HOLY St Mabenna or Mabyn ,daughter of Brychan in Cornwall.

maryinmonmouth@googlemail.co.uk

There was no time to look for the well, that will be for another time, yet if you are in the Bodmin area-the church is open daily and worth a visit!



ST CLYDAWG THE MARTYR AND HIS CHURCH TODAY

POSTCODE

HR2 ONY

Brychan Brycheiniog, the famous king of Irish ancestry, married into the community of Garth Madrun or Talgarth, where a number of settlers had lived for some centuries, granted land by Cunebelinus. Brychan’s children and grand children were famed saints of Wales and Cornwall, who were of the line of Brychan Brycheiniog, his line being one of the ‘Three Holiest in Wales’.

St Cladawg-eldest son.

St CLYDAWG-FEAST DAY November 3

< This picture of a statue in Cil Pedic's Church (Kilpeck) could be (British tonsure) St Clydawg, except he is not depicted with a crown-but does have a martyr's palm. It may also ,of course be St Pedic.Whether in statues of this period a crown may have been shown is another matter>
ECCLESIA DE SANCTO CLADOCO

(In the Welsh Primers of 1546, 1618, 1633, Cotton Manuscripts , Welsh Almanacks . Alwydd Paradwys gives the date as August 19. Also other sources favour this date.)

The story of St Clydog was first written down from the oral tradition of the Bards in the twelfth century in the Book of Llandaf. His life story is also told by John of Tynemouth in the thirteenth century, which was a transcript of the Liber.

Clydog was the son of Clydwyn, who was a son of Brychan. Clydwyn was himself a saint from the Cognatio de Brychan. It is stated that he ‘invaded the whole of South Wales or ‘conquered Deheubarth,’ and that he was the father of Clydog and Dedyw and both of them ruled here. There was also a daughter ,St Perdita, that has been ascribed to him. It is probably not true that he conquered the whole of South Wales. All the genealogical lists make him son of Brychan, but also that he may have been King of Ceredigion and Dyfed Clydwyn also had a daughter, aside from his two sons, named Gwledyr. He shares a feast day with his father St Clydwyn. A place called ‘Cruc Cletwyn’ (his mound’) is mentioned in the Talley Abbey Charter of 1331.Hid aunt was St Clydai the Virgin. Was married three times to Prawst(1), Ribrawst(2) and Roistri (3) and his other brothers were Arthen,Papay,St Cynon (of Abercynon near Penrhys),Dingat (of Llandingat (Dingestow),Pasgen, St Cynlefr the Martyr,(Merthyr Gynlefr), St Berwen (llan in Cornwall)Cydoc or Iddog (Llan in Britanny-Ton Ridoch)The Sepulchre of Brychan was on the island called Ynys Brychan and is near the Isle of Man. Another source (Cott manuscript) says Brychan had thirteen sons and twenty four daughters!

He was King here in Ewyas (partly in Monmouthshire and partly in Herefordshire-the old Welsh  Kingdom of Ergyng) He was one of the king-saints, ruling with justice, peacefully and with holiness.His early formation as a Catholic priest was at Llancarfan under the glorious Saint Cadoc, son of St Woolos(Gwynlliw) of Newport. He and his brother studied theology and philosophy, Latin and Greek there and were ordained. Cadoc himself was a prince. They spent a great deal of time there and worked with him in Cadoc’s own foundations in Monmouthshire and Glamorgan.

On his return to Ewias, acertain woman, the daughter of a nobleman, fell in love with him and would marry no one else. One of Clydog’s nobles, a Saxon, his eye having fallen upon the woman, decided she should be his and no one else’s. The following day whilst the holy and noble King, after having attended the Mass, went out hunting and whilst taking aim at a stag, was shot and killed by his erstwhile friend. The body was placed on a cart and driven towards a river, where there was a ford. This is the bridge area at the stream below the present church, where the water is very shallow. The river Monnow, which also flows through Monmouth, was a barrier and the yoke carrying the cart broke and the oxen would not be driven further. There the great king died and was buried. A great fire was seen to be burning over the grave that night and the Bishop (probably Teilo) ordered that there be built a Martyrum or Martyr’s Chapel over the place of his grave. His sorrowing people, who had loved their wise and saintly king did so. This is Caer Gledog, now in England (Loegr) Probably nearby Longtown was meant by this , where there was an ancient British Camp. (Caer)The Book of Llandaff (Cardiff area) affords proof that Brychan’s rule extended into this area.

There was a further story that two men who had been at loggerheads for a long time vowed upon the tomb of St Clydog to be reconciled. On their way back from the church ,one turned on the other and treacherously murdered him, but immediately afterwards, stricken by a guilty conscience, he fell upon his spear and died miserably.

