Caffo
Encyclopedia
Caffo was a sixth-century Christian in Anglesey
, north Wales
, who is venerated as a saint and martyr. The son of a king from northern Britain who took shelter in Anglesey, Caffo was a companion of St Cybi, and is mentioned as carrying a red-hot coal in his clothes to Cybi without his clothes getting burnt. After leaving Cybi, Caffo was killed by shepherds in the south of Anglesey, possibly acting in retaliation for insults Caffo's brother had paid to the local ruler. The area where he died has a village, Llangaffo, named after him, as well as the parish church of St Caffo, Llangaffo
.
; the ruler Maelgwn Gwynedd gave him land in the north-east of the island, in the district known as Twrcelyn. Other relatives of Caffo included his uncles St Iestyn
and St Cyngar (brothers of Caw), his sister St Cwyllog
and various brothers including St Gildas
(although the number of his siblings varies from 10 to 21 in different manuscripts).
Caffo was a companion and cousin of St Cybi, a Christian from Cornwall who was active in the mid-6th century. Cybi established himself in Anglesey within a disused Roman fort
in what is now called Holyhead
: the town's Welsh name is , or "Cybi's fort"). Caffo is mentioned in connection with Cybi in a manuscript written in about 1200, which contains two accounts of Cybi's life. Caffo is not mentioned in the accounts of Cybi's life until an incident when he was sent to fetch fire from a blacksmith. He returned to Cybi carrying a red-hot coal in his clothes, which were not burnt.
At some point, Cybi and Caffo parted company, possibly because of a disagreement between them, but possibly because his brother Gildas had insulted Maelgwn, who then forced Cybi to dismiss Caffo – both versions appear in the manuscript accounts. Thereafer, Caffo moved towards the south of Anglesey, where he was killed by shepherds from the area now called Newborough
, perhaps avenging the insult on their king.
, and a church was established there: the Welsh word "" originally meant "enclosure" and then "church", and "-gaffo" is a modified form of the saint's name. It is thought that there may have at one point been a monastery in this location, known as "Merthyr Caffo" (Merthyr being the Welsh word for "martyr"). Caffo is venerated as a saint, although he was never canonized by a pope: as the historian Jane Cartwright notes, "In Wales sanctity was locally conferred and none of the medieval Welsh saints appears to have been canonized by the Roman Catholic Church".
It is uncertain when the name "Llangaffo" was first used or when the first church was established here, but it was before 1254, when the church and community were recorded in the Norwich Taxation (a national survey of church names and property). There is still a church dedicated to Caffo
in the village, used for worship by the Church in Wales
.
Caffo is reported to have had a bubbling "holy well" in the area, called Crochan Caffo ("Caffo's cauldron") or Ffynnon Caffo ("Caffo's well"). Parents would offer fowls to be eaten by the attendant priest, in order to stop their children from peevishness. A nearby farm is still named after the well, although the well itself has been lost.
Anglesey
Anglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...
, north 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...
, who is venerated as a saint and martyr. The son of a king from northern Britain who took shelter in Anglesey, Caffo was a companion of St Cybi, and is mentioned as carrying a red-hot coal in his clothes to Cybi without his clothes getting burnt. After leaving Cybi, Caffo was killed by shepherds in the south of Anglesey, possibly acting in retaliation for insults Caffo's brother had paid to the local ruler. The area where he died has a village, Llangaffo, named after him, as well as the parish church of St Caffo, Llangaffo
St Caffo's Church, Llangaffo
St Caffo's Church, Llangaffo is a 19th-century church, in the south of Anglesey, north Wales, about from the county town, Llangefni. It was constructed in 1846 to replace the previous medieval church in the village of Llangaffo. The new building includes a number of monuments from the old church,...
.
Life and martyrdom
Little is known for certain about Caffo; his dates of birth and death are not given in the sources. He is said to have been one of the sons of St Caw, a king in northern Britain who lost his lands and sought safety with his family in AngleseyAnglesey
Anglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...
; the ruler Maelgwn Gwynedd gave him land in the north-east of the island, in the district known as Twrcelyn. Other relatives of Caffo included his uncles St Iestyn
Iestyn (saint)
Iestyn was a Welsh hermit and confessor in the 6th or 7th century who is venerated as a saint. He was the founder of two churches, one in Gwynedd and another in Anglesey, both in north Wales.-Life and commemoration:Iestyn's dates of birth and death are not recorded...
and St Cyngar (brothers of Caw), his sister St Cwyllog
Cwyllog
Saint Cwyllog was a Christian holy woman who was active in Anglesey, Wales, in the early 6th century. The daughter, sister and niece of saints, she is said to have founded St Cwyllog's Church, Llangwyllog, in the middle of Anglesey, where a church is still dedicated to her.-Life and...
and various brothers including St 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...
(although the number of his siblings varies from 10 to 21 in different manuscripts).
Caffo was a companion and cousin of St Cybi, a Christian from Cornwall who was active in the mid-6th century. Cybi established himself in Anglesey within a disused Roman fort
Caer Gybi (fort)
Caer Gybi was a small fortlet in Roman Wales in the Roman province of Britannia Superior. Its name in Latin is unknown. Today it stands at the centre of Holyhead in the Welsh county of Anglesey. Holyhead is named Caergybi in Welsh, after the fort....
in what is now called Holyhead
Holyhead
Holyhead is the largest town in the county of Anglesey in the North Wales. It is also a major port adjacent to the Irish Sea serving Ireland....
: the town's Welsh name is , or "Cybi's fort"). Caffo is mentioned in connection with Cybi in a manuscript written in about 1200, which contains two accounts of Cybi's life. Caffo is not mentioned in the accounts of Cybi's life until an incident when he was sent to fetch fire from a blacksmith. He returned to Cybi carrying a red-hot coal in his clothes, which were not burnt.
