St. Cadfrod,
Bishop of Caerleon
(Born c.AD 365)
(Latin-Catobrotius, English-Catbroth)
The original dedication of the parish church
of St. Cadog
in Caerleon,
is said to have been to St. Cadfrod, an early bishop. According to
tradition, he was a younger son of 'King' Gadeon of Dumnonia and grandson of
the great Conan
Meriadoc. Since his name means
'Battle-Brother,' some historians have tried to equate Cadfrod with another
'Brother': Adelfius, "Episcopus de civitate Colonia Londinensium,"
who attended the Council of Arles in AD 314. Since he was joined by a Bishop
of London and there was no colonia in that town, the latter word has
evidently been mistranscribed at some point. Readings of Legionensium
have bolstered the Cadrod identification, but the Colonial reference still
causes a problem and the town is generally taken to be Lincoln: Lindensium. Cadfrod
actually seems to have lived in the late 4th and early 5th centuries,
entering the Church at a time when its influence was rapidly expanding in
Britain. There were probably bishops in some twenty Roman towns by this time
and there may well be some truth in the tradition that Cadfrod was the
founder and first bishop of the See of Caerleon. He
had two sons, Gwrfael
and Cadgyfarch.
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