On 1 March the Welsh flag was flying outside the British Embassy as we marked St David’s Day. And several staff were wearing dragon or daffodil badges in their lapels to recognise the patron saint of Wales. (I even persuaded the Australian Ambassador to wear a daffodil alongside his kangaroo.) The date marks the anniversary of the death of St David (or “Dewi Sant”), possibly in 588 or 589 AD. He was a Celtic monk, abbot and bishop, perhaps of royal descent. During his life, he was archbishop of Wales, and he was one of many early saints who helped to spread Christianity among the pagan Celtic tribes of western Britain. He was in fact the only Patron Saint of the four chief nations of the United Kingdom to have been born in the land that adopted him.
Many traditions and legends are associated with St David. When he rose to address to a great crowd at one famous synod, when he could not be heard, he laid a handkerchief on the ground and stood on it to speak, whereupon it is said that the ground rose under his feet forming a little hill so that all could hear him speak and a golden-beaked dove is said to have landed on his shoulder as a symbol of his holiness. As he prepared for his death, St David uttered his most famous words. “Lords, brothers and sisters, be cheerful, keep the faith, and do those little things which you have seen me do and heard me say.” Another popular legend tells us that St. David advised the Britons on the eve of a battle with the Saxons to wear leeks in their caps so as to easily distinguish friend from foe. This helped to secure a great victory. The words for daffodil and for leek are virtually the same in Welsh. And this may be why both have been adopted as national emblems and are key features of the 1 March celebrations, which also involve singing, poetry and traditional food. Though it may be worth recording that St David himself was an aesthete, who seems to have lived mostly on bread and water.
On 2 March I will be speaking at an event in the Museum Cafe in Budapest at 15.00 to launch a project to orchestrate (by Karl Jenkins) the famous poem “The Bards of Wales” by Arany Janos, whose birthday it is. This poem records an event which never happened, when Edward I is said to have ordered the execution of 500 Welsh poets, but in fact it is a metaphor for Hungarian opposition to the Habsburg Empire in 1848/9. Project Director Laszlo Irinyi has spearheaded this project, of which HRH the Prince of Wales has kindly consented to be patron. It will be performed in mid-2011 in the UK and Hungary. It is a fine example of a blend of two rich cultures.