The first day of March is St David’s Day. Who was St David and why is he the patron saint of Wales? This is the story …
St David
St David was born in or across the yr 500 AD. According to the story, his mother was Non (later St Non), daughter of Lord Cynyr Ceinarfog. She lived as a nun at Ty Gwyn near Porth Mawr (Whitesands Bay) in Pembrokeshire, in south-western Wales. She was said to have been raped by Prince Sant, son of Ceredig ap Cunedda, King of Ceredigion in western Wales. It is claimed that Non gave birth to a son, whom she called Dewi, at Caerfai on a Pembrokeshire clifftop during a storm. The spot was later marked by a chapel dedicated to St Non. After the Reformation it was converted to a dwelling and today is a wreck. Dewi Sant was baptised and brought up by his mother.
Dewi was known in Latin as Davidus, and thus in English as David. What little is understood about David is basically based upon an account, or hagiography, of his life written some centuries later in Latin, by Rhigyfarch about 1080. In Latin it known as ‘Vita sancti Davidis episcopi’ which translates as ‘The lifetime of St David the bishop’. The history was based on records and oral tradition and is a combination of facts and legend. This book was translated into Welsh within the Middle Ages as ‘Buchedd Dewi’ and led to his increased popularity as a saint.
Life of St David
David was reputedly very tall for the time, and a strong speaker. As a young man he became a monk and was ordained. Stories tell of his kindness and his humility. His native language was Welsh, but as a monk he also needed to know Latin, and he also probably knew Irish.
The most famous legend related to him was when he was preaching about Jesus on the Synod of Brefi (now called Llanddewi Brefi) in Ceredigion (Cardiganshire), in or around 545 AD. Despite being tall, the people on the back complained that they may not hear him, so miraculously the bottom beneath his feet rose as much as form a hill, so the gospel might be heard. As a result the lectionary reading on St David’s Day is usually Isaiah 52:7 which starts: ”How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those that bring excellent news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation” (NIV).
From about 547 AD he travelled across the Celtic world to evangelise. He later went on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. At some point he was anointed as a bishop of Caerleon. In or around 550 AD, David settled at Glyn Rhosyn in Pembrokeshire where he established a monastic community, along what we’d today call Eastern Orthodox rites, perhaps influenced by what he had seen within the Holy Land. He also moved the seat of the bishopric there. David was the abbot of hermits who led an easy and austere lifestyle. It is claimed that they ploughed the fields by hand, not using oxen. They had one meal a day consisting of fruit, bread, honey, and vegetables, perhaps including leeks, and drank water. They refused beer and meat, and in order that they were effectively what we now call vegetarian and teetotal. Their routine was centred on farming, prayer, reading and writing (in Latin).
There was no Bible in Welsh then, in order that they used the Bible in Latin, but preached within the old British language, which was the forerunner of Welsh, Cornish and Breton. St David drew followers from all around the Celtic lands. The monastery became a centre for mission and David and his monks went to evangelise the Celtic world travelling and church-planting not only in Wales, but additionally in Ireland, Brittany, and Dumnonia which was the previous Celtic kingdom within the west country of what’s now England, covering Cornwall, Devon, and parts of Somerset.
Death
St David’s last words to his monks got here from a sermon he gave on the previous Sunday before he died. He said: ‘Be joyful, keep the religion, and do the little things in life that you may have heard and seen me do.’ The Welsh phrase is ‘Gwnewch y pethau bychain mewn bywyd’ or ‘Do the little things in life’, which is a widely known saying in Wales. David died on 1st March in or about AD 589. He was considered a Celtic saint, but was likely never officially canonised by the Roman Catholic Church.
St David’s Shrine
David was buried at his monastery in Pembrokeshire, and his shrine became a well-liked pilgrimage site. Despite being ravaged by fire, and raided by Vikings, it was at all times rebuilt. A later mediaeval shrine attracted pilgrims. In mediaeval times pilgrimages were popular and were considered part of spiritual duty and will reputedly earn merit. Among the pilgrims was King William the Conqueror who got here in 1081. In 1120 Pope Callixtus II said that two visits to St David’s were considered comparable to one to Rome, and three visits were comparable to one to Jerusalem. St David’s shrine earnt the monastery a lot wealth that from 1182, they began to construct a big cathedral on the location of the unique monastery, which is by far the most important in Wales. In 1284, after his military conquests in Wales, the English King Edward I took St David’s head and arm from his shrine on the cathedral and displayed them in London.
