Hywel Dafi, St Cynog of Merthyr Cynog

Later fifteenth-century poem to Cynog, surviving in a number of manuscripts.


The text describes how Cynog, having ruled as a king in Ireland, renounces his throne for an eremitical life, comes to Wales, and battles giants and monsters on behalf of the local population. He triumphs with the aid of a heaven-sent weapon, a marvellous torque. Ultimately, however, he is martyred by decapitation, though he survives for a time with his head attached by a cord.

Saints referenced in this source

Cynog

Sites referenced in this source

Related sources


Barry J. Lewis (ed.) Medieval Welsh Poems to Saints and Shrines (Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 2015), 242–52
Edited texts
Barry J. Lewis (ed.) Medieval Welsh Poems to Saints and Shrines (Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 2015), 102–5
Translated texts
Barry J. Lewis (ed.) Medieval Welsh Poems to Saints and Shrines (Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 2015), 373–6
Further reading
Barry J. Lewis (ed.) Medieval Welsh Poems to Saints and Shrines (Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 2015), 242–52
Editions
Barry J. Lewis (ed.) Medieval Welsh Poems to Saints and Shrines (Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 2015), 102–5
Translations
Barry J. Lewis (ed.) Medieval Welsh Poems to Saints and Shrines (Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 2015), 373–6