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Who Was St Dwynwen – The Patron Saint of Welsh Lovers?

Dwynwen was Welsh princess and the prettiest of the twenty-four daughters of Brychan Brycheiniog. She lived in the fifth century and was the custom her father she betrothed her only for her fall madly in love with Prince Maelon Dafodrill who desired to wed her. She prayed to God for a solution. An angel appeared to her in her sleep and offered her a sweet portion to drink. When given to Maelon, the sweet drink turned him into a block of ice.

Dwynwen again prayed to God asking that three wishes be granted. The first was that Maelon be unfrozen, the second was that she would never marry and the third, that God would answer all her requests on behalf of all lovers. God granted her wishes and she take the vows to become a nun founding a convent just off the south east shore of Mon ( Anglesey ) on the island. The remains of her church exist today on the Isle of Llanddywn which bears her name. After her death in 465 AD, a well at the convent was named after her and is reported to have magical powers becoming a site of pilgrimage. The belief exists the movement of sacred fish in the well could predicted the happiness and fortunes of a visiting lovers. It reported if the fish movements cause the water to “boil” while they visit then longevity and happiness will be bestowed upon them. 

Celebrating St Dwynwen’s Day – 1541 Years Later  

When I first met Rusty Griffis, she said, “I am Welsh too, my name is Dwynwen Griffis but I also go by Dwyn or Rusty.” That was 1997 and what a jewel she has been all her life for the Welsh of Northeastern Ohio. Our chance meeting was the start of a wonderful relationship that provided insights into the past and present activities of the Welsh in Cleveland , Ohio and around North America .

            Always brimming with Welsh tidbits of knowledge, one time Rusty said to me, “I bet you didn’t know there was a Saint Dwynwen who is the Welsh patron saint of lovers just like St Valentine.”  She floored me, I was completely unaware! This came as a complete surprise. When I left Wales in the early 1960s nobody ever talked about St Dwynwen’s Day let alone celebrated it but then I wasn’t from Anglesey (Mon). On some recent calls to Wales I found areas that St Dwynwen is a deep mystery while in others she’s more popular than St Valentine. This is particularly the case of the Welsh in Mon ( Anglesey ) who take St Dwynwen very seriously as she was a native islander.    

            Dylan Morgan who owns the Cwpwrdd Cornel (Corner Cupboard) gift shop in the centrally located village of Llangefni on Mon said, “In the past years, there has been more awareness of St Dwynwen particularly since 2003 when the Bwrdd Yr Iaith (Welsh Language Board) became involved. You will find the people on Mon take it very seriously, for example, I expect to sell ten times as many St Dwynwen cards as St Valentine ones.” He continued, “The Bull Hotel in Llangefni promotes a very special dinner for lovers and is booked solid every St Dwynwen’s day. Call the Bull, they’ll be happy to talk to you.” Dylan’s last comment was one tinged with optimism, “You will find as you go south from Mon into mainland Wales that awareness tends to drop off but hopefully that will change.”

            The big boost for St Dwynwen’s Day came in 2003 when the Bwrdd Yr Iaith teamed up with Tesco (a UK grocery chain) to distribute 50,000 free cards in all 43 of its Welsh stores. One card was inserted with a special heart, the finder of which would be entitled to a prize. The board also suggested numerous ways to celebrate the feast besides sending cards, for example, organize a love-themed gig, set up a singles night, prepare a romantic meal and perhaps compose a love poem to read at the local pub. Who knows perhaps the pub’s resident entertainer may put it to music and create a popular ballad!

            A call to the Bull Hotel in Llangefni and a chat with hotel manager, Richard Thomas brought more surprises, “This will be the fourth straight year we will have a 3-course special dinner to celebrate St Dwynwen Day. Our menu is not set for this year but trying to stretch his memory back to last year said, “We had a delicious French Onion Soup for a starter, I think we offered steak or lamb chops for main course and a sinful assorted platter of petite desserts for a couple to share. The food that night is prepared in the Welsh traditional manner as it is always offered here. As part of the hotel tradition, we always play, in the background Welsh traditional music but on St Dwynwen’s night the emphasis is on Welsh romantic songs. We enhance a festive atmosphere with balloons and sparkling heart shaped confetti on the tables.”  Richard further said, “We go all out for this dinner and include a traditional Welsh Love Spoon.”

The cost for the St Dwynwen Dinner is £30 (US$55) per couple. The Bull Hotel’s website (http://www.welsh-historic-inns.com/bull-hotel/index.php) indicates the hotel to be very impressive architecturally and seems to be a favorite spot for both locals and travelers all through the year.

