<< Image Pages >> The Cross of Briamail (Llandefaelog) - Ancient Cross in Wales in Powys

Submitted by Sunny100 on Sunday, 12 December 2010  Page Views: 6396

Early Medieval (Dark Age)Site Name: The Cross of Briamail (Llandefaelog) Alternative Name: St Briamael's Cross, St Maelog's Cross
Country: Wales
NOTE: This site is 0.855 km away from the location you searched for.
County: Powys Type: Ancient Cross
Nearest Town: Brecon  Nearest Village: Llandefaelog Fach
Map Ref: SO034324
Latitude: 51.981633N  Longitude: 3.407953W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
 3 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
 4 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
 5 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
 4

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The Cross of Briamail (Llandefaelog)
The Cross of Briamail (Llandefaelog) submitted by Sunny100 : Illustration of The Cross of Briamail in St Maelog's Church at Llandefaelog Fach near Brecon. The cross-slab is 8 feet tall and dates from between the 8th-10th centuries CE. It has a Latin inscription, a slender incised cross and a warrior-like figure with a spear and dagger. (Vote or comment on this photo)
The small village of Llandefaelog Fach is 2 miles north-west of Brecon on the B4520 road. The church of St Maelog (Tyfailog) close to the River Honddu, houses an 8th-10th century CE cross-slab with a Latin inscription, incised cross and warrior-like figure.

The cross-slab used to stand in the churchyard but today it is housed, for safety, under the north tower arch. It stands at 8 feet high and is said to date from the 8th-10th century CE; the date as been narrowed down to between 900-950. The slab has an incised Celtic cross at the top surrounded by ribbon interlacing and what could be a large "S". In the middle a warrior-like figure wears a long tunic and holds a spear and dagger in either hand. Below the figure a Latin inscription and, at the bottom, key-patterning decoration.

The inscription in two horizontal lines reads: BRIAMAIL FLOU or it could be FOR BRIAMAIL FLOU which translated says: 'The Cross of Briamail'. This could be a reference to St Briavel, the 6th century hermit of St Briavel's, Gloucestershire. Or it could be St Maelog, son of Caw Cawlwyd, a Clydeside chieftain, and brother of St Gildas the Historian.

There used to be another stone in the church here, but this is now lost. Apparently, it had an inscription to CATVC - probably St Cattwg or Cadoc. The writer Theophilus Jones recorded in 1890 the stone "has since disappeared".
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Nearby Images from Geograph Britain and Ireland:
SO0332 : St Maelog's Church, Llandefaelog Fach by Simon Atkin
by Simon Atkin
©2006(licence)
SO0332 : Interior of St Maelog's, Llandefaelog Fach by Simon Atkin
by Simon Atkin
©2006(licence)
SO0332 : Llandefaelog Church by Philip Halling
by Philip Halling
©2008(licence)
SO0332 : Ordnance Survey Cut Mark by Adrian Dust
by Adrian Dust
©2015(licence)
SO0332 : Llandefaelog Church by Philip Halling
by Philip Halling
©2008(licence)

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"The Cross of Briamail (Llandefaelog)" | Login/Create an Account | 7 News and Comments
  
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Re: The Cross of Briamail (Llandefaelog) by Anonymous on Monday, 07 March 2022
There is a photo of the cross at:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/cy/5/5e/Croes_Briamail.jpg

[ Reply to This ]

Re: The Cross of Briamail (Llandefaelog) by 2333 on Saturday, 11 April 2020
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Lovely drawing Sunny100. Have you thought of putting it on the wiki site of the village.

I remember visiting the church twenty years ago. At that time the Watkins mausoleum was intact with barred windows. Lead coffins could be seen through the windows. Since then the mausoleum appears to have sunk and is overgrown. I presume that the coffins have been moved.
[ Reply to This ]
    Re: The Cross of Briamail (Llandefaelog) by Sunny100 on Sunday, 12 April 2020
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    I wouldn't know how to do that 2333. I'm not much good at that. But thanks anyway.
    [ Reply to This ]

Re: The Cross of Briamail (Llandefaelog) by Martin_L on Wednesday, 29 May 2019
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Partial frottage/rubbing of the The Cross of Briamail: https://canmore.org.uk/collection/1425565
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Re: The Cross of Briamail (Llandefaelog) by Sunny100 on Tuesday, 28 May 2019
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There was no mention by me of any Celtic church at Llandefaelog. It is merely speculation due to the age of the cross found there. However, the design-work of the cross is purely Celtic in its style. The first church was more likely Norman Early 12th C. The dedications to these early saints probably began in the 11th-13th centuries - at which time the Lives of these British saints were becoming known to many - due largerly to medieval monasteries producing such works. Without these works we wouldn't know much, if anything, about saints like Maelog and Briavel.
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Re: The Cross of Briamail (Llandefaelog) by Hatty on Tuesday, 28 May 2019
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The earliest written mention of the medieval church was in 1139, although British Listed Buildings warns "the present nave and chancel cannot be closely dated". No 6th century church has been found so a cross is unlikely to have been erected prior to the twelfth century structure. Mis-dating crosses is one thing but a 'lost' cross is downight bizarre. If a cross had really been discovered in 1890 (why so late?) it is hard to imagine how it could then completely vanish.
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Re: The Cross of Briamail (Llandefaelog) by geoffstickland on Tuesday, 28 May 2019
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This site actually has a picture but no star in the nearby sites. [Thank you, now sorted, Ed]
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