^^
y Cpîtii.iroaor.
THE MAGAZINE
OF THE HONOURABLE
SOCIETY OF CYMMRODORION.
VOL. XXXV.
LONDON :
ISSUED BY THE SOCIETY,
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J925.
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C O N T E N T S
PAGE
A Neglectecl AYelsh Triad. By Alfred Anscombe. F.R.Hist.S. 1
The '■ Book of Basingweik " aud M8. Cotton Cleopatra. B.V.
B}' the Rev. Ac'TGN' Griscom. M.A., New York . . . . 49
Facsimile of pp. 88-89 of the " Book of Basingwerk "', to
ilhistrate Mr. Griscom's article . . . . . . 110
The Scandinavian Settlement in Ystrad Tywi. By G. Peredur
JoNES, M.A., formerly Lord Howard de Walden Fellow in
the University of Liverpool . . . . . . 117
Notes on the Parish Register of Merthyr Tydfil, from a.d. 170-3
to 1763. By Frank T. James, V.D., M.B.E., Penydarren
House . . . . . . . . . . . . ]ô7
List of lllustrations aiid Facsimiles (Merthyr Parisli
Register) . . . . . . . . . . . . 18ö
The English Element in the Perfeddwlad. By T. P. Ellis, M.A.
(Oxon.), author of " The First Extent of Bromfield and
Yale " . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Some Letters of Thomas Johnes of Hafod (1794-1807). Selected
from the Cumberland Papers, British Museum, MSS.
36491-36Ô16. By Herbert M. Yaughan, M.A., F.S.A. . . i'OO
The Editor welcomes the free expression in these
pages of genuine opinions on any matters of interest
reiating to Waies~its modern deveiopments as weli as
its ancient history— but disclaims responsibility alike
for the opinions themselves, and for the manner in
wbich they are expressed.
îl Cgmmrnìinr.
VoL. XXXV. " Cared doeth yr encilion." 1925.
BT
ALFRED ANSCOMBE, F.R.Hist. S.
I. Introductory.
The Welsh Historical Triads have never been eclited col-
lectively. Consequent]y the variant readings havc not been
properly presented and the mistalíes niade in transcription
have not received their respective antidotes. Neither has
the explicatory and, at times, unconscious punning of
niediífival scribes been appraised at its true value. The
complex obscurity in which the student of our racial
origins is involved is extremely serious. But its existence
is at last becoming recognised.
In the Preface to his recently published work History
of íhe Later Roman Empire (from a.d. 395 to a.d. 565)
Professor Bury lays stress upon the fact that we know
less of Britain at tlie period of Germanic invasion than of
any other part of the Roman Empire. And he remarks
that Britain seems to be the only exception to the rule
that the change of masters in the western provinces of
the Empire was not the result of anything that could be
called a cataclysm. " The German peoples, who were
much fewer in numbers than is often imagined, at first
A Neolected Welsh Triad.
«>
settlecl in the provinces as tlepenclants, and a change
which meant vii-tiially conquest was disguised for a
shorter or longer time by their recognition of the noniinal
rights of the Emperor. The consequence was that the
imtnense revolution was acconiplished with far less
violence and upheaval than might have been expected.
This is the leading fact which it is the chief duty of the
historian to make clear."
In so far as Anglian Britain is concerned that duty
cannot as yet be claimed to have been realised by any
seholar who has undertaken to play the part of an histor-
ian. Much less can it be supposed to have been fulfìlled.
The output of historical work in our country, when the
investigation of folk-origins is concerned, can only be
described as racial. The tendency to select the truths
that countenance the compartment-method of researeh
and either support restricted racial views, or are not
definitely opposed thereto, is universal. The cûnsequences
of this are unmistakable and deplorable. English histor-
ians, for instance, are eontent to leave the investigation of
the early history of Mereia severely alone. The raeial
and linguistic problems that that kingdom and its folk
present are so disquieting that they prefer to acquiesce in
one-hundred-and-fifty years of silence rather than avail
themselves of traditions the sourees of which are neither
English nor Western Germanic. One consequence of this
is that investigation into that side of Insular Germanic
life which is neither English nor Saxon, and the traditions
of which have been preserved for us by the Cymro andthe
Norman, is scoffed at and derided. The racial aloofness
of the historian has led him to forget that our England is
the product of an historical process and that, notwith-
standing the fact that Roman Britain could not carry its
Roman traditions of law and language onward into the
A Ne^lected Welsh Triad. 3
Middle Ages because its deadly enemies had overpowered
its civilisation, nevertheless, in the words of Mr. R. G.
Collingwood, " But for these facts England would to-day
be speaking a Latin tongue, though iii race she would be
no less and no more Teutonic than she is " ; Roman
Britain (1913) p. 19. If Germanic be substituted for
"Teutonic" I am in fuU aofreement with Mr. Collinof-
wood's conclusions.
Tlie mental attitude of the Aní^le towards this problem
is couched upon the conviction that there were no
Germanic settlers in Britannia tiU A.D. 449, when the
Saxons came and slew all the "Celts," or drove theni
away. This fatuity has developed into neg-lectful scorn of
true racial conditions and into facile doubt in dealing
with what it is not thought desirable to believe and apply :
ammau poh anwyhod. This neglect and inefficient facility
are supinely regarded as proofs of scholarly fitness, and
we go on, generation after generation, accepting the
opinions of scholai's who pretend that all is known and
wish it to be believed that nothingis left to be discovered.
But that is not true, and, as I asserted in The Times
Literary Supplement of the 9th of October, 1919, "the
material awaits the worker's hand. It is enoi'mous in
mass, priceless in value, infinitely interesting in its nature
and variety. In order to reduce this material to utility
and assimilate it, what are required are faith and confidence
and wiUingness to work, in addition to learning- and
scholarship."
Of these desiderata the third, namely, willingness to
work, is not discoverable. In the closing years of a long,
busy, and scholarly life, the late Professor Skeat took
profound interest in the study of Eng-lish place-names.
He was much hampered in his research work by the fact
that the places named and indicated in the Ang-lo-Saxon
B 2
A Neoiected Welsh Triad.
"^^
charters coUected and edited by Dr. Bircli in tlie " Cartu-
larium Saxonicuin " whicli was published twenty-five 3^ears
ago, were neither listed nor indexed. To what 'is this
neg-ligence to be attributed ? I will let Professor Joseph
Wrio-ht answer. In the Introductioìi to the second edition
of his "Old English Grammar " (1914), p. viii., he
revealed the disappointment he felt at the non-fulfilment
of promises made by other scholars to assist him : " The
simple fact is that most people in this country who are
competent to undertake such work either cannot or will
not face the drudgery that it entails."
Similarly on the 7th of November, 1917, Professor
Flinders Petrie read a paper before the British Academy
on " Neglected British History ". It is demonstrable that
this charge of neglect was brought with justice and
propriety. In advancing it Professor Petrie was partly
dependent upon Geoíîrey of Monmouth whose worlc
Professor R. W. Chambers lias well and truly styled " one
of the most influential booksever written in this country ".
But Insular scholars, as Professor Chambers has pointed
out, have been meekly waiting for 336 years for an edition
of Geoffrey Arthur's " Historia Regum Britanniee " which
shall be independent of the German edition that Jerome
Commelin of Heidelberg issued in the reign of Queen
Elizabeth, and which shall take scholarly account of the
texts of the thirty-four manuscripts of Geoffrey's work
which are preserved in the British Museum Library.
With all this lassitude (and more) in view I wish to
point to just one of the Welsh Historical Tiiads which
would very materially help any open-minded students of
Mercian origins who would but make diligent use of it.
The particular Triad is that of the " Tri Unben Llys
Arthur ". It is a very ancient one and its value where
Mercian and Soutli Saxon historical legends are concerned
A Neo-leded Welsh Triad.
"^.^
has never been detected. The following are the sources
upon which I rely. I am prefîxing the abbreviation that
I shall employ when I refer to the different collections in
which the text appears or is quoted.
Aber. — Tlie Henprwrt-Peniarth manuscript.
Herg. — The Red Book of Herg-est.
Llaneg. — The Book of LUmegwad.
Pant. — The Book of Paul Panton of Plasg-wyn.
K. Ac 0.— The Mabinogi of " Kilhwch ac Olwen ".
Ehon. — The Mabinogi of " The Dream of Phonabwy ".
G. AP E. — The Mabinogi of " Gereint ap Erbin ".
I have set the oldest document first. But the text of
Aber. is faulty in several particulars. In other collections
we get yariations and illuminative additions, and in the
Mabinogion two of the Tri JJnhen are cited, and additional
information about tliem which is both valuable and useful,
is purveyed.
II. The Authorities.
§ i. — Aber.
The oldest text of the Triad of the Tri ünben Llijs
Arihur is to be found in the Peniarth MS. No. 45a. This
is now in the National Library of Wales, at Aberystwyth,
and I ain indebted to the kindness of the Librarian — Mr.
John Ballinger, M.A., — for photographs (positive, nega-
tive, and enlarged) of the page which preserves the
Triad. The manuscript is water-stained and could not be
reproduced well. The page uieasures approximate]y 5:^
inches by 3:^. It is numbered 294 and has 27 written
lines. The manuscript was formerly in the Hengwrt
coUection, No. 536 (olim 29). It coinprises Geoffrey of
Monmouth's " Historia Brittonum " (sic) ; the Pedigi-ees
of the Welsh Saints ; the Pedigrees of the Men of the
North ; and the Triads of Kino: Arthur and his Men.
A Neelecíed Welsh Triad.
t>
Dr. J. Gwenogyryn Evans assigns the MS. to the late
thirteenth century.'
§ ii. Aniong the scribal peculiarities of this MS. are
the tall a, which is so like a cZ," and the tied II, which
invites mis-reading as n. To the latter scribal peculiarity
is attributable the error made in reading which is
presented in William Forbes Slcene's edition of the
Triads of Arthur and his Men.^ Skene's text yields
" uordwytwn ". In this -twyi should be -twll. Tlie text
is given at the end of this chapter.
§ iii. — Herg.
The Triad also appears in the Trioed in the Red Book
of Hergest in the Jesus College (Oxon.) Library, MS.
No. 1. Except a few of its columns this MS. was written
in the last quarter of the fourteenth and in the first quarter
of the fifteenth centuries.* These Triads were published by
Professor Rhys' who pronounced the earlier edition,
namely Cyfres II in the " Myvyrian Archaiology," to be
1 Vide 'Report on MSS. in the Welsh Language ', Hist. MSS.
Commission, vo]. i, pt. ii (1899), Peniarth, p. 379.
= Cp. ' Early Welsh Script', by W. M. Lindsay, M.A., Oxford, 1912
(St. Andrew's University PubHcations, No. X.). In the BerneGospels
which were written early in the ninth century, a is very much like d ;
cf. p. oO, plate V. On p. 5, Professor Lindsay refers to the presenta-
tion of ch for h : e.g., Gechennam, chippocritis, nechimenter. These
instances occur in the St. Chad Gospels which were written in the
eighth century, or the ninth ; and this digraph is also found in the
Berne MS., v. pp. 15 and 16.
' ' The Four Ancient Books of Wales ' (1868). By William Forbes
Skene. Vide Appendix, vol. ii, pages 456 to 464 (even numbers);
from the Hengwrt MS. No. 536. It is the ninth Triad in this
collection.
* Vide Mr. J. G. Evans"s 'Report' (note 1, above) vol. ii, part i
(1902), Jesus CoL, O.rford, p. 5.
s In F Cymmrodor, vol. iii (1880), pp. 52-63. Also cp. Thomas
Stephens's letter on the Triads in Archceologia Caynbrensis, 3rd S., viii,
(1862) pp. 64, 65. Stephens assigned the Red Book Triads to the mid-
f ourteenth century ; the first Cgfres in the 'Myvyrian Archaiology'
A Neorlected Welsh Triad.
%í>
carelessly reproduced, but deferred inarking the errors
" until all tlie important versions have been brought
too-ether ". This has not yet been done. In the first
edition of the " Myvyrian Archaiology '" the word
" Chaedyrleith " raakes its appearance in this Triad, and
it is followed by the numeral 4, vol. ii., p. 13. The foot-
note corrects this to Chaedyrieith. In the second edition
p. 397, the mis-reading is foUowed by the figure 4, but
there is no explanatory foot-note. This error was repeated
by Professor Ehŷs in 1880 (vide my note 5, sujpra), but
corrected by him in 1887 {vide my note 7, infra).
to the mid-fifteenth century ; and the third Cyfres to the sixteenth
century. A few of the Historical Triads are quoted in poems of the
twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
This is the only reference to the Triads listed in D. R. Thomas's
' Alphabetical Index to the First Four Series of Archceologia Cam-
ôrensí's' (1846-1884). It was pubUshed in 1892. In Francis Green's
' Alphabetical Index to the Fifth Series' (1902) the word Triad does
not occur.
'^ (A). ' The Myyyrian Archaiology of Wales ' : collected out of
Ancient MSS. Poetry : vol. i (1801) ; Prose : vol. ii (1801), vol. iii (1807).
Trioedd Ynys Prydain allan o Lyryr Mr. lì. Vaughan o'r Hengurt,
numbered i-xcii ; vol. ii, pp. 1-19. T. Y. P. allan o'r Llyi-yr Coch o
Hergest, numbered i to lx, pp. 1-22 (at f oot of each). Trioedd y Meirch
numbered i-xi, pp. 20-22. Trioedd Y. P. numbered 1-126, pp. 57-75.
Amrywiaethau i'r Trioedd, pp. 75-79 ; A.i'r T. y Meirch, pp. 79 and 80.
(B). The second edition (1870) with additional notes, pp. i-xxvi,
1-1247. The collections of the Triads appear as follows : Cyfres I (92
Triads) pp. 388-394. Trioedd y Meirch (11 Triads) p. 394. Cyfres II
(60 Triads) pp. 395-399. Cyfres III (126 Triads) pp. 400-411.
Amryioiaethau i'r Trioedd Blaenorol, pp. 411-414.
7 ' The Welsh Triads as they are given in the Red Book of Hergest
in the Library of Jesus Coliege, Oxford'. Ed. by John Rhjs, M.A.
and J. Gwenogvryn Evans, in the ' Text of the Mabinogion and other
Welsh Tales from the Red Book of Ilergest ' (1887), pp. 297-308.
The Red Book gives 60 historical Triads in all. They are not num-
bered in the MS. Our Triad is printed on p. 303, lines 12, 13 and 14.
On p. 319 Professor Rhj'S annotated chaedyrieith thus : " At first sight
the [first] i looks like a regular /, but closer exaniination will show the
top half of the wuuld-be / to be an addition ".
8 A Neo-lecíed Welsli Triad.
í>
§ iv. Now, why did the early scribe seek to iiiter-
polate aii / and why is Caedreith sj)elt in that curious
way? The Eed Book Triad makes uo refereuce to Porth-
fawr the father of " Caedreith " aiid the introductioii of
Caedyrieith inab Seidi exhibits inneinonic confusion with
Triad 90 of Cyfres I. The omission of Porthfawr is a
serious one. Moreover the mis-spelling of his son
" Caedreitli's" naine and the mis-attribution of Seidi as
Caedreith's father are inexcusably erroneous.
§ V. — Llaneg.
The third collection of Triads in the " Myvyrian
Archaiology " (1801) presents a curious addition to what
I prefer to regard as the true text. On p. 57 we are
inforuied that — " Y Trioedd canlynol a gymmerwyd allan
o Lyfr ysgrifeniedig- y diweddar Barchedig Mr. Eichards
o Lanegwad yn Ystrad Tywi, a fu ym menthyg gyda'r
Parchedig Mr. T. Walters, o Landocha ym Morganwg,
gennyf fì lolo Morganwg." The Triad appears as No. 114
in this collection (ed. 1, vol. ii., p. 74; ed. 2, p. 410),
and after reciting it (as given below) the Cyfres con-
tinues :
§ vi. " sef oeddent yn Dywysogion yn Berchennogion
Gwlad a Chyfoeth, a gwell oedd genddynt no hynny aros
yn Farchogion yn Llys Arthur, gan y bernid hynny yn
bennaf ar bob anrhydedd a bonheddigeiddrwydd, a ellid
wrth a gair y Tri Chyfiawn Farchawg."
§ vii. This is rendered as follows in the notes to Lady
Charlotte Guest's translation of the Mabinogion (1848):
" because they were princes possessing territory and
dominion in preference to which they remained as knights
at the Court of Arthur, as that was considered the chief
A Neglected Welsh T^^iad. 9
of honour and gentility in the opinion of the Three Just
Knights ".
§ viii. — Pant.
A manuscript formerly in the possession of Mr. Paul
Panton of Plas Gwyn provided the editors of the first
edition of the " Myvyrian Archaiology" with the text of
Cyfres J." This Panton MS. is believed to have been
transcribed by the Eev. Evan Evans, c. 1780.''' Tt was
numbered 13.
§ ix. — K. AC 0.
lu the Mabinogi of "Kilhwch ac Olwen," in Herg.,
we may find among the names of the warriors that
Cilhwch mab Cilydd mab Celyddon Wledig appealed to'" —
(1) Ffleudur Fflam Wledic ; (2) Gobrwy mab Echel
Uordwyttwll ; (3) Echel Uordwyttwll himself ; (4) Llary
mab Kasnar Wledic.
§ X. — Rhon.
In the "Dream of E-honabwy " (in Herg.) we find
among the counsellors of King Arthur, Gobrwy mab Echel
Yorddwyttwll, Llary mab Casnar Wledig, Fleuddur Ff lam
and Carieith mab Seidi.^'
It is noteworthy that Casnar Wledig was assassinated
in A.D. 448 and that Celyddon Wledig was born on June
the 16th, A.D. 364, at mid-day, during a wonderful eclipse
of the sun. Cilydd, the son of Celyddon Wledig-, married
« Vide eá. 1 (1801) vol. ii, p. 77, No. xv ; ed. 2 (187U) pp. 389, 412,
No. 15.
9 Fide J. G. Evans's Report (u. s. note 1), vol. ii, pt. iii (1905),
Panton, pp. 817, 818.
10 Vide ' Text of tlie Mabiniogion ' {u. s. note 7) (i) p. 106, 1. 22 ; (ii)
p. 107, 1. 4 ; (iii) p. 107, 1. 5 ; (iv) p. 107, 1. 23.
^i Vide 'Text of the Mabinogion', p. 160: ffleudur fflam, 1. 2;
harieith mab seidi, 1. 5.
lO A Neglected Welsh Triad.
a daughter of Anllawdd Wledig-, by Gwen, daughter of
Cunedda Wledig. Another of Anllawdd's daughters,
Eigra, was mother of King Arthur, who was born in the
year after the appearance of the awe-inspiring comet of
A.D. 443. Arthur was slain in a.d. 492.
§ xi. — G. AP E.
In the Mabinogi of Gereint the son of Erbin four of
the pages at King Arthur's Court are named. They are —
" Cadyrieith inab Porthawr Gandwy, ac Amhreu [MS.
presents -ew] mab Bedwyr, ac Amhar mab Arthur a Goreu
mab Cystennyn."^^
^'' Viile ' Text of tlie Mabinogion ', p. 246. 1. 18. The name Caàijri-
eitli ücciirs without afììliation on p. 258, 1. lö, and p. 286, 11. 24 and
27. " Cadj'rieith vab Porthawr Gandwy" occurs on p. 246, 1. 18.
A Neo^lected Welsh Triad.
1 1
III. The Texts.
Ò
'S "5 ^
o s
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tO íîH S
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P4 P • 'C
5 !-i '^í ® i2
S g í: ü ^ ^ fe ^
f^ =^
o
5 ->^ o
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^ ^ = o Jí a ^
O C3 «3 «
? w
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o
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C
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O
o
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§ ^ '^
Cä
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O
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12;
1 2 A Neglected Welsh Triad.
§ xii. Having broug'ht the yariaiits together I will
now subuiit my reading of the text of the Triad. It is as
follows :
XV. Tri Unben Llys Arthur : Goronwy niab Echel
üordwyawl a Cha[l]dreith niab Porthuawr Uandw a
Ffleid ur Fflaui Gwledic mab Godo.
My rendering of these lines is —
Three Sovereign Princes of the Court of Arthur :
Garnwio son of Ecel the Seafarer ; and Aldrëth the son
of Portimâr of Mandu[essedum, t.e., Mancetter] ; and
Duke Flêd the Flam[and] the son of God[mund].
IV. The Princes Commemoeated.
i. Arthur.
ii. Echel Uordwyawl : Ecel the Seafarer.
iii. Goronwy : Garnwio son of Ecel.
iv. Portlmawr Uandto : Portimâr of Mancetter.
V. Ca[l]dreith : Aldrêth son of Portimâr.
vi. CrOfZo ; Godmund.
vii. Fýeid ur FJlam Gioledic : Duke Flêd the Fleming.
ARTHUR.
§ xiii. Of the identity of the Cornovian king at whose
Court the sons and successors of the three Insular
Germanic làngs were trained in lcnightly service there
should be no doubt. But there is a very complex problem
awaiting the attention of any students of our island story
who will give humble consideration to it. The King
Arthur mab Uthyr Pendragon mab Cystennin Corneu of
Cymric history'^ is not the " Artus Konung af Bertangen-
land" of the "Tliidreks saga af Bern.'"^ Neither can
' ' See mj'^ Paper on ' Some Old Welsh Pedigrees ', iii Y Cymmrodor,
vol. xxiv (1913), pp. 74-85.
1» Vide The ' Wilkina Saga ', ed. by J. Peringsldold, ITlô.
A Neglected Wclsh Triad. 13
the ^ing- Arthur who, accordiug to Malorj, niarriecl
Gueiiever the daug'hter of Ring- Leodegraunce of Camel-
iard be the same as Arthur mab Uthyr.^'
§ xiv. " Leodegrance " is a trouvère's presentatiou of
a latinisation of the Germanic and O.E. name Leodegar ;
sc. Leodegaranus. " Cameliard " presents Brythonic c for
O.E. ìt, according to rule, and the district in Norfolk that
lias shrunlî: into the hundred of Humbleyard is intended.
§ XV. Our Ring- Artliur mab Uthyr Pendragon was
born in tlie year after the appearance of the great and
awe-inspiring- comet of a.d. 443.'^ In his fifteenth year —
i.e., in A.r>. 459, he became Dux Bellorum and in a.d. 470
he won the victory of the Mons Hagonicus, i.e., Aconburj'
in Herefordshire.'^ The MSS. yield hadonicus [with h : : h
and (Z ; ; ^] . In A.D. 492 Arthur was defeated and slain
at Camlan.
§ xvi. One of King- Arthur's earliest enemies was
Hradil the king of the Gautas of Northumberland. In
O.E. tliis prince is styled "' HríBthel the Gêat," in accord-
ance with dialect. In Arthurian Romance he appears
as Cradelmas, Cradelment, King of North Wales"
^■5 In Bk. I, ch. XV of the 'Morte D'Arthur ', we read that King
Rience of North Wales made great war upon King Leodegrance of
Cameliard. In ch. xvi, we are told that King Ban and his brother
King Bors went into the land of Camehard and rescuedits king,after
which Arthur ftill in love with Leodegrance's daughter Guenever. In
III. i, the wedding is arranged. In X, xxxvi, we read of two knights
of Camiliai'd, cousins of Queen Guenever, named Sir Guy and Sir
Garaunt. Bân, i?ors(ena), Lpoäegar + anus, Guy, Garant&nA Guinever
are all Germanic names.
16 The comet of 443 is mentioned in Geoffrey's ' H.R.B.', VIII, xv.
It is synchronised therein with the death of Aurelius Ambrosius.
i^ Vide my Paper on ' Local Names in the Arthuriana \n the
Historia Brittonum ; Zeit.schrift für celíisc/ìe P/ii/olof/ie. Bd. V (1904)
S. 103-12-3. The facile assumption tliat the Brython would have called
Aqu8e Sulis " Mons Badonieus" in the sixth century is absurd.
lä T'íŵ the ' Morte DArthur', Book I, chapters x, xii and xiii.
14 A Neglected Welsh Trìad.
(= Cumbria) and also as Tradiljvaut [with í : : c'" and
xi : : 7"°]. " Trudil y uaut " indicates Cradil y Gaut. The
initial c f or /< is Brythonic and quite regular : cp. camm, Catu
and Cuno with their O.E. cognates häm, heathu and Hu7i.
§ xvii. Hrsethel the Gëat's fìrst wife was a sister of
the Theodric who was king of the Franks in Widsith-
Hama's day.^' Theodric actually reig-ned over Mseringa-
burg for 30 missera {i.e., half-years"") after the death of
his own father's brother Eormanric, the ^ing- of the
Gôtas of Old Saxony, and he died in a.d. 457." Insular
^" The scribal confusion of t and c is frequent. In his Introduction
to the text of the eighth century Latin and Anglo-Saxün Glossary
(1890), Mr. J. H. Hessels gives six instances of t for c; v. p. xxxvii.
This is also found in Gildas and I be]ieve it to be at the root of our
difficulties with respect to the Truculeìisis Portus in the ' Agricola' of
Tacitus. Truculensis, with T :: C and c :: t, misrepresents Crutubensis,
a form of " Rhutupium ".
^" For scribal errors presenting gju confusion cp. the following :
"exugiae" iov e.ruuiae ; "frigula :: friuola; Pleumund :: Plegmund ;
" fìg " for Jlu(uius) about 20 times in Bertram's Map of Britannia ;
"Legministre" :: Leuministre ; "Meigh" :: Maîin. For the docu-
mentation of these scribal errors vide ' Notes and Queries', 12 S. viii,
p. 517 (June 25, 1921). The errors extend from the eighth century
to the thirteenth.
^^ The probability of this depends upon my identifications (1) of
Herthegn ; (2) of Herthegn's son Herbort, and (3) of Herbort's
sister's son Boppe from Tenelant, with Hrethel, Hrethel's son
Herebeald and Herebeald's sister's son Beowa, i.e. Beowulf. We are
indebted to ' Biterolf ', to the ' Vilkina Saga ' and to ' Beowulf ' for
these genealogical facts. See my note in Notes and Queries, 11 S. XII,
p. 133(August21, 1915).
■'^ In the old poem known as ' Deor's Lament ' which is preserved
in the tenth-century Codex Exoniensis we get the statement :
" Theodric ahte thritig wintra Mseringaburg ; thtet wass monegum
cuth" — i.e. Theodric owned Majringaburg forthirty winters ; thatwas
known to many. The period is doubled and we must understand
thirty mi.<ìscra, or half-years — namely from A.D. 442 to A.D. 457.
-' I date Theodric's death in 457 because he was ruler of the
Franks and must have preceded Hilderic with whom theunlegendary
history of the Franks actually begins. Hilderic was ruling in 458.
A Neglected Welsh Triad. 15
Saga, sc. "Beowulf," sa^^s tliat Hsethcjn, HrEêthel's son
and Beowulf's uncle, accidentall}^ killed his own brother
Herebeald. Continental Saga'' says that Herbort (i.e.,
Herebeald) the uncle of Boppe from Teneland [i.e., Beowa
or Beowulf) accidentally slew a brother, fled the wrath of
his father Herthegn {i.e., Hrsethel), and went to the Court
of his mother's brother, Theodric. After a tirae Herbort
or Herebeald was sent by Theodric to Bertangenland (the
g here=our y) to woo Hilda, the daughter of King Artus,
as a bride for his uncle Theodric. Consequently, Artus
and his father-in-law Leodegar were ruling locally in
Britain before a.d. 457 ; and, moreover, before that year
Artus of Britannialand himself had a marriagfeable
daughter.
§ xviii. Now Arth- is one vocable and Art- is another.
Cymric Arth- indicates earlier Art-, while Alemannic Art-
points to original Ard-. In " P.P.'"' we get 17 names
which begin with Ard- ; 4 whose headword is Erd-
(< Ardi); 21 whose headword is Art- and 14 which
present Ort, In Searle^" we may find 8 with Ard- ; 6 with
^* Yiiie Wilhelm Grimms review of the * Biterolf ' in his ' Die
Deutsche Heldensage' (1829), chap. 45, pp. 123-153. The references
to King Artus of Britannialand do not occurin the • Biterolf '. They
are to be found in the 'Yillíiiia Saga ' ; vide Grimm {u. s.) chap. 81,
pp. 175-183. For a most iUuminating revievv of the Dietrich-Artus-
Herburt tale see ' Traces of Matriarchy in Germanic Hero-Lore', by
Albert William Aron, Instructor in German at the University of
Wisconsin (1920), pp. 28, 29.
2° Under ' P.P. ' I refer to the ' Libri Confraternitatum Sancti
Galli Augiensis Fabariensis', ed. Paulus Piper (1884) in Monumenta
GermanicB Historica. This work is of the utmost importance to all
who wish to stuvly Insular Germanic names of men and places open-
mindedly.
^^ Vide ' Onomasticon AngIo-Saxonicum : A List of Anglo-Saxon
Proper Names from the time of Beda to that of King John ', by
William George Searle, M.A., 1897. This work is most useful and is
a monument of industry.
i6 A Neoiected Welsh Triad.
^á
Art-, Artli- ; 25 witli Ord- ; and 3 with Ort-. The possi-
bilitj of Insular coiifusioii of Guic. Art- with Brjthouic
Arth- is great.
§ xix. As I have ah-eady pointed out" the " Notitia
Dignitatum " clearly indicates that, at one time, the first
two stations at the eastern end of the Wall of Hadrian
were occupied by cohorts that had been orig-inally recruited
from the Lingones and the Cornovii. The fìrst name is
presented in the Insular form "Lengones"; the second is
the Brythonic representative of Celtic Cornauii and it
yields primary ö for Celtic ä, according to rule. The Old
Welsh ou points to oues, the nom. plural of M-stems ; cf . the
Gaulish Lugoves^*. The Eoman Wall is believed to have
been completed by a.d. 210. But the preservation of the
folk-names of the Lengones and the Cornovii riglit down
to A.D. 400, at least, is no proof that those tribes at that
date were contributing their quota to the regiments that
bore their respective ethnic names. Mr. G. L. Cheesman'"^
renders us aware that the names of cohorts and numeri
no longer had tribal value or connexion in the fourth
century. He says : " in the second century the cohorts
and alae of the Augustan system, with certain defînite
and limited exceptions, were recruited locally from the
provìnces in whicli they were stationed, without an;
attempt to justify the ethnical titles which they still bore.'
§ XX. The Cyrenecester near the WalP° coupled wiui
'-i^ Vide Y Cymmrodor, 1919, § 35, p. 181.
28 Vide ' An Introduction to Eaily Welsh ', by John Strachan,
LL.D. (1909), p. 23, par. 27 (ò).
-^ Jlde ' The AuxiHaries of the Roman Imperial Army ', by G. L.
Cheesman, M.A. (1914), p. 85.
3" Vide 'John of Wallingford ' {tl258) in ' Church Historians of
England' (ii, pt. 2), ed. and tr. by Joseph Stevenson (1854) p. xviii
(note) and p. 530. Cp. also ' The Name of Cerdic ' in Y Cì/mmrodor
(1919), vol. xxix, p. 181-2.
A Neglecteci Welsh Triad. 17
the Lengones and Cornovii ; ancl the Cyrenecester in
Gloucestershire, which was previously callecl Corinium
and which was the DuroCornovium of early Roman times,
certainly linìc up King Arthur, the descendent of Ceri the
Tall of Lengonia, with the district between the Walls.
The bronze tablet found at Cilurnum (see Bruce, HandhooJc
to the Roman Wall, 1895, p. 2G7) has a special bearing upon
this question inasmuch as it records the granting of Roman
citizenship to the emeriti of Continental cohorts serving in
Britain in the time of Antoninus Pius (a.d. 138 to 161).
ECEL THE SEAFARER.
§ xxi. Aber. yields "Echell" but all the other texts
present Echel. The aspiration of the medial c has resulted
in a pun : " echel " means an 'axle-tree'. The epithet
applied to this prince vai-ies. It should be — Uordwyawl.
Cp. uordwytwll, om., forddioydtwll, uorddtuytwU, vordd-
wyttiüll, vorddivyttivU.
These variants point to uordwydtol, a misreading of
uordwyawl, the lenated, inedÌ8eval form of mordwyol
' seafaring '. The late Prof essor Kuno Meyer believed
that the word that is actually indicated is forddwydtivU
and to that he assigned the meaning ' with perforated
thigh '.'"'' We will return to this presently.
§ xxii. Echel is occasionally referred to in Arthurian
romance. In the ' Brut y Brenhinoed' we read of a
prince variously named Echel, Achel, and even Achilles.
He is stvled "Brenhin Denmarc". In the 'Historia
Reguin Britannise ' {IX. xii.) Geofîrey Arthur giyes
a list of princes, prelates and noblemen who were
invited to attend the coronation of King Arthur at
CairLeon in a.d. 473. Among them were Lot, King of
^*"' Vide the Glossary to Professor Strachan's work (iiote 28, sttpra),
p. 258, Uchel, and p. 27tí, tuil.
C
i8 A Neglected Welsh Triaci.
Norway, and " Aschillius ", King of Dacia. This Aschil-
lius aiid a hiter hiiig- of Norway named " Olbrict " both
met death at Catnlan according to Geoffrey. If
we remember that in the Additamenta Nennii in the
'Historia Brittonum "' the kingdom of Northumbria is
spoken of as " Regnum Nordorum " we shall be able to
understand the mistaken ascription of Lot and Olbrict
[i.e., ^thelberct) to the Hng-dom of Norway. ^thelberht,
Rex Nordorum, was the great-grandfather of the King Ida
who died in a.d. 559. As the battle of Camlan was
fought in 492 there would not appear to be any chrono-
logical or genealogical difficulty in dating Ida's death 67
years after that of " Olbrict " whom I identifj' with
^thelbert, Ida's third ancestor.
§ xxiii. Neither " Achilles " nor "AschiUius" has
any real claim upon us and we may cUng to " Echel," who
is called " Ilex Dacorum " by Geoffrey.^" This aspirated,
punning form of Ecel points to Ecil > Acil and thereby
accounts for the quasi-learned form " AchiUes ". In the
Notitia Dignitatum^^ we are told that the First ^lian
Cohort of Dacians was quartered at Amboglanna, near the
Wall of Hadrian and probably at Burdoswald.'*
'^ Vide Mommsen's edition (1884) cap. lxv,p. 208, Chronica Minora,
III ; " Rex Nordorum " and " Regnum Nordorum " occur three times
collectivel}'.
^'■' In Geoffrey's ' H.R.B. ' we get " Aschillius rex Dacorum ", ; IX,
xii ; X, ix; XI, ii. In the ' Ystorj'a Brenhined y Brytanjeit', ed.
Rhŷs aud Evans (from the Red Book of Hergest, supra, note 7) and
reproduced by Professor Strachan (supra, note 28) we get " Echel
brenhin Denmarc"; p. 162,1. 12; p. 179,1. 22: p. 192,1. 16.
^•■' Vide ' Notitia Digiiitatum utriusque Imperii', ed. Otto Seeck
(1876) p. 410, for au important item connecting the Daci with the
Lengones and the Cornavii in Britain " Sub dispositione Viri Specta-
bilis Diicis Britainiiarum .... per Lineam Valli ". " Tribunus
Cohortis Primae .^liíse Dacorum : Amboglanna". Cp. note ?,0,svpra.
^* Vide ' Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum ', VII, Inscriptiones
Britanniae Latinae, ed. ^Emilius Hübner, 1873: Amboglannge, No. 1291.
A Neglected Welsli Triad. 1 9
§ xxiv. Acliillius was called Kiiig of Dacia because
he was ruler of certain tribes of Daiii who were asserted
by twelfth-century leg-endists to be Greeks and who were
equated with the Daci ! In the 'NoIíb Uberiores to the
' Historia Danica ' of Saxo Grammaticus'' there is an
interesting note in which are discussed some of the
reasons why Daci, Dani, and Grseci are pretended to be of
the sanie racial stock, and wliy Antenor was regarded as
the ^ing from whom the Daci drew their orig-in. Dr.
Yelschow, wiio prepared the note cited, unfortunately
knew nothing' about the Greeks of the E-hine,"^ and he
disniissed the " etymologiaruni lusus et fallacise " without
accounting for the racial claims lie derided and rejected.
§ XXV. We are now confronted by the question —
What personal name does the medÌ8eval Welsh " Echel "
indicate? Tiie name of Echel is not Celtic. Moreover,
it is the name of an independent prince who was
contemporary with King Arthur (459-492) and whose son
was brought up at King Arthur's Court. In Arthurian
sag*a.tliere are two knights whose names reflect the
unaspirated form of Ecel > Acel, namely "Aglovale"
(=Agilowald) and " Accolon ". The latter was the para-
niour of Arthur's sister Morgan la Fay and he is styled
Sir Accolon of Gaul. Morgan la Fay was the wife of
Wiern, a king of the Land of Gore. He is confusedly
•''^ Vide ' Saxoiiis Grammatici Historia Danica', edd. Miiller aiid
Velschow (1858) vol. i, Fars Posterior, pp. 44, 45.
^' Antenor was a king of Thrace who oanie with his sons to help
the Trojans. He escaped to Italy and founded Padna, it is said.
The Fraulís chose to identify a king of theirs named Ant- with hini.
That Ant- is the Antsecg of the East Saxon royal pedigree and lie
was the Antis of Teutonic Saga. Tn Brythonic legend he comes
forward as " Annhun rex Grecorum ". The Greeks of the Rhine, i.e.,
the Creacas, are intended : vide my note on * The Greehs of the Rliine
and the Creacas of Widsith', m Ni)tes cind Queries, Octoher 31, 1914,
11, S.X, p. 341.
C 2
20 A Neo-lected Welsh Triad.
%i
ideiitified aiid erroneously called " Urience " by the
trouvères. " Urience "=î7rmiîu- and tlie 'r' has suffered
nietathesis therein. Uriemis, üiernus, Wiern point to
■^Wierni > ^Wearni > " Warni." This sequence of
Yocalic change is in accord with Old English phonetic law.
In ' P.P.' we get such men's names as Uuarni-causus,
Yuarne-pertus, Uuarne-gausus, Warno, Wern, and the
like. The O.E. form corresponding to Warni, which is
Upper German, is ^Wiern." The scribal error " Urience "
for "^Uiernus naturally and consistently appealed to all
who knew of Urien, King of Rheged in Y Gogled. But
Wiern was a ^ing- of the Land of Gore, i.e., of Gyrwaland,
the Land of the Gyrwas" and he is so called by Malory.^^
I would identify Sir Accolon of Gaul, whom Malory
mentions several tiraes, with Echel Mordwyawl, Eccel the
Seafarer. The unshifted Aglo- in " Aglovale " reflects
the "Aglo-aldus" of ' P.P.' The addition of -on to the
name Accol : Accil, is an instance of a custom that was
current among the trouvères and is discoverable in their
Brythonic sources.
§ xxvi. The name of Ecel is unquestionab!y Germanic.
It points, through Alemannic dialects, to Ecil- > Acil- >
Agil-. In Ammianus Mai'cellinus we may find an Aleman
named Agilo "tribunus stabuli, tribunus deinde scutari-
" Cp. Professor Joseph Wright's ' Old English Grammar' (1908)
§§ 66, 67. O.H.G. tarni, secret, O.E. dierne > *dearni > *daini.
Similarlj^ " Warni " becanie *Wearni < *Wierne < *Wiern. " Uiern ",
by scribal blundering, became Urien and that, when latinised, led on
to *Urienus < " Urience".
^^ See my note ' Where was the Land of Gore P " in Notes and
Qiieries {\Q2\), 12 S. ix, p. i.'48. The upward sequence of the folk-
name Gywii of Bede's 'H.E.' isGyrwi > *Gierwi > *Gearwi> *Garwi.
■'"' The Land of Gore was in tlie reahn of Logres, i.e., of Lloegyr.
Those iuvestigators who wish to identify it with Gower overlook this
fact ; cp. Malory, XVII, xvii. The Land of theGyrwasincluded part
of Lincohishire and the Fens.
A Neo-lected Welsh Triad. 21
"ẁ
orum et magister peditum ". A king of the Quacli named
Agilimuudus also appears in Ammian, xvii. 12, 21. The
headword of this fourth-century compound name is Agili,
and that is one of tiie commonest of stems of Gmc.
personal names. In 'P.P.' we get 39 combinations with
this stem and no fewer tlian 225entries of personal names
of wliich either Agili or one of its dialectal yariants is tlie
headword. Cp. Acili, Acila, Acela ; Agil, Agel ; Agli,
Asrle, Atrlo, Ao-1-. The later and infected forms are
^gil, Egili, Egel, Ecil, Echila, Ecela, &c. The true
sequence of vocalic change is Agil, ^îîgil, Egil, Egel. In
Alemannic the process was Agili, Acili, Acilo, Echelo.
The unshifted Gmc. stem Agel appears in the Agel-oco of
Antonine's Itinerarìj. That stopping-place was near Little-
borough, on the Trent. The endword -ôcum is the Insular
representative of -âcum. We get this ending in the East
Ano-lian Domnoc*" and in a number of names of our west-
countrj villages. Agelocum was opposite to Segelocum
and that stopping-place presents the Gmc. name Segel.
In 'P.P.' we find Sigilo, Sigloinus, Sigolonus (cp. Accolon),
Siccilin, etc. ^lius Lampridius, a late third-century
writer whose Life of the Emperor Alexander Severus is
preserved in the ' Scriptores Historise Augustse ',^' tells
us that Alexander Severus was murdered at Sicila — in
Britain, as ^lius thought; but in Gaul, according to
some others whose opinion he recorded. Sextus Aurelius
Yictor (c. 370) sajs " in Britain ", quite clearly.
§ xxvii. As Echel is the name given to an indepen-
dent prince who was ruling in Southern Britain in the
third quarter of the fifth century the question naturally
presents itself — Is this personal name preserved in any
••" In the Auglo-Saxün version of Bede " iii ciuitate Domnoc"
('H.E.' II, XV, p, 117) appears as "in Dommoc ceastre".
^i E(l(l. Jonlau au(ì Eysseuhanlt (1864), vü1. i, p. 2Ö9.
•^ ^)
A Neçrlected Welsli T^-iad.
"ò
of the place-names of Anglian Britain ? The reply is —
Undoubtedly, and it is quite fi'equent in the Midlands.
For instance — " Eccleston " occurs in South Lancashire
and in Cheshire. "Eccleswall" is found in Hereford-
shire. " Ecclesall " occurs in Halhinishire, Staffordshire
and Warwiclcshire. In Lancashire and Yorkshire there
are two " Eccleshills ", and in West Middlesex there was
formerly an " Ecclesford ". It is now called Ashford.
In Keiit we get the sib-name " Ecling Hill " and in
Suffollí Domesday the sib-name occurs with grammatical
accuracy in " Ecclingaham ". In Northumberland there
are an " Eg-glescliffe " and an " Eggleston ".
§ xxviii. Some forms present Egles-, ^íigeles-, and
tbis is just the unshifted form of Ecel > Egil > Agili.
Many years ago Edwin Guest dechired that we ought to
derive M^eles- place-names from the Welsh eglwys.^'
Similarly Professor Elcwall now assures us that Eccles-
names are attributable to Welsh ecclës, from Latin ecclesia.*^
We are to understand that when the Angles invaded the
Brythonic districts beyond the Ouse they found churches
in many phices and, having learnt from the Brython what
naine a church was known by, they applied that name (so
we are assured) to hills, tüns, fords, bourns, walls, halls,
etc. Professor Ekwall has not dated the change froin
ecclës- to eglwys. Neither has he accounted for the assump-
*' Vide ' Origines Celticaî ', II (1883), p. 170.
**^ See ' The Place-Names of Laiicashire' hy Eilert Ekvvall, Ph.D.
(1922), Clieetham Society, No. 81 (New Series), for 'Eçcles', p. 37,
and 'Eccleshiir, p. 75. There is an Eccles in Noifolk and this form
occurs in Domesday for Nordfolc. In Sudfulc there occiirs an
" Ecclingahain". How that is to be fìtted in, to (or with), a British
*eclès Professor Ekwall has not revealed. Cp. " Redles ", " Beccles ",
"Hasles" (which occur in Sudfulc, Sudfulc and Herfordsc.) with
" Redelesuuorda" {Nordfolc), "Becclinga" {Sudfulc) and " Haslinge
îtíUY' {Grentefjrì(/sc.). Eccles iind Ecclingahain are quite clear : t.hey
can only mean the estate of Eccle and the /i«??i of the sons of Eccle.
A Neglected Welsh Triad. 23
tion that, in this instance, the Angle failed to keep the
phonetic law which postulates O.E, ì in place of Latin ë in
ecclesia,
I prefer to regard ^Egeles- and Eccles- forms as owning
cases of ^g-el and Eccel which are not only noi'inal
dialectical resultants of the Old Gmc. nanie Agili, but
one of which presents the sibname postulated — namely,
Ecclinga.
§ xxix. Even if an Old Eng-Hsh *eclîs could be pro-
duced it would not help the Celtic derivationists. In the
' Brut y Tywyssogion ", in the Hed Book of Hergest, in
annal 934, we read of an " Eclis uawr ty wyssauc Seis ".*^ 1
identify this chieftain with Egil Skallagrim's son who
fought at Brunanburh on King Athelstan's side. The
same annal in the Brut yields " Etwin ", and each of these
Gmc. nanies — sc. Egil and Edwin, has the niedia shifted
in this Middle Welsh document.
'5 XXX. Eofil is welI-known in lesrend. He was a
brother of Wayland and Slagmund (erroneously called
Slagfin), and the three were sons of that Wada the son of
Wilkin, wdio ruled the Hselsings. In the Old Norse Lay
of Wayland we may read^' —
'•'From the South, through Mirkwood, the young fairy
maidens flew to fulfîl their fates First Allrune,
Cear's fair daughter, took Egil to her bright bosom. The
other, Herwor Swanwhite, kissed Slagfin. But Lathgund,
her sister, clasped the white neck of Weyland."
In line 42 we read again of " Hladgudr Hladvess
dottir " : Hlathguth the daughter of Hlodwe. Cear may,
according to dialect, be pronounced Char or Këar, The
propinquity of the Lancashire Eccleston to Chorley, and
*< Vide Tlie Red Book of Hergest [u. s. note 7), p. 263.
^' ì'ide ' Corpus Poeticum Boietile', edd. Gudbrand Yigfussonand
F. Yorke Powell (1883), vol. i, pp. 168-17.').
24 ■ A Neglectcd Welsh Triad.
of the Buckinghamsliire " ^gelesburg " : Aylesbury, to
Chorley Wood and Waddesdou and Chearsley, is note-
worthy.
On the top of the Franks casket, in the British
Museum, which is believed to have been niade in the
eighth century, the name of " Jígili " appears in runes
above the figure of an archer." This is the pure O.E.
form of Agili.
§ xxxi. The name of ^í^'il's wife's father, " Kiar," is
profoundly interestino^. It brino-s us at once to the
Cotentin, and in that region of Gaul we find Cherbourg
and Jersey, Guernsey and Alderney. These inodern island-
names all present Gmc. possessives, and their respective
etymons are *Gei--es-ij^, ■^Wern-es-ig', and "^Aldr-in-ig (the
"ig," or island, of Aldro). It is, of course, tempting to
find the name of Echel's son Garnwio in " Guernsey " ; but
we must remember that Gern-, ]ike Ger-, should have
become Jern- (cp. Jerningham) in French ; and that in Old
French initial ^ttpoints to older w. cp. guerre, ' war,' Franlc-
ish werra ; gué > vadiim, 'ford' ; guèpe > vespa, ' wasp.'*^
§ xxxii. Kiar, Ciaír (pron. ' char ' as in " Charring-
ton") was an important prince in tlie earl}"^ fifth century.
In the Old Norse Lay of Hlod and Anganty, line 3," we
read that " In the days of old Anganty ruled the Götas,
Waldar the Danes and Kiar the Welsh (of Gaul) ". In
the ' Atla kvida "' we are told that Gunnar of Burgundy's
helm and shield came to him from the hall of Kiar —
''* See ' Haridboolí of the Old Northern Rnnic Monuments of
Scandiniivia and England', by Dr. George Stephens, F.S.A. (1884),
pp. 142-147.
■" See ' A Historical Grainmar of the French Tongue ', by Auguste
Brachet ; tr. by G. W. Ritchen, M.A. (1874^), p. 64; ^ from primitive
initialí.'; Vasconia : Gascoyne ; Vardo : Gard ; Vapincesium : Gap-
ençais. ^» ride ' C.P.B. ' (stipra, note 45), I, p. 349.
^" r/ẅ'C.P.B.', I, p. 46, 1. 29.
A Ne^lected Welsh Triaci. 25
" or hallo Kiai's ". As Kiar ruled the Welsh of Gaul we
may identifj his naine with the etjmon of the O.E.
name of Cherbourg — sc. " KÌ8eresburh ".^"
The connexion of iEgili : Eehel, with KÌ8er, and the
fact that he married a daughter of Cear of Yalland, or
Gaul, justifies the assertion that mordwyawl, 'the Seafar-
ing- ' has a better chiim upon us than the imaginary word
which is suppose to mean "thigh hole," but which was
rendered for me by a Cardiganshire lady as "the sea with
two holes," and pronounced "ridiculous ".
Walland, Wealland and Walholant are respectively Old
IceUmdic, Old English and Old High Dutch names for
Gallia or Gaul. The O.I. Kiar is reflected in O.E. Ceorra"'
and that postuhites an older Cearra. The place-names
Charring-ton, Chorley, Clierbury and Cheriton derive their
etymon from this personal name. It is customary for
scholars to explain the Cheritons as meaning ' cheri-y-
town '. This is as little deserving of attention as the
supposition that Cheesborough and Chiswick were con-
cerned with cheese. Tlie s of cires, Latin cerasus from
Greek Kípácriov, was not dropped in O.E. "Cheriton" is
the representative of an O.E. adopted form '^Cerintun,
the tún of Cearo.
