Prologue to the Life of St David, Archbishop of Menevia, composed by Giraldus. #

¹ I have at last, though only reluctantly, yielded to the persistent requests of my brethren and fellow canons to set forth in a scholarly style the life of St David, the archbishop whom ordinary people call Dewi, despite being heavily occupied and constrained by other literary studies. Moreover, since the path of this undertaking is by no means straightforward, and the raw material did not appear to have been polished to the finest degree by the file of truth, the task of refining these matters would indeed have been a great burden to me, had it not seemed to them not merely appropriate, but exceedingly—indeed, excessively—necessary. Therefore, let no one expect here either the language or the arrangement and contents of this work to follow the style of ancient, and now almost antiquated, writing. Rather, while observing the proper limits of correction, the reader will find in these pages, with the Lord’s inspiration, who sometimes reveals to little children what he has hidden from the wise [Matthew 11:25], that what was superfluous has been removed, what was lacking has been supplied, and what was expressed less elegantly has been altered. The confidence to undertake this writing was strengthened by the thought that, since the power of virtue seems by nature to reside in three things, just as the virtue of stones and of herbs is not destroyed by the faults of the one who carries them, so neither is the power of words lost through the failings of their bearer. This was also proved in the case of the unbelieving sons of Sceva, as is related in the Acts of the Apostles, when they adjured evil spirits by the Jesus whom Paul preached, and cast evil spirits out of those who were possessed [Acts 19:13–16].

Lesson One: On the saint’s miraculous conception. #

¹ Blessed David was born of noble parentage. He is said to have been the son of the prince of the province of Ceredigion, whose name was Sant, and who was the uncle of King Arthur. His ancestry was as follows. The aforementioned Sant was the son of King Ceredig, from whom the region of Ceredigion also took its name. Wishing at times to relieve the cares of kingship with recreation, he had deliberately arranged to rouse wild beasts in the forests and to enjoy the pursuit of hunting. But on the very night in which he conceived this son, he received the following warning from an angel in a dream: “Tomorrow, when you go out hunting, three gifts sent to you by God will appear before you: a stag, which you will pursue by means of the keen scent of your hounds; and in the same place, beside the river where the stag is killed, you will find a fish and a swarm of bees with their gathered honey. These three things foretell the character and distinctive qualities of the son who is to be born to you.” Thus spoke the angel. On the following day, the truth immediately confirmed the prediction of what was to come. Now, just as the stag, after swallowing and consuming a serpent, seems to regain its youth and become wholly renewed, so this man, whose life we are recounting, having trampled underfoot the cunning of the ancient serpent, stripped off the old man completely and put on the new [Ephesians 4:22–24; Colossians 3:9–10]. The fish likewise signified his way of life. For just as a fish lives in water, so he, rejecting wine and strong drink and everything capable of causing intoxication, and resolving, with praiseworthy zeal, to imitate the great Baptist and forerunner of Christ in this as in many other respects, lived a blessed life devoted to God on bread and water alone. His rejection of “wine and strong drink” is a clear echo of the description of John the Baptist [Luke 1:15]. Accordingly, he was called in the British language Dewi Deverur, that is, “David, the man of the waters.” The honey, moreover, symbolised his wisdom. For just as honey is drawn from the honeycomb, so he drew a spiritual meaning from the historical text.

² After thirty years had passed, the aforementioned prince of Ceredigion travelled into the province of Dyfed and turned aside to the district of Pebidiog. While exploring the area, having separated himself for a short time from the crowds accompanying him, he happened to meet a young woman of remarkable beauty and charm, whose name was Nonnita. As soon as he set eyes upon her, he became deeply inflamed with desire for her and, immediately dismounting from his horse, embraced her there and had intercourse with her. At the very moment of conception, however, two large stones emerged from the ground, one at her feet and the other at her head. Thus the earth itself, rejoicing at so great a conception, as though opening its bosom, brought forth those stones, both to preserve the maiden’s modesty as a covering and to signify the steadfast, holy constancy of the child who was to be born.

Lesson Two: Concerning Patrick, who, thirty years earlier, had chosen Menevia as the site of his episcopal see, but, at the command of an angel, was afterwards sent from there to Ireland. #

