Happy St. David's Day!
1 March, 2008
Get out the Daffodils and Leeks!
It's time to celebrate St. David's Day!
For those of you who don't know the really important stuff ~ ~ ~
Saint David (c. 500-589) (known in Welsh as Dewi Sant) was a church official, later
regarded as a saint and as the patron saint of Wales. David contrasts with the other
national patron saints of the British Isles, Saints George, Andrew and Patrick, in that a
relatively large amount of information is known about his life. However, his birth date is
still controversial, with suggestions ranging from 462 to 512.
He 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 united as England three hundred years later) 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 a bishop 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.
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. 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 was buried at St David's Cathedral where his shrine was a popular place of
pilgrimage throughout the Middle Ages. Unlike many contemporary 'saints' of Wales,
David was officially recognised by Pope Callixtus II in 1120.
Now, go out and do your own genealogy. You never know what you might dig up!