The twenty-ninth of March, in the Orthodox Church, is dedicated to the memory of a Welsh husband and wife who, while perhaps not the best exemplars of saintliness in their early lives, exemplified in their marriage the love and practical holiness that all such couples might aspire to. Saint Gwynllyw and Saint Gwladys – lovers, spouses, parents, co-rulers and ultimately hermits – are given their individual due as saints but are remembered together on the Calendar.
Gwynllyw [also Woolos or Gundleus] was the son of Glywys Cernyw, a semi-legendary king of southcentral Wales, and his wife Gwawl. He was one of twenty-two siblings, among whom was Saint Pedrog. He flourished as a youth and excelled in arms, and he came to maturity as an arms-bearing retainer in his father’s service. After Glywys died, Saint Gwynllyw saw to the apportioning of his realm under the custom of cyfran. Such systems of inheritance were ripe for abuse, and very often brothers would betray each other for advantage in the inheritance. But Saint Gwynllyw divided the lands of his father impartially and did not interfere in his brothers’ claims. Gwynllyw ruled in Glamorgan, and was renowned as a just and fair ruler to both rich and poor within his own cantrefs; there was no civil strife in his realm and travellers were safe on his roads.
Being single, however, his advisers and the representatives of the folk advised him to take a wife. He had one and only one woman in mind. He sent messengers to Brychan King of Brycheiniog, to ask his blessing to marry his eldest daughter Gwladys. The Life of Gwynllyw implies that she was promised to him and given in marriage willingly. However, the Life of their son, Saint Cadog Ddoeth, tells a different tale. In this telling, Brychan, ‘full of anger, refused to bestow his daughter on [Gwynllyw]’, and ‘slighted the messengers and dismissed them without honour’. Gwynllyw, on receiving his messengers again, wasted no time but called up three hundred young men from his retinue and marched on Talgarth. Gwynllyw saw Gwladys sitting outside with some of her sisters, and had his men grab her and ride off. As soon as they were clear of Talgarth, Gwynllyw asked Gwladys to ride with him on his horse.
Brychan gave chase, and caught up with the fleeing men of Glamorgan. Of the three hundred young men that had entered Brycheiniog, two hundred were caught and slain by Brychan’s men. Gwynllyw broke free of the snare with Gwladys, only to be seen and stopped by the tyrant Arthur and two of his retainers, Cai and Bedwyr. Arthur was taken with desire for Gwladys himself, but Cai and Bedwyr warned him against taking her. Instead, Arthur was convinced to intervene on Gwynllyw’s behalf against Brychan, and he chased Brychan back within his own borders. He later sent messengers to both sub-kings and made them reconcile.
Still, both Lives relate that Gwladys was happy with her new husband. She conceived, and bore Saint Cadog. This birth was marked with portents – four fiery lights stood at the four corners of the house where Saint Gwladys rested while she was pregnant. When Saint Cadog was born, the still rather-violent Gwynllyw took his men and went on a celebratory raid in Gwent. His men came upon the hermitage of a certain Gælic holy man named Tathyw [also called Meuthi or Meuthius]. They took from him his only means of sustenance: his milk-cow and her calf. Tathyw took to his heels after the raiders from Glamorgan, and followed them all the way back to Fochriw, where he demanded that the king return his cow. Saint Gwladys prevailing over her husband’s excesses, she convinced Gwynllyw not only to return the cow to Saint Tathyw but also to ask him to baptise their newborn son. Tathyw did this willingly, and gave him the baptismal name of Cadfael.
Saint Tathyw was kept on as young Cadog’s tutor, and raised him to venerate Christ and to do right to all. Whatever goods Cadog received, whatever gifts his father and mother gave to him, these quickly found their way out of his hands and into those of the poor and needy. Cadog took no delight in fine clothes or amusements or sumptuous banquets at Fochriw, but instead preferred a diet of bread and water, dressed simply, and attended the Liturgy. Gwynllyw, distressed at seeing his son prefer ‘low’ things to ‘high’ (as seen from a perspective of worldly vainglory), attempted to force him to join his retainers in war. But Cadog would not.
Instead, Cadog took to admonishing his parents on the transitory vanities of their courtly life, and encouraging them to prepare their souls for the heavenly kingdom instead. Apparently Cadog was quite persuasive, for Gwynllyw accepted baptism and agreed to mend his ways – particularly his raiding and making war on his neighbours.
It was shortly thereafter that a vision occurred to Saint Gwynllyw – in it an angel showed him a white ox with a very peculiar marking: a black spot, in the middle of its forehead, just below its horns. The angel told Gwynllyw that for the love of Christ who had redeemed him, he must put aside all worldly things and live a life of solitary repentance, in a place which would be shown to him by this very ox. When he awoke, Saint Gwynllyw recounted his dream to his entire court, and no sooner was this done but he made arrangements to leave the government in the hands of his son Cadog, and left Fochriw together with Gwladys to take up his eremitical life.
He found the white ox with the black mark just as the angel had told him, in a spot of land which was then yet uncultivated. He named the place Dutelych in honour of the white ox (modern day Stow Hill in Newport), and set up his hermitage there. He used oxen to cultivate the land around his hermitage, and he was blessed and assisted in his efforts by Saint Dyfrig, at that time Bishop of Llandaf. Saint Gwladys, his wife, settled off in a spot one furlong distant, in a bend on the river Ebbw. Both Saints Gwynllyw and Gwladys lived lives of austere reflection and repentance, wearing hair shirts, drinking only water and eating barley bread mixed with ashes. When they met they would talk only of holy things, and not of the idle amusements of the court they had left. Even so, living off even as far from each other as they did, they were apparently no less immune to temptation, having been earthly husband and wife for so long. When Saint Cadog came to visit them, he sternly upbraided his father and made his mother move off seven furlongs further, into a mountain retreat at Basaleg where wild animals were her only company.
Both Saint Gwynllyw and Saint Gwladys spent the rest of their lives in solitary ascetic struggle. As he was reaching the end of his life, Gwynllyw was visited by both Saints Cadog and Dyfrig; Dyfrig even administered to him the last rites and the Holy Gifts before he reposed, probably in the year 523. Gwynllyw and Gwladys are remembered together on the twenty-ninth of March. Gwynllyw is associated with a holy well in Newport, which sprang forth in answer to his prayers. Holy Gwynllyw and holy Gwladys, righteous monarchs and venerable anchorites, bound close in both earthly and in heavenly love each in due season, pray unto Christ our God that our souls may be saved!
Rejoice, thrice-blessed Gwladys,
Daughter of King Brychan,
Wife of holy Gwynllyw and mother of Saint Cadog.
O worthy Gwynllyw,
Thou didst forsake thy pagan warfare to fight as a Christian ascetic
And didst end thy days as a hermit.
We praise you, Gwladys and Gwynllyw.
Vision of St Gwynllyw, Newport, Wales
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