¹ It had happened some thirty years earlier that Patrick, a Briton by birth, educated in the learning of the Romans and a man abundantly distinguished by the merits of his virtues, had returned to his native Britain after a long stay in Italy and had by chance come to the region of Ceredigion. After remaining there for some time, he then made his way into the province of Dyfed. Travelling through it, he eventually entered the peninsula of Pebidiog. Coming to the place called the Valley of Rosina, and seeing how far removed it was from every disturbance of the people, a place of delightful solitude overlooking the Irish Sea and well suited to the religious life and to contemplation, he conceived in his heart, and firmly resolved, to devote himself there to the service of God in faithful obedience until his dying breath. But while he was pondering these plans with increasing earnestness, he received this contrary message from an angel: “This seat, Patrick, has not been appointed for you by God, but for a man not yet born, who will not be born until thirty years have passed.” On hearing these words, the holy man was filled with astonishment and, beyond what can easily be believed, deeply shaken and distressed in spirit. Groaning, he reflected within himself in despair: “In vain have I worn out my body through long years of abstinence; in vain have I endured fasting, vigils, and prayers; after all these merits I have still merited nothing, since one not yet born is preferred before me.” But while he was turning over these and similar thoughts in his mind, he received words of consolation from the angel: “Do not grieve, Patrick; do not give way to sorrow. Rather, lift up your hope and take courage once more. A great crown has been laid up for you in the island of Ireland [2 Timothy 4:8]. For this nation has not yet received the message of salvation, nor the words of life. [Acts 5:20] God has appointed you the apostle of this people, the preacher and supreme leader of this nation. There you must labour; there is the seat the Lord has prepared for you. There you will shine forth through signs and mighty works, and you will bring that whole people into subjection to God. I will be with you [Matthew 28:20], and this shall be your sign. From this vantage point I will at once show you the whole island into which you shall enter.” Immediately, turning his eyes towards the west wind, from the place now called Patrick’s Seat he miraculously saw the whole island, despite the great distances of sea and mountains that lay between. Without delay, having made all his preparations according to the angel’s instructions, and having first restored to life there a dead man named Dunaudus, he embarked on a ship and, with the east wind blowing favourably, happily reached the land that had been promised to him. Those who wish to hear of the other remarkable deeds of his life should consult the Irish writings; we, however, shall return to our subject.

Concerning the teacher Gildas, who was struck speechless because of the presence of the pregnant Nonnita. #

¹ As the womb of the aforementioned young woman grew and naturally swelled with pregnancy, it happened that she entered, as was her custom, a certain church situated in a place called Canmorfa—that is, “the sea-town” or “fortress”—to pray. At that very time the distinguished teacher Gildas happened to be preaching to the people there. As soon as she entered, he was immediately struck speechless, so that he was unable to utter another word of his sermon. When the people asked why he had fallen silent after interrupting his discourse for so long, he replied: “I can indeed speak to you in ordinary conversation, but for some reason I cannot preach at all. Leave me here alone after you have all gone outside, so that I may discover whether in this way I can recover my former ability to preach.” Accordingly, the people went outside, while Nonnita alone remained in a corner of the church, being both modest and devout. Eagerly longing to hear the words of salvation [Acts 13:26], she scarcely ceased from her prayers. He then tried once more to speak, but, just as before, and again a second time, he found himself unable to utter a word. Greatly alarmed and deeply shaken, he cried out: “I adjure you, and I charge you by the power of Almighty God, that if anyone is hiding here, let that person come forward and appear.” Then she, with head bowed and her graceful face lowered, replied: “It is I, my teacher and lord, your servant, who have been hiding in this corner, begging the pardon of your holiness.” Trusting, as it seemed, in divine providence, he said to her: “You also must go outside, and let all the people come back into the church.” When this had been done, he immediately resumed preaching as before, his tongue having been set free. When the woman was asked whether she was with child, and she confessed that she was, it at once became clear to the holy man, and through him to all the people, that she would give birth to one who would surpass beyond comparison all the teachers of Britain in the privilege of his dignity, the brilliance of his wisdom, and the eloquence of his preaching, just as the truth of the events that followed in the life of this remarkable man later demonstrated.

Lesson Three: Concerning his miraculous birth and upbringing. #

¹ Meanwhile, there was a certain tyrant living in the neighbouring district who had learned through the arts of magicians that a child would be born in those parts whose power would one day extend over the whole country. Since his desires were fixed solely on earthly things—like another Herod, having placed all his hopes in what is below—he immediately became consumed with the sharpest envy [Matthew 2:1–18]. Having therefore learned from the magicians’ predictions both the place and the time of this remarkable birth, and keeping careful watch over every detail, when the appointed hour of childbirth arrived and the aforementioned Nonnita set out for the place where she was to give birth, such a torrent of rain and such a storm of lightning and thunder broke forth as had not been seen in those regions for many years. Yet the place where the woman was about to give birth shone with such serene brightness as is seen on a glorious summer’s day illuminated by the brilliant rays of the sun. In the very agony of labour, when, overcome by pain, she leaned with her hands upon a nearby rock, the rock itself immediately split in two down the middle, as though sharing the mother’s suffering. On that very spot a church was afterwards built, and this rock still stands fixed in front of its altar in place of an altar slab, bearing to this day the impressions of her fingers, as though they had been pressed into wax. As soon as the child was born and brought into the light, divine miracles were not lacking. For, at the very moment when water was needed for his baptism, a spring of the purest water immediately burst forth. It can still be seen today at the place called Portcleis. He was then baptised by Ælveus, bishop of Menevia, who, by divine providence, had arrived there from Ireland at that very hour. When the holy baptismal water was sprinkled upon the eyes of a certain blind man named Moni, who held the child beneath the water during the baptism, his former sight was restored [John 9:1–7]. The child was brought up in a place called Vetus Rubus (“Old Bush”), which in Welsh is called Hen Fynyw (“Old Menevia”), and in Latin Vetus Menevia. The place derived its name from the Irish word muni, which also means “bush”. For this reason, the church of Menevia is still today called Kil-muni in the Irish language.

