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Medieval silver gilt paten
The paten is an accomplished example of thirteenth-century engraving, with foliage and the four evangelist symbols (man for Matthew, lion for Mark, ox for Luke, eagle for John), with MATEVS , IOHNES, MARCVS, LVCAS in scrolls. The centre is finely engraved with Christ in Majesty, surrounded by an inscription: +INNOMINE:PATRIS:ET:FILII:ETSPIRITVS:SANCTIAM (‘In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, Am[en]’)
Llywelyn Fawr’s Wales was divided into those who ruled, those who worked and those who prayed. Abbeys were a powerful force. Even Llywelyn himself ‘received the monastic habit’ at Aberconwy Abbey in 1240, to absolve his sins. Medieval rulers and lords commissioned works of art for their castle chapels and abbeys. The Dolgellau paten was made when Llywelyn ruled independent Wales.
WA_SC 17.1
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Site Name: Dolgellau, Gwynedd
Notes: Discovered on 13 February 1890 by Griffith Griffiths and Ellis Jones, while returning from work, prospecting for manganese on steep boulder-strewn ground on the east side of Cwm-Mynach, above Dolgellau. In 1910, they were awarded to the Sovereign after a belated Treasure Trove inquest. They were then placed on loan by King George V to the National Museum.