Studies in Celtic History XXIV St DaVID of WaleS Cult, CHurCH anD natIon the cult of St David has been an enduring symbol of Welsh identity across more than a millennium. this volume, published to commemorate the fourteenth centenary of the death of the saint, traces the evidence for the cult of St David through archaeological, historical, hagiographical, liturgical, and toponymic evidence, and considers the role of the cult and church of St David in the history of Welsh society, politics, and landscape. the collection includes a new edition and translation of the Life of St David by rhygyfarch, based on the text in British library MS Cotton Vespasian a.xiv, as well as new evidence concerning the relics of the saint enshrined in St Davids Cathedral. J. Wyn Evans is the Dean of St Davids Cathedral. Jonathan M. Wooding is Director of the Centre for the Study of religion in Celtic Societies at university of Wales lampeter. StuDIeS In CeltIC HIStorY ISSn 0261–9865 General editors Dauvit Broun Máire ní Mhaonaigh Huw Pryce Studies in Celtic History aims to provide a forum for new research into all aspects of the history of Celtic-speaking peoples throughout the whole of the medieval period. the term ‘history’ is inderstood broadly: any study, regardless of discipline, which advances our knowledge and understanding of the history of Celtic-speaking peoples will be considered. Studies of primary sources, and of new methods of exploiting such sources, are encouraged. founded by Professor David Dumville, the series was relaunched under new editorship in 1997. Proposals or queries may be sent directly to the editors at the addresses given below; all submissions will receive prompt and informed considera- tion before being sent to expert readers. Dr Dauvit Broun, Department of History (Scottish), university of Glasgow, 9 university Gardens, Glasgow G12 8QH Dr Máire ní Mhaonaigh, St John’s College, Cambridge, CB2 1tP Dr Huw Pryce, Department of History and Welsh History, university of Wales, Bangor, Bangor, Gwynedd ll57 2DG for titles already published in this series see the end of this volume St DaVID of WaleS Cult, CHurCH anD natIon Edited by J. WYn eVanS JonatHan M. WooDInG tHe BoYDell PreSS © Contributors 2007 All Rights Reserved. except as permitted under current legislation no part of this work may be photocopied, stored in a retrieval system, published, performed in public, adapted, broadcast, transmitted, recorded or reproduced in any form or by any means, without the prior permission of the copyright owner first published 2007 the Boydell Press, Woodbridge ISBn 978–1–84383–322–2 the Boydell Press is an imprint of Boydell & Brewer ltd Po Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3Df, uK and of Boydell & Brewer Inc. 668 Mt Hope avenue, rochester, nY 14620, uSa website: www.boydellandbrewer.com a catalogue record of this publication is available from the British library this publication is printed on acid-free paper Printed and bound in Great Britain by antony rowe ltd, Chippenham, Wiltshire ContentS List of illustrations vii Preface ix Contributors xi Abbreviations xiii 1 the figure of David 1 Jonathan M. Wooding 2 transition and survival: St David and St Davids Cathedral 20 J. Wyn Evans St DaVIDS: froM earlY CoMMunItY to DIoCeSe 3 the geography of the cult of St David: a study of dedication patterns 41 in the medieval diocese hEathEr JaMEs 4 St Davids and a new link with the Hiberno-norse world 84 Mark rEdknap tHe lIfe of St DaVID 5 Which text is rhygyfarch’s Life of St David? 90 richard sharpE 6 rhygyfarch’s Life of St David 107 richard sharpE and John rEubEn daviEs 7 Some observations on the ‘nero’, ‘Digby’, and ‘Vespasian’ recensions 156 of Vita S. David John rEubEn daviEs tHe Cult of St DaVID 8 Armes Prydain Fawr and St David 161 g.r. isaac 9 the cult of St non: rape, sanctity and motherhood in Welsh 182 and Breton hagiography JanE cartWright 10 the cults of SS. nonne and Divi in Brittany 207 bErnard tanguy 11 St David in the liturgy: a review of sources 220 daniel huws 12 The office of St David in Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, MS lat. 17294 233 owain tudor edwards 13 A triad of texts about Saint David 253 david howlett THE RELICS OF ST DAVID 14 The relics of St David: the historical evidence 274 fred cowley 15 AMS radiocarbon dating of bones from St Davids Cathedral 282 t.f.g. higham, c. bronk ramsey and lined.m. nokes 16 Shrine and counter-shrine in 1920s and 1930s Dewisland? 286 john morgan-guy THE DIOCESE OF ST DAVIDS 17 The archbishopric St Davids and the bishops of Clas Cynidr 296 john reuben davies 18 The dynasty of Deheubarth and the church of St Davids 305 huw pryce 19 The statutes of St Davids Cathedral 1224–1259 317 julia barrow 20 The crisis of the sixteenth century 330 †glanmor williams 21 The diocese of St David’s in the early nineteenth century: a reappraisal 339 w.n. yates Bibliography 351 Index 375 IlluStratIonS Plates 1. the Pen-arthur farm ringed pin in its present condition (photo by 85 tony Daly, copyright national Museum of Wales) 2. St non and St David, stained glass, llansanffraid parish church, 184 Ceredigion (photo by Jane Cartwright) 3. non and David arrive in Brittany, stained glass, Church of St non, 193 Dirinon, Brittany (photo by Jane Cartwright) 4. non baptises David, stained glass, Church of St non, Dirinon (photo 194 by Jane Cartwright) 5. St