In the one hundred and fifty-sixth year of the Lord #

¹ Lucius, king of the Britons, sent envoys to Pope Eleutherius, namely Eluanus and Meduinus, so that, according to his counsel, he might become a Christian. The pope baptised these envoys, and, once they had received the Catholic faith, ordained Eluanus as bishop and Meduinus as teacher. And because of the eloquence and knowledge they possessed in the holy Scriptures, they returned to Lucius in Britain as preachers. Through their holy preaching, Lucius and the leading men of all Britain received baptism; they ordained bishops, and taught the rule of living well.

² At length, when the Pelagian heresy arose, Saint Germanus and Bishop Lupus were sent by the bishops of Gaul to the Britons to refute it. When they had rooted out that heresy, they consecrated bishops in many places in Britain, and appointed blessed Dubricius, the supreme teacher, as archbishop of the southern part of Britain, and established the church of Llandaff, founded in honour of blessed Peter, as the cathedral seat. After many possessions and churches had been granted to the church of Llandaff by the king, Dubricius distributed his disciples among the churches, founded certain new churches, ordained Daniel as bishop of Bangor, and Saint Illtud as abbot in the place called after him Llanilltud, that is, “the church of Illtud”.

³ A certain petty king of Cambria, named Peibanus, set out on an expedition against his enemies and, returning in triumph, ordered his daughter Eurdile to wash his head after the labour of the battle he had fought. When she tried to carry out her father’s command, he noticed, from her heaviness, that she was pregnant. Therefore, inflamed with excessive anger, he ordered her to be shut inside a certain leather bag and thrown into the river. But as often as they cast her into the river, so often she was carried unharmed to the bank.

⁴ So her father, in indignation, ordered her to be burned with fire, without pity. A pyre was immediately prepared, and the girl was put into it. But the next day, when envoys had been sent by her father to see whether any bones of his daughter remained unburned, they found her unharmed, holding in her lap, in the middle of the fire, the son whom she had borne, while her clothes and hair were untouched by any burning. The boy was baptised, and was called Dubricius; and at once he was filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit.

⁵ Who his father had been is unknown; for that reason certain mistaken people falsely say that he had no father. And so, when the king learned of the wondrous signs which the Lord had performed for his daughter and for her child, he immediately ordered his daughter, with her newborn offspring, to be brought to him. And when, embracing the infant with fatherly affection, he kissed him, the boy, by divine prompting, stretched his hand upwards and, in a childlike way, touched his face; and through the infant’s touch he was cured of the incurable disease from which he was suffering. For saliva was constantly flowing from his mouth, and two attendants, appointed for this purpose, could scarcely wipe it away. So the king rejoiced at having regained his health, and, after the passing of a few short years, made Dubricius heir to his whole kingdom.

⁶ The boy was handed over to be instructed in letters; and when he became a young man, he advanced so far in literary learning and upright conduct that not only the unlearned, but also the skilled, flocked to him for the sake of being built up. Among them were Saint Teilo, Samson, Aidan, and many others. In the place of his birth, beside the bank of the River Wye, he chose a dwelling suitable for himself and for the multitude of his disciples, and for many years he directed study there. When a church had been built by command of an angel of the Lord, he preached and taught the people; and through the laying on of his hands, the sicknesses of various diseases were very often healed [Mark 16:18], and all who were anxious or weak returned joyful and well.

⁷ At length, as was said before, when the Pelagian heresy arose, Saint Germanus was sent from Gaul, with Bishop Lupus, to restrain it. For the Christianity of the Britons had been corrupted, both because of the pagan Saxons and because of the Pelagian heresy, whose poison had crept among them for many days. And so the holy bishops already named, with the consent of King Ambrosius Aurelianus and also of all the clergy, consecrated Dubricius as archbishop.

⁸ The same king, so that there might be an everlasting memorial of the nobles of Britain whom Hengist and the Saxons, his accomplices, had slaughtered by wicked treachery on Mount Ambrius, which is now commonly called “Stonehenge” — namely, four hundred and eighty consuls and barons — caused the very great stones which have been set there in their memory down to the present day to be brought from Ireland, sending his brother Uther there with a great force. When they had been brought over, the magnates and the clergy were gathered on Mount Ambrius by the king’s edict, so that they might prepare the burial of the said nobles with great honour. On the appointed day the diadem was placed on the head of King Aurelius Ambrosius; and by common consent he bestowed the see of York upon Samson, a holy man, while he gave the archbishopric of the City of the Legions to the renowned Dubricius. And when he had duly arranged these and other matters in his kingdom, he ordered Merlin the prophet to set up around the burial-place the stones which he had brought by ship from Ireland. And it was done so.

