Cenydd
Encyclopedia
Cenydd was a Christian hermit
saint
who lived in Britain in Gower
and in France in Brittany, probably in the 6th century. He should not be confused with Saint Kenneth (Saint Canice
), the Irish
saint popular in Scotland
.
According to the unreliable Iolo Morganwg
, Cenydd was a son of Gildas
, and married and had a son before entering Llanilltud Fawr
as a monk
under Saint Illtud
. But place-name evidence indicates only that he was the founder of the church of Llangennith
on the Gower Peninsula
and travelled to Brittany
, where his cultus is centred around Languidic
. He also had a chapel
at Ploumelin.
Cenydd's unusual legend was collected in the 15th century by John Capgrave
from Welsh
sources, and is found in the Nova Legenda Angliae. According to this, the saint was a Breton
prince
, the son of King 'Dihoc' (presumably Deroch II of Domnonée) born of incest
apparently at Loughor
in Glamorgan
while his father was attending King Arthur
. As an unwanted cripple, Cenydd was placed in a cradle
made of osiers, cast into the estuary of the River Loughor
and eventually landed on 'Ynys Weryn' or Worm's Head island. Here seagulls and angel
ic interventions, involving a miraculous
breast
-shaped bell, ensured that he survived, and that he was educated as a Christian
. He became a hermit
, his only companion being an untrustworthy servant, whose dishonesty was revealed when he stole a spear
from one of a group of robbers who had been hospitably received by his master. According to the legend Saint David
later cured Cenydd of his deformity while travelling to the Synod of Brefi
in 545 but the hermit preferred to remain as he was born and prayed for his previous condition to be restored. The story breaks off abruptly at this point.
suggest the historical existence of Cenydd. His legend, however, appears to be pure fabrication.
Cenydd's feast day is celebrated at Llangennith on 5 July (colloquially referred to as his 'Mapsant day', from the Welsh words 'sant' - holy, and 'mab' - son: see also 'Gŵyl Mabsant
'). Up to the early twentieth century the festival was traditionally marked by the displaying of an effigy of a bird from a pole on the church tower, symbolising the legendary birds who cared for the infant Cenydd, and the consumption of whitepot or 'milked meat' a dish made of flour, milk, sugar and dried fruits, not unlike a rice pudding or bread and butter pudding
(see also Cuisine of Gower
). The practice has been revived in recent years. William Worcester
also records the feast of his translation, apparently to somewhere in North Wales
, on 27 June.
An incised stone monument featuring images apparently of the Cenydd legend was discovered during renovation work at St Mungo's Church, Dearham
(Cumbria) in the 1880s and is displayed there as 'the Kenneth Stone'. The Saint's connection with Cumbria is currently unexplained.
Hermit
A hermit is a person who lives, to some degree, in seclusion from society.In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a religious conviction, namely the Desert Theology of the Old Testament .In the...
saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
who lived in Britain in Gower
Gower Peninsula
Gower or the Gower Peninsula is a peninsula in south Wales, jutting from the coast into the Bristol Channel, and administratively part of the City and County of Swansea. Locally it is known as "Gower"...
and in France in Brittany, probably in the 6th century. He should not be confused with Saint Kenneth (Saint Canice
Saint Canice
Saint Cainnech of Aghaboe , also known as Saint Canice in Ireland, Saint Kenneth in Scotland, Saint Kenny and in Latin Saint Canicus, was a gaelic abbot, monastic founder, priest and missionary during the early medieval period. Cainnech is one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland and preached...
), the Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
saint popular in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
According to the unreliable Iolo Morganwg
Iolo Morganwg
Edward Williams, better known by his bardic name Iolo Morganwg , was an influential Welsh antiquarian, poet, collector, and literary forger. He was widely considered a leading collector and expert on medieval Welsh literature in his day, but after his death it was revealed that he had forged a...
, Cenydd was a son of Gildas
Gildas
Gildas was a 6th-century British cleric. He is one of the best-documented figures of the Christian church in the British Isles during this period. His renowned learning and literary style earned him the designation Gildas Sapiens...
, and married and had a son before entering Llanilltud Fawr
Llantwit Major
Llantwit Major is a small coastal town and community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, lying on the Bristol Channel coast. A small stream, the Afon Col-huw, runs through the town.-Local government:...
as a monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
under Saint Illtud
Illtud
Illtyd , was a Welsh saint, founder and abbot of Llanilltud Fawr in the Welsh county of Glamorgan...
. But place-name evidence indicates only that he was the founder of the church of Llangennith
Llangennith
Llangennith is a village in Gower, in the City and County of Swansea, south Wales. It sits at a crossroads in northwest Gower: Moor Lane leads westwards to a caravan park near Rhossili Bay; while Burrows Lane leads northwards to a caravan park overlooking Broughton Bay. The village has a...
on the Gower Peninsula
Gower Peninsula
Gower or the Gower Peninsula is a peninsula in south Wales, jutting from the coast into the Bristol Channel, and administratively part of the City and County of Swansea. Locally it is known as "Gower"...
and travelled to Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
, where his cultus is centred around Languidic
Languidic
Languidic is a commune in the Morbihan department of Brittany in north-western France.-Geography:The Ével forms part of the commune's north-eastern border, then flows into the Blavet, which forms its northern and north-western borders.-Demographics:...
. He also had a chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
at Ploumelin.
Legend
John Capgrave
John Capgrave was an English historian, hagiographer and scholastic theologian-Schooling:Capgrave was born in Bishop's Lynn, now King's Lynn, Norfolk – "My cuntre is Northfolke, of the town of Lynne"...
from Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
sources, and is found in the Nova Legenda Angliae. According to this, the saint was a Breton
Breton people
The Bretons are an ethnic group located in the region of Brittany in France. They trace much of their heritage to groups of Brythonic speakers who emigrated from southwestern Great Britain in waves from the 3rd to 6th century into the Armorican peninsula, subsequently named Brittany after them.The...
prince
Prince
Prince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...
