“Now strike ye the harp that has slumbered so long,Till yon mountains re-echo the theme of my song!Come forth, ye bold warriors, from forest and tarn,And up with the banner ofGuy of Laugharne!The sound is gone forth—all the land is awake,Swords flash in the valley, and spears in the brake;And, gleaming in arms, at their head ye discernThe fearless in battle—boldGuy of Laugharne!”
“Now strike ye the harp that has slumbered so long,Till yon mountains re-echo the theme of my song!Come forth, ye bold warriors, from forest and tarn,And up with the banner ofGuy of Laugharne!The sound is gone forth—all the land is awake,Swords flash in the valley, and spears in the brake;And, gleaming in arms, at their head ye discernThe fearless in battle—boldGuy of Laugharne!”
“Now strike ye the harp that has slumbered so long,Till yon mountains re-echo the theme of my song!Come forth, ye bold warriors, from forest and tarn,And up with the banner ofGuy of Laugharne!
The sound is gone forth—all the land is awake,Swords flash in the valley, and spears in the brake;And, gleaming in arms, at their head ye discernThe fearless in battle—boldGuy of Laugharne!”
TOWARDSthe south end of the town, close on the Bay of Carmarthen, are the ruins of the Castle, supposed to have been founded by Guido de Brian, in the reign ofHenryIII., or, according to others, to have been rebuilt by him; for it is said that the original castle was destroyed by Llywelyn-ap-Iorwerth as early as 1215. If so, the said Guido de Brian rebuilt it in the following reign. The remains, which have been many years enclosed within the walls of a private garden, and consist of a large square building—now a mere shell—are still in tolerable preservation. In this parish also are the ruins of what is calledRoche’sCastle, but which tradition reports to be those of a monastery; though of what order, or epoch in the Cambrian annals, is not ascertained. This monastic or feudal ruin stands about a mile from the Castle of
Laugharne, the subject of our present notice. The ancient appellation of this town and castle, according to the native writers, appears to have been Llacharn, and seems to have taken its present orthography from the general of that name—William Laughearne—who distinguished himself in the service of the “Parliament;” and in 1644, after a siege of three weeks, took the Castle of “Llacharn.” Its still more ancient name is Abercoran, or Cowan—the “Castle on the banks of the Coran”—which, at a short distance below the Castle, empties itself into the sea. Local tradition says that the parish churchformerly stood upon a farm, in an island called Craseland—that is,Christ’s-land; but of the sacred edifice, not a vestige remains to support the tradition—
“Not an arch of nave or aisle—Not a relic marks the pile;Shrine and monumental stone,Floor and fretted vault are gone!”
“Not an arch of nave or aisle—Not a relic marks the pile;Shrine and monumental stone,Floor and fretted vault are gone!”
“Not an arch of nave or aisle—Not a relic marks the pile;Shrine and monumental stone,Floor and fretted vault are gone!”
The Corporation consists of a portreeve, a recorder, an indefinite number of aldermen, two common attorneys, four constables, and seventy-six burgesses, who have shares in lands and commons which were given to the Corporation by “Sir Guido de Brian the younger, lord marcher of the said town and lordship of Laugharne,” in the reign of King John. “His cloak or mantle,” says Carlisle, “richly embroidered in purple and gold, is still preserved in the parish church.” Laugharne, as described by a recent tourist, is one of the neatest and cleanest of the smaller towns of South Wales. It has many excellent dwelling-houses, a good inn for the accommodation of travellers, and possessing various local attractions and a cheap market, many private families have made choice of it as a residence which unites pleasure and economy. The situation is low and sheltered—bounded by the tidal estuary and the Taff, which, at low water, presents a wide extent of dry land—an amphibious territory, which the inconstant sea alternately invades and deserts.
Guy de Brian—The founder of this name, and his successors, were all in their day knights of military renown. Their chief seat was in these marches, where, in the 29th Henry III., the first Guy received command to assist the Earl of Gloucester in suppressing some new insurrection in the country. Toward the close of the same reign, he had summons to attend the king at Chester—well fitted with horse and arms—to “prevent the incursions of that unruly people.” But not long after this, when the breach betwixt the king and divers of the great barons happened, he adhered unto them; for it appears that, after the battle ofLewes, where the king was made prisoner by the barons, he was constituted by them governor of the Castles of Cardigan and Kaermerdyn [or Carmarthen], which commission was renewed the next ensuing year; he having then also the like trust granted unto him by them for the Castle of Kilgaran. But shortly after, when the battle of Evesham “had quelled the power of those haughty spirits, he became one of the sureties for Robert deVere, then Earl of Oxford, that he should thenceforth demean himself peaceably, and stand to the decree called ‘Dictum de Kenilworth,’ for the redemption of his lands.”
