Inside St Cadfan's Church,

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 lo ...

, Gwynedd is an inscribed stone cross called the Cadfan Stone (or the ''Tywyn Stone''). On it are the earliest known inscriptions in the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). Historically, it has ...

, specifically in Old Welsh. Recent scholarship dates the inscriptions to the 9th century. They were previously considered to be older.

Ifor Williams Sir Ifor Williams, (16 April 1881 – 4 November 1965) was a Welsh scholar who laid the foundations for the academic study of Old Welsh, particularly early Welsh poetry. Early life and education Ifor Williams was born at Pendinas, Tregarth near ...

dated them to the 8th century, and a late 7th century or early 8th century date was suggested by

Kenneth H. Jackson Prof Kenneth Hurlstone Jackson CBE FRSE FSA DLitt (1 November 1909 – 20 February 1991) was an English linguistics, linguist and a translator who specialised in the Celtic languages. He demonstrated how the text of the Ulster Cycle of tales, wr ...

. A date between the 7th century and the 9th century is suggested by ''Coflein'', the website of the

Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW; cy, Comisiwn Brenhinol Henebion Cymru; ), established in 1908, is a Welsh Government sponsored body concerned with some aspects of the archaeological, architectur ...

. Originally the stone stood over 2.3 metres tall, but it now measures 2.18m tall by 0.25m and 0.2m. Below is the interpretation given in the most recent study of the stone (sides A, B, C and D) by Nancy Edwards. ;A/D. ''Tengr(um)ui cimalted gu(reic) / Adgan // anterunc du But Marciau'' 'Tengrumui wedded wife of Adgan (lies) fairly near ('' or '' very near) to Bud (and) Marciau (''or'' But Marciau).' ;A. ''m(ortci)c ar tr(i)'' 'The mortal remains of the three' ;B/C. ''Cun ben Celen // tricet nitanam'' 'Cun woman (''or'' wife of Celyn), a mortal wound remains.' ;C. ''mort/cic pe/tuar'' 'The mortal remains of four' Despite its undoubted significance, the Cadfan Stone has been given relatively little attention from Welsh authors and poets. Exceptions include the poems 'Cofebion Tywyn' by

Owain Owain Owain Owain (11 December 1929 – 19 December 1993) was a Welsh novelist, short-story writer and poet. He also founded '' Tafod y Ddraig'' (The Dragon's Tongue), which became the Welsh Language Society's main voice from its birth in the 1960 ...

and 'Y boen' by Myrddin ap Dafydd.Myrddin ap Dafydd, ''Clawdd Cam'' (Llanrwst, 2003), p. 32.

References

{{reflist Monuments and memorials in Gwynedd Welsh literature