We used to wear daffs, and leeks to school on st David’s day. They never really taught us about the significance though but here’s some info on Welsh symbolism for anyone interested. 
http://www.visitwales.com/explore/traditions-history/national-symbols
Oh, I just read a interesting thing too, that the origin of the daff as a symbol is quite obscure but may gave come from the fact that the word for leek Is the same as daffodil.
“If the link between the leek and the Welsh is obscure, how about the Daffodil. Possibly the reason why the daffodil is used as an emblem is that the word for daffodil and for leek are the same in Welsh (Cenhinen = Leek, Cenhinen Pedr = Daffodil”
3 Likes
The latin name would have been used throughout Europe in the medieval period, and presumably the French said d’asphodil. French was the official language of the English Court until the 12th century so d’asphodil was probably often its name here. It is easy to corrupt that to daffodil.
The use of French words in medieval English is fascinating as there is a strong emphasis on class. So the word ‘pig’ is Anglo-Saxon as it is a lowly animal but the work ‘pork’ is French as it is a rich man’s food.
Peter’s Leek probably relates somehow to the daffodil being called the Lenten Lily so is biblical in origin. Presumably by some convoluted means…
2 Likes
I like your explanation of “Peter’s Leek” because it links into my thoughts earlier. As you definitely don’t want to mix up your daffs and your leeks. The Welsh used to wear both in their hats on St. David’s Day, but if you cooked and ate a daffodil it would certainly be your last supper.
Love Sam x
Thanks @HeavenlyAnarchist. You have obviously done your research!
I prefer my explanation for “Peter’s Leek” because it is a lot less convoluted! Daffs are very high in alkaloids and if you confuse them with edible leeks (which were much less beefy in the early days before Victorian breeding turned them into prize-winning monsters) it will certainly be your last supper!
As far as “asphodil” is concerned I read this explanation on Wikipedia and I don’t accept it. There is only one Medieval text that refers to daffs as “affodils” and that may be a spelling mistake. The asphodil itself is a completely different plant and one which the Saxons would have been well aware of as bog asphodil is a British native that was used to make yellow wool dye back in the day. The asphodil is also a wild food source and not to be confused with the daff.
My private (and I admit unsubstantiated) thoughts on this are as follows. The wild daffodils may have been known as “St. David’s Lilly” in the British Isles in the first place. In the welsh that would be “Dafydd’s Lili.” The spelling is of note. They come into flower more or less for the day itself and that may also be the origin of their use as a symbol for the Welsh. This adds to the joke if you think of the alternative name “St Peter’s Leek.” This would then have been corrupted by the Saxons to Daffodil on account of the inconvenient extra l which to an English tongue is difficult to pronounce.
I admit that proper, grammatically correct Welsh would put the words Dafydd and Lili the opposite way around. At the time the language spoken by the common people living in England consisted of various dialects which were all a mixture of Welsh and Germanic/Scandinavian words and the grammar of the nascent English language could often have been suspect, particularly since writing was not a common skill. I don’t accept that the English peasants had no word for daffodil and just ignored it because pretty things were only for the Normans. That sounds like something that Dr Starkey would say, in the same breath as saying “Of course the Queen is far superior to everyone else in the world.” That sentiment probably comes from the Victorians and should also probably stay with them.
Love Sam x
If the Romans introduced the word, it being a Mediterranean flower and them being Latin speakers, it would be in use by the common people by the medieval period.
(found a reference in seventeenth century Culpeper’s herbal which is interesting (I’m a Tudor re-enactor with an interest in medicine) https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=0QpbAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA101-IA74&lpg=PA101-IA74&dq=culpeper+daffodil&source=bl&ots=6Kk2ZXp7RT&sig=TbdNtV7mVpekOS8crg4RUgqA0UM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiTpobuo6LLAhWBSBQKHb9HC9MQ6AEIJTAC#v=onepage&q=culpeper%20daffodil&f=false
’This kind of daffodil is also called lide-lily, because it flowereth in March, which month in some countries is called Lide, and they are likewise known by the name of daffydown-dillies’)
This BBC article is interesting as it gives evidence that leeks were already associated with St David’s Day by the 16th century http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/x-ray/2010/03/why-do-we-wear-daffodils-and-leeks.shtml but states that the association of daffodils with St David’s Day is a modern invention.
