Dubricius

Dubricius or Dubric (Welsh: Dyfrig; Norman-French: Devereux; c. 465 – c. 550) was a 6th-century British ecclesiastic venerated as a saint. He was the evangelist of Ergyng (Welsh: Erging) (later Archenfield, Herefordshire) and much of south-east Wales.

Biography

Dubricius was the illegitimate son of Efrddyl, the daughter of King Peibio Clafrog of Ergyng. His grandfather threw his mother into the River Wye when he discovered she was pregnant, but failed to drown her. Dubricius was born in Madley in Herefordshire, England. He and his mother were reconciled with Peibio when the child Dubricius touched him and cured him of his leprosy.¹

Noted for his precocious intellect, by the time he attained manhood he was already known as a scholar throughout Britain.² Dubricius founded a monastery at Hentland and then one at Moccas.³ He became the teacher of many well-known Welsh saints, including Teilo and Samson and also healed the sick of various disorders through the laying on of hands.⁴ Dedications at Porlock and near Luccombe on the coast of may indicate that he also travelled in that area. He later became , possibly with his seat at , and probably held sway over all of and , an area that was later known as the . However, he may have merely been a bishop for the purpose of ordaining priests, not as administrative head of the church over a geographical area. Dubricius was good friends with Saints and , and attended the in 545, where he is said to have resigned his see in favour of . He retired to where he was eventually buried before his body was transferred to in 1120.