Saint Tydecho was a 6th century saint of Wales. The life of Saint Padarn described Tydecho as one of the

saints In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Orth ...

who came to Wales from

Armorica Armorica or Aremorica ( Gaulish: ; br, Arvorig, ) is the name given in ancient times to the part of Gaul between the Seine and the Loire that includes the Brittany Peninsula, extending inland to an indeterminate point and down the Atlantic Co ...

. There are questions as to whether this place was

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period o ...

or an area in southeast Wales which is known for its saints. Tydecho was the son of Amwn Ddu (himself son of

Emyr Llydaw Budic II ( lat-med, Budicius; cy, Budig or '; ), formerly known as Budick, was a king of Cornouaille in Brittany in the late 5th and early 6th centuries. He was father of Hoel as well as several Celtic saints. Life Budic II was born in Cornou ...

) and a cousin of Saint Cadfan, with whom he travelled Wales. He is said to have come to Wales during the time of King Arthur and became an anchorite after the great king's death. Tydecho lived with his sister Tegfedd in the Mawddwy area and was the founder of churches at

Llanymawddwy Llanymawddwy () is a village in Gwynedd, Wales, which is to the north of the larger village of Dinas Mawddwy, on the minor road which connects Dinas Mawddwy to Llanuwchllyn over Bwlch y Groes. The most notable building is the parish church dedi ...

Mallwyd Mallwyd () is a small village at the most southern end of Gwynedd, Wales in the Dinas Mawddwy community, in the valley of the River Dyfi. It lies on the A470 approximately halfway between Dolgellau and Machynlleth, and forms the junction of the ...

, Garthbeibio and Cemmaes. Tydecho is also credited with founding a chapel, ''Capel Tydecho'', in Llandegfan. Tydecho acquired some of the land for his churches by interesting means. His sister Tegfedd was a beautiful woman who attracted the attention of a wealthy man named Cynon, who kidnapped her as he was so taken by her beauty. Tydecho caught up with the man and forced him to release his sister. He was also able to convince Cynon to compensate for his misdeed by ceding some land to Tydecho for a church at Garthbeibio. Legends record the young prince of

Gwynedd Gwynedd (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the North West Wales, north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County B ...

, Maelgwn Gwynedd, as a chief tormentor of the saint. Tydecho, who slept on rocks, wore a

hair shirt A cilice , also known as a sackcloth, was originally a garment or undergarment made of coarse cloth or animal hair (a hairshirt) worn close to the skin. It is used by members of various Christian traditions (including the Catholic, Lutheran, ...

and engaged in agriculture, used oxen to plough his fields. The prince decided to make off with Tydecho's team. A visit to Tydecho's land the next day found him using a pair of wild stags to plough with a grey wolf pulling the

harrow Harrow may refer to: Places * Harrow, Victoria, Australia * Harrow, Ontario, Canada * The Harrow, County Wexford, a village in Ireland * London Borough of Harrow, England ** Harrow, London, a town in London ** Harrow (UK Parliament constituency) ...

behind them. The angry prince brought dogs to chase off the deer and sat down on a rock to watch the spectacle. When he tried to rise, Gwynedd was unable to do so. His only choice was to make apologies to the saint and beg forgiveness. Among the known concessions were: Tydecho's land was a sanctuary for both men and beasts and exempt from mortuaries, claims and any oppression. Another legend says that a milkmaid working for Tydecho slipped when crossing the river and her pail of milk spilled into the water. Tydecho's response to the accident was to turn the river from its source to the village of Llanymawddwy into a stream of milk; he called this section Llaethnant. The Welsh poets

Dafydd Llwyd ap Llywelyn ap Gruffudd Dafydd Llwyd ap Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, usually referred to as Dafydd Llwyd o Fathafarn (fl. c.1400–c.1490) was a Welsh language poet, a native of Mathafarn, Powys. The bulk of Dafydd Llwyd's surviving poetry is characterised by his hopes and ...

and Matthew Brwmffild have both written poems about St. Tydecho: "The Legend of St Tydecho" and "St. Tydecho, and the Two Parishes of Mawddwy". A feast day is celebrated on 17 December.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tydecho Medieval Welsh saints 6th-century Welsh people 6th-century Christian saints Armorica