| Saint Dubricius | |
|---|---|
Saint Dubricius depicted in stained glass with an archiepiscopal cross |
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| Archbishop | |
| Born | 465(?) Madley, near Hereford, Herefordshire, England |
| Died | 550 or 612 Bardsey Island, Wales |
| Feast | 14 November |
| Attributes | holding two croziers and an archiepiscopal cross[1] |
Saint Dubricius (also known in Welsh as Dyfrig and in corrupt Norman-French as Devereux) (c. 465 – 550 or 612) was a 6th century Briton ecclesiastic venerated as a saint. He was the evangelist of Ergyng (now Archenfield) and much of South-East Wales.
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Dubricius was the illegitimate son of Efrddyl, the daughter of King Peibio Clafrog of Ergyng. His grandfather threw his mother into the River Wye when he discovered she was pregnant, but was unsuccessful in drowning her. Dubricius was born in Madley in Herefordshire, England. He and his mother were reconciled with Peibio when Dubricius kissed him and cured him of his leprosy.
Dubricius founded a monastery at Hentland and then one at Moccas. He became the teacher of many well-known Welsh saints, including Teilo and Samson. Dedications at Porlock and near Luscombe on the Exmoor coast of Somerset may indicate that he also travelled in that area. He later became Bishop of Ergyng, possibly with his seat at Weston under Penyard, and probably held sway over all of Glamorgan and Gwent, an area that was later known as the diocese of Llandaff. However, he may have merely been a bishop for the purpose of ordaining priests, not as administrative head of the church over a geographical area. Dubricius was good friends with Saints Illtud and Samson, and attended the Synod of Llanddewi Brefi in 545, where he is said to have resigned his see in favour of Saint David. He retired to Bardsey Island where he was eventually buried before his body was transferred to Llandaff Cathedral in 1120.
According to legend, Dubricius was made Archbishop of Wales from Caerleon by Saint Germanus of Auxerre, and later crowned King Arthur. He appears as a character in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae and Wace's Roman de Brut, which was based on it. Much later Alfred, Lord Tennyson featured the saint in his Idylls of the King.
Churches dedicated to Saint Dubricius include the Church of England churches at Ballingham, Whitechurch, Hentland and Hamnish, all in Herefordshire, Porlock in Somerset, and the Church in Wales churches at Gwenddwr in Breconshire and at Llanvaches in Newport. The Catholic Church at Treforest is also dedicated to Dyfrig.