CYBI
(
fl.
550
),
saint
,
appears in the pedigrees as the son of
Selyf ap Geraint ab Erbin
. His life, found in two (
Latin
) forms written about
1200
, is of very doubtful value, but may be right in making him the son of a
Cornish
noble
who was ‘
princeps militae
’ (‘
penteulu
’), at a court between the
Tamar
and the
Lynher
, possibly
Gelliwig
. His chief foundation was
Holyhead
— in
Welsh
,
Caer Gybi
— where he established himself within the walls of a dismantled
Roman
fort. The ‘clas,’ or monastic community, which he founded, had a long history; it continued as a collegiate church throughout the
Middle Ages
and had twelve prebendaries in the
16th cent.
The picturesque legend of the weekly meetings of
Seiriol Wyn
(White) and
Cybi Felyn
(Yellow) at
Clorach
in the midst of
Anglesey
is a bit of modern folk-lore, but the epithet may be ancient. Other
Welsh
churches named after
Cybi
are
Llangybi
in
Llyn
,
Llangybi
in
south Cards.
, and
Llangibby
in
Mon.
At the first of these,
Ffynnon Cybi
(
Cybi's well
) was of some note, and
Cadair Cybi
(
Cybi's chair
) was also shown. Two
Cornish
churches were named after him, viz.
Cuby
, near
Tregony
, and
Duloe
.
CAFFO
, commemorated at
Llangaffo
, formerly
Merthyr Caffo
, in
Anglesey
, was his disciple,
slain by the shepherds
at
Rhosyr
(
Newborough
). His day is commonly given as
5 Nov., but occasionally as 6, 7, or 8.
Bibliography:
-
The Lives of the British Saints
, ii, 202-15, 49-51.
Author:
Sir John Edward Lloyd, D.Litt., F.B.A., F.S.A. (1861-1947), Bangor
