Gilbert de Clare's Conquest of Ceredigion, 1110
Who Fought
History & Significance
Saint Padarn's Church is a parish church of the Church in Wales, and the largest mediaeval church in mid-Wales. It is at Llanbadarn Fawr, near Aberystwyth, in Ceredigion, Wales.
Founded in the early sixth century, St Padarn's Church has gone through many changes, from a Welsh monastic centre (a clas), a Benedictine priory, a clas again, a royal rectory, a church controlled by Chester's Vale Royal Abbey, and since 1538 a parish church under a vicar.
Although its origins are obscure, the site of the present ancient church has been used for Christian worship since it was settled in the early sixth century, probably by Saint Padarn, after whom it was named. Much of the early history of the church must remain speculative rather than definitive, due to the absence of documentary or archaeological evidence. However, there are certain elements which are reasonably clear.
Whilst the exact date Saint Padarn founded the church is uncertain, it seems clear however that Llanbadarn Fawr was an early sixth-century foundation, a Celtic clas church. The church may have been the seat of an abbot or bishop during the years immediately following Saint Padarn, who was traditionally said to be its first bishop (as a clas church, it was not a cathedral as we understand the term today, but closer to a collegiate church), nor did it necessarily possess any substantial buildings. It was one of the leading clasau of early Christian Wales, and the one we know most about, partly because of the significant role it played as a literary centre.
Very little is known of Saint Padarn (or Paternus to use his Latin name), and almost nothing with any degree of certainty; the earliest literary reference to him is by Rhygyfarch in about 1097. However, it is possible to construct a general outline of his life from the little that we do have.
Following the general custom of Europe in the late classical and early Middle Ages, he was popularly recognised after his death as a saint, along with several hundred other Welsh men and women. But the date and circumstances of the foundation of the church, and of Padarn's life were long forgotten when it was decided in the twelfth century that he should be commemorated in a Vita or Latin Life, following the example of the Life of St David written at Llanbadarn about 1090. That in turn had followed a European tradition of writing such lives. They are not biographies as we understand them today. Instead they were hagiographies, designed to elevate the saint's status as a holy person of miraculous achievements.
Traditionally Padarn was said to come originally from Brittany, but he may have come from south-east Wales. He was said to be both abbot and bishop (the distinction was not so great then as it later became) for many years, and from his base at what is now known as Llanbadarn Fawr (great or high church of St Padarn) he evangelised the neighbouring countryside.
The ground they fought on
The site of Gilbert de Clare's Conquest of Ceredigion, 1110 lies on Ashgill Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Ashgill. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.
The bare but significant record of 1110 notes that Cadwgan ap Bleddyn lost Ceredigion to the Norman Gilbert Fitz Richard, a conquest that formed part of the sustained Norman effort to extend control over Welsh territories during the reign of Henry I of England, and which shaped the political landscape of west Wales for the following decades.
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- St Padarn's Church, Llanbadarn Fawr · Wikipedia
- 12th century in Wales · Wikipedia