The holy Cadoc had the great happiness of assisting in the conversion and
sanctification
of his parents.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v1
At that time, the holy Tathai, a learned doctor, had retired into the mountains of South Wales.
He had lately been called out of his solitude, by Caradoc, son to Inirius, a British king.
Thaddeus had opened a famous school of learning and piety in the city, known as Gwent,34 in Monmouthshire.
With this great master the young disciple remained for twelve years.
Under his discipline, Cadoc was prone to obedience, and he served at menial offices.
He had
'^
The Welsh generally call him Cattwg. '' He was king over South Wales.
"^ After the death of his father, and from
his own name, the country he governed was called Gwynlliw, generally termed the Hun-
dred of Gwynllwg or Wentloog in Mon- mouthshire. See Rev. W. J. Rees' "Lives of the Cambro-British Saints," p. 310, and n. 2.
of Cambria, signifies 'a hilly country,*" See "The History of Wales," by John Jones, LL. D. , chap, xi. , p. 307,
^7 It is regarded as a singular circumstance, we are not told why or when this name had been changed into Cadoc. Llancarvan is called Cadmael in the " Liber Landavensis," P- 372.
**A miracle took place at the well in which the infant had been baptized . See Rev,
Rees' " Lives of the Cambro-British Saints," p. 317,
^9 See some notices regarding him at the 26thofDecember. HeisalsocalledMeu- thi, by the Welsh.
3°See Bishop Challoner's "Britannia
Sancta," part i. , p. 72.
3' See Rev. Alban Butler's " Lives of the
Fathers, Martyrs, and other Principal Saints," vol. i. , January xxiv. —
3=FromDonatusandPriscian celebrated and learned grammatical writers— as stated in the Life published by Rev. W. J. Rees.
33 From a circumstance related regarding
one of these miracles, Thomas Wakeman,
Esq. , has proved, that the written legend must have been composed a long time after the death of Howel ap Owen, King of Gla- morgan, who died A. D. 1042.
3* This city was some time a Bishop's See, but it is long since quite ruined. It was called by the Romans, Venta Silurum.
*'
rated as a saint. W.
She is also called Gwladys, and is vene-
"The circumstances attending the mar- riage of St. Cadoc's parents are related with no slight savour of romance, in the old acts published in Rev, W. J. Rees' " Lives of the Cambro-British Saints," pp. 311 to 313-
"3 As Braccan died about the
this statement seems more accordant with chronology. See Professor Rees' "Welsh Saints," p. 146.
'* Sometimes called Brychan,
*sSee notices of himself and his family under the Acts of St. Beoc or Dabeoc, at the 1st ofJanuary.
^"This district, anciently called Garth Mathdrym or Fox Hill, is said to have re- ceived the name of Breckeinog from Brac- han, the son of Awlach Mac Gormoc, an Irish prince, by Marchell, daughter of Tydor, chief of Garth Mathrym. Such is the fabu- lous tradition. The tnith, however, is, that Brecheinog in the Irish, or ancient language
Vol. I,
year 450,
J.
41. 8 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 24.
thus made such progress in the sciences, but more especially in true holy science, so as to be advised by Tathai to become a master in turn. After- wards he was obliged with sorrow to leave his kindly instructor. A guide and teacher of many others in the ways of Christian perfection, 35 the humble young man went on his mission, and miracles attested his holiness. ^^ Soon did his renown spread abroad, so that many of the western British clergy flocked to place themselves under his direction, and to receive instruction from his teaching and example. He especially loved to labour with his own hands, and as we are informed, he undertook to raise up a large mound of earth, and to make therein a handsome cemetery, where the bodies of the faithful mightbeburiedneartoachurchdedicatedtoGod. Afterthishadbeenac- complished, he constructed through almost impassable places four large foot- paths, across four declivities of the rising grounds, which surrounded his residence. He chose likewise for himself another place, and caused another earthen mound in the form of a round city to be erected. In the language
"
of the Britons, this was called Kastell Cadoc, or
the Castle of Cadoc. " Although the proprietor of much land, he was accustomed to sow his com
only in one fertile acre, called Ersvgwen, or " the white acre. '"37
After 3. long time, on a certain day, it happened that the Blessed Cadoc
"
spoke to his disciples,
My most dear brethren, I have a great desire to
sail to for the sake of Ireland,
" We in- know,
teaching. " They answered,
deed, kind master, that thou formest such designs as are pleasing to God, and according to the will of God, for whatever thou dost ask of Him, thou
dost immediately obtain, and thou dost not contemplate anything that is wicked or perverse, for thou knowest that it is better to be constantly
meditating on the Holy Scriptures, according to the proverbs of the Wise '
Man, Son, acquire learning in thy youth, and thou wilt find wisdom with
thy gray hairs, and it will be to thee as a father and a mother. '
he ordered a strong bark, besmeared with pitch, to be prepared for him in the harbour of the sea, that he might safely sail therein to Ireland. Some of his disciples expressed a desire to accompany their master, when he said, " Some of you shall go with me, but others shall here remain, to keep faith- fully my monastery and town, until I come back. "' Cadoc had a prosperous voyage across the Irish sea. Landing in good time, he made inquiry re- garding the most excellent masters in Ireland, that he might be more perfectly instructed in the seven liberal arts. Thirsting eagerly for improve- ment in learning, at length he came to a chief city in the country known as Lismore Muchutu. 3^ He was graciously received by the most learned master of that town and by all the resident clergy. On account of his sanctity and humility, he got the surname of Muchutu, the principal saint. With this chief doctor,39 Cadoc remained three years, until he succeeded in
3SSee Bishop Challoner's "Britannia
Sancta," part i. , p. 72.
