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St. David / Dewi Sant |
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Patronage - Wales; Pembrokeshire; vegetarians; poets
Venerated in Roman Catholic Church; Anglican Communion; Western Rite Orthodox Communities
-Major shrine St David's Cathedral, Pembrokeshire, Wales: shrine largely extant
Born Caerfai, Pembrokeshire, Wales, Saint David (c. 500–589) (Welsh: Dewi Sant) was a church official. He was later regarded as a saint and as the patron saint of Wales. Unlike the other National patron saints of the British Isles, Saints George, Andrew and Patrick, David was a native of the country of which he is patron saint, and a relatively large amount of information is known about his life. However, his birth date is still uncertain, as suggestions range from 462 to 512.
Rhygyfarch, the late 11th century author of the saint's life story, wrote that David was the son of sanctus rex ceredigionis, where Sanctus has been interpreted as a proper name and its owner honoured by Welsh Christians as Sandde, King of Ceredigion. However, this Latin phrase can equally well mean simply "holy king of Ceredigion". The king of Ceredigion around the time of David's birth would have been Usai. According to Rhygyfarch, Sandde was his brother, so probably only a king of part of Ceredigion. They were sons of King Ceredig, founder of Ceredigion. The saint was conceived through violence and his poor mother, Non (possibly just 'a nun'), the daughter of Lord Cynyr of Caer Goch (in Pembrokeshire), gave birth to him on a cliff top during a violent storm. David was educated at what is usually taken to be Whitland in Carmarthenshire under the blind monk Saint Paulinus of Wales. Rhygyfarch wrote Buchedd Dewi (the life of David) in the 11th century, Dewi died in the sixth century, so nearly five hundred years elapsed between his death and the first manuscripts recording his life. As a result, it isn't clear how much of the history of Dewi's life is legend rather than fact. Legend has it that Non was also a niece of King Arthur.
David became renowned as a teacher and preacher, founding monastic settlements and churches in Wales, Cornwall and Brittany in a period when neighbouring tribal regions (that were to be overrun by Anglo-Saxon or Frankish tribes over the following three hundred years) were still mostly pagan. He rose to a bishopric, and presided over two synods, as well as going on pilgrimages to Jerusalem (where he was anointed as an archbishop by the Patriarch) and Rome. St David's Cathedral now stands on the site of the monastery he founded in the remote and inhospitable valley of 'Glyn Rhosyn' in Pembrokeshire.
The Monastic Rule of David prescribed that monks had to pull the plough themselves without draught animals; to drink only water; to eat only bread with salt and herbs; and to spend the evenings in prayer, reading and writing. No personal possessions were allowed. He lived a simple life and practiced asceticism, teaching his followers to refrain from eating meat or drinking beer. He was reportedly tall and physically strong. His symbol, also the symbol of Wales, is the leek.
The best-known miracle associated with Saint David is said to have taken place when he was preaching in the middle of a large crowd at the Synod of Llanddewi Brefi. When those at the back complained that they could not see or hear him, the ground on which he stood is reputed to have risen up to form a small hill so that everyone had a good view. A white dove was seen settling on his shoulder — a sign of God's grace and blessing. In works of art, David is frequently shown with a dove on his shoulder standing on a raised hillock. The village of Llanddewi Brefi is said to stand on the spot where the miracle occurred.
The document that contains much of the traditional tales about David is Buchedd Dewi, a hagiography written by Rhygyfarch in the late 11th century. Rhygyfarch claimed it was based on documents found in the cathedral archives. Modern historians are sceptical of some of its claims. One of Rhygyfarch's aims was that his document could establish some independence for the Welsh church, which was risking losing its independence following the Norman invasion of England in 1066. It is significant that David is said to have denounced Pelagianism during the incident before the ground rose beneath him. Rhygyfarch's Life states that David was anointed as an archbishop by the Patriarch in Jerusalem, a position Rhygyfarch said was confirmed at the Synod of Llanddewi Brefi by popular acclaim. This claim of St David's Metropolitan Status as an archbishopric (and thus of the same status as Canterbury) was later supported by Bernard, Bishop of St David's, Geoffrey of Monmouth, and Gerald of Wales.
According to Rhygyfarch Glastonbury Abbey was amongst the many churches David founded. Around forty years later William of Malmesbury believing the Abbey was older than this, said that David visited Glastonbury intending only to rededicate the Abbey, as well as to donate a travelling altar including a great sapphire. He had a vision of Jesus, who said that \"the church had been dedicated long ago by Himself in honour of His Mother, and it was not seemly that it should be re-dedicated by human hands\". So David instead commissioned an extension to be built to the abbey, east of the Old Church. (The dimensions of this extension given by William were verified archaeologically in 1921). One manuscript indicates that a sapphire altar was among the items King Henry VIII confiscated from the abbey at its dissolution a thousand years later. There are unverifiable indications that the sapphire may now be among the Crown Jewels.