Guy of Laugharnemarried Eve, daughter and heir of Henry deTraci, and dying in the 31st Edward I. left a son—then in his twenty-fourth year—named also Guy, who being a knight, in the 4th of Edward III., was made governor of the Castle of Haverford. “But it was found by inquisition,that he complained to the King that Roger de Mortimer, late Earl of March, had made seizure of his Barony of Walwaynes Castle, in the Co. Pemb., as also of the goods and stock thereon, and had delivered them to Guyon his son without warranty. Likewise that the king then took notice of certain differences betwixt the said Sir Guy and the same Guyon, his son and heir, which were pacified in his presence, by the assent of Wenthlian his wife, in regard that himself, at the time, was not of sane memory. Moreover, that by this agreement the Barony of Chastel-Walweyn was to remain to youngGuyonand his heirs, on condition that he should be obliged to prefer his two sisters out of the revenues thereof: As also that two hundred pounds which Ioan de Carru was bound to pay to him, the said Guy, for the marriage of his son Guyon, should be paid to Guyon towards the marriage of those his sisters. And that because the said Sir Guy was not in his perfect senses, the barony should remain in the king’s hands, and livery thereof be made to Guyon in performance of those covenants.” Sir Guy being thus out of his senses—“I come,” says the Chronicle, “to
“Guy, his son, who was in the Scottish wars, and in consideration of his special services had an annuity of forty pounds granted to him by the king, to be paid out of the Exchequer during his life. In the 15th Edw. III. he was made governor of St.Briavell’s, in Co. Gloc., and warden of the Forest of Dene; and, in the following year, was again in the wars of France. So likewise in the 19th and 20th, but died June 17, in the 23d of the same reign, being then seized ofTallughernin the marches of Wales, which he held by the service of finding two soldiers with horses harnessed; or eight footmen—according to the custom of those parts—for three days at his own proper cost, upon notice given by the king’s bayliffe of Kaermerdyn [Carmarthen].”
Guy, his son and heir, was at the time of his father’s demise turned thirty years of age, and became a person of very great note in his time. He was standard-bearer to the King in that notable fight with the French at Calais, 23d Edw. III.; and there behaving himself with great courage and valour, had, in recompense thereof, a grant of two hundred merks per annum out of the Exchequer during his life, He obtained a charter for free-warren in all his demesne lands, as well as atTallughern, &c.; and being still governor of St. Briavell’s, and warden of Dene Forest, he had a grant of all the profits and emoluments arising out of the market and fairs in that town. He was also constituted one of the commissioners for arraying men in the counties of Oxon and Berks, for defence of the realm against the French, who then threatened an invasion. But as our limits will not admit of our giving his public services in detail, we shall merely record them as they were successively performed in the same brilliant reign:—He was, with Henry, Duke of Lancaster, sent on anembassy to the Pope: attending the King in France, he was made a banneret: he was again in the same war, and sent a second time to Rome: afterwards pensioned anew for his services: made admiral of the King’s fleet, then acting against the French, and constituted, the year following, admiral of the Royal fleet from Southampton westwards: employed in the Scottish wars: associated with the Earl of Warwick and others to cause “satisfaction to be done by the King’s subjects to the Scots:” was elected into the most noble Order of theGarter: served again in the wars of France: was appointed one of the commissioners to treat with the Duke of Brittany and Earl of Montfort for a league of friendship with King Richard; and lastly, joined Mortimer, Earl of March, in the expedition into Ireland. This concludes his military services; but while he had proved himself a valiant son of Mars, and a faithful servant of the King, he was a pious son and liberal benefactor of the Church, in witness whereof he “founded a chauntry for four priests, to sing divine service in the chappel of Our Ladye within his mannor of Slapton, Co. Dev., and endowed the same with lands,” &c. He married Elizabeth, daughter of William de Montacute, Earl of Salisbury, and widow of Hugh le Despenser the third, and departed this life on Wednesday next after the Feast of the Assumption, 14th Rich. II., leaving Philippa,[407]wife of John Devereux, and Elizabeth, wife of Robert Lovel, daughters of his son Guy, who died in his father’s lifetime, to be his next heirs to the demesne of Laugharne and other baronies.—Dugdale.
“Now is the stately column broke—The beacon-light is quench’d in smoke;The trumpet’s silver note is still;The warder silent on the hill.”
“Now is the stately column broke—The beacon-light is quench’d in smoke;The trumpet’s silver note is still;The warder silent on the hill.”
