Darlun
o Ddewi Sant ar ffenestr lliw yng Nghapel Coleg yr Iesu, Rhydychen. XIXeg ganrif
hwyr.
Stained
glass window in Jesus College Chapel, Oxford, showing St David. Late XIXth
century.
Saint David
Archevêque au pays de Galles (✝ v. 601)
De famille princière, il préféra la solitude dans l'île de Wight. Il la quitta, appelé par Dieu en Irlande, malgré les réticences d'un chef de la région. Son monastère connaissait une règle très stricte de silence et de travail, de prière et de longues veilles nocturnes. Appelé à l'épiscopat, il resta dans son monastère plutôt que de vivre dans une maison épiscopale. Au moment de mourir, il dit à ses moines: "N'oubliez pas le peu de choses que je vous ai apprises. Et surtout restez toujours gais." Shakespeare parle de lui dans "Henri V". Son culte fut approuvé en 1120. Il est le patron principal du Pays de Galles.
À Ménévie au pays de Galles, vers 601, saint David, évêque. À l’imitation des exemples et des coutumes des Pères orientaux, il fonda un monastère, d’où sortirent un grand nombre de moines, qui évangélisèrent le pays de Galles, l’Irlande, les Cornouailles et l’Armorique.
Martyrologe romain
.jpg)
David de Ménevie
jeudi 28 mai 2020,
par ljallamion
David de Ménevie (vers
500-vers 589 ou 601)
saint patron du Pays de
Galles
Sous le nom de saint Ivi,
il fait partie des saints semi-légendaires, non reconnus officiellement par
l’église catholique, ayant christianisé la Bretagne [1] entre
le 5ème siècle et le 7ème siècle.
Sa fête, le 1er mars, est
fête nationale galloise. Le poireau est le symbole du saint, ainsi que la
jonquille : les deux ont le même nom (cenhinen) en gallois.
Selon Rhygyfarch, auteur
de la vie du saint au 11ème siècle, David était le fils de sanctus “rex
ceredigionis”, ce qui a mené à l’interprétation qu’il s’agissait d’un nommé
Sanctus, et ce qui explique que les Gallois aient honoré un Sandde, roi de
Ceredigion [2].
L’expression latine peut
également signifier qu’il s’agissait d’un "saint roi" de Ceredigion.
Le roi à l’époque de la naissance de David est connu, et s’appelait Usai.
D’après la légende, Sandde serait son frère, et donc ne serait roi que d’une
partie du Ceredigion. Tous deux étaient fils de Ceredig , le
fondateur du Ceredigion.
Saint Ivi serait donc un
fils de Nonne de son vrai nom Mélarie, fille de Brécan, prince
souverain du Pays de Galles. Nonne est une jeune religieuse, qui aurait fui le
Pays de Galles, sa terre natale, après avoir été violée par un prince. Elle
trouve refuge dans la forêt de Talarmon [3] où
elle fonde un ermitage sous des chênes. Le lieu prendra par la suite le nom de
Diri Nonn [4], paroisse de
l’évêché de Cornouaille [5],
désormais commune du Finistère. Le petit Divy ou David, confié d’abord à saint
Belve, alla ensuite à l’école de saint Hildut à
Hendy-gwyn ar Daf [6],
où il eut pour condisciples Pol Aurélien, Magloire , Gildas et Samson, qui devaient
plus tard évangéliser l’Armorique [7].
Saint-Divy mourut vers l’an 544.
Moine gallois, il serait
arrivé près du Mont Saint-Michel [8],
puis aurait longé la côte, établissant un ermitage à l’endroit qui deviendra
Loguivy-de-la-Mer [9],
puis un second plus à l’ouest à Loguivy-lès-Lannion [10],
avant de s’enfoncer dans les terres : on retrouve sa trace à Landivy [11], à Pontivy [12] ou
encore à Saint-Divy [13],
à Saint-Yvi [14] et
dans la forêt de Dunan dans l’actuelle commune de Bourg-Blanc [15].
David s’illustra comme
enseignant et prêcheur, et créa des monastères et des églises en Galles,
Cornouailles britannique et Bretagne armoricaine, à une époque où ces régions
sont peu christianisées, bien que le christianisme soit la religion de
l’Empereur de Rome Constantin
1er le Grand depuis 313.
Nommé évêque, David
obtint de transférer le siège épiscopal de Caërleon, ville alors très peuplée à
Ménevie [16],
lieu retiré et solitaire ; il présida deux synodes, et fit un pèlerinage à
Jérusalem où sa nomination fut consacrée. La cathédrale de St David’s [17]) a été construite sur le site du monastère
qu’il fonda dans la vallée inhospitalière de Glyn Rhosyn dans le Pembrokeshire [18].
Selon la règle monastique
de David les moines devaient cultiver et tirer eux-mêmes la charrue, sans
l’aide d’animaux. Il était interdit de boire autre chose que de l’eau, de
manger autre chose que du pain, des légumes et du sel. La soirée se passait à
prier, à lire ou écrire. La propriété privée n’existait pas, les moines ne
possédaient rien. L’ascétisme était le mode de vie, la viande était bannie. On
peut imaginer sa surprise quand, alors qu’il était venu pour fonder une église,
il fut selon Vendryes accueilli par les danses des servantes nues de
la reine galloise païenne.
Guillaume de Malmesbury rapporte
que David visita Glastonbury [19] dans
le but de consacrer l’abbaye et de lui offrir un autel portatif contenant un
gros saphir. David demanda donc la construction de nouveaux bâtiments, du côté
est de la vieille église.
David fut enterré dans la
Cathédrale de St David’s, qui fut un lieu de pèlerinage tout au long du Moyen
Âge. Il a été l’un des rares saints gallois ou bretons ou irlandais à être
reconnu par le pape Calixte II en
1123.
Une statue de saint Divy
se trouve dans l’église Saint-Laurent de Langrolay [20].
P.-S.
Source : Cet article
est partiellement ou en totalité issu de l’article de Wikipédia David de
Ménevie/ Portail du pays de Galles/ Catégories : Histoire du pays de
Galles
Notes
[1]
La Bretagne ou Britannie (Britannia en latin) est la province romaine qui, du
premier au quatrième siècle, couvrait une partie de l’île de Grande-Bretagne
correspondant à des territoires qui devinrent par la suite ceux de
l’Angleterre, du pays de Galles et du sud de l’Écosse.
[2]
Le Ceredigion est un comté du pays de Galles. Auparavant partie du Dyfed (avec
le Pembrokeshire et le Carmarthenshire), il a aussi porté le nom de
Cardiganshire en anglais, ou de Sir Aberteifi en gallois (sir signifie comté,
équivalent de shire en anglais). C’est un comté côtier, bordé par la baie de
Cerdigion à l’ouest, Gwynedd au nord, Powys à l’est, le Carmarthenshire au sud
et le Pembrokeshire au sud-ouest.
[3]
qui recouvrait alors la majeure partie de la région de Landerneau
[4]
c’est-à-dire les chênes de Nonne, devenu Dirinon
[5]
Le diocèse de Cornouaille ou évêché de Cournouaille est un ancien diocèse de
l’Église catholique en France. Il est un des neuf diocèses ou évêchés
historiques de la Bretagne historique, dont le territoire était constitué par
le pays de Cornouaille. L’évêque qui siégeait à Quimper était titré
« évêque de Cornouaille » depuis les origines.
[6]
nom anglicisé en Whitland, dans le Carmarthenshire, pense-t-on (d’aucuns
pensent qu’il s’agirait plutôt de l’Île de Wight
[7]
Le nom d’Armorique, d’un mot gaulois latinisé en Aremorica ou en Armorica, est
donné dans l’Antiquité classique à une large région côtière de la Gaule, allant
de Pornic au sud de l’estuaire de la Loire à Dieppe dans le pays de Caux. À
l’époque gauloise, l’Armorique était une vaste confédération de peuples gaulois
s’étendant sur les cinq départements Morbihan, Ille-et-Vilaine,
Loire-Atlantique, Finistère et Côtes-d’Armor, la partie nord-ouest de la région
Pays de la Loire Anjou, Sarthe, Mayenne, la quasi-totalité des départements
modernes de l’actuelle Normandie Manche, Calvados, Eure, peut-être une partie
de la Seine-Maritime et leurs territoires limitrophes.
[8]
L’abbaye du Mont-Saint-Michel est une ancienne abbaye bénédictine et un
monument historique situé sur l’îlot du mont Saint-Michel, qui se trouve
lui-même sur le territoire de la commune française nommée Le Mont-Saint-Michel,
dans le département de la Manche en région de Normandie.
[9]
Ploubazlanec, Plaeraneg en breton, est une commune située dans le département
des Côtes-d’Armor en région Bretagne. Ploubazlanec appartient au pays
historique du Goëlo. Le port de pêche de Loguivy se situe à l’entrée du Trieux.
Ce port est réputé pour ses coquilles Saint-Jacques qui font l’objet d’une fête
annuelle en alternance avec Saint-Quay-Portrieux et Erquy.
[10]
Loguivy-lès-Lannion est une ancienne commune française. La paroisse de
Loguivy-lès-Lannion, enclavée dans l’évêché de Tréguier faisait partie du
doyenné de Lannion relevant de l’évêché de Dol et était sous le vocable de
saint Yves. Elle fut érigée en commune après la révolution
[11]
actuel département de la Mayenne
[12]
Pontivy est une commune française, chef-lieu d’arrondissement du département du
Morbihan. Au 11ème siècle, ce n’est qu’une humble petite bourgade, englobée
dans la paroisse de Noaial, qui est à l’époque la première du diocèse de Vannes
par l’étendue et l’importance. Elle possède probablement à cette époque une
motte castrale qui surplombe le Blavet à proximité d’un ancien gué
[13]
Saint-Divy est une commune française du département du Finistère. Un sanctuaire
druidique, dénommé localement la chapelle de saint Goueznou se trouve dans un
bois près de Pen-ar-Creac’h : il s’agit en fait d’un menhir de deux mètres
de hauteur entouré d’une enceinte ; un autre menhir, portant une cannelure
à chacun de ses angles, se trouve à proximité. Un tumulus a été identifié à
Kerdalaun et des briques romaines trouvées à proximité
[14]
Saint-Yvi est une commune du département du Finistère
[15]
Bourg-Blanc est une commune française du département du Finistère. Au 6ème
siècle, saint Urfold vint vivre en ermite dans la forêt de Dunan sur le
territoire de la commune actuelle de Bourg-Blanc et saint Ivy en fit autant un
peu plus tard
[16]
La ville de Saint David’s (St David’s en anglais, Tyddewi en gallois), au pays
de Galles, a le statut de Cité.
[17]
Ty-Ddewi, en gallois
[18]
Le Pembrokeshire ou comté de Pembroke d’après le nom de la ville capitale, est
un comté au sud-ouest du pays de Galles, sur les rives de la mer d’Irlande.
C’est le comté le plus occidental du pays de Galles.
[19]
L’abbaye de Glastonbury, située en Angleterre, dans le Somerset, prétend être
la plus ancienne église au monde, datant l’établissement de la communauté de
moines en 63, au moment de la visite légendaire de Joseph d’Arimathie, qui y
aurait apporté le Saint-Graal et aurait planté l’aubépine de Glastonbury,
arbrisseau fleurissant à Noël et en mai. L’église abbatiale est agrandie au
cours du xe siècle par l’abbé de Glastonbury, saint Dunstan, figure centrale du
renouveau de la vie monastique anglaise à cette époque, qui introduit la Règle
bénédictine. Dunstan devient archevêque de Canterbury en 960. Il fait également
bâtir de nouveaux cloîtres. En 967, le roi Edmond 1er d’Angleterre est inhumé à
Glastonbury. Au début de la dissolution des monastères en 1536, il y a plus de
800 monastères et couvents en Angleterre. En 1541, il n’en reste plus aucun.
