Introduction

St Laurence was a deacon and a martyr who died c.258. He was born in Spain and went to Rome to serve Pope Sixtus II as deacon for the Church. During Sixtus’s papacy, Laurence was one of seven deacons who suffered martyrdom under Emperor Decius’s persecution against the Christian faith in the 250s. The most famous tradition about him, originating from his well-known cult, is how the emperor roasted him on a gridiron for refusing to worship the Roman gods and for hiding the Church’s treasure and distributing it to the poor. Consequently the gridiron became his emblem and he is remembered as the patron saint of the poor and of cooks. His feast is celebrated on 10 August and the Basilica Papale di San Lorenzo fuori le Mura in Rome was built on the site where he was buried (Ziolkowski_1994: 54–5).

The earliest versions of Laurence’s Life are in Latin, the Passio s. Laurentii (MS BL Cotton Vespasian D. xix); the Passio Polychronii which was translated into English in the tenth century (see Ziolkowski 1994: 62) and a long vita to him in the Legenda aurea (LA 488–501; for a Modern English translation see GL 449–60). It is believed that his cult became popular in England when Pope Vitalian sent his relics to King Oswin of Northumbria in the seventh century (Ziolkowski_1994: 61). Laurence the Martyr is referred to in most Welsh calendars and in the fifteenth century his name was evoked in a law text by an anonymous scribe associated with the Teifi valley. His name occurs alongside the names of native saints such as David and Gwenog in BL Add. 22, 356 and Christine James has suggested that, in the fifteenth century, Laurence was just as important to the religious consciousness of the Teifi valley as were the local saints (James_1997: 61–62). There are several concise references to his hideous death in the work of the Poets of the Gentry which associate him with a gridiron, a frying pan or a similar instrument (see HCLl 000, DN 0000, GLGC 65.39, GLMorg XCIII.17–20). Many churches have been dedicated to him in England and three in Wales, at Gumfreston, Yerbeston and St Laurence in the diocese of St Davids. It has been suggested that the remains of a medieval mural in his church at Gumfreston depict the martyrdom of St Laurence, but it is in fact more likely that the fragments depict Christ of the Trades – the implements at his feet serving as a warning to the parishioners that they should not toil on the Sabbath (see NPRN 300432). Laurence is also depicted with the griddle in medieval stained glass at Llanasa, Flintshire.

The first part of the Welsh Life is a summary or an adaptation of the first part of his Life in the Legenda aurea, recounting how Laurence came to Rome and how he was persecuted and tortured by the Romans (GL 449–460; LA 488–501). He went to Rome and became deacon to Pope Sixtus during the reign of Emperor Phillip,an emperor who supported the Christian faith. However, everything changed when Phillip was murdered by one of his knights, Decius, who eventually became the next emperor and began persecuting all those who did not believe in the Roman gods. When the son of the old emperor, Phillip the Younger, learned about his father’s death, he gave all his father’s treasure to Sixtus and Laurence for safe keeping. The pope and Laurence were imprisoned by Decius, but Laurence was soon released as Decius was expecting that he would lead him to the treasure. However, Laurence had already distributed the treasure amongst the poor and needy. He therefore gathered all the poor people of the town and brought them to Decius, describing them as Jesus Christ’s most precious treasure. This made Decius very angry and he placed Laurence in prison in the care of a man named Hippolytus. However, the saint succeeded in converting Hippolytus to Christianity. There followed a long conversation between Decius and Laurence, bothchallenging each other about the power and value of the false gods in comparison to the spiritual value and holiness of God and Jesus Christ. This verbal battle continued while Decius tortured Laurence’s body, before the saint was martyred in a most painful manner: his naked body was bound to a large gridiron and placed over a fire where he was roasted to death. After this painful death, Laurence’s body was taken by Hippolytus to a safe place.

Up to this point, the narrative mirrors the Latin version quite closely. However, there follows in the Latin version many tales of miracles or wonders that had happened in the church of San Lorenzo in Rome to individuals who had showed dishonour towards the Church (LA 492–501). Only one of these tales was recorded in the Welsh Life, namely a tale concerning Judge Stephen. This tale had already appeared in Welsh – in the earliest surviving copy of ‘Gwyrthiau y Wynfydedig Fair’ (The Miracles of the Blessed Virgin Mary) in Pen 14, a manuscript dated to the second half of the thirteenth century (Mittendorf_1996: 205–36 and Angell_1938). Clearly, the version of the tale in ‘The Life of Laurence’ is not exactly the same as the earlier version, but rather an adaptation. We learn that Judge Stephen had been bribing people for money and had stolen three houses from the churches of St Laurence and St Agnes. The judge had a spiritual encounter while on his deathbed and came face to face with St Laurence and St Agnes. Both saints were very angry with him for his deception. The judge begged them for their forgiveness and, with their help and the help of the Virgin Mary, he was fortunate to have a second chance in life.