“Now is the stately column broke—The beacon-light is quench’d in smoke;The trumpet’s silver note is still;The warder silent on the hill.”
Thelordly towers and quadrangular pile of Carew Castle rise conspicuously above the waters of the surrounding creek, and are intimately connected in the spectator’s mind with scenes of bygone splendour.[408]It was one of the demesnes belonging to the sovereign Princes of South Wales, and, with seven others, was given as a dowery to Nesta, daughter of Rhys-ap-Tewdwr, or Tudor, on her marriage with Girald de Windsor, who, as already mentioned, was appointed byHenryI. lieutenant of these counties. His son William took the name ofCarew, and the castle passed through various branches of that family, until, after the lapse of centuries, it was garrisoned for Charles I., and reduced at last, like all its neighbours, by the irresistible hand of Cromwell. The noble edifice is built upon a neck of land washed by the tide of two estuaries, with a gentle fall towards the water, and consists of a superb range of apartments, round a quadrangle, with an immense bastion at each corner, containing handsome chambers. Most of the rooms had each an elegant chimney-piece of wrought freestone. The barbican may still be traced; and through the portcullised gateway we pass into the great court, or inner ballium. The ground rooms of the north front contain magnificent windows, lighting the great state-room, which is one hundred and two feet long, by twenty feet wide. On the east side, over the chimney-piece, is an escutcheon, bearing the royal arms, in compliment, perhaps, to Henry the Seventh—Richmond,—who is traditionally reported to have been munificently lodged and entertained here, on his way to Bosworth Field, by the princely Sir Rhys-ap-Thomas, lord of the mansion. Ahandsome suite of rooms is included in the octagon tower, which covers the right of the entrance; and along the whole course of the south-west side are seen the remains of ancient towers, of various height, diameter, and form. The whole of the north side is very majestic, ending in the return of a bastion to the east. The building is of various epochs—combining the stronghold with the ornamented and castellated mansion. Sir Rhys-ap-Thomas, according to Leland, new-modelled the whole, and added the splendid range of state apartments which are the admiration of every traveller in these parts.
In the extensive deer-park attached to the castle, Sir Rhys held a grand tilt and tournament onSt. Giles’sday, in honour of his receiving the royal badge of a Knight of the Garter. This splendid festival, we are told, lasted a week, and was attended by six hundred of the aristocracy of Wales—such were the splendid pageantries, and such the numerous courtly throng, that once animated and emblazoned the kingly halls of Carew. “This festivall and time of jollitie continued the space of five dayes,” as the historian relates; “and tentes and pavillons were pitched in the parke, neere to the castle, for the spectators of these rare solemnities, wheare they quartered all the time, every man according to his qualities.”
Sir Rhys-ap-Thomas, lord of this and many other castles, was descended from Rhys-ap-Twdor, of the royal house of South Wales; and had been appointed governor of these counties by Richard III. One of his residences was Abermarles, in the county of Carmarthen—a princely mansion in its time, and called by Leland, “a faire house of old Sir Rees’s.” Newcastle-in-Emlyn, in the same county—once belonging to the princes of Dynevwr, and celebrated in Cambro-British history—was also his property, and often honoured with his presence.
By Sir Edward Carew the castle was mortgaged to Sir Rhys-ap-Thomas, who made it his favourite residence, and there spent the latter part of his life. The Bishop of St. David’s, then a constant resident at Lamphey, induced Sir Rhys to prefer Carew to his other demesnes; for they were devoted friends, and spent much time in the society of each other. In the following reign his vast possessions and castellated mansions were forfeited by the attainder of his grandson, Rice Griffith.Abermarleswas granted by the crown to Sir Thomas Jones, Knt.; thence by marriage it passed to Sir Francis Cornwallis, whose son leaving issue four daughters, and the three youngest married, the estate was divided in 1793 among their descendants. Abermarles came to Lord Viscount Hawarden, who disposed of the mansion, demesne, park, and manor, to the gallant AdmiralFoley, who led the fleet into action at the battle of theNile; commanded the Britannia in Lord St. Vincent’s action, and on board whose ship Nelson shifted his flag at the battle of Copenhagen. He built a magnificent mansion near the site of the old house.Emlynand its extensive demesnes became the property of theVaughansof Golden Grove—whose ancestors were successively Lords of Mollingar, Earls of Carbery, and Lords of Emlyn—and are now the property of Lord Cawdor, as devisee of the late “J. Vaughan, of Golden Grove, Esquire.”
