Saint Teilo - A Surplus of Arms
Poet Twm Morys delves into the cultural links between Brittany and Wales
The Essay · BBC Radio 3
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Show Notes
Twm Morys delves into the cultural links between Brittany and Wales, and looks into the story of St Teilo.
Drawing on his experience of living in Brittany for ten years, Twm says that speaking Breton was like speaking Welsh after taking some psychedelic drug, and living there was like a Wales where Methodist chapels never happened. St Teilo fled to Brittany with a band of monks in the 6th century to escape the plague, and during this time tamed a fierce dragon and chained it to a rock in the sea. Twm explains how a church in Brittany still manages to claim that they hold a hallowed relic of the Welsh Saint - his arm and hand, encased in silver - even though he returned to Wales to die.
Producer: Megan Jones for BBC Wales