[26b]Brecheinoc, now Brecknockshire, had three cantreds or hundreds, and eight comots.—1. Cantref Selef with the comots of Selef and Trahayern.—2. Cantref Canol, or the middle hundred, with the comots Talgarth, Ystradwy, and Brwynlys, or Eglyws Yail.—3. Cantref Mawr, or the great hundred, with the comots of Tir Raulff Llywel, and Cerrig Howel.—Powel’s description of Wales, p. 20.
[27]Milo was son to Walter, constable of England in the reign of Henry I., and Emme his wife, one of the daughters of Dru de Baladun, sister to Hameline de Baladun, a person of great note, who came into England with William the Conqueror, and, being the first lord of Overwent in the county of Monmouth, built the castle of Abergavenny. He was wounded by an arrow while hunting, on Christmas eve, in 1144, and was buried in the chapter-house of Lanthoni, near Gloucester.
[28a]Walter de Clifford. The first of this ancient family was called Ponce; he had issue three sons, Walter, Drogo or Dru, and Richard. The Conqueror’s survey takes notice of the two former, but from Richard the genealogical line is preserved, who, being called Richard de Pwns, obtained, as a gift from king Henry I., the cantref Bychan, or little hundred, and the castle of Llandovery, in Wales; he left three sons, Simon, Walter, and Richard. The Walter de Clifford here mentioned was father to the celebrated Fair Rosamond, the favourite of king Henry II.; and was succeeded by his eldest son, Walter, who married Margaret, daughter to Llewelyn, prince of Wales, and widow of John de Braose.
[28b]Brendlais, or Brynllys, is a small village on the road between Brecknock and Hay, where a stately round tower marks the site of the ancient castle of the Cliffords, in which the tyrant Mahel lost his life.
[29a]St. Almedha, though not included in the ordinary lists, is said to have been a daughter of Brychan, and sister to St. Canoc, and to have borne the name of Elevetha, Aled, or Elyned, latinised into Almedha. The Welsh genealogists say, that she suffered martyrdom on a hill near Brecknock, where a chapel was erected to her memory; and William of Worcester says she was buried at Usk. Mr. Hugh Thomas (who wrote an essay towards the history of Brecknockshire in the year 1698) speaks of the chapel as standing, though unroofed and useless, in his time; the people thereabouts call it St. Tayled. It was situated on an eminence, about a mile to the eastward of Brecknock, and about half a mile from a farm-house, formerly the mansion and residence of the Aubreys, lords of the manor of Slwch, which lordship was bestowed upon Sir Reginald Awbrey by Bernard Newmarche, in the reign of William Rufus. Some small vestiges of this building may still be traced, and an aged yew tree, with a well at its foot, marks the site near which the chapel formerly stood.
[29b]This same habit is still (in Sir Richard Colt Hoare’s time) used by the Welsh ploughboys; they have a sort of chaunt, consisting of half or even quarter notes, which is sung to the oxen at plough: the countrymen vulgarly supposing that the beasts are consoled to work more regularly and patiently by such a lullaby.
[30a]The umber, or grayling, is still a plentiful and favourite fish in the rivers on the Welsh border.
[30b]About the year 1113, “there was a talke through South Wales, of Gruffyth, the sonne of Rees ap Theodor, who, for feare of the king, had beene of a child brought up in Ireland, and had come over two yeares passed, which time he had spent privilie with his freends, kinsfolks, and affines; as with Gerald, steward of Penbrooke, his brother-in-law, and others. But at the last he was accused to the king, that he intended the kingdome of South Wales as his father had enjoied it, which was now in the king’s hands; and that all the countrie hoped of libertie through him; therefore the king sent to take him. But Gryffyth ap Rees hering this, sent to Gruffyth ap Conan, prince of North Wales, desiring him of his aid, and that he might remaine safelie within his countrie; which he granted, and received him joiouslie for his father’s sake.” He afterwards proved so troublesome and successful an antagonist, that the king endeavoured by every possible means to get him into his power. To Gruffyth ap Conan he offered “mountaines of gold to send the said Gruffyth or his head to him.” And at a subsequent period, he sent for Owen ap-Cadogan said to him, “Owen, I have found thee true and faithful unto me, therefore I desire thee to take or kill that murtherer, that doth so trouble my loving subjects.” But Gruffyth escaped all the snares which the king had laid for him, and in the year 1137 died a natural and honourable death; he is styled in the Welsh chronicle, “the light, honor, and staie of South Wales;” and distinguished as the bravest, the wisest, the most merciful, liberal, and just, of all the princes of Wales. By his wife Gwenllian, the daughter of Gruffyth ap Conan, he left a son, commonly called the lord Rhys, who met the archbishop at Radnor, as is related in the first chapter of this Itinerary.
[31]This cantref, which now bears the name of Caeo, is placed, according to the ancient divisions of Wales, in the cantref Bychan, or little hundred, and not in the Cantref Mawr, or great hundred. A village between Lampeter in Cardiganshire and Llandovery in Caermarthenshire, still bears the name of Cynwil Caeo, and, from its picturesque situation and the remains of its mines, which were probably worked by the Romans, deserves the notice of the curious traveller.
[32]The lake of Brecheinoc bears the several names of Llyn Savaddan, Brecinau-mere, Llangorse, and Talyllyn Pool, the two latter of which are derived from the names of parishes on its banks. It is a large, though by no means a beautiful, piece of water, its banks being low and flat, and covered with rushes and other aquatic plants to a considerable distance from the shore. Pike, perch, and eels are the common fish of this water; tench and trout are rarely, I believe, (if ever), taken in it. The notion of its having swallowed up an ancient city is not yet quite exploded by the natives; and some will even attribute the name of Loventium to it; which is with much greater certainty fixed at Llanio-isau, between Lampeter and Tregaron, in Cardiganshire, on the northern banks of the river Teivi, where there are very considerable and undoubted remains of a large Roman city. The legend of the town at the bottom of the lake is at the same time very old.
[33a]That chain of mountains which divides Brecknockshire from Caermarthenshire, over which the turnpike road formerly passed from Trecastle to Llandovery, and from which the river Usk derives its source.