⁹ At length, when King Aurelius had been killed by poison, and when his brother Uther had reigned for a few years, his son Arthur succeeded with the help of Dubricius. Arthur boldly attacked the Saxons in many battles, but he could not entirely root them out of the kingdom. For the Saxons had brought under their control the whole part of the island which stretches from the River Humber as far as the sea of the Catanians. For this reason, Arthur summoned the clergy and the chief men of the kingdom, and took counsel as to what he should do above all against the assault of the pagan Saxons. At length, by common counsel, he sent messengers to Armorica, that is, Less Britain, to King Hoel, to make known to him the calamity of Britain.

¹⁰ When he came to Britain with fifteen thousand armed men, he was honourably received by Arthur and Saint Dubricius. They set out for the city of Lincoln, which was besieged by the Saxons; and when battle was joined, six thousand Saxons perished, either drowned or struck down by missiles. The rest fled to the Caledonian wood, where, besieged by the Britons, they were forced to surrender. And after hostages had been received for tribute to be paid every year, Arthur allowed them to return to their own country with only their ships.

¹¹ A short time afterwards, however, the Saxons were ashamed of the agreement they had made; and, having restored their strength, they broke their treaty and surrounded the city of Badon, which is now called Bath, with a siege. When Arthur heard this, he gathered an army; and when he had seen the enemy camp, he addressed his men as follows: “Since,” he said, “the most wicked Saxons disdain to keep faith with me, I, keeping faith with my God, shall try to avenge the blood of my fellow citizens. Therefore let us attack those traitors manfully; without doubt, with Christ’s aid, we shall overcome them with the triumph we desire.”

¹² As he continued these words, Saint Dubricius climbed to the summit of a certain mountain and addressed the army in a loud voice as follows: “Men marked out by the Christian profession, let compassion for your fellow citizens and for your country remain in you. They have been destroyed by the treachery of pagans, and they will become an everlasting reproach to you unless you defend them with all your strength. Fight for your country, and if death comes upon you, suffer it willingly for her. For this itself is victory and a remedy for the soul. Whoever undergoes death for his brothers offers himself as a living sacrifice to God [Romans 12:1]; and he is not to be doubted to follow Christ, who was willing to lay down his life for his brothers [John 15:13; 1 John 3:16]. Therefore, if any one of you should happen to die in this battle, let that death be for him the repentance and remission of all his sins, provided that he does not shrink from receiving it in this way.”

¹³ And so, after receiving the saint’s blessing, all ran to arms. Arthur also protected his shoulders with a shield on which the image of Saint Mary, Mother of God, had been painted; he very often called upon her to help him. And rushing into the Saxon battalions, aided by the prayers of Saint Dubricius, he obtained victory by laying low many thousands, and forced the few who had escaped the slaughter to surrender.

¹⁴ At a certain time in Lent, Dubricius visited the monastery of Abbot Illtud; and when he promoted Saint Samson to the rank of priest, he, together with Saint Illtud, saw a dove, whiter than snow, sent from heaven, remaining over Samson’s head until the office was completed. The same Samson also had charge of the store-room; and when, from joy at Dubricius’s arrival, he had distributed almost all the cups to guests and to the needy, he was denounced through the envy of a certain brother, who a little earlier had held the same office, as having squandered with a prodigal hand whatever drink he had had in the cellar.

¹⁵ For this reason murmuring arose among the brothers. Samson, blushing deeply, related what had happened to Saint Dubricius, and asked for his help in so great a need. The bishop, moved by this, prayed to the Lord that he would deign to free Samson from bitterness of heart. And entering the cellar with Samson as his companion, he stretched out his hand gave a blessing, and all the vessels were found full.

¹⁶ As people flocked from every side to blessed Dubricius, and the sick, through his merits, carried away health of body and soul, a certain powerful man, born of royal lineage, begged him on bended knees to free his daughter, who was possessed, from the demon by his prayer. At once the man of God fell to the ground, his face streaming with tears, and, striking God with prayers, healed the girl. She renounced the world, held fast to the teachings of the man of God, and strove devoutly to serve God.

