Post by Vampyresam on Dec 22, 2004 22:15:26 GMT
On a recent trip to Wales Steven and I were lucky to go on a ghost walk around Tenby where we were told the story of corpse candles.
Corpse Candles
The origin of the corpse-candle is supposed to date back to the fifth century. St. David, the patron of Wales, earnestly prayed that the people he loved, and among whom he toiled, should have some kind of warning to prepare them for death. In a vision he was told that through his intercession the Welsh would never again find themselves unprepared; for always before such an event the people in the land of Dewi Sant would be forewarned by the dim light of mysterious tapers when and where death might be expected. [Rhys, "Celtic Folk lore," p. 275.] St. David apparently prayed particularly for South Wales, because it is said that corpse-candles are seen more vividly and frequently there than in North Wales.
The Canwyll Corph, or corpse-candle, was seen passing along the route to be taken by a funeral, or hovering around the spot where an accident would happen, or fluttering along the edge of the waves where a wreck would be. When two lights were seen two funerals would take place. A tall light foretokened the death of a man, a lesser one for a woman, and a small one for a child. The colours of the lights varied. Before a man's death a red glowing light was seen; a pale blue light indicated a woman's death; and a faint, pale yellow light appeared before a child's death. ["Jones of Tranch," p 30.]
Corpse Candles
The origin of the corpse-candle is supposed to date back to the fifth century. St. David, the patron of Wales, earnestly prayed that the people he loved, and among whom he toiled, should have some kind of warning to prepare them for death. In a vision he was told that through his intercession the Welsh would never again find themselves unprepared; for always before such an event the people in the land of Dewi Sant would be forewarned by the dim light of mysterious tapers when and where death might be expected. [Rhys, "Celtic Folk lore," p. 275.] St. David apparently prayed particularly for South Wales, because it is said that corpse-candles are seen more vividly and frequently there than in North Wales.
The Canwyll Corph, or corpse-candle, was seen passing along the route to be taken by a funeral, or hovering around the spot where an accident would happen, or fluttering along the edge of the waves where a wreck would be. When two lights were seen two funerals would take place. A tall light foretokened the death of a man, a lesser one for a woman, and a small one for a child. The colours of the lights varied. Before a man's death a red glowing light was seen; a pale blue light indicated a woman's death; and a faint, pale yellow light appeared before a child's death. ["Jones of Tranch," p 30.]