[33b]This mountain is now called, by way of eminence, the Van, or the height, but more commonly, by country people, Bannau Brycheinog, or the Brecknock heights, alluding to its two peaks. Our author, Giraldus, seems to have taken his account of the spring, on the summit of this mountain, from report, rather than from ocular testimony. I (Sir R. Colt Hoare) examined the summits of each peak very attentively, and could discern no spring whatever. The soil is peaty and very boggy. On the declivity of the southern side of the mountain, and at no considerable distance from the summit, is a spring of very fine water, which my guide assured me never failed. On the north-west side of the mountain is a round pool, in which possibly trout may have been sometimes found, but, from the muddy nature of its waters, I do not think it very probable; from this pool issues a small brook, which falls precipitously down the sides of the mountain, and pursuing its course through a narrow and well-wooded valley, forms a pretty cascade near a rustic bridge which traverses it. I am rather inclined think, that Giraldus confounded in his account the spring and the pool together.
[34a]The first of these are now styled the Black Mountains, of which the Gadair Fawr is the principal, and is only secondary to the Van in height. The Black Mountains are an extensive range of hills rising to the east of Talgarth, in the several parishes of Talgarth, Llaneliew, and Llanigorn, in the county of Brecknock, and connected with the heights of Ewyas. The most elevated point is called Y Gadair, and, excepting the Brecknock Van (the Cadair Arthur of Giraldus), is esteemed the highest mountain in South Wales. The mountains of Ewyas are those now called the Hatterel Hills, rising above the monastery of Llanthoni, and joining the Black Mountains of Talgarth at Capel y Ffin, or the chapel upon the boundary, near which the counties of Hereford, Brecknock, and Monmouth form a point of union. But English writers have generally confounded all distinction, calling them indiscriminately the Black Mountains, or the Hatterel Hills.
[34b]If we consider the circumstances of this chapter, it will appear very evidently, that the vale of Ewyas made no part of the actual Itinerary.
[35]Landewi Nant Hodeni, or the church of St. David on the Hodni, is now better known by the name of Llanthoni abbey. A small and rustic chapel, dedicated to St. David, at first occupied the site of this abbey; in the year 1103, William de Laci, a Norman knight, having renounced the pleasures of the world, retired to this sequestered spot, where he was joined in his austere profession by Ernicius, chaplain to queen Maude. In the year 1108, these hermits erected a mean church in the place of their hermitage, which was consecrated by Urban, bishop of Llandaff, and Rameline, bishop of Hereford, and dedicated to St. John the Baptist: having afterward received very considerable benefactions from Hugh de Laci, and gained the consent of Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury, these same hermits founded a magnificent monastery for Black canons, of the order of St. Augustine, which they immediately filled with forty monks collected from the monasteries of the Holy Trinity in London, Merton in Surrey, and Colchester in Essex. They afterwards removed to Gloucester, where they built a church and spacious monastery, which, after the name of their former residence, they called Llanthoni; it was consecratedA.D.1136, by Simon, bishop of Worcester, and Robert Betun bishop of Hereford, and dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
[36a]The titles of mother and daughter are here applied to the mother church in Wales, and the daughter near Gloucester.
[36b]William of Wycumb, the fourth prior of Llanthoni, succeeded to Robert de Braci, who was obliged to quit the monastery, on account of the hostile molestation it received from the Welsh. To him succeeded Clement, the sub-prior, and to Clement, Roger de Norwich.
[38]Walter de Laci came into England with William the Conqueror, and left three sons, Roger, Hugh, and Walter. Hugh de Laci was the lord of Ewyas, and became afterwards the founder of the convent of Llanthoni; his elder brother, Robert, held also four caracutes of land within the limits of the castle of Ewyas, which king William had bestowed on Walter, his father; but joining in rebellion against William Rufus, he was banished the kingdom, and all his lands were given to his brother Hugh, who died without issue.
[41]This anecdote is thus related by the historian Hollinshed: “Hereof it came on a time, whiles the king sojourned in France about his warres, which he held against king Philip, there came unto him a French priest, whose name was Fulco, who required the king in anywise to put from him three abominable daughters which he had, and to bestow them in marriage, least God punished him for them. ‘Thou liest, hypocrite (said the king), to thy verie face; for all the world knoweth I have not one daughter.’ ‘I lie not (said the priest), for thou hast three daughters: one of them is called Pride, the second Covetousness, and the third Lecherie.’ With that the king called to him his lords and barons, and said to them, ‘This hypocrite heere hath required me to marry awaie my three daughters, which (as he saith) I cherish, nourish, foster, and mainteine; that is to say, Pride, Covetousness, and Lecherie: and now that I have found out necessarie and fit husbands for them, I will do it with effect, and seeks no more delaies. I therefore bequeath my pride to the high-minded Templars and Hospitallers, which are as proud as Lucifer himselfe; my covetousness I give unto the White Monks, otherwise called of the Cisteaux order, for they covet the divell and all; my lecherie I commit to the prelats of the church, who have most pleasure and felicitie therein.’”
[44a]This small residence of the archdeacon was at Landeu, a place which has been described before: the author takes this opportunity of hinting at his love of literature, religion, and mediocrity.
[44b]The last chapter having been wholly digressive, we must now recur back to Brecknock, or rather, perhaps, to our author’s residence at Landeu, where we left him, and from thence accompany him to Abergavenny. It appears that from Landeu he took the road to Talgarth, a small village a little to the south east of the road leading from Brecknock to Hay; from whence, climbing up a steep ascent, now called Rhiw Cwnstabl, or the Constable’s ascent, he crossed the black mountains of Llaneliew to the source of the Gronwy-fawr river, which rises in that eminence, and pursues its rapid course into the Vale of Usk. From thence a rugged and uneven track descends suddenly into a narrow glen, formed by the torrent of the Gronwy, between steep, impending mountains; bleak and barren for the first four or five miles, but afterwards wooded to the very margin of the stream. A high ledge of grassy hills on the left hand, of which the principal is called the Bal, or Y Fal, divides this formidable pass (the “Malus passus” of Giraldus) from the vale of Ewyas, in which stands the noble monastery of Llanthoni, “montibus suis inclusum,” encircled by its mountains. The road at length emerging from this deep recess of Coed Grono, or Cwm Gronwy, the vale of the river Gronwy, crosses the river at a place called Pont Escob, or the Bishop’s bridge, probably so called from this very circumstance of its having been now passed by the archbishop and his suite, and is continued through the forest of Moel, till it joins the Hereford road, about two miles from Abergavenny. This formidable defile is at least nine miles in length.
