tf.'iv.
H!
THE LIBRARY
OF
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
RIVERSIDE
GIFT OF
Dr. Gordon S. Watktns
(forfom 9. Watkitus
WALES IN THE
SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
WALES
IN THE
Seventeenth Century
ITS LITERATURE
AND
MEN OF LETTERS AND ACTION
^ I'V
THE REV. J.' C.^MORRICE, M.A.
M I
VICAR OF BANGOR
JARVIS 6r- FOSTER
MCMXVIH
TO MY FATHER
WHO TAUGHT ME THE LOVE OF READING
AND TO ALL STUDENTS
WHO LOVE WALES AND ITS PAST
AND CHERISH BRIGHT HOPES FOR ITS FUTURE.
PREFACE
THE only apology for bringing out this work in the midst of
the Great War is that the writer undertook it during a
period of enforced abstention from other activities, due to an
accident.
The fortunate proximity of the University College Library, at
Bangor, and the kindliness of its Librarian, the Rev. T. Shankland,
M.A., who gave every facility for using the treasures he has
accumulated with so much care and industry, relieved what would
otherwise have proved a tedious period. The best tribute I can
pay to Mr. Shankland's ready counsel and help is to quote the
words of a student engaged in using the Library, who observed :
" He is not niggardly with what he knows, and what he doesn't
know of this Library is not worth knowing." It is the verdict of
all who come into touch with Mr. Shankland in his capacity as
Librarian.
The work has given much pleasure to the author, who hopes
it may help to dispel part of the uncertainty which has enveloped
some of the i yth century writers and their work, and lead to a
further prosecution of other details not yet definitely ascertained.
Should this enterprise prove of interest to Welsh students and
others, the writer has by him a collection of materials relating to
the 1 6th and i8th centuries, which can be treated in the same way,
with the additional advantage of the experience gained in the pre-
paration of this volume.
At the moment of writing this preface, the news has come to
hand of the bestowal by his gracious Majesty of the honour of
Knighthood upon my former teacher and always esteemed friend,
John Morris Jones, Professor of Welsh at the University College
of North Wales, as a recognition of his life-long work in connection
with Celtic studies, and I should like to acknowledge that the
inspiration to this undertaking was the result of an encouraging
conversation with him as to the necessity of writing the literary
history of Wales period by period.
The work falls far short of the ideal the writer had in mind,
but the exigencies of the times and the multitudinous cares of a
busy parish are some palliation for this, and will at least have
weight in the verdict of indulgent readers.
My deepest thanks are due to Mr. Foster, the publisher, for
all his care and trouble in printing the work.
J. C. MORRICE.
ST. MARY'S VICARAGE,
BANGOR,
January, 1918.
CONTENTS.
Pages.
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER . . i - 1 1
CHAPTER I. Historical, Antiquarian, & Typographical 13-87
(a) The Period before the Civil War - 15-22
(b) The Civil War Period 22-36
(c) The Second Insurrection Period 36 - 39
(d) Satires and Lampoons 39 - 42
(e) The Commonwealth Period 42 - 70
(f) The Period of the Restoration to the end
of the 1 7th Century 70-87
CHAPTER II. Religious and Moral Writings - 89-215
(a) The Editions of Holy Scripture 96 - 1 20
(b) The Editions of the Psalms and Book of
Common Prayer - 120-134
(c) Other Works, Religious and Moral 134-215
CHAPTER III. The Poetry of the Period 216 - 300
(a) Welsh Poetry 219-291
(b) English and Latin Poems - 291-300
CHAPTER IV. Grammar and Lexicography 301 - 322
CHAPTER V. Miscellaneous 323 - 344
INDEX - - 345-352
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER
THE writer hopes to present a careful and concise
account of the Literature of Wales in a very important
period of her history. For this purpose the works
published during that period have been carefully examined the
original works, when possible, and failing that, the best extant
editions of them. A survey has also been made of the different
authorities upon whom reliance has been placed for our informa-
tion concerning the authors of that century and their work.
Every care has been taken to corroborate the statements made
from some reliable source, and references are given.
The effort takes within its scope more than the works written
in the Welsh language. It includes works written both in Latin
and English, that have reference to Wales, which are necessary to
a survey of this remarkable century, as far as it affected Wales.
The seventeenth century was an epoch adorned by men who
were eminent in verse and prose, in philosophic learning and in
religious effort, some of whom have a just claim to a place in the
annals of European literature.
Perhaps Wales during this period had lost some of that distinc-
tiveness which marked her literature in the period prior to her union
with England, but she gained access into a wider world of ideas
and benefitted by the change. The moral and religious aims of
man claimed her serious attention during this period, and although
she failed to give that mature expression to them, which came
later, yet the very struggle to give them expression helped to
develop her life. As the century wore on, she got rid of the
inactivity which had threatened to devitalize her during its early
years and which had made them so barren of literature.
There have been few periods of greater interest than this,
and yet it is almost devoid of one element which had been
prominent in earlier periods. The bards were no more.
Elizabeth had revived them by granting her gracious sanction
l
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
and support to the Eisteddfod at Caerwys in 1568, but,
strangely enough, in forty years afterwards the cult of bardism
was almost extinct. The secret of this was that the aristocracy
of Wales no longer kept the Bardd Teulu nor the Pencerdd*
upon their hearths. The great Elizabethan period drew men's
minds towards England, and before the end of her reign the
Welsh aristocracy were well on the way to become Anglicised.
To some extent also, the bards had been their own undoing.
The stern injunctions against the derwyr adopted at Caerwys
were very desirable from the point of view of the better bards, for
the clenvyr were itinerant beggars who brought the profession of
bardism into disrepute, and, no doubt, the matter needed firm
handling at Caerwys. But it must not be forgotten that out of
the ranks of the clenvyr sprang many of the better bards. Their
disruption emptied the reservoir of bardism instead of filtering and
clarifying its waters. There was no longer any inducement to
take up bardism as a profession. This involved a loss which was
directly apparent in the first half of the century, in which the
number of bardic effusions produced was very small. It had,
however, a compensating advantage, for those who sang, sang not
for love of gain but for pure love of the Muse and nothing else.
Hence the few poets we have in the seventeenth century whose
works have been preserved, composed most worthily, and this
remark applies more particularly to the poems of Huw Morns, of
Pont-y-meibion, as will be seen later. The great disadvantage of
the drastic reforms made at Caerwys was that probably many
a " mute inglorious Milton " was baulked of his chance, for
bardism became confined to the upper and leisured classes.
When it is remembered, as has been stated, that these classes
tended to become Anglicised, it sufficiently explains the paucity
of poetical works in this century. But to it must be further
added the fact that no Eisteddfod was held to give an impetus to
the bards. One writer points out that neither in Gwynedd nor in
Powys was there an Eisteddfod from 1568 to 1798, in which latter
1 Gweirydd ap Rhys Hants Lknyddiaeth Gymreig, p. 37.
2
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER
year Owain Myfyr and the London Gwyneddigion Society revived
it. 1 The sole exception mentioned (and there seems but little
foundation for this) was one held in 1620 entitled "Cadair
Morganwg," but, granted that it took place, it was no national
affair, and is only claimed as a small literary meeting. 2 It is
asserted that only four bards were present, and of their president,
Watkin Powell, very little is known.3 The memorable and out-
standing bards of the century were Huw Morus, already mentioned,
Vicar Prichard, Edward Morus, Edmund Prys, and William
Phillip.
Prose writers, however, were very numerous. This was
above all the age of controversy, especially the last half of the
century. The atmosphere was that of strife and was more
conducive to prose than verse. The political and religious
struggles of the period resulted in a veritable crop of literature
books, tracts, and pamphlets. Many of them are worthless
to-day, except to show how the battle raged, and what fierce
assaults and dogged resistance are to be expected when man is
stirred deeply in matters of the soul and conscience. Two
centuries and a half have not quite obliterated the effects of the
acrimony of those times, although signs are not wanting that in
the new age which is dawning this bitterness will be consigned to
the oblivion which it deserves.
Fortunately, in the first forty years of the century, men's
minds were free from turmoil, and were thus able to devote
themselves to a form of literary work which has been most
profitable to the Welsh nation. Bishop Richard Davies, Dr.
John Davies, Rowland Heilyn, Thomas Middleton, and Rowland
Vaughan were indefatigable during those years in their efforts
to give the Cymry the Scriptures in a revised form, and transla-
tions of some of the best devotional works of the period. In the
latter half of the century Stephen Hughes and other able writers
did a like service to their countrymen.
1 Gweirydd ap Rhys Hanes Lknyddiaeth Gymrcig t p. 397. 2 ibid*
3 Jones' History of Wales ; p> 225.
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
The desire for literature which the Reformation period had
fostered in England came later in Wales. It must be remembered
that the population of the country was scanty and poor, and that
there were very few educational facilities. Wales had no Press,
and its remoteness from the leading printing firms increased the
difficulties of publishing. Most of the Welsh books of this
period were printed in London or on the Continent. Occasionally
books were printed at Oxford, e.g., Ystyriaethau Drexelius ar
Dragtvyddoldeb, 1661, but Oxford was hardly more accessible
than London. Also it was exceedingly difficult for English
compositors to deal with Welsh orthography, which accounts for
a great many inaccuracies in the works published at this time. It
was not until towards the end of the seventeenth century, in 1685,
that a printing press was established at Shrewsbury by Thomas
Jones. 1 The first book was printed in South Wales in 1718, at
Adpar, Newcastle Emlyn, on the Cardiganshire side. North
W T ales had no press until 1735, when Lewis Morris established
one at Holyhead. 2 Others were established at Bodedern, Bala,
Trefriw (1755), and Denbigh. It meant an immense expenditure
in time and money to bring out a Welsh book, because it generally
necessitated the presence of the author to read the proofs. This
fact sufficiently explains why so many works of this and the
preceding periods still remain in MS., a number out of all pro-
portion to those which have seen daylight in print.
Translations rather than original works were the vogue in this
century, and the remark especially applies to religious books. In
religion as well as in politics it was a period of transition. Wales
had lagged behind England in reaping the fruit of the Reforma-
tion. Her innate conservatism, perhaps, explains this. But
there came a time when her leading divines realised it, and they
did what was best and wisest under the circumstances, and that
which enabled Wales to cover the lost ground most quickly.
1 J. Blackwell says 1690 (see Ceinion Alun, p. 72.)
2 It is claimed that there was a book printed at Montgomery in 1648. See
chapter I. of this work. It is believed there was a moveable press during
the Civil War period, and this would account for it,
4
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER
They translated into Welsh the choicest of the English religious
productions " The Practice of Piety," " The Marrow of Modern
Divinity," " Drexelius on Eternity," and other works which had
long been devotional books in England.
The antiquarian was very busy in this century, Robert
Vaughan of Hengwrt standing head and shoulders above his
fellows in this respect. He had in Dr. Thomas Ellis and John
Jones of Gelli Lyfdy most able coadjutors, and there was a
number of other antiquarians of quite appreciable ability.
Nor was there lacking considerable zeal for grammar and
lexicography, two branches of knowledge in which Dr. Thomas
Williams and Dr. John Davies greatly excelled.
The most purely original writer of the period was Morgan
Llwyd of Gwynedd, whose works have now been carefully edited
by the late T. E. Ellis, M.P. for Merionethshire, and Mr. J. H.
Davies, M.A., of Cwrt Mawr. Another original production of
the time was " Hanes y Ffydd Ddiffuant " by Charles Edwards.
No introduction to the study of the literature of this period
would be complete which failed to point out how restless a time
it was, how the landmarks both in Church and State were
disturbed, and how old ideas were consigned to oblivion and new
hopes engendered. High goals were aimed at, nothwithstanding
failure and disappointment in many directions. It has been said
that for Wales the seventeenth century was the period of the grey
dawn between night and day. It saw the beginnings of a religious
revival and the birth struggle of the educational movement, and
it tasted something of the power of popular government. There
were losses, but there were also gains which, when substantiated,
more than compensated for the former.
The old form of religion and much that was romantic in the
former centuries were lost, but new seeds were planted which,
despite many forebodings to the contrary, grew and prospered
and have made for progress.
The old traditions of Welsh bardism, as has been stated,
5
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
disappeared, but they can hardly be mourned as losses when we
have in their stead the choice lyrics of Huw Morus and the neat
epigrams of John Owen.
It is matter for regret that the Welsh gentry were no longer
in the same degree the supporters and patrons of Welsh literature.
Rowland Vaughan and Robert Vaughan were amongst the last
of them, and the spirit prominent in the fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries was lacking in this century. But there was ample reason
for the change when we take into account the circumstances of
the time. A century of battle and oppression, imprisonment and
bloodshed, prejudice and revenge, was bound from its very nature
to upset the normal order of things. It was certainly one of the
results of the Civil War that men's minds drifted into other
channels and became engrossed with larger issues than " building
up the rhyme " or, in fact, being absorbed in literature of any
kind, and this applied in a special degree to the more responsible
inhabitants of Wales, the men of education and property, who
had to make decisions and stand by them. This fact is some-
times lost sight of in the sweeping condemnation that has been
made of the neglect of literature and especially of bardic lore by
the Welsh gentry.
One of the most remarkable features of the century was the
rise of many men of plebeian origin who came into prominence
during the Civil War period. Amongst them there was no more
notable case than that of John Jones of Maesygarnedd, better
known as John Jones, the Regicide. He was the first Welshman
to take a foremost part in political work in Great Britain. He
held many responsible posts, and was one of Cromwell's lieutenants
in Ireland. He was one of the signatories to the warrant for
Charles I.'s execution, and himself was beheaded in the first year
of the Restoration. The 'death of Charles was a matter to be
deplored by all right thinking men, and there are very few left
who would now maintain its justice or necessity. Still, the death
of a man like John Jones, the son of a Welsh cottager, for
signing away the King's life marks the great revolution that had
6
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER
been worked in the country by the middle of this remarkable
century. 1
Much as Charles I.'s execution is to be deplored, it must be
admitted that John Jones, and many others who shared his fate,
suffered for new ideals of popular government which were
beginning to gather strength, as against the ancient order which,
although it reasserted itself for a time during the reigns of the
last two kings of the Stuart dynasty, was doomed to be extin-
guished for ever as soon as William of Orange mounted the
throne.
In religion, as has been remarked, the Reformation had
gained very little footing in Wales in the early years of the
seventeenth century. There had been no preparation for it as
there had been in England. Wales had not its Wycliffe, and the
temperament of the nation being what it is, a proclamation by law
had had very little effect upon the Welsh religious mind. It is
doubtful whether, except superficially, the worth of the Reforma-
tion was recognised or its influence felt. Yet there were not
wanting some indications that Roman Catholicism was on the
wane. Testimony is borne to this in the fate meted out to John
Roberts, a devoted Jesuit priest, who had been educated at
Oxford and at Valladolid, in Spain. When he returned in 1602,
full of zeal to infuse his countrymen afresh with Roman
Catholicism, he was persecuted and imprisoned, and died on the
scaffold in 1610. This is proof that the change was slowly
coming, although it is very uncertain how far the popular mind
would have endorsed the official action in the case of Roberts.
This execution did not deter Father John Salesbury from writing
in 1618 " Eglurhad helaethlawn o'r Athrawiaeth Gristionogawl,"
which shows that the Romanists were striving to maintain their
hold upon Welshmen by giving them an exposition of their faith
in the Welsh tongue.
But, if Roman Catholicism was on the wane, it is equally
true that the Reformed Church had not, as yet, filled up whatever
' See Mr. J. H. Davies' Introduction to Gweithiau Morgan
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
void there might have been felt by the weakening hold of Roman
Catholicism upon the masses of the Welsh people. The truth is
that the Church in its reformed state had been placed at a very
serious disadvantage. The monasteries had been disendowed and
the resources of the Church to carry on her work curtailed beyond
measure. No where could this have been more felt than in a
poor country like Wales.
It is generally admitted that the drastic policy of Henry VIII.
did great spiritual harm in that it provided no resources in the
place of those which had been plundered. It was like the
incomplete work of a surgeon who cuts away the evil growth but
neither mollifies with ointment nor binds up the wound. Henry
was, in fact, an unskilful surgeon who left the Church incised and
bleeding. The land and revenue of the Church had passed into
the hands of the nobles, and she could not possibly maintain her
former organisation and fulfil her obligations to the nation on the
scant store that was left her.
But in spite of her difficulties there is no doubt that in the
first half of the seventeenth century the Church was increasing in
respect and usefulness. This is admitted by all impartial
historians, and can be verified by any student of the period. Her
bishops, for the most part, were Welshmen and Welsh -speaking
Welshmen. It was very different from the Hanoverian period in
this respect. There were exceptions, but it must be admitted
that although not Welsh -speaking, they were men of great
eminence who, in some cases, afterwards held the highest offices
in Church and State. It was Laud's High Commission Court
that brought the Church into bad odour. There are numerous
cases recorded of Welsh clergy who were cited to appear before it
for various offences, and these citations were the cause of much
friction. This is far from saying that all who were cited to appear
before Laud were unjustly accused. But some were called up for
what would be regarded by the majority of their parishioners as
trivial matters, and when a hard working parish priest held in high
esteem by his flock was put to the inconvenience, expense, and
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER
anxiety, which a citation of this kind involved, this intrusion
would naturally be resented by many thoughtful people who were
quite loyal Churchmen. It would be deemed an interference
with freedom, and would clash with the temperament of many
high-spirited Welshmen of that age.
The other stumbling-block was the " Book of Sports," which
was commanded to be read in the churches. The Welsh were,
for the most part, strict Sabbatarians, and it seemed to them
desecration that the quiet of their Sunday should be disturbed by
any rioter or roysterer who could say that he had attended one of
the services of the Church. There is no doubt that the declara-
tion was felt as an affront by many serious -minded men.
This was therefore the position in the first half of the
Seventeenth century Roman Catholicism was on the wane, the
Church depleted in revenue failed to perform all her obligations,
and seeds of disaffection were being sown by such measures as
the two above-named.
Add to this that Puritanism in England was on the increase,
and that Wales during the Civil War was drawn into the vortex
of the most stirring events which ever quickened a nation's pulse,
and we have a third far-reaching cause for the spread of
Puritanism in Wales before the end of the century.
How far the clergy in Wales neglected their duty is a matter
very difficult to determine. In the absence of very definite proof
to the contrary, the impartial historian must give them the benefit
of the doubt and content himself with the knowledge that the
times were degenerate and that the standard of life was not as
high as it might have been. Even Huw Morus, the most chaste
of the bards had, apparently, his moments of levity and verged on
coarseness, although his own life was above reproach. His
" Mabinogion " are the product of the age, and were quickly put
aside when discretion and responsibility raised the bard above
such foibles. But they are interesting in throwing light upon the
moral standard of that age ; and although it can be said that
their duty would be to rise above it, the clergy, like other men,
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
would reflect their environment. In any case, there would be a
certain number affected by the laxity of the times, and when,
subsequently, the conscience of the country was quickened, as it
must have been by the dread events through which it passed, this
laxity would excite no small notice and incur the censure it
deserved. Even in the case of men who had reformed their
lives, public opinion would not judge them leniently, and it would
not be easy to forget their past. But, granted that a proportion
of the clergy failed to realise their high calling, it is beyond all
question that the majority were men of learning and godly life.
Many of them were life-long friends of the most extreme
Puritans and were held in high esteem by them, and it is note-
worthy that the more moderate Puritans gave them ungrudging
support.
The probability is, that had there been no political conflagra-
tion, the Church in Wales would have made good her position
during the last half of the century, inasmuch as she had weathered
the first half in spite of her difficulties, as the cumulative
testimony of many writers proves. A study of Dr. Calamy's
work 1 on the one hand, and Walker's " Sufferings of the Clergy,"
which was a reply to " Dr. Calamy's Abridgement of the Life
of Mr. Baxter," on the other, leaves one in little doubt, that
each side under political influence, pressed its advantage too
far, when the opportunity offered. It is ever so in troublous times
when man's reason becomes subject to his prejudice, and modera-
tion, which is a tempered product begotten of looking at both
sides of a question, is accounted a quality akin to cowardice or,
at least, to weakness.
The fact remains that Puritanism increased considerably and
planted itself firmly in the hearts of a section of the Welsh people
before the end of the period under notice. Independents,
Baptists, Quakers, and Presbyterians worshipped in comparative
freedom before its close, following upon the Toleration Act of
1689, which removed many disabilities grievous to be borne.
'Calamy's "Ejected Ministers,"
10
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER
The literature produced in Wales, or pertaining to it, in the
seventeenth century, will for the purposes of this work be classified
under the following divisions :
I. Historical, Archaeological, and Topographical.
II. Religious Works.
III. Poetical Works.
IV. Grammar and Lexicography.
V. Miscellaneous.
It has been thought the better plan to give a connected
account of each of these separately, than a promiscuous account
in the order of their production, although, as far as possible,
chronological order will be observed in each division. As the
interest of the student is increased when facts can be associated
with some personal entity, an effort has been made to collect
accurate biographical details of the persons mainly concerned
in making the seventeenth century the important literary epoch
it proved to be.
XX
CHAPTER I
HISTORICAL, ANTIQUARIAN, AND TOPOGRAPHICAL
(a) THE PERIOD BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR.
(b) THE CIVIL WAR PERIOD.
(c) THE SECOND INSURRECTION PERIOD.
(d) SATIRES AND LAMPOONS.
(e) THE COMMONWEALTH PERIOD.
(f) THE PERIOD OF THE RESTORATION TO THE END
OF THE I;TH CENTURY.
(a) THE PERIOD BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR
The number of books and tracts to be considered under this
head is not very numerous, but inasmuch as it includes the works
of such men as Camden and Usher this section forms a most
instructive part of the literature of the period.
A writer of great distinction whose mind was steeped in
antiquarian learning was the celebrated William Camden.*
In 1602 he edited Giraldi Cambrensis Cambria; Descriptio. This
was a second edition of Giraldus' work ; the first had been
published by Dr. David Powell in I585. 1
In 1603 Camden issued Itinerarium Cambria:, which is really
part of a fuller work which appeared in the same year under the
title Anglica, Normannica, Hibernica, Cambrica, a veteribus Scripta,
GuI. Camdeno, Assents Mencvensis, de &lfredi rebus ; Thomas
Walsingham, Hist. Ang. ; Ypodigmce Neiisbria?, per Tho. de
Walsingham ; Itinerarium Cambria Auctore Sylv. Giraldo Cam-
brense, cum annotationibus D. Poveli. This larger work which
was printed at Frankfort consists of ten parts, of which the last
two, Itinerarium Cambria? and Cambria Descriptio have reference
to Wales, which owes a debt of gratitude to Dr. David Powell
and William Camden for presenting anew the interesting accounts
of Giraldus' " Itinerary " and " Description of Wales." It will
be remembered that Camden had published his own great work
"Britannia" in 1586, seven years before he became the head of
Westminster School. This went through many editions, several
of which were published in the i;th century.
*William Camden, surnamed the learned, was son of Sampson Camden,
a native of Lichfield, and one of the painter -stainers of London, where
William was born in 1551, in the parish of St. Sepulchre. He was educated
at Christ Church Hospital, then newly founded, and thence proceeded to the
Free School founded by Dean Colet. In 1566 he became a chorister at
Magdalen College, Oxford, where he just missed being a Demy, "though of
great desert." He was transferred to Pembroke College and afterwards to
Christ Church. He lost a Fellowship of All Souls for " defending the
'.Llyfr. y Cymry, p. 30.
IS
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
In 1604 he published his "Remains of a greater work con-
cerning Britain" an interesting book of fragments gathered while
he was engaged upon " Britannia" which is the greater work to
which the title alludes, and which was published in folio in 1607.
In 1 6 10 appeared " A Description of the Counties of Wales"
from Holland's 1 edition of Camden.
In 1614 Camden's "Remains concerning Britain" was
published by John Legatt, and in 1623 another edition of the
" Remains " appeared.
In 1639 was published, at Amsterdam, " Re rum Anglicarum
et Hibernicarum Annales, regnante Elizabetha. Auctore Gnillielmo
Camdeno."
In 1637 the "Remains concerning Britain" A?as again
published " by the industry and care of John Philipot, Somerset
Herald and W. D., Gent." This is stated on the title-page to be
the sixth impression of the " Remains" and, it is added, " with
many rare antiquities never before imprinted." This was followed
by the seventh impression of the same work by the same editors
in 1674.
In 1695 the last edition of " Britannia " which appeared in
religion then established," the Popish party in All Souls having opposed him.
In 1575 he became second master of Westminster School, and Parry, after-
wards Bishop of St. Asaph, was one of his scholars there. He made several
journeys to obtain the information which he incorporated in his " Britannia,"
a work which was written " at spare hours and on festival days." His patron,
Gabriel Goodman, defrayed the charges for these journeys, one of which in
1590 he undertook into Wales in the company of Francis Goodwin of Christ
Church, afterwards Bishop of Llandnff. In 1593 he was made Head of
Westminster School where, in 1597, he published his Greek Grammar. In
that year he was created Herald of Aims and afterwards King of Arms "at
the favour of Queen Elizabeth." In 1621 he founded the History Lecture of
Oxford University. Wood describes him as " an exact critic and philologist,
an excellent Grecian, Latinist, and Historian, and above all a profound
antiquary, as his elaborate works testifie." " His fame will be permanent so
long as this kingdom is known by the name of Britannia" He died in 1623,
and was buried at Westminster Abbey, a
a For further information and description of his works, see Ath : Oxon :
I. 408 - 411.
'Holland had been educated under Camden at Westminster. See
Williams' " Eminent Welshmen" p. 219.
HISTORICAL, ANTIQUARIAN, TOPOGRAPHICAL
this century was published by Bishop Gibson and printed in
London. Three others 1 appeared in the i8th century, which
showed the popularity of the work amongst scholars.
- George Owen (1552-1613) of Henllys, Lord of Kernes, in
the County of Pembroke, did great service by writing The Descrip-
tion of Penbrokshire in 1603. He was a great lover of that
County and gloried in its title, " Little England beyond Wales/' 3
There is no record of the place of his education, but he was a most
capable and industrious writer, especially on matters concerning
his own County and the "Barony of Kernes." In 1587 and 1602
he served as Sheriff of Pembroke. He had intended to publish
a second part of the above work, but it never reached completion.
The Description of Penbrokshire was edited by Fenton in the
second volume of the Cambrian Register in 1796, but it was a
work full of blemishes. The map of Pembrokeshire appended to
George Owen's work is a facsimile of that furnished by him to
William Camden for the sixth edition of Britannia (1607). He
also wrote Taylors Cussion, which has since been published with
a short biography of the author, by Emily M. Prit chard (Olvven
Perys) in 1906. Mr. Lleufer Thomas, who has written the
account of George Owen for the Dictionary of National Biography,
has recently published his Description of Milford Havon. He
was a most prolific writer, and amongst his other works may be
mentioned, Baronia de Kernes and the Vairdre Book.
In 1609 appeared "A Myrroure for Magistrates." The
original " Mirror" which appeared in 1559, is generally ascribed
to William Baldwyn, a noted poet of his time, and is a piece of
historical poetry relating the acts of unfortunate Englishmen,
commencing with the fall of Robert Tresilian, Chief Justice, and
ending with George Plantagenet, third son of the Duke of York.
It is, however, stated by Francis Meres in the second part of Wits
Commonwealth that the author was Edward Ferrers. 2 It is
quite certain that two of the poems, " The fall of Robert
Tresilian, Chief Justice of England " and " The unlawful murder
of Thomas of Woodstok, Duke of Glocester " are the work of
'See Llyfr. y Cymry under dates 1701, 1772, 1789. 2 Athenae
Oxonienses i. 113.
17
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Ferrers. 1 The purport of the work is to show by examples how evil-
doers " are punished by grievous plagues." The Welsh interest
of the 1609 edition centres round its references to Morgan, King
of Morganwg ; Cadwaladr, and Owain Glyndwr. It describes
the pursuit of the latter by Prince Henry, and his miserable death
from starvation.
In 1610 John Speed published a map of the Principality, the
first of its kind, together with separate maps of each County in
Wales and Monmouthshire. On many of them there is given a
short description of the county, its inhabitants, and most
important towns. In that of the Principality, appear views of
some of the towns and cities. In 1614, the same author published
" The TJieatre of the Empire of Great Britaine" * in which he
aimed at giving " an exact geography." Wales and its counties
are herein described. (Another edition of the work appeared in
1676). In 1616, John Speed showed his further interest in Wales
by publishing " The Seconde Booke, containing the Principality of
Wales, delivering an exact Topographic of the Counties, Divisions
of the Cantreves and Commotes, Description of the Cities and Shire
Towns : with a compendious Relation of things most memorable in
every one of them performed " and in 1627 appeared an abridge-
ment of this larger work. 2
A work entitled " A Map of Commerce" by Lewis Roberts,
a native of Anglesey, who was at the time a merchant in London,
and brother-in-law to the then Lord Mayor of London, was
published in 1620. It is a folio volume and contains several
Latin poems complimentary to the author, one by John Davies,
probably Dr. John Davies of Mallwyd. 3
*Wood says of John Speed's great work " As for Speed's part in the said
History of Great Britain, it is such for style and industry, that for one who (ns
Martial speaks) had neither a Graecum x a 'P e or an -^ ve Latinum, is perhaps
without many fellows in Europe. So much also have I understood of him by
sure information, that he had no meaning in that labour to prevent great
practick learnedness, but to furnish it for the common service of England's
glory." Ath : Oxonri. p. 452.
'Garnett and Gosse in their " History of English Literature," vol. ii.
p. 131, state that Ferrers and Baldwin were jointly responsible. 2 Llyfr.y
Cymry, p. 85. ^Ceinion Alun, p. 76.
HISTORICAL, ANTIQUARIAN, TOPOGRAPHICAL
Thomas Powell, who is more generally known by the title
" A Cambrian " to distinguish him from another author of the
same name who wrote later in the century, produced in 1601
" The Passionate Poet " (with a description of the Thracian
Ismarus), and in 1603 a work entitled "A Welch Payte to Spare
Provender, or a Looking Backe upon the times" The former work
brought him into considerable notice. He was also the author of
a " Direction for Search of Records in the Chancerie, Tower t
Exchequer, for the clearing of all such Titles and Questions as the
same may concerne, ivith the accustomed Fees of Search" 1622.
Another work which involved the investigation of the records
in the Tower and other original MSS. was that compiled by Sir
John Doderidge,* a Judge of the King's Bench, in 1630, under
the title " The History of the Ancient and Moderne Estate of the
Principality of Wales, Duchy of Cornewall, and Earldome of
Chester." This book was dedicated to King James, and was
published after the author's death. It was considered of sufficient
importance to necessitate a second edition in 1714.
A noted traveller of his time, Sir Thomas Herbert, kinsman of
William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke, produced a volume entitled
" Travels in Wales," in 1635. Amongst other things he gives an
account of Madoc ab Owain's departure for America taken from
a MS. at Rhaglan Castle, one of the fortresses afterwards
destroyed by Cromwell. 1 The landing of Madoc in America is
now regarded as purely fictitious.
Sir Thomas Herbert also recounts his own visits to Asia and
Africa, in publications issued in 1634 and 1638. At the outbreak
of the Civil War, he sided with the Parliament and became a
Commissioner, but afterwards, when put to guard Charles I. he
seceded to the Royalists. He gave a historical account of the
two last years of Charles I., entitled Threnodia Carolina, published
in 1678. A very interesting portion of this history is given by
*Sir John Doderidge was born at Barnstaple, and educated at Exeter
College, Oxford. He died in 1628. The learned Camden styles him
antiquarius inst'gnis. Wood vol. i. pp. 442 - 444.
l Lfyfr.y Cymry, p. 121.
Wood in his Athenae Oxonienses. 1 Herbert also assisted Dugdale
with his " Monasticon Anglicanum"
Three editions of the works of Gildas appeared in this
century, the first in 1610 in the " Bibliothcca Patrum," bearing
the title " Gildae de Excidio et Conquesta Britanniae Epistola."
This is a great improvement on the imperfect publication of
Gildas' work in 1525. In 1638 Thomas Habington, Hindlip
Hall, Worcestershire, the father of William Habington, author of
the Castara? published " The Epistle of Gildas, the most ancient
British author, ivho flourished in tlie year of our Lord, 546
faithfully translated out of the original Latin." In spite of the
latter assertion, the translation is said to be a very faulty one.
Another edition appeared in 1652, entitled "A Description of tlie
State of Great Britain, written eleven hundred years since"
Another writer to whom Wales is considerably indebted in
this period is the distinguished Irish prelate and celebrated
antiquarian, Archbishop Usher. During the period of his exile
from Ireland he was closely associated with Wales, and did much
to the advantage of the Welsh nation in reviving its knowledge
of the Ancient British Church. His well - known work, " De
Primordiis Ecclesiarum Britannicarum" more generally known as
" The Primordia" concerns the antiquities of that church from its
foundation to the end of the yth century. Usher is an accepted
authority on this period. He had graduated at Trinity College,
Dublin, in 1600, and on visiting this country in 1606, became
acquainted with many noted antiquarians at Oxford, Cambridge,
and London, and took particular interest in old libraries. Return-
ing to Ireland he became Professor of Divinity at Trinity and
Chancellor of St. Patrick's Cathedral. Subsequently he was
promoted to the Bishopric of Meath in 1620, and became Arch-
bishop of Armagh and Primate of all Ireland in 1626. He was
offered by Charles I. the Bishopric of Carlisle and accepted it.
Then came the upheaval of the Civil War, when Usher lost his
'Vol. ii. pp. 690-705. 2 History of Eng. Lit. by Garnett and Gosse,
vol. iii. p. 22.
80
HISTORICAL, ANTIQUARIAN, TOPOGRAPHICAL
emoluments and fell on evil days. Amidst the din of war in 1644,
in retirement at Oxford, he published the works of Polycarp and
Ignatius. He had by this time lost all his Irish estates, and
driven to great poverty he took refuge in Wales where the Welsh
gentry received him kindly. The Stradlings of St. Donat's Castle,
who were foremost in the rank of beneficent patrons to literatteurs,
gave a home to the Archbishop and his daughter, who had married
Sir Timothy Tyrrel, governor of Cardiff Castle, which had now
capitulated to the Parliament. It is related that on one occasion
the mob fell upon the Archbishop and despoiled him of his MSS.,
a collection by which he set great store. They were, however, 'for
the most part recovered through the efforts of the neighbouring
gentry and clergy. The Archbishop is said to have derived much
of his material for the " Primordia " from the MSS. in possession
of the Stradlings at St. Donat's, 1 and from his intercourse with the
learned antiquarian, Robert Vaughan, of Hengwrt, who had an
unrivalled collection of MSS. The full title-page of the work
reads :
" Britannicarum | Ecclesiarum Antiquitates | Quibus inserta
est pestiferae j adversus Dei gratiam a | Pelagio Britanno in |
Ecclesiam inductse | Haereseos Historia | Collectore | Jacobo
Usserio | Archiepiscopo Armachano | totius Hibernige Primate |
Dublinii | Ex Officini Typographies! | Societatis Bibliopolarum j
Anno CIDIDCXXXIX."
Another work of antiquarian interest was produced in
1639, the full title of which was " Concilia, Decreta, Leges,
Constitutiones, in Re Ecclesiastica Orbis Britannia: viz., Pam-
britannica, Pananglica, Scotica, Hibernica, Mannica, Provincialia,
Diocesana, ab initio Christianae ibidem Religionis ad nostrum
usque aetatem. Opera 6 Scrutinio Henrici Spelmann." Sir
Henry Spelman, the author of this work, which is briefly known
as the " Concilia" was a Norfolk gentleman who was born at
Congham in that county in 1562. He was educated at Trinity
College, Cambridge, and thence passed to Lincoln's Inn to study
l Llyfr.y Cymry t p. 124.
21
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
law. But he retired from that profession to pursue the archaeo-
logical studies in which he was engrossed, and produced many
works of great interest which brought him into particular favour
with Charles I. At his death in 1641, the King ordered that he
should be buried at Westminster Abbey, close to Camden's
Memorial. His " Concilia " is the only part of his work which
includes Wales in its scope. A second edition of it was issued in
1664.
(b) THE CIVIL WAR PERIOD.
This period, which is one of the darkest in British history,
albeit that it heralded a brighter dawn, produced very little
literature in this part of our subject, that is of solid and abiding
interest, as far as it affects Wales. But what there is enables us to
follow the movements of that age of upheaval and unrest. As
literature, many of the productions are almost worthless, but they
are indispensable to the historian who requires detailed knowledge
to reconstruct, bit by bit, the story of those chaotic times. Most
of them arc documents dealing directly with the war itself, as will
be seen.
In 1640 an Act was passed "for the Relief of his Majesties
Armie, and tJie Northern parts of the Kingdom." It is plain from
this that a Civil War was already contemplated, for part of the
Act was to appoint " Commissioners for the different Counties of
Wales, previous to the Civil War." This Act was printed in
Black Letter, and contains the names of the royal nominees for
the Welsh counties, Hereford, and Shrewsbury, on the eve of the
outbreak. 1
A writer, wrongly supposed to have been Arise Evans, 2 took
upon himself to interpret in English some of the old prophecies
and cryptic utterances of the Welsh bards of a former age which
refer to the coming of a saviour of the nation. His method is
to take the Welsh verses separately and to insert below each
its English translation. The " Koronog Faban" " Hoi an a
1 See J. C. Hotten's Catalogue, "Hants Lknyddiaeth Cymry, p. 430.
22
HISTORICAL. ANTIQUARIAN, TOPOGRAPHICAL
PhirckelLm" and other so -called prophecies a r e treated in this
way. The title given to the work is " A Brit-Jit Northern
Star" and Gwilym Lleyn has added the date a 3 1640.
This is, however, incorrect. The work, which is of great
interest, appeared in 1658. It is the first attempt to print some
of the so-called prophecies, which previously existed in manu-
script only. The full title of the book, taken from the copy in
the University College Library at Bangor, is as follows :
"British and Out-landish Prophesies : most | of above a 1,000
years Antiquity, | the rest very Antient ; | Fore-telling] The
several Revolutions which hath and j shall befal! the Sceptre of
England ; | the Coming in of the Normans, Continuance and
Ex- | tirpation ; the late Warrs ; the late Kings death ; his
High- | ness's Conquest and arrival to the Sceptre, Sovereigntie |
and Government of Great Brittain ; the fall of the Turk, | Pope,
Emperor of Germany, and most of the great | Princes of the
world by their particular names ; | and that his Highness that now
is shall | Conquer most of them :
Also
His Highnesses lineal descent from the antient Princes of |
Britain, clearly manifesting that Hee is the Conqueror | they so
long prophesied of, Also, a short account of the late | Kinqs
Original ; for | the satisfaction of the Intelligent in either |
Tongue.
By Thomas Pugh, Gentleman.
London
Printed, and are to be sold by Lodowick Lloyd at his Shop | next
to the Castle in Cornhill. 1658."
Bearing upon the unrest of the time is a tract entitled
" Arguments proving the Jurisdiction used by the President and
Counsell in the Marches of Wales over the Counties of Gloucester,
Worcester, Hereford, and Salop, to be illegall and injurious, and
a meere incroachment beyond their appointed limits, and the
Proof e is like a three -fold cord not easily broken. Viz. By
Statutes. By Law Bookes. By Records. Printed for Thomas
Wakley, 1641,"
4
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Petitions to the King and Parliament and kindred docu-
ments, and papers relating to the war, were of such frequent
occurrence that their names only can be given here, leaving it to
the historians to probe their full meaning and import :
" The Humble Petition of the Gentry, Clergy, and others,
inhabitants, subscribed of the six Counties of Flint, Denbigh,
Montgomery, Carnarvon, Anglesey, Merioneth, being the six
shires of North Wales, as it was presented to the Knights,
Citizens, and Burgesses in Parliament, accompanied with
30,000 hands. Printed for F. Couls, 1641."
"Two Petitions presented to the King's most Excellent
Majesty at Yorke, the first of August, 1642 ; the first from
the Gentery, Ministers, &c., of the Counties of Denbigh,
Anglesey, Glamorgan, and the whole Principality of Wales,
&c. London, 1642."
" His Majesty's Speech to the Inhabitants of Denbighshire
and Flintshire, 27 Sept, 1642."
In it Charles seeks the favour of these counties by making
them lavish promises. He desired the Sheriffs to make known
his purpose, for his press had been stopped.
" Two Speeches made in the House of Peers against Accomo-
dation, by the Earl of Pembroke. 1642."
" Persuasion to Loyalty, or the Subject's Dutie, wherein is
proved that resisting or deposing of K^ngs (under what
specious pretences soever couched) is utterly unlawful. By
David Owen. 1642.''
" A Loving and Loyall Speech spoken unto the Excellency
of our noble Prince Charles by Sir Hugh Vaughan, the
2nd of October, at Ragland Castle, in Monmouthshire, in
Wales, also the manner of his brave entertainment, and a
Relation of divers rich Presents brought unto him. 1642."
" A Collection of Sundry Petitions Presented to the King's
Most Excellent Majestic by most of the Gentry, Ministers,
Freeholders of Six Counties of North Wales, Hereford,
24
HISTORICAL, ANTIQUARIAN, TOPOGRAPHICAL
Chester, &c., in behalf of Episcopacie, Liturgie, and Church
Revenue. 1642."
" To the Honourable Court The House of Commons, the
Humble Petition of many Hundred Thousands, inhabiting
within the Thirteene Shires of Wales, with their motion
that their country may be more strongly fortified with Armes
and Ammunition. 1642."
The complaint in this Petition was that Wales had been
treated with disrespect, that many droves of animals had been
taken from their lands, and that they had no arms to meet the
depredations. 1
The first document which mentions that the opposing forces
had met in battle on Welsh soil was published in 1643 and
entitled :
" A true Relation of the discomfiting and routing of the Earl
of Carbery, and his forces of the County of Pembroke,
manned and performed under God by the valiant and
courageous gentlemen, Col. Rowland Laugharne, John Poyer,
Mayor of Pembroke; Major Thomas Laugharn, Simon
Thelwall, and Arthur Owen, Esq., Capt. Powel and Capt.
Cuney, and other well - affected Commanders and Gentle-
men, &c. London. 1643."
" A Copie of a Letter to the Lord Marquesse of Hartford
from the Lords of His Majestie's Council. 1642," discloses
a design upon the life of Lord Herbert and the raising of
mounted troops and infantry in the County of Brecknock in
support of Charles I. A pamphlet which appeared the following
year relates the defeat of Lord Herbert. It is entitled :
" Famous victorie obtained by Sir William Waller against
Lord Herbert and the Welch Cavaliers in the Forest of
Deane, where 600 of the Welchmen were slaine, and 1,000
taken prisoners. 1643."
There are two documents which furnish the first evidence
we have that the struggle, as far as Wales was concerned, was
*Llyfr.yCy>nry> p. 132-
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
developing into a religious as well as a constitutional upheaval.
This phase had been prominent in England from the start, and it
is worthy of note that it spread from England into Wales. The
first of these has been already mentioned, and was from the
Episcopalians. The second was from their opponents and was
presented to the King in 1643 when he was at Oxford. It runs :
" The Copies of such Bills as were presented unto His
Majestic at Oxon, for the suppression of Innovations in
Churches and Chapels ; the utter abolishing and taking away
of the Bishops, Chaunters, Choristers, Scandalous Clergymen,
Pluralities, &c,, in Wales. 1643."
An interesting document published in 1642 throws light
upon the leaders of the respective military parties in Wales. It is
entitled :
" Army List of Charles I. and the Parliament Troops ; or
the names of all the Officers in the " Royalist " Army, and
those " Roundhead " Armies, commanded by Fairfax and
Cromwell, giving the names of several Welsh Worthies.
1642."
By 1644, the Parliament was rapidly gaining the ascendency
in the border counties and in other parts of the country (the
two victories in South Wales have been noticed above), and
in that year there was issued :
" A Declaration published by Sir Thomas Middleton, Knight,"
the purport of which was to deter those who would rally the
King's forces in Wales, by making known the Parliamentarian
successes. That the Parliament was also preparing for a public
thanksgiving is seen from a pamphlet entitled :
" God appearing for the Parliament. In sundry late
Victories Bestowed on their Forces, which command and
call for great Praise and Thanksgiving both from Parliament
and People. Die Martis ; 4 Martii. 1644. Ordered by the
Commons House of Parliament, that Mr. Whitaker, Sir
Thomas Widdrington, Mr. Rous, and Mr. Millington, do
peruse all the Letters that are come from Shrewsbury,
26
HISTORICAL, ANTIQUARIAN, TOPOGRAPHICAL
Plimouth, Scarborough, Gloucestershire, and Weymouth :
and make a narrative out of them, of all God's great and late
mercies upon the Parliament Forces, to be printed and read
on the next day of Publique Thanksgiving. H. Elsynge,
Cler. Parl. D. Com. Printed at London for Edward
Husbands : March 10, 1644."
The interest of this document to Wales is that in the list of
prisoners taken at Shrewsbury occur many Welsh names, and it
also contains an account of the taking of Cardigan Castle by the
Parliament Army, when they secured " five officers, 200 soldiers,
six big guns, 150 smaller arms, and much ammunition and stores."
The tide of victory swept on for the Parliament as shown by
the following publications. In April, 1644, was printed :
" A true relation of the Routing His Majestie's Forces in the
County of Pembroke, under the command of the Earl of
Carbery, by those valiant and courageous gentlemen, Colonell
Rowland Langharne, John Poyer, Simon Thelwall, Thomas
Langharne, and others well -affected. As it was sent in two
several relations, of the Land fight, and Sea fight ; The one
to the Honourable Robert, Earl of Warwick. The other to
the Honourable William Lenthal, Esquire, Speaker of the
House of Commons. With the number of such Ordnance,
Arms, Ammunition, Castle Commanders, and Souldiers as
are taken, and that County by God's blessing cleared of the
enemy, n April, 1644. Ordered by the Commons assembled
in Parliament, That these Relations be forthwith printed and
published."
" A Letter from Sir William Brereton, Sir Thomas
Middleton, Sir John Meldrum, of the Great Victory (by
God's Providence) given them in Raising the Siege from
before Montgomery Castle. And how they routed and
totally dispersed his Majestie's Forces, under the command
of the Lord Byron : where they tooke all their Carriages,
Arms, Ammunition, and made them fly to Shrewsbury, and
Chester. 1644."
27
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
This contains a full account of the taking of Montgomery
Castle and a " List " of about 200 Welsh officials who supported
the King's cause.
"Continuation of Certain Speciall and Remarkable Passages,
informed to the Parliament. 1644."
This is a tract which gives an account of the work of
" Colonel Breese " in Pembrokeshire.
" Two great Victories, one obtained by the Earle of Denbigh
at Oswestry, and how he took 20 Gentlemen of Wales, &c.,
the other Victory by Colonell Mitton. 1 644."
"Sir T. Middleton's letter concerning the raising of the
Siege at Oswestree. 1644."
" England's Tears for the present Wars, which for the Nature
of the Quarrell, the quality of Strength, the diversity of
Battails, Skirmishes, Sieges, &c., cannot be parallelled by
any Age. 1644."
The author of this last was James Howell, a writer whose
further works will be presently noticed. He gives in it an
account of the sieges of Pembroke Castle, Montgomery, and
Cardigan.
" An Ordinance of the Lords and Commons for Raysing and
Maintaining of Horse and Foot for Monmouth, Glamorgan,
and Brecknock, Radnor, Glocester, and Hereford. 1644."
This was an important and historic tract published by the
Parliament.
Two publications which appeared in 1 644 showed the interest
of Church religious leaders in the principles at issue in the Civil
War. They are entitled :
" Discourse before the unfortunate Parliament at Oxford, on
the only way to preserve life. By Griffith Williams. 1644."
And:
"Jura Majestatis" the Rights of Kings, both in Church and
State, i. Granted by God. 2. Violated by the Rebels, &c.,
and the Wickedness of the Faction of this pretended
28
HISTORICAL, ANTIQUARIAN, TOPOGRAPHICAL
Parliament at Westminster, their Rebellion, Murder, Roberie,
&c. Oxford, 1644."
The author, Dr. Griffith Williams (1587 - 1672) was a promi-
nent Welsh clergyman, who became Rector of Llanllechid, Dean
of Bangor, and Bishop of Ossory. He was born at Llanrug in
1587, educated at Christ Church, Oxford, 1603, whence he
proceeded to Cambridge. He then became chaplain to Philip,
Earl of Montgomery, in 1614, Rector of St. Bennet's, London,
chaplain to Charles I., Prebendary of Westminster in 1628,
Dean of Bangor and Archdeacon of Anglesey, 1634, and Bishop
of Ossory in 1641. He was a strong Royalist, and in addition to
the two productions mentioned above, he had written " Vindiciae
Regum" in 1643, for which he was imprisoned. He was also the
author of " The Discovery of Mysteries."* He was deposed from
his bishopric during the Commonwealth, but it was restored
to him in 1661. He returned to Ireland and died there in 1672,
and was buried at Kilkenny Cathedral. 2 His religious books
will be noticed later.
In 1645 appeared " A Letter from Captaine Richard Swanley
to the Right Honourable, The Earl of Warwick, being a full
relation of the taking of the town and castle of Cardigan,
in Wales, by Major - General Laugharne, with above too
commanders and common soldiers, and all the arms and
ammunition therein, &c. Published by authority. London,
printed for John Thomas. 1645."
" Several Letters of Great consequence intercepted by Col.
Mitton, near Ruthyn, in Wales, concerning Irish Forces
to be brought into England. 1646."
On November 2nd, 1645, a Public Thanksgiving was held
at St. Paul's, London, " for the taking in of the Towns and Castles
of Carmarthen and Monmouth in Wales." The sermon preached
on the occasion by Simeon Ash, one of the Assembly of Divines,
1 This was published in 1643 and dealt with the plots to overthrow the
Established Religion. See Wood's Athtn : Oxon : ii. pp. 496 499.
8 Williams' Eminent Welshmen^ pp. 524 - 526.
was aftenvards published under the title " Reall Thankfulnesse."
It is claimed that it expressed the general feeling of the country
at the time. 1
Another paper issued in 1645 describes many victories of
the Parliament in South West Wales, especially that at Haver-
fordwest. It is entitled :
" Oriens ab Occidente, or a Dawning in the West, as it was
delivered in a Discourse to the Long Parliament, upon their
day of Thanksgiving for several Victories in the West, by
John Bond. 1645."
A similar "Thanksgiving Discourse" was delivered by
Thomas Case before the Long Parliament in 1645 "for the
gaining of the Towns in the West and for the dispersing of the
Clubmen and the good success^in Pembrokeshire."
The same year saw the publication of :
"An Ordnance of the Lords and Commons assembled in
Parliament for the more effectual putting in execution the
Directory for Publique Worship, in all Parish Churches and
Chappells in Wales."
In 1646-7 there were several productions relating to the
history of the Civil War in Wales,, amongst which may be noticed :
" Contemplation upon these times, or, the Parliament
explained to Wales. London, 1646."
The author of this book was John Lewis, Esq., of Glasgrug,
near Aberystwyth, who styles himself " a cordiall Well - wisher of
his Countries happinesse." 2
" Conoway taken by Storme, By Major Generall Mitton.
With the assistance of the Arch - Bishop of York [i.e. John
Williams] also how all the Irish were bound back
to back and thrown into the Sea London printed by
I. C. 1646."
"The taking of Carnarvon, the Castle, Works, &rc., by
Major Generall Mitton, with the Articles agreed upon. June
5th, 1646."
1 " Carmarthen and i(s Neighbourhood)" by Spurrell, p. 5. 2 Llyfr. y
Cymry, p. 140.
In 1647 the official documents relating to a rising in Glamor-
ganshire were published under the title :
" A full relation of the whole proceedings of the late rising
and commotion in Wales, under pretence for the King and
Sir Thomas Fairfax ;" and in the same year,
" A perfect Diurnal of Passages in Parliament," relating to
the same rising in Glamorgan which also spread to other parts.
There were in all about 1,000 men under arms and their leaders
were " Sir Edward Thomas, Bart., Sir Richard Bassett, Sir
Henry Stradling, Col. Kames, &C." 1 There followed a paper
from a body of disaffected Parliamentarians entitled :
"A Declaration of Engagements, Remonstrances, Repre-
sentations, Resolutions, c., from Sit Thomas Fairfax and
the Army, for setting his Majesty in his just Rights, and the
Subjects in their Liberties and Freedom. 1647."
The gist of this was to condemn the action of the " Com-
missioners " in South Wales. It was stated that Sir William
Lewis and a certain " Master Glynn " had helped rather than
hindered Papists and Royalists. Especially had this happened
in the case of Lord Carbery, Mr. Crane, Mr. Herbert, and
others. 2 It implied that the country had been better governed
by Charles, to whom the promoters of this Declaration now
wished to restore their allegiance. The two first- named
members thus accused wrote a reply on behalf of themselves
and the rest, entitled :
" A Full Vindication and Answer of the Eleven Accused
Members, Denzill, Sir William Lewis, John Glynne, and the
rest, to the late Particular Charge or Impeachment. 1647."
How the money was raised for carrying on the struggle in
the Civil War is instanced in a paper which appeared in 1647,
which gives an account of the sums required from every shire
in Wales, and a list of the names of the collectors in each
county. It was issued under the title :
" An Ordinance for the Raising of Money to be employed
1 Llyfr. y Cymry, p. 142. 2 Hotteri 'f Catalogue.
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
toward the maintenance of Forces within the Kingdom.
1647." It was followed by another paper concerning
taxation, bearing the title :
"A Declaration about North Wales and the Taxes. 1647."
This document has regard to some sums of money that had
been raised from the poor in North Wales without the authority
of Parliament. The latter required to know who the culprits were.
It was also decreed in this year what forces should be maintained
in North and South Wales respectively, and what regiments
should be disbanded. One hundred mounted men under Col.
Mytton in the North, and the same number under Col. Langhorn
in the South were to be maintained. This arrangement appears in
" Several Notes declaring what Forces shall be continued
in the Kingdome of England and Dominion of Wales,
&c. 1647."
There is no more interesting figure in the Civil War Period
than that of Judge David Jenkins (? 1582-1663), who played such
a conspicuous part in relation to the particular events with which
this chapter deals, that this is the most fitting place to recount
something of his life and writings.
This eminent lawyer was born at Hensol, in the parish of
Pendeulwyn, Glamorgan, about 1582. He entered St. Edmund's
Hall, Oxford, in 1597, at a time when there were several Welsh-
men there. 1 He then proceeded to Gray's Inn, and afterwards
was appointed a Judge in South Wales, until the Civil War broke
out, when his strong measures against rebels attracted notice.
He was taken prisoner by Cromwell's Army at Hereford in 1645
and put into the Tower. When he was brought to his trial in
Chancery he denied the authority of the Court. He was then
committed to Newgate and impeached of high treason before the
Commons. Refusing to recognise their authority he was fined
^1,000, and remanded to prison in Wallingford Castle. Whilst
there he tried to bring about a rupture between the Army and
1 At hen : Oxon : ii. 328-329, and Williams' Eminent Welshmen, pp. 248-249.
HISTORICAL, ANTIQUARIAN, TOPOGRAPHICAL
the Parliament, but was unsuccessful. By an Act of 1650,
arrangements were made for his trial before the High Court of
Justice. Seeing little hope of escape, he determined to die with
the Bible under one arm and Magna Charta under the other.
But Harry Marten saved his life by reminding the Court that
" sanguis martyrum est semen ecclesias." Therefore, he was sent
back to imprisonment at Windsor Castle, and eventually liberated
in 1656. It was expected that at the Restoration he would be
made a Judge at Westminster, but scorning the bribery of that
corrupt period, he returned to his South Wales estate, and died
at Cowbridge in 1663. Wood sums him up as "a vigorous
maintainer of the rights of the crown, a heart of oak, and pillar of
the law and of the people's liberties'" x
His works are as follows :
" Judge Jenkins' Plea delivered unto the Earle of Manchester
and the Speaker of the House of Commons, which was read
in open Court. By David Jenkins, prisoner in Newgate,
1647." It was privately printed, and contained a sharp
answer to the Parliament.
" An Apology for the Army, touching the 8 Querries upon
the late Declarations, also touching Sedition falsely charged
upon them. By David Jenkins, prisoner in the Tower of
London. Printed 1647."
This is an argument whether the Army belonged to Charles
or to the Parliament.
" Remonstrance to the Lords and Commons of the two
Houses of Parliament. 1647." This was also written from
the Tower.
These three papers produced an answer " by H. P., Barrister
of Lincoln's Inn," 1647 ; to whom Jenkins replied in :
"The Cordiall of Mr. David Jenkins. 1647," a very
effective paper disposing entirely of his adversary's arguments.
Nor was Jenkins afraid in his captivity in the Tower to
'for further details of his life, see Malkin's "South
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
challenge the doings of Parliament as unconstitutional and illegal.
This he argues in :
"A Discourse touching the inconveniences of a Long -con-
tinued Parliament, and the Judgment of the Law of the
Land in that behalf e. 1647."
H. P., or Henry Parker, as he proved to be, again assailed him
with " An Answer to the Poysonous Sedicious Paper by Mr.
David Jenkins. 1647," to which, as far as we know, the great
judge deigned no reply.
In 1648 Jenkins' various pamphlets were published together
under the title :
"The Works of that Grave and Learned Lawyer, Judge
Jenkins, by David Jenkins, prisoner in Newgate."
In the same year was published an account of his trial during
which he was accused by his enemies of having condemned to
death some innocent persons in Wales who had helped the Long
Parliament. The great lawyer was, however, more than a match
for his judges, and in spite of three private conferences during
the trial, they failed to shake him from the^sure and certain ground
of the Law which he knew so well and defended so valiantly.
The work is called :
" The Trial of Judge Jenkins, at the House of Commons
Barre, upon an Impeachment of High Treason, with heads
of the charge against him. And his Answer. 1648."
The last of his writings dealing with the Civil War was
published in the same year under the title :
"The Declaration of David Jenkins, late prisoner in the
Tower of London, concerning the Parliament's Army, and
the Lawes and Liberties of England. Printed in 1648."
Jenkins has been described as "the sharpest thorn in the
side of the Parliament," 1 which description is undoubtedly true,
or, perhaps it is best put in his own words, which form the title of
one of his papers :
"A Scourge for the Directory, and The Revolting Synod^
* Llyfr. y Cymry, p. 148.
34
HISTORICAL, ANTIQUARIAN, TOPOGRAPHICAL
which hath sitten these five years, more for four shillings a
day than for conscience sake."
Further papers of his, that are mentioned in the Athena
Oxonienses are :
" A Recantation of Judge Jenkins . . . delivered at West-
minster, 1647, to Mr. Corbet, the Chaireman of the
Committee of Examination."
" Sundry Acts of Parliament mentioned and cited in the
Army's Indemnity, set forth in words at large. 1647."
" Lex Terrae," 1647 a paper written to Gray's Inn, the
Innes of Court, and to all the professors of the Law.
Most of the pamphlets mentioned above were printed
together in " Jenkinsius Redevivus, or, The Works of Judge
Jenkins, 1648," as before stated. His portrait appears in this
book, and below it are inserted the following lines :
" Here Jenkyns stands, who thundering from the Tower
Shook the Senate's legislative power ;
Six of whose Words, twelve Khearns of Votes exceed,
As Mountains moved by Grains of Mustard Seed.
Thus gasping Laws were icscued from the Snare.
He that will save a Crown must know and dare."
Athen : Oxon : ii. 329.
It is evident that in 1648 all was not going well with the
Welsh Parliamentarians, and the cleavage which was taking place
is instanced in " The Declaration and Resolution of Col. John
Poyer, concerning Lieut. General Cromwell, and the particular
relation of another Great Fight in Wales. London, 1648." Also
"The Declaration of Lieut. General Cromwell concerning his
present design and engagement against Col. Poyer, and his
Adherents in South Wales. London, 1648," which was a reply to
the former. It would seem that a misunderstanding had arisen
between Col. Poyer and Col. Horton, culminating in sharp dissen-
sion. The Roundheads under Horton totally routed Col. Poyer's
forces at the battle of St. Ffagan's, near Cardiff. Referring to
this, Col. Oakey in a letter to a friend in London gave "A True
u
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURA
and particular Relation of the late Victory." 1 This was followed
by " A List of the persons taken, and those that were slain by
Collonell Horton in South Wales."
The disaffected Parliamentarians now approached Prince
Charles in " A Declaration of Divers Gentlemen ... of Wales,
with their propositions to his Highnesse Prince Charles. London.
1648."
Much can be gleaned of the particulars of the internecine
strife in Wales, from a document entitled " A Declaration of the
King's Majestie's Army, with their Resolution touching the late
businesse in Wales, with the proceedings of Major-General
Laugharne, and the Protestation of the British Forces in Wales.
1648."
Another publication which also throws important light upon
the contending parties takes the form of " Letters from Col.
Horton more fully relating the late Fight near Cardiff, with a
perfect List of the names of the Prisoners, Officers, Private
Gentlemen, and Soldiers taken in the said Fight and Pursuit.
1648."
North Wales was getting exceedingly tired of the war, as the
following publication shows : " A Declaration and Resolution of
the Sheriffes, Justices of the Peace, and other of his Majestie's
well- affected subjects, in the Counties of Flint and Denbigh, at a
generall meeting in Wrexham, wherein they declare to oppose all
forces whatsoever that shall enter the said counties. 1648."
This contains many particulars of some of the leading inhabitants ;
e.g.t Sir Thomas Middleton, Simon Thelwall, Col. Thomas Ravens-
croft, Col. John Aldersey, Capt. Luke Lloyd, and John Salisbury,
Esq., of Bachegraig. 2
A poetical work entitled " A New Message to the Royalists
of the two Kingdoms of England and Scotland. 1648," gives an
account of the proceedings against the Royal Navy at sea, as well
as of the Northern Army and the Welsh, Cornish, and Scottish
forces.
1 Uyfr. y Cymryt p. 146. and Civil War Tracts^ p. 39. ' Lly/r, y
Cymry, p. 147,
HISTORICAL, ANTIQUARIAN, TOPOGRAPHICAL
(c) THE SECOND INSURRECTION PERIOD.
It will be remembered that in June, 1647, when many of the
Presbyterian members had fled in dismay from the House of
Commons, the Independents obtained for a moment a majority in
Parliament. The victorious party then proceeded to treat with
the King, offering him liberal terms, for instance, the complete
toleration of all sects, the restriction of the royal power over the
armed forces of the realm for ten years only, and a pardon for all
exiled Royalists except five. 1 The King refused this offer, for he
had formed a secret plot to free himself from both Presbyterians
and Independents. In November, 1647, he escaped from his
military captors and succeeded in reaching the Isle of Wight.
From Carisbrooke Castle in that island, he sent new offers of
terms both to the Army and to Parliament, his object being
merely to gain time. In 1648, the Royalist standard was raised
in the North at Berwick, and a committee of Scottish lords had
sent to France to ask the young Prince of Wales to put himself at
the head of his father's friends. This was a signal for the general
rising of English Royalists, and insurrections broke out all over
the land, even in the Eastern Counties where Puritanism was so
strong. Wales was also affected by this movement, and the
leading figure was Colonel Poyer. There are sixteen productions
on record in the Civil War Tracts, N. L. W., and elsewhere,
relating to the part he played.
It will suffice to mention a few of them here :
" A Short Comment upon the Grounds and Reasons of
Foyer's taking up Arms in these Second Insurrections, which
reasons are most abusively represented to the great advantage
of the said Poyer, and to the dishonour of the Gentry of the
County of Pembroke. 1648."
This was printed privately, and gives many particulars of
Pembroke and its people, and of Poyer's " humble origin, corrupt
life, enmity to religion, his ill-treatment of two ministers of
' Oman's History of England, p. 399.
37
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
religion, and his wantonness." At the end occurs a list of all the
battles fought in the Counties of Carmarthen, Pembroke, and
Cardigan, in which Poyer took part.
This pamphlet brought a reply from the Colonel, which is
called :
" Foyer's Vindication in Answer to a lying Pamphlet in
which are monstrous lies, scattered abroad to uphold the
broken reputation of a poor Solicitor, for those cowardly
turncoat cavaliers in the County of Pembroke. Printed in
1648."
This was also printed privately, and the " poor solicitor "
referred to was one, John Elliott, whom Poyer had been instru-
mental in dismissing from employment. Both one and the other
indulge in the vilest recriminations. As stated before, these
productions are worthless as literature, but are necessary to an
understanding of the times, inasmuch as they throw sidelights upon
the events of those troubled days. The Elliotts were really a
responsible Narberth family, and the object of Foyer's attack
returned to the charge with :
"A Just Reply to a false and scandalous Paper, intituled
' Foyer's Vindication ' by John Elliott, Esquire. Printed
1648."
Foyer's star, however, was not yet on the wane, for the next
pamphlet deals with the sanguinary conflict at Pembroke Castle
and in other parts of South Wales. It is entitled :
" Prince Charles his Letter brought to his Excellency General
Fairfax, and the Discovery of a Plot ; also sad news from
South Wales of the Defeating of the Parliament Forces there,
by Colonel Poyer, the men killed, taken, and dispersed, their
Ordnance and Arms lost, and Col. Foyer's Declaration.
1648."
One of Prince Charles' letters taken at Pembroke was
published by Hugh Peters, an officer in Cromwell's army, probably
a chaplain at the first, but having followed Cromwell into Ireland
he had proved so useful to him that he had been sent into Wales
38
HISTORICAL, ANTIQUARIAN, TOPOGRAPHICAL
with the commission of a Colonel to raise a Regiment. 1 Peter's
publication is entitled :
" A Copy of His Highnesse Prince Charles his Letter to the
Commanders of his Majesty's Forces with a Copy of his
Highnesse Commission to Collonell Poyer, written by Mr.
Hugh Peters, Minister of God's Word. 1648."
Charles had by this time appointed Poyer governor of
Pembroke ; and Colonel Rice Powel, governor of Tenby and its
castle, where the latter was afterwards captured.
The decisive victory gained by the Cromwellians took place
at St. Ffagan's, near Cardiff, as already stated. The record of it
appears in a paper styled :
"Colonel Poyer's Forces in Wales totally routed by the
Parliament Forces under Colonel Horton, who took Prisoners,
Major-General Stradling, Col. Philips, .... 140 Captains,
many Country Gentlemen, 3000 Common Soldiers, 4000
Armes, &c., &c. 1648."
The end of the Second Civil War in Wales was marked by
" An Ordinance for the settling the Militia in the several Counties,
Cities, and Places in the Dominion of Wales. 1648."
It is an interesting document, in that it gives the names of
those responsible to the Commonwealth for good government in
Wales.
(d) SATIRES AND LAMPOONS.
Several compositions of this kind were published, and a few
will be mentioned here, which are typical of the rest. They were
for the most part the productions of Royalist wits at the expense of
the Welshman's pronunciation of English and his confusion of
the English pronouns, but they invariably elicited a speedy reply
from the Roundheads. Some of them are skits on the "pro-
phecies " of the time.
" The Welchman's publike Recantation, or his hearty sorrow
for taking up Armes against her Parliament, Declaring to all
'Walker's "Sufferings of the Citrgy? p. 147.
39
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
the world how her hath been abused by faire words, and
such adullations and flattering, telling her what booties and
Prizes her should get, the Divell take the array. 1642."
This is a knavish booklet and very droll in parts.
" The Welchman's last Petition and Protestation, desiring
that a speedy aide might bee sent her against her home - bred
Enemies, as her shall declare and show to be in her following
petition ; whereunto is added the protestation of Thomas ap
Shinkin ap Morgan. 1642."
"The Welchman's Prave Resolution, in defence of Her
King, Her Pritish Parliament, and her Country, against te
malignant party, subscriped by Shon ap William, ap Thomas,
ap Meredith, ap Evans, ap Lloyd, ap Price, ap Hugh, ap
Rowland, ap Powell, ap Shinkin, ap Shones."
" The Welshman's Warning Piece as it was delivered in a
sermon in Shropshire at the Assembly when the Resolution
was agreed upon, and now published for the cood of all her
countrymen in these parts, by Shon ap Morgan, in the Anti-
Prelation Year, 1642. Wherein her gives Kot thanks that
her was no Beshit. 1642."
" The Welch Doctor ; or the Welchman turned Physitian,
being a new way to cure all Diseases in these times, &c. By
Shinkin ap Morgan. 1643."
"The Welshman's Declaration : declaring her resolution to
be revenged on her enemies, for te creat overthrow of a creat
many of her Cousins and Countreymen in Tean Forrest, in
Gloucestershire, where her was spitefully frittered. 1643."
" A Perfect Tiurrnal or Welsh Post, with her creat packet of
Letters., for her to carry into her Countrey of Whales, touch-
ing preten proceeding, and war in England. London,
printed for her Welch Post, to carry to her countrymen in
Whales. 1643."
This is adorned with a portrait of Charles I. sitting upon his
throne, and showing one or two suppliants asking favours.
" Crete Wonders foretold By Her crete Prophet of Wales t
4
HISTORICAL, ANTIQUARIAN, TOPOGRAPHICAL
which shall certainly happen this present year 1647, by
strange fires and crete waters, by spirits and Tivills appearing
in many places of tis Kingdome, especially in and about te
cities of London and Westminster, and the effects that will
follow thereupon. Also her King's coming home to her
Crete Counsell. Printed with her free consent and leave, to
be published and sold to her teere Pretren of England, with
all her plood and heart. 1647."
This Roundhead lampoon upon the Cavaliers has a caricature
of Judge Berkley (it is supposed) as frontispiece.
"Jenkin of Wales his Love -Course and Perambulation; an
early Droll performed at the Red Bull Theatre about the
year 1647."
A satire published by Michael Oldsworth in 1648, entitled
News from Pembroke and Montgomery, was printed at Montgomery.
The Royalists probably had a moveable Press in Wales at this
time.
"The Earl of Pembroke's Farewell to the King. 1648."
Although the title suggests sympathy or even tears, this is an
oration full of oaths and blasphemy. It would seem that the
noble Earl, who was the fourth to hold the title, was given to this
particular form of utterance, for its absence in one of his speeches
produced a satire bearing the significant title, " The Speech
without an Oath, of Phil. Earle of Pembroke. 1648."
In 1649 appeared "A Thanksgiving for the Recovery of
Philip, Earl of Pembroke, who was jeered into a Pestillent Fever."
He was Chamberlain to Charles I. and Chancellor of Oxford.
He died in 1655.
The following are two examples of the lampoons published
during the Commonwealth period (1649-1660), satirising in prose
and verse the numerous Remonstrances, Petitions, Articles of
High Treason, &c., which were the vogue :
"The Humble Remonstrances of Rice ap Meredith ap
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Morgan, Shentilman of Wales, with fery brave new Ballads
or Songs." 1652.
" Articles of High Treason made and enacted by the late
Half -Quarter Usurping Convention, and now presented to
Publick View for general satisfaction, of all true Englishmen,
with a Petition or Remonstrance, from the Shentlemen of
Wales, to their cood Worships, together with Trotters
Journey -man on his Amble to the Gallows. Imprinted for
Erasmus Thorogood, and are to be sold at the Signe of the
Roasted Rump. 1659."
(e) THE COMMONWEALTH PERIOD.
This period opens with the famous "Act for the better Propaga-
tion and Preaching of the Gospel in Wales. 1650." Its inception is
thus explained by Walker in his " Sufferings of the Clergy." I One,
Hugh Peters, who has been previously mentioned, had been sent
by Cromwell into Wales (from Ireland whither he had accom-
panied him) to raise a regiment. " He misspent his time, and
raised but three companies, and Cromwell's wife drew up Articles
against him, which Hugh Peters being informed of, contrived,
together with one Colonel Philip Jones, of Swansey, and one Mr.
Sampson Lort, ' to settle a Congregational Church of their own
invention ' ; hoping by that means to make it evident, that instead
of having lost any time, he had been all the while very well
employed : and afterwards going to London, and being requested
to leave his advice ' How to drive on that great design of
Propagating the Gospel in Wales,' he briefly delivered it to this
effect : that tJiey must sequester all ministers without exception, and
bring the revenues of the Church into one public Treasury, out of
which must be allowed an Hundred a year to Six itinerant
ministers, to preach in every county, which was the model they
afterwards proceeded upon, and did in a manner finish and com-
pleat it."
It may be argued that Walker's account is not without bias,
1 Walker's Sufferings of the Clergy, p. 147.
HISTORICAL, ANTIQUARIAN, TOPOGRAPHICAL
but it should be explained that he derived this information, as he
himself says, from "The Life of H. Peters by W. Young, M.D.
1663."' Peters had lodged at Young's house at Milford, but
it is not known on what terms they were.
Whether this is the correct account of the inception of the
Act or not, it is certain that it proceeded on these lines, which
gives some point to Walker's remark that " Peters was the great
Master - Builder." He had, however, nothing to do with the
working of it. To quote the same authority, " the care of carrying
it on was committed to Vavasor Powell, Walter Cradock, 2 and
some other enthusiasts of those parts ; who for that end endea-
voured to represent their countrymen as ' Pagans and Infidels,' 3
and a People that understood nothing of God, or of the Power of
Godliness, and so had need to be converted to the Faith."
The part that Vavasor Powell, Walter Cradoc, and Morgan
Llwyd' played at this time is so prominent that no better place
can be found to insert the story of their life and work, for no
account of the Commonwealth period in Wales is complete
without them, either on its historical, religious, or literary side.
There are two authorities which deal with Vavasor Powell's
life and influence, both of which are greatly biassed, although
in opposite ways, so that probably in this, as in so many other
cases, the truth lies between them. One is a work by Alexander
Griffith entitled " Strena Vavasoriensis, or, an Hue and Cry after
Mr. Vavasor Powell." This, from the very honesty of its title
proclaims the author an adverse and even antagonistic critic. On
his own showing, he had set forth to hunt him down. The other
is a "Life" wrongly attributed to Edward Bagshav,-,* "his dear
friend and fellow -sufferer," which, if true, would hardly give
an unbiassed account of the career of the " Apostle of the
Welch Counties " or " Metropolitan of the Itinerants," as Powell
is variously described.
1 Sufferings of the Clergy, margin p. 147. 2 Morgan Llwyd is not men-
tioned !>y Walker, but he was one of the three "Tryers." 3 This quotation
was taken by Walker from Merc. Camb, Brit., p. I. 4 The title cage names
no author, but states that the " Elogies and Epitaphs" at the end were "by
His Friends." It is dated 1671.
43
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Vavasor Powell (1617-1670) was born at Cnwc Glas,
in Radnorshire 1 in 1617, his mother being a Yorkshire
woman who had settled in Wales. 2 He is said to have been
educated at Jesus College, Oxford, c. 1634. There is some
uncertainty, however, on this point, and Wood but grudgingly
admits him into his "Athenre," because he failed to find his
name on any list of Matriculants. Leaving Oxford without a
degree, he settled at Clun in Shropshire as a schoolmaster, and is
said to have officiated as curate to his uncle, Erasmus Howell,
at that place, but there is no record of his having taken Holy
Orders. The story of his forging "Letters of Orders" can be
dismissed, for it occurs in the " Hue and Cry " and is told by his
enemies. Later on, he joined the Puritans and attached himself
to " an unpopular sect of Baptists," 3 which exposed him to much
persecution. He, on his part, became noted for his unbounded
zeal against Episcopacy. In 1642, he removed to London and
afterwards to Dartford in Kent, where " his fervid preaching drew
great crowds."*
Returning to Wales in 1646 with testimonials from the
" Assembly of Divines," he determined to overthrow the estab-
lished Church in the Principality. In the " Act for the Propagat-
ion of the Gospel in Wales," he was named a Commissioner and
carried out his work with characteristic thoroughness. He ejected
a great number of clergy, with the inevitable distress attendant
upon such a course.
There can be little doubt that he exerted his power to the
utmost and that he was paid for his work out of the revenues of
the Church. His enemies stated that he derived enormous sums
from Church revenues besides the ^100 per annum which formed
'He himself says, "going through the Town where I was born, from
King ston to Lanvaire - waterdine, I met, &c." p. 9, "Life and Death of
Vavasor Powell. 1671." 2 Eminent Welshmen, p. 413. Wood says that
Powell's mother was daughter of William Vavasor of Newtown, in Mont-
gomeryshire. Athen: Oxon : ii. p. 474. 3 Williams' Em, Welshmen^
pp. 413- 414. 4 ibid,
HISTORICAL, ANTIQUARIAN, TOPOGRAPHICAL
his stipend. 1 In support of this is quoted a property which he
bought, but there is no reason to suppose that he could not have
acquired it out of his own savings, for 100 per annum at that
time was a considerable sum. Wood makes the statement that
"he had the disposal of ^40,000 per annum from 1649 to 1653,
at which time it was unaccounted for," and that "he built for him-
self a very fair and sumptuous house in Kerry in Montgomery,"*
but he does not clearly establish his charge.
In politics he was a staunch Republican, and later a Fifth-
Monarchy man, as some of his utterances prove. But it must be
admitted, in all fairness, that in politics he was no time-server,
for he declaimed against Cromwell when the latter assumed the
title " Lord Protector," and was imprisoned for his temerity.
Thurloe's " State Papers " show how, from this time, he was a
marked man by Cromwell.
At the Restoration in 1660, he was imprisoned, but was
discharged after nine weeks' captivity. However, when he refused
to take the oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy, he was cast into
the Fleet Prison for two years, and afterwards spent five years in
Southsea Castle, near Portsmouth. Upon his release he resumed
his Puritan activities, and was after ten months committed to
Cardiff gaol. He was removed thence to the Fleet Prison, where
he died in 1670,3 and was buried in Bunhill Fields.
He was the author of several works, all of which except
" Canwyll Crist :: were written in English.* They are given below,
together with other works bearing on the controversies in which
he was engaged :
'It is stated in the "Life and Death of Vavasor Powell" "Little
outward advantage acciued to him by his ministry ; from the Churches in
\VaIes he received nothing but neighbourly and brotherly kindness
the Parliament ordered him 100 per annum, out of a sine cura, whereof he
received about 60, for seven or eight years, many considerable gifts he
refused, and never did he get anything by the Act for the propagation of the
gospel in Wales, as was slandrously laid to his charge, for which his vindica-
tion in print to this day unanswered, may stop the mouth of Envy itself."
p. 112. *A(hcn : Oxon : ii., pp. 474-477. 3 i67i, according to Bagshaiv's
Epitaph, but this is incorrect. He died Oct. 27th, 1670 ; see Life and Death
of Vavasor r<noe. f .', p, 191. Wood's Atken : Oxon ; ii., pp. 474-477.
45
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
" Scriptures Concord : or a Catechisme compiled out of the
words of the Scriptures. By Vavasor Powell. London,
1647." (Second edition, 1653).
" Saving Faith Set forth in Three Dialogues, or Conferences.
Wherein is added Two Sermons. One of them preached
before the Parliament, the other before the Lord Mayor of
the City of London. 1651."
The two sermons are :
"Christ Exalted above all Creatures by God His Father"
(1649); " God the Father glorified, and the worke of Mens
redemption and salvation finished by Christ on earth.
Preached before the Lord Mayor of London. 1649. By
Vavasor Powell." (Second impression, 1650).
" An useful Concordance of the Holy Bible, with the various
Acceptations contained in the Scriptures, and Marks to
distinguish Commands, Promices, and Threatnings. Also
a Curious Collection of Similies, Synonymous Phrases, and
Prophecies, relating to the call of the Jews, and the glory
that shall be in the latter days. Lastly, the Titles and
Appelations given to Christ and the Church not in any
Concordance yet extant. Begun by the industrious Labour
of Mr. Vavasor Powell, and finished by Mr. N. P. and J. F.
Recommended to the Studious Reader by the Reverend
John Owen, D.'D. The Supplements being placed in this
Impression, in their proper places. The Second Edition.
London."
This is not dated. Wood asserts that the first edition
appeared in 1671 and the second in 1673.'
" Canwyll Crist, gan Vavasour Powel. Llundain."
This is a translation from the English, out of " Saving Faith."
He relates his disputation with John Goodwin in Truth's Conflict
with Error, 1650.
" Brief Narrative concerning the proceedings of the Com-
missioners in Wales against the ejected Clergy. 1653."
'Wood's Athen : Qxon : ii., pp. 474-477.
-rf
HISTORICAL, ANTIQUARIAN, TOPOGRAPHICAL
It was written to refute the rumours that Vavasor Powell had
been cast into the Fleet Prison for misappropriating a considerable
part of the Welsh tithes.
" Examen & Purgamen Vavasoris : 1653."
Written for the same reason as above, by one of Powell's
friends, and especially to counteract the " Hue and Cry." Its
aim is to prove him innocent of the accusations brought against
him. 1 As against the charges of Alexander Griffith, it places the
testimony of a number of Justices of the Peace and other
gentlemen.
In 1653 Powell was very industrious in disseminating pam-
phlets, written originally in English, but afterwards translated by
him, or for him, into Welsh. Amongst this series appears :
" A Dialogue between Christ and a Publican, and Christ
and a doubting Christian " : " Ymddiddan rhwng Crist a'r
Publican, a Christ a Christion ammheus."
" The Sufferers' Catechisme " : " Catechism y Dioddefwyr."
" Sinful and sinless swearing " : " Tyngu Pechadurus a
dibechod."
" Sail y Grefydd Gristionogol."
" Gair tros Dduw, neu dystiolaeth o blaid y gwirionedd, oddi
wrth amryw eglwysi, a llawer cant o grist'nogion yng Nghymru
(a rhyw ychydig oddi amgylch), yn erbyn drygioni mewn
lleoedd uchel, gyda llythyr byrr at yr Arglwydd Pendistein
Cromwel. 1655."
This was also published in English, but is not mentioned in
the Athena Oxonienses amongst Vavasor Powell's works. Its aim
is to protest against Cromwell's acceptance of the title " Lord
Protector." Powell was called to account for it before Major
General Berry at Worcester, but he defended himself so ably
that he escaped imprisonment.
" Bref Narative of V. Powell. By Himself, 1661." Wood
dates this work 1671, and views it with unqualified scorn. His
comment is : "Tis a canting and enthusiastic piece." 2 Perhaps
1 Llyfr. y Cymry, p. 162. - At hen : Oxon : ii., pp. 474-477.
47
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Gwilym Lleyn has confused this book with the " Life of .Vavasor
Powell," issued in 1671, and Wood's date would thus be correct.
"The Bird in the Cage, Chirping Four distinct Notes to his
Consorts abroad, i. Of Consideration, Counsel, and Consola-
tion, ii. Some Experiences and Observations gathered in
Affliction, and first intended only for private use. iii. The
Lamentations of Jeremiah, in the ordinary measures of
singing Psalms, iv. A true Christian's Spiritual Pilgrimage,
setting forth his afflicted and consolatory state, in another
Metre. And as a Preface hereto, an Epistle to the Welsh
Churches, and a brief Narrative of the former Propagation
and late Restriction of the Gospel (and the true Preachers
and Professors thereof) in Wales. And a short Vindication
of the Author and others, from the Calumniation of their
Adversaries concerning the same. The Second Edition
Corrected and Enlarged. London, 1662." The first edition
of this was published in i66i. 1
"The Life and Death of Mr. Vavasor Powell, 2 that Faithful
Minister and Confessor of Jesus Christ. Wherein his
Eminent Conversion, Laborious, Successful Ministry,
Excellent Conversation, Confession of Faith, Worthy
Sayings, Choice Experiences, Various Sufferings, and other
Remarkable Passages, in his Life, and at his Death, are
faithfully Recorded for Publick benefit. With Some Elogies
and Epitaphs, by His Friends. Printed in the year MDCLXXI."
"The Perfect Diurnall, 1652." An account by Vavasor
Powell of the discussion he had had with Dr. George Griffith,
of Llanymynach, whose reply to him was entitled " Animad-
versions on an Imperfect Relation in the Perfect Diurnall,
1652."
" Christ and Moses' Excellency, or Sion and Sinai's Glory :
1 Civil War Tracts^ p. 74. * Edward Bagshaw is, sometimes, credited
with having written this book, but one is inclined to agree with the author of
the Athena that "no scholar of academical breeding, as Bagshaw was, would
or could be the author of it " (vol. ii., p. 494). The first part is certainly
an autobiography, the rest a compilation " by His Friends,"
HISTORICAL, ANTIQUARIAN, TOPOGRAPHICAL
Being a Duplex Treatise, distinguishing and explaining the
two Covenants, or the Gospel and Law ; And Directing to
the right understanding, applying and finding of the Inform-
ing and Assuring Promises, that belong to the both
Covenants. By Vavasor Powell, Preacher of the Gospel in
Wales. 1650." This is a considerable work and runs to
572 pages.
" Common Prayer Book, no Divine Servic. 1660." x
Wood adds an interesting note concerning Vavasor Powell's
religious views : " I have been informed by M. LI., who knew and
was acquainted with Vav. Powell, that he was wont to say that
there were but two sorts of People that had Religion, viz., the
gathered Churches and the Roman Catholics, and would not
allow it to the Church of England men, or to the Presbyterians." 2
Walter Cradoc and Morgan Lhvyd were so closely connected
with Vavasor Powell in the administration of the " Act for the
better Propagation of the Gospel " that their life and work had
best remain associated with his in this narration.
Walter Cradoc 3 was the son of a gentleman of property,
and was born at Trevala or Trefela, in the Parish of Llangwm-
ucha, in Monmouthshire, c. 1606. He went to the University of
Oxford, and was intended for the Church. He is not, however,
listed in the Alumni Oxonienses. About the year 1620, he came
under the influence of Mr. Wroth, rector of Llanfaches, a parish
not far from his home. He afterwards took Orders and held the
curacy of Peterston- under- Ely, and subsequently that of St.
