Saint Tysilio (also known as/confused with Saint Suliac; ; died 640 AD) was a Welsh bishop, prince and scholar.

Sources

The 12th century poet Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr wrote "An Ode to Tysilio". There is a genealogy of Tysilio in the Bonedd y Saint, and he is mentioned in the 14th century ''vita'' of Saint Beuno. Although there is no extent ''vita'' of Tysilio, apparently in the 15th century some Breton clerics used details from the life of Tysilio to construct a ''legenda'' for their own Saint Suliac. Thus, they indirectly preserved some information regarding Tysilio (and also caused some confusion between the two). "Suliau" has been used an alternate variation for Tysilio and has sometimes led to his being confused with the Cornish saint Sulien.

Life

Tyslio was the second son of the reigning King of

Powys Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...

, Brochwel Ysgithrog,"Llandysilio - St. Tysilio's Church, Anglesey History
and the maternal nephew of the great Abbot Dunod of Bangor Iscoed. He took part in the affairs of

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 ...

during the distressful period at the opening of the 7th century. Tysilio probably started his career in Trallwng Llywelyn (

Welshpool Welshpool ( ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community in Powys, Wales, historically in the Historic counties of Wales, county of Montgomeryshire. The town is from the Wales–England border and low-lying on the River Severn. The c ...

) and afterwards took up residence in Meifod where he studied under Gwyddfarch. Around 630, Tysilio moved to an island in the

Menai Strait The Menai Strait () is a strait which separates the island of Anglesey from Gwynedd, on the mainland of Wales. It is situated between Caernarfon Bay in the south-west and Conwy Bay in the north-east, which are both inlets of the Irish Sea. The s ...

, (now called ''Ynys Tysilio'', where he established a hermitage, and preached throughout Ynys Môn for the next seven years. He then returned to Meifod, where he talked the aging abbot out of making a pilgrimage to Rome. Eventually, Tysilio succeeded Gwyddfarch as abbot. King Brochwel, who was fond of hunting, spent his summers in the Vale of Meifod. On his visits to Mathrafal, he often visited the shrine of Saint Gwyddfarch. Brochwel bestowed the bishopric of that part of his kingdom on his son, Tysilio. He founded the second church in Meifod—the ''Eglwys Tysilio''. His feast day, or ''gwyl-mabsant'', was 8 November which was also the date of the patronal festival and "wakes" in the nearby parish of Guilsfield, where a holy well was dedicated to him—the ''Fons Tysilio''. Tysilio is traditionally said to be the original author of the ''Brut Tysilio'', a variant of the Welsh chronicle '' Brut y Brenhinedd'', Brynley F. Roberts, ''Brut y Brenhinedd'', Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1971, pp. xxiv-xxxi although Brynley F. Roberts has demonstrated that the ''Brut Tysilio'' originated around 1500 as an "amalgam" of earlier versions of the ''Brut y Brenhinedd'', which itself derives from Geoffrey of Monmouth's 12th-century Latin ''

Historia Regum Britanniae (''The History of the Kings of Britain''), originally called (''On the Deeds of the Britons''), is a fictitious account of British history, written around 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. It chronicles the lives of the List of legendary kings o ...

.''

Place names

Today Tysilio's name is remembered in several church and place names in Wales, including Llandysilio in

, Llandissilio in

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and ...

, Llandysiliogogo in

Ceredigion Ceredigion (), historically Cardiganshire (, ), is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the West Wales, west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the River Dyfi, Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire t ...

and Llantysilio in Denbighshire with Llantysilio Hall, a Grade II listed building. It appears in the longest place name in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, '' Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch'', part of which (shown bold here) means "the Church of St. Tysilio". That name, however, is a late 19th-century invention for the burgeoning tourist industry in the area.

References

Bibliography

*Roberts, Brynley F. (ed.). ''Brut y Brenhinedd'' (Llanstephan MS 1), ''Brut y Brenhinedd. Llanstephan MS. 1 version. Selections''. Mediaeval and Modern Welsh series 5. Dublin, 1971. Extracts and discussion. *Simpson Jones, T. and Owen, R. (1901), "A History of the Parish of Guilsfield (Cedigva)", ''Montgomery Collections''; 31, 129–200.

Sources

Life

Place names

References

Bibliography

Further reading