[45]In the vale of the Gronwy, about a mile above Pont Escob, there is a wood called Coed Dial, or the Wood of Revenge. Here again, by the modern name of the place, we are enabled to fix the very spot on which Richard de Clare was murdered. The Welsh Chronicle informs us, that “in 1135, Morgan ap Owen, a man of considerable quality and estate in Wales, remembering the wrong and injury he had received at the hands of Richard Fitz-Gilbert, slew him, together with his son Gilbert.” The first of this great family, Richard de Clare, was the eldest son of Gislebert, surnamed Crispin, earl of Brion, in Normandy. This Richard Fitz-Gilbert came into England with William the Conqueror, and received from him great advancement in honour and possessions. On the death of the Conqueror, favouring the cause of Robert Curthose, he rebelled against William Rufus, but when that king appeared in arms before his castle at Tunbridge, he submitted; after which, adhering to Rufus against Robert, in 1091, he was taken prisoner, and shortly after the death of king Henry I., was assassinated, on his journey through Wales, in the manner already related.
[46]Hamelin, son of Dru de Baladun, who came into England with William the Conqueror, was the first lord of Over-Went, and built a castle at Abergavenny, on the same spot where, according to ancient tradition, a giant called Agros had erected a fortress. He died in the reign of William Rufus, and was buried in the priory which he had founded at Abergavenny; having no issue, he gave the aforesaid castle and lands to Brian de Insula, or Brian de Wallingford, his nephew, by his sister Lucia. The enormous excesses mentioned by Giraldus, as having been perpetrated in this part of Wales during his time, seem to allude to a transaction that took place in the castle of Abergavenny, in the year 1176, which is thus related by two historians, Matthew Paris and Hollinshed. “A.D.1176, The same yeare, William de Breause having got a great number of Welshmen into the castle of Abergavennie, under a colourable pretext of communication, proposed this ordinance to be received of them with a corporall oth, ‘That no traveller by the waie amongst them should beare any bow, or other unlawful weapon,’ which oth, when they refused to take, because they would not stand to that ordinance, he condemned them all to death. This deceit he used towards them, in revenge of the death of his uncle Henrie of Hereford, whom upon Easter-even before they had through treason murthered, and were now acquited was the like againe.”—Hollinshed, tom. ii. p. 95.
[48]Landinegat, or the church of St. Dingad, is now better known by the name of Dingatstow, or Dynastow, a village near Monmouth.
[49a][For the end of William de Braose, see footnote 34.]
[49b]Leland divides this district into Low, Middle, and High Venteland, extending from Chepstow to Newport on one side, and to Abergavenny on the other; the latter of which, he says, “maketh the cumpace of Hye Venteland.” He adds, “The soyle of al Venteland is of a darke reddische yerth ful of slaty stones, and other greater of the same color. The countrey is also sumwhat montayneus, and welle replenishid with woodes, also very fertyle of corne, but men there study more to pastures, the which be well inclosed.”—Leland,Itin.tom. v. p. 6. Ancient Gwentland is now comprised within the county of Monmouth.
[50a]William de Salso Marisco, who succeeded to the bishopric of Llandaff,A.D.1185, and presided over that see during the time of Baldwin’s visitation, in 1188.
[50b]Alexander was the fourth archdeacon of the see of Bangor.
[50c]Once at Usk, then at Caerleon, and afterwards on entering the town of Newport.
[51]Gouldcliffe, or Goldcliff, is situated a few miles S.E. of Newport, on the banks of the Severn. In the year 1113, Robert de Candos founded and endowed the church of Goldclive, and, by the advice of king Henry I., gave it to the abbey of Bec, in Normandy; its religious establishment consisted of a prior and twelve monks of the order of St. Benedict.
[53][Geoffrey of Monmouth.]
[54]The Cistercian abbey here alluded to was known by the several names of Ystrat Marchel, Strata Marcella, Alba domus de Stratmargel, Vallis Crucis, or Pola, and was situated between Guilsfield and Welshpool, in Montgomeryshire. Authors differ in opinion about its original founder. Leland attributes it to Owen Cyveilioc, prince of Powys, and Dugdale to Madoc, the son of Gruffydh, giving for his authority the original grants and endowments of this abbey. According to Tanner, about the beginning of the reign of king Edward III., the Welsh monks were removed from hence into English abbeys, and English monks were placed here, and the abbey was made subject to the visitation of the abbot and convent of Buildwas, in Shropshire.
[56a]Cardiff,i.e., the fortress on the river Taf.
[56b]Gwentluc—so called from Gwent, the name of the province, and llug, open, to distinguish it from the upper parts of Wentland, is an extensive tract of flat, marshy ground, reaching from Newport to the shores of the river Severn.
[56c]Nant Pencarn, or the brook of Pencarn.—After a very attentive examination of the country round Newport, by natives of that place, and from the information I have received on the subject, I am inclined to think that the river here alluded to was the Ebwy, which flows about a mile and a half south of Newport. Before the new turnpike road and bridge were made across Tredegar Park, the old road led to a ford lower down the river, and may still be travelled as far as Cardiff; and was probably the ford mentioned in the text, as three old farm-houses in its neighbourhood still retain the names of Great Pencarn, Little Pencarn, and Middle Pencarn.
[57]Robert Fitz-Hamon, earl of Astremeville, in Normandy, came into England with William the Conqueror; and, by the gift of William Rufus, obtained the honour of Gloucester. He was wounded with a spear at the siege of Falaise, in Normandy, died soon afterwards, and was buried,A.D.1102, in the abbey of Tewkesbury, which he had founded. Leaving no male issue, king Henry gave his eldest daughter, Mabel, or Maude, who, in her own right, had the whole honour of Gloucester, to his illegitimate son Robert, who was advanced to the earldom of Gloucester by the king, his father. He diedA.D.1147, and left four sons: William, the personage here mentioned by Giraldus, who succeeded him in his titles and honours; Roger, bishop of Worcester, who died at Tours in France,A.D.1179; Hamon, who died at the siege of Toulouse,A.D.1159; and Philip.
[58a]The Coychurch Manuscript quoted by Mr. Williams, in his History of Monmouthshire, asserts that Morgan, surnamed Mwyn-fawr, or the Gentle, the son of Athrwy, not having been elected to the chief command of the British armies, upon his father’s death retired from Caerleon, and took up his residence in Glamorganshire, sometimes at Radyr, near Cardiff, and at other times at Margam; and from this event the district derived its name, quasi Gwlad-Morgan, the country of Morgan.
