Dubricius or Dubric (;
Norman-French: ''Devereux''; c. 465 – c. 550) was a 6th-century
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
ecclesiastic venerated as a
saint
In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...
. He was the evangelist of
Ergyng
Ergyng (or Erging) was a Brittonic kingdom of the sub-Roman and early medieval period, between the 5th and 7th centuries. It was later referred to by the English as ''Archenfield''.
Location
The kingdom lay mostly in what is now western Herefor ...
() (later
Archenfield
Archenfield (Old English: ''Ircingafeld'', Middle English: "Irchenfield") is the historic English name for an area of southern and western Herefordshire in England. Since the Anglo-Saxons took over the region in the 8th century, it has stretched ...
,
Herefordshire
Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...
) and much of
south-east Wales.
Biography
Dubricius was the illegitimate son of Efrddyl, the daughter of King
Peibio Clafrog
Peibo Clafrog (alternatively, Pepiau Glavorawc, or in Latin, Pepianus Spumosus), was King of Ergyng in south-east Wales in the 5th or 6th century. He is chiefly known from the legends of Saint Dubricius, who was supposedly his grandson. The conte ...
of
Ergyng
Ergyng (or Erging) was a Brittonic kingdom of the sub-Roman and early medieval period, between the 5th and 7th centuries. It was later referred to by the English as ''Archenfield''.
Location
The kingdom lay mostly in what is now western Herefor ...
. His grandfather threw his mother into the
River Wye
The River Wye (; ) is the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, fourth-longest river in the UK, stretching some from its source on Plynlimon in mid Wales to the Severn Estuary. The lower reaches of the river forms part of Wales-England bor ...
when he discovered she was pregnant, but failed to drown her. Dubricius was born in
Madley
Madley is a village and civil parish in the English county of Herefordshire. It is located six miles west of the city of Hereford. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 1,200.
Other settlements
The parish includes the ham ...
in
Herefordshire
Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...
, England. He and his mother were reconciled with Peibio when the child Dubricius touched him and cured him of his
leprosy
Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a Chronic condition, long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the Peripheral nervous system, nerves, respir ...
.
Noted for his precocious intellect, by the time he attained manhood he was already known as a scholar throughout Britain.
[ Dubricius founded a monastery at ]Hentland
Hentland is a hamlet and civil parish about north-west of Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire, England.
The small hamlet settlement of Hentland at the east of the parish contains the parish church of St Dubricius. The civil parish, bounded on its e ...
and then one at Moccas
Moccas is a village and civil parish in the English county of Herefordshire. It is located west of Hereford. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 105.
The parish is mainly farmland with a number of woods, includin ...
.[Butler, Rev. Alban, ''The Lives of the Saints'', Volume XI, 1866]
/ref> He became the teacher of many well-known Welsh saints, including Teilo
Saint Teilo ( or '; Wainewright, John. in ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'', Vol. XIV. Robert Appleton Co. (New York), 1912. Accessed 20 July 2013. or '; or '; – 9 February ), also known as Eliud, was a British Christian monk, bisho ...
and Samson
SAMSON (Software for Adaptive Modeling and Simulation Of Nanosystems) is a computer software platform for molecular design being developed bOneAngstromand previously by the NANO-D group at the French Institute for Research in Computer Science an ...
and also healed the sick of various disorders through the laying on of hands. Dedications at Porlock
Porlock is a coastal village in Somerset, England, west of Minehead. At the 2011 census, the village had a population of 1,440.
In 2017, Porlock had the highest percentage of elderly population in England, with over 40% being of pensionable ...
and near Luccombe on the Exmoor
Exmoor () is loosely defined as an area of hilly open moorland in west Somerset and north Devon in South West England. It is named after the River Exe, the source of which is situated in the centre of the area, two miles north-west of Simons ...
coast of Somerset
Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...
may indicate that he also travelled in that area. He later became Bishop of Ergyng,[ possibly with his seat at ]Weston under Penyard
Weston under Penyard is a small village in Herefordshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2021 Census was 1,000.
It lies on the A40 road two miles east of Ross-on-Wye. The Penyard is a prominent hill.
History
The parish ch ...
, and probably held sway over all of Glamorgan
Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...
and Gwent, an area that was later known as the diocese of Llandaff
The Diocese of Llandaff is an Anglican (Church in Wales) diocese that traces its roots to pre-Reformation times as heir of a Catholic bishopric. It is headed by the Bishop of Llandaff, whose seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Pet ...
. However, he may have merely been a bishop for the purpose of ordaining priests, not as administrative head of the church over a geographical area. Dubricius was good friends with Saints Illtud
Illtud ( also spelled Illtyd, Eltut, and, in Latin, Hildutus), also known as Illtud Farchog or Illtud the Knight, is venerated as the abbot teacher of the divinity school, Bangor Illtyd, located in Llanilltud Fawr (Llantwit Major) in Glamorg ...
and Samson
SAMSON (Software for Adaptive Modeling and Simulation Of Nanosystems) is a computer software platform for molecular design being developed bOneAngstromand previously by the NANO-D group at the French Institute for Research in Computer Science an ...
, and attended the Synod of Llanddewi Brefi in 545, where he is said to have resigned his see in favour of Saint David
David (; ; ) was a Welsh Christian prelate who served as Bishop of Mynyw during the 6th century. He is the patron saint of Wales.
