The Welsh Life of St. David

This scholarly edition of The Welsh Life of St David presents the medieval text of the Life of one of the early Christian missionaries of west Wales. More than one recension of the Latin Life written by Rhigyfarch was produced between the end of the eleventh century and the emergence of the abridged version in Welsh written by an unknown author at the start of the fourteenth century. The present annotated text of the Welsh Life is based on that found in the Book of the Anchorite of Llanddewibrefi (c. 1350), and contains a detailed comparison with the earlier Latin version. The comprehensive introduction by D. Simon Evans considers early references to David alongside valid information relating to the Saint in the sixth century, in order clearly to identify the historical David and to outline his significance in an early period of Welsh history. The Welsh Life of St David was first published by the University of Wales Press in 1988.