convening of a general synod of all the churches of Wales. All the bishops and abbots, and religious of different orders, together with the princes and laymen, were assembled together at Brevi, in the county of Cardigan. When many discourses had been delivered in public, and were ineffectual to reclaim the Pelagians from their error; at length Paulinus, a bishop, with whom David had studied in his youth, very earnestly entreated, that that holy, excellent, and eloquent man might be sent for. Messengers were, therefore, dispatched to desire his attendance; but their importunity was unavailing with the holy man, he being so fully and intensely given up to contemplation that it was urgent necessity alone that could induce him to pay any regard to secular concerns. At length two holy men, namely, Daniel and Dubricius, went over to him. By them he was persuaded to come to the synod; and upon his arrival he silenced the opponents, and they were utterly vanquished. But Father David, by the common consent of all, whether clergy or laity (Dubricius having resigned in his favour), was elected primate of the Cambrian churches."

Some time after this another synod was held, at a place which, in Giraldus, is called Victoria; and in this the decrees of the former synod were confirmed. And now we are told that the churches flourished, and increased exceedingly. One sign of this prosperous state of the church, according to Giraldus, was the founding of various monasteries, and the collecting various congregations of religious persons, who retired from the world to give themselves up entirely to devotion. But the labours of the primate, his zeal for truth, his charity and his holy life, adorned the Christian cause. How long he continued to fulfil his metropolitan office is not certain, as he retired to his monastery in Pem

brokeshire, for some years before his death. As he was reluctantly induced to accept of the honours conferred upon him, he probably did not long continue in his dignity of archbishop.

It was in the year after the Synod at Brevi, that the great battle of Badon Mount was fought. By the success of the Britons, under Arthur, in that action, the Saxons, under Cerdic, were prevented crossing the Severn, and pushing their conquests into the Silurian territories; and thus the churches of Cambria were providentially enabled to enjoy repose, and afford an asylum to the persecuted Christians, from those parts of the island subjugated to the Saxons.

The Cambro-Britons could not refrain from their old customary practices, of disturbing each other by mutual jealousies, being unable to continue long without some variances among themselves. But, as Gildas observes, the remembrance of their late calamities was for awhile the means of keeping up among them some kind of order and government. At this time, says Bishop Stillingfleet, Gildas speaks the best of the Britons that he doth in his whole book; for he says, that kings, and public and private persons, the bishops, and churchmen, did all keep to the duty of their places. But then he adds, when the sense of these calamities was worn out, and a new generation arose, they fell into such degeneracy as to cast off all the reins of truth and justice; that no remainder of it appeared in any sort of men, except a few, a very few, whose number was so small, in comparison with the rest, that the church could hardly discern her genuine children when they lay in her bosom.*

Soon after the death of Arthur, A. D. 542, some of

* Ut eos quodammodo venerabilis mater ecclesia in suo sinu recumbentes non videat, quos solos veros filios habeat.

the most eminent men in the British church departed this life. Of that great prince, it is said, by William of Malmsbury, “That, laying aside the frantic tales which the Britons believe concerning him, his deeds were worthy to be related by the pen of genuine history; for he was the stay of his sinking country, and he animated their unbroken spirits to deeds of war." Another ancient historian speaks more at large; "That he was truly worthy not to be the subject of fabulous tales, but to be honoured with a place in the annals of genuine history; for he restored his nation which had been trampled upon by foreigners, and drove off the perfidious invaders from the borders of his country. He reformed the celebration of Divine worship, which had been nearly destroyed, in the cities, villages, and towns; he restored the churches which had been destroyed by the Pagan Saxons, or were going to decay; and he took care to have proper pastors and bishops appointed, to watch over the churches, and to devote themselves to the study of religion."*

That the Saxons, at different times, broke into some parts of Wales, we have every reason to believe; and although we have no particulars related, it is probable that Arthur had many conflicts and skirmishes with parties of them, within the Cambrian territories, previous to that famous battle in Somersetshire with Kerdic.

The death of David we have mentioned as happening about A. D. 544; and some time after died Daniel, who had collected a religious congregation, and founded a church upon the Menai, under the auspices of prince Malgon. This was the foundation of the bishopric of Bangor.

Kynog, or Kinocus, according to the British chronicle, succeeded St. David, as archbishop and primate of the

* Usher, p. 271.

Cambrian churches, being translated from Lan Badarn (Fanum Paterni) to occupy that dignity.

The island of Ramsay, or Enlli, off the coast of Carnarvonshire, was at this time become a place much resorted to for devout retirement. Here it was that Daniel, and several others of the British saints, ended their days; and so celebrated was this spot considered in after ages, that it obtained the name of Ynys y mil saint.*

There was also a similar place off the coast of Glamorgan, according to Usher: but it is not certain what island that was; it may have been the small Isle of Barry, or some spot contiguous to the promontory of Wormshead.

It was about the middle of the sixth century, that Bangor Maelor, called also Bangor Iscoed, on the river Dee, was founded by Dunoth, or Dunod, father of Daniel, just mentioned. Dunoth, in conjunction with his three sons, is said to have been the promoter of this institution, under the patronage of Cyngen, or Cunganus, the prince of the territory of Powys, in which this place was situated. We have before noticed, that in our old documents this is considered as the largest and the most celebrated of all the Bangors, or British monasteries. There have been egregious mistakes committed respecting the high antiquity of Bangor Iscoed; and it has been roundly asserted, that Pelagius, in the fourth century, was one of the monks of Bangor; whereas there were no religious institutions of the kind before the coming over of Garmon and Lupus.

Teliaus, whose proper name was Eliud, and by the Welsh called Teilo, appears to have been the principal person in the Cambrian church, after the secession of St. David from the primacy: but he is generally considered

* The island of the thousand saints, or monkish devotees.

as the first bishop of Landaff; and hence that diocese was called Plwyf Teilo, or The Parish of Teilo, and Escobaeth Teilo, or The Bishopric of Teilo. As Dubricius was sometimes called the bishop of Landaff, and at other times the archbishop of Caerleon (that being the metropolitan city), Teilo also was denominated both ways. Landaff was the first consecrated place, at least in Wales; and hence the bishop of Landaff bore prece dency: but, on account of the dignity of Caerleon, he was as metropolitan stiled archbishop of Caerleon. In process of time, the Welsh primate was called archbishop of St. David's: but the Landaff clergy became so displeased at the see being removed to St. David's, that they refused submission to the archbishop, and disputed precedency with him. Rather than be subject to St. David's, they preferred subjecting themselves to the English primate; this they accordingly did, when Dunstan filled the metropolitan see of Canterbury.

Paternus, (or Padarn), the founder of the monastery of Lanbadarn, which afterwards gave name to a diocese, exercised the pastoral care over his flock for twenty-one years; and then went over to Britany, his native country. Paternus was the intimate friend of Samson, the metropolitan of that country; and by him he was made bishop of Vannes.

There were two eminent persons in that age who bore the same name: him of whom we are now speaking was the son of Amon, an Armoric prince; and his mother was Anna, the daughter of Meirick ap Tewdrick, the same personage with Uthyr, the father of Arthur, whose nephew, therefore, this Samson was. He presided, for some time, over the college of Iltutus; he then removed into Britany, whence he returned into Glamorgan, and died at St. Iltutus's or Lantwit, where a stone monument, erected in honour of him, is still to be seen: