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OUR PATRON SAINT. -

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OUR PATRON SAINT. ANCIENT ECHOES AND GLEANINGS. St. David and Cardiganshire. By the Rev W. R. Compton Da-vies, author of Historical and 1-telo)-ctl ghmjies of Llandaff (Jat/iedral. Cas gni-i- iiii cliai-o Y wlad ai macco." 011 the scroll of Cambria's history no grander name will appear than that of St. David, whose memory we commemorate 011 the calends of March in each year. The; festival day of our patron Saint is heralded by the announcements which are made from day to day, setting forth the form and the char- acter the commemoration is to take in differ- <■1 tJ places, not only 'within the Principality 'z?" ^Wales, but in many places within our aiid home, where Cymry dwell and Cym- v raeg is spoken. We may safely venture to add that equally warm, and affectionate are the thoughts and remembrances of the sons of Cambria who have gone forth to distant lands beyond the seas, as their minds and hearts dwell 0.11 the memories of their cottage homes amid the mountains and valleys of '• Gwlad y Delyn." On this day the flowers of Cambria shall not be doomed to blush unseen and waste their sweetness on the deseit air The traditions of the Bards and the songs of the minstrels will come down to them, re-echoing through the ages that are past, and they are records which will only fade, when the language of the Cymry will" cease to be spoken. There will be no unanimity with regard to the form the National celebration should assume; but whether it be in the character of a religious service, or a public assembly celebrating and exercising the truths of the Triadic maxims, they serve to perpetuate the holy teaching and the influence of the life of St. David; to arouse the feeling of patriotism in the love of our native land, her language, litera- ture, usages, and ancient institutions. So long as Welshmen ai'e animated by the same chivalrous spirit as their forefathers are true to themselves, to their country and their God, the Welsh language—which has survived every revolution, both civil and ecclesiastical—will continue to thrive, and prosper with greater influence than ever. Religion has done a great deal for the Welsh language, and the Welsh language has made some return to religion. The tran- slation of the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer into Welsh at the Reformation de- cided in a great measure rot only to destiny of the language, but probably its existence. We should not forget the debt of gratitude which Wales owes to the Church, if it were only for this And who can forget her im- memorial hvmns which have cheered the hearts and lightened the burdens of multi- tudes of Christian pilgrims as they ilea red the Valley of the Shadow and the rending of the veil which brought them lace to face with eternal realities. If the ghosts of the mighty slain in battle; of the great and learned: and of the bard and the minstrel were permitted to visit their former habi- tations, doubtless, they would applaud the efforts of their countrymen in cultivating the language and the literature of their country On each succeeding festival day we are familiarised with St. Davids work and his- tory from one standpoint or another, as shadowed forth by the history of an illimit- able past. It is a far-away picture of the past—a memory that time has dimmed, as It dims all things'. What myriads through the ages have entered upon the stage of time. played their parts, and then disappeared like bubbles on the stream of oblivion Few and faint and of a fragmentary kind are. the records of thirteen centuries ago, which have been handed down to us. Examined from the distant epoch of time, the path of fame, then, even as now was a toilsome and thorny one. Research into the ancient. bardic lore and teh historical records of former ages have elucidated the history and the antiqui- ties of our country. We frequently come across a historic record, or a legend, or a name, enshrining a record of the past. Traditions have floated down to us, as relics on the sea of time. They are not always easy to unravel, and no wonder, at this dis- tance of time There is a great deal of history wrapped up in ancicnt rhymes. j Tales and legends and stray records abound in Welsh annals, in which the history of Wales, is strongly set forth, and at times but faintly shadowed. It is so long ago, so far away The wonder is not that we know so little, but that we know so much. The old Chron- iclers, whilst careful in recording striking av-dnts, 11a leh minor .bUi. interesting matters, frequently to the imagination. It's the old story, of every time and country, that quiet virtues seldom come to the front, whilst aggression and violence are carefully recorded. The otory of the life, work, and influence of St. David will bear re-telling from year to year. We shall have achieved something, even fcv a feeble effort of this kind, if the leade.b of but one day are imbued with the highest feeling of pat- riotism, the love of their native land, by reading this sketch, an idyll on St. David's Dav The