Poems in praise of St David

Two poems to St David now published

Iolo Goch, Mawl i Ddewi Sant 

This long cywydd by one of the foremost poets of the fourteenth century is a clear indication of the national importance of the cult of St David. Iolo Goch was a poet from north-east Wales, and in stating his intention to undertake the long journey to St Davids he refers to the belief that three pilgrimages to St Davids were equivalent to one to Jerusalem. Most of the content of the poem corresponds to the Latin and Welsh Lives, but there is also additional material which probably derived from oral traditions about the saint.

Lewys Glyn Cothi, Awdl-gywydd i Ddewi Sant

This short poem recounts a small selection of traditions about St David, and the emphasis on Ceredigion suggests that it may have been commissioned by a patron from that region.