The Beauty of Welsh Holy Places and the Lure of Modern Pilgrimages – Part 1

Nov102022

Tim Guile is a teacher, a writer of articles on late medieval/ early modern ecclesiastical history, Assoc Fellow Royal Hist Soc, and Chair English Catholic History Association. It is an honour to have Tim as a contributor to the Welsh Country magazine online and follows is the first part of a triology.

Abstract

This article aims to show that holy places from long ago may still resonate with travellers, pilgrims and visitors to Wales today. It tries to show that medieval Welsh people were strongly attached to veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the saints and that they were known to go on pilgrimages both within Wales and to elsewhere in England and abroad. The tradition of the cult of the saints and pilgrimage to holy places is historically evidenced and was largely suppressed at the time of the Reformation in the sixteenth century. This tradition of pilgrimage has been revived in modern times and is now part of the rich tapestry of Welsh Christianity, history, archaeology and heritage. Alongside those who would identify with the Christian community at large, lots of people have no religious beliefs at all and may indeed be antagonistic to organised religion. However, many of them may have an ambivalent attitude to places, people and events with connotations of religion, faith, spirituality or belief. They clearly ‘mean something’ and can engender enquiry or even fascination. The influence of ‘the church’ may have waned substantially in Britain and other countries in western Europe but it is still pervasive in many, and what may appear secular, ways. In autumn 2019 the Welsh government announced the creation of a new ‘Pilgrimage trail’ linking five hundred churches and chapels.^[1] This trail has yet to become fully operational, but it underlies the need for some people to hike to holy and historic places in Wales.

Throughout the medieval period, shrines, holy wells and pilgrimages were part of the traditional faith of Wales and central to almost everyone’s lives. This was an experience which was extremely common in the medieval period right up to the reign of Henry VIII after which it was strongly discouraged by acts of parliament and the new regulations brought about by the religious reformers who had the king’s ear at that time. Pilgrimage grew in popularity in Wales from the fifth and sixth centuries and right through the Middle Ages, with the emergence of well-known native saints such as St David and St Teilo. With the arrival of the Normans in Wales at the end of the eleventh century, sites associated with many of these saints were developed into major pilgrimage centres, some of which claimed international fame. Some of these pilgrimage places became quite lucrative for the church authorities who were responsible for running them. In southeast Wales, the most important pilgrimage site at that time was the shrine of St Teilo in Llandaff Cathedral, though there were several holy wells and relics which attracted pilgrims.

A pilgrimage is a devotional practice consisting of a prolonged journey, often undertaken on foot or on horseback, toward a specific destination of significance. It is a short-term experience, removing the participant from his or her home environment and identity. ^[2] The means or motivations in undertaking a pilgrimage might vary, but the act, however performed, blends the physical and the spiritual into a unified, liminal, experience. During the Middle Ages, people made pilgrimages for a variety of reasons. Many holy sites were believed to have a healing power, such as Holywell in north Wales. Pilgrims who had a sick loved one could seek divine help at a place like this, along with people who were ill themselves, and people who had recovered from illnesses could also come to give thanks to God. Penitents would also undertake pilgrimages to gain forgiveness for their sins, or to shorten time in purgatory for themselves or for others. Basically, as a pilgrimage was a journey of faith, anything a person felt they needed God’s help for could be motivation for the journey. Pilgrims would often bring back a memento or souvenir from their pilgrimage to a holy site. Two kinds of objects were commonly associated with pilgrims in the Middle Ages: ampullae, and badges. Ampullae were little lead scallop-shaped flasks containing holy water that were pinned to clothing or hung around the neck in the belief that they offered spiritual protection. These holy objects would be valued and treasured by the pilgrim for years to come.

