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Patterns, Monsters and Mysteries Saints' Lives
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Images – Saints' Lives – St Gwynllyw – St Gwynllyw installation
The relationship between the conflicting traditions surrounding Gwynllyw were explored in an installation comparing the Vita Cadoci (the Life of Cadoc) with the Vita Gundleii (the Life of Gwynllyw). The shorter Vita Gundleii could be heard being read alongside relevant sections concerning Gwynllyw from the much longer Vita Cadoci. A single digital animation was projected onto a central translucent screen, through which the images passed onto the two printed versions of the stories, suggesting the interaction of traditional story with written narrative. The Vita Gundleii relates a noble and popular king of Gwent, who with his wife Gwladys has a son Cadog. After an angel appeared to them in a dream, they leave the court to take up a religious life under the encouragement of their son St Cadog. The Vita Cadoci is also told in the same manuscript, and is one of the longest lives of any Welsh saint. St Cadog, Abbot of Llancarfan, successfully contends with renowned Welsh characters such as St David and Arthur. But here there is an entirely different tradition and his father Gwynllyw is a stranger to the one portrayed in the Vita Gundleii. He steals his wife Gwladys from her father by force, and encourages his own men in their own robberies and lawlessness. Although converted during the course of the tale, Gwynllyw is far from the peaceful ruler eager to exchange his wealth and position for a monastic life.
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