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Sir David Mathew (1400–1484; born Dafydd ap Mathew, was a Welsh Knight. He was Lord of
Llandaff
Llandaff (; cy, Llandaf ; from 'church' and ''River Taff, Taf'') is a district, Community (Wales), community and coterminous electoral ward in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It was incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of ...
and
Seneschal of
Llandaff Cathedral
Llandaff Cathedral ( cy, Eglwys Gadeiriol Llandaf) is an Anglican cathedral and parish church in Llandaff, Cardiff, Wales. It is the seat of the Bishop of Llandaff, head of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff. It is dedicated to Saint Pet ...
, and one of the ten Great Barons of
Glamorgan, a
Marcher Lord
A Marcher lord () was a noble appointed by the king of England to guard the border (known as the Welsh Marches) between England and Wales.
A Marcher lord was the English equivalent of a margrave (in the Holy Roman Empire) or a marquis (in ...
. It was said he was one of the most distinguished men of his age and a zealous supporter of the
Yorkist
The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, t ...
cause. After saving the life of
King Edward IV at the
Battle of Towton
The Battle of Towton took place on 29 March 1461 during the Wars of the Roses, near Towton in North Yorkshire, and "has the dubious distinction of being probably the largest and bloodiest battle on English soil". Fought for ten hours between ...
in 1461, he was appointed Grand
Standard Bearer of England
The Standard Bearer of England was once an important office within the English army, especially during the times when Kings were still present on the battlefield. As standard-bearer Henry de Essex was greatly chastised when he threw down the Eng ...
and King Edward IV granted the use of 'Towton' on his arms.
Biography
Sir David Mathew was the son of Mathew ap Ieuan (or Evan).
[Sir David was the first to adopt the modern style of Welsh surname, "Mathew", having discontinued use of the traditional Welsh ]patronymic
A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor.
Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, alt ...
"ap Mathew", meaning "son of Mathew". The name, properly "Mathew", was spelt by Sir David's descendants variously, e.g., in the Funeral Entries, preserved in the ''Record Tower at Dublin'', vol. vii., p. 18, the name of the founder of the Irish branch of the family is entered as "George Matthewes, Oct. 1670". Admiral Mathew of Llandaff Court, and all his descendants, spelt their name invariably "Mathews".
Sir David was also Lord of Llandaff and Seneschal of Llandaff Cathedral. He had a grant of 2,232 acres of land from
Henry VI, the reversion of
Caneton, and from William, Earl of Pembroke lands at
St Fagans and at
Pentyrch
Pentyrch ( cy, Pen-tyrch) is a village and community located on the western outskirts of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The village gives its name to a Cardiff local authority electoral ward, Pentyrch, which covers the village and immediat ...
.
[ quotes ]
Sir David was a zealous supporter of the Yorkist cause, whose extraordinary prowess and daring in the field, even at a very advanced age, were used on behalf of the White Rose of York. He was a very tall man, said to stand tall.
[He was buried in Llandaff Cathedral, where his altar tomb may still be seen, the effigy of him thereon measuring .] At the Battle of Towton, on
Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Palm Sunday marks the first day of Hol ...
, 29 March 1461, although by then about sixty years old, he saved the life of
Edward IV and was rewarded by his grateful monarch with the honour of Grand
Standard Bearer of England
The Standard Bearer of England was once an important office within the English army, especially during the times when Kings were still present on the battlefield. As standard-bearer Henry de Essex was greatly chastised when he threw down the Eng ...
.
Sir David was one of the ten Great Barons of Glamorgan, and a
Marcher Lord
A Marcher lord () was a noble appointed by the king of England to guard the border (known as the Welsh Marches) between England and Wales.
A Marcher lord was the English equivalent of a margrave (in the Holy Roman Empire) or a marquis (in ...
. He received from Edward IV the grant of the use of the word "Towton" as an augmentation over his crest. In 1480 he restored the shrine of
Saint Teilo
Saint Teilo ( la, Teliarus or '; br, TeliauWainewright, John. in ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'', Vol. XIV. Robert Appleton Co. (New York), 1912. Accessed 20 July 2013. or '; french: Télo or '; – 9 February ), also known by his ...
which had been pillaged and desecrated by a gang of pirates from
Biston
In Greek mythology, Biston (Ancient Greek: Βίστων or Βιστών) was the son of Ares and Callirrhoe, daughter of river-god Nestus. His two brothers were Odomas and Edonus (eponyms of two Thracian tribes, the Odomanti and the Edoni). Al ...