GARNWIO THE SOîs" OF ECHEL.
Goronwy, Gronw, Goronwy,
Gowronwy, Gobrwy, Gobrwy.
'"The Laud MS. of the Saxon Chronicle. ed. Phimmer (1892),
annal 1091 fp. 226), reads : " se eorl him to handan let üescam ond
thoiie eoHdom set Ou oud Riseresburh" ; Earl Robert surrendered
Fescamp to King William and the earldom of Ou and Kiíeresburh,
i.e., Cherlíouríî.
•'' Cp. Searle (h. s. note 26) : Ceorra c. 802, a deacon in the diocese
of Worcester; B.C S. 304; K.C.D. 181. Attempts have been made
to derive " Cherbourg " f rom a supposititious Ccesaris burgo.
2 6 A Neoiected Welsli Triad.
§ xxxiii. Several Olcl Welsh names of men ending
with -onwy are presented in the Mabinogion and three
such occur in the short ' Poem of Daronwy "' wherein we
may find "Mathonwy," "Daronwy" and " Garonwy ".
"Adonwy" occurs in 'IV.,' i. 393, 417. The yariants
Gronw and Gohrwy clearly indicate that mediaíYal Welsh-
men, although they had a name Goronwy in national use,
were nevertheless occasionally diffident about giving that
name to the son of EcheL Now, as Echel is Germanic
and not Celtic, as I haveproved, what Gmc. name can it be
that was allowed to assume the form "Goronwy" in
Cymric speech ? In the reign of King Edward the Con-
fessor there was a moneyer in office whose name is
recorded as " Garnwi ". This form occurs only once in
Anglo-Saxon times." But in Domesday Book we may
find Gerne-herne, Gernan and Gernio.'^ In 'P.P.' there
are to be found Gerniu, Cheì'niu, and also Gernuuic. This
Upper German name postulates an O.E. Garnwìh and in
West Saxon the Ih of Anglian and Gmc. Avords became
ëoh : cp. Anglian wih, ' idol,' with West Saxon loëoh,
earlier wìoh.'' Similarly tlie Mere-wio-ing- of Beowulf,
1. 2921, corresponds to tlie Franliish form Mero-uech-us of
the ' Historia Francorum ' of Gregory of Tours. These
variations justify the assumption that the extremely rare
but dialectically reflected name " Garnwi " represents
earlier Garnwëoh > -loìoh > -loih. A Welshman would
naturally remember aiid present such a personal name in
his own lingual form of Garonwy or Goronwy.
5'^ See Skene, 'IV', No. x, vol. i, p. 269.
*^ See ' Ciitalogue of the English Coins in the British Museum
ed. H. A. Gmeber (1887), vol. ii.
5* See tlie lists of landowners and tenants in Sir Henry Ellis's
' General Iritroduction to Domesday ' (1833),
^" Anglian and Old Saxon wih, temple\ Gothic weihs, holy ; West
Sax(>n wr-üh, earlier wioh. Cp. Prof Wright's O.E. Grannnar, §§ 49,
127. 192.
A Neglected Welsh Triad. 27
§ xxxiv. In Domesday Book the following instances
of the stem Gern- > Garn-i are recorded :
Gerneham Lincolesc. W. R.
Gernvic Euwicsc. W. R.
Gernefelle Summersete.
Gherneslete ])evenesc.
Eriiemude Hantesc.
Erneselle Summersete.
Ernicote Oxenefordsc.
Of these place-names " Ernemude " is Yarmouth, in
the Isle of Wight, and '" Ernicote " represents Gernincote,
the cot of a man named Gerno. The last place-name
presents Insular Suevic elided possessive : cp. " Cheriton ",
"Portitun", " Chenesitun ", et al. " Gerne " is the re-
duced form of O.E. Gernan, the possessive case of Gerna,
the pet-form of the headword Gerni > Garni.
PORTIMAE OF MANCETTER.
Porthuawr, om., Porthor, Porthaior, om., om.
§ XXXV. In Old Welsh a consonant that was flanlced
by vowels was reduced or lenated : e.g. "pechadúr",
" cegin ", " niver " (for Latin peccator, coquina, numerus).
Siinilarly phrases like '^töta mârâ 'great people ', became
susceptible to this change, and Celtic tota mara is now
" tud vawr ".'^ Another Old Welsh phonetic law requires
the aspiration of t after r : e.g. " Mawrth ", " parth "
" porth " (for Latin Mart-em, part-em and p)ort-um). Old
Celtic â became ö when accented and aw when atonic.
Hence the Early Welsh " Porthvawr " postulates an
earlier foi'ui with unaspirated dental tenuis and a vowel
between / and lenated m. This would be either Portimâr
or Portamär.''
»" Cp. Strachan («. s. note 28), p. 9, § IL'.
°^ Cp. Strachan, 'Consonantal Changes ', rt < rth. § 1 I e (p. 8).
28 A Neorlected Welsh Triad.
ü>
\ xxxvi. In Old Celtic we find a number of compound
personal names ending witli -mär-os. But Porthvawr is
tlie name of a ruling king in Britain, an unhen who, as I
shall prove, was notof Brjthonic race. He was Germanic.
Hence the endwords mûí' and matur are not the same.
The ôrst is Gmc. and signifies ' famous ' ; the second is
Celtic and means 'great'. The Gmc. ending -mâr is not
found in Ohl Eng-lisli records exceptin thecase of Ithamâr,
Bishoj) of Rochester c. 580", He was " de gente Cantu-
ariorum ", i.e. he was a Juthung or Jute, íiiid that was an
Alemannic tribe.'" Now Alemannic mär postuhites O.E.
mcer, mër, and that is not uncommon as an endword in
O.E. personal names. Consequently Alemannic Portimar
keeps step with Mercian Bordimcër, Anglian Bordimêr.
These O.E. dialectal forms postulate an earlier Bardimcer
in West Saxon.
§ xxxvii. It is noteworthy that this name Bardimsèr
does not occur in ' P.P. ' either in Alemannic or Low
German. That is a very important point and when I add
that no occurrence of either of these forms is recorded in
Searle's ' Onomasticon Anglo-Saxonicum ""' it becomes
clear that we have to do with a very rare nanie. As a
Brythonic Triad yields Porthvawr which, as we have seen,
indicates the dialectal Almc. Portimär which postulates
a Low German Bordimaìr, earlier Bardiniíer, it behoves us
to enquire whether " Bardimaír " is to be found recorded
in Arthurian saga. The result of enquiry shows that it
ss Yifie Bede, ' H.E. ' III, xiv, p. 154 ; III, xx, p. 169.
^" " Juthungi Alamaimorum pars"; cp. Ammianus Marcellinus,
XVII, VI, 1., ed. V. Gardthausen (1874) vo]. i. p. 124. The conflux of
tribes called Alemanni included Siievi, Lentienses and Juthungi ; cp.
my note in Notes & Quenes, 12 S. 1, 201-203 (March 11, 1916) on
' Ammianus Marcellinus and the Legend of the Holy Grail '.
'''' In Searle we get the following names : Bardel, Bardwnlf
Berter; Bardi ; Beartigo (runic); Bertana; Bertellinus ; Bertor ;
Bardo and Port.
A Neglected Welsh Triad. 29
does occur thereiu but that it is obscured by scribal errors
which were doubtlessly occasioned and accelerated by its
rarity. The iiauie we seek is preserved iu the Morte
DArthur as " Basdemeg-us " and " Bagdemagus "/' The
former presents s for ^®' and (j for r,^^ and the latter presents
(j-g for T-r. Bardemarus is the latinised unshifted
earlier form of Partimär < Portimär. "Basdemegus"
points to the Anglian presentation of Bardemser (with
normal ê for ce).
§ xxxviii. The dialectal forms preserved in 'P.P. ' are
Pardus, Parto, Porto ; Perdi, Perti, Perta. The unshifted
forms preserved in 'P.P. ' are Bardo, Bart, Berdo, Berto,
Berti. The stem Bord does not occur in ' P.P. ' and we
do not find it in Searle's ' Onomasticon ' ; but " Borda " is
recorded in Domesday Boolc, and in an Anglo-Saxon
charter we sret the diminutive Bordeli indicated in " Bord-
ö'
"1 " Basdemegus " occnrs in the Morte, II, xi : Merlin also told
Arthur " that Basdemegus was his cousin and germain iinto King
Uriens". This form only occurs once. " Bagdemagus " occurs quite
frequently. He was a knight of the Round Table and king of the
Land of Gore ; cp. notes 38 and .39 supra. The trouyères stuttered
over the form of his son's name. The true form was Megihanus.
We get MeHganus, Meliagaaus, Meliagaunce and Mehagrance. In
the Saxon Chrouicle Meliaganus, the son of Bagdemagus, is Míegla
the son of Port. The earher form indicated is Magih. In ' P.P. ' we
get the shifted Alemannic form Maceli-.
^- The scribal confusion of s and g occurs occasionally iu early
niediaeyal script : cp. my letter to The Times Literary Supplement of
May 29, 1919, for documentation of the following instances ;
"Suennet" for Guennet ; "Mascus" for Magnus; " Sulsise " for
Wulsige ; "Merseat" for Mergeat ; " syntasma " and " sj^itasmata "
for syntagma and syntagmata.
^^ For documentation of the following instances of glr confusion
see my article on ' Local Names in the Arthuriatia' in Zeitschrift für
celtische Philologie, Bd. V. (1905), pp. 120-121; "guinntguic" for
guinntruis ; •' \a.ggì" íor Largi ; " uulgagorum " for T'ulgarorum; also
"berse" for Begse ; " agrecoria " for abgetoria; "royth" for Goyth ;
" roit " for Goit ; " ruoihm " for Guoinui.
30 A Negiected Welsh Triad.
elestuu "/■' Bordesley iiear Biriiiiugham is well knowii.
The steiiis recorded are tlierefore uiishií'ted, lialf-shifted
and shifted. Thej occur as follows :
Half-Shifted. Shifted.
Bardo Bart Pard Parto Porto
Berdi Berti Perdi Perti
Perdo Berto Perta
§ xxxix. The ' Libri Confraternitatum ' of Upper
Germaiiy are neglected by students of our earliest ono-
matics and they find it much easier to assert that Insular
P-names are " Celtic " than to refer to ' P.P. ' and inves-
tigate the difficulties in which they are enmeshed. Why
English schohirs do not declare the P-names of Anglian
Britain to be Brythonic is incomprehensible. Although
the scholars who tell us that these P-names are " Celtic "
are prone to write these problems oíî in this way, they
iiever tell us where the " Celtic " stems they profess to
depend upon are to be found. For instance, PiUing, a
Lancashire hamlet, is said to present a " Celtic " name."
But where is that name recorded 'P Is it discoverable in
Yictor Tourneur's ' Indices Grammaticse Celticse'? Or in
R. A. Stewart Macalister's Indexes to ' Studies in Irish
Epigraphy ' ? Or in Alfred Holder's ' Alt-celtischer
Sprachschatz ' ? Or in Alfred Anscombe's ' Indexes to
Old Welsh Genealogies ' ? Where place-names in Anglian
Britain are concerned the body of Welsh pedig-rees which
extend upwards in time to the middle of the third
century should certainly be considered worthy of consulta-
tion, and the term "Brythonic" should be emj)loyed in
connexion therewith. But it is always " Celtic ". That
8* Vide Biich, ' Cartularium Saxouicum ', No. 739 (vol. ii, 454) and
Kemble, ' Corpus Diplomaticum ^vi Saxonici, No. 375, ii, 212. In
'P.P. ' we get the half-shifted and i-infected form Bertilo ; cp.
Bardulu. ''' Vide ' The Place-Names of Lancashire ', {uts., n . 43) p. 1 40.
A Neglected Welsh Triad. 31
mi<íht niean aiiytliing- recorcled between Bohemia and
Finisterre and between Gibraltar and tbe Farce Isles. It
is much too vagae and evasive.
§ xl. Out of 1242 briefs of pedigree indexed in mj'
contributions to the ' Archiv für celtische Lexicographie '
there ai*e just 50 briefs wliich present P-names ; and the
actual number of different P-names is 19, including such
un-Celtic f orms as " Patern ", '^ Petrun " and " Protech ".
As onlv'16 differentP-names arerecordedamong'hundreds
of Brvthonic names it should be clear that the customarv
method of dealing with the difficultj we have before us is
au untrustworthy evasion.
§ xli. Why the word " Celtic " should be used at all
in this connexion I do not know. Those half-hearted in-
vestigators who employ it in pref erence to " Brythonic " are
obvious]y ignorant of the fact that the Irish Celt in the
fourth century could not say initial p at all. In Yictor
Tourneur's Index P-name forms number just 54 and only
about half of tliese could stand as actual names of
Continental Celtic tribesinen. As this lndex runs to 55
columns of about 2,200 forms the proportion of P-names is
small.
§ xlii. In R, A. S. Macalister's Indexes to Names and
Words"" not a single P-word or P-name occurs. The
early Irish inscriptions were reduced to order by Dr.
Whitley Stokes and Professor Rhŷs. These scholars
raised Og'ham inscriptions to a place of the highest philo-
logical importance in Celtic epig'raphy. With respect to
'P' I am fully aware that Professor Heinrich Zimnjer in
his article on ' Tlie Celtic Church in Britain and Ireland "'
«'■"Studies in Irish Epigraphy', Parts I, II, III (1897, 1902, 1907).
^' This appeared iti the tenth volume of the ' Realencyclopädie für
protestantische Theologie und Kirche ', and was done into EngHsli in
1902 by Miss A. Meyer.
32 A Neglected Welsh Triad.
applied and deyeloped a theor}' that the substitution of c
in Irish for Latin jí was due to British iníluence and could
only be explained on the supposition that as the Brjthons
knew that their "penn, prenn and ma^j were represented in
Irish by cenn, crann and mac, so they deliberately altered
the Latin 'pascha, pluma, purpura, 'puteus, pallium, etc, to
casc, clum, corcur, cuthe, caille, etc. Who it was thatturned
Patricius into Cothraige is not knoAvn. The Irish for
preshyter is "crubthir" and in Oghani we get qurimitir
(or its equivalents) and it would be quite in order to assert
that the Ogham qu for p was due to inability to say p.
But it would be absurd to sugg-est that this is a substitu-
tion which is attributable to the influence of Brythonic
ecclesiastics. In Mr. Macalister's Indexes not one case of
initial Irish p is listed, and only one case of niedial p
appears — sc. " Erpenn ". Professor Rhŷs regardedthis as
due to foreign influence.
As the number of conimon nouns and proper names
that have been deciphered in Ogham inscriptions, and
have been listed in one or another of Mr. Macalister's
three indexes, totals 478, the absence of p-names is
important and noteworthy when we are concerned with
" Celtic " misconceptions advanced by Teutonic scholars.
§ xliii. We will now return to Western Germanic
Port. One objection to the assumption that I am making
that the a of the stem Patît > Baed was darkened to o,
will, no doubt, be thrown forward with customary facility.
I will meet it in advance. In 'P.P. '^"^ 17 personal names
with the head-word Ard- are listed ; 21 with the d to /-
shifted head-word Art- ; 3 with the i-infection in Erd-
and Ert- ; and 18 with the darkening of a in Ord- and
Ort-; e.gr. Artheri, Ortheri; Ardradus, Ordradus; Arduinus,
Artuuin, Ortuuinus; Ardi, Ord, Art, etc.
'^^ Vide supra, note 25. ,
A Neclecíed Welsh Triad.
Ov)
Tlie variants justify tlie grouping; of the various fornis
of the head-word in Bardiinaîr < Portiinar in thefollowing
way.
Bard < Pard
Bart < Part
Bord < Port
Berd < Pert
AU these forins except Farà are presented in different
English phice-names.
§ xliv. The form Bord-, as I have said, does not
appear in ' P.P. ' ; but there are about 75 forms of proper
names which present the other variations of the Gmc.
stem Bard that I have postulated and listed. Soine of
the names in ' P.P. ' compounded with Pert, as Causiperto
and Pertigausu, should beprofoundly interestingto candid
students of the onomatics of Eoinan Britain. E.g. Caus-
is Almc and represents Gmc. Gaus-, O.E. ^Gëas- < Gës-.
Now Causi, after adoption by the Ang-les, would become
■^Cëasi, ^Cìesi, ^Ciesa. The pet-name Cîesa in conjunction
with O.E. \mi, by (' habitations '), wouhl yield ^Ciesanby <
■^Cieseb}'^ < " Keisby ". Keisby is a Lincohisliire liamlet
which is at the exact distance froni Lincoln that Causenníe
was from Lindum Colonia — namely 26 miles.
§ xlv. It is customary to jump to the conclusion that
because the South Saxon name of Port is speltexactly Iike
the stem of the Latin word port-us it musttherefore be an
setiolog'ical product acquired from Portesmutha, the O.E.
name of Portsmouth."^ If similarly unwise reasonings
were applied to the man's name " Aspirin ", which occurs
three or four times in tlie Upper German ' Libri Confra-
ternitatum' of St. Gall and Augsburg, the results would
be equally ludicrous and untrustworthy. In O.E. mütha
«"Two Saxon Chronicles Parallel', ed. C. Plummer (1899), II, p.
13, Aetiology.
34 ^ Neglected Welsh Triad.
means 'harbour'; consequently, if " Port " = \)Ovtus,
Portesmütha must niean Harbour's Harbour, and Portes-
ham Harbour's Abode. But though the Latin stem lìort
frequently occurs in O.E. civic words it is never accorded
the possessive case in composition with another common
noun.
Those scholars who relj upon the " setioloo-ical abstrac-
tion " theory liave never explained the southern Yorhshire
"Portitun " of Domesday Boolc. This presents an elision
of -n, and tlie full form of the name is ToHintnn.
" Portin " presents the Alemannic possessive of weak
nouns in o. It means the tnn of Porto and the elision of
n is frequent in Angliau dialects, and is found in the
forms of not a few place-names. For instance, the
Domesday Boolc forni " Chenesitun " exhibits this elided
possessive, and it is the Kensington of to-day. It is to
this Almc. possessive -in that we owe the inexplicable,
but frequently occurring forms of place-names with un-
declined -in^ which has caused so much disputation
and adjustment among scholars who study English names
of places.
xlvi. It is significant that in Sussex, where we have
so man}^ indications of Alemannic colonisation, we find the
endword of Portslade agreeing with the endword of
Criclílade, i.e. of Creacageleed, the Way of the Crêacas, or
Alemanni. The true modern representative of O.E. läd.,
Almc. /eẃ/, is ' lode ' ; ep. the name of the river Evenlode.
The Almc. ei was pronounced like ai in ' maid ' and we
have the same dialectal vocalisation iu Lowland Scotch :
sc. bane, ane, stane, instead of bone, one(ly), stone. The
Alemannic settlers were fairly numerous between the
Walls of Hadrian and Antoninus and the name of their
country of Croucingo (as it is called in the seventh
century \vork known as the Ravennate Geography) indi-
A Neglected Welsh Triad. 35
cates tbe gouwe, or land of Crouco, poss. Crouciìi. The
moderii " Ci-aster " represents a sixteentli century " Crau-
cester" and that form was used by Leland. It is the
" Cair Grauc " of Nennius (the MSS. present graut and
grauth). The Ahnc. name Crouco was latinised as Crocus
and it appears as the name of an Almc. líing- who was
allied with the Emperor Constantius Chlorus and was at
York when Constantius died there in A.D. 806. The name
of Crocus is preserved in Crococahma which means the
(Almc.) calän- or (O.E.) geìcen-lands of Crouco, the Almc.
lcing just now referred to.
§ xlvii. The unshifted stem Bord is found in Domes-
day Book in Bordesdene {Herfordsc) and in Bordourde
(Hante's, I. of W.). Berdingeberie {Warwicsc) presents
tlie z-infection. Tn Ledecestresc we get a Bortrod and in
Cestresc a Bertintune = at the tiin of Berto > Berti ; cp.
Perticausu in ' P.P. '. But the most interesting of all the
doublets is the one preserved by the Yenerable Bede — viz.
" Beardaneu " and " Peartaneu ".'" In the O.E. version
of Bede attributed to Kìng Alfied tlie Great we g-et
" Peortanig-e " for the latter. This is Partney, near
■Spilsby. Beardaneu is Bardney, near Lincoln. The
dialectal variations indicate tribal government : the vi]l
of "Pearta " was inhabited by Alemanni who called their
lord Bardemser, " Parta ", " Pearta " ; the vill of Bearda
was inhabited by Angles who were Bardemser's own follc.
The narrowminded objections that will be raised against
this view are merely casual. The Upper German ' Libri
Confraternitatum ' yield many personal names which,
like "Audipertu" and " Pertigausu ", are not true to
dialectal rule ; but which, for that very reason, lend
support to the assumption that there was a ming-ling of
men of diíîerent tribes under one chief and that his own
"" ' H.E. •, 11, xvi, p. 1 17 ; 111, xi, pp. 148, 149.
D 2
^6 A Neoiectcd WelsJi Triac/.
sib would spealc his iiame in one Avay wLile tlie men of
other tribes would several]j sa}' it in tlieir own respective
dialects and in accordance therewitli.
§ xlviii. We must now enquire, Who was Portiniâr ?
We shall presentlj find — below, suh MANDU, that the
rojal seat of the Unhen Portiniar was Mandu[esseduni],
the Mancetter of to-daj. This is near the Watling Street
in Warwickshire, and it is most interesting to note that
the Mercian cognates of Porti(mar), viz. Bordi, Berdi, are
to be found at no great distance from Portimar's roval
seat. Thej are Bordeslej near Birmingham, and the
Berdingeherie of the Warwiclcshire Domesdaj Boolc. The
half-shifted forms Burtingburj and Birtingbjrig in O.E.
charters have misled students of Warwiclcshire place-
names and thej have derived the Burt-, Birt- forms from
O.E. Beorht."
I identifj Portimar with Port, the father of Bieda and
Msegla, who is spolcen of in the Saxon Chronicle, at the
jear 501, as having landed at Portesmutha with his two
sons. In the Morte D'Arthur, Blc. II, ch. xi, we are told
on the authoritj of Merlin that Bardemerus was King
Arthur's cousin and that he was " germain " unto King
Urience, i.e. Uiernus. In Bk. XVII, ch. xvii, Bardemerus
is stjled King of the Land of Gore and we are told that
he was slain bj Sir Gawaine.
§ xlix. In ch. xxvii of tlie same boolc we read of King
Bardemer's son "Meliaganus ". This is a perversion of
the latinisation of Megili — sc. Megilianus. Megili indi-
cates Magili and that is the rule-right unshifted form of
Msegla > Magila. Cp. ' P.P. ' for Upper German and
Almc. fonns : e.g. Maceliu, Magel-ildus, Magel-potus.
Onlj the form " Msegla" is found in Searle.
71 Cp. ' Warwiclíshire Place-Names ', by W. H. Duignan, F.S.A.
(1912), p. 26.
A Neglected Welsh Triad. ^y
§ 1. The otlier son of Port, who is named Bieda in the
Saxon Chronicle, is called *' Byda " in Florence of
Worcester.'' A cleric named Bÿda appears in the ' Liber
Vitae Dunelmensis ' ; cp. Sweet, No. 6-tO.'' The sequence
of Yocalic chang-es runs thus : Gmc. Baudi, O.E. Bëadi <
Bîedi < Bieda < Býda < Bîda."' This is found in the
Sussex phice-name Beeding near Portslade. Maî<^la's
name may be preserved in "Malling", near Lewes.
MANDW.
§ li. The epithet applied to Porthvawr, or Portimar,
is "Ga[n]dw", •'Gandwy". We have here a frequent
scribal error of medÌ8eval times which obscures the mean-
ìng and renders the epithet unrecognisable. The scribal
error referred to is (/ for u. It occurs so early as the
eighth century and it is found in the Corpus Christi
(Cambr.) Latin-Anglo-Saxon Glossary'^"' : e.g. " exugiae "
and " f rigula " for exuuice and friuola. In the twelfth
century map of Britain printed by Bertram of Copenhagen
the abbreviation " íiu " for Jluuius is repeatedly printed
"ílg". The error also occurs in the Grail Legend and a
king who is named Aurest in some MSS. appears as
" Agrestes" in the MS. of Mans.''
§ lii. If \ve apply the needful correction to " Gandw "
we get Uandw, and Porthuaiur Uandw is quite in order. It
^^ Fi'de ' Florentii Wigorniensis Monachi Chronicon e.r Chronicis\
ed. Benjaniin Thorpe, 1848 (English Historical Society), p. 4 : A.D.
501, Landing of " Port et duo fihi sui Byda et Meagla". etc.
"'TheOUlest EngHshTexts', ed. by Henry Sweet, M.A. (1885),
p. 158, 1. 167.
' ' Cp. Searle, ' Onomasticon ', p. 106, " Bida ", aiid also Dr. Joseph
Wriglifs, 'O.E. Gramniar', §§ 13ô, 136.
"■' Edited by J. H. Hessels (1890), v. hitrodiiction, p. xxvii.
''^ 77^ Alfred Nutt's ' Studies on the Legend of the Holy Grail'
(1888) Grand Sf. Graal, p. 61.
T,S> A Neglccted Wclsli Triad.
signifies Portimar of Maiidu[essedum]. This town-iiame
is preseryed in "Mancetter", about 8 miles to the S.S.E.
of which is Bedworth. This presents correpted e according-
to rule where an O.E. compound with long e in the head-
word is concerned. " Manduessedum " presents the essedum
of the Galli, Belg'se and Britons. This means a war
carringe, and its connexion with Mandu iS not clear. But
the name of the station appears uniformly in Iter II of
Antonine's Itinerary.
ALDEËD.
Cadreith ; Cadraith ; Cadreith ; om., om., Cadyrieith.
§ liii. " Cadreith " is an old Welsli personal iiame. In
the ' Gwarchan of Cynvelyn' in the Booh of Aneurin we
read that " Three only returned froni Catraeth : Cynon
and Cadreith and Cadlew of Cadnant". Thereis, however,
considerable confusion in the tradition of the naine of the
son of Poi'timar of Mancetter. In the Mabinogi of G. ap E.''''
we find a brief list of the pages of ^ing- Arthur. It runs :
Nyt amgen pedwar macwy. Sef rei oedj^nt : Cadyrieith
uab Porthawr Gandwy ac Amhreu [MS. -en'] uab Bedwyr a
Goreu uab Custennyn ". In sonie gatherings of the
Trioedd a Cadyrieith ap Saidi displaces the son of Porth-
vawr Vandw. Moreover the scribe of the E-ed Book may
have had some reason for altering aii i and making the
nanie into Cadyrleith. Other forms are Karieith mab
Seidi and Cas mab Saidi.'* The inost important testimony
is that conveyed in G. ap E. which I have just now
quoted.
§ liv. Now Cadyrieith and Cadreith are equally im-
possible as Gmc. names, aiid a Gmc. nanie is unquestion-
" The Mabinogion : Llyfr Coch ; p. 246, 1. 18 ; ed. John Rhŷs and
J. G. Evans, 1887.
''' x\Iabin. Rhon., p. 160, 1. r, ; K. AC O., p. ] 10, 1. 14.
A Neglected Welsh Triad. 39
ably postiilated for the soii of Bardemaír : Portimar of
Mancetter. I assume that the c of the conjunction ac was
tacked on to the name and that the well-known Cymric
name " Cadreith " usurped the plaee of a name that was
really A . . . dreith. That this is equally impossible with
Cadreith and Cadyrieith must be admitted. The vowels
of eith reflect those of " Ffleid ", which we sliall presently
see is the Gmc. Flsed, Flêd. Consequently we are faced
by a Brythonic presentation of a name A . . . drët :
A . . . drëd, and I do not hesitate to amend this to Aldred
which is a ^ery common name in Ang"lo-Saxon tiraes. No
fewer than 65 occurrences of it are listed in Searle."
Moreover it appears in Aldersgate : Aldredsgate : Ald-
rethesgate,'^" and we also get it in the neighbourhood of
Portslade. That old town was in the 8udsexe half-
hundred of " Eldritun " (now Aldrington), and this name
presents the infection of a and the elided jjossessi^e. It
points to an earlier ^Aldrintun, the tuìi of Aldro."' There
is another Aldritone in Northantsc, two others in Gloweces-
tersc, and one in Wiltesc. These all occur in Domesday
Book and there are hamlets at no great distance from any
one of them which yield some form of the stem Bakd :
Part : BoRD : Port. An unasj)irated " Altera " occurs in
' P.P. ' and an aspirated " Haltero ". The true Old High
Dutch for Aldreëd is " Alträt" and the half-shifted form
"Aldratus" occurs in ' P.P. ' side by side with Aldrath,
Altarat and Alterat. For Anglian ë = West Saxon se, cp.
Wright, O.E. Grammar, 1908, § 188.
.§ lv. Scholars who stud}^ Anglo-Saxon ignore the
■» ' Onomasticon ', 1897, pp. 198, 199, 200: Ealdred. Also see pp.
549, 550.
*° Cp. 'A Dictionary of Lonilon', bj- Henr}' Ilarben, 1918,
* Aldersgate '.
*' 01»! High Dutch weak nouns in -o niade their possessive in -iu ;
cp. Professor AYright's ' Ohl Higli German Primer ' (1906), § 121.
40 A Negiected Wehh Triad.
fact that the dental in röià < rêd became shifted to t in
the eighth century, or earlier. In tbe " Bsedss Continu-
atio " (ed. Phimmer) i. 362, in annals dccxxxix and dccl.
Cudrasd and ^delheard, who were lcings iti Wessex, are
referred to as Cudret and Edilhart. We fiiid the same
hardeniug of d in " Certic" (for Cerdic) in tlie Laud MS.
of the Saxon Chronicle.
§ lvi. If we must retain the C of Cadreitli we are
really not hampered thereby. The initial c of cognate
Brythonic words postuhites a rough breathing- in O.E. :
cp. cat, cae, cam, cionol with heatJio, hay (=hedge), hamm
(oî the leg, or of a river) and hundlic. Hence a Brythonic
Caedreith, if the form Cahlreith is presumed to be
postulated, demands Hahlret, Hahiríed or Aldred (with
dropped H) in Gmc. hinguages.
GODO.
§ lvii. This name is reproduced uniformly in those
MSS. of the Triads that yield the name of the father of
Prince Flëêd. It is not a Celtic name. No stem Göd is
to be found either in Victor Tourneur's ' Indices"*^ or in
Dottin's 'Manuel'.'*' In Gmc. names the stem Göd-,
used as a headword, is not at all uncommon. I know of
no Anglo-Saxon prince who bore this name in the fifth
century. We must, however, remember tliat the earliest
recorded Gmc. possessor of Durolipons,''* a station in the
^*^ ' Indices omnium vocabulorum Linguae Priscae Gallicae et
Yetustae Britannicae quae in ' Graniniaticae Celticae ' editione
altera exp]anantur ', Archiv filr celtische Lexico(jraphie (1907), III.
Band,SS. 110-137.
*2 ' Manuel pour servir à l'étude de l'Anti^uité Celtique ' par
Georges Dottin, Professeur à l'Uniyersité de Rennes, 1906.
*** For Durolipons cp. ' Britisli Place-Names in their Historical
Setting ', by Edmund McClure, M.A. (1910) p. 108, note ; also ' Celtic
Britain ' by John Rhŷs, M.A. (1904), pp. 229, 297, 300.
A Neglected Welsh Ti'íad. 41
Fiftb Iter of Antoniiie, was named Godmund : cp. " God-
mundcestre " [Huntedunscire) in Doniesday Book. In
Ledecestrescire there was a " Godmundelia ". This is also
called " Gutmundeslea " in Domesday Book, and the shift
of d to t is noteworthy : cp. § lv. Tn the West Riding- of
Yorkshire there was a " Gudmundham ". This is the
Goodmanham of to-day and it was called "Godmunding-
aham " by the Yenerable Bede.**
§ lviii. "Godo" was represented in the Ehineland by
Godo, Goto, and Coto. Four occurrences of Godo are to
be found in the ' Liber Vitae Augiensis ' ; three of Goto-
as a headword in the same ; and two of Coto. An O.E.
stem GöD which is indicated by the modern name Good-
manham, postulates an Upper German Cuoto, Cuota,
Guot-. "Cuoto" does not occur in ' P.P.' But we get
the pet name Cuota thirteen times, and nine names witli
the headword Cuot are listed. Cuod- forms also occur
and names such as Guoda, Guota, Guoto and Guotmunt
inaintain the connexion.
FFLEID.
Phleidur, Fjìeudwr, Fleidur,
Fjíeudur, Fflewdur, Ffleudur.
§ lix, The three earliest MSS. present the vowel ei, and
as the saine Brythonic vowel is g-iven here as that which re-
presented the èë, ë, of Aldrëd we may hopef uUy enquire how
the Gmc. dialects will respond to the Brythonic " Füeid ".
Brythonic Ffleid -reitli
O.E. Flsêd -rsêd
O.H.D. Flät -rât
O.S. Fläd -râd
Mid. Dutch Fläd -räd
S5'H.E. ', li, xiii, p. 113.
42 A Neglected Welsh Triad.
Anglian Flëd -rëd
Mercian Flët -rët
§ lx. If we turn to Förstemann'"' we fìnd Old Saxon
place-names under FLAD : sc. Fladungon (eleventh cent.)
and Fiadesheim (tenth cent.). We also get the Upper
German Flatmarasbiki (ninth cent.) which indicates the
full form Flätmár. In ' P.P. ' a number of yocalic puzzles
is presented. Old High Dutch forms are Flatamar, Flätoolf
and Flatueus. We also get Floti and Flotarius. Similarly
the Old Saxon Flodebertus may be regarded as yielding
the darkening of ä into ö. The forms Fleido and FJcdpret
need explanation if they are to be regarded as Continental
Fläd-forms.
§ lxi. In the ' Liber Yitae Dunelmensis' we find-a
Fladgus, and tliere was a Flodwine among the English
moneyers in the time of King Edgar. In Birch and
Kemble tlie place-name Flsedanburg, the Stronghold of
Flseda, occurs in seven charters. This is Fladbury in
Worcestershire. In Notts there is a Fledborough and in
Kemble (' C.D. ' dcccxviii) that appears as " Flatburche ".
§ lxii. When we turn to Domesday Book we íìnd a
similar gathering of vocalic puzzles awaiting us. Tbe
scribal difficulty presented by the O.E. se to the Norman
scribe,"^' wlio rejected it, and wrote a, is before us in the
Fladeburg of Snotinghamscire and the Flatebi and Flatesbi
of Euriuicscire. If we could be sure of these forms we
might assert that the names present the Almc. â and the
d to t shift. But the possibility that scribal a has taken
the place of the tied letter íe is always present. The Fl-d-
names in England indicate a mixture of four Gmc.
dialects — namely West-Saxon, Anglian, Mercian-Suevic,
'*« • Altdeiitsches Nanieiibnch : Ortznamen ' (19] 3). I, 898.
*^ The tied ^ occurs about 13 times as an initial in Domesday Book,
but it is very rare in a medial position.
A NegUctcd Welsh Triad. 43
and Alemannic. In Domesday Book we find the follow-
ing
Fladeburg- Snotmghamsc.
Fledeberie Wirecestresc
Flatebi Eurvicsc. W.E.
Flatesbi do. do.
Fleteham do. do.
Fletesbroc Statfordsc.
The O.E. Flseda is preserved in " Flsedanburg- " in Birch
and Kemble. " Fléèd " is dealt with in Sweet's ' Oldest
English Texts ', § 605.
FFLAM.
§ lxiii. We must now consider the meaning of the
word Fjiam. " Ffleid ur Fflam " means Fleid, or Fläd, the
Flâni. In Old Welsh the article is always ir. In Middle
Welsh it became yr.'^ I regard " Fíleidur Fflam " as a
mìs-s'peUmg oî Fjieid yr j and I take " Fflám " as a folk-
name ; cp. " Cradil y gaut "= Hradil y Gaut, i.e., Hrsethel
the Geat. In the New English Dictionary the correpted
English folk-name is explained and the following forms
are given
Middle Dutch Ylâming
Old Norse Flaîmingr
O.H.D. Flaming
MedÌ8eval Latin Flaming-us
'»
French Flamand
The pnzzles presented by these forms are too numerous to
be stated even and I will refer to Warnkönig, who in his
'Flandrische Staatsgeschichte ' (I. p. 91), is faced by the
same problem. He states that the Suevi were associated
with the Old Saxons in the Germanic coIonization of
Flanders, and he believes that this assumption is rendered
ä^ Cp. Strachan {ut supra, note 28) § 23, and § 1, « and c.
44 ^ NegUcted Welsh Triad.
probable bj the fact that fifteeu villages in Flanders
preserye the name of the Sueri as a headword : e.Q.
Suevezele, Sueveghem, etc. The Suevi of the fourth and
fifth centurj were undoubtedly Alemannic and the recog-
nitiou of that fact where English and late Roman
Britannic place-names are concerned would clear up manj
of the diiìiculties that hamper research.
GWLEDIC.
§ lxiv. There now remains onlj the word " Gwledic "
which is applied to Fleid jr Fflam, i.e. Fl^d the Fleming.
The late Sir John Ehjs in ' Celtic Britain ' (1904;, p. 104,
refers to the JhAX Britanniarìim and the Comes Litoris
Saxanici oü Romuu times, and he sajs that it is highlj
probable that the leaders of the British armies after a.d.
410 were regarded bj the provincials as the successors of
those ofhcials and as having a right tothose titles. '■ The
difference between a comes or coimt, and a diix or leader,
was onlj au unimportant one of imperial etiquette in
f avour of the former ; the oflìce of both was called a
ducatus, and both comes and dux appear to have been
rendered into Welsh bj the term gicledig, a rulerorprince,
which is the title alwavs given in Welsh literature to
Maximus, who was probablj Duke of the Britannias
before he made himself emperor ".
^ lxv. The reference to a Fleming as G^wledic brings
us down to the times, subseciuent to the jear 442, when
the Britannias were Ijing under the government of the
Saxons. It is customarj to render the passage from a
Gallic chronicle which I am about to cite and quote, as if
it referred to conquest bj the sword. I regard the passage
referred to as the record of a diplomatic arrangement.
A Neglected Welsh Triad. 45
The particular clironicle cited comes to an end in a.d.
452." At tlie nineteenth year of Theodosius, which
ended in a.d. 442, we ai'e told that " Britanniae usque ad
hoc tempus variis cladibus eventibusque latae in dicionem
Saxonum rediçruntur ". In another Gallic chronicle which
ends in 511,'" at the sixteenth 3^ear of Theodosius we may
read that " Britanniae a Romanis amissae in dicionem
Saxonum cedunt ". A variety of eíforts have been made
to explain " latae " in the earlier chronicle. I regard the
/ as a common misreading- of s^' and for latoe I would read
satiatce. It is quite possible that the chronicler wrote
satce and intended to convey the true meanin^ — ' satiated '
' ghitted ', ' cloyed'. To me the passage does not present
any justification for the statement ihat it authorises vis to
assert that the Britannias were conquered by the Saxons
in A.D. 442.®' I render it : The Britannias .... satiated
with their misfortunes and with the consequences thereof
are put under the authority of the Saxons.
§ lxvi. The first undoubtedly historical " Saxon " to
beconie Dux Britanniarum was the Alaman who appears
in Arthurian legend and in Old Welsh Genealogies as
" Duke Ansirus" (=Duc Cansirus)" and as " Casnar
^'•' Tide ' Monnnieiita Germaniae Historica ', IX, p. 660.
»0 77ẁ'M.G.H.MX. p. 661.
'■" These niisrea(iings were furthered by the curious tendency in
early me(liseval tinies to write the letter 's' backvvards. This
tendency cansed s to take the place of /. With " Tlailsaltede" and
" Cair legeint " for Hailsastede (D. Bk. for Sudse.ir) and Cair sec/eint
(Durliam MS. of the • Historia Hrittonuni') compare " Wlfesmescote "
for Wulfelmescote in the D. Bk. for Warwictc ■, and " martysi " for
martiiU in Hydatius (ed. Mommsen, p. 23).
9- Cp. H. M. Chadwick, ' The Origin of the English Nation ' (1907),
pp. 48. 49
" Vide ' The Morte DArthur', by Sir Thomas Malory (1485) ; T/ie
Second Book of Sire Tristram, chap. xxxviii.
40 A Neglected Wclsh Triaci.
Gwledic'"' and " Casmit Gwledi^'"' aiid " Cassanauth
Gwledig"/' He is the '^Canser" of the Holj Grail"
and the " Cäsêre " of Widsith-Hama.^' Hama was Casere's
senesclial at Binchester"' and he tells us quite reliahly
that Cäsëre ruled the Creacas, or Alamanni, and also
the Willas. The latter were the Wilssetas of Wilt-
shire, and the îormer dwelt in Northumberland and
Durham. Their country was called "Croucingo" by
Rayennas and one of its principal towns was named
" Craucestre " in Leland's time. It is the " Cair Greu " of
the Welsh Triads and is known to-day as " Craster ", cp.
§ xlvi. Canser, the Ring- of Northumberland, the Casnar
Gwledig of the Mabinogion, became " Comes et legatus
Aëtii " in Gaul, and is known as Censorius.""'' His death
is recorded by Hydatius in a.d. 448.
^* In the Mabinogi of Pwyll Pendeuic Dyuet ; (ii. s. note 7), p. 25,
I. 16. lu the Mabiiiogi of Kilhwch ac Olwen : (u. s. note 7), p. 107,
1. 23.
ä* In the Mabinogi of Rhonabwy : " Llaia uab Kasnat Wledic " ;
p. 160, 1. 2 (u. s. note 7).
ä^ In the Llyfr Llewelyn Offeiriad (c. 1360) : cp. my Indexes to Old
Welsh Genealogies, No. 870, ' Archiv f iir celtische Lexicographie ', III,
p. 68.
"^ In L'Histoire de Grimaud "Kanser" occurs once ; "Cancer"
twenty-four times, and •' Canfer" sixteen times.
^* In the ' Trayeller's Lay ' or ' Widsith ", preserved in the Codex
Exoniensis which was written c. 990. See my revised edition, ' Tran-
sactions of the Royal Historical Society ', 3rd Series, vol. ix (1915),
p. 145, Casere and the Creacas.
^ Vide ' Le Saint Graal ', ed. by Emil Hucher (1875), vol. i, p. 579 :
" Kamaor seneschal d'Orbérique ". "Orbérique" is a trouvère's
mispresentation of Cor Benic, i.e., Cor Bin. or Binchester.
'**" The forms vary greatly. In Hydatius Lemicanus we get Cen-
sorius, Consurim and Censurius ; vide ' Continuatio Chronicorum
Hieronymianorum ad annum CCCCLXVIII '. The Bishop Hydatius was
contemporary witli Count " Censorius ". He died about a.p. 470. In
the " Çhronicarum Libri IV'of Fredegarius Scholasticus (c. 650) we
get " CíBsarius Comes" and " CîBsar ".
A Neglcctcd Wclsh Triad. 47
§ lxvii. The fìrst recorcled king of Northumberhiiid
was Ida, the son oí" Eoppa. He beoan to rule in a.d. 547.
It is customary to speak of hiui as founder of the
^ing-dom ; but cp. § xxii, supra. In the Grail Legends, in
the Mabinog-ion, and in the Morte DArthur, three royal
princes are connected with the throne of Northumberland.
The first was the Cansari < Cansër referred to in § ]xvi.
He probably ruled between 420 and 432. He became a
Couiit in Gaul, and in the latter year he is mentioned by
Hydatius Lemicanus as the Count and Legate who was
sent by Aëtius to negotiate with Hermericus, the king of
the Suevi iu Spain. These were Alamanni who had
conquered Gallicia. In 433, 437, and 440, Cansarius
played a prominent part in the endeavour to restore
Gallicia to peace and good order. He was Avell knovvn to
Hydatius, tlie bishop of Chaves in that province, and was
unquestionab]y an Alaman. Now Widsith-Hama (supra,
note 98) tells as that he visited Câsëre the ruler of the
Creacas or Alamans, and says of Cäsëre (> Cansäri) that
he " geweald ahte . . . Walarices ", i.e. possessed the rule
of Gaul.
Tlie Angles regularly dropped n bef ore s and lengthened
the preceding vowe]. Hence came " Cäsëre ", throug-h
■^CäsÊëri, from ■^Cansärius. The contact of n and s was
resented by the Brython, also, and as ''Cansar" meant
nothing to him he changed it to -'Casnar", which sug-
gests casner, ' anger ', ' indignation '. The ns contact was,
howeyer, preserved in tlie Grail Legends ; cp. my note 97.
In tlie Morte DArtliur we read of a Duke "Ansirus",
supra note 93. Dülce Cansirus's oíficiiil coming and going
between Gaul and Britain is very quaint]y explained in
the Morte DArthur.
§ lxviii. The next king of Northumberland appears
in three legendary documents : viz., (1) in K. ac 0. {vide
48 A Neglected Welsh Triad.
§ ix, Sîtpra) ; (2) in Rhon. {i'.iàe § x, ,sMp-«) ; (3) in the
Morte DArthur, Bk. I, ch. x. In the Mabinogion this
prinee is called " Llary mab Casnar Wledig ". In the
Morte DArthnr lie is called " Clariance ", king of Nor-
thnmberland. This points to a Latinised form Clarianus,
which is G-ermanic in origin. The former nanie " Llary "
is a pun. It means ' meek ', ' rnild '. We have here the
O.E. name " Claré ". The eleventh-century Claremhaldus
points to Claren-. Such English place-names as Clare and
Clareborough preserve this personal name.
§ lxix. The third prince of this house is called " Epi-
nogris ". He was " the king's son of Northumberland ",
i.e., he was the son of the King Clari-anus who was
opposed to King Arthur in a.d. 459 ; vide the Morte
DArthur, VII, xxvi. The fìnal s in " Epinogris " is an
instance of the scribal confusion of s and g ; cp. note 62,
supra. " Epinogris " stands for Epino Grig. This pre-
sents the folk-name that is used in the English saying —
" As merry as a çrris: ". The GrÌ2rs were the Alamannic
Creacas of Croucinsfou in Northumberland. The unshifted
form of Crëacas is Grëagas, Grigs. The form Crëac- cor-
responds to Crouc-, Crôc-, the name of the Alamannic
^ing- who was allied to Constantius Chlorus in A.D. 305.
" Epino " is the Alamannic shifted form of Abino <Ehino ;
cp. 'P.P. ' for "Abini", "Ebina". The stem Eb- is
preserved in " Ebchester " in the county of Durham.
That was the Roman station named Yindomora.
ÍÇe ^^(0ooR of (^aaíngn?erK ^^ anò
(me. €oííon Cfeopaíra (^.(p.
By the Rev. ACTON GRISCOM, M.A., New York.
Introddction.
On November 7th, 1917, Professor Sir W. M. Flinders
Petrie read a suggestive paper before the British Academy
entitled " Neglected British History ", in which he re-
opened the vexed question of a native British or Armori-
can source for the early history of Britain. One possible
source, identifìed in the Welsh chronicle known as " Brut
Tysilio ' ' , had been supposed by certain scholars more
than a century ago to underlie Geoffrey of Monmouth's
famous Historia Regum Britannice, and to represent the
Jibrum vetustissimum which Geoffrey repeatedly declared
that he translated into Latin. This identification of
source, however, and the arguments at that time put for-
ward in its support, w^ere shown in many respects to be
mistaken, and the theory has been entirely discredited for
at least fifty years by all literary and historical students
and writers. It is repeatedly stated that no source has
ever come to light, and that the " most ancient book " is
a myth of Geoffrey's own invention, — part of the air of
verisimilitude which that arch-romancer cast about his
creation. Once a source was eliminated, all serious his-
torical interest disappeared in Geoíîrey's lists of kings and
other incidents, such as Caesar's invasion, or his contri-
butions as to the period of Roman occupation, and I\ing
Arthur's wars with the Saxons.
E
50 The " Book of Basingwerh " and
Professor Petrie, lio\vever, re-examined tlie " Brut
Tysilio ", called the original Welsh version, though he
worked at second-hand with a badly edited and actually
niisleading translation into English from the suppcsed
Welsh original ; and he detected, after a searching analy-
sis of the internal evidence, that at least certain passages
could not have been written so late as Geoíîrey's tinie
(1135-55). Furthermore, as the passages, and some of the
facts they enumerated, did not appear in the known Latin
historians preceding Geoffrey, the inference from these
discoveries undeniably pointed to a native original. Dr.
R. W. Chambers challenged certain of Professor Petrie's
conchisions in two papers which appeared in HiMory
for January and April, 1919, to'which Professor Petrie
wrote rejoinders ; and since then the matter has rested, so
far as the present writer has been able to discover.
In this paper there is no intention of attempting to
estimate in any way the rightness or wrongness of Pro-
fessor Petrie's main contention ; all that is purposed h to
correct, if possible, certain errors concerning two of the
W^elsh manuscripts involved, about which there has been
confusion, and which seem to have been inadequately
described. The way may thus be paved for further and
more accurate research on a most interesting and im-
portant series of problems.
I.
Professor Petrie described this " native " Welsh ver-
sion, which has been called the " Brut Tysilio ", very
brieíly as follows : " While we may see a few, and con-
temptuous, references to Nennius or Gildas, the name of
the so-called Tysilio's Chronicle is never given, nor is any
use made of its record. . . . The best M8. of it appears
to be in the Book of Basingwerk ; it was printed in Welsh
Ms. Coiton C/eopatra B. V. 5 i
iii the Myvyrian Archaiology, of which a second edition
appeared in 1870. It was translated into English by Peter
Roberts, and published in 1811, and a second edition in
1862. This translation is now so rare that I cannot hear
of any obtainable copy, and could only work on it by
having one of the British Museum copies typewritten."^
Professor Petrie, having apparently made the statements
about the " Book of Basingwerk " largely on W. F.