Carew, with its castle and barony, was granted by leases, for specified terms, to Sir J. Perrot and others, the remainder of which terms was purchased by Sir John Carew, kinsman of Sir Edmund above-mentioned, to whom Charles the First restored the fee simple and inheritance, from whom it descended to the present owner.[409]
“How many hearts have here grown cold,That sleep these mouldering stones among!How many beads have here been told—How manyMatinshere been sung!”
“How many hearts have here grown cold,That sleep these mouldering stones among!How many beads have here been told—How manyMatinshere been sung!”
“How many hearts have here grown cold,That sleep these mouldering stones among!How many beads have here been told—How manyMatinshere been sung!”
Ofthis renowned Abbey the existing remains convey but a very inadequate idea. The parish church is formed out of part of the original abbey-church; of the chapter-house the walls only remain; and of the ruins scattered around, the original use, size, and distribution have not yet been ascertained. That it was an extensive edifice, and exhibited in its style and proportions all the higher characteristics of Cistercian monasteries, may be taken on the credit of what remains. The foundation is fixed in the year 1147, and the process of erection must have been contemporaneous with that of Tinterne—a temple of the same Order, whose taste and affluence, during that and the following century, have left so many gorgeous monuments in England and Wales.
Dugdale fixes the date ofMargamAbbey in the year 1147. It was founded by Robert, Earl of Gloucester—so often named in this work—and dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. In this, also, the annals of Margam—written by a monk of the Abbey—agree, and mention the date of its foundation as that of the year in which the founder departed this life. The chronicle, printed in the second volume of Gale’s Scriptores, called “Annales de Margam,” is a history of general scope, extending from the year of the Conquest to that of 1232, and throws but little light upon the particular affairs of the Monastery in which it was written. It is a history of thetimes, not of the Abbey. It gives the names, however, of four abbots, mentions three or four incursions of the Welsh, and remarks that Margam and Beaulieu in Hampshire were the only monasteries among the Cistercians that were released from King John’s extortions in 1210, to which reference has been already made in our notice of Tinterne. The plea upon which Margam escaped these severe taxations was, that, both in his progress to and from Ireland, the King and his suite had been liberally entertained by the abbot and monks of Margam.
With respect to the inroads noticed in these “Annals,” we are told that—“This year,M.C.LXI, in the month of October, the Welsh burnt down our granary or barn; an act which was quickly followed by divine vengeance.” Again, “InM.CC.XXIII, (he says,) in the course of one week, wicked men have destroyed upwards of a thousand of our sheep, with two houses. In the following year they wantonly slew two of our servants in one day, while engaged in the performance of their duty; and also, immediately thereafter, a youth who had charge of the flock.” But the fourth irruption was still more serious; for “they burnt to the very ground our grange at Penwith, with many cattle, including the steers; they next depopulated the grange of Rossaulin, burnt many sheep, drove off the cows, and put one of our servants wantonly to death; they then took the cattle of the grange of Theodore Twdor, killed many on the road, took the rest with them. Lastly, they set fire to the Abbey houses in different places, and great were the flocks that perished in the flames.”—Annal. de Marg. Scriptores a T. Gale, tom. ii. pp. 7, 16, 17.
Leland ascribes to this Abbey the privilege of sanctuary: “Habet privilegium sanctuarii, sed quo rarissime aut nunquam utuntur Cambri—” but of which the natives very rarely or never made any use. According to the same authority, Margam Abbey had four daughter-houses in Ireland, namely—Kyrideyson, S. Crux, Maio, and Chorus Benedictus.
Abbots.—William, the first Abbot, died inM.C.LIII; Andrew, the second, two years later; and it was probably in the short time of the latter, or that of his successor, that the altar of the Holy Trinity in the abbey church was consecrated by William, Bishop of Llandaff. Gilbert, the third Abbot, resignedin July,M.CC.XIII, died the following year at Kirksted, and was succeeded by Abbot John, of whom nothing is recorded by the annalist.
A large collection of original charters belonging to this Abbey is still preserved with the Harleian manuscripts in the British Museum. The common seal of the Abbey, appendant to a deed, dated 1518, has been elegantly lithographed, as we read in the Monasticon, by the care of the Rev. W. Traherne. At the Dissolution, the sum total of the revenues of Margam Abbey amounted to one hundred and eighty-eight pounds, fourteen shillings sterling; the clear income to seven pounds less. The site was granted by the King to Sir Rees Maxwell, Knt. The Abbey was afterwards the seat of Thomas, Lord Mansell; and passed afterwards into the Talbot family. In early times the buildings of this Abbey are described as affording specimens of the richest style of conventual architecture. But these characteristics are no longer applicable to the, ruins before us; for time and the quarry-man, probably, have done much to deface the beauty and even form of the original structure.
