Full text of "The Cambrian journal"

GWIR YN ERBYN Y BYD.

THE

Cilllltll JimiiiL;

PUBLISH D UNDER THE -AUSPTCES

THE

CAMBEIAN INSTITUTE,

CAS QWH NA CHARO
T TTLAD A'l MACCO.

VOLUME FOR 1857.

TENBY:

B. MASON, HIGH STREET.
LONDON: J. RUSSELL SMITH, 36, SOHO SQUARE.

1857.

GWIR Y N ERBYN Y BYD.

THE

CAMBRIAN JOURNAL;

PUBLISHED UNDER THE AUSPICES OF

THE

CAMBRIAN INSTITUTE,

CAS GWR NA CHARO
Y WLAD A'l MACCO.

VOL. I.

LONDON :

LONGMANS & Co., J. RUSSELL SMITH, AND J. PETHERAM.
TENBY: R. MASON.

1854.

loc?

R. MASON, PRINTER, HIGH STREET, TENBY.

PEE FAG E,

WE have at length completed the First Volume of the
Cambrian Journal, and have every reason to believe
that our services have met with the general approval of
the country. Our task was entered upon amid much
discouragement, and no inconsiderable amount even of
actual opposition ; but still, with unwavering confidence
in the patriotism of our countrymen, we persevered; and
now we can exultingly refer to a goodly array of sub-
scribers in proof of perfect success. The contents of our
pages, moreover, show that the different sections of the
INSTITUTE have been duly represented that we have dealt
out intellectual food in portions sufficiently varied to
suit the taste of every real lover of Wales. Where all
our papers are good, it would be invidious to mention
any contributor in particular; we would therefore tender
our thanks to all alike, who have kindly co-operated
with us, and trust that we shall yet travel together over
many a future page.

The CAMBRIAN INSTITUTE, may be considered as iden-
tical, to a certain extent, with that ancient system alluded
to by Cassar, whence all our literature and civilization
emanated ; and whatever subjects came under its cog-
nizance, will be entertained by the INSTITUTE, and re-

IV PREFACE.

corded or discussed in our pages, with the exception of
religion and politics, which may be treated of only
historically.

There is a commercial spirit abroad, which would
make our nationality subservient to the table of pounds,
shillings, and pence. It is almost needless to observe
that with this we have not the slightest sympathy : for,
although we would encourage industry and knowledge
to the utmost limits of our power, we do not consider
that with that view it is necessary we should forget our
existence as a distinct race abandon our language
destroy our native literature and speak disparagingly
of the land of our birth. Progress is quite compatible
with the recognition of all these blessings; and the
history of Wales since its incorporation with England
has proved indubitably that the Cymry can be loyal,
and attain the highest position in the state, or acquire
wealth, without having to sell their birthright.

Whilst such is the case, it is purposed, by means of the
CAMBRIAN INSTITUTE, to draw out and concentrate the
various peculiarities of the country which compose Welsh
nationality. The records of the past shall be carefully
examined and chronicled the present resources of our
soil earnestly promoted, both with the view of aiding
science, and for the advancement of the personal comforts
of the inhabitants of the Principality and the ancient
valour of the sons of the mountain shall be constantly
stimulated to the defence of the throne, now so worthily
occupied by the hereditary representative of the kings of
the four nations Saxon, Scotch, Irish, and Welsh.

THE

CAMBRIAN JOURNAL,

ALBAN ,-HAi 7 ^ /l~x EILIR

(VERNAL EQUINOX.)

INTRODUCTION.

WE doubt not that the natives of the Principality in
general will hail with delight the appearance of the
CAMBRIAN JOURNAL, a publication of a truly national
character, being devoted, not only to the illustration of
our ancient literature, but also to the development of the
natural resources of the country, and the advancement
of such arts and sciences as influence the duties, and
promote the comfort and happiness, of domestic or social
life.

These are important subjects, and they deserve to be
handled and set forth with becoming learning, skill and
judgment. There is hardly a country in Europe where
there is a greater scope for the treatment or exercise
thereof, or where, we grieve to acknowledge, they have
of late been more miserably neglected, than Wales. And

VOL. I. B

INTRODUCTION.

yet the Welsh are by no means deficient in talent or good
sense ; they are an intelligent as well as an industrious
race of people. We are persuaded that they require
only the educational advantages which their neighbours
possess, to enable them to attain an equally high position
in the rank of civilization. Devotedly attached, as they
are, to old traditions and old associations, experience
proves that they are not unwilling to adopt new appli-
ances, as soon as they shall have become thoroughly
convinced of their superior value and true worth.

The leading maxim of that mighty system, which in
olden times formed the national character, was " coeliaw
dim a choeliaw poh peth," that is, to believe everything
supported by reason and proof, and nothing without.
It was under the influence of this principle that our
ancestors so generally, and, as it were, so naturally,
embraced the everlasting truths of the Gospel. This it
was which prompted them to offer the most determined
resistance to the claims of imperial Rome, and afterwards,
on their subjugation, to avail themselves of the improve-
ments which her legions introduced into the conquered
province.

We augur that the CAMBRIAN JOURNAL, under the
auspices of a Society of learned and patriotic men, will
have a salutary effect upon a people possessed of such a
character ; that it will lead them to a due appreciation of
labour and knowledge, and induce them to investigate
and classify scientifically the various stores of the king-
dom of nature. We trust and believe that it will both
improve the mind and enlighten the understanding, and
thus contribute materially to make our countrymen
really useful members of the community.

With the view of rendering the Journal fit to answer
this purpose, we intend that it shall present a twofold

INTRODUCTION.

aspect. In the first department will be inserted original
treatises or essays, bearing directly or indirectly upon
some of the subjects which come under the immediate
cognizance of the Institute. It is expected that many a
valuable dissertation, for which prizes were awarded at
Bardic congresses, but which, owing to the mismanage-
ment of the committee appointed to superintend those
national meetings, or to the natural unwillingness of
the respective authors to run the risk of publication,
would otherwise remain of no general use or benefit, will
thus be exhibited to view, and rendered accessible to the
reading public.

In the same manner ancient MSS., of which there are
many, even mouldering, in private libraries throughout
the Principality, will be rescued from the destruction
with which time and the carelessness of owners daily
threaten them. It is impossible to calculate the benefit
which would accrue from the publication of these records
of bygone days, records which most vividly reflect the
learning and customs of the times in which they were
written. To obviate, however, any misunderstanding on
the subject, we beg to deny most explicitly that it is our
intention in this respect to trespass upon the province of
the Welsh MSS. Society. Only such records as do not
quite fall in with the object of that dignified institution
will find their way into the pages of our Journal. These,
however, we will venture to say, are numerous and full
of interest.

The remaining pages will be devoted to reviews, cor-
respondence, reports, and miscellaneous notices. We
anticipate that this will prove a peculiarly interesting
department of the Journal, and be eminently productive
of useful hints and information relative to the different
sections of the Institute.

4 INTRODUCTION.

Whilst we thank those of our countrymen who have
already kindly promised us their support, we beg also
most earnestly to invite the co-operation of others, who
have leisure and skill, in the performance of the work which
we have taken in hand. Much may be done where the
will is strong ; where brotherly love and patriotic feelings
exert their influence, selfishness must be thrown aside,
and care taken that our aims and efforts centre not in
the PRESENT. We must look back and draw into light
the traditionary treasures of our forefathers, explain
their literature, and imitate their excellences. We must
look forward and endeavour, in this our day, to provide
for the temporal welfare, as well as for the intellectual,
moral, and religious elevation of generations yet unborn,
always remembering the triadic maxim, " The three
honourable deeds of a Cymro are, to exercise himself
in the usages of the ancient Cymry, to meditate the
improvement of present usages, and to search the world
for good usages, such as have not yet been known."

Cas gwr na charo
Y wlad a'i macco.

PHILOLOGY.

AN ESSAY ON THE CELTIC LANGUAGES,

IN WHICH THEY ARE COMPARED WITH EACH OTHER, AND CON-
SIDERED IN THEIR CONNEXION WITH THE SANSCRIT, AND
THE OTHER CAUCASIAN LANGUAGES.

By Dr. CARL MEYER, of Rinteln.

Translated from the original French by JANE WILLIAMS, (Ysgafell).

PART I.

This Essay obtained the Great Prize at the Eisteddfod of the
Cymreigyddion y Fenni, Thursday, October 13, 1842.

The rouyh sketch of a Second Part was then appended to it, which
the author did not complete.

The present Translation was made in 1843, and received Dr.
Meyer s entire approbation.

ADJUDICATION OF THE GREAT PRIZE,

By J. C. PRICHARD, Esq., M.D., F.R.S., M.R.I.A., &c., &c.

IN returning the essays which have been confided to my care, I must
avail myself of the opportunity of congratulating the Cymreigyddion
on the increasing interest which is manifested in the objects which the
association was intended to promote. Of this, a signal proof is
afforded by the production, on the present occasion, of five essays
written for the prize that has been offered, all of which possess con-
siderable merit, while several display extensive learning and research.
This interest in the history and literature of the Welsh race is not
confined to the Principality as heretofore, or even to the whole island
which our forefathers claimed as their own primeval possession, but
it is spread throughout the continent of Europe. A few years ago
so little was known respecting the Welsh language and antiquities
not merely on the continent, but even in England, that among
persons in those countries, who devoted their attention to philological
pursuits and to the history of languages, the Celtic race was imagined
to be entirely distinct and separate from that great fraternity of nations
which spread from the mouth of the Ganges to the farthest limits of
Scandinavia, constituting the great mass of population in Southern
Asia, and through nearly the whole extent of Europe. An examina-

6 DR. MEYER ON THE CELTIC LANGUAGES.

tion of languages has enabled learned men to ascertain beyond all
doubt the family relation of all the different tribes of people in the
vast region above described ; including in Asia, the Hindoos, the
Persians, the Affghans, the Khurds, and the inhabitants of some of
the Caucasian mountains ; and in Europe, besides the ancient Greeks
and Romans, whose respective languages are almost as near to the
Sanscrit as they are to each other, the Germanic nations, compre-
hending the ancient Goths, and Northmen, and Anglo-Saxons, and
the modern Germans, English, Dutch, Swedes and Danes, the
Russians and other Sclavonian races, the Albanians or Skipetari, and
the Lithuanian or Lettish race, whose idiom bears so wonderful an
affinity to the Sanscrit, that, according to one of the most learned
writers on this subject, 1 whole sentences might be constructed in
Sanscrit, that would be intelligible to the peasants of Lithuania.
With this great fraternity of nations, the Welsh and the inhabitants
of all the British Isles were supposed to have nothing in common.
By a very popular English writer, 2 it was said some years ago, that
" the real Celtic language is as remote from the Greek as the Hot-
tentot from the Lapponic, and that the mythology of the Celtic nations
resembled, in all probability, that of the Hottentots or others, the
rudest savages, as the Celta3 anciently were, and they are little better
at present, being incapable of any progress in society." The opinion
that the Celtic is entirely and radically distinct from all the other
European languages, was even maintained by Professor Bopp, one
of the most celebrated philologers now living, but by him and by all
other well informed persons it has now been entirely abandoned.
Bopp himself has written an elaborate treatise on the affinity of the
Celtic to the other idioms of Europe, which was published four years
since in the memoirs of the Royal Academy of Sciences at Berlin.
In this work the author has displayed his accustomed sagacity and
accuracy of research, but it is unfortunate that both himself and M.
Pictet, a writer of his own school, who had previously treated the
same subject, have directed their attention chiefly, if not exclusively,
to the Irish form of the Celtic language, in which the peculiar
character of this language is less fully developed ; and if I am not in
this instance prejudiced in favour of the ancient speech of our fathers,
less advantageously displayed than they are in the idiom of Aneurin
and Taliesin. This mistake, if such I may venture to term it, pace
tanti viri, has not been committed by the author of the essay which is
now laid before the Eisteddfod, and in which, if I am not greatly
mistaken, it will be found that an important and new illustration of
the principles of lexiology, and a very interesting extension of their
results, will be brought before the public. In order to appreciate the
value of these researches, we must abstract our view from NEARLY
all that has been written in former times on etymologies and resem-
blances between languages. The endless and fruitless conjectures of

1 Van Bohlen. 2 Mr. Pinkerton.

DR. MEYER ON THE CELTIC LANGUAGES. 7

mere adventurers in philology, which have been more abundant in
this than any other country, have brought disgrace and ridicule on all
such speculations, and there are many persons who are not aware
that there is anything sound and well established in inquiries con-
nected with this subject ; but a new science has been created, if I may
so express myself, within a few years, and the analysis of languages
has at length been pursued on principles quite different from those of
former times, and capable of leading to certain and definite results.
This new department of knowledge is the philosophy of languages.
It may be said to owe its origin, or at least its establishment in the
regard of the literary world, to three writers, one of whom has
departed within a few years, two of them still survive. I allude to
the celebrated William Von Humboldt, brother of the great traveller
Alexander Von Humboldt, and to Professors Bopp and Jacob Grimm.
It would occupy too much of the time of this meeting were I to
attempt to explain the principles of analysis which these writers have
adopted in the examination and classification of human idioms; I
shall merely remark that it consists not in the finding of resemblances
between words or collections of words, but in a rigid examination of
the component elements and the laws of structure by which particular
languages and classes of languages are characterized, and in a
development of the principles on which the words and sentences were
originally formed. The soundness of the principles, and of the con-
clusions deduced from them, must appear to be matters of some
doubt to those who for the first time consider the subject, just as the
method of calculating eclipses or of computing the distances of the
heavenly bodies would be contemplated with some doubt and distrust,
if they were for the first time announced to persons altogether
uninformed respecting them. But all those persons who have taken
the pains that are required in order to understand the principles of
this investigation, are fully satisfied that it is capable of throwing
light on the original development of human speech, and of illustrating
the history of the human mind in the very infancy of nations. But
I must now say a few words in more immediate reference to the
essays which have been presented to the meeting of the Cymrei-
gyddion. They all display considerable learning, and several of them
extensive erudition. I may observe that most of their authors have
directed the principal scope of their inquiries to historical questions,
and in two of them I find very able and extensive discussions of some
of the most important problems connected with the history of the
Celtic race. One essay, in particular, by a writer who assumed the
fictitious name of " Vortimer," 3 contains very valuable matter, which I
trust, we shall hereafter see in print. But the authors of these essays
have not directed their attention singly or principally to the scope of

3 Arthur James Jones, Esq., barrister-at-law, Garth Myl, Mont-
gomeryshire, author of " An Essay on the Causes of Dissent in
Wales," and other valuable works.

8 DR. MEYER ON THE CELTIC LANGUAGES.

the question proposed to be discussed ; and although they are perhaps
not at all inferior in point of learning and ability, I think there can be
no doubt that the prize must be awarded to the author of that one of
the essays which alone fulfils the views entertained by the excellent
and distinguished individual 4 who proposed the question, and of those
learned persons who coincided with him in adopting it. The nature
of the argument is such that it would be quite out of place were I to
attempt on the present occasion to lay before the Eisteddfod a com-
plete analysis of this paper, and yet, I feel myself called upon to state
somewhat further the grounds on which I believe it entitled to the
prize. In the first place, then, the author has by his researches en-
larged the field of philological science ; he has shown that its prin-
ciples are capable of new and more complete development and ad-
ditional illustration by the admission of the Celtic into the group of
Indo-European languages. Secondly, he has placed the whole subject
of the comparison of these languages in a new point of view, essentially
different from that adopted by Bopp, and one much more accordant
with truth, displaying more fully the actual relations of the objects
which are compared. Moreover, in this point of view, the Celtic
languages, as well as the other European idioms, stand in a much more
respectable and dignified position, if I may so express myself, than
that which they occupied under the survey of Mr. Bopp. The
foundation of Bopp's analysis of the relations of the Celtic language,
was the assumption that these idioms, as well as the other European
dialects, as they present so striking a resemblance to the Sanscrit,
should only be judged of in relation to this resemblance, and without
themselves occupying an independent place in the history of the
development of language in general, or should interest the philologist
only so far as they preserve more or less purely some grammatical
forms of the Sanscrit. " It would, indeed," as the author of this
paper remarks, " be to buy very dearly the principle of historical
centralization in comparative philology, were we only to acknowledge
the forms of a single grammar as normal, and without ever quitting
the point of view in which the study of this grammar has placed us,
to remark in all the other languages honoured with the title of kin-
dred dialects, only an incomplete reproduction, or more often mutila-
tion, of forms belonging to the mother tongue." " In the name of
the European languages," says our author, "we reject such a principle
of unity between them and the Sanscrit, and we believe that there is
no true unity in accordance between several languages, except so far
as all, based on a common foundation of primitive words and gram-
matical inflections, and guided equally by certain fundamental prin-
ciples in the declension and conjugation of words, proceed to develope
these principles, each in a manner peculiar to itself, and corresponding
to the character and history of the people to which it belongs, so that
the philosophical grammarian, who, after these developments shall

4 Chevalier Bunsen.

DR. MEYER ON THE CELTIC LANGUAGES. 9

have been completed, compares the facts furnished by the history of
each of these languages, with the facts required by the theory, with
regard to the nature of languages in general, and of this group of
languages in particular, can only discover their correspondence when
it embraces all the languages of each group at once. In like manner,
natural history can only find in the assemblage of all species and
varieties of which each genus is composed in reality, the character-
istic features which constitute the type of the genus. One essential
grammatical trait which is not found in this language, will appear in
that; one which here only puts forth the germs of its origin, will there
show all its ulterior development ; but it might not, however, be itself
discoverable, without a previous recognition of the same principles ;
and, in this way, all the grammars of these languages united in a
single system, mutually completing and explaining each other, will
offer not less really the spectacle of a true agreement, and a unity
worthy of each. And, in truth, the spectacle we have just described
is also that which is presented to us by a comparison of the Indo-
Germanic languages, if, quitting the point of view occupied by modern
grammarians, we compare these idioms with one another, not only in
regard to their agreement with the Sanscrit, but, also, in regard to
their agreement with philosophical grammar; and still more, not
only in consideration of their etymological elements, but also in con-
sideration of their rhythmical and syntactical forms. The Greek, for
example, is supplementary to the Sanscrit in its system of accentuation,
at once etymological and rhythmical, and as regular as it is flexible
in the individuality of the meanings of its roots, and in its richness in
nominal and verbal prepositions : the Latin is supplementary to the
Greek, as well as to the Sanscrit, in the massive rounding and com-
pleteness of its periods those periods so long and so expressive of
particular facts, and which, nevertheless, like the Macedonian phalanx,
permit, from the beginning to the end, no interruption to the utterance
or to the thought. The German idioms are supplementary to all
these three languages in their general custom of bringing out the
radical meaning of the word by the use of an accent which is never
removed from the radical syllable to any of those annexed, as well as
by their system of forming verbal conjugations by changes of the
radical vowels. And if the modern German languages have lost, as
no one would deny, through the mixture of races, a great portion of
their generic character, yet even these can claim, on the part of com-
parative philology, an impartial examination. With how much more
right can the Celtic languages claim such an examination, since they
are undoubtedly of an origin as ancient, and, in a great number of
grammatical traits, of a character decidedly more ancient, than the
Sanscrit; and since, while on one side, they show most certain traits of
their affinity with this language, they show also, on the other side, the
most evident traces of a development altogether peculiar, and the more
interesting for comparative philology, since, far from appearing in the
same disagreement with the grammar of the other Indo-European lan-
VOL. I. C

10 DR. MEYER ON THE CELTIC LANGUAGES.

guages as they seem to be with the Sanscrit, they rather illustrate for
these, namely, the Greek, the Latin, and the German, the origin of the
very differences existing between them and the Sanscrit." The author of
this paper goes on to a series of observations which are altogether new,
and which will strike even those who are most extensively acquainted
with the present state of philological science with surprise, on relations
which he thinks he has discovered between that portion of the Celtic
language which is foreign to the Sanscrit and the ancient Egyptian,
which last he regards as the parent or primitive root of the Indo-
European and Semitic groups. It would be useless to state the
results of his research into this subject, without giving a view of the
data on which they are founded, and this must be left until the essay
shall make its appearance in print.

In the view which the author has taken of the peculiarities of the
European languages, and of the origin of those parts of their material
which is distinct from the Sanscrit, he maintains that they all display
an extensive influence exercised upon them in the early period of their
development by the Celtic. This, as he thinks, can be accounted for
in many instances by reference to historical facts. Not only in Eng-
land was the German or Saxon population preceded by a Celtic race
of inhabitants, but also on the continent of Europe. We know that
Celtic tribes, people who may be proved to have spoken a language
very nearly allied to the Welsh, inhabited some parts, and even the
eastern parts, of Germany. It is more difficult, as the author observes,
to explain the influence which the Celtic appears to have exercised on
the classical languages of Greece and Rome. In thus contemplating
many of the great members of the Indo-European family of languages,
as made up of portions derived from sources in a measure extraneous
to their own respective developments, I am not sure whether the
writer of this essay is not departing from one of the principles before laid
down, according to which he had set out with the representation that
each language had grown as it were by the unfolding of its own
germs, and had acquired a self-subsistent character rather than one
derived from a number of mixed and confused elements. But I dare-
say the learned author has good reason for all that he has asserted,
and that he can reconcile this apparent discrepancy, which may have
its origin in a misconception of his meaning. As this essay will
appear in print, I shall say nothing further of its contents, and
must apologise for having so long intruded on the attention of the
Eisteddfod, to whom, however, I felt it imperatively required, that in
offering my humble opinion as to the merits of different competitors
for the prize now to be awarded, I should state the grounds of my
decision. In concluding, I cannot but applaud the liberality of this
association, which offers a free competition to the natives of all
countries, a liberality the more praiseworthy as the science of com-
parative philology has been hitherto little cultivated in Britain. I
have already said that several of the other essays display great learn-
ing and research, but that the writers have not entered fully into the

DR. MEYER ON THE CELTIC LANGUAGES. 11

nature of the question proposed for discussion ; and I am confident
that 1 shall obtain the approbation of the Cymreigyddion in awarding
the prize, according to the dictates of justice, to a writer descended
from a race which was long supposed to be alien from our Celtic
blood, but which he has himself proved incontestibly to be nearly and
anciently allied to it, and of whom I can only say, " Tails cum sit,
utinam noster esset."

The prize consisted of Seventy Guineas and a Signet Ring.

The successful candidate, Dr." CARL MEYER, of Rinteln, not being
present, Lieut. Ernest Bunsen was invested with the Signet Ring by
Lady Granville Somerset. The motto on the ring was " DEWRAF
EGINYN BAR." The design in the centre was a group of oak leaves
encompassing an acorn, engraved upon an amethyst. The hoop was
of massive gold, with "CYMREIGYDDION Y FENNI," in bardic charac-
ters, in relief on the outside, and the date, 1842.

ESSAY ON THE CELTIC LANGUAGES.

THE obscurity with which our knowledge of the lan-
guage and history of the Celtic people, as if in analogy
with the ambiguous word " Celt" itself, has been long
covered, begins at last to disperse, and to lay open the
vast and mysterious regions of this ancient language to
the analytic light of modern science.

We are indebted to two principal causes for this great
discovery : First, to that noble and patriotic enthusiasm
with which a few zealous friends of history, intimately
connected by birth or residence with existing remains of
the race of the great Celtic nation, have for some time set
themselves, and especially of late in England, to encou-
rage and to promote in every way the study of certain
idioms still spoken by some of their fellow-countrymen ;
and, secondly, to the new direction taken within the last
twenty years, particularly in the works of some German
scholars, by the philosophic study of languages in gene-
ral, a direction principally grounded on the comparative
examination of a group, commonly designated the Indo-
Germanic, and now numbering seven principal languages,
namely, the Zend, the Greek, the Latin, the Lithuanian,
the German, and the Sclavonic. These, united by a
similar mode of conjugation and declension, and still

12 DR. MEYER ON THE CELTIC LANGUAGES.

more so by certain regular relations of identity and of
difference in their phonic systems, appear to preserve in
this agreement indubitable marks of the close and primi-
tive affinity of the people to which they belong. To
every language not yet compared with them, they conse-
quently seem to address the question, Are not you also
one of us ?

The scholar who, in the name of the Celtic languages,
first undertook to answer it in the affirmative, was Dr.
Prichard, in his work On the Eastern Origin of the
Celtic Nation (1831), which, forming a supplement to
the Researches into the Physical History of Mankind,
by the same author, presents in striking characters a syn-
thetic table of the general agreement of the modern Celtic
idioms with the Indo-Germanic languages, both as re-
gards the signification of the roots, and the system of
conjugation and declension.

In this way the author fully convinces us of that im-
portant fact which, against all assertors of the contrary,
and especially against Messrs. Pinkerton and Vans Ken-
nedy, he had undertaken to prove, namely, the close affi-
nity and common origin of the great Celtic nation and
the seven nations called Indo-European, which, being
united to each other by their mythology, and by their
civil institutions, as well as by their language, would
appear to have once dwelt together, forming a single
nation, upon the central platform of Asia.

Six years later (in 1837) the inquiry was resumed by
M. Adolphe Pictet of Geneva, in an essay crowned by
the French Academy, which, among the annual questions,
had proposed that on the affinity of the Celtic with the
Indo-Germanic languages, and could not withhold the
prize from a work discovering no less analytic skill than
laborious study, which, pursuing an end purely philo-
logical, and strictly limited to the comparison of the
Celtic idioms with the Sanscrit, proved with so much the
greater clearness the primitive and essential agreement of
these two languages, which have been assimilated by no
accidental and posterior contact.

DR. MEYER ON THE CELTIC LANGUAGES. 13

But both in his manner of viewing the question, and in
the method which he has employed in answering it, M.
Pictet has evidently allowed himself to be too much in-
fluenced by the principles of his school, that of M.
Bopp, which, with a very positive and confident spirit of
grammatical concentration, and an admirable exactness
of etymological analysis, unites nevertheless an exclusive
faith in the aboriginality and infallibility of the Sanscrit;
so that in every phenomenon of peculiar grammar pre-
sented by another language in any kind of relation with
the Sanscrit, it immediately recognizes through its diop-
tric glass the disfigured copy of some regular and normal
feature in the grammar of this language of languages.

The essay of M. Pictet was immediately followed by
one by M. Bopp himself, 5 in which the distinguished
author, now fully convinced of the close affinity between
the Celtic languages and the Sanscrit, which he had be-
fore disputed, does not confine himself, while rectifying
some details of their application, to the adoption of all
the axioms by which M. Pictet had proved this affinity,
but endeavours to add some new ones, relative to certain
peculiar phenomena in the phonic system of the Celtic
languages, which, according to M. Pictet's opinion, are
not explained by the influence of the Sanscrit, but, ac-
cording to the hypothesis of M. Bopp, do on the con-
trary present the most curious traces of this influence.
These are the different permutations of the initial letters
in Celtic, which have long struck foreign grammarians
with astonishment, especially by their frequent use in the
distinction and conjugation of words, marking the diffe-
rences of gender, number and relation ; for they present
the only apparent example in all the sphere of our gram-
matical experience, of consonants expressing, by the mere
modification of their form or kind, what is expressed in
all other languages by a particular root or a termination.
M. Bopp's idea, therefore, was undoubtedly most ingeni-
ous, of discovering in this permutation of consonants,

5 Read at the Academy of Sciences at Berlin, in the month of
December, 1838.

14 DR. MEYER ON THE CELTIC LANGUAGES.

which might have appeared to claim an origin rather
etymological and logical, instances on the contrary of a
purely phonic origin, attributable to the influence of some
lost termination. But while we recognize all the merit
of this idea, we are very far from approving the applica-
tion M. Bopp has made of it in his essay, when seeking
the lost terminations in question among those of the San-
scrit declension, instead of submitting to an analytic
examination all the instances of this phenomenon, which
is one of the most interesting afforded by the Celtic gram-
mar, he attaches himself to some isolated examples oc-
curring in the Irish declension ; and, having demonstrated
that the Sanscrit offers the two final letters "s"and "n"
precisely in the same cases where the initial consonant of
the Irish noun severally appears and disappears, believes
that he has set the whole question at rest. We shall here-
after have occasion to speak more at length of these dif-
ferent hypotheses of M. Bopp, 6 when, treating the entire
question of the permutation of initial consonants, we
develope in so doing the system of Celtic declension.

It chiefly concerns us now to refute the principal axiom
on which all these hypotheses are founded, namely, " that
the Celtic languages, since they present in many parts of
their grammar a striking resemblance to the Sanscrit,
ought only to be judged and appreciated in all the other
parts with relation to this resemblance ; and, incapable
themselves of occupying an independent place in the his-
tory of the progress of language in general, should only
interest the philologist so far as they preserve, with more
or less purity, some of the types of grammatical forms
invented by the Sanscrit."

The principle of historical concentration in comparative
philology would indeed be dearly bought if it obliged us
to recognize as normal the usages of one solitary gram-
mar, and, never quitting the point of sight where the
study of that grammar placed us, merely to remark in the
grammars of all the other languages honoured with the

6 Most of which, however, have already been refuted by M. Pictet
himself.

DR. MEYER ON THE CELTIC LANGUAGES. 15

titles of sister and daughter languages, the imperfect re-
production, or more frequently the utter mutilation, of
particular forms belonging to the grammar of the mother
tongue.

In the name of the European languages we reject all
the honour and advantage resulting from the establish-
ment of such a principle of unity between them and the
Sanscrit. We consider that unity and agreement between
various languages can only subsist when all, deriving
their roots and grammatical conditions at first from a
common source, and guided alike by certain fundamental
principles in the distinctions and conjugations of words,
have afterwards wrought out those principles, each in that
peculiar way correspondent with the character and history
of the people it belongs to. Thus the philosophical
grammarian who, at the close of this development, comes
to compare the facts furnished by the finished history of
each of these languages with the proofs required by the
theory concerning the nature of language in general, and
the qualities of this group of languages in particular, can
only attain a view of their perfect correspondence with
each other by including in his survey all the languages
belonging to the group. Thus it is, too, in natural history,
which finds not in one or another genus of plants or
animals all the characteristic and necessary marks of its
theory, but in the whole, made up by all the species and
varieties of which every genus is composed. Each mark
of essential grammar wanting in one language may be
found in another. A mark which here indicates only the
germs of its origin will there display all its ulterior de-
velopments, which cannot, however, be recognized, with-
out the previous examination of their germs. In this way
the grammars of these languages, mutually completing
and illustrating each other, will afford the spectacle of a
real agreement and unity worthy of each and all. This
very spectacle is offered to us by a comparison of the
Indo-Germanic languages, when, quitting the point of
sight occupied by most of our modern grammarians, we
compare these languages with each other, not only as

16 DR. MEYER ON THE CELTIC LANGUAGES.

regards their agreement with the Sanscrit, but also as
regards their agreement with the hieroglyphic grammar,
not only in consideration of their phonic and etymological
elements, but also in consideration of their rhythmical
and syntactical habitudes.

The Greek, for instance, offers to the Sanscrit its ety-
mological and rhythmical system of accentuation, not
less regular than flexible, the more appropriate significa-
tion of its roots, and its wealth in nominal and verbal
prepositions. The Latin offers both to the Greek and
Sanscrit the massive roundness and indivisible unity of
its syntactical periods, those long periods so rich in
matter which, more impenetrable than the Macedonian
phalanx, permit not throughout the slightest interruption
either to the breath or the thought. The Germanic
idioms offer to these three languages, first, their general
custom of producing the radical form of the true word,
by means of the logical accent and rhyme, out of the
mass of conditions and terminations ; then their system
of conjugation, which is rendered as succinct as beautiful
by means of changing the inherent vowels ; and again,
their enlightened tendency to reject from their etymology,
and to replace by others, all the terminations and particles
of which the imitative sense has become imperceptible to
thought. And if even the modern Germanic languages
have undeniably lost, in the course of the fusion of the
people, a great measure of their energy and primitive
consequence, if even they require from comparative
philology an impartial examination, and not too strict
an adjustment to a standard taken from the elementary
part of the Sanscrit grammar, how much greater right
must the Celtic languages have to claim such an exami-
nation, having an origin undoubtedly as ancient, and
in many of their grammatical usages of a character de-
cidedly more ancient, than the Sanscrit, as they show on
the one side the most certain marks of their affinity with
that language, and on the other the most evident tokens
of a development altogether peculiar. This development
is so much the more interesting to comparative philology,

DR. MEYER ON THE CELTIC LANGUAGES. 17

as it is far from having the same disagreement with the
other Indo-European languages which it has with the
Sanscrit, and that it has rather become for them, and
more especially for the Greek, Latin and Germanic, the
direct origin of most of the differences subsisting between
them and the Sanscrit. But what infinitely augments
the interest which this anti-Sanscrit portion of the Celtic
grammar must inspire is the circumstance that parallels
may be found to it, not only, as we have said, in the
grammars of many modern languages, but likewise in
the grammar of the most ancient language with which
we are acquainted among those of the Caucasian race,
even the grammar of ancient Egypt 7 that language re-
cently unveiled, which appears, indeed, as we have already
endeavoured to demonstrate, to represent the primitive
state of the great Caucasian language in general, before
its division into those two principal branches, the Sanscrit
(Zend) and Semitic. So that the Celtic, which so evi-
dently resembles the Egyptian language, and indeed
only differs from it by a still farther development of the
germs contained in it of the system of Sanscrit grammar,
seems to occupy beside it the middle place between the
two main branches, and to have been destined by universal
Providence to hand down from the bosom of the most
remote antiquity, and from an epoch in history, languages
closely allied to that in which language itself was born,
the very primitive inspiration and habitudes of language,
all belonging by their idioms to a separate branch of that
general language, which could only acquire the valuable
qualities which distinguish it by the loss of others not
less valuable in themselves, even those which the Celtic,
being in part anterior to the separation of the two
branches, now restores to it.

Such being the case, our readers will readily allow
that the Celtic language, important as its study may
historically be, affords in that part of its grammar cor-
responding with the Sanscrit an infinitely more important

7 Gel. Ang. p. 534.
VOL. I. D

18 DR. MEYER ON THE CELTIC LANGUAGES.

subject for study, as well in a historical point of view as
in that merely relating to language, the anti-Sanscrit
portion of its grammar which contains answers to the
most difficult problems of philosophic grammar, inclu-
ding that on the origin of the Sanscrit grammar itself.

But before we urge these observations farther, let us
try, in the first place, by a rapid examination of some of
the principal instances of difference and agreement be-
tween the Celtic and the Sanscrit, to prove the truth of
our assertion concerning the real existence of this double
bearing of the Celtic language, and of this close affinity
which shows its anti-Sanscrit likeness on one side to the
Egyptian, and on the other to the classic languages and
the Germanic idioms.

The reader will soon perceive that in presenting him
with a sketch of this examination we offer a specimen
of our whole essay.

I. The Phonic System. The agreement between the
Celtic languages and the Sanscrit in this part of their
grammar rests principally upon the great resemblance
shown by the system of phonic unions in Celtic, with the
same system in Sanscrit, where the three degrees of in-
tensity of emission, the weak, middle and strong are
found regularly joined each to a certain vocal form,
sonorous or dull, and to a certain kind of articulation,
aspirated or unaspirated. So that in Celtic, as well as
in Sanscrit, the weak intensity is regularly joined to the
dull form, and the middle and strong intensity to the
sonorous form of the consonant; the aspirated kind, which
in Sanscrit is usually combined with the strong intensity,
not entering in Celtic into the system of phonic unions;
while in the Germanic languages it is the dull form of
the consonant which belongs alike to the middle and
strong intensity, and the sonorous form, with the aspirated
kind, which belongs alike to the strong and the weak in-
tensity ; thus the Germanic languages, like the Semitic
and Finnish, seem to possess no regular system at all for
this kind of phonic union. But the consequent difference
which there is in the arrangement of this system between

DR. MEYER ON THE CELTIC LANGUAGES. 19

the Germanic idioms and the Sanscrit, already reveals,
in its partial derangement, incontestible proofs of a direct
influence exercised by the Celtic languages upon these
idioms. Thus the English and German, as well as the
Gothic and Anglo-Saxon, furnish a great many words,
all borrowed no doubt from the Celtic, which preserve
that species of phonic union foreign to the Germanic, and
peculiar to the Celtic and Sanscrit. And since the Greek
and Latin, although they have in general adopted a system
of phonic unions like that of the Sanscrit, differ from it,
nevertheless, in the peculiar use of hard, dull and aspirated
consonants; the partial derangement of this difference in
many words, otherwise of an aspect sufficiently foreign,
which have for primary letter a consonant of sonorous
form, also discovers traces of a similar influence exercised
by the Celtic upon the two classic languages.

But the traces of this double influence appear far more
numerous when we examine the differences between the
phonic systems of the Celtic and Sanscrit. These diffe-
rences are comprised in the curious system of permutations,
sometimes regular, and sometimes irregular, of the initial
consonants in Celtic : a system which merits our atten-
tion first, for its own sake, because, corresponding in
many respects with similar phenomena in the Egyptian,
the Hebrew, and the Zend, it presents itself to us as the
direct production of the fluid and flexible state of all the
phonic elements of language at the epoch of its origin,
and consequently offers the most valuable explanations
of the relative antiquity of the formal and generic diffe-
rences of articulation.

In examining this system in its exterior and historic
relations with the languages of the Hellenes, Romans,
and Germans, we shall discover what powerful marks it
has impressed on each of these languages in the three
following phenomena :

1. In the sort of irregular phonic union shown by a
great many words belonging indifferently to each of
these three languages, and that ought indeed to have
long occupied the critical attention of the philologist;

20 DR. MEYER ON THE CELTIC LANGUAGES.

these are Greek and Latin words with a u tenuis" of
the sonorous form, and of an unaspirated kind, and Ger-
manic words with a " tenuis " of the sonorous form, and
of unaspirated kind, as well in Gothic and Anglo-Saxon
as in German.

2. In the phenomenon of the regular mutability of the
initial and middle vowels in German, as to their alter-
nately anterior and posterior situation, a mutability yet
unknown to the Gothic, and doubtless at a late period, in
the course of the mixture of the Germans with the Celts,
it became one of the characteristic properties of the
German language. The Latin also affords some examples
of this phenomenon.

3. In this great difference existing between the system
of phonic unions in the Germanic languages and that in
the Sanscrit, namely, to characterize the phenomenon by
the name given it by Jacob Grimm, in the Lantvesschie-
bang, which apparently should belong, both in its origin
and its subsequent modifications, to the contact of the
Germanic with the Celtic languages. The extent, indeed,
of the irregular application given by the Celtic languages
in their own grammar to the mutability of the initial
consonants, and by which they have bestowed a phonic
appearance upon many purely Celtic words, such as the
same words present in English or in German, also betrays
that the principle of phonic agreement between the
Sanscrit and the Celtic languages admits of many excep-
tions ; and that the latter are on this point not yet quite
detached from the more lax and primitive maxims of the
Egyptian and Semitic languages, according to which
every degree of intensity is capable of combination with
every vocal form, and every kind of articulation.

II. The Formation of the Roots. It is doubtless in
this part of its grammar that the Celtic most resembles
the Sanscrit, and shows the most evident proofs of its
predominant affinity with the languages called Indo-
Germanic, as opposed to those called Semitic. For
while the latter, though possessing at bottom all the
primitive roots possessed by the other branch of the

DR. MEYER ON THE CELTIC LANGUAGES. 21

Caucasian language, have given to most of those roots
an aspect altogether peculiar, both by the triliteral form,
sometimes a trisyllable, sometimes a bisyllable, with
which, no doubt, to supply a rhythmical want, they have
outwardly clothed them, and by the sense, sometimes
vague and sometimes accidental, which they have left to
their imitative value, the Celtic, for its own part, after
the example of the Sanscrit, and of the ancient Egyptian,
affects superlatively, in the first place, the biliteral and
monosyllable form of the roots, to which pronunciation
it finds means, by contraction, to reduce those which had
become triliteral. It afterwards endeavours to accom-
modate to each of its roots a coherent course of signifi-
cations more or less appropriate, which, in general,
exactly correspond with the significations the same roots
have acquired in the other Indo-European languages,
sometimes for words of an entirely metaphysical and
symbolic signification, as, for instance, the nouns of
number. In its wealth in roots thus appropriated, the
Celtic is inferior to none of the Caucasian languages;
and, in common sometimes with the Egyptian, and some-
times with the Sanscrit, it reveals in its vocabulary the
origin and family of many words, which for thousands
of years have been wandering in enigmatical isolation
through the European languages.

But, notwithstanding this ample agreement, the two
systems of forming the roots in Sanscrit and Celtic offer
also some remarkable differences, consisting, on the part
of the Celtic, in the double principle, first, of a greater
mobility as to the fixation of the exterior form of the
roots, and again, in a greater historic extension in the
fixation of their sense, two principles by which, as well
as by the peculiar mobility of its phonic system, the
Celtic approaches the Semitic languages, or rather that
common mother both of the Semitic and Indo- Germanic
idioms, the Egyptian language. The principle of re-
spectively greater mobility, as to the fixation of the
ulterior form of the roots, is chiefly shown in the Celtic
grammar, by the visible fact of the increase of the roots,

22 DR. MEYER ON THE CELTIC LANGUAGES.

consisting in the augmentation of the two mimic and
truly radical letters, by a third rather of rhythmic origin,
a circumstance which, although it may also be found in
the Sanscrit, seems to be always accompanied there by a
modification in the sense of the augmented root, while in
the Celtic, like the ancient Egyptian, it commonly leaves
its primitive sense unchanged, and imparts to it that
purely rhythmical character which it apparently owes to
its origin, and by which it has become the prevalent
principle [in the system of forming the roots of the
Semitic language. In Celtic, the added letter is most
frequently the vocalized aspiration " a " attached to the
beginning of the root, and sometimes, especially in Irish,
it is the consonant " d " placed at the end, or inserted in
the middle of the root. The isolated manner, ill ex-
plained by grammarians, in which the traces of this
double increase appear in the Greek and Latin languages,
and in the Germanic idioms, causes us to presume that
there also they result from a direct influence exercised by
the Celtic over each of the three languages.

The principle of respectively greater historic extension
in the fixation of the sense of the roots is especially
shown in the Celtic grammar by the existence of many
roots of a signification altogether appropriate, which are
either quite unknown, or very little known, in Sanscrit,
while they are found bearing exactly the same meaning
in the Semitic languages, and sometimes in the Egyptian
language, and consequently appear to belong to the
Celtic languages, or to have been derived by them from
that source of roots common to the two Caucasian
branches before their separation, or perhaps to have been
borrowed by them from the Semitic languages, in the
course of a contact with those languages, in an epoch sub-
sequent to the separation of the two branches. The
existence of most of these roots in the Greek, Latin and
Germanic languages should undoubtedly be considered
also as the effect of a contact between these languages
and the Celtic. As to those words of peculiar significa-
tion which the Celtic shares only with the Egyptian, it

DR. MEYER ON THE CELTIC LANGUAGES. 23

is evident that they represent words of an altogether
primitive invention, once used in the Caucasian mother
tongue, and since fallen into disuse in both its branches.
III. The Distinction of Words, or rather the Distinc-
tion of the Noun and Verb, of Gender, Person, Number
and Tense. The agreement of the Celtic and Sanscrit
in this part of their grammar consists principally in the
following circumstances :

1. Like the ancient Egyptian, these two languages
regularly employ certain nominative terminations, most
frequently vowels, to distinguish the noun, and often
likewise to distinguish its gender and number, while the
Semitic languages commonly mark the distinction of the
noun by means of the root "m" set before the word to
be specified, or by a vowel inserted in the middle of the
word, and only make use of terminations to express the
differences of gender and number. Most of the nomina-
tive terminations used in Celtic and in Sanscrit are the
same in both languages.

2. The three vowels "a, i, and u," to which the Sanscrit
gives the preference as distinctive terminations of the
feminine gender, appear to have had the same use in the
ancient Celtic.

3. The three articulations, "i, s, and n," to which the
Sanscrit gives the preference as distinctive terminations
of the plural number, show also, in Celtic, traces of the
same use.

4. Like the Egyptian, the Celtic and Sanscrit employ
certain conditions of the roots, primitively signifying
" esse, to be," set after the verb to denote its character,
while the Semitic languages distinguish the verb only by
the primitive form of the root. Many of these conditions
are exactly the same in Celtic as in Sanscrit.

5. The personal terms, whose addition to the verb in
the form of affix constitutes what is commonly called
the conjugation of the verb, are almost all the same in
Celtic as in Sanscrit ; while the Semitic languages, which
besides add these conditions to the verb, sometimes in
form of prefix, as for instance in the future tense, have

24 DR. MEYER ON THE CELTIC LANGUAGES.

adopted for them roots very imperfectly resembling those
so employed in the two other Caucasian languages.

6. The Celtic and the Sanscrit alike employ the verb,
" as/' or " sa," " to be," set after the verb as an affix, to
express many differences of time, which, both in them-
selves, and in the Celtic and Sanscrit manner of expressing
them, are quite unknown to the Semitic languages. The
Celtic, besides the verb " as," possesses also many other
verbs of the same signification and use, which, correspond-
ing on the one side with many verbs thus employed in
the Egyptian, have probably on the other served as
models for verbs of analogous form and use in Greek
and Latin.

But in pointing out this modification of the last in-
stance of agreement between the Celtic and the Sanscrit
in this part of their grammar, we have indeed already
begun to speak of the numerous differences existing there
between these two languages.

We will mention the following :

1. In Celtic the noun is often distinguished by means
of the increase of its root, generally by inserting one of
the three vowels "a, i, or u" in the middle of it, exactly
in the same way as this distinction is regularly expressed
in Hebrew. A great many nouns thus formed in the
Celtic language have passed into Greek, Latin and Ger-
man, without finding in either a sufficient explanation of
their long and peculiar vowel. The Latin alone has at-
tempted the direct formation of such nouns of augmented
roots.

2. Like the Egyptian and the Hebrew, the Celtic has
only two genders, the masculine and feminine, while all
the other Indo-European languages, after the example
of the Sanscrit, acknowledge the neuter as a third. The
modern Romantic languages have returned to the two
genders of the Celtic noun.

In Celtic the difference between the singular and plural
of nouns is generally denoted by the alternate presence
or absence, partial or entire, of the nominative termina-
tions, which, when present, commonly indicate the noun

DR. MEYER ON THE CELTIC LANGUAGES. 25

to be in the plural number, but sometimes also mark the
singular. With this usage may be compared the peculiar
practice of the Zend, in often denoting the plural number
of its substantive and adjective- nouns by the mere pre-
sence of the nominative vowel " a," when this vowel has
been cut off in the singular number. The Greek, Latin
and Gothic have only adopted this practice in the neuter
gender.

4. The plural number is often denoted in Celtic by
two terminations unknown to the Sanscrit, namely, first,
"a, au, or ju" (iau), and second, by "ac, aca," which
corresponds exactly with that regularly denoting the
plural in the declension of the Finnish languages.

5. Besides the nominative terminations added to the
noun to denote its character, the Celtic uses for the same
purpose certain roots of like signification, and even in
form exactly resembling many of these terminations,
but instead of being added like them to the noun in form
of suffix, they precede it as independent though enclitic
words, and are commonly known under the name of
articles, a species of words wholly foreign to the Sanscrit,
though very well known to the Egyptian and Hebrew,
to the Greek, and to the modern languages. Among
the latter, which have only adopted the use of the article
since their contact with the Celtic languages, this usage
is evidently a direct effect of that contact.

6. Besides the conditions added to the verb in form
of affixes, to denote its character, the Celtic, like the
Egyptian, uses for this purpose other verbal particles of
similar signification, which, instead of being changed into
terminations, are placed before the verb as independent
though enclitic words. This usage, unknown to the
other Caucasian languages, is shared by the Celtic only
with the Egyptian, but a trace of the usage, though very
imperfectly understood, has passed into the Sanscrit, Zend
and Greek grammars, where it constitutes a peculiarity
yet unexplained in the system of verbal declension com-
mon to those three languages.

7. The personal term for the second person plural in

VOL. I. E

26 DR. MEYER ON THE CELTIC LANGUAGES.

Cymric and Armorican is unknown in the Sanscrit, and
bears relation to the root " k," which is employed as a
personal term of the second person in the Egyptian and
in the Finnish idioms. It seems that the Germanic
idioms have also borrowed their form from this personal
Celtic term; which, however, is already announced in
those idioms by the final " k" in most of the other per-
sonal terms.

8. The particles combined with the verb, which in the
Sanscrit system of verbal declension can never quit this
combination, may in Celtic be used also as separate and
independent, though enclitic roots set after the verb.
This mobility of usage again recalls to us a circumstance
in the Egyptian grammar, consisting in the alternate
position of the personal terms, sometimes after and some-
times before, with this difference however, that the first
belongs to the sacred, and the other to the vulgar,
dialect.

9. The distinction of tenses is often expressed, both in
Celtic and Hebrew, by changing the inherent vowels of
the verb, while in Sanscrit this vowel can only occasion-
ally indicate the different tenses by means of the Guna.
The Latin, which shows some traces of this method of
expressing the distinction of tenses, and the German,
which has raised it into a complete system, appear both
of them to owe this peculiarity to Celtic influence.

IV. The Conjugation of Words, the formation of their
Complements, Cases and Moods.

Instances of agreement between the Celtic and San-
scrit :

1. The Celtic and Sanscrit alike express the different
relations existing between many words by a contraction
often extending over three or four independent words ;
while the Hebrew is scarcely acquainted with such a
compound even of two words. We shall see by and bye
that the so-called copulative vowel, which is indeed no-
thing else than the nominative vowel, was much used in
ancient Celtic.

2. The Sanscrit system of forming the case, which

DR. MEYER ON THE CELTIC LANGUAGES. 27

consists in the regular use of certain roots, indicating all
the various mutual relations which can possibly exist
between two nouns, and added to one of these nouns in
form of suffix, is not so entirely unknown to the Celtic
languages as it is to the Semitic and Egyptian, but it has
remarkably impressed upon the two Gaelic idioms the
evidence of its use in the termination of the dative plural
in "i, b, h," (jbh,) corresponding exactly with the ter-
mination " b, h, j, as," which expresses the same case in
Sanscrit. All the Celtic idioms have preserved indica-
tions of one termination, "n," or "m," for the genitive
plural and singular, corresponding with the "m" of the
genitive plural in Sanscrit. This termination, or rather
displaced preposition, is also found in the Egyptian, but
only after the article.

3. The positive and relative degrees of comparison,
which are expressed in Hebrew either by increasing the
root of the adjective-noun, or by determinate words
placed before the noun, are most frequently expressed in
Celtic, as in Sanscrit, by terminations, of which, among
others, two are exactly the same in both languages.
Here let us at once remark that the Cymric alone, among
all the Caucasian languages, also distinguishes the posi-
tive degree of comparison by a peculiar termination.

Differences between the Celtic and the Sanscrit.

1. The genitive is often expressed in Celtic, not by a
termination, but merely by the place assigned to the
noun immediately after that with which it stands in de-
rivative relation. It is plain that this manner of expres-
sing the genitive is exactly the same as that regularly
used in Hebrew, and known by the name of " status con-
structus," with this farther agreement, that in Hebrew,
as in Celtic, the first of the two nouns can never have an
article. The same mode of construction is likewise found
in the Egyptian. It seems that we must attribute to the
influential example of this mode of construction the origin
in many European languages, more recent than the Celtic,
of certain compound nouns with genitive relations, where
the noun, being itself in the genitive, occupies the second
place in the composition.

28 DR. MEYER ON THE CELTIC LANGUAGES.

2. The passive or accusative case of the noun is regu-
larly expressed in Celtic neither by a termination nor by
a preposition, but solely by the noun's situation, which is
in this case immediately after the verb, (an order, how-
ever, which is altered in poetry). To the influential ex-
ample of this mode of construction we ascribe the origin
of a species of compound words, abounding in all the
Indo-European languages except the Sanscrit, in which
the name of the agent is set before the noun or regimen,
a sort of compound of which examples may be found in
the Celtic itself.

3. The genitive is very often expressed in Celtic, and
the genitive plural after the article is always expressed
in Irish, by the root "n" or "m" prefixed to the noun
of that case. We have, however, already said that, after
the article, this root " n," instead of representing the
prefix of the following noun, rather represents the termi-
nation of the article which precedes it. Here, then, we
behold the origin of the Sanscrit genitive plural. It may
be added that this use of the root "n," or "m," as a
prefix of the noun in the genitive, is likewise found in
the Egyptian.

4. The other cases, which can most of them be ex-
pressed in Sanscrit by terminations only, that is, by con-
ditions of relation added to the noun in form of prefix, are
regularly expressed in Celtic by nominal prepositions, as
in Egyptian and Hebrew, that is, by relative words
placed before the noun. The Gaelic branch alone still
makes many of these prepositions agree with the fol-
lowing noun, by means of the termination of the dative.

5. The prepositions, those words of immediate rela-
tion, which in the Sanscrit grammar, where they are
also used to determine more fully the different relations
already expressed by terminations, figure in the Celtic
and Egyptian only as mysterious particles, belonging to
no class of real words, yet betraying many signs of their
primitive value. This they remarkably do by their
nominative vowels, by their variable use as prepositions,
as adverbs, and sometimes again as substantives, by

DR. MEYER ON THE CELTIC LANGUAGES. 29

their tendency mutually to explain each other by position,
and, finally, by their tendency to require the following
noun to be in the genitive case. Perhaps the influential
example of this species of construction may explain to us
why many Greek prepositions require their noun to be in
the genitive, even when they express wholly foreign
relations. It is in remembrance of their primitive signi-
fication that the nominal 'prepositions in Celtic are still
joined, by way of suffix, to the different personal con-
ditions of the genitive case, since, as we have seen, this
case is generally expressed in Celtic by means of the
noun's situation. The principle on which this sort of
composition is founded, is evidently the same as that
used in Hebrew, "lebhus ij," making the two nouns
which are in status constructus into one, doubtless on
account of the enclitic nature of the second of these
nouns, which is also a personal condition. But while
the Celtic languages are acquainted with this use of the
personal affixes only after prepositional nouns (if the
expression may be allowed), it is more especially there
that the Semitic languages are unacquainted with it,
probably because, even in those languages, although of
such high antiquity, the primitive signification of the
prepositions was already too much obscured. The
Egyptian language again appears in this grammatical
usage, as in all others, to accord with the Celtic lan-
guages, not confining its employment of the personal
affixes, as the Hebrew does, to placing them after real
noun-substantives. The Finnish languages follow ex-
actly the example of the Egyptian language, using the
personal affixes not only after prepositions, but after all
noun-substantives.

6. The passive voice of the verb, which in Sanscrit is
replaced by the reflected mood, is most frequently
expressed in Celtic by means of the verbal root " r, ir,"
added, in form of affix, to the verb. This root, which in
Armorican is used also as a separate term, and farther
constitutes in this language, under an augmented form,
a perfect verb, with the signification of " facere, to do,"

30 DR. MEYER ON THE CELTIC LANGUAGES.

corresponds exactly with the Egyptian verb, " r, iri,
facere, to do, esse, to be." In the shape of affix it has
passed from the Celtic into the Latin, where it serves to
form both the passive and active voice of the verb.

Here let us pause a while, and without extending this
preliminary comparison between the Celtic and the
Sanscrit to the rhetorical and metrical part of the two
languages, let us rather, having now compared them
through all the other parts of their grammar, briefly
recapitulate those instances of their agreement and dif-
ference already examined.

In the first place, then, as regards the instances of
agreement, especially considered in connexion with the
contrast they establish between the Celtic and the San-
scrit on the one side, and the Semitic languages, with
occasionally the Egyptian language, on the other. These
instances all seem to rest on the combined adoption on
the part of the Celtic and Sanscrit of two principles,
comparatively little known to the Semitic languages,
and insufficiently developed in the Egyptian language :
namely, the principle of a certain analytic precision, both
in the distinction of imitated perceptions, and in that of
imitative inflections of the voice ; and the principle of
a certain synthetic stability, both in the fixation of the
system of phonic unions, and in the fixation of the
biiiteral form of the roots, as well as the distinction
of their sense, (which is generally the same in both
languages,) and in the invention of a great many gram-
matical types or enclitic roots, which exhibit the prin-
cipal root to which they are attached, and with which
they enter into an inseparable union, effected sometimes
successively, sometimes simultaneously, and expressing
all the possible relations of coherent discourse. These
again are almost always the same in both languages.

Now, certainly, such a principle of agreement as this is,
found subsisting between two languages which for thou-
sands of years have had no direct historical contact, must
lead us to conclude that they are united to each other
by the historic relation of primitive affinity. In other

DR. MEYER ON THE CELTIC LANGUAGES. 31

words, that the Celtic makes a part of that Indo-European
group of nations which must once have dwelt together
in the central regions of Asia, and only separated from
that group after their common language, now represented
most purely by the Sanscrit, had already begun to adopt
the new principle of development by which it is so
decidedly separated from the less logical and systematic
habitudes of that sister language which comprehends the
Semitic idioms, and some few of the more fluctuating
usages of the common mother tongue, represented by
the ancient Egyptian.

We will now consider the principles which form the
basis of all those differences we have found between the
Celtic and the Sanscrit. They seem to consist, first, in
the greater freedom and flexibility, on the part of the
Celtic, as to the application of new rules adopted by the
Sanscrit, and opposed to those belonging to the mother
tongue ; so that we find in Celtic the application of the
new rules is constantly interrupted by the adverse appli-
cation of the old ones ; and again, in the more lively
indications which all those particles and suffixes recently
and anciently adopted, and which, in the subservient
parts they take in the Sanscrit, have become words
without meaning, still preserve in Celtic their primitive
signification, so that, besides their auxiliary and merely
determinative use, they are likewise often employed as
real words, to which suffixes and terminations are added.
Most certainly these two principles of difference between
the Celtic and the Sanscrit are such as to warrant the
conclusion, that there must be between these two lan-
guages, besides the historical cause of their affinity, an
historical difference too for their primitive difference,
consisting either in this, that the Celtic, constituting
already a separate nation at the epoch when the system
of Sanscrit grammar was framed, adopted its principles
only in a limited degree ; or, on the other hand, that the
Celtic was separated from the other Indo-European
nations at an epoch when the new system of grammar

32 DR. MEYER ON THE CELTIC LANGUAGES.

had not yet acquired that exclusive stability and coherence
it possesses in the Sanscrit.

Another family of languages, which appears to share
with the Celtic their independent and middle position
between the Sanscrit and the Caucasian mother tongue,
is the family of Finnish or Scythian languages, 8 but the
latter deviate much farther than the Celtic from the San-
scrit, and draw proportionably nearer to the Semitic
languages. 9

In order to complete this comparative examination of
the Celtic with the other Caucasian languages, it is neces-
sary that it should be accompanied by a critical compa-
rison of the different Celtic idioms with each other ; since,
without an exact acquaintance with the peculiar charac-
teristics of each, it must be absolutely impossible properly
to appreciate the supplies we should draw from thence to
enlarge our general knowledge of the Celtic language.
This comparative examination of the various Celtic idioms
is made easier by the circumstance of their being reduced
to two principal branches, on which we will bestow the
name of Celtic languages, for they differ from each other
nearly in the same way as the different Germanic lan-
guages do, for instance, the Danish and German; or
the different Romantic languages, for instance, the
Spanish and Italian ; or the different Sclavonic languages,
for instance, the Russian and Polish. These two Celtic
languages, which represent in effect a general division in
the Celtic nation itself, and appear to have existed there
from the most ancient times, are, 1st, The Breton, 1 com-
prehending as dialectic subdivisions the Cymric, the Ar-
morican, 2 and the Cornish ; and, 2nd, The Gaelic or

8 We do not hesitate to identify these two names as well as the two
nations they designate. These nations have always borne in Russia
the common name of Tsudi.

9 Pages 31 to 36 of the original MS. were here omitted, by M.
Meyer's instructions. Translator.

1 We adopt the name proposed by M. Pictet.

2 A name proposed by Dr. Prichard.

DR. MEYER ON THE CELTIC LANGUAGES. 33

Erse, comprehending the Irish, Scotch and Manx. The
two principal idioms of the six, and capable of represent-
ing in most cases the entire branches to which they seve-
rally belong, are the Cymric and the Irish.

In mentioning beforehand the general difference exist-
ing between these two idioms, and consequently between
the two great Celtic languages, that difference may be
reduced to two principal circumstances.

1. The greater moral stability peculiar to the Cymric
idiom, which causes it to present many phonic and ety-
mological traces now foreign to the Irish idiom.

2. The greater affinity of the Irish idiom with the
Sanscrit, assignable perhaps to the circumstance that the
Gaelic branch quitted later than the Breton the common
home of these Caucasian people, among whom the system
of Sanscrit grammar had then begun. It is even pro-
bable that the still greater relative affinity which the
Pelasgic language seems to possess with the Sanscrit
may be explained, not only by its greater relative anti-
quity, but also by the circumstance of the Pelasgi having
quitted Asia at an epoch subsequent even to the emigra-
tion of the Gaelic branch. A fourth and last emigration
of the great Celtic nation may finally be represented by
the establishment of the Lithuanians in the eastern part
of northern Europe, since the language of this people,
although its resemblance to the Sanscrit is stronger than
that of any other Indo-European language, manifests at
the same time, especially by the choice of certain appro-
priate roots, and by its system of conjugation, a most
decided affinity with the two Celtic languages.

Glasbury, September 29, 1843.

VOL. I.

THE WAND OF MOSES.

(See MyvyrianArchaiology, Vol. I. pp. 41, 42.)
By GEORGE B. BEAUMONT, Esq.

To give a fair exposition of the case here exhibited would
require a statement of the writer's views in general on
the Welsh language and the Cambraic race, the subject
of his forthcoming volume of " Suggestions," in the
matter which, after nine years of close application, he
leaves with the above title, implying its abandonment by
him to the better qualified, who will perhaps discover, in
the blank of historical and ethnological facts or arguments,
on the face of the Welsh relics or records, the necessity
of a co-operation of philologists, historians, geographers,
and of others versed in the physical records of museums,
such a combination of learning and talent as has seldom
been brought to bear on a matter of archseological in-
quiry. He, deprecating for himself any further charge
in the pursuit, looking on the many contradictory theories
now extant, without any partiality of criticism for either,
and without surprize at their discrepancy, can but hint
here what course he has pursued, while in suggesting
further development he does not presume to insist even
upon his discovery of the outlets of the truth, and can
only hope that his severe labours thereto will induce other
laborious inquirers to try at least his paths of investi-
gation.

In the present paper the Welsh relics are treated as
examples of a system of paronomasia, or punning, for
which he thinks he discovers even a class-name in use
with the people, " Colbrein," literally riddle-craft ; the
former word Gol being used in ancient writ for anything
round or rolling, as a heap, a ball, a mountain torrent.
Treating the archaic Cimric literature accordingly, he has
rendered pieces of greater or less length, making in the
aggregate considerably more than a thousand lines into
an Aramitic language (the Hebrew), and by allowing the
change of one $, t, k, j or z for the other alphabetic

THE WAND OF MOSES. 35

character of similar force or sound, but with few or no
other licenses, and even those used very sparingly, he has
produced a very dissimilar piece from the Welsh. Such
an empirical process must depend on the multitude of
cases that seem right, or are admissible, compared with
those that are or shall be deemed inadmissible, on review
of his results.

In the present paper he gives the Lord's Prayer almost
literally, resulting from a retranslation of some dozen
lines. Now to have produced any consecutive subject
out of a dozen lines of words with double meanings, put
together at random in the specimen to be operated upon
(or connected, as in the " Wand of Moses," with a pre-
tence of pursuing or making out a determinate subject),
would, in a case of probabilities, be millions against one :
to make the " Lord's Prayer" out of any random collec-
tion of words, or from any set of words put together on
another subject, will be another affair. Let any success-
ful punster take all ancient and modern writ, and find
any dozen lines from which, by puns, the Lord's Prayer
results, without omission or insertion of any word than
simple conjunctives, v. 9 g., is, and, in, or the change of
letters for which there are double characters in the alpha-
bet of the language he may choose to experiment upon !
In the case of the Welsh relics he will have works of
which it is unknown in what language they were found
before they were transferred, about the twelfth century,
to the extant compilations.

The reader is referred to the palpable instances of pun-
ning on the elementary characters, m, o or oin, and heth
or h, &c., to the case of the " garter," given in all the
possible forms or words by shifting the sound j or z, and
to other patent cases of design, as well as to difficulties
made easy by retranslation in the first part of his " Sug-
gestions," and in the present paper, in the examples
appended to the principal subject. But above all other
proofs, he begs to point attention to the name " Sidi" in
the Welsh records, (Shadai,) the " Almighty," a title
strictly Aramitic, not occurring in Holy Writ except in

36 THE WAND OF MOSES.

one Psalm (Ixviii.), not in the Pentateuch after Exodus
vi., and there only in reference to Peden Aram, Abra-
ham's original place, nor elsewhere, that this writer has
discovered, except in the Book of Job, where, with Helo
and Heloim it is the exclusive and only title for the
Deity, except in the two introductory and the conclud-
ing chapter, where "Jehovah" is introduced. In the
Welsh records " Sidi" will be found by retranslation of
the passages into the Aramitic languages always to in-
tend the Deity, and to stand in due report with a belief
in a future state, and with the mystery of "Arthur's
grave," which embodies that idea.

The writer is desirous of extending his acquaintance
with the "Bruts" arid all Arthurian subjects in the
authentic Welsh records, of which those only are acces-
sible to him that are presented in an English translation:
at present he has only seen the extracts in the " Bri-
tannia," and " Druids," and " Cyclops" of the Hon.
Algernon Herbert, where a translation of the " Wand of
Moses" in full occurs. Of the whole of this the present
writer attempted a translation into the Aramitic, with
which, however, the reader might not be satisfied, desiring
perhaps that he should not supply the base or ground-
work of his own superstructure. He has endeavoured to
obtain from a properly accredited hand a Hebrew trans-
lation ; in the meantime he suspends his interpretation as
from an Aramitic original, but he has done enough in
the matter to know that the " Wand of Moses," like
some of the Triads, refers the Cimric origin to ffu, or
Hud, the Aramitic " Abraham."

His great labour on the Cimric antiquities or origin is
nearly closed, his " Suggestions" being ready for the
press, and he regrets that personal matters have delayed
their publication. It is necessary, to elucidate further the
object of the present paper, that he should advert hur-
riedly to the suggested line of argument in this great
difficulty. In the first part of the " Suggestions," topo-
graphical names, and phrases and household words of the
British vocabulary, in use, comprising a vast number of

THE WAND OF MOSES. '37

our sea-faring phrases, are referred to the Aramitic, and
that origin is also inferred for many of our British insti-
tutions, Tything, Grand Jury, Jury, Knight or Chivalry,
Heraldry, with its orders of the Garter and Bath, &c.

These institutional characteristics of race, as well as
topographical parallels, are then carried from the west to
the east of Europe. Where archaic traditions have been
best handed down, on the ^Egean, the richest congeries
of difficulties pregnant with truth (if ascertainable) was
to be expected. As a groundwork for operations in these
meridians, it has been necessary to open an inquiry as to
circumstances connected with the Hindu-European lan-
guage, to separate ethnologically the Attic, the Ionic or
common Greek, the Pelasgic, Achaean, and other stems
or roots. This is done after a general comparison of
British with Attic institutions, of which that of paramount
weight and importance is the recognition of Belief in a
future state, and the absence not only of idolatry, but of
its herald " Sabaism," and elementary religion, or the
undue spiritualizing of mundane and material principles,
or any case of personifications of any object of worship
saving only ONE.

From the ^Egean, the Cimric faith, embodied in
"Arthur," and expressed in "Sidi," (or Shadai,} is trace-
able to the other Aramitic sites, to Antioch, (the " Anti-
quitates Antiochense" of C. 0. Miiller have not yet come
to the writer's hand, but are expected,) and to Aden, in
the extraordinary Hamyaritic inscriptions lately disco-
vered, and by the Rev. C. Forster reported and inter-
preted. The name " Sidi" is not in the Antiochian tra-
ditions, nor in that of Aden, but the belief in a future
state, with the Arthurian circumstances, occurred at An-
tioch ; the grave perhaps should be exhibited as the
mystery of the Caaba, 1 the stone of Mecca ; the belief in a
future state is simply but clearly stated in the Aden in-
scription.

Layard's discoveries at Nineveh had announced the

1 In Persian, " sleep."

38 THE WAND OF MOSES.

" Cimri" as there on record ; but on the writer inquiring
at the Royal Asiatic Institution, he found that " Nmr"
not " Cmr" should be read. This seems the loss of a
link ; but as " Cwmry," or " Cymuru" distinctly reports
Chenemagni, the Ken of " Kent," &c., from the Aramitic,
pronouncable as Quen, but variable in Greek and Latin
pronounciation to Chen and Ven, i. e. Wen, any notice of
Cimri, eo nomine, at Nineveh would have been premature,
and to have been discredited. It is found in the case of
the " Nestorians" that, connected with archaic patriarchal
habits, the true Belief and Christianity are the rule and
living principle of religion among the community, sup-
posed to be the ten tribes of Israel, and probably com-
prising them, in the neighbourhood of Lake Van (Wan),
or between that lake and Media, with its lake Ourmiah,
being or bordering on " the land of Uz," as it appears.
By a chain of probabilities northern Armenia, separated
to the north from Ararat and its subject plains, or from
the "Carduchian" mountains and territory extending to
" Colchos," or Trebizond, was the original site of the
Aramitic race afterwards separated into Ken, Joktan or
Arab, Israel and Chaldee, all of which, except the last,
or with the last, were strictly " Hebrews," or " Hud-ites,"
that is, emigrants ; and the first, by the peculiar political
or civil institutions, (reported by the Breton phrase fon-
der un lieu, and their peculiar aptitude for sending out
new municipalities, or organized colonies,) became early
known as " Britons," or Prydn, a word used in the early
passages of Genesis to signify emigrating, and borrowed
from, or giving the idea, " Corn-ears" the symbol of
Hellenic colonization, the emblem in British numismatics,
and in Heraldic insignia here and in Bretagne.

The Welsh in language are nine-tenths Celt, (in the
vocabulary, not in idiom, which is Aramitic,) and the two
had accidental and very early approximation ; the British
colour, Blue, being blended with the Celtic, Red, even
in the Union Jack, (the latter word in Hebrew signifying
union,) as also in the " George and Garter," the former
Celtic, the latter indubitably British.

THE WAND OF MOSES. 39

But physical archaeology, after a full development of
the subject, and a fair scrutiny and admission of proofs,
will show as secondary to the traditional art and litera-
ture of the Ken. The Book of Job has intrinsic evidence
of Druidism ; the language is Aramitic, not strictly
Hebrew ; the book divides into two ; the former half
betrays in scenes and objects the mountaineers of Ar-
menia, the latter, citizens of the Tigris ; the great object
was to bring "life and immortality" to light, as at the
close of the 19th chapter. Job's next argument, chapter
xxi., refers to this as " the great consolation" which we
may take as the title of the new Job, chapters xxi. to
xxxi., omitting xx. and xxii., assigned to " Eliphaz."
The Job of this second series represents the Job and his
friends of the former series, i. e. it takes both sides of the
argument. In formal distinction there are, omitting the
two introductory chapters, and including the chapter
xxv. of only six verses, twenty-nine chapters, or three
times nine with two to spare, three times the Druid
number. Again, the first series of Job ends, as observed,
with chapter xix., which announces, in the commence-
ment, that he had been answered ten times, a fact made
out by reckoning in the two remaining chapters (xx. and
xxii.) of Eliphaz's answers. On close observation it will
be seen that the " Job" speaking from chapter xxi. to
xxxi. (which in the Aramitic text closes with " here Job
ends"), neither calls for nor admits the argument of the
concluding chapters after xxxi. as answer; for he had
fully admitted all that is argued in this subsequent
portion. This, and variance in scene, description and
style, point to successive additions to the grand confession
of Faith in the Resurrection, the climax of the original
Job ending at chapter xix., and of the comment thereon
ending at chapter xxxi. The name " Shadai," carried
throughout to xli., vindicates this book for the place or
era of the Aramitic race, before migration of the Hebrews,
or Abraham ; or it presents the alternative that, at what-
ever date, and wherever composed, it was the exponent
of their faith who called on the " Almighty" by the name

40 THE WAND OF MOSES.

" Shadai," and which comprized " Arthur's grave, the
mystery of the world ; " in other words British Druidism.
But internal evidence (the edition by the late Dr. Lee
may be consulted for the purpose) must be resorted to
with pains commensurate to this apparently inexhaustible
subject of " Job," to identify the Belief, the art, the scene
and manners, with Druid, with Briton, with Ken arid
Van.

Let the Welsh harp, contrasted with Celtic pipes and
the Irish clarseech, dissolve the accidental union which,
though a parcel of our nationality, a part of a great,
and, we must hope, an eternal bond of concord in the
British isles, is the source of confusion in our annals,
our literature, and in the title of such institutions as the
world must respect, and which the British race alone has
ushered down from primeval times to our own.

(To be continued.)

GENERAL LITERATURE.

ABERGAVENNY EISTEDDFOD.

THE objects proposed by this society have been, through
each successive year of its duration, more thoroughly
wrought out. It stands firmly established in the affec-
tions of the Welsh people, and has won for them and for
their country the interest and admiration of their fellow
Britons, and the respectful attention of the learned of
every land. Its popular character the love entertained
for it by the people was the point which excited sur-
prise, delight, and sympathy in the strangers who assem-
bled to witness the celebration of this society's twentieth
anniversary.

The 12th and 13th days of October last were the days
appointed for celebrating the twentieth anniversary of
the Cymreigyddion y Fenni, under the presidency of
Charles R. Morgan, Esq., M.P., eldest son of the present
House of Tredegar, and grandson of the late lamented
Ifor Hael. Mr. Morgan was prevented from being pre-
sent by serious illness. Sir Benjamin Hall, of Llano ver,
Bart., M.P., therefore, at the request of Mr. Morgan,
acted as his representative.

As no inconsiderable time has elapsed since the meet-
ing was held, we do not feel called upon to enter into
the details of its proceedings, more especially, since they
have been already very generally noticed in the various
newspapers of the Principality. Our present object will
be to present our readers with extracts from the principal
speeches delivered on the occasion, which refer particu-
larly to the benefits and advantages that result from
national congresses of this description. We shall also
furnish a list of the subjects and premiums which had
been proposed in connexion with the Eisteddfod in
question, as well as of the names of the successful
candidates.

VOL. I. G

42 ABERGAVENNY EISTEDDFOD.

The following is an extract from the President's
opening address :

" With regard to my being called upon to take the chair, I can
only say that there is no person who regrets more sincerely than
I do the cause which has rendered it necessary for my honourable
friend, Mr. Morgan, of Tredegar, to absent himself. It was my
anxious desire that Mr. Morgan should preside. The desire
expressed by the committee and myself was immediately complied
with ; and no sooner was it made to my honourable friend, than
he was desirous (if possible) to emulate (it being quite impossible
to excel) the zeal and ardour which was manifested by that
venerable and good old man, his grandfather, who so often
attended these meetings, and stated that nothing ever gave him
greater pleasure than to attend the Eisteddfodau. It is only by
an infliction of Providence that Mr. Morgan, of Tredegar, is
obliged to be absent ; but, although he is now in a distant clime,
his heart is with us, and he is sincerely anxious for the prosperity
of this institution. I can further say, that if it should please
God to restore him to health and strength, I am sure he will fill
this chair on a future occasion, and we shall then find that his
person as well as his heart will be with us, and that he will enter
into the proceedings with that sincerity which characterized his
grandfather, to whom I have alluded. At the last public meeting,
which was held five years ago, it was impossible for me from
causes which were well known (but to which it would be painful
now to allude) to be present ; but there were those present on
that occasion, who, I regret to say, cannot be here now. There
were three to whom I must especially allude. On the right of
the chairman sat one not less distinguished for his position than
for his moral character, for his great talents, and his extensive
learning: I allude to the late Marquis of Northampton, who was
kind enough during my illness to come to Llanover and to take
part in the proceedings there, where he was the heart and soul
of the meeting, and showed the deep interest which he took in
the Cymreigyddion y Fenni. His last words on leaving Llanover
were, that ' if he was alive he should be present on the next
occasion ; ' but such has not been the will of God. The next
to whom I must allude was one known to all of us who attended
these meetings. He was remarkable for his kindness of dis-
position, simplicity of manners, and deep learning, and also for
his great talent in the poetry of his country : I allude to Tegid
(the Rev. John Jones); but he is also gone. And now, ladies
and gentlemen, there is one to whom I can only refer with feelings
of deep grief at his loss. His bust is there (pointing to the bust
near him) : I allude to Carnhuanawc (the Rev. Mr. Price, of

ABERGAVENNY EISTEDDFOD. 43

Cwmdu) ; and although I was not present upon the occasion to
which I have referred, many of you were here, and recollect his
pale and wan countenance, and the manner in which he addressed
the meeting. Labouring under sickness and disease, the hand
of death was then evidently upon him, and he died shortly after-
wards. (At this period of the speech the Hon. Bart, became
evidently himself deeply moved, and the allusion to departed
friends, especially to one so well known and universally beloved
as Carnhuanawc, so completely overcame many of his hearers,
that they shed tears, and he did not continue the mournful
enumeration of the departed, but rallying himself, resumed as
follows) : There is another whose absence I must regret but
he is yet spared to us, to society, and to the world. He intended,
until Tuesday morning, to have been here and to have sat on
this occasion in the seat which is now occupied by my illustrious
friend Prince Ladislaus Czartoryski : I allude to my distinguished
friend and connexion the Chevalier Bunsen, whose name is well
known throughout Europe, whose fame has extended over every
part of the civilized world, and who has shown that he takes a
deep interest in the proceedings of this society, because, presently,
you will hear his judgment on the great prize that has been
competed for at the present Cymreigyddion. That judgment
was placed in my hands last night, upon its being sent down
from London, and a more interesting composition has seldom
been written. When you hear that judgment read, you will be
satisfied that my excellent friend, the Chevalier Bunsen, takes
a deep interest in these proceedings, and that nothing but the
present unfortunate aspect of political affairs has prevented his
being present. Having passed over that part of the subject, I
must now allude to another in reference to the origin of the
Abergavenny Cymreigyddion, and to the manner in which it
was established. It is well known to all that "Cymreigyddion"
are societies of Welshmen formed to promote the cultivation of
Welsh poetry, (for which they, the Cymry, have a peculiar
talent,) for prose essays on various subjects connected with the
history of Wales, and for the support of their national music,
both through the ancient instrument of Wales the triple stringed
harp, for which many of the finest compositions were composed,
and on which alone they can be performed with due effect. Such
societies have long existed in various localities where Welshmen
are found. In London, and even in America, they are main-
tained ; and if circumstances cause their decay in one locality,
they revive with double ardour in another : thus it has been the
case at Abergavenny. This particular Society of Cymreigyddion
was formed in 1833. I remember that the first time we met in this

44 ABERGAVENNY EISTEDDFOD.

town it was at the Old Church, and I believe that the procession
only consisted of Lady Hall, myself, and about twenty other
persons ! We were then preceded by that same well-grown leek,
which never fades, and which went in front of the procession to-
day. We then hoped and believed that a society founded on such
good principles, both national and useful, and which could
not by possibility give offence to any one, must go on and
prosper ; and now on this day we find not only that the whole
town of Abergavenny (to use a common expression) has * turned
out to receive us/ but that persons have come from all parts of
the United Kingdom, anxious to witness the peculiar and in-
teresting nationality of our Welsh countrymen, and to show their
interest in our proceedings. I think it utterly impossible that
a society of this kind can ever fail to succeed, because it is
founded on good principles, and carried out with the greatest
consistency in honest conformity with its avowed objects. It pro-
fesses to be in support of the cultivation of the native literature
and music of Wales, and it has never swerved from the honest
purposes which its name implies. This is a local Eisteddfod to
celebrate the twentieth anniversary for Welshmen to cultivate
their native music, native poetry, and native manufactures, and
we do not give offence to anybody. We do not interfere in
political questions, nor touch upon religious topics. We leave
those subjects to a different arena of discussion. We meet here
solely for the purpose of promoting the natural and most refined
tastes and talents of our own countrymen. These are not merely
innocent amusements, but objects worthy of all possible support.
I say, therefore, that I hope and believe that each succeeding
year that we meet in this hall, we shall have our numbers
increasing, and our enthusiasm not by any means diminished,
as long as the praiseworthy objects hitherto supported are
invariably maintained and practically cherished as they ought
to be. With regard to the nationality to which I have referred
nationality is inherent in every portion of the Celtic race.
Meetings of this description have received the distinguished
patronage of the sovereign who now sits upon the throne, and
they exist not only in Wales, but in another Celtic portion of
Her Majesty's dominions in Scotland ; and on a recent occasion
I saw by the newspapers that Her Majesty was graciously pleased
to attend a Highland meeting, at the Castle of Braemar, to
witness Celtic sports. On a former occasion she honoured a
meeting of this description in North Wales. Eisteddfodau have
received royal patronage (as they well deserve) from time im-
memorial ; and, as far as my humble exertions can go, you will
always find me ready and' willing to assist such laudable objects.

ABERGAVENNY EISTEDDFOD. 45

There is some difference in what takes place at these Celtic
meetings. At the meeting at the Castle of Braemar, which I
attended (until I was afflicted with blindness), nearly thirteen
successive years and although not a Scotchman, but a Welsh-
man, they did me the honour of asking me to preside because
I was one of the Celtic race at those meetings they have athletic
sports, in which they delight we have our poetry and our music
they have also their music, which charms them ; they have
their bagpipes we have our harps ! We contend with them
with gentle but fair emulation. They put forward fine, stalwart
Highlanders, glorying in their * kilts/ and the tartans of their
clan ; we put forward pretty girls in Welsh woollens and beaver
hats. We cultivate native poetry and music ; and I think I may
fairly leave it to any jury (saving a jury of matrons) to say that
we have the best of it."

The Rev. David James, M.A., F.S.A., warden of the
Welsh Institution of Llandovery, made the following
interesting remarks :

"As this is the twentieth anniversary of the Abergavenny
Cymreigyddion, I think it is not too early to remark how far
its proceedings and its results have been commensurate with the
trouble and expense which have been incurred from time to time.
And having made it a point to inform myself upon this subject
by looking into the reports of the society for past years, and by
making inquiry on the spot from individuals competent to give
information, I am enabled to state that, if we look into the
reports of the society, we shall find that it has been instrumental
in giving to the public most valuable works some of them
written in ancient times, but only preserved in public libraries or
private families as relics of antiquity, and necessarily excluded
from the public at large, because they remained in manuscript.
Amongst the works which have thus been given to the reading
public of this country must be mentioned particularly

1. The Liber Landavensis (Llyfr Teilo).

2. The Heraldic Visitation of Wales and its Marches, by Lewys
Dwnn, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth.

3. The lolo Manuscripts, in prose and verse.

4. Lives of the Cambro-British Saints.

All these and many other works have issued from the unrivalled
press of Mr. Rees, of Llandovery the Elzevir of Wales. I am
aware that they were published by the society called the Welsh
Manuscript Society, but I am also aware that that society
emanated from the Abergavenny Cymreigyddion, and that
both have acted together; consequently, as most carriages require

46 ABERGAVENNY EISTEDDFOD.

two wheels, so these two societies have been like two wheels
to carry on their operations, and to publish through the length
and breadth of the country these valuable works. In addition
to these, I ought to mention 'Coelbren y Beirdd/ by the late
Taliesin ab lolo, which was solely elicited by prizes offered by
this society ; and also Mr. Stephen's ' Literature of the Cymry/
which has been published since your last meeting, at the expense
of the late Sir John Guest. These and several other works do
the Cymreigyddion great credit, and so long as these works
have a place in the libraries of the learned or the unlearned, there
will be a lasting monument of the intelligence, the patriotism,
and the noble efforts made by the Cymreigyddion to benefit the
country, and to interest all who are capable of perusing the
pages of their publications. I think also in another respect the
society has been of great use, by giving an impetus to the culti-
vation of native art, and especially to native manufacture in
former times. Before the formation of this Cymreigyddion y
Fenni, it is true we had weavers of woollen, and knitters of
stockings, but now the Welsh woollens of this neighbourhood,
and indeed of the whole of Gwent and Morganwg, in conse-
quence of the encouragement given by the prizes awarded from
time to time, are twice as good as they ever have been before,
and fit to be worn by those whom we are proud to call the
patriots as well as the aristocratic females of our own dear native
land ; and there is also a larger demand for the native manu-
factures of this neighbourhood, in consequence of the vast im-
provement in the brilliancy of colours. In other respects we
must remember this society has been of the greatest use* inasmuch
as it has revived the native and national vocal and instrumental
music. It was necessary that there should be encouragement
given in modern times to the talent of the rising generation,
especially amongst the Welsh peasantry, because the privileges
which the peasantry enjoyed in the times of the Welsh princes
had fallen into abeyance, and it was for the purpose of supplying
the want thus created that these Cymreigyddion were first
instituted, where regular Eisteddfodau could not be held, and the
Cymreigyddion y Fenni has been pre-eminent for the large
number of prizes offered in money and in harps for the support
of native literature and minstrelsy. Through the whole country
the singing has improved in the Welsh places of divine worship,
in consequence of the encouragement given at the meetings of
this description ; so that it is a gratification to all who assemble
on the Lord's day to offer their homage to the ' King of kings/
and ' Prince of peace/ to enjoy correct melody in those sweet
tones which the human voice is alone capable of sending forth.

ABERGAVENNY EISTEDDFOD. 47

In connexion with this branch of the subject I may be permitted
to allude to one very remarkable instance. Some years ago
there was a youth of about eight years of age who came into
this place to compete for the best prize (the harp). He was
unpretending in appearance, but was successful in carrying
away the first harp prize in the presence of the whole meeting.
Through the influence of the Countess of Lovelace, the only
daughter of Lord Byron (now no more), admission was gained
for him into the Royal Academy of Music. He remained there
for six years, and then, outstripping every competitor, obtained
the appointment of Professor of the Harp at that Institution,
and the appointment of the First Harper at Her Majesty's
Theatre in the metropolis, two of the most distinguished musical
appointments which any country could offer him. After retain-
ing these appointments for six years, it occurred to him that
he might avail himself of an opportunity of going abroad, in
order to become known to the distinguished musicians in the
great capitals of Europe. He went with his harp, and through
its tones alone, without any letter to the great, obtained access
to the palaces of the nobles, and even to those of crowned heads.
He visited Leipsic, Hanover, Vienna, Moscow and St. Peters-
burg ; and had an opportunity of performing his native airs in
the presence of individuals who had not until then heard the
harp swept by the hand of a true native Welshman. The result
of the satisfaction which he gave was, that he has brought back
with him from the continent rich jewels, diamond rings in heaps,
and presents of gold plate in cups and other forms ! I have
myself seen the trophies which he has brought away from the
continent of Europe ; and I am glad to say that, though
fifteen years ago he came here as a little boy, the competitor for a
prize harp in your presence, he is here to-day the judge of the
music which will be performed by the different Welsh choirs
and Welsh competitors. We may be proud of the history of
this young Welshman. He comes before you with a high cha-
racter, and with tangible proofs of his success, enough to inspire
every young Welsh harper and young vocalist, and every one
who endeavours to improve the talents which the Divine Being
has given him, to try to be useful in his day and generation,
and to bring his native country the award of praise and honour

in all the different parts of the world

Looking to the history of our native country in former times
looking to the struggles in which our countrymen were engaged,
to retain possession of their land, their liberty, and their privileges,
and even to defend their existence as a nation when we con-
sider the fiery trials through which they passed, with the

48 ABERGAVENNY EISTEDDFOD.

resolution characteristic of the Celtic race, especially that portion
which possessed the Principality of Wales from time immemorial
when we look back to the history of those brave sons of
Cambria, princes and their subjects together dying for their
country, for its liberties and its language, and preserving to us
a national existence rescuing for us privileges of the highest
character, which had been torn away recovering possession of
the British Throne for the House of Tudor when we look back
to the history of these men, and remember how many privileges
were conferred upon this nation, and the world at large, by that
House of Tudor that it was Henry the Seventh, who brought
into existence the middle class in England (for before that time
there was no middle class), which is now its backbone when I
read of events like these in the history of our native country,
I feel that I ought not to sit down without making an appeal to
my countrymen who are present, to ask if we have not nobly
preserved our national existence ! The Cymry are still a separate
people, speaking their own language, retaining their own pecu-
liarities, breathing their own free liberty of heart exercising
their own privileges, and cultivating their native arts and sciences,
when all Europe is rumbling with rumours of war. When I look
to my native country in its true light, can I refrain from asking
how we can in the present day ever be asked to give up these
privileges, to betray our native interests, to relinquish our lan-
guage, our literature, our bardism, aye, our very nationality for
a people are of no value in the scale of nations without their
nationality ! Without nationality there is nothing to inspire the
minds of a people, and it is essentially the great nationality of
the Welsh which has made the Welsh nation what it is at the
present day. I am proud, Mr. President, to be of that race.
I hope never to betray it in any manner, while I am willing to
extend the right hand of fellowship to all around me, be they
English or Scotch. I am a friend of every man who is a friend
of peace, of liberty, of science, but I must claim to myself the
privilege of assisting to cultivate the peculiar talents and attri-
butes of my own dear race that race which is represented in
the person of our illustrious Queen Victoria, who sways the
sceptre over the largest portion of the globe on which the sun of
heaven shines. I have for many years had the privilege of
advocating the claims and just rights of my dear native land,
when residing in the midst of the Anglo-Saxon race ; arid let me
tell you that I have found that race willing to listen and respond
with free hearts by the exclamation 'you are right you are
perfectly right, and so far as we can help you we will do so, to
preserve your national tastes and ancient privileges as long as
you exist/ "

ABERGAVENNY EISTEDDFOD. 49

Our next quotation will be from a speech delivered by
the Rev. Joseph Hughes (Cam Ingli):

" I hail with feelings of unfeigned pleasure the advent of this
Eisteddfod. I look upon it as the harbinger of good, of great,
substantial good, to the Principality of Wales. When I see
here so many distinguished visitors from the other side of the
Severn, and across the seas so many patriotic individuals from
all parts of the Principality, assembled together to countenance
and encourage the cultivation of the poetry, the prose, the music,
and the native manufacture of Wales; when I behold, Sir, the
great interest you take in the objects of this association, I am
tempted to prophesy that ' good times are coming/ and not far
distant, when Wales in a still higher degree will possess the
'three ornaments of a social state/ as named in her own Triads;
the ' learned scholar, the ingenious artist, and the just judge J
While our neighbours across the great channel, and our still
more distant neighbours across the Atlantic, exult in their ex-
hibitions of the industry of all nations, surely we, the inhabitants
of Wales, cannot but exult in this our national exhibition,
especially when we consider that we are the first in the field
by many a long century, and also that our exhibition includes
the productions of the mind as well as those of the hand. The
valley of the Fenni has long been celebrated for its beautiful
scenery, as well as for the eminent characters who have lived
and flourished in it. It was here that Arthur held his court
with his ' knights of upright judgment/ whose martial achieve-
ments will be celebrated as long as history has a voice ; it was
here that Taliesin invoked the muse ; it was here that Dyfrig
taught, and Teilo preached. The language which they spoke
is our language, ; the country in which they lived is our country ;
their deeds of valour, their poetry, and literary works, are handed
down to us as heir-looms : these we claim as our inheritance,
and we value and appreciate them more than the gold of Ophir.
And if the ghosts of the mighty slain in battle, of the great and
learned, of the bard and the minstrel, were permitted to revisit
their former habitations, doubtless they would applaud the efforts
of their fraternity to cultivate the language and literature of their
countrymen, and render Gwalia, as in days of yore, the praise of
nations and the depository of everything good and excellent
But I am reminded that this is the twentieth anniversary of this
your Bardic Congress. Abergavenny has stood forward, and
claims the right of pre-eminence for its attachment to the lan-
guage, literature, usages, and ancient institutions of the country !
yours is the perennial spring, others ebb and flow. Other towns,

VOL. I. H

50 ABERGAVENNY EISTEDDFOD.

like the meteor which shoots outwards from the heavens, have
emitted a momentary patriotic blaze, to be extinguished in the
blackness of darkness ; but your town has assumed the character
of the revolving lighthouse, warning the good old Gomeric ship,
fraught with the richest merchandise, the goods and chattels, the
literary stores of the ancient Britons, from striking on the rocks,
or sinking in the sands. It is true your light has not shone at
all times with the same uniform splendour, which may be attri-
buted to the sweeping mist, or the occasional obscurity of the
reflecting medium ; but this day beholds your reflectors all
polished, and your light shining forth with greater splendour and
brilliancy than ever. It was the saying of Mary, Queen of
England, that her subjects, at her death, would find the word
Calais engraven on her heart ; and should ever the good old
cause perish at Abergavenny under untoward circumstances, I
am persuaded that the word Cymru, Cymro, a Chymraeg, would
be found written on the heart of the body corporate of this
institution. But perish it will not perish it cannot, so long as
Welshmen are animated by the same chivalrous spirit as their
forefathers, and are true to themselves, their language, their
country, and their God."

We close our extracts with the following from the
eloquent oration of Chancellor Williams :-

" Here, before I proceed to the judgments I am to deliver,
let me stay a moment and ask any persons who are believed to
object to our proceedings, why we may not be allowed to hold
our national gatherings and literary and intellectual meetings,
and our exhibitions of Cambrian industry and art, which are
productive of so many benefits, as shown yesterday by Dr. James
in his able, eloquent, and stirring address, and effect substantial
and extensive good ? Why may we not indulge in the enjoy-
ments attendant upon them ? There are in England industrial
exhibitions for the whole world literary exhibitions in the
Encosnia at Oxford and other universities musical exhibitions
of 'The Three Choirs/ agricultural exhibitions 'for all Eng-
land/ and floral exhibitions throughout England and why
may not we (the Welsh) have our industrial exhibition, at least
for all Wales retired and limited Wales ? Why may we not
have our Welsh Musical Festivals and our floral exhibitions
our exhibitions of the flowers and beauties of Cambria, both in
literature and nature ? and I think we may well be proud of the
exhibition we have made of both on this occasion of flowers
literary and flowers natural. Why should the flowers of Cambria
' be doomed to blush unseen, and waste their sweetness on the

ABERGAVENNY EISTEDDFOD. 51

desert air?' We all know with what simplicity and yet beauty
it was said, that the stars of the firmament were ' gimlet holes to
let the glory out of heaven ; ' and I say these patriotic and intel-
lectual associations are outlets in the literary firmament of Cam-
bria, to let Cambrian stars shine forth in their native lustre
apertures in that firmament for the ebullitions of Cambrian
genius. Ah ! but they say, 'you have no stars you have no
shining literary characters/ For what Wales has done and has
produced, I refer those who are thus ignorant to an admirable
work, lately published by the Rev. Robert Williams, entitled
' Enwogion Cymru ;' where I think they will see that Wales has
contributed more than her share to the lists of men who have
obtained the highest eminence in the learned professions, the
highest ranks in general literature and scientific knowledge, and
have filled the highest offices in Church and State. And is
Wales degenerated ? Can she not, and does she not now pro-
duce any such men? It can be proved that she does, if the
Principality be surveyed from one end to the other with an
unprejudiced and impartial eye. For specimens of Welsh scholars,
and eminent classical scholars too, and, also, for Cambrian states-
men, I may say with confidence here to-day, as Sir Christopher
Wren's monument is made to say in St. Paul's Cathedral,
' circumspice ' look around ! Yes, although, since we last met
here, many a bright Cambrian star has set to rise no more till
the last great day ! Although the eloquence of our beloved and
lamented Carnhuanawc the talented, the patriotic, the benevo-
lent, and good Carnhuanawc is now silent in the tomb ; although
the terse and pithy addresses, and well-turned and meaning-
fraught Englynion of a Tegid are now no longer, and will be
no more, heard amongst us ; although the bright and glistening
eye of Rhys Stephen is now dim and closed for ever in the grave ;
although these stars, and several more, are for ever set to Wales,
yet are there not wanting good men and true, as we have seen
upon this occasion, to come forward and take their places, and
perpetuate the genius, and do honour to the literature, of Cam-
bria. Nor need we look beyond the walls of this hall to-day for
rnen, and Welshmen too, who are equal to any position in the
State which they may be called upon to fill. But we are
blamed and censured by some (I cannot believe they are many)
for maintaining and cultivating the Welsh language. We do,
indeed, wish to maintain and perpetuate our beautiful and perfect
language, the language of our forefathers ; but those who blame
us need not complain. If they only look at our proceedings
fairly, they will see that we are doing their work as well as our
own : that while we support and encourage Welsh, we are inci-

52 ABERGAVENNY EISTEDDFOD.

dentally promoting the knowledge of English also amongst the
Welsh people : for what Welshman, who writes for any of the
prizes given at these meetings, whether he writes in Welsh or
English, does not increase his knowledge of English ? and who
that attends here does not carry away more English than
he brought? Still, I admit, this is not our main object; this
effect is incidental only to our proceedings ; our object, we con-
fess it, and are proud of it, is to maintain, to enjoy, and cultivate
the Welsh language, because we love it, and because we believe
it to have been, and still to be, a blessing to Wales. Wherever
it is spoken alone, and in its purity, it is a bulwark against the
corruption of our faith, and a barrier against the inroads of vice,
immorality, and crime. Why has it occurred that in the interior
of Wales, and where the Welsh language prevails, that on several
occasions within our own memory, there have been what are
termed maiden assizes that is, empty gaols, and not a single
prisoner for trial ? I maintain that it is because the inhabitants
of those districts are Welsh spoken, purely Welsh people, and
are religious, and therefore industrious and moral ; for the genuine
native aboriginal Welsh are a most religious people. I believe in
the old Welsh prophecy, although it be an ex post facto prophecy
to make use of a slight Irishism and I will say with Taliesin
of the Welsh

Eu Ner a folant,
Eu hiaith a gadwant ;
(Er) Eu tir a gollant
Ond gwyllt Walia.

The latter part of this prophecy (so called) is, as probably it was
when uttered, a mere record of a fact, so that the prophet might
have said as we may now,

Eu tir a gollasant,
Ond gwyllt Walia.

Yet the former part is still prophetic, and I trust will be ever
fulfilling to the end of time ; yes, I trust the Welsh will ever be
a religious people,

Eu Ner a folant,
and a patriotic people,

Eu hiath a gadwant ;

ie hyd ddiwedd amser gobeithiaf y bydd, yn ol ein
hen arwydd-air ;

" Oes y byd i'r laith Gymraeg ; "
y bydd Cymraeg tra byd yn bod.

ABERGAVENNY EISTEDDFOD. 53

SUBJECTS AND PRIZES FOR THE TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE
ABERGAVENNY CYMREIGYDDION.

1. Subscription prize of not less than Seventy Pounds. Subject
proposed by his Excellency the Chevalier Bunsen.

For the best Essay on the Origin and Progress of the Trial by
Jury in the Principality of Wales, to be written in Welsh, French,
or English. Awarded to Mr. Stephens, Merthyr Tydfil.

2. Subscription prize of not less than Thirty Pounds.

For the best Analysis of the Remains of the Welsh Poets, from the
earliest period down to the present time, with especial reference to the
elucidation of Welsh History, and to contain as much Bardic Bio-
graphy as possible. To be written in Welsh or English. Awarded
to Mr. Stephens, Merthyr Tydfil.

3. Subscription prize of Twelve Guineas.

For the best English Prose Translation of " The Gododin," with
explanatory notes. No award.

4. By Lady Charlotte Guest. A prize of Twenty Guineas.

For the best Essay on the Proper Names of Places in South Wales.
Gwent and Morganwg are of course included in the term South Wales.
Awarded to Mr. Stephens, Merthyr Tydfil.

5. By J. A. Herbert) of Llanarth, Esq. A prize of Ten Guineas.

For the best History of Penllwyn, (in Welsh with an English
Translation) j containing a particular description of the Ancient
British Period, with its Archaeological Remains, and an Account of
the Antiquities of the Parish of Mynyddyslwyn, the Etymology of
Local Names, &c., &c. No competition.

6. A prize of Ten Guineas.

For the best Awdl on Dinystr Derwyddon Mon, (Destruction of
the Druids of Mona,) A.D. 60, by the Roman army under Suetonius
Paulinus. Awarded to Mr. Richard Parry, (Gwalchmai).

7. By W. Williams, of Aberpergwm, Esq. A prize of Five
Pounds, with a Medal of One Pound by Lady Hall.

For the best Marwnad (Elegy in Welsh) on Taliesin Ab lolo.
Awarded to Mr. John Rees, Pendaren, Merthyr.

8. By the Rev. Mostyn Price, of Gunley. A prize of Five

Guineas.

For the best Marwnad (Elegy in Welsh) on the lamented death
of Carnhuanawc. Awarded to Mr. Thomas, (Islwyn,) Coed duon,
Monmouthshire.

54 ABERGAVENNY EISTEDDFOD.

9. By T. Waheman, of the Graig, Esq. A prize of Five Guineas.

For the best Awdl (Welsh Ode) on the Ladies of Gwent and

Morganwg. Awarded to Mr. William Jones, (Gwilym Hid,) Machen.

10. By Edmund Herbert , Esq. A prize of Five Pounds.
For the best English Translation of Taliesin ab lolo's Essay on the
Coelbren y Beirdd, with additional Remarks, Notes, and a Model of
the Peithynen. Awarded to Mr. E. P. Meredith, of Monmouth.

11. By the late M. Gwynne, of Llanelwedd, Esq. A prize of
Three Guineas.

For the best Stanzas in Welsh on the Introduction of Christianity
into Britain. Awarded to Mr. J. Rees, Pendaren.

15. A Subscription prize of Seven Pounds.

For the best Female Singer of any Welsh Air, with Welsh words,
to accompany herself on the Triple Harp. Awarded to Miss Evans,
Llanover.

18. By Messrs. Roberts, Brothers. A prize of Three Guineas.

For the best Penillion singing after the manner of South Wales,
competitors to be natives of South Wales, (including Gwent and
Morganwg,) and to be accompanied by a South Wales Harper.
Divided between William Jones and Thomas Davies.