[58b]St. Piranus, otherwise called St. Kiaran, or Piran, was an Irish saint, said to have been born in the county of Ossory, or of Cork, about the middle of the fourth century; and after that by his labours the Gospel had made good progress, he forsook all worldly things, and spent the remainder of his life in religious solitude. The place of his retirement was on the sea-coast of Cornwall, and not far from Padstow, where, as Camden informs us, there was a chapel on the sands erected to his memory. Leland has informed us, that the chapel of St. Perine, at Caerdiff, stood in Shoemaker Street.
[59]So called from a parish of that name in Glamorganshire, situated between Monk Nash and St. Donat’s, upon the Bristol Channel.
[60]Barri Island is situated on the coast of Glamorganshire; and, according to Cressy, took its name from St. Baruc, the hermit, who resided, and was buried there. The Barrys in Ireland, as well as the family of Giraldus, who were lords of it, are said to have derived their names from this island. Leland, in speaking of this island, says, “The passage into Barrey isle at ful se is a flite shot over, as much as the Tamise is above the bridge. At low water, there is a broken causey to go over, or els over the shalow streamelet of Barrey-brook on the sands. The isle is about a mile in cumpace, and hath very good corne, grasse, and sum wood; the ferme of it worth a £10 a yere. There ys no dwelling in the isle, but there is in the middle of it a fair little chapel of St. Barrok, where much pilgrimage was usid.” [The “fair little chapel” has disappeared, and “Barry Island” is now, since the construction of the great dock, connected with the mainland, it is covered with houses, and its estimated capital value is now £250,000].
[61a]William de Salso Marisco.
[61b]The see of Llandaff is said to have been founded by the British king Lucius as early as the year 180.
[61c]From Llandaff, our crusaders proceeded towards the Cistercian monastery of Margam, passing on their journey near the little cell of Benedictines at Ewenith, or Ewenny. This religious house was founded by Maurice de Londres towards the middle of the twelfth century. It is situated in a marshy plain near the banks of the little river Ewenny.
[62]The Cistercian monastery of Margam, justly celebrated for the extensive charities which its members exercised, was foundedA.D.1147, by Robert earl of Gloucester, who died in the same year. Of this once-famed sanctuary nothing now remains but the shell of its chapter-house, which, by neglect, has lost its most ornamental parts. When Mr. Wyndham made the tour of Wales in the year 1777, this elegant building was entire, and was accurately drawn and engraved by his orders.
[65]In continuing their journey from Neath to Swansea, our travellers directed their course by the sea-coast to the river Avon, which they forded, and, continuing their road along the sands, were probably ferried over the river Neath, at a place now known by the name of Breton Ferry, leaving the monastery of Neath at some distance to the right: from thence traversing another tract of sands, and crossing the river Tawe, they arrived at the castle of Swansea, where they passed the night.
[66]The monastery of Neath was situated on the banks of a river bearing the same name, about a mile to the westward of the town and castle. It was founded in 1112, by Richard de Grainville, or Greenefeld, and Constance, his wife, for the safety of the souls of Robert, earl of Gloucester, Maude, his wife, and William, his son. Richard de Grainville was one of the twelve Norman knights who accompanied Robert Fitz-Hamon, and assisted him in the conquest of Glamorganshire. In the time of Leland this abbey was in a high state of preservation, for he says, “Neth abbay of white monkes, a mile above Neth town, standing in the ripe of Neth, semid to me the fairest abbay of al Wales.”—Leland,Itin.tom. v. p. 14. The remains of the abbey and of the adjoining priory-house are considerable; but this ancient retirement of the grey and white monks is now occupied by the inhabitants of the neighbouring copper-works.
[67a]Gower, the western district of Glamorganshire, appears to have been first conquered by Henry de Newburg, earl of Warwick, soon after Robert, duke of Gloucester, had made the conquest of the other part of Glamorganshire.
[67b]Sweynsei, Swansea, or Abertawe, situated at the confluence of the river Tawe with the Severn sea, is a town of considerable commerce, and much frequented during the summer months as a bathing-place. The old castle, now made use of as a prison, is so surrounded by houses in the middle of the town, that a stranger might visit Swansea without knowing that such a building existed. The Welsh Chronicle informs us, that it was built by Henry de Beaumont, earl of Warwick, and that in the year 1113 it was attacked by Gruffydd ap Rhys, but without success. This castle became afterwards a part of the possessions of the see of St. David’s, and was rebuilt by bishop Gower. [The old castle is no longer used as a prison, but as the office of the “Cambria Daily Leader.” It is significant that Swansea is still known to Welshmen, as in the days of Giraldus, as “Abertawe.”]
[71a]Lochor, or Llwchwr, was the Leucarum mentioned in the Itineraries, and the fifth Roman station on the Via Julia. This small village is situated on a tide-river bearing the same name, which divides the counties of Glamorgan and Caermarthen, and over which there is a ferry. “Lochor river partith Kidwelli from West Gowerlande.”—Leland,Itin.tom. v. p. 23. [The ferry is no more. The river is crossed by a fine railway bridge.]
[71b]Wendraeth, or Gwen-draeth, from gwen, white, and traeth, the sandy beach of the sea. There are two rivers of this name, Gwendraeth fawr, and Gwendraeth fychan, the great and the little Gwendraeth, of which Leland thus speaks: “Vendraeth Vawr and Vendraith Vehan risith both in Eskenning commote: the lesse an eight milys of from Kydwelli, the other about a ten, and hath but a little nesche of sand betwixt the places wher thei go into the se, about a mile beneth the towne of Kidwely.”
[71c]Cydweli was probably so called from cyd, a junction, and wyl, a flow, or gushing out, being situated near the junction of the rivers Gwendraeth fawr and fychan; but Leland gives its name a very singular derivation, and worthy of our credulous and superstitious author Giraldus. “Kidwely, otherwise Cathweli, i.e. Catti lectus, quia Cattus olim solebat ibi lectum in quercu facere:—There is a little towne now but newly made betwene Vendraith Vawr and Vendraith Vehan. Vendraith Vawr is half a mile of.”—Leland,Itin.tom. v. p. 22.
[72]The scene of the battle fought between Gwenllian and Maurice de Londres is to this day called Maes Gwenllian, the plain or field of Gwenllian; and there is a tower in the castle of Cydweli still called Tyr Gwenllian. [Maes Gwenllian is now a small farm, one of whose fields is said to have been the scene of the battle.]
[73a]The castle of Talachar is now better known by the name of Llaugharne.
