Cynog ap Brychan (fl.

Floruit

Floruit , abbreviated fl. , is a Latin verb meaning "flourished", denoting the period of time during which something was active...

 492) was a reputed son of Brychan

Brychan

Brychan Brycheiniog was a legendary 5th-century king of Brycheiniog in South Wales.-Life:Celtic hagiography tells us that Brychan was born in Ireland, the son of a Prince Anlach, son of Coronac, and his wife, Marchel, heiress of the Welsh kingdom of Garthmadrun , which the couple later inherited...

, a powerful Welsh prince of the British Dark Ages

Sub-Roman Britain

Sub-Roman Britain is a term derived from an archaeological label for the material culture of Britain in Late Antiquity: the term "Sub-Roman" was invented to describe the potsherds in sites of the 5th century and the 6th century, initially with an implication of decay of locally-made wares from a...

. Cynog's mother was reputedly Benadulved, daughter of Benadyl, a prince of Powys, whom he seduced while a hostage at the court of her father. He is said to have been murdered on the mountain called the Van (Bannau Brycheiniog), and buried in the church of Merthyr Cynawg (English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

: Cynawg the Martyr), near Brecon

Brecon

Brecon is a long-established market town and community in southern Powys, Mid Wales, with a population of 7,901. It was the county town of the historic county of Brecknockshire; although its role as such was eclipsed with the formation of Powys, it remains an important local centre...

, which is dedicated to his memory.

In 1188 Gerald of Wales wrote that there still existed a certain relic purported to be a royal torc

Torc

A torc, also spelled torq or torque, is a large, usually rigid, neck ring typically made from strands of metal twisted together. The great majority are open-ended at the front, although many seem designed for near-permanent wear and would have been difficult to remove. Smaller torcs worn around...

 that had once been worn by Cynog, presumably as an item of royal regalia

Crown jewels

Crown jewels are jewels or artifacts of the reigning royal family of their respective country. They belong to monarchs and are passed to the next sovereign to symbolize the right to rule. They may include crowns, sceptres, orbs, swords, rings, and other objects...

. Gerald encountered this relic while travelling through Brycheiniog

Brycheiniog

Brycheiniog was a small independent petty kingdom in South Wales in the Early Middle Ages. It often acted as a buffer state between England to the east and the powerful south Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth to the west. It was conquered and pacified by the Normans between 1088 and 1095, though it...

. He wrote of this relic:

"Moreover I must not be silent concerning the collar which they call St. Canauc's; for it is most like to gold in weight, nature, and colour; it is in four pieces wrought round, joined together artificially, and clefted as it were in the middle, with a dog's head, the teeth standing outward; it is esteemed by the inhabitants so powerful a relic, that no man dares swear falsely when it is laid before him: it bears the marks of some severe blows, as if made with an iron hammer; for a certain man, as it is said, endeavouring to break the collar for the sake of the gold, experienced the divine vengeance, was deprived of his eyesight, and lingered the remainder of his days in darkness."

Gerald of Wales, The Itinerary of Archbishop Baldwin through Wales, Chapter II

Since the time of Gerald this item has been lost and it may have been melted down.