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RECOED OP THE ANTIQUITIES

WALES AND ITS MARCHES,

AND THE JOURNAL OF

l\i (Camhrinii :Hrtli{EDlngirnl Ijsntintinn.

SUPPLE ^lENT, 1859.

LONDON :
W. PICKERING, 177, PICCADILLY.

TENBY: R. MASON.

1851.

-^Cx .

PEE FACE.

This Volume, which appears under the auspices of the
Cambrian ARCHiEOLOGicAL Association, contains three
Papers of considerable importance to those engaged in
studying the antiquities of Wales.

The first is an examination of the evidence in favour
of the existence of a Gaelic tribe in North Wales within
the historic period, not as mere invaders, but as settled
occupants of the country. The subject has hitherto
comparatively escaped the notice of Welsh historians and
antiquaries. It is, however, one which, in the hands of
its author, offers a fruitful harvest to the inquirer, suf-
ficiently well read, and endowed with critical acumen
enough, to follow the faint indications of a former race,
whether afforded by local tradition, by a local nomen-
clature, or by general history. The Paper was read, in
substance, at the Annual Meeting of the Association, at
Dolgellau, in August, 1850 ; the proofs and illustrations
in the second, third, fourth and fifth sections, the theory
developed in the seventh, and the whole of the last, being
omitted in recitation.

The next Paper was also read at the Dolgellau Meet-
ing, and contains a sketch, rather than a detailed account,

li b [3 i o ' i"

VI PREFACE.

of what may be fairly inferred to have been the agricul-
tural and commercial condition of Britain before, during,
and after the Roman sway. It is to be hoped that its
learned author will develope certain parts of his Essay
rather more fully in the pages of the Archceologia
Cambrensis ; and that he will there bring forward the
authorities which he has consulted, with the various
passages on which he grounds opinions, in themselves
highly probable. Few persons have penetrated so deeply
into the more abstruse, and comparatively unknown,
pages of the writers of the Lower Empire, than the
author of this Paper ; and few antiquaries are able to
discuss incidental topics, or to draw forth latent conclu-
sions, with greater skill and more logical acuteness.

The third and last Paper in this Volume, contains a
copious Glossary of the ancient names of Articles of
British Dress and Armour, as far as they are met with
in the bardic and diplomatic documents remaining in the
Welsh language. Part of this Paper has already been
printed in the pages of the Archceologia Cambrensis;
but from the interesting nature of the materials amassed
by the author — growing under his hand as the work
proceeded — it has been deemed more useful to the anti-
quarian world that this Glossary should be published in
a collective form, as being easier of reference than when
scattered through various Numbers of the Journal of
the Association. In this case, as in the former, it is much
to be desired that the author may have the leisure to
compile a similar glossary for objects of domestic use,
perhaps even of architectural and industrial objects, of
manufactured articles, &c. ; for, doubtless, the study of

PREFACE. Vll

Welsh antiquities, and the ethnological history of the
nation itself, would be thereby greatly facilitated.

The judicious reader will scarcely fail to observe how,
in these three Papers, a tone of acute and accurate logical
induction — a spirit of scientific archseology — prevails, in
the absence of all that wild and unfounded rhapsodical
speculation in Avhich other writers have been too apt to
indulge. Archaeology is a science inseparable from, if
not identical with, history ; and it requires to be treated
with all the learning, all the reasoning, all the argu-
mentative discrimination, which are necessary to any
man before he can presume to attempt anything really
worthy of the historic muse. The antiquities of ^yales
have often sufiered from this absence of extended learn-
ing in the minds of those who have handled them ; for
it should be remembered that no one is competent to
treat of the history, or language, or archaeological con-
dition, of his country, unless he is skilled in all these.
points, as connected with other nations and countries
besides his own. In this point of view, the attention
of the reader is particularly claimed for the contents of
the present Volume.

It may not be out of place to express the further wish,
that the several authors of these Papers will listen to the
following suggestions as to their future labours. A critic,
in one of the weekly organs of public opinion, has already
hinted that the author of the Vestiges, &c., should under-
take a scientific — we might perhaps call it an ethnological
and social — history of Wales. Such a work, notwith-
standing the labours of Carnhuanawc, is still much
wanted ; and he is quite able to accomplish it.

Vlll PREFACE.

The author of the State of Agriculture, &c., is the
only man now remaining who is competent to write the
liistory of Caernarvonshire — perhaps, to complete the
Antiquitates Parockiales of Rowlands. His collections
upon these subjects are great; his own store of tradition
and of local knowledge is much more considerable ; and
unless what he thus possesses be digested and committed
to writing, it will entirely perish with him, whenever he
is summoned to leave us.

The author of the third Paper is already engaged in
the excellent national service of re-editing the Myvyrian
Archaiology. When this shall be finished, let him only
rest upon his pen, not lay it aside ; his country expects
still more, even than this, from his patient research
amongst, and his calm examination of, her ancient

records.

The three Papers are also published, and may be
purchased, separately.

COIS'TEI^TS.

Page

Vestiges of the Gael in Gwynedd. By the Rev. WiUiam Basil

Jones, M.A., Fellow of Queen's College, Oxford 1

On the State of Agricultiu-e, and the Progi-ess of Arts and
Manufactures in Britain, during the Period, and under the
Influence, of the Druidical System. By the Rev. John
Jones, M.A., Rector of Llanllyfni, Caernarvonshire 87

A Glossary of Terms used for Articles of British Dress and
Armour. By the Rev. John Williams (ab Ithel), M.A.,
Rector of Llanymowddwy, Merionethshii'e Ill

YESTIGES OF THE GAEL.

§ I. LOSS OF ANCIENT NAMES.

The question of the primeval occupations of a country is
among the most directly and purely interesting of any
which its present inhabitants can entertain. It is of
direct interest, because it is their country. The vales
which they inhabit — the fields which yield them sus-
tenance — the fertilizing streams — the mighty hills which
they are taught to look upon as types of permanence,
and that which is at once the bulwark of their liberty,
and the channel of their civilization, the universal ocean —
all familiar objects, whose names are to them as house-
hold words, and possibly those very names themselves
were the birth-right of a race which has passed away, it
may be, from the face of the earth, leaving not a
memorial of its existence, or only the very faintest traces.
Moreover, the interest of the question is intense, in
proportion to the obscurity of the indications by which
we have to determine it. We all know the excitement
of curiosity — the attractiveness of mystery — the pleasure
which men feel in reconstructing a bygone state of things
out of its scattered fragments — the charm of disinterested
suspense, and the satisfaction of successful ingenuity.

VESTIGES OF THE

These, and other similar elements, combine to augment
the interest we feel in prosecuting inquiries of this nature.

But the question is not only one of direct and intense
interest — it is also purely interesting. Subjects of
political or practical import have a far higher value
than any which can be derived from mere intellectual
interest. They can hardly be considered without refe-
rence to action; and so far as a question issues in action,
we do not call it interesting. To take an illustration
from other branches of knowledge : Astronomy is inte-
resting, and Agriculture useful ; Geology is interesting
to the scientific inquirer, but a matter of business to the
miner ; while, to every Christian, it is of deep and vital
import, as long as its statements either do, or can be
supposed to, affect the authenticity of Divine Revelation.

Now, as the intensity of this interest is directly depen-
dent on the obscurity of the memorials, so is its purity
indirectly proportioned to the same. For it is hardly
possible that the prior occupants of a country, in such an
age especially as is necessary for a total change of its
inhabitants, should leave behind them plain and authentic
records of their existence, without in some way affecting
the destinies of their successors, and so passing out of
the sphere of historical interest, into that of historical
importance. Such records must be the memorials either
of stubborn resistance, or of elements absorbed into the
supervening system ; and neither of these can have taken
place without having materially affected tliat system.
Thus, the very conditions of pure historical interest are
identical, in one respect at least, with the conditions of
its intensity.

GAEL IN GWYNEDD. O

The question which I am now approaching belongs to
this class partly, but not wholly. So long as we merely
attempt to determine who were our predecessors in the
occupation of this country, or whether any such existed,
the question is one of extreme and pure interest ; but, as
soon as we touch on the settlement of our own progeni-
tors in Gwynedd, it assumes at once the form of historical
importance. And, as these points cannot be separated, I
shall solicit your attention to the subject, regarded under
the twofold aspect of importance and interest. As a
matter of fact, these points cannot be considered separately,
because we have generally taken it for granted that the
present inhabitants of this country have dwelt in it from
the beginning. If they had believed and avowed them-
selves to be invaders and interlopers, the history of the
aborigines might have formed an amusing speculation,
whereas, at present, it is necessarily mixed up with many
practical questions.

The case stands thus at present. As in England
people are apt to regard the Roman dominion, the Saxon
immigration, and the Norman conquest, as events dif-
fering not at all in kind, and perhaps hardly in degree,
so have we tacitly acquiesced in the belief that we are an
aboriginal nation. But surely this ought not to be
assumed until it has been proved. As far as I know,
the position has never been proved, and though generally
believed, has been occasionally impugned : I trust, there-
fore, I shall not be deemed an audacious innovator,
or maintainer of paradoxes, for again bringing it into
question.

In reading the histories of Caesar and Tacitus, the

VESTIGES OF THE

geographies of Strabo, Ptolemy, and Pomponius Mela,
the Itinerary of Antoninus, and that of Richard of Ciren-
cester, we are met at once by the patent fact, that a great
and sweeping change has passed upon the names of
localities within this island. Compare the case of France,
and the fact becomes evident. The names of the many
nations who dwelt from the Rhine to the Atlantic, from
the Mediterranean to the German Ocean, have not yet
been extinguished. The various tribes who submitted
to or resisted the dominion of the Csesars, have mostly
left memorials of their independence in the names of the
great provincial towns. The appellations of natural
objects, of rivers and mountains, are unchanged except
by time. And yet that country has experienced mighty
revolutions. The Romans had changed its language and
its character. Huns and Saracens have swept over it.
Franks and Visigoths have occupied it. But, for all this,
men continue to hand down the memory of those ancient
people, by an unconscious but everlasting testimony.

I need not say that our case is far different. London
and York, the Severn and the Thames, a few natural
objects, and a few time-honoured cities, retain the names
by which they were known to the Romans ; but, of the
Trinobantes, the Iceni, and the Brigantes, the nations of
Cartismandua, Boadicea, and Cassivellaunus, every trace
has long since been obliterated, and their exact position
is a matter of historical inquiry. It will be said that the
Teutonic immigration into Britain was a far more com-
plete and decisive change than the corresponding event
in Gaul. The assertion is undeniable, and scarcely needs
any further confirmation than the fact that English is

GAEL IN GWYNEDD. O

spoken in one country, and French in the other. But
this brings us to the very point at issue. If in England
the ancient names have been blotted out one after
another by the victorious Saxons, what has been done in
this country, where, according to the popular view, no
change whatever has taken place ? We have here, as it
seems, a crucial instance to try the question by. If our
local names remain unaltered, as in France, it is probable
that there has been no change in our population, or a
very trifling one. If they have been generally effaced, as
in England, there is a strong presumption in favour of
the influx of some external element.

Our authorities on this head may be arranged in four
classes. In the first, we place Caesar, as an eye-witness ;
in the second, Tacitus, as an historian of the first repu-
tation. Then come the Itinerary of Antoninus, and the
geographers Strabo, Ptolemy, and Pomponius Mela.
The fourth place is reserved for Richard of Cirencester.
But, of these, four only bear upon the present question,
and we may regard their authority as varying in the
order of enumeration. These are Tacitus, Ptolemy,
Antoninus, and Richard the Monk.

§ II. ANCIENT AUTHORITIES.

We will begin with Tacitus. In the Annals we meet
with the river Sabrina,^ and the tribe of Silures," in
South Wales ; and, in North Wales, the nations of the
Ordovices^ and Cangi, the latter of whom he describes as

1 Tac. Ann., xii., c. 31 ^ ji^id,^ c. 33, 38, 39, &c., xiv., 29.
3 Ibid., xii., c. 33. Agric, c. 17.

6 VESTIGES OF THE

not far from the sea on the side of Ireland,"* together with
the island of Mona.^ Of the southern names, the one is
obviously retained in the Severn, the other less obviously
in the old Welsh name for the south-eastern part of the
Principality — Essyllwg. Of the northern names, that of
Mona alone remains.

Antoninus presents us with the folloAving names of
stations in North Wales : —

Segontium, on the Seiont ;

Conovium, on the Conway ;

Varis/ near Bod-jfari;

Deva, Chester on the Dee;''

Bi'avinium ; ^

Bovium ;

Mediolanum ;

Ilutunium.9
The last four names are entirely lost. In South Wales
we find : — ■

Leucarum, Louglior on the Llychwr ;

Nidum, Neath on the Nedd ;

Bomium (Bovium), Bovcrton (?);

Isca Leg. II. Augusta. Caerleon on the Usk;

Burrium ;

Gobannium, Abergavenny on the Gavenny ;

Magna ;^

Venta Silurum, Cdier-went in Gwent.
Burrium and Magna are lost ; the latter is possibly a
Latin name.

* " Hand procul mari quod Hiberniam aspectat."

5 Ann., xiv., c. 29. Agric, c. 17. Mona is also mentioned by
Caesar and Pliny.

6 Vans is a dative plural ; it does not appear what tlie real name
was.

7 Itinerary, xi. » Ihid., xii. 9 Ihid., ii. i Ibid., xii.

GAEL IN GWYNEDD. /

Ptolemy enumerates the natural objects, proceeding
southwards along the coast ; they occur in the following
order : — The estuary of Seteia, the river Tisobis, the
promontory of the Cangani, the rivers Stucia and Tue-
robis, the promontory Octapitarum, the rivers Tobius
and Rhatostathybius, and the estuary of Sabriana." The
position assigned to the Cangi by Tacitus, and to the
Cangani by Richard of Cirencester, makes it clear that
the three localities first enumerated are in North Wales ;
and it is equally clear, from the probable identification of
the headland of Octapitarum, or Octorupium, with St.
David's Head, that the four last named places are in
South Wales. The former are altogether lost ; while, of
the latter, two can easily be identified with the Tywy
and the Severn. Octapitarum is apparently a foreign
word. The two intervening names, Stucia and Tuerobis,
can only be identified with the Ystwyth and Teifi, both
in South Wales.^ This author mentions the Ordovices in

^ 2e7>/Va e'ic-^^yaiQ.
ToKTOjjiog TTOT. itcjJoXal.
Kaykavwv (var. 1. Fayyavuii') uKpov.

TovepopioQ TTOT. iicpoXai.

'OtcraTrlrapor ciKpov.

Tofylov (var. 1. Toi;/3iov) tot. eK[3o\aL

'FaroQTadvfiiov tzot. tK(jo\ai.

2a/3pta)'a eic-)^vcng (var, 1. ^aftpiaraic ^(^vaic.)
I observe that, in the notes to the lolo MSS., Rhatostathybius, or
Rhatostaubius, is identified with the Taf, or Tibia Amnis. It is ex-
plained Rhath Taf— the Taff mooi-land. Rhath, or Roath, is a place
contiguous to Cardiff. — p. 374, Note. Baxter assigns to it the same
locality, though not the same signification. — Glos. Ant. Brit., sub voce.
3 It is true that these rivers Avere included in a district which we
shall presently have to regard as part of North Wales ; but it will
appear that this district was probably conquered at a very early period.

8 VESTIGES OF THE

North Wales, and apparently includes among them the
Cangiani/ naming their chief cities Mediolanum and
Brannogenium, names altogether lost. In South Wales
he places the Demetse to the west, their towns being
Loventium and Maridunum ; and the Silures to the east,
whose only town is Bullium.^ The Demetse and Mari-
dunum are Dyfed and Caermarthen ; Loventium is sup-
posed to be Llanio, and Bullium has been identified with
Builth.

We now bid farewell to ancient authors, and turn to
Richard of Cirencester — a writer more copious, but of
less authority. The following North-Welsh names occur
in his " Itinerary" : —

Banchorium, Bangor Iscoed ;

Deva Colonia;

Varis ;

Conovium ;

Segontium;^

Heriri Mons;

Mediolanum ;

Rutunium ;

BranogeniumJ
The only new names here are Banchorium and Heriri
Mons. The former is so obviously late a name, that it
must be cut off as being fictitious, or, at all events,
foreign to our purpose. The latter is placed near
Trawsfynydd. In the South we meet with —

* Ytto C£ tovtovq Kctl Tov£ ^plym'Tag oIkovcti Svajjuctjorara jiev 'Op^oviKec
iv (HQ TToXeiQ MtdioXai'ioj', Bparroyii'ior. — Ibid.

IlttXi)' C vTTo TO. ilp-qjAtva edi'T] ^vajxiKwraroi j^iev Aij[Ji]raif iv oiq
ttoXeic Aovu'Tioy, Mapihovi'oy. Tovrwy F araroXiKMrepoi 'ZiXvpeg, iv oiq
TToXic BouWtoi'.

6 Itinerary, i. 7 Jbid., ii.

GAEL IN GWYNEDD. »

Venta Silurum ;
Isca Colonia;
Tibia Amnis ;
Bovium ;
Nidum ;
Leucarum ;
# # * *

Ad Vigesimum ;

Ad Menapiam ; "

Bultrum, or Ballium;^

Gobannium ;

Magna. ^
The new names, Tibia Amnis, and Menapia, are the
Taf, and St. David's, or Mynyw.

In his treatise " De Situ Britannise," Richard enume-
rates the following places : — Sariconium (Ross), Magna,
Gobaneum, Venta, Isca, among the Silures;- Octorupium
Promontorium, Menapia, Muridunum, and Lovantium,
among the Demetse, or, as he calls them, Demeciae.^ In
the country of the Ordovices he places Mediolanum and
Brannogenium,* and among the Cangiani, who dwelt be-
yond the last named race, Segontium^ as their only town,
the isle of Mona, the Fretum Meneviacum, or Menai
Strait, the rivers Deva and Canovius, or Tossibus, and
the mountain of Eriri." He thus appears to identify the

8 Itinerary, iii. 9 Ibid., xiii., xiv. ^ Ibid., xiii.

2 De Situ Brit., i., c. 6, § 22. ^ /?,^v/., § 24. * Ibid.

5 " Hue quoque referendum illud, quod a Septentrione Ordovicum
situm ab Oceano alluitur, cum illorum regimini quondam fuerit sub-
jeetum : hoc certo constat quod ilium Cangiani quondam inhabita-
verint tractum, quorum urbs unica Segontium promontorio Cangano
vicina." — De Sitic Brit., i., c. 6, § 25. It is to be observed that the
worthy monk invariably places the north where the west ought to be.

6 Ibid.

VESTIGES OF THE

Conway with the Tisobis of Ptolemy, and seems to indi-
cate, by placing the Dee within the territory of the Can-
giani, that they occupied at one period a large portion of
North Wales.

It will be as well to present the results of this exami-
nation in a tabular form. The names given by these
several authorities remain in the following proportions : "■ — •

Added hy

Tacitus.

AntoninuB.

Ptolemy.

Richard.

Kicbard.

Total.

.2 J

12;

r .

—

O ,

4
5

1 C/j

Before making any remarks upon this table, it will be

7 The proportion of names remaining has been thrown into a
fractional form ; the number of names recorded is indicated by the
denominator, while the numerator shows how many remain.

GAEL IN GWYNEDD. 11

necessary to premise that the name of Banchorium" has
been omitted in the calculations, for reasons already
alleged, and those of Octapitarum and Ad Vigesimum,
as being foreign names. The name of Magna is omit-
ted, partly on that account, and partly because the
district in which it stands has been wholly Anglicised,
and the place itself has assumed the English name of
Kentchester. The general result is that, whereas in
North \Yales one-half of the ancient names of places are
preserved, three-fourths remain in South Wales. But, if
we subtract the additions of Richard of Cirencester, we
have, in North Wales, only six out of fourteen names
remaining — in South Wales, thirteen out of seventeen.
Again, of the names surviving in North Wales, the
largest proportion are those of natural objects, which we
should always expect to be the most permanent, and the
remainder are those of towns or stations preserved in the
appellations of the rivers on whose banks they stood.
The most important conclusion of all is, that the names
of the two races which inhabited North Wales, the Ordo-
vices and Cangi, or Cangiani, are utterly lost, while
those of the Demetee and Silures, the inliabitants of the
South, are preserved among us.

Now these considerations suggest the probability of a
revolution of some kind among the inhabitants of
Gwynedd, since the close, or, at all events, since the
commencement, of the Roman domination in Britain.
The nature or extent of such a revolution is a further
question ; all that can be said at present is, that it would

^ Banchorium and Deva are placed by Richard in the territory of
the Carnabii. — De Situ Brit., i., c. 6, § 27.

12 VESTIGES OF THE

seem to have involved a total or partial change of the
population, and to have been at least so far complete, as
to have obliterated a large proportion of the local names.
And this probability is heightened, when we remember
that we have to account for the introduction of a wholly
new name into North \yales, I mean that of Gwynedd.
The designation of Genania, although applied to this
country, with some degree of hesitation, by Richard of
Cirencester,^ can hardly be a latinized form of Gwynedd,
the first two letters of which are invariably represented
by V in Latin, as well by the later writers, who use the
form Venedocia, and by the Romans themselves in writ-
ing other British names — as Venta for Gwent. It is also
worthy of notice that, whereas Richard applies the name
of Genania to a district much more extensive than any to
which that of Gwynedd was ever applied, there is reason
to think that Gwynedd was formerly used in a more
limited sense than afterwards.

§ III. TRADITIONAL EVIDENCE.

It is true that the probability does not amount to
more than a presumption, and that we have to look for
other evidence as well to confirm as to explain it. Such
evidence is by no means wanting, although the docu-
ments on which it rests are obscure, and often contradic-
tory. Nevertheless, there is quite enough to assure us
that a change, of which it is not easy to measure either

9 " Ordovicia una cum Caiigiorum Carnabiorumque regionibus,
ni fama me fallit, nomine Genaniae sub imperatoribus post Trajani
principatum inclarescebat." — De Situ Brit., i., c. 6, § 25.

GAEL IN (JWYNEDD. 13

the extent or the degree, came over the population of
Gwyncdd, at some period subsequent to the commence-
ment of the Roman dominion in Britain. The first
notice we have of the event is to be found in the Triads,
Avhich, after enumerating the various races which had
settled at different periods in our island, reckon among
"the three invading tribes that came into the isle of
Britain, and departed from it, ... . the hosts of
Ganfael Wyddel, who came to Gwynedd, and were there
twenty-nine years, until they were driven into the sea
by Caswallawn the son of Beh, the son of Manogan."^
I call this the first notice of this event, because it is
the earliest that occurs in the Triads, which are allowed
to contain the earliest native authorities on ancient
British history. Another Triad enumerates, among " the
three dreadful pestilences of the isle of Britain, the pesti-
lence from the carcases of the Gwyddyl, who were slain
in Manuba, after they had oppressed the country of
Gwynedd for twenty-nine years."- It is evident that
these documents relate to the same transaction, and we
gather from them that North Wales, or some part of it,
was under the dominion of a people called Gwyddyl,
for twenty-nine years, who were finally expelled by
Caswallawn, or Cassivellaunus, the opponent of Julius
C^sar. The name Gwyddel is to this day applied to
the Irish, and is, etymologically, the same as Gael, ^ the
common name of the Irish, and Highlanders of Scotland.*

1 Tiioecld Ynys Piydain. Myv. Arch., vol. ii., p. 58.

2 Ihkl., p. 29.

3 The latter word is spelt Gaoidheal, the soft consonant being
elided in pronounciation.

* It may be necessary to state distinctly the precise significations in

14 VESTIGES OF THE

All that we are justified in concluding from the name is,
that these occupants were a Gaelic race of some kind or
other. In another Triad we meet with a curious allusion
to a similar event, which must have occurred at a much
later period. '• The tribe of Caswallawn Law Hir put the
fetters of their horses on their feet by two and two, in fight-
ing with Serigi W^^ddel, at Cerrig y Gwyddel, in Mon."^
In the Historia Britonum, attributed to Nennius, we
meet with another account of the expulsion of the Gael.
He informs us that Cunedda and his eight sons came
from the north, from a province known as Manau
Guotodin, and expelled the Scots from Gwynedd, Dyfed,

which the terms " Celtic," " Gaelic," &c,, are used ; especially as
some confusion exists in people's minds on the subject. The common
name of Celtic is applied to all and each of the members of a family
of nations, distinguished by certain phenomena of language and
organization. This is the ethnological use of the term, and is the
result of a generalization from existing facts. It must carefully be
distinguished from the historical use of the term, as applied to a race
whom the Greeks and Romans found in various parts of western
Europe. Whether the historical Celts were Celtic in our use of the
word, ^. e., whether they possessed the distinctive marks of language
and organization, it is one of the problems of ethnology to determine.
Now this Celtic family is found to divide itself into two branches, one
of which, at present occupying the Highlands, Hebrides, Man, and
a great part of Ireland, in a tolerably pure state, is called Gaelic.
The other, in possession of Wales, Cornwall, and Brittany, is here, as
elsewhere, for convenience, denominated Cymraic. A closer connexion
is found to subsist between the Bretons and Cornish, than between
either of those people and the Welsh. These facts are stated here, to
avoid needless verbal discussion ; although they must be famiUar to
the majority of my readers. Those who wish to see the subject of
Celtic ethnology clearly drawn out, will do well to read Dr. Prichard's
" Essay on the Eastern origin of the Celtic Languages ; " and a
memoir, by M. Adolphe Pictet, " De I'affinite des Langues Celtiques
avec le Sanscrit."
5 Myv. Arch., p. 62.

GAEL IN GWYNEDD. 15

and from the districts of Gower and Kidwelly.^ Their
expulsion is placed about the close of the fourth century,
and, although the date of their immigration is not stated,
we are left to infer that it was synchronical with the
occupation of Dalriada and Man by their countrymen/
To the testimony of Nennius we may add that of Rhydd-
march, the author of the life of St. David, as a writer
whose date we are able to fix. He speaks of the Saint
being persecuted, in his hallowed retreat at Menevia, by
a certain Scottish tyrant, by name Boia, who had built
himself a strong castle, overlooking the Rosy Vale, in
which St. David had establised himself with his com-
panions.^ The name of this regulus is preserved in
Clegyr Foia, a precipitous volcanic rock, surmounted by

6 " Novissiine venit Damhoctor, et ibi habitavit cum omni genere
suo usque hodie in Brittaniiiam. Istorith, Istorini filius, tenuit
Dalrieta cum suis ; Builc autem cum suis tenuit Euboniam insulam,
et alias circiter ; filii autem Liethan obtinuerunt in regione Demetorum
et in aliis regionibus, id est, Guir et Cetgueli, donee expulsi sunt a
Cuneda et a filiis ejus ab omnibus Brittanicis regionibus." — Hist.
Brit., \ 14. " Mailcunus magnus rex apud Brittones regnabat, id
est, in regione Guenedotae, quia atavus illius, id est, Cunedag, cum
filiis suis, quorum numerus octo erat, venerat prius de parte sinistrali,
id est, de regione quae vocatur Manau Guotodin, centum quadraginta
sex annis antequam Mailcum regnaret, et Scottos cum ingentissima
clade expulerunt ab istis regionibus, et nusquam reversi sunt ad
habitandum." — Ibid., § 62.

7 Nennius, on the authority of the " peritissimi Scottorum," places
the migration of the Scots from Ireland to Dalriada, in the sixth
century B.C., that is to say, in the present case, in a period anterior
to history. Mr. Skene, in his ingenious Essay on the Highlanders,
dates the last occupation of Dalriada, a.d. 503, and appears to con-
sider the earlier migrations as fabulous. — Vol. i., pp. 15-20.

8 Ricemarus in Vita Sti Davidis apud Whart. Angl. Sacr. II.
Giraldus omits the words " Scottus quidam," which are supplied by
Wharton in the margin. Rhyddmarch lived in the eleventh century.

16 VESTIGES OF THE

an ancient earth-work, within a quarter of a mile of St.
David's. Perhaps this is the proper place to observe
that the Menapii are placed by Ptolemy and Richard on
the coast of Ireland, immediately opposite to St. David's
Head,^ so that it is easy to imagine the settlement of a
section of this tribe on the opposite shore of Menevia, or
Menapia. William of Malmesbury, in his History of
Glastonbury, gives us a rather more detailed account of
the event recorded by Nennius. He confirms the state-
ments of that writer, and of Rhyddmarch, by informing
us that the Gael were expelled from D^^fed, as well as
Gwynedd.^

The scanty notices we have already met with concur
in recording the settlement of Gaelic tribes, at an un-
known period, in various parts of Wales, especially in
Gwynedd, and their expulsion on one, or more than one,
occasion, attributed variously to Caswallawn the son of
Beli, to Caswallawn Law Hir, and the family of Cunedda.
We must now turn to another quarter for more detailed
information with respect to the Gaelic dominion in
Wales. It is to be found in the valuable Miscellany
collected by the late lolo Morganwg, and recently
published by the Welsh MSS. Society. The notices
which it gives us on this subject are fuller than those
which have already been produced, and serve in many
instances to explain them ; on the other hand, it must
be owned that they frequently contradict each other, and
rest, of course, on comparatively slender authority." I

9 They are called by Ptolemy, Mavcnnoi.

^ Gale, Scriptores, vol. i., p. 295.

2 I am content to take these documents at the lowest value that can

GAEL IN GWYNEDD. 17

shall give some of the more explicit of these memorials
in full, and proceed to harmonise them as far as it is
possible : —

" Three Irish invasions took place in Cambria ; and one family,
that of CuneddafWledi-i-, delivered the country from the three.
The first occurred in Govver, in Glamorgan, where Caian Wyddel
and his sons landed, subjugated the country, and ruled it for
eight years ; but Cuneddaf Wledig, and Urien the son of Cyn-
farch, subdued and slew them to nine, whom they drove into the
sea ; and the government of the country was conferred on Urien
the son of Cynfarch, having been constituted a kingdom for that
purpose, and called Rheged, because it was bestowed unani-
mously by its ancient British inhabitants on Urien, in free gift,
whence he was called Urien Rheged.^

" The second invasion was that of Aflech Goronog, who seized
upon Garth Mathrin by irruption ; but, having married Marchell,
the daughter of Tewdrig, king of that district, he acquired the
good will of its inhabitants, and obtained the country in marriage
settlement with his wife ; and there his descendants still remain,
intermixed with the natives.

" The third invasion was that of Don (others say Daronwy),
king of Lochlyn (Scandinavia), who came to Ireland, and con-
quered it; after which he led sixty thousand Irish and Loch-
lynians to North Wales, where they ruled for one hundred and
twenty-nine years ; when Caswallawn Law Hir the son of Einion
Yrth, the son of Cunedda Wledig, entered Mona, wrested the
country from them, and slew Serigi Wyddel, their ruler, at a

be put upon them, as the weight of my proof does not rest upon the
authority of individual passages, but upon the coincidence of a large
number, and indeed, as will be seen, upon their very discrejjancies —
an authority which cannot well be destroyed, except by the supposition
of an actual forgery.

3 In the published translation which I have elsewhere followed, the
last sentence runs thus : — " whence it was called Urien Rheged." It
is probably an error of the press.

18 VESTIGES OF THE

place called Llan-y-Gwyddyl, in Mona. Other sons of Cuneddaf
Wledig slew them also in North Wales, the Cantred, and Powis,
and became princes of those countries. Don had a son called
Gwydion, king of Mona and Arvon, who first taught literature
from books to the Irish of Mona and Ireland ; whereupon both
these countries became pre-eminently famed for knowledge and
saints."^

The next history is at variance with the last, and with
itself: its chronology is altogether hopeless: —

" A.D. 267, Don, king of Lochlyn and Dubhn, led the Irish
to Gwynedd, where they remained one hundred and twenty-nine
years. Gwydion the son of Don was highly celebrated for
knowledge and science. He was the first who taught the
Cambro-Britons to perform the plays of illusion and phantasm,
and introduced the knowledge of letters to Ireland and Lochlyn ;
but after the Irish and Lochlynians had inhabited North Wales
for one hundred and twenty-nine years, the sons of Cuneddaf
Wledig came there from the north, overcame the Irish and their
confederates, and drove them in flight to the Isle of Man.
They were slaughtered at the battle of Cerrig y Gwyddyl ; and
Caswallawn Law Hir, with his own sword, killed Serigi Wyddel
the son of Mwrchan, the son of Eurnach the Aged, the son of
Eilo, the son of Rhechgyr, the son of Cathbalig, the son of
Cathal, the son of Machno, the son of Einion, the son of Celert,
the son of Math, the son of Mathonwy, the son of Gv/ydion, the
son of Don, king of Mona and Arvon, the Cantred, and of Dub-
lin and Lochlyn, who came to the isle of Mona one hundred
and twenty-nine years before the incarnation of Christ.

" Eurnach the Aged fought, sword to sword, with Owen
Finddu, the son of Maxen Wledig, in the city of Ffaraon; and
he slew Owen, who also slew him."^

I should be glad to know whether these can be
regarded as perversions of Gaelic names. Again, —

4 lolo MSS., p. 467. 5 lUd., p. 471.

GAEL IN GWYNEDD.

" After the departure of tlie Romans from Britain, Serigi took
upon him the supreme government of Mona, Gwynedd, and the
Cantred ; but so excessive was the oppression of the Irish there
that messengers were sent to Cuneddaf Wledig, who dispatched
his sons to Gwynedd, and they put them to flight; except in
Mona, where they had become a distinct nation, with Serigi for
their king, who came with a strong force to Gwyrfai, in Arfon,
to fight against Caswallawn, who drove them back to Mona,
where they were slain at a place called Cerrig y Gwyddyl ;
whereupon Caswallawn, and the family of Cuneddaf, placed
saints in that island, to teach the Christian faith there, and be-
stowed lands on the Cambro-British, who were brought there
from Dyfed, Gower and Gwent ; so that Mona became cele-
brated for its saints, wise men, and pious persons."^
I shall add two more, —

"Gwydion Wyddel, the son of Don, the son of Dar, the son of
Daronwy, the son of Urnach Wyddel, of the city of Ffaraon, was
slain by Owen Finddu the son of Maxen Wledig ; this Urnach
led twenty thousand Irish from Ireland to Gwynedd, where they
landed, and where they and their descendants remained for one
hundred and twenty-nine years.