Crypt—Margam Abbey.
Crypt—Margam Abbey.
Crypt—Margam Abbey.
APPENDIX.
Osborne, p. 6.—Walter, a Norman knight, and a great favourite of William the Conqueror, was one summer evening playing at chess with the King, and after a time won all he played for. The King then threw down the board, and with his usual oath exclaimed he had nothing more to lose. Walter, however, being of a different opinion, replied—“Sir, here is land.” “True,” said the King; “and if thou beatest me this time, thine be all the land on this side the bourne or river which thou canst see where thou now standest.” This said, to it they went once more, and knight Walter again won the game, whereupon the King, starting up and slapping him on the shoulder, said, “Henceforth thou shalt be called Ousebourne.” And hence, it is supposed, came the name afterwards so famous.—[Life of Corinni, Pegge’s Curialia Miscellanea, p. 319. Lower, 156.]
Tinterne, p. 53.—The drinking after Complins of the prioress of Rumsey has crept into all our familiar books. Among the injunctions to the convent of Appleton, anno. 1489, is the following:—“Item, That none of your sisters use theale-house, nor the water syde, where course of strangers dayly resorte.” In another it was inquired: “Whether any of the susters doe cherish theme moste that have any monye, and causeth them to spende the same, when they be within, at good ale, or otherwise?”Item.—“Whether any of the susters be commonlye drunke?” There were, however, many honourable exceptions. Pensions were granted at the Dissolution according to the character of the monastic brothers and sisters, which it was the business of the King’s visitorsto investigate; and recommend when approved. Rahdal Wylmyston, monk of Norton, they pronounced to be “a good, religious man, discreet, and well-grounded in learning—having many good qualities.” The nunnery of Legborne petitioned to be preserved, saying—“We trust in God, ye shall here no complaints against us, nether in our living nor hospitalitie-keeping.”—[See Fosb., quoting M.S. Cott., Cleop.E. iv., 370, B.]
Tinterne, p. 57.—That the learning of those times was rather scanty, even among the higher ecclesiastics, we have the testimony of Pitscottie:—Forman, who succeeded to the archbishopric of St. Andrew’s—on the death of his predecessor at the battle of Flodden—owed his sudden rise to the partiality of Pope Leo X. Being then at Rome, the new archbishop thought it decorous to give a banquet to his Holiness and the dignitaries of his court, before setting out on his journey homeward. “When the dinner came up,” says the historian, “the Pope and cardinals placed, and sat down according to their estate; then the use and custom was, that, at the beginning of the meat, he that aught [owned] the house, and made the banquet, should say grace and bless the meat. And so they required the holy bishop to say the grace, who was not a good scholar, and had not good Latin, but began rudely in the Scottish fashion in this manner, saying—‘Benedicite,’ believing that they should have answered,Dominus. But they answeredDans, in the Italian fashion, which put this noble bishop bye his intendiment, that he wist not how to proceed forward; but happened out, in good Scottish, in this manner, the which they understood not, saying—‘To the devil I give ye all, fause carles, in nomini Patriæ, Filii, and Spiritus Sancti!’ Amen, quoth they! Then the bishop and his men leugh. And the bishop shewed the Pope the manner that he was not a good clerk, and his cardinals had put him bye his intendiment, and therefore he gave them all to the devil in good Scottish; and then the Pope leugh among the rest.”—[Pitscottie, Hist. Scotl.p. 166, 299], quoted by Morton.
Tinterne, p. 76.—Wyat, who was attached to the Reformers, before their tenets were openly proclaimed in this country, is said to have accelerated the downfall of monastic institutions by the following jest:—During a conversation with the King on the projected suppression of monasteries, Henry observed to the poet that he foresaw great alarm would be caused throughout the country if the Crown were to resume the immense property then accumulated by the church. Wyat, who saw that this scruple might produce hesitation, and perhaps obstruction in the measures then in progress, replied with a suggestion—“True, your highness; but what if the rooks’ nests were buttered?” Henry, it is said, took the hint, and, by distributing valuable church lands among the nobility, diminished the danger and odium of an enterprise at once so daring and unpopular.
Raglan, p. 132.—David Gam, the Fluellin of Shakspeare, and whose name has been already noticed in the article on Raglan, was the son of Llewelyn ap Howel Vychan, of Brecknock, by Maud, daughter of Lefan ap Rhys ap Ivor ap Elvel. The residence of this celebrated warrior was Old Court, the site of which is in a field adjoining Llandeilo-Cresseny House, midway between Abergavenny and Monmouth. David Gam, being the officer sent to reconnoitre the French army before the battle of Agincourt, said to the King on his return—“An’t please you, my liege, they are enough to be killed, enough to be taken prisoners, and enough to ran away.” In this battle, David, with his son-in-law, Roger Vychan [Vaughan], and his relative, Walter Lloyd, rescued the King when surrounded by his foes—saved his life at the expense of their own—and out of the eighteen French cavaliers slew fourteen.