Mary's, Cardiff, where the vicar was the Rev. William Erbury.
In 1633, both vicar and curate refused to read the "Book of
Sports," which had been revived by Archbishop Laud, and which
gave people considerable latitude on Sundays, provided that they
had attended one of the Church Services. For this refusal they
were both cited to appear at Lambeth. The vicar was admonished
and the curate suspended rather a strange method of apportion-
1 See Lift and Death of Vavasor Pwuell, p. 120. 2 Athen : Oxon\ ii.,
p. 478. 3 Williams' Eminent Welshmen, pp. 85 - 86.
49
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
ing the responsibility. Wroth had also been cited to appear at
the same time.
Cradoc succeeded in obtaining another curacy at Wrexham,
in 1634, which he held fora year. He afterwards stayed fora
time at Shrewsbury, where he met Richard Baxter. It should be
stated that at Wrexham he had come into contact with Morgan
Llwyd, who was working as a minister there, Wrexham at the time
being a centre of Puritan influence. He now became one of the
" Itinerant Preachers," and during his four years' stay with the
family of Sir Robert Harley, in Shropshire, he made preaching
tours in the adjacent counties of Wales. At Wrexham, owing to
his zeal for temperance, he had arrayed against him all the
influence of the Wrexham maltsters. He had already come under
the influence of Vavasor Powell, and had associated himself with
him in his work. He succeeded Mr. Wroth at Llanfaches in
1639. In 1643 we find.him at Great All -Hallows, London. On
August 1 6, 1645, Parliament made him a grant of ^100 a year as
an "Itinerant;" and a record exists of his institution to the living
of Llangwm, dated May 6, I658. 1 He died at his home. Trefela,
in 1659, and, according to the Broadmead Records, he was
buried in the chancel of Llangwm -ucha Church.
As before stated, he was appointed one of the " Commis-
sioners" under the Act for the Propagation of the Gospel in
Wales, but was not such an extremist as some of his coadjutors in
carrying out that law. When Vavasor Powell broke with
Cromwell, Cradoc refused to follow his lead, and after the Act
was abrogated in 1653, his immediate active connection with
Wales seems to have ceased. It is doubtful whether he was ever
a republican at heart, and in his latter years he was a decided
friend to monarchical government. His warm and hasty tempera-
ment had caused him to cast in his lot with the Puritans, but he
became alarmed at the lengths to which they resorted, and after-
wards threw the weight of his influence on the Presbyterian side,
the party which helped to restore the monarchy. The proof of
1 See Seren Gvmer, 1901, p. 318 ; 1902, p, 47.
5
HISTORICAL, ANTIQUARIAN, TOPOGRAPHICAL
his hold on the imagination of his countrymen lies in the fact that
for many years itinerants were dubbed " Cradocs." 1
There are some who regard Walter Cradoc as the father of
the Welsh Independents.
There can be little doubt that he was a very well informed
man and full of enthusiasm. He published several works in
English. His collected works were published by the Rev. T.
Charles, of Bala, and the Rev. P. Oliver, of Chester, in 1800.
In 1646 he published a sermon which he had preached
before the House of Commons, in St. Margaret's, Westminster,
on July 2ist, 1646, the day appointed for thanksgiving for the
Surrender of Oxford. It is entitled " The Saints' fulnesse of Joy
in their fellowship with God ... by the least of saints and the
meanest of the Ministers of the Gospel. W. Cradock."
He was instrumental with Vavasor Powell and others in
securing an edition of the New Testament in 1647, and, possibly,
the edition of the Bible in 1654.
His other works are :
" Glad Tydings from Heaven ; To The Worst of Sinners on
Earth. By Walter Cradock Late Preacher at Hallows Great
in London; Luke 2, 10. 1648."
This book has another title " Gospel - libertie, in the
Extensions [and] Limitations of it."
" Divine Drops Distilled from the Fountain of Holy Scrip-
tures. 1650."
"Gospel Holiness : Or, The saving Sight of God. Laid
open from Isa. 6. 5." 1651.
" Mount Sion, Or, The Privilege and Practice of the Saints.
1649."
Cradoc had joined with Stephen Hughes and others in
presenting Cromwell with " The Humble Petition and Address "
in 1655, to assure him of their loyalty, as a protest against the
Pamphlet on " Wickedness in High Places " issued by Morgan
1 Llyfr. y Cymry, p. 165.
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Lhvyd under the title "A Word for God" in that year. 1 Stephen
Hughes described the latter as " an unseemly paper."
The third of the " Tryers " under the Act for the Propagation
of the Gospel in Wales, and by far the ablest, was Morgan
Llwyd of Gwynedd (1619-1659). He was a Puritan divine
and was, perhaps, the strongest man of this period in Wales who
espoused the cause of the Commonwealth, and desired even more
drastic changes than Cromwell himself was prepared to accept.
A recent editor 2 of his works has related the story of his life and
the conditions of his age with such admirable clearness that no
student of Welsh literature should fail to read it and profit by it.
Morgan Lhvyd was born at Cynfal in Ardudwy, a romantic
spot in the upper reaches of the beautiful parish of Maentwrog.
Cynfal was a gentleman's patrimony, and had several small hold-
ings in its possession. Two sons of Cynfal are mentioned as
having graduated at Oxford by the Welsh bard Hugh Machno.3
This part of Wales had already produced many eminent men in
arts, law, and medicine. A native of Maentwrog, John Ellis of
Gwylan, who was afterwards Rector of Dolgelley, had been one of
the first advocates of higher education in Wales. Huw Lhvyd, the
grandfather of Morgan Llwyd, was a bard of some merit. In his
younger days he had helped Holland in its struggle against Spain,
and possibly he had often related incidents in this fight for freedom
to his able young grandson, and fired him with similar ideals.
Morgan Llwyd was sent to school at Wrexham, a town credited
with Puritan sympathies, and there met Walter Cradoc and became
his intimate. When in 1635 the latter left for Shropshire, Morgan
Llwyd followed him there and, it is said, saw service in the same
household, that of Sir Robert Harley. Later he came under the
influence of Erbury, whom he is supposed to have met in Pem-
brokeshire. When the Civil War broke out, he espoused the
1 See Introduction to Gweithiau Morgan Llvayd, by Mr. J. H. Davies,
pp. Ixxi. Ixxiii. 2 ibid
3 " A dau oedd feistriaid mewn dysg
O raddol art oreuddys;;."
Quoted by Mr. J. H. Davies in " Cwcithiatt Morgan
5*
HISTORICAL, ANTIQUARIAN, TOPOGRAPHICAL
cause of Parliament in the service of which he visited Bristol,
Porchester, Portsmouth, and finally London. In the capital he
formed the acquaintance of Giles Culverts, a Quaker, who
published Behmen's works, and many other Quaker productions.
For his services to the Commonwealth Morgan Llwyd was
appointed one of the Commissioners under the Act for the
Propagation of the Gospel in Wales.
He returned to Wales with much pleasure, for he had tired
of the acrimonious discussions which were the vogue amongst
those whom he met at Culverts'. London was a hive of excite-
ment at the time, and his sojourn there left a deep impression
upon his mind. Amongst other influences he had felt was that
of Roger Williams, a Puritan, who had returned from America,
and who expressed such extreme views as to be unpalatable even
to the Independents in Wales. Williams returned to America in
1644, but he had sown seeds which bore fruit in the life of
Morgan Llwyd, who in after years promulgated similar views,
although his opinions as to liberty of conscience are somewhat
vaguely stated, but he was most pronounced in his hostility to an
established religion. He described those who profited from the
old endowments in these drastic words, " yn bwyta cig y meirwon,
ac yn ymborthi ar y budreddi annaturiol." This is a gross offence
against good taste, but it must be borne in mind that he wrote
it in the heat of controversy. He was the most extreme type
of Fifth Monarchy man, that is to say, one who based his
belief on the 2oth chapter of Revelations, the chapter which
contains the vision of the five Empires. The first four were
explained to be Assyria, Persia, Greece, and Rome ; and the fifth,
in the opinion of these men, was to be the Kingdom of Christ
established on earth. There is no doubt that many of them
genuinely believed at that time in the very near approach of the
Fifth Monarchy, when Christ should reign for a thousand years.
Bearing this in mind enables us to clear up many passages
in Morgan Llwyd's work, which would otherwise be obscure.
Thomas Harrison, one of Cromwell's great generals, was the
53
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
recognised head of this party, and he, with Morgan Llwyd and
Vavasor Powell, it is supposed, recognised the " Act for the
Propagation of the Gospel in Wales," as a God-given instrument
placed in their hands to prepare the way for the coming kingdom.
When it was withdrawn, they saw the collapse of their hope, and
this explains their chagrin and their revolt against Cromwell
when it came about.
In the Short Parliament, things were so manipulated in
Wales, that five out of the six representatives who sat in it were
Fifth Monarchy men, but the end of this Parliament saw the end
of their hope.
It was about this time, in 1653, that " Llyfr y Tri Aderyn,"
Morgan Llwyd's magnum opus was published. Its full title is as
follows :
" Dirgelwch i rai iw ddeall ac i eraill i\v watwar, sef Tri
Aderyn yn ymddiddan, Yr Eryr, a'r Golomen, a'r Gigfran.
Neu Arwydd i annerch y Cymru. Yn y flwyddyn mil a
chwe- chant a thair ar ddec a deugain cyn dyfod 666.
Printiedig yn Llundain gan James Flesher, ac a werthir gan
Thomas Brewster tan lun y tri Bibl yn ymmyl Powls."
The gist of this work is the expression of the author's view
that there should be no interference 'with conscience, and that
a voluntary system of church government should be established.
He labours to prove the weakness of the established system
represented by the Gigfran (Raven), and that the Church fetters
herself by endowments. The Colomen (Dove) represents Morgan
Llwyd's own views regarding a religious community, and the Eryr
(Eagle) represents the Government. The nature and substance
of his new spiritual creed are explained to the Eagle.
In practice, his theories were certainly never tried by the
Welsh reformers of his own day, for if old endowments were bad
for the Church, they were equally bad for them when they had
appropriated her revenues. There is some doubt whether Morgan
Llwyd himself received any of those revenues, and he must be
given the full benefit to which he is entitled in the absence of
54
HISTORICAL, ANTIQUARIAN, TOPOGRAPHICAL
proof, but it is quite certain that he received ,-100 a year from
Parliament, and it is very hard to distinguish this in principle
from that which he condemned. It was national money benefit-
ting a man with whose extreme views not a tithe of the nation in
those days would agree.
His other works are ;
" An honest Discourse, 1655." This is also in the form of
a dialogue " between Three Neighbours touching the Present
Government in these three Nations, viz., between Goodman
Past, Goodman Present, and Goodman Future. London,
1655-"
" A translation of Behmen's works."
" Yr Ymroddiad neu Bapuryn a gyfieuthiwyd ddwywaith i
helpu y Cymru unwaith allan o'r Hunan a'r drygioni."
This was translated in 1654 and printed in 1657.
"Y Discybl ai Athraw O newydd. Cyfieithiwyd 1655,
Printiwyd 1657."
" Cyfarwyddid i'r Cymru: a ysgrifenwyd yn 1655. Print-
iedig 1657."
" Gair o'r Gair, neu Son am Swn. Y Lleferydd Anfarwol."
This was considered so excellent a work that it was translated
into English, in 1739, under the title "A Discourse of the Word
of God."
"Llythyr i'r Cymru Cariadus." This was written under
Harrison's inspiration, about 1653.
"Gwaedd Ynghymru yn Wyneb pob Cydwybod Euog, 1655."
In most of his works, especially in Llyfr y Tri Aderyn^
Morgan Llwyd reveals himself as a son of the mountains, and the
marks of his early environment are plain upon him. The wild
stream which has carved its way through the rocks below Cynfal,
where " Pwlpud Huw Llwyd " stands out in solitary grandeur,
seems to present itself to his mind when he writes " A'r llifeiriant
yn ddisymwth yn codi ac yn ysgubo'r cwbl." He was the only
one of the Puritans who published books in Welsh. Besides his
prose work he also produced numerous poems, One of them,
55
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
" Hanes rhyw Gymro," gives an account of his own doings during
the Civil War period. It is plain in his early poems that he was
sorry for the discord which was rapidly growing between the
religious sects. Gentleness and hope are the dominant notes of
these first efforts of his muse, but his latest songs are full of
bitterness and disappointment. Huw Morus' description of them
as "poisoned" 1 is not inapt. They were the writings of one
whose hopes were crushed a mystic who was rudely awakened
from his dreams.
One can imagine how deeply the iron must have entered into
his soul when he, who had expected so much from Cromwell's
regime, travelled through Wales striving to raise an insurrection
against his quondam idol. Parliament forgave him this offence,'
and made him the grant to which reference has already been
made, but in his last days (and he was still in the prime of life,
for he died at forty) he was a melancholy, dispirited, broken man.
But of his eminence there can be no doubt, and the ideals for
which he strove are still living forces. It is a proof of the tenacity
and depth of his convictions, that he should have left the quiet
charm of his romantic home in the remote fastnesses of Wales
to take a foremost part in the strife of that age of blood and iron.
A forceful summing up of his character is given by one who knew
him well, in "A Winding Sheet for Mr. Baxter's Dead. ; ' He was
a man of great natural abilities and strong religious feelings, a
master of highly figurative language, and a preacher against
immorality and thoughtlessness.
Among his poems (which will be fully dealt with later) one
entitled " Givyddor Uchod" gives expression to his quaint views
on astronomy in its influence on the life of man :
Mae yrahob dyn naturiol.
Saith Waned fawr ryfeddol ;
Ag yn cydweithio heb naghau
Gida'r planedau nefol.
No less than fifty- two poems, songs, hymns, and englynion
appear in the first volume of his work edited by the late Mr. T,
E. Ellis, M.P.
1 "A gwenwyn at leftith ei lyfrau," Huw Morns,
HISTORICAL, ANTIQUARIAN, TOPOGRAPHICAL
The great majority of them are in English, and some of them
are very sweet little odes, although cast in that vein of seriousness
which runs through all Morgan Llwyd's work. Of his native
county he writes :
O Meirion dirion i dario ynddi
Yn dda rwi'n dy gofio
Nid hawddgar ond ath garo
Fy annwyl bresswyl am bro.
But it is rather as a writer of excellent prose than as a poet, that
he has done his greatest service to his country. His works are
master-pieces in style and diction, and, unlike those of Rowland
Vaughan and the many other translators of this period, their
substance is for the most part original. . His influence upon the
masses was very great, because so many of his writings were in
Welsh. They show him in many lights, as a theologian, a
philosopher, a careful student of nature, and an accurate observer
of the social and political events of his day.
It is necessary at this stage to give some account of others
who were less prominent during the Commonwealth period than
the three who have just passed under review, but who, neverthe-
less, contributed appreciably by their services to Wales both in
political and literary activity.
William Erbury 1 (1604-1654) was born in 1604,
educated at Brasenose College, Oxford, 1621-23, and having
taken Holy Orders, became Vicar of St. Mary's Cardiff, 1633,
where Walter Cradoc was for a time his curate. He refused to
read the " Book of Sports " in church, and was cited to appear
at Lambeth, where he was severely admonished by the Bishop of
London. In 1640, he openly preached against the bishops, and
became an Independent. He afterwards served as Chaplain in
Essex's army, and to a regiment of Parliamentarians at Oxford in
1646, and the charge is brought against him of having corrupted
the soldiers with strange opinions, which would seem to have been
the doctrine of " universal redemption :) and the denial of the
1 See Williams' Eminent Welshmen, pp. 145-146, and Wood's Athen:
QXOH : ii. p. 175.
5?
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
verbal inspiration of the Scriptures, or, as Wood puts it, "he
taught that there was no certainty- to build upon the Scriptures
.... as there were so many copies of them." He left the army,
probably because his views were unwelcome to the soldiery,
became a Socinian, " and preached in his Conventicle at Christ
Church within Newgate." J He was very closely identified with
Walter Cradoc, Vavasor Powell, and Morgan Llwyd, and is
included in the four prominent men whom Mr. Baxter is accused
in " A Winding Sheet for Mr. Baxter's dead " of having " Killed
and slayn, sweetly embalmed, and decently buried, in his
Catholick Communion," the others being the three " Tryers "
already named. He died in 1654, having left behind him several
writings, and amongst them :
" The Sword Doubled to cut both the Righteous and the
Wicked. 1652."
" The Grand Oppressor, Or, The Terror of Tithes .... A
Scourge for the Assyrian, the Great Oppressor. 1652."
" The Bishop of London ; or, an Espiscopal Spirit risen, and
appearing at London House. 1652."
" The Welsh Curate : Or, Paul's care of All the Churches.
1652."
" Apocrypha. The second Epistle of Paul to the Church of
Laodicea. 1652."
" The General Epistle to the Hebrews. 1652."
" The Mad Man's Plea : Or, A Sober Defence of Captaine
Chillintons Church. 1653."
" The Babe of Glory, Breaking forth in the broken Flesh of
the Saints, &c. 1653."
"The reign of Crist and the Saints. 1654." From this
tract it is evident that Erbury was a strong Fifth Monarchy man.
"The North Star: or some Night -Light shining in North
Wales. With some Darke Discoveries of the day of God
approaching. 1653."
" The Testimony of William Erbury, left upon Record for
1 Alumni Oxonienses*
HISTORICAL, ANTIQUARIAN, TOPOGRAPHICAL
the Saints of Succeeding Ages. Being a Collection of the
Writings of the aforesaid Authour, for the benefit of Posterity.
Whereunto is added, The Honest Hereitck, Being his Tryal
at Westminster. 1658." It contains twenty-three Tracts of
his work.
His work, together with his letters, was printed in 17 70 under
the title :
" The Scourge for the Assirian, the great Oppressor, c.," by
Thomas Meredith.
William Wroth (1570-1642), was born at Abergavenny
in 1570, and belonged to a Pembrokeshire family. 1 He entered
Jesus College, Oxford, in 1586, and became Vicar of Llanfaches
in 1595. In 1620 his life underwent a great change 2 owing to
the sudden death of a friend, and whereas, previously, he was
addicted to mirth and levity, he now realised the seriousness of
his calling, and began to " signalize himself by faithfully preaching
the Gospel." 3 Upon his refusal to read the " Book of Sports,"
the Bishop of Llandaff, in 1635, cited him to appear before the
High Commisson Court, and referred to him as " a noted
schismatic." In 1638 he submitted to that Court,* but the
following year he broke away from the Church, and established
at Llanfaches " a church according to the model of the Indepen-
dents." 5 He died just before the Civil War broke out, in 1642.
He left behind him no literary work.
Christopher Love (1618-1651) was born at Cardiff in
1618, and entered New Inn Hall, Oxford, 6 in 1635, where he
graduated M.A. He was ordained, and was amongst those who
refused to subscribe to the canons enjoined by Laud. This
resulted in his expulsion from the Church, and the loss of his
degree. He removed to London, and became a very violent
opponent of the Monarchy, and when the Civil War broke out s
he was appointed preacher to the garrison at Windsor Castle. In
i Rees' Hist, of Noncen : in \Vafes, p. 499. 2 Brook's Hist, of the
Puritans, ii. pp. 468-470. 3 ibid. 4 Wharton's Troubles of Land, i. pp. 537,
544, 555. =Calamy's Continuation i. p. 47. 6 Alumni Oxonicnses.
59
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
1644, when the King met at Uxbridge to confer with the
Parliament, Love preached before them a discourse of so violent
a nature that the King's party protested to Parliament. He was
afterwards minister of St. Ann's Church, near Aldersgate, but
about this time his views underwent a change, and in 1649 he
signed a declaration against putting the King to death. 1 He
became further estranged from the Commonwealth, and took
part, later on, in the Presbyterian plot to place Charles II. upon
the throne. This was detected, and he was tried for high treason
and beheaded in 1651. He had taken a very active part in the
political and controversial subjects of his day, and produced a
considerable number of pamphlets and sermons, amongst which
may be mentioned :
"The Debauched Cavalier or the English Midianite, 1642."
" England's Distemper ; a sermon preached at Uxbridge,
1644, on Jeremiah xxxiii. 6."
"The Penitent Pardoned."
" A Cleare and necessary Vindication of the Principles and
Practices of me Christopher Love, Since my Tryall before,
and Condemnation by, the High Court of Justice. 1651."
" Mr. Love's Case : Wherein is Published, First, His several
Petitions to the Parliament. Secondly, A full Narrative of
the late Dangerous Design against the State, written with
Mr. Love's own hand .... Thirdly, Mr. Love's Speech
and Prayer on the Scaffold on Towerhill, August 22, 1651."
A book bearing upon his trial and sentence appeared in 1651
under the title " A Just Balance, or some considerable Queries
about Mr. Love's Case, Tryall, and Sentence, and about those
that appeared Petition -wise in his behalf."
Robert Wild, the author of Iter Borcale, published in 1660
"The Tragedy of Christopher Love at Tower- Hill."
We have so far taken a survey of the chief writers amongst
the political Puritans during the Commonwealth period, and now
pass to a consideration of the works of those who were in sharp
'Williams' Eminent Welshman, p. 273. Also Athen : Oxon : ii. p. 136.
60
HISTORICAL, ANTIQUARIAN, TOPOGRAPHICAL
antagonism to them, those Church and Royalist writers who still
represented a considerable body of opinion in Wales. There are
two who are more especially worthy of notice :
Alexander Griffith was a Welsh divine of the period, who
suffered much for his loyalty to the Crown. He had been
educated at Hart Hall, Oxford, where he graduated B.A. in 1618,
and M.A. in 1631.' Having taken Holy Orders, he gained
perferment in South Wales in 1639, but was deprived of his
benefices under the " Act for the Propagation of the Gospel."
He regained his spiritualities at the Restoration, and was
appointed Vicar of Glasbury 2 which benefice he held from 1661
to 1690, the year of his death. He had a biting satire which he
used with much effect against the " Act," its authors, and those
who carried it into effect.
In 1652 appeared a pamphlet for which Wood thinks he was
not solely responsible, but had a hand in it, entitled :
" Mercurius Cambro - Britannicus, or News from Wales,
touching the miraculous propagation of the Gospel in those
parts."
It relates the sufferings of the dispossessed clergy, and is a
violent attack upon Vavasor Powell. It was followed by :
" A true and perfect relation of the whole transaction con-
cerning the Petition of the Six Counties of South Wales, and
the County of Monmouth, formerly presented to the Parlia-
ment of the Commonwealth of England, for a supply of
Godly ministers, and an account of Ecclesiastical Revenues
therein, &c. London, 1654."
This is an attack upon a petition entitled The Humbl e
Acknowledgement, &{., presented to the Commonwealth Parliament
in 1650, by 19,000 inhabitants of South Wales and Monmouth-
shire. 3 It had complained about the distressed, oppressed
condition of South Wales, both in the matter of spiritual provision
1 Williams' Eminent Welshmen^ pp. 180-181, and Athen: Oxon: ii. p. 190.
a See Jones' Breconshirc. The Alumni. Oxonienses states that he was perhaps
Vicar of Trefeglwys, in Montgomeryshire, and afterwards of Llanwnog, in the
same county. * Civil iVar Tracts^ N. L. W., p. 52.
61
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
and in regard to civil rights and freedom. It also contained
proposals for the discovery of above ^15,000 " unaccounted for
to the Commonwealth," and had been followed up by " A
Declaration and Remonstrance of the Inhabitants of South Wales.
1650." Alexander Griffith contended that the document was
entirely worthless, as it was based upon political expediency, and
was a flagrant violation of facts. In his next work he attacked
Vavasor Powell personally, in :
"Strena Vavasoriensis, A New Year's Gift for the Welch
Itinerants, Or a Hue and Cry after Mr. Vavasor Powell,
Metropolitan of the Itinerants, and one of the Executioners
of the Gospel by colour of the late Act for the Propagation
thereof in Wales . . . , London, 1654."
This pamphlet purports to be a true relation of the birth,
course of life, and doctrine of the said Vavasor Powell, and Wood
in his Athena Oxonienses has, apparently, been entirely guided by it.
It is unprofitable to discuss the matter, until much more is
known of both Powell and Griffith, if that can ever be accom-
plished. They were two men entirely opposed in policy, and
that at a time when political and religious passions ran high.
The attack made in the Strena is so directly personal as to make
distasteful reading even at this distance from the event. If even
one of the serious charges against Vavasor Powell were true, it
would constitute him a hypocrite and felon whom all honest men
would shun. If they are not true, the charges recoil upon the
author. It is kindest to think of both as men who pushed things
to extremities in an age when the minds of public officials were
inflamed by political passion fanned into a white heat by religious
bigotry and fanaticism.
An opponent who was equally hostile to Puritanism in prin-
ciple, but whose methods were those of suasion rather than abuse,
was Dr. George Griffith (1601-1666), Bishop of St. Asaph. 1
He was born in 1601, at Garreg Lwyd, Llanfaethlu, Anglesey, 2 the
1 Williams' Eminent Welshmen, pp. 181, 182. Also Athen : Oxon : \\.
pp. 387 - 388. 2 Both Wood and Williams wrongly state that he was born at
Penrhyn, near Bangor.
62
HISTORICAL, ANTIQUARIAN, TOPOGRAPHICAL
third son of Robert Griffith of that place, and was educated at
Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford (1619), taking the
following degrees : B.A., 1623; M.A., 1626; B.D., 1632; D.D.,
1634. After taking Orders he became Chaplain to Dr. John
Owen, Bishop of St. Asaph, and later was promoted to the
rectory of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1631 ; Canon and Arch-
deacon of St. Asaph, 1632; Rector of Llandrinio, 1632; and of
Llanvechain, 1633, which he exchanged for Llanymynach, 1634,
where he laboured for some years, and was much beloved.
Under the Commonwealth he lost his emoluments for a time, but
in 1650 he was elected to Llanymynach, and granted the
profits of Llangwm and Llandrillo. 1 At the Restoration he
was mitred by Charles II., receiving the Bishopric of St. Asaph
in 1660. He died in 1666, and was buried in the Choir of St.
Asaph Cathedral.
His disputations with dissenters were many, but he was
as moderate in trying to persuade others, as he was firm in his
own convictions. In 1662 he assisted in drawing up the Act of
Uniformity and in making certain alterations in the Liturgy made
in that year. He is said to have composed the Office for
Baptizing those of Riper Years. 2 His writings are :
" A bold Challenge of an Itinerant Preacher, Modestly
Answered, By a Local Minister [George Griffith] to whom
the same was sent and delivered : and Severall letters there-
upon. 1652." Vavasor Powell is said to have replied in
" most false and barbarous Latin." 3
"Animadversions on an Imperfect Relation in the Perfect
Diurnal! . 1653." This is a record of the public disputa-
tion which took place between him and Vavasor Powell "near
New Chappell, Montgomeryshire."
" Egwyddorion y Grefydd Gristionogol yn gynnwysedig
mewn Catechism Byrr. 1664 " His share in this work was
to compare the Latin and English translations on which it was
founded.
1 Act for Propagation of the Gospel, issued by Cymdeithas Lien Cymru.
'Gwallter Mechain, iii. pp. 2, 3. 3 Williams' Eminent Welshmen, pp. 181-182.
63
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
" Some plain Discourses on the Lord's Supper," which was
not printed until 1684.
"Gweddi'r Arglwydd wedi ei hegluro mewn amryw ymad-
roddion, neu Bregethau Byrrion. O waith y Gwir Barchedig
Dad George Griffith, D.D. Diweddar Escob Llanelwy."
Printed at Oxford in 1685. These Sermons were reprinted
at Carnarvon in 1806, by the Bangor Diocesan Tract Society.
He also undertook a new translation of the Book of Common
Prayer into Welsh, but left it unfinished. In a Convocation of
the Clergy held in 1640, he advocated a new edition of the Welsh
Bible, but the Civil War interfered with the project.
The Welsh mining industries received some notice at this
time, as will be evident from a paper entitled :
" A Just and True Remonstrance of His Majestie's Mines-
Royall in the Principality of Wales. Presented by Thomas
Bushell, Esquire, Farmer of the said Mines -Royall to his
Majestie. London, 1642."'
Bushell had succeeded Sir Hugh Middleton in charge of the
Cardiganshire mines, and by the permission of Charles I. he
established a Mint for coining silver at Aberystwyth. At the
outbreak of the Civil War he kept a number of soldiers there at
his own expense to defend it against Roundhead depredations.
He is also credited with having given the King ; 10,000 to help
him to carry on the War, but it is stated that this money came
from the mines. 2 The Civil War seriously disturbed Mr.
Bushell's work in Cardiganshire, and he afterwards made a virtue
of necessity, and tried to enlist the help of the Parliament in a
venture which he described as " A goode worke for the benefit of
the nation." A paper appeared in 1649, which stated his reasons
at some length. It is entitled : " The Case of Thomas Bushell,
of Enston, in the County of Oxon., Esquire., truly stated,
together with his progress in Minerals, and the desires of
several merchants and others that are willing and ready to advance
1 Civil War Tracts, N. L. W., p. 3, 2 Llyfr. y Cymry, p. 129; see
also Afhen : Oxon : ii., 526 - 528.
64
HISTORICAL, ANTIQUARIAN, TOPOGRAPHICAL
so good a work for the benefit of the nation, humbly tendered to
the serious consideration of the Honble. House of Commons,
and all other persons in authority, whether civill or martiall, that
are desirous to advance the trade of the nation, supply the
necessities of the poor, by discovering the hidden treasures of
the earth, preserve the lives of many poor creatures from untimely
death (who now are destroyed in their prime for petty felonies)
which might otherwise be made serviceable to the Commonwealth.
London, 1649."
Bushell had been in the service of Sir Francis Bacon, and
had no doubt imbibed his master's Philosophical Theory of
Mineral Prosecutions to the full. He had carried out some
fantastic ideas at his own home at Enston, where he entertained
King Charles and Queen Henrietta Maria in the manner so
quaintly set forth by Wood (Ath: Oxon: ii., p. 526). He
became greatly impoverished by his many ventures, and fell on
evil days during the Commonwealth. Anthony Wood summed
him up in these words : " He left behind him the character
of one always troubled with a beating and contriving brain, of an
aimer at great and high things, while he himself was always
indigent, and therefore could never accomplish his mind to his
original desire, of one always borrowing to carry on his designs,
but seldom or never paid."
Still it must be remembered that he belonged to that class
of Englishmen which has done so much to develop the mining
resources of the Principality, and to which it is considerably
indebted. Bushell's ventures, like that of many others, proved
failures. Nevertheless, they were pioneers in an enterprise which
has in many parts developed beyond their most sanguine expecta-
tions, and which has proved to be " a good work for the benefit
of the nation."
This period saw the beginnings of newspaper literature in
Wales. The Church and the Puritan party, Cavalier and
Roundhead, issued from time to time, as the exigencies of a
travelling press allowed, their various Mercurii and Diitrnals ;
65
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
e.g., Mercurius Britannicus, The Welch Mercuric, Mercurius
Cambro-Britannicus, Mercurius Vafulans, and Mercurius
Publicus. Some of the issues known as Diurnals were published
at very irregular intervals, and were generally dated for the week
of issue, e.g., " The Perfect Diurnal" which reports the defeat of
Prince Rupert's forces by Colonel Jones, at Malpas, is dated
1644, Sept. 2-9.*
John Taylor, a staunch Royalist, sometimes known as the
Water Poet,* a strange character, who at the age of 72 made a
journey round Wales, covering 600 miles, wrote an account of his
perambulations, in prose and verse, entitled, " A Short Relation
of a Long Journey made round or oval by encompassing the
Principality of Wales .... 1652."
Thomas Richards, in 1859, printed a few copies of this work.
In 1653, a curious account of the state of Anglesey in the
seventeenth century was written under the title, " A Brief
Relation of the Isle of Anglesey." 2 The name of the author is
not given. Mr. J. E. Adlard published a few copies of it in 1860.
In 1655, John Webb edited and published "The most
notable Antiquity of Great Britain, vulgarly called Stone -Henge,
on Salisbury Plain. Restored by Inigo Jones, Esquire, Architect
to the late King."
In the same year appeared "A Warning- Peece for England.
Being a Discovery of a Jesuiticall Design to Dismember Wales
from England, to the ruine of both .... Humbly tendered to
the Consideration of his Highness, the Lord Protector and his
1 Civil War Tracts, N. L. W., p. 75.
*" This John Taylor was born in the City of Gloucester, went to school
there, and having got into his Accidence, was bound an apprentice to a
waterman in London, which tho' a laborious employment, yet such was his
prodigious geny to poetry, that he wrote about 80 books, of which many were
in that Faculty, that made great sport in their time, and were most of them
esteemed worthy to be remitted into a large folio. Had he had learning
bestowed on him according tr> his natural parts, which were excellent, he
might have equalled, if not excelled, many who claim a great share in the
Temple of the Muses." Athena: Oxonienses, ii. p. 393. See also D.N.B.
3 Llyfr, y Cymry, p. 158.
66
HISTORICAL, ANTIQUARIAN, TOPOGRAPHICAL
Council. By a Well-wisher to the Peace and Tranquillity of this
nation. By P. P. ... London . . . 1655."
In 1658, the one document relating to Wales during Richard
Cromwell's short Protectorate was published under the title,
"The very curious Act of Parliament issued during Richard
Cromwell's Protectorate, for taking the Accompts, &c., concern-
ing the Tythes and Church Livings in Wales, and Co. of
Monmouth. Printed for the Parliament. 1658."
A very interesting and amusing book entitled The Legend of
Captain Jones, by Dr. David Lloyd, Dean of St. Asaph, was
published in 1659. The first part of it relates the adventures of
" Captain Jones " at sea, his first landing, " and strong combat
with a mighty Bear." The second begins with his miraculous
deliverance from a wreck at sea " by the support of a Dolphin."
These two parts are written in very good burlesque, in imitation
of a Welsh poem called Awdl Richard John Greulon* The
Captain Jones around whom the legend clusters, lived in the
reign of Queen Elizabeth, and was in great renown for his high
exploits. After the title follow many ingenious verses in praise
of the work, several of them by Oxford scholars. 2
The author, David Lloyd, D.C.L., was born at Berth-
Iwyd in the Parish of Llanidloes in 1598. He entered All Soul's
College, Oxford, and became Probationary Fellow in 1615, and
Perpetual Fellow in 1618. On leaving, he took Orders and
became chaplain to the Earl of Derby, and afterwards received
the following preferments : 1641, Rector of Trefdraeth, Anglesey;
1642, Rector of Llangynhafal, Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd, and
Warden of Ruthin. He was also appointed Prebendary of
Chester. Under the Commonwealth he was ejected and suffered
confinement, but at the Restoration he was appointed Dean of
St. Asaph. 3 He died at Ruthin in 1663.*
He was, doubtless, a man of considerable parts, and many
of his Songs, Sonnets, and Elegies are found scattered in various
1 Athen : Oxon : ii. pp. 331 - 2. For the Awdl see Y Brython i. p. 215,
* ibid. 3 Williams' Eminent Welshmen^ p 280. *Nctio 1656, as dialed in
the Llyfr, y Cymry^ p, 183,
6,
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
works. But his best known book is this " Legend of Captain
Jones," which has frequently been reprinted, modelled as stated
above on the Awdl Richard John Greulon, which is attributed
to Sion Tudur.
Dean Lloyd was much " given to hospitality," and ran heavily
into debt during the period of his ejection, from which, it is said,
he never quite recovered. Some wit suggested the following
as a suitable epitaph to the worthy Dean :
This is the Epitaph
Of the Dean of St. Asaph,
Who by keeping a Table
Better than he was able
Run into debt
Which is not paid yet. 1
One of the most active writers of the seventeenth century
was James Howell, the second son of Thomas Howell, of
Abernant, 2 in Carmarthenshire. Some of his literary work
appeared after the Restoration, but the bulk of it had been done
before 1660, and the account of his life and writings had best be
given here. He proceeded to Jesus College, Oxford, in 1610, at
the age of sixteen, and graduated B.A. in 1613, and became
Fellow of the College in 1623. He became secretary to Lord
Scrope, Earl of Sunderland, President of the North, in 1626, and
subsequently M.P. for Richmond, Yorkshire, 1628-9. Charles II.
appointed him Historiographer Royal in 1660, and he was the
first to hold that office. He died in 1666, and was buried at
the Temple Church. 3 He had travelled much on the Continent
and was acquainted with several European languages. In 1632,
he had gone to Denmark, as private secretary to the Earl of
Leicester. On his return, he gained a precarious livelihood for
some years by clerical work. In 1640 he started his literary
career with the publication of Dendrologia : or, DodonJs Grove.
In 1642, he was appointed Clerk of the Council, but his success
1 Alk : Oxon ; ii, p. 332. 2 Wood states that James Howell was horn
at Abernant (vol. ii., p. 381), but Garnett and Gosse in their Hist, of Eng.
/.?'/., vol. iii., p. 45, state that he was probably born at Llangammarch in the
County of Brecon, although they admit that his father lived later at Abernant
3 Alumni Oxonienses.
68
HISTORICAL, ANTIQUARIAN, TOPOGRAPHICAL
was short-lived, for in 1643 his manuscripts and correspondence
were confiscated, and he was thrown into the Fleet Prison, where
he languished for eight years. He was now compelled to literary
work, and the period of his incarceration saw the publication of
Epistolx Ho-Eliatuc, or Familiar Letters, of which four volumes
were written in 1645, 1647, 1650, and 1655 respectively. During
the Protectorate he devoted himself to the flattery of Cromwell,
but he managed to secure the favour of Charles II. on his
accession, who presented him to the post above-mentioned and
endowed him with a competence.
The following is a list of his writings :
"'Av3/3oAoyta. Dodona's Grove, or The Vocall Forrest.
1 640. "
A French edition of this work appeared in 1641, and a
second edition in English, "more exact and perfect than the
former," and with two Tracts added, entitled, " Parables reflecting
upon the Times," and " England's Teares for the present Warres,"
in 1644 ; a third edition in 1645, and the last edition in 1649.
In 1650 he published " Aev8po\oyia .... Second Part,"
and in 1660 " O^poXo-yta, The Parley of Beasts ; or Morphandra
Queen of the Inchanted Hand."
In 1647 appeared "A New Volume of Letters Partly
Philosophicall, Political!, Historicall." It also contains " The
Vote, or a Poem Royall, presented to His Majestic." Both the
letters and the poem are found in Epistoloe Ho-Elianoe. A
second edition of the latter was issued in 1650, although it
contains some letters published as early as 1645. The third
edition appeared in 1655 with a "Fourth Volume of New Letters
Never Publish'd before."
In 1652 he issued " The Vision : Or a Dialog between the
Soul and the Bodie. Fancied in a Morning Dream."
In 1654, "The Nuptials of Peleus and Thetis. A new
Italian Comedy."
In 1655, " Som Sober Inspections made unto the Cariage
and Consults of the Late-long Parlement." This was republished
69
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
with some additions, and preceded by the title " Philangus " in
1658 and 1660.
In 1658, he published "A Discours of the Empire," and in
1 66 1, as far as is known, his last work, entitled "Divers
Historicall Discourses of the late Popular Insurrections in Great
Britain and Ireland, Tending all, to the asserting of Truth, in
vindication of their Majesties. London, 1661."
(f) FROM THE RESTORATION TO THE END OF
THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.
It was quite natural that at the Restoration a few works
should appear reflecting upon the Commonwealth period in
disparaging terms. As we have seen, James Howell accommo-
dated himself in some of his writings to this change in the
nation's fortune, and thereby secured for himself the patronage of
Charles II. Amongst other writings on similar lines, there
appeared in 1660 a work entitled The Mystery of the Good Old
Cause, which related many stories of those members of the Long
Parliament who took the Oath and Covenant. It shows that
although they had professed self-sacrifice, they had amassed for
themselves considerable riches. It is, in fact, a satire upon the
Welsh Puritans by a raconteur who viewed with glee the present
discomfiture of those religionists.
In 1 66 1, there was published a folio volume relating to Welsh
antiquities, which caused much chagrin and disappointment to
competent scholars at the time, and especially to one Welshman
named Thomas Ellis, who had himself been engaged for a con-
siderable time in collecting materials for a similar work, but with
more accurate intention. Its title was :
" Cambria Triumphans, or Britain in its Perfect Lustre.
Showing the Origin and Antiquity of that Illustrious Nation.
The succession of their Kings and Princes, from the first
to King Charles of Happy Memory. The Description of
the Country : The History of the Antient and Moderne
70
HISTORICAL, ANTIQUARIAN, TOPOGRAPHICAL
Estate, The Manner of the Investure of the Princes, with
the Coats of Arms of the Nobility. By Percy Enderbie,
Gent. 1 66 1."
The story of Thomas Ellis's disappointment is well known.
The famous antiquary, Robert Vaughan of Hengwrt, had
intended to publish Dr. Powell's "History of Cambria, 1584,"
with corrections and additions which he placed in the hands of
Thomas Ellis. The latter sorted them and corrected them, and
was already going on with the printing, and had seen 128 pages
through the Press, when Percy Enderbie's book appeared, which
is supposed to have been compiled from materials in the library
at Llantarnam (he had married the daughter of Sir Edward
Morgan of Llantarnam). He had not the knowledge necessary
to such an undertaking, and spoiled the work. There is one
important detail, however, which is not quite clear. The date on
Mr. Ellis's projected work was 1663, whilst Enderbie's appeared
in 1661. The explanation may be that Ellis had post-dated his
book, allowing that the whole work could not be completed until
1663. But certain it is that he had the whole process stopped,
and the remainder of his sheets sold as waste paper. The
scholars of that day regretted his rash act because, as the historian
of Oxford University writes : " Enderbie hath done this work
very meanly, being mostly a scribble from late authors, and gives
not that satisfaction which curious men desire to know." 1
Enderbie was a Lincolnshire man, and had but recently come
into touch with Wales through his marriage. Therefore, he could
not possibly have had that knowledge of the country which
Thomas Ellis possessed in a remarkable degree. The latter was
an able antiquary and classical scholar. Born at Dolbenmaen in
Carnarvonshire, in 1625, he had entered Jesus College, Oxford,
in 1640, taking his B.A. in 1644, M.A. in 1646-7, and B.D. in
1 66 1. During the Civil War he bore arms for the King within
the garrison of Oxford. In 1665-6, after leading a very exclusive
life at Oxford, he became Rector of Dolgelley in succession to
; Oxen : ii., p. 362,
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
his kinsman, John Ellis of Gvvylan. Whilst there, he helped Mr.
Robert Vaughan in his task of collecting Welsh MSS., and his
solid learning and genius for history and antiquities must have
proved of great service to the latter. He retired to his old home
at Dolbenmaen and spent his last days there, dying in 1673. J
Another book of historical interest which appeared in 1661
was " A History of the Civil Wars of Great Britain and Ireland.
By J. D." The author was John Davies, of Cydwely (1625-
1693), a man who had been trained at both the Universities, 2 and
who attained a considerable reputation as a writer and trans-
lator. He was a great friend of the famous John Hall, of
Durham, and was considerably indebted to him. During the
Commonwealth " he kept pace with the times of usurpation,"
but was nevertheless admitted by the same writer (Wood) to be
" a genteel, harmless, and quiet man." He travelled much in
France, and was an accomplished French scholar, as his numerous
translations of French works into English testify. He wrote many
books of history, besides the above, and also many novels and
books of travel. Wood mentions about forty of his works, many
of which show that he was steeped in the Classics and the
Philosophers. Amongst the books he translated from the French
are : " A Treatise against some of the principles of Renatus des
Cartes, 1654"; " The extravagant Shepherd, an Anti- Romance,
1654"; "The History of Magic, 1656, 1657"; "Les Provinciales
or the Mystery of Jesuitism, 1656"; "Apocalyps," or "A
Discovery of some notorious Heretics "; " The History of Algier
and the Slavery there, 1662 "; and " The Art how to know men,
1665." He died in 1693, and was buried at Kidwelly.
In 1662, Robert Vaughan 3 (1592-1662), of Hengwrt, the
famous antiquary, published " British Antiquities Revived ; or
friendly contest touching ye Sovereignity of the three Princes of
1 Alhen : Oxon : ii. pp. 517, 518. "The Alumni Oxonienses records that
he entered Jesus Coll., Oxford, in 1641, and was admitted Sizar of St. John's,
Cainb. in 1646. 3 For the details concerning his life and work see Williams'
Eminent Welshmen, pp. 511, 512 ; Gwallter Mechain's Works t ii. pp.
426 430 ; Athcti ; Oxott ; ii, 372 ', Alum : Oxon,
72
HISTORICAL, ANTIQUARIAN, TOPOGRAPHICAL
Wales in antient times, managed with certain arguments, where-
unto answers are applied. To which is added the pedigree of the
Right Hon. the Earl of Carbery, Lord President of Wales, with a
short account of the Five Royal Tribes of Cambria. By the same
Author. Oxford, 1662." This was the only book he published.
It was as a collector and classifier of MSS. that he chiefly
benefitted his country. He, no doubt, meant all the useful works
in his collection to be published, but although much has been
done in this direction, still more remains to be done.
He was the son of Howell Vaughan, of Wengraig, in
Merionethshire, and was born in 1592. His mother was the
grand -daughter of Baron Lewis Owen, the judge who was
murdered by the bandits known as Gwylliaid Cochion Mawddwy,
on his way home from the Dolgelley Assizes, after he had
condemned one of their number to death. In 1612, Robert
Vaughan entered Oriel College, Oxford, but retired, without
taking a degree, to his home at Hengwrt, and devoted himself to
the study of Welsh history and antiquities. He was in frequent
correspondence with Archbishop Usher, when the latter was
collecting materials for his Primordia, and there can be no doubt
that the valuable Hengwrt collection proved of great use to the
learned prelate. Some letters published in the Cambrian Register 1
testify to the help the one scholar gave to the other. John
Jones, of Gelli Lyfdy, 2 another antiquarian, and a great friend of
Robert Vaughan, also collected a number of Welsh MSS. There
is a story that the two gentlemen made a compact that whichever
was the survivor should receive the MSS. of the other. Vaughan
survived, and added to his collection a number of MSS. variously
estimated at from twenty- eight 3 to fifty. He himself had collected
and translated 137. He always kept an amanuensis, but did a
great part of the work himself. It was of absorbing interest to
him, and it may account for the fact that he did not embroil
1 Cambrian Register, ii. pp. 473-478. 2 " John Jones was a transcriber of
inferior discernment, hut an excellent penman " (Gwallter Mechain, ii p. 471).
3 Yorke's Royal Tribes, p. 127, states that Hengwrt Library contained
165 MSS., 28 uf which were in the handwriting of John Jones,
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
himself in the political squabbles of his day. He was evidently a
loyalist at heart. 1
His notes, copies, and additions are of unrivalled value and
of the greatest importance to present and future historians and
antiquarians. He died in i666, 2 and was buried at Dolgelley.
The most important only of his collection can be mentioned
here :
Notes or Commentaries on the Book of Basingwerk ; on
Nennius : The Triads, with an English translation ; Caradoc's
Brut ; Leland's New Year's Gift ; Burton's Antoninus ; Notes
on Dr. Powell's History of Wales ; Notes on Usher's
Primordia ; Annals of Wales from Vortigern downwards ;
Brut y Brenhinoedd ; Llyfr Gwyn Rhydderch : The Laws
of Hywel Dda ; Llyfr Du Caerfyrddin ; Llyfr Taliesin ; Y
Cwtta Cyfarwydd ; Chaucer's Works, in folio ; Giraldus
Cambrensis, &c., &c.
Vaughan was more than a gleaner of other men's works.
He left remarkable proof of his own extensive knowledge of
antiquities, and has preserved for us much store of what would
possibly have passed into oblivion, save for his care and indomi-
table industry. The Cymmrodorion and the Welsh MSS.
Societies, the University of Wales, as well as some private
individuals have in recent years done something to put his
valuable researches to proper use, and the future will, no doubt,
add to the debt which Wales owes to his patient and persevering
toil.
Two works of topographical interest appeared in 1662 ; the
first entitled The Memorials of Ray* relates the travels of Ray
and his friend Willoughby in Gwynedd, when they visited Denbigh,
Bangor, Carnedd Llewelyn, Ynys Seiriol, Llanddwyn, Llanberis,
Beddgelert, Clynnog, Bardsey and Harlech. The journey was
really a botanical expedition to acquaint themselves with the
plants and herbs of the district.* The second was " A book of
1 See his second letter to Archbishop Usher, May I, 1652, Cambrian
Register ; ii., pp. 473 -478. 'Alumni Oxon : states 1667. ^John Ray, who
helped Bishop Gibson with his edition of the Britannia^ and was a friend aud
patron of Edward Llwyd. 4 Llyfr. y Cyntry, p. 190.
HISTORICAL, ANTIQUARIAN, TOPOGRAPHICAL
the Names of all the Parishes in England and Wales." No author
is given.
In 1663 appeared "A description of Wales, by Sir John
Price, published by Thomas Ellis, with Mr. Robert Vaaghan of
Hengwrt's Notes." This work is supposed to consist of those
sheets of the "History of Cambria," which Thomas Ellis had
already sent to the Press when Enderbie's book appeared and the
work was stopped. If this is so, the corrections and additions
are so numerous that there is very little trace left of the original
work. Sir John Price (mentioned in the title page) was an
Elizabethan writer who published Descriptio Britannia in 1568,'
and must not be confused with another of this name, who wrote
in the seventeenth century. 2
In the same year R. A., supposed to be Robert Arming
published a play called " The Valiant Welshman, or the true
Chronicle History of the Life and Valiant Deeds of Caradoc the
Great King of Cambria, now called Wales, as it hath been sundry
times acted by the Prince of Wales his servants."
The next five years were rather barren of anything of
interest in this part of our subject, but in 1668 appeared a book
of some importance, published by David Lloyd, and entitled
" Memories of the Lives, Actions, Sufferings, and Deaths of those
Noble, Reverend, and Excellent Personages, that suffered by
death, sequestration, decimation, or otherwise, for the Protestant
Religion, and the great principles thereof, Alliance to their
Sovereigne in our late intestine Wars, from the year 1637 to the
year 1666, with the Life and Martyrdom of King Charles I.
By David Lloyd, A.M., sometime of Oriel College, in Oxon.
London, 1668." David Lloyd (1635-1691) was a Welsh
1 Llyfr. y Cymi -y, p. 23. - See Williams' Eminent Welshmen, p. 417.
3 Robert Armin (? 1570- ? 1620) wns an actor and dramatist who had
associated much with Richard Tarlton, a famous clown and jester. Armin
subsequently showed some dramatic ability and was ensjaeed as an actor at
the Globe Theatre, London. It is by no means rerUin that he wrote this
book. The writer of the article on Robert Anr.in in the D. N. Ft. (vol. ii.)
suggests th:it " the publisher may have wished the public to infer that Robert
Armin was the author," which tends to show that they had a high opinion of
his ability as an actor. 4 Williams' Eminent Welshmen, pp. 280, 281 ;
Athen : Oxon : ii., pp. 883-885.
75
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
clergyman of some fame, and published several other works
which attracted notice at the ^time. He was the son of Hugh
Lloyd, of Pantmawr, Trawsfynydd, where he was born in 1635,
and educated at Ruthin and Oriel College, Oxford, where he
graduated B.A. in 1656, M.A., 1659. He afterwards became
chaplain to Dr. Isaac Barrow, Bishop of St. Asaph, who made
him Canon of that Cathedral in 1670. He held the living of
Abergele in 1671, and was preferred to Northop in 1672. Later
on, he returned to his home at Trawsfynydd, where he died in
1691.
His book of " Memories, &c.," as well as his " Statesmen
and Favourites," which had appeared in 1665, were condemned
by the critics for their plagiarism. But this censure did not apply
to Lloyd's previous works, five in number, one of which,
" Worthies of the World : or the Lives of the most heroic Greeks
and Romans compared, 1665," became very popular, and secured
him a great measure of commendation. Unfortunately, Lloyd
was soured by the critics, went into retirement, and gave up
writing. He had suffered imprisonment in 1663 at the hands of
the Earl of Bridgewater, for a description given of his Countess
under the title " The Countess of Bridgewater's Ghost." Lloyd
had meant to portray her virtues, but the title of the book (the
lady was still alive) and his method of doing so, incurred the
displeasure of the Earl.
A work of considerable antiquarian interest appeared in
1676, called "Britannia Antiqua Illustrata," by Aylett Sammes,
of Christ's College, Cambridge ; afterwards of the Inner Temple.
He describes the original trade of this island with the Phoenicians,
as well as the names of places, officies, dignities, idolatry,
language and customs of the primitive inhabitants. He also gives
a chronological history of Britain from the first traditional
beginning to the year 800 A.D., and has much to say of the
antiquities of the Saxons, as well as the Phoenicians, Greeks, and
Romans. The volume is called the first volume, and is illustrated
with wood -cuts. Sammes also published many other works.
76
HISTORICAL, ANTIQUARIAN, TOPOGRAPHICAL
Historical novels have been very few in Welsh literature, but
one did appear in 1678, entitled "Tudor, A Prince of Wales.
In Two Parts. London. Printed by H. H. for Jonathan Edwin,
at the Sign of the Three Roses, on Ludgate Hill, 1678."
In 1679 the country was disturbed by the Popish Plot, and
echoes of it are found in the literature of the time, which
expresses the popular indignation against the Jesuits. Several
publications appear relative to this abortive effort, as far as it
touched Wales. The high feeling which prevailed is sufficient to
account for the immoderate language used in these papers :
" The Condemnation of the Cheating Popist Priest, or, A
brief account of the Tryal of Father Lewis, the pretended
Bishop of Llandaff, at the last Assizes of Monmouth,
March 28. Who lately cheated a poor woman of ,15, and
got a Warrant against her for ^15 more, on pretence of
praying for her father's soul out of Purgatory. With the
condemnation of another Popish Priest at Gloucester," 1679.
" A True Narrative of the apprehension of William Geldon,
alias Bacon, of Tregear, in Monmouthshire," 1679.
" A True Narrative of that Grand Jesuite Father Andrews,
who lived at Hardwick, in Monmouthshire, how he fled into
a large wood to escape Justice, how he came to an untimely
End, and the manner of his Burial," 1679.
"A Collection of 10 different Broadsides and Single Sheets
Published, relating to Mr. Arnold, the Monmouthshire
Justice, Sir George Wakeman, and William Bedlow, who
was so active at the Monmouth Trials of Jesuits and
Malignants," 1678-1680.
" Short Narrative of the Discovery of a College of Jesuits
at a place called Combe, in the County of Hereford, which
was sent up by Herbert, Bishop of Hereford, to Parliament,
according to order, to make diligent search and return an
Account thereof, to which is added a true Relation of the
Knavery of Father Lewis, the pretended Bishop of Llandaff,
now a prisoner at Monmouth Gaol, Printed by T. N. 1679."
77
'WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
" Letter from a Gentleman in the County to his Friend in
London, occasioned by a Prophesie that was lately found
in the place of retirement of Father Lewis of Combe, in
Herefordshire." 1679.
" The Information of Turbervill, of Skerr, in the County of
Glamorgan, Gent," 1680. This contains much information
concerning the Welsh Roman Catholics, who were disloyal to the
Government at the time, and an account of a plot in Wales.
And further light upon those times is thrown by the :
" Examination taken upon Oath in the Counties of Mon-
mouth and Hereford, Reported to Sir John Trevor, Chairman
of the Committee to prevent the growth of Popery, with the
Account given to the House of Commons by Jno. Arnold
and John Scudamore, of the Encouragement given to Popery
in the Counties of Monmouth and Hereford. 1680."
In the same year, three more documents were published for
which revelations of the Popish Plot, real or imaginary, were
responsible :
" Clamor Sanguinis, or the Cry of Blood, being a short but
true Account of a Barbarous and Bloody Assault . . . made
on the Body of John Arnold, Esq., Justice of the Peace for
the County of Monmouth 1680."
It seems that Arnold had been instrumental in bringing to
his execution a certain Captain Evans of Glamorgan, a Jesuit
(sometimes stated to be a priest), and the Jesuits are said to have
avenged Evans by their plan to murder Arnold. 1
" An account of an Attempt upon the Person of Mr. Arnold,
one of His Majestie's Justices of the Peace for the County
of Monmouth .... 15 Ap., 1680."
This account varies from the previous one, amongst other
things in the time in which it is stated the assault took place.
"England's Second Warning - Piece, Observation on the
Barbarous Attempt to Murther Justice Arnold . . . Ap. 15,
1680, with a copy of the pretended Speech of Evans the
Popish Priest executed in Glamorganshire,"
1 Lfyfr, y Cymry> p. 222.
7*
HISTORICAL, ANTIQUARIAN, TOPOGRAPHICAL
Several, who were said to be disguised Jesuit Priests, were
put to death at this time at Cardiff. Mr. Arnold recovered from
his wounds, which had proved well-nigh fatal.
There is only one work mentioned in the Cambrian Biblio-
graphy, of the very celebrated and learned Dr. Peter Heilyn
(or Heylyn, 1599- 1662), and that is :
" The Historical and Miscellaneous Tracts of the Reverend
and Learned Peter Heylyn, D.D. Now collected into one
Volume, and to which are added an Account of the Life of
the Author, &c., London, Printed by M. Clark, 1681."
Yet he was one of the most active writers of his age, and he
is described in " The History of Oxford University " as one of
the most remarkable men of the century. 1 He was the second
son of Henry Heilyn, of Burford, Oxfordshire, and nephew of
Rowland Heilyn, who was the last heir male of Pentre Heilyn,
in the Parish of Llandysilio, Montgomeryshire. 3 Educated at
Oxford, he became Demy and Fellow of Magdalen College. 3 He
took Orders in 1623 and became chaplain to Laud, whose
religious sympathies he shared and whose views he ably pro-
mulgated. During the reign of Charles I. he obtained valuable
preferment in the benefice of Houghton in Durham, which he
afterwards exchanged for Ailresford, in Hampshire, and became
Rector of Hemingford in 1631. He was Fellow of Magdalen
College, Oxford, 1618-30.
In 1620, he published his " Geography," but King James, to
whom a copy was presented, took umbrage at a reference in which
France was given preference to England. This did not prevent a
second edition being published in 1624.
Perhaps the most noted incident in his life was his con-
troversy with the distinguished scholar Prideaux. The two points
at issue in this discussion, as stated by Wood, were : (i) An
Ecclesia unquam fuerit invisibilis? (2) An Ecclesia possit errare ?
The wide difference between the two Churchmen was seen in that
' Athcn : Oxon : ii., pp. 275-285. * Manual of Wthh Lit., p. 155.
3 Athen : Oxon : ii., p. 275.
79
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Peter Heilyn said No ! to both of these questions, whilst Prideaux
ariswered both with a direct affirmative.
In 1668, when " The Life of Laud " was published, the
author showed that both Laud and Heilyn were equally enemies
to Popery and Puritanism, a statement which, perhaps, correctly
defines the attitude of both men. Amongst the numerous works
produced by Heilyn may be mentioned :
" Microcosmus : A Description of the Great World." 1622.
This was afterwards enlarged and printed in folio in a work
which appeared in four parts, entitled "Cosmography in four
Books," 1652, 1664, 1677, 1682. The last three parts were
printed after the author's death. In his latter years he could
neither see to write nor read.
"The History of St. George of Cappadocia," 1631, with
which was printed " The Institution of the most noble Order
of St. George, named the Garter," and a " Catalogue of all
the Knights of the Garter from the first Institution to this
present."
"A Coal from the Altar," 1636. This was an answer to
Williams, Bishop of Lincoln, who had written against "the
Communion Table standing Altar- ways."
He also wrote a " History of the Episcopacy," and a
u Historical Narration of Liturgies" in 1642; and a "Brief
Relation of the Death and Sufferings of the most Reverend and
Renowned Prelate the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, with a
copy of his Speech and other passages on the Scaffold," 1644.
He was deprived of his benefices during the Commonwealth,
and suffered great poverty, but was reinstated at the Restoration.
His highest preferment was the Sub -deanery of Westminster.
He died in 1662.
He had won for himself a recognised place amongst the
historians of the i7th century, and was possessed of the critical
faculty to a great degree. When Thomas Fuller produced his
most celebrated work, the huge Church History of Britain in
80
HISTORICAL, ANTIQUARIAN, TOPOGRAPHICAL
1656, much as it was praised, and widely as it was read, "its
accuracy was impugned by Dr. Peter Heylin." 1
In 1685, Edward Stillingfleet (1633-1699), Dean of St.
Paul's published " Oiigines Britannicae" or " The Antiquities of
British Churches."
He wrote this work in support of Bishop William Lloyd of
St. Asaph, who had published in 1684 "An Historical Account
of Church Government as it was in Great Britain and Ireland,
when they received the Christian Religion." Stillingfleet had
become Bishop of Worcester, in 1689, and an intimate friendship
existed between him and Bishop Lloyd, who was one of the most
lovable men of his age.
This is that same Bishop Lloyd who had public discussions
with the Quakers and Nonconformists. The work he had issued
in 1684 may be instanced as a specimen of the arguments then
employed by him against Richard Davies, the Quaker, and
James Owen, the Nonconformist, at Llanfyllin and Oswestry.
The discussions were conducted with perfect good temper and
moderation on both sides, which was quite a pattern to that
controversial age, and although the disputants differed as widely
at the end as at the start on the points at issue, yet there was knit
between them a warm friendship which lasted their life -time.
Two papers relating to the Court of the Marches were
published in 1689, one giving reasons for its abolition, and the
other showing the particular conveniences of that Court. Neither
has the name of any author attached.
In 1695, a writer signing himself R. B. produced "The
History of Britain," in which some interesting information is given
of the Principality. The portion relating to Wales divides itself
into three divisions: (i) "A brief account of the Ancient Kings
and Princes of Brittain and Wales till the final Extinguishing of
the Royal British Line." (2) " Remarks upon the Lives of all
the Princes of Wales, of the Royal Families of England, from
King Edward the First to this time." (3) " Remarkable Observa-
1 Garnett and Gosse's History of English Literature, iii., p. 50.
8l
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
tions on the most Memorable Persons and Places in Wales, and
of many considerable Transactions and Passages that have
happened therein for many hundred years past Together
with Natural and Artificial Rarities and Wonders in the several
Counties of the Principality, by R. B. 1695."
Gwilym Lleyn thinks that R. B. stands for Robert Burton, a
writer who produced several small works of a similar nature, of
which the following are instanced : " The History of the House
of Orange "; " The History of Oliver Cromwell "; " The Historie
of the Kingdom of IreJand," and many others. This Robert
Burton, if Gwilym Lleyn's contention is correct, is not to be
confused with the able author of the " Anatomy of Melancholy,"
who flourished in the same century. 1
A small book of some interest, which appeared in 1695, is
that entitled " Valor Beneficiorum, or a Valuation of all
Ecclesiastical Preferments in England and W T ales, 1695." It
enables a comparison to be made of the value of benefices before
and after the Restoration. In some cases, funds diverted during
the Commonwealth had not been restored, and there was con-
siderable shrinkage.
Still another " History of Wales " appeared before the end of
the century, in 1697. Its author was the Rev. William Wynne
(i65o-?i7ii), M.A., Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford. It is a
re -arrangement and improvement of the work of Dr. Powell, who
had mainly relied upon the Chronicle of Caradoc of Llancarvan.
Wynne considerably augmented Powell's work, and his edition
was considered so valuable that it was re-issued twice during the
eighteenth century. 2 The author was the son of John Wynne, of
Henllan, in Denbighshire. He was ordained by the Bishop of
Bangor, and laboured in that diocese. It is believed that he died
before the year 1711.3 He was buried at Bangor.
The last author whose work will be noticed in this chapter
is the noted antiquary, philologist, and natural scientist,
iLlyfr. y Cymry, p. ,257. 2 See Manual of Welsh Lit., p. 139.
3 Alumni Oxon : also Hearne's Collections, vol. iii. p. 201.
82
HISTORICAL, ANTIQUARIAN, TOPOGRAPHICAL
Edward Lhwyd (1660- 1709). Although part of his work was
published iu the eighteenth century, it was accomplished, for the
most part, in the seventeenth, and he lived forty years of his short
life in this century. He was the son of Edward Lhoyd, of
Llanvorda, near Oswestry, by Bridget Pryse, of Glanfroed, a
member of the ancient Gogerddan family. He was born in the
parish of Lappiton, 1 as testified in Llanstephan M.S. 185, p. 120.
This manuscript had been in Lhwyd's possession for many years,
and if it were incorrect, he would, no doubt, have altered the
statement. He probably received his early education at Oswestry
Grammar School. At the age of twenty -two, he entered Jesus
College, 3 Oxford, and was one of its most illustrious sons at a
time when its alumni were filling some of the highest offices in
Church and State. 2 Whilst an undergraduate, he obtained the
post of assistant at the Ashmolean Museum, which had been
opened in 1683, and worked there under Dr. Plot, whom he
succeeded as Keeper in 1690. This preferment gave him greater
freedom, and whereas he had previously confined his researches
to the neighbourhood of Oxford, he now extended his sphere of
activities, and as a result of his investigations in Wales, he was
able to supply Bishop Gibson with much valuable material for his
edition of Britannia, winch was published in 1695. In that
same year he conceived a more ambitious design, viz., to prepare
a work which would include a British Dictionary, an Essay
entitled Archaologia Britannica, and a Natural History of Wales,
and he received sufficient support and encouragement, at the
time, to begin the work. He issued an elaborate syllabus in the
form of Parochial Queries devised to elicit the information he
required, and circulated them with the approval of John Wallis,
Edward Bernard, Martin Lister, and John Ray. Sixteen of them
'See Mr. Richard Ellis's able article in Trans, of the Hon. Sac. of
Cymmrodorion, Session 1906- 07, published in 1908. 2 ibid, p. 3. See also
" Memoirs of the Life of Henry Maurice, D. D., Cambrian Register, 1799.
3 Wood is wrong in his date, having confused our author with Edward Lloyd,
of Kidwelly,
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
pertained to geographical and antiquarian information, and thirty-
one to natural history, and they were of a very searching
character. 1 In 1696 he began his tour of North Wales, and
visited Co-.vbridge and Swansea in the same year. He spent part
of 1697 in Merionethshire, and of 1698 in Flintshire. In the
latter year he visited Ireland, thence proceeding to Scotland,
where he mentions that the inhabitants treated him with great
kindness and civility. In 1699 he returned to Wales, and then
paid a visit to Cornwall. He landed at St. Malo in 1700, hoping
to investigate the history and antiquities of Britanny, but he was
received there with great suspicion, and imprisoned for eighteen
days as a spy. He returned to Oxford in 1701, and proceeded to
arrange his materials for the publication of his great work. The
first part of the Archaologia Britannica appeared in 1707, and
was entitled the Glossography. It really comprised a very small
portion of his researches, and was not received with great satis-
faction by some of his patrons. The great scholars of the time,
however, acknowledged its worth, and Lhwyd was rewarded in
1708 by being admitted a Fellow of the Royal Society. His
University, in the following year, appointed him Superior Beadle
of Divinity, a post which gave him a competence which, small as
it was, he had never before enjoyed, Oxford had also conferred
upon him the M.A. degree on his return from Britanny in 1701.
But, on the whole, his labours had heen very inadequately
acknowledged. He lived but a few months to enjoy his new
dignity. He had contracted asthma on one of his journeys, and
having slept in a damp room at the Ashmolean, he developed
pleurisy, from which he died on June 30, 1709. He was buried
in the Welsh aisle in St. Michael's Church, Oxford.
In his various journeys he had collected a considerable
number of manuscripts, and these, in addition to his own valuable
work which had not been] published, were offered for sale at his
death. Many, if not most of them, were bought by Sir Thomas
Sebright, 2 of Beechwood, Hertfordshire. He presented the Irish
1 Arch. Camb. for 1859, p. 166, * See article on Edward
in A M B.
84
HISTORICAL, ANTIQUARIAN, TOPOGRAPHICAL
part of them to Trinity College, Dublin. In 1807 Sir Watkin
Williams Wynn bought the Lhwyd collection, but much of it was
destroyed by fire when in the hands of the binders.
Edward Lhwyd's published works are :
" Archreologia Britannica ; an account of the Languages,
Histories, and Customes of Great Britain, from collections
and observations in Travels through Wales, Cornwall, Bas-
Bretagne, Ireland and Scotland. Vol. 1. Glossography,
1707."
He had designed to publish the work in four parts, the first
to contain "A comparison of the modern Welsh with other
European Languages " ; the second, " A comparison of the
Customes and Traditions of the Britans with those of other
nations " ; the third, " An Account of all such monuments now
remaining in Wales as are presum'd to be British ; and either
older or not much later than the Roman Conquest, viz., their
camps and Buryal places, the monuments call'd Cromlecheu and
Meineu gwyr ; their Coyns, Arms, Amulets, 'cc.," the fourth,
" An Account of the Rome.n Antiquities there, and some others
of later date, dureing the Government of the British Princes ;
together with copies of all the Inscriptions of any considerable
Antiquity, as yet remaining in that country."
In 1699, he published Lithophylacii Britannia Ichnograhhia.
This is a catalogue of the fossils at the Ashmolean Museum. It
ig interesting to note that Sir Isaac Newton had contributed
towards the expense of printing it. It is full of inaccuracies, owing
to Lhwyd's absence from Oxford while it was being printed.
A condition upon which he had received his M.A. degree
was that he should read "six solemn lectures upon Natural
History, one every year." 1 These were published at Leipzig in
1733 in a work by Luick, entitled " De Stellis Marinis"
His correspondence with Henry Rowland is printed in Muna
Antiqua. pp. 301-18.
1 See article on Edward Lhwyd in D. N. B.
85
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
The great bulk of his work was left in MSS., which included
forty folio volumes, ten quartos, and one hundred miscellaneous.
On a visit to Cambridge in 1702 he discovered the Glosses
and the englynion of the Juvencus MS. 1
His great work, the Archce.ologia Britannica, marks a new
epoch in the history of Welsh philology. A profound knowledge
of the Celtic languages, a critical spirit far in advance of his time,
and a remarkably modern scientific method of treatment, are
apparent in every page of this monumental work. In this branch
of knowledge he was the link between Dr. Gruffydd Roberts, of
Milan, and the recently departed and much lamented Sir John
Rhys, Principal of Jesus College, Oxford. By his comparative
method of treatment, he discovered Grimm's Law more than a
century before Grimm formulated it. Lhwyd's contributions to
natural science and archaeology are equally significant and import-
ant. His published works are very numerous and scattered, but
his services to literature as a collector of manuscripts alone were
very great. Although his countrymen failed to appreciate the
significance of his work during his time, and for more than a
century after his death, modern scholarship has fully re-established
his claims to be esteemed as the pioneer of modern philology in
Britain. 2 Sir John Rhys' opinion of him was that " he was in
many respects the greatest Celtic philologist the world has ever
seen. It is not too much to say that had Celtic philology walked
in the ways of Edward Lhwyd, and not of such men as Dr. Pughe
and Col. Valiancy, it would by this time have reached a far higher
ground than it has, and native scholars would have left no room
for the meteoric appearance of Zeuss or of the other Germans
who have succeeded him in the same field of study. "3
1 Trans, of Cymmrod. Sac., 1908, p. 44.
2 Dr. Gruffydd Roberts had led the way to the discovery of the laws of
sound changes in words borrowed from the Latin. The same laws were per-
ceived by Edward Lhwyd, who further developed them ; but it was Sir John
Rhys who fully discovered them and showed how gradually the changes took
place. J. C. M. 3 Address delivered at Oswestry, June, 1896, quoted in
Bye - Cones, vol. xiii. p, 363.
86
HISTORICAL, ANTIQUARIAN, TOPOGRAPHICAL
Lhwyd's personal character, as given by Hearne, was that of
" a person of singular modesty, good nature, and uncommon
industry .... not at all ambitious of preferment or honour, and
what he does is purely out of love to the good of learning and his
country." 1
" Hwyliaist or Llwybreu halaeth, gan hoffi
Anhyffordd Wybodaeth
Allan on Dysc, lie nid aeth
Un Dyn i Derfyn d' Arfaeth.
Meini nadd a Mynyddoedd, a Gwalieu
Ac olion Dinasoedd,
A Dail dy Fyfyrdod oedd,
A Hanesion lien Oesoedd.
Chwiliaist, ti gefaist yn gyfan Addysc
Y Deiwyddon allan ;
A Bri y Cowri, ai Can,
Ai Hiroes gynt, ai Harian.
Garw yw huno Gwr hynod heb orphen
Ei berffaith Fyfyrdod,
Rhoddem a feddem dy fod
O law Angeu, Lew yngod.
A thra bo Athro bywiawl, na cherrig,
Na Chaerau Dieithrawl,
Nag un Llyseuyn llesawl,
Na hen laith, bydd faith dy Fawl."
Collections, vol. i. p. 244. " Englynion in Carmen En^yil-
icum in Obitttm . . . Edwardi LuiJii, quoted in Cymmrod. Trans., 1906-7,
p. 50.
CHAPTER II
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
(a) THE EDITIONS OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES.
(b) THE EDITIONS OF THE PSALMS AND THE BOOK
OF COMMON PRAYER.
(c) OTHER WORKS, RELIGIOUS AND MORAL.
ON its religious side, the seventeenth century produced a
considerable number of books and pamphlets which can
be broadly included under the three headings given above. It
was a period of transition. The changes wrought by the end
of the century were of a far-reaching character, and they took
place under conditions the reverse of normal. Sometimes
changes take place quietly and almost imperceptibly. A new
outlook upon life and a new attitute towards its problems are
reached by a slow and natural process. At other times changes
are brought about suddenly, under the stress of some political
or religious upheaval. This was what happened in the seven-
teenth century. And nowhere does the remark apply more
truly than to the domain of religious literature in Wales. The
current divinity of the early seventeenth century, both in England
and Wales, was on the downward grade. The decline in lucidity
and strength from the standard of the sixteenth century is remark-
able. This is, perhaps, not surprising, for it merely underwent
the depression which affected this branch of literature throughout
Europe.
In the previous chapter it was shewn how the Civil War
affected Wales. The overthrow of the King and the substitution
of the Commonwealth brought into prominence such important
questions as the toleration of religious dissent, and that of Church
discipline generally. The Act for the Propagation of the Gospel
in Wales, which was put into operation in 1650, threw men's
minds into a turmoil. The ejection of the clergy was a drastic
measure which made thoughtful men pause, and was only a cause
for rejoicing to an inconsiderable minority, some of whom hoped
to benefit by the process. The attitude of Wales towards
Puritanism in the early part of the century had not been extreme.
On the accession of James I., at the Hampton Court Conference
in 1604, Dr. Rudd, Bishop of St. David's, had spoken in favour
9 1
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
of treating the Puritans with "love and moderation."' Many of
the Puritans, in fact, used to preach in the Churches at Evensong. 2
When Laud became Bishop of St. David's in 1621, he made
regulations against this. But the policy of Laud in the Church
and of Charles I. in the State was not endorsed by the majority
of the Welsh bishops. After Laud's translation to London, we
find that three Welsh bishops, Dr. Morgan Owen, Bishop of
Llandaff ; Dr. J. Owen, Bishop of St. Asaph ; and Dr. W.
Roberts, Bishop of Bangor, were sent to the Tower, in 1641.3
The attitude of some of the Welsh clergy towards the " Book of
Sports " has already been noticed. Bearing these things in mind,
one is hardly prepared for the drastic treatment meted out to the
Welsh Church by the Commonwealth under the "Act for the
Propagation of the Gospel." It was really the work of a few
extreme men, who got the power into their own hands, as a reward
for their political help to the Commonwealth. The names of
the Commissioners appointed by Cromwell are given by Peters*
as follows ; " Henry Walter, Walter Cradock, Richard Simonds,
Roger Charnock, Jenkin Lloyd, Morris Bidwell, David Walter,
William Seaborn, Edmund Ellis, Jenkin Jones, George Robinson,
Richard Powell, Robert Powell, Thomas Ewen, John Miles,
Oliver Thomas, Dr. John Ellis, Ambrose Mostyn, Morgan Lloyd,
William Jones, Richard Edwards, Vavasor Powell, Richard Swain,
and Rowland Nevet."s Walker gives a list of one hundred and
twenty clergy who were deprived under the " Act," and the three
reasons alleged for their removal were (i) that they were ignorant
of religious principles, (2) neglected to preach, and (3) were
immoral. According to Walker they were allowed one -fifth
of their income. Their places were filled by appointing six
" itinerant preachers " in each county, who received an income
of ;ioo a year each. In addition, thirty -two ministers were sent
'See Neal's Hist, of the Puritans, i. pp. 424 - 427. 2 See Peter's Hanes
Crefyddyng Nghymru, p. 509. 3 ibid p. 520. 4 ihid p. 534. = Sir Erasmus
Philipps should also he included in the list of Commissioners. He played an
important part in the affairs of Wales at this time. See Article by Kev. T.
Shankland, M.A., in The Transactions of the Cyinmrodorion^^o^-o^), p. 75.
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
forth and a number of local preachers to make up the rest of the
deficiency. When we are solemnly told by Neal 1 that this
number was insufficient to do the work of the dispossessed clergy,
it proves one of two things, either that the 120 clergy were very
energetic men, or that the nnmber of ejections was under-stated
by Walker. It can be assumed that their substitutes were above
reproach.
After the Commissioners had been at work in Wales for two
years, one thousand petitioners from South Wales besought
Parliament on behalf of the dispossessed clergy. They spoke of
the pitiful condition of the country, and asked that the men who
had received all the Church emoluments should be brought to
account. Parliament appointed a Committee to ask the Com-
missioners to report to them within a month, but the Long
Parliament dissolved before anything was done. In 1654,
Cromwell called the " Taenwyr " to account. He appointed Sir
Hugh Owen and eighteen men from the South, and Mathew
Morgan and twelve men from the North to further an inquiry.
Neale states that the results of that inquiry were satisfactory, and
the Commissioners' accounts commended. 2 At the Restoration,
the ministers appointed by the Commissioners in Wales were not
turned out in the cases where the dispossessed clergy had died. 3
This in itself argues a spirit of toleration beyond what might have
been expected of those times. It must be remembered that
many of those who were ejected had previously ejected the
rightful owners. 4
The above outline of the forces at work in Wales has been
given, not to keep alive the antagonism of the past, but to show
what it was that led to the awakening from the lethargy which
had oppressed the country in the early years of the century, as
far as its literary history is concerned. Those early years saw
the decline of letters both in England and Wales. Stagnation in
literary history means decline. To stand still is to go back.
'Neal's Hist, of the Puritans, ii. p. 548. 2 Vol, ii. pp. 455-459-
' Peter's Kaues Crefydd> p. 548. < ibid, pp. 560-561.
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
When we contrast the paucity of literary productions in the first
half of the century with the prolific output of the second half, we
are forced to the conclusion that the main cause for the change
lies in the political and religious struggles of which the above
events were the outward expression.
The question of the toleration of religious nonconformity led
to the production of an extraordinary amount of writing in
England. There was great "searching after antiquities, the
collection of authorities, and the rectification of records." r This
movement had its influence upon Wales. The Civil War had
thrown the two countries into closer contact than had existed
previously. We have already noticed how men like Morgan
Llwyd were drawn into the vortex. Such works as William
Chilling worth's " Religion of Protestants" (1637), one of the
strongest prose works produced in England, came under the
notice of Welsh religious thinkers, and this instance may be
multiplied many times over. Tillotson and other thinkers of his
school had also a wide influence on Welsh religious thought.
The divines of the period became something more than preachers.
They began to see the necessity for lifting the ignorance which
lay like a pall over the masses, and we presently see the co-
operation of an English divine like Thomas Gouge with a Welsh
preacher and teacher of the type of Stephen Hughes in an
attempt to educate them. Such works as Jeremy Taylor's
"Holy Living" (1650), and "Holy Dying" (1651), had also a
far reaching influence in Wales. Taylor himself, who had been
captured, at the battle of Cardigan in 1645,* but was soon
released, withdrew to South Wales when the Royalist cause
declined, and kept a school there. In the " retiring and agreeable
solitude" which he enjoyed at the Golden Grove, when he
accepted the hospitality of the Earl of Carbery, he produced some
of his best work, and did much by his efforts as a schoolmaster
to enlighten the population in those parts. The accumulation of
such instances as have been mentioned shows that matters were
1 GarneU and Gosse Hist, of Ett. /,/., ii. p. 386. ibid, iii. p. 39.
94-
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
moving at last in Wales, and that she was stirring the stagnant
waters of her political and religious life. Something of the
restlessness of the times is typified in the life and work of that
strange man, James Howell, son of Thomas Howell, of Abernant,
Carmarthenshire, whose career, erratic as it was, showed that the
spirit of enquiry had entered the minds of young Welshmen, and
had led them to desire acquaintance with a larger world than
their own Welsh hills and valleys. Having linguistic gifts, he
became unusually skilled in the principal European languages,
and travelled much in Holland, Spain, Italy, and Denmark. He
began his literary career in 1640, by the publication of Dodona's
Grove. Later on, from the Fleet Prison, he issued his famous
Epistolac Ho-Elianae, or Familiar Letters, of which four volumes
were issued between 1645 and 1655. They were read with
extreme avidity, " and marked the rise of a new class of literature,
the elaborately -composed essay -letter." '
Charles II. was much impressed by Howell's learning, and
created the post of Historiograper Royal for him in 1661, and
endowed it so amply that he spent the close of his harassed life
in comparative comfort.
Henry Vaughan, the Silurist, is another remarkable instance
of the wider outlook enjoyed by Welshmen at this time. Practis-
ing as a physician in the small town of Brecon, and wholly given
to piety, he attained quite a respectable place in the world of
letters, and his poems were widely read. They breathe a spirit
of true inward religion, which could not fail to have an uplifting
influence on his countrymen and others. A good example of
his penetration into the reality of things is furnished by his poem
" The Retreat," which appeared in a collection made by some of
his friends, published under the title Thalia Rediviva in 1678 :
Happy those early days, when I
Shined in my anel- infancy !
Before I understood this place
Appointed for my second race,
Or taught my soul to fancy ought
But a white, celestial thought ;
1 Garnett and Gosse Hist, of Eng, Lit., iii. p. 48.
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
When yet I had not walked above
A mile or two, from my first love,
And looking back at that short space
Could see a glimpse of His bright face ;
When on some gilded cloud or flower
My gazing soul would dwell an hour,
And in those weaker glories spy
Some shadows of Eternity ;
Before I taught my tongue to wound
My conscience with a sinful sound,
Or had the black art to dispense,
A sev'ral sin to every sense,
But felt through all this fleshy dress
Bright shoots of everlastingness.
It is no small tribute to Welshmen, that they should have
shown the way to a new class of prose literature, very much akin
to modern journalism, as James Howell did, and have attained the
standard of poetic excellence to which the lines just quoted from
Henry Vaughan testify.
When two such events as the establishment of a Common-
wealth and the restoration of monarchy happened in the same
century, it could not be otherwise than that public interest was
concentrated on political questions. But collateral with the
political questions of that day was the deeper problem of religion,
and it is not unnatural that the Welsh mind should have addressed
itself to this more than to the other. The temperament of the
Welsh nation is sufficient to account for the preference, and even
a cursory glance at the productions of the seventeenth century
shows how considerations for religion outweighed everything else.
We will first consider :
(a) THE EDITIONS OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES
A nation seeking to put its religious life in order, instinctively
turned to a consideration of those Scriptures upon which all
Christian belief is founded. The great work of giving Wales
the Scriptures in its own tongue had been started by William
Salesbury, Bishop Morgan, and his co-adjutors in the latter part
of the sixteenth century, but whereas it had then been undertaken
9 6
by men of one school of religious thought, it now claimed the
devotion and zeal of many who no longer accepted the doctrine
and government of the Established Church, and in many
particulars were openly at variance with her. Nevertheless, they
were in perfect agreement that the fundamentals of the Christian
Faith are based upon Holy Scripture.
The year 1620 stands out in the history of religious literature
in this century in Wales, as 1 6 1 1 does in that of England. For
that year saw the publication of Bishop Parry's revised version of
Bishop Morgan's 1588 Bible. Its title ran:
"Y Bibl Cyssegr-lan, sef yr Hen Destament a'r Newydd.
2 Tim. 3. 1 6. Yr holl Scrythur sydd wedi ei rhoddi gan
ysprydoliaeth Dduw, ac sydd fuddiol i athrawiaethu, i
argyhoeddi, i geryddu, i hyfforddi mewn cyfiawnder : 1 7 Fel
y byddo dyn Duw yn berffaith, wedi ei berffeithio i bob
gweithred da.
Printiedig yn Llundain gan Bonham Norton a lohn Bill,
Printwyr i Ardderchoccaf fawrhydi y Brenhin. 1620."
With some few alterations, this work remains the Authorized
Version of the Welsh Bible to-day. It is so important that it
needs as much detailed attention as the scope of the present
volume admits.
It should be stated at the outset, that Bishop Morgan had
accepted in the main the New Testament as translated by
William Salesbury and Dr. Davies, his part being that of a
reviser only. But between 1588 and 1604, Bishop Morgan again
revised the New Testament, for what reasons it is not stated, and
it was ready for the press at the time of his death J in 1 604, but
the matter proceeded no further. We can conjecture, however
that Bishop Parry, who was Morgan's successor in the See of St
Asaph, knew of this revision, and probably knew also that it had
been Bishop Morgan's desire to revise the whole Bible. Assum-
ing that Bishop Parry knew this, and sympathised with it, he had
a further incentive to the work in the knowledge that in that very
1 Ames Typogr : Antiq : p. 435.
97
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
year, 1604, a body of Divines in England had been appointed to
revise the English Scriptures, 1 and to publish their work when
completed, having the sanction of the Royal authority and that of
Parliament for the project.