" The son of Urnach was Serigi Wyddel, who was slain at
Cerrig y Gwyddyl, in Mona, by Caswallawn Law Hir the son of
Einion Yrth, the son of Cuneddaf Wledig, in the time of Owen
the son of Maxen Wledig ; and upon the greensward they found
a male infant, who was Daronwy the son of Urnach Wyddel,
Serigi's brother, of the city of Ffaraon. An illustrious chieftain
who resided just by, commiserating his beauty and destitution,
reared him up as one of his children ; but he became eventually
one of three native oppressors ; for he confederated with the
Irish, and seized the dominion from its rightful Cambro-British
owners, namely,'^ — "
And this, —

6 lolo MSB., p. 471. ' Ibid., p. 472*

20 VESTIGES OF THE

" Saint Gynyr of Caer Gawch the son of Gwyndeg, the son
of Saithenyn, king of Maes Gwyddno, whose land was over-
flowed by the sea, the son of Saithenyn Hen, the son of Flaws
Hen, king of Dyfed, the son of Gwrtherin, a prince of Rome,
who expelled the Gwydelians from Dyfed and Gower.

" Meyrig, king of Dyfed, the son of Gwrthelin, the son of
Eudaf, the son of Flaws Hen, king of Dyfed, the son of Gwr-
therin, a nobleman of Rome, who expelled the Gwyddelians
from Gower and Dyfed." ^

The notices before us, however discordant in detail,
coincide in the main, both with each other, and with
those which were cited before. They agree so far in
their general purport that we cannot doubt their relating
to the same event, while they are so contradictory in
minor points as to prove, beyond question, the antiquity
of the original legend which is embodied in them. Thus
their very discrepancies are a confirmation of their general
authenticity, and at the same time allow us a conside-
rable latitude in interpreting them. It is evident then
that a tribe of Picts or Scots were in possession of several
portions of Wales, in an age within the domain of history ;9
that they had settlements in the country between the
Neath and the Tywy,' in Brecknockshire," and probably

s IMd., p. 545. Achau y Saint.

9 It is not necessary here to decide whether the Gael of North
Wales were Picts or Scots, or, indeed, whether the Picts were Gael
or Celts at all. This has been, as is well known, the vexata qucestio
of Scottish antiquaries for many years. Those who wish for speci-
mens of the spirit in which it has been discussed, will do well to read
the quarrel between Monkbarns and Sir Arthur Wardour, in the
" Antiquary," or (if they prefer reality to fiction) Ritson's Annals of
the Caledonians.

1 See Nennius, as already quoted. See also lolo MSS., pp. 456-7.

2 Ibid., p. 467. Cf., p. 517.—" Marchell, the daughter of Tewdrig,

GAEL IN GWYNEUD, "21

in western Pembrokeshire f but that their principal ter-
ritory was in North Wales, the whole, or a large portion,
of which they occupied at an early period, where their
power was not entirely extinguished until the fifth cen-
tury. We are presented with lists and genealogies of
their kings and leaders, contradictory to the last degree,
and yet, as it seems, containing germs of truth. The
Brecknockshire colony was governed by one Aflech,
that in Gower by a person variously designated as Caian,^
Glaian,^ and Liethan*^ — distinct forms, as it would seem,
of the same name. In another document, the Gael of
Gower are said to have been led by Gilmwr Rechdyr.^
But it is concerning the Gael of Gwynedd that we have
the most copious information, and it is to them that our
attention must 'be principally directed. We have a
multiplicity of accounts concerning their original settle-
ment in the country, but they may be reduced to three
several legends.

The first is derived from a source we have not hitherto
touched. In the genealogy of lestyn ab Gwrgant^ we
are informed that, in the reign of " Annyn the Rugged
the son of Alafon," a prince of Siluria, seven or eight
generations before the Roman invasion, a people whom
it calls " y Ddraig Estron," or the "dragon strangers,"^

was the wife of Anllech Goronog, who was king of Ireland, and their
son was called Brychan, and he had in right of his mother the terri-
tory of Garth Mathrin, which he called after his own name, Bry-
cheiniog." ^ See above, pp. 15, 16.

4 lolo MSS., p. 467. 5 Glaian Ecdawr, ibid., p. 458.

6 Nennius, vt sujjra. ' lolo MSS., p. 457.

8 Ibid., p. 341. — This document is not cited as an authority, but as
containing a legend different from any that we have met with.

9 The appellation is a curious one, but it may sei-ve to interpret

22 VESTIGES OF THE

came to Britain and Ireland : " they are now become
quite extinct in this island, although they still entirely
possess Ireland, where they are termed Gwyddelians."
It would appear at first sight that this notice refers only
to the settlement of the Gael in North Britain, an event
commemorated in various Triads, and placed at a very
early period ; but the assertion that their descendants
were extinct in this island — having, of necessity, refe-
rence to the southern portion of it — makes it probable
that the history speaks of a Gaelic colony in Gwynedd
at this early period. And this is confirmed by various
passages in the same document. It informs us that, in
the reign of the same Annyn, " a new king sprang up in
Gwynedd, in utter violation of justice ;"^ that the king
of Gwynedd was conquered by Lleyn, a descendant of
Annyn, who gave name to the country ;- that the war in
Gwynedd was continued by Tegid, the brother and suc-
cessor of Lleyn,^ and that a third brother, Llyr, the
grandfather of the great Caractacus, finally expelled the
Gael from Gwynedd.*

The second legend is that presented to us in the Triads,

certain obscure passages of Welsh tradition. In one of the Triads the
" Dragon of Britain" is described as one of the " oppressions of the
isle of Britain." — Myv. Arch., ii., p. 59. In the Mabinogi of Lludd
and Llefelys, Britain is visited by three simultaneous afflictions, one
of which is, the invasion of the Coritani, and another, the conflict of
two dragons, which are ultimately buried in Dinas Ffaraon, subse-
quently the metropolis of the Gael. The title of Draig appears to
have been afterwards applied to the Welsh princes of Gwynedd.
Gildas calls Maelgwyn " draco insularis," and Gwalchmai appHes
to Owen Gwynedd the title of " Dragon of Mona." — Evans' Sj^eci-
mens of Welsh Bards, p. 127.

1 lolo MSS., p. 341. 2 ii^id,^ p. 346. 3 jj^-^. 4 /j,-^.

GAEL IN GWYNEDD. 23

which places the invasion of the Gael, under Ganfacl,
shortly before the Roman invasion, and attributes their
expulsion, after a short domination of twenty-nine years,
to Caswallawn the son of Beli.^

The third legend is that of which we have given speci-
mens already. It generally describes the invaders as led
by Don the son of Daronwy, who is represented as a Scan-
dinavian settler in Ireland. They are in possession of the
country for a hundred and twenty -nine years, although
other accounts abbreviate the period to twenty-nine,
while another extends it to three hundred and twenty-
nine.^ Among their princes we meet with various names
distinguished in Welsh romance, Gwydion the son of
Don, Arianrod his sister. Math the son of Mathonwy,
the Palug Cat, with other personages wearing a very
mythological aspect. Gwydion is invariably represented
as a wise man, and sometimes as a wizard. In one
Triad he is said to have learned illusion from Math ab
Mathonwy, who is denominated one of the three " men
of illusion and phantasy." '^ The Mabinogi of Math gives
us a specimen of his performances, and those of his in-
structor ; and we are elsewhere informed that his magic
sleights secured him the possession of his principality.^
Another Triad unites him with Idris the Giant, and
Gwyn the son of Nudd, under the class of chief astrono-
mers.^ Elsewhere we are told that he was highly cele-
brated for knowledge and sciences, that he introduced
the knowledge of letters to Ireland and Lochlyn,^ and to

5 Myv. Arch., ii., p. 58. « lolo MSS., p. 609.

7 Myv. Arch., ii., p. 71. ^ lolo MSS., p. 421.

9 Myv. Arch., ii., p. 71. ' lolo MSS., p. 267.

24 VESTIGES OF THE

the Irish of Mona, whereupon these countries (Ireland
and Anglesey) became pre-eminently famed for know-
ledo-e and saints." His court was the resort of bards and
philosophers, and was visited by Merddyn,^ as that of his
son was by Taliesin.^ Both of these assertions, it is
needless to say, are palpable anachronisms ; but they
show the light in which Gwydion was regarded in later
times. An obscure memorial of him in the Achau Saint^
appears to imply that he was the means of converting
the Gael of Gwynedd to Christianity, and connects him
in some way with the Pelagian heresy. But he appears
elsewhere in a more marvellous form. His path is in the
sky, and may be seen in the galaxy. His sister, the
Lady of the Silver Wheel, holds her court among the
stars. On occasion, like Apollo, he plays the part of a
herdsman, and keeps thrice seven thousand kine above
the Conwy ."^ Enough has been said to show that
Gwydion is more than half a mythic character, and that
he is the great hero of the Gaelic legend.

Math, whose exact relation to Gwydion it is rather

2 lolo MSS., p. 468. 3 Ihid, p. 466. * Ibid, p. 467.

5 " Mor, the son of Morieii, brought baptism and faith, and would
not bring baptism to the country of Gwynedd. The first that did so
was Gwydion, the son of Don, king of Llychlyn, who was king of
the country of Gwynedd, during the time the Gwyddelians bore rule
in Gwynedd."— /&«/., p. 551.

6 Trioedd Ynys Prydain. Myv. Arch., ii., p. 10.—" The three
herdsmen of tribes of the isle of Britain, . . the second, Gwydion
the son of Don, who kept the cattle of the tribe of Gwynedd, above
the Conwy ; and in this herd were twenty-and-one thousand." Baxter
asserts, without giving his authority, that the Cangi wei'e a pastoral
race, subject to other tribes. — Gloss. Ant. Brit., p. 73, sub voce
Ceangi.

GAEL IN GWYNEDD.

difficult to determine, held his court at Caer Dathyl, and
carried on a war with the king- of Dyfed.'"' Another
warrior, Urnach, or Eurnach, tlie Agcd,^ who in one
record is represented as the original invader, and the
great-grandfather of Don, is elsewhere described as fight-
ins: sino-le-handed with Owen the son of the Emperor
Maximus, a contest which was fatal to both. He is
also called Brynach, and is said to have been the first
king of Gwynedd converted to Christianity.'' His do-
minions extended over the western part of North Wales,
Mona and Man, and he held his court at Dinas Ffaraon
in Snowdon.

His son Serigi closes the list of the Gaelic chiefs of
Gwynedd.9 The Welsh, who had, as it seems, for some
time pressed hard upon them, and apparently limited
their dominions to Mona, ultimately overcame them, and
slew their leader at Holyhead under the command of
Caswallawn Law Hir, the grandson of Cunedda Wledig,
whose family had emigrated from North Britain for the
express purpose of rescuing Wales from the oppression of
the invaders.

In the names of Eurnach, Serigi and Caswallawn, we
seem to have an approach to authentic history ; and we
may perhaps conclude that, as far at least as the termi-
nation of their empire is concerned, this legend gives us
the real account. We can hardly doubt that the story
which ascribes their expulsion to the celebrated Cassi-
vellaunus arises merely from the confusion of two per-
sonages bearing the same name ; and the legend referred

6 Mabinogi of Math. 7 lolo MSS., p. 471. » lUd., p. 474.
9 One legend ascribes the original invasion to Serigi.

26 VESTIGES OF THE

to in the genealogy of lestyn is probably an even more
corrupted form of the present one.

§ IV. CHRONOLOGY.

Before we proceed to consider the details of the con-
quest of Gwynedd by the family of Cunedda, it will be
well to examine the chronology of their occupation and
evacuation of that country by the Gwyddyl — to see,
in fact, whether anything can be made of it. We will
assume that the termination of their dominion is fixed by
the accession of Caswallawn Law Hir, who is said to have
reigned over North Wales from 443 to 517. This date
is rendered probable by that of his son Maelgwyn, which
is better known. The latter was contemporary with
Gildas, the first British historian, if he should not rather
be called a preacher, who was born about the year 516,
and wrote in the middle of the sixth century. For the
invasion of the Gwyddyl we find various dates assigned.
The genealogy of lestyn ab Gwrgant places it, as we
have seen, at an indefinitely early period.^ The Triads
fix the invasion of Ganfael Wyddel in the first century
B.C." A record which we have already quoted^ fixes the
invasion in the year 267 a.d., and, almost in the same
breath, in 129 b.c. In another document we find the
following chronological notices : —

" In 294 A.D., the Irish Picts, who had migrated from Beitwy,
were slain." . . " In 307 a great pestilence prevailed, and a
fearfiil number of full-grown males and females died in conse-
quence, together with more than half the children of the island ;

1 See above, p. 21. 2 p, 13. 3 lol© MSS., p. 471, cited above, p. 18.

GAEL IN GWYNEDD. 27

in consequence of which, the invasion of the Irish Picts took
place in the north, and that of tlic pike-bearing Irish and Loch-
lynians in Anglesca, Arvon, and the Commot." . , " In 314
scarcity and famine took place ; the Irish and Lochlynians hav-
ing spoiled the corn lands," " In 339 many of the Irish ban-
ditti were taken." " About this period [a.d. 380] Morien the
son of Argad the Bard flourishedj ... he denied Baptism
and the Sacrifice, . . whence arose great hatred, contentions,
and wars."

We have already seen that Morien was supposed to be
contemporary with Gwydion.

" In 400 the Irish Picts came to Cambria, and committed
atrocious depredations ; but at last they were vanquished, slain
unsparingly, and driven back beyond the sea to their original
country." " In 410 severe diseases and great mortality pre-
vailed, occasioned by the yellow pestilence, which arose from the
dead bodies that remained unburied."

This pestilence is connected with the Gaelic invasion
by the Triads.

" In 430 the Irish Picts made a descent on Anglesea and
Arvon, and were joined by the Irish of those countries, in com-
bined hostility to the crown of the island of Britain ; but they
were opposed by the kings and princes of Cambria, whose cause
was espoused by the two saints, namely, Germanus and Lupus ;
and they prayed to God, who . . made them victorious
over their enemies." " In 436 ... a terrible pestilence
occurred in Britain; . . whereupon the Irish Picts came to
Cambria ; but, through the prayers of the saints, they were
vanquished."*

It is obvious that such circumstantial chronology, in
relation to an age of which so little is known, cannot be
trusted in detail. In fact, the only positive conclusion

* lolo MSS., pp. 418-422. Cf. Bede, Hist. Eccl. i., c. 20.

28 VESTIGES OF THE

which we can draw from it is, that the Irish domination
terminated about the middle of the fifth century, that is,
about the period assigned to Caswallawn Law Hir. It
does not give us a hint of the commencement of their
empire, but appears to imply that it was kept up by
continual succours from their brethren in Ireland, or
elsewhere.^ We have however further data, as it would
appear, for determining the time of their arrival, in the
duration of their power, as derived from the Triads and
other sources. This we have already seen stated variously
as twenty-nine, one hundred and twenty-nine, and three
himdred and twenty-nine years. These numbers bear so
evident a relation to one another, that they seem clearly
to be different versions of the same legend ; while they
occur in accounts so contradictory, as to prove the anti-
quity of the legend from which they are derived. They
are so circumstantial that they must mean something,
while they are far too circumstantial to be received with-
out caution. We may fairly assume that one of the
three was found in the original story, and that the others
are perversions of it. And we may probably conclude
that to be the original number which bears the clearest
marks of being artificial, or that which there was most
reason to change in subsequent versions of the story.
Now it appears more natural to lengthen the period than
to shorten it, simply for the purpose of allowing more
time for the events which confused traditions, or the in-
genuity of poets, had made to occur within it. And the
shortest of these periods can with least difficulty be

5 The events of 430 particularly deserve notice, as the pre-existence
of the Gael in Mona and Arvon is expressly mentioned.

GAEL IN GWYNEDD. 29

regarded as artificial. Tlie partiality of the Welsh for
the triad is too well known to need proof, and it would
necessarily extend to the number thirty. Now, in
twenty-nine, we have three decades minus one ; or, if
we please to put it in this way — the Irish having ruled
in Gwynedd for nine-and-twenty years, were driven out
in the thirtieth. This view of twenty-nine as a mythical
or mystical number, is confirmed in some degree by
a curious story published in the lolo MSS., of " Einion
the son of Gwalchmai of Anglesey, and the Lady of the
Greenwood, which was a witch, or female goblin, that
fascinated him for nine-and-twenty years, and of the
manner in which he was liberated from the illusions and
bands she had cast over him.'"' Nennius also, who
delights in triads and round numbers, tells us a story of
three sons of a certain knight of Spain, who were utterly
destroyed, with nine-and-twenty ships of war, as they
were besieging a tower of glass in the middle of the sea.'''
This explanation may appear fanciful to those who are
not accustomed to observe the manner in which numbers
are manufactured in mythological history. The only
object of it is to destroy the apparent credibility of these
numbers arising from their extremely circumstantial
character, by showing how easy it is to account for their
origin. Whether this be the true explanation or not, we
may be allowed to have grave doubts as to the value of
such precise dates in the history of an age of which so
little is really known. The only result, then, of our
chronological examination is, that we can have no
certain chronology in the matter ; that the close of the

6 lolo MSS., p. 591. 7 Nennius, Hist. Brit., § 13.

30 VESTIGES OF THE

Gaelic dominion in North Wales took place about the
middle of the fifth century ; and that we are at liberty to
place its commencement in an indefinitely early period.
Indeed, we are not without authority for supposing that
it took place at a date anterior to any facts recorded in
the history of this country.^ We shall soon see reasons
for wishing to extend the duration of their sovereignty
beyond the limits, not of the twenty-nine years only, but
of the hundred and twenty-nine.

^ V. EXTENT OF THE GAELIC DOMINION.

We have been occupied with the limits of duration
assio-ned to the Gaelic domination, let us now consider its
extent in point of space. I do not now speak of the minor
settlements in South Wales, but of that great principality
in Gwynedd, of which we may regard Gwydion the
son of Don as the mythic representative, and of which
Serip-i the son of Urnach was the last ruler. The
authorities which we have already had occasion to con-
sult, are rather vague in their information as to the
limits of their territory. They speak in general terms
of an invasion and occupation of Gwynedd," or in more
precise language, of Mona, Arvon and the Cantred,^
which appears to be identical with Merioneth ; others
speak of Mona, Gwynedd (used, as it would seem, in a
limited sense) and the Cantred, or Commot ; and one
document, which we have already quoted, speaks of their

^ See above, p. 21.

9 Trioedd Ynys Pryd. Myv. Arch, ii., p. 58. lolo MSS., p. 468.

1 Ibid., 471.

GAEL IN GAVYNEDD. 31

being overcome by the sons of Cunedda, in Mona,
Gwynedd, the Cantred and Powys.- We also find the
isle of Man annexed to their dominions, and spoken of
in such a way as to leave no doubt that it formed at one
time part of the great principality of Gwynedd.' It is
to be observed, however, that Mona is spoken of as their
principal seat, as it was certainly the district in which
they maintained their power to the latest period, and
hence in the ordinary histories of Wales their empire is
generally spoken of as a temporary occupation of Mona,
or at most of Mona and Arvon.* We shall be able
however to ascertain the limits of their territory with
greater accuracy, if we examine the accounts handed down
to us of their overthrow and expulsion. The most
minute record is contained in the following extract from
one of the genealogies termed Achau Saint :^ —

" Cunedda Wledig sent sons to Gwynedd against the Gvvydd-
elians, which came with Serigi the Gwyddehan, to Anglesey, and
other places, and had taken the greatest portion of that country
from the inhabitants, when there were no princes over them ;
and the sons of Cunedda led the Cymry, and expelled the
Gwyddelians from the country, and slew them, making prisoners
of such as had their lives spared ; then the men of Gwynedd
gave those princes possession of the lands they had w^on ;
namely : —

"Tybiawn the son of Cunedda Wledig, won the Cantref,
routing the Gw yddelians, and in that battle he was slain, and
the nobles of the country conferred the sovereignty on Meirion
his son, and he was called Meirion of Meirionydd.

" Arwystl the son of Cunedda Wledig, won a district, which

2 lolo MSS., p. 468. 3 jMcl, p. 474.

* It is thus represented by Lhoyd and Warrington.
5 lolo MSS., p. 521.

32 VESTIGES OF THE

was given him, which he called after his own name, and he
himself is called Arvvystl of Arwystli,

" Ceredig the son of Cunedda Wledig, expelled the foreigners
from the Cantref of Tyno Coch, and received it as an inheritance,
and called it Ceredigion after his own name, and he himself is
called Ceredio- of Ceredioion.

" Dunawd the son of Cunedda Wledig, delivered the Commot
of Ardudwy, in Eifionydd, and received it as a possession, and
called it Dinodyng after his own name, and he is called Dunawd
of Dinodyng.

" Edeyrn the son of Cunedda Wledig, delivered the country,
which he called Edeyrnion from his own name, of which he
received possession, and he is called Edeyrn of Edeyrnion.

" Mael the son of Cunedda Wledig, had Maelienydd, which
he named after his own name, and he is called Mael of Maeli-
enydd, in remembrance of his act in delivering the country.

" Dogvael the son of Cunedda Wledig, had the country called
after him Dogveilyng, and he is called Dogvael of Dogveilyng.

" Rhufawn the son of Cunedda Wledig, had the Cantref, which
after him was called Rhyfoniog, and he is called Rhufawn of
Rhufoniog, and also Rhun Hael of Rhufoniog, because he was
the most generous man in Wales in his times.

" Oswal the sDn of Cunedda Wledig, had the country called
after him Osweilyng, and he is called Oswal of Osweihawn, and
that country is the town of Oswestry and its precincts.

" Clwyd the son of Cunedda Wledig, had the vale of Clwyd.

" Cynir, Meilin, and Meigir, the sons of Gvvron, the son of
Cunedda Wledig, went with Caswallawn Law Hir their cousin to
expel the Gwyddelian Picts from the island of Anglesey, where
they had fled from the sons of Cunedda, and had established
themselves in that island ; and after furious fighting they drove
the Gwyddelians out of Anglesey, and Caswallawn Law Hir slew
Serigi Wyddel there, with his own hand. That Serigi was the
prince of the Gwyddelian Picts, which had governed Gwynedd
from the time of the Emperor Maximus. And after expelling

GAEL IN GWYNEDD. 33

the foreigners from Anglesey, the Cymry took courage, and
drove them out of every part of Gwynedd, and none of them
remained in the country, except such as were made captives for
ever. And thus did Cunedda Wledig obtain the sovereignty of
Wales, and his sons the lands before mentioned,

" And Caswallawn Law Hir the son of Einion Yrth, the son of
Cunedda Wledig, founded a church to God in the place where
he obtained a victory over his enemies, and called it Llan y
Gvvyddyl, and which is in Anglesey, and now called Cerrig y
Gwyddyl.

" Einion the king the son of Einion Yrth, the son of Cunedda
Wledig. His church is in Lleyn, of which country he was king."

A somewhat different account is given in the description
of Wales prefixed to Lhoyd's history : —

" The sons of Cunetha being arriued in North Wales, (as well
I thinke being driuen by the Saxons, as for their inheritance,)
diuided the countrie betwixt them. And first, Meireaon the
Sonne of Tibiaon, the sonne of Cunetha, had Cantref Meireaon
to his part. Arustel ap Cunetha had Cantref Arustly. Caredic
ap Cunetha had Caerdigion, now Caerdigan Shire. Dunod had
Cantref Dunodic. Edeyrn had Edeyrnion. Mael had Dynmael.
Coel had Coeleyon. Doguael had Dogueilyn. Ryvaon had
Ryuonioc, now Denbighland. Eineon Yrth had Caereneon, in
Powys. Vssa had Maesvswalht, now Oswestree. . . Maelor
the Sonne of Gwron, sonne to Cunedha, had Maeloron."^

I shall presently have occasion to criticise these pas-
sages in detail, and to compare them with other accounts
of the same event. My only object in citing them at
present is, to show the extent of country over which the
Gaelic sway may have extended at various times. It is
obvious that the various districts which it enumerates
were regarded as the possessions of, and deriving their

6 This account is adopted in the Hanes Cymru of Carnhuanawc.

34 VESTIGES OF THE

appellation from, the legendary heroes of the Cuneddian
race, whose names stand at the head of many Welsh
genealogies. We may also assume that all the regions
connected by tradition with that family were supposed, as
they are here asserted, to have been won from the
strangers. Now these districts would appear to include
the whole of Anglesey, Caernarvon, Merioneth, and
Cardiganshire, with a portion at least of Denbighshire,
Montgomeryshire, and Radnorshire. It would include
the entire coast from the Clwyd to the Teifi,^ and would
be bounded to the east by the Clwydian and Berwyn
mountains, and the wild hills of Montgomeryshire and
Radnorshire.^ It would also appear from this document,
and others, that their power was more complete, or lasted
longer, in some parts than in others, and most of all in
Mona, although they continued to exist elsewhere in
isolated positions even after the overthrow of Serigi.

This tradition receives a remarkable confirmation from
modern topography, a source of historical information
to which too little attention has been paid in general,
and particularly in the present instance. Rowland, the
author of the " Mona Antiqua Restaurata," records the
expulsion of the Irish from Anglesey, of which he seems
to consider them at one time the sole occupants. ^ He

7 Since this passage was written, I have been informed that
Ceredigion extended to the Preseleu mountains, a fact which the
features of the country and the present ecclesiastical divisions had led
me to suspect.

8 Some parts, indeed, of this territory lie beyond the limits we have
fixed.

9 " The Irish, under Sirig the Rover, who once indeed drove the
inhabitants out of the island, were soon after themselves outed and
expelled by Melirion ap Meircliion, and his cousin Caswallawn law

GAEL IN GVVYNEDD. 35

tells US also that the circular foundations of houses, like
those in Avhat we are accustomed to call British towns,
were ordinarily known as Cytiau r' Gwyddelod, the cabins
of the Gael.^ Yet he does not seem to connect these
facts in any way ; on the contrary, he has recourse to a
very unsatisfactory argument to explain away the apparent
connexion. I believe that name is in common use in
various parts of North Wales at this day; and one
instance certainly exists in Anglesey. But we find in
various parts of Wales, the word Gwyddel entering into
composition in the local names, frequently in very re-
markable positions. I give a list of these which I have
been able to discover, and it is probable that more are to
be found.
In Anglesey, —

Forth y Gwyddel, in Holyhead Island ;

Pentre Gwyddal, also in Holyhead Island ;

Cytiau 'r Gvvydd'lod, about a mile to the south of the cause-
way leading to Holyhead Island.

To these we may add Cerrig y Gwyddel, Llan y Gwyddel, or
Capel y Gwyddel, the ancient name of Holyhead.
In Caernarvonshire, —

Pentre Gwyddel, on the shore between Conway and Abergele;

Bwlch y Gwyddel, between Capel Curig and Llanberis ;

Mynydd y Gwyddel ; and,

Trwyn y Gwyddel, at the extreme promontory of Lleyn.

hir, who killed the said Sirig, at a place called Cappel Gwyddil as
tradition hath it." — p. 37.

1 " There are, to this day, visibleiupon our heaths and Rhosydh, the
marks and footsteps of these booths and cabbins, in the oval and circular
trenches which are seen in great plenty dispersed here and there on
such grounds . . . they are called Cyttie r' gwyddelod, viz., the
Irish men's cottages." — p. 27.

36 VESTIGES OF THE

In Merionethshire, —

Muriau 'r Gwyddelod, ancient fortifications near Harlech ;

Muriau 'r Gwddel, near Maentwrog;

Gwyddel-fynydd near Towyn ;

Gwyddel-wern.
In Montgomeryshire, —

Dol-y-Gwyddyl, in the hills between Machynlleth and Llan-
idloes.

In Radnorshire, —

Crugyn Gwyddel, in the mountainous district west of Rhayader.
In Cardiganshire, —

Waun y Gwyddel ; and,

Nant y Gwyddel, about six miles west of Plinlimon ;

Wern y Gwyddel near Tregaron ;

Llwyn y Gwyddyl, near the ruins of Strata Florida ; ^

Cefn Gwyddel, near the sea-coast, at no great distance from
New Quay ; a farm in the neighbourhood bears the significant
name of Lletty 'r Cymro ;

Pant yr Wyddeles, four or five miles from the place last men-
tioned, but further inland.
In Pembrokeshire, —

Trewyddel, on the coast between Cardigan and Newport ;

Llwyn Gwyddel ; and.

Pant Gwyddel, both a httle to the south of the Preseleu moun-
tains.
In Glamorganshire, —

Twll y Gwyddel, in the hills separating the vales of the Tawe
and Llychwr.

- The genealogy of lestyn informs us that Meyryg, a prince of
Siluria, marched against the Irish Picts, and defeated them, " but was
killed by an Irishman conceale(f in a wood, since called Ystrad
Meyryg."— JoZo MSS., p. 352. Llwyn Gwyddyl, the Irishman's
Grove, is within a short distance of Ystrad Meyrig. The tradition is
valuable, although this Meyryg is placed in a very apocryphal age.

GAEL IN GWYNEDD. 37

In Monmouthshire, —

Pentre Gwyddel, near the Usk, a little below Abergavenny,
It can hardly be conceived that a score of places
should exist in eight small counties, bearing so signifi-
cant a name, by a mere accident ; especially when we
know that the name coincides so remarkably with ascer-
tained facts in the early history of this country. It is
quite true that one, or two, or three, or four of them
might be the result of events of later occurrence ; but it
is impossible to believe that the word should occur so
frequently, unless there had been very numerous colli-
sions, and at very various points, between the Gael and
the Cymry; and we are unable to assign any later period
for these events than that of the great Gaelic occupation
we are now dealing with.^ The argument, however, is

3 It is true that isolated invasions took place at a much later period,
as in the following instances recorded by Lhoyd : —

A.D. 914. — " The men of Develyne did destroie the ile of Mon or
Anglesey." " About the same time Leofred a Dane, and Gruffyth
ap Madoc, came from Ireland with a great armie to Snowdon."

A.D. 958. — " Abloic king of Ireland landed in Mon, and having
biu-nt Holyhed, spoiled the countrie of Lhyyn."

A.D. 966. — " Roderike the sonne of Edwal Voel was slame by the
Irishmen, by whom Aberfraw was destroied."

A.D. 1031. — " The Irish-Scots entred Southwales, by the meanes
of Howel and Meredyth, the sonnes of Edwyn ap Eneon ap Owen ap
Howel Dha, who hired them against Rytherch ap lestyn."

A.D. 1041. — " Conan the sonne of lago, with the power of Alfred
king of Deuelyn, entred North Wales."

A.D. 1073. — " Grufifydd ap Conan came from Ireland with a great
army of Irish."

A.D. 1087. — " Rees ap Tewdor not being able to meete with them,
fled to Ireland, where he purchased himself great freends, and got an
armie of Irishmen and Scots — and so landed in Southwales — and at
Llechryd they gave him battell."

A.D. 1142. — " Cadwalader fled to Ireland and had hired Octer and

38 VESTIGES OF THE

much strengthened by the geographical distribution, the
several positions, and, in some cases, by the particular
meanings of these local names. As regards their distri-
bution, we have four in Anglesey, four in Caernarvon-
shire, four in Merioneth, one in Montgomeryshire, one
in Radnorshire, six in Cardiganshire, three in Pembroke-
shire, one in Glamorganshire, and one in Monmouthshire.
Thus, out of the five-and-twenty instances, twenty fall
within the limits which we have just assigned to the
Gaelic territory. Of the remaining five, one is at no
great distance from the Irish colony in Brecknockshire,
one is actually within the territory of Rheged, and
the Pembrokeshire instances may be accounted for by
their proximity to the territory of Ceredigion,'* unless
they are rather due to the settlement on the coast of
Dyfed, whose existence is implied in the account of
Rhyddmarch, and in other passages to which we have
alluded. Again, as regards the several positions of these
localities, we shall find that they are placed, witli very
few exceptions, just where a vanquished and declining
race would make their final efforts for independence.
The Anglesey instances are among the low grounds,
intersected, and partially isolated, by creeks and quick-
sands, which characterise the western extremity of that
county. In Caernarvonshire, two are at the utmost
point of the wild promontory of Lleyn, to which we can
well imagine the Gwyddelod to have been beaten back,

the Sonne of Turkel and the sonne of Chenilf, with a great number of
Irishmen and Scots for 2000 markes to his succom-, and landed at
Abermenay in Carnaruonshire."

* One of them, in fact, was within it. See above, p. 34, Note.

GAEL IN GWYNEDD. 39

step by step : a third is at the entrance of the terrific
pass of LUmberis, In Merionethshire, we find two
at the foot of the great mountain chain whicli extends
from Traetli-Bychan to the Mawddach, protected on the
north by tlie former estuary, and on tlie west by marshes
and the sea ; another is among marshes, at the mouth
of a valley leading to Cader Idris. The Montgomery-
shire instance, and two in Cardiganshire, are on the
skirts of the Plinlimon group. The instance in Rad-
norshire, and two of those in Cardiganshire, stand at
the entrances of gorges leading into that savage region
of mountain and moorland, then and long afterwards
clothed with impenetrable forests,^ which lies between
the Wye, the Tywy and the Teifi, and comprises por-
tions of Cardiganshire, Montgomeryshire, Radnorshire,
Brecknockshire, and Caermarthenshire. The remaining
cases in Cardiganshire, and one in Pembrokeshire, are
close upon the western coast. Twll y Gwyddel, in
Glamorganshire, lies in a mountain pass on the borders
of the Gaelic district of Rheged, and the instance
which occurs near Abergavenny, is not far from the
mouth of that wonderful valley which opens into
Brecknockshire between the Sugarloaf and Blorenge.
The names of three are highly significant. Cytiau 'r
Gwyddelod, near Holyhead, I have already had occasion
to notice. The two localities on the shore of Traeth
Bychan bear the names of Muriau 'r Gwyddel, and
Muriau 'r Gwyddelod, respectively. The name signi-
fies "the Gwyddelians' walls," and one of them at least
contains the remains of ancient fortifications. This is

5 Leland.

40 VESTIGES OF THE

especially important, because such fortresses are less
likely to have been raised by temporary invaders during
a mere foray, than by the actual possessors of the country
as a means of defence against aggressors. They seem
therefore to imply that the Gael were, for some time at
least, in possession of the district in which they are found.
In general I may remark that the localities we are con-
sidering are to be found principally in the western
portion of the region which we have assigned to the
Gaelic occupants, which we should be inclined to expect,
on the supposition that they derived their appellations
from having been the scene of final conflicts with the
conquerors.

§ VI. THE LEGEND OF CUNEDDA EXAMINED.

