x •
R HYS , PRIN c E OF So TUT H W A if, E §
Baflr* loilp!-
THE
ITINERARY
OF
ARCHBISHOP BALDWIN
THROUGH WALES, A. D. MCLXXXVIII.
BY
GIRALDUS DE BARRI;
TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH, AND ILLUSTRATED WITH VIEWS, ANNOTATIONS, AND A LIFE OF GIRALDUS,
BY
SIR RICHARD COLT HOARE, BART.
F. R. S. F. A. S. VOLUME THE SECOND.
LONDON:
PRINTED FOR WILLIAM MILLER, ALBEMARLE STREET, BY W. BULMER AND CO. CLEVELAND-ROW,
ST. JAMES'S.
1806.
SEP 2 8 196
\.
BOOK II.
P R E FA C E.
SINCE, therefore, Saint David's is the head, and in times past was the metropolitan city of Wales, though now, alas ! retaining more of the name than of the omen,3 yet I have not forborn to weep over
1 Giraldus, ever glad to pun upon words, here opposes the word nomen to omen. ' Plus nominis habens qudm ominis." Being a man of extraordinary reading, and, conversant with the works of the Greek and Roman writers, he may have perhaps borrowed this expression from Plautus, who in his play of Persa, has introduced a young female, offered for sale to a pander of the name of Dordalus, who, in company with a knavish servant called Toxilus, is introduced as putting questions to the damsel. The dialogue is as follows: (Dordalus) Quid nomen tibi est? (Virgo) Lucridi nomen in patria fuit. (Toxilus) Nomen atque omewquantivis est pretii, &c. (Dordalus) Si te emam, mihi quoque Lucridem confido fore te. Plautus Delphini, Tom. II. p. 277. Actus IV. Scena IV.
The exclamation of Toxilus is obviously grounded upon a double meaning, assigned to the name of Lucris (quasi a lucro), from whence he takes occasion to prognosticate a good omen to the purchaser. How valuable is a name and an omen ! or how valu- able is that name which carries its good omen with it! and the pander's reply plainly shews that he understood it in that light. A similar superstition still prevails in some parts of Italy, and in other places on the Continent. I mean, the custom of giving to infants, as their baptismal name, the name of the saint whose festival is the nearest to the birthday of the child ; from which name, if it is capable of a fortunate or favour- able translation, the good fortune or disposition of the child is inferred. This day is also, in all catholic countries, more honoured in the observance than the birthday,
VOL. ii. a
PREFACE.
the obsequies of our ancient and undoubted mother, to follow the mournful hearse, and to deplore with tearful sighs the ashes of our half-buried matron.
I shall, therefore, endeavour briefly to declare to you, in what manner, from whence, and from what period the pall was first brought to Saint David's, and how it was taken away ; how many prelates were invested with the pall ; and how many were de- spoiled thereof, together with their respective names to this present day.
particularly in Germany, where it is called the Names-day, and special prayers are offered up to the saint, aud wishes of good omen to the parents, with other superstitious observations.
"S,
'•?»••• .*•
ITINERARY
THROUGH
WALES.
BOOK II. :
CHAPTER I.
SAINT DAVID'S.
WE are informed by the British historians, that Dubricius Arch- bishop of Caerleon, sensible of the infirmities of age, or rather being desirous of leading a life of contemplation, resigned his honours to David, who is said to have' been uncle to King Arthur; and by his interest the see was translated to Menevia, although Caerleon, as we have observed in the first book, was much better adapted for the episcopal see. For Menevia is situated in a most remote corner of land upon the Irish ocean, the soil stoney and barren, neither clothed with woods, distinguished by rivers, nor adorned by
VOL. II. B
m
meadows, ever exposed to the winds and tempests, and continually subject to the hostile attacks of the Flemings on one side, and of the Welsh on the other. For the holy men who settled here chose purposely such a retired habitation, that by avoiding the noise of the world, and preferring an heremitical to a pastoral life, they might more freely provide for " that part which shall not be taken away :" for David was remarkable for his sanctity and religion, as the history of his life will testify. Amongst the many miracles re- corded of him, three appear to me the most worthy of admiration : his origin and conception ; his pre-election thirty years before his birth ; and what exceeds all, the sudden rising of the ground, at Brevy, under his feet while preaching, to the great astonishment of all the beholders.
Since the time of David, twenty-five archbishops presided over the see of Menevia, whose names are here subjoined : David, Cenauc, Eliud, who was also called Teilaus, Ceneu, Morwal, Hae- runen, Elwaed, Gurnuen, Lendivord, Gorwysc, Gogan, Cledauc, Anian, Elvoed, Ethclmen, Elanc, Malscoed, Sadermen, Catellus, Sulhaithnai, Nonis, Etwal, Asser, Arthuael, Sampson. In the time of Sampson, the pall was translated from Menevia in the following manner: a disorder, called the yellow plague, and by the physi- cians, the ictiac passion, of which the people died in great numbers, raged throughout Wales, at the time when Sampson held the archiepiscopal see. Though a holy man, and fearless of death, he was prevailed upon, by the earnest intreaties of his people, to go on board a vessel, which was wafted, by a south wind, to Britannia Armorica,1 where he and his attendants were safely landed. The
' Armorica is derived from the Celtic words Ar and Mon, which signify on or
m
see of Dol being at that time vacant, he was immediately elected bishop: hence it came to pass, that on account of the pall* which Sampson had brought thither with him, the succeeding bishops, even to our times, always retained it. But during the presidency of the Archbishop of Tours, this adventitious dignity ceased ; yet our coun- trymen through indolence or poverty, or rather owing to the arrival of the English into the island, and the frequent hostilities com- mitted against them by the Saxons, lost their archiepiscopal honours ; but until the entire subjugation of Wales by King Henry the First, the Welsh bishops were always consecrated by the Bishop of Saint David's ; and he was consecrated by his suffragans, without any profession or submission being made to any other church.
From the time of Sampson, to that of King Henry the First, nineteen bishops presided over this see : Ruelin, Rodherch, Elguin, Lunuerd, Nergu, Sulhidir, Eneuris, Morgeneu, who was the first Bishop of Saint David's who ate flesh, and was there killed by pirates ; he appeared to a certain bishop in Ireland on the night of
near the sea, and so called to distinguish it from the more inland parts of Britany. The maritime cities of Gaul were called " Armoricas civitates — Universis civitatibus qua) oceanum aUingunt, quaeque Gallorum consuetudine Armoricae appellantur." Cassar Comment, lib. vii.
1 The archiepiscopal pall was at first truly a mantle or upper vesture (as the word imports) worn by the Roman emperors, and by Constantine permitted as an honour to the Pope, and by him communicated to the other patriarchs ; and in this form it con- tinues in the Eastern parts; whereas at Rome, and in the west, this title is given to a small portion, as appendix to the first pallium, being (according to the description given of it by Pope Innocent the Third) a certain wreath (as it were the collar of an order) of about three fingers breadth encompassing the neck ; from which descend two labels, before and behind. On the circle are inwoven four purple crosses, and on each label, one ; and it is fastened to the upper garment with three golden pins. Cressy, p. 972.
[4]
his death, shewing his wounds, and saying, " Because I ate meat, I am made meat." Nathan, Jevan (who was bishop only one night), Argustel, Morgeneuth, Ervin, Tramerin, Joseph, Bleithud, Sulghein, Abraham, Wilfred. Since the subjugation of Wales to the present time, three only have held the see : in the reign of King Henry the First, Bernard ; in the reign of King Stephen, David the Second ; and in the reign of King Henry the Second, Peter, a monk of the order of Clugny ; who all, by the king's mandate, were consecrated at Canter- bury : as also Geoffrey, prior and canon of Lanthoni, who succeeded them in the reign of King John, and was preferred to this see by the interest of Hubert Archbishop of Canterbury, and afterwards con- secrated by him. We do not hear that either before or after that subjugation, any arcbbishop of Canterbury ever entered the borders of Wales, except Baldwin, a monk of the Cistercian order, Abbot of Ford,3 and afterwards Bishop of Worcester, who traversed that rough, inaccessible, and remote country with a laudable devotion for the service of the cross ; and as a token of investiture, celebrated mass in all the cathedral churches ; so that till lately the see of Saint David's owed no subjection to that of Canterbury, as may be seen in Bede's English History, who says, " That Augustiu, Bishop of the Angles, after the conversion of King Ethelfred, and his people, called toge- ther the British Bishops of Wales on the confines of the West Saxons, as legate of the apostolic see. When the seven bishops4 appeared,
3 Ford Abbey was situated in the parish of Thorncomb, Devon, and near the confines of the county of Somerset. In the year 1 136, Richard Fitz-Baldwin de Brien, Baron of Okehampton, and Sheriff of Devonshire, brought an abbot and twelve Cistercian monks to a place called Brightley in Devonshire, from whence they were removed to •Ford, in the year 1141, by Adelicia, sister and heiress to the aforesaid Richard.
4 The Bishops of Hereford, Worcester, Landaf, Bangor, Saint Asaph, Lhanpadarn, and Margan, or Glamorgan.
Augustin sitting in his chair, M'ith Roman pride, did not rise up at their entrance. Observing his haughtiness (after the example of a holy anachorite of their nation), they immediately returned, and treated him and his statutes with contempt, publicly proclaiming that they would not acknowledge him for their archbishop ; alleg- ing, that if he now refused to rise up to us, how much more will he hold us in contempt, if we submit to be subject to him ?" That there were at that time seven bishops in Wales, and now only four, may be thus accounted for ; because perhaps there were formerly more cathedral churches in Wales, than there are at present, or the extent of Wales might have been greater. Amongst so many bishops thus deprived of their dignity, Bernard, the first French Bishop of Saint David's, alone defended the rights of his church in a public manner; and after many expensive and vexatious appeals to the court of Rome, would not have reclaimed them in vain, if false witnesses had not publicly appeared at the Council of Rheims, before Pope Euge- nius, and testified that he had made profession and submission to the see of Canterbury. Supported by three auxiliaries, the favour and intimacy of King Henry, a time of peace and consequent plenty, he boldly hazarded the trial of so great a cause, and so confident was he of his just right, that he sometimes caused the cross to be carried before him during his journey through Wales.
Bernard, however commendable in some particulars, was remark- able for his insufferable pride and ambition. For as soon as he be- came courtier and a creature of the king's, panting after English riches by means of translation, (a malady under which all the English sent hither seem to labour), he alienated many of the lands of his church without either advantage or profit, and disposed of
[6]
others so indiscreetly and improvidently, that when ten carrucates of land were required for military purposes, he would with a liberal hand give twenty or thirty; and of the canonical rites and ordinances which he had miserably and unhappily instituted at Saint David's, he would hardly make use of one, at most only two or three. With respect to the two sees of Canterbury and Saint David's, I will briefly explain my opinion of their present state. On one side, you will see royal favour, affluence of riches, numerous and opulent suffragan bishops, great abundance of learned men, and well skilled in the laws : on the other side a deficiency of all these things, and a total want of justice : on which account the recovery of its ancient rights will not easily be effected, but by means of those great changes and vicissitudes which kingdoms experience from various and unex- pected events.
The spot where the church of Saint David's is built, and first founded in honour of the Apostle Saint Andrew, is called the Vale of Roses ; which ought rather to be named the Vale of Marble, since it abounds with one, and by no means with the other. The river Alun, a muddy and unproductive rivulet,5 bounding the church- yard on the northern side, flows under a marble stone, called Lech- lavar, which has been polished by continual treading of passengers ; concerning whose name, size, and quality, we have treated in our Prophetic History. Henry the Second, on his return from Ireland, is said to have passed over this stone, before he entered the church of Saint Andrew and Saint David. Having left the following garri- sons in Ireland, namely, Hugh de Lacy (to whom he had given
1 This little brook does not, in modern times, deserve the title here given to it by Giraldus, for it produces trout of a most delicious flavour.
en
Meath) in Dublin, with twenty soldiers; Stephen and Maurice Girald with other twenty men ; Humphrey de Bohun, Robert son of Ber- nard, and Hugh de Grandeville, at Waterford, with forty men ; and William the son of Adelm, and Philip de Breusa, at Weixford with twenty men; on the second day of Easter, the king embarked at sunrise on board a vessel in the outward port of Weixford, and with a south wind, landed about noon in the harbour of Menevia. Pro- ceeding towards the shrine of Saint David, habited like a pilgrim, and leaning on a staff, he met at the white gate a procession of the canons of the church coming forth to receive him with due honour and reverence. As the procession solemnly moved along, a Welsh woman threw herself at the king's feet, and made a complaint against the bishop of the place, which was explained to the king by an in- terpreter; the woman, immediate attention not being paid to her petition, with violent gesticulation, and a loud and impertinent voice, exclaimed, repeatedly, " Vindicate us this day, Lechlavar ! revenge us and the nation in this man!" On being chidden and driven away by those who understood the British language, she more ve- hemently and forcibly vociferated in the like manner, alluding to the vulgar fiction and proverb of Merlin, " That a king of England, and conqueror of Ireland, should be wounded in that country by a man with a red hand, and die upon Lechlavar on his return through Menevia." This was the name of that stone, which serves as a bridge over the river Alun, that divides the cemetery from the northern side of the church ; it is a beautiful piece of marble, polished by the feet of passengers, ten feet in length, six in breadth, and one in thick- ness. Lechlavar signifies in the British language a talking stone.6
' Lechlavar, so called from the words in Welsh, Llec, a stone, and LJavar, loquacious.
• [8]
There was an ancient tradition respecting this stone, that at a time when a corpse was carried over it, for interment, it broke forth into speech, and by the effort cracked in the middle, which fissure is still visible ; and on account of this barbarous and ancient supersti- tion, the corpses are no longer brought over it. The king, who had heard the prophecy, approaching the stone, stopped for a short time at the foot of it, and looking earnestly at it, boldly passed over ; then turning round, and looking towards the stone, thus indignantly in- veighed against the prophet : " Who will hereafter give credit to the lying Merlin?" A person standing by, and observing what had passed, in order to vindicate the injury done to the prophet, replied, with a loud voice, " Thou art not that king by whom Ireland is to be conquered, or of whom Merlin prophesied !" The king then enter- ing the church founded in honour of Saint Andrew and Saint David, devoutly offered up his prayers, and heard mass performed by a chaplain, whom alone out of so large a body of priests, Providence seems to have kept fasting till that hour, for this very purpose. Having supped at Saint David's, the king departed for the castle of Huverford, distant about twelve miles. It appears very remarkable to me, that in our days, when David the Second presided over the see, the river should have flowed with wine : and that the spring called Pistyll Dewi,7 or the Pipe of David, from its flowing through a pipe into the eastern side of the church-yard, should have ran
' The miraculous origin of this spring has been attributed to Saint David, and is thus related in his life written by Giraldus. " It happened on a certain day, when the brethren of the church were assembled together, that a general complaint was, made of the want of clean and pure water for the performance of mass and other religious solemnities; for the river Alun, which flows through the vale, was muddy, and often times defective during the summer season. On hearing which, the holy father David
with milk. The birds also of that place, called jack-daws, from being so long unmolested by the clergy of the church, were grown so tame and domesticated as not to be afraid of persons dressed in black. In clear weather the mountains of Ireland are visible from hence, and the passage over the Irish sea may be performed in one short day ; on which account William, the son of William the Bas- tard, and the second of the Norman kings in England, who was called Rufus, and who had penetrated far into Wales, on seeing Ire- land from these rocks, is reported to have said, " I will summon hither all the ships of my realm, and with them make a bridge to attack that country." Which speech being related to Murchard Prince of Leinster, he paused awhile, and answered, " Did the king add to this mighty threat, If God please?" And being informed that he had made no mention of God in his speech, rejoicing in such a prognostic, he replied, " since that man trusts in human, not divine power, I fear not his coming."
ANNOTATIONS ON CHAPTER I.
' { Hie etenim angulus est supra Hibernicum mare remotissimus ; terra saxosa, sterilis, et infcecunda ; nee sylvis vestita, nee flumini- bus distincta nee pratis ornata; ventis solum et procellis semper
went immediately to the cemetery adjoining the church, and having offered up many long and devout prayers to the Almighty, a spring of the most transparent water sud- denly burst forth on the spot, which was fully sufficient for all religious purposes, and continues to flow to this present day.
VOL. II. C
cxposita."— Such is the dreary and well-pictured account given by Giraldus of the local situation of this once celebrated ecclesiastical establishment ; and such, I fear, will every traveller find it on his approach to the wretched village of Saint David's, where misery and beggary stare him full in the face, and from whence the want of even tolerable accommodations has driven away many an inquisitive tourist and antiquarian. Although, in the language of the poet,
" Menevia plorat
Curtatos mitne titulos, et nomen inane Semisepultae urbis,"
yet hospitality has not deserted these mitred walls, and I should be much wanting in gratitude, were I not to acknowledge thus publicly the many acts of friendship and civility which I have experienced during two successive pilgrimages to the shrine of Saint David.
As from the lorlorn and retired situation of the cathedral church of Saint David's, ils ancient as well as modern history is but little known, I shall give some account of it, from its foundation to the present time ; with a short sketch of the life of its patron saint, and a series of its archbishops and bishops, from its first establishment to the period of this Itinerary. •
Saint David1 was son of Xantus, Prince of Cardiganshire, and
• Dewi, son of Sandde ab Cedig ab Ceredig ab Cunedda, whose mother was Non, the daughter of Gynyr, of Caer Gawch in Pembrokeshire, was one of the most cele- brated British saints, being the founder of several churches in Wales. There are four dedicated to him in Radnorshire; two in Cardiganshire; four in Pembrokeshire; two in Caermarlhenshire ; three in Brecknockshire; one in Glamorgan; and three in Monmouthshire; and many more were dedicated to his name in aftertimes. In the middle of the sixth century he was Bishop of Caer Llion in Gwent, or Monmouthshire,
[II.].
Non, daughter of Gynyr, of Caer Gawch in Mynyw (Menevia), a chieftain who lived about the middle of the fifth century, and hav- ing embraced a religious life, gave all his lands to support the church : Non was also one of the most distinguished female saints in Wales. He was brought up at place called in Welsh, Henmeneu, or Old Menevia, and in his early years was much devoted to literary pursuits, and displayed strong signs of a superior understanding and abilities. Being advanced to the honour of priesthood, he left his native country, and went to the Isle of Wight, where Paulinus, a disciple of Saint Germanus, had opened a school ibr the instruction
which was then considered as the metropolitan of the Welsh church. But, in con- sequence of his father-in-law's having given all his lands in Pembrokeshire to the church, and the former place being too much exposed to the incursions of the Saxons, Dewi removed the see to Mynyw, which afterwards was called Ty Dewi, the House of David, or St. David's, after his name. In the Triads, Dewi, Padarn, and Teilo, are denominated the three holy visitors of Britain ; because they went about preaching the Christian faith to all, without accepting any kind of reward ; but, on the contrary, expending their patrimonies in administering to the necessities of the poor. In the same records, Dewi is called the Primate of the Welsh Church, under the eldership of Maelgwn, and the sovereignty of Arthur, at the same time that Bedwini held similar functions in Cornwall, and Cyndeyrn in Scotland. He is also ranked with Teilo and Catwg, as one of the three canonized saints of Britain. In consequence of the ro- mances of the middle ages, which created the seven champions of Christendom, St. David has been dignified with the title of the Patron Saint of Wales ; but this rank, however, is hardly known among the people of the principality, being a title diffused among them from England in modern times. The writer of this account never heard of such a patron saint, nor of the leek as his symbol, until he became acquainted therewith in London. The wearing of the leek on St. David's-day originated, proba- bly, from the custom on Cymhortha, or the neighbourly aid practised among farmers, which is of various kinds : in some districts of South Wales, all the neighbours of a small farmer, without means, appoint a day when they attend to plough his land, and the like ; and at such a time it is the custom for each individual to bring his portion of leeks to be used in making pottage for ihe whole company; and they bring nothing else but the leeks in particular for the occasion. Cambrian Biography, p. 87.
[ 12]
of his countiymen: under him he studied for ten years, till Pauli- nus, admonished by an angel, sent David away to preach the word of God amongst the Britons ; which he did with great effect, having gained many proselytes and founded many religious establishments both in England and Wales : he then returned to his native coun- try, and settled himself in the Vale of Ros, collecting around him a numerous body of disciples and followers, who subscribed to the rules and orders of his new establishment. Amongst these were Teilo, Aidan, Macloc, Ismael, Paternus, and Kinot. He was after- wards, in the year 519, invited by Saint Dubricius to attend a national synod at Llandewi Brevi in Cardiganshire, where he preached so successfully against the doctrines of the Pelagians, that a miracle commemorated the holy ground on which he stood. At the conclusion of the synod, Dubricius, who at that time presided over the archiepiscopal sec of Caerleon, being desirous of passing the remainder of his clays in religious retirement, offered to resign his high ollice to David, who. by the unanimous request of all the bishops, clergy, and laity then present, was at last prevailed upon to accept it, but on condition that he should be allowed to translate the metropolitan see from the populous city of Caerleon to the more retired Vale of Menevia. He afterwards assembled another meet- ing, called the Synod of Victory, at which the whole body of the Welsh clergy met, confirmed the decrees of the former synod at Brevi, and added some new regulations for the benefit of the Church. From these two synods, all the churches of Cambria received their rules and ecclesiastical ordinances, which were also sanctioned by the authority of the Roman Church. The period of his death seems rather uncertain; some authors place it in the
year 544, others towards the end of that century. His character is thus delineated by our author Giraldus :
" Cunctis autem Pater David, tanquam in specula positus emi- nentissima, vitae speculum erat et exemplar. Instruebat subditos verbo, instruebat et exemplo; efficacissimus ore praedicator, sed opere major. Erat enim audientibus doctrina, religiosis forma, egentibus vita, orphanis munimen, viduis fulcimen, pupillis pater, monachis regula, saecularibus via ; omnibus omnia factus, ut omtiia lucrifaceret Deo."
He was (saith Giraldus) a mirror and pattern to all ; instructing all, both by word and example ; an excellent preacher in words, but more excellent in Avorks ; he was a doctrine to all, a form to the religious, life to the poor, support to orphans, defence to widows; father to the fatherless ; a rule to monks, and a model to teachers; becoming all to all, to gain all to God.
Another ancient author has more particularly characterized the person of this saint: " Vir erat amabilis Aralde, vultu venustus, forma praeclarus, facundus, eloquens, et quatuor cubitarum statura erectus.
According to Godwin, Dubricius died A. D. 522, having resigned his archbishopric to David, Avho translated the see from Caerleon to Menevia. Authors (as I before observed) differ about the age of David, as likewise about the time of his first taking possession of his high office. Godwin affixes the period in the year 577
As there is some difference in the series of bishops given by Gi- raldus and Godwin, I shall annex the account of each.
GIRALDUS.
1 David.
2 Cenauc.
3 Eliud or Teilaus.
4 Ceneu.
5 Morwal.
6 Haerunen.
7 El \vaed.
8 Gunmen.
9 Lendivord.
10 Gorwvsc.
/
1 1 Gogan.
