St Cadoc Day January 24th

St Cadoc was born in 497 AD, a Saint, and Martyr, who founded a monastery at Llancarfan, near Cowbridge, Glamorgan, Wales. He also has associations with Scotland, Brittany, and England. His story is not written down until the 11th Century. But it is fascinating and, in its own way, a charming story. The gentle son of a savage, robber King, he was educated in Latin under an Irish priest, and refused his father’s orders to fight. But he lived to convert his parents . He is known as Cattwg Ddoeth, “the Wise”, although his sayings are mired in the forgeries of Iolo Morganwg. (aka Edward Williams, collector of Medieval Welsh literature and forger.)

Cadoc comes into conflict with King Arthur. In Welsh literature, King Arthur is a brave but wilful King. He demanded Cadoc give him compensation after the Saint sheltered a man who had killed three of Arthur’s men. The compensation was delivered as a herd of cows, but as soon as Arthur took charge of them they turned into ferns.

Cadoc and the Saxons

Cadoc was forced out of Britain by the pagan Anglo-Saxons, but eventually, he felt he had to return despite the grave danger he would face. He wanted to obey his own maxim:

Would you find glory? Then march to the grave.

He therefore moved to the Saxon settlements to give spiritual succour to the native British Christians, survivors of Saxon massacres. His martyrdom took place at Weedon in Northamptonshire. Here his Service was interrupted by Saxon horsemen, and Cadoc was slain as he served the Eucharist. He lived, probably, in the later 5th Century/Early 6th Century.

The Catholic Church celebrates him in September, elsewhere on the 24th January.

For more, look at https://celticsaints.org or Wikipedia.

On This Day

41 – Claudius found hiding behind a curtain and proclaimed Emperor after Caligula assassinated

1536 -Henry VIII falls off his horse while jousting, sustains brain injuries that some say explain his worsening behaviour? Or what is just that he was a narcissistic, privileged individual with too much power?

1972 – Japanese Sgt. Shoichi Yokoi discovered in a Guam jungle, where he had been hiding since the end of World War II.

1984 – Macintosh personal computer put on sale by Apple in the United States.

First published in January 2023, republished in January 2024, 2026