Gwytherin Stone Row
The row of stones from Gwytherin (also called Gwytherin Four Stones or St Winnifreds) stands in the graveyard of the church consecrated to St Winnifred in 1869, in the middle of the beautiful village of Gwytherin in Conwy , North Wales .
Row of stones and inscription
On the north side of the church on the north side of the church on the hilltop cemetery of St Winnifred, next to three old yew trees, there is an approximately west-east-oriented row of stones made up of four menhirs about 1.0 to 1.2 m high, 3.0 m apart . The first mention of it comes from the year 1710. The westernmost stone bears a Latin inscription:
"VINNEMAGLI FILI SENEMAGLI"
"[This is the stone of] Vinnemaglus, [the] son of Senemaglus"
It is possible that the Latin inscription was placed over an Oghamin script .
history
The names of the Latin inscription point to the 5th or 6th century. Nothing is known about the people Vinnemaglus and Senemaglus. It is possible that the stones were erected as early as the Bronze Age and formed a pre-Christian place of worship, in the place of which a church was built in early Christian times.
In the 7th century there was apparently a double monastery in Gwytherin, founded by Eleri , his mother Tenoi and the distantly related Gwenfrewy (also called Winnifred or Winefred ). Eleri became abbot of the male monastery, Tenoi abbess of the female monastery. After her death the office passed to Gwenfrewy.
Individual evidence
- ^ Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust: Gwytherin. (PDF) In: Historic Settlement Survey - eastern Conwy. 2014, accessed on June 11, 2015 (English): "Within the churchyard and on the north side of the church are four upright pillar stones in a line, two of them first recorded in a visitation of 1710."
- ↑ a b Gwytherin Four Stones. stone-circles.org.uk, May 8, 2015, accessed June 11, 2015 .
- ^ The Megalithic Portal: Gwytherin Churchyard - Stone Row / Alignment in Wales in Conwy. Retrieved June 11, 2015 .
- ↑ David Nash Ford: St. Eleri, Abbot of Gwytherin. In: Early British Kingdoms. Retrieved June 11, 2015 .
- ^ David Nash Ford: St. Gwenfrewy alias St. Winifred, Abbess of Trefynnon & Gwytherin. In: Early British Kingdoms. Retrieved June 11, 2015 .
Web links
- Gwytherin Four Stones (illustrated English description)
- Short text engl. + Pictures ( Memento from July 8, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
Coordinates: 53 ° 8 ′ 18.6 " N , 3 ° 40 ′ 50.6" W.