Saint Dwynwen January 25

The original tale has been mixed with elements of folk tales and Celtic stories, and as a result, there are several variations on the tale. Dwynwen is said to have been the daughter of King Brychan Brycheiniog, who lived in the 5th century, making her the half-sister of Saint Ninnoc. Her mother may have been Rigrawst. Dwynwen lived in Anglesey.

In the story told of her, either a young man named Maelon Dafodrill falls in love, but she rejects his advances; or she is unable to marry him because her father has forbidden the marriage and had already promised her to someone else. Distraught over her love for Maelon, Dwynwen prayed that she would not fall in love with him again. An angel provides her with a potion; Maelon turns to ice.

God then granted her three requests: that Maelon be freed; that, through her, God would watch over all true lovers; and that she remain celibate. In thanks, she then retired to the solitude of Ynys Llanddwyn off the west coast of Anglesey to become a hermit until her death around 460 AD; although it was written in some texts that she fled there because of her fear of Maelgwn Gwynedd.

Dwynwen is said to have studied the healing properties of local herbs and was thus able to cure many illnesses of people who sought her out throughout Wales.

Dwynwen retired to a small tidal island off the southwest coast of Anglesey. There she built a church; which became known as Llanddwyn, ("Dwynwen's Church"). Its remains can still be seen on Ynys Llanddwyn. There was also Dwynwen's Well, in which a sacred fish is said to swim, whose movements predict the future fortunes and relationships of various couples.

St. Dwynwen's Church on Ynys Llanddwyn became an important shrine during the Middle Ages. The holy well became a place of pilgrimage, where the movement of fish in its waters was believed to indicate the fate of lovers.