The King, after this signal victory, approached the spot where they lay in the agonies of death, and bestowed on them the only reward that could then be paid to their valour—to wit, the honour of knighthood. Shakspeare, as we have observed, designated this fiery soldier by the name of Fluellin. He resided often at Peytyn-Gwyn, near Brecon, and many of his descendants at Tregaer; others of the family were buried in Christ’s Church, Brecon. There are almshouses in the parish of St. David’s, Brecon, with a portion of garden-ground attached to each, given by one of the Games or Gams of Newton, for thirteen female inmates—decayed housekeepers in the town of Brecon.—[Owen Glendower, by Thomas.]
In our notice of theFoundersof Raglan, from other historical sources, this David is named Sir Richard Gam, whose daughter, after the loss of her husband, Sir Roger Vaughan, at Agincourt, espoused Sir William ap Thomas, the knight of Raglan.
Raglan, p. 174.—Inter Carolinum—the King’s route after Naseby fight.
June 14. Battle of Naseby, 1645.15. Lichfield—at the governor’s in the close.Mond. 16. Mrs. (Widow) Barnford’s, Wolverhampton.17. The “Angel” at Bewdley (two nights), 17th and 18th.19. Dined at Bramyard, supped at Hereford (and remained).July 1. (Tuesday) To Campson, dinner, Mr. Pritchard’s—to Abergavenny,supper, at Mr. Guncer’s (staid second).3. ToRaglan, supper, Marquis of Worcester, remained tillWed. 16. To Tridegur, to dinner—Cardiff, supper, Sir T. Timel’s—defrayedat the country’s charge.18. Back toRaglanto dinner, remained till22. To Mr. Moore’s of the Creek, near Black Rock, and came back tosupper at Raglan.
“The Scots approach, and our own causeless apprehension of fear made us demur and doubt; on the first, what to resolve; and in the latter, how to steer our resolutions, which involved us in a most disastrous condition.
Thurs. 24. From Raglan to Mr. Moore’s of the Creek, to pass over at the BlackRock for Bristol; but his Majesty, sitting in council, and advisingto the contrary, marched only with his own servants andtroops that night to Newport-on-Usk; lay at Mrs. Pritty’s.25. To Ruppera, Sir Philip Morgan’s (rested).Tues. 29. To Cardiff, dinner at the governor’s, at our own charge.Aug. 5. (Tuesday) To Glancayah, Mr. Pritchard’s, dinner.Wed. 6. To Gumevit, Sir Henry Williams’, dinner.“ To Old Radnor, supper, a yeoman’s house.“ The Court dispersed.Thurs. 7. Ludlow Castle, to dinner, Colonel Woodhouse’s.Sept. 7. (Sunday) Raglan Castle, supper. 8th, Abergavenny.Sund. 14. ib. supper.Mond. 15. Marched halfway to Bramyard, but there wasleo in intinere, and soback to Hereford again.”—[Extract from the “Itinerarium.”]
Raglan Library, p. 195.—The havoc and devestation of the ancient British MSS. is a subject of continual regret to the historian, antiquary, and general scholar. Bangor-is-Coed, according to Laugharne and Humphrey Llwyd, was furnished with a valuable library, which was burnt to ashes by Edelfrid, when he massacred its inmates, and destroyed the college—not much less, as Bishop Lloyd asserts, than one of our present universities. A chest of records, appertaining to the see of St. David’s, was destroyed by a flood; and great part of the MSS. of British authors were burnt during the civil wars.
In those calamitous times, when monuments of taste and literature were destroyed or defaced by miscreants more ignorant and rapacious than Goths and Vandals, the superb library atRaglan Castlemet with the same fate as other splendid establishments, when objects of military spoil or fanatical rage. In an age comparatively learned, the monks termed all ancient MSS.vetusta et inutilia; and little attention, we have reason to believe, was paid by the visitors at the Dissolution—mostly ill qualified for the task—to discriminate between true history and Romish legends, to select and preserve works of merit, and to reject the trash hoarded up by superstition.—[Fenton’s Pemb.; Mem. Owen Glendower, Rev. T. Thomas, 29.]