Skene's authority, elsewhere says that he uses the name
Tysilio merely as a brief label , disclaiming any knowledge
or examination of the original Welsh manuscripts : " The
cjnestions of real authorship, of original dates of compo-
sitions, and of successive MSS. are quite outside my scope
here " (p. 253). Once again in the body of the article
(p. 264), Professor Petrie gives another authority, quoting
from an essay by the late Thomas Hodgkin to the effect
that an original and ancient (tenth century) Welsh or
Breton manuscript version of British history once existed ,
— of which, presumably, Professor Petrie infers that the
" Book of Basingwerk", referred to above, is a copy.
" That such a work did exist ", he writes, " . . . is
guaranteed by the ' Brnt y Brenhined, written in Brittany
in the Breton dialect in the time of Athelstan (925-941)
by an insular Briton '. . . . Thus writes Dr. Hodgkin,
quoting from the Biographie Bretonne ."
Now it so happens that the authorities quoted by
Professor Petrie are misleading. A reader would infer
from them not only that an ancient document once
existed, but that a version of it had actually been printed
in Welsh, and a translation into English made, but which
* Proceedings of the British Academy, 1917-1918, p. 2ol. A foot-
note reference gives as authority : " W. F. Skene, Four Ancient Books
of Wales, ii, 24"; which must be a shp for vo]. i. We shall refer to
Skene's account later.
E 2
52 The '' Book of Basingiverk'" and
scholars had ignored. Skene's information ahout the
" Book of ]3asingwerk ", however, and other Welsh
manuscript versions of the old British Chronicle in ques-
tion, is, because taken at second-hand, confused and in-
accurate. Hodgkin, furthermore, misread the article in
the Biographie Bretonne, as Dr. Chambers pointed out in
his critique of Professor Petrie's thesis ; but Dr. Cham-
bers, while noting Hodgkin's " slip ", does not appear to
have investigated the Welsh manuscripts themselves.
The result is that while Dr. Chambers advances one step
in correcting the double misreadings of Hodgkin, and
from him, of Professor Petrie, his own contribution is at
best only a negative one under this head, and he in turn
is unintentionally misleading in his statements about the
manuscripts involved. The matter needs to be cleared up,
and as it is complicated, it becomes necessary to enter
into some detail, as otherwise no uninitiated reader could
possibly follow the argument.
Dr. Chambers describes brieíly, but with an unfortu-
nate appearance of íìnality, the Welsh versions of the
History of the Kings of Britain (Brut y Brenhined) ,
basing his classification on the " three types, extant alto-
gether in thirty manuscripts, [which] are enumerated by
Mr. J. G. Evans."^ He gives no hint that manuscripts
exist other than the thirty listed in 1889 by Dr. Evans,
nor does he state that the ' ' Book of Basingwerk ' ' is not
mentioned in that list. Certain of these thirty manu-
scripts, " and these, as it happens, the latest in date ",
continues Dr. Chambers, " claim to be, not translations
of Geoffrey, but copies of the source from which Geoffrey
claims to have translated. To this version of the History
^ His note refers to : The Te.rt of the Bruts from the Red Book of
Hergest, ecl. by J. Rhys and J. G. Evans, Oxford, 1890, vol. ii, pp.
xiii-xix.
Ms. Cotton Cleopatra B.V. 53
tbe name Brut Tysilio has been given. . . . After tbis
.catalogue of existing Briits, it remains to mention one
wbicb does not exist, but tbe assumed existence of wbicb
bas been tbe cause of mucb confusion. Geoffrey, we bave
seen, asserts tbat be is translating a book brougbt out of
Brittany. Now, both Geoffrey and tbe Brut Tysilio con-
clude witb tbe mention of King Athelstan, wbo died a.d.
941. Tberefore, if Geofjrey is speahing the truth ahout
his sources, be presumably used a Breton book, whicb
since it presumably mentioned Atbelstan, but mentioned
none later than be, was, presumably, compiled in his reign.
To tbis theoretical x\rmorican source, the Biographie
Bretonne applied tbe name Brui y Brenhined. . . . Dr.
Hodgkin, bowever, misunderstood this reference in the
Biographie Bretonne, and read it as being a reference to
an actual existing document, ' tbe Brut y Brenhined
written in Brittany in tbe Breton dialect in tbe time of
Athelstan (921-941)'.^ ... 'I owe tbis reference', be
[Hodgkin] adds, ' to De la Borderie's article ' Conan
Meriadoc ' in tbe Biographie Bretonne ' . But ' ' , continues
Dr. Cbambers, " if anyone will turn to tbat article be
wiU see that tbe Brut y Brenhined is simply tbe name
there applied to tbe presumed Armorican original of
Geoftrey, and that De la Borderie expressly states tbat
such presumed original no longer exists. Yet this tbeo-
retical Breton Brut, assumed on the strength of Geoft'rey's
assertion, is repeatedly quoted as if it were an existing
document confìrming that assertion, and tbe great repu-
tations of Dr. Hodgkin and Professor Petrie bave given
lo this view a currency which it would otberwise hardly
have attained.
• The (late 925 correctly appears in the original, i.e., "Cornwall and
Brittany ", p. 443, note, in the 78th Anuual lieport of the lìoyal
Comwnll Folytechnic Society, new ser., vol. i, Pt. 3, 1911.
54 T^^^^ '' Book of Basingiüerh''' and
" It needs, therefore, to be stated most unequivocally
tliat this Armorican Brut does not exist. Its supposed
existence arises from a slip by Dr. Hodgkin in 1911. [The
Presidential address in which these statements were made
was delivered in 1910.] This is disappointing, for the
references to it in the Proceedings oj tìie British Academy
must have led many students to hope that a new document
was at last forthcoming, throwing light on a puzzling
problem."^
Granting his approach, which is the opposite of that of
De la Borderie, Dr. Chambers has quite fairly interpreted
the sufficiently explicit statements of.De la Borderie in
the article in question in the Biographie Bretonne. On
page 411, section II, under the caption le brüt y bren-
HiNED, De la Borderie wTÌtes : " C'est donc encore ici
un document de l'histoire véridique, mais simplement un
monument de la tradition populaire. [The negative par-
ticiple is lacking in the first phrase. A hasty reading may
have led Hodgkin to a wrong inference from the start.]
Ce monument contient l'histoire (prétendue) des divers
chefs qui ont gouverné la race bretonne, depuis Brutus,
premier auteur de cette race, ]usqu'à Cadwal-Ladre, qui
vivait à la ün du VIP siècle de l'ère chrétienne. Le
Brut y Brenhined a été écrit sur la terre d'Armorique,
et dans le dialecte des Bretons armoricains, au temps
d'Athelstan, roi d'Angleterre (925-941) ^^\ par un Breton
insulaire qui avait probablement suivi sur le continent
Alain-Barbe-Torte (voyez ce mot), à répoque (en 937) oìi
set iUustre chef revint déliverer notre péninsule du joug
des pirate normands qui la désolaient depuis trente années.
' History, Jaiiuury, 1919, pp. 2:16-7.
Ms. Cotton Cleopatra B.V. 55
" Noiis ne possédons j)lus aujourd'hui la version origi-
nale du Brut, écrite dans le dialecte armorician ; mais
nous en avons du moins une version en dialecte gallois,
rédigée (à ce qu'il me semble) par Geoffroy de Montmouth,
et imprimée dans la collection du Myvyrian, où on lui a
donné, par suite de circonstances trop longues à exposer
ici le titre de Brut Tyssyìio." De la Borderie continues
with a warning of the need for distinguishing carefuUy
between this version and others, — a warning which has
passed unheeded by later w' riters : " il faut se garder de
la confondre avec plusieurs autres versions galloises, . . .
qui sont réellement des amplifìcatiûns très-ornées, très-
étendues et considérablement augmentées ; il faut surtout
se garder de confondre le Brut Tyssylio avec l'ou^rage
latin de Geoffroy dont je parlerai bientôt, et qui porte le
titre d'Histoire des Rois bretons."
Dr. Chambers notes that De la Borderie clearly states
that we no longer possess the Breton original, by which
the French author means that no manuscript of an age
greater than Geofifrey's Historia, in Breton or Welsh, has
to his knowledge survived. De la Borderie speciíically
gives it as his opinion, how'e^er, that an original version
has survived, incorporated with Geoíîrey's Historia, and
in the Welsh Brut Tysilio. But as no one has as yet pro-
duced the conclusive evidence of an ancient British manu-
script antedating Geofí'rey, and apparently without having
himself studied the W^elsh versions that are extant, Dr.
Chambers casts doubt on Geoffrey's repeated statements
that he possessed such a ' ' most ancient book ' ' which he
translated, and he treats the very existence of such an
original as unwarranted. In this he but foUows in the
footsteps of predecessors, sonie of whoni we know could
û
6 The '' Book of BasingTüerh'" and
not read Welsh, and very few if any of whom give the
least evidence of having ever examined these Welsh
manuscripts.^
It is true that, so far as known (and by no means all
Welsh manuscripts have been examined), no Welsh (or
Breton) manuscript has survived earlier in date as a manu-
script than the twelfth century. But although an original
manuscript may have perished, its matter may stiU be
identiüable, by means of careful textual criticism, in later
compilations, or even copies. Therefore we cannot foUow
Dr. Chambers when his argument, in reply to Professor
Petrie, passes from the unequivocal denial of the present
existence of the ancient Armorican manuscript cited, to
the conclusion that existing Welsh chronicles in manu-
script (încluding Geoíîrey's Historia) are without authen-
tic original sources, and fail to reflect a native version of
early British history. It would obviously be most dif&cult
to prove that a British history had never been compiled
900 years ago — and we cannot safely assert that no identi-
íìable version of it exists in the Welsh manuscripts, until
all of these have been critically examined. It is signifi-
cant that the denials of such a British version usually
^ Professor Petrie at the close of his address, h.sted the qiiahfìca-
tions which are necessary, and the material to be covered in any
endeavour to deal adequately with this probleni. " The present
requirement for British History, so much neglected, is a scholar in Old
Welsh, Breton, Irish, and late Latin, accustomed to palaeography, who
will deal as an historian, and not as a mythologist, with the following
sources:— The Bnit y Brenhined of a.d. 940, in Breton ; all MSS. of
Tysiho, of the Historia Britonum or Nennius, and of Gildas, tracing
their descent and various dates of issue ; the chroniclers, as Henry of
Huntingdon, Hector Boece, John of Fordinn, &c., to discriminate how
far other sources of material — now perished — were used by them ; the
Irish Annals ; the Mabinogion, the triads, tlie laws, and other htera-
ture which may embody historical detail " (pp. 274-5). The present
writer, who can jiut forward no ehxim w]iatever to know the above
languages, — though several years of work with Latin manuscripts, and
Ä/s. Cotton Cleopatra B. V. 57
come from those who do not or cannot read mediaeyal
Welsh , while the few who have actually studied the Welsh
texts at first hand, usually come to believe in a native
version — whatever their reasons. This is repeatedly the
case froni the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries, not
to inchide Geoffrey himself, and other writers of his
generation.
It can further be demonstrated that what is probably
the earliest Welsh manuscript versioìi^ of the Brut y Brcìi-
hined, dated as a manuscript by Dr. J. G. Evans as of
the early part of the thirteenth century, — say about a.d.
l'JlO-20, is itself a copy (i.e., the work of a copyist)
üf some Welsh original, as a complete set of excel-
lent rotographs made for me by Mr. Ballinger of the
National Library of Wales,amply demonstrates.^ Another
manuscript, giving stiU another version, may be dated in
ahnost exactly the same period. A complete set of roto-
graphs of this second manuscript has also been made for
me. There are in addition others, too numerous to detail
here. These two early manuscripts may be, what they
are usually called, translations into Welsh of Geoffrey's
priiited texts aud rotographs of Welsli luanuscripts are familiariziug
him with some of the forms, — nevertheless has the iuestimable
advautage of close coUaboratiou with the Rev. Robert Ellis Jones,
S.T.D., Cauou of the Cathedral of St. Johu the Divine, New York,
oue-time presideut of Hobart College, and of Welsh parentage,
whose high scholarly standards, aud assiduons readiug of medieval
Welsh clironicles and poetry have been generously and with tireless
euthusiasm placed at his disposal. The results of this collaboratiou
are now beiug writteu out, and a volume ou some of the sources of
Geoffrey of Monmouth, together with a diplomatic text, and a literal
translation of W^alter's Book. are approaching completiou.
^ By version, I meau the esseutial coutents, not the MS. itsolf.
^ Dingestow Court MS. cf. for example fol. 2vo., whei-e a whole
seutence is coj)ied twice. The oiily priuted descriptiou of this MS.
seems to be iu Rhys and Evaus Te.rt of the Bnds, alroady cited ; [).
xiii. The text varies from that printed from the lied Book MS.
58 The '' Book of Basingwerh'' and
Historia, but they have never been adequately examined,
and no one has proved that they are. They ditter from
each other — slightly in subject matter, radically in diction
and phraseology. As an example of the kind of state-
ments current about them, Dr. Evans quotes from the
Dictionary of National Biography in a footnote to page vi
of his Preface to the Text of the Bruts from the Red Book
of Hergest. He writes : " In an article on Geoftrey of
Monmouth in the Dictionary of National Biography, Mr.
H. R. Tedder commits himself to the baseless assertion
that ' the three Welsh chronicles known as the " Brut
Tysilio ", the " Brut y Brenhinoedd "', and the " Brut Gr.
ap Arthur ' ' , have been clearly shown [ ? by whom] to be
late translations or adaptations of Geofírey's Historia '."
Dr. Evans asks advisedly " ? by whom " — certainly not
by Zarnke or ten Brink, who wrote more than twenty
years before Dr. Evans discovered the Dingestow Court
MS., and described it in 1889. On page xi, Dr. Evans
writes of his proposal " to edit the Berne MS. of
Geoft'rey's Brut, and to print in parallel columns the
oldest Welsh version ". This, in the intervening thirty-
five years, Dr. Evans has unfortunately been unable to
do ; but it shows that one authority on Welsh manu-
scripts recognized dift'erences of suftìcient importance in
these early versions to warrant examination and editing.
Nothing, however, has been done with them since. Eger-
ton Phillimore, in 1890, made the statement about the
yersions other than the Brut Tysilio that they " all seem
indisputably to be taken straight from Geotfrey ".^ He
professedly, however, had not examined the Dingestow
Court MS. and many others of considerable antiquity.
In the first of the manuscripts mentioned above, the
* *• The Publicatiou of Welsh Historical Records " iu Y Cyìnmrodor,
vu]. ,\i, p. 16'"), u. 4
Ms. Cotton Cleopatra B.V. 59
so-called Dingestow Court MS., the preliminary Dedi-
catory Epistle to Eobert of Gloucester, with which
Geoffrey's Historia commences, is given in Latin, and in,
apparently, a different hand from the rest of the MS. The
description of Britain follows innnediately in Welsh,
and on the same page. The opening lines about Eneas
would read in a translation very close to those in
the Red Book, but the verbal divergences are marked,
though they cannot adequately be shown in an English
translation, — comparison of the Welsh being necessary.
However, as the text progresses, more and more differ-
ences, not only verbal, but of facts appear, until in the
colophon we fìnd statements of considerable sigmficance.
Dr. Evans, who does not quote it, says that, " The greater
part of the colophon is lost " (p. xiii) ; but Canon Jones
gives the surviving part, which we place in parallel
columns with the corresponding passage of the Red Booh,
with their respective translations : —
Dinyp.stow Court MS., üed Book text,
p. 316, last seveu liiies.
p. 256.
A reuhined y rei auuant or amser
E týwỳssogion a uuant ar gỳmrÝ liwnnw aöan j'gkymry • y gara-
wedỳ ÌiYnnỳ pob eilwers a oreli- cìawc olan garban vyg kytwerswr
ýmýnneis i V caradavc o lan j-gorchymynaf i eu hyscriuennu.
carijan uyg kvt o^'swr. Ac iddo A brenhined y saeson y wiHm
ef ýd edweis i ỳ defnýd. y malmeson ac y henri hwntedwn.
ỳsgi-iuennu ÿ llyuyr o hỳnnŷ yr rei hynny yd archaf i dewi. A
allan. Brenhined ỳ saesson ỳ rei brenhined y brytanyeit kanyt
a doethant ar ol a orcÿmỳnneis yttyw gantunt y ttyfyr brwtwn
ÿ wilỳni o . . . a . . . mesbýr. a hwnn. Yr hwnn a ymchoeles
henri o hontendeson. A thewi Gwaítter archdiagon ryt ychen o
ar er kvnui * vrytanec yg kymraec. yr hwnn
^ This is similar, with one important «hfference, to the colophon in
Cleopatra B. V., fol , 108 recto, last four lines, and verso first two
lines. Cf. a m()dernized form in the "Bo()k of Basingwerk ", p. 178,
col. 6, fìrst eight lines, but wilh marked verbal differences. Cf. below
pp. 74-75, for a full discussion of this colophon in relation to others
that differ from it.
6o
The '' Book of Basmgwerh'' and
[The remainder on the next
page is undecipherable.]
The princes who were over the
Cymry after that [temp. Athel-
stanj successively, I commitíe<Z
to Caradoc of Lancarvan my con-
temporary and to him I promised
the material for yriting the hooh
from that time on. The kings of
the Saxons who came afterwards
I committed to Wilham .... bry
and Henry of Huntingdon, but
let them be silent about the
Cymry . . .
[The word theici is not at all
urbane, equivalent to our " shut
up ". Canon JonesJ.
j'ffyd gynuìiedic yn wir oc eu
hystoryaeu wy yn enryded yr rac
dywededigyon tywyssogyon
hynny. Ar ywed honn y pryd-
ereis inheu yymchoelut ef YR
ILADIN.
The kings who from that time on
were in Wales I assign to Cara-
doc of Llancarvan, my contem-
porary, to write about.
And the kings of the Saxons I
assign to William of Malmesbury
and Henry of Huntingdon, whom
I order to keep silence concerning
the kings of Britons because they
have not that British book which
Walter Archdeacon of Oxford
tramlated from British [old
Welsh ?^^into H'e/sA,whichhaving
been faithfully compiled from
these historia (records and tradi-
tions) in honour of the afore-
mentioned princes, I have in this
manner been at pains to translate
into Latin.
The niost cursory comparison of these with the usual
Venvoi of Geoffrey in his Historia surely precludes trans-
lation, — whatever theories one may propound to explain
the yariations.^ Suffice it here to say that there is no
^ cf. Geoflrey's colophon, text and translations, given below p. 74
from the Berne, and another early manusci-ipt of the Historia, with
discussion of the use of " promised " from the abbreviated Latin
pmitto. The italicized phrases above diôer from Geofirej'. The clear
statements, with such early manuscript authority, that Geoô'rey liad
information (probably native, from the context) about the period after
Cadwalader in 681-2 [689] which he gave to Caradoc, promising
" material for writing the book from that time on " cannot be over-
lookcd. Wo fail to see justification for the remark of l)r. Robert
Huntingdon Fletcher : " The date of these [i.e., ' Welsh translations of
Afs. Cotton Cleopatra B. V. 6 i
valid argiuiient against the supposition that Geoíîrey re-
translated his own elaborated and popular Latin text back
into Welsh for his countrymen ; and further, there is no
reason to suppose that Walter, Archdeacon of Oxford,
may not have copied out, both in Latin and in Welsh, his
own original discovery of native material. A thorough
and unprejudiced examination of all the Welsh versions
is essential to the elucidation of this problem. It is
admittedly complicated by the likelihood that the great
popularity of Geoffrey's " worked up " and elaborate Latin
version would have influenced later Welsh copyists of any
genuine Welsh chronicles. Also, once Geoffrey's Latin
Historia was translated into Welsh, any bare Welsh
chronicle would suffer by contrast ; and as the Historia
proper was accepted as dependable history, the earlier
Welsh chronicle would many times be discarded in favour
of the longer and more elaborate work, or it w^ould be
changed to conform with its more successful rival. The
complications of the problem, however, need not deter
students from seeking for whatever detritus of original
Welsh records can be shown to have survived.
Speaking of the Tysilio version, supposed to represent
the ìihriim vetustissimum, Dr. Chambers admits (p. 34)
that, " Of course, ancient and authentic documents are
sometimes extant only in very late transcripts. Neverthe-
the Ristoria '], indeed, is doubtful, and tlieir very misleading state-
ments about their authorship aíford no information as to the real
facts". In a note on the -'doubtfur' age of the translations, Dr.
Fletcher adds : " It can only be said that there is a manuscript of the
Tysiho form written at the beginning of the thirteenth century " and
he cites Dr. Evans' description on p. xiii of the Te.vt of the Bruts.
The Arthurian Material in the Chronicles, vol. x of the Harvard Studies
and Notes in Philoloyy and Literature, p. 117, and note 2. Dr.
Fletcher has obviously not read the Dingestow Court MS., nor the
Welsh originals of the Tìjsilio, and he appears to have depended upon
Roberts' and San Marte's translations of the latter.
02 TJie '' Book of Basingwerh^' aitd
less, a treatise, siipposed to be ' based upon documents
extending back to the first century A.D.' [this from Pro-
fessor Petrie], and claiming to derive its text from the
Reà Book of Hergest, may naturally be treated with some
suspicion when its text is found to date from 1695." Now
it happens that no manuscript mentioned by Dr. Cham-
bers claims to derive its text from the Red Booh. The
text entitled Brut TysiUo, beginning on page 434 of the
second edition of the Myvyrian Archaioìogy of Wales, is
most certainly not the version found in the Red Book of
Hergest (as the editors, and Eoberts following them,
erroneously state), but is undoubtedly taken from another
manuscript in Jesus CoUege, Oxford, number XXVIII, ^
dating, as Dr. Chambers says, from the year 1695. But
Hugh Jones, under keeper of the Ashmolean Museum, in
whose autograph this last manuscript is, was not the
author of this version, nor does he claim to have derived
it from the Red Book. Eather, he found it worth while
to make a complete transcript of another manuscript,
about two hundred years older, on vellum, namely, Jesus
College MS. LXI (Hist. MSS. Com., No. 8). A complete
set of rotographs of the first, and test rotographs from the
second, made for me by the Oxford Press photographer,
establish this point beyond peradventure. The later tran-
script is beautifully and clearly written and adheres to its
original with remarkable accuracy, reproducing errors,
etc, and as the earlier manuscript is faded, torn and
stained, and is often hard to read, the Myryrian editors
probably found it easier to edit the later manuscript,
knowing that they were obtaining the text of the earlier,
and then, because the Red Book MS. and the earlier
iNumberl9in Vol. 2 of the Historical Manuscripts Cummission,
Report on Manuscripts in ihft WeUh Language, described by Dr. J. G,
Evans.
.ì/s. Cottoii Cleopatra B. V. 6
ò
Tysilio were botli iii the Jesiis College library, they con-
fused them and cited the wrong maniiscript as their
source. The Tysilio and Red Booh' versions differ radically
in Yocabulary, style of composition and content, and could
not be considered similar by anyone. It is, of course, re-
motely possible that the Myryrian editors deliberately
referred to the Red Book, as a somewhat older and far
more famous document, and in defiance of the facts. The
Tysilio version, we might add, has marked divergences
from the two early thirteenth century MSS. referred to
above, and well repays careful study.
Jesus College MS. LXI, the earlier Tysiìio version, is
dated by Dr. Evans 1500-15-25, and by Hardy and Coxe
both as fifteenth century. It contains the special Colo-
phon,^ — and as in fact Hugh Jones appears to have made
a remarkably faithful copy, and the Myvyrian editors in
their turn to have made only a few negligible printers'
errors in editing it, w^e may safely say that the printed
text represents the earlier manuscript. Moreover, there
are at least six other, practically complete, " Tysilio "
manuscripts ; one in the British Museum (Addl. 15,566),
two Mostyn, two National Library of Wales, one Peniarth
and one Llanstephan. This makes eight manuscripts in
all, instead of one, for this Tysilio version alone, the
earliest dating from the end of the fifteenth century. Be-
side this there are large parts of this version combined
verbatim with other versions by various eclectic compilers
of British history, as, for example, lilanstephan 5 (early
XVIth), Mostyn 115 (XVIIth), or B. M. Addl. 14, 903
(1613). To these last, and most important of all, should be
added the " Book of Basingwerk " and Cotton Cleopatra
* " I, Walter, archdeacon of Oxford, turned this book from Welsh
into Latin, and in my old age 1 have turned it the second time from
Latin into Welsh ".
64 The '' Book of Basingwerh'' and
B. V., which wiU be analysed in dne conise. Jn 1889 Dr.
J. G. Evans listed only thirty niannscripts of what he
considered three types of BruU ; but to-day there are
printed descriptions of at least sixty-three manuscript
Bruts, not counting mere chronologies or insignificant
fragments. These represent various versions and compila-
tions, contain some material not in Geoffrey, and a few at
least could not have been merely translations of Geoffrey.
This enumeration of manuscripts and versions is all
derived from a careful perusal of printed catalogues, sup-
plemented by coUation made for me of the respective
manuscripts with the printed texts in the Myvyrian, and
also sets of rotographs, which the librarians of the re-
spective libraries involved have been at pains to supply
promptly and accurately. In the face of all this easily
accessible printed material, — let alone direct reference to
no longer inaccessible manuscripts, — it is greatly to be
regretted that Dr. Cliambers (echoing earlier writers)
advances a single manuscript of 1695 as one prime reason
for discrediting the existence of a native version of British
history, and the claims made for its original antiquity.
He has both wisely and rightly cautioned scholars against
relying on the printed texts of Geoffrey of Monmouth's
Latin Historia, which are " corrupt " and inadequate to
a degree ; and has himself gone direct to the Latin manu-
scripts of Geoffrey in the British Museum, niaking, as a
result, notable textual contributions. But he does not
appear to have done the same thing with the Welsh, nor
has he (as did Professor Petrie) appealed for the need of
re-examining the Welsh sources.
Professor Petrie, referring to W. F. Skene, alludes to
the " Book of Basingwerk " as probably " the best MS."
of the Tysilio version, but Dr. Chambers, though he
emphasizes " the late and corrupt text of Tysilio ", — i.e.,
Ms. Cotton Cleopatra B. V. 65
the 1695 manuscript, — make.s no alhision to the " Book
of Basingwerk ' ' , nor does he or Prof essor Petrie give its
age or description. One is left to infer from these state-
ments that this manuscript " was printed in Welsh in
the Myüyrian Archaiology ", and that the " transcript "
spoken of (though not named) by Dr. Chambers, dated
1695 (namely Jesus XXVIII), and given by him as the
basis for the text of the Tysilío printed in the Myvyrian ,
must be the " Book of Basingwerk ". But this is far from
being the case ; the ' ' Book of Basingwerk ' ' has never
been printed, it is not identical with either Jesus College
MSS. XXVIII or LXI, and this text was not printed in
the Myüyrian.
Before undertaking to describe directly the " Book of
Basingwerk ", therefore, and an equally significant manu-
script, the Cotton Cleopatra B. V., it wiU perhaps be wise
to leave no stone unturned, and to revert for a moment
to a reference given by De la Borderie in the article cited
above, which apparently has not attracted attention.
De la Borderie, in a note indicated by the number ^^^
in the text of the quotation made above, gives the follow-
ing reference : ' ' Le plus ancien manuscrit gallois du Brut
y Brenhined se termine par la note suivante, citée par le
rev. Evan Evans dans le Camhrian Çuarterìy Magazine
(T. I", p. 396), et que M. de la Villemarqué a bien voulu
me traduire du gallois." He then cites in a French trans-
lation the concluding lines, not of the Tysilio version, but
of the distinctive ending from the Red Book of Hergest
text. As the one word, " Saeson ", not in the Red Book
text, is inserted by Evan Evans in the original Welsh
citation in the Camhrian Çuarterly Magazine, and the
spelling of " gweythyeu " diíîers, he may possibly have
seen or copied from another manuscript, but the wording
is characteristic, and does not belong to other Welsh ver-
F
66 Thc "" Book of Basingwerh'' and
sions. Those familiar with all the printed endings would
easily have recognized to which version Evans' citation
belonged, and would not have confused it with the TysíUo.
Evan Evans gives the age of the manuscript he used as
" írom fìve to six hundred years old " ; and the Red Book
itself is to-day dated for the Bruts at about 1380. There-
fore we apparently find De la Borderie citing at second
hand as a Tysilio version, the entirely diiîerent Red Book
version, which latter he mistakenly designates as the
manuscript of the original British book — or Brut y Bren-
hined. This error the editors of the Myvyrian and Eoberts
perpetuated in their respective prefaces.
Villemarqué, whom De la Borderie frequently cites as
his authority, gives us a further clue to the manuscripts
on which his opinions at that time were based. In his
Essai Sur l'Histoire de ìa Langue Bretonne^ , page xxxiij,
he writes : "II nous reste à étudier, comme précédem-
ment, les monuments écrits de la langue bretonne, pen-
dant la période qui nous occupe." He then cites first :
"1" Le Brud er brénined énez Bretaen ou la Chronique
des rois de l'île de Bretagne, ouvrage en prose, composé
au VIIP siècle, au monastère de Gaël, en Armorique, par
saint Sulio ou S. Y-Sulio, et remanié au XIP, en Galles."
Note six foUows, which to our surprise reads : " (6) Musée
britannique. Biblioth. Coton. MSS. in-é'' vel. Cleop. B.
C. 5. 19. A, publié, d'après un autre manuscrit moins
ancien, dans l'Archaeol. of Wales. T.II, p. 81." This
last reference is to the Brut Tysiìio version (Ist ed. of
Myiiyrian), anà leads one naturally to infer that the Cotton
Cleopatra B. V. MS. was an ancient Breton manuscript,
which underlies the Tysilio version. It is hardly necessary
to say that Villemarqué drew, not largely, but entirely
1 Paris, 1847. The copy used was De la Borderie's own, now in
Columbia University Library.
Ms. Cotton Cleopatra R.V. 67
upon his imagination, alike in the above statements as in
the spelling. His misinformation, however, misled De la
Borderie, who misled Thomas Hodgkin. Nevertheless,
and just because of all this comedy of errors, there is really
much to be said about these ^Yelsh versions.
We ask the candid reader at this point how this con-
fusion and these cross-currents can possibly be resoWed
save by a direct appeal to the original manuscripts them-
selves? And this, apparently, is what no writer on the
subject has done for well over one hundred years. Even
San Marte in 1854, when he " translated " the Bmt
Tysilio into German, on his own statement translated
Peter Eoberts' English rendering, which his German text
amply proves, repeating as he does some of the errors
made by Roberts in his English translation. The argu-
ments of Zarnke against the priority of the Tysilio are
based in turn on San Marte's German text, which Zarnke
says that he quotes.^ Add to this the corrupt state of the
printed texts of Geoffrey's Latin, the pitfalls of which
Dr. Chambers has made so convincingly and lucidly clear,
and it becomes evident that great care must be exercised
in forming opinions and pronouncing judgment on any
basis of verbal descent. Much still needs to be done to
elucidate the whole problem, but nothing so much as a
direct return to all the manuscripts involved.
II.
The purpose of this and the following section will, there-
fore, be to place on record how inadequately both the
manuscripts under consideration have been described, and
' " Ueber das Yerhaltniss des Bmt y Tysilio zii Gottried's Historia
regiim Britanniae ", in Ebert's Jahrhuch für Rnmansche und Enylische
Literatur, and V., p. 259: "Im Brut lautet die ensprechende stelle
nach San Marte's Uebersetzung '", etc.
f2
6S The '' Book of Basingiuerk'' and
then to attempt a brief analysis of them áe novo. In the
discussion of the ' ' Book of Basingwerk ' ' , which follows
first, it wiU be well to bear in mind that the Cleopatra
B. V. MS. is a cognate text, with apparently a very simi-
lar version in both the Bruts ; but that there are sufficient
differences between them to establish that they are inde-
pendent of each other, and probably derived from a
common original (or body of materials) now lost.
There is no description of the Llyfr Du Basing, or
" Book of Basingwerk ", in the Report on Manuscripts in
the Welsh Language of the Historical Manuscripts Com-
mission, undertaken by Dr. J. Gwenogvryn Evans. How^-
ever, there are several, and conflicting, accounts given by
various writers, which it is necessary to cite as a means
of elucidating the problems involved.
Humphrey Lloyd made, apparently, the earliest
printed allusion to this manuscript, in his Historie of
Camhría (p. 206 of the first edition, 1684) :
" The successions and actes of the princes of Wales after this
time, [A.D. 1156] untiU the yeare 1270 were kept and recorded
from time to time iu the Abbeis of Conwey in Northwales, and
Stratíìur in Southwales, as witnesseth Gutryn Owen, who being in
the daies of Edward the fourth wrote the best and most perfect
copie of the same ".
This quotation, together with two notes on the last
page of the manuscript,^ have convinced several writers
that the ' ' Book of Basingwerk ' ' was in the autograph of
Gutyn Owain, and should therefore date about, or shortly
after its latest entry, namely, 1461. Humphrey Lloyd,
be it noted, indicates, not that Gutyn Owain compiled a
new chronicle, but that native chronicles were kept at the
two abbeys mentioned, and that Gutyn Owain's copy of
these, somewhere between 1461 and 1483, is a witness to
this fact. Whatever Lloyd's reasons for giving the pre-
1 Cf. p. 308, and the last fly-leaf of the " Book of Basingwerk."
Ms. Cotton Cleopatra B. V. 69
cise date of 1270, it is at least interesting that it should
fall in the midst of the most prosperous part of the reign
of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, the last and most eminent of
the paramount Welsh princes. From patriotic motives,
this would be a good stopping place.
I was informed on July 16th, 19'23, that in the National
Library of Wales, where the " Book of Basingwerk " is
now deposited, it was described as follows :
Llj-fyr Du Basing, the Black Boük of Basingwerk Abbey,
containing '* Dares Phiygius " (pp. 1-40) ; Brut Tysilio (pp. 41-198) ;
Brut y Saeson pp. 199-308).
This MS. was written in the fifteenth century by Guttyn
Owain, historian and herald bard to the abbeys of Basingwerk and
Strata Florida who also continued the " Brut y Saeson " down to
his own time, the last entry of the book being dated 1461. In H.
Lloyd's " Historie of Cambria " (Ist ed. 1584) p. 206, the present
MS. is referred to in the foUowing words : " The successions and
actes of the princes of Wales as witnesseth / Gutryn Owen,
who being in the daies of Edward the Fourth / wTote the best and
most perfect copie of the same." The MS. is rubricated throughout.
My informant added that the manuscript appears to
be throughout in the handwriting of Gutyn Owain and
therefore was written say about 1475. But even granting,
he continued, that all parts of it may not have been
written by Gutyn Owain, it certainly was not written
before the fifteenth century.
The three treatises which compose tlie MS. are cieariy
outlined in the above description, but the indications of
age and handwriting are not so unif orm as is implied . For
one thing, Gutyn Owain did not write the whole Mö. —
his characteristic autograph begins on page 89, a little
before the part of the Chronicle of the Rings describing
Caesar's invasion of Britain, and the break in the MS. at
this point is marked and unmistakable.^ For the sake of
' Cf. the reproduction of pp. 88-89, made from a rotogi'aph, which
places this fact beyond dispute. [See Facsimile pp. 110-111.]
70 The '' Book of Basuigiverk^' and
clearness it wiU be best to examine each of these three
parts independently, postponing a more detailed analysis
of the second, or Chronicìe of the Kings, to the last, as of
the greatest interest for the problem immediately under
discussion. It wiU then be seen how confusing are the
accounts, and why it is that anyone not actually examin-
ing the manuscript might take it for granted that Gutyn
Owain was the writer throughout.
In 1811, Peter Eoberts in his Preface (op. cit., p. xii)
accepted the authorship of Gutyn Owain for the whole of
the manuscript, and he wrote that " It is from this copy
. . . that the translation of Dares is given." The pseudo-
classical Trojan story of Dares Phrygius, however, has
nothing to do with the Chronicle of the Kings, though in
certain manuscript compilations (such as the Red Book)
it precedes it. We might interject here that this is not
the case with the Cleopatra B. V. MS., nor does the Dares
appear at all with the Tysilio texts. Beyond noting that
the handwriting is not that of Gutyn Owain, and also does
not seem to be the same as the forepart of the Chronicle
of the Kings, we may dismiss this íìrst section from our
discussion, as not directly pertinent. The several Welsh
versions differ textually ; and this one, with only some of
the y's dotted, may be dated perhaps towards the end of
the fourteenth century.
It is important to note, howevei?, that Eoberts' state-
ment that the Dares had been taken from the " Book of
Basingwerk", together with his following sentence, led
later writers apparently to a wrong inference. Once
Eoberts' designation of the Tysilio text as from the Red
Book MS. was disproved, it was inferred that the text he
really used for the Chroniclc of thc Kings was froni the
" Book of Basingwerk ", as well as the text of the Darcs.
His next seutence, cursorily read, gives colour to this
Ms. Cotton Cleopatra B. V. 7 î
inference, for, to continue the quotation from Roberts, he
wrote : " In this MS. [i.e., the " Book of Basingwerk "]
the former part of the chronicle is more fuU than any
other copy I have seen, and for this reason it has been
thought better to subjoin the portion at length." This
gave the Tysilio an air of uniqueness, implied by Roberts
and the Myvyrian Editors for this Tysilio version. In
the text, however, Roberts translates fuUy, in smaller
type below the line, that portion which covers exactly
Book I in Geoft'rey's famous Historia — no more. But it
was supposed, apparently without due examination of his
text , that the f uUer part spoken of ref erred to the whole of
the Brut Tysilio section, while the more closely uniform,
briefer part referred to the Briit y Saeson which foUows.
This was further substantiated by the title arbitrarily
given to the Briit y Brenhined in the " Book of Basing-
werk ", namely, Brut Tysilio, which appears in both the
Myvyrian and in Roberts, and, of course, does not occur
in the MS. itself, or in the Red Book.
It cannot, however, be said, since Roberts does not
take the " Book of Basingwerk " as the basis for his text,
but takes the Briit Tysilio of the Mytyrian (i.e. , Jesus MS.
No. XXVIII = LXI), that the " Book of Basingwerk "
was " translated into the English by Peter Roberts " — as
Professor Petrie holds, and in effect, before him, Ab Ithei
in the Rolls Series text of the Brut y Tywysogion (cf.
below, p. 11-2). Only thirteen out of one hundred and fifty-
eight pages of the MS. (not including the Brut y Saeson,
109 pages more), or about eight per cent. of the whole,
are translated — i.e., MS. page 41 to the top of column b
on MS. page 54. The passage that is trauslated difEers
considerably from Geoíì'rey, from the Tysilio version given
above the line, and from the Red Book version, — in fact
from all bu( thc similar version in the Cleopatra B. V.,
72 The '' Book of Basiìtgwerh^'' and
and in the so-called Bmt Gruffudd ah Arthur, where, with
a very different orthography, and many variant phrases,
there is the same general elaboration. " The remainder,"
continues Eoberts (that is, after Book I to the end of the
Chronicle of the liings, but not Brut y Saeson), " agrees
so very closely ' ' with the Tysilio version , ' ' that it seems
only to be another translation from the same original. It
was therefore sufíicient to note the variations." While
we cannot agree entirely with Eoberts in this last state-
ment, the version certainly becomes much less elaborate,
and therefore approaches the briefer and plainer Tysilio
fomi. Eoberts, in this latter section after Book I, does not
cüUate tlie text closely with his own, but introduces only
one not very extended passage, again below the line (MS.
pp. lüla to 103b) , and such difî'ering dates or facts or nanies
as struck his fancy, or appeared to throw some light upon
Welsh antiquities which could not have been derived from
Geofí'rey. Therefore in no sense can Eoberts' English trans-
lation as a whole be said to represent the text of the ' ' Book
of Basingwerk ' ' , except in the íìrst pages ; while Manley
Pope's popularized re-edition of Eoberts (in 186'J) intro-
duced so many alterations and re-arrangements, and sup-
pressed so many passages not to his liking, that it departs
radically from any Welsh original, and is actually mis-
leading. Here again we see a series of incorrect infer-
ences made the basis for positive statements, no one of
which would have resulted from a careful examination of
the manuscripts, or the comparison of printed texts and
translations with them.
Before taldng up this second part, or Chronicle of the
Kings, in greater detail, let us now turn to the third,
entitled Brut y Saeson, or Chronicle of the Saxons. A
survey of the way this Chronicle has been used will throw
further light on the manner which has unfortunately
Ms. Cotton Cleopatra B.V. y^^
characterised hitherto the editing of so many Welsh
manuscripts.
In 1848, Henry Petrie and the Kev. John Sharp edited
to tlie year 1066 the Brut y Tywysogion, or " Chronicle of
the Princes," with a translation, in the ponderous Momi-
menta Historica Britannica. According to Egerton Philli-
more, in a valuable article in Y Gymmrodor for 1890, of
which he was then editor, this work was done " under the
unacknowledged editorship of the celebrated Welsh scholar ,
Aneurin Owen."^ If so, Owen, by his method of edit-
ing, only added to the confusion already existing about
the documents relating to this middle portion of Welsh
history. The Briit y Tywysogion, or " Chronicle of the
Princes ", is, as PhiUimore said, " properly the generic
term for every chronicle of Welsh afîairs in Welsh which
begins with the death of Cadwalader Fendigaid in 681-2
(since when the rulers of Wales have been technically
known as Tywysogion, or 'Princes', instead of Bren-
hinoedd, or ' Eings '), and ends either with or previously
to the death of Llywelyn ab Gruffudd in 1288 " (p. 149),
— the last paramount Welsh prince before English con-
quest. Now Geoffrey of Monmouth, at the close of what
may be a later edition of his Historia Regum Britannice
(in Welsh, Brut y Brenhined) where he has just recounted
the death of Cadwalader, says, literally translated : " But
their kings who from that time [i.e., 681-2 = 689 in text]
succeeded in Wales, I commit [promise?] in the materials
üf writing to Karadoc of Llancarvan, my contemporary.
But the kings of the Saxons [I commit] to William of
Malmesbury and Henry of Huntingdon, whom I com-
mand to be silent concerning the kings of the Britons,
' " The Publication of Welsh Historical Recoids ", p. 140— a valiant,
though none too courteous eífort to stinuihite interest in the contri-
bution whicli unpublished Welsh nianuscripts could niake to history.
74 The " Book of Basingwcrk " and
since they have not that book of britannic language which
Walter, archdeacon of Oxford brought me out of Britain
[or Brittany ?] which, being truly written in honour of the
aforesaid princes concerning their history, I have taken
pains in the present manner to translate into the L/atin
language."^
As many (if not all) of these Welsh Briits begin
exactly where Geoíîrey's history ceases, all documents
called Briit y Tijwijsogion are hastily ascribed to Caradoc
of Llancarvan, because of GeofErey's reference to him.
That Caradoc did WTÌte a Life of Gildas is no longer
seriously disputed, and he may very well have been the
author also of one of the many extant versions of the Brut
y Tywysogiou. As in some of the best manuscripts the
style changes markedly in 1120 (e.g., the Red Book text),
that date may tentatively be fìxed as the limit of his
writing, and all later entries to be additions. Caradoc
himself died apparently before 1147. The work of con-
tinuing this Chronicle to 1'270 is said by Hmnphrey Lloyd
to have been carried on in the two abbeys of Conway and
Strata Florida, and the " Book of Basingwerk " to have
been copied by Gutyn Owain who was attached as bard to
' Tlie text of tlie Berne MS. of GeoflFrey's Historia
reads : Reges autë eorum q' aì> illo tcpe in gualiis
successer^t. karadoco laucaibaiiensi ^■^tepaneo nieo in
materia s'cbendi pinitto. Reges u" saxoiiü. WiJielnio
mahnesbeiiensi.- 7 henrico liunteudoiiensi. ^"8 de
regib; bitonü tacere iubeo. ciini n habent librü istü
bitannici sernioni^ quë Gualtei-"'' oxenefordensis archi-
diacon'^ exb'tannia aduexit. qëm de hỳstoria eorum
ueraci't editü in lionore p dictorum pincipû hoc m" in
latinü sermonem TRANSrEREE CURAUI.
At least five of the Welsh uianuscripts which have
colophons similar to this Venvoi of Geotfrey Iiaye words
close to the following: " The piinces who afterwards
iü succession were over the Kvnirv 1 committed to Cara-
J/s. Cotton Cleopatra B.V. 75
the latter abbey (a close neighbour of Conway) and also
to Strata Florida ; while the text of the Brut y Tywysogion
in the Red Book is supposed to have been compiled at
Strata Florida after its foundation in 1164.^ Gutyn Owain
niay have continued this material in his copy (which is
the ■' Book of Basingwerk ") from 1270 (or thereabouts)
to 1461, — from what precise sources is hard to determine.
But when Aneurin Owen selected the manuscripts
which he used for his text of the Brut y Tyioysogion, he
chose first the Red Book text of that title for his basis,
probably because it was complete ; this he collated with
two unnamed MSS. at Hengwrt ; and last he used also
the " Book of Basingwerk " and Cotton Cleopatra B. Y.
The two Hengwrt MSS. have been identified with Nos.
16 and 51, now called Peniarth MSS. 18 and 20, and are
deposited in the National Library of Wales. The first of
these is dated about 1330 and is in two contemporary
hands. It antedates the Red Book text by about üfty
years, but is very incomplete ; so as the two MSS. repre-
sent ' ' a virtually identical text " , it naturally seemed
doc of Llaucarvan, iny eontemi3orary, aud proviised him
the uiaterials for writiug- such a book from tliis point
ouward " : — cf . iu additiou to the Diugestow Court MS.
cited above, Peuiartli MS. 45=Heugwrt 536, late
thirteeutii ceutury ; Peniartli 22, as also the " Book of
Basiugwerk ", CÌeopatra B. V., and Brut Gruŷ'yd ab
Ärthur. Tlie words ^trmitto or jyrouiitto may be read
fioui the abbreviated pmitto of the Latin mauuscript.
Couipare two aud three lines above — tepe = tempore,
aud^tepaueo=contemjjoraneo. Read either way (aud
experts to wliom the rotograph has been submitted
disagree), the suggestiou tliat (jreoíîrey's '• old book "
or uiaterials weut beyond the death of Cadwalader,
with which he stopped, is interestiug. Farfrom beiug
facetious, he seems to uie to be eutirely serious, to the
poiut of earuestuess.
' Phillunure, loc. cit., jj. lôU.
/6 The '' Book of Basmgwerh''' and
wiser to use the Ueà Book, merely collating verbal diíîer-
ences from the other.
The texts or versions of the remaining three MSS.
used by Owen, however (e.g., Hengwrt 51 = Peniarth 20,
the " Book of Basingwerk," and Cleopatra B.V.), vary so
considerably as to make collation with the above two
actually impossible. Moreover, though the title of Peni-
arth 20 is correctly given as Brut y Tywysogion, the titles
in both the " Book of Basingwerk " and Cleopatra B.V.
(if they may be called titles) are Brenhined \_Briitl^ y
Saeson, or Kings [Chronicle] of the Saxons.^ Therefore,
since the texts of these two Chronicles, under entirely
diíîerent titles, are at such complete variance with the
other texts of the Brut y Tywysogion, Owen himself could
hardly amalgamate the two, no matter what paraphernalia
üf brackets, variant readings and letter foot-notes he used.
In note a on page 841 of the Monumenta, it is stated of
these two manuscripts that " such of their respective
variations as require translation have been separated from
those which are merely verbal " ; but Phillimore put the
case more bluntly and accurately when he wrote that
these MSS. were " collated as to facts " only, " the verbal
^ Tlie first line of col. a, p. 199 of the Book of Basinywerk reads:
'■ ystoria brenhinedd saeson," — "history of the Saxon kings." Then
foUows on the second hne a large initial letter " G wedy darvod yr." —
with the ystoria above the G and crowded to the left side, as if the
whole first hne had been wiitten in later. It may fairly be called a
title. In the Cleopatra B. V.. fol. 109 recto, the first line reads :
"ỳmin . Ỳ dechei'eu brehined )' saesson." — " here begins the kings of
the saxons." Dr. J. G. Evans, in transcril)ing these Avords in his
description of the MS. in the Reports of the Hist. MSS. Com., changes
and restores the spelling, capitalizes the initial ÿ, and does not dot the
ỳ's — " Yman y decAreu brenhined y saesson." In the opening line that
follows, he fails to dot all the ỳ's. which are so dotted in the MS.
Edward Owen in A Cntaloyiie of the Manuscripts Reìatinr/ to Wales in
the British Museum, London, 1900, Part I, No. 96, spells the first word
" ymma ", and does not dot the y's. The Mt/vp-iaìi gives " Ynia ".
jMs. Cotfon Cleopatra B.V. yj
ditîerences betweeii all of theiii [be includes tbe Heng.
51 = Pen. 20] and tbe version used for the text [the lied
Booli\ being so great as to render any collation of verbal
differences — in other words, any real collation at all — out
of the question " (p. 153). And in fact, whole sentences
are omitted from both.
The result in the Monumenta is inconceivable con-
fusion. " The process," wTÌtes PhiUimore, " of forming
one text out of such discordant materials may be compared
to that of making an elaborate knot with threads of various
colours. The trouble of making the knot is vast, but the
trouble of undoing it when once made is so much vaster,
that there is little likelihood of its ever being undone to
any purpose. The only adequate plan in such a case is to
print the various texts in parallel columns " (p. 142).
And above he had already written that when widely
variant texts are amalgamated in this way, " it is abso-
lutely impossible for anyone to take a bird's-eye view, far
less f orm a comparative and critical estimate ' ' of them .
This is unquestionably true of these Bruts in both
Cleopatra B.V. and the " Book of Basingwerk." The
number of facts which appear in these Chronicles, and
which are not found in the above-mentioned Brut y
Tywysogion, number approximately seventy-five items to
1066, which entitles them to a respectful analysis both as
to content and for underlying sources — especially w^here
material for the Welsh history of this period is scanty.
The presence of so many additional facts was, doubtless,
the reason why Ow'Cn attempted to coUate them with the
Red Book and Hengwrt texts, but it is strange that he
never alludes to the wide differences, nor to an equally
signifìcant fact, namely,that a Brut y Saeson text actuaUy
occurs in the Red Book, following the Brut y Tywysogion.