The town nearby became often known as Tyddewi, which translates as David’s house, but is understood in English as St David’s. The size of the cathedral is unusual in not being in a big vital town. The existence of the cathedral signifies that St Davids is the smallest place within the UK with official city status.
St David’s shrine was destroyed within the Reformation. These days, pilgrimages are growing in popularity again, not for superstitious reasons to realize merit marks for years off purgatory, but as fun walking trails and ways to explore history and heritage. The shrine at St David’s was restored and rededicated on Saint David’s Day, 2012.
Saint David’s Day
As with most saints, the date of his death became his saint’s day. As so it was that 1st March became Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Sant (St David’s Day). In 1398, St David’s Day was made a feast day for all churches within the Province of Canterbury, which then included Wales.
Churches dedicated to St David
Today there are lots of ancient churches dedicated to St David, either because he reputedly founded them, or they were named after him. By the twelfth century, over sixty churches in Wales were dedicated to St David, and in addition some in Ireland and Brittany. There are also churches dedicated to St David in some parts of what’s now England, which on the time of St David were Celtic-speaking lands, in Herefordshire, Devon and Cornwall, and one in Somerset. More modern churches named after St David outside Wales often have a reference to a Welsh community.
Bishop of St David’s
The bishop at St David’s was called the Bishop of Mynyw, which was Latinised as Menevia. The Bishop of Menevia was considered the Archbishop of Wales until 1115, when the Normans brought Wales ecclesiastically under the Archbishop of Canterbury. In the 1530s when Henry VIII created the Church of England, the bishops in Wales became bishops of the Church of England, and in 1536 the monasteries, including the one at St David’s, were closed. In 1560 the diocese was called St David’s. Today there continues to be a Bishop of St David’s, and the diocese, which is within the Anglican Church in Wales, traces itself back to St David, the primary bishop. Since 1920, the Church in Wales has been disestablished as a Church throughout the Anglican Communion but separate from the Church of England. Wales has its own archbishop again, chosen from among the many other bishops. In 1898, the name Menevia was resurrected when the Roman Catholic Church established a recent Catholic Diocese of Menevia in south-west and mid-Wales.
Patron Saint of Wales
Over time St David became an emblem for Wales, and because the twelfth century has been considered the patron saint. Although saints’ days were abolished within the Reformation, nonetheless St David’s Day retained the thought as a national day for Welsh communities, inside and outdoors Wales. In the seventeenth century Samuel Pepys recorded in his diary how the Welsh celebrated St David’s Day in London. Around the world many Welsh groups, for Welsh people living overseas or those of Welsh heritage, are called a ‘Cymdeithas Dewi Sant’ (St David’s Society).
St David is the one native-born patron saint of the countries of Britain and Ireland. Whereas St Andrew of Scotland was one among the apostles, St George of England was from Asia Minor, St Patrick of Ireland was British, St David of Wales was actually Welsh.
St David’s Cross
The patron saints St George, St Andrew and St Patrick have their very own crosses which were used as flags and combined to make the flag of the United Kingdom. St David also has a flag based on the cross which is less well-known outside Wales, but which might still be seen on the arms of the Diocese of St David’s. It is a golden cross, just like the color of the daffodil, on a black background. Since the mid-Nineteen Nineties this flag has been increasingly used instead flag of Wales, after the Welsh dragon flag.
St David’s Day events
St David’s Day shouldn’t be a public holiday, however it is usually marked by Welsh people, and people of Welsh heritage. Traditional festivities include wearing daffodils and leeks, that are symbols of Wales and Saint David. People may eat traditional Welsh food resembling cawl, Welsh lamb, bara brith or Welsh cakes. People may wear traditional Welsh costume or a Welsh rugby shirt, or people may wear a leek or a daffodil, that are symbols of Wales.
If St David’s Day falls on a weekday, Welsh schools will often do special events, and should hold an eisteddfod, which is a Welsh cultural event with music, singing and poetry. Since 2003, there was an annual St David’s Day parade in Cardiff, and parades have grow to be more common across towns and cities of Wales. Welsh people outside Wales will often gather together and use it as an excuse for a celebration. On St David’s Day people may wave a flag with St David’s cross on it, and want one another “Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus” or “Happy St David’s Day”.
In the liturgy, the collect for St David’s Day is “God in heaven, you gave David to the people of Wales to guide us in our faith: encouraged by David’s example and following your Holy Spirit, may we joyfully proclaim your glory and generosity; this we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.”