David was a native of Wales, and tradition has preserved a relatively large amount of detail about his life. ...
. He retired to Bardsey Island
Bardsey Island (), known as the legendary "Island of 20,000 Saints", is located off the Llŷn Peninsula in the Wales, Welsh county of Gwynedd. The Welsh language, Welsh name means "The Island in the Currents", while its English name refers to t ...
where he was eventually buried before his body was transferred to Llandaff Cathedral
Llandaff Cathedral () is a Church in Wales cathedral and parish church in Llandaff, Cardiff, Wales. It is the seat of the Bishop of Llandaff, head of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff. It is dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Paul, and ...
in 1120.
According to legend, Dubricius was made Archbishop of Llandaff
Llandaff (; ; from 'church' and ''River Taff, Taf'') is a district, Community (Wales), community and coterminous electoral ward in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It was incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of the Bisho ...
by Saint Germanus of Auxerre
Germanus of Auxerre (; ; ; 378 – c. 442–448 AD) was a western Roman clergyman who was bishop of Autissiodorum in Late Antique Gaul. He abandoned a career as a high-ranking government official to devote his formidable energy towards the pr ...
, and later crowned King Arthur
According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain.
In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...
. He appears as a character in Geoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth (; ; ) was a Catholic cleric from Monmouth, Wales, and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography and the popularity of tales of King Arthur. He is best known for his chronicle '' The History of ...
's ''Historia Regum Britanniae
(''The History of the Kings of Britain''), originally called (''On the Deeds of the Britons''), is a fictitious account of British history, written around 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. It chronicles the lives of the List of legendary kings o ...
'' and Wace
Wace ( 1110 – after 1174), sometimes referred to as Robert Wace, was a Medieval Norman poet, who was born in Jersey and brought up in mainland Normandy (he tells us in the ''Roman de Rou'' that he was taken as a child to Caen), ending his car ...
's ''Roman de Brut
The ''Brut'' or ''Roman de Brut'' (completed 1155) by the poet Wace is a loose and expanded translation in almost 15,000 lines of Norman-French verse of Geoffrey of Monmouth's Latin '' History of the Kings of Britain''. It was formerly known ...
'', which was based on it. Much later Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (; 6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of ...
featured the saint in his ''Idylls of the King
''Idylls of the King'', published between 1859 and 1885, is a cycle of twelve narrative poems by the English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892; Poet Laureate from 1850) which retells the legend of King Arthur, his knights, his love f ...
''.
Liturgical cult
Churches dedicated to Saint Dubricius include the Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
churches at Ballingham, Whitchurch, St Dubricius' Church, Hentland and Hamnish, all in Herefordshire
Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...
, Porlock
Porlock is a coastal village in Somerset, England, west of Minehead. At the 2011 census, the village had a population of 1,440.
In 2017, Porlock had the highest percentage of elderly population in England, with over 40% being of pensionable ...
in Somerset
Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...
, and the Church in Wales
The Church in Wales () is an Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses.
The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The position is currently held b ...
churches at Gwenddwr
Erwood () is a village and Community (Wales), community lying beside the River Wye, on the A470 road some 6 miles south-east of Builth Wells in Powys, Wales. The population of the community taken at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census ...
in Breconshire
Brecknockshire ( or ), also known as the County of Brecknock, Breconshire, or the County of Brecon, was one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was created in 1536 under the Laws in Wales ...
and at Llanvaches
Llanvaches () is a village and community within the boundaries of the city of Newport, Wales. It lies to the east of the urban area, in the historic county of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent.
The population rose to 402 by the ...
in Newport. The Catholic Church at Treforest
Treforest () is a village in the south-east of Pontypridd, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It is situated in the Treforest electoral ward, along with the village of Glyntaff (or Glyn-Taf). It is part of the Pontypridd Town ...
is also dedicated to Dyfrig.
In the 2004 edition of the Roman Martyrology
The ''Roman Martyrology'' () is the official martyrology of the Catholic Church. Its use is obligatory in matters regarding the Roman Rite liturgy, but dioceses, countries and religious institutes may add duly approved appendices to it. It provid ...
, Dyfrig is listed under 14 November with the Latin name ''Dubricius''. He is stated to have died on Bardsey Island, 'on the north coast of Wales, as a bishop and abbot'. In the current Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
liturgical calendar for WalesNational Calendar for Wales
Accessed 2012-02-06. he is commemorated on the traditional date of 14 November.
Iconography
He is usually represented holding two crosiers to signify his jurisdiction over the sees of Caerleon
Caerleon ( ; ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in Newport, Wales. Situated on the River Usk, it lies northeast of Newport city centre, and southeast of Cwmbran. Caerleon is of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable ...
and Llandaff.[Toke, Leslie. "St. Dubric." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 14 April 2015]
/ref>
References
External links
*
{{authority control
460s births
550s deaths
6th-century Welsh bishops
6th-century Christian saints
Arthurian characters
Bishops of Llandaff
Burials at Llandaff Cathedral
Clergy from Herefordshire
Welsh Christian missionaries
Welsh royalty
Medieval Welsh saints
Welsh hermits