Wales and its History

In 395 AD a college of priests called Cor Tewdws was founded at Llantwit Major. Some say Cor Tewdws was the earliest school in Britain, and arguably the oldest college in the entire world. After the Romans left Britain in the early 5th century the college was left to defend itself against raiders, and in 446 AD Irish pirates burned the college to the ground. One story says that St Patrick was kidnapped from Cor Tewdws by the pirates. After the sack of the College of Theodosius, the site lay barren for 62 years, until it was re-established by St. Illtud c. 508. Accor ding to the Book of Llandaff, St. Dubricius commissioned Illtud to re-establish the college. It was once a seat of learning that was unrivaled anywhere in the western world. ''At its height had more than 2,000 students. Apparently, the place was graced with at least six separate halls and was able to boast around 400 teaching houses and places of accommodation'' 'Many well-known Celtic saints are said...

For the last year or so I have been making an interactive map of all the churches in Wales with links to the medieval period. Throughout all this, I have come across people who claim that nearly all historical Welsh churches were built by the Normans (English). This isn't even close to being true. The majority of the most historical sites seem to have been built by the Welsh themselves. The Welsh kings and princes were very active in building religious sites and many still stand today. Here are some of my favourites that were built by the Welsh. I will add more at a later date Llewelyn’s Church Llanrhychwyn "Llanrhychwyn's main claim to fame is its parish church, which many claim is the oldest in Wales, marking the site where Rhychwyn originally established his church in the 6th century. The church is known locally as Llewelyn’s Church, and the oldest part dates from the late 11th century. Llywelyn Fawr, Prince of Gwynedd and de facto Prince of Wales, had a...