 miles (123.1 km) from Cardiff and 150.5 miles (242.2 km) from London. In 2011 the population of Nantmel was 621 with 11.8% of them able to speak Welsh. The po ...

in the historic county of

Radnorshire , HQ = Presteigne , Government = Radnorshire County Council (1889–1974) Radnorshire District Council (1974–1996) , Origin = , Status = historic county, administrative county , Start ...

, now part of

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 ...

, and at

Llangynllo Llangunllo (sometimes Llangynllo) is a village and community in central Powys (formerly in Radnorshire), Wales, located about 5 miles west of Knighton. It is named after St Cynllo. The population of the community at the 2011 census was 369. It ...

west of Knighton. The latter was almost totally rebuilt in the late 18th century. Cynllo was so popular that even when the Normans changed the dedication of the church in Rhayader to Saint Clements, locals still held Cynllo’s feastday there. Near St Cynllo's Church,

Llanbister Llanbister is a small village and community with a 2011 population of 382 in Powys, mid Wales, in the historic county of Radnorshire. Facilities The village is not directly served by a railway station: the nearest is Llanbister Road railway s ...

was a spring called ''Pistyll Cynllo''.

Feast day

By the fifteenth century St. Cynllo's feast day had been set as 17 July, although Baring-Gould, quoting the sixteenth century ''Haford'' MS, shows August 8. Cynllo does not appear on the Roman Catholic National Calendar for Wales, although every parish is encouraged to celebrate its patronal feast. The calendar indicates that "Where no other indication is given the celebration is an optional memorial.""National Calendar for Wales", Liturgical Office England and Wales
/ref> A new calendar for the Church in Wales was produced in 2003; Cynllo does not appear in that either although both the Catholic and Anglican calendars have a general commemoration in November for Welsh saints. Those parishes which continue to commemorate Cynllo appear to conform to the 17 July.

References

Sources

*Haslam, Richard (1979). ''The Buildings of Wales: Powys''. *Wade-Evans, A. W. (1944). ''Vitae Sanctorum Britanniae et Genealogiae''.

External links

Catholic on-line:
St Cynllo {{authority control Southwestern Brythonic saints 6th-century Christian saints Companions of Cadfan