St Caradog was a Welsh nobleman from Breconshire who died in 1124. He was part of the court of Rhys ap Tewdwr, the king of Deheubarth before the Norman invasion in 1093. Caradog left the court after the king threatened his life in a fit of rage and became a monk and later (c.1105) a hermit. His hermitage was at St Ismael’s at Haroldston East, near Haverfordwest.
His saintly reputation as a kind and holy man grew, as did his fame on the harp which is his symbol. He was buried in the cathedral which preceded the present one and his shrine today is in the north transept.
The Life of St Caradog
Like many Welsh saints, Caradog was an educated nobleman who rejected the wealthy life and chose instead to live a life of simplicity and faith. He served first at St Teilo’s church in Llandaff, but then chose to live alone as a hermit on the Gower where he befriended wild animals.
The Archbishop of Menevia (St Davids) was very impressed by Caradog’s holiness, summoned him to St Davids and made him a priest. Caradog then went with some monks to set up a small community on Barry Island, but Viking raids forced a move to St Ishmael’s (Llanismel in Welsh) near Haverfordwest.
His community was attacked by the forces of the English king Henry I, but Caradog’s healing of the leader, Richard Tancard, turned Tancard into a patron and protector. Caradog’s dying wish was to be buried in the cathedral and his tomb quickly became a place of miracles.
The legends of St Caradog
Some written details of the life of St Caradog appeared only sixty years after his death in the work of another Welshman, Gerald of Wales, who was writing in 1188. Although Caradog died before Gerald was born, he wrote as someone who was reporting stories he had heard from those who knew Caradog. He recorded the legend of FitzTancard’s hounds but there may be more to this story than retelling a saintly deed.
From other sources we are told that Caradog had been a noble in the court of Rhys ap Tewdwr, but he fell from royal favour when he lost two of the king’s greyhounds. Fearing for his life, Caradog fled the court and became a monk. The FitzTancard legend centres on Caradog saving the hounds of the Norman nobleman, Tancard’s son, able to call them to safety when their master could not. Was this legend trying to make a point about being able to put things right? Or was it also about a Welsh saint having greater power than the Normans?
Gerald of Wales tells us that whilst Caradog was a hermit a young man called Richard FitzTancard, the son of the keeper of the castle in Haverfordwest, used to visit him regularly and bring him gifts of food. One day Richard was out hunting and ran to Caradog’s hermit cell to shelter from a sudden downpour.
Once inside, Richard called to his hounds to follow him in, but they refused. Richard shouted, held out food, but still they refused. St Caradog smiled at the dogs, beckoned to them and all the hounds immediately came in and settled at his feet. Caradog’s reputation as being kind to animals is depicted in the beautiful embroidery which is above his shrine.
St Caradog in Pembrokeshire
St Caradog is a saint rooted in South Wales. He lived during the turbulent years of struggle between the Welsh princes and the Norman kings in England as well as between the Norwegian Vikings and the Welsh. Although born in Breconshire to the east, Caradog’s life took him ever further west to the Gower peninsula and then to Pembrokeshire.
His story tells us much about this area in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. The repeated attacks by invaders from land (the Normans) and sea (the Vikings) meant he was often forced to move on but never wavered from his faith or way of life.
The church in Lawrenny is dedicated to him, but unlike earlier saints there are no landscape features named after him: the only holy well named for him (near Merlin’s Bridge in Haverfordwest) is one he used himself near his hermitage.
South Wales in the twelfth century
Caradog’s world was one of bitter conflict. The Normans were pressing in from the east and the forces of King Henry I were taking more and more territory. The Welsh coastline was still regularly under attack from Viking raids. These were mostly Norwegians seeking captives for their thriving slave markets in Dublin and Scandinavia.
The Welsh princes of Deheubarth had united the southern regions of Wales under Rhys ap Tewdwr in the 1080s. By the mid-1100s however, their power was weakening. The Normans were building large castles and impressive French-style abbeys, very different from the simple style of Celtic monasticism.
Sixty years after Caradog’s death a Norman bishop, Peter de Leia, would rebuild an expanded St Davids Cathedral and Caradog’s bones moved to a new shrine, where we see it today.
St Caradog and the harp
One of St Caradog’s symbols is a harp, the others are the animals he befriended. Caradog was a noted harpist in the court of King Rhys ap Tewdwr, before his exile and life as a monk.
The harp is the musical instrument most closely associated with Wales and complex harp music was part of the original Eisteddfod competitions. A chair was reserved at the king’s table for the best poets and the best musician. It took a great deal of practice to become so accomplished, and harpists were highly valued.
Although St Cecilia is recognised internationally as the patron saint of music, St Caradog is regarded by Welsh harpists as their own patron saint.
Music and the early Welsh church
Little is known about the music of the early Welsh church, partly because very little written evidence survives. However, for a people who valued music and poetry so highly, it must have played an important role in worshipping God. Song and verse were ways of memorising long and complex texts from the earliest times; the Bible’s psalms were written to be sung.
What we do know of early church music more widely is that it was often sung without instruments, with the lead or cantor setting the pitch. Most services were sung and not just read. Caradog’s harp may well have accompanied his singing and that of his monks and Caradog himself may have seen his talent as a God-given gift to be used to the glory of God. We do not know if other Welsh churches enjoyed the same beauty.
St Caradog today
St Caradog is remembered by some today almost as a Welsh St Francis, with the emphasis on his reputation for kindness to animals. You can see an embroidery celebrating him in the arch above his shrine. Like St David, Caradog lived a very simple life (although he probably ate fish and not just vegetables) and sought solitude to focus on prayer and devotion to God.
The stories of St Caradog emphasise his kindness and care for people and animals and his music. He is widely regarded as the Patron Saint of harpists, dog-lovers and the seasick! He lived in violent and uncertain times, but he was a man of peace to everyone. This is the example of Caradog we can follow today. He met anger with gentleness, treated the natural world with respect as God’s creation, and stayed true to his faith and calling.