3* See Rev. \V. J. Rees' "Lives of the
Cambro-British Saints," pp. 32010324.
37 This was after^vards called from the venerable man's name. See Rev. W. J. Rees' "Lives of the Cambro-British Saints,"
"
depot de toute la science de rOccident au cinquieme siecle," observes Le Vicomte Hersart de la Villemarque, Cadoc chose the great Abbey of Lismore to complete his course of studies. There he could satisfy his thirst for knowledge, in
knowledge classed among the liberal sciences, and which embraced grammar, rhetoric,
dialectics, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music See "La Legende Celtique et la Poesie des Cloitres en Irlande, en Cam- brie, et en Bretagne. " St. Kadok, sec. ii. , p, 138.
35 Such statement seems fairly agreeable to chronology, for Dr. Lanigan states, that St. Carthage the Elder lived until 580, in all probability; and that he ordained St.
Carthage, Junior, the present Muchutu or Mochuda, possibly about a. d. 577. The latter lived until the year 637. See "Ec-
pp. 324, 325.
3^ In Ireland,
taking large draughts of the seven circles of clesiastical History of Ireland," vol. ii. ,
"
Aftenvards
i
January 24. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 419
gaining perfection in the learning of the West. -i" Three years having passed, he returned from Ireland with a large company of Irish and British clergy. Among these were the religious and learned men Finian, Macmoil, and Gnavan, said to have been the most celebrated and skilful of all his British disciples. When he reached the British shore, Cadoc with his dependants withdrew into the district of Brec- knock. He heard that a celebrated rhetorician, named Bachan, had come from Italy to that country. The Blessed Cadoc learned much regard- ing his proficiency in letters, and he wished to be taught Latin by that master after the Roman method. But, at this time a famine oppressed the district. While Cadoc was before a table, he observed a mouse coming out of a hole, and carrying a grain of corn. This action was repeated several times. Cadoc at last caught the mouse, and to search into the mystery, he tied a long thread to its foot and then let it loose. He followed to observe its motions, when the little animal came to a certain mound, under which there was a very beautiful subterranean house. *' This had been built of old. The mouse went in through a dark hole, and soon returned bringing in its mouth another grain of corn. This incident was regarded as a most providential discovery; for a granary was found concealed, and the corn it contained served not only to feed God's servants, but it was distributed in a just measure so as to relieve all the poor in that district. The place where this corn had been found was called Llanspyddid,"*^ and Brychan, the grandfather of Blessed Cadoc, bestowed it on him. Here the holy man builtamonastery. AfterasufficientcourseofinstructionfromBachan,he left the oratory to this doctor and to some of his attendants, Cadoc then returned to his dear Llancarvan, but only to find his principal monastery destroyed, with the rafters of its roofs and the rubbish of its buildings scattered over the cemetery. 3
Not far from the Severn, at the sea, and three miles off Cowbridge,'** he now rebuilt that church and monastery, called in the British tonguCj-'S Llan-
"
carvan, or the
nated, because in the building of it, these animals, forgetting their natural wildness,wereobsequioustotheservantofGod. *^ Inthisplace,St. Cadoc opened a school, which was one of the most celebrated in all Britain. *' There numerous monks, subject to a very severe rule, bowed their bodies
Church of the Stags. " Legends relate, it was thus desig-
under the yoke of continual fatigue. the fields. *^
chap, xi. , sec. v. , p. 99, and n. 52, p. 102. °Le Comte de Montalembert's "Les
Moines d'Occident," tome iii. , liv. x. , chap. ii. , p. 58.
*' By Rev. S. Baring-Gould, it is styled one of those cellars or ' ' old Keltic subter- ranean granaries, remains of which are found to this day in Wales and Cornwall. " See
They cleared the forests and cultivated
Cambro-British Saints," pp. 325 to 329. **See Bishop Challoner's "Britannia
"Lives of the Saints," vol. i. , xxiv. January, "
of the Stags. "
'^ It is stated, that Finian and Macmoil
on this occasion left a book open under the rain, to assist hastily in the erection, and that the book remained uninjured. It was afterwards designated in the British Ian- guage Gov. Cattwg, or "The Memory of Cadoc. " A chapel dedicated to St. Finian was built in this place, as was reported, See Rev. W. J. Rees' " Lives of the Cam-"
p. 365. These earth-caves," as they have been called, are very numerous, and often of considerable size, in Ireland. In many instances, they are interiorly walled and flagged over in a very remarkable manner.
*This lies about two miles eastward from Brecknock, where the church was dedicated to St. Cadoc. This saint is thought, how- ever, by Professor Rees, to have been the
See "
«See Rev. W. J. Rees' "Lives of the
bro-British Saints," pp. 329, 330. "
son of
Essay
on the Welsh
Moines d'Occident," tome iii. , liv. x. , ii. , p. 59.
chap.
Brychan. Saints," p. 143.
Sancta,"-part i. , pp. 72. " « Others call it Nancarvan, or the
Vale
'•^ See Bishop Challoner's Britannia
Sancta," part i. , pp. 72, 73.
*^ Le Comte de Montalembert's "Les
4^o LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 24.
