| Saint Cadoc | |
|---|---|
Saint Cadog as represented at Belz in Brittany |
|
| Abbot | |
| Born | c. 497 traditionally Gwynllwg, Monmouthshire, U.K. |
| Died | 580 Beneventum (see text) |
| Honored in | Roman Catholic Church; Eastern Orthodox Church Anglican Communion |
| Major shrine | Llancarfan Abbey (now destroyed) |
| Feast | September 25, formerly January 24 |
| Attributes | bishop holding a spear, crown at feet, sometimes accompanied by a stag, a pig or a mouse |
| Patronage | Glamorgan; Llancarfan; famine victims; deafness; glandular disorders |
| Controversy | place of death (see text) |
'Saint Cadoc (or Cadog or Cattwg) (Latin: Cadocus) (born about 497),[1] Abbot of Llancarfan, was one of the 6th century British Christian saints. His vita twice mentions King Arthur. The Abbey of Llancarfan, near Cowbridge in Glamorganshire, which he founded circa 518, became famous as a centre of learning. The first part of his name means 'battle'.
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Cadoc's story appears in a Vita Cadoci written shortly before 1086 by Lifris of Llancarfan;[2] "it was clearly written at Llancarfan with the purpose of honoring the house and confirming its endowments,"[3] Consequently, it is of limited historical merit, but some details are of interest.
Cadoc was a son of Gwynllyw (Latinized Gundleus), King of Gwynllwg in South Wales, who was a brother of Saint Petroc, but a robber chieftain who led a band of three hundred. His mother, Gwladys (Gladys) was the daughter of King Brychan of Brycheiniog who had been abducted in a raid, during which King Arthur acted as peacemaker. Cadoc's father later stole the cow of the Irish monk, St. Tathyw (or Tathai), and, when the monk came courageously to demand its return, the King decided in return to surrender his son to his care. Cadoc was raised at Caerwent in Monmouthshire by Tathyw, who later became a hermit.
The genealogy of the blessed Cadoc arises from the most noble emperors of Rome, from the time of the incarnation of Jesus Christ, Augustus Cesar, in whose time Christ was born, begat Octavianus, Octavianus begat Tiberius, Tiberius begat Caius, Caius begat Claudius, Claudius begat Vespasian, Vespasian begat Titus, Titus begat Domitian, Domitian begat Nero, under whom the apostles Peter and Paul suffered, Nero begat Trajan, Trajan begat Adrian, Adrian begat Antonius, Antonius begat Commodus, Commodus begat Meobus, Meobus begat Severus, Severus begat Antonius, Antonius begat Aucanus, Aucanus begat Aurelian, Aurelian begat Alexander, Alexander begat Maximus, Maximus begat Gordian, Gordian begat Philip, Philip begat Decius, Decius begat Gallus, Callus begat Valerian, Valerian begat Cleopatra, Cleopatra begat Aurelian, Aurelian begat Titus, Titus begat Probus, Probus begat Carosius, Carosius begat Dioclesian, who perscuted the Christians throughout the whole world; for in his time the blessed martyrs Alban, that is Julian, Aaron, and many others suffered. Dioclesian begat Galerius, Galerius begat Constantine the Great the son of Helen, Constantine begat Con- stantius, Constantius begat Maximianus, with whom the British soldiers went from Britain, and he slew Gratian the Roman emperor, and held the government of all Europe; and he did not dismiss the soldiers, which he brought with him from Britain to return to their country on account of their bravery, but gave them many provinces and countries, that is from the pool which is on the top of the mountain of Jupiter to the city named Cantguic, and until the western mound that is Cruc Ochideint; and from those soldiers arose a nation which is called Lettau.1 Maximianus therefore begat Owain, Owain begat Nor, Nor begat Solor, Solor begat Glywys, Glywys begat Gwynlliw, Gwynlliw begat the most blessed Cadoc of whom we are speaking.[4]
part of the fifth century by St. Cadoc (Dranc, "Christian Schools and Scholars", I, 56). He was the son of Gundleus (Swynlliw), a prince of South Wales, Cadoc received the religious habit from St. Tathai, an Irishmonk. Returning to his native county, Cadoc built a church andmonastery, which was called Llancarvan, or the "Church of the Stags". Here he established a monastery and college. The ancient Iolo manuscript St. Iltut (Illtyd) spent the first period of his religious life as a disciple of St. Cadoc at Llancarvan. St. Cadoc visited several of the famous religious houses and colleges in Ireland, and then undertook a pilgrimage to Romeand Jerusalem (A.D. 462). He died at Benevenna (Weedon) in Northamptonshire in the beginning of the sixth century, leaving Ellenius his successor as abbot, "an excellent disciple", says Leland, "of an excellent master".