connection of our Patron Saint with the County of Cardigan has not been as fairly and as faithfully pourtrayed as historical and traditional evidence would seem to warrant. It is true that we have no picturesque ruin, no ancient Church, upon which. time has laid its rude hand, no defaced monuments or ancient memorials at or near Henfynyw, where St. David is said to have spent his early years. Its associations with the past, though anyone unacquainted with the fact might go through the place and obseive nothing to attract, or to make men think that here, in days of long ago, St. David resided in his youthful days and in later years laboured as the Bishop of Henu Hen—Menevia. Let us lift the veil, and go down the long stream of .years, and mingle in mind with those who are associated with the Saint wlioso life and work we are endeavouring to sketch and desciibe. We can only call them forth as history reveals them to us, and at best they .3ppear but as phantoms 011 the sea of time. David was the son of Sandcie ab Ceredig j ab Cunedda by A on, the daughter of Gynyr of Caergawch. Cunedda the paternal grandfather of St. David was a distinguished chieftain of the Northern Britons. His sons delivered a great past of South Wales and the whole ot Wales, except Anglesey and some portions of Denbighshire, from the Irish-Picts marauders who had overrun the country. They divided tho country between them, and the portion now known as the County of Cardigan fell to the lot of Ceredig, after whom the county is called Ceredigion—which means, Ceredig and his followers. It is vncertain where Dewi was born. Giraidus states he was born at a place which we now know as the Cathedral City of St. David, but that he was brought up at. a place the name of which meaning, Old Bush—is in Hen Meneu, and in Latin, Vetus Menevia. The place and the date of his birth are uncertain. This being so, historical associations lead us to believe that iii all the cii eumstances it is not at all .improbable that he may have been born at Henfynyw in the County of Cardigan of which his grandfather was chieftain. Historians are agreed that lie,, at any rate, spent his early days there, and that he re- moved his archbishopric from Caerleon there points to the place as having great attrac- tion for him on account of his early associa). tions with it. David is said to have been baptized at Porth Clais in the neighbourhood of St. David's by Aelvenus, Bishop of Munster, who reached there from Ireland. He is reported to have received his religious education in the School of Illtud, and afterwards in that of Paulinus at Ty-Gwvn-ar-Daf. Here he .g ajd to have spent ten years in the stv > of the Scriptures. Teilo, the second BisiCof Llandaff, was his fellow-student. It appea" from Giraldus that he was orda'ved a Presbyter before he entered the scho^1 of Paulinus. The same author also states, that, David, Padarn, and Teilo visited Jerusalem together, where they were consce- crated to the order of Bishops by the Patri- arch. He became the principal of the Mon- astery in the Valley of Rosina, which was afterwards called Menevia. The Abbots of religious societies were in those days re- garded as Bishops in the neighbourhood of their respective communities. In the re- tirement of Menevia he devoted himself en- tirelv to religious exercises, living a most abstemious life, eating no animal food and drinkng only water. He is said to have drawn up a code of rule-. for the regulation of British Church, a _opy of which was kept in St. David's Cat edral, but was lost -during an incursion of rates The Welsh Cathedrals have been the prey of invaders, I and have suffered the violence of war on so many occasions, that ancient records which would be of inestimable value to-day, have been completely destroyed.. Giraldus lias recorded the work and in- fluence of St. David in glowing language. We give it in his own words: "In those times in the territory of Cambria the Church of God flourished exceedingly, and ripened with much fruit every day. Monasteries were built everywhere, many congregations of the faithful of various orders were col- lected to celebrate with fervent devotion the sacrifice of Christ. But to all of them, Father David, as if placed on a lofty emin- ence was a mirror and pattern of life. He informed them by words, and he instructed them by example, as a preacher, most power- ful through his eloquence, but more so in his works. He was a doctrine to his hearers, a guide to the religious, a life to the poor, a support to the orphans, a protection to widows, a father to the fatherless, a rule to the monks, a path to seculars, becoming all to all, that he might, gain all to God. A Synod of the whole clergy of Wales was held at Llanddewi Brefi, where according to the account of Giraldus, all the Bishops, and Abbots, and different religious orders, to- gether with the princes and laymen were assembled to combat the Pelegian heresy, but their efforts to reclaim the Pelegians from their error, were of no avail. St. David was sent for and prevailed upon to attend. It is recorded that such was his grace and eloquence that lie silenced the Pelegians, and