In a barbarous age, the Welsh monasteries were often invaded by disso-
luteandrapacioushordes. OneSavilorganizedanexpeditionforthepurpose of committing such a robbery. +s When this chieftain, at the head of a band of mounted robbers, came to pillage Llancarvan, St. Cadoc went against
him with his monks, armed with their harps, chanting and striking the strings. Then that chief recoiled and left them unmolested. Another dynast, enraged because St. Cadoc had received his son into the monastery, came with a force to reclaim the youth, and to destroy the cloister. Bathed in sunshine, Cadoc met him, and found the chief and his men groping in darkness. He gave them light, and they returned ashamed to their homes.
The holy Cadoc had the great happiness of assisting in the conversion and sanctification of his parents. 5° In the depths of his cloister, he groaned over the rapines and sins of him from whom he had derived life. Accordingly Cadoc sent to his father's house three of his monks, to preach repentance. His mother, the beautiful Gwladys, was the first to be touched, and it was not long before she persuaded her husband to agree with her. They called their son, wishing to make a public confession of their sins. 5' Then both father and son
chanted the " Exaudiat te Dominus. ''52 When this was together psalm, ended,
the king and queen retired into solitude. These royal personages established themselves in two cabins on the bank of a river. There they worked for a livelihood, and they were often visited by their son. 53 St. Cadocus, the holy abbot, was continually engaged in promoting piety and learning. In his schools he taught the monks a knowledge of the Sacred Scriptures, with literature and religion. He had many eminent disciples. He also obliged his disciples to labour in the fields and woods, while at home they transcribed the Holy Scriptures, with other works of ancient wrilers. 54 He hospitably entertained all such as resorted to him. It is said, he afterwards travelled to Greece and to Jerusalem, and many strange adventures are related in his acts. ss Thence he returned to Llancarvan. His father, Gundliou, is said to have re- signed his principality to Cadoc. That part of his estate, which the latter had reserved for use, enabled him to supply no less than a hundred clerics, one hundred soldiers, one hundred workmen, a hundred other poor men, and as many widows,withtheirdailyfood. Besides,hemaintainedagreatnumberofguests and visitors. ss He frequently visited his father in his solitude, and encouraged him to persevere in the way he had happily begun. He often reminded him the crown was not promised to those that began, but to those that continued in good to the end. 57 Among the disciples of St. Cadoc, John of Tinmouth
^'This adventure is very agreeably re-
lated in Le Vicomte Hersart de la Ville-
marque's "La Legende Celtique. " St. Ka- dok, § vii. , pp. 165 to 169.
5° See Montalembert's "Moines d'Occi-
dent," tome iii. , liv. x. , chap, ii. , pp. 63, 64.
"
5-» See Le Comte de Montalembert's Les
"
5' After this occurrence, his father said,
May all my race obey Cadoc with a true .
Cambro-British Saints," pp. 331 to 333. s^The extent of his possessions, both as a prince and an abbot, is said to have been from Fynnon Hen, supposed to have been near the River Usk, as far as the mouth of the River Rhymny, and from the Rivers Gu- lich or Golychto the River Nadanan, Dawon, or Daw in Glamorganshire. His lands also reached from Pentyrch direct to the valley of Nant—carvan, and from that valley to the stream which ru—ns
devotion, and after their death may kings,
nobles and chiefs, with the servants of those "
kings,beburiedinhiscemetery. Duringthe
time of independent Wales, Llancarvan was
the great necropolis for its kings and nobles. Yet, strange to relate, Guenliou was not here interred. See ibid. , and n. I.
5=^ In English, "The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble. "
53 See Rev. S. Baring-Gould's "Lives of the Saints," vol. i. , xxiv. Januaiy, pp. 366. 367-
Gurimi probably the
into the Bristol Channel near Barry
and on to the sea. See Rev. W. J. Rees'
Moines d'Occident," tome iii. , liv. x. , chap, ii. , pp. 59, 60.
55 See Rev. W. J. Rees' " Lives of the
"Livesof the Cambro-British Saints, "p. 236. 57 See Bishop Challoner's "Britannia
Sanct. -i," part i. , p. 73.
Island
January 24. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 421
numbered the great St. Iltutus. s^ Owing to the persuasions of our saint, he renounced the court and the world. He became first a monk, and afterwards abbot over the monastery, called from him Llan-Iltut,59 in the province of Glamorgan. Other writers reckon St. Gildas^° as a disciple of this saint. But Gildas seems to have been rather a professor and teacher in his college or monastery. Cadoc loved to sum up, chiefly under the guise of pithy sen- tences in verse and poetical aphorisms, those instructions given to his pupils in Llancarvan cloisters. A great number of such utterances —have been pre- served by the people in Wales. We can only instance a few: " Truth is the elderdaughterofGod. Withoutlightnothingisgood. - Withoutlightthere is no piety. Without light there is no religion. Without hght there is n—o faith. The sight of God, that is light. " Here are some few other maxims:
"
knowledge, no freedom. Without knowledge, no beauty. Without know-
no Without no Without — no ledge, nobility. knowledge, victory. knowledge,
" :
The best of sorrows is contrition. The best of characters
Withoutknowledge,nopower. Withoutknowledge,nowisdom. Without
honour. Without knowledge, no God. " Again does he preach
of attitudes is humility. The best of occupations is work. The best of sentiments is piety. The best of cares is justice. The best of pains is
peace-making.