It will now be necessary to criticise more minutely
the legend of Cunedda, which has been already cited for
another purpose. It appears in various forms in Welsh
mythological history, and is so frequently repeated, that
it is impossible to overlook its importance. According
to one account, Cunedda and his eight sons came in per-
son to effect the deliverance of Wales ; according to
others, he sent his sons ; most records agree in attributing
the victory to the family of Cunedda, and not to that
prince himself. All assert that he was a northern prince,
and some set up for him a hereditary claim to Gwynedd,
transferring to that early period the ideas and practices
of a later age. A few ascribe to him the deliverance of
Gower and the adjoining districts ; but the majority of
records make Urieii the conqueror and first prince of

GAEL IN GWYNEDD. 41

Rliegod, and limit the victories of the Cuneddifin race to
North Wales, Cardiganshire, and part of Radnorshire.
One document, quoted b}^ William of Malmesbury, goes
so far as to attribute to the Cuneddian race the conquest
of Gwynedd, Dyfed, Gower, and even of Somersetshire.^
The most explicit account is contained in the genealogy
already quoted. But here we are met by a very curious
fact. Of the twelve sons of Cunedda there enumerated,
it is quite obvious that two at least are fictitious names.
One is that of Clwyd, the name of a river, very probably
imported from the north ; the other is that of Oswal,
evidently a Teutonic name, and apparently invented to
account for a local appellation, which is known to have
had a totally different origin. This is enough to cast
doubt on the historical existence of the other brethren.

6 The passage referred to is as follows : — " Legitnr in antiquis
Britonum gestis, quod a Boreali Britanniae parte venerunt in occi-
dentera duodecim fratres, et tenuerunt plurimas Regiones, Venedociam,
Demetiam, Buthir, (^query, Guliir ?) Kedweli, quas proavus eorum
Cuneda tenuerat : nomina eorum fratrum inferius annotantur Ludnertb,
Morgen, Catgur, Catlimor, Merguid, Morvined, Morehel, Morcant,
Boten, Morgen, Mortineil, Glasteing. Hie est ilia Glasteing, qui
per mediterraneos anglos, secus villam quas dicitur Escebtiorne,
scrofam suam usque ad Wellis, et a Wellis per inviam et aquosam
viam, quae Sugewege, id est, Scrofce via, dicitur, sequens porcellos
suos, juxta ecclesiam de qua nobis sermo est, lactentem sub malo
invenit, unde usque ad nos emanavit, quod mala mali illius Ealdcyr-
cene>< epple, id est, veteris Ecclesiae poma vocantur : sus quoque
ealdecyre suge idcirco nominabatur quae cum ceterae sues quatuor pedes
habeant, mirum dictu, ista habuit octo. Hie igitur Glasteing, post-
quam insulam illam ingi'essus, cam multimodis bonis vidit affluentem,
cum omni familia sua in ea venit habitarc, cursumque vitac suae ibidem
peregit. Ex ejus progenie et familia ei succedente locus ille primitus
dicitur populatus, haec de antiquis Britonum libris sunt." — Will.
Malmsh. de Antiq. Glaston. Eccl.; Gale ScrijJtores, xx., vol. i.,
p. 295.

42 VESTIGES OF THE

And it is to be observed that all the existing names
are connected with the designations of their respective
principalities, a circumstance which gives them a some-
what artificial aspect/ The names of Tibion, and his
son Meirion, are in a plural form, while those of Cere-
digion, Edeyrnion and Arwystli seem to stand to those
of their eponymous heroes in the relation of plurals to
their sin^ulars.^ This is sufficient at least to raise a
suspicion that we have here the names not of individuals,
but of nations, of various petty tribes of common origin,
which moved down gradually from North Britain, and
expelled the Gael from their seats in Gwynedd. The
common legend represents the sons of Canedda as
putting themselves at the head of volunteers from Dyfed,
Gower, and Gwent. Now it is obvious that the popu-
lation of North Wales is of distinct origin from those to
whom the legend traces them. A Triad, which bears
strong marks of historical truth, mentions tlie three
primary tribes of the nation of the Cymry, viz., the
Gwentians, or the men of Essyllwg ; the Gwyndydiaid,
or the men of Gwynedd and Powys ; and the tribe of
Pendaran Dyfed, comprehending the men of Dyfed, of
Gwyr, and Ceredigion. " And to each of them," the
Triad proceeds to say, " belongs a peculiar dialect of the

7 The account preserved in Lhoyd's History omits the name of
Clwyd and Oswal, substituting however for the latter that of Ussa.

8 This relation of terms appears not unfrequently in the Welsh
genealogies. Sometimes the father appears in the plural form, and
the son in the singular. Thus we have Gair the son of Geirion,
lord of Geirionydd, March the son of Meirchion, &c. The fact is
noticed by Professor Rees, in the case of Ceredig ; but he gives it a
somewhat different interpretation. — Welsh Saints, pp. 109, 110.

GAEL IN GWYNEDD.

Welsh." ^ There can be little doubt that the author of
the Triad is describing accurately the phenomena of his
own time, and in the main they correspond with those of
our own. It is much to be regretted that the dialectic
varieties in various parts of Wales have not been so
minutely ascertained and registered as has been the case
in Eno-land. Still the several varieties of the Welsh
language may, I believe, be classed under three principal
dialects of North Welsh, South Welsh, and the language
of Gwent and Morganw^g. The exact limits of South
Wales and Essyllwg are rather difficult to ascertain ; the
district of Gower, which is included by the Triad in the
former, and which afterwards became a sort of debateable
land between the contending principalities, has since been
to a certain extent AngHcised, so that it is difficult to
verify the assertion before us. Both however are so
distinct from Gwynedd, that it is difficult to believe the
people of North Wales to be a colony from Gwent and
Dyfed, upon the supposition, at all events, that a portion
of the former was depopulated by the Gael.^

It is worthy of notice that the region of Ceredigion,
one of those which were won from the Gael by the
sons of Cunedda, is included by the Triad within the
territory of the tribe of Dyfed. At present, unless I am
mistaken, the inhabitants of the northern portion of that
county speak a dialect nearly akin to that of the popula-
tion of Merioneth, while the language in the south of the
county is nearly identical with that in use in Pembroke-

9 Myv. Arch., ii., p. 61.

1 This supposition is implied in a Triad quoted in the lolo MSS.,
(p. 421;) and is assumed by Rowland, Mona Antiq., p. 37.

44 VESTIGES OF THE

shire and Caermartlienshire. At all events the natives
of the extreme north and extreme south of Cardigan-
shire are not always mutually intelligible. There is
also reason to believe that the district of Ceredigion ex-
tended at one time north of the Dyfi," so as to take in a
portion of Gwynedd properly so called. In that case,
we may well conceive that the people who gave name
to that country occupied the northern portion alone, but
finally extended their supremacy and their name over
the neighbouring Demetians, at least as far as the Teifi.
In confirmation of this view, it must be recollected
that the centuries during which these events are supposed
to have occurred constituted pre-eminently the age of
migrations. It is very difficult for us who live at a time
when society is fixed, consolidated, and permanent — who
dwell under the shadow of a civilisation built upon the
precedents of ages — whose hope and ambition is circum-
scribed by home and country — to realise a condition of
things when the whole population of the west was in a
state of flux and agitation, when entire nations quitted
their seats from time to time, and entire realms received
new names from the various nations that had occupied
them. The difficulty is great to us ; but it was still
greater to our ancestors in the middle ages. They lived
at a time when society in some respects appeared even
more unchanging than at present, and when men's
thoughts and affections were certainly much more limited
by place. They lived at a time when national migra-
tions had ceased, and systematic colonisation had not
yet begun. They lived at a time when bold and

= lolo MSS., p. 476.

GAEL IN GWYNEDD. 45

grasping adventurers were continually carving out for
themselves an inheritance with the sword, and numberless
petty lordships were governed in almost regal style by
men who had neither title to the land, nor relation to
its occupiers. It is not to be wondered then that, in
their version of the ancient legend, they converted the
mythical sons of Cunedda, the eponymous heroes of
various kindred and associated tribes, into the likeness of
the foreign adventurers of their own age, and represented
them as placing themselves at the head of subjects with
whom they had no concern, and dividing among a single
family the inheritance of the conquered. Or, again, they
described the partition of Gwynedd as an act of gratitude
to the deliverers — a piece of poetical justice, no doubt,
but more akin to poetry than history. I think we may
fairl}^ regard the whole story as the record of an extensive
national migration, and I shall venture to call it the
Cuneddian migration.

If this be the true view, if it was really a whole race,
and not a single family alone, that left its home under
some pressure external or internal, to find new seats in
the south, we may well believe that the change was very
gradual.^ We know that, even in much later times, the
territory of Gwynedd stretched to the north-east, con-
siderably beyond its present hmits. It is therefore
probable that the Gwyndydians, (for so we must call the
new occupants of Gwynedd, to which they gave their

3 I do not mean that the actual movement of the invaders was
gradual, a view which would be contrary to the history of migrations;
but that the successive movements of tribes from the north may have
extended over an indefinite period.

46 VESTIGES OF THE

name,) moving down from their northern habitations,
pressed first upon the north-eastern frontier of the Gael,
and gradually established themselves in the country of
Powys. The districts of Arwystli, Edeyrnion, Maeli-
enydd and Ceredigion, as being most accessible, would
next fall into their hands, and the Gael would remain
entrenched behind the strong natural barriers which
defend Mon, Arfon and Meirion. And hence in many
versions of the legend we have their power limited to
those counties. It is probable that a considerable length
of time would be necessary for these events to take place
in ; and we have seen that it is in our power to place their
commencement at a very early period.

I must turn aside for a moment to notice an apparent
difficulty in the accounts of this migration. The nature
of the country, as well as the universal tradition, would
lead us to conclude that Mon, Arfon and Meirion were
the last conquered of all the Gaelic possessions. We
must therefore conclude that the Cymry pressed on the
Gael from the east. The isle of Man, which appears to
have formed part of the Gaelic principahty of North
Wales, would be their nearest place of refuge ; and we
are told that the Gwyddelians were driven to that place
after the conquest of Mona. On the other hand, we
are elsewhere informed that Tibion, the father of Meirion,
died in the isle of Man, or Manaw, apparently before
the conquest of Gwynedd by his brethren. This would
imply that the Cuneddian race took a different course
from that which has been assigned to them, and invaded
Wales from the sea, proceeding from North Britain by
the way of the isle of Man — a view inconsistent at once

GAEL IN CJWYNEDD. 47

with probability, and with the traditions already cited.
The expression used by Nenniiis probably gives us the
ancient legend, and thus serves to explain this tradition.
He tells us that Cunedda and his eight sons came to
Wales from the northern parts, from the country called
Manau Guotodin. Now Nennius elsewhere speaks of
Man as Eubonia, or Manau simply,* and would scarcely
have described it as " the parts of the north, to wit,
the country called Manau Guotodin."^ It is therefore
probable that the word Manaw was applied to several
districts, and that the word Guotodin, possibly a national
appellation, was added as a mark of distinction. And it
is difficult to avoid the conclusion that it was the country
of the Gododin, or Ottadini, the British inhabitants of
the eastern coast, north of the Brigantes, from whom,
according to Mr. Stephens,*^ Aneurin's celebrated poem
derives its name, and who may thence be concluded to
be a Cymraic tribe, akin to the conquerors of Gwynedd.

^ VII. ORIGIN OF THE GAELIC DOMINION.

We now come to a very obscure question, and one to
which in our present state of knowledge on the subject
we shall hardly be able to give a satisfactory answer —
were the Gael of North Wales invaders after all ? I do
not mean to ask whether they were invaders absolutely,
but whether they had dispossessed the Cymry ? To
answer the question in the negative would^not prove
them to be aborigines, it would only prove them to be

4 § 8. 5 ^ 62. See above, p. 15, Note.

6 Literature of the Kymry, p. 11.

48 VESTIGES OF THE

the original inhabitants as compared with the present
possessors of the country. The question whether the
Celts had predecessors in these islands is a highly diffi-
cult one ; but the solution is possibly not beyond the
power of archeeological science. But it is no part of
the present question. The present question is — did the
Gael temporarily dispossess the Cymry ; or did the
Cymry, for the first and last time, dispossess the Gael
of a country which they themselves had never before
inhabited ?

To adopt the latter alternative almost necessarily in-
volves the affirmation of another contested position, I
mean, that the Gael preceded the Cymry in the pos-
session of the whole of Britain, and were afterwards
driven by them into the highlands of Scotland, and the
neighbouring islands of Ireland, Man, and the Hebrides.
I will not open this question now, (as it is far too exten-
sive to be treated of here,) but assume it on the authority
of the best historians and ethnologists.' Still it will not
be out of place to state briefly some of the leading
arguments on either side. On the one side we have the
great argument derived from geographical position. The
Gael are situated further from the great cradle of the
human race, and from the continent of Europe. They
would therefore appear to have preceded the Cymry in
their advance westwards, and if so, they would doubtless
seize first upon the nearer and more fertile districts, after-

^ Niebulir, History of Rome, Transl., vol. ii., p. 522, sq. Thierry,
History of the Norman Conquest, b. i. E. Lhuyd. Dr. Prichard
sufjgests this view, but does not positively adopt it. — Physical History
of. Mankind, vol. iii,, c. 3., § 12.

GAEL IN GWYNEDD.

wards occupied by the other great branch of the Celtic
fiimily. Add to thi^;, that there appears greater proof of
connexion between the Welsh and the continental Celts,
than between the latter and the Irish." The Welsh have
an obscure tradition of an earlier race, whom they drove
out or made slaves of.^ The earliest known name of
Britain, Albion, seems connected with Alban, a name
now confined to the highlands of Scotland/ Finally,
Lhuyd discovered in Wales numerous local names, which
can only be interpreted by reference to the Gaelic idiom. -
On the other hand, we have an absence of traditional
evidence in favour of this view among the Welsh and
Irish alike, except the vague legend alluded to above ;
and we have on the part of the former nation a claim to
be the aborigines of the country, whatever the value
of that claim may be.

Let us assume then that the Gael were the first Celtic
inhabitants of Britain, whether aboriginal or otherwise ;
and that, at various periods anterior to the Roman
invasion, the Cymry dispossessed and drove them for-
ward, and were themselves invaded and circumscribed by
foreign tribes, as the Belgse and Coritani. It is obvious
that the earlier possessors would retire into the more
distant, the least penetrable, and the least enviable dis-
tricts, as for example those in which they still exist,
Ireland, Man, the Highlands and Hebrides. But it is

8 Prichard, Physical History of Mankind, vol. iii., c. 3, § 11.

9 Thierry, b. i.

1 Aristot. de Mundo, c. 3. The book, however, is pronounced to
he spurious.

2 Welsh preface to the Archseologia Britannica.

50 VESTIGES OF THE

also evident that they would hold out, for some time at
least, in Wales, Cumberland and Cornwall, just as the
Cymry did centuries afterwards. The former of these
districts, as the most extensive and impregnable, would
probably be their last possession in South Britain. And,
surely, what the mountain ranges of Gwynedd and
Ceredigion became in later ages to the Cymry, they
were then to the Gael ; what they became in later ages
to the Teutons, they were then to the Cymry. To the
former they were a secure bulwark, to the latter an
impassable barrier, perhaps for centuries. Of course we
have no data for fixing the age in which this struggle
commenced, and it is equally impossible to say how long
it would continue. As to the former question, the name
given to Britain by the author of the treatise, " De
Mundo," would lead us to conclude that the whole, or
the greater part of it, was in the possession of the
Albanich,^ until within a very few centuries of our era.*
The answer to the latter question would depend on the
resistance of the old inhabitants, the population of the
aggressors, and the extent to which they were pressed
upon by new invaders. We know that the Cymry had
been dispossessed of the south-eastern portions of the
island shortly before the invasion of Caesar;^ we know
also that at that period the population of South Britain
was enormous,*^ and would therefore require an outlet to

3 The Scottish Highlanders. '^ Aristot. de Mundo, c. 3.

5 The BelgEe had a tradition of their arrival, and tradition in those
ages was probably short-lived ; the invasion of the Coritani, too, is
placed in the age immediately preceding the Roman invasion.

6 " Hominum est infinita multitudo."— (7«s. Bell. Gall, b. v.,
c. 12.

GAEL IN GWYNEDD. 51

the north or west. In Ireland, so far as we know, the
Cymry never settled;'^ and, from what we know of the
Caledonians at a somewhat later period, it is probable
that their northern limit was already fixed. They would
therefore be compelled to press upon, and gradually to
supplant, the more isolated tribes of the Gael in North
Wales; and it is quite conceivable that this process of
extermination continued until the victory of Caswallawn
Law Hir, in the fifth century. We should here take
notice of a fact which, to a certain extent, falls in with
our argument. A people called Cangani'' are placed by
Ptolemy and Richard in the west of Ireland ; and the
latter writer tells us that a portion of the Cangi and
Brigantes emigrated to Ireland in the first century of our
era.'-'

This view of the history of North Wales seems, to say
the least, more probable than that a colony of Irish Scots
would seize upon and occupy the least accessible and
least eligible portion of South Britain, neglecting the
more inviting districts in the immediate neighbourhood,
which were under the dominion, not of their subsequently
successful opponents from Cumbria and Strathclyde, but
of Silurians and Demetians, who, as we are told, were

7 Prichard, Physical History, vol. iii., c. 3, § 12, p. 148.

^ rayyctj'ot. — Ptoleiny.

9 " Circa haec tempora, relicta Britannia, Cangi et Brigantes in
Hiberniam commigrarunt, sedesque ibi posuerunt." One cannot lielp
suspecting a connexion between these Brigantes and Brychan Bry-
cheinioc, a patriarch of Gaelic origin. — Ric. Ciren., de Situ JJrit., ii.,
c. 1, § 17. Compare however i,, c. 8, § 9, where Richard appears to
imply that the language of tliese immigrants referred them to the
Cymraic branch. One may doubt his having sufficient grounds for
the assertion.

52 VESTIGES OF THE

unable to face them alone. If the northern Picts and
Scots never effected a settlement in England, confining
their invasions to jDredatory incursions, is it likely that
their brethren from the other side of the channel would
be either willing or able to seize and retain for a century
and a quarter, not the rich province of Loegria, tenanted
by half- Romanized Britons, but the wilds of Arfon, the
heritage of the free mountaineers of Gwynedd ? It is
true that the Irish Scots were a hardy and adventurous
people, and were already, or soon afterwards, making
piratical excursions, and establishing foreign colonies.
It is probable that they did so in various parts of South
Wales in the fifth and sixth centuries ; it is certain that
they did so in Scotland in the sixth. But it is very
probable that the Gaelic dominion in North Wales, never
previously extinguished, was kept up by occasional sup-
plies from Ireland ; and not altogether impossible that
the Dalriadic colony in the western Highlands was in
some measure occasioned by the loss in North Wales
both of actual territory and of an outlet for superfluous
energy.^

There is one further diflSculty in accepting this view,

1 It is asserted by Professor Rees, on the authority of Mr. Moore,
(History of Ireland, c. 7,) that " an invasion of Britain on an extensive
and formidable scale took place towards the close of the fourth cen-
tury, under the auspices of a king of Ireland, called Nial of the Nine
Hostages." — Welsh Saints, p. 109, note. This Nial occurs in the
Four Masters, and the Annals of Innisfail, as reigning from 379 to
405. The latter chronicle certainly informs us that a large number
of captives, and among them St. Patrick, were brought into Ireland
from Britain in 388. This is, however, much too late for the com-
mencement of the Gaelic kingdom in North Wales. — O' Conor,
Rerum Ilihh. Scrij}t.

GAEL IN GWYNEDD. 53

namely, thnt nil the traditions of tlic subject represent
the CJwyddyl as invaders ; and some represent the in-
vasion as having- occurred at a comparatively short
distance of time before their expulsion. To this it
must be said, that one tradition at least appears to
regard the invasion of Gwynedd as contemporaneous
with the first arrival of the Gael in Britain, though
it evidently regards that event as posterior to that of
the Cymry ; - that the occasional supplies which were
probably sent to Gwynedd, and the known piratical
habits of Scots and Scandinavians, may have caused the
chroniclers of a later age to represent the whole affair as
a mere foray of Irish and Lochlynians, antedating by
centuries the northern invasions of Britain ; and the same
pride which prompted the Cymry to falsify the account
of their first entrance into the island, would induce the
men of Gwynedd to regard themselves as aborigines,
rather than as invaders. They are not the only nation
that have been content to sacrifice the glory of conquest
to that of aboriginality. We all know how the Athe-
nians bound up their hair with grasshoppers, in token
that they were children of the soil ; yet the early institu-
tions and traditions of that people exhibited no faint
marks of foreign conquest and military dominion.^ It is
probable that our antiquarian discoveries will one day
prove that neither Gael nor Cymry were the first inhabi-
tants of these islands, will silence the latter in their vain

" See above, p. 21.

3 E. (j., in the relics of a division into castes, or sometliing very
like one. The tradition of the contest between Posidon and Athene
also seems to point to somethmg of the kind.

54 VESTIGES OF THE

boasts of aboriginal possession, and thus destroy the
traditional evidence against the prior occupation of the
former.'* If then we assume that the Welsh were
prompted by vanity to claim a precedence to which
they had no right, we may believe that the same vanity
would lead them to pervert the traditions concerning the
Gwyddelian occupation of North Wales.

This however is a further question, and the position
just advanced cannot rise above a conjecture. But the
general fact of the Gaelic occupation of North Wales is
much more than a conjecture ; the fact rests on indis-
putable evidence ; though we are compelled to make out
its extent and duration, as well as its circumstances, by
the help of obscure and inconsistent fragments of tra-
dition. There is one point however on which I must
insist, and that is the importance of the fact. Whether
the Gael were invaders or not, it is clear that the ancient
civilisation, if any such existed, was broken up and had
disappeared before the conquest by Caswallawn. The
Cuneddian migration is the first chapter in the history of
North Wales. To the Cuneddian family the kings and
nobles of North Wales traced up their genealogies.
From the age of Cunedda we are to date, if not the
introduction, at least the establishment of Christianity
in that province.^ Previous history we have none : the

* Worsaae, Primeval Antiquities of Denmark, Tr., pp. 127-135.
A valuable paper on this subject was read by Mr. D. Wilson, before
the British Association, at Edinburgh, in August, 1850, entitled, " An
Inquiry into the evidence of the existence of Primitive Races in Scot-
land prior to the Celtse."

5 lolo MSS., p. 472. Trioedd Ynys Prydain. Myv. Arch., ii.,
p. Gl.

GAEL IN GWYNEDD. ijO

earliest Welsh legends are nearly all connected with South
Wales, or with North Britain/' The genealogy which
claimed for Cunedda the hereditary monarchy of North
AVales, reminds one strongly of the supposed title of the
Peloponnesian kings to the inheritance of Hercules/
The same spirit which converted the Dorian migration
into the return of the Heraclidae, probably created the
female succession which handed down the right and title
to the royalty of Gwynedd. It is clear that, to the in-
habitants of the south, Gwynedd was at this time an
unknown land. Their imagination filled it with giants,
fairies, monsters, and magicians/ The inhabitants exer-
cised strange arts : they had cauldrons of like virtue with
that which renewed the youth of iEson :^ a red dragon
and a white were buried as the palladium of their
metropolis/ Among their monarchs was a veritable cat,
the offspring of a wandering sow.- Their chief philoso-

6 The Gael, it is said, found " no princes" in Gwynedd. — loh
MSS., p. 522.

7 Professor Rees has successfully destroyed the Welsh genealogies
of the period prior to the departure of the Romans. — Welsh Saints,
§ 5. The pedigi'ee of Cunedda is also open to the remarkable objection
that for six generations the name of the father is derived from that
of the son.

8 Mabinogi of Math. Hanes Taliesin.

9 Mabinogi of Branwen.

1 Mabinogi of Lludd and Llefelys.

- lolo MSS., p. 471. Compare the Triad of the " Three powerful
Swineherds," Myv. Arch., vol. ii., p. 72. This wandering of swine
runs through many of the Welsh legends, as for instance in the
Mabinogion of the Twi'ch Ti"wyth, and Math the son of Mathonwy.
The tradition of Arthur's boar-hunt still lingers in parts of North
Wales. We may compare with these the story already quoted from
WilUam of Malmesbury, above, p. 41, note. Have we the true key to
these legends, in Mr. Stephens' suggestion with reference to the

56 VESTIGES OF THE

pher was of gigantic stature, and sat on a mountain -peak
to watch the stars. ^ Their wizard-monarch, Gwydion,
had the power of effecting the strangest metamorphoses/
The simple peasant, dwelling on the shore of Dyfed,
beheld across the sea those shadowy mountain summits
pierce the air, guardians as it seemed of some unearthly
region. Thence came the mist and storm ; thence flashed
aloft the northern streamers ; thence rose throuo'h the
silent sky the starry path of Gwydion.

In South Wales, meanwhile, we find matters in a much
more advanced state. The Silurians, formerly the most
powerful tribe of Britannia Secunda, exercising, as it
appears, some sort of supremacy over their neighbours,^
having been of old the opponents of Roman power, be-
came at length the inheritors of Roman civilisation.
The rest of South Wales was divided into small princi-
palities, the chief bearing the ancient name of Dyfed,
which in course of time was quite independent of its
neighbours on the east. The country was under a regular
ecclesiastical establishment, subject to the see of Caerleon.
As yet we find no bishoprics in Gwynedd, and for a long-
time the ecclesiastical establishment seems to have been
unsettled, corresponding probably to the state of the
country,*' Ceredigion, which, as we have seen, was

" Hoianau," that the " pig typifies the Welsh people?" — LiteraUtre
of the Kymry, p. 250. Cf. Virg. yEn., viii., 42, sq. Niebuhr,
Hist. Rom., Tr., i., p. 195.

3 Idris Gawr. 4 Mabinogi of Math.

^ Duae ahae sub Sihiribus gentes fuere ; primum Ordovices . . .
deinde Dimeciae." — Bic. Ciren., de Situ Brit., \., c. 6, § 24. — lolo
MSS., p. G09.

^ Cybi, the first person called a bishop in Gwynedd, was posterior

GAEL IN GWYNEDD. 57

earlier conquered than most parts of the Gaehc kingdom,
soon became a separate principality, and appears to have
continued independent of Gwynedd from that time for-
ward. And one by one the possessions of the Gael were
wrested from them ; a new people came in, introducing
a name possibly connected with that of their mythical
leader/ The Ordovices passed away, and with them the
Cangani ; the latter, it may be, to find a refuge with
their brethren of the same name in Ireland.

§ VIII. CONSEQUENCES OF THE CUNEDDIAN MIGRATION.

It only remains to trace as concisely as possible the
results of this event in the subsequent history of Wales —
results which will combine to form at once an additional
proof of the fact, and an illustration of its importance.
The first and most prominent consequence was the esta-
blishment of a new power in Gwynedd, a power destined
to draw to itself the sovereignty of the Cymry, to be
their last stay and defence, and in some measure, per-
haps, the cause of their ultimate downfall.

We have seen that the principal kingdom in South

to the conquest by Caswallawn. — JVelsh Saints, p. 266. But we
meet with nothing Uke fixed sees before the time of Maelgwyn
Gwynedd.

7 I shall probably be censiu-ed by AYelsh scholars, for venturing
to connect the name of Gwynedd with that of Cunedda, and by Welsh
antiquaries, for throwing doubts upon the historical existence of that
personage. I do not know what arguments may be urged in favour
of his existence. The Marwnad Cunedda, ascribed to Taliesin, has
recently been pronounced, by a competent authority, to be of doubtful
origin, and even if genuine, does not amount to contemporary evi-
dence. — Stephens' Literature of the Kymry^ p. 282.

58 VESTIGES OF THE

Wales was that of Essyllwg, and that the remainder of
that country was divided into several small territories.
Several of these appear to have been grouped into larger
principalities, probably varying with the relative impor-
tance of their constituent elements. The country of
Dyfed seems to have preserved its appellation through-
out. Rheged, lying between Essyllwg and the region
last mentioned, and for a time independent, fell subse-
quently under the power of each of its neighbours at
various periods. It may be doubted however whether
its independence was at any time more than partial.
But it is evident that there existed at an early period an
independent power on the north of Dyfed. We are often
able to determine the boundaries of ancient kingdoms,
by those of dioceses still existing. Thus the kingdom of
Siluria, or Essyllwg, is represented by the diocese of
Llandaff; that of Dyfed, or Demetia, by St. David's.
It is well known that a third diocese existed to the
north of the latter, I mean that of Llanbadarn-fawr,
founded in the sixth century by Paternus, an Armori-
can refugee.'* We are informed in the Life of Pater-
nus, published originally by Capgrave, that David,^
Teilo and Paternus, undertook a journey to Jerusalem
together, to receive consecration from the patriarch ; and
that, on their return, they divided the spiritual govern-
ment of Wales between them.^ They are also classed

8 Usher, Britt. Eccll. Antt., c. xiv.

9 Nova Legenda Angliae, fol. cclix. The same story occurs in the
Life of St. David, by Rhyddmarch, and that of St. Teilo, by Geoffrey
of Llandaff. — Wliart. Aug. Sac, ii., pp. 637, 663, sq.

1 " Regressi enim ad patriam in tres episcopatus Britanniam di vise-
runt." — Capgrave, fol. cclix.

GAEL IN GWYNEDD. 59

together by a Triad, under the title of " Blessed Visitors."^
It is clear from this that the churches founded by them
were regarded as of co-ordinate rank, and as two of them
represent ancient secular divisions, it is probable that a
similar division coincided with the diocese of Llanbadarn.
The limits of that diocese may be determined with
some degree of accuracy, at all events as regards its
southern frontier. If we start from the sea-coast about
fourteen miles south of Aberystwyth, we shall find two
lines of churches running nearly straight and parallel to
each other, and extending from Cardigan Bay, through
the counties of Cardigan, Brecknock and Radnor, to the
borders of Herefordshire. The churches composing the
northern line, on the side of Llanbadarn- fa wr, are dedi-
cated to St. Paternus, while those on the south are under
the invocation of St. David. This probably marks the
ancient boundary between the dioceses of St. David's
and Llanbadarn. The latter must therefore have occu-
pied the northern part of Cardiganshire, the mountainous
district to the east of it, and a portion of the country
between the Wye and Severn. To the north and east it
would be conterminous with the present diocese of St.
David's.^ It is worthy of notice that the line of churches
which I have just mentioned, is marked throughout the
western portion of its extent by a chain of fortresses,
occupying in many instances both sides of the valleys
which would naturally divide the districts;'* while we
find a little to the north of it the " Cwys yr Ychain

2 Myv. Arch., vol. ii., p. 61.

3 See Rees' Welsh Saints, p. 198.

* One of them bears the name of Clarvdd Ddewi.

60 VESTIGES OF THE

Bannog," a dyke extending east and west for some
miles, which we may conceive to have formed part of a
line, if not of defence, at least of demarcation. The
division moreover coincides in the main with the distri-
bution of dialects which I have already noticed.^ These
facts all tend to confirm the notion of its making a civil
or national, and not merely an ecclesiastical, separation.

Upon this supposition the question remains unsettled,
what name we are to give to this principality. The Life
of Paternus already quoted informs us that he founded
churches and monasteries throughout the whole of Cere-
digion ; ^ and the Life preserved in the Cotton Library
further speaks of him as ruler and pastor of the church
of Ceredigion.^ It would appear from these statements
that the principality of Ceredigion was originally co-
extensive with the diocese of Paternus, especially as
there are no signs of his having founded churches in the
south of Cardiganshire. And this falls in with the view
already suggested, that the north of Cardiganshire was
the earliest seat in Wales of the family of Ceredig, and
that they subsequently extended their dominion and their
name over a portion of their Demetian neighbours.^

On the other hand, we are elsewhere presented with an-
other threefold division of South Wales, also resting partly
on the authority of a Life of St. Paternus.^ In this "it is

5 See abovcj p. 43.

6 " Monasteria et ecclesias per totam kereticam regionem, quae nunc
Cardiganshire ap2:»ellatur, edificavit." — CajigravCy folio cclviii.

7 " Postquam Ceretlcortim ecdesiam (ut loquitur vetus Vitse illius
scriptor, quem in Bibliotheca Cottoniana vidimus) t^' pascendo rexisset,
^' regendo pavisset." — Usher, Britt. Eccll. Antt., c. xiv.

8 See above, p. 44. 9 Cotton MS.

GAEL IN GWYNEDD. Gl

said tliat tlie wliole of South Wales was divided into
three kingdoms, the same forming three bishoprics. Of
these, the kingdom of Seissyl received its consecration
from St. Patcrnus, bishop of Llanbadarn Vawr, as the
other two, those of Rein and Morgant did, from St.
David and St. Ehu, (Teilo)."^ This is explained by a
passage in the Mabinogi of Pwyll, which gives the name
of Seisyllwch to a district comprising Ceredigion and
Ystrad-Tywi,'- that is to say, Cardiganshire, Caermar-
thenshire, Cemaes and Gower.^ The same division of
South Wales is implied by a passage in the Welsh Laws,
which in speaking of a general convention of the Welsh
nation, informs us that it was gathered from Gwynedd,
Powys and Deheubarth, the latter comprising Reinwg,
Morganwg and Seisyllwg.^ It is also more directly
asserted in another passage, where we are probably to
read " Seisyllwg" for " Riellwg."^ In this latter Reinwg

1 Lady Charlotte Guest's Mabinogion, iii., p. 74, note.

2 Ibid., p. 70.

^ The name of Seisyllwch also occurs in the Triads, but its locality
is not fixed. — 3Iyv. Arch., ii., p. 60.

* " Ac yno y doethant gwyr Gwynedd agwyr Powys agwyr Deheu-
barth a Rieinwc a Morganwc a Seisyllwc." — Ancient Laws of W(des,
(Record Comm.,) p. 412. Cf. lolo MSS., p. 401, (74,) where
Essyllwg is read erroneously for Seisyllwg. It is pretty clear both
from the structure of the sentence, and from external evidence, that the
three districts last mentioned are regarded as divisions of Deheubarth,
and I suspect we are to read " o Rieinwc a Morganwc a Seisyllwc."