² The boy therefore grew, full of grace and devoted to the study of letters, and he advanced beyond those of his own age through the quickness of his penetrating intellect [Luke 2:40; Luke 2:52]. So richly had he been filled with grace from above that his fellow pupils testified that they had often seen a snow-white dove, as though teaching and advising him. As time passed, and as the merits of his virtues also increased, he strove with all his strength towards the hundredfold fruit [Matthew 13:8; Matthew 13:23], and, keeping his flesh free from every lust, was gradually advanced through the holy orders and was at last raised to the dignity of the priesthood. After this he went to the Isle of Wight, where Paulinus, a disciple of Germanus, wholly devoted to divine service, was living a life pleasing to God, so that, instructed by this teacher’s teaching and shaped by his example, he might be far more effectively imbued with the divine Scriptures and be carried, by a happy course, from the way to his homeland.

Concerning Paulinus, his teacher, who was given sight by him through the sign of the cross. #

¹ It happened at the same time that Paulinus, wholly deprived of the sight of his eyes both by the onset of age and by the abundance of the tears in which he abounded, summoned all his pupils together at his teacher’s command; and, when each of them, at his request, had marked and blessed his eyes with the impression of the cross, and when all the others had completed this in order, the turn finally came to David. He was by nature so modest and simple that, although he had already completed ten years of study there, he would scarcely ever look directly at his teacher’s face, even once, with steady gaze. At last, however, when, at everyone’s urging, he touched and blessed his teacher’s eyes by marking them with the sign of the cross, Paulinus immediately recovered the joy of his former sight. Then the power of God, who had given such power to human beings, was worthily praised by all [Matthew 9:8]. Then David began to be honoured by everyone and to be regarded as great, as they said to one another and discussed with amazement, “What do you think this man will be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him [Luke 1:66]. Not long afterwards, an angel of the Lord appeared to Paulinus and said: “It is time that David should not dig into the ground and hide the talent entrusted to him, but rather bring forth into the open the money he has received from his Lord, increased by praiseworthy interest [Matthew 25:18; Matthew 25:25–27]. Nor should he place the lamp under a bushel, but upon a lampstand, so that it may give light to all and open the way of life to everyone” [Matthew 5:15].

² From this point, therefore, David, returning from study in response to his teacher’s saving counsel, began effectively to sow, root, and plant the word of the Lord [Luke 8:11; Jeremiah 1:10]; and, sending his fountains abroad and scattering his waters in the streets [Proverbs 5:16], he brought much fruit into the Lord’s barns at harvest-time [Matthew 13:30]. For besides the saving teaching which he tirelessly practised among the people, both in words and through the merits of his life, he founded as many as twelve monasteries: first at Glastonbury, then at Bath, where he found hot springs, until then useless and pestilential, and by his blessing made them suitable for the washing of bodies; afterwards at Crowland Repton, Colva and Glascum; then the monastery of Leominster, also Raglan in Gwent, and Llangyfelach in Gower, where he later received an altar sent by the Lord. Around this same time he also restored to King Ergin, whose name was Proprius, the blessing of sight which he had lost. When these things had been accomplished, after long periods first of learning and then also of teaching, the holy man at last returned to his homeland, to the place from which he had departed, namely Menevia. At that time his uncle was bishop there, a venerable man named Gistlianus. To him, therefore, his nephew recounted in this way the angelic warnings he had already received: “The place in which you propose to serve God,” said the angel, “is not acceptable to him. For he has foreseen that little or no fruit will come to him from it. Nevertheless, there is another place not far from here,” pointing to the Valley of Rosina, where the sacred cemetery now stands, “far more suitable for religious life and a holy community. From this place divine providence has chosen for itself the greatest treasures of faithful souls.”

Lesson Four: Concerning the tyrant Boia, who envied the holy community, and concerning David, the father, strengthening the brethren. #