[73b]Much has been said and written by ancient authors respecting the derivation of the name of this city, which is generally allowed to be the Muridunum, or Maridunum, mentioned in the Roman itineraries. Some derive it from Caer and Merddyn, that is, the city of the prophet Merddyn; and others from Mûr and Murddyn, which in the British language signify a wall. There can, however, be little doubt that it is derived simply from the Roman name Muridunum. The county gaol occupies the site of the old castle, a few fragments of which are seen intermixed with the houses of the town.
[73c]Dinevor, the great castle, from dinas, a castle, and vawr, great, was in ancient times a royal residence of the princes of South Wales. In the year 876, Roderic the Great, having divided the principalities of North and South Wales, and Powys land, amongst his three sons, built for each of them a palace. The sovereignty of South Wales, with the castle of Dinevor, fell to the lot of Cadell. [The ruins of Dinevor Castle still crown the summit of the hill which overshadows the town of Llandilo, 12 miles from Carmarthen.]
[74a]There is a spring very near the north side of Dinevor park wall, which bears the name of Nant-y-rhibo, or the bewitched brook, which may, perhaps, be the one here alluded to by Giraldus.
[74b]Pencadair is a small village situated to the north of Carmarthen.
[75a]Alba Domus was called in Welsh Ty Gwyn ar Daf, or the White House on the river Taf. In the history of the primitive British church, Ty Gwyn, or white house, is used in a sense equivalent to a charter-house. The White House College, or Bangor y Ty Gwyn, is pretended to have been founded about 480, by Paul Hên, or Paulius, a saint of the congregation of Illtyd. From this origin, the celebrated Cistercian monastery is said to have derived its establishment. Powel, in his chronicle, says, “For the first abbey or frier house that we read of in Wales, sith the destruction of the noble house of Bangor, which savoured not of Romish dregges, was the Tuy Gwyn, built the yeare 1146, and after they swarmed like bees through all the countrie.” (Powel, p. 254.)—Authors differ with respect to the founder of this abbey; some have attributed it to Rhys ap Tewdwr, prince of South Wales; and others to Bernard, bishop of Saint David’s, who died about the year 1148. The latter account is corroborated by the following passage in Wharton’s Anglia Sacra: “Anno 1143 ducti sunt monachi ordinis Cisterciensis qui modo sunt apud Albam Landam, in West Walliam, per Bernardum episcopum.” Leland, in his Collectanea, says, “Whitland, abbat. Cistert., Rhesus filius Theodori princeps Suth Walliæ primus fundator;” and in his Itinerary, mentions it as a convent of Bernardynes, “which yet stondeth.”
[75b]Saint Clears is a long, straggling village, at the junction of the river Cathgenny with the Tâf. Immediately on the banks of the former, and not far from its junction with the latter, stood the castle, of which not one stone is left; but the artificial tumulus on which the citadel was placed, and other broken ground, mark its ancient site.
[76a]Lanwadein, now called Lawhaden, is a small village about four miles from Narberth, on the banks of the river Cleddeu.
[76b]Daugleddeu, so called from Dau, two, and Cled, or Cleddau, a sword. The rivers Cledheu have their source in the Prescelly mountain, unite their streams below Haverfordwest, and run into Milford Haven, which in Welsh is called Aberdaugleddau, or the confluence of the two rivers Cledheu.
[76c]Haverford, now called Haverfordwest, is a considerable town on the river Cledheu, with an ancient castle, three churches, and some monastic remains. The old castle (now used as the county gaol), from its size and commanding situation, adds greatly to the picturesque appearance of this town. [The old castle is no longer used as a gaol.]
[79a]The province of Rhos, in which the town of Haverfordwest is situated, was peopled by a colony of Flemings during the reign of king Henry I.
[79b]St. Caradoc was born of a good family in Brecknockshire, and after a liberal education at home, attached himself to the court of Rhys Prince of South Wales, whom he served a long time with diligence and fidelity. He was much esteemed and beloved by him, till having unfortunately lost two favourite greyhounds, which had been committed to his care, that prince, in a fury, threatened his life; upon which Caradoc determined to change masters, and made a vow on the spot to consecrate the remainder of his days to God, by a single and religious life. He went to Llandaff, received from its bishop the clerical tonsure and habit, and retired to the deserted church of St. Kined, and afterwards to a still more solitary abode in the Isle of Ary, from whence he was taken prisoner by some Norwegian pirates, but soon released. His last place of residence was at St. Ismael, in the province of Rhos, where he died in 1124, and was buried with great honour in the cathedral of St. David’s. We must not confound this retreat of Caradoc with the village of St. Ismael on the borders of Milford Haven. His hermitage was situated in the parish of Haroldstone, near the town of Haverfordwest, whose church has St. Ismael for its patron, and probably near a place called Poorfield, the common on which Haverfordwest races are held, as there is a well there called Caradoc’s Well, round which, till within these few years, there was a sort of vanity fair, where cakes were sold, and country games celebrated. [Caradoc was canonised by Pope Innocent III. at the instance of Giraldus.]
[80]This curious superstition is still preserved, in a debased form, among the descendants of the Flemish population of this district, where the young women practise a sort of divination with the bladebone of a shoulder of mutton to discover who will be their sweetheart. It is still more curious that William de Rubruquis, in the thirteenth century, found the same superstition existing among the Tartars.
[82a]Arnulph, younger son of Roger de Montgomery, did his homage for Dyved, and is said, by our author, to have erected a slender fortress with stakes and turf at Pembroke, in the reign of king Henry I., which, however, appears to have been so strong as to have resisted the hostile attack of Cadwgan ap Bleddyn in 1092, and of several lords of North Wales, in 1094.
[82b]Walter Fitz-Other, at the time of the general survey of England by William the Conqueror, was castellan of Windsor, warden of the forests in Berkshire, and possessed several lordships in the counties of Middlesex, Hampshire, and Buckinghamshire, which dominus Otherus is said to have held in the time of Edward the Confessor. William, the eldest son of Walter, took the surname of Windsor from his father’s office, and was ancestor to the lords Windsor, who have since been created earls of Plymouth: and from Gerald, brother of William, the Geralds, Fitz-geralds, and many other families are lineally descended. The Gerald here mentioned by Giraldus is sometimes surnamed De Windsor, and also Fitz-Walter,i.e.the son of Walter; having slain Owen, son of Cadwgan ap Bleddyn, chief lord of Cardiganshire, he was made president of the county of Pembroke.
[83]Wilfred is mentioned by Browne Willis in his list of bishops of St. David’s, as the forty-seventh, under the title of Wilfride, or Griffin: he died about the year 1116.
