Tyfei (early 6th century) was a

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, 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 ...

and

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

of the medieval Welsh church.

Life

Tyfei ap Budic was the second son of

Budic II of Brittany Budic II (; 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 Cornouaille to a member of its roy ...

and his second wife, Anowed or Arianwedd, the daughter of

Saint Issel Saint Issel or Issell ( or ''Usyllt'') was a 6th-century Welsh saint in Celtic Christianity. He lived in the Kingdom of Dyfed and is principally notable as being the father of Saint Teilo. His name appears in many forms in surviving texts, but s ...

and sister of

Saint Teilo Saint Teilo ( or '; Wainewright, John. in ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'', Vol. XIV. Robert Appleton Co. (New York), 1912. Accessed 20 July 2013. or '; or '; – 9 February ), also known as Eliud, was a British Christian monk, bish ...

. The young Tyfei attempted to intervene in a heated argument between a swineherd and the owner of a field the animals had trespassed. In the course of the confrontation, Tyfei sustained an accidental, 'though lethal wound from a javelin. Tyfei was buried at Penalun (Penally) in Dyfed.

Veneration

Although his death was apparently accidental, veneration of Tyfei was likely due to his family connections, and he is sometimes called a martyr. At the time, Budic was in exile, a cousin having usurped his throne in

Cornouaille Cornouaille (; , ) is a historical region on the west coast of Brittany in West France. The name is cognate with Cornwall in neighbouring Great Britain. This can be explained by the settlement of Cornouaille by migrant princes from Cornwall ...

. Patricia Healy Wasyliw suggests "...that the legend may mask a political assassination". Churches were dedicated to St. Tyfei at Llandyfeisant, and

Lamphey Lamphey ( ) is both a village, a parish and a Community (Wales), community near the south coast of Pembrokeshire, Wales, approximately east of the town of Pembroke, Pembrokeshire, Pembroke, and north of the seaside village of Freshwater East. ...

References

Sources

* Medieval Welsh saints {{saint-stub