Although the day was spent largely driving from Wales to Westminster, we had the good fortune to have dined in St. David’s last night, and I had posted before that, so I can now share some bits about that interesting place.
Lying on the River Alun on St. David’s peninsula, it is Britian’s smallest city, in both size and population. It is the final resting place of St. David, the patron saint of Wales and the de facto ecclesiastical capital of Wales. The appellation of City was given in the 16th C because of the diocesan cathedral within the border limits. It lost that status in the 1800’s and had to petition to have it reinstated, which was granted in 1994. I guess it’s a big deal to be counted as a city in the U.K.
In the 6th century, David founded a monastery and church at Glyn Rhosyn (Rose Vale) on the banks of the River Alun. The area was originally known in the Welsh language as Mynyw (the pronunciation of Welsh words escaped me — a complete lack of vowels!) The monastic brotherhood that David founded was very strict — besides praying and celebrating masses, they cultivated the land and carried out many crafts, including beekeeping, in order to feed themselves and the many pilgrims and travellers who needed lodgings. They also fed and clothed the poor and needy. The original cathedral built on the site was often plundered by the Vikings and was finally burnt and destroyed in 1087. The present cathedral was built by the Normans and contained many relics, including the remains of St David. It was visited by many pilgrims, many of whom were nobles and kings, including William the Conqueror in 1077 and Henry II in 1171. Pope Calixtus II decreed that two pilgrimages to St Davids were equivalent to one to Rome. Because of this, a vast income was raised from visiting pilgrims in the Middle Ages. Next to the cathedral, the 13th-century Bishop’s Palace is a ruin where a production of Hamlet was being rehearsed when we stopped by.
There wasn’t time to go into the cathedral, which was disappointing, but I was glad to have had a chance to see it, and learn about it at all.
So on Monday we drove back to Lucy’s and I got ready for my departure from Britain (hopefully leaving the chilly and rainy weather behind).
And that was my 2 1/2 week trip seeing part of England (and Wales) that I hadn’t seen before. With lots of help from my friends Keith and Lynn in the Peak District and Lucy and Paul in Hampshire and for Bath and Pembrokshire. It was so much better to see the country with natives!
Now on to France!
They do do castles well! As EuroDisney discovered! (who needs plastic ones when we have REAL ones?!)