 In Welsh, the scene of St Clydog’s martyrdom, (as a Christian King by an evil traitor) allowed the people to acclaim him a saint, which was granted at Llandaff by the Bishop-possibly St Teilo. )was known as MERTHYR CLYDAWG or Merthyr Clydawg –his Martyrium, a chapel in which the body of a martyred saint is interred by his grieving brother,Dedyw (who ruled after him, and also founded a llan at Llan-detty at Bwlch in Powys. His church is in Ewias where he was killed by pagan Saxons.Following the martyrdom of the Blessed Clydog, the hermits Llibio,(Cleebeeo)Gwrfan (goorvan)and Cynfar (Kunvarr) were the first inhabitants and cultivators of the place after the martyrdom of St Clydawg the Martyr. So famous was he, that a people were named after him, including a eleventh or twelfth century Bishop of Llandaff.

In later times, Clodock was called ‘Hundred’.The notorious Henry VIII extirped Wales in 1535 and so Clodock was forcibly taken into England. The parish remained as part of the new Anglican See of Llandaff until 1858 when it was taken over by Hereford. However, this always was Welsh Wales as everyone spoke Welsh here until the beginning of the nineteenth century.

St Clydawg’s church, emulating the spirit of ‘mercy’ for fugitives contained a sanctuary ring which a ‘criminal’ could grasp to ask for refuge ,so Clodock church was chartered as a 'place of refuge' for those escaping from their enemies.The door itself could also be secured with an oak bar. The criminal could remain for forty days, and would have to be provided with food by the congregation .After that time, he would have had to ‘abjure the realm’, that is walk directly to the coast and take the first available boat abroad and never come back. Alternatively, he could give himself up for trial, and with luck, after forty days, those investigating the crime may have come to a different conclusion.
 The Welsh Border runs alongside the mountain and there was much rivalry between the Border people, hence the strong solid door dating from around the l5th century. The church is full of history, with faded wall paintings, coats of arms and a Decalogue. It has a memorial stone which is thought to date from around AD 750-850, 'To the dear wife of Guinndo, a resident of this place. In fact there are more memorials to local people than images of the saints and angels of God.Much would have been lost in the restorations.

 Because Saint Clydawg was a Martyr, many came to pray at his tomb, pilgrims arrived at this remote place on his feast day, November 3rd.Masses would be said over the tomb. However, it is possible the feast day changed in Norman times, or even earlier. The pilgrims’ season is normally from May to October, because summer weather brings more pilgrims as winter weather would make these pilgrimages more difficult, as snow and bad weather often make the areas impassable. The upkeep of a church is very expensive and the Bishop may have introduced a proxy date for the saint for the convenience of the common good of the faithful, with a local feast celebrated on the November date, when the elderly and disabled would not be so cold. This would have been the local bishop’s prerogative.

Alwydd Paradwys was a Catholic source, and the date may have come from an later Martyrology in Rome. It was the miracles which drew the pilgrims, asking for the saint’s help with prayers. People always needed miracles and prolific celebrations may have happened on both dates. There seem to have been many miracles at St Clydawg's before the
reformation ceased.
The Englishman Whytford gives on November 3rd however:

‘In England ye feest of saynte Clitauke a martyr, a kynges son of strayte justyce, a lover of peace, and of pure chastite, and of a stryte and perfyte lyfe ye was cruelly slayne by a fals tratour at whose deth were showed many miracles and at his tombe after many moo’
St Clydog should be represented holding a sword in one hand and a lily in the other and crowned as a prince,in Norman times.

The Twelfth century church had the following boundary from the Book of Llandaff:
Merthyr Clitauc-‘Clodock’ Its boundary is the sone in the Waun Fraith on the cecin,North end of Hetterall (at yr Haul-to the sun) Hills, along it to Rhiw Gwrw, to the stone on the Cecin of the allt, along the Cecin on the edge of the Brec. Black mountain upwards as far as the stones opposite to Nant Trinant , the Turnant , along it, downwards as far as into the Olchon , along it, the Olchon, downwards as far as Ynys Alarun at its top end , to the Maen Tyllog to the crug to the Monnow , across the Monnow to Aber Nant Cwm Cinreith, the nant throught its length as far as the Mynys Ferfun (anglicised later to Money farthing-trans ‘Fersun’s Hill’)along the Mynys Ferfun to the Loch of Fer un, along the mountain to the source of the Hilin, along the Hilin as far as the Monnow. Along the Monnow downwards as far as Aber Ffynon Bist, along Ffynon Bist as far as its source, From its source to the Cecin straight upwards making for the Waun Fraith (Wine vryth)on the Cecin on the Mountain, as far as the stone where the boundary began.'



 It was served by The Abbey of John the Baptist at Llanthony, who were its patrons. Its dedication was to St Clodock. In Rome, in the Taxatio of Pope Nicholas where Clydag is referred to in various Latin forms ST CLEODICUS ST CLYDOG ST CLODOCH ST CLADOCUS( as in evidence of 1517). It was valued in the taxation at the enormous sum of £20, so must have been quite a rich church.It is given as being the Diocese of St David. Since the whole area was overrun by Saxons around 600AD it is likely the Saxons, when they became Christianised, improved the church and it was this church which was rebuilt in Norman times and became attached to the nearby Priory of Augustinian Canons in nearby Llanthony.