[84]Maenor Pyrr, now known by the name of Manorbeer, is a small village on the sea coast, between Tenby and Pembroke, with the remaining shell of a large castle. Our author has given a farfetched etymology to this castle and the adjoining island, in calling them the mansion and island of Pyrrhus: a much more natural and congenial conjecture may be made in supposing Maenor Pyrr to be derived from Maenor, a Manor, and Pyrr the plural of Por, a lord;i.e.the Manor of the lords, and, consequently, Inys Pyrr, the Island of the lords. As no mention whatever is made of the castle in the Welsh Chronicle, I am inclined to think it was only a castellated mansion, and therefore considered of no military importance in those days of continued warfare throughout Wales. It is one of the most interesting spots in our author’s Itinerary, for it was the property of the Barri family, and the birth-place of Giraldus; in the parish church, the sepulchral effigy of a near relation, perhaps a brother, is still extant, in good preservation. Our author has evidently made a digression in order to describe this place.
[86a]The house of Stephen Wiriet was, I presume, Orielton. There is a monument in the church of St. Nicholas, at Pembroke, to the memory of John, son and heir of Sir Hugh Owen, of Bodeon in Anglesea, knight, and Elizabeth, daughter and heir of George Wiriet, of Orielton,A.D.1612.
[86b]The family name of Not, or Nott, still exists in Pembrokeshire. [The descendants of Sir Hugh continued to live at Orielton, and the title is still in existence.]
[88]There are two churches in Pembrokeshire called Stackpoole, one of which, called Stackpoole Elidor, derived its name probably from the Elidore de Stakepole mentioned in this chapter by Giraldus. It contains several ancient monuments, and amongst them the effigies of a cross-legged knight, which has been for many years attributed to the aforesaid Elidore.
[90]Ramsey Island, near St. David’s, was always famous for its breed of falcons.
[91a]Camros, a small village, containing nothing worthy of remark, excepting a large tumulus. It appears, by this route of the Crusaders, that the ancient road to Menevia, or St. David’s, led through Camros, whereas the present turnpike road lies a mile and a half to the left of it. It then descends to Niwegal Sands, and passes near the picturesque little harbour of Solvach, situated in a deep and narrow cove, surrounded by high rocks.
[91b]The remains of vast submerged forests are commonly found on many parts of the coast of Wales, especially in the north. Giraldus has elsewhere spoken of this event in the Vaticinal History, book i. chap. 35.
[94]Giraldus, ever glad topunupon words, here opposes the wordnomentoomen. “Plus nominis habens quàm ominis.” He may have perhaps borrowed this expression from Plautus. Plautus Delphini, tom. ii. p. 27.—Actus iv., Scena iv.
[96]Armorica is derived from the Celtic words Ar and Mor, which signify on or near the sea, and so called to distinguish it from the more inland parts of Britany. The maritime cities of Gaul were called “Armoricæ civitates—Universis civitatibus quæ oceanum attingunt, quæque Gallorum consuetudine Armoricæ appellantur.”—Cæsar.Comment, lib. vii.
[97]The bishops of Hereford, Worcester, Llandaff, Bangor, St. Asaph, Llanbadarn, and Margam, or Glamorgan.
[98]The value of the carucate is rather uncertain, or, probably, it varied in different districts according to the character of the land; but it is considered to have been usually equivalent to a hide, that is, to about 240 statute acres.
[99a]This little brook does not, in modern times, deserve the title here given to it by Giraldus, for it produces trout of a most delicious flavour.
[99b]See the Vaticinal History, book i. c. 37.
[100]Lechlavar, so called from the words in Welsh, Llêc, a stone, and Llavar, speech.
[102a]Cemmeis, Cemmaes, Kemes, and Kemeys. Thus is the name of this district variously spelt. Cemmaes in Welsh signifies a circle or amphitheatre for games.
[102b][Cardigan.]
[102c]There is place in Cemmaes now called Tre-liffan,i.e.Toad’s town; and over a chimney-piece in the house there is a figure of a toad sculptured in marble, said to have been brought from Italy, and intended probably to confirm and commemorate this tradition of Giraldus.
[103a]Preseleu, Preselaw, Prescelly, Presselw.
[103b]St. Bernacus is said, by Cressy, to have been a man of admirable sanctity, who, through devotion, made a journey to Rome; and from thence returning into Britany, filled all places with the fame of his piety and miracles. He is commemorated on the 7th of April. Several churches in Wales were dedicated to him; one of which, called Llanfyrnach, or the church of St. Bernach, is situated on the eastern side of the Prescelley mountain.
[103c]The “castrum apud Lanhever” was at Nevern, a small village between Newport and Cardigan, situated on the banks of a little river bearing the same name which discharges itself into the sea at Newport. On a hill immediately above the western side of the parish church, is the site of a large castle, undoubtedly the one alluded to by Giraldus.
[105a]On the Cemmaes, or Pembrokeshire side of the river Teivi, and near the end of the bridge, there is a place still called Park y Cappel, or the Chapel Field, which is undoubtedly commemorative of the circumstance recorded by our author.
[105b]Now known by the name of Kenarth, which may be derived from Cefn y garth—the back of the wear, a ridge of land behind the wear.
[106a]The name of St. Ludoc is not found in the lives of the saints. Leland mentions a St. Clitauc, who had a church dedicated to him in South Wales, and who was killed by some of his companions whilst hunting. “Clitaucus Southe-Walliæ regulus inter venandum a suis sodalibus occisus est. Ecciesia S. Clitauci in Southe Wallia.”—Leland,Itin., tom. viii. p. 95.
[106b]The Teivy is still very justly distinguished for the quantity and quality of its salmon, but the beaver no longer disturbs its streams. That this animal did exist in the days of Howel Dha (though even then a rarity), the mention made of it in his laws, and the high price set upon its skin, most clearly evince; but if the castor of Giraldus, and the avanc of Humphrey Llwyd and of the Welsh dictionaries, be really the same animal, it certainly was not peculiar to the Teivi, but was equally known in North Wales, as the names of places testify. A small lake in Montgomeryshire is called Llyn yr Afangc; a pool in the river Conwy, not far from Bettws, bears the same name, and the vale called Nant Ffrancon, upon the river Ogwen, in Caernarvonshire, is supposed by the natives to be a corruption from Nant yr Afan cwm, or the Vale of the Beavers. Mr. Owen, in his dictionary, says, “That it has been seen in this vale within the memory of man.” Giraldus has previously spoken of the beaver in his Topography of Ireland, Distinc. i. c. 21.