[20]
Côtes-d’Armor
SOURCE : https://www.ljallamion.fr/spip.php?article7889
_(3540635416).jpg)
Saint David of Wales ( March 1 ), All Saints Episcopal Church, San Francisco,
CA
Vie de saint David, patron du Pays de Galles
David de Ménevie (né
vers 500 – + vers 589 ou 601), ou Dewi ou Divy, connu en gallois sous
l'appellation Dewi Sant, est le saint patron du Pays de Galles. Sous le nom de
saint Ivi (ou Ivy, Yvi...), il fait partie des saints ayant christianisé la
(Grande) Bretagne entre le Ve siècle et le VIIe siècle.
L'année de sa naissance
est très incertaine, diverses hypothèses la situant entre 462 et 512. Selon
Rhygyfarch, auteur de la vie du saint au XIe siècle, David était le fils de Sanctus
Rex Ceredigionis, le « saint roi de Ceredigion ». Il fut conçu
dans la violence, et sa malheureuse mère "Non" ou "Nonne"
(de son vrai nom Mélarie, fille de Brécan, prince souverain du pays de Galles),
accoucha au sommet d'une falaise au beau milieu d'une violente tempête. Après
avoir été violée par un prince (Xantus, prince de la Cérétique), elle trouva
refuge dans la forêt de Talarmon où elle fonda un ermitage sous des chênes. Le
lieu prendra par la suite le nom de Diri Nonn, c'est-à-dire les chênes de
Nonne, devenu Dirinon, paroisse de l'évêché de Léon, désormais commune du
Finistère. Le petit Divy ou David, confié d'abord à saint Belve, alla ensuite à
l'école de saint Hildut où il eut pour condisciples Pol Aurélien, Magloire, Gildas
et Samson, qui devaient plus tard évangéliser l'Armorique.
David fut éduqué à Hendy-
gwyn ar Daf (nom anglicisé en Whitland) dans le Carmarthenshire, pense-t-on,
auprès de saint Paulin de Galles (probablement la même personne que le Pol
Aurélien breton) qui avait été l'un des disciples de saint Germain d'Auxerre.
Devenu moine, il serait
arrivé près du Mont Saint-Michel, puis aurait longé la côte, établissant un
ermitage à l'endroit qui deviendra Loguivy-de-la-Mer, puis un second plus à
l'ouest (Loguivy-lès-Lannion), avant de s'enfoncer dans les terres : on retrouve
sa trace à Pont-ivy ou encore à Saint-Divy et à Saint-Yvi dans le Finistère.
David s'illustra comme
enseignant et prédicateur, il créa des monastères et bâtit des églises en
Galles, en Cornouailles (britannique) et en Bretagne armoricaine, à une époque où
ces régions étaient majoritairement païennes. Nommé évêque, il
obtint de transférer le siège épiscopal de Caërleon, ville alors très peuplée,
à Ménevie, lieu retiré et solitaire. Il présida deux synodes, et fit un
pèlerinage à Jérusalem où sa nomination fut consacrée. La cathédrale de St
David's (Ty-Ddewi, en gallois) a été construite sur le site du monastère qu'il
fonda dans la vallée inhospitalière de 'Glyn Rhosyn' dans le
Pembrokeshire ;
Selon la règle monastique
de David les moines devaient cultiver et tirer eux-mêmes la charrue, sans
l'aide d'animaux. Il était interdit de boire autre chose que de l'eau, de
manger autre chose que du pain, des légumes et du sel. La soirée se passait à
prier, à lire ou écrire. Les moines ne possédaient rien en propre. L'ascétisme
était leur mode de vie, la viande était bannie. On peut imaginer sa surprise
quand, alors qu'il était venu pour fonder une église, il aurait été
accueilli par les danses des servantes nues de la reine galloise païenne.
Le miracle le plus connu
attribué à saint David se serait produit alors qu'il prêchait au milieu de la
foule au synode de Brefi. Quand ceux qui étaient au dernier rang se plaignirent
de ce qu'ils ne pouvaient ni voir ni entendre, le sol se souleva, une colline
se forma, pour leur permettre de profiter du spectacle et l'on vit une colombe
blanche se poser sur l'épaule du saint, ce qui démontrait que Dieu était à ses
côtés. Le village de ces miracles s'appelle aujourd'hui Llanddewi Brefi. Aussi
les artistes représentent-ils souvent le saint avec une colombe sur l'épaule.
Le document qui contient
la plupart des haut-faits de David a pour nom Buchedd Dewi (Vie de Dewi), et
c'est une hagiographie écrite par Rhygyfarch vers la fin du XIe siècle. Elle
était destinée à fortifier l'indépendance de l'église galloise que l'invasion
normande de 1066 menaçait.
Guillaume de Malmesbury
rapporte que David visita Glastonbury dans le but de consacrer l'abbaye et de
lui offrir un autel portatif contenant un gros saphir. Alors Jésus lui apparut
dans une vision et lui dit que « l'église avait été depuis longtemps consacrée
par Lui-Même en l'honneur de Sa Mère, et ne devait pas l'être à nouveau de main
d’homme ». David demanda donc la construction de nouveaux bâtiments, ce qui a
été en 1921 par des experts archéologues. Selon un manuscrit, un autel de
saphir aurait été confisqué par le roi Henri VIII lors de la dissolution de
l'abbaye mille ans plus tard. La pierre ferait aujourd'hui partie des joyaux de
la Couronne britannique.
Saint David (Dewi)aurait
vécu cent ans. Il mourut un mardi 1er mars, sans doute en 589. Ce
jour-là, dit-on, le monastère était « rempli d'anges au moment où le Christ
recueillit son âme ». Ses derniers mots à ses disciples il les avait prononcés
le dimanche précédent. D'après Rhygyfarch, il leur avait dit: « Soyez
joyeux, et gardez votre foi. Faites les petites choses que vous m'avez vu faire
et dont vous avez entendu parler. Je marcherai sur le sentier que nos pères ont
parcouru avant nous ». La phrase galloise « Gwnewch y pethau
bychain » (faites les petites choses) est devenue proverbiale.
David fut enterré dans la
cathédrale St David's, qui fut un lieu de pèlerinage tout au long du Moyen Âge.
Plusieurs localités
bretonnes portent son nom: Saint-Yvi et Saint-Divy dans le Finistère,
Loguivy-lès-Lannion et Loguivy-de-la-Mer, désormais simple hameau de l'actuelle
commune de Ploubazlanec dans les Côtes-d'Armor, Pontivy dans le Morbihan. Il
était aussi le saint patron de l'ancienne paroisse de
Bodivit, située sur les bords de l'Odet et englobée dans Plomelin
(Finistère) lors de la Révolution française (une fontaine et une statue portent
son nom à Plomelin) et de celle de Pouldavid, désormais incluse dans la commune
de Douarnenez.
Buhez santez Nonn ou
« Vie de sainte Nonne et de son fils saint Devy » est un mystère en
langue bretonne composé avant le XIIe siècle et publié en 1837 par l'abbé
Simonnet.
SOURCE : http://www.religion-orthodoxe.eu/article-vie-de-saint-david-patron-du-pays-de-galles-68323065.html
.jpg)
SAINT DAVID (Dewi
sant en Gallois) est né au VIe siècle au Pays de Galles. Jeune homme, il
devint moine et étudia pendant de nombreuses années en tant que prêtre. Selon
une tradition, il fut consacré évêque par le Patriarche de Jérusalem, où saint
David alla en pèlerinage. Il œuvra beaucoup pour propager le christianisme au
Pays de Galles, en particulier dans le sud-ouest du Pays de Galles dans ce qui
est devenu maintenant le Pembrokeshire. Là, il fonda un monastère à Mynyw
(Menevia), à présent monastère de Saint-David, et il est honoré comme premier
évêque de Saint-David.
David et ses moines suivaient une règle très austère, ne buvant que de l'eau et
ne mangeant que du pain et des légumes. Imitant les coutumes des moines du
désert égyptien avec un régime de travail manuel et d'étude, son monastère
devint une pépinière de saints. Personnellement, David était un homme très
miséricordieux et il faisait de fréquentes prosternations. Son ascèse favorite
consistait souvent à se plonger dans l'eau froide tout en répétant les psaumes
par cœur.
Nous savons qu'il assista au Concile des Églises de Brevi vers l'an de grâce
545 et là, d'un commun accord, il est dit qu'il fut nommé archevêque et son
monastère proclamé Eglise-Mère de tout le pays de Galles. On dit qu'il fonda
douze monastères, dont l'un peut avoir été à Glastonbury dans le Somerset, le
lieu où l'Apôtre des septante Aristobule et le Juste Joseph d'Arimathie
avaient, selon la tradition, d'abord prêché l'Évangile en Grande-Bretagne et
construit la première église des siècles auparavant.
Saint David fit beaucoup de miracles de son vivant. Après sa dormition aux
environs de l'an de grâce 600, il fut largement vénéré dans le sud du Pays de
Galles, mais il était aussi vénéré en Irlande, en Cornouailles et en Bretagne.
En effet, certains estiment qu'il s'est effectivement rendu en Cornouailles et
en Bretagne et qu'il y fonda également des monastères.
Les reliques de saint David existent jusques à ce jour et sont enchâssées dans
sa cathédrale à Saint-David. Saint David est associé à la jonquille, fleur
nationale du Pays de Galles, qui aurait grandi autour du site de son monastère.
On dit que le poireau, autre symbole national du pays de Galles, poussait au
même endroit et constituait la base du régime alimentaire de saint David et de
ses moines. La fête de saint David (Dydd Gŵyl Dewi en Gallois), fête
nationale du Pays de Galles, tombe le 1er Mars.
Version française Claude
Lopez-Ginisty d'après
http://www.oodegr.com/english/biographies/arxaioi/David_Wales.htm
SOURCE : http://orthodoxologie.blogspot.ca/2010/04/saint-david-de-galles-eveque-de-menevia.html
Detail of the second stained glass window in a series depicting the life of St. Finian in the Church of St. Finian at Clonard. The windows were created by Hogan in 1957. The inscription reads: Saint Finian as a boy with Saint David in Wales.
Detail
of the second stained glass window in a series depicting the life of St. Finian
in the Church of St. Finian at Clonard. The windows were created by Hogan in
1957. The inscription reads: Saint Finian as a boy with Saint David in
Wales.
Also
known as
David the Briton
David of Menevia
David del Galles
Degui
Dewi
Dewi Sant
Dewid
Dewm
Dewn
Dmui
Profile
Born to the Welsh royalty,
the son of King Sandde, Prince of
Powys, and of Saint Non, the
daughter of a chieftain of Menevia (western Wales).
Grandson of Ceredig, Prince of
Cardigan. Uncle of King Arthur. Priest. Studied under Saint Paul
Aurelian. Worked with Saint Columbanus, Saint Gildas
the Wise, and Saint Finnigan. Missionary and
founder of monasteries.
Following his
contribution to the synod of Brevi in Cardiganshire, he was chosen primate of
the Cambrian Church. Archbishop of Caerleon on
Usk, he moved the see to Menevia.
Presided at the Synod of Brefi which condemned the Pelagian heresy.
Encouraged and founded monasteries.
First to build a chancel to Saint Joseph
of Arimathea‘s wattle church at Glastonbury.
After a vision in
his monastery in
the Rhos Valley, he set out next day with two monks to Jerusalem to
aid the Patriarch. While there his preaching converted anti–Christians.
Legend says that once while he was preaching,
a dove descended
to his shoulder to show he had the blessings of the Spirit, and that the earth
rose to lift him high above the people so that he could be heard by them all.