A further reason that influenced Bishop Parry in his decision
to revise the whole of the Scriptures was the demand for Bibles
on the part of the churches. The number issued by Bishop
Morgan had been very limited barely sufficient for the needs of
the parish churches and chapelries throughout Wales. Over
thirty years' wear andt ear would leave the majority of these in a
dilapidated condition.
It would be easy to add other cumulative reasons, the
strongest of which was, perhaps, that the Cymry, having heard
the Word of God in their own tongue for over a quarter of a
century, would be intolerant of its loss, and would never brook
the return to a tongue " not understanded of the people," whether
it was Latin or English.
So the Bishop, with able assistance, began his revision. The
alterations made were considerable, and it remains, with some
corrections, the standard translation of the Bible, which has
done more to preserve and foster the Welsh language than any
other book, although the Welsh Book of Common Prayer shares
with it this pride of place.
It was printed in London, as the title-page shows, by Norton
and Bill, printers to His Majesty, in 1620; and a copy was
presented to the King, which is now preserved in the British
Museum. 2 It is a folio edition printed in black letter, and its
divisions are similar to those of the 1588 Bible. The contents of
each chapter are given above it, and references appear in the
margin. There is a Calendar prefixed, as well as a Lr.tin
dedication, " Sacrosanctae et individuae Trinitati," &c. The
main interest of this dedication is the account given by the Ed tor
of his inducements to the work. He admits having taken many
1 This had been decided on at the Hampton Court Conference, 1604.
7 Llewelyn's Versions of the Bible, p. 28.
98
liberties with the former translation, varying it and altering it as
he deemed expedient "ut et hie sit a/i</)z8o^w/xevov Tra/saSay/xa, et
dictu sit difficile, num vetus an nova, Morgani an mea, dicenda
sit versio"
He goes on to state that the former impression of the Bible
had been exhausted, that many or most of the churches were
either without any, or only possessed of imperfect copies, and
modestly adds that as no one else had thought of a republication.
he himself had embarked upon the work of translation. Dr.
Llewelyn, who makes a comparison between England and Wales
in this matter, draws attention to the credit deserved by Bishop
Parry in that " he was entirely a volunteer," 1 whereas the English
version had behind it the full weight and influence of the King
and Government. Parry had responded to the needs of his
country, which was on the verge of being plunged into pre-
Reformation darkness, for the few copies left in the churches
were all that stood between monoglot Welshmen and the
extinguishing of that light which Bishop Morgan's zeal and
scholarship had kindled.
Dr. John Davies, of Mallwyd, was Chaplain to Bishop Parry
at this time, and was of invaluable help to his Ordinary in the
production of this great work. He was deeply versed in the
Hebrew and Greek languages, and had spent the best part of
his life in studying the language of his own country, as his
Grammar and Dictionary testify. He had also taken an active
share in Bishop Morgan's translation, and now brought his ripe
scholarship and experience to bear upon the new project. It
was an uncommonly high privilege to have shared in the two
principal translations of the Bible, and he esteemed it so. A
Chancellor of St. Asaph and Bangor wrote of Dr. Davies "/
Bibliorum (Britan. scilicet) ultima et emendata editione, Joannes
Davies perutilem impendit operam"* Anthony Wood (1632-1695)
the distinguished Oxford scholar, who preserved a vast quantity
of information concerning the alumni of that University,
1 Llewelyn's Versions of the Bibk^ p. 31. "ibid, p. 32.
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
which might otherwise have been lost, paid an especial compli-
ment to the work of Dr. Davies, and weighed his fitness for the
task in the following words x : " He was esteemed well versed
in the history and antiquities of his own nation, well versed in
the Greek and Hebrew languages, a most exact critick, an
indefatigable person and well acquainted with curious and rare
authors."
The number of books published in this edition is not
known. From its size it was principally intended for public
worship, and probably the number did not exceed that of the
churches and chapelries.
Some account must now be given of Bishop Parry, the
master-mind and originator of this work.
Bishop Richard Parry (1560-1623) was one of eight
distinguished prelates, natives of Wales, who in succession
occupied the See of St. Asaph. 2 He was born at Ruthinin 1560,3
educated at Westminster School under the able tuition of William
Camden, entered as a Student of Christ Church, Oxford, in 1580,
and afterwards proceeded to Holy Orders. It is incorrect to
state that he became master of Ruthin Grammar School, for
Gabriel Goodman's school had not yet been founded. Wood
and Bishop Humphreys both state that he taught at Ruthin, but
it was possibly at some institution which existed prior to 1590
the date of Dean Goodman's foundation. In 1592, he was
appointed Vicar of Gresford and Chancellor of Bangor Cathedral,
and in 1599 he became Dean of Bangor. At Bishop Morgan's
death in 1604, he was consecrated Bishop of St. Asaph. He
died at Dyserth, in Flintshire, in 1623, and was buried at St.
Asaph Cathedral, as Bishop Morgan had been.
A short account of Dr. John Davies will be given in the
chapter dealing with his Grammar.
The chief aim of the translators seems to have been to
simplify and clarify the language and idioms. Bishop Morgan
*Athen\ Oxon: i. p. 597. 2 Williams' Eminent Welshmen, p. 390.
3 He was the eldest son of John Parry, Esq., of Pwll Halojj, Denbighshire, a
noble family,
100
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
had kept rather too closely to the original, and had introduced
with too great frequency such expressions as}>na,fe/fy, gan hynny,
which were unidiomatic, and could easily be avoided by using
the simple relative a. In many cases the Hebraisms of Bishop
Morgan were rejected for the Anglicisms of the 1611 Bible.
Gwilym Lleyn, Gwallter Mechain, and Gweirydd ap Rhys have
made comparisons between the 1588 and 1620 editions, and have
furnished numerous illustrations which show the respective
merits and defects of the two editions. The general opinion
seems to be that although Bishop Parry's Bible is in some respects
an advance on Bishop Morgan's, numerous instances can be
pointed out where the latter excelled. The syntax has certainly
been considerably modified in the 1620 edition. It will be
sufficient to give a few instances which are typical of the corrections
made in this edition :
BISHOP MORGAN.
1. Yna dec brodyr loseph.
2. Pharao gan hynny a ddywed-
odd.
3. Felly y gwyr a gymmerasant
yr anrheg.
4. Ei gwrysc hi oeddynt addfed
[eu] grawnwin.
5. Efe a gyscodd hefyd ac a
freuddwydiodd.
6. Tydi a oruchwyli fy nhy fi,
ac ar dy fin y cusana fy
mhobl oil.
7. burgynnod.
8. elephant. Job 40 I0
9. Wele efe a orthryma afon
[fel] na phrysuro hi i [redeg]
efe a obeithie y rhuthre
lorddonen iw safn ef. Job 40 l8
BISHOP PARRY.
1. A dec brodyr loseph.
Gen. 42 3
2. A Pharao a ddywedodd.
Gen. 41 '7
3. A'r gwyr a gymmerasant yr
anrheg. Gen. 43 IS
4. Ei grawnsypiau hi a ddug
rawnwin addfed. Gen. 40 10
5. Ac efe a gysgodd ac a
freuddwydiodd. Gen. 40 s
6. Tydi a fyddi ar fy nhy, ac
wrth dy air di y llywod-
raethir fy mhobl oil.
Gen. 41 4
7. celaneddau. Gen. 15 IZ
8. behemoth. Job 40 j s
9. Wele efe a yf yr afon [ac]
ni phrysura, efe a obeithiai
y tynnai efe yr lorddonen
i'w safn. Job 40 2 3
101
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
BISHOP MORGAN.
10. [Myfi] yr hwn a osodais yr
anialwch yn dy iddo : a'r
morfa yn drigfa iddo ef.
u. Cof yw gennym y pyscod y
rhai a f vvyttasom yn yr Aipht
yn rhad.
1 2. Etifeddiaeth a syrthiodd i ni
mewn [lleoedd] hyfryd.
13. Ac fe a ddygwyd dau eraill, y
rhai [oeddynt] ddrwgweith-
redwyr i'w rhoi i'w marwol-
aeth gyd ag ef.
14. Yn trin tarian a gwaiw-ffon.
15. O honoch ill dau.
1 6. Rhoddasant yn ol eu gallu i
dryssor-dy'r gwaith chwe
myrddiwn, a mil o ddrac-
monau aur, a phum mil o
bunnoedd arian.
17. A chafwyd mewn cist.
1 8. Gofidus yw.
19. Rhoddais hefyd fiswrn ar dy
wyneb.
20. Ffieidd-dra anrheithiol.
21. Ac wedi iddo roi diolch efe
a'i torres.
22. Ffigyswydd gwylltion.
BISHOP PARRY.
10. Yr hwn y gosodais yr
anialwch yn dy iddo : a'r
diffaethwch yn drigfa iddo.
Job 39 6
11. Cof yw gennym y pyscod yr
oeddym yn ei fwytta.
Num. ii s
12. Y llinynau a syrthiodd i mi
mewn lleoedd hyfryd.
Psalm i6 6
13. Ac arweiniwyd gyd ag ef
hefyd ddau ddrwgweithred-
wyr eraill i'w rhoi i'w
marwolaeth. St. Luke 233'
14. Yn medru trin tarian a
bwccled. i Chron. 1 2 8
1 5. O honoch eich dau.
Gen. 27
1 6. Rhoddasant yn 61 eu gallu i
dryssor-dy y gwaith un fil a
thriugain o ddracmonau aur,
a phum mil o bunnoedd o
arian. Ezra 2 6 9
17. A chafwyd yn Achmetha.
Ezra 6 2
1 8. Drwg diobaith ydy w. Jer. 27'
19. Rhoddais hefyd dlws ar dy
dalcen. Ezek. 16 I2
20. Ffieidd-dra anghyfaneddol.
St. Matt. 24 's
21. Ac a'i bendithiodd ac a'i
torrodd. St. Mark 14 "
22. Sycamorwydden.
St. Luke 1*
IQ2
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
BISHOP MOIU;AX.
23. Dy adnabod ti yr unic wir
Dduw.
24. Yr adnevvyddir pob peth.
25'
Yn ol hir amser.
26. Canys y mae synwyr y cnawd
yn farwolaeth.
27. Ni wn i fy mod yn euog o
ddim.
28. Terfysg.
29. Gan ryglyddu
mhob dim. '
bodd ym
BISHOP PARRY.
23. Dy adnabod di yr uni.; v;ir
I )duw. St. Jo Jin 1 7 a
24. Hyd amseroedd adferiad
pob peth. Acts 3 al
25. Ac wedi i dalm o amser
fyned heibio. Acts 27 9
26. Syniad y cnawd manvolaeth
yw. Romans 8 6
27. Ni wn i ddim arnaf fy hun.
i Cor. 4 *
28. Anghydfyddiaethau.
2 Cor. 12 20
29. Gan ddwyn ffrwyth ym
mhob gweithred dda.
Col. i I0
30. Canys byw i mi yw Crist,
a marw sydd elw, Phil, i "
31. Brychau a meflau ydynt.
2 Peter 2 '3
32. Telynau a phiolau aur.
Rev. 5 *
From these examples it is fairly obvious that all the changes
made were not improvements. A noted instance is number (10),
where the word diffaethivch has been substituted for morfa. The
English translation is " barren land " (with " salt places " in the
margin). Bishop Morgan's word morfa certainly embodies that
idea, whereas diffaethwch may be any desolate place not partaking
of that marshy character. And as Dr. Parry inserts halendir in
the margin, it is very difficult to see why he made the change.
In example (u) he has ei fwytta instead of the plural eu
bwytta, which is obviously required after pyscod. This was
corrected in 1799 in the S.P.C.K. edition published at Oxford
at the instigation of the Rev. Thomas Jones, curate of Creaton. 1
1 Ballinger's Bible itt Wales t p. 20 (Bibliography)
30. Canys byw i mi (yw) Crist,
ac elw yw marw.
31. Brychau ydynt a tharys-
clynau.
32. Telynau a chrythau aur.
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
In example (13) Parry's translation is again at fault, for the
inference is that more than two malefactors were led with our
Lord to their death. The Bible Society corrected this mistake.
In the duoglot Testament published by the Clarendon Press in
1826 under the supervision of the Rev. John Jones, M.A. (loan
Tegid), the verse is more correctly translated : " Ac arweiniwyd
gyd ag ef hefyd ddau eraill, drwgweithredwyr, i'w rhoi i'w marwol-
aeth."
In example (14) the 1620 translation makes the soldier fight
with a shield and a buccula (bwcclcd). The buccula* was really
part of the helmet the beaver or cheek- piece; so that the
learned bishop's portrait is that of a soldier clad in armour, but
having no weapon of defence, whereas Bishop Morgan arms him
with a spear (gwaiw-ffon). It is strange that Dr. John Davies
allowed this mistake to pass, for in his Latin -Welsh Dictionary
he gives buccula " bochig, anadlfa'r helm, crib yr helm."
In example (15) ill dau of the 1588 edition is incorrect.
Rebecca is speaking to Jacob, face to face, and the expression *'//
dau is only used of two who are absent. In this instance the
1620 edition is correct.
There is at least one clear instance in which the revisers fell
into the fault they sought to avoid number (32) in the above
list. The 1588 version had " telynau a chrythau aur," which
Bishop Parry changed into " telynau a.hiolau aur," thinking that
Morgan had translated the English vials as crythau, mistaking
it for viols. But Bishop Morgan had translated the Greek word
<ioAas as crythau, which is its correct meaning, for/^/and/^/'a/
are but corruptions of vial. So Bishop Parry fell into the snare,
which he mistakenly thought had caught his predecessor.*
1 Gweirydd ap Rhys (p. 411) confuses buccula with tucitla, two words
which have an entirely different meaning. The latter means a young cow, a
heifer ; in Cicero it is nsed for the bronze statue of a cow (at Athens, the work
of Myron).
* Ballinger remarks of the 1620 Bible : There were many errors ; and
about 1666, and afterwards about 1672. according to the British Museum
Catalogue, either Charles Edwards (the author of Hanes y Ffydd or
R [sic George] Griffith, D,D., Bishop of St, Asaph), prepared and published
104
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
It is admitted by those competent to judge that either of
the two Welsh translations (1588 and 1620) of the Scriptures is
equal to any, and superior to many that have appeared. ^ Vales'
debt of gratitude to those responsible for them can never
adequately be expressed. It was a labour of love on their part
from beginning to end. Dr. John Davies states that he went
back to his heavy task from the lighter ones, which he had to
perform in the daily routine of his life as incumbent of a country
parish, with increased zest and redoubled energy, which shows
how near it lay to his heart. Many generations have enjoyed the
fruits of their labour, and their influence upon Wales can never
be estimated.
Part of the reward of Bishop Parry and Dr. Davies has been
that their work has remained, with slight variations, the standard
translation of the Scriptures for three centuries. These variations
are not very material. They affect the orthography, sometimes
the change in initial mutations, the printing in capitals of many
proper names, the division of chapters into paragraphs, and
occasional supplementary words. But in the main, all impressions
that have since appeared, are but transcripts of the great edition
of 1620. l It is to Wales what the present Authorised Version
of 1 6 1 1 is to England. But it must be remembered that Bishop
Parry's translation deprived Wales of some of the fruit of Bishop
Morgan's scholarship. It followed the 1611 English Bible. The
greatest tribute to Bishop Morgan is that the improved renderings
introduced in the Revised Version of the English Bible are in
many cases identical with those in his 1588 Bible, which proves
that he had translated directly from the original.
A further and very important step was taken in the dissemi-
nation of the Scriptures in 1630, when there was issued :
a foolscap folio sheet (4 pp.) of errata, entitled Sonic Omissions and Mistakes
in the British Translation and Edition of the Bible appoint id to be had and
read in the Churches in Wales, to be supplied and rectified" The Bible in
Wales t p. 8 (Bibliography).
1 Llewelyn's Welsh Versions t p. 33.
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
"Y Bibl Cyssegr-lan, sef yr Hen Destament a'r Newydd.
2 Tim. 3. 1 6, 17 Printiedig yn Llundain, gan Robert
Barker, Pnntiwr i Ardderchoccaf fawrhydi y Brenin ; a
chan Assignes John Bill. Anno Dom., 1630."
This Bible was popularly known as Y Bibl Bach, a name
given it by Vicar Prichard in Canwyll y Cymry, in the following
lines :
" Mae'r bibl bach yn awr yngysson,
Yn iaith dy fam i'w gael er coron,
Gwerth dy grys cyn bod heb hwnnw,
Mae'n well na thre dy dad i'th gadw."
Quoted from the 1672 edition, p. 8.
It was also known as Beibl Midltwn. Mr. Ballinger, in his
excellent book, The Bible in Wales, states that it is not improba-
ble that the Rev. Robert Llwyd, Vicar of Chirk, Denbighshire,
corrected the press for this edition " (p. 9, Bibliography).
Mr. J. H, Davies, M.A., states that he has seen two editions
of the Scriptures printed in 1630; the title pages are exactly
similar, but there are many distinctions up to the end of the fifth
sheet, which he enumerates. 1
This was the first portable Welsh Bible, and the two men
most directly responsible for its publication were Sir Rowland
Heilyn and Sir Thomas Middleton. (The names are often spelt
Hey tin and Myddelton.}
It is hard to realise that the Bible had not yet found its way
into Welsh homes. Dr. Llewelyn writes : 3 " There was no
provision made for the country, or for the people in general ; as
if they had nothing to do with the Word of God, at least no
further than they might hear it, in their attendance in public
worship, once in the week. This is astonishing ! "
Astonishing as it is, it can be partly accounted for by the
reasons given in the introductory chapter to this work, viz., that
there was no printing-press in Wales, and almost insurmountable
difficulties stood in the way of the production of so vast a work
as this proved to be. It necessitated the presence of some one
1 Trans, of Cvmmrod. Sac., 1897-8, p. 17. -Bible Versions, p. 36
10$
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
on the spot to read the proof-sheets. It is well known what
obstacles Bishop Morgan had to overcome. The difficulties were
far more tangible than many suppose, and it requiries a little
effort of the imagination at this date to realise them even
remotely. It is matter for deep thankfulness that the great
Elizabethan Bishop got his work published when he did, and that
Bishop Parry and Rowland Heilyn (the one for the Churches
and the other for the people) achi eved their respective tasks before
the beginning of the Civil War, which might have put back the
project for a considerable time.
The Bible of 1630 was much more useful to the country
as a whole than the large folio volumes of Morgan and Parry.
One writer truly remarks that the advantages of a large folio are
not very obvious even in churches. The octavo, on the other
hand, can be adapted to most uses, and is at the same time so
much cheaper that it comes within the means of most ordinary
individuals.
It is to Welsh citizens settled in London that the praise is
due for this foresight on behalf of their countrymen. London
Welshmen have won the reputation of a high patriotic sense of
duty to the land of their birth. So many instances can be
recorded in the past, and recalled in the present, of this noble
spirit on the part of the Cymry of the Metropolis, that it has
become almost second -nature to look to them for help and
guidance in the solution of those problems which involve the
highest interests of Wales. For the advancement of religion and
the spread of education they are, and always have been, ready to
extend a helping hand. This was so in the seventeenth century
in the notable instance now under consideration. Living amidst
the greatest advantages this land can offer, but always mindful of
those qualities in their race which would utilise such to the full,
if they possessed them, they have often applied their minds to the
problem how to bring such advantages, or some part of them,
within the reach of their countrymen in the Principality, and it
has usually been solved in the same generous way as Sir Rowland
IQ7
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Heilyn and Sir Thomas Middleton solved it in the seventeenth
century. " With a noble concern for the good of their fellow-
subjects they procured at their own expense an octavo impression
of the Welsh Bible." *
Strype, in his Survey of London, states that " Mr. Rowland
Heilyn, an Alderman of London, sprung from Wales, charitably
and nobly, at his own cost and charges, in the beginning of the
reign of Charles I., caused the Welsh Bible to be printed." 2 He
refers, of course, to the 1630 Bible. But Sir Thomas Middleton,
also a native of Wales and a Magistrate and Alderman of London,
co-operated with Heilyn and shared the burden of expense.
About 1500 copies were printed, it is said,3 but this rests only
on a computation made by Thomas Rees and based on the
number of parishes. 4 Moses Williams states that the Welsh
preface to this Bible " bespeaks the Curator of the Press to be a
native of Duffryn Clwyd, at least to have lived a considerable time
somewhere in that neighbourhood." (Ballinger's " Bible in
Wales" p. 28). The implication is that Robert Llwyd, Vicar of
Chirk, who was known to be in London at the time, was responsi-
ble for this work. The print of the 1630 Bible is rather small.
The Prayer Book at the beginning and Pry's Psalms at the end
have each a separate title page.
Of those responsible for the financial side of the undertaking,
Rowland Heilyn (?- 1637) was a native of Montgomery-
shire, of the family of Pentreheilyn.s The Heilyns, as the name
implies (it means cup-bearer or butler) were hereditary cup-bearers
to the Princes of Powys. Rowland Heiiyn settled in London
and accumulated great wealth, which he freely dispensed in
religious charities. Not only did he contribute towards the
publication of this edition of the Bible, but also to the Llwy:>r
Hyffordd and Dr. Davies' Dictionary, for the benefit of his
countrymen. Williams in his Eminent Welshmen states that he
became Sheriff of London. 6
1 Llewelyn's Versions, p. 38. 2 Vol ii. b. 5, p. 142 (1720 Ed.).
linger's Bible in Wales, p. 9 (Bibliography). 4 ibid, p. 28. B This residence
is in the Parish of Llandysilio. 6 See also Cam. Reg., 1795, P- 2 79-
1 08
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
The Heilyns in older times had been noted for their extrava-
gance of the public money. This gave rise to the saying " Hael
Heilyn o god y wlad." 1 But Rowland Heilyn's generosity was of
a different stamp. His character is summed up by Barnard and
Vernon in Dr. Peter Heilyn's Life (1663) as "a man of singular
goodness." Peter Heilyn was his nephew, and was in high favour
with Charles I. and Archbishop Laud.
Sir Thomas Middleton (?-i63i), his coadjutor in this
good work, was the fourth son of Richard Middleton, of Denbigh.
He was Lord Mayor of London in 1613, and was a brother of the
great Sir Hugh Middleton and the bard Gwilym Ganoldref. His
father, Richard Middleton, had settled in London as a goldsmith,
and had amassed a great fortune, with part of which he had
founded Chirk Castle, in 1595, as the family estate. 2
As a sequel to the publication of this crown octavo edition
of the Bible, an anonymous book appeared in 1631, entitled
Car-wry Cymru. Its object was to exhort the Cymry to make
use of the Scriptures now brought within their reach. Amongst
its contents is a Welshman's prayer for forgiveness for his neglect
of the Scriptures hitherto, a prayer that his heart may be humbled
to keep this law, Morning and Evening Prayer for family worship,
Morning and Evening Prayer to be used on Sundays by the head
of the family, a Grace before Meat and after Meat, a letter to the
reader by Robert Llwyd, Vicar of Y Waun, and an exhortation in
English " To all the Worthy and True-hearted Well-willers and
furtherers of the Spiritual weale of Wales who have put their
helping hands and hearts to that late, necessary, and worthy
worke of Setting forth the Bible in Welsh in a small volume."
The book ends with T/ie Pronunciation of the Letters in the
British Tongue, and A Comparison of the Letters in Welsh to the
Greeke and Hebrew Letters. By Edward Kyffin. Stephen
1 Cambrian Register, 1795, P- 2 7%- 2 The Middletons or Miltons, as
they are sometimes called, lived previously at Gwaenynog. Sir Thomas
Middleton, the son of the above named helper of Rowland Heilyn, took the
side of Parliament in the Civil War, but afterwards went over to the King.
Sec Gwallter Mechaii.'s /itvvtf, vol. ii. p. 434.
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Hughes, in 1671, acknowledged the great liberality of Sir Thomas
Middleton in the production of the 1 630 Bible, in these words : J
" Y mae y coffaciwriaeth o Syr Thomas Middleton am y gwaith
hwnnw yn anrhydeddus, ac yn fendigedig yng Nghymru, ac a fydd
felly tra fo crefydd Gristionogawl ynddi."
There was an edition of the New Testament published in
1641, although its existence has often been doubted. Mr. J. H.
Davies has, however, cleared all uncertainty on this point. He
found a copy in the possession of the Rev. W. Thomas, and gives
the full title-page in the Transactions of the Cymmrodorion Society,
1897-8, on page 20, as follows :
Testament j Newydd | Ein j Harglwydd | A'n | Hiachawd-
wr | lesu Grist | Rhuf. i. xvi. | Nid oes arnaf gywilydd o
Efengyl Grist | oblegid gallu Duw yw hi er Jechydwriaeth i
bob | un ar sydd yn credu j [Engraving of the English Arms
with the mottoes, " Honi soit qui mal y pense," and " Dieu et
mon droit "] | Argraphwyd yn y flwyddyn M.D.CXLI. |
In 1647 appeared :
" Testament Newydd ein Harglwydd a'n Hiachawdwr Jesu
Grist. Rhuf. i 16 Printiedig yn Llundain gan
Matthew Symmons yn ymyl y Hew goreurog yn heol
Aldersgat. 1647."
It is rather a stodgy volume with the lines printed right
across the page, and not in columns. It was printed at the
instance of Vavasor Powell and Walter Cradoc. Brook mentions
a Testament procured by the latter " for the use of the common
people," 2 and this is probably the edition to which he refers.
There were two issues of the New Testament, both bearing the
date 1647 (Ballinger's Bible in Wales, p. 30). They agree as to
paging and size, but the type differs. They are both very incorrect.
Mr. John Ballinger states that " this edition was the first by
and for Nonconformists,'^ from which it must be inferred that he
'Gwallter Mechain's Works, vol. ii., p. 435. 2 Brook's Life of the
Puritans, vol. iii. p. 386. 3 The Bible in Wales, p. 10 (Bibliography).
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
doubts the existence of the 1643 edition of the New Testament,
reputed to be the work of William Wroth and Walter Cradoc. 1
There were 1,000 copies of the 1647 edition orinted, and the
impression is full of printer's errors.
The next important edition of the whole Bible was published
in 1654-56, entitled :
"Bibl Cyssegr-lan, sef yr Hen Destament a'r Newydd.
2 Tim. 3. 1 6, 17 [quoted]. Printiedig yn Llundain gan James
Flesher, ac a werthir gan Thomas Brewster, tan lun y tri Bibl
yn ymmyl Pauls, yn y Flwyddyn 1654."
This was the second edition of the Bible in octavo, and the
fourth publication of the whole of the Scriptures in Welsh, and
consisted of six thousand copies. The supply of the 1630 Bioles
and the 1647 Testaments was now exhausted, and it was possible
to guage the number likely to be required to prevent an early
shortage. Hence this big venture, for it was a very considerable
supply for those days. Dr. Llewelyn, who complains " that we
are not informed to whom we are particularly obliged for this
supply," was disposed to ascribe it to the temper of the nation
and of the times in which it was granted.
As it was published in the first year of the Protectorate, it
was commonly called "Cromwell's Bible." 2 There is also a
tradition that Cromwell contributed to the cost of publishing it.
The Scriptures had now had some time to percolate into the
lives of the people, and realising their worth, there was no doubt
a steady demand for them. The mottoes of the time were
Scriptural, and the temper of the age is also witnessed in its battle
cries, its medals, and its incriptions. The name "Cromwell's
Bible " may possibly have had something to dc with the Crom-
wellian Commissioners, who had been at work for seme time in
Wales by this date. It may indicate the intere.';t of these men in
securing the edition.
1 Llyfr y Cymry, p. 132. 2 Llewelyn incidentally remarks that Cromwell's
ancestors are said to have come from Wales, and were originally named
Williams,
III
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Edmund Prys' Psalms, dated 1656, appeared at the end.
Stephen Hughes states that the cost of a copy was six shillings. 1
Another edition of the New Testament appeared in 1654,
entitled :
" Testament Newydd ein Harglwydd a'n Hiachawdwr Jesu
Grist. London. Printed by M. S. for John Allen at the
Sun-rising in St. Panl's Churchyard. 1654."
Although it is mentioned by Charles Edwards in Y Ffydd
Ddi-FJuant( Oxford, 1671), p. 152, no copy of this edition is
known to bibliographers. He states that 6,000 copies were
printed in small type, and a ceitain number in larger type, " er
mwyn hen bobl, a rhai a fyddent a golugon gwannach." It is
said to have contained also a metrical version of the Psalms.
Rowlands' Cambrian Bibliography states that an edition of
the whole Scriptures was issued in i67i, 2 and attributes it to
Thomas Gouge and Stephen Hughes, but he has probably con-
fused it with the 1672 edition of the New Testament, which
appeared under the title :
" Testament Newydd ein Harglwydd a'n Hiachawdwr Jesu
Grist. The New Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ. Rhuf. I. 16 Printiedig yn Llundain gan E.
Tyler a R. Holt, dros Samuel Gellibrand, tan lun y Bel (at
the Ball) ym Monwent Powls. 1672."
This edition reached to two thousand copies, and was
edited by Stephen Hughes, who states that he was assisted by
Hugh Edwards, of Llangadoc, Carmarthenshire ; David Thomas,
of Margam : Samuel Jones, of Brynllywarch, Llangynwyd, Gla-
morganshire ; William Lloyd, of St. Petrox, Pembrokeshire ; and
possibly Thomas Gouge, although he is not named by Stephen
Hughes in his Letter preceding the 1672 edition of Canwylly
Cymru, from which the other names are taken. Gouge had,
however, started his beneficent work in the Principality in 1671.
Gwilym Lleyn must have been misled as to a 1671 edition of the
1 Preface to 1672 edition of Canwyll y Cymry. * Llyfr. y Cymry, p. 198.
1X2
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
Bible ; no copy of this Bible has yet been found by any biblio-
grapher, and if 6,000 copies had been printed in that year, it is
unreasonable to suppose that they were so entirely exhausted by
1677-8 as to necessitate a new edition in so short a time, in
addition to the 2,000 New Testaments produced in 1672. This
impression of the New Testament is preceded by the Psalms, as
in the Prayer Book, and followed by Prys' metrical version.
The 1677-8 edition was a very important work. Its title
ran :
"Y Bibl Cyssegr-lan, sef yr Hen Destament a'r Newydd.
II. Tim. iii. 16, 17 Printiedig yn Llundain gan John
Bill, Christopher Barker, Tho. Newcomb, a Henry Hills,
Printwyr i Ardderchoccaf fawrhydi y Brenin : ac a werthir
gan John Hancock, tan lun y tri Bibl yn Popes -Head Alley,
yn Cornhill. 1677."
Upon inquiry made in 1674, it was ascertained that not
above 20 copies of the 1654 Bible remained on sale in London
and not above 32 throughout England and Wales. 1 This
occasioned a new octavo edition which appeared in 1677-8, which
consisted of a number of copies issued without the Apocrypha
and Prayer Book, and a small number of copies without the
Apocrypha only. The learned author of Versions of the Bible
relates that " one thousand of them were immediately given away
among the poor, and the rest were reserved and disposed in
proper places, to be sold at four shillings per copy bound." The
Duke of Bedford, 1613-1700 (William Russell, fifth Earl and
first Duke of Bedford), contributed largely to the expense of the
thousand free copies. Archbishop Tillotson had given the
strongest support to Thomas Gouge and Stephen Hughes in this
great undertaking. Tillotson and Gouge were good friends, and
among the works of the former is a " Sermon on the death of
Mr. Gouge." The latter had done so much for the dissemination
of the Scriptures and other good books in the Welsh tongue that
something of the story of his life must be given here.
1 Dr. Llewelyn's Versions^ p. 43.
"3
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Thomas Gouge (1605-1681) was the son of Dr. William
Gouge, Rector of Blackfriars, London. He was born in 1605,
and educated at Eton and King's College, Cambridge, where he
was elected to a fellowship, which he subsequently exchanged for
the living of Colsden, near Croydon. After a short stay there he
removed to St. Sepulchre, London, where he laboured strenuously
from 1638 to 1662. He was a moderately wealthy, but extremely
generous man, and his assistance to the many poor in his parish
was proverbial. Some of his means he employed in inducing the
ignorant poor to attend his classes held every morning in the
church. He supplied work to many who would undertake it,
doling out "flax and hemp for them to spin," 1 and paying them
generously. In 1662 he resigned his living because he refused to
submit to the Act of Uniformity. London's loss proved a great
gain to Wales, where he transferred his educational energy and
zeal in 1 6 7 1 . He had been led by reading the life of Joseph Alleine
to pursue the same ideal, by devoting his life to the spread
of the Gospel in Wales. 2 He held a licence from some of the
bishops to preach in Wales. 3 His first visit to this country
impressed him with its lack of educational advantages, and the
ignorance which prevailed in consequence. He established many
schools in different parts, more especially in the towns, and he
directed his efforts to secure that the children of the poor should
be taught to read and write English and be carefully grounded
in religious principles, and that good books should be circulated
to counteract vice. In 1674 Gouge's efforts were supplemented by
the establishment of a " Welsh Trust "* for promoting his work
on a larger scale. Under the direction of Gouge and supported
by Dr. Tillotson, Dean of Canterbury, Benjamin Whichcot,
Edward Stillingfleet, Richard Baxter, Matthew Poole, Thomas
Firmin and many other philanthropists, this Welsh Trust main-
tained a large number of Charity Schools in North and South
Wales. One of its designs was the "printing and buying of
1 Calamy's Ejected Ministers, vol. i. p. 185. 2 The Bible in Wales, p. 35.
3 Calamy's Ejected Ministers, p. 186. 4 Article in the Transactions of the
Cymmrodorion Society (1904-05), p. 81, by the Rev. T. Shapkland, M.A,
U4
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
Welsh books for free distribution among the poor." For this
work Gouge enlisted the help of many Welshmen, notably Stephen
Hughes, Charles Edwards, Richard Jones, William Jones, David
Jones and James Owen. These men translated, edited, and con-
tributed original works of great literary merit for the movement,
which the Trust published and freely distributed among the poor.
Among them the following may be mentioned as examples : Holl
Ddyledsivydd Dyn, 1672, 2,000 copies; Testament Newydd, 1672,
2,000 copies; Yr Ymarfer o Dduiuioldeb, 1675, 2,000 copies;
Hyfforddiadau Christionogol, 1675, 3,500 copies ; Y Bibl, 1677-8,
8,000 copies. The educational work and the free distribution
of these devotional books in the Welsh language led to the literary
revival of this period. Thomas Gouge died in 1681. He had
been a great benefactor to Wales, a .most benevolent and self-
sacrificing man, who gave two -thirds of his income towards charit-
able and educational objects. After his death, the Trust gradually
withdrew its labours from Wales to London, where it ultimately
led to the foundation of the Society for the Promotion of Christian
Knowledge in 1698-9,' so it will be seen that the "Trust" pro-
moted by Gouge was the culminating point of a movement which
spread far beyond the confines of Wales.
The 1677-8 edition of the Bible comprised the Book of
Common Prayer, the Apocrypha, and the Metrical Version of the
Psalms. The Bible itself was printed in 1677, the Prayer Book
and Psalms in 1678; and the whole work appeared early in the
latter year.
The accuracy of this edition has often been remarked. The
1654 edition ("Cromwell's Bible," as it was called) had been
printed very incorrectly. There were instances in which " whole
words and parts of sentences had been omitted." 2 To rectify
these mistakes and to guard against others, Mr. Stephen Hughes
undertook to read the proofs, and performed his task so well that
very few blemishes appear. He was an educated Welshman and
thoroughly acquainted with the literary language of his nation,
* Manual of Welsh /./., pp. 166-7. "Llewelyn's Versions, p. 46,
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
and has deserved well of his country for his unostentatious efforts
in this and many other good works. Calamy's verdict has been
endorsed by those who are well able to judge that " this edition
was well printed and came out very correct." 1
Stephen Hughes (1622-1688), who did so much for the
enlightenment of the Cymry of that age, was born at Carmarthen
in 1622. Nothing is known of his early education, but he was a
man who possessed considerable literary powers, and, in addition,
the more distinctive Cymric characteristic of burning eloquence,
and a missionary zeal quite unrivalled amongst his contemporaries.
Calamy describes him as "a plain, methodical, affectionate
preacher, who insisted much upon the great and substantial things
of religion." 2 He was given the benefice of Mydrim in 1654,
took possession in 1655, and was deprived in 1660.
He saw the importance of Gouge's movement, and was one
of the first to help him, and it shows how well he understood his
countrymen when he proceeded to collect Vicar Prichard's poems
and to publish them. The complete work, as it left the hands of
its first editor, was published under the title Canwyll y Cymry in
1 68 1, and will be noticed later, along with the other works which
were the fruit of Stephen Hughes' labours. Calamy describes the
Bible of 1677-8 as "the best extant edition of the old British
Bible." 3 Stephen Hughes died in 1688,* some little time before
the publication of another edition of the Bible, in which he had
been interested.
This appeared in 1689-90 under the title :
" Y Bibl Cyssegr-lan, sef yr Hen Destament a'r Newydd.
Printiedig yn Llundain gan Charles Bill, a Thomas Newcomb,
Printwyr i Ardderchoccaf Fawrhydi y Brenin a'r Frenhines,
1689."
In twelve years, the eight thousand Bibles of Thomas Gouge
and Stephen Hughes' edition were exhausted, and the book again
became scarce and dear, but the latter lived long enough to know
1 Calamy's Ejected Ministers, vol. ii. p. 718. * Nomonjormisfs Afemortal,
Hi. p. 498. 3 ibid. 4 Dr. Llewelyn in his Bible Versions, p. 48, gives 1687
as the year of his death, but is incorrect,
116
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
the fresh need of his countrymen, and to prepare to meet it ; so
he exerted himself once again, but died, as stated above, in 1688,
a year before the edition he had set on foot was printed. The
1 690 impression, according to Calamy, consisted of ten thousand
copies, and the editor was Mr. David Jones, Llandyssilio, 1 who
took great trouble with the work, but failed to maintain the
standard of accuracy established by Stephen Hughes. The
principal patron of this publication was Lord Wharton, a noble-
man who had been very prominent in promoting the Revolution
of 1688, who proved a very faithful servant to William III., and
was afterwards one of Queen Anne's ministers " in the glorious
part of her reign." 2
This was the last public edition of the seventeenth century.
David Jones had been assisted in the work by several citizens of
London, and many of the nobility had lent their support to the
enteiprise. This Bible was the fourth octavo impression of the
whole of the Scriptures issued since 1630. It is lacking in many
respects compared with the 1677-8 edition. Neither print, paper,
nor characters are as good as in that impression. Lord Wharton,
who did so much to promote it, left a will in which he desired
that a certain number of books should be distributed yearly to
candidates who complied with his conditions. Dr. Llewelyn
erroneously states that it was Thomas, Lord Wharton, who left
this will, and Gwilym Lleyn has followed him in this. The
inscription printed on these presentation Bibles disposes of the
mistake. It runs as follows : " Philip, Lord Wharton, died
February 4, 1696, aged 83, and by his will left to his Trustees
certain estates in Yorkshire, the proceeds of which are to be
devoted each year to the distribution of Bibles and other books.
By the terms of the will the ist, i5th, 25th, 37th, joist,
ii3th, and i45th Psalms should be learnt, if possible, by the
recipient."
A new supply of large Bibles for the churches was also
issued in 1690. Its title ran :
1 Nonconformist" 1 s Memorial, Hi. p. 497. - Dr. Llewelyn's Versions^
p. 49.
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
" Y Beibl Cyssegr-lan, sef, yr Hen Destament a'r Newydd.
Rhydychain, Printiedig yn yTheatr yn y flwyddyn MDCXC."
This was the first time for the Scriptures in Welsh to be
printed out of London.
The large Church Bibles had been issued seventy years
before by Bishop Parry, and must, by this, have been in a very
dilapidated state. Bishop William Lloyd, of St. Asaph, was
chiefly instrumental in securing the new supply. It was known as
Beibl yr Esgob Lloyd* The work was supervised by the Rev
Pierce Lewis, an Anglesey man, a native of Llanfihangel Tre'r
Beirdd, and an alumnus of Jesus College, Oxford, where he was
known as the Welsh Rabbi?. Richard Morris, brother of the
great Lewis Morris o Fon (patron of Goronwy Owen), states that
he saw the proof sheets of this edition in Pierce Lewis' home in
Anglesey, and insists that the latter was entirely responsible for
the work, in that Bishop Lloyd knew no Welsh. 3 In a letter of
Richard Morris', which appeared in the Greal, 1805, p. 282, a
description of Pierce Lewis' work is given.
Although this Bible was intended to correct many mistakes,
especially printers' errors in later copies of the Scriptures in Welsh,
it is a most imperfect edition and suffers much from comparison
with Bishop Parry's Bible of 1620. It restored the orthography
in proper names according to the text of that work. The Mosaical
dates appear for the first time on the margins of this edition;
This, at least, must be attributed to Bishop Lloyd, for he had ;
written a work on the chronology of the Bible.
It is difficult to ascertain what share, apart from this, Lloyd
had in the project. If Richard Morris' contention is correct,
it was probably limited to his patronage of the work, owing to his
knowledge of the requirements of the churches. And it is not
unlikely that he supported it with financial aid. It would hardly
1 Llyfr. y Cymry. p. 248. 2 The rest of his record, as given in the
Alumni Oxon : is as follows: Matriculated at Jesus College, Oxon,, 1681
aged 17; B.A., 1684; M. A., 1688 ; Rector of Llanfachreth, in Anglesey,
1690 ; Vicar of a moiety of Bangor, 1693 ; Rector of Llanfairfechan. 1698.
3 Llyfr. y Cvmry, p. 248. The bard Edward Morus states otherwise,
118
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
have been called " Bishop Lloyd's Bible," if he had not been
prominent in some way in its publication.
It became the fashion in later days to minimise the work of
English-speaking bishops in their efforts for the Principality.
'Granted that it was a bad principle to appoint such men, if
eminent Welsh -speaking Welshmen could be found (and there is
no gainsaying this contention), it is equally wanting in principle
to ignore the labours they engaged in after they had been
appointed, and to fail to do them the justice they deserve for
many efforts on their part to promote not only the highest spiritual
interests of the Principality, but also the general welfare of the
wider community in which Wales had merged itself, and from
which it derived many advantages, even if it had to endure some
disadvantages.
Bishop William Lloyd was the son of the Rev. Richard
Lloyd, B.D., of Henblas, Anglesey. He v.as born at Tilehurst in
Berkshire, where his father was Vicar, in 1627, x and was educated
at Oriel College, Oxford, but afterwards proceeded to Jesus College,
where he became Scholar and Fellow. Henry Vaughan was a
contemporary of his at that College. In 1654 he became Rector
of Bradfield in Berkshire, a benefice given him by the Cromwellian
Commissioners. In 1660 he was made Prebend of Ripon, and
in 1666 Chaplain to Charles II. His first preferment in Wales
was to the Archdeaconry of Merioneth in 1668, from which he
passed to the. Deanery of Bangor in 1672, and the bishopric
of St. Asaph in 1680, in which See he succeeded the eminent
scholar and writer Isaac Barrow, 2 a man of great intellectual force,
who was previously Master of Trinity, Cambridge, and whom
Charles II. described as "the best scholar in England."3 It was
while Lloyd was Bishop of St. Asaph that he suffered imprison-
ment in the Tower along with six other bishops who refused to
read James II. 's " Declaration for Liberty of Conscience " in 1688,
William III. rewarded him by making him Lord Almoner in 1688,
1 Williams' Eminent Welshmen, pp. 287-8. 2 Athen : Oxon ; ii. pp.
IO&8 - 1092. 3 Garnett and Gosse, Hist, of Eng. ZiV., vol. iii. p. 122.
119
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
and subsequently Bishop of Worcester. He was one of the
stoutest opponents of Popery, and in a life crowded with work he
found time to publish many pamphlets directed against Rome.
Amongst his numerous writings may be mentioned :
" The late Apology in behalf of the Papists, reprinted and
answered in behalf of the Royalists. 1667."
"A Seasonable Discourse showing the Necessity of maintain-
ing the Established Religion in opposition to Popery."
1672-3.
" Considerations touching the true way to suppress Popery in
this Kingdom."
" An Historical Account of Church Government as it was in
Great Britain and Ireland when they first received the
Christian Religion," 1684.
He also compiled a " History of the Church of England,"
which he asked Dr. Gilbert Burnet to write, and furnished him
with a curious collection of his own observations. Two of his
theological works are : " The Harmony of the Gospel " and
"The Chronology of the Bible." He also published several
sermons and tracts against Popery. He died at the advanced age
of 90, in 1717.
(b) THE EDITIONS OF THE PSALMS AND THE
BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER.
I. THE EDITIONS OF THE PSALMS.
The first edition of the Psalms in metrical form appeared in
1603, under the title :
" Psalmae y Brenhinol Brophwyd Dafydh, gwedi i cynghan-
edhu mewn mesurau cymreig. Gann Gapten Wiliam Mid-
delton. Yn nesaf y galhodh at fedhwl yr Yspryo*felan.
Simon Stafford a Thomas Salisbury a'i printiodhyn Llunden.
1603."
This book is pjinted in black letter, and has a letter "To
the Reader " by Ttiomas Salisbury. Captain Middleton, or
120
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
Myddleton as the name is more often spelt, was the third son
of Richard Myddleton, of Galch Hill, Governor of Denbigh
Castle, and was a literary man of considerable attainments. He
was a great friend of the well known grammarian, Dr. John
Dafydd Rhys, to whose Grammar he had added an appendix,
which contained several fine poems, and who writes of him in
glowing terms both as a friend, a soldier, and a bard. He refers
to him as " f y hen gyfaill caredig y milwr calonocaf ar for ac
ar dir, a'r mwyaf cyfarwydd niewn barddoniaeth Gymreig, Gwilym
Ganoldref." He had been educated at Oxford, either for the
Church or for the Bar, but had chosen the more adventurous
career of a soldier, and afterwards joined the Navy and attained
the rank of captain. He rendered good service in the war
between England and Spain, 1 and was quite a celebrity in his day.
The above named version of the Psalms was bis greatest
work. He finished it in January, 1595, in the island of Scutum
in the West Indies, 2 but it was not printed until after his death,
when the work was undertaken by his friend, Thomas Salisbury,
in 1603.
A Welsh writer quoted in Ancient and Modern Denbigh
makes the following observation of William Myddleton's effort,
which is described in that work as " an inimitable composition,"
and " a master piece of Weish alliteral concatenation :" " Er iddo
fod yn mhell o'i wlad enedigol, yr oedd ei serch yn fawr tuag atti,
ac er ei fod yn mhlith rhai oedd yn siarad iaith estronol, y
Gymraeg oedd iaith ei feddwl." 3
He had also issued another work in Welsh entitled Bardhon-
iaeth neu Brydydhiaeth, y Lhyfr Kyntaf, in 1593, which was
republished in 1710 in the Flores Poetarum Britannicorum. He
used the same orthography as John Dafydd Rhys.
William Myddleton's Psalms were reprinted at Llanfair-
1 An episode is related in Ancient and Modern Denbigh of his saving the
fleet in 1591, by his dogged watchfulness of the Spaniards, keeping in touch
with them the whole time, and giving timely warning to the English Admiral,
p. 150. 2 The note appende i to the book is: " Apud Scutum insulam
QccicUntalium Indent m" 3 Ancient and Modern Denbigh, p. 150.
J2I
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Caereinion, in 1827, with a masterly preface by the Welsh scholar
and poet, Walter Davies (Gwallter Mechain). But this version of
the Psalms never became popular, because the masses could not
follow the cynghanedd. Something lighter, freer, more flexible,
and more lyrical was needed before the psalms could come into
general use as spiritual songs in public worship.
Thomas Salisbury, who was responsible for printing the
work, was the son of Pierce Salisbury, of Clocaenog, Denbighshire.
He had been educated at Jesus College, Oxford, and is stated by
Wood to have been full of poetic fancy, and to have practised
that art while at the University. His " History of Joseph " in
English verse, in 1635, won him distinction, and justifies the
praise given him by the recorder of all the Oxford worthies of
that time, that he had ' : a natural geny to poetry and romance
.... and became a most noted poet of his time." x Wood
further states that he was an active supporter of the King's cause
in the beginning of the Rebellion, in 1642. He died in 1643.
An elegy signed by Edward Kyffin and entitled Mawl-gerdk
farwnad i Gapten William Middleton precedes the work, and also
a poem, by Thomas Price, of Plas lolyn, entitled Mawl-gerdh i*r
Awdur.
In the same year (1603) appeared "Rhann o Psalmae
Dafydd Brophwyd. I'w canu ar 61 y don arferedig yn Eglwys
Loegr. Simon Stafford a'i Printiodd yn Llunden dros T.S." 1603.
This metrical version of the Psalms for use in the Services of
the Church, was the work of Edward Kyffin, and contains but
thirteen psalms, together with a Welsh preface by the author.
Edward Kyffin (?-i6o3) was the son of Richard Kyffin, of
Glascoed, Llansilin, and the brother of Maurice Kyffin, the author
of the famous work Deffynniad Ffydd Eglwys Loet>r, who had
himself purposed to bring out a metrical translation of the psalms,
but had never found that leisure which he sought for his task.
But he probably inspired his brother to undertake it. In Maurice
1 A then : Oxon : ii., p. 30. See also Williams' Eminent Welshmen^
pp. 465-6.
122
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
Kyffin's will 1 he mentions Edward Kyffin as " a preacher." Very
little is known of the latter, except that he had finished fifty of
the psalms in their metrical form, before his death in 1603, but
of these only i. - xiii. were ever published, and that by the above-
mentioned Thomas Salisbury. Edward Kyffin died of the great
plague which visited this country in 1603, of which Vicar Prichard
wrote in his Canwyll y Cymry.
The merits of his version of the psalms are not great, but
when we remember the time and conditions of the work, Kyffin's
pioneer attempt to make the Psalms the ballads of the people
entitles him to a distinct place in Welsh literature.
This brings us to the third and most famous metrical version
of the psalms, which appeared in this century, and which has
remained the pre-eminent version up to the present time. It was
that published by the celebrated Archdeacon Edmund Prys
in 1621, under the title :
" Llyfr y Psalmau. Wedi eu cyfieithu a'i cyfansoddi ar Fesur
Cerdd yn Gymraec. Drwy waith Edmwnd Prys, Archdiacon
Meirionydd. Ai Printio yn Llundain, 1621."
This edition of the Psalms first came out as part of the Welsh
Book of Common Prayer published in i62i. 2
Edmund Prys (1541-1623-4) was the son of John Prys, of
Tyddyn Du, Maentwrog, and was born in 1541, as he himself
states in his Latin verses which preface Dr. Davies' Antiques
Lingutz Britannica". He was educated at St. John's College,
Cambridge, where he graduated in Arts, and afterwards proceeded
to Holy Orders. In 1572 he became Rector of Festiniog and
Maentwrog, and in 1580 Vicar of Llanddwywe, which living he
held in plurality. He was appointed Archdeacon of Merioneth
in 1576, a dignity he held for 47 years, and Canonicus Secundus
of St. Asaph in 1602.
' The woids are: "I gyve to my brother Edward Kyftin preacher the
some of one hundred and thirlie poundts, and all my bookes after my said
Cozen Mereu th shall have taken such as he likes l>est to his owne use," p. 284
of the late Mr. Wm. i'richaid Williams' edition of Deffynniad Ffydd Eghvys
Loegr. - Llyfr. y Cymry, p. 102.
123
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Thus far the Welsh nation had no body of sacred hymns
in their own language, which could be sung at public worship-
This deficiency was generally felt, and two men, William Myddleton
and Edward Kyffin, had already attempted to fill the void, with
but small measure of success. There was another, Dafydd Ddu
o Hiraddug, who also attempted the work a little earlier than the
two above-mentioned, but he had only translated twenty -six
psalms, and these were fettered by cynghanedd. Edmund Prys
had the intuition to see wherein the others had failed, and he
conceived the task of translating the psalms in the free metres
which would be understood by all. The method adopted by the
Archdeacon showed what a practical man he was, for, if tradition
does not err, 1 as he finished each psalm, he had it taught to his
congregation at Maentwrog during the week, in preparation for
the following Sunday service in which it was sung. Thus the
theory was tested by practice, and it proved so successful that it
encouraged Edmund Prys to proceed with his task and complete
it.
He employed twelve free metres in his translation, and there
are twelve hymn -tunes in his book, which correspond to them.
He sets forth his reasons for not using the twenty -four metres of
the alliterative system known as cynghanedd, as follows : " Tri
pheth a wnaeth na chyfieithwyd y- Salmau bendigaid ar yr un o'r
pedwar mesur ar hugain.
Un yw, am .na allwn ryfygu clymu yr Ysgrythyr Santaidd ar
fesur cyn gaethed, rhag i mi, wrth geisio cadw y mesurau, golli
meddwl yr Yspryd, ac felly pechu yn erbyn Duw, er mwyn
boddloni dyn.
Yn ail, y mae Gair Duw i'w ganu mewn cynulleidfa santaidd
o lawer ynghyd, i foliannu Duw yn un llais, un enaid, ac un
galon ; yr hyn a allant wneuthur ar y mesur gwael hwn, ac ni allai
ond un ganu cywydd neu awdl.
Yn drydydd, pob plant, gweinidogion, a phobl annysgedig a
1 It would explain why he took so long to complete the long -'promised
task, but one would expect less blemishes in work tested in this way.
124
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
ddysgant bennill o garol, lie ni allai ond ysgolhaig ddysgu cywydd
neu gerdd gyfarwydd arall.. Ac o achos bod yn berthynol i bob
Cristion wybod ewyllys Duw, a'i foliannu ef, mi a ymadewais a'r
gelfyddyd, er mwyn bod pa-.vb yn rhwymedig i wario ei dalent at y
gorau. Hefyd, nid wyf fi yn cadw rao'r mesur esmwyth hwn yn
gywir ymhob man, am nad oes dim yn ein hiaith ni mewn synnwyr
i seinio nac i odli a Dmv. Am hynny, i roddi iddo ef ei ragor a
pioedd y gerdd, mi a rois amryw ddiphthongau eraill i gyfateb i'r
gair hwnnw, yn nesaf ag y medrwn."
The thoroughness with which he entered into the intricacies
of his task is seen from the fact that this metrical translation
forms an excellent commentary on many expressions in the
psalms which present difficulties. 1 Throughout his translations
the style is uniformly good, and it is one of the distinctive merits
of the work that Edmund Prys reduced the number of irrelevant
words (geiriau llanw) to a minimum. Anyone conversant with
the poetry of that age will recognise in this a considerable achieve-
ment.
The metre which he mostly employs is 8.7.8.7 with the
accent (ictus) on every second syllable. But there are many
cases of irregular accent, which some superficial critics have
ascribed to the Archdeacon's ignorance. Better acquaintance
with his work shows that it was designedly done in order to fit in
with the sense of the passage, or for the sake of variety. It has,
however, been pointed out with some justice 2 that the emphasis
is sometimes awkwardly placed, where, with a slight re-arrange-
ment, it could have been avoided :
y / > j
e.g. Gwrando arnaf fy Arglwydd byw.
can be better rendered :
/ / / *
O Gwrando arnaf f Arglwydd byw.
His rule is to rhyme the last syllable of the first and third
lines with the strong middle syllable of the second and fourth
lines respectively. This rhyming is called the awdl gyrch, and is
very effective, provided it is not used to the degree of monotony :
1 Sec Gwladgarwr, Oct., 1836. ! Gwaitk Gwalltcr Mefhain^ i. p. 541.
"5
e.g. Y sawl ni rodia dedwydd yw
Yn ol drwg ysiryw gyngor. i. r.
A variant, which the Archdeacon often uses, is to make the
last word in the first line alliterate with the strong accented word
in the next line :
e.g. Duw a fforddia ac a hoffa
Hy-ffordd y g\vr calonog. xxxvii. 23.
And a further variant is to employ the disguised or concealed
awdl (rhyme) :
e.g. Clyw, Arglwydd fi, herwydd o'ttiflatn
Yn hollawl mae'n nymuniad. xxxviii. 9.
His manipulation of these variants, without sacrificing in any
degree the full and clear meaning of the original, shows not only
that he was an illustrious bard, but also that he understood how to
apply the knowledge of the original languages which he had
acquired, to the genius of his own native tongue. His strong
epithets are really strong, and he always succeeds in presenting a
vivid picture to the mind. In a couple of words he often paints
a complete picture, and his language is commensurate in
strength with the idea he portrays : e.g., note the contrast between
storm and calm in the following expressions : mdr cynhyrfdon^
mdr tonlefn ; of on ffrydchwyrn, afonydd dyfrgrych.. In mdr
cynhyrfdon we are reminded of Goronwy Owain's "rhyferthwy
don," and the sea in a wild tumult of waves presents itself to our
vision. Both these bards were masters of concise and vivid
expression. Edmund Prys has also many of the Dafydd ab
Gwilym touches, and he was, no doubt, steeped in the works of
Wales' premier poet. That something of the latter is reflected in
Edmund Prys will be seen, for instance, by a comparison of
D. ab Gwilym's Cywydd y Daran with the following lines :
Dy daran modd fry'n y nen,
Dy fellt gwnaent wybren olau ;
Y ddaear isod a gyffrodd,
Ac a ddychrynodd hithau. Ps. Ixxvii, 16.
In some of the Archdeacon's lines there is a strident majesty
which well befits his theme :
e.g. Pan ddigiodd Duw, daeth daiar-gryn,
A sail pob bryn a siglodd ;
A chyffro drwy'r wlad ar ei hyd,
A'r boll fyd a gynhyrfodd. Ps. xviii. 8,
126
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
In others he succeeds in intensifying the original :
e.g. Duw, tor eu dannedd yn eu safn,
Diwreiddia'r llafn o dafod ;
Duw, dryllia'r bonau, a gwna'n don .
Bob grudd i'r c'nawon llewod. Iviii. 6.
No one understood the genius of the language better than
Edmund Prys, and his further poems, which must be deferred
for consideration under the chapter dealing with the poetry of
the seventeenth century, furnish ample testimony in support
of this statement, in addition to what has already been remarked.
It must not be forgotten that he had his share in the great
work of translating the 1588 Bible, and Bishop Morgan in his
preface expresses his obligation to him in the warmest terms.
What part he took in that work is not known.
The esteem in which he was held by the literati of his day
can be appreciated from the fact that Dr. John Davies, who
lived not more than a day's ride from him, in the parish of
Mallwyd, over the hills beyond Bwlch Oerddrws, dedicated his
Grammar to the Archdeacon. Edmund Prys wrote some elegant
Latin verses in commendation of that work, which appeared in
1621, the same year as his own magnum opus. In them he
mentions that he was eighty years of age, and this is one of the
two bits of evidence we have in support of 1541 as the year of
his birth, but it is fairly conclusive. 1 These verses bear the
impress of an intellect that was still virile and clear. There is no
vestige of that decrepitude which one would not be surprised
to find in the work of an octogenarian.
Edmund Prys died in 1623-4, and was buried in the chancel
of Maentwrog Church, where a grave was discovered, when the
church was being restored through the unstinted beneficence
of the late W. E. Oakeley, Esquire, of Plas Tan-y- Bwlch, in
1896, but no trace of any remains was found. The parishioners
have put up a beautiful -stained-glass window on the west side
of the church in the Archdeacon's memory. It has three lights,
1 The'other evidence is contained in a MS in the library at Plas Tan-y-
bwlch, Merionethshire.
127
and depicts on the right hand light, the Archdeacon in canonicals
holding a scroll in his left hand and turning in rapt attention to
listen to the strains of David's harp. The sweet singer of Israel
occupies the middle light, his hands sweeping the strings of his
instrument. On the left light is St. Twrog, also a rapt listener,
holding in his right hand a scroll, whilst his left is placed upon
Twrog's stone, which is reputed to have been that saint's first
pulpit.
The different editions of Edmund Prys' Psalms which
appeared in the seventeenth century are given below. They were
usually added as an appendix to Bibles and Prayer Books, but
that of 1648 was a separate edition.
1. The original edition of 1621, which formed part of the
Llyfr Gweddi Gyffredin issued in that year. The music of
twelve tunes is also printed. The title page is as follows :
Llyfr y Psalmau Wedi eu cyfieithu, a'i cyfansoddi ar fesur
cerdd, yn Gymraeg. Drwy waith Edmwnd Prys Archdiacon
Meirionydd, A'i Printio yn Llundain. 1621.
Bonham Norton and John Bill : London. 1621.
2. The 1630 edition, bound at the end of the 1630 Bible (the
octavo volume of Rowland Heilyn and Thomas Middleton).
3. The 1638 edition, bound at the end of the Book of Common
Prayer of 1634. Gwilym Lleyn has erred in calling this the
1628 edition, 1 and has been followed by Glan Menai. 2
Apparently, the metrical version of the Psalms had not been
bound with the 1634 Prayer Book at its first appearance.
It has a separate title page and is dated 1638.
4. The 1648 edition, which is the first edition found of the
work by itself, neither bound with the Prayer Book or the
Bible, nor designed to be bound with them. It is a
duodecimo edition, and a very handsome little volume.
1 Llyfr. y Cymry, p. 104. 2 Edmwnd Prys, p. 129. Glan Menai also
mentions a 1664 edition attached to the Prayer Book of that date. But it is
not found in the complete copy of that book in the University College Library
at Bangor, and, no doubt, the statement is inaccurate,
128
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
5. The 1656 edition, bound with the 1654 Bible, printed by
James Flesher.
6. The 1672 edition, bound with the New Testament, issued
by Stephen Hughes in that year. Printed by E. Tyler and
R. Holt.
7. The 1678 edition, bound with the 1677-8 edition of the
Welsh Bible. The title page of the Psalms bears the date
1678, as also that of the New Testament.
8. The 1687 edition, printed with Thomas Jones' Prayer Book.
Caerludd.
9. The 1690 edition, printed with the 1689-90 Bible, produced
by David Jones of Llandyssilio, Carmarthenshire.
10. The 1700 edition, bound with the Llyfr Gweddi Gyffredin^
which appeared in that year.
(b) II. THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER.
Most of the Welsh editions of the Bock of Common Prayer
published in this century contain, as we have noticed, the Psalms
of Edmund Prys, as an appendix. These psalms are usually
preceded by a metrical version of the Te Deum, Benedicite,
Senedictus, Cdn Mair Forwyn, and Can Simeon a'r lesu yn ei
freichian (two different renderings). It must also be clearly
understood that the Prayer Book proper contains the version of
the Psalms which appeared in the 1620 Bible, usually entitled
" Psalmau Dafydd o'r un cyfieithiad a'r Bibl cyffredin."
The first edition of the Llyfr Giveddi Gyffredin which
appeared in this century was that of 1621. The editors were
Edmund Prys and Dr. John Davies of Mallwyd. We have no
knowledge how the work was apportioned between them, but it
is thought that the latter was responsible for the Catechism. He
makes mention of this in a letter to Mr. Owen Wynn of Gwydyr,
dated January, i627. T
The prayer book was also incorporated with the 1630 Bible,
and its title-page read : " Llyfr Gweddi Gyffredin, a gweinidogaeth
*Lyfr. y Cymry t p. 102.
129
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Y Sacramentau : A Chynneddfau a Ceremoniau eraill yn Eglwys
Loegr. Printiedig yn Llundain gan Robert Barker Printiwr i
Ardderchoccaf fawrhydi y Brenin : a chan Assignes lohn Bill.
Anno. Dom. 1630." The Epistles and Gospels are not reprinted
in this Prayer Book, inasmuch as it was prefixed to the Bible.
But under each Collect are given the passages fixed for that day,
and in the New Testament they are marked with [ ] at the
beginning and end, and in the margins by a ' for the
beginning of the passage and a ' ' for the end.
The next edition of the Prayer Book appeared in 1634,
with the same title-page as above, except that gweinidogaeth is
misprinted gwenidogaeth, Sacramentau Scarmtnatau, and,
" Printiwyd yn llundain gan Assignes lohn Billag i'w gwerthu gida
Robert Milborne yn sin y milgi yn mynwent Paul. 1634."
Edmund Prys' Psalms are appended, dated 1638. It is a small
quarto edition printed in Black Letter, with the rubrics, as they
should be, in red. It is preceded by a Calendar, and its ortho-
graphy in many parts is reminiscent of William Salesbury. For
instance, such forms occur as Camberaec, JBoreuawl, Y Letani,
Dydd Natalie, Y Croc-lith, Dydd lou Dyrchafael, Y Commun,
Bedydd priuat, Comminasion, ttvyllysio-on, rad invariably for gras.
Oll-alhtogi<yc Hollalluog. The following Collect for the fourth
Sunday after Epiphany will serve as a fair example of the difference
between the early editions of the iyth century and our modern
version :
" Duw yr hwn a wyddost ein bod ni wedi ein gosod mewn
cymmaint a chynnifer o beryglon ac nas gallwn o herwydd
gwendid dynol sefyll bob amser yn uniawn : caniadha i ni iechyd
enaid a chorph, fel y bo am yr holl bethau ydd ym ni yn eu
dioddef am bechod, allu o honom drwy dy borth di eu gorfod a'u
gorchfygu, trwy Grist ein Harglwydd. Amen."
The next edition appeared in 1664, with the following title-
page :
" Llyfr Gweddi Gyffredin a Gweinidogaeth y Sacramentau, a
Chynneddfau a Ceremoniau eraill yr Eglwys, yn ol arfer
130
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
Eglwys Loegr ynghyd a'r Psallwyr neu Psalmau Dafydd. A
Brintiwyd yn Llur.dain, gan S. Dover, tros Edward Ffowks a
Phetr Bodvel. MDCLXIV."
This book was meant for the Prayer Desks of churches. It
was too large and unwieldy to be carried about by the worshippers.
It is quite certain that it did not contain Edmund Prys' metrical
version of the psalms.
Another edition of the Prayer Book was bound with the
1677-78 Bible. The title was the same as the last mentioned up
to the words Eglwys Loegr, after which are added Printiedig yn
Liu ndain gan John Bill, Christopher Barker, Thomas Newcomb,
a Hen ry Hills, 1678.
The peculiarity of this edition is that it contained for the
first time in Welsh, services for the Gunpowder Plot (Brad y
Powdr Gwnn), The Martyrdom of King Charles I. (Brenin
Charles y Merthyr), and T/ie Restoration of King Charles II,, the
last named under the title Natalie Mawrhydi y Brenin. This
Prayer-book appeared in front of the 1677-78 Bible. At the
end of the Prayer-book and immediately before the Bible
appeared the following Proclamation from Charles II. as to the
three new Services :
Charles R.
Ein hewyilys a'n pleser yw, i'r Tair Trefn Gweddi a Gwein-
idogaeth hyn a wnaed i'r Pummed o Dachwedd, y Ddegfed ar
hugain o lonawr, a'r Nawfed ar hugain o Fai, fod allan o law yn
Breintiedig ac yn gyhoeddedic ; ac o hyn allan i'\v gyd-gynnwys
gyda Llyfr y Weddi Gyffredin a Liturgi Eglwys Loegr, i'w harfer
bob blwyddyn ar y dywededic ddyddiau, mewn pob Cadeiriawl a
Cholegawl Eglwys a Chapel ac Awl ' o fewn ein dwy Unifersiti, ac
o'n Colegau o Eaton a Chaer-wynt, ac rriewn pob Eglwys a
Chapel Plwyfawl o fewn ein teyrnas, Arglwyddiaeth Gymry, a
Thre Berwic ar Tweed.
Rhoddwyd yn Ein Llys yn y Neuadd- \venn yr ail dydd o Fai
yn y Bedwaredd Flwyddyn ar ddeg o'n Gwladychiad.
Trwy orchymyn ei Fawrhydi,
1 HaiK EDW. NICHOLAS.
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
In 1683 an Oxford edition of the Prayer Book was issued.
It was modelled on Gouge's edition (1677-78, above). Copies of
this are very scarce, but the writer has seen one which is in the
possession of the Rev. T. Shankland, of the University College
Library, Bangor. Bishop Humphreys, of Hereford, states in a
letter dated 28 November, 1706, " that the 8vo Edition printed
at Oxford. A.D. 1683, is the fittest pattern for the Composer," i.e.,
of the new Prayer Book, which was then under contemplation.
This letter of Bishop Humphreys in reference to the new edition,
which was being discussed in 1706, is so instructive that the
minutes in which it is mentioned deserve recording below :
" 28 November, 1706. Part of a Letter from the Lord Bp.
of Hereford [Humphreys] to the Ld. Bishop of Landaffe was
read, dated Whitbourn, Nov. 15 instant, concerning a New
Edition of the Common Prayer in Welsh, of which there have
been some Advertisements inserted in the Public Papers. Herein
his Lordship shews, that as the Folio Edition is very faulty ; so
those 2 editions of Tho. Jones, are neither of them correct. And
adds that the 8vo Edition printed at Oxford A.D. 1683 is the
fittest pattern for the Composer. For the Singing Psalms, his
Lordship recommends those in the old 8vo Bible Printed at the
Charge of Midleton &: Heylyn, in the beginning of the Reign of
King Charles I. ; or with a 410 Common Prayer in the black
English Letter, being the Church Volume before the Rebellion ;
or those bound with the Octavo Bible printed at London, A.D.
1677. But by all means to have a care of those printed by Tho.
Jones. Lastly his Lordship says that if he had the Oxford
Edition above - mentioned he would correct the Erratas found in it.
This letter was referred to the Standing Committee, and Mr. Fox
was desired to procure the Oxford Edition printed as aforesaid."
" 12 Dec., 1706. Mr. Fox reported that Mr. Whitledge had
assured him that the Welsh Common Prayer which he intends to
reprint, is that in 8vo by the late Mr. Gouge, (whose edition as
he thinks, was the pattern for that printed in Oxford) ; that he
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
will take care to gett the Edition printed at Oxon: that Mr.
Chancellor Wynne of St. Asaph has promised to fitt the work for
the press, & a Clergyman is to come on purpose from Wales to
correct the sheets. The Secretary was order'd to certify the Ld.
Bp. of Hereford of this." '
The folio edition referred to as "very faulty" is that of 1664.
The " 2 editions of Tbo. Jones" are those which shall be presently
mentioned. The "eld 8vo Bible" is that which appeared in
1630. The " 4to Common Prayer in the black English Letter"
is that of 1634. The "8vo by the late Mr. Gouge " is the Prayer
Book of 1677-78, whi:h is mentioned as the model on which the
highly -approved 1683 Oxford Edition was based.
The first of Thomas Jones' editions appeared dated 1687,
and was printed in London.
" Argraphwyd yng Haerludd dros Thomas Jones. 1687. Ag
ar werth drosto ef
'Mr. Charles Beard, Tan Lun y Tri
Adar Duon a'r forforwyn yn Watling
Gan J
Street.
yn Llundain."
A Mr. John Marsh, Tan Lun y Llew
C6ch yn Cateaton-Street. >
The year of its actual publication was 1688. It is a small
book, and has affixed to it, for the first time in Welsh, the
Thirty -nine Articles, under the title:
"Y namyn un deugain Erthyglau Crefydd Eglwys Loegr,
neu Sylwedd Ffydd y Protestaniaid drwy gyttuniad yr Arch-
esgobion, a'r Esgobion o'r ddwy Brew : a'r holl wyr Lien,
(ar eu Cymmanfa yng Haerludd, yn y bummed flwyddyn o
Deyrnasiad y frenhines Elizabeth, yr hon oedd y flwyddyn o
oed Jesu, 1562) er ymwared oddiwrth amryw draws amcan
grefyddau, ac i wastadlu bodlonrhwydd a chyttundeb
ynghylch gwir Grefydd.
Argraphwyd yn fynuch yn saesonaeg, drwy Orchymmyn y
'Copied from Seren Comer, lonawr, 1904, Rhif I., Cyt. xxv., p. 15, from
an atticle by the Rev. T. Shankland, M.A., on Di-ivygwyr Cymi~u.
133
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Brenhinoedd. Ar pryd ymma yn Gymraeg, o Gyfieuthad
Thomas Jones, 1688.
Ar werth Gan Thomas Jones, a chart y rhai eraill a ivertho
ei Lyfrau ef."
" Imprimatur, Articuli Ecclesiae Anglicanae in Linguam
Brittanicam Conversi. Hn Maurice R ms in Christo P.D.
Wilhelmo Archiepiscopo. Cant, a Sacris. Feb. 16, 1687. " J
According to Moses Williams, 2 Dr. John Davies, of Mallwyd,
had translated the Articles long years before, and they were
printed separately in 1664. It is strange that the three editions
of the Prayer Book, which had been issued since that date, should
have appeared without them.
The second edition of Thomas Jones', to which Bishop
Humphreys refers, was that published in 1700. Both of his
editions had Edmund Prys' Metrical Psalms appended. The
orthography of both is such that, were they otherwise faultless,
they well merit the strictures put upon them by the Bishop of
Hereford in the warning he gave, " by all means to have a care
of those printed by Thomas Jones."
(c) OTHER WORKS, RELIGIOUS AND MORAL.
In the first half of the seventeenth century, Wales was more
enlightened and had better educational facilities than is generally
supposed.
John Edwards (Sion Treredyn) who was the translator of the
" Marrow of Modern Divinity," states that the clergy of that
time were learned men, and his statement is amply supported
by the able article of the late Mr. Ivor James in the pages of the
Traethodydd (1886), on the evidence he had obtained by examin-
ing the records of the two Universities. In a space of fifty years,
he tells us, Wales had produced not less than a hundred and fifty
men who became Doctors of Divinity, or attained Fellowships.
This does not exhaust the list of able men, for outside the ranks
5 Llyfr. y Cymry has, on p. 245, no doubt owing to a printer's error,
wrongly given this date as 1667. 2 Cofrhestr, rhif 5,
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
of Doctors and Fellows were such men as Vicar Prichard, Arch-
deacon Edmund Prys, and many more. It \vas no uncommon
thing for Welshmen to be raised to the episcopal bench, both in
their own country and outside its borders. The same writer
draws attention to the high standard of learning and culture
amongst the gentry of Wales. He quotes the author of Gemitus
Eccksiae, who states : " Mae y boneddigion yn wyr o wybodaeth,
crefydd, a dygiad i fyny, y rhan fwyaf o honynt wedi cael eu
haddysg yn ysgolion a phrifysgolion goreu y wlad hon." The
population of Wales, at the time, could hardly have exceeded a
quarter of a million, and it is interesting to note that Mr. James
states that there were more Grammar Schools, Ysgolion Canol-
raddol he calls them, for the sake of emphasising his point, in the
first half of the century in Wales than existed at the time he
penned his article. Moreover, these schools were planted in
populous centres ; were, as far as possible, free and open to
the poorest ; and must have been efficient, judging from the
men they produced, who reached the highest offices in Church
and State.
The masses availed themselves of the private schools, as the
author of Gemitus Ecclesiae informs us : " Ac mae y bobl yn
gyffredin yn gofalu am ddwyn eu plant i fyny mewn ysgolion
preifat," ' Many of these schools were kept by the clergy. It
was mentioned, for instance, in a previous page, how Jeremy
Taylor was invited to take charge of a school at Golden Grove.
Dr. David Lloyd, at Ruthin, is another example. And there are
instances found in the Alumni Oxonienses where it forms part of
the record of a Welsh clergyman, " that he also kept school there."
There was not that entire neglect of education which some have
supposed. The great men of the first half of the century were
numerous, and it is significant that many of them on their entry
to the Universities were styled " plebeians." One is not forgetting
the considerable number of Welshmen who went to English
public schools, but it is necessary to account for the large number
1 Y Traethodyddt 1886, p. 287.
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
who had not that advantage, but who, nevertheless, proceeded to
the Universities and attained distinction. All this applies to the
first half of the seventeenth century. But there came a change.
When Thomas Gouge came to Wales in 1671-2, he found the
great bulk of the people ignorant, and unable to read or write.
We find the explanation for the change in the Civil Wars, the
effect of which, in brief, was to sweep away the clergy and the
gentry, who, a generation earlier, had been the promoters of
education. Both these classes were Royalist, and suffered
accordingly. The majority of the gentry either fell in battle, or
had their estates confiscated. " The Act for the Propagation of
the Gospel " explains the disappearance of most of the clergy.
As far as can be ascertained, no episcopal ordination took place
in Wales between 1642 and i66o. r By 1653, 416 clergy,
graduates of the Universities, had been dispossessed, 2 and their
place taken by 150 preachers, itinerant and otherwise. When it
is borne in mind that the number of Welsh parishes was nearly a
thousand, and that of the above 150 comparatively few were
learned men, as Calamy bears witness, for in the list of ministers
ejected at the Restoration, he is only able to muster eight who
were graduates, and has to admit that many of them were weavers,
ploughmen, skinners, husbandmen, 3 &c., it is not surprising that
the education of the country should have suffered. Vavasor
Powell states 4 that 24 out of 32 nominees to livings by the
Commissioners in N. Wales were University men. This is in
direct variance with Calamy's list of ejected ministers, or it proves
that comparatively few were disturbed at the Restoration. If
Wales was so steeped in ignorance, the Commonwealth policy, in
its immediate effect, did not tend to decrease it. Ignorance there
rndoubtedly was in Wales as elsewhere. Our present task is to
deal with the writings of a body of men who realised this, and
1 Y Tracthodydd, p. 300. 3 ibid, p. 285. This number includes those
ejected under the "Act," and those whose livings had been sequestered before
it came into operation in 1650. 3 Calamy's Noncon. Memor., iii. pp. 477-528.
4 CymdeUhas Lien Cymru's " Act for t/ic Propagation^ &v.," Cardiff, 1908,
P-5-
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
who tried by most unselfish and untiring efforts to dispel the dark-
ness through the enlightening influences of religion and education.
Before their works are recorded, however, it is necessary to
notice a few religious writings which appeared in the first half of
the century.
In 1600 was published " Darmerth, neu Arlwy Gweddi, a
ddychymygwyd er mawr dderchafiad Duwioldeb, ac i chwanegu
Gwybodaeth ac A \vydd yr annysgedig ewyllysgar i iawn wasan-
aethuV gwir Dduw. Gan Robert Holland, gweinidog gair Duw,
a Pherson Llanddeferowg, yn Sir Gaerfyrcldin." Oxford, 4to.
Robert Holland was a graduate of Magdalen College,
Cambridge, where he proceeded B.A. irj 1577-8 and M.A. in
1 58 1. 1 He afterwards became Rector of Prendergast, in Pem-
brokeshire. He was the author of a work published in 1594,
entitled, The Ho lie Historic of our Lord and Saviour, which is a
work of excessive rarity, and has been erroneously ascribed to
Henry Holland. He dedicated this work " to the right worship-
ful Mistres Ann Philips of Picton,'' and on its title-page describes
himself as " Minister of the Church of Prendergast." It is a
poetical work relating " Jesus Christ's nativitie, life, actes, miracles,
doctrine, death, passion, resurrection, and ascension. Gathered
into English meeter, and published to withdraw vaine wits from
all unsaverie and wicked rimes and fables, to some love and
liking of spirituall songs and holy Scriptures." He also produced
other works in Welsh, the best known of which is that entitled
" Dau Gymro yn taring yn Bell o'u Gwlad," which was printed by
Stephen Hughes with " Canwyll y Cymru " in the 1681 edition
of that work. He translated a work of William Perkins (1558-
1602) which is considered one of the best books in the language
on the Lord's Prayer. Robert Holland entitled it " Agoriad byrr
ar Weddi'r Arglwydd," and a second edition of it appeared as late
as 1677, published through the efforts of Stephen Hughes. The
author of the original, William Perkins, was a Warwickshire man,
who was educated at Cambridge and afterwards had charge of
l Ath i Cantab ; (Cooper), vol. ii. p. 174.
137
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
St. Andrew's Church in that city. His puritanism, however,
brought him into collision with the authorities, and he was obliged
to retire. He was a ready writer, and some of his works were
translated into French and Spanish, besides this into Welsh.
In 1607, " Yr Athrawiaeth am Weddi. Gan John Prideaux,
Esgob Caerwrangon," was published. It is not clear who trans-
lated this work of Bishop Prideaux. 1 It has been ascribed to
Rowland Vaughan, but there is no evidence to support it, although
the editor of the 1715 edition, which appeared under the title
" Euchologia, neu yr Athrawiaeth o arferol Weddi," attributed it
to him. 2
At least nine Welsh books were published by Roman Catholic
writers on the Continent between 1567 and 1670, two of which
were printed at Milan, three at Paris, one at Rouen, two at Liege,
and one, probably, at St Omer. The well-known Welsh Grammar,
entitled Dosparth Byrr, by Dr. Gruffydd Roberts, had appeared
in 1567, published at Milan; Athraiviaeth Gristnogavl, in the
same year, also printed at Milan ; and Y Drych Cristnogavl, in
1585, the work of Dr. Roger Smyth, printed at Rouen.3
Dr. Roger Smyth (1546-1625), who was a native of St.
Asaph, and was educated on the Continent, at the University of
Douay and at the English College, at Rome, was one of the
Roman Catholic writers who contributed to Welsh literature in
this century and in the latter part of the sixteenth. He is
mentioned as being at Rome in 1579,* and in 1582 he had come
to Rouen to the order of Bridgettine nuns, formerly of Sion, in
England, and remained with them until their removal to Lisbon
in 1594. In 1595 he crossed over to England, but was caught
and thrown into Newgate Prison, whence he escaped, it is thought
by bribery, s In 1596 he was again in Paris, where he and others
'John Prideaux (1578- 1650) was a distinguished Oxford scholar, who
became Rector of Exeter College and King's Professor of Divinity. In 1641
he was raised to the bishopric of Woicester. The book here translated was
his " Euchologia, or Doctrine of Practical Prayer.'' Athen : Oxon : ii. pp.
130-131. 2 Llyfr. y Cywry, p. 305. 3 Cymmrodor. Trans., 1897-8, p. 10.
4 Owen's Running Register, p. 19 > Cymmrodor. Trans., 1901 -04, pp. 109-
114.
'3*
attempted to establish an English College for the education of
priests, in 1598, which project, however, did not succeed. He
remained in Paris until his death, in 1625, and during his stay
there, he produced, in 1609, a work entitled "Crynodeb o
Addysc Cristnogavl, a Dosparth Catholic ar ddeuddeg pvnc y
Phydd a elvir yn Gredo, hefyd ar vveddi yr Arglvydd, sef y Fader
ar Gyfarchiad yr Angel, a elvvir Ave Maria, yn ddivveddaf ar y
Deg gair Deddf a elvvir y deg gorchymyn. Gvvedi i gyfieithu o'r
Lladin i'r Gymeraeg, drvvy ddyfal astudiaeth a llafur D[octor]
Rosier Smith o dref Llan Elvvy, Athraw o Theologyddiaeth, megis
ymddiddan ne ddialogyddiaeth rhvvng y discibil a'r athraw."
Pans, 1 609.
Mr J. H. Davies states that a good copy of this work exists
at Sherburn. 1
It was, as the author mentions in the title-page, a translation
fiom the Latin, and was published afterwards in an enlarged form
under the title " Opus Catechisticum D. Petri Canisii, Theologi
Ex Societate Jesu, sef yw : Svm ne grynodebo adysc Gristnogavl, a
dosparth Catholic, ar holl bvnciau'r Phydd."
A copy of this is to be found in the British Museum. It was
a compendium of religious doctrine by a learned Jesuit. In it
Smyth follows the orthography of Dr. Gruffydd Roberts. Two
subsequent editions of the work appeared, one in 1657, and
another in 1683. (See Llyjryddiaeth y Cymry under those dates).
Another work translated by Dr. Smyth was published in
Paris in 1615, and entitled: "Theater Du Mond sef iw Gorsedd
y Byd lie i gellir gweled trueni a Llaseni Dyn o ran y Corph ai
Odidawgnvydd o ran yr Enaid ; a Scrifenwyd gynt yn y Ffrangaeg,
ag a gyfieithwyd ir Gymraeg drwy lafur Rosier Smyth o Dref Lan
Elwy Athraw o Theologyddiaeth. Psalm 48." [This should be
Ps. 49, the last verse of which is quoted in Latin and Welsh.]
The orthography of Dr. Gruffydd Roberts is not used in this
book, which is a translation from the French of Peter Boaystuan. 2
The above book was translated into English twenty -eight
1 Cymmrodor Trans: 1897-8 p. 10. 2 ibid, p, 12.
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
years afterwards, and also into Spanish. All Roger Smyth's
printed works were translations, and were religious works, written
from a Roman Catholic standpoint, and translated into Welsh in
the hope of impressing his fellow-countrymen. Considering that
he spent most of his time abroad, he wrote good, vigorous Welsh.
When he translated any passages from the poetical books of the
Bible, he did so in verse, e.g., Job x. 9, " Cofia, attolwg, mai fel
clai y gwnaethost fi ; ac a ddygi di fi i'r pridd drachefn ? " is thus
versified :
Cofia arglvydd fal im gvnaethost yn vanddyn
Fal y llestrvr y lestro'r pryduyn
Yr hvn all i ddinistrio ai droi yn lludv
A chofia fal i'm phyrfiaist o'run ddelv *
As his books were printed in Paris, and there is no w in the
French alphabet, he had to resort to the use ~of two z>'s as a sub-
stitute for that letter.
In the " Records of the English Catholics under the Penal
Laws " occurs a list of Englishmen who matriculated at Douay
before 1621, in which Roger Smyth's name is found amongst the
Angli pauperes. He is there styled Rogerius Smithe (vol. i.,
p. 277). He was also a signatory to " The Copye of a supplica-
tion made for poor Syon," where his name is placed first Doctor
Smythy (p. 362 of the same work). This was copied from a
Document in the Public Record Office, London, Dom. Eliz. vol.