¹ One day, therefore, three of David’s most faithful disciples came to him: Aidan, who in Irish is also called Maidaucus; Eliud, who today is called Teilo; and Ysmael. These men, accompanied by a large company of fellow disciples, at once led their master to the place that had been predestined; and when a fire had been kindled there in the name of the Lord, so great a smoke immediately rose up that, circling around the whole island of Britain and also Ireland, it seemed to fill them both. Now there was a very powerful man from the neighbourhood of that place, named Boia, who, seeing such a sign from the summit of the fortress where he lived, was immediately inflamed with jealous zeal and was disturbed by such great anger and indignation that he refused both rest and food. His wife came to him and began to enquire closely and investigate the causes of such distress. He said to her: “I saw smoke rising from the Valley of Rosina, which at once overshadowed the whole country as it encircled and filled it. From this omen I know for certain that the one who kindled it will, in the glory of fame which is signified by the smoke, surpass all the islanders beyond comparison.” His wife replied: “Go, then, surrounded by a band of servants, and do not be afraid to kill with the sword that man who kindled it and all who cling to him.” The foolish man attempted to undertake this and presumed to put it into effect, but immediately he and all his men were seized by the fire of fever, and so he held back from the wickedness he had conceived. Yet since he could not attack the holy company with force, he attacked them with words, threats, and insults. Returning, therefore, deprived of the ability to harm though not of the will to do so, he met his wife on the way, shouting and crying out: “Alas, alas, for all our cattle have now perished by sudden death. So let us go at once to the holy man and lament with humble devotion, so that he may have mercy both on us and on our cattle.” When this had been done, and when the land which he possessed had been left to the holy man for ever, free from all claims, the cattle which had seemed dead were found restored to life. By the cattle and beasts, in which the signs were given, were clearly signified the bestial people of that time, who grieved more than was right over the loss of beasts.

² Yet envy was not quieted even so, nor did malice cease even so. For the woman, not departing from womanly nature, always prone to wickedness, always persistent and obstinate in evil, sent crowds of girls to soften the holy company in womanly fashion, and began to harass and weary them with repeated insults so much that the brethren, by unanimous counsel, had now fully prepared to leave the place and abandon it. For they knew that this kind of enemy is better conquered by flight than by resistance, and that, according to Jerome’s saying, there is no safety in sleeping beside a serpent, since even if it does not strike, it certainly does not cease to trouble. But the holy father strengthened the wavering minds of his disciples with kindly consolation, teaching and warning them that through tribulations and hardships one must walk the narrow way that leads to life [Acts 14:22; Matthew 7:14], and that only through the labour of the journey is the rest of the homeland reached. For who does not know the long and peril-filled labours of the people of Israel as they made their way through the deserts of Egypt towards the land of promise [Exodus 13:17–18; Numbers 14:26–35; Joshua 1:2–6]? Who does not perceive the shipwreck-filled dangers of Paul as he sailed towards Italy, though he had been inspired by divine warnings [Acts 27:1–44]? Yet the ship of his heart remained whole and unshaken amid the waves of the sea. Therefore adversity that is set against good intentions is a testing of virtue, not a sign of rejection. For strength is made perfect in weakness [2 Corinthians 12:9]. And just as gold is tested by fire [Sirach/Ecclesiasticus 2:5; 1 Peter 1:7], so the constancy of faith, which does not know how to be broken by tribulations, grows all the more like mustard seed [Matthew 13:31–32], and, though pressed for a long time amid hardships, yet not crushed, rises more strongly into the firmness of perfect completion. We must therefore not be overcome by evil, but rather overcome evil with good [Romans 12:21]. For if Christ is for us, who is against us [Romans 8:31]? When the disciples had thus been calmed by their father’s warnings, the woman shortly afterwards was driven mad and killed her innocent stepdaughter. And so, struck by divine indignation, she rushed about in a frenzy and before long disappeared. Boia too was killed by an enemy named Leschi, and, when his tower was consumed by fire sent from heaven, he did not escape divine vengeance.

³ So at last, when the wicked plots had ceased by God’s mercy, the holy company built a distinguished monastery in the place divinely shown to them. There, wholly devoted to divine service, far removed from the crowding of the people in a certain secluded corner above the Irish Sea, they happily passed their lives in these four concerns: manual labour, reading, prayer, and the feeding of the poor. Hence the reputation of this great and praiseworthy community grew far and wide, so that the fragrance of its name, like oil poured out [Song of Songs 1:3], stirred many throughout the island, by the force of its example, to similar works of holy living. Many distinguished men also, powerful in earthly wealth, among whom the most renowned was Constantine, duke of Cornwall, left all things [Luke 5:11; Luke 14:33] and came to this place, happily choosing to end their lives in the holy community.

Lesson Five: Concerning the very clear spring given by Father David, not far from the church, at the disciples’ insistence, for sacramental uses. #

¹ One day the brethren came together and complained collectively that near the monastery they did not have an abundant clear and limpid spring for the solemnities of Mass and the sacraments of the Lord’s body. For the River Alun, running through the bottom of the valley, had muddy and foul water, and often dried up in summer. When the father heard this, he at once went to the cemetery, where he had often been accustomed to enjoy angelic conversations. After he had remained there for some time in devout prayers to the Lord, a spring of the clearest water suddenly burst forth in that same place. Suitable in every way for sacramental uses and offices, it flows there to this day; and it has been established with undoubted truth that in ancient times it sometimes dripped wine, and in our own days sometimes milk. It is also known that very many other springs likewise burst forth around that same place through the merits of the disciples, in imitation of their father. At Breudi also, where a church is known to have been founded in honour of Saint David, about four miles distant from Menevia, the father similarly brought forth, through pious supplications, a most beautiful spring of sweet water at the request of a certain man named Terdi.