12 CIcdauc.
13 Anian.
14 Euloed.
15 Ethelmen. Hj Elanc.
1 7 Malscoed.
18 Sadermen.
19 Catellus.
20 Sulhaithnai.
21 Nonis.
22 Etwal.
23 Asser.
24 Arthuael.
25 Sampson.
26 Ruelin.
27 Rodherch.
GODWIN.
1 David.
2 Eliud.
3 Theliaus.
4 Kenea.
5 Morvael.
6 Haernurier.
7 Eluaeth.
8 Gurnel.
9 Lendywyth.
10 Gorwist.
1 1 Gorgan.
12 Cledauc.
13 Eynaen.
14 Eludgeth.
15 Eldunen.
16 Elvaoth.
17 Maelschwyth.
18 Madeneu.
19 Catulus.
20 Svlvay.
*" /
21 Namis.
22 Sathveney.
23 Doythwal.
24 Asser.
25 Athuael.
26 Sampson.
27 Ruclinus.
GIRALDUS.
28 Elguin.
29 Lunuerd.
30 Nergu.
31 Sulhidir.
32 Eneuris.
33 Morgeneu.
34 Nathan.
35 Jevan.
36 Argustel.
37 Morgenueth.
38 Ervin.
39 Tramerin.
40 Joseph.
41 Bleithud.
42 Sulghein.
43 Abraham.
44 Wilfredus.
45 Bernardus.
46 David Secundus. 4 7 Petrus de Leia. 48 Galfridus.
GODWIN.
28 Rodheric.
29 Elguni.
30 Lunverd: al. Lywarch.
31 Nergu: al. Vergu.
32 Sulhidir: al. Sulhidw.
33 Eneuris : al. Everus.
34 Morgeneu.
35 Nathan.
36 Jevan.
37 Argustel
38 Morgenueth.
39 Ervin: al. Hernun.
40 Tramerin: al. Carmenn.
41 Joseph.
42 Bleithud.
43 Sulghiem.
44 Abraham.
45 Rithmarch.
46 Wilfridus. 4 7 Bernardus.
48 David Fitz Gerald.
49 Petrus de Leia.
50 Galfridus.
[ 16 ]
The Annales Menevenses throw some further light on the chrono- logy of this see :
A. D. 832 Sadernuen Episcopus Menevensis moritur. 873 No vis Episcopus moritur. 909 Asser fit Episcopus. 9-14 Luvert Episcopus moritur. 94. '> Morcleis Episcopus moritur. 946 Eneuris Episcopus moritur. JOOO Morgeneu Episcopus occiditur. !():?') Herbin Episcopus moritur. 1061 Joseph Episcopus moritur. 1071 Hledud Episcopus moritur. Sulgenus Episcopatum
accepit.
1076 Sulgenus Episcopatum deserit; et Abraham accepit. 1078 Abraham Episcopus occiditur a gentilibus.
Sulgenus itemm Episcopatum accepit. 1088 Sulgenus Episcopus moritur. 1096 Rikemarth filius Sulien moritur. 1116 Wilf'ridus Episcopus moritur. 11127 Daniel filius Sulgeni moritur. 1149 Bernardus Episcopus moritur. 1 176 David Episcopus moritur. 1199 Petrus Episcopus moritur. 1214 Galfridus Episcopus moritur. 1 229 Gervasius Episcopus moritur. 1255 Thomas Wallensis moritur.
1 280 Richard de Carreu moritur, et sepultus est in ecclesia Menevensi prope altare S. Crucis a parte australi.b
k The Welsh Chronicle differs in some slight degree from these Annals. It says
[17]
During the episcopacy of Lendivord, which Godwin places A. D. 810, and the Annales Menevenses A. D. 812, the church of Saint David's was burned by the West Saxons. From the time of David to that of Sampson, history has recorded little besides the names of the archbishops : during the presidency of the latter, seven suffra- gan bishoprics were annexed to the archbishopric of Saint David's, viz. Landaf, Bangor, Saint Asaph, Exeter, Bath, Hereford, and Femes in Ireland ; and, according to Hoveden, the following, viz. Landaf, Bangor, Saint Asaph, Worcester, Hereford, Chester, and Lhanpadarn ; but I am inclined to think that neither of these lists is quite correct, but that the suffragan bishops were the same as those summoned to attend the synod at Worcester, A- D. 602, who are mentioned in the note of the annotator Dr. Powel, as Hereford, Landaf, Lhanpadarn, Bangor, Saint Asaph, Worcester, and Margan- During the archiepiscopacy of Sampson, a contagious and epidemical disease raged so violently throughout his diocese, that by the earnest entreaties of his clergy he was persuaded to remove with them into the country of the Armorican Britons ; he settled at Dol in Nor- mandy, where he was shortly afterwards promoted to the episco- pacy of that city on the death of its former bishop : having brought over with him the archiepiscopal pall which he had worn at Mene- via, he made use of the same in his episcopal functions at Dol, of which circumstance, his successors, the bishops at Dol, taking ad- vantage, assumed to themselves the like honour of wearing a pall, and challenged an archiepiscopal jurisdiction and exemption from the power of their former metropolitan, the Archbishop of Tours :
that Everus, Bishop of Saint David's, died A. D. 944; that Morgeneu was killed bjr the Danes in 9Q8 : and that Hernun, a man both learned and godlie, died in 1038.
VOL. II. D
[ 18]
this they continued for many years, till the time of Pope Innocent the Third, A. D. 1198, notwithstanding the many protestations of the archbishops against this their usurped authority. During all this interval the see of Saint David's, though acknowledged the metropolis of Wales, was deprived of its pall ; for which reason Pope Eugenius the Third, in the reign of King Henry the First, subjected it to the see of Canterbury, A. D. 1148; but notwith- standing this deprivation, the Welsh bishops still continued to receive their consecration from the head of the metropolitan church of Menevia, till the time of Bernard, the Norman bishop, who was chaplain to King Henry the First, and consecrated Bishop of Saint David's, in the year 1151. He is represented as having greatly injured and wasted the revenues of the church, and by the royal commands to have resigned the archiepiscopal rights of Menevia to the see of Canterbury.0 To Bernard the Norman succeeded David
c This prelate appears, in more instances than one, to have been " trans modestiam notabilis." The Annals of the Church of Landaf afford a very notable instance of his rapacity and injustice. It is there recorded, that, presuming upon his interest with the English court, he made a most unprincipled attack upon the revenues of that see, and having usurped an episcopal jurisdiction over the extensive territories of Gower, Cydwelly, Cantrebychan, Ystradwy, and Ewyas, which, from the time of Eleutherius, and since the coming of Austin the Monk, had appertained to the church of Landaf t without the smallest plea of justice, he attached them to his own diocese. Urban, the Bishop of Landaf, in vain remonstrated. The Pope, to whom he twice appealed, in vain enjoined a restitution ; Norman politics completely triumphed, and the Menevian bishops to the present day enjoy the fruits of Bernard's peculation. About the same time the Bishop of Hereford, with the same injustice and the same impunity, detached the territory of Urchenfield from the poor plundered see of Landaf.J
* Quo defuncto (Wilfredo) successit ei Bernardus de transmarinis partibus oriundus, et primus ad bane sedem regia potestate translatus ; vir quidem curialis atque facetus* !t copipse hteratus. Bernardus iste, quamquam in multis commendabilis, humanae tamen imperfectionis maculam non evasit: terras ecclesiae suse plurimas infructuose penitus et inuliliter alienavit. Giraldus de Jure Menev. Ecclesije, p. 534.
[ 19 ]
Fitz-Gerald, called by our Author, Secundus, to distinguish him from the patron saint : he died in 1 1 76.e The vacant see was filled by Peter de Leia, a Cluniac monk, and Prior of Wenloch, who received the crusaders at his episcopal residence in Saint David's : he died A. D. 1199.f Some historians have improperly named Giraldus as his successor : for, though elected bishop, he never was consecrated to the see; of which fact his own words give ample testimony — " Quartus his succedaneus fuit Galfridus Lanthoniensis prior et canonicus."
From the year 577 (at which period, according to Godwin, Saint David settled himself at Menevia), to the death of Peter de Leia in
e Giraldus says, that a violent schism prevailed at the election of this bishop amongst the canons of the church of Saint David, who wished to elect a real Welshman (purum Wallensem), not one of mixed descent; and this wish might very naturally have arisen from the great injuries their church had sustained from his predecessor in the see, Bernard the Norman. Our author describes David as a man of a modest character, a contented turn of mind, and steadily attached to the interests of his church. " Vir erat hie modestus, vir sua sorte contentus; terras ecclesiaj suae paucas et pauperculas sibi relictas diligenter excolere et instaurare curabat: de suo nempe vivere volens, non alieno, non rapinis, non exactionibus indebitis aut extortionibus, non exquisitis et excogitatis per Angliam et Walliam hospitationibus, indulgebat." Giraldus de Jure Menev. Ecclesiae, p. 535.
f The character of this bishop has been stigmatized by Giraldus for his short residence in Wales, the want of proper attention to his diocese, and the heavy taxes he imposed on his clergy ; he was also accused, by Richard Fitz-Tancred, of transmit- ting the revenues of his bishopric, and all the money he could collect, into England. " Primus hie etenim Episcoporum Menevensium nostri temporis qui per hospitia tarn Anglicana quam Wallensica jugi fere discursu circuiendo et circumvagando cum scan- dali nota naevoque non modico famae demigrationem incurrit. Primus hie quoque, qui quolibet ad minus anno tertio clericis suae diocesis grave tallagiorum onus adjecit. Qui utinain tarn integrae famae fuisset et tarn honestae, tarn sincerae conscientiae et tarn serenae, tantaeque constantiae in dictis et factis et tarn maturae, quam monachus !" Giraldus, ibidem, p. 538.
[*>]
1 199, six hundred and twenty-two years had elapsed, during which time the see had been filled by forty-nine archbishops and bishops. The cathedral dedicated to Saint Andrew and Saint David, having suffered greatly from the incursions of the Danes and other pirates, was pulled down by Peter de Leia, A. D. 1 180, and re-edified : thus we are able to ascertain the precise aera at which the oldest part of the present building was erected. In the time of Jorwerth, A. D. 1220, the new tower of the church fell down, and in 1248, during the episcopacy of his successor, Anselm, a great part of the build- ing was demolished by an earthquake. To Bishop Martin, who died A. D. 1327, we owe the chapel of Saint Mary, at the east end of the cathedral, where he lies interred ; and to his successor, Bishop Gower, every artist and antiquarian who visit these hal- lowed walls must be indebted for the beautiful fabric of the episco- pal palace; he died A.D. 1347, and was buried in the chapel under the rood-loft, which he had built and dedicated to Saint John. Adam Houghton, who died A. D. 1388, founded Saint Mary's College, an elegant Gothic structure adjoining the northern front of the cathe- dral ; to which John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, was a great bene- factor. Bishop Vaughan is recorded as the last who contributed towards the ornament of Saint David's cathedral ; he built a most elegant chapel between Saint Mary's and the choir, and dedicated it to the Holy Trinity : he died about the year 1521, and was buried in his own chapel, where a brass plate (now removed) once com- memorated him.
To the aforesaid bishops these different structures, forming so very grand and noble a specimen of architectural skill and elegance, have by historical tradition been attributed. The demolition of
[31 ]
one of the most interesting features of this groupe, viz. the episcopal palace, has been attributed to Bishop Barlow, elected to this see A. D. 1536, who is said to have married his five daughters to five bishops, and to have portioned them with the produce of the lead which he stripped off from the roof of this building ; and the damage thereby occasioned was so great, that twelve years revenue of the bishopric could not suffice to place it in the same state of repair in which he found it.
The fame of this celebrated sanctuary was so great that princes came barefooted to its shrine. In the year 1079, William the Con- queror entered Wales with a great army, and marching after the manner of a pilgrimage as far as Saint David's, offered and paid his devotion to that Saint, s In the year 1171, King Henry the Second went to Saint David's, and having made his offerings, dined with David Fitz-Gerald, then bishop of the see ; and in the time of Thomas Beke, A. D. 1284, King Edward the First, with his Queen Eleanor, came on a pilgrimage to the shrine of Saint David. h Its riches were so great, and the offerings to it so abundant, that the monks are said to have divided them every week : in short, it
8 This journey of the Conqueror to Saint David's is mentioned in the two last editions of the History of Wales, and is confirmed in the Annales Menevenses, which state, that A. D. 1079, " Willelmus Rex ad Sanctum David orationis causa per- rexit." But this expedition has been considered by other ancient writers more in a military than a devotional light. The old edition of the Welsh Chronicle says, " that William the Conqueror entred Wales with a great armie, till he came as farre as St. David's, where he offered and tooke homage of the kings and princes of the land." (P. 115.) And this account is corroborated by the historian Matthew of West- minster, who says, " Rex Anglorum Willielmus in Walliam copiosum duxit exercitum, et earn sibi subjugavit et ab ejusdem regulis homagia per fideles obsides suscepit."
h Eodem anno Doininus Rex Edwardus venit causa perigrinationis apud Sanctum David una cam Dornina Regina Angliae nomine Elianora die Dominica in crastino B. Katerinse Virginis. Warton, p. 651.
was once the British Loretto : — now, alas ! the Palmyra of Saxon antiquity !
Browne Willis, in his account of Saint David's, says, that there were several little chapels near the sea-side, and adjoining to the places where those persons who came by sea commonly landed. They were placed in that situation to attract the devotion of the seamen and passengers when they first came on shore; and other pilgrims used likewise to visit them. The offerings received at these chapels were carried to the cathedral, and divided every Saturday amongst the canons and priests. This same author (who published his account of Saint David's in the year J716) asserts, that some people belonging to the church, and yet living, can remember the time when the offering-money was brought on Saturdays to the chapter-house, and there divided by dishfuls, the quantity being so great as not to allow leisure to tell it. That the devotion to this church was very great in the times of Popery is certain, and how meritorious it was accounted appears by this old verse:
" Roma semel quantum, bis dat Menevia tantum."
il It was esteemed as meritorious to visit Saint David's twice, as to visit Rome once."
Three distinct but adjoining buildings form this massive groupe of varied architecture, the Cathedral, College, and Episcopal Palace; the two latter of which are in ruins, and are the most picturesque in their appearance. On entering the Close through a fine octagon gateway, they unexpectedly burst upon the sight, and form a coup d'oeil which cannot fail to excite the surprise and admiration of even the most indifferent spectator: but how much more impressive
would this view appear if the modern Chapter-house was removed? for it unfortunately intercepts the most interesting building in the whole groupe, the Bishop's Palace. (See the annexed Plan.)
The exterior of this cathedral presents no fine specimen of archi- tecture, and (excepting a Saxon door- way on the northern side) is entirely Gothic. The old western front (of which Mr. Grose has given a view in his Antiquities of Wales) was much admired for its Saxon workmanship and venerable appearance. The new front is beneath criticism: such an heterogeneous mixture of Saxon, Gothic, and castellated architecture I never before beheld ! the columns, as well as the arches in the nave, are Saxon, beautifully proportioned and richly decorated: each arch is encircled with a rich border, and each varies in its design. The large columns are alternately round and octagon, and to these are attached smaller Saxon pillars: the upper story has a mixture of Gothic in its orna- ments. The front of the rood loft, which separates the choir from the nave, is of very irregular Gothic architecture. Under this rood- loft are three recumbent effigies: that of Bishop Gower (No. 5) is certain;' the other two (No. 6 and 7) have been attributed, by Browne Willis, to Thomas Wallensis, A. D. 1255, and to Richard de Carrew, A. D. 1280 ; but as neither of these figures is mitred, I question if they have been rightly named. Ascending some steps, you enter the choir, which is placed immediately under the tower of the church, supported by four large arches, three of which are
1 Before the Rebellion, this stately tomb was inclosed to the south and west with a brass palisade, upon the facio of which was this inscription: " me JACET HENHICUS
GOWER STRUCTOE PALATII, ET HUJOS ECCLESI.E MENEVENSIS EPISCOPUS gUI OBIIT, &C."
Gothic : the one towards the west is Saxon, and filled up ; that towards the south is also filled up ; the other two remain open : all of them spring from small Saxon pillars. The organ, which formerly stood under the western arch, is now placed under the northern. The bishop's throne is well carved in wood, and on the reverse of the prebendal seats are some curious and fantastic devices. In the area of the chancel stands the altar tomb of Edmund Earl of Rich- mond, father to King Henry the Seventh, which was formerly de- corated with his effigy in brass, four escutcheons at the corners, and a brazen plate round the rim bearing this inscription :
" UNDER THIS MARBLE STONE HERE ENCLOSED, REST THE BONES OF THAT NOBLE LORD EDMUND EARL OF RICHMOND, FATHER AND BROTHER TO KINGS, WHO DEPARTED OUT OF THIS WORLD IN THE YEAR 1456, THE FIRST DAY OF NOVEMBER ; ON WHOSE SOUL ALMIGHTY JESU HAVE MERCY."
And on the tomb was this inscription :
" HEU ! REGUM GENITOR, ET FRATER, SPLENDIDUS HEROS,
OMNIS QUO MICUIT REGIA VIRTUS, OBIT. HERCULEUS COMES ILLE TUUS, RICHMONDIA, DUXQUE
CONDITUR EDMUNDUS HIS QUOQUE MARMORIBUS. QUI REGNI CLYPEUS, COMITUM FLOS, MALLEUS HOSTIS,
VIT^; DEXTERITAS, PACIS AMATOR ERAT. HIC MEDITARE VIANS TE SEMPER VIVERE POSSE ?
NON MORIERIS HOMO ? NONNE MISELLE VIDES CAESAR QUEM TREMERET ARMIS, NEC VINCERET HECTOR
IPSA DEVICTUM MORTE RUISSE VIRUM ? CEDE METRUM PRECIBUS : DET REGNUM CONDITOR ALMUS
EJUS SPIRITUI LUCIDA REGNA POLI."
Jobn C«iVt <!.•! '
.James Bo (ire fculp1
pRII^CE GIF § © TEJTH "W AIL IS S ,
[25 ]
On the south side of the choir, and on the pavement, are the recum- bent effigies of Bishops Jorwerth and Anselm (28, 29), the latter of whom is thus commemorated :
PETRA, PRECOR, DIC SIC : ANSELMUS EPISCOPUS EST HIC.
On the north and south sides of the altar, under recesses, are the figures of two knights in armour, well executed in free-stone. The effigy on the south side (30) represents a man rather advanced in years, in a recumbent attitude, clothed in armour, with his vizor raised, booted and spurred, his head reposing on an helmet : on his left side he carries a sword suspended by a rich belt ; a lion ram- pant is sculptured on his breast-plate, and there is an animal of the same species at his feet. This interesting monument, intended to perpetuate the memory of the illustrious Prince Rhys, who died A. D. 1 196, is in a good state of preservation.1"
On the northern side of the altar, is another recumbent effigy (26), very similar in design and execution to the one above descri- bed, but evidently the representation of a much younger man: his head rests on a double cushion ; he bears also a lion rampant on his breast, but varying in one respect from the other, as the lion has a cross bar along his neck. This effigy (which has been erroneously attributed to Owen ap Tudor, who was a prince of North Wales, and, according to Leland, buried in the friary at Hereford) was erected to the memory of Rhys of Rhys Gryg. l Adjoining this
k See the annexed engraving of the portrait and effigy.
1 These two sepulchral effigies of knights in armour are attributed by Browne Willis, in his plan of the cathedral of Saint David's, to Rhys ap Tudor and Owen ap Tudor, VOL. II. E
[ 26 ]
monument is the celebrated shrine of the British saint (27) ; above it are three Gothic niches, which, according to tradition, formerly held the images of Saint David, Saint Patrick, and Saint Denis; in the front are four quatrefoil holes, and behind it are two others of a circular form, in which the offerings were deposited. Nearer the altar on the north side is the tomb of Treasurer Lloyd (25 ) with this inscription :
" MARMADUCUS LLOYD, ARMIGER, JURIS CONSULTUS, ET MEDII TEM- PLI SOCIUS HOC FECIT IN PERPETUAM PATRIS SUI CHARISSIMI THOMjE LLOYD, HUJUS ECCLESIJE CATHEDRALIS THESAURARII MEMORIAM, QUI OCTAVO DIE MENSIS MARTI I, ANNO DECIMO REGNI SERENISSIMI REGIS JACOBI, OBIIT, ET HIC JACET."
He is represented recumbent in his robes, holding a book in his left hand, and raising his right hand up to his head, which rests on a cushion. The bust mentioned by Browne Willis, as having
but at llie same time he expresses a doubt it" the latter was buried in that church. Owen Tudor married Catherine of France, widow of King Henry the Fifth, who bore him two sons, the eldest of whom, Edmund Enrl of Richmond, was buried, as before stated, in this cathedral; from which circumstance there might be some reason to suppose lhat the father, who was taken prisoner in the battle at Mortimer's cross in Herefordshire, and immediately beheaded in the year 1461, might have been desirous of being interred under the same roof with his son, whose epitaph records his death in the year 1456; but Leland informs us, that Owen Tudor was buried in the convent of Grey Friars at Hereford. " Owen Meredith alias Tudor, buried in the Grey Freyers in navi ecclesiae in sacello sine ulla sepulchri memoria;" and in another place the same author says, " Owen Meredik, corruptly cawlled Owen Thider, fathar to Edmund Erie of Richemount, and graund-fathar to Kinge Henry the Seventhe, buried in the Grey Freres (in Hereford) in the northe syde of the body of the churche in a chapell." His dishonourable death on the scaffold may account for his being interred without any sepulchral honours or inscription.
The first mentioned effigy may be attributed to the celebrated Rhys ap Gruffydh, who died A. D. 1 196, and was buried at Saint David's; and the latter to his son Rhys Gryg, or Rhys the Hoarse.
[v ]
been placed above the tomb, is not extant, and there are only faint traces of two small figures on the pedestal. The front of the choir, under which the modern altar is placed, has three long lancet windows (the one in the centre the highest) and is richly decorated with Saxon ornaments. The choir presents a mixture of each style of architecture. The north aisle is roofless, and the monuments lie exposed to the severity of the weather. It contains, on the northern side, the mutilated effigies of a knight Templar (1 2), and of a monk (13), with an animal at his feet, under an ornamented niche. Against the south wall is an effigy with an inscription much muti- lated, and on the same side are two vacant Gothic recesses.
From this aisle we are led into the beautiful chapel built by Bishop Vaughan,™ in the early part of Henry the Eighth's reign, a chef d'ceuvre of the florid Gothic, and in a high state of preservation ; the royal arms and his own are finely executed in rich escutcheons, and affixed to the cieling : here he was buried, and his image was engraven in brass upon a marble stone on the pavement, with this inscription :
PRjESUL MENEVIjE EDWARDUS VAUGHAN HIC JACET ET LUX ECCLESI^: ET PATRICE FAUTOR, HONORQUE DECUS.
