Dwynwen was the beautiful daughter of Brychan Brycheiniog who had 24 daughters and 11 sons.  Her Father had arranged for Dwynwen to marry but she had fallen in love with a man called Maelon Dafodrill who also reciprocated her feelings.  She decided to beg her father for permission to marry Maelon instead but he refused.  Dwynwen told Maelon this and said she would not sleep with him unless they were married as she wanted to keep her virtue, he was so outraged that he attacked and raped her.

Not knowing what to do, Dwynwen fled to the woods and begged God to help her forget Maelon. She fell asleep in the woods and was visited by an angel who was carrying a sweet potion which would erase her memory of Maelon and turn him into a block of ice.

Dwynwen drank the potion and God then gave her 3 wishes.  Her first wish was for Maelon to be thawed, her second wish was that she would become the patron saint of lovers helping to console others through sadness and love and her final wish was that she would never marry.  God granted Dwynwen her 3 wishes and as a mark of her thanks she devoted the rest of her life to Gods service.

She became a nun and went to live on the island of Anglesey to build a Church known as ‘Llanddwynwen’ meaning 'Church of Dwynwen'.

St Dwynwen's day is the Welsh equivalent to Valentine’s Day and has become increasingly popular over the years, celebrated by giving greetings cards and small gifts.

Happy St Dwynwen's Day for 25th January!