Once I knew a bit about Mum’s Welsh roots in the part of Pembrokeshire around St David’s and Fishguard, I asked her if she could tell me a bit more about Saint David himself.
I knew he was the patron saint of Wales and that his saint’s day was on March 1st, but I didn’t really know much else about him. In fact, I didn’t even know if he was real or not, but Mum soon put me right on that.
She told me that he was a real person, who was born around 500 AD at what is now called St Non’s Bay, immediately south of the city of St David’s in Pembrokeshire. His mother was called Non and she would also become a saint. At the time of David’s birth, however, she was simply a young woman of noble birth who had become pregnant without being married.
That was considered very shameful at this time and Non was probably cast out of the family home to give birth alone near the beach.
One legend says that, as Non gave birth, she held on to a huge rock so tightly that it split in two, while another legend says that there was a tremendous thunderstorm at the time and the rock was split by lightning as David was born. It’s also said that water sprang out of the ground at that very moment and formed a holy well.
Later a chapel dedicated to St Non was built near the spot where David is thought to have been born and its ruins can still be seen today.
After all these centuries, no one knows if these stories are true or not, but we do know that David grew up to be a deeply religious young man. He became a monk and led a very simple life at a monastery on the site of what is now St David’s cathedral.
There the monks cultivated the land and grew their own food, but they never ate meat or drank alcohol. In fact, David was said to be a vegan, who lived mainly on leeks and water.
He became famous as a preacher and eventually miracles were associated with him. The most famous occurred at a place called Llandewi Brefi, where a large crowd had gathered to listen to him. When those at the back complained that they couldn’t hear his words, the land that David was standing on suddenly rose up into a small hill from where his voice could be heard by everyone.
He also befriended Justinian, another deeply religious man who lived as a hermit on nearby Ramsey Island, and invited him to become abbot of the monastery at St David’s. Justinian accepted this post, but soon found that even the simple ways of the monks there weren’t austere enough for him.
Justinian returned to Ramsey Island where he was later attacked and beheaded. According to legend, however, he then picked up his severed head and carried it across to the mainland where he was buried at a place now called St Justinian’s, where a chapel was built in his memory. This was one of the miracles which led to Justinian eventually becoming a saint.
David himself died on March 1st 589 and was made a saint by Pope Callixtus II in 1120. Around the same time, he became the patron saint of Wales and March 1st became his saint’s day.
The present cathedral was started in 1181 and became an important place of pilgrimage – so important that two pilgrimages to St David’s shrine there were said to be the equivalent of one to Rome, while three visits there were equal to one to Jerusalem.
Over the centuries as times and religious customs changed, the pilgrimages became less and less important and the original shrine fell into disrepair, but in recent years it has been beautifully rebuilt and was rededicated on St David’s Day in 2012.
Nowadays March 1st is a celebration not only of St David’s life, but also of Welsh culture.
The Welsh flag is flown from public buildings and, as both the daffodil and the leek are symbols of Wales, many people wear one or the other in their lapels.
Some girls in infant and junior schools dress in traditional costume for the day…
…and traditional food is cooked and eaten. This includes cawl (a type of soup or stew with meat and vegetables)…
bara brith (tea bread)…
and Welsh cakes, which Mum has promised to bake for us on the day.
She’s also promised to make one of our favourite meals, which is chicken, cut into pieces and gently fried with sliced leeks, mushrooms and crème fraiche, and eaten with new potatoes, carrots and broccoli. My mouth is watering already!
And, finally, as you’ll have noticed, I’ve been learning some Welsh especially for today with the help of Mum’s cousins, Irene and Sarah.
I also found some words on Google by myself, but Mum won’t let me say them as she says they’re rude. So I’m going to wait until next time she tries to shut me in a drawer and I’ll say them then!
That’s all for today, but look out for some more tales from me soon. Take care and stay safe!
Follow my next blog:132 MY MUM THE STORY-TELLER- PART TWENTY SEVEN
01/03/2021
Wilf the bear-faced blogger 