 This was part of the work of the Norman de Lacey family, who built the castle at Longtown on the rruins of the British Caer (Camp). He appointed a secular priest to serve Longtown in the first instance, but after that the Canons at Llanthony, which he founded with Bishop Ervistus, became responsible for serving the church and village, and there would have been a place of accommodation for visiting priests, possibly even in the Church house adjacent to the church, where a more modern house now stands. There may have been, however more ancient Llan buildings available. The Tithes from the church were, therefore given to Llanthony and the canons or black monks were priests here for two hundred years.

 My Visit 5th October 2010


No one could imagine a lovelier setting for the church and it is quite clear this was a wonderful part of Clydawg’s kingdom.The mountains all around looking down on it and a fast flowing stream and holy well on the south bank of the river.A Norman tower looks down and a tri partite structure shows. The chancel area in the front was probably the original Welsh/Saxon site and then the nave and tower added in Norman times. Interestingly there is an arched recess in the chancel.


One splash of colour, a beautiful stained glass window!

 When I entered the church, I was, I have to say, that in spite of the awe inspiring scale and height of this church of pilgrimage, it seemed totally devoid of the colour and charm of a Norman Church. Little pictures peeped out like an enchanting cherub over the pulpit and part of an annunciation(oh please let it be restored!), even a coloured fresco of the Blessed Virgin,in the window splay near the pulpit but for me, the building seemed dominated by its dark brown boxed pews , oak choir stalls and an absolutely enormous three decker pulpit and sounding board, which made it ‘feel’ more like a Non conformist chapel, the altar being a simple wooden table. One wonders, as in so many churches, whether the original Norman altar complete with consecration crosses may be interred under the present table dated about 1650, in the height of the Cromwellian period, with Laudian rails and Housel bench, part of the changes ordered by the Anglican Archbishop Laud. The table is surrounded with rails, allowing the Communicants to gather around it. Some of the choir stalls are beautifully carved with flowers and dragons, but the overall effect quite cold with its brown and white.

 There was another restoration in the twentieth century and when the Anglican Revd F.G.Llewellyn arrived in 1916, he found the church virtually a ruin and he raised money to repair and restore the fabric of the church, which was vitally important for its survival.

The font is still that of the old Catholic church and dates from 1290, made of hand cut stone,but quite small, standing on a shaft as big as the bowl.

The priest’s door is still there on the South Wall. Known as the ‘monks’ door’it would have been used by them when they said Mass or came in for the daily office. The oak door is oak studded and dates from a much later date. As in Orthodox churches today, there would have been a rood screen or loft (which were torn down during the sixteenth century)and so the priests would have entered the sanctuary (where the Blessed Sacrament was held in the Tabernacle) and they believed this area was holy and only the ordained could enter. Likewise, no sanctuary lights to show Christ present at all times.

 The two plinths at the south side of the arch are empty. It is sad to think of the hatred which smashed the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whom the angel so honoured. She is missing, along with a representation , no doubt of St Clydawg the martyr, similar to those in nearby Kilpeck Church.

In 1645 Scots pillaged the valley and stole the communion plate, since the earliest now there was dated to 1695, so must have been made for the seventeenth century restoration. There are three chests made out of a single log in which records were kept. That of St Peter’s in Longtown (now a private house) was probably the place of the third chest’s origin.

  The Gallery was built in 1700 to house the village orchestra and choir and is large, with a music stand, seats for musicians and the choir benches are raked so those behind could see. The large scale of the church is obviously due to its pilgrim status in Mediaeval times, and it now looks a very different church from that appreciated by the pilgrims.

 The joyful colours of heaven seemed to be gone from the church in the brown and white. I know villagers would have grown up and love their church, but coming from Wales, it looked more like a chapel. It is going to be interesting how the present congregation will refurbish the church to hand on to the next generation. I hope there will be more colour, having seen St Teilo’s wall paintings at St Ffagans in the Welsh Heritage Museum, you can see how beautiful these churches would have been in the fifteenth century. Only my opinion though, as it is clearly a well loved and cared for church.

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St KEYNE'S WELL (CEINWEN)

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St Keyne was not "a fair lady who went round Cornwall doing good and cast a spell upon a well" as at least one website has written.

She was a Princess of the Christian family of King Brychan Brycheiniog of Brecon and aunt of St Cadoc who often visited her on the way back from Armorica (Northern France) and walked through Cornwall to return to his various monasteries. Keyne is thus closely linked with Gwent, her sister, Gwladys having married the pirate saint Gwynlliw and hence produced St Cadoc, who eventually became King after his father.The names Cadoc and Keyne are found together in a number of places and there is a langattock in sevral places in Cornwall, including Harlyn Bay.Statements in a mediaeval life of St Keyne, together with the names of places which commemorate here give us an idea of her life.She began by leaving Wales, a consecrated Virgin or nun after the manner of St Tecla and St Winifride and first went to the banks of the Severn where she founded a small settlemtn-possibly on the very site of the St Tecla's monastery in the small piece of land between which there are now the two Severn Bridges.She can be traced to Herefordshire and can be traced to Keynsham and she made numerous missionary journeys and is commemerated in St Martin in Looe and at St Keyne itself between Looe and Liskeard.