Concerning the disciple Aidan, who brought back the oxen unharmed from a precipice by the sign of the cross; and concerning Swithun, who was miraculously conveyed by him from Ireland to Menevia. #

¹ But since whatever spiritual grace is bestowed upon the disciples undoubtedly redounds to the glory of the father and teacher, it should not be thought irrelevant to insert from time to time some remarkable deeds of the disciples. Aidan, therefore, instructed in divine learning and a disciple worthy of so great a teacher, was once applying himself rather earnestly to reading when, at the command of the prior, he left his reading and went with two oxen to bring back wood. The wood he was seeking was about two miles from the monastery, in the valley of Saleuuach. So, when he was returning over the steep sides of the mountain with the cart loaded, and by chance the oxen, together with the cart and the whole load, went over a precipice, the holy man raised his hand, by the sign of the cross, brought back both the cart intact and the oxen unharmed by wondrous power. This too was added to the heap of signs: although clouds meanwhile had dissolved into heavy rain, he found the book which, in obedience to orders and because of his great haste, he had left open in the open air, entirely untouched by any moisture. Saint Aidan, who is also called Maidoc in Irish, distinguished by virtues and abundantly instructed in divine learning, then, having first received permission from his father and afterwards from the brethren, set out for Ireland with every blessing. There, after he had for some time shone through signs and mighty works, he at last built a noble monastery at Ferns; and there, gathering brethren together, he vowed to serve the Lord according to the pattern and rule which he had learned at Menevia from his pious father.

² In the course of time, when on Easter night the holy man was, as usual, devoting himself to prayer, an angel stood beside him and said: “Aidan, do you not know that tomorrow some of the brethren will set poison before your father David at dinner?” He replied: “I do not know.” The angel said to him again: “Send one of your disciples as quickly as possible to tell him.” Aidan replied: “I have no ship ready, and the wind is not favourable.” And the angel said: “Send your disciple Swithun to the sea as quickly as possible, and I will provide him with both wind and conveyance.” When this had been done, and Swithun had reached the sea and had already gone in up to his knees, he was taken up by a sea creature and miraculously carried across, and he told the father of the danger. On Easter day, when the solemnities of Mass had been completed and they had sat down to supper, with the deacon serving as usual and setting before the father the bread prepared with poison, Swithun, who was also called Scolanus and was afterwards, they say, raised to the episcopal chair of Winchester, rose up, thrust the deacon back in confusion, and said: “I will serve today.” The holy father then had the offered bread divided into three portions, and ordered one part to be given to a dog and another to a raven. When they had eaten them, both immediately died as everyone looked on. But the father himself took the third part and ate it in the sight of all after blessing it, fearless and unharmed [Mark 16:18].

Lesson Six: Concerning the unfinished Gospel book. #

¹ It happened one day, while he was applying himself to writing out the Gospel of John with his own hands, that when the bell rang he immediately sprang up for the hour of prayer, and hurried to the church without closing the quire and without finishing the page. For it was the custom of the community serving God there that, whatever work they were engaged in, they would leave it unfinished at once at the sound of the bell and hasten together to the hour of prayer, thus showing that divine service was to be placed before every other duty. When the hour had been completed and the holy man, according to custom, had returned to his writing desk and the place of his labour, he found that the column he had begun had been completed in golden letters by the ministry of angels. Seeing this, the father suppressed the miracle as far as he could, and removed the book, closed from human sight, adding nothing at all to it. Hence, even to the present day, enclosed in a cover fittingly adorned with gold and silver, it is not displayed inwardly to human eyes. Nor is anyone recorded, from the saint’s time almost down to modern times, as having dared to inspect it or open the seal of the book. For some in these most recent days presumed to attempt this, because charity is always growing cold, and from day to day the love of devotion, the fervour of faith, and the fear of God are more and more fading away [Matthew 24:12]; but they were immediately struck by a sudden affliction sent by God and were turned back from their rash attempts. This book is called by the people of the region the Unfinished Gospel, and, renowned to this day for signs and mighty works, it is quite rightly held by all in the greatest reverence.

Concerning St Barroc riding over the sea, and Brendan meeting him upon a sea-monster. #