QUINQUE TALENTA HABUIT DOMINI ET DOCTE ET SAPIENTER ET BENE TRACTAVIT FUDIT ET AUXIT EA.
ERGO DEUS DIC PONTIFICI HUIC, BONE ET EUGE, FIDELIS SERVE ! INTRA IN DOMINI GAUDIA SUMMA TUI.
" This bishop was a great benefactor to the see over which he presided. " Edwar- dus Vehan legum doctor et thesaurarius ecclesiae S. Pauli Londini factus Episcopus Menevensis, aedificavit aedes apud S. Paulurn Londini ubi Doctor Smithus nuper habi- tabat. Tempore famis distribuebat quingentas in areas pauperibus vicinis suis. Hie aedi- ficavit in ecclesia Menevensi capellam S. Trinitatis. Hie etiam aedificavit capellam S. Justiniani. Hie asdificavit magnuin horreum apud Lantfey. Hie reparavit castel- luni de Lanhauden, et novam capellam ibi aedificavit." Leland Collect. Tom. I. p. 325.
[28]
Not the slightest impression of this brazen memorial is left ; but the elegant little chapel still remains, " aere perennius," to perpetuate the memory and good taste of its founder. Saint Mary's chapel, built by Bishop Martin, is also roofless ; but from many of the well sculptured key stones that are dispersed near it, we are enabled to form some judgment of the good style in which it was executed. The Welsh Cicerone never fails to point out one amongst them, on which is the device of three rabbits, whose heads are so placed as to make their three ears appear like six. On the right hand side of this chapel lies its founder, under a rich Gothic canopy ; and on the opposite side is the tomb of Bishop Houghton. Let us now proceed to the southern aisle, where our author Giraldus lies interred. The tomb marked 22 in my plan of the cathedral, has for many years been pointed out as the effigy of our author ; and as it represents a dignitary of the church, may have been designed to perpetuate his memory. No inscription, however, exists to ascertain the per- sonage. On the opposite side of this aisle is the figure of an eccle- siastic holding a book in his hand (20), which possibly might allude to the literary character of Giraldus; but the inscription on this tomb is so much defaced that I could not decipher it. This aisle (which is also roofless) contains the monument of Sylvester the physician, with this inscription:
SYLVESTER MEDICUS JACET HIC EJUSQUE RUINA MONSTRAT QUOD MORTI NON OBSISTIT MEDECINA.
And that of another dignitary of the church in tolerable preserva- tion, with escutcheons of arms on the base of the tomb. The vestry
[29]
and chanter's chapel on this side of the church contain nothing worthy of notice. On the opposite side are two buildings nearly corresponding with these; the chapter-house and Saint Andrew's chapel, neither of which have any thing remarkable ; two fine alabaster monuments, recorded by Browne Willis, as being here, are now no more : there is a place railed off, said to have been the penitentiary, where the penitents stood ; and in the wall are some round holes, designed to admit the voice of the priests who officiated on the other side of it in the choir. Under this building is the effigy of a dignitary omitted by Browne Willis ; and in this chapel, many fragments, found in different parts of the cathedral, have been deposited, some of which are curious : there is one of Saint Andrew bearing the cross on his breast, and another representing two females holding out an infant child to be received by an old man.
The southern door of the cathedral is Gothic, with rich Saxon decorations, and three small figures in niches over it : the highly sculptured cieling of Irish oak has a most striking and beautiful effect when viewed from the rood-loft.
Having described the principal features, ornaments, and other objects most worthy of the traveller's attention within this vene- rable cathedral, I shall add a few words respecting the adjoining buildings.
The college, founded by Bishop Houghton, A. D. 1388, is situated on the northern side of the cathedral, and very contiguous to it. Its community consisted of a master and seven socii, or assistants, each of whom had a separate house. Its architecture is Gothic, and the remaining shell of the chapel bespeaks its former magnificence.
[30]
To the south-west of this building stood the episcopal palace, erected by Bishop Gower, who was elected A. D. 1328 : it seems originally to have formed a quadrangle, two sides of which only now remain. The bishops occupied the eastern apartments. The kitchen with its curious chimnies, existed till very lately, but they are now prostrate on the ground. The Bishop's hall is adjoining to the kitchen. On the southern side of the quadrangle, is a mag- nificent apartment, said to have been built for the purpose of entertaining King John and his queen, on their return from Ireland: the circular east window, which has been often and justly admired, still remains in a good state of preservation: over the entrance door way, into the great hall, are the mutilated remains of two statues, said to represent the king and his queen : but if Bishop Gower, who was elected A. D. 1328, and died A. D. 1347, was the founder of this building, how could he have fitted up a hall for the reception of King John, who commenced his reign in the year 1 199 ? The chief beauty of the building is derived from an open Gothic parapet " which encircles it, and, by concealing the roof, gives it a very light and airy appearance ; a peculiarity attached to the buildings of this bishop, as I do not recollect having observed the like in any other part of England or Wales.
This neglected cathedral of Saint David's is rendered interesting to the antiquarian by many particularities which it still retains,
• Of these open parapets, South Wales furnishes three examples, in the episcopal palaces of Saint David's, Lantphey court, and Swansea castle. « Henricus Gower episcopus Menevensis fuit cancellarius Angliaj. Hie sedificavit magnum palatium Episcopi Meneviae et bonam partem aedificiorum apud Lantfey, manerium Episcopi Menevensis. Hie etiam sedificavit castellum in Swanseye in solo patrimonii sui." Leland Collect. Tom. I. p. 323.
<
Iffl
[31 ]
and such as are not frequently met with in other cathedrals, amongst which are the penitentiary, the rood-loft, and the shrine of the saint to whom the church was dedicated. The antiquarian, however, will have reason to regret that the numerous monumen- tal effigies, which once enriched this edifice, have been so bar- barously mutilated and robbed of their inscriptions, by which so wide a field has been left open to conjecture, and so uncer- tain a clue for modern ages to determine their right and original owners.
I may, perhaps, be accused of having been too diffuse in my notes upon Saint David's ; but as my object in this publication is to illustrate, as much as possible, every place mentioned by Giraldus in his Itinerary, less could not have been said of this metropolitan church, which held so conspicuous a rank amongst the ecclesiastical establishments of the early ages of Christianity; and which, even amidst its ruins, deserves the notice of every inquisitive traveller who makes the tour of Wales.
I shall conclude this account with some extracts from the Annales Menevenses, which throw an additional light on the history of Saint David's.
A. D. 812, Combustio Meneviae.
986 Godisric filius Harald cum nigris gentibus vastavit Meneviam.
1000 Menevia vastatur a gentilibus.
101 1 Menevia vastatur a Saxonibus, sc. Edrich et Umbrich.
107 1 Menevia vastatur a gentilibus.
1078 Menevia vastatur a gentilibus, et Abraham Episcopus occiditur.
A. D. 1086 Scrinium Sancti David de ecclesia furatur, et juxta
civitatem ex toto spoliatur.
1088 Menevia frangitur et destruitur a gentilibus. 1131 Dedicatio ecclesiae Sancti David. J180 Ecclesia Menevensis diruitur, et novum opus in-
choatur. 1220 Nova turris Menevensis ecclesiae in ruinam impro-
provisam versa est. 1248 Ten's motus magnus fuit in Britannia et Hibernia,
quo magna pars ecclesiae Menevensis corruit. 1275 Incceptum fuit Feretrum Beati David in ecclesia
Menevensi.
As the account given by Powel in the Welsh Chronicle differs somewhat from the above, I shall insert his tradition :
" In the yeare 810, Saint David's was burnt by the West Saxons. In the year 911, there came a great navie from Tydwike, with Uther and Rahald, and past by the westerne sea to Wales, and destroied Saint David's. A. D. 981 , Godfryd the son of Haroald did gather a great armie, and landed in West Wales, where spoiling all the land of Dyvet, with the church of Saint David's, he fought the battell of Lhanwanoc.
A. D. 987. The Danes landed in South Wales, and dstroyed Saint David's, Lhanbadarn, Lhanrysted, and Lhandydoch (which were all places of religion), and did so much hurt in the country besides, that to be rid of them, Meredyth was faine to agree with them, and to give them a penie for everie man within his land, which was called, ' The tribute of the blacke armie.' A. D. 1078. Menevia was all spoiled and destroyed by strangers.
G-HATFHY cf
§ C AT HE » RAIL
Q.a
[33 ]
A. D. 1088. About this time the shrine of S. David was stolne out of the church, and when all the jewels and treasures were taken away, the shrine was left where it might be found againe.
A. D. 1080. About this time certaine strangers, which were rovers
.*.
upon the seas, landed at S. David's, and robbed it, and burned the towne.
A. D. 1090. The Normans landed in Glamorganshire, and spread- ing themselves over different parts of South Wales, put an end to the predatory incursions of the Danes and other pirates. " The Normanes in great companies landed in Dyvet, or West Wales, and Cardigan, and builded castels there, and so began to inhabite the countrie upon the sea shoare," and to their protection the church and town of Saint David's probably owed the tranquillity which they afterwards enjoyed.
REFERENCES TO THE GROUND PLAN OF SAINT DAVID'S CATHEDRAL.
A. Modern west door-way. B. West door- way. C. North door- way. D. South porch. E. South door- way. F. Stairs to a chamber over the porch. G. Side aisles. H. The nave. I. Stairs to the rood-loft. J. Skreen supporting the rood-loft. K. Porch to the choir. L. First portion of the choir. M; Stalls. N. Stairs to the gallery. O. Bishop's throne. P. Skreen dividing the two portions of the choir. Q. Second portion of the choir. R. High altar skreen. S. Communion table- T. North transept. U U. Site of two altars. V. South transept. W. Site of an altar. X. Crypt,
VOL. II. F
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or chapel (now called the chapter-house) over which is the. school- room. Y. Stairs to the school-room. A 2,. North aisle of the choir. B 2. South aisle. C 2. Chapels. D 2. Stairs. E 2. Bishop Vaughan's chapel. F 2. Site of the altar. G 2- Avenue. H 2. Our Lady's chapel. I 2. Site of the altar. J 2. Stone seats. K 2. Priest's stalls. L 2. Niches for holy water. M 2- Font. N 2- Remains of a sepulchral pillar. O 2- Recesses for offerings. P 2. Marks in the pavement, said to have been made by the hoofs of Oliver Cromwell's horse, when he rode up to the high altar. Q 2. Site of the cloister. R 2. Flying buttresses. S 2- A ruined chamber.
REFERENCE TO THE MONUMENTS IN THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF SAINT DAVID'S.
No. 1. A simple grave-stone. 2. A grave-stone with the head of a monk embossed upon it. 3. The tomb of Bishop Morgan. 4. A grave-stone with the indented outlines of two priests. 5. Monu- ment of Bishop Gower. 6. Monument of a monk. 7. Monument of a monk. 8. Tomb of a monk. 9, An effigy destroyed. 10. An effigy destroyed. 11. Tomb of a monk nearly destroyed. 12- Effigy of .a cross-legged knight. 13. Tomb of a monk. 14. Tomb of a monk. 15. An effigy destroyed. 16. Tomb of Bishop Martin. 17. An effigy destroyed. 18. Tomb of a monk. 19. Tomb of a - on a slab. 20. Effigy of a monk with a book in his hand. 21. A grave-stone in decay. 22. Effigy of a dignitary, generally supposed to be that of Giraldus Cambrensis. 23 . Effigy of a knight,
. James Bafire frutp1
LlfatTh.i8o«.trTtKDiuiil(iUv.Alb«DaEle Ssttve t, London
[ 35 ]
much mutilated. 24. A plain grave-stone. 25. Tomb of Trea- surer Lloyd. 26. Effigy of Rhys Gryg. 2,1. Saint David's shrine, 28. Monument of Bishop Jorwerth. 29. Monument of Bishop Anselm. 30. Effigy of Rhys Prince of South Wales. 31. Tomb of Edmund Earl of Richmond. 32. Tomb with the indented lines of a head. 33. Grave-stone with the embossed head of a monk. 34. Tomb of a monk. 35. Arched recess.
REFERENCE TO THE PLAN OF THE BUILDINGS WITHIN THE CLOSE AT SAINT DAVID'S.
A. The eastern gate. B. Walls surrounding the close. C. The cathedral. D D DD. Buildings connected with the college. E. The college hall. F. The episcopal palace. G. The building, vulgarly called King John's hall. H. The kitchen. I. The Bishop's hall. K. The chapel. L. The cloisters. M. The churchyard.
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CHAPTER II.
CEMMEIS— MONASTERY OF SAINT DOGMAEL.
THE Archbishop having celebrated mass early in the morning before the high altar of the church of Saint David, and enjoined to the Archdeacon (Giraldus) the office of preaching to the people, hastened through Cemmeis to meet Prince Rhys at Aberteivi. Two circumstances occurred in the province of Cemmeis, the one in our own time, the other a little before, which I think right not to pass over in silence. In our time a young man, native of this country, during a severe illness suffered as violent a persecution from toads,1 as if the reptiles of the whole province had come to him by agreement ; and though destroyed by his nurses and friends, they increased again on all sides in infinite numbers, like hydras' heads : his atten- dants, both friends and strangers, being wearied out, he was drawn up in a kind of bag into a high tree, stripped of its leaves, and shred, nor was he there secure from his venomous enemies, for they crept up the tree in great numbers, and consumed him even to the very bones. The young man's name was Sisillus Esceir hir, that is, Sisillus Long Leg. It is also recorded that by the hidden but
1 There is a place in Kemeys, now called Tre-liffan, i. e. Toad's town ; and over a chimney-piece in the house there is a figure of a toad sculptured in marble, said to have been brought from Italy, and intended probably to confirm and commemorate this tradition of Giraldus.
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never unjust will of God, another man suffered a similar persecu- tion from rats. In the same province, during the reign of King Henry the First, a rich man, who had a residence on the northern side of the Preseleu mountains, was warned for three successive nights, by dreams, that if he put his hand under a stone which hung over the spring of a neighbouring well, called the fountain of Saint Bernacus, he should find there a golden chain ; obeying the admonition on the third day, he received, from a viper, a deadly wound in his finger : but as it appears that many treasures have been discovered through dreams, it seems to me probable, that with respect to rumours, in the same manner as to dreams, some ought, and some ought not to be believed.
I shall not pass over in silence the circumstance which occurred in the principal castle of Cemmeis at Lanhever, in our days. Rhys, son of Gruffydh, by the instigation of his son Gruffydh, a cunning and artful man, took away by force, from William, son of Martin (de Tours), his son-in-law, the castle of Lanhever, notwithstanding he had solemnly sworn, by the most precious relics, that his in- demnity and security should be faithfully maintained, and, con- trary to his word and oath, gave it to his son Gruffydh ; but since " A sordid prey has not a good ending," the Lord, who by the mouth of his prophet exclaims " Vengeance is mine, and I will repay," ordained that the castle should be taken away from the contriver of this wicked plot, Gruflfydh, and bestowed upon the man in the world he most hated, his brother Malgon. Rhys also, about two years afterwards, intending to disinherit his own daughter, and two grand-daughters and grandsons, by a singular instance of divine vengeance, was taken prisoner by his sons
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in battle, and confined in this same castle ; thus justly suffering the greatest disgrace and confusion in the very place where he had perpetrated an act of the most consummate baseness. It should be remembered, that at the time this misfortune befell him, he had concealed in his possession, at Dinevor, the collar of Saint Canoe of Brecknock, for which, by divine vengeance, he deserved to be taken prisoner and confined. We slept that night in the monastery of Saint Dogmael, where, as well as on the next day at Aberteivi, we were handsomely entertained by Prince Rhys. On the Cemmeis side of the river, not far from the bridge, the people of the neighbourhood being assembled together, and Rhys and his two sons, Malgon * and Gruffydh, being present, the word of the Lord was persuasively preached both by the Archbishop and the Archdeacon, and many were induced to take the cross : one of whom was an only son, and the sole comfort of his mother, far ad- vanced in years, who stedfastly gazing on him, as if inspired by the Deity, uttered these words : " O most beloved Lord Jesus Christ, I return thee hearty thanks for having conferred on me the blessing of bringing forth a son, whom thou mayest think worthy of thy service." Another woman at Aberteivi, of a very different way of thinking, held her husband fast by his cloak and girdle, and publicly, and audaciously prevented him from going to the Arch- bishop to take the cross ; but three nights afterwards, she heard a terrible voice, saying " Thou hast taken away my servant from me, therefore what thou most lovest shall be taken away from thee."
This lord was faire and comelie of person, honest and just of conditions, beloved of his friends, and feared of his foes, against whom (especiallie the Flemings) he at- chievcd diverse victories. Powel, p. 241.
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On her relating this vision to her husband, they were struck with mutual terror and amazement ; and on falling to sleep again, she unhappily overlaid her little boy, whom, with more affection than prudence, she had taken to bed with her : the husband relating to the bishop of the diocese both the vision and its fatal prediction, took the cross, which his wife spontaneously sewed on her husband's arm.*
Near the head of the bridge where the sermons were delivered, the people immediately marked out the site for a chapel4 on a ver- dant plain, as a memorial of so great an event ; intending that the altar should be placed on the spot where the Archbishop stood while addressing the multitude ; and it is well known, that many miracles (the enumeration of which would be too tedious to relate), were performed on the crowds of sick people who resorted hither from different parts of the country.
' The origin of assuming the cross may be derived from the Council of Clermont, in 1095, when those religious enthusiasts who undertook the expedition to the Holy Land, had the cross sewed on their garments : " Crucem assumere dicebantur, qui ad sacra bella profecturi crucis symbolum palliis suis assuebant et affigebanl, in signum votivae illius expeditions, cujus originem Concilio Claromonlano sub Urbano II. ad- scribunt scriptores omnes Rerum Hierosol. et alii passim." It was either woven in gold or silk, or made with cloth, and generally sewed on the right shoulder; but in the celebrated crusade undertaken in the year 1188, by Philip King of France, and Henry the Second of England, and which gave rise to this itinerary of Archbishop Baldwyn through Wales, the different sovereigns distinguished their own subjects by varying the colours of their respective insignia. In the first crusade all were red ; but in this the French alone preserved that colour, whilst the English were distinguished by white, and the Flemings by green crosses. Some zealots carried their zeal so far as to imprint the figure of the cross on their skin with a red-hot iron, and thus perpe- tuated the holy mark.
4 On the Cemmeis or Pembrokeshire side of the river Teivi, and near the end of the bridge, there is a place still called Park y Cappell, or the Chapel Field, which is undoubtedly commemorative of the circumstance recorded by our author.
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ANNOTATIONS ON CHAPTER II.
CEMMEIS'— From an ancient manuscript by George Owen, Esq. of Henllys, lord of Kemeys, published in the second volume of the Cambrian Register, 1 796, we find that the county of Pembroke con- tained seven cantreds, of which Kemeys was one ; in it were three comots, Ywch Nyfer, Is Nyfer, and Trefdraeth. Martin de Tours, a Norman knight, made the conquest of this territory, and founded a monastery for Benedictine monks at Saint Dogmaels, within the precincts thereof, and annexed it as a cell to the abbey of Tyrone in France, which his son Robert endowed with lands during the reign of King Henry the First. This Robert married Maud Peverel, and left issue, William, his son and heir, who married the daughter of Rhys ap Gruffyclh, from whom (through the instigation of Gruffydh his son) he received great injuries ; for, by force and arms, and con- trary to his solemn oath and promise, he took from him his castle at Lanhever in Kemeys, for which oppressive dealing, Rhys was afterwards punished with great afflictions from his own sons, who took him prisoner, and shut him up in the same castle. To Robert succeeded William, his son and heir, who died in the reign of King John, leaving issue, Nicholas, who married Maud, daughter of Guy
* Cemmeis — Cemmaes — Kernes, and Kemeys —thus is the name of this district va- riously spelt. Cemmaes in Welsh signifies a circle or amphitheatre for games; and a curious kind of game called knappan, or hurling the ball, was formerly much practised in this part of Pembrokeshire ; a particular account of which may be seen in the Cam- brian Register for 1795, page 168.
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de Brien. The next Lord of Kemeys was William, who married Eleanor, daughter of William de Mohun ; he died 1 8 Edward II. leaving a son and heir named William, who doing homage, had livery of all his lands, but died the next ensuing year, being then seized of the whole territory of Kemeys, which he held of the king in chapter, by the fourth part of one knight's fee, wherein he had the town and castle of Newport, and leaving Eleanor, his sister then married to William de Columbers, and James, the son of Ni- cholas de Audley by Joane, his other sister, his next heirs.
Preseleu, Preselaw, Prescelly, Presselw — The topography of the Preseleu mountains is thus accurately described in the manuscript before mentioned : — " The cheefest and principall mountainc of this sheere is Percelley, which is a long ridge or ranck of mountaines running east and west, beginning above Pencellyvor, where the first mount of high land thereof is called Moel Eryr, and soe passing eastward to Cwmkerwyn, being the highest parte of it, runneth east to Moel-trigarn and Lanvirnach. This mountaine is about six or seven miles long, and two miles broade ; it hath in it many hills rising in the high mounten, which are to be discerned twenty, thirty, nay forty miles off' and more, and from this hill may be seen all Pembrokeshire, and some parte of nine other sheeres, viz. Cardigan, Glamorgan, Brecknock, Montgomery, Merioneth, and Car- narvonshires ; Devonshire and Somersetshire: the Isle of Londay and the realme of Ireland. The commodities of this mountaine are great, for it yealdeth plenty of good grasse, and is full of sweete springs of water : it yealdeth also store of fuell for the inhabitants adjoining, for most of the mountaine furnisheth good peate and turffe, as well the lower parte and playne thereof, as the toppe of
VOL. II. G
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the mountaine. Alsoe out of this mountaine have many fine rivers their originall and beginnings, namely, Navarne, Taf, Clydagh, Clethe, Syvynvey, Gwayn, Clydagh againe, and the third Clydagh, which water most part of the countrye. This mountaine is so high and farre mounted in the ayre, that when the countrey about is faire and cleere, the toppe thereof will be hidden in a cloude, which of the inhabitants is taken a sure sign of raine to follow shortly ; whereof grewe this proverbe :
" When Percelly weareth a hat, All Pembrokeshire shall weete of that."
The greatest parte of this mountaine is a common to the free tenants and inhabitants of Kernes, within which lordship it standeth, yet in divers parts thereof claymed to be the landes of divers particu- lar persons, and this name of Percelley is a genus, as Cotteswald is in Gloucestershire, divers particular places therein having speciall and proper names.