In adulthood, Cadoc refused to take charge of his father's army, preferring to fight for Christ instead. He proselytized over a large area of Wales and Brittany. He built a church and monastery at (or near) Llancarfan (now in the south of Glamorgan): according to legend two stags came forward and Cadoc was able to yoke them to a cart to help with the building works. As a result, Cadoc is often pictured with a stag, and the current church at Llancarfan boasts a weathervane in the shape of one; the Welsh name Lancarfan means Church of the Stags.[5]
While the ancient lives of St Cadoc identify him as the founder of Llancarfan, other sources suggest that the college and monastery were founded at the time St Germanus visited Wales in A.D. 447, with Dyfrig becoming the first principal, succeeded by Cadoc when Dyfrig was appointed bishop.[6]
Llancarfan grew into one of the most important monasteries in Wales where many holy men were trained. Notable among the, and Cadoc's successor as abbot, was Saint Illtyd. Cadoc visited several of the famous religious houses and colleges in Ireland, and then undertook a pilgrimage to Rome and Jerusalem (A.D. 462). He was reportedly distressed that the Synod of Llanddewi Brefi was held during one of these absences.He died at Benevenna (Weedon) in Northamptonshire in the beginning of the sixth century, leaving Ellenius his successor as abbot, "an excellent disciple", says Leland, "of an excellent master".
One manuscript refers toThe College of Cattwg [Cadoc] in Llancarvan with three cells [halls or subject houses] and a thousand saints (monks), together with two cells in the Vale of Neat [7] Llancarfan did not survive the intrusion of Norman power into South Wales, being dissolved about 1086.[8]
R. Rees suggests that although the monastery was said to have been situated at Llancarfan, the particular spot on which it stood was called Llanfeithin.[9]
At Caerleon, a Roman centre of Monmouthshire, the much-rebuilt Saint Cadoc's Church, dedicated to St Cadoc though of Norman origin, stands on the foundations of the Roman legion headquarters, a sign of the Christianization of Roman sites after the legions departed Britannia. It may memorialize an early cell of Cadoc's, although an old tradition suggests that, in this case, Cadoc is a corruption of Cadfrod. St Cadoc's Hospital in Caerleon is also named after him.
Caodc is credited with the establishment of churches in Dyfed, Cornwall and Brittany. The church at Llanspyddid, three km west of Brecon, however, is likely to be named for Cadoc son of Brychan.
About 528, after his father's death, Cadoc is said to have built a stone monastery in Scotland. The probable location of St. Cadoc's church in Scotland is north-west of Stirling at Kilmadock Parish, which was named for the saint.[10] It is about 2 miles up the River Teith from Doune, where the Annant burn enters the river. Near the ruins of the old Kilmadock church and the graveyard is Hermit's Croft, thought to be the location where he lived for 7 years. There were 7 local churches that were built in the saint's honor, which came under the authority of the Inchmahome Priory.
The local Scottish followers were known as Gille Dog, or servants of St. Cadog. These appear as surnames, first as Dog, and later as Doig, Dock, and Doak. Sir Thomas Dog was Prior of Inchamhome from 1469 to 1477.
It is also said that Cadoc.s monastery was below 'Mount Bannauc' (generally taken to be the hill southwest of Stirling down which the Bannockburn flows). It has been suggested that the monastery was where the town of St Ninians now stands, two kilometers south of Stirling.
At one time, Cadoc apparently lived as a hermit with Saint Gildas on an island in the Bay of Morbihan, off Vannes in Brittany. There are chapels dedicated to him at Belz and Locoal-Mendon in Morbihan and at Gouesnac'h in Finistère, where he is called upon to cure the deaf. His name is also the basis of some thirty Breton place-names.
In an episode towards the end of his vita Cadoc is carried off in a cloud from Britannia (de terra Britannie) to Beneventum, where a certain prior is warned of the coming of a "western Briton" who is to be renamed Sophias; as Sophias Cadoc becomes abbot, bishop and martyr. A magna basilica was erected over his shrine, which visiting Britons were not allowed to enter. And a fictitious "Pope Alexander" is made to figure in the narrative. Tatlock points out that Alexander was an obscure second-century papal name until the accession of Pope Alexander II (1061) and that Beneventum in southern Italy became more prominent after it was traded to the papacy in 1051 and popes began to visit it regularly and councils were held there in 1087 and 1091; but Beneventum has been associated with the Roman town of Bannaventa (five kilometres east of Daventry in Northamptonshire)[11] on the edge of Saxon territory in Britain. This latter hypothesis proposes that it was overrun by Saxons at this time, thus explaining both the killing of Cadoc and the prohibition on Britons entering the town to recover his body.
In Welsh, Cadoc between known as Cattwg Ddoeth, or the Wise, and a large collection of his maxims and moral sayings were included in Volume III of the Myvyrian Archaiology. The epithet of Doeth (Welsh for wise), attached to his name, has induced certain Romish writers to confound him with St. Sophias (Greek for wisdom), bishop of Beneventum in Italy.[9]
Cadoc came into conflicts with king Arthur, who is mentioned twice in the vita, as great and bold but willful. The reference is of importance to those concerned with the historicity of Arthur as one of five insular and two Breton saints with claims to mention Arthur independently of Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae.[12] The vita mentions a certain miraculous spot that had a healing effect until the time of king Hiuguel,[13] after due to a malevolent influence the spot has been lost; Hiuguel is the Hywel vab weyn who died in his old age, ca 1041-44. The date of Lifris' Vita Cadoci, shortly before 1086, makes it a testimony of Arthur that is independent of Geoffrey of Monmouth's myth-making.
The kings Maelgwn of Gwynedd and Rhain Dremrudd of Brycheiniog also feature in his vita. In later Arthurian developments, Cadoc, with Illtud, is one of the three knights said to have become keepers of the Holy Grail.