^ " The South is in three parts : Reinwg, that is, the county of
Rein ; and Riellwg ; and Morgannwg." — Ancient Lcuvs of Wales,
p. 687. Compare the following extract from the Mabinogi of Math,
whether the perfect symmetry of the numbers leads us to the same
conclusion : — " Pryderi the son of Pwyll was lord over the one-and-
twenty Cantrefs of the South ; and these were the seven Cantrefs of
Dyfed, and the seven Cantrefs of Morganwc, and the four Cantrefs of

62 VESTIGES OF THE

is explained to be " the country of Rein." Two persons
of this name occur, both of them princes of Dyfed, one
in the ninth century, and the other in the eleventh.^
This, in conjunction with a fact already mentioned, leads
us to infer that Reinwg is another name for Dyfed.
But as Reinwg and Morganwg are derived from Rein
and Morgan, we must look for the origin of Seisyllwg in
Seissyl or Sitsyllt. It is suggested by an authority
already quoted that it may be derived from Sitsyllt, the
father of the first Llywelyn.'^ But we also meet with
the name as that of one of the early princes of Cere-
digion,*^ a fact altogether consistent with the position
assigned to Seisyllwch. Its limits however considerably
exceed those of the principality represented by the diocese
of Llanbadarn; and we may perhaps infer from them
that the tripartite arrangement of South Wales was
preserved, while the name and extent of its component
districts varied from time to time.

It is impossible to determine the duration of the princi-
pality whose existence I have just indicated ; but the
diocese of Llanbadarn, which would probably outlive the
corresponding civil division, seems to have lasted nearly

Cei-edigiawn, and the three of Ystrad Tywi," the seven last mentioned
making up Seisyllwch. — Lady C. Guest's Mahinogion, iii., p. 217.

6 Annales Cambriae, Ann. ccclxiv. (808.) IhicL, post Ann. 1016.
Monumenta Historica Britannica, vol. i. Brut y Tyw;^'sogion, Myv.
Arch., ii., pp. 474, 504. The name also occurs in a genealogy of
Owen ap Hywel dda, which seems to contain the names of early
sovereigns of Dyfed. — Ancient Laws of Wales, Preface, p. v.

7 Lady C. Guest's Mahinogion, p. 74, note.

8 Williams' Biographical Dictionary, p. 21. It is rather curious
that this person was contemporary with the first Rein of Dyfed, as the
father of Llyweljii was with the other.

GAEL IN GWYNEDD. 63

two centuries from its foundation.^ Two powerful neigh-
bours arose, one on either side. On the soutli, the
kingdom of D3^fed appears to have increased in impor-
tance about the sixth century. A change of dynasty is
recorded to have occurred in that age. Hyfeidd the
Aged, a foreigner, the son of St. Lupus of Troyes,
became the prince of Dyfed, and possibly infused new
energy into it.^ A prince of Dyfed was at this time
elected to the sovereignty of the Britons, if we may
credit the testimony of Geoffrey of Monmouth, possibly
supported in this instance by that of Gildas.- At all
events, the last trace of subjection to the Roman me-
tropolis of South Wales was swept away, when in the
sixth century the archiepiscopate was removed from
Caerleon to Mynyw, situated at the extreme point of the
Demetian territory.^

In the meantime a new power was formed on the
north of Llanbadarn, which even in the time of Paternus
seriously menaced it.* The country of Gwynedd, the

9 " The same year (a.d. 720) the unbelieving Saxons ravaged many
churches of LlandafF, St. David's, and Llanbadarn." — Brut y Tywy-
sogion, Myv. Arch., ii., p. 472.

1 Trioedd Ynys Prydain. Myv. Arch., ii., p. 62.

2 Myv. Arch., ii., p. 359. Cf. Ep. Gildae: — " Demetarum tyranne,
Vortipori . . . . Tu etiam, insularis draco, multorum tyranno-
rum depulsor tam regno quam etiam vita supradictorum novissime in
stylo prime in malo, Maglocune." The sense depends partly on our
placing a comma before or after "supradictorum." Compare the
genealogy of Owen ap Hywel dda, already referred to.

3 It would seem that this translation was effected, if not by violence,
at least not by mutual consent. — See Wharton, Ang. Sacr., ii., pp.
667, 670, 673.

* " Interea Mailgunus Rex Borealium Britonum, ad debellandos
et deprsedandos Australes Britones cum suo exercitu venit." — Cap-

64 VESTIGES OF THE

conquest of which we have been occupied in tracing,
was about this time consolidated into one kingdom.
Previously it appears to have been under various
independent rulers, and there is reason to think that
it was not perfectly united until a later period.^ Still
the territorial title of Maelgwyn Gwynedd, the son
and successor of Caswallon, seems to prove that he
had acquired that supremacy over North Wales, which
he afterwards attempted with partial success to extend
over his neighbours. It is to the interference of Mael-
gwyn that we are probably to refer the fall of the
principality represented by Llanbadarn. Paternus com-
plains of the tyranny which he had exercised over his

grave, fol. cclviii. The authority of Albert le Grand may perhaps
be cited as that of an independent witness, as he professes to have
taken his account from the ancient breviaries of Quimper and Vannes.
It is rather curious that he makes mention of the river Clarach as
flowing by, and giving name to, the monastery of Paternus. This is
the more remarkable, as the maps and topographies of that time, as
Saxton, (1575,) Jansson, (1629,) Speed, and Drayton in the " Poly-
olbion," give the names of Salck and Massalck to the streams that
flow through the vale and into the bay of Clarach. It is therefore
possible that the name of Clarach marks an independent tradition.
I do not know whether it occurs in the Cotton MSS. The writer's
confused notions of British geography may be taken as further evi-
dence. He did not know the difference between AVales and Cornwall.
He writes as follows : — '* En ce temps la regnoit en la Province de
Wales vn Prince nomme Malgonus homme fort mal conditionne,
lequel entendant merveilles de S. Patern, le voulut tenter; & vne
guerre luy estant survenue contre le Roy de Bretons septentrionaux
de Fisle [.s^'c] il amassa son armee pres le fleuve de Clarach." — Vie
des Saiiicts de la Bretagne Armorique, p. 93.

^ Powys, for example, was not united to Gwynedd, if dependant on
it. We read also of kings of Mona, and even of Man, as well as a
distinct and probably subordinate line of Venedocian princes of Cor-
nish origin.

GAEL IN GWYNEDD. 65

flock. Gildas, too, who seems to imply that Mona
was the chief and original seat of his power,'' accuses
him of gaining his authority by foul means. He is
represented by Geoffrey of Monmouth as supreme
monarch of the Britons,^ and Gildas enumerates some
of his immediate predecessors in that office, whom he
had successively deprived of their authority.^ There is a
fantastic legend preserved in the Welsh Laws, giving an
account of the election of Maelgwyn to the sovereignty
of Wales. The scene of the council is laid on the Dyfi
sands, a portion of which still bears the name of Traeth
Maelgwyn.^ We may therefore fairly conclude that the
name of Maelgwyn marks the consolidation of Gwynedd,
and the commencement at least of its aggressions on the
independent kingdoms of South Wales. The ultimate
result of his interference maimed the tripartite division of
that country, a division which would very probably be re-
garded as essential. It may therefore be conceived that
Gwynedd subsequently took its place among the king-
doms of Wales, so as to maintain the integrity of their
confederation. It is clearly impossible to describe with
any degree of accuracy the several characteristics of these
nations. It is probable, however, that the Silurians had
been Romanized to a greater degree than their country-
men on the north and west, and they appear to have
preserved among them a certain amount of learning and
civilization.^ The Gwendydians on the contrary, the

6 Ep. Gildse. ^ My v. Arch., ii., p. 359. » Ep. Gildae.

9 Ancient Laws of Wales, (Record Comm.,) p. 412. lolo MSS.,
p. 461.

1 It is certain that the Romans had a more extended influence in
this district than among the Ordovices and Demetae : two of the most

66 VESTIGES OF THE

children of the north, nursed among the wild mountains
of Arfon and Meirion, and trained to war and conquest
by their conflicts with the Gael, may have become to
the Silurians what the Northmen were to the civilized
nations of southern Europe. They were from the begin-
ning an aggressive and conquering race, and it is to this
that we are to attribute the supremacy which they subse-
quently obtained over their countrymen, and the long
resistance they were able to make the English and
Normans.

The period between the death of Maelgwyn in the
sixth century, and the accession of Rhodri Mawr in the
ninth, seems to have been marked by important changes
in the south. It is most probable that the principality
of Ceredigion, whose limits in the days of Maelgwyn
have just been determined, assumed during this period a
form and extent more nearly approaching that of the

important relics of tlieir power to be found in Britain still exist in
Caerleon and Caerwent. The following description of the former at
the close of the twelfth century is pretty well known : — " Videas hie
multa pristinae nobilitatis adhuc vestigia : palatia immensa aureis olim
tectorum fastigiis Romanos fastus imitantia, eo quod a Romanis
principibus primo constructa, et sedificiis egregiis illustrata fuissent ;
turrim giganteam ; thermas insignes ; templorum reliquias, et loca
theatralia muris egregiis partim adhuc extantibus, omnia clausa.
Reperies ubique tam intra murorum ambitum, quam extra, aedificia
subterranea ; aquaram ductus hypogaeosque meatus ; et quod inter
alia notabile censui, stuphas undique videas miro artificio consertas,
lateralibus quibusdam et praeaugustis spiraculi viis occulte calorem
exhalantibus." — Giraldi Itin. Camh., c. v. Cf. lolo 3ISS., pp.
350, 374. The existence of religious and educational establishments
at Lantwit and Llancarvan seem to point in the same direction ; the
connexion of the former with the Emperor Theodosius may be fabu-
lous, yet the legend is not devoid of value. — See Williavis' Eccl. Ant.
of the Cymry, p. 97, note.

GAEL IN GWYNEDD.

present county of Cardigan. The territory of Seisy-
llwcli may have been formed by conquest during this
interval. And there is reason to think that it ac-
quired some degree of supremacy over the rest of
South Wales. For we find it recorded that the royalty
of South Wales, including the actual dominion of
Dyfed, with a sort of unrecognised claim over Essy-
llwg, was conveyed to Rhodri by his marriage with
Angharad, the daughter of Meurig, king of Ceredigion.-
In Gwynedd, in the meantime, the sovereignty of the
descendants of Cunedda was not uninterrupted. A
passage which Ave have already cited hints that a
formidable rebellion was raised by the subjugated
Gw3^ddyl in a very early period ; ^ and in the seventh
century the dominion of the country fell into the hands
of one Cadafael, the assassin of lago ab Beli, king of
Gwynedd.* From the epithet Gwyllt^ attached to his
liame, and the fact of his being described as a stranger
monarch,^ one cannot help suspecting that he was one of
the descendants of the Gael, who may very well have
maintained themselves as a distinct nation until that
age. The " Arymes Prydain Fawr," formerly ascribed to
Taliesin, and subsequently to Golyddan, in the seventh
century, might perhaps have been regarded as nearly
contemporary evidence of the existence of Gwyddyl in
Mona as a distinct and important nation, even after their

2 Myv. Arch., ii., p. G2. ^ gge above, p. 19.

•* Trioedd Yyns Prydain. Myv. Arch., ii., p. 65.

5 The epithet is apphed to at least one person of Irish origin, Idio
the son of Sutric. — Williams' Biographical Dictionary, p. 236.

6 Trioedd Ynys Prydain. Myv. Ai-ch., ii., p. 62.

68 VESTIGES OF THE

defeat by Caswallawn, had it not been determined by a
high authority to be of a later date.^ It is evident
however that some such distinction may be traced to
a much later period, in the internal organisation of
Gwynedd, as compared with the south. Not to men-
tion the diversity of local customs, (as the mode of
inheritance, for instance,**) which taken alone would only
prove the early separation of the respective districts, we
find decided marks of conquest in Gwynedd, which are
absent in Dyfed and Essyllwg. For, in the first jDlace,
a kind of villenage existed in the former, more complete
and oppressive than was permitted in the south,^ and we
are not without grounds for the inference, that this sys-
tem was in some way connected with the co-existence of
distinct races/ We have also a species of aristocracy in
North Wales, unknown in the southern portions of the
country. TJie fifteen tribes of Gwynedd, dating, as it is
said, from the tenth century, but probably representing a
state of things which had then been some time in exist-
ence, appear to have exercised a certain degree of politi-
cal power, which was elsewhere in the hands of the nation."

7 Myv. Arch., i., p. 156. Stephens' Literature of the Kymry, p.
287, sq. ^ Ancient Laws of Wales, p. 84.

9 Howel Dcla " permitted every uchelwr . . to rule his bonds-
men according to conditional bondage in South Wales, and perpetual
bondage in Gwynedd." — Ibid., p. 573.

1 <' The sons of Cunedda led the Cymry, and expelled the Gwydd-
elians from the country, making prisoners of such as had their lives
spared. . . . And none of them remained in the country, except
such as were made captives for ever, (naviyn a wnaed yn gaethion a
hynny yn drafjywydd).—Iolo MSS., pp. 522, 523, (123). Com-
pare this with the perpetual bondage (cathiwet tragwydawl) of the
passage cited in the preceding note.

= lolo MSS., pp. 405, 407, 478.

GAEL IN GWYNEDD. 69

They were popularly believed to be the pure representa-
tives of the Cymry as distinguished from the race which
had been corrupted by an admixture of Gaelic blood ;
and it seems probable that this view was at least an ap-
proximation to the truth.' In Powys, a similar class
existed under another name, and were ascribed to a like
orio-in/ We are probably to refer to the same source,
the existence at an early period of certain clans, to whom
peculiar immunities were granted. One of these derived
its name from the conqueror of Gwynedd, Caswallawn
Law Hir, and another was connected with the district of
Lleyn.^ The men of Arfon also enjoyed particular
privileges, which were regarded as memorials of their
resisting and requiting an invasion of the Strathclyde
Welsh, in the time of Rhun, the son of Maelgwyn
Gwynedd.*^ We may perhaps infer from the record of
this transaction, that the migrations from the north
which we have traced to the fifth century were continued
in the sixth, as they were certainly revived in the ninth.^
The date of Rhodri Mawr may be fixed as that in
which the princes of Gwynedd first attained their full

3 lolo MSS., pp. 477, 478.

4 Ihid. They were called " Gwelygorddau," as distinguished
from " Lhvythau."

5 " The three Banded Families (Teulu) of the isle of Britain : the
family of Caswallawn Law Hir ; the family of Rhiwallawn the son of
Urien ; and the family of Belyn of Lleyn. That is, they were so
named, because there was neither head nor sovereignty over them, so
far as the liberty of their families and possessions reached, if they
were questioned within those limits, save the jurisdiction of the country
and people." — Trioedd Ynys Pry dam. My v. Arch., ii., p. 62.

6 Ancient Laws of Wales, pp. 50, 51.

7 Brut y Tywysogion. My v. Arch., ii., p. 582. See above, p. 4L

70 VESTIGES OF THE

power. By inheritance, stratagem, or conquest, they had
made themselves masters of Powys on the east, and
Ceredigion on the south, the latter apparently involving
the sovereignty of Dyfed. The division of Wales among
three of the sons of Rhodri seems to be a recognition
of the ancient threefold confederation.*^ The kings of
Gwent and Morganwg resisted their aggressions, so that
the three constituent sovereignties were henceforward
those of Gwynedd, Powys and Deheubarth on the south,
the latter including the ancient dominions of Ceredigion
and Dyfed, with a vague claim over Gwent and Mor-
ganwg.^ Subsequently to this division, we read of petty
sovereigns of Ceredigion and Dyfed,^ (the latter term
being used in its narrowest sense,) who apparently stood
in an ill-defined relation to the prince paramount of
Deheubarth, and occasionally resisted his power." It is
also worthy of notice that the kingdom of South Wales

8 It is important to remember that Anarawd, Cadell and Merfyn
were not the only sons of Rhodri.

9 The preface to the laws of Hywel Dda is especially worthy of
notice. The codes of Gwynedd and Dyfed entitle him " king of all
Wales," that of Gwent merely "king of Wales," adding that he
enacted the laws " when Wales was in his possession in its bounds."
— Ancient Lares of Wales, (Record Comm.,) pp. 1, 1G4, 303.

1 JE. g., Gwaethfoed, king of Cardigan, and Hyfeidd, king of Dyfed,
the latter of whom was involved in warfare with the sons of Rhodri.
— Asserius de rehb. gestt. ^Ifrecli, Cf. Annates Camhrice Ann.
ccccxlviii., (892). We also find a distinction made betAveen two
grades of kings, the Cuneddian princes of Gwynedd, Powys and
Deheubarth being " crowned kings," and those of Ceredigion, Mor-
ganwg and Fferyllwg (between Wye and Severn) being " fettered."
Trioedd Yni/s Prydain, Myv. Arch., ii., p. 64. Cf. lolo MSS.,
pp. 407, 408, 449, where the two princes last named are excluded
from the Cuneddian confederation.

2 We hear of " lords" of Dyfed down to a very late period.

GAEL IN GWYNEDD. 71

now lost, for the most part, the ancient national appel-
lation of Dyfed, which as I have said, was lienceforth
used in a narrower sense, and assumed that of Deheu-
barth or Dinefawr, having become a political rather than
a national division. Wlien the Cuneddian princes were
established in it, they made continual aggresssions on the
domains of the Silurian princes. In tlie reign of Hy wel
Dda, its eastern limits were fixed at Crickhowel in
Brecknockshire, and a continual warfare was waged
between the two neighbouring powers, until the inde-
pendence of Morganwg terminated with the reign of
lestyn the son of Gwrgan. It is clear that the Cune-
ddian princes of South Wales had been continually pres-
sing on it, from a corresponding change which had taken
place in the ecclesiastical divisions. Urban, bishop of
Llandaff, writing to Pope Calixtus II. in the twelfth
century, complains that the bishops of St. David's had
taken from his diocese Ystrad Tywy, Gower, Kidwelly,
and Cantref Bychan.^ This appears to be an ecclesi-
astical version of the fact that these districts, or the
greater part of them, had passed from the dominion of
the princes of Essyllwg into that of the Cuneddian
monarchs of South Wales.

Much more might be written on this head, but to trace
fully the consequences of the Cuneddian migration would
be in effect to write the history of Wales. I will notice
one further result, because it has lasted to the present
time, and is therefore in some respects the most impor-
tant, as it is the most obvious. The inhabitants of North

3 Wharton, Ang. Sac, vol. ii., pp. 673, 674. Cf. lolo MSS., pp.
373, 374.

72 VESTIGES OF THE

and South Wales are clearly two different races. Of the
distinction of dialect I have spoken elsewhere ; there is
is also a physiological difference. On this head Dr.
Prichard observes : —

" In North Wales, a fair complexion and blue eyes prevail,
according to the observation both of Dr. Macculloch and Mr.
Price. There is probably no part of Britain wliere the inhabi-
tants are less intermixed with Saxon or German blood, certainly
they are much less intermixed than the South Welsh. In parts
of South Wales, particularly in Glamorganshire, black eyes are
very prevalent, and the hair is frequently black."*

The author of the " Physical Atlas of Natural Pheno-
mena" confirms these observations as regards the diffe-
rence of complexion prevalent in North and South
Wales ; and hence concludes that the inhabitants of the
former are not unmixed with a Teutonic, perhaps a
Belgic element.^ Finally, I have extracted these re-
marks from an able article in the Quarterly Review.
They bear closely on the subject of this paper, although
they certainly do not coincide with it in detail : —

" Others again who observe how the South Wales features,
after being interrupted in North Wales by an inlet of the Cim-
bric or more northerly type, reappear in Anglesey, may rather
suspect that a refluent Gaelic w^ave has been thrown back from
Ireland upon the north and south extremities of the Principality.
This latter assumption is countenanced not only by the philo-
looical observations of E. Llwyd, but by certain Welsh traditions
that fall within the historical period."''

Is it too great a refinement to add, that the mutual

* Physical History of Mankind, vol. iii., p. 199.

5 Johnston's Physical Atlas.

6 Quarterly Review, No. clxxiv., September, 1850.—" The Church
and Education in Wales."

GAEL IN GWYNEDD. 73

antipathy which still subsists between the extremities of
the Principality may be taken as an additional proof of
different origin ? It is certain that in earlier times a
strong principle of repulsion existed in the many distinct
though kindred races composing the population of
Wales, which caused endless divisions and subdivisions
of territory, and, working counter to the principle of
political centralization, generated continual intestine
wars. The language applied by M. Thierry to the
inhabitants of southern Gaul, may with trifling altera-
tions be used of the Welsh throughout the period of
their independence : —

" They detested all foreigners, yet a restless turbulence, a wild
passion for novelty and excitement impelled them to seek their
alliance, whilst they were torn by domestic quarrels and petty
rivalries between man and man, town and town, province and
province. . . . Nature had given them all, all except political
prudence and union, as descendants of the same race, as children
of one country. Their enemies combined to destroy them, but
they would not combine to love each other, to defend each other,
to make one common cause. They paid a severe penalty for

this." 7

Shall we say that this spirit is extinct yet ? Does it
not survive — happily in the only possible form — in the
absurd local attachments, the mutual dislike, or rather
the total ignoring of each other's existence, which is still
an active principle among our countrymen ? Is it not
conspicuous and energetic in their utter inability to com-
bine for a patriotic, as distinguished from a national
purpose, for anything in fact but to keep alive the effete
traditions of a very questionable antiquity, and to re-

7 Norman Conquest, b. viii.

74 VESTIGES OF THE GAEL.

enact what they believe to be the ceremonies of ancestral
heathenism ?^

8 It may be as well to mention two or three points affecting my
argument which have come under my notice during the printing of
this paper. In p. 8 I said that Bullium has been identified with
Builth. It is with greater probability regarded as another form of
the name Burrium (Usk). In that case one name less has been pre-
served in South Wales, not one more being lost. I have also identified
Stucia with the Ystwyth, after Baxter and others, (p. 7). In the map
of Roman Britain lately published by the Record Commission, ( 3Ionu-
menta Historica Britannka, vol. i.,) Stucia is given as the name of
the Dyfi. In that case it is to be regarded as a lost name, and rather
referred to North Wales. In fact the Ystwyth is scarcely of sufficient
importance to be singled out by Ptolemy, without making mention of
the Dyfi and Mawddach ; and it is only by considerable twisting that
the names of either the Stucia or the Tuerobis can be got out of the
Ystwyth and Teifi, In p. 15 I do not think that enough has been
made of the testimony of Rhyddmarch to the settlement of Gael in
Pembrokeshire. He describes Boia, the persecutor of St. David, as
" Scottus quidam." These words are omitted by Giraldus in his
rifacimento of Rhyddmarch, probably because he was not aware
that any Scots had ever occupied that district. The tradition then
had died out by his time ; and as Rhyddmarch died only half a
century before the birth of Giraldus, one can hardly conceive that
such a tradition would be very general in the days of Rhyddmarch.
But as even in those times historians would avoid improbabilities,
except in the matter of miracles, Rhyddmarch would not have said
" Scottus quidam," in the plain matter-of-fact way he does, without
something like earlier documentary evidence. It is therefore probable
that this passage embodies a tradition of very high antiquity.

TOPOGEAPHICAL INDEX,

The names in small capitals are found in, or derived from, ancient
authorities, including Richard of Cirencester ; those in Italics
are names in ordinary use ; and those in CAPITALS include
obsolete names, with such as remain only in Welsh, or are
retained as the appellations of hundreds and lordships, and are
therefore unlikely to be generally known.

Aherfraw : 27, 37.

Abergavenny, Gobannium : 6, 37, 39.

Abergele: 35.

Abermenay, on the Menai Straits : 38.

Aberystwyth: 59.

Ad Menapiam, see Menapia : 9.

Ad Vigesimum, Castle Flemish (?) : 9, 11.

Anglesey, Mona, MON : 24, 27, 29, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 38, 72.

ARDUDWY, a Commot in the Cantref DINODYNG, occu-
pying the north-western portion of Merionethshire : 32.

ARFON, Caernarvonshire, including ARDUDWY in Merioneth-
shire: 18, 27, 28, 30, 31, 46, 52, QQ, 69.

ARWYSTLI, a Cantref of POWYS, occupying parts of Mont-
gomeryshire and Radnorshire, about the sources of the Wye
and Severn : 32, 33, 42, 46.

AUSTRALES BRITONES, the people of South Wales: 63.

Ballium, see Burrium : 9.
Banchorium, Bangor Iscoed: 8, 11.

76 VESTIGES OF THE

Bangor Iscoed, Banchorium (?) : 8.

BEITWY(?): 26.

JBerwyn Mountains : 34.

Blorenge: 39.

Bodfari, Varis, near St. Asaph : 6.

BoMiuM, BoviuM, Coiohridge or Boverton : 6, 9.

BOREALES BRITONES, the people of North Wales: 63.

Boverton, Bovium (?) : 6.

BoviuM, BoMiUM : 6.

Brannogenium, Branogenium, Braunogenium, near Leint-

wardinei?): 8, 9.
Bravinium : 6.
Brecknockshire, GARTH MATHRIN, BRYCHEINIOG : 20,

21,38,39,59, 71.
Brigantes, a tribe inhabiting the northern counties of England,

and found in Ireland: 47, 51.
BRITANNIA, applied to Wales: 58.
Britannia Secunda, a Roman province nearly corresponding

to Wales : 56.
BRITONES, applied to the Welsh : 63.
BRYCHEINIOG, see GARTH MATHRIN : 21.
Builth, BuLLiuM (?) : 8, 74,
BuLLiuM, Builth ij), or see Burrium: 8, 74.
BuLTRUM, see Burrium : 9.
Burrium, Usk : 6, 74.

BUTHIR, probably an error for GUHIR, GOWER, q. v. : 41.
Bwlch y Gwyddel, " Gael pass :" 35.

Cader Idris, " Idris' chair :" 39.

CAER DATHYL, Pen y Gaer, near Conway : 25.

CAEREINION, a Commot of POWYS, in Montgomeryshire: 83.

CAER GAWCH (?) : 20.

Caerleon, Isca Silurum : 6, 56, 63, QQ.

Caermarthen, Maridunum, Muridunum : 6.

Caermarthenshire : 39,44,61.

GAEL IN GWYNEDD.

Caernarvonshire : 34, 35, 38.
Caerwent, Venta Silurum : 6, 66.

Cangani, Cangi, Cangiani, Ceangi, occupied the north-western
portion of North Wales: 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 24, 51, 57,
59.
Canganorum Promontorium, Braich rj pwll: 7.
Canovius Fl., see Tossibus : 9.
CANTRED, THE, see MEIRION : 18, 19, 30, 31.
CANTREF BYCHAN in Caermarthenshire : 71.
Capel Curig : 35.
CAPEL Y GWYDDEL, "Gael chapel," see CERRIG Y

GWYDDEL: 35.
Cardiff, Tibia Amnis : 7.
Cardigan: 36.
Cardigan Bay: 59.
Cardiganshire, CEREDIGION : 34, 36, 38, 39, 41, 44, 59, 60,

61, 67, 70.
Carnabii, or Cornavii, a nation lying to the east of the Ordo-

viCES : 11, 12.
Cefn Gwyddel, "Gael ridge:" 36.

CEMAES, a Cantref forming the northern part of Pembroke-
shire: 61.
CEREDIGION, a division nearly coextensive with the present
county of Cardigan: 32, 33, 34, 38, 42, 43, 44, 46, 50, 56,
60, 61, 62, m, 67, 70.
CERETICI, the people of CEREDIGION : 60.
CERRIG Y GWYDDEL, " Gael stones," Holyhead: 14, 18,

19, 33, 35.
CKIG\5YAA, Kidwelly : lb.
Chester, Deva: 6.
Clarach: 64.

Clawdd JDdewi, " St. David's dyke :" 59.
Clegyr Foia, " Boia's rock :" 1 6.
Clwyd River: 34, 41.
Clwyd, Vale of: 32.

78 VESTIGES OF THE •

Clwydian kills: 34.

COELEYON, a Commot in the upper part of the Vale of Clywd;

at present part of Denbighshire : 33.
COMMOT, THE, see MEIRION : 27, 30.
CoNOviuM, Caerhun, on the Conwy: 6, 8.
Conway: 35.

Conwy, river ; Tisobis, Tossibus, or Canovius: 6, 10, 24.
Crickhowel: 71.

Crugyn Gwyddel, " Gael knoll :" 36.
Cwys yr Ychain Bannog, " Buffaloes' furrow :" 59.
CytiauW Gwydd'lod, "Gael's cots:" 35, 39.

Dee, Deva, DWFRDWY : 6, 10.

DEHEUBARTH, South Wales, including or excluding GWENT
and MORGANWG, but most commonly used in the nar-
rower sense : 61, 70, 71.

Demet^, Demeci^, Demetia, Demetian, DYFED ; the in-
habitants of the western portion of South Wales, probably
including Cardiganshire, Caermarthenshire, and Pembroke-
shire : 8, 9, 11, 15, 41, 44, 51, 56, 58, 60, 62, 63, 65.

Denbighshire, DENBIGHLAND : 33, 34.

Deva Colonia, Chester on the Dee : 6, 8.

Deva Fl., DWFRDWY, Dee: 9, 11.

DINAS FFARAON, Dinas Emrys, in Snowdon: 18, 19, 22, 25.

DINEFAWR, see DEHEUBARTH : 71.

DINODYNG, a Cantref of ARFON, including parts of Caer-
marthenshire and Merionethshire : 32, 33,

DOGFEILYNG, a Commot in the Vale of Clwyd, adjoining
COELEYON ; part of the present county of Denbigh : 32,
33.

Dol y Gwyddyl, " Gael mead :" 36.

DYFED, a division nearly coextensive with Pembrokeshire, at
other times used for the country of the Demet^, q. v. : 6,
15, 16, 19, 20, 25, 38, 41, 42, 43, 56, 58, 62, 63, 67, 68,
70, 71.

GAEL IN GWYNEDD. 79

Dyfi, Stucia (?) : 44, 65, 74.

DYNM AEL, a Commot of POWYS, at the north-eastern angle
of Merionethshire : 33.

EDEYRNION, a Commot of POWYS, near the upper part of
the vale of the Dee: 32, 33, 42, 46.

EIFIONYDD, a Commot in Cantref DINODYNG, now form-
ing part of Caernarvonshire : 32.

Eriri Mons, ERYRI, Snowdon : 9.

ESSYLLWG, SiLURES, the south-eastern principality of Wales,
consisting ultimately of GWENT and MORGANWG, and
occasionally spoken of by either of those names : 6, 42, 43,
58, 67, 68, 71.

EUBONIA, see Man: 15, 47.

FFERYLLWG, or FFERLEGS, a principality between the

Wye and the Severn : 70.

GARTH MATHRIN, BRYCHEINIOG, Brecknockshire: 17,
21.

Gavenny : 6.

GEIRIONYDD, a district in Caernarvonshire: 42.

Gen AN I A, included the territory of the Carnabii and Ordo-
viCEs(?): 12.

Glamorganshire, MORGANWG, GWLAD MORGAN : 17, 36,
38, 39, 72.

Gobaneum, Gobannium, Abergavenny : 6, 9.

GODODIN, see MANAU GUOTODIN : 47.

GOWER, GWYR, GUIR, the western promontory of Glamor-
ganshire: 15, 17, 19, 20, 21, 30, 40, 41, 42, 43, 61, 71.

GWENT, a division nearly coextensive with Monmouthshire;
the name is sometimes used for ESSYLLWG, q. v. : 6, 12,
19, 42, 43, 70.

Gwyddel-fynydd, " Gael mountain :" 36.

Gwyddel-wern, " Gael alder-wood :" 36.

80 VESTIGES OF THE

GWYNEDD, North Wales, sometimes including and sometimes
distinguished from POWYS ; it also appears at one time to
have been used in a narrower sense: 3, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16,
18, 19, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 30, 31, 32, 33, 40, 41, 42, 43,
44, 45, 47, 50, 52, 53, 55, 56, 57, 61, 63, 64, 65, 67, 68,
69, 70.

GWYR, see GOWER : 42.

GWYRFAI, Gerfai, a stream near Caernarfon : 19.

Harlech : 36.
Herefordshire : 59.
Heriri Mons, Trawsfjnydd: 8.

Holyhead, CAER GYBI, CERRIG Y GWYDDEL, CAPEL
Y GWYDDEL, or LLAN Y GWYDDEL : 25, 35, 37, 39.

IscA Leg. H. Augusta, Isca Colonia, Isca Silurum, CAER-
LEON AR WYSG, Caerleon on the Usk : 6, 9.

KEDWELI, Kidwelly: 41.

Kentchester, Magna : 11.

KERETICA REGIO, see CEREDIGION : 60.

Kidwelly : 1 5, 7 1 .

Lantwit, Lantwit Major, LLANELLTUD-FAWR, CAER-

WORGAN, BANGOR TEWDWS : QQ.
Leucarum, ABERLLYCHWR, Loughor : 6, 9.
Llanhadarn-fawr, Llanhadarn: 58, 59, 61, 62, 63, 64.
Llanheris : 35, 39.
Llancarvan : 66.
Llandaff: 58, 63, 71.
Llanidloes: 36.
Llanio, Lovantium : 8.
LLAN Y GWYDDYL, " Gael church," see CERRIG Y

GWYDDYL: 18,33,35.
Llechryd: 37.

GAEL IN GWYNEDD. 81

Llettij V Cijmro, " The Cymro's Iodizing :" 3G.

LLEYN, the western peninsula of Caernarvonshire: 22, 33, 35,

37, 38, 69.
LLOEGR, LOEGRIA, England: 52.
Llioyn GwT/ddel, " Gael grove :" 36.
Llicijn y Gwyddijl, " Gael grove :" 36.
Llychwr : 6, 36.

LovANTiuM, LovENTiuM, Llamo in Cardiganshire : 8, 9.
Loughor, Leucarum : 6.

Machynlleth : 36.

MAELIENYDD, a Cantref of POWYS, including the northern

part of Radnorshire, with parts of Montgomeryshire: 32, 46.
MAELORON, two Coramots of POWYS, including parts of

Denbighshire and Flintshire : 33.
Maentwrog : 36.
MAES GWYDDNO, CANTREF GWAELOD, a district which

is said to have been overwhelmed by the sea, in Cardigan

Bay: 20.
MAESUSWALLT, see OSWEILAWN : 33.
Magna, Kentchester in Herefordshire: 6, 9, 11.
Man, MANAU, MANAW, EUBONIA: 14, 15, 18, 25,31,46,

47, 48, 49, 64.
MANAU, MANAW, Man: 46, 47.
MANAU GUOTODIN, probably the county of the Ottadini,

' Northumberland, &c. : 14, 15, 47.
MANUBA(?): 13.
Maridunum, Muridunum, CAERFYRDDIN, Caermarthen:

8,9.
MASSALCK : 64.
Maioddach : 39, 74.
Mediolanum, Meifodi?) : 6, 8, 9.
MEIRION, MEIRIONYDD, a Cantref occupying the southern

portion of the present county o{ Merioneth: 31, 33, 42, 46,

82 VESTIGES OF THE

Menai, Fretum Meneviacum : 9.