" Cwmkerwyn is the highest pointe or peake of this mountaine, and is the first and cheefest land-marke that mariners doe make at sea, coining from the south or south-west, and is theire sure marke whereby they make for Milford, and it appeareth unto them at the first sight a round black hill ; sayling twelve or sixteen houres after they first make this land, before they come to the sight of any other land, by reason the sea shores is so lowe; and therefore the name of Percelley is as well knowne at sea as on lande. Along the sayd hille toppe of Percelley from the beginning to the ende, there is scene the tract of an ancient way now cleare out of use ; yet such hath been the trade of old that way, that to this day markes of it
[43 ]
are apparently discerned, and this way is usually called yet, ' The Fleming's Way;' and in an ancient charter of Sir Nicholas Martin, lord of Kernes, by which he makes a grant of all his lands in Presselw to the heirs of Gwrwared, son of Kuhylin, and to the heirs of Lhewelyn, another son of the said Kuhylin, mention is made of this road, ' Sicut via Flandrensica ducit per summitatem montis, a loco qui dicitur Wyndy-pete indirecte versus orientem usque ad Blaenvanon, et sic descendendo usque ad ecclesiam Albam, Meline Trefthey, Perketh, Kilven, et Kilgwyn, &x.' The same author remarks, that this way doth greatly confirme the opinion touching the coming of the Flemings here to Pembrokeshire ; and well they might make this usuall way for theire passage, for that thus passing alonge the toppe of the highest hill, they might the better descrye the privie ambushes of the countrey people, which might in straites and woods annoy them." Were I allowed to form a conjecture respecting this ancient causeway, without a personal examination of it, I should be led, perhaps, to attribute its original construction to the Romans, and not to the Flemings ; and to lay it down in my map as the military way leading from the station Ad Menapiam to that of Luentium at Llanio-isau in Cardiganshire.
Saint Bernacus — Little mention is made of this saint in ancient history. He is said, by Cressy, to have been a man of admirable sanctity, who through devotion made a journey to Rome, and from thence returning into Britany, filled all places with the fame of Jiis piety and miracles. On the seventh of April, according to Cap- grave, is marked the deposition of Saint Bernach, a British abbot of admirable sanctity, whose life he gives from John of Tinmouth, full of extraordinary miracles, but too modern to be of any great
. [44]
authority. Several churches in Wales were dedicated to him ; one of which, called Lanvernach, or the church of Saint Bernach, is situated on the eastern side of the Prescelly mountain ; and I have been informed that there is a redundant spring, called Saint Ber- nard's well, under the same range of mountains near the road leading from Haverfordwest to Cardigan, not far from Castel Henry, and on a farm lately purchased by Mr. Barham, from the Harris family: adjoining the well, are some ruined walls, perhaps originally appertaining to the saint's hermitage, or chapel.
Lanhever— The annotator, Dr. Powel, has committed a great topographical error, in confounding Lanhever with Trefdraeth, the present town of Newport, and which, in a grant of Sir William Martin, confirmed by his son, Sir Nicholas, is styled Novusburgus : to these lords of Kemeys, we may reasonably attribute the founda- tion of the castle of Newport, of which considerable remains are still extant. The Welsh Chronicle informs us, that in the year 1215, Lhewelyn Prince of North Wales went to Cardigan, and winning the new castell in Emlyn, he subdued Cemaes, and got the castell of Trefdraeth (called in English Newport), and rased the same to the ground."
The " castrum apud Lanhever" was at Nevern, a small village between Newport and Cardigan, situated on the banks of a little river bearing the same name, which discharges itself into the sea at Newport. On a hill immediately above the western side of the parish church, is the site of a large castle, and undoubtedly the one alluded to by Giraldus. On the southern side of the churchyard is a curious British cross mentioned by Camden, richly decorated in divers compartments, with knots, fret-work, fcc. The neighbourhood
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of Nevern abounds with Druidical antiquities. The cromlech, or temple at Pentre Evan surpasses in size and height any I have yet seen in Wales, or indeed in England, Stonehenge and Abury ex- cepted. At Newport, there is a smaller cromlech, and between that place and the sea-shore there is a very fine one called Llech y dry- bed. Tradition has also recorded a striking memorial of this memo- rable expedition of Archbishop Baldwin, in the name of a bridge over the little river Duad, which is still called Pont Baldwyn, and is situated at a short distance above the village of College.
Saint Dogmael. — Martin de Tours, a Norman knight, who made the conquest of the territory of Kemeys, is said to have been the first founder of the monastery of Saint Dogmaels, and to have been there buried in the middle of the choir. But Robert, the son of Martin, was the chief benefactor to it, as appears by the following deed, preserved by Dugdale in his Monasticon : — " I Robert, son of Mar- tin, with the approbation or rather exhortation of my wife Matilda, and through compassion for the poverty of the monks of Tyrone residing on my lands in Wales, have founded for them a monastery in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and have appointed an abbot to preside over it ; and by the assistance of William, the chief abbot of Tyrone, and by the gracious encouragement of Henry King of England, have obtained from them the grant of a free and undisturbed possession of all those lands and possessions which I have hitherto given, or may hereafter bestow upon the said monastery, so that no part thereof can, by any means, be alienated, even by the king himself, or by any of his successors. I have also given them the ancient church of Saint Dogmael, with the adjoining territory of Landodog situated on the banks of the
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river Teivi, in the province of Kernes." Besides other extensive grants of lands, he allows them the privilege of feeding their herds of swine in his own woods, and timber for their buildings, the fishery of Saint Dogmaels, with the right of erecting mills and wears wherever they pleased, on that part of the river which be- longed to them: he also grants them the skins of all the deer killed in his chases, excepting those that were the perquisite of the hunters. These several grants and privileges, which had been made at different periods, Avere solemnly confirmed on the day when Fulchardus was publicly enthroned as the first abbot of the new establishment, by Bernard Bishop of Saint David's. It also appears, by the foundation charter, that William, Abbot of Tyrone, was present at the above instalment, which took place about the year 1 126-
The saint to whom this monastery was dedicated, is mentioned by Cressy, under the names of Tegwel, and Dogmael, " as illus- trious for his great virtues, his sanctity, and his miracles." In the Cambrian Biography, he is styled, " Dogvael, son of Ithel ab Ceredig ab Cunedda, a saint, who lived about the middle of the seventh century, and who has a church dedicated to him in Pem- brokeshire." The last abbot of this monastery was William Hire, who, together with Hugh Eyno and seven others, subscribed to the Supremacy, 30th July, 1534, and received a pension of £13. 6s. 8d. per annum.
Some extensive, but by no means picturesque ruins of this abbey are still visible at a short distance from the town of Cardigan : its situation was well chosen, on high ground, overlooking the river Teivi. The fine old ash trees, with which the ruins of the abbey
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and parish church are encircled, still give it a venerable monastic appearance. A part of the northern transept remains, in which are two recesses, and some rich key-stones, ornamented with a winged lion, an angel holding an escutcheon of arms, fcc. In the adjoining church, on a stone tablet, is the following inscription:
" HIC JACET JOHANNES BRADSHAW ARMIGER, QUI OBIIT ULTIMO DIE MAII ANNO DOMINI 1588."
Another stone, mentioned by Camden, still exists, and serves as a passage over a gutter leading to the clergyman's house. The in- scription being placed downwards, it was impossible to copy it : it
is thus recorded by the above historian — SASRANI FILI .... CVNO-
TAMI
It appears, by our author's narrative, that the Archbishop and his attendants received marks of great hospitality from Prince Rhys, on the first night, in the monastery of Saint Dogmael, where they slept; and on the next day at his own castle at Aberteivi or Cardigan.
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CHAPTER III.
TEIVI RIVER— CARDIGAN— EMELYN.
TH E noble river Teivi flows here, and abounds more than any other river of Wales, with the finest salmon : it has a productive fishery near Cilgarran, which is situated on the summit of a rock, at a place called Ganarch Mawr,1 the ancient residence of Saint Ludoc : where the river, falling from a great height, forms a cata- ract, which the salmon ascend, by leaping from the bottom to the top of a rock, which is about the height of the longest spear: and would appear wonderful, were it not the nature of that species of fish to leap : hence they have received the name of salmon from salio. Their particular manner of leaping (as I have specified in my Topography of Ireland) is thus: fish of this kind, naturally swimming against the course of the river (for as birds fly against the wind, so do fish swim against the stream), on meeting with any sudden obstacle, bend their tail towards their mouth, and sometimes, in order to give a greater power to their leap, they press it with their mouths, and suddenly freeing themselves from this circular form, they spring with great force (like a bow let loose) from the
1 Now known by the name of Kenarth, which may be derived from Cefn y garth — the back of the wear, a ridge of land behind the wear, a name perfectly applicable to this village, beautifully situated on the banks of the river Teivi, which, confined within a narrow vale, forms at this spot a picturesque cataract, and salmon leap.
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bottom to the top of the leap, to the great astonishment of the be- holders. The church dedicated to Saint Ludoc,1 the mill, bridge, salmon leap, an orchard with a delightful garden, all stand together on a small plot of ground. The Teivi has another singular particu- larity, being the only river in Wales, or even in England, which has beavers, in Scotland they are said to be found in one river, but are very scarce. I think it not a useless labour, to insert a few remarks respecting the nature of these animals; the manner in which they bring their materials from the woods to the water, and with what skill they connect them in the construction of their dwellings in the midst of rivers ; their means of defence on the eastern and western sides against hunters ; and also concerning their fish-like tails.
The beavers, in order to construct their castles in the middle of rivers, make use of the animals of their own species instead of carts, who, by a wonderful mode of carriage, convey the trees from the woods to the rivers. Some of them obeying the dictates of nature, receive on their bellies the logs of wood cut off by their associates, which they hold tight with their feet, and thus with transverse pieces placed in their mouths, are drawn along backwards, with their cargo, by other beavers, who fasten themselves with their teeth to the raft. The moles use a similar artifice in clearing out the dirt from the cavities they form by scraping. In some deep and still corner of the river, the beavers use such skill in the
1 1 can gain no positive information respecting St. Ludoc, whose name is not inserted in the lives of the saints. Leland mentions a Saint Clitauc, who had a church dedi- cated to him in South Wales, and who was killed by some of his companions whilst hunting. " Clitaucus Southe Walliae regulus inter venandum a suis sodalibus occisus est. Ecclesia S. Clitauci in Southe Wallia." Leland Itin. Tom. VIII. p. 95. VOL. II. H
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construction of their habitations, that not a drop of water can pene- trate, or the force of storms shake them ; nor do they fear any violence but that of mankind, nor even that, unless well armed : they entwine the branches of willows with other wood, and different kinds of leaves to the usual height of the water, and having made within-side a communication from floor to floor, they elevate a kind of stage, or scaffold, from which they may observe and watch the rising of the waters. In the course of time, their habitations bear the appearance of a grove of willow trees, rude and natural without, but artfully constructed within. This animal can re- main in or under water at its pleasure, like the frog or seal, who shew, by the smoothness or roughness of their skins, the flux and reflux of the sea ; these three animals therefore, live indifferently under the water, or in the air, and have short legs, broad bodies, stubbed tails, and resemble the mole in their corporal shape. It is worthy of remark, that the beaver has but four teeth, two above, and two below, which being broad and sharp, cut like a carpenter's axe, and as such he uses them. They make excavations and dry hiding places in the banks near their dwellings, and when they hear the stroke of the hunter, who with sharp poles endeavours to pene- trate them, they fly as soon as possible to the defence of their castle, having first blown out the water from the entrance of the hole, and rendered it foul and muddy by scraping the earth, in order thus artfully to elude the stratagems of the well armed hunter, who is watching them from the opposite banks of the river. When the beaver finds he cannot save himself from the pursuit of the dogs who follow him ; that he may ransom his body by the sacrifice of a part, he throws away that, which by natural instinct he knows
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to be the object sought for, and in the sight of the hunter castrates himself, from which circumstance he has gained the name of Castor: and if by chance the dogs should chase an animal which had been previously castrated, he has the sagacity to run to an elevated spot, and there lifting up his leg, shews the hunter that the object of his pursuit is gone. Cicero speaking of them says, " They ransom them- selves by that part of the body, for which they are chiefly sought after." And Juvenal says,
" Qui se
Eunuchum ipse facit, cupiens evadere damno Testiculi."
And Saint Bernard,
" Prodit enim Castor proprio de corpore velox Reddere, quas sequitur hostis avarus opes."
Thus, therefore, in order to preserve his skin, which is sought after in the west, and the medicinal part of his body, which is coveted in the east, although he cannot save himself entirely, yet by a won- derful instinct and sagacity he endeavours to avoid the stratagems of his pursuers. The beavers have broad, short tails, thick like the palm of a hand, which they use as a rudder in swimming ; and although the rest of their body is hairy, this part, like that of seals, is without hair and smooth ; upon which account, in Germany and the arctic regions where beavers abound, great and religious per- sons in times of fasting eat the tails of this fish-like animal, as having both the taste and colour of fish. We proceeded on our journey from Cilgarran towards Font-Stephen, leaving Cruc Mawr, a great
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hill, near Aberteivi, on our left hand. On this spot Gruffydh, son of Rhys ap Theodor, soon after the death of King Henry the First, by a furious onset gained a signal victory against the English army, which, by the murder of the illustrious Richard de Clare near Aber- gavenny, (before related,) had lost its leader and chief. A tumulus is to be seen on the summit of the aforesaid hill, and the inhabi- tants affirm that it will adapt itself to persons of all stature ; and that if any armour is left there entire in the evening, it will be found, according to vulgar tradition, broken to pieces in the morning.
ANNOTATIONS ON CHAPTER III.
ABERTEIVI — This town, which in modern times has assumed the name of Cardigan, is situated on the northern banks of the river Teivi, which discharges itself into the sea a few miles from the town. When the Normans and Flemings spread themselves over the western coasts of Wales, they probably erected a fort to guard this river ; but the first mention of it in the Welsh Chronicle occurs in the year 1155, when Prince Rhys built a castle at Aberdyfi, to protect his frontiers against the princes of North Wales. In the year 1157, Roger Earl of Clare, having obtained a grant from King Henry of such lands in Wales as he could win, came with a great army to Caerdigan, and fortified the castle of Dyvy, which Rhys Prince of South Wales destroyed in the following year. On the return
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of King Henry to England, in the year 1165, after his unsuccessful attempts against the Welsh, Prince Rhys availing himself of his re- treat, laid siege to the castle of Aberteivi, and won it, and levelled it to the ground ; it was however rebuilt before the year 1 1 7 7 , at which time Prince Rhys held a most magnificent feast at Christmas in his castle at Aberteivi, which is thus recorded in the Welsh Chronicle :
" This yeare the Lord Rees Prince of South Wales made a great feast at Christmas in the castell of Aberteivi, which feast he caused to be proclaimed through all Brytaine long before, and thither came manie strangers, which were honorablie received and worthilie in- tertained, so that no man departed discontented. And among deeds of armes and other shewes, Rees caused all the poetes of Wales (which are makers of songs and recorders of gentlemens petegrees and armes, of whom everie one is intituled by the name of Bardh, in Latine Bardus) to come thither, and provided chaires to be set in his hall, where they should dispute togither, to trie their cunning and gift in their faculties, where great rewards and rich gifts were appointed for the overcomers ; amongst whome they of North Wales wan the price, and among the musicians Reese's owne houshold men were counted best."
In the year 1188 the same Lord Rees entertained Baldwyn and his crusaders on their passage through Cardigan into North Wales.
" After the death of Rees, Gruffyth his sonne subdued all the countrie to himselfe and enjoied it in peace, untill Maelgon his brother (whom his father had disinherited) made a league with Gwenwynwyn, the sonne of Owen Cyvelioc Lord of Powys, who both togither levied a number of men, and came suddenlie upon Gruffyth at Aberysthwyth, and slaieng a great number of his men,
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tooke him prisoner, and so recovered all the countrie of Caerdigan with the castell.
" In the year 1200 Maelgon ap Rees, seeing he could not well keepe Aberteivi, of verie spite to his brother, and hatred to his countrie, sold it to the Englishmen for a small summe of monie, being the keie and locke of all Wales.
" In 1215 the garrison which kept the castell of Aberteivi deli- vered the same unto Lhewelyn Prince of North Wales, upon St. Stephen's daie, who in the folowing yeare went to Aberteivi to make an agreement betwixt Maelgon and Rees Vachan, sonnes to Prince Rees, on the one side, and their nephews, young Rees and his brother Owen, the sonnes of Gruffyth ap Rees, on the other side ; where he divided South Wales betwixt them. The castell of Aber- teivi fell to the lot of Owen, who did not long enjoy his newly acquired possessions, for in the year 1220 Lhewelyn, Prince of North Wales, lead an armie to Penbrooke against the Flemings, who, con- trarie to their oth and league, had taken the castell of Aberteivi, which castell the prince wanne and destroied, putting the garrison to the sword." This castle came afterwards into the hands of William Marshall Earl of Pembroke, who landing at Saint David's from Ireland, with a powerful army, laid siege to the castle of Aberteivi and took it A. D. 1223. After the death of the earl, in 1231, it reverted to the Welsh. " Maelgon, the sonne of Maelgon ap Rees, laid siege to Aberteivi, and got the towne, and destroied it to the castell gates, slaieng all the inhabitants. And shortlie after he returned with his coosen Owen, sonne to Gruffyth ap Rees, with certaine of the princes captaines, and brake downe the bridge upon the river Teivi, and laid siege to the castell, and with engines and
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mines threw downe the same, and then returned home with much honor." Soon after the death of the brave Lhewelyn, Gilbert Mar- shall came with a powerful army into Wales, and fortified the castle of Aberteivi. As from this period the Welsh Chronicle takes no further notice of this castle, I conclude it remained in the undis- turbed possession of the English.
Few castles have experienced such a frequent reverse of fortune, and so sudden a change of masters : being situated on the frontiers of the principalities of North and South Wales, it became a most important fortress to each party : thence arose those repeated and bloody contests between the Welsh and English, to which we may attribute the small remains that now exist of this once celebrated castle. This busy and warlike town ill suited the solitary and retired dispositions of the monastic order. It contained only one small priory of Black Monks of the Benedictine order, a cell to the abbey of Chertsey in Surrey, and afterwards granted as part of its possessions to the abbey of Bisham in the same county. Leland says, " Ther is a priori in Cardigan towne, but in hit was but 1 1 religiose menne Blak Monkes. It stondith yet, and is a celle onto Chertesey." The parish church contains no monumental or architectural antiquities worthy of notice.
Teivi. — This fine river rises in that long and extensive range of mountains which separate the counties of Montgomery, Radnor, and a part of Brecknockshire from that of Cardigan, and to which our author gives the title of Ellennith. Its principal source is derived from a lake amongst these mountains, bearing the name Liyn Tyfi. It flows to the north of the celebrated Cistercian monas- tery of Stratflur, and till it reaches the little village of Tregaron
[56]
" it fletithe and rageth upon stones." From Tregaron, steering its course to Lanpeder, or Pons Stephani, it passes between the vene- rable old sanctuary of Landewi Brevi, and the Roman station of Luentium, or Loventium, in the parish Llanio-isau; the former being situated on the south-east, the latter on the north-west banks of the river, and nearly opposite to each other : from Lanpeder it flows by Newcastle Emlyn (where its course is very singular) to Kenarth, the Canarch Mawr of Giraldus, where, confined within a narrow and well wooded vale, it forms the cataract and salmon leap here mentioned. From hence, descending to Lechryd bridge, it loses its raging character, and smoothly gliding under the proud romantic towers of Cilgarran castle, and adding a most beautiful feature to that enchanting scenery, is partly lost in the marshes near Cardigan, where it becomes a tide river. It is still veiy justly distinguished for the quantity and quality of its salmon, but the beaver no longer disturbs its streams: that this animal did exist in the days of Howel Dha, (though even then a ninty,) the mention made of it in his laws, and the high price set upon its J'in, most clearly evince; but if the Castor of Giraldus, and the Avanc of Humphrey Llwyd, and of the Welsh dictionaries, be really the same animal, it certainly was not peculiar to the Teivi, but was equally known in North Wales, as the names of places testify. A small lake in Montgomeryshire is called Llyn yr Afangc ; a pool in the river Conwy, not far from Bettws, bears the same name, and the vale called Nant Ffrancon, upon the river Ogwen in Caernarvonshire, is supposed by the natives to be a corruption from Nant yr Afan cwm, or the Vale of the Bea- vers. Mr. Owen, in his dictionary, says, " That it has been seen in this vale within the memory of man;" but I am much inclined to
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think, that Avanc, or Afangc, is nothing more than an obsolete, or perhaps local name for the common otter, an animal exceedingly well known in all our lakes and rivers ; and the recognition of it at so late a period as that mentioned by Mr. Owen, considerably strengthens my supposition. Afancwm is evidently the plural of Avangi, composed of the words Afan, a corrupt pronunciation of Afon, a river, and Ci, a dog; synonymous, as I conceive it, with Dyfrgi, the water dog, which is the common appellation of the otter among the Welsh. The term Lostlydan, or broad-tail, from Llost, tail, and Llydan, broad, appears to be more immediately applicable to the character of the beaver, as described to us by naturalists, and is equally authorised by the Welsh dictionaries, though not so often used as Afangc. That the beaver was an extremely scarce animal in Britain, may be collected from the laws of Howel Dha, where it appears, that even in those early days, when the skins of the stag, wolf, fox, and otter were valued only at eight-pence each, the white weasel at twelve-pence, and the marten at twenty-four pence ; the beaver's skin, termed Croen Llostlydan, was estimated at the exorbitant price of one hundred and twenty pence. The otter is there styled Dyfrgi, but the name of Afangc no where appears, though the skins then in use are particularly enumerated. Mr. Bingley, in his Animal Biography, gives the fol- lowing account of this animal : " The beaver is a native of most of the northern parts of Europe and Asia ; but is most plentiful in North America. There is some reason to suppose that it has for- merly been found in Great Britain, for Giraldus says, that these animals frequented the river Teivi in Cardiganshire, and that they had from the Welsh a name signifying the broad-tailed animals ;
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The tail is oval, nearly a foot long, compressed horizontally, but rising into a convexity on its upper surface : it is perfectly destitute of hair, except at the base, and marked out into scaly divisions, like the skin of a fish."
Cilgarran— This castle, situated on the Pembrokeshire side of the river Teivi, experienced (like its neighbour at Cardigan) the frequent and desolating vicissitudes of war. In the year 1109, Gilbert Strongbow Earl of Striguil having obtained leave of King Henry to make conquests in Wales, landed in Cardiganshire, and having conquered the country, built two castles, one at Aberystwyth, another at a place called Dyngerant, which has generally been sup- posed to be the same as Cilgarran.1 " In the year 1 165, it was taken and rased by Prince Rhys ; and in the yeare ensuing, the Flemings and Normanes came to West Wales with a great power against the the castell of Cilgarran (which Rees had fortified), and laid siege to it, assaulting it diverse times ; but it was so manfullie defended, that they returned home as they came, and shortlie after they came before it againe, where they lost manie of their best men, and then departed againe. In 1199, it was taken and fortified by Gruffydh, son of the valiant Prince Rhys. In 1204, it was besieged
* " Then the king forthwith sent for Gilbert, sirnamed Strangbow, Earle of Strygill, which was a noble, valiant, and a worthy knight, to whom he said thus : " Thou hast beene diverse times a suter to me to have some lands in Wales, and now I give thee all the lands and inheritance of Cadogan ap Blethyn, win it and take it:" Gilbert re- ceived it joifullie, and thanked the king, and gathered all the power he might, and landed in Caerdiganshire, and brought the countrie to his subjection without anie con- tradiction. Then he builded two faire castels there, one towards North Wales uppon the river Ystwyth at the sea shore, a mile from Lhanbadarn, another towards Dyvet upon the river Teivi, at a place called Dyngerant, where Roger Montgomery had begonne a castell before time." Powel, p. 169.
u
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and won by William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke; and in 1215 surrendered to Lhewelyn, Prince of North Wales. In the year 12,2,3, William Marshall began to build a verie strong castell at Cilgarran, but receiving letters from the king to come and speake with him, he went to the court by sea, and left his armie to continue the worke he had began."
