The Life of St. Deiniol
Peniarth MS. 225 (1602), p. 155.
The Legend In Nine Lessons Of S. Daniel (Deiniol), Bishop Of Bangor.
Lesson i.
God, wonderful in His saints, and glorious in majesty, desiring His saints to be accounted glorious by the faithful of Christ, and to be venerated in a worthy and laudable manner, continues to adorn them wonderfully Himself with unnumbered miracles. Among them, our Lord preferred to be pastor of His Holy Church the most blessed Daniel, Bishop and Confessor, adorned with the grace of holiness, and distinguished for many kinds of miracles. We could not relate all the miracles which the Saviour has thought good to work by the merits of the aforesaid S. Daniel, but we have thought that we must commend some of them to the notice of your devotion.
But do Thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us.
Lesson ii.
The blessed Daniel, then, sprung from a noble race of the Britons, when he came to man's estate, having left his parents and his native country, and wishing to lead the life of an eremite and a solitary (to whom the better part is given, and shall, moreover, not be taken away) came to a certain mountain, which is now called Daniel's Mount, near Pembroke, in the Diocese of Menevia, thinking that that place, removed from the noise of men, was suitable and fit for enjoying the fruits of Divine contemplation, and resolved, if God permitted, to remain in that same mountain to serve his eternal Lord.
But do Thou, O Lord, etc.
Lesson iii.
The lord of the place received him kindly, and gave him as much of his own land as he thought necessary for his daily sustenance, together with animals and servants suitable for agriculture, a cottage being constructed for his dwelling on the spot where now is a church of wondrous beauty and size, built in honour and in the name of the same saint; and in fastings, in prayers, and other works of piety, he most devoutly served the Almighty God, his Creator.
But do Thou, O Lord, etc.
Lesson iv.
In course of time, the Cathedral Church of Bangor becoming vacant through the death of its Bishop, those to whom the election or provision of a Bishop in that Church pertained met; the grace of the Holy Spirit was invoked, and it was revealed from heaven that they should send without delay into Pembroke, and choose a certain eremite dwelling on a mountain in the southern part of Pembroke, to be Bishop and pastor of their Church, and it was added that he was named Daniel.
But do Thou, O Lord, etc.
Lesson v.
They at once sent messengers to the aforesaid part. The messengers, coming there, found the eremite in the place we named before, and, having first greeted, him, ask him, "What is thy name?" He humbly replied, "I am called Daniel, but am no prophet." Then the messengers rejoiced with great joy, and told him. in detail the object of their journey and arrival there. But he, being incredibly astonished, says, " How can this be, that you claim me as Bishop-elect, since I have hardly the elements of learning nor any knowledge of letters?" In reply they said, " It is the will of God that it should be so." And he, being overcome by their insistence, and wishing to obey the Divine call, left all that he had, and followed them in the name of the Saviour, until they arrived at the entrance of the city of Bangor.
But do Thou, O Lord, etc.
Lesson vi.
And at once all the bells of the city were rung without the hand of man. But when the people who were in the city heard the sound of the bells they went into the Church, and, finding no one ringing the bells, said to one another that it was a miracle which the Lord had wrought; and immediately, lo, the messengers with Daniel now stood at the Church doors. Then the clergy of that Church, conducting Daniel to the High Altar of the Church, and singing with the utmost fervour the Te Deum laudamus, praised the Saviour's mercy. And when S. Daniel arose from prayer he was so endowed with all ecclesiastical knowledge that no one in Britain seemed then like him in knowledge and letters.
But do Thou, O Lord, etc.
Lesson vii.
After the due intervals of time, being duly promoted to all the lesser and greater Orders, he is consecrated Bishop with great honour, and enthroned, to the exceeding joy even of the people. And so, attired in the pontifical chasuble, he showed himself loving to God and to all men. But it would be too long a task to enumerate the miracles which the Lord thought good to work through his merits, both during his lifetime and after he had passed hence ; for they were very many. One night, whilst the holy man dwelt on the mountain in Pembroke, two evilly disposed men came thither to steal the oxen which had been given to the holy man to plough his land, and, taking the oxen, began to lead them away. But the holy man in his dwelling, hearing the noise of the men and animals, saw through his window the thieves taking the oxen away, and went out, and shouted, " Wait, wait a moment, in the name of the Lord." But they, hearing his voice, ran the faster, and S. Daniel, making the sign of the Cross towards the oxen, lest he who had given them should suffer loss for his praiseworthy deed, immediately the thieves were turned into two stones on the spot, standing like men, unto this day. But the animals returned to their accustomed pastures.
But do Thou, O Lord, etc.
Lesson viii.
Another time, when the holy man could not find animals with which he might plough his land, behold, there came out of Pencoed wood, which was nigh, two great stags to the place where the land was to be ploughed, and, submitting their necks to the yoke, like tame beasts, drew the plough all day, and, when the day's work was ended, returned to the said wood.
But do Thou, O Lord, etc.
Lesson ix.
Once the holy man went on a religious pilgrimage to Jerusalem. When he had gone over the places of the Nativity and Passion of the Lord, and had visited the Sepulchre in which the body of the Saviour rested, he came to the river Jordan, hallowed by the Baptism of Christ, and filled a vial of the water, and took it away with him to the top of the mountain near Pembroke, on which his dwelling had been built, where there was no little dearth of water. Having called upon the name of Christ, he drove in his staff, and poured out the water which he had brought from the Holy Land upon the ground, and immediately the staff grew into a most beautiful tree, and a fountain of the sweetest water sprang up on the spot, capable of healing diverse diseases, if taken as a drink. A certain woman from near Caerwy, in the Diocese of Menevia, was so extra-ordinarily swollen that she could get no relief through any advice of the physicians. .At last she came to the Church of S. Daniel, and afterwards to the aforesaid fountain, and, praying for the help of the saint, drank of that water to recover her health, and, before going away, came to the Church door, and cast forth from her mouth, in sight of many bystanders, three horrible worms with four feet each; and the woman was made whole from that hour. Moreover, the wife of a certain man from near Oxford, who was for a very long time blind, being warned in dreams by S. Daniel, or rather, by Divine revelation being brought to the said Church of S. Daniel, passed the night there in devout prayers, in company with a certain blind chaplain, and many others, and each of them received his sight the same night through the merits of the self-same Confessor, with the help of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who with God the Father and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth God for ever and ever. Amen.
But do Thou, O Lord, etc.
Prayer concerning the same.
O God, Who didst will the blessed Bishop Daniel to be a pastor of Thy Church, Grant perpetually that we who do lean on his benefits may, by his prayers, attain the glory of everlasting felicity, through our Lord Jesus Christ, etc.
From an ancient MS., 1602.
SOURCES
Baring-Gould, S., John Fischer. The Lives of the British Saints. London: The Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion, 1913.
This vita is found in one manuscript, Pen. 225, and brought to S. Baring-Gould's attention by Edward Anwyl. The translation is presumably by Baring-Gould. The original Latin text is filled with abbreviations, and once I've worked those out I'll post it.