istobegenerous. " Whenoneofhisdisciplesaskedhimtodefinelove,he
answered, " Love it is heaven. " " And hate ? " asked his " Hate
; disciple.
is hell. " " And conscience ? " " It is the eye of God in the soul of raan. "^'
The holy monk had also —the feeling and sound sense of a good citizen, when
he uttered these words^^ " The best of patriots," said St. Cadoc, "is he :
who tills the soil. "^3 The accounts of his intellectual tastes in literature show most clearly, that he had the lively and instinctive soul of a poet, and he very justly considered that without the glow of poesie, science must be deprived of a considerable share of value. ^'*
After his return from Ireland, at the desire of St. Cadocus, in Llancarvan, for one year Gildas taught all that resorted to him. ^s He desired nothing as stipend but the prayers of his scholars. The two celebrated sages of the Britons were most intimate friends at Llancarvan. There, likewise, Gildas copied out with his own hand a book of the Gospels. Afterwards this was carefullypreservedinthechurchofSt. Cadoc. Insucceedingagesthiscopy was highly reverenced by the Welsh. They used it, in all their most solemn oaths and covenants,^^ according to a manner practised, likewise, by the ancient Irish. Caradoc of Lanncarvan tells us, that after one year, both Cadoc and Gildas left Llancarvan, by reason of the great confluence of people thither, and they retired into the solitude of the islands of Ronech and Echni,^^ there to employ themselves in prayer and contemplation. During a period of Saxon invasion, the idolaters spread havoc and profanation throughout the Welsh dominions. St. Cadoc was obliged to fly for refuge to French Armorica, and there he founded a new monastery on a small deserted island
58 This saint's festival is celebrated on the 6th of November.
ss Near the sea-coast, and not far from Llancarvan.
'* See " La Legende Celtique. " St. Kadok, §vii. ,p. 164.
*5 This we learn from Caradoc of Llan- carvan.
'* See Challoner's " Britamiia Bishop
Sancta," part i. , p. 73.
^7 Elsewhere, we find these islands called
Barren or Barry Island and Echni or the Flat Holmes in the Bristol Channel. Thither
especially during the days of Lent, St. Cadoc resorted. Rev. W. J. Rees' " Lives of the
Carabro-British Saints," p. 336, and n. i.
*<> See his life at the of
*'
29th January.
See "Myvyrian Archaiology of Wales,"
vol. iii. , p. 28.
^-
See Le Vicomte de la Villemarque's
" La " Legende Celtique.
p. 165.
St.
Kadoc, § vii. ,
63 "The Myvyrian Archaiology of Wales," vol. iii. , p. 28.
The best
42 2 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 24.
of the Morbihan Archipelago. Here, at first, the only access scholars firom the mainland had to his school was through means of boats. But Cadoc built a stone bridge four hundred and fifty feet long across the strait. Here in his modest retreat, he practised monastic austerities, and taught his scholars to commit Virgil to memory. The famous historian Gildas was his companion. One day, while with the holy abbot Cadoc, he discussed the probablestateinwhichVirgil'ssoulwasinthatlifebeyoi^dthegrave. ^^ The volume containing the works of that poet fell from Cadoc's hand into the sea. For the loss of this prized copy, he greatly grieved ; but during sleep he experienced a consoling vision. The codex was miraculously preserved andrestoredtohimonthefollowingday. ^9. Afterasojournofmanyyears in Armorica, leaving a new and flourishing community there, under the guid- ance of another shepherd, named Katg\valader,7° Cadoc resolved on return- ing to Britain. He often said to his disciples, "Do you wish for glory? March to the tomb ! "7' To this goal his own steps were fast hastening.
As regards the subsequent place of St. Cadoc's course, some writers state, that he visited Italy, some again that he returned to Wales, while others assert, that he resolved on making a pilgrimage to the church of St. Andrew in Scotland. It is even reported, that he wished to search in this latter country for a Cambrian poet, the friend of Taliesin and of Aneurin. The Saxon invasions had driven this celebrated bard into the wilds of Caledonia for refuge, and here he lived in a state of great poverty and only half clad The ruder sort of people called him Merzin the Fool, and persecuted him ; frequently casting stones after him. He is said to have been discovered by St. Cadoc, finally, but in a Avretched condition. From Cadoc he obtained every religious consolation, and after a blessing received, the bard on the
"
summit of a hill sang with a loud voice, honourofmyKing,bothGodandMan. IshallsingHismerciesfromageto
andeven Kadoc " the hear
age, beyond ages. " replied, May Almighty you !
MaytheAngelofGodwaituponyou. " Thatevening,whenFaithunder the guise of a saint had embraced him, his lifeless body lay on the border of a river, for the Pictish shepherds had stoned to death the noble Cambrian minstrel they thought to have been a fool. So fare the just too fi-equently in a contest with the world. It is the prolonged struggle between brute force and the spirit, the superior and brighter gift of heaven, and which ought there seek its home. 7^
The happy death of St. Cadoc soon followed. Authors are not agreed, however, for some suppose him to have laid down the burden of his flesh, by a natural death, in his own monastery of Llancarvan. 73 Others state that he went abroad, and to Beneventum. 74 They make him a bishop there, and afiirm, that he ended his days by martyrdom. Others again, distinguished twosaints,bearingthenameofCadocus. OneofthesewasabbotofLlan- carvan ; the other, whom they also call Sophias, is said to have been Bishop
'* This too will naturally suggest Dante's Vision of Virgil, who lived at Rome under the good Augustus, — "During the time of false and lying gods. "
Moines d'Occident. " Tome iii. , liv. x. ,
chap, ii. , pp.
