David of Wales

Life events

1. Born

   David was born in Wales, traditionally at Henfynyw in Ceredigion; he is held to be the son of Non and grandson of Ceredig ap Cunedda, king of Ceredigion, though the birth date is uncertain, with scholarly estimates ranging from 462 to 512.

2. Other

   David became renowned as a teacher and preacher, founding monastic settlements and churches in Wales, Dumnonia (Devon and Cornwall), and Brittany (Armorica); the monastery he founded in the Glyn Rhosyn valley of Pembrokeshire became the site of St David's Cathedral.

3. Council — 550

   Around 550, David attended the Synod of Brefi, where his eloquence in opposing Pelagianism led his fellow monks to elect him primate of the region; according to Rhygyfarch's hagiography, the ground rose beneath him as he preached and a white dove settled on his shoulder, bringing about the retirement of Dubricius.

4. Consecrated — 550

   Following the Synod of Brefi, David was declared archbishop by popular acclaim according to Rhygyfarch; his metropolitan status was later supported by Bernard of St David's, Geoffrey of Monmouth, and Gerald of Wales, though modern historians see the claim as shaped by Welsh ecclesiastical politics.

5. Pilgrimage — 550

   Rhygyfarch's Buchedd Dewi records that David made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, where he is said to have been anointed as archbishop by the patriarch; modern historians are sceptical, reading the claim as serving Rhygyfarch's argument for Welsh metropolitan independence from Canterbury.

6. Council — 569

   David presided over the Synod of Caerleon, known as the Synod of Victory, around 569.

7. Died — 589

   David died on 1 March, now commemorated as Saint David's Day; his last words, recorded in the Welsh Life of St David, were 'Be joyful, and keep your faith and your creed, and do the little things that you have seen me do and heard about.' The two most commonly cited death years are 589 and 601.

8. Translated — 1275

   A new shrine was built at St David's Cathedral in 1275 to house David's relics after Viking raids in the 10th and 11th centuries had stripped the earlier shrine; Edward I came to pray there in 1284, and during the Reformation Bishop Barlow (1536-48) stripped the shrine of jewels and confiscated the relics of David and Justinian of Ramsey Island.

Relationships

Documented claims

• David's Monastic Rule required monks to pull the plough without draught animals, eat only bread with salt and herbs, drink only water (earning them the name 'watermen'), and own no personal property — even saying 'my book' was an offence. (plausible)
• David was officially recognised by the Holy See under Pope Callixtus II in 1120, largely through the advocacy of Bernard, Bishop of St David's; he appears in the 2004 Roman Martyrology on 1 March under the Latin name Dávus. (likely)
• The primary hagiographic source is the Buchedd Dewi ('Life of David'), written by Rhygyfarch around 1090 and claimed to draw on cathedral archive documents; modern historians view several claims as shaped by the Welsh church's bid for metropolitan independence from Canterbury. (certain)
• The leek is David's emblem and a national symbol of Wales; a c. 1630 broadside ballad claimed Welsh soldiers wore leeks in their hats at a battle fought on Saint David's Day to distinguish friend from foe, a tradition Shakespeare echoes in Henry V (Act IV, scene 7). (plausible)
• William of Malmesbury records that David visited Glastonbury and, after a vision of Christ told him the church had already been dedicated by Christ himself, donated a travelling altar set with a great sapphire instead of re-dedicating it; the sapphire altar is listed among items Henry VIII confiscated during the Dissolution. (legendary)