Saint David (patron saint of Wales)

Timeline

1. c. 500–530Pembrokeshire, Wales · WalesDavid was born in post-Roman Wales; according to medieval biographies, his father was Saint Sant, king of Ceredigion, and his mother was Saint Non. He studied under Saint Guistilianus and the renowned monastic teacher Saint Illtyd, receiving an education in Latin, theology, and scripture that laid a solid foundation for monastic scholarship.
2. c. 530–550Menevia · PembrokeshireDavid founded a monastery at Menevia in the far southwest of Wales, enforcing a strict ascetic rule: monks had to till the land themselves, refused to use draft animals, abstained from alcohol, and drank only water (hence his nickname 'the Water-drinker', Ddyfrwr). The monastery became the spiritual center of Welsh Christianity, attracting pilgrims and scholars from Britain and Ireland.
3. c. 545–589Brefi · CeredigionAround 545, David attended the Synod of Brefi; according to tradition, his preaching caused the ground to rise into a hill, after which he was elected chief bishop or archbishop of Wales. He firmly opposed the Pelagian heresy and defended orthodox belief, continuing to govern the monastery in his later years until his death. Later tradition fixed his date of death as 1 March 589, which became the Welsh national day, 'Saint David's Day'.