St Cadocs, Llancarfan

"We need shamans, and if society doesn't provide them, the universe will."
Joe Lewels


Continuing the theme of deer [stags] and dragons [serpents], today I took time out to visit St Cadocs church at Llancarfan.  I'm still without my own transport but fortunately today I was chauffeur driven, together with a few others from the local Alister Hardy group for the summer outing.  T recommended the visit; she'd been a few years ago and seen the uncovered wall paintings at the church - so today she was sharing her discovery with us.  Weather forecast was a bit iffy, threatening storms and all sorts of other dire warnings, but we pressed on regardless.

The church dates back to the thirteenth century and is dedicated to St Cadoc, a 5-6th century abbot of Llancarfan, whose influence extended to Scotland, Ireland and Brittany.  This was part of a much larger community, including a monastery of some importance and renown at the time as a centre of learning.  

As we approached the church the fleeting shafts of sunlight caught the golden stag weather vane atop the tower, reminding me of my inner encounter with the deer recently.  Llancarfan is translated on Wikipedia as "church of the stags".  Inside, the south wall of the church is adorned with paintings dating from the 15th century depicting the seven deadly sins, with serpents rising from below to devour those who succumbed to temptation.  A cautionary warning to churchgoers!  There's also a large painting of St George subduing the dragon, reputedly one of the largest of its kind remaining.  All in all a very impressive display of wall paintings - a medieval Banksy perhaps.