St. Mary and Bodfan
St. Mary and Bodfan in the Llanaber suburb of Barmouth , Wales , is an early 13th century Romanesque church. It is located on the northern outskirts on the thoroughfare directly above the sea in an overgrown cemetery. It goes back to a wooden church founded by St. Bodfan and houses two stones from the 5th century with Christian inscriptions.
history
A church has existed on this site since the 6th century. St. Bodfan built a wooden church on this site to proclaim the Christian faith. There are no remains of this church.
Bodfan was a son of Helig ap Glannog, who had lost his land when the area of today's Lavan Sands (now the northern bay between the island of Anglesey and the mainland) was flooded . After this disaster, he and his sons began a pious life. Another church founded by Bodfan is located in Aber on the Lleyn Peninsula ( Pen Llŷn ). Churches have also been founded by his brothers Celynin, Brothen and Gwynin.
In the course of the conquest by the Normans, wooden churches were replaced by stone buildings. Many Welsh patrons have been replaced by or coupled with Marian or Apostles patronage. Old maps refer to the church as St. Bodfan's and connect it to the nearby Bodfan Farm. Today the church is better known as St Mary's.
Today's church
The current church was built in 1400-1430 by Hywel ap Meredydd ap Cynan, Lord of Ardudw, a relative of the Welsh prince Llewelyn the Great. It consists of three naves and a long, narrow choir. The southern gatehouse was rebuilt in the 19th century. The church door and portal are among the finest examples of the Early English style in the country.
The choir is the oldest part of the church. The lancet window on the east side is one of the most beautiful of its kind. The nave shows the change in style from the Norman style to the Early English: the massive pillars are Norman, but the capitals and arches between them show the beginning of Early English.
The wooden ceilings of the choir and nave date from the 16th century. The bowl of the baptismal font is modern, it stands on a much older shaft.
The church was thoroughly restored in the 19th century: the belfry on the tower was renewed, as was the west wall with its buttresses. A sacristy was added to the north side of the choir on the site of a previous building. The stained glass windows in the upper storey with pictures of angels making music, like most of the furnishings, date from the end of the 19th century.
In 1969, the year Prince Charles was installed as Prince of Wales, the church was again thoroughly renovated. The roof stalls were impregnated against wood worms, rotten wood was replaced. The seats have been refurbished and replaced with redundant seats from St. John in Barmouth. The Compton organ with two manuals and pedal, a gift from the Bishop of Bangor, in whose diocese the church is located, was inaugurated on Sunday June 1, 1969 (the eve of the patronage of St. Bodfan) during the consecration of the restored church .
The Calixtus stones (early Christian tombstones)
In the north-west corner of the church are two stones with inscriptions from the 5th century. They have been in the church since the 19th century and were found around the church. Before that, they were used for other purposes, in one case as a stepping stone over a stream. Both are obviously grave slabs from the 5th century and are among the oldest Christian evidence in the country.
The left stone has the following inscription: ETERNU (US) ET AETER (NI). Aeternus was a common Christian name in Roman Britain. One bearer of this name was a son of Cunedda Wledig , the founder of a dynasty of Welsh princes. The other stone, known as the Calixus stone, has the following inscription: CAELESTI MONEDO RIGI. Caelestus was also a popular name in Roman Britain. The inscription is interpreted as Für Caelestis the king of the mountains . The language of the inscription is Welsh-colored Latin. The word mondeo shows a relationship with the modern Welsh word mynydd for mountain.
swell
- TP Ellis; Information leaflets posted about the church and the stones of the 5th century in the church
- Website of the Anglican Parish of Barmouth with a description of the church
Web links
- Article about Bodfan in the English language Wikipedia
- Article about Cunedda Wledig in the English language Wikipedia
- Article on Bodfan on Welsh Wikipedia
- Bodfan at Catholic online (en)
Coordinates: 52 ° 44 ′ 30 " N , 4 ° 4 ′ 34.7" W.