¹ In those days it was the custom of the Irish, when setting out on pilgrimage to Rome, to visit with devout labour the thresholds of the apostles more frequently than any other places. Among them, Abbot Barroc, from the region of Cork, returning from that same pilgrimage as far as Menevia, was waiting there for favourable winds and a suitable time for sailing. For good and trustworthy men from Ireland had the custom, when setting out on pilgrimage or returning from it, of seeking with eager devotion, either on the outward journey or on the return, to enjoy the conversation of blessed David, since his name was oil poured out [Song of Songs 1:3]. So when Barroc had stayed for some time with Father David in divine conversation and holy contemplation, at last, thinking of his homeland fearing the dangers faced by a flock without a shepherd, and because a contrary wind was delaying his voyage, he confidently asked for and obtained the horse of Father David, on which David had been accustomed to ride for ecclesiastical duties, trusting greatly in the merits of the holy man. Receiving permission from the father, therefore, together with his blessing, and using the horse of the man of God as both conveyance and ship, he was carried across the waves of the sea without oar or sails, supported only by the rudder of faith. When he had gone some distance out to sea in this way on horseback, St Brendan appeared to him, coming to meet him upon a sea-monster. After first greeting him, Brendan humbly asked who he was, riding over the waters in this way, and where he had come from. When Barroc had explained to him the hardships of his long pilgrimage, the consolations he had received from holy Father David at Menevia, and the conveyance of his horse given with a blessing, Brendan took his leave and passed on, saying that he too was hastening, on his own conveyance granted by God, to visit the holy man in the same way. Barroc, carried unharmed and uninjured across the sea, came to Cork and told the brethren in order what had happened. They kept the horse in the service of the cell until its death. After its death, however, as a perpetual memorial of so great and so unheard-of a miracle, they made a small and portable cast image of the horse and of the man riding upon it, finely adorned with gold and silver. This image, renowned to this day for signs and mighty works, is still held in the greatest reverence by the people of the region in the church of St Barroc at Cork. To these miracles of conveyance that saying in the Psalm may be applied: “Your way is in the sea, and your path in many waters, and your footsteps shall not be known” [Psalm 77:19 / Vulgate Psalm 76:20]. Likewise that saying in the Song of Habakkuk: “You made a way in the sea for your horses, in the mud of many waters” [Habakkuk 3:15]. Therefore God is wonderful in his saints [Psalm 68:35 / Vulgate Psalm 67:36], and great in all his works [Psalm 145:3, 145:17 / Vulgate Psalm 144:3, 144:17]. No creature, then, ought to detest the works of the Creator, but rather to marvel at them and venerate them. “You will find many things,” as Jerome says, “that are unbelievable and not plausible, and yet nevertheless are true.” For nature has no power against the Lord of nature.

Lesson Seven: Concerning the disciple Mandabnaucus, who was delivered by the sign of the cross, and concerning the bees miraculously carried by him to Ireland. #

¹ One day, when a disciple of the holy father named Mandabnaucus was, together with the brethren, cutting and levelling with an iron tool the sloping sides of a certain mountain not far from the monastery, so that there might be easier access for travellers carrying necessary burdens, a certain man, whom he had reproved several times for working too lazily, became inflamed with the fury of anger. Raising the iron tool which he held in his hand, he was preparing to hurl it at the man’s head. Seeing this from a distance, the holy father David raised his right hand towards them and, by the sacred sign of the cross, both stopped the blow and caused the hand arm of the man who wished to strike to wither.

² After this same disciple had spent many years with his father, been instructed in the rules of obedience, and been made illustrious by the merits of his life, he prepared, with his father’s permission, to set out for the island of Ireland. But when he had entered the sea, all the swarms of bees that were in Menevia or in its neighbourhood followed him right up to the ship. For among the brethren he had especially devoted himself to this task: arranging hives for the rearing of young bees by their swarms. Seeing this, and not wishing to deprive the brethren of the benefit of their possession, he returned to land visited Father David again, while the bees returned from every direction to their own homes. But when he returned to the ship a second time, he once more saw the bees following him from all sides. Again, as he returned to land, they followed him just as they had the first time. So, returning now for the third time to his father and the brethren, since he by no means wished willingly to deprive them of their advantages, but rather wanted them to remain unharmed, he was at last commended to God by the pious prayers of the brethren and by his father’s blessing, and received general permission to cross the sea together with the bees. From this it came about that bees, which, it is said, had never before been seen in Ireland, began from the time when they were so miraculously carried there by him to abound in that land, while in Menevia they have always been lacking from that hour onwards.

Concerning blessed David, who, at the command of angels, went on pilgrimage to Jerusalem and was there consecrated bishop by the patriarch. #

