BRYNACH, saint (fl. late 5th century - early 6th century)
Gender: Male
Occupation: saint
Area of activity: Religion
Author: Hywel David Emanuel
The chief source for the Brynach legend is a 'life' composed probably in the 12th century and now preserved in B.M. Cotton Vesp. MS. A. xiv.
The wealth of local details makes it almost certain that the author was a native of Cemais in north Pembrokeshire. The 'life' reveals nothing of the saint's antecedents, but Welsh tradition remembers him as Brynach Wyddel (the Irishman). After a pilgrimage to Rome and a sojourn of some years in Brittany, Brynach landed at Milford in south Pembrokeshire. He moved thence to a spot on the river Gwaun, and then on to the banks of the river Nevern. His final settlement was made at the modern Nevern on the banks of the river Caman, a tributary of the Nevern. The lord of that country, whose name was Clechre, surrendered possession of part of the district to Brynach, and there the latter remained, leading a life of rigorous asceticism. The majority of his foundations were in this region of north Pembrokeshire, and a cross standing in Nevern churchyard is still known (apparently without justification) as S. Brynach's Cross.
His festival is observed on 7 April.
Author
- Hywel David Emanuel, (1921 - 1970)
- Baring-Gould and John Fisher, The Lives of the British Saints: the saints of Wales and Cornwall and such Irish saints as have dedications in Britain, i, 321-7
- Wade-Evans, Vitae Sanctorum Britanniae et Genealogiae (Cardiff 1944), 2-15
- Antiquity, 1945, 182-4
- An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments in Wales and Monmouthshire. VII-County of Pembroke (1925), 263
- Nash-Williams, The Early Christian Monuments of Wales (Cardiff 1950), 197-200
- O'Hanlon, Lives of the Irish saints, with special festivals, and the commemorations of holy persons, compiled from calendars, martyrologies, and various sources relating to the ancient Church history of Ireland (1875), iv, 75-6
Sources
- J. Young Evans, Buchedd Frynach a'i arwyrain (Pembroke County Guardian 1911)
- Wikipedia Article: Brynach
Further Reading
- Wikidata: Q2381536
Additional Links
Published date: 1959
Article Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/
The Dictionary of Welsh Biography is provided by The National Library of Wales and the University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies. It is free to use and does not receive grant support. A donation would help us maintain and improve the site so that we can continue to acknowledge Welsh men and women who have made notable contributions to life in Wales and beyond.
Find out more on our sponsorship page.