David seated, detail of stained glass, Church of St non, Dirinon 195 (photo by Jane Cartwright) 6. St David’s cradle, Dirinon (photo by Jane Cartwright) 196 7. the reliquary of St non, Dirinon (photo by Jane Cartwright) 198 8. non meets Sant, ceiling painting, Church of St Divy, Saint-Divy, Brittany 200 (photo by Jane Cartwright) 9. non gives birth to St David, ceiling painting, Church of St Divy, 201 Saint-Divy, Brittany (photo by Jane Cartwright) 10. Miniatures illustrating the office of St David in Bibliothèque nationale, 248 Paris, MS lat. 17294, fol. 426v (photo courtesy of the Bibliothèque nationale) 11. Miniatures illustrating the office of St David in Bibliothèque nationale, 249 Paris, MS lat. 17294, fol. 427r (photo courtesy of the Bibliothèque nationale) 12. Miniatures illustrating the office of St David in Bibliothèque nationale, 250 Paris, MS lat. 17294, fol. 427v (photo courtesy of the Bibliothèque nationale) Maps 1. Map of the medieval Diocese of St Davids showing the medieval 44 deaneries and churches (map by terry James) 2. the seven bishop-houses and the kingdom of Dyfed (map by terry 48 James) 3. Map of the deaneries of Ystrad tywi, Kidwelly, Gower and part of the 66 archdeaconry of Brecon (map by terry James) 4. Deaneries of Sub- and ultra-aeron, Builth, elfael and Maelienydd (map 74 by terry James) 5. Map showing the find-site of the Pen-arthur farm ringed pin (map by 86 tony Daly) vii List of Illustrations Figures 1. the Pen-arthur farm ringed pin (drawn by tony Daly, copyright 85 national Museum of Wales) 2. aMS radiocarbon determination for the charcoal sample dated from 284 St Davids Tables 1. a list of churches and chapels dedicated to St David, St non and their 45 associates within the medieval diocese of St Davids 2. aMS radiocarbon determinations for the bones recovered from 283 St Davids 3. Calibrated radiocarbon determinations 284 4. the episcopal succession at St Davids and Clas Cynidr represented in 303 the sources viii PrefaCe this volume in the long-established and distinguished series Studies in Celtic History is the fruit of a collaboration between two institutions linked by nearly two centuries of history: the Cathedral of St David and the university of Wales lampeter (founded in 1822 as St David’s College lampeter, by thomas Burgess, bishop of St Davids). to mark 175 years since the opening of the college, in 1827, and to commemorate the fourteenth centenary of the death of St David, a slightly less-securely dated event, the Centre for the Study of religion in Celtic Societies (CSrCS) hosted a four-day conference in lampeter, with a day excursion to St Davids. the idea for the present volume arose from that conference, though only twelve of the chapters of this volume were presentations on the occasion. the intent of the editors, respectively the Dean of St Davids and the Director of CSrCS, was to produce a volume which brought together studies of the key questions for research that emerged from that conference. these had been, in particular, the need for renewed attention to be paid to the Vespasian recension of the Vita S. Dauid by rhygyfarch, which it was suspected was closer to the author’s original work than the shorter recension edited by J.W. James; new evidence which had emerged concerning the relics of St David preserved in the cathedral; a wealth of recent research into aspects of the cult of St David pursued in particular through the study of dedications, litur- gical texts, and other neglected sources. the kind offer by Professor richard Sharpe and Dr John reuben Davies, to whom we are deeply indebted for their labours, to produce a new edition of the Vita S. Dauid provided a focal point for a volume that we hope will serve to stimulate a renewed interest in the cult of a saint in whom the interest of the Welsh people has rarely waned, but for whom there appears to have been fairly limited academic interest for some decades. It remains to conclude with acknowledgements of the contributions of a number of individuals. It is invidious to single out a few among many, but for their assist- ance with the conference and the volume we would particularly like to thank the support staff of university of Wales lampeter, who worked hard to organise the accommodation, meals, transport and other aspects of the conference. the Dean and Chapter, vergers and lay staff of St Davids Cathedral and the Cartref restaurant in St Davids also warrant special mention. Professor thomas o’loughlin, Dean of the faculty at lampeter, contributed both his administrative and intellectual support to the conference and this volume. Professor D.P. Davies provided unending support, though finally was prevented by illness from delivering his planned keynote lecture. Professor len nokes and Professor Bernard Knight provided vital support for the session on the relics. Mrs Pat Jones, Pa to the CSrCS Director, assisted in the final production of the text. the editorial staff at Boydell, especially Caroline Palmer and anna Morton, and the series editors also warrant especial thanks. the more recent element of the conference proceedings had as its main focus the work of rice rees, the first professor of Welsh at lampeter, whose An Essay on the Welsh Saints or the Primitive Christians usually considered to be the founders of churches in Wales of 1836 remains a formative work in the study of Celtic ix