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 around the year 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 said 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 ruin. 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 known about David is largely based upon an account, or hagiography, of his life written some centuries later in Latin, by Rhigyfarch about 1080. In Latin it is called ‘Vita sancti Davidis episcopi’ which translates as ‘The life of St David the bishop’. The history was based on records and oral tradition and is a mixture of facts and legend. This book was translated into Welsh in 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 powerful 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 had to know Latin, and he also probably knew Irish.
The most famous legend associated with him was when he was preaching about Jesus at the Synod of Brefi (now called Llanddewi Brefi) in Ceredigion (Cardiganshire), in or around 545 AD. Despite being tall, the folk at the back complained that they could not hear him, so miraculously the ground beneath his feet rose up to form a hill, so the gospel could be heard. As a result the lectionary reading on St David’s Day is often Isaiah 52:7 which starts: ”How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation” (NIV).
From about 547 AD he travelled around the Celtic world to preach. 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 might today call Eastern Orthodox rites, maybe influenced by what he had seen in the Holy Land. He also moved the seat of the bishopric there. David was the abbot of hermits who led a simple and austere lifestyle. It is said that they ploughed the fields by hand, not using oxen. They had one meal a day consisting of fruit, bread, honey, and vegetables, maybe including leeks, and drank water. They refused beer and meat, and so 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, so they used the Bible in Latin, but preached in the old British language, which was the forerunner of Welsh, Cornish and Breton. St David drew followers from all over 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 also in Ireland, Brittany, and Dumnonia which was the former Celtic kingdom in the west country of what is now England, covering Cornwall, Devon, and parts of Somerset.
Death
St David’s last words to his monks came from a sermon he gave on the previous Sunday before he died. He said: ‘Be joyful, keep the faith, and do the little things in life that you 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 well-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 popular pilgrimage site. Despite being ravaged by fire, and raided by Vikings, it was always rebuilt. A later mediaeval shrine attracted pilgrims. In mediaeval times pilgrimages were popular and were considered part of religious duty and could reputedly earn merit. Among the pilgrims was King William the Conqueror who came in 1081. In 1120 Pope Callixtus II said that two visits to St David’s were considered equivalent to one to Rome, and three visits were equivalent to one to Jerusalem. St David’s shrine earnt the monastery so much wealth that from 1182, they started to build a large cathedral on the site of the original monastery, which is by far the largest 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 at the cathedral and displayed them in London.
The town nearby became known as Tyddewi, which translates as David’s house, but is known in English as St David’s. The size of the cathedral is unusual in not being in a large important town. The existence of the cathedral means that St Davids is the smallest place in the UK with official city status.
St David’s shrine was destroyed in the Reformation. These days, pilgrimages are growing in popularity again, no longer for superstitious reasons to gain 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 in the Province of Canterbury, which then included Wales.
Churches dedicated to St David
Today there are many ancient churches dedicated to St David, either because he reputedly founded them, or they were named after him. By the 12th century, over sixty churches in Wales were dedicated to St David, and also some in Ireland and Brittany. There are also churches dedicated to St David in some parts of what is now England, which at 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 usually have a connection with 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 is still a Bishop of St David’s, and the diocese, which is in the Anglican Church in Wales, traces itself back to St David, the first bishop. Since 1920, the Church in Wales has been disestablished as a Church within the Anglican Communion but separate from the Church of England. Wales has its own archbishop again, chosen from among the other bishops. In 1898, the name Menevia was resurrected when the Roman Catholic Church established a new Catholic Diocese of Menevia in south-west and mid-Wales.
Patron Saint of Wales
Over time St David became a symbol for Wales, and since the twelfth century has been considered the patron saint. Although saints’ days were abolished in the Reformation, nonetheless St David’s Day retained the idea as a national day for Welsh communities, within and outside Wales. In the 17th 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 only native-born patron saint of the countries of Britain and Ireland. Whereas St Andrew of Scotland was one of 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 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 can still be seen on the arms of the Diocese of St David’s. It is a golden cross, like the colour of the daffodil, on a black background. Since the mid-1990s this flag has been increasingly used as an alternative flag of Wales, after the Welsh dragon flag.
St David’s Day events
St David’s Day is not a public holiday, but it is often marked by Welsh people, and those of Welsh heritage. Traditional festivities include wearing daffodils and leeks, which are symbols of Wales and Saint David. People may eat traditional Welsh food such as 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, which are symbols of Wales.
If St David’s Day falls on a weekday, Welsh schools will often do special events, and may hold an eisteddfod, which is a Welsh cultural event with music, singing and poetry. Since 2003, there has been an annual St David’s Day parade in Cardiff, and parades have become more common across towns and cities of Wales. Welsh people outside Wales will often gather together and use it as an excuse for a party. On St David’s Day people may wave a flag with St David’s cross on it, and wish each other “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 lead 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.”