'^
The Welsh generally call him Cattwg. '' He was king over South Wales.
"^ After the death of his father, and from
his own name, the country he governed was called Gwynlliw, generally termed the Hun-
dred of Gwynllwg or Wentloog in Mon- mouthshire. See Rev. W. J. Rees' "Lives of the Cambro-British Saints," p. 310, and n. 2.
of Cambria, signifies 'a hilly country,*" See "The History of Wales," by John Jones, LL. D. , chap, xi. , p. 307,
^7 It is regarded as a singular circumstance, we are not told why or when this name had been changed into Cadoc. Llancarvan is called Cadmael in the " Liber Landavensis," P- 372.
**A miracle took place at the well in which the infant had been baptized . See Rev,
Rees' " Lives of the Cambro-British Saints," p. 317,
^9 See some notices regarding him at the 26thofDecember. HeisalsocalledMeu- thi, by the Welsh.
3°See Bishop Challoner's "Britannia
Sancta," part i. , p. 72.
3' See Rev. Alban Butler's " Lives of the
Fathers, Martyrs, and other Principal Saints," vol. i. , January xxiv. —
3=FromDonatusandPriscian celebrated and learned grammatical writers— as stated in the Life published by Rev. W. J. Rees.
33 From a circumstance related regarding
one of these miracles, Thomas Wakeman,
Esq. , has proved, that the written legend must have been composed a long time after the death of Howel ap Owen, King of Gla- morgan, who died A. D. 1042.
3* This city was some time a Bishop's See, but it is long since quite ruined. It was called by the Romans, Venta Silurum.
*'
rated as a saint. W.
She is also called Gwladys, and is vene-
"The circumstances attending the mar- riage of St. Cadoc's parents are related with no slight savour of romance, in the old acts published in Rev, W. J. Rees' " Lives of the Cambro-British Saints," pp. 311 to 313-
"3 As Braccan died about the
this statement seems more accordant with chronology. See Professor Rees' "Welsh Saints," p. 146.
'* Sometimes called Brychan,
*sSee notices of himself and his family under the Acts of St. Beoc or Dabeoc, at the 1st ofJanuary.
^"This district, anciently called Garth Mathdrym or Fox Hill, is said to have re- ceived the name of Breckeinog from Brac- han, the son of Awlach Mac Gormoc, an Irish prince, by Marchell, daughter of Tydor, chief of Garth Mathrym. Such is the fabu- lous tradition. The tnith, however, is, that Brecheinog in the Irish, or ancient language
Vol. I,
year 450,
J.
41. 8 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 24.
thus made such progress in the sciences, but more especially in true holy science, so as to be advised by Tathai to become a master in turn. After- wards he was obliged with sorrow to leave his kindly instructor. A guide and teacher of many others in the ways of Christian perfection, 35 the humble young man went on his mission, and miracles attested his holiness. ^^ Soon did his renown spread abroad, so that many of the western British clergy flocked to place themselves under his direction, and to receive instruction from his teaching and example. He especially loved to labour with his own hands, and as we are informed, he undertook to raise up a large mound of earth, and to make therein a handsome cemetery, where the bodies of the faithful mightbeburiedneartoachurchdedicatedtoGod. Afterthishadbeenac- complished, he constructed through almost impassable places four large foot- paths, across four declivities of the rising grounds, which surrounded his residence. He chose likewise for himself another place, and caused another earthen mound in the form of a round city to be erected. In the language
"
of the Britons, this was called Kastell Cadoc, or
the Castle of Cadoc. " Although the proprietor of much land, he was accustomed to sow his com
only in one fertile acre, called Ersvgwen, or " the white acre. '"37
After 3. long time, on a certain day, it happened that the Blessed Cadoc
"
spoke to his disciples,
My most dear brethren, I have a great desire to
sail to for the sake of Ireland,
" We in- know,
teaching. " They answered,
deed, kind master, that thou formest such designs as are pleasing to God, and according to the will of God, for whatever thou dost ask of Him, thou
dost immediately obtain, and thou dost not contemplate anything that is wicked or perverse, for thou knowest that it is better to be constantly
meditating on the Holy Scriptures, according to the proverbs of the Wise '
Man, Son, acquire learning in thy youth, and thou wilt find wisdom with
thy gray hairs, and it will be to thee as a father and a mother. '
he ordered a strong bark, besmeared with pitch, to be prepared for him in the harbour of the sea, that he might safely sail therein to Ireland. Some of his disciples expressed a desire to accompany their master, when he said, " Some of you shall go with me, but others shall here remain, to keep faith- fully my monastery and town, until I come back. "' Cadoc had a prosperous voyage across the Irish sea. Landing in good time, he made inquiry re- garding the most excellent masters in Ireland, that he might be more perfectly instructed in the seven liberal arts. Thirsting eagerly for improve- ment in learning, at length he came to a chief city in the country known as Lismore Muchutu. 3^ He was graciously received by the most learned master of that town and by all the resident clergy. On account of his sanctity and humility, he got the surname of Muchutu, the principal saint. With this chief doctor,39 Cadoc remained three years, until he succeeded in
3SSee Bishop Challoner's "Britannia
Sancta," part i. , p. 72.
