Saint Tanwg is the patron saint of

Llandanwg Llandanwg () is a village in the Llanfair community of the Ardudwy area of Gwynedd, Wales. Situated on the coast, it has a railway station and a Grade II listed medieval church. The village Llandanwg is situated to the west of the A496 coasta ...

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 ...

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

. He is presumed to be the founder of St Tanwg's Church, the small church at Llandanwg near

Harlech Harlech () is a seaside resort and community (Wales), community in Gwynedd, North Wales, and formerly in the Historic counties of Wales, historic county of Merionethshire. It lies on Tremadog Bay in the Snowdonia National Park. Before 1966, it ...

, although the presence of an inscribed stone which has been dated to the 5th century suggests the church was already in existence when Tanwg and his brothers arrived in the area early in the 6th century. This '' Llandanwg Stone'' is inscribed with two names, one being Ingenui (meaning 'of Ingenuus'); the other is indecipherable. The stone is not local. It is thought to have come from the Wicklow Hills in Ireland. This means that it was probably brought over by a rich person. It is a reasonable conjecture that Ingenuus may have been the founder of the church in the late fifth century, and that St. Tanwg lived at this llan a generation or two later. Another stone, called the ''Equester Stone'', is of 6th century date. It is inscribed ''Equestrinomine'', an unusual form of wording otherwise known only from 4th century inscriptions in Italy and Gaul. The church building is

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

, probably dating from the 13th century. The parish church of Harlech was built in 1840 to replace the Llandanwg church is also dedicated to Saint Tanwg. Saint Tanwg is said to have been the son of Ithel the Generous of

Armorica In ancient times, Armorica or Aremorica (Gaulish: ; ; ) was a region of Gaul between the Seine and the Loire that includes the Brittany Peninsula, and much of historical Normandy. Name The name ''Armorica'' is a Latinized form of the Gauli ...

and the cousin of St Cadfan.The Cambrian Quarterly Magazine and Celtic Repository
volume 2 (1830), p. 11. According to ''Enwogion Cymru'', he was 'a saint who lived in the early part of the sixth century. He was one of the sons of

Ithel Hael Ithel Hael ("Ithel the Generous") or Ithel Hael o Lydaw was a prince of Armorica In ancient times, Armorica or Aremorica (Gaulish: ; ; ) was a region of Gaul between the Seine and the Loire that includes the Brittany Peninsula, and much of h ...

and he accompanied St Cadfan from Armorica to Britain. ('' Enwogion'' says this was 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" but this is impossible as Vortigern ruled from c.425 to c.474. Besides, he is not known to have favoured Christianity.) St Cadfan reportedly was one of the founders of the college of Bardsey as a monastery in 516 AD and to have been Abbot there until 542. He was the brother of Sts. Baglan, Trillo, Tegai, Twrog, Tecwyn, Gredifael, Flewyn and Llechid, and is commemorated 10 October.Enwogion Cymru: A Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Welshmen, from the Earliest Times to the Present, and Including Every Name Connected with the Ancient History of Wales
By Robert Williams, Llandovery, 1852.

Gallery

File:Llandanwg_Church_from_the_churchyard.jpg, Llandanwg church from the

churchyard In Christian countries, a churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church (building), church, which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language and in both Scottish English and Ulster S ...

File:Llandanwg_Church_from_the_Maes.jpg, Llandanwg church from Y Maes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tanwg Companions of Cadfan Medieval Welsh saints