Menapia, MYNYW, MENEVIA, St. David's: 9, 16.

Menapii, a tribe occupying the counties of Waterford and Wex-
ford: 16.

MENEVIA, see MYNYW : 15, 16.

Meneviacum Fretum, Menai: 9.

Merioneth, Merionethshire, MEIRION, &c. : 30, 34, 36, 38, 39,
43.

MON, Mona, Angleseij : 14, 37, 46.

MoNA, MON, Anglesey: 6, 9, 17, 18, 19, 22, 24, 25, 28, 30, 31,
34, 64, Qb, 67.

Monmouthshire, GWENT : 37, 38.

Montgomeryshire : 34, 36, 38, 39.

MORGAN WG, a district extending from the Neath to the Ush;
here sometimes used for the whole of ESSYLLWG, q. v. :
43, 61, 62, 70, 71.

Muriau V Gwyddel, " The Gael's walls :" 36, 39.

Muriau V Givyddelod, " The Gaels' walls :" 36, 39.

Mynydd y Givyddel, " Gael mountain :" 35.

MYNYW, MENEVIA, Menapia, -S^. David's: 9, 63.

Nant y Gwyddel, " Gael brook :" 36.

Neath, Nidum : 6.

Neath River, NEDD : 20.

NEDD, River Neath : 6.

Newport: 36.

New Quay: 36.

Nidum, Neath : 6, 9.

North Wales, North Welsh, Ordovices and Cangani, GWY-
NEDD and POWYS : 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 17, 18,
21, 25, 26, 30, 33, 35, 37, 41, 43, 46, 47, 51, 52, 54, 55,
64, 68, 72.

OcTAPiTARUM Pro^montorium, Octorupium, aS<. Dttvid's Head:
7,9,11.

GAEL IN GWYNEDD. 83

Ordovices, Ordovicia, the peoi)le inhabiting North Wales,
with the exception of the noitli-vvestcni portion : 5, 7, 11,
12, 56, 57, 65.

OSWEILIAWN, the country round Oswcstnj : 32.

Oswestri/, CROESOSWALLT : 32, 33.

Ottadini, the inhixhit-dnts, oi' Northumberland, kc, see MANAU
GUOTODIN: 47.

Pant Gioyddel, " Gael dell :" 36.

Pant yr Wyddeles, " The Gael woman's dell :" 36.

Pembrokeshire, DYFED : 21, 36, 38, 39, 43.

Pentre Gicyddal, " Gael hamlet :" 35.

Pentre Gwyddel, " Gael hamlet :" 35, 37.

Plinlimon: 36, 39.

Porth y Gwyddel, " Gael port :" 35.

POWYS, a principality comprising Montgomeryshire and Rad-
norshire, with parts of Flintshire, Denbighshire and Merion-
ethshire, and of the border counties of England : 18, 31, 33,
46, 61, 64, 69, 70.

Preseleu Mountains : 34, 36.

Radnorshire: 34, 36, 38, 39, 41, 59.

REINWG, REIN, COUNTRY OF, probably another name

for DYFED, q. V. : 61,62.
Rhatostathybius, Rhatostaubius, Tibia Amnis, Taff: 7.
Rhayader: 36.
RHEGED, a principality extending from the Neath to the

Tyioy: 17, 38, 39, 41, 58.
RHUFNONIOG, a Cantref, part of Denbighshire : 32, 33.
RIELLWG, probably an error for SEISYLLWG, q. v. : 61.
Ross, Sariconium : 9.

ROSY VALE, VALLIS ROSINA, St. David's : 15.
RuTUNiUM : 6.

Sabrina, Sabriana ^st, HAFREN, Severn : 5, 6, 7.

84 VESTIGES OF THE

Saint David's, Menapia, MENEVIA, MYNYW : 7, 9, 16, 58,

59, 63, 71.
SALCK: 64.
Sariconium, Ross: 9.

Segontium, Caernarvon, on the Seiont : 6, 8, 9.

SEISSYLLWG, SEISSYLLWCH, an ancient principality com-
prising CEREDIGION and YSTRAD TYWY : 61, 62, 67.

Seteia ^st, see Deva fl. : 7.

Severn, Sabrina, HAFREN : 6, 7.

SiLURES, SiLURiA, SiLURiAN, ESSYLLWG ; the people occu-
pying the south-eastern part of Wales, and probably extend-
ing over the counties of Brecknock, Radnor, Glamorgan,
Monmouth, and Hereford: 5, 8, 9, 11, 21, 36, 51, 56, 58,
65, 66, 71.

Snowdon, Eriri Mons, ERYRI : 37.

South Wales, South Welsh, the South, Silures and Demetje,
ESSYLLWG and DYFED ; sometimes used for DEHEU-
BARTH, q. v.: 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 30, 37, 43, 55, 56, 57,

60, 61, 62, 63, Qb, 67, 68, 71, 72.
Strata Florida : 36.

Stucia fl., Ystwyth, or Dyfi : 7, 74.
Sugarloaf: 39.

Taff, Rhatostathybius, Tibia Amnis : 7, 9.

Tawe: 36.

Teifi, Tuerobis : 7, 34, 39, 44, 74.

Tibia Amnis, Cardiff on the Taff; see Rhatostathybius: 7, 9.

TisoBis FL., see Tossibus : 7, 10.

ToBius FL., Tywy; 7.

Tossibus fl., Ganovius, Tisobis, Conwy; 9.

Towyn ; 36.

Traeth Bychan ; 39.

Traeth Maelgwyn, " Maelgwyn's strand :" 65.

Trawsfynydd, Heriri Mons : 8.

Trewyddel, "Gael town:" 36.

GAEL IN GWYNEDD.

Trivyn y Gicyddel, "Gael ness:" 35.

TuEROBis FL., Te'iji ; 7, 74.

Ticll y Gwyddel, " Gael hole :" 36, 39.

Tyicy, ToBius : 7, 20, 39.

TYNO COCH, afterwards CEREDIGION, q. v. : 32.

Varis, Bodfari; 6, 8.

VENEDOCIA, VENEDOCIAN, see GWYNEDD : 12, 41,

60, 64.
Venta Silurum, Caertvent ; 6, 9, 12.
Usk, BuRRIUM, BuLTRUM, &c. : 74.
Usk, River: 6, 37.

Waun y Gioyddel, " Gael moor :" 36.

Wern y Gicyddel, " Gael alder-wood :" 36.

Wye, GWY : 39.

WYE AND SEVERN, the country between, seeFFERYLLWG :

59, 70.

Ystrad Meyrig ; 36.

YSTRAD TYWI, " Vale of Tywy," a division including a great

part of Caermarthensliire ; 61, 62, 71.
Ystwyth, Stuoia (?) : 74.

December, 1850.

LIST OP WORKS

rUBLISIIED BY

R. MASON, HIGH STREET, TENBY.
ARCH/EOLOGIA CAMBRENSIS,

A Record of the Antiquities of Wales and its Marches, and the
Journal of the Cambrian ArchceoloQical Association.
Published Quarterly, 2s. 6d.; yearly volumes, lis., cloth.
Vol. I., NcAv Series, is now ready, Illustrated by Messrs. Jewittand Shaw,
containing : — Druidic Stones — Rev. John Williams. Similarity of the
Diffcrent%elsli Dialects— J. James. LlandafF Cathedral— Very Rev.
W. D. Conybeare. Architectural Antiquities of Gower — E. A. Freeman.
Manuscripts Relating to Wales. Castra Clwydiana— W. W. Ffoulkes.
Observations on the 'Stone of St. Cadfan, at Towyn— J. O. Westwood,
and Rev. John Williams. Remarks on the Architecture of the Cathedral
Church of LlandafF— E. A. Freeman. Sir Hugh Myddleton. The
Flemings in Pembrokeshire. Letters from and to Edward Lhwyd.
Local Traditions, &c. Anglesey. George Owen's MS. History of the
County of Pembroke. Influence of Archeology on Architecture — Rev.
H. L. Jones. Architectural Features of the Cathedral Church of Bangor—
Rev. H. L. Jones. Heraldry of the Monument of Queen Elizabeth, at
AVestminster —Rev. Joseph Hunter. Merionethshire— Robert Vaughan.
Stone of St. Cadfon— Thomas Wakeman, Esq. Hereford Priories—
J. Davies. Castell Coch, and Caerphilly Castle— G. T. Clark. Ode
to the Virgin, with a Translation by the Rev. J. Williams. Transactions
of the Cambrian Archaeological Association. Correspondence. Miscel-
laneous Notices. Reviews, &c., &c.

Four Volumes of this Work (Fii-st Series) are now published ; but, in
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fire, and become very scarce, it has been determined to reprint it — the
price will be £1 Is. This Series is illustrated by upwards of 200 beau-
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other eminent engravers. Vols. II., III., and IV. may still be had, price
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On \st January will be published, price 2s. dd., No. V., New Series,

Containing— Chepstow Church— E. A. Freeman. Gwen's Tomb—
W. W. Ffoulkes. Reparation and Tenure of Castles in Wales and the
Marches — Rev. H. L. Jones. Historical and Traditional Notices of
Owain Glyndwr— T. O. Morgan. Beddau Gwyr Ardudwy— T. W.
Hancock. Ancient Camps in Herefordshire— J. Davies. Armorial
Bearings. St. Cadtan, Caerphilly and Arthur. — T. Stephens. Letters
of E. Lhwyd. Correspondence, Miscellaneous, Reviews, &c.

%* The Subscription to the Cambrian Archcrohgical Association is
£\ cmnualli/, for which Members will have forwarded to them the
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antiquarian matter, as well as a Tichet of Admission to the General
Meeting.

London : W. Pickering, 177, Piccadilly. Tenby : R. Mason.

REMARKS ON THE

ARCHITECTURE OF LLANDAFF CATHEDRAL;

With an Essay towards a History of the Fabric.
By EDWARD A. FREEMAN, M.A.,

Late Fellow of Trinity College, Oxford, Autlior of the " History of

Architecture."

8vo., cloth lettered, with numerous Illustrations by Messrs. Jewitt and

Shaw, 8s.

" Some remarks on Llandaff Cathedral, made by Mr. Freeman at a meeting of the
Cambrian ArcbaBological Association, have grown into a small volume,' nicely printed
and illustrated, which, besides containing a historical and desr-riptive account of that
singular structure, will serve to call attention to the disgraceful state into which it has
fallen, and the efforts now being made to restore it."— The Biilldcr.

" Mr. Freeman's ability to do justice to such a subject is wall known, and his work
■will therefore lind a welcome from the numerous body of students of church architec-
ture now to be found in this country." — Notes and Queries.

Also, hy the same Author,

NOTES ON THE

ARCHITECTURAL ANTIQUITIES OF GOWER
IN GLAMORGANSHIRE.

With Illustrations on copper. 2s.

A DESCRIPTION AND

HISTORY OF CAERPHILLY CASTLE,

With a Plan and Bird's-eye View.
ALSO, A PLAN AND

DESCRIPTION OF CASTELL COCH.

By GEORGE T. CLARK.

8vo., 4s.

CASTRA CLWYDIANA ;

Or, an Attempt at a Systematic Examination of the Camps on the

Chvydian Hills.

By W. WYNNE FFOULKES, M.A.,

Local Sec, Denbighshire, for the " Cambrian Arch. Association."

With eight Illustrations by O. Jewitt. 8vo., 2s. 6d.

ACCOUNT OF CWMH I R ABBEY,
RADNORSHIRE.

Comprising: — /. Situation and Historical Particidars. — II. Descrip-
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DRUIDIC STONES.

By the Rev. JOHN WILLIAMS, M.A. (Ab Ithel).

8vo., stitched, Is.

London : W. Pickering, 177, Piccadilly. Tenby : R. Mason.

AGEICULTUEE, ARTS, &c.

A PASSIVE State of subserviency to a system of religious
belief, formed on the contemplation of the works of
Divine Providence, and the immutable laws of nature, in
the absence of revealed truths, would supply the ground-
work for a state of society most favourable to the growth
and cultivation of industrious habits, and peaceful pur-
suits; and we accordingly find that those institutions
which have exercised the most beneficial influence over
the moral and social condition of man, in the early
stages of civilization, were of a character which united
the civil and religious offices in the administration of
public affairs, and the maintenance of order.

The existence of two distinct orders, religious and
mihtary — as well European as Oriental — is observable
in ancient and modern times ; the former in the occu-
pation of the soil, as industrious cultivators, and the
latter in a state of constant excitement, and ever intent
on oppression and subjugation.

The Teutonic and Belgic portion of the Celtic race,
having no druidical system of discipline to control and
direct their natural propensities, and to substitute the
arts of peace for the excitements of war, paid no further

90 AGRICULTURE AND ARTS

attention to agricultural and commercial occupations
beyond that of obtaining a bare subsistence, placing
greater reliance on the sword in availing themselves of
the labours of more industrious tribes, than on the
ploughshare in cultivating their own resources. Without
any bonds of union, or defensive expedients for the
maintenance of either public or private rights, they are
represented as abandoning themselves to indolence and
apathy, without any better protection against foreign
aggression than a broad frontier of marshes {solitudines
quam latissimce) to check and discourage the ardour of
invasion,

Gaul, under the fostering care of Druidism, presents a
more favourable aspect of human government. Under
an order of priesthood entrusted with the administration
of justice, the correction of abuses, and the maintenance
of religious ordinances, the arts of peace are here found
in a flourishing state, abundance crowning agricultural
and pastoral occupations, and many of the most useful
inventions in an early state of development, prior to
the Roman invasion. Various mechanical arts are here
found employed in the erection and defence of towns,
and in the promotion of manufactures; and all classes
of society arranged in the order of subordination and
mutual dependence.

Gaul, however, was subject to too frequent interrup-
tions from continental commotions, and the irruptions of
warlike and hostile tribes, to become a permanent field
for agricultural and commercial enterprise. The earliest
annals or traditions represent the western European
tribes as in a continued state of agitation and undulating

UNDER THE DRUIDICAL SYSTEM. 91

movement, each tribe pressed upon by, and receding
before, anotlier, and ultimately forced to settle itself in
the extreme region of the west.

To the insular situation of Britain, under the discipline
of Druidism, we may look for a more uninterrupted
advancement in the arts of civilized life, and the culti-
vation of moral and religious truths. Protected from
those disturbing causes which tended to check and retard
the progressive improvements of social order — with a
climate, soil and productions the most favourable to the
exercise of industry and settled habits— and, at the same
time, affording the strongest inducements for the adop-
tion of mechanical agents in economising labour, and
providing against the rigours of winter— here we may
still trace, if not the origin, at least the early application
of various arts, which became the foundation of her
future fame. Here we find the druidical order, in its
plenitude of power and usefulness, inculcating moral
and poHtical maxims for the guidance and advancement
of the social system — encouraging inquiries into the laws
of nature, and the harmony of the universe — training up
the youthful aspirants for honour and places of trust in
the paths of science and the study of natural philosophy,
and promoting the interests of justice and humanity.

That Gaul and Britain were in a state of considerable
advancement as regards the elements of science, and the
progress of agriculture and commerce, at the time of the
Roman invasion, may be inferred from facts of authentic
history, notwithstanding the assertions of prejudiced
writers, who represent the inhabitants as a rude and
barbarous race. It is too much the fashion to decry, or

92 AGRICULTURE AND ARTS

to pass over with indifference, facts relating to the inter-
nal condition of Britain prior to the Anglo-Saxon period,
(except during the period of her subjection of Rome,) as
of immaterial importance in an historical point of view.
Ecclesiastical writers will hardly admit of the existence
of a British Church before the mission of Augustine, and
those who treat of her jurisprudence are unwilling to
advance a step beyond the code of Alfred, the heptarchy
being considered as the limit to such unprofitable re-
searches.

From the history of the improvements of manufactory,
and the economy of labour, as detailed by Adam Smith,
it would appear that the arts connected with agriculture
in Britain had either retrograded from what they were in
former times, or that they never had any real existence
till within a period of 400 years from the present time.
His words are — " Neither wind nor water mills of any
description were known in England so early as the be-
ginning of the sixteenth century, nor, so far as I know,
in any other part of Europe, north of the Alps."^

An assertion so confidently and deliberately made by
a laborious inquirer into the sources of national wealth,
with ample materials to prove such a fact, if truly made,
is calculated to extinguish any attempt at tracing agri-
cultural skill to the period of Druidism. It is, however,
an assertion entirely at variance with facts of authentic
history ; and as the number of mills in ancient times
would form the best index to the state of agricultural
science and labour, it becomes a material object of
inquiry on the subject proposed.

1 Vide Wealth of Nations, i., p. 11.

UNDER THE DRUIDICAL SYSTEM. J)3

Both wind, water and fulling mills, in full operation,
may be traced to a period five centuries preceding the
date of their introduction according to the statement of
this writer. A mere inspection of Doomsday would have
been suflicient to dissipate the views he entertained — a
document which he refers to, though apparently ignorant
of its contents. This national survey represents agricul-
tural pursuits as engrossing the attention of the whole
pojDulation of Britain; and as it refers to a previous
document of the same kind, as old as the reign of Ed-
ward the Confessor, it may be assumed as representing
the agricultural state of Britain during the Saxon period.
Taking two of the midland counties as a specimen from
Doomsday, viz., the counties of Wilts and Warwick,
we shall find that the former contained no less than 430
water mills, yielding about £220 per annum, and the
latter 116, the rents of which varied from two shilhngs
to £5 per annum, and produced a rental of £56."

Had the Anglo-Saxons, the Danes, or the Normans
introduced into Britain such a system of economising
labour by the construction of mills with water power,
the early monastic annalists and historians could hardly
have failed to notice such a discovery.

During the period of the fierce struggle for superiority,
in so rich a harvest as that aff'orded by the labours of
British industry, there was no interval of repose for the

2 The mill of Barchester, on the Stoiir, yielded 100 shillings per
annum. The mill ponds were also very productive, from the sticks of
eels (each containing twenty-five) which formed a portion of the terms
on which they were held. They were also used in the manufacture
of salt, producing a certain number of semes, or loads, when the
supply of the mill dams was of a brinish natm-e.

94 AGRICULTURE AND ARTS

adoption of improvements in domestic economy. The
same objection will apply to the period intervening
between the Saxon invasion and the monarchical state
which succeeded the heptarchy. The continued conflicts
between the native princes and their foreign rivals de-
manded all their energies, to the exclusion of every effort
to improve their respective principalities, and the ad-
vancement of productive labour. The rural population
could not have met with any material interruption in
their field occupations, without serious inconvenience to
both parties of belligerents, nor was there any cessation
of hostilities likely to convert the Saxon sword into a
ploughshare.

The Saxon chieftains knew the value of the agricul-
tural classes, already in occupation of the soil, too well
to carry fire and sword into the rural districts, and by
an indiscriminate slaughter to make a sacrifice which
could not be repaired for centuries, as it would have been
impossible to import from the continent numbers suffi-
cient to supply their place ; and well aware that, being
released from their allegiance, the serfs of the soil must
of necessity submit to the new yoke prepared for them,
however galling and oppressive.

Accordingly Edgar, in addressing his nobles assembled
in the year 964, congratulates them on the success of
their conquest of Britain in these remarkable terms : —
" That we are in possession of this plentiful country is
not owing to any strength of our own, but to the help of
God's all-powerful arm, who has been pleased to manifest
His loving kindness to us."

It is easy to account for such a feehng of gratitude on

UNDER THE DRUIDICAL SYSTEM. 95

the part of the invaders, when they found themselves in
possession of the no;ricultural resources of a country to
which they owed their existence in times of scarcity, and
which required no other labour than the sword to secure
to themselves in perpetuity. Britain, during her occu-
pancy by the Roman legions, was considered one of the
western granaries of the empire, which supplied the con-
tinental deficiencies in the important article of corn and
other provisions. The Emperor Juhan, according to his
his own written testimony, employed no less than six
hundred vessels in the exportation of corn and flour to
supply the towns and fortresses on the Rhine, about the
middle of the fourth century.

The Anglo-Saxons were fully aware of the high state
of cultivation which prevailed in Britain ; and hence,
judging from the tenor of their earliest charters in the
transfer and distribution of lands, they had no occasion
for either admeasurement or surveys, finding the rural
districts already divided into farms, regularly arranged
into arable, meadow, pasture and woodland, under limited
and defined boundaries, and possessing all the requisites
for employing the industry of the occupants. Such order
in the arrangement of landed property required a much
longer period for development than the time which inter-
vened between the Saxon invasion and the date of these
legal documents of conveyance ; nor is there any evi-
dence from which it may be inferred that this flourishing
state of agriculture was the result of Roman legislation.
The schools founded by Agricola about the close of the
first century, were intended to create a taste for the
luxuries and refinements of society, and the study of

96 AGRICULTURE AND ARTS

rhetoric and grammar, and not for the promotion of
scientific knowledge, or the introduction of a new system
of tillage ; and the porticoes which he caused to be erected
in their cities were calculated to exhibit ocular proofs of
the magnitude and extent of the Roman empire, and the
splendour of their public buildings, and to excite a
corresponding awe and reverence for the majesty and
authority of the emperor.

Implements of husbandry, and every variety of wheel-
carriages, were in general use before the Roman eagle
visited their shores ; and the water mills, by which their
corn was ground, must have created as much astonish-
ment as the war chariots which mowed down the ranks
of their enemies. It is a remarkable circumstance that
the first idea of a water mill was promulgated in Italy
soon after the return of Julius Caesar, and when the in-
ternal condition and resources of Britain were laid open
to the ambitious views of Rome. It was during the
reign of Augustus that the agency of water in grinding
corn became the subject of speculation in domestic
economy ; and this suggestion must have derived its
origin, not in the eastern part of the Roman empire,
where the hand mill was the common employment of
the female domestics, or a mule was attached to the
upper stone — a practice which continued during several
centuries of the Christian sera — but to the western por-
tion, where improvements in handicraft may be traced
from an early period, from well authenticated facts, and
where, even in Ireland, to w^hich the Romans never pene-
trated, the water mill was well known. ^

3 Cogitosus, a native writer on the lives of the Irish Saints, who

UNDER THE DRUIDICAL SYSTEM. 97

Polydorc A'^irgil, {I)c Rcrum Inventorihus, a.d. 1499,)
in noticing the superior skill disi)luyed in applying a
stream of water in grinding corn, says that it was not
a late discovery, tliough it had no name given it by
scientific writers who have treated on the subject, being
vulgarly called a molendinum, alluding apparently to
Vitruvius, who, in his work on Arcliitecture, addressed
to Augustus, particularly describes the machinery by
which it might be effected, without mentioning it under
the name of a mill. A Greek writer of the same Augus-
tine period, Antipater of Thessalonica, dressed up the
same idea in an epigram addressed to handmaids, in
which he compliments them on a discovery which
promised to relieve them from the toil and drudgery of
working the corn mill. He tells them " that they may
at length enjoy their slumbers, notwithstanding the
announcement of the dawn of day by the crowing of the
cock, inasmuch as Ceres has charged the water nymphs
with the labour of setting the mills in motion, by
dashing from the summit of a wheel, and making its
axle revolve."

Britain was noted for the superabundant fertility of
her soil, and the industry of her population, many ages
before the landing of Julius Ceesar, and the character she

flom-ished as early as the year 530, alludes to the existence of water
mills in Ireland, erected from time immemorial. The Rev. John
Williams of Llanymowddwy, states, on the autliority of a MS.
Chronicle of lolo Morganwg, that wind and water mills superseded
the use of the hand mill in Wales, a.d. 340. Llywarch Hen's allu-
sions to gold shields and spurs, glass goblets, and other works of
high art, as early as the sixth century, indicate no inconsiderable
advance, as Mr. Williams further observes, on the part of the ancient
Britons, in the scale of civilization and refinement.

98 AGRICULTURE AND ARTS

bore was that of an agricultural and trading communit}^
It was from hence that Gaul derived her supplies, which
enabled her to contend against the legions of Rome ; and
the assistance thus afforded formed the leading motive
for the invasion. Her internal resources could only be
inferred from this circumstance, and Caesar was utterly
at a loss to ascertain the most favourable point of attack,
under the strict regulations adopted by her druidical
rulers, which forbade any except privileged merchants
from approaching her ports and estuaries, and that only
under fixed limitations.

It may be deemed preposterous to produce evidence
in favour of this view of the state of Britain, when
under the control of Druidism, from the records of
mythology ; but, as historical facts are generally found
to be the basis of fabulous legends, they may be justly
referred to in confirmation of facts derived from authentic
sources.

The flourishing state of Britain as an agricultural
district is a prominent and distinguishing feature in the
earliest Grecian traditions of a mystic character, in which
such allusions may be traced.

Hecataeus, an ancient writer quoted by Diodorus
Siculus, represents the island as highly favoured by
Apollo, and so fertile as to produce two crops of corn
annually; under which type we may discern the pre-
vailing influence of bardism, as a branch of the druidic
system ; and the author of the Argonautic poem de-
scribes Britain as being, in a more especial manner, the
residence of Queen Ceres, from the abundance and
fertility of the soil.

UNDER THE DRUIDICAL SYSTEM. 99

Strabo quotes the authority of an ancient Greek
geographer in stating that the mysteries of Ceres and
Proserpine were practised in some of the British Isles,
after the manner of the Cabiri in Samo-thrace, by which
we are to understand that the fecundity of nature in
the production of the fruits of the earth was celebrated
in their religious ceremonies ; and that the Eleusinian
mysteries, which the wisest of the heathen philosophers
pronounced to be one of the greatest blessings conferred
on mankind, were in some degree identical with the
tenets and practices of Druidism.

The historical records and traditions which may be
assumed as having been handed down from the druidical
period, and which are found to harmonise with the types
and allusions conveyed through the dark medium of
mythology, afford the strongest presumption that the
cultivation of the soil was one of the principal objects
of encouragement under the sway of the Druids, and
that agriculture, and the arts in connexion with it, must
have attained a considerable degree of advancement under
the operation of laws which, in the mystic language of
the age, may justly be ascribed to the sovereignty of
Ceres.

The historical and mythological character of Hu
Gadarn, whom the Triads represent as retiring from the
turmoils of continental disturbances, and seeking in Gaul
and Britain for a less exposed region for cultivating the
arts of peace and industry, seems to embody the early
efforts of agricultural science and skill in promoting the
ends of humanity. To him is ascribed the origin of that

100 AGRICULTURE AND ARTS

social system which combined the influence of religion
with the cultivation of the soil, and led to the establish-
ment of the various orders of Druidism, with duties and
ofiices assigned and limited to each.

During a subsequent period of the druidical aera,
though at an interval not easily defined, the Moelmu-
tian code of legislation (or that of Dyfnwal Moelmud)
appears in operation, in giving increased security and
efficacy to field labours. The cultivators of the soil
enjoyed especial protection under laws which extended
the privileges of sanctuary to the plough and the high-
ways ; which forbade that any implements of husbandry
should be seized in satisfaction for debts, or that any
diminution in the number of ploughs should take place
in any district, under any circumstances ; and which
enacted that all proceedings of a judicial nature should
be suspended during the seasons of sowing and har-
vesting.

In order to give due effect to such a system of legis-
lation for the promotion of agricultural industry, it may
be presumed that the whole island had been parcelled
out and divided on some uniform scale, and that can-
treds, commots, villas and tenements had been formed
in regular order, before such laws could be enforced ; and
that there were national surveys of high antiquity, for
the security of individual rights, and the adjustment
of public burdens. Accordingly, we find that these
divisions and subdivisions of land existed from time
immemorial, on the model of ancient Etruria, and that
tlie terms by which they are designated belong to a
period beyond the reach of any European annals.

UNDER THE DRUII^ICaI, "SYfefEAi; ; •'" | •.; J .vlOl

Commerce and handicraft must of necessity have
received a great impulse from such a state of agricultural
activity and of domestic economy. The surplus pro-
ductions of the soil would soon become a chief article
for exportation, in exchange for other commodities with
the continental tribes, whose incentives to industry must
have been checked by the inroads of warlike nations, and
whose population, in consequence, must have exceeded
the means of subsistence. No doubt can exist but that the
commercial state of Britain had attained a considerable
degree of eminence before the Roman standard was
planted on her soil, and that there were numerous cities'*
and towns in the interior, and on the banks of the prin-
cipal rivers, busily engaged in the various transactions
and trades necessary for a community in which the
mechanical arts were in a flourishing state of improve-
ment.^ A nation which could exhibit such proofs of

■* Vespasian acquired no small renown in having brought twenty
toMTis to subjection on the banks of the Avon and the Thames, as early
as A.D. 45. London soon afterwards appears on the pages of history,
within a lapse of time insufficient for erecting a city of such mag-
nitude and importance, and to the astonishment of Rome. The
profound mystery which overhung the domestic and poHtical state
of Britain under the government of the Druids was soon dissipated,
and the reality was found perfectly at variance with the rumours in
circulation.

^ Cicero, in the private correspondence he held with his friends
who accompanied Caesar in his expedition, appeai-s to have entertained
no hopes of success, inasmuch as the approaches to the harbours were
fortified by enormous piers of stone work, (mirijicis vioUhus,) and
that which was a subject of doubt before, was now well known, viz.,
that there was not a scruple of silver in the whole island, or any pro-
spect of spoil, except slaves, of whom not many could be found
learned, or skilled in music. He alludes to a letter received from
Caesar, and dated in November, on the British shore, which admits

]02 AGRICULTURE AND ARTS

skill in the adaptation of the wheel and axle to carriages
of various descriptions, as to excite the astonishment of
the Romans, could not fail in availing themselves of
similar expedients in facilitating agricultural labours,
and improving their implements of husbandry ; nor can
we account for the adoption at Rome of the Celtic terms,
essedum, rheda, conbenna, petoritum, &c., for the pri-
vate and domestic vehicles then in use, except upon the
assumption that the Britons and Gauls possessed and
exercised superior skill in the fashion and construction of
them.^

Under the guidance of a religious order endowed
with great privileges and authority, who made the prin-
ciples of natural philosophy and the laws of motion their
chief study, and where tillage was an object of national
care and encouragement, nothing could be more natural

the intended abandonment of the expedition, on the score that there
were no spoils to reward the enterprise ; and yet an attempt was made
to impose a tribute on an island where neither gold nor silver was to
be found. He moreover advises his friend Trebatius to avoid an
encounter with the British armed charioteer, and to hasten his return
from Britain by the first essedum he could meet with. — Lit. Fam.,
vii., &c.

6 The British word men (from whence yd-fen, cywain, &c.) is the
etymon of many terms for wheel-carriages. The carrus, for the con-
veyance of miUtary stores, is considered British by Caesar. It is
remarkable that the word rhod is not simply the Latin rota, but like
the Sanscrit rotha, implies both wheel and axle. The Britons were
noted not only for wheel-carriages, but also for the breed and manage-
ment of horses ; and while the Romans borrowed from other nations
their terms for horse trappings, the Britons had terms of their own,
as the aw en or habena, the cebystr or capistrum, ystroden, genfa,
ffrwyn, &c.; and their harnais, a genuine British word, was elabo-
rately formed and figured, as we are informed by the poet Propertius,
a conteniporary of Caesar.

UNDER THE DRUIDICAL SYSTEM. 103

than the adoption of some mechanical expedient for
working the mill, nor could any one occur sooner tlian
the agency of a water course, through the medium of the
wheel and axle. The breuan, or ancient British mill, is
always referred to as a machine for grinding corn, set
in motion by the application of some external force, and
not by manual labour,^ One appendage to it, called
"cliccied y Avysgi," has been the subject of much specu-
lation, many supposing that the moving power must
have been a magnet. The term, however, clearly shows
that nothing more was meant than a mill race, the
cliccied being a bar to check or regulate motion, and
gwysg, or gwysgi, as defined by Dr. 0. Pugh, implying
the rush of water to find its level. The simple expedient
of applying the cog wheel to the British rhod would
speedily lead to the invention and use of the water
wheel. The British Triads afford direct testimony in
confirming the probability that the original construction
of water mills was peculiar to Britain, and the result of
British ingenuity ; and that it was from hence that
Vitruvius derived the idea, on which he established his
theory (without however putting it into practice) of a
water wheel for grinding corn. One of these Triads
enumerates the names of persons of the bardic or
druidical profession eminent for their skill in handicraft,

7 The British proverbs which refer to it always represent it as
having some moving mechanical power, as " tra 'r rhetto 'r 6g, rhed y
freuan," " cyrch y ci ar y freuan." The term " breuan Uif/' which
occurs in the Welsh Laws, may imply either a grindstone, according
to Dr. Pugh, or a mill race. The mill cog, by which this effect is
produced, shows a British origin — cog implying the small billet of
wood adopted for dentification.

104 AGRICULTURE AND ARTS

of whom Coel ap Cyllin is said to have been the first
who applied the principle of the wheel and axle to the
working of the corn mill. From the same Triad we
learn that Corfinwr introduced the use of the sail and
rudder, and Morddal the art of using cement in masonry,
or, at least, some improvements in their respective pro-
fessions. Whatever authority may be allowed to these
historical records, which bear the impress of Druidism,
or to whatever period before the Roman invasion they
refer, there can be no doubt but that the Britons in
early times had distinguished themselves by their skill in
ship-building, and in the erection of stone edifices, and
that those terms which designate mechanical appliances,
implements of husbandry, domestic utensils, &;c., and
which bear a strong resemblance to those of Etrurian
origin, were peculiar to Britain, before she became a
Roman province. It must also be admitted that what-
ever advancement in art, whether as regards the anvil,
the loom, or the saw, may be traced among the Gauls,
would apply equally to Britain, as the undisturbed seat
of discipline and study, from whence scientific discoveries
might be expected to emanate.