Her Well is fascinating

This is abut half a mile from the church on the hill, which was probably the site of the original monastery. The well is in fine condition. It has been restored by a local charity and flowing water runs from the spring into the little pool, which has a traditional cover on it, shaped like a small house.It is often adorned with flowers, remembering this fine woman who spread the news of Jesus Christ at a very dark and dangerous time.Because it is a Holy Well, used for baptisms and no doubt a water source as well, it is almost a magical place and a lot of legends have been made up about her. She is said to have been a kind lady wandering round in COrnwall doing good for people and then casting a spell on the waters, that whoever drinks of it, if it is a newly married couple, one will have mastery of the other.A quaint tale, but the truth is so much more amazing.

A Welsh princess from the Holiest family in Wales, descended from the line of Joseph of Arimathea is a consecrated virgin, travelling with a priest and various other religious to dark parts of Cornwall-as in my blog and podcast about St Materiana of Tintagel. She comes to rest in this part of Cornwall and sanctifies her own monastery doing good works of healing and praying the Divine Office, the prayer of the Church. She is visited by a gread Bishop, Saint Cadoc who made seven trips to Rome in the time of seven Popes and created a beautiful community, where love and care was paramount, and of such goodness, that a thousand years after her passing on to the Lord, she is still remembered with a smile, and people still place flowers on her well. She probably lies in the churchyard of the present church, though her relic may have been destroyed at the 'Reformation.' Isn't that a more amazing story. St Keynes Feast Day is on October 8th!

We came upon this prettyplace at the bottom of a hill where she lady's church (though reincarnated in a Norman re-incarnation stood) and almost gasped at it's real atmosphere and beauty. A place of peace and prayer and definately off the beaten track.

St Tecla-Virgin and Martyr of Chepstow and her namesake in Laodocia!

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Above St Tecla's Rock at Beachley,
Umder the Severn Bridge at M48 is the site of the old Beachley to Aust Ferry, which could have been why it might have been Saxons coming over rom Gloucester or Bristol by boat. There are records at Llandaff or a raid by pirates from Bristol.
St Tecla of Chepstow
Coming to the last of our more publicised female saints, St Tecla is the only saint not to come from South Wales. She actually came from the Ruthin area of North Wales Llandegla and was given the name ‘Tecla’ after the great Eastern saint of that name,(Thekla) just as Tewdrig had been named after Theoderick,Emperor and Bishop). Tecla came down from somewhere in North Wales and had become a saint par excellance working with lepers. St Tecla’s well in North Wales is said to cure lepers and heal all manner of diseases.

St Tecla’s Well

I came across this account by a Mr Pennant who was speaking about the Village of Llandegla in North Wales .Tecla was known to have done great works of mercy there but Druidical practices may still have been part of the ritual. Ancient springs always were used for baptisms and healings.Mr Pennant says of St Tecla, Virgin and Martyr that not 200 yards from the church was the spring called Gwern Degla. The water , he says, was held to be under the protection of the saintand to this day, held to be very efficacious for the falling sickness (epilepsy-petit mal?) Now the patient had to wash his limbs in the well water , pay 4p (this Was Victorian times!) and then while walking around the well three times reciting the Lord’s Prayer (which he says is a Druid practice called ‘Deasuil’. This had to be done after sunset to inspire the votaries with awe! If a man was afflicted he offered a cockerel if a woman was afflicted it was a hen. In Caesar’s ‘De Bello Gallico’ he mentions the fixation the Celts had with fowl, hares and geese.They were not to be eaten and in connection with this ritual not killed. The sick person had to walk around the church three times then and recite the Lord’s Prayer again. The fowl is in a basket with a covering. The sick person then lay under the altar until daybreak with a Bible under his head and covered with a carpet or cloth (The altar replacing a cromlech) and then at break of day, if the fowl was dead, it was believed the sickness had passed to the anima;, of not the Saint had not wanted to heal the person and the chicken lived. Pennant called this ‘Christian heathenism’.Nevertheless very interesting to read. Oh yes and if healed, the person had to pay another sixpence to the saint! Another account also says the patient was given a drink from it!

St Tecla in Powys

St Tecla's church lies in the middle of Llandegley, a few miles to the east of Llandrindod Wells in Penybont, Powys. The small church has been largely rebuilt, though it retains a small part of its essential medieval features. Notable features include the late medieval screen and an ornate priest's door, thought to have been brought from Cwmhir Abbey. Its round churchyard has been extended during the present century, but its form together with the dedication implies an early medieval beginning, that is a possible early Welsh monastic settlement

St Paul and the Original St Thekla for whom she was named.

