| Saint Gwladys | |
|---|---|
St Gwladus in stained glass |
|
| Queen | |
| Born | traditionally Brycheiniog |
| Died | c. 500 or 523 |
| Honored in | Roman Catholic Church; Anglican Communion |
| Major shrine | Pencarn Gelligaer (destroyed) |
| Feast | 29 March |
| Patronage | Newport; Gelligaer |
| Controversy | place of death (see text) |
Saint Gwladys ferch Brychan or St Gladys (Latin-Claudia), was the Queen of Saint Gwynllyw Milwr and daughter of King Brychan of Brycheiniog. She was the mother of several saints, including Saint Cadoc "the Wise".
The mediæval lives of Saint Cadoc (c. 1100) by Lifris[1] and of Saint Gwynllyw (c. 1120) [2] preserve legendary details of this saint though details frequently differ. She is also noted in Welsh king lists.
Half Irish, we have the most details on her of all of Brychan's children. Her beauty won the admiration of King Gwynllyw of Gwynllwg in South Wales. According to The Life of Saint Cadoc (c.1100) when her father refused to allow their marriage Gwynllyw accompanied by 300 men abducted her from Talgarth. A pitched battle occurred which was only stopped by the intervention of King Arthur and Cai and Bedwyr who supported Gwynllyw and his warband in the battle. This act only occurred after Cai managed to persuade Arthur not to abduct the beautiful Gwladys himself. This tale of abduction seems similar to elements in Culhwch and Olwen and other Arthurian stories indicating it originated in bardic stories. This is the earliest reference to Arthur in a Saint's life. According to the Life of Saint Gwynllyw this battle never occurred and the marriage was actually accomplished peacefully.
Gwladys's children were saints Cadoc, Cynidr, Bugi, Cyfyw, Maches, Glywys II and Egwine. It was the prompting of Cadoc and Gwladys that led Gwynllyw to abandon his life of violence and seek forgiveness for his sins. A vision led him to found a hermitage on what is now Stow Hill in Newport, South Wales. Gwladys accompanied Gwynllyw into a hermits life and for a while they lived together on Stow Hill, fasting, eating a vegetarian diet, and bathing in the cold waters of the Usk to prove their piety.
Later they moved further apart to prevent carnal sin. Saint Gwladys founding her own hermitage at Pencarn in Bassaleg, supposedly the site is at Pont Ebbw.[3] While there she bathed in the Ebbw River and the Lady's Well at Tredegar may have been dedicated to her. It has been suggested that site of St. Basil church, Bassaleg was originally dedicated to her.
Later at the urging of Cadoc she moved yet further to Capel Wladus in Gelligaer. Today her main church is St. Gwladys, Bargoed. There is a supposed Burial place of St. Gwladys at Pont Ebbw.
She inspired the name of both a church and a school in Bargoed.