¹ Here begins the Life of St Brynach, a Confessor.

² The Lord chose for himself, from among the sons of Israel [Exodus 1:1], a man close to his own heart [1 Samuel 13:14], named Brynach, who was adorned with gracious manners and distinguished by outstanding virtues; for he made a vow to the God of Jacob [Genesis 28:13], which he observed faithfully to the end. Taking upon himself the name of his God from his mother’s breast, and not disregarding his commandments, he preferred a humble way of life in his own home to enjoying a more exalted one in the palaces of princes. Though he traced his origin to an illustrious line of ancestors, had honourably acquired no small measure of reputation, was richly endowed with wealth by which worldly minds are often enticed, possessed inherited lands, and enjoyed the pleasant companionship of his parents, he would not be captivated by the fame of renown, nor by the delights of riches, nor bound by the laws of ancestral inheritance. Therefore, not regarding the land of his birth as his true home, he desired to leave it in order to gain another for himself by travelling to seek a new country. According to the saying of Christ, and following his example, he believed that by relinquishing all things all things would be given to him [Matthew 19:21; Luke 18:22]; so he set out, continued on his journey, came to the sea, boarded a ship, and sailed on a favourable course, as God so ordained. Having travelled through many lands, sowing the seeds of the word of Christ, he came to Rome, where, as soon as he was able and with earnest devotion, he imparted the doctrines of God to certain people.

³ At that time a pestilential beast was ravaging the region around Rome, tearing apart with its bloodstained jaws all whom it encountered, or else striking them dead with its poisonous breath. It also ripped to pieces the bodies of many animals to satisfy its fury, and its innate savagery could in no way be restrained. Such terror did it inspire among the inhabitants that anyone who could abandon his dwelling and flee the surrounding area counted himself most fortunate in escaping so dreadful an evil. But the holy man, wishing to relieve the suffering of the district, which the multitude of the people had been unable to do, relied solely on prayer: he cast himself upon the ground and slew the deadly beast. For this deed, and for many other noble acts, all admired the holy man and continually praised him with lavish acclaim. Yet the man of God, perceiving that he had become more widely known than was his custom, and preferring to please God in secret, to whom the secrets of the heart are known [Jeremiah 17:10], rather than to gain the favour of people, who are accustomed to value only outward things, and seeing that so long as he remained in Rome his renown would continue to grow, therefore departed from it quietly, as though he had prepared another place for his dwelling.

⁴ Then, after undertaking a long journey, and wherever he went providing an example of goodness for all to imitate, he travelled towards the western regions of the world and came to Lesser Britain, where he remained for many years and accomplished many works of benefit and great miracles. The sick flocked to him for the restoration of bodily health, and those who were well came so that they might receive wholesome instruction in heavenly doctrine for the healing of their souls. Britain rejoiced on account of such a man, through whom health was freely bestowed; the holy man, who by the grace of God was able to perform such deeds for the poor, was celebrated by all. Yet he himself was grieved and troubled, because spreading fame did not cease to make him publicly known. Avoiding this alone as an implacable monster, he came privately and alone to the sea; and, finding no ship, he fittingly placed a piece of rock upon the surface of the water, faithfully recalling that he who brought forth water from the rock in the wilderness [Exodus 17:6; Numbers 20:11] was able to make that same rock float upon the sea. The holy man of God, full of faith and committing himself entirely to God, whose way is in the sea and whose paths are in the mighty waters [Psalm 77:19], mounted the rock, because he was founded upon the firm rock, which is Christ [Matthew 7:24; 1 Corinthians 10:4]. For the Most High God, who governs all things, who holds the earth in the hollow of his hand weighs the mountains [Isaiah 40:12], by his power made the sea firm, smoothed the surface of the ocean, carried his saint across the breadth of the British Sea, and brought him to the harbour of Milford, in the region of Demetia, on the banks of the river Cleddyf.

⁵ After he had remained there for some time serving his God, the ancient enemy of mankind, ever devising new schemes of wickedness and constantly ready to assail the purity of chastity, violently stirred up the daughter of the nobleman who had granted the land to the holy man, so that she fell in love with him. Accordingly, like almost every woman who, being irresistibly armed by the devil and clothed in his ancient armour, becomes a vessel filled with malice and every crime, she tried by every means to ensnare the servant of God with the traps of seductive pleasure. Seeking to draw him away from better pursuits and entice him to a life of luxury, she mixed wolfsbane with lustful ingredients, carefully prepared, and repeatedly attempted to make him drink it. But she laboured in vain: the holy servant of God did not thirst for such a cup, but refused it, and, as the Apostle advises, he fled from the assaults of fornication [1 Corinthians 6:18]. For in such a struggle he fights best who yields rather than resists; he conquers most bravely who bravely takes flight. The girl, however, casting aside womanly modesty, because she could not bend the steadfast mind of the holy man to sinful love, turned her affection into hatred and desired to separate his holy body from his soul. For a woman whose love has been spurned devises every kind of evil, and against the one whom she had lately loved, even to the point of severing soul from body, now inflamed with hatred, she sought to inflict death by every means.