22. By the late Viscountess Fielding. A prize of Ten Guineas.

For the best player of an Ancient Welsh Air upon the Triple Harp.
Open to all the world. Awarded to Mr. Thomas Griffith.

23. By Sir C. Morgan, Bart. The Tredegar Harp, value Ten

Guineas.

To the best Female Performer on the Triple Harp. Open to
Gwent and Morganwg only. Awarded to Rhiaiion.

24. By Charles Morgan, Esq. The Ruperra Harp, value Ten

Guineas.

For the best Male Performer on the Triple Harp. Open to South
Wales, including Gwent and Morganwg. Awarded to Mr. E. Evans.

25. The Cefn Mably Harp, value Ten Guineas.
To the best Blind Male Performer on the Triple Harp. Open to
South Wales, including Gwent and Morganwg. Awarded to John
Williams, Aberdar.

26. By Capt. Kemys Tynte. The Priory Harp, value Nine

Guineas.

To the second best Blind Male Performer on the Triple Harp.
Open to South Wales, including Gwent and Morganwg. No com-
petitors, but the harp was given to John Lloyd.

ABERGAVENNY EISTEDDFOD. 55

27. By Miss Herbert, of Llanarth. The Arianrven Harp, value
Eight Guineas.

To the best Blind Female Performer on the Triple Harp. Open to
Brycheiniog, Gwent, and Morganwg. No competitors, but the harp
was given to a boy named Roberts.

28. By R. P. Waheman, of Crichhowel, Esq. A Triple Harp.

To the best Performer on the Triple Harp, being under 21 years
of age, and a native of Brycheiniog, Gwent, or Morganwg. Awarded
to Thomas Watkins.

29. By Miss Williams, of Aberpergwm. A prize of Three Guineas.
For the best variations, four in number, of the Welsh Air, "Clychau
Aberdyfy." The Air and Variations to be played on the Triple Harp
at the Meeting. Awarded to Thomas Griffith.

30. A Subscription prize of Ten Pounds.

For the best Performer on the Triple Harp among those who are
debarred from competition for Harps. Open to all Wales, including
Gwent and Morganwg. Awarded to Walter Watkins.

31. A prize of Five Guineas.

For the second best Performer under the same circumstances.
Awarded to Hywel Williams, of Cardiff.

32. A prize of Three Pounds.

For the third best Performer under the same circumstances.
Awarded to James Jones, Abergavenny.

34. By Mrs. Hanbury Leigh. A prize of Ten Pounds.

For the best specimen of Welsh Rodney Woollen, not less than
five yards long, by one yard and a half wide. The Wool to be Welsh,
and no Worsted to be admitted among the materials. The warp to
be of Cotton or Linen, and the woof to be Cotton or Yarn. Awarded
to Samuel Harris, of Gwenffrwd.

35. By the Earl of Abergavenny. A prize of Ten Guineas.

For the best specimen of Welsh dyed Scarlet Cloth, made of Welsh
Wool, five yards long, by one yard and a half wide. This prize to
have special reference to brilliancy of colour as well as texture. Open
to all South Wales, including Gwent and Morganwg. Awarded to
Samuel Harris, of Gwenffrwd.

36. By Viscountess Nevill. A prize of Three Pounds.

For the best specimen of Welsh-dyed Blue Cloth, made of Welsh
Wool, five yards long, and one yard and a half wide. Special refe-
rence to be paid to brilliancy of colour, as well as texture. Open to
all South Wales, including Gwent and Morganwg. Awarded to
Samuel Harris, of Gwenffrwd.

56 ABERGAVENNY EISTEDDFOD.

38. By Gwenynen Gwent. A prize of Five Pounds.

For the best collection of specimens of Welsh Woollens (not less
than three inches square each) in the real national checks and stripes,
with the Welsh names by which they are known, and with any
account of them which can be added. No specimens to be included
which have not been well known for at least half a century, whether
of wool alone, or of wool with flax or cotton. The object of this
prize is to authenticate the real old checks and stripes of Wales, and
to preserve them, with their proper Welsh names, distinct from new
fancy patterns. Open to all Wales, including Gwent and Morganwg.
No award.

39. By Mrs. Haddocks, of Tregunter. A prize of Five Pounds.

For the best specimen of Welsh Woollen in any of the national
stripes or checks, not less than twelve yards long and three quarters
of a yard wide. Open to all Wales, including Gwent and Morganwg.
Awarded to Samuel Harris, of Gwenffrwd.

40. By Mrs. Kemys Tynte, of Cefn Mdbly. A prize of Three

Guineas.

For the best white Welsh Woollen Whittle. Especial reference
to lightness and fine texture. Open only to Gwent and Morganwg.
Awarded to John Hywel, of Mynyddyslwyn.

41. By Mrs. Gwynne, of Llanelwedd (now Mrs. Roche). A prize

of 3 11s. 6d.

For the best hanks of fine white Yarn, spun from Welsh Wool, by
the hand of a Welsh cottager at home. Not to contain less than 61bs
of wool. Open to all Wales, including Gwent and Morganwg.
Charles Price, 2; Samuel Harris, 1 Is.; Joseph Jones, 10s. 6d.

42. By Lady Chetwynd. A prize of Two Guineas.

For the best Welsh Hat, manufactured in Brycheiniog, Gwent,
and Morganwg. Awarded to Mr. Restall, of Abergavenny.

43. By Miss Roche. A prize of 1 10s.

For the second best ditto, with the same limitations. Awarded to
Mr. Restall, of Abergavenny.

44. By Mrs. Gwynne Holford. A prize of Two Pounds.

For the best knitted pair of Stockings of Welsh black sheep's wool
undyed. Open to Brycheiniog, Gwent, and Morganwg.

45. A prize of One Pound.

For the second best ditto, with the same limitations. The last two
prizes were divided between three under feigned names.

Judge of the Great Prize, No. 1. His Excellency the CHEVALIER
BUNSEN. Judge of the other Prose Compositions. The Rev. HUGH
WILLIAMS, Chancellor of Llandaff. Judge of Poetical Compositions.

ABERGAVENNY EISTEDDFOD. 57

Rev. J. JAMES, (lago Emlyn). Judge of Music. Mr. JOHN
THOMAS, of Pen y Bont, Professor of the Harp in the Royal Academy
of Music. Judge of Spinning and Knitting. Mrs. HERBERT, of
Llanarth. Judge of Woollen Manufactures. Mr. MORGAN WIL-
LIAMS, of Merthyr Tydfil. Judge of Welsh Hats. Mr. THOMPSON,
of Abergavenny.

At the Eisteddfod there were the following Bards and
Literati present :

Rev. J. James, (lago Emlyn) ; Rev. J. Hughes, (Carn Ingli) ;
Rev. J. Williams Ab Ithel; W. Jones, Esq., (Gwrgant) ; J.
Jones, Esq., (Talhaiarn) ; Rev. J. E. Jones, (loan Emlyn) ; Rev.
R. Ellis; Mr. D. Howel, (Llawdden) ; Dewi Wyn o Essyllt;
Aneurin Gwent ; Nathan Dyfed ; Cuhelyn ; leuan Gryg ; leuan
ab Gruffydd ; Gwilym ab loan ; locyn Ddu ; lorwerth Mabon ;
Llywelyn Delynawr; Cynddylw; Mr. T. Stephens, (Cynfelin);
Mr. W. Morris, (Gwilym Tawe); Caradawc y Fenni; Dewi o
Ddyfed ; T. Love D. Jones Parry, F.S.A., Madryn, (Biffin ap
Gwyddno).

HARPERS PRESENT. Messrs. Llewelyn Williams; Thomas
Griffith, Llano ver ; Watcyn Watkins, (Llanover family harper) ;
Edward Evans, Merthyr; John Williams, Aberd&r; Howell
Williams, Cardiff; William Roberts, Abergavenny; James Jones,
ditto; Thomas Watkins, ditto; John Lloyd; Sophia Exel, Crick-
howel.

CHOIRS PRESENT. Llanover (10), Leader, Mr. Griffith; Ebbw
Vale (15), Leader, Mr. Williams; Brynmawr (6), Leader, Mr.
Lewis; Abercarn (10), Leader, Mr. J. Lewis.

SINGERS PRESENT. Edward Evans ; David Jenkins ; William
Jones; Rhys Jones; William Williams; Henry Roberts; Jenkin
Jenkins; Eos Glan Wysg, Llanover; Dryw Fach; Hannah
Wynn ; Elizabeth Hughes ; Ehedydd Ion.

The following are among those that attended the
Eisteddfod:

Prince Ladislaus Czartoryski, her Excellency Madame Bunsen,
and Madlle. Theodora Bunsen, Count Paul Esterhazy, Lord Saye
and Sele, and the Hon. Mr. Feinnes, Lord Wellesley, the Hon.
Col. and Mrs. Cholmondeley, the Earl of Cottenham, Lord Sey-
mour and Lady Ulrica St. Maur, Lady Henrietta Plunket, Hon.
George Plunket, Mr. Murray Lane, (Blue Mantle), Miss Lane,
Lord Bateman, Lady Langdale and the Hon. Miss Bickersteth,
Lady Clifford Constable and Miss Chichester, Sir John Shelley,
Bart., M.P. and Lady Shelley, Sir Henry and Lady Ferguson
Davie and Miss Ferguson Davie, Mr. and Lady Stephenson and

VOL. I. I

58 ABERGAVENNY EISTEDDFOD.

Miss Stephenson, Mr. and Lady Emma Anderton, Sir Robert
Brownrigg, Bart., Sir Henry Vane, Bart., Mr. Percy Burrell,
Mr. and Mrs. Lucy, of Charlecote, and Miss Lucy, Mr. and
Mrs. Herbert, of Llanarth, Col. and Mrs. Clifford, of Llandeilo,
Mrs. Madocks, and Mrs. Roche, of Tregunter, Mrs. Gwynne
Holford and the Misses Gwynne Holford, Mr. and Mrs. Rolls, of
the Hendre, and party, Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Rolls, Mr.
Townshend, Col. Lawrence (son of the late popular American
Minister), the Misses Williams, of Aberpergwm, and Mr. Williams,
of Aberpergwm, Miss Williams, of Neuadd Felen, Mr. and Mrs.
Berrington and Mr. Arthur Berrington, Mr. Talbot Constable,
Major Granville, Miss E. Morgan, Miss A. Scrope, Miss M.
Herbert, Captain Arthur Herbert, Mr. Edmund Herbert, Mrs.
H. Scrope, Mr. Granville Somerset, Mr. Parry, of Madryn, (Elffin
ab Gwyddno), Mr. Disbrowe, Mr. and Mrs Richards, of Treior-
werth, the Chancellor of Llandaff and Mrs. Williams, Rev. Dr.
James, the Rev. J. Hughes, (Cam Ingli), and Mrs. Hughes, the
Rev. J. Williams Ab Ithel, Mons. Sauerwein, the Rev. D.
Jeffrey, Miss Johnes, of Dolau Cothi, Miss E. Waddington, the
Archdeacon of Cardigan, Mr. Jones, (Gwrgant), Mr. Evan
Thomas, (the Welsh sculptor).

PRIZES ALREADY ANNOUNCED FOR THE NEXT ABERGAVENNY

EISTEDDFOD.

A subscription prize of 20Z. for the best Essay to determine
the historical value of the Triads and other native materials for
the History of the Language and Literature of Wales : Sir
Benjamin Hall, Bart., M.P., 10Z.; Mr. Stephens, (Cynfelin), 51.;
Mr. Wakeman, 2Z.; W. Jones, Esq., (Gwrgant), 2Z.; Miss M.
Herbert, U 20*.

By Lord Saye and Sele, a prize of five guineas, for the best
translation into Welsh of a scene from Shakspeare.

By the Rev. D. Evans, of Swansea, a prize of three guineas,
for the best Welsh oration, not to exceed ten minutes in delivery,
on Caractacus defending himself before the Roman Emperor.

By Mr. William Price, of LlanfFoist, two guineas towards a
subscription prize of fifteen guineas, for the best History (in
Welsh or English) of the Parish of Eglwys Newydd, near Car-
diff, in Glamorgan, with the Pedigrees of its ancient families and
their descendants, giving reference to the authorities. Wanted,
131. 13s.

A subscription prize of fifteen guineas, for the best History of
Eisteddfodau, from the one at Carmarthen, in the time of Dafydd
ab Edmwnt, to that of Abergavenny, in 1853 : Mr. William
Roberts, of Blaenau, 2Z. 2*.; talhaiarn, 1Z. 1*.; Mr. Thomas G.

ABERGAVENNY EISTEDDFOD. 59

Price, (Cuhelyn), II. Is.; Mr. William Morris, (Gwilym Tawe),
II. Is.; Mr. Jonathan Reynolds, (Nathan Dyfed), M. Is.; Mr.
David Howel, (Llawdden), U. Is. Wanted, SI. Ss.

By Mr. Bassett Jones, of Cardiff, a triple harp, value ten
guineas, to the best player on the Triple Harp, of " Pen Rhaw."

A prize of seven pounds, for the best Female Singer, of any
Welsh air, with Welsh words, to accompany herself on the Triple
Harp. At least two competitors necessary. Open to all Wales,
including Gwent and Morganwg. Gwenynen Gwent, 2/., and J.
G. Price, Esq., 51.

The following subscriptions have been offered for prizes at the
next Eisteddfod ; the subjects to be hereafter named : Mr.
Rolls, of the Hendre, 51. 5s.; Lady Shelley, 51.; Mr. Jones Parry,
(Biffin ap Gwyddno), 51. 5s.; Lady Jones Parry, 51. 5s.; Mrs.
Herbert, of Llanarth, 51. 5s.; Mr. Herbert, of Llanarth, 10J. 10s. ;
Miss Williams, of Aberpergwm, 3L 3s.; Miss J. Williams, of
Aberpergwm, 31. 3s.

PROPOSED SUBJECTS FOR PRIZES AT THE NEXT ANNIVERSARY
CELEBRATION OF THE CYMREIGYDDION Y FENNI.

Wanted A subscription prize of seventy guineas, for an
Essay on the Aspect of the Principality of Wales, in a Political,
Civil, and Religious point of view, from the commencement of
the reign of King Henry the Seventh down to the present time,
showing the comparative advantages and disadvantages which
have resulted to the native population from retaining the ver-
nacular language of the Principality during each reign.

Wanted A subscription prize of ten guineas, for the best
Awdl on the Review of the Fleet at Spithead, 1853, including
a brief sketch of the Naval History of Britain, and dwelling more
especially upon the maritime power of the country under Carausius.

Wanted A prize of five guineas, for the most poetical series
of Original Welsh Words, adapted to twelve Old Welsh Melodies.

Wanted A subscription prize of ten guineas, with a medal of
2Z., for the most concise, yet comprehensive, view of Welsh
Heraldry, from the earliest periods to the present time.

Wanted A subscription prize of thirty guineas, for the best
Account of the Herbals, and other Botanical Works in the Welsh
Language, either printed or in MS., with a Catalogue, in Welsh
and Latin, of the Plants indigenous to the Principality, and par-
ticulars of their traditionary repute and properties, and of their
culinary, medicinal, dyeing, manufacturing, and other uses among
the Cymry, in ancient and modern times.

Wanted A prize of five guineas, for the best Marwnad (Elegy),
in Welsh, on the late Rev. John Jones, (Tegid).

ABERGAVENNY EISTEDDFOD.

The following tabular view of the sums of money expended in
the reward of native literary merit, and of native artistic and
manufacturing skill, with the number of triple-stringed harps
given as prizes at the successive Abergavenny Eisteddfodau, will
more particularly mark the gradual increase of the society's
strength and usefulness :

Prizes in Medals
and Money.

First Anniversary, March 1, 1834 J13 10

Second ditto, November 25 and 26, 1835 66 6 6

Third ditto, November 23 and 24, 1836.... 119 13 6

Fourth ditto, October 18 and 19, 1837 160 13

Fifth ditto, October 10 and 11, 1838 345 10

Sixth Eisteddfod, October 7 and 8, 1840.... 340 16

Seventh ditto, October 12 and 13, 1842 293 2

Eighth ditto, October 15 and 16, 1845 302 11

Ninth ditto, October 11 and 12, 1848 382 8

Tenth ditto, October 12 and 13, 1853 350 9

Harps.

none
none

2,374 19 37

It is a memorable fact that the subjects proposed for com-
petition at these Eisteddfodau, have not only served to encourage
home industry in native manufactures, to cheer the rustic hearth
with the refreshing solace of music, to revive and preserve the
national melodies of Wales, and to recall some of the most
eminent British artists, as true-born Welshmen, to exhibit their
noble works and remarkable powers ; but also to attract, from
various parts of the world, celebrated and erudite men to share
in the pursuits, and often to become fellow-competitors for literary
prizes with the self-educated and truly intellectual peasants of
the Principality a sight which is peculiar to Wales, as Eistedd-
fodau can only be held where the minds of the peculiar but
noble race of the Cymry are called into action by means of their
own valuable and ancient language, and their own musical,
historical, and legendary interest. These national meetings in-
variably succeed when their legitimate objects are consistently
followed up ; and as invariably fail when (as has too often been
the case of late years), attempts are made to introduce objects
totally irrelevant, if not antagonistic, under the time-honoured
name of an EISTEDDFOD.

TOPOGRAPHY, STATISTICS, &c.

NOTES ABOUT THE PARISH OF PENTREVOELAS
AND ITS VICINITY.

"I wish I could prevail on all my incumbents to collect and
embody all the information about their parishes which can be
obtained. Several such books have been already commenced, and
will hereafter furnish most valuable assistance to their successors in
their several parishes, and to the historians of our country.

" In this case, if any one will begin, the work is sure to go on, and
however imperfectly the task is accomplished, the work itself is sure,
after a few years, to become most valuable." Appendix to the
Bishop of St. Asaph's Charge to his Clergy, July, 1853.

These notes were collected in obedience to the wishes
of my Diocesan, expressed some years back. This
secluded and mountainous parish presents but few objects
of general interest, and my materials were of the scantiest
description. Nevertheless, it has been suggested that a
selection might prove of some use, an opinion in which I
shall gladly concur, if its publication should have the
effect of eliciting similar sketches from others who are
more favourably situated in respect to local points of
interest, and access to sources of information.

JOHN EVANS.
Pentrevoelas, January, 1854.

THE parochial chapelry of Voelas, or Pentre-Voelas, is
situated in the commot of Isaled, 1 in the division or

1 Commot (Cwmwd ; cy, conjunctive, mwd, ceiling, roof, house).
Hundred Canton, (Cantre) consisting of 100 townships according to
the ancient subdivision ; 4 erw (acre, or one day's ploughing,) equal
to 1 tyddyn (tenement) ; 4 tyddyn=l rhandir (parcel) ; 4 rhandir=
1 gafael (holding) ; 4 gafael=l tref (township) ; 4 tref=l maenor
(manor); 12 \ maenor =1 cwmwd (wapentake); 2 cwmwd=l cantre
(hundred). There were 25,600 acres in a hundred, by the ancient
laws of Wales. " Eirif erwi yn y cantref, chwe cant a phum mil ar
hugain, nid mwy nid llai."

62 NOTES ABOUT THE PARISH OF

hundred of Uwchaled, otherwise Uwchymynydd, 2 in
the county of Denbigh and diocese of St. Asaph. It
formerly formed a detached portion of the parish of Llan
Nefydd, and it is still so described in some public docu-
ments. Its ancient name was Tir yr Abad, (Abbot's
land,) by which it is still popularly known. It was also
called Marchaled, and Capel y Voelas, (Rees' Welsh
Saints, Appendix.) In an ancient terrier, and in some
old tax papers, it is called Tir yr Abad isa, lower Abbot's
land, in opposition to a neighbouring district once be-
longing to the same abbey, called Tir yr Abad ucha.

The village of Pentrevoelas is eight miles from Llan-
rwst, fifteen from Corwen, fifteen from Denbigh, fourteen
from Ffestiniog. The leading outline of the parish
inclines to the form of a square of four miles each side.
The arable portion may be illustrated by a segment of a
circle, the chord representing the river Nug, a branch of
the Conway, with Telford's Holyhead road running
parallel, forming the southern boundary, and indicating
the most habitable portion of the parish ; while the arc
would denote the limit of the mountainous and unin-

2 Isaled ("below lake Aled), is distinguished from Uwch Aled
(above Aled), a common way of distinguishing adjacent divisions, thus
Uwchdulas, Isdulas, Uwchgwyrfai, Isgwyrfai. Urvchymynydd is
a common term for any upland. The ancient name of the hundred
was Rhufoniawg, containing the commots of Uwch Aled and
Isaled.

Hywel Dda had divided Wales into counties and hundreds, which
were subsequently subdivided into commots. Edward I., by the
Statutes of Rhuddlan, A.D. 1283, made a redistribution of the Princi-
pality into counties, hundreds and commots, retaining the ancient
boundaries of the two last. The commots were again partitioned
into manors. The Principality, after the death of Roderick the
Great, had consisted of three provinces, Gwynedd, Powys and
Dyfed, or Deheubarth. Gwynedd, or North Wales, was divided into
four parts, Mon, Arfon, Meirionydd and Perfeddwlad (the interior,
now Denbighshire). The last contained five hundreds, Rhufoniawg,
Ystrad, Rhos, Dyffryn Clwyd, and Tegengl. These hundreds were
again divided each into two or three commots.

By 27 Henry VIII. c. 26, five new counties were created, among
which was Denbigh, by a new allotment of the lordships of the
Marches.

PENTREVOELAS AND ITS VICINITY. 63

habited part, consisting of sheepwalks and upland
pastures.

The parish contains, of arable land, 1800 acres; of
pasture enclosed, 2344 acres ; of sheepwalks and moun-
tain, 4000 ; total, 8144 acres. The number of inhabited
houses is about 80. The population, in 1801, was 378 ;
in 1811, 500; in 1841, 611; in 1851,561; showing
a decrease of 50 since the last census. The population
varies with the supply of work ; for instance, immediately
after the hay harvest here, many labourers go to the
early corn harvest in the lowlands, and return in time
for their own later harvest ; so that the decrease might
be accounted for by the supposition that each census was
not taken at the same time of the year.

The name formerly in common use for the village of
Pentrevoelas, was Pentre'r fidog, (Bidawg, dirk, rapier,)
a name still used in the records of the Court Leet. Why
the village was so called is difficult to ascertain. The
number of houses in the village is seventeen. The place,
considering its size, is perhaps unexampled for the
number and variety of crafts and vocations exercised
therein. They amount to thirty -seven, assigning of
course to some individuals various employments and
duties. 3 The inhabitants of the parish are, with the

3 The number of callings in the village is thus humourously set
forth in the Magazine of the Reading Society :
Yn Mhentref y Foelas, drefn addas, mae rhi
Y Galwedigaethau yn ddeugain ond tri.
Cariadus a happus cydfywiant yn glau,
Er nad yw'r annedd-dai ond pymtheg a dau,
Mae Siopror, a Thafarnwr i deithiwr ar dro,
Dilladwr, a Ffarmror, Cyfrrvywr, a Gro' ;
Llafurwr, a Chraswr, ac Eilliwr i'r taer,
Melinydd, a Chlochydd, a chelfydd yw'r Saer ;
Pregethwr, Llyfr-rivymror, a Garddrvr y sydd,
Turner, a Nailer , Postmaster , a Chrydd,
Ffarier, a Barcer, a Chowper wrth law,
Offeiriad, a Meddyg, wr diddig rhag braw.
Grvniadwraig, a Phobroraig, a Llirv-wraig ddifeth,
Papurwr, a Pkaintiwr a'i law at bob peth ;
Watchmaker, Bellhanger, ac Ostler a gawn,
Schoolmaster, a Butcher, wna'r nifer yn iawn.

64 NOTES ABOUT THE PARISH OF

exception of the villagers, nearly all farmers and farm
labourers, there being neither mines, quarries, nor manu-
factures of any kind to supply employment in the parish
or immediate neighbourhood. The soil 4 is best adapted
for pasturing cattle and sheep ; the latter, of which there
are 800 or 1000 on some farms, are of the true mountain
breed, and are allowed the run of the fields from Novem-
ber to the middle of April, when they are driven up to
the mountain pastures. Thus, without careful enclosing,
it is impossible to grow clover and artificial grasses, or to
pursue a systematic rotation of crops. It was the custom
to rear a larger number of cattle than the quantity and
the quality of food warranted ; the breed, consequently,
is on many farms small, stunted, and difficult to sell ; but

Rhag cynnen a chroesni, er mwyn cadw trefn,
Wele Ustus o heddwch a Crvnstabl wrth gefn,
Ac er gwneud gorpheniad portreiad pur hardd,
Mae Cymdeithas lenyddol i'r bobl a Bardd.

The " genus irritabile vatum," will be gratified to find their poetical
pursuits classed among the useful callings.

4 The following is from the text of Mr. Camden, speaking of this
part of Denbighshire : " Towards the West 'tis but thinly inhabited,
and swells pretty much with bare & craggy hills ; but the diligence
& industry of the husbandmen hath long since begun to conquer the
bareness of the land. For having pared off the surface of the earth
into thin clods or turfs, they pile them up in heaps & burn them to
ashes ; which being afterwards scattered on the land does so enrich it
that its scarce credible what quantities of Rye it produces. Nor is
this method any late invention, but very ancient, as appears out of
Virgil and Horace."

Paring and burning is still much practised, and is the usual
method of cultivating, in the first instance, spots inclosed from the
mountains. Mr. Camden appears to ascribe to the Welsh the revival
of this ancient custom ; or rather, perhaps, the preservation of that
which had been taught their ancestors during the domination of the
Romans.

Above a hundred years later, the following account is given of this
particular locality : " On some parts of the Hiraethog hills in Den-
bighshire, no grain is sown but the hardy oat ; of which whole fields
may be seen, on some years, as green as a leek in the month of Octo-
ber, and not likely to ripen at all." (Cathrall's Wales.) This was
strictly true in former years, but early sowing and improved tillage,
particularly the increased use of lime, have of late years insured full
and seasonable crops.

PENTREVOELAS AND ITS VICINITY. 65

farmers now, in general, find it their interest to keep
fewer cattle, but those of a larger and improved breed.
Some of the neighbouring farms were formerly noted "for
their fine cattle of the old, hardy, black breed ; this breed
is again getting into request with drovers, but it is to be
feared that it has been very much, if not irreparably,
deteriorated, by the injudicious admixture of tender
foreign blood.

The soil is particularly suited for growing oats, which
form the principal corn crop, and of which a considerable
quantity is raised for consumption and sale. The staple
food of the inhabitants is oatmeal, in its various modes of
preparation, and buttermilk. Barley and wheat are
grown on favourable spots, in small quantities, but not
with much advantage, the lateness of the seasons render-
ing these crops precarious. Earlier sowing has of late
years been practised with manifest success. Turnips
thrive even in the highest parts, and there is a growing
appreciation of their value with straw as winter fodder,
and an increased use of them. The whole parish, with
the exception of two farms, belongs to W. G. Wynne,
Esq., of the ancient house of Voelas. The land is let at
a moderate rent, the tithes and poor rates are low, 5 while
the proximity of the mountains renders the expense of
keeping sheep trifling. Sheep form the most steady and
remunerative part of the farming stock. Oats generally
maintain good prices here, owing, perhaps, to the large
demands of the innkeepers in spring and summer. Thus
the value of upland farms seems but little affected by the
fluctuations of the corn market, and the farmers, on the
whole, appear to enjoy a fair amount of comfort and
prosperity.

The name Voelas (Y foel las, green hill 6 ) is derived

5 The poor rate in 1851 was 2s. 3d. on the pound on a rateable
value about thirty per cent, below the rack rent. The tithe does
not average above Is. 6d. per acre.

6 Oldsj an epithet very frequently found in the composition of local
names. Thus Pantglas, Rhiwlas, Glasfryn, Glascwm, Glascoed,
Dulas, &c. The term groyrdd y which at the present day indicates

VOL. I. K

66 NOTES ABOUT THE PARISH OF

from an ancient tumulus or mound, partly natural,
partly artificial, near the site of the old mansion of
Voelas. This mound is of greater size than any of the
same character that I have seen, except perhaps the
eminence that gives its English and Welsh name to
Mold. 7 The original hill was isolated, and of a gravelly
nature, with a brook skirting the base. Of this advan-
tage was taken to form a stronghold by surrounding it
with two lines of ditches and ramparts one above the
other ; which still remain, except on the east side, where
a large part of the mount has slipped down, evidently
undermined by the flooding of the brook at some distant
time. The brook now flows at some distance from its
east side. It is covered with old trees up to the top,
forming a well stocked rookery. Mr. Pennant affirms it
to be the site of a Welsh castlet, 8 destroyed by Llewelyn
ap lorwerth, who subsequently granted this, with many
other estates, to the Cistercian Abbey of Con way.
Llywarch ap Llewelyn, generally known as Prydydd y
Moch, was cotemporary with, and laureate bard to,
Llewelyn, and he thus refers to the conquest of Voelas,
among other achievements of that prince:

green, is seldom, or perhaps never used in such combinations as the
above except in Y Werddon, while glas is now generally applied to
blue, in contradistinction to gwyrdd, green. Can the former be
cceruleus, sky-blue; the latter, glaucus, sea-blue ? Gwy, water, fluid.
Thus, gwydd, gwylan, hwyaden, water-birds ; gwymon, sea-weed.

7 Gwydd-grug, a conspicuous mount ; translated Mom altus,
abbreviated, Mold.

8 These artificial eminences, so common in Wales, are supposed to
have been of Roman origin, built for the transmission of information,
for securing the passes to the sea, and for keeping the natives in sub-
jection. The Welsh, in after times, took advantage of these and other
works of the same nature. They form a chain of forts under the
various names of Caer, Moel, Tommen, Crug, Dinas, Castell. Tom-
men y Bala and Tommen y mur, near Ffestiniog, were of this
character, and obviously outposts upon the Roman roads. These
roads may still be traced under the various names of Ffordd Elen,
Llwybr Elen, Sarn Elen, &c. One branch, called Llwybr Elen
occurs on the borders of this parish, though quite overgrown with
sward and heath.

PENTREVOELAS AND ITS VICINITY. 67

" A Dinbych wrthrych orthorryant ar fil

Ar Voelas a Gronant ;
A dinas Emreis amrygant,
Amrygyr Newenhyr naw nant,
A chaer yn Arvon "

"And they overthrew Denbigh, conspicuous object;
And thousands in Voelas and Gronant ;
And the fort of Emrys, surrounded with a wall ;
They make an onset on Newenhir, famed for its nine streams,
And Caernarvon " Myv. Arch. i. 299.

The only remains are a few stones marking the foun-
dation of a square building. It is seldom that any
superstructure remains on these mounds ; Pennant ac-
counts for the disappearance of many Welsh castles,
whose names are preserved in history, by supposing them
to have been built of wood, as some castles in Scotland
were as late as A.D. 1228. (Vol i. 404.)

Scarcely half a mile distant from the above, and close
by the village, is an extensive eminence called Y Gaer
fawr (castrum), on the side of which is a spot known as
Y Gaer bach. Whether these names were applicable
to a greater and lesser entrenchment once existing, or
meant to distinguish two adjacent tenements upon this
hill, is not easily determined. I incline to the latter
supposition. The hill is cultivated to its summit, on
which are several farm buildings ; all traces of entrench-
ments around the top have thus been obliterated ; but
around the north-west base, near the river, lines of
ancient, earthworks may be distinctly traced. 9 It is pos-
sible that the Moel, or fortified mount, was an outpost or
signal tower to this caer, or fortress ; thus, near Northop,
there is a fortified post called Moel y Gaer.

Not far from the mount at Voelas, and behind the
present dwelling-houses, stands a stone pillar, rough and
unhammered, about eight feet high, two feet broad, and

9 On the south side of this eminence may be seen, in good repair, a
portion of the original Bangor and Shrewsbury road formed by the
patriotic Lord Penrhyn. He was the first to pierce the pass of Nant
Ffrancon ; Mr. Telford's road being rather an improvement upon
Lord Penrhyn's, than a new route through a fresh district.

NOTES ABOUT THE PARISH OF

one foot thick, with an inscription of which the followin
is a copy taken from a rubbing, added to severa
inspections :

" Mr. Llwyd confesses the inscription to be very
obscure, part in Latin and part in Welsh. The last line
says Levelinus princeps hie humatus, which, if meant of
any of the actual princes of Wales, must mean Llewelyn
ap Sytsyllt, (slain 1021,) he being the only one of the
three of the name of Llewelyn of whose place of inter-
ment we are ignorant." Mr. Pennant here speaks of
Mr. Edward Llwyd, the annotator to Camden, a letter
of whom, previously unpublished, appears in the Cam-
brian Quarterly, vol. iii. p. 212, dated March 3, 1691,
in which he inquires of an unnamed correspondent,
" Are there any of those pillars now to be seen at Y
Voelass which Mr. Camden mentions to have strange
characters upon them ?" The characters are from three-
quarters of an inch to an inch long, and clumsily exe-
cuted ; besides, they appear to have been tampered with,
and the stone has been scored in the direction of the
letters, as shown in the fac-simile ; still the words
LEWELINI PRICEPS may be traced in the last line, and
HIC HU . . . with some help of the imagination. The
further progress of the artist appears to have been inter-
rupted by a flaw in the stone. Of "the pillars" standing
in Cam den's time, this alone remains. Previous to about
1790, it stood by a gate, called Y Gat werdd, leading
from the turnpike road to the Old Hall. From thence it
was removed to the centre of the shrubbery. The other

PENTREVOELAS AND ITS VICINITY. 69

pillars have long ago been converted, probably, into
gate-posts.

In Camden's Britannia, published in English in 1695,
is a copy of the above inscription, obtained from Mr.
Griffith Jones, schoolmaster, Llanrwst, who probably is
the correspondent from whom Mr. Edward Llwyd seeks
information in the letter above quoted. Mr. Camden
says, " Amongst these hills is a place called Kerrig y
druidion or Druid stones, and at Voelas there are some
small pillars, inscribed with strange letters which some
suspect to be the characters used by the Druids." Upon
this the annotator observes, "I doubt not but our author
has excited the curiosity of most lovers of antiquity in
mentioning small pillars inscribed with strange charac-
ters, supposed to be those used by the Druids. But, if
the following inscription be one of those he meant, 'twill
scarce be allowed to be half so old as their time.

" This inscription is so obscure and different from all
I have seen elsewhere, that it seems scarce intelligible.
However, I shall take the liberty of offering my
thoughts.

EGO JOH DE TIN i DYLEV KUHELI LEUAV
FFORD CUDVE BRAECH i KOED EMRIS
LEWELI OP PRICEPS me HU . .

" According to modern orthography,

EGO JOHANNES DE TYN Y DYLAU GWYDHELCN LEUAF
[AR] FFORDD GYDDFAU BRAICH Y COED EMRIS
LEVELINUS OPTIMUS PRINCEPS me HU . .
" The meaning whereof is, That one John of the house of
Dyleu Gwydhelen, &c., on the road of Ambrose wood,
erected this monument to the memory of the excellent
Prince Llewelyn. But who this Llewelyn was I must
leave to be determined by others. If any of the three
princes of that name recorded in the annals of Wales, it
must be the first, or Llewelyn ap Sitsyllt, who was slain,
but where is not mentioned, by Howell and Meredydd,
the sons of Edwyn, in the year 1021. For we find that
Llewelyn ap lorwerth was honourably buried in the

70 NOTES ABOUT THE PARISH OF

Abbey of Con way, anno 1240, and that Llewelyn ap
Gruffydd, the last prince of Wales of the British race,
was slain near Bualht, in Brecknockshire, so that his
body was in all likelyhood interr'd somewhere in that
country, tho' his head was fixt on the Tower of London."

A little observation of the engraving itself would
suffice to convince any one that the above reading is not
correct. It is to be observed that me numatus is Mr.
Pennant's own version. That word is, I believe, very
uncommon in sepulchral inscriptions; SEPULTUS, or rather
JACET, would more probably have been used here. The
copy, however, clearly proves, that the inscription has
in no way been defaced within the last 160 years; but it
had been injured previously, for the lines scored down-
wards were there when Mr. Llwyd's copy was taken,
and were mistaken, in more than one instance, for
letters.

The notion of Mr. Llwyd, adopted by Mr. Pennant,
that Llewelyn ap Sitsyllt was here buried, is founded
upon the supposition that the place of burial of that
prince was unknown, coupled with the name of a prince
Llewelyn in the inscription. But the chronicle called
Brut leuan Brechfa says that Llewelyn ap Sitsyllt was
slain at Caermarthen. (Price's Hams Cymru, p. 432.)
He could not therefore have been buried here, unless we
adopt the improbable supposition that the body of this
Silurian prince was carried from Caermarthen for burial
at this spot.

But the words LEVELINUS PRINCEPS appear distinctly
in the Voelas inscription in connexion with some un-
known event worthy of particular commemoration at
that place. Perhaps another conjecture may be hazarded
as to the object of the pillar and its inscription.

We find that Ardudwy in Merionethshire, and Nan-
Conwy (the vale of Conway), were the patrimonial
estates of lorwerth Drwyndwn, father of Llewelyn the
Great. Nan-Conwy no doubt included Voelas, like
Dolwyddelan, as being both contiguous thereto. Upon
the death of his father, Owen Gwynedd, A.D. 1169,

PENTREVOELAS AND ITS VICINITY. 71

lorwerth was incapable of assuming the sovereignty by
reason of the mutilation of his countenance. He there-
upon retired to his castle of Dolwyddelan, while his son
Llewelyn was yet too young to vindicate his rights
against his usurping uncles, Hywel and Davydd. (Price's
Hanes Cymru, pp. 582, 599.) Meanwhile one Cad-
waladr ap Owen had seized Nan-Conwy, as well as Rhu-
foniawg, about the year 1187; and perhaps the destruc-
tion of Voelas, recorded by Prydydd y Moch, may have
been the recovery by Llewelyn of his plundered estate
by force of arms. The inscription may have referred to
such an event ; or it may have been commemorative of
his subsequent grant of this estate, amongst several
others, to the use of Conway Abbey, " in honour of the
blessed Virgin and all the Saints." Thus a stone was
erected on the land given by Cadvan to St. Beuno, at
Celynog (Clynog), to attest the appropriation thereof to
holy uses. (Rowland's Antiquitates Parochiales, in
Archceologia Cambrensis.)

A fac-simile of this inscription is given in Dr. Jones'
History of Wales, with the following reading, IOGO

BRENIN EDWALI FIL. EINION FOREDDYD ET RODERIC ET
EDWIN FIL. OWELI OPTIMI PRINCIPIS HIC PUGNAVIT. King

lago, the son of Edwal, in this place fought Einion, Mere-
dydd, Roderic and Edwin, the sons of Howel the Good.
This copy somewhat resembles that in Camden, and
does not represent the original with much accuracy.
The inscription is accounted for by stating that on the
death of Hywel Dda, A.D. 948, leuaf and lago, sons of
Edwal Foel, succeeded to the sovereignty of Gwynedd,
while the sons of Hywel Dda took possession of South
Wales. After some fighting in that country, the sons of
Hywel invaded North Wales, and were defeated in a
battle at Foelas. "The inscription on the stone at
Foelas is in commemoration of this battle. The omission
of the name of leuaf in the inscription was owing to the
tyrannical disposition of lago, who considered leuaf as a
cypher." History of Wales, by John Jones, LL.D.,
p. 53.

72 NOTES ABOUT THE PARISH OF PENTREVOELAS, ETC.

It would seem a mere conjecture of the author that
the above battle took place at Voelas, to give colour to
his reading of the inscription; while, again, the fac-simile,
as represented, is a good deal distorted, in order to cor-
roborate that preconceived notion. Nevertheless, this
version appears to have been the most plausible and
ingenious that has been attempted, notwithstanding the
conjectural addition of the last letters in puonavit, and
its questionable idiom. 1

All that the Welsh Chronicles say is, that a battle was
fought on the river Conway between Ifan or leuaf and
lago, sons of Edwal Foel, and the sons of Hywel Dda,
who, according to Powell, were called Owen, Rhun,
Rhodri and Edwyn. The last was slain in the battle,
together with a great number of others on each side.

" Ac ar ol hyn, sef yn 952, Owain ap Hywel Dda a
ddug gad hyd yn Ngwynedd ac yno bu waith Aberconwy
mewn lie a elwid Gurgustu (Llanrwst, meddylia rhai)
lie y bu lladfa fawr iawn o bob tu." Price's Hanes
Cymru, p. 410. 2

(To be continued.)

1 I have not seen Daines Barrington's copy and reading. Mr.
Westwood, who inspected the stone, said it was far from correct ; he
pronounced the inscription not to be of the old type, and he supposed,
by the form of the letters, that it was not earlier than the twelfth
century. It will be observed that the date assigned by Dr. Jones to
the event supposed to be recorded is A.D. 948.

2 It would appear that the line of road from Oswestry by Corwen,
Cerrigydrudion, Pentrevoelas, Caer-rhun, (Conovium,) by Bwlch-
yddenfaen to Aber, frequently formed the line of march of troops
whether for invasion or defence. It is marked by several remains of
military works, and has witnessed many conflicts. The victory of
Llewelyn at Voelas has been noticed ; Gwalchmai records an action
at Maesygarnedd near Capel Garmon, and another at Craig Gwydir.
Llangwrn, near Cerrigydrudion was the scene of a bloody battle,
decisive of the sovereignty of Gwynedd, A.D. 992. Henry II. led
his last expedition this way, and at Corwen the combined Welsh
chiefs (a solitary instance in our national history !) mustered their
forces to oppose him, A.D. 1165. Edward I. dates some of his pro-
clamations from Llangwm Dinmael; he was at Llangernyw in
October, 1282, and at Dolwyddelan, after completing his conquest, in
May, 1283. During the revolt of Glyndwr and the Wars of the

CROMLECH AT CAPEL GARMON.

CARNEDD ENCLOSING A CROMLECH AT CAPEL
GARMON.

THE attention with which our forefathers regarded their
carneddau is indicated by the number and variety of
names into the composition of which that word enters ;
frequently with the local prefix of Tre, Maes, Bryn,
Bwlch, Pen, &c. ; sometimes with the descriptive epithet,
such as Goch, Lwyd, Wen ; or commemorative, as
Llewelyn, Davydd, Angharad, Y filiast, and even in one
case within my observation, Y witch.

I have not seen, nor heard of, any published account
of the relic under notice, which is my reason for attempt-
ing a description of it. I presume it could not have
escaped the observation of the Ordnance Surveyors. It
is situated about half a mile south-east of the village of
Capel Garmon, a few miles from Llanrwst, upon a farm
called Ty 'n y coed, the property of C. W. G.Wynne, Esq.,
of Voelas. Contiguous to this farm is Maes y garnedd,
(Barrow plain,) extending within a short distance of the
monument from which it derives its name ; and the
obvious conclusion is that Ty 'n y coed, at some distant
period, formed part of Maes y garnedd, from which it was
subsequently severed and made a distinct tenement.

The locality consists of a series of small plains or
glades, chiefly turbary, interspersed with rocky hillocks
covered with oak, presenting scenes of singular variety
and beauty ; while the panorama of the Caernarvonshire
hills, which this spot exhibits, can scarcely be surpassed
in magnificence.

Roses, Nan-Conwy suffered terribly, and Hiraethog hills were the
scene of incessant conflicts. Even so late as the Civil Wars between
Charles I. and the Parliament, it would appear that armed forces
were led this way, and that they left about Cerniogau traces of
skirmishes.

Garthmaelog is half way between Llanrwst and Conway, close by
the Roman Conovium ; can it be the scene of the defeat of the Saxons
in Rhodri Molwynog's reign, known as Gwaith Garthmaelog ?

Four miles further is Cymrhyd, where the Saxons were overthrown
by Anarawd in the battle called Dial Rhodri, Rhodri's avenging,
A.D. 880.

VOL. I. L

74 CROMLECH AT CAPEL GARMON.

This tumulus affords a striking verification of an obser-
vation made in the Archceologia Cambrensis, No. IX., p.
5. " The tumulus may now be suspected generally to
contain either a cistvaen, or else a cromlech, with a
covered passage leading to it ; that is to say, if it be not
a tumulus hastily thrown up on a battle field." This is
further corroborated by the name of the field in which
the cromlech lies, namely Cae'r Ogof, (Cave-field,) and
the monument is known by the name Ogof. A triple
cromlech near Dolbenmaen, called Coetan Arthur, occurs
in a field called Bryn yr Ogof. This consideration might
also account for certain spots having the word Ogof still
attached to their names, where no cave or cellar now
exists.

I could not convey a better general notion of this
monument than by referring the reader to the description
of the disinterred cromlech at Bryncelli ddu, (Archceo-
logia Cambrensis, No. V. p. 1,) with the difference that,
in this case, the incumbent heap has only been half re-
moved, leaving to future antiquarians a fine specimen of
an ancient sepulchre in good preservation. I would
hazard a passing conjecture that the Cerrig y drudion
cells, about which so much is said in Camden's Britannia,
were only cistveini stripped of their carneddau, particu-
larly inasmuch as Cerrigydrudion means stones of the
daring ones, or heroes. 1 Edward Llwyd's spelling is
drudion; and he receives the usual but solitary inter-
pretation, viz., -DrmW-stones, with hesitation, and only
because, as he avows, he found no other signification
assigned to the word.

The leading outline of the Capel Garmon tumulus is
elliptical ; its greatest diameter at the base being about
twenty yards, its least thirteen yards. It has been re-
duced in size within existing memory, by using the stones
for building walls. It is mostly covered with soil, upon
which trees and brushwood are growing. Level with the

1 " Draig Mon xnor drud ei eissillud yn aer."
Mona's chief his sons how daring in battle.
Gwalchmai's Ode to Owain Gwynedd. Tegid's translation.

CROMLECH AT CAPEL GARMON.

surface of the ground is the denuded roof of the sepulchre,
a flat slab of marvellous size and symmetry. Its form is
a rhomboid, or nearly lozenge shaped; its length is
fourteen feet seven inches, its breadth twelve feet two

(a) Lane 12 ft. in length.

The Carnedd.

(b) 14 ft. 7 in. by 13 ft. 2 in.

inches, or diagonally across, twelve feet six inches, ex-
ceeding, I apprehend, in superficial measure, any cromlech
in Wales. Its average thickness may be about fifteen
inches. Under one end, or apex, is the entrance to the
chamber, pointing south-west ; opposite the other apex,
at a distance of eight feet, is a regular circle, two yards
in diameter, composed of seven stones about two feet out
of the ground, at unequal distances from each other, as if
some had been removed. They appear too small and low
to have sustained a cromlech. A line drawn in a north-
east direction lengthways over the large slab, from the
point above the doorway, would intersect this circle.
There are no other traces of systematic arrangement out-
side the mound.

A deep lane, four yards long, which in all probability
was once a covered way, leads to the entrance of the

CROMLECH AT CAPEL GARMON.

chamber. This has been converted into a stable by a
former tenant, provided with a framed door, near which
is a small square window, and opposite the door is a stone
manger. Its shape inclines to an irregular pentagon, of
which the entrance forms one side. Its height at the
door is five feet five inches, at the middle five feet seven
inches, gradually increasing towards the opposite end.

The Cromlech.

Its greatest length inside is eleven feet, breadth eight feet
six inches. The supporting stones, which in part form
the walls of the stable, are five in number, and measure
respectively 5 feet by 4 feet ; 5 feet by 2 feet ; 6 feet by
3 feet 4 inches ; 5 feet 9 inches by 2 feet ; and 5 feet by
3 feet 6 inches. They stand at irregular distances, and
the intervening spaces have been built up with a wall of
small stones, some of which, by their antiquated greenish
colour, seem composed of a broken portion of the monu-
ment. The floor has been paved, in the course of which
it is likely that some of the supporters subsided, for the
cromlech does not rest equally on all. They appear to
have been otherwise disturbed from their original posi-
tion, and one may have been lost. Still, so neatly and

CROMLECH AT CAPEL GARMON.

free from damage, on the whole, has the conversion been
effected, from the mausoleum of a hero to a stable for
colts, that no one would wish the work undone, nor the
integrity of the structure better secured. The only thing
wanting is a close fence around the whole, with injunc-
tions against further using the chamber, or touching
another stone of the carnedd.

All the stones of the cromlech are of the argillaceous
slaty slabs or flags with which the country abounds, of
which also, in part, the carnedd is formed. On the
under side of the great cover stone is a singular round
cavity, about two feet across, closely resembling an
inverted saucer, with a clean perforation in the middle
right through the stone. This was produced by some
one who was barbarous enough to attempt the destruction
of this noble slab by blasting ; but the hole being bored
too deep, the underside of the stone gave way, the laminae
being forced out in concentric circles, diminishing
upwards, and presenting an object that, if unexplained,
might well perplex an antiquary. Another attempt was
made, but the hole being too shallow, the blast blew up
the charge without injuring the stone. Some person has
very lately been trying his pick upon the edge of the
cromlech.

There are no objects in immediate proximity presenting
any antiquarian interest. On an eminence, a short
distance off, an enormous boulder of conglomerate draws
attention, but on being approached, it presents no
appearances worthy of note.

Two miles to the north-east, on the summit of a bare
hill, is Garneddwen, which, within living memory, was
an immense pile of stones. In Llewelyn ap lorwerth's
grant of Voelas to the Abbey of Conway, it is noted as
one of the landmarks, under the name of Carnedrun, as
usually read. About the year 1803, most of the stones
were carried off for mountain walls under an Enclosure
Act. The resting places of the dead were thereby here
exposed, and were found to be the usual cells or
cistvaens containing bones. In one of them was found a

78 CROMLECH AT CAPEL GARMON.

piece of round dark coloured glass, about seven inches
in diameter and two and a half inches thick, which after
being used by boys as a plaything, was at length
destroyed. No other curiosities were found.

Near Garneddwen stands the fragment of a maenhir,
with the debris of some former structure around it, which
was swept away, like the heap at Garneddwen, and for a
similar purpose. At the same time a piece was blasted
off the side of the maen, but its destruction was for a
while averted. In that state, with the broken fragment
at its base, stood this interesting monument in the
autumn of 1850, when I first saw it. Shortly afterwards
it was blasted and thrown down, from mere wantonness,
by a Vandal living at Bryn y garnedd. Such barbarities
well merit those indignant terms of reprobation which
Carnhuanawc, in his native tongue, eloquently applies to
similar violations elsewhere. (Hanes Cymru, p. 35.)
The well known name of this stone was Maen pebyll,
(stone of tabernacles or tents,) possibly so named to
commemorate some gathering, whether of a peaceful or
a warlike nature.

A mile south of the cromlech is Dinas, a high rock
overhanging Telford's road, and commanding the junc-
tion of Penmachno and Dolwyddelan vales with that
of the Conway. It is of nature's own scarping, and
required no aids of art to render it impregnable. The
geological structure of this rock, and its insulated
character, would, if I mistake not, interest the student of
that department of science.

At the foot of this rock, in May, 1852, a poor man,
who was cutting turf for fuel, discovered a curious iron
relic, which has as yet puzzled the attempts made to
explain its uses. It is apparently an ornamental stand,
two feet ten inches long, and two feet six inches high ;
the execution indicates considerable taste and skill. Not
far off is Carreg y lleon, Rock of the Legion, suggestive
of the Roman domination.

Four miles off were discovered the Tre beddau graves,
in one of which was found the Brochmael stone, and

CROMLECH AT CAPEL GARMON. 79

near which lies the eminence called Y Gaer fawr, with its
outpost, Yr hen Foel, which gives name to the mansion
and parish of Voelas. Close by is the pillar, with its
inscription, which has baffled palseologists from Camden
downwards.

Stone of Brochmael,

Speaking of the Brochmael inscription, there is a
summary of the various readings of it, five in number,
by Mr. Westwood, in the Archceologia Cambrensis, No.
V. p. 30. To these might have been added a sixth,
from Goleuad Cymry, vol. i. p. 351, ii. p. 117. That
gentleman then gives his own interpretation of the
ambiguous characters commencing the second line,

BROHOMAGLI (corpus SCll.)

IAM 1C IACIT

ET VXOR EIVS CANNE

Jam hie jacet, &c.

But is this last solution more satisfactory than the others ?
It certainly is quite contrary to the genius of the Latin
and Welsh languages. How would it look translated into
Welsh or English ? Mr. Westwood himself admits that
it is also quite against usage. Will one who is no palaeo-
logist be allowed to add a conjecture ? I have inspected
the inscription a score of times, and I have always been
impressed with the notion that the controverted characters
are nothing but the workman's blunder. They were
intended for IACIT, the letters IA being exact counterparts
of those which are repeated, but the c being left out, the
word became IAIT. The engraver rectified the mistake
by adding the word in a more correct shape and prefixing

CROMLECH AT CAPEL GARMON.

the -word me, but without obliterating his blunder. As
some excuse for my temerity, I may add that Mr. West-
wood himself has, in this very inscription, found an e
" doubtless mistaken by the ignorant stonecutter for a
c," and has pointed out a similar blunder in the

Turpiikan Inscription.

Turpillian inscription. Another antiquary, describing an
inscription near Monmouth, suggests that the artist had
begun to cut a word, leaving out two letters, but
recollecting himself altered the characters. Archceologia
Cambrensis, vol. ii. pp. 25, 80. There was but one
skeleton, and that of a very tall man, in the cistvaen, as
I was informed by one of the labourers who discovered
and opened it.

Pentrevoelas, July, 1853.

GEOLOGY.

HARMONY OF THE TRIADS WITH THE DISCOVERIES
OF GEOLOGY.

THE more our national memorials are sifted and ex-
amined, the more they seem to stand the test of criticism.
As an example, we may notice the singular support
which the discoveries of geology lend to the statement of
the Triads relative to the primeval occupation of the
island.

In the First Triad, Third Series, (Myv. Arch, vol ii. p.
57,) we read, " No one has any right to it [the Isle of
Britain] but the tribe of the Cymry, for they first settled
in it ; and before that time no persons lived therein, but
it was full of bears, wolves, beavers, and bannog oxen."

Such is the language of bardic tradition. It does not
seem to have been present to the mind of Wilson, yet
that learned writer enumerates the same animals, and
nearly in the same order, in the catalogue of such as are
indicated by geology to have existed in this country
from the earliest times.

After noticing the primeval existence of the Megaceros
Hibernicus, the Bos primigenius, the Bison priscus, and
the Ursus spelceus, as proved by the researches of men of
science, the eminent author of the Prehistoric Annals of
Scotland observes : " To these native animals may be
added the horse, the roe-buck, the red deer, the wild
boar, the brown bear, the wolf, and the beaver, all of
which have undoubtedly existed as wild animals in this
country, and been gradually domesticated or extirpated
by man." p. 23.

The ych bannog, which literally signifies either a large

or horned ox, is obviously not excluded from the list of

primeval animals, but where in the order of the Bovidceit

should be placed is not so clear. The great fossil ox

VOL. i. M

82 HARMONY OF THE TRIADS WITH GEOLOGY.

(Bos primigenius) is very frequently found in the island ;
the skull of one discovered in Roxburghshire, and exhi-
bited now in the Scottish Antiquarian Museum, measures
twenty-eight inches in length. Mr. Wood refers to the
discovery of the skull and horns of the great Urus in a
tumulus on the Wiltshire Downs, along with the bones
of deer and boars, and fragments of native pottery, in
proof of the existence in this country originally of a
" very large race of taurine oxen, although most probably
entirely destroyed by the aboriginal inhabitants before
the invasion of Britain by Caesar." There was also a
smaller primitive wild species, the Bos longifrons, which
appears to have become extinct soon after the time of
the Roman invasion (pp. 23, 24). The ych bannog was
in all probability one of the three, the Bison prisons, the
Bos primigenius, or the Bos longifrons. Perhaps, indeed,
the prominence suggested by the epithet bannog ought
to identify it with the second, the Bos primigenius.

The arrival of the Cymry in Britain happened, accord-
ing to a document entitled " Oral Tradition and Chrono-
logy," about 1788 years before the Christian era.
Another, called the " Roll of Tradition and Chronology,"
places the event about 170 years later. In either case
the date must be considered early, and it is corroborated
by several facts and circumstances, which it would be
unnecessary here to mention. What we wish to notice
is, that such an early date, however, would not be beyond
the era of the animals enumerated in the Triad. Let us
take the beaver for instance, which is now extinct in the
island, though we know that it existed as a living species
down to the twelfth century. What must be the age of
those remains of the beaver which were found in the
Newbury peat valley, twenty feet below the present
surface ? They were associated also with the remains of
the wolf! Surely 3600 years would scarcely be suf-
ficient for the growth of such a superstratum of bog ?

The very early existence of the beaver, as well as of
the bannog oxen, in the island, or at any rate their clas-
sification among the primeval animals of the creation, is

GOLD MINES IN WALES. 83

moreover implied in another Triad, (97,) where we are
informed that " the bannog oxen of Hu Gadarn drew
the beaver out of the lake of waters, so that the lake
burst no more," evidently an allusion to the deluge.

J. W. AB ITHEL.

GOLD MINES IN WALES.

THE gold mines in the neighbourhood of Dolgellau are
progressing favourably, and, if report speaks correctly,
there appears to be an inexhaustible store of gold in the
mountains.

The investigation into the various discoveries of gold
in gossan and mundic proceeds with increasing interest
and energy. The following extract from the Mining
Journal of the 5th of January last is worth recording:

Craigwen, 190 Ibs. quartz, yielding 3 dwt. 1 grain, equal to
2 oz. 4 gr. per ton.

Dinas Great Consols, 2| cwt. sulphur, yielding 4 dwt. 18 gr.,
equal to 1 oz. 18 dwt. per ton. (This experiment corroborates
the result of former tests.)

Merioneth, 124 Ibs. quartz, yielding a trace.

The following experiments have been made by Mr.
Perkes' concentrated conical machine :

A Welsh mine, private, 1 j oz. per ton.
A Welsh mine, ditto, 6| ditto.
A Welsh mine, ditto, 2 ditto.
A Welsh mine, ditto, 1| ditto.

HISTORY.

THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY.

CHAPTER I.
THE CREATION AND THE DELUGE.

IT does not appear that the Cymry resorted to any
artificial means for the purpose of preserving the record
of events prior to their arrival in Britain. Until that
epoch of their history, then, all their knowledge of
physical and political occurrences, as well as of religious
doctrines, must have descended colloquially from father
to son. This, indeed, was the earliest and most general
practice of the east, and it is to it, no doubt, that the
patriarch Job refers when he says, " I will show thee,
hear me; and that which I have seen will I declare, which
wise men have told from their fathers (and have not hid
it), unto whom alone the earth was given." 1 Nor would
the memory stand in need of adventitious aid when the
human family dwelt together, and the years of man
extended over a long period of time, and the prominent
features of history were comparatively few in number.
But the case was altered subsequently to the general
dispersion, when verse, the voice conventional, and the
coelbren, were by our ancestors successively and addition-
ally adopted, and gradually improved according to the
exigencies of the times. The primeval traditions, more-
over, ere they became corrupted to any great extent,
were remodelled and incorporated into the new forms,
and by means thereof have thus reached us.

The traditionary annals of the Cymry extend back to
the remotest period, even to the creation of the universe,
which event is thus described :

" God, when there was in life and existence none but Himself,

1 Job xv. 17, 18, 19. See also c. viii. 8, 9, 10.

THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY. 85

pronounced His name, and co-instantaneously with the word, all
being and animation gave a shout of joy in the most perfect and
melodious manner that ever was heard in the strain of that
vocalization. And co-instantaneously with the sound was light,
and in the light the form of the name, in three voices thrice
uttered, pronounced together at the same instant; and in the
vision were three forms, and they were the hue and form of
light; and united with the sound and hue and form of that
utterance were the three first letters, and from a combination of
their three sounds were formed all other sounds of letters. And
it was Menw Hen ap y Teirgwaedd that heard the sound, and
first reduced into form the vocalization of God's name; but
others affirm that it was Einigan Gawr who first made a letter,
and that it was the form of the name of God, when he found
himself alive and existing co-simultaneously and co-instanta-
neously with the utterance."-

" The announcement of the Divine name is the first event
traditionally preserved, and it occurred as follows :

" God, in vocalizing His name, said / 1 \ , and, with the word,
all worlds and animations sprang co-instantaneously to being and
life from their non-existence; shouting in extacy of joy /I\,
and thus repeating the name of the Deity. Still and small was
that melodiously sounding voice (i. e. the Divine utterance),
which will never be equalled again until God shall renovate
every pre-existence from the mortality entailed on it by sin, by
revocalizing that name, from the primary utterance of which
emanated all lays and melodies, whether of the voice or of stringed
instruments; and also all the joys, extacies, beings, vitalities,
felicities, origins and descents appertaining to existence and
animation." 3

These are most curious records, especially as they do
not imply any gradation in the process of creation. But
though they thus seem to disagree with the Mosaic
account, they remarkably harmonize, in one of its main
features, with the Divine declaration in the Book of Job,
that on that glorious occasion, " the morning stars sang
together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy." 4

2 Cyvymbwyll Maccwy a'i Athraw, or a Dialogue between a
Disciple and his Teacher, cited in Coelbren y Beirdd, p. 7.

3 The Roll of Tradition and Chronology, taken from Edward
Williams' transcript of Llewelyn Sion's MS., which was copied from
Meuryg Davydd's transcript of an old MS. in the Library of Rhaglan
Castle. See lolo MSS. pp. 45, 424. 4 Job xxxviii. 7.

86 THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY.

The primary elements out of which all other things
were fashioned, are thus enumerated :

" Five elements there are : that is to say, earth, water, fire,
air and heaven ; and out of the four first comes every inanimate
matter; and of heaven God, and all life and living; and from
the conjunction of these five come all things, whether they be
animate or inanimate." 5

According to Y Bardd Glas o'r Gadair, 6 they are seven
in number :

" 1. The first, earth, out of which are derived all bodies, and
all hard and strong substances.

"2. The second, water, out of which proceed all juice and
moisture.

" 3. The third, air, out of which come all breath and motion.

" 4. The fourth, the sun, out of which proceed all heat and light.

"5. The fifth, the firmament, out of which are derived all
feeling, affection and vigour.

" 6. The sixth, the Holy Spirit, from Whom proceed all under-
standing, reason, genius and science.

" 7. The seventh, God, from Whom proceed all life and strength
and support for ever.

" And out of the seven primary elements are derived all exist-
ence and life ; and may the whole be regulated by God. Amen."

And with reference to man in particular :

" 1. Earth, and out of it is the body.

" 2. Water, out of which are the blood and humour.

" 3. The sun, from which proceed warmth and light.

" 4. Air, from which the breath and motion emanate.

" 5. The firmament, which is the source of the feeling and
affection.

"6. The Holy Spirit, from Whom proceed the reason and
understanding.

" 7. God, and from Him is life everlasting." 7

That man originated co-simultaneously with the light,
is asserted, moreover, in the Theological Triads of the
Druids, thus:

"There are three connates, man, liberty, and light." 8

5 Bardism, quoted in Dr. O. Pughe's Diet, sub voce " Nef."

6 He was contemporary with Alfred, and is supposed to be the
same person with Asserius Menevensis.

T Myv. Arch. iii. 109.

8 Theological Triads, " selected from a manuscript collection by

THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY. 87

Nor is it at all improbable that the term employed by
the Gauls to denote their origin, and which Caesar under-
stood to be Dis, tis, Pluto, was in reality Dydd, a day,
which at that time would be written, if not pronounced,
Dit. " Galli se omnes AB DITE patre prognatos praedicant,
idque ab Druidibus proditum dicunt." 9 The connexion
alleged to have existed between the theory, which ap-
proved itself to Caesar, and the custom of counting and
dividing time, which then prevailed among the Gauls,
seems to have been the result of his own inference rather
than the settled opinion of the people themselves.

In confirmation of the view, which attributes to the
primitive sages of Britain some knowledge of the creation
and origin of the world, we may quote the testimonies
of Caesar 1 and Pomponius Mela, 2 both of whom relate
that the Druids professed to know, and that they entered
into many disputations concerning, the magnitude and
form of the earth and of the world in general, concerning
the motions of the heavenly bodies, the nature of things,
and the power and will of the immortal gods.

The views of the bards relative to the fall and restora-
tion of man are thus expressed :

" Einigan Gawr beheld three pillars of light, and thereon were
visible all past and future sciences whatsoever. And he took three
rods of the mountain ash, and engraved thereon the forms and
signs of all the sciences, that the memory of them might be
preserved, and he exhibited them, and those that saw them
misunderstood and falsely contemplated them, making a god
of the rods, whereas they only bore His name. When Einigan
perceived this, he was much grieved, and from the intensity of
his sorrow he broke the three rods, and no others were found
having on them correct sciences. He was, therefore, so over-
whelmed with grief, that, from its intensity, he burst asunder ; and
with his parting breath he prayed God that there should be found
correct sciences, and a right understanding for the proper con-

Llywelyn Sion, a Bard of Glamorgan, about the year 1560. This
collection was made from various manuscripts of considerable, and
some say, of very great antiquity; these and their authors are men-
tioned, and most or all of them are still extant/' E. Williams'
Poems, ii. p. 227.

9 De Bel. Gal. lib. vi. c. 18. 1 Ibid. lib. vi. 2 Lib. iv. p. 277.

THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY.

templation thereof among mortals. And at the expiration of a
year and a day, following the decease of Einigan, Menw ap y
Teirgwaedd beheld three rods growing out of Einigan's mouth,
which exhibited the sciences of the ten letters, and the order and
disposition of all the sciences of language and speech, as well as
all the sciences distinguishable by language and speech. He
then took the rods, and taught therefrom all the sciences, with
the exception of the name of God, and a secret was, therefore,
employed, lest there should be a false perception of the name ;
hence the origin of the secret of bardism, possessed by the bards
of the Isle of Britain. And God secured the secrecy, and under
His protection gave to Menw a very discreet understanding of
the sciences, which understanding was designated a genius (awen)
from God, and blessed is he who shall obtain it. Amen, so be it." 3
" Death can only ensue from three causes, namely, from
divulging, miscounting, or unessentializing the name of God.
But while and where His name shall be retained in memory, in
accordance with secrecy, number, and essence, nothing but
being, vitality, wisdom, and blessedness, can be known, through
eternity of eternities. Co-impulsive with the blessed were all
animated beings, and God placed them in innate order or primi-
tive state, within Cylch y Gwynvyd, but He Himself existed in
Cylch y Ceugant, where the blessed perceived Him in one com-
munion of glory, without secrecy, without number, and without
species, that could be ascertained, save essential light, essential
love, and essential power, for the good of all existences and vitali-
ties. Then the maxim, 'God and enough' became established
on the basis of truth, and oral tradition ; and it was the second
principle of all realities and sciences transmitted by memory.
But the blessed, being dissatisfied with their plenary happiness,
from not having retained the first truth in memory, and aiming
to augment their felicity, made an onset on Ceugant, purposing
to divulge all that they might discover there ; and to ascertain
the secrecy, number, and essence of God ; but that they could
not effect ; and when they would fain regain the Gwynvyd, they
could not, because mortality interposed ; consequently they fell
into Cylch yr Abred ; where the Deity impressed on their memory
and knowledge the third truth, namely, ( without God, without
everything ;' for in the order of Abred, neither perception nor
knowledge of God exists. The blessed, then, who had continued
in their primeval state, by retaining the Deity, His name, and His
truth in memory, perceived the state of Abred, and called it Adfyd,

9 Extract from an old Welsh Grammar cited in Coelbreny Beirdd,
p. 6.

THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY. 89

because it was the second work of the Deity's creation, and made
for the sake of saving the disobedient from the perdition towards
which they had rushed. The chief reality of Adfyd has already
been mentioned, as the third principle of truth and knowledge,
i. e. 'without God, without everything,' for to be without Him
is to be destitute of every felicity ; a privation whence originated
every evil and suffering that intellect can imagine. But God,
out of His infinite love, advanced the Abredolion in progression
through all the states of evil incident to them, that they might
come to perceive their primeval state, and, through that attain-
ment, learn to avoid a recurrence of those evils, after being once
delivered from them ; so that, on attaining the state of humanity,
they might supplicate God, and thus obtain a recollection and
knowledge of goodness, justice, and love; and, consequently, a
re-perception of the primitive truths ; that by retaining them in
memory, and adhering to them, they might, after the release of
death, co-exist in primeval felicity, in renovated consciousness of
their pre-existence in that state, and of the evils they endured in
traversing Abred." 4

The reader cannot fail to discover here a great similarity
to the scriptural account, which represents the desire to
be " as gods knowing good and evil," as that which led
to the fall of man ; and their " keeping not their first
estate, hut leaving their own habitation;" 3 in other
words, pride and rebellion, as the cause of the ruin of bad
angels. For though it is the early history of man that
is primarily and mainly described in these extracts, yet
there seems to be also an incidental allusion to the " war
in heaven," since we read of some " who had continued

4 The Roll of Tradition and Chronology, apud lolo MSS. pp. 424,
425. In the translation, which we have here adopted, the words
" Cylch y Gwynvyd," " Cylch y Ceugant," and " Cylch yr Abred,"
are rendered respectively the Expanse of Felicity, the Expanse of
Infinitude, and the Expanse of Inchoation. " Adfyd " is also ren-
dered Re-incipiency j and " Abredolion " subjects of Re-incipiency.
As these translations, however, do not convey the full force and exact
meaning of the original, we have thought proper to restore the latter,
particularly as we shall have occasion to explain the terms in question
when we come to speak of the religion of the Druids.

5 S. Jude, 6. According to the bardic doctrine, pride was the only
sin which would plunge man back to Annwn, or the lowest state of
existence. See Theological Triads.

TOL. I. N

90 THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY.

in their primeval state," which cannot of course be pre-
dicated of the human race.

The rods, on which were inscribed all sciences, may be
plainly identified with the " tree of knowledge." In-
deed, a tradition similar to that of the Cymry on this
point seems to have existed even among the Jews, for a
Chaldean Rabbi, named Naham, gives us the following
explanation of the tree of knowledge :

" The great tree in the midst of Paradise, the sprigs and leaves
of which were letters, and the branches words." 6

Nevertheless the conduct of Einigan and Menw in
some respects forcibly reminds us of Moses and the tablets
of the law. And not the least remarkable coincidence
is the proclamation of the name of the Lord, at the re-
newal of the Decalogue, and the restoration of the Divine
name upon the rods, though it was afterwards to be
kept a secret among the teachers of religion. Nor is this
latter circumstance without its parallel, for the Jews too
regard the name Jehovah as the unutterable name, never
to be used save on solemn occasions, and say that the
real pronunciation of it is known only to the higher orders
of the priesthood. The reason assigned for the conceal-
ment is found in Exodus iii. 15, the latter part of which
the Rabbins translate thus: " Let this My name be secret,
keep this in remembrance for all generations." 7

The bardic memorials are not agreed as to the order
of Menw and Einigan in point of time. The designation
of " ap y Teirgwaedd," son of the three shouts, would
imply Menw to have been the first man, which appears
to have been the belief, likewise, of Geraint Vardd Glas
in the tenth century, as we infer from the following
stanzas which are attributed to him :

6 Celtic Researches, p. 306.

7 In our translation it is, " this is My name for ever, and this My
memorial unto all generations." But the word which we render
ever, signifies also hidden and secret, and this is the meaning which
the Rabbins affirm to be the right one.

THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY. 91

" The achievement of Menw ap Teirgwaedd,
Was the forming of a vehicle of memory for the shout he heard;
And along with record, interpretation.

" The achievement of Einigan Gawr, the ancient,
Was the forming of faultless vocal letters ;
And a regular system for poetic genius." 8

The late lolo Morganwg regarded Einigan as the son
of Menw, but whether he did so on the authority of some
document in his possession, which has not yet been pub-
lished, or whether it was a mere inference on his part, is
not clear. As he was generally most scrupulous in his
adherence to facts, the former hypothesis is very probable,
especially as he introduces the mention of another cir-
cumstance, which may not even be inferred from the
preceding fragments, namely, that Menw " engraved or
painted the visible appearance of the three rays of light,"
for the use of his son, " on a stone [stones] which he
found on the shore of the river Llionwy," (streaming
waters). 9 These stones, we are told, were called Coel-
vain, or stones of credibility.

Einigan may possibly be identified with Enos, of
whom the bardic memorials have handed down to us
this singular account :

" The third language is the Cymraeg, which Enos the son of
Seth, the son of Adam, acquired; and he was the first man,
since the expulsion of Adam from Paradise, that praised God
and goodness by means of vocal song." 1

The latter statement is in perfect harmony with the

8 The stanzas of the achievements, composed by the Azure Bard of
the Chair, apud lolo MSS. p. 668. The last person whose exploits
are recorded in these stanzas is Howel Dda, a contemporary of the
bard.

9 Recollections and Anecdotes of lolo Morganwg, p. 187.

1 Cyvrinach y Beirdd, p. 20. This work purports to exhibit the
poetical or metrical system of the ancient bards of the Isle of Britain,
as carried down from time immemorial in the chair of Glamorgan.
It was compiled by Edward Davydd, of Margam, from the books of
Meuryg Davydd, Davydd Llwyd Mathew, Davydd Benwyn, and
Llywelyn Sion, and received the sanction of a Gorsedd held at
Bewpyr, in Whitsuntide, in the year 1681.

92 THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY.

language of Geraint Vardd Glas, relative to the poetic
character of Einigan. Nor would the Cymry stand
alone in respect of having preserved reminiscences of
Enos beyond what is recorded in the Bible. Some of
the eastern people also make the following additions to
his history ; that Seth, his father, declared him sovereign
prince and high priest of mankind, next after himself;
that Enos was the first who ordained public alms for the
poor, established public tribunals for the administration
of justice, and planted, or rather cultivated, the palm.

EINI may be but a modification of ENOS, or it may
signify possession or property ; in that case the compound
would mean literally the owner of song, eino can.

But we are informed elsewhere that " the first man in
the world who composed poetry/' 2 was Gwyddon Gan-
hebori, who on that account may be presumed to be
identical with the former, particularly as his appellation
bears a similar meaning. Gwyddon is a man of know-
ledge, being the primary term applied to the Druid, and
Ganhebon is obviously compounded of can, a song, and
eb or ebu, to utter, q. d. the wise man, reciter of songs,
the minstrel sage. The antiquity of his era is emphati-
cally inferred from the unusual expression of the Triad,
" the first man in the world," and not merely " of the
race of the Cymry," or " in the Isle of Britain," with
which other facts and events are generally introduced.
In another Triad he is made to precede Hu Gadarn,
whose oxen drew the avanc to land out of Llyn Llion,
from which fact it follows that he must have been at
least an antediluvian.

The supposition that lolo Morganwg derived his
information respecting the stones on the bank of Llion wy
from bardic sources, would furnish us with an additional
evidence of the identity of Einigan and Gwyddon Gan-
hebon, on whose stones likewise " were read the arts and
sciences of the world." 3 These stones, moreover, remind
us of the inscribed pillars of Seth, Thoth, or Hermes.

2 Triad 92, Third Series. 3 Triad 97, Third Series.

THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY. 93

Joseph tis 4 speaks of two columns, one of stone the other
of brick, on which the children of Seth wrote their
inventions and their astronomical discoveries.

That poetry existed before the flood is unquestionable.
Moses has placed on record the song of Lamech, which
in the general character of its structure, founded on the
association of ideas, bears no small resemblance to those
specimens of the Triban Milwr, or the warrior's triplet,
in which the mention of an object in nature, or a well-
known event, in the two first lines, is by a natural train
of ideas made suggestive of some moral truth, laid down
in the last line. The song in question is as follows :

Adah and Zillah hear my voice,

Ye wives of Lamech hearken to my speech ;

Have I slain a man in bloody contest,

A young man in violent assault ?

If Cain shall be avenged seven times,

Much more Lamech seventy-seven times.

Here, the first column, if read separately, opens the
history, but the second column, by its duplication of
phraseology, perfects the series of thoughts, and converts
the whole into verses and poetry, and the memory, by
recollecting one member of the sentence, could not fail
of recollecting the other. 5 The Cymric Triban shall be
described in a future chapter.

Ancient writers are unanimous in attributing to the
Celtic people a peculiar love for poetry. " It is the cus-
tom," says Posidonius of Apamea, " with all the Celtic
princes, when they go to war, to take with them a number
of poets, who eat at their tables, and sing their praises to
the multitude who flock around them." 6 Strabo describes
the bards of Gaul as " chaunters and poets." 7 "The
bards," observes Ammianus Marcellinus, at a later period,
" record the exploits of heroes in poems, which they sing
to the soft sound of the lyre." 8 Both Caesar and Mela
testify that the disciples of the Druids sometimes spent

4 Antiq. lib. i. c. 3. 5 Calmet, sub voce " Poetry."

6 Athanae, lib. vi. c. 12. 7 Lib. iv. p. 277. 8 Lib. xv. c. 9.

94 THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY.

no less than twenty years in acquiring a perfect know-
ledge of their system, and getting by heart the multitude
of verses in which it was embodied. 9 Mela, indeed, has
preserved one of these, which is constructed in the triple
or triadic form :

" Unum ex iis quae prsecipiunt in vulgus effluxit, videlicet,
Ut forent ad bella meliores ;
seternas esse animas,
vitaraque alteram ad manes." 1

Diogenes Laertes presents us with another:

Kcu
Kcu

It is somewhat singular that the original of the latter,
free, however, from its Hellenism, has come down to us
as a portion of our own traditions, and is as follows :

"Tri chynnorion doethineb; uvuddhad i ddeddvau Duw,
ymgais a lies dyn, a dioddev yn lew pob digwydd bywyd." 3

The times at which these several writers flourished are,
of course, too distant to make their testimony strictly
available for our purpose ; still it is of value, as far as it
goes, because of the constitutionally poetic character it
gives to the people, which could not have been formed
in a few generations ; it seems very clearly to imply that
they were naturally disposed to the study and cultivation
of verse.

And traces of this taste for poetry are observable in
some of the oldest and most common words of the Cym-

9 Cses. De Bell. Gall. lib. vi. 14. Mela, lib. iii. 2.

1 To act bravely in war ;
That souls are immortal,

And that there is another life after death.

2 To worship the gods,
To do no evil,

And to exercise fortitude.

3 " The three primary principles of wisdom; obedience to the laws of
God, concern for the welfare of mankind, and suffering with fortitude
all the accidents of life." Ethical Triads; E. Williams' Poems,
ii. 248.

THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY. 95

raeg. Dadgan, to recite or pronounce, to declare, is
compounded of dad and can, g. d. to sing over again, or
to sing what has been composed beforehand. Gogan
plainly indicates that our ancestors conveyed their satirical
remarks through the medium of verse. Darogan would
predicate the same thing of their vaticinations. To bid
farewell is canu yn lack, and canu och is to complain.
Our old grammars, moreover, are compiled almost with
sole reference to the construction of poetry ; they are
emphatically treatises on prosody.

The only other personage who, we have reason to
believe, lived before the deluge, is Idris Gawr, celebrated
in the Triads as one of the " gwyn seronyddion," or
happy astronomers of the Isle of Britain, " whose know-
ledge of the stars, and of their nature and aspects was so
great, that they could foretell whatever might be desired
to be known to the day of doom." 4

The eastern people call Enoch by the name " Edris ;"
and Eusebius, from Eupolemus, tells us that the Baby-
lonians acknowledged Enoch as the inventor of astro-
logy. 5 From this coincidence we are warranted in pre-
suming the identity of our own Idris with the patriarch
Enoch.

From " Seronydd," plural " Seronyddion," the Greeks
seem to have formed their " Saronidae." It is derived
originally from ser, the stars ; from which came seron,
the starry system, and eventually seronydd, an astrono-
mer. The Homeric word %te is applied to a skilful
sailor, whose vocation required a knowledge of the stars. 6

We now pass on to that other mighty occurrence,
which has left an impression, more or less deep, on the
memory of every nation under the sun the universal
deluge.

This is designated as one of " the three awful events
of the Isle of Britain," and described as " the bursting of
Llyn Llion (the lake of waters), and the overwhelming of

4 Triad 89, Third Series. * Calmet, sub voce " Enoch."

6 See " Gomer," by Archdeacon Williams, p. 109.

96 THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY.

the face of all lands ; so that all mankind were drowned,
excepting Dwyvan and Dwyvach, who escaped in a naked
vessel, and of them the Island of Britain was re-peopled." 7

We have here an instance of the nostratism of national
traditions, which frequently consign the general events
of early ages to one country in particular. The Britons
were not free from this vanity in Caesar's time, as we see
in his Commentaries, where he relates that they had a
tradition of their being of an indigenous growth. 8

In another Triad we learn that one of " the three chief
master works of the Isle of Britain," was " the ship of
Nevydd Nav Neivion which carried in it a male and
a female of all living, when Llyn Llion burst forth." The
second was " the drawing of the avanc to land out of the
lake by the ychain bannog of Hu Gadarn, so that the
lake burst no more." 9

Llyn Llion is popularly supposed to be in the earth,
and the source of the sea, rivers, and springs. The
bursting of it, therefore, is no unapt illustration of the
Scriptural statement that " all the fountains of the great
deep were broken up." 1 There is, in like manner, a close
resemblance between the language of the Triad that the
ship of Nevydd Nav Neivion carried in it "a male arid
female of all living," and that of the Bible, " there went
in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the
female ; " 2 so as to leave no doubt that both refer to the
same subject, and that they are derived from a common
origin.

The allusion to the avanc is remarkable, and will easily
call to mind the tradition of the Hindus, which represents
Vishnou as destroying the monster that had caused the
deluge, and recovering the earth and the Veds.

It were idle to attempt an explanation of the avanc,
which is said to have occasioned the deluge ; but we shall
not perhaps be far wrong, if we see an allusion in the

7 Triad 13, Third Series.

8 Britanniae pars interior ab iis incolitur, quos natos in insula ipsa,
memoria proditum dicunt. De Bell. Gall. lib. v. c. 12.

9 Triad 97. l Genesis, vii. 2. jj jj. 9.

THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY. 97

drawing it out by the oxen of Hu Gadarn, to the sacrifice
of Noah upon the subsiding of the waters.

In support of the antiquity of our traditions on the
subjects of the creation and deluge, the testimonies of
Caesar and Mela may be adduced, both of whom have
recorded that the Druids used to enter into many dis-
quisitions in their schools, concerning the form and mag-
nitude of the universe in general, and of the earth in
particular. 3 Strabo has, indeed, preserved one of their
physiological tenets concerning the world, namely, that
it is indestructible, though at some time or other fire and
water will prevail, 4 by which is meant probably that it
will undergo a succession of great changes and revolu-
tions, which will be produced sometimes by the power or
predominance of water, and sometimes by that of fire.

J. WILLIAMS ab Ithel.
(To be continued.)

3 Caesar De Bell. Gall. lib. vi. c. 14. Mela De Situ Orbis, lib.
iii. 2.

4 Geograph. lib. iv. p. 275.

VOL. I.

98 CORRESPONDENCE.

AGRICULTURAL PRIZE FUND.

IT is intended to establish, in connexion with the Agri-
cultural Section of the Cambrian Institute, an " Agricul-
tural Prize Fund," with the view of encouraging the
study of husbandry and farming in the Principality.
Among the prizes proposed will be " the Institute's"
Gold Medal for the best cultivated Farm in general ;
and another for the best field of Turnips in particular.
A Silver Medal, with a purse of money, will be given
also for the best cultivated Cottager's Garden. These
prizes, with others, will be given in every district in
Wales where a Local Committee of the Institute shall
have been formed to take charge of their proper distribu-
tion, as soon as a sufficient amount of donations can be
obtained for that purpose.

The conditions as to size of farms, &c., under which
candidates will be allowed to compete, will be laid down
hereafter.

Meanwhile subscriptions will be thankfully received by
the Assistant Secretary, Mr. Richard Mason, Tenby.

CORRESPONDENCE.

JOHN JONES, GELLI LYVDY.

To the Editor of the Cambrian Journal.

SIR, Few men have done more for the cause of Welsh literature
than did John Jones, of Gelli Lyvdy, in the parish of Ysgeiviog,
Flintshire, who was an attorney in the court of the Marches of Wales.
He was a most indefatigable collector of Welsh MSS., and it appears
from some of his volumes, which are variously dated from 1590 to
1630, that he spent forty years over this national work. As many as
fifty large volumes were collected or transcribed by him, which now
form a portion of the celebrated library at Hengwrt.

It may not be uninteresting to several of your readers to see the
pedigree of this patriotic man, which has been copied from a loose
sheet accompanying Llyfr Dwned, which the said J. J. transcribed
from " Llyfr Risiart ap Sion o Ian Gynhafal yn swydd Ddinbych, yr
hwn a ysgrifennasse ei Lyfr allan o Lyfr Simwnt Vychan."

CORRESPONDENCE. 99

"Anwyl Ddarlleydd llyma Lyfr Sion ap Wiliam ap Sion ap
Wiliam ap Sion ap Dafydd ap Ithel Vychan ap Kyrifrig ap Rotpert
ap lerwerth ap Ryrid ap lerwerth ap Madawc ap Ednowain Bendew
un o bymtheg Llwyth Gwynedd ap Kynan Feiniad ap Gwaithfoed
fawr llwyth y Dehau Arglwydd Powys, Gwerit, ac Aberleifi Yr
hwn a elwir hefyd yn ol y Saesnigawl arfer John Jones 1606.'*

HERALD.

MOLT.

To the Editor of the Cambrian Journal.

SIR, Will any of your readers favour me with a literal translation
of the following lines, which occur in an elegy on lorwerth Gyrriawg
by Sefnyn, 1320-1370, apud Myv. Arch. i. p. 503:

" Mygr-Dduw hardd mae bardd balchffawd cyfannedd
Mewn bedd modd buchedd maddau ei bechawd
Moes rad molt pariad parawd ddigrifiaith
Maith mawrddwyn gwindaith Myrddin geudawd."

I make the request with the view of ascertaining the sense of molt
in the third line. The word is not to be met with in any dictionary,
and except in the inscription on the Cadfan stone, this is the only
place in which I have been fortunate enough to see it. In both
places, it will be observed, it is connected with death. Is it an old
form of moll, or an abbreviation of molawd, moled, or molud ?

J. W.

ON IMPROVING THE CONDITION OF THE WORKING

CLASSES.

To the Editor of the Cambrian Journal.

SIR, It has occurred to me, in common with others in this neigh-
bourhood, that the Cambrian Institute may be greatly instrumental
in raising the moral condition of the labouring classes, by encouraging
the formation of Benefit Societies on a sound basis, and by the
introduction of the Garden Allotment system into more general use.
Both these schemes, as it appears to us, might be carried out by
means of Local Committees established throughout the Principality
in connexion with the Institute. If you find that my countrymen
will generally respond to this proposal, I sincerely trust that you will
call the attention of the General Committee to it. Wishing you
every success, I remain, &c.,

A FARMER.

100

MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES.

We are obliged, for want of room, to postpone the publication of
several interesting papers, some of which are already in type, upon
Agriculture, Genealogy, &c., which, together with a complete list of
the Governors and Members of the CAMBRIAN INSTITUTE, will be
published in our next.

WELSH Music. We intend in our next to treat our musical friends
with some original airs of our mountain land, that have never before
appeared in print. We have several in store.

COELBREN Y BEiRDD. This essay, which gained the prize at the
last Abergavenny Eisteddfod, will be published in the Cambrian
Journal. The first instalment of the work will make its appearance
in our next number.

REGISTRATION OF BARDS, DRUIDS AND OVATES. We shall be
glad to publish in our Journal a complete list of living Bards, Druids
and Ovates. Will our literary and patriotic friends furnish us with
information as to the time and place of their inauguration, and the
degrees to which they were respectively admitted.

GOMER. We have only time to call attention to this remarkable
work, which has just issued from the press. Anything that emanates
from the pen of Archdeacon Williams is well worth perusal. The
present volume, we venture to predict, will be read and studied, not
only by Welshmen, but by such foreigners as are engaged in philo-
logical pursuits, and will tend greatly to draw their attention to the
philosophical treasures of the Cymraeg. We hope to review the work
in detail in a future number.

IOLO GOCH. As it is intended to publish a complete edition of the
works of this eminent Welsh bard, who flourished in the fourteenth
century, it is respectfully requested that all those persons who may be
in possession of any of his poems will kindly send a list of the titles
and first lines of each to the Editor of the Cambrian Journal. We
are told in Williams' " Eminent Welshmen," that more than fifty of
his poems are still preserved in manuscript. As soon as this shall
have been published, the compositions of other bards, such as Tudur
Aled, Gutty n Owen, William Cynwal, Sion Cent, &c., shall also
appear in due succession, so as ultimately to form a series of Welsh
classics, which, it is expected, will throw no inconsiderable light upon
the social history of Wales during the times in which their authors
severally flourished.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 101

LLYWELYN SIGN. We read in the preface to that invaluable book,
called "Cyvrinach Beirdd Yriys Prydain," that Llewelyn Sion, a
most indefatigable collector of old Welsh MSS., who flourished about
the year 1580, compiled a work entitled " Atgofion Gwybodau yr
hen Gymry, sef Cyfarwyddyd ar Brydyddiaeth, Achyddiaeth, Cofie-
dyddiaeth, Meddyginiaeth, Ffermyddiaeth, Deddfyddiaeth, Celfydd-
iaeth, a Fferylliaeth, yr hen Gymry ; " that he sent it to London for
the purpose of being printed, but that Llewelyn Sion dying in the
mean time, the book was lost. If such was the case, it was an
irreparable loss ; for the book treated of subjects concerning which we
have little or no information in the MSS. which have reached us.
Our poetical, genealogical and legal records, indeed, are com-
paratively abundant. We possess also an elegantly written treatise
on agriculture, which we intend to transfer into our pages. An in-
teresting work on medicine, will, we trust, soon make its appearance
under the auspices of the Welsh MSS. Society. Still these are scanty;
whilst of metallurgy we have no account whatever. We are not,
however, without a ray of hope that the book in question is not
irretrievably lost; it is not said that it was burnt, which was the
too frequent fate of old MSS. in times gone by. Perhaps, then,
some of our readers can furnish us with a clue as to its whereabouts.
We need not remind them that any act of theirs tending to the recovery
of this precious compilation, will be an act of real service to their
country, and deserving the unfeigned thanks of every true Welshman.

THE PROVINCIAL LIFE AND FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY OF WALES.
This is a new company, the only one established in Wales. It has
a capital of .200,000, subscribed principally by about five hundred
shareholders, resident in North and South Wales. The Directors, as
well as the Trustees, are men of the highest class in the Principality.
The terms are moderate, and the company propose to divide 80 per
cent, of the profits among the policy holders. We cannot but wish
this national undertaking every success.

102

REVIEWS.

RECOLLECTIONS AND ANECDOTES OF EDWARD WILLIAMS, the Bard
of Glamorgan; or, lolo Morganwg, B.B.D. By ELIJAH
WARING. London : Charles Gilpin. 1850.

Who has not heard of " lolo, old lolo," immortalised by Southey as

" he who knew

The virtue of all herbs of mount or vale,

Or greenwood shade, or quiet brooklet's bed ;

What lore of science, or of song,

Sages and bards of old have handed down ? "

He was, indeed, an extraordinary man ; yet who, a few years hence,
could have known anything of the characteristic details of his life and
conversation, were it not for the opportune appearance of the volume
before us ? Taliesin Williams had promised to write the memoirs of
his father, but ere he could accomplish his design, he also descended
into the grave. Under these circumstances it is a matter of great
gratification to us that Mr. Waring, an old associate of the Bard, has
come forward, and given to the public his "Recollections." We are
bound, moreover, to admit that, in the performance of his task, he has
evinced, in an eminent degree, the qualifications necessary for a bio-
grapher ; for not only has he brought together a variety of interesting
facts and anecdotes connected with the history of. this remarkable
man, and thrown them into a very readable form ; but he has shown
himself able to analyze the idiosyncracy of his subject. He has,
accordingly, made allowance for the manifestation of singularities
which a less liberal biographer would not have tolerated; nor has he,
in doing so, fallen into the other extreme, and incurred the guilt of
hero-worship. His account is pregnant with good sense and sound
judgment, and as such may be confidently held forth as a fair sample
of what biographies should be. We have, therefore, the less reason
to regret the non-fulfilment of Ab lolo's promise, whose filial piety
could scarcely have allowed his pen to steer so equally.

We apprehend that the world in general has not duly appreciated
the merits of the Bard of Glamorgan. This backwardness to do him
justice, is, no doubt, principally owing to the strange and unattractive
character of his religious and political opinions. But why should we
allow these to distort our judgment ? It was not in religion or politics
that he was either great or famous it is the self-dying efforts which
he made for the preservation of the ancient lore of Wales that com-
mand our respect and admiration. We boldly assert that in this
respect we are more beholden to him than to any of his cotemporaries,
not excepting Owen Myvyr and Dr. Owen Pughe. The seventy-six
MS. volumes, which he left behind him, are standing monuments of
his literary industry and patriotic zeal ! We sincerely trust that every

REVIEWS. 103

care will be taken of these relics. A great portion of their contents
has been already published under the auspices of the Welsh MSS.
Society ; we cannot, however, but infer from certain statements which
occur in the appendix to Mr. Waring's book, that there are yet some
documents in that vast store which have never been made public.
Are these in safe hands ? The bard himself, his wife, son, and
daughter, repose within the rustic church of Flimstone; who is it
that inherits the literary result of his great patriotism ? It is a question
of national interest, and it is much to be hoped that it may be answered
satisfactorily.

We had intended to make extracts out of Mr. Waring's narrative,
as well as out of the Bard's own papers, which are inserted in the
appendix, but we have room only for the following observations of
the latter on the philosophy of History, which, as his biographer
remarks, "do honour to the mind that conceived, and the pen that
wrote them," particularly when it is remembered that the hand which
guided that pen, was the same which hard necessity compelled, for
many years, to " inscribe doggerel upon tombstones."

" The philosophy of real History, and that of conjecture, or imagination, differ
very widely ; but how often we find the latter mistaken perhaps designedly, and
with sinister views, substituted for the other. Hume, Voltaire, Gibbon, and many
others, exhibit instances of this spurious philosophy, casting false lights on some
things, and impervious darkness on others. History should be philosophy teaching
by examples, deduced from facts and events ; and conjecture should be kept under
very severe restraint. History should be something more than a mass of annals
than the mere relation and chronology of events it should not only inform, but
illuminate and improve the mind. Every occurrence should be made to appear,
what it will infallibly be found to have been, the unavoidable result of some virtue
or vice, some wisdom or folly, in the government, manners, &c., of a people some
attainments or want of knowledge something peculiar to the age wherein it ap-
peared. We should be taught what operated in its production, and how it operated
in producing its effects and consequences. Thus would the history of a country
become a system of ethics for it, and for all men in all ages, as far as it should ever
become known. History that answers not such purposes, cannot be considered
as anything better than a series of old wives' tales mere idle chat about nothing of
any real use, or rational interest. Whatever moral instruction may be derived from
History, should be found by every reader in the history of his own rather than
that of any other country." p. 210,211.

GEMS OF ENGLISH VERSE, with Translations into Welsh. Caermar-
then : W. Spurrell. 1853.

This little volume will please our bilingual friends, who are fond of
poetry. It was compiled, we are told, " with a view to preserving
some of the many excellent imitations of choice pieces from the English
poets which have from time to time appeared in the periodical litera-
ture of the day." No fewer than fifty-nine fragments, from Shak-
speare down to Southey, have thus been rendered into Welsh. The
translations of course vary considerably in point of merit, yet we
hesitate not to predicate of some of them, that they are so good as
even to surpass the original. Such in particular we deem the free
rendering of Tarn o' Shanter, by Talhaiarn, to be. Our countryman

104 REVIEWS.

has not only succeeded admirably in adapting the tale to the character
of the Welsh people, but he has exhibited throughout flashes of real
genius. His descriptions are exceedingly clever ; take the following
as a specimen :

" A'r ladi wen,

Heb yr un pen,
Yn neidio fel wiwair o bren i bren ;

A chores o wrach,

Yn nyddu troell bach,
A'r edaif cyn ffyrfed a llinyn sach ;

Un arall fel cath,

Ni welid ei bath
Am neidio, hi neidiai driugain Hath ;

Ar noswaith ddu,

Y byddynt yn hy',

Yn ddychryn i bawb ddaent allan o dy."
Again,

" Ysbrydion hyllion, gwylltion gwallgo',
Yn dawnsio, jiggio, a chwirlio
Tylwythion teg yn ysgafn droedio,
Is y banciau dan ysboncio j
Fob math o hyll ysgymun luniau,
Yn gwau drwy'u gilydd hyd yr ochrau ;
Dewinod, gwrachod, croenau crychion,
A llomon diafl, a llyffaint duon ;
Rhai hyllion, mawrion yn ymwrio,
Yn neidio, crecian, ac yn crowcio ;
Draenogod, chwilod, llygod llegach,
Ffwlbartiaid aflan baban bwbach ;
Gwiberod nadroedd llysnafeddawl,
A llawer ffyrnig gyw uffernawl,
Fob gwrthun ac ysgymun gaid,
Yn dawnsio 'mhlith y ddieflig haid.

" Belphegor oedd yn canu 'r sturmant,
Mewn ceubren ellyll yn y ddunant ;
A'i gyrn yn fforchi uwch ei ben,
Ac ar bob un ddylluan wen ;
A tw-hw-hw y dylluanod,
Oedd chorus certh y pwll diwaelod.
A Bel oedd nerth ei geg a'i ddwylaw,
Yn chwarae a'r nentydd yn dadseiniaw ;
A'i lygaid tanllyd yn gwreichioni,
A'i garnau 'n cydio yn y gwerni j
A'i gynffon oedd yn droion draw,
Y 'mhlith y ceryg, pridd a baw j
Oddeutu hon 'roedd seirff plethedig,
Yn gwau yn hynod a gwenwynig ;
Yn gwylio 'n unol a'u colynau
Rhag i ryw gaswyr drin ei goesau." p. 201, &c.

We are under great obligations to Mr. Spurrell for the many useful
and cheap publications which he has already brought out, and we
earnestly trust that the sale thereof will be such as to give him due
encouragement to continue his laudable undertaking.

THE

CAMBRIAN JOURNAL,

A LEAN % S HEVIN

(SUMMER SOLSTICE.)

HISTORY.

THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY,
CHAPTER II.

THE CYMRY IN THE EAST.

FROM the mutual similarity of the names Comari or
Gomari, Cimbri, and Cymry, which in the infancy of the
language must have been written Comro or Comri, 1 we
infer the identity of the people that bore those appella-
tions. But the following considerations will add still
more to the weight of the argument. Joseph us 2 and
Eustathius 3 both declare the Gomari and Galatae to have
been the same people, and Appian makes a like statement

1 See Bardic Alphabet, apud lolo MSS. p. 617.

2 Joseph. Antiq. Jud. lib. i. c. 6.

3 Eustat. Com. in Hexam. p. 51.

VOL. i. p

106 THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY.

in regard to the Cimbri and the Celtse or Galli. 4 Now,
we have evidence that the Cymry were also of the Gallic
family, and consequently identical with the Gomari.
Thus a Triad distinguishes the Cymry prior to their occu-
pation of this island by the name of Gal gre, 5 the Gallic
herd ; 6 which name appears to have clung to them even
to the sixth century, for in one of Llywarch Hen's poems,
Urien Rheged is described as " Eryr Gal," the eagle of
Gaul. 7 In another Triad we are informed that Llydaw,
or Armorica, a province of Gaul, was peopled by the
same race that originally settled in Britain. 8 Lastly, and
above all, there exists such an affinity between the
language and manners of the early Britons and those of
the people whom the Romans emphatically designated
Galli, 9 as to leave no room for doubt as to their common
origin. 1

The founder of this people is stated by Josephus 2 and
Eustathius 3 to have been Gomer, which assertion is sup-
ported, moreover, by St. Jerome, 4 and St. Isidore, Bishop
of Seville. 5 It is due, however, to observe that Nennius,
upon the alleged authority of native documents, makes
Javan to be the remote progenitor of the Britons, and
(though here perhaps not on home evidence) distin-
guishes them from the Gauls, whom, on the other hand,
he derives from Gomer. 6 The genealogy of GrufFydd ab

4 Apud Camden. 5 Dr. Pughe's Diet, voce " Prydain."

6 Or perhaps the people of Gallo-Graecia, the country which
another Triad (14) represents a portion of the Cymry as having after-
wards occupied under the name of Galas, and which might have been
their original home.

7 Elegy on Urien Rheged. 8 Triad 4.
9 " Qui ipsorum lingua Celtae, nostra Galli appellantur."

1 See Camden.

2 Tovg yap vvv 'EXX^vwv FaXarae mX5jUvoi/, Topapelc $e \Eyo^.evovQ 9
Tofj.apog EKTure. Antiq. Jud. lib. i. c. 6.

3 Tapep ocrrig Tapapelg rovg vvv TaXarag ffvveffrrjffev. Com. in
Hexam. p. 51.

4 tf Sunt autem Gomer, Galatae." Hierom. Trad. Heb. in Gen.

5 " Filii autem Japhet septem numerantur, Gomer, ex quo Galatae,
id est, Galli." Isidor. Orig. 1. ix. c. 2.

6 Sect. 17, 18.

THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY. 107

Cynan, in the second volume of the Myvyrian Aruhai-
ology, as well as other pedigrees registered by Lewis
Dwnn, are likewise deduced from Javan, and thus far
countenance the views of Nennius. Nevertheless, as we
have established the common origin of the Cymry and
the Gauls, it follows that the pedigrees in question must
to a certain extent be erroneous. Nor is it difficult to
discover the cause of the mistake, which is, obviously,
the habit of regarding the Trojan Brutus as the founder
of the aboriginal colony in Britain, or rather as the parent
of the whole race of the Cymry, for his name occurs in
every, or nearly every, 7 line that professes to be carried
up to Adam.