¹ In the course of time, as the merits of his virtues increased with his age, an angel stood beside Father David one night in a dream, saying and firmly enjoining him that the next morning he should set out without delay on the journey to Jerusalem, and should take with him two companions and sharers in so great a labour, namely Eliud, who is now commonly called Teilo, and Paternus, whose way of life was well known to him. David, marvelling at the urgency of the command, replied: “As far as it lies with me, I am ready to obey in all things; but the companions whom you assign to me with such haste are three days’ journey away, both from us and from one another.” The angel said to him: “Do not be anxious about their arrival, for tomorrow they will meet you on the way without difficulty.” So David, obeying the commands very early in the morning, immediately arranged for the needs of the brethren, received their blessing, and set out at once with no great or costly equipment; and, after going no long distance, he found the companions already mentioned ready to share the same labour with him. They went, therefore, rejoicing and supported by angelic consolations; they went with one mind, since in their three bodies there was, as it were, one soul. There was no contention among them, no inequality, no discord. They spent their days and nights only in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, and in divine conversation [Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16]. When, first across the sea to Gaul and afterwards across the Mediterranean, they were carried by ship and heard the various languages of the nations, in apostolic fashion they all received by grace divinely given the knowledge of them all [Acts 2:4–11], so that among foreigners they had no need of an interpreter, and could strengthen those wavering in faith both by word and by deed. As they approached the city of Jerusalem, on the night just before their arrival an angel appeared to the patriarch in a dream and said: “Tomorrow three Catholic men and friends of God will come to you from the western regions. Receive them kindly with great joy and the grace of hospitality, and you shall consecrate their abbot, whose name is David, as a bishop for Christ and a founder of the faith.” After this vision, the patriarch ordered three seats of the highest honour to be prepared early in the morning, and on them he honourably received the three persons most worthy of honour. After keeping them with him for several days gladly and with all due dignity, he at once advanced Father David, chosen by God, to the episcopate, consecrating him with the proper solemnity. When these things had been duly performed in this way, because at that time the fury of the Gentiles had grown very strong against Christianity, the patriarch urged them, and by his urging prevailed upon them, to sow the word of the Lord with him for some time in the regions of the East, so that they might confirm the household of faith in the faith [Galatians 6:10], and call unbelievers and rebels back from the stubbornness of their error. When all these things had been carried out graciously and very effectively for some time according to the patriarch’s instructions, and when at last they had only with difficulty obtained permission to return, the patriarch gave them four gifts: a consecrated portable altar, a hand-bell, a distinguished staff, and a tunic woven of gold. But since they refused to carry things so burdensome, though honourable, over so long a journey, each of them, after returning to his homeland, received his own gifts miraculously through the ministry of angels. David indeed received the bell and the altar in the monastery called Llangyfelach, both of which are renowned for miracles down to the present day. Paternus and Eliud likewise received their gifts, also renowned for signs, in their own monasteries. Hence, as a perpetual memorial of so great a miracle, these gifts are commonly called “the gifts that came from heaven.”

Lesson Eight: Concerning the synod convened at Brefi against the Pelagian heresy, and Father David’s elevation there to the archbishopric. #

¹ Not long after these events, the Pelagian corruption and detestable heresy, which had once been extinguished by blessed Germanus of Auxerre and Lupus of Troyes when they were sent to the island, was now revived by a returning sickness and renewed malice, to the ruin of the Catholic faith, and gave occasion for a general synod of the whole of Wales to be assembled. Accordingly, bishops, abbots, and many religious men of various orders were gathered at Brefi in the region of Ceredigion, together with lay princes and peoples assembled from the whole region. When sermons had been delivered by many in public hearing, and they had been unable to bring back to the path of faith a people almost irrevocably infected by heretical depravity, at last Bishop Paulinus, with whom David had once studied the liberal disciplines in childhood, made a persuasive speech, urging that, because of the recently consecrated bishop, a holy man, both discerning and eloquent, who had not yet arrived, everyone should jointly send for him at so great a crisis for the Church. Messengers were therefore sent once and then again, but they achieved nothing. For the holy man was devoted to contemplation and cared little or nothing for temporal or secular affairs, unless compelled by some more urgent necessity. At last two most holy and faithful men were sent, namely Daniel and Dubricius. David, foreseeing their arrival in the spirit, told the brethren beforehand that great men would come to him on the following day. In the morning, therefore, the same men arrived, just as the holy man had foreseen, and were received and entertained with honour, as resources allowed. At length, obeying their counsels because of their holiness and also because of the authority of the synod, he set out with them on the following day towards the synod. As they were travelling, and had now reached places not far from the synod, they found a mother bereft of her son, who was mourning beside the dead body of the young man. When the mother heard of the arrival of so great a man, she quickly threw herself full length at his feet and begged the holy man for her son’s restoration. David, being remarkable for compassion and humanity, was moved by the mother’s misery and lamentation, and immediately approached the corpse. Wetting the dead man’s face with his tears, and invoking the name of Christ, he miraculously raised the boy in the sight of all and restored him alive again to his mother. She, relying at once on wholesome counsel, faithfully assigned the son who had been raised to the holy father for the service of Christ. David then placed upon the boy’s shoulders the Gospel book which he had always been accustomed to carry on his breast, and ordered him to carry it with him to the synod. When this had been done, they approached the assembly and were received with the greatest joy and rejoicing. The office of preaching was therefore laid upon Father David by everyone. Standing on the level ground, although the others who had preached before him there had been accustomed to climb upon a heap of piled-up garments, he thundered into the ears of all alike, both those farthest away and those nearby, with so clear and gracious a voice that everyone in that great gathering heard him clearly and to their salvation, according to that saying: “Open your mouth, and I shall fill it” [Psalm 81:10 / Vulgate Psalm 80:11]. And elsewhere: “When you stand before kings and governors, do not think how or what you are to speak. For what you are to speak will be given to you in that hour” [Matthew 10:18–19; Luke 12:11–12]. And shortly afterwards: “For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you” [Matthew 10:20]. There, two signs immediately became clear to the whole people by manifest proofs. A snow-white dove, sent from heaven, sat upon his right shoulder for as long as he was preaching; and the earth beneath the preacher’s feet rose up into a hill, so that the herald of truth might stand out more clearly before all. On the summit of that hill a church was later built, which is distinguished to this day by the name of Saint David. When these things had been accomplished and the sermon completed, with grace working together in all things, the heresy vanished, wholly scattered and destroyed. Father David, by the common election and acclamation of all, clergy as well as people, was raised to be archbishop of the whole of Wales; and Dubricius, who had already yielded the honour to him by appointment, gave way to him.