⁶ For, as Seneca, the distinguished writer on morals, says, a woman either hates or loves; there is no middle course. Therefore she sent some ruthless men to pursue the holy man, and sternly commanded them that, if they could not bring him back alive, they were not to allow him to escape with his life. The wicked men hurried off and blindly set about their evil task. They found the one they were seeking and at first tried to entice him back with fair words; but when he refused to return with them, one of them stabbed the innocent man, inflicting a grievous wound with a spear. The others then rushed forward, eager to kill him, but by God’s providence certain people who were present came to his aid and hastened to rescue the holy man from the hands of the villains. The man who had inflicted the wound, however, was struck by the vengeance of God: his whole body was assailed by swarms of winged insects; afterwards he was long afflicted by sickness and poverty, and at last ended his wretched life with a miserable death. The holy servant of God went to a nearby spring and, entering the water, washed away the blood; from that time to this the spring has been called the Red Fountain. There also, in honour of the holy man, the merciful God bestows many gifts of healing upon the sick, and without delay, through the Lord’s intervention, they receive the curing of their wounds.

⁷ Saint Brynach went on his way and came to a place by the river Gueun, which is now called the Stone Bridge. There he established his dwelling and freed the place from unclean spirits, which had wandered there by night and, with dreadful cries and fearful howlings, had made it uninhabitable until that time. But since Divine Providence had ordained that he should not remain there any longer, he travelled on and came to a certain place on the river Never, called the Grove of the Old Church. As this place seemed well suited to those living a religious life, he and his companions girded themselves and, taking axes and other tools, spent three whole days cutting down trees; what they cut, and partly carried away, they conveyed to the place where they intended the buildings to be raised. On the fourth day, when they rose to resume their work and searched for them, they could see none of the things they had prepared during the previous three days; all appeared to have been swallowed up by the earth, and not even a trace of them could be found. Seeing their astonishment, St Brynach said, “We ought not to marvel at the wonderful works of God, even though they seem marvellous, since he who performs them is proclaimed Almighty; therefore let us humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, let us fast, keep watch, and pray that the revealer of all things may show us what these events signify” [1 Peter 5:6]. And so it was done.

⁸ Therefore, on the following night, as Brynach lay in prayer, an angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “This place is not to be the site of my dwelling; but go along the banks of the river as far as the stream of the holy men, which flows into it, and follow that stream and the hillside until you see a white wild sow with her piglets; there establish for yourself a permanent dwelling.” Encouraged by the words of the angel, the holy man set out and found the promised sow and piglets in the place where, in his name, a church has been built and is now in use, on the banks of the Caman. This stream was formerly a deep torrent and was so named, not because of its depth, but because of the hollowing of the valleys. There he gave devout thanks to God, because through his angel he had graciously shown him the place where, without further change, he wished the service required of him to be carried out. A fire was lit, and he and his companions spent almost the whole night without sleep, persevering in prayer.

⁹ At that time there was a certain lord of the region named Clechre, a just man and one who feared God, who ruled in those days and was called the Old Man. Rising one morning and seeing the smoke from the fire which the man of God had lit in the deep valley, rising, spreading out, and covering the neighbouring parts of the land, and being stirred by the Spirit of God, he called together his twenty sons and said to them, “My sons, you have heard that the man has arrived who, as we know, was long promised to us, whose reputation for goodness is spread throughout the world and is celebrated in high places; and just as you see his smoke spreading abroad, so too will the power of his preaching spread, and far more widely. Let us therefore go and fall before him and submit ourselves to him, for we ought in no way to oppose or resist the will of God.” Going together with one accord, they came to the man of God and, placing themselves at his knees, begged him to have mercy on them. Saint Brynach, whose manner of speech was gracious, blessed them and in a gentle voice asked what they desired. The old man replied, “Sir, I have long been lord of this district, but since I know that this place has been appointed for you by the providence of God, I submit myself to the will of God and also to you. I commend these my sons to you, that under the protection of your fatherhood they may cleave to our God.” He received them gladly and had them carefully instructed in learning, and they became faithful companions in his labours. The old man then took his leave, greeting them all, and departed for the land of Cornwall, where, serving God, he surrendered his blessed soul to the Lord.

¹⁰ And Saint Brynach, a faithful minister of divine worship, strove to cut away every excess of bodily attachment, so great was his desire to live in accordance with the divine will. He wore down his body with continual fasting, subdued the insolence of the flesh by frequent vigils, and restrained the luxury of clothing by harsh treatment, dipping his garments daily in the coldest water. Whatever he could deny to his mouth, his hands, or his whole body, he turned to the benefit of the poor, and whatever he was able to obtain he accepted in order to relieve their poverty. He was constantly occupied in prayer, except when he refreshed his body with food or with sleep. Thus he led a life so pleasing to God that, as he deserved, he was often granted the sight and converse of angels; and the mountain on which they met, at whose foot a church was built, was called the Mountain of Angels.

