Sir David Mathew

Full-length view of effigy of Sir David Mathew, Llandaff Cathedral

Arms of Mathew^[1]
left: Mathew of Llandaff:Or, a lion rampant sable.;
right: Mathew of Radyr:Sable, a lion rampant argent.

Heraldicachievementat top of mural memorial tablet erected 1987 in Llandaff Cathedral, Mathew Chapel:^[2]
"In memory of Thomas James Mathew son and heir ofFrancis James Mathew second Earl of Landaffborn in London 1798 died in Cape Town 1862 ".
The arms are blasoned:*Or, a lion rampant sable*.
Crest:*A heathcock proper*.
Supporters:*Two unicorns rampant silver maned tufted hooved collared and chained or*.
Motto:*A Fynno Duw a Fydd*( "What God wills will be" )

Crest on helm of effigy of Sir David Mathew, Llandaff Cathedral: a heathcock, of which the head is missing

Sir David Mathew(1400–1484; bornDafydd ap Mathew), was a Welsh Knight. He was Lord ofLlandaffandSeneschalofLlandaff Cathedral,and one of the ten Great Barons ofGlamorgan,aMarcher Lord.It was said he was one of the most distinguished men of his age^[3]^[4]and a zealous supporter of theYorkistcause. After saving the life ofKing Edward IVat theBattle of Towtonin 1461, he was appointed GrandStandard Bearer of Englandand King Edward IV granted the use of 'Towton' on his arms.

Biography

Sir David Mathew was the son of Mathew ap Ieuan (or Evan).^[b]

Sir David was also Lord of Llandaff and Seneschal of Llandaff Cathedral. He had a grant of 2,232 acres of land fromHenry VI,the reversion ofCaneton,and from William, Earl of Pembroke lands atSt Fagansand atPentyrch.^[5]

Sir David was a zealous supporter of the Yorkist cause, whose extraordinary prowess and daring in the field, even at a very advanced age, were used on behalf of the White Rose of York.^[4]He was a very tall man, said to stand 6 feet 8 inches (2.03 m) tall.^[c]At the Battle of Towton, onPalm Sunday,29 March 1461, although by then about sixty years old, he saved the life ofEdward IVand was rewarded by his grateful monarch with the honour of GrandStandard Bearer of England.^[3]

Sir David was one of the ten Great Barons of Glamorgan, and aMarcher Lord.He received from Edward IV the grant of the use of the word "Towton" as an augmentation over his crest. In 1480 he restored the shrine ofSaint Teilowhich had been pillaged and desecrated by a gang of pirates fromBiston,and was presented byBishop MarshallwithSt. Teilo's skull,set in a costlyreliquary,to be an heirloom in his family, who carefully preserved it for about 200 years, until the death of William Mathew in 1658 atLlandeilo.^[4]

Browne Willisreported in hisAn survey of the Cathedral-Church of Landaffthat Sir David was murdered in an altercation atNeath,West Glamorgan by some members of theTurberville family of Coity Castle.^[3]^[d]

Armorials

Two different arms are recorded as having been used by the Mathew family, both consisting of a lion rampant, but with differing tinctures. The branch seated at Llandaff, thus the senior line, is generally ascribedOr, a lion rampant sable,^[6]whilst the branch seated atRadyr,descended from Sir David Mathew's younger brother, is generally ascribedSable, a lion rampant argent.^[7]Yet confusingly the 1980 heraldic restoration of the Mathew tombs at Llandaff carried out by Hugh P. Mathew, who was recognised by the College of Arms as having proved his direct descent from Sir David Mathew,^[8]has resulted in the Radyr coat being painted on the tomb of Sir Christopher, who was head of the Llandaff branch. Rev. Murray Mathew (1895) assigns to Sir David the Radyr coat.^[4]Moreover, the Earls Landaff used the coat of the Llandaff branch even though they were descended from the Radyr branch.^{[citation needed]}Unfortunately the tomb of Sir David bears no heraldry by which the confusion might be resolved. The arms of RadyrSable, a lion rampant argentwere supposedly adopted in honour of the White Rose, according to Rev Murray Mathew.^[4]

