DUBRIC, SAINT
Dubricus, Dubricius; in Welsh Dyfrig

A Welsh saint who lived in the late sixth and early seventh centuries. He was the bishop and possibly also the abbot of Caldey. Glorified in Welsh legend, Dubric is made an archbishop and the first leader of the British Church. The Annales Cambriae say that he died in 550 or 612.

Geoffrey of Monmouth places his life nearly a century earlier and connects him with Arthur. According to Geoffrey, King Ambrosius appointed Dubric to the see of Caerleon. Later, Dubric crowned Arthur king of Britain. According to Geoffrey, Dubric was primate of Britain and so eminent in piety that he could cure any sick person by his prayers. He abdicated later to become a hermit.

Dubric proved to be an important spiritual leader during Arthur’s reign, inspiring Britons to fight for their land and to accept Arthur as their true leader. Dubric was so holy that he could cure any disease. According to Tennyson, he married Arthur and Guinevere. He eventually stepped down from his position to become a hermit, and Archbhisop David was appointed as his successor. The Vulgate Merlin calls Dubric the Archbishop of Brice, misinterpreting the first syllable (“Du”) of his name for the French word meaning “of.”

Malory seems to know nothing of him, unless Saint Dubric is to be identified with the Archbishop of Canterbury. To Tennyson, however, Dubric is the "high saint" who not only crowned Arthur but officated at his marriage, and who is as eminent in the spiritual realm as Merlin in the magical.