This he did not see íìt to use : and in turn it varies con-
/8 Thc '' Book of Basinotverk''' and
siderably from lliose of a similar title in our two MSS.
Moreover, the manner in which these two texts were col-
lated by Owen, leaves the impression tbat the variants
placed by him within brackets or in the notes, indicates
all the variations that there are, — but this is not the case,
as a simple reading of the actual MSS. proves. Students
using this text, therefore, confidently quote the readings
from these MSS., though a reference to the originals often
reveals variations which Owen saw fit to overlook.
In addition to this, the descriptions given of this por-
tion of these MSS. leaves one with the feeling that they
were of little value, and hardly worth serious investiga-
tion. Note 4 on page 95 of the Preface, referring to the
Brui y Saeson in the Cleopatra B.V. MS. reads : " The
compilation called ' Brut y Saeson,' or Chronicle of the
Saxons, is a corrupted version of tbe Brut y Tywysogion,
amalgamated with the Annales Wyntonienses, in order to
connect and detail contemporaneous occurrences in Eng-
land and Wales. The portion relating to Welch events is
very carelessly constructed, the facts in many instances
perverted, and the language frequently obscure. A copy
of this compilation is in the Cottonian CoUection in the
British Museum, Cleopatra A. XIV." The last MS. cited,
however, does not contain a Brut y Saeson at all, or any
other Brut ; but is entirely devoted to the Laws of Howel
Dda. (It is the MS. W of Owen's Latos and Institutes of
Wales.) As the note is designed to elucidate the Cleo-
patra B. V. text, we are at a loss to discover any manu-
script in the British Museum which could have been
intended — no other version of the Brut y Saeson being
known among the manuscripts there, then as now.
The statement in the note as to the composition of the
Brut y Saeson is repeated in the Preface, page 95, of the
Monumenta : " This copy is called ' Brut y Saeson,' and
Aís. Cotton Clcopatra B. V. 79
coiisists of the usiial Welch text [whatever that is?],
mixecl with a Welch version of considerable portions of
the Winchester Annals of Eichard of Devizes, and of a
few excerpts from other English writers, which it has not
been deemed necessary to notice as various readings."
The same sentence appears a third time in note a on page
841, so the Editors may be said to have firmly believed it.
Turning to these Annaìes Monastcrii de Wintona,
published in the EoUs Series by H. E. Luard from MS.
Cotton Domitian A. XIII, we find that the forepart, —
that is from its opening in a.d. 519 to 1066, — is " an exact
copy " (with two or three " trifling additions ") of an
unpublished chronicle, ascribed by Bale to Eichard of
Devizes, and preserved at Corpus Christi CoUege, Cam-
bridge (No. 339). The earlier part of this Chronicle is said
to be taken from Geoft'rey of Monmouth.^ Luard describes
the Cambridge MS. briefly as follows : " This is a small
quarto, on parchment, of 24 leaves, and, like the Cotton
MS., is bound up with the life of Eichard I. by Eichard
of Devizes. It has been ascribed to Eichard of Devizes
by Bale, though there seems no authority beyond the fact
that both these MSS. give it in the same hand with the
acknowledged work of that author. The chronicle begins
with a description of Britain, the early portion being
chiefly taken from Geofí'rey of Monmouth, and goes down
to the year 1135." This Cambridge manuscript, as said,
has never been published.^
Waiving the question of authorship, we find that a
small portion of the text of the Domitian MS. printed by
Luard, which begins in a.d. 519, and which copies exactly
the earlier Cambridge MS. No. 339, covers the later period
* Cf. Gross, Sources of Enylish History, no. 1696, p. 264, and Luard,
vol ii, of Annales Monastici in the Rolls Series, p. xi. The following
quotation is from the same page.
* The WTÌter has rotogi-aphs covering the earlier portion.
8o The '' Book of Basingiverk'' and
in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia, which ends in a.d.
689. Biit certain facts, even in this printed portion from
these manuscripts, could not have been derived from
Geoffrey. It is customary (since a native written source is
denied Geoffrey) to assume that any chronicle or nearly
contemporary manuscript that mentions King Arthur, or
Lear, or Brutus, eponymous hero of Britain, or any other
king not mentioned by Gildas, Bede or " Nennius," must
ipso facto derive from Geoffrey, and consequently be dated
after him. Because this is certainly true, or a fair infer-
ence, about certain writers, it is not by any means proved
to be true of all (such as e.g., MSS. B. and C. of the
Annales Gambrice). It is highly probable that it is not the
case with this early Cambridge MS., which became in-
corporated into the Annals of Winchester. Even Luard,
who refers to Giles' text of Geoffrey for the Arthurian
passages, is forced to admit, for portions in the historic
gap between Geoffrey (689) and later twelfth century his-
torians, that if Richard of Devizes (d. c. 1202) " w^ere the
author of this chronicle, he had access to other authorities
besides the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle " (p. XII), which is
the only contemporary account of this interim period that
has survived. If we analyze the Arthurian passages, we
find notable additions and contradictory details, brief as
these entries are. The first printed paragraph, corrected
from MS. 339, f. 9^'°, 11. 25-29, reads :
DXIX. Cerditiiis rex westsaxoniim [annis xv].i Toto
tempore quo artiims occupatiis erat in Galliis. saxones fatiebant
sibi munitiones super omnes colles et montes excelsos . quorum
uestigia remanent usque hoclie . Cerditius mortuiis est ante
reditum arturi in britanniam . et sepultus in winton . et post
illum regnauit Ceniicus filius ejus.
The Anglo-Saxon Chroìiicle, in the Parker and Laud
MSS. — in fact, in all the versions, — gives the following
1 Added above the hne, probably later.
Ms. Cotton Clcopatra B.V. 8 1
entry uiider 519 : " This year Cerdic aiid Cynric obtained
the kingdom of the \Vest-Saxons ; and the same year they
fought against the Britons, where it is now named
Cerdicsford. And from that time forth the royal offspring
of the West Saxons reigned." Several genealogies further
on are traced back to this íirst Saxon king, and the initial
year of his reign w^ould be a natural starting point for the
annals of Winchester, a central, and one of the most im-
portant towns of the West-Saxons. The Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle also notices Cerdic's death in 534, after a reign
of 15 years. These dates coincide with those of the
Annales De ]']'intonia and the Cambridge MS. But the
latter give us the additional information that Cerdic was
buried at Winchester, which appears in no other early
chronicle and represents a local tradition, — whether ficti-
tious or not is irrelevant. It also informs us that during
the íìfteen years of his reign, 519 to 534, the Saxons built
fortifications on the tops of all the hiUs and high moun-
tains — another fact not mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle, in Geoffrey, or in any other source. Further,
the writer adds that the ruins or vestiges of these remain
until his day — the remark of an early and interested ob-
server. It is hardly likely that this writer, and this writer
only, should have added such a detail, unless he were
expressing what to him was a simple fact — nor is there
any conceivable motive for inventing it. Again, he makes
the highly important statement that the Saxons were
niaking these fortifications the whole time King Arthur
was invading Gaul. Nothing remotely like this occurs in
Geoörey, and it is in contradiction with the facts as
given by Geoffrey. The latter, to begin with, clearly dates
Arthur's long campaign in Gaul during the nine years
from 533 to the summer of 541 (Bk. IX cap. 11 ; taken
with his wintering in Gaul 541-2, X. 23 ; and the date of
G
82 Tlie '' Book of Basiiigiüerk'^ and
his deatb given as 542), wliile the twelve preceding years,
521 tü 533, he resided at home in peace (IX. 10) — just
the years of Cerdic's reign as given by the Cambridge MS.
The two years before that, 519 to 521, are fiUed (in
Geoffrey's account) with the conquest of the invading
Saxons, Picts, Scots, and Irish.
Finally, the statement that " Cerdic died before the
return of Arthur to Britain," flatly contradicts Geoffrey,
who states that Modred (XI. 1) sent Cheh'icus, the Saxon
leader, to Germany, there to raise all the forces he could
tü withstand Arthur's return from the Continent, — which
he did, returning with eight hundred ships full of soldiers,
and fighting in the subsequent battles against Arthur,
His death in the last battle of Camlan is listed at the
end of the next chapter.^ This statement therefore, that
Cerdic died before the returh of Arthur, could never have
come from Geoffrey, and reveals another source, now lost.
The very next entry in the Cambridge MS. (those
printed between them by Luard are marginal), reads :
DXXX1V. Cenricns fìlius cerditii rex westsaxonnm. [annis
xxv.-"'J-] Anno istius septimo, arturus post strages regum mul-
torum et principum. post infinitas animas missas ad inferos.
post lucii decapitationem, audita temeritate modredi non midtum
doluisset nisi modredrus torum etiam suum ascendere presnmj>
sisset Redncto igitur exercitu in britanniam, commisso prelio cum
modredo nepote sno. Modredns occubnit et artnrus nnlneratiis
portatns in insnlam auallonis, fnturis de se fabulam fecit . Con-
stantinns autem filius cadoris ducis cornubie occisi in galliis,
factus est rex britonum.
This passage is equally interesting for its differences
from Geoffrey. The date of Arthur's death in 542 is ap-
parently known, because the seventh year of Cenricus'
^ The spelling Chelriciis is derired from Un. Col. Cambr. MS. li, i,
]4=No. 1706, fols. 113 vo., 1. '2'2, and 115 vo., 1. 5; and Berne MS..
Codex 568, Nl. 8. fol. 7-2 recto, 1. 20. The printed texts of Giles and
San Marte are manifestly wrong, and depend on Commelin and
Ascansius. MS. 339 has Cerditius changed once to Cheldricum.
J/s. Cottoìi Cleopatra B. V. 83
reigii after 534, is 541-"2, coiinting morc Latino. Tbis
confirms the different dating of Arthur's wars in Gaul,
given in the preceding entry, and shows that both dates
were known to the writer. They could not have been de-
rived from the Annales Cambrio'. Second, Lucius, the
Roman " emperor," is said to have been beheaded. In
Geoífrey, a great point is made that he was killed with a
spear by some unknown hand in the melée. This varia-
tion from Geoíîrey may be literary license on the part of
the writer (if two such bare chronicle entries may be
termed literature), but taken in conjunction with the other
variations, it is significant. Wace (vv. 13,361-72) and
Lazamon (v. 27,843) both emphasise the spear ; Henry
of Huntingdon in his letter to Warinus omits the inci-
dent. Next, the MS. says that Arthur " killed Modred."
Geofîrey does not say this, but merely that, " In this
assault [of a special company of 6,666 men] fell the
wicked traitor himself, and many thousands with him."
Henry of Huntingdon in the letter to Warinus, differs
from Geoffrey in many points, but in none more than in
this ; and he specifically says that Arthur ' " gladio per
aciem viam sibi parans, in medio suorum Modredum galea
arripuit, et coUum loricatum velut stipulam gladio rese-
cavit."^ Benedict of Gloucester, writing about, or shortly
after, the middle of the twelfth century, also makes
Arthur kill Modred — " At iUe robustius in Modredum
irruens extemplo prostravit, atque cum multis suorum in
Cocitum direxit."- When, therefore, we find that at
least one Welsh version equally independent in detail of
Geoffrey, also makes Arthur kill Modred personally, the
^ Vol. iv in Rolls Series Chronicles of Stephen, etc, The Chronic/e of
Robert of Torigni, edited by Richard Howlett, p. 74.
~ Anf/lia Sacra, vol. ii, p. 660— *' Benedictus Claudiocestrensis de
Vita S. Dubricii Archiepiscopi ''.
2
84 The " Book of Basingwc7'k'' and
survival of another account is at least worthy of con-
sideration.^
Finally, the Cambridge MS. Imows, not only that
Arthur was wounded and taken to the isle of Avallon, but
that he made a fable about himself for the future. There
is not a word of this theme of Arthur's second coming,
and the fables either invented by himself or made about
him, in Geoíîrey. The belief in Arthur's second coming
has been proved to have been known before Geofîrey's
time, and is mentioned by Henry of Huntingdon ; the
knowledge of it by the Cambridge MS. writer, in juxta-
position with all the above variants, seems to disprove
entirely the use of Geoffrey for a source. Nor can Henry
of Huntingdon be this source, as there are facts not in
Henry, and Henry's expressions are not used.
This rather long digression is justifìed if it proves, what
^ Jesus MS. xxvin, fol. 84 vo, 11. 1-2, following Jesus lxi, has t Ac ar y
rythyr hwnnw y lladdoedd ev Vedrot a milioedd gydac ef, " and in tliat
onrush he lîiUed Medrod and thousands with him.". The " Book <>f
Basingwerlí", p. 182, col. a, 1. 20, has : Ac yny Ruthr hwnnw y llas
medrod ac aneirif o bobl gyd ac ef, — " And in that attack (oiu'ush) was
killed Medrod and innumerahle of jìeople together \nt\v him." Cleopatra
B. V., fol. 96, 1. 3 — Ac ỳnỳ ruthỳr hwnnw ýìias medrawt a milioed
Ỳgj't ac ef. — " And in that attack icas hilled Medrawd and thousands
together with him." It is instructive to compare these with C4eoffrey,
who does not mention Mordred directly but elaborates with aiì
epithet :
Concidit näq ; nefand' ille p'ditor • 7 multa milia
secü. MS. li, I, 14, fol. 115, last line. The Berne
MS. reads : Concidit namq ; p'ditor ille nefandus. z
multa milia secum : fol. 73, 1, 2. The Red Booh
improves on Geotfrey — e.g. Kanys yny ite y dygwydwys
yr yscymunedickaf vradwr hwnuw gan vedrawt * a
ttawer o vilioed y gyt ac ef. (p. 232).
This wTÌter has him excommunicated as well as traitorous. Are aU
these translations of Geoffrey ? In the Red Book there is a copyist's
error — p. 285, 1. 21-22, gan for gau ("by means of " for " false "), which
occurs also in the Dingestow Court MS.
Ms. Cotton Cleopatra B. V. 85
we think it does prove, not only that the Annals of Win-
chester, and the Cambridge MS. that iinderlies this part
of it (which stops with a.d. 1135), could not have de-
pended on Geoffrey, biit that the earlier MS. possessed
sources of information no longer extant, and of local,
native material, and this as well for the period included
by Geoffrey, as subsequently. For in the later part of
these chronicles (after 689), which embrace the same
period as the Brut y Saeson in the Book of Basingwerli,
we fìnd the same differences, and that exactly the same
principle applies ; and neither Aneurin Owen, nor Sharpe,
nor Ab Ithel, nor anyone else has ever put this portion to
a critical analysis. If the Brut y Saeson be " a corrupted
version of the Brut y Tywysogion, amalgamated with the
Annales Wyntonienses," how is it that facts not in the
Brut y Tywysogion, but which are in the Brut y Saeson,
are not to be found in the Annales Wyntonienscs, or its
prototype? To account for these new facts as in every
case compiled or extracted from a wide range of obscure
monastic chronicles and local histories, in which some of
them are to be found (though differently wwded and often
in a variety of contexts) , is to argue that the original com-
piler, let alone Gutyn Owain, had access to materials
spread all over England and Ireland in the fifteenth cen-
tury , which have been available, concentrated in one place,
and deposited in public institutions, only since the advent
of printing, and the establishment of great CoUections of
Sources. Moreover, there are beyond dispute certain de-
tails nowhere else recorded, but which are strictly confined
tü these two W^elsh versions. Nor can anyone reasonably
explain, if their compilers did draw from English sources,
corrupting ' ' their own Welsh sources in the process of
amalganuition, why it is that they copied to such little
[Mupose, chose the least interesting or valuable details,
86 The '' Boük of Basingiverk'' and
and produced as a net result in these particular Welsb
chronicles, so relatively barren an historic contribution.
It is manifestly far easier to accept the survival, to the
time of these compilers, of a restricted body of local
records and details, — which, just because it was " worked
up " and " modernized " by them in the fourteenth and
fifteenth centuries, became relegated to a position of
secondary importance and thereafter perished, — than it is
to assume that a Welsh bard or abbey chronicler made ' ' a
few excerpts from other English writers," all of a curi-
ously insignifìcant nature. Furthermore, we have com-
pilations of this specific variety entirely distinct in style
and result, represented by such a manuscript as that which
appears to be by Gutyn Owain himself , numbered cxli ni
Jesus CoUege, where the sources are li.sted, e.g., " nid
amgen Oraeius [Oracius = Orosius] . Plinius . Ysidorus .
Solinus . Gildas ap Caw . Beda . Albryt . GicaUder o
ryt yclien [Walter, the archdeacon of Oxford] . Grutî .
Mynnwy [GeofErey of Monmouth] . Gerald archddiagon
llanddaf . Wiliam Malmesburi . Harri archddiagon Hyn-
tynton . Johanis yn y poli craticon . l\andwlf yny poli
cronica Ac ereill mwy," etc^ Gutyn Owain (if the writerj
says that he translated " for the benefit of those who are
poor in books, and hungry for knowledge . . . from a
small Latin book " — and the MS. is a sketchy " History
of the world from Adam to a.d. 1471." That a Latin
history, unless compiled by a Welshman, should have used
Walter of Oxford, together with Geoffrey of Monmouth,
as a source, is a subject worthy of investigation. But such
a compilation is entirely distinct from Peniarth 20, or
' ful. 124''; cf. Evans" citation in H. MSS. Com. ii, pp. 35-6:
ìtalics oui's.
Ms. Cotton Cleopatra B. V. 2>y
the Brut ij Saeson in Cleopatra B.V. and the " Book of
Basingwerk."
This point needs to be dnven home, because it has
beconie ahnost habitual to take one or two very early and
fragmentary manuscripts (which, because of the age of the
manuscripts themselves, assume a special importance) —
such as a " Nennius," a Gildas, or the Annales Camhrite
— as the original fountain head of actual knowledge to all
who come after them. Bede, also, and the various ver-
sions of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle are treated in much
the same way, as if later writers always had just the
correct manuscripts to supply them with the necessary de-
tails. These survivals of primary sources almost without
exception give evidence of using written records that
preceded them, if they do not specifìcally mention " old
books," or " writings of our fathers " ; and it is a niistake
to assume that allusions in later writers which have some
connection with details in these, must inevitably be taken
from them, amplified or condensed to suit the occasion.
No one can maintain that they were not perpetually read
and copied ; but they nevertheless were not themselves
original creations, but rather in their turn users, of older
records ; and there is a fringe of independent and early
material in later chroniclers which is too often passed
over as the invention of the particular writer, and which
has never been put together, or given thorough critical
attention.
Two illustrations will, perhaps, serve to make this
clear, as well as to show how diíììcult it is to read accu-
rately from such mixed together and composite texts, as
that of the Moniimenta (and of the RoUs text of Ab Ithel,
which merely reproduced that of the Monumenta).
88 Tke '' Book of Basi7tg'we7'k'" and
The Fieà Book reads for its seventh sentence : Ac yn
oes hwnnw y bu uarwolyaeth yn Iwerdon — " And then
in his time it came to pass that there was a mortality in
Ireland," — the prince referred to being, because of the
careless construction of the text, Rodri Moelwynog, who
reigned after Ivor, son of Cadwalader. The date of Cad-
walader's death is given in the opening sentence as a.d.
681; Ivor reigned 48 years (37 in Bede and the /1.6'.
Chronicle) , which gives a.d. 729, when Eodri ascended the
throne. Then comes the statement as to the mortality in
Ireland. The dating is manifestly faulty. The whole
paragraph reads : " And after Cadwalader reigned Ivor,
son of Alan king of Armorica, which is called Little
Britain ; and not as king, but as clìief or prince. And he
exercised government over the Britons for forty eight
years, and then it came to pass that he died. And Bodri
Moelwynog reigned after him. And in his time there was
a mortality in Ireland." Compare this with the parallel
passage in the " Book of Basingwerk " and Cleopatra
B.V., literally translated : " Ivor the son of Alan and
Ynyr his nepliew came with their armies with them to
Lloegyr [England] as has been told above [a reference to
Geoffrey], that was 683 years after the birth of God, and
against them came out the Saxons and fought them hard
and manfuUy and íìercely, and in this fìghting very many
were killed on both sides. And in the end Ivor overcame,
and mustered Cornwall and dyfneint [Devonshire] and
the summer land [Somerset]. And then the Saxons sum-
moned their full strength, and went out against Ivor :
then the nobles came between them, and they were paci-
fìed. And then he [Ynyr] took Ethelburga as his wife,
and then he caused a priory of monks to be founded at
Glastonburie, at his own costs, and that under the direc-
tion of Adehnus the monk a saint of that house. And in
Afs. Cottoíi Cleopatra B. V. 89
the second year after the coming of Ivor to this island [i.e.
685] there was a deadly plague [mortality] in Ireland."^
We may search in vain for this paragraph in the Brui
y Tywysogion (at least, in any of the available versions
under discussion), and equally in vain for certain details
in the Annales De Wintonia as printed by Luard, or in
the Cambridge MS. Nor are these details in the Annales
Cambricc, in Bede, in the Anglo-Saxon Ghronicle, in
WiUiam of Malmesbury's Dc Antiguitate Glastoniensis
Eccìesicc, or any primary source we have discovered.
Ethelburüa is mentioned in the Annales De Wintonia,
E'
' Fol. 1(J9 rerso and 110 recto of Cotton Cleop. B.V. Cf. p. 6o2,
Mi/ri/rian Archaiology of Walea (2(1. ed.). The " Book of Basingwerlí "
yaries characteristically, as foUows, p. 200, col. a, lines 10 to 33.
\F a ddoeth Ivor ac ynyr ir
tir a Ihi niawr ganthvnt
Sef oedd hynny gwedi geni krist
tair blynedd a phedwar vgain a
chwech kant Ac ym herbyn
hwyntev y doeth y saeson ac
ymladd ac wynt yn wychr grevl :
onn ac ynyr ymladd hwnnw y
llas Uawer o bob tv ac or diwedd
y gorw ivor a goresgyn kern :
yw a dyfnaint a gwlad yr haf
Ac yna yr aeth y saeson i gyn :
vll gwyr i vyned am benn ivor
Ac y doeth gwyrda ai tangneve :
ddv. Ac yna y kymerth ivor [!]
etheburga yn wraic iddaw ac
ef a beris gwnevthur öreutiu"
menaich yng lasenburi ai- i
gost e hini a hynny drwy lyw :
odraeth aldelm' mynach sant
or ty Ac ynyr ail vlwyddyn
gwedy dy vod ivor yr ynys
honn y bu varvolaeth vawr
yn ewerddon
The way these texts are used in the Momnwnta, is well illustrated by
both the inclusions and omissions from this paragraph. Cf. p. 841,
go The '' Book of Basuigiv€rk'' and
which in the original MS. 339, f . 10^°, 1. 23 ff . , reads : " Ina
rex westsaxonum. Iste construxit cenobium Glastonie, et
per manum sancti aldehni monacos inposuit. Iste cum re-
gina sua ethelburga roman petiit," etc, giving a modiíied
versionof Ini's fanious pilgrimage to Kome, whichappears
in brief in the Parker MS. of the Anglo-Saxon Chronîclc,
under a.d. 688 — but not in the Laud MS. E, where only
Cadwalader is given (as in Geoffrey) ; though in this last
MS. tliere is an entry under a.d. 726 : " This year Ina
went to Kome, and ther€ gave up his life."' Ini's (or
Ina's) trip to Kome {sub an. 725) is given brieíly by liede
{H.E., V, vii) ; more elaborately and with added detail by
Iloger of Wendover under the date 727 (ed. Coxe, Vol. I,
p. 215) ; and in Symeon of Durham {Monumenta H. B.,
p. 674, A.). No one of these accounts contains all tlie
detail appearing in the others. Ivor's figlit with the
Saxons, his " mustering " Cornwall, Devon and Somerset,
and the peace made between him and the Saxons through
the intervention of his nobles, does not occur in the avail-
able sources, and is not mentioned by Professor J. E.
^ Cf. the dates in the yarious MSS., e.;/. 728 and 726. Ini's journey
to Rome nowhere occurs in the lied Book iior does it appear in the
Moniimenta. It is given, however (though oniitted by Owen in both
text and footnotes), under the year dc'CXX in the Brut y Saeson, the
date being niore nearly coriect than in MS. 339, where a later mar-
ginal date is added — dc.lxxxiij., though as Ivor"s death is mentioned,
and the next entry in 721 gives the new king of the West Saxons, it is
possible to infer the latter date. " anno dom. dccxx happened the
muggy (hot) sunnner. and lvor the son of Alan saw that it was vain
to put one's trust in this world. he parted with his wealth. he and
his wife put on shabby wordly garments and went to worship God
at Rome. And God made for them a great acceptance wherever
tliey went through the towns and cities. and they passed throughthe
town or city and no one laid a hand upon them". (fol. llOi'o ; Canon
Jones' transhition). Tliis is not directly derived from any other
acco\nit. Cf. the " Book of Basingwerk ", with verbal difterences,
pp. 2(X)-201 ; col. b, 1. 27 to col. a, 1. 4.
Ms. Cotton Cleopatra B. V. 9 1
Lloyd in his History of Wales as it is not printed in the
Monumenta or Rolls texts. Whether Ivor did or did not
rule over these parts of England, lüherefrom did tìie com-
piler of the Briit y Saeson derive his information ? It
seems hardly critical to assume for all such entries that
they were deliberate invention on the part of a fourteenth
or fifteenth centm-y writer.
Nor does the fact that the mortality in Ireland occurred
in Ivor's second year appear in these other sources (the
Monumenta adopts this datej ; on the contrary, the
Annales GamhricB (MS. Harleian 3859) give an earlier
date, and place it one year after the death of Cadwalader :
"An', Mortiilitas inhibmiia", [444 + cc^l-i = 683].
Neither Ivor nor Ini (Ynyr) is there mentioned.^
This is no place to decide either the historic accuracy
of the contributions made by the Brut y Saeson in the
" Büok üf Basingwerk " (or Cleopatra B.V.) nor all the
possible sources, beyond those given by the Editors of the
Monumenta. But when we find the unqualified statements
1 The Annals of Tigernach, an Irish Monk who died c. 1088, have
three entries in Latin in the text under this head :
[682] Initiu?/i mortahtaitis pueror?^?» in m<?Hse Ochtim-
bri(s).
[683] Kl. Mortaili[ta]s paruolorw?» ....
[684] Kl. UentMs magnws terri motws in Ibernia insola . .
Text of Whitley Stokes, Reoue Celticjue, 1896, vol. 17, p. 208. This
is local corroboration of the strongest sort, each account being in-
dependent in detail, and the Irish naturally fuller. Cf. Rerum
Hi/jernicantm Scriptorcs, ed. O'Connor, vol. ii, pp. 212-3. Under 6^îö,
Florence of Worcester has : ''Magna pestilentiíe procella Britanniam
corripiens, lata Jiece vastavit". M. H. B , p. ö37, A. The Annala òi/
the Four Masters hsive: " A.C. 684: A mortality upim all animals in
general, throughout the whole world, for the space of three years, so
that there escaped not one o\it of the thousand of any kind of animals ".
Adamnan also mentions the same pestilence. Thedifferences between
tliese accounts seem to preclude mere copying one from the olher, l)ut
the records and meiuory of it survived üver a wide area.
92 The '" Book of Basingiverk'' and
made that the " earlier portion " of Brui y Tywysogion
" appears to have been translated from the ' Annales
Cambriae ' " (which in another place are said in all pro-
bability to have been in their tm'n translated from the
Welsh, a supposition which later critical analysis has
amply demonstratedj, and that the Brut y Saeson is a
" corrupted version " of the Brut y Tywysogion " amal-
gamated " with the Annals of Winchester, and when we
íìndonclose scrutiny that factsappear in the Brut y Saeson
which appear in no one of these sources (nor in any other
source in a few casesj, we claim that the Brut y Saeson
has not been adequately analyzed nor properly edited. If
this be true of the Brut y Saeson section of our manu-
scripts, it is even more true of the Brut y Brenhined
section, which has been frequently referred to as both
printed in fuU and translated, but which has so far never
been printed at all, and only in a small portion translated.
One further iUustration less complicated than the
above may serve to prove decisively the need for an ade-
quate editing of these W^elsh texts. We have stated
already that all of the Brut y Saeson in the ' ' Book of
Basingwerk " is in the autograph of Gutyn Owain (c.
1470), and that his version foUows the Brut y Saeson in
MS. Cleopatra B.V., undoubtedly earlier as a manuscript
in this portion, but with constant differences of phraseo-
logy and some variation in facts. To begin with, Offa is
mentioned in the Annales GamhricE, Harleian MS. 3859
(a tenth century fragment), as foUows :
[778=J44 an'. Yastatio britont<7?i clexteralÌM??i apwd
+ cccxxx -r 4 oífa.
successive anni] an". — an'. — an'. — an'. — an'.
[784] an'. cccxl. Vastati brittonu7?i. cu??i ofla
in estate. (" \Ve must either read
Yastatîo or /in'ttones^' : note loc.
cit.).
i
an
[796J
an
[797-6?]
an'
Ms. Cotton Cleopatra B. F. 93
an'. (repeated ten, not nine, times).
CCCL.
PríniMs adventus gentiliuw. ApMá
dextei-ales adhiberniam.
Offa rex mercioru?n. ct morgetiiid. i'ex
demetoru?;t. morte moriuntMr. et
beUu?rt rud glann.^
The Red Book has, dating by decades only :
[770] Seven hundred and seventy was the year of Christ when
the Pasch of tlie Britons was altered by the command of
P]lbot, a man of God. And then it came to pass that
there died Ffernuail the son of Idwal, and Cubert the
abbot. And there was the destruction of the south-
region [i.e. South Wales] men by Offa the king.
[780] Seven hundred and eighty was the year of Chi-ist when
Offa the king laid waste the Britons in Summer time.
[790] Seven hundred and ninety was the year of Christ when
came the Pagans first to Ireland. And then died Offa the
king. And Maredud the king died. And there was a
battle in Rudlan.^
These entries mav be " translated from the Annales
Camhricc ", but if so, the dates have not only been mis-
calciilated, but changed, and the spelling has been sus-
piciously altered. The differences, taken together with
the similarities, suggest rather a source common to the
Annales Camhricü than a mere translation of it. Similar
alterations and additions in other portions strongly tend
to confìrm this impression.
* T/ie " Annales Camhrice " and Old Wehh Gencalnrjieü from
" Harlean MS." .3S59, in Y Cynimrodor, vol. ix, pp. 162-3, ed. by
Egerton Phillimore. The italics represent extended abbreviations.
Phillimore points out in note 5 that the '• cuwi "' of the second entry
"must be a mistake in translating the Old-Welsh caìif {nowffan) which
meant 'by' as well as 'with'." It is bj' means of suchpoints that the
original Welsh basis of these Latin Annales is estal)lished.
^ Te.rt of the Bruts from the üed Book of Heryest, by Rhys and
Evans. p. 2öS. It would be difficult to express sufficient gratitude to
Dr. Evans for the reproduction of some of the important MSS. of his
native land.
94 I^fi^ " Book of fìasingiüerh " aud
üiider 755, tbe Laiid M8. of the An(jlo-Saxon
Chronicle says tliat : " Oíi'a diove out Beornred and ob-
tained tbe kingdom, and beld it tbirty-nine winters " —
tbat is, to 794, imder wbicb date it notes bis deatb.
(Symeon of Durbam copies tbis sentence.) Notbing is said
of bis campaigns against tbe Welsb, and no mention is
made of bis famous dyke.
Under 787 in MS. F. of tbis Chronicle we find tbat
tbere ' ' came tbree sbips of Northmen out of Heretba-
land " [Denmark]. Five years later under 794 it again
speaks of " the ravaging beatben men ". AU tbe dates
differ from tbe Bruts and Annales Carnbricr, and tbe last
entry may parallel tbe fìrst coming of " tbe Pagans to
Ireland apud dexterales." Tbe AngIo-Saxon Cìironicìe
could not bave served as source, tbougb tbe obvious inter-
relation serves to confirm tbe incidents common to botb.
Tbe Annaìes De Wintonia and tbe Cambridge MS.
have no regular entry about Offa at ali, but in tbe margin
of tbe latter is added , under tbe date dcclxiii , ' ' Offa rex
Merciorum," — no more (foi. ll''^*^). No detail, therefore,
in tbe Brut y Saeson could be derived bere.
But the Brut y Saeson in Cleopatra B.V. wbicb we
quote first as probably older, and briefer, tban tbe " Book
of Basingwerk " version, gives interesting additions whicb
are not in any of tbese otber sources, Welsb or Saxon.
Tbe passage, after several preliminary paragrapbs not in
tbe Red Book (omitted in tbe Monmnenta and Eolls
texts), reads as follows, literally translated :
[776] DCCLXXVi, the men of south wales [cynire] ravaged the
island unto Offa king of Mercia.
[784] DCCLXXXiiii, in this summer, the Welsh ravaged the lands
of Offa. And then Offa caused to be made a dyke as a
boundary between him and Wales so that it should be
easier for him to withstand the attack of his enemies.
And this is called Offa's Dyke from then until to-day.
Ms. Cottoii Clcopatra B. V. 95
[790] 0CCLXXXXV, tho pagans oaiue iiitu licland for thc lirst
time and destroyed Rechreyn,
[796] DCLXXXxvi, And then it was died Offa king of Mercia.
and then it was died Maredud the king of Dyiied, and
then happened the fìght of Rudelan.^
Again it is noteworthy that in the Monumenta the
dating of this Cotton IMS. is adopted throughout, and
placed by the Editors in the margin, often correcting the
errors or omissions made by the Red Book and the versions
following it.
The general similarity of these passages is manifest,
but the additions of the Brut y Saeson are striking. The
destruction of Eechryn in Ireland is in none of the other
sources." This is of considerable interest, as there is a
different and fuller record of it in several of the Irish
annals. The particular period is unfortunately wanting
in the MS. of Tigernach, but in the Four Masters there
is the foUowing entry : " The Age of Christ 790 [rectè
795] .... The burning of Eeachrainn by plunderers ;
and its shrines were broken and plundered."^ In a note,
0'Donovan, the editor of these AnnaJs, tells us that :
" This was one of the ancient names of the Island of
Rathlinn, off the north coast of the county of Antrim
[directly across from Wales] ; but it was also the ancient
name of Lambay, near Dublin, which is probably the
place here referred to." The Annals of Ulster as given by
1 Foho 111 verso S. Cf. M_i/v. Arch. of U'ales, 1870, p. 653, middle
col. b; also the " Book of Basingwerk," p. '202, col. a, I. 17 S. Cf.
below, p. 106, for the Welsh text from the " Book of Basingwerk ".
- It is to be found in auother iudependent Welsh Brut, Peniarth
MS. 20, the C of the Monnmenta and Rolls texts, a manuscript of the
foiu'teenth or fifteenth ceuturies, aud ahiiost certainly no earlierthan
the Cleopatra B. V. aa a manuscript. It seems to use mucli the same
material, and to supply a very similar version to that of onr two
manuscripts. Cf. below, pp. 104, ff.
' 0'Douovan. Annuls of the Ringdoin of Ireland hy the Four Masters,
2d ed. vol. i, p. 397,
96 Tlie '' Book of Basìngzüerk" and
O'Coimor, under a.d. 791, luive : Losgad Rachrainnc
gentib 7 scridoscradli 7 dolo'mrad, i.e. — The burning of
Rachrainne by Gentiles, and the ravaging and despoiling
of the shrines."^ The Four Masters, be it remembered,
were compiled from earlier sources between 1632 and
1636, considerably later than our Welsh compilation. An
English translation, made in the seventeenth century,
of the Annaìs of Gìonmacnoise , which contain some
material not in the earlier MSS. of the Four Masters
(A. & B.), reads : " a.d. 794. The burning of Rechrainn
by Gentiles, who spoyled and impovrished the shrines "
(fol. 49). This confirms the translation and interpretation
of the text given by 0'Donovan. In the Annals of Ulster,
however, edited more recently by William M. Hennessy
for the Royal Irish Academy (who had access to all the
MSS., some of which 0'Donovan never saw), the manu-
script abbreviations of certain words in the above sentence
are interpreted as follows : " The burning of Rechra by
Gentiles, and Sci was piUaged and wasted." The Annals
of Ulster unquestionably formed one of the sources used by
ihe Foiir Masters, and represents entries of undoubtedly
great antiquity. For Sci in this text, the Four Masters
read a (SccnnÉ' = shrines, which, notes Hennessy, " seems
an error. The compiler of these Annals [of Ulster] evi-
dently meant to say that Skye was piUaged and wasted.""
The oldest MS. of these Annals of Ulster (M.S. A = No.
H. 1. 8 in Library of Trinity College, Dublin) is " of the
^ O'Connor, Reriim Hibernicanim ÍScriptorcs, vol. iv, Annales
Ultonienscs, p. 117. 0'Dotiovau iu a note to the above citation,
quotes the Irish, probably more acniirately, as foUows: " Losgacl
Rachrainne o Gentib ocus a scrine do coscradh ocus do lomrad".
- Annals of Ulster, otherwise Annals Senat, ed. by Wm. M.
Hennessy, Dublin, 1887, vol. i, p. 275 and note 10.
Ms. Cotton Cleopatra B.V. 97
fifteenth and sixteenth centiiries," again unquestionably
later as a manmcript than our Welsh nianuscript. So
apparently the earliest manuscript record of the burning
of the island of Eathlinn by the Danes occurs in a Welsh
chronicle, our Cotton Cleopatra B.V. The incident seems
to have passed unrecorded in the other chronicles.
Therefore the question at once arises, Could the com-
pilers of the fourteenth or fifteenth century Bnd y Saeson
have taken this little statement of the destruction of
Rechryn from one or another early copy of these Irish
Annals, and almost exclusively this one little statement
from them, changing the mistaken date (790 or 794 to 795)
given in the surviving Irish chronicles, suppressing the
interesting detail about either Skye or the shrines being
plundered, and omitting all the other information with
which these Irish Annals are fiUed? This hardly seems
a reasonable hypothesis ; in fact, the theory seems utterly
untenable and subversive of all canons of sound literary or
historical críticism. There is every inference in favour of
the Welsh compiler having fragmentary but fairly reliable
local records on which he drew, quite independent of
written Irish Annals.
Ofía's dyke is also introduced in this paragraph by the
Brut y Saeson. This detail is too important in its bearing
to be noticed incidentally. It illustrates directly the sub-
ject before us, and wiU require a separate and careful
consideration. To begin with, not only is Offa's dyke
mentioned, but Offa's two expeditions against the Welsh
are ignored, and instead two warlike enterprises of the
Welsh are recorded, one a foray up to (and probably into)
the territory of Oft'a, king of Mercia, and the second a
specific attack against him, Their success was the cause
H
çS The "' Book of Basingiüe7'k'' ajid
of Offa's biiilding the dyke, and is the logical seciuence for
a native Welsh account. Saxon writers, however, note
Offa's counter-attacks, which, as they are described as
successful — " devastating " South Wales — in no way ex-
plain the need for a boundary protection.
The fact that Offa did construct a dyke, remains of
which are stiU conspicuous landmarks, is accepted by
modern scholars.^ A great body of local tradition from
earliest records has attributed the remains to Offa. Asser,
a south Welshman writing for Welshmen, in his De
Rebus Gestis Aelfredi, composed c. a.d. 894, only a'
hundred years later, says that :
'• Fuit in Mercia . . . formidolosus rex nomine
Offa ; qui vallum magnum inter
Britanniam atque Merciam de mari usque
ad raare facere imperavit ".
(M. H. B., p. 471, D.)
This passage Symeon of Durham, in his Historia Regum,
incorporates practically verbatim : ' ' Bex autem Brichtric
Occidentalium Saxonum accepit sibi in conjugium Ead-
burgam, quae erat filia regis Merciorum nomine Offa, qui
vallum magnum inter Britanniam atque Merciam, id est,
de mari usque ad mare facere imperavit."^ In a Life of
St. Oswaìd, said by its editor, Thomas Arnold, to be by
one Eeginald, a monk at Farne, written c. 1165, and
found in one of the manuscripts together with the work
of Symeon, there is a more extended passage which does
not appear to have depended upon the foregoing, but to
reflect more detailed local and native information of
exactly the kind which we find in these Bruts. It is
highly improbable that the author of the Brut could have
' Cf. the article by A. N. Palmer, Y Cyinmrodiir,vo\. xiii,pp. 65-86;
and J. E. Lloyd. A History of Wales, vol. i, pp. 198 ff., with sources.
^ Symeonis Monachi Opera Omnia, ed. by Thomas Arnold as no. 75
of the Rolls Series — vol. ii, p. 66 ; italics ours,
A/s. Cotton Cleopatra B. V. 99
seen this particular life of St. OswaUl, and if he did, he
did not use all the information contained therein. The
passage, descriptive of Maserfield, where a battle had been
fonght, reads as foilows :
'• And this place is disfcant from the dyke of king OtFa, which
divides Englanil and northern Wales, hardly half a mile, and
from Shiewsbiu-y fully .seven miles, and fiom Wenlock Abbey
towards the southern quarter abuut sixteeii niiles. Theaforesaid
dyke king Ofifa completed at a former time, protected by which
fortifìcation, he remained forthwith safe from his enemies the
Welsh. For in his time pei'petual strife existed between himself
and the Welsh, because he could by no means prevail to avoid
their attack or ambushes save by this protection. Therefore,
from sea to sea he surrounded ahnost his wliole territory
towards Wales, and he set this dyke as a boundary of the terri-
tory of each."i
It is highly interesting that this writer departs from
the earlier Saxon version of the ' ' devastations ' ' of Wales
by Offa, and admits that tlie cause for Offa's building a
dyke was not so much to restrain himself (as it were) from
perpetually conquering the Welsh, as to protect himself
from their incessant border forays — " because he could by
no means prevail to avoid their attack or ambushes save
by this protection." This bears out our Welsh chronicler
in every way. Tlie phrase " a mari ergo usque ad mare "
is so natural and inevitable a description of the dyke that
^ Vita S. Oswaldi in Symeonis Monachi Opera Omnia, Rolls Series,
ed. by Thoraas Arnold, 75 — vol. i, cap xiv, p. 353. "Distatque locus
iste a fossa regis OfFse, qua3 Angliani et Waliam borealem dividit,
miliario non ferme dimidio, et Scropesbj-ri miliario integre septimo,
ab abbatia vero Waneloc* ("much Wenlock) versusplagam meridianam
miliario circiter sextodecimo. Fossam priedictam rex quondam OfTa
eíFecerat, cujus munimine vallatus securius ab hostibus suis Walensi-
bus coinmanebat. Nam suo tempore juge certamen inter illum et
Walenses extitit, quod nullatenus eorum impetus vel insidias nisi hac
protectione devitare prîevaluit. A mari ergo usque ad mare písne
totam terrara suam versus Waliam pr{BCÌnxit, et fossam illam utri-
usque terr.'e terminum fore constituit".
H 2
oo Thc '' Book of Rasinowcrh'' aiid
rS
its re-appearance by no means justifies the statement that
Reginald merely copied Symeon or Asser/ His definite-
ness of detail proves local and independent authority in
any event.
Walter Map, another Welshman, in his De Nugis
Curiaìium, writing a chapter, between 1182 and 1193, on
the mythological Wade, ruler of the Haelsings in Wid-
sith,^ brings him into contact with Oíîa, and may reflect
in this unique version of the story some lost Anglo-Saxon
original. Of Offa he says, giving the Saxon view-point :
' ' This king had shut up the Welshmen in a small corner
of Wales, and has surrounded them with a ditch which is
still called from his name (Offa's Dyke), and, crossing or
passing which, they were made to atone and to moan by
the loss of a foot."^ This is certainly not dependent on
the preceding sources.
One more early chronicler describes the dyke in detail.
Ranulf Higden, a monk of St. Werburg's Abbey, Chester,
writing c. 1352, compiled his famous Poìychronicon from
numerous sources, and he gives much careful contempo-
rary geographical information. Among others there is an
extended description of Offa's dyke, which in its turn bears
all the evidence of local observation and information.
"Moreover king Offa, in order to make a pei-petual <livision
between the realms of England and Wales, made a very long
^ As, for example, does Professor J. A. Lloyd in his A History of
ira/es, vol. i, p. 198, note 19.
* Line 22; cf. p. 194 of Professor Chambers' text of Widsith, 1912,
with his discussion, pp. 95-100.
^ p. 102 of the translation, just published by Frederick Tupper,
Ph. D., and Marbury Bladen Ogle, Ph. D., based on the text edited
by Dr. M. R. James, Walter Map, De Nugis Curialiam, 1914 (Anecdota
Oxoniensia, xiv) — II, cap. xvii. [See also Dr. M. R. James's trans-
lation of De Nugis Curialium, No IX, Cymmrodorion Record Series,
p.91.]
Als. Cotton Cleopatì'a B. V. i o i
dyke, which, from the south iiear Bristol, under the Welsh
mouutains, extends itself continuously to the north, and crosses
the rivers Severn and Dee ahnost at their sources, and this
Avithout interruption stretches into the sea at the mouth of the
river Dee beyond Chester, near the castle of FHnt,bet\veen Coles-
hill and the moiiastery of Basing\veik. Remains of this most
famous dyke are extant to this day, to pass over which with arms
in the time of Saint Edward, king of all the Cambrians, was
punishable, which thing was continued by count Harold, as is
told below ; but to-day Welsh with English are intermingled
indiscrimiiiately in that place on the further and nearer sides of
this dyke, especially in the provinces of Chester, Shropshire and
Herefoi'd'.i
The detail, once again, precludes mere copying from
eariier writers, and reflects local knowledge, however ob-
tained. It is customary to point out that Wat's dyke,
running on an average three miles to the east, and about
parallel with Oíîa's, is visible from Coleshill, and that, in
the form of a ditch, it is Wat's dyke, not Offa's, that
passes by, and disappears to-day near, 13asingwerk Abbey.
Higden is therefore accused of having ' ' confounded ' ' the
two dykes, and Palmer, in the article cited in Y Cijm-
mrodor, states that " Gutyn Owen, is his Book of Basiruj-
werk (fifteenth century), committed the same blunder "
(ioc. cit., p. 76).
^ Polychronicon Ranulphi Hiyden, Rolls Series, vol. ii, p. 34, edited
by Churchill Babington. 1865. " Insuper et rex Offa, ad perpetuam
regnorum AngHíe et Walliíe distinctionem habendam, facit fossam
perlongam, cpue ab austro juxta Bristolliam sub montibus W'alliie
jugiter se extendit in boream, fluminaque Sabrinee et Dee in eorum
pene primordiis transcindit, et sic usque ad ostium Üuminis Dee
ultra Cestriam, juxtra castrum de Flynt, inter collem Carbonum et
inonasterium de Basing\verk, in niare se protendit. Hujus foss;e
famosissimoe extant adhuc vestigia, quam cum armis piíBteigredi
tempore Sancti Edwardi regis cunctis Cambrigenis píenale fuit,
procuraiite lioc comite Haraldo, sicut inferius dicitur ; sed hodiehinc
inde ultra citraque fossam illam potissime in proviiiciis Cestriie,
SaIopií\ì, Herfordiiü, Wallici cum Anglis passim sunt pennixti'".
\oì The '' Book of BasingTücrh'' and
These statements are typical of the confusion produced
by a cursory examination of passages in such a combined
text as that in the Monumenta (and in the EoUs series).
First of all, Wat's dyke — which Pahner thinks with
reason is very early, and may also have been built by Oft'a
as it is constructed in exactly the same style, and faces
Wales — is locally confused with Üffa's dyke — or rather (to
quote Pahner) " in the parishes of Hope and Mold, where
they are both well known and recognized as distinct, it
would be more correct to say that each is called hy thc
same name " (p. 75). Edwin (juest in 1858 bears witness
to the same confusion, for while he was " examining a
portion of Wat's Dyke . . . the whole country assured "
him it was " the Clawdd OfEa."^ It seems clear, there-
fore, that Higden, tlie " Book of Basingwerk," and others
who write of the northern portion of " Oíîa's dyke " and
describe for this northern part what is strictly called
" W^at's dyke ", were not " mistaken ", but on the con-
trary accurately reflected the local tradition and local mis-
information. It took a student and antiquary like Pennant
in his Tour in Wales (I, 31 ; cf. 351), to disentangle the
facts and correct the popular error into which he himself
had once fallen ; while the distinction between the two
is also known to the mid-sixteenth century compilation
known as the Gwentian Brut or Book of Aberpergwm,
published in the Myvyrian Archaiology of Wales, which
adds the statement, unsupported elsewhere, that Offa built
a íìrst dyke in 765, and a later dyke farther east in 784.
Because this compilation is so late, and has manifest
forgeries in it, no weight is attached to the statement,
though Palmer has " little doubt as to Wat's Dyke
being the work, if not of Ofîa himself, of one of the
^ Oriyines Celtica', 1883, vü1. ii, p. 276, reprinted from Archceoloyia
Cambrensis, October, 1858.
Ms. Cotton Cleopatra B. V. i o
Ö
early Mercian kings, or of one o£ tbeir warriors "
íp. 74)/
The concliision to draw from a close analysis of these
passages is, therefore, it would seem, that strictly local
records and information were available and were drawn
upon by a series of writers, who could not all have been
copying one from another and who could not all have
visited the spot. When, therefore, the Cleopatra B.V.
MS. refers briefly and in its own phrases to Offa's dyke,
while other manuscript \ersions of Welsh history do not,
we feel that due weight should be given to the statements
of tiiis manuscript, which seems to be the fìrst Welsh Mtí.
to mention the dyke.
