Llanllŷr, Ceredigion, Wales Genealogy

Llanllŷr was a house of Cistercian women, founded in 1190 by the great Lord Rhys, ruler of Deheubarth ... Llanllŷr was unusual among Welsh Cistercian houses in that its name suggests there was an earlier settlement in the area. Llan is the Welsh for a church enclosure. More, LLlanllŷr has one of the earliest inscribed stones in Wales, recording the gift of a patch of wasteland belonging to one Ditoc, which Occon son of Asaitgen gave to Madomnuac. These are Irish names, and the formula suggests that Madomnuac was a priest, possibly the head of a religious community ... Llanllŷr is set in fertile ground in the headwaters of the Aeron valley, but the site itself is in the marshes and the land with which the abbey was endowed was not good. This was fairly typical of the women’s houses, in other orders as well as the Cistercians. Their sites were remote and uncomfortable, preserving both strict enclosure and penitential austerity. They were not given huge tracts of land, presumably as it was felt they could neither farm nor manage them.

For more information see The Cisterian Way