146 n 114.
Roger Smyth was never ordained priest in the Church of
Rome. 2
A difference arose between him and Robert Parsons, the
Jesuit, which is mentioned in a letter written by an English spy
to Cecil in Oct., 1601, as follows : " Dr. Roger Smith, about 55,
of no great reach, not fit to be employed in matters of State, as
Parsons confesseth, because he could not keep Parsons' counsels
in certain causes which he imparted to him."3 It is conjectured
that Parsons may have been angry with Smyth for his republican
and nationalist views, for he neither favoured Philip of Spain in
1 Llyfr. y Cymry, p. 90. 2 Trans, of Cymmrod. Soc. 1901-04, p. 113.
3 ibid, p. 114.
I 4
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
his attempts to gain the English crown, nor the accession of James
of Scotland. In fact, he was and- Spanish and and- English.
" What he really wanted was a republican system which would
give to Wales a full measure of internal independence," 1 very
similar to that enjoyed by the Italian states.
Lewis Owen, in the Running Register, which was published
in 1626, states that Smyth " died last year in Paris," which gives
1625 as the year of his death, in his 7Qth year.
Another Roman Catholic writer of distinction was Father
John Salisbury (1572-1625), a native of Merionethshire, and
probably a son of the Rug branch of the Salisbury family. 2 He
was educated at the Jesuits' College of St. Alban's, Valladolid,
Spain, which he entered on June 22nd, 1595. He was ordained
priest on Nov. 2ist, 1600, sent to England in 1603, and in 1605
he entered the Society of Jesus as a " missioner " in North Wales.
In 1615 he became the Superior of North and South Wales
District, taking up his residence at Raglan Castle. In 1622 he
became Superior of the College of St. Francis Xavier, which he
had founded. He was appointed Procurator of the English
Province to Rome, but he died while preparing for his journey
thither in 1625. He translated and published in 1618 a work
entitled " Eglurhad Helaeth-laivn o'r Athrawiaeth Gristnogawl.
A gyfansodhwyd y tro cyntaf yn Italaeg trwy waith yr Ardherch-
occaf a'r Hybarchaf Cardinal Bellarmin." This was a Catechism
on Christian Doctrine, and the translation is written in good
idiomatic Welsh. The work was printed at the press of St. Omer's
College, France. Salisbury is said to have composed other
devotional works, but they were not published.
A copy of Eglurhad Helacth- lawn exists at the British
Museum.
Two other Roman Catholic works in Welsh, published in
this century are Drych Cydwybod, printed at Liege, in i66i3; and
Allwydd Paradwys, printed at Liege in 1670. A copy of this is
1 Trans, of Cymmrod. Soc., 1901-04, p. 114. ~ D.N.B. 3 This date is
taken from Moses Williams' Cofrestr*
141
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
also to be found at the British Museum. The former is an
instruction on Confession; the latter a book of Prayers, Devotions,
Counsels, and religious Doctrine, collected from various devo-
tional books. The Welsh and Latin appear in parallel columns,
and the author I. H. is identified as Father John Hughes (or
John Hugh Owen, as he was previously known), a native of
Anglesey, who, as might be expected, wrote good idiomatic
Welsh, as did John Salisbury. This was that same Father John
Hughes (1615-1686), who published in 1684, two years before
his death, Hugh Owen's translation of the Imitatio Christi of
Thomas a Kempis, which will be considered later.
A writer who has received well -deserved praise for the purity
and flexibility of his language is Edward James, the. translator
of the Book of Homilies. He published the work, which is
generally known as Llyfr yr ffomiliau, in 1606. Its full title
reads :
" Pregethau a osodwyd allan trwy awdurdod, i'w darllein
ymhob Eglwys blwyf a phob capel er adailadaeth i'r bobl
annyscedig. Gwedi eu troi i'r iaith Gymeraeg, dnvy waith
Edward lames."
The author of Llyfryddiaeth y Cymry bestows upon the work
the following well-merited eulogy: "Y mae ei gyfieithiad o'r
Homiliau yn gyfieithiad rhagorol dros ben. ac yn teilyngu sylw,
pe na bai ond er mwyn ei briodwedd wir Gymreig yn unig. A
mae lie i farnu, gyda chryn ddilysrwydd, wrth ambell ymadrodd,
ffurf rhai geiriau, ac ychydig neillduoldeb yn yr ieithwedd, mae
gwr o'r Deheudir ydoedd y cyfieithydd clodwiw. Saif Edward
James ar orsaf uchel fel gwasanaethwr ei gyd-genedl, yn ymyl
Gwilym Salsbri, yr Esgob Morgan, a'r Esgob Parri : ac fel
ysgrifenwr Cymraeg dilediaith, nid yw yn ol i un o honynt.' x
The following quotation from his Introduction will serve the
double purpose of giving an epitomised history of the Homilies
and also an example of the author's pregnant style : " Am hynny,
pan ystyriodd y brenin ieuangc duwiol Edward VI. pa mor anaml
1 Llyjr. y Cymry , p. 80.
142
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
oedd gwir bregethwyr gair Duw o fewn ei deyrnas ef, y rhai a
fedrai addysgu'r bobl i gredu yn Nu\v, i alw arno, ac i gadw ei
orchymynion sanctaidd ef, efe a barodd wrth gyngor ei gyngoriaid
i wyr duwiol dysgedig, cyfarwydd yngair Daw, gynnull a sgrifennu
yr Homiliau duwiol yma, allan o'r Ysgrythyrau sanctaidd ; unig
ffynnon pob doethineb j unig ymborth yr eneidiau ; unig dywysog
ac arweinydd, a rhinwedd, a duwioldeb ; unig ddiwreiddydd pob
chwyn gwenwynig ; unig wrthladdydd pob anwybodaeth ; ac unig
gyferbyn yn erbyn pob athrawiaeth dwyllodrus, yr hon sydd yn
tywys i ofer-goel, traws-opiniynau, a delw-addoliad. Yn yr
Homiliau hyncynhwysir y prif byngciau o'n ffydd ni, ac o'n dyled
tu ag at Dduw a ; n cymmydogion ; fel y gallai yr Offeiriaid a'r
Curadiaid annysgedig, y rhai ni fedrant yn amgen etto, wrth
adrodd, datgan, a darllain yr Homiliau hyn, bregethu i'w pobl
wir athrawiaeth ; ac fel y gallai pawb o'r bobl wrth wrando,
ddysgu'n union ac yn iawn anrhydeddu ac addoli yr Hollalluog
Dduw, a'i wasanaethu yn ddiwyd."
A second edition of Llyfr yr Homiliau was published in
1817, and a third edited by the Rev. Morris Williams (Nicander),
in 1847, printed at Bala. The former has kept very closely to
the original edition of 1606, but the latter varies widely and
almost seems to be a new translation of the Homilies.
Edward James' translation is one of the Welsh classics and is
worthy of comparison with the work of Maurice Kyffin, Edmund
Prys, and Dr. Davies of Mallwyd. The record of the author
given in the Alumni Oxonienses is as follows : " Edward James,
of co. Glamorgan, pleb., St. Edmund's Hall, 1585-6, aged 16.
B. A. from Jesus College, 1589; M.A., 1592; perhaps Vicar of
'Caerleon, Monmouthshire, 1596; Prebendary in the Collegiate
Church of Brecon, 1 598 ; Rector of Llangattock, Monmouth-
shire, 1598; Vicar of Cadoxton-juxta-Neath, 1603; Chancellor
of Llandaff, 1606." The record shows that Gwilym Lleyn was
correct when he judged from his language "mae gwr o'r Deheudir
ydoedd." He died in 1610.
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
The next work of note is Rowland Vailghan's translation
of "The Practice of Piety." Its full title is as follows: Yr Ymarfer
o Dduwioldeb : yn cyfar-wyddo dyn i ryngu bodd Duw : Yr hwn
lyfr a osodwyd allan yn saeson-asc o waith y gwir barchedig Dad
Lewis Escob Bangor, ac a gylieithwyd yn gamber-aec o waith
Row. Vaughan o Gaergai o sir Feirion wr bonheddig. Est volnisse
satis. Printiedig gan Felix Kyngston tros Robert Allot, ac ydynt
iw cael tan lun yr Arth, ym monwent St. Paul yn Llundain.
1630."
Bishop Lewis Bayly's book, " The Practice of Piety, Direct-
ing a Christian man how to walk, that he may please God," was
first published in 1612, or at least, that is the date of its first entry
at Stationers' Hall. Another edition appeared in that same year,
and the third edition in 1613. This is the edition Rowland
Vaughan translated, 1 and Thomas Jones, of Oswestry, states that
the Welsh translation was ready in 1620. It is thought its
publication was delayed owing to the appearance of Bishop Parry's
Bible in that year. It was put in the press early in 1629, and
appeared in 1630. The book is prefaced with an address by the
author, " Lewis Bayly, At yr uchel alluocaf Dywysog, Charles,
Tywysog Cymbru." There is also an address by the translator,
" I'r annwyl Urddasol Wraig, Margred, unig etifeddes Syr John
Lloyd, Marchog a Sersiant o'r gyfraith, a chywely John Lloyd o
Riwaedog Esq. gras a thangneddyf yn y byd hwn, a gorfoledd
tragwyddol yn y byd a ddaw a ddeisyf, R. V."
In his address to the reader, which follows, the translator
rebukes those Welsh people who, in his age, belittled their own
language and neglected the education of their children : " Mwyaf
peth sydd yn dyfod yn erbyn ein hiaith ni ydyw, anhawsed gan y
cymru roddi eu plant i ddyscu, fel y mae'n well gan lawer dyn
fod ei etifedd yn fuwch yn ei fyw, na threulio gwerth buwch i
ddyscu iddo ddarllain. . . . Edrych a ddichon y llyfr hwn roddi
meddyginiaeth i'th enaid, neu lyfrau eraill oi gyffelyb : megis y
'For this information the writer is indebted to the Rev. Thomas
Shankland,
144
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
llyfr odiaethol a gyfenwir Ihvybr hyffordd fr nefoedd o gyfieithiad
y lien dyscedig am hanwyl athro Mr. Ro. lloyd Ficar y waen, neu
bregeth am edifeirwch o waith yr un rhyw gymreugydd rhagorol
.... os cei di ddaioni oddiwrth y llyfr hwn, meddwl yn dy weddi
am un a fydd yn rhwym i wneuthur iw iaith a'i wlad y gwasanaeth
a'r vfudd-dod gorau ar a fedro, tra byddo ei enw Row : Vaughan."
Di gwyn yw gennif yn y dcg isilh her
Ddwyn y boen yn hirfaith
Os byddi was wybydd-iaith
Yn fwyn gyd-ddwyn am gwaith.
R. V.
This introductory letter is interesting in that it expresses the
mind of the author concerning his own language, his contempt of
those who despised it, and his noble spiritual ideals for his
countrymen.
The other editions of this work are :
Second edition, 1656, " Yr ail Impressiwn gwedi i correctio
ai amendio drwyddo. Printiedig gan Sarah Griffin tros Philip
Chetwind : An. Dom. 1656."
Stephen Hughes was instrumental in publishing this.
Third edition, 1675. "Printiedig yn Llundain gan Tho.
Dawks dros Ph. Chetwin ac a werthir dan lun y tri Bibl gyferbyn
a'r Royal Exchange, 1675." This is the edition published
through the efforts of Thomas Gouge, and is the one used by all
subsequent editors. To it is affixed an address entitled
" Diwygiwr y preintwasc at y darllenydd " by Charles Edwards,
who revised the proofs for Mr. Gouge. He states that he found
it necessary to alter many things in the book, because the mean-
ing was often obscure and failed to convey the original. At the
same time he expresses his veneration for Rowland Vaughan and
his work.
The fourth edition was published by Thomas Jones, of
Shrewsbury, in 1685. " y pedwerydd argraffiad yn Gymraeg,
wedi gwellau llawer o gam yspeiliadau oedd yn yr Argraphiadau
eraill."
The Cardiff Catalogue mentions a fifth edition, which
appeared in this century, and dates it c.i69o.
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
The author of the original, Dr. Lewis Bayly, was a Car-
marthen man, and one of the most noted orators of this century.
He was educated at Exeter College, Oxford, and his celebrity as
a preacher brought him to the notice of James I., who made him
his chaplain, he having previously been chaplain to Prince Henry,
who predeceased the King. In 1611, he was Vicar of Evesham,
in Worcestershire, from 1 6 1 o - 1 6 he was Treasurer of St. Paul's,
holding the benefice of St. Matthew's, Friday Street, from 1612-16.
In the latter year, on the death of Bishop Rowlands, the King
gave him the bishopric of Bangor, in which diocese he also held
the Archdeaconry of Anglesey, 1616, and several livings in
commendam. I His most celebrated treatise The Practice of Piety
took hold of the religious imagination of many countries, it was
even translated into the Indian tongue. It is a book which is
said to have had a profound influence upon John Bunyan. In
England it went through countless editions in the lyth and i8th
centuries, and in Wales, five during the i7th century, as seen
above. In 1625 it was translated into French, and several
editions were issued, so that a French writer, John D'Espagne,
complained in 1656 that the French people looked upon it as
equal in authority with the Bible. 3
Bishop Bayly died in 1632, and was buried in Bangor
Cathedral.
The other works of Rowland Vaughan are also translations.
He was often known as " Rowland Vaughan y Cyfieithydd." In
1658 he published "Prifannau Crefydd Gristnogawl A Llwybraidd
fodd byrr or Athrawiaeth o honi. O waith lago Usher Escob
Armagh .... 2 Tim. 1.13 [quoted] . . . Llundain. Argraph-
edig gan Joa. Streater, tros Philip Chetwinde, 1658."
This was the Catechism of Dr. Usher, Archbishop of
Armagh,3 the author of the Primordia.
In the same year he published " Yr arfer o Weddi yr
T Alumni Oxonienses. See also Eminent Welshmen, pp. 34, 35.
2 Atken ; Oxon ; i., p. 486. *Ath: Oxon; ii. p. 22
146
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
Arglwydd a amddiffynir yn erbyn Dadleuon y newyddiaid o'r
amseroedd yma. Gan loan Despagne. 1652." (John Despagne
was a French writer, who was a preacher at Somerset House
Chapel about this time). Also :
" Prifannav Sanctaidd neu Lawlyfr O Weddiau a wnaethpwyd,
yn dair Rhan : I. Seliau Crefydd Gristianogawl ac Athrawiaeth
Ecchvys Frydain fawr, ar Rhagoriaeth rhyngddi ar vn o Rufain
yr awrhon, ar rhai newydd ad^yweirio neu ddisbaddu. n. Beun-
yddol ac wythnosawl ffurfoedd o weddiau, a nerthwyd ar Scrythyrau
glan, Myfyrdodau, a Rheolau, i gadw yr enaid oddiwrth y llwybr
cyncfin o bedwd, ac i'w ddwyn ym-mlaen i farweiddio ei yrfa. ill.
Saith o orchymynnion i'r cydwybod, gan draddodi (onid yw y
corph cyfan) yr aelodau pennaf o ddefinyddiaeth, yr hon yw'r
gelfyddyd nid o ymddadleu ond o fyw yn dda. O waith yr
Anrhydeddus Athro William Brough Dr. o ddefinyddiaeth, a
Deon diweddar o Gwaerloiw. Y trydydd argraphiad yn Saesonaeg
ar cyntaf yn gamberaeg o Gyfieithiad Row: Vaughan, Esq. . . .
Peth mawr yw bod yn Gristion nid i ymddangos. Caer Ludd.
Printiedig gan Sara Griffin, tros Philip Clietwinde o'r heol hynaf,
1658." Then follows a dedication : " I'r ardderchawg hen
Fryttwn William Salesburi o Fachenbyd es [^] llawenydd cyflawn^ a
gorfoledd tragywyddol iw dymuniad . R. V.," and some Latin
verses commendatory to William Salesbuii, who had helped
Rowland Vaughan to defray the expenses of publication, by I. S.,
and G. S., both of Jesus College, Oxford, and Edmondus Meyricke^
a Scholar of that college ; also, " Mawl ir llyfr ar cyfieithydd."
Dr. William Brough, the author of the original work, which
was called " The Grounds of Christian Religion," and was Part I.
of his " Manual of Devotions," was a Cambridge man, and held
the rectory of St. Michael's, Cornhill, London, in 1630, until
sequestered in 1645. He was a Royal chaplain and Canon of
Windsor. He held the Deanery of Gloucester 1644-5, was
deprived of it in the latter year, but restored in 1660, and kept
it till his death in 1671. Rowland Vaughan had undertaken the
translation at the request of William Salisbury, the Royalist keeper
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
of Denbigh Castle, who bore the cost and distributed the books
amongst the poor. Brough was in high favour with Archbishop
Laud, reputed to be an Arminian, and suspected of Popery. 1 If
this book is a criterion, there was no ground for the suspicion.
Rowland Vaughan's next work was : " Pregeth yn erbyn
Schism : Neu, Wahaniadau yr Amseroedd hyn : A Bregethwyd yn
Watlington yn sir Rydychen, mewn peth cythryfwl, Medi n,
1652. Yn ol ymddadleu cyhoeddus a fu yno Rhwng Jasper
Mayne, D.D. Ac un [John Pendarves]. Cyfieith. R. V. Mat.
13. 46. [quoted]. Caer-Ludd: Argraphedig gan Jo. Streater
tros Phil. Chetwynd."
This book is dedicated to his nephew, Evan Vaughan, and
his family at Moel y Fronllwyd, who took charge of several of our
author's MSS. during the unsettled times of the Civil War.
Following this address are Latin lines in praise of Rowland
Vaughan, W. Salisbury, and W. Brough.
The translation was produced under the following circum-
stances : Rowland Vaughan (who was in 1642 High Sheriff of
Merionethshire 2 ) had .been called to serve on the Grand Jury
during the trial of one of the " Seintiau newydd." Vavasor
Powell, who was present, it is supposed as a witness in support of
the puritan, protested against Vaughan on the ground that he
might be prejudiced, as he was so utterly opposed to Puritanism.
The latter asked the Court permission to reply to the charge, but
was refused. After the trial, Vaughan wrote to Powell and
received a reply, the tenor of which occasioned this translation
by the man who had suffered so much for his loyalty to the Royal
cause. What Powell's reply was, is not known, but presumably
it touched some point of religious controversy to which Vaughan
thought Jasper Mayne's sermon 3 the best antidote. The latter
was an Oxford scholar, who wrote works full of wit and sarcasm
against the Cromwellians. His " Sermon against Schism, or the
Separations of these times," was based on Heb. x. 24, 25, and
1 Fasti Oxon: ii. p. 731. " Arch. Camb. vol. ii. (List of Sheriffs).
3 Jasper Mayne (1604-1672), educated at Christ Church, Oxon, deprived
during Commonwealth. Archdeacon of Chichester, 1660 72,
143
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
had been preached in the Church at Watlington with some
interruption, on Sept. n, 1652, against one, John Pendarves, an
Anabaptist. 1
Rowland Vaughan also published another work against
schism in 1658, entitled " Ymddiffyniad Rhag pla o Schism neu
Swyn gyfaredd yn erbyn neullduaethau yr Amseroedd. A dyn-
nwyd allan o Ragscrifeniadau yr Apostolion gan mwyaf : allan o
waith St. Paul a St. Jud. Yn dangos trwy yspysrwydd goruchel, i
ba gyfryw bechodau a pheryglon ofnadwy y syrthiant hwy, y rhai
a red allan or Ecclwys i Schism neu rwygiad. Ac o ba fath
gynneddf melldigedig ddamnedig ydyw y gwyr a demtia, ac a
arweinia ir cyfryw neillduadau. Cyfieithiad R. V. Esc. i Cor. ii.
1 8, 19. [quoted] . . . [Quotation from Tertullian] . . . Print-
iedig ynghaer Ludd gan Joa. Streater tros Philip Chetwinde, 1658."
The production of these five books in one year shows with
what ardour this old Welsh squire defended his religious princi-
ples, and how pre-eminent he was amongst his contemporaries in
his aim to improve his countrymen. Very little is known about
him, and the year of his birth has not been definitely ascertained.
He was the son of John Vaughan, of Caergai, but the Alumni
Oxonienses errs when it states that this " excellent linguist and
renowned poet " was the Rowland Vaughan whose record is that
he entered Gloucester Hall 1574-5, at the age of 14. We know
definitely that Rowland Vaughan, our author, died in 1667, and
published books as late as 1658. No man of 98 years, which is
what his age would be, were he born in 1560, as the Alumni
Oxonienses states, could accomplish this.
Of his poetry, more will be said later. As for his prose, it
was vigorous and idiomatic, and in his translations the originals
have not suffered much at his hands. He certainly did a good
work for his country when he gave it, in 1630, the book which
had such a wide -spread devotional influence on almost every
country in Europe, and even as far as the haunts of the Red-
skins in the Western hemisphere Bishop Bayly's " Practice of
Piety."
1 Athen : Oxon : ii., pp. 507-08.
149
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
The year 1630 produced also another devotional book which
had a deep and abiding influence upon Welsh life in this century,
and which Rowland Vaughan mentioned in his preface, viz.,
Lhvybr Hyffordd i'r Nefoedd. Its full title is taken here from the
1682 edition of the work, supervised by Charles Edwards, which
is the second edition (the title-page of the copy of the first edition
which came into the writer's hands is missing), and is as follows :
" Llwybr hyffordd yn cyfarwyddo yr anghyfarwydd i'r nefoedd.
Yn yr hwn y dichon dyn ystyriol weled ei gyflwr presennol, pa un
ydyw ai cadwedig, ai colledig. Wedi ei osod allan ar dull ym-
ddiddanion, yn gyntaf yn Saesonaec, o waith Arthur Dent,
Gweinidog Gair Duw. Ac yr Awr-hon wedi ei gyfieithu yn
Gamberaec er cymmorth ir Cymro annysgedig, fel y gallo efe
gael yn ei dafod-iaith ei hun, foddion a chyfryngau i chwanegu ei
wybodaeth i wasanaethu Duw. Esay i. 16 [verse quoted]. Yr
ail argraphiad. Printiedig yn Llundain gan Bennet Griffin yn
y Flwyddyn, 1682." The printer of the 1630 edition was
" Nicholas Okes dros George Latham, ac a geir ar werth yn
monwent St. Paul tan arwydd Pen Escob, 1630."
The dedication runs : "I'r Gwir Barchedig Dad yn Nuw,
lohn drwy rad Duw Arglwydd Escob Llan Elwy, R. LI. sy'n
damuno pob llwyddiant ; a diddanwch Ysprydol ar y ddaiar, a
gogoniant tragwyddol yn y Nefoedd." Then follows a letter " At
y darllennudd o Gymro uniaith ; Annerch. O'm stafell yn Ffoster
Ian yn Llundain yr Ugeinfed dydd o fis Medi. 1629." The
contents of the book fall under six heads : i. Drueni dyn tan
naturiaeth, a'r ymadferth i ddiangc rhagddo. 2. Anwiredd yr
amser ymma, a chyffredin lygredigaeth y byd. 3. Nodau plant
Duw, a nodau y gwrthodedig : ac arwyddion hysbys o iachawdwr-
iaeth a damnedigaeth. 4, Mor anhawdd yw myned i fywyd ; a
lleied yw nifer y rhai a ant yno. 5. An wybodaeth y byd, a'i wrth-
attebion yntef. 6. Hyfryd addewidion yr Efengyl, ac ami
drugareddau Duw i'r sawl oil a edifarhant, ac a gredant, ac a wir
ddychwelant atto ef."
The four characters who take part in the dialogue are
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
Theologus (Pregeth-wr), Phila$athus (G\vr-da), Asiinetus (Ang-
hyfanvydd-ddyn), Anti/egon (Ceccryn). The text, which runs to
446 pages, is followed by Family Prayers, arranged for morning
and evening use, and private prayers. In the 1682 edition,
Charles Edwards, as was his wont, appended a letter entitled
" Diwygiwr y Preintwasg at y Darllennydd. C.E. 1682." The
next thing in the book is the translation of Arthur Dent's sermon
(but not in full) on " Repentance," based on St. Luke xiii. 5,
which Robert Llwyd had issued separately and completely in
1629. The Llwybr Hyffordd was also, as the title-page shows,
the translation of one of Arthur Dent's works. The book ends
with a vocabulary, which Charles Edwards generally appended to
the books he edited, for the same reason he mentions here :
" Deongliad rhai geiriau yn y llyfr hwn a allant fod yn anhawdd
eu deall mewn rhai mannau, yn enwedig yn Neheubarth Cymru."
Arthur Dent, the author of the original Plain Pat/iway to
Heaven was minister of South Shoobery (or Soubery), in Essex,
and one of the Presbyterians of James I's. reign, who was cited
by Bishop Aylmer to appear before the High Commission Court,
in 1584, for refusing to wear the surplice and to make the sign of
the cross in baptism. He afterwards, with twenty-six other
ministers, presented a petition to the Lords of the Council.
He also wrote a work called " The Ruine of Rome, or an Exposi-
tion of Revelation." He died about I600. 1
Robert Llwyd was a Carnarvonshire man, who entered
Christ Church, Oxford, in 1585, aged 20. He graduated B.A.
in 1588, and M.A. in I59i, 2 perhaps B.D. in 1602. Archdeacon
Thomas, in his learned work " The History of the Diocese of St.
Asaph," records him as Rector of Halkyn, Flints, 1594-1626;
Vicar of Wrexham, 1598-1640: Vicar of Chirk, 1615; Vicar of
Nannerch, 1629 ; and Prebendary of Meliden (Treasurer of St.
Asaph Cathedral), in 1624.2
It was generally supposed that he was not ejected by the
Cromwellian Commissioners. Judging from the convincing
'Brook's Life of ike Puritans % ii., p. Ill, 8 Alumni Oxoiticnscs*
st vol. i,, \\ 341.
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
sincerity of his words in his letter to the " Reader," prefacing
Llwybr Hyffordd, he could be guilty of no dereliction of duty,
for he there urges the illiterate to make every effort to learn to
read in order that the Scriptures might be an open book to them
for their soul's good. Walker, however, was quite correct in his
" Sufferings of the Clergy " when he states that he was ejected.
Thomas, in his History of St. Asaph, names him among the
parochial clergy deprived 1 and also in the list of prebendaries so
treated. 2 This is placed beyond all doubt by a paper recently
issued by Cymdeithas Lien Cymru, which records the proceedings
of the Commissioners in North Wales under the " Act for the
Propagation of the Gospel." There is one entry which concerns
Robert Llwyd. It reads : " At a meeting held at Wrexham, Nov.
21, 1650, Resolved y l Mr Lloyd Vicar of Chirke be allowed
twenty pounds per arm. out of ye profitts of . ye said vicaridge "
(p. 26).3 And " Robert Lloyd V. of Chirk 1616 Preb. of Meliden
1624 Deprived by the Commonwealth Assessors," is a further
record by Archdeacon Thomas.
The Llwybr Hyffordd is Robert Llwyd's chief work. It is
written in excellent Welsh, is pervaded by a spirit of deep
devotion and religious fervour, and is essentially Calvinistic in
doctrine. His style is almost as vigorous as that of Elis Wyn in
the Bardd Cwsg. In its preface he declaims against unprofitable
games, which squandered time that might be used to better
advantage. In particular, he pleads .with his countrymen to
abandon the dice -board and the tavern, and to cultivate reading.
There is no mention of his return to his preferments at the
Restoration, and it is probable that he died before 1660. Arch-
deacon Thomas thinks it likely that Robert Llwyd was associated
with the production of the 1630 Bible. He was certainly in
London, on his own showing, in Sept. 1629.*.
The following year, 1631, saw the publication of Car-wr y
Cymru. There has been considerable confusion about the work
'See vol. i. p. in. 2 ibidiii. p. 341. 3 This was probably the fifth of
the income of the, benefice. 4 See his Dedication in the Lkuybr Hyffordd^
152
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
bearing this title. It has arisen through ignorance of the fact
that tivo distinct works bearing the same main title were printed,
the first in 1630, and the second, which is the better known, in
1631. The British Museum " Catalogue of Early British Books to
1640," on page 1578, records the two different works, and to
show how entirely they differ, their respective titles shall be given
here in full :
" Carwr y Cymru : yn Anfon ychydig gymmorth i bob Tad,
a mam sy'n ewyllysio bod eu plant yn blant i Dduw hefyd : a
chael o honynt wir wybodaeth o ffordd iechydwriaeth. Neu
ymddiddan Ysprydol rhwng rhieni a'u plant, yn cynnwys eu
dyledswydd i'w gilydd. [Two verses quoted, Esay 38. 19, and
Diarhebion 22. 5]. Printiedig yn Llundain gan Nicholas Okes
dros Philemon Stephens, a Christopher Meredith, tan arwydd y
Llew Euraidd ym MonwentS. Paul. 1630."
This is a small book containing but twelve pages, whereas
the other is a larger work containing 135 pages of text, and is
entitled :
"Car-wr y Cymru, Yn annog ei genedl anwyl, a'i gydwladwyr
er mwyn Crist ai heneidiau i chwilio yr Scrythyrau yn ol gorchymyn
Crist. Joh. 5. 39. Y rhai, yr awr 'hon yn ddiweddar a brinti-
wyd o newydd yn Gymraec ; ac a geir ar werth yn llyfran cynnwys,
a bychain eu maintioli a'i pris, drwy fawr ddiwydrwydd, a thraul
swrn o wyr Duwyol, enwog ac ewyllys-gar i wneuthur daioni i'r
Cymru. Llvndain, Printiedig gan Felix Kyngston, drwy awdur-
dod. 1631."
Nothing is known as to the author of the first of these books,
and it is by no means certain that Oliver Thomas was the author
of the second, although it is generally ascribed to him. Anthony
Wood states definitely that he was the author. 1 And as he based
most of his information concerning Welsh authors on the authority
of Welsh Principals of Jesus College, and others, who were his
contemporaries during the time he compiled his laborious and
useful work, and especially, as he states, of Michael Roberts, who
1 Atken : Oxen : i. p, 860.
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
had years of leisure at Oxford after his ejection (or, rather, his
forced resignation) from the Principalship of Jesus College, during
which he could fully inform himself on matters he communicated
to Wood, his opinion must not be lightly put aside. It is the
kind of work that might have been expected from a man of
Oliver Thomas' sympathies. He was subsequently one of the
Commissioners under the Commonwealth, and the term
" Cromwell's Bible," used of the 1654 edition, suggests that the
Commissioners paid special attention to the dissemination of the
Scriptures. So that it would be no strange thing to find Oliver
Thomas strongly advocating, as this work does, that the Cymry
should possess themselves of the edition of the Bible put into
their hands through the generosity of Rowland Heilyn and
Thomas Middleton. There is, however, no evidence to substan-
tiate this opinion. The book itself, which may be regarded as a
kind of sequel to the crown octavo edition of the Bible of 1630,
exhorts the Cymry to make use of the Scriptures now brought
within their reach, has a prayer for forgiveness for the neglect of
them hitherto, Morning and Evening Prayers for family worship,
Morning and Evening Prayers to be used on Sundays by the head
of the family, a Grace before Meat and after Meat, a letter to the
reader by Robert Llwyd, Vicar of Y Waun (Chirk), and an
exhortation in English "To ail the Worthy and True-hearted
Well-willers and furtherers of the Spiritual weal of Wales who
have put their helping hand and hearts to that late, necessary, and
worthy worke of Setting forth the Bible in Welsh in a small
volume." The book ends with The Pronunciation of the Letters
in the British Tongue, and A Comparison of the Letters in Welsh
to the Greeke and Hebrew Letters, the work of Edward Kyffm.
Oliver Thomas is stated in the Alumni Oxonienses to have
been a Montgomeryshire man, and is styled gentleman. He
entered Hart Hall in 1616, at the age of 18, which gives 1598 as
the year of his birth. He graduated B.A. in 1620, and M.A. in
1628. If he wrote Car-wr y Cymru he did so at the height of
his powers, when he was thirty -three. After leaving the
154
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
University he became a Presbyterian, and his name appears
amongst the " approvers " in the Act for the Propagation of the
Gospel (1650-53). The Oxford record states that he was " perhaps
Rector of Lawrenny, co. Pembroke, in 1624." If this is so, he
must have received episcopal Orders, before he seceded to
Presbyterianism. We find that he was elected to the benefice of
Llanrhaiadr-ym-Mochnant, May 14, 1650, by the Commissioners,
and the following entry occurs in their " Proceedings in North
Wales " : " Mr. Oliver Thomas elected Llanrhaiader in the
Countyes of Denbigh and Merioneth," and it is quaintly added,
" William Hill of Llanrhaiader was then ejected and dejected." '
The only work which bears Oliver Thomas' name is that
which appeared in 1647, entitled, " Drych i dri math o Bobl, sef
i'r Anghristion, Rhith-gristion, a'r Gwir-gristion, 1647." A
second edition of this excellently written work appeared in Trysor
fr Cymnt, in 1677, edited by Stephen Hughes, Oliver Thomas
is supposed to have been promoted in 1657 to a living in Shrop-
shire, 2 and to have died at Felton, in that county, but I find
nothing to support either of these statements. The year of his
death is unknown. The theory that Robert Llwyd was the author
of Car-ivr y Cymru rests on the foundation that he has signed
the letter to the " Reader," which precedes the text, but this does
not necessarily constitute him the author.
In 1632, was published one of the best prose writings both as
regards substance and style in the Welsh language. It was the
work of Dr. John Davies, of Mallwyd, and is entitled : " Llyfr
y Resolusion, yr hwn sydd yn dysgv i ni bawb wneuthur ein goreu,
a rhoi cwbl o'n bryd a'n meddwl ar fod yn wir Gristianogion,
hynny ydyw ar ymadael a'n drwg fuchedd, a throi ar ddaioni a
duwioldeb ; Wedi ei gyfieithu yn Gymraeg y gan J. D. [Dr. John
Davies o Fallwyd] er lies i'w blwyfolion ; A'i brintio yn Llundain
yn nhy John Beale, tros yr un J. D. 1632."
This book, which is a translation of Edmund Bunney's adapta-
tion, for Protestant readers, of Robert Parsons' Christian- Directory,
1 Cymdeitfias Lien Cymni: "An Act for the Propagation of the Gospel
in Wales, 1649," p. 18. 2 AfAen : Oxon : i., p. 860.
'$5
was previously translated into Welsh by Robert Gwinn (Gwynne),
: whose record in the History of Oxford Writers is as follows :
' " Robert Gwinn, a Welsh man born, took one degree in Arts,
1568, and in 1571, leaving the University, went with Thorn.
' Crowther another Batchelour, to Dovvay, where being admitted into
the English College, made very great progress in Divinity. After-
wards Gwinn returning into England, and settling in Wales in the
condition of a Secular Priest, did write several Pious Works in
the Welsh Tongue, as Anton. Possivinus tells us, but the Titles
of them he omits ; and also translated from the English into the
Welsh Language, A Christian Directory or Exercise guiding Men
to Eternal Salvation, commonly called the Resolution : Written by
Rob. Persons, the Jesuit, which translation was much used and
valued, and so consequently did a great deal of good among the
Welsh people. See more in Jo. Davies under the year 1634.'
The further reference to which we are directed states : " He (Dr.
John Davies) also translated into the same language (Welsh)
which he had studied at vacant hours for thirty years the book of
Resolution, written by Robert Persons, a Jesuit." 2 It is interest-
ing to note further the record of Robert Persons or Parsons, given
in the same work, gathered, as the writer states, " partly from his
own writings, partly from record, and partly from impartial
writers."
" He was a most noted and learned writer of his time, and
the ornament of the English nation in the opinion of those of his
Society. . . . Having a good memory he could repeat what he had
read once or twice very readily. ... A virtuous good Priest who
became Vicar of Nether-Stowey, perceiving that Robert had
pregnant parts, did teach him the Latin tongue. ... In the latter
end of 1563, R. Parsons being fitted for Academical learning was
sent to the said College (Balliol). ... By the help of good
natural parts with unwearied industry he became in short time a
smart Disputant not only in the college, but publick Schools, as
occasion served. In 1568 he was admitted Bachelor of Arts and
*Atheni Oxon: i. p. 224. 2 ibid i. p. 519.
1*6
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
the same year Probationer -Fellow of the said College, which,
being terminated, he was made Chaplain -Fellow, and so conse-
quently went into Orders, being then a noted Tutor in the
College. In 1572 he was admitted Master of Arts, and in 1574
he resigned his Fellowship of his own accord, being then, if not
before, about to change his Religion. In 1574 he left England,
went to Calais and thence to Antwerp, he diverted himself for a
time with a journey to Louvain .... intending to prosecute the
study of Physick at Padua. At length he went there and studied
that Faculty . . . and Civil Law. Upon second thoughts he
relinquished those studies, went to the Eng. College at Rome,
and was there admitted into the Society of Jesus, 1575 . . . . He
was constituted Rector of the English College [at Rome] in 1587.
. . . He was more zealous for promoting the Jesuits' interest
than any before his time." 1
Robert Parsons had first pnblished his book in 1583, from
which edition and book were framed two more, published in
1584, one by a Roman Catholic living at Rouen, which Wood
states was " full of errors, but in sense the same," the other by
Edmund Bunney, 2 of Merton College, Oxford. Bunney, how-
ever, altered the book " to the Protestant use," and was called to
task for doing so by Parsons in the preface to his 1585 edition of
the Christian Directory.^
Wood further states that " these books of Resolution won
Parsons a great deal of praise, not only in the judgment of Roman
Catholics, but of very learned Protestants." Critics, however,
asserted that his work was not original, and that the praise he
deserves is mainly that due to a good translator. " The platform
of the said Resolution was laid to his hand, by L. de Granada,
who gave him the principal grounds and the matter thereof."*
' Athen : Oxon : i. pp. 304 - 5. * Edmund Bunney's record in the
Alumni Oxonienses is as follows : Son of Richard [Bunney] of Newlands.
Fellow of Magdalen College, 1560; B.A., 1560; M.A., 1564-5; Fellow of
Merton, 1565; B.D., 1570; Canon of St. Paul's, 1564; Sub - dean of York,
1570: Canon of York, 1575. Died, 1617-18; buried in York Minster,
a A then ; Oxati : i. pp. 304 - 5. 4 ibid p, 307.
'57
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
It will thus be seen that Dr. John Davies was amongst those
referred to as " very learned Protestants," who saw the value of
Parsons' work as a devotional book, and gave his countrymen the
benefit of it in their own language. It is hardly necessary to add
that none of the tenets of Rome appear in this translation. John
Davies did for Wales what Edmund Bunney had done for
England. He altered the book " to the Protestant use." It can
be conjectured that Robert Gwinn's translation, or Edmund
Bunney's altered version, or both, came into his hands. The
necessity for a Welsh translation was due to the fact that Gwinn's
work would be doctrinally unpalatable to the vast majority of
Welshmen. But the devotional side of the work was so uplifting
that Dr. Davies would have his parishioners, in the first place, and
his countrymen generally, in the second, reap the advantage of
contact with a truly devotional mind, whether it were that of
Parsons or of I/, de Granada.
A second edition of Llyfry Resolution was issued by Charles
Edwards in 1684, in the title-page of which it is stated: "Fe
brintiwyd y Llyfr hwn, er ys mwy na banner cant o fiynyddoedd a
aethant heibio, ac yn awr drachefn, nid yn unic er mwyn y
Gymraeg bur sydd ynddo (yn amgenach nag mewn un llyfr ond
y Bibl), eithr hefyd er mwyn y Defnydd da ar a ellir ei wneuthur
o hono. Yr ail Argraphiad yn Llundain, gan I. R. yn y flwyddyn
1684."
It had been intended to issue this edition in 1677, and the
editor of the Trysor fr Cymru in his " Llythyr at y Darllenydd,"
states his purpose thus (as it includes his opinion of Dr. Davies'
writing it shall be quoted in full) : " Os Duw a rydd iechyd a
bywyd disgwyliwch mewn amser, am ail brintio y Llwybr Hyffordd
i'r Nefoedd a Llyfr y Resolution, y rhai, nid yn unig er mwyn y
mater, ond hefyd er mwyn y iaith tra ragorol sydd ynddynt (ac yn
enwedig y diwethaf o'r ddau, o ran iaith wedi ei osod allan gan y
cymreigiwr goreu yng-Hymru yn ei amser, sef y Doctor Davies\ a
haeddant eu printio drachefn." J
l Llyft\y Cymry, p. 231.
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
This edition is very accurate throughout.
The next edition generally mentioned is that of 1711,
wrongly supposed to have been the third edition. 1 The 1711
edition was printed by Thomas Durston, at Shrewsbury. But
there is also an edition very similar to this, which was printed by
Thomas Jones, at Shrewsbury, but is undated. A copy of this is
to be seen at the University College Library, at Bangor. Durston
succeeded Thomas Jones at Oswestry, so the edition bearing the
name of the latter must have been earlier than 1711. It is much
the same in size and appearance as that of 1711, but the
pagination differs. The issue of 1 7 1 1 is, therefore, the fourth edition.
Dr. W. O. Pughe published an edition in 1802, and in this
occurs an alternative title to Llyfr y Resolusion, viz., Dyhewyd y
Cristion. He wrongly calls it the fourth edition. The last
edition published is that by Humphreys, of Carnarvon, in which
the preface is dated, May, 1885. The work stands in need of
further publication, and is worthy the trouble of some competent
scholar to edit. At the end of Dr. Davies' book is the Lord's
Prayer in Breton, and in Cornish, with a Welsh interpretation of
the same. There are also added " Pyngciau'r Ffydd yn laith
Llydaw," and " Yr un yn laith Gernyw," together with the Te
Deum as translated by Dafydd Ddu o Hiraddug.
The last book issued by Dr. Davies was Yr ken Lyfr Plygain
a'r gwir Gafea'sm, 1633. The authority for this statement is
Thomas Jones, of Shrewsbury, in his Almanac, which was first
published in 1680. He states that this work was published "trwy
orchymyn y Brenin, a thrwy lafur boen (y Doctor John Davies)
yn y flwyddyn o oed lesu, 1633 " 2 A second edition of "Yr
Hen Lyfr Plygain" was issued by Thomas Jones in 1683. It
contained morning and evening prayers, and prayers for other
occasions, a grace before and after meat, and a list of the old
Welsh fairs. The catechism part of the book was intended to
prepare candidates for confirmation and for the reception of Holy
Communion. Dr. John Davies died in 1644.
1 Llyfr. y Cymry, p. 293. ~ This statement occurs in the 1683 Almanac.
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Rhys Prichard (1579-1644), Vicar of Llandovery, was,
perhaps, the man who exercised the deepest influence on Welsh
life on its religious side in the seventeenth century. The few
details that can be gleaned of his personal history show that he
was born at Llandovery in 1579, entered Jesus College, Oxford,
in 1597, at the age of eighteen, took his B.A. degree in 1602, and
M.A. in 1626.* He was ordained at Wytham in Essex by the
Suffragan Bishop of Colchester in 1602, and in the same year was
presented to the livings of Llandingat and Llanymddyfri by the
Bishop of St. David's. In 1613, King James presented him to
the living of Llanedi, probably through the influence of Robert,
Earl of Essex, to whom Vicar Prichard was chaplain. In 1614
he was made a prebend of the Collegiate church of Brecon, and
in 1626 Chancellor of St. David's Cathedral, which was the highest
dignity he attained in the church. He had also become Vicar of
Llawhaden in 1626, and retained the same until his death in 1644.
There is no evidence that Vicar Prichard himself ever published
a book.
The state of Wales at that time was one of notorious apathy
towards religion, and the life of the masses was as coarse and
vulgar as it well could be. Very few could read, and for the first
quarter of a century of Vicar Prichard's ministry, there were few
copies of the Scriptures in the country except those chained to
the lecterns in the churches. So he bent his energies in a great
humanitarian and spiritual effort to turn the minds of his country-
men towards higher ideals. His great aim was to reach the masses,
and to bring home to them spiritual truths. To this end he
devoted himself to the task of translating his sermons into homely
verse. He understood the Welsh fondness for song and melody.
But he knew it would be impossible to reach the masses by
circulating amongst them poems of high literary merit and classical
diction. Experience had taught him that they could neither
understand nor appreciate, for instance, such efforts as those of
William Salesbury. So he decided in favour of easy diction and
1 Alumni Oxonienses ; also Athen : Oxon : ii. p. 29.
1 60
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
popular metres. He kne'.v the Welshman's poetic instinct and
love of rhyme, the exercise of which, at the time, was too often
confined to ribald songs and coarse ballads. Why not substitute
for them religious ballads? So he determined to clothe the
sublimest truths of the Gospel in a garb which he, with his better
instincts as a poet of some merit, could not have admired much
himself. How well justified he was in his decision, posterity has
attested over and over again. Good literary form would have
defeated the writer's ends, and that we must not expect to find in
his religious ballads. The majority of his verses are written in
four-lined stanzas, each line trochaic ( -) and generally consist-
ing of eight syllables, e.g. :
Er croeshoelio'r lesu drosom
A rhoi taliad llawn am danom ;
Eto ni bydd neb cadwedig
Ond a gretto ynddo'n unig.
But he frequently varies the metre in the same poem ; and some-
times in the same stanza (as in lines 3 and 4 below) there is an
unexpected expansion of the line, e.g. :
Er dy fod ti'n elyn Duw
Wrth naturiaeth a'th ddrwg ryw,
Cred yn Nghrist, fe'th wna o elyn,
I'th nefol Dad yn anwyl blentyn.
Another variation is a four -line stanza, each line containing seven
syllables, but the third line beginning with a strongly -accented
syllable, e.g. :
A dysg yn brudd gydnabod,
Nad oes o flaen y Drindod,
lawn am bechod ond gwaed Crist.
A'i angau trist a'i 'fudd - dod.
There are other instances in which a stanza similar to the above
in other respects, has eight syllables in the third line which begins
with an unaccented syllable, e.g. :
A gwybydd fod Duw'n foddlon,
I'r iawn a wnaeth Crist drosom,
Ac er ei fwyn yn barod iawn
Roi pardwn llawn i'r ffyddlon.
Other four -lined stanzas, which have seven syllables in each line,
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
begin the first and third lines with an accented syllable, and the
second and fourth with an unaccented syllable, e.g. :
Ni wnaeth Duw un gene 'rioed,
Mewn tir, mewn coed, mewn dyfnder,
Nes partoi ei ymborth tyn
I'r geneu cyn ei ganer.
Rhys Prichard never hesitated to use words quite foreign to
the Welsh language as such, provided that they were well-known
colloquially. His ballads bristle with such words, which would
otherwise be offensive to good literary taste ; for instance, craits,
crippian, hvtchis, part na pharsel, desprad, dwnshwn, bysse, &c.
The Vicar's work has been classified variously. The follow-
ing simple division into three classes is as good as any. 1 (i)
Those poems which throw light upon the religious and social
condition of the country at the time ; (2) Those that contain a
synopsis of the great doctrines of revealed religion ; (3) Those
that embody a collection of rules or counsels to be followed in
every condition of life. One feature of the poems is the practical
advice given to the people on matters pertaining to their temporal
welfare as well as spiritual. For instance, Vicar Prichard advises
them to be careful in making their wills, and to be moderate in
eating and drinking, with just as much earnestness as he tells
them to pray night and morning and before engaging in religious
worship. He seems to have a word for all, for the young man on
the threshold of life, for the soldier, the ploughman, the drover,
and he addresses himself with particular force to the drunkard,
for drunkenness was apparently the common evil of his day.
In some of his poems he holds up the many pestilences and
calamities of his time as warnings of Divine displeasure, and he
gives a very vivid description of the plague which visited London
in 1603, with all its attendant horrors.
There is no doubt that these ballads had an elevating
influence upon the masses ; and Stephen Hughes, who lived near
enough to appreciate this, knew and understood the hold they
had on the popular mind, and was inspired in after years to collect
1 Traethodydd) vol. ii., pp. 143-155.
162
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
them with infinite toil, and to present them in book form to a
wider public. He thought that their publication would create a
desire in his countrymen for further knowledge of the Scriptures,
and he states in the preface to the 1672 New Testament, that his
anticipations in this respect had not been disappointed. The
printing of Vicar Prichard's ballads led to multitudes learning to
read Welsh, who afterwards bought Testaments and Bibles. 1
Numerous editions of Canwyll y Cymry have appeared.
Rowland's Cambrian Bibliography states the first part was issued
by Stephen Hughes in 1646, but this seems doubtful, for no such
copy has been preserved. 2
The collecting and printing of this work was, perhaps,
Stephen Hughes' greatest contribution to Welsh literature. The
Rev. T. Shankland, in a lucid and able article in Y Beirniad, is
of opinion that 1656 is a more likely date than 1646 as the year
of issue of the first part. The second part appeared in 1659, its
preface is dated, March 4th, 1659. It was printed by " T.
Webster, tan arwydd y Tri Bibl yn St. Paul, Llundain." Webster
published a large quantity of Puritan Welsh literature. The
preface is signed H. M., who is known to have been Henry
Maurice, who was at the time curate of Llannor and Dineio,
instituted there by the Welsh Commissioners. He was afterwards
an Independent minister. Henry Maurice, who was a North-
walian, had marginal notes in this edition, explaining many of the
Vicar's words, which were in the Dyfed dialect, for the benefit of
his fellows in the northern half of the Principality. Stephen
Hughes adapted most of his books to the needs of his country-
men in North and South respectively, by appending a vocabulary
of words that would present difficulties to either part. In 1670,
the third part of Canwyll y Cymry appeared, with a preface by
Stephen Hughes. Dr. William Thomas, Dean of Worcester, gave
the latter much valuable support in bringing out this edition.
And in 1672, which was a very memorable year for Stephen
Hughes (for in it he was instrumental in publishing an edition of
* Bible in Wa/es, p. 33. 2 See Y Bdrniad^ cyf, ii., rhif 3, p, 176,
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
the New Testament), appeared the complete work, the three
previous parts and a fourth part added, in one book. The chaotic
disorder in which Vicar Prichard had left his work had added
very much to the difficulties of Stephen Hughes, so that the
publication of the whole work was a triumph of patience and
steady industry, and he well deserves the tribute paid him in the
following words quoted from the pages of Y Beirniad : " Mae'r
hanes yn rhamant, a'r gwaith yn golofn goffadwriaeth anfarwol
iddo yng Nghroniclau em hiaith a'n llenyddiaeth." x The full
title-page of the 1672 edition of Canwyll y Cymry is as follows :
" Gwaith Mr. Rees Prichard, gynt Ficer Llanddyfri yn Sir
Gaerfyrddin ; a brintivvyd o'r blaen mewn tri llyfr wedi cysylltu oil
a chwbl (er nid yn yr un drefn a chynt), ynghyd a Phedwaredd
Ran y nawr gynta yn brintiedig."
This was the first effort to collect and arrange the Canwyll
in one volume. Several Welsh booksellers bore the expense of
publication, and their names are worthy of mention : Mr. Goff,
Caerfyrddin ; Mr. Vertey, Abergafenni ; Matthew Jones, Aber-
tawe ; Mr. Hughes, Wrexham ; not to mention a number of
Londoners who frequented Welsh fairs. 2
Gwallter Mechain remarks,3 " It is thought that the old Vicar
of Llanymddyfri (of blessed memory) was the first of the Welsh
bards to introduce the names of pagan deities into his poems, on
the return of Charles I., then Prince of Wales, from Spain :
" Y Miwsis oil o Helicon,
Y Grasys tair, a'r Nymphs o'r bron,
Moeswch oil eich offer canu,
O welcwm h6m i Brins y Cymru."
Stephen Hughes was (not entirely without reason) ashamed
of this verse, and omitted it in his second edition of Rhys
Prichard's work. It was restored, however, in the later editions
of 1841 and 1858.
Williams remarks in his Eminent Welshmen : " It is scarcely
credible with what uncommon avidity and pleasure it [Canwyll y
Cymry] was received, read, and repeated by the people It
'See Y Beirniad, cyf. ii., rhif 3, p. 177. * ibid, p. 180. * Gwaitk
Gwallter Meckain, i. f p. 531.
I6 4
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
had a beneficial influence on the morals and behaviour of the
whole country." A poetical version in English was published by
the Rev. William Evans, Vicar of Llawhaden, in 1771,
The next author whose work should be recorded is John
Edwards, better known to Welsh readers as " Sion Tre-Redyn,"
who translated Edward Fisher's work, The Marrow of Modern
Divinity, in 1651. Fisher graduated at Brasenose College,
Oxford, in 1630, and was entered as a student of the Inner
Temple, in the same year. 1 His work was written in the form of
a dialogue between Evangtttsta, who represented a minister of
the Gospel ; Nomista, a strong supporter of the law ; Antinomista,
a man who belittled the law ; and Neophitus, a young Christian.
John Edwards had probably met Fisher at Oxford. He himself
was a graduate of Jesus College in that University, taking his M.A.
degree in I62Q. 2 In that year he was appointed to the rectory of
Llanmartin, and was preferred in 1633 to Tredennoc, in Mon-
mouthshire, the place from which he derived his nom -de-plume
(Tre-redenoc, Tre-redyn). He was deprived of this benefice
before 1649, so it would not be by the Commissioners, 3 and in
his enforced retirement he devoted himself to literature,* and the
result was his translation of the above work, the Dedication of
which is dated 1650. In his introduction to the reader, dated
1651, he apologises for the many errors, in the following words :
" Canys nid wyf fi a anwyd ar Ian Hafren ym mro Gwent (he had
been born at Caldecott in 1606) lie y mae Saesoniaith yn drech
na'r Brittaniaith, yn cymmeryd arnaf, na medraeth nac hysbys-
rwydd yn y Cymraeg, eithr nid bychan yw fy serch at yr iaith a
daioni fyn' gwlad." The full title of his work is :
Madruddyn y | Difinyddiaeth | Diweddaraf : Neu | Llyfr
Saesoneg a elwir, | The Marrow of Modern Divinity. | Oblegid
1 Alumni Oxonienses. z ibid. ^Seren Corner, 1901, p. 155. 4 His own
words on the subject are : "Ac (er caued fyn' genau rhag ymarfer fyn' gweini-
dogaeth, I'm torr - calon mwyaf, er nad wyf fi onid y gwaelaf o filoedd, ac yn
anaddas o'r swydd weinidogaidd, eto) am fodd y.i anhawdd gennif fi, ac yn tra
enbeidus i mi, na Hwyr ymadael o'm galwad, na bod ychwaith yn segur ynddi,
y cymerais i hyn o boen ewyllysgar." Introduction to the Madruddyn.
'65
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
y Cyfammod o weithredoedd, a'r Cy- | fammod o ras, a'u hymar-
fer hwy ill dau, a'u diweddion, v | dan yr hen Destament, a'r Testa-
ment Newydd. | Ym mha un, y dangosir yn eglur, pa cyn belled |
y mae dyn yn sefyll ar y gyfraith o ran ei Cyfiawn- | haad, ac ar
hynny yn haeddu ei alw | yn Ddeddfwr. | A pha cyn bellhed y
mae arall yn bychanu'r gy- | fraith o ran Sancteiddiad, ac ar hynny
yn haeddu ei ahv j yn Ddeddf-wrthwynebwr. | A'r Ihvybr canolig
rhwng y ddau, yr hon a | arwain i fywyd tragwyddol trvvy Jesu
Christ j Mewn Cyd - ymddiddan rhwng | Evangelista. Gwenidog
yr Efengyl. | Nomista. Deddfwr, neu wr yn dal o ochor y
cyfraith. | Antinomista. Deddf-wrthwynebwr, neu wr yn llwyr
by- j chanu'r gyfraith. | Neophitus. Christion iefangc.
waith E. F. yn y Saesneg | O cyfieithiad J. E. i'r Gymraeg. j
Men' mutare nefas, nee clam, nee cum scrobe, | Nusquam ? Hie
tamen infodiam. |
Printiedig yn Llundain gan T. Mabb a A. Coles, dros |
William Ballard, ag i cael ar werth yn i siop ef dan lun | y Bibl
yn heol'r ud yn ninas Bristol, 1651." 303 pages.
The title-page itself furnishes sufficient evidence that the
writer was not very conversant with the Welsh language. Making
allowance for some printer's errors, it is fairly obvious that he had
very little knowledge of consonant mutations, or the genders of
Welsh nouns. But the substance of the book is weighty, and was
well worth the author's trouble of putting within reach of those of
his monoglot countrymen, and they were many, who were deprived
of the advantage of reading the original by Fisher. No record
has come to hand of the year of John Edwards' death, but it is
thought that he was restored to his benefice, as Walter Prosser,
who held that living from 1657 to 1660, was deprived in the
latter year. 1
The next publications of importance, in this part of our
subject, were the work of Richard Jones, Vicar of Llanfair
Caereinion, a writer whose identity was confused in recent times
with another of the same name, who was Master of the Free
1 Seren Corner ; 1901, p. 155.
166
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
School at Denbigh. The history of this confusion has been very
well set forth by the Rev. T. Shankland in an article published by
Evans and Short, Tonypandy, entitled Cynnyg i Benderfynu hen
Ddadl Lyfryddol. Earlier authors than Gvvallter Mechain had
always distinguished the identity of the two men, but in the
GwyKedydd of September, 1825, pp. 275-7, Gwallter Mechain
started the heresy which so many subsequent writers followed.
He writes, " Nis gwn p\vy oedd Risiard Jones o Ddinbych, os nad
yr un Risiard Jones, mab i Sion Puw o Henllan, yn ymyl
Dinbych." He made this statement in ignorance that Wood in
his Athenae Oxonienses^ had supplied details, accurate in the
main, respecting Richard Jones, of Llanfair Caereinion, and
Edmund Calamy had performed a similar service in the case of
Richard Jones, of Denbigh. 2 Or, what is more likely, Gvvallter
Mechain had seen Wood's account, but not that of Calamy, and
found the solution of a difficult problem by ascribing all the
works which appeared over the name of Richard Jones, between
1653 and 1677, to the same author. The matter has now, how-
ever, been cleared up, and the separate literary identity of each
Richard Jones restored.
Richard Jones, of Llanfair Caereinion, was the son of John
Pugh, of Henllan, in Denbighshire, and was born in that county,
in 1603. He entered Jesus College, Oxford, in 1621, took the
degrees in Arts, and proceeded to Holy Orders. He was
appointed to the benefice of Llanfair C.E. in 1636,3 and remained
there until 1650, when he was deprived by the Welsh Commis-
sioners. The period of his retirement saw the publication of the
two original works which he contributed to Welsh literature, viz.,
Testun y Testament Newydd in 1653, and Perl y Cymro : neu
Cofiadur y Beibl . . , 1655. Both books are summaries of the
contents of the Bible in free metric form, and are of sufficient
interest to merit more detailed attention. The full title of the
former is :
l Atk\ Oxon: ii., 2nd Edit., 1721. columns 165, 166. 2 Cakmy's
Account, 2nd Edit., ii., p. 844. 3 7'AotHas, Esgebaeth Llamlwy^ p. 754.
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
" Testun Testament | newydd ein Harglwydd a'n Jachawdwr |
Jesu Grist, | Yn Benhillion Cymraeg mewn Egwy- | ddoraidd
drefn, a osodvvyd allan trwy lafur | J?t. Jones 6 Lanfair yn-Ghaer
Eingnion j yn Sir Drefaldwyn gweinidog gair Duw, | ac Athro yn
y Celfyddydau. | Fo chwanegwyd atto Epitome 6 Lyfr cyntaf |
Moses yr hwn a elwir Genesis. | Non est mortale quod opto. \
Nid marwol beth yr wy i'n ei geisio. | [Jo. 5. 39 quoted.] Ai
Printio, Yn Llundain, ag iw werthu gan John Brown tan y fesen
eurad yn mon-wynt | Paul. MDCLIII."
A Welsh alphabet follows, and a letter " At yr Enwog urdd-
asol Bendefig Edward Vaughan 6 Lwydiart Esq." The letter
At y Darlleydd, which comes next, is full of interest, for it
gives the author's reason for undertaking the work : " Gan ddarfod
im Harglwydd am Duw ymweled am fi (ymysc eraill om Brodyr)
a dadol gerydd yn gyfiawn am fy meiau, fy nifuddio 6 ran etifedd-
iaeth plant Lefi .... am gwahardd i ddilin swydd fyngalwedig-
aeth, Myfi un 6 rhai gwaelaf yngweinidogaeth yr Efengyl rhag fy
nghyfrif yn ail i'r gwas diog difudd a guddiodd ei Dalent .... a
ryfygais gymmeryd hyn 6 dasc yn Haw Mi a gymhwysais
Bennill Cymraeg am bob penned mewn mesur cyffredinol, mal y
galleu y sawl a ewyllysiant yn hawsach ei ddyscu, ai gofio . . . . i
ymarfer a geiriau y Scrythur Ian, yn lie ofer, wag ganniadau bydol,
difuddiol i iechadwriaeth eu heneidiau .... Nid yw hyn o lyfr,
ond bychan ; ag etto, os gwnei y goreu 6 hono, fe ddichon fod i
ti yn Berl gwerthfawr .... Mnemosynon yw, peth, trwy ychydig
boen, neu yn hytrach bleser y cei di lawer 6 ddifeinyddiol wybod-
aeth."
The author's plan, as will be seen from the above letter to
the Reader, was to epitomise each chapter in the New Testament
into a single stanza ; for instance (to take a well-known chapter),
the tenth of St. John is thus epitomised :
Mud fugail lladd l-io Christ ydyvv'r ffyddlon II
Mab Duw 5. nis creda yr Iddewon 26
Un yw ar Tad 30 ei ladd rhai n ceisio 31-39
Ciliodd 40 llawer credodd ynddo 42.
The numerals refer to the verses in this particular chapter,
168
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
Richard Jones' other work, Perl y Cymro : neu Cofiadur y
Beibl, was published in 1655. It has three title-pages, English,
Welsh, and Latin. The first reads : " The British Gemm ; or an
Abstract of the Bible Digested into Cambrian Metricall
Numbers, so methodically that one may quickly pass through the
whole Body of Scripture and retain the substance thereof with
much advantage to memory. Directions also whereby any
English gentleman, or other, may speedily learn to read the same,
or any other Tract in the British Language. By Richard Jones,
Master of Arts and Minister of the Gospel. London. Printed
by T. H. at the authors charge and are to be sold by E. Brewster
at the Crane in Pauls Churchyard 1655."
The Welsh title reads : " Perl y Cymro neu Cofiadur y Beibl
ar fesurau Psalmau Dafydd yn drefnus wedi gyfansoddi, mal y
gellir ar fyrr o amser gofio y pyngciau pennaf o'r Ysgrythyr Ian :
Trwy waith a llafur R. J. Chwiliwch yr Scrythyrau, Jo. 5, 37.
Clodforaf di, O Arglwydd, ym mysc y bobloedd, Canmolaf di im
mysc y cenhedloedd. Ps. 57. 9. Moliant lehofa a gan Richard
Jones. Printiedig yn-Ghaer Ludd gan T, H. ar gost yr Awdur,
ac ydynt i werth gan E. Brewster tan Arwydd y Garan ym
mynwent Paul 1655."
And the Latin title reads : " Gemma Cambri : Seu Mne-
monica Bibliorum Carmine Britannico ita Concinnata, ut intra
pauculos menses Sacrarum Literarum flores memoria teneat pius
Lector. Opera & studio Rich : Jonesii A.M. [Jo. 5. 39 quoted
in Greek and Ps. 57. 9 in Hebrew] London, Typis T. H.
impensis Authoris &c. Extant apud Edwardum Brewster, sub
insigne Gruis in Cemeterio Paulino, 1655." This Latin title-page
is dedicated to "Johanni Owen. S.S. Theologise doctor uni
Senatorum Angliae &c Tuus humilimus, In Christo
Ministerio Indiginisimus Servus Ri : Jonesius." (Dr. John Owen
was bishop of St. Asaph, 1629-51, and had presented Richard
Jones to Llanfair C.E.)
Then follow directions for the industrious learner to read and
pronounce the British language ; a letter to the Reader, which is
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
signed Ri : Jones, and dated Kalend Awst, 1655 ; a commenda-
tory letter by James Howell "to my reverend and learned
countryman ;" Encomiasticks on the author and his book [by]
Mi: Roberts S.T.D. ; ' To the Printer' by Theod. Wynne and
Sydnaeus Ellis ; to the author by Maurice Morgan ; At yr
Awdur ai waith [gan] Jo. Wynne G. yr Efengyl : Achrosticon
Gymraeg [gan] Jo. Richard V.D.M., and " Odl i gofio llyfrau'r Hen
Destament." The text occupies pages 1-140, and on page 141 is
a poem entitled The Author's Son's Vision, signed Ed. Jones.
Pages 143-4, which end the book, contain Rhan or 119 Psalm.
At a meeting of the Commissioners, July 17, 1650, the fifths
of the parish of Llanfair Caereinion were granted to the wife and
children of Richard Jones, 1 after his deprivation of that living, in
the same year. 2 Our author must have died at the end of 1655
or the beginning of 1656, because his son in the above mentioned
Vision, which appears at the end of the book, writes :
Behold ! me thinks I see sad objects all
Men-like in sable mourning clad : they call.
And say, be gone, thy aged Father's dead
Thy patient mother mov'd with passion led
Bewails her husbands death, her children stand
About her seven condole ; put to thy hand,
Make up the eighth, and fitting things prepare
To solemnise his Funeral Rites ; that are
Emblems of love, and duties to the dead,
And let him sleep awhile in earthly bed.
It is evident from this that Richard Jones of Llanfair Caereinion
died before his last work Perly Cymro was issued from the press.
We now proceed to mention the works of his namesake,
Richard Jones of Denbigh, who was born at Llansannan in
1604, educated at Balliol College, Oxford, where he graduated
B.A. in 1628-9, an d M.A. in 1633.3 He was appointed by the
Trustees for the Maintenance of Ministers under Cromwell school-
master of the Free School at Denbigh, a post which he held till
his death, in 1673. He was a man of considerable learning and
noted piety, and Welsh literature is indebted to him for four
1 Rawlinson MS. C. 261, under that date (Bodleian Library, Oxford),
2 The record exists in the same MS. 5 Alumni Oxotiienses.
I 7
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
translations, three of them the work of Baxter, and the other the
work of Gouge. His. writings appeared after the death of his
namesake, for the first of them is dated 1659. It is a translation
into excellent Welsh of Baxter's Call to the Unconverted, and its
Welsh title is Galwad fr Annychweledig, printed in London,
1659. Another book by Baxter entitled A Winding Sheet for
Popery was translated and published in 1672, under the title,
" Amdo i Babyddiaeth, o waith Richard Baxter, Catholic. Print-
iedigyn Llundain gan J.D. dros Edward Brewster, 1672." He
also translated for Gouge his Christian Directions to walk with
God, which was issued in 1675, at Gouge's expense, under the
title ffyfforddiadau Christianogol, printed in London. His fourth
and last work was his translation of Baxter's Now or Never, which
was published in 1677 under the title Bellach neu Byth. Calamy
states that Richard Jones died on August i5th, 1673, at Denbigh. 1
A book entitled " Defosiwnau priod, Printiedig yn Llundain,
i Richard Harriot, ym monwent Eglwys St. Dunstan, 1655,"
appeared in 1655-6. It has a fuller title, viz., " Defosiwn priod,
Wedi ei cymhwyso i bum rhan gweddi : sef i. Cyffes. ii. Rhag-
ddeisyfiad. iii. Deisyfiad. iv. Talu-diolch. v. Erfyniad. Ac
Arch arbenig tros y claf. A Chynghorieu a gweddiau ar ddydd
yr Arglwydd, o flaen Cymmun, erbyn dydd marwolaeth, a dydd y
farn. A Dwy weddi beunyddiol, sef boreuol a phrydnhawnol :
Wedi ei cyfiaethu yn Gymraec, Trwy waith W. L. M. A. Rhuf. ii.
14. Llundain [by the same Printers] 1656."
There is a Latin dedication to this work by "G. L." to
Thomas Myddleton, and Latin lines to the author, Dr. Valentine, by
" R. E. M. A. Oxon., J. B. M. A. Oxon., and D. T. M. A. Oxon."
It is only a small book of 33 pages, and Dr. Valentine, the
original author, was minister of Chalfont St. Giles, in Buckingham-
shire, in the time of Charles I. The translator is said by Gwilym
Lleyn 2 to have been John Owen, an Anglesey man, but it is hard
to say how he makes this correspond with the title-page, which
definitely states that it was translated by W. L. M. A. The author
1 Calamy's Account, &c. } 2nd Edit., vol. ii. p. 844. 2 Llyf, y Cymry, p. 169-
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
was evidently an Oxford man, and three others of that University
gave their benison to the work by writing Latin lines in its com-
mendation, which would seem to indicate that W. L. was a man
of some standing at the University. In Foster's Alumni Oxonienses
is the record of one William Lewys from Co. Merioneth, of Hart
Hall, B.A. 1608 ; Fellow of Oriel, 1608; M.A. 1612 ; Provost of
Oriel, 1617-21 ; J D.D. 1627. From 1627-43 he was master of
the Hospital of St. Cross, which was a Church appointment, and
again after the Restoration, 1660 to 1667, the year of his death.
The hiatus 1643-1660 is explained thus in the Alumni:
" He lost these preferments in the time of the Rebellion, and fled
beyond seas, but was restored on his Majesty's return, and died in
the hospital of St. Cross, 1667." William Lewys' deprivation is
also mentioned by Walker in his Sufferings of the Clergy, where he
is stated to have been made Prebend of Winchester after the
Restoration. Under the Commonwealth, the estate of one,
Dr. William Lewis, of Llanwyvy [Llanddwywe] in Merionethshire,
was declared forfeited for treason by an act of Nov. 18, i652. 2
Although there is no sure ground of proof, it is not unlikely
that William Lewys, Fellow and Provost of Oriel, was responsible
for this little work. It would explain the interest taken in it by
other members of the University, and it may be that his depriva-
tion and exile had turned his mind, as it did that of so many
others, to the publication of devotional literature which would
benefit his countrymen.
In 1657 appeared " Cerbyd Jechydwriaeth. Neu Prif
Byngciau Crefydd Gristonogawl wedi eu egluro a'u gosod allan.
i. Yn gyntaf, mewn Sententiau a Rheolau awdyrdodol. 2. Yn
nesaf, mewn cyd-ymddiddan trwy ymholion ac attebion. Print-
iedig yn-ninas Llundain, gan Sarah Griffin, dros Philip Chetwind,
1657."
1 Walker's Sufferings of the Ckrgy, ii. p. 77, states that he was advanced
to this post by a party of his own coun rymen. and afterwards forced to resign,
" being too young for that office," and then tc have gone beyond the seas in
the King's service. He took oart will. Buckiagham in the ill-fated expedi-
tion against Rochelle, and afterwards suffered much for the Royal cause, and
by his sons joining the Church of Rome. 2 ibid.
172
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
The author was Thomas Powel, D.D., son of John
Powel, rector of Cantref, in the county of Brecon, where he was
born in 1608. He went to Jesus College, Oxford, in 1625, was
elected Scholar in 1627, and afterwards fellow of the same
College. He took Holy Orders, and became rector of Cantref in
1635. Wood states that he suffered much during the Civil Wars,
his living was sequestrated, and he fled over seas. 1 On the
return of Charles II., he was restored to his benefice, became
a Doctor of Divinity, and Canon of St. David's. He died
Dec. 3ist, 1660, and was buried at St. Dunstan's in the West,
Fleet St., London. He was author of several works which are
mentioned by Wood, but this was his only Welsh production, and
is a small work of 39 pages. It consists of some Annotations
which appear at the latter end of his book " Quadriga Salutis :
or, the four general Heads of Christian Religion surveyed and
explained. London, 1657." Octavo.
Powel is described in the History of Oxford Writers as " a
Person well vers'd in several sorts of Learning, was an able
Philosopher, a curious Critic, was well skill'd in various
Languages, and not to be contemn'd for his knowledge in
Divinity." 2
His first work, Elementa Opticce, published in London, 1651,
was " commended to the world by the copies of verses of Olor
Iscanus and Eugenius Philalethes his Brother," 3 both of them
Breconshire residents and natives. He also translated some
works from Italian into English, and from French into English.
Wood states also that "he left behind him a MS. of his composi-
tion unpublished, entitled Fragmenta de rebus Britanniris a
short account of the Lives, Manners, and Religion of the British
Druids and the Bards, c."
His letter preceding Cerbyd Jechydwriaeth, " At fy anwyl
Gyd-wlad-wyr y Cymru," shows that he could write fairly good
Welsh prose, as the following quotation illustrates :
" Pan ddaeth attal a rhwystr arnom i bregethu'r Efengyl yn
l AtAen: Oxon: ii., p. 254. a ibid. 3 ibid.
173
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
eich plith, yr oeddem yn byrw am wneuthur daioni i chwi, y modd
goreu ac y gallem er na allem eu wneuthur y modd goreu ac y
dymunem. Pan y gostegwyd y tafod, yr hwn oedd (umvaith) fel
pin Sgrifennydd buan, rhaid oedd i wneuthur y pin scryfen i
wasanaethu yn lle'r tafod, i beri'r Haw i efengylu yn lle'r geneu,
ac i Scryfennu attoch y pethau nid oedd rydd i lefaru wrthych.
Dyma'r achos y danfonnwyd y Traethiad byr hwn yn eich mysc,
sef i gyfarwyddo rhai, ac i gynnal eraill yn yr iniawn ffordd, a'r
gowir ffydd." x
Elis Lewis of Llwyngwern, in Merionethshire, was a
gentleman of culture who, at the request of Mrs. Catherine Anwyl,
of Park, Llanfrothen, translated Drexelius' work On Eternity into
simple and clear Welsh prose, under the title Ystyriaethau Drexelius
ar Dragywyddoldeb, published in 1661. He says in the preface
that Oxford scholars had " edited and corrected " his little book
for the benefit of their fellow-countrymen. A number of englynion
precedes the work, written in praise of the book and its translator,
by " John Vaughan, Elis Anwyl, Wiliam Phylipp, Gruffydd Phylip,
and Edward Morris," which is a proof that Elis Lewis was well
known to the leading bards of his day in Gwynedd. 2 The book
is dedicated " I'r Ddiwair a'r rinweddol bendefiges, Mrs. Catherin
Anwyl unig ferch Sir John Owen o'r Clenenau, a chywely yn
ddiweddar i'r Urddasol Esq., Mr. Robert Anwyl o'r Pare, yr hwn
a alwodd Duw am dano." Very little is known of the translator,
but he was a good W T elsh writer, and the book contains passages
of great beauty.
Its full title is : " Ystyriaethau Drexelius ar Dragywyddoldeb.
Gwedi ei gyfieithu yn gyntaf yn Saesonaeg gan Dr. R. Winterton,
ac yr awr- hon yn Gymraeg gan Elis Lewis, o'r Llwyn-gwern, yn
sir Feirion, Wr- bonheddig. Printiedig yn Rhydychen gan Hen.
Hall, tros Rich. Davies, ac a werthir yn ei shop ef yn heol St.
Mair, yn ymyl Oriel Col. 1661." It contains 377 pages of text,
and on the last page is printed : " Ar Dragywyddoldeb nid oes
un Terfyn." Then follows a page of corrigenda, and 14 pages
1 Charles Ashton's Hanes Lien, Gymrel^ p. 51. 2 ibid, p. 55.
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
containing prayers. The preface, which is rather long, takes up
36 pages, and the whole work is a very neat little volume of 428
pages. It contains nine meditations, each dealt with in three
chapters. The subjects of meditation are : i. What eternity is.
ii. How Nature presents the truth to us. iii. How the Romans
chiefly prepared for it. iv. How David meditated upon it, and
how we should, v. How others, even evil-doers, meditate upon it.
vi. How Holy Scriptures teach us to ponder it. vii. How Christians
depict it. viii. How Christians should inwardly examine themselves
concerning it. ix. The seven purposes of these meditations on
Eternity.
Dr. Edward Wynn (?-i669), the son and last heir male
of Bodewryd, Anglesey, contributed to Welsh literature in 1662 a
work entitled : " Trefn Ymanveddiad y Gwir Gristion, neu Lwybr
hyffordd i'r Cymro i rodio arno beunydd gyda Duw. Gan Edward
Wynn, D.D. Llundain, 1662." The author had been educated
at Jesus College, Cambridge, where he graduated M.A. and D.D.
In 1644, he was presented by his uncle, Bishop Owen of St.
Asaph, to the living of Llanymawddwy, in Merionethshire, on the
death of Dr. Davies of Mallwyd, whom he had served as curate,
and whose widow he subsequently married. Dr. Edward Wynn
was also grandson to Bishop Robert Morgan, of Bangor. He
held various livings in St. Asaph and Bangor, of which he was
deprived in 1650- 1. 1 But after the Restoration he became
Rector of Llanllechid, in 1662 ; Canon of St. Asaph, and Chan-
cellor of Bangor. He also had the livings of Llanarmon and
Llangeinwen. In 1668 he was appointed to Llaneugrad, Anglesey.
He died December lyth, 1669, and was buried at Llangaffo, in
Anglesey. He is mentioned as having subscribed ^50 to the
fund for improving Bangor Cathedral, and was also an ardent
educationalist, as instanced in his founding of a school at Holy-
head, and of a bursary of ^6 per annum at Jesus College., Cam-
bridge, where he himself had been educated.
1 The following entry occurs in the Account of the Administration of the
Act for the Propagation, &c. in North Wales (Cardiff, 1908, p. 29) : " Mr.
Edward Wynne, Rector of Llanymouthwy, ejected then for scandall," i.e., at
Welshpool, on June i8th, 1651.
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
It should be noticed that the one book he published was
an original work, and not a translation. It is prefaced by an
address to the parishioners of Llangeinwen and Llangaffo. A
second edition of it was issued in 17 23 -4.'
The next writer in order of date is Rondl Davies or
Randolph Davies (?- 1695), M.A., who was collated Vicar of
Meifod and Sinecure Rector of Cwm by Bishop George Griffith,
in i66i. 2 This collation must refer to his reinstatement after the
Restoration, for he had previously held the vicarage of Meifod.
His marriage is chronicled in the registers of that parish in 1648,
and in the entry he is stated to be vicar of the parish. It runs as
follows: " Matrimonium legitimum contrat. fuit inter Randolphum
Davies vicarium hujus parochias et Mariam filiam Johannis
Williams clerici, 10 die Junii, 1648." The same registers contain
the baptismal entries of several of his children born between 1649
and 1666, for instance, "Johannes filius Randolphi Davies
Vicarii hujus parochige baptiz. fuit 8 Julii, 1651." Archdeacon
Thomas states that he was deprived by the Parliamentary
sequestrators,^ and mentions that one, Stephen Lewis, M.A., was
put into that parish as vicar of Meifod in 1649, and that there is
a great difference in the style and spelling in the registers as from
that date. This is supported by the record in the Alumni
Oxonicnses, which gives Stephen Lewis as Vicar of Meifod, 1649.
These statements are very hard to reconcile, unless it is that
Randolph Davies continued to reside in the parish after his
sequestration, and was allowed out of courtesy to use his former
title.
Rowlands' Cambrian Bibliography attributes to him part
authorship in a book reputed to have been published in 1660,
under the title " Cowir a ffyddlon ateb i Lyfr a enwir ychydig
Gyfarwyddiadau i'r Cymru yn erbyn y Cyfeiliorni sydd yn mysg y
bobl a elwir Cwacers, yn yr hon y mae yr awdwr di henw yn
dangos i yspryd maleusus a chenfigenus yn erbyn pobl Dduw.
1 Manual of W. Lit., p. 165 ; C. Ash ton Hanes Lien. Gymreig, p. 57 ;
Llyfr. y Cymry, p. 189. 'Edwards' Edn. of Brown Willis' Survey of St.
Asaph, ii., pp. 268, 393. 3 Hist, of Diocese of St. Asafh, ii,, p. 50.
I 7 6
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
Gyda gwahoddiad i'r Cymru truain fel y byddo yddynt uno
goleini Crist oddimewn uddynt, a rhodio yntho. Oddiwrthym ni,
y rhai mae y byd drygionus mewn gwawd yn i galw Cwacers.
Chandler, & Crook, & Rondl Davies, & Evans. London." From
this it would appear that Rondl Davies favoured the Quakers,
and was himself a Quaker, but this is altogether inconsistent with
the 'attitude he adopts towards the Quakers and others in a work
published by him in 1675, of which there can be no doubt that
he is the author. It has two title-pages, the first in English, the
second in Welsh, as follows :
" A Tryall of the Spirits, or a Discovery of False Prophets,
and a Caveat to beware of them ; or a Short Treatise on i John
iv., i. Wherein is discovered, by the light of God's Word,
expounded by antiquity, that several Doctrines of the Papists,
Presbyterians, Independents, and Quakers, are disagreeable to the
Holy Scripture, and carefully to be avoided by every man that
loves the Salvation of his Soul. Pro Ecclesia clamitant, et co?itra
Ecclesiam dimicant. Cypr."
" Profiad yr Ysprydion, neu Ddatcuddiad Gau Athrawon, a
Rhybudd i'w gochelyd. Neu Draethawd byrr ar i St. Jo. 4. i.
O waith Rondl Davies, Meistr yn y Celfyddydau, a Ficar Meifod.
Ym mha un y Datcuddir drwy oleini Gair Duw, Esboniedig gan
hynafiaeth, fod amryw athrawiaethau y Pabistiaid, y Presbyteriaid,
yr Independentiaid, a'r Cwaceriaid, yn anghysson a'r Yscrythyr
Lan, ac o herwydd hynny i'w gochelyd gan bob dyn sydd yn caru
lechydwriaeth ei enaid. Rhydychen. Printiedig gan H. Hal!,
ym mlwyddyn yr Arglwydd 1675. >Jt
Gwallter Mechain relates a story which throws light on the
condition of the parish of Meifod during Rondl Davies' incum-
bency. 2 The Quakers had gained ground there considerably, and
there was a Quaker chapel at Coed Cowryd, near Dolobran.
Richard Davies, of Cloddiau Cochion, in the parish of Llanfyllin,
Charles Thomas, and Samuel Lloyd, of Dolobran, were pillars in
the Quaker cause in the immediate neighbourhood. A writer in
1 Llyfr. y Cymry, p. 203. 2 Givaith Gwallter Mechain, iii., p. 103.
177
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
the Cambrian Quarterly Magazine (vol. i., p. 325) states that
" during his incumbency Quakerism had made a considerable
schism in his fold." So it is reasonable to conclude that Rondl
Davies would be much concerned at the spread of what he clearly
regarded as erroneous doctrine, and this book would be the out-
come of his cogitations on the matter. This makes it all the
more unlikely that he could have had any part in the production
of the publication purported to have appeared in 1660.
His book Profiad yr Ysprydion is dedicated to Edward
Vaughan, Esq., of Llwydiarth. It contains 14 pages of preface,
2 37 pages of text, and seven pages at the end which contain short
addresses in Latin to the author, and also a French ode to the
same.
The entry of his death is thus recorded in the Cambrian
Quarterly Magazine : " Dom Ranulphus Davies Cler de Peniarth
Sepultus 25 Feb. 1695." x
James Owen was the author of two original works in
Welsh, published towards the end of the century ; Trugaredd a
Barn which appeared in 1687, and became very popular, and a
less known work entitled Bedydd Plant o'r Nefoedd, published in
1693. He was the son of John Owen of Bryn, in the parish
of Abernant, near Carmarthen, the birth place of James Howell.
He was born in 1654, and educated first in a school kept by
James Picton, a Quaker, who grounded him in classics, and after-
wards at the Grammar School of his native town. Instead of
proceeding to Oxford, having leanings towards Nonconformity,
he went in 1672 to a small seminary kept by one Samuel Jones,
Bryn Llwyarch, Llangymvyd, Glamorganshire, where he remained
four years, and made great progress in languages. 2 Afterwards
he returned home and established a school in Carmarthen. He
began his ministerial career as an auxiliary to Stephen Hughes at
Swansea, but under the influence of Henry Maurice, a native of
Lleyn in Carnarvonshire, he was persuaded to undertake work at
Bodfel, near Pwllheli, where, after nine months, his position
1 Vol. 5., p. 325. Uyfr. y Cymry, p. 237.
I 7 8
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
became very difficult, and he dared not stir from his house.
Escaping thence, he came to Bron-y-Clydwr, in Merionethshire,
and was welcomed there by Hugh Owen, a Nonconformist
preacher of some note. In 1676 he was invited to become
chaplain to Mrs. Baker, at Swinney, near Oswestry. He often
suffered persecution and was once imprisoned at Caerwys in
Flintshire, but was released on appeal. In 1679 he married an
Oswestry lady and removed there, and was granted a licence to
preach in that town by the Court at Denbigh. While at Oswestry
he had a public discussion with Dr. William Lloyd, Bishop of
St. Asaph, on the necessity or otherwise of Episcopal Orders, on
Sept. 27th, 1681. The learned Henry. Dodwell took part with
the Bishop, and Philip Henry, of Broad Oak, and Jonathan
Roberts, of Llanfair, with James Owen. 1 A large number of the
neighbouring gentry and others assembled to hear the debate,
which lasted for six hours, and good temper was shown on both
sides.
James Owen, after starting an academy for ministerial
students at Oswestry, sometime afterwards removed to Shrews-
bury, and continued his school there from 1700 to 1706, during
which time he was also minister of High Street Chapel in that
town. He died in r7o6 at the age of 52, and was buried in
St. Chad's Church, Shrewsbury. 2 His funeral sermon was preached
by the celebrated Matthew Henry. His brother, Charles Owen>
wrote his biography in English, and published it in 1709.