they were utterly vanquished. By the common consent of all he was elected Primate of the Cambrian Church, St. Dub- ritius having resigned. After his elevation to tli(-, Primacy lie appeal's to have resided for a time at Caer- leon, but his stay there does not seem to have been of long continuance. In the lolo MSS. it is recorded that St. David removed the Archiepiscopal See from Caer- leon 011 Usk to Menu Hen in Ceredigioll," which is Henfynyw, situated on the brow of the hill overlooking Cardigan Bay about a mile outside the town of Aberayron, and mid- way between Aberystwyth and Cardigan. Here on a bright clear day lie could see the hills of Carnarvonshire standing out boldly against the sky, and Bardsey Island-—where Dubritius, Bishop of Llandaff, had retired to end his days from the cares and toils of life—as a speck on the horizon. Caerleon had its halo of past grandeur. There w\ re in his day, the grand scenes and stirring times of the Royal Court, but he loved the seclusion and retirement of Menu Hen best, towards which we are told he di- rected his steps. It must be remembered that in those days it was the prevalent be- lief, that a high degree of piety, could only be attained in a state of retirement from the world. How long he remained at Menu Hen is not recorded. History is mute. St. David's maternal grandfather, who resided in Pembrokeshire, made a gift of his entire property to the Church. It is re- corded that one of his sons was the chief of a. religious establishment in the Valley of the Rosina, and that at the request of St. David he removed it to the site of the pre- sent Cathedral. It was here the Saint re- moved to from Menu Hen. After this event and for the purpose of distinguishing it from the other, the Mother Church came to be known by the name of Hen Fynvw, or Old Menevia, which name it retains to this dav. Geoffrey of Monmouth states that St. David died in the monastery in Menevia, where he was honourably buried by Mael- gwyn Gwynedd. He is said to have died in the year 544, whilst others record it in 601. His probable age at the time of his death was 82, though it is recorded that lie lived a good many years beyond a hundred. So famous was his shrine at Mcnevia that it attracted people not only from all parts 01 Wales but from foreign countries. William the Conqueror, Henry II., and Edward I., the latter of whom was accompanied by Ins Queen, Eleanor, on November 26th, 1284 are recorded to have undertaken the journey, which, when twice repeated, was deemed equal to a pilgrimage to Home. St. David was canonized about the year 1120. To again revert to the claims of Henfynyw to be considered as the original Menu or Menevia associated with the life and early ministry of St. David, let us recount the following facts, as strongly supporting the claim. St. David was the grandson of Cere- dig the chieftain of Cardiganshire. This, naturally, cemented his connection with tne squire his fathor s home, and as evidence turther confirming this, historians are agreed I that he w as brought up in his early days in Cardiganshire. They are not. agreed as to the place he was born in, but that prooabiy it was at St. David's, though nothing is adduced to forbid the suggestion that ne may have been born in Cardiganshire, w bust external evidence is not without sympathetic support in this direction. Many of the old Churches in Wales, dedicated to the early Welsh Saints, were not called after their names by a formal dedication, but after their founders. The neighbourhood of the Churches was the scene of their early woik and ministry, or a place where they exercised great influence. These retain the gieatest evidence of antiquity. Thotie who were con- nected with tho Chieftain's had naturally more than ordinary opportunities of acting benefactors to their country, and the Churches they founded were often situate within the territorities of the head of their tribe, as was the case with Hen Fynyw. The connection of their names is con- firmed by local causes. There is consider- able confirmation such as historians attach much importance to, viz., the place-names and the churches dedicated to St. David in the i 111 mediate neighbourhood. 'Hie- parish churches of Llanddewi-Abera-th and Llan- arth, which adjoin Henfynyw 011 either side, are all three dedicated to St. David, whilst the parish church of Llanerchaeron is ddi- cated to Oll, the Mother of St. David. 