Saint Brynach was a 6th century Welsh

Welsh people

The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...

 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...

. He is traditionally associated with Pembrokeshire

Pembrokeshire

Pembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered....

, where several churches are dedicated to him.

A 12th century 'life' tells us that some time in the early 6th century, Brynach travelled (from where is unstated) to Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 and 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...

, and then on to Milford Haven

Milford Haven

Milford Haven is a town and community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, a natural harbour used as a port since the Middle Ages. The town was founded in 1790 on the north side of the Waterway, from which it takes its name...

. He erected various oratories near the rivers Cleddau

River Cleddau

The River Cleddau consists of the Eastern and Western Cleddau rivers in Pembrokeshire, west Wales. They unite to form the Daugleddau estuary, which forms the important harbour of Milford Haven....

, Gwaun

River Gwaun

The River Gwaun is a river in Pembrokeshire, West Wales, which flows principally westwards draining to the sea into Fishguard Bay at Fishguard....

, and Caman and at the foot of Mynydd Carningli

Mynydd Carningli

Mynydd Carningli is a small mountain or hill near the town of Newport in Pembrokeshire, southwest Wales.It is less than 400 m high, but it is close to the coast and dominates the surrounding countryside. It is easy to climb but has a rocky summit and a steep scree slope on its southern and...

 (translated as 'Mountain of the Angels'), which was his most famous foundation. This monastery

Monastery

Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...

 founded by Brynach was at present-day Nevern

Nevern

Nevern is a small village or hamlet, of just a few houses in Pembrokeshire, West Wales. It lies in the valley of the River Nevern close to the Preseli Hills of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park east of Newport.-Nevern Parish Church:...

 (in Welsh

Welsh language

Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...

, Nanhyfer). The land was given to him by the local lord, Clether

St Clether

St Clether is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The village is situated on the east flank of Bodmin Moor approximately eight miles west of Launceston in the valley of the River Inny....

, who retired to Cornwall

Cornwall

Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

. Brynach was harassed by King Maelgwn

Maelgwn Hir ap Cadwallon

Maelgwn Gwynedd was King of Gwynedd . More formally his name was Maelgwn ap Cadwallon , also known as Maelgwn Hir . He was father of Rhun "Hîr"....

 of Gwynedd

Kingdom of Gwynedd

Gwynedd was one petty kingdom of several Welsh successor states which emerged in 5th-century post-Roman Britain in the Early Middle Ages, and later evolved into a principality during the High Middle Ages. It was based on the former Brythonic tribal lands of the Ordovices, Gangani, and the...

 for a while, until he wrought miracles and the two came to terms. Saint Brynach died on 7 April, on which day his feast is celebrated. His church, overhanging the Nevern

Afon Nyfer

The Afon Nyfer is a river in North Pembrokeshire, West Wales which runs into the Irish Sea.The river rises at Blaencwm , just east of Crymych. It flows northward then westward, skirting the slopes of the Preseli Hills. It passes through Felindre Farchog and Nevern, and reaches the sea at Newport...

, is his lasting memorial. Details of Brynach's life seem to identify him with Saint Brannoc

Saint Brannock

Brannoc of Braunton or Saint Brannock was a Christian saint associated with the village of Braunton in the English county of Devon.Brannock is believed to have migrated from South Wales to establish a monastery at Braunton in the 6th century. He is believed to have been buried there...

 of Braunton

Braunton

Braunton is situated west of Barnstaple, Devon, England and is claimed to be the largest village in England, with a population in 2001 of 7,510. It is home to the nearby Braunton Great Field and Braunton Burrows, a National Nature and UNESCO Biosphere Reserve....

 in Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

, although his feast day there is 21 June.

The "Life of St Brynach" portrays him as something of a wild fellow in his youth but very virtuous after his conversion. The descriptions of his adventures (including amorous and ghostly encounters) display a degree of humour unusual in the writers of saintly lives.