¹⁷ At length Dubricius, weighed down by sicknesses and old age, gave up the laborious work of a bishop. He lived a hermit’s life with many disciples, who lived by the labour of their own hands [Acts 20:34; 1 Thessalonians 4:11], in solitude on a certain island in the sea. On the eighteenth day before the Kalends of December, he gloriously ended his life, and deserved to be buried on that same island, as he had commanded while alive. For the ancient histories of the Britons declare that many thousands of holy martyrs and confessors had burial on that island, named Enlli. These few deeds of the holy man we have set forth from among many, since several of his miracles and examples of his holy way of life, written on parchments, had either been burned by the fires of enemies, or, as is said, carried away in the exile of the citizens.

¹⁸ In the year of the Lord five hundred and twelve, Saint Dubricius passed to the Lord; and in the year of the Lord one thousand one hundred and twenty, on the ninth of May, the body of Saint Dubricius was translated from the island of Enlli by Urban, bishop of Llandaff, and on the fourth day before the Kalends of June was honourably laid to rest in the church of Llandaff. At that same time, all Glamorgan was afflicted by excessive drought, for for several weeks no rain had come down from heaven in that province. At the arrival of the holy relics, abundant rain, falling upon the earth, made the inhabitants rejoice. And when two bishops began to wash the saint’s bones in a basin, as soon as the relics were dipped in the water, the liquid began to bubble up, as if a burning stone had been thrown in. And for as long as the bones were being washed by the bishops, the heat of the water increased, and the sound of boiling water was heard.

Narrative. #

MS Tib. adds: #

¹ How much power simplicity of faith has is recognised from the things said to have taken place at the Council of Nicaea. When, through the zeal of the religious emperor, God’s priests had gathered from every land, among the noble philosophers and dialecticians assembled there, a certain man distinguished in the art of dialectic used day by day to engage in a contest of the highest struggle with our very learned bishops, and yet he could not be concluded or constrained in any way by anyone. For he met the questions put to him with such skill in speaking that, where he was thought to be most tightly bound, he slipped away like a slippery snake.

² But so that God might show that the kingdom of God consists not in speech but in power [1 Corinthians 4:20], a certain simple bishop, knowing nothing else except Jesus Christ, and him crucified [1 Corinthians 2:2], was present among his other hearers. When he saw the philosopher insulting our men and cunningly boasting of himself by the art of disputation, he asked everyone for room, saying that he wished to converse briefly with the philosopher. Then our men, who knew the simplicity of the man and his lack of skill in speech, grew afraid and began to feel a kind of shame, lest holy simplicity should perhaps be made a laughing-stock among clever men.

³ Nevertheless the old man persisted, and from this point began the opening of his speech: “In the name of Jesus Christ, philosopher,” he said, “hear the things that are true. There is one God, who made heaven and earth [Genesis 1:1; Acts 4:24], who gave spirit to the man whom he had formed from the clay of the earth [Genesis 2:7], and created all things visible and invisible by the power of his Word [Colossians 1:16; John 1:3], and established them by the sanctification of his Spirit. This Word and Wisdom, whom we call the Son [John 1:1; 1 Corinthians 1:24], pitying human errors, was born of a virgin [Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:27, 31], and through the suffering of death freed us from perpetual death [Hebrews 2:14-15], and by his resurrection bestowed eternal life upon us [Romans 6:4; 1 Peter 1:3]; we expect him to come as judge of all the things we do [2 Timothy 4:1; 1 Peter 4:5]. Do you believe that these things are so, philosopher?”

⁴ But he, as though he had never learned any word of contradiction, was so stupefied by the power of what had been said that he could answer only this: that it seemed so to him, and that nothing else was as true as what he had said. Then the old man said: “If you have believed that these things are so, rise and follow me, and receive the seal of this faith.”

⁵ But the philosopher, turning to his disciples and to those who had gathered for the sake of listening, said: “Listen, learned men. So long as the matter was conducted with me by words, I opposed words with words, and what was said I overturned by the art of speaking. But when, instead of words, power came forth from the mouth of the speaker, words could not resist power, nor could man oppose God. And therefore, if any of you was able, in the things that were said, to perceive what I perceived, let him believe in Christ and follow this old man, in whom God has spoken.” Thus the philosopher became a Christian, and at last rejoiced that he had been defeated.