Rhystyd

Rhystyd was a late 6th-century British saint reputed to be a grandson of Hywel the Great (Hywel fab Emyr Llydaw) and brother to Saint Cristiolus and Saint Silin.[1][2][3] The village of Llanrhystud is named for the parish church which is dedicated to him.

Name

Rhystyd is thought to represent the Latin Restitutus, a common ecclesicatical name borne by the earliest known Bishop of London who attended the Council of Arles in 314.[1] The name also appears as Rhystud. He is sometimes confused with a Saint Rhystyd Hên who was Bishop of Caerleon-on-Usk.

Veneration

His feast is said to have been celebrated on the "Thursday in the Ember Week before Christmas" in the form of a fair.[1] The Ember Week before Christmas traditionally takes place in the 51st week of the year (the penultimate week in non-leap years).

An apocryphal poem by the celebrated 14th century Welsh bard Dafydd ap Gwilym associates Rhystyd with Saint Dwynwen: [1]

Rhystud Sant, rhyw ystod serch,

A'i elinedd ar lanerch,

A'i ben ar Ddwynwen enyd,

Huno bu'n hwya'n y byd

— Dafydd ap Gwilym, Yr Hun Felys, lines 51-54

A stained-glass window depicting Rhystyd dating to 1965 is located on the eastern wall of the south aisle of St Rhystyd's Church, in Llanrhystud.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Baring-Gould, Sabine (1913). The Lives of the British Saints Vol. IV. The Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion, London. p. 117.
  2. ^ "Genealogies of the Saints – Seintiau". Retrieved 2025-06-03.
  3. ^ Baring-Gould, Sabine (1898). The Lives of the Saints Vol. XIII. p. 195.
  4. ^ "St Rhystud detail from Virgin Mary and St Rhystud - image from Stained Glass in Wales". stainedglass.llgc.org.uk. Retrieved 2025-06-03.
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