3* See Rev. \V. J. Rees' "Lives of the
Cambro-British Saints," pp. 32010324.
37 This was after^vards called from the venerable man's name. See Rev. W. J. Rees' "Lives of the Cambro-British Saints,"
"
depot de toute la science de rOccident au cinquieme siecle," observes Le Vicomte Hersart de la Villemarque, Cadoc chose the great Abbey of Lismore to complete his course of studies. There he could satisfy his thirst for knowledge, in
knowledge classed among the liberal sciences, and which embraced grammar, rhetoric,
dialectics, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music See "La Legende Celtique et la Poesie des Cloitres en Irlande, en Cam- brie, et en Bretagne. " St. Kadok, sec. ii. , p, 138.
35 Such statement seems fairly agreeable to chronology, for Dr. Lanigan states, that St. Carthage the Elder lived until 580, in all probability; and that he ordained St.
Carthage, Junior, the present Muchutu or Mochuda, possibly about a. d. 577. The latter lived until the year 637. See "Ec-
pp. 324, 325.
3^ In Ireland,
taking large draughts of the seven circles of clesiastical History of Ireland," vol. ii. ,
"
Aftenvards
i
January 24. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 419
gaining perfection in the learning of the West. -i" Three years having passed, he returned from Ireland with a large company of Irish and British clergy. Among these were the religious and learned men Finian, Macmoil, and Gnavan, said to have been the most celebrated and skilful of all his British disciples. When he reached the British shore, Cadoc with his dependants withdrew into the district of Brec- knock. He heard that a celebrated rhetorician, named Bachan, had come from Italy to that country. The Blessed Cadoc learned much regard- ing his proficiency in letters, and he wished to be taught Latin by that master after the Roman method. But, at this time a famine oppressed the district. While Cadoc was before a table, he observed a mouse coming out of a hole, and carrying a grain of corn. This action was repeated several times. Cadoc at last caught the mouse, and to search into the mystery, he tied a long thread to its foot and then let it loose. He followed to observe its motions, when the little animal came to a certain mound, under which there was a very beautiful subterranean house. *' This had been built of old. The mouse went in through a dark hole, and soon returned bringing in its mouth another grain of corn. This incident was regarded as a most providential discovery; for a granary was found concealed, and the corn it contained served not only to feed God's servants, but it was distributed in a just measure so as to relieve all the poor in that district. The place where this corn had been found was called Llanspyddid,"*^ and Brychan, the grandfather of Blessed Cadoc, bestowed it on him. Here the holy man builtamonastery. AfterasufficientcourseofinstructionfromBachan,he left the oratory to this doctor and to some of his attendants, Cadoc then returned to his dear Llancarvan, but only to find his principal monastery destroyed, with the rafters of its roofs and the rubbish of its buildings scattered over the cemetery. 3
Not far from the Severn, at the sea, and three miles off Cowbridge,'** he now rebuilt that church and monastery, called in the British tonguCj-'S Llan-
"
carvan, or the
nated, because in the building of it, these animals, forgetting their natural wildness,wereobsequioustotheservantofGod. *^ Inthisplace,St. Cadoc opened a school, which was one of the most celebrated in all Britain. *' There numerous monks, subject to a very severe rule, bowed their bodies
Church of the Stags. " Legends relate, it was thus desig-
under the yoke of continual fatigue. the fields. *^
chap, xi. , sec. v. , p. 99, and n. 52, p. 102. °Le Comte de Montalembert's "Les
Moines d'Occident," tome iii. , liv. x. , chap. ii. , p. 58.
*' By Rev. S. Baring-Gould, it is styled one of those cellars or ' ' old Keltic subter- ranean granaries, remains of which are found to this day in Wales and Cornwall. " See
They cleared the forests and cultivated
Cambro-British Saints," pp. 325 to 329. **See Bishop Challoner's "Britannia
"Lives of the Saints," vol. i. , xxiv. January, "
of the Stags. "
'^ It is stated, that Finian and Macmoil
on this occasion left a book open under the rain, to assist hastily in the erection, and that the book remained uninjured. It was afterwards designated in the British Ian- guage Gov. Cattwg, or "The Memory of Cadoc. " A chapel dedicated to St. Finian was built in this place, as was reported, See Rev. W. J. Rees' " Lives of the Cam-"
p. 365. These earth-caves," as they have been called, are very numerous, and often of considerable size, in Ireland. In many instances, they are interiorly walled and flagged over in a very remarkable manner.
*This lies about two miles eastward from Brecknock, where the church was dedicated to St. Cadoc. This saint is thought, how- ever, by Professor Rees, to have been the
See "
«See Rev. W. J. Rees' "Lives of the
bro-British Saints," pp. 329, 330. "
son of
Essay
on the Welsh
Moines d'Occident," tome iii. , liv. x. , ii. , p. 59.
chap.
Brychan. Saints," p. 143.
Sancta,"-part i. , pp. 72. " « Others call it Nancarvan, or the
Vale
'•^ See Bishop Challoner's Britannia
Sancta," part i. , pp. 72, 73.
*^ Le Comte de Montalembert's "Les
4^o LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 24.
