Evans & Rhys (eds.), The Text of the Book of Llan Dav (1893) — Latin text, unedited OCR

¹ There was a man, English by nation, Elgar by name, born in the region of Devon, and captured in his infancy by a fleet of pirates. As was their custom, he was led into captivity in Ireland, and there passed a life of servitude for a time. At length, on the death of his master, when the burden of his captivity was removed, he came into the king’s hand, and was reduced again to the yoke of servitude, so much that by royal command of King Reotri, nephew of Conchor, he used to give with his own hands the capital sentence upon those condemned to death by the judgement of the royal court.

² Yet, passing his life unwillingly and against his will in sorrow and sadness, and awaiting amid hostile hands the long-deferred mercy of God and the release both of body and soul, he nevertheless reached his deliverance; and having accepted a penance for his deeds, leaving his whole country, and mindful of his evil deeds, he entered a ship and, carried by shipwreck, landed on the island of Enli [Bardsey], which in the British tongue is called the Rome of Britain, on account of its remoteness and the perilous passage to its situation at the extremity of the kingdom, and on account of the sanctity and honour of the place.

³ Its sanctity — since twenty thousand bodies of saints lie there, as well confessors as martyrs. Its honour — since it is surrounded on every side by the sea, with a lofty promontory on the eastern side, but on the west a level and fertile soil, watered by a sweet-flowing spring, partly maritime, and abounding in dolphins; which island lacks every serpent and every frog, and in which no younger brother is ever taken by death while an elder survives in this present life.

⁴ And when he had recognised it for himself in its barrenness — no, in its sanctity — he commended the sailors to Christ, and a solitary life, though a novice and untrained in the life he led, he daily amended for the better. For a circuit of seven years he lived with a certain company of the brethren, sometimes alone; a holy life, a glorious life, a chaste life, with scarce bread, scant clothing, and an emaciated face. After another seven years all Gwynedd being left desolate, he alone remained in the wilderness, nor had he any other sustenance, unless the creatures of the divine protection ministered to him by the will of God — the sea, namely, and eagles and angels, as we shall tell.

⁵ On a certain day Master Caratocus [Caradoc] came to see the brother, living or dead, and on landing found the servant of God alive, though emaciated, saying to him: “O beloved, who has brought you with so great an effort, sequestered from all conversation of men? For I know that no one of our desolated region — and all approach of ships has long been estranged from you.” When all these things had been asked, and many others, with knees bent before the holy man, with sighs and with tears shed, the man of good memory, the supreme teacher above all others of all Wales, skilled in the knowledge of both laws, the New and the Old, with his noble kindred as companion, and with the sagacity and experience of secular letters, earnestly entreated the brother to declare to him a life unknown to the human breast save to God.

⁶ He, at length overcome by prayers, declared to him as to a lord and master his wonted manner. “Now, dearest father, I relate to you mercy, not by any little goodness of my own wretched self, but by his pity and largesse which has ever afforded me comfort. The Holy Spirit, taking to themselves the likeness of bodily substance by the will of God — so believing, the scripture witnessing that a spirit has not flesh and bones — minister to me unceasingly day and night as to one needy and weak, and as it were placed in shipwreck. By whose ministration I know nothing of prosperity and joy to be lacking to me, nothing of want and poverty to be present. They ever tell me true things, they ever promise me just things, telling me of the present life as the flower of the hay, of the future as the odour of balsam; comforting me lest I fail on the way, about to receive, the enemy being conquered, the crown and the rewards.

⁷ “Their company being set apart from me, those whom by so great converse I knew — Dubricius the archbishop of Dextera Britain, Daniel bishop of the church of Bangor, and Saint Paternus, and many others whose bodies are buried in this island — one of them said at another time: “Go to-morning to the grave of Greit the confessor, known to you, and there, wearied by the journey, lie intent on prayer; and God will give you wherewith you may provide for your little body during those days. And so ever on the third day at the morning hour God will give you a fish from the rock, though far from the sea and extended aloft by the space of many paces.”

⁸ “Now the fish thus sent to me at length became loathsome and wearisome for tasting to my wretched throat, my stomach failing through the daily taking of such scanty fare, and of its watery nature it was taken from me on account of the complaint I had made. On another occasion, “Go to the harbour and you shall have a fish of the sea of great size, wherewith you may be provided.” And of the fish found I pierced the side with a little knife, and feeling the wound, leaping it plunged into the sea, escaping outright from my hands; and recognising the swift and hostile hands, I repented that I had made the wound, and returned empty to my little hospice. And after a time, my stomach growing heavy, I sought help as was my custom. The following night the saints appeared and said: “O you unbelieving, why have you made haste? What God has sent you he will not take away; what he has taken from you to-day, to-morning he will restore. Go to the same place, and there you shall find the same fish dead, together with the knife” — and so it was.

⁹ “On a certain other occasion, when hunger threatened me, the same ones said: “Go on the wonted journey.” And I went, and found a huge stag swimming. And I said, “What to me is so great food, and for such unaccustomed sustenance?” I returned to the oratory, and as was their custom they said to the servant: “Nothing else will the Lord give you on this occasion for food save what was found to-day.” And returning to the harbour I found again the stag, kept for a time for my sustenance.

¹⁰ “At certain times eagles ministered to me by divine will with fishes of the sea after the wonted and necessary manner, with certain herbs and water and little fishes of the sea.”

¹¹ These things and many others related, Master Caratocus hastened to the harbour and said to the brother: “O pious one, O dear one, leave meanwhile the wilderness, that you may be comforted and restored to your former state, about to have solace with me in food and clothing for a space.”

¹² These words being heard, he at once hastened his steps to the oratory, and a response being received by him from the saints, he said: “O father, it is not given to me to hear licence, nor is there so great boldness that I should follow you further in this life. Depart, brother, since you have a prosperous wind, my little blessing being given to you, and your great blessing received by me with great alacrity.”

¹³ After these things he led his life, the Lord being present, and unknown to the human breast; and towards his end he prepared for himself a grave made ready in the oratory, and stretching himself beside it, he gave up the spirit. While the body was still warm, certain sailors came to the little church, and what they found there prepared for burial, they buried.

¹⁴ In the one thousand one hundred and twentieth year, a leap year, on the Nones of May [7 May], and on the sixth day of the week, his teeth were translated from the island of Enli, on that day on which the relics of Saint Dubricius were translated to Llandaff, by Urban, bishop of the same, and with the consent of Ralph, archbishop of Canterbury, and the assent of David, bishop of Bangor, and of Griffith, king of Gwynedd, and with the united praise of all the clergy and people; and on the tenth of the Kalends of June [23 May], on the Lord’s day, they were received into the church of Llandaff.

¹⁵ Note: Five lines are left blank at the bottom of this column.