It is no less remarkable than true that most of the
useful arts which sprung from agricultural industry are
classed under the patronage of deified personages of a
far distant age ; and that most inquiries into their origin
terminate in the dark regions of mythology. It is also
generally admitted that the Celtic and Grecian mytho-
logy had a common origin, and that the same attributes
are ascribed to the heathen deities in western Europe as
in Greece. Mercury and Minerva, as the patrons of

UNDER THE DRUIDICAL SYSTEM. 105

commerce and scientific inventions, were more especially
objects of veneration and regard among the western
tribes, and there is no language in which their names
admit of a better solution than that of the Celtic. Hence
commerce and manufactures were leading objects in their
system of political economy. The Britons had not only
their vessels for the export and import of merchandise,
but also an armed navy for protecting their trade, and
for keeping the other maritime states in subjection. If
the former were composed of oziers, and covered with
hides, the latter were built of oak boards, with iron bolts,
and furnished with chain cables.

Pliny, whose predilections induced him to attribute
most of the inventions connected with agriculture to
Egypt, maintains that the cultivation of flax first took
place in that country, upon which he remarks — how
extraordinary it was that so slender and insignificant a
plant should possess the power of uniting the oriental
and western nations in bonds of mutual dependance
on Italy. It was not employed, however, for the
purpose of navigation till long after the heroic ages,
for Homer describes the sails which impelled the
Greek navy to the plains of Troy as little better than
a kind of matting, formed of sedge, if not of coarser
material. The druidical order, like the priesthood of
Egypt, was distinguished by the wearing of linen
robes, from which we can safely infer that flax and
hemp were articles of cultivation in Britain at the
earliest period ; and that they were employed by the
western maritime states in the art of sailing, may be
further inferred from the substitution of leather, as a

106 AGRICULTURE AND ARTS

material better suited for the boisterous gales of the
Atlantic.^

The terms belonging to the art and implements of
weaving, and the peculiar form of the shuttle, as dis-
tin2:uished from the radius of the Greeks and oriental
nations, are proofs of originality in the construction and
use of the loom.^

The invigorating climate of Britain would be more
favourable to the inventive faculties, under the guidance
of a philosophical priesthood, than that of hotter and
more enervating regions ; and the manufacture of linen
and woollen fabrics must have occupied the attention of
the Druids from their earliest settlement in western
Europe, and kept pace with the progressive stages of
agricultural advancement and of productive labour.
The laina was a Gauhsh term for a woollen cassock of
native manufacture, the weaving of which occupied great
numbers of the population. — {Vide Plautus.)

The gauna was another species of coarse covering of
wool peculiar to them, according to Varro ; while the
bardo-cucullus, or purple mantle of the bardic costume,
affords another specimen of early manufacture.

After the Romans had succeeded in wresting the
government of Britain from druidical sway, and in
appropriating her resources to the imperial treasury,

8 The small rounded and hollow grit-stones, which are found in
great abundance among the remains of the ancient circular habita-
tions, were not intended for grinding corn, but for dressing flax and
hemp, and worked by the hand. Hence the term " breunaru lUn a
chywarch."

9 The shuttle appears to be a corruption from esgudull, the diminu-
tive of esgud, a shoe, which it resembles — Greek, skyteus.

UNDER THE DRUIDICAL SYSTEM. 107

Venta Belgarum became the emporium for supplying
the imjierial wardrobe and the army clothing ; and sucli
was tlie importance attached to the skill employed in the
manufacture of sails, linen, counterpanes, &c., that the
looms of the district were placed under the superinten-
dence of an officer specially appointed for the purpose.
Abundant evidence may be brought in proof that the art
of dyeing, and of extracting various colours from plants
and minerals, was well known to the inhabitants of
western Europe, and practised, not in painting their
bodies, but in the manufacture of clothing, a party-
coloured vest being a peculiar costume which distin-
guished one of the largest provinces into which Gaul was
divided. From the term glastennen, as applied to the
holm, or scarlet oak, it may reasonably be conjectured
not only that the bark was used in the process of making
leather, but that the oak-dust and apple were also used
as articles for dyeing, and that this was the colouring
material to which Caesar applies the term glastum. To
the practice of dyeing may be added the fulling, or pan-
ning, process, as equally well known. The Greeks claim
the invention on the part of Nicias of Megara, a philoso-
pher of the Socratic school ; but the pretensions of the
Gauls rest on better grounds, as it is asserted by Pliny
that the manufacture of soap, the most material article
in the fulling process, had its origin in Gaul. The same
observation will apply to the kneading trough, or the art
of making bread. The invention of the bolting sieve,
composed of horse hair, for purifying flour, or separating
the sil from the husk, is attributed by Pliny to the
Gauls ; and the substitution of bread for gruel did not

108 AGRICULTURE AND ARTS

take place at Rome till after the annexation of Gallia
Narbonensis to her territorial possessions, or about 150
j^ears before the invasion of Julius Ceesar/ The popina
leads us to the brewery ; and here we have ample autho-
rity for stating that the process of making a fermented
liquor from barley formed a characteristic feature in the
domestic economy of the Celtic tribes," and that the Ger-
mans are entitled to the credit of adding a due proportion
of the lupulus, or hop plant, to improve its flavour.

That the Britons adopted artificial means for increasing
the fertility of the soil, and that the art of manuring land
was in a considerable state of advancement before the
Roman invasion, may be inferred from the agricultural
terms of native origin in which the language abounds.
Marl, or mwrl, so called from its friability, was one of the
materials used by them, according to the testimony of
Pliny. The use of lime as a cement shows that the

1 The British sU takes precedence of the Latin sihgo. The Roman
etymologist is much puzzled as to the etymon of popina, which the
British pobi Avould have explained. The British tylino, to knead,
bears some analogy to telia, the Greek term for the kneading trough,
or rather perhaps to telinon, the farina of the red-bearded wheat,
called hrana, formerly cultivated in Gaul, and no longer known to
exist.

2 Welsh ale was highly valued and in great demand during the
Saxon heptarchy. The Saxon Chronicle, a.d. 852, records the grant
of the villa of Sleaford, in Lincoln, for supplying the monastery of
Peterborough with ten mittans of Welsh ale, or ten sextaries or quarts,
as it is translated, a quantity very disproportioned to so large and pro-
ductive a parish. Mittan, however, is derived from myd, or mydd
and myddi, a capacious wooden vessel of a circular form, more of the
nature of a vat or hogshead, and peculiar to the Britons. The western
nations had their casks, when the Greeks used skins for their fermented
liquors ; though Pseusippus, a Grecian, is said to have been the first
cooper.

UNDER THE DRUIDICAL SYSTEM. 109

process of calcination was well known, and applied to a
variety of ])iirposcs. The manufacture of salt, and the
fusion of metals, both as sources of revenue and articles
of commerce, may easily be traced to the druidical
period ; while gold ornaments, as articles of costume for
the neck and arms,^ were in high estimation among the
Celts at a remote period. The great abundance of tri-
coloured beads found in Britain cannot well be accounted
for, except upon the supposition that the art of manufac-
turins: them was known to the Druids. The use of the
blow-pipe by which they were formed, and its resem-
blance to a serpent, has led to an extraordinary delusion
on the subject of their production. Pliny was so far
imposed upon, in having the process described to him
as practised in Gaul, as to assert that they were produced
by the blowing of snakes. Glain natron, or glass beads,
formed by the fusion of sand and natron, (the usual
ingredients,) by means of the blow-pipe, agrees so nearly
in sound with glain nadron, or snake beads, as to justify
the only reasonable solution of such an extraordinary
phenomenon as that of the production of beads by the
hissing of snakes, as attested by the Roman naturalist.

The ingenuity displayed by the Celts in their modes
of warfare, which enabled them at various periods to
overrun Europe, and to extend their conquests into Asia
Minor, in which expeditions we have reason to infer
that Britain had no inconsiderable share, proves at least
that they were on a par with some of the most celebrated
nations of antiquity. In their adoption of inflammable

3 The Latins borrowed the term monile, for a necklace, from the
Celtic mwnwg-dlws, or ornament for the mwnwg, or neck.

110 AGRICULTURE AND ARTS, ETC.

balls for setting fire to the enemy's entrenchments, and
in the application of moveable iron shields for subter-
ranean operations in undermining their outworks, as
described by Caesar, we may discern a gradual approach
to the destructive elements of modern warfare ; while the
invention of the rudder, (Greek, pvrrip, habena,) and the
double pronged anchor, by the early navigators of the
Western or Hyperborean Sea, and introduced from thence
into Greece by Anacharsis, above five centuries before
the Christian sera, present historical facts of equal impor-
tance to those already enumerated ; all of them tending
to confirm the doubt entertained by Aristotle, whether
to ascribe the origin and progress of the useful arts and
sciences to the sages of western Europe, or to the light
of oriental philosophy.

GLOSSAEY OF TEEMS

USED FOR

ARTICLES

BRITISH DRESS AND ARMOUR.

BY THE

REV. J. WILLIAMS, M.A., (ab Ithel,)

Llanymowddwy.

A OLOSSARY, &c.

AcHEN — A coat of arms. It has a particular reference
to the lineage of the bearer.

" The long-mane dragon's achen we view,
And see the brightening silver hue."

lolo Goch, 1370-1420, relative
to the arms of Mortimer.

AcHRE — A raiment peculiar, as it would appear from
the etymology of the word, to a person of gentle birth.

AcHRis — This seems to be a similar description of cover-
ing.

Adfach — The beard of a dart, or hook.

Adoew, called also Gotoew — a spur. Llywarch Hen,
in the sixth century, speaking of the battle of Llong-
borth, in which Geraint ab Erbin was slain, says that
he saw there the " quick-impelling gotoew ;" and he
relates of one of his own sons that he wore " the golden
gotoew'' lolo Goch describes Mortimer as having
"golden gotoew r and 0. ab LI. Moel, 1430-1460,
compliments some one by saying that he " ought to
have golden gotoew."

Aerbar — The spear of slaughter.

114 GLOSSARY OF TERMS FOR

Aerwy — A collar or chain. In ancient times it was a
badge of distinction, worn by warriors.

" A golden aerwy will be sent to some slaughter,
On his goodly neck, bright and fresh."

G. ah leuan Hen, a.d. 1460.

In the institution of the Round Table, established by
Rhys ab Tewdwr in the eleventh century, the ribbon,
which the bards wore on their arm, just below the
shoulder joint, indicative of their several degrees, was
designated aerwy and also amrwy. The armlet of the
Druid-bard was white; that of the Privileged-bard
sky-blue; and that of the Ovate green; whilst the
aspirant or disciple wore one which exhibited a com-
bination of these three colours. When the bards had
abandoned the general use of their official robes, the
aerwy was " considered of equal value, and represen-
ting the same honour with the entire dress." — {lolo
MSS., p. 633.)
Aes — A buckler or target, carried in the left hand, or on
the left arm, which were hence denominated, respec-
tively, " Haw aswy," and " braich aswy," i, e., the
shield hand or arm. The heroes of the Gododin are
represented by Aneurin as " armed with the aes."
From that poem we also learn that the aes was some-
times made of wood : —

" When Cydywal hastened to battle, he raised the shout,
With the early dawn he dealt out tribulation,
And left the splintered aesawr scattered about."

The original is " aesawr dellt." It is not quite clear
whether the expression refers to the formation of the
aes as being composed of laths, or merely to its shat-

BRITISH DRESS AND ARMOUR. 115

tered condition ; neither view, however, would militate
against the fact of its material being* wood. But we
find that it was also made of steel. Thus Prydydd y
Moch, 1160-1220, says of Gruffydd ab Cynan that

" He formed the sudden conflict in the protection of an
aes of steel."

Nor was it always light; for the Prydydd Bychan,
1210-1260, speaks of Meredydd ab Owain as armed
with

" A broken, red, heavy aes"

The aes was doubtless the same with the aspis, which
both Herodian and Dion Cassius represent as being
used by the Britons.
Albrys — The catapulta, or the cross-bow.

" Send through him from the alhrys another wound."

Dafydd ah Gwihjm, 1330-1370.

In the Armorican dialect this instrument is similarly
called "albalastr;" and as there was no extensive
intercourse between the Welsh and Bretons subse-
quently to the sixth century, we may fairly date
words, this among others, which are common to the
languages of both people, at least as early as that era.

Alfarch — A spear.

Amadrwy — A purfle about a woman's gown ; the train
or trail of a gown.

Amaerwy — A hem, a skirt, a border, welt or guard
about a coat or gown, a fringe of a garment, a sel-
vedge. Taliesin, in the sixth century, speaks of a
" silver amaerwy.^'

Ambais — A safeguard ; a kind of woman's riding dress.

116 GLOSSARY OF TERMS FOR

Amdawd — Raiment.

" He was the stately Owain, sure pledge of baptism,
Wearing an amdawd of cerulean hue."

Gwalchmai, 1150-1190.

Amde — A covering. It seems to have been a mark of
honour ; for Taliesin thus alludes to it : —
" He that knows the ingenious art
Which is hid by the discreet ovate,
Will give me an amde,
When he ascends from the gate."
And elsewhere he represents the prince of Rheged as
" The chief of men, and the amde of warriors."
Amdo — A covering on all sides. It commonly signifies

a shroud or winding-sheet.
Amdorch — An encircling wreath.
Amdrws — A garment that covers all round, from "trws,"

a trouse.
Amglwm — A clasper.
Amlaw — A glove.

" A steel amlaw round the shaft of his dart."

Ltwis Mon, 1480-1520.

Amorchudd — A cover on all sides.
Amrwym — A bandage.
Amwe — A selvedge, or skirting.

Amwisg — A covering ; it commonly signifies a shroud.
" The gallant chief, not unconspicuous
Was his steel amwisg, among the brave."

D. ah Edmund, a.d. 1450.

Archen — A shoe.

" In the month of December dirty is the archen,
Heavy is the ground — the sun seems drowsy."

Aneurin, 510-560.

BRITISH DRESS AND ARMOUR. 117

Archenad — The same as the preceding.
" In the month of May,
Merry is the old man without archenad."

Aneurin.

From this extract it appears that our ancestors occa-
sionally, in the summer at least, went about without
shoes. In the Laws of Hywel Dda, it is decreed that
the chamber-maid of the palace should have, amongst
other things, the queen's old archenad. The same
laws provide, moreover, that the watchman and the
woodman should be supplied respectively with arch-
enad at the king's expense. Kilhwch, one of the
heroes of the Mabinogion, is described as having
" precious gold, of the value of three hundred kine,
upon his archenad, and upon his stirrups, from his
knee to the tip of his toe."

Archre — Raiment ; clothes.

Archro — Clothes ; dress.

Arf — A weapon.

"There are three lawful arfau: a sword, a spear, and a
bow with tw^elve arrows in a quiver. And every man of family
is required to have them ready, with a view to withstand any
invasion w^hich may be caused by the forces of the border
country, or of aliens, and other depredators. And arfau are
not to be allowed to any one who is not a native Cymro, or
an alien in the third degree, for the purpose of preventing
treason and waylaying. — Laws of Dyfnwal Moelmud, b.c. 430.

Arfeilyn — Sashoons, a kind of leather bandages for
the small of the leg, used for preserving boots from
wrinkling.

Arfwll — The name of the sword of Trystan, a chieftain
of the sixth century.

118 GLOSSARY OF TERMS FOR

Arglwyddwialen — A rod of dominion ; a sceptre. Hence
a feme covert is said in the Welsh Laws to be under
a " matrimonial arglwyddwialen.'"

Arlen — A covering veil.

Arlost — The stock or shaft of a weapon ; the butt end.

" The knight passed the arlost of his lance through the bridle
rein of my horse." — Lady of the Fountain, p. 49.

Arolo — A covering, or a shroud.

" I also hastened with arolooedd (shroiids) for the Angles ;
Lamentations were in Lloegria along the path of my hand."

Gwalchmai, 1150-1190.

Arwisg — Upper garment.

Arwydd — An ensign, banner, or colours ; a tabard ;
Arm. " Argoedd." Hywel Foel, 1240-1280, describes
Owain Goch's colours as of fine linen, " bliant arwydd-
ion." In the " Dream of Rhonabwy" we read of
a troop of men having " arwyddion (hanners) which
were pure white with black points." And in " The
Lady of the Fountain," a knight is introduced with an
"arwydd (a tabard) of black linen about him."

Arwylwisg — Mourning dress.

AsAFAR — A shield, or buckler. " There were asafeiriaid
(shield bearers) and infantry innumerable." — H. Car.
Mag. — Mabinogion.

As ANT — A shield.

AsETH — A kind of small darting spear.

Attrws — A second dress, or garment.

Attudd — A second cover, or casing.

BRITISH DRESS AND ARMOUR. 119

Balawg — Tlie tongue of a buckle ; a fibula ; the flap of
the breeches; an apron. In the " Mabinogi" of H.
Peredur we read of " a knight bearing the armorial
badge of a halaivg (a fibula)." Likewise, in the
" Dream of Rhonabwy," a knight is described as
having on his belt " a clasp of ivory, with a balawg of
jet black upon the clasp ;" another, as having " a jet
black balawg upon a buckle formed of the bone of the
sea-horse ;" and a third, as having " a balawg of yel-
low gold upon a clasp made of the eyelid of a black
sea-horse."

Baner, or Baniar, from bayi, (high or aloft) — A banner or
ensign, on which the chieftain's arms were emblazoned.

" When the generous of the line of Llewelyn comes,
With his baner of red and of yellow,
Eager to destroy and to conquer,
He shall in truth possess the border land of Cynfyn."

Goronwy Ddu, 1320-1370.

The Herbert banner is thus described by Lewis Glyn
Cothi, 1430-1470:—

" Three lions argent are upon his baner,
Three rampant on a field of the rule of R.^
Bundles of arrows, numerous as the stars.
Form his badge of honour."

The banner was sometimes hoisted on a proper staff
called manawyd, mentioned in the " Gododin," and
sometimes also on a lance called paladr, as we find in
the " Dream of Rhonabwy."

1 /. e., red or gules.

120 GLOSSARY OF TERMS FOR

Bangaw — The bandage of honour.

Barddgwccwll — A hood of sky blue, which the privi-
leged Bard wore on all occasions that he officiated, as
a graduated badge or literary ornament. This habit
was borrowed from the British Bards by the Druids
of Gaul, and from them by the Romans, who called it
Bardocucullus or the Bard's Cowl. — (See James
Patriarclial Religion, &c., p. 75.)

" Gallia Santonico vestit te hardocucullo,
Cercopithecorum penula nuper erat."

Mart, 14, 128.

Barf — A beard. The Ancient Britons are said to have
worn their beard on the upper lip only. The harf
was looked upon as a sign of manliness, hence Lly-
warch Hen observes, —

" Cynddylan, thou comely son of Cyndrwyn,
It is not proper that a harf should be worn round the nose
By a man who was no better than a maid."

Elegy on Cynddylan ah Cyndrwyn.

And of such importance was it to preserve the honour
of the beard, that " to wish disgrace upon his harf
was one of the tln^ee causes for which the Welsh Laws
empowered a man to inflict personal castigation upon
his wife. Llywarch Hen thus alludes to the disgrace
of beards : —

" When God separates from man,
When the young separates from the old,
Forgive to the flyer the disgrace of harfau."

Barfle — The crest of a helmet, or beaver.

" And behold Gwrlas, prince of Cornwall, with his legion
drawing near to them, and dispersing the Saxons ; and what

BRITISH DRESS AND ARMOUR. 121

did Eidol tlien do, under such encouragement, but took Hen-
gist by the barjle of his hehuet, and brought him amongst his
legion, and cried with all his might, ' Bear down the Saxons
under foot.' " — Gr. ah Arthur.

Baryflen, or Barywlen — The upper part of a shield.
Cynon, in the " Lady of the Fountain," thus describes
the mode whereby he protected himself from a terrible
shower of hailstones : —

" I turned my horse's flank towards the shower, and placed
the beak of my shield over his head and neck, while I held the
barywlen over my own head; and thus I withstood the
shower."

Ber — A spear, or a pike. This is frequently mentioned
by Aneurin as one of the weapons of the heroes of
Gododin. It was regarded as something similar to
the lance alluded to in St. John, xix., 34 ; for Taliesin,
in his " Ode on the Day of Judgment," represents
our Saviour as addressing his crucifiers thus : —

" To you there will be no forgiveness,
For piercing me with herau"

Beraes — A buckler ; a short shield.

Berllysg — A truncheon. According to the Welsh Laws,

the usher of the hall had to carry a berllysg, in order

to clear the way before the king.

" The door-keeper ought to clear the way for the king with
his berllysg, and whatever man he may strike at arm's length
with his berllysg, should such seek for redress, he ought not
to have it."

The etymology of the word intimates that his official
wand was but of a short size.
Bliant — Fine linen, as cambric or lawn. This word is

122 GLOSSARY OF TERMS FOR

of frequent occurrence in the poems and Mabinogion.
Thus we read of " a table cloth of bliant," and of a
"gown or coat of bliant." Prydydd y Moch, 1160-
1220, thus speaks of Llewelyn ab lorwerth: —
" A man resisting reproach, powerful in opposing Lloegr
Is Llewelyn, when he is about to march
Before the covering of the shower of royalty,
Clad in green and white bliant."

Blif — A warlike engine to shoot stones out of; a cata-
pulta.
" Battering with the blif, like a torrent,
The stones of the gloomy walls of Berwick Castle."

lolo to Edward III.

BoDRWY — A ring worn on the thumb, as we infer from

the etymology of the word, viz., bawd-rhwy.
BoGEL — A boss.

" The man who was in the stead of Arawn struck Hafo-an
on the centre of the bogel of his shield, so that it was cloven
in twain." — Mab. Pwy II prince of Dyfed.

BoGLWM — Id., " Boglwm tarian," the boss of a shield.
BoLLT — A bolt, dart, or quarrel, shot out of an engine.
BoREUwiSG — A morning dress.
BoTAS — A buskin ; also a boot. The value of botasau

cynnyglog, (plaited greaves,) is estimated in the Laws

of Hywel Dda at fourpence.
BoTWM — A button ; a boss. Dafydd ab Gwilym calls

hazel nuts — •

" The pretty botymau of the branches of trees."
Both — The boss of a buckler.
Bras — A cross-bow.

" The swift comes from the bras." — Adage.

BRITISH DRESS AND ARMOUR. 123

Brasliain — A coarse linen cloth.

Brat — A clout or rag. Pwyll, when disguised as a
beggar, was clad " in heavy bratiau, and wore large
clumsy shoes upon his feet." — Pwyll prince of Dyfed.

Breichdlws — An ornament for the arm ; a bracelet.

Breiciiled — Id.

Breichledr — A bracelet ; a leather band for the arm.
It seems to have been worn by bowmen, for Lewis
Glyn Cothi, in describing the kind of bow he should
wish to have, and the manner in which he should
handle it, adds in connexion therewith, —
" I will wear a breichledr, if I can,
Of gold or of silver."— P. 374.

Breichrwy — A bracelet, worn by distinguished persons
of both sexes.

" Breichrwyau of gold were round his arms, a profusion of
golden rings on his hands, and a wreath of gold round his
neck, and a frontlet of gold on his head, keeping up his hair,
and he had a magnificent appearance." — Dream of Maxen
Wledig. Mabinogion.

" Greatly am I made to blush by her that is the colour of the
twirling eddies of the wave.
When her breast receives the reflection of the breichrwy."
Cynddelw, 1130-1200, to Efa, daughter of
Madawg prince of Powys.

Breichrwy was another name for the bardic armlet,
which, in the Institutes of the Round Table, was called
amrwy and aerwy. — (See Aerwy.)

In the Laws of Hywel Dda there is no fixed value
attached to the breichrwy, but it is directed that it
should be appraised upon oath.
Breninwisg — A royal robe.

124 GLOSSARY OF TERMS FOR

Brethyn — Cloth ; woollen cloth. Mention is made in
the " Dream of Rhonabwy," of a " page having two
stockings of thin greenish yellow hrethyn upon his
feet;" and in " Pwyll prince of Dyfed," of a "horse-
man upon a large grey steed, with a hunting horn
about his neck, and clad in garments of grey hrethyn,
in the fashion of a hunting garb."

Brethynwisg — A woollen garment. According to the
Laws of Hywel Dda, the officers of the royal court
were to receive their brethynwisg from the king at the
festivals of Christmas, Easter, and Whitsunday.

Brithlen — Arras.

Brondor — A breast-plate ; also a shield. Cynddelw
represents Owain Cyfeiliog as having a hrondor in
both senses of the word.

" A strong brondor (breast-plate) has the over-daring one, who
habituates the packs of wolves
To tread upon the dead carcases of the plain."

" Terror arises from the din of the blue sea, and a tumult
From the brave with the quick moving hrondor (shield)."

Broneg — A breastplate ; a stomacher.

Bronfoll — Id.

Brongengl — A corslet ; a poitrel or breast -leather for a
horse. The brongengl, as a part of horse-gear, is
mentioned in the Laws of Hywel Dda.

Bronglwm — A breast-knot.

Brwg — A covering.

Brycan — A rug, blanket, or coverlet ; also a clog,
brogue, or large shoe, to wear over another. The fol-
lowing extracts refer to it in its former acceptation : —
" The three essentials of a genuine gentleman ; a brycan, a

BRITISH DRESS AND ARMOUR. 125

harp, and a cauldron ; and they are his prime portion." — Laws
of Dyf nival Moclmud.

" Three things which are not to be shared with another; a
sword, a knife, and a hrycan ; for the owner will keep them by
right of law."— 76.

In case of separation between man and wife, when
the property is to be divided, the husband is, by the
Laws of Hywel Dda, entitled to the brycan. In the
same code the hrycan of a freeholder is valued at sixty
pence.

In the " Dream of Rhonabwy," we are presented
with this description of a couch in a peasant's house : —

" It (the couch) seemed to be made but of a little coarse
straw full of dust and vermin, with the stems of boug-hs
sticking up therethrough, for the cattle had eaten all the straw
that was placed at the head and the foot ; and upon it was
stretched an old russet coloured hrycan, threadbare and rag-
ged ,• and a coarse sheet, full of slits, was upon the hrycan ;
and an ill-stulFed pillow, and a worn out cover, upon the
sheet."

Brych — A rough, streaked, or spotted covering ; a tar-
tan, or plaid.

" Apud plures extat authores Gallos vestimentis quibusdam
usos fuisse, quoe Brachas patrio sermone dixerunt; haec et
nostris Britannis communia fuisse docet Martialis versiculus, —
* Quam veteres Bracha Britonis pauperis.' "

Camden.

Brysyll, or Brysgyll — A truncheon; a mace, or sceptre.
A hrysyll, in the hands of a religious man, appears as
one of the most primitive objects which the Britons
used to swear by ; thus we are informed in the Laws
of Dyfnwal Moelmud that —

126 GLOSSARY OF TERMS FOR

" There are three rehcs to swear by ; the hrysyll of the
minister of reHgion (golychwydwr), the name of God, and
hand joined in hand ; and these are called hand relics. There
are three other modes of swearing ; a declaration upon con-
science, a declaration in the face of the sun, and a strong
declaration by the protection of God and His truth." — Triad,
219.
In the same Laws we also have the following : —

" There are three blows which a lord may administer upon
his subject in the exercise of his rule ; one with his hrysyll,
viz., his official rod, one with the flat of his sword, and one
with the palm of his hand." — Triad, 202.
The hrysyll was also one of the insignia of the bards,
and " it denoted privilege ; and where there was a sit-
ting in judgment, it was not right to bear any insignia
except the brysyll'"' — lolo MSS., p. 634.
BwA — A bow. (See Arf.)

" Better the use of the sickle than the hwa." — Aneurin..
The value of a hwa, with twelve arrows, is estimated
in Hywel Dda's Laws at fourpence. The hwa was
generally made of yew ; yet we read in the " Lady of
the Fountain" of " an ivory hwa, strung with the
sinews of the stag," and in Lewis Glyn Cothi of " steel
hwaau." In a tale, written apparently in the four-
teenth century, Gwgan the Bard longs to have " a bow
of red yew in his hand, ready bent, with a tough tight
string, and a straight round shaft, with a compass-
rounded nock, and long slender feathers fastened on
with green silk, and a steel head, heavy and thick,
and an inch across, of a green blue temper, that would
draw blood out of a weathercock." (See Lady of
the Fountain. Notes.)

BRITISH DRESS AND ARMOUR. 127

It was customary to gild bows in the fourteenth
century, as the following lines of Dafydd ab Gwilym
testify : —

" The vilest hwa that e'er was framed of yew,
That in the hand abruptly snaps in two,
When all its faults are varnished o'er with gold,
Looks strong, and fair, and faultless, and — is sold." — Ibid.

BwccLED — A buckler. Arm. Bouclezer.
BwYELL — An axe, or hatchet. There were several sorts
of hwyell ; such as hwyell lydan, a working hatchet ;
hwyell hii\ and hwyell gynnud, an axe to fell timber ;
hwyell arf^ arf-fwyell, and hwyell ennilleg, a battle-
axe.

In the Laws of Hy wel Dda the hwyell lydan is valued
at fourpence ; the hwyell cynnud at twopence ; the
hwyell arf, or hwyell ennilleg at twopence ; and the
hwyell fechan (small axe) at one penny.

The king's woodman was entitled to protection as
far as he could throw his hwyell. — Welsh Laws.

The socket of a hwyell cynnud was one of the three
things which the palace smith was obliged to make
gratuitously for the use of the royal household. — Ihid.

The king could demand a man, a horse, and a
hwyell to make tents with, from every township under
villain soccage tenure. — Ihid.

In the division of goods between man and wife, the
former claimed the hwyell cynnud, and the latter the
hwyell lydan. — Ihid.

That the hwyell was used as a weapon of war in the
sixth century, appears from the following triad : —

" The three accursed hwyellawd (battle-axe strokes) of the

128 GLOSSARY OF TERMS FOR

Isle of Britain; the hwyellawd of Eiddyn on the head of
Aneurin, the hwyellawd on the head of lago the son of Beh,
and the hwyellawd on the head of Golyddan the bard."

The bivyell is reckoned as one of the insignia of the

Bards : —

" The bwyell is the symbol of science and of its improve-
ment ; and the bards of Glamorgan bear it through privilege
of the chair : and the hwyell has privilege, viz., the person who
bears it by warrant of the judgment of the chair, is authorised
to show improvement in knowledge and science before the
chair and gorsedd ; and he has precedence in that, and his
word is warranted." — lolo MSS., p. 633.

Cadach — A piece of cloth; a kerchief; a swaddling
clout.

" Caeo is famous for its thorny hedges.
Its clamour and fleas, and the prosecution of thieves.
The selling of goats upon credit, its trees,
And its variegated cadachau"

Characteristics of parts of Wales (Mediaeval),
Apud Myv. Arch., i., p. 541.

Cad AS — A kind of stuff, or cloth.

" A robe of silk and cadas." — D. ah Gwilym.

" Not in precious gold, nor cadas,
A troublesome load, but in a pale covering."

S. Ceri, 1520.

Cadbais — A coat of mail ; a corslet. Llywarch Hen
represents Caranmael as wearing the cadbais of Cyn-
ddylan on the field of battle.

BRITISH DRESS AND ARMOUR. 129

" When Caranmael put on the cadhais of Cynddylan,
And lifted up and shook his aslien spear,
From his mouth the Frank would not get the word of peace."

Elegy on Cynddylan.

Cadfan — The martial horn ; from cad (a battle) and

ban (loud),
Cadfwyell — A battle-axe. See Bwyell.
Cadgorn — ^The horn of battle. It would appear from
the following passage that drinking-horns were, occa-
sionally at least, used as such : —
" A baron —
The shrill blower of cadgyrn, the ample mead horns."
Llyw. Ben Twrch, 1450-1480.

Cadseirch — War harness. One of the chiefs of Gododin
" Supported martial steeds^ and cadseirch,
Drenched with gore on the red-stained field of Cattraeth."

Aneurin.
Cadwaew — A war lance.
Cadwen — A chain ; a bandage.
Cadwy — A rug ; a covering.

Cadwyn — A chain. It was of gold, and worn by war-
rior chiefs. Thus Llywarch Hen describes Cynddylan
prince of Powys, as —
" Cynddylan, eminent for sagacity of thought,
Cadwynawg (wearing the chain), foremost in the host.
The protector of Tren, whilst he lived."

Elegy on Cynddylan.

Cae — A ring ; a necklace ; an ornamental wreath. Some
of the chiefs of Gododin were decked with a cae.
" Caeog (adorned with his wreath) was the leader, the wolf of
the holme.
Amber beads in ringlets encircled his temples." — Aneurin.

130 GLOSSARY OF TERMS FOR

One of the Mabinogion, describing Elen, daughter of
Eudaf, and sister of Cynan Meiriadog, says of her, —

" The maid was clothed in robes of white silk, and her
bosom was decked with caeau of ruddy gold." — Dream of
Maxen Wledig.

In another of these tales the dress of Owain, the son
of Urien, is thus described : — •

" The next day at noon Owain arrayed himself in a coat,
and a surcoat, and a mantle of yellow satin, upon which was
a broad band of gold lace ; and on his feet were high shoes
of variegated leather, which were fastened by golden caeau in
the form of lions." — Lady of the Fountain.

A Cae was to be valued on oath. — Myv. Arch., iii., p.
424.

Caead — A clasp. A young page in the Tale of " Rho-
nabwy" had "over his hose, shoes of parti-coloured
leather, fastened at the insteps with golden caeadau."
—P. 407.

Caerawg — This epithet, applied to a particular kind of
cloth, signifies " kersey-woven," and is so used because
of the similitude of the texture to the work in stone
walls, the primary meaning of caerawg being mural.
Lady Charlotte Guest has, in the subjoined passage,
translated it by the term " diapered," which she con-
siders as more appropriate in reference to satin, and
which Warton {^ng. Poe., ii., 9, 1824) believes pro-
perly to signify " embroidering on a rich ground, as
tissue, cloth of gold," &c.

" On Whit Tuesday, as the king sat at the banquet, lo !
there entered a tall, fair-headed youth, clad in a coat and a
surcoat of caerawg satin, and a golden-hilted sword about his

BRITISH DRESS AND ARMOUR. 131

neck, and low shoes of leather upon his feet." — Geraint ab
Erhin.

Calcii — Enamelled armour. It is a word of frequent
occurrence in the Welsh poems, e. g. : —

" Sweetly sang the birds on the fragrant blossomed apple tree,
Over the head of Gwen, before he was covered with sod.
He used to fracture the calch of old Llywarch ! "

LI. Hen on Old Age.

" They shattered the calch on the faces of Cyndrwynwyn's sons."

Meigant, 600-650.