In a barbarous age, the Welsh monasteries were often invaded by disso-
luteandrapacioushordes. OneSavilorganizedanexpeditionforthepurpose of committing such a robbery. +s When this chieftain, at the head of a band of mounted robbers, came to pillage Llancarvan, St. Cadoc went against
him with his monks, armed with their harps, chanting and striking the strings. Then that chief recoiled and left them unmolested. Another dynast, enraged because St. Cadoc had received his son into the monastery, came with a force to reclaim the youth, and to destroy the cloister. Bathed in sunshine, Cadoc met him, and found the chief and his men groping in darkness. He gave them light, and they returned ashamed to their homes.
The holy Cadoc had the great happiness of assisting in the conversion and sanctification of his parents. 5° In the depths of his cloister, he groaned over the rapines and sins of him from whom he had derived life. Accordingly Cadoc sent to his father's house three of his monks, to preach repentance. His mother, the beautiful Gwladys, was the first to be touched, and it was not long before she persuaded her husband to agree with her. They called their son, wishing to make a public confession of their sins. 5' Then both father and son
chanted the " Exaudiat te Dominus. ''52 When this was together psalm, ended,
the king and queen retired into solitude. These royal personages established themselves in two cabins on the bank of a river. There they worked for a livelihood, and they were often visited by their son. 53 St. Cadocus, the holy abbot, was continually engaged in promoting piety and learning. In his schools he taught the monks a knowledge of the Sacred Scriptures, with literature and religion. He had many eminent disciples. He also obliged his disciples to labour in the fields and woods, while at home they transcribed the Holy Scriptures, with other works of ancient wrilers. 54 He hospitably entertained all such as resorted to him. It is said, he afterwards travelled to Greece and to Jerusalem, and many strange adventures are related in his acts. ss Thence he returned to Llancarvan. His father, Gundliou, is said to have re- signed his principality to Cadoc. That part of his estate, which the latter had reserved for use, enabled him to supply no less than a hundred clerics, one hundred soldiers, one hundred workmen, a hundred other poor men, and as many widows,withtheirdailyfood. Besides,hemaintainedagreatnumberofguests and visitors. ss He frequently visited his father in his solitude, and encouraged him to persevere in the way he had happily begun. He often reminded him the crown was not promised to those that began, but to those that continued in good to the end. 57 Among the disciples of St. Cadoc, John of Tinmouth
^'This adventure is very agreeably re-
lated in Le Vicomte Hersart de la Ville-
marque's "La Legende Celtique. " St. Ka- dok, § vii. , pp. 165 to 169.
5° See Montalembert's "Moines d'Occi-
dent," tome iii. , liv. x. , chap, ii. , pp. 63, 64.
"
5-» See Le Comte de Montalembert's Les
"
5' After this occurrence, his father said,
May all my race obey Cadoc with a true .
Cambro-British Saints," pp. 331 to 333. s^The extent of his possessions, both as a prince and an abbot, is said to have been from Fynnon Hen, supposed to have been near the River Usk, as far as the mouth of the River Rhymny, and from the Rivers Gu- lich or Golychto the River Nadanan, Dawon, or Daw in Glamorganshire. His lands also reached from Pentyrch direct to the valley of Nant—carvan, and from that valley to the stream which ru—ns
devotion, and after their death may kings,
nobles and chiefs, with the servants of those "
kings,beburiedinhiscemetery. Duringthe
time of independent Wales, Llancarvan was
the great necropolis for its kings and nobles. Yet, strange to relate, Guenliou was not here interred. See ibid. , and n. I.
5=^ In English, "The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble. "
53 See Rev. S. Baring-Gould's "Lives of the Saints," vol. i. , xxiv. Januaiy, pp. 366. 367-
Gurimi probably the
into the Bristol Channel near Barry
and on to the sea. See Rev. W. J. Rees'
Moines d'Occident," tome iii. , liv. x. , chap, ii. , pp. 59, 60.
55 See Rev. W. J. Rees' " Lives of the
"Livesof the Cambro-British Saints, "p. 236. 57 See Bishop Challoner's "Britannia
Sanct. -i," part i. , p. 73.
Island
January 24. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 421
numbered the great St. Iltutus. s^ Owing to the persuasions of our saint, he renounced the court and the world. He became first a monk, and afterwards abbot over the monastery, called from him Llan-Iltut,59 in the province of Glamorgan. Other writers reckon St. Gildas^° as a disciple of this saint. But Gildas seems to have been rather a professor and teacher in his college or monastery. Cadoc loved to sum up, chiefly under the guise of pithy sen- tences in verse and poetical aphorisms, those instructions given to his pupils in Llancarvan cloisters. A great number of such utterances —have been pre- served by the people in Wales. We can only instance a few: " Truth is the elderdaughterofGod. Withoutlightnothingisgood. - Withoutlightthere is no piety. Without light there is no religion. Without hght there is n—o faith. The sight of God, that is light. " Here are some few other maxims:
"
knowledge, no freedom. Without knowledge, no beauty. Without know-
no Without no Without — no ledge, nobility. knowledge, victory. knowledge,
" :
The best of sorrows is contrition. The best of characters
Withoutknowledge,nopower. Withoutknowledge,nowisdom. Without
honour. Without knowledge, no God. " Again does he preach
of attitudes is humility. The best of occupations is work. The best of sentiments is piety. The best of cares is justice. The best of pains is
peace-making.
istobegenerous. " Whenoneofhisdisciplesaskedhimtodefinelove,he
answered, " Love it is heaven. " " And hate ? " asked his " Hate
; disciple.