Lesson Nine #

¹ In the course of time another synod was assembled, called the Synod of Victory, at which the clergy of the whole of Wales were again summoned together, and the measures that had been confirmed at the former synod were renewed by a firm and rigorous examination, with certain additions concerning the welfare of the Church. From these two synods, therefore, all the churches of the whole of Wales received their pattern and rule, with the authority of the Roman Church also being added and giving confirmation. The decrees which Bishop David had proclaimed orally he also committed to writing with his own holy hand, and entrusted them to his own church and to many others throughout Wales to be preserved. These decrees, like many other distinguished treasures of that noble library, have disappeared through age and neglect, and also through the frequent attacks of pirates who, brought from the Orkney Islands in longships during the summer season, used to ravage the coastal provinces of Wales.

² In the same times, therefore, the Church of God flourished remarkably in the regions of Wales, and from day to day increased with many fruits. Monasteries were built everywhere in many places, and many communities of the faithful, in various orders, were gathered together with holy devotion for the service of Christ. To all of them Father David, placed as though on a most lofty watchtower, was a mirror and example of life. He instructed those under him by word, and he instructed them also by example: a most effective preacher in speech, but greater in deed. For to his hearers he was teaching, to religious men a model, to the needy life, to orphans protection, to widows support, to wards a father, to monks a rule, to secular people a way; he became all things to all, so that he might gain all things for God [1 Corinthians 9:22].

Lesson Ten: Concerning his death, which he had foretold, and concerning both an angelic and even a divine visitation. #

¹ With these merits of virtue, and with far greater ones than our page can express, he was happily brought through to old age, and had now completed the course of one hundred and forty-seven years; at last, passing from the way to the homeland, and yielding to the condition of human frailty, he lay down, seized by a mortal illness. The brethren heard many voices and visitations of angels, both in the church while he was present and when he had already been laid on his sickbed, saying and singing that the day of his departure was near [2 Timothy 4:6], and that the time was at hand when, having happily finished the course of his temporal life [2 Timothy 4:7], he would receive the prize [Philippians 3:14], and, triumphing gloriously over the world, would come victorious to the palm; yet they promised that he would not see death before he saw the Holy One of the Lord coming to him [Luke 2:26]. The report of his passing and of his final illness, made known by visions and angelic revelations in various places both in Britain and also in Ireland to many holy men, summoned them to visit Father David. When Sunday came, he strengthened both people and clergy with a powerful sermon; then, after sharing before them all in the Lord’s body, which he himself had consecrated, and after the solemnity of divine service had been completed and the blessing given, he openly foretold, as though bidding farewell to the people, that on the third day afterwards he would pass from this world to the Lord. O how great was the grief of all, and how great especially were the laments of the brethren and clerics then! For the people mourned their father, the clergy their bishop, the poor their sustainer, and all their guide and teacher in life.

² From that hour, therefore, until the appointed end, he spent almost all the remaining time in continual angelic visitations and divine consolations. Shortly before the hour of his death, the Lord Jesus also deigned, according to his promises, to honour his faithful servant with a visitation of his own. At his coming, the father rejoiced with no small joy, yet with the tears that gladness brings, and confidently repeated these words again and again: “Lord, take me after you.” And, as though singing the canticle of Simeon, he said: “Now you dismiss your servant, Lord, according to your word, in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation,” and so on [Luke 2:29–30]. With these and similar words, on the first day before the Kalends of March, the holy man gave back his spirit to God, and, clothed in a long tunic, happily completed the course of temporal life [2 Timothy 4:7], and, having triumphed alike over the world and the enemy, ascended victorious to the eternal palm, at the call of our Lord Jesus Christ; to whom, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, be honour, power, and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

³ His body was therefore buried and, as befitted so great a treasure, honourably laid to rest there by the brethren. There, down to the present day, the Lord shows himself wonderful in his saint through signs and wonders [Acts 2:43; Hebrews 2:4]. These things, perhaps, may in future be added to the earlier deeds by someone’s diligence, and, with the benefit renewed, may one day extend our volume.

Response. #

¹ Glorious bishop of Christ, David, receive the prayers of your servants, and intercede for us before the great Lord.

² O God, who gave to your Church your blessed bishop David as a wonderful teacher, mercifully grant that we may deserve always to have him as a loving intercessor with you, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.