, the son of King 'Dihoc' (presumably Deroch II of Domnonée) born of incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
apparently at Loughor
Loughor
Loughor is a town in the City and County of Swansea, Wales, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales. It lies on the estuary of the River Loughor. The town has a community council called Llwchwr....
in Glamorgan
Glamorgan
Glamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It was originally an early medieval kingdom of varying boundaries known as Glywysing until taken over by the Normans as a lordship. Glamorgan is latterly represented by the three...
while his father was attending King Arthur
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
. As an unwanted cripple, Cenydd was placed in a cradle
Cradle
Cradle may refer to:Mechanical devices:*Bassinet, a small bed, often on rockers, in which babies and small children sleep* Ship cradle, supports a ship that is dry docked...
made of osiers, cast into the estuary of the River Loughor
River Loughor
The River Loughor in Carmarthenshire, Wales has its source at an underground lake at the Black Mountain. It flows past settlements like Ammanford and Hendy in Carmarthenshire and Pontarddulais in Swansea. The river divides Carmarthenshire from Swansea for much of its course and it separates Hendy...
and eventually landed on 'Ynys Weryn' or Worm's Head island. Here seagulls and angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
ic interventions, involving a miraculous
Miracle
A miracle often denotes an event attributed to divine intervention. Alternatively, it may be an event attributed to a miracle worker, saint, or religious leader. A miracle is sometimes thought of as a perceptible interruption of the laws of nature. Others suggest that a god may work with the laws...
breast
Breast
The breast is the upper ventral region of the torso of a primate, in left and right sides, which in a female contains the mammary gland that secretes milk used to feed infants.Both men and women develop breasts from the same embryological tissues...
-shaped bell, ensured that he survived, and that he was educated as a Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
. He became a hermit
Hermit
A hermit is a person who lives, to some degree, in seclusion from society.In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a religious conviction, namely the Desert Theology of the Old Testament .In the...
, his only companion being an untrustworthy servant, whose dishonesty was revealed when he stole a spear
Spear
A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head.The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with bamboo spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastened to the shaft, such as flint, obsidian, iron, steel or...
from one of a group of robbers who had been hospitably received by his master. According to the legend Saint David
Saint David
Saint David was a Welsh Bishop during the 6th century; he was later regarded as a saint and as the patron saint of Wales. David was a native of Wales, and a relatively large amount of information is known about his life. However, his birth date is still uncertain, as suggestions range from 462 to...
later cured Cenydd of his deformity while travelling to the Synod of Brefi
Synod of Brefi
The Synod of Brefi was a church council held at Llanddewi Brefi in Ceredigion, Wales around 545.The synod was apparently called in order to condemn the heretical teachings of Pelagius, although this is far from certain. It was an important milestone in the rise of Saint David...
in 545 but the hermit preferred to remain as he was born and prayed for his previous condition to be restored. The story breaks off abruptly at this point.
Historicity and veneration
Liturgical calendars and place-name evidenceToponymy
Toponymy is the scientific study of place names , their origins, meanings, use and typology. The word "toponymy" is derived from the Greek words tópos and ónoma . Toponymy is itself a branch of onomastics, the study of names of all kinds...
suggest the historical existence of Cenydd. His legend, however, appears to be pure fabrication.
Cenydd's feast day is celebrated at Llangennith on 5 July (colloquially referred to as his 'Mapsant day', from the Welsh words 'sant' - holy, and 'mab' - son: see also 'Gŵyl Mabsant
Gwyl Mabsant
Traditionally in Wales, every parish would celebrate a Gŵyl Mabsant in commemoration of its native saint. This annual celebration developed from a dedication through prayer to a programme of recreational activities. Owing to the combination of betting, feasting and alcohol consumption, parish...
'). Up to the early twentieth century the festival was traditionally marked by the displaying of an effigy of a bird from a pole on the church tower, symbolising the legendary birds who cared for the infant Cenydd, and the consumption of whitepot or 'milked meat' a dish made of flour, milk, sugar and dried fruits, not unlike a rice pudding or bread and butter pudding
Bread and butter pudding
Bread and butter pudding is made by layering slices of buttered bread scattered with raisins in an oven dish into which an egg and milk mixture, commonly seasoned with nutmeg , is poured.-Instructions:...
(see also Cuisine of Gower
Cuisine of Gower
The cuisine of Gower, a peninsula in south Wales, is based on ingredients grown, raised or collected on or around the peninsula. The cuisine is based on fresh ingredients with recipes based around a fish or meat dish. The peninsula was virtually cut off, until the twentieth century, due to poor...
). The practice has been revived in recent years. William Worcester
William Worcester
William Worcester , was an English chronicler and antiquary.-Life:He was a son of William of Worcester, a Bristol citizen, and is sometimes called William Botoner, his mother being a daughter of Thomas Botoner from Catalonia....
also records the feast of his translation, apparently to somewhere in North Wales
North Wales
North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...
, on 27 June.
An incised stone monument featuring images apparently of the Cenydd legend was discovered during renovation work at St Mungo's Church, Dearham
St Mungo's Church, Dearham
St Mungo's Church, Dearham, is in the village of Dearham, Cumbria, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Solway, the archdeaconry of West Cumberland, and the diocese of Carlisle...
(Cumbria) in the 1880s and is displayed there as 'the Kenneth Stone'. The Saint's connection with Cumbria is currently unexplained.