Exploring Medieval Monasteries, part 3

Hello. In the year 380, the Emperor Theodosius made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. He banned pagan practices. And some 10-15 years later, in the Vale of Glamorgan, a monastic school was established, Britain's first centre of learning, and it was dedicated to Theodosius. It did not survive long after the end of the Roman occupation of Britain, around about 410, abandoned soon after, probably destroyed in the turmoil that followed in that period. And it was then refounded, around about the year 508, by St. Eltot. And Eltot was the abbot. And a number of famous names studied here. St. Samson, very important early missionary saint, studied here. Probably St. David, patron saint of Wales. And the writer of one of our most important early sources, St. Gildas, who wrote a very pessimistic assessment of what was happening in Britain, which he called, On the Ruin and Conquest of Britain. Concerned with the Anglo-Saxons moving in. The site is now occupied by St. Eltot's church, and it's at Clantwit Major, in the Vale of Morgan. That clan word, it's a Welsh word. Originally, it just meant an enclosed piece of land. But because churches and monastic sites were enclosed, it has come to mean, around a church. And in Welsh, Ca'n Iltwp Fwy. The great church of St. Eltot. Now the church has been rebuilt over the years, but it's got a very complex layout, and that reflects the earlier monastic buildings. There's a central tower. To the west of that, is a parochial church. Bits of which are 10th century, mostly 15th century. To the east of the tower, there is the nave and chancel of the monastic church. Became the parish church after the dissolution. And what we can see inside, is what now serves as the Reridos. The screen behind the altar, has got a door each side. Clearly this was once a rude screen, dividing two sections of the church. And then at the west end of the church, there is a Galilee chapel. Now I've said this was an important centre of learning. Not only were people getting a Christian education here, they were also learning about the classics. Something that later monks would have thought was idolatrous. And at its peak, probably over a thousand students here. So this is a significant centre of learning. In the Galilee chapel, at the ruined west end, which dates to about the 13th century, there's a fine collection of early crosses. Some of them date to 8th and 9th century. One of them is the cross of St. Iltut. The inscription tells us it was raised by a 9th century abbot. And there's a wheelhead cross dedicated to Huelt, the son of Rhys. So probably Glamorgan royalty. And again, probably 9th century. On the south side of the church, there is a broad stone bench in a very sunny spot. And I suspect this may well be the remnant of the early cloisters. Now by the time we get to the Norman conquests, then the monastery was in a fairly diminished state. And the Norman who took over in this part of Wales was Robert Fitz Hayman. And he gave the property to Tewkesbury Abbey. And they put a small group of priests in to run a small scale school. And we have the ruins of a small medieval house on the edge of the churchyard. And this is where the school continued until 1536, when the monastery was dissolved. Now there's lots of evidence for other early monastic sites in this general area. At Barry Island, a peninsula rather than an island, and named after St. Barry or St. Barrack. And then on the little islands, we move out into the Bristol Channel just off the coast of the Morgan, there's Steep Home, Flat Home, and Berry Homes. Now Berry Homes, that's been subject to extensive archaeological digs. And evidence has been found of human occupation over many periods dating right back to the Mesolithic. But on the eastern side of the island was evidence of a monastic site. There is signs there of a post built shrine and other buildings. Further out into the Bristol Channel, on Lundy Island, we have the remains of St. Ellen's chapel. The chapel in the background is St. Ellen's, that's 1890s. But this site, an earlier site, St. Ellen has been associated with this hermitage with Ellen. She was traditionally the wife of Magnus Clemens Maximus. Now he was Roman Emperor in the 380s, usurped the throne to rule Britain and Gaul before he was killed in battle. And there's a granite walled enclosure which contains a cemetery, and there's also a well which is now dried now. The inscribed Christian memorial stones were found that date back to the 5th and the 6th century. They're not in situ, but they're not far away. Short Latin inscriptions tell us that they commemorate both men and women, and early Christian burials have been found here. Around 30 kiss graves, it is thought there are more to be discovered. Kiss graves lined with stone, but Christian graves, no grave goods oriented east-west. Clear indication of a religious community, founded here by some unknown Celtic missionary. This is a view of the cemetery from the old light which stands next door. Now at the centre of this site, there was a kiss burial that had been opened and the body had been removed. And that has led to a suggestion that the founder of the monastery here might have been Necton, and St. Necton's remains were later moved to Hortland, where we find St. Necton's church at Stoke St. Necton, sometimes called the Cathedral of North Devon. The current church is 14th century. But we know there were monks here in 1050, that's recorded. It may well have been the site of a much earlier community. And close to the church, there is a well, it's got a medieval shelter around it now, which is reputed to be the site of one of St. Necton's hermitages. Now elsewhere in North Devon, a possible early site at Braunton, the place name is associated with St. Branach, a Welsh monk. And John Betjeman reckons St. Branach was buried beneath the altar here. St. Branach's church you see today is mostly 13th century, but it is on Saxon foundations. And there is a legend that says Branach built his first church on a hill, and that fell down. He then had a dream. And in the dream, he was told, look for a sow and piglets and where you find them, build your church there. And that explains the change of site. And the story is commemorated in a stained glass window in the church, and also on a roof boss. And then if we move into Cornwall, we have place name evidence, which tells us that an early settlement, monastic religious settlement, St. Burian in West Penwith. And interestingly, here we have what in Cornish is known as a lan, the same as the Welsh clan word for a church, a churchyard, but here it means a circular churchyard, a good indication of a very early religious site. At St. Cavern and the Lizard, there is a place name, Leneige, which means the court of the monks land. And the district is called Meneige, monkish lands. So again, indications for early monastic settlement. We know there's a monastery in Anglo-Saxon times, but it seems that there was a much earlier foundation. Now I'm going to stay in the southwest next time to look at a monastic site that is now buried beneath a beach in Cornwall. But we've been looking at Celtic Christianity, and I want to move on to look at Augustine's mission sent from Rome in 597, lands in Kent, and his task is to convert the Anglo-Saxons. So those two items in the next session. If you've enjoyed this video, hit the like and subscribe buttons and click on the notification bell to be informed when the next video is released. Or you can subscribe by clicking on the rose window over my shoulder.