The Monastery of Saint David was a monastery in the current day St Davids in

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and ...

. It was founded by the patron saint of Wales, Saint David. It was on the site of the current St Davids Cathedral. David is thought to have founded a new church and monastery at a place then known as "Glyn Rhosyn" on the banks of the Afon Alun. The monastery would become known as ''Tyddewi'' (House of David) and was a famous centre of pilgrimage early in its history, attracting both foreign pilgrims of status and numerous Viking attacks by the ninth century. The scholastic community was famous throughout the Celtic world and in Anglo-Saxon England. When

Alfred the Great Alfred the Great ( ; – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who both died when Alfr ...

wanted to establish a centre of learning at his court, he requested Asserius Menevensis, (Asser of St Davids) to join them. At that time, Asser had lived all his life at St Davids, being raised,

tonsure Tonsure () is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the Latin word ' (meaning "clipping" or "shearing") and referred to a specific practice in ...

d, trained and ordained there. Yet Alfred's desire to secure his service was such that he acquiesced to a number of delays and requests before finally agreeing that Asser could split his time between Alfred's court and St David's. The Monastic Rule of David prescribed that monks had to pull the plough themselves without draught animals, and must drink only water and eat only bread with salt and herbs.Roberts, Holly. (2004). ''Vegetarian Christian Saints''. Anjeli Press. p. 131. "David and his fellow members within this community believed hard manual labor was the duty of all, thus preferring not to use cattle to help them plow the fields. They resolved to maintain a diet of bread and vegetables, with just a sprinkling of salt, so as not to inflict unnecessary suffering upon any creature by taking its life for food." The monks spent their evenings in prayer, reading and writing. No personal possessions were allowed: even to say "my book" was considered an offence. David lived a simple life and practised

asceticism Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures through self-discipline, self-imposed poverty, and simple living, often for the purpose of pursuing Spirituality, spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world ...

, teaching his followers to refrain from eating meat and drinking beer.

References

Former Christian monasteries in the United Kingdom Christian monasteries in Wales St Davids Cathedral {{Wales-stub