An enquiry from a friend at Cambridge about Llandderfel reminds me that I
meant to post a notice about this saint and the fate of his shrine. Derfel
Gadarn (Derfel the Strong) was according to tradition one of Arthur's
knights who retired to the religious life after the battle of Camlaan (like
several others). He founded a church at Llandderfel on the slopes of Mynydd
Maen above Cwmbran in Monmouthshire and was said to have been buried on
Bardsey Island (again, like many others.)
However, Derfel's main shrine is the church of Llandderfel in
Merionethshire. Here there was a huge wooden equestrian statue of him which
was the focus of large-scale pilgrimage. Ellis Price's report to Cromwell
claimed to have seen 5-600 pilgrims there on 5 April 1538. (Ellis Price
really merits the description of 'hit-man'. Nicknamed Y Doctor Coch, The
Red Doctor, he held several senior ecclesiastical posts without ever being
ordained and took his mistress on a tour of inspection of the morals of the
North Wales clergy in 1535. A sort of 16C Chris Woodhead?)
There was a tradition that it would take a whole forest to burn Derfel's
statue. With grim humour, when it had been sent to London, the reformers
used it as the principal component of the fire over which they slow-roasted
John Forest, an Observant franciscan who had rashly opposed Henry's
policies. Latimer jumped up and down with delight and preached one of his
'Rejoice! Rejoice' sermons. (Revisionist? Who - me? I only dislike Latimer
because he had such disgusting handwriting.)
There is a strange carving of an animal still at Llandderfel in
Merionethshire which is said to be Derfel's horse. However, it is a seated
figure and from the photographs I have seen looks more like a stag (which
was of course a figure rich in symbolism in medieval iconography).
The Merionethshire Llandderfel and the one in Monmouthshire both claimed
relics of the saint. There was also an image (possibly on a smaller scale)
at the Monmouthshire Llandderfel. Within a few years the Crown's officials
in Monmouthshire were claiming that their image too had contributed to the
bonfire.
We walk past the subsidiary shrine near Cwmbran on the first day of our
annual pilgrimage from Llantarnam to Penrhys at the end of May. Local
tradition is that the route from Llantarnam made a dog-leg to the north
specifically to pass this shrine and that of the even more obscure St Dial
(of whom NOTHING is known).
(More details of the Penrhys pilgrimage when I have them)
Maddy Gray
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