St Pyr

Today I'm thinking once again of St Pyr, the late fifth / early sixth century abbot Ynys Bŷr was named for.

Most of what we know comes from the life of St Samson, the son of Amon of Dyfed and Anna of Gwent, who was sent to be educated by Illtud Farchog at Llantwit Fawr. (This was like the school to get into at the time - all the richest holy kids were taught by Illtud.) Life at Llantwit just wasn’t harsh enough for Samson though, not even when the cellarer plotted with another Brother to poison him, presumably because of Samson’s insufferable goody-two-shoesness - as translated by Thomas Taylor (1925):

Ever bent on fasting and exercised in unceasing prayers, also very often immersed in searching and in learning the Holy Scriptures, without any pause he went on praying, according to the exhortation of the Apostle Paul, in cold and nakedness, all night long, through wintry frosts, subdued not by the winds of winter or by the oppressive heat of summer, mindful of the Apostle’s word when he says, “the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”

After this event Samson was sent to Pyr at Caldey. Gerald of Wales claimed Pyr actually owned the island, along with the castle of Maenor Pyrr (Manorbier) - his very own birthplace. Either way, Samson turned up and was pleased to have the freedom to spend all his time praying and fasting.



And there he was in such wise received by the same above-mentioned priest Piro, an old man already advanced in years, as if he had the appearance of an angel of God sent down from heaven. And leading, with untiring patience, a wonderful, isolated and above all a heavenly life, he ceased not, day or night, from prayer and communion with God. Spending the whole day in working with his hands and in prayer, and the whole night, more-over, in the mystical interpretation of the Holy Scriptures, he carried the lamp to his dwelling in order that, bent upon reading, he might either write something or exercise himself in spiritual contemplation; for although, as a man, he had need of rest for the sake of human weakness and reclined against the wall or anything hard for support, he never slept in a bed.

Indeed, he was so reluctant to rejoin the world that when Samson’s dad fell deathly ill and sent message he would only take communion from his son, Pyr basically had to force Samson to go. Even then Samson loitered around the abbey another two days until Pyr stumped up a boy deacon to accompany him on the trip. (An old woman nearly stabbed this poor kid on the journey, and supposedly Samson brought him back from the brink of death and so he became his greatest advocate.)

So, without Pyr, would there even be a St Samson? It was recovery from this illness that convinced Amon to place the family fortune at the church’s disposal, which would allow Samson to go travelling about founding monasteries and working his way up the ecclesiastical ladder... Whatevs. Samson certainly never thanked Pyr for it.

The Vita relates: Indeed not long afterwards an unexpected thing happened. One dark night the same Piro took a solitary stroll into the grounds of the monastery, and what is more serious, so it is said, owing to stupid intoxication, fell headlong into a deep pit. Uttering one piercing cry for help, he was dragged out of the hole by the brothers in a dying condition, and died in the night from his adventure.

And it came to pass when the bishop heard of it, he made all the brothers to remain just where they were and spend the night together; and then, having assembled a council, after Mattins, all the men of this monastery, with one accord, chose St. Samson to be abbot. And when he submitted (to be abbot), though not willingly, he trained the brothers gently to the proper rule.

And while he held the primacy in this place, which was not more than a year and a half, the brothers regarded him as a hermit rather than as a member of an order of monks. And consequently, amidst feasts of plenty and flowing bowls, he made a point of fasting always from food and drink. Of vigils there is no need to say anything, inasmuch, as I have already stated, he never at any time allowed his body to rest in bed.

To be honest, Samson sounds like the one completely unsuited to being abbot. He’s too busy with his own regime of praying and fasting to really lead the brothers. But, Samson went on to become a Bishop, found his own monasteries, and get his own Life written. Pyr, meanwhile, has just gone down in history as a pisshead who fell down a well...

Ynys Byr is now better known as Caldey Island, a popular daytrip destination off the Tenby coast. Although the remnants of Pyr's monastery are few and far between, the late medieval priory used by the Benedictines is still standing and, a few hundred years after the Dissolution, an order of Anglican Benedictines bought the island in 1906 and built their own abbey. They later ceded to Rome and in the 1930s were replaced at Caldey by Reformed Cistercians - you can find out more at their website.