St David's and the Cathedral Close
St Davids
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| City | |
 St David's Cathedral |
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 St Davids
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| St Davids shown within Pembrokeshire | |
| Population | 1,841 (2011) |
| OS grid reference | SM755255 |
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| Principal area | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | HAVERFORDWEST |
| Postcode district | SA62 |
| Dialling code | 01437 |
| Police | Dyfed-Powys |
| Fire | Mid and West Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| EU Parliament | Wales |
| UK Parliament | |
| Welsh Assembly | |
St Davids or St David's (Welsh: Tyddewi, [tɨː ˈðɛwi], lit. "David's house") is a city, parish and community (full name St David's and the Cathedral Close) in Pembrokeshire, Wales. Lying on the River Alun on St Davids Peninsula, it is Britain's smallest city in terms of both size and population, the final resting place of Saint David, Wales's patron saint, and the de facto ecclesiastical capital of Wales. St Davids was given city status in the 16th century because of St David's Cathedral. City status was lost in 1888 but restored in 1994, at the request of Queen Elizabeth II.
Tradition states that David was born to Saint Non at what is now St Non's, just to the south of the city, in about AD 500. It is said that he was baptised at Porthclais, now the city's port, and was brought up by his mother at Llanon. St David may also have been educated at Ty Gwyn, Whitesands, by St Paulinus.
In the 6th century, David founded a monastery and church at Glyn Rhosyn (Rose Vale) on the banks of the River Alun. The area was originally known in the Welsh language as Mynyw and to the Romans as Meneva or Menevia. The monastic brotherhood that David founded was very strict — besides praying and celebrating masses, they cultivated the land and carried out many crafts, including beekeeping, in order to feed themselves and the many pilgrims and travellers who needed lodgings. They also fed and clothed the poor and needy. The settlement that grew up around the monastery was called Tyddewi meaning "David's house". In 519 the archbishopric of Caerleon in the county of Monmouth was transferred to Mynyw, which was renamed "St Davids" in honour of the archbishop and saint by whom the transfer was accomplished. The original cathedral built on the site was often plundered by the Vikings and was finally burnt and destroyed in 1087. The present cathedral was built by the Normans and contained many relics, including the remains of St David. It was visited by many pilgrims, many of whom were nobles and kings, including William the Conqueror in 1077, Henry II in 1171, and Edward I and Queen Eleanor in 1284.Pope Calixtus II decreed that two pilgrimages to St Davids were equivalent to one to Rome ("Roma semel quantum dat bis Menevia tantum"). Because of this, a vast income was raised from visiting pilgrims in the Middle Ages. Pilgrimages later fell out of favour due to practices such as the selling of indulgences, and the income from them faded away.
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