Dubricius

Saint Dubricius
Saint Dubricius depicted in stained glass with an archiepiscopal cross
Archbishop
Born	465(?) Madley, near Hereford, Herefordshire, England
Died	550 Bardsey Island, Wales
Feast	14 November
Attributes	holding two croziers and an archiepiscopal cross

Dubricius or Dubric (Welsh: Dyfrig; Norman-French: Devereux; c. 465 – c. 550) was a 6th-century British ecclesiastic venerated as a saint. He was the evangelist of Ergyng (Welsh: Erging) (later Archenfield) and much of southeast Wales.

Biography

Dubricius in Holy Trinity Church, Abergavenny

Dubricius was the illegitimate son of Efrddyl, the daughter of King Peibio Clafrog of Ergyng. His grandfather threw his mother into the River Wye when he discovered she was pregnant, but was unsuccessful in drowning her. Dubricius was born in Madley in Herefordshire, England. He and his mother were reconciled with Peibio when the child Dubricius touched him and cured him of his leprosy.

Dubricius founded a monastery at Hentland and then one at Moccas. He became the teacher of many well-known Welsh saints, including Teilo and Samson. The sick were healed, and cured of various disorders by the laying on of his hands. Dedications at Porlock and near Luscombe on the Exmoor coast of Somerset may indicate that he also travelled in that area. He later became Bishop of Ergyng, possibly with his seat at Weston under Penyard, and probably held sway over all of Glamorgan and Gwent, an area that was later known as the diocese of Llandaff. However, he may have merely been a bishop for the purpose of ordaining priests, not as administrative head of the church over a geographical area. Dubricius was good friends with Saints Illtud and Samson, and attended the Synod of Llanddewi Brefi in 545, where he is said to have resigned his see in favour of Saint David. He retired to Bardsey Island where he was eventually buried before his body was transferred to Llandaff Cathedral in 1120.

According to legend, Dubricius was made Archbishop of Llandaff by Saint Germanus of Auxerre, and later crowned King Arthur. He appears as a character in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae and Wace's Roman de Brut, which was based on it. Much later Alfred, Lord Tennyson featured the saint in his Idylls of the King.

Liturgical cult

Churches dedicated to Saint Dubricius include the Church of England churches at Ballingham, Whitchurch, Hentland and Hamnish, all in Herefordshire, Porlock in Somerset, and the Church in Wales churches at Gwenddwr in Breconshire (probably not an old dedication) and at Llanvaches in Newport. The Catholic Church at Treforest is also dedicated to Dyfrig.

In the 2004 edition of the Roman Martyrology, Dyfrig is listed under 14 November with the Latin name Dubricius. He is stated to have died on Bardsey Island, 'on the north coast of Wales, as a bishop and abbot'. In the current Roman Catholic liturgical calendar for Wales he is commemorated on the traditional date of November 14.

The Magician Merlin and St. Dubricius

Respected and pre-eminent historian Dr. Norma Goodrich in her book "Merlin" published 1988 pages 314-320 provides comprehensive and convincing evidence that St. Dubricius was Merlin, traveling incognito under this name and advising King Arthur and assisting him in battle under the name of Merlin. She cites records to show that the birthdate of St Dubricius and Merlin are identical, namely 450 A.D.

External links

• Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "St. Dubric" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
• Page about St Dyfrig at St Dyfrig's RC Parish, Pontypridd