Another time when was preaching to
a crowd at Llandewi Brefi, people on the outer edges could not hear, so he
spread a handkerchief on the ground, stood on it, and the ground beneath rose
up in a pillar so all could hear.
Born
c.542 at Menevia (now
Saint David’s), Wales
c.601 at
Mynyw, Wales of
natural causes
interred in Saint David’s Cathedral,
Pembrokeshire, Wales
1120 by Pope Callistus
II
Name
Meaning
beloved one
in Wales
preaching on
a hill
Celtic bishop with
long hair, a beard, and
a dove perched
on his shoulder
holding his cathedral
leek
man standing on a mound
with a dove on
his shoulder
Storefront
Additional
Information
Book
of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Catholic
Encyclopedia, by Leslie Toke
Life
of Saint David, by Arthur Wade-Evans
Lives
of the Saints, by Father Alban
Butler
Monks
of the West, by Charles Forbes Rene, Comte de Montalembert
Our
Island Saints, by Amy Steedman
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
books
Favourite Patron Saints, by Paul Burns
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
Oxford Dictionary of Saints, by David Hugh Farmer
Prayers of the Saints,
edited by Cecil Headlam
Saints
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Readings
Lord, raise me up after
Thee! – Saint David
of Wales
MLA
Citation
“Saint David of
Wales“. CatholicSaints.Info. 22 January 2024. Web. 1 March 2024.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saint-david-of-wales/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-david-of-wales/
Stained glass chapel panel, originally designed by William Burges (2 December 1827 – 20 April 1881). Caerleon is commonly believed to be one of the earliest Metropolitan Sees in the Province of Britannia, and is where Dubricius is said to have given the See of Caerleon to Saint David.
St. David
(DEGUI, DEWI).
Bishop and Confessor, patron of Wales.
He is usually represented standing on a little hill, with a dove on
his shoulder. From time immemorial the Welsh have
worn a leek on St. David's day, in memory of a battle against the Saxons,
at which it is said they wore leeks in their hats, by St. David's advice, to
distinguish them from their enemies. He is commemorated on 1 March. The
earliest mention of St. David is found in a tenth-century manuscript Of
the "Annales Cambriae", which assigns his death to A.D. 601. Many
other writers, from Geoffrey
of Monmouth down to Father Richard Stanton, hold that he died about
544, but their opinion is based solely on data given in various late
"lives" of St. David, and there seems no good reason for setting
aside the definite statement of the "Annales Cambriae", which is now
generally accepted. Little else that can claim to
be historical is known about St. David.
The tradition that he was born at Henvynyw (Vetus-Menevia)
in Cardiganshire is not improbable. He was prominent at
the Synod of Brevi (Llandewi Brefi in Cardiganshire), which has
been identified with the important Roman military station, Loventium.
Shortly afterwards, in 569, he presided over another synod held
at a place called Lucus Victoriae. He was Bishop (probably
not Archbishop)
of Menevia,
the Roman port Menapia in Pembrokeshire, later known as St.
David's, then the chief point of departure for Ireland.
St. David was canonized by Pope
Callistus II in the year 1120.
This is all that is known
to history about the patron of Wales.
His legend, however, is much more elaborate, and entirely unreliable. The
first biography that has come down to us was written near the end of the
eleventh century, about 500 years after the saint's death,
by Rhygyfarch (Ricemarchus), a son of the then bishop of
St. David's, and is chiefly a tissue of inventions intended to support the
claim of the Welsh episcopate to
be independent of Canterbury. Giraldus
Cambriensis, William
of Malmesbury, Geoffrey
of Monmouth, John de Tinmouth, and John Capgrave all
simply copy and enlarge upon the work of Rhygyfarch, whilst the anonymous
author of the late Welsh life printed
in Rees, "Cambro-British Saints" (Cott. manuscript Titus,
D. XXII) adds nothing of value. According to these writers St. David was the
son of Sant or Sandde ab Ceredig ab Cunnedda, Prince of
Keretica (Cardiganshire) and said by some to be King Arthur's nephew,
though Geoffrey
of Monmouth calls St. David King Arthur's uncle.
The saint's mother was Nonna, or Nonnita (sometimes called
Melaria), a daughter of Gynyr of Caergawch. She was a nun who
had been violated by Sant. St. David's birth had been foretold thirty
years before by an angel to St.
Patrick. It took place at "Old Menevia" somewhere about A.D.
454. Prodigies preceded
and accompanied the event, and at his baptism at
Porth Clais by St. Elvis of Munster, "whom Divine
Providence brought over from Ireland at
that conjuncture", a blind man was cured by the baptismal water.
St. David's early education was
received from St.
Illtyd at Caerworgorn (Llantwit major) in Glamorganshire. Afterwards
he spent ten years studying the Holy
Scripture at Whitland in Carmarthenshire, under St.
Paulinus (Pawl Hen), whom he cured of blindness by the sign
of the cross. At the end of this period St. Paulinus, warned by
an angel, sent out the young saint to evangelize
the British. St. David journeyed throughout the West, founding or
restoring twelve monasteries (among
which occur the great names of Glastonbury, Bath, and Leominster),
and finally settled in the Vale of Ross,
where he and his monks lived
a life of extreme austerity. Here occurred the temptations of
his monks by
the obscene antics of the maid-servants of the wife of Boia, a local
chieftan. Here also his monks tried
to poison him, but St. David, warned by St. Scuthyn,
who crossed from Ireland in
one night on the back of a sea-monster, blessed the poisoned bread
and ate it without harm. From thence, with St.
Teilo and St. Padarn, he set out for Jerusalem,
where he was made bishop by
the patriarch. Here too St.
Dubric and St. Daniel found him, when they came to call him
to the Synod of Brevi "against the Pelagians".
St. David was with difficulty persuaded to accompany them; on his way he raised
a widow's son
to life, and at the synod preached so loudly, from the hill
that miraculously rose
under him, that all could hear him, and so eloquently that all the heretics were
confounded. St.
Dubric resigned the "Archbishopric of Caerleon", and St.
David was appointed in his stead. One of his first acts was to hold,
in the year 569, yet another synod called "Victory",
against the Pelagians,
of which the decrees were confirmed by the pope.
With the permission of King Arthur he removed his see from
Caerleon to Menevia,
whence he governed the British Church for many years with
great holiness and
wisdom. He died at the great age of 147, on the day predicted by himself a week
earlier. His body is said to have been translated to Glastonbury in
the year 966.
It is impossible to
discover in this story how much, if any, is true.
Some of it has obviously been invented for controversial purposes. The
twelve monasteries,
the temptation by the women,
the attempt on his life, all suggest an imitation of the life of St.
Benedict. Wilder legends, such as the Journey on the
Sea-Monster, are commonplaces of Celtic hagiography.
Doubtless Rhygyfarch and his imitators collected many floating local
traditions, but how much of these had any historical foundation and
how much was sheer imagination is
no longer possible to decide.
Sources
"Annales
Cambriae", ed. AB ITHEL in "Rolls Series" (London,
1860), 3-6; "Acta SS., March 1, 38-47; "Buhez Santez Nonn" ed.
SIONNET (Paris, 1837); CHALLONER, "Britannia Sancta" (London,
1745), I, 140-45; HOLE in "Dict. Christ. Biog." (London, 1877),
I, 791-93; BRADLEY in "Dict. Nat. Biog.", s.v.: GIRALDUS
CAMBRENSIS, "Opera", ed. BREWER in "Rolls Series" (London,
1863), III, 375-404; HADDON AND STUBBS, "Councils and Ecclesiastical
documents relating to Great Britain and Ireland" (Oxford, 1869), I, 121,
143, 148; "Lives of the Cambro-British Saints", ed. REES
(Llandovery, Wales, 1853), 102-44, 412-48; MONTALEMBERT, "Les moines
d'Occident" (Paris, 1866), III, 48-55; NEDELEC, "Cambria
Sacra" (London, 1879), 446-479; REES, "Essay on the Welsh
Saints" (London, 1836), 43, 162, 191, 193; STANTON, "Menology
of England and Wales" (London, 1887), 92-93, 203; WHARTON, "Anglia
Sacra" (London, 1691), II, 628-53.
Toke,
Leslie. "St. David." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol.
4. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 29 Feb.
2016<http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04640b.htm>.
Transcription. This
article was transcribed for New Advent by John Looby.
Ecclesiastical
approbation. Nihil Obstat. Remy Lafort, Censor. Imprimatur. +John
M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright © 2020 by Kevin
Knight. Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04640b.htm
Llansantffraid,
Ceredigion, Ceredigion, Wales
Church
of St Ffraid aka St Bride, Llansantffraid, Ceredigion.
David of Wales B (AC)
(also known as Dewi)
5th or 6th century. There
is no certainty about the date though we know that St. David was a real
personage, son of King Sant, a prince of Cardigan in far western Wales. All the
information we have about him is based on the unreliable 11th century biography
written by Rhygyfarch, the son of Bishop Sulien of St. David's. Rhygyfarch's
main purpose was to uphold the claim of the Welsh bishopric to be independent
of Canterbury, so little reliance can be placed on the document.
David, who may have been
born at Henfynw in Cardigan, lived during the golden age of Celtic Christianity
when saints were plentiful, many of them of noble rank--kings, princes, and
chieftain--who lived the monastic life, built oratories and churches, and
preached the Gospel.
Saint Cadoc founded the
great monastery of Llancarfan. Saint Illtyd turned from the life of a soldier
to that of a mystic and established the abbey of Llantwit, where tradition
links his name to that of Sir Galahad. But greatest among them was David,
cousin of Cadoc and pupil of Illtyd, who was educated in the White House of
Carmarathen and who founded the monastery of Menevia in the place that now
bears his name.
According to his
biography, David became a priest, studied under Saint Paulinus, the disciple of
Saint Germanus of Auxerre, on an unidentified island for several years. He then
engaged in missionary activities, founded 12 monasteries from Croyland to
Pembrokeshire, the last of which, at Mynyw (Menevia) in southwestern Wales, was
known for the extreme asceticism of its rule, which was based on that of the
Egyptian monks.
Here in this lovely and
lonely outpost he gathered his followers. The Rule was strict, with but one
daily meal, frequent fasts, and hours of unbroken silence. Their days were
filled with hard manual labor and no plough was permitted in the work of the
fields. "Every man his own ox," said St. David. Nor did David exempt
himself from the same rigorous discipline: he drank nothing but water and so
came to be known as David the Waterman; and long after vespers, when the last
of his monks had retired to bed, he prayed on alone through the night.
We are told that he was
of a lovable and happy disposition, and an attractive and persuasive preacher.
It was perhaps his mother, the saintly Non, who had nurtured him carefully in
the Christian faith, that he owed so many of his own fine qualities. It was not
surprising, therefore, that when the time came for the appointment of a new
archbishop of Wales the choice fell upon him.
At Brevi, in
Cardiganshire, a great synod had been convened about 550, attended by a
thousand members, but David, who kept aloof from temporal concerns, remained in
his retreat at Menevia. The synod, however, insisted on sending for him. So
great was the crowd and so intense the excitement that the voice of the aged
and retiring archbishop Saint Dubricius could hardly be heard when he named
David as his successor. David, who at first refused, came forward reluctantly,
but when he spoke his voice was like a silver trumpet, and all could hear and
were deeply moved; and in that hour of his succession a white dove was seen to
settle upon his shoulders as if it were a sign of God's grace and blessing.
Without any facts to
support the event, it is said that David was consecrated archbishop by the
patriarch of Jerusalem while on pilgrimage to the Holy Land. But he loved
Menevia and could not bring himself to leave it for Caerleon, the seat of the
archbishopric, which he transferred to his own monastery by the wild headlands
of the western sea, and which to this day is known by his name and remains a
place of pilgrimage.
Again according to
unsubstantiated legend, David convened a council, called the Synod of Victory,
because it marked the final demise of Pelagianism, ratified the edicts of
Brevi, and drew up regulations for the British Church.