Raglan, p. 221.—Oldcastlewas the dissolute companion of Henry V. when Prince of Wales, and afterwards a Wickliffite and reformer. He was sacrificed by his youthful companion to an ecclesiastical bribe, condemned and executed for heresy and rebellion. Lord Orford observes, that Cobham was the firstauthor, as well as the first martyr among our nobility: a man whose virtues made him a reformer; whose valour, a martyr; whose martyrdom, an enthusiast. He was suspended by a chain fastened round his waist, over a slow fire. The bringing him to the stake was considered a meritorious affair in those times of gross superstition. The lordship of Broniarth was granted to the family of Tanad, the fifth of Henry V.; and other gentlemen enjoyed several privileges from Edward Charleton, Lord Powys, for the assistance they gave in the apprehension of Oldcastle, whose son-in-law, Sir John Gray, brought him a prisoner to London; and for this service, Lord Powys received the thanks of Parliament. Oldcastle, the residence of Lord Cobham, is situated on the slope of the Black Mountains, near the road to Longtown, and about four miles from Llanfihangel. The old castle was demolished, and a farm-house constructed from the materials.
—[Owen Glendower, p. 122.]
Pembroke Castle, p. 300.—Welsh bards are thus apostrophized by Drayton:—
“Oh, memorable Bards! of unmix’d blood, which stillPosterity shall praise for your so wondrous skill;That in your noble songs the long descents have keptOf your great heroes, else in Lethé that had sleptWith theirs, whose ignorant pride your labours have disdained,How much from time and them, how bravely you have gained.‘Musician,’ ‘herald,’ ‘bard,’ thrice mayest thou be renowned!And with three several wreaths immortally be crowned!Who, when toPembrokecalled, before the English king,And to thy powerful harp commanded there to sing,Of famousArthurtold’st, and where he was interred,In which those ‘retchless’ times had long and blindly erred.And ignorance had brought the world to such a pass,As now, which scarce believed thatArthurever was!But when KingHenrysent the reported place to view,He found that man of men, and what thou said’st was true.Here, then, I cannot choose but bitterly exclaimAgainst those fools that allAntiquitydefame;Because they have found out some credulous ages laidSlight fictions with the truth, whilst truth on rumour staid.And that our forward times (perceiving the former neglectA former of her had), to purchase her respect,With toys then trimmed her up, the drowsy world to allure,And lent her what it thought might appetite procure.To man, whose mind doth still variety pursue,” &c., 217
“Oh, memorable Bards! of unmix’d blood, which stillPosterity shall praise for your so wondrous skill;That in your noble songs the long descents have keptOf your great heroes, else in Lethé that had sleptWith theirs, whose ignorant pride your labours have disdained,How much from time and them, how bravely you have gained.‘Musician,’ ‘herald,’ ‘bard,’ thrice mayest thou be renowned!And with three several wreaths immortally be crowned!Who, when toPembrokecalled, before the English king,And to thy powerful harp commanded there to sing,Of famousArthurtold’st, and where he was interred,In which those ‘retchless’ times had long and blindly erred.And ignorance had brought the world to such a pass,As now, which scarce believed thatArthurever was!But when KingHenrysent the reported place to view,He found that man of men, and what thou said’st was true.Here, then, I cannot choose but bitterly exclaimAgainst those fools that allAntiquitydefame;Because they have found out some credulous ages laidSlight fictions with the truth, whilst truth on rumour staid.And that our forward times (perceiving the former neglectA former of her had), to purchase her respect,With toys then trimmed her up, the drowsy world to allure,And lent her what it thought might appetite procure.To man, whose mind doth still variety pursue,” &c., 217
“Oh, memorable Bards! of unmix’d blood, which stillPosterity shall praise for your so wondrous skill;That in your noble songs the long descents have keptOf your great heroes, else in Lethé that had sleptWith theirs, whose ignorant pride your labours have disdained,How much from time and them, how bravely you have gained.‘Musician,’ ‘herald,’ ‘bard,’ thrice mayest thou be renowned!And with three several wreaths immortally be crowned!Who, when toPembrokecalled, before the English king,And to thy powerful harp commanded there to sing,Of famousArthurtold’st, and where he was interred,In which those ‘retchless’ times had long and blindly erred.And ignorance had brought the world to such a pass,As now, which scarce believed thatArthurever was!But when KingHenrysent the reported place to view,He found that man of men, and what thou said’st was true.Here, then, I cannot choose but bitterly exclaimAgainst those fools that allAntiquitydefame;Because they have found out some credulous ages laidSlight fictions with the truth, whilst truth on rumour staid.And that our forward times (perceiving the former neglectA former of her had), to purchase her respect,With toys then trimmed her up, the drowsy world to allure,And lent her what it thought might appetite procure.To man, whose mind doth still variety pursue,” &c., 217
So did Mars reverence the Muses, that, if a Welsh bard struck his harp at the moment of encounter, the hostile spirit pervading both armies was suddenly subdued; their swords were returned bloodless to the scabbards; and they who had come forth to mutual slaughter, united in the song of peace and goodwill to men.