[109a]Our author having made a long digression, in order to introduce the history of the beaver, now continues his Itinerary. From Cardigan, the archbishop proceeded towards Pont-Stephen, leaving a hill, called Cruc Mawr, on the left hand, which still retains its ancient name, and agrees exactly with the position given to it by Giraldus. On its summit is a tumulus, and some appearance of an intrenchment.
[109b]In 1135.
[109c]Lampeter, or Llanbedr, a small town near the river Teivi, still retains the name of Pont-Stephen.
[109d]Leland thus speaks of Ystrad Fflur or Strata Florida: “Strateflere is set round about with montanes not far distant, except on the west parte, where Diffrin Tyve is. Many hilles therabout hath bene well woddid, as evidently by old rotes apperith, but now in them is almost no woode—the causes be these. First, the wood cut down was never copisid, and this hath beene a cause of destruction of wood thorough Wales. Secondly, after cutting down of woodys, the gottys hath so bytten the young spring that it never grew but lyke shrubbes. Thirddely, men for the monys destroied the great woddis that thei should not harborow theves.” This monastery is situated in the wildest part of Cardiganshire, surrounded on three sides by a lofty range of those mountains, called by our author Ellennith; a spot admirably suited to the severe and recluse order of the Cistercians.
[110a][Melenydd or Maelienydd.]
[110b]Leaving Stratflur, the archbishop and his train returned to Llanddewi Brefi, and from thence proceeded to Llanbadarn Vawr.
[111]Llanbadarn Fawr, the church of St. Paternus the Great, is situated in a valley, at a short distance from the sea-port town of Aberystwyth in Cardiganshire.
[112]The name of this bishop is said to have been Idnerth, and the same personage whose death is commemorated in an inscription at Llanddewi Brefi.
[113a]This river is now called Dovey.
[113b]From Llanbadarn our travellers directed their course towards the sea-coast, and ferrying over the river Dovey, which separates North from South Wales, proceeded to Towyn, in Merionethshire, where they passed the night. [Venedotia is the Latin name for Gwynedd.]
[113c]The province of Merionyth was at this period occupied by David, the son of Owen Gwynedd, who had seized it forcibly from its rightful inheritor. This Gruffydd—who must not be confused with his great-grandfather, the famous Gruffydd ap Conan, prince of Gwynedd—was son to Conan ap Owen Gwynedd; he diedA.D.1200, and was buried in a monk’s cowl, in the abbey of Conway.
[113d]The epithet “bifurcus,” ascribed by Giraldus to the river Maw, alludes to its two branches, which unite their streams a little way below Llaneltid bridge, and form an æstuary, which flows down to the sea at Barmouth or Aber Maw. The ford at this place, discovered by Malgo, no longer exists.
[114a]Llanfair is a small village, about a mile and a half from Harlech, with a very simple church, placed in a retired spot, backed by precipitous mountains. Here the archbishop and Giraldus slept, on their journey from Towyn to Nevyn.
[114b]Ardudwy was a comot of the cantref Dunodic, in Merionethshire, and according to Leland, “Streccith from half Trait Mawr to Abermaw on the shore XII myles.” The bridge here alluded to, was probably over the river Artro, which forms a small æstuary near the village of Llanbedr.
[115a]The Traeth Mawr, or the large sands, are occasioned by a variety of springs and rivers which flow from the Snowdon mountains, and, uniting their streams, form an æstuary below Pont Aberglaslyn.
[115b]The Traeth Bychan, or the small sands, are chiefly formed by the river which runs down the beautiful vale of Festiniog to Maentwrog and Tan y bwlch, near which place it becomes navigable. Over each of these sands the road leads from Merionyth into Caernarvonshire.
[115c]Lleyn, the Canganorum promontorium of Ptolemy, was an extensive hundred containing three comots, and comprehending that long neck of land between Caernarvon and Cardigan bays. Leland says, “Al Lene is as it were a pointe into the se.”
[115d]In mentioning the rivers which the missionaries had lately crossed, our author has been guilty of a great topographical error in placing the river Dissennith between the Maw and Traeth Mawr, as also in placing the Arthro between the Traeth Mawr and Traeth Bychan, as a glance at a map will shew.
[115e]To two personages of this name the gift of prophecy was anciently attributed: one was called Ambrosius, the other Sylvestris; the latter here mentioned (and whose works Giraldus, after a long research, found at Nefyn) was, according to the story, the son of Morvryn, and generally called Merddin Wyllt, or Merddin the Wild. He is pretended to have flourished about the middle of the sixth century, and ranked with Merddin Emrys and Taliesin, under the appellation of the three principal bards of the Isle of Britain.
[116a]This island once afforded, according to the old accounts, an asylum to twenty thousand saints, and after death, graves to as many of their bodies; whence it has been called Insula Sanctorum, the Isle of Saints. This island derived its British name of Enlli from the fierce current which rages between it and the main land. The Saxons named it Bardsey, probably from the Bards, who retired hither, preferring solitude to the company of invading foreigners.
[116b]This ancient city has been recorded by a variety of names. During the time of the Romans it was called Segontium, the site of which is now called Caer Seiont, the fortress on the river Seiont, where the Setantiorum portus, and the Seteia Æstuarium of Ptolemy have also been placed. It is called, by Nennius, Caer Custent, or the city of Constantius; and Matthew of Westminster says, that about the year 1283 the body of Constantius, father of the emperor Constantine, was found there, and honourably desposited in the church by order of Edward I.
[116c]I have searched in vain for a valley which would answer the description here given by Geraldus, and the scene of so much pleasantry to the travellers; for neither do the old or new road, from Caernarvon to Bangor, in any way correspond. But I have since been informed, that there is a valley called Nant y Garth (near the residence of Ashton Smith, Esq. at Vaenol), which terminates at about half a mile’s distance from the Menai, and therefore not observable from the road; it is a serpentine ravine of more than a mile, in a direction towards the mountains, and probably that which the crusaders crossed on their journey to Bangor.
