The Cathedral in St Davids, Pembrokeshire is home to his shrine. St Davids is Britain’s smallest city, with a population of roughly 1,600 – that’s roughly just 4% of capital Cardiff’s population. Additional fact for you, the tenor Dewi Sant bell in the cathedral weights 2,700lbs. St David is said to have founded a monastery as a young man around the year 560 near to where he was born. The area - in Pembrokeshire - is now known as St David's. The Praise of Saint Davids day. / Shewing the Reason why the Welshmen honour the Leeke on that day. To the tune of When this Old Cap was new. (?1630).

The restored Shrine of Saint David was unveiled and rededicated by the Right Reverend Wyn Evans, Bishop of St David's, at a Choral Eucharist on Saint David's Day, 2012. Having worked in mental health for 42 years, I have seen the announcement of many breakthroughs in treatment. New medications, genetic advances and novel approaches like transcranial magnetic stimulation have all been subject to extravagant claims. None of them has delivered the promised transformation of mental health care.David is remembered in the Church of England with a Lesser Festival and on the Episcopal Church liturgical calendar on 1 March. [14] [15] Reputation A stained glass window at St Non's Chapel, St David's A Welsh stew, named Cawl and containing lamb and leeks, is traditionally consumed on St David’s Day. Many of the traditional tales about David are found in the Buchedd Dewi ("Life of David"), a hagiography written by Rhygyfarch in the late 11th century. Rhygyfarch claimed it was based on documents found in the cathedral archives. Modern historians are sceptical of some of its claims: one of Rhygyfarch's aims was to establish some independence for the Welsh church, which had refused the Roman rite until the 8th century and now sought a metropolitan status equal to that of Canterbury (this may apply to the supposed pilgrimage to Jerusalem where he is said to have been anointed as an archbishop by the patriarch). In the 2004 edition of the Roman Martyrology, David is listed under 1 March with the Latin name Dávus. He is recognised as bishop of Menevia in Wales who governed his monastery following the example of the Eastern Fathers. Through his leadership, many monks went forth to evangelise Wales, Ireland, Cornwall and Armorica (Brittany and surrounding provinces). [12]

A broadside ballad published around 1630 claimed that the Welsh wore a leek in their hats to commemorate a battle fought on St David's Day. So as to recognise friend from foe, the Welsh had pulled up leeks from a garden and put them in their hats, before going on to win the battle. [13] Fluellen: "If your Majesty is remembered of it, the Welshmen did good service in a garden where leeks did grow, wearing leeks in their Monmouth caps, which your Majesty knows, to this hour is an honourable badge of the service, and I do believe, your Majesty takes no scorn to wear the leek upon Saint Tavy's day". King Henry: "I wear it for a memorable honour; for I am Welsh, you know, good countryman". Connections to Glastonbury The Monastic Rule of David prescribed that monks had to pull the plough themselves without draught animals, [5] and must drink only water and eat only bread with salt and herbs. [8] The monks spent their evenings in prayer, reading and writing. No personal possessions were allowed: even to say "my book" was considered an offence. He lived a simple life and practised asceticism, teaching his followers to refrain from eating meat and drinking beer. His symbol, also the symbol of Wales, is the leek (this inspires a reference in Shakespeare's Henry V, Act V scene 1):Sadly, mental health treatment does not always stop people from taking their own lives. In any case, many suicidal deaths occur without the person ever receiving help. And a proportion of people who take their own life are not mentally ill at all. David is said to have played a role in spreading Christianity on the continent, inspiring numerous place names in Brittany including Saint-Divy, Saint-Yvi and Landivy. Saint David is also thought to be associated with corpse candles, lights that would warn of the imminent death of a member of the community. The story goes that David prayed for his people to have some warning of their death, so that they could prepare themselves. In a vision, David's wish was granted and told that from then on, people who lived in the land of Dewi Sant (Saint David) "would be forewarned by the dim light of mysterious tapers when and where the death might be expected". The colour and size of the tapers indicated whether the person to die would be a woman, man, or child. [16] See also

David's popularity in Wales is shown by the Armes Prydein of around 930, a popular poem which prophesied that in the future, when all might seem lost, the Cymry ( Welsh people) would unite behind the standard of David to defeat the English; " A lluman glân Dewi a ddyrchafant" ("And they will raise the pure banner of Dewi"). His best-known miracle is said to have taken place when he was preaching in the middle of a large crowd at the Synod of Brefi: the village of Llanddewi Brefi stands on the spot where the ground on which he stood is reputed to have risen up to form a small hill. A white dove, which became his emblem, was seen settling on his shoulder. John Davies notes that one can scarcely "conceive of any miracle more superfluous" in that part of Wales than the creation of a new hill. [6] David is said to have denounced Pelagianism during this incident and he was declared archbishop by popular acclaim according to Rhygyfarch, [7] bringing about the retirement of Dubricius. St David's metropolitan status as an archbishopric was later supported by Bernard, Bishop of St David's, Geoffrey of Monmouth, and Gerald of Wales.

Gweithgaredd 2

David was known as Dewi Dyfrwr - meaning David the Waterdrinker - because of his diet of bread and water. Even meat and beer were off the menu.