Rachel Bromwich, 1915-2010

The sad news came this week on Arthurnet that Dr. Rachel Bromwich passed away peacefully on December 15th at the age of 95. An emeritus reader at Cambridge's Department of of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic she influenced generations of scholars. She began focusing on medieval Welsh literature in the 1930s and continued publishing through the...

The Murals of Llancarfan, Glamorgan

A rare discovery was announced this week at St Cadoc's church in Llancarfan, Vale of Glamorgan -- 15th century murals were found under 20 coats of white wash inside the church. This church was built on the site of the original 6th century church of St Cadoc, one of the best known early medieval saints...

The Long Seventh Century

There seems to be a new trend to name certain transitional centuries as "long centuries" because the important events that happened tend to wrap over both century marks. Its not surprising that real life doesn't match our numbering system. I've heard of the long 19th century* - from the American Revolution to World War I...

6th Century British Plague

So I was thinking about ole Maelgwn Gwynedd reputedly dying of plague in c. 544. Now, granted the evidence doesn't stand up because the earliest evidence is well, at least, 500 years after his death. However, its not impossible because we know archaeologically that the British were in contact with Byzantine traders. As one of...

Silencing the Saint

St David had an uncanny knack at silencing other well-known churchmen who wanted to settle on the peninsula of Dyfed, today known as St David's at Lands End, before he was even born. As out of the way as this site is today, but it would have been a prime site in the medieval period...

FF: Sant’s Vision for St David

Every good medieval saint must have some kind of interesting vision or birth miracle associated with his or her birth, and St David of Wales is no exception. Today, we return to folklore Friday with a curious tale that begins the Life of St. David: "One time, his father Sanctus (by merits and by name),...