The Cross of Neith (

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

''Y Groes Naid'' or ''Y Groes Nawdd'') was a sacred relic believed to be a fragment of the

True Cross The True Cross is the cross upon which Jesus was said to have been crucified, particularly as an object of religious veneration. There are no early accounts that the apostles or early Christians preserved the physical cross themselves, althoug ...

that had been kept at Aberconwy by the kings and princes of Gwynedd, members of the Aberffraw dynasty who established the

Principality of Wales The Principality of Wales ( cy, Tywysogaeth Cymru) was originally the territory of the native Welsh princes of the House of Aberffraw from 1216 to 1283, encompassing two-thirds of modern Wales during its height of 1267–1277. Following the co ...

. They believed it afforded them and their people divine protection. It is not known when it had arrived in Gwynedd or how they had inherited it, but it is possible that it was brought back from

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

by King

Hywel Dda Hywel Dda, sometimes anglicised as Howel the Good, or Hywel ap Cadell (died 949/950) was a king of Deheubarth who eventually came to rule most of Wales. He became the sole king of Seisyllwg in 920 and shortly thereafter established Deheubart ...

following his

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

in about 928. According to tradition it was handed down from prince to prince until the time of

Llywelyn ap Gruffudd Llywelyn ap Gruffudd (c. 1223 – 11 December 1282), sometimes written as Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, also known as Llywelyn the Last ( cy, Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf, lit=Llywelyn, Our Last Leader), was the native Prince of Wales ( la, Princeps Wall ...

and his brother

Dafydd Dafydd is a Welsh masculine given name, related to David, and more rarely a surname. People so named include: Given name Medieval era :''Ordered chronologically'' * Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd (c. 1145-1203), Prince of Gwynedd * Dafydd ap Gruffydd (12 ...

.Law and Government Under the Tudors: Essays Presented to Sir Geoffrey Elton
/ref> A representation of the cross came to be used as a Battle Flag. Following the complete defeat of Gwynedd and the subjugation of the Principality, following the death of Llywelyn and the execution of Dafydd in 1283, this holy relic was ready for English expropriation alongside the other spiritual and temporal artefacts (see

Llywelyn's coronet Llywelyn's coronet ( cy, Talaith Llywelyn) is a lost treasure of Welsh history. It is recorded that Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Prince of Wales and Lord of Aberffraw had deposited this crown ( cy, Talaith) and other items (such as the Cross of Neith ...

) of the Principality. The ''Alms Roll'' of 1283 records that a cleric named Huw ab Ithel presented this "part of the most holy wood of the True Cross" to

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vas ...

at Aberconwy. It then accompanied the king as he finished his campaign in north

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

before being brought to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and paraded through the streets in May 1285 at the head of a procession that included the king, the queen, their children, magnates of the realm and fourteen bishops. In 1352 the cross was given by King Edward III to the Dean and Chapter of

St George's Chapel, Windsor St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is both a Royal Peculiar (a church under the direct jurisdiction of the monarch) and the Chapel of the Order of the Gart ...

, when, having founded the Order of the Garter, Edward established St George's Chapel as a major royal centre of devotion. There it remained until 1552, when it was confiscated, along with all the other relics and treasures in the Chapel, on the orders of King Edward VI and removed to the Tower of London to await "the King's further instruction". What happened to the Cross of Neith after this is unknown. It has been speculated that it was destroyed, along with other relics, by

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three K ...

and fellow

Puritans The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...

during the revolution of 1649, but other theories have also been put forward.

References

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References

Further reading