A site on St David

St David is the patron saint of Wales, or Dewi Sant in Welsh lived somewhere between 462 to 512 with most saying 500-589.

This is a list of some legends associated with this figure. followed by some articles on him. There is stuff here I have not seen on any other internet site,

Some allege he was the son of the King of Ceredigion (South West Wales), But not a prince,

As the statement in legends is that 30 years before his birth by Angels, the king of that area was told to collect honey, a stag, and fish, and nd was told a importnt figure would be born. It was said set aside the honey as he has widsom, set in him l;ike honey in a honeycomb. And that fish reflects his abstinence. And the stag as of his power over the serpent.

Supposedly St Patrick in some legends was told of St David, and told by God before St David arrived on the scene do not build a monastery herem, it is set for another the so called St David. Which upset Patrick as the area looked so nice.

Anyhow, it is said he was the product of a violation,. That the King Of Ceredigion violated his said to be very beutiful Mum,

It was said a magician prophesised about him. That he would be born, Also a preacher was unable to preach in a church untill she left the churhc. As he was in her womb, and was of such power.

Anyway the magician informed a tyrant that Dewi was about to be born and the tyrant watched where the birth would be, I hace to say I do not know what then happened to the tyrant. But anyhow, a huge thunderstorm, broke out and lightening so much nobody would leave their houses But she had a light shining on her as she ewas born, and it was calm, and she grabbed rocks, which were imprinmted by her hands as of her pains, also 2 rocks appeared on her conception.

Anyway he was baptised by the bishop of Munstermen, where a spring appeared where a spring of clear water appeared. a miracle, the miarcles of st david.

In school it was said other pupils saw a dove teaching him hymms, in some legends.

Anyhow he left Dyfed to become for a while a priest around the Taf,

He never looked at his master, the leader of the place where eh was taught another religous man, as he was so overcome with shyness. But when he did he cured him of blindness. He then helped found monasteries in Bath, and Raglan, in legend, and was great at gathering crosp and ploughing. At levels miarculous.And cured a king in South Wales's blindness.

David then went to a part of South Wales and advised a better place to build a monastery, 3 people who were by now in a sense his disciples then lit a fire to build him a monastery the smoke grew so high it was amazing, and to some surrounded Ireland. A man far away saw, and was horrified at this portent of such enormity, and his wife said this man who this must symbolise must be killed. He went ill, and was unable to on the way, then came back to be told by his wife his cattle had died. So they begged for mercy from God.

Anyway the bad wife then made her maids try to tempt the monks, by sexual acts, David said, be good beat her by good, anyway then she lost and so killed her step daughter and much of her family died. The king of Cornwall came and bowed to him. and built a monastery in honour of him,

St David prayed for water and a spring came for somebodyfull of health,

He is said to have maede Bath's water health giving

He was said before birth to be someone whose power would cross the whole country.

One disciple Aidan, was helped by him, and was in a storm, where the book was not covered inw ater that he had been reading.

Aidan went to Ireland, a place mentioned allot in St Davids story showing the closeness, a angel told him St David would be poisoned. So Aidan said thouigh he could not cross to stell St David he was in trouble, So the angel sent him onto the beach and let Aidam cross on a sea monster. He arrived and saw St David aside a cook and such trying to poison him, But S t Daviod gave a crow and dog the bread they died then he ate it and did not die.

Anothr time, Dewi also knonw as the Holy Father to some, blessed a horse and a man on it was able to cross the Irish Sea on iot, and a St Brendan incidently riding a sea monster said blsessed is God or somthing like that, I have paraphrased him, The horse was kept in Ireland and a statue of it said to bring miracles satyed for Decades they said,

Another time he woke and travelled to Jerusalem, after a angel told him to, they travelled there as equals crossing the English Channel, then known as the Britannic sea,

a ANGEL told the Patriach of Jersualem, that three were coming, they were given 3 thrones when they arrived, and the patriach of Jersualem, made ST David a archbishop, would you believe, then said it would be great for Christiainity to be spread rto ends of the world, like where he was,

He gave the vistots preszent liek bells, and stuff of great value,

St David liek other saints could sperak all languages so they needed no translator on the way, a church is where he was conceived or was,

He also is said to have had a great monk, who was very good, so good he built homes for bees for the monastery, but the bess followed him onto the ship when they were leaving to a place oustide his monastery. Dewi was so impressed he let the bees go with him, and according to legend there were no bees in Ireland afore while after there were, some,