Nennius represents the Britons as descended from
Hessitio, the son of Alan, the son of Fetebir, the son of
Ougomum, the son of Thois, the son of Boib, the son of
Simeon, the son of Mair, the son of Aurthach, the son of
Oth, the son of Abir, the son of Rea, the son of Ezra, the
son of Izrau, the son of Baath, the son of Jobaath, the
son of Jo van, the son of Japheth. 8

In some copies, another and an additional lineage is
given, which for the most part differs from the preceding ;
it is thus : Brutus the son of Hisitio, the son of Alan,
the son of Rea, the daughter of Silvia Rea, the daughter
of Numa Pamphilius, the son of Ascanius, the son of
^Eneas, the son of Anchises, the son of Tros, the son of
Dardanus, the son of Flise, the son of Juvan, the son of
Japheth. It is in the section which contains this pedigree,
the statement occurs that the Gauls are descended from
Gorner, 9 and the Greeks from Javan, thus giving the
Britons a Grecian origin.

The former list is that which appears the most genuine,
inasmuch as the historian positively declares it to have
been derived " ex traditione veterum, qui incola? in primo

7 The section containing the statement that Brutus was the son of
Hisitio, is not found in several MSS. which the Editor Stevenson
consulted. In the preceding section the son is called Britto.

8 Sect. 17.

9 According to one copy Gomer is the progenitor of the Medes.

108 THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY.

fuerunt Britanniae." The other evidently savours in some 1
degree of the Trojan or mediaeval school of chroniclers.

It is, no doubt, to the inhabitants of the British isle
that Herodotus refers, when he speaks of the Cynetae as
being situated in the western extremities of Europe. He
seems, indeed, to regard them as a distinct people from
the Celtae ; but, in reality, all that we are warranted in
inferring from his words is that Cynetae was the pre-
dominant name by which our ancestors were known in his
day. He gives no opinion as to their origin, neither
does he deny that they essentially formed a part of the
Celtic family ; whilst it is clear that the other Greeks
of old placed the Celtae, we may say, alone in our
western continent, which they distinguished by their
name. Thus, Ephorus dividing the world into four
parts, allotted the western to the Celtae j 1 and Ptolemy
calls that whole part of the world, which is commonly
known by the name of Europe, Celtica or Celto- Galatia. 2

We may, perhaps, discover vestiges of the term Cynetae
in the local names, Caint, Gwent, and Gwynedd, which
are still retained. It is remarkable also that Aueurin, in
his celebrated poem Y Gododin, distributes the people of
Britain into " Cynt a Gwyddyl a Phrydyn," which proves
that the principal colony, i. e. the Cymry, bore a name
similar to that recorded by Herodotus, even in the sixth
century.

This cognomen suggests the supposition that the
Cymry were derived from Gomer through his eldest
son Ashkenaz, Celtice Ys-Cyn HU-YSGWN ! The ori-
ginal seat of Ashkenaz appears to have been in Bithynia,
which preserved his name to a late period of the Jewish
annals. His name is understood also to keep possession
of the Ascanian or Euxine sea, as well as of the nook
which lies between that sea and the Propontis. 3 Now

1 Strabo, lib. i.

2 Quadripart. lib. ii. c. ii.

3 Ascania, a city of Troas. Steph. of Phrygia. Hesych.
Ascaniae insulae, before Troas. Plin. Ascanius sinus, by Nicea.-
Ascanius Lacus, between Phrygia and Mysia. Arrian. A river,

THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OP THE CYMRY, 109

singularly coincident with these facts, and therefore
corroborative of the view in question, is the language of
the Triads, which points to the vicinity " where Constan-
tinople stands," 4 as the oriental home of the Cymry. If
we may judge, however, from the ancient geographers,
they must have deviated somewhat towards the north-
east ere they reached that station. 5

Of the pursuits of the Cymry, and the occurrences
which befel them ere they settled down in this place
Deffrobani we know but little. We are merely told
that by experience they recovered the knowledge of
religion, and made some progress in the sciences, 6 that
those men among them who excelled in these matters
were constituted teachers of the others, and that the
people were by this means consolidated and raised into
social order.

The following are the words of the " Roll of Tradition
and Chronology ;"

"After traversing Abred In the state of humanity, some of
the principal sciences and fundamental truths were restored to
memory and intellect ; and God deigned His grace to those who,,
in His sight, were deemed the best of mankind, and explained
truths, organizations, and beneficent systems to them. The per-
sons thus initiated, again taught others; and raised to the
privileges of kindred order those who had engrafted on their
memory and understanding those primitive truths and sciences.
It was thus that the system of kindred order was first instituted
for the promotion of all knowledge, established regulations, and
truths, the fundamental maxim, ' God's word in the highest/^

and the whole district were known by that name. Strabo,, who cites>
from Euphorion, Mvo-oig Trap' v^aaiv Aemtyioio*

4 Triad 4.

5 Ptolemy places the Chomarians in Bactriana pretty near the river
Oxus, and the Comarians towards the most eastern boundaries of
Sogdiana, not far from the sources of the Jaxartes. Mela, on the
contrary, places the Comarians towards Sogdiana and Bactriana, and
the Chomarians a little above the Caspian sea, towards the Massagetse..

6 " Ten characters significant of language and utterance, were pos-
sessed by the race of the Cymry for ages before they came to the 1
island of Britain, as a secret under oath and vow amongst the 1
karned." lolo MSS. p. 623.

7 Or " God's word uppermost," or "above all." "It is a common*

110 THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY.

being inseparably blended with the whole. And all who retained
that principle in memory would say, ere they took any subject
into consideration, or carried any purpose into effect, ' God
leading;' 'In the name of God ;' 'Truth is Truth;' ' Truth will
become Truth ;' ' Truth will have its place ;' ' God is Truth ;' and
' God is God ;' and the Deity poured His grace on all who
retained in memory and action those fundamental truths ; and
He established them in the order of regulated kindreds. It was
through such divine grace, that the race of the Cymry first
attained strength, judicial dispensations, social order, domestica-
tion, and all other primitive principles of kindred and national
institutions. Having thus far advanced in social order, the
Cymry, for countless ages, were a migratory people, moving in
communities, over the face of transmarine countries; but at
length they settled as a nation in Deffrobani, or the summer
country." 8

There are no stages of place or time marked out in
this extract until we come to its conclusion. We cannot
even judge whether it takes in the diluvian crisis or not.
Elsewhere, however, we are given to understand that the
Cyrnry had no hand in the erection of the tower of
Babel ; to which circumstance is attributed the compara-
tive purity of their language.

" The Cymraeg was preserved above the waters of the deluge
by Japheth son of Noah the Aged, and his posterity carried it to
the extremities of the world, when the language of those men
was corrupted, who built the castle of Babylon into a tower of
monstrous height, a deed which was displeasing to the Holy
Spirit. It was on that account that all the languages of the
world, except the Cymraeg, became defective, perverted, and
degenerated ; wherefore as a memorial of the said occurrence the
castle or tower of Babylon is to be seen of a monstrous size and
form, and no power on earth can dissolve it." 9

The inference which we may perhaps draw from this
is, that the Cymry had taken their departure, and moved
towards Thrace, before the confusion of tongues happened

expression in my country ; when a person intends to say or do some-
thing, or to go anywhere, he thus expresses himself, ' I will do, I will
say, or I will go to such and such a place and God's word above
all' " Richard Menevensis' Epistle, prefixed to Wm. Salesbury's
Translation of the New Testament.

lolo MSS. pp. 46, 425. 9 Cyvrinach y Beirdd, p. 29.

THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY. Ill

on the plains of Shinar; whilst the very fact of their
having embodied reminiscences of the event in their
traditions would also imply that they were not quite
excluded from communication with some of the people
to whom it befel.

There are several considerations which would lead to
the conclusion that by Deffrobani is meant Taprobana or
Ceylon. Thus, an opinion prevailed that Adam was
created, 1 and that Mount Ararat stood in that country. 2
The druidical rites, bardic doctrines, popular traditions,
and even some proverbs of the Cymry, are similar to
those of the Hindus, and are evidently derived from the
same source. In the fifth century, Gavran ab Aeddan
is said to have gone in search of the Gwerddonau Llion, 3
or the green islands of the deluge, which seems to imply
that a belief was then current that the ancestors of the
nation had come from a land surrounded by water. This
is, moreover, confirmed by a poem attributed to Taliesin,
but which is obviously of a date posterior to his era, in
which Deffrobani is described as an island "dephrophani
ynys." 4

On the other hand the geographical position of Tapro-
bana would appear to be far too much eastward for the
route usually assigned to the Comari, and marked on the
ancient maps. And certainly as early as the twelfth
century, at least, the situation of Deffrobani was thought
to be identical with the place " where Constantinople
stands." 5 There are traces also of the Cymry in that part
of the world ; thus, there is a city in Phrygia called
Cimmeris ; the Bosphorus Cimmerius evidently received
its name from the nation, in the outlet whereof was a

1 In the " Awdl Vraith," it is said, however, that Adam was created
in the vale of Hebron. See Myv. Arch., i. p. 92.

2 Samaritan version of the Book of Genesis.

3 Triad 10. * Myv. Arch. i. p. 170.

5 The Triads, in which this commentary occurs, purport to have
been taken from the book of Caradoc of Nantgarvan, who lived
about the middle of the twelfth century, and from the book of leuan
Brechva, who wrote a compendium of the Welsh annals, down to
1150.

112 THE TRADITIONAKY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY.

city called Cimmerian. There is also in Constantinople
itself a steep called Camara.

And should the hypothesis relative to the Indian posi-
tion of Deffrobani be untenable, it would not be a difficult
matter to trace the name even in the neighbourhood
pointed out by the Triad. The word is not always writ-
ten as a compound, or with the same termination.
Geraint Vardd Glas has it " deffro Bain," 6 as if the latter
only was the proper name, the other being suggestive of
the character of the locality, q. d. dyvro Bain, the dis-
trict of Peneus. The word Phan also occurs in the name
of the town P^arcaspa, on the south-western coast of the
Caspian Sea ; in that of the river Thesphanium ; the
town PAaraagoras in the neighbourhood of the Crimea,
and the promontory Panium, called also PA#/iarion, in
Thrace. There was, moreover, a street in Constantinople
itself, called Phananum. 7 Nor is it improbable that the
country of Hav, anciently pronounced Ham, was meant
for Hsemus.

But perhaps we may succeed in mutually reconciling
these apparently contradictory theories, if we suppose
that, during the intercourse which is known to have ex-
isted at various periods between the Britons and Hindus, 8
whilst the latter would run away with the idea of our
own country being the abode of Pitris, the fathers of the
human race, they in return communicated to the Cymry
their tradition as to Taprobana being the cradle of nations,

< 6 " Goruc Hugadarn Gymmhrain
Ar Gymry Ynys Prydain

I ddyffryd o ddeffro Bain." lolo MSS. p. 262.
T Roberts' Early History of the Britons, p. 24.
8 Wilford's Asiat. Res. v. iii. apud Celtic Researches, p. 197.
" That masterly writer informs us that much intercourse once pre-
vailed between the territories of India, and certain countries in
the west. That the old Indians were acquainted with our British
islands, which their books describe as the sacred islands in the west,
calling one of them Bretashtan, or the seat and place of religious
duty. That one of these islands, from the earliest periods, was re-
garded as the abode of the Pitris, who were fathers of the human race.
And that in these islands were two places in which those Pitris could
he seen,"

THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY. 113

and that the Cymry naturally connected this with their
primeval home, and adopted the name, though they
mistakingly fixed it in the locality pointed out by their
own earlier traditions.

The first inhabitants of a country leave behind them
an everlasting memorial of their name and language in
the designations which they give to mountains, rivers,
and other natural objects, which are appropriated, how-
ever modified, by succeeding occupants. In addition
to those already mentioned, we may recognize the
language of the Cymry in Lygos and Byzantium,
the ancient names of Constantinople ; which are derived,
the former either from Llwch, an influx of water, or from
Ling, a gleam, Hug as, a beacon ; the latter from Pen or
Beu, a habitation, and Zant or Xaintes, as in Penzance
in Cornwall. A few names, more relevant, occur in the
north of Thrace. According to Strabo, the Danube had
this name from its source to Axiopolis, & x ; but
below, to the sea, it was called Ister. In the Cymraeg,
Isder and Istir literally signify the lower ground. Above
Axiopolis, the Rhabon emptied itself into the Danube.
The name Rhabon seems to have been originally yr avon,
that is, the river. Higher up the Danube was Tricornium,
that is, Tri-corn, or the three-horned, a name which, as
the delineation of the junction of the Margus with the
Danube in Ptolemy shows, is justly applied. Arriban-
tium is ar y bant, which means on the declivity. 9

These names, and several more which might be added,
confirm the character given to the Cymry in the Triads,
that "they would not have lands by fighting and con-
tention, but justly and in peace." *

Nevertheless, all the descendants of Gomer were not
thus distinguished. Among his offspring are enumerated
both the Parthians and the Sacse. The former people
were separated from the main body whilst they were yet
in Margiana, and crossed the vast mountains which are
to the south of that region, into a country then in pos-

9 Roberts' History of the Britons, pp. 29, 30. J Triad 5.

VOL. I. Q

114 THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY.

session of the Medes, who were known by the name of
Arii. This act, it is presumed, gave them the name of
Parthians, from parthu, to separate. The Sacae was a
name given to some of the posterity of Gomer that lived
in Upper Asia, and of them some, the Nomadan Sacae,
led a vagrant and savage life. The other Sacae, who
were more civilized, arid lived in towns and villages,
were likewise a warlike people, and are placed by Pliny
at the head of the Scythian nations that lived in Upper
Asia, " celeberimi eorum Sacae." They particularly
distinguished themselves as horsemen, " Strenuissimi
ex equitibus Sacae." 2

These distinctive appellations imply the deviation of
their owners from their original characters ; whilst, on
the contrary, the retention by our ancestors of the name
Cymry denotes a consistency of political character on
their part, and that they were a main, if not the prin-
cipal, branch of the Gomeric stock.

The Cymry seem to have remained for some time in
Deffrobani; and whilst they were there, they applied
themselves to the cultivation of the soil, under the in-
struction of Hu Gadarn, who on that account is distin-
guished as one of " the three benefactors of the race of
the Cymry." 3 His achievement in this respect has been
sedulously remembered by posterity, and an ancient piece
of sculpture found in Gaul, on which, under the name
Hesus, he is represented as cutting trees, indicates that
it was traditionally considered to consist for the most
part in the clearance of forests. Some of the mediaeval
poets of Wales speak of him as having tilled the ground
by means of a plough.

" Hu Gadarn, the sovereign, the ready protector,
A king, distributing the wine, and the renown,

2 Pezron, c. iv.

a " The three benefactors of the race of the Cymry ; the first, Hu
Gadarn, who first showed the race of the Cymry the method of cul-
tivating the ground, when they were in the land of Hav, namely,
where Constantinople now stands, before they came into the island
of Britain." Triad 56.

THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY. 115

The emperor of the land and the seas,

And the life of all in the world, was he.

After the deluge, he held

The strong bearn'd plough, active and excellent ;

This did our lord of stimulating genius,

That he might show to the proud man, and to the humbly wise,

The most approved art, with the faithful father." 4

It were vain to endeavour to arrive at the knowledge
of the particular kind of implement used by him on the
occasion ; suffice it that it must have been of stone or
wood, and very rude, which would involve much labour
and time. Perhaps it was something similar to that
with which, according to the Bardic memorials, Adam
tilled the ground upon his expulsion from Paradise,
namely, a sharp pointed pole. This in the Cymraeg is
called pal; and " pal is the old Cimbric word for a pole,
as may be seen in the old books ; hence an implement for
cutting soil is called pal, though the spike of the pole
be now made of iron and steel." 5

We are told in the Triads that Hu Gadarn was " the
first who collected the race of the Cymry, and disposed
them into tribes ; " 6 and the Bardd Glas gives us to un-
derstand that this was done before, and preparatory to,
their departure from Deffrobani :

" The achievement of Hu Gadarn was, forming social order
For the Cymry of the island of Britain,
For their removal from Deffrobani." T

But though they advanced somewhat in the scale of
civilization whilst they remained here, they eventually

" Rebelled against God and His fundamental truths ; sinning
and committing injustice with daring transgression; for which
He poured on them His retributive vengeance ; whereupon dis-
persion and devastation ensued, until they became nearly extinct;
having lost their territories and national rights. Then some
betook to themselves their consciences, recovered to memory the
name of the Deity and His truths ; and adhering to those principles,

4 lolo Goch, see Dr. Pughe's Diet, sub voce " Hu."

5 Cyvrinach y Beirdd, p. 29. 6 Triad 57.
7loloMSS. p. 669.

116 THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY.

they conducted themselves under the influence of cautious reason
in their sinking state. God now, out of His grace and unutter-
able love, imbued them with laudable intentions ; placing among
them wise and holy men, who under the upholding of God and
His peace, and in the refuge of His truth and justice, acquired a
right knowledge of every superiority conducive to the well-being
of the race of the Cymry. Thus circumstanced, they proceeded
in their adopted course, admitting into their train all that would
join them, from camp to camp ; and in this manner retreated,
until they escaped from the nations that had assailed them with
devastation and plunder." 8

8 Roll of Tradition and Chronology, apud lolo MSS. pp. 47, 426.

117

CHAPTER III.

THE ARRIVAL IN BRITAIN.

THE leader of the Cymry, on their way from Deffrobani,
was Hu Gadarn; hence styled one of "the three opposing
energies of the Isle of Britain." 1 He also brought them
over into this country ; and on that account is distin-
guished as one of " the three pillars of the island." 2 Ac-
cording to Strabo, if indeed he refers to the same emigra-
tion, they proceeded westward along the Danube, as far
as the Hercynian forest, where, meeting with difficulties,
they returned to the Danube, and went forward to
Helvetia, from thence to the country between the Rhine
and the Elbe, and, lastly, to the Chersonese, to which
the name of Cimbric has been attached, now the penin-
sula of Jutland. The Triads complete their route to
their ultimate stations in Britain and Armorica. " They
came from the land of Hav, called Deffrobani, where
Constantinople stands, and they passed over Mor Tawch
to the island of Britain, and to Llydaw, where they re-
mained." 3

The Mor Tawch, upon which the Coritani lay, 4 must
evidently mean the German Ocean, whether we render it
by the hazy sea, or the sea of Dacia, one of the names
by which Germany was known in the middle ages. 5

The arrival of the Cymry in Britain occured at a very
early period. One chronology 6 fixes the event at about
1788 years prior to the Christian era; according to

1 Triad 54. 2 Triad 4. 3 Triad 4.

4 See Triad 7. It must have been, therefore, to the east of Britain.

5 See Ranulph Higden ; Chronicum Elegiacum ; G. ab Arthur ;
Polydore Virgil ; Heylin.

6 Oral Tradition and Chronology.

118 THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY.

another fragment 7 it would, perhaps, not be so early by
about 170 years. The stone relics, discovered in diffe-
rent parts of the island, and which the rites of the bards
have traditionally referred to our Cimbric ancestors,
indicate a very remote antiquity. So do also the Celtic
names, traceable along their alleged route, from the
Euxine even to the Norwegian Morimarusa, 8 or Mor
Marw, and all suggestive of primary occupation. Scien-
tific men have, indeed, calculated on astronomical prin-
ciples, that Britain must have been inhabited at least
1500 years before the Nativity. Their calculations are
founded upon the religious festivals of the Druids, the
dates of which are said to have been affected by the slow
movement of the seasons through the signs of the zodiac,
caused by the precession of the equinoxes, or, in other
words, by the periodical revolution of the pole of the
equator round the pole of the ecliptic. 9

The existence of a numerous population about the
period of the Roman invasion, as described by some of
our old writers, would of itself imply a prior inhabitancy
of considerable duration. Diodorus calls Britain tto\v-
avdpwwov Ti t v vrjvov, 1 and CaBsar, with especial reference to
its maritime parts, remarks, " hominum est infinita mul-
titudo ;" 2 both which expressions indicate it to have been
in their day unusually populated.

The Cimbric names, also, which are impressed upon
objects between the Euxine and Jutland, preclude us
from supposing that the emigration of the Cymry to
Britain was owing to the pre-occupation of the interme-
diate countries by other nations, and that it was thus
comparatively late; on the contrary, it would be more in
accordance with the statement of the Triad, "he would
not have lands by fighting and contention, but of equity
and in peace," to believe that this western nook was their
original and proper allotment in the great division of the

7 Roll of Tradition and Chronology. 8 Pliny.

9 See Higgins, pp. 149, 150. Steward's Caledonia Romana, p. 24.

1 Lib. v. c. 21 2 Lib. v.

THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY. 119

earth. Moses, having enumerated the sons of Japheth,
and of Gomer, and Javan, adds distinctly ; " By these
were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands;
every one after his tongue, after their families, in their
nations ;" 3 as if the whole of Europe was legally occu-
pied in their life-time.

The pedigree furnished by Nennius would well tally
with such an early date. Granting thirty years as the
average length of each link, 4 of which there are eighteen
from Japheth to Hisitio inclusively, we should thus come
down to the time when Isaac flourished. The hypothesis
receives further confirmation from the fact, acknow-
ledged by all, that the Cymry succeeded in preserving
the patriarchal religion in comparative purity. How
early soever the Bardic system may have been esta-
blished in the island, as a help to memory, Druidism
could not thereby have recovered its pristine aspect ; it
must needs, therefore, have left the East ere the influence
of surrounding nations had considerably affected it.
And, at the date in question, it might have done so, for
we find that yet the religion of Noah was not quite for-
gotten even among the Philistines. This is evidenced by
the conduct of Abimelech towards Isaac, in regard to the
latter's wife. 5 In favour of the allegation respecting the
genuineness of Druidism, may be added, moreover, the
respectable, though negative, testimony of archaeological
science, which has not hitherto succeeded in discovering
the least vestiges of idolatry in connexion with the
ancient Britons. 6

It would appear that the island was known to the
Cymry, before they took possession of it, under the name
of Clas Meitin, Clas Meiddin, or Clas Merddin. The
following is the statement of one of the Triads : .

"Three names were given to the Isle of Britain from the
beginning : before it was inhabited it was called Clas Merddin ;
after it was inhabited it was called Y Vel Ynys; and when

3 Genesis x. 5. 4 Reckoning the first from the deluge.

5 Genesis xxvi. 6 See Pre-historic Annals of Scotland, p. 342.

120 THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY.

Prydain, the son of Aedd Mawr, had established a government
therein, it obtained the name of Ynys Prydain." 7

Another Triad tells us that it was the Gal gre 8 that
gave it the first name, meaning either the people of
Gallo-Graecia, or, more generally, the Gallic horde.

"Clas" which signifies a green surface, or any en-
dosed space of ground, has suffered no variation during
the development of the Cimbric dialect, being still com-
posed of primitive letters. "Meidin" must have been
originally the same as " Meitin," and its subsequent
modification only indicates the sense in which the word
was understood by the scribe, viz., that of a range of
mountains. The same meaning, indeed, might have been
attached to " Meitin," by those who adopted the word
in comparatively modern times, for the dd was not uni-
formly used long after its introduction into the alphabet ;
yet it is also possible that the naked form was retained
under the impression that it was synonymous with
" Meityn," a term denoting distance, properly of time.
Whichever of these interpretations be the correct one,
whether the green range of mountains, or the distant
green spot, it cannot be denied that both are equally
suitable designations of the external or objective charac-
ter of our island. Undoubtedly, the verdant summits of
our hills would convey to the mind of the roving mariner
the first and only impressions respecting the country ;
and he would naturally talk of it on his return home, as
the green spot he had seen in the far west, a long time
ago. Appropriately descriptive, likewise, of the insular
position of the place would be "Clas Mertin," or
Merddin, which literally signifies the sea-girt green spot.

The vessels in which the aboriginal Cymry reached
the shores of their ultimate home, it is presumed, were
either of the coracle fashion, or else a species of canoe.

7 Triad 1, Third Series. See also Triad 1, First Series, where
the word is written Merdin, and marginal version, in which it is
Meitin ; Dr. Pughe's Diet., sub voce " Clas," where the name occurs
as Meiddin.

8 Dr. Pughe's Diet., sub voce Prydain.

THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY. 121

Several of the latter kind have been, from time to time,
dug out of bogs and marshes, where they must have
been buried for ages. Pennant saw one in 1782, near
Kilblain, in Scotland, which he describes as being 8
feet 8 inches long, 2 feet broad, and 1 1 inches in depth,
having at one end the remains of three pegs for the
paddle. The hollow, he says, was made with fire, in
the very manner that the Indians of America formed
their canoes. Primitive boats, of the same description,
were also found, in 1765, at Kirkcudbright; in 1814, in
the moss of Barnkirk, in the immediate neighbourhood
of Newton Steward, Wigtonshire ; at different periods in
the Loch of Doon, in Ayrshire ; in Lochwinnoch, Ren-
frewshire ; one was discovered in the Carse of Falkirk,
which Sir John Clerk, an enthusiastic Scottish antiquary
of the last century, pronounces, from the series of super-
incumbent strata, to have been an ante-diluvian boat !
In 1847, a canoe was found near Glasgow, measuring 19J
feet long, by 3J feet wide at the stern, 2 feet 9|- inches
wide midway, and 30 inches deep. One of a very ancient
character was discovered in September, 1849, at Spring-
fields, at a depth of about 20 feet from the surface.
It was hollowed out of the single trunk of an oak, only
13 feet in length, but on either side of it lay two ad-
ditional planks of curious construction, each of them
pierced with an elongated hole ; and, unlike the others,
it had a rounded bow both fore and aft. This boat
could hardly accommodate more than one man. 9

But not to swell out our list unnecessarily, inasmuch
as all the boats exhibit one general character, we will
only add a single instance more of a canoe that was
found in Wales, as late as September, 1851. It was dug
out of a bog about six miles and a half from Cardigan,
and consisted of a piece of solid oak, hollowed out by
fire, and measuring inside at the bottom 8 feet in length,
2 feet 6 inches near one end, and 2 feet 1 inch at the
other. The head ended in a thick, massy, and wide

9 Pre-historic Annals of Scotland, pp. 30-32, 34-38.

VOL. I. R

122 THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY.

projection, with a groove underneath it at the furthest
point. This groove rested on tressels, which, as well as
the projection, would imply that the boat was left in an
unfinished state, and had never been removed from the
stocks for use at sea. 1

The coracle, of which numerous specimens are still to
be seen on some of the Welsh rivers, is composed of a
framework of wood and wicker, covered over with the
skins of cattle or deer. We infer from Festus Avienus
that the very same sort of boats was in use among the
natives so far back as the time when Himilco visited
these seas.

" Non hi carinas quippe pinu texere,
Acereve norunt, non abiete, ut usus est,
Curvant faselos ; sed rei ad miraculum,
Navigia junctis semper aptant pellibus,
Corioque vastum saepe purcurrunt salum." 2

According to one of the Triads, Dwy van and Dwy vach
escaped the devastation of Llyn Llion in a Hong voel, a
bald or naked ship. 3 And in another, 4 we learn that
ships with sail and rudder were unknown to the Cymry
before the time of Corvinwr, who is supposed to have
flourished about a century anterior to the Christian era.

The Cymry found the island unoccupied; " previously
no human foot had trodden therein ; " and " they took
possession of it under the protection of God and His
peace." 5 And "no one has any right to it but the tribe
of the Cymry, for they first settled in it, and before that
time no persons lived therein, but it was full of bears,
wolves, beavers, and bannog oxen." 6

Geological discoveries confirm the last statement of
the Triad in a remarkable manner. After noticing the
primeval existence of the Megaceros Hibernicus, the Bos
primigenius, the Bison priscus, and the Ursus spelaeus,
as proved by the researches of men of science, the learned
author of the Pre- historic Annals of Scotland, observes :

1 Archseologia Cambrensis, January, 1852.

2 Fest. Avien. Ora Maritima. 3 Triad 13. 4 Triad 91.
5 Roll of Tradition, &c., apud lolo MSS. p. 427. 6 Triad 1.

THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY. 123

" To these native animals may be added the horse,
the roebuck, the red-deer, the wild boar, the brown bear,
the wolf, and the beaver, all of which have undoubtedly
existed as wild animals in this country, and been gradually
domesticated or extirpated by man." 7 Here the whole
list is nearly exhausted, and in the exact order of the
Triad ! And yet there could have been no collusion on
the subject ; the one authority is perfectly independent
of the other.

It is not very clear where in the order of the Bovidae
we ought to class the " ych bannog," which may mean
either a large or a horned ox. 8 The Bos primigenius, or
great fossil ox, is frequently found in the island ; the
skull of one discovered in Roxburghshire, and exhibited
now in the Scottish Antiquarian Museum, measures 28
inches in length. Mr. Wood refers to the discovery of
the skull and horns of the great urus in a tumulus on
the Wiltshire Downs, along with the bones of deer and
boars, and fragments of native pottery, in proof of the
existence in this country, originally, of a " very large
race of taurine oxen, although, most probably, entirely
destroyed by the aboriginal inhabitants before the in-
vasion of Britain by Caesar." There was also a smaller
primitive wild species, the Bos longifrons, which appears
to have become extinct soon after the time of the Roman
invasion. 9 The "ych bannog" was in all probability
one of the three, the Bison priscus, the Bos longifrons, or
the Bos primigenius ; the prominence implied in the
epithet bannog would naturally fix upon the last.

The remains of the wolf and beaver have been found
under circumstances indicative of extreme antiquity.
For instance, they were found in the peat valley of New-
bury, twenty feet below the present surface !

We may, moreover, consider the connexion of the

7 Pre-historic Annals of Scotland, p. 23.

8 The modern meaning of ban in the Cimbric dialect is high or
lofty, but as beann in the Erse signifies a horn, it is not improbable
that the word at one time was principally applied to a protuberance
of that kind. 9 Pre-historic Annals, pp. 23, 24.

124 THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY.

bannog ox and the avanc, or beaver, with the Llyn Llion,
as a traditionary memorial of the primeval existence of
these animals.

When they had landed, the Cymry found in the island
an extraordinary quantity of honey, which in their own
language was called mel, and from that circumstance
they styled it "YVelYnys," i.e. the Honey Island. 1
Such is the statement of our national records, and it is
wonderfully supported by the testimony of Himilco, the
Carthaginian general, who, as Festus Avienus relates,
referred in his journal to the British isles under the name
of ^Estrymnides. 2 This appellation has been taken by
some, absurdly enough, to mean the isles of Gadflies ; as
Pliny, however, states the sestrus to be the apes grandiores,
^Estrymnides must evidently mean the isle of bees. Nor
is there any difficulty presented in the matter of chrono-
logy against this view of the case. Himilco's voyage to
the jiEstrymnides, though not easily determined, and
sometimes placed as late as B.C. 420, is generally dated
as far back as 1000 before the Christian era. The final
abandonment of the name "Y Vel Ynys," must have
occurred, according to the computation which is adopted
in the "Periods of Oral Tradition and Chronology," about
750 years before the Incarnation.

There is no doubt that honey was abundant in this
country in former times, for we find throughout our
early records that the favourite beverage of the natives
was made out of it ; and even such words as cyveddach,
revelling, and meddwdod, drunkenness, which seem clearly
to have originated in medd, mead, are strongly corrobo-
rative of the fact. The following notice, which occurs in
the Welsh Laws, shows that bees were regarded by our
ancestors, in later times at least, with a sort of religious
veneration :

" Bees derive their origin from Paradise, and it was because of

1 " When some of the Cymry had arrived in it, it was called the
Honey Island, from the great quantity of honey that was found
therein." Genealogy of lestyn db Grvrgant, apud lolo MSS. p. 3.

2 Orse Maritime, v. 94, et seq.

THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY. 125

the sin of man that they came from thence, and God conferred
on them His blessing, and therefore mass cannot be chanted
without their wax." 3

Hu Gadarn, who led the aboriginal colony into Britain,
is said to have also " adapted poetry to the preservation
of record and memorials." On that account he is com-
memorated in the Triads as one of " the three elemen-
tary masters of poetry and memorials of the race of the
Cymry." 4 This he accomplished, no doubt, by the skil-
ful introduction of historical facts into the Triban Milwr.
In connexion with this subject, the " Roll of Tradition
and Chronology" mentions the establishment of " wise
regulations and religious rites" by the Cymry, on their
first arrival in Britain ; and we may well suppose that
they brought this about mainly through the instrumen-
tality, and under the guidance and superintendence of
Hu. The words of the chronicle are as follows :

" Here they established wise regulations and religious rites ;
and those persons, who, through God's grace and His superlative
gifts, had received poetic genius, were constituted teachers of
wisdom and benificent sciences, and called Prydyddion and
Gwyddoniaid. 5 The art of vocal song now commenced, which
became the vehicle of all traditions and retained truths; as it
presented the easiest auxiliary to memory, the most agreeable to
meditation, and the most fascinating for intellectual expression.
Persons of the above classes were the primitive teachers of the
nation of the Cymry; but they were guided by neither law nor
usage, consequently, many of them became subject to error and
forgetfulness ; until acting in opposition to the Name of God
and His Truths, disorganization, spoliation, and every iniquity
ensued." 6

There is no doubt that Hu Gadarn is the same indi-
vidual with Hissitio, variously written Hessicio, Hisicion,

3 Leges Wallicae, lib. iii. c. 5, sec. 10.

4 Triad 92, Third Series.

5 Prydydd, usually translated a poet, would seem to have originally
meant a chronicler, being derived from Pryd, time, or presence.
Gwyddon has a primary reference to the wood grcydd, on which the
bardic letters were engraved.

eioloMSS. p. 427.

126 THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY.

Ysicion, and Usicion, mentioned by Nennius, for he is
sometimes to be met with even in Welsh records under
the name Huysgwn, which is obviously identical with
the last three forms. Thus in an ancient poem entitled
" Ymryson Gwyddneu a Gwyn ab Nudd," 7 a contention
between Gwyddno and Gwyn ab Nudd, the composition
of which is attributed to the former, 460 520, the fol-
lowing compliment is addressed by the bard to Gwyn ab
Nudd:

"Ath gyvarchaf huyscwn
Gwr ai yscwid yn anghen
Nebir gwr pan yw dyechen."

I will hail thee, Huysgwn,

A man, whose shield protects in necessity,

Thine oxen are worth a valiant host.

The allusion to the oxen is sufficient to particularize
the hero, to whom Gwyddno is pleased to compare his
antagonistic friend.

In like manner Taliesin speaks of Uthr Pendragon, as

" Pryd Prydain hu ysgein ymhwyllad." 8
Having the aspect of Prydain, and wisdom of Huysgwn.

There is, moreover, an evident allusion to the same
personage in an ancient Gaelic poem, generally termed
the Albania Duan, as follows :

"Ye learned of all Albin,
Ye wise, yellow-haired race,
Learn who was the first
To acquire the districts of Albin.

" Albanus acquired them with his race,
The illustrious son of ISISCON,
Brother to Britus, without treachery ;
From him Albin of ships takes its name/'

7 My v. Arch. vol. i. p. 165. 8 Ibid. p. 72.

J. WILLIAMS ab Ithel.

(To be continued.)

127

BARDISM IN THE SIXTH CENTURY.

WE have no historical account of the establishment of
a Bardic Chair in Britain prior to the sixth century. At
that era, we are told, a chair was restored at Caerlleon-
upon-Usk, under the protection of Arthur and his knights,
over which the two Merddins, Taliesin, St. Mabon and
others presided. It was here that the system of the Round
Table was formed which was "a system of the arts and
sciences, rites and privileges of Bards and Minstrels
and the improvement and preservation, where such was
deemed necessary, of the worthiest of old traditions, and
the discrimination of all innovations that would be con-
sidered of a nature calculated to improve and enlarge
honourable sciences, with reference to the wisdom and
interest of country and nation." (E. Williams, apud
Preface to Cyfrinach y Beirdd.} The motto of this
chair was "Truth against the world, In the name of God
and His peace."

On the death of Arthur a chair was established at
Loughor, under the protection of Urien Rheged, called
the Chair of Taliesin, and the Chair of Baptism, because
no one was allowed to be graduated who was not bap-
tized, and devoted to the faith of Christ. The motto of
this chair was "The Stone is good with the Gospel;" a
remarkable declaration, as indicating the incorporation of
Christianity with Bardism. (An old MS. apud Preface
to Cyfrinach y Beirdd.)

This chair seems to have been very eminent during
the first years of its existence, if we may judge from the
list which has been traditionally preserved of its early
members. Madog, the son of Morvryn, of Caerlleon-
upon-Usk, Taliesin, the son of St. Henwg, of Caerlleon-
upon-Usk, and Merddin Emrys, of Maesaleg, in Gly wy-
syg; after them, St. Talhaiarn, the father of Tangwyn,
Merddin, the son of Madog Morvryn, and Meugant
Hen, of Caerlleon-upon-Usk ; who were succeeded by
Balchnoe, the bard of Teilo, at Llandaff, St. Cattwg,

128 BARDISM IN THE SIXTH CENTURY.

and Cynddylan, the bard. " These nine were called the
impulsive stocks of the Baptismal Bards of Britain ;
Taliesin being their chair-president ; for which reason he
was designated Taliesin, chief bard of the west. They
were likewise called the nine superinstitutionists of the
Baptismal Chair; and no institution is deemed perma-
nent, unless renewed triennially, till the end of thrice
three, or nine years. The institution was, also, called
the Chair of the Round Table, under the superior privi-
leges of which, Gildas the Prophet, and Cadocus the
Wise, of Llancarvan were bards ; and also Lly warch
Hen, the son of Elidr Lydanwyn, Ystudvalch, the bard,
and Ystyphan, the bard of Teilo."(Iolo MSS. p. 468,
reference made to MS. Triads of the Round Table.)

From the last sentence we conclude that this chair
was identical in object and usages with that of Caerlleon.

Of the existence of this chair, and of Taliesin's con-
nexion with it, there is some evidence of a contempo-
raneous and personal kind to be met with in the poem
called " Cad Goddeu," where the bard observes :
" Chwaryeis yn Llychwr."
I have played at Loughor.

But there is a third chair, also, in which Taliesin is
said to have presided in " the territory of Gwyddnyw,
the son of Gwydion, in Arllechwedd, Arvon, where he
had lands conferred on him, and where he resided until
the time of Maelgwn Gwynedd, when he was dispossesed
of that property/' (lolo MSS. p. 466.)

However improbable it would at first sight appear
that Taliesin should establish a chair under the patron-
age of an Irish chief, such a fact is not unsupported by
many passages in his poems, and particularly the follow-
ing :

" Pan farner y Cadeiriau,
Arbennig uddun y fau ;
Fynghadair, a'm pair, a'm deddfon,
A'm araith drwyadl, gadair gysson.
Rym gelwir gyfrwys yn llys Don
Mi ag Euronwy ag Euron."

BARDISM IN THE SIXTH CENTURY. 129

When the chairs shall be adjudged,

Mine will be found the superior amongst them

My chair, my cauldron, and my usages,

And my pervading eloquence consistent chair.

I am accounted skilful in the court of Don,

I, and Euronwy, and Euron. (Myv. Arch. v. i. p. 66.)

We are told, moreover, that Maelgyn Hir, of Llandaff,
the bard, and maternal uncle of St. Teilo, and tutor of
Talhaiarn, instituted the Chair of Caerlleon, Glamorgan,
and Gwent, that it was called the Chair of Maelgyn ;
" in which Merddin Emrys taught, subsequently, the art
of vocal song, the science of Bardism, and their aphor-
isms." (MS. by Llywelyn Sion.) Phylip Brydydd
(1200-1250) makes honourable mention of this chair,
and alludes to it as extant in his days :

" Cadair Vaelgwn hir a huberid i Veirdd
Ac nid i'r goveirdd yd gyverchid ;
Ac am y gadair honno heddyw bei heiddid,
Bod se ynt herwyd gwir a braint yd ymbrovid,
Byddynt Derwyddon Prydyon Prydein."

The chair of Maelgwn Hir was prepared for bards,

And it was not intended for poetasters ;

And in respect of that chair to-day, were it deserved,

In virtue of truth and privilege of which they had given proof,

They would be Druids and Bards of Britain. Myv. Arch. i. 377.

The views of Phylip were in perfect accordance with
the traditions of later bards. He insisted upon the ex-
istence of Bardism as that of a distinct and privileged
order, founded and supported on the principle of TRUTH
to which mere poetasters had no claim nor right what-
ever, lorweth Beli, a bard of the fourteenth century, also
adverts to the favour and encouragement shown by this
person to the bards. (Myv. Arch. vol. i. p. 476.)
For that Maelgyn, and not Maelgwn Gwynedd, is meant,
is evident not only from the epithet Hir added to the
name, but also from the mention made of "mab Don,"
in connexion therewith.

" Pan aeth Maelgwn Hir o dir mab Don."
VOL. i. s

130 BARDISM IN THE SIXTH CENTURY.

Gwydion, the son of Don, we are told, " sent distin-
guished messengers from Mona to Maelgyn, requesting
that he would pay him a visit at Caer Dyganwy.
Maelgyn accordingly went there, and was constituted a
teacher of the science of bard ism, and the art of vocal
song. Proceeding by sea to Mona, in the suite of Don
and Gwydion, he won all the chairs wherever he travelled
and sang; but at last animosities took place between
him and the natives, especially their bards, and the Irish
of Mona killed him." (MS. by Llywelyn Sion.}

This person, no doubt, is the " Melkin " mentioned
by Gunn, upon the authority of Balseus, in a note which
says that "Nennius composed his history from the annals
of the Romans, the Scots, and the Saxons ; from the
British Taliesin, Melkin, Gildas, Elvodugus, and others."
(Preface to Nennius, p. xx.)

His pupil, Talhaiarn, " presided in the chair of Urien
Rheged, at Caer-Gwyrosydd, after the expulsion of the
Irish from Gower, Carnwyllion, Cantrev Bychan, and
the Cantred of Iscennen. The same chair was established
at Caer-Gwyroswydd, or Ystum Llwynarth, where Urien
Rheged was accustomed to hold his national and royal
court." (lolo MSS. p. 466.)

This chair was the same, probably, with that at
Loughor the change of locality having been suggested
by political considerations. And that it was in some way
prospectively identified with the Gorsedd Morganwg,
properly so called, is proved by the fact that the prayer
composed by Talhaiarn has always been used at the
latter congress. The following is the prayer, in one of
its forms, as printed in the lolo MSS. p. 469 :

" God ! impart Thy strength ;
And in that strength, reason ;
And in reason, knowledge ;
And in knowledge, justice;
And injustice, the love of it;
And in that love, the love of everything ;
And in the love of everything, the love of God."

Taliesin evidently connects Talhaiarn, as well as him-

BARDISM IN THE SIXTH CENTURY. 131

self, with the Baptismal Chair, in the following passage
of his "Angar Cyvyndawd : "

" Cerddwn Dduw yssydd,
Trwy ieith Talhayarn,
Bedydd bu ddydd farn,
A farnwys teithi
Angerdd farddoni.
Ef ai rhin rhoddes,
Awen anghymmes."

We sing God who exists ;

According to the statement of Talhaiarn,

There will be Baptism until the Day of judgment,

Which (day) will adjudge the character

Of the power of Bardism.

It is He who has bestowed

The great poetic genius and its mystery.

EDNOWAIN BENDEW.

132

GENEALOGY.

THE following genealogy occurs in a MS. entitled " Brith-
waith Gwillim Pve," i. e. the Miscellaneous Works of
William Pughe, which was written A.D. 1674, 5. It is
at present the property of the patriotic Gwenynen Gwent,
who has kindly lent it for the purposes of the CAMBRIAN
JOURNAL.

ACHAV

GWILYM PVE

O RAN

TAD A MAM

THEIDIAV A NEINIAV

O Ran Tad
Or Pues Ar Bulkleyes

O Ran Mam
Or Gwynns Ar Gryffyths

O Sir Fon, A Sir Gaernarfon
Yng Wynedd. Venedotia. 1

Achau Gwlym Pue o Ran ei Dad Phylipp Pue. 2

1 Marchydd 3 Vn or Pymtheg llwyth Cymru. 4

2 Carwad

3 Juffeth

4 Nethan

5 Edryd

6 Idnerth

7 Gwyan

8 Yerworth

9 Cyneric

1 " The Genealogy of William Pugh in respect of his father and
mother, and grandfathers and grandmothers. On his father's side
from the Pughes and Bulkleys : on his mother's side from the
Gwynnes and Gruffiths of Anglesey and Caernarvonshire, in North
Wales."

2 " The Genealogy of W. P. on the side of his father Ph. Pugh."

3 He was lord of Abergeleu in Uwchdulas, Denbighshire, and is
said to have flourished in the time of Rhodri Mawr, about the year 846.

4 " One of the fifteen tribes of Wales."

GENEALOGY.

133

Achau Gwlym Pue o Ran ei Dad Phylipp Pue.

10 Eignion Ddu

11 Dafydd Fab Eignion

12 Dafydd Vauchan

13 Tydur

14 llewelyn

15 Rhus llwyd

16 Eignion

17 Hugh llwyd

18 Reginallt Fab Hugh

19 Robert Pugh

20 Philipp Pugh

21 Robert A Gwilym Pugh

Brawd Ednyfed Vauchan. 5

I wraig Ef oedd Elisabeth Sals-
bery, verch Fulio Salsbery or Be-
ren, A lleweny 6

G wraig Robert Pugh oedd Jane
BulkleyJ

Dau Frawd Meibion Phillipp
Pue, oi wraig Ef, Gaynor
Gwynn. 8

Achau Gwilym Pue; o Ran ei Dad ai Fam ai Ddwy Nain Ai

Ddau Daid.9

Robert Pue, a fu yn Drafailiwr Gaynor Gwyn, Hon oedd
Mawr, ag yn cael Parch gan Ferch y Marchog S r Richard
wyr oedd goreuon Gwledidd Gwynn o Gaernarfon, Ag Elen
Diarth, Megis Frainc ag Italic, Gruffydd, or Penrhyn Is y Garth. 2
ag Almayne. 1

Ir oedd Ef Hefyd yn Barchus
Gidar Brenin Siarles yr Ail, Ai
Ddau Frawd Ef, Sef Siames
Ty wy sog Efrog. Ag yn Enwedig,
Gida Harry, Twysoc Caerloyw.
Ir Hwn I bu Ef yn Noddwr, a

5 The distinguished general and able minister of Prince Llywelyn
ab lorwerth, in the early part of the thirteenth century.

6 " His wife was Elizabeth Salisbury, daughter of Fulio Salisbury
of Beren and Lleweny."

7 The wife of R. P. was J. B."

8 " Two brothers ; sons of Ph. P. by his wife Gaenor Gwynne."

9 " The Genealogy of W. P. in respect of his father and mother,
his two grandmothers, and his two grandfathers."

1 " R. Pugh was a great traveller, and esteemed by the most
eminent men of foreign countries, such as France, Italy, and Ger-
many."

2 " G. G. was the daughter of the knight, Sir R. G. of Caernarvon,
and E. G. of Penrhyn Is y Garth."

134 GENEALOGY.

Achau Gwilym Pue, o Ran ei Dad ai Fam ai Ddwy Nain ai Ddau

Daid.

duscawdwr yn lengtid y Twysog
Hwnn. 3

Ir oedd Robert yn wr Dyscedig
lawn Mewn Philosophy, Divinity,
ag Mewn cyffraith y canon, or
Hon yr oedd Ef yn Ddoctor, a
Athro, a Dyscawdr. Yr Roed
Ef yn Gwybod Ag yn Gyfarwydd
Mewn llawer o lauthodd Megis
yn y Hading, Groeg, Hebrew,
Italianeg, Spanelaeg, Frangaeg,
Almainag, Saesnaeg A chym-
raeg. 4

Gwilym Pugh y Brawd Arall,
a Fu Hefud yn Drafaeliwr, Ag yn
wr o Ddysc, Ag o Barch ym
Muse Gwyr o alwad uchel, ag
hefyd y cyffredin Bobl, Hwn a
scryfenodd y llyfr yma. 5

Achau Gwilym Pue o Ran ei Fam Gaynor Gwyn. 6

1 Cadwaladr A Fu Frenin Dywaethaf or

Brittaniaid yn Unus Brudain J

2 Edwal Ywrch

3 Rhyddarch Molwynog

4 Conan Tindaethwy

5 EsylltGwraigMerddyn Fruch

6 Rodri Mawr

7 Anarawd

8 Edwal Foel

9 Meiric

3 " He was also respected by King Charles the Second, and his
two brothers, James, prince of York, and especially Henry, prince of
Gloucester, to whom he had been protector and tutor when that prince
was young."

4 " Robert was deeply learned in Philosophy, Divinity, and the
Canon Law, of which he was Doctor and Master and Teacher. He
knew, and was conversant with, many languages, such as Latin,
Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Spanish, French, English, and Welsh."

5 " W. P. the other brother, had also been a traveller, and was a
man of learning, and esteemed by men of high position, as well as by
the common people. It was he who wrote this book."

6 " The Genealogy of W. P. in respect of his mother G. Gwynne."

7 " Who was the last king of the Britons in the Isle of Britain."

GENEALOGY. 135

Achau Gwilym Pue o Ran ei Fain Gaynor Gwyn.

10 Edwal

11 lago

12 Conan

13 GryfFydd Fab conan

14 Owain Gwynedd

15 Rodri

16 Thomas

17 Cradog

18 GryfFydd

19 Dafydd

20 Howel

21 Robert

22 Meredydd

23 Efan

24 Meredydd

25 Sion

26 Efan

27 Sion Wyn Gwraig Sion Wynn, A Mam

S r Richart Gwyn, oedd Mallt Ach
Rhydderch o Swydd Fon, o
Achau Boneddigaedd A Chenedl
or Goreuon, o F6n.9

28 S r Richard Wyn o Gaernar-

fon, Tad

29 Gaynor Gwyn oedd wraig

Phylipp Pugh, a Main
Robert Pugh

30 Ai Frawd Ef, Gwilym Pugh 8

Achau Gwilym Pue o Ran ei Nain, o Ran ei Dad, Jane Bulkley. 1

1 Robert Arglwydd or Arglwyddiaeth Bulkley 2

2 Syr Richard Bulkley Ei wraig Ef oedd Catherine

3 Syr Richard Bulkley GryfFydd oedd Ferch Ei Sir

4 Jane Bulkley Gwraig Robert William GryfFydd Chamberline. 3

Pugh esq. A Main Gwraig yr Ail Sir Richard

5 Phylipp Pue, A Nain Bulkley oedd Margaret Sauage

8 " Sir R. W. of Caernarvon, father of G. G. who was the wife of
Ph. P. and mother of R. P. and his brother W m Pugh."

9 " The wife of S. W. and mother of Sir R. G. was Mallt, daughter
of Rhydderch of Anglesey, being of genteel descent, and of one of the
most eminent families in Anglesey."

1 " The Genealogy of W. P. on the side of his paternal grand-
mother, J. B."

2 " The Lordship of Bulkley."

3 " His wife was C. G. who was the daughter of W. G. chamberlain.

136 GENEALOGY.

Achau Gwilym Pue o Ran ei Nain, o Ran ei Dad, Jane Bulkley.

6 Gwilym, Ai Frawd Ef oedd Hori oedd Ferch Sir John Sauage
Hynach, Sef Robert Pugh. 4 o Fon Ag A Elwir Rorke Sauage

yn Swydd Gaer lleon Gawr. 5

Or Sauage Hwn y Doeth A.rg-
Iwydd Viceiont Sauage, Yr Hwn
sydd weythian yn larll Riuers. 6

Or Margaret Sauage oi Gwr
Hi Sir Richard Bulkley y Doeth
Arglwydd Bulkley Viceiont Cas-
sal yn yr Ei-werddonJ

Fy Fu Ir Syr Richard Bulkley
oedd yn Briod A Margaret Sauage
Fab Ag Alwyd Hefyd yn S r
Richard Bulkley, oedd Frawd
Hynaf Jane Bulkley Gwraig
Rober Pue yr Hwn oedd Farchog
Urddasol. Iddo Fe yr Roedd
Dau Fab Ag Nid Amgen, yr hyn
a oedd o Enw Ei Dad, Syr Rich-
ard Bulkley yr Ail oedd Thomas
Buckley, I S r Richard I Bu Fab,
AgA Alwyd yn Richard Bulkley,
Ag A Fu Farw yn Ddietifedd yno
yr Etifeddodd Aeth yr Ewyrth. 8

Thomas Bulkley Awnaed yn
Arglwydd Viceiount Cassal yn
Iwerddon Ei Fab Ef, Robert Arg-
lwydd Bulkley Sydd yn Fuw yr
Awr Hon yn y Flwyddyn 1675.9

4 " J. B. wife of R. Pugh, Esq., and the mother of Ph. P. and
the grandmother of William, and his eldest brother, R. P."

5 " The wife of the second Sir R. B. was Margaret Savage, who
was the daughter of Sir J. S. of Anglesey, and a place called Rorke
Savage in Cheshire."

6 " From this Savage came Lord Viscount Savage, who is now
Earl Rivers."

7 " From M. S. by her husband Sir R. B. came Lord Bulkley,
Viscount Cashel in Ireland."

8 " Sir R. B. who had married M. S. had a son also named Sir R.
B. He was the elder brother of Jane Bulkley, wife of R. P. and
was an honourable knight. To him were two sons. The elder was
named after his father, Sir R. Buckley. The second was Thos.
Buckley. Sir R. had a son, named Richd. Buckley, who died
without an heir, and the inheritance passed to the uncle."

9 " T. B. was made Lord Viscount Cashel in Ireland. His son R.
Lord Buckley is now living, in the year 1675."

GENEALOGY. 137

Achau Gwilym Pue o Ran Nam o Dii Ei Fain Elen Gryffydd. 1

1 Ydnyfed Vaughan Y Wraig Ydnyfed Vaughan

2 Sir Tudyr oedd Tanglwst Merch y llowen-

3 Gryffydd arch, Fab Bran, un or Pyratheg

4 Gwilym llwyth cymry, or Hon y ganed y

5 Gryffydd Marchog Syr Tudyr.*

6 Gwilym

7 William Vaughan Chamber-

laine Gwynedd 2

8 Syr William Gryffydd Cham-

berl.

9 Syr William Gryffydd Cham-

berlaine

10 William Gryffydd o Gaernar-

fon

11 Elen Gryffy Gwraig Syr

Richard Gwyn, Tad a
Mam

12 Gaynor Gwyn Gwraig Phy-

lipp Pue oedd Dad a Main

13 Gwilym Pue, Ai Frawd hynaf

ef Robert Pugh. 3

Achau Gwylym Pue, o Frenin lloegr Edward y Trydydd. 5

1 John o Gendt, Pedwerydd Ei Drydydd wraig Ef oedd

Mab Edward y Trydydd. Catharine Swinfford, A Fu Briod

2 John Beaufford or Blaen A Syr Hugh Swinfford,

3 Edmund Beaufford Marchog o Normandi o ddiwrth

4 Harry Beaufford Hon I Doeth y Beuffords lina,

1 " The Genealogy of W. P. in respect of his maternal grand-
mother, Ellen Gruffydd."

2 " Chamberlain of North Wales."

3 " Ellen Gruffydd, wife of Sir R. G. These were the father and
mother of G. G. wife of Ph. P. who were father and mother of W.
P. and his elder brother, R. P."

4 " The wife of Ednyfed Vychan was Tanglwst, daughter of Lly-
warch, son of Bran, one of the fifteen tribes of Wales, of whom was
born the knight Sir Tudyr."

Llywarch was Lord of the Commot of Menai in Anglesey, and
dwelt in that township, which from him is called Tref Llywarch.
Sir Tudyr had for his portion Nant and Llangynhafal ; he married
Adelicia, the daughter of Riccet, the son of Cadwaladr, second son of
Gruffydd ap Cynan, Prince of North Wales.

5 The Lineage of W. P. from the King of England, Edward the
Third.

VOL. I. T

138

GENEALOGY.

Achau Gwylym Pue, o Frenin lloegr Edward Trydydd.

5 Charles Beaufford Hwn A
Droes Ei Henw

5 Yn Charles Suinersett, Ei

Ferch Ef oedd

6 Elysabeth Somerset!

7 Margaret Sauage

8 Jane Bulkley

9 Philipp Pue

10 Gwilym Pue, Ai Frawd Hy-
naf sef Robert Pue.

Ag Foi Galwad Hwy Beuffords,

Blegid Geni John Beaufford,
Mab John Ghendt or Catharine
Swinfford yma, mewn Tref yn
Normandie, Ai Henw Beaufford,
Tad Chatharine Swinfford, oedd
S r Payn o Normandi, Gwr o
Alwad uchel. 6

Charles Somerset, larll Caer-
Frangon, oedd o Joan Hill, o
waedoliaeth Da urddasol. Rhai
A Ddwaid Mai nid Gwraig, ond
Gordderch oedd Joan Hill, I
Harry Beufford Dug, Ne Dwysog
Somersett.7

Elisabeth Somersett, oedd yn
Ferch y Charles larll caerfrangon,
A Fu Briod a Syr John Sauage. 8

Margaret Sauage, oedd y n Ferch

1 Syr John Sauage or Elisabeth
Somerset. Hi A Fu wraig Syr
Richard Bulcley.9

Jane Bulkley, oedd yn wraig
I Robert Pue, or Penrhyn yn y
creuddyn. Ir Rhain y Bu Ail
Fab Ag A Alwyd.

Phillipp Pue. Ei Feibion Ef
oedd Robert, Ai Frawd Ef Gwilym
Pue. 1

6 " His third wife was C. S. who had been married before to Sir
H. S. knight, from Normandy. From her came these Beuffords,
and they were called Beuffords because J. B. son of J. G. by this C.
S. was born in a town in Normandy, called Beaufford. The father
of C. S. was Sir Payn, from Normandy, a person of eminence."

7 " Ch. S. earl of Worcester, was descended from J. Hill, being of
good and honourable blood. Some say that J. H. was not the wife
but concubine of H. B. duke or prince of Somerset."

8 " E. S. was the daughter of Ch. earl of Worcester, and was
married to Sir J. S."

9 " M. S. was daughter of Sir J. S. by E. S. She became the
wife of Sir R. B."

1 " J. B. was the wife of R. P. of Penrhyn in Creuddyn. Their
second son was named Ph. P. His sons were R. and his brother
Wm. Pugh."

GENEALOGY.

139

Arfau y Pencenedloedd or Rhain y Doeth y Gwilym Pue Ai
Henafiaid, Allan.*

Marchydd

Yn Dwyn Gules, Pen Saracen,
Argent, Gwedi Ei Rwygo oddi-
wrth y Gwddw ai Arleisiau Gwedi
y Amgylchu A thorch or Ail, a
Sable. * Y Rhain yw Arwyddion
Neu Arfau Bonedd, Gwilym Pue,
o ran ei Dad. 3

Ednyfed Fychan.

Yn dwyn gules, cheuron Ermin,
Rhyng 3 Phen Gwyr, Gwedi y
Torri, Argent. Videt : y Tri
Phen Sais.

Ednyfed Fychan oedd Mewn
Parch Mawr, a Gallu Gidar Twy-
sog llewelyn Fab Gruffydd, Yr
Hwn, Er oedd Efo yn Blaeny
lluoedd. Ag yn Ben Ryfelwr
Grymus, yn Erbyn y Saeson. Fo
Enillodd Gariad y Tywysog, yr
Hwn A roes Iddo yr Arfau, y
may Ei Hepphil Ef yn I Ddwyn
Hyd yr Awr Hon ; Megis y Tri
Phen Sais. 4

Yestyn ap Gwrgant.

Penraith Morganwg.
Tri chedronells, argent. 5

Rhus ap Tewdor
Yn Dwyn Gules, Hew Ram-
pant, or, Bordure Inueued, or Ail,
Twysog Dinefor oedd Rhus Ap
Tewdor.6

Gryffydd Fab Conan.

Yn Dwyn Gules, Tri Hew Pas-
sant, Mewn Pale, Argent. Twy-
sog Gwynedd oedd Gryffydd Fab
conan. 7

Bleddyn Fab Conwyn

Twyssog Powys.
Yn Dwyn, 6r, Hew Rampant
Gules. 8

Arglwydd Bulkley
Yn Dwyn Sa le, Tri Phen
Teirw Argent Gida cheuerine or
Ail.9

2 " The armorials of the Heads of families, from which W. P. and
his ancestors are descended."

3 " Bearing Gules, a Saracen's head, arg. erased ; environed about
the temples with a wreath of the second, and sable. These are the
ensigns or arms of gentility which belonged to W. P. in right of his
father." According to some authorities the wreath was or and argent.

4 " Ednyfed Fychan was in great esteem and power with prince
Llewelyn, the son of Gruffydd [lorwerth], who was at the head of his
troops, and fought most bravely against the English. He won the
love of his prince, who granted him the arms which his descendants
bear to the present day : namely the three Englishmen's heads."

These arms are properly blazoned as " Gules a chevron ermine,
between three Englishmen's heads, couped proper."

5 " lestyn ab Gwrgant, lord paramount of Glamorgan. Three

140 GENEALOGY.

chevronells argent/' The field is gules. lestyn was contemporary
with Rhys ab Tewdwr, and founder of one of the five Royal Tribes.

6 " Gules, a lion rampant or, within a bordure indented of the
second. Rh. ap T. was prince of Dynevor." He was the head of
one of the five Royal Tribes, and flourished in the eleventh century.

7 " Gules, three lions passant in pale, arg. Gr. son of Cynan was
prince of North Wales." He was also one of the five Royal Tribes,
and was the father of Owain Gwynedd. His biography, written in
Welsh, is inserted in the second volume of tne Myvyrian Archaiology.

8 " Or, a lion rampant, gules." Bleddyn ab Cynvyn was prince of
Gwynedd and Powys in the eleventh century.

9 " Sable, a chevron between three bulls' heads, argent." Armes
parlantes; Bul-kley.

(To be continued.)

141

PHILOLOGY.

THE WAND OF MOSES.

(See Myvyrian Archaiologyj Vol. I. pp. 41, 42.)

By GEORGE B. BEAUMONT, Esq.

( Continued from page 40.)

HAVING occupied so large a space in your valuable Journal
with prefatory matter, I must now offer a specimen of the
subject, and of the proposed treatment of the ancient
Welsh literature. Some observations on the prize essay
of Dr. Meyer are therefore submitted, as his very able
argument cannot be passed over here ; it militates directly
against my "Suggestions," which are to explode the idea
of a common origin for the Celtic and Cimric races.

We are of course prepared, by Dr. Pritchard's Treatise
on the Hindu -European Tongues, 1 to admit to the fullest
extent an affinity between the Celtic, Teutonic, the
classic languages of Greece and Rome, and the Sanscrit.
On the other hand, Dr. Meyer himself allows that the
vocabulary is not decisive of the stock or origin of a
language; and indeed if it were so there would be nothing
to be said against the theory of the Rev. Stephen Whiston
(noticed in Richardson's Hafez), that the British is a
Persian idiom, from the abundance of Persian words to
be found in it. The prevalence of Celtic in the Welsh
vocabulary may be an accidental relation, and even that
vocabulary suggests as much, since among others it
exhibits for bread, mutton, town, house, ox, wine, &c.,
the non-Celtic and purely Aramitic words, bara, wedder,
tre, ti, yok, gwin. Welsh literati there may be who may

1 " The Eastern Origin of the Celtic Nations proved by a compari-
son of their Dialects with the Sanscrit, Greek, Latin and Teutonic
Languages." Oxford, 1831.

142 THE WAND OF MOSES.

refuse to surrender a prejudice, but Cimric antiquity and
the living people of Cimric descent would not, I should
think, give up to Celts (nor that I am aware do any
Celtic people assert a claim to) the many-stringed and
consummate harp. ("Telen" is Aramitic too, the Psalms
of David are Telenoth.} The Celtic colours were red, the
British blue ; the Jack (Aramitic for united or compressd)
combined both when both joined battle against the
Saxon, though they were disunited when the Celt Cad-
wallader struck down the arms and religion of the Britons,
whose cause and independence thenceforth (commencing
the seventh century) were shut up in Wales. There the
old British faith and the Aramitic title for the Deity
" Shadai " are not obscurely found : David ap Gwillym
in using the title "the Secret One" for the Deity refers
us to the same word that occurs in the " Bruts," i. e. to
" Sidi," with this variation, that "secret" would be writ-
ten in Aramitic with one S (Samech) and " Shadai "
with the other S ; the Erse adopts Siddhi for fairies or
mountain spirits. British and Breton Heraldry have the
" Corn-ears," (in Aramitic Pryddin) comprising also the
idea emigrant or colonist ; British numismatics have the
same symbol, while the Celt (Borlase's Cornwall) exhibit
for the same idea, emigrant, the trunk and branches of a
tree, the same idea as given by the word " Celt." Many
of our most important political institutions, knight, jury,
&c., are purely Cimric, inadmissible as of original institu-
tion among any nations of continental Europe, (except
Brittany, and, as to juries, Hungary and the Scandina-
vian provinces), and knighthood is, by the consent of
ancient Romance, referred to Britain and Arthur, while
the word " Knight," knecht, servant, is peculiar to Eng-
land, and follows out a British or Cimric character and
office, the "Cal-Ovydd" or "itinerant minister," knight-
errant. If I were to pursue the subject of institutional
differences separating Celt from Cimru, I should drop
that which is before us and tire the reader, but it may be
found that theories of language are also discursive.
Dr. Meyer's consummate ability, originality and pro-

THE WAND OF MOSES. 143

fundity, elicited by the subject of the prize essay, are
calculated to rivet Celtism on the Cimri ; these are there-
fore cautioned to hold to their own ; and with all deference
to the great scholar before us, it is here to be hinted that
he has not, nor are we, perhaps, in the present state of
our information, prepared to separate entirely what is
external from what presents the intimate affinities and
characteristics of language for so wide a field as from
the Indus to the Shannon, and from beyond the nine-
teenth century before, to the middle of the nineteenth
century after, the Christian era. For example, (page 25,)
the " article " in use in the Celtic and ancient Egyptian,
where " 0-Siris" means the Star, this appears external
to the character or family of language ; in the Greek,
the Doric dialect abounds in the use of the article, which
the Homeric and Hesiodic poems ignore ; yet this has
never been assumed as a ground for distinguishing Doric
and common or Ionic Greek as generically different in
classic times. Perhaps I could find arguments to show
that the use of the article arose out of the transition of a
language from being oral to the state of being a written
medium of communication ; but I will not detain you on
that point.

The following are among the differences between the
Celtic and Cimric grammatical inflections, as noticed by
Dr. Pritchard, and as separating the latter from any
Hindu affinities : the terminations of the plural of nouns,
the want of cases or inflections of nouns ; the pronominal
prefixes and suffixes to nouns and verbs : in these several
particulars the Cimric agrees with the forms of the
Aramitic, or as we usually entitle them, the " Semitic"
languages. The Sanscrit reduplication to form the pre-
terite is unknown to the Cimric. Even in that peculi-
arity (Dr. M. No. 6, at p. 24) the addition of the verb to
be " set after the verb as an affix to express many diffe-
rences of time," (see also No. 4, p. 23,) this appears,
though claimed for the Celtic, its congeners, and the San-
scrit, to have been tacitly, as it were, admitted into the
Semitic or Aramitic: for Dr. Lee (Hebrew Grammar)

144 THE WAND OF MOSES.

observes that the past tense has the form of accentuation
of a concrete noun, the present or future tense of an
abstract noun. Here the ideal insertion of the verb to be
evidently is in operation, as it appears formally in the
Sanscrit. I have not the information to determine which
of the two suits the Welsh verb. In the Sanscrit the
first person is the root of the verb, in Welsh and Ara-
mitic the third. But as I have to claim Britain beyond
Wales for the Cimri of thirteen centuries ago, I would
observe in conclusion that the common parlance of
Britain, " I am writing," " I am eating," is purely, and
I believe exclusively, Aramitic. It does not belong to the
Saxon, nor to any continental race or language mixed up
with British institutions, or concerned in the settle-
ment of Britain ; it may be found in the Attic dialect
among ancient Hellenic races and tongues, and exists in
the Spanish ; but here the verb to be is in two forms, es
and esta, the latter expressive of conditions of being, as,
" he is well to-day," the former giving the absolute or
simple idea of being, as " he is a man ;" the latter is the
form used in the parallelism in question, and it fails so
far as the introducing a complex for a simple idea to be.
The only actual parallelism is that of the British and
Attic language, and at that site, Athens, there are won-
derful relations to be developed between its ancient insti-
tutions, almost buried in mythology, and overlaid with
Hindu or classic Greek circumstances of after eras. There,
on the confines of Europe and Asia, at a really archaic
period, my "Suggestions" (now in course of publica-
tion) are intended to open the case of Cimric antiquities.
British topography, institutions, national and household
phrases, (almost all our sea-faring terms,) are quite
copious, and express enough to separate entirely Celtic
from Cimric, to dissolve an accidental amalgamation of
twelve centuries, and to disabuse the Welsh compilations
of some seven centuries of Celtic interpretation, gloss, or
mistranslation.

Translation of the " Wand of Moses," in the Neo-

THE WAND OF MOSES.

145

Druids of the Hon. Algernon Herbert, p. 129, with cor-
responding Hebrew uninflected :

For " May" stood perhaps Maius

Shemm

Avah hoshe

And thou God our May-father 100

God the Institutor

Wert a benign enchanter

Very energetic

When thou didst preserve

Through the waves 105

The multitudes of Moses

Pervading sovereign

Woe to his enemy

Hath he practised witchcraft

Againstthecreatorandhishost 110

Cursing in his fury

A nd sent into the sea

His freshly excited fury

Truly he enticed him

Through the raging waters 115

And the drowning and the noise

And caused the sun to fail

Till it was west of the earth

Thou didst preserve and lovingly

save

Out of every prison 120

All but the violent multitudes
Their dawning was sad for their

country

And the refuge for us also
From the unruly passions
Of unmerciful Hell 125

Was unto God our May-father
God the Institutor
The benign enchanter
Strong is thy land of Heaven
Heavenly peace is joined 130
To thee the Cery
There is no overshadowing (query,

diffusing ?)

And there are no wants
To thy land O God !
There shall not be made 135
Nor shall there be a foe to enter

thy refuge
I have known
I have understood the ford
By which to avoid shame, &c. 138

Hoz cham

eim

meni moshe

sheolshe

Honi aib

nesheph

Bara alem

Alah hober

Shelah eim

Hober

Chen

Hober eim

Sheteph Bal

Chadel Shemesh

Shemel Adam

Chal alem

Ragesh

Boker honi adam

Salem

Honi eim

Rashoi " Hades"

Maius or Maioc (as before)

Shemm

Avah hoshe

Hoz ai

Shemaim selah lachem

Cheri

Lo pasch

Lo rosh

Lo hoshe
Aib boa chasa

idoi

irah barach

asher

A literal rendering from the Aramitic (Hebrew) as
VOL. i. u

146

THE WAND OF MOSES.

above, with changes in the Aramitic text, as indicated in
each line, if there be any change :

God who art father 100 Mah haiah

God in Heaven Shemaim

Thy will be done

Here verily zah am

Where thou providest

Through the graces of the spirit 105

For the many redeemed.

Unity in trinity !

Pity oh ! father cheno ab

Add

Bread this day 110 Barah ela eim

Each transgression

Loosen to each

Who makes blank to his offenders

Pray entice not

Into temptations 115 Hobereim

And place aloof evil. Set oph

Great is thine ancient title Gedol shem isis

The name of God to men. Shem El

Thy love preserve and save

All this assembly 120

Transcendant power possessing Rakesh

Preceding all human admhristra- Bocher

tions

And dominion added to Meshel

Governings Honieim

For the sum of cycles ! 125 Rash

God who art father Mah haiah

God in heaven, Shemaim

Thy will be done Avah hoshe

Here as it is in Heaven Zah haiah

This day give us bread 130 Shem eim

[To thee the Harvest]

Pray forgive Lo pashk

To us our offences Lo rashoi

To thee-ward

According to the measure 135 Leshoah
Of our annulling. Abba ! Help ! Ab Has
Thy hand Id

And thy light bless Aor

Our prince irreproachable. Sir 2

The words of the " Wand of Moses" not rendered into

2 The MS. in the Hebrew character is left at the Publisher's.

PENDEFIG. 147

the Aramitic are where the ideas they present are admitted
into my re- translation, or where the idea is there para-
phrased, as v. 107, pervading is paraphrased by " unity,"
and 138, "avoid shame" is rendered "irreproachable."
The whole of this poem (216 lines), "Wand of Moses,"
has been submitted to the same process as the thirty-eight
lines here given. By comparing the two English ver-
sions above, it may be seen to which words in each line
of either version the Aramitic in the opposite line applies :
it seemed therefore unnecessary by numbering the words
to make a more direct reference. The reader will per-
ceive that the differences in the two Aramitic versions are
confined to the dividing one word into two, or, con-
versely, the insertion or omission of a vowel, and the
substitution of one for the other of two interchangeable
letters, these being in the Aramitic two s's, two fs, &c.,
andj for z, g for k, and the like.

PENDEFIG.

THE above word occurs in a very peculiar sense in the
Welsh Bible, Luc xxii. 25. " Y mae brenhinoedd y Cen-
hedloedd yn arglwyddiaethu arnynt, a'r rhai sy mewn
awdurdod arnynt, a elwir yn Bendefigion"

The ordinary meaning of the word is a prince, a chief-
tain. Richards and Dr. Pughe explain it, one of the
highest rank, a grandee, &c. But this meaning will by
no means suit the original Greek word in the verse above
quoted ; in the English version the term is properly
rendered benefactors.

Pendefig is usually supposed to be derived from Pen :
but tejig or defy, the latter part of the word, has not
been satisfactorily explained. Dr. Pughe says that tefig
is overspreading, sovereign ; and quotes from Lewis Glyn
Cothi the line " Pen defig pob pen difeth," as an illus-
tration. But this can hardly be looked upon as a satis-

148 PENDEFIG.

factory authority, as it is obvious that Pen defy should
be written in one word. Besides, to be an explanation in
point, defy here should have been tefy, pen being mascu-
line. But the prosody of the line requires defy ; and the
quotation is, no doubt, quite correct, excepting that Pen
defy should be joined into one word. These remarks
show that the eminent lexicographer was at a loss re-
specting tefy : and it may indeed be confidently asserted
that no such word exists.

But may not Pendefy be the Welsh form of the Latin
Beneficus? Benefic, Benefig, Penefig, Pendefig. In
that case, Pendefyion would be an exact translation of
the Greek.

Sir Hugh Evans in Shakspeare calls bless, pless ; and
beard, peard : and it is natural to the Welsh pronuncia-
tion to harden on some occasions the soft letters of another
language, more especially at the beginning of words : for
example, (to confine the instances to the letter B,) Bank,
Pongc and Pongcen ; Blanket, Plangced ; Blister, Plis-
trin; Block, Ploccyn; Bottle, Pottel; Bowl, Powl and
Powlen ; to Bowl, Powlio ; Brass, Pres ; Britain,
Prydain. Thus the change of the B in Beneficus into
P in Pendefy is easily accounted for.

But the chief question is, How came the letter D into
Pendefy, supposing the word to be identical with Bene-
ficus ? It may be answered that it came very naturally,
and in accordance with a well known phonetic principle,
which is this, that when the letter N is followed by a
vowel, (as in the case of Beneficus,} there is a faint
sound of D observable. And this faint sound of D is, in
fact, developed into the full and complete articulation of
this letter in several words. The Latin Sonus and Sanus
are both of them, in English, Sound ; the d being intro-
duced naturally after the n. Cinder too is from the
Latin Cinis, Cineris ; and Tender from the Latin Tener.
Thunder is evidently connected with the Latin Tonare.
The Latin Candeo and Candidus come from Canus on
the same principle. Tendril is derived through the
French from the Latin Tenere. The Latin Tendo is

PENDEFIG. 149

from ret. The Latin Tundo and Tondeo may come
from the Celtic Twn, feminine Ton, bruised, broken, cut.
Another obvious instance is avfyoe for avepoe. Of the name
Kenrick there is a form Kendrick in the same way. And
probably the Welsh Andras, the crux of our dictionary -
makers, is nothing but Anras, i. e. graceless. You can
hardly utter the word Anras without calling it Andras,
the D forcing itself in, in spite of you. It may be re-
marked, in passing, that this process is curiously reversed
in the word Render from the Latin Reddere.

It may be further remarked that the word rendered
Pendefigion, in the verse in St. Luke, is in the Vulgate
Benefici ; and if the two words are identical, this is one
instance, among many others, where the Welsh translators
have very wisely adopted terms from the old Latin
version, slightly modified to suit the language.

NICANDER.

150

BOTANY.

IT was a happy and seasonable thought which suggested
that a prize should be given at the next anniversary
celebration of the Cymreigyddion y Venni, for the best
" Account of the Herbals, and other Botanical works in
the Welsh language, either printed or in MS., with a
catalogue, in Welsh and Latin, of the plants indigenous
to the Principality, and particulars of their traditionary
repute and properties, and of their culinary, medicinal,
dyeing, manufacturing and other uses among the Cymry,
in ancient and modern times." It is earnestly to be
hoped that the wishes of the committee will be responded
to, and that due justice will be rendered to the subject.
There is no doubt that our ancestors paid considerable
attention to the science of Botany ; there are abundant
traces of the fact. Still, it is equally true that their
botanical knowledge has descended to us mainly through
an oral channel, and that the same is fast escaping the
memory of the present generation. Here and there, in
our rural walks, we meet with aged females, relics of a
former age, engaged in the humane task of culling
flowers and plants for medicinal purposes, having learned
the use and properties thereof from their mothers and
grandmothers, though they themselves are not equally
careful to transmit their information to their own children.
It is this apathy or neglect on the part of our Druidesses
that makes it so desirable that their secrets should be
committed to writing, and that such a work as that pro-
posed by the committee of the Abergavenny Eisteddvod
be compiled. The country is quite prepared for it, for
though the knowledge of Botany is not extended with
as much care now as it was formerly, yet that much
faith is still traditionally put in the virtue of plants, is
attested by the general preference which* the peasantry,
in cases of sickness or accidents, give to botanical quacks,
over properly qualified practitioners.

BOTANY. 151

By far the most valuable treatise on Botany which we
have in the Welsh language, is that which was compiled
by Rhiwallon, and his sons, Cadwgan, Gruffydd, and
Einion, of Myddvai, in Caermarthenshire, physicians to
Rhys Gryg, lord of Dynevor and Ystrad Towy, about
the year 1230. The original MS. seems to have been
lately transferred from the library of the Welsh Charity
School, in London, to the British Museum, and of this
there are several copies. It has never been published,
but we are glad to find that Mr. Pughe, of Penhelig
House, Aberdovey, is now preparing it for the press,
and that it will be issued shortly under the auspices of
the Welsh MSS. Society. We need hardly remind Mr.
Pughe that great caution must be used in copying cer-
tain terms, which either through the bad spelling of the
original compilers, or the ignorance of transcribers, ap-
pear in several MSS. His medical and botanical know-
ledge will enable him to detect the corruption, and to
restore the names to their proper forms. In some in-
stances the British name will serve as a clue to discover
the subject intended : thus Gwyg would indicate that
Aphaca was meant by Aptiaca ; Wdron that by Ma-
truscla is meant Matrisylva ; Pengaled shows that Nicea
should be Jacea ; Drigon that Ossilum is an abbreviation
of Oxylapathum : and Fflamgoed that Titunal is a cor-
ruption of Tithy mains.

Dr. Davies lived at a time when some of the noted
family of Myddvai were practising, and therefore when
the best information on the subject might have been
obtained, yet it is lamentable to find a man of his abilities
transcribing their barbarous terms into his Botanologium,
and being obliged to confess his inability to do the sub-
ject justice, and submitting it to those whose profession
may reasonably be supposed to render them most com-
petent for the undertaking, in being best acquainted with
vegetables, of which the materia medico, at that time
chiefly consisted.

It is more surprising still to find that the celebrated
Edward Lhwyd, M.A., F.R.S., and keeper of the Ash-
molean Museum, who was a sound practical botanist, and

152 BOTANY.

of whom the great Ray observes, " non rei tantum her-
bariae sed totius Histories Naturalis peritissimus," should
have committed mistakes in Welsh Botanology. Yet so
it is. Misled, probably, by Dr. Davies, he has Cwyros
for Ligustrum, and Gwrthlys for Tussilago Far far a,
making it synonymous with Cam yr ebol. Gwrthlys
means a plant which is harsh in its effects, and surely
not one that is mucilaginous and demulcent. Tussilago
Farfara bears in common the British name Cam yr ebol,
colt's foot ; Asarum Asarabacca, the true Gwrthlys, is
likewise sometimes named Cam yr ebol, but with the
addition of y gerddi, that is, the garden colt's foot ; this
particular escaped those writers, and hence the mis-
take. Under Juncus Mr. Lhwyd has Brwynen, Mor-
hesgen, and Bull-rush three different genera ! Again,
under Brassica, he has Erfin, which is right, and un-
fortunately Erbin, which is Thymus Calamintha. Several
other botanical mistakes may be pointed out in the
ArchcBologia Britannica, but these will suffice.

A passion has prevailed among the writers of our
Welsh Dictionaries, in imitation of Dr. Davies, to add
to their works something in this way : A Botanology,
by Richards; An English-Welsh Herbal, by Sion
Rhydderch ; A British and English Herbal, by Thomas
Jones ; Herbal, by Caervallwch. We do not quarrel with
the arrangement, which, on the contrary, seems a very
convenient one, and calculated to give due prominence
to the science of Botany ; but what we complain of is,
that the list is taken injudiciously from the author of
the Botanologium, by persons entirely unacquainted with
the subject; and as the fountain is impure, every rill
which flows from it, through such channels, must like-
wise be inevitably corrupt.

The very best publication on Welsh Botanology,
which we have seen, is that by Hugh Davies, F.L.S.
But inasmuch as the plants which he enumerates are
mainly those of Anglesey, it is evident that the Botany
of Cymru is yet to be compiled. As far, however, as his
book goes, it is all that could be wished, and furnishes a
very fair model for a national Botanology. The first

BOTANY. 153

part contains " A Catalogue of the native plants of the
Isle of Anglesey, classed according to the sexual system
of Linnaeus, and named after Flora Britannica." To
classes, ordo, genus, and species, is added the British or
Welsh name, and the place where each rarer plant was
found. Next follows an Appendix, containing the British
generic names of those plants in Flora Britannica which
are not of spontaneous growth in Mona. To that is
added Index I. The Latin names of the plants of
Anglesey. Then Index II. The English names of all
the plants which are noted in the preceding pages. After
that succeeds the second and principal part of the work,
an Alphabetical Catalogue of all the British names of
plants which the author had been able to collect from
the various sources which he had explored; each ex-
plained by the classical generic name at least, and by
the addition of the specific when proper, and the com-
monly received English name ; and to each species, most
remarkable for its qualities, either economical or medicinal,
is subjoined an account of its uses or virtues, with the
manner of preparing it, and the proper dose, all taken
from the best writers on those subjects.

It is remarkable how completely Welsh names are ig-
nored in works by English authors. For example, in
the " British Flora Medica," an illustrated History of the
Medicinal Plants of Great Britain, published in 1837,
whilst the synonyme of almost every plant is given in
Latin, French, Italian, Spanish, Portugese, German,
Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Bohemian, Polish, Persian,
Hindoostanie, Tamool and Arabic, the Celtic term is not
once mentioned, though, in many instances, it would
have been highly expressive of the characteristics of the
plant. An omission of all notice of one of the most
venerable dialects in the British dominions, on the part
of English authors, argues an amount of obstinate igno-
rance which is not removed by any parade of Hindoo-
stanie and Tamool terms.

There is no doubt that the Ancient Britons studied the
nature and properties of plants. The misletoe and the
VOL. i. x

154 BOTANY.

vervain are well known to have been much appreciated
by the Druids. The former, being called Oll-iach, all-
heal, would imply that they regarded it as possessed of
considerable medicinal qualities, and, perhaps, as typical
moreover of the RIGHTEOUS BRANCH, the desire of all
nations, even the Saviour of all. The other, called in
Welsh, y Dderwen Vendigaid, the blessed oak, would,
likewise, show clearly that it was held in some very great
repute, which indeed it has not lost to the present day.
The bards of the sixth century exhibit in their works
a very familiar acquaintance with Botany. They even
found moral lessons on certain characteristics of trees,
individual, or combined. Thus Lly warch Hen :

"Brightly glisten the tops of the oaks, bitter are the ash branches;
Sweet is the cow-parsnep; laughing is the wave;
The cheek cannot conceal the trouble of the heart."

We may infer, from what is here predicated of the cow-
parsnep, that our forefathers had ideas of that plant similar
to what the inhabitants of Kamschatka, at the present day,
entertain, who call it the sweet herb. In other countries
also in the north of Europe a certain drink is made out
of it, which the peasants drink instead of ale.

The expressions used by the early writers will enable
us, sometimes, to identify particular plants. Taliesin
observes :

" Addwyn Cadafarth yn egin."
Beautiful is the Cadafarth among the blade.

This proves that corn marigold, which is the popular
rendering of Cadafarth, is not the plant in question.
The corn marigold meets the sickle abundantly among
ripe corn, but has never been seen in bloom among the
blade. Cadafarth seems to be Sinapis arvensis, char-
lock, or wild mustard, which, among the springing corn,
by its beautifully-burnished golden appearance, must
forcibly attract the notice of every beholder, as well as of
the chief bard.

The question of names, why and when given, must be
an interesting feature of Welsh Botanology. We find
that several plants were named after persons of distinc-
tion, and they may be divided generally into two classes,

BOTANY. 155

the primitive and the medieval, thus indicating, in some
degree, the times in which, for some peculiarity or other,
they attracted attention, and became notorious. In the
former class are included such plants as Clych Enid,
lily of the valley; Boled Olwen, great bindweed;
Erbin, common calamint; Yspyddaden, hawthorn; Llys
Taliesin, orpine. The medieval seems to have come
more especially under the cognisance of the monks, who
delighted in naming the plants after holy persons, as
Llys lago, common ragwort ; Llys leuan, mugwort ;
Llys Mair Fadlen, costmary. Even the names of our
blessed Saviour Himself, His Virgin Mother, and His
angels, were adopted to distinguish certain plants ; as
Golwg Crist, wild English clary ; Gwallt y Vorwyn,
common maidenhair ; Eirin Mair, gooseberries ; Llys
yr Angel, angelica; also holy relics, as Llys y groes,
crosswort. Some have tales connected with their names,
as Gwaed y Gwyr, which plant is said to have originally
sprung from the blood of the Danes who were slain in
Britain, whence it has also obtained the English name of
Dane-wort. We find some named from their resem-
blance to objects in nature, as Tafod yr Hydd, common
hart's tongue ; others from their medicinal properties, as
Llym y Llygad, celandine. A great variety of other
circumstances there were, that suggested the beautiful
and descriptive names of Welsh plants, but they are too
numerous to mention here.

The foregoing are a few particulars in connexion with
Welsh Botanology, which are not unworthy the attention
of those persons who are able to pursue the subject fur-
ther. They are here laid down in no methodical order,
but merely as the spontaneous effusion of the writer's
mind, with the view of enlisting the co-operation of such
as have made Botany their study, in the task of imparting
instruction to his less learned countrymen on the subject.

RHIWALLON.

156

MUSIC.

ANCIENT WELSH MUSIC.

THE following original Welsh Airs are selected from a
collection consisting of 237 melodies, which were pre-
served by the individual labours of the late Rev. J. Jen-
kins, Vicar of Kerry, whose learning, Cambrian patriotism,
and knowledge of music are well known. Mr. Jenkins
allowed the late Mr. Parry (Bardd Alaw) to publish the
greater part of this collection in his "Welsh Harper,"
and the MS. copies of those published were given by
Bardd Alaw shortly before his death to Lady Hall of
Llanover, whom Mrs. Jenkins of Kerry, (the widow of
the original collector), has kindly permitted to compare
with Mr. Jenkins' Manuscript Music ; on inspection of
which it was found necessary to request the aid of Miss
Jane Williams of Aberpergwm, herself unrivalled as an
amateur musician, and celebrated for the exquisite taste
with which she plays and sings the airs of her native
country, of which she has published her own valuable
collection, entitled " The Airs of Gwent and Morgan wg."
Miss Williams was also a friend of the late Mr. Jenkins,
and had often compared notes with him on the subject
of the native melodies of Wales. To this lady the Editor
of the Cambrian Journal is infinitely indebted, as she
undertook the labour of playing over every one of the
237 airs in the MS. collection, as well as every air of the
same name in all the published collections of Welsh airs
within her knowledge, by which means she has discovered
that there are still several beautiful melodies unpublished,
although there are some published with similar names,
but of which the air is totally different, and it is well
known to collectors of Welsh Music that the same
favourite name is often given to different songs in various
localities.

ANCIENT WELSH MUSIC.

157

The two first now presented to the reader are given
with the words, of the third the words are as yet un-
known to us, but possibly after the name and music have
appeared in our pages, some of our correspondents may
be able to supply them.

We intend to present our readers with three more in
our next number.

No. I.

Slow.

TRI THARAWIAD.

CAROL NADOLIG.

Hen Don Llyfr Ficer.

Hil Adda gamweddus ! Plant Efa drafaelus,
A Deiliaid gofidus Gehenna;
Dihunwch, dihunwch, o'ch trymder a'ch tristwch,
Daeth i chwi ddiddanwch o'r mwya'.

Rees Prichard Ficer Llanymddyfri ai cant.
Gwel Llyfr Ficer, Tudalen 56.

158

ANCIENT WELSH MUSIC.

No. II.

MWYNEN MAI.

Ton a genir yn Darowen.

Moderate.

Fy mrodyr a'm chwi-

o-rydd, un ga- Ion gyda'n gi - - - - lydd,

Dad - sein - iwn ganiad newydd i'n llywydd

y Delyn.

Da Capo.

heb ddim llai.

Fy mrodyr a'm chwiorydd, un galon gyda'n gilydd,
Dadseiniwn ganiad newydd i'n llywydd heb ddim llai.
A gwelwn er ein llwyddiant eginau mewn gogoniant,
Yn addas a chynnyddiant er mwyniant i'n ym Mai, &c.

Dafydd Ddu ai cant.
Gwel Corph y Gaingc Tudalen 134.

ANCIENT WELSH MUSIC.

159

No. III. HUD Y FRWYNEN NEU FRWYNEN LAS.

Moderate.

Deheubarth.

^_ _ _ __ __

8 r-

--__g ^ -~-j ~r d it u -TI

160

BIOGRAPHY, &c.

STUDIES IN BRITISH BIOGRAPHY.
No. I.

DYVYNWAL MOELMUD.

THE early history of Wales is involved in much obscurity,
and those who read the ordinary works on that subject
have but a very imperfect conception of the truth ;
for what is usually given as such is but a repetition
of fictitious history ; and Price's Hams Cymru is the
only work in which there is any attempt to discover and
relate the actual facts. It is therefore very desirable that
some competent writer should complete what he began,
examine the whole of our early history, discriminate
between real and fictitious authorities, and pourtray those
remote periods, with their men and manners, feuds and
conflicts, as they actually were. As a small contribution
towards such a work, I propose to undertake a series of
articles, as my leisure hours permit, on that part of the
subject which consists of early British biography.

In this department there are many names challenging
attention. Hu Gadarn, among the mythic personages,
has frequently been noticed, but it still remains to be
shown who he was and what; and opinions are still
divided as to whether Arthur was a mythic or an his-
toric king. Bran ab Llyr is fondly believed to have
been the introducer of Christianity ; and it is high treason
to doubt that Menw Mab Teirgwaedd, gave phonic values
to signs invented by Einigan Gawr. All these, however,
and many more, come in questionable shapes ; and as my
researches are far, very far, from confirming the prevalent
conceptions, it may be well to lay before the readers of
this Journal a few of the data on which my conclusions
are founded.

STUDIES IN BRITISH BIOGRAPHY. 161

I begin with Dyvynwal Moelmud, for the reason that
my last heresy has been announced in connexion with
his name. In writing the " History of Trial by Jury,"
to which the Chevalier Bunsen awarded the prize at
Abergavenny, it became my duty to fix his place in
British history, and to discuss the pretensions of his so
called laws ; and the conclusions I arrived at were so
much at variance with those generally adopted, that the
Editor invited me to lay them before his readers. I now
do so : let us see what they are.

We have three accounts respecting him; one in Geof-
frey of Monmouth and his copyists, one in the "Triads of
Glamorgan," and one in the " Mabinogion ;" and each of
these differs from the others. That of Geoffrey is as
follows :

"At length arose a youth of great spirit, named Dunwallo
Moelmutius, who was the son of Cloten, king of Cornwall, and
excelled all the kings of Britain in valour and gracefulness of
person. When his father was dead, he was no sooner possessed
of the government of that country, than he made war against
Ymner, king of Loegria, and killed him in battle. Hereupon
Rudaucus king of Cambria, and Staterius king of Albania, had
a meeting, wherein they formed an alliance together, and
marched thence with their armies into Dunwallo's country to
destroy all before them. Dunwallo met them with thirty
thousand men and gave them battle ; and when a great part of
the day w r as spent in the fight, and the victory yet dubious, he
drew off six hundred of his bravest men, and commanded them
to put on the armour of the enemies that were slain, as himself
also did, throwing aside his own. Thus accoutred, he marched
up with speed to the enemy's ranks, as if he was of their party,
and approaching the very place where Rudaucus and Staterius
were, commanded his men to fall upon them. In this assault the
two kings were killed and many others with them. But Dun-
wallo Moelmutius, fearing lest in this disguise his own men
might fall upon him, returned with his companions to put off the
enemy's armour and take his own again, and then encouraged
them to renew the assault, which they did with great vigour, and
in a short time got the victory by dispersing and putting to flight
the enemy. From hence he marched into the enemy's countries,
destroyed their towns and cities, and reduced the people under
his obedience. When he had made an entire reduction of the

VOL. I. Y

162 STUDIES IN BRITISH BIOGRAPHY.

whole island, he prepared himself a crown of gold, and restored
the kingdom to its ancient state. This prince established the
Molrnutine laws, which are famous among the English to this day.
In these, among other things, of which St. Gildas wrote a long-
time after, he enacted that the temples of the Gods, as also cities,
should have the privilege of giving sanctuary and protection to
any fugitive or criminal that should flee to them from his enemy.
He likewise enacted that the ways leading to those temples and
cities, as also husbandmen's ploughs, should be allowed the same
privilege ; so that in his day the murders and cruelties committed
by robbers were prevented, and every body passed safe without
any violence offered him. At last, after a reign of forty years
spent in these and other acts of improvement, he died, and was
buried in the city of Trinovantium, near the Temple of Concord,
which he himself built, when he first established his laws."
British History, Book iii. c. 17.

In the Welsh copies, Ymer is variously written Pymet,
Pymer, and Finer; Rudaucus is named Nydawc and
Nidyawc ; Stater, in one copy, is named Theodore, and
in others Yscadyr ; and Clydno, the Welsh representative
of Cloten, is variously called Earl and Prince of Cornwall.

Dyvynwal is usually said to have lived 400 years
before Christ. 1 This is the date fixed by Mr. Owen
(Cambrian Biography), and it has been adopted by most
subsequent writers; but the book of Basingwerk dates the
commencement of his reign, B. c. 694 ; and the Rev.
Peter Roberts seems to think it satisfactory. Now in
examining the above statement, it matters not which date
we adopt; both must appear to be quite irrational. This
island was not in quite so flourishing a condition as it is
here represented before the arrival of the Romans ; the
Druids could have had no temples, much less one dedi-
cated to the Goddess of Concord ; and the cities and high-
ways of this record most assuredly had no existence before
the Christian era. On further reflection the character of
Dyvynwal becomes more familiar ; pleasant recollections
crowd upon us, and we recognise him as an old acquain-
tance ; the hand is Esau's, but the voice is Jacob's ; the

1 A MS. of no authority gives the precise date, B. c. 441. Cam-
bro-Briton, iii. 361, quoting from the Greal.

STUDIES IN BRITISH BIOGRAPHY. 163

name is that of Dyvynwal, but the lineaments are those
of Alfred. In him we have the same union of bravery
and personal beauty, the same early struggles, the con-
quest of a Lloegrian, i. e. Mercian, king, the subsequent
contest with northern foes, the subjugation of the island
to his authority, the legislative character, and the final
burial in a church founded by himself; but still more
especially do we note the resemblance in the reputed
result of their respective laws, in the golden age which
crowned the labours of both. These can scarcely be
coincidences; and as the statements of Geoffrey are
wholly unsupported by other authorities, it becomes
extremely probable that in the latter part of his state-
ment, the author had in view the life of Alfred.

The first part has a better claim to be deemed his-
torical ; but even that turns out to be a tissue of mistakes
and misconceptions. There is but one Clydno known to
true Cambrian history, and his original location was Edin
burgh i. e. Clydno Eiddin. He had no son named
Dyvynwal, that we are aware of; but the mistake was
probably occasioned by a tradition that Urien Rheged
was assassinated at the instigation of Morcant Vawr the
son of Sadyrnin, by Cynon ab Clydno Eiddin, and
Dyvynwal the son of Mynyddawc; 2 and we know that
one of the kings of Cornwall was named Dumgarth, or
Dumnarth, 3 which appears from the Triads to be the same
name as Dyvynwal. 4 It certainly does appear to me that
Geoffrey was misled by a confused form of the tradition
here alluded to, and made Dyvynwal to be the son of
Clydno, and subsequently the assassin of Mynyddawc ;
for there need be but very little doubt that the Nydawc
of Geoffrey was the "Mynydawc Eiddin" who fought at
Cattraeth, A.D. 603 ; that Stater king of Cambria was
Sadyrnin or Saturninus, the father of Morken or Morcant,
the enemy of St. Kentigern, Urien, and Rhydderch Hael;

2 Nennius, Kyvoesi Merddin, and Myv. Arch. ii. 77.

3 A.D. 875. Dumnarth (vel Dumgarth) rex Cerniu (vel Cerneu)
id est Cornubiae mersus est. Annales Cambria.

4 Myv. Arch. ii. 67. Triad 58.

164 STUDIES IN BRITISH BIOGRAPHY.

and that Ymer, Pymer, or Finer, king of Lloegria, was no
other than Ynyr, king of farther Gwent. It is also pro-
bable that the Tewdwr or Theodore who takes the place
of Nydawc in one MS. could have been no other than
Theodric, king of Northumbria, from A.D. 575 to 582,
the great opponent of Urien, and the Flamddwyn of the
bard Taliesin ; for it is more probable that that epithet
was applied to him than to his father Ida. If Dyvynwal
Moelmud was the contemporary of " Nydawc, king of
Albania," and the other persons here named ; he lived,
not in the sixth century before Christ, but in the sixth
century of our modern era.

I have here treated Geoffrey as an original author, for
I do not believe that there ever was a Brut Tyssilio.
This was the opinion of lolo Morganwg, -and in reference
to the existence of Welsh MS. there are but few better
authorities. 5 In the ante-Christian part of his history, he
has simply transposed portions of the history of the sixth
century A.D., for it is clear that he has used genuine his-
torical materials, though in a most unjustifiable manner ;
and the persons he names are known to have lived, moved,
and had their being, in the period here named. The his-
tory of Geoffrey has thus been found wanting even when
viewed in the most favourable light ; but in reality we
cannot pretend to have any ante-Christian history of our-
selves ; for British story commences with the departure
of the Romans. The traditions of the Kymry do not
ascend through the period of the Roman occupation ; and
it has been shown by Professor Rees, that even the Welsh
genealogies are not trustworthy, when they go beyond
the fifth and sixth centuries. (Welsh Saints, p. 92.)

5 The statement occurs in the preface to the first volume of his
Salman, and is as follows : "Ac am Hanes Tyssilio ni fu bodoldeb
erioed iddi ond yn ffug ac anwiredd Lewys Morys ai gydym.
ddichellwyr;" i. e. "And as for Tyssilio's history it never had
any existence, save in the simulation and falsehood of Lewis Morris
and his fellow conspirators." I do not endorse this imputation of
fraud: Mr. Morris and the Rev. P. Roberts were, I think, quite
honest but mistaken.

STUDIES IN BRITISH BIOGRAPHY. 165

Gildas, writing about 560, states that there were no
British documents in his time, (Mon. Hist. Brit.)', and
all our researches prove the truth of his assertion. He
alludes to the temples containing sculptured images,
which the Romans left behind them; but he makes no
mention of Dyvynwal Moelmud. Nennius was equally
unacquainted with this name ; and hence we may con-
clude that Dyvynwal was not known in their day as an
ante-Christian legislator. From the silence of these early
historians, and the Juiown ages of Dyvynwal's contem-
poraries, we conclude, Geoffrey's authority to the contrary
notwithstanding, that this ancient lawgiver lived in or
about the sixth century. 6

6 A learned continental historian has arrived at the same conclusion.
He adopts the views advanced in the Literature of the Kymry, that
Geoffrey compiled his work from native and other sources ; and, in
the fifth section of the introduction to his recent edition of Geoffrey,
(1854), he has the following remarks on the composition of the second
book of the " British History." " In the second book after he had
traced the British Kingdom to its foundation through Brutus, and
the division of Wales, Scotland, and England, Geoffrey turns round
to the native tradition, where Locrin, Estrildis (Essyllt, the Isolde of
Romance), Gwendolen and Ebrauc or Evrawc, father of Peredur, or
the Percival of Romance, enter to us immediately. With them also
appear the Castle of the Maiden, and the Mountain of Sorrow,
Yspaddaden and Angharad familiar from the " Mabinogion," Castle
Paladur, with the prophesying Eagle, and the selfsame heathenish
Lear and half mythic Creiddylad (Cordelia) of Shakspeare. All
figures that had a selfstanding existence in tradition, independent of
the actions of Arthur, no longer find room in a series of kings after
Caesar, that the historic name might be obliged to bend. However
they are not passed over in silence, but from thence become fixed in
an antiquity corresponding to the Druidic mystic existence, framed
by the bards in their poetry. Thereupon with bold anachronism he
seeks to thrust back the history, of Qunedda Wledig, the great-grand-
father of Arthur, the father of Anlawd, who was the mother of Eigr,
the mother of Arthur; so to Riwallo the founder of the new Armorican
kingdom; and so to the first British lawgiver, Dunwallo Molmutius.
So that generally throughout Geoffrey, as well as the traditions, to
search after chronological order were perverse pedantry. Dyvynwal
Moel, in the Old Mabinogi of Kilhwch and Olwen, is made a knight
at Arthur's court, and Taliesin elsewhere (in Wace's Brut) pro-
phesied the birih of Christ, albeit he lived in the sixth century after
Christ." Qottfrieds Von Monmouth, von A. Schulz, p. liv.