What, furthermore, does Professor Lloyd mean wheu
he states that there is '" no allusion to the dyke in . . .
the olàer Bruts " , as already quoted '? No attempt having
been made so far to disentangle the different versions of
the Brnt y Tywysogion, much less to estimate the pro-
bable age when the material of these different versions
was íìrst written down, Professor Lloyd must be referring
merely to the age of manuscripts of these Bruts.'^ His
• Myvyrian Archaioloyy of Wales, 2á. ed., p. 686, under the title
Briit y Tywysogion, sub. an. 765, 784. " After Christ 765, the lands of
the March (Mercia) were devastated by tlieWelsh and theyovercame
the Saxüns and grevionsly phmdered them, aud because of this Ofl'a
the king of the March built the great dyke as a boundary between
the land of Wales and Mercia as it continues for ever "
" After Christ 784, the March was destroyed by the Welsh and
Offa niade a dyke a second time nearer to liimseif, and left a tribe
land between the Wye and the Severn where is the tribe Elystan
Glodrydd ever since they became one of the five royal tribes of
Wales". (Canon Jones' translation.)
■^ In the Preface to the first edition of his invaluable History,
Professor Lloyd writes : '• The reader may notice, however, that
nowhere is there any full and systematic discussion of the chronicles
included in Amiales Cambrice and Brut y Tywysoyion. I had origin-
ally intended to iuclude a critical account of these authorities in the
104 The "' Book of Basingiverk'' and
statement, therefore, resolves itself into this : (1) The
earliest MS. of the Brut y Tywysogion " proper " is ap-
parently Peniarth 18, dated c. 1330. The opening folios
are missing, and therefore no argmnent can be adduced
about this passage one way or the other, beyond the con-
stant verbal agreement of this text with that of the Rcd
Book. (2) The next manuscript would appear to be
Mostyn 116, fourteenth century, "' certainly earlier than
the Ked 13ook of Hergest, and the fact that identical
yariations in the orthography occur over and over again
in certain passages, points to the one being a transcript
of the other."^ (3) The lied Book, from which we have
already quoted, foUows — c. 1380 — and this does not con-
tain any allusion to Olîa's dyke, but in all but dating,
spelling, and arrangement foUows the Annales Gamhrice.
In these three manuscripts, therefore, together with (4)
Peniarth MS. 19, c. 1400 — a direct transcript of the lied
Book, — we have what might seem to be only one version
represented. There are several much later manuscripts
which transcribe the Red Book, and which do not need to
be cited for our purpose.
Now, however, with Peniarth 20 (Hengwrt 51), we
come to another version, so dilîerent in wording, and in-
work, but afterwai'ds canie to the conclusioii that the task was too
ambitious for the present occasion and must be separately undertaken.
Let it suffice here to say that 1 have throughout treated Briií y
Tywysoyion and Brut (or Brenhinedd) y Saeson as two independent
translations of a Latin original partially (but by no means fully)
represented in MSS. B and C of Annales Cambriíe." One can
cordially agree with Professor Lloyd in this last opinion, while
pointing out that all tlie original matenal in the several chronicles
involved could not have derived from one prior source, but probably
from one main written source, and independent but perhaps inter-
related minor local records — whether written in Lntin or Welsh or
both, would be hard to prove. There was reworking as well as
translation.
' Dr. J. G. Evans in Historícal Manuscripts Co)n., i, p. 56.
Ms. CottoiL Cleopaira B. V. 1 05
troducing facts and paragraphs not in the Reà Book group,
that PhiUimore stated that " any real coUation at all "
was " out of the question ". Dr. Evans says of this manu-
script (Historical MSS. Com. 1, pp. 342-3) that : " This
text is apparently based on that of Mostyn MS. 116, but
the wording is changed more or less throughout. It
contains certain paragraphs omitted in the Red Booh of
HergeH with which, however, the wording in more tlian
one instance, agrees more nearly than with Mostyn Mtí.
116. It sometimes diöers from both." Then foUow ex-
amples. This is surprising. Recapitulating in other words
— after emphasizing the striking, even minute similarities
between the Red Book and Mostyn 116, we now discover
that the Red Book and Mostyn 116 disagree, in places,
so much that a third manuscript can foUow íìrst one, then
the other, more or less closely. The verbal agreement of
the Red Book and Mostyn 116 is, therefore, most certainly
placed in doubt in select passages. And in the later
manuscript, Peniarth 20, we must have either an eclectic
selection from these two older manuscripts, with indepen-
dent additions from unknown sources specifically relating
to Welsh affairs, or these older manuscripts in their turn
are compilations from ditfering versions still older, from
all of which Peniarth 20 drew. In terms of versions,
then, what is meant by the " older " Brutsì So much
variation of matter as well as phraseology seems to pre-
clude the theory that these several manuscripts all repre-
sent translations from a single, lost, Latin original.
Coming to Cotton Cleopatra B.Y., which neither
Pahner nor Professor Lloyd quotes, we find still a third
series of variations (speaking of the whole manuscript),
new additions of original material, and both verbal agree-
ments and disagreements with the above.
Peuiarth 20 (MS. C of the Monumenta) does not men-
loó The '' Book of Basingtvcrk'' aìid
tion Oüaa dyke. Both üleopatra B.V. and the " Book of
Basingwerk " do, and there is an additional sentence in
the latter, perhaps added by Gutyn Owain himself, after
the words " and that is called Offa's dyke from that time
to this day " — e.g. : " And it stretches from one sea to the
other, namely, from the soiith near Bristo, towards the
north above Flint, between the monks' house of Dinas
Basing and Mynydd y Glo ".^ This may be a modified
and much abbreviated transcript direct from Higden, but
coming in all probability from the pen of Gutyn Owain
himself, or from some account, written on the spot at
Basingwerk Abbey, which Gutyn Owain copied, it seems
unnecessary to suppose that he introduced this isolated
sentence from Higden into the text without copying fur-
ther from Higden. It is this sentence that is said to be
mistaken, confounding Wat's with Offa's dyke.
1 p. 1^02, lines 33-34 of col. ii. Tlie wliole passage reads as
follows :
Liiies 14 to 34, eiid :
i)CCLXX.iiii y bu var\v Cenn.yd
V>renin j' ffichdieid dcclxxv
y bu varw Caint gwdbert abad
DCCLXXVi y diffeithiüdd gwyr
dehevbarth kyniiy yr j'nys
hyd ar ofla brenin Mers Anno
dm DCCL.xxxiiii yr haf hwnnw
y difl'eithiüdd y lij-mry gyvoeth
ofí'a Ac yna y peris ofi"a wnev :
thur lílawdd yn dervyn ac yn
gederuyd Ryngtho a chymry
val y vai haws iddo wrthnebu i
ruthr i elynion a hwnnw a
elwir klawdd ofl"a yr hynny hyd
heddiw Ac ef y sydd yn estynnv
or mor yr llall nid amgen or
dehav yn emyl brvsto tv ar
gogledd gorvwch y flHint y
Rwng mynacldoc ddinas
basing a mynydd y glo
títẁ
ìúm
ì>àábfWkỳíẄÌtMe$^^ l
nym^hutíârtb
* _ -**. _ ♦•■ •. .■•.'^ «■ *
To fdce />. no.
Facsimile p. 88 of the " Book of Basingwerk".
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íftl^iiieii ^ iî<- ŵcôi WiM
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tií^hé ctíUíŴJ diilí vu l«ŵí;
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ct> î^f 'iiAV ; lii»ttl/W flíŵ^if
flwi^tM/*fllI<lKÎ)^ fóè7«^ '
tẃ^wíi ttzm^i cẁ V x^i
mtt vtt tmih 'iSîj rt^ Öftŵ
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Tofacep. 1 1 1.
Facsimile p. 89 of the " Book of Basingwerk".
iMs. Cotton Cleopatra B.V. 107
In the Monumenta, these two passages on Offa's cam-
paigns and his dylie are run together in a foot-note ; hence
the " Book of Basingvverk " has alone been quoted, and
no reference at all occurs to the briefer version in the
Cleopatra B.V. Mö. Now this manuscript, as we shall see
in due course, probably antedates the " Book of Basing-
werk ' ' , and both depend upon an earlier version , appar-
ently lost. The Red Book dates as a MÖ. c. 1380, and the
Cottonian, representing an eaiiier version, is to be dated
perhaps in the fourteenth century, almost certainly (if
íìfteenth century) but little after 1400. Hence, speaking
üf manuscripts , the " older Bruts " as a phrase is really
without material bearing, and arises from the íìxed idea, so
easily derived from using an accessible printed text, that
the latter is the standard text, and others are ' ' inferior ' ' to
it. When two differing versions are found in manuscripts
transcribed only twenty or thirty years apart, it is hardly
wise to speak categorically of one group as ' ' older ' ' than
the other, without clearly deíìning what this means, and
what proof of antiquity is available. PhiUimore had
already made this distinction (p. 15'2), which has appar-
ently gone unheeded. Furthermore, there is another frag-
mentary Brut y Saesson in Peniarth MS. 22 = Hengwrt
318, translated by one David ap Meredith Glais in 1444,
from a Latin original — which differs from the Red Book
and breaks off in the year 1048. Nothing is known of
this Latin prototype. The heading reads : " Llyma ual
i dechreu ystoria brenhinedd y'saesson a ymchoelawdd y
racddywededic david o Ladin yn gymraec oet crist Mil.
cccc. xliiij° ".^ The extracts from this manuscript given
1 p. 133, liiie l(i; cf. H. MS. Com., ii p. 349. "111 this way
begimieth the history of the kings of the Saxons, turned by the
above mentioned David out of Latin iuto Welsh in the year of
Christ MIL.CCCC.XLIIIJ.
io8 Tìie '' Book of Basingwerh'' and
by JJr. Evans in his Gatalogue indicate stiU another
version, at least the opening agrees with none of the mauu-
scripts we have discussed. Dr. Evans describes two other
brief chronicles, one the middle, the other the " last
quarter " of the fifteenth century, which seem to be alike
and give stiU another version (Peniarth MtíS. 27, p. ii =
Hengwrt 218 ; and 32 = Hengwrt 311 and 8, pp. 27-33 and
251 ff. respectively). Wynne's catalogue calls this last
manuscript fourteenth century, but only the forepart, or
the Laws of Howel Dda, seems to be so early. The Brut
y Saesson of the Red Book itself ditt'ers from the " Book
of Basingwerk " and Cleopatra B.V., and there are verbal
differences between this and the last tw^o Peniarth MStí.
just cited.
The need for a thorough and critical analysis of all the
Welsh chronicles should be clear from these iUustrations,
and this enumeration of manuscripts. The introduction
ot' details, virtually unavailable or inexplicable except as
recorded locally in Wales, thoroughly justiíìes the careful
examination of such manuscripts as the '" Book of Basing-
werk " and Cotton Cleopatra B.V.
üp to this point we have dealt with the latter section,
or Briit y Saesson only, of the " Boük of Basingwerk ",
and the Cleopatra B.V., and have done so at such length
largely because they have been uncritically " collated ",
and their historical value we feel incorrectly estimated.
When it comes to the Brut y Brenhined, as given in the
" Book of Basingwerk " MS., we shall perhaps fìnd our-
selves in a position to establish more rapidly the need for
a thorough examination of the text. One thing has stood
out in the above survey of this later section or Brut y
Saesson, namely, Ihat there were a multiplicity of ver-
sions, — which bears out at least by inference the state-
ment made iu the Preface to Humphrey Lloyd's Historie
Ms. CoUon Cleopatra B.V. 109
o/ Canìhrid, iii 158-1, thal " Tliese coUections were copied
by diiiers, so tliafc there are at this daie of the same in
Wales a hundred copies at the least, whereof the most part
were written two hundred yeares ago." Exactly the same
is true of the earlier section, or Brut y Brenhined, and it
forms one of the strongest arguments against the accepted
belief that all the Welsh versions are " mere translations "
üf Geoíîrey's Historia Reguìn Britannice. Without an
exhaustive examination of aìl the manuscripts it is certain
that no one can be in a position to pronounce íìnal judg-
ment on this guestion.
To return to descriptions of the ' ' Book of Basing-
werk " — now more especially concerned wdth the Brut y
Brenhined section to wdiich Professor Petrie refers —
another note in the Monumenta reads as foUows : " The
' Book of Basingwerk ' is so styled on account of having
been in the Library of Basingwerk Abbey. The early part
of this manuscript contains an imperfect version of the
Chronicle of the Kings, written about the middle of the
fourteenth century, by the celebrated bard and herald
Gutyn Owain. The Kev. Peter Eoberts adopted this
manuscript for the publication of the Chronicle of the
Kings. This Chronicle occurs in libraries much more fre-
quently than the Chronicle of the Princes " (n. 3, p. 95.
cf. Hardy, Descr. Cat., II, p. 142, note, attributing this
to Aneurin Owen).
There are strange confusions in these sentences. We
have already seen that Peter Eoberts used " The Book of
Basingwerk " for the Dares Phrygius only, to which no
allusion is made above, and that the basis of his ' ' Tysilio ' '
translation was the printed version in the Myvyrian
Árchaiology of U'alcs (originally from Jesus College IMSS.
XXVIII = LXI), with a variant of only thirteen pages
translated from " The Book of Basingwerk ", and placed
I lo 7hc '' Book of Basingiverk'' aud
belüw tlic liue. i'eter l\ol)eits, therefore, did not " adopt
this inanuscript for the publication of the Chronicle of the
Kings " — though he read it, and refers to it in his notes.
Furthermore, the " early part of this manuscript " does
not contain an ' ' imperfect version of the Chronicle of the
Kings, written about the middle of the fourteenth century,
by the celebrated bard and herald Gutyn Owain ' ' . Gutyn
Owain lived and wrote (more correctly copied, as in this
manuscript he can have added but little), in the last half
of the íìfteenth century, so he was not alive in the four-
teenth. He appears to have found an incomplete (not
imperfect) version of the Brut y Brenhined, which broke
off witli page 88, the last entry beiiig: Ac ỳn ol Rỳdeon
V ffwle dychaud E,vderch i uab vnteu vn vl\vvdvn ar bvm
thec. Ac ỳ bu uarw. ij C. xxv — " Aiid then after Rydeon,
Eyderch his son reigned sixteen years (one year and
fifteen), and then it was he died. MM.C.XXV."— and
this he completed, beginning on page 89, probably from
another manuscript version. As may be seen from the
reproduction of these tw^o pages, the handwritings are
absolutely distinct : tlie ỳ's nre dotted tlnoughout in the
earlier handwriting, wdiich is never done by Gutyn Owain
in any of his manuscripts, nor by his pupil (cf. B. Mu.
Addl. 14, 967) ; and the construction and stroking of the
individual letters is characteristic in each case. Only a
superficial examination of the manuscript could have con-
fused them. The handwriting of this earlier portion gives
many evidences of being fourteenth century, quite as old
as the Red Book. The note in the Monumenta may have
intended to state that this ' ' early portion ' ' w^as ' ' written
about the middle of the fourteenth century ", and was
completed by, not merely " by ", Gutyn Owain, — which
w'ould seem to be correct.
The last page of this prior portion of the Brnt y
Ms. Colton Cleopatra B. V. i i i
Brcnhined is faded, and mucli iiibbed and stained, giving
the appeaiance of having been the outside sheet at some
period. At the bottom of the last column are three catch-
words — íic wedý rỳd' — with a little abbreviatiün*mark to
indicate the erch omitted — which appear to be in the same
handwriting and ink. Since catchwords are not used on
other pages of this forepart, one is less inclined to suppose
an accidental tearing apart of the manuscript, as to sur-
mise that the original copyist or compiler actually ran
short of vellum, and wrote these words at the bottom of
the page to remind him just where to start on some
future occasion. The w^hole page is devoted to nine brief
paragraphs, eacli beginniiig Ac ýn ol, with large íloriated
initial A's, in alternate colours. The next page, by Gutyn
Owain, begins Ac yn ol Rydderch, which diíîers from the
eatchwords ac gwedý rýd' (ereh), and doubles the d in
Rydderch. He doubles d's and l's throughout, which is
not done in the earlier portion, and also uses a more
modern spelling. There are other indications, too detailed
to enumerate here, that Gutyn Owain completed this early
fragment from a different copy. His portion in its turn
varies from any of the other versions, and runs closest
to that of the Cotton Cleopatra B.V., while not identical
with it.
We have, then, in this second section of the " Book
of Basingwerk " evidence for two versions of the Brut y
Brenhined , one dating as a manuscript în the fourteenth
century, and the other copied by Gntyn Owain from some-
thing earlier, in the third quarter of the íifteenth. Before
analyzing brieíly the contents, we shall give one more de-
scription of it, and then turn to the Cotton Cleopatra B.V.
Aneurin Owen left an unpublished Introduction to the
Brut y Tywysogion, which after his death was published,
together with his text of the Giüentian Chronicle, in the
112 The '' Book of Ba<iingiverk'' and
Archa-ologia Gamhrensis lor 1861. Wheii, in 1860, the
Kev. J. Williaiiis ab Ithel was engaged by the Master of
Rolls to le-edit the Bnit y Tywysogion (which he did by
copying, mistakes and all, the text and notes already
published in the Monumenta), he had access to this Intro-
duction in manuscript, and transcribed most of it withoiit
acknowledgment. Phillimore, discussing this matter in
detail, says (p. 151) in the artiole cited above : " The M.S'.
Introduction had been previously lent by the Eecord Oíìfìce
to Mr. Ab Ithel to aid him in preparing his edition of the
Brut, and this worthy scholar appropriated it nearly in
toto in the published Preface of the Eolls Edition, of
which he professed to be the sole editor, without a word
of acknowledgment, but with many additions (mostly
yalueless), and trivial and meaningless changes, and at
least one deliberate and most disingenuous suppression of
an important fact ". This severe statement is amply
borne out by a comparison, in parallel columns, of Ab
Ithel's Preface with the Introduction itself.
Bearing in mind that the Brut y Tywysogion (also the
Brut y S'aessow) wasprimarily underconsideration,and not
our Brut y Brenhined, the description from the Preface
to the EoUs volume follows : " Manuscript E. . . . was
written by the celebrated bard and herald Guttyn Owain,
and is styled in some catalogues, ' The Book of Basing ',
on account of having been in the library of Basingwerk
Abbey. The prior part of this manuscript contains an
imperfect version of the Chronicle of the Kings, written
about the end of the fourteenth century ; to supply the
deficiency Guttyn Owain added the remainder from a dis-
similar copy. It was this manuscript that the Eev. Peter
Eoberts adopted as the foundation for his publication of
the Chronicle of the Kings, and he considers it to be alto-
gether a transcript by Guttyn Owain. He remarks the
Ms. Cotton Cieopatra, B.V. 113
great change in the style at the part alluded to, but did
not notice the variation in the handwriting and ortho-
graphy, which distinction is sufficiently obvious. Guttyn
Owain then adds the Chronicle of the Saxons, enlarging
the genealogical notices, and carries it down to 1461. This
differs in diction from manuscript D. [Cotton Cleopatra
B.V.], but very little in matter ; both are taken from a
common source, adapted by each writer to the idiom and
literary language of his province ".^
The echoes from the Monumenta are obvious in these
sentences ; but Ab Ithel has straightened out the confusion
as to Gutyn Owain writing in the fourteenth century, and
he has changed ' ' middle " to " end of the fourteenth
century " for the age of the original fragment. However,
he copies the statement about Peter Eoberts having
adopted ' ' this manuscript ' ' as the foundation for his
publication ", — which has been shown to be erroneous,
and he credits Roberts with noting the ' ' great change in
the style at the part alluded to " , which Roberts does not
do at all. Ab Ithel has here confused the portion of
thirteen manuscript pages which Roberts did ' ' sub join at
length " in translation below the line, with the forty-
seven pages in an earlier fourteenth century hand, not by
Gutyn Owain. Roberts, neither in his preface nor in the
notes, calls attention to the change of handwriting on page
89, and he considered the manuscript to be in its entirety
by Gutyn Owain.
It is not to be wondered at that so many writers who
did not examine the manuscripts, but depended upon the
standard printed descriptions, were led astray by such in-
adequate and inaccurate information. W. F. Skene, in
^ Bruf i/ Tywysof/ìon : or, The Chronicle of the Prhices, ed. by tlie
Rev. Johii Williains Ab Ithel, M.A., Rolls Series ; Preface, pp. x]vi
and xlvii.
I
114 '^^^^ '' Book of Basingiverk'' and
his Four Ancient Books of Waìes, states (his paragraph
has so many confusions, is such a mixture of correct and
incorrect statements, that to complete this survey we must
quote it in full) :
'•Now. though the text of the so-called Brut Tyssilio is
distinctly stated both by the editor of the Myvyrian Archaiology
and by Roberts to be taken from the Red Book of Hergest, no
such text is to be found there [correct]. The text of the Brut y
Brenhiiioedd in the Red Book is the same as the second yersion
termed Brut G. cq) Arthur. [We wonder if Skene ever read
both? The very fìrst paragraphs are utterly diíferent. with
additional characters, such as Creusa introduced in the second
sentence of the latter, the colophons are different, the ortho-
graphy differs, etc.] There are two later MSS. in the library of
Jesus College, containing a text siraihir to [identical with] that
of the Brut Tyssilio, and from which it was probablj' taken
Tcorrect]. They are exactly aUke, but the one bears to have
belonged to David Powell of Aberystwith in 1610, and is a MS.
of that period [wrong : Jesus lxi is not later than 1525, and
Hacdy and Coxe both say fourteenth century — if so, certainly
late] and the other to have been written by Hugh Jones, keeper
of the Ashmolean Museum, in 1695, and seems to be a copy of it
[A note on f . 96 vo. by E. Lhwyd gives Jones' name and the date.]
Another copy is said to be preserved in the library at Downing
in North Wales, having this note attached to it: — • Walter,
Archdeacon of Oxfofd, translated this part of the Chronicle from
Latin into Welsh, aud Edward Kyffin copied it for John Trevor
of Trevalin, a.d. 1577'; [see note below'] and a copy is likewise
contained in the Booh of Basingwerk, the property of Thomas T.
1 cf. National Library of Wales MS. 23b. p. 151 : " Walter, Arch-
deacon of Oxford turned this part of the chronicle out of Latin into
Welsh, and Edward Kyffin copied it for John Trevor Trefalyn, Esq.,
wlien the year of Christ was 1577 and David John of Trefyrhyw was
the third writer in the year of our Saviour 1761, June the 9th. And
I John Pritchard of Llanrwst am the fourth writer in the year of our
Saviour 1775, October the 9th day". There is no colophon. The
version is said to run closely with the Tysilio, but it is not always in
exact verbal agreement with it. This is *■ Mr. Egerton Phillimore's
Quarto MS '" referred to on pages xviii and xx of the Te.rtofthe Bruts
from the Red Bnok of Heryest. cf. Catalogue of Manuscripts, vol. i,
p. 72, of the NationaPLibrary^of Wales, Aberystwyth, 1921.
AIs. Cotfon Cleopatra, B.V. 115
Griffith, Esq., Wrexham, whicli appears to be in the handwriting
of Guttyn Owain [only after page 88], and to have been written
Lcopied, not composed] in 1461. This is the oldest kno\vn tran-
script of this version of the Brut. [There are two versions in
this one copy. Neither is identical with the Tysilio, thongh the
latter part is close to it.]^
Quite naturally it has been inferred from reading the
above accounts that : (1) The Book of Basingwerh was the
" best " (i.e., oldest) manuscript ; (2) it was translated by
Peter Roberts in 1811 ; (3) it was printed in Welsh in the
Myvynan Archaiology of Walcs. But unfortunately none
of these things is, strictly speaMng, the case.
SUMMARY.
To sum up the substance of thia section :
1- — Many of the early and even contemporary descrip-
tions of the ' ' Book of Basingwerk ' ' have failed to notice
that the forepart was in an earlier handwriting, not that
of Gutyn Owain, and therefore that the age of the version
represented by the forepart has been miscalculated.
2. — Peter Roberts did not use the " Book of Basing-
werk " as the basis for his translation of the Brut Tysilio.
He used, rather, the printed text in the Myvyrian of that
title. He did, however, add a few pages in translation,
and referred to this manuscript in his notes.
3. — The text of the Brut y Tywysogion, edited by
Aneurin Owen in the Monumenta, is confusing and in-
adequate, especially in regard to the use of our two manu-
scripts. Owen's statement that the Brut y Saesson is a
corrupt version of ' ' the usual Welch text ' ' mixed with
the Winchester Annals was found to be too general in
nature. Facts and items of historic importance appear in
this Bnd for the first time, whether considered in relation
^ op. cit., vol. i, pp. 24-5.
I 2
ii6 The '' Booh of Basingiverk'\ etc.
to other Welsh chronicles, or in relation to any other
known chronicle. Coníìrmation of some of these points
may be found in the Irish Annalists.
4. — Statements about the " older " Bruts are hardly
safe, in view of the present lack of knowledge as to when
the yarious versions were compiled, and also in view of
the slight difference in the ages of respective manuscripts
representing these different versions.
5. — Professor Petrie, in the light of the foregoing,
appears to be eminently justiíìed in his suggestion that
the Welsh chronicles all need careful critical examination,
and that many phases of early British history have been
"neglected ".
CORRIGENDA.
Page ô6, f.n. 1. 10,/or Fordum read Fordun.
Page 69, 1. 11, insert ( =parenthesis hefore pp.
Page 74, f.n. 1. 3, should be sert, the nearest equivalent ; also the
^ abbreviation should be on the line, not above it. =con-
temporan.
Page 75, 1. 10, ditto ^ (on line).
Page 84, first line of Latin, omit comma in p'ditor and close up.
Page 96, 1. 26, /or M.S. read MS.
Page 106, f.n., 1. 6./or Caint read Saint.
Page 1 10, 1. 15, ij — line to indicate M and C lower case.
\Vart iii dealing fiirtlicr icith MS. Cotton Cleopatra,
B.V. iciìl appear in tìic next toliime of " Y Cymmrodor."'\
CÇe ^canbínaman ^ätímtnt ín
By G. PEREDUR JONES, M.A.,
Formerly Lord Hoicard de Walden Felloic in the Unhersity
of Liverpool.
It is no doubt the fewness of known records that has
caused the Scandinavian influence on Welsh history to
retnain so \o\\^ uninvestigated. From Ânnales CamhricB
little can be gained, but a list of piratical attacks and
fights, and Historia Brittonum, which was long- believed
by scholars to have been couipiled in a time of Viking-
activity, does not mention the invaders at all. Ne^erthe-
less there are indications elsewhere, in the Mabinogion for
instance, and in some triads in the Red Book of Hergest,
that the Vikings were more powerful and numerous in
Wales than has hitherto been supposed. It has also to
be remembered that Wales, situated between Ireland and
England, and on the Avav to the Continent, could not
easily have escaped the attentions of the men who founded
dynasties in Dublin, Northumbria and Normandy, even
though in itself it was not as rich as England, Ireland and
France.' It possessed at least two harbours, Porth
^ Wales was known to the Northmen as Bretland (Brittany being
SySra Bretland, see Zo'éga's Dictionary), its people as Bretar and its
language as Brezkr. One third of it, they computed, consisted of
Anglesey ( Orhneyinyers' Saya, trans. Dasent, Rolls Series, vol. iii,
p. 71), an island perhaps important to them on account of its com-
parative richness in corn. It was also raided for timber {a gicedy
torri llarrer o icydd defnydd {Brut T.sub ffwíîo 1100), when that may
have been scarce in the Isle of Man. For some notices of Scandina-
vian traces in Anglesey see Notes on Non-dynastic Anglesey C'lan-
founders (Transactions of the Anglesey Antiquarian Soc. and Field
Club, 1923, pp. 47-8, and 1924, pp. 18-21).
I 1 8 The Scandiiiavian Settlement
Dinllaen in the North and Milford Haven in the South,
offering con«iderable advantag;es to invaders from the
West, and the latter was perhaps the best harbour in
Britain for the purpose of piracy carried on at the expense
of traffic in the St. Georg-e's and English Channels.
Sooner or later settlements on the coasts of Wales would
become inevitable and interferences in Welsh politics
frequent. In the eleventh century, in the cases of Ehys
ap Tewdwr and Gruffydd ap Cynan for example, the
significance of the Viking- power is not difficult to appre-
ciate, but the history of Scandinavian settlements in
Wales and of earlier political interferences still remains
to be explored.
For that purpose the evidence of language is of the
first importance, and archaíolog-ieal evidence also, for
though the discovery of a buried warship is perhaps fated
to remain a dream, the recognition of Viking- forts in
Wales, and of stone crosses, will do much to iUumine the
darkness of pre-Norman Welsh history. No less essential
is the contribution of the genealogist. The value of
records of succession to land for the study of early and
medÌ8eval Welsh history has been demonstrated by A. N.
Pahner, Edward Owen, Seebohm, Vinogradoff, and notably
by the late Owen E.hoscomyl, but, since the scientific study
of genealogical sources is still only in its infancy in Wales,
there is need to say something of the character of the
genealogical evidence whicli it is the main purpose of this
essay to interpret.
No case is known of a pedigree, starting with a Dane
or Norseman located in Wales, which is consistently
Scandinavian in nomenclature for many generations, and
which can be verified at each step. Names of Scandi-
navian origin, however, occur in many pedigrees and
there occur also Welsh names which look suspiciously like
in Ÿsí7^ad Tyiüi. 1 1 9
ti-ciuslations from Scandinaviau :' there are, nioreover,
iudications that both kinds were passed on hereditarily.
All this poiuts to iutermarriage between Scaudinavian
incomers and the native clans, and to absorption of the
Northmen, as Irish, Euglish and Norman incomers also
have been absorbed, in the coniposite Welsh population.
Intermarriage and absorption can be proved, but beyond
that lies another niore difficult problera, namely the racial
constitutiou of the invaders before they came ashore and
settled down. It is highly improbable that the Yilîing-
invaders of Wales were Icelanders, Daues, Norsemen or
Swedes of pure descent. The full tide of Viking activity
took a long- time, possibly centuries, to rise, and ou the
way to Wales the Scandinavians had intermarried in the
Orkneys aud Shetlauds, in Pictland and in Irehmd.-
It is noteworthy that Ari's Landnámahoh shows many
Irish names : we may well expect that when the Vikings
were in force in Wales their ranks contained meu of
mixed blood and with non-Scandinavian names. The
crew of any warship in Welsh waters in the tenth century
was no more like]y to be of one race than the crew of a
pirate ship in the West Indies iu the eig-hteenth century :
there is a possibility that there were Welsh Vikings in the
tenth century aud more than oue Sir Heury Morg-an. It
is not surprising, therefore, to find Viking pedigrees that
run back to a clau-founder, Welsh by name, and long
regarded as Welsh as Llewelyn Fawr or Dewi Sant.
Our material for pursuiug these iuquiries is the large
mass of Welsli genealogical compilations, for the most
' Gaelic translations of Norse names also are kiio\vn : see Colling-
wood, Scawlinaman Britain, p. 169 ; Henderson, Norse Influence on
Celtic Scotland, p. 58.
■ Interinarriage between Norse and Strathclyde British also is
evidenced by the name Galbraith, on which see Heuderson, op. cit.,
p. ÜO.
I 20 The Sca7idinavian Settlement
part in MSS. of the sixteeiith and later centuries.' By
that time there had been plenty of tinie for Arthurian
and other fables to become mixed with the genealogies
and for djnastic faking. There was also in the Tudor
period, and possibly as early as the Glyndwr period, a
making of pedigrees for arrivistes who could pay for
them." Nevertheless, it is the conclusion of every student
who bas studied these sources that after the fabulous and
forged elements are discounted the residuum is hirge and
of astonishing accuracy, being confirmed repeatedly and
unexpectedly from records. With the older and simpler
1 Tlie compilatioiis used for this essay, other than " Heraldic Visita-
tions of Wales and Part of the Marches between the years 1583 and
1613" by Lewys Dwnn (edited for the Welsh MSS. Society by Sir
Samuel Rush Meyrick, and hereinafter referred to as LD i and LD ii
according to the volume) are transcripts niade by Messrs. II. B.
Hughes(l), Alban Morris (2-7), and T. Rees (8) for the late Owen
Rhoscomyl of the following: —
1. — Peniarth MS. 134 entitled Lhjvyr Mav:r Griffith Hiraethoc
and mostly in his hand (1550-62).
2. — Mostyn MS. 134, early seventeeth centurj'.
3.— Cardiff MS. 59 (Tonn 19), circa 1611,mostly by Thos. Jones of
Tregaron.
4.— Cardiff MS. 10, (Ph. 94) mostly in the hand of Dafydd
Benwyn, 1550-1600.
5. — Cardiff MS. Ph. 13719, in the hand of Lewis Dwnn.
6. — Llyryr John Broohe o Yowddwy, written by him in 1590-1,
and compiled f rom various sources, especially G. Hiraethog ;
now in the National Library of Wales.
7.— Cardiff MS. 46 (Ph. 13856) written in 1688.
8. — Harleian MS. 1975, seventeenth centurj^
* This is to be gathered from a cywj'dd bj^ Sion Tudur: " We
bards make of base peasants men of rank ; we draw pedigrees with
too great splendour .... every Tom, Dick, and Harry . . . . if he gain
an oífice, he straight becomes a gentleman Many a fault has
the bard's hand committed, stealing descents by the hundred, and
arms of gentlemen to deck corruption." Lewis Dwnn's experience
seems to have boen otherwise, for he complains of the meanness and
inhospitality ot those whose pedigrees he niade journeys to coUect.
See LD i, 9.
in Ystrad Tywi. i 2 i
forms of genealoo-j there is nothiiig remartable iii this,
for these consist of lists of names. A son of B son of C
son of D,' and a man's direct ancestry for a thousand
years would usually contain no more than thirty names.
The memorising of such lists was the work of a special
class of men whom practice had made perfect, and such
large compihitions as Llyfr Mawr Gr. Hiraethog are
fundamentally no more than a written record of very
ordinary feats of memory of many men. With the
spread of heraldry a desire for illustrious ' matches ' and
quartering-s led to manipulation and misinterpretation of
stems originally accurate and it is wise therefore to base
nothing of importance on pedigrees where collateral lines
of descent or marriages are introduced' with the idea of
glorifying one man's ancestry, unless every mariiage is
verified. Tlie dubious character of many such pedigrees,
however, does not aíîect the other kinds/ which were
1 Such stems are ofteii grouped, thus : —
Tylwyth (Clan) H.
A ap B ap C ap D ap H.
B ap C ap A. ap D as before ap H.
C ap A ap B ap D as before ap H.
- This might be called the Candelabrum model : it is on tlie
folJowing formula : —
A H M P
B J N Q
C 1=0 s
D K R
E = L T
I
F = U
I
G
^ No opinion is liere expressed concerning the maternal pedigree,
in the following form : —
A ap B ap C ap D ap 11.
Mam A : J ferch K.
Mani J ; L feich M.
122 The Scaiidìnavian SettÌe?nent
inuch easier to leiueinber and which; in tribal tinies, it
was practically iuipossible to fabricate. Such sources
will prove of the uttnost iniportance in tracing the extent
of Yilíing settlements in Wales.
The Cynferchin.
The particular stem with which we are liere concernecl
is that of the descendants of Urien ap Cynfarch, the clan
called, in the Mabinogion, the Cynferchin. The pedigree
from Urien backwards is extant in Harleian MS., 3859,
written in the hite eleventh or early twelfth century,
though the pedigrees niay have been originally compiled
in the tenth century, and in Hengv7rt MS, 536, circa 1300,
in the section called Boiiedd Gwyr y Gogledd. From
Urien dowiiwards the pedigree is extant in one form or
another in most Welsh genealogical collections. Our
purpose, setting aside for the time being all other evidence,
is to cliscover the date of Urien ap Cynfarch from evidence
ultimately based on the memory of generations of men
claimins: to be his descendants.
'ö
The Clan of Elidir.
It is noteworthy that the South Wales families who in
the fìfteenth aud sixteenth centuries cl;iimed directdescent
from Ui-ien ap Cynfarch are found closely grouped
together along tlie banks of the river Tywi, from
Abermarlais to Kidwelly, as though they had been a
riparian tribe on an ancient border of Dyt^d. In the
fifteenth century the most considerable of these families
was that of Sir Ehys ap Thomas of Newtown. That is
fortunate, for there is thus no danger that we are dealing
with a pedigree made to oider for a Tudor arriviste ; we
have to do with a clan whose doings were kiiown and
celebrated, and whose origins can to some extent be
in Ystrad Tyiüi. 12''
Ò
checked by records with the coiiipihition of which that
family is not lcuown to have had anything- to do.
Sir Rhys ap Thomas was descended from an Elidir
Ddu', the stem for nine generations being as follows : —
1. — Goronwy
•2.— Rhys
3.— Elidir
4.— Elidir Ddu
5.— Phylip
6. — Nicholas
7.-Gruífydd (ob. 1461)
8. — Thomas
9.— Sir Rhys(14.51-]527)
AUowing three generations to a century and counting'
back from Sir E-hys, Elidir Ddu should have been living-,
though perhaps old, about 1360, and his father, Elidir ap
Rhys, about 1380. Without seeking for the moment to
confirm these dates we may add two generations to the
stem and, from Mostyn MS. 134, folio 74, add lateraìly.
We get the following table : —
]. — Llywarch
1
2.— Einion
Gwgan
Cadwgan
3. — Goronwy
Meurig
4.— Rhys
Gwilym
5.— Elidir
leuan
6.— Elidir Ddu
7.— Phylip
8.— Nicholas
9.— Grnffydd
10.— Thomas
11.— Sir Rhys
^ Eithei- tliis man or his father is the ancestor to whoni a reference
occurs iii a cywydd, attributed to Dafydd Llwyd, to Thomas ap
Grnffydd :—
Ni ellir Elidir Iwyn | Diwreiddio'r deri addwyn
[Tiiei-e can be iiu uprooting of the gentle oalís of Ehdir's groYe].
I 24 The Scandinavian Settlenient
If Elidir ap Ehys was living, as we have calculated,
about 1830, aiid if he was a man of any importance in the
neighbourhood of Dinef wr, there would probably, though
not necessarily, be some notice of him in the Survey of
the hmds held by the Bishop of St. David's in that district
in 1326. No trace of him is to be found in Llandeilo
Fawr but he does oecur among the jurors in the adjacent
Lhmdeilo Patria', being named last.
His contemporary, leuan ap Gwilym (line 5), was a
juror in Llangathen'. Gwilym ap Meurig (line 4) held a
cottage in the same place' and was a juror in Lhmddarog.^
This place was probably the spot from wliich the clan
spread to Llandeilo ; at any rate there were here three
gwelyau only, those of Einion (Eyno), Cadwgan and Gwgan
(Gogaun) ap Llywarch (Lowarth)'', the three who occur on
the second line of the pedigree. Since they gave their
names to gwelyau they lived three, or at most four,
generations before 1326. The record of them is a final
and convincing proof of the stem with which we are
dealing.
One version of the pedigree', confused but giving
details not found elsewhere, states that contemporary with
Elidir ap Rhys was a leuan Goch : —
2. — Einion
3. — Goronwy
4.— Rhys Rhys Ddu
.5. — Elidir leuan Goch''
6.— Elidir Ddu Trahaiarn
1 Black Book of St. David's. [Cymmrodorion Record Sen'es] p.
268.
- Ibid., p. 260. ' Ifjid.. p. 256. * LD. ii., 60.
^ There was a leuan Goch liolding a burgage in LUmdeilo Fawr in
1326. Black Book of St. David"s, p. 266.
in Ystrad Tywi. i 2 5
It is not impossible that Goronwy ap Einion had two
sons of the same name ; like cases are known, ancl the
second Rhys may have been a son by another Avife. Of
his grandson, Trahaiarn, the pedigree goes on to say : —
Ir hwnn Treliaern a biodd ir holl tiroedd yn Ysgennyn. Ar
tir liwnnw a ddigoedd tilwyth Lidir Ddu o blegid lladdiad
Nikolas ap Phê tad Gr'' Nilîolas. (Which Trahaiarn owned all
the lands in Iscennen. And that land was taken by the clan of
Elidir Ddu on acconnt of the slaying of Nicholas ap Philip,
father of Gruffydd ap Nicholas).^
This passa^e, if it be true, indicates that in the early
fifteenth century the clan was divided against itself and
that the branch from which Sir Rhys was descended
profited at the expense of anotlier. The history of the
kindred is not however our concern. All that we need we
have, namely confirmation of the stem from Sir Rhys to
Llywarch. This stem of eleven generations covers about
three centuries and goes back to the ag'e of Rhys leuanc
and Ehys Grryg, to whoui, had the clan of Elidir desired
a famous rather than an accurate ancestry, it would have
been possible and perhaps easy, in the sixteenth century,
to carry the pedigree back. Instead of that the line is
taken to a Llywarch of whom nothing is known but of
whose existence and of whose relation to the kindred
there can be do doubt upon the available evidence.
From this Llywarch backwards the stem leads into a
period where no evidence of surveys is to be had to check
it and where such evidence as we have, names only a few
of the men who were active in those times. The lack of
confirmatory evidence is to be regretted, but a proved
aecuracy for three hundred years is sufficient to justify
some confidence in the only evidence we have — the
remaining portion of this pedigree.
1 LD. ii., 60.
120 The Scandinavian Settlement
The Ueien ap Ci'NPARCH Stem (pi'e- 1230).
The Llywarch at whoin we hare arrived was lÌYÌiigr
about 1230. We have iiow to consider the stem from him
to Urien. Numerous versions of this exist, of which
fourteen are tabulated below. The first six are to be
found in the Heraldic Visitations and the other eight are
froni yarious MSS, the text of which will be given in
Appendix A.
in Ystrad T) zvi.
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128 The Sca7tdinavian Settlement
The tîibulated versions can be classified according to
the nuniber o£ generations they contain, thus : —
I.-
—4 generations.
1.
(E).
II.
— 5 generations.
(B, C, D, H, I, J, K)
III.
—6 generations.
2.
(F. G).
IV
—7 generations.
1.
(L.)
V.
—8 generations.
1.
(M.)
VI.-
-10 generations.
2.
(A,N.)
The total difference between I and VI, namely six
generations, can be explained as the result of a mistalce
frecjuentlj occurring in pedigrees and probably due to
oral transmission. It will be noticed that in the lon£r
stems A,N, Llywarch occurs twice, and in ten of the
remaining twelve stems occurs once. What has happened
is that these ten are derived from copies in which
Llywarch ap CynhaetliAyy' was run back to his naniesake,
and ma,de ap E-iiiiid. Yersions E and F not only dropped
iCynhaethwy, a rare name in Welsh, occnrs elsewhere. One
instance is in Cardiíf Ms. 10, fo. 112, where a list of witnesses to
deeds is given, tliough the scribe does not say where he had seen
the documents nor what their nature was. ' Tyst ar weithred oedd
Jeuan ap hol ap gr ap (read a) leuan ap Madoc ap Rj'nhaethwy a
leuan ap rrys ap William a rrys ap Wiliam ap lorwerth yn amser
edwart y drydydd.' This Cynhaethwy would therefore be living in
the second half of the thirteenth century. Another appears in a
patched pedigree of the Herberts. In LD ii. 13 he is made a
grandson of the first Herbert : in Ms. Ph. 13179 fo. 264 he is made a
son and the narae is spelt Kynliaeth : • Kynliaeth a orfì'wysodd
yngwlad vorganwg ag o honaw i mae llawer o bendefigion yn dyfod
alian.' The same man in another version is called ^j'iierthwy (B.M.
Additl. Ms. 28034 fo. 529): this version is nearer the truth as to
the Herbert ancestry and is partly confirmed by Giamorgan deeds
(Clarli, Cartae, iii., 83: a table sliowing anotlier of tlie same nanie
can be constructed from pp 87, 92, 145, 284) in which however the
name is spelt Kenaithur. Another Cynliaethwy is located near
Llancarfan by a passage in the Vita S. Cadoci (Rees, Cambro-Brit.
SS. p. 66) Knaytho, possibly the pet-name form (cf. Grono,
Goronwy) occurred in Llawhaden in the fourteenth century (Black
Book of St. David's, pp. 158, 162).
/;/ Ystrad Tywi. 129
the iiitervening- bIock ut' nanies but the tenniiii as well.
Yersions F,L and M corroborate two of the missing
generations, namely Rhun and Cjnhaethwy: of a third,
Seisyllt, there is some slig-ht eyidence iii the place nanie
Mainor Y Meyhon Scesyl recorded in an extent of Iscennen^
(20 Edward III.), but we have no means of determining-
how old the name was nor to whom it referred.
It is, however, clear that the shorter versions of this
stem must be regarded as syiicopated, and the date of
Urien ap Cynfarch must be determined according" to the
longer versions. Urien ap Cynfarch lived, then, nine
generations, or about three centuries, before the Llywarch
of 1230, i.e., between 900-950.
This date for Urien ap Cvnfarch does not depend
011 these pedigrees alone. The fifteentli centuiy Jesus
College MS. 20 pedigrees" can be cited to the same effect.
It is there said of Ellelw, mother of Seisyll ap Llewelyn
of Builth :—
That EUelw was the daughter of Elidyr son of Llywarch son
of Bledri son of Mor son of Llywarch son of Gwgon (son of)
Keneu Menrud That Gwgon built Aber GwiH and there
he and Llewelyn son of Seisyll. father of GrufFydd ap Llewelyn,
were slain.''
He was Keneu Menrud son of Pasgen son of Urien reged
son of Cynfarch.
From this statement the followinor table can be drawn : —
1. Cynfarch.
2. Urien Rheged.
o. Pascen.
4. Keneu Menrud.
5. Gwgon (ub. cifca lOi'Ül.
Urien ap Cynfarch, who lived three generations before
Gwgon, should thus have been living circa 920.
* See Seebohm, Tribal Si/stevi, Appendix F.. p. 111.
2 Published in Y Cymmrodor, vol. viii, p. 88, 1887.
^ For Llewelyn's fìght at Aber Gwili see Brut y Tyicysogion s.a. 1020.
130
The Sc(i)idinavian Seltloìicnl
(jrWYR Y GoCtLEdd (Meii of tlie Norlli).
As alreacly said, tlie ancestry ot' Urieii ap Cyiifarcli
is to be found iii the tract Bonedd Grwyr y Gogledd in
Heng'wrt Ms. 586. Tiie genealogies tliere g-iveii fall into
three g'roups : (a) the descendants of Coel (b) the descend-
ants of Dyfnwal Hen and (c) a short stem of three
g'enerations AYÌtli no apparent connection eitlier witli fa)
or (b). There is not in the Hengwrt tract Ms. 536 any
eyidence, and there is no good evideiice elsewhere, of a
family connection between (a) aiid (b).
The íirst grouji, with which alone we are iiere concei-iied,
may be thus set out.
].
2.
Coel.
Cenen.
S.
4.
1 1
Gorwst Ledlwm • 3. Mar.
Mt!Ìrch[ijawn 4. ArthwYS.
5.
i .11
Kynuiirch. Elidir Lydanwyii 5. Rynnelyn
fì. VRYEN. Llywarch Heii. 6. Rynnwyt Kyn-
wydyon
Clydno
Eidin
Cynau
Genhir
Cynuelyu Catrawt
Drwsgyl Caichuynyd
5. Pabo Post Prydain.
o Keydyaw.
6. Dunawt Ce... Sawyl Penuchel. 6. Gwendoleu Nud Cof
I
3. Arthwys.
4. Eiiffer Gosgorduawr.
5. Gwrgi.
Peredur.
in Ystrad Tvzvi. 131
It is usual to date the generations in the table given
above by identifying- the Gwrgi and Peredur of line 5
with two men of the sauie name whose death in 580 is
recorded in Annales Camhria?,' aud by equating the
Dunawd of line 6 either witli Dunawd rex, who, according
to Ann. Camb., died in 595, or with Dinoot, who, accoi'ding
to Bede, was abbot of Bangor Iscoed in 602. TheUrien
of line 6 is identified with Urbgen of Hìstoria Brittonum,
supposed to have been a sixtli centurj leader of the
Britons. Bj these means the table is taken to be that of
a sixth century clan in Cumbria or Strathclyde which
afterwards came south to Wales.
The evidence is of the slightest. For tiie moment we
will stand on the bedrock fact tliat according to the
genealogies hitherto considered Urien ap Cynfarcli lived
in the fìrst half of the tenth century. It folloAvs, if
Bonedd Gwyr y Gogledd is trustworthy, that liis ancestor,
Coel, lived about the mid-eight century. If Coel's kingdom
was to the north of Wales the c^uestion remains as to when
his descendants reached the country occupied later by tlie
clans descended fi-om Urien ap Cynfarch. No precise date
can be given, for such a migration might have gone on
during several generations, but tliat it did not take place
in the sixth century is evident from the names borne
by some of the Men of the North, two at least of which
are probably of Scandinavian origin," namely Mar (O.N.
^ Giiurci et Peretur nioritur. Iu vie\v of the commomiess of both
names in Welsh the absence of the fatlier's name in this entry is a
bar to certain itlentification. Even if the identification were certain,
the possibility of a mispUiced entry and wrong date niu,st be borne
in mind. If this entry is in its wrong place in Ann. Camb. it is by
no means the only one of the kind.
- Urien itself is not certainly Celtic : the Hístoria Brittonuni
form, Urbí/en (Chartres Text, Urbaoen, for Urbageìì) should yiehì
Welsh Irfien, not Urien, and may bo an attempt at etj'mology on
Isidorian lines. O.N. lörffen (later written Yriaji. Yrieìi) niay be
K 2"
132 The Scandinavian Settlement
Már)' and Eliffer iO.N. Eilífr). The wars of the Cynfercliiii
were therefore waged not in the biith century but in the
Viking period ; their migration may have commenced in
the time of Mar ap Ceneu, i.e.. not before the hite eig-hth
or early ninth century.
The Location of Urien ap Cynfarch.