The only North American St Dwynwen’s Day celebration I am aware of is one organized by the Colorado Welsh for January 21, 2006 as part of their mini-festival of Welsh culture. For additional information contact: cws-president@mindspring.com

            Now comes the hard part, on this so worthy an occasion what does a food editor suggest as a dessert suitable for a St Dwynwen’s Day? For the ladies, just in case you fellows don’t know it, the most important part of a romantic meal is a decadent dessert! At issue is that traditional Welsh cookbooks are notoriously barren of rich yummy (chocolate) desserts! Maybe, St Dwynwen was looking after me providing a little gem to explore. The menu for the July Women’s Welsh Clubs Conference at Youngstown , Ohio featured a Monmouth Pudding! Not your romantic occasion dessert and about as far from Mon as one can be with still staying within the Welsh borders, it seemed like a very unlikely candidate. Nevertheless, I thought I’d give it a go while trying to jazz it up a little. Incidentally, kudos must go to Welsh Clubs member, Jeanne Macejko for the conference all Welsh menu!

The Monmouth Pudding is not a pudding as would generally regarded in North America but a peasant cake topped and / or layered with jam or preserves. Could this dessert be “jazzed-up” to serve as a St Dwynwen’s Day treat! You bet! At a minimum, the recipe needed raspberries (the right red color!) and chocolate. Every lover’s dessert recipe must contain chocolate. I love a recipe development challenge. The end result was very pleasing.  We added cocoa powder to the basic recipe, layered the top with raspberries and gave it a meringue topping – a treatment not usually associated with Monmouth Pudding. After baking, the meringue was decorated with fresh raspberries and red glitter. The recipe follows below.

“Mwynhewch Eich Pwdin Mynwy Pob Cariadau A Carwriau  – Enjoy Your Lovers Monmouth Pudding.”

Saint Dwynwen’s Day is celebrated on January 25. Even if you have never in the past, this year take the opportunity to celebrate, “Dydd Santes Dwynwen Dda – Happy Saint Dwynwen’s Day”.

By Ken Thorne, Ninnau Food Editor

Copyright © by Ken Thorne 2006

Useful links on St Dwynwen and St Dwynwen’s Day:

http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/Wales-History/StDwynwen.htm

http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/272/

http://www.bwrdd-yr-iaith.org.uk/en/cynnwys.php?cID=1&pID=case&nID=41

http://www.wda.co.uk/index.cfm/developing_your_business/welsh_agrifood_sector/food_wales/new_features/

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Saint Dwynwen’s Day Treat

(Chocolate/Raspberry Monmouth Pudding)

Serves: 4 to 8

 Ingredients:

 Pudding:

1                 zest of one lemon

1 oz             butter, fresh

1/4 cup        sugar

1 Tbsp        cocoa powder

15 oz           milk

6 oz             breadcrumbs, fresh made from home style baked white bread

3                 egg yolks, whisked

4 oz             raspberries (or other fresh fruit - cherries, strawberries)

                   raspberry jam, sufficient to cover surface of pudding 1/4 inch

Meringue Topping:

3                 egg whites

1/4 tsp         cream of tartar

1/2 tsp         vanilla extract

2 oz             sugar, granulated

 Method:

          Heat oven to 400F/200C/Gas Mark 6.

          Add the lemon zest, butter, sugar and cocoa powder to the milk and bring tom the boil. Pour the mixture over the breadcrumbs and leave to stand for 15 minutes or so. Stir the egg yolks into the cooled bread mixture and spoon into ramekin dishes or one larger dish. Bake until set. Remove from the oven, allow to cool enough to handle. Spread the layer of jam then place the prepared fresh fruit on the jam layer. Cover with the meringue.

          For the meringue topping: add cream of tartar, vanilla to the egg whites and whisk until soft peaks are attained. Continue whisking while gradually adding the sugar until well blended and still stiff. Swirl the meringue onto the tops of the ramekins or large dish. If desired, using a spatula create decorative peaks on the swirled meringue surface.

          Put the ramekins/large dish into the oven for about 10 minutes to brown and crisp the meringue while watching carefully not to overcook. Decorate the top of the meringue with red colored sugar and fresh fruit.

 Serve slightly warm from the oven or later at room temperature.

 Cook’s Note:

          Heat the jam for a short time in a microwave to make it more spreadable.

Recipe adapted from Monmouth Meringue Pudding, Welsh Calendar Cookbook by Gilli Davies, Y Lolfa, Talybont, Wales (2005).

 Copyright © Y Lolfa and Ken Thorne 2005/6