166 STUDIES IN BRITISH BIOGRAPHY.

II. The Triads. Let us now examine the Triads,
and see how this chronology agrees with the British
traditions therein embodied. All the notices of our sub-
ject occur in the most modern series, the "Triads of Gla-
morgan;" the first and second series given in the Myvy-
rian Archaiology, do not name him at all. In the third
series he is joined with Hu Gadarn and Prydain ab Aedd
Mawr as " the three pillars of the Isle of Britain," with
Prydain and Bran ab Llyr as " the three system formers
of royalty," with Hu and Tydain as "the three primary
artificers," and with Prydain and Hy wel Dda as " the
three beloved sovereigns." The service in the three first
cases is the institution of an original code of laws ; but
in the last case it is that of having " amended " laws
previously existing. (Myv. ii. 57, 63, 67.) These Triads
throw no light on the chronology of Dy vynwal ; but
another Triad (No. 58, Myv. ii. 67) states that Plennydd,
Alawn and Gwron, lived in his reign, or in that of his
father, that he was the son of Prydain, and that in some
old books he was named Dyvnvarth ab Prydain. At
first sight this does not appear to afford us any assistance;
for the age of Plennydd, Alawn and Gwron, is as un-
determined as that of Dyvynwal himself. Mr. Taliesin
Williams denied their historic reality (Colyn Dolphyn^
Notes, p. 113); and Dr. Owen Pughe (in the Cambrian
Biography) placed Plennydd a thousand years before
Christ, while he identified Alawn with the Olen or Linus
of the Greeks ; but if my argument be correct, that
Dyvynwal lived in the sixth century, it follows from
this Triad that these three bards and organizers of
bardism belonged to the same period ; and this becomes
still more probable from the known fact that Gwgon
Gwron, the herald bard, was the son of Peredur ab Eliffer
"the great retinued," who fell in battle A.D. 584, and
consequently must have lived at the time named. This
affords another illustration of the correctness of my argu-
ment ; but this is not all.

It will be observed that the Triads assign him a diffe-
rent parentage : instead of being the son of Clydno, he

STUDIES IN BRITISH BIOGRAPHY.

167

now becomes the son of Prydain ab Aedd Mawr. The
Rev. Peter Roberts thought he had discovered a point of
reconciliation. In the life of Gruffydd ab Cynan (Myv.
Arch. ii. 584), his pedigree is traced up to Adam ; and
in that, as well as in the pedigree of the Penrhyn family,
we meet with the name of Dyvynvarth, the son of Pry-
dain. The pedigrees are quoted in his Early History of
the Cymry, as well as in his edition of the so-called
Chronicle of Tyssilio ; and with these he also quotes a
Wynnstay MS. The genealogy of Dyvynwal stands
thus :

Wynnstay.

Antonius

Aedd the Great

Prydain

Clydno, perhaps the

same as Crydon
Dyfynwal

I cannot now refer to Roberts' Chronicle; but from
the reference made to it by Professor Schulz, I find that
he asserts Cyrdon to be son of Prydain, and father of
Dyvynwal, on the authority of the Penrhyn MS. Now
that pedigree, as given in the Early History of the
Cymry, p. 63, states no such thing ; and I much doubt
the existence of any Wynnstay MS. asserting that either
Clydno or Crydon was the son of Prydain. What the
genealogies really do prove is quite the contrary.
Dyvynwal, assuming his identity with Dyvnarth, was
the son of Prydain, and father of Crydon ; and there-
fore Crydon furnishes no point of reconciliation, though
his name might have caused this error, as the names
Crydon, or Cyrdon, and Clydno are not unlike. But
however that may be, the naming of Crydon as the son
of Dyvynwal furnishes us with another argument in
favour of locating the latter in the sixth century. Crydon

G. ab Cynan.

Penrhyn.

Antonius

Aedd

Aedd Mawr

Prydain

Dyfnfarth Prydain

Dyfnfarth

Crydon

Cyrdon

Cyrwyt

Cyrwyd

Eneit

Enyd

Manogan

Dodion

Beli Mawr

Dyfynwal

Beli Mawr

168 STUDIES IN BRITISH BIOGRAPHY.

had a son named Cyrwyd or Cywryd, and Gwen the
daughter of Cywryd ab Crydon, is named with Arianrod
the daughter of Don, and Creirwy the daughter of Tegid
and Ceridwen, as the three immaculate ladies of the Isle
of Britain. (Myv. Arch. ii. 16, 73.) The nature of the
allusion would indicate that Gwen (probably the Gwen-
llian Deg, the majestic maiden, named in " Kilhwch and
Olwen," belonged to the Arthurian era, even if the other
names in the Triad did not fix the date : and it is known
(Literature of the Kymry, p. 466) that Cywryd was
the bard of Dunawd, son of Pabo. Dunawd died in
595 A. D. ; and the grandfather of Cywryd must have
lived within the same century.

Dy vynwal was the son of Prydain ; Prydain was the
the son of Aedd the Great; and Aedd the Great was
the son of ANTONIUS a singular name for the ancestor
of a Cambrian legislator, living when Rome had scarcely
been built ! The pedigrees carry up the genealogy
through Seisyllt or Seriol, to Brutus, and Adam ; but
the assumption that an Antonius could have been the
son of a Seisyllt or a Seriol is simply preposterous;
and upon examination it becomes quite apparent that
Antonius commences a new genealogy ; for, from that
point upward, the pedigrees are founded on Geoffrey,
and embody his anachronisms. The name Antonius,
whether genuine or not as regards the father of Aedd,
is an undoubted indication that Dyvynwal was a man of
Roman descent ; and it will presently appear that there is
some evidence of that fact. All the notices of Prydain
show that he must have lived at some great turning
period in the history of the Kymry ; and he is uniformly
represented as the person who parcelled out the island,
or at least the western part of it, and consolidated its
various states ; but Aedd his father, though called the
Great, does not figure in Cambrian story. He appears
to have been closely connected with the island, but yet
he stood aloof, and was not a Briton. Such a man there
was: he fills a prominent chapter in European history;
and it is not difficult to define the period when he lived.

STUDIES IN BRITISH BIOGRAPHY. 169

Aedd 7 is the same name as Aetius, as may be shown if
necessary on the authority of Ed. Lhuyd (Arch. Brit.
p. 233); and Aedd the Great, of Welsh tradition, was pro-
bably no other than AETIUS, the celebrated Prefect of Gaul
the great hero of the western empire. He sent a legion
to the assistance of the Britons in 435 ; and it is possible
that he may have had a son named or surnamed Brit-
tanicus, the British form of which would be Prydain,
and that the son remained in the island, in some influential
position. There are several reasons for believing that
many of the Romans remained behind at the final de-
parture of the legions in 446 ; and Aurelius Ambrosius,
with Owain ab Maxen Wledig, are cases in point, to show
that persons of Roman parentage remained in the island,
and attained important political distinctions. The time
was one of much disorganization ; and some such work
as that attributed to Prydain was urgently required. If
Prydain was the son of the Patrician AETIUS, his son
Dyvynwal could not have attained much influence or
celebrity before the early part of the sixth century. Here
again we arrive at the same result, and the Triads and
Genealogies confirm the conclusion previously adopted.

III. The " Mabinogion." Several persons whom the
bards of Glamorgan converted into myths, are named
in the "Mabinogion" as the knights and contemporaries
of King Arthur ; and it will be found on examination
that most of the persons named in those tales, lived in or
about the sixth century. This will appear from the
following statement. Among the persons named in the
"Dream of Rhonabwy," as the attendants of Arthur,
are the following :

1. Caradoc Vreichvras. He fell at Cattraeth in 603.

2. Cawrdaf his son.

3. Hywel ab Emyr Llydaw. He came to Britain, A.D. 546.

4. Mabon the son of Modron. Named by Taliesin.

5. Gadwy ab Gereint. Llywarch Hen sang his father's elegy.

6. Menw mab Teirgwaed.

7. Gwrthmwl Wledig. Named by Llywarch Hen.

7 Aedd, Aodh, or Aodha, in Irish, is the same name as our Hugh.
VOL. I. Z

170 STUDIES IN BRITISH BIOGRAPHY.

8. Hyveidd Unllen. The contemporary of Taliesin.

9. Ffleudur Fflam. Named in the " Gododin."

10. Gvvarthegydd son of Caw. Brother of Gildas.

11. Cadreith son of Saidi. Named in the "Gododin."

12. Rhun the son of Maelgwn, who succeeded his father about

A.D. 566.

13. Adaon son of Taliesin.

14. Rhyawd son of Morgan Mwynvawr of Glamorgan.

15. Morgen Manawc. Named in the " Gododin."

16. Llachar the son of Arthur.

17. Twrch the son of Perif. The Twrch of the "Gododin?"

18. Peredur Paladyr Hir. Probably either the son of Eliffer,

(A.D. 584,) or of Evrawc, A.D. 603.

19. Trystan son of Tallwch. >The Sir Tristem of Romance

20. March the son of Meirchion. y and King Mark.

All these may be shown to have been either the con-
temporaries of Arthur or to have lived within the same
century; and as the romance is supported by independent
authorities in all these cases, and not at variance in any
instance that I know of, may we not conclude that it is
equally trustworthy in other cases, not admitting of
verification ? Placing the authority of the " Mabinogion"
on the very lowest ground, it is better than that of
Geoffrey, inasmuch as they are documents not much
later in date, free from the dishonesty chargeable against
him, and in which no flagrant anachronism has hitherto
been found. Geoffrey wrote for the learned men of other
countries, who could not detect his misrepresentations,
with the avowed design of giving prominence to the
history of his own country ; but the "Mabinogion" were
composed for the Welsh people, in their own language.
There could have been no object in falsifying the his-
torical perspective; and, by their own traditions, the
people of the twelfth and succeeding centuries, must have
been in as good a position to detect an historical mistake
as we ourselves would be if Solon, Cicero, or Justinian
were placed in the reign of Henry VIII., or if Julius
Caesar was said to have come hither with William the
Conqueror. For these reasons I accept the "Mabinogion"
as historical authorities of a trustworthy but secondary

STUDIES IN BRITISH BIOGRAPHY. 171

character ; and as furnishing us with a correct reflexion
of the ideas of the twelfth century, as to the chronology
of the British heroes. When, therefore, I find that
" Dyvynwal Moel," as he is called, is named as one of
the attendants and contemporaries of King Arthur, I
do not doubt that he lived somewhere within the same
century. He is named in the " Mabinogi of Kilhwch and
Olwen," perhaps the oldest of its class, (Guest's Mabino-
gion, ii. 263,) with about two hundred and fifty other
reputed contemporaries of Arthur ; and of that number
the greater part are historic characters. A large propor-
tion may be shown to be so ; and I may instance a few.

1. Kynwyl Sant, ^ The three men who escaped from the

2. Sandde Bryd Angel, > battle of Camlan, in A.D. 537, or

3. Morvran ab Tegid, > 542.

4. Taliesin, the chief of bards. Lived from 550 to 600.

5. Gildas the son of Caw. A. D. 570, Gildas obiit. Annales

Cambrics.

6. Hueil his brother.

7. Nwython son of Gildas.

8. Morvudd daughter of Urien. Urien was killed about 584.

9. Morgan the Generous (of Glamorgan).

10. Dunawd son of Pabo. A. D. 595, Dunaut rex moritur.

Annales Cambria.

1 1 . Sawyl Benuchel his brother.

12. Rhuvawn Bevyr. Fell at Cattraeth.

13. Eurneid daughter of Kynon ap Clydno. Kynon fell in 603.

14. Maelwys son of Baeddan. Fought at Cattraeth.

15. Gwrhir Gwalstawd leithoedd, the bard of Bishop Teilo.

A. D. 606.

16. Cas the son of Saidi. Cas the tall, of Aneurin.

17. Bedwyr, Arthur's Steward. Alluded to as an illustrious hero

in the " Gododin."

18. Manawyddan ab Llyr, brother of Bran and Bronwen.

19. Menw son of Teirgwaedd.

20. " Dyvynwal Moel."

In seventeen out of these twenty cases, the persons
named may, from contemporary and other first class
testimonies, be shown to have been living in the sixth
century ; were not the three others also ? In seventeen
cases out of the twenty, the "Mabinogi" is strictly accurate

172 STUDIES IN BRITISH BIOGRAPHY.

within the limits assigned ; is it not so in the three others?
I believe it is ; and in confirmation of my opinion, I
may add that the two first of these three may also be
shown to have lived at that time, on such secondary
evidence as the Triads, the poets of the fourteenth cen-
tury, and the " Mabinogion ; " but there are no other
notices of Dy vynwal, except references to his laws, and
the account of him given in the Venedotian code, which
will be discussed hereafter.

The "Mabinogi of Kilhwch" seems to have been known
to Cynddelw, (A. D. 1169,) and appears to have been
popularly known in the middle of the twelfth century ;
and, from that tale, we may safely conclude not only
that in and about that period Dyvynwal was considered
to have been the contemporary of Arthur, but also that
in all probability the impression was substantially correct.

In another article I propose to undertake the conside-
ration of his reputed laws. Suffice it for the present that
three converging lines of inquiry go far to establish the
conclusion, that our subject lived in the sixth century
of the Christian era.

T. STEPHENS.

Merthyr Tydfil, May 11, 1854.

173

AGRICULTURE.

AGRICULTURE OF THE CYMRY.

INTRODUCTION.

AGRICULTURE, or more properly horticulture (garddori-
aeth), ranks as one of the nine sciences, which were
known and practised by the Cymry before they dwelt in
cities, or were consolidated under a regular system of
sovereignty. 1 A Triad narrates that our ancestors were
first taught to till the earth by a chieftain of the name of
Hu Gadarn, whilst they were yet in the East. 2 This
tradition was cherished by our medieval bards, and it
receives some confirmation also from an old stone, dis-
covered in Gaul in 1711, inscribed HESUS, and bearing
the figure of a man in the act of felling a tree, as if for
the purpose of clearing the ground for cultivation. In
" Cyvrinach y Beirdd," 3 we are informed that what Adam
used for breaking the soil was a sharp pointed pole or
stave, denominated by the Cymry pal, and the writer
observes that this name was continued to their own
digging implement, even when its point was sharpened
with iron and steel. lolo Goch, the bard of Owen
Glyndwr, reports a tradition which seemingly was
current in his own days, that Hu Gadarn,

" After the deluge held
A strong-beamed plough (aradr braisg),
Active and excellent." 4

Whilst in a Triad, already noticed, it is recorded that
" before the time of Illtyd, land was cultivated only with
a mattock, and an over treading plough (arad arsang),
after the manner of the Irish."

1 Myv. Arch. vol. iii. pp. 121, 129.

2 Triad 56, Third Series. * p . 29.
4 Dr. Pughe's Dictionary, sub voce "Hu."

174 AGRICULTURE OF THE CYMRY.

From the same Triad we learn further that wheat and
barley were first introduced into Britain by Coll ap
Collvrewi, a person of unknown date, but who must
have lived prior to Ithel ap Llarian, about to be men-
tioned. Oats and rye are said to have been here
previously.

Notwithstanding the advantages which abundance of
land, and undisturbed peace and quietness offered to
the aboriginal colony, as long as they were yet unac-
quainted with the metallurgic arts, it is not to be ex-
pected that they made much progress in agriculture
during the time they remained sole occupants of the
island. The use of metal is supposed to have been intro-
duced by the second colony, the Lloegrians. And as
these were on friendly and amicable terms with the
Cymry, and originally of the same stock, speaking
moreover pretty nearly the same dialect, the latter would
not be long in profiting by the improvements of the new
comers. We accordingly, from this time forward, meet
with several notices of advancement in husbandry, as
carried on in Cymru under the auspices of the princes.
The following, from the " Genealogy of lestyn ab
Gwrgant," may suffice as examples :

" Cymry w was a great improver of land and live stock ; and
kept a considerable number of all kinds of animals.

" Ithon, the son of Cymryw, systematized the manner of
sowing corn.

" Gweirydd the Great, the son of Ithon, first introduced the
practice of preparing and preserving hay for feeding horses and
cattle in winter.

" Ithel, the son of Llarian, was a very benificent king, and the
first who taught effectually the proper culture of wheat."

We cannot, indeed, learn the exact nature or extent of
the improvements alluded to above, relative to the
culture of corn, but the third extract is clear enough,
which speaks of the mode of making hay. From this
circumstance, no doubt, as gwair is the Welsh word for
hay, Gweirydd obtained his name, q. d. Haymaker.

About four generations later, i. e. about 430 B. c., the

AGRICULTURE OF THE CYMRY. 175

laws of Dyvnwal Moelmud were promulgated. Accord-
ing to these, all persons were required to co-operate in
the tillage of the ground, the harvest was to be pro-
claimed by sound of horn, and the celebration thereof
was to be attended with acts of mutual kindness and
rejoicing, 5 much after the manner of the Jews. All
these provisions show clearly the importance which the
ancient Britons attached to agriculture.

But it is not only from native documents that we infer
the early and intimate acquaintance of the Cymry with
the art of husbandry. Their testimony on the subject is
supported, moreover, by several Greek and Latin authors,
who surely cannot, in this respect, be accused of undue
partiality, or extravagance of expression.

Hecataeus, an ancient writer quoted by Diodorus
Siculus, represents the island as highly favoured by
Apollo, and so fertile as to produce two crops of corn
annually. And the author of the Argonautic poem
describes Britain as being, in a more especial manner,
the residence of Queen Ceres, from the abundance and
fertility of the soil.

"He saw the stately court of royal Ceres." 6

Strabo says of the island, " It produces corn and
cattle, and gold, and silver, and iron, which things are
brought thence. " 7 And Diodorus Siculus, in reference
to the mode of harvesting, observes ; " They gather in
their harvest by cutting off the ears of corn, and storing
them in subterraneous repositories." 8 In Gaul, the corn
was cut down by a machine drawn by two horses. 9

From Cassar's Commentaries we find that, on his first
invasion, corn was being reaped in this island somewhere
in the interval between the 26th of August, the day on
which he landed. and the autumnal equinox. 1 And
here it is due to observe how, notwithstanding new

5 Ancient Welsh Laws, ii. pp. 477, 481.

6 Orpheus, ver. 1187-8, 8vo. Leips. 1764.

7 p. 278. 8 ^b. v . cc. 21, 22. 9 Pliny, xviii. 30.
1 De Bell. Gall. lib. iv. 32, 36.

176 AGRICULTURE OF THE CYMRY.

appliances that have been from time to time brought to
bear upon agricultural studies, the harvest season has
not varied in any material degree, in this our country,
for the last nineteen hundred years. To the same effect
is the standing testimony of the old Celtic word Medi, 2
which is still used by the Cymry to designate the
month of September.

It is undoubted that the Britons adopted artificial
means for increasing the fertility of the soil previous to
the Roman invasion. One of these, according to the
testimony of Pliny, was marl of various kinds. 3 They
were acquainted, moreover, with the process of calcina-
tion, 4 and we are told expressly that lime was used in
some parts of Gaul for manure. 5

The Roman period was favourable to the cultivation
of the arts and sciences. And it is probable that the
natives, as they became reconciled to their new masters,
would not be backward in profiting by their superior
knowledge, as well in the mode of tilling the ground, as
in other matters of advancing the comforts of life.

Accordingly, we are informed in the Triads, 6 that Coel
ap Cyllin, grandson of Caractacus, applied for the first
time the principle of the wheel and axle to the working
of the corn mill, which in all probability he had learned
from the Romans. Gorwg, his descendant in the fourth
degree, is expressly said elsewhere to have " procured
skilful men from Rome to instruct his subjects in the
right systems of agriculture, raising corn, and archi-
tecture." 7 This statement, whilst it implies a certain
inferiority on the side of the Britons, in respect of those
pursuits, indicates very clearly their willingness and
desire to learn the useful arts of life at the hands of their
conquerors.

Nor were the Romans loath to encourage their British
dependants ; on the contrary, we read opposite to the

2 Anglice, reaping. 3 Lib. xvii. s. 4. 4 Triad 91.

5 Pliny, lib. xvii. s. 4. 6 Triad 91.

7 Genealogy of lestyn ab Gwrgan, lolo MSS. p. 351.

AGRICULTURE OF THE CYMRY. 177

year 339, that " immunities were conferred on husbandry,
ploughing for corn, and the culture of fruit trees, which
were brought from Italy and Spain. 8

The year following, " wind and water mills were first
erected in Cymru, where previously only hand mills were
known." 9

For this improvement, likewise, we may infer that our
ancestors were indebted to the Romans, for we are as-
sured that the latter people were acquainted with water
mills, at least since the time of Julius Cassar.

Britain, during its occupation by the Romans, must
have been very productive of corn, for quantities of it,
especially in the fourth century, used to be conveyed to
the continent for the use of the Roman garrisons. 1

The departure of the Romans, and the consequent ex-
posure of the natives to the attacks and depredations of
the numerous hordes of barbarians that now poured upon
them, must, naturally, have retarded their progress in the
art of husbandry. We hear of no improvement until the
sixth century, when the circumstances mentioned in the
following notice took place :

" Illtyd the knight, a saint from the college of Tewdws (Theo-
dosius), improved the mode of cultivating the ground, taught the
Cymry a better method than what had been known before, and
showed them the art of ploughing which now prevails/' 2

That is, at the time when the Triad was written or
compiled, which certainly was not latter than the twelfth
century. 3

This remark of itself implies that agriculture did not
flourish much for some time subsequently. The political
state of the country was not favourable to it. We conse-
quently hear nothing of it until the era of Hy wel Dda,

s lolo MSS. p. 420. 9 Ibid.

1 Ammian. Marcell : Histor. Lib. xvii. 2. Eunapii Sardin. Hist,
p. 15. 2 Triad 56.

3 The Historical Triads were copied from the book of Caradoc of
Nantgarvan, who lived in the middle of the twelfth century, and from
the book of levan Brechva, who wrote a compendium of the Welsh
Annals down to 1150.

VOL. I. 2 A

178

AGRICULTURE OF THE CYMRY.

whose laws abound with allusions to rural pursuits, and
give us a clear description of the state at which husbandry
and farming- had already arrived. As there does not
seem to have been any difference of importance between
the mode adopted in his days, and that which prevailed
at the time when the following treatise was written, we
shall not attempt to compile an independent or separate
account out of the said laws, but merely use them in
illustration of the dissertation in question, which may be
regarded in the light of a faithful picture of medieval
farming, as practised, by our ancestors, among the hills
of Wales.

It may not be out of place, however, or irrelevant to
our subject, to insert here some of the proverbs and
maxims of the people, which are fraught with practical
wisdom, and which evince an amount of physical and
natural observation and knowledge that argues favourably
for the agricultural assiduity of our ancestors. As, how-
ever, the rhythmical and antithetical beauty of these
aphorisms cannot be detected so clearly in a translation
as they may in the original, we make no apology for
presenting them to our readers in both guises. They
are taken out of that valuable miscellany the lolo MSS. 9
which was lately published by the Welsh MSS. Society.

DIARHEBION AMAETHYDDOL.

lonawr a dery i lawr,
Chwefrawr yspail cawr,
Mawrth a ladd,
Ebrill a fling,
Mai a gwyn 1 y galon,
Mehefin llawen gorsing,
Gorphenaf llawen buarth, 2
Awst llawen gwr y ty,
Medi llawen adar,
Hydref lion cyfarwar,

Tachwedd dechreu 'r galar,
Rhagfyr gocheler ei far.

AGRICULTURAL PROVERBS.

January will strike down,
February will despoil a giant,
March will slay,
April will flay,
May will raise the heart,
June will make a merry doorway,
July, a merry cattle-fold,
August a merry host,
September rejoices the birds,
October, cheerful is social inter-
course,

November begins the lamentation,
December, beware its anger.

1 An error probably for gwyd.
2 Another version gives lluarth, a camp.

AGRICULTURE OF THE CYMRY.

179

Cydaid bach o Iwch Mawrth a dal
Gydaid mawr o aur y brenhin.

Haid wenyn, os yn Mai au cair,
A dalant Iwyth wyth ych o wair.
Da haid Mehefin, os da'u hoen ;
Am haid Gorphenaf nirownffloen.

Os ym mis Chwefror y tyf y pawr,
Trwy 'r flwyddyn wedi 'n ni thyf

ef fawr.

Os ym Mawrth y tyf y ddol,
Gwelir llewndid ar ei ol.
Gwyn ein byd, os Ebrill, mwyn
A wisg y llawr a gwrysg y llwyn.

Mai gwlybyrog, gantho cair
Lwyth ar dir o yd a gwair
Mis Mehefin, gwych os daw,
Peth yn sych, a pheth yn law.
Gwenwyn blin i'r march a'r ych,
Mis Gorphenaf na fo sych.
Awst os ceir yn anian sych,
A wna i Gymro ganu 7 n wych.
Hanner Medi 7 n sych, a wna
Lyngell lawn o gwrw da.

Gwanwyn a gwawn,

Llogell yn llawn,

Ni edewis haf sych newyn erioed

ar ei ol.

Chwefror a chwyth,
Y neidr o'i nyth.
Mis Mai oer a wna 'n ddi nag,
"Scubor lawn a mynwent wag.

Gwynt mis Mawrth, a haul mis

Mai,

A wna hagr lie ni bai.
Gwell gweled dodi'th fam ar elor,
Na gweled hinon teg yn lonor.

Haid o wenyn yng Ngorphenaf,
Had rhedynen ei phris pennaf.
Tri pheth a gynnydd ar y gwres,
Gwenyn, a gwenith, a mes.

A small bagful of March dust is

worth a large bag of the king's

gold.
A swarm of bees, if had in May,

is worth eight oxen-load of hay.
A June swarm is good if healthy.

A July swarm is not worth a

straw.
If the grass grow in February,

it will not grow much after

throughout the year.
If the meadow grows in March,

plenty will be seen to follow.
Happy our lot, if a mild April will

clothe [with green] the ground

and the branches of the grove.
A showery May will produce a

loaded land of corn and hay.
The month of June, it is well if it

be partly wet and partly dry.
It is poison to the horse and ox if

July be not dry.

If August be found dry, the Welsh-
man may then rejoice.
The middle of September, if dry,

will make a cellar full of good

ale.
A gossamery spring and a full

pocket.
A dry summer never left a famine

after it.
February will blow the snake out

of its nest.
A cold May will surely make a

full barn and an empty church-
yard.
March wind and May sunshine

will make ugly what would not

otherwise be so.
Better to see thy mother on her

bier, than to see fair weather in

January.
A swarm of bees in July, its

highest price is a fern seed.
Three things will prosper in hot

weather ; bees, and wheat, and

acorns.

180

AGRICULTURE OF THE CYMRY.

Tri pheth a gynnydd ar y glaw,
Gwlydd, ag ysgall, ac ysgaw.

Blwyddyn egfaenog,
Blwyddyn arianog.
Blwyddyn gneuog,
Blwyddyn leuog.
Cneuog ffrith,
Cynhauaf brith.

Gwlybyn a gwres yn Ebrill, a
wna i'r fFermwr ganu fel yr eos.

Pan goller y glaw,

O'r dwyrain y daw.

Pan goller yr hinon,

O'r gogledd daw atto'n.

Ebrill sych

Pob peth y nych.

Twf o bob rhyw,

A phob peth by w.

Mai oer a fydd

Yn iach ei ddydd,

Yn argoel haf,

Heb fawr yn glaf.

Ebrill fwyn,

Gwlych Iwyn,

Sych Iwyn.

Chwefror a leinw y cloddiau,

A Mawrth a'i hyf yn foleidiau.

Three things will prosper in rain;

chickweed, and thistles, and

elder.
A year of haws, a monied year.

A year of nuts, a lousy year.
A nutty copse, a mottled harvest.

Wet and warmth in April will
cause the farmer to sing like a
nightingale.

When the rain is lost, it will come
from the east.

When the fair weather is lost, it
will come from the north.

A dry April, everything lan-
guishes.

When everything grows, every-
thing will live.

A cold May, a healthy day, a
sign of summer with little
sickness.

A kind April will wet the bush,
and dry the bush.

February will fill the ditches,
and March will drink it up in
draughts.

We are unable to tell who the author of the following
Treatise was. All that we know is, that it was taken
" out of the book of Mr. Thomas Hopcin, of Llangrallo,"
who, in his day, seems to have made a considerable
collection of Welsh documents. This Thomas Hopcin
was probably the same person as the " Tomas ap
Hopcin," whose praise is sung by Y Proth, between
the years 1300 and 1350, and whom he designates as,

" Hil madfil mawr Hopcyn wyn wawr
Hael wrth gerddawr."

JOHN WILLIAMS ab Ithel.

181

POETRY.

" HYD Tyrnas Y Bryttaniaid Yn Enys Brydain, Annis 2428.

O Frutus gwiwlus a'i goelio, o gwn
Nes geni Crist wiwdro,
Chwech a thri deg, wrth spio,
Mil a chant mewn mawl a cho.

O Frutus weddus gweddiad, da i ymsyn,
Hyd amser Cadwalad
Mil ac wythcant, trwy warantiad,
Ugain a saith, nid gwaith gwad.

O Frutus hoenus fydd hyn nod diwad
Hyd ddiwedd Llewelyn,
Dwy fil, pedwarcant gwarantyn,
Ugain dirwyth, ac wyth gwyn.

O Frutus Y Brenin Cyntaf o'r Bryttaniaid hyd at Llewelyn
Tywysog diweddaf o'r Cymmry I May 2428."

The above lines were written by William Pughe, in the
reign of Charles II. Their object seems to commemorate
the three principal stages of the history of Britain. In
the first stanza, we are told that 1136 years elapsed
between the time of Brutus and the Christian era ; in
the second, that from Brutus to Cadwaladr there were
1827 years; and the third informs us, that from Brutus
to Llewelyn, the last independent prince of Wales, the
whole number of years was 2428. The stanzas them-
selves possess no poetical merit, we publish them merely
on account of their historical value.

182

CORRESPONDENCE.

THE APPLICATION OF SANSCRIT TO THE CYMRIC
BRANCH OF THE CELTIC LANGUAGE.

To the Editor of the Cambrian Journal.

SIR, Having been requested by a friend to make some obser-
vations on Gomer, by the Ven. John Williams, Archdeacon of
Cardigan, I beg to forward you the following. On pages 113 and
114 it is thus written: " Nabod and adnabod, compounded like
groybod and dybod, with the root na, and the substantive verb bod, is
not to be passed over in silence. It is useless to conjecture respecting
the meaning of the root na, as in its present form it signifies only
negation; but na may, like other words, have lost a 'g.'" Now I
state that it is not useless to conjecture respecting the meaning of the
root na, and equally easy to prove that, in its present form, it does
not signify negation. The root of na is the Sanscrit jna, both of
which signify to know. Mr. Williams states on page 74, that '* nabod
means to know." In the compound, adnabod, to know again, there
is no negative meaning. Adnabod is the synonym and of the same
form as the English word acknowledge, agnosco. Mr. Williams
suggests that na may have lost a "g." That it has lost a "g" is proved
by the Hibernian-Celtic having preserved the "g" in the words gnia
and gnic, knowledge. This a g" is the Sanscrit "j" of jna; the
Gothic has kept it in kann ; the Old German in chna ; the German
and Saxon in kann and ken; the Latin in gnosco; the Greek in
yvwffig, gnosis, yvurog, gnotos ; English, in know. Mr. W. adds,
" Cydnabod, compared with cydwybod, has no connexion with con-
science in the slightest degree." Now cyd is the Sanscrit sam, sum ;
Latin, cum; and English, con, all meaning "with ;" na, Sanscrit
jna, to know; sci from Latin scio, to know; and bod, to be; Sanscrit
bhu, to be; and ence, the participle of the Sanscrit verb substantive
sati, and ant, and means " being." Therefore conscience and cydnabod
correspond in every syllable, both in meaning and derivation. Bod
forms suffixes of persons of tenses in the Celtic dialects, as the San-
scrit bhu does in the Gothic, Scandinavian and Latin dialects.

On pages 129 and 130, we read, " creu, to create, cread, creation.
The root ere is thus explained by Pughe : he states that ere is com-
pounded of cyd and rhe, which, according to analogy, would give
eyre, contracted ere; the root of rhedeg, to run or flow, is rhe, Greek
pew, rheo." Mr. W. then observes that " eyre or ere would therefore
describe the confluence of bodies preceding the act of creation." It
is astonishing to read this circuitous and incorrect derivation; the

CORRESPONDENCE. 183

Cymric ere or creu is simply the Sanscrit root kri, to create, to make,
kara, making. Hence Gaelic heard, or caird, a maker, a worker;
the her of tinker, a worker of tin ; Hibernian, caraim, I perform ;
Lithuanian, kair, a hand ; Greek, ^etp, cheir, a hand. There is no
meaning of confluence, either expressed or understood, in these words.
The root of the verb rhedeg is the Sanscrit root ri 9 to flow ; Greek
pew, rheo ; Latin, rivus; English, river.

I subjoin a few Sanscrit roots :

Cymric, rveu, given, to weave ; Sanscrit root, ve, to weave.

Cymric, cyd, with ; Sanscrit, sum, with.

Cymric, meidrol, measurable ; Sanscrit root, ma, to measure.

Cymric, cerdd, a song, can, to sing ; Sanscrit root, chan, to sing.

Cymric, drych, sight ; Sanscrit root, dris, to see.

Cymric, medd, mead ; Sanscrit root, madhu, honey.

Cymric, nod; Latin, nota, a mark ; Sanscrit root,jna, to know.

Cymric, rhaith, right ; Sanscrit root, rita, right.

Cymric, rhin, a secret, a mystery; Sanscrit root, rundh, mysterious;
Scandinavian, rune.

Here follows a list of words, according to Mr. Williams, not imme-
diately corresponding to Greek or Latin :

Galw, to call ; Sanscrit, kai ; mAew, kaleo, to call.

Newydd, new ; Sanscrit, nava ; novus; veoe, new.

Vern; Sanscrit, bhri, to bear.

Llrvg, light ; Sanscrit, Ibk, to be bright ; splendere, luceo.

Darvod, an end, a cessation from existence, dead ; the verb darvod
is translated by Pughe, to cease to be, to conclude, to finish. Mr.
Williams says the meaning of dar, (p. 92,) is uncertain ; dar, an oak.
Now this dar is the Sanscrit verb da, and dar, abscindere, to cut off*,
to separate ; Welsh, de, to part, dead, a parting, a separation. Thus
dar is not, as Mr. Williams states, a prefix of ambiguous power : vod
is bod, Wm, to be; Greek, deuojucu, daiomai, to divide. Mae e gwedi
darvod, he is cut off, separated, dead.

Marro, to die ; Sanscrit, mar, to die.

Grvydd, trees, right, knowledge, a wise man. Mr. Williams
observes, "it is not easy to fix on a primary meaning." Now the
primary meaning is to see, to perceive ; secondly, to know, from
the Sanscrit root vid, videre, percipere, scire ; Welsh, grvyz, know-
ledge. I suggest that the meaning trees is secondary, as the tree of
knowledge might be used for knowledge ; x this conjecture is doubtful.
The Sanscrit for tree is dhru ; Sanscrit, vana, a wood.

Page 113, we read, "But the most important compound of gwybod
is cydwybod, compounded- of it and cyd, and which, should the sub-
stantive bod be dropped, will exactly correspond, both in form and
meaning, with the Greek (rvi>ei$r)criG, suneidesis, our religious and
moral conscience." I state that, if bod be dropped, the two words
cydwybod and suneidesis will no longer correspond, because bod
siginifies the being, the existing, from Sanscrit bhu, to be, and

i The oaks of Dodona. The oaks of the Druids, as sources of knowledge.

184 CORRESPONDENCE.

r)ffiQ, esisj signifies the being, the existing, from the Sanscrit root as,
esse, to be ; thus gwydd, Sanscrit root vid, means know ; gwybod,
knowledge, the existence of to know ; Greek, y vw, gno, know ;
yvwcriQ, gnosis, knowledge, the existence of to know. In Sanscrit,
yuk, join, yuk-tis, the existence of joining ; Greek, ZSVK, zeuk, join,
evK<riG, zeuksis, the existence of joining, junctio. Page 119: "In the
Cymraeg, the word gwedd holds the same relation to the Greek ettfog,
eidoSj as gwydd does to !<)??, Ide, and it is impossible to conclude that
such a coincidence can be casual. One of the two nations must have
borrowed from the other, or have derived the words from some older
mother tongue." The words are derived from some older mother
tongue, viz., the Sanscrit root vid, to see, to know.

In Cambria Britannica, gwedd signifies verbum, word ; Sanscrit,
vada, from the Sanscrit root vad, to speak, also the Sanscrit root
vach, to speak; hence Hibernian faighim, I speak, Faigh, a prophet;
hence also Latin vox, and English voice.

Page 115, we read, " Ail coincides with the Latin alter, so that a
son is called ail of his father ; now ailun means image, from ail and
llun, form." Now savail and Welsh havail mean similis ; I consider
that ail means like, and not alter, so that a son is the ail of his father,
the like of his father, and not the alter. Ailun, an image, may be
ail, like, un, one, and not alter, un ; savail and similis are from sa,
with, and dris, like ; Sanscrit, sadris, like this ; the simi is the old
Latin simus, the same ; Sanscrit, sama.

Page 135, we read that "the word dim presents a difficulty which
long appeared to me insurmountable." Richards, in his Dictionary,
gives the following interpretations of dim, nothing, anything, some-
thing ; Dr. Pughe adds, all, everything. The Ven. Mr. Williams
then states, " but the masterly analysis of negative thought by Sir
William Hamilton, which gives us two nothings as its result, pre-
sented me with the necessary clue. The first nothing is the real
impossible, the nihil purum of the schools, the non-existent; the
second nothing is the impossible to thought, that is, what may exist,
but the nature of whose existence we cannot conceive. This im-
possible, adds Sir William, the schools have not contemplated."

The Sanscrit language presents me with the following clue. The
Cymric word dim is the dam of the Sanscrit demonstrative pronoun
idam-, German, dieser, this; the nominative and accusative neuter
singular of the Sanscrit are idam and ados, this and that ; in Latin,
idem, eadem, idem, quidam, qucedam, quoddam ; in Greek, the Sets
of ovdetQ, oudeis, oudemia, ouden, neuter. The Greek tie. has, in
Homer, the plural dative <W<n, dessi, eWi, desi. Thus, in Latin,
" the same," i. e. " this man," neuter, " this thing." In Greek, " no
man, no woman, no thing." The Sanscrit neuter das, German das,
Anglo-Saxon tat, English that, are probably relations of dam and
dim ; ergo, dim means thing, things. Thus, Awdwr pob dim, the
Author of every dim, that is, every thing; again, ^dim with nid
means nothing; a synonym with ouden and nihil, nothing; thus, Nid

CORRESPONDENCE. 185

dirgel ond dim, there is nothing truly concealed but that which is not
conceivable.

Now i, in Sanscrit, signifies this, and is prefixed to dam to form
idam, this, and also to ta, and forms Latin iste, this. The original
meaning of dam is not explained in any Sanscrit grammar nor diction-
ary that I have seen, but the te, Sanscrit ta, signifies he, this and
that ; therefore dam, Cymric dim, may mean he, this or that, ac-
cording to the gender and number, the old form and meaning being
lost.

The suffixes dem, dam and the word dim, have the form of the
Sanscrit accusative case singular, m being the Sanscrit sign ; in
Greek, n, as in ovSev, ouden ; in Latin, m, quemdam. I now take
leave of Gomer, expressing my respect for its learned author, and the
pleasure and instruction that I have derived from its perusal.

THOMA.S BILLOT, Surgeon, R.N.
10, Byrom Street, Manchester.

THE SANSCRIT LANGUAGE.

To the Editor of the Cambrian Journal.

SIR, I was particularly pleased with the view taken alike by Dr.
Prichard and Dr. Meyer on the origin of languages, especially as it
runs counter to the theory which is too much the fashion in the present
day, of regarding the Sanscrit as the common parent of at least all
the Celtic dialects. Why a Cymric primitive or root, if it bears any
philological resemblance to a Sanscrit term, should be dogmatically
pronounced as derived, borrowed, or formed from the latter, it is
difficult to conceive, except on the principle of prejudice, which in
the case of many persons is sure to be antagonistic to any and every
thing of a Welsh character. Indeed, on historical grounds, it is just
as likely, if not more so, that the Hindus should have borrowed from
us, as we from them. On this subject perhaps the following extract,
taken out of an article "On the Druidical Remains of the Ancient
Britons/' which is published with the last Report of the Architectural
Societies of the Archdeaconry of Northampton, the Counties of York
and Bedford, and the Diocese of Lincoln, may prove interesting to
some of your readers.

" It would appear, from the accounts of those best acquainted with
the mythology of the Hindus, that the islands of Britain and Ireland
were known at a very remote period, and that the Brahmins of India
came originally from the west, and brought their religion thence with
them. In a map containing the north-west quarter of the old continent,
in use among the Hindus, Britain is called the White Island, or in
Sanscrit Sweta-'Saila, or the White Cliffs: the same, you will observe,
as the XevKrj Trerpa of Homer which is a literal translation of the
Sanscrit who places the country he describes at the extremities of
VOL. I. 2 B

186 CORRESPONDENCE.

the west, in the ocean, near the setting sun, and in the country of the
Manes, near the Elysian Fields. In the Argonautics, ascribed to
Orpheus, it is called \EVKOV xeporov, or the White Country, and placed
in the Western Ocean, with lerne, Erin, or Ireland. It is mentioned
by Nonnus, in his Dionysiacs, under the name of \EVKOV TT&IOV, or
the White Plain. The aborigines, or Celts, call Britain to this day
Inis Wen, or the White Island, the Inis-huna, or Inis-Uina of
Caledonian bards, who by it understood England, or at least the
southern parts of it. Al-Fionn, in Gaelic, answers literally to Sweta-
'Saila in Sanscrit, and to the name given it by Homer.

" The next legend, from the Bhavishya-Puran-a, is most curious
and interesting. It certainly tends to prove not only an early con-
nexion between the White Island and India, but also that there is
a tribe of Brahmins in India to this day, actually descended from a
sacerdotal race residing originally in the White Island. Learned
men in India readily acknowledge that the Brahminical tribes are by
no means natives of that country ; but that they came from the north.
They acknowledge themselves that their religious system came from
the west. The White Island is the holy land of the Hindus, and to
it they refer everything. Even the very chalk with which they mark
their foreheads must come from the White Island ; no other would
answer their purpose."

In the face of these facts, if one language must be older than the
other, is it not likely that Cymraeg must carry the day? As Dr.
Meyer observes, "the Celtic languages have an origin undoubtedly
as ancient, and in many of their grammatical usages of a character
DECIDEDLY MORE ANCIENT, than the Sanscrit."

How is it that Archdeacon Williams in his Hyperborean con-
troversy overlooked the important argument implied in the \WKOV
\epaov of Orpheus ?

GWYDDON.

THE WELSH CLASSICS.

To the Editor of the Cambrian Journal.

SIR, I was very much pleased with the proposal, contained in the
last Number of the Cambrian Journal, of publishing a series of the
works of our most eminent bards. It is an excellent idea, and I
sincerely trust that you will meet with due encouragement to carry it
into effect. lolo Goch will form a good beginning, on account of
the early date at which he flourished, and also of the extensive share
which he personally had in the political movements of the times.
The other names which you mention as about to succeed him are
likewise very judiciously chosen ; but there is one whom, though not
enumerated in your list, I hope you will not forget WILLIAM LLEYN,
second to none of his contemporaries ; nay, as Williams in his Bio-
graphical Dictionary observes, he "excelled all the bards of his time

CORRESPONDENCE. 1 87

in sublimity of thought, and poetic fire, and he was much admired
for the sprightliness of his wit." William Lleyn was born about the
year 1540, at Llangian, in Lleyn, Caernarvonshire; arid was in-
structed in Welsh prosody by the celebrated poet Griffith Hiraethog,
who entertained the highest opinion of his abilities. He was a fellow
pupil of Simwnt Vychan, William Cynwal, and Sion Tudyr. I
believe that upwards of forty of his poetical compositions are extant.
The Rev. D. Silvan Evans, of Llangian, has about twenty which
have never appeared in print. Forty or fifty poems will make a
nice little volume.

CYMRO.

THE MYVYRIAN MUSIC.

To the Editor of the Cambrian Journal.

SIR, Will you, or some of your learned correspondents, undertake
to explain the Music which is appended to the third volume of the
Myvyrian Archaiology ?

I believe many of the airs which are there quoted are quite extinct
now. I happened the other day to have a conversation about them
with one of the best harpers in the Principality, and he told me that
they are quite unknown throughout the four provinces.

He confessed that he never heard of " Macmwn hir, Macmwn byrr,
nor the Mac y Delgi, and their twenty-four variations;" and it was
useless to inquire of him for " CANIAD CADWGAN " (the song of
Cadwgan), or, " CANIAD CYNWRIG BENCERDD" (the song of
Cynwrig Bencerdd), and " PROVIAD YR Eos BRIDO " was a MYTH,
in his opinion.

Now, Sir, if any one would take upon himself the task of ex-
plaining the before-mentioned collection, I am sure that his labour
would be received with the warmest welcome by all patriotic Welsh-
men, and, amongst the rest, by Your obedient servant,

BEUNO.

Whit-Monday, 1854.

MOLT.

To the Editor of the Cambrian Journal.

SIR, Can molt, in the extract from Sefnyn (Cambrian Journal,
No. I. p. 99) have the same meaning as it has in the following
passage of Lewis Glyn Cothi :

" Mae'n adeilad i'r wlad lys
Mai ty larll a molt teirllys." Dos. IV. viii. 13.

Molt here seems to be equivalent to the mere modern form mold,
or the English mould. Dr. Davies (s. v.) informs us that mold occurs

188 CORRESPONDENCE.

in the poems of D. ab Gwilym, and refers for an example of it
to the word gold; but, unfortunately, neither that word nor the
promised example is to be found in his Dictionary.

Mold, and especially its derivative, moldio, are colloquially used in
Cardiganshire, and in many other parts of Wales. I remain, &c.

D. SILVAN EVANS.

LLYFR TWROG.

To the Editor of the Cambrian Journal.

SIR, Can you or any of your readers inform me whether the
above-mentioned book is yet in existence or not? Dr. Thomas
Williams, in the beginning of the seventeenth century, says that he
had seen it, that it was bound in iron boards, and called tiboeth,
(unburnt ?) and that it was kept in the monastery of Clynnog Fawr,
in Arfon. (Vide Drych y Prif oesoedd, p. 133.)

From that period, down to the beginning of this century, I can get
no clue about it; but I presume that it must be still in some noble-
man's library, among the other spoliations of the monastaries.

The late lolo Morganwg, in a letter to the editor of the Cambrian
Quarterly Review, says, that during his peregrination in North
Wales, he got hold of LLYFR TWROO, and says further, that it was
then in his possession. I have been told, too, that the author of the
interesting "Reminiscences" of old lolo alludes to Llyfr Twrog as a
valuable document left by the old man. Hence I infer that the MS.
in question is still in existence, and that it may come to light again,
through the medium of your valuable Journal. It would be a source
of pleasure to me to hear that the old "tiboeth" is yet preserved
within some sacred edifice, or in a safe library of one of our thorough
patriots.

However, for the present, I must subscribe myself, in expectation of
something further about St. Twrog's book, Yours most obediently,

Bod Owen, near Caernarvon. ARVONIENSIS.

IEUAN VAWR.

To the Editor of the Cambrian Journal.

SIR, From the brief account which is inserted in the lolo MSS.
p. 479, it would appear that this man was behind none of his con-
temporaries in point of learning, and yet how little we know of
him, or of the particular works which he wrote !

" He imbibed knowledge with all the avidity that a child would
suck its mother's milk ; and early in life he took the lead of all
preceptors in Wales." Such is the statement of the short notice
which relates to him. The fruits of his talents and education, we are

CORRESPONDENCE. 189

told, further appeared in several works ; of which the following are
mentioned :

1. The preservation of the Welsh language, the art of vocal song,
and all that appertained to them, according to the rights and usages
of the Welsh nation, and the judicial decisions of wise men.

2. The Greals.

3. The Mabinogion.

4. The nine tropes and twenty-four embellishments of diction.

5. The Book of Fables.

6. A Book of Proverbs.

Can any of your correspondents particularize the books which
were written by leuan ? for certainly he did not write all the Ma-
binogion, or compile all the Proverbs. Einiawn Offeiriad has the
credit of writing the romance of Taliesin, and Yr Hen Gyrys o lal
is considered as the principal collector of our ancient maxims.

Is the first work mentioned above still extant? and if it be why is
it not published ? Being of older date than the grammar of Edeyrn
Davod Aur, it would be an invaluable record relative to the Cymraeg.

Are the Triads of embellishments, published in the lolo MSS. p.
480, to be attributed to his genius ? And how many, if any, of the
fables wbich occur in the same collection were framed by him?

I should very much like to see a critical inquiry into this matter
made in your pages, with the view of establishing the genuineness of
our ancient literature. IEUAN VACH.

IOLO GOCH.

To the Editor of the Cambrian Journal.

SIR, I have in my possession two MS. poems of lolo Goch, which,
if you wish, I shall be most happy to transcribe for you. One begins,

" Madwys i'm gael ammodau."
The other,

" Y rnae yn ei fryd wryd Annyr."

To the first a note has been appended by the copyist on the
meaning of the poet's name, thus :

" lolo Goch, id est Julius Rufus, videtur esse origine Romanus."

The titles of both are " Daroganau lolo Goch."

Wishing you every success in your praiseworthy undertaking. I
remain, &c. BRAN.

[We shall be obliged to our correspondent for copies of the poems
which he mentions. ED. CAMB. JOUR.]

WELSH UNIFORMS.

To the Editor of the Cambrian Journal.

SIR, I was greatly delighted, on the appearance of the first
Number of the Cambrian Journal, to find that Wales has at last its

190 CORRESPONDENCE.

national organ. Long life to it ! The Cambro-Briton, Cambrian
Register, and Cambrian Quarterly, now defunct, have done much
good in their days successively towards the elucidation of matters con-
nected with Welsh history, manners and customs, as well as towards
the support and preservation of that noble feeling PATRIOTISM.
Many have bewailed the dark and uncomfortable blank which their
extinction had left in our journalism, until the appearance of the
Cambrian Journal, which springs into life full of vigour and promise
the harbinger, no doubt, of better days for Wales.

But my object at present is not to compliment you, so much as to
request your aid in bringing about a change in the costumes of the
only two regiments connected with the Principality, 23rd Welch
Fusileers, and the 41st. I am not aware that the latter exhibits
any national characteristics beyond its banner, which is emblazoned
with the Red Dragon, and bears the animating and warlike motto
"Gwell angau na chywilydd." The 23rd bears the name of
Welsh, is led by a goat, and has a Welsh harp in its band. But
here the national appearance of both ends. Surely it is not enough.
The men should be dressed in national uniforms, after the manner of
the Highlanders. The costume which I should suggest is that of the
middle ages, when Wales was an independent kingdom. Perhaps
some of your correspondents will furnish you with a minute descrip-
tion of the said dress, with the view of having it submitted to the
consideration of a committee, who may be appointed to draw up a
memorial on the subject. I have no doubt but that badges comme-
morative of their fathers' bravery and power, will be highly popular
with the soldiers, and influence them in an especial manner to
accomplish deeds of valour. I do not see why the privilege of always
wearing artificial leeks in their caps be not, as a beginning, at once
accorded to them. Even that would recall the performance of
honourable exploits, which it would be their ambition to imitate.
Perhaps some of your readers are not aware of the origin of the
custom adhered to by Welshmen of wearing leeks in their hats on
St. David's day ; it may therefore not be uninteresting to close this
letter with an account of it as given in the lolo MSS.

" In 1346, the battle of Cressy was fought, where the Welsh ac-
quired great fame for their brave achievements in support of Edward
the Black Prince. It was at this time that Captain Cadwgan Voel
called to the Welsh, desiring them to put leeks in their helmets, the
battle there being in a field of leeks ; and when they looked about,
they were all Welshmen in that regiment, except twenty-nine, the
English being in another part where the battle did not rage, and it
was from this circumstance that the Welsh took to wearing leeks."

MILES.

191

MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES.

ADORNMENT OF HOUSES.

A BEAUTIFUL and edifying custom prevailed formerly among our
ancestors of adorning the inner walls of their houses with writings
and inscriptions such as were calculated to promote the intellectual
and moral knowledge of visitors. It existed as early as the days
of Howel the Good, as the following fragment, from the Rev. E.
Evans' collection, at Plas Gwyn, Anglesey, and published in the
lolo MSS. pp. 87, 478, will show:

"Having framed a code of laws suitable to the Welsh nation and
its tribes, conformably to the judgment of teachers and wise men, and
according to the requisites of the Christian faith, and the distributive
system of social order, Howel the Good directed Blegy wryd, the son of
Morgan, archdeacon of Llandaff, to write them in regular books, and
on rolls ; and likewise to inscribe them on flat memorial-stones, and to
cover the walls of his court and hall of justice with such tablets, in
full publicity; that all, who chose, might see and read them, and
transcribe them on skins; and that, thus, they should become well
known to all the Welsh nation, as occasions might occur."

The same usage continued, more or less, down to the middle of the
seventeenth century, as we learn from the address prefixed by
Thomas ab Ivan o Dre Bryn, Glamorganshire, to his collection of
Triads, in 1680. This is to be seen at p. 199 of the third volume
of the Myvyrian Arckaiology. A translation is subjoined :

" Beloved Welshmen, Here is a book of old Triads. Such were
formerly much in use; and I recollect having seen, when I was a
boy, at the house of an old relative of mine, several copies of Triads,
fastened to the walls of his hall. This, he said, was a common
practice in former times; and we infer from the circumstance, that
our forefathers loved wisdom much more than do their offspring.
Who will now attach to the walls of his abode anything that may
teach or signify wisdom ! Nobody, that I know of. It was from
seeing several things of this nature, especially the Triads of Llelo
Lawdrwm, of Coetty, upon the wall of the hall window at my old
kinsman's, that my love was first, drawn to the reading of the old
language of my country, and the exploring of its old manuscripts ;
and the pleasure which I have derived from old Welsh books has not
been inconsiderable. I heartily believe, that, if some such things were
printed and placed on the walls in houses, they would draw the
attention of many a young man to better subjects than what are now
too frequently set before them ; and it would be no matter of shame
for some few block-headed old persons, (and it is block-headed that I

192 MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES.

find all old persons to be,) to consider that it is high time for him or
her to exercise a little wisdom. An old Triad of Song says :

"'There were three kinds of Triads formerly remembered and
known in Wales; the Triads of Song, the Triads of History, and the
Triads of Wisdom/

" May heaven be the portion of those good old men who formerly
restored the memory and knowledge of such matters; but if on that
account they have had access to heaven, I much fear that they will
never see but few of their posterity in the place where they themselves
are. Be brave, be well, be wise ! And God be with thee, and his
heaven the abode of thy soul !

" THOMAS IVAN."

WELSH LITERATURE IN GERMANY. "I have found this author
(the author of the Literature of the Kymry) a scholar learned in the
genuine native Welsh speech and literary lore ; and I believe we may
say that, for the first time, this old literature has submitted to a
rigorous and thorough criticism. The knowledge and use of the old
Welsh special-history has discovered to him every other requisite for
the proof of its sources ; and besides frank confidence, this work affords
evidence of the overstrained phantasy and utter want of capacity for
historical criticism of all earlier interpreters. Stephens has, through
his meritorious book, as well by the warm love of this people, and
their early active intellectual life, as by the clear and unprejudiced
intuition of the results, unsparingly broken a gap in the Celtic God-
heaven, so large, that Davies and his school, with their mythological
fruit, their combination and credulity, must have fallen through into
the bottomless abyss, but that the ruler of destiny has to fear the
heaven-storming giants and Titans of former times ; and the Keltic
mythologies remain unaccomplished, and the work of their examina-
tion anew has to be begun with the thoughtfulness, profundity, cir-
cumspection and caution for which Jacob Grimm, in his Dutch
Mythology, has given the guidance and certain way/' Professor
Sc'hulz, of Magdeburg, Prussia, in his " Sagen von Merlin" or
Traditions of Merlin, published in 1853.

COELBREN Y BEiRDD. We deeply regret that circumstances have
prevented the author of this Essay from sending us any portion of it
in time for our present Number.

GRAMMATICA CELTICA. E Monumentis Vetustis, tarn Hibernicas
Lingua? quam Britannicae, Dialecti Cambricae, Cornicaa, Armoricse,
nee non e GallicaB Priscae Reliquiis. Construxit T. C. Zeuss, Philos.
Dr. Histor. Prof. 2 volumina. A review of this important work
shall appear in our next.

DAVYDD AB GWILYM'S GRAMMAR. In the lolo MSS. p. 487,
occurs the following notice: "There is at Maes-y-crugiau, on Tivy-
side, a grammar composed by Davydd ab Gwilym. (Says Ben

MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 193

Simon, from lago ab Dewi's Book.) Book of Brechva" We
shall be glad to know that the said grammar is still extant. Can any
of our readers give us some information on the subject? In reply to
SIMWNT, we beg to say that, in our opinion, a Welsh grammarian
ought not to cull his examples from modern or living authors. The
best prose specimens of the Cymraeg are to be found in the Triads,
the Laws, the Mabinogion, and, as regards its later aspect, in
Cyvrinach y Beirdd, and the Fables, Tales, &c., which have been
published in the lolo MSS. We do not think that quotations to
illustrate the rules of a Welsh Grammar should be made from any
book of a more modern date. By-the-bye, how is it that there is no
new edition of Cyvrinach y Beirdd? Surely it is a work that ought
to be in the possession of every bard, whereas, with many, its very
name is unknown.

BRITISH ALPHABET. In Zeuss's Celtic Grammar, just published,
mention is made of a document in the Bodleian Library, as old
apparently as the end of the eighth or beginning of the ninth century,
which contains, among other things, a description of the British
Alphabet, giving the forms of the letters, as well as their Welsh
names. The latter, indeed, have been appended by the learned
author to his grammar, but he has not, unfortunately, favoured us
with a copy of the former, merely remarking in reference to them:
"Figure sunt similes figuris literarum, quse dicuntur Coelbren y Beirdd
(literse bardicae), et impresses sunt typis (e. g. apud Owenum vel in
ephemeride inscripta 'The Cambro Briton/ i. p. 241), sed differt
earum compositio et significatio." This MS. was formerly marked
as NE. D. 2 19, but now as A net. F. 4 32, and the alphabet is to
be found at p. 20. Professor Zeuss speaks, moreover, of another MS.
in the same Library, not quite so old as the former, in which, at page
41, "Conspiciuntur tres lineas literarum runicarum vel bardicarum
miraB forma?, differentium tana a minis Neminivi [the scribe of the other
alphabet], quam a scandicis." This record, formerly marked NE. B.
5, 9, is now indicated by MS. Bodl. 572. It was written by a Welsh-
man, and contains several Cymric words, which the Professor makes
use of in illustration of his grammar. Will any of our Oxford
friends favour us with exact copies of the said alphabets ?

REV. EDWARD SAMUEL. Can any of our correspondents furnish
us with some information relative to the life and writings of this
clergyman, who was Rector of Llangar, from 1720 to 1748? Williams,
in his "Enwogion Cymru," makes no mention of him further than
that he was the grandfather of David Samwel, the poet.

WELSH Music. On Wednesday the 31st of May last, Lady Hall,
of Llanover, had a small and select reception of about one hundred and
fifty persons to hear some genuine Welsh music. About fourteen most
beautiful ancient melodies were performed by the Llanover Harpers
(Gruffydd and Watcyn) on the Triple Stringed Harps of Wales.
VOL. I. 2 C

194 MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES.

They also sang with their harps, and the Dryw Fach (the Little
Wren, or rather the Nightingale of South Wales) sang six of the
most exquisite songs of her native country. The whole was executed
in the real Welsh style, and was as different and as superior to the
diluted and corrupted versions of Welsh music generally heard in
England, as it is possible to conceive. Gruffydd is the same harper
who, a few years ago, had the honour of playing before her Majesty,
at Buckingham Palace, with his master, the late celebrated Jones,
and Watcyn is his pupil, and in this manner the true Welsh style of
playing has been transmitted for centuries from master to pupil.
There were present nearly the whole corps diplomatique, also their
Highnesses the Prince of Surat, Vogorides, and Golam Mahomed,
her Grace the Duchess of Inverness, Duchess of St. Albans, Duke
and Duchess of Cleveland, the Duchess of Sutherland, and Lady
Constance Grosvenor, Earl and Countess of Clancarty, Marchioness
of Huntly, and Miss Guest, Countess of Abergavenny, Dowager
Lady Willoughby de Broke, Honourable Mrs. Stanley, Lady New-
borough, Honourable Miss Wynne, &c., &c., &c. We also remarked
among the guests, Sir Charles Barry, and the unrivalled John Parry,
who has for some time retired from the professional world, and also the
celebrated Welsh Professor of the Harp, who has so lately entranced
the musical world of St. Petersburg and Paris, Mr. John Thomas, of
Pen y Bont. The Welsh music was so highly appreciated that
several of the airs were requested three times over ; and the party did
not break up till one o'clock. The subjoined is a programme of the
performance, which of course were sung with the original Welsh
words as alone suitable : Part First. Air, " Codiad yr Haul,"
Gruffydd and Watcyn; Song, "Y 'Deryn Pur," Dryw Fach; Air,
"Serch Hudol," Gruffydd and Watcyn; Song, "Gwenith Gwyn,"
Dryw Fach; Solo, "Syr Harri Ddu," Gruffydd; Song, "Y Fwyal-
chen," Dryw Fach ; Song, lt Hob y deri Dando," Dryw Fach,
Watcyn, and Gruffydd. fart Second. Welsh March, " Difyrwch
Gwyr Harlech," Gruffydd and Watcyn; Song, "Breuddwyd," Dryw
Fach; Solo, "Pen Rhaw," Gruffydd; Song, "Llwyn Onn," Dryw
Fach; Trio, "Cerdd Hen Wr o'r Coed," Dryw Fach, Watcyn, and
Gruffydd; Air, Merch Megan," Gruffydd and Watcyn; Song,
" Clychau Aberdyfi," Dryw Fach.

OAKLEY MINE, MERIONETH. In sinking No. 3 pit, the men
came upon a chamber of large dimensions, which apppeared to be an
old British or Roman work; and on clearing to the bottom, about
two fathoms deep, they turned up some old timber, nails, and stores,
carefully kept, which proved that the place had been worked, and
that for gold, as no other ores were visible in it but gold stones at the
bottom and sides.

GOLD IN CAERNARVONSHIRE. The mineral discoveries that are
daily taking place in different localities, are clearly proving that the
Snowdonian range of mountains, in Caernarvonshire, as well as in

MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 195

Merionethshire, contain within them gold, and other mineral treasures,
that will produce results which, previous to the introduction of
railways, no one could have anticipated. The attention of scientific
men and practical mineralists has, of late, been directed to, and
attracted by, geological appearances in many parts of these rocky and
mountainous districts, and the result has been that they contain an
enormous amount of mineral treasures, though not to the apparently
fabulous extent that some parties have represented; unquestionably,
however, the most extraordinary mineral discoveries have been made.
At a place called Tan yr Allt, the property of Sir R. W. Bulkeley,
between Conway and Roe Wen, a sulphur mine was commenced, and
the produce, on being analyzed, was found to contain, per ton, nearly
half a ton of pure sulphur, 13 dwts. 1 grain of gold, and 6 ounces
10 dwts. 16 grains of silver. It has also, we learn, very recently
been discovered, that the produce of a copper lode at Maes Caeradog,
in Nantffrancon, the property of the Hon. Colonel Pennant, upon being
analyzed, contained besides copper at the rate of very nearly three
ounces of gold per ton. Higher up than where this lode is situated,
there are remains of mining operations in some bygone ages, and the
place is called by a Welsh name, "Cwtter Eurychod," which signifies
"the gutter, or open cast of the gold diggers, or gold seekers." The
property of T. A. Smith, Esq., on the northern and western side of
Snowdon, in the parishes of Llanberis, and Bettws Garmon, has for
some time past been attracting the attention of mineralists. From
the discoveries that have recently been made in Cwm Derwenydd,
Rhosddu, yr Arddu, and above Cwmglas farms, below Carneddigyn,
including nearly 2000 acres of land, studded with mineral lodes, there
is every reason to conclude that that property teems with auriferous,
copper, and other ores, to an extent that may vie with any mineral
property of the like extent in any part of the Principality.

REVIEWS. It is particularly requested that all Books intended to
noticed or reviewed be forwarded (post paid) to the "Editor of the
Cambrian Journal, Llanymowddwy Rectory, near Dinas Mowddwy."

196

REVIEWS.

GOMER; OR A BRIEF ANALYSIS OF THE LANGUAGE AND KNOW-
LEDGE OF THE ANCIENT CYMRY. By JOHN WILLIAMS, A.M.
Oxon, Archdeacon of Cardigan. London: Hughes and Butler,
15, St. Martin's-le-Grand. 1854.

This extraordinary work divides itself naturally into two main
parts. In the former, the learned author furnishes us with a brief
and succinct account of the Hamiltonian philosophy on some of the
leading points of previous errors. This department consists of three
chapters, headed respectively, " Philosophy of the Mind, also called
Metaphysics ;" " On the Philosophy of Perception ;" and, " On the
Limitation of Thought to the Conditional;" and to these are appended
a summary of the conclusions arrived at, which we give in the
Archdeacon's own words :

t( That the facts of consciousness which testify the existence both of the ego and
the non-ego, that is, of the perceiving mind, and the eternal object perceived, are
to be believed intuitively, and are prior to any possible demonstration. That man's
power of thinking is limited by great laws which compel it to attach time and
place to everything thinkable.

" That the ideas which we can form respecting time and place, clearly prove the
imbecility of the human mind, because it fails to realize the truth or falsehood of
two contradictory propositions.

" With respect to time, the mind is compelled to acknowledge either that it had
a commencement, or that it had not. But it cannot conceive or realize in thought,
either the commencement or non-comrnencement of an infinite lapse of ages.

" With respect to space, the mind cannot conceive it either as limited or
unlimited, and granting that the universe occupies space, it cannot conceive either
a limited or unlimited universe ; so that, if with Aristotle we should conceive the
visible creation to be a hollow sphere, of which the concave side is studded with
fixed stars, we should be still compelled to think of its convex side, and believe
it to be embosomed in a wider space external to itself. Hence the mind cannot
conceive any magnitude which may not be regarded as a portion of something
still greater, nor conceive the smallest particle as not divisible into still smaller
atoms." p. 44.

In the second part, the author proves from the etymological
structure of the Cimbric language, that our ancestors were acquainted
with these truths. This portion of the work is highly interesting, and
eminently calculated to attract the attention of such men as are fond
of philological pursuits. Until lately, the Cymraeg was but little
known beyond the limits of the Principality. It was looked upon as
an accidental and barbaric tongue, constructed on no natural or
philosophic principles whatsoever, and, consequently, unworthy of
study and preservation. The tide, however, has at length turned,
and philologists have begun to apply their attention to this old
language, and are astonished at the inexhaustible treasures which, by
their exertions, are daily exposed to view. We have only to refer to

REVIEWS. 197

the elaborate Essay of Dr. Meyer, which appeared in our last, in
confirmation of what we say. The Archdeacon, in the present work,
takes up the subject, and not only establishes the great antiquity of
the Cimbric language, from an analytical examination of its etymo-
logical structure, but has succeeded in discovering philosophic and
religious truths lying under the outward forms of words. We shall
subjoin a few examples for the purpose of showing our readers how
our author works out his propositions. Our first quotation refers to
the meaning of " en " and its compounds :

" In the Cymraeg, the first numeral takes the form of un, identical with the Latin
'unus/ but the 'To ev y if not as a simple, is still found in compound words. Under
V Dr. Pughe gives the following translations :

" 'The source of life, a living principle, or what is immortal, a Being, a Deity,
a soul, or spirit, an essence, or ens!' It might have puzzled the Doctor to give
his authorities for these .interpretations, but, nevertheless, the most important of
them cun be safely inferred from the words in which it forms a part."

" * Dien,' compounded of ' di/ privative, and ' en/ the life or soul, means death,
extinction of life, as,

" ' Dein drwg vo ir dyn draw.'
" * May an evil death happen to yonder man.'
" And Taliesin says,

" * Nid wyr perchen cnawd, beth vydd ei ddien.'

" ( The owner of the flesh knows not what his dien (the separation of the soul
and body) will be.'
" And in another place, speaking in the chai'acter of our Saviour,

" * Aethym ar Bren i gymryd vy men.'
" ' I went upon the tree to take upon me my dien.'

" Pughe gives a second ' dien ' with an ' i/ which, as in many other cases, is an,
evident corruption, and the word should be written ' Dyen/ compounded of the
particle 'dy ' and l en.' It is an epithet of God, as ' Duw dyen/ ' God always the
same,' says Dr. Pughe, and ' Synwyr dyen,' a spiritual sense, and lolo Goch says,
* Lucidarius a ddywed hyn yn ddyen.' ' Lucidarius says this spiritually.' ' Dienydd,'
written also ' dihenydd,' compounded of ' di ' and ' enydd,' or ' henydd,' life, or
the soul, is commonly found, and ' di-enyddwr,' or ' dihenyddwr,' ' an executioner,'
or 'murderer.' From 'en' came 'eni,' to exert the mind or soul, and ' ynni/
plural ' ynniau/ the powers and faculties of the ' enaid.' Hence a Triad says,
' Tri phriv-ynniau 'r enaid, scrch, deall, a myn.' The three primary ynniau of the
soul are ' serch,' the intellect and the will. ' Encr/ also a spiritual agent, and
' euaid,' the common appellation for the soul and immaterial spirit, come from the
'To f.v. The words ' bywyd,' life, and 'enaid,' are often, and always have been,
loosely and promiscuously used ; yet ' Bywyd ' seems to have originally meant a
state of existence, a condition of life, like that of the Homeric ouwf, while the
'enaid' was regarded as a being separate and separable from the material frame.
Hence the law-phrase, ' enaid-vaddeu,' was applied to a criminal condemned to
death, whose soul, consequently, was liable to be dismissed from its earthly
habitation, for ' maddeu,' originally signified to let go, send forth, corresponding
with the Greek l [Aediei'di, and the Latin 'mittere.' The noun 'maddeuant' is
now used only to express remission, as in the common phrase 'maddeuant
pechodau,' 'remission of sins.' ' Dienaid ' and ' dieneidiaw,' are used in the same
sense as ' Dien, dienydd, and dihenyddu,' manifestly proving that the root was ' en/
or ' hen ;' and here, perhaps, it will not be improper for me to express my firm
conviction that, intimately connected with 'en/ spiritual being, is that word which
in the Cyrnraeg is ' en w/ connected with the idea of which, whether represented
by the Greek l ovop,af or the Latin 'nomen/ we have some of the holiest and
purest feelings, which magicians and sorcerers, in all ages, and in the western and

198 REVIEWS.

eastern world, have abused for the purpose of deceiving and deluding mankind. To
discover the 'enw' of a spiritual antagonist was to vanquish him, and make him
subservient to him who could rightly use it.'* pp. 116, 117, 118.

The sentiments of the ancient Britons relative to the creation are
made to appear in the following remarks:

" The Cymraeg indicates the starting post whence the past commenced, by the
word 'dechreu,' and the goal where the future ends, by ' diwedd.' Between these
two points, time is called 'amser,' beyond it, ' tragwyddoldeb;' 'dechreu, 'or
'dechre,' compounded of 'de' and 'creu,' to create, evidently points to the time
when creation took place, when the accretion of atoms assumed form, when the
heavenly bodies were moving in their courses, and 'gwydd' became visible, being
the starting post whence ' arnser ' commenced its course, as ' diwedd ' (already
explained) was applied to its termination. ' Cread,' translated creation, is
evidently the same word as ' dechread,' translated ' beginning,' ' origination.'

" * Cre,' the root, as explained by Pughe, is compounded of ' cyd ' and ' rhe,'
which, according to analogy, would give ' eyre ' contracted ' ere.' The root of the
verb 'rhedeg,' to run, or flow, is ' rhe,' corresponding with the Greek 'pew.
1 Rhe' occurs in old writers in its simple forms, as in ' dyre,' or ' dere,' and ' chware,'
and especially in * ymre' and ' ymread ' already quoted under ' ymrwydd."

"The 'eyre' or 'ere' would, therefore, describe the confluence of bodies such as
would necessarily precede the act of creation, and from which time should be
counted, corresponding with the beginning described in the first words of Genesis,
and with the ' ^pX 1 ! KTivews' of St. Peter." pp. 129, 130.

Of the Cimbric term which denotes time itself the Archdeacon
thus observes:

'"Amser,' compounded of ' am,' round, and 'ser,' the stars, the revolution of
the stars, including the sun, moon, and firmament, thus furnishing a general
term, equally applicable to the duration and several parts of time, and cor-
responding in meaning with both the l yjp VOQ ' and the </cat le' of the
Greeks." p. 131.

Our last extract will show in a remarkable mannner the power of
the author's mind, and its competency to grapple with difficulties.
It is in reference to the word "dim."

"Richards, in his dictionary, gives the following interpretations of ' dim;'
'nothing,' 'nought,' 'anything,' 'something;' to which Dr. Pughe adds 'all,'
'everything.' Now the frequent recurrence of the word 'dim' in the 'Wisdom of
the Cymry,' where the context rendered it absurd to render it by the Greek
'ovSev,' or the Latin 'nihil,' had long baffled all my attempts to comprehend its
exact power. But the masterly analysis of negative thought, by Sir William
Hamilton, which gives us two nothings as its result, presented me with the
necessary clue. The first ' nothing ' is the really impossible, the ' nihil purum ' of
the schools, the non-existent. The second ' nothing' is the ' impossible to thought,'
that is, what may exist, but the nature of whose existence we cannot conceive.
'This impossible,' adds Sir William Hamilton, 'the schools have not contemplated;
we are therefore compelled, for the sake of symmetry and precision, to give it a
scholastic name in the ' nihil cogitabile.' Now it must be confessed that it is a
very singular fact, that a distinction which was thus first drawn for the purpose of
mere symmetry, suddenly struck me as a flash of light illuminating and dispelling
the dark and the obscure. And it was not immediately that I saw that the
original Latin word ' res,' from ' reor ,' and ' thing,' from ' think,' were facts leading
to the same conclusion. The ' nulla res,' and the no thing, or properly ' think,'
although primarily implying the ' nihil cogitabile,' will equally comprehend under
itself the 'nihil purum,' which is inconceivable, because it is absolutely devoid of
existence. The 'nihil cogitabile,' as the contrary of 'nihil purum,' suggests that
many things not only do, but must exist, which we are nevertheless unable abso-

REVIEWS. 199

lutely to conceive, or comprehend in thought, and those 'non cogitabilia* are more
numerous than is generally supposed.

" Such are ' substance ' and ' quality,' which can only be thought of as mutual
relatives. We cannot conceive a quality existing absolutely in, or of itself.
We are constrained to think it as inhering in some basis, substratum, hypostasis
or substance, but this substance cannot be conceived by us, except negatively, as
the unapparent, the inconceivable the inconceivable co-relative of certain appearing
qualities. Absolute substance as absolute quality is therefore both inconceivable
as anything more than the negations of the conceivable.

" ' Dim ' is positive in certain cases, as when God is addressed as ' Awdwr pob
dim,' 'the author of every dim,' comprehending under its meaning not only the
extended and the apparent, but also unextended and unseen existents.

" ' Peth ' is the proper Cymric word for the tangible and measurable, and
corresponds with the Tode n of the Greeks. 'Dim,' when applied to 'Peth'
becomes negative, as 'dim peth' negatives the existence of a 'r63e rC in the
particular case.

" With this previous explanation, we may understand the following quotation
from St. Cadoc :

" ' Nid dirgel ond dim
Nid dim ond anveidrol
Nid anveidrol ond Duw
Nid Duw ond dim
Nid dim ond dirgel
Nid dirgel ond Duw.'

"Before translating the passage, it may be useful to state that ' dirgel,' com-
pounded of ' dir,' true, and ' eel,' concealment, means that which is truly concealed,
and that ' anveidrol,' compounded of ' an,' negative, and ' meidrol,' measurable,
corresponding both in form and meaning with the Greek 'ajuerjoov,' means 'what
cannot be measured.' The quotation may, therefore, be translated
" ' There is nothing truly concealed but that which is not conceivable.
" ' There is nothing not conceivable but that which is immeasurable ; that is, which
has no dimensions.

"' There is nothing immeasurable but God.
" ' There is no God but that which is not conceivable.
" ' There is nothing not conceivable but that which is truly concealed.
" ' There is nothing truly concealed but God.'
" Again, we have the following axioms applied to God :
" ' Nid diddarvod ond Duw
Nid tragywydd ond Duw
Nid anveidrawl ond Duw
Nid dim ond Duw.'

" Where the ' dim ' is classed with the illimitable, incognizable, and immeasurable
existence of God an existence, however, supreme and most real in its nature for
the same authority tells us,

" ' Nid Bod, ond Duw.
"'Heb Dduwhebddim.
"'A Duw a digon.'
" ' There is no real existence but God.

" ' Without God, without a thing conceiveble or inconceivable.
'"Having God, having a fulness.' "pp. 135, 136, 137, 138, 139.

The work contains also an appendix, consisting of some letters of
the author on certain archaeological subjects, which display a vast
amount of learning and research, and are well worthy of attentive
perusal.

Every Welshman who has not GOMER in his library will be a
disgrace to his country.

200 REVIEWS.

LIVES OF THE CAMBRO-BRITISH SAINTS, of the fifth and immediate
succeeding centuries, from Ancient Welsh and Latin MSS. in
the British Museum and elsewhere, with English Translations,
and Explanatory Notes. By the Rev. W. J. REES, M.A.,
F.S.A. Llandovery: W. Rees. London: Longman & Co.
1853.

When the Welsh MSS. Society was first established many asked
with a sneer, "Can any good come from Wales?" They supposed,
and we fear that, too generally, the wish was father to the thought,
that our written relics were too insignificant to be exposed to view
that they would but prove a laughing stock to the learned world :
or, on the other hand, if we had any MSS. worthy of being dragged
out of their obscurity, we had no native scholars capable of editing
them. Such is the force of prejudice, which, we are sorry to confess,
is still deeply rooted in the minds of many of our fellow-subjects, in
respect of anything of a Welsh character. At that time, of course, no
mere assertion would satisfy our cavillers. Now, however, having on
our table, as the practical result of the Society's labours, four large
and handsome books, the Liber Landavensis, the Heraldic Visita-
tion of Wales, the lolo Manuscripts, and the Lives of the Canibro-
JBritish Saints, we confidently answer the question with the invitation,
"Come and see." They will bear examination, and withstand
criticism, whether we regard the manner in which they are edited or
printed.

They are, indeed, most valuable works, not only as exhibiting the
learning and research of their several compilers, but as memorials of
the social and ecclesiastical condition of our country at different
periods of its history. We sincerely trust that a second Carnhuanawc
will soon arise, and avail himself of the materials which are here
variously and abundantly offered for the elucidation of the national
character. It will appear that our ancestors, even in Druidical times,
were other than the "painted savages," they are popularly represented
to have been. And it is right that we should insist upon this fact, as
being uniformly mentioned in our traditionary annals, the contrary
assertion being derived from extraneous sources, and only applicable,
if at all, to some of the later tribes that had settled in Britain. Most
interesting matter in reference to early Britain will be found in the
lolo collection, which forms the third publication of the Welsh MSS.
series.

The volume to which we call particular attention at present, is
made up of legendary biographical accounts of several of the early
saints of the British Church, such as SS. Brynach, Beuno, Cadoc,
Carannog, Dewi, Gwynllyw, Illtyd, Cybi, Padarn, and Winefred.
An appendix is moreover inserted, containing the lives of certain
saints, that were in some way connected with Wales, though not
being of Welsh extraction or relationship. These were St. Catherine
and St. Margaret, who had Welsh churches dedicated to them ; and
St. Aidus, St. Brendanus, and St. Tathan, who, being natives of

REVIEWS. 201

Ireland, passed much of their time in Wales. The appendix contains
also some minor articles connected with the main subject of the volume,
arid in accordance with the objects of the Welsh MS8. Society.

The lives presented in this volume were transcribed from original
MSS. deposited in the British Museum, and elsewhere; and were
partially prepared for the press by the late lamented Carnhuanawc.
They were subsequently re-copied, and carefully collated with the
originals, by the present editor, to whom Wales was already under
great obligations. Mr. W. J. Rees seems to have spared no pains or
trouble in executing the task which he had undertaken, for though
labouring under the infirmities of age, he took many a long and
wearisome journey, for the purpose of making extracts for the work,
and was indefatigable in communicating with men of learning, on
subjects that required especial elucidation. And now Divine Provi-
dence has enabled him to finish his task, and to leave behind him
a work which will be a lasting monument of his zeal, learning, and
patriotism.

We must not forget to mention that the work is printed in Mr. W.
Rees's best style, and that it is adorned with illustrations of St.
Illtyd's cross, and fac-similes of three different MSS. in the British
Museum.

We are glad to learn that the Lives of the Cambro- British Saints
will be succeeded without delay by the Meddygon Myddfai, or
compendium of the medical practice of the celebrated Rhiwallon and
his sons, Cadwgan, Gruffydd, and Einion, of Myddfai, in Caermarthen-
shire, physicians to Rhys Gryg, lord of Dynevor and Ystrad Towy,
son of GrufFydd ap Rhys, the last Prince of Wales, about the year
1230. After that will be published, the Ancient Welsh Grammar
made by Edeyrn Dafod Aur, at the injunction and desire of Llywelyn
ap GrufFydd (Prince of Wales from 1254 to 1282), Rhys Vychan,
lord of Dynevor and Ystrad Towy, and Morgan Vychan, lord
paramount of Morganwg. Both these works are already in a state
of preparation.

AN ENGLISH AND WELSH DICTIONARY. By the REV. D. SILVAN
EVANS, late Welsh Lecturer at St. David's College, Lampeter.
Part xix. Denbigh: Gee. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co.
1853.

About eleven more parts will, we understand, complete this truly
national work. From what has already appeared, we augur that it
will be the most perfect Anglo-Welsh Dictionary that has yet ever
issued from the press. It is extremely copious ; for instance, in the
part before us, we count no less than fifty-eight Welsh synonyms
opposite to the single word Light. Under Make, also, there are
various translations given of as many as 116 phrases. But what
particularly pleases us in respect of this Dictionary, is the happy
manner in which the compiler has translated idioms, or rendered
English sentences or aphorisms by corresponding Welsh proverbs;
VOL. I. 2 D

202 REVIEWS.

e. g. " Half a loaf is better than no bread;" Gwell bychod yn nghod
no, chod wag. "No longer pipe, no longer dance;" o deryw y
gainc e dderyw y chware. " By magic numbers and persuasive
sound;" trrvy odlau ter a hudlawn, a seiniau lu swynol iawn. "Like
master, like man;" trial y bo'r dyn y bydd ei Irodn. " Many men,
many minds;" parvb a'i chrvedl ganddo. "You have brought your
hogs to a fair market ; dygasoch eich troed i'r fagl y dygasoch eich
grvddfi'r cebystr. May the learned compiler have health to finish
his important task, and may he be fully rewarded at the hands of his
countrymen, for the pains which he has taken to serve them.

ENCYCLOPEDIA CAMBRENSIS. Y Gwyddoniadur Cymreig. Denbigh :
Gee. 1854.

We have received the first number of this work, and are happy to
recommend it to the notice of our fellow-countrymen. The articles
which it contains are very well written, and much credit is due to the
editor for the care which he has taken to insure uniformity of style
and orthography. We beg particularly to call attention to the
interesting articles on Abaris and Abred.

LLYFR Y PROPHWYD ESHAIAH; LLYFR Y PATRIARCH IOB; wedi eu
cyfieithu o newydd a'u trefnu yn ol yr Hebraeg; gan y
Parchedig THOMAS BRISCOE, S.T.B. Is-lywydd, ac Athraw
hynaf, Coleg yr lesu, Rhydychain. Holywell : W. Morris.
London: Hughes and Butler, St. Martin's-le-Grand. 1853, 1854.

Our Welsh friends will hail with pleasure the appearance of these
volumes; for not only will they be of assistance to many, in the right
understanding of obscure passages and expressions which occasionally
occur in the received version, but, as they exhibit in a very eminent
degree the power and poetry of the original, they will enable the
reader to enter proportionally into the very spirit of the sacred com-
posers, an advantage which is too generally denied to such as have
to use translations. We subjoin the following, as a fair example of
the skill and ability which Mr. Briscoe has displayed in the execution
of his patriotic task.

JOB xxxix. 19.
" A roddaist ti i'r march gryfdwr ?

A wisgaist ti ei fwnnwgl ef a chrynfa ?

A wnei di iddo lammu fel ceiliog rhedyn ?

Ardderchowgrwydd (yw) ei chwyrniad ef dychryn (yw) :

Cloddio yn y dyffryn a wna (ei draed), ac efe a lawenycha yn (ei) nerth,

Efe a allan i gyfarfod yr arfau;

Efe a chwardd ar ben arswyd, ac ni ddychryna,

Ac ni ddychwel rhag wyneb y cleddyf j

Yn ei erbyn ef y seinia saethau,

Fflam y waywffon a'r biccell;

Gan lammu ac ymgynhyrfu y cipia efe 'r ddaear ;

Ni saif yn llonydd, canys sain yr udgorn (sydd);

Ar bob sain yr udgorn fe ddywaid efe 'chwei ;'

Ac o hirbell yr arogla efe 'r rhyfel,

Taran y tywysogion, ac y twrf."

203

THE CAMBRIAN INSTITUTE.

PATRONS.

The Right Hon. the Earl of DUNRAVEN
The Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of ST. DAVID'S
The Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of ST. ASAPH
The Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of LLANDAFF

COUNCIL.

Sir Benjamin Hall, Bart., M.P.

Rev. Charles Henry Hartshorne, M.A., Cogenhoe, Northampton

Sir Thomas Phillipps, Bart., Middle Hill

J. O. Westwood, Esq., F.L.S., Hammersmith

The Venerable Archdeacon Williams, M.A., F.R.S.E., late Warden

of the Welsh Institution, Llandovery
Rev. Morris Williams, M.A., (Nicander,) Amlwch

HONORARY SECRETARY, pro temp.

Rev. John Williams ab Ithel, M. A., Rector of Llanymowddwy

SECTIONAL COMMITTEES.

I. History.

Rev. Jos. Hughes, (Cam Ingli,)~M.elt}iam Parsonage, Huddersfield
Rev. T. James, (Llallawg,) Netherthong, Huddersfield
Thomas Jones, Esq., M.A., Chetham Library, Manchester
T. O. Morgan, Esq., Aberystwyth
T. Love D. Jones Parry, Esq., Madryn Park, Pwllheli
Rev. W. J. Rees, M.A., F.S.A., Cascob Rectory, Presteign, Radnor
Thomas Stephens, Esq., Merthyr-Tydfil
T. Wakeman, Esq., The Graig, Monmouth
The Venerable Archdeacon Williams, M.A., F.R.S.E., late Warden

of the Welsh Institution, Llandovery
Rev. Charles Williams, B.D., Holyhead

II. Geology j Botany, Zoology, $c.

Charles Cardale Babington, Esq., M.A., F.R.S., F.L.S., &c., St.

John's College, Cambridge

Rev. William Davies, Ph. D., Froodvale Academy, near Llandovery
Rev. A. Hume, LL.D., 9, Clarence Street, Everton, Liverpool
J. O. Westwood, Esq., F.L.S., St. Peter's, Hammersmith

III. Topography, Statistics, #c.
Rev. J. Evans, Pentrevoelas

Rev. A. Hume, LL.D., 9, Clarence Street, Everton, Liverpool
W. F. Skene, Esq., 20, Inverleith Row, Edinburgh

204 THE CAMBRIAN INSTITUTE.

IV. Philology.

George B. Beaumont, Esq., 11, Gloucester Terrace, Hyde Park,

London

Rev. Thomas Briscoe, B.D., Jesus College, Oxford
Rev D. Silvan Evans, Llangian, Pwllheli
A. J. Johnes, Esq., Garthmyl, Shrewsbury
Rev. Morris Williams, M.A., (Nicander,) Amlwch

F. Agriculture.

(Committee not yet formed.)
J. Joseph, Esq., F.S.A., Brecon, Treasurer
Mr. Richard Hall, Brecon, Secretary

VI. Welsh Literature.

Rev. Wm. Edmunds, Head Master of the Grammar School, Lampeter

Robert John Pryse, Llanrhuddlad, Anglesey

Rev. Robert Williams, M.A., Llangadwaladr, Oswestry

Rev. Morris Williams, M.A., ( Nicander y ) Amlwch

SECRETARY TO THE WELSH SECTION.

Rev. D. Silvan Evans, Llangian, Pwllheli

ASSISTANT SECRETARY.

Richard Mason, High Street, Tenby.

LIST OF GOVERNORS.

Earl of Dunraven, A dare, Limerick

Lord Bishop of St. David's, Abergwili

Lord Bishop of St. Asaph, St. Asaph

Lord Bishop of Llandatf, Llandaff

Sir Benjamin Hall, Bart., M.P., Llanover, and 9, Great Stanhope

Street, Mayfair, London
Lady Hall, Llanover (Gwenynen Grvent)
Sir Oswald Mosley, Bart., Rolleston Hall, Burton-on-Trent
Sir Thomas Phillipps, Bart., Hiddle Hill

Rev. Charles Henry Hartshorne, M.A., Cogenhoe, Northampton
John Johnes, Esq., Dolaucothy, Llandilo, Caermarthenshire
Rev. W. J. Rees, M.A., F.S.A., Cascob Rectory, Presteign, Radnor
Hon. Fox Strangways, 31, Old Burlington Street, London
F. R. West, Esq., M.P., Ruthin Castle
J. O. Westwood, Esq., F.L.S., St. Peter's, Hammersmith
Ven. Archdeacon Williams, Llandovery
Rev. Morris Williams, Amlwch, Anglesey
Dr. Zeuss, Professor, Bamberg, Bavaria

DONORS.

The Right Hon. Earl Cawdor, 10.

Charles S. Greaves, Esq., 11, Blandford Square, London, 1. Is.

THE CAMBRIAN INSTITUTE. 205

LIST OF MEMBERS.

Babington, Charles Cardale, Esq., St. John's College, Cambridge

Beaumont, George B., Esq., 11, Gloucester Terrace, Hyde Park

Briscoe, Rev. T., B.D., Jesus College, Oxford

Clough, Very Rev. C. B., Dean of St. Asaph, Mold

Conder, Francis R., Esq., C. E., Haverfordwest

Davies, Rev. David, Llanwnog, Newtown, Montgomery

Davies, James, Esq., Solicitor, Hereford

Davies, Rev. John, M.A., Smallwood Parsonage, Lawton, Cheshire

Davies, Miss, Tan-y-bryn, Pennal, Machynlleth

Davies, Mr. T., Messrs. Lockett & Co., Manchester

Davies, Rev. W., Ph. D., Froodvale Academy, Llandovery

Edmunds, Rev. W., Training College, Caermarthen

Etheridge, R., Esq., Philosophical Institute, Park Street, Bristol

Evans, Rev. D. Silvan, Llangian, Pwllheli

Evans, Edward, Esq., Neath

Evans, Owen, Esq., Tyn-y-Coed, Pwllheli

Francis, John, Esq., C.E., Town Hall, Manchester

Gibbins, Henry B., Esq., Neath

Green, A. J. M., Esq., Caius College, Cambridge

Griffith, Griffith, Esq., Taltreuddyn, near Barmouth, Merionethshire

Griffith, Rev James, Vicar of Llangunnor, and Prebendary of St.

David's, Caermarthen
Hibbert, Walker, Esq., Neath

Hinde, John Hodgson, Esq., Acton House, Felton, Northumberland
Hughes, John, Esq., Bodedeyrn, Anglesey
Hughes, Rev. Joseph, Meltham Parsonage, Huddersfield
Hughes, Owen, Esq., Penrosser Cemlyn, Holyhead
Hume, Rev. A., LL.D. 9, Clarence Street, Everton, Liverpool
Iltyd, Thomas, Esq., Hill House, Swansea
James, Rev. Dr., M.A., F.S.A., Marsden, Huddersfield
James, Rev. T., Netherthong, Huddersfield
Johnes, A. J., Esq., Garthmyl, Shrewsbury
Jones, Rev. Evan, Aberayron, Cardiganshire
Jones, Rev. L., Almondbury, Yorkshire
Jones, Rev. J. LI., St. David's
Jones, J., Esq., Dinorben Fawr, St. Asaph
Jones, J., Esq,. Chetham Library, Manchester
Jones, W. Esq., M.D., Holyhead
Joseph, J., Esq., F.S.A., Brecon
Knight, Rev. H. Hey, Rectory, Neath

Lewis, Rev. W., Llanfihangel Glyn Myfyr, Corwen, North Wales
Llewellyn, W., Esq., Baglan Cottage, Neath
Lloyd, T. Lewis, Esq., Nantgwilth, Rhayader, Radnorshire
Lloyd, Walter, Esq., Caermarthen
Llwyd, Miss Angharad, Ty'n Rhyl, Rhyl
Mason, Mr. R., Tenby
Moggridge, Matthew, Esq., The Willows, Swansea

206 THE CAMBRIAN INSTITUTE.

Morgan, T. O., Esq., Aberystwyth

Parry, T. Love D. Jones, Esq., University College, Oxford

Philipps, F. Lloyd, Esq., Hafodneddyn, Caermarthen

Philipps, F. L. Lloyd, Esq., Pentyparch, Haverfordwest

Player, W. J., Esq., Neath

Potter, Joseph, Esq., Herald Office, Haverfordwest

Price, W., Esq., Llanfoist, Abergavenny

Prys, Robert Ivan, Esq., Llanrhuddlad, Holyhead

Rees, Rev. John, Llangan, Whitland, Narberth

Richards, E. L., Esq., F.G.S., Pentreffynon House, Holy well

Richards, John, Esq., Bron Menai, Caernarvon

Richson, Rev. Charles, M.A., Manchester

Robson, Miss, Penally

Skene, W. F., Esq., 20, Inverleith Row, Edinburgh

Spurrell, William, Esq., Caermarthen

Stephens, Thomas, Esq., Merthyr-Tydfil

Thomas, Rowland, Esq., Neath

Valdez, P. T., Esq., 14, Piccadilly, London

Vaughan, John, Esq., Penmaen Dovey, Machynlleth

Wakeman, Thomas, Esq., The Graig, Monmouth

Whittaker, W. W., Esq., Manchester

Whittington, Rev. Rowland, Llanfair, Holyhead

Williams, Rev. Charles, B.D., Holyhead

Williams, Hugh, Esq., Cassell's Printing Office, Ludgate Hill

Williams, Rev. James, M.A., Llanfairynghornwy, Chancellor of the

Cathedral of Bangor

Williams, Miss Jane, Neuadd Felen, Talgarth, Brecknockshire
Williams, Rev. John, Llanymowddwy Rectory, near Dinas Mowddwy,

Merionethshire

Williams, Esq., M.D., Swansea

Williams, Rev. Robert, Llangadwaladr, Oswestry
Williams, Rev. Rowland, St. David's College, Lampeter
Williams, Rev. R., Llandeusant, Holyhead
Williams, W. P., Esq., Telegraph Office, Haverfordwest
Young, Edward, Esq., Neath

PROVISIONAL RULES.

I. That the objects of the Institute shall be the encouragement
and diffusion of a knowledge of the Arts, Sciences and Literature,
more especially in their relation to Wales and its Marches, and shall
consist of the following sections: 1. History; 2. Geology, Botany,
Zoology, &c. ; 3. Topography, Statistics, &c. ; 4. Philology ; 5.
Agriculture, &c. ; 6. Welsh Literature ; 7. Manufactures, Mines,
&c. ; 8. Music ; 9. G eneral Literature.

II. That the Institute shall consist of Governors who have been
donors of at least ,10, or whose annual subscription shall amount to

THE CAMBRIAN INSTITUTE. 207

.1, and of Members paying an annual subscription of 10s., which
may be compounded for by one payment of 6.

III. That the primary management of the Institute shall be vested
in the Governors ; who shall select a President and Treasurer, two
Secretaries, and a Council of at least ten, five of whom shall form
a quorum, to be assisted by Committees for each of the different
sections.

IV. That the entire amount of Members' subscriptions and half
that of the Governors' be expended in printing the publications of
the Institute ; and that every Member, whose subscription is not in
arrear, shall receive the Quarterly Journal of the Society, free.

Y. That every member who shall intimate to the Secretaries a
desire to withdraw, shall, at the expiration of the current year, cease
to be a Member ; and no Member shall at any time incur any
liabilities beyond the amount of his subscription.

VI. That donations be received, the whole amount of which,
together with the remaining half of the Governors' subscriptions, shall
be expended by the Council in the incidental expenses of the Insti-
tute, and in illustrating its Publications.

The Journal of the Institute will be issued quarterly, consisting
on an average of eighty pages of letterpress, devoted to regular
Treatises or Essays on some of the foregoing subjects, including
Correspondence, Miscellaneous Notices, Reports, &c.

In order to meet the wishes and requirements of the "Cymro
uniaith," it is proposed, moreover, to admit members upon the
payment of five shillings annually, to whom a Welsh Journal half
the size of the English Journal, but of a similar character, will be
issued.

The advantages of such a society are obvious, and we sincerely
trust that the Institute will receive from the gentry and literati of the
Principality that encouragement and support to which the object it
has in view is justly entitled.

It is in contemplation to hold meetings occasionally, perhaps
annually, in different parts of the Principality, for the purpose of
discussing the various subjects which come under the cognizance
of the Institute. Of such meetings due notice will be given in the
Journal.

The CAMBRIAN INSTITUTE is at length duly organized. The first
Number of its Journal was issued in March, and met with a hearty re-
ception at the hands of our countrymen, and all who have the welfare
of Wales really at heart. No pains shall be spared to render it worthy
of its position, and we may mention as an earnest of its high character
and success, that several persons of station and learning, not officially
connected with the Institute, have already kindly and promptly
promised us invaluable assistance in various ways. By some we have
been presented, in the most liberal and patriotic manner, with the
loan of Ancient MSS., others have kindly offered to supply our

208 THE CAMBRIAN INSTITUTE.

pages with Traditionary Music, Legends and Anecdotes, while a
third party will enrich us with Treatises on the Geology, Botany,
Zoology, Mines and Agriculture of the Principality.

We need not remind our countrymen that this department is quite
a novel feature in the character of the Institute and its Journal.
There is scarcely a country in Europe in which less practical attention
has been paid to the resources of the soil than in Wales, whilst at the
same time it would be difficult to find another to which nature has been
more bountiful. And why is it so ? The Welsh are an intelligent and
industrious race of people; surely nothing but the want of educa-
tional advantages prevents them from rivalling their neighbours in
the acquisition and the practical application of knowledge. We are
firmly persuaded, then, that the plan which the Cambrian Institute
has adopted, is calculated, in no small degree, to remove that obstacle,
and to furnish our countrymen with the means of improving their
social condition, whereby they may become useful members of the
community.

Nothing then remains but that the list of subscribers be increased
to that numerical point which will inspire us with courage and spirit
to work. We therefore earnestly beg of all our friends and well-
wishers to send us their names without delay. The annual subscrip-
tion is very trifling only Ten Shillings for which will be given in
return an octavo volume of at least 320 pages.

Ours is no factious or sectarian, it is emphatically a national cause.
Wherefore all persons who love Wales may join us, without feeling
apprehensive that any violence will be offered to their political or
religious views. It is not by quarrelling among ourselves that we
can expect to raise the intellectual and moral character of our country.
Disunion has always been the bane of Wales. We have resolved that
it shall not be admitted into our camp. Patriotism is our motto ; and
all who are really patriotic are sure to agree in the main as to the best
mode of serving their country. But whilst we insist upon patriotism,
which implies emphatically the love of one's native country, as a
necessary qualification on the part of our Members, we wish it to be
distinctly understood that such a feeling by no means involves hatred
towards other countries. Our country is now an integral portion of
the British empire ; we have a Queen ruling over us, in whose veins
flows the blood of our ancient kings and princes, and all the Welsh
people regard her as peculiarly their own Sovereign their Boadicea
rediviva. Still, as Wales has yet, as of old, its distinctive features,
we can and must feel towards it a peculiar attachment ; and

Cas gwr na charo
Y wlad a'i macco.

THE

CAMBRIAN JOURNAL,

ALBAN '-:^,mf^ ELVED

(AUTUMNAL EQUINOX.)

HISTORY.

MOEL FENLLI.