"He opened," we
are told, "many fountains in dry places, and across the centuries his
words spoken in the hour of death still reach us: "Brothers and sisters,
be joyful and keep your faith."
He died at Menevia and
his cultus was reputedly approved by Pope Callistus II about 1120. Even his
birth and death dates are uncertain, ranging from c. 454 to 520 for the former
and from 560 to 601 for the latter (Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney, Gill,
Wade- Evans).
In art, St. David is a
Celtic bishop with long hair and a beard, and a dove perched on his shoulder.
He may be shown preaching on a hill, or holding his cathedral. He is the patron
saint of Wales and especially venerated in Pembrokeshire (Roeder). No one seems
to have a satisfactory explanation regarding the association of leeks with St.
David's Day as in Shakespeare's Henry V, IV, 1 (Attwater).
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0301.shtml
Wrecsam
Parish Church of St. Giles, Wrexham, Wales
Saint David of Wales
St. David is the patron
saint of Wales and perhaps the most famous of British saints. Unfortunately, we
have little reliable information about him.
According to tradition,
St. David was the son of King Sant of South Wales and St.
Non. He was ordained a priest and later studied under St. Paulinus.
It is known that he
became a priest, engaged in missionary work and founded many monasteries,
including his principal abbey in southwestern Wales. Many stories and legends
sprang up about David and his Welsh monks. Their austerity was extreme. They
worked in silence without the help of animals to till the soil. Their food was
limited to bread, vegetables and water.
In about the year 550,
David attended a synod where his eloquence impressed his fellow monks to such a
degree that he was elected primate of the region. The episcopal see was moved
to Mynyw, where he had his monastery (now called St. David’s). He ruled his
diocese until he had reached a very old age. His last words to his monks and
subjects were: “Be joyful, brothers and sisters. Keep your faith, and do the
little things that you have seen and heard with me.”
St. David is pictured
standing on a mound with a dove on his shoulder. The legend is that once while
he was preaching a dove descended to his shoulder and the earth rose to lift
him high above the people so that he could be heard. Over 50 churches in South
Wales were dedicated to him in pre-Reformation days.
SOURCE : http://ucatholic.com/saints/david-of-wales/
St.David's
(Wales). Cathedral: Thomas Becket chapel - Stained glass window (1909) by
Shrigley & Hunt showing Saint David.
St.David's
(Wales). Kathedrale: Thomas-Becket-Kapelle - Buntglasfenster (1909) von
Shrigley & Hunt mit Darstellung des heiligen David.
St. David, Archbishop,
Patron of Wales
See his life by Giraldus
Cambrensis, in Wharton’s Anglia Sacra, t. 2. also Doctor Brown Willis, and
Wilkins, Conc. Britan. & Hibern. t. 1.
About the Year 544
ST. DAVID, in Welch Dewid, was son of Xantus, prince of Ceretica, now
Cardiganshire. He was brought up in the service of God, and being ordained
priest, retired into the Isle of Wight, and embraced an ascetic life, under the
direction of Paulinus, a learned and holy man, who had been a disciple of St.
Germanus of Auxerre. He is said by the sign of the cross to have restored sight
to his master, which he had lost by old age, and excessive weeping in prayer.
He studied a long time to prepare himself for the functions of the holy
ministry. At length, coming out of his solitude, like the Baptist out of the
desert, he preached the word of eternal life to the Britons. He built a chapel
at Glastenbury, a place which had been consecrated to the divine worship by the
first apostles of this island. He founded twelve monasteries, the principal of
which was in the vale of Ross, 1 near
Menevia, where he formed many great pastors and eminent servants of God. By his
rule he obliged all his monks to assiduous manual labour in the spirit of
penance: he allowed them the use of no cattle to ease them at their work in
tilling the ground. They were never suffered to speak but on occasions of
absolute necessity, and they never ceased to pray, at least mentally, during
their labour. They returned late in the day to the monastery, to read, write,
and pray. Their food was only bread and vegetables, with a little salt, and
they never drank anything better than a little milk mingled with water. After
their repast they spent three hours in prayer and adoration; then took a little
rest, rose at cock-crowing, and continued in prayer till they went out to work.
Their habit was of the skins of beasts. When any one petitioned to be admitted,
he waited ten days at the door, during which time he was tried by harsh words,
repeated refusals, and painful labours, that he might learn to die to himself.
When he was admitted, he left all his worldly substance behind him, for the
monastery never received anything on the score of admission. All the monks
discovered their most secret thoughts and temptations to their abbot.
The Pelagian heresy springing forth a second time in Britain, the bishops, in
order to suppress it, held a synod at Brevy, in Cardiganshire, in 512, or
rather in 519. 2 St.
David, being invited to it, went thither, and in that venerable assembly
confuted and silenced the infernal monster by his eloquence, learning and miracles.
On the spot where this council was held, a church was afterwards built called
Llan-Devi-Brevi, or the church of St. David near the river Brevi. At the close
of the synod, St. Dubritius, the archbishop of Caerleon, resigned his see to
St. David, whose tears and opposition were only to be overcome by the absolute
command of the synod; which however allowed him, at his request, the liberty to
transfer his see from Caerleon, then a populous city, to Menevia, now called
St. David’s, a retired place, formed by nature for solitude, being as it were
almost cut off from the rest of the island, though now an intercourse is opened
to it from Milford-Haven. Soon after the former synod, another was assembled by
Saint David at a place called Victoria; in which the acts of the first were
confirmed, and several canons added relating to discipline, which were
afterwards confirmed by the authority of the Roman church; and these two synods
were, as it were, the rule and standard of the British churches. As for St.
David, Giraldus adds, that he was the great ornament and pattern of his age. He
spoke with great force and energy; but his example was more powerful than his
eloquence; and he has in all succeeding ages been the glory of the British
church. He continued in his last see many years; and having founded several
monasteries, and been the spiritual father of many saints, both British and
Irish, died about the year 544, in a very advanced age. St. Kentigern saw his
soul born up by angels into heaven. He was buried in his church of St. Andrew,
which hath since taken his name, with the town and the whole diocess. Near the
church stand several chapels, formerly resorted to with great devotion: the
principal is that of Saint Nun, mother of Saint David, near which is a beautiful
well, still frequented by pilgrims. Another chapel is sacred to St. Lily,
surnamed Gwas-Dewy, that is, St. David’s man; for he was his beloved disciple
and companion in his retirement. He is honoured there on the 3rd, and St. Nun,
who lived and died the spiritual mother of many religious women, on the 2nd of
March. The three first days of March were formerly holidays in South Wales in
honour of these three saints; at present only the first is kept a festival
throughout all Wales. John of Glastenbury 3 informs
us, that in the reign of King Edgar, in the year of Christ 962, the relics of
St. David were translated with great solemnity from the vale of Ross to
Glastenbury, together with a portion of the relics of St. Stephen the
Protomartyr.
By singing assiduously the divine praises with pure and holy hearts, dead to
the world and all inordinate passions, monks are styled angels of the earth.
The divine praise is the primary act of the love of God; for a soul enamoured
of his adorable goodness and perfections, summons up all her powers to express
the complacency she takes in his infinite greatness and bliss, and sounds forth
his praises with all her strength. In this entertainment she feels an
insatiable delight and sweetness, and with longing desires aspires after that
bliss in which she will love and praise without intermission or impediment. By
each act of divine praise, the fervour of charity and its habit, and with it
every spiritual good and every rich treasure, is increased in her: moreover,
God in return heaps upon her the choicest blessings of his grace. Therefore,
though the acts of divine praise seem directly to be no more than a tribute or
homage of our affections, which we tender to God, the highest advantages accrue
from these exercises to our souls. St. Stephen of Grandmont was once asked by a
disciple, why we are so frequently exhorted in the scriptures to bless and
praise God, who, being infinite, can receive no increase from our homages? To
which the saint replied: “A man who blesses and praises God receives from
thence the highest advantage imaginable; for God, in return, bestows on him all
his blessings, and for every word that he repeats in these acts, says: ‘For the
praises and blessings which you offer me, I bestow my blessings on you; what
you present to me returns to yourself with an increase which becomes my
liberality and greatness.’ It is the divine grace,” goes on this holy doctor,
“which first excites a man to praise God, and he only returns to God his own
gift: yet by his continually blessing God, the Lord pours forth his divine
blessings upon him, which are so many new increases of charity in his soul.” 4
Note 1. This denomination was given to the valley from the territory where
it was situated, which was called Ross. Frequent mention is made of this
monastery in the acts of several Irish saints, under the name of Rosnat or
Rosnant. [back]
Note 2. See Wilkins, Conc. t. 1. [back]
Note 3. In his History of Glastenbury, p. 130, published by Mr. Thomas
Hearne, in 1726. [back]
Note 4. Maximes de S. Etienne de Grandmont, ch. 105. p. 228. Item 1.
Sententiarum S. Stephani Grand. c. 105. p. 103. [back]
Rev. Alban Butler (1711–73). Volume III: March. The Lives
of the Saints. 1866.
SOURCE : http://www.bartleby.com/210/3/011.html
St.David's
( Wales ). Cathedral: Rood screen - Statue of Saint David (XIVth century).
St.David's
( Wales ). Kathedrale: Lettner - Statue des heiligen David (XIV.Jhdt.).
St. David
According to
tradition, St.
David was the son of King Sant of South Wales and
St. Non. He was ordained a priest and
later studied under St. Paulinus. Later, he was involved in missionary work and
founded a number of monasteries. The monastery he founded at Menevia in
Southwestern Wales was
noted for extreme asceticism. David and his monks drank neither wine nor beer -
only water - while putting in a full day of heavy manual labor and intense
study. Around the year 550, David attended a synod at
Brevi in Cardiganshire. His contributions at the synod are
said to have been the major cause for
his election as primate of
the Cambrian Church. He was reportedly consecrated archbishop by
the patriarch of Jerusalem while
on a visit to the Holy Land. He also is said to have invoked a council that
ended the last vestiges of Pelagianism. David died at his monastery in Menevia around
the year 589, and his cult was approved in 1120 by Pope Callistus II. He is
revered as the patron of Wales. Undoubtedly, St. David was
endowed with substantial qualities of spiritual leadership. What is more, many
monasteries flourished as a result of his leadership and good example.
His staunch adherence to monastic piety bespeaks a fine example for modern
Christians seeking order and form in
their prayer life.His feast day is March 1.
SOURCE : https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=220
Goscombe
John, Saint David statue, the Marble Hall, Cardiff City Hall
St. David of Wales
Feast
day: Mar 01
Among Welsh Catholics, as
well as those in England, March 1 is the liturgical celebration of Saint David
of Wales.
St. David is the patron of the Welsh people, remembered as a missionary bishop
and the founder of many monasteries during the sixth century.
David was a popular namesake for churches in Wales prior to the Anglican
schism, and his feast day is still an important religious and civic observance.
Although Pope Benedict XVI did not visit Wales during his 2010 trip to the
U.K., he blessed a mosaic icon of its patron, and delivered remarks praising
St. David as “one of the great saints of the sixth century, that golden age of
saints and missionaries in these isles, and...thus a founder of the Christian
culture which lies at the root of modern Europe.”
In his comments, Pope Benedict recalled the saint's dying words to his monastic
brethren: “Be joyful, keep the faith, and do the little things.” He urged that
St. David's message, “in all its simplicity and richness, continue to resound
in Wales today, drawing the hearts of its people to renewed love for Christ and
his Church.”
From a purely historical standpoint, little is known of David’s life, with the
earliest biography dating from centuries after his time. As with some other
saints of sixth-century Wales, even the chronology of his life is not easy to
ascertain.
