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.
History
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.
Origins of the foundation in the sixth century
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.
Saint Padarn
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.
Little more can be said of Padarn, though he later attracted the usual hagiography, the Vita Sancti Paternus, which recounts many supposed details of his life. He may have been more closely associated with late Romano-British civilization than some other early British saints, as his dedications are apparently connected by Roman roads. Llanbadarn Fawr is reputed to be close to where the Roman road from North to South Wales (called Sarn Helen) crosses the river Rheidol. Sarn Helen passes close to Strata Florida and Llanddewi Brefi which, along with Llanbadarn Fawr, were the three most important ecclesiastic places in mediaeval Ceredigion.
According to tradition, Padarn continued to preside over his see for twenty-one years, during which time he was said to have erected a number of churches and founded several monasteries in the province or lordship of Ceredigion, later Cardiganshire (and in modern times once again known as Ceredigion), where he placed colonies of monks from the principal establishment at Llanbadarn Fawr. His preaching throughout west Wales was attested to in the Welsh Triads. At the end of that period, possibly being recalled to Brittany, where he was made bishop of Vannes (though it is more than likely that this was a distinct individual), he was succeeded as abbot of the church at Llanbadarn Fawr and bishop of the proto-diocese, which was subsequently called, after its first bishop, "Paternensis," by Cynog. It has been suggested that St Padarn himself may have been buried on Bardsey Island, the legendary "Island of 20,000 saints". But as with any detail of his life, we cannot be certain. Gildas's De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae is, with Saint Patrick's somewhat earlier Confessio, almost the only contemporary source for this period.
Padarn's Life
The anonymous author tells us that Padarn's parents were nobly born Armoricans (Bretons), and that he sailed to Britain with 847 monks to settle and build a monastery. He established monasteries and churches throughout Ceredigion. The attempt of Maelgwn, king of Gwynedd, to ruin Padarn rebounds on him through a miracle, and he compensates Padarn with the gift of lands between the rivers Rheidol and Clarach. Saint Padarn is closely associated with Saint David and Saint Teilo in a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in which the three are honoured by the Patriarch. Padarn was given a tunic – which later featured in the best known legend associated with him – and a staff. Most likely this account is fabricated, as are much of the details of the lives of the early saints, from a variety of sources, real and imagined.
In the most celebrated episode of the Vita Sancti Paternus, King Arthur tries to steal St Padarn's tunic. King Arthur covets Padarn's tunic, and when he is refused, stamps the earth, at which Padarn calls on the earth to swallow him; it does so. Arthur has to beg forgiveness before he is released. This seems to borrow the story of a different Padarn, Padarn Redcoat, whose coat was one of the Thirteen Treasures of the Island of Britain (Tri Thlws ar Ddeg Ynys Prydain). This story takes place about a century before Saint Padarn; it is, however, important because of the link drawn between Saint Padarn and the Romano-British King Arthur, the legendary British leader of the late fifth and early sixth centuries.
There follow confusing episodes involving Brittany (sometimes called Letia). Padarn finally leaves for France, where he dies, but his remains are brought back and buried in Vannes. A final chapter tells how Padarn, David and Teilo divide south Wales into three episcopates, with Padarn as bishop of Ceredigion. Then, convinced by a miracle performed by Padarn, a local governor called Eithir is persuaded to give land between the rivers Rheidol and Paith to Padarn. The lands owned by Llanbadarn in the twelfth century were between the rivers Rheidol and Clarach. The Paith is a minor tributary of the River Ystwyth. The obscure figure of Eithyr is commemorated in the farm name of Llaneithr, which stands a mile east of Devil's Bridge near the river Mynach.
The Life is difficult to follow and extremely vague on any facts. Typically the author takes facts and traditions known to him and transfers them to the saint himself. Thus there was in the twelfth century a holy relic at Llanbadarn believed to have been Padarn's staff, Cyrwen, which could well be the origin of the place name Llangorwen. The writer obviously knew very little indeed about Padarn, except that he was seen as a contemporary of David and Teilo, who certainly lived during the sixth century.
We must live with our virtually complete ignorance of Padarn's life. It is fair to say, however, that if he had died at Llanbadarn there would have been a shrine, traditions of which would have survived for centuries; none are recorded. Therefore, we can see him as one of the more peripatetic of the missionaries of this period, who spent sufficient time in the Rheidol valley to attract a community of Christian men to him which was sufficiently strong to survive his departure. It could have been these followers in subsequent generations who would have established churches in the saint's name in mid-Wales (Llanbadarn Fynydd, Llanbadarn Garreg), and in Ceredigion (Llanbadarn Odwyn, Llanbadarn Trefeglwys [also known as Llanbadarn Fach]), if he didn't establish them himself.
The see of Llanbadarn
Like so much else, this is hard to say, but the balance of historians' judgements is that there may well have been bishops based in Llanbadarn for a period, or even periods, in Celtic times. Church organisation in early medieval (pre-1100) Wales was flexible, and there were no fixed dioceses. The claim in Padarn's Life that he was bishop of Ceredigion reflects a tradition, but the actual area of the saint's influence was in north Ceredigion and what is now Radnorshire (mid-Powys). Ceredigion south of the river Wye was David country. Some time after this the church is said to have lost its episcopal privileges. The church is thought to have been annexed, after the dissolution of the see, to that of St Davids; although as with much of the early history this is uncertain. Bishops at this time were, in Wales, rather more itinerant than they later became, and diocesan boundaries much more fluid than they were later. Gerald of Wales (Gerald de Barri, better known as Giraldus Cambrensis), reported that he had been told that the bishopric had been lost because at some time past Llanbadarn's bishop had been murdered and the church lands appropriated by his killers, the forerunners of the clas which held the church at the time of his visit in 1188.
The flourishing of Llanbadarn Fawr
The see, if such it may be called, appears to have existed for a century, if indeed it didn't come into existence in the years after Padarn himself. There is note of a bishop of Llanbadarn in the minutes of a synod held at Abberley, Worcestershire, in about the year 603, though this is an unreliable source. Reportedly, at this meeting, there was an unsuccessful attempt by the Archbishop of Canterbury, St Augustine of Canterbury, to persuade Celtic bishops – Llanbadarn Fawr was one of seven present – to submit to his authority. Certainly the reputation of Padarn and the wealth and influence of his clas, ensured that the developing cultus of David did not prevail in northern Ceredigion, possibly in large part due to the extensive lands possessed by the clas, apparently from the river Clarach to the river Rheidol. In some cases, as in the Life of Saint Padarn, the Lives tell how the saint gains lands which as the time of writing were claimed by the saint's foundation as its endowment.
Even if much of the history of Saint Padarn and the early years of his church cannot be relied upon as accurate (and there is evidence that it conflates several near-contemporary individuals), there can be no doubt of his importance as one of the leading evangelists of Wales in the early sixth century, and the ongoing importance of his clas.
The clas church remained important after 601, although the "Gwentian" version of the Brut y Tywysogion (Chronicle of the Princes) records that the diocese of Llanbadarn was ravaged by the Saxons in 720. It may have been this that led to the loss of its bishop, however this is very uncertain as the entry is probably a much later forgery by Iolo Morganwg. Traditionally, however, the loss of the episcopal status was as a result of the violent conduct of the inhabitants, who killed their bishop. According to this tradition, having offended a local leader in a feud, Idnertha, who was then bishop of Llanbadarn, was killed, and subsequently buried in Llanddewi Brefi. The date of this event is very unclear. Some sources have Idnertha as the bishop of Llanbadarn at the synod in 603, others have him as being killed by the Saxons 100 years later.