ABOUT three miles eastward of Ruthin, between the two
roads that lead to Mold, is a high conical hill, called
Moel Fenlli, on the summit of which is a strong earth-
work, forming one of the six fortifications of a similar
character that crown the Clwydian heights on that side
of the country. From some excavations made in it in
the year 1849, traces were discovered of its having
been occupied at different times, and by different races
of people. Among these traces the most ancient and
interesting was a stone knife, which the writer of the
present paper was fortunate enough to throw up. This
was sent to Ruthin Castle, where it is still preserved.
There were discovered also at the same time, under the
superintendence of Mr. W. Wynne Ffoulkes, two flint
VOL. i. 2 E

210 MOEL FENLLI.

arrow heads. These, as well as the knife, are illustrated
in the ArchcBologia Cambrensis, Vol. I. New Series, to
which we beg to refer our readers for a full description
of the encampment, as well as for further particulars in
respect of the excavations, which were carried on at the
time above mentioned.

It must be admitted that here we have vestiges of a
very remote period, usually called the stone period, to
which archseologists in general assign an Allophylian
race of people, whom, nevertheless, the writer humbly
conceives to have been no other than the Cymry, em-
phatically considered and described in their own memo-
rials as the original occupants of the island, and whom
the Bardic system, which to this day forbids the use of
metallic tools in the erection of Meini Gorsedd, 1 identifies
as the. ancestors of the present inhabitants of the Prin-
cipality. These were the sole tenants of Britain for
about six or seven hundred years, that is, until the arrival
of the Lloegrians, which is supposed to have taken place
soon after the Trojan war. The Lloegrians, as well as
the Brython, who followed in their wake, and were both
descended from the same stock, having resided among,
or been contiguous to, more civilized nations, are thought,
with much probability, to have been the first who in-
troduced into this country the art of metallurgy. As
the three colonies are denominated the " three peaceful
tribes," and described as having settled here " by mutual
consent and permission in peace and tranquillity," 2 we
cannot suppose that the encampment in question was
formed by the Cymry, for the purpose of withstanding
the encroachment of either the Lloegrians or Brython.

Neither could it have been constructed by the same
people in opposition to the Caledonians, the Gwyddelians,

1 This usage is primarily derived, no doubt, from the same source
as that from which the Jewish rite originated, which is alluded to in
Exod. xx. 25. " If thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt
not build it of hewn stone ; for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou
hast polluted it."

2 Triad 5.

MOEL FENLLI. 211

or the men of Galedin, who were " three tribes that came
under protection into the island of Britain, and by the
consent and permission of the nation of the Cymry, with-
out weapon, without assault," and " had lands assigned
them by the race of the Cymry." 3 The Triad places
the Caledonians in the North, the Gvvyddelians in Alban
or Scotland, and the men of Galedin in the Isle of
Wight.

We come next to the " three usurping tribes that came
into the island of Britain, and never departed out of it."
These were the Coranians, who came from the land of
Pwyl ; the Gwyddyl Ffichti, who came into Alban over
the sea of Llychlyn (Denmark) ; and the Saxons." 4

As it is not likely that the Cymry would remain long
without availing themselves of the superior knowledge
of their friendly neighbours in regard to the art of
working in metals, and as the Coranians are the first
people of hostile intent with whom they appear to have
come in contact since their settlement in Britain, the
discovery of stone weapons on Moel Fenlli, suggests
the conclusion that the camp was erected in reference to
their usurpation. The probability is increased when it
is considered how they seem to have extended themselves
far into England from their original abode " about the
river Humber, and the shores of the Hazy Sea." We
learn in the "Brut" and " Mabinogion," that they caused
considerable trouble and annoyance to the natives, so
much so as to be regarded in the light of a national
plague one of the "three plagues such as none in the
island had ever seen the like." 5 We may well, there-
fore, expect to find vestiges of the warfare, which must

3 Triad 6.

4 Triad 7. " The land of the Pwyl" has variously been con-
jectured to denote Poland, Belgium, &c. In the "Genealogy of
lestyn ab Gwrgant," the phrase Saxon aliens is applied to the
Coranians, from which it may be fairly inferred that the Britons
considered the Coranians, and the tribes who in after ages established
the Saxon Heptarchy, as descendants of a nation who originally
inhabited a common mother country.

5 Lludd and Llevelys, p. 308. Myv. Arch. ii. p. 167.

212 MOEL FENLLI.

necessarily have existed between the aborigines and the
Coranians, even in these remote parts.

The Coranians, according to the " Genealogy of lestin
ab Gwrgant," 6 first came over in the time of Llywarch,
son of Calchvynydd, about one generation before the era
of Dyvnwal Moelmud, who is generally supposed to
have flourished about four or five hundred years before
Christ. The same record informs us, moreover, that " a
severe war took place between him (Llywarch) and the
Coranians ; " and again, between his descendant in the
twelfth degree, viz., Annyn Grych, or the Rugged, and
the same people, " in which he frequently vanquished
them." Greidiol, the grandson of Annyn, " fought
against the Coranians, slew them, and drove them
entirely out of Cambria; upon which many of them
went to the Gwyddelians in Ireland, and numbers to
Alban," or Scotland.

It is remarkable, as bearing closely upon our subject,
that Dingad, this man's father, is expressly affirmed
to have " constructed many strong cities 7 and wood
fortresses, 8 and to have been the first who accustomed
people to live in places of defence." All these circum-
stances taken together would, indeed, seem to fix the
erection of the encampment in this very reign, which
must have been about three hundred years before the
Christian era.

The structure in question was evidently a British
" oppidum," which Caesar describes as a woody spot
fortified with a vallum and a fosse, whither the natives
repaired for the purpose of avoiding the incursion of
the enemy. 9 The Cimbric translation of oppidum is tre,
which formerly denoted, and still in South Wales does
denote, a house or home, though in North Wales, and
likewise in the Cornish and Armorican dialects, it usually
means an aggregate of houses, or a town. Such a signi-
fication would imply that places of this description were

6 See lolo MSS. 7 Caerau.

8 Caerwigoedd. 9 De Bell. Gal. lib. v. c. 21.

MOEL FENLLI. 213

used as abodes, whether temporary or permament, for whole
families, and not merely as garrisons for individual soldiers.

We pass on to the Roman period. That this fortifica-
tion was occupied by the Romans, or at least in Roman
times, is sufficiently attested by the fragments of pottery
and glass which have been found there. Previous to
our excavations in 1849, several Roman coins had been
found. One of these was a fine gold coin of Nero,
another a silver one of Antoninus Pius ; the rest were of
the reigns of the two Constantines and Constans. From
these facts I infer, with Mr. W. Wynne Ffoulkes, that
the camp was occupied in the reign of Nero, and again
in that of Antoninus Pius, a conclusion in some degree
countenanced by the voice of history, which tells us
that in the reign of the former Emperor, about A.D. 62,
Suetonius Paulinus carried the Roman arms into An-
glesey ; and that in the reign of Antoninus Pius, about
A.D. 144, the Brigantes, who had invaded Genounia (by
Camden considered to be Guinethia or North Wales),
were driven back by Lollius Urbicus. The coins of
Constans would also show that the Romans had some-
thing to do with this post as late as A.D. 350.

The proper designation which it bears that of "Moel
Fenlli"- would indicate, however, that its greatest pro-
minence and notoriety were acquired in the fifth century,
when it was held by a chieftain of that name Benlli,
or, as he is generally recorded, Benlli Gawr, or the giant.
Nennius narrates a curious story of Benlli, in connexion
with Garmon, or Germanus, one of the two Gallican
prelates that aided the native clergy in the suppression
of Pelagianism. It is as follows :

"There was a certain wicked and tyranical king, by name
Benlli, whom the holy man wished to visit ; and he prepared to
call upon him, that he might preach to him. But when the man
of God came to the gate of the city with his companions, the
porter came to them and saluted them, and they sent him to the
king; but the king sent an ungracious answer, and declared
with an oath, ' though they remain where they are to the end
of the year, they shall never come into the middle of my city/

214 MOEL FENLLI.

Whilst they were waiting for the porter to bring the tyrant's
answer, the evening was far spent, and night coming on, and they
knew not where to go. Then came one of the king's servants
out of the middle of the city, and prostrated himself before the
man of God, and told them the words of the tyrant, and invited
them to his cottage, and they went with him, and he received
them hospitably. And he had no cattle, but one cow and a calf,
but he killed the calf, and dressed it, and set it before them.
And Germanus commanded them not to break its bones, and
they obeyed him ; and in the morning the calf was found with
its mother, alive, whole, and well.

" In the morning they again rose and solicited an interview
with the tyrant, and having despatched a message, they were
waiting an answer at the gate of the citadel, when, behold ! a
man rushed towards them, covered with perspiration from head
to foot, and prostrated himself; and Saint Germanus said to him,
' Do you believe in the Holy Trinity 1 ' and he answered, * I
believe ! ' and he baptized him, and kissed him, and said unto
him, ' go in peace ; within an hour you shall die ; the angels of
God expect you, and you shall ascend with them unto the Lord,
in whom you have put your trust/ And he entered into the
citadel rejoicing, and the governor took him and bound him,
and he was taken before the tyrant, and put to death ; for it was
a rule with this most wicked tyrant, that any one who was not
at his work in the citadel before sunrise, should suffer death.
Arid they remained the whole day at the gate of the city,
soliciting an audience of the tyrant, but without success.

" When the servant returned to him as before, Saint Germanus
said to him, ' Take care that none of your family remain in the
citadel this night/ And he returned into the citadel, and brought
out his nine sons, and took them to his own abode. And Saint
Germanus commanded them to remain fasting, and with closed
doors. ' Watch/ he said, ' and whatever happens, look not
towards the citadel, but pray without ceasing, and call upon the
Lord/ And shortly afterwards fire fell from heaven, and con-
sumed the citadel during the night, and all the men that were
with the tyrant ; and they were never seen more, and the citadel
was never rebuilt to this day.

" But the man who had shewn such hospitality believed, and
was baptized, with all his sons, and all the country with him.
And his name was Catell, and he blessed him, and added, saying,
' You shall be the sole king from this day ; nor shall a king of
your race ever be wanting/ He was Catell Durnluc. 1 And

1 Cadell Deyrnllwg.

MOEL FENLLI. 215

thus it came to pass, and the word of the prophet was fulfilled,
which says, i He shall raise the needy from the dust, and exalt
the pauper from the dunghill, that he may sit with princes,
and attain the throne of Glory/ According to the words of
Saint Germanus, from a servant he became a king, and all his
sons were made kings, and by their descendants the whole region
of Powis is governed to this day." 2

This tale seems to have been turned into Latin from
the original Welsh, as may be inferred from such expres-
sions as " caput anni," " a vertice usque ad plantas
pedum," which are respectively literal translations of the
phrazes " pen y flwyddyn," " o'r coryn hyd wadnau y
traed." This circumstance would help us in ascertaining
the exact meaning of other words which occur therein ;
for instance, " urbs," which must be taken as the repre-
sentative of caer? such being the term employed by the
Britons to denote a fortification of this kind. Urbs, then,
in a British, rather than a Roman sense, would, when we
shall have established the chieftain's connexion with the
locality, go far to identify the city of Benlli with the caer
on the hill.

It is clear from the story that Benlli ruled over the
ancient kingdom of Powys, called Teyrnllwg, compre-
hending that part of the country which extends from
about Chester towards Shrewsbury, and now known by
the name of Vale Royal. One copy of " Nennius "
notices him as " Benli in regione lal." 4 Now, it is a fact
that Moel Fenlli is not only within the kingdom of
Teyrnllwg, but also within the less extensive region of
Yale. Again, in the vicinity of the hill in question is
situated the church of Llanarmon, or St. Germanus'

2 Hist. Brit. 32, &c. Gunn states, upon the authority of a
native, that the present story is still current in Wales. From a series
of dates and chronological particulars, which expressly refer to cir-
cumstances connected with it, and which gives the date of its own
composition A.D. 857 or 858, we are assured that the story could not
have been introduced into the " Historia Britonum" later than that
date.

3 Caer comes from can, to inclose.

4 In another copy this is a gloss added above the line.

216 MOEL FENLLI.

church, which is supposed to occupy the very spot where
Germanus constructed his wattled church ; for it has
been proved by the late Professor Rees that our old
parish churches were actually founded by those persons
whose names they bear.

But we have the evidence of Welsh records in support
of the hypothesis which would connect Benlli immedi-
ately with this neighbourhood. Carnhuanawc, in his
" Hanes Cymru," quotes a document in which mention
is made of a battle between Meilyr and Beli, the son of
Benlli Gawr, to this effect :

"The meini hirion of Maesmawr. There is a spot on the
mountain between Yale and Ystrad Alun, above Rhyd y Gy-
farthfa, called Maes Mawr [or the Great Plain], where occurred
a battle between Meilyr the son of ... and Beli the son of
Benlli Gawr, in which Beli was slain, and Meirion placed two
\ upright stones one at each end of the grave." 5

In strict accordance with this testimony is the language
of one of the " Englynion y Beddau," which thus points
to the grave of Beli :

" Pieu y bedd yn y Maes Mawr ?
Balch ei law ar y llafnawr ;
Bedd Beli ap Benlli Gawr."

Whose is the grave on the Great Plain ?

Proudly he grasped the martial blade ;

It is the grave of Beli, son of Benlli the Giant. 6

A poem written by Gruffydd ab leuan ab Llywelyn
Vychan, a celebrated poet, and a gentleman of property
who resided at Llanerch, in the county of Denbigh, from
about 1470 to 1520, is corroborative of the same view,
and throws further light on Benlli's character. 7 How
any account of him that is not exactly identical in details
with that found in " Nennius " was handed down to so
late a period, we stop not to inquire. The bard seems to
have been suffering from an acute pain in his knee, and

5 Hanes Cymru, p. 35. 6 Myv. .Arch. i. p. 82.

7 This poem is in MS. and occurs in one of the books of Mr. O.
Williams, of Waunfawr.

MOEL FENLLI.

217

he prays to St. Cynhaval for relief, whose merits, he
asserts, possessed the peculiar property of removing rheu-
matic affections. The saint is reminded of his miracles
in the flesh, how he tortured the " hoary giant," Enlli
Gawr, filling his body with agony and wild fire, which
drove the mighty man to seek relief in the cooling waters
of the river Alun, and how that river refused its aid,
and became dry three times, and the giant's bones were
burnt up on its banks. An allusion is made to the saint's
well as being efficacious in the removal of bodily pain ;
and lastly he solicits his patron to admit him at the hour
of death into Paradise. Such are the contents of the
following lines :

CYWYDD CYNHAFAL.

Curio bum rhag gway w o'r byd,
Cynhafal, cwyno hefyd j
Cwynais haint, nid cynes hwyl,

Claf a gwyn, clwyf ac anhwyl;
Un o drychlatn wy'n dra-chloff,
Un a glyw 'n glaf ei glin gloff ;
Arogl awyr a glywaf,
O'r glin gloff i'r galon glaf;
Gelyn a ddaeth i'r glun ddig,
Gwayw anianol gwenwynig ;
Deuryw adwyth draw ydoedd,
Dwfr a gwaed hyd ei frig oedd;
Cainc o nych accw 'n y cnawd,
Cyn f elor yn cnoi f aelawd ;
Cun wyd a wna cnawd yn iach,
Cynhafal, rhag gwayw 7 n hy-

fach;
D' wyrthiau draw di-warth a

drig,

Dy ras a dyrr wayw ysig.
Addef y t y weddi fau,
A yrr gwewyr o'r gi'au ;
Fth fyw 'n deg i'th fendigwyd,
Accw er lladd y cawr llwyd,
Enlli Gawr, yn Hew gorwyllt,

A'th wayw 'n ei gorph a than

gwyllt;

Briwedig obry ydoedd,
Briw gwayw a than bro gaeth

oedd ;

Ei oeri, ei losgi ar lun,
Y ffoe 'r diawl i ffrwd Alun ;

cheisiodd och i'w asen,
Eli yn holl Alun hen ;

Aeth deirgwaith wedi argoedd,
Yn dir sych, un dyrras oedd ;
Ar Ian a chwr Alun chwyrn,
Y llosges ei holi esgyrn ;
Y lie hwn oil a henwir,
A alwai 'n hesp Alun hir ;
Gwnaent i Dduw gynt weddiau,
Gelyn y cawr o'r Glyn cau ;
Dyn a wnaeth daioni 'n 61,
Dibech oeddyd bucheddol ;
Ymerawdwr mawr ydwyd,
A'm mach dyn am iechyd wyd;

1 doddi nych dydd a nos,
Y daeth iechyd o'th achos ;
Ffynnon 8 itti ffyniant oedd,
Ffrwd nod a phardwn ydoedd ;

8 Ffynnon Cynhafal is celebrated to this very day for its efficacious
properties in curing warts.

VOL. I. 2 F

218 MOEL FENLLI.

Clwyf adynn y claf a'i dal, Dwy arch ym drwy iach am-

Cyn ei hyfed, Cynhafal. mod,

Gwana dyn gan vvayw ydwyf, lechyd ym rhag nych wayw

Gweddiwr yt gweiddi 'r wyf ; dwys

Da obaith dyn deu-beth dod, A'm rhoi wedi 'Mharadwys."

It is remarkable that while Nennius speaks of St.
Germanus as the person through whose prayers or inter-
position Benlli was put to death, in the foregoing poem
his dissolution is attributed to the miraculous power of St.
Cynhafal, the scene of whose religious exercises is but
a short distance from the fortified hill. 9 Both authorities
agree as to the manner or cause of his death that it was
occasioned by burning. The medieval bard says that
this happened on the banks of the Alun where the river
is called "Hesp Alun," that is, where it disappears under-
ground in the parish of Cilcen. Nennius on the other
hand says that he perished in his citadel, which citadel
we learn further was situated within the city or caer.
As there is no vestige, however, of a fort of any kind,
near Hesp Alun, I am strongly impressed with the idea
that the encampment of Moel Fenlli is the identical city
where the interview between Benlli and Germanus took
place, and where the former met with his death. I am
inclined to believe, moreover, that the casa of Cadell, to
which he invited the bishop, was one of those round huts,
usually called cyttie, of which there are several vestiges
still to be seen within the camp. The arx, or citadel,
was no doubt a strong fort, answering in some degree to
the capitol of the Roman city, or the praBtorium of the
Roman camp, and was probably erected on the highest
point of the inclosure, where the ordnance pillar now
stands.

There are reasons for supposing that Benlli was not a
native chief. No genealogy of his beyond two genera-
tions has been registered, which would scarcely have
been the case had he been a Cymro. The fact that his

9 If Cynhaval was contemporaneous with Benlli, he must have
lived considerably earlier than the date given him by Professor Rees,
i.e. 600-634.

MOEL FENLLI. 219

son was opposed by Meilyr, the son of Cunedda, who is
celebrated as having, with his two brothers, under Cas-
wallon Law Hir, expelled the Gwyddyl Ffichti from the
country, makes it probable that he was an Irishman, one
of that tribe of pagans over whom the Britons, under
Germanus and Lupus, obtained the Haleluia victory. 1
This conquest, as well as the successes of Caswallon,
would contribute materially, even without the interven-
tion of a miracle, towards bringing about such a change
in the local dynasty as has been recorded by Nennius.

Cadell, though described by this author as a swineherd,
is in other documents represented as descended from
princely ancestors, being the son of Pasgen ab Rheiddwy
ab Rhuddvedel Vrych ab Cyndeyrn ab Gwrtheyrn, or
Vortigern king of Britain. From this circumstance we
would infer that he had been overcome, and reduced to
servitude, and his throne and dominions usurped by
Benlli. It would appear further that, after the tyrant's
death, his son Beli had made an attempt to recover his
position, when he perished on the field of Maes Mawr.

The prediction of the Gallican bishop was that Cadell
should be king from henceforth ; and the historian adds,
" according to the words of Saint Germanus, from a ser-
vant he became a king, and all his sons were made kings,
and by their descendants the whole region of Powis is
governed to this day."

Cadell was succeeded by his son Cyngen, who is
celebrated for the patronage which he afforded to the
Saints, and for the liberal endowment he bestowed upon
the Church. After him came Brochwel Ysgythrog, the
renowned hero of Bangor Iscoed. The sixth in descent
from him, and the eighth from the swineherd of Moel
Fenlli, lies under the pillar of Eliseg, near Llangollen.
The inscription on that stone, which was erected by
Cyngen, great-grandson of Eliseg, indicates very clearly
that the latter was prince of Powys, " ipse est Eliseg

1 The scene of this victory also is fixed in the neighbourhood, at a
place still called Maes Gannon, or the Field of Germanus.

220 MOEL FENLLI.

qui necr ... at hereditatem povos." The same is also
said of Cyngen himself, " ipse est Concenn . . . tus . c .
emeiunge . maim . . . e ad regnum suum povos."
" Benedictio dni in Concenn . . in tota familia ejus et in
tota regione povois usque in ... ."

I would here remind my readers, who may be disposed
to consider the legend of Germanus, which appears in
Nennius, as totally unworthy of credit, that it is to some
extent repeated on this monument, the date of which
nearly coincides with that of Nennius, (see Archceologia
Cambrensis, Vol. II. New Series, p. 295) ; and that this
circumstance goes to prove that it was the popular belief
of that period.

The time when the kingdom of Powys was finally
wrested from this family was A.D. 1062, according to the
Welsh " Brut/' which notices the event as follows :

" The brothers Bleddyn and Rhiwallawn took the sovereignty
of Powysland from the tribe of Brochwel Ysgythrog, which was
not right/' 2

Ought I to have said " finally wrested ? " Is not
Queen Victoria, who now rules over Powys, as well as
all other parts of the island, a descendant of Cadell
Deyrnllwg, 3 and is not the prediction of Germanus being
still verified, " A king of your race shall never be
wanting?"

JOHN WILLIAMS ab Ithel.

2 Myv. Arch. ii. p. 516.

3 The Commissioners appointed to draw out the lineage of Henry
VII. deduce him from Cadell Deyrnllwg, through Angharad, mother
of Ednyfed Vychan. See Introduction to Lewys Dwnn's Heraldic
Visitation.

221

THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY.
CHAPTER IV.

SETTLEMENT OE THE LLOEGRWYS AND BRYTHON.

NENNIUS was acquainted with two sources of information
relative to the early history of Britain. The one he
met with in the annals of the Romans, which traced the
inhabitants from Troy ; 1 the other in the " old books of
our ancestors," 2 where they are derived from Britto the
son of Hisitio. The narrative of Brutus is involved in
considerable uncertainty, but though evidently overlaid
with fabulous matter, there is reason to believe that it is
to some extent founded on fact. That Brutus, however,
was the first occupier of the island, is contradicted in the
very chronicles which profess to give us an account of
that event. We read therein that the Trojan adventurer
found here giants of large stature and great strength,
who principally occupied the province of Cornwall, a
circumstance of itself utterly opposed to the idea that he
and his followers were the original holders of the land.
And in support of the view which would identify these
giants with the Cymry, we may adduce the testimony
of Strabo in reference to the stature of the ancient in-
habitants, though at a much later period. " The men,"
he observes, " are taller than the Celti, with hair less
yellow ; and slighter in their persons. As an instance
of their height, we ourselves saw at Rome some youths
who were taller by so much as half a foot than the
tallest there." 3 Nevertheless, that such a colony as that
attributed to the guidance of Brutus, did, or at least
intended to, visit this country, receives confirmation,
strong, because casual and independent, from the tradi-

1 Nennius, 10. 2 Ibid, 17. Lib. iv. p. 278.

222 THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY.

tions and records of Spain. Pedro de Rosas, in his
" History of Toledo," thus observes :

" After the Celts, and as it were at the same time, came certain
Greeks, bound for England and Ireland, called Almozudes, or
Almoriides, who landed at Corunna."

Their chieftains, according to Florian de Campo, and
Don Rodrigo Ximenes, two other Spanish writers, were
" Roman consuls ; the one called Tolemon, the other
Brutus," while the colony itself consisted of Greeks. 4
The extraneous account which Nennius obtained in refe-
rence to his Brutus, represents him likewise a " Roman
consul." 5

As the Triads refer but three immigrations to the
period that preceded the reign of Prydain, the expedition
of Brutus, if it happened before that event, must be
identified with either of the two latter, the Lloegrwys or
the Brython. Both, it must be remarked, came from
Gaul, though the Brython were more closely related to
the Cymry than were the Lloegrwys, being evidently
descendants of those who diverged to Armorica, when
Hu and his followers came into Britain. 6

According to Ammianus Marcellinus, some of the
Gauls had a tradition that they were descendants of the
Trojans. " It is said," he observes, " that a few of the
Trojans, after the destruction of Troy, endeavouring to
avoid the Greeks, who were variously dispersed, and
finding those countries uninhabited, settled here." 7 And
the allegation is confirmed by Nennius, who adds,
" Brutus reached Gaul, and there built a city, or made
a settlement, which he called after the name of Turnus,
one of his soldiers." Roberts thinks, with great pro-
bability, that Nennius had here in view the district of
the Turones, that is, Touraine, which comprehends the

4 James' Patriarchal Religion, &c., p. 22.

5 " Alii dicunt, a quodam Bruto, consule Romano."

6 " The third were the Brython, who came from Llydaw ; and they
were derived from the primitive stock of the Cymry." Triad 5,
Third Series. 7 Am. Marcel. 1. 15.

THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY. 223

confluence of the great ramifications of Ligar, or Loire,
from the vicinity of which the colony of the Lloegrwys
came to Britain. He infers that the tradition respecting
Brutus was that of the Lloegrwys in particular, and as
they believed they came originally from Phrygia, whilst
the Cymry were supposed to have come from Thrace,
that this gave rise to the statement of the Triad, that
both were of the same original stock. 8

As corroborative of the view, which would thus iden-
tify the Lloegrwys with the followers of Brutus, we may
notice further the facts mentioned in the "Brut," that the
latter on their arrival found but one nation in the island,
and that the same was stationed mainly in the western
parts ; also that the localities which, it is said, they
principally selected for themselves, coincide with the
position of the Lloegrwys rather than that of the Brython
or Cymry.

The narrative of the Trojan Brutus, as such, finds no
place in the genuine traditions of the Cymry. 9 And it
is observable that, in the account which Nennius pro-
fesses to have derived from native documents, the name
is not Brutus, but Britto ; and this form occurs in two
places, which clearly shows that the word was not an
accidental perversion of Brutus. 1

Indeed there is reason to believe that Brutus himself
has been confounded with Prydain, and that he is to be
regarded as identical with that celebrated personage in
respect of the main facts which are attributed to him.
There is very little doubt that the story relative to the

8 Early History of the Britons, p. 58.

9 Unless it be in Triad 1, First Series, where we read " wedy ei
gorescyn O Vryt y dodes ami Ynys Bryt," where Vryt or Bryt
seems to be intended as the Welsh form of Brutus, though in the
Chronicles the Latin form is retained throughout. It is very possible,
however, that the compiler used Bryt as another form of Britto or
Prydain, which latter is the name that occurs in the other versions
of the Triads.

1 Insula a Brittone filio Isioconis, qui fuit films Alani de genere
Japhedi dicta est. Aliud experimentum inveni de isto Britto ex
veteribus libris veterum nostrorum. Sections 7, 17.

224 THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY.

bequeathment of the island by Brutus to his three sons,
Locrinus, Camber, and Albanactus, has its foundation in
the triple partition which was made of it by Prydain.
It is remarkable, moreover, that a similar bequeathment
is actually attributed to Prydain himself in the " Genea-
logy of lestyn ab Gwrgant." It is there stated, that
"he divided the island into three parts, one of which
was given to Locrinus, his eldest son, who gave his name
to that division. Another son, the youngest, had the
northern part of the island ; and it is said that his name
was Dynwallon. The second son, called Annyn of Troy,
had the territory of Cymru, lying between the Severn
and the Irish sea." 2

The absence of all allusion to Prydain, by that name,
in the " Brut," is significant, and may be taken as con-
firmatory of the view which identifies him with Brutus,
since on no other principle can it be supposed that any
historian would omit to notice a person who figures so
prominently in the traditionary annals of his country.

The chronological position which Prydain would thus
occupy would tally fairly enough with that assigned to
him in the Silurian lineage, where sixteen successions
are reckoned from him to Idwal the Proud, who was a
contemporary of Dyvnwal Moelmud, being only three
short of what the "Brut" counts from Brutus to the great
legislator.

It must be observed, however, that in the Oral Tra-
dition, twenty-nine years only are made to intervene
between Prydain and Dyvnwal, an interval which cer-
tainly will not stand the test of comparison. Perhaps
the chronology which approximates nearest to the truth
is that of the Roll of Tradition, which represents Prydain
as having flourished 849 years subsequently to the land-
ing of the first colony, and places him 521 years before
Evrog, rather than 563 years after him, as he is placed
in the Periods of Oral Tradition. 3

2 lolo MSS. p. 333.

3 The arrival of Brutus is dated by Tysilio in the time of Eli the
prophet ', and from it to the time of Evrog he reckons seventy-eight

THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY. 225

There is another reason why we are not satisfied with
the position which he is made to occupy in the last
named document, namely, that the existence of the
kings, who are represented there as preceding him, is
irreconcilable with his character as the founder of mon-
archical government, and with the statement of the Triad,
that before his time " there was no equity but what was
done by gentleness, nor any law but that of force." 4

The confusion might easily have resulted from the
mutual similarity of the names Brutus and Prydain,
whilst the Gallic and Spanish traditions, if popularly
known, would tend considerably towards the speedy and
general reception of the story.

Assuming, then, that these two names are meant for
one and the same person, we should be inclined to regard
Prydain as the leader of the Lloegrwys, and it is not
improbable that he was one of the ^Edui, the first and
principal race in Gaul, 5 which would account for his
being called the son of Aedd Mawr, q. d. the great ^Edui.
The fact that a member of the Lloegrian race was chosen
as the first monarch of the island would also naturally
explain that part of the story, which makes the king
leave the province of Lloegr to his eldest son.

years ; whereas according to the Periods of Oral Tradition, 500 years
intervene between the latter era and the landing of the Cymry ; the
Roll of Tradition says 328 ; the one thus giving 422 years, the other
250 to the sole occupation of the aboriginal inhabitants. According
to the Periods of Oral Tradition, Prydain flourished 1063 sub-
sequently to the arrival of the first colony, whilst another document
dates his era about 1500 before the birth of Christ. lolo MSS.
p. 623. 4 Triad 4.

5 " Docebat etiam ut omni tempore, totius Gallic principatum
j33dui tenuissent." Cces. B. 6r. i. 43. " Summa auctoritas antiqui-
tus erat in ^Eduis." Ibid. vi. 12. " Eo statu res erat, ut longe
principes ^Edui haberentur." Ibid. " Celtarum clarissimi Hedui.
Mel. iii. 2. Divitiacus prince of the ^Edui, had a sovereign princi-
pality in Britain, as well as in Gaul. See I3orlasse, p. 83, and his
authorities. The Lloegrwys are said in the Triad (5) to have come
from Grvasywyn, that is, according to Davies, Gwas- 6rw//w, the
country of the Venetij about the mouth of the Loire ; but most pro-
bably Gascony.

VOL. I. 2 G

226 THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY.

There are several notices of Prydain preserved in the
Triads, all of which refer to him as a great statesman.
In one Triad he is represented as one of " the three na-
tional pillars of the Isle of Britain," because he it was
who "first established regal government" therein. 6 In
another 7 he is described as one of " the three consolida-
tors of sovereignty." Again, he is joined to Caradawg
ab Bran, and Owain ab Maxen Wledig, to form a Triad 8
of " the three conventional monarchs," and " they were
called the three conventional monarchs, because they
were so privileged in a convention of country and co-
country within all the limits of the nation of the Cymry,
a convention having been held in every dominion, comot
and hundred within the Island of Britain and its adja-
cent isles." He is further distinguished as one " of the
three good princes of the Isle of Britain," because he it
was " who first ordered the social right of country and
nation, and introduced a system into country and co-
country." 9 In another Triad, Prydain is called one of
" the three opposing energies against tyranny," because
" he forced a constitution and a jury on the island." 1
He was also distinguished as one of " the three praise-
worthy controllers," because he " harassed the dragon of
oppression, which was the oppression of depredation and
anarchy that had been reared in the Isle of Britain." 2

In perfect consonance with the statements of the Triads
is the language of other authorities. The chronicle, en-
titled "the Periods of Oral Tradition and Chronology"
thus speaks of him :

" This Prydain was the first who instituted a powerful system
of sovereignty in Britain. He was a potent, wise, and merciful
king, and sole monarch of the island. He introduced many
sciences, and much knowledge to the nation of the Cymry ; and
lived eighty-seven years after he was made king." 3

In like manner the "Voice Conventional" observes :

6 Triad 4. 7 Hid. 36. 8 Ibid. 34.

9 Triad 59. l Ibid. 54. 2 Ibid. 55.

3 lolo MSS. p. 412.

THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY. 227

" After they had attained national order, under the protection
of Prydain's government, and had fully conformed to his wise
and benign regulations and laws, anarchy ceased, and tranquillity
prevailed." 4

And the Bardd Glas :

" The achievement of Prydain, the son of Aedd Mawr,
Was the pacification of the co-inhabitants of the land,
Justice, under a chief ruler of the confederate tribes." 5

Prydain was elected to the sovereignty through the
instrumentality of Tydain Tad Awen. 6 Indeed the esta-
blishment of the monarchical system was principally due
to his genius and influence, as we gather from the follow-
ing extract :

"At this period, a wise man, called Tydain, the father of
poetic genius, exercised his meditation and reason on the best
mode of framing stringent institutes for general sciences, and
the divinely communicated principle of poetic genius ; and pre-
sented his regulations to the consideration of other erudite per-
sons of the nation of the Cymry, who testified their unqualified
adoption of them ; and the first consequent step was to establish a
principle of sovereignty ; to effect which, the duties of dispensing
justice, and sustaining social order, devolved on Cymric chiefs of
kindred ; who were also enjoined to confer the supreme rank of
sovereign eldership on him whom they might deem the noblest
of their grade. And Prydain the son of Aedd the Great was, by
virtue of his wisdom, bravery, justice, and brotherly kindness,
the personage they selected; and he, consequently, was pro-
claimed monarch of the Island of Britain, constituting in that
capacity, the bond of government." 7

It is inferred from the second Triad of the Third Series
that the Brython had settled in Britain when Prydain
wielded the reins of government, for he is there repre-
sented as having determined the limits and tenure of
" the three principal provinces."

" The three principal provinces of the Isle of Britain ; Cymru,
Lloegr, and Alban ; and each of the three is entitled to the pre-

* lolo MSS. p. 430. * Ibid. p. 669.

6 " Tat Anguen, Cataguen." Nennius.

7 lolo MSS. p. 427 ; Roll of Tradition.

228 THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY.

rogative of royalty. And they are subject to monarchy, and to
the voice and constitution of the country, according to the
system of Prydain the son of Aedd Mawr. Moreover, the
monarchy, according to the vote of country and nation, rests in
the race of the Cymry, owing to privilege and primary obliga-
tion ; and in right of this system, and of vote of country and
province, is the sovereignty over each country held in the Isle of
Britain. Whence the proverb, 'The country is more mighty
than the lord.'"

In this case they must have followed immediately in
the wake of the Lloegrwys ; nor is it improbable that the
same disturbing cause brought over both people, since
they were of a common country. The Brython came
from the land Llydaw, and together with the first two
colonies they constituted " the three peaceful tribes,"
because " they came by mutual consent and permission,
in peace and tranquillity. The three tribes descended
from the primitive race of the Cymry, and the three
were of one language and one speech." 8

It is doubtless to the Lloegrwys and Brython that the
report mentioned by Bede refers :

" It is said that the Britons having sailed from Armorica, took
possession of the southern part of the island, and when, proceed-
ing from the south, they had occupied the greater part of the
island, it happened that the Picts, from Scythia, embarked on the
ocean in a few long vessels, and sailed to Ireland. Being refused
a settlement there, they made for Britain, and began to settle in
the northern parts, as the Britons had pre-occupied the southern."^

This is a mere report of the age and country in which
the venerable historian lived, and presents just as much
resemblance to the purer traditions of the Cymry as the
different circumstances under which both obtained cur-
rency would naturally allow. It is not to be supposed
that the English would in the seventh century trouble
themselves much about the origin of their western neigh-
bours; hence they forgot, ignored, or else identified it
with that of the people whom they had displaced. They
had heard that the Brython had come from Armorica,

8 Triad 5. 9 Hist. Eccl. p. 23. Ed. Cant. 1644.

THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY. 229

and these, from the mutual similarity of the names, they
easily confounded with the Britons, their own predeces-
sors ; but as the real colonizers of Lloegr were followed
by another tribe, which was traditionally reported to have
settled in the north, the locality immediately suggested
the Picts as its representative. Or it may be that they
regarded Picti as the proper translation of Brython,
quasi Brithion, from brith, variegated.

The names Cymru and Lloegr indicate very clearly
what portions of the island were allotted respectively to
the first and second colonies. It follows, therefore, that
Alban must mean Scotland, and that it was occupied by
the Brython. Accordingly that tenacity of character so
peculiar to the Cymry, has always been exhibited here in
a much greater degree than in any part of England, just
as we might expect from a people claiming a closer
relationship to the Cymry than did the Lloegrwys. 1

If it be true, as there is every reason to believe, that
^Estrymnides is synonymous with Y Vel Ynys, then the
Phoenicians must have become acquainted with our shores
prior to the time of Prydain, in which that name was
abandoned. Sammes, indeed, in his " Britannia Anti-
qua," says that those mercantile people discovered the
British Isles about the the time of the Trojan war, which
happened, according to the Arundelian marbles, 1184
years before Christ. They traded with the natives in
tin, lead and copper, which fact argues on the part of the
latter no inconsiderable advance in the scale of civilization.
But though the Phoenicians have left traces of their visits
in the relics which are from time to time dug up, they
do not appear to have affected either the language or the
manners of the Britons. The national traditions make
not the slightest mention of them, which is remarkable
when we consider that it was with the aboriginal colony,
especially that portion of it settled in Cornwall, that they

1 In the Triad (5) the Lloegrwys are described as being descended
from the priv or primitive nation of the Cymry, whilst the Brython
are said to have come from cyssevin al, the original stock of the
Cymry, implying a more immediate descent.

230 THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY.

principally carried on their intercourse. It is not known
how long they continued their trade with this country ;
but it probably expired with the capture of Tyre by
Alexander, B.C. 332.

The system which Prydain established was not, after
all, so much of the nature of a new administration, as it
was a development of the patriarchal policy introduced
by Hu Gadarn. It was the latter expanded and made
applicable to colonies. Nevertheless it has evolved fea-
tures of state which appear almost fundamental, and to
this day the "jury of a country, sovereignty, and judge-
ship, according to the system of Prydain the son of Aedd
Mawr," are looked upon as "the three columns of govern-
ment of the Isle of Britain," which seems to imply that
the changes which have occurred in our constitution since
have not equalled those which were effected under his
auspices.

231

CHAPTER V.

THE THREE PRIMARY BARDS.

PRYDAIN did not bestow his attention exclusively upon
the state he was a bardic as well as a civil reformer.
The document entitled " the Roll of Tradition and Chron-
ology " goes on,

" The principle of sovereignty, and the royal title of Prydain,
being thus permanently established, Tydain, the father of poetry,
was found supreme in heaven-descended genius ; hence he was
appointed to advise and teach effectually, in public, the nation of
the Cymry, which he did through the medium of his vocal song,
composed for the occasion, and publicly ratified as a faithful
vehicle of oral tradition. 1

Tydain is commemorated in several of the Triads. In
one he is described as being one of " the three prime arti-
ficers of the race of the Cymry," because " he reduced to
order and system the record and code of vocal song and
its appurtenances; and out of that system were first
invented the regular privileges and customs of the bards
and bardism of the Isle of Britain." 2 In another Triad
he is called one of " the three originators of song and
works of imagination among the nation of the Cymry,"
for " he first reduced vocal song to a science, and formed
a system for composition, and from what was done by
these three was afterwards formed the system of bards
and bardism by the three primordial bards, Plennydd,
Alon, and Gwron." 3 He was also distinguished as one
of " the three primary instructors of the isle of Britain." 4
His achievement in this respect has been recorded by
Geraint Vardd Glas as follows :

1 lolo MSS. p. 427. 2 Triad 57. ' Ibid. 92. * Ibid. 93.

232 THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY.

" The achievement of Tydain Tad Awen,
Of his vast and wise meditation,
Was the securing of memory by eloquent verse." 5

His grave is thus pointed out in the " Englynion y
Beddau:"

" The tomb of Tydain Tad Awen,
Is on the summit of Arien hill."

Or according to another version,

" On the peak of the front of Aren." 6

Bryn Aryen is in the present county of Caernarvon ;
and the fact of Tydain 's burial place being so far west-
ward is perfectly in accordance with what we would
expect from the colonial limitation of Prydain. Tydain,
originally written Titain, is identified by name and cha-
racter with Titan, or Apollo of the Orphic hyrnns, and
of Greece.

" After the death of Tydain, his equal could not be found in
divine poetic genius and the sciences ; whereupon his poem was
closely scrutinized ; and its precepts being adhered to, a public
proclamation was issued, announcing, under a year and a day's
notice, that refuge and privileges would be granted to all bards
of divine poetic genius, who should assemble at an appointed
time and place, so as to constitute a chair and gorsedd in accord-
ance with the instructions contained in the poem of Tydain, the
father of poetic genius; and conformably to the sense and de-
liberation of the country, represented by the heads of kindred
and acknowledged wise men of the nation of the Cymry. At
the chair thus convened, many were found to be divinely inspired
with poetic genius, endowed with powerful reason, and confident
of deliverance; whereupon they cast lots, to ascertain who the
three persons were that excelled in name and fame ; and they
were found to be Plennydd, Alawn, and Gwron, who were
unrivalled in oral tradition, as well as in vocal song, and the
secrecy of letters and symbols. Upon verifying this, they were
appointed to frame good regulations for kindred and country,
tradition and learning, and all other attainments of the mind.
Thus empowered, and under the refuge of God and His peace,
they established laws for regal government, judicature, and social

s lolo MSS. p. 669. 6 Myv. Arch. i. pp. 78, 79.

THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY. 233

order; conferred institutional distinctions on poets and bards,
with immunities for their recitative poems ; defined and fixed the
principles of the Cimbric language, lest it should degenerate to
imperfections and barbarisms ; and regulated the modes of pre-
serving oral tradition, learning, and all other branches of Cimbric
lore. This code was now submitted to the deliberation of kin-
dred and country, in gorsedd ; and being there put to the vote,
it was adopted by a great majority; whereupon it acquired the
force and privileges of nationally attested authority, by voice
conventional ; consequently it was again subjected to the same
national test, under the prescribed year and a day's notice; and
so on, from gorsedd to gorsedd, until the required expiration of
three years ; every consecutive meeting confirming it by a
majority of votes, so that, eventually, it was permanently esta-
blished in full force and privileges, as the system devised by the
said three wise men, who were the primitive bards of the Island
of Britain, according to bardic rules and prescribed usages." 7

We learn, moreover, in the " Voice Conventional," that
all this happened in the reign of Prydain, and under his
authority.

" Prydain ordered diligent search to be made throughout the
island for any persons who might possibly have retained in
memory the primitive knowledge of the Cymry, so as to secure
the traditional preservation of such information ; and three per-
sons of genuine Cimbric origin, nobility, and ordination, were
found, called Plennydd, Alawn, and Gwron, who were of the
order of the Gwyddoniaid, and professed to know, traditionally,
much of the learning that had appertained to the race of the
Cymry from time immemorial. These persons having commu-
nicated what they knew, the whole was recited in national
audience, before commons and lords, proclamation being made,
under a year and a day's notice, that patronage would be ex-
tended to all persons possessing any traditional knowledge, how-
ever limited, of ancient lore, who should assemble in privileged
gorsedd, and there declare it. That object being effected,
a second gorsedd was similarly announced, and numerously
held, at which the whole information obtained was traditionally
recited by voice conventional ; whereupon it was submitted to
the consideration of a third gorsedd, convened in like manner,
and which, this time, consisted of all the wise men of the nation,
to whom a well digested system of ancient Cimbric learning was
shown, together with the poetical institutes of Tydain the father

7 lolo MSS. p. 428, &c.
VOL. I. 2 H

234 THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY.

of genius, who first composed a regular Cimbric poem. The
system here produced having been judicially ratified, as well as
every other branch of knowledge and tradition relating to early
science, the three superior bards, already named, were requested
to pepetuate the whole by means of song and traditional recita-
tion, as most conveniently and systematically to impart oral
instruction ; and at the succeeding gorsedd they presented their
recitative compositions, which were referred to the consideration
of three additional and consecutive bardic chairs, to be held
under prescribed observances. Having, at the expiration of the
requisite three years, again assembled in gorsedd, and no voice,
whether native or alien, being raised either against them or their
compositions, degrees were conferred on those three bards, who
now framed laws for the regulation of bards, and the confirma-
tion of privileges and usages, from thenceforward, in perpetuity ;
which immunities are called the privileges and usages of the
bards of the Island of Britain ; these bards, also, being each
designated l bard according to the privileges and usages of the
Island of Britain/ The aforesaid three primitive bards, having
fully established their regulations, took aspirants in poetry under
their tuition, as students in progression, to be instructed and
perfected in the mystery of bardism ; and endowments were
granted to all bards, and their disciples, whence they were
designated ' endowed bards by right,' and ' endowed disciples by
claim or protection;' the whole beina; legally substantiated by
the assent of country and aristocracy." 8

The Triadic memorial of these bards is as follows :

"The three primary bards of the Isle of Britain; Plennydd,
Alawn, and Gwron. These were they who devised the privileges
and usages which belong to bards and bardism ; hence are
they called the three primaries. Yet there had been bards and
bardism before : but they were not completely methodized, and
they enjoyed neither privileges nor established customs, but
what they obtained through gentleness and civility, and the pro-
tection of the country and the nation, before the time of these
three. Some say they were in the time of Prydain, the son
of Aedd Mawr, others, that they were in the time of his son
Dyvnwal Moelmud, whom some of the old Books call Dyvn-
varth, the son of Prydain." 9

Plennydd, Alawn, and Gwron are severally comme-
morated in the " Englynion y Gorugiau," 1 from which

8 lolo MSS. pp. 430, 431. 9 Triad 58.

1 lolo MSS. pp. 668, &c.

THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY. 235

also we may in some degree infer what the poetical im-
provements were that they respectively introduced into
the traditional system.

" The achievement of Plennydd, the son of Hu the Bold,
Was the framing of records, by knots of equal metre ;
Characters of memory placed on the wooden bar."

" The achievement of Alawn, the bard of Britain,
Was to establish true memorials of spreading fame ;
The mutual recording in the art of disputation."

" The achievement of Gwron, was the devising of ornament,
And polished order, for poetic compositions;
And the exalting of excelling energy."

There is evidently an allusion in the first Triple to
the Peithynen, or the wooden Book of the Bards, but
whether Plennydd may be supposed to have invented it,
or merely to have introduced certain improvements in
connexion therewith, is not clear. It is undoubted, how-
ever, that our memorials uniformly speak of cuttings as
the first method adopted by the Cymry for the purpose
of symbolizing their ideas.

Some writers maintain that Plennydd, Alawn, and
Gwron are not proper names, but terms expressive of
the principles which at this time regulated Cymric
poetry ; i. e. light harmony and energy. To this hy-
pothesis we cannot subscribe, though we are quite ready
to admit that the three bards obtained their respective
names from or in consequence of certain improvements
which they had introduced into the art of poetry. It is
not improbable that Alan, mentioned by Nennius as the
father of Hisitio, and son of Rhea, is the same person
with Alawn. There is reason to conclude, moreover,
that he is identical with Olen, Olenus, Ailinus, and
Linus, among the different people of Greece, and even
in Egypt ; for it is remarkable that the same attributes
are ascribed to him with them, as in our Triads. Ac-
cording to Pausanias, Olen, the hyperborean, is said to
have been the first prophet of Delphi; and Bseo, the
female hierophant, sings of Olen as the inventor of

236 THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY.

verse, and the most ancient priest of Phoebus. Indeed
all Greece chaunted the praise of Alon, particularly
whilst celebrating the completion of their vintage ; for
thus it is said by Homer, in his description of the shield
of Achilles :

" Next, ripe in yellow gold, a vineyard shines,
Bent with the ponderous harvest of its vines ;
A deeper die the dangling clusters show,
And, curl'd on silver props, in order glow ;
A darker metal mix'd, intrench'd the place ;
And pales of glittering tin th' enclosure grace.
To this, one pathway gently winding leads,
Where march a train with baskets on their heads,
(Fair maids, and blooming youths) that smiling bear
The purple product of th' autumnal year.
To these a youth awakes the warbling strings,
Whose tender lay the fate of Linus sings ;
In measur'd dance behind him move the train,
Tune soft the voice, and answer to the strain." 2

It is remarkable that there is a certain connexion
between early bards of note and the sun ; which seems
to have suggested the mythological legend of Apollo.
Thus also Plennydd is one of the names given to the
great luminary. The sunbeams which appear to vibrate
in a hot day, are called Tes ys Plennydd, the beams of
the radiant one. Eithinen neud gudd Blennydd ( TaL)
a furzebush would truly hide the sun. And again, Blin
blaen blen Blennydd, irksome in front is the radiance of
the sun. The word splendidus comes from ys Plennydd.
Geraint Vardd Glas, we have seen, represents Plennydd
as the son of Hu, the root of huan, which is another
name for the sun. It is notorious, moreover, that the
bards have at all times acted with reference to the sun in
the erection of their circles and the holding of their fes-
tivals. We merely mention this as a fact, as we shall
have occasion hereafter to enter more minutely into the
philosophy of it.

All these changes in the civil and moral constitution of

2 Pope's Homer, Book xviii.

THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY. 237

the country involve not only ability and influence, but
also a length of time such as suitable to the reign of
Prydain, which is said to have extended over eighty-
seven years. And if it be inquired whether any evidence
of an extraneous kind can be adduced in support of the
view which our traditional annals take of the ethno-
logical crisis just discussed, we fain would see it in the
fact which has driven archaeologists to invent the Allo-
phylian theory. The date attributed in our memorials
to the immigration of the Cymry is no doubt sufficiently
early to account for their use of stone implements, and
that these were their property is attested to this day by
the bardic system, which allows of no metallic tools in the
erection of the Meini Gorsedd. But then the change in
the mode of burying, that is, the substitution of crema-
tion for simple inhumation, coupled with bronze and
iron relics, which are found in the tombs, clearly point
to fresh and later colonies, which had come over from
amidst races somewhat advanced in civilization. Again,
in reference to the political and bardic improvements
which Prydain established, we have the testimony of
Caesar and Tacitus to the effect that in their days at least
they existed and were recognized by the natives. Ac-
cording to the former, the command of the war which
was carried on against himself was entrusted by common
consent, " commurri consilio,"- jury of the country, to
Cassivelaunus. 3 And Tacitus has registered a speech of
Caractacus, in which the same is predicated of the Silu-
rian hero at a subsequent period, " pluribus gentibus
imperitantem." 4 Caesar, moreover, speaks of Bardism as
a school and an institute, 5 which had existed for some
time before his day ; and the description which he gives

3 De Bell. Gall. Lib. v. c. 11.

4 Annal. Lib. xii. c. 37.

5 Disciplina in Britannia reperta atque inde in Galliam translata
esse existimatur." " Id mihi duabus de causis instituisse videntur,"
&tc.De Sell. Gall. Lib. vi. cc. 13, 14.

238 THE TRADITIONARY ANNALS OF THE CYMRY.

of the congress in the territory of the Carnutes is sub-
stantially that of the " Voice Conventional." 6

From the following passage in the " Voice Conven-
tional," " Before the time of Prydain, the son of Aedd
the Great, no persons existed who were versed in national
and genealogical knowledge, except the Gwyddoniaid," 7
we infer that it was now the term Bardd was for the first
time adopted, even as the name of the island was altered
from Y Vel Ynys into Ynys Prydain. 8

The art of memory was now complete, having enlisted
into its service, Verse, the Voice Conventional, and the
Peithynen, as enumerated in the Triad :

" The three memorials of the bards of the Isle of Britain ; the
memorial of the voice of a gorsedd, the memorial of an efficient
song, and the memorial of the Coelbren."9

Wherefore we ought from henceforth to accept the
narratives of the bards on national subjects with a pro-
portionably greater amount of credibility.

6 Hi (Druidae) certo anni tempore, in finibus Carnutum, quae regio
totius Galliae media habetur, confident, in loco consecrato. Hue
omnes undique, qui controversias habent, conveniunt, eorumque de-
cretis judiciisque parent. Ibid. c. 13.

T JoloMSS. p. 430. sseec.iii.

9 Apud Coelbren y Beirdd, p. 39.

J. WILLIAMS ab Ithel.

(To be continued.)

239

MUSIC.

ANCIENT WELSH MUSIC.

THE following Ancient Welsh Airs are those before pro-
mised, which have been again kindly selected by Miss J.
Williams, of Aberpergwm, from the Kerry collection.
The words, unfortunately, were not taken down by the
late Mr. Jenkins, of Kerry, but possibly some of our
readers may be able to supply them ; and if the original
words have fallen totally into oblivion, perhaps some of
our Welsh poetical friends will favour us with others
which may be appropriate. We do not ask for English
words, as it has long been decided by the best judges
that music can never be sung with proper effect except
the words are in the language of the country to which
the music belongs, and of the people by whom it was
composed, therefore Welsh words are always necessary.

240

ANCIENT WELSH MUSIC.

IV.

Y GALON LAWEN.

NEU YMDAITH TREFFYNON.

Moderate.

Gwynedd.

ANCIENT WELSH MUSIC.

241

CAER DROIA.

Mesur Tyb Tyioysog, neu Prins Rupert.

Slow.

9 "\*^ ^

_, N ,_ _^ _. .

" ^-l bn^ ]^ ' ' I 9

^ & ^ ^^

VOL. I.

242

ANCIENT WELSH MUSIC.

VI.

DUW GADWO'R BRENHIN.

Yr henffordd.

Moderate. F7l\ i?-

|--z=-=zn=qizz-i
__^ r~^h f= JL. . ._: IA

243

TOPOGRAPHY, STATISTICS, &c.

MONMOUTHSHIRE.

STRANGE that any one should in these days err so egre-
giously in matters of history as to suppose that Mon-
mouthshire is by Act of Parliament an English county.
Yet such a mistake seems to have been committed on a
late occasion by an eminent archaeologist. In an account
of the eleventh annual meeting of the British Archaeo-
logical Association, reported in the Times, August 23rd,
the following sentence is attributed to Mr. Pettigrew :
"Monmouthshire united in itself antiquities both English
and Welsh, being regarded a county common to both ;
indeed, it was only classed among English counties in
the reign of Henry VIII. , on the abolition of the Lords
Marches and the final arrangement of Wales into twelve
shires." We boldly assert that it has never been properly
classed among English counties.

In the Myvyrian Archaiology, vol. ii. p. 606, we have
a topographical outline of Wales, with its several cantons
and communes, as these were surveyed and defined in the
reign of Llywelyn ab Gruffydd, the last Prince of Wales.
Of course ancient Gwent is included, and its divisions
enumerated as follows :

Gwent.

Cantrev Gwent Uwch Coed. Cantrev Iscoed.

C. Mynwy. C. Bryn Buga.

C. Iscoed. C, Uwchcoed.

C. Llevenydd. C. Y Teirtrev.

C. Trev y Grug. C. Erging.

C. Bach.

These territories, then, being portions of the ancient
Siluria, may be considered as parts and parcels of Wales,
as long as it continued an independent Principality.
When Wales became subject to England, its boundaries

244 MONMOUTHSHIRE.

were by no means reduced. Camden (a Herald and
Clarencieux King at Arms) bore witness to Monmouth-
shire being part of Wales during the reigns of Henry
VIII., Edward VI., Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth and
James I., and no one has ever pretended that it has been
detached from Wales since that period. Camden, who
died in 1623, in the reign of James I., declared the
English counties to be thirty- nine, and those in Wales to
be thirteen. (Vide Gibson's Camden s Britannia, 4to
ed. 1772, chapter entitled " Divisions of Britain.") After
giving an account of the thirty-nine English counties, he
says, " which we have at this day," adding, " BESIDES
which there are THIRTEEN MORE IN WALES six whereof
were in Edward I.'s time, and the rest in Henry VIII. 's
settled by Act of Parliament" A note to which passage
says," The Statute of 34 and 35 of Henry VIII., chap.
26, tells us that eight shires were of ancient and long
time to wit, Glamorgan, Carmarthen, Pembroke, Car-
digan, Flint, Carnarvon, Anglesey, and Merioneth, and
four others were made by the Statute 27th of Henry
VIII., chap. 26, BESIDES MONMOUTHSHIRE, viz., Radnor,
Brecknock, Montgomery, and Denbigh."

In confirmation of the same view we may adduce the
testimony of the celebrated work of Humphrey Llwyd,
which is a standard authority, and was sent to his friend
Ortelius, the geographer, at Antwerp, by the hands of
Sir Richard Clough, the partner of Sir Thomas Gresham.
The writer thus sums up the different divisions of
South Wales (p. 105). " IK septem pagi (1.) Ceretica;
(2.) Dyvetia; (3.) Maridunia; (4.) Morganicaa; (5.)
Gwenta, quse et Monumethensis ; (6.) Brechenisea; et
(7.) Radenoria; South Wallice ab anglis tribuuntur."
This work was published A.D. 1568, only twenty-one
years after the death of Henry VIII. The deed of Sir
Leoline Jenkins' executors with Jesus College, Oxford,
dated 1685, proves the thirteen counties of Wales to have
remained unaltered at that period, and old excise receipts
show that they continued so in the eighteenth century.

The Welsh themselves have always included Mon-

MONMOUTHSHIRE. 245

mouthshire in the Principality. Tair sir ar ddeg Cymru
is their common phraze, when they intend to denote the
whole of Wales. The same expression is used, and the
different counties enumerated, in the document which
follows that on " Parthau Cymru," already mentioned ;
" Proceed we now to speak of the thirteen counties in
all Wales, and their towns, cities, comots, and parish
churches." (See Myv. Arch. ii. p. 613.) Monmouth-
shire closes the list, when it is added : " Thus it ends ;
and in the county of Mon mouth are one hundred and
five parishes. And thus the number of the parishes of
Wales, that is, the thirteen counties, amounts to nine
hundred and thirty-four." (p. 628.)

The idea that Monmouthshire is out of South Wales,
because the English judges' circuit extends into that
county, is too absurd to need comment, as, by the same
mode of reasoning, Cheshire must be in North Wales,
because the North Wales' circuit extends to Chester.

It were well for those who avidly receive the Petti -
grewian theory, merely because it happens to square in
with their an ti- Welsh prejudices, to reflect whether it
has not a tendency to detract from the dignity of the
heir apparent to the British throne. For, carry the
principle out, say, as indeed many do in fact say,
there is no Wales, it is now absorbed in England, and
you leave to Albert, Prince of Wales, but an empty,
unreal title ; you reverse the " edeyrn diedeyrn " or
Aneurin, and make him a prince without a principality.

GOMER.

246

GENERAL LITERATURE.

THOUGHTS ON THE PRIMEVAL LITERATURE OF
THE CYMRY.

THE literature of the Cymry is not to be considered as a
thing newly-born, a thing that happened to come into
existence with the late progress of the arts and sciences ;
but, on the contrary, it is as old as the nation itself. Its
remoteness is impenetrable ; its commencement is en-
wrapt in the dark clouds of antiquity. Yet, when one
turns his investigative powers towards that distant period,
he is able, by diligent inquiry, to find out the most valu-
able treasures of the fundamental principles which, in
subsequent eras, became, by gradual development, the
great sources of happiness to mankind. In this article
I shall briefly consider the primeval literature of the
Cymry, and challenge the reader's attention to investi-
gate and scrutinize their transmitted records which have
been brought down to our days, chiefly through a tra-
ditionary channel. There are peculiar characteristics
belonging to the Cymry as a nation which ought not to
be underrated, but, on the contray, they claim the most
unequivocal consideration of the Celtic literati.

Let us now then consider the state of this people in
the primeval age. When the present mighty nations of
Europe were in the embryo of time, when the first dawn
of civilization broke upon the world, even then we can
find the Gomerites in possession of the valuable gifts
which were bestowed on mankind in general in the
patriarchal age, when all men were led by the same
holy tradition. This naturally leads us to remark, that
it seems very absurd to claim the predominance for
either of the first nations. There are some scholars in
our days who have an indefinite reverence for the old
dead languages, but how it is that they will not extend

PRIMEVAL LITERATURE OF THE CYMRY. 247

the same countenance to a still living old language is
a problem not easily solved. The Cymraeg, in their
opinion, has been born either from an Aramitic parent, or
from the Sanscrit, or from one of the so-called classical
languages. These wild notions seem to me very incon-
sistent one with the other, as well as with the present
state of the venerable language of the Cymry. I believe
that the antique features which the Cymraeg now pos-
sesses prove clearly that, whatever external changes
happened to the Celtic clan from its first starting from
the East, and in its subsequent career, until its final
settlement in Britain, it kept up its patriarchal customs
in a comparatively pure manner.

The traditions of a nation are a sure key to the rich
treasures of its prior history ; they show very clearly what
was the state of that community when they originated.

The Cymric traditions do not resemble those of any
other nation in Europe, which is a proof that the Cymry
is a distinctive race, having institutions and customs
unparalleled in the annals of the West. They differ from
those of the Hebrews and Indian Brahmins in some
respects ; yet they have more things in common with
them than with any other people in the whole world.
It seems to me very curious that there should be more
similarity between the Cymry and the Hindoos, than
any other people ; the one being in the extreme west,
and the other in the furthermost parts of the east. But
when we consider the circumstantial difference of these
nations, it becomes a matter of great importance that
there is an affinity between them in such things, as well
as in their religious observances.

I think the following proposition is founded on fact,
viz., that whenever an affinity between religious obser-
vances exists, in the same manner, and to the same
extent, the affinity between their languages also exists.
As religion is considered by all nations to be the summum
bonum, and as it is a characteristic of mankind to estimate
and value it above all other things, is it anything but a
natural consequence of their religious affinity that a

248 PRIMEVAL LITERATURE OF THE CYMRY.

philological relationship should also be found between
them ? If this view of the case stands good, it shows
clearly why the Celtic, the Aramitic and the Sanscrit are
so closely entwined together, and why their primevalism
is so often confounded one with the other.

Scholars generally are too apt to examine the com-
municative mediums of mankind, independently of their
religious affinity. They begin at the wrong end. The
synthetical system ought surely to replace the analytical;
then philological researches would become profitable.
The social and religious rites of a nation are the best
means to find out the philosophic applicability of the
language which is used by that nation. By adopting
this plan, synthetically, you may be able to trace the
connexion between different terms and their real meaning.
In our native records we meet often with the terms
"aberthog," " gwr aberthog," &c. Now, what does
" aberthog" mean ? What is its derivation? Possibly
our analytical friends would find out some meaning in
every letter which composes the word, and yet the real
meaning might, after all, be untouched. Now, by means
of the synthetic process, we learn that this "aberthog"
is derived from the ancient usage of sacrificing. In
that case, "gwr aberthog" has a primary reference to
the circumstantial state of the person, in regard to his
duty of offering according to the rites and ceremonies of
his religion.

This plan, were it adopted, would dissipate the wild
theories of the expounders of Celto-Hindo-Aramitic deri-
vations; whilst, on the other hand, the Celt could easily
reconcile the whole resemblance, by merely comparing
the druidical rites of Britain with those of the Hebrews
and the Hindoos, and the whole philological affinity, by
following up the religious observances to their primeval
source.

The traditions of the Brahmins testify that their
religion came from the west ; and the migration of their
religious teachers from the White Island, i.e. Sweta-
? Saila, is a received truth with them ; and even the very

PRIMEVAL LITERATURE OF THE CYMRY. 249

chalk with which they mark their foreheads must pro-
fessedly come from " yr ynys wen' 9 This shows the
primeval connexion of the Hindoos with the Cymry, and
explains in the most clear manner, according to the
theory laid down, why the affinity between their lan-
guages exists. Dr. Carl Meyer asserts " that the Celtic
languages have an origin undoubtedly as ancient, and
in many of their grammatical usages of a character
DECIDEDLY MORE ANCIENT, than the Sanscrit." The Hin-
doos themselves admit that their sacerdotal tribes came
originally from the White Island, and, of course, brought
with them the British language ; and as this language
was the communicative medium of these missionaries,
was it anything but natural for them to influence con-
siderably the language, as well as the usages of the
native Hindoos ? That Britain is the White Island (yr
ynys wen), I think may be proved from the following
facts. Homer describes a country, which he places in
the extremities of the west, in the ocean, near the setting
sun, and in the country of manes, near the Elysian fields,
which he calls ^v^i mrpa^ or the Sweta-'Saila of the
Brahmins of India. Again, Orpheus in his Argonautics
terms some island, which is placed in the Western Ocean
with lerne, or Erin, Xevrav x^ov, or the " White country,"
i.e. y wlad wen. In our own records this island is called
yr ynys wen. Now, these coincidences show, beyond a
doubt, that the reference is made to the same place, and
that that place was well known in those early periods.

Again, the Hindoos consider the ynys wen (the cylch
y gwynfyd of the Druids) the peaceful abode of the
departed. Hence, another meaning to the word gwyn
suggests itself; that is, the sense of sacredness or blessed-
ness, rather than the mere descriptive colour of the chalky
cliffs of the southern coast of the island ; consequently,
that Britain is the Blessed Isle of the primeval writers.
The authenticity of our own records are thus proved by
indirect evidences. The descriptions given by classical
authors of the Cymry do not contradict our own memo-
rials, but, on the contrary, when fairly examined, and
VOL. i. 2 K

250 PRIMEVAL LITERATURE OF THE CYMRY.

mutually compared, they agree in the main points ; and
when they do not, is it not more probable that a stranger
should have been misled, or misinformed, about our own
particular usages, than that those men who were sworn
to record faithfully the annals of their country should
have falsified them ? Suppose now that an Englishman,
who never saw India, were to publish a history of that
country; and that his narrative should contradict the
native records, that he should not give the exact meaning
of the usages of the inhabitants, and not represent their
policy in the same light as they themselves might de-
scribe them, that he should pass unnoticed many things
in connexion with their civilization, and not enter into
their religious mystery, would any one take his narration
as a faithful description of that country ? Certainly not.
But this is the way the Cymric records are treated, by
those who consider themselves impartial annalists, in our
days. Suppose again that there should be some things
in the before -mentioned narrative concurring with what
the Indians assert themselves, would you believe it all
on that account ? Would it not be more natural for us
to examine thoroughly their records, and study carefully
their own usages, rather than be guided by a theorist of
our own country, who knew next to nothing about India?
But, strange to say, this is the way in which the historians
of our own country have almost invariably acted. The
sneering manner in which some have thought it proper
to handle our primeval records makes one sometimes feel
inclined to pour upon them and their deluded visions a
sarcastic shower of contempt, as a recompense for their
unrivalled stupidity and sturdiness.

It is asserted by the Cymry, that, in the primeval
times, their forefathers possessed the patriarchal religion,
which subsequently was called Druidism. Many records
of its rites and discipline have been preserved even unto
our days, which speak highly of the moral philosophy
taught by the druidical priests. For instance, Trioedd
Defodau a Breiniau ; they contain a wholesome routine
of ethical instructions, and show clearly that the religious

PRIMEVAL LITERATURE OF THE CYMRY. 251

system to which they belonged must have been an ad-
mirable method for carrying on civilization.

Though the few records we now possess are only
fragments of the great collection which must have been
once in the possession of our forefathers, and though
they have been liable to be modified according to the
whim of transcribers, for the last twelve centuries at
least, as there were no national conventions, during that
time, kept for the purpose of preserving them duly ; yet
I think the primitive memorials may still be easily dis-
tinguished from the modern, since they relate to totally
different things. And if one were to bear in mind the
primeval purity of the druidical system, and the pains
taken at that time to keep the truth above all other things,
it would be a great help for him to detect the modern
innovations or modifications. The Laws of Dyvnwal
Moelmud, again, are a lasting proof of the high and
flourishing state of literature amongst the Cymry in the
early times. The great legislator is generally believed
to have flourished about 430 B.C. His code, as it is
transmitted to us, has evidently preserved its authenticity.
It will bear the most scrutinous test.

The state of things described in it is certainly anterior
to the Roman invasion, and inasmuch as there is nothing
external, which either directly or indirectly contradicts
the genuineness of the Moelmutian code, I do not see
why the Cymric records, in general, are not to be credited
as well as those of other nations. If some one were to
deny the existence of Lycurgus, or Solon, what would be
the result of such daring contradiction of history ? Or
if some one were to undertake the refutation of some
settled historic fact in connexion with a foreign country,
with what presumptuous audacity would he be charged !

I address these considerations to those gentlemen who
try to mythologise the established facts of history in
connexion with their native country. Trioedd Hanes
also describe a chain of historical events, which happened
to our forefathers in the remotest periods, they explain
the civilized state of the Cymry, and the other tribes

252 PRIMEVAL LITERATURE OF THE CYMRY.

who co-inhabited this island with them, for a long period
before the arrival of the " usurping tribes," they repre-
sent the character of their kings with faithfulness, those
who were exemplary in wisdom and benevolence, are
ranked among the "benefactors of the Isle of Britain;"
whereas the avaricious and cruel are pointed out graphi-
cally as unworthy of national praise in after ages. The
historic fairness of the Triads shows that " truth against
the world " was not only a golden maxim, but also well
acted upon by the Druids. The strict agreement which
exists mutually between our memorials is also a strong
evidence of their authenticity. The Triads agree in all
essentials with the Laws, and the Laws again with the
reputed state of Britain in the early times, even as it is
described by heathen or classical writers. Hence, from
such coincidences, I conclude that the primeval state of
the Cymric literature must have been an adornment to
that early period. Laws, ethical instruction, and popular
usages, which are preserved even unto our days, through
all the encounters of the past, ought to be considered as
precious relics by every Cymro. And whenever he finds
daring traitors trying to subvert the established truths
of his country, and denying the settled annals of his
dear native land, let him come out in the name of
Caradog and Arthur, Llywelyn and Owain Glyndwr,
and drive away such notorious enemies of Cymru, Cymro
and Cymraeg.

GIRALDUS CAMBRENSIS.

253

THE TALE OF CUHELYN THE BARD.

[THE following is a translation of a Welsh story, which
appeared some years ago in the GWYLIEDYDD, having

been copied from a " MS. of A d C s," i e. as

we suppose, the patriotic Angharad Llwyd, of Caerwys.
We transfer it to our pages with the view of reminding
our readers that we shall be glad at all times to receive
such relics of the merry days of old. No doubt there
are many tales and anecdotes traditionally preserved in
different parts of Wales, most of which, in all probability,
unless they are in the meantime duly committed to
writing, will not survive the present generation.

Vaticinations, whether ascribed to Merddin, Robin
Ddu, or any other prophet, together with an account of
their alleged fulfilments, will likewise be acceptable; for
all such records cannot but contribute, in their degree,
to the elucidation of the political and social history of
ancient Wales.

The tale under consideration evidently involves a
deep political meaning, and may be regarded as a fair
sample of the methods adopted by our forefathers to com-
municate their thoughts and plans on political subjects,
in times of civil commotion. ED. CAMS. JOUR.]

In the mean time, Cuhelyn the bard came to the hall of the
Earl of Worcester (who was also the Earl of Pembroke) ; and
from the great love that the earl had for him, as well as with
the view of hearing his tales, he ordered Cuhelyn the bard to
sleep in the same room with himself. When Cuhelyn the bard
had gone to bed, he related to the earl a strange story ; but,
whilst he was in the middle of it, all of a sudden he became silent.
The earl requested him to proceed with the story, but he answered
him not a word. Then the earl thought that sleep had over-
powered him, and in about half an hour or so Cuhelyn the bard
inquired of the earl" Would you like to hear the story through?"
when the earl asked " Why hast thou long since become silent?"
And Cuhelyn the bard replied " Long since I was listening to
the three streams contending for a carcase with a golden torques."
The earl inquired " Which of them prevailed ? " And Cuhelyn

254 THE TALE OF CUHELYN THE BARD.

answered and said, that " it was the Milford 1 stream, for even
now he has landed, and the wave is leaving him." Then the
earl asked, what this carcase with the golden torques was, and
what he had been ? to which the other replied, that each golden
link was worth a king's ransom. And when he had finished the
story, which he had begun before, he slept. And when the earl
knew that he had fallen asleep, he arose, and betook himself,
together with his servants, to Milford Haven, and found a carcase
wearing a golden torques just as Cuhelyn the bard had described.
When Cuhelyn the bard awoke, and ascertained that the earl
had proceeded thither without his direction, he got up, and went
away secretly and in anger. And when the earl came home, he
made inquiries about Cuhelyn the bard, and was told that he
had gone away. Whereupon the earl sent after him, saying,
" Whoever will bring him back again, he shall be rewarded for
his pain ;" and then one of the messengers happened to overtake
him, and entreated him to return and speak to the earl. He
replied, " In order that thou mayest have thy reward, I will
come." And when he arrived, the earl inquired the reason why
he had gone away without taking his leave. And Cuhelyn the
bard answered " Because you went to the thing which I
described without saluting me." Then the earl desired him to
be content, and not to feel angry, and told him that he should
have his choice of one of his three daughters for a wife, and
what Hundred he pleased within the county of Pembroke for a
dowry. Cuhelyn replied that on those conditions he was satis-
fied. And when the three daughters made their appearance, the
earl requested him to take his choice, but he preferred to see them
asleep, and said that he would then select the one he loved. And
as these three daughters lay asleep in the same bed, the earl
and countess and himself came to look at them the daughters
being fast asleep. The eldest daughter had pushed herself up,
and was lying with her arms stretched across the pillow. The
second daughter was lying across the bed : whilst the third
was sleeping in the same position in which she first lay down.
This daughter was named Wrangen Veindroed, and it was she
whom Cuhelyn the bard chose as his bride. And when Cuhelyn
the bard was married to Wrangen Veindroed, the earl desired
him to select what Hundred he would within the county of
Pembroke, and he selected the Hundred of Cemaes. Where-
upon the earl observed : " In the first place thou hast chosen the
worst daughter I had, and secondly, the worst Hundred in rny

1 Obviously an allusion to the landing of the Earl of Richmond at
Milford Haven.

THE TALE OF CUHELYN THE BARD. 255

possession." But he said " By no means ; I have chosen the
best daughter, and also the best Hundred." The earl remarked
that the lime and coal were in the other Hundreds; but he
answered and said that instead, there was marl in every furrow
in Cemaes. " I would that thou tellest me the destiny of my
daughters and their progeny." He said, " As you have seen the
maid shooting up over the pillow, so she and her progeny
through excess of ambition, and pride, will cast all their property
away. In regard to the second daughter, as you have seen her
lying across the bed, so she and her progeny will throw and
scatter all on every side. Whilst the daughter whom I have
had, as you have seen her lying straight, so she and her progeny
will keep together and compactly all their possessions, without
loss or waste."

After that Cuhelyn the bard and his wife came to dwell at
Cemaes, and there were born to them three sons, and among
these three was all Cemaes divided. And Cuhelyn did so by
means of three silver trinkets. The three trinkets were respec-
tively named "a cauldron boiling on the fire," "a greyhound's
collar," and "a chessboard." Gwrgan, the eldest son, by
agreement, chose the cauldron that was boiling ; the second son
chose the greyhound's collar; and the third son willingly chose
the chessboard. Then the eldest son inquired of his father the
meaning of these trinkets ? And he replied, " As the cauldron
was boiling and bubbling, some bubbles rising, others subsiding,
in like manner thou and thy posterity will arise and prosper, and
if some fall, others will arise, and so on till doom's day." And
the second son asked, and he replied, " Thou and thy offspring
will be good men, and you will be disposed to keep your land,
and to hunt." Then the third son inquired, and to him his father
observed, " As thou seest these men of stone on the chessboard,
so will go thy portion, and that of thy posterity."

Cuhelyn the bard ab Gwynvardd Dyved flourished
about the close of the eight century.

257

ETHNOLOGY.

REMARKS ON THE ANCIENT SEPULCHRES OF THE
CELTS, THE CAUCASIANS, AND THE INDIANS.

THROUGH the medium of the Journal of the Cambrian
Institute, I beg to direct the attention of its members to
a paper " On the Ancient Sepulchres of Panduvaram
Dewal in South India," which was contributed by the
late learned and accomplished scholar, Captain Newbold,
to the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. XIII.
Part I.

The reader will be pleased to observe three illustrations,
with the view of better understanding my remarks ; viz.,

1. Of the Indian tomb, described by Captain Newbold.

2. Of the Caucasian tomb, in Bell's " Circassia," Vol. I. ;
and, 3. Of the great cromlech at Plas Newydd in Angle-
sey. See Rowland's " Mona Antiqua." 1

I took a sketch of this cromlech during the past autumn,
when I verified Captain Newbold's measurement, viz., 12
feet 7 inches by 12 feet, to be much more correct than the
dimensions given by Rowlands, viz., 13 feet by 9 feet ;
my own measure, repeated, giving 12 feet by 12 feet.

I have been desirous of showing that the Caucasian
tomb was, both in geographical position, as well as in
type and dimensions, intermediate between the Indian
and the Celtic- British cromlechs.

In Rowlands' "Mona" I have since discovered, with
equal pleasure and surprize, what I believed did not exist
in Europe, viz., the circular hole in the side of the cist-

1 Our correspondent sent us a copy of Captain Newbold's paper,
together with sketches of the monuments, which we regret cannot be
reprinted. Hence, to suit these altered circumstances, we have taken
the liberty of somewhat varying his opening remarks. ED. CAMB.
JOUR.

ANCIENT SEPULCHRES OF THE CELTS, ETC. 257

vaen, as found in the ancient tumulus called the Bride
Stones, in the parish of Biddulph, Staffordshire.

I have, in my own sketch, added to the ground-plan
given in Rowlands' plate, at p. 319, a transverse section,
through the cross stone which divides the interior of this
long cist-vaen into two equal parts, and have thus shown
a figure identical in all respects with that of the Indian
and of the Caucasian sepulchres, its dimensions, 9 feet
by 6 feet, being precisely those of the Caucasian tomb,
while the Indian sepulchre agrees in dimensions of its
slab -stone with that of the great cromlech at Plas Newydd.

That the cromlech was originally both an altar on
which were offered up human sacrifices, while at the same
time the cavity below was the sepulchre of the bones of
the victims, may perhaps be probable ; but the contents
of the Indian and the Caucasian tombs human bones,
urns, pottery, coins of gold, silver and copper, and
weapons of various kinds, seem to show that these were
the usual sepulchres of the people, who, like the Celts
of Europe, were buried along with those things which
they most valued in life.

What was the object and purpose of the circular hole
in the side of these tombs, the diameter being barely suf-
ficient to admit the body of an ordinary-sized man? 2
Can our antiquaries throw any light on this peculiarity
of construction ?

I come now to the interesting question asked by Captain
Newbold, " Whose bones do these huge blocks of granite
cover?" a question which he has himself answered.
" They appear to me to be the almost only tangible ves-
tiges remaining to us, except Holy Writ, of certain simi-
larities in the languages of nations now wide asunder, and
the traditions which prevail in almost every eastern
nation of an extensive emigration of one family of the
human race, radiating in various directions, from one
given centre, at a time when the whole earth was of one
family and one speech ; which the Lord confounded, and

2 Of the Indian, about 18 inches ; of the British, 19J inches.
VOL. I. 2 L

258 ANCIENT SEPULCHRES OF THE CELTS,

from thence did scatter them abroad upon the face of all
the earth"

These conclusions are sound and true, being based on
better evidence than can be brought to bear upon any
other question relating to the early history of man.

We have now the evidence of our own ancient monu-
ments added, to complete that furnished by Holy Writ,
by history, by tradition, by language and names, that the
central country in Asia, to which the origin of our
western nations can be clearly traced, is to be found in
Asia Minor, from the Phrygian Hellespont to the moun-
tains of the Caucasus inclusive. Within these limits
history has fixed the first seats of Gomer, the eldest son
of Japhet, in names which local traditions still preserve. 3

We learn from Scripture prophecy, that the kingdom
of Aschenaz was joined with Ararat (Armenia), to aid
Cyrus against Babylon. (Jeremiah, li. 27.)

From Herodotus (Polymnia, 73), "that the Arme-
nians were descended from the Phrygians."

From Josephus (Antiq. b. i. c. 4-6), " that the Phry-
gians were from Togarmah, the youngest son of Gomer."
Hence the Armenians should descend from Togarmah.
The Armenians, by ancient traditions, do actually derive
their origin from Haic, the son of Togarmah; thus we
are certain of their descent.

The Georgians claim the same origin from a brother
of Haic, the son of Togarmak ; and this their great
ancestor, according to their traditions, ruled the countries
from the Euxine to the Caspian Sea, which last (their
native sea) they call " Gerganissian" a Phrygian name ;
and other remarkable names of ancient Phrygia, still
existing among the Georgians, complete the evidence of
the common origin of these two nations.

In Europe, our western nations of the Celtic race may
with certainty be derived from Gomer. Josephus (Antiq.
b. i. c. 4-6), tells us plainly that the raXarm (the Gauls

3 The name of Gomer remains in Armenia and Georgia, in Oumri,
Gomerij Gomerethi.

THE CAUCASIANS, AND THE INDIANS. 259

and Celts) descended from Gomer, and were at first
called " Gomarai" (Gomerians).

The scoliasts of the Greeks tell us that Cimmeris was
the son of Japetus, and, consequently, Gomer the son of
Japhet, of Genesis x.

Thus we know that the Celts, Cimmerians and Cymry
are all Gomerians. In Italy, the ancient Cimmerium
Promontorium, at Ancona, is called Monte Gomero at
this day. 4

The language of the ancient Phrygia has been lost ;
but two words, referred to a Phrygian origin, in the
Greek language, pur, "fire," udor, "water," are good
Celtic still. But the names of ancient Phrygia are found
in all the Celtic countries of Europe, even among the
Cymry of Wales.

In the Caucasus, Phrygian names are still tribe and
local names of the people, and we find at this day among
the Georgians, groups of names answering to similar
groups in Italy, Cis- Alpine Gaul, Gaul, Spain, and the
British Islands.

The Georgians connect with their own race of Gomer,
the Circassians and the Lesghis, the most noble and war-
like of the Caucasian nations. The Lesghis, who call
themselves Legce, are the Legai of Strabo (b. xi.), and
besides the limits assigned by the geographer, they now
occupy the ancient country of their neighbours, the
Albanians, and are doubtless of the same race.

The Albanians had " Celtic " names, and, like the
Celts of Gaul, the Averni, claim a brotherhood with
the Romans, by a common descent from Alba, of Italy,
and from Troy (see Justin's History}, in the war of
Pompey against the Albanians.

" Troja Genus unde Latinum,

Albanique patres, atque altse maenia Romse."

Virgil JEmid, b. i. 10.

4 Homer places the Cimmerians at Cuma, in Italy, close to Lake
Avernus of Virgil. These three names, the most ancient of Italy,
are Phrygian. Niebuhr was too hasty in denying the Phrygian
origin of Rome.

260 ANCIENT SEPULCHRES OF THE CELTS,

" Avernique ausi Latios se fingere fratres
Sanguine ab Iliaco populi . . . . "

"The Averni who from Ilium come,
And boast an ancient brotherhood with Rome."

Rowes Transl. of Lucan's Pharsalia, b. i. 427.

" Audebant se quondam fratres Latio dicere, et sanguine ab
Iliaco populos computare." Sidonius Apollinaris, i. b. vii. ep. 7.

Thus we find three nations, Roman, Gallic and Cau-
casian^ claiming a common origin from the Gomerian
Phrygians ; and if the Cymry of Wales have preserved
the like tradition, they doubtless received it from one of
the first tribes of their race (the Gwas Gwyn, or Venedi 5 ),
who, like the Averni Gauls, claimed a Phrygian origin, 6
and are said to have once dwelt in Phrygia.

The sepulchres found among the Circassians are the
tombs of the aborigines of the Caucasus, and clearly
show that the first race were of the Gomerian family,
whose progressive migration to Europe may be traced,
through the vast Steppes of Tartary and southern Russia,
by the tombs.

It only remains to compare the languages of the Cau-
casian nations with the Celtic dialects.

1. The Armenian. From a specimen of Armenian
History, translated by M. Klaproth, I give six words,
selected by him. Finding these to be identical with the
Celtic, I procured from an Armenian a list of 125 words,
selected by himself; of these about twenty, or one-fifth,
have more or less analogy with the Gaelic and the Welsh,

2. The Georgian, from M. Klaproth's works, agrees
with the Latin and Welsh.

3. Of sixty Circassian words, I have selected twenty,
which are of the same family as words supposed to be
peculiar to the Gaelic and the Welsh.

Thus the triple connexion between the Celts of Europe,
and the Phrygians and Caucasians of Asia, is made mani-

5 " The Veneti came originally from Phrygia." Herod. Clio. 196.
Strabo, b. xii. Quintus Curtius, iii. 2.

6 See the Triads.

THE CAUCASIANS, AND THE INDIANS. 261

fest, both by ancient and modern evidence, derived from
many sources.

But what is the evidence which connects the western
nations, through the Caucasians, with the people of Asia,
and of India especially ? the very same as that which
connects the Caucasus with ancient Europe.

From the two ancient seats of Gomer, Phrygia and the
Caucasus, we may trace eastwards through the country
of the AfFghans, and across the Indus river, into India,
some Phrygian, and very many Caucasian names; and
in the heart of the sacred country of the Hindoos,
" Sareswati bold bani," of the speech of the children of
Sareswati, there, among the venerated names of India,
we find the Caucasian intermixed with our own Gomerian
names, even as we find them written on the maps of
ancient and modern Italy, Gaul and Britain. The
rivers of Gaul and France are many of them identical
with the existing names of rivers in India. Ireland can
add two more ; while the Welsh local names of Gowr
and Landour are still found on the sacred banks of the
Ganges. 7

The Celtic dialects are classed by learned orientalists
in the same lingual family with the Sanscrit. Our names,
and the primitive tombs of our race, found in many parts
of India, complete the evidence of early family connexion
between the branches of this race now wide asunder.
And, if it be asked, "whose bones do these ancient
cromlechs of Europe and of Asia cover?" the answer
is, " those of the descendants of Gomer, the eldest son
of Japhet."

7 Gowr, the ancient capital of Bengal. Landour, on the Upper
Ganges, in Nepaul.

In Wales. India.

Baglan (town). Baglana (district).

Amboglana (on the Roman Wall).
Sirhowy. Serowy.

262 ANCIENT SEPULCHRES OF THE CELTS,

SPECIMENS OF THE ARMENIAN AND GEORGIAN LANGUAGES.

The words, with their translation in Latin and French, are taken
from the works of the learned oriental scholar, M. Klaproth. 1. " A
History of Armenia/' inserted in his " Memoires Relatives a 1'Asie ;"
and from 2. " Extraits d'une Topographic de la Georgie." 3.
" Caucase et la Georgie."

Armenian compared with Celtic.

Tighearn, " Dominus." (Gaelic.)
(Welsh.)

r Tighearn, " Domim
Eiegherial " Dominator". ...< Ty," House."

^Rheolwr, "Ruler."
Loersav " Illuminator" . . . Lloer, " Light." (Welsh.)

? . . . . A title of respect. . \ %? " ^^ (La

(Welsh.)

, ( " Construit de f Marmor-aich. " Abounding in > , ,. x
Marmor-acke*.. J Marbre< ...... \ Marble." . ........... . . . ] ( Gaehc )

Plur .......... "Fleur." ........ Plur, " Flower." (Gaelic.)

Wer .......... " Vir. Homo." . . The same in Welsh and Gaelic.

Georgian compared with Celtic.

Assnauri ...... " Les Nobles." .. . . Assenora, " Nobles." (Portuguese.)

(The Old Lusitanians were Celts.)

, Oortka "Maison,"

Garthou-bani. . " Garde > " Outer - house -" (French.)

Qeli .......... {" C t ls d s 6 M n - } Col, A Mountain Peak."

eon .......... ^^^

M'ta .......... " Montagne" ..... Monadh. (Gaelic.) Mynydd.

Tsquali ........ "Riviere" ....... Aqua, " Water." (Latin.)

SPECIMENS OF THE CIRCASSIAN DIALECTS,

As spoken by the Azra, Abazian and Adighei tribes, from Bell's
" Circassia," Appendix, ii. p. 482, and Spencer's " Western Caucasus
and Circassia."

Circassian compared with Celtic.

Man Tie (Adighei) ( Teulu, " Household, Family."

Blood Thlew (do.) ) Tylwyth, " A Tribe."

Societies Tleush (Circassian) . . . )

Husband Tlu (Adighei) {.Dywyllio, " To husband." )

C Tat, " Father." (Bas-Breton.)
Father Tat (do.) 1 Tad, do. (Welsh.)

C. Tax, do. (Cornish.)

THE CAUCASIANS, AND THE INDIANS.

263

Noble ........ York

Enemy
Slave

C
Mountain . . <

Forest

Tree

Sacred Groves

Tisaga (Azra)
Kadyera (Abaza)

Alena (Azra) ...
Aonaz (Adighei)
(do.)

< Airg, " Prince." (Gaelic.)
\ Erch) Grea t. Powerful."
{ Ty, " House." >
Enem y." \

(Welsh.)

^Iftoo (Azra)
^**to (do.)
. Kodosh (Adighei) ...
I7tftfl (Abaza)

(Adighei) .

. Cad, War." Caeth, "Slave." (Welsh.)
f Ben, A Mountain Peak." (Gaelic.)
\ p Head or Summit." (Welsh.)

. < Aonach Mountain." (Gaelic.)

(. TwM," A high Peak." (Pyrenees.)
C Ott, Wood." (Old British.)
< Ofim, " Men of the Woods." (Ditto.)

.(. Coet, Coetwig, " Woods." (Welsh.)
$ Uisge, " Water." (Gaelic.)
\

House ...... Twia (Abaza)

Foster-Father

Sabre ......

Horse . . . . <

Aigean, Cuan, " The Sea." (Ditto.)
~
( Welsh.)

r Ty, " House." ~)

J Twy, " That which covers." >
< Twy go, " To cover." 3

(. Toi, " To cover a house." (Bas-Breton.)

(Adighei)

, N
Kateau (Circassian)

Ata, " Father." (Waldenses.)
Luchd, " People." (Gaelic.)
Cwtto, " To cut." (Welsh.)

(French.)

(Gaelic.)
(French.)

Dog
Cat

^i#c/i (Azra) ........ Eaeh Horse."

Tche (Abaza) ........ > cheva l } do.

<^^M (Adighei) ....... J

Kha (do.) ....... Ki. -(Welsh.)

(do.) ....... Ca*A. (Welsh.)

C^a*. (Gaelic.)

F. D. W.

264

AGRICULTURE.

AGRICULTURE OF THE CYMRY.

TRANSLATION.

A father's instructions to his son respecting the mode of tilling the
ground, and of rearing and managing cattle.

From the Book of Mr. Thomas Hophinj of Llangrallo, in
Glamorgan.

MY son, conduct thyself prudently in respect of God and the
world, according to the requirements of a clean conscience, truth,
justice, and peace.

First, in reference to God ; think of the sufferings of Christ
for thy sake, and love Him above all things, and fear Him,
and remember to keep His commandments ; be thankful to Him,
and adore Him for every grace and gift which He may vouch-
safe to bestow upon thee. And when thou shalt have remem-
bered thy duty towards God, consider the wisdom of man, and
seek to maintain a peaceable and amiable friendship with men
of sense and experience, who may have witnessed many of the
changes of the world, and many of the modes and requirements
of life. 1

With respect to the world ; think of the course and cycle of
the firmament, of the revolution of the year, the age of man,
and the generations of the world. Observe the cycle of the sky
and how it revolves; one while the mark of observation is
uppermost, presently it is the lowest; it then ascends from mark
to mark, turn after turn, until it comes back to the place where
it stood at first; and then it goes through every mark of the
cycle as before; and thus will it continue until God shall undo
what He hath done. 2 Similar changes happen to the rich man,
who is to-day at the top of the wheel, to-morrow at the bottom.
Let a man, then, consider what is his duty, and what becomes

1 Some excellent instructions in respect of our duty towards God
and our neighbour, in a strain similar to the above, are attributed to
Geraint Vardd Glas. See Myv. Arch. iii. p. 100.

2 Nid adwna Duw a wnaeth.

God will not undo what he hath done. Adage.

AGRICULTURE OF THE CYMRY. 265

him to do, in the particular station in which he may be placed.
Wherefore, I beseech thee, regulate thy conduct according to
thy means, and likewise thy land and stock, both cattle and
corn ; or else according to the wisdom of others. Take no more
than what is necessary, neither keep more than what is thy due.
It is but just that thou shouldest enjoy the share of thy hands;
but there is another share due to God and His saints, which is
not thy right ; for the poor and landless claim it. 3 Pay to all
their own, and the remainder will be thine ; and from keeping it,
the store which thou shalt have kept will be thine, but from
lacking to keep it, it may be long, very long, before it can
be restored. What thou hast kept will be in thy possession,
should the world fail, or should a blight or failure happen to the
corn, or should the harvest prove unfavourable, or should the
cattle die, or any other untoward accident, of what kind soever,
take place. In the midst of the greatest misfortunes, what thou
hast kept will be in thy possession, whereas if, in the course of
the year, thou shalt have consumed the whole produce of thy
land, and one of the above calamities occur, there is no means
of escape except by borrowing, and the wise man remarks,
" He who borrows of another will lose his own property," as is
the case with the extravagant, who sell for ten shillings, and buy
again of the same party for twenty shillings. Accordingly the
wise man observes : " He who is far beforehand will have his
advantage close at hand."

Many people possess land and territories, who yet know not
how to cultivate and manage them properly, so that they bring
advantage neither to themselves, nor to any one else in the
world. I will tell thee the reason ; they do not exhibit in their
lives any proper management; but, on the contrary, they con-
sume and destroy beforehand more than their annual income and
receipts, without ever anticipating the future. The consequence
is, that they have nothing to put in their mouths, or to cover
their backs with. But they drag on their lives in misery and
poverty, being unable either to benefit themselves or to con-
tribute anything towards their future welfare. Wherefore, be
prudent and diligent, and forsake the deceitful world. Do not
behave haughtily towards any man, neither wrong any person in
the world ; and do not imagine any mischief against him from
a desire to obtain what he has, or what he can accomplish, for
thou knowest not but that his fate may be thine also before thou
diest ; as the wise man remarks, " No man knows his end ; "
"The fair morning knows not what bad weather hangs by its

3 See Lev. xix. 9, 10.
VOL. I. 2 M

266 AGRICULTURE OF THE CYMRY.

tail ;" and another wise man says, " Wrong may be current for a
year, but at last it will disappear ; " and another sage observes,
"The latest vengeance, the vengeance of God; the fullest ven-
geance, the vengeance of God." Beware, therefore, night and
day, lest thou deserve such a vengeance.

If thou shalt have subjected any of thy men to fines 4 in thy
court, by the advice of others of thy men of like degree, exact
the penalty. Yet should it prove considerable, let thy conscience
rise still higher, and do thou reduce it, that both God and man
may be pleased with thee. Take the goods of thy men by little
and little, and there will be thus enough for them and for thee,
and when thou reckonest up the whole, it will be much.

Enjoy the society of thy wife duly and lovingly. Remember
to choose her from among women of excellence that she be
of a respectable family, and of good descent. In that case
she cannot but be a woman of genteel manners and habits, and
thus she will be a comfort to thee, thy kindred, and thy coequals;
and thou wilt be loved and respected by all around thee, and by
all thy countrymen and contemporaries; for nothing is more
beautiful than the love which subsists between man and wife,
and their mutual intercourse in elegance and wisdom.

Love thy neighbours, and deserve their love, for thus will
integrity be manifested on every side ; as the wise men observe :
" Every poise will have its equipoise," and, " every friend has
his co-friend." Be discreet with thy tongue, that thou disparage
no man ; and what property God hath bestowed upon thee, let
it be managed well, justly, kindly, and without reproach. For it
is at the hands of the wealthy that a country is to be moralized ;
accordingly this kind of work is incumbent upon them in respect
of God and man.

Relative to thine expenditure, know four things, how much
thou givest, wherefore, on what day, and at what time. In the
first place, give where there is necessity; for better are two
shillings, pressingly offered, than sixty shillings given unwillingly.
Secondly, in giving of thy property, give with a good will, for
in that case thou shalt be doubly thanked ; whereas, if thou give
too late, from compulsion, thou art a loser, for that which is
forced is not a gift. Thirdly, give to him who has it in his
power to do thee either good or harm. Fourthly, how much

4 " DIRWY (dir) force : There were two kinds of fine imposed
upon offenders. The dirwy was twelve kine, or three pounds ; the
other, or Camlwrw, three kirie, or nine score pence. Dirwy signifies
sometimes, but rarely, various amounts of fine." Glossary apud
Ancient Laws and Institutes of Wales.

AGRICULTURE OF THE CYMRY. 267

soever thou givest, let it be neither more nor less than what
befits the condition of the man, and the importance of thine
own message. Consider the poor, not for the sake of worldly
praise, but for the love of God, Who has given thee all thy
good things.

Manage thy land and demesne through the agency of faithful
men, thy tenants. 5 In the first place, see what may be the
value of thy bord land, gardens, orchards, dove-cots, fishponds,
mills, and smithies ; and look what timber may be on thy land,
and what minerals may be under the ground, and what, upon
an average, they may be worth a year ; then consider whether
thou mayest sell it safely and without loss, and let that be stored
up for thyself. As to thy mills and smithies it would be better
for thee to let them out for what rent they may be worth a year ;
better to keep thy minerals in thine own hands, and that they
should be managed and superintended by honest tenants of
thine. Let the land which is beyond thy farm to aliens in pro-
gress of naturalization, as thy tenants ; and have nothing to do
with villains, 6 either slaves or strangers, for scarce through life
do they exhibit any trace of honesty. Let thy fishponds from
full moon to full moon until the end of the season ; do not let
them by the year, for in that case thou mayest perchance lose
thy fish. Look carefully after thy trees, that none be taken
away to which no claim can be laid, and that none be cut down
except in virtue of that claim, and in that case do not try to
prevent. And when thou fellest thy timber do not interfere
with the just right of another by cutting down the whole ; for
the wise man says, "Nothing will prosper but justice;" and,
says another sage, " It is the pleasure of God that will prosper,"
and nothing is the pleasure of God but justice.

See what will come from freeholders 7 and the sons of aliens,
and what stock they have ; and know how to convert the same

5 A fo tyngedig iti ; from trvng, a yearly custom or tribute paid by
freeholders. Twng, says Davies, is part of the corn which is due to
the landlord by agreement.

6 " TAEOG (tae-og) a churl : The taeog seems to have been of the
same condition as the Saxon churl and the Norman villein. The
taeogs were husbandmen, and were bound to furnish the lord with
certain victual renders, and to lodge and provision various official
persons and allies of the prince while quartered in the country."
Glossary appended to the Welsh Laws.

i " UCHELWR (uchel-wr) a high man: Variously styled <gwr
rhydd/ a free man ; ' gwrda,' a good man j and ' breyr ' a mote man,
in different parts of Wales." Glossary.

268 AGRICULTURE OF THE CYMRY.

faithfully and justly into money, so that thou mayest not be
deceived.

As to villains, see what they are worth, and take care that
they keep their houses in repair, and assign to them no more
land than what is due. 8 Take of them money instead of goods,
if such may be had ; and demand of them the performance of
their proper offices. When they comply not, let them be fined,
until thou shouldest gain thy right, or until they should forfeit all
claim to their property. And remember that thou suest not
wrongfully, for shouldest thou lose, thou losest thy property,
and it goes to the vassal. Many a claim is lost because it is
brought forward unjustly and illegally; for the law is that what-
ever is claimed illegally should be legally lost, and an end be
made of it; for the most powerful of all legal power is the
justice which is rendered for injustice. Many have lost their
lands because they have claimed them by an unjust and illegal
title ; and in that case the vassal has become superior to his
lord. It is better for thee to receive rent, instead of work, from
thy vassals, for their houses and lands ; for better will it be that
thy officers should be alien tenants, from among patriots and
loyalists ; for the son of an alien has no claim except what is
founded on honesty. And when he performs not his duty, he is
not entitled to any money, goods, nor land, but what may be
adjudged by men of like grade with himself; for the son of an
alien is bound only by a contract, and what may result from its
fulfilment or violation in respect of man and lord : and there
can be no justice unless the contract be equally binding upon
both parties.

8 " Thus brothers are to share land between them 5 four erws to
every tyddyn ; Bleddyn, son of Cynvyn, altered it to twelve erws to
the uchelwr, and eight to the aillt, and four to the godaeog [i. e. an
under taeog or villain] yet nevertheless it is most usual that four erws
be the tyddyn." Welsh Laws, i. p. 167.

(To be continued.)

269

CORRESPONDENCE.

DYVYNWAL MOELMUD.

To the Editor of the Cambrian Journal.

SIR, When any one undertakes to alter what has been always
and universally regarded as an established point in history, it is
necessary that he should exhibit some really strong data whereupon
to build his theory, otherwise he inevitably, and most justly, incurs
the charge of presumptuous coxcombry. When my eye first fell upon
the title of Mr. Stephens' article in the last Number of the Cambrian
Journal, I was led to hope that the learned author of the " Literature
of the Kyrnry" was conscious of this fact, and that he had,
accordingly, discovered, or laid, a solid foundation for his novel
attempt in regard to Dyvynwal Moelmud. Alas ! never on any
occasion was I more miserably disappointed. Absolutely, he adduces
but a single positive argument and that of the most shadowy kind
derived from a work of fiction, in favour of his theory, against the
authority of the Triads, the Genealogies, the Chronicles, and the Laws !
In all these it is positively asserted, or taken for granted, that the
great legislator lived a considerable time anterior to the Christian era.
Mr. Stephens, on the contrary, has discovered in the romance of
" Kilhwch and Olwen," that a contemporary of Arthur was named
Dyvnwal Moel, arid he immediately infers that he must needs be the
lawgiver, and identifies him at once with Alfred the Great, who
flourished in the ninth century! How Alfred and Arthur could
have been contemporaries, when, according to ordinary historians,
there intervened three centuries between their respective eras, I shall
leave to Mr. S. to explain. No faculty of mine can even conjecture.