From the many revolutions this castle underwent during those times of turbulence and warfare, with which almost every district of North and South Wales was continually agitated, we cannot in modern days expect to find many remains of its ancient architec- ture. Two round towers, of large and massive proportions, stand conspicuous amidst its ruins, one of which, from the uniformity of its arches, seems to have suffered but little, as to its outward form, and from the prevalence of the circular arch, bespeaks a Norman origin. In one of these, a stair-case is still practicable for ascent to the summit of the tower.
The beautiful scenery around this castle stands unequalled in South Wales, and can only be rivalled by that of Conwy in North Wales; but it must be visited by water, not by land. Having skirted the sides of a long and extensive marsh, a sudden bend of the river contracting its channel, conducts us into a narrow pass, surrounded by a perpendicular rampart of wood and rock, with steep and precipitate banks of oak and copse wood, feathering down to the water's edge : the first view we catch of the castle, at a dis- tance, between a perspective range of well wooded hills, is very striking ; and what, on a nearer approach, it may lose in picturesque beauty, it certainly gains in grandeur : the proud walls of a large castle appear towering full in front ; the hill on which they stand,
J
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is rather destitute of wood, but boldly broken with projecting rocks ; and, perhaps, the general effect of the landscape may not lose by this contrast to the rich surrounding scenery of wood. I have never seen ruins more happily combined with rocks, wood, and water; a more pleasing composition, or a more captivating landscape, which is animated by the numerous coracles employed in catching salmon.
Our author having made a long digression, in order to introduce the history of the beaver, now continues his Itinerary : from Cardi- gan, the Archbishop proceeded towards Pont Stephen, leaving a hill, called Cruc Mawr, on the left hand, which still retains its ancient name, and agrees exactly with the position given to it by Giraldus: on its summit is a tumulus, and some appearance of an intrenchment.
The signal victory of the Welsh, alluded to by Giraldus at the end of this chapter, happened in the year 1135, soon after the death of King Henry the First, and the cruel murder of Richard de Clare and his son Gilbert, near Abergavenny, by Morgan ap Owen of Caerleon, the particulars of which have already been related in my notes on the fourth chapter of the first book. The political changes occa- sioned by the death of the king, and the unsettled situation of his . successor Stephen, were not overlooked by the Welsh princes, who were ever ready to seize each favourable opportunity of distressing their neighbours, or of aggrandizing their own territories. Their turbulent spirit began to vent itself in the murder of Richard de Clare, whilst on his journey from his estates in Monmouthshire, to those in Cardiganshire.—" Shortlie after Cadwalader and Owen Gwyneth the sonnes of Gruffydh ap Conan (in whome remained the hope of all Wales, for they were gentle and liberall to all men,
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terrible and cruell to their enimies, meeke and humble to their freends, the succour and defense of widows, fatherlesse, and all that were in necessitie ; and as they passed all others in good and laud- able vertues, so they were paragons of strength, beautie, and well proportionat bodies), gathered a great power against the Normans and Flemings, who entering Cardigan, wan, destroied, and burned the whole countrie, arid returned home with much honor. After- ward, towards the end of the same yeare, they returned again with 6000 footemen and 2000 horsemen, well armed, and to them came Gruffyth ap Rees, and Howel ap Meredyth of Brechnoke and his sonnes, and Madoc ap Ednerth, who subdued the whole countrie to Aberteivi, placing againe the old inhabitants, and chasing awaie the strangers. Against them came Stephen, Constable of Aberteivi, Robert Fitz-Martin, the sons of Gerald, and William Fitz-John, with all the power of the Normans, Flemings, and Englishmen that were in Wales, or the Marches. Now after a cruell and blodie fight, the strangers, after their accustomed use, put all their hope in their forts, and forsooke the field, and the Welshmen fblowed hard, that besides 3000 that were slaine, a great number were drowned, and taken and caried awaie captives."
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CHAPTER IV.
PONT STEPHEN— ABBEY OF STRATFLUR— LANDEWI BREVI- LHANPADARN VAWR.
A SERMON having been preached on the following morning at Pont Stephen, by the Archbishop and Archdeacon, and also by two abbots of the Cistercian order, John of Alba-domus, and Sisillus of Stratflur, who faithfully attended us in those parts, and as far as North Wales ; many persons were induced to take the cross. We proceeded to Stratflur, where we passed the night. On the follow- ing morning, having on our right hand the lofty mountains of Moruge, which in Welsh are called Ellennith, we were met near the side of a wood by Cynric, son of Rhys, accompanied by a body of light-armed youths. This young man was of a fair complexion, with curled hair; tall and handsome ; clothed only, according to the custom of his country, with a thin cloak and inner garment ; his legs and feet, regardless of thorns and thistles, were left bare : a man, not adorned by art, but nature; bearing in his presence an innate, not an acquired, dignity of manners. A sermon having been preached to these three young men, Gruffydh, Malgon, and Cynric, in the presence of their father Prince Rhys ; and the brothers disputing about taking the cross ; at length Malgon strictly promised that he would accompany the Archbishop to the king's court, and would obey the king's and Archbishop's counsel
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unless prevented by them. From thence we passed through Lan- dewi Brevi, that is the church of David of Brevi, situated on the summit of that hill which had formerly risen up under his feet whilst preaching, during the period of that celebrated synod, when all the bishops, abbots, and clergy of Wales, and many other per- sons were collected thither on account of the Pelagian heresy, whose doctrines, although formerly exploded from Britain by Germanus Bishop of Auxerre, had lately been revived in these parts. At this place David was reluctantly raised to the archbishopric, by the unanimous consent and election of the whole assembly, who by loud acclamations testified their admiration of so great a miracle : Dubri- cius had a short time before resigned to him this honour in due form at Caerleon, from which city the metropolitan see was trans- ferred to Saint David's.
Having rested that night at Lhanpadarn Vawr, or the church of Paternus the Great, we attracted many persons to the service of Christ on the following morning. It is remarkable that this church, like many others in Wales and Ireland, has a lay abbot ; for a bad custom has prevailed amongst the clergy, of appointing the most powerful people of a parish stewards, or rather patrons, of their churches ; who in process of time, from a desire of gain, have usurped the whole right, appropriating to their own use, the possession of all the lands; leaving only to the clergy the altars, with their tenths and oblations, and assigning even these to their sons and relations in the church. Such defenders, or rather destroyers of the church, have caused themselves to be called abbots, arid presumed to attri- bute to themselves a title, as well as estates, to which they have no just claim. In this state we found the church of Lanpadarn,
. [64]
without a head. A certain old man, waxen old in iniquity (whose name was Eden Oen, son of Gwaithwoed) being abbot, and his sons officiating at the altar. In the reign of King Henry the First, when the authority of the English prevailed in Wales, the monastery of Saint Peter at Gloucester held quiet possession of this church ; but after his death, the English being driven out, the monks were ex- pelled from their cloisters, and their places supplied by the same violent intrusion of clergy and laity, which had formerly been practised. In the reign of King Stephen, who succeeded Henry the First, a soldier born in Arrnorican Britain, having travelled through many parts of the world, from a desire of seeing different cities, and the manners of their inhabitants, came by chance to Lhanpa- darn; on a certain feast-day, whilst both the clergy and people were waiting for the arrival of the abbot to celebrate mass, he per- ceived a body of young men, armed, according to the custom of their country, approaching towards the church ; and on inquiring which of them was the abbot, they pointed out to him a man walking foremost, with a long spear in his hand. Gazing on him with amazement, he asked, " If the abbot had not another habit, or a different staff, from that which he now carried before him?" On their answering, " No!" he replied, " I have seen indeed and heard this day a wonderful novelty :" and from that hour he returned home, and finished his labours and researches. This wicked people boasts, that a certain bishop1 of their church (for it formerly was a cathedral) was murdered by their predecessors ; and on this account chiefly they ground their claims of right and possession. No public
The name of this bishop is said to have been Idnerth, and the same personage whose death is commemorated in the inscription at Landewi Brevi.
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complaint having been made against their conduct, we have thought it more prudent to pass over, for the present, the enormities of this wicked race with dissimulation, than exasperate them by a further relation.
ANNOTATIONS ON CHAPTER IV.
THOUGH Emelyn is mentioned in the title of the preceding chapter, no notice is taken of it in the text. This village, on the direct road from Cardigan to Lanpeder, now bears the name of Newcastle Emlyn, and is pleasantly situated on the banks of the river Teivi. I find it only once mentioned in the Welsh Chronicle, A. D. 1215, when it was taken by Lhewelyn, Prince of North Wales, who in the following year, when he made the division of South Wales, gave it to Maelgon, son of Prince Rhys. — Leland also speaks of this place: " New castel, alias bi the old name Elmelin, almost on the very banke of Tyve, but in Cairmardinshire, repaired or new buildid by Sir Rhese ap Thomas. In this lordship of Elmelin is other litle fair building : there is a litle forest by Elmelin, and a park was ther ons palid." Of this castle there are still some considerable remains on an eminence overlooking the river; its situation was veiy strong, being nearly insulated by the very singular channel of the Teivi. The western entrance forms the most conspicuous fragment of these ruins, the architecture of which, being of the
VOL. II. K
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broad Gothic, bespeaks no very high antiquity. Lanpeder, a small town near the river Teivi, still retains the name of Pont Stephen: the verdant site alone remains of its ancient castle, which I imagine to be the same as that of Stephen, alluded to in the Welsh Chro- nicle, as having been demolished and overthrown in the year 1137, by Owen Gwynedh, eldest son of Gruflydh ap Conan. Here our crusaders rested the night, and on the following morning, the ser- vice of the cross was successfully promoted by the united exhorta- tions of the Archbishop, Giraldus the Archdeacon, and the abbots of Albadomus and Stratflur. From thence they proceeded to the Cistercian monastery of Stratflur, or Strata Florida, which was founded A. D. 1 164, by Rhys Prince of South Wales. Dugdale has preserved many curious memorials respecting this celebrated abbey, which I shall here insert :
" Ego Resus Sudwalliae proprietarius Princeps, venerabile monas- terium vocabulo Stratflur aedificare crepi, et aedificatum dilexi, et fovi; ejus res auxi, et possessiones, in quantum suffragante Domino valui, ampliavi ; terrain campestrem, et agriculturam, et montuosam ad animalium pasturam, devota mente, ad remedium animae prae- decessorum et successorum meorum quantum sibi congruebat in- dulgens, et omnem quidem donationem quam eidem monasterio antea contuli, anno iterum ab incarnatione Domini 1184, praesentis script! memoria stabilivi."
This grant was confirmed by the three sons of Prince Rhys, Gruf- fydh, Rhys, and Meredyth, in the presence of their army, at the church of Saint Brigida at Rhaiader, together with all other grants, which might hereafter be made to the abbot and monks of the said monastery, either by the gift of the Pope, the liberality of princes,
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of the devotion of the faithful. The donations of Prince Rhys were confirmed by King Henry the Second, and a license was granted by King Edward the First to rebuild the monastery after its conflagra- tion in the year 1294.
" Sciatis quod dcdimus licenciam dilectis nobis in Christo Abbati et Conventui de Strata florida, quod ipsi in loco illo in quo abbatia sua de Strata florida (nuper in guerra Walliae anno rcgni nostri vicesimo tertio, contra voluntatem nostram combusta) prius sita fuit, abbaciam suam de novo construere et reaedificare, ac morari possint ibidem, Deo in perpetuum servituri. Ita tamen quocl bosci et vise circa locum praedictum, propter pericula quae per boscos illos, et viarum illarum discrimina futuris temporibus potcrunt evenire vitanda, per ordinationem justiciarii nostri West-Walli<e prosternantur, et etiam emendentur."
King Edward granted the sum of seventy- eight pounds sterling to the convent of Stratflur, for the damages suffered by the late war and conflagration.
Leland thus speaks of this place: " Strateflere is set round about with montanes not far distant, except on the west parte, wher Diffrin Tyve is. Many hilles therabout hath bene well woddid, as evidently by old rotes apperith, but now in them is almost no woode : the causses be these. First, the wood cut down was never copisid, and this hath beene a great cause of destruction of wood thorough Wales. Secondly, after cutting down of wooddys the gottys hath so bytten the young spring that it never grew but lyke shrubbes Thirddely, men for the monys destroied the great woddis that thei shuld not harborow theves."
In speaking of the monastic building, he adds : " The chirch of
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Strateflere is larg, side ilid, and crosse ilid. By is a large cloyster : the fratiy and infirmitori be now mere ruines. The caemeteri wherin the counteri about doth buri is veri large and meanely waullid with stoone. In it be xxxix great hue trees : the vase court or camp afore the abbay is veri fair and large."
But this same ingenious author has committed a great biographi- cal error, in confounding the names of Rhys ap Theodor, with Rhys ap Gruffydh.— He says, in his Collectanea, " Rhesus films Theodori Princeps South Walliae primus fundator." Now the Welsh Chronicle informs us, that Rhys ap Tewdor was slain A. D. 1090, in battle near Brecknock, at the advanced age of ninety-eight years; and the authentic charter before cited, clearly proves that the abbey of Strata Florida was founded by Rhys ap Gruffydh, and not till seventy years after the death of Rhys ap Tewdor.
Another learned antiquarian (Camden) has erroneously styled the monks of this abbey, Cluniacs instead of Cistercians. Richard Talley was the last abbot, and in the year 1553, enjoyed a pension of forty pounds a year.
This monastery is situated in the wildest part of Cardiganshire, surrounded on three sides by a lofty range of those mountains, called by our author Ellennith ; a spot admirably suited to the severe and recluse order of the Cistercians. But wild and desolate as its present appearance may seem, how much more so must it have been in former times, when King Edward, for the better secu- rity of his subjects from the dangers they were likely to incur in these solitary districts, ordered the highways to be repaired, and the surrounding woods to be cut down. It was held in such high esteem and veneration, that many of the Welsh princes and nobles
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fixed upon it as their place of burial, amongst whom the following are recorded in the Welsh Chronicle.
" A. D. 1176 This yere died Cadelh, the son of Gruffyth ap Rees, and brother to the Lord Rees, after long sicknesse, and was buried honorablie at Stratflur.
" A. D, 1 191. Owen sonne of Rees, Prince of South Wales, died at Stratflur.
"A. D. 1202. GrufFyth, eldest son of Prince Rees, died upon Saint James's daie, and was buried at Stratflur with great solemnitie. This GrufFyth was a wise and discreet gentleman, and one that was like to bring all South Wales to good order and obedience, who in all things followed his father's steppes, whom as he succeeded in government, so he did in all martiall prowes and nobilitie of mind, but cruell fortune, which frowned upon that countrie, suffered him not long to enjoy his land.
" A. D. 1204. Howel, the sonne of Prince Rees, being blind, was slaine at Cemaes, by his brother Maelgon's men, and buried by his brother GrufFyth at Stratflur.
" A. D. 1221. Young Rees, sonne to GrufFyth ap Rees, departed out of this world, being a lustie gentleman, and endued with manie notable vertues, and was buried at Stratflur.
A. D. 1230. Maelgon, sonne to Prince Rees, died and was buried at Stratflur.
A. D. 1235. Owen, sonne to GrufFyth ap Rees, being a noble gentleman, and verie well beloved, died, and was buried by his brother Rees at Stratflur.
A. D. 1237. Lhewelyn, Prince of Wales, called all the lords and barons of Wales before him to Stratflur, and there everie one of
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them swore to be faithful subjects, and did homage to David Lhewelyn's sonne."
In this abbey were also deposited the national records from the earliest period, of which Dr. Powel, in his preface to the Welsh Chronicle, gives the following account :
" Caradoc of Lancarvan collected the successions and actes of the Brytish princes, after Cadwalacler, to the year of Christ 1156, of the which collections there were severall copies afterward kept in either of the abbeis of Conwey and Stratflur, which were yearelie augmented as things fell out, and conferred together ordinarilie every third yeare, when the Beirdh which did belong to those two abbcis, went from the one to the other in the time of their Clera, wherein were contained besides, such notable occurrences hapnirig within the ile of Brytaiue, as they then thought worthie the writing; which order of registring and noting continued in those abbeis until the yeare 1270, which was a little before the death of the last Lhcwclyn, who was slaine at Buelt."
But of this once revered sanctuary, the repository of the interest- ing and authentic annals of the British nation, and the sacred mau solemn of its brave and valiant princes, one rich Saxon arch alone remains ; its design and ornaments (unlike any I have yet seen) suffi-
i
ciently testify its ancient grandeur: its situation is very unfavourable for the draftsman, being closely confined within the garden of a farm house, and having no picturesque concomitant scenery: a few ensuing years will probably complete its downfall, and the travel- ler, who once viewed with rapture this fine relict of architectural and monastic antiquity, will have sad reason to exclaim — " Etiam perkre ruinae!"
• *- , _ , | r . . .
STRAT F1LU
L " ]
Leaving Stratflur, the Archbishop and his train returned to Lan- dewi Brevi, and from thence proceeded to Lanpadarn Vawr. It ought to be observed, that an unusual deviation was here made from the direct road to the latter place, by returning to Landewi Brevi, which, on the preceding day, they must have passed, on their journey from Pont-Stephen to Stratflur. This deviation may have taken place out of compliment to one of their reverend and steady adherents, the Abbot of Stratflur, or our travellers perhaps, not overlooking the comforts of life, were aware of better accommo- dations in the richly endowed monastery of Stratflur, than in the meagre chantery of Brevi. The large tract of mountains, which almost inclose the vale of the Teivi, bore the name of Ellennith,b and were called by the English Moruge. As, after a long and minute inquiry amongst the natives of these parts, I cannot find any mo- dern or ancient name attached to these hills, which at all corre- sponds with the word in question ; I am inclined to think, that the word. Moruge is only a corruption from Moors, or Moorish, for such is the nature of these mountains. Leland says, " The pastures of the montaynes of Cardiganshire be so great, that the hunderith part of it rottith on the ground, and maketh sogges and quikke More by long continuaunce for lack of eting of hit."
Landewi Brevi — This village is situated near the southern banks of the river Teivi, and opposite Llanio-isau, where there are evident remains of the Roman city of Loventium. It has been much cele- brated by ecclesiastical writers, on account of the miracle performed there in honour of Saint David.
b Ellennith should be written Maelienydd, for these mountains are still so called in old writings; and I have before mentioned a cantref in Radnorshire, on the other side of these mountains, called Maelyenidd.
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The heresy of the Pelagians,1 which had been happily extinguished by Germanus Bishop of Auxerre, and Lupus, Bishop of Troyes, beginning to revive; a British synod was assembled at Brevi, in the year 519, at which there was a most numerous assemblage of bishops, abbots, nobility, and laity ; many of whom, equally illus- trious for learning and sanctity, having unsuccessfully endeavoured, by their sermons and exhortations, to refute the doctrines of this sect; Paulinus, a bishop, with whom David had in his youth studied the liberal sciences, earnestly advised the fathers there pre- sent, to send, in the name of the synod, a deputation to David, exhorting him to afford his presence and assistance towards the ex-
• *
lirpation of this heresy. Two holy bishops of high authority, Daniel and Dubricius, undertook the embassy, and prevailed upon David to return with them to Brevi. I shall recount the miracle that followed, in the words of the historian Cressy.
" When all the fathers assembled enjoined David to preach, he commanded a child which attended him, and had lately been
' The new heresy of Pelagianism, which began to infect the world in the beginning of the fifth century, was introduced by Pelagius, by birth a Briton, for which cause S. Augustin gives him the name of Brito, and S. Prosper more expressly calls him the British Serpent; he has been represented by another ancient writer (Isidor), as a vain straggling monk, incorrigible, one who wandered from monastery to monastery smell- ing out feasts, and fawning on magistrates for their good cheer.
The special points of his heresy are thus set down by Sigebertus. " In Brittany," saith he, " Pelagius endeavoured to defile the church of Christ with his execrable doc- trines; teaching that man may be saved by his merits without grace; that every one is directed by his own natural free-will to the attaining of justice ; that infants are born without original sin, being as innocent as Adam was before his transgression; that they are baptized, not to the end they should be free from sin, but that they may, by adoption, be admitted into the kingdom of God. And though they were not baptized, yet they should enjoy an eternal and happy life, though excluded from the kingdom of God." Cressy, p. 164.
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restored to life by him, to spread a napkin under his feet, and stand- ing upon it, he began to expound the gospel and the law to the auditory : all the while that this oration continued, a snow-white dove descending from heaven, sate upon his shoulders, and more- over the earth on which he stood raised itself under him till it became a hill, from whence his voice, like a trumpet, was clearly heard and understood by all, both near and far off, on the top of which hill, a church was afterwards built, and remains to this day." This church is situated on a gentle eminence, backed by high mountains, and surrounded by the most miserable hovels I ever beheld. Though a large and spacious building, it corresponds with the village in miseiy and desolation. Four lofty Gothic arches, supporting a square massive turret, bespeak its ancient grandeur ; it can boast of no roof, but its beams and rafters ; and of no pave- ment but the native soil : in short, the appearance of this once revered sanctuary is truly melancholy. Two of the inscribed stones, mentioned by Gamden, still exist ; the one standing upright close to the western door-way, appeared to me unintelligible : the other serves as a head-stone to a little window adjoining the pulpit, and bears this inscription : " me JACET IDNERT FILIUS JACOBI QUI occisus FUIT PROPTER PREDAM sANCTi DAVID." Another stone, made use of as a stile at the east end of the churchyard, is inscribed with old and rude characters, which I could not decipher. A college for a precentor and twelve prebendaries was founded here, by Thomas Beck Bishop of Saint David's, in the year 1287, in honour of Saint David (who preached at the council held at Brevi A. D. 519, and thereby put an end to the Pelagian heresy), but recommended to the patronage of King Edward the Confessor. Leland says, " it was
VOL. II. L
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called Brevi bycause it stondith on Brevi brooke :" its signification, therefore, is the church of David on the brook of Brevi. The same historian adds : " Landewi Brevi is but a simple or poore village. I passid over a litle broke to entre into hit ; it is set among mon- taines on every side but west, where is the valley of Tive. Tive river is about half a mile off: the collegiate chirch of prebendaries stondith surmvhat upon a hy ground, but it is rude."