I ought to digress again to talk about the saint after whom she was undoubtedly named. The praise of virginity and chastity, was a running thread in Christianity, especially at this time, when women could almost be traded, or bought and sold, or used for treaties. The author of the tale wrote in the second century,and sets this story about St Thekla into the framework of the Book of Acts, but this text is different from the New Testament portrayal of Paul.Whilst it is not part of the inspired text of the Holy Scripture which the Catholic Church finalised in the third century, this not being written in Apostolic times, it is interesting in explaining the popularity of the cult of St Thekla throughout the church in the known world at the time.
St Paul gave his homilies or teachings in the house of Onesiphorus in Iconium Laodocia, in a series of Beatitudes, by which Thekla, a young noble virgin, listened to Paul's "discourse on chastity" from her window in an adjacent house. She listened, enraptured, without moving for days. Thekla's mother and fiancée, Thamyris, became concerned that Tecla would follow Paul's demand "that one must fear only one God and live in chastity", and he and her mother formed a mob to drag Paul to the governor, who imprisoned the apostle.
Thekla bribed a guard to gain entrance to the prison, and sat at Paul's feet all night listening to his teaching and kissing the ropes which bound him . When her family found her, both she and St Paul were again brought before the governor .At her mother's request, Paul was sentenced to scourging and expulsion, and Thekla to be killed by being burned at the stake,so that "all the women who have been taught by this man may be afraid." Tecla was humiliated by having her clothes pulled off and was put on the fire, but was saved as God sent a miraculous storm to put out the flames.
Reunited, Paul, his disciples and Thekla then travelled to Antioch, where a nobleman named Alexander saw her and offered Paul money for her. Paul refused. He then attempted to carry her off but Tecla fought him off, assaulting him in the process, to the amusement of the crowd in the marketplace. His pride having been stung, Alexander dragged her before the governor for assaulting a nobleman and, despite the protests of the city's women, Tecla was sentenced to be eaten by wild beasts! To ensure that her virtue was intact at her death, Queen Tryphaena, took her into protective custody overnight in case Alexander attempted to take her by force- a problem for many Christian women at the time as our Gwladys of Newport found out
Thekla was tied to a fierce lioness, and paraded through the city. She was then stripped and thrown to beasts provided by Alexander. The women of the city again protested against the injustice. Thekla was protected from death again , first by the lioness who fought off the other beasts, and then by a series of miracles until finally the women of the city and Queen Tryphaena intervened. Thecla was returned to St Paul’s disciples unharmed.
One ending of the story describes Thekla living as a hermit-or small community member in a cave for many years, then travelling to Rome shortly before her death to be buried at st Paul outside the Walls Church, where Paul’s tomb has recently been discovered.
The entry in Wikipedia says that the story of Thekla reflects the influence of the faith and impact of Paul’s teachings , and the experience of persecution in early Christianity, although reflects an oral tradition prone exaggeration of details, however, a local martyr legend, of Tecla, may have inspired this episode, in which she was also connected to Paul of Tarsus. M.R. James, the editor of the Acts of Paul and Tecla in 1924). "It is otherwise difficult to account for the very great popularity of the cult of St. Thekla, which spread over East and West, and made her the most famous of virgin martyrs’

The Cult of Thekla as an inspiration to Christian women

What a tale! So it is easy to see why these great chieftains in Wales named their children for great saints of the time. She may have even chosen this name as an inspiration,a custom we continue in Confirmation to this day where a saints name is taken when the young person has become initiated into the church to inspire them in Christian life. Tewdrig the great King was named for the Bishop and Emperor St Theoderick (died in 526 and acclaimed a saint by the people)and Meurig was named after the Army leader St Maurice (died 582) This shows some considerable knowledge of the Eastern Saints in Celtic Britain at the time even if the stories were not written down for some time The cult of St Margaret of Antioch, who had a shrine at St Tathan’s Church at Caerwent shows a link with the Eastern saints in a Christian Church, still unified with the See of Peter in Rome, where the Welsh saints went on frequent pilgrimages. The frequent travel of Christian missionaries brought news from all over the Christian world to Celtic Britain.


Tecla comes south to Dyfed

Returning to our Tecla of Wales, obviously the cult of Tecla and female right to virginity had been known in Wales, possibly even spread by St Brynach who would have heard ot them.Our Tecla, decided like her namesake to be celibate, and not marry as a gift to God, as many nuns before and after her had done. It is interesting that it was Christianity which gave this dignity and right to women, who had just been goods and chattels to men before and appeared to have no rights at all.

Like Blessed Theresa of Calcutta Tecla would have had her band of followers helping her and doing the will of Christ, helping and working with the lepers, finding them food, in accordance with the scriptures- (whatever you do for the least of the brethren, you do for me.) She embodied the true spirit of self giving love. Like her contemporaries, Tudfal, Gwladys and Tegfedd she had her priest, possibly sent by a local chieftain or even her father and she and her nuns would sing the psalms and liturgy of the Church. All the Welsh saints learnt the ‘rules of the Church’ as they were called. We call now them Canon law. For some reason, however,it seems that after establishing herself as a healer, she she embarked on a White Martyrdom and simply set off on foot to see where God would take her.

Brecon

The fact that there was a religious foundation dedicated to St Tecla at Penybont at Llandegley in Powys (near Llandrindod) seems to suggest she may have called in at Talgarth to see Brychan and Brynach and spent some time there. Timing at this time is very difficult. She travelled to Gwent and arrived at Sedbury right on the South West corner, a beautiful spot right next to the first Severn Bridge . She set up her small foundation as it were on St Tecla’s rock which is below near the site of the first Severn Bridge in the mouth of the River Severn itself.

