St David’s Cathedral is the largest church in Wales, but its
home city is the smallest in Great Britain.
St David
Legend has it that David (Dewi in Welsh) was born (in about
the year 500) on a clifftop during a wild storm. His mother, Non, is also
recognised as a saint and the bay below the supposed birth site is known as St
Non’s Bay.
David founded several monasteries in Wales and further
afield, including Brittany. St David’s Cathedral, in Pembrokeshire, stands on
the site of one of his monastic foundations.
David insisted that his monks should live as simply as
possible, refraining from meat and beer, and having no personal possessions. He
had a particular liking for leeks, which is why the leek is one of the symbols
of Wales.
He died in his monastery at what is now St David’s. The year
of his death is disputed, although it was probably around the year 590, which
would have meant that he was about 90 years old. The tradition is that he died
on 1st March, which has been recognized for centuries as St David’s
Day.
David was venerated as a saint by Pope Calixtus II in 1120.
He ruled that two pilgrimages to the shrine of St David were equivalent to one
pilgrimage in Rome, in terms of the spiritual reward that would accrue to the
pilgrim. David has long been recognised as the patron saint of Wales.
The Cathedral
The Cathedral dates from 1181, having been funded by
donations from pilgrims. The current building contains work carried out in most
centuries since that date, but the additions have been made in keeping with the
original style.
Despite its size, the building is not particularly prominent
due to its location in a hollow, this being the valley of the small River Alun.
Visitors cannot help but notice the slope in the Norman
nave, which is 14 feet (4 metres) higher at the high altar than at the west
end. Also impressive is the bishop’s throne, which dates from 1500 and is
almost 30 feet (10 metres) high.
In front of the high altar is the tomb of Edmund Tudor, the
father of Henry who defeated the English King Richard III to become King Henry
VII and the founder of the Tudor line of monarchs.
During the 19th century restoration by Sir George
Gilbert Scott, bones were found in a recess behind the high altar that were
widely believed to be those of St David (and at least one other person). It is
possible that the contents of the original shrine were hidden here at the time
of the Reformation in the 16th century.
The Bishop’s Palace
The ruins of the Bishop’s Palace are on the other side of
the River Alun. This suite of buildings, set round a large quadrangle, occupies
a site that is similar in size to that of the Cathedral itself and would
clearly have been very impressive when complete and a testament to the wealth
of the medieval church.
The building was abandoned in the 16th century
due to the fact that Bishop Barlow had five daughters. These all needed large dowries
in order to make good marriages and the bishop raised the money by gradually
stripping the lead off the roof of his palace and selling it. After the fifth
daughter had been suitably provided for, the building was uninhabitable.
All the daughters married bishops! The fact that the five
husbands all demanded substantial dowries from Bishop Barlow, as well as the
size of the original palace, says something about how the Church in Wales had
changed since the time of St David.
© John Welford
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