Tysilio
Encyclopedia
Saint Tysilio was a Welsh
bishop, prince and scholar, son of the reigning King of Powys, Brochwel Ysgithrog
, maternal nephew of the great Abbot Dunod
of Bangor Iscoed
and an ecclesiastic who took a prominent part in the affairs of Wales
during the distressful period at the opening of the 7th century.
Prince Tyslio (or Sulio) was the second son of Brochfael Ysgythrog (of the Tusks). He fled his father's court at an early age to throw himself on the mercy of Abbot Gwyddfarch of Caer-Meguaidd (Meifod) and beg to become a monk. A Powysian warband was sent to retrieve him, but King Brochfael was eventually persuaded that his son should be allowed to stay. Tysilio probably started his career in Trallwng Llywelyn (Welshpool
) and afterwards took up residence in Meifod
where he was associated with Gwyddvarch and St Beuno
.
Fearful of further trouble from his family, however, Tysilio set up his base at a hermitage on Ynys Tyslio
(Church Island) in the Menai Straits and became a great evangeliser on Ynys Mon (Anglesey). He spent seven years there before returning to Caer-Meguaidd (Meifod) and succeeding as Abbot. Tyslio rebuilt the Abbey Church and things were peaceful for a while. He founded the second church in Meifod
- the Eglwys Tysilio. His feast day, or gwyl-mabsant, was the 8th November which was also the date of the patronal festival and "wakes" in the nearby parish of Guilsfield
, where a holy well was dedicated to him - the Fons Tysilio.
However, after the death of Tysilio's brother, his sister-in-law, Queen Gwenwynwyn, desired to marry him and place him on the throne of Powys. Objecting to both proposals, the saint refused and found his monastery persecuted by the state. So he resolved to leave for Brittany
with a handful of followers. Tysilio travelled through Dyfed
and across the Channel to Saint-Suliac
where he established a second monastery. Tysilio's is traditionally said to be the original author of the Brut Tysilio, a variant of the Welsh chronicle Brut y Brenhinedd. However, Brynley F. Roberts
has demonstrated that the Brut Tysilio originated around 1500 as an "amalgam" of earlier versions of the Brut y Brenhinedd, which itself derives from Geoffrey of Monmouth
's 12th-century Latin Historia Regum Britanniae
.
Tysilio died and was buried at the Abbey of Saint Suliac in 640. Today his name is remembered in several church and place names in north Wales; most famously in the longest place name in the United Kingdom
, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, which translates into English as "Saint Mary's Church in the hollow of the white hazel near a rapid whirlpool and the Church of St. Tysilio of the red cave". The name, however, is a late 19th-century invention for the burgeoning tourist industry in the area.
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...
bishop, prince and scholar, son of the reigning King of Powys, Brochwel Ysgithrog
Brochwel Ysgithrog
Brochwel ap Cyngen , better known as Brochwel Ysgrithrog, was a king of Powys in Eastern Wales. The unusual nickname Ysgithrog has been translated as ‘of the canine teeth’, ‘the fanged’ or ‘of the tusk’ .-Family:Brochwel was the son of King Cyngen Glodrydd and his wife St...
, maternal nephew of the great Abbot Dunod
Saint Dunod
Saint Dunod was a late 6th/early 7th century Abbot of Bangor-on-Dee of north-east Wales.Dunod is best known as being the only Welsh ecclesiastic mentioned by name, in Bede's Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum, as having been at the meeting of the Welsh bishops with Saint Augustine of...
of Bangor Iscoed
Bangor-on-Dee
Bangor-on-Dee is a local government community, the lowest tier of local government, part of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is a village in the ancient district of Maelor in Wales, situated on the banks of the River Dee...
and an ecclesiastic who took a prominent part in the affairs of 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...
during the distressful period at the opening of the 7th century.
Prince Tyslio (or Sulio) was the second son of Brochfael Ysgythrog (of the Tusks). He fled his father's court at an early age to throw himself on the mercy of Abbot Gwyddfarch of Caer-Meguaidd (Meifod) and beg to become a monk. A Powysian warband was sent to retrieve him, but King Brochfael was eventually persuaded that his son should be allowed to stay. Tysilio probably started his career in Trallwng Llywelyn (Welshpool
Welshpool
Welshpool is a town in Powys, Wales, or ancient county Montgomeryshire, from the Wales-England border. The town is low-lying on the River Severn; the Welsh language name Y Trallwng literally meaning 'the marshy or sinking land'...