David’s conception is said to have occurred as a result of rape – a detail that
seems unlikely to have been invented by later biographers, though it cannot
(like almost all of the traditions surrounding his life) be established with
certainty. His mother Saint Nonna, or Nonnita, has her traditional feast day on
March 3.
David appears to have been the cousin of his contemporary Saint Teilo, another
Welsh bishop and monk. He is described as a pupil of the monastic educator
Saint Paulinus, who was one of St. Teilo’s teachers as well. There are doubts,
however, about the story which holds that David and Teilo traveled to Jerusalem
and were ordained together as bishops.
It is clear that David served as the Bishop of Menevia, an important port city
linking Wales and Ireland in his time. His leading role in two local councils
of the Church is also a matter of record.
Twelve monasteries have their founding ascribed to David, who developed a
reputation for strict asceticism. His monks modeled their lives on the earliest
desert hermits – combining hard manual labor, silence, long hours of prayer,
and a diet that completely excluded meat and alcohol.
The monks did not use animals to take care of their fields, and lived off of
only bread, vegetables, and water.
One tradition places his death in the year 601, but other writers believe he
died in the 540s. David may well have survived to an advanced age, but evidence
is lacking for the claim (made by his 11th-century biographer) that he lived to
the age of 147. Pope Callistus II canonized St. David of Wales in 1120.
SOURCE : https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-david-of-wales-163
Dewi of Wales
1 March 544
When the pagan
Anglo-Saxons invaded Britain in the fifth and sixth centuries, many British
Christians sought refuge in the hill country of Wales. There they developed a
style of Christian life devoted to learning, asceticism, and missionary fervor.
Since there were no cities, the centers of culture were the monasteries, and
most abbots were bishops as well. Dewi (David in English) was the founder, abbot,
and bishop of the monastery of Mynyw (Menevia in English) in Pembrokeshire. He
was responsible for much of the spread of Christianity in Wales, and his
monastery was sought out by many scholars from Ireland and elsewhere. He is
commonly accounted the apostle of Wales, as Patrick is of
Ireland. His tomb is in St. David's cathedral, on the site of ancient Mynyw,
now called Ty-Dewi (House of David).
The ancient custom in
Wales, as throughout Celtic Christendom, was to have bishops who were abbots of
monasteries, and who had no clear territorial jurisdiction, simply traveling
about as they were needed. Eventually, however, the bishops of Bangor, Llandaff,
St. Asaph, and St. Davids became the heads of four territorial dioceses, to
which the diocese of Monmouth and the diocese of Swansea and Brecon have been
added in this century.
For many centuries the
Church in Wales had closer ties with the Celtic Churches in Scotland, Ireland,
and Brittany than with the Church in Anglo-Saxon England. However, after the
Norman conquest of Britain (1066 and after), the Anglo-Norman Kings began to
contemplate the conquest of Wales. William the Conqueror began with the subjugation
of South Wales as far as Carmathen, but the Welsh uplands remained independent
far longer, and the conquest was not complete until about 1300, under Edward I.
But eventually all of Wales came under English control, and the Church in Wales
was placed under the jurisdiction of Canterbury, and thus became identified in
the minds of many with the English supremacy. In 1920 the Church in Wales
(Eglwys yng Nghymru) became independent of outside jurisdiction (though still
in communion with other Anglican Churches, in England and elsewhere) and clear
of all ties with the government. It is bilingual and active in the preservation
of the Welsh language and culture.
Prayer (contemporary
language)
Almighty God, who didst
call thy servant David to be a faithful and wise steward of thy mysteries for
the people of Wales: Mercifully grant that, following his purity of life and
zeal for the gospel of Christ, we may with him receive the crown of everlasting
life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the
Holy Spirit, one God, now and ever.
Prayer (contemporary
language)
Almighty God, who called
your servant David to be a faithful and wise steward of your mysteries for the
people of Wales: Mercifully grant that, following his purity of life and zeal
for the gospel of Christ, we may with him receive the crown of everlasting
life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit, one God, now and ever.
Psalm 16:5-11 or 96:1-7 1
Thessalonians 2:2b-12 Mark 4:26-29 (Ap)
SOURCE : http://elvis.rowan.edu/~kilroy/JEK/03/01.html
_Brittany_(48582506216).jpg)
Saint David, The Valley of the Saints, Brittany
The Monks of the West: Saint David of Wales
David is much more generally known than his co-disciple, Saint Iltut.
He has always continued popular among the inhabitants of Wales; and Shakespeare
informs us that, even since the Reformation, the Welsh have
retained the custom of wearing a leek in their hats upon his feast-day. His
history has been often written, and through the transformation of the legend it
is still easy to recognize in it the salutary sway of a great monk and bishop
over souls which were faithful to religion, but yet in full conflict with those
savage and sensual impulses which are to be found only too universally among
all men and all nations, in the centre of civilisation as on the verge of
barbarism. The origin, indeed, of the holy patron of Cambria himself, like that
of Saint Bridget, the patroness of Ireland, affords a startling proof of a
state of affairs both corrupt and violent. He was the son of a nun whom the
king of the country – a nephew of the great Arthur – met upon the public road,
and whom, struck by her beauty, he instantly made the victim of his passion.
This crime is told by all the biographers of David, generally so lavish of
praise and blame, without the least expression of surprise or indignation. The
scribe Paulinus, whose name indicates a Roman origin, and who is known to have
been a disciple of Saint Germain of Auxerre, was charged with the education of
the young David, which was as long and complete as possible. He issued from his
tutor’s hands clothed with the priesthood and devoted to a kind of monastic
existence which did not exclude him either from Continental travel, nor from
exercising a great influence over men and external affairs. He exercised a
double power over his countrymen, by directing one part to coenobitical life,
and arming the other with the knowledge and virtue which enabled them to
triumph over the dangers of a secular career. It is on this latter point that
he differs from his illustrious contemporary, Saint Benedict, whom he resembles
in so many other features. Like Benedict, he founded, almost at one time,
twelve monasteries; like Benedict, he saw his young disciples tempted to their
fall by the voluptuous wiles of shameless women; like Benedict, he was exposed
to the danger of being poisoned by traitors in the very bosom of his own
community; and, finally, like Benedict, he imposed upon his monks a rule which
severely prohibited all individual property, and made manual and intellectual
labour obligatory. The agricultural labour thus prescribed was so severe, that
the Welsh monks had not only to saw the wood and delve the soil, but even to
yoke themselves to the plough, and work without the aid of oxen. As soon as
this toil came to an end they returned to their cells to pass the rest of the day
in reading and writing; and when thus engaged it was sometimes necessary to
stop in the midst of a letter or paragraph, to answer to the first sound of the
bell, by which divine service was announced.
In the midst of these
severe labours the abbot David had continual struggles with the satraps and magicians,
which, no doubt, means the chiefs of the clan and the Druids, who had not been
destroyed in Britain, as in Gaul, by the Roman conquest, and whose last
surviving representatives could not see, without violent dislike, the progress
of monastic institutions. But the sphere of David’s influence and activity was
to extend far beyond that of his early work. Having made a pilgrimage to the
Holy Land, he returned thence invested with the office of archbishop, which had
been conferred upon him by the patriarch of Jerusalem. On his return he was
acknowledged metropolitan of all that part of the island not yet invaded by the
Saxons, by two very numerously attended councils, in which he had the honour of
striking a deathblow at the Pelagian heresy, which had come to life again since
the mission of Saint Germain.
One of these councils
recognised in his honour a right of asylum, pointed out by ancient authors as
the most respected and the most complete which existed in Britain, and which
created for all pursued culprits an inviolable refuge wherever there was a
field which had been given to David. This is one of the first examples, as
conferred upon a monastic establishment, of that right of asylum, afterwards
too much extended, and disgracefully abused towards the end of the middle ages,
but which, at that far-distant period, was a most important protection to the
weak. Who does not understand how irregular and brutal was at that time the
pursuit of a criminal; how many vile and violent passions usurped the office of
the law; and how justice herself and humanity had reason to rejoice when
religion stretched her maternal hands over a fugitive unjustly accused, or even
over a culprit who might be worthy of excuse or indulgence!
David immediately resumed
his monastic and ecclesiastical foundations, and restored for the first time
from its ruins the Church of Glastonbury, so that it might consecrate the tomb
of his cousin King Arthur. He himself died more than a hundred years old,
surrounded by the reverence of all, and in reality the chief of the British
nation. He was buried in the Monastery of Menevia, which he had built at the
southern extremity of Wales, facing Ireland, on a site which had been indicated
thirty years before by Saint Patrick, the apostle of that island. It was of all
his foundations the one most dear to him, and he had made it the seat of a
diocese which has retained his name.
After his death the
monastic tomb of the great bishop and British chief became a much-frequented
sanctuary place of pilgrimage. Not only the Welsh, Bretons, and Irish came to
it in crowds, but three Anglo-Norman kings – William the Conqueror, Henry II,
and Edward I – appeared there in their turn. David was canonised by Pope
Calistus II in 1120,
at a period when Wales still retained its independence. He became from that
moment, and has remained until the present time, the patron of Cambria. A group
of half-ruined religious buildings, forming altogether one of the most solemn
and least visited relics of Europe, still surrounds the ancient cathedral which
bears his name, and crowns the imposing promontory, thrust out into the sea
like an eagle’s beak, from the south-eastern corner of the principality of
Wales, which is still more deserving than the two analogous headlands of
Cornwall and Armorica, of the name of Finisterre.
– from The Monks of the West, by Charles Forbes Rene,
Comte de Montalembert, 1867
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/the-monks-of-the-west-saint-david-of-wales/
_%C3%89glise_Saint-Fiacre_Statue_07.JPG)
Église
Saint-Fiacre de Guengat (29). Statue de Saint-Ivy.
Our Island
Saints: Saint David of Wales
There is an old legend
which tells us that the good Saint Patrick, before he returned to the Green
Island where he had been a slave, stayed for a while in Wales and thought to
make his home there. He loved its wild mountains and deep glens dearly, its dancing
streams and purple cliffs rising so straight from the edge of the blue sea.
There was much work there, too, waiting to be done, and he thought that he was
the man to do it. But one evening, as he sat at sundown upon the steep rock of
Cam Ilidi, a messenger of God was sent in a vision to change his purpose. It
was a fitting time and place for a heavenly vision. Below him the heathery
moors sloped down to the edge of the sea, whose blue waters stretched out their
shining glory of sapphire and gold in the sunset glow, and above in the sky the
clouds were flinging wide their banners of rose and crimson. So full was the
very air of wondrous light and colour that the angel who stood beside him
seemed but a part of the shining glory.
“Dost thou see,” said the
angel, “beyond yon golden sea, a dim blue line beneath the sunset edge? That is
the land where thou shalt dwell and wage thy warfare for God, the land from
whence thou shalt enter into thy rest. This country is not for thee, but is
reserved for one who shall be born thirty years hence.” So it was that Saint
Patrick went to Ireland, while Wales waited for the saint whom God should send.
Full thirty years then
passed away before Saint David, patron saint of Wales, was born. His father, it
is said, was kin to King Arthur, and his mother was a poor Irish nun. Leaving
her monastery, the gentle nun went to live in a cottage at the edge of the
cliffs, above a little bay which is still called by her name. Here, while the
wild winds dashed the spray far up the cliffs and shrieked like demons around
the little cottage, her baby was born.
Perhaps the favourite
name of all others in Wales has ever been David or Dewi. Sometimes it is spelt
Dafyd, and the old nickname “Taffy” may have been the way which English tongues
pronounced it. It was this name of David which they gave to the baby born in
the wind-swept cottage that stormy night, little guessing that it was to be the
name of the patron saint of Wales.
Like other children wild
and free, he grew up strong and hardy; learned to climb the rocks like a young
goat and to live his life out of doors, the sky above for his roof and the
thymy grass for his carpet. But that was when he was but a little boy. Growing
older, there were lessons to be learned and duties to be done, and so young
David was sent to be tamed and taught at the monastery school.