is hell. " " And conscience ? " " It is the eye of God in the soul of raan. "^'
The holy monk had also —the feeling and sound sense of a good citizen, when
he uttered these words^^ " The best of patriots," said St. Cadoc, "is he :
who tills the soil. "^3 The accounts of his intellectual tastes in literature show most clearly, that he had the lively and instinctive soul of a poet, and he very justly considered that without the glow of poesie, science must be deprived of a considerable share of value. ^'*
After his return from Ireland, at the desire of St. Cadocus, in Llancarvan, for one year Gildas taught all that resorted to him. ^s He desired nothing as stipend but the prayers of his scholars. The two celebrated sages of the Britons were most intimate friends at Llancarvan. There, likewise, Gildas copied out with his own hand a book of the Gospels. Afterwards this was carefullypreservedinthechurchofSt. Cadoc. Insucceedingagesthiscopy was highly reverenced by the Welsh. They used it, in all their most solemn oaths and covenants,^^ according to a manner practised, likewise, by the ancient Irish. Caradoc of Lanncarvan tells us, that after one year, both Cadoc and Gildas left Llancarvan, by reason of the great confluence of people thither, and they retired into the solitude of the islands of Ronech and Echni,^^ there to employ themselves in prayer and contemplation. During a period of Saxon invasion, the idolaters spread havoc and profanation throughout the Welsh dominions. St. Cadoc was obliged to fly for refuge to French Armorica, and there he founded a new monastery on a small deserted island
58 This saint's festival is celebrated on the 6th of November.
ss Near the sea-coast, and not far from Llancarvan.
'* See " La Legende Celtique. " St. Kadok, §vii. ,p. 164.
*5 This we learn from Caradoc of Llan- carvan.
'* See Challoner's " Britamiia Bishop
Sancta," part i. , p. 73.
^7 Elsewhere, we find these islands called
Barren or Barry Island and Echni or the Flat Holmes in the Bristol Channel. Thither
especially during the days of Lent, St. Cadoc resorted. Rev. W. J. Rees' " Lives of the
Carabro-British Saints," p. 336, and n. i.
*<> See his life at the of
*'
29th January.
See "Myvyrian Archaiology of Wales,"
vol. iii. , p. 28.
^-
See Le Vicomte de la Villemarque's
" La " Legende Celtique.
p. 165.
St.
Kadoc, § vii. ,
63 "The Myvyrian Archaiology of Wales," vol. iii. , p. 28.
The best
42 2 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 24.
of the Morbihan Archipelago. Here, at first, the only access scholars firom the mainland had to his school was through means of boats. But Cadoc built a stone bridge four hundred and fifty feet long across the strait. Here in his modest retreat, he practised monastic austerities, and taught his scholars to commit Virgil to memory. The famous historian Gildas was his companion. One day, while with the holy abbot Cadoc, he discussed the probablestateinwhichVirgil'ssoulwasinthatlifebeyoi^dthegrave. ^^ The volume containing the works of that poet fell from Cadoc's hand into the sea. For the loss of this prized copy, he greatly grieved ; but during sleep he experienced a consoling vision. The codex was miraculously preserved andrestoredtohimonthefollowingday. ^9. Afterasojournofmanyyears in Armorica, leaving a new and flourishing community there, under the guid- ance of another shepherd, named Katg\valader,7° Cadoc resolved on return- ing to Britain. He often said to his disciples, "Do you wish for glory? March to the tomb ! "7' To this goal his own steps were fast hastening.
As regards the subsequent place of St. Cadoc's course, some writers state, that he visited Italy, some again that he returned to Wales, while others assert, that he resolved on making a pilgrimage to the church of St. Andrew in Scotland. It is even reported, that he wished to search in this latter country for a Cambrian poet, the friend of Taliesin and of Aneurin. The Saxon invasions had driven this celebrated bard into the wilds of Caledonia for refuge, and here he lived in a state of great poverty and only half clad The ruder sort of people called him Merzin the Fool, and persecuted him ; frequently casting stones after him. He is said to have been discovered by St. Cadoc, finally, but in a Avretched condition. From Cadoc he obtained every religious consolation, and after a blessing received, the bard on the
"
summit of a hill sang with a loud voice, honourofmyKing,bothGodandMan. IshallsingHismerciesfromageto
andeven Kadoc " the hear
age, beyond ages. " replied, May Almighty you !
MaytheAngelofGodwaituponyou. " Thatevening,whenFaithunder the guise of a saint had embraced him, his lifeless body lay on the border of a river, for the Pictish shepherds had stoned to death the noble Cambrian minstrel they thought to have been a fool. So fare the just too fi-equently in a contest with the world. It is the prolonged struggle between brute force and the spirit, the superior and brighter gift of heaven, and which ought there seek its home. 7^
The happy death of St. Cadoc soon followed. Authors are not agreed, however, for some suppose him to have laid down the burden of his flesh, by a natural death, in his own monastery of Llancarvan. 73 Others state that he went abroad, and to Beneventum. 74 They make him a bishop there, and afiirm, that he ended his days by martyrdom. Others again, distinguished twosaints,bearingthenameofCadocus. OneofthesewasabbotofLlan- carvan ; the other, whom they also call Sophias, is said to have been Bishop
'* This too will naturally suggest Dante's Vision of Virgil, who lived at Rome under the good Augustus, — "During the time of false and lying gods. "
Moines d'Occident. " Tome iii. , liv. x. ,
chap, ii. , pp.