[117]Bangor.—This cathedral church must not be confounded with the celebrated college of the same name, in Flintshire, founded by Dunod Vawr, son of Pabo, a chieftain who lived about the beginning of the sixth century, and from him called Bangor Dunod. The Bangor,i.e.the college, in Caernarvonshire, is properly called Bangor Deiniol, Bangor Vawr yn Arllechwedd, and Bangor Vawr uwch Conwy. It owes its origin to Deiniol, son of Dunod ap Pabo, a saint who lived in the early part of the sixth century, and in the year 525 founded this college at Bangor, in Caernarvonshire, over which he presided as abbot. Guy Rufus, called by our author Guianus, was at this time bishop of this see, and died in 1190.
[118a]Guianus, or Guy Rufus, dean of Waltham, in Essex, and consecrated to this see, at Ambresbury, Wilts, in May 1177.
[118b]Mona, or Anglesey.
[118c]The spot selected by Baldwin for addressing the multitude, has in some degree been elucidated by the anonymous author of the Supplement to Rowland’s Mona Antiqua. He says, that “From tradition and memorials still retained, we have reasons to suppose that they met in an open place in the parish of Landisilio, called Cerrig y Borth. The inhabitants, by the grateful remembrance, to perpetuate the honour of that day, called the place where the archbishop stood, Carreg yr Archjagon,i.e.the Archbishop’s Rock; and where prince Roderic stood, Maen Roderic, or the Stone of Roderic.” This account is in part corroborated by the following communication from Mr. Richard Llwyd of Beaumaris, who made personal inquiries on the spot. “Cerrig y Borth, being a rough, undulating district, could not, for that reason, have been chosen for addressing a multitude; but adjoining it there are two eminences which command a convenient surface for that purpose; one called Maen Rodi (the Stone or Rock of Roderic), the property of Owen Williams, Esq.; and the other Carreg Iago, belonging to Lord Uxbridge. This last, as now pronounced, means the Rock of St. James; but I have no difficulty in admitting, that Carreg yr Arch Iagon may (by the compression of common, undiscriminating language, and the obliteration of the event from ignorant minds by the lapse of so many centuries) be contracted into Carreg Iago. Cadair yr archesgob is now also contracted into Cadair (chair), a seat naturally formed in the rock, with a rude arch over it, on the road side, which is a rough terrace over the breast of a rocky and commanding cliff, and the nearest way from the above eminences to the insulated church of Landisilio. This word Cadair, though in general language a chair, yet when applied to exalted situations, means an observatory, as Cadair Idris, etc.; but there can, in my opinion, be no doubt that this seat in the rock is that described by the words Cadair yr Archesgob.” [Still more probable, and certainly more flattering to Giraldus, is that it was called “Cadair yr Arch Ddiacon” (the Archdeacon’s chair).]
[120a]This hundred contained the comots of Mynyw, or St. David’s, and Pencaer.
[120b]I am indebted to Mr. Richard Llwyd for the following curious extract from a Manuscript of the late intelligent Mr. Rowlands, respecting this miraculous stone, called Maen Morddwyd, or the stone of the thigh, which once existed in Llanidan parish. “Hic etiam lapis lumbi, vulgo Maen Morddwyd, in hujus cæmiterii vallo locum sibi e longo a retro tempore obtinuit, exindeque his nuperis annis, quo nescio papicola vel qua inscia manu nulla ut olim retinente virtute, quæ tunc penitus elanguit aut vetustate evaporavit, nullo sane loci dispendio, nec illi qui eripuit emolumento, ereptus et deportatus fuit.”
[120c]Hugh, earl of Chester. The first earl of Chester after the Norman conquest, was Gherbod, a Fleming, who, having obtained leave from king William to go into Flanders for the purpose of arranging some family concerns, was taken and detained a prisoner by his enemies; upon which the conqueror bestowed the earldom of Chester on Hugh de Abrincis or of Avranches, “to hold as freely by the sword, as the king himself did England by the crown.”
[121]This church is at Llandyfrydog, a small village in Twrkelin hundred, not far distant from Llanelian, and about three miles from the Bay of Dulas. St. Tyvrydog, to whom it was dedicated, was one of the sons of Arwystyl Glof, a saint who lived in the latter part of the sixth century.
[123a]Ynys Lenach, now known by the name of Priestholme Island, bore also the title of Ynys Seiriol, from a saint who resided upon it in the sixth century. It is also mentioned by Dugdale and Pennant under the appellation of Insula Glannauch.
[123b]Alberic de Veer, or Vere, came into England with William the Conqueror, and as a reward for his military services, received very extensive possessions and lands, particularly in the county of Essex. Alberic, his eldest son, was great chamberlain of England in the reign of king Henry I., and was killedA.D.1140, in a popular tumult at London. Henry de Essex married one of his daughters named Adeliza. He enjoyed, by inheritance, the office of standard-bearer, and behaved himself so unworthily in the military expedition which king Henry undertook against Owen Gwynedd, prince of North Wales, in the year 1157, by throwing down his ensign, and betaking himself to flight, that he was challenged for this misdemeanor by Robert de Mountford, and by him vanquished in single combat; whereby, according to the laws of his country, his life was justly forfeited. But the king interposing his royal mercy, spared it, but confiscated his estates, ordering him to be shorn a monk, and placed in the abbey of Reading. There appears to be some biographical error in the words of Giraldus—“Filia scilicet Henrici de Essexia,” for by the genealogical accounts of the Vere and Essex families, we find that Henry de Essex married the daughter of the second Alberic de Vere; whereas our author seems to imply, that the mother of Alberic the second was daughter to Henry de Essex.
[124]“And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel, and of the chesnut tree, and peeled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods. And he set the rods, which he had peeled, before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs, when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink. And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle speckled and spotted.”—Gen. xxx.
[125a]Owen Gwynedd, the son of Gruffydd ap Conan, died in 1169, and was buried at Bangor. When Baldwin, during his progress, visited Bangor and saw his tomb, he charged the bishop (Guy Ruffus) to remove the body out of the cathedral, when he had a fit opportunity so to do, in regard that archbishop Becket had excommunicated him heretofore, because he had married his first cousin, the daughter of Grono ap Edwyn, and that notwithstanding he had continued to live with her till she died. The bishop, in obedience to the charge, made a passage from the vault through the south wall of the church underground, and thus secretly shoved the body into the churchyard.—Hengwrt.MSS.Cadwalader brother of Owen Gwynedd, died in 1172.
[125b]The Merlin here mentioned was called Ambrosius, and according to the Cambrian Biography flourished about the middle of the fifth century. Other authors say, that this reputed prophet and magician was the son of a Welsh nun, daughter of a king of Demetia, and born at Caermarthen, and that he was made king of West Wales by Vortigern, who then reigned in Britain.