Crest

The crest is also not without confusion, being given variously as a "heathcock" (another name forpartridge,of the pheasant family), a "moorcock",^[6]a "fieldcock", (a vague term possibly denotinggrouse), ablackcock,(of the grouse family) and is shown on the Earl Landaff memorial in a form akin to a farmyard cock orrooster.^{[citation needed]}The effigy of Sir David does however show most of the bird forming the crest of his helm upon which he rests his head, but it is missing the head. The feet are short and sturdy, suggesting a grouse-type bird and are not the long legs of a rooster^[e]A gilded bird, probably a dove, is used as a foot-rest in the effigy of St Teilo in Llandaff Cathedral.

Motto

Themottoof Mathew is in Welsh:Y Fyn Duw A Fydd( "What God willeth will be" ).

Family

Sir David married Wenllian 1396–1470 of Glamorgan, daughter of Sir George Herbert. He left by Wenllian three sons.

He had the following three sons:^[9]

David (born 1425 1st. son) He married Ann Myddletonn (b. 1430), with whom he had one son, Jenkyn Mathew. David was the founder of the "Mathews" American line, which would eventually arrive in the new world with Thomas Mathews (b. 1660) Thomas arrived in Halifax, Virginia, circa 1700.
Reyborn (or "Reinborn, Rimbron," etc.)(d.1470), 2nd. son. He was the founder of theLlandafline of Mathew, having married Isabella (or Elizabeth) Denys, daughter ofMaurice Denys(d.1466), esquire, ofAlveston,Glos., Sheriff of Gloucestershire, by his 2nd wife Alice Poyntz, da. of Sir Nicholas Poyntz ofIron Acton,Gloucestershire. Reyborn's will (dated 20 October 1470, proved 15 March 1471)^[10]directed that he should be buried in the Chapel of the Virgin Mary withinThe Gaunt's Chapel,Bristol, where the Poyntz family later in about 1520 built a family chapel. His will directed that gold & silver items be placed upon the shrine of "his kinsmen"Saint Teilo,Saint OudoceusandSaint Dubriciusat Llandaff Cathedral. Reyborn's eldest son and heir was Sir Christopher Mathew(d.1528), whose effigy is one of three surviving Mathew effigies in Llandaf Cathedral. Sir Christopher's son was Miles Mathew,Sheriff of Glamorganin 1547. A later descendant wasAdmiral Thomas Mathews(d.1751) who builtLlandaff Courtand was court-martialled in mysterious circumstances.
Thomas (1438–1470), 3rd son. He is mentioned in Reyborn's will, and had been the custodian of the relics of St Teilo. He marriedCatherine ferch Morgan(1436–1468), daughter of Welsh noblemanMorgan ap Llewellyn,and founded theRadyrline of Mathew. He was also buried atThe Gaunt's Chapel,Bristol. On Thomas' death in 1470, his lands passed to his son William Mathew (1460–1528), who wasknightedbyKing Henry VIIat theBattle of Bosworthin 1485.^[11]Sir William accompaniedKing Henry VIIIto theField of the Cloth of Goldin 1520. Sir Knight William's successor was his eldest son Sir George Mathew (1486–1557) who became theMPforGlamorgan constituencyand in 1545Sheriff of Glamorgan.^[11]^[12]From the Radyr line was founded the family of theEarls Landaffin thepeerage of Ireland.^{[citation needed]}