Having now considered the genealogical evidence as to
the date of Urien, we must still consider the evidence of
Welsh medÌ8eval lifcerature as to his location. The sources
of most importance are some poems in the Book of
Taliessin,^ and the Eed Book of Hergest,^ and the tale of
Breuddwyd Rhonabwy.*
The Urien with which these sources deal is called
Urien Rheged ; the Urien of Welsh pedigrees is also called
Urien Eheged. The fìrst thing needful, therefore, is to
suggested thougli no written example earlier than 1326 is cited by
Lind (Norsk-Isländska Dopnamn, 1121). The following are instances
of the name in South Wales: Erdudyil filia TJryen, 1292 (Cal. Public
Records relating to Pemb., 11, 1.3); Ll^'welyn ap Vryen, Llanddewi-
brevi. 1326; David ap Yryen, Llangadog, 1326; Margeria Yryan.
near Brecknock, 1326 (Black Book of St. Dayid's, pp. 200, 276, 306).
1 Mar (which is not known to be Celtic) of Bonedd Gwyr y
Gogledd may be compared with yiar in Vita S. Cadoci (Rees,
Cambro-Brit. SS. p. '^'^. It is perhaps the same as W. Mor : e.g.
Mor ap Pasgen in a later generation of this same kindred. For
Mar may be suggested also O.N. 7narr, 'horse,' more particularly
since Cynfarch, Llyu-arch (O.W. Loumarc) and Meirchion (which
indeed may V)e Latin yiarciânus but may also be a tribe-name : cf.
Cynwydion), all occurring in this kindred, are compounds of W.
mareh, 'horse.' Cf. also Coel's epithet, Godebog {*Vot-epäcos).
2 Ms. of the early fourteenth century. No opinion is here
expressed as to when or by whom the poetry was composed, except
that the Urien poems cannot be earlier than the tenth century.
For text see Skene, Four Ancient Books of Wales Vol. ii.
3 Ms. of the late fourteenth and early fifteenth century. For
text of poems see Skene, ii, pp. 287, 291.
^ For text see Mahinoyion íRhy.s and Evans, Oxford. 1887).
iìi Ystrad Tywi'. 133
decide where Rheged, or at any rate this Rheged, was.
The B. Tal. poems are the ílimsiest kind of evidence; we may
note however, without basing anything upon the observa-
tion, that so far as they go they suggest that Eheged was
not in the district vague]y called the North (Y Gogledd).
The poet says he is seelcing Urien (Vryen a gyrchaf),^ but
he has no intention of going North (Ny chyrcliafi gogled).'-
Moreover Urien is called Yryen yr echioycl and vcl yr echwycl,
i.e., roi du midì, du sud.^
As more definite evidence m-ay be cited, a passage from
a poem attributed to Hywel ap Owen Gwynedd' (ob. 1170,
Brut T.), which reads thus : —
Mor bell o geri gaer lliwelyt
Esgynneis ar velyn o vaelj'enyt
Hyd ynhir reged rwg nos ymy a dyt.
Caer Lliwelydd in the first verse is generally taken as
a place name but Lliwelydd occurs as a female personal
uame in South Wales." This is the more important when
it is considered other names of women occur in the same
poem, Gwenlliant, Gweirfy], Gwiadus, Lleucu, Nest,
Perweur, Generys, Hunydd and Hawis, ail of tliem ]oves
of the bard. If Lliweiydd was one of them, tlien, where-
ever it may have been, lier caer would be far enough from
Ceri to make tlie poet impatient, and there is no need to
suppose, as is usually done, that it was Carlisle.
Anotlier reason against taking Caer LlÌAvelydd to be in
the North of England is tliat the poet's theme is tlie praise
of Wales, its fine country and fair women. He has no
motive for travel]ing outside it ; Cambria irredenta, even
1 Skene II, 195. -' Skene II, 184, 185.
•' Loth JRei'. Celt. xxi. pp. 335 — 7, who quotes Bret. echoaz ' noon,
resting of cattle.'
* Myi: Arclì. p. 198b, 11. 10-12.
' E.çr. Lliwelydd ferch GwiJym (LD I, 95): Lewelit nxor Aythan.
1247 (Ciarlíe, Carke, III, 427-9).
134 ^^^^^ Scandinarian Settlcincnt
had he thought or lcnown of it, does not touch his subject.
When, therefore, he says tliat he mounted a yellow horse
of Maelienydd and rode to Rheged, he uieant that he rode
to somewhere in Wales, and it is to be suspected that the
reason of his riding was a inaiden.
The expression "rhwng nosiini a dydd " is anibiguous,
and may niean either " between dusk and dawn " or
" between dusk and nig-htfall on the following day" or
"between day riding- and niglit riding." In order to
cover the widest possible interpretation let it be assumed
that the chieftain rode for forty-eight hours. Now from
Maelienydd to the neighbourhood of Carlisle, by whatever
route he went, is not much less than two hundred miles
and with plenty of bog, steep gi-adients and forest in the
way, all to be taken, under the conditions we are
assuming, at a minimum rate of a hundred miles a day.
On any horse, particularly on the mediaeval horse,
inferior in strength and speed to the horse of our day,
the feat is impossible.' Even supposing some equine
miracle to have covered tlie first hundred miles in twenty
four hours, it is utterly incredible that the feat could be
repeated. The author of this poem lived in an age and
among men too famiiiar witli the subject to pass nonsense
about horseflesh as poetry, and there is no i-eason to
suppose that he set out to make himself ridiculous.
Rheged therefore was much nearer to hini than Carlisle.
Its location in South Wales appears probable from
the inscribed Carew Cross, erected either by or upon one
Maegitevt Recett,' Maredudd Rlieged. Further, the
location is more definitely established by the existence in
' In the late seyenteenth centuiy a coach journey fiüUi Oxfoid to
London touk two days. From Chester, Exetev or Yoilc to London
took between four and six days.
- We.stwood. 120: Hubner. 9H : Owen"s PoinbroU-esliire íCjim-
mrodorion lO'Curd Scrie^J Pait iii. p. l'84, n.
in ysirad Tyiüi. 135
Llaiideilu, Cannarthenshire, of an old road, whose course
could be traced as late as 1885, called Hewl Rheged.'
To somewhere on this road it was possible for Hywel
ab Owen Gwynedd to ride on his yellow horse : it was
near this road tliat the descendants of Urien ap Cynfarch
lived f or centuries. Urien ap Cynf arch was Urien Rheged
and his reahn was in Ystrad Tywi.
It is fortunate that the situation of Eheged in the
mediaeval poems dealing with Urien can be determined,
for very little information is to be gleaned from those
sources. Their weakness as evidence for the historian is
a double one: in the first place most of the persons and
places named in them cannot be satisfactorily identified-
and, secondly, they contain an element of vaticination.'
Nevertheless there is some indication that the scene of
this lcindred's activity was in South Wales. One poem
describing- a cattle raid specifically mentions South Wales
three times.* Auother places Urien in Powys in the
' Oweus Pembrolíeshire, loc. cit. : lleport Comniission on Anct.
Monunients, Carmartlienshire, p. 85.
'-' For instance it wouhl be an advautage if Argoed Llwyfain
could be looated, but Hme trees and forest edges (the normal meaniug
of Argoed, — for a couplet iu which it means a fort. see Lewis Morris,
Celt. Reui p. 19) wei-e common in Britain. CalchfjMiydd (Skene ii,
182) too might describe uiauy widely distant mountains. Tir
Gwyddno in the same poem might refer to Port Wyddno yu y
Gogledd (Myv. Arch. 389 a), to Caer Wyihluo iu Aber Ystwytli Bay
(Ctílt. Rem. p. 234), to Gored Wydduo at the Conway estuary or to
Blaeu Gwyddno between Narbertli and Carmarthen (Fenton Hist.
Tour. ed. 1903 p. 26). Some of the men named in these poems can be
ideutitied, at least teutatively, with some named in Bonedd Gwj-r y
Gogledd, but others can not, e.g. Uuhwch (Slíeue ii, 287 ; there is
a Caer Unhwch near Dolgellau) Elgiio and Llofau Llaw Ddifro.
Urieu's adversaries, Fflamddwyn aud Ulph, cannot be ideutified, tlie
first being only au epithet aud the secoud a uame frequeutly
occurring and widely distributed.
^E.g Skeue,ii.291-.?.
' I)fheuh(trth, Di/fe<I, L&ufirc'/ (fehcii, Ü\<tíììií ü, ì&J-'-i.
13^ The Scandinarian Settlenient
campaigning season,^ and a third sbows hini operating
against Powys and Aeron/ both accessible from Eheoed
but not easily from Cumbria.
Brain Owen ap Urien (Oweii ap ürien's Eavens).
The evidence, such as it is, of the poems can be sup-
plemented from the references in Breuddwyd Rhonabwy
to Urien's son Owen. That tale, like the Mabinogion
generalJy, is historical evidence only in a special sense,
that is to say as an amalgam of fact and fancy from which
the fact can sometimes be segregated, though never
completely, by its occurrence in independent sources.
There is no doubt that the original story-telleis had
sources, lost to us, which they wove into the tale. Ojie
example from Breuddwj-d Ehonabwy is pertinent to our
enquiry: Rhonabwy, looking along the Severn Valley,
sees a white army approaching: —
'• Iddog " said Rhonabwj '• Whose are yonder white-gleauiing
troops ? "
"They are the men of Norway, and March'^ ap Meirchion is
their leader."
Then he saw troops clad in sable
" Iddog " said Rhonabwy " Whose are yonder sable troups ^
''The men of Denmark, and Edern son of Nudd their
leader."
The distinction here is clearly between the Finn-GaiH
and Dubh Gaill, the fair andthedark foreigners, common
in Irish annals, but not in extant Welsh annals, which
refer to " cenhedloedd " or "gynt" (gentes) and to
"cenhedloedd duon " rgentiles nigri) but not to "cenhed-
loedd gwynion ".
1 Skene ii, 193.
^ Skene ii, 190 : there were several Aerons but the Cardiganshire
one is most probable here.
^ Possibly Mark Haroldson who derastated Penmon in 969
(Ann. Camb.).
in Ystrad Tywi. 137
It is clear from the Mabiiioo-i that Owen ap Urieii
inust be countecl among- the gentiles nio-ri, or Danes. He
was playing chess with Arthur wheii a youth came to tell
him that the Emperor's pages were injuring his raveiîs.
To Owen's request that word should be sent to restrain
the attackers Arthur g-ives no reply but 'Make thy move '.
A second and third niessengerbring news of increasing
disaster to the Eavens, but Arthur's reply to Owen's
protest is always tlie same, ' Make thy move.' Tlien a
messenger to Arthur tells of the Ravens recovering : a
second brings tiding-s of battle turning against the
Emperor's pages, but to Arthur's command to restrain the
Ravens, Owen replies ' Make thy move,' and only when a
third messenger has announced the victory of the Ravens
does Owen agree to peace and to issue orders for his
banner to be lowered.^
This story- of the Owen ap Urien of romance g-ives
the clue to the Owen ap Urien of history. As late as the
sixteenth century in Pembrokeshire the pawns on a chess
board were called •• brain Owen ap Urien,"^ and it is
clearthatin Breuddwyd Rhonabwy, Owen's Ravens were
men at arms. In larlles y Ffynon too, after his
adventures, Owen returns to the three hundred swords
' Pasgeu ap Urien, Owen's V)rother, is called in one pedigree (LD
i, 23) Kijff cenedl yicaed // brain, ' the trunk of the family tree of the
raven kindred." Three ravens appear in the arms of his descendant,
Sir Rhys ap Tliomas, whose allies were called " Salsbriod y brain.'
The ravens of Owen are referred to in poenis to Sir Rhys and liis
f ather :—
(a) Ni ellir EHdir Iwyn / Diwreiddio"r deri addwyn
Bran o'r bedd a ddatcleddir / Fal Owen hen a'i flew'n hir
{))) Taera fu draw twrf y drin / Y Brain ond gwyry brenin ....
Gwahardd dy frain, Owain wyd
Ofnes Arthur fab Urien / Owain a'i frain heb fawr wên.
- For a parallel in the Fridthiof Saga see collectod works of
WiUiam Morris, vü1 x, pp. 51-ü.
3 Fentou, Historical Tour. edit. 1903, p. 289.
I 38 The Scandììiai'ian Settlement
of the Cynferchin and to his troop of Rarens. The reason
why his followers were so called is not far to seek. Asser
tells of the banner woven bv the dauorhters of Raornar
Lodbrolc with a raven on it that beat its wings when the
Danes were destined to victory. This standard was
captured, accordiny to the Saxon Clironicle, in Devon in
878, and Asser says tliat tlie Danes who bore it had
reached Devon from Dyfed. The Raven was thus Imown
in South Wales in the nintli century. Owen aj) Urien
flew it probably because he was descended froni a Viking
and lived and foug-lit like a Viking himself.
Neighbours of the Clan of Elidir.'
In the neig-hbourhood of Llanddeusant and Llanf,nidog,
Carmarthenshire, there lived in the fourteenth century a
numbei- of fauiilies descended from Eidio Wyllt, of whose
Scandinavian orii^in and arrival in Wales there is sonie
evidence.
The date of Eidio Wyllt can be determined approxi-
mately froni the followino^ table' : —
' There is some slight erideiice of possible intennarriage betweeii
Urien's líindred antl another, settled in llie fourteentli century in
Monmouthshire, [for a notice of the familj- see Braclney, Hütori/
i)f Monmouthshirc'. Vol. ii, Pt. ii. p. 2.'j6] in tlie Woolvesnewton
pedigree XD. I, 11-14: cf. íiD, I, 104". In this pedigree, whicli is too
copious and confused and too little coníirmed from other sources to
be accepted in its present form, tlie name Urien, spelt also Arian,
Arien and Arion occurs twelve times and is borne by eight diflerent
nien. Another feature of the table is the number of names com-
pounded of Ulf, e.g. Rondwìff, Edwìff, Bardulff; Eiliclff'. Wlff' by
itself occnrs once and is several times iised as a contraction for one
of its compounds.
- LD I, 9.5, but with the Gwrgeneu of line ö added from other
sources. Some adjustment of the various pedigrees of this group
of families is necessary, but there is no great ditficulty once it is
reali.sed tliat collaterals from one branch of thc clan have in some MSS.
in Ystrad 7ywi. i ,^9
1 . Eidio Wyllt.
2. Bywal [not in Pen. 134 fo. 137 ; LD I. 94 ; Pli. 94 fo. 81 :
Tìjdwal in LD ii. 31 : Buhral in Karley ]97ófo. 137: Bìiia'U'm
PÌi. 13088 fo. 138].
3. Golwgi Ivoch o Liwel [aohf, LD IL 31: Guhjf, i"li.
13088 fo. 132: Goloph, BM. Additl. 28034 fo. 531].
4. Mabren.
ö. Gwrçíeneu.
6. Gruffydd.
7. Cadwgan Hen.
I
8. Trahaiarn. Cadwgan Fychan. Gruffydd.
9. Meredydd Rhy.s. Grnfìydd Howel. Cadwgan Goch.
10. Gruffydd o Esgair
Kaip.
Of tlie soiis of Cadwg-aii Hen (line 8) the pedigree
says : —
Arhain oeddynt brif westva pob un y maenor Llan y
ddau Ssaint yn Sir Gaervyrddin. [And all of these
paid tlie chief jìcestfa (food rent) in the manor of
Llanddeusant, Carmarthenshire.[
An extent of tliat manor, were it to be liad, would
show whether that was so or not. Failing- that, there is
infonnation in the BUick Book of St. David's, Avhere it is
reported that iii Patria de Langadok, inchiding, perhaps,
part of Lhmddeusant and certainly bordering- upon it,
there was a stock descended from Cadwgan ap Gruffydd.-
Amono- the tenants belonginor to this stock in 1826 were the
heirs of Rhys ap Trahaiarn,' who appears on line 9 of the
pedigree <^iven above, and both Hywel ap Cadwg-an" and
Gruffydd ap Cadwgan,- probably sons of Cadwgan Fychan
been set down as aiicestors of another brancli. MS Harley 1975, fo.
64, shows tliis done: the same MS., fo. 127, shows it corrected. So
also does Cardiff MS. Ph. 13088, fo. 138, bnt a later hand has made
additions reducing the wliole again to absurdity.
> P(;,-<.sib]v from O.N. Oláfr. - Blaclc Book- of St. Davi.is. p 282.
140 'The Scandinavian Settlement
(line 9). Gruff^^dd o Escjair Kaip (line 10) can hardly
have been other than Gruŷinus Osheyrheyh^ who, in 1326,
was a juror in Llangadog. Taking- that line of the
pedigree to represent the generation of 1330, we may date
the Jioruit of Eidio Wyllt as circa 1030-60.
There are extant two versions of his ancestry.
According- to one' he was the soii of Gilamwri [Ir. Gilla
Muire] Earl of Desmond : the other^ is as follows : —
1. Aelured breniii Kiriati. Vrien [Ir. Brian].
2. Swtrig brenin Dulun (a) Desrnont — Aber.
I
3. Alured no Aflaed brenin
i Dulyn.
4. Swtriglí ne Wigen brenin
5. Eidio Wyllt.
The name Aelured, Alured stands probably for E.
Aelfred. That however, is an unlikely form in what is
obviously an Irish Viking' stem and it may well have been
a misreading of a Scandinavian name. The alternative
form, AJlaed, and the description ' brenin Duljai ' suggests
that we have to do with the man called Ahloec^ in Brut y
Tywysogion, sub anno 1013, i.e. Olaf, father of the Sitric
who fouglit against Briaii Borumha at Clontarf. Both
names, Sigtryggr and Olafr, were common in this period
and we cannot be confident that the pedigree indicatés
the correct one as father of Eidio Wyllt. It wiU be
enough to note that Eidio Wyllt must be counted, on the
availab]e evidence, as an Irish Viking. His name, it may
be added, is unique in Welsli and was probably of Irish
origin.
1 Black Book of St. Davids, p. 270. 2 Peniarth Ms. 134 fo. 137.
3 LD. I, 224. See also Appendix D.
' With this form, possibly from the gen. of an Irish * Ablóc, may
be compared E. Havelùck and W. Aulach [Aulach Goro7ìO(/ — Havpìock
the Dane = Olaf C'uaran.j
iìi Ysh-ad Tywí. 141
Eidio Wyllt is called Lord of Lliwel, by tlie g'raiit of
Rhys ap Tewdwr, his uncle,' a stateinent that does not
accord with the dates, for Eidio's period was 1030-60 and
Rhys was notin a position to inake a grant before 1077.
Tliere is no difficulty ho\vever if we suppose, as may easily
have happened, that the statements about marriage and
gift of land have been slightly misplaced, that Nest
married Eidio himself and that Lliwel was given to Golof
Goch. It cannot be proved,apart from the pedigree, that
Rhys g-a^e hxnd to either but nothingf is more probable
than that he did so to one or other. There is at any rate
the certainty that for centuries the descendants of these
men lived near the land in question and there is also in
favour of the statement the position of Rhys towards the
end of his reign. He had been driven from his territory
by the sons of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, but g'athered an Irisli
fleet,^ by which means he -was restored, whereupon, says
the Brut, he gave g-reat treasure to the Scots and Gwyddyl
of the fleet, i.e. to Vikings. This was not the first nor
was it the last time during his reign that South Wales
was visited by them^ and it would be strange if it did not
occur to a Welsh prince, fighting against other Welsh-
men, threatened by the Normans and harried by the
Vikings, to use one foe against another, to pit sea pirate
against land shark. His power of paying treasure would
be limited, and the inefficacy of such measures had been
demonstrated : it would be niore satisfactory to pay his
allies, whose hold on Ireland was waning since Clontarf
' LD. I, 2i>4:- Tewdwr
Rhys Nest = Sitric
Eidio Wvllt.
■ Brnt. T. 1087.
3 See Brut. T. sub. ann. 1078, 1089.
142 Thc Scandinaiùau Settlcniciil
witli u g-rant of laiid tliat would keep them settled, g-iye
them little leisure to harass hiiii and niake them more
surely enemies of his enemies.
With dang-er threatening from the East, it would be
to Rhys's advantage to command the doors bv whieh
Ystrad Tywi could be entered and it is therefore probable
that Eidio Wyllt or Golof Goch at Llywel, commanding
the g-ap between Mynydd Myddfai and Mynydd Mawr and
also the ^ap by which a road now runs from Brecon to
Llangadog, was there to be an obstacle to the Normans.
The chm is indeed found somewhat to the West of Llywel
in the fourteenth century, but that may have been due to
the barrier being broken and driven inwards, possibly
when Ehys ap Tewdwr himself went down before the
Normans in Brvcheiniogf in 109L
Several guestions connected with the pedigrees of the
Cynferchin and of the families descendedfrom Eidio Wyllt
have, for the sake of simplicity, been omitted from the
foregoing account.'
Many points that arise will probabl}^ never be settled,
but enough perhaps has been done to show that tliere were
at least two Viking strains among the medÌ8eval Welsh-
men of Ystrad Tywi. Li this Ystrad Tywi is not unique :
Scandinavian elements can be traced in the pedigrees
of many districts in Wales and the discovery of these
elements will do not a little towards lighting the darkness
of'pre-Norman Welsh history.
' Some are discussed iii Appenflix C.
in Ystrad Tvivi. 14;
APPENDIX Á.
ThE ÜRIEN RhEGED PRDIftREES.
A a. Ms. Peuiarth 134 fo. 122.
(The pedio-ree was taken froin " Llyfr Madryn " :
it fülloNYS, but is not apparently connected ^YÌtli, a
pedigree of Salisburj of Llyweni. For Elidir Dew
in this extract read Elidir Ddu).
dd ap hol ap Edn ap Med ap Jen llwyd ap Jen
ap adda vawr ap Elidir dew ap Elidir ap Rys ap
grono ap einon np llowarcli ap rririd ap mor ap
pasgen ap uryen rreged.
A b. Ms. Mostyn 134 fo. 74b.
(The last placementionedpreyious tothis pedigree
is Aberhoddni) Gwraic John ap harry oedh Annes
vz g-r ap Jnn ap g-iUim ap Meiric ap gwgan Ddz y
varrwn ap Llwarch Cenhaethwy hir || ap Eyn ap
Ririd ap Mor ap Pasgen ap Irien Reged.
Mam Annes oedh Yngharad vz gr ap dd ap madoc
ap gwîon II
Manì Yngharad oedli Wenllia vz Rees goz ap
Jenn ap Jenn ap Jeroth goz ap Cydwgan oedh etifedd
y Saith igain haylwyd || gr ap Cydwgan ap llwarch
or blaen ap Canhaethwy hir ac velly y Irien Reged.
A c. Llyfr John Brooke.
(In the niargin : — Deheubarth. Ach S'' Rs ap
Thoms.)
Sr Es ap Thoms ap gr ap nicholas ap phillip'
ap Elidir ddu | ap Elidir ap Es ap gronw ap Eign ap
llowarch ap mor ap Ynyr ap pasgen | ap Ywain ap
Urien Rheged ap Kynvarch | ap meirchion ap grwst
ap Kenau ap Koel godebog.
1 This name is given twice and crossed out once.
144 ^^^ Scandinavian Settlement
A d. Cardiff Ms. Ph. 94 fo. 83.
Catherin do to Wm. John J . . . lloyd of landisy]!
in the Coun of Cardigan | another to Mr Rs Plie ap
Phe ap dd ap Meredyth ap Rs ap glhn ap phe ap
Elider ddu ap Elider ap Rs ap Grono ap enerth ap
llowarch ap Pirydd ap mor ap masken ap urien
reged.
Ae. Ms. Ph.94fo. 119.
(On this folio are three unrelated pedigrees verti-
cally written : the stem here given is on the left hand
side, the two last generations being carried back to
the preceding folio. The stem is here printed
horizontally : Llyminod Angel and Mor, the third
and fourth names, are brothers, not father and son).
Urien rreged — pasgen — llyminod ang'el — mor —
rriddyd — llwarch — rruíi — saisyllt — gwrwared — gwn-
haethwy — llywarch — Einion — grono — rrys — Elidir ai
wraic oedd gwladys ferch ffylib ap y bach ap gwaith-
foed — ffylib ap elidir ddu ap rrys — nikolas ai wraic
oedd sioned ferch g-r ap lln foethus — Gr ap nilcolas
ai wraic oedd siwan ferch siankyn ap ap (sic) rrys
ap dd.
A f. Ms. Ph. 13719 fo. 200-201.
(The pedigree is headed " Sir gaervyrddin : y
Drefnewydd." It is set down vertically in two
columns, the bottom of the first (Llowarch) being
joined to the top of the second (Einion) by a long
stroke. Anne, wife of Ririd, is added in a later
hand. Folio 201, starting with " Tomas Esq.," is
divided into three columns : in the fìrst is the direct
line : in the second the marriages and part of the
pedigree of each wife : in the third the conclusion
of the wife'spedigree. The generations are indicated
in the following extract by strokes.)
m Ystrad Tyivi. 145
TJrien larll Reged=Marged lleffaj aeres (blank)
I pasgen apUrien=(blank) | Mor=(blank) | Ririd=
Anne | Rrun = (blank) | Einion=(blank)Kynhaethwy
hir = (blank) llowarch = (blank) | Einion=(blank)
I Gronwy = (blank) Eys = Marged Ko aeres i
gruff ap kydrych ap gwaithfoed | Sr Elidir marchog^
=gwladus vch flylip y bach ap g-waithfoed | Elidir
dd M[archog] or beth [sanctaidd]=Elsbeth v Seys-
syllt 1 [ord] Kantre selvf | ffylib=gwladus vch dd fras
fledri I Nicolas Esq=Sioned v Gruff ap lln voethus |
Gruff Esq 3 gwraig kynta=Sibli vch mredd ap harri
Dwnn I tomas Esq=Elsbeth vch Sr John ap Gruff
ap Syr rys Ieuank ap Gruff ap Syr Rys hen ap holl
ap Gruff ap Edn [yfed Fychan] | Syr Rys marchog or
gardys=Mabl vch ko aeres henri ap gwilym ap tomas
vychan [ap] tomas ap dd ap Gruff ap Gronwy goch j
Sr Gruff marchog | Katrin vch Sr John Seindssian
marchog Rys ifank Esq = Katrin vch Sr tomas haward
Duwc o northffolk | Gruff rys Esq=Elnor vch Sr
tomas ap ssion ap tomas ap Gruff ap Niklas ap ffylib
I Water Rys Esq 1593 Elsbeth vch Sr howart Mansfelt
marchog ap Syr rrys mansfelt ap Siankyn mansfelt.
A g. Brit. Mus. Harleian Ms. 1975 fo. 106-7.
(The pedigree is in English and drawn out in the
modern way ; it is copious and gives the matches
in great detail. The extract below gives what is
necessary for comparison with A f .)
Urien Reged, one of the Knights of the Round
Table, ap Kynvarch ap Meirchion ap Gorwst ap
Kenaw ap Cole Codeboge, K of Brittayn | Pasgen ap
Urien ] Ivor ap Pasgen j Ynyr ap Ivor | Ririd ap
Inir I Llowarch | Eignion | Grono ap Eignion | Rees
ap Grono | Elidir | Elidir ddy ap Elidr ap Rees ap
1 A line has been drawn through this word.
146 The Scandinayían Settlement
Grono I Phillip ap Elidr ddy=G\vladis da to dd vras
ap Eig-nion oroch ap Eign V"ychan ap Eign goch ap
Riwallo ap Bledry | Nicholas ap Phillipe Ellen da to
Gruff ap Lln Yoethus by the da to Jenn Lloyd ap
Jenn ap Gruff Voel &c Cadivor ap Gwaithfoed |
Griffith ap Nicholas of Newtowne=Sibella da to
Mredd Ddyni [Dunn written above] by Margett da
to Gruff ap Cadogan Yyclian ap Jer ap Cadogan
Yawr I Thonias ap Gruff of Abermorlais & Newtowne
= [1] Elizabeth da to Ffrank 2 son to the Duke of
Burgundy = [2] Eliz da to John ap Gruff ap Sr
[Rees] Ievank ap Gruff Rees hen &c Edn Yychan |
Sr Rees ap Thonias Knight of the garter=Mabell
da & heire to Henrey ap Gllim | Sr Gruffeth Rees,
Knight of the Bathe to KingH. 7 | =Katliaren da to
Sr01iver St Johnof Bletso, Kt | Rees ap Sr Gruff Rees
of Newtowne^^atharen da to Thonias L. Howard,
Duke of ]Srorfolk | Gruffeth Rees of Newtowne=
Elianor, da to Sr Thomas Jonnes, Kt | Sr Walter
Rees of Newtowne Knight = da to Sr Edwd
Maunsell of Morgan [i.e. Margam]Kt. 1 wife | Walter
Rees son and heire.
A h. Brit. Mus. Additl. Ms. 28033 fo. 349.
(The pedigree, like the others in the MS., is
written vertically with marginal links and references
to other pages in this and other MSS. The extract
below gives what is necessary for comparison, down
to Sir Gruffydd ap Rhys, with A f and A g.)
Urien Reged ] Pasgen | Meredith | Ririd | Llow-
arch I Eignion | Gronow | Rees | Elidr = Gwladys
vch Kadwgan ap Jer ap Llowarch ap Brân | Elider
Ddû = vch Seitsyllt ap Lln ap Moreiddig o
Yrecheiniog | Philip=Gwladys vch dd Vras ap Eign
goch ap Eign Vychan ap Eign goeg ap Rhiwallon ap
in Ystrad Tywi. 147
Pledrys Arglwydd Gwinvai | Nicliolas=Ellen fh Grufî
ap Llen Yoethino- ap Llen ddû | Gruffith=Mabli vch
Mdd ap Henri Dwn ap Gr Dwn ap Cadwg-an ap Gr
ap Cadwgan fawr ap Gr a.p Llen ap Gwrgant ap
Gwyn ap Collwyn ap Llowrod Dyfet p lib' Price |
Thomas=Elizabeth vch Gr Jon ap Gruff ap Tho ap
Sr Rees Ivank | Sr Rees Abermorlais | Sr Gruffith
Knight of the Bath.
APPENDIX B.
1. The Sons op Urien Rheged.
Li Hanesyn Hen (Cardiff MS. 25) fo. 16, six sons of
Urien are named, Eweyn, Run, Eiwalaun, Elffyn, Pasken,
Kateel. In some lists (e.g. LD II, 13) Kyndeyrn and
Garthwys are added, but Hanesyn Hen makes Cyndeyrn
Garthwys a son of Owen ap Urien (Cf. Achau Saint, lolo
MSS.,p. 127). He was possibly the saint of Llangyndeyrn,
in Llandyfaelog, in the Deanery of Kidweli.
The account in LD II, 60 differs in stating that Urien
had only four sons, of whom but three are named. " 4
mab a vy i Yrien Eeged : Pasgen ap Iren ag Owain ap
Irien a Deivyr vab Irien. A Deivyr vab Irien aeth a
gwraigOwein ap Irien i vrawd ag efe a laddysai Owain ap
Irien y vrawd onid bai iddaw gymeryd trigaredd arnaw."
The source of this latter statement can scarcely have
been larlles y Ffynnon, though it was probably related.
In effect the gloss leaves Urien with two sons, for Deivyr
is probably Deira and not a man's name. For these two
sons, Pasgen and Owen, there is evidence : for Owen in
the Mabinogion and the Saints' Pedigrees and for Pasgen
in the pedigrees quoted in Appendix A. Eun has been
added probably on the strength of Historia Brittonum
L 2
148 The ScandÌ7iavian Settlenient
and Amiales Cambriae. Elffin, probably not the Elffin of
fable (whose bondage and transformation suggest that
his name is connected with Eng. Elf or with Norse Alf)
has perhaps been added on account of a poem in the Red
Bk. Herg-est (Skene, ii, 271) where he is named after
Owen and Pasgen. Elffin ap Urien may have got his
name from Norse Alfinnr. Cadell is sometimes (e.g-., MS.
Hengwrt 287, fo. 281) equated with Cadell Deyrnllwg.
Both in that MS. and in CardifiP MS. Ph. 13856, fo. 56,
which does not confuse him with Cadell De^'rnllwg, he is
said to be the father of Gorfyw Frych, a mythical, or at
least a hitherto unsubstantiated, ancestor of lestyn ap
Gwrgan.
2. Glosses on TJrien.
The following are representative glosses on Urien
Rheged. "K. of Reged in Scotland and K, of Gwyr in
So Wales and Lo of Iskennen Karnwllon and Kidweli in
K. Arthoirs tyme " (Tonn 19 fo. 190). " K. of Cumbria
or Eeg-ed in Scotland . . . he bilt the castle of Krig
Kynen" (Harley 6870) "Kingof Reged in Scotland and
King of Gwyr in South Walles and lord of Yskenen
Corwal and Kydwely and also Knight of ye round table
in Arthur's time : hee mared Marget Lefaien ds and heire
to Curloyes duke of Corwall " (LD ii, 57). With Marget
Lefaien of this account cf. Marged lleffay of MS. Ph,
13719, fo. 200. The original author of the gloss probably
mistoolc Cornwall for Carnwyllon, and, to explain Urien's
connection with the former, remembering that in Arthur's
time Gorlois was Duke of Cornwall (Hist. Eegum VIII,
20) married Urien to his daughter. Her name is
reminiscent of Argoed Llwyfain.
in Ystrad Tywi. 149
APPENDIX C.
The Urien op Legend.
1. ÜRBGEN OF " HlSTORTA BrITTONUM ".
The passage generally regardeu as aii earlj aud
sufîicient aathority on the question ot' an historical Urien
occurs iu Historia Brittonum [Mommsen's edition in
Monumenta Germaniae Historica, p. 206] thus : —
Hussa regnavit aniiis septem : contra illum quattuor reges,
Urbgen et Riderehhen et Guallanc [leg. Guallauc] et Morcant
dimicaverunt. Deodric contra ilhim cum ürbgen ölüs dimicabat
fortiter. in illo autem tempore aliquando hostes, nunc cives
YÌncebantur et ipse conclusit eos tribus diebus et noctibus in
insula Metcaud et dum erat in expeditione. iugulatus est
Morcanto destinante pro invidia, quia in ipso prae omnibus
regibus yirtus maxima erat instauratione belh.
■^s
This must appear conclusive to scholars Avho accept
the Ziminer theory^ thatHistoriaBrittonum was originally
corapiled by a Northern Briton about 679 {Nennius
Vindicatus, pp. 81 and 86) but the view has since been
conclusively discredited {De Oudste Reltische en Angel-
saîcsiscìie Geschiedbronnen Middelburg, 1911, pp. 39, 162)
by Van Hamel. The passage quoted is an interpolation
into the " Saxon Genealogies ". These are not contained
in the earliest known text of Historia Brittonum, the
tenth century Chartres MS. (published by Duchesne, Rev.
Celt. xv) : that in which they do occur, Harleian MS. 8859,
belongs to the late eleventh or early twelfth century and
is not independent, but a recast of that found in Chartres
(Newell, Doubts Goncerning Nennius, Publications Modern
Language Assoc. America, Sept. 1905, p. 671). The
Chartres text is indeed entitled '' Exberta Fiiurbaoen," i.e.
" Excerpta Filii Urbagen" (Thurneysen, Z. f. deutsche
Philol. xxviii) : it may thus be taken as proving the
existence of an Urien, but it does not prove that he did
1 50 The Scandinayian Settlement
not belono' to the tentli century. It is a conjecture, but
not impossible, that the filius Urbagen in question was
Rhun ap ürien, whom the Harley 3859 text of Historia
Brittonum and Annales Cambriae, contrary to the
authoritatiye statement of Bede [Hist. Eccles. II, xiv),
cause to baptize Edwin of Northumbria, but who may
well have been a tenth century cleric. The passage
quoted above, then, rests on the authority of Harley 3859,
a f rail basis, and in any case no good evidence concerning
sixth and seventh century events.
The Morgan in the passage cited, cannot be identified:
a 'Morgant uawr uab Sadyrnin' is nanied in a Eed Book of
Hergest poem (Skene ii, 219) as Urien's predecessor and
another is named in an eulogy of Urien (Skene ii, 271)
but no certainty is possible with regard to either.
Nor can the Rhydderch Hen above cited be identified,
though he is usually equated with the following : —
1. Riderch Jien map Tutagual map Clinoch map Dumnagual
hen (Harley 3859 pedigrees).
2. Ryderch hael mab Tutwal Tutclyt mab Kedic mab
Dyuynwal hen (Bonedd Gwyr y Gogledd).
3. Rodercus filius Tothail qui in Petra Cloithe regnavit
(Adamnani Vita Columbae, edit. Fowler p. !Í8).
4. Ryderc hael mab Tudawal Tutclyd (Interpolation into
' Laws of Hywel Dda,' Myv. Arch. 977b).
Epithets are more than ordinarily important in such
identifications : the portions italicised shew that Rhydd-
erch 1 cannot (except by carelessly taking hen to be /tae/,
Glinoch to be Keclic and assuming, without warrant,
Tutclyt in the first stem) be taken to be the same as
Rhydderch 2, 3 and 4. It may be added that Ehydderch
2 and 4 are at best legendary forms of Rhydderch 3. He
has no epithet and died at home in Dumbarton (Vita., p.
29) whereas ' in abererch (bet) riderch hael ' (Black Book
of Carmarthen, Skene ii, 29).
in Ystrad Tywi.
151
The Gwallaug who occurs iii the passage cited may be
identified with Gwallawg ap Lleeriaug of MS. Harley
3859 and Bonedd Gwyr y Goíîledd but there is nothing in
those documents, or in medieeyal poetry naming- tìiis hero,
that serves to prove his historical existence. The name
may be an adjective as Lleenaug (learned) is, and akin to
such names as Nerth mab Kadarn in the Mabinoofion
(Oxford edit. p. 570) and Gví^agedd mab Nos (Mostyn MS.
149 fo. 33).
2. Urien op ' HisTORiA Regum.'
Examination of the names of those who attended
Arthur's assembly at Caerlleon [Lib. ix, cap. xii] shows
that Geoffrey had access to a source much resembling the
Harley 3859 pedigrees : Cynfarch and Ceneu ap Coel,
Urien's ancestors, are among the names borrowed from it.
There occur also Urgennius of Bath, a name only, and
ürian, King of Murreif. From the Historia Eegum the
following table can be constructed : references are also
given to the Myyyrian text of Brut. G. ab Arthur.
[Cynfarcli]
1
1
Lot [consul of Londonesia,
Úrian [King of
Augusel [King of
ix. ix : tywysogaeth
Mureif, ix, x ;
Scots, ix, X ;
Lodoneis, 534a :
ix, xii : brenin
King of Al-
nephew and successor
Reget, 536b.l
bania ix, xii :
of Sichelin, i.e. W.
Arawn vab
Llychlyn ?, King of
Kynvarch
the Noi'wegians,
brenin Escot-
ix, X ; o35a.]
lont, 536b.]
With this may be compared Hanesyn Hen fo. 16 : —
Kynfarch
Lleu [or Llew] Arawn Urien
According to a poem in the B]ack Book of Carmarthen
I 5 2 The Scandinavian Settlement
[Oxford Facsiinile ed. fo. 54] these three were nephews
of Urien, being soiis of Llywarch Hen : —
Tri nieib Llywarch tri aiighynien cacl
Tri cheimiad aflawen
Llew [or Lleu] ac Araw (n) ac Urien.
It is possible however tliat the stanza ran orig-inally
Tri meib Gynfarch, and has been wrongly included in
this poem.
Geoffrey, it will be seen, has included two brothers of
Urien who do not occur in the Harley 3859 pedigrees and
Bonedd Gwyr y Gogledd : he has also accepted the
northern location of Urien implied in Historia Brittonum.
It is noteworthy however that he has named, either by
accident or design, a southern TJrgennius and also appears
to have known of some connection between Urien's family
and Scandinavia.
3. Urien of Iolo MSS.
Two accounts of Urien E-heged, differing in detail, are
given in lolo MSS. pp. 70-71. They describe him as
driving Irish invaders out of Gower, Carnwyllon, Kidweli
and Iscennen, which districts were then conferred by
Arthur on his nephew, Urien, who was besides King of
' Mwrif ' in Scotland. The Scottish Kingdom was pro-
bably borrowed from Geoíîrey : thence also, or from the
Mabinogion, may have been talcen the f act that Urien and
Arthur were contemporaries. Arthur's relation to Urien
is not however that given in Historia Regum, which
makes Arthur his brother in law. The correct location
of Urien in Ystrad Tywi was perhaps due to the compiler
of the lolo MSS. accounts having seen pedigrees of Sir
Rhys ap Thomas, or some descendant. The expulsion of
the Irish may go back ultimately to Historia Brittonum
[Mommsen ed. p. 156 : filii autem Liethan .... Guir
in Ystraci Tywi.
53
Cetgueli, donec expulsi sunt a Cuueda . . . ] After their
expulsion from South Wales, the Irish, according to both
accounts, retired to Anglesey, wlience, according to the
first account, they were driven with slaughter by the sons
of Cunedda. The source of this was probably a gloss
frequently occurring in pedigrees [for which see Tran-
sactions Anglesey Antiquarian Society and Field Club,
1928, p. 47] describing the expulsion of Serigi Wyddel.
In the lolo MSS. accounts the Irish leader is called
Gilmwr Wyddel and Gilmwr Rechdyr Brenin Iwerddon,
possibly the Guillamurius of Historia Regum ix, x. It is
Ir. Gilla Muire, and occurs also as the name of the father
of Eidio Wyllt [Penarth Ms. 134 fo 187].
APPENDIX D.
NOTE ON THE AnCESTRY OF EiDIO WyLLT.
The full ancestry of Eidio Wyllt in LD I, 224 is as
f ollows : —
]. Aelured Brenuin Kirian ag
oedd yn auiser Howel dda = Gwrinbech v Marhatta brenin
Ano Dome 944. Lagmor.
2. Swtrig brenin Dulun [a]
Desmont.
Aber v Urien brenin Gun a
ddwy rann o Werddon.
3. Alured ne Aflaed brenin
Dulyn.
= Valkoner v Dunlingtethel
brenin Leinster.
4. Swtrigk ne Wigen brenin
Dulun.
NestvTewdwr apEinion chwaer
Rliys ap Tewdor y towyssog.
5. Eidio Ẅyllt arglwydd Lliwel
wrth rodd Rys ap Tewdwr i
ewythr.
154
The Scandinavian Settlement
The sou7'ce from wliich this was takeii must have been
scarcely legible and it was possiblj related to some
yersion of the ancestry of Gruffydd ap Cynan. as the
following comparison witli the Life of Gruffydd [edit.
Arthur Jones, Manchestei' University Pi'ess] suggests : —
T rk T oo/t i í-'^f® o^ ^- *P Cynan pp 104 and
1.U 1. --4. 1 -^Qg
1 Aelured Brennin Ririaii.
Avloed vrenhin cuaran [Cirian,
Llanstephan Ms 150]
GAvrmbech v Marhatta
breiiin Lagmoi-.
Gurmlach . . . merch . . vwrchath
vrenin Laine.
íí Swtrig brenin Dulun
Sutric vrenhin
Al)er V Urieii brenin Gun Slaiii . . . verch y vrien brenhin
a (Idwy rann o Werddon muen, dwy rann o ywerdon
3
Alured ne Aflaed brenin
Dulyn
Avloed vrenhin dinas dulyn
Valkoner v Dunlingtethel
brenin Leinster
merch vay]corcre verch dunlug
m tethel vrenhin laine
4
Swtriglí ne Wigen. etc.
Not in the Hanes.
The Life and the Eidio Stem liave one point in
common — the alternation of the names Olaf and Sitric in
the direct male line — but whereas the Eidio stem starts
with Olaf Cuaran the Life starts with an Olaf two genera-
tions earlier. The effect of this will appear in the follow-
ing tabulation of the two stems and the historical persons
intended.
iiî Ystrad Tywi.
155
Life
LD I 224
[Harfagyr
vrenliinj
[Haralil Fair-h;tir]
Avloed vrenhin
Ohif
Sutric
Sitric Caoch
Avl()e(l ....
cuaran
Alured ....
Kirian
Olaf Cnaran
Sutric yrenhin
Swtrig
Sitric Siikenbear(l
Avloe(l. . .
Dulyn
Alured ne
Aflaed
Olaf Arnaid
Swtriglí ne
Wigen
It is thus piobable tliat tlie Eidio Wyllt stem should
be moved up en hloc two geiierations, with the followiiig
result : —
1 . Sitric Caoch (ob. 927)
2. Olaf Cuaran(ob. 981)
3. Sitric Silkenbeard (fought at Clontarf, 10] 3, Brut T.)
4. Olaf Arnaid ( ? ob. 1032, Chron. Scot.)
5. Eidio Wyllt
6. Golof Goch (* Oláfr Rau'Sr?)
This would imply that Golof Goch, rather than Eidio
Wyllt, was the ally of Rliys ap Tewdwr. It would also
meau the following rehitionship : —
Olaf Arnaid
Eidio Wyllt
Golof Goch
Ragnhild = Cynan
Gruffydd ap Cynan
156 Scandmavian Settlenient in Ysti'ad Tywi.
It is, tlius, not unlilcelj that when G. ap Cynan was
practising pirac}^ in the Severn estuary [Vita. S. Gundleii ;
Eees, Cambro-Brit. SS, p. 151] his cousin Golof Goch
was with him, nor, since G. ap Cjnan and E,hys ap
Tewdwr united to destroy Trahaiarn ap Caradog, at
Mynydd Carn, is it uulikely that Golof Goch took service
Avith his cousin's ally.
The old Parish Church, Merthyr Tydfil. Buiit 1808.
The Parish Church, Merthyr Tydfii, as re-built.
To face p. 157.
(Uoíee on ^Çe Çparíe^ (Jlegígíer of
from (^.®. 1 703 ío 1 763.
BY
FRANK T. JAMES, V.D., M.B.E., Penydarren House.
The Rev. Nathaniel Jones' MS.
The earliest Reg-ister of the Parish of Merthyr Tyclfir is of
considerable historic value, owing to the fact that between
pages 86 and 91, \ve find in it a Manuscript written by the
Revd. Nathaniel Jones, who was the Rector of the
Parish during the Commonwealth period. The only record
of the Revd. Nathaniel Jones, so far as the writer knows,
occurs in Walker's Suffering-s of the Clergy (vide Charles
Wilkins' History of Merthyr) from which we learn that
Nathaniel Jones was " barbarously treated ". A facsimile
of tlie MS., reproduced from an excellent photostat copy
made at the National Library of Wales (for which thanks
are due to Mr. Ballinger, the Librarian) accompany these
' In Baring Gould and Fisher's IAves of the British Saints, under
the heading of S. Tydfil, Yirgin, Martyr the following extracts are
appropriate, viz. : —
"The spelling of the towti-name Merthyr Tydfil has fixed for us
the modern form of this Saint's name, which shonld more correctly
be Tudful. It is met with in a variety of spelhngs besides sueh as
Tudfil, Tudfyl, Tydful, and Tydfyl."
"Tydfil was one of the daughters of Brychan. She is entered in
the Vespasion version of the Co(jnatio ' Tudeuel in Merthir Euineil ' ;
and in the Domitian version, 'Tutuil ab ea dicitur Merthir Tutuil'.
The misreading ' Merthir Euineil ' has been made to yield another
158 Notes on the Parish, Re^^ister of
notes, tog-ether with a fair copy of the same, the original
manuscript beino-, as will be seen,in parts extremely illeg--
ible (see Appendix p. 179). The handwriting and phrase-
olog-y are apparently those of a scholar and a devout man.
Many years ago the late Mr. Aneurin Williams, of Middles-
brough, a o-randson of Ab lolo, borrowed the Old Register
froin the then Rector of Merthyr, and had a copy of
Nathaniel Jones' MS. made and printed ; it is also pi-inted
in Mr. Charles Wilkins' History of Merthyr. The manu-
script was probably written by the Rector in an earlier
Register which has been lost or destroyed. When the
Churchwardens purchased the existing Register in 1703,
the manuscript was bound up in the middle of the new
Reg-ister for its better preservation. The copy speaks for
itself, but the following observations upon a perusal of it,
may be of some interest.
The reference to the ancient fabric of the Church must
I think have referred to the Church co-temporary with the
lower portion of the existing Tower, the Chancel and the
Nave having been rebuilt in 1803 ; the original contract
engrossed on slcin is in the parish chest and was made
between the then Churchwardens, William James and
Richard Jenkins ; the Contractor was Edward Powell and
the contract price was £879. An interesting fact dis-
closed in the first part of the nianusci'ipt is the existence
daughter of Brychan, Enfail, to whom the Church of Merthyr, near
Garmarthen, is generaliy assumed to be dedicated. But like not a
few others of Brychan's children, her supposed existence owes its
origin to a cop^'ist's blunder. ' Euineil ' stands without doubt for
'Tutuul', i.e.. Tudful."
" In Llanover lolo MS. p. 188, occurs the following acconnt of
Tydfil's martyrdom at Merthyr Tydfil : About the year 480 it is said
that Dudfyl dau^'of Brychan being liere (at Merthyr Tydfil) on a visit
to her father in his old age, was assassinated by the Pagans (Saxon
Pagans says one MS., but it seems more like]y to have been British
or Pictish Pagans)."
Merthyì' Tydfil, froni 1703 fo 1763. 159
of a steeple, at that time then lilcely to fall, owiiig to
the theft of lead. Sonie of the houses built on the
Churchyard are still in existence, the entrance to the
Churchyard on the north side having been comprised in
the Old Three Salmons Inn (now a shop); the passage to,
and the door into, the Churchyard is still in existence.
Two out of the three bells were sold leaving only one
bell, " without Cope or implements". Presumably the
two heavy bells were sold leaving' one small bell. Would
this be the Sanctus Bell? It was the only article left of
the things used at the altar — 'the " cope " or vestment
was gone and so had the "implements" or utensils, the
chalice, paten, censer, etc.
There is a reference to " putting- somebody to preach
in a 'Ew tree'"; thei-e is no " Ew tree " now in the
Churchj'^ard, and none has existed during* living memory.
Jenlciii Jones and Harry Williams are the first Non-
conformist names to appear in the manuscript ; as to Jenkin
Jones the reader is referred to E-ees' History of Noncon-
formity in Wales. ín the same parag'raph the population
of the parish is stated to be at that time 500. If the Rev.