, and was presented by
Bishop Marshall with
St. Teilo's skull, set in a costly
reliquary, to be an heirloom in his family, who carefully preserved it for about 200 years, until the death of William Mathew in 1658 at
Llandeilo
Llandeilo () is a town and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales, situated at the crossing of the River Towy by the A483 on a 19th-century stone bridge. Its population was 1,795 at the 2011 Census. It is adjacent to the westernmost point of the ...
.
Browne Willis
Browne Willis (16 September 1682 – 5 February 1760) was an antiquary, author, numismatist and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1705 to 1708.
Early life
Willis was born at Blandford St Mary, Dorset, the eldest son of Thomas Will ...
reported in his ''An survey of the Cathedral-Church of Landaff'' that Sir David was murdered in an altercation at
Neath, West Glamorgan by some members of the
Turberville family of Coity Castle.
[His tomb, ornamented with full-length effigy in ]alabaster
Alabaster is a mineral or rock that is soft, often used for carving, and is processed for plaster powder. Archaeologists and the stone processing industry use the word differently from geologists. The former use it in a wider sense that include ...
, is in Saint Mary's Chapel in Llandaff Cathedral, which has ever since been the property and burial-place of the family of (Mathew) is one of the most interesting extant monuments of that time. An accurate description of the various monuments of the family in this chapel may be found in ''An survey...'': "This is said to be the Monument of David Matthew the Great, who was Standard-Bearer to Edward IV, and was murther'd at Neath ... by some of the Turberviles, with whom he was at Variance" .
Armorials
Two different arms are recorded as having been used by the Mathew family, both consisting of a lion rampant, but with differing tinctures. The branch seated at Llandaff, thus the senior line, is generally ascribed ''Or, a lion rampant sable'', whilst the branch seated at
Radyr, descended from Sir David Mathew's younger brother, is generally ascribed ''Sable, a lion rampant argent''. Yet confusingly the 1980 heraldic restoration of the Mathew tombs at Llandaff carried out by Hugh P. Mathew, who was recognised by the College of Arms as having proved his direct descent from Sir David Mathew, has resulted in the Radyr coat being painted on the tomb of Sir Christopher, who was head of the Llandaff branch. Rev. Murray Mathew (1895) assigns to Sir David the Radyr coat. Moreover, the Earls Landaff used the coat of the Llandaff branch even though they were descended from the Radyr branch. Unfortunately the tomb of Sir David bears no heraldry by which the confusion might be resolved. The arms of Radyr ''Sable, a lion rampant argent'' were supposedly adopted in honour of the White Rose, according to Rev Murray Mathew.
Crest
The crest is also not without confusion, being given variously as a "heathcock" (another name for
partridge
A partridge is a medium-sized galliform bird in any of several genera, with a wide native distribution throughout parts of Europe, Asia and Africa. Several species have been introduced to the Americas. They are sometimes grouped in the Perd ...
, of the pheasant family), a "moorcock", a "fieldcock", (a vague term possibly denoting
grouse
Grouse are a group of birds from the order Galliformes, in the family Phasianidae. Grouse are presently assigned to the tribe Tetraonini (formerly the subfamily Tetraoninae and the family Tetraonidae), a classification supported by mitochondria ...
), a
blackcock
The black grouse (''Lyrurus tetrix''), also known as northern black grouse, Eurasian black grouse, blackgame or blackcock, is a large Game (food), game Aves, bird in the grouse family. It is a Bird migration, sedentary species, spanning across t ...
, (of the grouse family) and is shown on the Earl Landaff memorial in a form akin to a farmyard cock or
rooster
The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...
. The effigy of Sir David does however show most of the bird forming the crest of his helm upon which he rests his head, but it is missing the head. The feet are short and sturdy, suggesting a grouse-type bird and are not the long legs of a rooster
[The heathcock crest may be observed on the helm of the effigy of Sir David Mathew in Llandaff Cathedral. The "Genealogy of the Earls of Landaff" gives the crest for Sir David as a ]blackcock
The black grouse (''Lyrurus tetrix''), also known as northern black grouse, Eurasian black grouse, blackgame or blackcock, is a large Game (food), game Aves, bird in the grouse family. It is a Bird migration, sedentary species, spanning across t ...
proper, although the Earls of Landaff bore as crest a "heathcock proper", which is however depicted akin to a rooster on the mural monument erected in 1987 in memory of Thomas James Mathew(d.1862), son and heir of Francis Mathew, 2nd Earl Landaff
Francis James Mathew, 2nd Earl Landaff Order of St Patrick, KP (20 January 1768 – 12 March 1833), styled The Honourable Francis Mathew from 1783 to 1797 and Viscount Mathew from 1797 to 1806, was an Irish peer and politician.