) and afterwards took up residence in Meifod
Meifod
Meifod is a small village 7 miles north-west of Welshpool in Powys, mid Wales, on the A495 road and located in the valley of the River Vyrnwy. The River Banwy has a confluence with the Vyrnwy approximately two miles to the west of the village....
where he was associated with Gwyddvarch and St Beuno
Beuno
Saint Beuno was a 7th-century Welsh holy man and Abbot of Clynnog Fawr in Gwynedd, on the Llŷn peninsula.-Life:Beuno was born in Powys, supposedly at Berriew, the grandson of a prince of that realm. After education and ordination in the monastery of Bangor-on-Dee in north-east Wales, he became an...
.
Fearful of further trouble from his family, however, Tysilio set up his base at a hermitage on Ynys Tyslio
Church Island
Church Island is a small island in the Menai Strait on the shores of Anglesey to which it is attached by a short causeway that is reachable only on foot off the Belgian Promenade. The whole of the island is taken up with St Tysilio's church, constructed in the 15th century, and the churchyard. ...
(Church Island) in the Menai Straits and became a great evangeliser on Ynys Mon (Anglesey). He spent seven years there before returning to Caer-Meguaidd (Meifod) and succeeding as Abbot. Tyslio rebuilt the Abbey Church and things were peaceful for a while. He founded the second church in Meifod
Meifod
Meifod is a small village 7 miles north-west of Welshpool in Powys, mid Wales, on the A495 road and located in the valley of the River Vyrnwy. The River Banwy has a confluence with the Vyrnwy approximately two miles to the west of the village....
- the Eglwys Tysilio. His feast day, or gwyl-mabsant, was the 8th November which was also the date of the patronal festival and "wakes" in the nearby parish of Guilsfield
Guilsfield
Guilsfield is a village and local government community in Powys, Wales. It lies beside Guilsfield Brook about three miles north of Welshpool. It is located on the B4392 road and a disused branch of the Montgomery Canal starts nearby...
, where a holy well was dedicated to him - the Fons Tysilio.
However, after the death of Tysilio's brother, his sister-in-law, Queen Gwenwynwyn, desired to marry him and place him on the throne of Powys. Objecting to both proposals, the saint refused and found his monastery persecuted by the state. So he resolved to leave for 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...
with a handful of followers. Tysilio travelled through Dyfed
Kingdom of Dyfed
The Kingdom of Dyfed is one of several Welsh petty kingdoms that emerged in 5th-century post-Roman Britain in south-west Wales, based on the former Irish tribal lands of the Déisi from c 350 until it was subsumed into Deheubarth in 920. In Latin, the country of the Déisi was Demetae, eventually to...
and across the Channel to Saint-Suliac
Saint-Suliac
Saint-Suliac is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in north-western France.-Demographics:Inhabitants of Saint-Suliac are called Suliaçais.-References:* ;* -External links:*...
where he established a second monastery. Tysilio's is traditionally said to be the original author of the Brut Tysilio, a variant of the Welsh chronicle Brut y Brenhinedd. However, Brynley F. Roberts
Brynley F. Roberts
Dr Brynley F. Roberts is a Welsh scholar and literary critic. He has written extensively on the Welsh language and Celtic history. He was a Welsh professor at the University of Wales, Swansea, and later as the librarian at the National Library of Wales from 1985 to 1998...
has demonstrated that the Brut Tysilio originated around 1500 as an "amalgam" of earlier versions of the Brut y Brenhinedd, which itself derives from Geoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth was a cleric and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography and the popularity of tales of King Arthur...
's 12th-century Latin Historia Regum Britanniae
Historia Regum Britanniae
The Historia Regum Britanniae is a pseudohistorical account of British history, written c. 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. It chronicles the lives of the kings of the Britons in a chronological narrative spanning a time of two thousand years, beginning with the Trojans founding the British nation...
.
Tysilio died and was buried at the Abbey of Saint Suliac in 640. Today his name is remembered in several church and place names in north Wales; most famously in the longest place name in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, which translates into English as "Saint Mary's Church in the hollow of the white hazel near a rapid whirlpool and the Church of St. Tysilio of the red cave". The name, however, is a late 19th-century invention for the burgeoning tourist industry in the area.