Explanation of the text

Cadwallyn was a prince of the Britain that remained after the Saxon invasion, so he was more a prince of Wales. He reigned from c. AD 630-670. The king that the poet refers to is Merewalh, son of Penda, who came to the throne five years before the founding of the Priory.

The man referred to in the text as "Bothall a most godlie man" is more commonly known as St. Botolph. He was a Norwegian native who came to Northumbria and is believed to have been appointed Abbot of St Peter's, Lindisfarne. He suffered death as a martyr at the hands of the Pagan Saxons. In the early days of the church at Leominster there is said to have been a small wayside cross or shrine to the memory of St. Botolph, one mile to the south of the town on the Hereford road. In the 1554 Charter of Queen Mary the area is referred to as "Bottolsgreene Field".On the 1840s tithe map the area is known as St. Botolph's Green. Until recently a house known as St. Botolph's stood on the side of the Hereford road in this area, but it has now been pulled down to make way for a new housing estate.

The locality referred to as Ridgmouth is situated at the confluence of the river Ridgmoor or Ridgmouth and the river Lugg, and is bounded by those streams and the Ludlow road. Today a Ridgemoor Road survives to the north-east of Leominster Priory.

Stoctuna is an old name for Stockton, which lies two miles north-east of Leominster in Kimbolton parish. It is thought that some of the stone for the building of the Priory came from here.

The story of Edfrith and the lion is unlikely to be true, although F. Gainsford Blacklock suggests that lions may have still been in existence in Britain after having escaped from the Romans - who used them in the arena - and bred successfully. The story is more likely to be an allegory where the fierce King Merewalh represents the lion that was "tamed" (Christianised) by Edfrith. The story is also represented in a carving on the Norman north-west door of Leominster Priory, where Edfrith is shown leading the lion into the church; this represents the leading of Merewalh to Christianity by Edfrith.

Merewalh made Edfrith the first head of the new religious house, and on Edfrith's death in AD 675 he was succeeded by Wolpher, the brother of Merewalh.   

The Priory, as the local centre of Christian missionary work, would have rapidly become more and more important. As a result of this status it would have been the recipient of a number of royal and noble benefactions. However, the very fact that it was wealthy would have put it in serious danger of attacks and raids.

In AD 760 the Welsh overran the district and plundered the Priory and the town. In the middle of the 800s the Danes attacked England, and nowhere escaped the plundering and violence. The churches and monasteries with their valuables were the most popular targets, and it is highly likely that Leominster Priory suffered at this time. 

In AD 980, under the rule of Æthelred the Unready, the Danes again attacked this area. They camped on a hill called Danefield and used this as a base from which to lead raiding parties into the town and to the priory. The Danes were led by Thurkil and King Swegyn (or Sweyn) of Scandinavia, whose son later became king of England and Scandinavia. Today, a Danesfield Drive exists in Leominster to the south-west of the Priory.

[Original author: Miranda Greene, 2005]