Germanus of Auxerre and Lupus of Troyes made at least one visit to Britain in AD 429 and founded or refounded a number of ecclesiastic establishments across South Wales, and the authority of the refounded Côr Tewdws is traditionally ascribed to them. It was at this time that Saint Illtud came to the Hodnant valley. Although he is said to have been born in Brittany, Illtud had fought as a soldier in Wales before renouncing his former life at the behest of Saint Cadoc. What is certain is that Illtud oversaw the growth of the pioneering monastery (on the Ogney Brook), and the refounded Côr (close to the current St Illtyd's Church), and that together these institutions became the first great hub of Celtic Christianity and teaching.