James Owen was the author of a considerable number of
English publications, but his Welsh writings were few. The full
title of his chief work is :
" Trugaredd a Barn neu yn agos i Drichant o Siarhpleu
rhyfeddol o farnedigaethau Du\v ar yr Annuwiol, Ac o drugaredd-
au nodedig i'r Duwiol, mewn amryw wledydd ac oesoedd ; Gyda
llawer o Ystorieu buddiol eraill, wedi eu casglu allan o Ysgrifen-
iadau gwyr Dysgedig :
1 Hancs Llenyddiaeth Gymrtig (C. Ashlon), p. 79. 3 Gu<yddoniadur
(Tpi., pp. 166 - 169. See also article in >> N. 2,
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Er dychryn i'r Drygionus,
Er cyssur i'r Daionus,
Ac er rhybudd i Bawb.
Argraphwyd yn y Mwythig gan R. Lathrop, lie y gellir cael Printio
pob math ar Gopiau am bris gweddaidd, a chael ar werth amryw
Lyfrau Cymraeg a Saesnaeg."
The date of the book is fixed by Stephen Hughes in his
preface to Taithy Pererin, London, January 10, i68|, in which
he mentions Trugaredd a Barn as a good book, " yr hwn a brinti-
wyd yr /w/diweddaf."
The author also dates his letter to the Reader, " Llundain,
Mehefin 4ydd, 1687," and signs it " Dy gydwladwr J. O." The
chief criticism directed against it is that it is full of superstition.
Gwallter Mechain referred to it as " y casgliad ofergoelus hwnnw." 1
About 1691 there was considerable discussion between the
Independents and the Baptists concerning Infant baptism. John
Jenkins, Rhydwilym, championed adult baptism, and Samuel
Jones, of Bryn Llywarch, was asked to reply on behalf of the
Independents. He failed to comply, and his place was taken by
his former pupil, James Owen, who, in 1693, published " Bedydd
Plant OT Nefoedd, neu Draethawd ar Natur a Diben Bedydd.
Yn proii, Trwy ddeuddeg o Ressymau Scrythuraidd y dylid
bedyddio plant y ffyddloniaid." His brother, Charles Owen,
afterwards translated this work into English, under the title :
" The Infant's Ark, or Infant Baptism proved by xn Arguments,
translated out of the British tongue by Charles Owen, V.D.M."
Benjamin Keach replied to James Owen's book, and his
answer was translated into Welsh, and published in 1696, under
the title : " Goleuni wedi torri allan yng Nghymru ....
Gan gynnwys atteb i Lyfr, yr hwn a elwir Bedydd Plant o'r
Nefoedd .... Ac yn profi hefyd mai bedydd yw soddiad yr holl
gorph mewn dwfr . . . . ac nad yw neb yn ddeiliaid bedydd ond
y Credadwy yn unig." The translator is thought to have been
Robert Morgan, of Swansea, a friend of Benjamin Keach. James
1 GwalUtr Mcchain's Works, ii,, p. 304,
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
Owen's Bedydd Plant o'r Nefoedd was the first book in Welsh
on the Baptist controversy. 1 His other works are: "A Plea for
Scripture Ordination, 1694;" Tutamen Evangelicum, 1697;
" Moderation a Virtue," 1703 ; "The History of the Consecration
of Altars," 1706; " Vindiciae Britannicae," 1706. He also trans-
lated the Westminster Assembly's Shorter Catechism into Welsh in
1701, and supplied Calamy with material for his account of the
Welsh ejected Divines.
Hugh Owen (H. O.), of Gwenynog, Anglesey, translated
in 1684 the Imitatio Christi of Thomas a Kempis. The title-
page is as follows :
"Dilyniad j Christ | a elwir yn gyffredin | Thomas a Kempis |
Gwedi ei gyfieithu 'n Gymraec ers | talm o amser yn ol
Editiwn ] yr Awdur gan | Huw Owen | Gwenynoc ym Mon,
Esq. | .... Llundain | Gwedi ei imprintio ar gost I. H. |
MDCLXXXIV."
The original work is generally attributed to Thomas a
Kempis, but there are different opinions as to its authorship,
Gerson and Walter Hilton both being mentioned, amongst others,
as possible authors. The question is discussed at some length in
J. E. G. de Montmorency's " Thomas a Kempis : His Age and
Book," but the latest researches show that a Kempis' title to the
authorship is at least as clear as that of the others mentioned.
Thomas a Kempis was born in 1379, at Kempen, near
Cologne, and spent most of his life in seclusion in the poor
monastery of Mount St. Agnes, near Zwolle, where he died in
1471, having composed many devotional books. Europe was full
of religious strife at that time, and a rival pope had been set up at
Avignon, but a Kempis, rapt in meditation, was undisturbed by
outward happenings, having turned his back not only on the
world but also on the worldliness, which, at that time, had eaten
into the life of the Roman Church.
In the original Latin, this work was metrical in form, and,
perhaps, for this reason it was at first generally known as Musica
'Z>. N. .
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Ecclesiastica. A metrical translation of the work was issued in
English in 1889. Hugh Owen, of Gwenynog, was the first to
translate it into Welsh, in 1684.
The editor mentions in his preface three translations, the
respective work of the Roman priests, Matthew Turberville,
Thomas Jeffreys, and Huw Parry, but as far as is known, these
are not now extant, and it is stated that none of the three were
published. The editor of this first translation into Welsh was
Father John Hughes, who was born in Anglesey in 1615, and died
at Holy well in 1686. He tells us in the preface that Hugh Owen,
the translator, was owner of a small patrimony in Anglesey, and
afterwards steward on the Bodeon Estate in Anglesey, to Sir
Hugh Owen, and was a man much respected both owing to his
faithfulness to religion and his diligence in improving the land.
The preface further states that he translated other books, and
amongst them Llyfr y Resolusion, thirty years before Dr. John
Davies' translation appeared, and when the author was only 27
years old. On this reckoning, Hugh Owen was born c 1575.
His Dilyniad Crist is a book of xx. + 448 pages, and is a literal
translation, and as such is rather cumbersome and lacking in
flexibility, as one might expect. The translation of W. M. A. B.,
which appeared in 1723, under the title Pattnvm y Gwir
Gristion : neu Ddilyn'ad lesu Grisf, is a vast improvement on
Hugh Owen's work. Five other editions have since appeared,
viz., those of 1829, 1859, 1872, 1905, and 1908, the last under
the editorship of the Rev. H. Elvet Lewis, M.A. Some of them
bear the imprint, after the name of the translator (Hugh Owen)
" Gwenydog ym Mon Esq.," and " Gweinydog ym Mon." This
is, of course, a mistake for Gwenynog, the name of his residence,
but it led to much confusion. 1
One of the most eminent and industrious literary Welshmen
of the seventeenth century was Charles Edwards concerning
whom, unfortunately, much still remains to be discovered. For
J See Cymmrodorion Transactions, 1897-8, pp. 13, 14 : and Introduction
to the 1908 edn. by the Rev. H. Elvet Lewis,
182
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
instance, it is only a matter of conjecture where he received his
early education, and the later details of his life are also shrouded
in obscurity. As Mr. Ivor James complained in his article in
the Traethodydd (1886), " Y mae rhyw gaddugwedi ei guddio er
ys talm." Mr. R. J. Prys puts Charles Edwards in the same
category as Bishop Morgan, Bishop Davies, Dr. John Davies of
Mallwyd, and Goronwy Owen, and perhaps this estimate as to his
literary ability is very near the mark. Such details of his life
as are known are the following : The records of All Soul's College,
Oxford, state that he was entered there as Bible Clerk in 1644,*
aged 1 6, which gives 1628 as the year of his birth. His father is
described as a plebeian, and is generally supposed to have been
Robert Edwards, of Cynlleth, Rhydycroesau, Denbighshire.
Charles Edwards himself, in his autobiography, "An afflicted
man's Testimony concerning his Troubles," says nothing of his
father, mother, family connections, birthplace, or education, but
he incidentally mentions that he studied at Oxford. To matri-
culate at the University at 16, .meant that he must have received
a good early education. The nearest Grammar School to Rhyd-
ycroesau would be either Ruthin or Oswestry, but it would be
conjecture only to state that he went to either of these. There
were eleven Grammar Schools in Gwyncdd before the outbreak
of the Civil War, so that his choice would not be limited in this
respect. The Warden of Ruthin (Dr. Lloyd) at the time was a
Fellow of All Soul's College, and it is not unlikely that if Charles
Edwards went there he owed his Bible Clerkship at that College
to him. As a youth he seems to have been thoughtful beyond
his years. For in his autobiography he states that he went
through "very piercing inward troubles," that he "spent many an
hour in secret pensiveness,' 3 and that he " took a resolution to
serve God more carefully " than he had done. At Oxford his
record is one of almost ceaseless struggle both of mind and body.
He tells us that he was " prostrated by fever," and he describes
the harassing time he was put to when the Parliamentary visitors
1 Alumni Oxonienses, ; -\nd T> v.thodydi (1886), p, 284; alboZ?. N. B.
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
made their inquisition of the University in 1647-8. The students
were asked to submit to Parliament, and Charles Edwards' answer
was that he was willing to do so " as far as he lawfully could."
This was construed as contempt, and he was expelled from All
Souls' on June nth, 1647. He was, however, through the efforts
of his friends, elected to a Scholarship at Jesus College on
October 27th, 1648. In the following June he was put to a
further test. " I was appointed," he writes, " to make a Latin
declamation in praise of clemency . . . and I did it as effectually
as I could." It was a difficult task to set a man who had suffered
so much at the hands of the Visitors, and apparently he failed to
give satisfaction. Rather pathetically he writes : " Whether my
discourse of clemency promised me severity I cannot tell, but sure
I am that soon after it was used towards me." However, he
proceeded to his B.A. degree in 1649, and the same year became
Honorary Fellow and Bible Reader. Some time later he was
ejected from Oxford and withdrew to Denbighshire, where he
married. In 1650 he was engaged by the Commissioners of
North Wales under the " Act for the Propagation of the Gospel "
at a salary of ^60 per annum. 1 In 1653 the sinecure of Llan-
rhaiadr-ym-Mochnant was conferred upon him, and he held it
until the Restoration in 1660, when he was deprived, and Bishop
George Griffith of St. Asaph took possession. Charles Edwards
had had frequent trouble with his parishioners, who petitioned
the Protector against him, on the ground that he was unfaithful
to the Government and insufficient for the work. He had, how-
ever, met these charges successfully. After his deprivation in
1660, nothing seems to be known of him until 1666, but
presumably he continued to live at Llanrhaiadr. In that year, he
relates that a company of soldiers broke into his house and haled
him to prison. He was soon released, but on his return he found
that one of his children had died through fright. Hugh Salisbury
1 At a meeting at Wrexham, 2ist November, 1650 : " Ordered yt 6ol per
ann. be payd to Mr. Charles Edwards for his officiating in ye like worke,"
p. 26, in Cymdeithas Lien Cytnru's issue of the Proceedings of the Commission
in N. Wales. (Cardiff, 1908).
184
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
composed an erigfyn to the dead child. From this point, Charles
Edwards seems to have been engulfed in domestic troubles,
which ultimately led to separation from his wife. His words are :
" My wife importuned me to part from her and live asunder."
His children also turned against him, " being discouraged in their
obedience by the many injuries they saw inflicted on me, they
became undutiful."
He returned to Oxford before the end of 1666, and devoted
himself mainly to Welsh literature. His first work, " Hanes y
Ffydd," was published at Oxford in that year. For the next four
or five years he was busy correcting and augmenting this work, the
contents of which show that he had drunk deeply of the spirit of
William Chillingworth's Religion of Protestants. It appeared in
1671, with a Latin commendation by Michael Roberts, formerly
Principal of Jesus College, Oxford. It was really an amended
and enlarged edition of Hanes y Ffydd, and must be regarded as
a second edition of that work. Its full title is :
"Y Ffydd Ddi-ffvant. Adroddiad o Helynt y Grefydd
Gristianogol er dechreuad y byd hyd yr oes hon, a phrofiad o'i
gwirionedd a'i rhinwedd. The unfeigned Faith. Containing a
Briefe History of the Christian Religion from the beginning of the
World to this present Age, and a proofe of its veritie and
efficacie. Yr ail-printiad gyd ag anghwanegiad.
Printiedig yn Rhydychen gan Hen : Hall, ac a werthir gan
lyfrwyr Gwrecsam a Llanfyllin : a chan Mr. Gor [page torn] yn
Ghaer-Fyrddyn, a Mr. Vertue yn Abergavenny, ac ymhen y bont
ar ogwr. 1671,"
The third edition "with augmentation" appeared in 1677.
The book is an original work, and not a translation, as so many
productions of this period were. Although it is plain that he
derived much of his inspiration from Chillingworth's book, this
has not affected the originality of his work. It is a kind of
history of Christianity, and is full of interesting, but not always
reliable information respecting the tenets of the ancient Welsh
bards, whose orthodoxy Charles Edwards stoutly maintained, and
.85
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
attempted to prove by extracts from their works. He also shows
that the primitive British Church was independent of Rome. He
shared with John Lewis, of Glasgrug, and Dr. John Ellis, of
Dolgelley, the honour of being amongst the first to conceive the
idea of a national college for Wales, and gives expression to his
desire to see such an institution established. The Ffydd
Ddiffuant is sufficient in itself to show that he was a man of more
than ordinary attainments, and many will agree with the late
Dr. L. Edwards, who, upon quoting one of its most noted
passages, wrote : " Onid yw y dyfyniad hwn yn profi mai nid dyn
cyffredin oedd Charles Edwards ? "
In 1671 he edited and published the second edition of
Maurice Kyffin : s Deffyniad Ffydd Eglwys Loegr, under the title
Dad-seiniad Meibion y Daran, together with Bishop Davies'
Epistol at y Ctmbru ; and in 1675 he edited and corrected the
third edition of Rowland Vaughan's Yr Ymarfer o Dduwioldeb.
This was published by Gouge's Trust. In that same year he
published his curious little book, of which several editions have
appeared, in which he attempts to prove the Hebrew origin of the
Welsh language. It is entitled Hebraicorum Cambro-Britanni-
corum Specimen. It was also in 1671 that he corrected for the
press the Hyfforddiadau Christianogol, a translation by Richard
Jones, of Denbigh. In 1682 he edited and improved Robert
Llwyd's Lkvybr Hyffordd, and in 1684 he produced a second
edition of Dr. John Davies' Llyfr y Resolution. In 1686 he
published a work in English, under the title " Fatherly Instructions :
being Select Pieces of the Writings of the Primitive Christian
Fathers, with an Appendix Intituled Gildas Minimus." The
translations in this work were direct from the original Greek
and Latin. About this time he seems to have eked out a
precarious livelihood as a bookseller, for in Fatherly Instructions
he states " British books are to be had with the publisher hereof."
There are two letters appended to this work : (i) To the honoured
persons in city and country that were lately trustees for charitable
186
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
works in Wales. (2) To my kindred and acquaintances in the
Counties of Salop and Denbigh and elsewhere.
The last book he published was his autobiography in 1691.
He called it An afflicted man's testimony concerning his troubles,
which has been already noticed. There was a great mystery in his
life, which no one, thus far, has been able to clear up. What was
it that estranged him from all men, from his parishioners at
Llanrhaiadr, from his wife and children, and from that gentle
soul Stephen Hughes ? The question remains unanswered. His
last book, which is a kind of Apologia, throws no light on it,
because in it he took it for granted that everyone knew. Why
was he the object of so much malevolence ? He states that
attempts were made on his life by poison, and that the hands of
all men were against him.
Tillotson, Stillingfleet, and Baxter had once been numbered
amongst his friends, and he had done good service to Mr. Gouge.
Something cooled the friendship of all these towards him. Was
it the result of a morbid imagination, or did he suffer from
hallucinations ? One can hardly believe this from a study of his
-works, for in them is found no sign of abnormal tendencies. The
problem must, perhaps, remain unsolved for all time. There is
no record, so far, of the year of his death. It is very difficult to
state what his religious views were. But it is quite certain that he
never received Episcopal Orders. On the other hand, his Non-
conformity was not very pronounced. His record at Llanrhaiadr
was that he preached as an itinerant, catechised the children on
Sunday, and held monthly fasts on a week-day in public and
private. His tenets are supposed to have been more in agree-
ment with those of Dr. John Owen than with those of Mr. Richard
Baxter. Can it be that his own words throw the best light on his
life at every stage ? " Fe'm cyhuddid fel yn anfoddog at y pethau
oeddynt y pryd hynny yn bod." He was a man out of harmony
with the times in which he lived and the circumstances in which
he found himself.
Closely associated with Charles Edwards for many years in
187
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
the movement to supply Welshmen with edifying books in their
own language was Stephen Hughes (1622-1688). Both had
co-operated in what may be called the Gouge Movement for the
enlightenment of the Cymry. Thomas Gouge had lent his
powerful personality and his wealth to this movement ; Charles
Edwards had placed his literary powers at its disposal ; Stephen
Hughes, in addition to his literary powers, possessed the more
distinctly Cymric characteristic of burning eloquence, and a
missionary zeal which was rivalled by none in this century. He
saw the importance of Gouge's movement, and was one of the
first to help him, and to him it is due that it developed in a
Cymric direction rather than into a movement to teach Welsh
children the English tongue, for that was what naturally suggested
itself to Thomas Gouge.
Stephen Hughes was born at Carmarthen in 1622, and was
the son of John Hughes, who is described as a silk merchant
(sidanydd) in that town, 1 who was also an Alderman of the
borough, and was twice Mayor, in 1650, and in 1660, the year of
his death. 2 His mother was Elizabeth Bevan, daughter of a
tanner in the same town, and the latter also sat on the Alder-
man's bench and was twice elected Mayor of Carmarthen.
Stephen Hughes was the second son, and although there is no
record of his early education, the town of Carmarthen provided
excellent facilities in that respect in its Grammar School, and
probably he was educated there. It is not known whether he
proceeded to either of the Universities. No record of him exists
there, nor is there any trace of his having received episcopal
ordination. In 1655 he was appointed to the benefice of
Meidrym. In his introduction to " Llyfr y Ficer " he throws
some light on his attitude towards the Established Church. 3
'Rwyf yn traethu ei hathrawiaeth,
Er na lieaf mo'i disgygblaeth ;
Ond nid wyf yn cyhoeddi hynny
B'le'r rwyn arfer o bregethu.
1 Y Beiriiiad, ii. rhif 3, p. 175. 2 ibid, 3 Gwaith Gwallter Mee/iain, ii.
p. 301-
1 88
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
It would seem that he had previously laboured at Merthyr.
The Rev. T. Shankland has a record of his recommendation to
John Rice for the living of Henllan Amgoed, in which he is
styled "Stephen Hughes, Merthyr." It is dated October 2;th,
1655,' a few days before he was put in possession of Meidrym.
The inference is that he had held Merthyr from 1653 to 1657,
an appointment derived from the Commissioners, for in the latter
year James Davies was appointed to that benefice. Stephen
Hughes' name is not mentioned amongst those appointed under
the Act for the Propagation of the Gospel, 1650-53. However,
it is certain that he held the living of Meidrym from the patron,
David Morgan, Esq., from August 30th, 1654. In his institution
to that benefice he is styled Clerke. He was licensed by the
Approvers on October 26th, 1655, and there is a record dated
December 2oth, 1655, of his receiving an increase in income of
52 IQS. Qd. per annum. His own name appears as an Approver
on the certificate of William Jones, Cilmaenllwyd, February 25th,
1655, and also on several others. Through his petition, David
Jones received the living and tithes of Llandyssilio on March
loth, 1657. His father's name also appears in documents recom-
mending men to livings. 2
Stephen Hughes' labours in collecting and editing the works
of Vicar Prichard have already been noticed in the portion of this
book which deals with the life of that worthy, and need not be
repeated here. The complete work was published by him in
1 68 1, under the title Canwyll y Cymry, and bound with it
generally, although with a separate title, and probably issued
separately, there appeared his translation of a work of Francis
Pereaud, under the title " Adroddiad Cywir o'r Pethau pennaf ar
a wnaeth, ac a ddwedodd Yspryd Aflan yn Mascon yn Burgundy,"
and Robert Holland's " Dau Gymro yn Taring," a work written
against divination and sorcery.
Stephen Hughes had been deprived of the benefice of
Meidrym in 1660, and nothing is known of him between that
1 Y Btirniad, ii., rhif 3, p. 176. "ibid, p. 177.
189
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
year and 1669. He was probably in hiding part of the time, but
there is no record of his suffering imprisonment, nor does his
name appear in the Report of the Bishop of St. David's to the
Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1665. Some time during this
interval he married a lady from Swansea, possessed of consider-
able means, and there were born to them two children, Jane, who
is mentioned in his will as his only daughter, and Stephen, his
son, who is also mentioned, but it is not stated that he was his
only son. 1
For the last part of his life, 1670-1688, there is abundant
testimony. In 1672 Chares II. proclaimed an amnesty to
Nonconformists, and in that year Thomas Gouge began his
labours in Wales. In 1671-72 Stephen Hughes is found in
London preparing literature for circulation amongst his country-
men. It is extremely likely that he met Gouge there, and
acquainted him with his projects. Probably he was instrumental
above all others in deciding Gouge to transfer his efforts to
Wales. He had certainly thought out the educational project for
Wales before Gouge participated in it. The best proof of this is
that three parts of Vicar Prichard's work were ready in 1672, and a
Welsh New Testament in the same year, which was probably the
most memorable year in Stephen Hughes' busy life. Two
thousand copies of the Testament Newydd were issued, and also
the following works :
1. "Catechism Mr. Perkins a osodwyd allan yn Gymraeg ys
mwy na thriugain mlynedd a deg, gan Mr. Robert Holland,
gweinidog Llanddyfenvr [Llanddowror yn Sir Gaerfyrddin],
ac ar ol hynny gan Mr. E. Ivan Roberts, gweinidog Llan-
badarn Fawr yn Sir Aberteifi : Ac yn awr y drydedd waith
wedi ei wneuthur yn fwy eglur i'r cyffredin boblgan ewyllysiwr
da i Gymru."
2. " Sail y Grefydd Gristnogol." '
3. " Amryw Reolau Duwiol i bob Christion i'w harfer."
4. "Rhodfa feunyddiol y Christion, neu addysg fuddiol," a,
1 Y Bcirniad, ii., rhif 3, p, 176.
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
translation by Richard Jones, of Denbigh, of Henry Casland's
Christian's Daily Walk.
5. " Amdo neu Amwisc i Babyddiaeth," a translation by Richard
Jones, of Denbigh, of Richard Baxter's Winding Sheet.
In addition to all these, he took an active part in the publica-
tion of Holl Ddyledswydd Dyn, in 1672, and in the dissemination
of Hants y Ffydd Ddiffuant and Dadseiniad Meibion y Daran,
which had been published by Charles Edwards in 1671. In
1671 he added a glossary of the difficult words in Hyfforddiadau
Christianogol, a work of Gouge's, which was translated by Richard
Jones, of Denbigh, and in Yr Ymarfer o Dduwioldeb. In the
same year, the scarcity of Bibles in the Principality spurred Gouge
and Hughes to a renewed effort to bring, out another edition, a
work in which Archbishop Tillotson assisted. It was issued in
1677-8, and also contained Y Llyfr Gweddi Gyffredin, yr
Apocrypha, a'r Salman Can. In 1677, Hughes edited and
issued a series of tracts in one thick volume entitled Trysor i'r
Cymru* and very probably he had a share in other reprints issued
in that year.
It should be noticed that from 1672-1688 Stephen Hughes'
work had been done in co-operation with Thomas Gouge. The
latter saw to the schools and to the financial side of the move-
ment. Charles Edwards and Stephen Hughes saw to the
publications. The thoroughness of the latter accounts for the
accuracy of the 1677-78 Bible, which is a tribute both to his
scholarship and to his care. He collaborated with three others
in the translation of Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, and the work
was issued under his editorship under the title Taith neu Siwrnai
y Pererin tan Rith neu Gyfielybiaeth Breuddwyd, in 1688.
' This work contained (a) " Pregeth Arthur Dent ar Edifeirwch"; (b)
" Drych i dri math o Eobl " (Oliver Thomas); (c) " Bc-llach neu Byth " (a
translation of Baxter's Now or Never, by Richard Jones', of Denbigh). He
also published, in 1677, " Cyfarwydd-deb i'r Anghyfarwydd," which contains
(a) " Galwad i'r Annychweledig," an excellent translation by Richard Jones,
of Denbigh, of Baxter's Call to the Unconverted; (b) " Carwr y Cymru";
(c) " Agoriad byr i Weddi'r Arglwydd" (Robert Holland's translation of
Perkins' work) ; (d) "Cannwyll Crist'' (Vavasor Powell).
191
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
In all Stephen Hughes' publications he gives the Welsh
alphabet. The old people generally tore it out and pasted it on
a thin board, and there is no doubt it helped them considerably
to learn to read. They generally referred to it as the Llyfr
Corn.
He was preparing to bring out another edition of the Bible,
and was in London superintending the work, when he was taken
ill in the spring of 1687-8. He returned home, made his will on
April 1 8, 1688, and must have died shortly aftenvards, for his
will was proved on July 16, 1688. He was buried in St. John's
Churchyard, Swansea.
Sufficient has been said of him to give a general idea of his
activity in the movement for the educational and spiritual
improvement of Wales. The edition of the Bible, the last work
in which he had been interested, was finished by his friend David
Jones, of Llandyssilio. in 1690. His work for Wales has in
recent years received something of the attention it deserves, and
most students of Welsh literature are alive to the fact that he did
more than any living man in the seventeenth century, through his
circulation of the Scriptures and other books, to preserve the
language and to elevate the tone of the nation he loved so well.
There are still a few minor writers whose work has to be
chronicled to complete the record of the religious writings, which
were published in this century.
William Jones (? 1609-1679), a Merionethshire man, who
afterwards kept the Grammar School at Ruthin, and thence
proceeded to Denbigh, where he was chaplain to Governor
Twistleton, and in 1648 was put in charge of the parish, until
forced to leave by the Five Mile Act, when he found refuge
at Plas Teg in Flintshire, took part in the publication of Egivydd-
orion y Grefydd Gristionogol yn gynmvysedig mewn Catechism Byr,
which appeared in 1664. The translator's name is not attached
to the work, and Williams in his Eminent Welshmen, p. 376, is of
opinion that James Owen was responsible for it. But he has
probably confused it with another Catechism translated by that
192
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
author. Palmer states that William Jones translated it, 1 and
David Jones of Llandyssilio thought so well of it that he published
a second edition in 1679. It is a small work of 74 pages, con-
taining the Presbyterian Catechism, the Nicene Creed and that
of St. Athanasius, also Dr. John Davies' translation of the Thirty-
nine Articles. Four englynion follow in praise of Mrs. M. Crowther
and Mr. Caleb D'Avenant, who bore the expense of publication,
signed John Rhydderch a't cAnt. The Catechism is divided into
thirty parts, according to the days of the month.
The Trevors of Plas Teg were strong supporters of William
Jones, and gave him land valued at ,20 per annum to support
him when he was compelled to leave Denbigh. He was once
imprisoned for three months under the Conventicle Act. His
last days were spent at Estyn, where he died in i6"jg. 3
In 1676 he had translated and published two works by
Thomas Gouge. The first he entitled " Gair i Bechaduriaid, a
Gair i Sainct," the first part of which showed the importance of
regeneration and the peril of remaining in sin, and the second
was meant for encouragement to the godly to persevere in the
path of duty. The book was printed by A. Maxwell, London,
1676.
The other work was entitled "Principlau neu Bennau y
Grefydd Gristionogol, A agorir fel y gallo y gwannaf eu deall,"
issued by the same press in the same year. William Jones was
one of the band of energetic Welshmen who co-operated with
Thomas Gouge, and helped the movement as a translator.
John Langfbrd, whose record in The History of the Diocese
of St. Asaph 3 is that he graduated B.A. from Christ Church,
Oxford, and M.A. from Jesus College, Cambridge, was preferred
to the Rectory of Efenechtyd in 1663 ; Derwyn, in 1672 ; and
Llanelidan, in 1684. He was a Ruthin man by birth, and translated
into Welsh The Whole Duty of Man, the work of Thomas Gouge,
and published it in 1672 under the title " Holl Ddyledswydd
1 Hants Crefyddyng Nghymru, p. 232. 2 ibid, pp. 554-5, and Gwaith
Gwaliter Mechain, ii. p, 303. 3 Vol. ii., p. 74.
193
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Dyn, Gwedi ei osod ar lawr Mewn modd hynod o Eglur, Defn-
yddiol i bawb, ond yn enwedig i'r Darllenydd mwyaf Annyscedig.
Gwedi ei ddosparthu i xvii. o Bennodau ; Y rhai trwy ddarllen un
o honynt bob Dydd yr Arglwydd, a ddarllenir i gyd trostynt
deirgwaith yn y Fhvyddyn. Angenrheidiol i bob Teuluoedd.
Ynghyd a Dwywolder Neillduol ar amryw Achosion. A gyfieith-
wyd yn Gymro-aeg gan J. Langford, A.M. London, Printed for
R. Royston, Bookseller to the King's Most Excellent Majesty.
1672." There is also a separate title-page for the last part of the
book : " Duwiolder Neillduol ar amryw Achosion, yn gystal
Cyffredinol ac Anghyffredinol. London, Printed for R. Royston.
1672." A second edition was issued in 1711 : " Yr ail argraphiad
ar 61 manwl Chwiliad a delead Beiau'r Cyntaf."
Edward Lloyd* (?-:685), of Llangower, the father of
Bishop William Lloyd, afterwards Bishop of Norwich, and one of
the non jurors, who was born at Llangower Rectory, translated
two books of the work of Bishop Patrick, the first in 1682, under
the title : " Egwyddor i Rai Jevaingc i'w cymmhwyso i dderbyn y
Cymmun Sanctaidd yn fuddiol. Gwaith y Parchedig a'r Dwyfol
Athro Simon Patrick Deon Llanbedr yn lloegr. A gyfieithwyd
o'r Saesonaeg, gan Edward Llwyd, Athro yn y Celfyddydau. Ag
a Brintiwyd yn Llundain, 1682." Edward Lloyd was incumbent
of Llangower, a parish on the shores of Bala Lake. He is men-
tioned in Walker's Sufferings of the Clergy as one of the clergy
ejected during the Commonwealth. 1 His preface, or, "Llythyr
at ei Blwyfolion," is dated " O'm Stafell yn Eglwyseg Mis Medi
y chyntaf, 1682." It is followed by englynion " Ar y Gorthrymder
gynt, y bu y cyfieithydd dano, ei Warediad o hono, ac ar y
Cyfieithiad," written by his nephew, Meredydd Llwyd, " er dal
Cof am ei Anwyl ewythr, a'i anrhydeddus henaint." The original
author, Dr. Simon Patrick, was Bishop of Ely, promoted from the
1 Page 248 of that work. *Edward Lloyd, in the History of the Diocese
of St. Asaph, iii. p. 1 12, is stated to have been appointed to the benefice of
Llangower in 1645, an ^ to have been deprived by the Sequestrators. He was
restored in 1661, and became Vicar of Llangwm in
Deanery of Peterborough, which Edward Lloyd calls " Llanbedr
yn Lloegr."
The second book Lloyd translated was not published until
1722, and was entitled: " Meddyginiaeth a Chyssur. Yr civil
helbulus, clafyccus, a thrallodus, ar ei glaf wely, a gasgl'.vyd ailan
o'r Ysgrythur Sanctaidd, ac hefyd o ystorieu ac Athrawiaethau yr
hen Dadau ; a rhesymau y Philosophyddion, a gwyr doethion
dyscedig eraill o'r cynfyd : Ac a osodwyd allan trwy lafur Edward
Lloyd. Athro y celfyddydau ; a gweinidog yr efengyl yn llan-
gower, yn Sir Feirion : Er lleshad i'w braidd y mae'n figail arnynt,
ac yn oruchwyliwr i gyfrannu iddynt eu bwyd yn eu bryd, sef yw
hynny, didwyll laeth y gain i Pet. 2. 2. Ac ar ol hynny er
budd i'r Cymru oil. Argraphwyd yn y Mwythig, gan John Rogers,
1722."
William Foulkes,* M.A., rector of Llanfyllin 1661-1691,
canon of St. Asaph, sinecure rector of Cwm, rector of Llanbryn-
mair, and of Llanfihangel-yn-Ngwynfa, edited a small volume
which appeared in 1685, of the work of Bishop George Griffith of
St. Asaph, entitled, " Gweddi'r Arglwydd wedi ei hegluro mewn
amryw ymadroddion, neu Bregethau Byrrion. O waith y Gwir
Barchedig Dad Geor. Griffith, D.D., Diweddar Escob Llanelwy.
Printiwyd yn y Theater yn Rhydychen, 1685." The editor,
William Foulkes, was the son of the Rev. John Foulkes, Llan-
fyllin, who was turned out of that living by the Cromwellians.
Bishop Griffith afterwards gave it to the son, and the latter
laboured there for thirty years, died at Llanfyllin in 1691, and was
buried near the church door, where a stone stands to his memory.
William Foulkes also translated " Esponiad ar Gatechism yr
Eglwys, Neu Ymarfer o Gariad Ddwyfol. A gymmonwyd er
lleshad Esgobaeth Bath. Gan Thomas, Esgob Baddon. Ac a
* In the Hist, of the Diocese of St. Asaph, under Canonia Qaar/a, vol. i.
p. 360, Archdeacon Thomas gives the following record of William Ffoulkes :
William Foulkes, M.A., Jesus Coll., Oxford. Cler. fil ; Sinecure Reclor of
Cwm, 1660-1, exchanged for the Rectories of Llanbrynmair and Llanfyllin,
1661-9:. I\. of Llanfihangel-yn-Nghwnfa, 1680-91. He edited Bishop
driffi'h s Sermons in Welsh on ihe Lord's Prayer, and wrote the Rkagy
(f y n
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
gyfieithwyd o'r Saesonaeg (yn ol ei gyntaf osodiad allan), gan
William Foulkes, Athro yn y Celfyddydau, a Gweinidog anwiw
Gair Duw yn Llanfylling. Printiedig yn Rhydychen yn y flwyddyn
1688."
Thomas Williams,! M.A., Denbigh, who had graduated
at Jesus College in 1680. and became Rector of Denbigh in 1697,
tfanslated a work of Dr. Wm. Sherlock's, which had appeared in
1690. The Welsh work appeared in 1691, under the title
" Ymadroddion bucheddol ynghylch marwolaeth. O waith Doctor
Sherlock. A gyfieithwyd yn Gymraeg gan Tho. Williams, A.M.
Printiedig yn Rhydychen gan Leon Lichfield, i John Marsh yn
Cat- Eaten Street, ac i Charles Walley tan y Hew coch yn
Aldermanbury, yn Llundain, 1691." William Sherlock, the
author of the original, was born at South wark, London, in 1641,
and educated at Eton and Cambridge. In 1669 he was presented
to a London living, and in 1683 he became prebendary of St.
Pancras. He was a High Churchman and a Jacobite, and in
consequence was prohibited for a time from preaching. During
that time he wrote this book, which he published in 1690.
Sherlock ultimately submitted to the necessary oaths, and was
reinstated. He published many tracts and sermons. He died at
Hampstead in 1707. His son, Dr. Thomas Sherlock, became
Bishop of Bangor in 1728. He was also a writer of some note. 1
Other works translated by Thomas Williams were : " Eglur-
had ar Gatechism yr Eglwys," 1 708 ; " Annogaeth Fer i'r Cymmun
Sanctaidd," 1710 ; "Cydymaith i Ddyddiau Gwylion ac Ympryd-
iau Eglwys Loegr," 1712. The last named is a considerable work,
and runs to 691 pages. He wrote one original work, " Goruch-
afiaeth a Llawenydd y Gwir Gristion," which was published as late
as 1777 at Trefriw.
t The Alumni Oxonienses records : Thomas Williams, s. William of
Yals-fach, co. Denbigh, p.p. Jesus Coll. Matric., 3 April, 1674, aged 16.
B.A. 1677. M.A. 1680, perhaps rector of Kegidog St. George, 1684-7, and
of Llanarmon-Dyffryn-Ceiriog, 1687-1702. V. of Llanrwst 1690-7 and of
Llansannan (ist portion), all co. of Denbigh, 1696-1726. Rector and Vicar
ofDenbigh, 1697-1726.
1 Life of Sherlock in Jones' Christian Biographical Dictionary *
196
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
John Morgan, Vicar of Aberconwy, published a translation
entitled " Eglurhad byrr ar Catechism yr Eglwys, ynghyd a
thystiolaethau o'r Scrythur Ian," in 1699. He also published, in
1704, " Bloedd-nad Ofnadwy, Yr udcorn diweddaf Neu Ail-
ddyfodiad Christ i farnu'r Byd ; ar wedd Pregeth. Ynghyd a
rhai Caniadau deunyddiol i annerch y Cymru. Ac Hyfforddiad
i'r anllythrenog i ddysgu darllen Cymraeg." His record in
Alumni Oxon. is as follows : " John Morgans p.p. Jesus Coll.
matric. 26 May, 1693. V. of Abercomvay, co. Carnarvon, 1697."
Edward Jones, of Llanmere wig, published in 1699-1700
" Cydymaith yr Eghvyswr yn yrmveled a'r claf, yn cynnwys i. Y
modd neu wedd i ymweled a'r claf. ii. Y drefn am ymweled a'r
claf, allan o'r Llyfr Gweddi Gyffredin. iii. Cymmun y claf.
iv. Rhai gweddiau a ffurfiau eraill, Gan mwyaf allan o scrifen-
iadau defosionawl rhai o'r Difeinyddion enwocaf o Eglwys Loegr,
ynghyd a Bedydd Public a Phrifat. O gyfieithiad Edward Jones,
Llanafrewig." The parish of Llanmerewig, of which Edward Jones
was vicar, is situated near Newtown, in Montgomeryshire. 1
David Maurice, D.D. (1626-1702), son of Dean Maurice,
was Vicar of Abergele and Llanarmon, and also Prebendary of
Vaynol in St. Asaph Cathedral. He published in 1700 "Arwein-
iwr Cartrefol i'r iawn a'r buddiol Dderbyniad o Swpper yr
Arglwydd, ym mha un hefyd y mae'r ffordd a'r modd o iechydwr-
iaeth wedi ei gosod " allan yn fyrr, ac fel y bo hawdd eu deall.
Gan Theophilus Dorrington. O gyfieithiad David Maurice, D.D.''
He also translated another work of Dorrington's, and entitled it
" Cynffwrdd i'r Gwan Gristion, neu'r Gorsen ysig. Gan Dafydd
Maurice, D.D. <Sc Dorrington." This was published in 1702.
The record given of him in Alumni Oxon. is as follows :
" Maurice, David, of Jes. Coll., pleb. Matric. June, 1651 (subs.
The History of the Diocese of St. Asaph, \. p. 536, states that Edward
Tones received the benefice of Llanmerewig in 1635. He was M.A. from
Hart Hall, Oxford, and Vicar of Nantlyn from 1625 to 1635. The Alumni
Oxon. records that he was of co. Merioneth, and matriculated at Hart Hall,
igth June, 1610, aged 19. B.A. 1611-12, M,A. 1614. If these details are
correct, Edward Jones' publication must have appeared some years after his
death.
'97
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
as Morris), B.A. 1654-5 ; M.A. from New College, 1657. Vicar
of Llangemyw, 1662. Rector of Kegidog St. George, 1663;
Cursal Prebendary of St. Asaph, 1664; Canon, 1666; V. of
Llanasa, 1666; R. of Gwytherin, 1675 ; V. of Abergele, 1684;
V. ofBettwsyn Rhos, 1684; R. of Llanarmon in Yale, 1696."
He died in 1702, and was buried at Abergele. 1
There were many eminent Welshmen in the seventeenth
century, who wrote in English, and whose works it is necessary to
chronicle in this account, for without them Wales would be shorn
of half its glory in this part of our subject, inasmuch as the vast
preponderance of the works we have noticed were translations
from the English. But there were Welshmen whose careers had
taken them outside the geographical limits of their own country,
but who, nevertheless, were Welsh in blood and sentiment, and
although they were not contributors to Welsh literature as such,
they must be reckoned as benefactors to their country, and their
works must be included as part of the intellectual output of
Wales in that period. They were men, for the most part, intensely
interested in the movements of the time, and their share in them
was the share of Wales, inasmuch as they were so often " Welsh-
men born," as the writer of the History of Oxford University
carefully states.
Gabriel Powel (1576-1611) was a famous polemical
divine of this period. He was the son of Dr. David Powell, of
Ruabon, entered Jesus College, Oxford, in 1592, and graduated
B.A. in 1595-6. In 1601-07 ne was sinecure rector of Llansant-
ffraid yn Mechain, Mont., and became domestic chaplain to
Richard Vaughan, Bishop of London, in 1605, and in 1606 rector
of Chellesworth, Suffolk, subsequently removing in 1610 to the
vicarage of Northolt (then called Northall), in Middlesex. He
died in 161 1, 2 at the early age of 35, after a career of great promise
and of considerable achievement. He was accounted a prodigy
of learning, and had great powers of argument and command of
1 History of Diocese of St. Asaph, \. p. 334. 2 Z>. N. ., vol. xlvi. Wood
erroneously supposed that he died in 1607.
1 08
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITi:
clear and terse expression, Although Wood describes him as a
stiff Puritan, 1 his works do not bear this out. He was certainly-
opposed to Rome, but equally hostile to the " fanatical conceits
which scrupled at .... the cross and surplice, and such other
laudable ceremonies.'' 2 He rejected the term " Protestant " in
\mSuppZication, 1604, as "a name given to certaine Germaines
that protested against matters .... that touch us nothing,
which never joined with them in protestation." Powell was a
trenchant antagonist of William Bradshaw, and was the author of
the following works: "The Resolved Christian," 1602 (3rd
edition); " Prodromus," 1602, the first instalment of a commen-
tary on all the Epistles ; "The Catholikes Supplication," 1603,
enlarged in 1604 ; " Disputationum Theologicarum de Antichristo
libri duo," 1604-5; Book ii., 1606; "The Unlawfulnesse and
Danger of Toleration," 1605; "A Refutation of an Epistle
Apologetical, written by a Puritan -Papist," 1605 ; this was a work
against Bradshaw, as was also, " A Consideration of the Deprived
and Silenced Ministers' Arguments," 1606, and "A Rejoynder to
the Myld Defence," 1606. In that year he also wrote "De
Adiaphoris Theses." In 1600 he had prefixed some verses to
William Vaughan's " Golden Grove Moralized," in which he spells
his name Powel, as also in the title-pages of his own books.
Francis Goodwin 3 was Student of Christ Church, Oxford,
in 1578, and became Bishop of Llandaff in 1601, and held that
See for sixteen years, when, in 1617, he was translated to Here-
ford, which he held until his death in 1633. Wood's comment
on him shows the respect in which he was held amongst scholars.
" He was a good man, a grave Divine, skilful mathematician,
excellent philosopher, pure Latinist, incomparable historian, being
no less critical in Histories than the learned Selden."
In one of his works he collected from old monuments and
records, " the Succession of all the Bishops of England and Wales
since the first planting of the Gospel, not pretermitting those of
the British Church." 1 * This he published in 1601, under the title
1 Athen ; Oxm : i., pp. 294, 394. : See unicle in D. N. />', J At hen :
Oxon : i., pp. 496-7. 4 ibid.
'99
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
" A Catalogue of the Bishops of England, since the first planting
of the Christian Religion in this Island, together with a brief
History of their Lives and memorable actions. London. 1601."
It was for this work that Queen Elizabeth promoted him to the
bishopric of Llandaff. He brought out another edition of it in
1615, because of his omission in the first of the Bishops of Bangor
and St. Asaph, and added, " A Discourse concerning the first
Conversion of this Island of Britaine into the Christian Religion."
Bishop Goodwin was a strong Puritan, and Prynne often took
advantage to quote from his writings when he wanted to advance
the Puritan cause against the bishops. While he was a student at
Christ Church, Goodwin had written under the name Domingo
Gozales, a work entitled " The Man in the Moon, or, a discourse
of a Voyage thither." This was printed in London 1638, after
the author's death, and before the title it had the picture of a man
taken up from the top of a mountain, by an engine drawn up to
the moon " by certain flying birds." J
In 1629 Bishop Goodwin published his last work, " Nuncius
Manimatus." He died in 1633. He had been a friend and
patron of William Camden.
John Jones (Leander), the learned Benedictine, "the
ornament of the English Benedictines in his time," as Wood
styles him, was born in 1575, and was descended from a family
living at Llanvrynach, in Brecknockshire. He was educated at
Merchant Taylor's School, and secured from there in 1591 a
scholarship at St. John's College, Oxford. Here he met William
Laud and they became firm friends. John Jones afterwards
became Fellow of his college, and applied himself to the study of
Civil Law. 2 But at this time, having leanings towards Rome, he
abandoned his Fellowship and proceeded to Spain, where he
joined the Order of the Benedictine Monks at Compostella, and
changed his name to Leander de Sancto Martino. Thence he
went to Douay, where he was made Professor of Hebrew and
Divinity in the College of St. Vedastus, where he remained for
1 Athen : Oxon : p. 498. 2 ibid, i., pp. 514- 515, and Williams' Eminent
Wehhmtiii pp. 256-7.
too
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
several years. He afterwards became Prior of the Benedictine
College of St. Gregory at Douay, and Vicar -general to the English
Benedictines of the Spanish congregations living outside Spain.
He was twice president or Chief Superior of the same Order in
England. Wood states that he was " a person of extraordinary
eloquence, generally knowing in all arts and sciences, beloved of
all that knew him and his worth, and hated by none but by the
Puritans and Jesuits." Towards the end of his life, Laud invited
him to England to confer with him about certain important
points of the religious controversy then raging, and Prynne made
considerable use of this fact in his attacks upon Laud. He died
in 1635.
His published works were two Latin treatises on Divinity, one
of them a kind of Concordance, and the other showing the
harmony and consistence of the Scriptures. They are entitled :
Sacra ars memorire ad Scripturas divinas in promptu habendas,
memoriterque ediscendas accomodata, Duac 1623." And
" Conciliatio Locorum communium totius Scripturse," which
is found at the end of the previous work.
He also left behind him in MS. an exposition of the Bible
with Glosses, in six large volumes, derived from the works of
Ludovicus Blosius, which had been published in 1626.
Archbishop John Williams was the second son of
Edmund Williams, of Cochwillan and Aberconwy, by his wife
Mary, daughter of Owen Wynn of Eglwysbach. He was born
at Aberconwy in 1582, and educated first at Ruthin Grammar
School, 1 and afterwards at St. John's College, Cambridge, which
he entered at 16, and subsequently became Fellow. He was a
man of great natural abilities and also a great student. He was
ordained when 27, and became chaplain to Lord Egerton, the
Lord Chancellor. In 1611-12 he was Proctor at Cambridge, and
entertained the Spanish ambassadors when they visited that
University. He held several benefices, amongst them Grafton
Regis and Underwood. In 1613 he was made Precentor of
'Williams' Eminent Welshmen, pp. 526-530.
aot
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Lincoln and Prebendary of that Cathedral, and subsequently held
prebendships at Peterborough, Hereford, and St. David's. In
1619 he became chaplain to the King, a Privy Councillor, and
Dean of Salisbury, and in the following year Dean of Westminster.
In 1621 he was appointed Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, and
Bishop of Lincoln, through the influence, it is said, of the Duke of
Buckingham. Laud, who differed so much from him in church-
manship, was his inveterate enemy, and although Bishop Williams
attended King James on his death -bed, he did not crown Charles
I., for that honour fell to Laud. This is said to have caused him
much disappointment, and he afterwards joined the Puritans.
In 1628 he was cited by the Star Chamber, but the accusation
lay dormant until 1632. In 1637 he was fined ,10,000,
imprisoned, and suspended from his offices, but was released in
1640, and for a time became the idol of both Houses. At this
time he conferred much with Edward Bagshaw and Prynne. In
1641 he preached against the Book of Sports, but also declaimed
against Geneva, which caused him to decline in the public favour.
In the same year he was translated to the Archbishopric of York,
and he returned to Wales and fortified Conway Castle for the
King, but a misunderstanding arose between them, and Charles
relieved him of the Castle, whereupon he retired to Penrhyn and
declared for Parliament. The Royalists at this time called him
" the perfidious prelate and apostate Archbishop of York." 1
He published the following works : " A Sermon of apparel,
before the King and Parliament, at Theobald's, 1619;" "A
Sermon before the Lords," 1623; "Sermon at the Funeral of
King James," 1625; " Perseverentia Sanctorum," 1628; "Letter
to the Vicar of Grantham," 1636; this was answered by Peter
Heilyn in his " Coal from the Altar." Archbishop Williams
replied to the latter in " Holy Table, name, and thing more
antiently used under the New Testament than that of Altar,"
1637; "Annotations in Vet. Test." and "in Ephesios," 1653]
published after his death, under the name fohan Eboracensis.
' Athen : Oxon : i. pp. 803-05.
ZQZ
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
The Archbishop died at the house of Lady Mostyn, at
Gloddaeth, in 1649, and was buried in Llandegai Church, near
Bangor, " in a little vault at the upper end of the chancel." ' On
the north side of the chancel was erected a monument in white
marble, by his nephew and heir, Sir Griffith Williams, with a
Latin inscription made by Dr. John Racket, who was sometime
the Archbishop's chaplain. Bishop Racket also wrote his bio-
graphy, which was published in 1693, under the title Scrinia
Reservata. Ambrose Philips also wrote a " Life " in 1706.
Lewis Owen, a native of Merionethshire, who entered
Christ Church, Oxford, 1590, at the age of 18, and afterwards
travelled on the Continent, entering the Society of Jesus at
Valladolid as " a curious observer," 2 and who " satisfied himself of
their intrigues," 3 left them, and became their most inveterate foe,
was the author of several works against the Jesuits, the chief of
which are : " The Running Register a true relation of the state
of the English Colleges, c., in all foreign parts, together with a
brief discourse of the lives, practices, &c., of English Monks,
Friars, & Jesuits." 1626. This was followed in 1628 by
" The Unmasking of all Papist Monks, or a treatise of their
genealogy, beginnings, proceedings, and present state." In 1629
he issued " Speculum Jesuiticum, or, the Jesuit's Looking Glass,
... a true Catalogue of all their Colleges, &c., and a true
number of the Fellows of their Society." The last two works are
printed at the end of Sir Edward Sandys' Europa Speculum, which
appeared in 1629.
John White, commonly called Century White, who was
born at Henllan, in Pembrokeshire/ in 1590, educated at Jesus
College, Oxford, 1607, aged 17, and afterwards proceeded to the
Middle Temple as barrister -at -law, was an extreme Puritan who
acted as one of the Feoffees for buying in impropriations, which
were afterwards bestov.-cd on the Puritan party. In 1640 he was
M.P. for South wark, and distinguished himselt in the Long
1 Athen : Oxon : ii., pp. 684-5. 'Williams' Eminent Welshmen, p., 383.
3 ibid. 4 ibid, p. 517.
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Parliament by his virulence against the bishops. He once boasted
that he and his coadjutors had ejected 8,000 Churchmen in four
or five years. 1 He published several of his speeches in Parlia-
ment, and besides : " The first century of scandalous, malignant
priests, &c.," .1643; and "The Looking Glass," written against
Episcopacy in 1643-4. The violence 'of his views may be
gathered from the following quotation taken from " The Looking
Glass "; " Malignant Cavaliers and Luke-warm Protestants, who
assist the King in this War, are guilty of that fearful sin against
the Holy Ghost." He died in 1644-5, an d was buried in the
Temple Church, and one of his admirers wrote the following
epitaph :
Here lyeth a John, a burning, shining light,
His Name, Life, Actions, were all White.
John Owen was the eldest son of Owen Owen, Bodsilin,
Aber, near Bangor, who was Archdeacon of Anglesey (1584-93),
and rector of Burton Latimers, Northants, in which place John
Owen was born, c 1580. He graduated at Christ College, Cam-
bridge, 1596-7, and became Fellow of his College, and M.A. in
1600, D.D. in 1618. He was appointed chaplain to Charles I.,
and held several preferments in the Church; rector of Burton
Latimers in 1608 ; rector of Carlton, 1625 ; and Cottingham (all
in Northants), in 1625. In 1629 he became Archdeacon and
Bishop of St. Asaph, holding also during his tenure of that See,
the livings of Disserth, Llanfyllin, 1631 : Whitford, 1631 ;
Rhuddlan, 1632 ; Llanrhaiadr-ym-Moclmant, 1632 ; Llanfechain,
1632 ; and Llanrwst, i644. 2 He was greatly esteemed by Laud,
to whom he doubtless owed much of his advancement in the
Church. Canon Williams states that " he had incomparable skill
in the Welsh language." 3 There are several entries concerning
him in Y Cwtta Cyfanvydd, and the following is of some interest :
"Upon which day [July 2nd, 1631] Mr. Morris Jones, vicar
choral, etc., made the first sermon in Welsh in the p'ish church of
St. Asaph al's Llanelwey, by my Lord Bishop's order and decree
1 Athen : Oxon : ii., pp. 70, 71. z See Thomas' St. Asaph, pp. 98, 227.
3 Williams' Eminent Welshmen, pp. 379-80.
20 4
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
and my lord p'ched in his Cathedrall church that day." l In 1635
he set up a new organ at the Cathedral. 2 He was deprived,
imprisoned, and fined under the Commonwealth, and died in 1651
at Aberkinsey, in Rhuddlan, and was buried under the throne in
St. Asaph Cathedral, where a brass has recently been placed to
his memory by his representative, William, second Lord Harlech.3
Hugh Robinson was the fifch son of Bishop Nicholas
Robinson, of Bangor. He was born at Llanfair, Anglesey,
educated at Winchester, and afterwards became Perpetual Fellow
of New College, Oxford. He graduated M.A. in 1611, and was
appointed Head Master of Winchester. In 1634 he became
Archdeacon of Gloucester, Canon of Wells, and Rector of
Dursley. He suffered under Cromwell, but afterwards took the
Covenant and wrote in defence of it. His works show that he
was an excellent linguist and able divine and historian. They
are as follows : " Preces ; written for the use of the children at
Winchester School, in Latin and English"; " Grammaticalia
quaedam," in Latin and English ; " Antique Historic Synopsis" ;
all of which were printed at Oxford in 1616 in one volume, entitled
" Schoke Wintoniensis Phrases Latince." He died in 1655, but
one of his works was published in 1677 under the title Annalium
Mundi Universalium.
Griffith Williams, Dean of Bangor and Bishop of Ossory,
whose tracts written during the Gvil War have already been
noticed in the first chapter of this work, was also the author of
several other works, amongst which may be mentioned : " The
delights of the Saints." 1622 ; " Seven Gold Candlesticks," 1627 ;
"The true Church showed 10 all men," 1629; "The great
Antichrist revealed," 1660; "Seven treatises very necessary to be
observed in these bad days," 1661 ; " The Declaration of the Just
Judgment of God," 1661 ; "Truth Vindicated," 1666 :* besides
numerous sermons. Bishop Williams was a most unswerving
loyalist. Wood says that "of the means which he had in Wales
1 Y Cwtta Cyfcn-wydd, p. 134. 2 ibid, p. 161. 3 Hist, of St. Asaph, i.
p. 228. 4 Williams' Eminent Welshmen, pp. 524-6.
205
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
he gave unto his Majesty's own hands, every Winter for three
' Years together, the Testimony of his Loyalty and Affection, to
the utmost of his Power." 1 He himself suffered so much that
" for twelve years together he had not ,20 per annum in all the
world, to maintain himself and his servants." 2 He refused the
offer of Henry Cromwell, then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, of a
pension of 100 a year if he would submit to the Government. 3
He was one of the severest critics of the Parliament in all his
writings, and in the bulk of them he draws comparisons between
Old Testament evils and those of his own day. He directed one
in particular against Cromwell. It was entitled " The Tragedy
of Zimri that slew his King, that was his Master," a sermon based
on 2 Kings ix. 31. He was restored to all his offices at the
Restoration and returned to Ireland, dying in that country in
1671. In his Will he bequeathed his lands in Ireland "called
Fermoile, worth forty pounds per an. to be settled upon eight poor
distressed Widows, for whom he had erected eight several
Alms-houses in the parish of St. Kenny in his own diocese.'' 4
He also left a charity to the poor at Bangor. Archbishop
John Williams had been one of his patrons, and for the
rest he owed much to Philip, Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery,
who had secured for him the bishopric of Ossory, and to whom
he had been chaplain for many years. Griffith Williams in the
early part of his clerical life had been parson of St. Bennet
Sherbogg, in London.
William Thomas (1613-1689), who belonged to a
Carmarthenshire family (his grandfather was Recorder of Car-
marthen), but was born at Bristol in 1613, rose to eminence in the
Church as Bishop of Worcester, and was one of the most loveable
characters of his time. He was educated at Carmarthen, under
Morgan Owen, afterwards Bishop of Llandaff. In 1629 he
entered St. John's College, Oxford, and graduated B.A. in 1632,
M.A., Fellow of Jesus, and Tutor, in 1634-5. His first benefice
was Penybryn. Card'ganshire, and he aft. Awards became chaplain
1 A:ke<i : O.\on : ii. j,p. 496-8. Also Walk rs' Sufferings of the Cierg}>,
partii. p, -. * i ,id. 3 .?// w/z . Q., O ., . ;i> ,, . ; ^
206
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
to James, Duke of York, who presented him to the vicarage of
Laugharn, 1638. He was deprived in 1644, and suffered great
hardships. 1 Reinstated at the Restoration, he became Chantor
of St. David's 1660, and D.D. in 1661, and then rector of Llan-
bedr Velvre, Pembrokeshire (1661-5). As chaplain to the Duke
of York, he was present with him at sea in his engagement against
the Dutch. In 1665 he was appointed Dean of Worcester, and
from 1678-83 was Bishop of St. David's. He did much for that
See, repaired the palaces at Brecon and Abergwili, preached in
Welsh, and helped Stephen Hughes with his 1677-8 edition of
the Welsh Bible. In 1683 he was translated to the bishopric of
Worcester, and gained in a marked degree the affection of his
people. He regarded himself " as God's steward," was the most
generous and hospitable of men, and used the emoluments of his
See in various good works. He died in 1689, and was buried in
the cloisters at Worcester. In 1678 he wrote " An Apology for
the Church of England, 1678 ;" he also published many sermons,
and amongst them, " A Sermon preached at Carmarthen Assizes,
1659 ;" and "The Manna of Unrighteousness, 1688," preached
at Worcester Cathedral.
Thomas Jones, son of John Williams, was born at
Oswestry, entered Jesus College, Oxford, at the beginning of the
Rebellion, became Fellow of University College, by the authority
of the Parliamentary Visitors, in 1 648, submitted to the Covenant
and proceeded to his B.A. degree in 1649, M.A. in 1652*
He wrote, in 1652, Vita Edivardi Simsoni S. T. D. ex
ipsius mttographo excerpta, which is prefixed to Simson's Chronicon
Catholifitm. About 1654 he is supposed to have received
episcopal ordination, and he was appointed rector of Castell
Caereinion in 1655. In order to minister in that parish, he
learned the Welsh language. He was ejected in 1661, and
became domestic and naval chaplain to James, Duke of York, in
1663, but was dismissed in 1666, and retired to the rectory of
1 Eminent Welshmen, pp. 489-90 ; At hen : Oxon : ii., p. 835. 3 Athtn :
Oxon: ii., pp. 710-11.
207
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Llandyrnog, which he still held, but became obnoxious to the
Bishop of Bangor. In 1670 the Bishop of Winchester brought
an action for slander against him, 1 and he was fined ^300 and his
living sequestered. He wrote, in 1678, " Of the Heart and its
right Sovereign :" and "Rome no Mother-Church to England."
This was the time of the Popist Plot, and the book was an
historical account of the title of the English Church. In 1682 he
published " Elymas the Sorcerer : or a Memorial towards the
discovery of the bottom of this Popist Plot," in which he relates
the particulars of his quarrels. Wood states that this book was
undertaken in spleen against the Bishop of Winchester, and it
insinuated that the latter was in part responsible for the Duchess
of York's declaration in favour of Popery. The Bishop meant to
prosecute him, but he died before proceedings were instituted
against him, in 1682. Anthony Wood describes him as "a
person who was troubled with a rambling and sometimes craz'd
pate." -
Edward Evans, a Denbighshire man, educated at Christ
Church, Oxford, whither he went in 1598, at the age of sixteen,
and took his B. A. degree, 1603, M.A. in 1607, became a noted
preacher of his time at the University. He published four of his
University Sermons under the title " Verba Dierum, or the day's
report of God's glory," based on Psalm xix. 2, and printed at
Oxford, 1615.3
Lewis Thomas (alias Evans) 4, Scholar of Brasenose
College, Oxford, Matriculated 1584, aged 16, took an arts degree,
B.A. 1586-7, proceeded to Holy Orders and became beneficed
in the County of Gla'Tiorgan. He published " Certain Lectures
upon sundry portions of Scripture," 1600 ; " A Comment on the
Decalogue," and "Seven Sermons or the Exercises of Seven
Sabbaths."
William Thomas, " a Welshman born," as Wood describes
him, was educated at Jesus College, Oxford, 1616, aged 14 years,
left there without a degree, and was chosen Burgess for the town
l Athen: Oxon: ii., p. 711. 2 ibid, p. 712. 3 ibid, i-, p. 343.
*ibid, p. 381.
208
R ELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
of Carnarvon to sit in the 1640 Parliament. He at first showed
himself a bitter enemy against both Charles and the Church, but
afterwards, seeing the desperate courses Parliament resorted to,
he left them and joined the King at Oxford. In the 1640 Parlia-
ment he had spoken violently against the Church, especially
against Bishops sitting in Parliament, and he made a speech,
which was afterwards printed, " declaring the Office of Dean to be
of little use. 1 When he espoused the King's cause, he did so most
ardently, with the result that in 1650 he had to compound for
his estates for being a Royalist. His speeches in Parliament were
the only work of his that was published.
John Ellis, of Gwylan, a native of Llandecwyn, 2 Merioneth-
shire, entered as a student at Hart Hall, Oxford, in 1617, aged
18, took his B.A. in 1621-2, and M.A. in 1625. He became
Fellow of Jesus College in 1628, B.D. in 1632, and D.D. of St.
Andrew's University in 1634. From 1629-47 he was Rector of
Wheatfield, Oxon, and afterwards, 1646 to his death in 1666,
Rector of Dolgelley. He was an ardent educationalist. His
published works are : " Clavis fidei, seu brevia quaedam dictata in
symbolum Apostolorum, 1642." Translated into English by
William Fowler in 1669. "Comment in Obadiarn Proph.,
1641"; " Vindiciae Catholic^,' 1647; and " Defensio Fidei,"
1660.3
Henry Maurice, D.D., was a very learned and talented
Divine, the son of Thomas Maurice, Rector of Llangristiolus,*
Anglesey, where he was born in 1648. He was educated at
Beaumaris Grammar School, proceeded to Jesus College, Oxford,
in 1664, and was tutored there by Thomas Ellis aforementioned.
He took his degrees, and became Fellow of his college, and after
holding a curacy at Cheltenham, he returned to Oxford, " and
grew eminent for virtue and learning." 5 He attracted the attention
of Sir Leoline Jenkins, the then Principal, who asked him to
1 Athen : Oxon: ii., p. 48. -Alumni Oxon: 3 Atken: Oxon: ii.,
pp. 361-2. 4 Cambrian Register, 1796, p. 263. s rftAen : Oxon : pp. 872-875.
Also Williams' Eminent Welshmen, p. 317.
209
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
attend him as chaplain in his embassy to Neomagin, where he
was sent as Plenipotentiary in 1675. He remained abroad three
years, and soon after his return, in 1680, through the efforts of
Bishop Lloyd of St. Asaph, he became domestic chaplain to
Archbishop Sandcroft of Canterbury, 1 and was a very prominent
figure amongst the Archbishop's entourage, who afterwards
presented him to the benefice of Chevening in Kent. He
subsequently held the sinecure rectory of Llandrillo, became
Chancellor of Chichester in 1681, and lastly Rector of Newington
in Oxfordshire, in succession to Dr. Stradling, in 1685. In 1691
he was appointed Margaret Professor of Divinity at Oxford and
Prebendary of Worcester, but he died suddenly in that same year.
He was one of the noted Welshmen of this century, and Wood
describes him as " a person of imcomparable learning,
extraordinary memory, and a clear and ready wit. He was also
an extempore preacher of great power." During his stay on the
Continent he had collected a number of valuable books which,
after his decease, were placed in Jesus College Library. 2 He was
the author of several controversial works, which show his zeal
towards the Church of England, her doctrine and discipline, and
his invincible courage in defending and supporting her. He was
a most strenuous opponent both of Rome and of Dissent. His
works are:
1. "A Vindication of the Primitive Church and Diocesan
Episcopacy," 1682. An answer to Mr. Baxter's "Church
History of Bishops and their Councils abridged." In this
work Henry Maurice exposed Mr. Baxter's " small insight
into antiquity."
2. " The Antithelemite," or an answer to certain queries of the
Duke of Buckingham, 1685.
3. " The Project," &c., written upon the occasion of the Popist
Judges haranguing in their Circuits against the Established
Religion, 1688.
4. " Doubts concerning the Roman Infallibility," 1688, after-
1 Cambrian Register, p. 264. 2 ibid, 1796. p. 263.
2IO
RELIGIOUS AX!) MORAL WRITINGS
wards printed amongst other tracts against Popery in the
Preservative.
5. " Defence of Diocesan Episcopacy: or an Answer to Mr.
David Clarkson's book entitled Primitive Episcopacy," 1691.
In his Memoir by a friend given in the Cambrian Register for
1 796, he is described as "a person of excellent strong natural parts,
improved by study, and the most elegant conversation to be met
amongst the most eminent of his profession, for they all courted
his friendship. . . . Bishop Hooper and he were like brothers. . .
He spoke with that clearness of expression, and with that quick-
ness and strength of judgment, that he seemed to want no
deliberation, having all his notions so ready and at command."
The same personal friend informs us that he died " about the
45th year of his age." His friends erected him a monument in
Jesus College Chapel. 1
Jonathan Edwards (1629-1712) was born at Wrexham, in
1629, entered Christ Church, Oxford, in 1655 ; B.A. 1659 ; became
Fellow of Jesus in 1662, M.A. 1662, B.D. 1669. He afterwards
held the benefice of Kiddington, near Woodstock, and became
Principal of Jesus College in 1686 in succession to John Lloyd.*
He was Vice -Chancellor of the University from 1689 to 1691.
In 1687 he became Treasurer of Llandaff, and in 1601 he had
been appointed Rector of Hinton-Ampner, in Hampshire,*
besides holding two benefices in Wales. His chief work was " A
Preservative against Socinianism," which appeared in 1693, but
the work was not completed until ten years later. Part ii.
appeared in 1694, part iii. in 1697, and part iv. in 1703. In this
work he treated Faustus Socinus not as a heretic, but as the
founder of a new religion. By the time the work was finished,
the Socinian controvesry was practically over, and its place taken
by the Arian controversy. Jonathan Edwards died in 1712, and
was buried in the chapel of Jesus College. He left his books to
the library of that college, and ^1,000 for repairs to the building,
\ Cambrian Register, 1796, p. 269. - D N> B, * Atficu : Own; ii. p,
1093 ; also Williams' Eminent Welshmen*
811
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Richard Lucas was born at Presteign, in Radnorshire, in
1648, entered Jesus College, Oxford, in 1664, took the B.A.
degree in 1668, and M.A. in 1672.' He afterwards became
Master of the Free School at Abergavenny, vicar of St. Stephen's,
Coleman Street, London, and, in 1691, Doctor of Divinity, and
Prebendary of Westminster in 1696. He was blind for many
years before his death, which happened in 1715. He wrote many
valuable works, which, as Canon Williams remarks, " will transmit
his name with honour to posterity." The chief of them are :
" Practical Christianity : or, an Account of the Holiness
which the Gospel enjoyns, with the Motives to it, and the
Remedies it proposes against Temptations." 167 , and 1681.
"An enquiry after Happiness," 1685, his most important
work, in two volumes. It went through many editions, and was
deservedly esteemed.
He was also the author of several series of sermons, some of
them preached at St. Stephens, Coleman Street, others before the
Lord Mayor and Aldermen of London, one before the Queen, at
Kensington, and others before their Majesties, at Whitehall.
In 1680, he translated from English into Latin The whole
duty of Man, under the title Officium Hominis, &c.
Humphrey Humphreys was the eldest son and heir of
Richard Humphreys, of Penrhyn Dcuclraeth, Merionethshire, and
of Margaret, the daughter of Robert Wynn, of Cesailgyfarch,
Carnarvonshire. 2 He was born in 1648, began his education at
Oswestry, under the care of his uncle, Humphrey Wynn, M.A.,
Vicar and Schoolmaster, and then proceeded to Jesus College,
Oxford, in 1665. He took his B.A. degree in 1669, was scholar
in 1670, and became M.A. and Fellow in 1672; B.D., 1680;
D.D., 1682. He was ordained Deacon and Priest at Bangor in
1670, by Bishop Robert Morgan, and afterwards held the livings
of Llanfrothen ( 1670) and Trawsfynydd, in Merionethshire (1672).
Becoming chaplain to Dr. Humphrey Lloyd, Bishop of Bangor,
in 1673, he was promoted first to a canonry in that Cathedral,
1 A then \ Oxon ; ii., p. 1093. "ibid, ii., 1183.
U
RELIGIOUS ANT) MORAL WRITINGS
1680, and afterwards to the Deanery, 1682. He married
Elizabeth, daughter of Bishop Robert Morgan. In 1689, on the
death of Bishop Humphrey Lloyd, he was appointed his successor,
being afterwards translated, in 1701, to the See of Hereford. He
died in 171 2, and was interred near the altar of his Cathedral at
Hereford. He was very well versed in the antiquities of Wales,
and wrote some memoirs of Eminent Welshmen in addition
to those contained in Wood's Athcnac Oxonienses. The
" Additions " are printed in the last edition of that work, and in
the first volume of the Cambrian Register for 1795, pp. 155-160,
where a biographical notice of the bishop is subjoined. 1
John Owen : an eminent divine amongst the Independents,
was the son of Henry Owen, Vicar of Stadham, near Watlington,
in Oxfordshire, 2 where he was born in 1616,3 and entered
Queen's College, Oxford, in 1628, lie being a youth of exceptional
ability. He graduated B.A. in 1632, and AT. A. in 1635. He
refused to comply with Laud's new statutes, and left Oxford on
that account in 1637. He took Holy Orders, however, and
became chaplain to John L. Lovelace, of Hurley, in Berkshire.
When the Civil War broke out, he sided with the Parliament. He
took the Covenant, and was made minister of Forclham, in Essex,
and afterwards of Coggleshall, in the same county. In the
former place he was a Presbyterian, but in the latter he became
an Independent. W T ood, who bore him no love, declares that in
doing this " he became endeared to Oliver Cromwell," who
afterwards held him in high esteem, and frequently relied on his
counsel. After the execution of Charles L, he preached in the
House of Commons on the justice of his fate, and he took a
prominent part in the Thanksgiving at Christ Church, in London,
for Cromwell's victory over the Levellers in 1649. In March,
1651, he was appointed by the Parliament Dean of Christ Church,
Oxford, and took an active part in disseminating Cromwell's
views in the University, but encountered great opposition from
'Williams' Eminent Welshmen, p. 227. 7 Athen : Oxon : ii., p. 737.
3 Williams' Eminent ]Vthhnitn, p. 380. This d;Ue seems doubtful. 4 .If hen :
Oxon : ii., p. 738.
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
his former friends, the Presbyterians. In 1652 he was made
Vice -Chancellor of Oxford, and shocked that University by his
disregard of conventions. In 1654 he was appointed a Commis-
sioner, and in the same year stood to be elected burgess by the
University, but sat but a short time in Parliament. Wood charges
him with great want of reverence, and mentions his disrespect
during the recital of the Lord's Prayer J on some occasions at
Oxford.
In 1657, when Richard Cromwell was elected Chancellor of
the University, Owen was removed from the Vice-Chancellorship,
and in 1659 he was ousted from the Deanery of Christ Church
and retired to Stadham, his birthplace, where he had bought
some land. He was excepted from the Act of Oblivion at the
Restoration, but nevertheless, Hyde, Earl of Clarendon, treated
him kindly, and asked him, if he could not conform, to use his
energy and ability against the Papists. In spite of Wood's evident
antagonism and prejudice, he quotes some very favourable
opinions of John Owen, and amongst them those of Edward
Stillingfleet and Henry Dodwell, and himself admits that " his
personage was proper and comely, and he had a very graceful
behaviour in the Pulpit, an eloquent elocution, a winning and
insinuating deportment, and could by the persuasion of his oratory
. . . move and wind the affections of his admiring Auditory
almost as he pleased." 2 Several instances are given by Canon
Williams in his Eminent Welshmen of Owen's moderation, notably
in the case of Dr. Willis, whom he allowed to use the Liturgy
unmolested, and that of Dr. Edward Pococke.
He was one of the most active writers of that age, and the
titles of his works fill six columns in the History of Oxford JJ'ri/ers.
Most of them are sermons, or polemical works on the religious
controversies of those times. Salus Electorum Sangnis Jesu is
one of his most substantial works. In it the whole controversy of
universal redemption is fully discussed in four books. He wrote
other works against the tenets of Hugh Grotius and those of John
1 Athen : Own : ii., p, 739. 2 ibid, ii., p. 741.
214
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL WRITINGS
Goodwin, as well as those of Dr. William Sherlock, and had also
much pen warfare with Dr. Stillingfleet. His expositions on
various passages in the Epistle to the Hebrews are considered
very able. He died in 1683.
John Price was born of Welsh parents in London, 1
educated at Westminster School, and proceeded to Christ Church,
Oxford, in 1617, left the University without a degree, and was
taken into the household of one of the sons of the Earl of
Arundel. He then went overseas to " a certain University," which
is not named by Wood, 2 returned to England, and was of the
retinue of the Earl of Strafford when the latter was Lord Lieutenant
of Ireland. There he became acquainted with Archbishop Usher.
Price subsequently defended Strafford against charges made by
Parliament, and \vas cast into prison. Regaining his freedom, he
again went over seas, and settled about 1652 at Florence in
Italy. The Duke of Tuscany made him Professor of Greek in
the University of Pisa, where he was highly esteemed for his
patristic knowledge and linguistic attainments.
He wrote a work on Plato's philosophy, which he printed at
Paris in 1635. In 1646 he issued Annotations in cpistolam Jacobi,
In 1647, Ac/a Apostolorum ex S.pagina, sanctis Patribus Griceisque
ac Latinis Gentium scriptoribus illustrata. He also wrote a
Commentary on St. Matthew, and this with those on St. James
and the Acts, just mentioned, were printed in London in 1660 in
Commentarii in varies Novi Testamenti libros. Another Com-
mentary by Price on the Psalms was published in the same series
in 1660.
Price left Tuscany and went to Rome, where he joined the
retinue of the famous Cardinal Francis Barberini,3 " the Protector
of the English nation," as Wood styled him, He spent his last
days in the Convent of St. Augustine, where he died in 1676,
'''Eminent Welshmen ', p. 417. - Atkcn\ Oxoti : ii. p. 582. .3 ibid
CHAPTER III
THE POETRY OF THE PERIOD
(a) WELSH POETRY.
(b) ENGLISH AND LATIN POEMS.
(a) WELSH POETRY.
THE dynasty of the Tudors ended in 1603, and the bardic
conventions in Wales, which had received their royal
sanction, seem to have ended with them. The bards of the
seventeenth century, for the most part, failed to comply with the
tests in versification, in its rules and principles, which their more
highly gifted predecessors had imposed, or, perhaps, the attempt
to observe them had crushed out inspiration, and very little of
real worth was produced in this century, written In the confined
metres approved by the official bards, and in cynghanedd. There
came no incentive to bardism from the higher circles. It could
hardly have been expected from the Stuarts, who had no ties with
Wales, and who were engrossed chiefly in establishing the theory
of the Divine right of Kings, and afterwards in saving their
toppling throne, which Englishmen could never allow to rest on
such a foundation. As far as royal patronage was concerned, the
bards were left entirely to their own devices.
The stirring times of the Civil Wars seem to have suggested
very little to their fancy and imagination, and men had neither
the time nor the inclination to study the artificial rules of versifi-
cation, which had produced the twenty -four metres, and to apply
them in bardic exercises undertaken more for the. sake of the
ingenuity required in carrying out the rules of the profession, than
for giving expression in poetic garb to themes which pressed for
utterance , and would not be denied it, because they were urgent
and all-absorbing. The most eminent bard of the century broke
away from the conventions which had governed the fraternity for
many decades, and the bulk of his poetry is written in the free
metres. For the most part, the only compositions attempted, or
sought after, were an occasional elegiac cywydd, a dyri adapted to
the popular taste, or Christmas carols for use at the Pfygain, the
early service of song held in the churches' on Christmas Day.
219
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
This service was an institution which had taken firm hold,
especially in rural Wales, and it still survives in some remote parts
of the country.
It took Wales more than a century to complete the discom-
fiture of those poetasters against whom measures had been
directed at the Eisteddfod of Caenvys. The truth is that the
itinerant bards, or ckrwyr, as they were termed, had been
accustomed to build up the rhyme on a more material foundation
than the Muse is supposed to require. The majority of them
were ignorant mendicants, and a very shrewd blow was struck at
them by the requirements laid down at that Eisteddfod in 1568.
So that before the Civil War broke out, their ranks had been
considerably depleted. That event destroyed their last hope, for
such gentry as continued to succour them were now absorbed in
internecine strife, and were unable to avail themselves of the
services of even the superior pencerdd or bardd teulu, not to
mention the low grade bard, who passed under the name clenv?\
and was already an outcast in the eyes of respectable members of
the profession.
Such members of the Welsh aristocracy as survived the
Civil Wars, and as Wales was Royalist in sympathy there were
but few who escaped with life and property intact, had formed so
close an intercourse with England that their national customs,
however excellent, was worn away considerably. The patronage
given to the bards, which was already on the wane in pre- Civil
War days, now became a thing of the past, and many of the old
manners and customs were looked upon as barbarous. So there
was very little encouragement for the practice of poetry on the
old lines of laborious and intricate compositions. Penillioii,
Interludes, and Songs were, in the main, the productions of this
centuiy. Penillion, of "course, originated in earlier times. The
bards used them chiefly for mnemonic purposes, to fill men's
minds with a store of maxims. It was no uncommon thing to
find men who could sing to the accompaniment of the harp some
hundreds of these penillion,
220
THE POETRY OF THE PERIOD
The Interludes came later. It is not exactly certain when
they were introduced, and they were deemed an inferior form of
verse, but they date, at least, from the beginning of this period.
Song-writing came later in North Wales than it did in South
Wales. It certainly was not popular in the North until the time
of Charles I., and it is the bard whose work will now be con-
sidered, who brought it into general favour in Gwynedd.
Hliw Morns, although not a sun in the poetic firmament,
was, at least, a brilliant star in comparison with any other Welsh
versifier of that age, Edward Morus alone excepted, for they both
helped to light up the darkness .and dispel something of the
gloom which had settled upon Cambrian poetry.
Huw Morus was the third son of a respectable freeholder
living on his own patrimony at Pont-y-meibion, in the valley of
Ceiriog, in the parish of Llansilin, Denbighshire, and was born at
that farm- house in 1622. Nothing is known of his early educa-
tion, but from his first youth he showed a facility for verse, which
belongs only to innate genius. When quite young he was
apprenticed to a tanner, who lived in a house called Givaliau^
near Overtoil in Flintshire. His biographer in the Cambrian
Register' 1 asserts that he quitted this work before the end of his
term of apprenticeship. This does not agree with the evidence in
one of his Juvenile Songs, in which he states that he stayed the
usual seven years, although he regarded with unconcealed disgust
the restrictions placed upon his liberty. It would appear that his
master was a martinet, who forbade him under heavy penalties
any intercourse with the fair sex :
Bum felly saith mlynedd ....
Heb feiddiaw cael cusan llancesi,
Mi awn ffwrdcl ar hynt, fel y gwynt,
Rhag fforffetio deugain punt.
At the end of these seven years, however, he returned to
Pont-y-meibion, and worked with his brother on the farm. He
now began to write poems, most of them amatory songs adapted
to lyrical metres. Mawl Merck was his first theme, although in
Vol. i. p. 427, Article by David SamwelK
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
those early days he composed some sacred dramas and some
comedies, very few of which have been preserved. He was a
frequent and welcome guest at many country seats in the neigh-
bourhood of Glyn Ceiriog, especially at Porkington, whose owner,
Mr. Owen, became his principal patron and friend. Huw Morus
had not much book learning, but he had a fertile imagination and
a heart full of virtuous sentiments, which, no doubt, made him
an admirable companion.
A man from whose pen everything flowed with such felicity
and ease, in whose writings we find nothing forced, and no sign of
laborious effort, could hardly fail to be sought after by his neigh-
bours, and to win the esteem of Welshmen, who are always ready
to worship at the shrine of the muses. His poems show that he
eminently excelled in that quality of humour which is at once
harmless and delightful. The variety of his themes discloses a
mind which could adapt itself to many conditions. He had a
deep sense of justice, and his sympathies were readily given to
those who suffered injustice, and in some of his poems he made
bold to wage war against private acts of injustice which came to
his notice. For instance, it had come to his knowledge that an
estate in Bromfield had been diverted from its rightful heir by a
forged will, which the dead hand of the previous owner had been
guided to subscribe. Huw Morus, in four biting satires, severely
dealt with the principals in this revolting episode. The poems
are known as " Cerddi y Tiroedd Taerion." In one of them he
presents the striking image that the bells of Ruabon Church rang
out at midnight of their own volition, when this dread deed was
perpetrated.
Despite the playfulness of his Muse in the Juvenile poems,
he was a man of exemplary life, and was looked upon by his
contemporaries almost as one divinely inspired. He had studied
the Scriptures deeply, and disseminated their principles among his
countrymen, and his writings are known to have had an influence
upon the habits and morals of the common people. He used his
keen wit and barbed sarcasm unmercifully against cant and
222
THE POETRY OF THE PERIOD
hypocrisy, and in this has well deserved the title sometimes given
him, the Hudibras of Wales.
He often employed his friendly offices as arbitrator in local
feuds, and he was always ready to plead the cause of his poorer
fellow -bards, and of widows and orphans, with those who were
opulent in this world's goods.
In politics he was a devoted Royalist, and during the Civil
Wars remained a staunch friend of Charles I. He used his pen
unstintingly in the King's cause, and his poems leave one in no
doubt as to his views on matters of Church and State. It has
been said that North Wales was more loyal to the King than any
other part owing to the vast influence of his writings. 1 Even
after Cromwell had triumphed, he continued to express his loyal
sentiments in the form of allegorical visions. The allusions were
veiled, but were well understood by those who knew the bard.
He employed his Muse, however, with great prudence and dis-
cretion during those dangerous times, and escaped the vengeance
wreaked upon Rowland Vaughan, of Caergai, whose mansion the
Roundheads burned to the ground, and upon William Phylip, of
Ardudwy, the septuagenarian bard, who was compelled to take
refuge in the Merionethshire mountains. Huw Morus was not
less loyal than these two, but more prudent. He waited until the
danger was over, before he explained his allegories.
He was a great carol writer and received applications from
all parts of North Wales, even as late as his eighty -sixth year, for
carols to be sung at the early Plygain Service on the day of our
Lord's Nativity. The present writer, when ministering in a remote
part of Wales, heard several of his carols sung, which had been
transmitted by oral tradition, although the singers were quite
unaware of their origin. Huw Moms' antipathy to Popish errors
comes out strongly in some of them, e.g.,
Mab Duw o'r uchelne'
Nid Paban y delwau,
Sy 'n cadw agoriadau gwarediad.
In all his carols he shows the work of a devotional mind and
1 Gwaith Givalller Michain, iii., p. 27.
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
one well versed in the Scriptures. He lamented the disregard of
Christmas, which had crept in under the Commonwealth, in one
of the best known of his carols, " Carol Gwyliau a wnaed yn
amser rhwysg Oliver " :
Yn angbof gollyngwyd yr amser y ganwyd
Oen hyfryd, wiw Brophwyd y brif-ffordd.
Fe a'r Meistr bonheddig, nior fwyn yn ei fenyg,
I weithio'r Nadolig, drwy chwitbig drwch wedd ;
Ar ol hynny flwyddyn ni wna efe un gronyn,
Ond eiste'n wr gerwin, a gorwedd.
He never tired of writing these compositions. Of one written
in his eightieth year, he remarks :
Os gofyn dyn duwiol
Pwy luniodd y carol
O fawl i Dduw nefol,
Orseddol ei swydd ;
Hen ddyn a phen maban,
A'i awen yn fechan,
A'i gorph yn oer egwan ar ogwydd.
One of his best ironical elegies is that entitled Marwnad
Givyr Oliver, and one of his most pathetic the Elegy on the
death of Mrs. Myddleton of Plas Newydd, which takes the form
of a dialogue between the dead lady and her husband, who
survived her. A composition marked by lofty sentiment and
almost unequalled felicity of expression is his Cyffes ar ei glafweZy.
