Llanbadarnfawr
“Llanbadarn Fawr’s monastic library grew in size and importance; reputedly larger than those of Canterbury Cathedral and York Minster.” ~ Wikipedia
A dwindling, at the very best, awaits.
A death, a long time coming, may not come
For many centuries. Greatness migrates
And what is left? A culture leaves a crumb
Or two. The once important center of
Dark Ages learning was a hamlet but
Is now a suburb. It was once above
The ordinary. Now it’s just a rut
Of sublunary housing. Scribal monks
Wrote lettering on pages for
The saints and stored the vellum scripts in trunks
With sacred clasps and prayers. Words were the core
Of Celtic Christianity inside the chests
Of wood and iron—and in the deep-vowed breasts.