Problems of identification

Brynach may be a form of the Irish

Irish people

The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

 name, Bernach. This has led to speculation that Saint Brynach came from Ireland

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...

: 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...

, followed by Baring-Gould

Sabine Baring-Gould

The Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould was an English hagiographer, antiquarian, novelist and eclectic scholar. His bibliography consists of more than 1240 publications, though this list continues to grow. His family home, Lew Trenchard Manor near Okehampton, Devon, has been preserved as he had it...

, supposed that he is the same as the chieftain 'Fernach' who came to Wales

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...

 from Ireland with the young Brychan

Brychan

Brychan Brycheiniog was a legendary 5th-century king of Brycheiniog in South Wales.-Life:Celtic hagiography tells us that Brychan was born in Ireland, the son of a Prince Anlach, son of Coronac, and his wife, Marchel, heiress of the Welsh kingdom of Garthmadrun , which the couple later inherited...

 of Brycheiniog

Brycheiniog

Brycheiniog was a small independent petty kingdom in South Wales in the Early Middle Ages. It often acted as a buffer state between England to the east and the powerful south Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth to the west. It was conquered and pacified by the Normans between 1088 and 1095, though it...

. However, Egerton Phillimore rejects this identification A 'Brennach Wyddel o'r Gogledd' or Brennach the Irishman of the North [of Britain] appears in the Welsh Triads

Welsh Triads

The Welsh Triads are a group of related texts in medieval manuscripts which preserve fragments of Welsh folklore, mythology and traditional history in groups of three. The triad is a rhetorical form whereby objects are grouped together in threes, with a heading indicating the point of likeness...

: Rachel Bromwich

Rachel Bromwich

Rachel Bromwich was a British scholar. Her focus was on medieval Welsh literature, and was Emeritus Reader in Celtic Languages and Literature at the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic at Cambridge until her death...

 does not believe Saint Brynach is meant.

Dedications

Dedications of churches to Brynach in Pembrokeshire include Nevern, Dinas

Dinas Cross

Dinas Cross is a village in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated between Fishguard and Newport in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and is a popular holiday destination on the A487. The village has its own elected community council and gives its name to an electoral ward of Pembrokeshire...

, Llanfyrnach

Llanfyrnach

thumb|250 px|right|The parish church of St Brynach, LlanfyrnachLlanfyrnach is a village and parish in the hundred of Cemais, Pembrokeshire, Wales. The name means "church of St Brynach". It is situated in a remote upland area on the headwaters of the River Tâf, about 18 km from Cardigan, the...

, Henry's Moat and Pontfaen. In Carmarthenshire there are Llanboidy

Llanboidy

Llanboidy is a village and community in the principal area and historic county of Carmarthenshire, West Wales.- Location :According to the 2001 United Kingdom Census, the community had a population of 988. It is located near the border with Pembrokeshire close to the Landsker Line...

 and a chapel in Llanddarog

Llanddarog

- External links :**...

, and there are scattered dedications 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...

, Brecknockshire

Brecknockshire

Brecknockshire , also known as the County of Brecknock, Breconshire, or the County of Brecon is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, and a former administrative county.-Geography:...

 and Monmouthshire

Monmouthshire (historic)

Monmouthshire , also known as the County of Monmouth , is one of thirteen ancient counties of Wales and a former administrative county....

. The distribution of these is similar to that of Ogham

Ogham

Ogham is an Early Medieval alphabet used primarily to write the Old Irish language, and occasionally the Brythonic language. Ogham is sometimes called the "Celtic Tree Alphabet", based on a High Medieval Bríatharogam tradition ascribing names of trees to the individual letters.There are roughly...

 stones in south Wales, and defines a distinct Irish-influenced province that existed in the Age of the Saints in the History of Wales

History of Wales

The history of Wales begins with the arrival of human beings in the region thousands of years ago. Neanderthals lived in what is now Wales, or Cymru in Welsh, at least 230,000 years ago, while Homo sapiens arrived by about 29,000 years ago...

.