the welsh characters are named by patronymics e.g. elis ap (= son of) cynan, or einon ab ithel, where the patronymic begins with a vowel. cadfael himself was born in trefriw in gwynedd. though not used within the abbey, his full welsh name is cadfael ap meilyr ap dafydd, and he claims he would be ashamed if he could not trace his ancestry back five generations. the only female whose name is mentioned is cristina merch (= daughter of) tudur.