St Tecla in Chepstow (Ystragwyl)

There was seemingly a small monastery set up by St Cynfarch (Kynemark) north of Chepstow and priests might have been sent from here to sing Mass for the Nuns and administer Confessions and baptisms. Latin was the language of the Church at the time, and most things would have been learnt by rote.


Why did Tecla come to such a remote place?

At that time St Tecla’s Rock may have been a promontory or a much larger island than it is now with sapce for the small community. This place was very small and there is another possibility of course why se set up so far away from human habitation. She may, herself have succumbed to leprosy, but we have no direct evidence of this. She may also have set it up as another leper colony. It does seem strange that a princess would have travelled so far away from her people. It may also have been that she desired to be alone with God on this beautiful island.

My visit

I took a trip there yesterday, driving on the Gloucester side of the Severn Bridge through Sedbury and Beachley and ended up parking the car under the Severn Bridge! It was a warm day.The car parked belonged to the Ferry Inn which a local told me was the subject of a ‘Most Haunted’ episode on TV! Nevertheless I then left the car and bagan walking down the path towards the point. Much of the land there is owned by the MOD with ‘Don’t ye stray from ye path style notices in red everywhere. Any yet what I noticed was the smell of the wild flowers, just about to bloom in Our Lady’s month of May. Was told once, in Walsingham that when spread through the hedgerows in May, with its white blossom showing on the green leaves, it is called ‘Our Lady’s Lace’ which I thought was quite beautiful.

I walked on on my pilgrimage, praying the Joyful Mysteries wit the help of my Ipod, which contains all four mysteries which you can download from the Rosary Armies Podcasts via www.sqpn.com, though I don’t recommend you doing it while driving-much too relaxing! It was warm and the Severn on my right behind the vegetation a glittering light petrol blue. The birds in the woods on my right were singing and heard a cuckoo! At the end of this path was-an enormous pylon and an electricity sub station and arrived at a country ‘kissing’ gate which I passed through and on down to a grassy beach over mud flaps and then the whole expanse of the Severn opened before me.Amazing! To the right, the M4 motorway in the distance and crossing the confluence of the River Wye. To the front of me was the New Severn Bridge in the distance and to the left of me was St Teclas Rock just as it had been all that time ago. Perhaps the Rock and church tower was all that was left of a much larger promontory or the community lived higher on the bank and the church alone built on the rock. Sadly it was difficult to do a good job on the photograph. It was difficult to get close because of the mudflaps and being on my own it would have been dangerous to attempt but the zoom on my camera was not up to the challenge. I had my lunch sitting there, taking it all in, the sunlight on such an expanse of water almost dazzling me.Then again this was a revered place before the Christian faith came to these Isles. The Severn (Called 'Havren was named after a Druidic goddess Sabrina and I did wonder about the strange sculptures on the beach made from curious bits of twisted wood..... Difficult to know if it was the result of some army training excercise or perhaps something else...... I crossed myself just to be sure of protection...

People must have brought the community food and clothing, although they spent their days helping the poor and sick and the that healthy sea air must have done them good. . St Tecla’s rock had also been inhabited at another time by St Brioc, saint of St Braivals and of course saint Brieux in Brittany as it was an ideal place of prayer.The Liturgy of the Hours was said at various times of the day in accordance with Roman practice.


How did they pray?

Just as we do.The prayer would consist of the psalms from the Old Testament, generally learnt off by heart by the novice monks and nuns , of Canticles , or important verses from Scripture. Now these were verses such as the Nunc Dimittis rom the Song of Simeon when he saw the infant Jesus ‘Now Lord lettest though thy servant depart in Peace according to thy word’. This prayer formed part of the evening prayer known as Vespers or Compline. A prayer to Our Lady-usually the ‘Salve Regina’ or ‘Hail Holy Queen’; would have followed before bed.This is from the account in the book of Revelations where Mary is crowned with stars.
The Magnificat ‘My soul proclaims the greatness of God’ would be sung in the morning at Lauds. This is the song Mary sang to Elizabeth, where she proclaims ‘for behold from henceforth all generations shall call be blessed’.

The Mass at that time as now consisted of the Jewish service of the reading of Scripture followed by the Eucharistic sacrifice in which the whole liturgy is a vision of the Book of Revelation. The host (sacrifice from the Latin Hostias) is consecrated and becomes the body and blood of Christ which will remain until the end of time.There were no diversions among Peter’s church on this topics, but Just as disciples wandered off when Jesus announced it in John 6, his disciples and Peter apostles remained with him. ’Master you have the words of Eternal Life’.Tecla lived a life of great sanctity for many years.The Mass was a lot longer then and included a longer Gospel at the end of Mass, but was essentially the same as now, though usually offered weekly on Sundays-the day dedicated to the Lord's Resurrection.

Saxons or Vikings

Sadly one day, the community saw a ship rowing up the Severn on an exploratory mission. They sounded the alarm as the ship came in to land and many of the community scattered. They knew what would happen. The small church and house on the rock was quickly obtained. It was Tela's custom to grant hospitality and friendship to passing ships who might part with something they could sell or even donate something to the little community as they left.