From Browne Willis, we learn that David Roberts, David ap Liu, and Thomas Edwards, vicars choral, subscribed to the supremacy, 4th August, 1534, and that in 1553, there remained in charge three pensions. To Thomas Derham £6. to Reginald Williams £8. 6s. 8d. and to Morgan Jenkins £\3. 6.9. 8d. incumbent of this late college.
In the year 1188, no greater ecclesiastical establishment existed probably at Landewi Brevi, than a simple church or chapel, com- memorating the successful preaching of Saint David ; and as Giral- dus makes no mention of their having preached there, we may conclude that devotion and respect for the hallowed spot, alone induced them to pass through it on their road from Stratflur to Lanpadarn.
Lhanpadarn Vawr — The church of Saint Paternus the Great,d is
d Padarn was the son of Pedredin ab Emyr Llydaw, and the cousin of Cadvan, with whom he came into Britain, and was first of all in the college of Jlltyd, where he was dignified a bishop. He removed from thence, and founded a congregation in Cere- digion, at a place thence called Llanbadarn Vawr, consisting of one hundred and twenty members, where he had the title of archbishop. He was one of the most dis- tinguished saints of Britain, and several churches were dedicated to him. He was ranked with Dewi and Teilo, under the appellation of " the three blessed visitors," for they went about preaching the faith to all degrees of people, not only without reward, but with alleviating the distresses of the poor, as far as their means extended. Cam- brian Biography, p. 278.
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situated in a valley, at a short distance from the sea-port town of Aberystwyth in Cardiganshire. It derived its name from Paternus, a distinguished saint in the British history, of whom Cressy and Archbishop Usher give the following account : — " The sanctity of St. Dubricius and St. David, drew into Brittany, from foreign parts, Saint Paternus, a devout young man, about the year 516, together with 847 monks, who accompanied him: these fixed themselves in a place called Mauritania,' and there St. Paternus built a church and monastery, in which he placed the monks under an economus, a provost, and a dean : this monastery seems to have sent abroad many colonies of religious men into the province, for we find that this saint built monasteries and churches through all the region called Ceretica, now Cardiganshire. The church he erected in Mauritania was raised to the dignity of an episcopal see, which he governed for one and twenty years, and was from him called Pater- nensis: he was recalled by Prince Caradoc into his own native country of Lesser Britany, where he was made bishop of the church of Vannes, having left Kinoc as successor to his former bishopric."
The Bishop of Lhanpadarn attended at the synod held in Wor- cestershire, A. D. 603 ; and this place seems to have enjoyed its episcopal honours till the people killed their bishop, when the diocese was united to the see of Saint David's. Camden suggests the probability of this bishop's name being Idnerth, or Idnert, and perhaps the same person commemorated in the sepulchral inscrip- tion existing at Landewi Brevi.
In the year 1111, Gilbert, son of Richard de Clare, gave to the
• As I cannot find that the word Mauritania alludes to the name of any place near Lhanpadarn, I suppose it a corruption from the British.
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church of Saint Peter at Gloucester, the lands and church of Saint Paternus in Wales. " Anno Domini MCXI, Gilbertus films Ricardi, unus de prascipuis Angliae principibus, dedit ecclesiae Sancti Petri Glouc : terram et ecclesiam Sancti Paterni in Wallia, et omnia quae ad earn pertinent, inter divisiones maris, et duarum aquarum, et medietatem magnae piscaturae quam fecit, fcc. fcc." It appears, how- ever, that its ecclesiastical establishment existed in 1136, for the Welsh Chronicle tells us, " That about that time, John Archdeacon of Lanpadarn, departed this life, who, for his rigid zeal in religion and virtue, was thought worthy to be canonized," and adds, " That in the year 1 144, died Sulien ap Rythmarch, a man of great know- ledge, one of the college of Lhanpadarn." In the time of Giraldus, it was governed by a lay abbot ; and in later times, it was appro- priated to the abbey of Vale Royal in Cheshire : this church, toge- ther with its precincts, enjoyed the privilege of a sanctuary, which in the year 1116 Gruffydh ap Rhys violated. ,
The church of Lhanpadarn Vawr is large, of early Gothic archi- tecture, and in its massive square tower, and lofty arches, which support it. resembles the church at Landewi Brevi. The southern portal is light and elegant in its proportions. On this side of the churchyard is an old cross decorated with fret-work, knots, kc. similar to those at Nevern, and other places in Wales.
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CHAPTER V.
DEVI RIVER— LAND OF THE SONS OF CONAN.
APPROACHING to the river Devi,1 which divides North and South Wales, the Bishop of St. David's, and Rhys, the son of Gruffydh, who with a liberality peculiarly praise-worthy in so illustrious a prince, had accompanied us from the castle of Aberteivi throughout all Cardiganshire to this place, returned home; having crossed the river in a boat, and quitted the diocese of Saint David's, we entered the land of the sons of Conan, or Merionyth, the first province of Venedotia on that side of the country, and belonging to the bishop- ric of Bangor. We slept that night at Towyn. Early next morning, Gruffydh, son of Conan, came to meet us, humbly and devoutly asking pardon for having so long delayed his attention to the Arch- bishop. On the same day, we ferried over the river Maw,* where Malgo, son of Rhys, who had attached himself to the Archbishop, as a companion to the king's court, discovered a ford near the sea. That night, we lay at Lanvair,1 that is the church of Saint Mary, in
1 This river is now called Dovy.
* The epithet " bifurcus," ascribed by Giraldus to the river Maw, alludes to its two branches, which unite their streams a little way below Llaneltid bridge, and form an ajstuary, which flows down to the sea at Barmouth, or Aber Maw. The ford at this place, discovered by Malgo, no longer exists.
1 Lanvair is a small village, about a mile and a half from Harlech, with a very simple church, placed in a retired spot, backed by precipitate mountains. Here the
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the province of Ardudwy.4 This territory of Conan, and particu- larly Merionyth, is the rudest and roughest district of all Wales ; the ridges of its mountains are very high and narrow, terminating in sharp peaks, and so irregularly jumbled together, that if the shepherds conversing or disputing with each other, from their sum- mits, should agree to meet, they could scarcely effect their purpose in the course of the whole day. The lances of this country are very long ; for as South Wales excells in the use of the bow, so North Wales is distinguished for its skill in the lance ; insomuch that an iron coat of mail will not resist the stroke of a lance thrown at a small distance. The next morning Meredyth, the youngest son of Conan, met us at the passage of a bridge, attended by his people, where several persons were signed with the cross ; amongst whom was a fine young man of his suite, and one of his intimate friends : Meredyth observing that the cloak, on which the cross was to be sewed, appeared of too thin and of too common a texture, with a flood of tears, threw him down his own.
Archbishop and Giraldus slept, on their journey from Towyn to Nevyn, and I hope, for their sukes, Lanvair presented a more respectable appearance in 1188, than it did to me in 1804.
Ardudwy was a comot of the cantref Dunodic in Merionethshire, and according to Leland, " Streccith from half Trait Mawr to Abermaw on the shore xn myles." The bridge here alluded to, was probably over the river Artro, which forms a small aestuary near the village of Lanbedr.
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ANNOTATIONS ON CHAPTER V.
FROM Lhanpadarn our travellers directed their course towards the sea-coast, and ferrying over the river Dovy, which separates North from South Wales, proceeded to Towyn, a village in Merioneth- shire, where they passed the night. Various have been the deriva- tions given to the name of this country; some have deduced its name from Meirion, the son of Tibion ab Cunedda, a chieftain who lived in the middle of the fifth century. His father was slain when fighting with his brothers against the Irish, who had established themselves in several parts of the coasts of Wales, whereupon Meirion had the cantref of Meirionydd, and was acknowledged by the people of that district as their lord, in reward for his services in driving the Irish out of the country. Others say, that this province was called Mervinia, from Merfyn Frych, the father of Roderic the Great ; and under this title Leland mentions it in his Genethliacon :
" Porrigitur vasto fluvii trans ostia Devi Tractu terra potens hastis Mervinia longis."
Towyn, now called Towyn Merioneth, is a small town built in a bad and unhealthy situation, flanked on one side by a turbary and marsh, and distant about a mile from the sea-shore, where there is a large extent of hard and level sands. A sulphureous pool near the town, is much resorted to by the neighbourhood. I was
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disappointed in not finding some relicts of antiquity, mentioned by Mr. Pennant, as existing formerly at this place. The ancient cross, with an inscription, has been removed to a house in the neighbour- hood : it is said to have been erected to the memory of King Cad- van, who was considered as the tutelar saint of warriors, and to whom the church of Towyn was dedicated. On the left side of the altar in the parish church are two recesses, in one of which is the effigy of an ecclesiastic, and in the other, according to report, is that of a chieftain, now immured within the wall of the pew which stands before it.
The province of Merionyth was at this period occupied by David, the son of Owen Gwynedh, who had seized it forcibly from its rightful inheritor. The family of Conan, who bore rule in North Wales for so many years, descended from lago, or James, son of Edwal, who after the death of Lhewelyn ap Sitsylht, in 1020, suc- ceeded to the principality of North Wales: he died in 1037, and left a son named Conan, who though heir to the throne, never obtained it : but his son, Gruffyth ap Conan, after the defeat and death of Trahaern ap Caradoc, A. D. 1078, on the mountains of Carno, regained his inheritance, and maintained it quietly for the long term of fifty-nine years. After his death, in 1137, his sons, according to the Welsh custom, divided his lands betwixt them, and the principality of North Wales fell to the lot of Owen Gwynedh, the eldest son of the late prince, who enjoyed it for the space of thirty-two years. On his death, in 1 169, dissensions arose amongst his children respecting the succession:—" Edward, or lorwerth Drwyndwn, the eldest soune borne in matrimonie was counted un- meete to govenie, because of the maime upon his face ; and Howel,
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who tooke upon him all the rule was a base sonne, begotten upon an Irish woman. Therefore David gathered all the power he could, and came against Howel, and fighting with him slew him, and after- wards enjoied quietlie the whole of North Wales, untill his brother lorwerth's son (Lhewelyn) came to age, and recovered his rightful inheritance.
Gruffydh — Was son to Conan ap Owen Gwynedh : he died A. D. 1200, and was buried in a monk's cowle, at the abbey of Conwy, and so were all the nobles (for the most part) of that time buried ; for they were made to beleeve by the monks and friers, that that strange weed was a sure defense betwixt their soules and hell, how- soever they died. And all this baggage and superstition received they with monks and friers a few yeres before that out of England." Powel, p. 253.
VOL. H. M
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CHAPTER VI.
TRAETH MAWR— TRAETH BACHAN— NEVYN— CARNARVON— BANGOR.
WE continued our journey over the Traeth Mawr1 and Traeth Bachan,-* that is, the greater and the smaller arm of the sea, where two stone castles have newly been erected ; one called Deudraeth, belonging to the sons of Conan, situated in Evionyth towards the northern mountains ; the other named Cam Madryn, the property of the sons of Owen, built on the other side of the river towards the sea on the head-land Lhyn.3 Traeth, in the Welsh language, signifies a tract of sand flooded by the tides, and left bare when the sea ebbs. We had passed over before many noted rivers, the
1 1 lie Traeth Mawr, or the large sands, are occasioned by a variety of springs and rivers which flow from the Snowdon mountains, and uniting their streams, form an aestuary below Pont Aberglaslyn.
1 The Traeth Bychan, or the small sands, are chiefly formed by the river which runs down the beautiful vale of Festiniog to Maentwrog and Tan y bwlch, near which place it becomes navigable.
Over each of these sands the road leads from Merionyth into Caernarvonshire : a large tract of land has lately been recovered from the sea, on the northern borders of the Traeth Mawr, and a public road is now making on that side, by which a safe com- munication will be opened to Pwlheli and Nevyn, and the dangerous and uncertain passage of the sands avoided.
' Lhyn, the Canganorum promontorium of Ptolemy, was an extensive hundred con- taining three comots, and comprehending that long neck of land between Caernarvon and Cardigan bays. Leland says, « Al Lene is as it were a pointe into the se."
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Dissenith,* between the Maw and Traeth Mawr, and the Arthro, between the Traeth Mawr and Traeth Bachan. We slept that night at Nevyn, on the eve of Palm Sunday, where the Archdea- con, after long inquiry and research, is said to have found Merlin Sylvestris.
Beyond Lhyn, there is a small island inhabited by religious monks, called Caelibes, or Colidei. This island, either from the wholesomeness of its climate, owing to its vicinity to Ireland, or rather from some miracle obtained by the merits of the saints, has this wonderful peculiarity, that the oldest people die first, because diseases are uncommon, and scarcely any die except from extreme old age. Its name is Enhli in the Welsh, and Berdesey in the Saxon language ; and many bodies of saints are said to be buried there, and amongst them that of Daniel Bishop of Bangor.
The Archbishop having, by his sermon the next day, induced many persons to take the cross, we proceeded towards Bangor, passing through Caernarvon, that is, the castle of Arvon ; it is called Arvon, the province opposite to Mon, because it is so situated with respect to the island of Mona. Our road leading us to a steep valley,' with many broken ascents and descents, we dismounted
* In mentioning the rivers which the crusaders had lately crossed, our author has been guilty of a great topographical error in placing the river Dissennith between the Maw and Traeth Mawr, as also in placing the Arthro between the Traeth Mawr and Traeth Bychan : their true situations are delineated on the map.
1 I searched in vain for a valley which would answer the description here given by Giraldus, and the scene of so much pleasantry to the crusaders ; for neither do the old or new road, from Caernarvon to Bangor, in any way correspond : but I have since been informed, that there is a valley called Nant y Garth (near the residence of Ashton Smith, Esq. at Vaenol) which terminates at about half a mile's distance from the Menai, .ind therefore not observable from the road ; it is a serpentine ravine of more than a
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from our horses, and proceeded on foot, rehearsing, as it were by agreement, some experiments of our intended pilgrimage to Jeru- salem. Having traversed the valley, and reached the opposite side with considerable fatigue, the Archbishop, to rest himself and reco- ver his breath, sat down on an oak which had been torn up by the violence of the winds ; and relaxing into a pleasantry highly laud- able in a person of his approved gravity, thus addressed his atten- dants : " Who amongst you, in this company, can now delight our wearied ears by whistling?" which is not easily done by people out of breath. On affirming that he could, if he thought fit ; the sweet notes are heard in an adjoining wood, of a bird which some call a wood-pecker, and others, with greater propriety, an aureolus. The wood-pecker is called in French Pic, and, with its strong bill perforates oak trees: the other bird is called aureolus, from the golden tints of its feathers, and at certain seasons utters a sweet whistling note, instead of a song.8 Some persons having remarked, that the nightingale was never heard in this country, the Arch- bishop, with a significant smile, replied, " The nightingale followed wise counsel, and never came into Wales ; but we, unwise counsel, who have penetrated and gone through it." We remained that night at Bangor, the metropolitan see of North Wales, and were well entertained by the bishop of the diocese.7 On the next day,
mile, in a direction towards the mountains, and probably that which the crusaders crossed on their journey to Bangor.
I have not been able to ascertain the bird here alluded to by our author under the title of aureolus.
7 Guianus, or Guy Ruffus, Dean of Waltham in Essex, and consecrated to this see, at Ambresbury, Wilts, in May 1177. In the year 1188, he attended Baldwin in his progress through Wales, and died about two years afterwards.
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mass being celebrated by the Archbishop before the high altar, the bishop of that see, at the instance of the Archbishop and other per- sons, more importunate than persuasive, was compelled to take the cross, to the general concern of all his people, who expressed their grief on this occasion, by loud and lamentable vociferations.
ANNOTATIONS ON CHAPTER VI.
IN journeying from Lanvair to the Traeth Mawr, our crusaders must have passed either through or very near the town of Harlech ; and as it remains unnoticed by Giraldus, I should imagine that no fortress of any consequence existed there at the period of Baldwin's progress through Wales. Mr. Pennant says, " That an ancient for- tress at this place bore the name of Twr Bronwen, from Bronwen, or the white-necked, sister to Bran ap Llyr, King of Britain. In after times, it got the name of Caer Collwyn, from Collwyn ap Tango, who lived there in the time of Prince Anarawd, about the year 877, and was lord of Efionydd, Ardudwy, and part of Llyn. He resided some time in a square tower of the ancient fortress, whose remains are very apparent, as are part of the old walls, which the more modern, in certain places, are seen to rest upon." Its present name of Harddlech, or Harlech, is derived from hardd, towering or bold, and llech, a rock, and is truly applicable to its situation. The pre- sent stately castle, seated on a high and bold projecting rock, is supposed to owe its foundation to the same royal hand that erected
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the magnificent fortresses of Conwy, Caernarvon, and Beaumaris. In the year 1283, Hugh de Wlonkeslow received the annual salary of one hundred pounds, as constable of the castle. When England was embroiled in the civil wars, David ap Jevan,' ap Eineon, a British nobleman, who sided with the house of Lancaster, defended this castle stoutly against Edward the Fourth, until William Her- bert ' Earl of Pembroke, forcing his way, with incredible difficulty, through the British Alps, attacked it with so much vigour, that it was surrendered into his hands. The rugged track, by which his army marched to the siege, is said to have retained the name of
8 This governor being summoned to surrender, sent an answer to the following effect : " That he had held out a castle in France till all the old women in Wales talked of him, and he would defend his Welsh castle till all the old women in France should hear of it."
9 In the history of the Gwedir family, by Sir John Wynne, it is recorded, " That King Edward the Fourth sent William Earl of Pembroke, with a great army, to waste the mountuine countreys of Carnarvon and Merioneth-shires, and take the castle of Hardlech (held then by David ap Jcvan ap Einion), for the two earls, Henry Earl of Richmond, and Jasper Earl of Pembroke, which earl did execute his charges to the full, as witnesseth this Welsh rhyme :
Hardlech a Dinbech pob dor
Yn Cunnev, Nanconway yn farwor, Mil a phedwarcant mae Jor A thrugain ag wyth rhagor.
In Hardlech and Dinbech every house
Was basely set on fire. But poor Nantconway suffered more,
For there the flames burnt higher: Twas in the year of our Lord
Fourteen hundred sixty-eight, That these unhappy towns of Wales
Met with such wretched fate."
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Lhe Herbert, or Herbert's way. Previous to this time, it appears (by Leland) to have been in the possession of Sir Richard Tunstal : " Thus Edwarde possessed al England and Wales, save Harlake that Syr Richarde Tunstal kept, but after gotten by the Lord Herbert." In the year 1460 Queen Margaret found refuge in this castle after the battle of Northampton ; and having frequently changed masters during the last civil wars, it was finally taken in 1647 by General Mytton, and surrendered on articles. It is said to have been the last castle in North Wales which held out for the king, and to have been the last in England which held out for the House of Lancaster.
Deudraeth, Carn Madryn — Our Author makes mention of these two castles, one in Evionyth, or Caernarvonshire, towards the northern mountains, versus montana borealia, called Deudraeth, and the other on the headland of Lhyn, named Carn Madryn. I have not been able, either by personal researches, or by inquiry amongst the natives, to gain any information respecting the castle named Deudraeth, which in the Welsh language implies a place be- twixt the two sands. There is a promontory between the Traeth Mawr and the Traeth Bychan, called Pentyr Deudraeth, or a pro- montory between two tracts of sand ; but I could gain no intelligence of any ancient fortress being visible on that spot. Leland, speaking of this place, says, " Bytwyxt Traethmaure and Traeth Vehan, a mile thorough a point of wood caullid Penryn Duetith, as yn the myddle, rennith at low water thorough the Traeth Maur Warth, Glesse-Llinne water, and dividith Henionith of Caerarvonshir from Merionithshire. Al Penrine pointe is in Merionithshire." Itin. Tom. V. p. 52.
The river descending from the mountains under Pont Aber-
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glaslyn and the Traeth Mawr, seems to have formed the ancient boundary between the comots of Ardudwy and Evionyth.k
The other castle, Cam Madryn, is well known both by name and position, and still retains many marks of its high antiquity : it stands on a lofty insulated hill, rising immediately above the well- wooded grounds of Mr. Parry at Madryn Ucha. The accurate and intelligent historian of North Wales thus describes it :' — " Carn Ma- dryn, a lofty, rocky, insulated hill, noted for having been a strong hold of the sons of Owen Gwynedd, Roderic, and Maelgwn, to whom this part of the country belonged. The bottom, sides, and top are filled with cells,™ oblong, oval, or circular, once thatched or covered from the inclemency of the weather, many of which are pretty entire. The chieftains resided at the top ; the peasants, with the cattle, in times of invasion, occupied the sides and bottom. The whole summit was surrounded with a wall, still visible in many places. From the summit is an extensive view of the country, with the bay of Caernar- von on one side, and that of Cardigan on the other : Sarn Badrig is seen extending from Meireonneddshire its dangerous length, nearly parallel to the shore of Lhein. South Wales may be seen plainly,
k " Hintonith Commote streccith onto Traitmaure, where Abreglaslynne devidith; so that but parte of Traithmaur is yn it : (Leland Itin. Tom. V. p. 42.) If, therefore, the castle of Deudraeth was on the promontory of that name, it could not have been (as represented by Giraldus) in Evionyth; but as he mentions its situation towards the northern mountains, « versus montana borealia," I am inclined to think its position was nearer to Snowdon.
1 See Pennant's Tour, Tom. II. p. 194.
n In examining the various British fortifications with which the summits of the hills in Wales are frequently crowned, I have observed several of these cells excavated in the rocks; they are vulgarly called Cytiau y Gwyddelod, i. e. the Cots of the Wild Men ; and are probably the habitations or places of safety resorted to by the early inhabitants of this country.
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and in clear weather, Ireland; and in front the whole tract of Snowdonia exhibits a most magnificent and stupendous barrier.
Nevyn — A miserable village, situated on an eminence at a short distance from the western coast of Caernarvon Bay, containing (in these our modern days) no one object worthy of note, yet in former times it was honoured with a royal visit, and a magnificent tour- nament.
A. D. 1284, King Edward the First having completed the con- quest of Wales, either to shew his magnificence, gratify his knights who had served him in that conquest, or to entertain his new sub- jects with a spectacle unknown in their country, held a tournament at Nevyn, a town in Caernarvonshire, lying on the Irish Channel. It was of a kind called the Round Table, either from the knights dining at such a table, or from its being held in a place encircled by a strong wall of a round figure. Tables of that form had been in constant use among the ancient Gauls and Britons, which served to give rise or countenance to the story of the famous Arthur's round table ; and the king, perhaps, thought it not amiss to shew the Welsh that he was not inferior to that renowned British hero, either in valour or magnificence: An infinite number of knights, as well foreigners as English, came from all parts to share in this military diversion, and in those marks of honour which were distributed on such occasions with a bounty truly royal, by a prince who knew how to distinguish merit, and always exercised his judgment, when he displayed his munificence " If the new projected road to Ireland through this part of Wales succeeds, and packet-boats are estab- lished at the fine and commodious harbour of Porth-dyn-lleyn,
n Carte History of England, Tom. II. p. 197. VOL. II. N
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Nevyn may again see better days, and once more flourish in trade and opulence.