He always handled religious subjects with reverence and dignity,
and as one writer aptly stated, " He never touched the ark with
unhallowed hands." 1 In this he did for Wales what Milton did
for England. When he wished to caricature the times, he selected
his dramatis persona, like /Esop, from the animal world. Thus,
in one of his visions, the characters were : Llew (Lion), Charles
I. ; Llewod ieuainc (young Lions), The Young Princes ; Llwyn-
ogod Lloegr goch (The Foxes of red England), The Parliament ;
Y Llwynog (The Fox), Cromwell ; Moch Prydyn (The Hogs of
Scotland), The Scottish Army ; Defaid (Sheep), The peaceable
Subjects ; Bugeiliaid (Shepherds), The exiled Clergy ; Cwn
tramor, Foreign Harriers.
His poem Ymrafael y Creaduriaid (The Battle of the Brutes)
1 Introduction to Eos Ceiriog, p. xvi.
224
THE POETRY OF THE PERIOD
has the following characters : The Barcud (Kite) and Cigfran
(Raven), represent the rival parties for the Government of the
Commonwealth ; Oen (Lamb), represents the revenues of Church
and State ; Mwyalchen (Blackbird), the moderate party ; and Y
Llwynog (the Fox), Oliver Cromwell. This poem delineates what
the bard 'conceived to be Cromwell's duplicity and cunning in
arriving at the Protectorate :
Pan geisiai'r Barcud damaid
A'i 'winedd nid oedd weiniaid,
Fe ymaflai'r Gigfran yn ei geg,
Nid da nid teg mo'u tynged.
Tra'r oedd yr ymdrech rhyngthyn'
Mi a welwn Lwynog melyn,
O glun i glun heb ronyn l^raw,
Yn rhodio draw'n y ihedyn.
Ynghysgod perth fe lechai,
A'i lygaid fcl camvyllau,
Yn hyf gwn fod y cenaw cam
Yn chwerthin am eu pennau.
Ar ben ychydig amser,
Gwedi iddo gael ei bleser,
Ni adawai'r ddau aderyn dig,
Fe restiai gig y brasder.
Ond pwy yn drist ae drostyn'
Pe byddent meirw o newyn ?
A'i fol yn llawn, mewn lloches glyd
Mae'n llawen fyd ar Fadyn.
After the Restoration he no longer hesitated to deal with the
characters of the Great Rebellion under their own names.
Cromwell, General Lambert, Vavasor Powell, and the rest, are
each dealt with in no uncertain terms.
Much of his verse was designed to be sung to the accompani
ment of the harp, and he generally inserts the name of the tune
above the song. Amongst the tunes thus employed may be
instanced : Difyrrwch Givyr Dyfi, Y Ddeilen Werdd, Y Galon
Drom, Brynie'r Werddon, Llafar Haf, Gwledd Angharad, and
Per Oslef.
Although he remained a celibate to the end of his life, his
love-poems are numerous, and are addressed to many different
maidens, whom, on occasion, he does not fear to censure as well
225
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
as to sing their praises. The lyric metres he employed were
afterwards very popular, and he had many imitators, but very
few who used them to the same advantage. Gwallter Mechain
writes of him : "As a lyric poet, so astonishingly hath he been
thought to excel, that a late author 1 compares him to a surprising
comet appearing after the revolution of three hundred years, the
last having been Dafydd ab Gwilym Both abounded in
pure nature, and were not seemingly under any obligation to art." 2
The following are, perhaps, typical stanzas, from his love-
songs :
Nid ydyw da'r byd
A'i hyder o hyd,
I wyr ac i wragedd, ond gwagedd i gyd ;
Mawr serch a hir sai',
Da drysor di drai,
Yn hwy o flynyddoedd na thiroedd na thai.
Cei draserch heh droi,
A chalon i'w chloi,
Os wyt ti f anwylyd, yn dywedyd y doi ;
Os tyni di yn groes,
Mae'n berygl am f oes,
O gariad, dwys d'rawiad, ymadawiad nid oes.
Fy ngwenithen lawen liwus,
O ran dy ddaed 'r wy'n dy ddewis,
Nid am ddiwrncd hynod heiny'
Y dymunwn gael dy gwmni,
Nid am fis, neu ddau, neu flwyddyn,
Trwy gymmendod, ar wan dafod, yr wy'n d' ofyn ;
Tra fo Feinioes heb derfynu,
Mynwn beunydd, difai ddeunydd, dy feddiannu.
His elegy on the death of Mrs. Myddleton, of Plas Newydd,
shows that he could excel as a writer of manvnadau. David
Samwell has compared this with Lord Lyttleton's " Monody on
the death of his Lady " and " To the Memory of a young Lady,"
by Mr. Shaw, and his comment is, " Whoever will compare them
with this elegy, must allow, that they are equalled, if not excelled,
by the Cambrian bard." 3 The closing lines show the tenderness
and singular beauty of this elegy, which is written in the form of a
1 Mr. Lewis Morris in a letter to William Parry. See Gwallter Mechain's
Preface, p. xviii. * Gwaith Gwaltter Mechain^ iii. p. 303. 3 Cambriqn
Register, i., 1795, p. 434.
226
THE POETRY OF THE PERIOD
dialogue between the living and the dead, a form in which Huw
Morus has imitated William Llyn and other bards ;
Ffarwel garedig, wraig fonheddig,
Bendigedig oedd dy gael ;
Er colli tegwch, a hawddgarwch,
Doniau harddwch, mae Duw'n hael.
Ion, gvvna'n foddlon, fy meddylion,
I'th amcanion doethion di ;
Nid y\v ryfedd, faint f'anhunedd,
Dod amynedd, Dad, i mi ;
A dod drugaredd, rhanwr rhinwedd,
Yn y diwedd, i ni ein dau ;
A maddeu i'm calon, am fy Ngwen-fron,
Oedd wych a ffyddlon, ei choftau.
He throws much light on the social changes wrought during
the Civil War and under the Commonwealth. For instance, he
expresses his repugnance to a law which came into force restrict-
ing the performance of the marriage rite to the secular magistrate :
Rhyw gyfraith newydd gwmbrus
Anhwylus ydyw hon !
Y merched rhowch eich gweddi,
Yn ffyddlon gyda myfi,
Am gael y gyfraith ddifri
Ffei o honi leni i lawr.
He pours scorn on the illiterate ministry so often set up by
the Roundheads :
Rhyw ddyn o'u mysg, heb ddysg, heb ddawn,
A wnae ryw bregeth felus iawn.
Ni fedrai ein Personiaid ni,
Fyth goethi y fath bregethau.
He is also very satirical about the tinkers who became mayors,
and the blacksmiths, weavers, and others, who conducted public
worship on Sunday and sat on the magisterial bench on other
days:
Rhai a ddywed yn dduwiol mai'r Gofsydd ysbrydol,
Ac eraill modd gwrol a ganmol y Gwydd ;
A rhai sy'n deisyfu y Crydd'fw ceryddu,
A'r lleill yn moliannu'r Melinydd.
The topsy-turvydom of social life he satirised in Marwnad
Gwyr Oliver in trenchant lines, of which the following are a fair
example ;
227
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Potiwr pridd oedd Gadpen glan,
Mewn sidan yn drwsiadus,
A'r Cariwr n6d ar gefn ei farch,
Fel iarll dihafarch hoenus ;
Yn wr gwych yn ei Keidin goch,
Mewn llawer gwledd ennillai'r gloch,
Yn byw ar win a mehin moch,
Chwi a'i gwyddoch enwog oeddyn';
Doe yn fawr eu grym a'u nerth,
Yn dringo i dop y simddai serth,
A heddyw'n llechu tan y berth,
Ow ! mor ddi-ymadferth ydyn'.
A'r cleddyf llym, mewn grym a gras,
Curo'i feistr a allai'r gwas,
A chymryd meddiant yn ei bias,
Yn ddigon bras ei breseb.
Mi a ddylwn yn fy Marwnad mwyn,
Yn uchel ddwyn eu hachau ;
Yr oedd eu graddau'nfawr trwy gred,
O'r hen Fegeriaid goreu !
He describes the joy of the populace at the Restoration in
his poem Croesaw i'r Arglwydd Mwnc i Lundain :
Mae yn Llundain seinio clychau,
Y drymau a'r gynau ar gan,
Mae miwsig pawb a'u moesau
O groesaw i'r gleiniau glan ;
Cusanu dwylaw a dilyn ein brenin braf o bryd,
Y rhod a drodd
Drwy rasol fodd i ryngu bodd y byd !
His disgust at the execution of Charles I. is described in the
strongest terms in Cerdd y Plot fuyn Llundain.
Nid rhydd i'r traed farnu y pen, a'i ddirmygu,
Tan daeru iddo gamu, heb lynu yn ei le ;
Yr an niodd i'r gwerin, roi barn ar y brenin,
A'r Arglwydd yn wreiddyn i'w raddau.
In the same poem he makes a firm stand for establishedauthority :
Cywirdia ac ufudd-dod i Dduw a'r awdurdod,
Yw ffynnon a phennod y ftynniant.
But this poem has an unjust reflection on Algernon Sydney,
whom the bard accuses of a design to kill Charles II. and his
brother James. His biographer, D. Samwell, pleads as his excuse
that he was deceived in his information respecting Sydney,
228
THE POETRY OF THE PERIOD
In others of his political odes he describes and commemor-
ates the great naval victory obtained by the English and Dutch
under Admiral Russell against the French, off La Hogue, in 1692.
In another poem he describes the war in Flanders.
So far, the poems that have been noticed were written in the
free metres, but he also wrote a number of cywyddau and cngfynion
which showed his mastery of the cyngkanedd. The following
lines taken from his Elegy to Sir Thomas Mostyn and Lady
Mostyn, who were buried in the same grave at Eglwys y Rhos,
in Creuddyn, serve as a good instance of his skill in this
direction :
Oer i eryr hir aros,
O'i lys rhydd yn Eglwys Rhos
Angeu a'i rhoes, ing yr hawg,
A'i arf erchyll ar farchawg ;
A'i Arglwyddes wawr Gloddaith,
I ran Duw aent i'r un daith ;
Ni ddymunodd i'w maenol.
Acres wycb, aros o'i ol ;
Gado i fonedd gydfyned,
A wnaeth Crist am wenith cred,
Un foddion yn fyvv oeddynt,
Un gred goel, un gariad gynt ;
Un galon union, un air,
Un ddaioni 'n ddi - anair.
He also wrote a very large number of englyuiun, of which
the following Ynglyn o Gyagor is a fair sample :
Na fydd anfwyn v. nhfivyn o'th fodd na wivyn
Wrth anfwyn o'th an fodd ;
Anfwyn nid ci;i mewn unh ;'ul,
Na i\\y fzvyn, end mewn rhyw fodd.
In his last illness, in reply to a friend who made inquiries as
to his condition, he wrote :
Myn'd i'r ail adail ar redeg yr wyf,
Lie ceir oes ychvvaneg,
I baradwys bur wiwdeg,
Yn enw Duw yn union deg.
Huw Morus died at Pont-y-meibion, on the 313! of August,
229
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
1709, at the advanced age of eighty-seven, and was buried at
Llansilin. The following epitaph is engraved on his tombstone :
Dyma Huw a fu byw yn y byd, yn bencerdd
Am bynciau celfyddyd ;
Gwir organ y gan i gyd ;
Diamntau yw, dyma Ovyd.
Er Grnegiaid, blaeniaid, aer blys, iawn naddiad
Awenyddiaeth fedrys
Lladingwyr ledwyr dilys,
Hwya mawredd Huw Morys.
Y parch. Mr. Robert Wynne, Vicar Gwyddelwern.
He has been ranked with Dafydd ab Gwilym as to the
quality of his muse, and in his power of imagination and
versatility. Mr. R. J. Prys, writing of these two great bards,
states with much truth : " Ychydig iawn o feirdd Cymru sy'n
deilwng i gael eu rhestri yn yr un dosbarth aruchel a hwynt hwy,
o ran crebwyll, darfelydd, ac amledd eu cyfansoddiadau awen-
yddol. Y gwir yw, mai rhai wedi eu gent yn feirdd a llenorion
oedd y ddau, ac nid rhai wedieu saernio gan ddysg a chelfyddyd."
Poetry seemed to flow easily and naturally from Huw Morus ; it
was not the result of effort, but of inspiration. He was certainly
in the first rank of Welsh poets, and was pre-eminently the bard
of the seventeenth century. Mr. Lewis Morris held the opinion
that his cywyddau and englynion suffered by comparison with his
poems in the free metres, 1 but we cannot agree with him in his
verdict as to the former " yr oedd allan o'i elfen anianol," for
his cywyddau, in particular, will compare with most things that
were written by bards of merit.
Gwallter Mechain collected his poems from various sources.
He states in his preface to Eos Ceiriog: " Rhai Carolau a Cherddi
a gyhoeddwyd ym mhlith Caniadau eraill gan un Ffoulk Owen yn
jRhydychen, yn y fl. 1686. Ac eraill gan un Tomas Jones yn y
'Mwythig, yn y fl. 1 696. A Dewi Fardd (fel y galwai ei hun) o
Drefriw, a chwanegodd at y rhifedi yn ei lyfr a elwir " Blodeu-
Gerdd Cymru." The others he collected, as he says, from
manuscripts as old as the author, perhaps of his own writing, and
others from later MSS. His own two volumes of the great bard's
1 Eos Ceiriog, Introduction, p. xix,
230
THE POETRY OF THE PERIOD
work he published under the title : " Eos Ceiriog, sef Casgliad o
Ber Ganiadau Huw Morus ; yn ddau Lyfr : O gynhulliad a
Diwygiad W. D. [Walter Davies].
Mawl a geiff am oleu gerdd
A gwiw sein-gan gyson-gerdd.
Goromvy Orvain.
Yn Ngwrecsam argraffwyd ac a gyhoeddwyd gan I. Painter. 1823."
He has arranged the poems in nine sections, as follows:
Cywyddion, Mabinogion, Hanesion, Priodolion, Difrifolion, Maes-
olion, Galar-Gwynion, Divyfolion, and Ynglynion.
Many tributes were paid to Huw Morus by contemporary
bards and those of a later age in the form of cywyddau manvnad
and englynion. That of the Rev. Robert Wynn is, perhaps, the
most striking. It begins as follows :
Mae niwl draw, mne gwlaw'n y Glyn,
A barug oddeutu Berwyn ;
Tywyllwch, aethwch weithian
Gorchudd yn awr mawr a man ;
A rhif o ddagrau yr hawg,
Yn cyrhaedd glanau Ceiriawg ;
Mae hyd y wlad, yn fad fu,
Ochenaid mwy na chanu ;
Ar ol Huw, araul ei wedd,
Oedd gynnil brif fardd Gwynedd.*
Dafydd ab loan, Llangollen, wrote in 1820, " Myfyrdod
uwch ben Bedd Huw Morus," which contains some striking stanzas.
Llyma giyd dybryd dibris oer wely
Er alaeth dros ganmis ;
Graian yw pa fangre'n is,
I roi'r mawr - wr Huw Morris '!
'R wyf bron wylaw hagr ddagrau o weled
Mor wael ei Gaer yntau ;
Cofiaw hefyd ryw bryd brau
Mae bedd tydd f annedd innau. 2
Another bard, Robert Davies, of Nantglyn, wrote of the
bard's grave, which is on the south side of Llansilin Churchyard,
close to the wall of the sacred edifice :
C6r Silin, lie cerais sylwi genyf
Mae'n gynhes dy feini,
Am fod hyd ddydd cyfodi,
Huw Morys wrth d'ystlys di. s
Ceiriog t Preface, p. xx. 2 ibid, p. xxii, 3 ibid, p, XJtiii,
231
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Mr. David Sam well, to whom reference has been made as
his biographer, wrote the following lines to Huw Moras' memory,
which very aptly summarise the aim and purpose of his poems :
To cherish virtue, to exalt the scul,
To sway the passions with a mild controul,
Mankind from vice by pow'rful verse to draw,
And teach of justice the eternal law.
Of nature's works, to point the secret plan,
And shew the social ties that govern man :
How happiness, on virtue's ways attends,
And vicious passion, in destruction ends.
How soon terrestrial bodies pass away,
Whilst the soul triumphs in immortal day :
Were themes he chose and with a skill divine
Gave truth new lustre in his nervous line. 1
Edmund Prys (1541-1623-4), although he spent the
greater part of his long life in the sixteenth century, composed
much of his best work in the seventeenth. His metrical version
of the psalms, which has been already noticed, appeared in 1621,
and his other poetic work must now claim our attention. It is
difficult to determine who was his bardic mentor. Some have
asserted that William Llyn had that honour, but this is mere
conjecture. Others affirm that Sion Tudur taught him the
mysteries of the cynghanedd, and rest their assertion on a Cywydd
written by Edmund Prys to that bard, in which he states :
Athraw ydwyt, a thradoeth
A cholofn y gerdd ddofn ddoeth
Disgybl wyf o dasg gwbl (waith)
Yspashir, yspus araith. 2
It is quite certain that the purpose of this cywydd was to ask
Sion Tudur for two books of grammar, " dau lyfr i dwned," and
this would be a likely request from pupil to master. Sion Tudur
was a Canon of St. Asaph, and on his death, in 1602, Edmund
Prys was appointed. None of these things are conclusive proof,
but they do show there were certain links between the two men.
Perhaps a man of the Archdeacon's attainments hardly required a
bardic mentor. He lived in the atmosphere of bards at Maen-
twrog. On one side of him were the Llwyds of Cynfal, Hugh and
1 Cumbrian Register % i., 1795, p. 439. ^ En-woion y Ffydd t i., p. 67,
332
THE POETRY OF THE PERIOD
David, both devoted to the muse, and excelling in the exercise of
poetry, and on the other side the Ph) lips of Ardudwy, Sion and
William, both of them excellent bards, and living less than half a
day's journey from Edmund Prys.
William Cynwal, in his controversy with the latter, insinuated
that he was not a graduated bard, but there were scores of good
bards who were not so. Amongst those who took bardic degrees
at Caerwys in 1568 the names of no clergy appear. It was only
the professional bards who required a licence. The clergy, for the
most part, had graduated at the Universities, and it was unlikely
they would submit to tests such as those imposed at Caerwys.
Hugh Llwyd, of Cynfal, and the Archdeacon were close
friends. The former had spent many years in the army in
different countries on the Continent, but came home to his
patrimony to end his days. On his death in 1620, Edmund Prys
composed the following well-known englyn :
" I loll gampau doniau a dynwyd o'n tir,
Maentwrpg yspeiliwyd ;
Ni chleddir, ac ni chladdwyd,
Fyth i'w llawr o fiith Hugh Llwyd." '
Sion Phylip, o Fochras, died in the same year as Hugh
Llwyd. He had a bardic contention with Edmund Prys, as will
be presently noticed.
One of the first poetic exercises of the Archdeacon's was an
ode entitled " Awdl ein Prynedigaeth," otherwise known as
" Awdl i Fair." It savours rather of Mariolatry, and his two
antagonists, Sion Phylip and William Cynwal, fastened on it as an
example of Prys' unorthodoxy. It was a feeble production,
evidently a first effort to write in cynghanedd. He had made
considerable strides when he wrote next, " Awdl i ddyn o'i
ddechreu i'w ddiwedd," 2 which describes different periods in the
life of man, and begins as follows ;
" Y maban yn wan unwaith y genir
Ac yna i dwf perffaith ;
Ban el yn faban eilwaith
Euan daw i ben ei dailh."
Glan Menai's Edmund Fiys, p. 53. " Gwyliedydd (fcii., p. 24),
233
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Two of his best compositions are " Cywydd i'r Byd " and
" Cywydd y Nef." 1 In the latter he describes the glory and
worship of heaven :
Lie bydd llawenydd i'r llu,
Llyfr gwyn a llafar ganu,
Lie caiff Ion byth glodforedd,
Lie cyflawn hylawn o hedd ;
Lie mae'r Oen a fu 'n poeni,
Yr lesu 'm ner drosom ni ;
Lie cair heb ballu cariad,
Gwledd yr Oen, fy Arglwydd o'i rad ;
Llyna'r man y llenwir mawl
I'r Gwir Dduw yn dragwyddawl.
In his " Cywydd Helynt i'r Byd," Edmund Prys shows that
he has mastered all the intricacies of the bardic craft. In the
Tanybwlch MS. this is called " Cywydd yn erbyn Anllywodraeth
y Cedyrn." Its opening lines are :
Gwelais eira glwys oerwyn,
Ir, heb un brisg, ar ben bryn.
Gwelais haul teg gloyw sail twyn,
Yn ei doddi, nod addfwyn.
Yr un modd wedi toddai,
O'r fron i'r afon yr ai ;
A ; r afon yn union nod
I 'miyson a'r m6r isod.
He goes on to draw an analogy between Nature and the life of man:
Y bryn yw gwedd bonedd byd ;
Bryn bonedd bwriai 'n benyd.
Swyddogion yw'r afonydd
Rhy esgud yn symud sydd ;
Ar i wared y rhedant,
Llwybr pawb yw y lie bo'r pant.
In this poem he employs most useful and happy analogies,
many of them very original and striking, and with them he inter-
leaves some of the old Welsh proverbs, for instance :
Rhaid i'r gwan ddal y.gannwyll
I'r dewr i wneuthur ei dwyll.
Gwyllt yw byd, gwell ydyw bodd
Yr ynfyd na'i wir anfodd.
Nid annodd y diffoddan
A dwr wreichionen o dan.
Gwyliedydd, x., p. 281.
THE POETRY OF THE PERIOD
Cywydd i V Eryr, composed in 1600, is another composition
found in the Tanybwlch MS., and is, perhaps, his first poem in
the period under notice. Cywydd y Credo is a poetical summary
of the Apostles' Creed. " Cywydd Mwythus i Ferch i erchi iddi
naill ai dyfod ai peidio " is one of his few amatory compositions,
and contains some very fine lines. Its reference seems to be to a
lover's quarrel, and the bard seeks reconciliation, but at the same
time stands a little on his dignity :
Nis down i, er estyn n6d,
Ddau gam oni ddoe gymod.
Lliw'r od, os myn gymodi
Wiw oleuferch, wele fi.
Os parod i gymodi,
Pryd a fynn, parod wyf fi.
Diofal nid \vy' afiach,
Deled, neu beidied, fun bach !
Perhaps no Welsh bard has sung more beautifully of the
sanctity of the marriage tie than Edmund Prys in the following
lines taken from Cywydd Priodas a'i Braint :
Un gyfoeth, medd iawn gofiwr,
Ag un gorph yw Gwen a'i gwr ;
A chyfran o bob anedd,
O waith a maeth, hi ai medd.
Cyd gariad, cenad, cywir ;
Cyd ymgeledd mewn hedd hir ; ,
Cyd waith, cyd afiaethufudd,
Clyfaredd rhag caredd cudd,
Cyd hilio plant, cyd haeledd,
A chyd o febyd i fedd.
Most of his poems take the cyivydd form, but he also essayed
the englyn, which had not come into such frequent use in his
time. Here is an example, in which he declaimed against the
use of tobacco, although it is stated that he afterwards fell a
victim to the weed :
Tra b'ych byw, a gwych heb gur na gwaew
Na gwewyr na Uafur,
Nac arfer i sychder sur
Mwg dail rhag magu dolur. 1
Like other learned bards of his age he wrote Latin lines with
1 G-wylicdydd, xii., 316.
235
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
considerable facility. The following englyn to " The Miser " is a
good example of his attainments in this direction :
Parcus avarts vorat ut amnis,
Et omnia desiderat,
Cupit ut omnia cppiat,
Nil vero pro Deo dat.
Apart from his metrical version of the'psalms, he wrote a few
other poems in the free metres, and the following stanza from his
Cydsain Cerddorion yn Glyn Haelicon, written in 1600, will serve
as an instance of his superior skill in this form of poetry :
Lief a roeion llafur weision,
Ddoe a glywsom, dan wydd gleision,
Glwysaidd ac Eglwysaidd ;
Teiroes i'r pencerddi tirion,
Llinos o'r llwyn Eos irion,
Dwysaidd, Baradwysaidd :
Bronfraith bur araeth her walch
A'r Fwyalch fwya'i hawydd :
Ysgido gyll drythyll dro,
Yn chwyddo llais yr Ehedydd.
Yn canu, yn tanu,
Cymaint o Awenydd,
Cyn hoywed, cyn groywed,
Ac un gy-vir newydd. 1
Apart from his Salman Mydryddol, none of his work seems
to have been published until 1686, under which year Moses
Williams records in his Cofrestr " Caniadau Edmwnd Prys," but
it is evident that they are the same poems, which appeared in the
same year in a collection made by Foulke Owens of Nantglyn, of
carols and lyrics by various authors, including Rowland Vaughan,
John Wynne, William Phylip, Morris Richard, Thomas Lloyd o
Benmaen, Edward Morus, Huw Morus, and many others. A
second and more correct edition of this book was published by
Thomas Jones, Shrewsbury, in 1696. The title of this work is as
follows : " Cerddlyfr, yr hwn sydd yn cynnwys amry\v Garolau, a
dyrifau o waith amryw awdwyr, Ac a gasglwyd ynghyd gan Foulke
Owens, o Nantglyn, yn Sir Ddinbych."
A very favourite exercise amongst the bards from the begin-
ning of the fifteenth century onwards was the Cywydd Ymryson,
1 Glan Menai's Edmivnd Piys, pp. 67-8. See also Y Blodeugerdd t p.
340.
236
THE POETRY OF THE PERIOD
in which they tilted at each other, and not always in the best
spirit. A noted instance is the contest of Dafydd ab Gwilym
with Gruffydd Grug, and also with Rhys Meigan. Edmund Prys
indulged in two poetic frays of this nature, one with Sion Phylip,
and the other, which was longer and more bitter, with William
Cyrnval. The only thing that can be said in favour of this paper
warfare is that it occasionally produced a good cywydd. Edmund
Prys' contention with Sion Phylip started concerning a dagger
owned by the Archdeacon and highly valued by him, because of
its workmanship and that it had been made in Edinburgh. Sion
Phylip, knowing this, wrote a cywydd to one Rhys Wyn of Traws-
fynydd, perhaps a friend of Prys, to ask for it. It was the custom
of gentlemen at the time to bestow a gift which a bard asked for
in verse. The Archdeacon sent the dagger to Sion Phylip, at
the same time drawing his attention to many errors in the cywydd
in which he had asked for it. This was just what the Ardudwy
bard wanted, and gave the opportunity for starting the contest,
which he must have regretted before the finish, for he was no
match for Edmund Prys, who kept his temper and answered his
scurrilous abuse with provoking good nature. In the meantime
Edmund Prys discovered that there was someone aiding and
abetting Sion Phylip, and he turned his full armoury upon him
with the effect that he withdrew from the contest vanquished.
Sion Phylip found fault with Prys for taking up bardism, which
shows the jealousy of the professional bards towards those who,
like the Archdeacon, indulged in poetry as a hobby :
Bai mawr i neb ymyryd
Ar ddau beth o raddau byd.
Bid fyw ai wybod o fil
Arf ing wrth yr Efengil.
Edmund Prys replied with fine scorn :
Erchaist fyw orchest o fil
Er fy angen o'r Efengil,
Ni cheisiaf fi na chas faeth
Na cblera na chwilwriaeth
Nid mwy'r dreth ar bregethaU
Er gyru tal o'r gair tau.
And to show that he had discovered that Sion Phylip was backed
by someone in the contest, he added :
Sen a roist mewn symvyr wan
Nid o honod dy hunan,
Eithr ydynt ryw athrodwyr
I'th annog, ynt waeth na gwyr.
His " Cywydd moliant gwatwarus i Sion Phylip," with its biting
sarcasm, ended the controversy. That ode finishes with these
lines :
Oni chenaist ni chwynaf,
Terfyn dan erfyn a wnaf ;
A deeded bardd Ardudwy,
A'i fin mel, a fyno mwy.
The victim's reply is contained in Cywydd i ofyn Cymod
Edmwnd Prys, a very obsequious ode, in which he compares the
latter to Plato and Augustine, praises his scholarly attainments,
refers to his noble origin, his physical strength, his knowledge of
the Hebrew and Greek languages, and especially of his own, and
his distinction as a bard. On the latter point he writes :
Mae awenydd mwy ynod
Nag a wyr fyth gwyr i fod.
Tydain gall tad awen gynt,
Tydain wyt o ddawn atynt.
He ends with a humble apology for having invited the contest,
expresses his contrition, and pleads forgiveness :
Nid addas gwylwas golew
I'r oen llaeth gyffroi'r hen Hew.
Edmund Prys had a minor contest with Thomas Prys, of Plas
lolyn, who wrote " Cywydd Duchan i Edmwnd Prys," but it was
only an auxiliary effort to strengthen William Cynwal, whom he
felt was being severely handled in the contest, which shall now
be related.
In its duration, and the number of compositions written by
each, this struggle stands out supreme in the history of bardic
contentions, and its bitterness was such that popular opinion
believed that William Cynwal had died of shame, although there
is no evidence offered in support of this. The latter bard was a
blacksmith, and one of the graduates of Caerwys. Prys, in one
848
THE POETRY OF THE PERIOD
of his cywyddau, informs us that he lived at Yspytty Ifan, although
his name is mostly associated with Penmachno. Fifty -four
cyit'yddau were composed in this contention, in addition to Cyivydd
Manvnad William Cy nival composed by Prys when he heard of
the latter's death. Goronwy Owen, after reading the controversy
between the two bards, gave it as his opinion that Cynwal was the
better bard, but that Prys had the advantage of him in learning.
He compared it to a contest of bare fists against shield and breast-
plate.
It originated in a promise on the part of William Cynwal of
a light steel bow to an old gentleman named Rhys Wyn, who was
fond of the diversion of shooting at a target, but who found that
ordinary bows overtaxed his strength, and the latter asked the
Archdeacon, who was present at the time, if he would write a
cywydd to ask for it. Edmund Prys was willing, and William
Cynwal said he agreed to this, on condition that he was to name
the subject. His long delay in sending this to the Archdeacon
was taken to mean that he wanted to relinquish his promise. At
last Edmund Prys, at Rhys Wyn's desire, wrote the cywydd
without waiting for the subject to be named. Cynwal replied
that he had sent the bow to Mr. Thomas Prys of Plas lolyn.
Two years passed, and the promise was still unfulfilled, and when
the Archdeacon met the bard, he reminded him of it, for he had
broken the almost inviolate rule that a gift should be bestowed
on him who asked for it in this way, and Edmund Prys showed
him that in like circumstances he, William Cynwal, would expect
to receive the gift. Cynwal felt the reproof, and sent a cywydd,
together with a letter, showing his acAau, intimating that the
Archdeacon had not given his, a usual procedure in asking a boon.
Edmund Prys replied with a cywydd and a letter, and twelve
compositions of this kind passed between them. Then the
Archdeacon began to write three effusions to one of William
Cynwal's, and the latter replied with three. Edmund Prys next
composed nine to his three. He replied with nine. Prys wrote
a merciless criticism of his work. In effect, it resolved itself into
239
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
a struggle between a graduated bard and an unprofessional bard,
for William Cymval had chosen to criticise Prys on this latter
ground, a procedure which naturally put him on his mettle.
The Archdeacon more and more criticised the style and
workmanship of his antagonist's poems, making full use of his
sarcasm, and showing that they contained the fifteen faults of
cerdd dafod, and much false teaching, dangerous to soul and body,
and ending up his letter with the trenchant words " O achos hyn
yr ydwyf yn deall, mai am na fedrwch nac adnabod bai, na rhoddi
drosoch, yr ydych heb ddyfod yn fy wyneb. Da y gwna mab heb
ddyfod i'r maes, am na fedr na tharo na derbyn. Ewch yn iach !
Eich cydfrawd mewn cerdd dafod, Edmwnd Prys." When
William Cynwal had written nineteen cywyddau, the Archdeacon
received the news of his death, and composed a fine elegy on the
loss of one, whom he termed in great sincerity " y fath fardd
godidog." The controversy had produced thirty-five cyivyddau
from the Archdeacon's pen, and one marwnad.
These compositions show, amongst other things, that much
animosity existed between the graduated and ungraduated bards.
Cynwal had written :
" Pybyr oedd pawb a raddwyd."
To which Prys had replied :
" Gwr heb radd pan ddaw ger bron
Gwyr ddal rhai o'r graddolion.
Cynwal's cywyddau bore ungrudging testimony to Edmund
Prys' ability, both as a preacher and as a scholar. He wrote :
Uy bregeth hyd y brigyn,
O Dduw a ddaeth, yn dda i ddyn ;
Eiioed eghiro ydvvyd,
Gair Du\v., ei agcriad wyd !
Lladinvvr hael div eniaith,
A Groegwr wyd, *rugor iaith :
O-i mawr oedd Siuiner addysg,
Dy gorph uiae'n llavvn dawn a dys<*.
It was part of Cynwai's defence that he had never attacked
Prys behind his back :
Ni ddy wedais yn y ddeudir,
Yn hyr.aws iawn, hyn sy wir ;
Yn dy gefu enaid y gwan,
Gwr gwiw-gorffun gair gogan.
240
THE POETRY OF THE PERIOD
One of the chief charges brought by Prys was that Cynwal
had denied his promise. He flourished before him the testimony
of his own letter :
" Llythyr a geidw fal gwarchead,
Llwyr gof fel na ellir gwad.
Ai ryfeddu wr hefyd,
Wadu'r gair ai dori i gyd."
William Cynwal most strenuously defended himself against
this charge :
" Ni thorais rhaith ddihareb,
Ar a wn i, air i neb ;
Ni wedais er a nodych,
Fy Haw a'i gwaith, fy Hew gwych.
Nid wyfmewn barn a dyfyn, .
Llai fawrhad mor llwfr a hyn."
And he advises the Archdeacon to confine himself to the duties
of his sacred office :
" Gwyddost gyfraith y gwiw - Dduw,
Gwreiddia ddysg gwna gerdd i Dduw."
Edmund Prys resents the advice, and insists on drawing
attention to Cynwal's imperfections as a bard, and exhorts him to
study the works of the better bards that were before him :
" Neddaist wawd, ni wyddaist ti,
Boeth Gynwal, beth a geni
Edrych y fwynwych fonwent,
Hanes enw cerdd yr hen Sion Cent."
He refuses to have his attention diverted from the main
point, viz., that Cynwal had been false to his promise. He insists
that the value of true poetry is that it rests on truth :
" A gano ffug yn y ffau,
Ar gil, ni ddaw i'r golau ;
A gano wir ac ni wad,
A gai lewyrch goleuad.
A gano wir heb ddig neb,
Gwys iawn dengys ei wyneb,
A fo drwg ar ei fydr wan,
Eiddil oil a ddel allan ;
Ni wyddost er a neddir,
O boeth gwawd beth yw gwir,"
241
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
CynwaPs reply is to taunt his adversary that he is no bard,
that he was untaught and had no bardic status :
" Os prydydd wyd llwyd rhag Haw,
Hap wawd uthr, pwy yw d' athraw ?
Ni elli gael flfael syth ffydd,
Offeiriadaeth a Phrydydd. "
Prys' reply to this was to disclose Cynwal's faults in cynglianedd
and to charge him with want of soul and sense. He challenges
him to consent to arbitration before twelve bards and a Justice of
the Peace, but Cynwal steadily refused this offer, pleading his
age as an excuse. It must be remembered that he was over
seventy at the time. The Archdeacon was some years his junior.
There is evidence in the poems that both combatants were
tiring of the fray, for the early cywyddau much excel the later
ones. These became deadly monotonous in their later stages,
and there is small wonder, for the theme was not inspiring. The
gist of the Archdeacon's many hundred lines is to deprecate his
opponent's want of learning, and to re -iterate his perfidy, whilst
Cynwal's lines with weary monotony maintain the status of the
graduated bard and their monopoly of the favours of the Muse.
Prys sometimes sneers at the professional bards, whose life was
mostly spent, he insinuates, in passing from one banquetting
chamber to another :
" Nid Ilyfr Duw, nid llwybr deall
Yw'r llwybr o'r neithior i'r Hall."
But from the right food that sustains poetry, Cynwal had rigorously
maintained a long fast :
" Gwawdydd newynog ydwyd
Ni thewi, ni fyni fwyd."
There is a suggestion in some of Edmund Prys' lines that he
regarded his opponent with much contempt, looking down upon
him from the pedestal of learning :
" Ofer iawn o ferw imi
Ymhlith iaith ymhel a thi."
He compares Cynwal's laborious efforts to a mill grinding where
there is not grist :
" Melin wyd yn malu'n wag,"
242
THE POETRY OF THE PERIOD
In another cyivydd he compares him to a harmless fly :
" Gwell un gwalch da gall hwn ged
Ami wih na mil o wybed."
In another there is a reference to his own personal appearance,
when he states that his wrath against Cynwal is not as black as
his visage :
" Nid wyf, Wiliam, ddu fy eiliw
I'm Hid mor greulon a'm lliw."
There are a few interesting lines in which Prys with much
penetration describes certain national characteristics, as they then
existed :
" Y Ffleming o chaifi' lymaid
Mynai ar win fwy na'i raid ;
A swydd llawer Sais heddyw
I lenwi 'i fol yn ei fyw ;
Temtasiwn y nasiwn ni
Tra hygawl yw trwy wegi,
A rhoi glust a rhugl ostcg ;
I'w glod i him arogl teg ;
A choc-lie pob gwrach hylwybr
I aduabod pob peth dan wybr."
Different sections of society, he maintains, are interdependent :
" A phawb sydd a phob swyddau
Dnvy 'u gilydd fel gweydd yn gwau ;
A phob un a phawb ai w5'dd
Gydag elw a geidw 'i gilydd
Rhaid i bawb yr hyd i bydd
Wrth gael hirwaith i gilydd."
And in this connection he does not forget to impress Cynwal
that bardism is dependent upon learning :
" Rhaid i farad rhuad ferw-ddawn
Wrth ddysg o gwnai araith iawn.
Nid rhaid i ddysg tra ddod ddydd
laith barodwaith wrth brydydd.
A fedro ddysg ymysg mil
Mwy nag un Art mae r n gynil ;
Finau er fy nifenvvi
A fcdraf bart o'ch Ait chwi."
The death of William Cynwal. as has been stated, finished
the contest, and Edmund Prys' Marivnad is another illustration
of the truth of the old proverb " Os mynni glod, bydd farw," for
it is a pcean of praise from beginning to end, 0.$ such effusions
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
generally were. It takes the form, much affected at the time, of a
dialogue between the living bard and the messenger who
announced the death of Cynwal. The late controversy is
explained thus :
" Nid o gas y canaswn
Ond o serch yn dewis hwn."
The elegy concludes with lines full of regretful longing for the
dead bard, and an unstinted tribute of admiration for his prowess
in verse :
" Gwawdydd fardd gadawodd fi
O'r diwedd drwy hir dewi ;
Tra fu yn mathu in' mysg
Aur a gemau ar gymysg ;
Tad mawl mae mewn tyfod man,
Tyfod Yspytty Ifan.
Duw yn ei gofl da iawn gyflwr
Doe aeth ag ef doetha gwr,
I eistedd fod Crist a'i noddfa
Llys deg llawn ewyllys da ;
Oddi yno ni ddaw enyd
Ond teg yw awn ato i gyd."
The merits of the controversy between Edmund Prys and
William Cynwal have been discussed by many writers. Some
have thought that the former was too severe, and that his vast
store of learning should have made him a more lenient critic of
one whose advantages in this direction had been so meagre. On
the other hand it must be remembered that these contests were
looked upon by the bards as special opportunities for rapier
thrusts, and the whole bardic fraternity of that part of Wales were
probably interested spectators of the contest and sided with one
or other of the antagonists. We have already noticed how, on
one occasion, Thomas Prys, of Plas lolyn, came to the rescue of
a bard who was getting the worst of it. Edmund Prys also felt
that he was championing the cause of a numerous class, which
did not belong to the fraternity, whose arrogant claims are so
frequently asserted in Cynwal's lines. Measured by the standard
of our own age, a close inspection of these cywyddau ymryson
does not reveal much that is contrary to -good taste and literary
844
THE POETRY OF THE PERIOD
propriety. The personal thrusts were common to both sides, and
certainly would not be considered scurrilous, or even ungentlemanly,
in the early part of the seventeenth century. One can well agree
with the critic who wrote : " Ni welsom erioed ddadl lenyddol
yn cael ei dwyn ymlaen yn fwy cymhedrol, boneddigaidd, a
dysgedig. Y mae'n wir bod y naill a'r Hall weithiau yn bur llym,
ond nid ydynt byth yn troseddu rheolau moesau da ; ac i'n bryd
ni y mae'r ddadl, yn anibynol ar werth mewnol y cywyddau, yn
esiampl odidog o ddau wr bonheddig yn dadleu ar bynciau
llenyddol." 1
Morgan Llwyd o Wynedd, who must be allowed the
first place amongst the Welsh prose writers of original work in
this century, had also considerable attainments as a poet and
hymn -writer. A collection of his songs, hymns, and engfynion
was made in 1899 by the late T. E. Ellis, M.P. for Merioneth-
shire, and in it we find no less than fifty -two poetical pieces of
various kinds in Welsh and English. The majority of them are
in English. They deal mostly with the times in which he lived,
and are permeated with the theological tenets of the Fifth
Monarchy men. They also throw considerable light on the
isolation in which Morgan Llwyd found himself towards the end
of his days, when his ideals were shattered and many of his
followers had deserted him. At the same time, no one who
reads them can doubt the sincerity of his convictions. The pre-
dominant note in his poems is disappointment. He sits like the
prophet of old under his juniper tree, and in despair yearns for
death. The first poem in the collection is entitled "The
Desolation, Lamentation and Resolution of the Welsh Saincts in
the Late Warrs. Sung in 1643." Its opening lines strike the
minor key, which is preserved almost throughout his poems,
except in an occasional stanza of his hymns, in which, in a flight
of spiritual ecstasy, he rises above the hard facts of his position at
the time. He has, occasionally, severe things to say of those who
have deserted him, to whose unfaithfulness he ascribes the failure
1 Hants y Brytaniaid a! r Cymru, vol. ii., p. 421.
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
of his cause. At the same time, he is not without hope that the
future will justify him. He regards himself as living in the
winter of the world, which must soon give place to the awakening
life of spring, the sunshine and joy of summer, and the ripe harvest
of autumn. In political and religious matters, he aims his shafts
at the Parliament, Presbyterians, Scotch, Dutch, Church of
England, and Pope in turns. Perhaps his most bitter invective is
employed against the last named. All his verse proclaims him
the strong, resolute partisan, who will not recede an inch from
the position he has taken up, cost it what it may. But in main-
taining that position the iron has entered into his soul. Apart
from his hymns, his bitterness is felt in every page, but there can
also be traced signs of a spirit mellowing under affliction, which
is ready to forgive much, which revolts against faction, and has an
unquenchable longing for unity, but that unity is to be achieved
by no departure from his own rigid tenets. The opening lines of
the poem just referred to, are as follows :
" Mae honom ychydig, blant cystuddiedig
A adawyd yn unig ynghymru.
Ynghanol ein cystudd, yn cwyno iw gilydd
An calon sydd beynydd yn pallu.
Mae'r defaid ar wasgar, mewn tristwch a galar
Mae rhai yn y carchar yn pydru.
Mae rhai wedi ymadel, gan gymryd hir ffarwel
Mae rhai yn y dirgel yn llechu.
Mae rhyfedd newidiad, dros wyneb yr hollwlad
Pie ceir dim gwir gariad mewn undyn.
y byd a dywyllodd, y ddayar a grynnodd,
ar nefoedd a dduodd in herhyn.
Diffoddwyd pob canwyll, holl gymru sydd dywyll,
pie ceir nndyn didwyll drwy'r hollwlad.
fe gwympodd rhai cryfion, fe ballodd y moddion
fe oerodd ein calon an cariad."
There is no doubt in these lines, written in 1643, that
Morgan Llwyd regarded the Civil War, at the first, as putting an
end to God's Kingdom in Wales, for he writes :
" Ei wyneb a guddiodd, ei foliant a gollodd,
Ei Deyrnas a gwympodd ynghymru."
The beating of the drums and the sounding of the bugles
THE POETRY OF THE PERIOD
were to him the sign that men's sins had overtaken them, and
that God had turned away his face in anger. But he predicts
that a return to God will bring changed conditions :
" Ond etto er cynted, y bom ni llawn addfed
fe droir ein caethiwed ni'n gyflym.
Er bod y tywyllwch, y gauaf a'r tristwch,
y nos ar anialwch ynghymru
yr haul a fyn godi, y wawr a fyn dorri,
A Christ fyn reoli heb pallu."
There are already signs in his verse that he regarded the
upheaval of the Civil War as a prelude to the establishment of
Christ's Kingdom on earth :
" Cawn weled ei wrthiau, cawn gyfwrdd ai seintiau
cawn gadw'n eneidiau'n dragywydd."
This belief in the millenium he makes more evident in his
poem, " Our Lord is coming once againe " :
" When he appears we shall rejoyce, as many as are his,
and judge the world and with him bee, in everlasting blisse."
As he contemplates the event, he rises to a height of spiritual
ecstasy, and declaims :
" Hosanna crye King Jesus comes, He-ele summer with him bring
A meeke just strong faire lasting Prince
Again Hosanna sing."
The spiritual " winter " of the nations, he ascribes to Beelzebub
and " the Pope, his son and foole," whose health the peoples had
drunk too long, " till their wits were drowned." But the spring is
coming :
" God's twins (the testaments) speake loud
that Michael long shall raigne."
It is being prepared for by the clash of nations and the fall
of thrones :
" The nations are on potters wheeles
the ancient thrones do shake."
The darkness is but the worst hour before the dawn :
" But one houre before day is darke
that great Ecclypse is near
one fierce and farewell storme and then
the evening will bee cleare."
T. o bring about this consummation, however, he pleads for the
?47
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
unity of Christendom. He argues that the points of agreement
are many, and the points of difference small and few :
" Its true we differ in small points
as clocks in cittyes do
some travellers do lag behind
Who yet to Salem go.
Know that Christs army hath two wings
and diffring colours all
his house hath divers sorted rooms
his trees are short and tall.
Mens faces, voices, differ much,
saincts are not all one size
flowers in one garden vary too
lett none monpolize.
In our Gamaliel's schoole there are
and will bee many forms
and divers branches on one root
that clash in time of storms.
Oat of all these will Christ compound
an army for himselfe
so satan gets of all these sects
the parings and the pelfe."
He does not definitely state what parts of Christendom he
expects to unite, and possibly confines his vision to the sects who
had broken away from the Church in this land. He obviously
omits Rome, unless the latter was willing to be " cured":
" Rome was the hammer of the earth
now lady comes thy day
and thou Italian gouted leg
be cur-d or cutt away."
Ireland's subjection to Rome also necessitates a course of
physick for her before she can be admitted into the scope of the
bard's vision of unity :
" Ireland looks like a fallow-ground
thou must be plow-d againe
thou shall have physick that will kill
thy worms that do thee paine."
He claims that what is wrong with Rome is that she places the
letter before the spirit :
" Papists the letter of God's word
above the meaning prize."
As his ideals seem to dissipate into thin air, his opinion of
man grows worse, and he refers to mankind as " a shallow shell,"
24$
THE POETRY OF THE PERIOD
He has best expressed it in his two englynion entitled Eiddikdd
Dyn:
" Mor egwan, mor wan, mor wael mor wrthyn
Mai erthyl di-afael. ,
Ymrwyfydd mewn ymrafael
Yw pob dyn ai fun ai fael.
Mo dduw yn ei fyw ni fyn mawr alaeth
Marwolaeth ai dyfyn
(Pan wywo y blodeCiyn)
Aiffymaith ir daith ar dyn."
In his poem "Sweet Master Christ," he upbraids himself with
having been guided too much by Reason and too little by Faith :
" Sweet Master Christ, bring me ashore
I promise through thy might
Never to worship Reason more
Nor follow fancyes light."
The dissolution of the body he regards as a setting free from
"the wombe of this darke world." The ideal life is one of
soberness ; dulness, sorrow, and laughter, which he terms " folly in
chiefe," are to be avoided in its favour. Wisdom is " the chiefest
thing." The only real peace is inward peace, the only real
strength to rest in God :
" I am immoovable with thee
I moove and do not moove."
A frequent prayer on his lips is for the conversion of the
Jews:
" Difetha Anghrist ymhob gwlad
tro attad yr Iddewon."
His enmity against the Scots for the part they played in the
Civil War is unbounded. He dubs them " the northerne
Brokers " and a " forraine foe."
" Gwel fy llygaid, frynniau Scottiaid
ysgatfydd mae nhw'n uchel
yr Arglwydd mawr mewn mynud awr
ai tynn nhwy i lawr yn isel."
His antagonism to Charles I. he makes no effort to disguise,
and argues that looking at things " from first to last " his sentence
was well merited :
" Looke not too much on few late things
View all from first to last
Since James his dayes, and wonder not
that such a sentence past.
249
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Though this pen loaths to touch dead Charles
it warns the living all
lest any stumble at his corps,
and breake their necks withall."
It is obvious that he expected a great change after the King's
downfall :
" Fowre things expect within few years
To men a Judge most strange
To Rome a fall. To Jewes a call
To heaven and earth a change."
In his poem, " Hanes rhyw Gymro," he sketches a history
of his own life, and relates his wanderings through various cities,
and pauses to contemplate man himself under the allegory of a
city :
" Dinas fawr iw Dyn ei hunan
Gwae a elo o honi allan
Gwae nid el o hono i hunan
Gwae a dricco yn i unfan."
In this poem he makes some sober reflections on time, on the
world, and on experience :
" Amser byrr sy'n torri teyrnas
Mynud awr sy'n codi dinas
Mae'r holl ddayar fel dilledyn
A newidir mewn un flwyddyn
Gwelais lai a mwy narn tadau,
Gwel fy meibion fwy na minnau."
But the mystic year 1660 is to put all things right :
" Nid i'w oes y byd ond wythnus
ar mawr sabbath sydd yn agos
Paratowch cyn dyfod trigain
Gwae'r Twrk, Cythrel, Cnawd, a Rhufain.
ynys brydain yn y gogledd
a dyrr Europe yn y diwedd
Brenin mawr a ddaw o'r dwyrain
Mae fo yn agos : cenwch blygain."
" Cyn mil a chwechant a chwe deg
mae blwyddyn deg yn dyfod."
To teach his children wisdom (as he states) he wrote a summary
of his life, describing it in five stages, each represented by a
sacred mount, viz., Olives, Sinai, Sion, Gilboa, and Nebo :
" Fy hanes i i gyd yw hyn
o fryn i fryn tramwyais."
250
THE POETRY OF THE PERIOD
On the first mount he tasted regeneration, on the second he felt
the terror of the Law, on the third he found mercy and peace,
on the fourth controversy and war, and from the summit of the
last :
" Rvvi'n awr yn gweled Canaan wych
llei caf (wrth edrych) hedeg."
In his poem, " lechyd ir Corph," he has enumerated twenty
maxims for physical and moral health. They are written in
couplets, and are little gems of wisdom, each worthy of finding a
place as a proverb in the language :
" Mewn pryd bydd synhwyrol
am iechyd naturiol
Ymgadw rhag afraid
A gochel dy lonaid
a thristwch a phechod
a phryf y gydwybod
Yn gyntaf bydd nefol
yn ail bydd naturiol.
Diweirdeb naturiaeth
iw'r iawn bysygwriaeth.
Yn gynnil ymbortha,
Drwy chwys bwytta fara.
Na waria yn ofer
un fodfedd o'th nmser."
He has several shafts directed against Holland, which was at
war with England in the early days of the Commonwealth :
" Some Dutch are deep suspicious birds
false drunken beasts withall.
Holland begins to pledge you all,
And sipps the wrathfull cup.
And peace with them you shall not make,
lest you with Ahab sup."
He has a beautiful stanza defining the soul :
" Rhyw sylwedd ysbrydol, Rhyw ysbrycl tragwyddol
Rhyw gysgod or nefol naturiaeth
Rhyw dan oddiuchod, Rhyw anadl y Duwdod
iw'r Enaid ai waelod naturiaeth,''
The avidity of man in business pursuits, and his apathy
towards hearing the word of God, he describes in the following
stanza ;
251
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
" Teithio i'r farchnad, prynnu yd
a thalu'n ddrud am dano
Er bod gair Duw yn llyniaeth gwell
nid ei di neppell erddo."
His ministry at Wrexham is described in the poem, " A Song
of my Beloved concerning his Vineyard," in which he presents the
contrast between " what they were " and " what they are now."
It will be remembered that the majority of his former friends
refused to follow him in his extreme views. Apparently his first
fifteen years there were lived in harmony with his followers :
" full fifteene yeares they had showers
and dew from heaven sweet
There sprung up also many flowers
and saincts at Jesus' feet.
But now the bryers are come up
and thorns and thistles tall
therefore with Christ they do not sup
in ordinances all."
He puts to his late flock the same queries as those asked by
the prophet in the fifth chapter of Isaiah :
" And for my vineyard what could I
have done more than I did
I looked for fruit not for a lye
but found corruption hid.
And now Wales England judge I pray
between me and my vine,
find out the cause without delay
See if the fault be mine."
In a poem headed " 1654," he describes the three Com-
monwealth parliaments as " The long old Parliament," " The hott
young Parliament," and "The third slow Parliament," and he
describes the uncertainty of the times and the multitude of
counsels that prevailed, in the following lines :
" Aske no we what shall be next
the folks have many minds
few can expound this knotty text
so various are these winds."
At the end of his life he sings his vanitas vanitatum in the
poem entitled, " All things are vaine and full of paine," and he
longs for death to release him :
252
THE POETRY OF THE PERIOD
" My heart is now I know not how,
lord, when wilt thou by death mee kisse.
Straight steps I see for you and mee,
lord make me free, thou knowest how.
My withered heart, within doth smart
My witt & art do quite mee faile
My mind & voice cannot rejoyce
when shall I hoyse up my last saile ?
I proved joy and every toy
I found them coy & full of sin
Thy blessed breast I love it best
when shall I rest & rowle therein ? "
This is followed by his " Hymn o Hiraeth am Baradwys."
In it there is ample evidence of the heavy sufferings of his life,
and his longing to be at rest :
" Llei mae distawrwydd byth heb gri
llei mae goleuni disclair
lie byth nim cyrhaedd neb om cas
llei mae i mi bias a chadair.
Er bod y corph yn wael dros ben
bid f enaid lawen hyfryd
di gai dy dynni cyn bo hir
oddiyma i dir y bywyd.
Lie ni ddaw byth y Cwestiwn pam,
Na chwyn na cham na chwmwl,
Lie nid oes ofal yn y byd,
Na phwys na phenyd meddwl.
Cerais o Dduw dy liw a'th llais,
Mi'th gerais am holl egni,
Rwi wedi nofio hyd at y Ian,
Nad i mi rowan foddi."
If one interprets his last poem literally, he seems to have died
both poor and destitute of friends. He complains that " friends
are but broken reeds," and that he had " a charge so great, of
children, cares, and thoughts," which " make his heart to sweate,"
but he upbraids himself for his lack of faith in allowing these
worldly considerations to interfere with his peace of mind :
" the more of worldly thoughts I find
the more my heart grows mad."
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
And yet :
" If man's eternall mind stood still
he should not want poore clay
but when man hunts for earth with will
The earth then runs away."
But with his last thoughts he drives away carking care :
" To morrow cares for selfe I know
sufficient to the houre
is present ,evill, dig not for wo
It will both grow and sowre."
Sufficient has been culled from his work to show that Morgan
Llwyd had the soul of a poet. It was a soul sensitive to pain, but
buoyed up by 'an iron determination to stand true to its convic-
tions. Without doubt he was the greatest Welsh Puritan of this
period, an original thinker, and endowed with a capacity for
expressing himself in prose and verse second to none among his
Welsh contemporaries. He was a better prose writer than poet ;
but the language would be the poorer, if we were deprived of the
thoughts he has enshrined in verse, perhaps, not always in the
most felicitous diction, but always with a directness and clearness,
which leave one in no doubt as to his meaning. It is a tribute to
his courage that he never once in those dangerous times obscured
himself behind ambiguous phrases. He sang on no uncertain
note, and at his best he sang well. He was a Fifth -monarchy
man to the end, and never disavowed his principles, although
they involved him in the loss of most, if not all, of his friends.
Rowland Vaughan, of Caergai, who was one of the most
ardent Welsh cavaliers, wrote a number of hymns, carols, and
lyrics, very few of which have been preserved. In the third
edition of Carolan a Dyriau Duwiol, 1720, there appear seven of
his compositions, which consist of two Christmas carols, a poem
entitled Hanes Moses, a dyri comparing man's life to things that
perish, another comparing it to a game, and two more describing
a sinner's supplication for mercy and forgiveness of sins, and a
sinner's confession. In Dyriau o Ymbil Pechadur am Drugaredd
occur the lines which have become familiar in every Welsh hymn,-
THE POETRY OF THE PERIOD
book, but which are so often wrongly attributed to Edmund
Prys :
"Na thro d'Wyneb, Arglwydd glan,
Oddiwrth un truan agwedd ;
Y sydd o flaen dy Borth yn awr,
Mewn cystudd mawr yn gorwedd."
Rowland Vaughan is also the author of another well-known
Whitsun hymn :
" Tyr'd Yspryd Glan, i'n c'lonau ni,
A dod d' oleuni nefol ;
Tydi wyt Yspryd Crist, dy ddawn
Sydd fawr iawn a ihagorol."
At the battle of Naseby, he assisted the Royalist cause with
a company of men, but his loyalty cost him dear, for in the
following year his home, Caergai, was burned to the ground by
the Cromwellians, and his heritage given to a kinsman.
" Caer Gni nid difai fu gwaith tan arnad,
Oernych wyrl yrwan ;
Caer aethost i'm car weithian,
Caer Gai lie bu cywirgan."
William Phylip also mentions the destruction of Caer Gai in
the following englyn :
" Mil chwe chant gwarant gwiwrai yn dygwydd,
Pump a deugain difai ;
Er dwyn i'r gwyr adwaenni,
Ar gof pan losgwyd Caer Gai." *
He remained a fugitive until the Restoration. Some say he
was imprisoned for three years, 2 but this is doubtful. In his
wanderings he is supposed to have come across the old bard,
William Phylip, of Ardudwy, who was also a fugitive, somewhere
in the Merionethshire mountains. Rowland Vaughan relieved
his feelings in verse, as follows :
" Pe cawn i'r Pengrynion
Rhwng ceulan ac afon
Ac yn fy Haw goedftbn o linon ar li',
Mi a gurwn yn gethin
Yn nghweryl fy mrenin,
Mi a'u gyrrwn yn un byddin i'w boddi."
1 K Brython, 1861, p. 284. 2 Hanes Lltnyddiatth Gymreig, p. 22.
,'55
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
The old bard promptly followed up the theme with all the ardour
a septuagenarian could muster :
" Pe cawn i'r Pengryniaid
Ar ben goriwaered,
Er gwaned a hyned wyf heno,
A phastwn du-ddraenen
'Rwy'n ddeuddeg a thrigairi
Chwi a'm gwelech i'n llawen yn llowio."
At the Restoration, Rowland Vaughan returned to his old
home and rebuilt it, and inscribed above the entrance the follow-
ing stanza :
" Dod glod i bawb yn ddibrin,
A char dy frawd cyffredin ;
Ofna Dduw can's hyn sydd dda,
Ac anrhydedda'r brenin."
There is one poem of his printed in the Blodeugerdd, entitled
Adroidiad fal y bu gynt. It is a recital of the wrongs inflicted
by the Puritans and Parliament in the day of their power, from
a Royalist standpoint. In it he mentions the injuries done to the
churches by the Cromwellians :
" Dirmygu'n pen llywydd, a dryllio'r eglwysydd,
Pan ddaeth y ffydd newydd, mae'n irwin ei brad,
Hawdd fydd i'r hen ddynion, a'u crefydd yn deillion,
Oedd well eu gweithredon coeth rodiad.
Hwy ddryllien' Organau, a'r Gwydr, a'r Lluniau,
O gas i'r hen Ddelwau, addolid yn bur."
A collection of the poems of Rowland Vaughan is badly
needed, and it is impossible to estimate his place among the
Welsh bards until this task is accomplished.
Dr. John Davies, of Mallwyd, was a personal friend of
Rowland Vaughan. There is a record of his offering a copy of
his Dictionary to the latter, with the following englynion in his
praise :
" Gwr ydych Rowland o gyff uniawnwaed
Un wna i'w gyrdd gwaewgryff ;
Cywyddau onglau anghlyft ;
Ac Englynion hoywon hyff.
Hwre hyn o lyfr, wr a hyff gweled
Gwaelawd geirion gyrddbryff ;
Cais iddo rwymo, pan ryff,
A gwaisgrwym a ddyg ysgryff." *
1 Y Brythw, 1861, p. 284.
256
THE POETRY OF THE PERIOD
William Phylip (1577-1669), the bard who has just been
noticed in connection with Rowland Vaughan of Caergai, wrote
an elegy on the death of Charles I., under the title, Cywydd
Manvnad Siarles y Cyntaf, 1648-9. He was one of the most
devoted Welsh royalists, and for this effusion he fell under the
violent resentment of the Cromwellians, lost his property, and
took refuge in flight. His deplorable situation, the cause of it,
and his strong faith in the Restoration, he commemorates in the
following lines ;
" Ni feiddiaf, llechaf ar fyd llychwin 'r rhawg,
Gwae ni rai cyffredin,
Am gellwair un gair mewn gwin,
O fawr anhap am_/ renin.
Gad ymaith fwyniaith a fo bur union,
Fe ddaw brenin eto ;
A gad fod ei glod tan glo
Ust ! Wiliam onis delo.
Am ddywedyd hofffryd wir ffri ar gan
Mae dnvg anhap imi,
Bygwth y maent heb wcgi,
Y cledd ar fy nannedd i.
Fe ddaw byd astud di-dostach didwyll
Haws dywedyd cyfrinach ;
A'm calon union yn iach,
A 'nhafod beth yn hyfach.
Llechu, nid canu, cwynais oer wewyr,
A'r Awen a gollais,
Braidd fyw ac yn brudd fy ais,
Wylaw am fyd a welais !
Ni chaf ddol, maenol, na mynydd dof,
Na dyfais awenydd,
Na rhoi 'mhen ar obenydd,
Na'r coed led fy nhroed yn rhydd."
His attitude towards Cromwell is expressed without restraint in
the following englyn :
" Fob tynged galed heb gel, a gaffo,
Ac uffern ddi dawel ;
Cryrcan am wddw Cromwel,
A chrogbren i'w ddiben ddel."
The story goes that he was imprisoned for this, and made his
apology in another engfyn :
257
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
" Dywedaf fynaf gwae fi o'r d'wedyd
Ond edid fy ngweddi ;
Goreu dim, gwyr Daw imi,
Wnio fy safn yn foes i." x
The aged bard afterwards composed his differences with the
Commonwealth, and returned to his home, Hendre Fechan,
which was the occasion of the following englyn :
" No ffo, dan wylltio, o'r neilltu i'r grug,
Nac i'r graig i lechu
Wyr tonog os rhaid hynny,
Hwy'm can' wrth y tan yn ty."
He was afterwards offered the most galling employment of tax-
gatherer under the Protectorate. On presenting the assessment
at each house, he was wont to say :
" Am frad i'r holl-wlad, wyr hyllion a'u trwst,
Codi treth anghyfion,
Hwy gant dal a gofalon,
A chas hir o achos hon."
Then upon producing his warrant, he added :
" Dyma warant sant dan sel, attolwg,
Tehvch yn ddiochel,
Rhag i'r sant a chwant ni chSl
Ymgethri a mynd yn Gythrel."
Phylip Sion Phylip, his fellow bard and kinsman, composed
a marwnad to him, in which he mentions his famous poem on
the death of Charles L, as follows :
" Ei gwyn am Siarls genym sydd
Yn brintiedig, braint dedwydd ;
Teilwng oedd Ian ben talaith,
Yn brint roi 'i holl iawn-bur iaith."
His extreme old age is mentioned by the same bard. It will be
remembered that he was seventy -two when he met Rowland
Vaughan in his wanderings :
" Triniodd y byd tra anwir,
Trwy iawn hap i oedran hir ;
Mewn glan fuchedd rinweddawl
Hyd ei fedd, wr hynod fawl."
He left behind him a few poems and carols written in the
free metres, and two marwnadau composed to the same noble-
man, Gruffudd Fychan, of Caer Gai, which appeared in the pages
i y Brython, 1861, p, 146.
2 5 8
THE POETRY OF THE PERIOD
of Y Brython. A few of bis engfymon are also published in the
Great. William Phylip died in 1669, and was buried at Llan-
ddwywe, where the following inscription is found on his
tombstone : " W. Ph. 1669, F. E. X. I."
As an example of William Phylip's skill in writing cywyddau^
the following lines may be quoted from his second Manvnad to
Gruffudd Fychan. It takes the favourite form of a dialogue
between the bard and the dead nobleman. The conception is
that he sees him in a dream and holds converse with him :
" A thrwy hun ddirgel helynt,
Gwelwn wr a garwn gynt.
O ba wlad attaliad tost ?
Am hawl byw ym mha le buost ?
Ai i wel'd byd i wlad bawl !
Ar glau bwyll a'r glob hollawl ?
Aros Gruffudd, llywydd llu,
Arcs in ymresymu.
Och aeth yn brudd, yn iach it,
Y dynion glan adwaenit ;
Byw o'th iaith di byth a'th dal,
Y dyn od dianwadal.
Nadd gyfanedd gu fwyniaith,^
Ai tewi'r wyt a'r tair iaith ?
Lie bu'r iaith mewn iawn-lhvybr wedd,
Odid air wedi d'orwedd ;
Na gwas dewr, nagystori,
Hynaws deg os hunaist di ;
Na hely hydd yn ol hyn,
O goed ir nac aderyn ;
Na gwiw haelder, na gildio,
Os y dyn glan sy dan glo.
Nac iawn bwyll, nac awen her,
Cyfundeb pob cu fwynder.
Y maes hir mewn mesurau,
Mwyn don lie buom ein dau ",
Ni rodiaf, mae'n oer wedi,
Yn d'ol fyth nad wylaf fi."
And into the mouth of his dead patron he places the following
words :
" Pan rano Duw ben'r einioes,
Meichiau na dyddiau nid ocs.
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Pwy ni roe fyd pen awr fach
Os cai deyrnas gadarnach.
Ni wyr pen na pherchen ffydd,
Llawned ydyw'n llawenydd.
Byd didrist bywyd didranc,
Heb na thro buan na thranc.
Hwyr anial a hir enyd,
Y rhown fo am yr hen fyd.
Ni ddof i'r byd enbydwan,
Dowch chwi lie 'rwyf fi'n y fan.
Can di i Dduw, cwyn dy ddiwedd,
Cyn dy fyn'd a'r cnawd i fedd.
Yn iach, byw'r wyf mewn uwch braint,
Uwch gweryd, yn iach geraint,
Nes y del heb naws dolur,
Feirwon a byw i'r farn bur." '
William Phylip also composed a Manvnad to Huw Lhvyd, of
Cynfal, in which the opening stanza reads :
" Och gau ar gampau ! och gwympo IIuw Llwyd
A llawer sy'n cwyno ;
Yn Maentwrog mae'n tario
Awen fel mewn grafel gro."
One of his finest poems is his " Cywydd y Bedd," which was
printed by Senex in the pages of Y Brython? It is a master-
piece of cynghanedd, and contains some very pensive reflections on
a subject which so frequently formed a theme for the bards, and
ends on a note of unswerving faith in the resurrection :
" Wrth ystyried yr ystori,
Y byd oil a'm bywyd i ;
A'r lie 'rwy, deall oer ym
Oerllyd waith, o'r lie daethym,
A'r lle'r af i'r llawr afiach,
Wedi'r byd, enyd awr bach,
Wrth ddeall araith ddiwad,
Einioes dyn sy wan ei stad ;
Nid fi fy hun yn unig,
Yn y byd hwn enbyd dig ;
Pan fo'r corff poenfawr i caid,
Yn ymwahar.u a'm henaid ;
Er dy gyfion ddaioni
Er dy fawl pura Dduw fi ;
Fel ynol fywiol fywyd,
Yr elwyf fi i'r ail fyd.
1 Y Brythott, i86r. pp. 285-6. The first Cywydd Marwnad to Gruffudd
Fychan will be found in the same volume, p. 147. 'ibid, p, 185.
860
THE POETRY OF THE PERIOD
Nid yw einioes hyd unawr,
I'r un ond mynydun awr ;
Nid wrth bryd naturiaeth bron,
Yr estynir oes dynion ;
Dwst yw'r corff di ystyr caid
Da rinwedd Du\v i'r enaid ;
Fy enaid eift i fynu,
Y cnawd y pryfed a'i cnu ;
Ni wyr pwyll synwyr y pen,
Angau ola i dynghedfen.
Dydd Brawd fe ddaw i gwawrddydd,
O'r byd tranc i'r bywyd ihydd
Amlach wrthyt yr ymlyn,
Na chan tant, ochenaid dyn,
Amlach braw na dyn llawen
Amlach gwedd afiach na gwen ;
Dan dy farn y rhaid y'n.fbd,
Dan gwsg a Duw yn gysgod,
Oni 'n codo Ion cadarn,
O'r ddaear fyddar i'r farn :
Ni bydd y corff i'r bedd cu,
Yn him ddim hwy na hynny.
Gobaith hoff iawnwaith a'ffydd,
A chaiiad yw'r tair chwiorydd ;
A Christ o'i fodd fu'n dioddef,
Digon yw fe a'm dwg i'w nef,
Pan ddel pen fy llawenfyd,
Fy nghorff a'm henaid ynghyd ;
Hoff iawn fy w a chorff newydd
Ysbrydol ailfydol a fydd."
Five poems of William Phylip's are to be found in the
Blodeugerdd.
Sion Phylip (1543-1620) was the bardd teulu of Nannau
and Cors-y-gedol, and defended his bardic rights in these ancient
seats of Welsh noble families against all comers. He was very
jealous of interlopers, even of his own brother, whose trespass on
his preserves he refers to as " anllad ifanc lied ofer." The
cyivydd in which he reproves Richard Phylip for daring to clera at
Nannau, contains some of his best known lines :
" Nis cae fylh yn i wisg fo,
Gywyr ordor yn gyfyrdro ;
Ni chae hefyd o chofir,
Ond yn glmvn dyna goel wir ;
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Ni bu nid oes am oes mawl,
Ac ni bydd yn wybyddawl.
Nid a f awen o'i henyth,
Naga'n bell i ganu byth.
Ymdaro lie gweuo gan,
A mi henfardd o'm hunfan,
Ifanc ifanc a ofyn,
Henaint at henaint y tyn ;
Gyra fo o'i gaer a'i fainc,
Grafil ! at y gwyr ifainc." 1
In this poem he mentions that the lady of Nannau was the
daughter of the Lord Rhys of Cors-y-gedol, and his own long
connection with that family is also stated :
" Bardd i'w thad breuddoeth a wn,
Bord rydd a'i brodyr oeddwn."
Sion Phylip was a disgybl pencerdd of Caerwys at the early
age of twenty -five. The englyn which he composed at that
Eisteddfod is on record. Its subject was Yr Eos, and the bard
sang as follows :
" Eiliad mawl ganiad mil gwenyn, unllef
Ag arianllais telyn,
Eirian gloch ar enau glyn
Is coedallt, Eos Cedwyn."
When quite young he had a bardic contest with Sion Tudur.
It would seem that Sion Phylip had been invited to spend a
holiday with the Bishop of St. Asaph, and Sion Tudur, who
regarded himself as a kind of bardd teulu to the Welsh bishops,
resented the intrusion, and after the manner of the older bards
he despatched a llatai (messenger) in the form of a magpie with
a message to him, directing him to return with all speed to
Ardudwy. Concluding that the message was the outcome of
jealousy, it was accepted at once as a casus belli, and led to a
contest in verse between the two bards. Sion Tudur described
his opponent as losing his way in a snow-drift in the mountains
on his return journey from St. Asaph, the implication being that
the episcopal hospitality had proved too much for him, and
" Gwedi y Sul fe gaed Sion
Yn rhwyfaw yn rhyw afon."
1 Y Brython, iv., p. 390.
THE POETRY OF THE PERIOD
But Sion Phylip would not he hurried by these wiles from the
festive board of his kindly patron :
" Fy argl \vydd rhoes im groeso,
I'r wledd fawr ailwyodd fo ;
Tariwyf tra mynwyf tremwaith,
Delwyf pan ddelwyf eiiwaith."
And he charges his brother bard with being a dog in the manger :
" Nis bvvyti us pelai wall
Ci dewr nis gedyarall."
One of Sion Phylip's early efforts was Cywydd yr IVylan,
which he composed in 1565. He describes the bird thus :
" Mcrch fedydd ddedwydd ydwyd
Is lawn i Ncplunus Iwyd.
A fu 'rioed ar for iach,
Nofyddes wen ufuddach."
He sends the seagull to explain to his lover why lie had failed to
keep an appointment with her, for he had been overtaken by a
tempest which prevented him crossing the river at Barmouth :
" Nofia nag anghofia 'nghwyn,
I gyfeirio y gu forwyn ;
Hed i'r Ian hydr oleuni
A dywed lie y'm dalied i,
Wrth aber nid tyner ton
Bermo adwyth byim oerdon."
Sion Phylip was very popular with the bards of his day, as
the numerous mancnadau composed to him testify, for no less
than five bards paid him this tribute, viz., Edmund Prys, Richard
Cynwal, Gruffydd Phylip (his own son), leuan Ehvyd, and
Gruffydd Hafren. The date of his death is often given as 1600,
but this is incorrect. Edmund Prys in his Cyicydd Marwnad
definitely states that he died in 1620. That he was a bard of
some excellence is very apparent from the praise bestowed upon
him by Edmund Prys, who was, as a rule, more lavish in criticism
than encomium. He states that Sion Phylip's bardic teachers
were Gruffydd Hiraethog and William Eleyn, and that he did
both these bards credit. Prys' lines on this subject are as
follows :
" Y dull hwn, nid twyil aiiiuudil,
Doellia'n fyv\ i daeih yn kudd }
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Dnvy awenydd hydr anach,
A thrwy nerth athrawon iach :
Gruffydd, gref ffydd, orthgraph wych,
Gwrddrym Hiraethog eurddrych ;
Mawl a eiliai mal Wiliarn
Lleyn gynt, heb bennill yn gam ;
Y rhai'n oedd yr henyddion,
O dasg serch yn dysgu Sion." '
Edmund Prys also states that Sion Phylip once acted as
arbiter between him and t'>vo others, William Cynvval and Hugh
Machno :
" Bu farmvr rhof, bygof hawl,
A dau eraill awdurawl."
It is also from the Archdeacon's poem that we have confirmatory
evidence of Sion Phy lip's connection as bardd teulu with Cors-y-
gedol :
" Cwrsiwr mydr, croyw asiwr tnawl,
Cyrsio gwawd Corsygedawl ;
Caer ysgwar, Cors a gerym,
Cedol, waredoi wiw rym ;
Ac yno di gyffro dig,
Y bu'n dal bob Nauolig ;
Llensvai'r llys, llawenhai'r lie,
Llawn oedd awen Llanddwyive."
From the same source is derived the information that our bard
was skilled in three languages, an excellent herbalist and geologist,
and possessed of a most retentive memory ;
" Deallai fo diwall fawl,
Deiriaith yn brif awdurawl ;
Adwaenai ddawn da 'n ei ddydd,
Les am oes, lysiavi meusydd ;
Yr un wcdd am rinwedilau
Y Hiaeu gwyrth, beb ddim yn gau.
A cho Sion i'vv awchus vvaith,
Ail i Seirws Iwys araith.
Ni 'dwaeneui gem ddi gymmell,
Awuur gwawd Gofiadur gwell."
Richard Cynwal also refers to his proficiency in three
languages and his knowledge of herbs and rocks :
" Llysiau a main er lies mawr."
1 Y Brython, iv., p. 142 :
" Dau wyihgant, bwriad iaitbgoeth
A dau ddcg, oed Mab Duw ddoeth,' 1
204
THE POETRY OF THE PERIOD
He also mentions his long friendship of thirty -five years with
him :
" Deuddeg mlynedd, fuchedd fawr,
Ar hugain, a thair rhagawr ;
Buddiais ar gydn.ibyddiaeth,
Rhof ag ef, mewn rhyfig aeth."
This bard also tells us that Sion Phylip was a good Latinist, that
being probably the third language which he is said to have known.
He refers to Pwllheli as the place of his death, 1620 as the year,
and Llandanwg as his place of burial :
" Yin Mhwll Heli ymhell wylwn,
Heb ddydd hwy bu ddiwedd hwn ;
Aed a'i gorph caredig iawn,
Wedi i farw i wlad Feiri.ivvn ;
Oed lesu, lie 'i dewiswyd,
Dwyn glain i Landanwg Iwyd,
Ugain doethgain dau wythgant,
Draw gwae blaid ei wraig a'i blant."
In Gruffydd Phylip's elegy to his father he confesses himself
a prodigal son, who had paid no heed to his father's remon-
strances :
" I ddammeg oedd dda imi,
Astrus ym na ystyriais hi.
Fy ienctyd o'm mebyd maith,
A fwriais mewn oferwaith ;
A'm hamser hoff hyder ffol,
Drwy rwysg oedd dorri'r ysgol ;
Gwario Na, mewn gvvirion wedd,
Gwario foes mewn gwir faswedd."
His tenderness for his father and the depth of his penitence and
contrition are well expressed in the same elegy :
" Os adref d6f mewn c6f caeth,
Troi 'nol at yr un alaeth,
A gweled wrth i gilydd,
I Lyfrau, gwae finau fydd ;
Ni ad hiraeth naturiol,
Ym drini waith, mwydro'n 61 ;
Os darllain y rhai'n ar hyd,
Wylo wnaf o lawn ofyd."
Gruffydd Phylip follows up this cywydd with an englyn to the
sailors who rowed his father's body across the bay from Pwllheli
to Llandanwg ;
265
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
" O fwynion ddynion, bob yn ddau cyfarwydd
Cyfeiriwch y rhwyfau,
Tynnwch ar draws y tonnau,
A'r bardd trist yn i gist gau."
Gruffydd Phylip also wrote Dirifau'r Coler Du, found in pages
374-5 of the Blodeugerdd.
In leuan Llwyd's marwnad to Sion Phylip more details of
the bard's life are described. He states his exact age, seventy-
seven, that his widow with a family of six children survived him,
and that he was the bardic instructor of his brother, Richard, 1 and
of Gruffydd Phylip :
" Dysgodd brydyddion dwysgerdd,
Dysgyblion y gysson gerdd ;
Brawd a mab i brydu mawl
I iawn addysg awenyddawl."
From this elegy it would seem that Sion Phylip had gone on a
bardic journey through Anglesey and Lleyn ; and that he met
his death by drowning :
" Myned i ddeutu Menai
A chlod deg uchelwaed Dai ;
A'i groeso mawr gwrs ym Man,
A'i glod helaeth, gwlad haelion ;
Dyfod trwy Leyn, gresyn gri
O ball hwyl i Bwllheli ;
Ag ar ol Sion, mowrson mau,
Daith yngwrth i doeth angaa.
Dauwythgant lor pob coron,
Dau ddeg siwr Duw a ddyg Sion,
Ymadael uchel achwyn
E ddaeth pedwar mab i'w ddwyn,
A chynnull mwy na channyn
O wyr uchod Llewod Lleyn,
Dygwyd hwn deg waed henwr,
O Leyn deg i Ian y dvvr,
Dros y dwr, ar draws y don,
Doe'r morwyr i Dir Meirion,"
Gruffydd Hafren's manvnad confines itself to the praise of
'Richard Phylip acknowledges this in the following couplet ;
Fy mrawd yn fy mwrw ydoedd,
Fathro dig yn Pathrod oedd.
266
THE POETRY OF THE PERIOD
his learning and his talents as a bard, and admits that he had
vanquished him in controversy :
" A Sion yr ymrysonwn,
Ar Gerdd, ym difrio gwn ;
Fy mai oedd fwy mwy addef,
Yn fwy o wyth, na'i fai ef ;
Ymhell ar fy machellion,
I'm cwympodd, a safodd Sion"
But, perhaps, the well known lines of Edmund Prys best sum up
his capacity as a bard :
" Yn ifangc gwnai gerdd nwyfus,
Yn naddu'r iaith yn ddi rus J
Yn hen dda awen ddiell,
Canai i Dduw, can oedd well ;
Canai i wyr Arfon wrawl,
Canai i feirch, ac i'r cwn fawl ;
Awdurol fardd, wawd eirian,
Awdur mawl i'r adar man."
And the testimony of Richard Cynwal in respect of his poems to
love and nature has been given with such felicity that the lines
are most worthy of quotation :
" Yn oedran cwynfan ceinferch ;
Prydai fawl parod i ferch ;
I'w gwedd, a'i gwallt, gwddw gwyn,
E ganodd fel mel gwenyn ;
A meusydd adar miwsig,
O ddol a bryn, ddail a brig ;
A meirch, a gweilch mawrwych gwar,
A gwiw filgwn gafaelgar ;
Moli gwyr mawr a gwarant,
Eiliwr cerdd i lawer cant."
The following englyn was composed by Hugh Llwyd, of Cynfal,
to his memory :
" Dyma fedd gwrda oedd gu Sion Phylip,
Sein a philer Cymru ;
Cwynwn fyn'd athro canu,
I garchar y ddaear ddu."
His son, Gruffydd Phylip, as will be seen from quotations
already made, was a bard of no mean order. He wrote some
excellent lines, which form an interesting summary of the work
of Dr. John Davies, of Mallwyd :
" Mam, a Thad, Mammaeth ydych,
I'r Gyrmaeg wir Gymro gwych ;
Perffeithiaist nithiaist yn well,
Y Beibl oil i'r bobl well-well ;
267
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Yn oes dyn trefnaist yna,
Y ilyfrau gweddiau'n dda ;
Ni phrisiaist enw hoff rasawl,
Na phoen na chost ffeinwych hawl,
Brau y costiaist Sion ffynnon ffydd,
Braint da i ni brint o newydd ;
Hyn oedd ynn yn ddaioni,
I reidiau 'n eneidiau ni." 1
Perhaps one of the best known poems of Gruffydd Philip was
that composed in 1618, and entitled: "Cywydd Marwnad Mr.
Rhisiart Hughes, o Gefn Llanfair " :
" Oes cur, am nas ceir yma
Ystyn dydd ar oes dyn da !
Angau rhed o ing oer hawl,
Yn nhop gwr anhepgorawl ;
Gwas gwych oedd o rwysg uchod,
Nid oedd falch un dydd o'i fod
Trvvy Lundain at hir lendyd,
Tref lie 'i bydd tyrfa llu byd.
Pasio pawb, hapusa' pen,
I bu ei rowiog ber awen.
Dau wythgant gwarant gwirier,
A dau naw oed Mab Duw Ner."
His uncle, Richard Phylip, who had tried to ingratiate
himself at Nannau in Sion Phylip's absence, which led to a war
of words between the brothers, wrote a Cywydd Ateb in reply to
the severe castigation he had received at Sion Phylip's hands.
The lines appear in Y Brython, iv., pages 391-2, and show that
Richard in common with his two brothers, and his nephew
Gruffydd, had considerable skill in " building up the rhyme." He
refers to his brother's jealousy as a very early sin, and reminds
him of its results in the case of Cain and Abel :
" Y genfigen gwan fagiad,
Oedd o hen Adda a'i had ;
A yrrodd Gain oerddig waith,
I ladd Abel dda ei obaith :
Felly gwnae'r ddig gynfigen,
Ferch y Sarph arw frochus hen ;
Gyru brodyr gair bradawl,
I ymgashau ddirmygus hawl ;
Ow ! mor dynn yw fy mrawd innau,
Am i wr hael fy mawrhau."
1 Y Brython^ iv., p. 158.
268
THE POETRY OF THE PERIOD
He explains his conduct on the ground of his friendship with
Huw Nannau from boyhood, and adopts a somewhat defiant
attitude towards his elder brother :
"Tariwyf a gwaewyf y gan,
Tra fynwyf traethaf anian :
Gogyfar seigiau gwiwfael,
A gair a Huw ysgwier hael.
Sion a droes yn ei dresi,
Phylip fardd ffel beia fi ;
Am arcs yn fy mawredd,
Nannau lys o lawn iawn wledd.
Er da gwar y deau i gyd,
O Nannau nid awn ennyd.
Esgus na fedrwn wisgo
Wisg Huw fyth am nas cae fo."
He argues that in Nannau there is a sufficiency for both, but
insinuates that Sion Phylip could do more than his share with the
flowing bowl :
" Pa raid arbed lawned wledd,
Bir Nannau ebron winedd ?
Un wyf fi a yn fuan,
Ond da'r yf yntau ei ran,
Bwngler tabler disberod,
Ydwyf fi ni wadai fod :
Tynu yn wir at hon a wna,
Mae'r tyn fal y mrawd hyna.
Fe fynnai Sion fy anos i
O lannerch yr haelioni ;
Er ei ddrygair ddarogan,
A'i athrod goedd uthraid gan,
Af i Naunau fan enwawg,
Ni wna'rhynt o Nannau rhawg."
Hugh Machno was a bard who wrote of the Cynfal family,
the antecedents of Morgan Lhvyd. In 1623 he penned an elegy
to Dafydd Llwyd o Gynfal, the grandfather of Morgan Llwyd, in
which he thus expresses the grief of Maentwrog and the neigh-
bourhood :
" Trees Duw alar trist wylen
Troe gur i Faentwrog wen
Mae yno gyffro a gant
Am yr henwyr rnai ar hunant."
