Cywair

Saint Cywair (Cowair, Cywer) is a saint of Wales, associated with the church at Llangywair near Bala in Gwynedd. Her name means "the golden one", which may point to her purity or virginity.

Little is preserved about her life. A Russian tradition calls her the queen of Pennine, wife of Arthwys ap Mor and mother of Saint Pabo, "Pillar of Britain", and regards her as the patron of the settlement of Llangower, where the church bearing her name and a wonderworking spring are found. In the old parish there is a stone with a cross, called Llech Gower, and a quarter of a mile from the church the spring Ffynnon Gower, in which children suffering from rickets used to be bathed. The church and the spring are listed monuments. The church is called Eglwys Gwawr; but Gwawr is now thought to be a different person, one of the daughters of Brychan. Cywair is honored as a saint of the undivided Church, in the old Welsh calendars.