Llancarfan Medieval Wall Paintings

Hidden comfortably within the confines of a steep valley in the rural Vale of Glamorgan is the picturesque village of Lancarfan. Llancarfan is an ancient place, its origins, unlike most villages found throughout the Vale of Glamorgan lies before the Norman Conquest of Glamorgan as Llancarfan was once the site of an early Christian monastery or Clas which was thought to have been established during the sixth century AD. No trace of this establishment now remains, although we do know through documentary evidence that the monastery at Lancarfan was founded by a man named Cadog (St Cadoc), a contemporary of St David, and was an important early Christian centre of learning.

During the late eleventh or early twelfth century the monastery at Llancarfan was appropriated by Robert Fitzhamon and given to St Peter’s Abbey in Gloucester which effectively marked its end as an independent native Welsh religious institution. 

                                                     (St Codoc's church Llancarfan)

The present church dedicated to St Cadoc is medieval in date and was constructed sometime during the early twelfth century although its present architectural form consists chiefly of the Early English and Decorated Gothic architectural styles as well as containing additions constructed in the Perpendicular style. The church of St Cadoc contains several treasures such as a fine wooden reredos, an unusually large carved wooded chest and a fascinating series of fifteenth century wall paintings. 

                                        (Lovers depicted with horned devil creature)

These paintings although a rarity in the Twenty First Century would not have been unique in their day as most churches throughout Britain would have been painted internally-their walls blazing with colour instead of the bland lime wash that is seemingly ubiquitous in many churches today.  The great religious reformation during the mid Sixteenth Century which began with Henry VIII divorcing Britain from the Roman Catholic church and the wholesale conversion to Protestantism during the reign of Edward VI kick-started the process of eradicating all traces of the ancient religion that had been spread throughout Britain by missionaries from Rome almost a millennia previously.

Anything overtly associated with Catholicism was suppressed, religious houses were confiscated and shut down, their occupants made homeless, the ritual and dogma associated with Catholicism too was made obsolete, incense, icons and art were made redundant including the paintings on the walls of Llancarfan church which were probably lime washed over sometime during the middle of the Sixteenth Century.

(A multi-headed hell beast aided by several small devil-imps, attempt to lure mortals into transgression thus damning their souls for eternitey)

Many of the images depicted in the paintings might seem abstract to us today- even macabre, but these paintings were designed to convey to a largely illiterate population graphic allegorical themes rather than the artists skill with a brush as many would primarily view them in the Twenty First Century.

The multi-headed beast seems quite typical of the fire and brimstone mindset associated with medieval Catholicism and the perils of committing any one of the Severn Deadly Sins are graphically illustrated.  For example, on the left we see a man committing suicide by thrusting a sword through his body. We see lust illustrated by two lovers locked in embrace and further to the right two men with swords engaged in combat denoting envy. Above the sinners is a regal figure wearing a crown who is surmounted by two satanic looking creatures, clearly embodying pride and implying that from prince to pauper no-one in society was immune from the consequences of sin. 

(St George and the Dragon)

In contrast to the perils of sin, and what is perhaps the most striking painting uncovered thus far, we see the embodiment of virtue personified in St George. St George is portrayed as a contemporary knight engaged in combat with a dragon. This image dominates the south wall of St Cadoc's church. St George was adopted by the English during the Crusades and later became the patron saint of England whose qualities many, in particular soldiers, sought to emulate; hence a positive role model Christians could aspire to. St George's depiction appears on the walls of St Cadoc’s church as the antithesis to the multi-headed hell-beast. 

(A king and queen peering through the battlements of their castle at their daughter, a princess who is seemingly in peril from the dragon)

To the left of St George is depicted a castle with a distressed looking king and queen looking out over its embattled walls to their daughter- a princess, who is seen with a lamb. St George is seen defending the princess and the lamb against the dragon. The Virgin Mary is shown to the right of St George bestowing her blessings upon his combat. The painting of St George and the dragon is thought to be the largest and most complete of its kind in Britain. 

(The Virgin Mary is seen blessing St George, but also interestingly the heraldic emblem of a prominent local family, the Bawdrips of Penmark Place, is seen above)

Another painting of interest at Llancarfan is known as ‘Death and the Gallant’. This painting depicts a fashionably dressed young man in late fifteenth century attire holding hands with a cadaver in a burial shroud who is seemingly leading the young man off into the direction of the church yard. This painting denotes the futility of earthly vanity and the medieval awareness of the transient nature of life. During the medieval period death and disease were never very far away with an average life expectancy around thirty.  The Fourteenth Century saw the arrival of the Black Death which not only killed off a large chunk of the population of Britain, but also caused mass terror. 

(Man in Fifteenth Century attire accompanied by a corpse)

The conservation work is ongoing with no doubt a great many more interesting paintings waiting to the see light of day once more. The wall paintings at Llancarfan can be viewed during regular church opening times. 

Mark and Jonathan Lambert are archaeology graduates of Cardiff University and are published authors. They have been writing about and researching local history for the past 20 years and have a wealth of knowledge. All articles are original compositions - we hope you enjoy our content. Enquiries: hiddenglamorgan@outlook.com-

©Jonathan and Mark Lambert 2017

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