Saint Isan was a 6th-century saint of

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

and

Patron Saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholic Church, Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocacy, advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, ...

Llanishen Llanishen (Welsh Llanisien ''llan'' church + ''Isien'' Saint Isan) is a district and community in the north of Cardiff, Wales. Its population as of the 2011 census was 17,417. Llanishen is the home of the former HMRC tax offices, the talle ...

near

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. He was said to have been a follower of the 6th-century Celtic teacher St

Illtyd Saint Illtud (also spelled Illtyd, Eltut, and, in Latin, Hildutus), also known as Illtud Farchog or Illtud the Knight, is venerated as the abbot teacher of the divinity school, Bangor Illtyd, located in Llanilltud Fawr (Llantwit Major) in Gla ...

. In A.D. 535 he and

Saint Edeyrn Saint Edeyrn ( century) was a pre-congregational saint of Wales, related to Vortigern and the royal house of Powys and the brother of Saint Aerdeyrn and Elldeyrn. Edeyrn is the patron saint of Lannédern in France and Llanedeyrn in Wales, where ...

came eastwards from the small religious settlement of

Llandaff Llandaff (; cy, Llandaf ; from 'church' and '' Taf'') is a district, community and coterminous electoral ward in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It was incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of the Bishop of Llandaff, whose ...

, aiming to establish churches, in the area around Caerphilly mountain. The sites they choose had fresh water from the Nant Fawr stream. Isan founded his church on the site of the modern-day Oval at

. His co-worker Edeyrn was reputed to have travelled widely, and as a result there are churches in

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''no ...

and

dedicated to his memory. St Edeyrn gathered together a community of about 300 that lived and worshipped in the

Llanedeyrn Llanedeyrn ( cy, Llanedern) is a former village, now a district and community, in the east of the city of Cardiff, Wales, located around 3.5 miles from the city centre. The parish of Llanedeyrn rests on the banks of the river Rhymney and is visi ...

area. Isan is remembered in churches at

Llanishen, Monmouthshire Llanishen ( cy, Llanisien) is a village in Monmouthshire, south east Wales, United Kingdom. It is located south west of Monmouth and south of Trellech on the B4293 road, although the main part of the village is set immediately to the west of ...

and

, Cardiff.

References

Medieval Welsh saints 6th-century Christian saints 6th-century births Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown 6th-century Welsh people {{Saint-stub