David of Menevia

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Stained glass window in Jesus College Chapel, Oxford , depicting David. Late 19th century.

Saint David ( Welsh Dewi Sant ; * around 512 ; † 587 ) was Bishop of Menevia (Welsh "Mynyw", today St Davids ) and is considered the patron saint of Wales . In contrast to other national saints, a lot is known about his life.

Life

David was a member of the Cunedda royal family . According to Rhygyfarch , he was the son of the sanctus rex ceredigionis , with Sanctus in this case being interpreted as the proper name of the person venerated by the Welsh as Saint Sant , while the actual meaning is holy king of Ceredigion . According to the national tradition, the king of Ceredigion at this time was Gwyddno Garanhir . The title Garanhir or crane leg certainly denotes a spiritual ability among the druids who bestowed it. As the son of King Gwyddno, David was the grandson of King Ceredig , nephew of King Maelgwn of Gwynedd and a brother of the heir to the throne Elphin , the foster father and first patron of the Bard Taliesin .

He became known as a teacher, preacher, and founder of monasteries in Britain and Brittany at a time when neighboring regions (which were not united into England until three hundred years later ) were still largely pagan. He got into a diocese on, sat two synods before, made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem , where he from patriarch to Bishop was anointed, and Rome . The St David's Cathedral now stands in the place of the monastery, which he in a remote and inhospitable place in Pembrokeshire founded.

David's monastic rule prescribed that monks had to pull the plow by themselves and without the aid of the strength of animals; they were only allowed to drink water and only eat bread with salt and herbs; they should spend the evening in prayer, writing and reading. No personal possessions were allowed: even to say my book was a violation. Its symbol, like the symbol of Wales, is the leek .

The best known miracle associated with him is a sermon narrated in the midst of a large crowd. When the crowd in the background complained that they could neither see nor hear him, the ground he was standing on rose to a hill so that everyone had a good view of him. The village in which this is said to have happened is now called Llanddewi Brefi . A more prosaic version of the story is that he simply recommended that participants go up a hill.

The document, which contains numerous traditional stories about David, is Buchedd Dewi , a hagiography written by Rhygyfarch in the 11th or 12th centuries. One of Rhygyfarch's goals with this script was to gain more independence for the Welsh Church, which was in danger after the Norman invasion of England in 1066. It is significant that it is said that David accused Pelagianism when the ground on which he stood rose.

William of Malmesbury reports that David visited Glastonbury with the intention of dedicating Glastonbury Abbey and donating a carrying altar including a large sapphire . But he had a vision of Jesus saying that the church had been dedicated by himself to his mother a long time ago, and that it was not proper to rededicate it by human hand . So instead David commissioned an extension to the east of the old church (the extent of this extension was verified by archaeologists in 1921). A manuscript states that a sapphire altar was among the goods that King Henry VIII confiscated a thousand years later when the abbey was dissolved. Whether this sapphire is now among the British Crown Jewels cannot be proven.

His last words were, according to the Buchedd Dewi : "Be steadfast, brothers, and do the little things."

In contrast to many contemporary saints that the Welsh gave themselves, David was canonized by Pope Calixt II in 1120 at the instigation of Bishop Bernard of St Davids . His feast day, St. David's Day , is March 1st.

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : David von Menevia  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Oxford DNB: Bernard (d. 1148). Accessed June 19, 2014 (registration required).
predecessor Office successor
- Bishop of St Davids
? - 587 		Cynog
personal data
SURNAME David of Menevia
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Dewi Sant (Welsh)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Patron Saint of Wales
DATE OF BIRTH at 512
DATE OF DEATH 587