The writer professes to establish his position from " three converging
lines of inquiry."

I. Geoffrey of Monmouth. Having quoted an extract in which
Dyvynwal Moelmud is mentioned, Mr. S. proceeds to dispute the
correctness of the picture which the historian had drawn of the state
of Britain at the time in question. " This island was not in quite so
flourishing a condition as it is here represented before the arrival of
the Romans ; the Druids could have had no temples, much less one
dedicated to the Goddess of Concord ; and the cities and highways of
this record most assuredly had no existence before the Christian era."
Dogmatic enough, surely. But on what grounds does he make the
assertion ? Does not Archeology continue to turn up relics of British
civilization ? Did he ever read of British roads, and of the circular
temples of Avebury and Stan ton Drew?

270 CORRESPONDENCE.

Geoffrey says nothing about a temple dedicated to the Goddess of
Concord, but he does of the temple of Concord, teml tangnefedd,
which need not have been other than a Cylch Cyngrair, circle of
confederation, where the Britons resorted to, " under the refuge of
God and His peace."

Dyvynwal Moelmud is, in the extract, described as the son of
Cloten, Wallice Clydno, king of Cornwall. "There is but one
Clydno," observes Mr. S., " and his original location was Edin
burgh i.e. Clydno Eiddin." This oneness is Mr. S.'s great forte.
There is but one Gwron; therefore the three primary bards lived in
the sixth century. There is but one Crydon, who lived in the sixth
century; therefore Crydon the son of Dyvynwal must have lived then.
As well might I say, there is but one Owain, namely, he of Glyndwr;
therefore Owain Vinddu flourished in the fourteenth century. The
way in which he twists names at p. 163 to square with his theory,
how he pronounces Mynyddawc to be the same as Nydawc, Stater to
be the same as Sadyrnin, and Ymer, Pymer or Pimer, king of
Lloegria, to be none other than Ynyr, king of Gwerit, is too wretched
to deserve serious refutation.

" In reality we cannot pretend to have any ante-Christian history
of ourselves ; for British story commences with the departure of the
Romans. The traditions of the Kymry do not ascend through the
period of the Roman occupation." (p. 164.) Another gratuitous
assertion. I should have thought that the '* Traditionary Annals "
which have appeared in your pages ought to have convinced Mr. S.
that the traditions of the Kymry do ascend much higher than the
Roman occupation. And though these were for the most part
handed down orally, the ancient books of the Britons, from which
Nennius derived a portion of his history, could hardly be entitled to
the epithet, were they not as old, at least, as the sixth century. But
here comes the most curious of his arguments. Both Gildas and
Nennius, who dwell more upon events, and mention more persons of
the sixth century than of times beyond Christianity, are silent as to
Dyvynwal Moelmud, ergo, " this ancient lawgiver lived in or about
the sixth century." Can logic be worse tortured ?

II. The Triads. Stephens argues from the silence of the First
and Second Series, as he does from that of Gildas and Nennius, that
Dyvynwal flourished in the sixth century ! It is strange that Triads,
which are chiefly occupied with affairs of that period, should have
omitted all mention of a person of such notoriety, if he really lived at
that time. But how does he get over the Third Series, which
mention him so often ? Observe his logic again. The only clue to
his chronology in these Triads is, that he is made a contemporary of
Plennydd, Alawn, and Gwron; but inasmuch as Mr. S. places
Dyvynwal in the sixth century, " it follows from this Triad that these
bards and organizers of bardism belonged to the same period;" and
as Prydain is connected with them, of course he also must be brought
down, and Aedd Mawr is, accordingly, declared to be identical with

CORRESPONDENCE. 271

^Etius, the prefect of Gaul! Now I have always thought that
reforms and improvements are progressive that people begin at
the beginning. Is it possible, then, that classical authors, Caesar
especially, should have recognized bardism as a system ere it had
an existence ? for, according to Stephens, the primary bards did not
live before the sixth century.

But here is quite a godsend j Aedd Mawr's father was called
ANTONIUS, a name which is "an undoubted indication that Dyvynwal
was a man of Roman descent." (p. 168.) Did it, however, ever
occur to Mr. S.'s philological discrimination that Antwn is as capable
of Cimbric derivation as Antonius is of a Latin one ?

III. The Mabinogion. On this head I will merely observe that
it is curious to see into what lengths persons will go in support of
a favourite crotchet. Apparently for no other reason than that
" Dy vnwal Moel " is mentioned in the " Mabinogion " as a person
who lived in the sixth century, these professedly romantic and
fictitious tales must receive greater credit at the hands of Mr. S. than
all the documents which assign an earlier date to the great legislator.
It is painful to see a man, who was once regarded with pride as the
future historian of his country, falling into such extravagance. Surely,
the prestige of his name is for ever gone. Clever he may be, and
doubtless is, yet the specimen of his talent which appeared in your
last Number is an irrefragable proof that he is not safe and trust-
worthy as an historian. Never was there such an exhibition of self-
confidence and prejudice. I remain, &c.,

CARADOC AB BRAN.

WELSH ORTHOGRAPHY AND STYLE.

To the Editor of the Cambrian Journal.

SIR, The publication of the Cambrian Journal is a most promising
feature in the literary prospects of Wales, more especially as it comes
out under the auspices of so many persons eminent for their judgment
and acquirements.

Wales has long boasted, and it has had some reason to boast, of its
plebeian literature ; its periodicals being chiefly the production of the
working peasantry. But one cannot but be sensible that a peasant
literature labours under many disadvantages : it has no stability, it
is too discursive, it has a constant tendency to deteriorate, it is full
of unseemly bickering, and it is extremely unequal in point of
thought and style; circumstances which render it merely fugitive,
and prevent its being permanently useful. These important dis-
advantages have pervaded our literature, meaning by that term our
periodicals, translations and smaller books, for the last half century.
I believe that you will be likely to agree with me that, in this respect,
Wales occupies a lower position now than it did forty or fifty years

272 CORRESPONDENCE.

ago. Our periodicals, with one or two exceptions, are more superficial,
our translations less accurate, than they were about that time ; and
our style, in point of language, approaches to absolute barbarism
from an awkward endeavour to adopt unsuitable English idioms, and
to construct new Welsh words unnecessarily.

It is to be hoped, however, that our literature is now passing into
more able and learned hands. And one may look upon this national
undertaking, the Cambrian Institute, as an effort to concentrate native
talent, combined with a due share of sound learning, for the purpose
of imparting stability, solidness, good taste and justness of thought, to
our literary productions ; and that, as is exceedingly proper, by a due
study of English subjects and English thought. For by blindly
discarding and setting aside this latter circumstance, as we have been
too much in the habit of doing, we cannot possibly hope to excel,
but must, on the contrary, ever remain in the unnatural state of
infancy, from which the Welsh mind now appears to be emerging
towards vigorous manhood.

From our position, in respect to our language, and still more on
account of our narrow national prejudices, the Welsh people have been
kept like a plant in a dark place, trying to grow indeed, but sickly
in hue, disproportionate in form, and productive of little healthy fruit.
But by the English medium of your Journal, enriched as it is, and is
likely to be, by the pens of learned Englishmen, one may reasonably
entertain some hopes that our prejudices will gradually give way, and
that a healthier tone will be imparted to our mode of thinking and
writing ; in other words, that our literature may be expected to grow
henceforth under the influence of less shade; and the improved
character of our literary productions will benefit the people at large.

From the Reformation down to about two generations ago, our
books were mostly the productions of learned men, chiefly the clergy.
But owing to certain important circumstances which had then taken
place, the language of the country was kept under, and its use dis-
couraged, and the clergy became disheartened, and very generally
kept aloof from the public press. And thus our literature passed in a
great degree into the hands of the common people ; and very soon a
marked deterioration took place in the native publications and in
the morals of the people, two circumstances that are generally
concomitant.

This boasted peasant literature, besides necessarily falling short of
the requirements of the public, has been productive of two most
serious evils. In the first place, the old standard orthography of the
nation, sanctioned by two centuries of learned writers, has been very
shamefully tampered with and altered to suit each writer's fancy, upon
crude and visionary principles. And, in the second place, in the same
wanton spirit of innovation, the idiom of the language has been
almost totally laid aside in favour of a new jargon of English expres-
sions improperly applied. And what is to be extremely regretted is
the fact that several clergymen have from time to time appeared to

CORRESPONDENCE. 273

authorize this lamentable state of things, by adopting the peasant
orthography and the affected style and idiom. It is somewhat
laughable to hear some of us Welshmen run down the English, and
at the same time making use of the English language to suffocate our
own tongue, of which we pretend to be so fond, and then shouting
at Eisteddfodau, Oes y byd i'r iaith Gymraeg.

It is a wise thing in the committee of the Cambrian Institute to
put forth a Welsh Journal in connexion with it, and it will, no doubt,
be carried on in the liberal spirit of its English brother. Allow me
to express a hope, dear Sir, that this Welsh periodical, professing as it
does to be national, will really be as free as possible from the two
great faults above adverted to. Let its orthography be the truly
national one of the Bible and Prayer-book, of our best writers from
Dr. Davies to Goronwy Owen ; and let its idiom be pure Welsh, the
Welsh of Ellis Wynn and Edward Samuel, and not the stiff unin-
telligible jargon of half Welsh half English idiom, so fashionable
with our uninstructed peasant writers. The community have some
right to expect that this will be the case, in earnest, in a publication
professedly national ; and if disappointed, those members of it whose
aid would be the most valuable could not well be expected to be
zealous in their co-operation, inasmuch as they could not help regard-
ing the main objects of the Institute as in some degree defeated by an
undue concession to the vicious orthography and affected style in
question. And the result would be that the periodical would soon
fall to the level of our most ordinary and fugitive publications,
and rapidly terminate a hectic existence for want of that support
which it is certain of having, if you mind the orthography, mind the
idiom, and mind to procure for the Journal steady correspondents
of the proper stamp. I remain, &c.,

NICANDER.

[The proper orthography of the Cymmraeg is undoubtedly that of
Edeyrn Dafod Aur, which is founded on accent and pronunciation.
His Grammar, which was compiled about A.D. 1270, received the
sanction of the three princes paramount of Wales, as well as of a
rhaith gwlad, or jury of the country, and thus it is really our national
standard, and must continue so, until it be repealed or modified by
competent authority. ED. CAMB. JOUR.]

ELINED.

To the Editor of the Cambrian Journal.

SIR, In the Second Series of "Bonedd y Saint," apud "Myvyrian
Archaiology," ii. p. 41, we read thus : " Elined verch Vrychan
ynghorsebawl neu Cruc gorseddawl." Professor Rees, "Essay," &c.,
p. 149, admits that "Crug gorseddawl" has been taken for Wyddgrug,
or Mold, in Flintshire ; but he himself is inclined, with the historian
VOL. I. 2 N

274 CORRESPONDENCE.

of Brecknockshire, to identify it with Slwch in that county, " on
which," he observes, " there were lately some remains of a British
camp." In the " Cognacio," in Jones's " Brecknockshire," the fol-
lowing occurs : " Elyned in monte Gorsavael, qua3 pro amore
castitatis martyrizata est." One of the " Genealogies of the Saints,"
however, which are printed in the "lolo MSS." (see p. 520),
decides the question in favour of Mold, thus : " Eluned, the daughter
of Brychan. In Mold, in Ystrad Alun." Now on this subject I
have two questions to propose, which I hope some of your Flintshire
readers will be able to answer. 1. Is there a place called Cors
ebawl, or Cor sebawl, in the vicinity of Mold? 2. Is there any
tradition as to a church having once stood at Ystrad Alun ?
I remain, &c,

BRYCHAN.

POEMS OF IOLO GOCH.

To the Editor of the Cambrian Journal.

SIR, I have the pleasure of sending you a list of the poems of
lolo Goch, with the first lines, but it is not to be considered as perfect,
for there are many of his compositions which I have not had an
opportunity of seeing. Some of your other correspondents will be
able to complete it. I will send you a similar list, for your succeeding
Number, of the poems of Gutto 'r Glyn ; I have the first lines of
eighty-three of his poems, and some additions might probably be
made to them. I remain, &c.,

ROBERT WILLIAMS.

Llangadwaladr, Oswestry,
Sept. 1, 1854.

TITLES. FIRST LINES.

MarwnadTudurabGronw,1315 Llymale diffaith waithion

I leuan Esgob Llan Elwy . . . Hawddammawr hil aur

Arall iddo leuan Apostol glan glwys

Dyfod O Glyndwr O Ysgotland Mawr y w symud o hud hydr

5 I O. Glyndwr cyn y rhyfel . . . Addewais hyd hyn ddwy waith

Arall iddo Llyma fyd rhag sythfryd Sais

Achau Owain Myfyrio bum am farwn

I Owain ar ddifancoll Y gwr hir ni'th gar Harri

Breuddwyd am dano Ymddiddan bwhwman hwyr

10 Marwnad Edward III. 1377 . Edward ab Edward gward gwyr

I Syr Hywel y Fy wall A welai neb a welaf

I feibion Tudyr ab Gronw Myn'd yr wyf i dir Mon draw

Mawl Rhys Gethin NantGonwy Byd caeth am waedoliaeth da

Mawl Hywel Coetfnor Hywel, Cymro hil Cymry

15 Marwnad Syr Wgan a las, 1346 Llyma oerchwedl cenedlawr

Marwnad Tudyr Fychan ab Clywais doe i'm clust deau
Gronw

CORRESPONDENCE. 275

Marwnad Ithel Ddu y Bardd o Dor yw o fro Feilyr Frych

Fon

Marwnad LI. Goch ab Meiryg O Dduw teg ai ddaied tyn

Hen

Marwnad Ithel ab Robert o Eres y torres terra

20 I Syr Ro. Mortimer Syr Rosier asur aesawr

I Ddewi Sant Damuno da i 'm enaid

Cyffes lolo Crair bred ced cynnydd

Y deuddeg Apostol Prydu a wnaf mwyaf mawl

I ddyfalu y Llong Anhawdd y w un hawddammawr

25 I ofyn March Rho Duw mawr yr march

Y Llafurwr Pan ddangoson' ffynnon ffydd

I ofyn March Arwydd pellenigrwydd parch

Arall Pwy i 'n mysg pen masnach

I Hersdin Hogl Ithel Ddu i 'th alw ydd wyf

30 Duchan y Brawd Llwyd o Gaer Hywel urddedig hoewwalch

Arall iddo Teg o gynnyrch hirgyrch hardd

I Fair Doeth i 'th etholes lesu

Arall iddi Archwn i Fair a bair byd

Achau Mair Daioni Duw a aned

35 Sioasym a Mair Saint y Cait a Saint Kytus

Y Farf Ai dydi farf a darfodd

I Ferch ac i 7 r Farf Doe 'r pryd hwn yr oeddwn i

Y Saith Bechawd marwawl . . Yr un bai er ein bywyd

I'r Offeren Daioni Duw a aned

40 I Dduw Creawdr mawr

I ofyn Cyllell Hely Lly welyn eryr gwyr gwych

I leuan ab Einion Pwy sy o'i rym pasio 'r iaith

Dyfalu y Tafawd Y druan fawd lydan ledr

Fr Byd Myfyr wyf yn ymofyn

45 I Ferch, pan oedd ef glaf .... Hir y w 'r dydd cethlydd caeth-

loer

Arall i Ferch Caru 'r wy caruaidd ryw

Brud Paham hyn na wyddym ni

Arall c Rhodded Duw ras campus coeth

Arall , . . Brawd Hid urddas llwyd urddol

50 Cowydd Marwnad i Rys Graf- Bum i garllaw bwa maen

fudd o Borthwryd

Cowydd Marwnad Dd. ab Gwi- Hudol doe fu hoedl Dafydd
lim bardd

Cywydd i 'r Drindod Duw lor y Duwiau eraill

Cy wydd y Seren, a ymddangos- Am eu lliw, y mae llawer.
es yn mis Mawrth, 1402

276 CORRESPONDENCE.

IOLO GOCH.

To the Editor of the Cambrian Journal.

SIR, I shall be happy to furnish you with copies of three poems
by lolo Goch, the titles and first lines of which are respectively as
follows :

Cywydd trioed Cyfoed.

Tri oedran hoiwlan helynt.
Cywydd i'r byd.

Yr un bai ar ein bywyd.
Cywydd chware cnau i'm Haw.
Y ferch a wisg yn sienti.

I remain, &c.,

MANUSCRIPT.

PENDEFIG.

To the Editor of the Cambrian Journal.

SIR, However ingenious is Nicander's letter on this subject, I
cannot agree with him as to the derivation of the word in question.
And first of all I beg to deny that it originally denotes a benefactor,
and not a prince, or chieftain, as given in the dictionaries. In these
old lines,

" Try stan wyn bendefig llu,"
" Trystan bendefig cadau,"

Myv. Arch. i. p. 179,

it evidently means a chieftain. Nor am I aware of its occurrence in
any other passages where a similar sense would be inadmissible.

Again, if it were derived from beneficus, it would, according to
analogy, have been Bendefig ; as bendith, from benedictio.

The lines quoted by Pughe, in illustration of the word tefig, show
clearly that Lewis Glyn Cothi considered its affix to signify pen, a
head, and not bene, for he puts it in opposition with two other pens,
as well as ruler of a third, of unquestionable meaning ; thus,

f< Fen aig o nef, pen a'n gwnaeth,
Pen defig pob pen difeth."

Nicander observes, that " it may be confidently asserted that no
such word [as tefig~\ exists." Is he then prepared to maintain that
the word Cyntefig is derived from some Latin term ending in ficus ?
It is very evident that Cyntefig is formed from Cyntaf, and therefore
tefig, which, Pughe says, means overspreading, sovereign, must come
from taf, a spread, the root of a great many words which carry with
them in all their forms the original signification. Surely Young
Wales is too hard on the great Welsh lexicographer. I remain, &c.,

CHWARE TEG.

CORRESPONDENCE. 277

MYD.

To the Editor of the Cambrian Journal.

SIR, Will any of your philological correspondents help me to
the meaning of the word myd, as used by Edmund Prys, in the
following passage :

" Yn Nuw Dad, Creuwr dae'r a nef,

A gwir ffydd gref y credaf:

Ac yn ei Fab ef, Crist ein myd,

A gaed o'r Ysbryd Glanaf."

Credo yr Apostolion.

The word occurs also in one of the poems of Llywarch ab Llewelyn,
or Llywarch Prydydd y Moch, a poet who flourished from 1160 to
1220:

" Hael Arthur, myd anghudd am rod ;
Hael Rhydderch am aur fudd ;
Hael Mordaf ; hael mawrdeg Nudd ;
Haelach, greddfolach Gruffudd."

Dr. Owen Pughe explains it as meaning " a circular enclosure "
(=mid), and, in the passage just quoted from the mediaeval bard, he
translates it "readiness:" but neither of these definitions enables me
clearly to understand the sense in which it is employed by the learned
Archdeacon of Merioneth. I remain, &c.,

HIRLAS.

LEWYS DWNN.
To the Editor of the Cambrian Journal.

SIR, Having lately seen in print (but where I cannot call to
mind) that another of Lewys Dwnn's works had been discovered,
and that it was then with Sir Thomas Phillipps, Bart., Middle Hill,
I shall feel extremely happy in being informed has such a work been
or is to be printed, and how and where can I procure a copy to place
with my copy of Lewys Dwnn's " Heraldic Visitation of Wales and
its Marches," by Sir Samuel Rush Meyrick ? I remain, &c.,

GLYWYSYDD.

THE BRETONS.

To the Editor of the Cambrian Journal.

SIR, I am one of those who consider the Bretons as being not
so much our brethren, as part and parcel of ourselves. I am there-
fore very anxious that there should be a greater intercourse between

278 CORRESPONDENCE.

us than there is. Could you not bring this about by means of your
Journal ? Surely some one in that interesting country will be glad
to supply you with information as to what is going on there in respect
of native literature, &c. As there is such a close affinity between our
dialects, and our early history and traditions, no doubt we should
be mutually benefitted were we better acquainted. Do try to accom-
plish this consummation, which is devoutly to be wished.
I remain, &c.,

EMYR LLYDAW.

THE BARDIC MOTTO OF GWYNEDD.

To the Editor of the Cambrian Journal.

SIR, The Bardic Motto IESU, which distinguishes the chair of
Gwynedd, has evidently been adopted since the introduction of
Christianity into this country. I shall feel much obliged to you, or
some of your correspondents, if you can inform me of the exact date
when it was first used. VENEDOTIAN.

[We beg to refer VENEDOTIAN to the lolo M88. p. 611, where
he will find a reply to his inquiry as follows : " Grufydd, the son of
Cynan, appointed for Gwynedd, Jesus." ED. CAMB. JOUR.]

279

MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES.

THE CAMBRIAN INSTITUTE.

With the view of making the Cambrian Institute really practical
and useful, it is proposed to give a prize of '20 for the best map of
Cymru according to its ancient divisions. The prize will be awarded
at an Eisteddvod, whereas the map shall be deemed the property of
the Institute, which will also undertake to publish it, and supply every
member with a copy, free. Due notice will be given of the time and
place when and where the different competitors should send in their
productions. Several subscriptions have been already promised.
Meanwhile we beg our friends to assist us in raising the sum of ,50,
of which 30 will be expended in engraving the map.

THE TWENTY-THIRD ROYAL WELSH FUSILIERS.

Surely the brave spirit of our ancestors breathes yet fresh and
vigorous as ever and has animated the men of the gallant 23rd to
the performance of deeds, at the glorious battle of the Alma, worthy of
Caradog, Arthur, and Llewelyn. All hail to the heroes who survived
peace to the ashes of the fallen ; and these are many ! " They
were dreadfully mowed down." " The 23rd suffered severely." " In
the 23rd, there were eight officers killed, and ten wounded; eight
sergeants and corporals, and 206 soldiers dead and wounded." So
run the accounts; and they describe their gallantry and dauntless
courage in a manner that reminds us of ancient days. We are proud
of our country. " Up went the 7th, 23rd, and 33rd, followed by
the 42nd and Grenadier Guards, in THE FACE OF EVERYTHING."
Thus the Red Dragon led the way still verifying the old motto
"Y Ddraig goch ddyry gychwyn;" as well as that inscribed
on their waving banner " Nee aspera terrent." " Colonel Chester
fell whilst planting the British standard on the Russian battery."
Brave man, noble deed, glorious death ! " The colonel, two majors,
and two captains of this regiment are said to have been shot down on
the advance." And amongst these we find a scion of the illustrious
house of Wynnstay, always foremost in deeds of patriotic valour.

Gallant 23rd ! nobly hast thou won an additional laurel another
title to the long list that graces thine honourable banner. Few, if
any, other regiments can boast of such victories as thine ; none can
compete with thee in courage and valour.

Sons of Cambria, rally around your national ensign ; it is unsullied,
and stands conspicuous in the British army. It has seen and won

280 MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES.

Minden, Egypt, Corunna, Martinique, Albuhera, Badajoz, Salamanca,
Vittoria, the Pyrenees, Nivelle, Orthes, Toulouse, the Peninsula,
Waterloo, and the ALMA.

THE FUSILIERS.

There are five regiments of Fusiliers 5th, 7th, 21st, 23rd, and 87th
in the army (excepting the two battalions of Foot Guards called
Scots Fusiliers). From the passage of Boyne Water, 1G90, in Ireland,
to the passage of Alma Water, 1854, in the Crimea, no campaign,
and hardly a battle of any consequence, has been fought without one
or more of the Fusilier regiments of the line being warmly engaged
therein. The 7th was raised in 1685, on the occasion of the Duke of
Monmouth's insurrection. The 21st existed as a regiment in 1687,
having been embodied from volunteers in the Lowlands of Scotland
to act with the Highland clans against the Scottish Covenanters ; but
it was not at first armed with fusils. The 23rd was raised in 1689,
the year after the Revolution.

The 7th, or Royal Fusiliers, was raised in London, and has always
been emphatically an English regiment. Its special duty was to
guard the master gunners, the Master of the Ordnance, and the
common infantry, who then assisted the master gunners to work the
heavy pieces of ordnance in the field of battle. For this purpose it
was armed more efficiently than any other infantry. After a regular
artillery force was organized, the Fusiliers still continued to assist that
arm in the field, and still they clear the way from ambuscades or
other traps laid for the more advanced of the light field-pieces. But
that has been, in the present century at least, equally the business of
the Rifle regiments. There is now little to distinguish the Fusiliers
from other corps of light infantry, except that olden fame which has
come down to them as an inheritance. They still retain the regimental
tradition that they are peculiarly charged with the preservation of the
artillery, but it is only a tradition.

At the period of their institution, the other infantry were called
musketeers, pikemen, and grenadiers. The first were armed with
muskets and swords, no bayonets, and not generally with a lock to
the musket. Pikemen were armed with pikes and swords. The
fusilier, with his sword, firelock and bayonet, was therefore a union
of both. The grenadiers were armed with hand grenades (to throw
among the enemy in close quarters), muskets, latterly bayonets, swords
and small hatchets.

Infantry regiments had originally a colour to each company, called
the ensign, carried by the ancient (the junior subaltern). The term
ancient fell into disuse, probably because it was used in derision, and
the young officers were called ensigns instead. There is still in all
infantry regiments of the line, except Fusiliers arid Rifles, an officer
called an ensign attached to each company. But from the peculiar
field duties of Fusiliers and Rifles they did not carry colours with

MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 281

each company. Hence, instead of an officer called the ensign, they
have two lieutenants, first and second. In reading the details from
the Crimea, it will be observed that the Fusiliers and Rifles lost more
lieutenants than other regiments, but no ensigns. By a recent Horse
Guards' regulation, however, the Fusiliers are in future to have
ensigns like the other line regiments.

In the present century the 7th and 23rd Fusiliers have been
engaged, side by side, with but few exceptions ; the 7th was not at
Waterloo, the 23rd was. The latter was also at Corunna, and the
last to embark on that unfortunate occasion. Both were in nearly
all the Peninsular battles, and in many skirmishes, from Talavera to
Toulouse.

The greatest losses suffered by the 23rd were at Dundalk in 1689-90,
the Dutch regiments having built huts with all the available material
for winter quarters the young Fusiliers, unused to campaigns, being
left roofless in the open storms of a wet season, which cut them off
with disease and hunger.

At the battle of the Boyne, in the summer following, Duke Schom-
berg, their Dutch general, was shot by one of the Fusiliers, but why
is an historic doubt. After sharing in more than thirty sieges and
battles, the first of the great deeds of the 23rd was at Blenheim,
August 13, 1704. Their performance there was so remarkably like
that which the regiment has done in the Crimea a hundred and fifty
years later, as to be an historical parallel. The battle began nearly
at the same minute one o'clock p.m. on the same kind of ground,
the 21st and 23rd Fusiliers, with the 10th, 15th, and 24th Infantry,
" leading the attack gallantly and irresistibly." Two years after, this
bold band of Welshmen behaved in like manner at the great battle
of Ramilies, " charging down upon the plain, carrying everything
before them." The Battles of Oudenarde, Wynendale, the siege of
Tournay, and the battle of Malplaquet followed, at which they were
reduced to only two captains fit for duty. They were at Preston, in
1715, to assist in the capture of the insurgents, with the Earl of Der-
wentwater and Mr. Foster of Northumberland. In 1735, Mr. George
Augustus Eliott joined them as a volunteer, the same who, as de-
fender of Gibraltar, 1778-82, became the most famous soldier of his
time. In the Austrian War of Succession, at Dettingen and Fontenoy,
they were more than decimated. Subsequently, they served as marines
with Admiral Byng's fleet, and had a second battalion, which became
what is now the 68th Light Infautry. Next they fought their greatest
battle, Minden, and two more in the following year, 1760. Numerous
small engagements in Hanover up to the peace of 1762. In 1774
landed in New York. Fought at Lexington, Bunker's Hill, Brandy-
wine, and in all the arduous service up to York Town, 1781, where
one of the most distinguished officers was killed, Guyon, a relative of
the general of that name now in the Turkish service. With the
army of Cornwallis they laid down their arms, but an acute Welsh-
man, Lieutenant Peter, afterwards lieutenant-general of the army,
VOL. I. 2 O

282 MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES.

and an officer whose name is lost, undressed themselves, wrapt the
colours round their bodies, put their regimentals over, and brought
them safe to England.

The next memorable event of the 23rd was to be reduced to the
skeleton of a regiment in the West Indies by disease, after taking St.
Domingo, 1794. In 1798, they were sent to Ostend, two companies
only landing to destroy a canal ; these were taken prisoners, but soon
exchanged. In 1799, sent to Holland, under Sir Ralph Abercrombie ;
fought in three battles, one of them in concert with a party of Russians,
who betrayed them. On returning to England the same year, they
lost five officers, 252 men, and twenty-five women and children, by
shipwreck. By this disaster, and the campaign of that year, they
lost 600 men out of 1000. They immediately recruited in England,
and fought in all the battles of Egypt in 1801-2. In Gibraltar, 1803.
In 1804-5, got a second battalion, which was stationed to defend the
south coast of England. In 1807, this was at Copenhagen. In 1808,
the 1st battalion was sent to Nova Scotia, the 2nd to Spain, with Sir
John Moore. In 1809, the 7th Fusiliers and 1st battalion of the
23rd had the foremost share and heaviest loss in taking Martinique.
The 2nd battalion was in the disastrous expedition to Walcheren the
same year. A " Patriotic Fund " was raised in the City, of which
,250 was voted to the Grenadier company of the 1st battalion. In
1810, they first joined the 2nd battalion in Spain, and, with the
7th, as already said, shared in everything up to the peace of 1814,
when the 2nd battalion was broken up. At Waterloo, the 23rd lost
100 men and officers, including their commander, Lieut.-Col. Ellis.

Such is a brief glance at the 23rd Welsh Fusiliers. Even in time
of peace they produced distinguished officers. The gallant Colonel
Tupper, who fell at the head of his regiment (6th Scots) in Spain,
5th May, 1836, and two other distinguished commanders, who did
not fall, had received their military education in the 23rd.

FFESTINIOG EISTEDDFOD.

It was our intention to give a full account of this interesting congress,
which came off on Saturday the 26th of August, but, as our space
will not allow us to do so, we must content ourselves with the two
following addresses which were delivered on the occasion.

The Rev. R. Parry (Gwalchmai) was called upon to address the
meeting. He said, Mr. President, I feel great pleasure in having
this opportunity of addressing such a respectable gathering of my
countrymen. Eisteddfodau are now becoming numerous and promi-
nent as national institutions ; they are supported by the great body of
the nation, but objected to by a few. It therefore becomes the duty of
their supporters to be prepared with a reason for their advocacy. It
is admitted by all that these ancient and influential meetings are the
principal means of fostering native talent, and promoting the literature
of the nation; and upon this ground we purpose to defend our position.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 283

Our first inquiry, therefore, must be, what is literature ? It is the
recorded thoughts, inventions, creations, discoveries, and ideas of men.
It is a natural development, springing from two primal principles
the impartive and receptive capability. By meditation man receives
ideas, and by writing he communicates them. Thoughts once con-
veyed to writing form for themselves a kind of immortality ; they
can never be annihilated. A man may live in his books centuries
after his body has crumbled into dust. Literature is the ship or barque
a man builds in which his thoughts float on the floods of ages, and it
continues its course unto the end of time. Words are never lost.
How many centuries have passed away since those words first broke
the silence of creation, " Let there be light ! " How were they
conveyed to us? Was it not by letters? The sheets that first
received them, certainly, are destroyed, but their spirit can never be
annihilated. They have a living principle within them. Scolan
burned the manuscripts of the Welsh in the Tower of London, but
the spirit of those very writings is living, and is in actual operation
now at Ffestiniog. Thoughts for a while may appear to slumber in
the dust, but literature, like the trumpet of the archangel, soon calls
them to vitality ; and from their ashes they, phoenix-like, rise again.
The writing of a man is as good an index of his spirit as a portrait of
his features. Thus we find it with the language and literature of
Wales. The Rev. Mr. Binney, of London, said, on a late occasion,
" If you would delight yourself with history and antiquity, go to
Wales, and you shall hear a language as ancient as the mountains of
that country/' We will briefly scan over the history of these literary
congresses. There are strong evidences for believing that the bards
were strictly protected by the laws of their country, at least four
hundred years before the Christian era. It is now a thousand years,
within sixty-one, since Howel Dda wrote his code of laws, which are
to this day the pride and honour of the Welsh. He enacted several
statutes for the purpose of regulating and adjusting the privileges of
the bards, who were held at that time in such high esteem and respect,
and were considered so necessary a class in conducing to the well-
being of society, and the increase of social enjoyment, that amongst
the fourteen principal officers attached to the king's palace, the eighth
in number was the family bard, who, with his harp, was placed near
the king. In a poem of lorwerth Beli, mention is made of a congress
of bards, held under the patronage of Maelgwyn Gwynedd, in the
sixth century, on the eminence where Dyganwy Castle was built. It
also mentions one held by the Royal Cadwaladr, in the seventh
century. In the year 1176, Prince Rhys ab Gruffydd caused a
magnificent Eisteddfod to be convened in the castle of Cardigan, at
which it is recorded a competition was to take place between the best
bards, " by strings and by tongue," in Britain and Ireland ; on which
occasion the prince had two chairs of state, one for the best harper,
the other for the most able poet. The harper proved to be a young
man belonging to the palace, but the poet came from North Wales.

284 MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES.

Several great bardic festivals were held from the time of Ivor Hael,
in Glamorgan, to that of the ancestors of the Royal Owain Tudur, of
Penmynydd, in Anglesey. To proceed with the calendar of the
principal Eisteddfodau, we should state that, in 1450, Gruffydd ab
Nicolas received a royal mandate to hold an Eisteddfod at Caermarthen,
which was distinguished by the appellation of "Eisteddfod fawr
Caerfyrddin." Another was held, by royal mandate, in the reign of
Henry the Seventh, the descendant of Owain Tudur, who had every
reason to support his Cambrian countrymen, to whom he was in-
debted for the recovery of the throne of Britain. The next took place
at Caerwys, in 1523, in the reign of Henry the Eighth. In 1567,
another was held by the authority and sign-manual of Queen Elizabeth,
at the same place. In 1798, Caerwys again held an Eisteddfod,
under the patronage of that literary benefactor of Wales, Owain
Myfyr, and the Gwyneddigion Society. A few years subsequently,
another was held at Caermathen. After this date Eisteddfodau came
in rapid succession. They were repeatedly held at Abergavenny at
Wrexham, in 1820 ; at Caernarvon, in 1821 ; at Brecon, in 1822 ;
Caermarthen, in 1823; Welshpool, under the Earl of Powis, in 1824;
Brecon, in 1826; Denbigh, under the presidency of the Duke of
Sussex, in 1828; Beaumaris, in 1832 ; Liverpool, in 1839; Aber-
ffraw, in 1851; Rhuddlan, in 1852; Port Madoc, in 1853; and
now (1854) between the Moelwyn and the Mannod, at Ffestiniog, in
Merionethshire. This evidently shows that there is a vital principle in
Eisteddfodau, as they have been carried on from the earliest ages to
the present time. There is one question, in particular, Mr. President,
that I would wish to ask, seeing so many Christian teachers of various
sects present, and that is, what has Christianity to do with the
literature of the nation ? and has it any connexion with the world of
letters ? There is nothing more evident than that the religious
leaders of the people, so far from being indifferent to, ought to be in
advance wdth every social improvement. It must be their duty to
oppose or to support such movements. A few, it is admitted, seem
to set their faces against them, but they are only the blanks of the
nation: those little things, some half-a-dozen of whose souls you may
easily condense into a lady's thimble. But I will take upon me to
assert, that the majority are prepared to support them, as well as any
other means for the advancement and improvement of the people.
Was not Christianity itself communicated to us through the channel
of literature ? Were letters not a direct boon from heaven ? Was
not the Great Author of our being the first writer ? "And the tables
were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God,
graven upon the tables." The first letters were received, not on
paper or parchment, but on slates, probably like those of Ffestiniog.
While the ingenuity of man has developed many useful arts, we find
heaven itself providing letters for the world. Now, it is not only our
duty to use letters, but to do so for the best purposes. No command
did the Saviour of the world in His final Apocalypse, give more

MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 285

frequently than " write." If it is our duty to commit our thoughts
to writing, we are bound to promote literature. It is high time that
the labours of our authors should be better appreciated. To starve
authors is to kill books. Milton said that we may as well kill a good
man as kill a good book ; by killing a good man we kill a reasonable
being ; but by killing a good book we kill reason itself. Our poetry
must be of the highest character, if we follow that of the Scriptures ;
moulding all into new forms; dressing truth in orient beauty; dipping
it in the splendours of the rainbow; making it speak in the language
of flowers, and shine in the brightness of stars. The scriptural
element must pervade all our literary productions; it must be the
heart and soul of all our works. We, Welshmen, ought to embrace all
men as brethren, rejoice to see so many English friends among us, and
foster no national littleness. We have reforms to propose in the arrange-
ments of these congresses, and we are persuaded that the Ffestiniog
Eisteddfod has commenced it by taking a step in the right direction.
Let us infuse Christianity into the public mind, and we shall by its
means kindle a moral fire that shall burn up all corrupt literature.
With these views we hope to conduct the proceedings of this Eistedd-
fod ; and, whilst aiming at conviviality, preserving a propriety that
will not hurt the conscience, or wound the feelings of any, and thus
spend this Saturday evening as a preparation for the Sunday, and for
the enjoyment of the services of the sanctuary. I should feel proud
of being in any way instrumental, however humble, towards advancing
the usefulness and happiness of my dear countrymen.

In reference to the subject of " the Geology of Caernarvonshire
and Merionethshire," the President having introduced E. L. Richards,
Esq., as a fellow of the Geological Society,

E. L. Richards, Esq. (Judge of the North-East Wales and Os-
westry district of County Courts) said, He was scarcely aware three
days ago he should have the pleasure of listening to language so
eloquent, so terse, so appropriate, and so good, as they had heard
from Mr. Parry, and the other gentlemen who had addressed the
meeting. His friend Mr. Williams (the chairman) had done him the
honour of bringing him to the Ffestiniog Eisteddfod, knowing when
he did so, that it accorded perfectly with his (Mr. Richards') own
feelings for his country's welfare to see so many in this part of the
kingdom happily met together in the cause of literature, and for the
interchange of that friendly feeling arid brotherly love which so
emphatically characterized the people of this country. They had
heard from their respected chairman a clear and succinct account of
the origin of these institutions, of the fact of their perpetuation by
the statute of Rhuddlan, of the valuable media which they had
formed for preserving and propagating among ourselves those beautiful
specimens of our literature (for the Welsh had still a literature)
which was handed down from father to son, from generation to
generation. The chairman had shown the object and intention of the
bardic rules of the Eisteddfod, the aid they had rendered in pro-

286 MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES.

rooting the civilization of the age, and therefore, in enhancing the
happiness of mankind. Well had it been said, in language much
more fervid, vigorous, and enthusiastic than his English would enable
him to render, in the graphic language of their mountain land, that
our literature was the product of genius which sprung from the soul,
of aspirations which came from the heart. Was it said the Cymry
had no literature ? He could afford to treat with contempt an asser-
tion like this, when the genius of our ancestors shone forth with such
lustre in those time-honoured records which had called forth the
encomiums of men like Southey, the great English poet. The objects
of the three ancient institutions of this country had been correctly
stated by the chairman, when he said that they were, the first to
legislate, the second to administer the law, the third to lead the people
to the love and cultivation of literature. Such were the objects
originally, and such they continued to be, under different names, to
the present day. It was that principle inculcated by a writer of the
ancient records already referred to, which, in the tripartite form,
conveyed the maxims of wise men : " First make your laws, then
execute them, and, lastly, disseminate them for the welfare of man-
kind." Howel Dda was the first to embody the fundamental maxims
of law, in an accessible form, in this country, as might be seen from
the remains of his work, preserved in the Bodleian Library, at Oxford.
But, he (Mr. Richards) believed, they would agree with him when
he stated that Howel Dda was not the first who who had laid down
those great principles for the regulation of society. The original
author was in fact Dyvynwal Moelmud, mentioned as Moimutius by
the Latin authors, and who lived several centuries before Howel Dda.
As a person who had some knowledge of the literature of his own
country, and still better acquainted with the laws and institutions
which govern our common welfare, and as one in the habit almost
daily of administering those laws, he could say that the very best
statutes now in existence, and the best principles and maxims which
regulated our social relation, were all based upon the the common law
of Howel Dda and Dyvynwal. And how beautifully those principles
were set forth in the Triads how terse the language ! What depth
of thought and comprehensive meaning compressed into so small a
space ! Well had the minstrel replied when asked what would con-
stitute the perfection of a prince to govern the land, " Have an eye
to see nature, a heart to feel nature, and a resolution that dares follow
nature." Thus were conveyed to our countrymen those great prin-
ciples which govern the laws of England at the present day. The
first circumstance which had forcibly arrested his attention on coming
up the mountain to Ffestiniog this day, was the universally respectable
appearance of the labouring and the poorer classes of society. He
felt a degree of exultation on reflecting that he could point to so large
a number of his countrymen in their mountain home, so well con-
ducted, sober in their habits, ay, and gifted with genius too. That
which next struck him as especially gratifying, on entering this

MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 287

pavilion, was to find that they opened their proceedings by an
aspiration in the form of a hymn to the Most High. With such a
beginning all must prosper. Concurring with the remarks of Mr.
Owen, of Chester, as to the necessity of maintaining the simple style
of melody, without straining at effect, in congregational tunes, the
learned speaker referred to the subject of the prize just adjudicated
upon, viz., a premium for the best Essay on Geology, awarded to
Mr. Stephens, who was highly deserving of that reward. Having
the honour of being a member of the Geological Society of London,
he had, since his arrival at the meeting, examined this essay, as far as
the short time at his disposal permitted. From that examination he
was enabled to say that Mr. Stephens' production was highly credit-
able, and likely to prove of great advantage to the general Welsh
reader. His translation of names and terms applied to stones and
minerals was certainly very happy, conveying as they did the proper
signification in a familiar manner. Mr. Stephens was indeed entitled
to a much larger prize than that which he had received this day ; for
to convey anything like a useful popular essay on geology in such a
confined space must be a matter of considerable difficulty. He trusted
the author would prosecute his studies in this branch of science, and
continue in the work of enlightening his countrymen on the subject ;
for thus he might effect as much good for Wales as a Buckland or a
Sedgwick had done for other countries. Much had been said as to
the policy of perpetuating the Welsh language. To this they replied
teach us what language you please, we will try and learn it;
introduce amongst us whatever mode of civilization is best, we will
endeavour to promulgate it; show us a better system of social relation,
our children shall learn it ; but leave us our own language. That
they had preserved and would preserve in all vicissitudes, as had
been powerfully expressed by one more gifted than men generally of
the present day :

" Eu Ner a folant,

Eu hiaith a gadwant,

Eu tir a gollant

Ond Gwyllt Walia."

These sentiments found an echo in their hearts; and he felt their
influence as powerfully as any Welshman present. When he cherished*
this feeling, however, he always kept in mind the beautiful motto
he saw now before him, " Undeb a brawdgarwch." May that be the
rule of your conduct. Study the literature of your country, respect
one another, and the ministers of religion who labour amongst you.

OPENING OF THE TUMULI ON ASHY DOWN.

Mr. Beaumont has transmitted to us an account of the " Opening
of the Tumuli on Ashy Down." Inasmuch, however, as it has
already appeared in the Journal of the British Archaeological Asso-

288 MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES.

ciation, and does not bear immediately upon the object which the
Cambrian Institute has more especially in view, we respectfully
decline to insert it in our pages. Mr. B. accompanies the report
with these observations :

It relates to the obscure antiquity of the Isle of Wight, which,
with Kent, was subjugated by the " Ceadwalla " of Beda and the
" Saxon Chronicle," i. e. Cadwallader, sprung from a Gewissean
mother of the house of Cedric, and grandson of Cadvan, who was
installed in plenary possession of the West on the field of Bangor,
fatal to British freedom and religion. Stephen Eddius, who wrote
about thirty years after his death, terms Cadwallader " an exile of
noble race coming from Celtina and Ondred." (Herbert, Brit.
p. 162.) " Celtina " occurs in our municipal charters, as in that of
the city of London; there we have the privilege of "hunting in the
Celtina;" the word is allowed to mean woodland. Celtina and
Ondred is now the " Chiltern Hundreds." These particulars (see
however, Beda iv. 6, c. 12, c. 16, v. c. 7. Beda Epit. p. 278.
Chron. Sax. a. 685, 688. Ranulph Higd. 242, 3. Gal Malms.
Pone. 346) combine with the fact that the topographical names
throughout the Isle of Wight are peculiar, being neither Latin, Celtic,
nor Saxon, but of the same origin as those of all the southern and
open land (chalkland) in Britain, while the common parlance of the
people is purely Saxon, with many cases of Saxon words that have
become obsolete across the Solent.

The scene of the discoveries, Ashy Down, looks over the Culver
cliffs, on the east of the island, and is at the head of the high land
stretching across the island by Newport towards Freshwater. The
descent from Ashy Down is abrupt on both sides. The possession
of this point would imply a strategic base, thence to Newport (about
ten miles) threatening the British position Carisbrook, and com-
manding the half of the island, or " East Medina," and the richer
moiety, containing the majority of ancient sites, with the exception of
the famous " Castle of Separation " ("Caer-Seber," Aramitic) just
mentioned ; the present structure, as also the church, being apparently
early Saxon foundations; the latter of the eighth or ninth century.

West Medina has a large proportion of waste land, and at the
south is ft Mottistone," (Death stone,) the former syllable Aramitic.
At about two miles or less inland is a monument of great antiquity,
two stones, one erect, the other lying on the surface of the ground ;
speaking from recollection, they are from nine to twelve feet long,
and, perhaps, two feet wide, with less depth. The neighbouring
Brookdowns abound in burial caves, which are discovered in the
operations of digging for gravel on the side of the hill, they con-
tained skeletons.

I am disposed to consider the remains at Ashy Down as of the
Celtic camp, but require further information as to the nature or
description and site of the discoveries in that island to establish any
conclusions.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 289

ENTOMOLOGY. At the last meeting of the Entomological Society,
Mr. Evans, of Darley Abbey, sent for exhibition a new British
noctua, recently taken in North Wales, apparently the spaelotis
valesiaca (Auderegg).

THE LITERARY REMAINS OF CARNHUANAWC. The first volume
of this truly valuable work has reached us, but we can do no more
in the present Number than recommend it to the attentive perusal not
only of those who revere the memory of the learned and patriotic
author of " Hanes Cymru," but also of such as in general love the
literature of Wales. The book, which is admirably edited by Miss
Jane Williams, contains, 1. A Tour through Brittany; 2. An Essay
on the comparative merits of the Remains of Ancient Literature in
the Welsh, Irish and Gaelic Languages, and their value in elucidating
the ancient History, and the mental cultivation of the inhabitants of
Britain, Ireland and Gaul ; 3. An Essay on the Influence which the
Welsh Traditions have had on the Literature of Europe; 4. A Critical
Essay on the History of the Language and Literature of Wales, from
the time of Gruffydd ap Cynan and Meilyr, to that of Sir Gruffydd
Llwyd and Gwilym Ddu ; 5. An Historical Account of the Statuta
Wallias, or the Statutes of Rhuddlan, by which Wales was annexed
to England, all important subjects. It is printed in Mr. Rees'
best style, and adorned with several graphic illustrations. We shall
recur to the work again.

ANCIENT GLACIERS OF NORTH WALES. At the recent meeting
of the British Association for the advancement of science, among
other papers of interest the following was read, " On the Thickness
of the Ice of the Ancient Glaciers of North Wales, and other Points
bearing on the Glaciation of the Country," by Professor Ramsay:
Professor Ramsay stated his belief that there had been two sets of
glaciers in North Wales since the ground assumed its present general
form. The first was on a very large scale, followed by a slow sub-
sidence of the whole country to the extent of 2300 feet, until only
the tops of the highest- hills remained uncovered by the sea ; and
when the mountains again rose, a set of smaller glaciers was formed.
The thickness of the ice in existing Swiss glaciers was known to be
very great ; in the Grindelwald it had been ascertained to amount to
700 feet, and in other instances was probably thicker. The observa-
tions of Agassiz, and Professor James Forbes, on the height to which
grooved and polished surfaces span up the sides of Alpine valleys,
had led to the conclusion that the ice had once been much more
extensive ; and that in the glacier of the Aar, for example, it must
have amounted to 2000 feet. The same method of observation had
been applied to North Wales ; and it had been ascertained that in the
pass of Llanberis, the grooves and roundings of the rocks extended to
a height of 1300 feet above the present bottom of the valley. The

VOL. I. 2 P

290 MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES.

drifted deposits which overlie these rounded surfaces must have
formed during the slow depression which followed, and the glaciers
must still have existed, since these deposits, though marine, are still
of a moraine character. The cold climate continued during the
period of depression, and for some time after it; and there was
beautiful evidence in the side valleys of the gradual decrease of the
glaciers until they died away amongst the higher mountains, in the
form of moraines stretching across the valleys, one within the other.
The scratches made by the first set of glaciers passed down the
valleys ; those of the smaller glaciers crossed the first obliquely.

AGRICULTURAL PRIZE FUND. We trust this attempt on the part
of the Cambrian Institute will meet with the support we believe it to
merit, as it will tend to remedy a glaring defect in the objects of
nearly all the existing agricultural societies, as by them but rarely
have any prizes been given for the best cultivated farms. (See ante
pp. 98 and 204). The Treasurer, J. Joseph, Esq., F.S.A., Brecon,
will gladly receive donations.

WELSH MSS. Antiquaries will be rendering us a service by
furnishing particulars of any unpublished MSS. of importance they
may know of, in order that they may be given in our pages. It is
much to be desired that a list of Welsh MSS., as complete as possible,
should be compiled.

CALDY. Upon this island there are some very interesting remains,
amongst them an early inscribed stone, now built into the south
wall of the chapel, in the vicinity of which is an old burial-ground,
where, from the description of a labourer, several stone coffins have
been found $ and, upon the adjacent island of St. Margaret, a number
of Roman coins have been picked up. Can any of our readers furnish
us with notices or particulars of the early history of these islands.

291

REVIEWS.

GRAMMATICA CELTICA. E Monumentis Vetustis, tarn Hibernicae
Linguae quam Britannicae, Dialect! Cambricae, Cornicae, Armo-
ricae, nee non e Gallicae Priscae Reliquis. Construxit J. C.
ZEUSS, Philos. Dr. Histor. Prof. London : Williams & Norgate.
1853.

We promised in our last to give a more extended notice of this
work, and we now beg to redeem our pledge. Truly it is an un-
paralleled acquisition to Celtic literature, whether we regard the
importance of its object the plan on which it has been conducted
or the consummate skill and sound learning which are displayed in its
compilation. Hitherto the different dialects of the Celtic language
have been separately studied, and their vocabularies compiled with
no mutual reference one to the other ; hence many an etymological
point, whether in Irish, Armorican, or Cymraeg, was left in obscurity,
or misrepresented, which a thorough knowledge of the general subject
might easily have explained. Professor Zeuss has adopted the right
method ; and he has accomplished for the Celtic what Diez has done
for the Romanic, and Miklosich for the Slavonic languages, following
the example of the great Jacob Grimm. He divides the Celtic
language into two general forms, the Hibernian and the British, the
former being productive of the modern Irish and Gaelic, whilst the
Cambrian, Cornish and Armorican are considered as the legitimate
dialects of the other. He shows that the ancient Gallican bore a
greater affinity with the British than with the Hibernian form, and
instances the words Litana, Litavicus, as being nearer the British
litan (llydan) and litau (Llydaw) than the Irish lethan and letka.
Again, such words as Petuaria, petorritum, pempedula, Penninus
deus, Penninum jugum, Epona, Eporedici, Epomanduodurum, are
more conformable to the structure of the Cimbric petuar, pimp f penn,
ep, the root of epaul or ebaul, than with the Irish language, which
substitutes c or ch for our p, as in cethir, coic, cenn, and ech.

Our author does not consider that the S in Suessiones and Suanetes,
rather than the Cimbric H, implies any Irish affinity, because he
regards the latter as of a comparatively late date, adopted since the
departure of the Romans. He derives this view from the circumstance
that the Romans called that Sabrina which we now call Hafren.
It may, however, be worthy of consideration whether, in giving it that
form, the Romans had not rather a regard to the peculiar structure of
their own language, which requires the S where the Greeks and the
Cymry use the aspirate, than that they should copy it exactly as used

292 REVIEWS.

by the last named people. Nennius, who was a Welshman, very
naturally calls it Habren.

Other points of similarity are noticed as existing between the
ancient Gallican and the Cymraeg ; such as the passing of v or w
into gu or gw in both ; whereas, the Irish takes they.- certain termi-
nations of words peculiar to the British appearing also in the Gallican,
e.g. en or on in such words as ye\a.aoviv, O7co/3tr?v, and Aballon. The
particles giver, gur, gor, of which there are no vestiges in Irish, being
found in the Gallican terms Vercingetorix, Vertragus, Vernemetum,
Vertigernus. The name Caractacus, which occurs in a Gallican
inscription, is much nearer in form and sound to the British Caratauc
or CaradoCy than the Irish Carthach. These particulars are very
important in an ethnological point of view, and may aid the historian
considerably in ascertaining the relative sources and progresses of the
early tribes of the countries to which they refer.

Professor Zeuss very properly takes his examples from the most
ancient records, and retains their orthography. His principal Cam-
brian materials are the following : 1. Fragments of the grammarian
Eutychius, with Cymric interlinear glosses ; of Ovid's Art of Love,
with similar illustrations ; the Alphabet of Nemnivus ; and a certain
document on weights and. measures, in which Cimbrie words are
mixed with Latin; all of which occur in an old MS. in the Bodleian
Library at Oxford, apparently of the end of the eighth, or the begin-
ning of the ninth, century. 2. Another Oxford MS. with a Latin
and Cymric vocabulary, ancient, but not quite as old as the preceding.
3. The Book of Lichfield, in which several old grants to the Church
of Llandaff have been registered. 4. A Vocabulary of the ninth
century, preserved at Luxemburgh. 5. The Liber Landavensis. 6.
The Venedotian Code of Laws; and, 7. The Llyfr Coch o Hergest.

Too much praise cannot be awarded to the Professor for his un-
tiring zeal and diligence in bringing the glosses to light, and making
them available for his purpose. He must have met with some
difficulty in distinguishing the particular dialect in which each was
written ; but the result of his inquiry has been very satisfactory. He
was able to identify the Cambrian character of the Luxemburgh gloss
by means of the participial termination etic, in the words hantertoetic
(gl. semigilatis), and dodocetic (gl. inlatam).

Our author admits it as a principle sanctioned by Bopp, the
Grimms, and other great German philologists, that all manuscripts,
not being copies from a dead language, but editions for popular use
of favourite works in still living languages, cannot be regarded as
accurate transcripts of the original work, but as modified forms of the
same, adapted to the popular taste by alterations required by the
mutable nature of all spoken tongues.

In that case we know not what was the orthography in which the
poems of Taliesin and Aneurin, and the Laws of Hywel Dda, origi-
nally appeared, as these are not to be found at present in manuscripts
of an earlier date than the twelfth century. The glosses in question

REVIEWS. 293

will go far towards enabling us to discover the primitive orthography,
and to restore our ancient literature to its original form. We, there-
fore, most sincerely re-echo the aspiration of the Professor " It is
mightily to be wished that learned men should diligently search after
glosses of the same character, which may be still lurking unknown
among the manuscript books of the Continent and British Islands,
and publish them if found."

Archdeacon Williams wishes to exempt the " Liber Landavensis "
from the operation of this principle; and herein we are inclined to
agree with him, on the ground that, " as the compiler was a church-
man, and interested in the possessions of the see, it is not likely that
he should have altered the character of documents on which the
security of those possessions depended. Wherefore," as he adds, " we
have in these ancient charters probable specimens of the popular
language and orthography of the 'Guenuison/ 'the men of Gwent' or
t Venusini ' of that day the ancient Silures."

The " Grammatica " is divided into six books, in each of which the
different dialects are handled alternately, or else are interwoven as the
nature of the subject requires. The first is on Sounds; the second
treats of the Noun and Pronoun ; the third of the Verb ; the fourth
of the Particles; the fifth is taken up with. Derivation and Composi-
tion ; the sixth with Construction. An Appendix is added, which
contains specimens from the different manuscripts used in the com-
pilation of the work.

We subjoin an extract :

" UN (=hibern. vet. oen, p. 125). Cambr. : un o tri ederyn (unus e tribus
volucribus) Leg. 1. 10. 12. Ny dyivawt nar gwr nac vn or morynyon vn geir
^vrthyf(nou dixit nee vir nee una e puellis unum verbum mihi) Mab. 1. 5. kymer
dy uarch un (sume unum equorum tuorum) Mab. 2. 53.

" Composita : pont vnpren (pons una arbore factus) Leg. 2. 6. 42. uribenn (uni-
cum caput, monarcha, dominus,) uribennes (domina) Mab. fq. unllofyawc (una
manu prseditus) Mab. 2. 214. unllygeitawc (monophthalmus) Mab. 1. 269. Ita et
Mab. 2. 240 : braivtunuam (frater unius matris, ex eadem matre).

" Corn, un, on et Armor, un, vng, hod. eun, eunn, eur, cum substantivis occurrit,
sed in usu lat. unus aliqitits, articuli scilicet indefmiti (p. 239, 242). In positione
absoluta non constructum cum substantive numerale auctam formam exhibet in
utraque dialecto. Corn. : a thyghow liag a gleth onon bub tenewen (a dextera et a
sinistra, unus in quovis latere sedebat) Pass. 242, 3. Christ a warnyas dre onan
bos treason guris (Christus indicavit per unum aliquem fieri proditionem) 42, 3.
an etheivon onan (Judaeorum aliquis) 81, 1. Armor. : ez duy vnan an sent (veniet
unus sanctorum) Buh. 4, 6." p. 322.

The following is a specimen of the way in which the Professor
explains the glosses :

" boutig sine dubio compos, cum subst. tig, domus, adhuc exliibente vetustam
mediam. In hodierna lingua est beudy, domus vaccarum, et bawdy, domus ster-
corum, latrina; vox prior glossoe bou, obvia jam in vetustis nominibus BovovtV<)ae
fl. hibern. ap Ptol., Bovinca nom. vici ap. Bolland. (Mai. 2. 654; cf. p. 67), hod.
hibern. bo vaccam significans, primitus utriusque generis fuisse videtur, ut lat. bos,
gr. /3oe. estid, sedile, ut sub II. estid, theatrum ; in Mab. eisted, sedere hod.
eiste, eistedd, sedere, eisteddle, locus sedendi, sedile. credam, vado ; hodie quoquo

294 REVIEWS.

creiddiato, vadere, pervadere, e. gr. per aquam, adj. creiddiawg, perraeans, pene-
trans, subst. creiddyn, terra in lacum sive mare porrecta. rit, in vocab. rid, hod.
rhyd (cf. p. 103). cannat, vas, vadis, ut iterum raox infra sub 8 b . In Mab. kennad,
hod. cenad, significat missum, legatum (cf. p. 806), unde cenadtoriaetk, cennad-
ivriaeth, missio, cennadwriaeth dda, evengelium." p. 1079.

In the name of our countrymen we beg to thank Professor Zeuss
for this invaluable work a work which no Irish, Breton, or Welsh
scholar should be without.

SUGGESTIONS ON THE ANCIENT BRITONS. In three Parts. By
G. D. BARBER, A.M., commonly called G. D. BARBER BEAU-
MONT. London : J. R. Smith. 1854.

Our readers will easily infer from the papers on the " Wand of
Moses," which have appeared in our pages, what the drift and style
of the " Suggestions " are. The author has, we understand, spent
no less than ten years upon his subject; and, whatever may be
thought of his conclusions, there can be but one opinion as to the
research and learning displayed in his book. There is not much
method, however, shown in the arrangement of his materials, and
of this deficiency the author seems fully conscious. " The present
work/' he observes, "is to be received as a collection of notes, to be
added to and better arranged by the qualified reader. The most
fastidious will forego the usual desiderata of style and composition,
and pass over the want of an introduction for its author, when he
considers that the carrying out to completeness the suggested inquiry
would transcend the power or compass of an individual, however
high in any rank of literature." (Preface.) When these disjecta
membra are known to occupy no less than 448 octavo pages, it will
appear evident at once that it is morally impossible for us to give
any analysis of the work.

We copy the following passage, inasmuch as it is one of the com-
paratively few with which we in the main agree, and is likely,
moreover, to interest our readers, being on a subject that bears upon
the social and domestic character of their ancestors :

" And can we leave the subject of female purity where Caesar left it, to reproach ?
The Cynmry wrote no commentaries, made no book. The ex-parte evidence of a
stranger who had work on his hands to secure his fleet for the return voyage, and
to find a highway for his legions through the weald of Kent and Sussex, receiving
information we know not through what medium, this requires sifting, though the
palliation of the subject by Selden amount to an admission of the charge.
Caesar may have been imposed on by the Belgian who interpreted in his flying
camp, and the great Revolutionist had something less distasteful than his usurpation
to fling into the circles of Roman gossip. But have the monks, in their bitter
hostility to the British Pelagians, reiterated the charge ? Have the jealous genea-
logies of the Britons or Welsh admitted the doubt, which the custom imputed to
their ancestors must have induced, blotting their escutcheon ? Let us try this by a
fact. To be ' off with the old love before you are on with the new * is carried out
to the extent of * repeated vows/ or a change of husbands, by the Nairs, Hindus

REVIEWS. 295

on the Malabar coast. The offspring of a Nair belongs to the female, and is heir
to the uncles instead of to the direct line. Caesar says the offspring of the Cynmry
belonged to the male parent under certain conditions. Such an addition seems to
confirm in giving circumstance to the main fact. But it is a cold and an incon-
sistent policy. The Gypsy state, the Romi or husbands have held together beyond
the date of many empires by the one tie and principle of conjugal attachment,
without another redeeming trait. The Nairs show some 'reason in the madness' of
their socialism. The Mormon is building up a system on the one imputed by Caesar
to the Cynmry, but he is carrying it out beyond the pale of society ; it is simply an
absurdity to suppose a case Caesar says the children of the concubine of ten
belonged to number one in the series of paramours which had ten to one chances
against its establishment, whether we consider the power of maintenance or the
will of the abandonment of offspring. The circumstance Caesar couples with his
fact is just the weakest point in the case, the rule being a step-father to the child
of his own wife, as the least probable condition for the maintenance of offspring
and the development of a race or nation. Caesar says the population of Britain
was extraordinarily dense, the houses equally abundant, and ten men to every
hearth. We know besides that the British maidens followed their compatriots to
the defence of the frontier. This argues no deficiency of the female portion of the
community. We know that the Britons of this island and of Brittany were one
race ; yet the custom in question was never imputed to the Britons, nor did Caesar
speak so bad a thing of them, his ' Veneti.' That people were bold antagonists of
the first Caesar at sea, and we know that their race in Britain were always sailors,
but we cannot imagine that some women of Portsmouth then were what the
wandering profession of our marine from distant sections make or find them now.

" Caesar's information is gathered in Kent. There the Gavelkind land had a
peculiar form of descent, to all equally, this is not peculiarly British, it agrees
with the Roman law ; so that it throws no light on the previous evidence, nor
affects the comment. The idea was a social solecism, or a case against society, an
outrage against property, but a greater departure from the feelings of mankind,
whether in the civilized or savage state. Instead of a peaceful, Caesar's Britons
would have been a disordered community; instead of populous, deficient in
numbers ; instead of a race of untold antiquity, they could but have been an
offslip, shed yesterday by a stock well quit of them, and to-morrow worn out,
lost, and forgotten. The story is an imputation, not on Caesar's credibility, but
on bis feelings as a man. He was labouring to surprise Rome by his tales, not
less than by his achievements ; in the latter he was unscrupulous of means, in the
former unpardonably careless of the evidence." pp. 137-9.

Had Mr. B. being sufficiently acquainted with our early records he
might have added, in support of his argument, the positive testimony
of the Moelmutian Code, in which the sacredness of marriage is
strongly insisted on, and regarded as the very bond of society.

The author's ignorance of Welsh has evidently led him to several
erroneous conclusions, which, otherwise, we doubt not, he would
have avoided or modified. " Mr. Herbert's translations," he remarks,
" comprise the whole of the present writer's information on the Welsh
archaic literature." (Introduction.} A pity that. Herbert's is a
wild and unsafe school. Had Mr. B. been capable of judging for
himself, he would never have spoken of the necessity of an A ramitic
key to open the treasures of Cimbric literature.

296 REVIEWS.

THE FOUNTAINS OF BRITISH HISTORY EXPLORED. London:
Nichols. 1852.

We transcribe into our pages the short preface of this little volume,
as it will illustrate at once the object and character of the work.

" It is the humour of the present age to discredit Historic evidence which has
hitherto passed unquestioned. The object of this little work is directly the reverse.
It aims at making the most of the scanty information which we possess respecting
the most obscure period of British History ; not by an indiscriminate reception
of every particular presented to us, but by an earnest and honest endeavour to
separate truth from fiction, throwing nothing aside without critical examination,
and retaining nothing which will not bear a searching scrutiny. Much labour has
been bestowed on the compilation of Nennius, from a conviction that, if that
authority is altogether discarded, the early Anglo-Saxon Annals will present a
blank, Very pleasant to theorists and system-mongers, but little conducive to the
information of the ordinary inquirer. Other materials have not been neglected,
but the investigation has been made as complete as possible, as regards the limited
period over which it extends. The title adopted may be objected to as promising
a larger scope ; and, indeed, the original design was to include the Roman, as well
as the early Saxon, period : nor was that plan relinquished from any indisposition
for the task of compilation, but rather from a doubt of the perseverance of readers
to wade through the accumulated mass."

We will only add that the author has executed his task with great
judgment and ability.

ANCIENT AND MODERN DENBIGH, with Illustrations, &c. Denbigh:
J. Williams.

Two parts of this work have made their appearance, and we are
bound to say that, if the remaining numbers continue to exhibit the
same research as that which characterizes its commencement, the
work, when completed, will be one of the most perfect of its kind
that it has ever been our good fortune to see. We sincerely trust
that the able and enterprizing publisher will meet with due encourage-
ment in the prosecution of his task.

THE

CAMBRIAN JOURNAL,

ALBAN MD M ARTHAN.

(WINTER SOLSTICE.)

MANUFACTURES, MINES, &c.

THE INDUSTRIAL CAPACITIES OF SOUTH WALES.
BY JELINGER SYMONS,

BARRISTER-AT-LAW.

CHAPTER I.

The Coal Bed ; its chief divisions. Estimate of its extent and bulk.
Anthracite; its qualities : Iron smelted by it : Iron works in the
district: geological features of it. Mr. Machrvorth's opinion of
the pits there.

THE future of South Wales, in the industrial and com-
mercial history of this kingdom, bids fair to eclipse the
like development of its Australian namesake, and even
that of the sister colonies. This will arise not only from
the wonderful amount of its mineral wealth, but from the
opening of Milford Haven, less even from the enormous
germs of metallic manufacture, with which the whole
VOL. i. 2 Q

298 THE INDUSTRIAL CAPACITIES

district is in labour, than from the new channel of traffic
which is about, not only to put its dormant wealth in
motion, but to attract and facilitate no small part of the
commerce of the world.

It is well to bring into more permanent notice these
elements of legitimate wealth and wholesome enterprize
at home, when the tendencies of emigration and the
regards of speculative industry are so much misdirected
by the fascination of the gold fields. Wisdom, apt for
present example, may be found on this subject in Funjas
St. Fond's Travels in England and Scotland :

" The English," he says, " providentially disappointed in their
hopes of finding very productive Mines of Gold and Silver, the
nurses of national lethargy and ostentatious poverty, had begun
now, and perhaps long before, to work the infinitely more valu-
able mines of Coal, the possession of which, together with the
knowledge of the many important manufactures dependent upon
them, have in later times raised the natives in Great Britain to
the rank of the first manufacturing nation in the world, and
given them a sufficient command of the mines of gold and silver,
wrought by the slaves of those who pride themselves on being
lords of the most copious mines of the precious metals, by which
industry and enterprize have been banished from among them-
selves, while they have been animated by them among those
nations who are under the happy necessity of giving valuable
commodities in exchange for them."

The past progress of South Wales, even during the
last ten years, has been wonderfully great, and affords
some earnest of the future. Its natural riches consist
entirely in its minerals and its harbours ; nature has done
little for its soil, and education still less for its people ;
whilst art is only beginning to give activity to its re-
sources, and importance to its topographical position.

The source of its productive power is its coal. The
beds extend from St. Bride's Bay on the west, to Ponty-
pool on the east, reposing chiefly on strata of carboni-
ferous limestone.

The whole formation takes the form of a vast basin, of
which the bowl runs longitudinally in a curve, rising
alike to the north and to the south, and also to the east,

OF SOUTH WALES.

299

at that extremity of the basin in Monmouthshire. Each
bed of coal, on the north and on the south, crops out at
distances proportionate to its depth beneath the surface ;
the inclination of the strata being much more rapid on
the south than on the north, the difference amounting, in
many parts of the basin, to from 45 to 10 degrees.

This immense bed is divided into two parts by Car-
marthen Bay. Its average breadth, north and south,
is about 15 miles, and its length about 80. Its area has
been variously calculated at from 1045 square miles,
according to Mr. Richardson's estimate, from Knapp's
and the Ordnance maps, down to 750 square miles,
which is undoubtedly too little.

The coal consists first of two main series or veins, the
first called the upper or rock veins, the latter and lower
the lime veins, separated by a band of " Pennant Rock/'
a coarse gritstone, usually schistose.

These are its great vertical divisions. Longitudinally
it is divided into anthracite or stone coal on the north-
west, and bituminous or free burning on the south-east.
The quantities of each of these qualities of coal are thus
divided by Mr. Richardson:

Bituminous

Anthracite Total

Coal.

Square Miles.

Monmouthshire .

Square Miles.

110

Square Miles.

110

Breconshire ....

78 I 78

Glamorganshire.

452

536

Carmarthenshire

155

240

Pembrokeshire..

Total

717

328

1045

A general description of the great Welsh coal field will
be found in the following memoranda, recently furnished
to me by William Chambers, jun., Esq., of Llanelly
House :

" The Welsh coal field contains sixty seams of coal. It is pro-
bable that a great portion of that which is obtainable by level has
been worked, and pits varying from 50 to 200 fathoms are now

300 THE INDUSTRIAL CAPACITIES

in operation ; there is no doubt that this second series of working
supplies the demand for coal at a cheaper rate than the first,
and as discoveries in science become applicable to the steam
engine or other motive power, it is not too much to predict that
each succeeding series will contribute its supply at a rate cheaper,
or at any rate as cheap, as that which preceded it. The districts
near the mountains, the very outbreak or crop of the veins, have
been worked long ago, beyond the memory of man, by diverting
rivers to assist in removing the surface, and denuding them. As
steam is daily becoming a more important element in our com-
mercial navy, attention is naturally turned to that fuel which will
perform the greatest work and occupy the least space in stowage.
Anthracite is admitted by all to fulfil these requirements, and
needs but some modification in its use to rectify the defect of
slow combustion, that is, if it really be a defect to possess that
quality naturally, and by its peculiar over-charge of the essential
element of combustion, carbon. It is so formed as to prevent
the waste occasioned by ignorant and prejudiced stokers, and
brings about that condition in the engine-room, ash-pit and fire,
which all who endeavour to emulate the good example of the
Cornishmen are anxious to establish. If perfect combustion, no
resistance, absence of smoke, and one-eighth or one-tenth more
water evaporated are not sufficient inducements, it is still com-
petent to us to make anthracite burn faster by artificial means.

" Welsh coal is all more or less anthracitic, and the predilection
for the quality which approaches to anthracite, is evidenced by
the demand and the price obtained for what is known in the
market as ' free burning ' or ' steam coal.' The excellence of
iron made with anthracite ensures a ready sale at the highest
rates. Manufacturers of rails know well its value, and how to
economize its use by rolling it into that part which requires the
greatest strength. One tin-plate worker has become a manu-
facturer of anthracite iron, that he may ensure an article wholly
pure, without the mixture of inferior iron."

The anthracite is hardest at the western and softens
as it approaches its eastern limit, near the valley of
Neath, where the basin itself attains its greatest depth of
700 fathoms.

It is a singular fact, lately discovered, that the same
vein is often anthracitic to the north and bituminous to
the south ; the identity of such veins being fully esta-
blished both by their dimensions and relative positions to
the adjacent strata. The transition must take place in

OF SOUTH WALES. 301

the depth of the basin, below the reach of all existing
shafts. It is also held, with every probability, that a
metamorphic process is still converting the one quality
into the other. In fact the entire difference is chemically
constituted by the different heat to which each side of
the basin has been exposed, and the relative degree of
gaseous matter each portion of the coal contains.

George Owen, the antiquarian of Pembrokeshire, who
in 1595 wrote a history of his county, long afterwards
published in the Cambrian Register, gives a minute
description of anthracite, of which this is an extract :

" It is called stone cole, for the hardness thereof, and is burned
in chimnies and grates of iron ; and being once kindled, giveth a
greater heate than light, and delighteth to burn in darke places ;
it servith alsoe for smithes to worke with, though not soe well as
the other kinde of cole, called the running cole, for that, when it
first kindleth, it melteth and runneth as wax, and groweth into
one clodd, whereas this stone cole burneth aparte, and never
clyngeth together. This kinde of cole is not noysome for the
smoake, nor nothing soe lothsome for the smell, as the ring cole is,
whose smoake annoyeth all things neare it, as fyne linen, men's
handes that warm themselves by it ; but this stone cole yieldeth
in a manner noe smoake after it is kindled, and is soe pure, that
fine camerick and lawne is usually dried by it, without any stayne
or blemish, and is a most proved good dryer of malt, therein
passing wood, feme, or strawe. This cole for the rare properties
thereof was carried out of this countrey, to the citie of London,
to the late Lord Treasurer Burley, by a gentleman of experience,
to shewe how farre the same excelled that of Newcastell, where-
with the citie of London is servid ; and I think if the passage
were not soe tedious, there would be greate use made of it."

The qualities of anthracite, as a fuel, have thus been
long known and appreciated. As the approaching demand
for steam -ship coal at Milford Haven renders this subject
of peculiarly great practical importance, I subjoin the
results of a careful analysis of the coal near Saundersfoot,
Pembrokeshire, made, in 1850, by Dr. Frankland i 1

" The sample of coal," he says, " sent to me for analysis and
investigation is remarkably bright, breaks with an irregular,
sometimes serrated, fracture, and often presents a beautifully

1 Printed by R. Mason, Tenby, 1850.

302

THE INDUSTRIAL CAPACITIES

fibrous structure at the broken surfaces; a large portion of it
exhibits a stratified appearance, with thin irregular layers of soft
and friable carbon, much resembling pounded wood charcoal.
It is the most perfect anthracite with which we are acquainted,
the per-centage of carbon being much higher, and that of hydro-
gen considerably lower, than has been observed in any coal
hitherto examined ; the specific gravity being also greater than
that of any submitted to experiment in the recent researches con-
nected with the Admiralty Coals Investigation; the mean of
three experiments made with the coal in its natural condition
giving the number 1*402, and when the air was extracted from
its pores by allowing it to stand some time under water in vacuo,
the specific gravity even reached 1*4119.

"The practical experiments on the evaporative power, &c.,
were conducted in exactly the same manner, and with the same
apparatus, as the extensive series of observations on the principal
coals of the United Kingdom, made at the command of the
Admiralty."

After detailing minutely the results of the experiments
made, Dr. Frankland gives a comparative summary of
the four cardinal qualities which fit coal for steamers,
applied to several kinds in the kingdom, from which I
deduce the following striking contrast :

Name of Coal.

Evaporative
Power, or No.
of Ibs. of Water
Evaporated by 1
Ib. of Coal.

Cubic Eeet
occupied by 1
Ton.

Cohesive Power
of Coal, (per-
centage of
Large Coals.)

Lbs. of Clinker
per Ton of Coal.

7*4

33*85

52*7

23*0

Pontypool

8*04

40-216

57*5

20*9

Dalkeith (Jewel Seam) . . .
WalWnd Elgin

7*10

8-67

44*98
41*02

85*7
64*0

62*2
14-6

Nealh Abbey

9*65

37*77

50*0

19-2

8-65

44*35

78-5

17*0

Original Hartlev

6*98

45-62

80-0

10*1

Harwell Coal Co.'s )
Steamboat Wallsend ]
Cowpen and Sydney 5
Hartley j

7*85
7*02

45-25
46-76

79*5
74-0

9*8
3*7

Bonville's Pembroke- )
shire Coal 3

9*39

41*29

77-0

7-2

11 There are four points," Dr. Frankland adds, "connected with
this anthracite which particularly recommend it as a steam coal :
]st, Its high evaporative power; 2nd, The very small quantity
of sulphur which it contains, and its entire freedom from iron

OF SOUTH WALES. 303

pyrites (metallic cinder) ; 3rd, The very small amount of ash
and clinker ; and 4/A, Its requiring no stoking, and the entire
absence of smoke during its combustion. These last are such
important considerations, that although there are several bitumi-
nous coals which have, according to the Admiralty experiments,
nearly the same evaporative power when well stoked, yet in
practice would be found very greatly inferior, because it is im-
possible to get the stoker to take the requisite trouble ; this coal
however places the manufacturer independent as it were of his
stokers, who, even by the most careless firing, could scarcely
perceptibly reduce its evaporative power.

" The constant increase of evaporative power with the increase
of draught, as exhibited in the foregoing experiments, indicates
that a still higher result would be obtained with a stronger
draught, such as an ordinary steam shaft usually commands ; but
this is by no means the case with bituminous coals, which frequently
give much better results with a slow than w 7 ith a quick draught.

"In addition to these advantages are the economic weight,
(space occupied by one ton,) and great cohesive power possessed
by this coal, which renders it a very valuable fuel for sea-going
vessels, whilst its composition and freedom from iron pyrites
furnish a certain guarantee for its non-liability to spontaneous
combustion.

" The non-adhesive nature of the little clinker formed, and the
small amount of sulphur contained in this coal, seem to indicate
that the bars of the furnace in which it is burnt will rarely require
renewing. On this account it would probably be found an
admirable substitute for coke in the locomotive department;
my own experiments, made in a wind furnace, prove that the
intensity of the heat produced by its combustion is much greater
than that procured by coke under the same conditions, and its
high specific gravity would prevent its being carried into and
blocking up the tubes, as is the case with coke ; whilst a com-
parison of its evaporative power with that of the only specimen
of coke tested in the recent Admiralty Coals Investigation is
greatly in its favour, for 1 ton 4 cwt. (nearly) of the coke would
be required to do the work of 1 ton of this anthracite."

For further comparison of this anthracite with other
coals analyzed by the Admiralty, and also with the south-
east Welsh coal afterwards stated, I extract the following
results from Dr. Frankland's paper, from which the re-
markable purity of this anthracite, and its comparative
freedom from useless and noxious ingredients, is further
seen :

304

THE INDUSTRIAL CAPACITIES

Table showing the per-centage composition of Coals, as found by

direct analysis.

Name of Coal.

Carbon.

Hydrogen.

Nitrogen.

Sulphur.

Ash.

Penlrefelin

85-52

3-72

Trace

6-09

Pontvpool

80-70

5-66

1-35

2-39

5-52

Dalkeith (Jewel Seam)
Wallsend Elgin

74-55
76-09

5-14
5-22

10
1-41

33
1-53

4-37

10-70

Neath Abbey

89-04

5-05

1-07

1-60

355

Newcastle Hartley

81-82

5-50

1-28

1-69

7-15

Original Hartley

81-18

5-56

1-44

3-08

Haswell Coal Co.'s Steam >
Wallsend i

83-76

5-31

1-06

1-21

5-94

Cowpen and Sydney Hartley
Bonville's Pembrokeshire i
Coal \

82-20
94-18

5-10
2-99

1-69
50

71
59

2-33

" In conclusion," he says, " I should recommend this fuel in
all cases where intense heat, high evaporative power, and freedom
from sulphur, ash, clinker and smoke are required. It combines,
in a high degree, all the conditions (except the first) which render
a coal valuable for the Navy, stated in the first Report ' On the
Coals suited to the Steam Navy/ (p. 17,) viz.,

" ' 1 . The fuel should burn so that steam may be raised in
a short period ; in other words, it should be able to produce a
quick action.

"'2. It should possess high evaporative power, that is, be
capable of converting much water into steam with a small con-
sumption of coal.

" ' 3. It should not be bituminous, lest so much smoke be
generated as to betray the position of ships of war when it is
desirable that this should be concealed.

" ' 4. It should possess considerable cohesion of its particles,
so that it may not be broken into too small fragments by the
constant attrition which it may experience in the vessel.

" ' 5. It should combine a considerable density with such me-
chanical structure that it may easily be stowed away in small
space ; a condition which, in coals of equal evaporative values,
often involves a difference of more than 20 per cent.

" ' 6. It should be free from any considerable amount of sul-
phur, and should not progressively decay ; both of which circum-
stances render it liable to spontaneous combustion/ "

It has been reserved, moreover, for the enterprize of our
own times to apply anthracite, not only to the purposes
of the steam-ship, but also to that of smelting iron. Mr.
Booker, M.P. for Herefordshire, in his well-known speech

OF SOUTH WALES.

305

at the Swansea Meeting of the British Association, thus re-
cords the first application of anthracite to this purpose :
" In the anthracite districts of our mineral basin, the improve-
ments effected by the late Mr. Crane, and the application by him
of hot blast to the smelting of iron with anthracite coal, were
acknowledged certainly not more gratefully than they deserved
to be, by those who are interested in the mineral productions of
the anthracite districts, wherein the deposit of iron-stone or ore is
enormous, but its reduction with its accompanying fuel almost new."

In smelting iron, the disadvantages are its extreme
density, and the necessity, in consequence, of using the
hot blast, whereas the cold blast suffices with the bitumi-
nous coal. In 1835 there were only four blast furnaces
in the anthracite district, three at Yniscedwyn and one
at Abercarne. The latter furnace was built several years
previously, but the scheme failed, and the furnace was
left idle till a recent period. The fuel used at Yniscedwyn,
till 1836, was coke, imported. In that year anthracite
coal was first successfully adopted at these works, since
which time the anthracite iron works have increased
according to the following table :

Name of Works.

Where situated.

a
h

.^
3

I 3

Estimated make
of Pig Iron in
i853.

Yniscedwyn Iron Works
Abercarne

Breconshire ....
Ditto

6
1
11
2
2

2
2
2
3
2

1
6
1
1

14,500
none
13,100
none
4,146

3,000

1,885
4,699
none
4,273
1,101

15,000
2,500
20,0002
2,000
2,500

7,500

m . 3

5,000
none
do.
do.

Ystalyfera Works

Glamorganshire
Ditto .

Banwen Works ^ .

Onllwyn

Ditto

Abernant <

Vale of Neath,
Glamorganshire
Ditto

Penallt

Carmarthenshire
Ditto

Trimsuran

Gwendraeth

Ditto

Saundersfoot

Pembrokeshire. .

46,704

54,500

* Coke is now used at these works milled with anthracite.
3 Preparing to go to work.

VOL. I. 2

306 THE INDUSTRIAL CAPACITIES

The geological features of the district are remarkable.
The western or Pembrokeshire division, containing about
73 square miles, which, like the South Wales bed, pre-
serves the basin character, but is of a more oblong shape;
the southern boundary, towards which it dips, being
formed for nearly 10 miles by trap dykes. It is not only
intersected by numerous faults (three main ones dividing
the winnings into as many chief classes), but the con-
tortions of the whole bed are excessive in some places,
entirely inverting the strata in the culm beds on the sea
margins, so that the seams, which rarely exceed two feet,
are dislocated and crumpled in all directions, bespeaking
an unusual violence of disturbing forces. The whole bed
is very shallow. The extreme thickness of the whole of
the measures probably does not exceed 600 yards. They
correspond with and belong to the lowest of the three
great divisions of coal measures in South-west England,
and are therefore of the oldest coal formations. They
rest almost entirely on sandstone. All the adjacent and
intervening strata, including the shale, are, like the .coal,
peculiarly hard and dense, and indicating intense pressure.

The working of the coal appears, by a very able lecture
delivered by Mr. Mackworth, H.M. Mine Inspector, to
have advanced very little since the end of the sixteenth
century, when Mr. Owen so graphically described it.
The workings are carried on by long wall, and the whole
of the coal is brought out. Mr. Mackworth speaks of
the shafts as shallow and square, and walled only at the
top, the tackle insecure, the ventilation so imperfect, that
" there is hardly an instance of the employment of arti-
ficial ventilating power throughout the year ; and in the
collieries where he measured the quantities of air, it was,
this summer, (1853,) less than half that required for the
health and vigour of the miners." Women, as is usual
in Pembrokeshire, perform part of the severest labour,
and land the coal at the pit's mouth.

OF SOUTH WALES. 307

CHAPTER II.

The Eastern Coal Bed: Anthracite there. The yield of Coal.
Analysis of the best veins. Characteristics of the seams. Pro-
gress of the trade in Iron and Coal. The Toff Valley district
and the works there. The physical and moral condition of its
inhabitants, and of Merthyr Tydvil, Aberdare and Tredegar.
Remedies. Progress of the Merthyr district trade.

THE characteristics of the eastern part of the South Wales
coal field differ from the western division. It contains
about 802 square miles ; its extreme thickness (near
Llanelly) is 3400 yards ; it is about 54 by 20 miles in
length arid breadth. Nothing, however, can be more
inaccurate than the estimates which have been so often
made of the available coal the field contains. This can-
not be estimated by a mere arithmetical sum of its cubic
contents ; for the lower parts of the basin are from 2000
to 3000 yards below the sea-level, and the deepest coal
now worked in England is at about one-half that depth.

The great geological boundaries and features of this
immense basin may be thus described : It is bounded
on its northern edge by the upheaval of the great Silurian
rocks, and by the old red sandstones on the south and
west. A vast upheaval or anticlinal line runs through
the coal field ; rising in Gower, passing near Cwmavon,
Maesteg and Pont-y-pridd, it subsides at Risca. It
divides the basin into a large northern and a small
southern trough ; and minor anticlinar lines occur run-
ning east and west near Rhondda Valley and Llangefe-
lach. There are three great divisions of the seams, which
all thin out to the south and north.

The seams present endless variations as they are worked
out. None of them preserve their character throughout;
they continually change their roof-floor and quality, and
are sometimes wholly lost. Nevertheless, the whole dis-
trict is rich both in coal and ironstone ; one section con-
tains no less than 106 feet of coal in 735 vertical yards.
The central district contains, moreover, a valuable belt

308 THE INDUSTRIAL CAPACITIES

of sandstone and grit rock. Intersecting the upper strata
of the soil, run deep valleys from the northern boundary
across the basin to the sea. These form the great con-
duits for both coal and ore to the ports which stand at
their debouchures, and the railway, which now skirts the
whole line of the coast. Either by tributary rails or
canals, the produce of the great mines and works, which
are usually at the head of these valleys, pour down to the
great outlets at the south, the chief being the Swansea,
Neath and Taff Vales. Besides these vast facilities to
transit, the valleys intersect and combine with the anti-
clinal ridges, so as to facilitate the winning of the seams,
by outcrops worked by levels, and by the elevation of the
seams, with their accompanying ores, to accessible dis-
tances from the surface. These natural aids not only
augment, pro tanto, the available quantity of coal in the
field, but contribute largely to the admirable develop-
ment of mineral wealth, which renders South Wales an-
other Potosi.

The usual mode of working the coal is by pillar and
stall ; and, unlike the anthracite, few seams of less thick-
ness than three feet are worked at present. The less
wasteful system of long and broad work is, however,
gaining ground, especially in the iron mines.

The anthracite beds in this coal field sometimes reach
even 18 feet in thickness; nevertheless they are, compa-
ratively to the free burning and bituminous, but little
worked. The management, especially as regards venti-
lation, of the collieries of this South Wales basin, appears
to be still extremely defective. The distribution of air is
of little else than mere leakage ; and a very moderate but
well distributed ventilation, according to the opinion of
the Inspector of Mines, would have prevented every seri-
ous explosion which has taken place, owing, not to the
excess of fire-damp, but to insufficient precaution. The
Aberdare district affords ample instances of this.

The following results of a careful analysis of the best
veins give these contents :

OF SOUTH WALES.

309

Locality.

Quality.

j
1

Evapora-
tive power.

Parkend, Forest
of Dean
Pontypool ....
Partetr .

Bituminous
do.
do.
Free burning
do.
Anthracite
do.

73-52
80-70
82-25
89-78
90-27
91-60
92-17

5-69
5-66
5-84
5-15
4-12
3-50
3-10

6-48
4-38
3-58
0-39
2-53
2-58
2-22

2-06
1-35
1-11
2-16
0-63
0-21
1-08

2-27
2-39
1-22
1-02
1-20
0-79
0-34

10-001-28
5-521.32
6-001-255
1-501-27
1-25 1-31
1-52 1-37
1-091-39

57-5
72-5
45
64
68
87

7-47
8-70
10-21
9-96
9-46
11-00

Ebbw Vale ....
Aberdare ......

Llwyn Celyn . . .
Gweudreth ....

The gradual transition which takes place in the quality
of the northern crop is thus well exhibited. It will be
observed that, as the vein approaches the west, the carbon
gradually increases, and the hydrogen and other gaseous
products decrease.

The progress alike of the coal and iron trade of South
Wales has perhaps no parallel for rapidity and extent in
any other branch of industrial production, that of cot-
ton alone excepted. But, inasmuch as the growth of the
cotton manufacture resulted from the combination of
newly-discovered material and new mechanical invention,
both in the appliance of steam power and the machinery
adopted for its production, the progress of the South
Wales mines may be properly accounted as unequalled
sui generis. There is one, and one only respect, in which
the strides of these great mineral and vegetable powers
have arisen from analogous causes. About eighty or
ninety years ago the only method practised of making-
iron was by charcoal. No mineral fuel for the purpose
was used ; and the total amount of bar iron then made in
the whole kingdom was probably under 20,000 tons.
The physical difficulties of its introduction were, as usual,
very formidable ; and these were increased by that bitter
and bigotted prejudice which at that time beset every
" innovation" of science into the domains of custom. Mr.
Baker established, I believe, the first successful pit coal
furnace at Cyfarthfa. Very early in this century, accor-
ding to an able pamphlet then published by Mr. Blake-
inore, M.P. for Wells, all obstacles had been so far sur-

310 THE INDUSTRIAL CAPACITIES

mounted, that 249,500 tons were produced in a single
year from 169 blast furnaces. In 1823 the make was
about 452,000, of which South Wales contributed 1 82,000
tons ; and in 1830 it rose to 68 1 ,000 tons, of which South
Wales contributed 270,000 tons. In 1839 Sir Thomas
Phillipps, in an instructive lecture at Abergavenny, makes
the quantity, in South Wales alone, 453,800 tons ; the
total being 1,248,781.

It was about forty years ago that most of the acts were
obtained for the canals and tramways, which then, for the
first time, brought the iron down the valleys to the sea.
Up to this time nearly all of it was carried over the track-
less hills upon mules ; and many an old pig of iron has
been found on them in later times, which had been dropped
on the way. These better means of transit gave a great
impetus to the trade ; and though, as the following figures
show, a great increase took place long before the railways
(crowned by the South Wales) came in aid, it will also
be observed how fast the ratio of increase advanced after-
wards.

The quantity of coal shipped at the four principal
ports of Cardiff, Swansea, Newport, Llanelly, in 1833,
was 944,498 tons. In 1852, it was 1,976,156.

The chief industry is seated in the Tafi Valley, com-
mencing at Dowlais and Aberdare, and descending to
the vicinity of Cardiff.

So singular and instructive is the history and condition
of this district of the vast hive of mineral wealth, that its
chief features deserve something more than general notice.

The first manufactory on the road from Cardiff to
Merthyr is the Mellin Griffith Tin Works. About fifty
or sixty years ago these works were small, now they are
among the largest in the kingdom. There are a great
many hands employed here, who reside at or near
the works. The workmen are among the best con-
ditioned, morally and physically, in the whole of South
Wales. About two miles higher up are the Pentyrch
Iron Works. These works have increased amazingly of
late years. They belong to the same proprietor as the

OF SOUTH WALES. 311

Mellin Griffith Works, viz., T. W. Booker, Esq., M.P.
Consequent upon the increase of these latter works there
have sprung up three large villages, containing at least
1000 inhabitants. Twenty years ago the population of
one of these villages would not have exceeded thirty or
forty souls ; the other two were not then in existence !
About one mile higher up is the village of Nantgurw.
Here there is a population of from four to five hundred
souls. Twenty years ago it did not contain more than
thirty persons. The inhabitants are boatmen, pipemakers
(of which article there is a manufactory), and colliers.
Notwithstanding the people are of a reckless sort, every
village has its dissenting chapel.

Few of the houses have necessary out-buildings at-
tached to them ; and where there happen to be any
erected, there is but one for the inhabitants of five or
six. A supply of good wholesome water is hardly ever
thought of, and drainage is out of the question. These
dwellings are chiefly built by persons who have managed
to scrape together a little money, with which they com-
mence building ; and when this is exhausted they resort
to some money-lender for the remainder : no wonder,
therefore, that comforts and even decencies were ne-
glected. These evils would be easily avoided by the
landlords' insisting, before granting a lease to build, that
a supply of water, drainage, privies, &c., should be at-
tended to in every instance.

The next villages or towns (for they are large enough
to be called so) are Treforst and Pont-y-pridd. In the
former there is a tin and iron manufactory built by the
Messrs. Crawshay, at an outlay of 100,000. In the
latter there are an iron-rail manufactory in the occupa-
tion of Messrs. Fothergill, and large chain-cable works,
the proprietors of which are the Messrs. Brown, Lennox,
& Co. The tin and rail works are of recent date. Several
very large collieries and extensive stone quarries have
been recently opened here. One of these collieries supplies
the Great Western Railway with upwards of 50,000 tons
of coke annually. Treforst is a tolerably clean town :

312 THE INDUSTRIAL CAPACITIES

Pont-y-pridd is not so; and the drainage is very defective.
Population about thirty years ago was not 1000, it is
now about 10,000. In a north-west direction from Pont-
y-pridd there is a branch railway leading from the Taff
Vale Railway, through the Rhondda Valley, to a place
called Dinas. Along the whole of this branch there are
several collieries, coke ovens, one chemical works, and
five brick manufactories ; and where recently the inhabi-
tants of this valley might be reckoned by hundreds, you
may now count them by thousands. There is a church,
recently opened for Divine service, in the lower part of the
valley ; some meeting-houses, and a great many beer-
shops. Drainage and a supply of water are left to nature.
Following the Taff Vale Railway from Pont-y-pridd, you
come to a place called the Basin. From this there is a
branch railway leading to Aberdare ; and there is also a
branch canal leading to the same place. At Aberdare
and the neighbourhood there are several large iron works
and collieries. Twenty years ago Aberdare was a small
village, containing a few hundred inhabitants ; and the
population now amounts to 13,000. There is always
visible in these large manufacturing places a fearful
amount of drunkenness, improvidence, and recklessness.
Drainage and a supply of good water are seldom thought
of, until a threatened visitation of cholera, or some such
fearful calamity, arouses men to a sense of their duty ;
and even then, when the alarm has subsided, or the
disease seems to have left the neighbourhood, things are
allowed to remain in their former state. At the head of
the Glamorganshire Canal and of the Taff Vale Railway
stands Merthyr.

The annals of human filth and grime, for mineral
industry seems invariably to clothe its people with the
swarthy features of its own materials, nowhere present
anything worse than Merthyr. The report, recently pub-
lished, of the inspector sent to examine into its sanitary
condition, is beyond all comparison the most sickening
ever published. Its details are infinitely too disgusting
for repetition here.

OF SOUTH WALES. 313

It appears that nothing but the fine mountain air,
which the perversity of pestilential ingenuity and reck-
lessness, has been unable wholly to counteract, has pre-
served this entire district from being devastated by typhus
and cholera. Not only is it devoid of drainage, or any
possible means of removing filth from the immediate
vicinity of the dwellings, but no supply of water is pro-
vided, and nearly all that comes into the place is brought
on the heads of women in pitchers. This applies equally
to Tredegar. The improvement of Merthyr has been
long talked of. Its wealth might afford the means of
effecting a little more care of those who produce it. It
contains four of the largest iron works in the world,
Dowlais, Cyfarthfa, Pen-y-daran, and the Plymouth
Works. Formerly the Glamorganshire Canal was the
only means of transit ; but such was the increase in these
works, that the canal was not found sufficient for this
purpose, hence arose the necessity for the formation and
completion of the Taff Vale Railway, and now both the
canal and railway are fully occupied.

The " Blue Books," which in 1848 caused so angry
an excitement in parts of the Principality, but whose
substantial truthfulness has been generally recognized,
and of which the utility has been evidenced by vastly
increased educational exertion, gave the following
tableau of the popular features of this district ; and there
seems but too much reason to fear that its colours and
general outline are still vividly apparent in this singular
commixture of physical wealth and moral debasement:

" This community has arisen chiefly by immigration from most
parts of Wales and England. Whatever is unsettled, or lawless,
or roving, or characterless among working men, as long as bodily
strength subsists, has felt an attraction to this district, and a
surety of ready acceptance and good wages, which very few other
districts have afforded in so great a degree. It therefore contains
a larger proportion of escaped criminals and dissolute people of
both sexes than almost any other populace ; I know of none
which, from what I could gather, contain so many. If the people
have few virtues, they have great strength ; if they have dark
minds, they have strong passions and vigorous vices. They are
VOL. i. 2s

314 THE INDUSTRIAL CAPACITIES

so lawless and insubordinate, that the truck system has been
defended more than once to me on this very ground : ' If the
masters had not some hold over such a set of men, and were to
make them entirely independent, by giving them complete control
over their high wages, they would work just when and how they
liked, and the capital embarked in the works would be at their
mercy. It is difficult enough to manage them as it is.' Such is
the substance of the answers I have more than once received on
this subject from men well acquainted with the facts.

" The masters are looked upon generally as the natural enemies
of the men."

This frightful fact, founded on a disbelief of the inse-
parable identity of the permanent interests of labour and
capital, is not less prevalent than pernicious. Perhaps it
is nurtured and kept alive by the remissness and neglect
of the masters to take any means to remove it. No doubt
the moral and mental appliances requisite for informing a
community of working men like that of the Merthyr
district are not easily matured ; but the good effect of
giving them juster notions of the great laws which regu-
late wages, arid of their own and their masters' inde-
feasible interest in their order, morality, and decency, is
sufficiently fruitful and important to repay the trouble
were it tenfold greater. The following is a painful illus-
tration of the degree in which the policy of hoodwinks
and gocarts has hitherto been the rule of action. It is
no unique case :

" Physical means are the only ones these people are taught to
use or to appreciate. They are the chief resources used against
them by their employers, and are naturally the first they resort
to for the purpose of retaliation. Moral influences are well-nigh
unknown. Something is done indeed for schooling the children
in the elements or mechanics of instruction ; but I have failed to
find adequate efforts made by any of the employers of labour in
this district to moralise or improve the hearts and habits of their
work-people ; and the large majority utterly neglect any such
duty. To employ a clergyman at a very insufficient salary, and
to place him single-handed among a population so thoroughly
unprepared for the approaches of civilization and spiritual culture,
is almost wholly ineffective. I know of few other means taken
to reform them, but I met with more than one to keep them

OF SOUTH WALES. 315

debased. I will give an instance : A respectable inhabitant of*
one of the mining parishes told me that one or two benevolent
ladies exerted themselves to establish a provident society, for the
purpose of encouraging the men to rescue something from the
spirit and beer-house, and lay it by for the day of want or sick-
ness. They applied to the proprietor of large mines in the place,
who employed a number of these men, for his contribution and
patronage. ' Indeed,' he said, i I cannot give you either, for if I
did I should be arming the men against myself, and enabling
them to strike for wages. I want them to spend their earnings,
and not to hoard them/ This was an unusual case of candour,
but by no means unusual policy. I mentioned it to a neighbour-
ing magistrate, who told me he firmly believed it; and 1 heard
from others, in whom I can place confidence, that the desire to
deprive the men of the means of striking for wages, and to sub-
jugate them to their employers, is said to animate their conduct,
and it appears to be even more at the root of the truck system
than the immediate gain which springs from it.

"After considerable inquiry, and much conversation on the
subject, I am persuaded that the same motive in effect protects
the spirit-shops. In one part of my district alone, I was informed
that there were above eighty private houses where spirits are sold
without a licence ! The public-houses swarm; and it is not easy
to ascribe the extent to which these outrageous temptations to
drink are allowed to multiply with impunity to any other cause
than a wilful connivance on the part of those who are morally
bound to check them." Welsh Education Inquiry, vol. ii.

The benevolent efforts made by Lady Guest to aid the
civilization of the working classes, by various judicious
efforts, have been too recently commenced to enable me
to report their success, or prophesy their result.

I need hardly remark how largely moral elevation and
social decencies contribute to industrial vigour and the
value of skilled labour. Hence the relevancy of this
episode, to the subject of this paper.

Every kind of physical cleansing and ventilation, better
dwellings for the people, evening resorts, including re-
freshments, without intoxicating drinks, for the men,
lending libraries, a full staff of lay Scripture readers
qualified to evoke the affections and gain the confidence
of the people, industrial schools of a practical kind, and
prizes on Mr. Norris' plan, mine schools on Mr. Mack-

316

THE INDUSTRIAL CAPACITIES

worth's, are all vital necessities in that district to avert
disaster and disease, both temporal and moral. Let the
wealthy owners of this district be timely wise !