1 he parish adjoins Henfynyw and Llanartli, on the one side and Llanddewi-Aberarth on the other. On the confines of the latter, is the parish of Llansanttfraed, in which there was a chapelry dedicated to Xon St. David, s mother, part of the ruin stands to-day in the village of Llannon, which derives its name from the Church. We have here within a small area five churches directly associated witliSt David and his Mother, by even something more than a. dedication, for was it not their ancestral domain? This cluster of churches is re- garded by historians as evidence too re- fo 11 1 j 1- _LC_.J- r ,rlL"+ If markable to De tne oi dwiufnu. it- were tho practice to dedicate churches to St. David as it was to the Apostles, St. John, St. David as it was to the Apostles, St. John, and St. Peter and others, they would be ex- pected to have been scattered all over the country, indiscriminately, but they were not. They were strictly local, being grouped to- gether in certain districts over which the personal influence of St. David, iiitist have extended. The Cathedral of St. David is in the territory of his maternal grandfather. Henfynyw was the property of his father. Llanddew i-Brefi stands on the spot w here he refuted the Pelagian heresy, and is distant from Henfynyw about 16 or 18 miles. It will be interesting to add here, that the C ity of St. David's is distant from Henfynyw between 25 and 30 miles. Gwynfardd Brycheiniog, a bard, who lived between the years 1160 and 1230 in a poem composed by him in honour of St. David, and inserted in the Welsh Archaeology, refeis to Henfynyw is the following passiiore:- "Henfynyw deg o du glenydd Aeron, Hy faes ei meillion, hyfes goedydd," of which the following is a translation:— Fair Henfynyw by the side of the glens of Aeron, Fields prolific in trefoil and oaks productive of acorns. In this poem the Bard considers St. David to be the owner of twenty churches, fifteen of them are mentioned by name; and, as already stated, Henfynyw is one of them. The other five are chapelries attached to the Churches, and so are not referred to by name in the poem by Gwynfardd. In the Iolo MSS. it is recorded that St. David removed the Archiepiscopal See from Caerlcon on Usk to Menu Hen in Ceredigion. For all that we know of Caerleon and its ancient renown made familiar to us in the Idylls of the Kings," we can easily under- stand that it was not a place after St. David's own heart, for he loved a life of seclusion and retirement far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife," and his thoughts turned to the scenes of his youth at Henfynyw. At what period St. David left Henfynyw, the home of his early days, is not lecorded. History is silent on the point. But we are told that when Gynyr, St. David s grandfather, on his maternal side, gave the I whole of his estate in Pembrokeslnre for the use of the Church, that he some time after- wards removed the See to a spot where the City of St. David's stands to-day, and where there had already been a religious institution in the V alley of the Rosina. The change made it necessary to distisguisli between the old and the new, so the old Church came to be known as Hen Mynyw, otherwise Menu Hen—Old Menevia. We have fairly endeavoured, and success- fully we believe, to establish and confirm the reputed connection of St. David with the parish of Henfynyw in Ceredigion. It has been dealt with in a needlessly summary way, by many modern writers, who, unlike many of their ancient fraternity, appear to have been afraid to dim, in the least degree, the ancient glories of the Cathedral City of St. David's. Henfynyw, unlike, St. David, has no relic of antiquity, or any outward dignity of past grandeur, and consequently suffers immensely by comparison. suffers immensely by comparison. Ond cas gwr na charo Y plwyf ai macco." No son of Ceredigion ever dwelt upon the connection of St. David with his native county with greater eloquence or deeper love than the Venerable John Griffiths, rector of Neath and Archdeacon or Llandaff, who is sleeping his last long sleep within the churchyard of his native parish Henfynyw, hallowed by the sacred memories of the early j residence and. labours of Dewi.Sant. Many will recall the days when John Griffiths, standing like a seer of old, stirred to the very depths of his soul for Cymru, Cymro, a Chymraeg, moving his fellow countrymen with his 6ilver-tongued eloquence and matchless perorations, swaying their feelings with irresistible power on the subject of their nationality and the dawning of a new and brighter day for the country he loved and served so well. The old Clnistian Soldier was a true patriot. He laboured in the best interests of his native land, when Welsh patriotism was not the fashion of the hour, nor the profession of the multitude, as it is to-day. The Diocese of St. David's is proud in the knowledge that in their present Diocesan, the Right Reverend John Owen, D.D., they have a son of Cambria presiding over the des- tinies of the See, whose intimate knowledge of the history and needs of his fellow country- men, is only equalled by his ardour and de- votion to the best interests of the land of his birth. It has been customary to wear the leek on St. David's Day from time immemorial. The custom is believed to have arisen from a great victory obtained by the Welsh under the command of their King Cadwallor ap Cadfan on the first of March, A.D. 640. The battle was fought near a field where leeks were growing, and the Welsh, in order to distinguish themselves from their foes, placed the leek in their hats. It has ever since been the badge of honour and the National Emblem of Wales. The WTelsh language has been compared to the leek in the light that it will never fade.

ABER WKON.

UNIVERSITY OF WALES. I-

LAMPjbiEK.

TREGARON.

NEWCASTLE E:-?» V .

[No title]

MACHYNLLETH

HUNTING FIXTURES.