St David (Dewi Sant in Welsh) was born in the late fifth or early sixth century in the south-west corner of Wales. Estimates of his birth date may range from AD 462 to AD 515. The traditional site of his birthplace is just south of the modern city of St Davids at St Non’s Chapel in Pembrokeshire. Contemporary details of his life are scanty and much of what we know comes from a much later eleventh century source of dubious authenticity. David’s mother was believed by many to be Non, who gave birth to him in a thunderstorm after she was raped by Sandde, a prince of Powys and son of Ceredig, the King of Ceredigion. David was said to have been educated by St Paulinus at Whitland monastery in Carmarthenshire. He founded a dozen monasteries in southern Wales and did much to spread Christianity throughout the country. Around AD 550 David is thought to have founded a monastery at what is now St Davids, near the site of his birth. When he finally died after passing a hundred years in age, he was reported to have been buried in the grounds of his monastery on the traditional date of 1 March 589. Over the following centuries, the monastery was attacked on at least ten occasions by Scandinavian raiders. David’s monastery became known in Welsh as Tyddewi, which translates as ‘David’s House’.

During the medieval period, pilgrims would have travelled to St Davids for many reasons: to pray to the saint for help with life’s difficulties, for themselves or their families, or to pray for loved ones who had died. In 1123, St Davids was granted a privilege from Pope Callixtus II in Rome, who declared that two pilgrimages to the Cathedral were equal to one journey to Rome. A village grew up around the monastery and it grew in importance during the medieval period as pilgrims flocked to visit St David’s shrine in the cathedral. Despite the flow of pilgrims, St Davids never grew into a city although it has that title today due to the importance of the cathedral. The landscape around St Davids was sacred to pilgrims. The cathedral contained the shrines of St David and St Caradog, as well as other relics, and there were chapels dedicated to St Justinian, St Non and St Patrick within two miles. David was declared a saint in 1123 and shortly thereafter he was proclaimed the patron saint of Wales. The importance of St David’s shrine was emphasised by the visits of several monarchs, including William the Conqueror, Henry II, and Edward I.

The Lure of Modern Welsh Pilgrimage — Llandaff Cathedral (Source – CC BY-SA 2.0)

One medieval pilgrimage site was the burial place of St Teilo in Llandaff cathedral near Cardiff. St. Teilo was probably born at Penally, near Tenby in Pembrokeshire around the year 500. Although there are conflicting reports about his early life, he was thought to be a cousin of our national patron Dewi Sant, St. David. He received his education at institutions directed by saints, one being St. Dyfrig, who he succeeded as Bishop of Llandaff, founding the very first Church in Llandaff where the Cathedral stands today. He was also educated by Paulinus of Wales at a place thought to be Whitland in Carmarthenshire. Here he is thought to have met and became a close companion of St. David. He is reported to have travelled extensively, including to Brittany, Rome and possibly even Jerusalem as well as to St. David’s in north Pembrokeshire where David founded his monastery. Teilo founded a monastery in Llandeilo which literally means ‘Church of St. Teilo’, the place with which he is most associated, and at Penally. Penally Abbey was located on a pilgrims’ trail to St. David’s. Legend has it that Teilo went on pilgrimage to Jerusalem with Saints David and Padarn around the year 518. Three seats, one decorated ornately in gold, one of bronze and one of cedar, were erected in their honour in readiness for their ordination as bishops by the Patriarch of Jerusalem. The legend has it that the humble Teilo chose the simple wooden seat. A plague of Yellow Fever devastated parts of Wales in the year 547. Teilo and his followers fled firstly to Cornwall and then to Brittany where they were said to have been welcomed by St. Samson of Dol. It is thought by some that Teilo and Samson planted an orchard of apple trees between Dol and Cai, where the apple orchards are still known as the groves of Teilo and Samson today. At Landaul in Brittany, Teilo is considered the patron saint of apple trees and the town of Saint-Thélo in Brittany bears his name. At St. Teilo’s Church, one of the stained-glass windows, installed as part of the church refurbishment in 2004-05, shows an apple tree in honour of St. Teilo. He later returned to Llandeilo. He is said to have died on the ninth of February, possibly in the year 560. After his death he became one of the most venerated men in Wales. Several sites in Wales claim to house his remains. A tomb of St. Teilo is located in Llandaff Cathedral while a part of his skull can be seen in the South Chapel.