Gwynllyw
He was King of Gwynllŵg in South Wales and is the legendary founder and patron saint of the City of Newport, living in the 5th century.According to medieval tradition, he was a feared warlord and lifestock raider who was acquainted with the mythical King Arthur, but later encountered religion and became a hermit, founding St Woolos Cathedral in Newport.The aforementioned descriptions of Gwynllyw note that his deeds were celebrated by Welsh bards, indicating he had a widespread popular following.A pitched battle ensued, arrested only by the intervention of Cai and Bedwyr, supporting Gwynllyw and his warriors, and assisted allegedly by the fabled King Arthur.King Gwynllyw is said to have had a dream in which an angel spoke to him, and he saw a vision of a white ox with a black spot high on its forehead.The story goes that Gwynllyw set out, and when he saw the ox of his dream he founded a hermitage there, on what is now Stow Hill in Newport, South Wales, which he built out of wood.No weight should be attached to there having been any mystical basis for a Viking fleet's destruction at sea after they had plundered the church, containing offerings for Gwynllyw's intercession.Stories of Gwynllyw's dark past later included tales of piracy and claims that his ships, based in the Uskside parish of Pillgwenlly that bears his name, caused terror across the Bristol Channel.[10] One tradition asserts that this background meant Gwynllyw was the patron saint of choice for Welsh pirates and smugglers including Sir Henry Morgan.
GwynllwgEastern Orthodox ChurchRoman Catholic ChurchAnglican CommunionshrineSt Woolos CathedralAttributesPatronageNewportGwynllŵgSouth WalesmedievalKing ArthurreligionhermitWelsh saintsSaint Cadoc the WiseSaint CadocGlywysGlywysingGlamorganRiver LoughorTalgarthCarmarthenshireSwanseaMacsen WledigCuneddacantrefWentlooghundredSaint PetrocCornishBretonpatron saintBrycheiniogBrychanBrycheiniog'sGwladysBedwyrCulhwch and OlwenCaerwentSaint TathywCynidrEgwineLothianTathanhermitageStow HillSaint IlltydasceticPencarnDyfriglast sacramentBishop of MonmouthmiraclesVikingintercessionSaxonsNormansPillgwenllyBristol ChannelSir Henry MorganSt Woolos HospitalWelsh languageYsgol Gyfun GwynllywPontypoolScottish LowlandsFirth of ForthLammermuir HillsMoorfoot HillsHarold GodwinsonBattle of HastingsDictionary of Welsh Biography