¹¹ The Lord enabled Saint Brynach to act so miraculously in the sight of the people that, at his command, wild beasts laid aside their savage nature and were made tame. Thus, whenever he moved from one dwelling place to another, he would summon from the herd whichever two stags he wished to draw the cart in which his belongings were carried; and when released from the yoke, they returned to their customary pasture. Likewise, a cow which he had chosen from the rest, both for the size of her body, since she was larger than the others, and for the abundance of her milk, he entrusted to the care of a wolf; and the wolf, like a well-trained shepherd, drove the cow out to pasture each morning and safely brought her home again in the evening.

¹² At that time it happened that Maelgon, king of Wales, was travelling not far from the dwelling of the holy man, and sent to him, commanding that a supper should be prepared for him. But the holy man, wishing that he and his companions, as well as his lands, should be free from all tribute, declared that he owed no supper to the king and would in no way obey so unjust a command. The messengers returned and reported to their lord that the man to whom they had been sent would not provide him with a meal. The king, who was easily disturbed from tranquillity of mind, a drunkard, and known to be readier to injure than to help, and who paid no regard to piety, holiness, or moderation, sent his servants to seize the cow of the holy man and thus make provision for his table. Without doubt he would not have spared the others, but they were grazing far away; and in his fury he declared that on the following day he would deprive the holy man of his land utterly destroy the place to the ground.

¹³ The servants of wickedness ran off and quickly brought the cow. They prepared their prey for the coming meal: they stripped off the hide, laid bare the entrails, cut part of the flesh into pieces and put it into a pot on the fire; they heaped on fuel and, cheeks puffed out, hastened on every side to blow up the flames. Meanwhile the wolf that had guarded the cow ran to its master and, sorrowful and groaning, lay stretched out on the ground as though asking forgiveness. Someone there reported that the cow had been taken by the king’s servants and cut up to be cooked. But the holy man laid his complaint before God and entrusted his whole cause to divine judgement.

¹⁴ The king and his companions were tormented by hunger, yet there was still no hope of refreshment, for the water in which the flesh had been placed remained as cold as when it was first poured in; nor did even a great fire make it boil any more than if the fire had been removed and a mass of ice put in its place. The king and his attendants recognised the power of God and that the holy man was dear to him, for they had heard of his deeds, and they were seized with great fear. The king, humbled at once, laid aside his royal pride; and all of them, with contrite hearts, went together to the holy man. Falling at his feet, the king, speaking for himself and his companions, confessed that they had sinned against him, and promised that they would never again commit such acts. With humble prayer and sincere devotion they begged him to have pity on them and to pray to the Almighty on their behalf.

¹⁵ Saint Brynach, free from all bitterness, prayed to the Lord, then took the king by the right hand raised him up, trusting that he would show the devotion he professed towards the Most High. And in the sight of them all he restored the cow to her former state and once more entrusted her to the care of the wolf.

¹⁶ After these events, so that he might keep the king safe from what might otherwise follow, he invited him to spend the night with him; and what he had firmly refused a short time before, he now freely offered with generous charity and a benevolent spirit. The king gave thanks and stayed. But what was to be done? He had little or no provision to set before them as they sat down, except to place his hope in God, who had fed the hungry children of Israel in abundance and rained down manna for their sustenance [Exodus 16:4–15]. He therefore went to a nearby oak and plucked from it, hanging among its leaves, as many wheaten loaves as were required; for which reason it was called the Bread Oak for as long as it stood. He also went to the brook Caman, which flowed close by, and from it, instead of water, he drew wine in abundance, and from the same stream, in place of stones, he brought forth a sufficient supply of fish. He returned to the king and his attendants, had them sit down, and set plentiful food before them. They ate and were fully satisfied, lacking nothing they desired. After supper, when the hour required it, they lay down to rest, fell asleep, and all slept soundly until morning.

¹⁷ Rising in the morning, the king awakened his attendants and, in accordance with the law of hospitality, gave thanks to Saint Brynach, saying, “Since I have received your generosity freely given, I will not refuse to bestow my own bounty freely upon you. In the name of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ, I grant you exemption for ever from all royal tribute, both for yourself and for the place of your dwelling, for all the land belonging to it, and for all who live there; moreover, I assign to your jurisdiction the land of the monk Telych. And whoever in future shall attempt to oppose this my grant, may he swiftly incur the curse of God and of all the faithful of Christ.” The saint of God gratefully accepted the king’s gift, gave thanks, and with a devout heart blessed him and his companions. Afterward, having comforted one another, they parted.

¹⁸ How many and how great the miracles performed by the holy man while he still lived in the body would be hard for anyone to recount. At length it pleased the Most High to remove his saint from this uncertain and unstable dwelling and to place him in blessedness among his saints and chosen ones in heavenly glory. He passed from this world on the seventh day of April, and his body lies buried beneath the eastern wall of his church. Brynach, the saint of God, is rejoicing in heaven, and great miracles are often worked on earth through our Lord Jesus Christ.