Anyway also he saw from afar a man about to attack a man, who conedmedd him for being to lazuyy on the road building, by St Davids, and St David saw this and made the man's hand fall of

Another time many bobles and princes came to a synod

Only St David actually was able to speak, so loud and artuciltate all could here, this pleasing to appearance man, they said, and a hill rose for him, and he made the speech a dove came and sat on hsi shoulder, this helped expel the heresy as of his teachings a hersey against his supposed beliefs in some legends,

Her also restored a boy to life on the way to thsi synod, who became religous,

And he made the synod, so impressed he was declared archbioshop of all Brittish and such,.

Rhygyfarch, late 11th century author wrote Dewi was the son of sanctus rex ceredigionis, where Sanctus has been interpreted as a proper name & 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. Sandde is said to have been 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 & 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 in the middle of a violent storm. David was educated at what is usually taken to be Whitland in Carmarthenshire under Saint Paulinus of Wales.

He became renowned as a teacher & preacher, founding monastic settlements & churches in Wales, Cornwall & Brittany in a period when neighbouring tribal regions like that to the east of Wales were still mostly pagan. He rose to a bishopric, & presided over two synods, as well as going on pilgrimages to Jerusalem (where he was anointed as a bishop by the Patriarch) & Rome. St David's Cathedral now stands on the site of the monastery he founded in the remote & inhospitable valley of 'Glyn Rhosyn' in Pembrokeshire.

David said monks had to pull the plough , not draught animals; only water; eat only bread with salt & herbs; & spend the evenings in prayer, reading & writing. No personal possessions were allowed: to say "my book" was a offence. He lived a simple life & practiced asceticism, teaching followers to refrain from meat or alcohol. His symbol, the leek.

The best-known miracle associated with Dewi Sant 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 rose up to form a small hill so everyone had a good view. A white dove was seen settling on his shoulder — a sign of God's grace & blessing. The village which is said to stand on the spot today is known as Llanddewi Brefi. A more mundane version of this story is that he simply recommended that the synod participants move to the hilltop. In works of art, David is frequently shown with a dove on his shoulder.

A document that contains traditional tales about David is Buchedd Dewi, a hagiography written by Rhygyfarch in the late 11th century. 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.

William of Malmesbury recorded David visited Glastonbury to dedicate the Abbey, as well as to donate a traveling 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, & it was not seemly that it should be re-dedicated by human hands". So David instead commissioned a extension built to the abbey, east of the Old Church. One manuscript indicates 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 Dewi lived for over 100 years, & he died on a Tuesday, March 1 (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, & keep your faith & your creed. Do the little things that you have seen me do & heard about. I will walk the path that our fathers have trod before us.' 'Do the little things' ('Gwnewch y pethau bychain') is today a phrase in Welsh, & has proved a inspiration to many. David was buried at St David's Cathedral where his shrine was a place of Medieval pilgrimage Unlike many contemporary 'saints' of Wales,

Born N/K in Caerfai, Pembrokeshire,
Died 1 March probably 589 in St David's, Pembrokeshire,
Venerated in Roman Catholic Church; Anglican Communion
Canonized 1123, Rome, Italy, officially recognised by Calixtus II
Major shrine St David's Cathedral, Pembrokeshire, controversial bones in casket
Feast 1 March
Attributes bishop with a dove, usually on his shoulder, sometimes standing on a raised hillock
Patronage Wales; Pembrokeshire; vegetarians; poets
earliest of the supposed bones of Dewi Sant & Saint Justinian housed in a casket in Holy Trinity Chapel of St David's Cathedral were carbon-dated to 12th century But some say that may just have been contraversy like how tungs are conveniently carbon dated as correct for English nationalist stuff but not Welsh,

Click here to find a holiday cottage by St Davids

Links to our 100s of websites on history to sport,

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A site detailing some facts about the Welsh Reformation

A site on the El Nino Famines that killed 10s of millions of Indians, & Chinese & others in the 19th Century

The Highland Clearances & it's full terribleness

A Multiple Choice Quiz on Welsh History

Top 10 Most Sucesful Welsh Politicians ever List

A site on religon

A site on the Belgian Congo, & how the king of that land killed 10s of millions of Congolese

A History of South East Wales

The Importance of Castles in Welsh History

Why the French Revolution was good