Saint Tecwyn is the patron saint and founder of
Llandecwyn in the
Welsh county of
Gwynedd
Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...
.
Tecwyn (sometimes transliterated as Tegwyn - feminine version Tegwen; and sometimes anglicised as Teckwyn) was a 6th-century Welsh saint who founded the church at Llandecwyn, having come to Wales early in the
Age of the Saints. It is believed that Tecwyn was the brother of
Saint Tanwg of
Llandanwg,
Saint Twrog of
Maentwrog,
Saint Tegai of
Llandegai and
Saint Baglan of
Llanfaglan and
Baglan.
According to Enwogion Cymru, he was the son of
Ithel Hael o Lydaw of
Brittany
Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...
, and arrived in Britain with
Saint Cadfan, in the time of
Vortigern
Vortigern (; , ; ; ; Old Breton: ''Gurdiern'', ''Gurthiern''; ; , , , etc.), also spelled Vortiger, Vortigan, Voertigern and Vortigen, was a 5th-century warlord in Sub-Roman Britain, Britain, known perhaps as a king of the Britons or at least ...
"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." The
Breton language at this time would have been very close to the Welsh of the period. He was a member of the college of
Bardsey which was founded as a monastery in 516 AD.
The church of
Llanfihangel-y-traethau, a few miles to the southwest of Llandecwyn, has a window depicting Saint Tecwyn and is the start of the Saint Tecwyn's Way, a pilgrimage route between the two churches.
References
Video
LLANDECWYN CHURCHon
YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
Companions of Cadfan
Medieval Welsh saints
6th-century Christian saints
People from Merionethshire
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