It is claimed that David lived for over 100 years, and he died on a Tuesday 1 March (now St David's Day). It is generally accepted that this was around 590, making the actual year 589.He was buried at St David's Cathedral where his shrine was a popular place of pilgrimage throughout the Middle Ages. The monastery is said to have been 'filled with angels as Christ received his soul'. His last words to his followers were in a sermon on the previous Sunday. Rhygyfarch transcribes these as 'Be joyful, and keep your faith and your creed. Do the little things that you have seen me do and heard about. I will walk the path that our fathers have trod before us.' 'Do the little things in life' ('Gwnewch y pethau bychain mewn bywyd') is today a very well-known phrase in Welsh, and has proved an inspiration to many.
David's popularity in Wales is shown by the Armes Prydein Vawr c.930, a popular prophetic poem in which the poet prophesied that in the future, when all might seem lost, the Cymry (the Welsh people) would unite to follow David as their leader: A lluman glân Dewi a ddyrchafant (And they will raise the pure banner of Dewi) and defeat the English.
Despite much controversy the earliest of the supposed bones of Saint David and Saint Justinian are housed in a casket in the Holy Trinity Chapel of St David's Cathedral though they have since been carbon-dated to the 12th century.
St David's Day, as celebrated today, dates back to 1120, when Dewi was canonised by Pope Callactus the Second, and March 1st was included in the Church calendar. After Dewi's canonisation, many pilgrimages were made to St. David's, and it was reported that two pilgrimages there equalled one to Rome, and three pilgrimages one to Jerusalem. March 1st was celebrated until the Reformation as a holy day. Many churches are dedicated to Dewi, and some to his mother Non.
Saint David's Day (Welsh: Dydd Gwyl Dewi) declared a national day of celebration within Wales in the 18th century is the feast day of Saint David, the patron saint of Wales and falls on 1 March each year. The date of March 1st was chosen in remembrance of the death of Saint David and has been celebrated by followers since then.
In 2006 Saint David's Day was officially celebrated on 28 February by Roman Catholics and on 2 March by the Anglican Church in Wales, because 1 March 2006 was Ash Wednesday, which is a day of penitence on which feast days are not celebrated.
A poll conducted for Saint David's Day in 2006 found that 87% of the Welsh wanted it to be a bank holiday, with 65% prepared to sacrifice a different bank holiday to ensure this. A petition in 2007 to make St. David's Day a bank holiday was rejected by the then British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Annual St. David's Day Events
St.Davids Day Parade Cardiff Every year parades are held in Wales to commemorate St. David. The largest of these is held in Cardiff.
In the town of Colwyn Bay in north Wales, an annual parade through the centre of town is now held with several hundred citizens and schoolchildren taking part. Other events are centred around the parade.
Swansea Council have recently announced a Saint David's Week festival to start in 2009 with a range of musical, sporting and cultural events held throughout Swansea to mark the national day.
St David's Flag
The Flag of St David is normally a gold cross on a black field, though it sometimes appears in other forms including a black cross on a gold field, or with an engrailed cross. It has been used by some as an alternative flag representing Wales in the same sense that the crosses of the patron saints of St George, St Andrew and St Patrick are used to represent England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland respectively. It is similar, and no doubt related, to the arms of the Diocese of St Davids.
Though not seen as frequently as the country's official flag 'Y Ddraig Goch'\(The Red Dragon) the flag can be seen throughout Wales. On St David's Day it plays an obvious central role in the celebrations, and can be seen flying throughout the nation.
The history of the flag is somewhat ambiguous, and although it seems to have re-emerged at the beginning of the 20th century the flag is much older than this, the accepted year amongst folk-historians being 675 AD. One theory is that it was developed to fly outside Anglican churches in Wales, in the same way that the St George's Cross was flown outside churches of England, though since granted in 1954 churches are more likely to fly a flag bearing the armorial bearings of the Church in Wales.
In any case, the colours of the flag — black and gold — have certainly long been associated with the Welsh saint, even if not always in the form of a symmetrical cross. St David's University College, Lampeter (now the University of Wales, Lampeter), founded in 1822, adopted these colours as the college colours in 1888. The flag of St David continues to be associated with the college, and is often flown today in a form defaced to include elements of the crest of St David's College.
The flag has also had military significance, representing the 38th Welsh Division in the Second World War.
In 2002 the flag was incorporated into the new Cardiff City F.C. logo. Supporters of the club have been known to decorate commercially available Saint David's cross flags with the symbol of the club,a bluebird, to match the logo.The flag is also included in the logo of the Celtic Crusaders RLC, who started playing rugby league in Bridgend in 2006. |
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