Afan as a man's name in Wales is probably a loan from the Latin Amandus. In Welsh, he is sometimes known as Esgob Afan from his title and as Afan Buellt or Buallt from his diocese around Builth in Brycheiniog.
Life
Saint Afan was the son of Cedig apCeredig, son of Cunedda Wledig, king ofGwynedd. Through this line, he was a cousin of Saint David, patron saint of Wales. Afan's mother is variously given as Dwywai, Degfed, Tegfedd, or Tegwedd, all said to have been daughters of Tegid the Bald, a lord of Penllyn in Meirionnydd who was the husband of the sorceressCeridwen in Welsh legend. Afan was the founder of a Llanafan in Ceredigion and two others in Brecknockshire. He is recorded as a bishop, although his diocese remains unknown. He may have been the third bishop of Llanbadarn in Ceredigion, bishop over Builth with his seat at Llanafan Fawr, or held the title without any purview beyond his own parish. His death was credited to martyrdom at the hand of Irish or Danish pirates on the banks of the River Chwefru. He was claimed as an ancestor of the 10th-century bishop Ieuan who was also martyred by Viking marauders.
Miracles
A miracle recounted by Gerald of Wales claimed that the Anglo-Norman lord Philip de Braose was struck blind and saw his hunting dogs go mad when he disrespectfully used church in Brecknockshire as a makeshift hostel one night. He was told that his vision would only return if he resolved to leave his estates and fight in the Crusades. Some say his sight was restored upon his pledge but Gerald records that he traveled to the Holy Land and fought blind, where he was "immediately struck down by a blow from a sword and so ended his life with honour".
Legacy
Saint Afan was said to have founded the parish of Llanafan in Ceredigion, whose present church serves as the chapel for the village of Llanafan and the nearby Trawsgoed Estate. Its grounds house the family crypt of the earls of Lisburne. Two churches were dedicated to him in the deanery of Builth: Llanafan Fawr and Llanafan Fechan or Fach, which eventually became known as Llanfechan. His relics are claimed by Llanafan Fawr, which served as a pilgrimage site during the Middle Ages. Saint Afan's grave in the churchyard there is inscribed in deeply cut, slightly ornamented Lombardic script. The present tomb, however, is not older than the late 13th century. Browne Willis also considered the "Saint Afran" honored at Llantrisant on Anglesey to be a corruption of Afan.