Merlyn Sylvestris — To two personages of this name the gift of prophecy was anciently attributed: one was called Ambrosius, the other Sylvestris : the latter here mentioned, (and whose works Giraldus, after a long research, found at Nevyn), was the son of Morvryn, and generally called Merddin Wyllt, or Merddin the Wild : he flourished about the middle of the sixth century, and ranked with Merddin Emrys and Taliesin, under the appellation of the three principal Bards of the Isle of Britain. He was born at Caerwerthevin, near the forest of Celyddon or Dunkell in Scotland, where he possessed a great estate, which he lost in the war of his Lord Gwenddolau, the son of Ceidio, and Aeddan vradog, against Rhydderch Hael. His misfortunes in Scotland drove him into Wales ; and there is now extant a poetical dialogue between him and his preceptor Taliesin. He was present at the battle of Camlan in the year 542, where, fighting under the banner of King Arthur, he accidentally slew his own nephew, the son of his sister Gwen- ddydd, in consequence of which calamity he was seized with a madness which affected him every other hour.
" Awr o'i gov gan Dduw ry gai Awr yn mhell yr anmhwyllai."
The literal meaning of which is, " An hour of his memory from God he was wont to have ; an hour succeeding he would be di- vested of reason."
He fled back into Scotland, and concealed himself amongst the woods, where, in an interval of recollection, he composed a poem
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called the Orchard, which has many beauties, and is strongly tinc- tured with the enthusiasm of frenzy. He afterwards returned to North Wales, where he died, and was buried in the Isle of Bardsey.0
Berdesey — I feel less regret in not having been able to visit this island, as Mr. Pennant has given so very accurate a description of it : — " From the port of Aberdaron, I took boat for Bardseye Island, which lies about three leagues to the west. The mariners seemed tinctured with the piety of the place, for they had not rowed far, but they made a full stop, pulled off their hats, and offered up a short prayer. After doubling a head land, the island appears full in view; we passed under the lofty mountain which forms one side ; after doubling the further end, we put into a little sandy creek, bounded by low rocks, as is the whole level part. On land- ing, I found all this tract a very fertile plain, well cultivated, and productive of every thing which the main land affords. The abbot's house is a large stone building inhabited by several of the natives ; not far from it is a singular chapel or oratory, being a long arched edifice, with an insulated stone-altar near the east end. In this place one of the inhabitants reads prayers: all other offices are performed at Aberdaron.
" The island is about two miles in circumference, contains a few inhabitants, and is rented from Lord Newborough. It was granted by Edward the Sixth to his uncle Sir Thomas Seymour, and afler his death to John Earl of Warwick. The late Sir John Wynn pur- chased it from the late Rev. Dr. Wilson of Newark. This island,
° See Jones's Historical Account of the Welsh Bards, where the poem of the Orchard is published, both in Welsh and English.
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whose spiritual concerns are at present under the care of a single rustic, once afforded, during life, an asylum to twenty thousand saints, and after death, graves to as many of their bodies ; well, therefore, might it be called Insula Sanctorum, the Isle of Saints ; but, with Dr. Fuller, I must observe, that it would be much more facile to find graves in Bardseye for so many saints, than saints for so many graves. The slaughter of the monks at Bangor, about the year 607, is supposed to have contributed to the population of this island, for not only the brethren who escaped, but numbers of other pious Britons, fled hither to avoid the rage of the Saxons.
"The time in which the religious house was founded is very uncer- tain ; it probably was before the retreat of Dubricius, for something of that kind must have occasioned him to give preference to this place. It certainly was resorted to in very early times, for our ac- counts say, that it flourished as a convent in the days of Cadwan King of Britain, coeval with Dubricius. It was an abbey dedicated to Saint Mary. The house underwent the common fate of others at the dissolution. Its revenues, according toDugdale, were£".46 Is. 4d. and, according to Speed, £58. 6s. 2,d. In the year 1553 only £ 1 . 6s. 8d.
remained in charge to the surviving religious of this place."?
Browne Willis, in his account of the see of Bangor, (p. 207,) has given a list of the bona temporalia abbatis de Bardesey.
This island derived its British name of Enhli from the fierce current which rages between it and the main land. The Saxons named it Bardseye, probably from the Bards, who retired hither, preferring solitude to the company of invading foreigners.
Caernarvon — This ancient city has been recorded by a variety of
f Pennant, Vol. II. p. 196.
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names. During the time of the Romans it was called Segontium, or Caer Seient, the fortress on the river Seient, where the Setantiorum portus, and the Seteia ^Estuarium of Ptolemy have also been placed. It has been styled, by Nennius, Caer Custent, or the City of Constan- tius ; and the historian Matthew of Westminster says, that about the year 1283 the body of Constantius, father of the Emperor Con- stantine, was found there, and honourably deposited in the church by the order of King Edward the First, i
The author of the Life of GrufFydh ap Conan says, that Hugh Earl of Chester built a castle at this place in Hen Caer Custenni, i. e. the old city of Constantius. r The name of Caernarvon was derived from its being situated opposite to Mona, or Anglesey. Caer-ar-Mon, the fortress over against Mona.
The modern town and seaport, situated very advantageously for commerce, on the banks of the Menai, owe their rise to King Edward the First, who, more effectually to secure his conquest of Wales after the deaths of the unfortunate Prince Lhewelyn and his brother David, built there a strong and spacious castle, in an apartment
* Apud Caernarvon prope Snowdunam, corpus maximi principis, patris imperatoris nobilis Constaritini, erat inventum, et rege jubente, in ecclesia honorifice collocatuin." Matthew Westm. p. 41 1.
' Huic freto (Menai) Segontium urbs superimposita erat, cujtis murorum reliquias nonnullas vidimus juxta ecclesiolam in S. Publicii honorem constructam. Notnen a praeterfluente fluvio sumpsit qui etiamnum Seiont appellatur. Hanc urbem Nennius Caer Custenith, et qui scripsit vitam Gruffini filii Conani prodit Hugonem Cestriae comitem cast.ru m construxisse in Hean Caer Custenni, i. e. ut vertit Latiuus interpres, " in antiquu urbe Constantini imperatoris." Authorque est Mattheus Westmonasteri- ensis, corpus Constantii patris Constantini maximi hie inventum fuisse anno 1283, et in ecclesia novas urbis honorifice locatum jussu Edwardi Primi, qui ex hujus ruinis eo tempore Caernarvon urbem paulo superius ita ad rluminis ostium eduxit, ut ab occi_ dente et septentrione aquis alluatur. Quae ut ipsa nomen sumpsit, quod e regione
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of which, called the Eagle Tower, Eleanor his Queen was brought to bed of a son. It is a grand and imposing object : its massive ar- chitecture, and want of windows, indicate that strength more than ornament were consulted in its construction. Over the portal is the sculptured effigy of its royal founder.
On a gentle eminence above the river Seient, stood the Roman city of Segontium, of which very evident traces still exist. The area of the camp, which is of the oblong square form, with rounded angles (so generally adopted throughout Wales by the Romans in the construction of their forts), is inclosed by stone walls firmly cemented together with mortar and brick intermixed ; and is in- tersected by the turnpike road leading from Caernarvon to Bedge- lert, leaving the greater part of the area on the south side : in a wall of a field adjoining the turnpike road is a stone bearing this inscrip- tion, SVC:5 and in the fields S. E. of the camp, I picked up several pieces of the fine red glazed Roman pottery. There is a small square fort, inclosed by stone walls, nearer the river, and superim- pending its banks.
The parish church of Llanbublic, distant nearly a mile from
Monae insulae objicitur, hoc enim vocabulum denotat. Angusto admodum et fere orbi- culari mcenium ambitu continetur haec urbccula, sed firmo; castrumque ostendit pul- cherrimum quod totuin occidentale latus occupat. Privatis aedificiis pro more regionis satis pulcra, et civium humanitate praedicanda. Edwardum Primum conditorem, et •Edwardum Secundum ejus filium hie natum, et de Caernarvon cognominatum, qui primus erat ex Anglico sanguine Wallise Princeps, summae sibi glorias incolae ex- istimant."
1 This inscribed stone was found in a subterraneous vault near the spot, and supposing the last letter to have been G, may have alluded to the Roman name of Segontium.
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Caernarvon, contains a handsome tomb, bearing the date of 1593, but much defaced and injured : according to Mr. Pennant, it was erected to the memory of a son of Sir William Gruffydh of Pen- rhyn. One side of the inscription is hidden by the church window, and the only part I could decipher was DIED THE LAST
OF NOVEMBER 1587. AND MARGRET HIS WIEF DAVGHTER TO IOHN WYNE AP MREDD ESO/ AND DID BVILD THIS TOMB . 1593 A male and
female figure are here represented in a recumbent posture; the one habited in armour ; the other has a short ruff round her neck and wrists ; their heads recline on cushions and mats : the base of this fine monument is decorated, according to the custom of the times, with escutcheons of arms, and small figures in bas- relief.
Bangor — This cathedral church must not be confounded with the celebrated college of the same name in Flintshire, founded by Dunod Vawr, son of Pabo, a chieftain, who lived about the begin- ning of the sixth century, and from him called Bangor Dunod. The Bangor, i. e. the college, in Caernarvonshire, is properly called Bangor Deiniol, Bangor Vawr yn Arllechwedh, and Bangor Vawr uch Conwy. It owes its origin to Deiniol, son of Dunod ap Pabo, a saint who lived in the early part of the sixth century, and in the year 525 founded this college at Bangor in Caernarvonshire, over which he presided as abbot.' But the historian Cressy places the date of its foundation in 516, and adds, " In the same place Malgo
' He died in the year 554, and was buried in the isle of Enlli, or Bardesey. In the Triads, Deiniol Wyn of Gwynedd, Catwg, and Madog Movryn, who were three bards, are called the three holy bachelors of the isle of Britain. There is a church in Cardi- ganshire, another in Pembrokeshire, and one in Monmouthshire dedicated to him
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Conan, not long after built a city, which for the beauty of its situa- tion, he called Ban-cor,u i. e. the high, or conspicuous choir." This college was afterwards raised to the dignity of a bishopric, and Daniel was elected the first bishop, about the year 550.
• When Christianity was first established in Britain, it was only iu particular socie- ties which went by the appellation of Cor, i. e. circle, society, or congregation, distin- guished after by the names of those teachers who established them. When those Coraw began to have authority, they came to be called by the name of Bangor, from ban, high — and cor; that is, the supreme society or college. Thus Bangor Enlli, or Ban- gor Cadvan, the college in the Isle of Bardsey, was founded by Cadvan, under the direction of Emyr Llyclaw,*and Einion, son of Owain Danwyn, about the close of the fifth century. This was one of the most celebrated of the Welsh seminaries of religion.
1. Cor Dyvrig, or the Society of Dubricius, was the origin of the bishopric of Caer Llion, established about the year 400.
2. Cor Tathan, established at Caerwent by S. Tathan, son of Amwn Dhu, under the patronage of Ynyr Gwent, in the beginning of the sixth century.
3. Bangor Garmon, or the College of Garmon, at Llanveithin in Glamorganshire, founded by Garmon about A. D. 40O.
4. CorTewdws, in Caer Worgorn, or the College founded by the Emperor Theodo- sius. This was destroyed by the Irish, and afterwards restored by Gannon about A. D. 4fiO ; over which Illtyd presided, and from thence was called Bangor Illtyd, now called St. Iltutus, or Lantwit Major, and is situated in Glamorganshire.
5. Bangor Catog, founded by St. Catog, under the direction of Garmon, at the present Llancarvan, Glamorganshire, towards the close of the fifth century. Catog the Wise formed a collection of British Proverbs and Maxims, which is now printing in the Archaiology of Wales, and which is extremely curious and valuable.
6. Bangor y Ty Gwyn was founded by Pawl Hen, or Paulinus ; over which he placed Flewyn and Gredivel, about A D. 480. This afterwards became a monastery, called in English Whitland Abbey, which was situated a few miles west of Caer- marthen.
7. Llanbadarn. — There was originally a college founded by Padarn, the son of Pe- dredin ab Emyr Llydaw, and the cousin of St. Cadvan, with whom he came into Britain about the close of the fifth century ; and he was first of all in the Bangor or college of Illtyd (or Illtutus), where he was dignified a bishop : he removed from thence, and established a congregation at Ceredigion (or Cardiganshire), at a place
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There is a wide chasm in the chronological series of bishops after Daniel ; for the next recorded in church history is Ellodu, or Elbo- dius, who died A. D. 81 1 :x here again the series is interrupted, for the next we hear of is Mordaf, who accompanied the celebrated legislator Howel Dha to Rome in the year 940, where he went to procure, from the Pope, the ratification of his newly established code of Welsh laws. The death of this bishop is fixed in 942.7
thence called Llanbadarn Vawr, consisting of 120 members, where he had the title of archbishop. He was one of the most distinguished of the British saints.
8. In Lleyn was Cor Beuno, or the congregation of Beuno; which he founded about the close of the sixth century. It came afterwards to be called Bangor Clynog, or College of Clynog, and lately Clynog Vawr in Arvon.
9, 10. Anglesey. Here were two religious seminaries, Cor Cybi, or congregation of Cybi, at Holyhead, founded by him about the close of the sixth century; also Cor Penmon, at Priestholme near Beaumaris, also called Cor Seiriol, founded by Seiriol, who placed his nephew Einion over it, about the beginning of the sixth century.
11. Bangor Asav, afterwards called Llanelwy by the Welsh, and St. Asaph by the English, was founded by Asav, under the direction of Cyndeyrn, or Kentigern, in the former part of the sixth century. It is called Llanelwy, from its situation on the river Elwy.
12. Bangor Is Coed, also called Bangor Vawr yn Maelor, Bangor Maelor, and Bangor Dunod, founded by Dunod, son of Pabo, and his sons Deiniol, Cynwyl, and Gwarthan, in the beginning of the sixth century, upon lands granted by Cyngen, king of a part of Powys and the Vale Royal. This college never flourished after the massacre of its members in the bloody battle fought there in 603, when the Britons were defeated under Brochwel, and by the instigation of Augustine the monk.
* The death of this bishop is mentioned in the Welsh Chronicle, as having happened in the year 809. " The next yeare died Elbodius, Archbishop of North Wales, before whose death the sunne was sore eclipsed."
y The Welsh Chronicle says, " that in the year 943 Marclois Bishop of Bangor died." As the name of no such person occurs in the history of that see, and as a bishop by the name of Marchluith is recorded amongst the Bishops of LandafF, as having died in the year 943, I am inclined to think, that the Welsh Chronicle is wrong in its statement, and that the bishop there mentioned presided over the see of LandafF, and not of Bangor.
VOL. II. O
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From the year 1092, the series of bishops is regularly continued. Herveus, surnamed Cruste, was consecrated bishop of the see before the year 1093, and on account of the ill treatment he had received from the Welsh, was obliged to quit Bangor, and was afterwards translated to Ely. A curious bull of Pope Paschal, addressed to Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, and recommending Herveius to a bishopric, is printed in the Appendix to Browne Willis's His- tory of Bangor Cathedral.
Urban Bishop of Landaff is said to have presided over this see from 1109 to 1119, during the rebuilding of his own cathedral, which being completed, he resigned the see of Bangor to David, a Scot, who was consecrated A. D. 1 120. At the request of Urban, he consented to the removal of the relics of Saint Dubricius from the Isle of Bardsey, in his diocese, to Landaff.
Maurice, or Meuric, succeeded to David, A. D. 1139, and died A. D. 1161.
William, Prior of Saint Augustine's monastery at Bristol, was the next bishop of this see ; he was succeeded by Guy Rufus, called by our author Cuianus, who died A. D. 1190, when Giraldus Cam- brensis, Archdeacon of Brecknock, was elected to the vacant bishop- ric of Bangor; but he refused the dignity thus voluntarily offered to him.
This cathedral was destroyed by the insurgent Saxons in the year 107 1, and afterwards rebuilt ; for we find that in 1212, King John invaded the country, forced the bishop (Robert of Shrewsbury) from before the altar, and obliged him to pay two hundred hawks for his ransom." In the year 1402, it was burned to the ground by
• At this time the king passing the river of Conwey, encamped there by the river
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Owen Glyndwr, and although many bishops contributed by dona- tions towards the reparation of it, yet nothing effectual was done till the time of Bishop Dean in 1496, who rebuilt the choir which had lain in ruins about ninety years : and, on his translation to the see of Salisbury, left to his successor at Bangor, his valuable crozier and mitre, on condition that he would finish the works he had begun: he also recovered many lands that had been unlawfully alienated from the church.
Bishop Skeffington, consecrated in 1509, built the steeple and entire body of the church, from the choir downwards to the west end: he also rebuilt a great part of the episcopal palace, presented three bells, and ordered a fourth to be procured, and hung up in the steeple ; these Bishop Bulkeley sacrilegiously sold, and, accord- ing to vulgar tradition, on going to see them shipped off, was, on his return homewards, struck with blindness.
Bishop Rowlands, consecrated A. D. 1598, was a considerable benefactor to the cathedral, by purchasing four bells to replace those sold by Bishop Bulkeley, and by new roofing the body of the church.
Bishop Roberts, by his will A. D. 1665, bequeathed £"100. towards beautifying the choir, with which money the organ was purchased and erected.
side, and sent part of his armie, with guides of the countrie, to burne Bangor, who did so, taking Rotpert, the bishop, prisoner, who was afterward ransomed for 200 hawkes. Powel, p. 265.
The Annales Menevenses give the following account of this fact, which they date in 1211. " Episcopum autem Bangornensem quod ad eum (regem) venire noluit in ec- clesia Bangornensi ad altare in episcopalibus indutum capi percepit, qui data pecuniii vitam et membra prout melius potuit redemit."
Bishop Lloyd, in the year 1685, procured by act of parliament, the appropriation of the rectory of Landinam in Montgomeryshire for the repair of the cathedral, and augmentation of the bishopric ; he also had the four bells, given by Bishop Rowlands, new cast, and, at his own charge, added a fifth of larger proportion than the others.
The chronological series of bishops is continued, by Browne Willis, to the year 1715, and by Godwin to the year 1737.
This little cathedral is more to be noticed for its beautiful situa- tion and neat appearance, than for its monumental or architectural remains ; for it can only boast of the two mutilated effigies of Bishops Vaughan and Rowlands. Mr. Pennant says, " That beneath the shrine on the left side of the great altar, was interred the brave and wise Prince Gruffydh ap Cynan, who died in 1 137." The tomb of Owen Gwynedh, mentioned in the next chapter by Giraldus, is placed, by Browne Willis, at the farthest end of the southern aisle.
v-
CHAPTER VII.
ISLAND OF MONA.
FROM Bangor, we crossed over a small arm of the sea to the island of Mona, distant from thence about two miles, where Roderic, the younger son of Owen, attended by nearly all the inhabitants of the island, and many others from the adjacent countries, came in a devout manner to meet us. Confession having been made in a place near the shore, where the surrounding rocks seemed to form a natural theatre,1 many persons were induced to take the cross, by
1 The spot selected by Baldwin, for addressing the multitude, has in some degree been elucidated by the anonymous author of the Supplement to Rowland's Mona An- tiqua : he says, " That from tradition and memorials still retained, we have reasons to suppose, that they met in an open place in the parish of Landisilio, called Cerrig y Borth : the inhabitants, by a grateful remembrance, to perpetuate the honour of that day, called the place where the Archbishop stood, Carreg yr Archjagon, i.e. the Archbishop's Rock, and where Prince Roderic stood, Maen Roderic, or the stone of Roderic.
This account is in part corroborated by the following particulars transmitted to me by Mr. Richard Llwyd of Beaumaris, who, at my request, obligingly made personal inquiries on the spot respecting the above places.
" Cerrig y Borth being a rough undulating district, could not, for that reason, have been chosen for addressing a multitude; but adjoining it, there are two eminences which command a convenient surface for that purpose; one called Maen Rodri (the stone or rock of Roderic), the property of Owen Williams, Esq. ; and the other called Carreg lago, belonging to Lord Uxbridge: this last, as now pronounced, means the rock of St. James; but I have no difficulty in admitting, that Carreg yr Arch lagon may (by the compression of common undiscrirninating language, and the obliteration
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the persuasive discourses of the Archbishop, and Alexander,* our in- terpreter, archdeacon of that place, and of Sisillus, abbot of Stratflur- Many chosen youths of the family of Roderic were seated on an op- posite rock, and not one of them could be prevailed upon to take the cross, although the Archbishop and others most earnestly exhorted them, but in vain, by an address particularly directed to them. It came to pass within three days, as if by divine vengeance, that these young men, with many others, pursued some robbers of that country ; being discomfited and put to flight, some were slain, others mortally wounded, and the survivors voluntarily assumed that cross they had before despised. Roderic also, who a short time before had incestuously married the daughter of Rhys, related to him by blood in the third degree ; in order, by the assistance of that prince, to be better able to defend himself against the sons of his brothers, whom he had disinherited, not paying attention to the Avholesome admonitions of the Archbishop on this subject, was
of the event from ignorant minds by the lapse of so many centuries) be contracted into Carreg lago.
" Cadair yr arch esgob, is now also contracted into Cadair (chair), a seat naturally formed in the rock, with a rude arch over it, on the road side, which is a rough terrace over the breast of a rocky and commanding cliff, and the nearest way from the above eminences to the insulated church of Lantisilio. This word Cadair, though in general language a chair, yet when applied to exalted situations, means an observatory, as Cadair Idris, &c. ; but there can, in my opinion, be no doubt that this seat in the rock is that described by the words Cadair yr Arch Esgob."
* Alexander, who acted as interpreter between the Welsh and English, was Arch- deacon of Bangor in the year 1 166, during the archicpiscopacy of Becket, and held the same dignity in 1188, when Baldwin Archbishop of Canterbury visited these parts, on pretext of inviting the Welsh to undertake the crusade to the Holy Laud, or, as some think, to deprive the metropolitan church of Saint David's of its juris- diction.
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a little while afterwards dispossessed of all his lands by their means : thus deservedly meeting with disappointment from the very source from which he expected support. The island of Mona contains three hundred and forty-three villages, considered equal to three hundreds. Cantred, a compound word from the British and Irish languages, is a portion of land equal to one hundred villages. There are three islands contiguous to Britain, on its different sides, which are said to be nearly of an equal size. The isle of Wight on the south, Mona, or Anglesey, on the west, and Mania, or Man, on the north-west side. The two first are separated from Britain by narrow channels ; the third is much further removed, lying almost midway between the counties of Ulster in Ireland, and Galway in Scotland : the island of Mona is a dry and stoney land, rough and unpleasant in its appearance, similar in its exterior qualities to the land of Pebidion,3 near Saint David's, but very different as to its in- terior value ; for this island is incomparably more fertile in corn than any other part of Wales : from whence arose the British pro- verb, " Mon mam Cymbry, Mona mother of Wales ;" and when the crops have been defective in all other parts of the country, this island, from the richness of its soil and abundant produce, has been able to supply all Wales.