At some point, Cybi and Caffo parted company, possibly because of a disagreement between them, but possibly because his brother Gildas had insulted Maelgwn, who then forced Cybi to dismiss Caffo – both versions appear in the manuscript accounts. Thereafer, Caffo moved towards the south of Anglesey, where he was killed by shepherds from the area now called Newborough
Newborough, Anglesey
Newborough is a village in the south-western corner of the Isle of Anglesey in Wales; it is in the community of Rhosyr, which has a population of 2,169.-History:Newborough was a commotal centre of medieval Anglesey...
, perhaps avenging the insult on their king.
Commemmoration
The area of Caffo's death became known at some point as LlangaffoLlangaffo
Llangaffo is a village in Anglesey, in north-west Wales. It lies along the B4419 and B4421 roads, north of Dwyran, south of Gaerwen and northwest of Llanidan. It is named after Caffo, a 6th-century saint. A church, St Caffo's Church, is named after him. A war memorial, a village hall and a primary...
, and a church was established there: the Welsh word "" originally meant "enclosure" and then "church", and "-gaffo" is a modified form of the saint's name. It is thought that there may have at one point been a monastery in this location, known as "Merthyr Caffo" (Merthyr being the Welsh word for "martyr"). Caffo is venerated as a saint, although he was never canonized by a pope: as the historian Jane Cartwright notes, "In Wales sanctity was locally conferred and none of the medieval Welsh saints appears to have been canonized by the Roman Catholic Church".
It is uncertain when the name "Llangaffo" was first used or when the first church was established here, but it was before 1254, when the church and community were recorded in the Norwich Taxation (a national survey of church names and property). There is still a church dedicated to Caffo
St Caffo's Church, Llangaffo
St Caffo's Church, Llangaffo is a 19th-century church, in the south of Anglesey, north Wales, about from the county town, Llangefni. It was constructed in 1846 to replace the previous medieval church in the village of Llangaffo. The new building includes a number of monuments from the old church,...
in the village, used for worship by the Church in Wales
Church in Wales
The Church in Wales is the Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses.As with the primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Archbishop of Wales serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The current archbishop is Barry Morgan, the Bishop of Llandaff.In contrast to the...
.
Caffo is reported to have had a bubbling "holy well" in the area, called Crochan Caffo ("Caffo's cauldron") or Ffynnon Caffo ("Caffo's well"). Parents would offer fowls to be eaten by the attendant priest, in order to stop their children from peevishness. A nearby farm is still named after the well, although the well itself has been lost.
See also
Other Anglesey saints commemorated in local churches include:- St CwyllogCwyllogSaint Cwyllog was a Christian holy woman who was active in Anglesey, Wales, in the early 6th century. The daughter, sister and niece of saints, she is said to have founded St Cwyllog's Church, Llangwyllog, in the middle of Anglesey, where a church is still dedicated to her.-Life and...
at St Cwyllog's Church, LlangwyllogSt Cwyllog's Church, LlangwyllogSt Cwyllog's Church, Llangwyllog is a medieval church near Llangwyllog, in Anglesey, north Wales. St Cwyllog founded a church here in the 6th century, although the exact date is unknown. The existence of a church here was recorded in 1254 and parts of the present building may date from around 1200... - St ElethElaethElaeth was a Christian king and poet in Britain in the 6th century who is venerated as a saint. After losing his territory in the north of Britain, he retreated to Anglesey, north Wales, where he lived at a monastery run by St Seiriol at Penmon...
at St Eleth's Church, AmlwchSt Eleth's Church, AmlwchSt Eleth's Church, Amlwch is a parish church built in the Neo-classical style in 1800 in Amlwch, a town on the island of Anglesey in north Wales. It stands on the site of earlier buildings, with the first church here said to have been established by St Elaeth in the 6th century... - St IestynIestyn (saint)Iestyn was a Welsh hermit and confessor in the 6th or 7th century who is venerated as a saint. He was the founder of two churches, one in Gwynedd and another in Anglesey, both in north Wales.-Life and commemoration:Iestyn's dates of birth and death are not recorded...
at St Iestyn's Church, LlaniestynSt Iestyn's Church, LlaniestynSt Iestyn's Church, Llaniestyn is a medieval church in Llaniestyn, Anglesey, in north Wales. A church is said to have been founded here by St Iestyn in the 7th century, with the earliest parts of the present building dating from the 12th century. The church was extended in the 14th century, with... - St PeulanPeulanSaint Peulan was a Welsh holy man in the early part of the 6th century, the son of Paulinus, a saint from south Wales who taught Saint David. A follower of Cybi, a saint associated with the island of Anglesey in north Wales, Peulan is commemorated in the dedication of the church he reportedly...
at St Peulan's Church, LlanbeulanSt Peulan's Church, LlanbeulanSt Peulan's Church, Llanbeulan is a disused medieval church in Llanbeulan, in Anglesey, north Wales. The nave, which is the oldest part of the building, dates from the 12th century, with a chancel and side chapel added in the 14th century... - St TyfrydogTyfrydogTyfrydog was a Christian from north-west Wales in the fifth or sixth century, who was later venerated as a saint. He is said to have established a church in Anglesey, and although no part of the original structure remains, the current church is still dedicated to him...
at St Tyfrydog's Church, LlandyfrydogSt Tyfrydog's Church, LlandyfrydogSt Tyfrydog's Church, Llandyfrydog is a small medieval church, in Llandyfrydog, Anglesey, north Wales. The date of establishment of a church on this site is unknown, but one 19th-century Anglesey historian says that it was about 450...