What’s with the leeks?
A treasured friend of St. David the parish and of the St. David the saint suggested that “gotleeks” needed to be somewhere on our web presence, so here you have it.
The leek has long been recognized as the emblem of Wales. Its association with Wales can be traced back to 633 AD, when legend has it that St. David, patron saint of Wales ,who famously subsisted only on bread, water, herbs, and leeks, persuaded his countrymen to distinguish themselves from their Saxon foes in battle by wearing a leek in their caps. (St. David must have done this persuading from the next world, as he died in 589.) However, another legend attributes this military leek-sporting tradition to King Cadwaladr of Gwynedd, who, around the same time, ordered his soldiers to identify themselves by wearing the vegetable on their helmets in battle against the Saxons that took place in a leek field.
Every year on St. David’s feast day, March 1st, Welsh people the world over wear leeks in their lapels. Unless, of course, they choose to wear a daffodil instead, although why anyone would make that choice I cannot fathom.
We like to think that leeks, with their adaptability, versatility, wild abundance and Celtic roots, are a good symbol for St. David’s parish. Look for leeks next spring in our neighborhood vegetable garden.
Jul 21, 2009 @ 20:54:39
And there is a famous scene in the Lawrence Olivier production of “Henry V” (ca. 1944) where two soldiers (Bardolph and Peto? or are they characters in a different Shakespeare play?) are joking about the leek that one of them is wearing, or chewing, being a Welshman. For some reason I always think of this particular scene whenever I see, plant, pick, buy, cook, or eat leeks (which is often). Of course it’s written into the play so you don’t have to have seen the L. Olivier movie, but that’s why it stays in my memory… (I was about 12 at the time). And now any leek I see, etc., will remind me of St. David’s the parish!
Dec 21, 2009 @ 17:15:05
The scene is in the subplot about the captains of the British nation, Flewellen the Welshman being the central character. He’s the one who wears the leek AND PERSUADES THE KING TO WEAR THE LEEK TOO! Henry was born in Monmouth IN WALES, and so there’s a whole series of dialogues in which Flewellen challenges Henry about being Welsh and affirming his Welshness in front of the troops, especially to inspire Flewellen’s Welsh unit in the battle [Agincourt I think]. I remember captain Jamie the Scot, but I don’t right off remember the names of the Irish and English captain in that subplot. [I was in a college production of Henry V sometime in the previous millennium.] Flewellen would be highly offended by being confused with Bardolph or Peto or any of that Falstaffian crew. In fact, to get a bit literary-critical, I’d say Flewellen and the leek are a symbol of Henry’s break with Falstaff, becoming king of the nation and no longer Prince Hal the playboy; I’m dimly recalling that Flewellen is the one who lowers the boom on Pistol [the presumptive heir to Falstaff] and runs him out of the army; I may be making that part up to fit my literary-critical theory.
Pastor John Hasenjaeger
Bryn Seion Welsh Church
Beavercreek, OR