As many things within this island are worthy of remark, I shall not think it superfluous to make mention of some of them. There is a stone here resembling a human thigh,4 which possesses this innate virtue, that whatever distance it may be carried, it returns,
3 This hundred contained the comots of Mynyw, or St. David's, and Pencaer. * I am indebted to Mr. Richard Llwyd, for the following curious document from a manuscript of the late intelligent Mr. Rowlands, respecting this miraculous stone,
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of its own accord, the following night, as has often been experienced by the inhabitants. Hugh Earl of Chester, in the reign of King Henry the First, having by force occupied this island, and the adjacent country, heard of the miraculous power of this stone, and for the purpose of trial, ordered it to be fastened, with strong iron chains, to one of a larger size, and to be thrown into the sea ; on the following morning, however, according to custom, it was found in its original position, on which account the earl issued a public edict, that no one, from that time, should presume to move the stone from its place. A countryman also, to try the powers of this stone, fastened it to his thigh, which immediately became putrid, and the stone returned to its original situation.
There is in the same island, a stoney hill, not very large or high, from one side of which if you cry aloud, you will not be heard on the other ; and it is called (by antiphrasis) the rock of hearers. In the northern part of Great Britain (Northumberland) so named by the English, from its situation across the river Humber, there is a hill of a similar nature, where if a loud horn or trumpet is sounded on one side, it cannot be heard on the opposite one. There is also in this island, the church of Saint Tefredaucus/ into which Hugh
called Maen Morddwyd, or the stone of the thigh, which once existed in Llanidan parish.
" Hie etiam lapis lumbi vulgo Maen Morddwyd, in hujus caemiterii vallo locum sibi e longo a retro tempore obtinuit exindeque his nuperis annis, quo nescio Papicola vel qua inscia manu nulla ut olim retinente virtute, quae tune penitus elanguit aut vetus- tate evaporavit, nullo sane loci dispendio, nee illi qui eripuit emolumento, ereptus et deportatus fuit."
1 This church is at Llandyfrydog, a small village in Twrkelin hundred, not far dis- tant from Llanaelian, and about three miles from the bay of Dulas. Saint Tyvrydog, to whom'it was dedicated, was one of the sons of Arwystyl Glof, a saint who lived in the latter part of the sixth century.
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Earl of Shrewsbury (who, together with the Earl of Chester, had forcibly entered Anglesey), on a certain night put some dogs, which on the following morning were found mad, and he himself died within a month ; for some pirates, from the Orcades, having en- tered the port of the island in their long vessels, the earl apprised of their approach, boldly met them, rushing into the sea upon a spirited horse : the commander of the expedition, Magnus, standing on the prow of the foremost ship, aimed an arrow at him, and although the earl was completely equipped in a coat of mail, and guarded in every part of his body, except his eyes, the unlucky weapon struck his right eye, and, entering his brain, he fell a life- less corpse into the sea ; the victor seeing him in this state, proudly and exultingly exclaimed, in the Danish tongue, " Leit loup," let him leap : and from this time the power of the English ceased in Anglesey. In our times also, when Henry the Second was leading an army into North Wales, where he had experienced the ill fortune of war, in a narrow woody pass near Coleshulle ; he sent a fleet into Anglesey, and began to plunder the aforesaid church, and other sacred places ; but the divine vengeance pursued him, for the in- habitants rushed upon the invaders, few against many, unarmed against armed, and having slain great numbers, and taken many prisoners, gained a most complete and bloody victory : for as our topographical history of Ireland testifies, that the Welsh and Irish are more prone to anger and revenge, than any other nations ; the saints likewise of those countries appear to be of a more vindictive nature.
Two noble persons, and uncles of the author of this book, were sent thither by the king ; namely, Henry, son of King Henry the
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First, and uncle to King Henry the Second, by Nest, daughter of Rhys Prince of South Wales, and Robert, son of Stephen, brother to Heniy : a man who in our days, shewing the way to others, first attacked Ireland, and whose fame is recorded in our prophetic history. Henry, actuated by too much valour and ill-supported, was pierced by a lance, and fell amongst the foremost, to the great concern of his attendants, and Robert despairing of being able to defend himself, was badly wounded, and escaped with difficulty to the ships.
There is a small island, almost adjoining to Anglesey, which is inhabited by hermits, living by manual labour, and serving God. It is remarkable, tbat when, by the influence of human passions, any discord arises among them, all their provisions are devoured and infected by a species of small mice, with which the island abounds ; but when the discord ceases, they are no longer molested. Nor is it to be wondered at, if the servants of God sometimes dis- agree, since Jacob and Esau contended in the womb of Rebecca, and Paul and Barnabas differed ; the disciples also of Jesus disputed which of them should be the greatest ; for these are the tempta- tions of human infirmity ; yet virtue is often made perfect by infirmity, and faith is increased by tribulations. This island is called in Welsh, Ynys Lenach, or priest's island, because many bodies of saints are deposited there, and no woman is suffered to enter it.
We saw in Anglesey a dog, who accidentally had lost his tail, and whose whole progeny bore the same defect. It is wonderful, that nature should, as it were, conform itself in this particular to the accident of the father. We saw also a soldier, named Earthbald,
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born in Devonshire, whose father denying the child with which his mother was pregnant, and from motives of jealousy accusing her of inconstancy ; nature alone decided the controversy by the birth of the child, who, by a miracle, exhibited on his upper lip a scar, similar to one his father bore in consequence of a wound he had received from a lance in one of his military expeditions. Stephen, the son of Earthbald, had a similar mark, the accident being in a manner converted into nature. A like miracle of nature occurred, in Alberic, son of Alberic Earl of Veer, whose father, during the pregnancy of his mother, the daughter of Henry of Essex, having laboured to procure a divorce, on account of the ignominy of her father ; the child when born, had the same blemish in its eye, as the father had got from a casual hurt. These defects may be entailed on the offspring, perhaps by the impression made on the memory by frequent and steady observation ; as it is reported that a queen, accustomed to see the picture of a negro in her chamber, unexpect- edly brought forth a black child ; and is exculpated by Quintilian on account of the picture. In like manner, it happened to the spotted sheep, given by Laban out of his flock to his nephew Jacob, and which conceived by means of variegated rods ;6 nor is the child always affected by the mother's imagination alone, but sometimes by that of the father ; for it is well known, that a man seeing a passenger near him, who was convulsed both behind and before, on
6 " And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel, and of the chesnut tree, and peeled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods. And he set the rods, which he had peeled, before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs, when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink. And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle speckled and spotted." Genesis, chapter xxx.
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*
going home and telling his wife, that he could not get the impres- sion of this sight off his mind, begat a child who was affected in a similar manner.
ANNOTATIONS ON CHAPTER VII.
MONA or Anglesey — This island, once the principal seat of the Druids, and the last asylum to which the distressed Britons fled for succour from the victorious Romans; the residence of the British princes, and the stronghold of their expiring armies ; contains many interesting monuments of the highest antiquity, and coeval with its ancient inhabitants, the Druids. Though a large volume has been dedicated to this little island, yet its parochial and antiquarian his- tory has not been so fully developed as the traveller could either wish or have expected, from so able, learned, and ingenious a writer as Mr. Rowlands.
Its sovereignty appears to have been both frequently and sturdily contested for above four centuries, and was the scene on which the last and decisive battle was fought between the Welsh and English ; and although Prince Lhewelyn here witnessed the total overthrow of his rival King Edward the First, and the discomfiture of his army, with the loss of many of its most illustrious knights and chieftains ; yet fortune, on this occasion, seems only to have glim- mered for a moment in his favour, for in the ensuing year he was betrayed, and lost his life near Builth in Brecknock.
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The first mention made of this island in the Welsh Chronicle, is in the year 808, when its possession was disputed by Conan Tin- daethwy, and Howel, sons of Roderic Molwynoc; victoiy decided in favour of the latter, who retained possession of it till the year 817, when it was taken from him by his brother Conan.3
A. D. 818. In the reign of Mervyn Frych and Esylht, the only daughter of the late Conan, Egbert King of the West Saxons entered Wales with a great army, and destroyed the whole country unto Snowdon hills ; and about the same time, there was a sore battle fought in Anglesey, called the battle of Lhanvaes. Powel, p. 2,5.
About the year 843, at the commencement of the reign of Roderic the Great, Ethelwulph King of the Saxons united his forces with Burchred King of Mercia, and entering North Wales with a great power, destroyed Anglesey, and fought diverse battles with the Welsh. Powel, p. 29.
A. D. 873. The Danes having made peace with King Alfred, and according to the words of the Welsh Chronicle, " having abjured Eng- land," bent their force against Wales, and entered Anglesey with a large army, where Roderic the Great gave them two battles ; one at a place called Bangole, and another at a place called Menegid.b
* Conan Prince of Wales, and his brother Howel could not agree, insomuch that they tried the matter by battell, wherein Howel had the victorie. This Howel, the brother of Conan King or Prince of North Wales, did claime the ile of Mon or An- glesey for part of his father's inheritance, which Conan refused to give him, and there- upon they fell at variance, and consequentlie to make warre the one against the other, which is unnaturall amongst brethren. Howel gave his brother Conan another battell., and slew a great number of his people, whereupon Conan leavied an armie in theyeare 817, and chased his brother Howel out of the ile of Mon or Anglesey, compelling him to flie into Man. Powel, p. 21,22.
b The Chronicles printed in the Myvyrian Archaeology agree as to the date of this
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In the year 876, the English entered the island, and fought a sore battle with the Welsh.
A. D. 900. Igmond, with a great number of soldiers, came to Anglesey, and the Welshmen gave them battle at Molerain.c
About the year 915, the men of Dublin destroyed the island.
The modern edition of the Welsh Chronicle records a battle fought in Anglesey betwixt Howel Dha and Conan ap Edward Foel, wherein the latter fell.
A. D- 958. Abloic King of Ireland landed in M6n, and having burnt Holyhead, spoiled the country of Lhyn ; and in the year 966, Aberfraw. the royal seat of the princes of North Wales, was de- stroyed by the Irishmen. In the year 969, Mactus, the son of Harold, entered Anglesey with an army of Danes,d and spoiled Penmon,e and shortly afterwards Godfryd, the son of Harold, did
battle, but differ somewhat in the names. It is there written Bangoleu, which means the clear height, Menegid is, perhaps, a corruption in the texts, as the Saxon Chro- nicle in the Archaeology writes it Evegyd in Mon, a name equivalent to a plantation or nursery.
c There be some Brytish copies of this historic, which affirme, that this battel be- tweene Igmond captaine of the blacke nations and the Brytaines, wherein Mervyn was slaine, was fought at a place called Mellon, of the which it was called Maes Rhos- Meilon. Powel, p. 42.
All the Chronicles in the Welsh Archaeology, except the Saxon, make mention of Rhos Meilon, or the Moor of Mellon, of which the word Molerain is a corruption.
d "These Danes were suffered to inhabite quietlie through all England, till they were so strong as the Englishmen, and then they fell to such riotousness and drinking, that much mischief insued thereof; whereupon Edgar made a law, that everie man should drinke by measure, and caused a certaine marke to be set in every pot how deepe they shoulde drinke, and so by these meanes he somewhat staled that immode- rate ingurgitation." Powel, p. 62.
e Penmon (where there was once a priory) is situated on the NE. point of the isle of Anglesey.
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subdue to himself the whole isle of Anglesey, which he enjoyed not long. Powel, p. 62.
A. D. 979. At this time, Custenyn Dhu, that is, Constantine the Black, son to lago (who was then prisoner), hired Godfryd, the son of Harold, with his Danes, against his cousin, and they both together destroyed Anglesey and Lhyn ; whereupon Howel ap Jevaf gathered his army, and setting upon them at a place called Gwayth Hirbarth, overthrew them, and Constantine was slain; but in the year 986, Godfryd entered Anglesey a third time, and having taken Lly- warch, the son of Owen, prisoner, together with two thousand men, he cruelly put out his eyes. In 989, the Danes taking advantage of Meredyth's absence in South Wales, landed in Anglesey, and ravaged the whole island. Powel, p. 65, 69, 71.
A. D. 1073. Gruffyth, son to Conan ap lago, the rightful inheritor of the principality of North Wales, came over from Ireland with the succour which his brethren Encumalhon King of Ulster had delivered him, and he landed in Anglesey, and brought it to his subjection. Powel, p. 112.
In 1096, the island was attacked by Hugh de Mountgomery Earl of Arundel and Shrewsbury, and by Hugh Earl of Chester, the former of whom was killed by Magnus, as related by Giraldus in the text of this chapter.
The island seems to have enjoyed a long period of tranquillity till the year 1151, when Cadwalader, the brother of Owen Gwynedh Prince of North Wales escaped out of prison, and subdued part of the isle to himself; but his brother Owen sent an army against him, and chased him thence. In the year 1157, during the war between King Henry the Second and the Welsh, the navy of Owen Gwynedh,
under the command of Madoc ap Meredyth Prince of Powys, an- chored off Anglesey, and put on land some soldiers, who spoiled two churches, and a little of the country thereabouts ; but as they returned to their ships, the whole strength of the isle set upon them, and killed them all, so that none of those which robbed within the isle brought tidings how they sped. Powel, p. 203—207.
A. D. 1174. About this time, David ap Owen Gwynedh Prince of North Wales, made war against his brother Maelgon, who was in possession of the isle of Anglesey, and brought his people over Menai (for so that arm of the sea is called that separateth the island from the main land), and forcing his brother to fly to Ireland, brought all Anglesey to his subjection. Powel, p. 234.
A. D. 1193. Roderic, the son of Owen Gwynedh, by the help of Gothrike King of Man, entered Anglesey and conquered it ; but before the end of the same year, the sons of his brother Conan drove him out of the island and got it themselves. Powel, p. 243.
In the year 1237, the death of Joan, daughter of King John, is thus recorded in the Welsh Chronicle. " The next spring died Joan, daughter to King John, Princess of Wales, and was buried upon the sea shore within the isle of Anglesey, at Lhanvaes, as her pleasure was, where her husband (Prince Lhewelyn ap Jorwerth) did build a house of bare-foot friars over her grave. Powel, p. 293.
A. D. 1245. King Henry the Third having failed in his military expedition against North Wales, and having lost a great number of his most worthy soldiers and nobility, sent for the Irishmen who landed in Anglesey, and spoiled a great part thereof, till the inhabi- tants gathered themselves together, and meeting with them heavily laden with spoil, drove them back to their ships. Powel, p. 310,
A. D. 1277. Prince Lhewelyn was at length obliged to sue for peace, which King Edward the First granted, upon the following hard conditions : " That he should pay to the king, for his favour and good-will, 50,000 marks ; that the cantref. Ros, where the king's castle of Teganwy stood ; the cantref Ryvonioc, where Den- bigh is; the cantref Tegengl, where Ruthlan standeth, and cantref Dyffryn Clywd, where Ruthyn is, should remain to the king and his heirs for ever, and that the prince should pay yearly for the isle of Anglesey 1000 marks, which payment should begin at Michaelmas next ensuing, and that he should also pay 5000 marks out of hand, and if the prince died without issue, the island should revert to the king and his heirs. The prince was also required to come to England every Christmas to do homage to the king for his lands." f
The historian Carte has recorded the following anecdote on this occasion. " The barons of Snowdon, with other noblemen of the most considerable families in Wales, had attended Lhewelyn to London, when he came thither at Christmas A. D. 1277, to do homage to King Edward ; and bringing, according to their usual custom, large retinues with them, were quartered in Islington and the neighbouring villages. These places did not afford milk enough for such numerous trains ; they liked neither wine nor the ale of London, and though plentifully entertained, were much dis- pleased at a new manner of living which did not suit their taste, nor perhaps their constitutions. They were still more offended at the crowds of people that flocked about them when they stirred
f A copy of this agreement between King Edward and Lhewelyn may be seen in Rymer's Fcedera, Tom. II. p. 88.
VOL. II. Q,
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abroad, 8 staring at them as if they had been monsters, and laugh- ing at their uncouth garb and appearance : they were so enraged on this occasion, that they engaged privately in an association to rebel on the first opportunity, and resolved to die in their own country rather than ever come again to London, as subjects, to be held in such derision ; and when they returned home, they com- municated their resentments to their compatriots, who made it the common cause of their country."
In the year 1281, the Welsh, with Lhewelyn and his brother David at their head, took up arms again; and Edward being now convinced that he could place no dependance upon them, as long as they had a prince to lead them, resolved to make an entire con- quest of the country. He sent an army by sea to Anglesey which they won, and slew such as resisted them, but the chief men ad- hered faithfully to the king, according to the oath they had taken at the last peace. Then they came over against Bangor, where the arm of the sea called Menai is the narrowest, at a place called Moel y don,h and there made a bridge of boats and planks over the water, on the same spot where Julius Agricola had done the like, when he subdued the Isle to the Romans. This bridge being accomplished, so that threescore men might well pass over in a front, William Latimer.with a great number of his best soldiers, and LukedeThany with his Gascons and Spaniards (who were in the king's service), passed over the bridge, and there saw no stir of enemies : but as soon as the sea began to flow, down came the Welshmen from the hills, and set upon them fiercely, and either slew or chased them to
* MS. No. 39 inter MSS. Mostyn, p. 302. Carte, Tom. II. p. iyi. 4 The ferry is still continued at this same place.
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the sea to drown themselves ; for the water was so high, that they could not attain the bridge, saving William Latimer only, whose horse carried him to the bridge, and so he escaped. • But the death of Llewelyn in the same year, and the cruel execution of his brother David in the ensuing one, effectually checked the rebellious spirit of the Welsh, and secured to Edward the undisputed sovereignty of the principality.
This island, which in modern days deserves the epithets applied to it by Giraldus in this chapter,* once bore a very different appear- ance. When attacked by the Roman general Suetonius, the sacred woods of the Druids were levelled to the ground : " Presidium impositum victis, excisique luci, saevis superstitionibus sacri." At a much later period we find it well provided with trees, for in the year 1 102 the Welsh Chronicle says, " that Magnus landed in Anglesey, and hewed down as much timber wood as was needful for him." Dreary as its outward aspect may seem to the traveller, it still contains many interesting objects of attention ; it is particu- larly rich in Druid ical remains, the finest specimen of which is to be seen in the park of Lord Uxbridge, at Plas Newydd. The Paris Mountains deserve the notice of the artist as well as the mineralo- gist ; for the majestic grandeur and effect of their excavations cannot be surpassed ; neither should the stately and well preserved castle at Beaumaris be overlooked, though inferior in point of situation to its rival brothers at Conwy and Caernarvon.1 The parish church
1 Powel, p. 372.
k Est autem Mona arida tellus et saxosa, deformis aspectu et inamoena.
1 This castle, according to Mr. Grose, was built by King Edward about the year 1295, who changed its-name from Bonover to Beaumarais, which in French signifies a fine marsh.
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is a handsome Gothic building, and contains some monuments worthy of notice : the most remarkable is that of a knight in ar- mour recumbent, with a female by his side, well sculptured in alabaster ; his head rests upon a helmet, and at his feet is a lion : the female is habited in a long robe richly ornamented round the neck; the hands of each are uplifted. Various small figures dressed like knights and monks decorate the pedestal of this tomb, which is said to have been brought from the religious house at Lhanvaes at the time of its dissolution, but the personages whom it was designed to represent have not been ascertained. It now stands before the altar, with the feet of the figures placed towards it. On the right hand side of the altar is a large tablet inserted in the wall, bearing the following devices and inscriptions : the tablet is of an oblong form ; at each corner near the top are two escutcheons, en- circled with the motto of HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE ; under the one on the left is this inscription : " HENRICUS SYDNEY ORDINIS GARTERII,
MILES PR^SIDENS EX CONSILIIS MARCHIIS WALL1JE, DOMINUS DEPUTA-
TUS IN HIBERNIA." Under the other, ANTONIUS SENTLEGER ORDINIS
GARTERII, MILES, QUONDAM DEPUTATUS IN HIBERNIA ; TOUnd a Circle
in the centre, GULIELMUS THWAYTES ARMIGER ; and beneath it in a straight line, OBIIT 20 DIE JANUARII 1565. At the lower corners are also two escutcheons : the one on the left has this motto, FRANCISCUS AGARD EX CONSILIIS HIBERNIA ; the other on the right, EDWARDUS WATERHOWS ME posuix ; and at the bottom is this inscription,
NOSCE TEIPSUM — FIDE ET TACITURNITATE
I could not learn that any historical account was extant of this singular monument, nor on what occasion it was placed in Beau-
maris church. Neither could that indefatigable traveller, Mr. Pennant, gain any positive information about it.
Henry Sydney, in the second and third of Philip and Mary, was
made general governor of all the king's and queen's revenues within
the realm of Ireland, and about two years afterwards, lord justice
thereof. In the second of Queen Elizabeth he was appointed lord
president of the marches of Wales, and four years after was made
knight of the garter. In J 568 he was constituted deputy of Ireland.
He died at the bishop's palace in Worcester, A.D. 1586, and was
conveyed from thence to his house at Penshurst in Kent, where he
was most honourably interred. He was however previously embow-
elled : his entrails were buried in the dean's chapel in the cathedral
church at Worcester; and his heart171 was brought to Ludlow and
deposited in the same tomb with his dear beloved daughter
Ambrosia, within the little oratory which he had made in the same
collegiate parish church. The historian Hollinshed has left a long
and elaborate character of this celebrated personage ; " from whom
also I have been able to collect some information respecting two
of the other persons mentioned in the tablet. The historian says,
that at each several time he was sent deputy into Ireland, he was
furnished with a new secretary. The first was Master Edward
Waterhouse, now knighted, and one of his majesty's council in
Ireland. The same author adds, " He made special choice of two
worthy counsellors, whom for their faithfulness in counsel for the
m An engraving of the urn containing the heart of Sir Henry Sydney may be seen in the Gentleman's Magazine, vol. 64, page 785 : it bears this inscription, Her lith the harte of Syr Henrye Sydny, L. P. Anno DonTni 1586.
• Hollinshed, p. 1552.
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state, good will and friendship towards him, and for their integrity and sincerity every way, he entirely loved and assuredly trusted ; one of these was Master Francis Agard, whom he commonly called his " Fidus Achates."
Sir Anthony St. Leger was lord deputy of Ireland in the year 1539. He was succeeded first by Sir James Crofts, and afterwards by Fitz- Walter Earl of Sussex. When Sir Henry Sidney was recalled to this high office, Sir Anthony St. Leger was appointed as his coadjutor and stationed in Munster with the title of Lord President of that province. I can gain no biographical information respecting Gulielmus Thwaytes, the aera of whose death is recorded on this tablet.
Before I conclude my sketch of Anglesey, I must not forget to mention, that those who wish to see the magnificent range of Snow- donian mountains to advantage, must