" The wrathful blade would slay,
The azure tinted calch would gleam." — Cynddelw.

Calchdo, and Calchdoed — An enamelled covering;
painted armour.

" Violent was the destruction of the flank and front of the
towns,
And the breaking of the calchdoedd of the land on the third
day after." Meilyr, 1 120-1 160.

Cap — A cap.

Capan— A cap, or hat. Myrddin Wyllt (530-600) thus

addresses a person bearing the name of Yscolan, {q. St.

Columba ?) : —

" Black is thy steed — black thy capan,
Black thy head — thyself art black.
Black thy pate — art thou Yscolan ? "

Myv. Arch., i., p. 132.

We read in the Welsh Laws that

" The king gave to the church of Menevia two choral
capanau of velvet."

Also, —

" The head groom is entitled to the king's pluvial capanau,

132 GLOSSARY OF TERMS FOR

and his old saddles of the colour of their wood, and his old
cast oiF bridles, and his old cast offspurs."

In the same Laws we find that a capan dinesig (a civil

cap) is valued at twenty-four pence.
Carai — A bandage, or lace ; a thong. Carai Esgid, a

shoe-latchet. Esgidiau Careiawg, or shoes having

latchets, are estimated in the Laws of Hywel Dda at

twopence.
Carddagl — A skirt.
Carn — The haft, or hilt of a weapon.

"She opened a wooden casket, and drew forth a razor,

whose carn was of ivory, and upon which were two rivets of

gold." — Ladt/ of the Fountain.

Carnial — A shoe sole.

Carp — A clout, a rag. In reference to our blessed

Saviour's nativity, Madawg ap Gwalter (a.d. 1250)

observes, —

" Instead of fine linen
About His bed, were seen carpiau.'*

Myv. Arch., i., p. 406.

Casmai — A set of ornaments.

" Around him were casmai,
And the flowers of the charming branches of May."

D. ah Gwilym.

Casul — A casula, or chasuble; the priest's vestment.
Taliesin, probably in his character of Druid, says of
himself, —

" I have been the weigher of the falling drops,
Dressed in my casul, and furnished with my bowl."

Myv. Arch., i., p. 31.

Caw — A band, or wrapper. Cawiau — Swaddling clouts.

BRITISH DRESS AND ARMOUR. 133

" The bard's armlet is worn on the arm, below the shonlder
joint, and in Gwyncdd it was anciently called Caw, as also in
Deheubarth, and often in Glamorgan it was so called likewise ;
therefore the bard was called the Bard Caw [or the Bard of
the band], after he had received the order of the Pen Cerdd
[or the Chief of Song], and the three Beirdd Caw included
the Privardd [Chief Bard], the Ovydd [Ovate], and the Der-
wyddvardd [or the Druid Bard], otherwise called Privardd,
or Bardd Glas, Arwyddvardd or Gwyn Vardd, [the Bard of
the Sign, or the White Bard,] and the Bargadvardd and
Cylvardd."— /o/o MSS., p. 632.

Cedaflen — A napkin.
Ceitlen — A smock frock.

Cethrawr — A pike. It was a weapon used in the battle
of Cattraeth, in the sixth century.

" The envious, the fickle, and the base.
Would he tear and pierce with a cethrawr.'' — Gododin.

It cannot be the same as the " brevis cetra," which,
according to Tacitus, formed a part of the armour of
the ancient Britons, and which is described as a shield
or target made of leather, very light, and of a circular
form. A cethrawr is valued in the Welsh Laws at
fourpence.

Cewyn — A small bandage ; a clout.

CiGWAiN — A flesh-fork ; also a spear used for hunting
purposes. Thus we read of one of the heroes of
Gododin, —

" As many as thy father could reach.
With his cigwain,
Of wild boars, lions, and foxes.

It was certain death to them all, unless they proved too
nimble." Aneurin.

134 GLOSSARY OF TERMS FOR

It was likewise used as a military weapon. For in-
stance, Cynddelw thus observes of Owain Gwynedd, —

" A prosperous lord, ruddy was his cigwain"

The domestic cigwain of a king was estimated at
twenty-four pence ; that of a freeholder at twelve
pence.
Cledd, Cleddeu, and Cleddyf — A sword. The cleddyf
was one of the three lawful arms (see Arf). In the
old Law Triads, the value of a white-hilted cleddyf is
twenty-four pence ; if it be brittle-edged (hardened),
sixteen pence ; and, if it has a round handle, twelve
pence. According to the code, which was revised and
settled by Hywel Dda, a brittle-edged cleddyf is
valued at twelve pence ; a round-hilted one at sixteen
pence ; and the white-hilted one at twenty-four pence.
In Roman times the northern Britons used very large
swords, ingentes gladii. — See Tacitus.

Lewis Glyn Cothi has written a poem to beg a
cleddyf from Dafydd ab Gutyn, from which we may
learn what were looked upon in his days as the essen-
tials of a good sword. The following are the lines
which bear more immediately upon the subject ; and,
as it would be difficult to convey the full and precise
meaning of the author through the medium of a trans-
lation, we shall give them in their original dress : — •

" Y mae 'n ei gylch, er mwyn ei gil,
Dwrn byr mor durn a baril ;
Y mae pais o'r gariiais gwyn,
A chramp mal cylch ar impyn ;
Mae gwregys fForchog gogam,
A chrys o goed a chroes gam ;

BRITISH DRESS AND ARMOUR.

135

Wrth y groes, wedi'r weithiaw,
Y mae yn lied i'm no Haw ;
Mae blaen arno fo yn fain
Fal nodwydd neu flaen adain ;
Blaen yvv fal diflaen y dart,
Dur avvchus yw o drichwart ;
Croes wen rhag rhyw was annoeth,
Croes naid, o'i uncrys yn noeth ;
Llain las wrth ddarllen ei liw,
Lien wydr fal ellyn ydyw ;
Goleu yw hwn fal bagl hir,
A gloew ydyw fal glodir ;
Lleiddiad fal cyllell luddew,
A thra llym fal ysgythr Hew." — V, iii.
We read in the " Mabinogion" of a "three-edged
cleddyf." — Dream of Rhonahwy, p. 407.

The deddijf hung on the left side of the bearer ;
hence the word cledd signifies both a sword and the
left hand ; also, the north, from its being on the left
of a person looking eastward, even as the deheu, or
south, is on his right.
Clos — A pair of breeches.
Clwpa — A club.

" Geraint foHowed the giants, and overtook them. And
each of them was greater of stature than three other men, and
a huge clwpa was on the shoulder of each." — Geraint ah
Erhin, p. 130.

Dau wr a chlwpa, the play of cat and trap.
Clwt — A clout ; a piece of cloth.

" A clwt is better than a hole." — Adage.
Cnap — A boss ; a button.

" A little way from them, I saw a man in the prime of life,
with his beard newly shorn, clad in a robe and a mantle of

136 GLOSSARY OF TERMS FOR

yellow satin ; and round the top of his mantle was a band
of gold lace. On his feet were shoes of variegated leather,
fastened by two cnapau of gold." — Lady of the Fountain.

Cob — A cloak ; a mantle ; a cope.

CocHL — A mantle, probably, as we infer from the etymo-
logy of the word, of a red colour.
Cod — A bag, or pouch ; a wrapper.

"If thou shouldest go to the region of the south,
Thou wilt be like the badger in a cod." — D. ah Gwilym.

The origin of the game of " Badger in the Cod^' is
described in the Mabinogi of Pwyll prince of Dyfed.

CoESARN — A boot.

CoLER — A collar.

CoRDWAL — Leather. It occurs in the Mabinogion, and
is there evidently intended for the French Cordouan
or Cordovan leather, which derived its name from
Cordova, where it was manufactured.

" On his feet were shoes of variegated cordwal."

See Lady of the Fountain.

Corn — A horn ; a trumpet.

" There are three trumpet progressions ; the gathering- of a
country according to the heads of families and chiefs of clans,
the corn of harvest, and the corn of war and battle against
the oppression of adjoining countries and aliens." — Laws of
Dyfnwal Moelmud.

CoRON — A crown. The following passage from Brut y
Tywysogion {Myv. Arch., ii., p. 481), seems to imply
that the coron was not used by the Welsh as a regal
badge previous to the reign of Rhodri Mawr, in the
ninth century : —

"These (Cadell, Anarawd and Merfyn) were called the

BRITISH DRESS AND ARMOUR. 137

tliree diademed princes, because they, contrary to all that pre-
ceded them, wore frontlets ahout their coronau, like the kings
of other countries ; whereas, before that time, the kings and
princes of the Welsh nation wore only golden chains."

CoRONiG — A bandlet ; a coronet.

CowYLL- A garment, or cloak, with a veil, presented by

the husband to his bride on the morning after marriage.

— See Jjaivs of Hywel Dda.
Crib — A comb. It is valued in the Laws at one penny.
Crimogau — Greaves, or armour for the legs.

" He was arrayed in a coat of armour, with crimogau round
his legs and his thighs." — Mahinogion.

Crud — A cover ; a case ; armour.

" The three warriors of the isle of Britain that wore golden
crM^."— See Triad 124.

" A stream of blood upon his crud,
The crud of the victorious sovereign, chief of the country."
Cynddelw to Hywel son of Owain.

Crys — A loose, or flowing garment ; a shirt, or shift.
Lly warch Hen carried the head of Urien in his crys.

" I bear in my crys a head ; the head of Urien,
That governed a court with mildness.
And on his white bosom the sable raven doth glut."

Elegy on Urien RJieged.

And Golyddan (560-630) says of the few Cimbrian
soldiers who once returned from the field of battle, —

" They told a tale of peace to their wives.
Who smelled their crysau full of gore."

Myv. Arch., i., p. 157.

In the tale of the " Lady of the Fountain," Cynon,

138 GLOSSARY OF TERMS FOR

in narrating one of his adventures, thus alludes to
the treatment which he received from certain young
ladies : —

" The fourth six took off my soiled garments, and placed
others upon me, namely, a crys, and a doublet of fine linen,
and a robe, and a surcoat, and a mantle of yellow satin, with
a broad gold band upon the mantle."

The handmaid of the queen was, according to the
Laws of Hywel Dda, entitled to the cast-off crysau of
her royal mistress. The same Laws gave a freeholder's
wife full permission to give away her mantle, her crys,
her shoes, her head-cloth, and her meat and drink, as
as well as to lend all her furniture.

A crys and trowsers together were valued at twenty-
four pence.

Crysbais — ^ Waistcoat ; an under vest.

Cryslain — The opening, or bosom, of a shirt.

CuNNELLT — Weapons of war ; from cun (a chief), and
dellt (splints).

CuRAN — A boot, a buskin.

" Should any man strike a slave, he must pay him twelve
lawful pence ; — that is to say, six for three cubits of white
home-spun cloth, wherewith to make him a coat in which to
cut gorse ; and three for trousers ; and one for curanau and
mittens ; and one for a hedging bill ; and one for a rope,
twelve cubits long, or for an axe, if he be a woodman." —
Welsh Laws.

CuRAS — A cuiras, or a coat of mail. In the middle ages
the men of Tegeingl were remarkable for their awk-
wardness in the curas.
" Common in Tegeingl is the awkward in a curas

BRITISH DRESS AND ARMOUR. 139

At all times ; — and nobles in city

And plain continually without substance, without grace."

3Iyv. Arch., i,, p. 541.

CwcwLL — A cowl. The men of Powys are described by
Cynddelw as —

" Scattering in the battle, harmless before a cwcwll."

Mijv. Arch., i., p. 256.

CwFL — A hood, or cowl.

" Black is thy cwji, thy note is good,
Likewise thy robe, thou bird of harmonious language."

D. ab Gwilym to a Blackbird.

CwFLEN — A cap or hat ; a hunting cap.

CwLBREN — A bludgeon.

CwLEN — A hat.

CwNSALLT — A military garment ; a general's robe ; a
cloak, or cassock, worn over armour ; a military cloak
on which were set the arms, badges, or cognizance of
the general or soldiers ; the cloak of an herald-at-arms.

" The maid gave to Peredur armour, and a cwnsallt of fine
red over the armour ; and he was called the knight of the red
cwnsallt." — Hanes Peredur, Mahinogion.

" A cwnsallt of yellow diapred satin was upon the knioht
and the borders of the cwnsallt were blue." — The Dream of
Rhonahicy.

" There was a cwnsallt upon him, and upon his horse, divided
in two parts, white and black, and the borders of the cwnsallt
were of golden purple. And above the cwnsallt he wore a
sword, three-edged and bright, with a golden hilt." — Ibid.

In the I^hjfr Meddygon Mijddfai (a.d. 1230) the
leaves of the asparagus, as well as the fennel, are said
to resemble the cwnsallt.

140 GLOSSARY OF TERMS FOR

CwRAN — Same as Curan.

" The chief huntsman, if he is not arrested before his getting
out of bed, and the putting on his cwranau, ought not to
answer to any one with respect to a claim that may be de-
manded of him." — Laws of Hywel Dda.

Cyfegydd — A pickaxe.

Cyflegr — A gun. Its etymology cyd (together) and
llegr (that braces or clasps) would of course imply-
something very different to the modern gun.

Cyfrau — Ornaments, jewels.

" Ghttering are the tops of the cresses ; warhke is the steed j
Trees are fair cyfrau of the ground ;
Joyful is the soul with the one it loves." — Llywarch Hen.

Cyfrwym — A bandage.

Cylchwy — A shield, or buckler; as the name implies, of
a circular or round shape. This word is of frequent
occurrence in the compositions of the early bards ;
e. g. :—

" His cylchwy was winged with fire for the slaughter."

Aneurin apud Gododin.

" The army of Cadwallon encamped on the Wye,
The common men, after passing the water,
Following to the battle of cylchwy." — Llywarch Hen.

" With the circle of ruddy gems on my golden cylchwy.''

Taliesin.

" On the ridge of Llech Vaelwy they shattered the cylchwy.^'

lUd.

" Gleaming is my sword, swift as lightning it protects the
brave,
Glittering is the gold on my cylchwy." — Gwalchmai."

Cyllell — A knife. It would seem from Taliesin that

BRITISH DRESS AND ARMOUR. 141

in his day the cyllell was regarded as an inferior
weapon of war, for he says, —

" The swords of the men of conflict will not stab the puny
cyllellawr (dagger drawer).

In the romance of " The Lady of the Fountain," men-
tion is made of

" Cylleill with blades of gold, and with the hilts of the bone
of the whale."

In the Laws of Hywel Dda, a cyllell glun, or a dagger,

is valued at one penny.
Cynfas — A sheet of cloth ; a bed sheet.
Chwarel — A dart, a javelin.

" When the bones shall receive the pang
Of death, with his swift chwarelau,
Then will life be at awful pause." — D. ah Gwilym,

Dart — A dart.

" Illtyd Farchog bore for his arms, argent, three masts,
three castle tops, or, and six darts, or. The three masts for
the three schools, and the three castle tops for the three col-
leges of saints, and the six gold darts for the six churches,
which he founded for teaching the Christian religion." — lolo
MSS., p. 556.

A poet, supposed to be Dafydd Nanmor, a.d. 1460,
prays that Henry VII. might be protected, among
other things, from

" A stone out of a tower, and the edge of a dartT
Again, —

142 GLOSSARY OF TERMS FOR

" From a leopard, a dart, and the teeth of a monster."

Ibid., pp. 313, 314.

DiDDosBEN — Head-covering.

DiFLAEN — The beard, or beard -point of a dart, or arrow.
Lewis Glyn Cothi says of the point of the sword,
which he wished to receive from Dafydd ab Gutyn,
(see Cledd) —

" It has a sharp point,
Like that of a needle, or the point of a wing ;
A point like the dijiaen of a dart."

DiLLAD — Apparel, or clothes. It is similarly called in
the Breton dialect Dillat, and in the Cornish, Dill-
adzhas.

" Nobility will lead,
Dillad will shelter." — Adage.

DiLLYN — A jewel ; an ornament.
DuRDORCH — The ring of an habergeon.

" Who would make a track, when there should be occasion.
For the coats of durdyrcli ? "

O. ah Llywelyn Moel, a.d. 1450.

DwGAN — A trull, a drab.

Dyrnflaidd — A kind of iron club having spikes on the
striking end ; a halbert. Dafydd Nanmor (as is sup-
posed) says in reference to Henry VH. : —

" Fine is his head, which a whirler or bow.
Or battle-axe, or dyrnflaidd, will not dare to strike,"

Mo 3ISS., p. 313.

Dyrnfol — A gauntlet, or splint ; mitten ; hedging mit-
ten. This is the word which we have translated mittens
in the extract from the Welsh Laws, sub voce Curan.
Lewis Glyn Cothi speaks of

BRITISH DRESS AND ARMOUR. 143

" Dyrnfolau of the combat, made of steel."
Dysgiar— A spear. From tins comes the term dysgiawr
(a levelling or slicing), used by Aneurin in the fol-
lowing line of the Gododin : —

" It was the dysgiawr (levelling) of privilege to kill him oa
the breach."

EiDDOED— A banner, or a standard. The word is used

by Taliesin —

" Urien, lord of the cultivated plain, answered again,
If there be a meeting because of kindred.
We will hft up an eiddoed above the mountain."

The battle of Argoed Llwyfan.

" Humble and trembling that saw Llwyfenydd,
With a conspicuous eiddoed in the second place ;
A battle in the ford of Alclyd, a battle at the confluence."

Ode to Urien.

EiGRAU— Stockings without feet. They are otherwise
called bacsau, and hosanau pen geist.

EiRioNYN— A border ; the list of cloth ; the edge or sel-
vedge ; any border set on for ornament ; a ruffle.

Em A jewel ; a gem. Some of the heroes of Gododin

were decked with gems.

" The warriors marched to Gododin; their leader laughed
As his em army went down to the terrific to'iV— Aneurin.

Taliesin speaks of a wreath of ruddy emau (rubies)—

" Rhudd em fy nghylchwy." — Cad Goddeu.

144 GLOSSARY OF TERMS FOR

Enhudded — A covering.

" Our lord, of a race liberal of treasure,
Comes to day under the enhudded."

Gr. ah Gweflyn, a.d. 1400.

Ergyrwaew — A thrusting spear ; an impelled, or flying
spear.

" A vehement ergyrwaew before his shield."

O. Cyfeiliawg, 1160.

EsGiD — Cor. " Esgiz." A shoe.

" Three makers of golden shoes, of the isle of Britain ;
Caswallawn the son of Beli, when he went as far as Gascony
to obtain Flur the daughter of Mygnach Gorr, who had
been carried thither to Caesar the Emperor, by one called
Mwrchan the Thief, king of that country, and friend of Julius
Caesar, and Caswallawn brought her back to the isle of
Britain ; Manawyddan the son of Llyr Llediaith, when he was
as far as Dyfed laying restrictions;- Llew Llaw Gyffes, when
he was along with Gwydlon the son of Don, seeking a name
and arms from Arianrod, his mother." — Triad 124.

Manawyddan, in the " Mabinogion," bought the
leather ready dressed ; and he caused the best gold-
smith in the town to make clasps for the shoes, and
to gild the clasps. See Manawyddan the son of Llyr,
p. 169. Probably mynawyd (an awl) receives its
name from this celebrated shoemaker.

According to the Law^s of Hywel Dda, the queen's
handmaid was entitled to the old esgidiau of her royal
mistress.
Ethy — A spur. The first chieftain celebrated in the

Gododin wore a " golden ethy."
Eurdalaeth — A gold fillet, or coronet.

BRITISH DRESS AND ARMOUR. 145

EuRDORCii — A golden collar, being an ornament of dis-
tinction worn by the ancient warriors of Britain.

" Of those who went to Cattraeth, being eurdorchogion (wearers
of the golden chain),
Upon the message of Mynyddawg, sovereign of the people,
There came not honourably, in behalf of the Brython,
To Gododin, a hero from afar, superior to Cynon."

Aneurin.
" Four-and-twenty sons I have had,
Eurdorchawg (wearing the golden chain) leaders of armies ;
Gwen was the best of them." — Llywarch Hen,

EuREM — A golden jewel.

EuRFODRWY — A gold ring.

EuRGORON — A gold crown.

EuRLiN — The raw silk.

EuRRWY — A gold ring.

EuRYSGWYD — A gold sliicld. Several of the British
chieftains are represented as wearing gold shields in
the sixth century. Thus Llywarch Hen, —

" A second time I saw, after that conflict,
Aur ysgwyd on the shoulder of Urien."

And Aneurin, speaking of Ceredig, says that —

" His ysgwyd aur dazzled the field of battle."

Ffal — The heel of a shoe.
Ffaling — A mantle ; a cloak.

" Like the Irishman for the ffaling. ^^ — Adage.
" Guto made a cotton ffaling."

Guto y Glyn, a.d. 1450.
u

146 GLOSSARY OF TERMS FOR

Ffedawg — ^An apron. The word is evidently a con-
traction of arffedawg, which comes from arffed, the lap.
Ffedawnen — A neckcloth, or cravat.
Ffil — A quick dart.
Fflaw — A dart ; a banner.

" A bright ^aw, from every battle obtaining hostages."

Cywrysedd Gwynedd a Dehau.

Ffon — A staff, or stick ; a cudgel. Ffon ddwyhig, a

quarter-staff.
Ffonwaew — A javelin.
Ffunen — A band ; a lace ; a riband ; a head-band.

" Through the window give me the ffunen
Of thy generous mother, to cover my head."

D. ah Edmwnt, a.d. 1450.

The legal value of a ffunen was fourpence. — H. Dda.
Ffunenig — A bandlet, or a lace.
Ffyd — Coverings, or garments.

" Envious also, divested of his ffyd
Is the bishop ; miserable the reflection."

Dr. S. Cent, 1420-1470.

Gaflach — A barbed or bearded spear. Peredur struck
a knight " with a sharp pointed gaflach, and it hit him
in the eye, and came out at the back of his neck, so
that he instantly fell down lifeless." — Peredur ab
Efrawg. This weapon however seems to have been
more peculiar to the Irish, who were hence denomi-
nated Gwyddyl gaflachawg. See sub voce Glaif.

BRITISH DRESS AND ARMOUR. 147

Gardas and Gardys — A garter ; from gar the shank, or

lower part of the thigh.
Gefyn — A fetter ; a gyve ; a manacle ; a shackle.
Gem — A gem ; a jewel.

" There is a broche in the gem of his girdle."

Tudur Aled, a.d. 1490.

See also Em.
Glaif — A crooked sword ; a scimitar ; a glaive. Accor-
ding to the Laws of Dyfnwal Moelmiid, " the three
essentials of a vassal were a fireside, a glaif, and a
trough." — Myv. Arch., iii., p. 316. But the glaif was
not confined to vassals, at least in more recent times,
for w^e have Einiawn ab Madawg Rhahawd, 1230-
1270, thus speaking of Gruff'ydd ab Llywelyn : —

" Usual to thee to have the red and dashing glaif over the
mane of the steed." — Myv. Arch., '\., p. 392.

The Gwyneddians, or men of North Wales, who fought
under GruflTydd ab Cynan, were distinguished for their
use of the glaif and tarian, as appears from the fol-
lowing extract : —

" The kings, therefore, began to retreat, when they beheld
the multitude of victorious bands, and the camps of King
Gruffydd, and his banners displayed against them, and the
men of Denmark with their two-edged axes, and the dart-
bearing Gwyddelians with their iron balls full of spikes, and
the Gwyneddians gleifiawc (with scimitars) and shield-bearing."
— Myv. Arch., ii., p. 593.

Glain — A jewel; a bead. Glain nod, a prime jewel.
Glain nadron, transparent stones, or adder stones,
worn by the different orders of bards, each having its
appropriate colour ; the blue ones belonged to the

148 GLOSSARY OF TERMS FOR

presiding Bards, the white to the Druids, the green
to the Ovates, and the three colours blended to the
disciples. Pliny believed them to have been produced
by the blowing of snakes. The truth seems to be,
however, that they were glass beads, formed by the
fusion of sand and natron by means of the blowpipe,
which in shape resembled a serpent. This latter cir-
cumstance, together with the close agreement in sound
between natron and nadron evidently occasioned the
mistake as to their production and real nature.
Glasgaen — A blue covering, or armour. As early as
the time of Julius Csesar the Britons knew how to
dye blue; and it is supposed from the term glastenneu,
as applied to the holm, or scarlet-oak, that the oak
dust and apple formed the colouring material to which
Csesar applied the term glastum.

" Who is the youth that wears the glasgaen ;
What hero is he that proudly leads the wayi*"

Elegy on Llewelyn ap Madawg,
A.D. 1290-1340.

Gleindorch — A circlet of beads ; a bead necklace.
GoDRE — A skirt, border, or edge.
GoDRWY — A wreath ; a chain.

" Adorned with a wreath was the leader, the wolf of the holme.
Amber beads godrwyawr (in ringlets) encircled his temples."

Gododin.

GoL — A covering.

" The opposing party reply, claiming a contrary turn,
The same is Rhodri, liberal of golodd."

Gwalchmai, 1150-1190.

GoLOED — A covering ; a vestment.

BRITISH DRESS AND ARMOUR. 149

" GruffycUl of a fiery disposition,
And the bold frame of llywel with a conspicuous goloed,
And for whom I bear the longest affection." — Id.

GoRBAis — Upper coat.

GoRDUDD — All outer covering.

GoRDUDDED — All ovcr covcr.

GoRDD-DORCH— A collar; a chain, or torque for the neck.

" Eudaf, as seen by Maxen Wledig in his Dream, had a
golden gordd-dorch about his xieoky—MaUnogi.

GoRTHORCii— A superior wreath; a torque; a collar.
Myrddin Wyllt wore a golden gorthorch in that battle
where his patron Gwenddoleu fell.

" In the battle of Arderydd of gold was my gorthorch."

Myrddin 530-600.

GoRWisG — An outer garment.

GoTOEW— A spur. Llywarch Hen speaks with pride of
one of his sons as wearing golden gotoeiv.

" Whilst I was of the age of yonder youth.
That wears the golden ottoew,
It was with velocity I pushed the spear."

Elegy on Old Age.

Gra— The down, nap, or frieze of cloth ; cloth with nap

upon it.

The bed which the maiden in the " Lady of the

Fountain" prepared for Owain, "was meet for Arthur

himself; it was of scarlet, and gra, and satin, and

sendall, and fine linen." — P. 57.
Grain— A ring. Grain-fgs, the ring-finger.
GwAEDLAiN— A bloody blade. One of the heroes of

Gododin

150 GLOSSARY OF TERMS FOR

" Gwyalfain the son of Eilydd wielded a gwaedlain."

Aneurin.

GwAEDLEN — A blood Veil ; a bloody veil.

" He was seen —
With a gwaedlen conspicuous round his head,
And there was blood and food for crows,
And the raven on the corpse.
And the foes were of hope bereft."

LI. P. Moch to Llywelyn I.

GwAEG — A fibula ; a clasp ; a buckle ; the tongue of a
buckle. Cynon, narrating an adventure in the " Lady
of the Fountain," says, — •

" I approached the castle, and there I beheld two youths,
with yellow curling hair, each with a frontlet of gold upon his
head, and clad in a garment of yellow satin ; and they had
gold gwaegau upon their insteps." — P. 41.

GwAELL — A lance. A knight in the " Dream of Rhon-
abwy" had " in his hand a blue-shafted gwaell, but
from the haft to the point it was stained crimson-red
with the blood of the ravens and their plumage." —
P. 411.

GwAEW — A sf)ear, lance, or pike ; a javelin. Also the
rod of the apparitor, which he used in summoning
j)ersons to appear.

According to the Laws of Dyfnwal Moelmud, the
gwaew was one of " three legal weapons" which it was
required of every head of family to provide himself
with. See Arf. The gwaew head was one of the
three things for which the court smith was to receive
payment. The value of the givaew in Hywel Dda's
Code was fourpence. — Myv. Arch., iii., 423. The

BRITISH DRESS AND ARMOUR. 151

length of the apparitor's gwaew was to be tliree cubits ;

two of which were to be behind, and one before him. —

Ihid., p. 374.
GwAEWFFON — A javeHn. Same as ffonwaew.
GwAEWLORF — The staff or shaft of a lance.

" Khys, the best son of the champion of Mon,
With the hasty gioaeiclorf, of Llywelyn's race."

T. AM.

GwAEWSAETH — A dart, or javelin.

GwAiN — A scabbard ; a sheath. In the " Dream of
Rhonabwy" we read of a page who " bore a heavy
three-edged sword with a golden hilt, in a gwain of
black leather tipped with fine gold." — P. 407. Also,
of another, who had " in his hand a huge, heavy,
three-edged sword, with a gicain of red deer hide,
tipped with gold." — P. 408. Again, of one who " had
upon his thigh a large gold-hilted one-edged sword,
in a gwain of light blue, and tipped with Spanish
laton." — P. 411. The gwain of another was of " red
cut leather." — P. 412. Some gweiniau were made of
wood. Kai addressed Gwrnach the giant in "Kilhwch
and Olwen," after this manner : —

" It is thy gwain that hath rusted thy sword ; give it to me,
that I may take out the wooden sides of it, and put in new
ones."— P. 295.

GwALC — The cock of a hat. Het walciaivg, a cocked

hat.

" When the men shall be walciaivg,
And the women high crested,
And the youths with flaunting wings
And light steps, will all this be."

Gronw Ddu, 1400.

152 GLOSSARY OF TERMS FOR

GwALD — A hem ; a welt. Gwald esgid, a shoe welt.

GwALDAS and Gwaltes — Idem.

GwALLT — The hair of the head. The Bards and Druids
in ancient times wore their hair short. — James' Patri-
archal Religion, p. 75. With the people it was
otherwise, " capilloque sunt promisso," says Caesar, —
De Bel. Gal., v. Tacitus describes the Silurians as
having, for the most part, curly hair, — " torti ple-
rumque crines." Taliesin speaks of the people of
Gwent, in the sixth century, as being long-haired,
" gwallthirion."

" Greatly fearful the perjury
Of the Gwenhwys with the long hair."

Giraldus Cambrensis says of the Welsh in the twelfth
century, that the men and women cut their hair close
round to the ears and eyes. In the succeeding cen-
tury, however, the fashion was altered ; for we are
informed that Dafydd ab Gwilym, and the young
men of his day, wore their hair long. In the eighth
century, it was the custom of people of consideration
to have their children's hair cut the first time by
persons for whom they had a particular honour and
esteem, who, in virtue of this ceremony, were reputed
a sort of spiritual parents, or godfathers to them. In
the Mabinogi of " Kilhwch and Olwen," this same
custom appears. " Arthur is thy cousin," said Kilydd
to his son ; " go, therefore, unto Arthur, to cut thy
gwallt, and ask this of him as a boon." — P. 252. It
would seem from the Mabinogion that gwallt of a
yellow colour was the favourite in mediaeval times.
The Early British Ecclesiastics shaved their hair

BRITISH DRESS AND ARMOUR. 153

from ear to ear across tlie front of the head, -which
fashion tlicy probably borrowed from the garland and
tiara of the Druids, and not, as was imputed to them
by the Romanists, from Simon Magus. — Eccles. Ant.
of the Cymry, p. 310.

GwASGAWD — A waistcoat.

GwASGRWYM — A bandage ; a girdle.

GwDDWGEN — A neckcloth ; a cravat.

GwE — A web of cloth.

GwEFR — Amber. Amber beads were borne by military
chieftains in the sixth century. See Godricy.

GwENTAS — A high shoe ; a buskin. In the " Lady of
the Fountain" a person is described as having " on his
feet two gicentasau of variegated leather, fastened by
two bosses of gold." — P. 42. Two youths seen by
Maxen Wledig in his Dream, "had on their feet
gwentasau of new Cordova leather, fastened by slides
of o'old." — P. 279. The legal value oi gwentasau was
one penny. — Myv. Arch., iii., p. 424.

GwENWiSG — A white garment ; a surplice.

" Clad in a shroudy wenwisg."

D. ab Gwilym, 1400.

GwiSG — A garment ; apparel ; dress.
GwisGAD — Habiliment.
GwLANEN — A flannel.
GwRDDWAEW — A javelin.
GwRDDYN — A dart; a javelin.

" Braint Hir came amongst a group of the mendicants, in
the place where the diviner was haranguing them; and without
any hesitation, when he got an opportunity for his aim, he
lifted a gwrddyn, and wounded the diviner." — Gr. ah Arthur.

154 GLOSSARY OF TERMS FOR

GwREGYS — A girdle. So in Cor. Arm. " Gouris."

Helen the daughter of Eudaf, as seen by Maxen in
his Dream, had a " givregys of ruddy gold around her."
— Dream of Maxen Wledig, p. 280. A knight in the
" Dream of Rhonabwy" had " a sword, the gwregys or
belt of which was of dark green leather with golden
slides and a clasp of ivory upon it, and a buckle of jet
black upon the clasp." — P. 411.

A gwregys of gold or silver was, according to the

Laws of Hy wel Dda, to be appraised ; if not of those

materials, its value was one penny. A trousers gwregys

is likewise estimated at one penny.

GwRTHFACH — The beard or returning point of a weapon.

GwRYDD — A wreath

" An angel's covering of yellow hair,
In a gwrydd of gold round the maid's shoulder."

jD. ah Gwilym.

Haen — A plait, or fold.

" One haen is not shelter enough,
Without another haen of stiff' hairs like arrow-points."

lolo Goch.

Haiarnblu — The iron scales used in armour. Lit. iron

feathers.
Haiarngaen— A covering of iron ; iron armour.
" Does any one ask — Concerns it not men,
Ere the haiarngaen be reddened,
What youth is he that wears the blue armour,
What hero is the haughty one in front?"

Llywarch Llaety, 1290-1340.

BRITISH DRESS AND ARMOUR. 155

Hatr, Hatriad — A covering.

Hed — A hat.

Helm — A helmet. The following descriptions of a helm
occur in the "Dream of Rhonabwy :" — ^^ A helm of
gold, set with precious stones of great virtue, and at
the top of the helm the image of a flame-coloured
leopard, with two ruby-red stones in its head." — P.
411. "A golden helm, wherein were set sapphire
stones of great virtue ; and at the top of the helm the
figure of a flame-coloured lion, with a fiery-red tongue,
issuing above a foot from his mouth, and with vene-
mous eyes, crimson-red, in his head." — P. 412, "A
bright helm of yellow laton, with sparkling stones of
crystal in it, and at the crest of the helm the figure of
a griffin, with a stone of many virtues in its head." —
P. 414.

