Read on for nine fascinating facts about the patron saint, or find more about the history of Wales\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Britain\u2019s smallest city is named after him<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
The existence of the cathedral in St Davids, Pembrokeshire, means that it is Britain\u2019s smallest city, with a population of roughly 1,400 \u2013 compared to an estimated 362,000 in Wales\u2019s capital, Cardiff. The tenor Dewi Sant bell in the cathedral weighs 2,700lbs.<\/p>\n
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St David became famous outside Wales<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
St David\u2019s influence was not limited to Wales \u2013 churches and chapels dedicated to David can also be found in south-west England, Ireland and Brittany.<\/p>\n
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St David signed off with a poignant quote<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
David\u2019s final words to his followers were supposedly: \u201cDo the little things, the small things you\u2019ve seen me doing\u201d or \u201cDo the little things that you have heard and seen me do\u201d.<\/p>\n
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David\u2019s shrine became a pilgrimage site<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
After St David\u2019s death, a shrine was built in his honour at his cathedral. Pope Callistus II thought of it so highly that he declared to Catholics that two pilgrimages to the shrine was worth one to the Vatican in Rome. By the 12th century, more than 60 churches in Wales had also been dedicated to St David.<\/p>\n
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Edward I took St David\u2019s remains back to London<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
After his 1284 military campaign in Wales, English king Edward I took the head and arm of St David from the cathedral, and displayed the remains in London.<\/p>\n
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His name spawned a common Welsh term<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
The nickname \u2018Taffy\u2019 for a Welshman links back to St David as the original and ultimate Welshman \u2013 the term dates to the 17th century and derives from \u2018Dafydd\u2019, the Welsh for David.<\/p>\n
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David is mentioned by Shakespeare<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
William Shakespeare<\/a> name-dropped St David in his play Henry V<\/em>. When Fluellen\u2019s English colleague, Pistol, insults the humble leek on St David\u2019s Day, Fluellen insists he eat the national emblem as punishment: \u201cIf you can mock a leek, you can eat a leek\u201d (Act V, Scene I).<\/p>\n
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Why do we wear leeks and daffodils?<\/h2>\nThe leek has become a symbol associated with St David, and many children don leeks (or leek badges) on their lapels around St David\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n