Paulinus, his master,
loved the boy, and found him quick to learn and easy to teach. In the old
stories of Saint David’s life there is not much told of his childhood, but it
is said that “David grew up full of grace and lovely to be looked at. And he
learned at school the psalms, lessons of the whole year, mass and communion;
and there his fellow disciples saw a dove with a golden beak playing about his
lips, and singing the hymns of God.”
Pure lips from which no
ugly word ever fell, kindly speech that turned quarrels into friendliness,
straightforward truth and honour, that was what his companions noted when they
watched young David, and this was why perhaps they spoke of the dove with golden
beak that played about his lips.
One other thing the old
story tells about the boy. Paulinus the master suffered once from a dreadful
pain in his eyes. For a time he could see nothing and feel nothing but his
misery, and he did not know when David came and stood beside him in pitying
silence. But presently he felt cool hands laid on his aching eyes, a tender
touch that gently stroked the hot suffering eyelids until in some miraculous
fashion it charmed the pain away.
As the Master of old in
Galilee brought peace and healing by the touch of His kind hand, it is not
strange that those who walk closest in His footprints should have learned from
Him the virtue that lies in a tender loving touch.
There were rough times to
be faced when David grew to manhood and became the head of his monastery. Not
only was the land continually plundered by foreign foes, but there were still
many bards and chieftains who hated Christianity and looked upon David as their
foe. The love of music and poetry was as strong in the land as the love of the
sword, and these bards were the teachers of the people, poets who sang of the
great deeds of heroes, and told in flowing verse of their victories and
defeats. Thus it was a great matter to win these bards to the service of
Christ, and David counted it a great victory when they listened to his teaching
and were willing to enter Christ’s service. The monasteries welcomed them
eagerly, knowing that the music of their harps lifted men’s souls to heaven.
So the banner of Christ
floated more and more triumphantly over the land, and one by one the
monasteries were founded by David, and filled with men eager to take service
under that banner. It was no easy life that tempted men to become monks in
those days. Saint David’s rule was so strict that only those who were willing
to endure hardness could have found pleasure in living as they did. Clothes
rough and coarse, made from the skins of animals, food of the simplest, work of
some sort from morning till night, this was what Saint David’s followers
willingly endured. Every moment of the day had its duties, either prayer or
hard work in the fields. Instead of oxen or horses, the monks themselves were
harnessed to the plough, and patiently plodded through the work given to them
to do.
But through it all the
love of beauty and music and poetry was never crushed out, but rather grew
stronger in these simple monks. One thing they loved above all, and that was to
make copies of the Holy Book, and each one strove to make his copy as fair and
exquisite as skill could achieve. So much did they love this work that a
special rule was obliged to be made, which ordered that when the church bell
rang the brothers were to stop work at once, the sentence be left unfinished,
and even the word left half written. Instant obedience was one of the first
things David’s monks learned, and it taught them how to conquer the world.
Upon the same rock of
Saint Patrick’s vision David built his own beloved monastery, and there, in
sight of the sea he loved and those purple hills of glory, he too received the
heavenly messenger and heard the summons, “Friend, come up higher.”
– from Our Island Saints, by Amy Steedman
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/our-island-saints-saint-david-of-wales/
Our
Lady and Saint Non's chapel ( St Davids, Wales ). Stained glass window (1934)
showing Saint David.
Kapelle Marias und St. Nons ( St Davids, Wales ). Buntglasfenster (1934) mit heiligem David.
Our
Lady and Saint Non's chapel ( St Davids, Wales ). Stained glass window (1934)
showing Saint David.
Kapelle
Marias und St. Nons ( St Davids, Wales ). Buntglasfenster (1934) mit heiligem
David.
Saint David of Wales: Patron of Poets and Wales
On March 1, the Church celebrates the feast of Saint David of Wales, the patron
of the Welsh people and one of the most prominent British saints. He is
commemorated as a sixth century missionary bishop and the founder of numerous
monasteries, including his main abbey in southwestern Wales.
David was a popular namesake for churches in Wales prior to the Anglican
schism. More than fifty churches in Wales were named after him. His feast day
continues to be an important religious and civic observance today.
Although Pope Benedict XVI did not visit Wales during his 2010 trip to the
U.K., he blessed a mosaic icon of its patron, and praised St. David as “one of
the great saints of the sixth century, that golden age of saints and
missionaries in these isles, and...thus a founder of the Christian culture
which lies at the root of modern Europe.”
Little is known of David’s life. However, we do know that he was born to Sant,
a prince of Cardigan, and St. Non, the daughter of a chieftain in around 500
AD. Saint Non, is honored on her feast day, March 3.
David served as the Bishop of Menevia, an important port city linking Wales and
Ireland in his time. His leading role in two local councils of the Church is
also a matter of record.
David founded twelve monasteries and developed a reputation for strict
asceticism. His monks modeled their lives after the earliest desert hermits –
combining hard manual labor, silence, long hours of prayer, and a diet that
completely excluded meat and alcohol. They diet consisted primarily of bread,
vegetables, and water.
One tradition places his death in the year 601, but other writers believe he
died in the 540s. David may well have survived to an advanced age, but evidence
is lacking for the claim (made by his 11th-century biographer) that he lived to
the age of 147. His dying words to his monks were: "Be joyful, brothers and
sisters. Keep your faith, and do the little things that you have seen and heard
with me."
Pope Callistus II canonized St. David of Wales in 1120. His remains were buried
in St David's Cathedral in Pembrokeshire, which became a popular place of
pilgrimage following his canonization. In addition to being the patron
saint of Wales, St. David is also the patron saint of poets.
St. David is often pictured with a dove on his shoulder. It is said that once
while he was preaching a dove descended to his shoulder and the earth rose to
lift him high above the people so that he could be heard.
SOURCE : https://catholicfire.blogspot.com/2016/03/saint-david-of-wales-patron-of-poets.html
Eglwys Dewi Sant, Blaenporth, Ceredigion.
Eglwys Dewi Sant, Blaenporth, Ceredigion.
Eglwys
Dewi Sant, Blaenporth, Ceredigion.
San David di Menevia (del
Galles) Vescovo
Menevia, Galles, 542 c. -
Mynyw, Galles, 601 c.
Visse nel secolo VI e
sarebbe morto nel 601; sebbene sia citato in documenti dei secoli VIII - X, una
sua biografia fu scritta solo nel secolo XI da un certo Rhygyfarch. David era
figlio di Sant e Nonna e nacque nella valle di Rhos; fu educato ed istruito da
sant'Iltut e poi da Paolino; venne ordinato sacerdote e si ritirò in un'isola
solitaria dove stette per dieci anni, dedito allo studio della Sacra Scrittura.
In seguito abbracciò la vita monastica e prese ad evangelizzare la Britannia,
abitata ancora da popolazioni celtiche; fondò dodici monasteri, nei quali
instaurò una vita comunitaria, austera, densa di studio, lavoro e preghiera.
Ritornato in patria succedette a san Dubricio come vescovo di Caerlon, da dove
poi si trasferì alla sede di Menevia. Secondo una tradizione leggendaria
sarebbe vissuto per 147 anni. Il suo sepolcro divenne presto una meta di
pellegrinaggi ed a lui furono intestate molte chiese nel Galles, nell'Irlanda e
Inghilterra. (Avvenire)
Patronato: Galles
Emblema: Mitra,
Pastorale, Colomba, Modellino
Martirologio Romano: A
Saint David in Galles, san Davide, vescovo, che, imitando il modello e i
costumi dei Padri d’Oriente, fondò un monastero, dal quale partirono moltissimi
monaci ad evangelizzare il Galles, l’Irlanda, la Cornovaglia e la Bretagna.
Grande figura di vescovo e monaco, evangelizzatore della Britannia, esimio rappresentante delle Chiese celtiche del Galles.
Visse nel secolo VI e sarebbe morto nel 601; sebbene sia citato in documenti dei secoli VIII – X, una sua biografia fu scritta solo nel secolo XI da un certo Rhygyfarch, essa risulta molto fantasiosa e ricalca quella di s. Benedetto.
David era figlio di Sant e Nonna e nacque nella valle di Rhos; fu educato ed istruito da s. Iltut e poi da Paolino; venne ordinato sacerdote e si ritirò in un’isola solitaria dove stette per dieci anni, dedito allo studio della Sacra Scrittura.
In seguito abbracciò la vita monastica e prese ad evangelizzare la Britannia, nome latino della Gran Bretagna, abitata ancora da popolazioni celtiche; fondò dodici monasteri, nei quali instaurò una vita comunitaria, austera, densa di studio, lavoro e preghiera.
Scampò ad un tentativo di avvelenamento da parte dei monaci, forse per la troppa austerità (stranamente a quei tempi, si cercava di risolvere così qualche problema di insofferenza, risulta anche qualche altro caso); andò a Gerusalemme, dove fu consacrato vescovo.
Ritornato in patria succedette a s. Dubricio come vescovo di Caerlon, da dove poi si trasferì alla sede di Menevia; fu molto influente sulla vita monastica del Galles, presiedendo a parecchi sinodi, nei quali furono prese delle decisioni disciplinari e teologiche, importanti per le Chiese celtiche.
Anche se è difficile crederci, risulta che David visse 147 anni, il suo sepolcro divenne presto una meta di pellegrinaggi ed a lui furono intestate molte chiese nel Galles, nell’Irlanda e Inghilterra.
Quasi quattro secoli dopo la sua morte, nel 966 il suo corpo fu traslato a Glastonbury; nei calendari celtici ed irlandesi e nel ‘Martirologio Geronimiano’ è celebrato il 1° marzo.
Del monastero e della chiesa, da lui fondati a Menevia, oggi Saint-David, non rimane più nulla; l’unica opera iconografica dove è raffigurato, sono gli affreschi della chiesa di Saint-Divy di Landerneau, nel miracolo operato quando la terra, dove era poggiato per predicare, si sollevò a formare una collina e la colomba dello Spirito Santo venne a posarsi sulla spalla.
Autore: Antonio Borrelli
È il santo della semplicità. Con il fare le “piccole cose” questo “amico di Dio” ha conquistato il cuore di tante persone. Il suo nome è Davide. Si narra che sia stato partorito su una scogliera, durante una violenta tempesta. Nasce nel VI secolo circa, a Rhos (Gran Bretagna). È un sacerdote che preferisce pregare in solitudine. Per dieci anni si rifugia in un’isola dove si dedica a studiare le Sacre Scritture. In seguito indossa il saio e, assieme ad altri monaci, percorre il Galles, l’Irlanda e la Cornovaglia come predicatore del Vangelo.
Davide, con parole semplici, si fa capire da tutti, istruiti e analfabeti, dal popolo come dai nobili e potenti. Al Signore sono gradite le “cose semplici”, compiute giorno dopo giorno, per dimostrare la fede in Dio, l’amore verso il prossimo e le piccole azioni eseguite, però, con cuore e con gioia, per aiutare chi ha più bisogno. E quante conversioni avvengono grazie al buon Davide! Fonda vari conventi dove impone regole di vita molto severe: i monaci possono bere solo acqua e cibarsi di pane ed erbe, lavorare la terra con le mani senza utilizzare animali, trascorrere le ore serali pregando, leggendo e scrivendo.
Purtroppo, alcuni monaci malvagi tentano di avvelenarlo perché non sopportano le sue regole. Ma il santo si salva e, per ringraziare Dio di essere scampato al mortale pericolo, va a Gerusalemme in pellegrinaggio. Nominato vescovo, Davide torna nel Galles e si mette alla guida della diocesi di Menevia, oggi chiamata in suo onore Saint-David.