These attackers may have even been Vikings or perhaps Saxons and Tecla,praying in her church and obviously by then not in the first flush of youth was dragged out and foully murdered by these men. Even I can’t fathom just why they were driven to destroy everything, although Tecla’s royal birth probably meant there was some gold around in the church to pay for necessities. The dismay felt when the ruins of church and the murdered community were discovered can only be imagined. Tecla, heroine of the lepers and the poor followed our Lord as a martyr.

These women were brave pioneers, driven to act out their vocation no matter what. They stood their ground and met death bravely. Their solitude and vulnerability as women left them open to attack. Queen Materiana of Gwent/Boscastle,Saint, Goleu, the Mother of St Beuno and Queen Gwladys of Gwent were superb mothers. They were devout Christian women who clearly saw to it that their children, Ceidio, Beuno, Cynydir were taught the sacrificial nature of Christ’s death, the teaching and rules of the church and well versed in Scripture and the Psalms and Latin. In some ways they very very modern.It is worth stating that Christianity was the first religion which offered women the freedom to choose their path in the world, although politically it would be a battle which lasted a long time.

And what does the Bible say about Martyrs and the End Times, the time of Judgement?

In Revelations six when the fifth seal is broken, St John Writes:

When the Lamb (that’s Jesus) broke the fifth seal I saw underneath the altar the Martyrs, all those who had been killed on account of the Word of God for witnessing to it.They shouted in a loud voice ‘Holy True Master how much longer will you wait before you pass sentence and take vengeance for our death on behalf of the inhabitants of the earth?’ Each of them was given a white robe and they were told to be patient a little longer until the roll was completed of their fellow martyrs and brothers who were still to be killed as they had been ‘. There follows in Chapter Seven the reward of the saints and martyrs,

Hail the blood of the Martyrs!.

St. Brynach (born around AD 500)An Inspirational Saint fromthe Holy Land

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We have already learned about the Saintly St Gwladys of Newport, and later will learn about her sister,the martyr StTegfedd. It is also claimed that another sister was the famous St Tydfil. All were the children of Brychan Brycheiniog of Brecon, whom I had mentioned before several times. He seems an enigmatic figure. Even Bugi, son of Gwynlliw married a daughter of Brychan. Moreover Tegfedd seems to have been the mother of St Teilo, of Llandaff.

Gwladys was the mother of Gwynlliw. These ‘holy matrons’ seem to have been splendid examples of God’s female saints. Women who also give birth to great saints, carrying on God’s Creative purpose) and brought them up in holiness observing the sacraments, teaching holy scripture, and in widowhood have devoted themselves to the religious life. It is true that a child’s first catechist is his mother. It was Gwladys and Cadoc who brought Gwynlliw to God . (Even in earlier times we have heard about Holy Materiana or Queen Madryn of Gwent as she was who went with her son Cedwyn or Ceidio to Minster, Boscastle and Tintagel in Cornwall. When they stand before the Creator at Judgement, they could truly claim their reward. These were holy Queens and Princesses of Gwent and Brecon.

Question is, why did King Brychan have so many daughters all of them strong Christians? In these days, of course, such Kings would have large families, adding strength and prestige to the line and sadly the number of young women dying in childhood meant there would have been a number of wives during the lifetime of a chieftain. Brychan (after whom Brecon is named) would have had several wives in his lifetime, and it is also believed by scholars that some daughters were actually grand daughters.Brychan is believed to have been descended from the line of Joseph of Arimathea, according to British records.

Brynach was very influenced by his Confessor, St Brynach.He is known as Brynach the Irishman (Brynach Wyddal) however this may not have been his country of origin. The Vita Sancti Bernaci ‘Elegit sibi Dominus virum de filiis Israel juxta cor suum, Bernaci nominee, venustia ornatum moribus, tiulisque virtutum insignibus virtutum insignibus excellentem..’so we may take this at face value and claim he was a Jewish Christian and someone of means. He was from a wealthy background.He may have been the son of a worthy merchant in Jerusalem perhaps.The Vita goes on ‘not considering the country of his nativity to be his own, he was anxious to remove of it to acquire one of himself by travelling to another country. According to the teaching of Christ, and following his example , he expected by relinquishing all his wealth, all things would be given to him.. He went to a ship and trusted in God and travelled to many countries sowing the seeds of the teaching of Christ. There, burning with desire for God , he spread the Word.’

