Saint Tathan (also known as Tatheus) is claimed to be a fifth or sixth century Celtic saint, who travelled from

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

where he founded a Christian church. He is reckoned an early abbot of

Caerwent Caerwent ( cy, Caer-went) is a village and community in Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located about five miles west of Chepstow and 11 miles east of Newport. It was founded by the Romans as the market town of ''Venta Silurum'', an important sett ...

Hando, F.J., (1958) "Out and About in Monmouthshire", R. H. Johns, Newport and has dedications at

Llanvaches Llanvaches or Llanfaches is a village and community parish within the boundaries of the city of Newport, Wales. It lies to the east of the urban area, in the historic county of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent. The population r ...

, near Caerwent, also known as Llandathan,

William Jenkins Rees William Jenkins Rees (10 January 1772 – 18 January 1855) was a Welsh cleric and antiquary.Dictionary of ...

, ''Lives of the Cambro British Saints'' (1853)
Chapter V 'Life of Saint Tathan', page 591
Retrieved 2012-05-07. and at

St Athan St Athan ( cy, Sain Tathan) is a village and community (Wales), community in the Vale of Glamorgan in South Wales. The village and its parish church are dedicated to Saint Tathan. The church dates to the 13th–14th century, though an earlier ch ...

. He is said to have been a teacher of

Cadoc Saint Cadoc or Cadog ( lat-med, Cadocus; also Modern Welsh: Cattwg; born or before) was a 5th–6th-century Abbot of Llancarfan, near Cowbridge in Glamorgan, Wales, a monastery famous from the era of the British church as a centre of learni ...

and to have brought light to the heathens to undo the work of Satan.

Origins

William Jenkins Rees, in his book ''Lives of the Cambro British Saints'', describes Tathan as the only son of the Irish King Tathetus. Tathan received a good education and devoted himself to spiritual matters. In preference to succeeding his father as king, Tathan followed the advice of an angel and sailed from Ireland to Britain, taking eight disciples with him. His boat sailed up the

River Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...

and landed in the medieval

Kingdom of Gwent Gwent ( owl, Guent) was a medieval Welsh kingdom, lying between the Rivers Wye and Usk. It existed from the end of Roman rule in Britain in about the 5th century until the Norman invasion of Wales in the 11th century. Along with its neighb ...

.William Jenkins Rees, "Lives of the Cambro British Saints" (1853)
Chapter V 'Life of Saint Tathan'
reproduced on Celtic Christianity website. Retrieved 2012-05-07. Tathan was feted by King Caradoc and founded a

monastic school Monastic schools ( la, Scholae monasticae) were, along with cathedral schools, the most important institutions of higher learning in the Latin West from the early Middle Ages until the 12th century. Since Cassiodorus's educational program, the st ...

Venta Silurum Venta Silurum was a town in the Roman province of ''Britannia'' or Britain. Today it consists of remains in the village of Caerwent in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. Much of it has been archaeologically excavated and is on display to the publ ...

(Caerwent). Scholars came from all parts to be instructed there. King

Gwynllyw Gwynllyw Filwr or Gwynllyw Farfog (), known in English in a corrupted form as Woolos the Warrior or Woolos the Bearded ( la, Gundleus, Gundleius or Gwenleue; 450 – 500 AD) was a Welsh king and religious figure. He was King of Gwynllwg in Sout ...

of Gwynllwg sent his seven-year-old son,

to study under Tathan.Pickering, W., ''Archaeologia Cambrensis'', 1904
/ref> With a donation from Caradoc's son, Ynyr, Tathan then founded a Christian church.

References

Medieval Welsh saints Medieval Irish saints Welsh mythology 6th-century Christian saints St Athan {{saint-stub