Llandecwyn

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Llandecwyn is dedicated to St. Tecwyn, who founded this church in the 6th century AD. Although the current church on the site was built during Victorian times, it is set in a graveyard, dating back to at least the time of Tecwyn, and is located on an ancient pathway that was used possibly as far back as neolithic times. The churchyard is circular, as was typical for churches of that time period, and includes a lychgate. Within the church is a stone dating to the 11th century. It is inscribed with a cross and dedicated to St. Tecwyn. Llandecwyn is the only church in the region not on the coast, and is located, instead, at an elevation of 150 meters above the Dwyryd estuary, with amazing views of the surrounding area. Tecwyn appears to have been the son of Ithel Read more…


Sarn Helen

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Sarn Helen means “Helen’s Causeway.” It is named for Elen, the wife of Macsen Wledig, who Welsh legend says ordered the building of the roads in Wales in the fourth century. The historical record indicates the road was actually built far earlier by the Roman legions who conquered Wales in the first century AD, in order to allow the rapid movement of troops and military supplies. Most of the Roman road network in Britain was completed by 180 AD. Sarn Helen began in north Wales at the Roman fort of Cae-rhun. It ran south to Trefriw. From there it went to Caer Llugwy and Dolwyddelan. Then it headed through the Cwm Penamnen Valley. It ran past Bryn Y Castell to the fort of Tomen y Mur. From there it went to Dolgellau and may have crossed the Afon Dyfi at Read more…


Bryn y Castell

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Bryn y Castell is a small hillfort near Ffeistiniog, Merionnydd, located on the Roman Road known as Sarn Helen. The fort is enclosed by a stone wall about 24 by 32 meters. Excavations revealed evidence for iron smelting and smithing, dating between 50BC and 50AD. The fort’s defenses were always relatively simple, consisting of a stone rampart encircling the top of the hill. The original 2m-wide gate near the north-east corner was blocked early in the history of the occupation and a new one made 9m further west. The fort dominates this particular valley, but it is not generally visible from elsewhere. The fort contains multiple roundhouses, including one that resembles a spiraling snail shell, which was adapted as a smithy from an earlier roundhouse. Based on these postholes, archaeologists believe that two of the round houses were wooden, which Read more…


Cofiwch Dryweryn

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This is a historical note about the story behind the phrase, Cofiwch Dryweryn. In July 1957, the British Parliament approved a plan by the Liverpool City Council to flood the Tryweryn Valley, located northwest of Bala in Gwynedd for water for Liverpool and the Wirral, primarily for industry. They came to Wales, not because water was unavailable elsewhere, but because they could get it at a lower cost. The act that was passed was a ‘private’ one and thus done without the consent of Welsh authorities and, in fact, against the wishes of all but one Welsh Member of Parliament. The local councils and local population objected formally to the idea, but despite their protests, the Liverpool council went ahead with their plan and flooded the valley in 1965. Many communities, including Capel Celyn, were lost and their inhabitants forcibly Read more…


St. Beuno’s Church at Clynnog Fawr

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The church of St. Bueno at Clynnog Fawr that we see today dates to the 15th century, but the original church was much older. St. Beuno himself was a 7th century saint and the uncle of St. Gwenffrewi, who was one of the 7 people he is credited with raising from the dead. Beuno is believed to have studied in Bangor, and then set out on his own, establishing churches throughout Wales. At Clynnog Fawr, on land given to him in perpetuity by a cousin to Gwynedd’s king, Beuno established not only a church but a clas, an institution of the Celtic church that was both monastery and college. In the years after Beuno’s death in 640, Clynnog Fawr grew rapidly, ultimately becoming an important ecclesiastical site, as well as a stopping place for those on pilgrimage to Bardsey Island. Read more…