Notes

^Earliest effigy is of David Mathew, knight(d.1484), 2nd of Sir Christopher Mathew(d.1527), eldest son of Reyborne Mathew, 2nd son of Sir David
^Sir David was the first to adopt the modern style of Welsh surname, "Mathew", having discontinued use of the traditional Welshpatronymic"ap Mathew", meaning "son of Mathew". The name, properly "Mathew", was spelt by Sir David's descendants variously, e.g., in theFuneral Entries,preserved in theRecord Tower at Dublin,vol. vii., p. 18, the name of the founder of the Irish branch of the family is entered as "George Matthewes, Oct. 1670". Admiral Mathew of Llandaff Court, and all his descendants, spelt their name invariably "Mathews".(Mathew 1895,p.^{[page needed]})
^He was buried in Llandaff Cathedral, where his altar tomb may still be seen, the effigy of him thereon measuring 6 feet 7 inches (2.01 m) (Mathew 1895,p.^{[page needed]}).
^His tomb, ornamented with full-length effigy inalabaster,is in Saint Mary's Chapel in Llandaff Cathedral, which has ever since been the property and burial-place of the family of (Mathew) is one of the most interesting extant monuments of that time. An accurate description of the various monuments of the family in this chapel may be found inAn survey...:"This is said to be the Monument of David Matthew the Great, who was Standard-Bearer to Edward IV, and was murther'd at Neath... by some of the Turberviles, with whom he was at Variance" (Willis 1718,p. 25).
^The heathcock crest may be observed on the helm of the effigy of Sir David Mathew in Llandaff Cathedral. The "Genealogy of the Earls of Landaff" gives the crest for Sir David as ablackcockproper, although the Earls of Landaff bore as crest a "heathcock proper", which is however depicted akin to a rooster on the mural monument erected in 1987 in memory of Thomas James Mathew(d.1862), son and heir ofFrancis Mathew, 2nd Earl Landaffin the Mathew Chapel, Llandaff (^{[citation needed]})

^Burke 1884,p. 669 (Mathew co. Glamorgan)
^Jones, Anthony (1987), p.9
^^a ^b ^cBurke 1847,p. 844.
^^a ^b ^c ^d ^eMathew 1895,p.^{[page needed]}.
^Boots 1970,p. 17 quotesClark 1886
^^a ^bBurke 1884,p. 669 (Mathew co. Glamorgan).
^Burke 1884,p. 669 (Mathew Castle-Menych).
^Jones 1987,p. 21.
^Lecture given by Mr J. Barry Davies at the Friends of Llandaff Cathedral 2003 annual lecture, published in "Friends of Llandaff Cathedral 71st annual report 2003/4"; Notes from site of Barry L. Matthews, users.qwest.net
^National Archives Prob/11/6, image ref 7
^^a ^bNew Horizons History Group (1991).Twixt Chain and Gorge(PDF).Shadowfax Publishing, Radyr, Cardiff.ISBN 0-9514887-4-0.Retrieved28 May2018.
^Moore 1995,p.^{[page needed]}.

References

Boots, John R. (compiler) (1970),The Mat(t)hews family: an anthology of Mathews lineages,p. 7
Willis, Browne(1718),An survey of the Cathedral-Church of Landaff,London: R. Gosling, p.25
Burke, Sir Bernard (1884),The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. Comprising a registry of Armorial Bearing from the earliest to the present time,London: Harrison, p.669
Jones, Anthony L. (1987),Heraldry in Glamorgan, South Glamorgan No.3, Llandaff Cathedral,D.Brown & Sons Ltd,ISBN 0905928946(Cathedral booklet)
Moore, Patricia, ed. (January 1995),Glamorgan Sheriffs,Cardiff: Gwasg Prifysgol Cymru / University of Wales Press,ISBN 978-0-7083-1264-3

Attribution

This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain:Burke, John (1847),Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry,vol. 2, H. Colburn, p. 844
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain:Clark, George T (1886),Limbus Patrum Morganiae et Glamorganiae,London{{citation}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain:Mathew, Rev. Murray Alexander (1895),The Genealogy of the Earls of Landaff of Thomastown, County Tipperary, Ireland,London: Simpkin(A rare book)