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
He goes on to relate that Hugh Llwyd, the third son of Dafydd
Llwyd, and afterwards a bard of some note, succeeded his father
at Cynfal, in 1623 :
" Y trydydd o freisgwydd frig
Yw Huw Llwyd ddi-balledig
Yn aer i dad yw ado
Yn ol fydd yn i le fo.
Dau wythgant oerant irwydd
Dau wyth a saith adwy sydd."
Like other gentlemen of the period, Dafydd Llwyd had been
devoted to horsemanship, shooting, and hunting :
" Caru i farch cu eirian
Seuthyddiaeth helwriaeth Ian."
And he had often acted as arbitrator and reconciler of his neigh-
bours' differences :
" Dyddiai fo gordiai y gwyr gynt
Dyddivvr oedd enaid uddynt."
Dafydd Llwyd is further described as a man of few words and
much deliberation ; and to have had considerable knowledge of
poetry and figures :
" Distaw iawn wr uniawn wraidd
Ag araf fu a gwraidd
Ymhob pur wawd ymhob rhif
Da i awgrym a digrif
Adroddai medrai air tnwys
Yn i gymal yn gymwys." '
Huw Machno also wrote, about 1630, " Cywydd i ofyn telyn
dros Huw Llwyd, Cynfal" in which he refers to the latter's
travels. Huw Llwyd had taken part in the Dutch wars to help
Holland to free itself from the trammels of Spain. In the same
poem the bard refers to the renovation of Cynfal, undertaken by
Huw Llwyd on his return. He gives in it a homely description
of the house, which afterwards acquired greater fame from its
association with Morgan Llwyd, the most eminent Welsh puritan
of this century. He mentions in his portrait of this old Welsh
home all those appliances which a gentleman of the period would
require for hunting, shooting, and fishing. The poem is given in
1 Gwcithiau Morgan Llwyd, pp. 305-308,
270
THE POETRY OF THE PERIOD
full in Mr. J. H. Davies' Gweithiau Morgan Llwyd, and is of
much interest because it furnishes the background for the life of
that worthy. The following lines describe Huw Llwyd and the
part he took in restoring his ancestral home :
" Huw Llwyd yw pob rhai lie i del,
A genfydd aer o Gynfel.
Trafaelio trwy ofalon
i bu'n i ddydd, dedwydd don,
gwelodd teg fu'r bregeth,
yn i ifiengtyd or byd beth ?
da oedd yn y diweddiad,
dirion le, dario'n y wlad
Trwsio, ffwrneisio a wnai
01 ddyfais, i dy yn ddifai
ai ranu yn gowreinach,
a throi'r dwr drwy barlwr bach.
Os dyfod i'w ystafell,
(hon sy waith hardd yn saith well)
i lyfrau ar silffau sydd,
deg olwg, gida'i gilydd,
i flychau'n eliau'n Ian,
ai ger feddyg o arian,
ai fwcled glan ar wanas,
ai gledd pur o'r gloew-ddur glas,
ai fwa yw, ni fu i well,
ai gu saethau, ai gawell,
ai wnn hwylus yn bylaw,
ai fflasg, hawdd i caiff i'w law,
ai ffon enwair ffein iovrn-wych,
ai ffein gorn, at helffyn gwych,
ai rwydau, pan Pai'r adeg,
sy gae tyn i bysgod teg,
ai ddrych oedd wych o ddichell,
a wyl beth oi law o bell,
ar ' chess ' ai gwyr ddifyr ddysg,
a rhwydd loyw dabler hyddysg,
Beth yw'r holl bethau hyn
mae dialedd am delyn.
Pa bleser rhag trymder trwch ?
i ddyn, pa fwy diddanwch. 1
Edward Morus (? 1689), of Perthi Llwydion, in the
parish of Cerrig-y-drudion, Denbighshire, was a contemporary and
close friend of the great bard Huw Morus, and there has been
considerable confusion between the writings of the one and the
other, which is pardonable to some extent, owing to the similarity
1 Gwcithiau Morgan LlwyJ, pp. xviii., xix.
271
in their themes and style of expression. There are eleven of
Edward Morus' compositions in Carolau a Dyriau Duwiol, pub-
lished in 1720, and ten in the Blodeu-Gerdd Cymru, published in
1779. Sir Owen Edwards also published a selection of his poems
in Cyfres y Fil. Part of this bard's work has been collected by
his admirer, Hugh Hughes, of Cerrig-y-drudion. He died before
he completed his task, but what he had collected was published
by Isaac Foulkes, Liverpool, in 1902. It was part of a work
adjudged by the Rev. J. Fisher, B.D., as worthy of the prize
offered for the best history of three noted men in the parish of
Cerrig-y-drudion, by the annual Eisteddfod held at that place in
1900.
Edward Morus could write excellent prose, as well as verse.
In Rowland's Cambrian Bibliography, under the year 1689,
appears the following book :
" Y Rhybuddiwr Gristnogawl^ &c., Rhydychen. Cyfieith-
wyd y llyfr hwn gan Edward Morus, o'r Perthi Llwydion, Ceryg
y Drudion, yn sir Ddinbych, ar gais Mrs. Margaret Fychan, o
Lwydiarth ; ac argraffwyd ef ar draul y foneddiges hbno." The
work is a translation of Rowlet's Christian Monitor.
Edward Morus' introduction to the work affords a good
example of his pregnant style in prose. It reads :
Att y Cymro uniaith. 1
Y Bryttwn natturiol !
Wele fi'n dyfod yn daer ymbiliwr attat am gael un rhodd
gennit ; y peth yr wyf yn ei erfyn arnat sydd gymwynas, nid i mi,
eithr i ti dy hun ; sef, J3od yn wiw gennit yn ystyriol, ac yn ddif-
rifol ddarllain y Llyfr bychan hwn unwaith drwyddo. Er nas
gwnei ar fy nymuniad i, fe debygid (os oes dim gweddeidd-dra
ynot) mai bychan i ti wneuthur hynny o ran parch a diolchgarwch
i'r elusengar Fenyw a'th anrhegodd di ag e ; gan gyrchu Sais o
Loegr i'th gynghori yn iaith dy fam ; Ac oni ddichon hyn oil dy
annog, etto darllain ef er rmvyn dy enaid gwerthfawr dy hun, ac os
gweithia yr athrawiaeth gynwysedig ynddo ar dy galon di, megis
1 Barddtniaeth Edward Morris, p. viii.
THE POETRY OF THE PERIOD
ag y gwnaeth ar arall, 'r wy'n coelio y bydd di-edifar gennit os
cyfarfyddi hefyd ymma 4'r cwbl sydd angenrhaid i ti er lechyd-
wriaeth, wedi ei grynhoi yn fyrrach ac yn rhattach nag y gwelaist
o'r blaen, dyro i Dduw y gogoniant, a gad i ni yn ddioed ac yn
ddianwadal ymroi yn unfryd (drwy gynnorthwy gras Duw) i arwain
Bucliedd Sanctaidd er anrhraethol ac annherfynol gyssur i ni.
Bydd iach. Y CY.MREIGYDD.
Mrs. Margaret Yaughan, who defrayed the expenses of
printing the Rhybuddiwr, was the sister of Lord Herbert of
Cherbury, himself a noted patron of literature. She had married
John Vaughan, of Lhvydiarth, in Llansilin.
There is very little known of the life -story of Edward Morus.
It is known that he was a drover and cattle-dealer, and had ex-
tensive business connections in this respect with English markets.
He died on one of his journeys into the Eastern Counties in 1689,
and was buried at Fryerning, near Ingatstone, in Essex.
Mr. Hugh Hughes, who has been mentioned as having col-
lected his poems, is incorrect in surmising that our bard was the
Edward Morus whose name appears in the following entry in the
parish register at Cerrig-y-drudion : "Gwen, the daughter of
Edward Morus, of Perthi Llwydion, was baptized the 26th day of
January, 1620." I This would fix the bard's birth at about 1600,
and would show him at 89 still engaged in active business transac-
tions, as far afield as Essex. Gwen was probably his sister, and
" Edward ap Morris . . . baptized the ist day of October,
i6o7," 2 his father. Assuming that the latter married about the
age of 20, Edward Morus' birth probably took place in the late
twenties or early thirties of this century. This would make him
about 60 at the time of his death, a much more likely age for a
man to be engaged in an employment demanding such activity
as that of a drover or cattle-dealer.
Huw Morus mourned the death of his fellow -bard in a
Cywydd Marwnad^ which throws some light upon his life. He
1 Barddoniatth Edward Morris, p. xiv. = ibid, p. x.
2 73
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
describes him as marsr awdivr, a reference, perhaps, not so much
to the number of his compositions as to their excellence.
" Marw Edward, mawr awdwr,
Moms oedd dymherus \vr ;
Llafurwr lies llyfrwr lion,
Lliwdeg o'r Perthi Lliaydion
Yn ben bardd, ni bu, ni bydd,
Afiaeth brwd, y fath brydydd ;
Brwd oedd ei ffrwd, brydydd ffraeth,
Aber ddeunydd barddoniaeth."
He calls him the heir of the Muses of Helicon, and extols the
purity of his diction and the sweetness of his odes :
" Per-air wr, puror araith,
Parod o rym, purder iaith.
Bardd od ar y beirdd ydoedd,
BIysiais ei waith, blasus oedd.
Athraw gwir, aeth i'r gweryd,
A wnai'r gerdd yn aur i gyd. 1
Hwn oedd dad cynghanedd deg,
Eos doethder ystwythdeg.
Ni ddae bwnc newydd o'i ben,
Flys hwylus, heb flas halen ;
Am eiriau mel, angel oedd,
Glain Brydain glan-ber ydoedd ;
Gwastad y plethiad i'n plith,
Gardd win oedd ei gerdd wenith."
After comparing him with Homer and Horace, he pays tribute to
his skill in awdl^ cywydd, englyn and carol:
" Gorau gweydd awenydd wych,
Gweuai awdl yn gaeadwych ;
Ei gyivyddau. gwiw addysjj,
Gwir iawn ddawn, a geir yn ddysg ;
Cardan 'n rheolau rhad,
Cyfoethog eu cyfieithiad ;
Ei englyntoti, angel annerch,
Fyth yw swyn afiaeth a serch."
Perhaps it will be well to give an instance of Edward Morus'
skill and attainments in each of the four kinds of Welsh verse
mentioned by his elegist. Very few of the first named composi-
tions have found their way into print. But Sir O. M, Edwards
1 Eos Ceiriog, i., pp, 22-3.
274
THE POETRY OF THE PERIOD
has one awdl in his collection of Edward Mortis' poems. It is
entitled Eghvyswr Mwyn, and is an elegy on the death of Mr.
Rees Foulk, parson of Llanfihangel Glyn Myfyr. There is
nothing particularly striking in this poem, but it certainly bears
out Huw Mortis' verdict as far as the accuracy of its metres is
concerned. One stanza, the gorchest bdrdd, is beautiful in its
conception, and contains, perhaps, the best lines in the poem :
" Fr bedd heb wad,
I'r wledd aur wlad,
I'r hedd a'r had,
Orau rhodd ;
Ei ddawn oedd union,
A'i goel o'i galon,
Y nef gyfion
lawn a gafodd.",
His proest cyftmvidiog in the same poem is also a well -executed
stanza :
" Ei fawr boen ddi-ofer beth,
A gwir les agorai lith,
Nid oes ail figail o'i fath,
A thra bo dydd, ni bydd byth." '
In Mr. Hugh Hughes' collection, Awdl yr Haidd is an
amusing poem describing the different uses to which barley is put,
and advancing arguments for each use. The devotee of Bacchus
demands that it shall be used exclusively for his consumption,
the housewife and hwsmon (farm bailiff) are equally certain that
it should be used for nothing but bread. The bard dubs these
extreme advocates wastrels and misers respectively. He despairs
of reconciling their rival claims, and comes to the conclusion that
each man must settle this problem for himself :
" Gwnaed pawb yn ddiogan ei feddwl a'i amcan,
Am haidd i hunan, mae'n hawdd iddo hynny. ::
It is a poem with a moral which he sums up thus :
' Fe fyn pawb ei bleser, fel bo'n blysio."
Edward Morus wrote several cyivyddau. The first in the
collection of his work recently published is "Cywydd i'r Parchedig
Dad, William drwy Rad Duw Arglwydd Esgob Llanehvy." This
is a thanksgiving ode from a Welshman, who hailed with delight
p. 106-7.
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
the appointment of one he believed to be a thoroughly Welsh
prelate, Bishop William Lloyd, to the See of St. Asaph. In many
of his poems he betrays his ardent love for his native tongue,
and his alertness to events which made for its preservation, or
otherwise. After regretting the " estroniaid ystryw anwir " who
had held that bishopric, he welcomes the new bishop because his
advent meant succour for the language he loved, and promotion
for those who spoke it :
" Dan ras hwn dyner oes hedd,
Mi ga eilwaith ymgeledd ;
Gwyr am car llwyddgar wellhant,
Caen' swyddau canys haeddant.
I dy Asaph dewiswyd,
Da actau'r Hew, Doctor Llwyd,
Cymreigydd cu mawrygwn,
Rwysg parch yr esgob hwn."
He then proceeds to describe the dignity of the office :
" Ach neu batch ucha'n y byd,
Aaron fu o'r un fy wyd ;
A doniau perlau purlan,
Hynaws glod yn ei wisg Ian ;
Y Meitr aur niae at yr iad,
I'w roi ar yr eneiniad."
The advantage of his knowledge of the language is that his
lordship will be understood, and brought into closer contact with
his people in their highest act of worship :
" Pum gair yn yr eglwys Iwys Ian,
Sydd well os hwy ddeallan ;
Na myrddiwn mewn mawr ddawn iaith,
O doe athro dieithriaith.
A'm cymmun glan, can fel cynt,
lawn addysg yn Nuw iddynt ;
Mewn Brutaniaith clodfaith clau,
Gael enill eu calonau."
Edward Morus also wrote excellent verses on the confinement of
the seven bishops in the Tower :
" Saith ffyddlon, Cryfion crefydd Cywiriaid,
Yn caru 'u Pen-llywydd ;
Duw'n benach na dyn baunydd,
Seithwyr amddiffynwyr fifydd."
276
In this ode he compares James II. to Phaeton seated " in the
chariot of presumption," 1 and warns him that his fate would be
similar. He begs his Majesty to change his course.
The lofty moral tone of some of his poems is very impressive.
An example of this is found in his effort to entice his countrymen
into the paths of sobriety. His ode against drunkenness, entitled,
Cywydd yn erbyn Meddivdod points out the serious physical and
mental effects, not to mention the moral harm wrought through
the influence of excessive drinking :
" Pwy a ddengys a'i fis fai
Mwy na gwendid inevvn gwindai ?
Ac yfed frwd gafod frau,
Dros fesur, diras foesau ;
Cyfeillach drwy afiach dro,
A fu'r esgus i frwysgo ;
Pylu'n hurt, pa wael wanhau,
Os yn hir, y synhwyrau.
Pylu'r cof trwy anghof trwm,
Bydd rusol boddi rheswm ;
Dinistrio corph a'i orphen,
Dallu pwyll deall y pen.
Fob afiechyd, clefyd, clyw,
Di rin wyd, dy ran ydyw.
Yn iechyd ni wrthyd neb,
Ffiol lawn o ffolineb ;
Dan dy drwyn gwenwyn i gyd,
Yfi achos afiechyd.
Delw y Tad, dilewyd hi,
Gwarth wyneb a gwrthuni.
Drwg i'r corph, drwy'r cwrw y caid,
Drwg o ran drygu'r enaid."
His cywyddau marwnad (elegies) are also beautiful compositions.
A good example is that composed to Hywel Vaughan o Lan y
Llyn> 1669 :
" Am wr enwog mae newyn,
Fwy na llu ar fin y Llyn."
1 Eos Ceiriog, p. 386.
277
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
He refers to the bereaved family in the following terms :
" O ! gwyn rydost gwn redeg,
I clagrau'n fotymau teg ;
Duw a wrendy fry o'r fron,
Weddi a gvveiddi gweddwon ;
Duw achles hoff les a phlaid,
Mae'n ddyfnl i ymddifaid
Bydd, arglvvydd, rhag tramgwydd trwch,
Dad iddyn', er dedwyddwch.
Y corph aeth, cu araf ffel,
Gwr downus i gor Daniel ;
A'r enaid aeth yr un dydd,
Ail einioes i lawenydd ;
Bendithion ban odiaethol,
A pharch iawn eiff ar eich ol ;
Hyd nefoedd cyhoedd y caid,
I roi annerch i'r enaid ;
Cyfodiad at rad Duw Tri,
Llawn einioes Ha wen ini."
His calling as a drover influenced some of his similes, e.g. :
" Ni alia i ddim o'm nerth fy hun,
Ond fel y mochyn, eilwaith
Ymdroi'n y dom ; Duw cynnal fi
O bob drygioni diffaith."
His delineation of animals gives the impression of one who
thoroughly understood them. It is not strange that this poetic
drover should have given such a vivid description of the bull in
his Cywydd y Tdriv. The following is an instance of his apt
portraiture :
" Crych leisiwr a rhodiwr rhydd
Cryg ym min craig y mynydd ;
Pur feudwy mewn porfa-dir,
Meillion, gwellt a hydd-wellt hir."
Some of his poems are fine moral essays, for instance, that
entitled Ystyriaeth ar Fywoliaeth Dyn. Man's frailty has been
well described in the following lines :
" Mae'r deall o'r untu, a'r c6f wedi llygru,
A'r cnawd yn ein dallu, a'n denu ni i'n dal ;
Mewn amryw gamwedclau, anrhefnus ein rhwydau,
Ein serch a'n hanwydau'n anwadal."
And faith in Christ is its only antidote. Edward Morus' poem?
278
THE POETRY OF THE PERIOD
are permeated with the spirit of Christianity, and his robust faith
finds expression in many lines :
" Ffydcl gadarn ddihoced, yw'r in::,' ymwared,
Yn Nghrist mae ymddiried, a chadwed iwch hedd ;
O'r Aiffl os llongwriwch, ar fwrdd Edifeiiwch,
I Canaan mordwywch o'r diwedd."
He was an advocate of early marriages, and had a strong dislike
to marriage as a purely civil contract, and bluntly condemned the
union of those between whom there was great disparity of years :
" Deuddyn ifanc a briodo,
Diwall heddwch, Duw a'u llwyddo,
Ac na chlywer tiwy ymddrysu
Fylh fynd hen at hen ond hynny."
Ill one of his poems he reflects on the distinction the world
makes between rich and poor :
" Gwr, perchen cywaeth, yn ol ci fmvolae'.h,
Fe ddaw i'w gladdedigaeth, yrr hekieih o hyd ;
Y llawd pan derfyno, prin cael i'r fan hono
Mor digon i'w gario fe i'r gweryd."
Cyngor bardd fw forwyn is full of wise precepts from a
master to his maid, and advocates contentment and probity of
life as the keys to happiness :
" Nid wrth a gafodd o gyfoeth yn nglyn,
Y dylai neb fesur dedwyddvvch un dyn ;
Boddlonrwydd yw'r golud inewn gwiwlan ystad,
Pwy welodd heb ddigon y cyfion, a'i had? "
He composed numerous Christmas carols, some of them of great
beauty, and most of them a digest of the main facts in the life of
Christ, in addition to a vivid representation of the central theme.
It seems to have been the bard's practice to compose one for each
Christmas, and most of them bear the date of their composition
within their contents.
In Hugh Hughes' collection appear carols for 1656, 1660,
1661, 1663, 1665, 1671, 1685, and 1686. They deal with the
subject of the Nativity with the greatest reverence. A few of
them lead up to it by a summary of the promises of the Messiah's
advent in the flesh, and afterwards mention the mighty works ha
performed in his ministrations to mankind :
" Ail Bers.m y Drindud, inab Dafydd trwy ddyndod,
Ac Arghvydd mewn Duwdod, tro hynod tiwy hedd ;
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Pregethwr daionus Efengyl gysurus,
I'r rhai edifarus, da fawredd.
Dysgu'r Athrawon, a galw ei Udisgyblion,
Ei wyrthiau grasuslon yn fowrion a fu,
Troi Saul yn Paul ddawnus, troi'r dwfr yn win melus,
Mae'n hysbys ei ewyllys, a'i allu.
lachau pob clefydon, rhoi parabl i'r mudion,
Bywhau y rhai meirwon, y gwirion Oen gwir,
Khoi'r cloffion i gerdded, rhoi deillion i weled,
Byddatiaid i glywed, yn glauar."
He has also other carols on secular subjects, and in this lighter
vein he has the very happy gift of blending Nature and Love in
perfect harmony : " Carol yn gyrru'r Haf at ei Gariad," and
" Carol Cupid " are two good examples.
Edward Morus was also a facile writer of englynion. His
readiness in composing is instanced in the englyu entitled Y Bardd
a'r Pladunvyr. The bard was passing a field, where they were
cutting corn, and was playfully invited to wield the sickle, but he
declined owing to age and infirmity, and in lieu thereof he sang
the following englyn :
" Canlyn Pladur ddur ar ddant y rhosdir
Rhai ysdwyth a'i medrant ;
Esmwythach i was methiant,
Englyn, a Thelyo, a Thant.''
His englynion composed to Bishop Humphreys when the latter
was raised to the See of Bangor are well known. He took great
pride in the elevation ef Welshmen to the episcopate in their own
country, and Bishop Humphreys certainly fulfilled the bard's
expectations, expressed in the lines :
" Esgob Humphreys lies wellhad yr Eglwys
Rywioglan gyssegriad,
Gael i G6r Bangor heb wad,
I Dduw was o'i ddewisiad.
Gwr o'n gwlad gariad geirwir gore 'i ddawn
Gwr i Dduw sydd gowir,
Gwr o'n hiaith i'w garu'n hir,
Ag o'n ffydd a ganffyddir."
When Elis Lewis of Llwyngwern published his translation of
Drexelius' work on Eternity, Edward Morus was a most interested
well-wisher, and he, amongst others of the most prominent bards
280
THE POETRY OF THE PERIOD
of the time, wrote commendatory odes to the work. The follow-
ing englynion are amongst those he composed on this occasion :
" Fob enaid, gwiwraid, a garo fyw'n hir
I fwynhau dedwydd-dro,
Darllened, cadwecl mewn co,
Hyn o dasc hen a'i dysgo !
Ti, Elis Lewis, i'r wlad a roddaist
Arwycidion o'th gariad :
Pa un yn rhoi poeu yn rhad,
Trael lawer trwy olcuad.
Cyfieithiad, troad i'r truah -Gymro
I gym'ryd d}'sc burlan ;
Hyffotddiad goleuad glan,
O dywyllwch du allan."
He wrote a beautiful cyivydd mai-wnad to Gabriel Goodman, Esq.,
of Nantglyn, who died on January loth, 1673, and who was,
probably, a descendant of the famous Dean of Westminster of
that name, the founder of Ruthin Grammar School. The subject
of this elegy was a learned lawyer, as we gather from the lines :
" Dysgedig nid oes gwadu,
Yn y gyfraith faith a fu
Solon oedd sail iawn addysg,
Sycurgus lawn dawn a dysg !
A'i g6f ydoedd yn gadarn,
I gofio heb wyro barn ;
Gwr ethol gwiw areithydd,
Sisero lyfn, ddyfn i'w ddydu,
Un o'i eiriau iawn areth,
Eglura'r pwynt ar gloi'r peth."
In Carol y Ctvacer he shows a particularly strong antipathy
to that body of religionists ; the chief ground of his quarrel with
them was that they refused to recognise the Lord's Supper :
" Drwy gyfarch Duw'n benna a'm genau mi gana,
Gael cennad ni cheisia, a chased wyf fi,
Gan Grynwyr cyfrwysgall na heretic arall,
Nid oes 'y mryd diwall mo'r tewi.
Os mawr i'r sect berffaith ddiystyru Llywodraeth,
Mae mwy barnedigaeth yn digwydd o'r ddau
Am wrthod drwy aflwydd, orchymyn yr Arglwydd
Heb bris yn ei arwydd na'i eiiiau."
CyfresyFil t p. 86.
281
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Edward Moras' poems are sweet and pure. He loved what
was beautiful in life and language. In a degenerate age he
maintained a high standard of moral purity, and he knew how to
depict youth and love with chastity and freshness. In politics he
was an ardent Royalist, and in religion one of the stoutest
upholders of the Establishment, in both of which he was at one
with his distinguished contemporary, the bard of Pont-y-meibion.
All his religious poems are evangelical and orthodox. He
delighted in the action of the seven Bishops, who resisted
James II. in his attempts to re -impose the Papal yoke. The
Quakers he could not tolerate because they would have kept his
muse mute. Amongst his nature poems his Miwsig Min Coed is
as pretty an ode of praise to the nightingale as any in the
language. It appears in Sir O. M. Edwards' Cyfres y Fil collec-
tion of his poems. The two englynion which follow are selected
from that poem :
" lach lawen wyf, o chlywais, ar fedw
Arfodau peraiddlais
Eden llwyd, adwen y llais.
Eos gefnllwyd ysgafnllais.
Eos fwyno'r llwyn, darllenais y mann,
A mynych ystyriais
Leied hon, gre-lonn, groew-lais,
Mewn torr llwyn, a maint yw'r llais."
Reference has been made to the friendship which existed between
Huw Moras and Edward Mortis. On one occasion the latter
addressed his brother bard with the following greeting :
" Huw Morns felus fyw alarch barod,
Burwr cerdd gywreinbarch ;
Anerchion cofion cyfarch,
I'th wyneb pur, ddoeth enw parch."
To which Huw Morus replied :
" Mawr Athro'n eilio, anwylyd miloedd,
Melin y gelfyddyd,
Melin dda'n malu'n ddiwyd,
Malu'r gerdd mal aur i gyd."
Huw Moras' Cywydd Marwnad Edward Morus has already been
282
THE POETRY OF THE PERIOD
mentioned. He gives in it the date of his death and his place of
burial :
" Dau wyth gant, medclant i'n mysg,
Pan ghddwyd pen goleuddysg ;
Wyth ddeg a naw, a theg nod,
Oed lesu wedi' osod ;
Daear Essex, dir isod,
Ydyw beddle, claddle clod." 1
Owen Gruffudd of Llanystumdwy was one of the three bards
who composed an elegy to Edward Morus. In it he well
describes the power of his muse, the goodness of his life, and
the integrity of his faith, as shown in the following englynion :
" Breuddwyd o bwriwyd i'r bedd, wir iawnglod
Ariangloch cynghanedd,
A'i gwiw frodiad gyfrodedd,
Sidan blethiad wastad wedd.
Planodd a naddodd iawn addas ganiad
Yn gynil goweithas ;
Gwr da a fu, gair di fas,
Odiaethol ei gymdeithas.
Rhoi glod ddi-ddarfod i'w ddydd, o'i Eglwys
Wir eglur ei chrefydd,
Ac i ddoniau gwiw ddeunydd
Athrawon ffyddlon eu ffydd."
Another contemporary, Sion Dafydd Las, also added his tribute
to Edward Morus' memory :
"Am golofn cerdd ddofn ei ddydd, am fwynwr
Ac am f'amvyl brydydd,
Ni ddaw neb, gresyndcb sydd,
Fyth i ni a'r fath newydd.
Galared, cwyned pob canwr campus,
Cwympodd y dysgawdwr ;
Athro ydoedd, weithredwr,
Neuadd y gan oedd y gwr.
Pwy weithian a gan a genau mor ber?
Manv y bardd oedd orau !
Diweddiad pob clymiad clau,
I chwi oedd, a chywyddau."
Owen Gruffydd, of Llanystumdwy, wrote several poems
which appear in the Blodmgerdd, of which the following are the
titles : " Carol yn erbyn Cybydd-dod a Balchder," " Carol
Duwiol i feddwl am y Diwedd," " Cyfarchiad Henaint," " Dangos
1 Eos Ceiriog', i., 26.
283
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
ofnadwy Fygythion Duw yn amser Tymhestloedd," " Mawl i
Dduvv am y Cymmun Sanctaidd," " Cerdd y Pren Almon,"
" Difrifol Ystyriaeth o ddioddefaint ein lachawdwr lesu Grist,"
" Myfyrdod am Farwolaeth," " Ymddiddan rhwng y Prydydd a'r
Gog," " Cerdd yn gosod allan ddull y Farn Ddiweddaf," " Galar-
nad Troseddiad y Sul," " Cwymp y Bail," " Ystyriol Freuolder
Einioes," " Ystyriaeth ar y drydydd bennod o'r Pregethwr,"
" Annogaeth i Fodlondeb," " Carol i'r Seren Wyl, neu ddydd
Ystwyll."
As will be seen, Owen Gruffydd wrote mostly on religious
subjects. Many of his poems were written in the early part of
the eighteenth century, for he died in 1730. In the pages of Y
Brython is given an englyn recited by him against the custom of
burial in coffins, and he is said to have given a strict injunction
that he should be buried in a linen shroud :
" O ffei ! gwaith ffiaidd o'i go' wneyd eirch
Nid archiad Duw mono :
Mewn llian, graian, a gro,
Bu gorff lesu'n gorphwyso."
Y Brython, iv., p. 114.
His wish, however, was not granted, for W. Elias in an englyn
composed at his death in 1730, states :
" Rhoi'r bardd mwyn cufardd mewn cist o dderw,
I'r ddaiaren athrist :
O'i edrych 'r wyf yn odrist,
Mae'n bruddedd, truanedd trist."
" Dwyfor," writing in the pages of Y Brython describes Owen
Gruffydd as " hen Brydydd, o fri mawr yn ei oes, a chryn son am
dano ar lafar gwlad, heb ond ychydig iawn o hanes, fel bywgraffiad
am dano." i
The following selection from his poem Cwymp y Dail will
serve as an example of the quality of his muse :
" Cwympoa wneiffy ddeilen lasa,
Yr un modd a'r hon sydd grina :
Y grin a'r las, pob un sy'n syrthio,
Conset yw hon i bawb i'w chofio
Fe geiff dyn fawrddysg os ystyria,
Oddiwrth gwymp y ddeilen leia :
1 Y Brython, iv., p. 467.
284
THE POETRY OF THE PERIOD
Ac am hyn yr oreu i'w chofio,
Yw C onset y Daitsy'n syrthio.
Y dydd a roed i ba\vb i weithio,
Pan ddel y no., mae'n rhaid gorphwyso ;
Y gwaith yn fawr, a byr yw'r amser,
Gwiliwn dreulio h'.vn yn ofer. :>
In one of his poems, Ymddiddan rhwng y Prydydd a'r Gog, he
makes the curios statement that the Virgin died at the age of 63 :
" Er gwched million feinion ha,
Na chynnyg gwylia chwennych,
Ond a roddo Duw i'th ran,
Ar wedd dy oedran edrych :
Yr wyt yn sefyll ar naw saith
O flwyddi i'th ymdaith yma,
Ar hyn o oedran cyfan gwyn,
Bu farw'r forwyn bura ;
Oedd fam dy Brynwr barnwr byd,
Mesurwr hyd dy yrfa."
In common with many of the bards of his time, his outlook
upon life was rather gloomy, and his favourite theme the
uncertainty and brevity of man's days. His poems are usually in
the free metres.
Sion Dafydd Las, who has been mentioned as having
written a marwnad to Edward Morus, was a bard and harpist
who flourished between 1650 and 1690. He was generally called
" Bardd Nannau." Upon one occasion he met the bard of Perthi
Llwydion, and they composed six englynion, taking alternate
stanzas. When Sion Dafydd Las heard of the death of his
fellow-bard in Essex, he sang six more, the last of which is as
follows :
" I'r bedd, lie oetaidd yn Llan, cul feddiant !
Aeth celfyddyd fwynlan ;
A'r hen iaith, ni a'i rhown weithian
A'r Awen fytii i'r un fan."
Gwaith Gwallter Mcchain, i., p. 441.
It would seem that Sion Dafydd Las was an inveterate
drunkard, and, no doubt, his joint vocation as bard and harpist
often took him into the way of temptation. Lewis Owain, of
Tyddyn y Garreg, a neighbour and contemporary, tried to shame
him out of his weakness by composing the following englynion :
285
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
" Hir ofer arfer a orfydci sadrwydd,
Cais edrych dy ddefnydd ;
Sad iawn barch, a sydyn bydd
Eisiau yn dyfod, Sion Dafydd !
Mab Dafydd, awenydd wiw-nod cyn d'orwedd
Gwna derfyn ar feddwdod-
Mab i ddiawl, anneddfawl nod,
Mab Duw oni bai diod."
Gwaith Gwallter Ahihain, i., p. 442.
The culprit's conscience was touched, and he replied :
"Gwir yw'r gair, pur-air, heb ball, a chadarn,
Ychydig ai deall ;
Oferedd neu fai arall,
Buan y gwe) boen a gwall.
At fy Nhad, fwriad edifeirwch af
I ofyn ei heddwch,
Gan grynu, llechu'n y llwch,
A darostwng i dristwch."
Ibid., p. 442.
Lewis Owain praised his effort to reform and gave him every
encouragement :
"Am bechod, ddu nod, a wnaist, y prydydd,
Pur odiaeth y cenaist ;
Gwna dithau, Sion, ffyddlon, ffest,
Fawl didwyll, fel y d'wedaist."
Ibid.
The reform, however, did not last long, and one morning, after a
night's debauch, the reprobate bard bemoaned his aching head,
as follows :
" Pen brol, pen lledffol, pen llaith, pen dadwrdd,
Pen d'wedyd yn helaeth ;
Pen croch alw, pen crych eihvailh,
Pen a swn mal pennau saith."
A bard named Wmffrai Dafydd ab I fan, the sexton of
Llanbrynmair, sang during the Commonwealth period, and some
of his poems appear in Llyfr Carolau Thomas Jones ; Almanaciivr,
1696. They are part of the carol literature of the period.
In the Cambrian Biography, a bard named Watcin
Clywedog is said to have flourished in the early part of the
seventeenth century. It would seem from his poems that he was
a native of Arfon. He lost his three sons in one year, and the
286
THE POETRY OF THE PERIOD
bard wrote an elegy full of pathos on the occasion, in which the
following lines occur :
" Trist yw'r galon don i'm dydd, maiw Wiliam,
Rolant, a Meredydd ;
Trist benyd thoes Duw beunydd,
Tristwch tra bwy' fwyfwy fydd !
Ow ! feibion tirion teiriaith ymadrodd
Chwi a'u medrech yn berffaith ;
Gyrwch air hygar o'ch iaith,
I'm sirio, rymus araith."
The Rev. P. B. Williams thinks that this bard lived at Rhiw-
aedog, near Bala, and that he and his sons were buried at Llanfor,
and not at Llannor in Lleyn. There is, however, a Cfywedog in
Mawddwy. It is the name of a small stream which runs into the
Dovey, near Mallwyd. There were two other bards from that
locality, leuan Clywedog, and Sion leuan Clywedog. 1
In reply to his pathetic appeal to his sons to send him a
message, Wat tin Clywedog conceives in imagination the following
message :
" Siriwch, gobeithiwch bob avvr yn ufudd
Am y nefol drysawr ;
Llawenydd a fo yn Llannawr
Llawen vm ni yn Haw 'Nuw mawr.
Ffarwel, dad, a'n gwlad, fe glodd Duw arnom
Deyrnas lle'n coronodd ;
Gweled yr ym, golud rodd,
Wyneb Brenin a'n prynodd."
It will be seen from these lines that Watcin Clywedog was a
skilful bard, especially in composing englynion.
Thomas Llwyd o Benmaen, a Quaker bard, flourished
in the reign of Charles II. It is not known to which Penmaen
he belonged. There is one near Dolgelley, and another near
Machynlleth. One of his fellow bards wrote to him to try to
dissuade him from his Quaker views, praising his poetic skill and
advising him to return to the fold of the Church. To this
Thomas Llwyd replied :
" Euog a rhanog a rheiny a fiim,
Wyf yma'n chwennychu
1 Gwaith G-wallter Mechain, \. (See footnote, p. 463).
2 8 7
Adferawl edifaru
Am ffolion arferion fu.
Paul glan ar eiriau a roes, yn fynych,
Yn fenaid ddychryn-loes ;
' A hauo dyn hyd ei einioes,
A feda ef wedi oes.'
Gochelaf, ciliaf, rhag caled gpdwm
Gyda'r byd sy'n cerdded ;
Ceisiaf newyddaf nodded,
Ganlyn Crist, goleuni Cred." '
Matthew Owen, who is styled at the end of one of his
poems in the Blodeitgerdd " Matthew Owen, o Lan Garw Gwyn,
pan oedd yn Rhydychain," 2 composed four poems which have
found their way into that work. The first is entitled Hanes y
Cymry. He traces them back to Caer-Droya (Troy), and brings
in all the prominent personages, real and imaginary, who figured,
in the history of Cambria from mythological times to his own day.
Taliesin, Gildas, Isidore, Bishop of Sevile ; Giraldus, Sir John
Prys, Humphrey Llwyd, John Stow, John Bale, Dr. loan Gwent
(Sion Cent), Dr. Dafydd.Powel, Dr. Pezron, Mr. Elis ap Elis, Mr.
Theophilus Evans, Thomas Williams oes Lyfr, Dafydd Jones,
Ficar, Edmund Prys, William Phylip, and Edward Llwyd, are
cited as authorities for the contents of each stanza, respectively,
in this strange medley of history and myth, which is certainly one
of the quaintest poems in the Blodeugerdd.
Of his next effusion, which is entitled Dull o ymddiddan
rhwng dwy chivaer am Wra, it is stated that Matthew Owen o
blwyf Llangar, wrote " dros y meibion" and William Prys
Dafydd, "dros y merched" and the poem is dated 1660. The
following stanza gives an idea of the treatment of the theme :
" Merch a dorrodd Adda i lavvr,
A merch a dwyllodd Samson gavvr,
O achos merch oedd deg ei gwawr,
Yr aeth Troia fawr yn wreichion !
A merched gynt a feddwodd Lot,
Wrth fethu canffot dynion,
A oni adwaenoch ferch ddi fai,
Rhowch ogan llai i'r meibion."
1 Givaitk Gwallter Mechain, i., p. 439. 2 Blodeugerdd^ p. 389.
THE POETRY OF THE PERIOD
The third poem is entitled Deisyfiad un am s,ael Physig gan ft
gatiad. The bard suffers from the disease, which is as old as
the world, and tells the object of his affections that the herbs for
its cure grow only in her garden of love :
" Nid oes dim all safio mywyd,
Ond a wnelo chwi fy amvylyd,
O'ch hynaws gelfyddyd eich hunan,
I mae'r holl lysiau ond eu ceisio
Yn eich gerddi chwi 'n blodeuo,
Nid rhaid i chwi wario mo'ch arian."
The fourth poem is entitled " Carol Plygain Croniclaidd, yn
mynegi Ganedigaeth a Dioddefaint IESU ; a hanes y Cymry o'u
dechreuad." It opens :
" Gwasgwn bawb ein pennau ynghyd,
Tiwy gwbl fryd, gu frodyr;
I foli'r haeldad, rhoddiad rhwydd,
Yr hylwydd Arglwydd eglur.
Ond hwn yw'r gwyliau goreu a gaed,
Er pan wnaed eneidiau ?
Yganwyd gwir fab Duw ei hun,
Eill roi pob djn o'i boenau."
He then proceeds to relate the early legends concerning Britain,
and fixes the coming of Brutus in 1108 B.C. :
<c Un cant ar ddeg ag wyth mlwydd gu,
Cyn geni yr lesu rasol."
Then he works through the dispensation of the prophets to the
coming of Christ in the year of the world, 4,000 :
" Ac oed y byd at bedair mil,
Y caed o'i hil, Duw'r hylwydd."
Then are recorded all the events accompanying the Nativity, the
Crucifixion, and the bringing of the Gospel to Britain by Joseph
of Arimathea :
" A'r Joseph hwn addaeth cyn hir,
I rodio breudir Biydain
Gan roi'r efengyl i'w mawrhau,
Rhyd temlau caerau cywrain "
And the conversion of Lucius or Les to Christianity in 180 A.D.
is next related :
" A chynta brenin uwch y gwydd,
A drodd i'r ffydd gris'nogaidd ;
Oedd pen iheolwr Biydain o'r dlws,
A'i henw Liwsiws, Iwysaidd."
289
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
He mentions Elen (Helen Luyddawg) bringing the Cross to
Britain Sept. 14, 320 A.D., the Devotion of 'King Arthur to
Christianity, and his strict observance of the Christian festivals ;
the rising of the Sects who neglected them, and his own deter-
mination to resist their indifference in this respect, especially to
the observance of Christmas :
" Ond cododd Sectau yr oes hon,
Can wadu yr gwiwlon wyliau ;
Pa mwya gablo nhwy ar hwn,
Yn fwy moliannwn ninnau."
He finishes this quaint mixture of sacred and profane history,
fact and fancy, by commending his carol to the men of Gwynedd :
" Trigolion Gwynedd Iwysaidd lu,
Er mwyn difyrru'r gwylie ;
Derbyniwch hwn i'r lawen wlad,
O ffyddlon ganiad Jifatthe.
His englyn to Huw and Edward Morus distinguishes between the
two bards thus :
" Mae dyfais fawrgais ofergerdd gan Hu-w
I ymhoewi mewn ^zya/gerdd ;
Caniadau pynciau pencerdd,
Ned a. gan enaid y gerdd."
But Matthew Owen was not an unprejudiced authority, where
Huw Morus was concerned.
Lewis Owen, o Dyddyn y Garreg, who was mentioned
above in connection with Sion Dafydd Las, has one composition
in the Blodeugerdd, entitled Sesiwn gwr ifangc am ei Gariad. It
is an appleal to his Venus, whom he conceives as a Justice sitting
on the Bench, to hear his plea for mercy :
" Rwy yma fel carcharor, mewn cyflwr blin o'ch blaen,
Yn deisyf barn neu bardwn drwy bur opiniwn plaen,
A Chi-wpit Arglwydd Ffansi, hwn ydyw Siri y serch,
A chwithau'n eiste'n Ustiis, liardd fedrus foddus ferch,
Da'i medrwch seren eglur, a'ch synwyr drin eich swydd,
Cyfiawnder gnu new ch yn iach chwi a'm cewch a thrugarhewch yn
rhwydd."
Elis Cadwaladr was a bard of Edeirnion, between Corwen
and Bala, in Merionethshire. Four of his poems are published
in the Blodeugerdd. The first is entitled Carol Plygain i foliannu
Duw, and is dated 1703. It follows the usual lines of carols of
290
THE POETRY OF THE PERIOD
the time in summarising Bible history from the Creation to the
end of Christ's work in the Redemption of the world, and contains
an attack on Roman/an/0/w :
" Nid Pab nag aur ddelwau sydd deilwng i faddeu,
Ni chadw ein Eneidiau am ein beiau yn y byd "
and ends with an invocation to God to preserve the Queen and
to save England from Rome :
" Duw cadw'r Dwysoges, sef Ann ein Brenhines,
Rhag twyll a drwg fales, er mawrlles, Amen.
A nertha ni yn unig a'th law fendigedig,
Rhag dirmyg a Rhyfyg gwyr Rhufen."
The second is also a carol entitled Carol P/ygain ifoliannu
Duw, and is much on the same lines.
The third is entitled Ymddiddan rhwng Dyn a Chydwybod^
bob yn Ail Penill, and is a reflection concerning the claims of
conscience from the standpoint of Christianity. His last poem is
entitled Clod i Ferch, in which he brings in the lady's name,
Margaret Anwyl, in a kind of acrostic, and asserts that it would
take the combined skill of Virgil, Horace, Orpheus, and the nine
Muses, to describe her. His own description is, in part, as
follows :
" Y hi ydi'r Ian flodeu yn damasg,
Lluneiddwasg feinwasg fwyn,
Drych o Fernvs wych o fonedd,
A'r decca ei gwedd a'r dwyn ;
Nis gwn i pwy o fil neu fwy,
A'i comparia yn nyddiau nwy,
Am eiriau mel lle'r el lliw'r wy."
(b) ENGLISH AND LATIN POEMS
William Vaughan, son of W. Vaughan, of Golden Grove,
in Carmarthenshire, and younger brother of Sir John Vaughan,
first Earl of Carbery, was born in 1577, and entered Jesus College,
Oxford, 1591, at the age of 14.' After leaving Oxford, he had a
varied and interesting career and travelled on the Continent,
visiting Vienna and other towns. He afterwards became the
chief undertaker of the plantation in Cambriol, the southernmost
Oxou : i. s pp. 45Q^
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
part of Newfoundland, afterwards called by some Britaniola, an
enterprise into which he threw himself wholeheartedly, neither
sparing his pen, purse, nor person.
His works, as given in the Athena Oxonienses, are as follows :
1. " EP12TOIIAIFXIOX Piuni continens canticum canticorum
Solomonis, & Psalmos aliquot selectiores, una cum quibus-
dam aliis poematis e Sacra; Scripture fontibus petitis. Lond.
I597-"
2. " Eletna eratulatoria in honorem illustriss. Herois Carol!
o o
Howard Comitis Nottingham 23 Oct. 1597 meretiss.
creati. :;
Both the above were printed together.
3. " Varia Poernata de Sphaerarum ordine &c. Lond. 1589."
4. " Poemata Continent. Encom. Roberti Comitis Essex. 1598."
5. " The Golden Grove Moralized, in 3 books. A work very
necessary for all such as would know how to govern them-
selves, their houses, or their country." Lond. 1600, and
1608. This book, which is written in prose, was commended
to the world, Wood states, "by some Poets, or at least
pretenders to poetry, then (1600) living in the University,
as Dr. John Williams, Margaret Professor ; Will. Osbourne,
one of the Proctors: Hen. Price, B.D., St. John's College;
Griffith Powel, of Jesus ; John Budden, LI. I)., Nich. Lang-
ford and Tho. Came, M.A.'s ; Gabriel Powel, B.A., Sam.
Powel, Tho. Storer, John Rawlinson, M.A.'s, &c., &c."
6. " Cambrensium Caroleia. Quibus nuptiae regales celebran-
tur, memoria regis pacifici renovatur, & pnecepta necessaria
ad rempub. nostrum fa^liciter administrandum intexunter :
reportata a Colchide Cambriola ex australissima Novae
Terrae plaga. Lond. 1625."
This is a Latin poem dedicated by Vaughan under the name
Orpheus Junior to Charles I.
7. " The Golden Fleece, divided into three parts, under which
are discovered the errors of Religion, the vices and decays of
the. Kingdom, .\:c., Lond, 1626." This is a prose work.
THE POETRY OF THE PERIOD
The year of William Vaugharvs death is not known, but he
was living at Cambriol in 1628.
Sir John Stradling, the son of Francis Stradling, was born
near Bristow, in Somersetshire, but descended from an ancient
and knightly family living at St. Donat's, Glamorganshire. He
was educated under Edward Green, Prebendary of the Cathedral
at Bristol, entered Brasnose College, Oxford, in 1579, aged 16.
In 1583 he took his B.A. degree, as member of Magdalen Hall,
" being then accounted a miracle for his forwardness in learning
and pregnancy of parts." ' He afterwards travelled, and later
jqined the Inns of Court, and was much admired by the learned
Camden, Sir John Harrington, the poet ; Thomas Leyson, and
above all by Dr. John Dafydd Rhys, the noted physician,
grammarian, and critic. His first work entitled DC vita et morte
contemncnda, which is written in three books and addressed to his
uncle, Sir Edward Stradling, of St. Donat's, was printed at
Frankfort, in 1597. In 1607 he published Epi^rammatitm Libri
Qitatuorf printed in London ; and two years later he succeeded
his uncle at St. Donat's Castle, took up his residence there, and
was made a baronet in 1611. For some years subsequently he
was so involved in affairs, in which he was highly esteemed for
his wisdom and learning, that he gave up writing. But towards
the end of the reign of James I. he published, in 1623, a Divine
Poem entitled Beati Pacifid. This was perused by the King and
printed by authority. Upon the accession of Charles I., he
published Divine Poems in seven several Classes, which were
addressed to Charles, in 1625. At the end of this work is an
Epitaph made by him on James I. In 1625 he was Knight of
the shire of Glamorgan. He died in 1637.3
John Owen or Audoenus was the most noted epigram-
matist of his age. He was born at Llanarmon, in Carnarvonshire,
and was the third son of Thomas Owen, of Plasdu, in that
1 Ath : Oxon : 5., p. 429. 2 This was principally addressed to his friends
and relatives in Glamorganshire, and contains various historical notices of
interest. See William? Eminent Welshmen. 3 Traherne's Slradling Corres-
pondence (1840)
293
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
parish ; educated at Winchester School, and afterwards at New
College, Oxford, where he became Fellow, in 1584, and B.C.L. in
1590. He adopted the scholastic profession, and taught school
first at Trelech, near Monmouth, and afterwards, 1594, at
Warwick, in the school founded by Henry VIII. Wood states
that he was a person endowed with several gifts, and especially
with the faculty of poetry, which made him famous for those
books of Epigrams which he published, " Wherein an ingenious
liberty of joking being by him used, was, and is now, with some,
especially foreigners, not a little pleasing and delightful." " He
was distinguished for his perfect knowledge of Latin, and his
Epigrams written in that language were universally admired, and
obtained for him great celebrity, but fame was his only reward'
for he was, unfortunately, to quote Wood again, " troubled with
the disease which attends Poets indigence." 2 Some of his
indigence might have been due to his great expectations from a
rich uncle, but owing to his pungent epigram against the Church
of Rome, he w r as struck out of his will, and the book was placed
on the Index Expnrgatorius.^> He was received into the patron-
age of Bishop John Williams, of Lincoln, afterwards Archbishop
of York, who was his countryman and kinsman, and who for
several years kept him above want. He died in 1622, and was
buried at St. Paul's Cathedral, where a monument was erected to
his memory by Archbishop Williams.
His writings are :
1. " Epigrammatum lib. 3. ad Mariam Nevill comitis Dorcestriae
filiam dicati. Lond. 1606. oct." Printed twice in that
year.
2. " Epigrammatum lib. singularis ; ad doctissimam heroinam
D. Arabellam Stewart."
3. " Epigram, lib. 3 ad Hen. Principem Cambriae duae ; ad
Carolum Ebor. unus."
4. " Epigram, ad tres M?ecenates libri tres. Ad Car. Noel Eq. &
1 A then : Oxon: i., pp. 400-1. 2 The Oxford historian sometimes made
sweeping generalisations of this kind. 3 Williams' Eminent Welshmen, p 277.
294
THE POETRY OF THE PERIOD
Baronettum, unus, Ad Gul. Sedley Eq. & Bar. alter.
Ad Rog. Owen Eq. aur. tertius."
5. " Monastica qusedam Ethica & Politica veterum sapientium."
They were all published later in one volume, not only in
England, but beyond the seas. In 1619, John Vicars, usher of
Christ's Hospital, in London, a Puritanical poet, translated a
select number of them from several books then extant into
English verse, and printed them in London in that year. In
1659, Thomas Pecke, of the Inner Temple, translated six hundred
of Owen's Epigrams into English verse. He printed them with
Martial de Spectaadis and the most select epigrams of Sir Thomas
More, under the title Parnassi Puerperium, in London. 1659.
Thomas Harvey, at a later date, also translated most of them into
English.
The first Latin impressions were greedily bought by European
scholars, and carried beyond the seas. They subsequently came
under the scrutiny of Roman Catholic inquisitors, who considered
that they contained heretical and dangerous matter, and more
especially for the two following lines, they listed Owen's work in
the Index Expurgatorius :
" An Petrus fuerit Romae, sub judice lisest."
" Simonum Romae, nemo fuisse negat."
These verses also cost him his inheritance, as stated above. His
monument in St. Paul's Cathedral is erected on a pillar next to the
Consistory Stairs, with his Effigies (a shoulder- piece in brass)
crowned with laurel, and an inscription in six verses, the two first
of which read :
" Parva tihi statua est, quia parva statura, supellex
Parva, volat parvus magna per ora liber."
Spanish translations of John Owen's Epigrams were published
in 1674 and 1682, and a French version in 1709.
Epigrams in memory of John Owen were written by John
Stradling and John Dunbar.
Hugh Holland, the son of Robert Holland, of Denbigh,
was born in that town, and educated first at Westminster School,
295
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
under Camden, and subsequently at Trinity College, Cambridge,
which he entered in 1589, and of which he became Fellow. 1 He
travelled much abroad, and visited Italy, and thence made a
pilgrimage to Jerusalem " to do the devotions." 2 At Rome he
had given vent to his political and religious sentiments, and
returning via Constantinople, he was called to account at that
place by Sir Thomas Glover, the British Ambassador there, for
disparaging Queen Elizabeth, and cast into prison.3 He returned
to Oxford and spent some years of his life at Balliol College, but
was unable to obtain any preferment, perhaps, owing to his
political bias. He was a good English and Latin poet, and there
were some who ranked him with Spenser and Sidney.* Wood's
estimate of him was that he was " no bad English but an
excellent Latin poet.'' He wrote :
1. " Verses in description of the Chief Cities of Europe."
2. " Chronicle of Queen Elizabeth's Reign."
3. " Life of William Camden, Clarenceaux King of Armes,"
published in London eight years after his death.
4. " A Cypress Garland for the sacred forehead of the late
Sovereign King James. Lond. 1625." A Poem.
Hugh Holland died at Westminster in 1633, and was buried
amongst the poets in the Abbey Church. Upon his monument
is inscribed " Miserimus peccator, musarum et amicitiarum cultor
sanctissimus.''
John Davies of Hereford (? 1618) was an Oxford man,
and his record is given by Wood, 5 but he omits to mention his
college. He states of him that he was " more Poet than Scholar."
He set up as a writing-master in London and was there esteemed
"the greatest master of his pen that England in his age beheld." 6
At his death "he was exceeded by Gethin [? Gethin] his country-
man and scholar." ^ Anthony Wood adds that John Davies
' The Hollands came, it is believed, from a place in Lancashire called
Holland, which is mentioned by William Camden. Writing of IVi^in he
says, "Haid by Holland shewcth itself." Ancient and Modern Denbigh, p.
2O1. ~ Athen : Oxon : i., pp. 498-9. 3 Williams' Eminent Welshmen, p. 219.
See also Ancient and Modern Denbigh, p. 203. 4 ibid. 5 Athen : Oxon : i.
pp., 377-8. 6 ibid. 7 ibid.
296
THE POETRY OF THE PERIOD
"could flourish matter with his fancy as well as letters with his
pen." His writings are:
1. "Mirum in Modo." A Poem. 1602 and 1616.
2. Microcosmos." A Poem. 1603.
3. "The Holy Roode of Christ's Cross." 1609.
4. "Sonnets."
5. "The triumph of Death." 1603.
6. "Wits Pilgrimage."
7. "The Muses' Tears for the loss of their hope, the heroic and
never too much praised Henry, Prince of Wales." 1613.
8. "Time's Sobs for his [Prince Henry's] untimely loss."
There is also "a large copy of his verses before Philemon
Holland's translation of Camden's Britannia^ He died in 1618.
Henry Vaughan, called the Silurist, was born at
Skethrog, Brecon, April 17, 1622. He was taught for six years
by one, Matthew Herbert, a noted schoolmaster of his time,
rector of Llangattock, and afterwards entered Jesus College,
Oxford, in 1638; but soon after the Civil Wars began, he left the
University, as Wood says, " to the horror of all good men, was
called home, and followed the pleasant paths of Poetry and
Philology." 2 He afterwards studied medicine and became
eminent in that profession.
His most valued work is that entitled Olor Iscanus, which
was published in 1650-51, in London. It consists of a collection
of some select poems. Another production was Si lex Sd/itilla/ts,
or, the Bleeding Heart, 1650, which consists of "Sacred Poems
and Ejaculations," in two Books. With the second edition of
this work, which was published in 1652, are found other poems
entitled The Mount of Olives, or, Solitary Devotions. Many of
his poems were collected and published under the title Thalia
Rediviva, in 1678, by his friends. The poet himself had fallen
into bad health and had retired to his birthplace, Skethrog, where
he devoted himself wholly to piety, living in the greatest seclusion.
1 Atken : Oxon : i., pp. 377-8. * ibid, ii., pp. 926-7. Wood gives the
place of his birth as Newton St. Bridget, lying on the river /sea, commonly
called
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
He translated from Latin into English many works, the chief of
which were:
1. "Of the benefit we may get from our Enemies," a discourse
originally written in Greek, but translated into Latin by Dr.
John Rainolds, of Christ Church, Oxford.
2. "Of the Diseases of the Mind and Body," also a Greek work
put into Latin by the same Oxford Scholar.
3. "Of the Diseases of the Mind and of the Body, and which
of them is most pernicious," also translated from the Greek
into Latin, by Dr. Rainolds.
4. " The Blessed State of Man," a work of Archbishop Anselm.
This translation was printed with The Mount of Olives.
5. " Two excellent Discourses : (a) Of Temperance and
Patience, (b) Of Life and Death." London, 1654.
6. " The World contemn'd."
7. " Hermetical Physic : or, the right way to preserve and
restore health," 1655.
He also translated from Spanish into English, The Praise and
Happiness of the Country Life, written originally by Guevara,
Bishop of Carthagena. This is also printed with Olor Iscanus.
Vaughan also published The Life of Paulimts, Bishop of
Nola, collected out of his own writings and other primitive
authors. This work with Two excellent Discourses and The World
contemned were published together under the title Flores Solitudinis,
Henry Vaughan died at Skethrog in 1695, and was buried in the
parish church of Llansantffraid, near Brecon.
The following lines are a worthy example of the strong faith
which permeates Henry Vaughan's poems :
" Death and darkness, get you packing,
Nothing now to man is lacking ;
All your triumphs now are ended,
And what Adam marr'd is mended ;
Graves are beds now for the weary,
Death a nap, to wake more merry ;
Youth now, full of pious duty,
Seeks in thee for perfect beauty ;
The weak and aged, tired with length
Of days, from Thee look for new strength ;
298
THE POETRY OF THE PERIOD
And infants with Thy pangs contest
As pleasant as if with the breast.
Then unto Him, who thus hath thrown
Even to contempt Thy Kingdom down,
And by His blood did us advance
Unto His own inheritance ;
To Him be glory, power, praise,
From this unto the last of days."
Another poet- physician of this century was Thomas
Leyson, who was born at Neath, in Glamorganshire, educated
at Winchester School, and afterwards at New College, Oxford, in
1569, where he became Perpetual Fellow. After taking degrees
in Arts, he entered upon Physic, 1 and in 1583 was Proctor of the
University. He afterwards settled as a physician in the city of
Bath, and became as celebrated there for his skill in that pro-
fession as he had been at Oxford for his Latin poems.
He wrote in Latin a poem describing the site and beauty of
St. Donat's Castle, which afterwards came under the notice of
Dr. John Dafydd Rhys, who styled it Venestum Poema, translated
it into Welsh, and said of its author that he was Vir cum rei
mediae, turn Poetices meritissimus. Wood informs us that he had
seen much of his poetry scattered in several books, and that Sir
John Harrington, the famous Epigrammatist, had an especial
respect for Leyson's learning, and so had Sir Edward Stradling,
of St. Donat's Castle. John Stradling wrote several Epigrams to
him. Thomas Leyson died at Bath about 1607. The Athena
Oxonienses remarks that he had written "divers other things,"
and gives this on^the authority " of several scholars from Wales."
1 Athena Oxon : i., pp. 295-6.
299
CHAPTER IV
GRAMMAR AND LEXICOGRAPHY
IN the seventeenth century there were many Welshmen who
contributed in their several ways to this important branch of
learning. Amongst them the leading figures were Dr. Thomas
Williams and Dr. John Davies. But others, not so outstanding,
also rendered valuable service.
Henry Perry (or Parry), 1561-1617, "a Welshman born," 1 as
Wood describes him, was educated at Gloucester Hall, Oxford,*
where he took the B.A. degree in 1580, M.A. in 1583, B.D. as a
member of Jesus College, in 1597. After travelling much abroad,
he became chaplain to Sir Richard Bulkeley, of Beaumaris. He
married the daughter of Robert Vaughan, of that town. 3 In
1 60 1 he became rector of Rhoscolyn. in Anglesey, a living which
he vacated in 1606, when he accepted the rectory of Trefdraeth,
in the same county. In 1 6 1 2 he was made a canon of Bangor,
and in 1613 he received the living of Llanfachreth, Anglesey.
His chief work is Egluryn Phraethineb. Sebh, Dosparth ar Retoreg,
i/n o'r saith gelbhydhyd,yn dysgu Ihuniaith ymadrodh, cCi pherthyn-
asau, 1595. This work has been erroneously attributed to William
Salesbury, who had left in manuscript a short collection of the
Figures of Syntax. Salesbury's work, however, is of a totally
different nature. Henry Perry prepared the Egluryn at the request
of his patron, Sir John Salesbury, of Lleweni, who probably shared
in the expense of its publication. There are prefixed to this work
verses in Greek, Latin, English, and Welsh, in praise of the author,
by David Roberts (son of Robert Morris, and brother of Lewis
Anwyl, of Park, in Merionethshire), Henry Holland, William
Middleton, Ludowic Lloyd, William Matthew, William Parkins,
Hugh Lewis, and Henry Salesbury. Dr. Davies, in his Grammar,
page 213, has this note in reference to Henry Perry's work : " De
figuris syntaxces Consule Wilhelmi Salisburie, Rhetoricaem ab
1 In Bishop Humphreys' Additions p. 252, he states, on the authority of
Henry Perry's son-in-law, that he was hotn in Flintshire. - At hen : Oxoii : i.,
p. 252. 3 Cambrian Register, 1795, p. 156.
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Henrico Ferris interpolatam et in lucem editam." Two editions
have since appeared, one in 1805-7 in the Greal, and the other
in 1829.
Dr. John Davies states in his preface to Dictionarium
Britannico-Latinum that he was indebted amongst others, whom
he names, to Henry Perry, the reference to whom is as follows :
" Henricus Perrius vir Linguarum cognitione insignis" from
which it is reasonable to conclude, as Wood and Canon Williams
have done, that Perry had left in manuscript or other form a
Welsh Dictionary, which the learned rector of Mallwyd had found
useful in the compilation of his important work. Henry Perry
died in 1617, for under the date December 3oth of that year
Bishop Humphreys records that one " William Hill was installed
to the canonry at Bangor, then void by the death of Henry Perry." I
Dr. Davies also mentions his indebtedness to Henry
Salesbury, whom he styles " Henricus Salesburius, artium
Magister Oxoniensis, medicus etiam doctis annumerandus."
Henry Salesbury was a noted physician and antiquary who be-
longed to a branch of the ancient Salesbury family of Lleweni, and
was born at Dolbelider, in Denbighshire, in 1561. He was entered
as a commoner at St. Alban's Hall, Oxford, in 1581, and after
taking a degree in arts, he proceeded to study medicine, and after-
wards settled in practice at Denbigh. The "History of Oxford
Writers " describes him as an " eminent physician and a curious
critic especially in the Antiquities and Language of his country." a
His only published work is a Welsh Grammar, entitled Grammatica
Britannica, which was printed in London in 1593, and dedicated
to Henry, Earl of Pembroke. He had also compiled a Welsh-
Latin Dictionary, which was, however, never published, but which
came into the hands of Dr. John Davies, who acknowledges the
use he made of it. Henry Salesbury was a fellow townsman and
contemporary of Hugh Holland. 3
Hugh Lloyd, a native of Lleyn, in Carnarvonshire, was a
most admired grammarian, who died in the early part of the 1 7th
1 Humphreys' Additions, p. 252. *Athen : Oxon : i., pp. 226-7. ^Ancient
and Modern Denbigh, p. 204.
304
GRAMMAR AND LEXICOGRAPHY
century. He had been educated at Winchester School, and after-
wards became Fellow of New College, Oxford, in 1564. In 1578
he was made Chancellor of Rochester, being then B.C.L. 1 He
afterwards proceeded to his old school as Master, and was esteemed
for his profouud knowledge of the Classics, and of Divinity and
Civil Law. In 1588 he took the degree of D.C.L. at Oxford, his
brother, John Lloyd, Fellow of All Souls, and Judge of the
Admiralty, also taking the same distinction. He died in 1601.
One of his printed works is entitled " Phrases Elegantiorcs ex
Csesaris Commentariis, Cicerone Aliisque, in usum Scholar
Winton." This was published at Oxford in 1654, more than half
a century after his death.
Owen Price, a native of Montgomeryshire, was put in as
Scholar of Jesus College, Oxford, by the Parliamentary Visitors in
i648, 2 and remained there four years, when he was called to the
charge of a public school in Wales, and there he taught Pres-
byterian principles. In 1655 he returned to Oxford and became
Student of Christ Church. He took degrees in Arts, and was
made Master of the Free School, near Magdalen College. His
acknowledged skill in teaching drew many youths to the school.
He was ejected at the Restoration, and afterwards taught school
in Devonshire and other places. He was a noted professor in the
art of pedagogy, and his publications deal with the teaching of
orthography, in which branch of grammar he had made himself
an expert. In 1665 he published " The Vocal Orga/i, a new art
of teaching orthography by observing the instruments of pronun-
ciation." This was followed in 1670 by "English Orthography."
Owen Price died in 1671.
Nicholas Lloyd was born at Holton, in Flintshire, educated
at Winchester School, admitted Scholar of Wadham College,
Oxford, from Hart Hall, 1653, aged nineteen, and afterwards
became Fellow of his College and M.A. In 1665, when the
Warden of that College was raised to the See of Oxford, Lloyd
'Athcn: Oxon : i., pp. 268-9. 'ibid, ii., p. 490; Williams' Eminent
Welshmen^ p. 417.
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
became his chaplain, being at that time Rector of St. Martin's,
Oxford. He was subsequently preferred by the same Bishop,
Dr. Blandford, in 1672, to the Rectory of Newington St. Mary,
near Lambeth, in Surrey, and remained there until his death in
1680. He wrote :
" Dictionarium Historicum, Geographicum, Poeticum, gentium,
hominum, deorum gentilium, regionum, insularum, locorum,
civitatum, &c., ad sacras et profanas historias, poetarumq. ;
fabulas intelligendas necessaria, nomina, quo decet ordine,
complectens et illustrans, &c. Oxon. 1670. folio.''
This was mostly taken from the Dictionaries of Car. Stephanas and
Phil. FerrariusS Lloyd, who was a profound scholar and great
reader, afterwards made numerous additions to this work, with
many corrections, and the second edition, published in London
in 1686, after the author's death, and to which was added a
Geographical Index, was considered a very valuable work.
Mr. Nicholas Lloyd was buried in the chancel of his church
at Newington, and left behind him, Wood remarks, " the
character of a harmless, quiet man, and of an excellent
Philologist." *
Edward Stradling was the son of Sir Thomas Stradling,
Knight, by Catherine his wife, and was born in the ancient home
of the Stradlings, at St. Donat's Castle, in Glamorganshire,
educated at Oxford, but left before taking a degree, and travelled
widely on the Continent. He spent some time at Rome, and on
his return settled on his patrimony and devoted himself to letters.
In 1575 he was knighted, and became a magistrate of his county,
where he devoted himself to many works for the public good.
He was above all noted for his singular knowledge of the Welsh
language and his depth of antiquarian lore. He was also one of
the foremost men of his age in encouraging literature and men of
letters, and noted for his indefatigable industry in collecting
ancient manuscripts. The library at St. Donats added greatly to
the credit and renown of that place and family. He is reputed
l Athcn ; Oxon : ii., p. 670. 2 ibid, p. 671,
306
GRAMMAR AND LEXICOGRAPHY
to have written a Welsh Grammar, 1 written mostly in Latin, .and
Wood gives the following quotation concerning this work from the
pen of "one of his Countrymen," whose name he does not
mention : " Hae institutions Grammaticae adeo concinne sunt
compositae, et omnibus suis numeris absolutae, ut nee eis addi
quicquam, nee ab eis demi, (meo judicio), quicquam poterit ; nisi
secundum hujus operis author in posterum editionem maturet."
He also wrote " The Winning of the Lordship of Glamorgan
or Morgannwc out of the Welshmen's hands, &c.," a book which
is mentioned in Towel's History of Cambria.
He died in 1609, aged 80 or more," 2 and was huried in the
chapel built by his father and dedicated to the Virgin, adjoining
the parish church of St. Donats'. He died without male issue, so
the estate passed to his next kinsman, Sir John Stradling, Kt., who
in 1 6 1 r was created baronet. From the latter was descended Sir
Edward Stradling, Bart., who was prominent in the Civil War as a
Colonel in Charles I.'s Army, and who was buried at Jesus College
Chapel in 1644.
Dr. John Dafydd Rhys (1534 ? 1617) was born at Llan-
faethlu, in Anglesey, where his father, Dafydd Rhys, was in the
service of Sir William Grufiydd, of Garreg Lwyd. His mother
had been maid to Jane Stradling (one of the St. Donat's family),
who had married Sir William Gruffydd. He entered Oxford in
1552, and was elected Student of Christ Church in 1555, in his
twenty- first year. 3 He afterwards travelled on the Continent, and
went to the University of Sienna in Tuscany, where there was a
noted medical school, and where he became a doctor in that
faculty. He was afterwards Moderator of the school at Pistoria,
in Tuscany. Wood informs us that he understood the Italian
language " as well as any native." He afterwards returned to
England and practised medicine with great success. He was also
held in high esteem by the learned men of his day for his skill as
a poet and grammarian. In particular, he studied his own native
tongue, and was one of the most talented bards and prose writers
\ Oxon\ i., pp. 299-300. =ibid. 3 ibid, p. 304,
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
of his time. His capacity as a linguist is seen in his work entitled
Rules for the obtaining of the Latin Tongue, which was written in
Italian, and printed at Venice. This was followed by a Latin
work, De Italics Lingua Prom/ntiatione, printed at Padua. The
best tribute to the work was that the Italians themselves thought
highly of it.
His greatest and most useful work for his own country was
the publication in 1592 of a Welsh Grammar, written in Latin,
and entitled Cambro-Britanniac Cymraecxve Lingua Instiittiones
et Rudimenta ad intelligend. Biblia sacra nuper in
Cambro-Bri f tannicum sermomim eleganter versa. London, 1592.
This book, which contains the rules of Welsh prosody, was
printed at the expense of Sir Edward Stradling, and is remarkable
for its wealth of illustrations from the old bards. The author was
an apt versifier himself, and often supplied original examples of
his own to explain a rule of prosody. The preface of this book
is in Welsh, and it is written in a novel orthography. The
alphabet used contains 31 letters, which represent every sound in
the Welsh language. Every digraph is formed by means of the
letter//; thus // is written Ih ; dd, dh. &c.; and he also uses
bh for/, the mutated form of b. He has two separate characters
to distinguish the two different sounds of y. There is a preface
to this Grammar, written by Humphrey Prichard, of Bangor,
sometime an Oxford scholar.
Thomas Williams, commonly known amongst his con-
temporaries as Sir Thomas ap William, 1 was a learned lexico-
grapher and physician. He was a Carnarvonshire man, and was
born at Ardde'r Myneich, at the foot of Snowdon. 3 He was
educated at Brazenose College, Oxford, where he proceeded to his
M.A. degree in 1573, and afterwards undertook the study of
medicine, graduating in that faculty. He was an excellent
pedigrean, and engaged in a very extensive work of this nature,
entitled Frif AcJiau holl Gymru Benbaladr, He began it in
1 Humphreys' Additions t p. 266. 3 Williiams' Eminent Welshmen^ pp.
537-8.
GRAMMAR AND LEXICOGRAPHY
1578, added to it in 1585, and further enlarged it in 1609. It
was not, however, printed.
Another work, which placed him in the front rank amongst
Welsh scholars, was his Lexicon Latino -Britannicum, 1604-08, a
most invaluable contribution to knowledge, and involving the
most painstaking research. It is enriched by copious extracts
from manuscript authorities, and is contained in three quarto
volumes, which form part of the valuable Hengwrt Library. Dr.
John Davies made considerable, but nothing like exhaustive, use
of this work in Part II. of his Dictionary, that entitled Latino-
Britannicum, which is but a bare index of Dr. Thomas Williams'
great work.
Another work by this author, known as Llyfr Prophwydol-
iacthau Cymraeg a Saesneg a Lladin, o law Sir Thomas Williams,
also forms part of the Hengwrt collection of manuscripts.
The title Sir prefixed to Thomas Williams' name has
reference, perhaps, to his clerical vocation. It is thought that,
besides being a medical practitioner, he was curate of Trefriw.
In the Bishop of Bangor's Visitation ; 1573, there is a record of
Sir Thomas ap William of Trefriw. 1 There is also a record that
Thomas Williams, of Trefriw, who was reputed to be a Papist,
was proceeded against at Bangor, May 23rd. 1606, the entry being,
" T/iomas Williams de Trefriw eo quod rccusat venire ad Ecclesiam?
and in 1607, " D s Tfo s W rns recusans excommunicatur."' 2
Dr. Davies makes some acknowledgment of his indebtedness
to Thomas Williams in his preface to his Dictionary, 1632, in the
following words : " Parturierunt multi, insignes quidem illi
magnique viri & prae omnibus Thomas Gufie/mus,
medicus apud suos clarus, qui sequens Latino -Brit, congessit."
The year of Thomas Williams' death is not known. He
wrote a letter to Sir John Wynn, of Gwydyr, after October
2ist, 1620.3 The latter in his correspondence with him,
1 Bishop Humphreys in his Additions to Wood's Athen<e, p. 266, thinks it
likely that he was curate of Trefriw. 2 ibid, p. 266. 3 Cambrian Register,
1795. P- 159-
309
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
in a letter written on that date, to which Thomas Williams replied,
but left his letter undated, signs himself " yr loving coyson, John
Wynn." His death had occurred before Dr. Davies wrote the
preface to his Dictionary, vrhich is dated Ultimo Maij, 1632, for
he states that all those, whose works he had consulted and used
for its compilation, were dead with the sole exception of Henry
Salesbury : " Apud hos cum opus in fermento tam diu jacuisset,
quoad mors omnes prseter unum Hen. Sal. mutare nimis
abduxisset."
Dr. Davies mentions the second part of his Dictionary as that
in which he was most indebted to Thomas Williams, and states
that he himself was entirely responsible for the first : " Alterum
Latino-Brit, illud Thomce Guil. Lexicon, ab ipso multorum
annorum labore collectum & descriptum, & nunc mea opera
castigatum & evulgatum ; Alterum Britannico-Lat. mea ipsius
industria elaboratum."
Bishop Humphreys relates a story that Thomas Williams tried
to dissuade Sir John Wynn, of Gwydyr, from attending the
Parliament of James I., when the Gunpowder Plot was discovered,
from which it was concluded that he had knowledge of that
conspiracy, and was afterwards suspected of being a Papist. 1
Dr. John Davies, of Mallwyd, was born at Llanferres, in
Denbighshire, about 1570, and was the son of Dafydd ab loan,
of Llanrhaiadr, in that county, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter
of Lewis David Lloyd. 2 He states that Robert Vaughan, of
Hengwrt, the noted antiquary, was his cousin. He was educated
at Ruthin, in what school is not certain, but it was at the institu-
tion in which Bishop Richard Parry was one of the masters.3
There was, probably, a secondary school at Ruthin before Gabriel
Goodman founded his Grammar School in 1590. In the preface
to his Dictionary, Dr. Davies states that Bishop Morgan was also
one of those to whose instruction he was indebted, although he
does not definitely state when and where it was imparted. His
'Humphreys' Additions, p. 266. 2 ibid, p. 509. 3 Williams' Eminent
Welshmen, p. 105.
310
GRAMMAR AND LEXICOGRAPHY
reference to that great scholar reads as follows: "Guilielmus
Morganus SS. Th. D. Cantabrigiensis, sacne Scripturse in Linguam
Brit, interpres fidelissmus, Ecclesiae primum Landauensis, dein
Asaphensis Prsesul vigilantissimus, cujus mihi semper dulcissimum
in ore versatur nomen, vt ad cujus Gamalielis pedes sum
educatus."
In 1589 he entered Jesus College, Oxford, 1 as Student and
took his B.A. degree in 1594, and little is known of him for the
next few years, except that he was ordained in 1594, and "studied
Divinity in the country." 2 It is evident that he had assisted
Bishop Morgan with the translation of the Bible prior to going
to Oxford. In the interval (1594-1604) he married Jane,
daughter of John Wynn, of Llwyn Ynn, the sister of Bishop
Parry's wife. In 1604 James I. preferred him to the living of
Mallwyd. That was the year in which Bishop Parry was con-
secrated Bishop of St. Asaph, and possibly Dr. Davies was
presented to Mallwyd through his influence, for about this time
he had been acting as his chaplain. In 1608 he again returned
to Oxford, and " was admitted to the reading of the Sentences, "3
as a member of Lincoln College, having been fourteen years,
as Wood informs us, " minister of God's Word, and dispensed
with for not ruling in Arts." On his return from Oxford, in 1612,
he was appointed, by the gift of Bishop Parry, to a Canonry at
St. Asaph. In 1613 he became Rector of Llanymawddwy, and
and in 1615 Sinecure Rector of Darowen, which he afterwards
exchanged for Llanfawr or Llanfor, near Bala. In 1617 he also
exchanged the canonry of St. Asaph for the prebendship of
Llannefydd, in the same diocese. It will thus be seen that he
was one of the most notable pluralists of his time, but not all
have been so deserving. In 1616 he had proceeded to a
doctorate in the faculty of Theology at Oxford. 4 Wood states
that in 1626 there was "one John Davies a Doctors son admitted
Bachelor of Arts, as a member of Gloucester Hall, which I take
to be the son of Dr. John Davies before mentioned." Bishop
i Athen \0xon: i., p, 519. Mbid, 3 ibid. 4 ibid.
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Humphreys, however, shows that Wood's surmise was incorrect.
Dr. Davies died without issue, and left his estate to his own and
his wife's nephew. (See Cambrian Register, 1795, p. 158).
In 1621 Dr. Davies published his Welsh Grammar, written
in Latin, and entitled : Antiqua Lingua. Btitannica, nunc
communiter dictae Cambro-Britannicae, a suis Cymrsecse, ab alijo
Wallicre, Rudimenta : Juxta genuinam naturalemque ipsius Linguae
Proprietatum, qua fieri potuit accurata Methodo et Brevitate
conscripta.
Londini, apud Johannem Billium Typographum Regium.
1621."
It is a book very rich in quotations from the old bards, and
has fallen under criticism 1 because it contains none from prose
literature. Gweirydd ap Rhys states that he failed to find a single
prose quotation in the whole book. It is an octavo volume, and
was printed in London.
The following quotation from his Grammar, taken from the
early part of the book, dealing with Welsh diphthongs, will serve
to illustrate the plan and method of this work :
" Prseterea, diphthongorum nonnullse apud poetas srepe
dirimuntur,
Ae, Cymraeg laes-deg o lys dyffrynt. Cyn.
A bran dda ei chymraeg
A'r lleuad aur a'r Haw dtg. LI. M. T.
Eglwys yw fal glas iaen
A drws y porth dros y pen. D. G. i Jielm" *
In the same year he also published A Catechism.
In 1632 he published his Welsh -Latin Dictionary and Latin-
Welsh Dictionary, in one book. This was the standard dictionary
of the language for over a hundred and fifty years, until Dr.
Pughe's Welsh -English Dictionary was published in 1803. Never-
theless, it was a very scanty work, and it seems, according to his
own statement, the time the learned Doctor bestowed upon it was
1 Hanes Llenyddiaeth Gymreig t p. 413. 3 Antiy* Ling. Brit. p. 39.
312
GRAMMAR AND LEXICOGRAPHY
only what he could snatch from other works, which he considered
of more importance. The title-page is as follows :
Antique j Lingua; Britannicje, | Nunc vulgo dicta? Cambro-
Britannicae, | A suis Cymraecae vel Camricse, | Ab aliis
Wallicas, j et | Linguae Latinae, | Dictionarium Duplex. |
Prius, | Britannico-Latinum, Plurimis | venerandae antiqui-
tatis Britannicae | monumentis respersum. | Posterius, |
Latino Britannicum. | Accesserunt Adagia Britannica &
plura & | emendatiora quam antehac edita. | Psal. 122. 9 |
[quoted in Hebrew] | Ecclus .33. 1 7 & 24. 34. | [quoted in
Greek]. [An illustration with the motto Cor Unum via una
inscribed.] Londini, | Impress, in a;dibus R. Young, Impensis
Joan. | Davies SS. Th. D. An. Dom. 1632.
The History of Oxford Writers informs us that the Latino-
Britannicum part of this work "was in a manner finished by
Thomas Williams, a Physician, before the year 1600. Afterwards
completed and published by Dr. Davies. I have been informed
that in the Library of MSS. sometime belonging to Robert
Vaughan, of Hengwrt, in Merionethshire, is a Welsh Dictionary
that contains about 2,000 words more than in the former. " '
Of Dr. Davies, Wood writes : " He was esteemed by the
Academicians [of Lincoln College] well versed in the History and
Antiquities of his own nation and in the Greek and Hebrew
languages, a most exact Critick, an indefatigable searcher into
ancient scripts, and well acquainted with curious and rare authors.')
The Dictionary is dedicated : " Illustrissimo Domino Carolo
Principi Walliae, &c. Serenissimi Caroli Magnae Britanniae,
Franciae, & Hiberniae Regis Filio vnico & Haeredi," and proceeds :
" Nee opportunius quicquam, Princeps Illustrissime, huic
potuit accidere Lexico, quam quod temporum & opportunitatum
Moderatoris vnici beneficio, Te jam parvulo ad prcelium exornetur.
Sic enim & Celsitudo Tua, si tenerioris aetatis curatoribus ita visum
fuerit, a cunis simul cum alijs Linguis, Antiquam etiam hanc hujus
Insulse Linguam, nunc W T allise tuae peculiarem, vel imbibere, vel
1 Atkcnis Oxonietucs, i., p. 519.
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
quse saltern qualisque sit cognoscere poterit. Nee enim Princi-
pibus indigna Linguarum cognitio : Imb Principibus solenne
semper fuit earum studium : & aliquo modo etiam necessarium
sibi duxerunt, populorum quibus aliquando erant imperaturi,
linguas ediscere. Cujus rei nullum extat illustrius nobiliusue
exemplum, quam Mithridatis Ponti & Bithyniae regis, qui viginti
duorum quibus imperabat populorum linguas probe calluit,
eosque baud vnquam per Interpretes alloquutus est. Sic etiam &
Operi huic a me consultum erit optime, si jam recens natum, &
ad pedes Tuos, Illustrissime Princeps, prouolutum, hilar! fronte in
clientelam suscipere digneris. Nam ita futurum non dubito quin,
me mox alib (quod anni monent) hinc auocando, illud Tecum per
secula senescat multa ; quoad Patris Serenissimi Regna,
Religionem, Pietatem, Fidei Christiana? defensionem, post annos
complureis ab Ipso fseliciter agendos, hgereditaria Tibi sumpseris
successione, eademque filijs nepotibusque, bonis auibus olim
aliquando tradideris. Quod cum sub alis Patrocinij Tui tamdiu
incaluerit, vires acquisierit, & ad validam adoluerit setatem, illud
Nee poterit ferrum, nee edax abolere vetustas ;
nee imber edax, aut aquilo impotens
Possit diruere, aut innumerabilis
Annorum series & fuga temporum ; '
sed extreme tandem igni, cum terral & operibus qua; in ea sunt, 2
comburendum conseruatibur. Nee est quod de Tuo, Illustrissime
Princeps, patrocinio dubitem, turn quod a tanti Principis dementia
alienissimum sit oporteat vt Diui tutelaris munus non prosstet
petentibus, turn etiam maxima quod ea semper fuerit literarum
dignitas, vt dicari sibi Principes gloriosum ducerent, nee vllum,
quamuis humillimum, literarum genus fastidirent. Nam & lulius
Pollux ad Commodum Caesarem de Grammatical, Vitruvius ad
Augustum de Architecture,, Oppianus ad Antonium de Piscibus,
Diophanes ad Deio'tarum Regem de Agricultural scripserunt. Nee
I 0vid. Mttam. Lib. 15. tiortt Cann. Lib. 3 od. vlt. " i Pet. 3. 10.
GRAMMAR AND LEXICOGRAPHY
quod vlli vnquam hominum vitio versum est, vt lucubrationes suas
Principibus consecrate auderent, sperare licet vitio vertendum mihi
Celsitudini Ture
Deuotissimo
Joan. Davies
SS. Th. D-"
This is followed by the preface under the title " Ad Lectorem
Praefatio ; ubi de Linguae Britannicae origine, aliarumque
Linguarum ortu & mutatione." In this he pays grateful acknow-
ledgment to those whose works had helped him in the compilation,
Bishop William Morgan, Henry Perry, Henry Salesbury, and
Thomas Williams have been already mentioned above. He also
pays tribute to William Salesbury, Dr. David Powel, and Dr. John
Dafydd Rhys. Of the first-named he writes: "In quorum
omnium gratiam Witielmus Salesburius, de Ecclesia linguaque
Brit, vir plurimum meritus, Dictionariolum Anglo -Brit. Regi
Henrico Octavo approbatum <Sc dedicatum, annoque salutis
humanoe 1547 impressum, edidit." His praise of Dr. David
Powel is expressed in the words : " Dauid Pouelus SS. Th. D.
historiarum Britannicarum peritissimus," and of Dr. J. D. Rhys,
^Johannes Dauid Rhesus, Doctor medicus Senensis vere doctus."