Nathaniel Jones returned to his old parish now, he would
be probably astounded to find a population of over 80,000,
and to see his parish church once more rebuilt. It
appears that the Bible in the Parish Church was carried
away and lost.
Tlie Chapel referred to in the manuscript is not
difficult to locate; tradition assigns Ty mawr Farm lying
north-west of Cyfarthfa Works, as a former Pre-Reforma-
tion Chapel, but from three to four miles south of the
Parish Church, there are the ruins of a Chapel on Cefn
Forest, at the top of the hiU on the eastern side of the
Taff Yalley, and also another Pre-Reformation Chapel
calied " Capel y Van " in the hamlet of Taff Cynon, five
i6o Notcs on the Parisli Register of
miles due south of Merthyr Parish Church aiid approached
by a road oii Aberfan Farm still called "Rhiw'r Capel ".
References are also made to ale houses and tobacco
houses. The latter reference seems a curious one, possibly
it refers to the sale of snuíî.
The Parish of Merthyr had a bad reputation in the
early part of last century for drunkenness and insanitary
houses : in the se^enteenth century Merthyr could ap-
parently beat three of the best towns in the next Shires
for eating, drinking- and taking tobacco.
The first date mentioned in the manuscript is 1640.
At that time apparently, six persons were sent to London
to make certain mysterious charges against the Rector.
The Rector seemed to have been badly treated through-
out with reference to his tithe. The tithe was withheld
from him and enjoyed by others, but the Rector was
called upon to pay the rates due upon it, and failing to
uieet the demand, soldiers were sent from Cardiff to
levy this money. This bears a family likeness to what
is happening in these modern times in relation to rents,
rates and taxes. The Rector's financial plight is still
further described where he first refers to his wife and
seven children, and to his having the greatest part of his
means taken away for ten years. In the year 1649 all the
parishioners detained their tithes, and in 1650 they paid
the Rector " a great deal worser than before ", and so in
" the third year (51) till December was past". The
paragraph concludes with a somewhat pathetic declaration
on the part of the Rector that he was never a " delinquent
ejected or sequestered ", and that for seven years he had
not received " more than six-pence the pound of every
pound in the parish ". How the Eector and his family
were kept alive it is difficult to conceive, probabl}' charit-
able parishioners helped him to tide over the hard times.
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Merthyr Tydjì/, fro»i 1703 fo 1763. 161
If this parisli was a typical example of tlie Common-
wealth period in Wales it does not appear surprising
that after the Restoration the Dissenting Ministers were
promptly ejected from the ]ivings into which they had
been placed.
The Parish Register.
Tiie orio-inal Reg-ister of the Parish covers the period
1703 to 1763, and consists of 138 written sheets of folio,
tog-ether with a few blank sheets, and contains entries of
burials, marriages and baptisms.
The Register has now been most successfully cleaned,
repaired and rebound by the boolc-binder at the Welsh
National Library, Abei-ystwyth, and is once more in the
safe custody of the Rector of Merthyr.
Upon tlie fìrst page of the Register the following-
memorandum is written (and nothing else) in a seven-
teenth century hand, viz : —
" Answers to several enquiry made by the Right Revd.
Father in God Lord Bishop of Llandaffe concerning value
etc. of livings under ^80 — iii the diocese of Liandaffe
reported by me concerning the living of in the
County of the day of 1706.
With the answer and several enquiries distinctly in follow-
ing distinct paragraph " (here follow several liiies which are
partly iHegible).
There is no signature at the foot of the memorandum.
At the top of the second page of the Register is the
following entry : —
" This booUe was bought by William John and Lewis
(" ") in April 1704 who were Cliurchwardens of this Parish
in tlie year 17 and 1703, Edward Williams, Curate."
Tlie following is a list of the Incumbents, Curates aiid
Churchwardens of the parish as contained in the
Register :-
M
i6;
Notes on the Parish Registtr of
Merthyr Parish.
LiST OF Incumbents and Curates.
Date.
April
2 5th Mar.
Octr.
22nd Nov.
ist Oct.
I ith Apr
704
720
73
729
73'
-{
73^^^
738
754
755
i9th Dec. 1755
17561
1757/
1758
1758
1759
i6th Sep. 1759
Natne of Iitcumbent.
E. Willianis
(Minister)
Thomas Johnson
Lewis Lewis
(Minister)
Tho. Price
(N.B. last page (138)
of Register no date)
and underneatli above is written : —
Xame of Cnrate.
Edward WiUiams
Edward Williams
Edward Williams
Thomas Morgan
Lewis Lewis
Thomas Morgan
Anthony Martin
Phihp Thomas
joseph Jones
(Curate of Llan-
wonno and Aber-
dare)
Thomas Powell
David Davies
Anthony Martin
(Curate of Yaynor)
Lewis Powell
(Curate of Penderin)
Lewis Powell
(Curate of Ystrad-
velltey)
John Davies
' Thos.Jenlíin Daniel
is an estabhshed
Clerk in Merthyr-
Tydvil "
' It is a burn ing
shame that all ir-
regularities are met
tosrether in this
place."
Interior of the Parish Church, Merthyr Tydfil.
'mt^^^'
1*1 3
\
7ö /'acT />. 162
Font in the Parish Church, Merthyr Tydfil.
(Froin a l'ciicil Diaiui/ig by ó". Lici noiu Vosper, R.W.S.)
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Merthyr Tydfil, from 1 703 to
1763.
10
On the twentj-seventh page of the Register appears
the following- : —
" Thomas Price Rector of Merthir Tydvil died the i2th
"day of Octr. 1729 and buried i^th att LLandafif. Lewis
" Lewis Curate Merthir. He was Rector for 20 years ".
Date.
Churchwardens.
Name.
April
704 — Williarn John and Lewis ,, ,,
718 — jenlíin Daniel and William George.
731 — Lewis Thomas and John Morgan.
738 — Richard Watlíin and Jno. Llewelyn.
738 — -Lewis Wm. John and John Llewelyn.
739 — John Jenlcin and John Thomas.
740 — Morgan William and Evan Richard.
741 — Philip William and William John Robert.
742-3 — Williain Lewis and Daniel Watkin.
743 — Tho. William and Thomas Rosser.
744 — Dayid Jenlcin and William Thomas.
745 — Tho. Edward Mathews and Thomas Edward,
746— Lewis Thomas and Watkin Edward.
747 — Watkin Edward and Lewis Thomas.
„ /John Thomas and Wm. Henry.
IWalter John and Morgan Rowland.
749 — Richard Thomas and WilHam Thomas.
750 — Edward David and Lewis Phihp.
751 — William David and Edward Wilham.
753 — Thomas Pritchard.
753 — WilHam Lewis and Edward Harry.
753 — Thomas Pritchard.
753 — William Lewis and Edward Harry.
754 — William Lewis and Edward Harry.
755-6 — Edward Morgan and Samuel Daniel.
759-60 — Thos. Rees and Edward Lewis.
, jLewis Richard and William John.
lDavid Thomas and Lewis Evan.
762 — David Thomas and Lewis Evan.
763 — Lewis WilHam and Lewis Evan.
764 — John Thonias.
M 2
[04 Notes on the Parish Re^ister of
The earliest entry of an incumbent's name is E.
"Williams (Minister), the word Minister appears also in
the Lewis Lewis entry.
From the comparatively few personal entries in the
Eegister the Rector of the parish was apparently non-
resident, as was the case in many other parishes in
England and Wales. It would be interesting to know
why Thomas Johnson was pi*esented to the living, he does
not appear to have held it long — then we have one entry
only of Lewis Lewis (Minister), but Tho. Price appears to
have been Hector for twenty years. According to Wilkins
the historian of Merthyr, Thomas Price was an intimate
friend of John Wesley, and an Oxford man ; on his
mother's side he was a Scudamore and descended from
Owen Glendöwer.
As to curates, Anthony Martin appears to have ofi&ci-
ated for about twenty years, and at one period was curate
of the adjoining' parish of Yaynor.
As to the Churchwardens, no entry appears for the
years 1757 and 1758 ; they all appear to have been natives
of tbe parish and the names are all Welsh. The Johns,
Prichards, and Lewis families in all probability repre-
sented the present owners of Gwernllwyn Estate, Dowlais
(Johns), Cefn Forest (Prichard), and Troedyrhiw (Lewis'
of the Van).
The first entry in the register is that of the burial, on
April 9th, 1704, of William Richard Howell, Tafe yr
Chynnan (modern — hamlet of Taf Cynon), and the last
entry is that of the marriage of " Lewelyn Phillip and
Mary Henry ", dated 26th Nov., 1763.
The parish of Merthyr was divided into the following
hamlets : —
Taf Cynon. — Extends from the lower end of Abercanaid
village to Abercynon.
L,JÁ ^.
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To fiice p. 164.
Facsimile Entries from the Parish Register, Merthyr Tydfil,
in Weish and Latin.
■ -* -
a
I
Merthyr Tydjîl, froni 1703 to 1763. 165
Gellydeg-. — Extends from Abercanaid to Cefn Coed on the
western bank of the River Taf .
Forest. — The eastern valley of the Taf extending from
Dyffrjn to Quakers Yard. Comprising part of
Troedyrhiw, Merthyr Vale and Treharris.
Garth. — Comprising- the greater portion of the town of
Merthyr proper, including- Penydarren.
Heolwormwood. — Comprising- Dowlais and portions of the
Town and Plvmouth Wards.
N.B. — Hoelwormwood presumably is Wormwood Road.
Probably the herb wormwood was found in the neighbour-
hood of the road.
It is a curious fact that Welsh entries only appear in
the Register in the years 1730 and 1781 ; the first entry
is as follows : — " Wm. Zachews A Gladdwyd Mai y
17theg" (1730).
The handwriting during- the above period is not a very
scholarly one, but in the year 1732 there is a sudden
change, and all the entries are made in Latin, pursuant
probably to an order from some superior ecclesiastical
authority. The entries are preceded by the following
heading : " Sepultorum Nuptorum et Baptizatorum Nomi-
na in Ecclesia Parochiali Merthir Tidvill Anno Domini
1732 ". The Latin entries do not last long, the earliest
is dated 21st April, 1732, and the last 24th August, 1733.
On page 82 of the Register the foUowingMemorandum
is inserted, viz. : —
Memorandum.
Whereas Arn''. Wm. and Zachaeus Morgan Tenants
to Tho. Lewis Esqr. upon the Duffrin Land in the Forrest
Hamlet of this our Parish of Merthir are bound by their
respective Leases to maintain and secure all sucli lands of
their respective tememts which adjoyn to the River Taff
from all losses or damages that may incur from the yiolence
of the said river ; and whereas by a long neglecl of the
i66 Notes 011 the Parish Register of
mounds and fences of the said lands they are now so
ruined and the land so much wasted that they canot be
repair'd and secur'd without great expence and Labour
whicli the said Tenants by reason oí tlieir poverty are not
able to undertal<e : THESE are to certifìe to all to whome
these presents shall appear that we the Parish'ners of this
Parish of Merthir man}- of whose names are under written
haveing taken the condition of the said Tenants Arnd Wm.
and Zachaeus Morgan into our charitable consideration,
have this day agreed tliat for this one time and no more we
will help and assist the said Tenants in makeing of a weire
in the said River in order to secure the said Lands. And
we do hereby declare that we are not bound or obhg'd on
any account whatsoever to maintain or secure the said Lands
but that we now aflford the said Tenants this our help and
assistance as a pure Act of Bounty and Charity to them in
their present distress. Witness our hands the 30 of Octo-
ber in the year of our Lord God 1714.
D. Lewis John O. Watkin 1714 1714-
Richard Edward John I. Thomas
Lewis WiUiam John Wiiham
Jenkin Griffith Morgan D. Leyson
Lewis Thomas Jenkin Thomas
John Morgan Matthew Thomas
Edw. Lewis Morgan Morgan
Wilham John Thomas Wm.
It is very curious wh}»^ this Memorandum should have
been written in the E-egister in 1714-. There is nothing
ecclesiastical about it except that it is a record of a
charitable act on the part of certain parishioners. Thos.
Lewis no doubt represents a branch of the Lewis' of the
Van near Caerphilly, and the lands referred to are the
lands bordering the River Taff north of Troedyrhiw, and
situate about two and a half miles south of Merthyr ; the
village of Ti'oedyrhiw is built on the estate of the descend-
ants of Thos. Lewis, who are now represented by Mrs.
Charlotte Eleanor Wyndham Munay Threipland, the wife
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To fuce p. J(>7.
Monument to Thomas Lewis of the Van, Gîamorganehire, in the Church
at Soberton, co, Hampshire, with the Bust by Schiemakers,
Merthyr Tydfil, froyn 1703 to 1763. 167
of Lieut.-Colonel W. Murray Threiplaiid, of New House,
Llanishen, near Cardiíf. According to Chirlc's Genealogies
of Glamorgan, Thomas Lewis is described as of Van, St.
Fag"ans, and Soberton, Co. Hanipshire, also of Hanover
Square, London, Member of Parliament for Chipping-
Wycomb, Hanipshire, Southanipton, New Sarum and
Portsniouth. He died at Soberton on 22nd Noveniber,
1736, aud is there buried ; in the church there is a fine
monument, surmounted by a g'ood bust by Schieniakers.
Upon liis inaiTÌage he settled amongst otlier estates that
of Merthyr Tjalfil excepting certain messuag-es in that
town.
In the year 1789 a question had evidently arisen as to
the hour at which morning service should commence, and
the following- Memorandum appears on page 85 of the
Register : —
" Be it remembred That at a Yestr}' held on the ^th
Day of September 1739 it was decreed by us whose names
are hereuiito subscribed that the Morning Service of the
parish Church of Merthyr Tydvil in the County of Glamor-
gan and Diocese of Landaffe should begin at the Hour of
Eleven o'cloclc every Sunday. As Witness our hands the
Day and Year first above mentioned."
John Jenkin | Richard John
1 , -ri ('Churchwardens t , ,,,
John 1 homasj John 1 homas
Thomas Richard ^ Richard Thomas
Watlcin Rees William George
David Thomas John Henry
Morgan Thomas Lewis William
Ricard Thomas James David
Mathew Walter Will. Richard
WiUiam Rees Morgan Thomas
Page 84 of the Register contains the following Memo-
randuni showing Collections obtained in the year 1728 for
repairing and rebuildiiig the Parish Churcli of Dolgelly
i68 Notes on the Parish Register of
4/- and in the 3'ear 1781 for the Cathedral Church, Llan-
daff, 26/6 :— '
5 Octob. 1728.
Md. That Four Shillings was this day collected on a
Brief granted for collecting Money towards repairing and
rebuilding ye Parisli Church of üolgelly in \'e County of
Merioneth at ye Parish Church of Merihyr Tydvil] and that
ye sd sum of four shillings was sent along with ye Brief to
be return'd this next visitation at Landaff by Jenkin Daniel
one of ye Church Wardens. Collected by
J. Wilhams, Minister.
lenliin Daniel '»
Wilham George/^'*^"'"''^^''^^""-
Memor. That Twenty six shilhngs and Six pense was
collected in ye Psh of Merthir Tidril towards Rebuilding
ye Cathedral Church of Llandaff 8ber ye ist 1731 a'said
Mr. Thomas Davies cohecton
Lewis Lewis, Minister.
Lewis Thomas)
John Morgan /Churchwardens.
1 In the iiiside of the outer cover of the Register of Marriages for
the years 1766 to 1792 the following entries appear, viz. : —
"Memorandum on a Brief in this Parish Church towards rebuild-
ing Aberavon Church on Sunday, the Ü4th of Maj', 1767, the sum of
4s. 8d. which with the Brief was returned to Llandaff the 9th of
October next ensuing by John Thomas and W"" Robert, Church-
wardens.
Memorandum.
" CoUected in this parish to the use of the Society for the Propo-
gation of the Gospel in foreign parts the sum of ]2s. 6d. which was
returned to Llandaff the 8th of October, 1779, by Richard AVatkins,
Churchwarden.
" Collected in this Parish towards the relief of the French Clergy
the sum of ten pounds which was remitted to Mr. Pearson at Llandaff
the lôth of June by W"' Evans"s maid servant.
" Collectedinthis Parish fur the use of the Welsli Congregation at
Liverpool the sum of one pound and 3 shillings which was returned
to Mr. Pearson at Llandaff the 9t]i of October, 1795, by Rich'' Hi]],
Esq., Clmrcliwarden ".
fl/l':
J
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hhr /^/unn'ua fînJr7ì4 u-c-^s- Cri/ì/«y ht y^' ')} j^i/ítuu p{"*^J-'
puoJ /• /ììâjY/antlm ^/f//áärtìMn^n»-iiJ !à//í^. Â/t/^f/i^í^/0^j//^
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26 IJ^PfìULHprâ^/fiffẃmUnMmi/hii^^ m'^ ^-^ f.
'26 i/ftUfU/rMtäMr^ tó^////^/^^- /^ ''^
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•'>i //ía mÝrJeJinm^nmSteì/f'^^^jny/ // ^
Facsimile from the Parish R
egister, Merthyr Tydfil : Entries of Baptisms by Dissenting Ministers.
7'o fíiif />. lùi).
i68
4/- ai
daff,
Bri
reb
Me
ye
be
one
coll
Mr
the yi"
i"g A^ì
4s. 8(^
OctoH
wardi
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retui'2
Chur^
the s»^
tlie l^
LiveiC
to M^
Es(i, ^'
Jm'I JíùJia^
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26 i)S'pfníí-ip1
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Facsimile from the Parisl
Merfhyr Tycífil, froììi 1703 to 1763. 169
On the saine page of the Register is the j)rouiise by Thos.
William to pull down a hovel erected on Church Yard
Wall, viz. :—
" I Thomas William of the Parish of Merthir Tidville
in the Count}' of Glamorgan for myself my Heirs and
exec-Jtors do promise to pull down the Hovel I erected on
the Church Yard Wall \vhenever the Reverend Mr. Johnson
the piesent Rector or his successors shall oi"der, as witness
my Hand this 28th day of December 1 736.
Thomas William.
Witness, Tho. Morgan C.
On pages 73 and 86 of the Register are entries relating
to baptisnis by Dissenting Ministers ; it is curious that at
that period entries were made in the parish Register.
Query, was it for lack of any official Register of the Dis-
senters at that period.
Page 73— '758-
John the Son of David Rees of LwynUelyn, was born
January 20th day and Baptized abt the 4th da}' of February
by Mr. Samuel Davies, Dissenting Minister.
Mary Dr. of Timothy and Sarah Davies was born 8th
day of April in the 3'ear 1758 and Baptized soon after by ye
above named. Thos. Richard was born in April in the
year 1678.
The following persons were baptiz'd by ye Dissenting
Minister.
1753. March ist — Morgan son of William John and
Anne his wife by pwll yr hwyad. H.W.
)5th March, 1756 — William Son of William John and
Anne his wife. H.W.
May 2, 175S — Thos. son Jenkin Morgan and Catherine
his wife.
July 20, 1758 — Mary Dr. of William John and Anne
his wife. H.W.
May 20, 1761 — Tabilha Dr. of William John and Anne
his wife. H.W.
ijo Notes 011 the ParisJi Registei' of
Octobr 12, 1760 — Mary Dr leiikin Morgan and
Catherine liis wife. H.W.
Page 86.
í ani infornied tliat these following Sons were Chrib'ned
by the Puritant Teacher : — Daughter of Thomas Lewis.
Son of Wihiam jenkin. Son of David john of Gwerllwyn.
Son of Edward Wattkin. Son of James Davies.
SURNAMES.
Most surnames in tbe Register are Welsb, such as,
Jerjtins Watkins, John, Morgan, Davies, WiUianis,
Howell, Harrj, Edward, Hugh, Pi-ees, Eichard, David,
Lewis, Evan, Daniel, Llewelin, Owen, Treharne, Walter,
Rees, Phillips, Rosser, Thomas, Lewis, Jenkin, Bevan,
Reyald (later Rejnolds), Meyrick, Yaughan ; there are
verj few entries containing the nanie James. Treharne
appears in thirtj separate entries covering a period from
1704 to 1 761, it is spelt Treharne in twentj-nine instances,
Traharne two, Traliarn two, Trahairn two, Treharn
eighteen, Traherne two ; the earliest entrj namelj in
1 704, records the burial of Rees " Traharn ''. Probablj
the diversitj in the spelling of this Surname is due to the
carelessness of the Curate wlio nuide the entrj, verj few
entries were made bj the Rector.
In Clark's Work on the Genealogies of Glamorgan
(p. QQ) he states that " Gwilim Sais " of Merthjr Tjdvil,
third son of Madoe ap Howel Veljn, bore for arms, Argent
a fess, sable, between three cocks gules, his second son
Mejric ap leuan, mari-ied Crislj, daughter of Lleweljn
Morgan ap Lleweljn of Tredegar (querj a branch of Lord
Tredegar's familj), and his third child was Traherne.
This son was of Merthvr. and married Margaret. daughter
of Morgan ap Lleweljn ap Ivor of Tredegar, and had
Crisle}', who married Richard ap Lewis Gwjn of the familj
s
s;.
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Merthyr Tydjìl, froui 1703 to 1763. 171
of Lewis of Yan ; slie further had a son, whence the
Yaughans of Merthjr and Gelligaer (see p. 68). There is
also a reference on page 45, under the Lewis of Van
pedigree, to Llewelyn Ychan ap Llewelyn of Merthyr,
whose daug-hter Joan married Treliarne of Llwyncelyn hy
Merthyr. Llwyncelyn is still in existence as a dwelling-
house, but much altered and enlarg-ed; it is situate
on the south-western outskirts of the Town of Merthyr
Tydfil.
Accordino- to Chirlc the Lewises of the Van owned the
Court Estate at Merthyr and Pontrhun near Troedyihiw, a
few miles south of the town of Merthyr Tydfih In the
pedigree these Lewises are called Lewis of Glyn Taff.
In the Genealog'ies (p. olO), under the Family of
Morgan, a reference will he found to Margaret the
davighter of Morgan of Tredegar and St. Clears marrying
a Traherne ap Meyriclc of Merthyr.
Lewis and Treliarne have been mentioned for the
reason that it is difficult to identify any other names.
Thos. Lewis Troedyrhiw (Pontrhun) is referred to in the
agTeement as to the DyfErin Land.
The following Surnames other than Welsh appear in
the Register, viz. : —
Marriage of Thomas Hawthorn to Mar}^ Challacombe
(1762).
Burial of Cliild of Godwin [ierbert of Penderin (1704).
In Chirk's Genealogies (p. 308) there is a Godwin
Herbert of Gyfylchi wlio nuirried Ann, daughter of
William Matthew of Abei-aujan (the same family as the
extinct family of Mathew of Llandaff), and in tlie same
pedigree a second Godwin Herbert who married Jane,
daughter of Captain Games of Lhuielly, County Mon-
mouth. Aberaman in the Aberdare Valley is not many
miles from the Parish oí' Penderyn in Breconshire and
172
Notes on the Parish Regístei' oý
possiblj the Godwiii Herbert iiientioned iii the Register
was a descendant : —
Magdalen the wifeof Richard Luke, Carmarthenshire —
buried January 8th, 1707.
Buried ^th May, 1715 — Hopkin Leyiiard.
Baptized i^th Nov., 1715 — Richard the Son of Mr.
rhomas Aires.
(N.B. "Mr." is very rarely found in the Register).
Baptized — Anne daughter of Hopkin Gibson.
Buried 25th Oct., 1716 — Edward tlie son of James
Basting.
Married 7th June, 1 7 1 9 — Watkin William and Catherine
Godwin.
Baptized 1727 — Mary daughter of Thomas Caleb.
Married ijtli Dec, 1723 — James Coslet of Rhydery and
Catherine John of Mertliyr.
Married ^th August, 1722— John ap John and Alice
Samuel.
Christened 7th Dec, 1735 — Margaret daughter of
Thomas William Taylor.
Christened 4th Feb., 1738 — Wilham son 01 David
Wilham Mai'cli.
Married 2ist Dec, 1744 — Thos. Rosser and Ehzabeth
Myrton.
Christened iitli .Sept., 1748 — ^John the son of John
Dobbs.
Christened çth July, 1749— WiUiam the son of Thomas
Saddler.
Christened 22nd Oct., 1749 — Anne the daughter of
Thomas Probyn.
Buried 25th Nov., 1748— Patrick Black-Scotchman.
Christened ist Feb., 1756 — EHzabeth the supposed
daughter of William John Laurence.
Christened 6th April, 1755 — Lewis the son of Thomas
and Ehzabeth Arnold.
Buried^rd May, 1760— Rev. James Davies y Dissenting
Minister.
Buried 8th Sept., 1760 — John Watkin— John-y-Gwaudd.
Merthyr iydjil, froni 1703 to 1763. 173
Christened 6tli july, 1760 — Thos. son of Johu Phelps
by Mary his wife.
Buried ^oth july, 1761 — Frank son of Franlc Hill.
Christian Names.
Gwenllian, joan, Klioda, Lloseu, johan, Malt, Ynghared,
Tabitlia, Frydeswith, Gaynor.
Godwin, Zackiay, Zacheus, Miles, Phelus.
Professions and Trades.
25th Sept., 1714 — Buried William son of Thonias
Willianî, the Councellor.
2 2nd Ma}', 1762 — Christened Mar}' daughter of Mr.
Thomas Pritchard, Surgeon Cefn y Forrest.
i6th june, 1706 — Baptized William Lewis, Mason,
Gellideg.
iSth Aug., 1706 — Baptized Jenkin son of WiUiam
Williams, "Fiddler", Howellwormod.
23rd Oct., 1706 — Buried wife of John Howell, the
Weaver.
24th April, 1708 — Buried Edward, an Apprentice to
John William, Shoemaker.
27th April, 1713 — Buried Harry, the Glasier.
1714 — Baptized Abraham the base son of Wm. John,
the Doctor's daughter.
1714 — Buried Elizabeth the daughter of John WiUiam,
the Shoemaker.
1714 — Buried Mar}- the wife of John William, the
Cobbler from Pontycapel.
1714 — Baptized Thomas the son of William Morgan,
Clerk.
17 14 — Buried Anne the wife of John William, the
Shoemaker.
25th Nov., 17 14 — Buried William son of Thomas
William, the Councillor.
3oth Dec, 1735 — Christened Thomas son of Thomas
Williams, Officer (query Excise Officer).
5th Sept., 1713 — Buried Thomas Lewis (the Joiner).
loth Aug., 1739 — Buried William Thomas John of
Vaynor, Blacksmith.
174 Notes ofi the Parish Register of
24th Dec, 1739 — Christened John son of Rees Thomas,
Cordwainer.
2Sth Feb., 1739 — Buried Richard Jones, Innkeeper.
i7th Jul}', 1744 — Buried James David, Cordwainer.
22nd Jan., 1744 — Buried John Jones, Apothecary.
1747 — Christened Jenldn the son of Evan Price,
üfficer.
9th July, 1749— Christened William the son of "
" Thomas, Saddler.
i6th June, 1740 — Christened Thomas the son of
Thomas Jones, Officer.
25th March, 1749 — Buried Morgan Jones, Yictualler.
2oth Feb., 1751 — Christened Gaynor the daughter of
Thomas Jones, Officer.
6th Dec, 1760 — Buried Annie daughter of David
Walter, Weaver.
3rd Jan., 1761 — Buried Bess y Fammaeth, pauper Pem-
brokeshire (Midwife).
i5lh May, 1761 — Buried Mr. John Llewelyn, Officer of
Excise.
i6th Nov., 1761 — Buried WiUiam son of Hugh Lewis,
Shoemaker.
24thOct., 1762 — Buried Rees Richard, Bailifí', Cwmyglo.
7th Aug., 1762 — Christened Susan daughter of Edward
Rees, Tinker, and Tabitha his wife Gellideg.
23rd July, 1763— Buried Phelus Morgan David Morgan
Butcher's wife Yillage.
Place Names.
Rellygaer (1706). Kehgaer (1707), Gelligare (1707),
Kelhgare(i709), Gelligaer (171 1), Gelligaer (17 13), Gelligare
(17 14), Gellygar (171 6), Gellygar (1716), GelHgar (17 17),
Gellygâr (1717), Gelliger (1717), Gelligaer (17 18), Gelh'gaer
(1718), Gelhgaer (1719), Gelligaer (1719), Gelligaer (1719),
Gelh'gaer (1719), Gelh'gaer (17 19), Gelhgaer (1721), Gelhgaer
(1722), GeHigaer (1722), Gelligaer (1724), Kelliger (1733),
Kelligaer (1735), Kelligare (1737), Kelligaer (1738), Kelligaer
(1739), Kelligaer (1749), Kelligaer (1750), Kelligaer (1752),
Gelligare (1754), Gelligaer (1760), Gelligare (1761), Gelligaer
Merthyr Tydfil, from 1703 /6» 1763 175
(1761), Gelligaer (1762), Kellegare (1762), Kellygare (1763).
Ke]ligare (1763), Kelligare (1763), Kelligare (1763).
Penderin (1704), • Penderin (1717). Penderyn (17 17).
Penderyn (171S), Penderyn (1719). Penderyn (1737),
Peiideryn (1737), Penderin (1758), Merthir (1713), Merthir
(17 14), Merthyr (17 19), Merthyr (1721) (8 entries), Merthyr
Tydfil (1720), Merthyr (1724), Merthyr Tidville (1730),
Merther (1731), Merthyr Tydvil (1754), Merthyr Tydvil
(1754), Merthyr Tidvil (1754), Merthir Tydvil (1756),
Merthir Tydvil (1756), Tydvil (1756), Merthyr Tyd^il
(p. 138).
Garth Hamlet (1704), Taf y Cynon (1712), The Fryars
— William the Old Man of (Buried ist Sep. 1715), Capel y
Brithdyr (Mar. 17 17), Gellideg (17 18), Fforest (1735).
Cardiff (1749), Aberdare (1752), Gwernllwyn Bach (1760),
(Little Alderbush). The Court (1761), Abernant Cethin
(1763), Cethin Brook Junction. Cefn y Forrest (17Ò2)
The Ridge of the Forest. Penyfonwent (1763), Head
of Grave Yard, (Site of Old Three Salmon Inn). Chap-
pel of Nantddu (1740), (Cwntaflf Yalley Breconshire),
Ystradvodock (1761), Llandafif (1706), Tafe y Chynnan
(1704), Pontsticill (1704), Pen-y-Rimney (1704), (now Blaen
Rhymney Farm, North of Rhymney Bridge Station) Fforest
Hamlet (1705), Yaynor (1765), Gellydeg Hamlet (1765),
Llanw3'nno (1706), Howellwormod (1706), Ystrad fellty
(1706), Kefon Glase (1707) (The Green Ridge), Carmar-
thenshire (1707), Pen y ddau Cae (1707) (Top of the Two
Fields), Llanganwid (1707), Carmarthenshire (1707), Wayn
Newydd (1709) (New Mead), Taf yr Cynnon (171 1),
H'wormod Hamlet (1712), Pandy (1713), (Fullers House
near Cyfarthfa Works), Fforest (1713) (Night fold),
Gurnos (1713), Gru a wedd (1713), modern Grawerth mean-
ing " Stud Farm ". Pontygwaith (1713) (Works Bridge),
Pontmorlais (1714) (Morlais Bridge), Pontycappel (1714)
(Chapel Bridge), Abercanaid (17 14) (Junction of Canaid
with Taff), Gwmyglamais (1714). It is suggested that this
name is a transposition of "Gamlais", a Canal, being the
old Canal leading from the Cwm pit to Cyfarthfa Works,
constructed in the early part of the seventeenth century.
1/6 Notes on the Parish Reoister of
Gwaelodygarth (1714), Carnol (1714), Llanvabon (1714),
Cainaid MiU (1714) (Mill at Abercanaid or Canaid Broolc),
Cwm y glo (1714) (Coal Dingle). Cwm y glo Farm House
was used by Dissenters when they left Blaencanaid Farm,
in 1689. A chapel was subsequently built on land adjoining,
and was granted by Captain David Jenkins, of Hensol ; it
was 36ft. in length and i8ft. in width and built in the form
of a barn. Very little of the original building is now stand-
ing (see illustration). Fentrebach (1714), Penrynronen
(17 14) Penrhiwyronen Farm (west oí Troedyrhiw Ashtree
Hill), Hendrefawr (17 14) (The Old Great House), Werne
(1714) (The Alders), Rhyd^^car (17 15) (The F'ord), of the
Car Brook, but as there is no Brook in the neighbourhood
probably the original name was Rhydygaer, as on top of
the Aberdare Mountain. To the west is the Werfa Farm,
which is a corruption of tlìe word " Wersyllfa ", the place
of encampment. Pen^'lan (1715) (Top of the enclosure),
Trebedau (17 15) (The place of graves), Clyndyrnos (1715)
(Bramble Glen or Thicket), Grawerth (17 16) (Stud Farm, or
perhaps a corruption of Grawen = Garw Waen or Carw
Waen). Heath Market (1717) (Wain Fair between Merthyr
and Rhymney), Coed Meyrick (1716) (Meyrick's Wood),
Llanditte (1717) (Llanddett}^ Breconshire), Penycraig (17 18)
(Top of the Rock), Bonyman in Garth (1718) (Base of the
Rock), Pantscallog (1717) (Thistle Hollow), Garth (1717),
Goytrez (1718 Modern Goitre) (Woodland Yillage), Gellyr
Taru (1718) (query Gellidderw correct spelling " Oak
Grove", Gelli Tarw Farm Aberdare), Bedwellty (1718),
Graig of Gellideg (1718), Llandaff (1720), Blaencanaid (1720)
(Source of the Canaid). This farm house may be called
the birthplace of Dissent ; the date assigned for the first
gathering of Dissenters at Blaencanaid is 1620. Services
continued here until the year 1669, when the removal
to Cwm 3' glo took place. Cwmddu (1722) (Black Dingle),
Bedwas (1724), Rhudr}' (1727), Winstone super Avan
(1739), Tai Maur (1741) (Great Houses), Troedyrhiw (1739)
(Foot of the Steep), Rhyd^-bedd (1742) The Grave Ford,
or possibly " the Ford of the Boar " (Baedd), Garn Galed
(The Hard Cairn), Wernlaes (1747) (Green Aldergrove),
Mertliyr Tydfil, froni 1703 fo 1763. 177
Baglan (i 745), Egwysilan (1747), Bed\vellt\' (1751)- í^íidyi"
(1751), Ll\vynkelyn (1758) (Holly Bush), Pwllyrhwyad
(1753) (Ducks Pond), Llangynaider (1760), Cr\vck (1761)
(Ty Cnwc (the rounded house)on hill side above Troedyrhiw
on western side of the Valley, now in ruins), Abergavenny
(1762), Llanwairgaerwen Montgomer^'shire (1761), Waun
Willt (1761) (Tlie Wild Meadow), Langattock (1762),
Abervan (1761), (Junction of the Van with the Taff), Bryn
Cae Owen (1 762) (Owen's Field's Hili), Pontyrhun (1763)
(Ash Trees Bridge) (? nanied after Rhun the brother
of Tydfil), Begwins (17631 (The Beacons), Pendarren
(1763), (Top of the Rock), Village (1763), Cwm Rhymi
(1763), Pensih'ania (1732) House and land now site of
Pontmorlais Chapel, High Street, Merthyr, Ystradivodack
(1 754) Glamorganshire, Lglusilan (1755) (Glamorganshire),
Llanwonner (1755) (Glamorganshire), Vaynor (1755)
(Breconshire), Llandebye (1756) (Carmarthenshire), Ystrad-
fellty (p. 113) (Breconshire), Ystradvodack (Glamorgan-
shire).
It is interesting* to note the various inethods of spelling
tlie name Gellio-aer especially hayiiig- regard to the con-
troversy whicli took place souie years ago in which the
Rector of Gelligaer, Canon T. J. Jones, contended that the
syllable Celly was derived froui " Cell ", a cell, the Rev.
Ll. M. Willianis, then Rector of Dowlais, maintaining-
that the name was derived froni " Gelli ", a g"rove ; and
Caer, a fort. See also PowelPs Historie of Wales, by H.
Lloyd, pub. 1584 — where there is a reference to the fight
against the Normans at Gelligaer " Celli Tarvawc " ; and
Brut y Tywysogion in the Myvyrian Archceology of Wales,
p. 702, where there is an account of tlie same battle " Celli
Darfawc ", and lower down on the same page " Celli
Gaer ".
Most of the above names relate either to the various
hamlets in the Parish of Merthyr, or to farms. The
English translation of the Welsh farm names (with cer-
N
178 Notes on the Parísh Register of
tain exceptions) are taken from the late Mr. Charles
Wilkins' History of Merthyr.
" The Fryars ", according to Mr. Cliarles \Vilkins,
refers to a bh3ck of buildings at Caedraw, in the town of
Merthyr, and the tradition is that in Pre-Eeformation
days a band of White Tryars were located there. Some
houses in the locality are still known as "Tsle of Wight ",
it is sugg-ested that this also refers to the White Fryars.
" The Court ", formerly one of the possessions of the
Lewises of the Van family ; it has been suggested that
" Court " is derived from the Latin " Cohort " due to the
existence of a Roman Settlement at Merthyr. Brithdir
(Parish of Gelligaer) ; according to Ckrk the deseendants
of Ivor Bach the Lewises of the Van had a residence at
Brithdir, probably the ruined farmhouse situate about one
and a half miles south of Foehriw, on the hill side.
Galon Uchaf (Merthyr)— it is suggested that this
means Upper Colony, read " Colone " from Latin Colonia
— in favour of that attribution we have the Roman Fort
or Settlement at Penydarren Park, about a mile to the
south of Galon Uchaf Farm house.
I wish to express my thanks to tbe Rev. Caiion T. J.
Jones, the Rector of Gelligaer, Glamorganshire, and to the
Rev. Ll. M. Williams, the forraer Rector of Dowlais, for
the valuable suggestions made by them after a perusal
of the manuscript.
Merthyr Tydfil, from 1703 to 1763. 179
APPENDIX.
Fair Copy of the Rkv. Nathaniel Jones' MS. {circa 1620)
FROM THE PaRISH ReGISTER, MeRTHYR TyDFIL [1703-1763],
Pages 87-90.
A.M.
Mr. Nathaniel Jones's usage in ye time of the Rebellion
Register'd.
We have in and about the Parish of Merthyr T^'dyill, a
Company of men and women combin'd, and of a long time
accustomed to have unlawful Conventicles, wherein they
ordain and settle a Government as they please, contrarieing
and contradicting the statutes and ordinances of severall
parliaments. The}^ have not only abolished and put down all
manner of tiths, but are destroying tlie ancient fabricU of the
material Church that is in the Parish, the}' will suflfer no man
to preach here, but one of their own sect, and others that
plunder the Church, they have put in their la}' Lecturers, they
liave taken out timber and stone belonging to the Church to
build houses in the Churchyard ; there is not a seat in ye
Chancell but one, and that is not whole, nor any in the body
of the Church undefaced ; the minister's seat and three other
are destroyed, ye desk that held the bible hath been Imployed
to carry mortar for their masons ; they have brought horses
into the Church, and put up hey in ye steeple, threescore
horses have stood in the Church on ye marriage day of one
of their preachers ; one hundred horses have carried earth
into ye Church ye floor whereof is half a yard higher than ye
Chancell ; where most of the prish have been buried.
ist. The}' have taken awa}' timber, stone and the seats
out of the Church, and they have putt in school-masters,
whose boys have demolished so much lead, yt wiU not be
made up wth four or five pounds, and if it be not made up the
steeple is like to fall.
2ndly. They have taken ye Glasse, and putt on Lattice
windows, the wch are now torn, and lost, some of the iron
barrs are also gone.
3rdly. Thev have sold three bells for sixpence p pound,
N 2
i8o Notes on the Pai'ish Registei- of
or thereabouts, \alued to be wortli i^d or i6d, and there is
but one bell left, without cope or implements.
^thh'. The brethren have a meeting every Su'nday in the
Churcli, and frequently on week-days where the^' ai'e dis-
cussing, disputing and setthng businesses in an illegal and
ungodly manner. and the}- do irreverentl\' meet there to rate
taxations and contributions, squabling and falling out with
irreverent behaviour, and scandalous words ill beseeming such
a place.
5thly. They will not sufifei- the minister of the parish to
preach in the Churcli because the}^ will pay him no tiths ;
sometimes they have rung the Bells to disturb him, other-
whiles they have puUed him out of the pulpit, tearing his
cloths and useing violence ; othertimes they have put some-
bod}' to preach in an ew-tree, when ye minister was in the
pulpit in the church.
óthly. The people here will have neither pra^^er nor
sacrament and especially the holy and allow'd pra^^ers of the
Church, and the sacrament at the hands of the minister. It
is true that Mr. Jenlcin Jones (did ?) monthly breaU^ (bread?),
which together with the wine is distributed among them (?)
of the congregation. I am sure we have 500 men and women
in the parish that receive not the Lord's Supper these ten
years ; very man}' children unbaptised ; Mr. Jenlcin Jones or
Henry Williams w.' '3-6 pulpit every
Easter-da\', at other times the peopîe durst n(ot) receive nor
bring their children to be christened.
7thly. The people were not suffered to hear tlieir minister
preaching w(ho) ? (exercising diverse Sundays) was affronted
an'd hindered by the anti-tith payers wlio understanding that
some resorted to hear the minister, came one da}^ to 3'e
Church-3'ard and first sent some folish 3'oung fellows to
interrupt the man being in the pulpit ; the^' came trampling
and trotting into the Church in a lude and uncomely manner;
they stared and looUed .... (at ?) the preacher's face, as if
they had been drunk or mad. When this would not do the
multitude came not in, but sent one Richard Thomas to dis-
turb the preacher, who asked him questions, being in tlie
1 ümitted. ■■' Illegible.
Merthyr Tydjil, froni 1703 to 1763. 181
midst of liis sermon, not suífering hini to proceed and at last
carried away the bible, which ye minister could never see nor
have to this day. The people understanding that the minister
was interrupted and that 3'e Church Bible was taken from
him, did forbear coming an}' more to here him.
Sthly. Tliere is a hamlet in the parish, four or five miles
from the Church, wch had a chappell yt was duely served by
ye Curate of ye prish ; this is now demohshed and become a
dwelling house in this hamlett, there and not above three or
four of 3'e new congregation, and there is else about 50 house
holders, who seldom come to Church, and with their faniHes
are in a sad condition ; the body that is not daily nourished is
drooping and faint, mucli more it ma\' be said of the soul that
is not (sic) fed, the spirit 3^t is not enhvened and quickened by
3'e soul-saving woid of God is not transcendent and ascendeth
not on high, but is earthly, sensuall, devihsh where ye word
of God is not preach'd the people perish; preach thc}' cannot,
unless they be sent, and teach they cannot what they never
learnt.
çthly. What devotion cari they have that have their
tobacco pipes in their mouths, when they goe into the Church ;
and are sneezing tobacco in the Church when they come out
after their Sermon, they are smoking in the Church-yard,
going away, some to the Ale-house others to tobacco-houses,
where you may see the bad fruit, and ill successe of the fair
promising zeal of some, that make a better shew than tlie
fornier fore — spoken and yt it may appear that many of their
barrels have the same herring, they breakfast at home in the
morning to destroy charity and devotion. A Sunday morn-
ing is no due time for a poor man to look almes, and the man
of the house is too proud to stoop to beg his dayly bread,
when his belly i(s) full, as soon as he is up on ye Lord's day.
lothly. I may not derogate from ye good intentions, or
pious endeavours of any, God forbid nie, yet men do often
examine tlie cause by the effect, the kingdom of God is not in
word but in power: 1 Cor. 4. 20. Christ and his apostles were
as good as their word, they did not say one thi ng and do
another, our Savour bad not a house to put his head in, St.
Paul had no certain dwelling-place ; when he preachcd unto
i82 Notes on the Parish Register of
the people, he did not seek theirs, but them \ve preach not
our-selves but Christ Jesus, ye Lord, and ourselves your
servants for jesus' his sake : 2 Cor 4, 5 & Chap. 11. 23. We
will make the same proffession, with Xst and his apostles,
preachers (not) hearers, we should be doers of the*word and
not hearers onl}^ some (? say tha)t they follow our Savour's
precept, freely ye have received, freely (ye have given
^) the proposition ; whatsoever they have received
they give nothing ; the}' aie rich to make friends with the
unrighteous mammon ; the Apostles were thought to be fools
for Christ his sake, but they are wise in Christ and St. Paul
was poor but made many ricli ; they aie rich by making many
poor.
iithly. This parish doth challenge to be ye tìrst and
most reformed place of these countys. but when there is a
sermon here there is no eating and drinking and taking
tobacco in this village than in three of best townes in ye next
shires. f^ere are three Alehouses that sell a halfe-penny
cake for twopence a peece, and a pint of drink for a penn}',
these houses are full all day and some continue drinking all
night, without fear or witt. When ye Ale-Wives are taxed
herewith, they say they can buy five bushells in ye markett
very near as cheap as they can buy three here, and they dare
buy noe where else, than from their good masters, that preach
and rule and do all at their pleasure.
I 2th]y. To give a little niore resemblance of ye principall
agents in this business and to take a better view of their
extortion, and cruelty, six of them were sent to London 1640,
to prove their wicked inventions that they had proposed,
heynous things, things not imagined nor thought upon, much
lesse acted or done by me ; I went up to answear them to my
great charge and losse ; they did in a manner undoe rae in six
years by withholding my just right, and laying over great
taxations upon me, and causing me to spend much ; ftor they
thought to eject me by their cunning and power that they had,
and when they missed to doe soe by virtue of law and justice,
they tooke authority to make laws themselves and thereby
and by many force they have taken away my means, and left
• Minilated.
Mertìiyr Tydjil, from 1703 to 1763. 18
o
me and my family very little; ífor hitlier they brought
lecturers of all tribes and traders to intrude to the pulpitt, and
to cease upon it tiiree every Sunda}' of them did gatlier tillis
from 40 in tlie parish for three yeares and say'd they were to
pay tliem to Mr. Jenkin Jones, when he liad disclaym'd
privately and in ye pulpitt publichly declared that he lìad
none, neither would liave an}- but referr'd them to ye owner
thereof
13. The three men above sayd (viz) Richard Tliomas
WilHam Howell and Howell Rees, took up these Tieths three
years, and as I do heare gathered some others unto them and
dispursed among them ;^iou of my money to tye them to be
of their profession ; the rest, which (I conceive to be as much
more) they kept for tliemselves, the other parishionei-s by
this example kept their tieths alsoe. Neverthelesse Richard
Thomas (Sic) Parish Clerk, gave out rates wherein 1 was
taxed to pay contribution all this while, and soldiers were
sent from Cardiffe to levy this money supposed to be rated on
ye tieths yt l had not, the collectors were driven to pay who
had an ordei' from the Quarter Session to receive this money
from them that kept their tieths, by this order they sold and
kept other tieths other yeares, that I was endamaged ^40 in
one yeare and as much more in after yeares, the tieth they yt
sold, they sold for a trifle ; the tieth that they kept they kept
for nothing ; I had no tieth at first and yet I was rated for
them, and I never had an account for the tieth detained after-
wards in lieu of sattisfaction for such rates or contributions.
i4th. I have bin brought lo debts by their meanes
formerly, and they saw that I had a wife and seven children
that could not help themselves, and I have spent ye coyne,
plate, cattle and other goods left unto them and me for future
maintenance, and yet iheir consciences give them leave nott
only to detain our livlyhood themselves but to give them away
to gain proselytes, I would they would consider ihe woes
against scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites denounced by our
Saviour in Matt. 23. A woe is repeated there four times (1)
Because the\' did not shutt up ye kingdom of Heaven before
men and (2) Because they devoure widows houses and (3)
Because they did compasse sea and land to make more of ihe
184 Motes 011 the Parish Register of
proffession and (4) Because they had blind guides which
say'd, \vhosoevers\vearth b}' the temple it is nothing, and I
sa}' 1 could wish that the}' would examine liow near these
woes are appliable unto them ; I am sure a prophet might tell
them, as Natlian sa^'d unto David, thou art ilie mann.
i^thly. Wooll will grow after sliearing, and haire will
grow after polhng and sliaveing, but when ye skinne is
scorched and burnt with ye flame, notliing will grow to cover
ye carcasse. It was a hard cause yt a man of my charge
must needs be in sucli a sad condition tliat lost the greatest
part of my meanes 10 yeares leaving me noe relief nor help
all the while. Yet if they had left me so I might have born
it, but I ma\- sa}- as Hecuba sayd in Seneca's tragedies ;
Troja jam vetus sat malum ; the conventiclers proceeded to
act against me and to enact new ordnances by their own
power b}' da}' and b}' night. In the former act their intention
was to exempt them only that called themselves members of
ye Church, butt very many of the rest play'd ye same part, in
3^e yeare 1649 all the parishioners detained their tieths, and
about ye later end of September they putt foorth a new
Statute :
ist. They abolished and abrogated all manner of t^^eths
and allowed me 2S. 2d. of every pound rent. This Lewis
Williams being a principall agent in their rates and conven-
ticles was pleased to call an allotment to ye parson of 2S. 2d.
the pd. in lieu of tieths.
16. I never gave consent, much lesse repaire or come att
any time to this confused and unlawful assembl}' but
demanded ye tith and something I had of some of them, the
which I receaved in pt of payment, and not in full and plenary
sattisfaction of any of 'em, tho'all that I had did not amount
to halfe their allowance that 3'ear. I was driven to pay rates
and taxations yt yeare to a great value. Notwithstanding the
next yeare, about Michaelmas, the^' had a second review, and
tooke away 2d allow'd out of every pound in ye former
allottment.