Il vescovo compie tanti prodigi. Il miracolo più clamoroso e leggendario avviene quando una grande folla segue la sua predica su una vasta pianura. In lontananza si alzano delle voci: la gente si lamenta di non riuscire a vederlo. Allora, improvvisamente, sotto i piedi di Davide la terra si solleva e diventa una collina. Nello stesso istante una colomba bianca – simbolo dello Spirito Santo – si va a posare sulla spalla del predicatore. Secondo la tradizione Davide si spegne a Menevia, all’incredibile età di 147 anni, intorno al 600. Le sue ultime parole rivolte ai discepoli: «Siate felici, conservate la fede e fate cose semplici». Patrono del Galles, è protettore dei neonati.
Autore: Mariella Lentini
SOURCE : https://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/43425
.jpg)
Christopher Webb, Saint David, 1950, cathédrale de Chichester
Den hellige David av
Wales (~520-601)
Minnedag: 1.
mars
Den hellige David (Avit,
Avy, Davi, Davidagius, Davit, Davy, Devi, Devy, Divi, Divy, Degui, Evy, Ewy,
Thé; wal: Dewi, Dewydd, Dafydd; lat: Davidus) ble født rundt 520 (?) (ifølge
tradisjonen i 487) i Henfynyw i Ceredigion (Cardiganshire; lat: Ceretica) i
Wales. Det er stor usikkerhet om dateringen, selv om det ikke er noen tvil om
at David var en virkelig person. Han var ifølge legenden sønn av høvdingen Sant
(Xantus, Sandde) av Ceretica eller Cardiganshire og den hellige Non, barnebarn
av den berømte, halvlegendariske hellige kongen Brychan av Brycheiniog (Brecknock)
(4/500-t?), konge av det kristne kongeriket Brecknock i det sørlige Wales. En
legende sier at han var fetter av den hellige Cadfan. Det
fortelles at Non hadde gått i kloster i Ty Gwyn nær Whitesands Bay. Imidlertid
gjorde hennes skjønnhet at høvdingen Sant ble oppmerksom på henne da han reiste
forbi. Hans tilnærmelser ble selvsagt avvist på det mest bestemte, men
høvdingen tok ikke nei som et svar og tvang sin lidenskap på den uheldige Non,
som ble gravid med David.
David ble oppdratt av sin
mor i Henfynyw (Vetus Rubus) nær Aberaeron, og i ung alder ble han døpt av
onkelen på morssiden, den hellige Eilfyw. David kan ha blitt utdannet av den
hellige Colman
av Dromore, men dette virker usannsynlig. Han fikk trolig sin utdannelse
først i Vetus Rubus, og deretter i Llanilltyd Fawr eller Llantwit Major i South
Glamorgan helt sør i Wales, under den hellige Illtud. Dette var
en av de mest innflytelsesrike skolene i Sør-Wales. Deretter studerte David i
ti år som prest Skriften under den hellige Paulinus Skriveren,
som skal ha vært en elev av den hellige Germanus av Auxerre,
på en øy kalt Wincdi-Lantquendi som ikke er identifisert, muligens Whitland,
andre sier Isle of Wight (Vecta). David sies å ha gitt sin lærer synet tilbake,
etter at han hadde blitt blind av for mye gråting under bønn.
David grunnla tolv
klostre fra Croyland til Pembrokeshire, inkludert Mynyw, latinisert til Menevia
(nå St. David’s) og Glastonbury, blir det påstått med mindre troverdighet. I
virkeligheten er flere av dem senere grunnleggelser. De muligens genuine
grunnleggelsene inkluderer Glasgwm (Elfael), Colfa (Elfael), Llangyfelach
(Gwyr), Llanarthne (Ystrad Tywi) og Betws (Ystrad Tywi). I disse klostrene
etablerte han et kommunitetsliv som var strengt og fullt av studier, arbeid og
bønn. Han besøkte også hoffet til kong Proprius av Ergyng (trolig kong Peibio Clafrog)
og helbredet også hans blindhet.
David vendte tilbake til
Henfynyw, hvor han møtte sin slektning, biskop Gwestlan. De to var naboer og
ledsagere en stund, før David flyttet til nærliggende Rhoson Uchaf (Rosina
Vallis) nær Mynyw (St. David’s). Han ble fulgt av en rekke disipler, inkludert
de hellige Aidan
av Ferns (ca 550-626), Teilo av Llandaff (500-t)
og Ismael av
Wales (500-t), og sammen grunnla de klosteret i Mynyw. En irsk høvding
ved navn Bwya som bodde i nærliggende Castell Penlan, var ikke spesielt fornøyd
med denne invasjonen av munker og planla å drive dem ut. Hans hustru sendte
sine tjenestejenter for å bade nakne i elven Alun og friste David og hans
disipler, men klerikerne var langt fra imponerte. Ulykke rammet snart det irske
paret og David kunne slå seg ned uten mer trakassering.
På denne tiden hadde
Davids berømmelse som en åndelig leder spredt seg over hele Britannia. Livet i
hans klostre var ekstremt strengt, og det kunne nesten sammenlignes med
ørkenfedrenes. Han og hans menn spiste bare en gang om dagen og da bare brød,
salt og grønnsaker, drakk bare vann, noen ganger tilsatt litt melk, og fastet
ofte. De fikk bare snakke i ytterste nødsfall. Manuelt arbeid var obligatorisk,
og de pløyde jorden uten hjelp av okser –«Hver mann sin egen okse», sa David.
De holdt seg våkne i bønn fra solnedgang på fredag til soloppgang på søndag.
Kandidater måtte vente ved porten i ti dager og ble utsatt for hard behandling
før de ble opptatt. David fritok ikke seg selv fra den samme strenge
disiplinen. Han var tradisjonelt kjent som «Vannmannen», David Aquaticus (Dewi
Dyfyrwr), fordi han oppmuntret sine ledsagere til å drikke og bade i kaldt
vann. Tilnavnet betydde kanskje også at han og hans menn var totalavholdsmenn.
Lenge etter vesper, da den siste av hans munker hadde gått til sengs, fortsatte
han å be alene hele natten gjennom. David viet seg til barmhjertig arbeid og
praktiserte ofte knebøyninger og total neddykking i kaldt vann i timevis som
sin favoritt innen askesen. Den hellige Gildas kritiserte
sterkt Davids regel for å være mer asketisk enn kristen.
I Brefi (Llanddewi Brefi)
i Cardiganshire ble det rundt 550 holdt en synode med rundt tusen deltakere.
Men David som holdt seg borte fra verdslige affærer, ble værende i Mynyw. Men
synoden insisterte på å sende bud på ham, og han ble overtalt til å komme av de
hellige Dyfrig (Dubricius),
biskop av Ergyng og angivelig erkebiskop av Wales, og Deiniol, biskop
av Bangor Fawr. Synoden var innkalt for å diskutere disiplinen innen Kirken og
å utrydde det pelagianske kjetteri. Folkemengden var så stor og spenningen så
intens at stemmen til den aldrende og avgående erkebiskop Dyfrig knapt kunne
høres da han utnevnte David til sin etterfølger som primas for Wales. David,
som først nektet, kom motvillig frem. Den gamle Gildas skal ha gått mot
utnevnelsen, men de hellige Cadoc av Llancarfan (497-580)
og Finnian av
Clonard (ca 470-ca 549) stemte for David. Det blir sagt at da han
skulle tale, hevet grunnen seg under hans føtter slik at han kunne ses, og en
snøhvit due satte seg på hans skulder, og på mirakuløst vis sørget for at hans
stemme ble som en sølvtrompet og kunne høres av alle.
Davids betingelse for å
bli erkebiskop var at han fikk flytte setet fra Caerleon til Mynyw, som var et
rolig og avsidesliggende sted. Legenden sier at synoden vedtok at siden skal
«alle som styrer hans kloster regnes som erkebiskop». Det siste kravet og
historien om at han ble konsekrert biskop i Jerusalem, er rene fabler. I følge
legenden kalte David også sammen en synode i Caerleon. Der ble ediktene fra
Brefi ratifisert, og der skal Pelagius ha blitt fordømt, etter at hans kjetteri
vokste frem igjen i Britannia for andre gang, og derfor kalles den
Seierssynoden. Men det er ikke noe spor etter diskusjoner om pelagianismen i
dekretene som sies å ha blitt vedtatt på synoden. Det er også usannsynlig at
det eksisterte noe erkebispesete i Wales på denne tiden.
Det var trolig rundt
denne perioden at David skal ha besøkt Glastonbury i Somerset. Han hadde hørt
om klosterets store hellighet og ønsket å vigsle bygningen. Men da han kom dit,
hadde han åpenbart en drøm hvor Herren viste seg for ham og erklærte at han
allerede hadde vigslet kirken til ære for sin mor Maria. Så David bestemte seg
for i stedet å utvide den såkalte «Old Church» reist av den hellige Josef av Arimatea og
reiste en mer omfattende bygning mot øst.
Selv om han er nevnt i
dokumenter fra 700- til 900-tallet, bygger det meste av historien om David på
en biografi skrevet rundt 1090 av Rhygyfarch (Ricemarch), sønn av biskop Julien
av St. David’s. Han var opptatt av å holde frem kravet fra det walisiske
bispesetet St. David’s om å være uavhengig av Canterbury, men liten vekt kan
legges på dette dokumentet. Biografien er svært fantasifull og ligner på
biografien om den hellige Benedikt. Men
selv om det er propaganda, kan det inneholde noen elementer av sann tradisjon.
Rhygyfarch hevder å ha brukt eldre skriftlige kilder, og det kan godt stemme,
men han har også tatt med rent oppdiktede elementer.
Det fortelles at David
var av en elskelig og glad natur og at han var en tiltrekkende og overtalende
predikant. Det var kanskje hans mor Non, som hadde næret ham omhyggelig i den
kristne tro, som han skyldte så mange av hans fine kvaliteter. Gerald av Wales
(Giraldus Cambrensis) (d. ca 1220), som skrev en parafrase over Rhygyfarch,
sier at David var sin tids store pryd og eksempel, og at han fortsatte å styre
sitt kloster til han var en svært gammel mann. David levde i gullalderen for keltisk
kristendom, da det levde mange helgener, mange av dem kongelige, konger,
prinser og høvdinger, som levde et monastisk liv, bygde oratorier og kirker og
forkynte evangeliet. Cadoc grunnla det store klosteret i Llancarfan, Illtud
vendte ryggen til et liv som soldat for å bli mystiker og etablerte klosteret
Llantwit, hvor tradisjonen knytter hans navn til Sir Galahads. Men størst av
dem alle var David.
Hans hovedkloster, der
han presiderte som abbed og biskop, var helt sikkert på det stedet som nå kalles
St. David’s lengst vest i Pembrokeshire. Det kan hende at hans opprinnelige
kloster var Henllan, som han hadde arvet fra sin far, før han flyttet til
Mynyw, og derfra kan han ha grunnlagt flere klostre østover, og han kan ha
reist til Bretagne og Cornwall etter pesten i 547.
Den siste søndagen før
sin død og etter at han hadde mottatt sakramentet, ga han folket sin
velsignelse og sa: «Vær glade, brødre og søstre. Hold fast ved troen og gjør de
små tingene som dere har hørt og sett meg gjøre. For dere vil ikke se meg mer i
denne verden». Han døde tirsdag 1. mars 589 (601?), ifølge Geoffrey av Monmouth
i sitt kloster i Mynyw. Munkene ropte ut sine kvaler: «Hvem skal hjelpe oss nå?
Hvem skal be for oss nå? Hvem skal være en far for oss som David var?» Den hellige Kentigern i
Llanelwy så hans sjel bli båret til himmelen av engler. I kildene varierer hans
fødeår mellom rundt 454 og 520, og hans dødsår mellom 560 og 601. Han skal ha
vært over nitti år gammel da han døde.