Twenty years ago there were 200 barges engaged in
conveying iron and coal from Merthyr and the neigh-
bourhood to Cardiff; now there are 450. The revenue
derived from tonnage on the canal for the last year
amounted to 150,000! The amount of revenue from
tonnage on the Taff Vale Railway is somewhat under
3000 per week. The amount of capital employed in
the collieries, iron manufactories, &c., with which this
district abounds, is not far short of 5,000,000.

I am indebted to the courtesy of Mr. Shepherd, Mr.
Bushell, and Mr. Fisher, 4 for the following returns of the
mineral traffic of the canal and railway the best means
of testing the progress of the industry of the Merthyr
district :

An account of Coal, Iron, and Iron Ore, sent by the Glamorgan
Canal and Taff Vale Railway in the undermentioned years.

Years.

Conveyance.

Iron. j Iron Ore.
Tons. Tons.

Coal.
Tons.

1ft4.fi ?

G.C.

145,781 42,531

287,271

lOrtU \

T.V.R.

61,067

....

1 84. 7 '

G.C.

156,693

55,081

262,077

lol/ i

T.V.R.

64,256

....

184.8 ^

G.C.

155,015

56,924

281,967

lO^irO \

T.V.R.

60,026

55,000

500,000

1 QA Q >

G.C.

156,196

69,745

245,785

lo'+y i

T.V.R.

70,671

60,000

510,000

1 8^0 ^

G.C.

167,379 82,680

268,631

1 OOU \

T.V.R.

67,603 60,000

560,000

18")! )

G.C.

190,633

96,408

294,537

1OOJL \

T.V.R.

74,701

51,000

580,000

1 8 r i5 '

G.C.

217,319

80,525

301,829

i oG< \

T.V.R.

77,176

60,000

650,000

4 A courtesy, I regret to say, by no means shown by others, from
whom equally useful information was sought, and by whom it was
withheld.

OF SOUTH WALES. 317

CHAPTER III.

The Copper Works. Quantity of Ore used : the process of smelting
it. The works in South Wales.

NEXT to the iron works, the most important establish-
ments for metallurgical operations in South Wales, are
the copper works of the district of which Swansea is the
centre. These extend from Margam on the east, to
Pembrey on the west, and consist of two works in the
neighbourhood of Aberavon, two at Neath, eight at
Swansea, and three at Llanelly and Pembrey. They
are the only works in Great Britain except two small
establishments at St. Helen's, near Liverpool, one at
Amlwch, in Anglesey, and one in Staffordshire.

The total quantity of copper made in Great Britain in
1853, was about 22,000 tons, which was smelted in the
several districts above mentioned in about the following
proportions :

Swansea . . . . 50 per cent.
Neath and Aberavon 20

Llanelly .... 20
St. Helen's ... 10

The quantity of ore from which the copper above
mentioned was obtained would amount to about 220,000
tons, the whole of which was imported by sea to the
several districts where it was smelted, except the small
quantity raised in Anglesey.

The greater part of the ore is brought down from
Cornwall, and the carrying trade between Cornwall and
the Welsh smelting districts must require upwards of
150 vessels of from 80 to 150 tons burthen, and find
employment for from 600 to 800 seamen. These vessels
take back coal for the mines, and the average freight of
both cargoes amounts from 7s. 6d. to 8s. 6d. per ton.
Owing, however, to the demand for shipping, the freight
is now from 11s. to 12s. per ton.

About one-half of the copper produced is smelted from
foreign ore imported from Cuba, Australia, and Chili.

318

THE INDUSTRIAL CAPACITIES

The Chilian and Australian ore are principally imported
into Liverpool and London, and thence transhipped to
Swansea, but a good deal is received there direct, as well
as all the Cuba ore. There is also a considerable quan-
tity of ore imported from Ireland, and some from North
Wales.

The Cornish ores are sold in Cornwall, the others at
Swansea, in both instances by a species of auction called
" Ticketing," in which the purchasers meet and write
their offers for each parcel of ore on slips of paper called
" Tickets," which are then read out by the chairman
(the agent for the principal mines), and the highest
bidder becomes the purchaser.

The following table shows the quantity of copper con-
tained in ore sold at various periods during the last
thirty years :

Year ending 30th June,

; 1820. I 1830. 1840. I 1850.

Cornish Ore sold at Ticketing

Welsh and Foreign do. at Swansea .

Anglesey Ore ,

Ore sold by Contract

Other Ore, do. do

Total Tons

7,770 10,749 11,056 12,254
378 1,1 97J 8,476, 7,108
604 7651 549 672
476 368 696

142 l,654j 4,340

9,697 13,221 22,431 24,374

Since 1850 the copper smelted in Great Britain is con-
siderably reduced, owing principally to the increase of
copper smelting abroad, and the consequent diminution
of imports of foreign ore.

The process of copper smelting is costly and tedious,
and the quantity of coal required in it has led to the
erection of works in the coal districts of Wales, instead
of the neighbourhood of the mines where they were first
established. The total quantity of coal used in the smelting
and manufacture of copper in South Wales cannot be less
than 400,000 tons annually, and the payments in wages
must amount to 90,000 or 100,000 per annum.

The process of smelting is briefly as follows : The

OF SOUTH WALES. 319

ore, consisting of sulphurets of iron and copper, is first
roasted in large reverberatory furnaces, and then melted
to separate the earthy matters from the regulus or sul-
phurets of the metals.

These earths, from their lighter specific gravity, swim
on the surface of the fused regulus, in a half melted state,
and are skimmed off by the workmen as slag. The
regulus is then tapped out and granulated by running
into a pit of water. It is in this state calcined, or roasted
again, in order to separate the iron from the sulphur with
which it is combined, and again melted, when the oxide
of iron, formed during the calcination, combines with
silica and swims on the surface of the heavier sulphuret
of copper, forming a slag which is removed as in the
first melting. This roasting and melting; is continued

O O O

until the sulphuret of copper is obtained free from iron.
It is then decomposed by exposing it in the melted state
to a current of air; the sulphur escapes, and the copper
becomes metallic, and is afterwards refined and cast into
the various forms required by consumers.

The process of smelting just described is, with a few
trifling alterations, the same that has been used for many
years. There have been several projects of improve-
ments, and some of them have been carried partially into
effect; but the principle of the processes remains the
same, and the improvements and alterations are neither
striking nor important. The cost and length of the
operations arises principally from the value of the metal,
and the importance of avoiding loss in the slag.

Of the produce of the copper mines in Great Britain,
about one-third is rolled arid hammered into sheets,
plates, and sheathing for bottoms of ships, construction
of locomotive engines, and the supply of various vessels
for breweries, sugar refineries, &c. About one-fifth is
exported for rolling abroad, and the remainder is sold for
the making of different descriptions of brass.

Of the three works in the district of Llanelly, the
Llanelly Copper Works were built in 1805, and have
been working ever since.

320 THE INDUSTRIAL CAPACITIES

The works of the English and Australian Company,
near Lloughor, were erected in 1808, and worked for
about three years. They were again lighted in 1847.
The Burry Port .Copper Works commenced working in
1849. One of the works has mills for the rolling of
sheets and bars.

The number of men employed at these works directly
in the processes of copper smelting, amounts to about
500. The wages vary from 15s. to 25s. per week.

CHAPTER IV.

The industry of the Llanelly district. Lead and Silver Works.
Pottery and Farm of the Messrs. Chambers. Population,
Schools, $c. Coal Basin: the Anthracite there.

LLANELLY affords in itself a wonderful instance of the
elasticity of industrial progress in South Wales, and of
the facilities afforded to it, even in places nowise remark-
ably adapted to the works planted there. In addition to
the copper works, there are extensive silver and lead
smelting works, a pottery, and two zinc plate works in
full operation.

The Dagin Tin Works commenced working in 1848,
and produced about 800 boxes weekly, and employed
about 240 people.

The Llanelly Tin Works commenced in 1852 ; they
make 500 boxes, about 30 tons, per week, and employ
about 110 people. Several of those employed in these
works are children.

The smelting of lead and silver is a new branch of
industry in the South Wales district. Not requiring such
a large consumption of coal as other smelting operations,
the processes are generally carried through in the neigh-
bourhood of the mines.

There are two works of this description in the neigh-
bourhood of Llanelly. Those of Messrs. Sims & Co. are
on a large scale, and employ about 150 people. The

OF SOUTH WALES. 321

lead ores are obtained from Cornwall, Cardiganshire, the
Isle of Man, and from Ireland ; and the silver ores from
Chili and Peru.

These latter ores are treated in various ways, by
amalgamation, by smelting with lead ore, and lately by
a new process, adopted at the works of Messrs. Mason
& Elkington, at Pembrey, recently patented by Mr. A.
Parker.

The second of these is the process adopted at the
Llanelly Works. The lead and silver ores are smelted
together in different proportions, according to the rich-
ness; and the lead produced (containing the silver of the
silver ores) is treated either by cupellation, or by a new
process also patented by Mr. Parker. In the former
the silver lead is melted, and exposed to a current of air
which blows off the litharge or oxide of lead as it is
formed, until the silver is obtained perfectly pure. In
the latter process advantage is taken of the superior
affinity of silver for zinc, than for lead. The melted
silver lead is mixed with zinc, also in a state of fusion.
The alloy of zinc and silver on cooling rises to the sur-
face, and is skimmed off, and the separation of the silver
from the lead is found to be very completely effected.
The zinc is afterwards separated from the silver by
distillation.

The smelting of silver ores has not been carried on to
any great extent in Great Britain until within the last
two or three years, previous to which the Chilian and
Peruvian ores were amalgamated in their own countries.
The advantage to England is considerable from the
carriage of the ore, and the profit on smelting, and also
from the return afforded to England's merchants for
produce exported.

There are two iron foundries at Llanelly, with exten-
sive premises and conveniences for the erection of steam
engines, employing together about 100 people; and an
extensive work for the rolling of sheet and plate iron is
in course of erection.

The pottery, which owes its establishment to the enter-
VOL. i. 2 T

322 THE INDUSTRIAL CAPACITIES

prize and energy of W. Chambers, Esq., jun., of Llanelly
House, was erected in 1840, and commenced working in
1841 ; employment was then and has since been given
to about 100 persons.

The consumption of material averages 1000 tons per
annum :

Clay of several varieties from Cornwall, Dorset

and Devonshire, about 550 Tons

Flint from Kent 350

Granite from Cornwall, had there in a partially

decomposed slate 100

1000
Other materials, such as carbonate of lead, borax,

soda, and other chemicals, in variety, say 50

1050 Tons

The coal of this locality is well adapted for pottery
purposes; the quantity used is about 2500 tons per
annum.

The ware produced (which is equal in quality to the
average Staffordshire make) may be estimated at 2000
dozens per week ; it is sold principally in the west of
England ; considerable quantities have been shipped for
Australia, the United States of America, and the con-
tinent of Europe.

The produce of this pottery is rapidly attaining cele-
brity. Beautiful dinner services of crockery, jugs, &c.,
and transparent tableaus of imitation Parian, are beauti-
fulty executed, and perfected at a trifling cost.

Mr. Chambers, sen., has also established a farm on
his estate, which exhibits a useful model of various
scientific improvements, alike in the chemistry and
mechanics of agriculture.

The population of the parish of Llanelly in

1801 was 2,072
1831 7,649
1841 11,155
1851 13,516

OF SOUTH WALES. 323

The population of the borough of Llanelly in

1831 was 4,173
1841 7,123
1851 8,566

In 1848 the parish was divided for ecclesiastical pur-
poses. A new district was formed and endowed by the
Ecclesiastical Commissioners, containing, in 1851, 3059
inhabitants. A church for the same district was begun
in 1849, and finished in the next year, and a parsonage
house is erected.

There have been established within the last few years
a large day school, and an infant school, supported by
voluntary subscriptions, besides two schools maintained
by the proprietors of the Llanelly Copper Works, and
Dagin Tin Works, respectively ; a savings bank, a me-
chanics' institute, and chamber of commerce, and, lately,
a school of design.

For the accommodation of the three last institutions a
large building is projected, and a considerable sum has
been subscribed for its erection.

The coal district of Llanelly is situated at the extreme
western end of the eastern basin of South Wales. It
produces coal of every quality, from good bituminous
house coal to anthracite.

The saddle or lowest part of the basin runs nearly
parallel with the sea coast, and at a short distance only
from it; and the southern acclivity or south crop of these
veins is worked in some instances under the sea. This
south crop produces generally bituminous coal of good
quality ; while on the northern rise the same veins pro-
duce the coal called free burning, similar to that of
Merthyr, which is now so largely used for steam engines
and steam vessels. This description extends for a distance
varying from half a mile to two miles from the saddle.
The deeper veins which rise to the surface beyond these
produce the inferior coal called culm, which is of inter-
mediate quality between the free burning and anthracite;
while the lowest veins of all, which appear still farther
north, produce the true anthracite.

3*24 THE INDUSTRIAL CAPACITIES

The bituminous coal lying contiguous to the sea has,
owing to the convenience of carriage, which was in former
times of much greater importance than at present, been
worked for many years, and the upper vein has been in
a great measure exhausted, though there is still a con-
siderable quantity worked, principally for export to
Ireland.

The quantity of free burning coal remaining unworked
is much larger, and the demand for steam engines and
steam vessels is great and increasing. The Baltic and
Mediterranean fleets have been now supplied with it, the
contract amounting to many thousand tons. But the
supply to be looked for from this district is trifling,
compared with that from the large tract of country lying
north-west of Cardiff, and more in the centre of the basin.

The anthracite district has been comparatively but
little worked, and the demand is rapidly increasing. The
quantities of this description of coal which remain to be
brought to Llanelly and Pembrey are very large ; and
this circumstance may be considered as the chief guarantee
for the permanence of the prosperity of those ports. It
has hitherto been used principally for malt and corn
drying, arid for the supply of close stoves; but a demand
has lately sprung up for steamers, which will probably
increase to an enormous extent.

Forty years ago the number of steam engines working
in collieries near Llanelly was eleven. There are now,
exclusive of those in the anthracite districts, about thirty-
five. The depth of the deepest pits is from 115 to 155
fathoms.

OF SOUTH WALES.

325

CHAPTER V.
General Summary of Industrial Produce.

THE annual value of the remaining minerals and metallic
products, exclusive of the Merthyr and Aberdare district,
and lying so as to pour entirely into the South Wales
Railway, were thus estimated in 1851 :

Tons.

Value.

Manufactured Copper in all its stages ....
Charcoal and Coke Tin Plates

31,296
37,440

3,755,520
842,399

Manufactured Iron in all its stages ... .

224,110

1,792,880

Anthracite Coal ..

393 700

196,850

1,323,080

661,540

98 560

59 136

Total

2,108 186

8 308 325

In this estimate coal is taken at an average of 10s. per
ton; iron at 8.; tin plates at 22. 10s.; copper at 120.

This in all probability falls far short of the present
actual yield, and at any rate may be safely taken as a
mere germ of what is to come.

I have now summarily sketched the great physical
features and materials of South Wales' wealth. It is
time to turn to an advantage to which it will probably
owe nine-tenths of its future prosperity and importance.
I allude to its geographical position and harbours ; and,
above all others, to Milford Haven.

Suffice it to mention the growing capacities of New-
port, Cardiff, Swansea, Llanelly, Pembrey, Tenby, and
Saundersfoot, all tidal harbours, capable of an enormous
export and traffic, and all lying within 60 miles, studding
the coast which fringes the great mineral basin.

I will not dwell on the advantage presented by this
singular adaptation of sea transit and terrene produce,
this peculiar combination of land and water wealth,
unequalled, as I believe it to be, in Europe. The koh-
i-noor of the diadem is yet to be disclosed.

326 THE INDUSTRIAL CAPACITIES

CHAPTER VI.

Milford Haven. Shakspeare's and Drayton's description of it.
Its maritime capacities. Its peculiar features as a haven.
Nangle Bay. Unpublished MS. account of it, by Mr. Owen,
in 1595. Objections to Milford as a safe harbour of access.
Evidence of Captain Laws on its capacities. Pennar Bay.
Neyland. General advantages and future prospects of Milford
Haven. New Railways looming in the distance. Capacities of
the Milford district for the Cotton Manufacture, and table of
its temperature. Conclusion.

SHAKSPEARE makes Milford Haven partly the scene of
his play of " Cymbeline," where Imogen, hearing that
Posthumous is there, inquires,

" How far it is

To this blessed Milford ? and, by the way,
Tell me how Wales was made so happy as
To inherit such a haven."

In this same play Shakspeare makes Milford the
rendezvous of foreign invaders, and there embarks and
lands ambassadors. Nor is he the only English poet
who has signalized the merits of Milford. It is well
described and lauded by quaint old Drayton, who
flourished in the reign of James I., in his Polyolbion, of
which this extract may suffice :

" So highly Milford is in every mouth renown'd
Noe haven hath ought good, in her that is not found :
Whereas the swelling surge, that with his fomie head,
The gentler looking land with furie menaced ;
With his encount'ring wave no longer there contends ;
But sitting mildly downe like perfect ancient friends
Unmov'd of any wind, which way so e'er it blow,
And rather seem to smile than knit an angry brow.
The ships with shattred ribs, scarce creeping from the seas
On her sleeke bosom ride with such deliberate ease,
As all her passed stormes shee holds but cheap and base
So shee may reach at last this most delightful place
By nature with proud cleeves invironed round,
To crown the goodlie road."

Milford is a phenomenon in English enterprize and
civilization. It is the attribute of these elements to im-

OF SOUTH WALES. 327

prove natural resources to their use, as they themselves
grow in maturity and development, With Milford the
exact reverse has happened, it has fallen into disuse as
the means, skill and requirements which rendered its
qualities more desirable and more available, have in-
creased. With the exception of the dockyard at Pater,
almost its entire utility for the purposes of navigation or
war live in the history of the past. Four centuries ago
Henry VII. entered Milford on his way to the throne;
our chief poets record its activity in subsequent centuries;
and Cromwell not only embarked there for Ireland with
15,000 men, but made it his chief war station and channel
of communication with Ireland and France. At the be-
ginning of this century Nelson pointed out its peculiar
advantages as a great naval depot, and the fact that during
winds favourable for the egress of ships from Brest and
Rochefort, it was the only harbour from which a fleet
could sail to meet them from the south-western coast of
England. Yet of so little avail was his advice, that since
then Milford and its vast capacities have been gradually
neglected and disused, and six or seven years ago even
the mail packets between Waterford and Milford stopped
running, and all communication between South Wales
and Ireland entirely ceased ! Although it is no unusual
thing for hundreds of vessels of all kinds of tonnage to
put in to Milford in stress of weather, and there to lie at
anchor in perfect safety till storms subside, scarcely a
single cargo is ever landed, so utterly barren is the haven
of docks, quays, means of transit, and the ordinary ap-
purtenances of a sea-port. As regards its military de-
fences, so grossly have these been neglected that, until
lately a foreign fleet might have entered and sailed up
the haven, set fire to Pater dockyard, and landed any
number of troops with scarcely any possibility of molesta-
tion from the existing means of resistance.

Of the peculiar mercantile and military capacities of
Milford Haven it may be said, without fear of contradic-
tion from any person competent to judge of either, that
no such harbours exist, nor do any approach their merits,

328 THE INDUSTRIAL CAPACITIES

in the old world. Rio and St. Francisco may rival, but
do not surpass it ; Cork and Naples are no more to be
compared to it than the Wye with the Thames, as a
navigable river.

I will very briefly describe the peculiar features which
constitute the superiority of Milford. The entrance is
nearly due south. From the mouth of the haven, lying
between St. Ann's Head on the west, to Sheep Island
on the east, the width is two miles and a furlong, which
decreases to one mile and three furlongs at the narrowest
part, between the east and west blockhouses.

To stand at the eastern point of the blockhouse is to
enjoy one of those magnificent scenes of which we carry
the image through life. The blockhouse is built on the
bluff summit of a rocky cliff. Immediately before you
lies the splendid mouth of this gigantic harbour, with the
bold promontory of Dale and St. Ann's lighthouses im-
mediately opposite. To the right the view extends over
the whole area facing the entrance of the haven before it
turns eastward, and comprises an extent of some fourteen
or fifteen square miles. Immediately on the right hand,
and just within the entrance, stands Thorn Island, a
towering and isolated rock, now being for the first time
fortified. To the left is Sheep Island, which forms a
bold feature at the eastern extremity of the same rock-
bound coast. Seaward looms the Atlantic, and the broad
expanse of ocean in the foreground of the landscape
formed by the confluence of St. George's and the Bristol
Channels.

Few sea views ever impressed me more intensely with
depth, magnitude, beauty, and repose. May its last at-
tribute soon pass away, and the fleets of the civilized
world give life and animation to this stupendous work
of nature!

Over three-fourths of the entrance, (with the exception
of a few rocks easily blasted or buoyed), there is water
enough to float the largest vessel at the lowest point of
spring tides, varying in depth from fifteen fathoms at the
west to seven fathoms at the east side ; and the depth of

OF SOUTH WALES. 329

the main channel, and of the greater part of the entire
width from shore to shore, continues up the whole course
of the haven, ranging from sixteen to nine fathoms up
to Weare Point, where it shallows to five fathoms, thus
affording an area of no less than eight miles in length,
and ranging from one mile and a half to two and a half
in breadth, deep enough and large enough to contain
nearly all the fleets in the world, with a good bottom
for anchorage throughout.

Within a mile of the opening of the inner haven, on
its southern side, and sheltered from every wind that
blows, there is a spacious bay called Nangle, left dry at
low water, but with sufficient depth at high water to float
large vessels, over the whole extent of which there is a
soft bottom. Into this bay ships which have lost their
anchors are accustomed to run and take the ground with
perfect safety, an advantage of no slight moment on a
rock-bound coast like that of Pembrokeshire. The haven
at this point turns to the north-east, so that not only
Nangle Bay, but up the whole length of the haven, the
shelter is perfect from winds at all points of the compass.
This immense advantage is enhanced by the nature of
the shores, which rise sufficiently high on all sides to
protect the loftiest ships, while the haven is peculiarly
free from gullies and eddies, which could destroy the
lake-like calm which reigns perpetually on its deep and
placid water.

Amongst the papers of the late Lord Ellesmere was
discovered an old MS. never yet printed, and for a copy
of which I am indebted to the kindness of Earl Cawdor.
It is entitled, " A pamphlet conteyning the definition of
Milford Haven wherein is particularlie sett forth all or
most of the Roades Creeks Points Harborowes Riding
Places daungers and other matters of worth within and
neere unto the said Haven searving chiefly for the ex-
plaining and right understanding of a Mapp made of the
said Haven of Milford by George Owen of the Countie
of Pembroke Esqre. A.D. 1595." This Mr, Owen was a
man evidently born at least 250 years before his time,
VOL. i. 2 u

330 THE INDUSTRIAL CAPACITIES

for he points out and advocates the precise measures now
for the first time commenced for the fortification and
defence of Milford Haven, a place very much more ap-
preciated in his time that it has ever been since. Mr.
Owen was also the author of a very able though brief
History of Pembrokeshire, written probably earlier, and
published by his great-grandson, and afterwards printed
in the Cambrian Register of 1796. This Mr. Owen was
called Lord of Kemeys.

His general description of the haven is a most correct
one:

" It is," he says, " a lardg and spatious harborough entering
into the main land by estimation sixteen miles long or more
having all that space sufficient water to receive shipps of 60 or
600 Tons and in many places thereof the greatest vessell of
whatever burthen that it on the seas may safely ride and harborow
itself. The Haven after the entrance bendeth diverse waies
making good land suckers over every Roade of the same and
shooteth forth on everie side divers large and spatious creeks
making diverse landing places and safe harborowes from all
winds and is of itself calm and gentle having within the same
many good roades and cages &c. and for form it may be likened
to the picture of some greate crooked and forked Tree having
many boughs and branches some greate some little growing
even up from the Butt to the Topp and the same branches being
lopped and cutt off some nere and some fair from the bodie of
the tree &c.

" Depth of water. Att the entrance of the harborrowe or the
Haven's mouth and soe up very farr there is 16 fathom water
and more at low ebb and at the ferry it is 8 or 10 fathom deepe
att low water and as far up as Llangorne it is alwaies 6 fathom
and good riding all along the channel.

"The water within Milford Haven riseth att full sea in a
springe tide ffower fathome high and at ebb tide two fathome
and between both according to the date."

He points out three places for fortification, viz., Ratt
(Thorn) Island, the Stack, and Dale Point. The first
is being constructed ; the Stack has been recently accom-
plished, 5 and Dale Point is about to be begun. Mr.
Owen gives the dimensions of each of these islands, and
recommends that the high ground in the centre of each

5 It is at present garrisoned with two men ! December, 1853.

OF SOUTH WALES. 331

should be hewn down. This has been done. Thorn Island,
which he erroneously calls also Ratt Island, measured
18 perches (of 16J feet) in length, and 12 in breadth.
It is about half a mile from the blockhouse on the east
side of the haven, farther in. A fort here, and at Dale
Point opposite, he rightly says, would, " if not utterly de-
fend it, yet would greatly annoy any shipp that should
offer to enter the Haven, and also the fort would annoy
and defend both the rodes of St. Marywell and Dale
being the two cheafest rodes of Milford so that no shipps
of the ennemies's should ride there without annoyance."

He describes the Stack Rock as a low ridge of stones
running east and west. He makes it at the foundation
43 perches or 693 feet in length from east to west, and
12 wide, or 198 feet. " It was," he says, " so much
covered at high water that only the ' Mount ' and a few
points remain dry, the Mount being 48 feet by 24. This,"
he adds, " may be hewn so as to be three score square
feet for a fort above high water. It is of a red sand-
stone easily hewn. There is a passage right through the
rock. There was then plenty of water," he says, " for
ships to pass between the Stack Rock and the shore."

The Dale Point. " This," Mr. Owen says, " was the
terminus of an old mound, probably Danish, which with
little labour would be repaired and made a stronghold :
and it is thought that if ennemies should land thereabouts
that it weare one of the likeliest places they would first
fortifie." It was 51 perches west and east longitude, and
21 broad north and south, the trench was 18 perches
over.

" Nangle Blockhouse, East" he says, " never was
finished and was begun in temp. Henry VIII. for to
ympeach the entrance into the Haven but for no good
purpose for that stood too high." It is now a small ruin.

" St. Marywell Roade" he terms " the chiefest roade
of Milford and safest upon most winds large and good
anker hold and is about 16 fathoms."

It is well worthy of note that Mr. Owen gives a greater
depth to the Haven in some parts than that of the recent
soundings in the Admiralty Chart, but an old map, pub-

332 THE INDUSTRIAL CAPACITIES

lished subsequently to Mr. Owen's, makes them much
the same, showing that the water is not decreasing.

" Pennar Mouth is the creek that cometh upp to Pem-
broke towne. This is the largest and greatest creek of
all Milford. It passeth up into the land 3 miles and
more and at the upper end it parteth itself into 2 branches
and compasseth about the Towne and castle of Pembroke
serving the said Towne for a moate or strong ditch on
every side thereof; a bark of 40 or 50 tons may enter
this creek at low water and ride at ankher att Crowpoole
but noe further without helpe of the tyde. The Crow
is a shallow or shelf a pretty way within the entrance of
Pennar and is neere right against the very entrance and
it is an oyster bedd, on the Crowe groweth the best
oysters of Milford." He mentions that the poor people
gathered them there without dredging. "It is a bigg
and sweete oyster."

Of Milford itself Mr. Owen little dreamt when he thus
dispatched its site, " Hubberston Point is the point next
by west of Priory Pill the description whereof serveth to
small use."

" St. Anne's Chapel," he says, "forms after Precelly
the only landmark to steer for as there appears to be no
haven to all appearance at sea owing to the turn to the
east which the Haven takes and which hides it from sight
till it be entered." He recommends as a good policy
that " if the enemy were on a sudden known to be at sea
it would be a good plan to deface this landmark and
erect it somewhere else to cause their shipwreck ! "

Dangers. He mentions a strong current between
Stokholme Scaldey and the mainland beyond the mouth
of the Haven.

" Dangers in Milford there are none,
Save the Crowe & the Carre & the Castlestone."

Old Adage in 1595.

In answer to the absurd objections sometimes raised
by interested parties, that Milford has a rock-bound coast,
and a bank six miles distant, it may be simply stated
that shoals of vessels make the haven often in violent
storms, and frequently without pilots, in perfect safety,

OF SOUTH WALES. 333

and have done so for ages past. A shipwreck there is a
rare event. It may also be stated that, with the excep-
tion of six points of the compass only, ships can weigh
anchor and sail out of the haven in any wind without
towing ; and as a glance at the map shows, they are then
in the open sea, and are quickly in the Atlantic, if out-
ward bound, without encountering any of the perils which
beset the voyage either westward to Liverpool, or east-
ward to London. In fact, it is only when vessels are
past Milford, on their way to Liverpool, that danger
begins.

Captain John Laws, who knows the capacities of the
south-western coast, and was examined by a Select Com-
mittee of the House of Commons, in 1853, on the Milford
Haven Docks Bill, gave the following important evidence
on these points :

Question. Do you know Pennar Pill ? Answer. Yes.

Q. In your judgment is that situation suitable for the con-
struction of commercial docks? A. I think for about 400,000
you might make a floating dock at Pennar Pill that would answer
every purpose better than that at Liverpool does, upon which
six millions of money have been spent.

Q. You may effect for 400,000 what it has cost Liverpool
as many millions to effect? A. It has cost between five and six
millions, and must cost a good deal more, and then they will
have nothing like so efficient a floating dock as may be formed
at Milford Haven for 300,000 or 400,000.

Q. As to the nature of the estuary or creek itself and the
neighbouring land it enables that to be done? A. Yes.

Q. What is the rise of the tides ? A. The ordinary tides are
from 22 to 23 feet.

Q. Is there any harbour in South Wales to which any of the
very large steamers could come with security ? A. No ; there
is not a harbour in South Wales that a ship of 200 feet in length
would get into safely.

Q. That is excepting Milford Haven ? A. Of course any fleet
could get into Milford Haven, but the other ports are all tidal
ports with the exception of Bute Dock a vessel of great burthen
could not get in safely.

Q. At Milford Haven they can be got in at all times of the
tide? A. Yes; a fleet can get in.

Q. Is it not the fact that the commercial steamers and the
commercial ships are being made of much larger dimensions than

334 THE INDUSTRIAL CAPACITIES

formerly ? A. Yes ; I have two or three friends who told me
that if they could send their ships to take their coal in screw
steamers to South Wales, they would send them just coal enough
to London, then take in their cargo and on the coast of South
Wales take in their coal and go on to China, Australia, and long
ocean voyages ; but they cannot do it now because there is no
harbour.

Q. I understand you to say that the construction of docks
where they are proposed to be made would, in the cases you
mention, save the voyage? A. It would not only save the
voyage but more than that : take the case of corn. The clipper
ships now going out have all small auxiliary steam power in
them, besides their sailing requisites ; these vessels would go into
any harbour on the coast of South Wales, if there were a har-
bour that could take them they would take in probably 2000
tons of coal that would be the very best freight they could take
to Calcutta, Canton, or Australia it would be the best cargo
they could take, if it was only to take them there and back ;
coals fit for ocean steamers cannot be bought at any of those
distant parts under 5 a ton.

Q. Let me distinctly understand you : at present there are no
ports in South Wales which would admit vessels of this kind ?
A. There are not.

Q. You cannot take in coal there ? A. No.

Q. How do they get their coal now? A. The Liverpool
steamers and all the American and New York steamers get their
coal in this way. I am connected myself with a railway. It
takes coal from the coal pit not more than 12 miles from Liver-
pool, which is of first-rate quality for all general purposes, but
these ocean steamers ; although they can put them on board at
from 6s. to 7s. a ton, they send round to Cardiff and Newport
for the coal which costs them 22s. and 23s. a ton before they are
on board. The only coals now fit for ocean steamers are those
of Glamorganshire and Carmarthenshire.

Q. Not the anthracite? A. Not anthracite, it is semi-anthracite.

Q. Is it not the fact that the same kind of coal is sent for as
well to London for steam vessels ? A. There is not a little vessel
in this river but would give 35s. a ton to avoid the smoke and
dirt of the ordinary Newcastle coal.

Q. Have you any doubt whatever that if proper docks were
made at Milford Haven they would be of great public importance?
A. I have no doubt whatever in a national point of view ; for
the supply of the fleet there can be no better place than the coast
of South Wales. In the ordinary contingency of supplying the
fleet with coals, it would become one of the most important arms
of defence for the country. It takes almost double the quantity

OF SOUTH WALES. 335

of Newcastle and Lancashire coal to produce the same amount
of steam.

Opposite to the Weare Point, where the channel be-
comes narrower, there exists a natural dock, entered by
a narrow neck of water, called Pennar Mouth, which
seems specially intended for the purpose to which it is at
length happily about to be put, Milford being far less
well placed for such an object, and, owing to the nature
of the marginal bank, is a less convenient place for the
formation even of landing docks.

Pennar Bay is entered by a narrow mouth, through
which the little tributary river from Pembroke flows. It
is scarcely a furlong in width, immediately expanding on
either side into a capacious creek. The entrance is two
fathoms deep at the lowest water, and it is capable of
being greatly deepened. It appears as if designed ex-
pressly for the construction of dry and floating docks of
any requisite size. With reference to this gigantic basin,
the docks now about to be constructed there, and the
traffic in coal likely to be exported thence, we must again
have recourse to Captain Laws' evidence.

Question. Is it not a fact that the south-west wind prevails a
good deal on that coast? Answer. It does throughout the island.

Q. Is that a wind that offers any obstacles to vessels coming
to Cardiff? A. The whole Bristol Channel is a lee shore with a
south-west wind.

Q. Is that an obstacle that does not apply to Milford Haven ?
A. No; it does not. I have come out of Milford Haven in a
frigate when a heavy gale of wind has been blowing from the
south-west, carrying away our fore-yard when we were about
half channel over, and clawed off the shore notwithstanding.

Q. Is not a part of the steam fleet in the Mediterranean ?
A. Yes.

Q. Is that supplied with the same kind of coal ? A. With
Welsh coal.

Q. This would be the port from which the coal would come, if
it could be brought ? A. I have no doubt that, with the aid of
the railway, coals may be shipped at this dock to a greater extent
than any in England, notwithstanding that we hear that on the
Tees and the Tyne they are shipping ten million tons of coal in
the year. I think some of the young men in the room will live
to see as much shipped in that dock, if it is made, as ever was
shipped at the Tees or the Tyne.

336 THE INDUSTRIAL CAPACITIES

Nearly opposite to Pater, where the navy yard is
situated, is a point called Neyland, where there are great
natural capacities and sufficient depth of water along the
shore for landing quays, and where lines of packet ships
will doubtless shortly run. It will be the terminus of
the South Wales Railway, until the other spur line is
made from Carmarthen to Pennar Dock.

One word as to the topographical position of Mil ford
Haven. It is more than a day's sail, even in ordinary
winds, nearer to America arid most of our colonies than
Liverpool, with which it is impossible to avoid comparing
it. Without exaggerating the difficulties of the naviga-
tion up St. George's Channel, and round Anglesey, and
up the Mersey, it will not be denied that they are for-
midable, both as regards time, cost, and actual danger.
There are, moreover, peculiarities in the bed and channel
of the Mersey, which, under the influence of a certain
concurrence of wind and tides, may at any time render
the navigation of that river, for vessels of heavy draught,
no longer possible. As regards internal transit, Milford is
but about 15 miles further from London than Liverpool,
and it is for all England incomparably the best starting
point for the entire western hemisphere. In February
last storms from the west caused several disastrous wrecks
of vessels leaving and entering the Mersey ; whilst not
the slightest danger attended the entry into Milford
Haven, or departure from it.

Such are among the chief claims and capacities of
Milford Haven. There is not a little, paltry, muddy
inlet on the shores of the three kingdoms, with any
pretence to be called a port, on which more money and
labour have not been expended than on this matchless
haven, whose vast advantages have stared us in the face
for centuries of neglect, until its very name has sounded
strange in our ears, and its position and qualities are a
profound secret to three-fourths of the population; whilst
the Commissioners appointed in 1845, to report, at the
public expense (and of course for national objects), on
tidal harbours, do not once even mention Milford in
their report ! From its long and dead repose, the time is

OF SOUTH WALES. 337

come when Milford will pass into mercantile and naval
life. Its quiescence is just over, its activity about to
begin. From what has been said, it is evident that Mil-
ford has been hitherto locked up from two causes, want
of docks, and want of inland transit. Both are about
to be supplied. A company is already formed, and the
Act obtained, for turning Pennar Bay into spacious and
splendid docks. The South Wales Railway will, in a
short time, carry a branch to Pembroke, and round the
new dock. The dock will be actually completed (so
great is the natural capacity of the place) for a sum little
exceeding that which has been recently given for one
neighbouring estate !

Let us now glance at the probable future which this
prospect opens to South Wales and this district. The
Atlantic navigation which will pour into Milford is
scarcely a matter of doubt ; and the first course it will
probably take will be the creation of an entirely new
traffic direct to London. The journey and voyage to
the United States will be so much shortened that this
is almost a certainty. I am inclined to think that the
existing South Wales line could not, even if it were a
direct line, accommodate this extra traffic, together with
the increase inevitably arising in the intermediate traffic
between adjacent towns on that line. A glance at the
enormous increase in the recent traffic of that railway
already arising, will not only corroborate this view, but
will also help to illustrate the immense wealth and in-
dustrial capacities of the district which the South Wales
Railway skirts on its southern border.

Comparing the second with the first half of the year
1852, the total receipts of this line increased from 45,653,
to 65,290, the mileage in both periods being 99J. In
the first half of 1853, the receipts increased to 95,548,
the mileage open being 131 ; and it is worthy of remark
that of this amount the merchandise traffic alone increased
from 15,544, to 26,941, in the last half year, owing,
I believe, chiefly to the dispatch of coal to Basingstoke
for the Southampton steamers.

VOL. i. 2 x

338 THE INDUSTRIAL CAPACITIES

I have said enough to show that, even if not a single
bale of cotton for the manufacturing market ever finds
its way through Mil ford Haven, there are the germs of
a vast commerce and traffic flowing eastward from this
noble harbour, and giving an equal outlet to the produce
of our western counties, and the vast mineral wealth
through which this traffic must necessarily pass.

Let me briefly call attention to the lines which new
railways for effecting this communication would probably
take, and, in pointing to these, I beg to be understood
as regarding the matter purely with a view to broad and
national interests. If Parliament had long ago legislated
for railway lines on the same principle, and checked
the atrocious absurdities which local interests have per-
petrated, the country at large might have reaped double
the present accommodation its railways afford, and at
half their cost.

A new line from Milford to London, avoiding the
sinuosities of the South Wales line, will probably form
the northern border of the great mineral basin, of which
the South Wales Railway forms the southern border,
and keeping nearly to the line of the level coach road,
through Carmarthen, Brecon, and Abergavenny, cross
the Severn, either at Gloucester, or the Lock Crib, two
miles below Newnham.

From the latter place it might join the Great Western
at the Standish Junction, near Stonehouse, and so pro-
ceed, via Swindon, to London: the traffic thus feeding the
Oxford, Basingstoke, Newbury, and South-Eastern lines
on its way. Or, another and more independent line
would be that of a new railway the whole way through
Gloucester and Oxford, and thence direct through Wy-
combe to London. Along either line powerful local in-
terests, as well as great national ones, would be served.
A still more direct line (one nearly straight) might pos-
sibly be formed to Merthyr, across the Severn at the
Aust Ferry (if Mr. Brunei has still the enterprize and
pluck to undertake it), to a few miles below Swindon,
and thence, using the Great Western, or making an
independent line, via Farringdon. This would be the

OF SOUTH WALES. 339

shortest line, and would, save at the Aust Ferry, be
attended by few formidable engineering difficulties.

Such considerations and future requirements may be
well postponed until a nearer approach to the time when
they shall arise and force themselves on public attention.
Even when they do, the South Wales line, connecting as
it does most important towns and debouchures of several
prolific mineral valleys, has nothing to fear from a rival,
and would benefit by such an ally. It could not possibly
carry the whole traffic of the Atlantic to London through
Milford.

One great object in bringing these various features of
the industrial position of South Wales into notice, is to
direct immediate attention to the certain revolution about
to take place in the present topographical distribution of
our maritime traffic.

So far from exhausting the materials of the topic, I
have simply endeavoured to show where they lie, together
with the great germs of our future commercial greatness.

The enormous mass of coal which every bale of cotton
landed at Milford Haven must cross on the very outset
of its long journey to the Lancashire factories, suggests
the possibility that another fifty years may see a Pem-
brokeshire Manchester, as well as a successor to Liverpool,
on this doubly gifted coast. The transition of a specific
branch of industry is not a matter of very protracted or
difficult accomplishment where several natural elements
of its success exist in the new field. In this district four
are combined :

1. Accessibility for the raw material, &c., and the re-
shipment or transit of the manufactured article.

2. Abundance and cheapness of fuel for its manu-
facture.

3. Cheapness of labour.

4. An atmosphere peculiarly suited to this special
manufacture prevails in this part of Pembrokeshire. It
is well known that the highest numbers (that is, the finest
qualities) of cotton yarn can only be spun in peculiar
temperatures, and that many of the finer fabrics cannot
be woven or even manipulated in cold and exposed places.

340 THE INDUSTRIAL CAPACITIES OF SOUTH WALES.

So mild is the climate of South Pembrokeshire that in
some parts, as for instance in the enclosed grounds at
Stackpole Court, there is almost a tropical vegetation,
and plants thrive in the open air which would require
the protection of a greenhouse in most other parts of
England.

The following table gives the result of a careful analysis
of the temperature of Milford Haven, kept by Sir Thomas
Pasley, at the Dockyard, and which, lying exposed to
the breezes from the Atlantic on the east, and the keen
winds from the Presely mountains on the north, is by no
means the warmest locality in the district :

Mean of Seasons.

Years.

Winter.

Spring.

Summer.

Autumn.

Year mean
of
Seasons.

Year mean
of
Months.

1850
1851
1852
1853

41-90
43-76
42-91
41-62

47-73
46-50
46-37
45-90

59-76
59-23
59-82

58-49

51-83
49-60
50-50
49-77

50-30
49-77
49-90

48-82

50-60
49-60
50-24
47-60

Means

42-55

46-62

5932

50-42 49-69

49-53

Mean of Maximum and j

Minimum, 1850-53.

Years.

Maximum.

Minimum.

1850

.... 55-70

.... 45-60

1851

.... 55-90

.... 43-30

1852

.... 56-40

.... 44-10

1853

.... 53-22

.... 41-62

Means 55-30 43-65

Difference between Mean Summer and Winter 16-77
Mean total rain of four years 32-761.

The merchant, manufacturer, navigator, and general
capitalist, as well as all those who are interested in the
future industrial destiny of the country, and its com-
mercial progress, may perchance derive, from the fore-
going facts, some slight notion of the degree in which
South Wales is likely to minister to it.

341

TOPOGRAPHY, STATISTICS, &c.

NOTES ABOUT THE PARISH OF PENTREVOELAS
AND ITS VICINITY.

(Continued from p. 72.)

THE ancient Hall of Voelas formed, with the offices, three
sides of a quadrangle. It was taken down about the
year 1813, and many of the materials were used for
building the present mansion. The vaulted cellars, and
some heaps of chiselled freestone alone remain, of what
is said to have been a fine specimen of our old family
seats. A colony of herons has long been established in
an adjacent wood.

The ancient name of the parish, namely, Tir yr Abad
(abbot's land), was derived from the grant, before alluded
to, by Llewelyn ap lorweth to the Cistercian monks of
Conway. 1

1 Thus Tre'r Abad, a township near Mostyn, once belonging to
Basingwerk Abbey ; Hafod yr Abad, in Yale, a pasturage of the
Abbey of Valle Crucis. Perhaps Bettws that crux criticorum of
Welsh etymologists may be a corruption of Abbatia or Abbot-house.
So Hospitium makes Yspytty. These several derivations of the word
Bettws have been, from time to time, suggested : Bedw-faes, Birch-
plain; Bedhouse; Baithouse, as affording accommodation for man
and beast ; Beatus ; Beadhouse, adopted by Mr. Pennant and Pro-
fessor Rees. " My objection to Beadhouse is, that it is an English
name; neither can I apprehend why a Chapel should be called a
Beadhouse any more in Wales than elsewhere." Edward Llwyd.
That the termination ws means house is highly probable; thus,
Arianws, loccws, Hendrefeinws, names of ancient residences.

It is said that the name was not applied to parish churches before
the taxation of Pope Nicholas, about 1292, whence it has been sup-
posed that Bettwses are identical with Crusadean Preceptories. But
inasmuch as monastic institutions existed long before the formation of
parishes, might not Bettwses, according to general acceptation, have
been outposts, with oratories attached, maintained by the monasteries
in unfrequented places ? Llwyn y Bettws, on Llwydfawr mountain,
and Bettws fawr, near Llanystymdwy, were both upon, or adjacent to,

342 NOTES ABOUT THE PARISH OF

The charter was dated at Aber Conway, the 7th January,
1198, and was witnessed by lorwerth Gam, Gwin ap Ed-
newin Ydon, the prince's chaplain, and Madoc ap Cador.
The estate now forming the parish of Pentrevoelas formed
but a small portion of the immense tracts in Caernarvon-
shire and Anglesey which were conveyed by this charter,
besides privileges and immunities of great value. 2

The principal landmarks of the tract around Voelas
set forth in the charter of Llewelyn are, in general, those
of the manorial lordship at the present day, called the
lordship of Hiraithog* or Tir yr A bad. But the dis-

estates belonging to the Abbey of Conway. " O fryn i fettws " was
a proverb implying that the Bettwses lay in sheltered spots near
mountain thoroughfares.

2 This was not the only monastery endowed by this prince. The
Benedictine Priory of Priestholme, the house of Grey Friars at
Llanfaes, both of which are in Anglesey, and the Cistercian Abbey
of Cymmer, near Dolgellau, were founded by Llewelyn ap lorwerth.
He was, by his own request, buried at Conway Abbey, which was
the mausoleum of several of the princes of North Wales, as well as
a depository of national records. On the rebuilding of the town by
Edward I., in the year 1283, the monks were translated to the Abbey
of Maenan, near Llanrwst, where also Llewelyn's stone coffin was de-
posited. On the dissolution of monasteries, it was removed to Llan-
rwst church, where, together with a splendid roodloft from the abbey,
it still remains.

In the taxation of Pope Nicholas, A.D. 1292, among the estates of
the abbot of Conway are mentioned " Grangiam de Karennock,
Voylas Kenekea," Cerniogau, Voelas, Llyn Cymmer. (Willis' Sur-
vey.) At the dissolution, the revenues of the abbey were, according
to Speed, 179. 10s. 10d.; according to Dugdale, 162. 15s. Od.

8 Hiraithog long, furzy; aith, eithyn, gorse, furze. So Crugaith
furze-covered mount a town and castle in Caernarvonshire. Not,
I apprehend, Crugaeth, mount of agony ; nor Cricerth, cry of immi-
nent danger ; nor the fancied station of Agricola. Toinmen eithin,
in Tywyn Meirionydd, is synonymous with Crugaith.

The Hiraithog range extends from Derwen to Eglwysfach, from
Pentrevoelas to Nantglyn. " It forms one of the most extensive and
dreary wastes in the Principality, being from 25 to 30 miles in length,
and of various breadths, from 5 to 9 miles. It chiefly consists of
shale, besides grey mountain rock, or semi-indurated whin, and flags
for flooring. On the western side this argillaceous range is intersected
by narrow veins of grey limestone. The hollows and flats abound
with good depths of excellent peat for fuel." Lewis' Topographical
Dictionary.

PENTREVOELAS AND ITS VICINITY. 343

positions made of the property at different periods have
produced variations of boundary ; for instance, the boun-
dary line now comprehends Llyn Alwen, with land be-
yond the lake, instead of intersecting it, as originally
defined. The limits of the parish on the south, east, and
north, appear conterminous, or nearly so, with those of
the manor. But between the boundary of the parish
on the west, and that of the manor on the same side, a
township, belonging to Llanrwst, called Ty brith uchaf,
intervenes. The parishes contiguous to Pentrevoelas are,
on the west and north-west, Llanrwst; north, Gwytherin
and Llanfairtalhaiarn; north-east, Llansannan; east, Hen-
llan, Nantglyn, and Cerrigydrudion ; south, Cerrigy-
drudion, Yspytty.

The following extract is from a copy of the charter in
the appendix to Williams' History of Conway :

" The original charter granted to the Abbey of Aber Conway,
by Llewelyn ap lorwerth, prince of North Wales. 4 Dated 1198.
From Dugdale's Monasticon.

"'Concessi insuper et confirmavi eisdem monachis Voelas-
Keirnauc et Llanfair-Ryt-Castell per hos videlicet terminos :
Ascendendo per fluvium Gwrysgauc usque ad latum vadum in

4 Called, by way of distinction, Llewelyn the Great. There were
three princes of that name. 1. Llewelyn ap Seisyllt, reigned from
1015 to 1021 ; 2. Llewelyn ap lorwerth^ reigned from 1194 to 1240;
3. Llewelyn ap Gruffydd, the last independent prince of Wales, and
grandson of Llewelyn ap lorwerth, reigned from 1246 to 1282. The
above date of Llewelyn ap lorwerth's accession to the sovereignty,
though adopted by historians, does not correspond with that given in
the date of the charter, " anno ab Incarnatione Domini millesimo
centesimo nonagesimo octavo et principatus mei anno decimo ; " for
the latter would fix his accession in the year 1188. This date might
refer to the commencement of his struggle for the sovereignty with
his usurping uncle, the other to its successful close. And yet he
designates himself in the charter, " totius Norwallice Princeps."

It is a singular fact that the date almost invariably assigned to
the endowment of Conway Abbey, is 1185, long before Llewelyn's
ascending the throne of Gwynedd, a discrepancy that it would be
desirable to see explained. It could scarcely be supposed that his
private estates could afford such extensive alienations. D. Peters
says it was after mounting the throne that Llewelyn built and en-
dowed Conway Abbey, and assigns 1195 as the date, Hanes Cre-
fydd yn Nghymru, p. 314.

344 NOTES ABOUT THE PARISH OF

Blaengwrysgauc. Hinc per alveum usque Maen es Artyr. Hinc
usque Cerrigyllwynogod. Hinc usque Carnedrun. Hinc usque
ad fontem subtus Moeheissauc. Hinc usque ad summitatem
Moel seissauc. Hinc usque ad Blaengwen eneas. Hinc descen-
dendo per alveum usque Henryt Beli. Hinc per fluvium Kalet-
wyn usque blaen Kaletwyn subtus Gorsgaranen. Hinc directe
ducta linea usque Esgynvaen Gwgan. Hinc usque Llyn Alwen.
Hinc per medium Llyn Alwen et per medium fluvii Alwen
usque Rytgwynn. Hinc per Nantheilynsetts usque ad quandam
valliculam divertentem ad sinistram, et per illam valliculam
ascendendo usque ad caput cujusdam alvei profundi subtus
Brondengynllwyn. Hinc reliquendo Brondengynllwyn ad dex-
teram intra terminos, monachorum per vallum usque Blaen-
llaethawg. Hinc per medium Llaethawg usque ad fluvium Nuc.
Hinc per medium Nuc uspue ad fluvium Conwy, et per medium
aquae Conwy usque ad Abergwrysgaue.'"

OBSERVATIONS.

" Voelas-Keirnauc et Llanfair-Ryt-Castell." These
names have since designated three distinct estates. " Keir-
nauc," Ceirniog, pi. Ceirniogau. Llanfair-Ryt-Castell.
Rhydlanfair is the present name of an ancient house
and estate adjacent to the brook " Gwrysgauc." There
are no traces of the history or site of "Llanfair" (St.
Mary's Chapel or Oratory), nor of the Castle near a Ford,
"Rhyd y Castell." But the farm called Cefn Castell
(Castle-ridge) is not far off, and close by is a field called
Gwerglodd Dol y Castell (Castle-dale meadow).

The " Gwrysgauc," or Gwrysgawg, (abounding in
brushwood,) from the junction of which with the Conway
the definition of the boundary commences, is now known
as Nant Carreg y fran. In Maen es Artyr the orthography
is evidently at fault. This well known stone has its
name corrupted into Maen sertan, certain- stone, or, as
some say with more plausibility, Maen Siarter, Charter-
stone.

" Carnedrun" means Garneddwen (white stone-heap).
This was one of those conspicuous piles of stones thrown
over graves, once so common in Wales. About the year
1803 the stones were used for a mountain wall under an
Enclosure Act, which has been the fate of the greatest

PENTREVOELAS AND ITS VICINITY. 345

portion of our primitive monuments. A number of cells
or cistvaens, containing bones, were exposed. The only
other relic was a piece of round dark-coloured glass,
about seven inches diameter, and two and a half inches
thick. Not far to the west lies the fragment of a fine
Maen-hir, with appearances of a former structure around
it, which was swept away at the same time, and for the
same purpose, as the carnedd above mentioned. The
name of this stone is Maen pebyll (stone of tabernacles or
tents), obviously in commemoration of some assemblage,
whether peaceful or warlike. It appears certain that the
Roman road to Conovium, which exists between Pentre-
voelas and Caer Dunawd in Llanfihangel, under the
name Llwybr Elen, and which has recently been traced
about Ruthin, passed this way.

Two miles south-west of this spot is the Capel Garmon
cromlech, of which a description, as it appeared a twelve-
month ago, is given in the Cambrian Journal, No. I. p.
73. The carnedd enclosing it was carefully opened, No-
vember 9, 1853, and a most interesting and perfect speci-
men of our ancient sepulchres was brought to light.

The structure within resembles a T> consisting of three
chambers in a line east and west, perpendicular to which
is a long entrance-passage opening upon the central
chamber. This chamber is oblong, and subdivided by
two upright flagstones into three compartments. At
each end it opens into two other chambers, one of which
is circular, and the other, which has its cromlech-roof
still entire, appears to have been circular before some
of its stones were displaced to form a stable, for which
a new entrance was excavated through the west side of
the carnedd. The cells were accommodated to the na-
tural inclination of the ground, increasing in height
according to the distance from the entrance, which was
upon the upper side of the slope. The entrance consists
of two upright stones, two feet high, and the same dis-
tance apart. After entering there is a descent of about a
foot, by three steps, and then the passage expands in
breadth considerably about the middle, and contracts

VOL. I. 2 Y

346 NOTES ABOUT THE PARISH OF

again to two feet on entering the middle chamber. It
gradually increases in height, until, at its inner end, it is
four feet six inches high. This passage, as well as the
cells, was no doubt covered. The interstices between
the upright stones were filled up with remarkably neat
stone-work, in courses of uniformly thin stone. If the
covers of the passage rested upon the present uprights,
as appears to have been the case, the entrance was only
two feet square and just large enough to admit a man
on hands and knees. This sepulchre probably contained
several bodies. Some of the neighbours say that, within
living memory, the cromlech was covered over with
carnedd stones ; but when, and by whom, the cells were
violated, and their cover-stones broken, cannot be ascer-
tained.

A relic, described as a cadwyn, chain, was discovered
near this spot some years back. I imagine it to be a
torch, torques, or some such antique ornament of value,
perhaps a relic of the engagement in which the warrior-
bard Gwalchmai took part at this place. For that his
" Gwaith Maesygarnedd " has reference to the farm so
called, contiguous to this monument, appears highly
probable from its proximity to " Craig- Gwydir," where
occurred another action, or gwaith, in which he was en-
gaged. But this carnedd could not have been raised to
entomb any of the warriors slain in that action, for
Gwalchmai lived in the twelfth century, and burials in
cistfeini and carneddau ceased after the introduction of
Christianity. 5

" Usque ad font em" &c. This is still known as Ffynon
las Moel Seisiog. " Usque Henryt Sell." It may mean

5 At the Meeting of the Cambrian Archaeological Association at
Ruthin, in September, 1854, Mr. Freeman described the opening of a
tumulus on the Cotswold Hills, above the valley of the Severn, which
enclosed a sepulchre exactly resembling the above : A long gallery
with two chambers at each side, essentially cromlechs the walls of
large stones and the interstices filled up with small ones the entrance
by a low aperture, leading to a low chamber branching off to the
others. Thirteen skeletons were found, one in a sitting posture at the
entrance.

PENTREVOELAS AND ITS VICINITY. 347

the Ford of Devastation. Beli was the name of several
British Princes. This well-known ford probably took
its name from Beli ap Benlli Gawr, a prince of lal, in
Denbighshire, of great renown, in the sixth century. Of
the violation of this warrior's tomb by a farmer of Yale,
as well as of similar desecrations elsewhere, Carnhuanawc
speaks in indignant terms.

" Kaletwyn" &c. Caledwyn,Corsgraianog,and Esgyn-
faen Gwgan are familiar names. The first is spelt Caled-
fryn in the Ordnance maps, an instance out of several
where the vulgar and correct pronounciation has been
pedantically and ignorantly distorted, and irreparable
mistakes produced. " Esgynfaen Gwgan' 9 Esgynfaen,
a stone of mounting, a horseblock. Gwgan was Bishop
of LlandafF, A.D. 982. There were several historical
characters of that name. There is Castell Gwgan in
Eifionydd. "Per medium fluvii Alwen" &c. "Usque
Blaen Llaethawg" or head of the Llaethawg. This brook
joins the river Nug below Cerniogau turnpike, which
river, passing Pentrevoelas, and joining the Conway,
completes the circuit.

Another estate was granted by the same charter lying
about Llyn Cymmer in Cerrigydrudion, the western limits
of which would approach the eastern boundaries above
described. This estate lay higher up the hills than the
Voelas district, whence the latter was, in ancient docu-
ments, called Tir yr Abad isa, or Lower Abbot-land.

On the Alwen, a few miles below the manor boundary,
in the parish of Llanfihangel Glyn Myfyr, 6 is the large
stronghold, called Caer Dunawd, Dunawd 's fortress in
Llewelyn's charter, Din Dunaut. 1 Some have supposed

6 St. Michael's Church, in the Glen of Meditation, a name well
becoming the seclusion of the spot. Here, in 1741, was born Owen
Jones, the furrier, of Thames Street, to whom we are indebted for the
" Myfyrian Archaiology." It was so named from his bardic appella-
tion, " Myfyr," derived from his native place. His son, Owen Jones,
is the well-known artist and illustrator of the Alhambra.

7 " Caer Ddynod, close by the river Alwen, is rather of an oval form
than circular. The dyke or rampire consists of a vast quantity of
stones, at present rudely heaped together. On the river side it is

348 NOTES ABOUT THE PARISH OF

this to be the scene of the sanguinary and decisive action
between Caradog and Ostorius, the Roman general, A.D.
51, when Caradog's family were taken prisoners; himself
soon after being betrayed into the enemy's hands. Others,
with more probability, insist that Caer Caradog, on the
borders of Shropshire, was the battle-field, still recorded
in the name of the place. Other spots have their several
advocates.

Dunawd, the Abbot of Bangor Is-coed, celebrated as
the leader of the controversy with Augustine the monk,
lived 550 years later. As he had distinguished himself
as a warrior before he had embraced a monastic life, it
is not improbable that this fortification was of his con-
struction. (Rees* Welsh Saints, p. 206.)

A blank must be left in the history of Tir yr Abad,
from the grant by Llewelyn to Conway Abbey, down to
the dissolution of monasteries. From the latter period,
it may be presumed, the history of the manorial estate
and that of the tithes would be separately traced ; one to
the possession of the family of Voelas, the other, (re-
serving a deduction of 5. a year,) in connexion with
the tithes of Llan Nefydd, to support a prebend of that
name in the Cathedral of St. Asaph. The tithes have
for many years been let by ecclesiastical lease. They
were commuted in 1845 at the sum of 228.

The celebrated Rhys ap Meredydd, of Plas lolyn, who
was owner of large estates hereabouts, had four sons, of
whom Maurice ap Rhys is described as steward of the
abbots of Conway, at the commencement of the sixteenth
century. He probably farmed or held the estates of the
abbey in this neighbourhood under lease. It appears
that his son, Cadwalader ap Maurice, resided at Voelas,

about 300 feet high, but not half that height elsewhere. On the other
side the river we have a steep hill, on which lies Caer Forwyn
(maiden fort), a large circular entrenchment. This Caer Ddynod (as
Mr. Lloyd supposes) was in all likelihood a British camp, seeing it
agrees exactly with Tacitus' description of the camp of Caractacus,
when he engaged Ostorius Scapula somewhere in this country of the
Ordovices." Annotator to Camden.

PENTREVOELAS AND ITS VICINITY. 349

and his son, Robert Gethin ap Maurice, at Cerniogau,
and that they obtained grants or confirmations of these
several estates from Henry VIII., in 1546, since which
they remained in separate families, until their recent
reunion by purchase. It would appear that there was
a further confirmation or distribution in the time of
Elizabeth, for Robert Wynne, son of Cadwalader of

Voelas, A.D. 1553-1591, is called Steward of the Queen
of the lands and tenements of the late monastery of
Con way. 8

That other portions of these monastic estates changed
masters in the same way appears from Rowland's Mona
Antigua, where he says of Celleiniog, which was granted
to the monks of Conway by the same charter :

"The monastery being dissolved about the year 1541, this
township with several others of the like description fell into the
King's hands ; and its tenants, who were formerly tied to the
conventual establishment in consideration of Leases or Feefarm
rents, by royal permission became forthwith, on payment of a
sum of money, purchasers of those lands."

The sum of 5. above mentioned was reserved out of
the tithes of Tir yr Abad, for the spiritual instruction of
the inhabitants. There is a small chapel built for their
accommodation on the south side of Yspytty Church, still
called Voelas Chapel, and which existed probably long
before the dissolution of Coriway Abbey. In the terrier of
Yspytty there is, or was, mention made of 5. issuing out
of the tithes of Tir yr Abad for the incumbent of Yspytty.
For the greater convenience of the township, and probably
at a later date, another small chapel, likewise called Capel
y Voelas, was built close by Pentrevoelas bridge, but
still within the boundary of Yspytty, where, it may be
supposed, religious service was performed by the minister
of that parish. But if such was the case, it had long ago
ceased, and the inhabitants had recourse to the services

8 See Archceologia Cambrensis, January, 1852, p. 69, stating that
the pedigree of the Wynnes of Voelas is very imperfect in Lewis
Dvvnn and Burke, and supplying a more complete one from the case
" Wynne v. Blair," Cheshire Assizes, August 19, 1835.

350 NOTES ABOUT THE PARISH OF

of a Lay Reader from among themselves, by whom the
Liturgy, followed by a Homily, was read on Sundays,
and who received the above mentioned 5. for his services.
There is not a vestige of this chapel remaining ; but an
old yew tree marks the site in front of Pentrevoelas
village. An aged woman named Lowry Roberts, who
died in 1847, was the last survivor of the congregation.
She used to relate her youthful, and somewhat amusing,
recollections of the crowded little chapel, with its clay
floor, covered with rushes. Sion Davydd, better known
as Sion Davydd J3erson, an intelligent maker of wooden
clogs, was the officiating minister. He died in January,
1769, aged ninety-four. The following verses, on his
tombstone in Yspytty churchyard, show the estimation
in which this poor and good man was held :

Galar i'r ddaear oer ddu aeth Athraw

Fu'n meithrin beirdd Cymru ;
Llafurus bu'n llefaru,

Diddan fodd, y dydd a fu.

Terfynodd, hunodd ryw hyd Sion Davydd

'Madawai o hir fy wyd ;
Ond cofiwn etto cyfyd

O'r ddaear bwys ddiwedd byd. 9

9 In a manuscript of David Jones, of Trefriw, who is noticed in
Williams' Eminent Welshmen, are several pieces of rhyme having
reference to Sion Davydd. One poem requests of the village smith a
pothook arid chain for suspending his cauldron over the fire, inasmuch
as he could not afford a new one, and was only possessed of an old
bill-hook and a few old horseshoes wherewith to make one. Another,
by the same bard, on behalf of Sion Davydd, begs a Dictionary of
the date 1688. He appears to have possessed acquirements in advance
of his age, and to have been generally beloved. But " the seams of
his pockets were always empty."

" Gwag yn wastad

Ydyw cydiad ei boccedau."
He was an inveterate reader

" Fob cerdd neu gywydd rhaid eu cuddio,
Hyn sy sicr oni ddelir un o'i ddwylo."

He is described as a man of excellent moral character, and, though
devoted to his books, diligent in his calling as a farm labourer.

To him was Twm of Nant, the Cambrian Aristophanes, indebted
for his learning to write, and for the loan of books : " I became

PENTREVOELAS AND ITS VICINITY. 351

Thus was pastoral superintendence provided for the
sum which had been considered sufficient for that purpose
upon the alienation of the tithes. Secular instruction, to
the amount of reading and writing, was supplied by the
private adventure of some intelligent parishioner in his
or her own house.

In 1766, Watkin Wynne, Esq., of Voelas, built the
present church, to which his eldest daughter Miss Jane
Wynne, (afterwards the Honourable Mrs. Finch), in
1774, added the transept with the family burial vaults
beneath. The same gentleman, with the aid of a grant
from Queen Anne's Bounty, provided an endowment for
a duly ordained pastor, the nomination to be vested in
him and his heirs.

John Griffith, Esq., of Cefnamwlch in Lleyn, a relative
of the family of Voelas, in the year 1794, left by his will
100 a year, in augmentation of the curate's income,
but the gift was for certain reasons void in law. That
sum was, notwithstanding the informality, for several
years regularly paid, but at any time liable to be with-
drawn.

In 1844, C. W. G. Wynne, Esq., the present proprietor
of Voelas, with the purpose of for ever securing the
augmentation contemplated by his generous kinsman,
conveyed to the use of the benefice, land of the yearly
value of 97, together with ground for a parsonage.
To meet this gift, estimated at 3195, the Ecclesiastical
Commissioners added two -thirds thereof, amounting to

acquainted with another of the same propensity for collecting old
books, viz., an old man at Pentre'r foelas, who read in the chapel on
Sundays, and made clogs at other times." Autobiography.

Such was the last lay-pastor of the straw-thatched Voelas Chapel.
It is probable that clog-making was the occupation of his old age,
and that he had not entered upon his pastoral duty when the above-
mentioned verses were written, otherwise there would have been some
allusion to it. This was a function little known in those days; perhaps
this instance is a solitary one, as regards this part of the country. Is
it too late to wish that the aid of lay-readers had been more generally
and systematically employed in the out-lying townships and wide-
spread parishes of the Principality ?

352 NOTES ABOUT THE PARISH OF

2130, for building a parsonage and increasing the
income.

The inhabitants were baptized and buried principally
at Yspytty. Residents about to marry had their banns
published eighteen miles off at Llan Nef'ydd, 1 of which
parish Tir yr Abad was a township. To obviate this in-
convenience an Act was passed in the forty-fourth year
of George III., enacting that from and after the 25th
March, 1805, the officiating minister of Voelas Chapel
should be enabled to publish banns and solemnize mar-
riages in the said chapel.

The first parish clerk was John Thomas, shopkeeper, a
person of no common intelligence, and standing above
mediocrity in the rank of poets. His skill and enterprise
found, even on so unpromising a field as Hiraithog
mountain, a mode of benefiting his poor neighbours,
and at the same time of enriching himself. 2 He em-
ployed a large number of people to collect the stone-rag
(Lichen tartareus, Welsh, Cen cerrig) for dyeing pur-
poses, and to burn fern for the production of potash.
He died September 12, 1818, aged seventy-six. His
poetical works were published in 1847, under the name
of "Eos Gwynedd."

In the transept of the church is a handsome monument
by Westmacott, in memory of John Griffith, Esq., before
mentioned. The inscription is as follows :

" Here lies the body of John Griffith, Esquire, of Cefnamwlch,
in the County of Caernarvon, of a most ancient and honourable
family, possessors of Lleyn during several centuries. He was

1 Three saints of that name are mentioned by Professor Rees. He
ascribes the foundation of this church to Nefydd, wife of Tudwal
Befyr, A.D. 450. This is frequently wrongly spelt Llanufydd.
Uftidd means obedient, wherefore Leland calls Llanufydd " fanum
obedientiae."

2 To him Twm o'r Nant thus refers in one of his Interludes :

" Ond mae rhai siopwyr yn byw'n siapus,
Dyna Sion Bentrefoelas wrth fod yn ofalus;
Ac ambell rai eraill mewn tref a Han
'N gwneud eiddo yn anrhydeddus." Pleser a Gofid.

PENTREVOELAS AND ITS VICINITY. 353

paternally descended from Traharn Goch of Lleyn, 3 a lineal
descendant of Rees ap Tudor King of South Wales, and mater-
nally from Rees ap Meredydd, 4 who was a progenitor of the
Wynnes of Voelas, and lineally descended from Marchweithian,
one of the 15 tribes of North Wales. He exchanged this mortal
life for a better on the 4 th of December, 1794, aged 52 years."

The house of Voelas appears to have supplied the
county of Denbigh with several sheriffs during its suc-
cessive generations. In 1548, Cadwalader Maurice, of
Voelas, Esq., was sheriff. In 1549, Robert Wynne ap
Cadwalader, Esq. In 1574, the same. In 1605, Cad-
walader Wynne, Esq. In 1631, Robert Wynne, Esq.
In 1664, the same. In 1755, Watkin Wynne, of Voelas,
Esq. In 1815, Charles Wynne Griffith Wynne, Esq.

(To be continued.)

3 Traharn or Trahaiarn Goch, lord of Cwmwd Maen, Lleyn, temp.
Edward III. bore " Azure a chevron between three dolphins hariant
argent," which arms are upon the above monument quartered with
those of Marchweithian. He was called Trahaiarn Goch of Lleyn,
as distinguished from Trahaiarn Goch of Emlyn, another head of
the fifteen common tribes in Gwynedd. Rhys ap Tewdwr was one of
the five royal tribes.

Marchweithian, lord of Isaled, in the reign of Henry II. bore
" gules, lion rampant, argent armed and langued, azure." He lived
about the year 720. His court is said to have been at Llys Llyweni.
His possessions comprised the estates of Carwed fynydd, Din Cadvoel,
Frees (Tre Brys ?) Beryn (Berain ?) Llyweni, Gwytherin, and many
other townships in the hundred of Isaled, as appears by an extent of
the lordship of Denbigh, made in the eighth year of Edward III., at
which time Cynwrig fychan, ninth in descent from Marchweithian
lived. Dames' Display of Heraldry.

4 Known as Rhys fawr ap Meredydd of Hiraithog. He lived at
Plas lolyn, now a farm-house near Pentrevoelas, and distinguished
himself at Bosworth, A.D., 1485. From him were descended the
families of Voelas, Rhiwlas, Pantglas, Gilar, and several others.

VOL. I. 2 Z

354

MUSIC.

VII.

Slow.

ANCIENT WELSH MUSIC.

BETTI BROWN.

Tegengl.

-3-

VIII.

Moderate.

BRYNIAU 'R IWERDDON.

Gwynedd.

ANCIENT WELSH MUSIC.

355

IX.

MENTRA GWEN.

Pel yi cenir yn y Gogledd.

J_-__J

tt:*~

356

GENEALOGY.

(Continued from page 140.)

Achav leirll A MARQWEZTOD

Edward 3 dd Brenin Lloegr.

Catharine SwinfFord Gwraig
weddw S r Hugh SwinfFord, oedd
y Drydydd wraig Ei John o
Ghendt, Merch oedd Hi S
Payn. Gwr Vchel Ei Radd yn
Normandie. 3

BeaufFord, y dy w Tref yn Anjou,

John o Ghent 4 dd Mab y Ed-
ward y 3 dd

John Beaufford; Mab John
o Ghent o Gatharine SwinfFord,
Merch S r Payn o Normandi, A
Gwraig weddw, S r Hugh Swin-
fFord. Hon oedd y 3 dd wraig I
John o Ghent. 4

Fo Alwad y Mab hwn yn John

o BeaufFord, o Achos Ei Eni Ef Neu Andegauia. Gwlad yn Fra-
yn y Dref or Henw BeaufFord, nic, or^ Enw Hynmi. 6
canus Mae Fellu yr oedd wyllys
John o Ghent, Dug o lanechas-
ter.5

Edmond BeaufFord oedd 4 dd
Mab y John BeaufFord, Hwn
oedd larll o Somerset, SeF Gwlad
yr HaF, Ag larll o Dorcett,
Ag Arglwydd y Wayn yn Sir

Ddimbech, Ag larll Merton, Neu
Meriton, yn Frainc, o Rodd
Harry y 5* ed Ano 7 Anno Do-
mini 1474.

Anno 21 th o Harry 6 ed Fy

S r Payn, oedd Brenin, yr Her-
augtied, yn wr Mawr yn Nor-
mandieJ

Elianor Beauchamp oedd Merch
S r Richard Beauchamp larll
Warwig. Hon oedd wraig Ed-
mond BeaufFord yr Ail Dug o
wlad yr HaF, Ag y Ddygodd
wrth Ei Phriodas EtiFeddiaeth Ei
Thad larll Warwig, Yw Gwr
Edmond. Hi a Fu Farw yn
y 7 ed Flwyddyn o Dyrnas Ed-
ward 4 dd 8

1 " The Pedigree oF the Earls and Marquises oF Worcester."

2 King oF England."

3 " C. S. the widow oF Sir H. S. was the 3 rd wiFe oF J. oF Ghent.
She was the daughter oF Sir Pain, who was a person oF distinction in
Normandy."

4 " J. B. the son oF J. oF G. by C. S. daughter oF Sir Pain oF
Normandy, and widow oF Sir H. S. She was the 3 rd wiFe oF J. oF G."

5 " This son was called John oF BeaufFord, because he was born in
the town named BeaufFord, such being the wish oF J. oF G. duke oF
Lancaster."

6 " B. is a town in Anjou or Andegavia : a country in France oF
that name."

7 " Sir P. was the king oF the H. and was a great man in Nor-
mandy."

8 " E. B. was the daughter oF Sir R. B. earl oF Warwick. She

GENEALOGY. 357

wnaed yn Ddug o wlad yr Haf,
Ag yn Farquez o Dorcett; Ag
Ef oedd yr Ail Dug, o wlad yr
Haf, or Beauffords, y Trydydd
Mab John Beaufford Gyntaf or
vn Henw ai Dad oedd y Dug
cyntaf o wlad yr Haf.9

Gwy-Byddwch yn yspus, Mai
Margaret Beaufford, Merch John
Beaufford, Dug Gwlad yr Haf,
oedd yn Briod Ag Edmond ap
Owain Tydyr, larll Richmond.
A Brawd un Fam, Ar Brenin
Harry 6 ed . o Honi Hi y Ganed
Hary ap Edmond ap Owain Ty-
dyr. Hwn A laddodd Ei Elyn,
Richard y Trydydd ; Ag A wis-
codd Goron lloegr, Ag Mae Hi
yn Ei Heppil Ef, Had yr Awr
Hon. Yn yr Harry y 7 ed y cyf-
lawnwyd Holl Droganey Cym-
reig, Am yr Eryr Mawr o
Wynedd (o Hil cadwaladr y
Dywaethaf Brenin Ar yr holl
ynys, or Britaniad) I Dyrnasu
ym Mhrudain Fawr. 1

Yn Edmond Beaufford Er oedd
Harry y chweched yn Rhoi I
Goel Ai Holl Hyder, yn y Rhy-

was the wife of E. B. second duke of Sommerset : and by her mar-
riage brought to her husband Edmund, the inheritance of her father,
earl of Warwick."

9 " E. B. was the 4 th son of J. B. who was the earl of Sommerset,
earl of Dorset, lord of Chirk in Denbighshire, and earl Merton or
Meriton in France the gift of Henry 5 th Anno 7 A.D. 1474. Anno
21 of H. 6 th he was made Duke of Sommerset, and Marquis of
Dorset ; and he was the second Duke of S. of the Beuffords the
third son, J. B. the iirst of the same name as his father, was the first
duke of S."

1 " Know for certain that it was M. B. daughter of J. B. duke of
Sommerset, that was the wife of E. ap O. T. earl of Richmond, and
brother of King Henry 6 th by the same mother. Of her was born
H, ap Edm. ap O. T. who slew his enemy Richard III. and wore
the crown of England, which remains in his seed and progeny to the
present day. It was in H. VII. that all the Welsh vaticinations
were fulfilled concerning the great eagle of Gwynedd (out of the
lineage of C. the last supreme king of the Britons) that was to reign
in Great Britain."

358

GENEALOGY.

fel y Ddau Iwyth York, A Ian-
caster, canus I Fod Ef Gynt
Rheolwr ar Frainc A Normandi,
Ag yn Ddewr yn Ei gormeilio
Nhwy, y Francod, Mewn Battel-
oedd yn Fynych. Ond yn y
Diwedd, yn y Flwyddyn 1454
Fo laddwyd yn y Maes Mawr
o S t Abans, yn Ei wlad Ef, Ei
Hunan. Ag y Claddwyd, yn y
FanachlogHonno,Mewn Braint. 2

Harry Beaufford larll Dorcett
Ar 3 dd Dug o Wlad yr Haf, oedd
Fab Edmond Beaufford, Hwn a
drodd oddiwrth, Harry 6 ed Frenin
Att Edward y Pedwerudd. Ag
A Ddyrbyniwyd yn Groesafus
lawn. * Ond Gwedi Hynna, Pan
Ddoeth Harry y 6 ed A 11 u o
Scottiaid gidag Ef, y Ddyram,
ynte a Ddoeth I Euisham, Ei
Daro yn Ei Blaid Ef. Ag y
Gafodd Ei orchffugy, gan Sion
Marquez Montague, Ag a Ddali-
wyd, Ag, a Dorrwyd Ei Benn
Ef. Ir Hwn v Bu Fab o Joan
Hil Ai Eriw Efoedd.*

Charles, Ef A drodd ei Henw,
or Henw Beaufford Ir Henw

Johan Hil, oedd Ferch Ian
Anianol, Ag yn Annwyl Gan
Harry Beaufford, y Trydydd Dug
o Wlad yr Haf, Rhai A Ddwaid,
Ei Bod Hi yn Briod A Harry.
Ond cyffelib lawn Nad oedd Hi,
o Achos, y Barr Ag oedd Ei
Heppil Hi yn Ei Ddvvyn yn Ei
Harfay, sydd Arwydd, Plant, o
ordderch. O Hon y Ganwyd
Charles Somersett, Ei Harry
Beaufford. Newydiad yr Henw,
sydd Arwydd Arall had oedd
Charles Fab o Briod. 3

Elisabeth Merch William (Medd
Erill Harry) larll Huntington

2 " H. VI. placed his whole trust and confidence in E. B. in the
war between York and Lancaster, because he had been formerly
governor of France and Normandy, and had bravely conquered the
French in many battles. At length in the year 1454 he was slain
on the great plain of St. Albans, in his own country, and was buried
with honour in that monastery."

3 " J. H. was a beautiful woman, and beloved by H. B. the 3 rd
duke of Sommerset. Some say that she was married to H. but very
probably such was not the case, as may be inferred from the bar that
her descendants bore in their arms, which is the badge of natural
children. Of her was born Ch. S. to H. B. The change of name
is another sign that Ch. was not born in wedlock."

4 " H. B. earl of Dorset, and 3 rd duke of Sommerset was the son
of Edm. B. He turned from king H. VI. to Edw. IV. and was
received by him very graciously. But when H. VI. came with a
troop of Scotch to Durham, he came to Evisham to strike up for
him, but was conquered by John, Marquis of Montague, and was
captured and beheaded. He had a son by Joan Hil, whose name
was"

GENEALOGY.

359

Somerset! Ag Fellu Ei Gelwir
Ei Hepil Ef, y Dydd Heuddiw,
Sef Somersetts. Eiddo Fe y bu
Fab Ag Alwyr Harri, Ag un oi
Ferched Ef oedd 5

Elisabeth, A Fu yn Briod A
Syr John Sauage o Rorke Sauage,
yn Swydd Gaer lleon. A Hepil
Honno, o S r John Sauage ydiw
larll Riuers, yn yr Awr Honn. 6

Merch yr Arglwyddes Elysa-
beth Somerset, A S r John Sauage,
oedd Margarett Sauage, A Fu yn
Briodawl a Syr Richard Bulckley,
o Beau Mares, yn Sir Fon ; or
Margaret Hon, y Doeth Arglwydd
Bulkey, Vicecount cassal. He-
fud Merch Margerett, oedd Jane
Bulk ley, a Fu wraig Robert Pue,
o'r Penrhyn, yn y creuddyn, or
Hwn, Ei Doeth yn Bardd Ni
Gwilym Pue.9

Fo wnaed Charles Somerset yn
Farchog, or Gardas Glas, Yn
Amser Harry y 7 d Ag ir Hwn,
yr Roedd Ef yn Arglwydd cham-
berlayne. Ag Fellu y Bu Ef, Ei

oedd yn Briodawl a charles larll
caerfrangonJ

Yr larll Hwn o Huntington
oedd Fab Ei William larll Penfro,
yr Hwn William oedd Ail Mab
S r William Thomas, Y Marchog
Glas o Wendt, oi wraig Ef-
Gwladus De Gam, Merch Syr
DafyddllewelynGam. AGwraig
weddw S r Roger Vaughan o Brd-
wardine A Mochas, or Gwladus
Hon, y Doeth y Vaughans o
Brdwardine A Mochas, H erg west
A threfy Twr.s

Gwladus Hefud y Fu Fam yr
Holi Herberdiaid yng Ghyinry,
Gan Ei Bod Hi yn wraig Ei
Syr William Thomas, Alias Her-
bert, y Marchog Glas o Wendt.
Yr Hwn oedd ymladdwr Pybyr
ym mlaid Edward 4 dd Brenin
lloegr ; yn yr Rhyffel, Ar ymry-
son, Rhwng York A lanaster. 1

Syr William Thomas, A wnaeth
Adeiladu castell Rhaglan, cas-
gwent, a Gower, A llawer lawn
o Arglwyddiaythay oedd Ef yn

5 " Charles. He changed his name from B. to S. and thus all his
descendants at the present day are called Sommersetts. He had a
son named H. and one of his daughters was "

6 " Elizabeth, who was married to Sir J. S. of R. S. in Cheshire ;
and her descendant by Sir J. S. is earl Rivers at present."

7 " Elizabeth, daughter of William (H. according to others) earl
of Huntington, was married to Ch. earl of Worcester."

8 " This earl of H. was the son of W. earl of Pembroke, which W.
was the second son of Sir W. Th. the blue knight of Gwent, by his
wife Gwladus de Gam, daughter of Sir D. LI. G. and widow of Sir
R. V. of Bredwardine and Mochas. Of this Gwladus came the
Vaughans of B. and M. H. and Tref y Twr."

9 " The daughter of Lady E. S. and Sir J. S. was M. S. who was
married to Sir R. B. of Beaumaris in Anglesey. From this Mar-
garet was descended Lord B. Vicecount Cashel. Also daughter of
M. was J. B. who married R. P. of Penrhyn in Creuddyn, of whom
came our bard, W. P."

1 " G. also was the mother of all the Herberts in Wales, as she
was the wife of Sir W. T. alias H. the blue knight of Gwent, who
was a strenuous warrior on the side of Edw. IV. King of England,
in the war and contention that existed between York and Lancaster."

360

GENEALOGY.

Harry yr 8 ed yr Hwnn ai Gwnaeth
Ef, yn larll o Gaerfrangon, A
Elwyr y Saesnaeg Worcester Ar
wyl Fair y Cannwylley, yn lam-
beth, 15 o Harry 8 ed Anno Dni.
1514. Fo A Fu Farw yn 15 o
Ebrill yn 17 ed o Dyrnas Harry
8 d Fo A Gladdwyd "yn Windsor
Ei Fab Ef. Ai Etiffedd oedd 3
Harry, larll o Gaerfrangon, Ir
Hwn, Ei Bu Mab, Ai Henw
oedd William yr Hwn.

William Y Fu y Trydydd larll
o Gaerfrangon, Ai Fab Ef,

Edward oedd 4 dd larll o Gaer-
frangon, Hwn, A Fu Feister Ar
Feirch y Frenhines Elysabeth :
Ag Ei Frenin James, Ag yn
Arglwydd ceidwad y Seal ddirgel,
yrun Brenin. Ai Fab Ef Brenin
Charles, y cyntaf. Ir Edward
Hwn y Bu Bagad o Blant,
Meibion a Merched. Ei Fab
Hyna Ef oedd Ai Henw yn 4
Harry larll caerfrangon, Hwn

Si y Rhyffel A Fu Rbwng y
renin charles, y cyntaf, Ai Gyn-
gor Mawr, A Elwir, yn Saesnaeg
y Parliament, A wnaeth y Brenin
yn Farquez o caerfrangon o Achos

y Feddianny. Ai Fab Ef, larll
Penfro, Ai wyr Ef larll Hun-
tington yn Ei ol Ef. A Merch
Etifeddes larll Huntingdon, A
Phenfro, wrth Fod yn Brio Ad
Charles Somersett larll Caer-
frangon, A Ddygodd Etifeddiaeth
Penfro, Ei leirll caerfrangon. 2

Anne Russell un o Ferched
S r William Russell, Yr Hwn
oedd Fab Arglwydd Russell, larll
Bedffod, A Fu Briod A Harry
Somersett larll caerfrangon. Gi-
dag Hon Fo Gaes Ei Gwr Hi

2 " Sir W. T. caused the castles of Rhaglan, Casgwent, and Gower
to be built, and he possessed a great many lordships. His son was
the earl of Pembroke, and his grandson after him was the earl of
Huntington. The daughter and heiress of earl H. by her marriage
with C. S. earl of Worcester conveyed the inheritance of Pembroke
to the earls of Worcester."

3 " C. S. was created knight of the blue garter in the time of H.

VII. to whom he was lord chamberlain. He was such also to H.

VIII. who created him earl of Worcester, on Candlemass day, at
Lambeth, 15 of H. VIII. A.D. 1514. He died on the 15 th of April,
in the 17 th year of the reign of H. VIII. and was buried at Windsor.
His son and heir was "

4 " H. earl of Worcester, who had a son named W. being the 3 rd
earl of W. His son E. was the 4 th earl of W. and was master of the
horse to queen E. and to king James. He was also keeper of the
privy seal to the same king, and to his son king C. I. This Edw.
had a great number of children, both sons and daughters. His eldest
son was named "

GENEALOGY.

361

Ei Fod Ef Mor Ffyddlon, Ag
Mor Gowair yr Goron, Fo Gladd-
wyd yn Windsor, Eiddo Fo, y
Mae yn Gyfaddes yr Englin y
sydd yn calyn
llyma Fedd Mowredd A Merrion

llawn waed,

larll Enwog caerfrangon
Ni saf yn yr Vnus Hon.
Garwr Burach yr Goron.

Ei Fab Hynaf Ef, oedd.s

Edward, larll, Ag Hefiid Mar-
quez o Gaerfrangon, Ef A wnaed
yn larll Morganwg. Neu o wlad
Forgan, yn Amser Ei Dad Ef,
yn y Prud Ag yr oedd y Rhyffel,
Rhwng y Brenin, Ar Parliament,
Fo A Gladdwyd yn Rhaglan, lie
y claddwyd Ei Daid Ai Hendaid
Ef, yr Edward Hwn a Fu y
chweched larll Ar Ail Marquez
o Gaerfrangon. Eiddo Ef y Bu
Fab, Sef

Harry. Hwn sydd, yn yr Awr
hon, yn Buw Mewn Braint

Gynnyscaeth Fawr yn Aur Ag
Arian, Ag Heblaw Huny Hi A
Ddigwyddodd Ei Etifeddu, or
lleiaf 7000 o Bynoedd yn y
Flwyddyn Mewn Tir Ag Ar-
glwyddiathay.

Hi A Fu ladles, Dda Ddu-
wiawl, Drigarog lawn, yn Fawr
Ei Rhinwedday, Difalch. Syn-
hwyrus, A chariadus, Annian,
ym Muse Ei chymdogion. Hi
Adawodd Enw Da Ar Hi 61
Hi, Hi A Fu Farw, Cyn Bod
Ei Gwr Hi yn Farquez, Ag A
Gladdwyd, yn Rhaglan. A llawer
yn Alarys Ar Ei hoi Hi. 6

Elysabeth Dormour, oedd yn
wraig Ei Edward Somerset larll A
Marquez caerfrangon, Hon oedd
Ferch Syr William Dormour, A
chwaer Arglwydd Dormour, larll
caernarfon, oedd RufFelwr Mawr
Yng Ghweril y Brenin Charles y
cyntaf, Ag y lladdwyd yn y maes
Neur Battel, o Nuberie. Elisa-
beth A Gladdwyd yn Rhaglan.

Margaritt o brian Merch larll
Thesmund or Iwerddon, A Fu
Ail wraig Ei Edward, ond Elisa-
beth Dormour Gwraig Gyntaf

5 "H. earl of Worcester. In the war that existed between King
Ch. I. and his great council, anglice Parliament, he was by the king
created Marquis of Worcester, on account of his singular fidelity and
attachment to the crown. He was buried at Windsor, and to him
the following stanza is appropriate :

" Here is the grave of greatness, and the blood-tinged remains,
Of the renowned earl of Worcester.
There exists not in this island
A more attached lover of the crown."

<5 " A. R. one of the daughters of Sir W. R. son of lord R. earl of
B. was married to H. S. earl of W. Her husband had by her a
large dowry of gold and silver. And besides this she inherited at
least 7000 a year in land and lordships. She was a good and pious
countess, very charitable, very virtuous, humble-minded, sensible, and
agreeable amongst her neighbours. She left behind her a good name.
She died before her husband was made Marquis, and was buried at
Rhaglan ; deeply lamented by many."

VOL. I. 3 A

362

GENEALOGY.

Mawr, A chariad ; Gan Ei Frenin
Charles yr Ail, Ag yn vchel Ei
Radd, yn Rheoli cymry, yn Ben-
naf, Tan y Brenin. Sef yn Ar-
glwydd President o Gymru, y
mae Ef hefud, yn vn or Dirgel
Gyngor, Ag yn Farchog or Gar-
das Glas.7

Edward oedd Mam Harry y Try-
dydd Marquez o Gaerfrangon.

Capel Merch, Arglwydd Capel
(or Blaen S r Arthyr Capel) oedd
yn wraig weddw Ei Arglwydd
Beauchamp. A Briododd Harry
Somersett larll A Marques o
Gaerfrangon. 8

Achay Marquez Caerfrangon.9

1 Edward 3 dd Brenin lloeger
2 d John o Ghendt 4 dd Fab Ef

Dug o lancaster Neur cas-

tell Hir.
3 John Beaufford larll Gwlad

yr Haf neu Somersette.
4 Edmond y 4 dd Mab Eiddo

Ef, Dug Gwlad yr Haf.
5 Harry, Mab Edmond, Dug

Gwlad yr Haf.
6 Charles Somersette Mab

Harry larll Caerfrangon.

Ei Fab Ef oedd
7 Harry larll caerfrangon.
8 William, larll caerfrangon
10 Harry Marquez caerfrangon
llo Edward , M
12 Harry S

Achay Gwilym Pue.
Edward 3 dd Brenin

John o Ghendt p

John Beaufford larll f
Edmond Beaufford
Harry Beaufford

1 Charles Yarll caerfrangon
2 Elisab. vxor S r John Sauage.
3 Margaret vxor S r Rich Bulck-

ley.

4 Jane vxor Robert Pue.
5 Phillipp Pue.
6 Gwilym Pue. Ai Frawd Sydd

Hynach nag Ef. Robert

7 " E. earl and marquis of W. who was created earl of Glamorgan,
during his father's life, when the war raged between the king and
parliament. He was buried at Rhaglan, where his grandfather and
great-grandfather were buried. This E. was the 6 th earl and 2 nd
marquis of W. He had a son namely H. who is now living, greatly
honoured and beloved by his king, Ch. II. and placed in a high situa-
tion, governing Wales chiefly under the king. He is also one of the
privy council, and a knight of the blue garter."

8 " E. D. was the wife of E. S. earl and marquis of W. She was
the daughter of Sir W. D. and sister of lord D. earl of Caernarvon,
who was a mighty warrior on the side of king C. I. and was slain in
the battle of Newbury. E. was buried at Rhaglan. M. O. Brien,
daughter of earl T. from Ireland was the 2 nd wife of E. but E. D. the
first wife of E. was the mother of H. the third marquis of W. C.
daughter of lord C. (formerly Sir A. C.) and the widow of lord B.
married H. S. earl and marquis of W."

9 " The Genealogy of the marquises of W."

GENEALOGY. 363

Yr Harry Dy waethaff Sydd yn Pue. Y Doctor o Gyffraith

Fuw. Anno Domini 1675. x y canon. 2

Y Modd y Doeth Etifeddiaeth Tarll Penfro at larll Caerfrangon. 3

Syr William Thomas alias Her- Gwladus De Gam, Merch S r

bert yr Hwn y Elwir y Marchog Dafydd Gam, oedd Gwraig Syr

Glas o Wendt oedd Filwr Mawr, William Thomas, Hi a Fasa or

a Gvvr Pubur, Dros y Brenin Blaen yn Briod, A Syr Roger

Edward y 4 dd A Adeiladoedd Vaughan, o Bredwardin, A

Gastell Rhaglan. 4 Mochas. 5

William larll Penfro, oedd Ei Anna Deuereux Merch S r Wai-
Fab Ef, Ir Hwn y Bu Fab, Ai ter Deureux, Arglwydd Webley,
Enw yntay medd Rhai, William oedd yn Briodol, Ag larll Penfro
Medd Eraill William.*

Harry, yr Hwn yn Amser Ei
Dad Ef, A Fu yn larll o Hun-
tington, Eiddo *Fe y Bu vnig
Ferch, Ai Henw.

Elisabeth. Hon A Gafodd Eti- Elysabeth Merch Harry (Fo

feddiaeth, Ei Thad larll o Hunt- ai Geilw Eraill Ef William) larll

ington Ai Thaid Hi, larll Penfro Huntington. A Fu wraig Ei

set' Rhaglan cas G went, Go wer&c. charles larll caerfrangon, Gidag

Ag y Rhoes yw Gwr Charles So- Kon y Cafodd charles, Etifedd-

mersett larll caerfrangon. 6 iaeth larll Penfro. 8

Carennydd Gwilym Pue.

Ag larll Penfro Ag larll Caer- Ar Milbornes o Ian warw.9
frangon.9

1 " The last H. is now living, A.D. 1675."

2 " And his elder Brother R. P. D r of the Canon law."

3 " The way in which the estate of the earl of Pembroke came to
the earl of Worcester."

4 " Sir W. T. alias H. who is called the blue knight of Gwent, was
a great soldier and a valiant man, on the side of king Edw. IV. He
it was that erected Rhaglan Castle."

5 " G. de G. daughter of Sir D. G. was the wife of Sir W. T. She
had been previously married to Sir R. V. of Bredwardine and Mochas.

6 " W. earl of Pembroke was his son who had also a son named,
according to some, William, according to others, H. who, during his
father's life time was earl of H. He had an only daughter named
Eliz. who inherited the estate of her father earl of H. and her grand-
father earl of P. viz. Rhaglan, Casgwent, Gower &c. and conveyed it
to her husband C. S. earl of W."

7 "A. D. daughter of Sir W. D. lord of Webley, was married to
W. earl of P."

8 " E. daughter of H. (according to others W.) earl of H. was the
wife of C. earl of W. By her C. obtained the estate of the earl of P."

9 " The relationship of W. P. to the earl of Pembroke and the earl
of Worcester and the Milbornes of Llan warw."

364

GENEALOGY.

Charles Somerset larll caer-
frangon, A Enilloedd (oi wraig
Merch larll Huntington, Ag Eti-
feddes Ei Thad, Ai Thaid larll
Penfro) Ferch, Ai Henw Hi oedd.

Elisabeth A Briododd Syr John
Sauage, Ei Merch Hi o Sauage
oedd,

Margaret Sauage, A Briododd
y Marchog Syr Richard Bulckley,
o Sir Fon, Merch Hon o Bulck-
ley oedd.

Jane Bulckley, Gwraig Robert
Pue or Penrhyn, yn y creuddyn
yn swydd Gernarfon, Esq e Ail
Fab, Ei Hon oedd.

Philipp Pue, A Briododd Gay-
nor Gwyii, Merch y Marchog,
Syr Richard Gwyn o Gaernarfon,
Ei Meibion Hwy, ydiw, Robert
Pue, Ai Frawd Ef.

William Neu Gwilym Pue. 1

1 Charles larll Caerfrangon

2 ^7 | leirll.
3 William S

4 Lucie yn Briod a William
Herbert, o Ian warw Esq.

5 Christian Ei Merch Hwy,
Ai Etifeddes, 2 yn Briod a
George Milborne Esq. Tad

6 Henry Milborne Esq. Ai
Frodyr Ai chwrorydd Ef.

1 Charles larll Caerfrangon

2 Elisabeth Gwraig S r John
Sauage o Rocke Sauage yn
Swydd Gaerlleon.

3 Margaret Ei Merch Hwy
yn Briod 3 A S r Richard
Bulckley

4 Jane Bulkley Ei Merch Hwy,
yn Briod 3 A Robert Pue
Esq.

5 Philipp Pue Ei Mab Hwy
yn Briod a Gaynor Gwyn
Merch y Marchog S r Rich-
ard Gwyn o Gaer Narfon,
Ei Meibion Nhwy ydiw 4
Robert Pue, A

6 William Neu Gwilym Pue.

Terfyn.s
Anno Domini 1675.

1 " C. S. earl of W. had, (by his wife, daugh. of the earl of H. and
heiress of her father, and grandfather, the earl of P.) a dau. named E.
who married Sir J. S. Her daughter by S. was M. S. who married
the knight Sir R. B. of Anglesey. Her dau. by B. was J. B. wife
of R. P. of Penrhyn in Creuddyn, Caernarvonshire, Esq. Her second
son was Ph. P. who married G. G. dau. of the knight Sir R. G. of
Caernarvon. Their Sons are R. P. and his brother W. or G. P.

2 " Daughter and heiress."

3 " Their daughter married."

4 "Their sons are."

5 "The end."

365

CORRESPONDENCE.

THE APPLICATION OF SANSCRIT TO THE CYMRIC
BRANCH OF THE CELTIC LANGUAGE.

To the Editor of the Cambrian Journal.

SIR, Having received the Second Part of Gomer, I offer you a
few remarks. The second address informs us that "the philological
question to he solved on the subject handled in Gomer is the discovery
of, first, the language spoken by the Homeric Phoenicians, closely
connected with all the Mediterranean nations for at least six centuries
before Homer; and, secondly, by the Carthaginians, who visited
Ireland and England at least five centuries before Christ. At that
period Tyre owned no origin from Sidon, but claimed Carthage as
her own." To prosecute this inquiry I recommend the study and
comparison of the present Phoenician language, in order to ascertain
whether the old Phoenicians did speak a Celtic or a Semitic language.
It is my opinion the old Phoenician was closely allied to the oldest
Egyptian, the language expressed by the Egyptian hieroglyphic,
and handed down to us in the Coptic. The plural is formed in the
oldest Syrian tongue by placing a figure resembling a T, or an anchor
T, over the last syllable of the noun, and the same mark or symbol
forms the plural in the oldest Egyptian hieroglyphic. I recommend
also strongly a thorough examination of the Behistan Inscriptions,
in the " Memoir on the Scythic Version of the Behistun Inscrip-
tions," by Mr. E. Norris, in the First Part of the Fifteenth Volume
of the Royal Asiatic Journal, in the arrow-headed character. Now
the word Behistun demonstrates to me that either Celts or Sanserifs,
either united or separate, gave the name, since the tun is the Celtic tan,
a country, as Brit-tan, Aqui-tania; or the Sanscrit istan, of Afghan-
istan, &c., from the Sanscrit root stha, to stand. Moses states that
the Syrians, Aramites, were, through Aram, from Shem, and I infer
thence that they spoke what Pritchard calls a Syro-Arabic language,
and not Celtic. On page 6 of the postscript to Gomer, the venerable
author, after making a quotation from Dr. Meyer, thus proceeds :
"With these theories and their manifest hollowness I have nothing to
do." In my judgment the author ought to have, or has actually to
prove the hollowness which he states is manifest to him; because
many readers may not agree in this hollowness, viz., those readers
who consider the matter, and those readers are alone worth having.
Dr. Meyer also, in his " Prize Essay on the Celtic," attacks Professor
Bopp in a somewhat similar manner, that is, without proving, or
attempting to prove, his own assertions.

366 CORRESPONDENCE.

Page 11, we read that elements "v," or "gu/' the "kappa," or
"qu," and the consonantal "h," have been withdrawn from the older
Greek alphabet. The case appears to me to be thus, the Pelasgic
alphabet that I examined, scratched on the inkbottle of terra cotta,
in the Vatican, regarded by Dr. Lessims, of Berlin, as the most
ancient known example of the Greek alphabet, has twenty-five letters,
read, contrary to the Etruscan, from left to right; the letters "eta"
and "omega" are wanting; the "vau" and "kappa" are present;
and the "h," the "qu," the "vau," or "digamma," and the "f," are
withdrawn from the older Greek, which letters exist in the Etruscan,
the Pelasgic, and Syrian alphabets, as "vau," "kop," "gomal," and
"qof." Now the Archdeacon states that "gu" is withdrawn in the
modern Greek; the "gamma" is the "gu," and the third letter,
"gomal," of the Syrian; the "kappa" is not withdrawn from the
Greek alphabet. I add the author's own words, as I do not quite
understand him : " The Greeks of history read the words of the
ancient bards as represented by an alphabet from which three elements
at least the 'v,' or 'gu/ the ' kappa/ or 'qu/ and the consonantal 'h'
were withdrawn and suppressed, and to which two new vowels and
several dipthongs were added." The "stigma" also has been added.
If "kappa" means the Etruscan O it has been withdrawn. The
Etruscan alphabet has eighteen letters.

