¹ Saint Gundleus was the son of the King of the Southern Britons; and after his father’s death, when the kingdom had been divided into seven parts, his six brothers received their portions and obeyed him in all things as though he were the eldest. By his wife Gladusa, Gundleus begot a son, Cadoc, a holy man and one pleasing to God. For one night, as they lay sleeping in their chamber, an angelic voice addressed them, saying: “The heavenly King, the Ruler of earthly things, has sent me here, that you may be converted with your whole heart to His service. He calls you and invites you; He chose you and redeemed you as He ascended the gibbet of the cross. I shall show you the right path, which you must hold if you are to reach the inheritance of God. Lift up your minds, and do not despise your souls for the sake of things that perish. On the bank of the river there is a certain little hill; and where you see a white cow standing, there will be the place of your dwelling.”

² Rising in the morning, he left the royal palace; and having entrusted the kingdom to his son Cadoc, he came to the little hill that the angel had announced to him. There he found the white cow, built a church, and began to live in that place in great abstinence and holiness of life. He wore a hair-shirt, ate barley bread with a third part of ashes mixed into it, and was accustomed to drink water. Rising in the middle of the night he would immerse himself in cold water; and taking nothing that belonged to another, he lived by the labour of his own hands. His son Saint Cadoc, now made Abbot of Nantcarfan, often visited and strengthened him, declaring that the crown is promised not to those who begin but to those who persevere in goodness. And Gundleus, pouring out prayers to God on account of the dryness of the little hill, touched the dry earth with the point of his staff, and caused a spring to well up in that same place — most clear, and flowing without ceasing.

³ When the end of his life drew near, he sent to Dubricius, Bishop of Llandaff, and to his son Cadoc, asking them to deign to visit him. And when they had comforted him and fortified his soul with the sacred Communion, he passed over to the Lord on the fourth day before the kalends of April. And when his body had been honourably buried, a throng of Angels was seen visiting the place of his burial; and the sick who implored his aid, being cured of every infirmity, glorified God in His Saint.

⁴ Now Griffin, King of Venedotia, driven from the borders of Britain by King William the Elder and fearing treachery, sailed to the islands of Orkney; and returning with a gathered fleet of twenty-four ships, he carried off much plunder. His servants broke into the church of Saint Gundleus and seized whatever precious thing was found in it. But when they tried to return to the islands of Orkney, they saw a terrible man riding after them in pursuit, by day and by night. And the more diligently the rowers drove their ships, the more the waves of the sea thrust them back sideways. Each prow dashed against another, and the whole fleet, except for two ships, was sunk, as their deserts demanded. King Griffin himself had no share in the plunder: he was waiting on the shore with his companions for the pirates’ arrival. Afterwards, reconciled with King William, he recounted to everyone the wonders he had seen.

⁵ In the time of Saint Edward the King, Earl Harold, offended by the Welsh, came with an army, burned everywhere, laid waste, spared no one, and carried off all that he found. Certain men, breaking into the church of Saint Gundleus late in the evening, plundered everything they found there. And when the stolen cheeses were cut into, blood appeared within them. The army, struck with amazement, therefore restored all that they had stolen, together with many offerings.

⁶ A certain thief entered the church of Blessed Gundleus one night and, carrying off the chalice and the sacred vestments, began to make his way home. But on the journey he saw the sea rising up before him, surging and towering against his face. At length, driven back by this vision of the sea, he returned until he came again to the threshold of the church; and entering the church he remained there until morning. He was seized, but by the Bishop of Llandaff he was delivered from temporal death.