Dwywe

West side of St Dwywe's Church, Llanddwywe, Gwynedd

Saint Dwywe was a 5th- or 6th-century pre-congregational saint of Wales.[1] She was a native of the ancient Cumbric-speaking kingdoms, which stretched from south-western Scotland down as far as South Yorkshire, and is estimated to have been born between 465 and 585.[2]

She may have been the wife of Dunawd Fyr and mother of a son, Saint Deiniol,[3] who founded monasteries on Deeside and at Bangor. She may also have been the mother of Cynwyl ap Dynod, Gwarthan ap Dynod and Aneirin.

She is remembered in a church of [4] St Dwywe. She was a princess, the daughter of Gwallog ap Lleenog of the royal house based in the Kingdom of Elmet, east and south of Leeds. Her father and the family were forced to flee after a war against the Angles of Bernicia (who were based around Northumberland and Durham). They were taken in by Welsh kinsfolk and settled near Barmouth.

  1. ^ Starr, Brian Daniel (2009). Ascent of the Saints: Whose Lineage Is Known. p. 73. ISBN 9781449995805.
  2. ^ St. Dwywe ferch Gwallog
  3. ^ Rees, Rice (1836). An essay on the Welsh Saints or the Primitive Christians usually considered to have been the founders of churches in Wales. Longman. p. 258. Saint Dwywe.
  4. ^ St Dwywe, Llanddwywe.