His attitude towards his task and his judgment as to its nature
and scope, he sets forth as follows : " Nee tamen istasc tam leui
manu, facilique labore, & prorsus dviSpiorl me comportasse
existimes, vt lusisse potius quam scripsisse putes. Arduo enim,
mihi crede, res est Lexicon composuisse, prjesertim linguae
alicujus vulgaris, quod vel preesenti astati facturum sit satis, multo
minus secuturis. Tantam semper exercuit, perpetuum exercebit,
in linguas tyrannidem misera & infcelix Babelis pcena, vt indies
magis magisque non in Syria sola, sed & ubique terrarum con-
fundantur,"
Then follows a page devoted to the explanation of symbols
and abbreviations used in the work, and this is followed by two
pages of Encomiastica, which are all in Latin verse, the writers
being lohan Owen, Episc. Asaphen ; lohan. Hoskins, serviens ad
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
legem, lusticiar, Westwall ; Edwardi Hughes, Archidiac. Bangor ;
Guilielmus Griffith, Legum Doctor, Cancellarius Dioecesium,
Asaphensis &r Bangorensis ; Geo. Griffith, Ecclesiae Cathedralis
Asaphen. Canonicus; David Davies, Mannavonensis In Art, Mag.;
H. Lloyd ; Tho. Canon Miles.
The Welsh -Latin part of this Dictionary was printed in 1654
at Amsterdam by Boxhorn, but the Hebrew and other comparisons
are omitted in that edition.
The Dictionary, as far as it goes, is a very learned work, and
gives some idea of the profound learning of its author. It bears
ample testimony to Wood's statement that he was steeped in the
Classics and in the ancient British tongues, and also shows that
he had a considerable knowledge of Hebrew and other Oriental
languages. The following will serve as examples of his treatment
of Welsh and Latin words respectively :
G WEST FA, Hospitium, inuitamentum. IV. S. Luc. 20. 46.
SttTrvovs reddit Gwestfaau. Rheidus a gerddo teirtref, a naw ty
ym mhob tref, heb gael na chardod na gwestfa, er ei ddal a'i ladrad
ymborth gantho, ni chrogir. K. K. Swydd y distain yw rhannu
arian y gwestfaau. K. H. Arian y gwestfaau, Nummi regalibus
caenis reddendi. Videntur fuisse pecuniarum summce quas subditi
soluebant prindpi^ pro eo guodipsum 6 suos in transits, sua quisque
vice, in hospitium excipere tenebantur"
" PR^CIPITO, ARE, Bwrw ben dra mwnwgl, torrfyngylu,
taflu i lawr yn ivysg i benn, brysio tie a'r diivedd, givneuthur peth
yn ddigyngor ac heb ystyr, prysuro, cael settling gan fry's, avympo
ben dra mwnwgl, gogwyddo tit a'r llawr."
At the end of the Dictionarium Britannico-Latinum is a
very interesting collection of the Welsh names of herbs and plants,
with their Latin equivalents, under the title Botatwlogium. " Dr.
Thomas Williams, according to Bishop Humphreys, had left in
MS. a pretty large Herbal in Latin, Welsh, and English, giving an
account of herbs and their physical virtues." 1
1 Humphreys' Additions, p. 266. Perhaps this, as well as T. W.'s
Dictionary, had come into Dr. Davies' hands.
GRAMMAR AND LEXICOGRAPHY
There is also a dedicatory letter introducing the second part, in
which he pays more hearty tribute to the work of Thomas
Williams than in the first preface : " Quod Thomas Guilielmus
medicus, Linguae Britannicse cultor sedulus, Patris tui Venerabilis,
literarum & literatorum Mecaenatis benigni, hortatu, consilio,
auxilio, beneficentizl, ante annos fere" trigenta perfecerat, ipsiusque
nomini consecrare instituerat, Dictionarium sequens Latino-
Britannicum ; jam tandem, trutinam apud me seueriorem passum,
meisque solius impensis excusam, Sc Illustrissimi, Principis Caroli
munitum patroci'nio, posthumum tuo sese offert conspectui."
At the end of Dictionarium Latino- Britannicum he gives a
collection of Welsh proverbs under the title Adagia Britannica,
before which he wrote a short letter to the Reader, in Latin and
Welsh. The latter is addressed " At yr hawddgar Gymro." He
states it is a fuller collection of Welsh Proverbs than had ever
appeared before, and marks the additions with an asterisk. He
also has a distinguishing mark for those whose meaning is obscure.
The nucleus for his collection, he obtained from a work which he
calls Mad-waith hen Gyrys o Id/, but admits his ignorance of this
author and the time in which he flourished. There is no direct
testimony that Thomas Williams' Diarhebion came into his hands,
although the latter had sent it to Sir John Wynn, of Gwydyr. (See
Note at end of chapter).
These are followed by " Y Pedair Camp ar hugain " which
he divides into " deg gwrolgamp, deg mabolgamp, a phedair o'r
gogampau."
The work ends with a list of the names of the British poets
and writers, and the dates in which they flourished, under the title :
" Authorum Britannicorum nomina & quando floruerint."
Dr. Davies' work in translating Edmund Bunney's adaptation
of Robert Parsons' Christian Directory under the title Llyfr y
Resolution, has already been noticed, as also his last work issued
in 1633 and entitled Y Llyfr Ply gain a> Cattiechism*
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
He died in 1644,* and was buried in the chancel of Mallwyd
Church, where there exists to his memory a mural tablet of white
marble containing a long Latin inscription. This tablet has not
been disturbed during the recent restoration of that venerable
fabric. Bishop Humphreys informs us that Dr. Davies, was " a
justice of the peace, and an useful magistrate, and universally
beloved and esteemed in his county. He built three bridges at
his own charge, and did other charities at Mallwyd where he lived.
He left his estate in land, to be divided between a nephew of his
own, and a son of Bishop Parry's, his wife's nephew." 2
NOTE : The story of Dr. Davies' use of Dr. Thomas Williams'
Dictionary is of considerable interest, and some correspondence
on the subject between Sir John Wynn, of Gwydyr, and Thomas
Williams, in the first place, and between the former and Dr.
Davies, of Mallwyd, in the second, throws a great deal of light on
the subject, Sir John Wynn had written to Thomas Williams,
advising him how he might get the work printed, 3 and asking him
to send him his copy of the Diarhebion, which Salesbury (pre-
sumably William Salesbury) had lost, and which, apparently now
re-written, Sir John offered to print. Thomas Williams replied :
" For the Latine and Cambrian Dictionarie, w cl ? with great laboure
and travayle, as God knoweth, I have congested and digested these
fiftie years, I see very small surtie [surety] or consideration for my
paynes, and therefore I mean not in hast." *
He added that he had never received any quid pro quo for
any of his work, and resumed, " God doth know that in the 4
years while I did write the Dictionaries, I was so instant to the
work that often when I came from the book I did not know-
many a time what day of the week it was, and soe lost my practis
that might have been a hundred pounds unto me .... and
during that time I might have pined for hunger yf it hath not been
for God and y r Worships good considerations and not to these
1 He died about May isth in that year. Bishop Humphreys states in his
Additions that his prebendship was disposed of on May a8th, vacant by his
death, p. 509. * Cambrian Register, 1795, p. 158. 3 ibid, p. 159. ibid,
p. 160.
318
GRAMMAR AND LEXICOGRAPHY
illiberal men's liberalities. The book of Diarhebion y wor. shall
see by the bearer, gathered of 2 or 3 several copies and made as
large as the former copy lost .... I beseech you keep the book
de Statibits."
It is evident that afterwards an understanding was arrived at
concerning the Dictionary, and it came into Sir John Wynn's
possession. Correspondence between him and Dr. John Davies
proves this. It will be found in the pages of the Cambrian
Register, 1796. Dr. Davies had ascertained that Sir John Wynn
had the Dictionary, and he writes : " I have long been desirous,
as I think it is not unknown to you, to see my good old friend
Sir Thomas ap William his Dictionary ; not so much for any
excellent perfection, I could conceive to be in the work, as for the
great pains I know the author had taken to gather it, and, whom,
my cousin Robert Vaughan tells me, you are pleased, I shall have
the book, upon condition, I shall see it printed ; and ascribe all
the glory to Thomas ap William, and dedicate it unto you." '
Sir John Wynn sent him the manuscript, but for some
reason Dr. John Davies never fulfilled either of these conditions.
His own Dictionary he dedicated to Charles, Prince of Wales, as
we have seen, and although he acknowledges his indebtedness for
Part II. of his Dictionary to Thomas Williams, he can hardly be
said to have " ascribed all the glory of it " to him. He certainly
did qualify his promise to Sir John Wynn with two ifs. " If I
shall see it fit for the press, I will acquaint you therewith." ....
"7/"the author have dedicated to you, his dedication shall stand."
He makes it plain to Sir John that he will not bear the expense
of publication " I know you will not expect I shall be at any
charge," and in a second letter he reiterates this : " Now who
shall bear that charge is the first thing to be considered." He
goes on to mention the need of corrections " in divers places,"
and adds : " What authority I shall have over it, lieth in your
pleasure."
The Dictionary, it would appear, was in his possession some
i Cambrian Register, 1796, p. 470.
3*9
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
considerable time, for there is evidence that Sir John Wynn grew
uneasy either about its return, or because of the delay in printing
it. Dr. Davies in his third letter to him, which is evidently a
reply, states : " As for the Dictionary, I am neither forgetful of it,
nor less than abashed, that I kept it so long, and could do so
little good in it Before you wished me to get it copied
verbatim, I had thought, as I writ before, to go over it by
abbreviating and correcting it : But, understanding your pleasure,
I went no further in that course, and, according to your will, I got
some to copy it by parts. I saw their copying of it would do no
good ; and now it lieth by me, and do nothing to it, till I know
your further pleasure. I send you herein enclosed the last sheet
of the copy you wished to be made, being the best and truest that
is written.''
This ends the correspondence with Sir John Wynn, and it is
dated, "Malloid, 15 Maii, 1625."
But there is a further letter written by Dr. Davies to Mr.
Owen Wynn, of Gwydyr. Apparently Sir John Wynn had died
in the meantime, and Dr. Davies writes : " Upon your good
father's desire, I undertook the review of the Welsh Dictionary of
Sir Thomas ap William, but I dwelt so far from your worthy father,
and my then troubles occasioned by Mr. Pigot [the man who had
delayed the delivery of the MS. from Sir John Wynn to Dr. Davies]
hindered my repair to him . . . else it had been ready long ago.
I began upon it April last [i.e. April, 1626] among other
my many businesses ; I made an end of it Saturday last [this letter
is dated 23 Jan. 1627] and shewed it to the bearer, and have much
abridged it, and in some places enlarged it ; but my own Dictionary
[i.e. the first part], which I began since the year 1593, I do but
begin to write fair, yet I hope it will be ready by the beginning of
the summer ' . . . . Sir Thomas ap William hath the Latin first,
and the Welsh following : And mine hath the Welsh first, and the
Latin after: and both will not much exceed the bulk of Sir
1 This shows that Dr. Davies meant to finish the work by the summer of
1627. It appeared in 1632.
320
GRAMMAR AND LEXICOGRAPHY
Thomas' Dictionary, as it is written by himself ... I will make
the more speed, and endeavour to be ready before midsummer."
To summarise this correspondence : Sir John Wynn wished to
have the book printed for Thomas Williams. Some arrangement
was arrived at by which the latter delivered the MS. into his hands.
Sir John thought Dr. Davies the man best qualified to see to its
publication, and intended him to copy it verbatim. Dr. Davies
considered the work too full of inaccuracies to do this. Thomas
Williams, it would seem, had died before Dr. Davies received the
MS., and during the long time it was in his possession Sir John
Wynn died. Dr. Davies, who had his own Dictionary ready, but
for the writing of a fair copy, conceived the idea of adding a
second part to his book, and for this purpose made extensive but
not exhaustive use of Thomas Williams' manuscript.
The question presents itself did Thomas .Williams' Diar-
liebion also fall into Dr. Davies' hands ? And what of the
Botanologium and the rest of the matter at the end of his book ?
These questions can only be answered when Thomas Williams'
work is given to the world, or after some competent scholar has
compared the two works. There is more than a tinge of suspicion
that the old anchorite of Trefriw, who laboured assiduously for
fifty years at his task, has not yet met with his reward at the
hands of his countrymen.
James Howell, of Abernant, whose other work has received
considerable notice in previous pages, also contributed to this part
of our subject what was, perhaps, his most celebrated work, viz.,
that entitled :
"Lexicon Tetraglotton, An English-French-Italian-Spanish
Dictionary, whereunto is adjoined a large Nomenclature of the
proper Terms (in all the fovvr) belonging to several Arts,
and Sciences, to Recreations, to Professions both Liberal
and Mechanick, &c. Divided to Fiftie two Sections ; With
another Volume of the Choicest Proverbs in all the Sayed
Toungs, (consisting of divers compleat Tomes) and the
English translated into the other Three, to take off the
321
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
reproach which useth to be cast upon Her, that She is but
barren in this point, and those Proverbs She hath, are but
flat and empty : Moreover, Ther are sundry familiar Letters
and Verses running all in Proverbs, with a particular Tome
of the British, or old Cambrian Sayed-Sawes and Adages,
which the author thought fit to annex hereunto, and make
Intelligible, for their great Antiquity and Weight : Lastly,
there are five Centuries of New Sayings, which, in tract of
Time, may serve for Proverbs to Posterity. By the Labours,
and Lucubrations of James Howell, Esq. Senesco, non
Segnesco. London, Printed by Thomas Leach." *
The Welsh part of this remarkable book has a separate title-
page, and the pages are numbered separately. The Welsh title
reads : " Diharebion Cymraeg, VVedu ei cyfieithu yn Saisoneg,
British or old Cambrian Proverbs, and Cymraecan Adages, never
Englished, (and divers never published) before." There is an
" Epistle Dedicatory to the Right Honorable, (My most endeered
Lord) Richard, Earl of Carbery, &c. At His Palace in Golden-
Grove." It is dated " London 4 Idus Martii, 1658." There is
also another dedication, " To the Knowing Reder," and " A
Letter to the Author from a worthy Gentleman, who supplied him
with som British Proverbs," written by one, Richard Owen, and
dated "Eltham in Kent, Aug. 20, 1657."
This work, which must have involved infinite labour, was of
more interest to English readers than it could have been to the
main body of Welshmen in the Principality at that time, for there
are only 48 pages of its contents in the Welsh language. It has
many inaccuracies, which show the erratic character of its author,
but, nevertheless, it proves him to have been a man of wide
interests and considerable attainments. He was certainly a man
of genius, but his undertakings were so numerous and the path of
his life so uneven, that his work correspondingly suffers. If fate
had been kinder, James Howell could have attained a position of
eminence both in Welsh and English literature, that would have
placed him in the foremost rank of litterateurs of that age.
* Llyfr, y Cymry> pp. 181-2. Hants Lltnyddiaeth Gymreig, pp. 52-3
322
CHAPTER V
MISCELLANEOUS
THERE are a few eminent Welshmen and writers whose
works do not admit of classification in the previous chapters,
but who contributed in various ways to literature and other
activities in this century.
The purpose of this chapter is " to gather up the fragments
that remain," in order to make the survey as complete as space and
opportunity will allow.
Arise Evans published a book, in 1652, relating the history
of his own strange life. Mr. J. H. Davies in his admirable little
book "Hen Ddewiniaid Cymne" published in 1901, gives an in-
teresting account of this eccentric character, and of Arise Evans'
autobiography he writes, " Nid oes odid lyfr yn yr iaith Seisnig
mor rhyfedd a hwn." The author's correct name was Rhys
Evans, and he was born at Llangelynin, near Barmouth, in 1607.
At a very early age he developed a tendency to mysticism, and
claimed to be continually seeing " visions." In 1629 he went to
London, and in one of his first " visions " there he saw the city
burned to the ground, which is, at least, strange ; for the book in
which he records this appeared in 1652, fourteen years before the
Great Fire took place. He wrote a letter to Charles I. relating
many of his weird dreams, and endeavoured to obtain an inter-
view with the King, but his purpose was thwarted. Later on he
transferred his attention to the Earl of Essex, who was more
approachable, but gave him scant encouragement. When the
Civil W T ar broke out, he was very active in London, and was
several times imprisoned.
On one occasion he predicted to Oliver Cromwell the restor-
ation of Charles II. 1 and made bold to tell the Protector, in the
presence of his daughters, that he should offer one of them in
marriage to the fugitive Prince of Wales.
He also prophesied that four more monarchs would reign in
England before a change of dynasty ; in fact, he mentioned five
1 Htn Ddewiniaid Cymrn, p. 20.
325
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
crowned heads, which, strangely enough, proved correct, when
Queen Mary, the spouse of William III. is included. The year of
Evans' death is not known, but he lived to see the Restoration,
and it is recorded that he was touched by the King for Kings
evil. The following books and pamphlets were published by him :
"The Bloudy Vision of John Farley," 1653; "An Eccho to
the Book, called a Voice from Heaven," 1653; "A Voice from
Heaven to the Commonwealth of England," 1653; "To His
Excellencie The Lord General Cromwell," 1653; "The Voice of
the Iron Rod, Being a Seasonable Admonition to Cromwell, and
to all Judicious men." 1655; "The Voice of King Charles the
Father, to Charles the Son," 1655.
There were also two men named John Evans, who
flourished as mystics and soothsayers in this period. The first is
believed to have been the author of the book called " The Palace
of Profitable Pleasure," which was published in 162 1. 1 The
second was the mentor of the notorious William Lilly, who, in his
own biography, relates much of John Evans' history, He
mentions that he was a Welshman, who had graduated at Oxford
and had held Church preferment in Staffordshire, but had ruined
himself through intemperance. In 1634 John Evans published a
book entitled, " The Universal Medecine or the Virtues of my
Magnetical or' Antimonial Cup," of which another edition appeared
in 1642. Much confusion has arisen between this John Evans
and Arise Evans, to the great disadvantage of the latter.
Richard Baxter made considerable researches in Wales as to
divination and spiritualism, and wrote a book on the subject,
entitled, " The Certainty of the Worlds of Spirits Fully evinced
by unquestionable Histories of Apparitions and Witchcrafts,
Written for the Conviction of Sadduces and Infidels By Richard
Baxter." London. i6qi. 2 A Welsh gentleman named John Lewis,
of Glasgrug, near Aberystwyth, was in frequent correspondence
with Baxter on this subject. The former, who published three
books in Welsh, two of which related to education and religion in
1 Hen Ddewiniaid Cymrt4, p. 26. 2 ibid, p. 38.
326
MISCELLANEOUS
Wales, was one of the first to conceive the idea of a National
University. In the Civil War he showed strong sympathy with
Cromwell and the Parliament." 1
Thomas Pugh, of whom nothing is known except that he
published "British and Outlandish Prophesies," in 1658, a work
which is mentioned in the first chapter of this book, was also a
mystic, as its title indicates. He wrote that work to please
Cromwell, whom he looked upon as the long-expected deliverer
of the nation, and predicted for him world -wide influence. The
Protector, however, no doubt to Thomas Pugh's discomfiture, died
within a short time of its publication.
Sir William Jones was the eldest son and heir of William
Jones, Esq., of Castellmarch, in Carnarvonshire, 2 the ancient seat
of the family, where he was born in 1566. Wood states that he
was educated first at the Free School in Beaumaris, but Canon
Williams, in his Eminent Welshmen^ denies this. Both agree that
at the age of 14 he proceeded to St. Edmund's Hall, Oxford,
and that he afterwards went to Lincoln's Inn. He was called to
the bar in 1595, became a Bencher in 1611, and was Lent Reader
in 1616. He is also said to have spent two years at Furnival's
Inn. He was M.P. for Beaumaris 1597-8, and again in 1604-11
and 1614. In 1 60 1 he sat for the county of Carnarvon. In 1617
he was made Sergeant -at -Law, and in the same year was knighted
and took up the position of Chief Justice in Ireland, a dignity
which he held for three years, and left at his own request. In
1621 he was made a Justice of the Common Pleas, in England,
and in 1623 was raised to the King's Bench. He died in his
house in Holborn in 1640, and was buried under the chapel of
Lincoln's Inn.
His writings are on legal subjects. He collected " Reports
of divers special cases in the Courts of King's Bench and
Common Pleas," which contain the cases of greatest remark
during the time he was Judge in those Courts (1622-1640). These
1 Htn DJeioiniaid Cynint, p. 45. "Athen : OJTOH : i., pp. 543-4, and
Williams' Eminent Welshmen t p. 266. See also Williams' Part, ffist. of
Princ* of H'ales*
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
were published in folio in 1675. He also published " Several
Speeches in Parliament." Sir William Jones was a distinguished
Welshman, a Counsellor of high repute, and an able Judge.
Wood informs us that "he constantly kept Oxford Circuit as
Judge."
Thomas Jones, son of Edward Jones, of Nant Eos,
Cardiganshire, was born at that place in 1618, elected Probationer
Fellow of Merton College, Oxford, in I638, 1 and after taking
his degree he travelled in France and Italy with George Brent,
son of Sir Nathan Brent, until about 1647, when he returned to
Oxford, submitted to the Parliamentary Visitors, Aug. 6, 1649,
and proceeded to his M.A. degree. He afterwards applied
himself to the study of Civil Law, and proceeded to a doctorate
in that Faculty in 1659. He was a good Greek and Hebrew
scholar, and in 1660 he published several books of Jurisprudence, 2
in which he showed great capacity. Their titles are :
1. "Oratio habita in Auditorio juridico, cum Recitationes
solennes in Titulum de Judiciis auspicatus est." Oxford,
1660.
2. "De Judiciis, ubi de Persona & Officio Judicis apud Ebraeos
& Romanes late disputatur." Printed with the former.
3. "De Origine Dominii & servitutis Theses Juridicae," also
printed with the above.
After leaving Oxford he practised in London at Doctor's
Commons. He died of the Great Plague in 1665.
John Roberts, the Benedictine, was born at Trawsfynydd,
in Merionethshire, in 1575 or 1576.3 His father, John Roberts,
a man of good lineage, was a merchant, who in his travels married
Anna, daughter of Paul Arderike, a native of the duchy of
Holstein. 4 At the age of 19 he went to St. John's College,
Oxford, the college of Laud and John Scudamore, both of whom
were contemporaries, where he matriculated in 1595-6. He left
the University in 1598, went to London, and was there admitted
1 Atken : O.wn : ii., p. 361. 2 Williams' Eminent Welshmen^ p, 262.
3 Camm's Benedictine Martyr* p. 21. 4 ibid, p. 23,
MISCELLANEOUS,
into one of the Inns of Court. In the summer of that year he
left England for a Continental tour. In Paris he got into touch
with numerous Roman Catholic exiles from England, and in the
Church of Notre Dame he was received into the Roman com-
munion. ' He afterwards met Father John Cecil, one of the first
English students at Valladolid, who was then staying in Paris.
The latter gave Roberts letters to the authorities of the seminary
at Valladolid, whence he proceeded in September, 1598, and was
admitted into the English College of St. Albans, which had been
founded in 1589-90 through the efforts of Robert Parsons, and
had by this time 53 students. In the Liber primi examinis of
that college occurs the following entry, under 1598 : "Joannes
Robert us vetdt ad hoc collegium 15 Septembris" just two days after
the death of Philip II. of Spain, a patron of that institution, and
the avowed enemy of England. Amongst the Benedictines at
Valladolid was Mark Barkworth, who afterwards, like Roberts
himself, died on the scaffold. Roberts became known to the
Benedictine Order in Spain as John de Mervinia 2 (a Latinised
form of Merioneth).
Two other Welshmen were prominent in the same institution,
viz., Augustine Baker and Leander Jones. In 1600 Roberts was
formally received into the Benedictine Order, and was ordained
priest in 1602.3 In that year, in obedience to a papal decree, he
set out for England, and arrived there just after the death of
Elizabeth in 1603, after staying some months at Paris. Lewis
Owen in his " Running Register " states that Roberts was the first
of the order to derive his Mission to England from the Pope,
" which made him not a little proud that hee should bee a second
Augustine monk." His coming had, however, been reported by a
spy, a former friend, and he was arrested and thrown into prison,
but was released as an act of grace by James I. on his arrival from
Scotland, and deported. He went to Douay, but returned in a
very short time, and did good service during the great plague
which visited England in 1603. * He was again arrested, this time
'Camm's Benedictine Martyr, pp. 42-3. - ibid, p. 86. 3 ibid, p. 133.
4 ibid, p. 157.
3 2 9
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
in the house of Thomas Percy, a conspirator in the Gunpowder
Plot, and committed to the Gatehouse prison. At the intercession
of the French ambassador, his life was spared, and he was again
deported. He remained at Douay for 14 months, and was made
first prior of St. Gregory. In 1607 he returned, was arrested,
and committed to the same prison, from which he escaped. He
was recaptured, but again deported owing to the intervention of the
French ambassador. He stayed some time in Spain, but returned
to England for the last time in 1610, just after most stringent
laws had been passed against Romanists. He was seized and put
on his trial at Newgate on Dec. 5th, 1610, before Lord Chief
Justice Coke, and other judges. Refusing to take the oath of
Allegiance, he confessed to his Orders after some pressure, was
found guilty of high treason and sentenced to death. The
sentence was consummated on Dec. loth, 1610.
Thomas Jones (Twm Shon Catty) was the natural son of
Sir John Wynn, of Gwydir, 1 by Catherine Jones, a native of
Tregaron, who lived at Llidiart y Ffynnon, in that village. 2 As a
youth he lived a life of wild adventure, and he records his
escapades in a very diverting book entitled " The Adventures of
Twm Shon Catty." Quite early in life he showed antiquarian
propensities, and these were, no doubt encouraged by Dr. John
Dafydd Rhys, with whom he became acquainted when the latter
was curate of Tregaron. Dr. Rhys took great delight in instruct-
ing the sharpwitted youth, and was much revered by him in turn.
At the age of 15, Thomas Jones was apprenticed to a farmer at
Cwm y Gwern Ddu. Here he was very harshly treated, and fell a
victim to that common pest of the time, the smallpox, to which
he nearly succumbed. He afterwards entered the Service of
Squire Graspacre, the local landowner, who had married Sir John
Wynn's sister, where his lot was considerably ameliorated. Under
Rhys' tuition his love of reading was developed, and with it came a
distaste for servitude. He played several practical jokes upon his
master, but never quite lost his favour. Amongst his adventures
1 Prichatd's edn. of Twm Skon Catty (1859), p. 8. 2 ibid, p. 9.
33
MISCELLANEOUS
were included singing ballads at Cardigan fair in the disguise of a
woman, and rescuing the lady of Ystrad Feen, in addition to
several exploits in which he got the better of highwaymen. He
afterwards went to London, and in rather a pathetic scene dis-
closed his identity to his father. His career of adventure ended
by marrying the widow of Sir George Devereux, of Ystrad Feen,
to whom he had once revealed his affection in Cywyddy Gqfid.
He built a mansion at the side of his mother's cottage, and settled
down into a respectable and useful citizen, becoming J.P. for the
county of Brecon. He was of some celebrity as an antiquary,
poet, and genealogist, and his knowledge of heraldry is said to
have been profound. He died in i62o. z
John Jones, Ll.D., entered Jesus College, Oxford, 2 in
1672, and studied Law. He afterwards practised physic at
Windsor, and became Chancellor of Llandaff. He was a man of
learning and ingenuity, and in 1683 he published a Latin treatise
on intermittent fevers. He died in 1709.
John Jones, son of John Jones, of Llanelian, in Denbigh-
shire, was entered as Student in New Inn, Oxford, in 1675, aged
20 years, and was afterwards transferred to Trinity College, from
which he took theB.A. degree in 1681. He subsequently became
Usher of the Free School at St. Alban's, in Hertfordshire, and
was esteemed a good Latin poet. He wrote :
"Fanum S. Albani Poema carmine Heroico." Lond. 1683.
and dedicated the book to Sir Hardbottle Grimstone, Master of
the Rolls. He died a young man in 1686, and as a mark of the
respect in which he was held, a public memorial was placed over
his grave at St. Alban's. 3
Walter Rumsey was born at Llanover, in Monmouth, in
1584, proceeded to Gloucester Hall, Oxford, at the age of 16,
and afterwards to Gray's Inn, where he was made Barrister,
Puncher, and Lent Reader. In 1635 he was appointed Puisne
Judge in the Brecon Circuit, and in 1637 he became Chief
Justice. He was so eminent in his profession that he was called
'Williams' Eminent W'ekhmeii, p. 262. 'ibid, p. 256. 3 Athett :
Oxon : ii. , p. 799.
331
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
" the picklock of the Law." J In 1640 he was elected one of the
Knights of the Shire for Monmouth, and entered Parliament, but
he refused to serve in the Long Parliament. He had other
pursuits besides the law, and Wood states 2 that he was a most
ingenious man, and that " he had a philosophical head and was a
good musician, and most curious for grafting, inoculating, and
planting." He invented the provang, a medical instrument made
of whalebone, to cleanse the throat and stomach. His book,
entitled Organon Salutis, 1657 and 1659, is a description of this
instrument. He added to this another work, " Divers new
experiments of the virtue of Tobacco and Coffee," to which Sir
Henry Blount and James Howell wrote commendatory Epistles.
Sir Walter Rumsey died in 1660, and was buried in the parish
church at Llanover.
Thomas Vaughan (1622-1666), twin brother of Henry
Vaughan, the Silurist, was born on April iyth, 1622, at Skethrog,
Brecon, went to school at Llangattock, where he was taught by
the rector of that parish, and received from him a sound classical
education. In 1638 he proceeded to Jesus College, Oxford, but
was disturbed by the Civil war, and returned to his native county,
where he became rector of Llansantffraid. He was ejected under
the Commonwealth, and returned to Oxford, where he became
the most famous alchemist of the day. Under the pseudonym
Eugenius Philalethes he published some most curious books.
He was also a very zealous Rosicrucian. He greatly admired the
works of Cornelius Agrippa,3 especially his Occult Philosophv.
He followed his principles in most of his books, and in matters
of philosophy he acknowledged that next to God he owed
Cornelius Agrippa all that he had. He praised him in such
poetical strains as the following :
"Nature's Apostle and her choice High Priest,
Her mystical and bright Evangelist."
He always expressed himself strongly, on the other hand,
against the Aristotelian philosophy. In religion, Wood describes
1 Williams' Eminent Welshmen, pp. 463-4. *Athen : Oxon : ii., p. 255.
3 ibid, pp. 368-70.
MISCELLANEOUS
him as " neither Papist nor Sectary, but a true resolute Protestant
in the true sense of the Church of England."
He published in 1650 " Anthroposophia TJieomagica, or, A dis-
course of the Nature of Man and his state after death grounded
on his Creator's Proto Chemistry, and verified by a practicall
Examination of Principles in the Great World. By Eugenius
Philalethes. London. Printed by T. W. for H. Blunaen at the
Castle in Cornhill. 1650."
In the same year appeared "Anitna Magica Abscondita, or, A
discourse of the universall Spirit of Nature, with his strange,
abstruse, miraculous ascent and descent. By Eugenius Philalethes.
London. Printed by T. W. for H. B. 1650."
It will be seen that his works were on abstruse subjects, and
that the author was something of a mystic and poet, in addition to
his eminence as a chemist. He also wrote " Magia Adamica, or,
The Antiquity of Magic, and "Lumen de Lumine" 1651. His
death happened in I666. 1
John Vaughan, a noted lawyer of this century, eldest son
of Edward Vaughan, of Trawscoed, was born in 1608 at Traws-
coed. in Cardiganshire, educated at the King's Grammar School
at Worcester, and was afterwards admitted to Christ's Church,
Oxford, at the age of fifteen. He was called to the bar in 1630
at the Inner Temple, made a Bencher in 1660, and obtained a
considerable practice as an advocate. He was at first more
bent, however, on his academical studies of poetry and mathe-
matics than on the study of the law. But some time afterwards,
making the acquaintance of Selden and others, he devoted
himself to the study of Civil Law, especially English Law, in
which he distinguished himself. He married Letitia, the daughter
of John Stedman, of Strata Florida, in Cardiganshire. He was a
burgess for the town of Cardigan, 1628-9 to 1640, and again from
1640 to i645- 2 I n tne latter year, disapproving of the doings of
Parliament, he retired to his native county, and remained there
'Wood gives 1665 (see Athena; Oxon : ii., pp, 253-4). Garnett and
Gossegive 1666. Hist. En^. Lit., iii., p. 64. 'Williams' Parl. Hist, of the
Print, of Wales, p. ji.
333
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
until the Restoration. At the accession of Charles II., he was
elected Knight for the County of Cardigan for the Parliament
which met in 1661, and the King took notice of his great attain-
ments and experience, and conferred upon him the honour of
knighthood. In 1668 he was sworn Sergeant -at -Law in the
Court of Chancery, and almost immediately afterwards Lord
Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, 1 which he presided over with
great dignity and legal acumen. He died in 1674, and was buried
in the Temple Church, near the grave of John Selden. In 1677,
his son Edward Vaughan published a collection of his works,
consisting of Reports and Arguments on many Special Cases,
which John Vaughan, as Lord Chief Justice, had decided in the
Court of Common Pleas. This famous judge was one of the
most accomplished men of his age. His biographer, in the
Parliamentary History of the Principality of Wales, states that
" to his great abilities ... he united a strong attachment to the
English constitution, which prevented his being too great an
advocate for the prerogatives of the Crown." He suffered con-
siderably during the Rebellion, and his petition to the King in 1666
shows that he was plundered and made to compound for his
estates, in addition to being restrained from exercising his pro-
fession as a lawyer. Some of the above details of his life have
been gleaned from the inscription over his tomb in the Temple
Church.
Sir William Williams, Knight and Baronet, of Llanforda,
Salop, and Nantyanog, Anglesey, was the eldest son of Hugh
Williams, D.D., of Llantrisant, Anglesey. He was admitted to
Jesus College, Oxford, in 1650, and became Scholar in 1652, and
afterwards went to Gray's Inn, and became a barrister in 1658.
In 1667 he was appointed Recorder of Chester, and was M.P.
for that city from 1675 to i68i. 2 In 1689-90, and again in 1695-8
he sat for Beaumaris. He was elected Speaker of the House of
Commons 1679-81. When the Popish Plot broke out he sided
with the dominant party, and after the Presbyterian Plot outbreak
l Atken : Oxon : ii., p. 536. 2 ParL ffisi. of Print, of Wales, p. n,
334
MISCELLANEOUS
in 1683, he was an ardent advocate of their cause. In 1687 he
was made Solicitor- General by James II. and received the honour
of knighthood, and afterwards in 1688, a baronetcy. He published
several speeches made in the House of Commons, 1 and amongst
them that made by himself when he was elected Speaker in 1679,
also a " Speech to His Majesty," made on the occasion of his
presentation as Speaker in 1680, and "A Speech made to Sir
Robert Peyton upon his expulsion from the House, 1680." The
language in this last oration is not above reproach. It was after-
wards published under the title, " A Specimen of the Rhetoric,
Candor, Gravity, and Ingenuity of William Williams, Speaker to
the House of Commons, in his Speech to Sir Robert Peyton."
In 1685 Williams was tried for libel for printing Thomas
Dangerfield's information, 2 given to the House, and although he
pleaded privilege of Parliament, he was fined ^10,000 by the
Court of King's Bench, but the sentence was afterwards (1688)
declared illegal. He died in 1700. His grandson became the
the first Sir Watkin Williams Wynn, Bart., of Wynnstay.
Robert Price, known as " the patriot of his native country,"
was born at Gilar, Cerrig-y- Drudion, m 1653. He was educated
at Wrexham Grammar School,3 proceeded to St. John's College,
Cambridge, in 1672, and afterwards to Lincoln's Inn. He then
perfected his education by travels in France and Italy. He
married on his return the daughter of Robert Rudd, of Foxley,
who had a considerable inheritance, and he afterwards made
Foxley his home. He became Attorney General for Glamorgan,
1684-5, f r South Wales, 1685-9, Recorder of Gloucester, 1685-7,
In 1684 he had been appointed one of the Stewards to Charles
II. 's Dowager, and in 1686 King's Counsel at Ludlow.* On the
accession of William III., he was removed from his offices, and
when the King appointed a favourite, William Bentinck, Earl of
Portland, a Dutchman, as lord of Denbigh, Bromfield, and Yale,
Robert Price took up an attitude of most determined opposition
1 Athen : Oxon : ii., p. 1092. 2 Williams' Par!. Hist, of Princ. of Wales,
p. II. 3 Williams' Welsh fudges, p. 143. * Williams' Eminent Welshmen^
p. 419.
335
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
to him, and declared that "the submitting of 1,500 freeholders
to the will of a Dutch lord was putting them in a worse posture
than their former estate." He argued that according to the " Bill
of Rights " William III. could not give away the estates of the
Prince of Wales without the consent of Parliament. The result
of his determined stand was that the King withdrew the grant to
William Eentinck. After the death of William III., Robert
Price's speech was printed, under the title, " Gloria Cambria, or,
the Speech of a bold Briton in Parliament against a Dutch Prince
of Wales." Price sat in Parliament as member for Weobley. In
1700 he was made Second Justice of Brecknock, and in 1702
Sergeant at Law. On the accession of Queen Anne he was
appointed a Baron of the Exchequer, 1702-26, and Justice of the
Comm.m Pleas, 1726-32. He died in the latter year and was
buried at Yazor Church, in Herefordshire. 1 His "Life" was
published in London in 1734.
Richard Davies, of Cloddiau Cochion, a very prominent
Quaker, was born at Welshpool in 1635. He first of all left the
Establishment and became an Independent, but afterwards, in
1657, joined the Quakers and ardently disseminated their tenets,
suffering persecution and imprisonment on that account. His
disputation with Bishop William Lloyd was, perhaps, the most
prominent public event of his life. In 1702, he with eleven
others, presented an address to the Queen in person, and on his
way home he visited Bishop Lloyd at Worcester. He wrote an
autobiography, which is very quaint and interesting. It is a curious
volume, and throws considerable light on the social state of Wales
in the seventeenth century. The work is entitled " An Account
of the Convincement, Exercises, Services, and Travels of that
ancient servant of the Lord, Richard Davies, with some relations
of ancient Friends, and the spreading of truth in North Wales,"
and it passed through six editions. Richard Davies died at
Cloddiau Cochion in 1708.-
1 See Williams' Welsh Judges, p. 143. 2 See Williams' Eminent Welsh-
men, p. no.
336
MISCELLANEOUS
Henry Rowland, Bishop of Bangor, was born at Mell-
teyrn, in Lleyn, c. 1551. He received his early education in the
school at Penllech, 1 and was admitted to St. Mary's Hall, Oxford,
in 1569, taking his B.A. degree from New College in 1574, and
M.A. in 1577. In 1591 he proceeded B.D., and in 1605 D.D.
After spending nine years as rector of his native parish, he was
preferred to the benefice of Launton, near Bister or Bicester, in
Oxfordshire, in 1581. In 1583 he was appointed sinecure rector
of Aberdaron, and in 1584 Prebendary of Penmynydd. In 1588
he became Archdeacon of Anglesey, and Dean of Bangor in 1593.
In 1598 he was consecrated Bishop of Bangor in succession to
Bishop Richard Vaughan, his fellow-countryman, kinsman, and
intimate. A monument existed to each in Bangor Cathedral until
the Cromwellian iconoclasts destroyed them. Bishop Rowland
presented the Cathedral with four bells in place of those which
Arthur Bulkley, one of his predecessors, had taken away. 3 Wood
is wrong in stating that Bishop Rowland was a celibate. On the
contrary, he was the first married rector of Launton, after the
Reformation. 3 He married a widow named Frances Cotesford,
whose maiden name was Hutchins.
He died on July 6, 1616, and was buried on the north side
of the chancel at Bangor Cathedral, in front of the altar, "among
the sepulchres of the Bishops," as Wood states. In 1609 he had
given lands to Jesus College, Oxford, for the maintenance of two
Scholars or Fellows there. 4 By his last Will and Testament he
also bequeathed moneys for the erection of a school in his native
parish, Bottwnog and Mellteyrn. In his Will he had also made
provision for repairs to the Cathedral, and for the poor of several
parishes in his diocese, for whom he erected almshouses in
Bangor.
Thomas Jones (Shrewsbury) was born at Tre'r Ddol, near
Corwen, in 1648, and in his boyhood removed to London. He
published his first Welsh Almanac in 1680, having obtained
*Athen: Oxon: i., p 620. 2 ibid. 3 Esgob Henry Rowland, by Arch-
deacon Morgan, p. 20. * Wood's Athena, i., p. 620.
337
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Letters Patent from Charles II. for printing and publishing it, in
the previous year. 1 These almanacs were booklets of 28 pages,
and were of a size suited for the pocket. They were usually sold
at two pence per copy, a very reasonable price considering the
value of their contents. The latter were usually arranged as
follows : A general Introduction reviewing the previous year,
astronomical notes for the coming year, a few pages of poems or
prose, or both ; a calendar with forecasts as to coming events,
and weather ; the Welsh fairs ; and a miscellaneous assortment of
announcements, particularly of forthcoming books. The literary
portion sometimes contained verse and prose of merit, and these
almanacs form an interesting field of research, in which many a
literary gem has been discovered. They did some service at a
time when the language received little attention.
Thomas Jones was the first to establish a Welsh newspaper.
He ventured a monthly publication in 1690, which he mentions
in his Almanac for 1691 (page 4). The experiment proved a
failure, however. That Thomas Jones was an enterprising
publisher is amply testified. His two editions of the Welsh
Book of Common Prayer have already been mentioned ; he also
published a popular Welsh and English Dictionary. He himself
could also write with freshness and vigour.
His first fifteen almanacs were printed in London, where he
had lived most of his life, and kept a combined bookseller and
chemist's shop from 1679-1695, in different parts of the city.
In the latter year he removed to Shrewsbury, and opened a
Welsh printing-press there without delay. This was the first
Welsh press ever established, and it proved an important event
for the Principality. Shrewsbury became the centre for Welsh
publications for at least half a century. Presses at Caerleon,
Adpar, and Carmarthen were set up later, so that Thomas Jones
can claim to be the father of the Welsh press. Apart from his
Almanacs, the first Welsh book he published was " Llyfr Carolau
a Dyriau Duwiol," in 1696. This was a second and revised
* Cymdeilhas Han. Bed. Cymru, 1912-13, p. IO,
338
MISCELLANEOUS
edition of Ffoulk Owen's Ccrdd-Lyfr, 1686. It must be
remembered that Thomas Jones had previously printed several
Welsh books in London, e.g., " Llyfr 1'lygain," 1683; "YGwir
er gwaethed y\v," 1684 ; "Llyfr Gweddi Gyffredin a Psalmau Can
Edmund Prys," 1687; "Y Gymraeg yn ei Disgleirdeb," 1688;
" Y Namyn-un-deugain Erthyglau Eglwys Loegr." 1688 ; " Esbon-
iad neu Ysbysiad o Catechism yr Eglwys," between I685-88. 1
When the S.P.C.K. was established in London, in 1698, that
Society commended and circulated several of Thomas Jones'
publications, and he published for the Society several of their
early pamphlets, which were circulated by the thousand in the
Welsh Charity Schools.
His Almanacs appeared regularly from 1680 to 1712, and it
is believed he died in the latter year. Small as the publication
was, it was highly valued by thousands of Welshmen in that age,
when advantages were so meagre, and Thomas Jones must be
regarded as a real benefactor to his country at a time when there
were no railways, no postal system, or, at least, a very crude one,
and very little news reached rural and remote parts.
Sir George Jeffreys was the sixth son of John Jeffreys,
of Acton, near Wrexham, and grandson of John Jeffreys, Justice
of the Anglesey Circuit (1617-22). He was born at Acton in
1648, educated at Shrewsbury and Westminster, and proceeded
thence to Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1662. He entered the
Inner Temple in the following year, became Barrister in 1668,
K.C. in 1677, Bencher in 1679, Sergeant at Law in 1680, King's
Sergeant in the same year, was knighted in 1677, and appointed
Recorder of Windsor, 1685-8. Other dignities that he held were,
Common Sergeant of London, 1671-8, Recorder of London,
1678-80, Solicitor- General to the Duke of York, 1677, Chief
Justice of Chester, 1680-3, an< ^ }!' f r Flintshire, i68o. 2
He brought himself into considerable prominence in the trial
of Lord William Russell for treason, in which he acted as prose-
1 Cymdeithas Han. Bed. Cj'tnnt, p. 15, - Welsh Judges, by YV. R,
Williams, p. 41*
339
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
cuting Counsel for the Crown. For his services he was rewarded
by Charles II. with the dignity of Lord Chief Justice of the King's
Bench in 1683. As such he presided over the trials of Algernon
Sidney and Sir Thomas Armstrong, both of whom he condemned
to death, it is said, on insufficient evidence. 1 The well-known
Titus Gates and Richard Baxter were also tried by him. In 1681
he had been created a baronet, and in 1685 was raised to the
peerage under the title of Baron Jeffreys of Wem, Salop. He
was Lord High Chancellor from 1685 to 1688, and Lord High
Steward in 1686. In the latter capacity he presided over the trial
of Lord Delamere. But he is best known for his work as
President of the Special Assize in Somerset and the West, when
he dealt so unmercifully with the unfortunate followers of the
Duke of Monmouth after the rebellion. It was afterwards known
as the " Bloody Assizes," and Jeffreys so covered himself with
opprobrium for his refusal to listen to any appeals for mercy that
his name has been handed down as " Hanging Judge Jeffreys."
He is generally thought to have been a clever but unscrupulous
man. He had identified himself with most of James II. 's
arbitrary measures, and when the Revolution broke out in 1688,
he was sent to the Tower. His death in April, 1689, either
"from a broken heart, or from hard drinking," as Pennant
observes, saved him from the inevitable public disgrace which
would have followed his merciless tyranny.
Archbishop John Dolben was born in 1624. The
Dolbens were a well-known Denbighshire family, whose seat was
at Segrwyd or Isegrwyd in that county. One of them, David
Dolben, had become bishop of the ancient see of Bangor in 1631,
and was a prelate of great learning, piety and zeal, an able Welsh
scholar and preacher. 2
The Archbishop was the son of Dr. William Dolben, rector
of Stanwick, Northants. He was sent to Westminster School in
1636, and was elected a student of Christ Church, Oxford, in
1 Welsh fudges by VV. R. Williams, p. 41. 2 Ancient and Modern Den
) p. 206.
340
MISCELLANEOUS
1640, at the age of fifteen. During the Civil Wars he bore arms
for the King, and was a major in the Royal army, taking part at
Marston Moor and in the defence of York. 1 He returned to
Christ Church and took the degree of M.A. in i647, a and was
afterwards ejected by the Parliamentary Visitors. At the Restora-
tion he was installed Canon of Christ Church in 1660, and pro-
ceeded to a doctorate in Divinity. His next preferment was to
the Archdeaconry of London, and he afterwards became Clerk of
the Closet and Dean of Westminster in 1662, and Bishop of
Rochester in 1666. Later he became Almoner to the King, and
managed his office, as Wood informs us, " to the benefit of the
poor, and with great justice and integrity." On the death of Dr.
Sterne, Archbishop of York, he was elected his successor in 1683.
The well-known archbishop, John Williams, was his uncle,
and he imitated the latter both in the greatness of his parts and
in holding two of the dignities which he had enjoyed, viz., the
deanery of Westminster and the archiepiscopate of the Northern
Province. He died of the smallpox in April, 1686, aged 62, and
was buried at York Minster. His character as given by Wood,
and copied by him from the inscription on his monument 3 at that
cathedral, is as follows : " In Senatu & Ecclesiis, Eloquentire
gloria ; In Diooesibus suis Episcopal! diligentia ; In omnium
piorum animis, justa veneratione semper victura."
Sir John Trevor, Knight, was the second son of John
Trevor, of Brynkynallt, and cousin to Judge Jeffreys, who was his
patron. He was born in 16.37, admitted to the Inner Temple in
1654, called to the bar in 1661, became Bencher in 1673,
Treasurer in 1674, Reader in 1675, K.C. in 1678. He was
knighted in 1671, and sat in Parliament for Castle Rising,
Norfolk, from 1673 to 1679, for county Denbigh in 1681, and
again in 1685-7, for Yarmouth (Isle of Wight) from 1690 to 1695.
He was appointed Speaker of the House of Commons in 1685,
and held that position until the end of James II.'s reign. In
*Athen: Oxen: ii., pp. 792-3. 2 ibid, 792. 3 Much of the information
respecting the details of his career is derived from the monument over his
grave at York Minster. The dates are also supplied from this source.
341
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
1690 he was re -appointed and continued in office five years. In
1688 he had been made a Privy Councillor, and he held the
dignity of Master of the Rolls from 1685 to 1689. Williams, in
his Ancient and Modern Denbigh, states that Sir John Trevor was
a man " of considerable learning and talent, and one of the most
influential Tories in the Kingdom. He was a benefactor to
Denbigh, principal founder of its Grammar School, and donor of
charities for its poor." Evelyn, on the other hand, describes him
as '' a bold, bad man," and records that he was expelled from the
House of Commons for accepting bribes, in 1695. Another
authority, " The Historical Register," states that he filled all his
offices "with that acuteness of understanding, solidity of judgment,
and great sufficiency, especially in the Chair and upon the Bench,
that few or none had ever excelled him. He was a true lover of
his country, and in all reigns a firm and constant patriot of our
constitution, both in Church and State." 1
Griffith Powell, D.C.L., was the third son of John ap
Howell, 2 of Llansawel, in Carmarthenshire, where he was born in
1561. He entered Jesus College, Oxford, in 1581, and took
degrees in Arts and Civil Law. 3 He became Fellow of the College
in 1590, took his D.C.L. degree in 1599, and in 1613 was
appointed Principal. During his tenure of that office he con-
siderably advanced the fortunes of Jesus College. Fellowships
and Scholarships were increased, and considerable sums raised
from the Principality through his energy, for additional buildings,
notably the Chapel and the Hall, which were, however, completed
a few months after his death. He was accounted an eminent
philosopher, and Wood pays him tribute for his work as tutor
and adviser amongst the junior members of the College, as well
as for his subtlety as a disputant amongst the learned men of his
day at Oxford. His works are:
i. " Analysis Analyticorum posteriorum seu librorum Aristotelis
de Demonstratione, cum Scholiis." Oxon. 1594.
1 Williams' Parl. Hist, of the Princ. of Wales, p. 75. 2 Hardy's Jems
College, p. 34. 3 Athen: Oxon: i., p. 383.
342
MISCELLANEOUS
2. "Analysis libri Aristotelis de Sophisticis Elenchis." 1598.*
Second edition, 1664.
The following lines in satire were written of these two books
by an Oxford wit :
" Grifmh Powell, for the honour of his nation,
Wrote a 1'ook of Demonstration.
And having little else to doe,
II wrote a book of IClenchs too."
He was also the author of other philosophical works. He
died in June, 1620, and by a verbal request (he made no will) left
his whole estate amounting to ^648 I'js. 2d. to Jesus College, 2
with which land was purchased for the maintenance of one
Fellow of the said College. 3
Sir Leoline Jenkins, D.C.L;, was the son of Jenkin
Llewelyn, and was born in 1625 at Llanblethian,* in Glamorgan-
shire. He was educated at Cowbridge School, and proceeded
thence to Jesus College, Oxford, in 1641, recommended to that
institution by Judge David Jenkins. During the Civil War he
sided with the King and took part in some expeditions. He
retired to Wales in 1648, and returned to Oxford for a short time
in 1651, but found the atmosphere of the University at that time
so uncongenial that he withdrew with some of his pupils beyond
the seas. He travelled for five years in France, Germany, and
Holland, and acquired a knowledge of foreign languages which
afterwards stood him in good stead. At the Restoration he
returned to Jesus College, was made Fellow, and subsequently,
in 1 66 r, Principal of the College, "by the unanimous consent of
all the Fellows/'' s
His profound knowledge of Civil and Maritime Law led to
his appointment as assistant to Dr. Exton as Judge of the
Admiralty during the Dutch War, and he afterwards held the sole
appointment in that office. The importance of the position may
be gauged from the fact that he gave 436 final sentences in two
years, and had suitors before him " from almost all nations."
1 Wood wrongly gives this date as 1594. * Hardy's Jesus College, p. "I.
3 Williams' Eminent Welshmen, p. 412. 4 Hardy's ftsus Coitegt, pp. 131-2.
p. 131. 6 ibid, p. 13 j.
343
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURA
In 1665 he was made Judge in the Prerogative Court of
Canterbury. In 1669 he was knighted by Charles II. for his able
conduct of negotiations respecting the personal property of Queen
Henrietta Maria. In 1670 he was one of the Commissioners
who tried to pave the way for the union between England and
Scotland. In 1673 he represented England in the Congress at
Cologne, which proved abortive. In 1676 another Conference
was held at Nymwegen, in which he was chief of the three
English representatives. He ultimately succeeded in composing
all the differences preparatory to the Treaty of 1679. For his
services he was appointed a Privy Councillor in I68O, 1 and
Secretary of State. He died of the excessive strain of his
arduous life in 1685, and was buried at Jesus College, of which
Foundation he was looked upon as almost " a Second Founder,"
for he left it the greatest part of his estates, increasing the income
of that college by about ^700 a year. He had contributed
liberally during his lifetime to the building of the Library there.
He also behaved very generously towards his old school at
Cowbridge, and established a close connection between it and
Jesus College.
All his letters and papers were collected and printed in two
folio volumes by W. Wynne in 1724, under the title "Works of
Sir Leoline Jenkins,'' and a biographical account prefixed.
William Maurice, who lived at Cefnybraich. in the parish
of Llansilin, was a gentleman of landed property, and a most
industrious collector and transcriber of Welsh manuscripts. At
his home he built a library three stories high, 2 in which he spent
most of his time in the study of Welsh literature. His invaluable
collection of MSS. was afterwards preserved at Wynnstay. In
Volume I. of the Archceologia Cambre?isis there is published an
account of the Civil War taken from the notes of William
Maurice. The year of his death is unknown. Canon Williams
states that he died between 1680 and 1690.
1 Williams' Eminent Welshmen, pp. 249-51. 2 ibi', p. 318.
344
INDEX
Abergavenny, 59, 185, 212
Abergele, 76, 197, 198
Abernant, 68, 95, 178
"Act for the Propagation," &c.
42, 44, 49, 50, 52, 53, 54, 61,
62, 91, 92, 136, 152, 184, 189
Adlard, J. E., 66
Adpar, 4
Aldersey, Col. John, 36
Alleine, Joseph, 114
Allen, John, 112
Almanac, T. Jones', 159
All-wedd Paradwys, 141
Andrews, Father, 72
Antiqucc Lingita Britannica,
123, 312, 313-7
Anwy), Lewis. 303
Apocrypha, 113, 115, 191
ArchtTologia Britannica, 83, 84, 85,
86
Archdeacon of Anglesey, 29, 146,
204, 337
Archdeaconry of Merioneth, 119, 123
Arise Evans, 22, 325 6
Armin, Robert, 75
Arnold, Mr. J., 77, 78, 79
Ash, Simeon, 29
Ashmolean Museum, 83, 84, 85
A Tryall of the Spirits, &c., 177
AjLvdl Richard John Grculon, 67, 68
"A Winding Sheet," &c., 56, 58,
171, 191
Bacon, Sir Francis, 65
Bagshaw, Edward, 43, 202
Baldwin, \Vm., 17
Ballinger, 103, 104, 106, 108, no
Bangor, 74, 82, 203, 204, 212
Bangor, Bishop of, 82, 200, 208,
337
Bangor Cathedral, 100, 146, 175,
337
Bangor, Dean of, 29, 100, 119, 205,
337
Bangor Diocesan Tract Society, 64
Bangor University College, 23, 132,
159
Baptists, 10, 44, 180, 181
Bards, I, 185, 186, 219
Barker, Christopher, 113, 131
Barker, Robert, 106, 130
Barrow, Dr. Isaac, 76, 119
Basingwork, 74
Lassett, Sir Richard, 31
Baxter, Richard, 10, 50, 56, 58, 114,
171, 187, 191, 210, 326, 340
Bayly, Bishop Lewis, 144, 146, 149
Bedford, Duke of. 113
Bedlow, Wm., 77
Bedydd Planter Nefotdd, &c., 178-
181
Berkeley, Judge, 41
Bernard, Edward, 83
Berry, Maj. -General, 47
Bible, 51, 64, 97, 98, 99, ic6, 109,
113, 115, 116, 117, 127, 131,
191
Bible, Cromwell's, in, 115. 154
Libl, Y, 97, 106, in, 113, 115,
116, 118, 129
Bill, Charles, 116
Bill, John, 106, 113, 128, 130, 131
Blodeugerdd, 261, 272, 283, 288, 290
JSodvel, Petr, 131
Bond, John, 30
Bonham Norton, 97
Book of Common Prayer, 98, 108,
113, 115, 123, 128, 129-134
Breese, Col., 28
Brereton, Sir Wm., 27
Brewsrer, E., 169, 171
Brewster, Thomas, ill
Britannia, 15, 16, 17
British Museum, 98, 139, 141, 142,
153
Brook's Hist, of the Puritans,
no, 151
Brough, Wm., 147, 148
Brut y Brenhinoedd, 74
Bunhill Fields, 45
Bunney, Edmund, 155, 157, 158, 317
Burnet, Dr. Gilbert, 120
Burton, Robert, 82
Burton's Antoninus, 74
Bushell, Thomas, 64-5
Byron, Lord, 27
Cadwaladr, iS
Cadwaladr, Ellis, 290-1
Caergai, 149, 254, 255
Caerwys, 2, 179, 220, 233, 238, 262
Calamy, Dr., Id, 116, II?, 136, 167,
171
Cambrensis, Giraldus, 15, 74
345
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Cambrics Descriptio, 15
Cambrian Quarterly Magazine, 1 78
Cambrian Register, 17, 73,211, 213,
221, 312, 319
Cambria Triumphans, 70
Cambro-Britannica:, kc., 308
Camden, Wm., 15, 17,22, 100, 200,
293, 296
Canisii, Petrus, 139
Canwylly Cymry, 106, 112, 116,
I2 3> I37 160-5, 189
Captain fortes, Legend of, 67
Caradoc, King of Cambria, 75
Caradoc's Brut, 74 [322
Carbery, Earl of, 25, 27, 31, 73, 94,
Car-wr y Cymru, 109, 152-3, 154
Case, Thomas, 30
Catechism, 129, 146, 181, 193, 196,
197
Ccrbyd Jechyd-wriaeth, 172
Charity Schools, 114
Charles I., 6, 7, 19, 20, 22, 24, 25,
26, 29, 40, 41, 64, 65, 70, 75,
79, 92, 109, 131, 223, 249, 257,
293
Charles II., 60, 63, 68, 69, 70, 95,
119, 131, 190
Charles, Rev. T., 51
Chaucer, 74
Chetwind, Philip, 145, 146, 147,
148, 149
Chillingworth, Win., 94, 185
Chirk, 106, 108, 109, 151
Civil War, 6, 9, 19, 20, 22, 31, 71,
91, 94, 107, 219, 220, 223
Civil War Tracts, 37, 48
Clarkson, David, 211
Colet, Dean, 15
Concilia, &c., 21
Corbet, Mr., 35
Couls, F., 24
Court, High Commission, 8, 59, I5 1
Cradoc, Walter, 43, 49, 50, 51, 52,
57, 58, 92, 1 10, in
Crane, Mr., 31
Cromwell, 6, 19, 26, 35, 38, 42, 45,
47, 51, 52, 69, 82, 205, 213,
225, 257
Cromwell, Henry, 206
Cromwell, Richard, 67, 214
Culverts, Giles, 53
Cuney, Capt, 25'
Cynfal, 52, 55, 232, 233, 269
Cynwal, Richard, 263, 264, 267
Cynwal, Wm., 233, 238-45, 264
Dafydd ab Gwilym, 126, 226, 230,
237
346
Dafydd Ddu o Hiraddug, 124, 159
Dau Gymro yn Taring, 137, 189
Davies, Dr. John, 3, 5, 18, 97, 99,
100, 104, 105, 123, 129, 134,
143, 155-9, i75> 182, 183, 186,
256, 267, 303, 304, 309, 310-21
Davies, John (Cydwely), 72
Davies, J. H., 5, 106, no, 139, 271
Davies, John (of Hereford), 296-7
Davies, Bishop Richard, 3, 183
Davies, Richard (the Quaker), 8l,
177, 336
Davies, Rondl (Randolph), 176-8
Defosiwnau Priod, 171-2
Deffyniad Ffydd, 122, 186
De Italics Lingua, &c., 308
Denbigh, 4, 36, 74, 121, 167, 170,
179, 193, 196
Denbigh, Earl of, 28
Dendrologia, 68, 69
Dent, Arthur, 150, 151, 191
Denzill, 31
D'Espagne, John, 146, 147
Dictionarium Historicum, &*c., 306
Dictionary, Dr. Davies', 99, 104,
108, 304, 312, 313-7
Dilyniad Crist, 181-2
Diurnals, 65-6
Doderidge, Sir John, 19
Dodona?s Grove, 68, 95
Dodwell, Henry, 179, 214
Dolben, Archbp. John, 340-1
Dorrington, Theophilus, 197
Douay, 138, 140, 200, 201, 329
Dover, S., 131
Drexelius, 4, 5, 174-5, 280
Drych Cydwybod, 141
Dugdale, 2O
Dunbar, John, 295
Durston, Thomas, 159
Editions of Edmund Prys' Psalms,
128-9
Edwards, Charles, 5, 112, 115, 145,
150, 151, 158, 182-7
Edwards, Hugh, 112
Edwards, John (Sion Treredyn),
134, 165-6
Edwards, Jonathan, 211
Edwards, Dr. L., 186
Edwards, Sir O. M., 272, 274, 282
Edwin, Jonathan, 77
Eghirhad ffelaethlawn, 7, 141
Egluryn PhraethtNf.b , 303
Elementa Opticce, 173
Elias, W., 284
Elliott, John, 38
INDEX
Ellis, John (of Gwylan), 52, 72, 92,
186, 209
Ellis, Richard, 8}
Ellis, T. E., 5, 56, 245
Ellis, Dr. Thomas, 5, 70-2, 75, 209
Elizabeth (Queen), i, 16, 67, 200,
296
Elsynge, 27
Eminent Welshmen, 108, 164, 327
Enderbie, Percy, 71, 75
England's Teats, (5rV. , 28
Enston, 64, 65
Epistohe Ho-Eliana, 69, 95
Erbury, Rev. Win., 49, 52, 57-9
Eugenius Philalethes, 173, 332-3
Evans, Capt., 78
Evans, Edward, 208
Evans, John, 326
Fairfax, 26, 31, 38
Fen ton, 17
Ferrers, Edward, 17, 1 8
Ffagans, St., 35, 39
Ffowks, Edward, 131
Fifth Monarchy, 53, 54
Firmin, Thomas, 114
Fisher, Edward, 165
Fisher, Rev. }., 272
Fleet Prison, 45, 47, 69, 95
Flesher, James, m, 129
Foulkes, Isaac, 272
Foulkes, Wm., 195-6
Fowler, Wm., 209
Fox, Mr., 132
Fuller, Thomas, So
Fychan, Gruffiidd, 258, 259
Fychan, Mrs. Margaret, 272
Geldon, Wm. 77
Gellibrand, Samuel, 112
Geinitus Ecclesice, 135
Gemma Cambri, 169
George Griffith, Bishop, 48, 62-4,
104, 176, 184, 195, 3-16
Gibson, Bishop, 17, 74, 83
Gildas, 20, 288
" Glan Menai," 128
Glasgrug, 30
Glosses, 86
Glossography, 84, 85
Glyndwr, Owaio, 18
Glynn, Master, 31
Glynne, John, 31
Goodman, Gabriel, 16, 100, 281,
310
Goodwin, Francis, 16, 199-200
Goodwin, John, 46
Golden Grove, 94, 135, 199, 322
Gouge, Thomas, 94, 112, 113,114-6,
132, 133. 136, I4S 171, 188,
190, 191, 193
Gouge, Dr. William, 114
Grammar, Dr. John Davies', 99,
100, 127, 312
Greal, 118, 304
Griffin, Bennet, 150
Griffin. Sarah, 145, 147
Griffith, Alexander, 43, 47, 61-2
Griffith, Owen, 283-5
Griffith, Robert, 63
Grimm's Law, 86
Gwallter Mechain, 101, 122, 164,
167, 177, 180, 226, 230, 286
Gweirydd ap Rhys, 101, 104, 312
Gwilym Ganoldref, 109, 121
Gwinn, Robert, 156, 158
Gwyddor Uchod, 56
Habington, Thomas, 20
Habington, William, 20
Hacket, Bishop John, 203
Hafren, Gruffydd, 263, 266
Hall, H., 177, 185
Hall, John, 72
Hampton Court Conference, 91
Hancock, John, 113
llarley, Sir Robert, 50, 52
Harrington, Sir John, 293
Harrison. Thomas, 53, 55
Harvey, Thomas, 295
Hearne, 87
Keilyn, Henry, 79
Heilyn, Dr. Peter, 79-81, 109, 202
Heilyn Rowland, 3, 106, 107, 108,
108-9, 128, 132, 154
Hengwrt, 5, 21, 72, 73, 75
Henrietta Maria, 65, 344
Henry, Matthew, 179
Henry, Philip, 179
Herbert, Lord, 25
Herbert, Matthew, 297
Herbert, Sir Thomas, 19
Herbert, Wm. (E. of Pembroke), 19
Hereford, Bishop of, 77, 199, 213
Hills, Henry, 113, 131
Hiraethog, Gruffydd, 263
History of Cambria, 71, 75
Holland, 16, 52, 95, 251
Holland, Henry, 137, 303
Holland, Hugh, 295-6, 304
Holland, Philemon, 297
Holland, Robert, 137-8, 189, 190
Ho II Ddyltdswydd Dyn, 115, 191,
193-4
Holt, R., 112, 129
Horton, Col., 35, 36, 39
347
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Howell, Erasmus, 44
Howell, James, 28, 68-70, 95, 96,
178, 321-2
Howell, Thomas, 68, 95
Hue and Cry, 43, 44, 47, 62
Hughes, Hugh, 272, 273, 275, 279
Hughes, Father John, 142, 182
Hughes, Stephen, 3, 51, 94, 109-10,
H2, 113, 115, 116-9, I2 9> J 37i
145, 162, 163-4, 178, 180, 187,
188-92
Humphreys, Bishop Humphrey,
100, 132, 134, 212-3, 280, 304,
310, 311, 312, 316, 318
Husbands, Edward, 27
Hyfforddiadau Christianogol, 115,
186
Hywel Dda, 74
leuan Clywedog, 287
Ignatius, 21
Itnitatio Christi^ 142, 181
Independents, 10, 37, 51, 53, 57,
176, I 80
Iter Boreale, 60
Itinerants, 42, 43, 50
Itinerarium, 15
James I., 19, 91, 141, 146, 202, 293,
310, 3"
James, Edward, 142-3
James, Ivor, 134, 183
Jeffreys, Sir George, 339-40
Jenkins, David (Judge), 32, 33, 34
Jenkins, John, 1 80
Jenkins, Sir Leoline, 209, 343-4
fenkins, Recantation of, 35
Jenkins, Trial of Judge, 34
/enkinsius, Redivivus, 35
Jones, Col., 66
Jones, Col. Philip, 42
Jones, David (Llandysilio), 115, 117,
129, 192, 193
Jones, Edward, 170, 197
Jones, Inigo, 66
Jones, John, 331
Jones, John (Gellilyfdy), 5, 73
Jones, (Rev.) John (loanTegid), 104
Jones, John (Leander), 200-01, 329
Jones, John (Maesygarnedd), 6, 7
Jones, Richard (Denbigh), 115,
170-1, 186, 191
Jones, Richard (Llanfair C.E.), 166-
170
Jones, Samuel (Brynllywarch), 112,
178, 180
Jones, Thomas, 4, 207-8
Jones, Thomas (Creaton), 103
Jones, Thomas (Nanteos), 328
Jones, Thomas (Shrewsbury), 129,
!32, 133. 134, MS, !59> 230,
236, 286, 337-9
Jones, William, 115, 189, 192-3
Jones, William, Sir, 327-8
fur a Majestatis, 28
Juvencus MS., 86
Kames, Col., 31
Keach, Benjamin, 180
Kernes, Baronia de, 17
Kidwelly, 72
Kyffin, Edward, 109, 122-3, 12 4> J S4
Kyffin, Maurice, 122, 143, 186
Lambeth, 49, 57
Langford, John, 193-4
Langhorn, Col., 32
Lappiton, 83
Laud (Archbp.), 8, 49, 59, 79, So,
92, 109, 148, 200, 202, 204, 213
Laugharn, Thomas, 25, 27
Laugharne, Rowland, 25, 27, 29, 36
Legatt, John, 16
Leland, 74
Lenthal, Wm., 27
Lewis, Elis, 174-5/280
Lewis. Father, 77, 78
Lewis, H. Elvet (Rev.), 182
Lewis, Hugh, 303
Lewis, John, 30, 186, 326
Lewis, Pierce (Rev.), 118
Lewis, Stephen, 176
Lewis, Sir William, 31
Lewys, Wm., 172
Lexico. Lat. Brit., 309
Lexicon Tetraglo.ton, 321-2
Lix Terra, 35
Leyson, Thomas, 293, 299
Lister, Martin, 83
Lithophylacii, &>f., 85
Liturgy, 25, 63, 214
Lloyd, David,' 75-6
Lloyd, Dr. David, 67-8, 135
Lloyd, Edward (of Llangower), 194-5
Lloyd, Hugh, 76, 304-5
Lloyd, Humphrey, Bp. , 212, 213
Lloyd, Luke, 36
Lloyd, Nicholas, 305-6
Lloyd, (Rev.) Richard, 119
Lloyd, Samuel, 177
Lloyd, Bp. William, 81, 118, 119-
120, 179, 194, 210, 276
Lloyd, Wm. (St. Petrox), 112
Long Parliament, 30, 34, 69, 70, 93
Lord Mayor of London, 18, 46, 109
Lort, Sampson, 42
348
Love, Christopher, 59-61
Lucas, Richard, 212
Lucius, 289
Luick, 85
Llancarvan, Caradoc of, 82
Llandaff, Bp. of, 16, 59, 77, 132,
199, 206
Llandrillo, 63, 210
Llandysilio, 79, 189, 192
Llynddwywe, 123, 172
Llanrhaiadr-ym-Mochnant, 155, 184
Llansilin, 221, 231, 273
Llanstephan MS, 83
Llewelyn, Dr., 99, 106, ill, 117
Lleyn, Gwilym, 23,48, 82, 101, 1 12,
117, 128, 143, 171
Llwybr Hyffordd, 108, 145, 150,
151, 152, 158, 186
Llwyd, Dafydd, 233, 269, 270
Llwyd, Edward, 74, 83-87, 288
Llwyd, Huw, 52, 232, 233, 260,
267, 270, 271
Llwyd, leuan, 263, 266
Llwyd, Morgan, 5, 43,49, 50, 51-2,
S 2 -?. 5S, 92, 94, 245-254, 269,
270
Llwyd, Meredydd, 194
Llwyd, Pulpud Huw, 55
Llwyd, Robert, 106, 108, 109, 145,
151-2, 154
Llyfr Corn, 192
Llyfr Du Caerfyrddin, 74
Llyfr Gweddi Gyffredin, 129-134,
191
Llyfr Gwyn Rhydderch, 74
Llyfr Taliesin, 74
Llyfry Resolution, 155-9, 182, 186
Llyfr yr Hoiniliau, 142, 143
Llyfry Tri Aderyn, 54, 55
Llyn, William, 232, 263
Machno, Hugh, 52, 264, 269-271
Madoc ab Owain, 19
Maentwrog, 52, 123, 124, 127, 232,
269
Magistrates, A Myrroure for, 17
Malpas, 66
Mallwyd, 99, 127, 129, 155
Map of Commerce, A, 1 8
Marches of Wales, 23, 81
Madmddyn, 165
Marrow of Modern Divinity, 5,
134, 165
Marten, Harry, 33
Maurice, David, 197-8
Maurice, Henry, 134, 163, 178,
209-11
Maurice, Wm., 344
Mayne, Jasper, 148
Meidrym, 189
Meldrum, Sir John, 27
Mercurii, 65, 66
Meredith, Thomas, 59
Meres, Francis, 17
Middleton, Sir Hugh, 64, 109
Middleton, Richard, 109, 121
Middleton, Thomas, 3, 26, 27, 28,
36, 106, 108, 109-10, 128, 132,
154, 171
Middleton, Capt. Wm., 120-122,
124, 303.
Midltwn, Beibl, 106
Milborne, Robert, 130
Millington, 26
Milton, 224
Mines Royall, 64
Mitton, Col., 28, 29, 30, 32
Mono, Antiqua, 85
Monasticon Anglicanum, 20
Morgan, Bishop, 96, 97, 98, 99,
100, 101, 101-4, 107, 127, 142,
183, 310, 311, 315
Morgan, K. of Morganwg, 18
Morgan, Sir Edward, 71
Morgan, John, Aberconwy, 197
Morgan, Matthew, 93
Morris, Lewis, 4, 118, 230
Morris, Richard, 118
Morus, Edward, 3, 221, 271-283,
285, 290
Morus, Huw (Hugh), 2, 3, 6, 9, 56,
221-232, 271, 273, 275, 290
Myddleton, Mrs., 224, 226
Mydrim, 116
Myfyr, Owain, 3
Mysteries, The Discovery of, 29
Nannau, 261, 262, 268, 269, 285
Narberth, 38
Nennius, 74
Newcastle Emlyn, 4
New Chappell, 63
Newcomb, Thomas, 113, Il6, 131
Newgate, 32, 34, 58, 138
New Testament, 97, no, in, 112,
113, 129
Newton, Sir Isaac, 85
Nicholas, Edward, 131
Norton and Bill, 98
Norton, Bonham, 128
Oakeley, W. E., 127
Oakey, Col., 35
Okes, Nicholas, 150, 153
Oldsworth, Michael, 41
349
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Oliver, Rev. P., 51
Olor Iscanui, 173, 297
Oriens ab Occidente, 30
Orthography, 4, 139
Ossory, Bp. of, 29
Oswestry, 8l, 83, 179, 183
Owain (Owen), Lewis, 285, 286,
290
Owen, Arthur, 25
Owen, Charles, 179, 180
Owen, David, 24
Owen, Ffoulk, 230, 236
Owen, George, 17
Owen, Goronwy, 118, 126, 183, 231
Owen, Hugh, 142, 179
Owen, Hugh (H. O. Gwenynog),
181-2
Owen, James, Si, 115, 178-181
Owen, John Bp., 63, 92, 204-5, 3*5
Owen, John, D.D., 46, 63, 187,
213-15
Owen, John(Oedenus or Audoenus),
6, 293-5
Owen, Baron Lewis, 73
Owen, Lewis (Running Register),
141, 203, 329
Owen, Matthew, 288-290
Owen, Morgan, 92
Owen, Mr. (Porkington), 222
Owen, Sir Hugh, 93
Parker, Henry, 34
Parry, Bp., 16, 97, 98, 99, 100-105,
107, 118, 142, 144, 310, 311
Parsons, Robert, 140, 155,156, 157,
329
Patrick, Bishop, 194
Pattrwm y Gwir Grislioti, 182
Payte, A Welch, 19
Pecke, Thomas, 295
Peleus, 69
Ptnbrokshire, Description of, 17
Pendarves, John, 148, 149
Pendeulwyn, 32
Pentre Heilyn, 79, 80, 108
Perkins, Wm., 137, 190
Perl y Cymro, 167, 169-70
Perry, Henry, 303-4, 315
Peters, Hugh, 38, 42, 43
Philangus, 70
Philipot, John, 16
Philips, Col., 39
Phylip, Grufifydd, 263, 265, 266,
267-8, 269
Phylip, Phylip Sion, 258
Phylip, Richard, 261, 266, 268-9
Phylip, Sion, 233, 237, 238, 261-7,
268, 269
35
Phylip, William, 3, 223, 233, 255,
256, 257-61, 288
Plot, Dr., 83
Poet, The Passionate, 19
Polycarp, 21
Pont-y-meibion, 221, 229
Poole, Matthew, 114
Popish, Plot, 77, 78
Powel, Capt., 25
Powel, Gabriel, 198-9, 292
Powel, Griffith, 292 , 342-3
Powel, Col. Rice, 39
Powel, Samuel, 292
Powell, Dr. David, 15, 198, 307, 315
Powell, Dr., 71, 74, 82
Powell, Thomas, 19
Powell, Thomas, D.D., 173-4
Powell, Vavasor, 43-51, 58, 61, 62,
63, 92, 1 10, 136, 148
Powell, Watkin, 3
Poyer, John (Col.), 25, 27, 35, 38, 39
Practice, The, of Piety, 5, 144, 146,
149
Price, Henry, 292
Price, John, 215
Price, Sir John, 75
Price, Owen, 305
Price, Robert, 335-6
Price, Thomas (Plas lolyn), 122
Prichard, Vicar Rhys, 3, 106, 116,
135, 160-165, J 89> I 9
Prideaux, Bp. , 79, 138
Prif Achau, &c., 308
Primordia (De Primordiis), 20, 21,
73, 74, U6
Pritchard, Emily M., 17
Projiid yr Ysprydion, 177
Prophecies, 22, 23
Prys, Edmund, 3, 123-9, 135, 143,
232-45, 263, 264, 267, 288
Pry? Psalms, 108, 112, 113, 115,
120-129, 130, 131, 134
Prys, Thomas, 238, 239, 244
Pryse, Bridget, 83
Pughe, Dr., 86, 159
Pugh, Thomas, 23, 327
Puritanism, 9, IO, 37, 80, 91, 148
Puritans, 9, 44, 50, 60, 70, 92, 199,
202
Quadriga Saluiis, 173
Quakers, 10, 81, 177-178
Ravenscroft, Col. Thomas, 36
Ray, John, 83
Ray, Memorials of, 74
Rees, Thomas, 108
Remains^ &c l<i
INDEX
Restoration, The, 6, 70, 93, 136,
206, 214
Rhaglan, Castle, 19, 24, 141
Rhys, Dr. John Dafydd, 121, 293,
307-8, 315
Rhys, Sir John, 86
Richards, Thomas, 66
Richmond (Yorks.), 68
Roberts, Dr. Gruftydd, 86, 138, 139
Roberts, John (Jesuit), 7, 328-30
Roberts; Lewis, 18
Roberts, Michael (Principal of Jesus,
Oxon) 153, 185
Roberts, Dr. W., 92
Robinson, Hugh, 205
Rous, Mr., 26
Rowland, Bp., 146, 337
Rowland, Henry, 85
Rowlands' Cambrian Bibliography,
112, 163, 176, 272
Rudd, Dr., 91
Rumsey, Walter, 331-2
Rupert, Prince, 66
Russell, Wm., 113
Ruthin, 29, 67, 76, 100, 183, 193
Ruthin Grammar School, 100, 201,
281
Salesbury, Henry, 303, 304, 315
Salesbury, Wm., 96, 97, 130, 142,
160, 303, 315, 318
Salisbury, Hugh, 184
Salisbury, John, 36, 303
Salisbury, Father John, 7, 141-2
Salisbury, Pierce, 122
Salisbury, Thomas;, 120, 121, 122,
123
Sammes, Aylett, 76
Samwell, D., 228, 232
Satires, 39, 70
Scrope, Lord, 68
Scudamore, John, 78
Scutum, 121
Sebright, Sir Thomas, 84
Shankland, Rev. T., 92, 114, 132,
133, 144, 163, 167, 189
Sherlock, Dr. Wm., 196, 215
Silex Scintillans, 297
Simon Stafford, 122
Sion Dafydd Las, 283, 285-6
Sion Tudur, 68, 232, 262
Smyth, Dr. Roger, 138-141
Socinian, 58, 211
S.P.C.K., 103, 115
Speed, John, 18
Spelman, Henry, 21
Sports, Book of, 9, 49, 57, 59, 92,
202
St. Asaph, Bp. of, 62, 76, loo, 204
St. Asaph Cathedral, 63, 151, 197,
205
St. Asaph, Dean of, 67, 68
St. David's, Bp. of, 92, 160, 190,
207, 214
St. David's Cathedral, 160
St. Donat's, 21
Stillingfleet, Edward, 81, 114, 187,
215
Stradling, Sir Edward, 293, 306-7
Stradling, Sir Henry, 31
Stradling, Sir John, 293, 295, 307
Stradling, Maj. Gen., 39
Stradling, Sir Thomas, 306
Strena, 43, 62
St. Sepulchre, 15, 114
Sufferings of the Clergy, 42, 152,
172, 194
Swanley, Capt. Richard, 29
Symmons, Matthew, no
Taylor, Jeremy, 94, 135
Taylor, John, 66
Testament Newydd, no, III, 112,
115, 190
Testuny Test. Newydd, 167-8
Thalia Rediviva, 95, 297
Theatre The t of the Empire, 18
" The British Gem," 169
Thelwall, Simon. 25, 27, 36
Thetis, 69
Thomas a Kempis, 142, 181
Thomas, Archdeacon, 151, 152, 176
Thomas, Charles, 177
Thomas, David, 1 12
Thomas, Sir Edward, 31
Thomas, Lewis (als. Evans), 208
Thomas, Lleufer, 17
Thomas Llwyd o Benmaen, 287-8
Thomas, Oliver, 92, 153-5
Thomas, Rev. W., no
Thomas, Dr. Wm., Dean and Bp.
of Worcester, 163, 206-07
Thomas, Wm., 208-09
Threnodia Carolina, 19
Thurloe, 45
Tillotson, 94, 113, 114, 187, 191
Tower, 19, 33, 92, 119
Transactions, Cym. Soc., no
Tredenoc, 165
Tresilian, Robert, 17
Trevor, Sir John, 78, 341-2
"Trugaredd a Barn," 178-180
Trysor fr Cymru, 155, 158, 191
Tudor, A Prince of Wales, 77
Turbervill, 78
Twm Sion Catty, 330-1
351
WALES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Tyler, E., 112, 129
Tyrrel, Sir Timothy, 21
University of Wales, 74
Usher, Archbp., 15, 20, 73, 74, 146,
215
Uxbridge, 60
Vairdre Book, 17
Valentine, Dr., 171
Valladolid, 7, 141, 203, 329
Valiancy, Col., 86
Vaughan, Edward, 168, 178
Vaughan, Evan, 148
Vaughan, Henry (Silurist), 95, 96,
119,297-9
Vaughan, Howell, 73, 277
Vaughan, Sir Hugh, 24
Vaughan, John, 149, 273, 291, 333-4
Vaughan, Mrs. Margaret, 273
Vaughan, Bishop Richard, 198
Vaughan, Robert, 5, 6, 21, 71, 72,
72-4, 75. 3'0, 313, 319
Vaughan, Rowland, 3, 6, 57, 138,
144-51, 223, 254-6
Vaughan, Thomas, 332-3
Vaughan, William, 199, 291-3
Vicars, John, 295
Vindicice Regum, 29
Wakeman, Sir George, 77
Wakley, Thomas, 23
Wales, North, 4, 32, 36, 84, 114,
14'. 152
Wales, South, 4, 26, 31, 32, 33, 35,
36, 38, 61, 62, 93, 114, 141
Wales, The Bible in, 104, 105, 106,
108, no
Walker, 10, 42, 92, 93, 152, 172,
194
Waller, Sir Wm., 25
Wallis, John, 83
Warwick, Robert, Earl of, 27, 29
Watcin Clywedog, 286-7
Water Poet, 66
Watkin Williams Wynn (Sir), 85
Webb, John, 66
Webster, T., 163
Welsh Trust, 114, 115, 186
Westminster, 33, 80, 201
Westminster Abbey, 16, 22
Westminster School, 15, 16, 63, 100
Wharton, Lord, 117
Whichcot, Benjamin, 114
Whitaker, 26
White, John, 203-4
Widdrington, Sir Thomas, 26
Wild, Robert, 60
William III., 117, 119, 326, 335-6
Williams, Griffith, 28, 29, 205-6
Williams, John (Archbp.), 30, 80,
201-03, 2 4> 34 1
Williams, Dr. John, 292
Williams, Morris (Nicander), 143
Williams, Moses, 108, 134, 236
William Prys Dafydd, 288
Williams, Roger, 53
Williams, Dr. Thomas, 5, 308-310,
313, 316, 317, 318-20
Williams, Thomas (Denbigh), 196
Williams, Sir William, 334-5
Williams, W. P., 123
Willoughby, 74
Wits Commonwealth, 17
W. L. M. A., 171-2
Wmffrai Dafydd ab Ifan, 286
Wood, Anthony, 99, 208, 296
Woodstok, Thomas of, 17
Worcester, Bp. of, 81, 120
Wrexham, 36, 50, 52, 151, 252
Wroth, Mr. W., 49, 50, 59, in
Wycliffe, ^
Wynn, Dr. Edward, 175-6
Wynn, Humphrey, 212
Wynn, Owen (of Gwydyr), 129
Wynn, Sir John, 309, 310, 317-320,
321, 336
Wynne, Chancellor, 133
Wynne, John (of Henllan), 82
Wynne, Robert (Rev.), 230, 231
Wynne, Rev. Wm., 82
Y Beirniad, 163, 164
Y Bibl Bach, 106
Y Brython, 259, 260, 269, 284
Y C-wtta Cyfai~wydd, 74, 204
Y Pfydd Ddifuant, 112, 185, 191
Young, W., M.D., 43
Yr Hen Lyfr Ply gain, 159
Yr Ymarfer o Dduwitldeb,
115, 144, 186, 191
Ystyriaethau Drexelius, 174-5
Y Waun, 109, 154
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