17. This was 1650 then the^^ pa^'d a great deal worser
then before they had done, butt little coyne in both 3'ears, but
comodities ^d or ^d in ^-e shillings dearer than in 3'e Markett,
Merthyr Tydjìl, froni 1703 to 1763. 185
yet for all this they are dumbe and deafe ; the ^d year (51) till
December was past. In January they proceeded (statu quo
prius) and appointed Collectors to-gether as aforesaid tlio'
they knevv yt in this parish about yt time of yç. yeare a groat
is not so easily had as i2d in ye summer or aulumne ; The
Collectors make an empty visit and returned a Nil habes ;
Thus was I left, when there was noe fiuite abroad, scarce and
herb or a root to dine or sup with all.
They made since noe further provision for me, the best of
'em stand upon 2S. a pound still, And that, say they, they
cannot pa}', Because the contribution's are soe great ; I dare
say that tho' I was neyer a dehnquent ejected or sequestred,
all yt I had these seaven yeares being putt together, wiH not
make up 6d the pound of every pound in the parish.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS AND FACSIMILES.
St. Tydfil's Church (2 views) . . facing p. 157
Blaencanaid, Nonconformist Meeting-
House (1620-1629) .. .. ,, 160
Ruins of Cwm-y-glo Chapel — Noncon-
formist Meeting-Place (1690-1749). ,, 161
Interior of St. Tydfìrs Church and Font ,, 162
Drawing of Old Wall of the Chancel,
as it appeared in 189Ó . . . . „ 163
Facsimile Entries from the Parish
Register, Merthyr Tydfil, in Welsh
and Latin . . . . . . ,, 164
Facsimile " Memorandum " from tlie
Register .. .. .. ,, 165
i8ó The ParisJi Retrister, Merthyr Tydjil.
Portraits of Tliomas Lewis of the Van
(d. 1736) and his Wife ; and of P.
W. Murray Threipland (1925), des-
cended üij ihe niaternal side froni
the faniily of Lewis .. .. faciìig \>. 166
Monument to Thomas Lewis of the
Van, iii the Church at Soberton, Co.
Hampshire . . . . . . ,, 167
Facsimile from the Register: Collec-
tions for olliei Churches .. .. ,, 168
Facsimile fiom the Register : Entries of
Baptisms by Dissenting Ministers „ 169
The Cüurt, Merthyr Tydfil .. .. ,, 171
Facsimile Letter of the Rev. Nathaniel
Jones {circa 1620) inserted in the
Parish Register .. .. ,, 179
(perfe^î)tx)fab.
By T. P. ELLIS, M.A. (0x011.),
Author uf •' Thfí First E.ttcnt of Broìnfìidd anil Yali'".
SoBiE misapprehension appears to exist regardiug the
extent to wliich the Welsh popuhition of Northern Den-
bighshire was expropriated aiid its phice taken by English
immigrants as a result of the Edwardian Conquest.
It has been asserted that the population of the Vale
of Clwyd is largely, if not niainly, of Eng-lish descent,
the Welsh inhabitants haying- been transplanted, hence an
examination of the facts which appear in the Survey òf
Denbigh, a document prepared with meticulous care some
fifty years after the death of Llewelyn, may be of interest
as showing, at least approxiinately, what actually occurred
in that part of the territory lying to the west of the
Clwyd. Of tlie easrern or Flintshire portion of the valley
we have no early record of the same nature.
The Perfeddwlad and the struggle for its domination
played a large and important part in the early history of
North Wales.
There is some ground for believing that it was settled
or resettled in part in the time of Aneurin or Rhodri
Mawr by Cymric immigrants brought in from Strath-
clyde. However that may be at the time of Domesday a
very considerable portion of it was regarded as English
territory and as attached to the County Palatine of
Chester.
I 88 Tìie Eiiglísh Elenioit iii the Perfeddiülad.
It liad beeu niviig-ed ;nid desolated by Harold iii his
iiivasioii of Wales to sucii aii exteiit that tlie ooiiiitry-side
was little better than a howliiio- wildei'iiess, so much so
that the iiumber of plouohs the laiid could support,
accordiug- to Domesday, was infiiiitesmal.
Between that date and the death ot Llewelyn, the
country under tlje rule of tlie Welsli princes of the
restored line of Cunedda, recovered its prosperity and was
repopuhited by Welshmen.
As a result of tlie Edwardian Conquest the northern
part of Denbighshire was formed into the Honour of
Denbigh, and g-ranted to a succession of Norman baronial
faniilies holding- under the King.
In dealing with the Welsli tenants of the lordship the
first fact to notice is that the hoidings or the shares in tlie
holding's of those wlio had fought fur Llewelyn or in the
subsequent risings to tiirow oít the Normaii yolce were
escheated, and tiie manorial or maerdref rights, which
were not extensive, of the old Princes passed into the
hands of tlie 7iew baronial overlords. In this way very
considerable areas, or shares in areas, came into the
possession of the new lords, and they were enabled there-
by to change the system of tenure to some extent from a
tribal and customary tenui-e to one by indiyiduals paying
cash-rents.
The escheated areas were scattered up and down the
lordship ; hardly a ville being- free from some degree of
forfeiture. On some of these forfeited lands Norman and
English tenants were settled, and in some cases Welsh
tenants were induced or compelled to exchange such of
their lands as had not been escheated, and submit to
transplantation on to the escheated lands of other tribes-
men in other portions of the lordship, the transplantation
being generally from the east to the west of the lordship.
Tlie English Element in tJie Perfeddiülad. i 89
In this way some villes passed entirely into the lord's
hands enabling- liim to create 'bloclcs' of non-tribal
territory. It was niuch more the aim of tlie lord, for
political and economic reasons, to ci'eate cash-tenures and
indÌYÌdual holding-s than to expropriate the Welsh tenants
as a whole, so it \>^^ no means followed that all escheated
lands, or even all the consolidated blocks of non-tribal
territory, were settled with tenants from over the border.
The Survey of Denbigh enables us to determine partially
to what extent there was an introduction of a foreio-n
element and to what extent tlie country remained Welsh.
The Honour of Denbigh consisted of five cjnnwds,
Rhos Uwchdulas, Rhos Isdulas, Rbufoniog Uwchaled,
Rhufoniog Isaled and Cymeircli.
Tlie largest of all these cymwds was UwchduIaS;, but
its actual area is not g-iven in tlie Survey, though it could
not be less than 30,000 acres.
Uwchdulas remained in the hands of Welshmen,
whether the old owners or transplantees, practically
entirely. Attempts were made to establish boroughs at
Llanrwst and Erethlyn. The latter was entirely Welsh,
and in the former the Survey mentions only two English-
men as burgesses, one of whom was also a resident in
Cyineirch, who between them held only four burgaÊ^e
tenements and five acres of land.
Throughout the rest of this cymwd, which includes
within its limits the extremely fertile valley of the
Conway and a strip of excellent land near the sea, there
were no English settlers in so far as the Survey of
Denbigh shows. To the north of the cymwd the ville of
Llysfaen, which originally belonged to and stiU forms part
of Carnarvonshire, being- detached from the main body
of the county, passed for a time into the Honour of
Denbigh with the ville of Penmaen. In Llysfaen there
190 The E^iglish Elemenf in the Perfeddiülad.
were four Eng-lislimen, one of whom held elsewhere, who
between them helcl 108 acres, so that in this cymwd there
were only four English settlei-s, not accounted for else-
where, and the total area of land in English occupation
was less than 120 acres.
The cymwd of Isdulas, which includes the whole of the
north-western part of the vale of Clwyd and some first-
class land, contained rather more than 13,000 acres,
dÌYÌded among- some 21 villes or hamlets, the lai'gest of
which was Aberg-ele, and the smallest Hendre. In only
five of these settlements were any English or Norman
tenants located. In the very important ville of Wigfair
one English tenant, who also lield in Cymeirch, received
10 acres. In Dinorbyn Fawr three (two of whom held
also in Cynieirch) held eig'ht acres between them ; in Hen-
dregyda six, two of whora held elsewhere, wei-e possessed
of 42 acres, and in Ceoridosr one Eng'lishman and one
Englishwoman, of whom the first-named held also in
Cymeirch, held nine acres in all.
The only ville in which there was any appreciable
English settlement was Abergele. Here an important
borough was created, and among the burgesses there were
19 who bear non-Welsh names, seven of whom were land-
holders elsewhere. In addition to them a few other
English holders of land, all but two being holders else-
where, are mentioned. Between them these immigrants
held 213 acres only out of 3,832 acres with of course some
rights in the common pasture-lands.
In the cymwd of Isdulas, therefore, the English element
was to all intents and purposes negligible. Excluding
those accounted for elsewhei'e there were 20 Englishmen,
and the non-Welsh area was 282 acres, held mainly in the
ville of Abergele.
In Uwchaled, which contains souie 17,500 acres, with
The Eng/ish E/einent in thc Perft'ddzv/ad. i 9 1
the exception of one vil]e. prnctically the sanie charac-
teristics prevailed.
In that cyniwcl there were 22 vil]es, and in 19 of them
thei-e were no Eng-lish tenants at all. In Deunant one
Englishman, who also held land in Cymeirch, held two
acres, and in Gru^^or the same tenant and two other
Eng-lishmen, one of whom also held in Cymeirch, held
between them 22^ acres out of some 870.
Archwedlog-, a vil]age of 566 acres, was treated quite
differently. It had belonged in ancient times to two
Welsh clans. A portion of their lands was escheated and
they were espropiiated from the whole of the remainder,
being- g-iven land in iieu in other villes.
Adjoining- was tlie bamlet of Hafodraeth, which had
apparently been the summer grazing ground of the old
inhabitants of Lleweni, which, as we will see later, had
become Anglicized. This hamlet, together with sorae
12 acres transferred from the neighbouring- vi]]age of
Chwilbren, was included in the new area of Archwedlofif,
thus creating a ' block ' of 984 acres at the disposal of the
lord.
Out of these lands about 480 acres were alloted to the
burgesses of Denbigh, who were entirely English, probably
as a summer pasture ground for their cattle, 810 acres
were allotted to ten English tenants for the purpose of
cattle-breeding on a special tenure, and 182 acres for
cultivation to those ten and two others, six of whom also
appear as holding land elsewhere.
Thus in this cymwd rather less than 1,000 aci-es out of
17,500 passed out of the hands of the old Welsh tenants
to Englisli tenants, and these in the main in one ville.
Exc]uding the Denbigh burgesses, who are accounted for
elsewhere, the total English land-liolding population of
the cymwd, not holding land elsewhere, was seven.
192 The English Element in the Perfeddwlad.
In the remaining- cymwds, wliich occupy the northern
and niiddle portion of the Vale of Clwj^d, a more extensive
immig'ration occured.
Isaled contained nearly 26,000 acres of land divided
among some 23 villés and hamlets of varying sizes from
the gigantic ville of Prees with its 8,878 acres, in the
grazing g'rounds of which all the Welsh tenants of the
lordship had some rights, down to the minute ville of Le
Graba with its 94 acres.
In most of these villes some English orNorman settlers
are to be found. No English settlers are to be found in
Llechred (450 acres), Carwedfynydd (1,815 acres), Dinas
Cadfel (263 acres) Penporchell (1,048 acres) and Twysog
(733 acres).
In some of the others the English element was
negligible. In Taldragh (365 acres) one Englishman
held three acres ; in Nantglyn Cynan out of 564 acres 18
only had been held by a single Englishnian, who however
had surrendered the land to a Welshman in exchange; in
Nantglyn Sanctorum, the area of which is not given, one
Englishman held some 10 acres, and in Prees three acres
only out of 8,878 wei-e held by one Englishman.
In a few other villes the area held by Englishmen was
more considerable.
In Eriviat (area 2,465 acres) out of an escheated area
of 1,483 acres part was allotted to transplanted tribesmen
and some Welsh cash-tenants, and 243 acres were tenanted
by 26 Englishmen, of whom 11 held elsewhere. In
Bodeiliog (176 acres) six Englishmen received 54 acres ; in
Bodiscawn ^^ acres out of 722 were held by eight English-
men ; and in Talabryn 231 acres out of 560 went to 23
Englishmen, of whom ten had land elsewhere.
In the neighbourhood of Deiibigh a large block of
mainly Anglicized territory was created. Denbigh itself
The Eìiglisli Elemeiit in the Perfeddiülad. 193
contained sonie 818 acres. In the time of the priiices it
was held by unfree tenaiits, one third of whose holdings
was escheated, and froin the reiuainino- two thirds they
were expropriated iinder the euphemism of ' exchange '.
The area was devoted mainly to the castle and its parks,
a ininute area was occupied by tlie borough, whose
burgesses were given land in Lleweni, and only some 42
acres were arrented to eight Engli^h tenants, three of
whom are included in the Cymeirch hmd-holders.
There were a few Welshmen in Denbigh, but they
do not appear to have held land, and for all practical
purposes Denbigli becauie an English settlement grouped
round the lord's castle.
There was little hmd avai]able theie after the o-reat
parlîs licid been created, and the English colony of
Denbigh received lands in Lleweni.
Lleweni eontained some 4,559 acres, and with the ex-
ception of 187 acres held in 1334 A.D. by Welshmen, the
whole of the ville was escheated or ' exchanged '. Of the
escheated or exchanged area 56 acres were held by Welsh-
men and the remaining 4,316 acres were alloted to some
175 persons with English or Norman names, of whom 43
held land elsewhere.
It is perhaps of passing interest to note that in this,
the most extensive English settlement in Denbigh, some
of these settlers later identified themselves entirely with
Welsh interests, became in fact thoroughly Welsh. It
will sufíìce to note the names of the Salusburys, one of
which family added lustre to his name and did service to
Wales by his translation of the Bible into Welsh. There
was Alice the wife of Thomas Salusbury, who held ten
acres of land, Henry the son of Adam Salusbury wlio had
four acres, and John Salusbury, who held about 25 acres.
For all practical purposes the large ville of Llsweni
194 The Efiglish Eie?není in the Perfeddiu/ad.
became a Norman-Eng-lish settlement, and some other
YÌlles in the neighbourhood of Denbigh shared a ]ike fate.
The YÌlle of Berain (737 acres) came by escheat or
exchange entirely into the lord's hands, and with Ihe
exception of four acres held by a Welsh tenant, 647 acres
were arrented to twenty-three English tenants, of whora
seven held elsewhere, the rest lying vacant.
Le Graba (94 acres), Avhich in the tinie of the Welsh
princes was unreclaimed woodland, was partly de-afforested,
and 65 acres were arrented to five Englishmen, two of
whom held elsewhere. Bronsldp (120 acres), a small
nativus ville, was escheated entirely and 115 acres leased
to English tenants, all but two of whom also had land in
other villes.
Gwaenynog, which consisted of two parts, Cynan and
Wyntus, containinw 238 and 137 acres respectively, gave
shelter to twenty-two Englishmen, nine of whom had
other lands, 25 acres only reniaining- in Welsli hands.
Galltfaenan, a ville of 390 acres, was partly Anglicized,
252 acres were escheated, and 248 acres were occupied by
eiíîht Eno'lish tenants, six of whom had other lands as
well in Cymeirch or Isaled.
The remaining area was held by Welshmen.
The last ville to notice in the cymwd is Ystrad Cynan.
This ville, which contained 574 acres, was exchanged or
escheated in its entii-ety. 142 acres were alloted to nineteen
English tenants, of whom fourteen are accounted for
elsewhere, and the rest of the area was included in the
demesne of Denbio^h or Kilford or arrented there.
It would appear, therefore, that in so far as Isaled was
concerned some fertile lands in the centre of the Clwyd
valley was formed into an Anglicized block with Denbigh
in the middle of it. Elsewhere the cymwd remained
mainly in Welsh hands. Out of sonie 26,000 acres 6,561
The English Ele^nent in the Pe7'feddivlad. 195
acres were arrented to Englishmen numbering^ altogether
223, seven out of every nine of whom lived in Lleweni.
The Welsh population it is not possible to estimate
aceurately, owing* to the systeni of scattered tribal
holdings, but some 559 names of men, who held hind in
this cymwd exclusively, appear.
These figures do not include the nativi tenants of the
free population, but it may be said with a certain degree
of definiteness that about one quarter of the lands of
Isaled was lield by Eng-lish tenants, who numbered not
more tliat two-sevenths of the population, such two-
sevenths being grouped in a faiily compact and isolated
block.
In Cymeirch much the same thing happened. This
cymwd contained 11,000 acres, divided among' some nine-
teen villes and hamlets. In seventeen of these English
tenants to varying- extents were settled, and two only,
Brynlluar (222 acres) and Caeserwydd (158 acres) remained
in Welsh hands exclusively.
In soine villes the Ençflish element was neo-lio-ible.
In Llwyn (137 acres) one-eighth of tlie ville only was
escheat and was leased to an English tenant who also
had land in Lleweni and elsewhere. The rest of the ville
was held by Welsh priodorion.
In Prion (1,208 acres) threetwenty-fif ths were escheated.
Only 26^ acres were arrented to five Englishmen, one of
whom also held in Llewesog, the rest being arrented to
Welshmen or reserved as village pasture land.
In Postu (1,010 acres) rather more than one-third of
the ville was escheated, but only two acres were held by
an Englishman, who resided in Gyfíiliog.
Ystrad Owain (294 acres) was in the time of the
princes a ' maerdref ' or manor of the prince, in which a
few unfree tenants also had holdings. The tenants seem
o 2
196 The English Element in tJie Perfeddivlad.
to have talceii no part in the rising-s as no esclieats are
recorded. The few cottiers were, however, transplaiited
to Segrwyd and Llewesog, and with the exception of four
to five acres g-ranted in demesne to a Franco-Noruian, the
rest of the area was cultivated or pastured as before, but
was included in the new manor of Kilford. No informa-
tion is g-iven as to the nationality of tbe cultivators, but it
seems most probable that tlie old maerdref-tenants con-
tinued to cultivate on an insecure tenure.
Kilford (617 acres) was held in the time of the Welsh
princes by unfree tenants, who also owned Postu and
Gyffyliog'. Some two-thirds of the area of Kilford were
escheated and the tenants of the remainder were trans-
planted on to the escheated lands in Postu. Kilford
became thereby entirely lord's demesne, cultivated or
pastured as a home-farm along with the tiansferred area
of Ystrad Owain. Two English tenants were g-ranted
secured tenure of 40 acres in bovates on cash-rents, and
some 50 acres were held in plots by those two and five
other Englishmen as tenants-at will. The nationality of
the cultivators of the home-farm is not oiven,but it seenis
probable that there was a mixed population of paid
labourers, mostly consisting of dispossessed Welshmen.
Gyffiliog, a small ville of 128 acres only, was entirely
escheated. 92 acres were granted to two English castle-
ward tenants holding elsewhere, 12 to the same two on
cash-rents, 14 to a third Englishman, who also held
elsewhere, and 10 acres grass-land were accorded to them
for free herbage.
Segrwyd, with its adjacent hamlets of Gader, Pemmaen
and Gasyth, contained 2,650 acres. With the exception
of one half of Gasyth the villes had been held jointly by
nativi. Out of the whole area 1,209 acres were escheat,
part of which was lef t in the ville of Segrwyd, and the
The English Eleinent in the Perfeddiülad. igy
rest iiicluded within the limits of Segrwyd Park, which
also seems to have included some areas transferred from
other YÌlles, especially Garth, 242 acres out of a total of
367 being- transferred, the tribal owners being removed to
Caeserwydd, and 72 acres let to Eiiglish tenants who, with
the area held by them, are accounted for in Segrwyd proper.
In Segrwyd proper 232 acres were held on cash-rents
by fourteen Englishmen, one of whom held also in Kilford,
and in Segrwyd Park a large English settlement of sixty-
four new tenants and seven holders in Segrwyd was
planted on 926 acres.
Cernyfed (636 acres) was originally unreclaimed forest
land.
Part of it was de-afPorested, some 52 acres being held
by a Welsh tenant and 364 by twenty-two Englishmen,
two of whom have been ah*eady accounted for.
Five other villes remain, in whicli the English and
Welsh populations were more or less balanced.
Brynbagle (427 acres), and formerly a part of Prion,
was entirely escheated and made a cattle breeding centre.
300 acres were held for pasture by five Englishmen and
the rest by four Welshmen.
Isceibion (847 acres) was also entirely escheated or
' exchanged '. Twenty-six new English tenants and six
who held land elsewhere were settled on 350 acres, forty-
five Welsh tenants being located on an approximately
equal area, the rest becoming herbage land.
In Bachymbyd 528 out of 840 acres were escheated,
the balance being held by the old Welsh priodorion.
Twenty-six English tenants, including foiirteen from
Isceibion and elsewhere, were settled on 475 acres, the
balance of the 528 acres being allotted to Welsh tenants
or for herbage.
Llewesog had 296 acres out of 478 escheated ; 156
198 The Ênglish Element in the Perfedd'iülad.
were arrented to eight Eng-lishmen including two from
Isceibion, the rest was left to the old priodorion or allo-
cated to Welsh transferees.
Luohern, a ville of 145 acres only, sufPered escheat to
the extent of nine-sixteenths, of which 55 acres went to
seven Englishnien, all of whom had other lands. The
rest of the ville was Welsh.
In Cymeirch, therefore, out of a total acreage of nearly
11,000 acres, 3,126 Avere allotted to 158 English tenants,
not accounted for in Isaled, and something lilce 1,700
acres were i*eserved for demesne and woodland.
The number of Welsh tenants cannot be determined
with complete accuracy, but the total appears to have
been about 185, so that it may be stated that in popula-
tion Cymeirch was rather less than half-Anglicized, the
major portion of the English population being centred in
Segrwyd, Isceibion and Cernyfed, while in area, excluding
the demesne, rather less than one-third passed into
English lands.
Taking the whole of the lordship, 10,979 acres out of
97,500 passed to Englishmen, numbering in all 412 land-
holders.
Some of these landowners were women, they also include
fathers and sons holding separately, but if we allow each
landholder to represent a family of four, the result is an
English population of some 1,650 persons, mostly concen-
trated in the valley, not of the Clwyd, but of the Ystrad.
The Welsh population cannot be estimated in quite
the same way, owing to the scattered nature of the tribal
holdings, and tlie difficulty in determining whether a
person enumerated in one ville has been enumerated in
another. Allowing, however, for errors in computation
the Welsh population of the lordship seems to have been
slightly in excess of 10,000 inen, women and children.
The English Element in the Perfeddivlad. 199
The apportionment of families of four to each recorded
land-holder may, no doubt, be excessive, and the total
population, Eng-lish and Welsh, be estimated at too hiorh
a fio-ure : but the cardinal fact remains that not more
than fifteen per cent, of the population of the Honour of
Denbiffh was Eno-lish or Norman in 1334 A.D.
In the above résumé no account of the estates of the
Church has been taken. The Llyfr Coch Asaph has
unfortunately been lost to us, but if we may consider the
evidence of its Index, in so far as it throws light on the
subject, and the comparable evidence as to what took'
place in the Bangor diocese, it seems improbable that
there was any noteworthy admixture of English immi-
grants with the Welsh popuhition on Church hmds.
of f afob (1 794=1807).
Selected froiii the Cuinberlaiid Papers, Britisli Museuni,
Add. MSS. 36491—36516.,
By HEEBEET M. YAUGHAN, M.A., F.S.A.
Under the title ot' " The Hafod Press and Colonel
Thomas Johnes " there is included in the Transadions of
this Honourable Society, for 1911-12, a mono<^raph by me
on the story of the Hafod PresS and its translations from
tlie old French chroniclers. In tliis article I propose
to give soine further letters of Colonel Thomas Johnes,
selected froiu the Cumberland Papers in the British
Museum {Additioìial MSS. 36491-36516), since they throw
a g^ood deal of ligbt not onlj on the personalitj of Johnes
himself but on the growth of Hafod and its surrounding-s.
The many allusions to farining, politics, and other local
matters, also niake interesting* reading. All these letters
are addressed to Johnes' friend, George Cuniberland,
whose correspondence was dejDOSited, in 1849, in tbe
British Museum, on condition that it was not thrown
open to the public tiU the year 1900. I shall, however,
start my account with a letter from Johnes to the cele-
brated agriculturist and traveller, Arthur Young-, the
Suffo]k squire and farmer, whose "Travels in France ",
both before and after the French Revolution, has long-
become a classic. This letter is to be found in Add.
MSS., 35128, f. 160.
So7)ie Letters of Tho7nas Johnes of Hafod. 201
"Hafod, April 15, 1799.
Dear Sir, — As this was the usual time our Society of Agri-
culture [of Cardigaushire] publishedtheir annual report, I trouble
you with this to account why you have not receired one accord-
ing to my promise.
This county has had a very severe loss in the sudden death
of our very worthy secretary, the Revd. Mr. Turnor, and I have
lost a very sincere friend. In his last letter to me he complained
much of the non-attendance and íion-payment of the members ;
I very much fear this favourite child of mnie, which he so kindly
nursed, wiU not succeed as I have ever wished it. However, no
exertions of mine shall be wanting for its support.
Ever since I last saw 3'ou I have been at this place attending
the long illness of an only child [Miss Mariamne Johnes]. Thank
God, notwithstaiiding the very great variety of this winter, we
have now a fair prospect of her recovery. My chief amusement
has been my farm and planting, and should j'ou ever make an
Excursion near this coiinty. I shall be very happy to show you
both. Much lias been done but more remains.
Should any of your friends want to purchase a very magni-
ficent place, I have such to dispose of. It is called Croft Castle :
5 miles from Leominster and 7 from Ludlow. Tlie Castle is in
excellent repair and fit for the possession of a large family
directly. The demesne is near 1400 acres, and has upwards of
£20,000 of the finest timber in England. Two advow'Sons, and
two manors. Possession may immediately be had ; £20,000 may
remain 011 mortgage.
This has been a very hard winter upon us mountain farmers ;
the losses among the sheep and lambs are very great indeed. I
know not when to expect an end of it, for it snows and hails as
fast as if it was the middle of December instead of April.
I am, dear Sir, Your very obedient, humble servant,
T. JOHNES".
The Reyerend David Turnor, lionorarj secretaryof the
Cardiganshire Agricultural Society, had died on March
7th, 1799. He was the son of " Honest Levi^is Turnor "
of Crugniore, in the parish of Llangoedmor, and at the
time of his death was vicar of Penbryn in Cardiganshire
and rector of Manordeiíi in Pembrokeshire. The Turnors
were evidently well-known personally to Sir S. R. Meyrick,
for he oives a very full account of this family in his
202 Some Letters of Thoiiias Johnes of Hafod.
County Histoiy, pp. 226-229 uiider " Wervilbrook ", and
also in his accouut of Llang-oedmor parish, pp. 114-118.
Crugmore, a corrupted form of Crûg Mawr, now a farm-
liouse, is situated below tlie Crng Mawr two miles above
Cardigan, near the Aberjstwyth road. Wervilbrook, the
later residence of the Turnor family, stands near the
high road above New Inn, in tlie parish of Llangranog.
Croft Castle, in Herefordshire, was Thomas Johnes's
own property by rig-ht of his mother, Elizabeth Knight,
the wife of Thomas Johnes, M.P., and daughter and heiress
of Richard Knight, of Croft Castle.
The remaining letters are all addressed to George
Cumberland, of Bristol, the author of " An Attempt to
describe Hafod ", published in London, 1796.
"Hafod, Monday (Spring of 1794?).
I am hard at work on old Froissart, and think I
shall have the first vohmie ready for the press by Christmas,
but every fine day I cannot remain at home, as I am anxious
to see my Garden and Farm. By the bye, my friend Dr.
Anderson has been very busy in making a garden for my little
girl, that is something in the pensile manner of gardening, that
we have heard so much of in Semiramis" time. It will be very
beautiful and very surprising. I am beginning this day on a new
walk to it, and shaU probably set about in the summer the wa]k
of the river above the stone bridge, which so much pleased you.
I must also change the walk on the Mül Brook, to make it
correspond with your description. We have had such continu-
ance of rain that I am all cascades, but this morning it is a very
sharp frost ; my fruit trees are in flower, so I dread the conse-
quonces. The Strelitzia is also in flower, and most beautiful".
Dr. Anderson is probably James Anderson, LL.D., of
Aberdeen (1739-1808), a Scotch agriculturist and writer
on politics.
" Miss Johnes's Garden " is stiU in existence at Hafod.
The allusion to the "pensile manner of gardening" must
refer to the " hanging gardens of Babylon " of aiitiquity.
Sonie Letters of Thomas JoJines of Hafod. 20
The Strelitsia Reginae, or Queen Flower, hacl recently
been introducecl into this couutry from the Cape by Sir
Joseph Bauks. It is a tall, sub-tropical plant, closely
related to the baiuma, with superb flame-coloured blossoms
haviuo- dark blue stamens. ünTo doubt it was a treasured
object in that " conservatory one hundred aiid sixty feet
in length, filled with rare and curious exotics, with a walk
down the centre ", which so euchanted Sir Samuel Meyrick
on visiting' Hafod.
"Ilafofl, Jiily 28th, 1794.
Sir, — You have showM so rauch paitiality to the Country
round the Deyil's Bridge, that I shall make no apology for
troubling you with this letter.
It is to inform you that within these few days an apparently
valuable mineral spring has been discovered clo?e bj' the DeyiFs
bridge. It seems to be a very strong Chalebeate ; as you may
wish to taste some of it, I have ordered a small bottle of it to be
seut by the Coach directed to you to the care of Mr. Edwards
in Pall Mall, and I shall write to him this post to desire hewould
forward it to you. If future Tunbridges or Cheltenhams sliould
arise there, I trust that the beauties of Nature are of features too
grand for any ornaments of art to have other effects than to
make the old Lady appear moi'e beautiful
Indeed, I am anxious to show you, who have seen this place
in its original wildness, that by beautifying it, I have neither
shorn or tormented it. I shall remain here from my Regiment
as long as I can "'.
"Hafod, Monday. (Spring of 1796.)
I have long thought of the Druidical Temple for
your famous Rnoll, and this last winter I accidentally met Mr.
Harrison, the Architect, whom I had long wanted to see, and
desired him to make his remarks on whatevfer Druidical Temples
he should and give me a Sketch of one. I understand from him
that I can have Stones of any size from the Quarries on the
Mersey. Upright stones will be all we shall want, for our Flat
Slates are to be had very large to cover it. I should imagine ten
or twelve very large Upright Blocks would be sufficient.
I have formed a new walk to Dr. Anderson'spensile garden ;
it wiU be very different from all I have ; and in the course of the
summer shall niake out the walk up the River. 1 have already
204 Soiìie Letters of Thomas Jolines of Hafod.
marked the line it must take ; that will be the first thing I have,
especially when the planting (if I can undertake it) is finished
next winter "
Tliomas Harrison (1744-1829) was a popular architect
of liis day. His best work is the Grosveiior Bridge over
the Dee, uear Chester. He also erected the (uow ruined)
George III. Jubilee Memorial on Moel Vammau, and the
obelislís to Lord Hill at Shrewsbury and to Lord Anglesey
at Plâs Newydd.
"Hafod, June 17, 1796.
" I should sooner have thanked you for yours of the iî7th
May, had I not been in a continued bustle. Loveden seems to
hüve completely done for himself. He has lost his own seat, and
by liis crooked politics has enabled two to gain seats which he
was most anxious to keep out. He was indiíferent who came in
for this County and Town, provided Mr. Vaughan and myself
were exchided. Xo couuty ever behaved more handsomel^' nor
has anyone ever received more personal marks of attachment,
which as long as I retain, he may vent his maHce, but can never
carry it into eö'ect. No one ever took less pains for a seat in
Parliament than myself, and had 1 not been so honourably
called on, I shoukl have remained here in quiet plantinsr mj'
Cabbages. Nor has any Election cost so little, considering
there was a sort of Contest ; a very few hundreds will pay for
all. My opponent does not come oíF so cheap. But of this
moi'e, wlien we meet. I shali liold my Parliament here for I
told my friends I thought I miglit be more useful to the County
at Hafod than at Westminster
You wiU be surprised when 1 tell you there are two dili-
gences as I hear coming to the DeyiFs bridge and Abei-ystwyth
from Leominster and Ludlow by diÔ'erent roads. We shall be
geìiteel, but icare necks, for I should think the passengers under-
w'ent a service of danger."
Colonel Thomas Johnes had previously been M.P. for
Eadnorshire since 1780; from this election of 1796 he
coiitinued to represent Cardiganshire till liis death in
1816.
" Loveden " is Pryse Loveden, of Gogerddan and of
Buscot Park, Berkshire. He was the son and heir of
Some Letters of Thonias JoJincs of Hafod. 205
Edward Loveden of Buscot, by his wife, Marg-aret Pryse,
heiress of Gogerddan. On his mother's death in 1798 he
assumed the name and arms of Pryse and was grand-
father of the late Sir Pryse Pryse, created a Baronet
in 1866. Subsequently, he becanie M.P. for Cardigan
Borouo'h in 1818 and sate as member till his demise in
1849.
" Yaughan " refers to the Hon. John Vaughan of Cross-
wood, half-brother of the second Earl of Lisburne, whom
he succeeded as third earl in 1820. He sat as M.P. for
Cardiçían Borouí;h fronì 1796 till 1818.
George Cumberhmd must evidently have expressed
some wish or intention to purchase an estate and settle
in Wales, for in another letter Johnes recommends his
friend to buy a small estate of his own, Penybanlc, near
Aberg-wili. — "There is much wood on Penybank Farm,
and a fine Situation for a House "
And again, — "Dr. Anderson is wild about the ìieigh-
bourhood of Carmarthen, and says he never knew such a
situation for Trade, on a fine tidal navigable river, and
a beautiful plentiful Country witii Coal and Lime round
about. He says it does not at present know its own
value, but in time must find it."
Penybank, then tlie property of Thomas Johnes, was
a farm situated on the western shoulder of Merlin's Hill,
above Abergwili and about two miles from Carmarthen.
Penybanlc subsequently became the property of the Morris
family, of Morris's Bank, Carmarthen. The late Thomas
Charles Morris, banker, about 1858 built the present
mansion of Bryn Myrddin on this very farm and on a
site that commands a splendid view up the vale of Tow}'.
"Hafod, March ^ôth, 1798.
Hafod flüurislies, my dear Sir, in spite of these
eventful tiraes, and added to these are domestic misfortunes, for
2o6 Some Letters of Thomas Johnes of Hafod.
our (lear girl has been il] these 18 inonths with a cnrvature of
the spine. We have been in very great distress, and have
remained with her ever since last May. Thank Gocl, at present
we again indulge our hopes, aiul look forward to warmer weather
with the greatest anxiety. As she is certainly much better
within the last two months, I am indiífeient to other ijlagues. I
shouhl then more sensibly feel my Mother's conduct, who urged
on by her advisers was endeavouring to pillage me as much as
possible ; and perhaps also I should be more sensible of the
present dangei'ous state of pub]ick affairs
I liave been long planting and pruning ; by to-morrow I
shall have planted upwards of 600,000 Trees this season. I am
more and more attached here, and only wish to possess my wife
and child, and then never to move from hence, for I am qiiite
sick of Pnblic Affairs in every sense of them
I fìnd the days too short, for what with farming, planting,
and reading, etc, I have more emjîloyment than I have time
for."
"Hafod, Sept. 8th, 1799.
.... We have liad the pleasure of seeing your Brother here,
but I could not keep liim longer tlian a day. We mixed farming
with Picturesque ; of course saw neither well. He seemed verj'
much delighted, & what ílattered me much paid me many com-
pliments as to my Farming, Stock, etc. This from a Gloucester-
shire man was very pleasing indeed ".
" Hafod. Jany. SOth, 1800.
.... I liave recommenced my translation of old Froissart
with the ardour of renewed Love. It will be the better for hav-
ing lain by, as I take now much more pains, and begin to hope it
may be valuab]e. I only mention this, as you will judge from it
that I think my girl in a fair way, otherwisemy attentions would
have been occupied by her illness ; that swallowed up everything
else ".
The first of the four quarto volumes of Sir John
Froissart's " Chronicles " was printed and published at
the Hafod Press in 1803.
"Hafod, March 9th, 1800.
I hate as much copying as you can, and tlierefore
give it up. God help the Printer ! for if he decyphers some of
my blots, I shall advise him next to attempt the Hieroglyphicks
in Egypt, etc. I ouglit to tell yon tliat I should never have
Some Letters of Thoìnas Johnes of Hafod. 207
iinflertaken so very laborions and considerable a work as a new
Translation of Froissart, if I had not been nrged on by the
partiaUty of three persons whose juclgment I have a high opinion
of, as well as of their Honesty. I hope therefore the public wiU
be pleased. Ilad I however foreseen the great diftìculty I should
have had, my Laziness, which is in the exti-eme, would have
shunned it with horror. My girl's illness madu me not think of
it. Her good appearance brought back other ideas, and I hope
I am now fìxed to the collar, until I shall have fìnished by Christ-
mas tvvelvemonth. As I have returned to the old Gentleman
con amore, I shall thank yon to write to ISIr. Fagan for any manu-
scripts that relate to the history of the 14th century, and if
there is any tiue collection of books or of drawings, I should like
to add them to my beauties here.
I have now been so iong quiet, that I do not think I shall be
tempted to leave it for the bustle of a töwn ; nor do I envy any
of our soi-disant great men. There are pursuits for all ages. I
have had my share of Gaieties, and it is time to retire ; not like
a Misanthrope, bnt with a desire to do as much good as pos-
sible "
Robert Fag-an (d. 1816) ví^as a well-known connoisseur
and collector of his day. His collection of pictures was
sold to Williain Beckford, and by Beckford to Mr. Hart
Davis, of Cardigan Priory. It was ultimately bought by
Mr. Miles, of Leigh Court, near Bristol.
"Jany. 19th, 1801.
.... You will not repent turning farmer ; at least I know
from experience that it has been the saving of me, for my farm
turns out a very sincere friend
" We have completely succeeded in making Parmesan ! ! ! !
Come and taste it".
" I will give you a copy of my "'Ad^ice to Tenants",
which I liave had translated into Welsh to give to those deserv-
ing among them. Your copy will be iii English, & contains all
our Dairy receipts, wliich are valuable a.'î having all succeeded".
This refers to Johnes's " A Cardiganshire Landlord's
Advice to his tenants ", an octaTO volume of 134 pages,
that had been printed by Biggs and Cottell, of Bristol, in
1800. It is a fairly cominon book ; but the later edition
2o8 Some Letters of Thonias Johnes of Flafod.
printed at the Hafocl Press is exceedingly scarce, aiid of
this I have only seen one copy, in the library of Principal
J. H. Davies. Tlie Welsh version, "Cynghorion Priodor
o Garedig'ion etc", was the work of Dr. Owen Pughe, and
was published by S. Pousseau in London in the sanieyear.
(See "The Hafod Press and Colonel Thonias Johnes":
Transadioîis of the Hon. Society of Cymmrodorion, Session
1911-1912).
"Deo. 3rc1, 1801.
My Dairy has aiiswered very well. I have sold
1200 Ibs. of Butter at 8d., and foiir Tons of Cheese at Gd., after
haying kept a sufficiency for the House and School Kext year
I propose having near a Hundred Cows. if I can get money to
buy them. We mean to have a Winter dairy this year as a trial.
If it sncceeds, as I think it must, I will never suíî'er a cow to be
out of the House, except during right in the summer tinie."
Hafod,Sept. 12th, 1803.
A farmer's life is a laborious one, and unless it is
constantly attended to, must fail. This I know from myself,
and always endeavour to reduce things as niuch as possible to a
certainty. Yet in spite of all, disappointment.s will ari.se, & the
doctrine in law qid facit pcr alterum faeit jìc-r se may be good
thei'e ; it is the reverse in farming. My farni is but now beginning
to repay, for at this moment I am not half stocked with sheep.
I imported last year 40 Heifers from Holland, and we made near
5 Tons of the finest Gloucester, Cheshire, Stilton, & Cheddar
Cheeses, not one drop of cream taken from them, but we could
iiot get a market anywhere, for I tried all places in vain ; and
now we have 2.500 Ibs., and sell them to the workmen at 5d. and
6d. per Ib. . . ."
•'Clifton. June 21st, 1802.
I have found you a companion for Plinlimmon,
that you will thank me for : an excellent man & scholar, and as
great an enthusiast for his own country as you are. He writes,
speaks and reads Welsh, Greek, Latin, Italian & French. He is
to be in Cardiganshire the latter end of next month, and you
may fix with him to meet you at Hafod, any time òì/t the
Caräigan Assize u-eek, from whence you may undertake ycur
Pilgrimage. This Gentleman is D. Jones of Redlands ".
Some Letters of Thomas Johnes of Hafod. 209
I think " D. Jones of Redlands " can only refer to
David Jones of L]andovery, " the Welsh Freeholder",
scholar and Unitarian minister. After graduating at
Caius Colleg-e, Cambridg-e, David Jones had been called
to the bar, and was in the habit of going circuit in South
Wales, so presumably he was visitino^ Cardig'an at this
assize in his capacity of barrister. I can however find no
reference to his residing at Redlands.
Sept. 24th, 1805.
I have thrown my Swmg Bridge over the river
(Ystwyth), & it answers my expectations. I have likewise added
a fine painted window to the chiirch, and shall ei'ect the Obelisk
as soon as the workmen come. They were to have been here
yesterday se'nnight.
We have had a miserable season, scarce two dry days
together ; how the coru has been got in is somewhat miraculous.
Mrs. Johnes and our girl have both been ailing, & the first is
now not well.
Aberystwyth has literally overflowed ; people have been
forced to sleep in carriages. They are going to erect a Theatre,
and a self-appointed Master of the Ceremonies of the tribe of
Levy means to commence his operations of Coupée & Borrée next
summer. A mail coach runs once a week from Ludlow, and you
will see on the corner of this we have a post-office at the de^il's
bridge. I never remember so many curious travellers as this year.
Mariamne is making great improvement in her drawing,
under an old acquaintance of yovn-s, Stothard, who is now here.
He is very deaf, and, as the Scots say, colded".
This fìne painted window of ancient Flemish stained
glass still adorns the little parish church of Eglwys
Newydd, close to Hafod. Perhaps in this connection it
may be well to mention here the tradition that Thomas
Johnes was responsible for the removal of a stained glass
window in the Priory church of Cardigan, which he set
up at Hafod, where it perished ultimately in the fire of
1807. Possibly his erection of this Flemish glass at
Eglwys Newydd, combined with Sir S. R. Meyriclc's
account of a painted window in the mansion of Hafod
2 lo Some Letters of Thomas Jolines of Hafocí.
(whicli from the detailed description seeuis also to have
been a purchase abroad) may have given rise to this
absurd legend, for which there is not a tittle of evidence.
Thomas Stothard (1755-1834), painter and iHustrator,
was a popular artist in his daj.. and was patronised by
Johnes, Beclcf ord, and other persons of taste and wealth.
ín 1810 he decorated the Library of the new liouse at
Hafod with designs taken froni the Chronicles of Frois-
sart and Monstrelet. He is also credited with the original
sketch for Chantrey's superb monument in Eglwys
Newydd church, erected in memory of Mariamne Johnes,
who died in 1811.
"Feby. 9th, 1806.
I have seen so much of the real face of mankind
within the last two or three years, that I look on all, or at least
the greater part as Sharks, & think myself fortunate when they
do not quite devour me, bv;t are conteut with a good Collop.
What with false & professing friends & determined enemies, I
have been miraculously saved from Ruin, and shall have an
ample snfficiency in spite of them, both for Ourselves and Child ;
but all this will not make me the less desu'ous of obtruding my
person, nor more anxiouR to see the human face divine. What I
have witnessed, et guoruìii pars magnafui, has formed my opinion
that this world is a state of warfare, and that Man is animal
pugnux, who sooner than not do mischief will tear his professed
friend to pieces. Don't think I grow misanthropical ; my nature
will not allow it, but I wish for as little communication as may
be with my fellow animals."
Johnes must have changed something of his dismal
views and his belief in Hobbes's maxini of a state of war
in Nature, for a fortnight later he can write to Cumber-
land :
" Do not be afraid, my dear Sir. It is not in my nature to
turn misanthrope. I may perhaps growl now and then, when
such flagrant instances of ingratitude & roguery as I liave met
with appear ; but the storm is soon over, and the Milkiness of
human natui-e returus."
Sonie Lettcìs of Tho7iias Jolines of Hafod. 21 i
Sept. ].5th, 1806.
I have let out the farm í had in hand satisfactorily,
& been worlíing into shape a beautiful but ill-licked Cub of two
thousand acres, that will amply repay in beauty and profit within
a few years. I shall thank you to send me a rough drawing, as
rough as you please, of an Arch like to the one General Conway
erected at Park Place. There is an engravingof itin Robertson's
Bath Road from London. 1 wish it to be 20 feet high and 14
feet wide, and to be built of very large roiigh stones. such as I
have ready for it. It is to cross the high road on the point of
the Turnpike leading from Hafod to the De^il's Bridge, and will
be flanked by plantations of Larch ".
Oct. 5th, 1806.
I am very much obliged to you for your letter,and
two oharming designs for niy gatewaj'. I shall, I hope, be able
to erect it in the course of the ensuing spring; but as I have
room I shall increase the dimensions to 18 feet wide and 29
high ".
'&'
Aberystwyth is become so fashionable,that elopements
are now quite common ; and if we may gain some pecuniary
advantages from this Saxon irruption, we shall lose, I fear,
wofully as to our morals, etc ".
This Gateway or Arch is still a prominent feature on
the road between Deyil's Bridge and Eglwys Newydd
church.
" I oífered Addington to let these 7,500 acres to a
colony of Grisons [Switzers] at 1/6 an acre for three lives and
20 years after, if he would advance the 100 families £10,000 for
the expeuses and travelling, etc. His eyes did not see the
wealth these 500 persons would bring to such a country, and [he]
deserves to be cursed for it. But it was lucky for me ; it would
have ruined my Child and broken my heart, for I musthave clung
to them, and if they had not succeeded, and tho chances were
against them. I must have been involved. This individual loss
would have made the county. Candide was a grand philoso-
pher
" My sale is on Monday, and a most magnificent catalogne
it makes of near 200 articles. Those who love a dairy should
give any price for what I dispose of. And yet perhaps so
ignorant are we in these parts, they may not sell for one-third
of iheir real value "'.
2 I 2 Sonie Letters of Tliomas JoJincs of Hafod.
Henry Addington, Ist Viscount Sidmouth, was at this
time President of the Council. One can hardly blame him
for turning a deaf ear to Johnes's very dubious scheme of
transjíhinting- a number of Swiss mountaineers and their
families to Cardiganshiie, of the success of whicli even
Johnes himself seems doubtful.
January 18th, 1807.
You will see in the Courier of Wednesday and Mon-
day a prodigious fine Estate called " The Priory " to be sold.
Happy wiU the man be who can buy so very desirable & improv-
able an estate ".
" The Priory " can only refer to The Priory, Cardig'an,
wliich had been bouglit by Johnes's father from the
family of Pryse of Gogei'ddan in tbe middle of the 18th
century. No doubt it was Colonel Johnes who rebuilt the
house under John Nash (said to be a native of Cardigan),
for he certainly employed Nash at Hafod. The Priory
stands close to the church of St. Mary on the right bank
of the Teiíi. It was subsequently sold with its large
landed estate and appurtenances to Richaid Hart Davies ;
and in 1836 it became the property of Mr. Miles, banker,
of Bristoh His grandson, Colonel Napier Miles, sold The
Priory and the adjacent íìelds in 1897 to Dr. John W.
Pritchard of London. Mrs. Emily Pritchard, his wife,
was the authoress of " Cardigan Priory in the Olden
Days ", a liandsome quarto with fìne illustrations published
in 1904, but a vvork containing a profusion of errors of
every description. The house, completely modeinised and
altered, is now the Cardigan and District War Memorial
Hospital.
The last two letters to be quoted deal with the destruc-
tion of Hafod by fíre on March 13th, 1807.
" Deyil's Bridge. March 22nd [1807].
My dear Sir, — I know how much you would be shocked on
reading my sad disaster, Ä am fully sensible of your kind letter.
Sonie Letters of Thomas Johnes of Hafod. 2 1 3
Iiideefl, I have two others to thaiik yoii for. biit am iiow unable.
The blow has been most severe, & has destroyed in three short
hüurs the exertions of nearly thirty years ; lut 1 am thankf iil to
Güd it was not worse, that mj' wife and family escaped unhuit,
& that they are all well. I am insured, but not for half. The
Agent is now here from the Imperial & British. and he gives me
to understand they will act liberaily. Shoiild tliey do so, I shall
rebuild. Otherwise, I dread to think of it. All is gone. We
shall set out for London this day se'nnight. I long yet dread to
]eave these parts.
Always yours,
T. JOHNES ".
" Devirs Bridge, March 29th [1807].
My good Frieud, all niay yet turn out well ; and if the
offices behave liberally, Hafod will be rebuilt, and though
perhaps not so large, it will be more compact & handsome.
But as I liave formed a rigid resohition not to involve myself
again, my future measures must be guided by the conduct of
the offices.
The outward walls are standing, & I hope will serve ; it
seems b}^ tlieir entire appearance as if they were intended to be
continiied in the same design. On coming to it, there is no look
of desolation,for the conservatory, wonderful to say, is in perfect
preservation. All Nash's buildings are gone ; and you will say,
perhaps, no loss. But Baldwin's stand firm. I shall employ him
again, for he is an able, and I believe, an honest man ".
Thomas Baldwiii of Bath had built the first house in
1785. It is interesting to observe that Johnes had a poor
opinion of John Nash's work. Nash, the architect of
Buckingham Palace and of Regent Street, had erected
many building-s in West Wales, including* the Gaol at
Cardigan, The Priory, Ffynone, Llysnewjdd and other
local mansions. His fondness for plaster ornamentation
was satirized in a contemporary epigiam :
" Augustus at Rome was for building renowned,
For of marble he left what of brick he had found.
But is iiot our Nash, too, a very great master r
H e finds us all brick, and he leaves us all plaster ".
DA Y Cyinmrodor
700
C9
v.3$
PLEASE DO NOT REMOYE
CARDS OR SLIPS FROM THIS POCKET
UNIYERSITY OF TORONTO LIBRARY
