St. Cynog and the Defynnog Yew Tree

Hidden in the small village of Defynnog, on the edge of the Bannau Brycheiniog, stands one of the most remarkable ancient trees in Wales. The Defynnog Yew may have been growing here for more than 2,000 years, potentially since the Iron Age, long before the Romans arrived in Britain and centuries before Christianity reached Wales. But just how old is it? Claims have suggested the tree could be as much as 5,000 years old, while research into the ancient yews at Defynnog has revealed an even stranger possibility: one of the trees may effectively be a clone of another, created when an ancient branch rooted itself into the earth. In this video I visit Defynnog to explore the history and mystery surrounding the yew, as well as the remarkable stories that grew up around the nearby church of St Cynog. Cynog himself became the subject of medieval Welsh legends involving giants, monsters and a miraculous torc, while the people of Defynnog later celebrated their saint with an unusual local tradition known as “Carrying Cynog” which involved carrying an unpopular local or stranger through the village and throwing them into the river. From an ancient tree that may predate Roman Britain to early Christianity, medieval Welsh folklore and forgotten village traditions, Defynnog is a place where thousands of years of history and storytelling seem to have accumulated around one extraordinary living thing. And perhaps the biggest mystery isn't whether the tree is 2,000, 2,500 or 5,000 years old. It's how something can survive for so long that we've forgotten why it mattered in the first place. #Defynnog #WelshHistory #WelshFolklore #AncientTrees #Wales #BannauBrycheiniog #BreconBeacons #StCynog #WelshMythology #HiddenWales