David ble gravlagt i sin
katedral St Andreas og hans grav ble et stort valfartsmål, noe den fortsatt er.
Selv kongene Vilhelm I Erobreren og Henrik II besøkte graven for å vise den sin
ære. Relikviene ble overført fra klosterkirken til katedralen i St. David’s i
1131. Biskop Richard Carew av St. David’s gjenoppbygde katedralen hovedsakelig
for offergavene til skrinet, og relikviene ble overført til sitt nåværende
hvilested nord for koret i 1275. Hans tomme grav kan fortsatt ses i katedralen.
Det sies at relikviene ble flyttet til Glastonbury i 966, men de var åpenbart i
St. David’s i 1346.
Flere irske helgener
hevdes å ha vært disipler av David eller å ha besøkt Mynyw, og han ser ut til å
ha hatt en viss innflytelse på den monastiske utviklingen i Irland. Den eldste
skriftlige kilden om ham kommer fra Irland, hvor Helgenkatalogen fra rundt 730
sier at de «mottok messe fra biskop David og britene Gillas (= St. Gildas) og
Teilo», og det eldste irske martyrologiet fra Tallaght fra før 800 legger
festen til 1. mars, hans tradisjonelle dødsdato, og stedfester hans kloster til
Menevia (Mynyw eller St. David’s). Han opptrer også i Leofrics kalender, som
ble samlet i Glastonbury rundt 970. Senere kalendere vitner om spredningen av
hans kult til andre regioner i sør utenom Wales. David finnes også i et
helgenlitani i Salisbury Psalter fra 900-tallet.
Det finnes over femti
gamle kirker eller steder som bærer Davids navn, alle i Sør-Wales og tallrike i
det sørvestlige hjørnet. Det finnes også dedikasjoner i Devon, Cornwall og
Bretagne. Litanier fra 900- og 1000-tallet i Wessex nevner ham, noe som
skyldtes spredningen av hans kult gjennom kong Alfreds biskop Asser.
Glastonbury hevder ham også som skytshelgen.
Assosiasjonen mellom
purreløk og St David’s day, for eksempel i Shakespeares King Henry V (IV,
1), har ikke fått noen tilfredsstillende forklaring. Legenden forteller at
David vant en stor seier over sakserne, da han instruerte de walisiske
soldatene om å bære en purreløk i hodeplagget for å kjenne igjen hverandre på
slagmarken, også i mørket på grunn av aromaen. Opprinnelsen til St. David’s
Day daffodils eller bare Daffy (= påskeliljer) er ukjent;
hans emblem er en due som minner om hans synode i Brefi. Påskeliljen er i dag
en av Wales’ nasjonale symboler. Purreløken og senere påskeliljen ble valgt som
walisiske symboler på grunn av bladenes farge, grønne over jorden og hvite
under, som tilsvarer fargene på nasjonalflagget med den røde dragen. Hans navn
staves ofte Dafydd, derfor kjælenavnet Taffy på en waliser.
Hans minnedag er 1. mars.
Fra 1100-tallet har han vært regnet som skytshelgen for Wales. Han er også den
eneste walisiske helgen som er blitt dyrket i den vestlige kirke. Kulten ble
godkjent i 1120 av pave Callistus II (1119-24), og han erklærte at to valfarter
til St. David’s tilsvarte én til Roma. David dyrkes spesielt i Pembrokeshire.
I kunsten avbildes David
ofte som keltisk biskop med langt hår og skjegg, i bispedrakt med en due på
skulderen mens han står på en haug. Han kan også holde en modell av sin
katedral i hånden.
St. David’s Cathedral
ligger i et dalsøkk på den kuperte halvøya Goewer, den vestligste delen av
Storbritannia. Katedralen har et ujevnt gulv og en liten eikekiste som
inneholder relikviene til David og Justinian, hans skriftefar og «sjelefrende».
Alle pilegrimer skulle gå opp de par kilometerne langs den smale landeveien til
St. Non’s kilde og kapell med utsikt til den steinete kystlinjen med sine små
øyer, for dette er angivelig Davids fødested.
Kilder:
Attwater/John, Attwater/Cumming, Farmer, Jones, Bentley, Hallam, Butler, Butler
(III), Benedictines, Delaney, Bunson, Pennick, KIR, CE, CSO, Patron Saints
SQPN, Infocatho, Bautz, Heiligenlexikon, santiebeati.it, celt-saints,
britannia.com, earlybritishkingdoms.com, CB, CIN, pitt.edu, Ecole, Rosminians,
zeno.org, heiligen-3s.nl - Kompilasjon og oversettelse: p. Per Einar Odden
Opprettet:24.
februar 2000
SOURCE : http://www.katolsk.no/biografier/historisk/david
Cardiff
( Wales ). Saint John the Baptist parish church - Stained glass window ( 1915
): Saint David ( detail ).
Cardiff
( Wales ). Pfarrkirche St. Johannes der Täufer - Buntglasfenster ( 1915 ):
Heiliger David ( Detail ).
David von Menevia
walisischer Name: Dewi
Gedenktag katholisch: 1. März
Hochfest in Wales
Fest in England
nicht gebotener Gedenktag in Irland
Übertragung der Gebeine: 16. August, 17. August
bedacht im Keltischen Hochgebet I
Gedenktag anglikanisch:
1. März
Name bedeutet: der
Geliebte (hebr.)
Einsiedler, erster Abt und Bischof von Mynyw / Menevia
* um 520 an der St Brides Bay, in der heutigen Grafschaft Pembrokeshire in Wales
† 1. März um 589 in Mynyw, heute St
David's in Pembrokeshire in Wales
Statue an der Kathedrale
in St
David's
David wurde der Überlieferung
zufolge als Sohn von Adligen in der Nähe der St
Brides Bay in der heutigen Grafschaft Pembrokeshire geboren. Er lebte
als Einsiedler und strenger Asket in den Bergen von Wales. Nachdem er die
Priesterweihe empfangen hatte, unternahm er demnach Pilgerreisen, die ihn
schließlich ins Heilige Land führten, wo er zum Bischof geweiht wurde. Nach
seiner Rückkehr nach Wales spielte er 560 und 569 eine führende Rolle auf
zwei Synoden,
die sich gegen den Pelagianismus richteten.
David soll viele Kirchen
überall in Südwales gegründet haben. Ein ihm zugeschriebenes Bußbuch war seit
dem 8. Jahrhundert auch auf dem Kontinent verbreitet.
Davids Grab in St
David's - dem ehemaligen Mynyw / Menevia -, war bis zur Reformation
ein bedeutender Wallfahrtsort.
966 wurden Gebeine von
Menevia nach Glastonbury überführt,
im 10. Jahrhundert wurde von den Walisern das Eingreifen Dewis und der
Heiligen von Britannien in den Kampf zur Vertreibung der Engländer erfleht.
Die wichtigste Informationsquelle über David ist die von dem walisischen
Gelehrten Rhygyfarch um 1090 verfasste Biographie.
Patron von Wales
Stadlers
Vollständiges Heiligenlexikon
Informationen über
die St-Davids-Kathedrale
und ihre Geschichte
Artikel
kommentieren / Fehler melden
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David von Menevia
Wikipedia: Artikel über
David von Menevia
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Schäfer - zuletzt aktualisiert am 15.08.2016
Quellen:
• Microsoft Encarta 98 Enzyklopädie
• Charlotte Bretscher-Gisinger, Thomas Meier (Hg.): Lexikon des Mittelalters. CD-ROM-Ausgabe. J.B. Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 2000
• Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, begr. von Michael Buchberger. Hrsg. von
Walter Kasper, 3., völlig neu bearb. Aufl., Bd. 3. Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau
1995
korrekt zitieren: Joachim Schäfer: Artikel David von Menevia, aus dem Ökumenischen Heiligenlexikon - https://www.heiligenlexikon.de/BiographienD/David_Dewi_von_Menevia.htm, abgerufen am 1. 3. 2024
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet das Ökumenische
Heiligenlexikon in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte
bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über http://d-nb.info/1175439177 und http://d-nb.info/969828497 abrufbar.
SOURCE : https://www.heiligenlexikon.de/BiographienD/David_Dewi_von_Menevia.htm
Statue
de Saint David dans la chapelle Saint-David à Quimperlé, Finistère, Bretagne,
France
Delwenn
Sant Dewi e chapel Sant-Dewi, Kemperle, Penn-ar-Bed, Breizh.
Saint
David's statue in Saint-David's chapel, city of Quimperlé, Finistère, Brittany,
France.
David (Dewi) von Menevia
S. David. Aëp. (1. März).
Vom Hebr. David = der Geliebte etc. - Dieser hl. David, Erzbischof von Menevia
in Wales und eines der größten Lichter der altbrittischen Kirche, wurde um das
Jahr 445 im brittischen Fürstenthum Cardigan (Ceretica), über welches sein Vater
Xantus herrschte, geboren, erhielt nach empfangenem Unterrichte die
Priesterweihe und zog sich auf mehrere Jahre auf die Insel Wight (Vecta)
zurück, wo er sich unter der Leitung des frommen und gelehrten Paulinus, eines
Schülers des hl. Germanus
von Auxerre, in der Vollkommenheit weiter ausbildete und dann auf dessen
Geheiß seine öffentliche Wirksamkeit durch Predigten und Errichtung von
Klöstern bethätigte. Er stiftete zwölf Klöster, von welchen das bedeutendste im
Thale Roß bei Menew lag, aus welchem mehrere Heilige hervorgingen, deren
mehrere in der Kirche als erste Hirten glänzten. Hier in Menew (Menevia) führte
er mit seiner Genossenschaft ein überaus strenges Leben, und kannte nur eine
Sorge, nämlich die, dem Herrn zu
gefallen. Im Jahre 516 machte er eine Reise nach Jerusalem, um die heil.
Stätten zu besuchen, und soll vom Bischofe daselbst die bischöfliche Weihe
erhalten haben. Nach seiner Rückkehr von da mußte der hl. David auf der im
Jahre 519 zu Brevy abgehaltenen Synode den
in England auftauchenden Pelagianismus bekämpfen und wurde nach der Resignation
des Bischofs Dubricius zum Erzbischof von Caerleon erwählt. Nur mit
Widerstreben nahm der Heilige die Bürde des bischöflichen Amtes auf sich,
verlegte den Sitz von Caerleon nach Menevia, welche Stadt in der Folge nach ihm
»St. Davids« 1 genannt
wurde, vermehrte das große brittische Heiligthum zu Glastonbury mit einer
reichen Kapelle und hielt um 529 die Synode, Victoria genannt, worin die Acten
von Brevy bestätigt wurden und noch einiges Andere hinzugefügt ward. Der hl.
David starb um das Jahr 544, beinahe hundert Jahre alt, und wurde in der Kirche
des hl. Andreas beigesetzt.
Seine Reliquien kamen in der Folge nach Glastonbury. - Auf Kirchenbildern wird
er dargestellt im bischöflichen Ornate, auf einem Hügel stehend, mit einer
Taube auf der Schulter. Als er nämlich im Jahre 519 auf der zu Brevy gegen die
Pelagianer predigte, erhob sich die Erde unter ihm zu einem Hügel, und sah man
zugleich den heil. Geist in Gestalt einer Taube auf seiner Schulter.
1Diese sonst schöne Stadt
St. Davids, die kirchliche Hauptstadt von Südwales, ist jetzt nur noch ein
großes schmutziges Dorf, jedoch mit verschiedenen ehrwürdigen alten Gebäuden.
(Vgl. Dr. Ungewitter's geograph. Handbuch, S. 1199.)
SOURCE : https://www.heiligenlexikon.de/Stadler/David_Dewi_von_Menevia.html
Voir aussi : http://www.earlybritishkingdoms.com/bios/dewi.html