Page 18, " It is not improbable that some of the following words
bear the original form, which they had when they were first brought
into the island : the great object of this examination will be to point
out the variations springing from the original root.

" Boutig, compounded of bou and tig, stabulum. We here point
out, that the Cymric bou, and the Sanscrit go, both signifying bull, or
cow, have the appearance of equal antiquity, and the sound of each
word indicates the booing or lowing of the animal ; the Cymri, the
Greeks, the Latins chose bou, /3g, bos ; the Goths and Scandinavian
Celts, &c., chose go, kuh, gow ; the English both bull and cow."
The Archdeacon then states that tig, Greek Te-yoe, and Sreyoe, Latin
teg-o, that the Latin teg, both as a verb and noun, became in English
thack, and thatch. Perhaps the Saxons arrived in England before
the Romans; and the Saxon is thac; the Scandinavian is thekja, to
cover ; the Old German dachjan. I also state that all the above,
tig perhaps excepted, are from the Sanscrit sthag, to cover. We have
boutig in the word booth, Caledonian Scotch, bothy.

The author states that the Latin ter, three times or thrice, shows that
the Cymric tair must have entered into the composition of the Latin
language. The theme of three in Sanscrit, Greek, Lithuanian, and
Old Sclavonic is tri ; Gothic thri. I believe the Sanscrit root of
lux, genitive lucis, to be ruck, to shine.

Estid has two glosses attached to it, sedile and theatrum. The
present Cymric form of estid is eisteddle; this suffix strikingly re-
sembles the Sanscrit suffix tra ; in Gothic thlo, as nethlo ; English
needle ; the suffix meaning the instrument, and nah, to sew ; in Greek

CORRESPONDENCE. 367

it means place, Ofarpov, place of seeing; therefore, eisteddle maybe
compounded of Sanscrit stha, to stand, and die, the place ; English
saddle, Sanscrit sad, to sit, die, the place, place of sitting. The Cymric
root est, in llu-est, a camp, and maen-est, a spot occupied by a maen,
is the Sanscrit stha, in status, stable, stadt, apv, &c.

Hit, in Old Scandinavian, Petor-rit-um ; in Cornish ryd; in modern
Cymraeg rhyd,=rhud; Latin rhida, rota; and Cymric rhod, a wheel;
and the verb rhedeg, to run ; English rut and road, from the same
source ; why should not all these words have sprung from the Sanscrit
ri, ire, to go, or ran, to run ? It is my opinion that the final conso-
nants, i.e., "d" and "t" of the above words, are the Sanscrit ta, the
suffix of the perfect passive-participle, by which suffix numerous other
nouns are formed, as TTOTOQ, dictum. In Indian, ara-tis is wrath, fear,
from the Sanscrit root ri, to move oneself. I consider that the change
of the vowel a i" in ri and rit, to "o," "e," and "y," is according to
one law, common to all the above-mentioned languages, as in English,
I ride, I rode, is the Sanscrit guna.

The particle ry, ro, re, in the different Celtic languages, was used
as a prefix to the past tense, as seen in ry-leddid. The "a" is probably
only a fragment of it. Pritchard has not mentioned this prefix ; I
compare it to the German " ge," and the "y" in Old English is only
a remnant of it, as gecleaped, Milton, ycleaped.

The final did and ed I consider to be the Sanscrit root dha, to do ;
thus, Gothic sokja, I seek, preterite sokida, I did seek.

As no root is applied to these words, ^a^arop, domitor; Cymric
domit; Welsh dovydd, as only forms of the older and more primitive
formation tamer, the agent noun in the process of subduing; I supply
the following, Sanscrit dam; Gothic tarn, to tame. The suffix is the
Sanscrit tri or tar, the suffix of agency.

The Sanscrit root div, to give light, is found in the English day ;
Cymric di, dit, dieu, dyrv, dyv; Breton de and dar; Latin djovis, dies.

We read, page 99, " The inference was not to be resisted that a
similar process had taken place in Central Asia, and that all the
popular languages in those regions, especially Hindostan, would, on
examination, be found to bear the same relation to the Sanscrit which
the Italian and its sister tongues bear to the Latin. Before sufficient
proof could be obtained, the inference was accepted as a doctrine, and
I, amongst others, was taught to believe that most of the popular
languages of Hindostan were immediate and legitimate descendants
of the venerable Sanscrit. But such is not the case. Nations which
differ in the structure of their grammar, do agree to a great extent
in the sameness of their vocabularies, without enabling us to prove
that one was immediately descended from the other. But those
languages of which the grammars are only evolutions from principles
embodied in older types, must be classed as immediate descendants
from those which used the older form. Now this is the relationship
which the Italian and its cognate dialects bear to the Latin. But
the Sanscrit has no such legitimate and immediate descendant among

368 CORRESPONDENCE.

the spoken languages of the East." Dr. Latham is then quoted
as stating that he abstains from any positive expression as to the
quarter from which Sanscrit originated. " That the language which
stands in the same relation as the Italian does to the Latin has yet to
be discovered, I firmly believe ; to which I may add that, except in
Asia Minor, or Europe, I do not know where to look for it."

I answer, that several of the languages of Hindostan do bear the
same relation to Sanscrit which the Italian and its sister tongues bear
to the Latin. My proof is, as I have already done, to compare the
Hindi, the Hindostani, the Bengali, the Mahratta, the Rohitta, and
other dialects, with Sanscrit. The groundwork of Hindi and Hindos-
tani is the Hindawi, the language of Canoj, the ancient metropolis of
Northern India. One moiety of Hindostani words are Persian, a
Sanscrit dialect, or Arabic, a Syro-Arabian dialect; three-tenths of
the other moiety are Sanscrit, and not pure Hindi. Hindi differs
from Hindostani in the exclusive adoption of Sanscrit words, where,
in Hindostani, Persian or Arabic would be used. It is also written in
the Deva Nagari character, while Persian is used for Hindostani.
Vide Grammar, by E. B. Eastwich, M.R.A.S., &c.

Bengali, of thirty-nine words of one page of the dictionary, opened
at hazard, thirty-two words are pure Sanscrit, and seven impure. On
other two pages, of seventy words, fifty-four are pure Sanscrit, and
sixteen impure. The grammatical construction is Sanscrit, and the
character Sanscrit, but a little more cursive.

Mahratta, the character, the words, and construction Sanscrit.
Vide Graves Chamney Haughton, M.A., F.R.S., &c.

Under the full belief of the matter of fact of what I have here asser-
ted, I cannot but express my astonishment at the learned author's
belief in what Dr. Latham has asserted, and at Dr. Latham for having
so asserted. The learned Dr. Latham says, "I abstain from any
positive expression as to the quarter from which the Sanscrit language
originated." When I was studying at the University of Berlin, I
asked the highest authority in Europe this very question, and it was
unanswered. Now, I consider it would have been better for Dr.
Latham to have confessed that he could not answer the question. He
who knows Sanscrit has already acquired a knowledge of one half of
almost every vernacular language of India; while he who remains
ignorant of it can never possess a perfect understanding of any, though
he may attain a certain proficiency in the practical use.

THOMAS BELLOT, Surgeon, R.N.
Hon. F.R.C.S.E.

Manchester.

P.S. Which is the most ancient, Sanscrit or Celtic? The origi-
nation of mankind was in Asia, and the stream of emigration has
constantly been westward. But the Celts are western people, there-
fore, it is probable that the Celts are an offshoot from an Asiatic
people, and their language a younger branch of Sanscrit.

CORRESPONDENCE. 369

To the Editor of the Cambrian Journal.

SIR, Since my brother, Mr. Bellot, R.N., wrote the above letter,
(the proof sheet of which I beg to return,) he has joined H. M. Flag-
ship, of the Black Sea Fleet, as hospital surgeon at " Therapia ; "
Being fully occupied in the service of his country, the literary pursuits
which amused his leisure, must now give way to more serious duties,
and I regret that his correspondence must for the present cease.
I have the honour to be, &c.,

WILLIAM HENRY BELLOT,

Hon. F.R.C.S.E.,

Surgeon 1st Royal Cheshire Militia.
January 9, 1855.

PENDEFIG.

To the Editor of the Cambrian Journal.

SIR, In reference to the derivation of the above word, I would
beg to say in reply to your correspondent Chrvare Teg that the con-
necting it with Beneficus was a mere suggestion of mine, as I imagined
it was more natural so to connect it than easy to account for the latter
part of the word, the termination tefig.

The only instance Dr. Pughe gives of tefig is in connexion with
pen. But it is clear enough that if tefig be, as Dr. Pughe represents
it to be, an adjective, the combination of the two words would be
Pen tefig, and not Pen defig, as Pen is of the masculine gender.
If therefore the existence of the word tefig be not proved except from
the expression Pen defig, it at once, as far as the evidence goes, falls
to the ground and becomes a nonentity. And I do not think that I
am too hard upon the great Welsh lexicographer in saying that the
instance he gives does by no means bear him out as to the existence
of tefig : whether or not there be such a word, the instance he quotes
would be a mere barbarism, and proves nothing pen defig instead of
pen tefig.

The word Cyntefig, which your correspondent mentions in support
of tefig, falls under quite another category. For cyntefig comes from
cyntaf, which comes from cynt, and of which it is the superlative
degree. So the termination of cyntefig is not tefig but efig ; cynt,
cynt-af, cynt-efig : and there does not therefore appear to be much
weight in the argument derived from this word in aid of tefig.

I do not think that I am very much pleased with the derivation
from Beneficus, because pendefig occurs in writers anterior to the
times of the Translators of the Bible, and where there was no occasion
to form it as a term to express the exact meaning of the Greek word
in the verse where it occurs, or the corresponding word in the Vulgate.
VOL. i. SB

370 CORRESPONDENCE.

And if any one were disposed to derive it from Pennqf, as another
very natural form of Pennefig, (as in cyntaf, cyntefig,} I do not
apprehend I should have much difficulty in concurring with him.

Yours, &c.

NICANDER.

BRYCHAN'S QUERIES.

To the Editor of the Cambrian Journal.

MY DEAR SIR, I see at page 274 of the Cambrian Journal two
queries, which it is probable some one may answer more satisfactorily
than I can ; but this much I can vouch for, that in the township of
BRYCHAN?'//, or BrychamV/l, as it is likewise called, in Mold parish,
is the only place to which the title of Gors is given in that large
parish, at least I never heard of another Gors there ; but I am not
aware that any additional termination exists to the word.

Secondly, In the parish of Mold the remains of two chapels exist
so far as the foundations are turned up by the plough, &c. ; one at
Bryn Gruffydd, a few hundred yards from Maes Garmon, called
Spwdwr Chapel, or St. Isidore. The mound on which it stood was
planted by Col. Philips of Rhual. I remember a paved path which
led over the mountain from towards Cilcain to it. The other was
Spon Chapel, (which if Spwdwr stands for St. Isidore, might be
St. John,) in the township of Bistre, on a farm held by one Brotley,
who has recently turned up some of its remains when ploughing.
This is not far from the Alun river. If you think these remarks
worthy of notice, or think they may lead you to more satisfactory
information, you are welcome to make use of them.

The information with regard to Spwdwr was given me by one of
the oldest inhabitants of the neighbourhood, when I went to Mold,
nearly forty years ago. Yours very truly,

C. B. CLOUGH.
Deanery, St. Asaph, 17th Nov., 1854.

P.S. The Paved Walks were said by old parishioners to have led
from several directions to the spot.

371

MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES.

PRIZES.

As " it is proposed to offer premiums occasionally to such as will
exhibit excellence, whether in the literary illustration, or the practical
application of subjects" that come under the cognizance of the Institute,
we invite our readers to assist us in raising a special fund for this
purpose. The contribution may be made to any separate section,
whether Agriculture, Manufactures, Botany, or any other that the
donor may prefer. We shall be glad to be informed, at the same time,
in what particular way he should wish the premium to be awarded.

THE WELSH FUSILIERS.

We revert to the gallant 23rd. "It was always a remarkable
regiment," observes the Commander-in-Chief ; and its ancient bravery
was manifested in an eminent degree on the Heights of Alma.
" Never," says Brigadier-General Torrens, " was there a more noble
feat of arms done than the capture of this (Russian) battery, and in
that capture the poor dear old Welsh were foremost. Their loss has
been frightful. Chester, Wynne, Evans, Conolly, my poor sister's
boy, Harry Anstruther, Butler, Radcliffe, Young, were all killed dead
at the same moment, and within a space of 100 square yards." Yes,
" on a grassy slope on that hill-side, with the soft September sunshine
looking on them out of the cloudless heavens, lay, with faces to the sky,
Colonel Chester and four of his gallant officers, two more lying a few
yards distant." Captain Wynne had gone right up to the Russian gun.

" His look, though soft, was calm and high,
His face was gazing on the sky,
As if he said, ' Man cannot die,

Though all below be done.'
Thus was it that we saw him lie,

Beneath the Russian gun.
Right up the hill our soldiers sped,
No hurrying in their earnest tread ;
The iron thunder broke in storms,

Again and yet again,
On their firm ranks and stately forms

It did but break in vain.
Though yet untrained by war to bear

The battle's deadly brunt,
The ancient heart of Wales was there,

Still rushing to the front !
Their blood flowed fast along those steeps,

But the proud goal was won ;

372 MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES.

And the moon shone on silent heaps,

Beyond the Russian gun :
'Twas thus, with friends he loved around him,
Among the foremost dead we found him."

The conduct of the 23rd on that memorable occasion even com-
manded the admiration of our allies. A French officer in a private
dispatch thus observes : " A furious encounter, in particular, took
place between the Welsh Fusiliers and the Russians. The former,
supported by one regiment of the Guards and the Highlanders, threw
themselves on the enemy with an indescribable fury and determination,
nor could the incessant fire of the two batteries stop in the least their
onward march." This is high compliment to the bravery of our
countrymen. We cannot wonder that, having witnessed such deeds of
valour, the late Marshal de St. Arnaud should be anxious to shake
hands with the surviving officers.

And the wounded. It is gratifying to find that a special fund in
aid of the widows and orphans of the Welsh Fusiliers has been set on
foot in the Principality. The project, we believe, originated with Sir
W. W. Wynne, Bart., who has also suggested the idea of an asylum
similar to the Caledonian promising at the same time a handsome
subscription for the purpose of realizing the same. This patriotic
manifestation we admire exceedingly no doubt to the great annoy-
ance and mortification of that wretched individual, who recently
endeavoured to borrow the influence of the Times with the view of
extinguishing it. No; we Welshmen are a distinct people still, and
with our history are associated deeds of renown and glory of which we
are proud. We will maintain our nationality in spite of envious
scribblers.

In order to invest " the gallant 23rd," our own national regiment,
with a more distinctly Cambrian recognition, we propose that the
proper authorities should be memorialized for permission to the men
in future to wear the leek in their caps, as a badge both of their
country and heroism. The first occasion of wearing the leek was at
the battle of Cressy, where the Welsh particularly distinguished them-
selves. We trust that this honour will be granted to the Welsh
Fusiliers in consideration of the daring exploits they performed on the
steep of Alma, where many of their comrades now lie side by side
with several of their remote forefathers, who dwelt here in "the
Summer Country" upwards of three thousand years ago, whilst on
their way to the Isle of Britain.

We must insist, moreover, on our rights to have this regiment
wholly recruited from the Principality. It is our own regiment and
we need not the aid of Scotch or Irish to make up its complement.
Now is the time ; let the Welsh militia send forth its volunteers to fill
up the vacancies which the Russian guns have caused in its ranks.
The men of Gwent have already set the example by furnishing it with
a hundred and fifty volunteers from the Monmouthshire militia. This
is worthy the descendants of those heroes who, under Caractacus,

MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 373

defied for nine long years the whole power of Rome. We under-
stand that the whole corps of the Denbighshire militia has sometime
ago offered its services for the East. We trust that the men who will
go will seek to be enrolled in the fighting 23rd.

Before we leave this subject we must further congratulate fair
Cambria upon the noble sacrifice which some of her sons and
daughters have made, in leaving all comfort at home, to cany relief
and consolation to their wounded countrymen in the East. We
allude particularly to the Rev. Mr. Owen and Miss Erskine. Oh !
how glad those poor men will be to hear in a strange land the words
of peace and comfort addressed to them in their mother tongue. in
the language in which they were born " iaith hen Gymru." It will
be so like home again.

WELSH REGIMENTS. We are glad to find that the attention of
the country has at length been roused to the injustice of depriving
Wales of the glory which is attached to the 23rd Royal Welsh
Fusiliers. At a meeting of the inhabitants of the Vale of Neath,
South Wales, which was held on the 18th of November, the
chairman, Mr. Williams, of Aberpergwm, addressed the audience
eloquently in Welsh on the subject. Among other things, he said
that, on many former occasions, the Welsh Fusiliers had distinguished
themselves, especially at Albuhera, when the Red Dragon was in its
usual place, forward in the fight which no one knows better than the
present Commander-in-Chief himself the nephew of a most gifted
man, well known in Whales (Judge Hardinge), who took a warm
interest in the country. The Welsh petitioned that for the future the
23rd Regiment should never be recruited except from Wales, and he
believed that the Commander-in-Chief had given orders for this pur-
pose, so that the thirteen counties of the Principality would for the
future have the sole honour which is their due. It would be difficult
to describe the interest evinced by the concourse of Welshmen present
during this patriotic address. There is no doubt that if Welsh re-
cruiting Serjeants, speaking the language well, were employed (as
no doubt they now will be), two exclusively Welsh regiments might
be raised at the present crisis, where, on the old system, only one
could be recruited, and their ardour as soldiers, when unmixed with
other races, is known to be tenfold increased.

DISCOVERY OF A STALACTITE CAVE. An interesting discovery has
been made at Oystermouth, in Glamorganshire. At a spot near to
Oystermouth Castle, in Swansea Bay, is a small limestone quarry and
kiln, occupied by a man named Joseph Davies. In excavating the
rock the occupier came upon a crevice, which shortly widened into a
cave, and on entering it it was found to be beautifully ornamented
with stalactites hanging from the roof and sides. The cave is suffi-
ciently large for a person to enter it and pass to the end, but it is
thought to extend further than the discoveries which have been
hitherto made.

374

REVIEWS.

THE LITERARY REMAINS OF THE REV. THOMAS PRICE (Carnhu-
anawc). Vol. I. Llandovery : W. Rees. London : Longman
and Co. 1854.

The Literary Remains of Carnhuanawc, edited by Miss Jane
Williams (Ysgafell), form an addition to the productions of our press,
of inestimable value both to the admirers of the lore of the Cymry,
and also to the general English reader. We think the friends of
Carnhuanawc have great cause to congratulate themselves on the
circumstance that his MSS. have fallen into the hands of a lady so
eminently qualified by nature and attainments to enter into their spirit,
and to do justice to their author.

To the majority of our readers he was chiefly, if not exclusively,
known by the brilliant speeches he was in the habit of delivering at
Eisteddfodau, speeches which possessed a peculiar character of elo-
quence that breathed a distinctive Celtic spirit. There was a simplicity
in his diction, on these occasions, combined with a grandeur of poetical
imagery, that reminded the hearer of the finest passages in Ossian.
But the eloquence he displayed as an orator was merely the reflection
of the studies, equally varied and profound, which rendered Carnhu-
anawc the accomplished exponent (in the various valuable works he
has left behind) of the history and literature of the Cymry.

The first in order of his productions that appears in the present
Volume is the u Tour in Brittany," originally published in the Cam-
brian Quarterly Magazine, which he assisted to establish, and to
which he was for some time a contributor.

At the commencement of the " Tour " the author enters into some
interesting and valuable disquisitions on the influence of climate on
the features, complexion, and stature of the Britons, whom he describes
as of more diminutive size and of fairer complexion as you approach
to the western coast. These changes in the physiology of the people
he ascribes to the moist and cold climate, and to the sterility of Finis-
terre and other western districts of Armorica. This explanation is in
unison with the views advocated by him in his very original work
entitled The Physiogmony and Physiology of the Inhabitants of the
British Isles.

In music, he does not consider that the Bretons have any claims
compared with the Welsh, for he regards the Armorican airs as having

REVIEWS. 375

very little claim to the merits of originality, grandeur, and variety,
merits which may so justly be assigned to the music of Wales.

The somewhat disputed question whether Welshmen and Bretons
can hold a conversation together, Mr. Price solves in the negative.
Differences in the grammar, and the numerous French words imported
into the modern Breton, render, as he observes, the continuance of
sustained conversation impracticable. He accounts for the common
prevalence of the contrary opinion, among Welshmen and Bretons
who have met together, by the circumstance that they have commonly
confined their comparison of the two languages to isolated words,
in which, undoubtedly, these two Celtic tongues are, to a great extent,
nearly identical.

Mr. Price observes that the Breton approaches much more nearly
to the Cornish than to the Welsh ; but he does not advert to what is
conceived by some to be the explanation of that fact, viz., the British
emigrants to Armorica, from whom the present Bretons are mainly
descended, may be assumed to have passed over chiefly from Corn-
wall, Devonshire, and the southern coasts of our island. In all pro-
bability, even at that period, there had taken place an extensive, if not
a complete, development of those differences which distinguish the
Welsh from the Cornish, which may be presumed to furnish a speci-
men of a dialect originally spoken not in Cornwall only, but in the
adjoining counties of the south-west of England.

It is true that the language of the Triad seems to militate against
this theory, and, perhaps, it was on that account it was passed over in
silence by our author.

Mr. Price's various interesting remarks on the ancient lays and
legends, and on the pastimes of the Bretons, do not admit of abridge-
ment, and we must content ourselves with commending them to the
attention of our readers.

The remainder of , the Volume is occupied by "An Essay on the
Comparative Merits of the Remains of the Ancient Literature in the
Welsh, Irish, and Gaelic Languages, and their value in elucidating
the Ancient History and the Mental Cultivation of the Inhabitants of
Britain, Ireland, and Gaul." "An Essay on the Influence which the
Welsh Traditions have had on the Literature of Europe." "On the
History of the Language and Literature of Wales, from the time of
Gruffydh ap Cynan and Meilir, to that of Sir Gruffydh Llwyd and
Gwilym Ddu." "An Historical Account of the Statuta Wallice, or
the Statutes of Rhuddlan, by which Wales was annexed to Eng-
land."

Of these various dissertations we need only say that their subjects
are well worthy of the author, as he was eminently qualified to do
justice to them. To all true Welshmen, and especially to those who
knew him as a friend and a fellow-labourer in the field of Welsh
literature, this and the ensuing volume will be cherished as precious
relics, and frequently studied and referred to as valuable contributions

376 REVIEWS.

to Ciinbric literature, and as records of the thoughts and sentiments of
one whose genius was devoted to his country and whose patriotic
views, and kind and simple manners, endeared him to so many, by
whom he was admired for his talents and diversified accomplish-
ments.

ENCYCLOPAEDIA CAMBRENSIS. Y GWYDDONIADUR CYMREIG. Parts
II., III., IV. Denbigh: Gee. 1854.

We had thought that the Gwyddoniadur Cymreig was to be a
really national work, and hoped that the succeeding Parts would amply
justify the favourable opinion which we expressed of it on the appea-
rance of the first Number; but, we are sorry to state that, as the work
progresses, it becomes more and more illiberal and dogmatic in its
tone, and betrays increasing indications of its being the exponent of
the theological and political opinions peculiar to that religious portion
of the community with which its conductors are connected. The idea
of starting a National Cyclopaedia in the ancient language of the
Principality was a noble idea, and one deserving of the warm support
of the whole nation ; but when a professed national undertaking is
converted into an organ for disseminating party views, party feelings,
and party interests, such a perversion cannot be too widely exposed.
A cyclopaedia should, of all other works, know no faction, and ac-
knowledge no sect. Some of the articles in the Parts before us, we
are happy to state, are, however, well and impartially written; and, it
is but justice to the publisher to add that, as far as the printer's art is
concerned, the Gwyddoniadur is a credit to the Welsh press.

ALPHABETICAL INDEX OF CONTENTS.

Aberdare Iron Works, 312
Adornment of Houses, 191
Agricultural Prize Fund, 98, 290
Agriculture of the Cymry, 173, 264
Ancient Earthworks, 66
Anthracite Coal, 299
Armenian compared with Celtic, 260,
262

Bardic Motto of Gwynedd, 278

Bardism in the Sixth Century, 127

Bards, 231

Bears in Wales, 81, 123

Beaumont's Suggestions on the Ancient
Britons, 294

Beavers in Wales, 81, 123

Bellot on the Application of Sanscrit to
the Cymric Branch of the Celtic Lan-
guage, 182, 365

Benlli, 213

Betti Brown, Air of, 354

Blue Knight of Gwent, 363

Boats, Primitive, 121

Bopp on Celtic Languages, 6, 8, 13, 365

Botany, Ancient, 150

Bretons, 277, 374

Briscoe's Prophet Isaiah and Book of
Job, 202

British Alphabet, 193

Britons and Hindus, Intercourse be-
tween, 96, 112, 248

Brutus, 107, 221

VOL. I.

Brychan's Queries, 274, 370
Bryniau *r Iwerddon, Air of, 354
Brython, 227

Cadell, 219

Cadwyn, 346

Caer Ddynod, 347

Caer Droia, Air of, 241

Caldy, 290

Cambrian Institute, The, 203, 279

Cambro-British Saints, by Rev. W. J.

Rees, 200
Carnedd enclosing a Cromlech at Capel

Garmon, 73, 345
Carnhuanawc, Literary Remains of, 289,

374

Celt*, 11, 93, 106, 107, 221
Celtic Languages, an Essay on the, by

Dr. Meyer, 6
Cemaes, 254

Chambers on the Welsh Coal Field, 299
Characters, Ancient, 109
Chomarians, 109

Circassian compared with Celtic, 262
Clas Meitin, 119
Clydno, 163, 167
Coal Beds of South Wales, 298
Coelbren y Beirdd, 100
Commot, 61

Copper Works of South Wales, 317
Coracle, 122
Coranians, 211

378

ALPHABETICAL INDEX OF CONTENTS.

Corn Mills, 176
Creation, Tradition of the, 85
Cromlech, 73, 345
Cuhelyn the Bard, 253
Cymry, 105, 117, 174, 211

Glaciers, Ancient, of North Wales, 289
Glas, 65

Gold Mines in Wales, 83, 195
Gomer, by Archdeacon Williams, 100,
182, 196, 365

Cymry, Primeval Literature of the, 246 Governors of the Cambrian Institute, 204
Cymry, Traditionary Annals of the, 84, Gwent, 243
105, 221

Harmony of the Triads with the dis-
coveries of Geology, 81

Cywydd Cynhafal, 217

Hebrew compared with the Celtic, 24,

34, 142, 195, 247
Herberts, Family of, 359
Hil, Joan, 358
Hiraithog Range, 64, 342
Hissitio or Huysgwn, 107, 119, 126, 221,

235

Howel Dda, 283, 286, 292
Hud y Frwynen Neu Frwynen Las, Air

of, 159
Hu Gadarn, 83, 96, 114, 117, 125, 160,

173,230

Idi-is Gawr (Enoch), 95

lestyn ab Gwrgant, 139

leuan Vawr, 1 81

Industrial Capacities of South Wales,

297

Inscribed Stones, 68, 79
Introduction, 1

lolo Goch, 100, 173, 189, 274, 276
lolo Morgan wg, Life of, by Waring, 102

Ffestiniog Eisteddfod, 282 Irish compared with the Sanscrit, 33

Fountains of British History Explored, Iron smelted by Anthracite, 305
296 Iron Works in South Wales, 305

Frankland's, Dr., Analysis of Anthra-
cite, 302 Jones, A. J., on Celtic Languages, 7

Jones, John, Gelli Lyvdy, 98

Gems of English Verse, with translations

into Welsh, 103 Laws', Captain John, Evidence in favour

Geoffrey of Monmouth, 161, 165, 269 of Milford Haven, 333

Geological Features of South Wales, 306 Leek, the, Origin of Wearing, 190, 372

Georgian compared with Celtic, 260, 262 Lewys Dwnn, 277

Dagin Tin Works, 320, 323
Dale Point, 331

Davydd ab Gwilym's Grammar, 192
Deffrobani, 109, 117
Deluge, Tradition of the, 95
Denbigh, Ancient and Modern, 296
Druidism, 39, 89, 92, 119, 127, 250
Dunawd, 348

Duw Gadwo'r Brenhin, Air of, 242
Dyvynwal Moelmud, 160, 224, 251,
269, 286

Egyptian, Ancient, compared with the

Celtic, 17, 23
Einigan Gawr, 85, 87, 160
Eisteddfod at Abergavenny, 41
Eisteddfodau, History of, 283
Elined, 273, 370
Eliseg, Pillar of, 219
Encyclopaedia Cambrensis, 202, 376
Evans' Welsh Dictionary, 201

ALPHABETICAL INDEX OF CONTENTS.

379

Llanelly, 320
Llanelly Tin Works, 320
Llewelyn, 68, 343
Llewelyn Sion, 101
Lleyn, William, 186
Lloegrwys, 210, 223
Llyfr Twrog, 188

Mabinogion, 169, 271

Mackworth's Opinion of the Collieries
in South Wales, 306

Maen-hir, 345

Maen-hir at Garneddwen, 78

Marl, Antiquity of its use, 176, 255

Mellin Griffith Tin Works, 310

Members of the Cambrian Institute, 205

Mentra Gwen, Air of, 355

Merthyr, 312

Mildness of the Climate of South Pem-
brokeshire, 340

Milford Haven, 254, 325, 326, 339

Moel Fenlli, 209

Mold, 273, 370

Molt, 99, 187

Monmouthshire a Welsh County, 243

Music, Myvyrian, 187

Music, Welsh, 44, 100, 156, 193, 239, 354

Mwynen Mai, Air of, 158

Myd, 277

Nangle Blockhouse, East, 331

Oakley Mine, 194
Olen or Alon, 235
On Improving the Condition of the

Working Classes, 99
Owen, George, Extracts from, 301, 329

Pater Dockyard, 327, 340
Pendefig, 147, 276,369
Pennar Mouth, 332, 335
Pentrevoelas, 61, 72, 341
Pentyrch Iron Works, 310

Philology, 5, 141, 147, 196, 271, 276,

365, 369

Pictet on the Celtic Language, 6, 12, 14
Plennydd, 234
Poetry, by W. Pugh, 181
Pont-y-pridd Iron Works, 311
Pottery at Llanelly, 321
Process of Smelting Copper, 319
Progress of the Trade in Iron and Coal

in South Wales, 309
Proverbs, Agricultural, 178
Prydain, 169, 223, 231, 237
Pugh Genealogy, 132, 356

Registration of Bards, 100
Rhiwallon's Botanical MS., 151
Rules of the Cambrian Institute, 206

St. Marywell Roade, 331

Samuel, Rev. Edward, 193

Sanscrit compared with Celtic, 8, 12, 16',
143, 182, 185, 247, 261, 365

Sepulchres of the Ancient Celts, Cau-
casians, and Indians, 256

Sion Davydd, 350

Stackpole Court, 340

Stack Rock, 331

Stalactite Cave, 373

Stone of Brochmael, 79

Stone of Llewelyn, 68

Studies in British Biography, 160

Three Primary Bards, 231

Tir yr Abad, 341, 348

Traditionary Annals of the Cymry, 84,

105, 221

Tradition of the Creation, 84
Tradition of the Deluge, 95
Traharn, 353

Treforst Tin and Iron Works, 311
Triads, 166, 189, 192, 252, 270
Tri Tharawiad, Air of, 167
Tumuli on Ashy Down, 287

380

ALPHABETICAL INDEX OF CONTENTS.

Turpillian Inscription, 80

Wand of Moses, 34, 141

Waring's Life of lolo Morganwg, Re-
view of, 102

Welsh Classics, 186

Welsh Fusileers, 190, 279, 280, 371

Welsh Language, 5

Welsh Literature in Germany, 192

Welshmen and Bretons, can they con-
verse together ? 375

Welsh MSS., 3, 98, 101, 102, 151, 290

Welsh Orthography, 27 1
Welsh Uniforms, 189, 372
Wheat and Barley introduced, 174
Wolves in Wales, 81, 123
Wynne, Captain, 371

Ych Bannog, 81, 123
Y Galon Lawen, Air of, 240
Ynys Prydain, 120, 238
YVel Ynys, 119, 124, 238

Zeuss' Grammatica Celtica, 192, 291

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Carnedd enclosing a Cromlech at Capel Gannon .

The Stone of Llewelyn .....

Carnedd at Capel Garmon .

Plan of Cromlech at Capel Garmon

Stone of Brochmael ....

Turpillian Inscription .

Frontispiece
. 68

. . 75
. 76

. . 79
, 80

R. MASON, PRINTER, HIGH STREET, TENBY.

THE

CAMBRIAN JOURNAL.

ALBAN "SSg&w HmW j& ELVED.

(AUTUMNAL EQUINOX.)

MEMORIAL OF WALES.

f jjarmtati nf Ijjr tororthf,

GEORGE WHITE, Esq., Mayor of Tenby.

The Venerable GEORGE CLARK, Archdeacon of St. David's.

fcnranj Imutaras,

Mr. R. MASON, F.G.H.S., Treasurer of the Cambrian Institute, and Alderman

of Tenby ;
Mr. THOMAS REES, one of the Town Council of Tenby.

IT is with peculiar interest that the inhabitants of Wales have watched the
progress of this work, ever since its commencement, and the loyal Welsh
nation now congratulate themselves upon its successful completion, and its
inauguration by His Royal Highness Prince Arthur, who was deputed by
Her Most Gracious Majesty to represent her upon this occasion.

That truly Royal courtesy, which is only another word for kindness, may be
recognised in the selection of this young Prince on this solemn occasion.
The name of Arthur, the famous King cf the Britons, is most dear to
Welshmen, and the Cymry fondly connect it with their country's music by
attaching the term " Telyn Arthur 1 ' 1 (the Harp of Arthur) to the starry
constellation of Lyra ; although under Queen Victoria's government they
consciously possess higher privileges, and greater political advantages, than
fiction ever forecast of that hero's second reign.

The Poet-Laureate has identified the Prince Consort with an ideal of
King Arthur, and portrays him, in the Dedication of the Idyls of the King, as
being

" A Prince indeed

Beyond all titles, and a household name
Hereafter through all time, Albert the Good.' 1 ''

Perhaps the greatest among the many obligations conferred by our beloved
Queen upon her extensive dominions was the choice of such a man for her
Consort and Chief Counsellor. Everything that could promote the progress
of the people was in turn the object of his care. "The Gospel, and the
unfettered right to its use," formed the basis of all his plans. " The principles
CAMB. JOUR., 1865. U

146 MEMORIAL OF WALES.

of individual liberty, and of allegiance and submission to the will of the
community," pervaded' all his superstructures. Agriculture, pasturage, and
horticulture, the condition of the labouring classes, the welfare of domestic
servants, commerce and marine enterprise, manufactures and trades, the
learned professions, the education of the young, the development of science,
the culture of the arts, the improvement of popular taste, the elevation
of popular feeling, the encouragement of literature, the extinction of slavery,
the peculiar interests, religious, mental and political, of each several class and
order of British subjects, and chiefly of the industrial class, ever found a
zealous and stalwart champion in the Consort of our Queen.

On the present occasion the Welsh may with peculiar satisfaction recall his
true and lively appreciation of Cymric character, expressed in the address
which he delivered when presenting a new stand of colours to the Royal Welsh
Fusiliers, July 12, 1849. He acknowledged the distinguished "valour, forti-
tude, steadiness, and discipline," of that Kegiment, from the era of its forma-
tion, A.D. 1688, when the liberties of "the country" first found a permanent
settlement. He recapitulated that regiment's services at the Boyne, in the
capture of Namur, at Blenheim and Oudenarde, at Dettingen and Fontenoy.
He celebrated the success of its soldiers in deciding the battle of Minden,
their persevering heroism in the American war, their presence in Holland,
their alacrity in effecting a landing in Egypt, their martial prowess at Copen-
hagen, and at the taking of Martinique, their tardy embarkation from
Corunna, their achievements at Albuera, Badajoz and Salamanca, at Vittoria,
the Pyrenees and Nivelles, at Orthes, Toulouse, and Waterloo. These
"glorious records," as he termed them, were familiar to the mind of Prince
Albert he appreciated the Welsh, and the Welsh appreciated him.

His death is mourned by the whole British empire; every section of
that empire severally deploring the loss of a particular as well as of a
common friend. As a true patriot, a musician, a poet, and an orator, as
the possessor of versatile talents and of stedfast principles, whose constant
study was to ascertain the rule of duty, and diligently to work it out in
daily life, he has especial claims upon the sympathetic veneration of the
Cymry. They feel that never was a statue raised to commemorate a truer
hero, and like the rest of the British people who experience the great, the
multiform, and growing benefits derived from his beneficent deeds, they
condense their fondest wishes for the sons of their Queen, and for their
own sons, in the earnest, simple, and expressive phrase, " May they follow
the example of Prince Albert the Good ! "

ALBERT DBA.

Not by premeditation, but by a zealous concurrence in the act of the loyal
Mayor of Tenby (Dynbych y Pysgod), the loyal inhabitants of the Thirteen
Counties which constitute Wales Proper (Cymru Oil), determined to assist in
erecting a National Memorial to commemorate the virtues of His Royal
Highness Prince Albert, the late exemplary and admirable Consort of the
best and best-beloved of British Queens.

The Mayor of Tenby having been the first to suggest this movement, and
the inhabitants of the town and neighbourhood having adopted it, the
Executive Committee acquired a natural right to fix the place for its erection,
and the rocky peninsula of the Castle Hill was selected, which has been
already declared by the Times to be the most suitable site that could have
been found in the Principality.

Had it not been for Thomas White, the Mayor of Tenby, who, a little less
than four hundred years ago, sheltered the Earl of Richmond in Tenby

MEMORIAL OF WALES. 147

Castle, and conveyed that young Prince from Tenby Harbour to Brittany
in one of his own vessels, it is probable that England and Wales would
never have known a King Henry the Seventh, or the many glorious results of
the Tudor dynasty ! It is remarkable that Mr. George White, the lineal
descendant of that Mayor of Tenby, should now, in the execution of the
same office, become also associated with an event which conspicuously connects
that town with British history.

On the occasion of the lamented death of the Prince Consort, a subscription
was immediately commenced in London for the whole of Great Britain, to
which many landed proprietors in Wales subscribed ; but this did not satisfy
the national feeling of the Cymry, all classes of whom have now had an
opportunity of raising a special tribute for Wales alone. On Wednesday
the 14th of December, 1864, the third anniversary of Prince Albert's death,
the first stone of this Memorial was laid. That stone is a massive block of
Welsh marble, and a circular cavity carved in it contains a bottle hermeti-
cally sealed, inclosing a roll of vellum, upon which the date, the names of the
Committee, and other particulars, are inscribed. It records that the freehold
of the site was presented by the Rev. J. H. A. Philipps, of Picton Castle;
and that the Memorial is intended to be " a mark of loyalty to Her Most
Gracious Majesty the Queen, and of affectionate respect and gratitude to the
memory of Her Royal Consort, Prince Albert the Good."

The Monument consists of a majestic Statue of Prince Albert, 8 feet 9
inches in height, carved from a stainless and unflawed block of the finest
Sicilian marble. It stands upon a Pedestal 18 feet high, which is formed of
grey marble (the native limestone of the district), and has four engraved
panels of Sicilian marble.

This Pedestal rests upon a platform, at the top of three ranges of steps^
the lowest of which forms a square of 23^ feet.

The blocks of the foundation are grafted into the solid rock, and a mound
of earth, neatly turfed, slopes into the Castle Hill, of which it forms the
summit.

The Pedestal was built by Mr. George Thomas, of Pembroke, and will be
a lasting testimony of his ability as a builder. The work is done in so
admirable and elaborate a manner, that it is certain it was honour, not profit,
he sought.

The feudal fortress which once occupied the promontory, no longer needed
to protect the district against hostile neighbours, now ornaments, with
picturesque ruins, the hill, where its keep is fitly supplanted by the Statue
of a Prince whose fame as safely rests upon beneficent deeds as this sculptured
image does upon its rocky basis. The extensive and beautiful panorama of
the site may aptly symbolise the wide and heaven-lit views of his lofty mind.

It would be invidious to compare this Statue of Prince Albert with others
which have been raised to his memory in various parts of Her Majesty's
dominions ; but the manly beauty of the figure, the extraordinary correct-
ness of the likeness, the exact finish of every detail, and, above all, the fine
expression of the countenance, full of benevolent feeling, deep thought, and
poetic pathos, render this remarkable statue an honour to the Principality,
and to the eminent Welsh sculptor who produced it. The figure stands
with the head uncovered, and baton in hand, attired in Field-MarshaPs
uniform, and wearing the mantle and collar of the Order of the Garter,
this having been, on state occasions, the costume adopted by the Prince.

The Pedestal is unique in form, and the whole design of the Monument
would suffice to win enduring celebrity, if such celebrity had not been
already won by previous works of the admirable artist, John Evan Thomas,
a native of South Wales (Brycheinioy), who, ever anxious for the honour of

148 MEMORIAL OF WALES.

his country, has bestowed such inventive thought, and such elaborate work-
manship, upon this National Memorial, that it stands forth as one of the
finest specimens of the sculpture of our time.

The panel on the right hand of the Statue presents a shield, upon which are
sculptured in high relief the arms of the earliest Kings of Wales (Cymru Oil),
borne by Llewelyn ab Gruffydd, the last native sovereign, Gules and Or,
four Lions passant gardant counterchanged. The second panel (behind the
statue) is distinguished by originality of design; and the elegant grouping
of its component forms contrasts happily with the inevitable rigour of heraldic
devices, while yet it harmonizes with them sufficiently to insure complete
unity of effect. It represents the monogram of Her Majesty and Prince
Albert, within an escutcheon, which is supported on one side by the rampant
" Red Dragon of Cadwaladr," and the other rests upon a partially recumbent
but resilient Leek, a scroll being interwoven inscribed with the old motto,
" Anorclifygol J)draig Cymru'''' "the Dragon of Wales is invincible." This
dragon is so admirably chiselled, that every part, and each separate scale,
seems replete with vigorous alacrity almost enabling spectators to believe
the possibility of such a creature's real existence. King Henry the Seventh
raised triumphantly the banner of the Red Dragon at the Battle of Bosworth
Field ; the Red Dragon was used as a supporter of the royal arms by successive
monarchs of his line ; and the Red Dragon continues "to this day to be the
Welsh crest of our British sovereigns.

A druidical origin is ascribed to the emblematic Leek of the Cymry,
although tradition refers its more especial honour to St. David's use of it
during his ascetic preparation for his public ministry among the mountain
solitudes of Llantony, in the county of Monmouth, (previous to his elevation
to the Archbishopric of Caerlleon-ar-Wysc, in the same county,) when
" He did only drink what crystal Honddu yields,
And fed upon the leeks he gathered in the fields."

Tradition also records that the Cymric King, Cadwallawn, and his army,
wore the badge at the battle of Meigen, A.D. 633, when they vanquished the
Northumbrian Angles, and slew Edwin their king.

Art students desiring to attain the power of correctly and gracefully
delineating vegetable forms in stone may profitably study the excellent
example afforded by Mr. Thomas's sculpture of the most ancient symbol of
his country the Leek.

The panel to the left hand of the Statue bears a shield charged with the
Prince's hereditary arms, quartered with those of Her Majesty ; and the
same skilful care is manifested in the most minute details which makes every
division of this noble work complete in itself, and renders the combined
whole a monument worthy of him who delighted in trophies of artistic
excellence.

The sculptor, Mr. Evan Thomas, presented these beautiful panels, the
design and workmanship of which merit all praise, and contain the proper
Welsh national accompaniments of a Cambrian Memorial.

The front panel forms a tablet, upon which the following inscription is
engraved in large and ancient characters : " Albert Dda, Priod Ein GorJioff'us
Frenhines, Victoria"" " Albert the Good, Consort of our Beloved Queen,
Victoria." A simple inscription will also record that " This Memorial of His
Royal Highness Prince Albert, was raised by the inhabitants of Wales, and
inaugurated at Tenby by His Royal Highness Prince Arthur, his third son,
on the 2nd day of August, 1865."

The elevation of such a statue does not belong to hero worship ; it forms
rather an educational incentive to the practice of all excellence. England,
(her metropolis and chief cities,) Scotland, Ireland, and the colonies, have

MEMORIAL OF WALES. 149

already acknowledged their obligations to this great Prince, by erecting
statues to his memory; and Cymric praise, often uttered in the Cymric
language upon cottage hearths, stands now embodied in this stately Monument
of ALBERT DBA.

Seeking, with resolute desire, the glory of God in the good of man, his
philanthropy encompassed all the nations of the earth, and he rejoiced to
behold, and to stimulate, their emulative advancement in all useful and
laudable pursuits.

" National voices, distinct yet dependent,
Ensphering each other, as swallow does swallow,
With circles still widening, and ever ascendant,
In multiform life to united progression
These shall remain."

" Till truer glory replaces all glory."

INAUGURATION OF THE WELSH MEMORIAL TO
THE PRINCE CONSORT.

PRINCE ARTHUR'S VISIT TO WALES.

When persons of exalted station pursue, both in public and private life, a
career of virtue, benevolence and usefulness, their conduct must be regarded
with unfeigned pleasure and satisfaction by every true and loyal lover of his
country; and the Cymry not only quietly cherish, but occasionly publicly
display, their appreciation of such a character in some enthusiastic manner,
which is both national and appropriate. Either the poetical genius of the
Welsh Bard is summoned to celebrate by an Ode, in the Cymric language,
the distinguished excellence of the benefactor of the age, or the chisel of a
native Sculptor is called forth to demonstrate and perpetuate in a durable
form the feelings of the Welsh in regard to his memory.

In a recent instance both the Awen of the one and the chisel of the other
have been engaged in perpetuating the recollection of a Royal patriot and a
universal benefactor. Thus has it been with reference to the memory of His
Royal Highness the truly venerated Prince Consort. The subject of the
Chair Poem at the Swansea Eisteddfod, in 1863, was an " Awdl er Coffad-
wriaeth am y diweddar Dywysog Cydweddog, Albert Dda," (Ode to the
Memory of the Prince Consort, Albert the Good,) which called forth the glow-
ing and elevating strains of bardic inspiration ; whilst the recent erection of
the Welsh Memorial, at Tenby, has served to educe and display the artistic
skill of the Sculptor.

It is to the successful completion of the latter, and its auspicious Inaugu-
ration by His Royal Highness Prince Arthur, to which we now direct the
attention of our readers, by a full and accurate account of the proceedings in
connection with that ceremony.

On Thursday, July 27th, the Statue arrived at Tenby, having been brought
from London to Narberth Road free, by the Great Western Railway Com-
pany, and conveyed to Tenby on a strong carriage, provided without charge
by Messrs. Davies and Roberts for that purpose. On the following day it
was drawn part of the way up the Castle Hill, by a numerous team of horses ;
from this point it was lifted by a powerful crane upon a truck, and con-
veyed up the short railway to the base of the Pedestal. It was then framed,
and slung in ropes, and readily hoisted to its place on the Pedestal, and there
securely fastened by means of copper bolts. The whole was done under
the superintendence of Mr. W. M. Thomas, the brother of the Sculptor,
Mr. Evan Thomas, and the Architect, Mr. H. Maule Ffinch. On July 29th

150 MEMORIAL OF WALES.

and 31st, the boarding that inclosed the Memorial, and the short railway up
which the materials for the Pedestal had been conveyed, were removed,
and the footways and turf of the slopes repaired.

The Memorial is erected by subscription, and amongst the subscribers
to the fund is the Rev. J. H. A. Fhilipps, of Picton Castle, who pre-
sented the site, a plot of land 90 feet square, admirably situated, and
valued at 400, the value of which is enhanced by the remaining part of the
Castle Hill not being permitted to be built upon, but only to be laid out, as
ornamental ground, in public walks, for which purpose it is let to the Corpo-
ration on a 99 years' lease.

Lord and Lady Llanover were amongst the earliest supporters of this
National Welsh movement, and from first to last have afforded most valuable
assistance in many ways.

Messrs. Davies and Roberts, the spirited and liberal Welsh railway
contractors, subscribed, when the Memorial was first projected, .20 to the
fund, but that was little to what they have done since in labour and materials.
They supplied and delivered free the massive block of native marble that
forms the foundation stone, lent a number of powerful labourers to remove
all obstructions to the approach to the Castle Hill, fixed the wire fencing that
surrounds the reserved space about the Memorial, and lastly, put up, at their
own expense, the large platform for the exclusive use of subscribers, capable
of accommodating 400 persons on the day of the Inauguration.

This national undertaking, however, would never have been achieved
without the exertions of Mr. George White, the Mayor of Tenby, who for
nearly two years has laboured incessantly for the achievement of the object.

He was cordially assisted by the Rev. George Clark, Rector of Tenby,
Archdeacon of St. David's, whose health alone prevented his taking any
active part during the last weeks, although he was able in the month of June
to take a purpose journey to Buckingham Palace to receive from Sir Charles
Phipps Her Majesty's pleasure with regard to the date of the Inauguration,
and other arrangements connected with the arrival of Plis Royal Highness
Prince Arthur, as the representative of the Queen. After the indisposition
of the Venerable Archdeacon, Charles Allen, Esq., acted as Vice-Chairman,
and ably performed the duties he undertook.

It is not fitting that this record of the National Monument of Wales should
be concluded without at least naming one of the most indefatigable labourers
towards its achievement. We allude to Mr. Richard Mason, one of the
Aldermen of the town of Tenby, the well-known publisher, and also
Honorary and Acting Secretary, and an able member of the Memorial
Committee. Mr. Mason was one of the first to join the Mayor in the deter-
mination to commence the Welsh movement for a Memorial of the Prince
Consort. He has devoted time and thought unceasingly to the cause, and
well may he be satisfied with the result of his persevering labours.

The day fixed by Her Majesty for the Inauguration of the Memorial of
Wales was Wednesday, 2nd of August, and on Monday afternoon, 31st of
July, His Royal Highness Prince Arthur arrived at Newport, having com-
menced his journey the same morning from Windsor.

NEWPORT, MONMOUTHSHIRE,

(In Welsh always called " Casnewydd").

RECEPTION OF HIS ROYAI/ HIGHNESS PRINCE ARTHUR.

His Royal Highness Prince Arthur, accompanied by his suite, arrived
at Newport on Monday the 31st of July, at 2.10 p.m. His Royal Highness
travelled in the royal saloon carriage appropriated to the Royal Family.

MEMORIAL OF WALES. 151

Preparations had been made here to receive His Royal Highness with
due honour ; the station was laid down with crimson cloth, and profusely
decorated with flags, and numerous mottoes in Welsh. The Monmouthshire
Volunteers were drawn up in military order, the artillery being under the
command of Major Lyne. An arch was raised over the door of the station
of laurel and roses, and the pillars elegantly entwined. The Prince was
received by the Lord-Lieutenant of the county (Lord Llanover), who then
presented to His Royal Highness the Mayor of Newport, who was in waiting
with the Corporation, and had the honour of delivering the following address,
which was graciously received :

" TO HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS PRINCE ARTHUR.

" The humble Address of the Mayor, Aldermen, Burgesses, and Inhabitants of
the Borough of Newport, in the County of Monmouth.

"May it please Your Royal Highness to receive the expression of joy of
the Burgesses and Inhabitants of this ancient town on Your Royal High-
ness's passage through it, to represent Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen,
on the occasion of the Inauguration of the Statue of Your Royal Highness's
illustrious Father, at Tenby, as the Memorial of all Wales, raised to his honour,
and in commemoration of his virtues.

"Your Royal Highness is now in the land of Gwent, and having entered
Newport, in the Diocese of Llandaff, the most ancient of the four Welsh
Bishoprics, it is my proud privilege, as Mayor of this town, to be the first to
congratulate Your Royal Highness on your entrance into the Principality of
Wales, and to express the loyal feelings of this Corporation, and the inhabi-
tants of the borough, towards our beloved Sovereign, as well as our desire to
show our respect to Your Royal Highness in your transit through Wales as
Her Majesty's deputed representative."

(Signed by the Mayor on behalf of the Corporation.)

Lord Tredegar, Viscount Hereford, and Major Lyne having then been
severally presented by the Lord-Lieutenant, a circular tray of fruit and other
light refreshments, on a glass service imbedded in roses, was brought to Lord
Llanover, who himself offered it to the Prince, who received it in the carriage,
and the train again started with His Royal Highness, (who was accom-
panied by Lord Llanover,) on his further progess towards Pembroke-Dock
to pass the night, previous to his entrance into Tenby for the Inauguration
of the Welsh Memorial, as representative of the Queen. Nothing could
exceed the enthusiasm of the reception of His Royal Highness Prince Arthur
at Newport, on his entrance into the Principality.

After His Royal Highness's departure, the following reply, in writing, was
received by the Mayor and Corporation of Newport :

PRINCE ARTHUR'S REPLY TO THE ADDRESS or THE CORPORATION or

NEWPORT.

" I must return you my best thanks for the address which you have pre-
sented to me on my passage through Newport.

" The Queen, my dear mother, will, I am sure, be much gratified by the
loyal expressions contained in your address, which I shall not fail to report to
her.

" ARTHUR.

" To the Mayor, Aldermen, Burgesses, and Inhabitants of the Borough of
Newport."

On His Royal Highness's arrival at Narberth Road Station, Lord Llanover
took leave of His Royal Highness, and entering* a carriage waiting for him,
proceeded to Tenby, where he was soon actively engaged in assisting all those
who were preparing for the Royal Reception, 1st August, and the Inaugu-
ration of the following day. His Royal Highness Prince Arthur meanwhile

152 MEMORIAL OF WALES.

proceeded to Pembroke-Dock, where, according to Her Majesty's arrange-
ment, he was to pass Monday night, to enable him to inspect the many objects
of interest there the following day.

NEW MILFORD AND PEMBROKE DOCK-YARD.

Prince Arthur arrived at New Milford at 6.50 on Monday evening, where
the reception accorded to His Royal Highness was highly creditable to
the loyal feeling of the inhabitants, but there was no unnecessary deten-
tion of the fatigued Royal traveller, who had by that time traversed three
hundred miles since breakfast, and therefore no presentation of addresses.
As the train moved slowly into the terminus of the South Wales Railway at
New Milford, the band of the 62nd Regiment, which had arrived there
previously as a guard of honour to His Royal Highness, played the National
Anthem. A party of men of the same regiment presented arms as the
royal saloon carriage drew up to the platform. Captain Superintendent W.
Lpring, C.B., received His Royal Highness, and conducted him to the floating
pier, where a royal barge was in readiness. His Serene Highness the Prince
of Leiningen, K.C.B., captain of the royal yacht, received Prince Arthur on
his arrival, and the royal party speedily embarked on board the barge, amidst
the cheers of the people, who had congregated in large numbers on the
shore and in boats, and on the word being given, the men "gave way" in
splendid style, and made for Pembroke Dock-yard. . They had hardly got
clear of the pier, however, when H.M. ships Blenheim and Saturn commenced
firing a royal salute, which was answered by the fort guns. In a few
minutes the sailors in the barge rested on their oars, but when the firing had
ceased resumed the voyage across the Haven. As they passed under the stern
of the Victoria and Albert, the latter vessel dipped her colours. In a few
minutes the Prince and his suite, with His Serene Highness the Prince of
Leiningen and Captain Loring, landed at the Dock-yard steps, where they
were received by a guard of honour of the Royal Artillery, under the com-
mand of Major Champion. The landing was a signal for a fresh salute from
the guns of the Fortified Barracks, and His Royal Highness proceeded at
once to the residence of Captain Loring, which he honoured with his
presence during the night.

Great preparations had been made for His Royal Highness's reception
by Captain Loring. A dinner, to which the officers of Her Majesty's ships
of war had the honour of being invited, and also of the Royal Yacht, the
officers of the regiments stationed at Pembroke, and the nobility and gentry
of the district, was held at eight o'clock, to meet His Royal Highness, and
there was a ball afterwards, for which purpose a splendid ball-room had
been constructed, 150 yards long, and here were assembled the principal
persons of the district, including, of course, those invited to the dinner. His
Royal Highness entered the ball-room about ten o'clock, and remained until
one, when he took his departure.

On Tuesday morning His Royal Highness inspected the Dock-yard,
Barracks, &c., and in the afternoon went down the Haven in Her Majesty's
surveying vessel Asp, and inspected the Hubberstone Point Fort. In the
evening the Prince, accompanied by His Serene Highness the Prince of
Leiningen, the Hon. Sir C. B. Phipps, Major Elphiristone, and the rest of his
suite, left Pembroke-Dock, and proceeded to Tenby by the road, by which
means they saw many objects of interest on their route. His Royal Highness
Prince Arthur occupied the open carriage of Captain Loring.

MEMORIAL OF WALES. 153

TENBY.

On Tuesday, 1st August, Tenby might truly be denominated the " Town
of Flowers," and the true description of the preparations for the entrance of
Prince Arthur must appear like an Eastern tale ; but yet such was the Welsh
enthusiasm, that for miles round evergreens and flowers were supplied in such
quantities, that to say "the streets were decorated with flags and banners"
would give a poor idea of the reality. The town was literally clothed and
draped with festoons of flowers, arches, and garlands ; not a window without
some testimony of welcome; and the flags and banners, and Welsh and
English mottoes, were so numerous, that it would require pages to give a list
of half the decorations in honour of the expected arrival of His Royal High-
ness Prince Arthur.

A few minutes after the appointed time (six o'clock), a single gun fired
from the battery of the First Pembrokeshire (Tenby) Volunteers, announced
the arrival of the Royal visitor within a short distance of the town, and
shortly afterwards the open carriage containing His Royal Highness, with the
Prince of Leiningen, and his suite, was seen approaching from the Pembroke
Road, and he was met by hundreds who advanced to meet him on entering
the town.

To describe the scene that presented itself from the entrance of the town to
the Gate House Hotel baffles description. Every roof was filled and covered
by persons eager to obtain a glimpse of him. The streets were one dense
mass of loyal Welsh subjects honouring and bidding him welcome in both Welsh
and English ; while from the windows and house-tops such showers of bou-
quets descended upon the Prince that, had he proceeded much further, he
would have required an empty carriage to convey the overflow of floral tributes ;
in fact the street was strewed with flowers that fell short of the equipage of
the Royal Visitor. The Prince received all these demonstrations with the
most winning smiles, repeatedly bowing, and standing up in the carriage, to
show that nothing was lost upon him.

On the steps of the Gate House Hotel were in waiting to receive His
Royal Highness the Mayor of Tenby, in his robes of office, attended by his
mace-bearers, Mr. Mason, (Alderman of Tenby, and Secretary to the
Memorial Committee,) with other members of the Corporation, the High
Sheriff of the county of Pembroke, the Bishop of St. David's, Lord Llanover,
Sir James Hamilton, Bart., Mr. Lort Phillips, M.P. for the county of
Pembroke, &c., &c. As the carriage drove up to the hotel, a royal salute
was fired from a battery of cannon on Caldy Island, to which a telegraphic
signal had been made, the cheers of the populace rent the air, hats and
kerchiefs were waved, and the sun shone out a cheerful welcome. In the
midst of these demonstrations, graciously acknowledged, His Royal Highness
alighted, and the Mayor was presented to His Royal Highness, who, after
shaking hands with Lord Llanover, the Bishop of St. David's, and other
gentlemen, was conducted by the Mayor to His Royal Highness's apartments,
when the young Prince, observing that the crowds out of doors anxiously
looked after him, came forward to one of the front windows and showed
himself. Another deafening cheer was raised, and the people then dispersed.

A royal salute was fired by the Tenby Battery of the First Pembrokeshire
Artillery Volunteers, under the command of Captain John Maule Sutton,
from their 24-pounders, and the bells of St. Mary's Church commenced
ringing a peal.

His Royal Highness invited to his private dinner in the evening a few of those
who were present on his arrival. Among those who had the honour of being
invited were, His Serene Highness the Prince of Leiningen, the Bishop
CAMB. JOUR., 1865. X

154 MEMORIAL OF WALES.

of St. David's, Lord Llanover, the Lord-Lieutenant of the county of Mon-
mouth, the Mayor of Tenby, J. H. Scourfield, Esq., M.P., Lord-Lieutenant
of Haverfordwest, Sir Hugh Owen, Bart., M.P. for Pembroke, G. Lort
Phillips, Esq., M.P. for the county of Pembroke, Thomas Meyrick, Esq.,
C. Allen, Esq., of Tenby, and the gentlemen in attendance on His Royal
Highness, the Hon. Colonel Sir C. B. Phipps, and Major Elphinstone, but
owing to the detention of the train, Sir Hugh Owen was unable to arrive
before the dinner was over.

The rooms set apart for the use of His Royal Highness were the most
complete suite that could be obtained. The hotel faces the sea, commanding
a fine view of the bay of Caermarthen, and up the channel as far as
Llanelly, taking in the promontory of Gower, while the opposite coast of
Devon is clearly discernible. Nearly fronting the windows is the Castle Hill,
on which the Monument to His Royal Highness's lamented father stands.
The front of the hotel was literally clothed with flags, the Royal Standard
occupying the place of honour in the centre.

At His Royal Highness's dinner, Gruffydd, Harper to the Right Hon.
Lord Llanover, had the honour of playing Welsh airs on the triple
harp ; and after His Royal Highness withdrew to the drawing-room, Grufiydd
was again sent for to play, and also to accompany a Welsh female singer,
(by name Ann Jones,) who was attired in the national costume, and
sung to the harp some of the mountain music of the Principality, with words
in the Cymric language. It is worthy of remark that this celebrated Welsh
Harper had the honour of playing to Her Majesty and the late Prince Consort,
at Buckingham Palace, and also, in March last, to Their Royal Highnesses
the Prince and Princess of Wales, at Marlborough House.

DECORATIONS.

It would be impossible to give a list of the decorations they were literally
innumerable both Welsh and English; but among the most remarkable
were the triumphal arches at the entrance to the town in the Norton, opposite
the Church, and another on entering the Castle Hill. Garlands of evergreens
and flowers were stretched across the street in the Norton, at the Lion and
Cobourg Hotels, at the bottom of Tudor Place, at the top of St. Julian
Street, at 3, Rock House, at the Nelson Inn, and at St. Julian House.

Among the Welsh mottoes were,

" Duw GADWO'R FRENHINES," (God save the Queen).

" HIB OES I'B TYWYSOG ARTHUR," (Long life to the Prince Arthur).

" CROESAW I'R TYWYSOG," (Welcome to the Prince).

" LLWYDDIANT I'R TYWYSOG ARTHUR," (Prosperity to the Prince Arthur).

" ER COFFADWRIAETH AM ALBERT DBA," (In Remembrance of Albert the
Good).

" CYMRU DROS BYTH," (Wales for ever).

" CROESAW i DREF DINBYCH Y PYSGOD," (Welcome to the Town of Tenby).

" HIR OES I'R AIL ARTHUR BRENHINOJL," (Long life to the second Royal
Arthur).

Among the English mottoes, amidst many " Welcomes " to Prince Arthur,
were " Long live Prince Arthur," " God save the Queen," " To Memory
Dear," &c., &c.

To describe all the devices would also be impossible ; but among the most
imposing and conspicuous were the Red Dragon Rampant of Wales, and the
Arms of Wales, in the Banqueting-room, and also on the Royal Pavilion for
the Inauguration, with the other bearings of Great Britain, and the Royal
Standard. A handsome white silk flag, nine feet long, was borne in the pro-

MEMORIAL OF WALES. 155

cession, with the arms of Tenby beautifully emblazoned upon it, expressly
for the occasion, by Mrs. Gwynne, Another flag of the same size adorned
the Banqueting room, painted by the same lady. Upon it were the Royal
arms, the arms of the Prince of Wales, and the arms of Denmark ; also, the
crest of Wales, a Dragon passant on a mount vert. A stand for ladies was
erected at St. Julian House, festooned with evergreens, and wreathed with
flowers, surmounted by flags and devices, among which were a celestial
crown with " A Good Name is better than Riches," and, " The Memory of
the Just is Blessed." The Red Dragon of Wales, the Leek, the Prince of
Wales' Plume, and the Union Jack, on separate flags and banners, at the
Library (Mr. Mason's). The balcony of C. Allen, Esq., was covered with
scarlet cloth, and surmounted with flags. The vessels in Tenby Harbour
had all colours flying. The entrance tower of Tenby Castle was covered with
evergreens, and the Keep with flags.

THE PROCESSION.

The town early on Wednesday morning, 2nd August, was again alive with
preparations for the forthcoming ceremony. Although the weather had been
threatening in the morning, the day proved fine, and the streets through
which the Prince's route lay were still more profusely ornamented with flags
and evergreens, and garlands across the streets.

Shortly after twelve o'clock the procession left the Gate House Hotel and
proceeded to the Castle Hill. The streets were filled with an immense
concourse of people, who had arrived from all parts of the Principality, but
more particularly belonging to South Wales, vessels from the adjacent
ports bringing in crowds of loyal Welsh subjects from the neighbouring
coasts, and also the trains of the previous evening.

The Band of the 62nd Regiment.

Guard of Honour, 62nd Regiment,

Commanded by Major Gwynne.

Tenby Artillery Volunteers,
Commanded by Captain John Maule Sutton.

Pembroke-Dock Artillery Volunteers,
Commanded by Captain Edgecombe Chevallier.

Haverfordwest Volunteer Rifle Corps,
Commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Xavier Peel.

Pembroke Volunteer Rifle Corps,
Commanded by Lieutenant N. A. Roch.

Llanelly Volunteer Rifle Corps,

Commanded by Captain W. H. Nevill.

Castlemartin Yeomanry Cavalry, Mounted,

Commanded by Major Baron de Rutzen.

Banner, Arms of Tenby.

Banner, Arms of Prince Consort.

Banner, Ancient Arms of Wales.

Trumpeters.

Javelin Men.

156 MEMORIAL OF WALES.

Mace Bearers.

Sculptor.
Architect and Contractor.

Subscribers.

Memorial Committee.

Magistrates.

Clergy.
Mayors of Corporate Towns of Wales, in their Robes of Office.

Sheriffs of Welsh Counties.

Lord-Lieutenants of Welsh Counties.

Bishop of St. David's.

His Royal Highness

PRINCE ARTHUR,

Accompanied by His Serene Highness the Prince of LEININGEN

and Suite, in the open carriage belonging to T. Meyrick, of Bush, Esq.,

drawn by Bay Horses.

Mounted Yeomanry.

Among the airs arranged for the Band of the Tenby Artillery Volunteers
on this occasion were two of the oldest and most beautiful Welsh marches to
quick time, viz., "Blodau 'r Grug," (The Flowers of the Heath?) and
" Cyntaf o Awst," (The First of August,) which date seems to have been
peculiarly propitious to Wales, and was the day of Prince Arthur's arrival in
Tenby.

The procession, on its arrival at the Castle Hill, proceeded to the Memorial,
when the bands played " God save the Queen," the guard of honour, consisting
of a detachment of the 62nd Regiment, and the Volunteer Corps, presented
arms. The procession then went round the statue, and His Royal Highness
Prince Arthur took his place in the front of the richly decorated Pavilion
appropriated to his use, where also was His Serene Highness the Prince of
Leiningen, also the Bishop of St. David's, the Lord-Lieutenants, Sheriffs and
Mayors of Wales, and the Ven. Archdeacon of St. David's, who, still very
unwell, had with difficulty made the effort of attending. Sir C. B. Phipps
presented the Archdeacon to His Royal Highness Prince Arthur, who kindly
and graciously expressed concern for his illness, and hope for his speedy
recovery.

The Mayor, who is also the Chairman of the Memorial Committee, then
delivered the following address :

" MAY IT PLEASE YOUR ROYAL HIGHNESS, We, the contributors to the
erection in Tenby of a Memorial Statue of His Royal Highness the Prince
Consort, approach Your Royal Highness with sentiments of loyal and dutiful
attachment to the person of our gracious Sovereign the Queen, and to Her
Royal House. It is with feelings of the liveliest pleasure that we see among
BS a son of the illustrious Prince whose memory the Statue to be now
inaugurated is designed to honour. And we desire humbly to express our
grateful sense of deep obligation to Her Majesty for the two-fold favour
She has conferred upon us ; first, in having been graciously pleased to give
the sanction of Her approbation to the erection of the Memorial now to
be unveiled to public view ; and next for allowing Your Royal Highness to
act as Her representative on this occasion. By the liberality of an individual

MEMORIAL OF WALES. 157

contributor we have been enabled to erect this Memorial on a site possessing,
in an eminent degree, the advantage of being at once singularly conspicuous,
and of perfectly easy access. As a work of art, we trust that it may be
found not unworthy of the favourable judgment of Her Majesty ; and how-
ever unequal every such monument must be to the dignity of the subject, it
will, at least, as we hope, be for generations to come a witness to the
affectionate loyalty of THE WELSH PEOPLE, to their respectful sympathy with
the private sorrow of their Queen, and to their just appreciation of the noble
^qualities and the great public services by which Your Royal Highness's
illustrious Father won the admiration and gratitude of the country."
His Royal Highness then delivered the following reply :
" MB. MAYOR AND GENTLEMEN, I hardly know how to thank you, as I
could wish, for your kind address. How deeply it would have touched and
pleased my dear Mother, could she have been here herself, to witness, in the
reception which I, as her son, have this day met with, the proof of the
unshaken loyalty and affection of her Welsh subjects ; and, above all, to trace
in the noble work of art to be now uncovered, such gratifying evidence of their
reverence for the great and noble qualities of my beloved Father, and
appreciation of his great public services. I shall never forget this day, nor
your kind welcome; and I shall ever think, with pride and pleasure, of
having been allowed, young as I am, to represent my dear Mother on this
most interesting occasion." (Great applause.)

The Bishop of St. David's then offered up the following prayer :
" ALMIGHTY GOD, Fountain of all wisdom, Author and Giver of all good
things, we humbly beseech Thee to bless the occasion on which we are now
assembled, and the work which has been finished in this place. Be Thou
graciously pleased so to prosper it by the over-ruling of thy good Providence,
that it may fulfil the ends for which it was designed. May this memorial of
departed excellence serve to impress us who are here present with a deeper
sense of gratitude to thy fatherly goodness for one of the most precious of
all the gifts Thou hast bestowed on our age and nation : the gift of one,
who while he lived among us, was thy willing and untiring minister to us
for good, and never ceased to devote all the means and faculties with
which he was endowed to thy service and the promotion of public welfare.
May this image of his outward form help to keep alive in those who shall
come after us, a thankful remembrance of this great blessing, and of those
which have flowed from it : and above all may it contribute to diffuse the
lustre of a bright example, to cherish the love of virtue and reverence for
duty, to kindle generous thoughts and lofty aspirations, and animate kindred
spirits to live labourious days for the common weal, and to seek for glory,
and honour, and immortality, not by the strivings of a selfish ambition, but
by patient continuance in well-doing. We implore thy blessing on our
beloved Queen, her person and her throne. Grant that her reign may be
prolonged in prosperity, peace and happiness : and that amidst the cares
and trials of her high station, and under the weight of her irreparable loss,
she may be enabled to stay her mind on Thee, and may be sustained,
strengthened, and refreshed by the consolations of thy Holy Spirit.

"Bless the Prince and Princess of Wales, and all the members of the
Royal Family, that in their several spheres they may more and more fulfil
the fondest hopes of a loyal and affectionate people, and more and more
approve themselves worthy of their glorious parentage. These things we ask
in the name of Jesus Christ. Arnen."

One of the finest effects was now beheld that it is possible to conceive.
The young Prince raised his hand as a signal, and in less time than words
can describe, the Royal Standard (which was alone used to cover the

158 MEMORIAL OF WALES.

Memorial, and in which it was completely enveloped) appeared suddenly to
unwrap itself as if by magic, and the Statue was disclosed in all its majesty,
whilst the Royal Standard, which had before dropped entirely over it, was by
a strong breeze spread out in the air over and above the figure of Prince
Albert, and seemed a fitting emblem of the never-ceasing affection of our
Sovereign Lady the Queen towards her illustrious Consort. At this moment
the sun shone brilliantly on the head and face of the Statue of the Prince,
and as this occurred, it was impossible not to be struck with the countenance
of the youthful Prince Arthur, as well as with the expression of those who
immediately surrounded him. There was on that of His Royal Highness
a blended expression of surprise and satisfaction at the beautiful spectacle
before him, with individual, though suppressed emotion, which struck all
beholders, and which was more or less reflected by the looks of those who,
standing near him, felt that the friend of all, as well as the father of Prince
Arthur, could not longer be seen on earth otherwise than beheld in the
admirable representation of him then disclosed, and lit up by a bright gleam
of sunshine. The expanse of sea and shore, the town beneath, and the rocks
covered with spectators even the top of the Church tower surrounded by
human beings and the young Prince standing in front of his Royal Father's
image, altogether produced a scene never to be forgotten, during which
several of the spectators shed tears.

It was afterwards observed by those who had witnessed the Inaugurations
in other parts of the United Kingdom, that they believed this was the first
time the Royal Standard had ever been used as the covering of the Statue
and the effect was truly sublime. The idea was that of the Sculptor,
Mr. Evan Thomas, who said " no meaner drapery should be thrown over the
Statue of Prince Albert," and who undertook, with the assistance of the
Coast-Guardsmen, to carry this fine conception into effect the success of
which was complete.

Next to the Memorial itself, Prince Arthur was naturally the greatest
object of attention, as all were struck and delighted with his quick intelli-
gence, and unaffected though still regal dignity of manner and deportment,
his clear and harmonious voice, and the intellectual cast of his countenance,
all combined to win for him the affection, as well as admiration, of those
present.

The Royal Artillery, in the Croft Field, then fired a royal salute from their
40-pounder Armstrong guns, after which the Sculptor, Mr. Evan Thomas,
had the honour of being presented by Lord Llanover to His Royal Highness
Prince Arthur, who was graciously pleased to express his entire approval of
the Statue, and to accept some fine photographic views of it. The pro-
cession then defiled round the Statue, and when Prince Arthur again arrived
opposite to the front of the Memorial, he stopped, looked up for a moment
or two, and read the Inscription with attention, after which the Rev. J. H.
A. Philipps, of Picton Castle, was presented to His Royal Highness by
Lord Llanover, when the Prince graciously thanked him for having given
so beautiful a site for the Welsh Memorial of his lamented Father, and His
Royal Highness, preceded by the procession, returned to the Gate House
Hotel in the same order as that in which he had arrived.

It is proper here to notice the services of Mr. Thomas Rees, co- Honorary
Secretary, who exerted himself most effectually in assisting in the arrangement
of the procession, which was very well ordered, and had an excellent effect.

The Royal Pavilion was erected by Mr. Morris Phillips, but decorated, free
of charge, by Mr. John Phelps, and Mr. John M. Henton.

The magnificent gilt state chair for the Prince's use was made by order of
of the Mayor of Tenby, expressly for the occasion, and was covered with

MEMORIAL OF WALES. 159

crimson velvet. Miss Richards, of Croft House, Tenby, sent a number of
other beautiful chairs, also gilt, and covered with crimson velvet, for the
Prince's Pavilion.

THE BANQUET.

Between two and three o'clock a sumptuous Banquet was laid out at
the Gate House Hotel, when the large Assembly Room, surrounded with
galleries, was decorated in the most beautiful manner, three tables being laid
out. The galleries were all bordered and festooned with flowers and ever-
greens, as well as the walls. Flags and banners hung also from the walls,
and opposite the Prince the green and white banner of Wales, with the Red
Dragon, was conspicuously displayed. There was also the National Emblem
of Wales, the Leek, and numerous flags bearing appropriate Welsh mottoes.
The table was splendidly decorated with green-house flowers and plants of
great beauty, contributed by Miss Robson, of Penally, and small flags of
different colours, silk and satin, which were placed the whole length of the
table among the flowers, on which were " CYMRU BROS BYTH," ( Wales for
ever,) and " CROESAW I'R TYWYSOG ARTHUR," (Welcome to Prince Arthur).
On each end of the room were large banners bearing the mottoes, " CLOD i
ENW ALBERT DDA," and " OES Y BYD I'R IAITH GYMRAEG," (the age of the
world to the language, of Wales). A dais was raised at the head of the
room. The Mayor of Tenby, by virtue of his office, presided, and on the
right of his W rsn ^P sat His Royal Highness Prince Arthur, and on his left
His Serene Highness the Prince of Leiningen. On the right hand of Prince
Arthur sat the Bishop of St. David's, and on the left hand of the Prince of
Leiningen sat Lord Llanover. There were also at the same table, Sir Hugh
Owen, Bart., M.P. for the Pembroke Boroughs, Sir James Hamilton, Bart.,
G. Lort Phillips, Esq., M.P. for the county of Pembroke, J. H. Scourfield,
Esq., M.P. for Haverfordwest, &c., &c., besides the gentlemen in attendance
on His Royal Highness, the Hon. Sir C. B. Phipps, and Major Elphinstone.
There was also present the High Sheriffs of Caermarthenshire, Pembrokeshire,
and Montgomeryshire ; the Mayors of Caermarthen Haverfordwest, Brecon,
Pembroke, Caerdiff, Newport (Monmouthshire), Newport (Pembrokeshire),
Swansea, Neath, Cardigan, Denbigh, and the High Constable of Merthyr ;
Major-General Murray, Colonel Stepney, Lieut. -Colonel Mann, C. Allen,
Esq., of Tenby, (Acting Vice-Chairman of Committee,) Archdeacon Allen,
the Rev. J. H. A. Philipps, of Picton, and a number of the clergy of Wales,
the principal officers of Her Majesty's Yacht, and the Honorary Secretaries,
besides about two hundred of the principal inhabitants, including members
of the Corporation of Tenby.

Gruffydd, the celebrated Welsh Harper, was placed in front of a gallery
facing the Prince, and opposite the banner of the Red Dragon of Wales.
He was in the national costume of a Welsh Harper of the fourteenth century,
and his appearance was most picturesque, as with a masterly hand he
swept the strings of his fine triple harp. On the entrance of His Royal
Highness, and the Prince of Leiningen, he played " God save the Queen."

At the conclusion of the repast, the Mayor said,

YOUR ROYAL HIGHNESS, MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN, I have the honour
to ^propose to you the health of Her Most Gracious Majesty, the Queen.
This is a toast which is always first in our hearts, not less than in practice.
No people have ever been favoured with so many blessings and privileges as
we have had the happiness to enjoy during the long, the wise, and the benefi-
cent reign of our beloved Queen, Victoria, a reign which has been hallowed
by the holy life and wise counsels of the great and good Prince whose memory

160 MEMORIAL OF WALES.

we are assembled to commemorate. May Her Majesty long be spared to rule
over a devoted and contented people, and to be a guide and guardian to her
numerous family. It is with every feeling of respectful loyalty, gratitude, and
affection, that I propose to you the health of Her Most Gracious Majesty, the
Queen.

t . J Duw Gadwo'r Frerihines.
ir \ God Save the Queen.

The Lord Bishop of St. David's then rose, and turning to His Royal
Highness Prince Arthur, said,

YOUR ROYAL HIGHNESS, MR. MAYOR, AND GENTLEMEN, I have been
intrusted with a part in the present proceedings which I should have been
very loath to undertake, honourable as it is, if it had not been imposed upon
me by the accidental absence of others, to whom it would have been more
fitly assigned. It is to give some imperfect utterance to the feeling which per-
vades the minds, not only of this company, but of all those who have witnessed
the solemnity of this morning, with respect to the memory of the illustrious
person whom we have met to honour. I feel that it is a task involving
peculiar difficulties, inasmuch as the subject is one on which it is difficult not
to say either too much or too little ; on which it is scarcely possible to say
anything that is new, and extremely difficult to do justice to that which is
universally known. There is one consideration by which I am a little cheered
and encouraged under this disadvantage, and it is that the subject is one
which offers no temptation, and scarcely affords room, for anything like
exaggeration or unreality ; and whatever I may say in the few remarks I
have to address to you, will, I am quite sure, be no more than every one
present knows and feels, however they may fall short of so great a theme, to
be at least perfectly true. There is one aspect of this subject which I think
deserves particular notice upon this occasion, not only because it is intimately
connected with the ceremony in which we have been engaged, and because
it appears to me to show the peculiar fitness and propriety of such a celebration,
but also because I believe it is one on which there prevails some degree of
haziness and indistinctness in the public mind. We have probably all heard
it observed that the great worth and merit of the Prince Consort was never
fully appreciated in his lifetime. I believe that to be perfectly true ; and the
only question is how it is to be explained. It is not I believe at all on the
principle which is represented by the Roman satirist as the habitual tendency
of human nature :

" Virtutem incolumem odimus

Sublatam ex oculis quaerimus invidi."

That is virtue, the virtue which, while it is present and prospering we envy
and dislike, when it is withdrawn from our sight becomes the object of our
regret. That was not at all the case with regard to the question we are
considering. From his first arrival in this country, the Prince Consort never
ceased to be the object of high respect and good will ; and we all know that
the longer he lived the more he endeared himself to the affections of the people,
and the higher he rose in their esteem ; but nevertheless it is true that before
we had suffered that great loss we did not know generally, did not fully
understand and appreciate, that which we have now lost. I believe the
explanation to be most simple and certain, though perhaps it has not occurred
to all of us. The fact was that in consequence of his eminent position he was
indeed as much withdrawn from public view, as if his lot had been cast in the
lowest and most obscure condition of society. It is true we saw him appear,
and to the greatest advantage, on many public occasions, and the oftener he
appeared the more was he beloved and admired ; but his social position was
such as to prevent his great merits from being known and appreciated beyond

MEMORIAL OF WALES. 161

a very limited circle. Now, when such a man, one who moved so silently
and obscurely in the constant prosecution of great works, and the performance
of public services, has been, by the inscrutable dispensations of Providence,
prematurely taken away, there is a peculiar fitness and propriety in the most
public demonstration of the national gratitude, admiration, and regard. In
the present instance, that feeling must be the stronger, because there is, as I
think, too much reason to believe that the constitution of the Prince Consort
might have been able to resist the disorder under which he sank, if that con-
stitution had not been in some degree enfeebled and temporarily unstrung by
his watchings and labours in the public service. I have alluded to the many
services of the Prince whom we have lost, which on the present occasion it is
hardly possible to avoid doing, and I may perhaps be permitted for a few
moments to touch upon some of the most salient points of those services in a
very general point of view. The Prince Consort was placed in an eminent
position, at the very summit of society, from which there was spread before
him, as on a map, all the various wants, interests and movements of this vast
community, over which he was called upon in some degree to preside. Other
men may have filled a like position ; but very few I believe have ever filled it
in the same manner. I believe it may be truly said that the use which the
Prince made of that eminence was to be constantly inquiring how he could
bring the means and opportunities which that station afforded him to give the
most effectual aid to every good cause that was going on throughout this
kingdom. He had the largest conception of the work which it was in his
power to do, and he was bent on doing it in the very best manner. It is only
for the sake of illustration that I would remind you how he encouraged
science, literature, and art. His was not the condescending patronage of an
indifferent and uninterested person. He was the genuine lover and successful
cultivator of science, literature and art. But yet he did not view those subjects
with the eye of a man of science, of literature, or of art, but he viewed them
all in relation to the public good and to the general interests of society, and
valued them to the extent and in the measure in which they were serviceable
to that object. But deep as was the interest he took in such matters, I will
venture to say it was not equal to that which he felt for the physical,
intellectual and moral improvement of the condition of the largest class of the
community the labouring class. This was the object that occupied his
thoughts and studies perhaps beyond all others. He was not a mere passive
and acquiescent patron of every undertaking that was set on foot for their
benefit. Whether it was an improvement in their dwellings, absolutely
necessary for their moral and intellectual culture, or the opening of places
for healthy recreation, or establishments in which they would find the means
of employing their leisure in the cultivation of their mind on all these
subjects he felt and showed the deepest interest. I must add that large as
was the^sphere he was called upon to fill with regard to the interests of this
country,' his views were not confined to the British empire, but extended as
far as civilized society reached. There was a glorious vision that rose before
his mental eye. It was one of the future in which the destructive ravages of
war should be succeeded by peaceful and friendly competition between nations
in useful arts and beneficent pursuits. That great idea filled his mind more
I believe than it had ever done any mind before him ; and he strove to
realize it as far as it could be given to one man in one age to do so. Before
I leave this subject I hope I shall not be thought guilty of any indiscretion or
impropriety if I venture to say that there is another great service for which
he has the strongest claim on our gratitude. If the members of the Royal
Family, as they come successively into public view, justify the liveliest hopes
of the nation for an indefinite prolongation of the happy relation which has
CAMB. JOUR., 1865. Y

162 MEMORIAL OF WALES.

so long subsisted between the Sovereign and the people, we know we are
mainly indebted for that great blessing to the man we are this day assembled
to honour. I have been touching on the great works and public services of
the Prince ; but they, to my mind, are not so admirable as the principle from
which they sprang : I mean the principle of duty. I dwell upon it for a
moment the more willingly, because it is that which is capable of imitation in
every sphere, and because it ennobles every sphere in which it is found. But
there have been in our time two men who have been signal examples of that
principle : one was the great soldier from whom your Royal Highness derives
your name ; the other the illustrious Prince to whom you owe your birth.
The most prominent feature in the character of Arthur, Duke of Wellington,
which has been noticed by every one of his biographers, was, that whatever he
did was done with the noble simplicity of an entire unconsciousness and self-
forgetfulness. The great achievements which changed the destiny of the
world and secured the stability of the British Empire, and with which
Europe and I may say the whole civilized world rang, were to his mind simply
the response of obedience to the call of duty : the things which scarcely any
other man could have done were to him those which he could not help doing.
The same principle shows itself in the life of the Prince Consort in a different
form, not less admirable but, perhaps I may venture to say, even more
amiable and winning. In him was verified, illustrated, and I may say
embodied, the motto of his Ducal House, "Treu und Fest." They are
words which it is easier to paraphrase and explain than to render by any
terms which the English language can supply ; but I think I may say that the
first signifies a devotedness of attachment to a worthy object ; the second a
strenuous perseverance in pursuit of and adhesion to it. These two qualities
are the necessary complements of one another, and when combined I think
they make up a perfect character. For what is virtue but the love of good,
intense in its force, and steady in its perseverance ? These two men were
worthy to live in the same day : they understood and appreciated one another.
The Duke of Wellington as we know fully appreciated the character of the
Prince ; and from the Prince Consort all here must be aware that the Duke
of Wellington received, in the relation which he was permitted to contract in
the person of your Royal Highness, the most signal mark of honour and esteem
which it was possible for a Sovereign to bestow upon a subject. I have now
only to apologize for having detained you so long ; and I will add but one
single word. When the second of those great monuments of that grand
conception of the Prince Consort to which I have alluded, was opened for the
reception of the treasures of industry and art which flowed into it from all
parts of the civilized world, we know with how deep a gloom that solemnity
was overcast by the felt absence of him in whom the whole work originated.
That feeling was expressed by our Poet Laureate in lines which were
wafted on the wings of music through the vast building, and which gave
utterance to the thoughts and feelings which pervaded every bosom
" O silent father of our kings to be,
Mourn'd in our golden hour of jubilee,
For this, for all, we weep our thanks to thee."

It is in a like spirit and with such a feeling that I invite this company to pay
a silent homage to the memory of Albert the Good.

The desire was responded to by solemn silence, which was after a minute's
pause broken by the plaintive melody of the Welsh Harp sounding mournfully
the appropriate, very ancient, and touching Welsh air of
( Cwynfan Prydain.
\ The Lamentation of Britain,

MEMORIAL OF WALES. 163

which has been often played on the same national instrument in Wales in
times of sorrow in centuries past.

The Mayor then said,

YOUR ROYAL HIGHNESS, MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN, I have now the
honour to propose to you the health of their Royal Highnesses the Prince
and Princess of Wales. I believe that at no period in the history of this
country have the people taken greater or more affectionate interest in any
Royal pair than in the Prince and Princess of Wales, whose great anxiety
to discharge the duties of their exalted station have won for them the grati-
tude and admiration of the country.

A . f Codiad yr Haul.
ir \ The Rising of the Sun.

The Mayor then said,

MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN, I now rise to propose the health of His
Royal Highness Prince Arthur, whose presence among us we esteem with
all the heartiness, cordiality, and affection of a loyal people. We owe a
deep debt of gratitude to Her Majesty for deputing His Royal Highness to
represent her on this solemn and yet most interesting occasion, and especially
we owe a debt of gratitude, affection, and remembrance to His Royal High-
ness for the readiness with which he has come among us, and assisted
us in doing honour to the memory of that great and good Prince, his father.
I am sure I express the feelings of all Welshmen, when I say that we hope
to have many opportunities hereafter of seeing him amongst us. I can truly
say that His Royal Highness has won all our hearts, and for ever endeared
himself to us. (Great cheering.) The Right Reverend Prelate has referred
to the name of the illustrious young Prince whose health I am now proposing,
recalling to our minds the great General whose life of duty he has so well
described ; but I may venture to remark that Arthur is a name peculiarly
dear to us as Welshmen, and a name which has been handed down to us in
the pages of the historian, and the songs of the bards and I venture to say
that his Royal Highness Prince Arthur will also ever live in the hearts and
affections of the people of Wales. I therefore ask you to drink the health of
His Royal Highness Prince Arthur.

A . ( Triban Caerpkili.
Air t \TheCaerphili March.

The toast was received with great enthusiasm, His Royal Highness bowing
his acknowledgments. When it had subsided,

His Royal Highness rose, and in a clear and distinct voice, spoke as
follows :

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I thank you most heartily for the kind manner
in which you have received these toasts, and I am much obliged for the
kind attention which has everywhere been shown to me in South Wales.
The Queen has commanded me to propose the health of " HER LOYAL
WELSH PEOPLE." (Deafening applause.)

A ( Triban Morgan.
\ Morgan's March.

The toast having been duly honoured, Lord Llanover rose and said,

MAY IT PLEASE YOUR ROYAL HlGHNESS, MY LORD BlSHOP, LADIES AND

GENTLEMEN, In compliance with the request of the Mayor, I rise to respond
to the toast which your Royal Highness has just given a toast which, I
can venture to say, not merely touches the heart of every Welshman here
present, but which will be treasured in the memory of thousands of " Her
Majesty's loyal Welsh people," and be recorded from generation to generation.
I should, indeed, be insensible, if I did not greatly prize the privilege I now
enjoy, of endeavouring to express the gratitude of my countrymen now

164 MEMORIAL OF WALES.

present, as well as those not in the room, for this proof of the Queen's
remembrance of us in the toast which, by Her Majesty's gracious command,
your Royal Highness has just given. But I also feel deeply the impossibility
of finding words of sufficient power to express the feelings of the Welsh
people, whose unvarying loyalty affords the best proof of their devoted
attachment to Her who is not merely their hereditary ruler, but who is the
Sovereign of their affections. The Cymry not only respect and obey but
they love their Queen, and in the Inauguration of the Memorial which
has taken place this day, we are especially reminded of that illustrious and
ever to be lamented Prince whom she selected as Her Consort, by which act she
conferred a real blessing upon Her subjects, which the Welsh have to acknow-
ledge in common with the other numerous races that people Her Majesty's
dominions. The influence of the Prince Consort was naturally felt throughout
the whole length and breadth of those vast dominions ; it was an influence so
good so mild so just so wise that when it ceased to exist, the loss was
universally deplored, and a blank was created which can never be supplied.
Before I conclude, I beg to be also permitted to notice some of the remarkable
circumstances and coincidences connected with this occasion. In the first
place, the propitious circumstance of the presence of a Prince who bears
the name of Arthur that name so truly dear to Welshmen, from the earliest
period of British history (for I mention that name in a different sense, and
under another association, to that alluded to by the Right Reverend Prelate,
the Bishop of St. David's) ; and it is indeed a remarkable coincidence that
it was on this very shore, 384 years ago, that Henry of Richmond landed
in this month of August, within four days of the present date, soon after
which the Battle of Bosworth Field was fought, when the banner of the Red
Dragon of Wales, ever foremost in the fight, led on the Welsh to victory.
(Hear, hear, and cheers). I see that that noble Dragon has not been
forgotten in the decorations of this room. It has been the emblem of staunch
support of the Throne, and is still the crest and the banner of the Principality.
And it is most remarkable that the worthy Mayor who now presides at this
banquet is the lineal descendant of the White, in this town of Tenby, who
rendered most important services to Henry of Richmond, who was after-
wards one of the greatest sovereigns of the Tudor dynasty. (Loud cheers.)
I could cite many instances to show that Tenby, and the county of Pembroke,
are most particularly associated with the historical annals of Wales, and
its selection for the solemn ceremony of this day is rendered still more
appropriate by its being within the diocese of St. David's, and not far from
the Cathedral of the Titular Saint of the Principality of Wales. Once
more, in the name of my countrymen, I beg to thank your Royal Highness
for the toast thus graciously given, and I beg also to offer our humble duty to
the Queen, with the assurance of the devoted attachment of Her Majesty's
"Loyal People of Wales." (Loud and long continued cheering.) Happily
we live in less troublous times than those early periods in our history to which
I have adverted, and we are not called upon to serve the State in precisely
the same way as our ancestors ; but we have still duties to perform in the
various positions to which it has pleased God to call us. We must all be

tlad to see the Mayor of Tenby come forward in the way in which he has
one on this occasion, and with the permission of His Royal Highness I will
propose " The health of the Chairman of the Memorial Committee, Mr.
George White, Mayor of Tenby." (Tremendous cheering).
Concluding ( Triban Gwyr Harlech.

Air \ The March of the Men of Harlech.
The Mayor then rose and said,
YOUR ROYAL HIGHNESS, MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN, I beg to thank you

MEMORIAL OF WALES. 165

most gratefully and sincerely for drinking my health so warmly, and I also
beg to thank Lord Llanover for the kind and complimentary manner in which
he has referred to me. I can assure His Royal Highness, the noble Lord,
and the Gentlemen present, that not only to myself, but to every member of
the Committee, it has been a labour of love (loud cheers) to do all in
our power to make the Memorial which we have this day inaugurated worthy
of the great and good Prince whose memory it is intended to honour, and
also of Her Majesty's LOYAL WELSH PEOPLE, and however unequal every
such Monument must be to the dignity of the subject, it will show to
generations to come how truly grateful those people were for the services
rendered to the country by the lamented Prince Consort, whose memory
will ever be held in veneration, and it will also be a lasting testimony of our
sympathy with the private sorrow of our Queen. (Loud applause.) I very
respectfully and gratefully thank you all for your kindness, and for your
attendance here to-day.

His Royal Highness and suite returned to his apartments at the Gate House
Hotel, and shortly afterwards left in the open carriage of T. Meyrick, of
Bush, Esq., for the railway station, and proceeded by train to Pembroke-
Dock, a salute of 21 guns announcing his departure. His Royal Highness
went on board the Victoria and Albert yacht the same evening, and returned
to Osborne by sea. His Royal Highness's departure was marked by the
same Welsh enthusiasm as his arrival.

Before his departure, His Royal Highness desired Sir C. B. Phipps to express
to Mr. Gregory, the landlord of the Hotel, his satisfaction in the arrange-
ments which had been made for him, and he also sent for the visitors' book,
in which he wrote his name, and the date, after which the Hon. Sir C. B.
Phipps, Major Elphinstone and Lord Llanover recorded their names.

As the day was a general holiday throughout the district, the streets of
Tenby were thronged until night. Some of the steamers were late in
departing, and their twinkling lights were visible far at sea long after sunset.

Thus ended the Inauguration of the Memorial of Wales a lasting and
honourable tribute to the virtues of Prince Albert the Good. This under-
taking originated, as all projects must do, in the thought of an individual
mind, and was matured, as most projects are, by the aid of a few coadjutors ;
and without any systematic plan of combined action with the other towns and
counties of Wales, it grew into a national work by means of contributions
from all quarters of the Principality by " HER MAJESTY'S LOYAL WELSH
PEOPLE," the silver of the working classes, even more than the gold of the
wealthy, testifying the real love of that ancient nation for their Queen, and
for the household name of

ALBERT DBA.

166

THOMAS PRYS OF PLAS IOLYN.

THE works of Thomas Prys, Esq., of Plas lolyn, in Den-
bighshire, are preserved in the British Museum in a
manuscript volume supposed to be written by his own
hand. The volume, which was at one time in the pos-
session of the well known antiquary Lewis Morris, con-
tains the following address "To the Reader" by that
writer and in his handwriting ; and in the same hand
there are several poems at the end of the book, which
having been torn out, are supplied from other MSS.
The handwriting of Prys is so cramped, and the ink so
nearly obliterated in many parts, that it is extremely
difficult to decipher any considerable portion of the book,
except such parts as have been re- written by Lewis
Morris.

The title, which is in the handwriting of Morris, runs
thus : " The Works of Thomas Pr^s alias Price of Plas
lolen Esquire, containing the History of the Ancient
Britons from their first plantation to y e time of Charles
the first A Geographicall description of Britain and its
islands A British Expositor Gruffydd ap Cynans
statute in relation to Poets The art of Poetrv
Grammar Rhetorick and a great number of poems
wrote by y e author upon different occasions : wit hmany
other curious things worthy of notice."

The statement that the bard retired to the Isle of
Bardsey, and built there a house out of the ruins of the
old abbey, is without foundation, the error having in all
probability arisen from a misconception of some passages
in one of the poems contained in the volume.

The poems of Thomas Prys, which are upwards of a
hundred in number, display very considerable poetical
powers, and are well worth publication.

HIRLAS.

TO THE READER.

Before you read this book it won't be improper to peruse the
following account of it and the author, collected for the most
part out of his own works.

THOMAS PRYS OF PLAS IOLYN. 167

Mr. Price was a gentleman of a plentifull fortune in Denbigh-
shire. His chief seat was Plas lolen. His Father, Ellis Price
Esquire is often mentioned as a great favourer of the Poets in
Queen Elizabeths reign, by John Tudur and others.

Our author was in y e Camp at Tilbury A.D. 1588 where he
says the Queen came to them in person to oppose y e great
Spanish Armado.

She reigned afterwards about thirteen years, in which time he
fitted out a privateer at his own charge, and cruized upon the
coast of Spain for some time, but growing weary of that life, he
came home and settled in his own estate. Whether before or
after this it was that he built a house in the isle of Bardsey out
of y e ruins of y e old monastery, I have not yet been informed.
His cosin, Pirs Gruffydd of Penrhyn near Bangor was also a
Buchanier at y e same time. It seems it was Price that per-
suaded him to it, though he could not afterwards dissuade him
from it, untill it became his ruin. Pirs Gruffydd died at London
in the year 1628. above 60 years of age.

The British History is a translation out of some Latin or
English historian untill he comes to his own time. It generally
agrees as to facts with our British Historian Galfridus Mone-
muthensis, tho' vastly different as to style, and much shorter,
this being full of Anglicisms common to this day in Denbighshire,
and which get footing very fast in North Wales.

The British Expositor seems to be antienter than Dr. Davies's
Dictionary, the Dictionary being published y e very year this
book was written (1632) and there are some words here not to
be found in Dr. Davies.

The description of y e islands is collected from several authors,
antient and modern.

The form of calling together a congress of Poets A.D. 1524.
(called Eisteddfod) and the account given of another A.D. 1576
is pleasant enough.

It is to be noted that Prince Gruffyd ap Cynans statute is not
copied out of Dr. John Dafydd Rh^s's Grammar, but from some
Denbighshire manuscript, as appears from its Anglicisms. The
examples in his " Art of Poetry " are entirely his own, and his
grammar and Rhetorick are originals. He doth not copy after
any of our grammarians that I know of in y e former, nor after
Henry Perri in y e latter.

His catalogue of ingenious gentlemen, his contemporaries,
skilfull in the British Poetry, and other parts of learning is a
curious thing. His poems generally abound with wit and humour,
and contain a great variety of history of his own times, for

1 68 MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES.

between 40 and 50 years, most if not all of them being wrote
before the first part of the book.

I find some of them wrote in y e years 1589. 1606. 1607. 1608.
1610. 1619. 1628. 1632. and it is not improbable but that his
love poems (which have no dates) were his first attempts. His
incorrectness and carelessness in his orthography in writing
prose must be attributed to his military and wandering life in his
younger years.

Many more particulars of his life may be gathered from his
Poems upon close reading ; which I leave to y e curious, if the
book should ever happen to fall into such hands.

M r Edward Llwyd 1 in his Archseologia makes honourable
mention of our author, placing him with the famous Salesbury
and Vaughan. See also p. 264 in his Catalogue of writers.

It may be perhaps doubted whether this book be really the
handwriting of Mr Price y e author : That I leave to a further
enquiry tho' I have several reasons to think it is.

This is all y e account my time will afford me to give of this
book at present.
Therefore I remain the

Worlds most Humble Servant

[LEWIS MORRIS 2 ].

MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES.

The Celtic mind was capable of the highest things. Welshmen
had raised themselves to a pinnacle almost equal in every point to
their English neighbours. One of the greatest conquerors of modern
times the Duke of Wellington was a Welshman on his mother's
side ; Sir Isaac Newton the philosopher, Sir Hugh Middleton the
engineer, Wilson the painter, Gibson the sculptor, Milton the poet,
Griffith Davies the actuary these all showed to what positions
Welshmen could reach. REV. R. JONES.

IRISH ALPHABET. At ante p. 22, M. de Gaulle states that "the
alphabet which the Irish preserve, must have been brought to them
by the Phoenicians, at a very ancient period." Now, I do not believe
that the Irish possessed a knowledge of letters before the time of St.
Patrick, and the introduction of Christianity into their country.
Will M. de Gaulle kindly give his authority for the afore-mentioned
assertion ? Q.

1 Arch. Brit. p. 221. 2 The signature is omitted in the MS.

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