St. Eurgain

Whilst writing #Excalibur Reborn, I decided to base the main characters in the book right here in the village where I live, calling the village North Hope.  Northop is a very old settlement in North Wales and its welsh name is Llaneurgain, meaning 'the Holy Place of Eurgain.'

The Church in Northop is named after Eurgain, its full title being 'The Church of St.Eurgain and St.Peter,' so where did the name Eurgain come from? 

There is no definitive answer as to exactly who Eurgain was, but belief is that Eurgain was the niece of Asaph (as in the city of St. Asaph) and what is known of her has been passed down through the ages by word of mouth and very early written accounts such as De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae   by sixth century monk Gildas Sapiens.

It appears  that Eurgain was born around 510 AD and together with her brother Rhun, the two are reputed to have been the children of Maglocunus, otherwise known as ‘Maelgwyn’ who was King of Gwynedd during the 6th Century.  Rhun succeeded Maelgwyn as king in the year 547 AD,  but his succession was disputed because he was deemed to be the illegitimate child of Maelgwyn, so thereby he could not rightly succeed to the throne of Gwynedd.

Elidyr Mwyn-Fawr ‘the Courteous’ was the husband of Eurgain and he now claimed to be rightful King of Gwynedd and battle ensued to establish who was rightful king.  During the ensuing battle which took place near Caernarvon, Elidyr Mwyn-Fawr was killed and never became king.

After this, Eurgain became even more devoted to her religion.

Legend has it that Eurgain was endowed with the power to create miracles. There is one great story that prior to Elidyr’s death, she is said to have given a flock of wild birds a candle to show her lover Elidyr the way, when he was lost on his great horse called ‘Du y Moroedd ‘ (the Black One of the Seas) and so he was able to safely find his way home.

As you've read previously in this blog, from the story of St. Winefride, legends of this type were common in the Dark Ages and the truth of Eurgain will always be shrouded in mystery. What is known is that Eurgain’s father Maelgwyn was responsible for a religious upsurgence in Dark Ages Wales and Eurgain carried on this tradition after his death. The Monastery at Mynachlog here in Northop is thought to have been dedicated to her and thereafter the church here in Northop - more to come on this in future posts.

A festival day commemorating St. Eurgain was  historically held on 29th June each year, has been long forgotten in the village of Northop but the Feast of Eurgain (Gwyl Bedr ac Eurgain) was held in the village from at least the fifteenth century through to the nineteenth century as far as is recorded.

#Excalibur Reborn #welshhistory #Llaneurgain #Eurgain #Northop