The thirteenth-century noblewoman, Efa ferch Maredudd ab Owain, is one of the earliest known examples of a literate medieval Welsh woman and possibly a female lay patron of a male cleric. Brother Gruffudd Bola translated the Athanasian Creed ( Quicumque vult) into Welsh for her benefit, though whether she herself commissioned it remains uncertain. She was a member of a noble family with extensive ties to the native royal dynasties of Wales. Her family was also celebrated for its long-standing patronage of the native Welsh poets and had close links with the Cistercian abbey of Strata Florida.