Religious Nonconformity in Wales

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The Welsh often chose nonconformity in religion from the very start of their encounter with other groups. Since the time of the Romans, the Welsh had found themselves on the wrong side of the power structure, and used religion as a way to oppose the ruling force–whether that be Roman, Saxon, or Norman.  This trend began with their continued adherence to druidism, even after the Romans attempted to wipe it out, through Pelagianism and other ‘heresies’ opposed by the Roman Church, to the Cistercian religious order, which defied the Pope in order to support the aspirations and independence of the Welsh princes.  In a sense, it culminated in the 1600s with the puritan movement that brought so many  Welsh across the Atlantic to Massachusetts, while their co-religionists attempted to reform the Church in Wales.“I returned to  Bristol. I have seen Read more…


The Treason of Dafydd ap Gruffydd

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Dafydd ap Gruffydd was a member of the royal house of Gwynedd. His father was the eldest son of Llywelyn ap Iorwerth, the ruler of Wales in the early 13th century. Born in 1238, Dafydd himself was the youngest of four sons. His family was rocked by conflict throughout his life. With the death of his grandfather in 1240, his father and uncle fought among themselves for control of the country, resulting in Gruffydd’s imprisonment in Criccieth Castle. Dafydd’s mother pleaded to Henry III to intercede, which he did, only to imprison Gruffydd at the Tower of London, as hostage for his brother’s good behavior. Thus, Dafydd grew up in England, as a close companion to Prince Edward, who later became Edward I of England. Gruffydd died in 1244 when the rope by which he was trying to escape his Read more…


Bryn Euryn & Llys Euryn

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Bryn Euryn is a hillfort and associated manor house near Conwy, north Wales. The hillfort itself does not necessarily date to the Iron Age period, but is associated with Cynlas the Red, the King of Rhos in the early 6th century. The local name for the site is Dinerth, Fort of the Bear. Cynlas is notable for having been one of the five “tyrants of Britain” denounced for his sins by the chronicler, Gildas. Excavations revealed a “massive well-built” limestone wall, up to three meters high and the site commands extensive views of the Conwy Valley. Eventually, the Kingdom of Rhos became a cantref, or administrative unit, of the Kingdom of Gwynedd and the hillfort was abandoned in favor of the manor house known now as Llys Euryn. This house is thought to have been built at least by 1240 Read more…


ManyBooks Interview

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Check out my interview at ManyBooks! Please give us a short introduction to what Daughter of Time is about. Daughter of Time is about a young woman who has had some hard knocks in life. She time travels to medieval Wales with her young daughter and encounters Llywelyn, the Prince of Wales. The book is about their relationship, as they both grow in relation to one another. What inspired you to write this story? Was there anything in particular that made you want to tackle this? A reader writing a scathing review once said that Daughter of Time read like a love letter to Wales. Honestly, in some ways that’s fair, since I have been in love with Wales since I visited for the first time in college. But what I really was interested in was the story behind this Read more…


The Longbow

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Although these days the longbow is generally thought of as an English weapon, it was the Welsh who employed the longbow in battle long before the English adopted it or Wales was conquered by England. While bows and arrows have been around since Paleolithic times, the first confirmed use of the Welsh longbow was in 633 AD, in a battle between the King of Gwynedd, Cadwallon ap Cadfan, and the Northumbrians. An arrow shot from a Welsh bow killed Ofrid, son of Edwin of Northumbria. During this time, Saxons were not known for their archery in battle. Ralph, the Earl of Hereford, describes an expedition he led against the Welsh king, Gruffydd ap Llywelyn in 1055. His horsemen, who’d ridden into the Welsh mountains, were ambushed by archers shooting so accurately and strongly that, according to the Abingdon Chronicle, ‘the Read more…


Llanfaglan (St. Baglan)

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Baglan ap Dingad was a 6th century saint, whose church is located a few miles south of Caernarfon.  Much of the church as seen today dates to the 18th century. The churchyard is circular, however, indicating the site was used for worship possibly even before St. Baglan established his church.  Although many coastal churches were raided by vikings during the early medieval period, there is no record of it having happened to St Baglan’s. At one time St. Baglan’s was a center of community life, but modern times have isolated it and it no longer has a parish.  The beautiful wooden interior furnishings date to the 18th century. Further evidence for St Baglan’s  antiquity comes from several stones built into the fabric of the church itself.  The inscription on the stone indicates it was the grave of someone named Lovernius. Read more…