Founder of first great monastic school of Wales, known as Llanilltud Fawr
Illtud was the son of a minor Breton prince named Bican Farchog who lived with his wife in Brittany during the sixth century. His father was King Arthur’s uncle on his mother’s side, thus making him and Illtud cousins.
It was while visiting his royal cousin that the young Illtud met and married a woman named Trynihid. Later, he crossed over to Britain while serving in Arthur’s army, and subsequently joined the military services of a chieftain in Glamorgan in southern Wales. As a warrior he distinguished himself and gained renown for his military prowess earning for himself the title of “Illtud the Knight.”
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