Cynhafal
The cult of Cynhafal is only known at Llangynhafal in Denbighshire, although he is attested in a sixteenth-century poem, the genealogies, and a triad.
Feast Day: 5 October
His festival is given as 5 October in most medieval Welsh calendars.More information
Texts
An early sixteenth-century cywydd to Cynhafal by Gruffydd ab Ieuan ab Llywelyn Fychan of Llanerch narrates the death of Benlli Gawr as a result of the miraculous powers of the saint. Cynhafal was included in the Bonedd y Saint as the son of Argud (or Argad), and as one of the three 'Bull-Chieftains of the Island of Britain' with Elinwy son of Cadegr and Afaon son of Taliesin in the triads.Places
Cynhafal is the patron of the church and well at Llangynhafal, but evidence of his cult elsewhere has not yet been identified. He is associated with the hillfort Foel Fenlli in the Clwydian hills, the site of his encounter with Benlli Gawr. Cefn-cynhafal, near Tywyn in Merioneth, has no known link with the saint, even though the personal name does seem to be unusual. | Church Dedication |  | Well |  | Placename |  | Landscape feature |  | Modern |  | Text |
Further reading
S. Baring-Gould and John Fisher The Lives of the British Saints (London: Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion, 1908), 254–6 View online
P.C. Bartrum Early Welsh Genealogical Tracts (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1966), 64
Elissa Henken Traditions of the Welsh Saints (Cambridge: D.S. Brewer, 1987), 274–6
Rachel Bromwich (ed.) Trioedd Ynys Prydein (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 2014, fourth edition), 325–6
