A couple of years ago we had some discussion about the Croes Naid, a relic of the True Cross which was part of the regalia of the Welsh kings of Gwynedd and was seized by Edward
I in 1283. I'm trying to trace its subsequent history which is turning out (as usual) to be much more complex than I had thought! In particular, Edward seems to have given the Croes to the convent of St Helen, Bishopsgate, then to have removed it and taken
it on his travels round England.
The discussion in 2013 was triggered by Susan Ridyard who had come across a reference in a collection of miracles of St Thomas of Cantilupe to a miracle-working cross of Conwy in about 1300. This would tie in with some of the evidence for Edward's movement
of the Croes and I wonder whether he actually brought it back to Wales at some point (I would read this not as restoring it but as rubbing our noses in defeat and dispossession - in line with some of what Geary says about forcible translation of relics).
So this is mainly to ask Susan if you have any more detail about the Conwy miracle - and if anyone else has had any more thoughts on this one.
Maddy
Madeleine Gray PhD, FRHistS, FSA
Professor of Ecclesiastical History/Athro Hanes Eglwysig
School of Humanities and Social Sciences /Ysgol Ddyniaethau a Gwyddoniaethau Cymdeithasol
University of South Wales/Prifysgol De Cymru
Caerleon Campus/Campws Caerllion,
Newport/Casnewydd NP18 3QT Tel: +44 (0)1633.432675
http://www.southwales.ac.uk
http://twitter.com/penrhyspilgrim
http://twitter.com/HeritageUSW
http://twitter.com/USWHistory
'Let the victors, when they come, When the forts of folly fall, Find thy body by the wall!'