It would appear that the helm is not identical with
the penffestin, for it is said that " Peredur attacked a
sorceress, and struck her upon the head with his sword,
so that he flattened her hebn and her penffestin like a
dish upon her head," — (Peredur ah Efraivg, p. 323) ;
and that a knight " overthrew Kai, and struck him with
the head of his lance in the forehead, so that it broke
his helm and \he penffestin,''' — {Lady of the Fountain,
p. 67), as if they were two distinct things.

Hem — A hem, or border.

Heulrod — A sun cap ; a cap to keep off" the sun.

" I have a heulrod of the skin of a fish ; with that on my
head I will stand before Hu, when he is dining; and I will
eat with him, and I will drink, without any notice being taken
of me." — H. Car. Mag. Mahinogion.

15i5 GLOSSARY OF TERMS FOR

Hod — A hood, or cap.

HoNFAS — A chopping knife. Its value was one penny.
— Myv. Arch., iii., 424.

HoNFFEST — A tunic. It was an expensive article of dress,
being valued at twenty-four pence.

Hos, HosAN — A hose, or a stocking. We read in the
" Dream of Rhonabwy" of " two hosan of thin greenish
yellow cloth," p. 406 ; also, of " two hosan of fine
white buckram," p. 408 ; and again, of " two hosan of
fine Totness," p. 409. Hosanau mawr are legally
valued at eightpence. The groom of the reign was
entitled to the king's old hosanau. — Myv. Arch., iii.,
p. 373.

HosANLAWDR — A pair of pantaloons.

HoTAN, HoTYN — A Cap. The word occurs in " Liber
Landavensis." Hotyn esgid, the part of a shoe clos-
ing over the instep.

HuAL — A fetter, gyve, or shackle. So in Arm.

" The three aurhualogion (golden banded chiefs) of the isle
of Britain : Rhiwallon Wallt Banhadlen, Rliun the son of
Maelgwn, and Cadwaladr the Blessed ; they were so called
because it was granted to them to wear bands of gold round
their arms, knees, and necks, and were therefore invested with
regal privilege in every country and dominion in Britain." —
Triad 28.

Taliesin speaks of " the steel blades, mead, violence,
and hualau of the men of Cattraeth." — Myv. Arch.,
i., p. 21.

In the Laws an iron hual is valued at one penny ;
a wooden hual at a farthing. — Myv. Arch., iii., p. 424.
Hug — A loose coat, or cloak.

BRITISH DRESS AND ARMOUR. 157

" Reynard, I pray thee, stop the leap,
And tear a corner of the golden hugT

It. G. Eryri concerning the Peacock,
A.D. 1420.

HuGAN and Hugyn, dim. — Idem.
HwsAN — A hood.
Hychwaew — A pushing spear.

" When his sight was darkened the monster became furious ;
and as the wild boar rushes upon the hychwaew of the hunts-
man, so did he rush at Arthur upon the point of the sword."
— Gr. ah Arthur.

Irai — A sharp point; a goad.

" Samgar — smote of the Philistines six hundred men with
an ox irai." — Judges, iii., 31.

IsARN — A bill, scythe, or sickle ; a long hatchet ; a
battle-axe.

" Cutting off her head —
With an isarn at one stroke." — D. ab Gwilym.

Ll.

Llachbren — A cudgel. Cudgelling is the common di-
version among the people of Caermartlienshire, hence
they are nicknamed Llachwyr, or cudgellers.

Llaesbais — A loose trailing coat. In " Ymarwar LIudd,"
{Myv. Arch., i., p. 76,) mention is made of a people

158 GLOSSARY OF TERMS FOR

" amlaes eu peisiau" (in long robes) as invaders of the
isle of Britain.

" Men from a country in Asia, and the region of Capys ;
A people of iniquitous design : the land is not known
That was their mother. They made a devious course by sea.
Amlaes eu peisiau, who can equal them ? "

Llafn — A blade ; a slide.

" They had daggers with llafneu (blades) of gold, and with
hilts of the bone of the whale." — Lady of the Fountain, p. 42.

" Buskins of new cordovan leather on their feet, fastened
by llafneu (slides) of red gold." — Dream of Maxen Wledig, p.

279.

Llafnawr — Aggr. Bladed weapons ; spears used by
the Britons, about seven feet long, nearly three of
which length was a blade, like that of a sword. This
weapon is frequently mentioned by the earliest bards ;
for instance, Taliesin observes, —

" Exalted is Rheged of warlike chiefs ;
They brandished the llafnawr of battle,
Under the round shield of the shout.
The light of which displayed a pale corpse."

Bronze llafnawr were used in Wales as late as the
time of Owain Glyndwr, as several of them have been
found in places where he fought his battles.
Llain — A blade ; a sword.

" Heroic suffering, the voice of pain, and a blue llain on the
thigh.
Will be heard of In Britain."— Cyw^fcfeZu;, 1150-1200.

Llarp — A shred ; a rag ; a clout.

Llath — A rod. Eudaf was seen by Maxen Wledig in

BRITISH DRESS AND ARMOUR. 159

his Dream " with a chessboard of gold before him, and
a llath of gold, and a steel file in his hand." — P. 279.

Llawban — Felt. Brethyn llaivban, felt cloth.

Llawdryfer — A hand harpoon ; a hand dart.

" The foam will guard thee against the llawdryfer of a river
thief." — D. ill) Gwilym to the Salmon.

Llawdr — Trowse, trowsers, or pantaloons ; breeches. In
the " Lady of the Fountain," Cynon observes of six
damsels whom he met with at a certain castle : — ^" They
took off my soiled garments, and placed others upon
me ; namely, an under vest, and a llawd?' of fine linen,
and a robe, and a surcoat, and a mantle of yellow
satin, with a broad gold band upon the mantle." — P.
43. The llawdr is generally joined with the crys, or
under vest ; and, in the Laws of Hy wel Dda, they are
valued together at twenty-four pence, a high price. —
(Myv. Arch., iii., p. 424.) In the Triadic Laws, it is
enjoined that a knife, a sword, and a llawdr, if lost in
behalf of a house should not be paid for. — Wyv. Arch.,
iii., p. 323.

The apparitor was entitled at the assize in November
to a new coat, under vest, and a llawdr, but there was
to be no shalloon in his llawdr. His clothes were to
reach to the tie of the latter garment. — P. 374.

In Cornish lodr (pi. lydraiC) means stockings ; " and
this has happened," saith E. Lhwyd, " because the
old trouse was breeches and stockings in one garment,
which is still retained in the Highlands of Scotland,
and in several other countries." Arm., lowzr and
laurec ; and lawrega, or laureaff, to put on one's
breeches.

160 GLOSSARY OF TERMS FOR

Llawes — A sleeve; from llaw, a hand.

Llawfwyall — A hand hatchet ; valued in the Laws at
one penny.

Llen — A veil, a plaid, or a scarf. Giraldus Cambrensis
says that the Welsh women of his day covered their
heads with a large white veil, folded together in the
form of a crown, after the manner of the Parthians.
In the " Dream of Rhonabwy," we read of a youth
who had "a llen (a scarf) with yellow borders. —
P. 376. Also of " a troop, whereof every one of the
men had a llen of white satin, with jet black borders."
—P. 403.

Llengel — A veil. Gruffydd ab Meredydd, a.d. 1310-
1360, referring to the death of Tudur ap Goronwy,
says, —

" Altogether sad the separation !
A silent covering llengel
Hides the pensive cheek."

Mrjv. Arch., i., p. 438.

Llian — A web ; linen-cloth. Llian cr'i, unbleached cloth ;

llian hras, coarse cloth ; llian main, fine linen ; llian

hrith, check-cloth ; llian amdo, a shroud cloth.

Several of the officers of the court were, by Hywel

Dda's Laws, entitled to their llian from the king or

the queen.
Llieinwisg — A linen garment. The same observation

will apply here.
Llinon — A shaft.

" Joy to the arm, and the hard llinon ;
Let him kill ; let him silence the motley rabble."

T. Penllyn, a.d. 1460.

BRITISH DRESS AND ARMOUR. IGl

Llinyn — A string.

Cynon, in the "Lady of the Fountain," describes two
youths, who had each " an ivory bow, with llinynau
made of the sinews of the stag." — P. 42.
Llodryn — Dim. of Llawdr.
Llogell — A pocket.
Llop — A buskin ; a boot.
Llopan — A sort of high shoe ; a sock.

Pwyll, in the guise of a mendicant, " was clad in
coarse and ragged garments, and wore large llopanau
upon his feet." — Pwyll P. of Dyved, p. ^^.

In an old medical Avork it is stated that " the ashes
of old llopanau are good against proud flesh."
Llost — A spear; a lance ; a javelin.
Lluchwaew — A missive dart ; a javelin.

Yspyddaden Penkawr threw three poisoned lluch-
waew after the messengers that asked his daughter
Olwen for Kilhwch the son of Kilydd. — Kilhwch and
Olwen, p. 277.
Llumman — A flag, ensign, banner or standard.

The word is used by Golyddan, 560-630, in his
" Destiny of Britain,"

" The sacred llumman of Dewi will they raise."

Myv. Arch., i., p. 158.

Llummanbren — The staff" of a banner, or of a standard.

Llummanig — A banderol.

Lluryg — A lorica ; a brigandine ; a coat of mail. In
the battle fought under Boadicea, the Britons, we are
told, had no loricse. — Hancs Cymru, p. 85. They used
the same, however, in the sixth century, for Aneurin
thus describes the heroes of Gododin : —

162 GLOSSARY OF TERMS FOR

"The heroes went to Cattraeth with marshalled array and

shout of war,
With powerful steeds, and dark brown harness, and with

shields.
With uplifted javelins, and piercing lances,
With glittering Uuri/gau, and with swords."

The word also occurs in the poems of Llywarch Hen
and Taliesin. According to Hywel Dda's Laws the
lluryg was to be valued or appraised upon oath. —
Myv. Arch., iii., 423.
Llymwydden — A wooden spear.

Maenfan — The beasil of a ring.
Malen — A shield.

" A golden apple on the convex of the malen,
And then a spike on the top."

T. AM, A.D. 1490, to a Buckler.

Manawyd — ^The staff of a banner, or standard.

" There was a confident impelling forward of the manawyd
of the variegated standard." — Gododin.

Maneg — A glove, probably of Roman origin.

" I will not wear any strait menyg
Made of sheep skin." — D. ah Gwilym.

Mantell — A mantle, or cloak. It was proverbially
regarded as the best covering.

" Goreu un tudded mantell.'"
Cynon, in the " Lady of the Fountain," saw " a

BRITISH DRESS AND ARMOUR. 163

man in the prime of life, with his beard newly shorn,
clad in a robe and a mantell of yellow satin ; and
round the top of his mantell was a band of gold lace."
—P. 42.

In the time of Hywel Dda, the chief falconer was
entitled to the mantell in which the king rode on the
three princi})al festivals. A mantell of a dark brown
colour, or of superfine quality, was estimated at twenty-
four pence. — Myv. Arch., iii., 424.
Marchawgwisg — A riding habit ; a riding dress.

" Gwenhwyvar and all her women were joyful at her coming,
and they took off her marchawgwisg, and placed other garments
upon her." — Geralnt ah Erhin, 129.

Meilyndorch — A sashoon. From meilwn, the small of

the leg, and torch, a coil.
Meilynwisg — Id., called also arfeilyn.
MoDRWY — A ring.

" Delightful again is the maid with a modrwy."

Taliesin.
" Bracelets of gold were upon his arms, and many modrwyau
upon his hands." — Dream of Maxen Wledig, p. 279.

According to Hywel Dda's Laws a modrwy was to
be appraised upon oath. — Myv. Arch., iii., p. 424.

Moled — A piece of cloth, forming a part of a woman's
dress, to cover the head and shoulders ; a muffler ; a
kerchief.

MwGWD — A mask, a vizard.

" Mead will pull off the mwgwd" — Adage.
" In vino Veritas."

MwN — The upper part of the shaft of a weapon, next to
the head.

164 GLOSSARY OF TERMS FOR

" Peredur beheld two youths enter the hall, and proceed up
to the chamber, bearing a spear of mighty size, with three
streams of blood flowing from the mwn to the ground." —
— Peredur ah Efrawg.

MwNDLWS — A neck ornament ; a necklace.
MwNDORCH — A collar ; a wreath for the neck.
Mynwor — A collar, properly of draught harness.

" Like yellow gold round the foam of the sea,
Are the delicate tresses over her mynwor."

D. ah Gwilym to Morfyd(Vs hair.

Mynygldlws — A neck ornament.
Mynygldorch — A collar or wreath for the neck.
Mynyglwisg — A neck -kerchief ; a neck-cloth.
Myrierid — Pearls.

" The spreading of my songs before thee.
Be it not like casting myrierid before swine."

LI P.Moch, 1160-1220.

Nais — A band, or tie.
Neisiad — A kerchief.

Oferdlws — A vain ornament, or jewel ; a jewel merely
ornamental.

" The judge of the palace claims oferdlysau, when his office
is pledged to him, namely, a chessboard of whalebone from

BRITISH DRESS AND ARMOUR. 165

the king, and a gold ring from the queen, and another from
the domestic bard ; and these oferdlysau he ought neither to
give, nor to sell whilst he lives." — Welsh Laws.

Offerengrys — A cope ; a sacerdotal vestment.

FFEREN WISG Id.

On, Onen — A spear with an ashen shaft. There is very
frequent allusion in the Welsh poems to this weapon ;
e.g., Llywarch Hen says —

" Let the gore be aptly clotted on the on."

And again, —

" When Caranmael put on the corslet of Cynddylan,
And lifted up and shook his onen,
From his mouth the Frank would not get the word of peace."

And later, Cynddelw, in his Elegy on Ithel son of
Cadifor, —

" The ruddy onen would kill from his grasping hand."
From this word is formed ongyr, an aggregate of spears.

" Bold in slaughter, the swift one went with the gieamings of
the ongyr,
The eagle of magnificent gift in the moving tents."

Prydydd Breuan, 1300-1360.

Paeled — A skull cap.

" They gave one another blows so boldly fierce, so frequent,
and so severely powerful, that their helmets were pierced, and
their paeledau were broken, and their arms were shattered, and
the light of their eyes was darkened by sweat and blood." —
Geraint ah Erhin, p. 123.

166 GLOSSARY OF TERMS FOR

Pais — A coat. The pais formed from an early period
one of the principal articles of a person's dress, and was
of various materials, colours and sizes. In " Peredur
ab Efrawg'," we read of a knight with an "iron pais.'' —
P. 243. Kai told Gwalchmai that " whilst his speech
and soft words lasted, a pais of thin linen would be
armour sufficient for him." — P. 327. Two youths, in
the " Lady of the Fountain," wore each a "pais of
yellow satin." — P. 3. Taliesin speaks of a British tribe
that wore " long peisiau." — Mt/v. Arch., i.,,76. And
in the " Dream of Rhonabwy" we read of a young-
man " clad in a pais of yellow satin, falling as low as
the small of his leg, and embroidered with threads of
red silk."— P. 408. By the Laws of Hywel Dda, the
apparitor of the court was entitled at tlie November
assize to a new pais, under-vest, and trousers. — Myv.
Arch., iii., 374.

Paladr — A spear-staff; the shaft of a javelin. Accor-
ding to the Triadic Laws, " pren peleidr," or a tree
whereof to form spear shafts in the king's cause, was
regarded as one of " the three free trees in the royal
forest." — Mi/v. Arch., iii., p. 322. The paladr is
much spoken of in the sixth century, e. g., Aneurin
thus writes, —

" The heroes marched to Cattraeth with marshalled array and

shout of war,
With powerful steeds, and dark brown harness, and with

shields.
With uplifted peleidyr, and piercing lances."

Sometimes a flag was attached to the point of the
paladr. Thus we read in the " Dream of Rlionabwy"

BRITISH DRESS AND ARMOUR. 167

of a youth who had in his hand " a mighty paladr,
speckled yellow, with a newly sharpened head ; and
upon the paladi' a banner displayed." — P. 409.
Paled — A shaft ; a javelin ; a dart. Givare paled, a
tilting match.

" After we had completed every thing which appertained to
the gods, there happened between two nephews a dispute about
the victory at a gware paled.'' — Gr. ab Arthur.

Pali — Satin, or velvet ; but its exact signification is not
quite obvious, as it sometimes seems to imply the one,
and sometimes the other, according to the rank of the
persons who are represented as wearing it. There is
mention in the Mabinogion of Pali caeraicg, which is
translated " diapered satin ;" also of pali mehjngocJi,
" 3^ellow red satin," which seems to imply that the
mediaeval weavers of Britain were acquainted with the
art of making what are usually called shot silks, or
silks of two colours predominating interchangeably.

Pall — A mantle ; a pall. Owain Cyfeiliog wore a
" Pall cochr—Myv. ArcJi., l, p. 222.

Pan — Fur ; ermine. One of the heroes of Gododin
wore

" Golden spurs and pan."
Par — A spear.

" Splintered shields about the ground he left,
And parau of awful tearing did he hew down."

Gododin.

Parfaes — A shield.

Pelyd — The legs of stockings with the feet cut off ; also
called hacsau.

168 GLOSSARY OF TERMS FOR

Penawr — A headpiece ; a helmet.

" The blades gUttered on the bright penawr."

Taliesin.
Pendel — A head ornament, or chaplet.

" Brutus put a pendel of vine leaves on his head."

Brut y Brenhinoedd.
Penffestin — A helmet.

" Ffrollo struck Arthur on his forehead, so that the sword
was blunted on the rings of his penffestin." — Gr. db Arthur.

See also suh voce Helm.
Penguwch — The fore part of any head-covering ; a bon-
net ; a cap.

" Owain struck the knight a blow through his helmet, head-
piece, and the crest of his penguwch." — Lady of the Fountain,
54.

" A yellow penguwch used to be worn by a woman newly
married." — Hen Bdefodau.

The legal value of a penguwch was a penny. — ]\fi/v.

Arch., iii., p. 424.
Penlliain — A head-cloth. It was valued at eightpence.

— Hid.
Penllinyn — A head-band.
Penon — A pennant.
Penre — A woman's coif or cowl, or hair-lace to truss up

the hair.
Penrwym — Id.
Pensel — A great standard.

" The choicest token with the Irish
Are yellow and red in the front of onset ;
Do thou consecrate the pensel of Llywelyn ;
Do thou lead them on with these two colours."

lolo Goch to O. Glyndwr.

BRITISH DRESS AND ARMOUR. 169

Penwisg — A head-dress.
Penwn — A banner; a pennon.
Perced — A wrapper.

" A covering against an angry storm ;
An Irish perced of two breadths."

D. LI. ah LI. ah Gruffydd,
to a Mantle. 1480.

PiCELL — A dart ; a javelin.
PiCFFOx — A pike-staff.
PiLAN — A spear.
PiLEN — A fringe, or border.
Pilwrn — A dart.

PiLYN — A clout ; a rag ; a piece of any texture used as
a covering or garment. Pilipi gwddj\ a neck-kerchief.
PiLYNDAWD — A covering, habiliment, garment, or vesture.
PiLYS — A covering or robe made of skin ; a pelisse.

" Rhita the giant made a 'pilys of the scalps of the beards
of kings." — Gr. ah Arthur.

PiLYSYN — A robe ; a pelisse.

Plethlinyn — A plaited cord, or bobbin.

Plu, Pluf, Pluawr — Plumes ; feathers. That military-
men, as early as the sixth century, wore feathers of
particular colours as distinctive badges, is evident from
the testimony of the poets of that age. Thus Lly-
warch Heu says of himself, —

" After the sleek tractable steeds, and garments of ruddy hue,
And the yellow -pluawr,
Slender is my leg, my piercing look is gone."

And Aneurin, of the heroes of Gododin, —

" Redder were their swords than their pluawr."

170 GLOSSARY OF TERMS FOR

Pyrchwyn — The crest of a helmet. It was to be ap-
praised upon oath. — Myv. Arch., hi., 423.
Pyrgwyn — Id. See Penguwch.

Rhac — The wrest of a cross-bow.
Rhactal — A frontlet; a forehead cloth.

" I beheld two youths with yellow curling hair, each with a
rhactal of gold upon his head." — Lady of the Fountain, 41.

Rhagwisg — A fore-garment ; a prior dress.
Rhaidd — A spear.
Rhain — Lances, spears.

" Support each other against them with ruddy rhain."

Taliesin.

Rhefawg — A bandage.

" They twisted four rods, and made four rhefawg to bind
Oliver with." — H. Car. Mag. Mahinogion.

Rheiddyn — A dart. In the Gododin, war seems to be
personified under the name "mam rheiddyn," the
mother of the lance.

Rhestrawg — A plaited target, or buckler.

Rhethren — A pike ; a lance. Taliesin, in his Ode to
Gwallawg, says, —

" Splendid his commanding rhethren."

Rhodawg, Rhodawr — A chariot ; a shield. The ancient
Britons possessed war chariots of a peculiar construc-
tion, having scythes attached to the wheels, calculated
to cause no inconsiderable annoyance to the enemy.

BRITISH DRESS AND ARMOUR. 171

Some idea may be had of the force in chariots which
they could bring into the field, from Ceesar's account
of the number which Cassivellaunus, even when de-
feated, was able to retain in his service. " Dimissis
amplioribus copiis, millihus circiter qiiatuor essedari-
oriim relictis." — Ccbs. de Bell. Gall., 1. v., c. 19. At
what time the use of these martial vehicles was discon-
tinued we cannot tell. Dr. O. Pughe implies that
they were used in the battle of Cattraeth, translating

" Twll tal ei rodawr,"
by the words " the front opening of his chariot."
Tliere are other expressions made use of by the poets
of a much later date, which convey still more clearly
the idea that some of the Welsh chieftains appeared in
a chariot on the field of battle. Thus Cynddelw
observes in reference to Owain CyfeiHog, prince of
Powys, 1160-1197,—

" Ready in his rhodawg to range amid armies."

Myv. Arch., i., p. 221.

The word "rhodiaw," here translated to range, but
which means literally to walk, is evidently more appli-
cable to a chariot than to a shield. Again, Llywarch
Llaetty, 1290-1340, in a poem addressed to Madog
ab Meredydd, prince of Powys, inquires as follows, —
" To whom belongs the rhodawg of the crimson face of the
field of slaughter ;

And who its desolating wolf on its front ;

Who deals wounds above the white prancing steeds ;

What his name, whose lot is so glorious?" — P. 416.

He had before inquired respecting his shield.

The chariot was called Rhodawg, or Rhodawr, from

172 GLOSSARY OF TERMS FOR

Rhod, a wheel ; and in like manner the term was
applied to a shield, on account of its orbed or circular
shape. A shield is evidently meant in such passages
as the following : —

" The brave and haughty hero with a notched rliodawg."

Cynddelw.
" The scattering of the wolf of slaughter with the golden-
bossed rhodawyT — LI. P. Mock.

Rhon — A pike, or lance.

Rhuchen — A coat ; a leathern jerkin. In the Mabinogi

of " Kilhwch and Olwen" there is mention made of

" A swineherd with a rhuchen of skin about him."

Rhuddbar — A ruddy spear.

Rhuwch — A rough-fringed mantle or garment. Lly-
warch Hen wore one : —

" Though light some may deem my rhuwch."

According to the Laws of Hywel Dda, a free tenant's
rhuwch was valued at sixty pence, and that of a villain
at thirty pence. — My v. Arch., iii., p. 424.

Sachliain — Sackcloth.
Sachwisg — Sackcloth covering.
Sae — A kind of woollen stuff, say : —

" A robe has been sent to thee,
Beneath the leaves, of black sae." — D ah Gwilym.

Saeth — An arrow. According to the old Welsh Laws,
every master of a family was required to possess a

BRITISH DRESS AND ARMOUR. 173

" l)ow with twelve saeth in a quiver ;" and have the
the same in readiness against " the attacks of a foreign
army, and of strangers, and other depredators." Their
legal value was fourpence.

It is not very clear whether the tela, which, accor-
ding to Csesar, the Britons used in their first engage-
ment with the Romans,

" Alii ab latere aperto, in universes tela conjiciebant."

were arrows, or some other missiles. That the word,
in its primary acceptation, referred to the former, is
evident from the Laws of Justinian : —

" Telum autem [ut Caius noster ex interpretatione legum
duodecim tabularum scriptum reliquit] vulgo quidem id appel-
latur, quod ab arcu mittitur. Sed et omne significat quod
manu cujusque jacitur."

In the " Lady of the Fountain" we read of two
youths whose " saethau had their shafts of the bone of
the whale, and were winged with peacock's feathers."
— P. 42. In the tale cited, suh voce Bwa, the mes-
senger from the court of North AYales expresses his
desire to have " a bow of red yew in his hand, ready
bent, with a tough, tight string, and a straight round
shaft, with a compass-rounded nock, and long slender
feathers, fastened on with green silk, and a steel head,
heavy and thick, and an inch across, of a green blue
temper, that would draw blood out of a weathercock."

Giraldus Cambrensis states that the people of Gwent
excelled as archers, and he gives two or three extra-
ordinary examples in proof of his assertion.
Saffar — A spike, a spear.

174 GLOSSARY OF TERMS FOR

" They will tremble at their rage, serpents v/ith saffar of
reproof." — Cynddelw.

vSaffwn — A beam, or a shaft.

"A saffwn of ample wrath is its spike." — Cynddelw.

Saffwy — A pike, or lance. This weapon was used in the
battle of Cattraeth.

" He would not say but that Cynon should see the corpse
Of one harnessed and saffwT/awc (holding a pike), and of a
wide-spread fame." — Gododin.

Said — That part of any tool which goeth into the haft ;

the hilt, haft, or handle. Cleddyf crynsaid, a sword

with a round handle.
Saled — An helmet, or headpiece.

"If William will give a steel saled,
To fasten the temples comfortably."

G. Glyn, a.d. 1450.

Segan — A covering, a cloak.

" The love segan of the ladies ;
Guto the panegyrist, a lodger midst mead,
Know that the garment is mine."

leuan ap Hywel Swrdwal, 1460.

SiDAN — Silk; satin.

SiDER — Lace; fringe.

SiNDAL — Sindon; fine linen; cambric. The word was

used by the old writers to signify a thin kind of silk,

like cypress.

" The couch which the maiden had prepared for him
(Owain) was meet for Arthur himself; it was of scarlet, and
fur, and satin, and sindal, and fine linen." — Lady of the
Fountain.

BRITISH DRESS AND ARMOUR. 175

Gwynflmlcl Brycheiniawg, 11 GO- 1220, in his Odo on
St. David, describes liini as being robed in slndal.
" Dewi son of Sant with a sindal vest."
SwcH — A soc ; a point ; the boss of a shield.

" He bore a heavy three-edged sword with a golden hilt, in
a scabbard of black leather, having a swell of fine gold on the
point ii. €., being tipped with fine gold)."— Z>rea?n ofRhonahwij,
p. 407.

To hold the swell of a shield upwards was regarded
as a signal of peace.

" Behold one of the ships outstripped the others, and they
saw a shield lifted up above the side of the ship, and the sioch
of the shield was upwards, in token of peace."— 5rawM?e«, p.
104.
Sychyn — A soc.

" Impelled are sharp weapons of iron— gashing is the blade.

And with a clang the sychyn descends upon the pate."

Gododin.

Tabar — A tabard. The word was known in the sixth

century, as it is mentioned by Taliesin.
Taladdurn — A front ornament.
Talaith Properly a head-band, such as that wherewith

a nurse ties the head of a little child ; also, a crown,

a coronet, a diadem.
" The three taleitUawg cad (diademed warriors) of the isle

of Britain ; Trystan son of Tallwch, Huail son of Caw, and

Cai son of Cynyr the handsome knight; and one was taleith-

176 GLOSSARY OF TERMS FOR

iawg over the three, namely, Bedwyr son of Pedrog." — Triad
69. Third Series.

The sons of Rhodri the Great were likewise styled
" the three taleithiawg princes, by reason that each of
them did wear on his helmet a coronet of gold, being
a broad head -band indented upwards, set and wrought
with precious stones." — Vide Wynne s Hist, of Wales,
p. 34. Hence also the word came to signify a princi-
pality, or a province.

Taleithig — A fillet, a bandlet.

Targed — A target.

Tarian — A shield. Gwrgan the Freckled, the fiftieth
king of Britain, " enacted a law that no one should
bear a tarian, but only a sword and bow ; hence his
countrymen became very heroic." — lolo MSS., p. 351.
Ancient writers represent the tarianau of the Britons
as very small ; to which description the specimens
which occasionally come to light exactly agree. They
seem to have been borne in the hand, rather than on
the arm.

A simple tarian was valued at eightpence; but should
it be of blue or gold enamel, its value was twenty-four
pence. — Myv. Arch., iii., p. 423.

Tasel — A bandage ; a sash ; a fringe ; a tassel.

Teddyf — A socket ; a hollow for receiving a handle, or
the like.

" The smith of the palace ought to perform all the jobs of
the palace gratuitously, except three things ; those are particu-
larly the rim of a pot, the edge of a coulter, and the teddyf of
a hatchet and of a spear head." — Welsh Laws.

Teisban — A piece of tapestry ; a quilt ; a hassock.

BRITISH DRESS AND ARMOUR. 177

Teyrndlws — A jewel, or part of the regalia. The ancient
teyrndlysau of Wales, among which were the croes
naid, adorned with gold and silver and precious stones,
and the crown of King Arthur, were, after the defeat
of Dafydd ab Gruffydd, conveyed by Edward I. with
magnificent pomp to Westminster Abbey. " Et sic
Wallensium gloria ad Anglicos, licet invite, est trans-
lata." — Annal. Waver L Matth. Westm.

Teyrnwialen — A sceptre.

TiNBAis — A petticoat.

Tlws — A jewel.

Torch — A torques ; a collar ; a wreath. The nobility
and great commanders among the ancient Britons
wore golden tyrch about their necks, as did also their
neighbours in Gaul. Tacitus mentions the tyrch among
the British spoils exhibited at Rome with the noble
captive Caractacus ; and Dion Cassius, in his descrip-
tion of Boadicea, tells us, " she wore a large golden
torques," &c. — Hist. Rom.., 1. G2. Frequent allusion
is made to the torch by the bards of the sixth century ;
and even as late as the close of the twelfth century we
meet with a lord of lal wearing the golden chain, and
hence denominated Llewelyn aurdorchog.

ToRON — A mantle, or cloak.

Toryn — A mantle ; a cope ; or sacerdotal vesture.

" I will not be a carrying toryn, nor pluvial cap." — Adage.

Trws — A covering garment ; a trouse, dress, or habili-
ment.
Tryfer — A forked spear, or harpoon.

" And the tryfer of battle and tumult." — lolo Goch.

2 a

178 GLOSSARY OF TERMS FOR

TuDDED — A covering.

" The groom of the chamber is entitled to all the old clothes
of the king, except his Lenten tuclded." — Welsh Laws.

TuDDEDYN — A covering.

" Every town-wrought tuddedyn, its value is twenty-four
pence; every home-spun tuddedyn, eightpence." — Welsh Laws.

TuL — A shroud.
TuLi — Id.

TwLi — Buckram; stiff cloth.

TwYG — A garment ; a toga. Merddin seems to refer it
to the monks in the following lines : —

" I will not receive the communion from accursed monks,
With their twygau on their knees,
May I be communicated by God Himself."

Tytmwy — A loop ; a clasp ; a buckle.

" Derbyniad pen cengl, modrwy yn dal pwrs wrth wregys."
—J. Davies, D.D., 1630.

" It was a tytmwy on a gap,
The string of the wood, across a dingle.
Strong was the briar." — D. ah Gwilym.

Tywel — A cloth ; a towel.

YsGARLAD — Scarlet. See Sindal.

YsGiN — A robe made of skin with the fur on ; a pelisse.
Rhita Gawr, who lived beyond the historical era of the
Britons, is said to have made for himself an i/sgin from
the beards of the princes that he reduced to the rank of

BRITISH DRESS AND ARMOUR. 179

shaved ones, or slaves, on account of their op})rcssion.
— Triad 54. Third Series. G. nh Arthur.

The legal worth of an ysgin belonging to the king
was one pound ; also to the queen one pound ; if it
belonged to a freeholder or his wife, 120 pence. — My v.
Arch., iii., 424. It was thus a very expensive article
of dress.
YsGiNAWR — A robe. Llywclyn Prydydd y Moch de-
scribes Llywelyn ab lorwerth as invested with

" An ample ysginawr
Of scarlet, the hue of the gleaming of flames."

YsGWYD — A shield ; a target. The early bards make
frequent use of this word in their description of heroes
and battles. Urien Rheged had a gold ysgwyd.

" Aur ysgwyd ar ysgwydd Urien." — LI. Hen.

YsGWYDAWR — A shield ; a target.

" Have I not been presented by Rhun the magnificent,
With a hundred swarms, and a hundred ysgwydcmrV

LI. Hen.

YsGWYDRWY — The rim of a shield.

" My wreath is of ruddy gem,
Gold my ysgwydrwy." — Taliesin.

YsGWYDDLiAN — A shouldcr scarf; an ephod.

YSGWYDDWISG Id.

YsNODEN — A fillet, band, riband or lace ; a head-band ;
a hair lace. Ysnoden garni, rhwymyn, a swaddling
band.

" I saw a man in the prime of life, with his beard newly
shorn, clad in a robe and a mantle of yellow satin, and round

180 GLOSSARY OF TERMS, ETC.

the top of his mantle was an ysnoden of gold lace." — Lady of
the Fountain,

YsNODENiG — A bandlet.
YsPAR — A spear, or pike.

" O Graid, son of Hoewgi,
With thy ysperi
Thou causest an effusion of blood." — Gododin.

YspARDUN — A spur. According to Hywel Dda's Laws,
the head groom of the palace was entitled to the king's
old yspardunau. In the same Code also yspardunau
of gold are valued at fourpence; of silver, at two-
pence ; of tin or brass, at one penny.

YspicELL — A dart.

YsTOLA — A scarf; an ephod ; a wrapper; a loose gown;
a stole.

" They beheld a young man sitting on the right side, being
clad in a shining ystola." — W. Salisbury.

YsTRAiG — A buckle.

THE END.

R. Mason, Printer, High Street, Tenby.

Archaeolosia
cambrensis.

A62
1850

UNIVERSITY OF CAUFORNIA UBRARY

^jr^riTKij^r/i?"?-:-;