Mathew sat for Ti ...
in the Mathew Chapel, Llandaff () A gilded bird, probably a dove, is used as a foot-rest in the effigy of St Teilo in Llandaff Cathedral.
Motto
The
motto
A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...
of Mathew is in Welsh: ''Y Fyn Duw A Fydd'' ("What God willeth will be").
Family
Sir David married Wenllian 1396–1470 of Glamorgan, daughter of Sir George Herbert. He left by Wenllian three sons.
He had the following three sons:
* David (born 1425 1st. son) He married Ann Myddletonn (b. 1430), with whom he had one son, Jenkyn Mathew. David was the founder of the "Mathews" American line, which would eventually arrive in the new world with Thomas Mathews (b. 1660) Thomas arrived in Halifax, Virginia, circa 1700.
* Reyborn (or "Reinborn, Rimbron," etc.)(d.1470), 2nd. son. He was the founder of the
Llandaf
Llandaff (; cy, Llandaf ; from 'church' and '' Taf'') is a district, community and coterminous electoral ward in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It was incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of the Bishop of Llandaff, who ...
line of Mathew, having married Isabella (or Elizabeth) Denys, daughter of
Maurice Denys
Sir Maurice Denys (1516–1563) of Siston Court, near Bristol, Gloucestershire, and of St John's Street, Clerkenwell, Middlesex, was an English lawyer and property speculator during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, at which time he se ...
(d.1466), esquire, of
Alveston
Alveston is a village, civil parish and former royal manor in South Gloucestershire, England, inhabited in 2014 by about 3,000 people. The village lies south of Thornbury and north of Bristol. Alveston is twinned with Courville sur E ...
, Glos., Sheriff of Gloucestershire, by his 2nd wife Alice Poyntz, da. of Sir Nicholas Poyntz of
Iron Acton, Gloucestershire. Reyborn's will (dated 20 October 1470, proved 15 March 1471)
[National Archives Prob/11/6, image ref 7] directed that he should be buried in the Chapel of the Virgin Mary within
The Gaunt's Chapel, Bristol, where the Poyntz family later in about 1520 built a family chapel. His will directed that gold & silver items be placed upon the shrine of "his kinsmen"
Saint Teilo
Saint Teilo ( la, Teliarus or '; br, TeliauWainewright, John. in ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'', Vol. XIV. Robert Appleton Co. (New York), 1912. Accessed 20 July 2013. or '; french: Télo or '; – 9 February ), also known by his ...
,
Saint Oudoceus and
Saint Dubricius at Llandaff Cathedral. Reyborn's eldest son and heir was Sir Christopher Mathew(d.1528), whose effigy is one of three surviving Mathew effigies in Llandaf Cathedral. Sir Christopher's son was Miles Mathew,
Sheriff of Glamorgan in 1547. A later descendant was
Admiral Thomas Mathews(d.1751) who built
Llandaff Court and was court-martialled in mysterious circumstances.
* Thomas (1438–1470), 3rd son. He is mentioned in Reyborn's will, and had been the custodian of the relics of St Teilo. He married ''Catherine ferch Morgan'' (1436–1468), daughter of Welsh nobleman ''Morgan ap Llewellyn'', and founded the
Radyr line of Mathew. He was also buried at
The Gaunt's Chapel, Bristol. On Thomas' death in 1470, his lands passed to his son William Mathew (1460–1528), who was
knight
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
ed by
King Henry VII
Henry VII (28 January 1457 – 21 April 1509) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizure of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death in 1509. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor.
Henry's mother, Margaret Beaufo ...
at the
Battle of Bosworth
The Battle of Bosworth or Bosworth Field was the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the houses of Lancaster and York that extended across England in the latter half of the 15th century. Fought on 22 Au ...
in 1485.
Sir William accompanied
King Henry VIII to the
Field of the Cloth of Gold
The Field of the Cloth of Gold (french: Camp du Drap d'Or, ) was a summit meeting between King Henry VIII of England and King Francis I of France from 7 to 24 June 1520. Held at Balinghem, between Ardres in France and Guînes in the English ...
in 1520. Sir Knight William's successor was his eldest son Sir George Mathew (1486–1557) who became the
MP for
Glamorgan constituency and in 1545
Sheriff of Glamorgan.
From the Radyr line was founded the family of the
Earls Landaff in the
peerage of Ireland
The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divisi ...
.
Notes
References
*
*
*
* (Cathedral booklet)
*
;Attribution
*
*
*
Further reading
* (Historical romance of life of Sir David Mathew)
*
* (A history of the family)
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mathew, David
1400 births
1484 deaths
People of the Wars of the Roses
Welsh knights
People from Llandaff