There follows an account of how he slew a beast which was terrorising the countryside around Rome, where he had made a pilgrimage. He escaped from it, but then ‘by the sole power of prayer’ he was . He became very well known, so decided to leave Rome and sail somewhere else, wishing to remain humble and anonymous. It goes on.’Then, performing a long journey , and wherever he came,giving an example of goodness to be imitated by all, and travelling towards the western parts of the world, he came to Lesser Britain’. In the Welsh (Romanised Celt) Prydain (Brudd-eyen) was the name for Britain. Prydain Fawr (Greater Britain=Great Britain) and Prydain Fach (Lesser or Little Britain=Eire) He spent a great deal of time in a healing ministry in Ireland which probably accounts for his nickname Brynach the Irishman!(Brynach Wyddel) Sick persons came from all over and others came to hear his preach the gospel for the good offices of the soul. But again , he became very famous and by way of Brittany (Armorica) where he travelled first, he came to Wales. Legend says he was floating on a stone (probably his portable altar) He arrived at Milford .Unfortunately he had to fight off the amorous advances of a daughter of a local chieftain.She tried to seduce him and gave him and gave him an aphrodisiac of Wolfbane to drink, but it did not work because he refused it.She then tried everything to be rid of him and sent thugs. They stabbed him, but God moved others to protect him. The would be murderers were attacked by insects, possibly bees and died a horrible lingering death. Brynach went to a nearby well, washed his wound clean and washed off the blood and this is the origin of the Red Fountain now St Brynach’s Well, which became famous for its healing properties. It became called ‘Fons Rubens’
At Cilymaellwyd he was not received well and was forced to shelter under a grey stone. Eventually he built himself a small hermitage at Llanfyrnach in Pembrokeshire.

He first travelled north-east to Llanboidy (Carmarthenshire) where he was denied lodgings by the locals and slept in a cow-shed. At Fishguard ,too, he liberated the place of demons who cried out at night and gave ‘horrid howlings’.He then established his foundation at Never, called the Grove of the Ancient Church. His followers set about building the monastery but every morning everything they had done was undone. God told Brynach not to stay there and gave , precise directions to Clechre (Clether)where he was helped by a local Christian Chieftain. This Chieftain, Clether, was so impressed by Brynach and his rhetoric that he gave up his throne in order to retire to Cerniw (Cornwall) as a Christian hermitBrynach did this but embarked on a course of denying himself almost everything fasting watching, praying doing without. Brynach travelled all over South Wales and came to the court of King Brychan who was very impressed by the sanctitity of the holy man from so far away. Brynach and Brychan became friends and the whole family of Brychan came under his spell and became lifted to heavenly ideas. Brychan remained at the court of Brecon for some time, no doubt establishing a foundation. Before continuing his travels.

David Hunt Nash in his website ‘Early British Kingdom’ writes
During his life at Nevern, he often moved around somewhat South Wales, founding churches as he went, including Llanfrynach in Brycheiniog and Llanfrynach and Penllin in Morgannwg. He became a great friend of St. Dewi who often visited him at Nevern. Once, Dewi arrived carrying a heavy highly-decorated stone cross-head. He was taking it to Llanddewi Brefi as a memorial to his achievements at the Synod held there in AD 545. However, Brynach persuaded Dewi to give it to him instead. He had an equally finely carved shaft made and mounted the cross on the top, installing it on the south side of Nevern Abbey Church. (The version there today is said to be a 10th century replacement).

Eventually, St. Brynach left Wales to try his luck in Dumnonia(Devon and Cornwall). He lived as a hermit at Braunton (North Devon) and it was there that he died on 7th January (according to his West Country adherents) and was buried in his church there.
In Wales, however, his feast day is 7th April perhaps because this was traditionally the day on which the first cuckoo in the country is said to sing every year from the top of St. Brynach's famous cross in Nevern churchyard.
A 13ft high, 10th-11th century patterned Celtic cross (in the churchyard) is one of the finest Mediaeval high crosses in the country and the Vitalani Stone is notable for its 6th century Ogham inscription. Nevern was also on an important pilgrimage route to St. David's and the Pilgrims Cross can still be seen cut into the rock and was said to be the place for prayer of passing pilgrims..'(David Hunt Nash, Early British Kingdoms)

So while we have left Gwent for a short time here, we have seen the witness of a great and holy Jewish Christian Saint who had such an enormous influence on the whole of Wales, and particularly in our Holy Newport Saint Gwladys, who converted her bandit husband Gwynlliw , gave birth to Cadoc. So the great teachings of Christ worked on in Wales and elsewhere through the centuries.

From the Prayer for the saints of the Isles (adapted from Orthodox Troparion)

‘With what beauty or hymn shall we praise the divinely wise of the Isles, the splendour and adornment of the Church of Christ, the crown of the priesthood, the rule of piety, the never-drying wellsprings of divine healing, the outpouring of the gifts of the Spirit, the streams of manifold wonders which gladden the Isles and all those who seek God. For whose sake the All-Merciful Christ has cast down the uprisings of the enemy.: Let the earth make glad and the heavens rejoice, in praising your toils and struggles, your spiritual courage and purity of mind, O Venerable Ones, for you were not overcome by the laws of nature. O holy company and divine assembly, you are truly the strength of our Isles.
O blessed kings and queens, divinely-wise princes and princesses, who shine forth with loving-kindness and are resplendent with virtues: You enlighten all the faithful, driving away the darkness of the demons. Wherefore we honour you as partakers of never-fading grace and unashamed preservers of your inheritance, O right wondrous ones.
+Glory Be to the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost as it was in the Beginning is now and ever shall be, World without end. Amen.