Saint Tydfil ( Welsh: Tudful;

martyred A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In colloquial ...

) is the legendary dedicatee of

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil () is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydfil, daughter of K ...

, Wales. The old parish church of St Tydfil, Merthyr Tydfil, is dedicated to her and is reputed to be the site of her death. According to legend, Tydfil was the twenty-third daughter of

Brychan Brychan ap Anlach of Brycheiniog was a legendary 5th-century king of Brycheiniog (Brecknockshire, alternatively Breconshire) in Mid Wales. Name variations Brychan had Irish ancestry and came from Ireland to Wales, therefore his original name ...

, king of

Brycheiniog Brycheiniog was an independent kingdom in South Wales in the Early Middle Ages. It often acted as a buffer state between England to the east and the south Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth to the west. It was conquered and pacified by the Normans ...

, by his fourth wife. Tydfil was murdered with her brother Rhun in Merthyr Tydfil, by either Welsh pagans or Anglo-Saxon pagans, and buried in the town. No trace remains of her holy well Ffynnon Dydfil, which is thought to have been near the southern end of Well Street in Merthyr Tydfil. The daughter church of St Tydfil's Well is in the area of Merthyr Tydfil known as 'The Quar' (quarry). St Tydfil's Church in Llysworney in the Vale of Glamorgan is dedicated to her, as was a chapel in Llantwit Major church until it was given to

Tewkesbury Abbey The Abbey Church of St Mary the Virgin, Tewkesbury, commonly known as Tewkesbury Abbey, is located in the town of Tewkesbury in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, England. A former Benedictine monastery, it is now a parish church. Conside ...

References

{{reflist Ancient Christian female saints 5th-century women Welsh princesses 5th-century Christian saints 5th-century Christian martyrs Children of Brychan Female saints of medieval Wales People from Powys Year of birth unknown 5th-century Welsh people 480s deaths