Pembroke, p. 301.—“The castel,” says Leland, “standith hard by the waull on a hard rocke, and is verie large and strong, being doble warded. In the utter warde I saw the chambre where Kinge Henri VII. was borne, in knowledgewhereof a chyromancy is now made with the armes and badges of this kinge. In the botome of the great stronge rownd tower in the inner ward, is a marvellus vault called theHogan. The top of this rownd tower is gathered with a rofe of stone, almost inconum; the topp whereoff is keverid with a flat mille stone.”
The outer ward, here mentioned, was entered from the tower by a grand gateway, yet standing, of prodigious strength, and defended by two round towers, one on each side.
Pembroke, p. 302.—The small remains of the Ely Tower, in Brecknock Castle, still exist. The fate of Morton and Buckingham, though their views were similar, were very unlike. Morton was meritoriously elevated to the dignities of a Cardinal, and Archbishop of Canterbury, for his services: while Buckingham was intercepted, and lost his head at Salisbury.[410]He discovered, too late, that tyrants pull down those scaffolds which elevated them to power. His son Edward was restored by Henry VII., but through the machinations of Wolsey fell into disgrace, and was beheaded by Henry VIII. for the whimsical alleged crime of consulting awizardabout the succession. When the Emperor Charles V. heard of his death, he observed—“A butcher’s dog has torn down the finest buck in England.”[411]
Pembroke, p. 303.—On the 7th of December, 1780, the following letter from the Lord Bishop of St. David’s, and the Justices of the County of Pembroke, to the Lord Treasurer Burleigh, was read at the Society of Antiquaries of London, being copied from the “Scrinia Burleighiana,” Vol. 79, No. 3, then in the library of James West, Esq., at Alscot.
By this letter is seen the great importance attached to Pembroke, both as a fortress, a seaport, a safe bay, and a productive soil, but at that time quite unprotected against foreign invasion. It runs thus:—
“Right Honorable our singular good Lorde.—The bounden dutie we owe to her Maᵗⁱᵉ, the consience we have for safegarde of the whole Realme, and the care that in nature and reason wee carry of this our countrie, have emboldened us to offer this Discourse unto yʳ Honʳ. concerninge the safetie of them and us all. It becometh us not to feare, neither do we doubte of the wise and grave consideracon that yʳ Lp. and the rest of the LLˢ. moste honourable privie counsaill, have had, and still have, for yᵉ preservacon of her Maᵗⁱᵉ and the realme; but yett, fearing yʳ want of due informacon touching the estate of Mylforde Haven, and the p’tes adjoining, It may please you to understande that yᵉ Haven itself, being neyther barred to hynder entrie, nor to be embayed by anye wyndes to lett yssuinge forthe, is a sufficient harborough for an infynite number of Ships; wᶜʰ haven beying once gotten by the enemye, maie drawe on such fortificacon of Pembrock Towne and Castle, and the Towne and Castle ofTynby, with other places nere unto yᵐ, as infynite nombers of men, and greate expense of treasure, will hardely in a long tyme remove the enemye, during which tyme her Maᵗⁱᵉ shall loose a fertyle countrey, wᶜʰ yeldes her Maᵗⁱᵉ xii. lib. by yeere, and more in revenue paide to her Maᵗⁱᵉ’ˢ Receaver, besides all other Receipts, both temporal and ecclesiasticall, as tenthes, subsidies, &c.
“Also, it is to be remembred that the soyle nere the sayde haven yeldeth corn in such aboundance, as wolde suffice to maynteigne a greate armye: and the sea coasts nere about it yelde greate plenty of fishe. The harbour also standeth very commodiouslye to receave victualls from Ffrance, Brytaine, or Spayne, all wᶜʰ things maie be an occasion to move the enemye to affect that place beffore others.
“Also, there are in Pembrockshire xviii. castles, of wᶜʰ tho’ there be but twoe or three in reparacon, yett are the rest places of greate strength, and easylie to be fortyfied by the enemye; some of wᶜʰ are so seated naturally for strength, as theye seeme ympregnable.
“Also, there are in that shire dyvers sconces or forts of earth, raysed in greate height wᵗʰ greate rampiers and dytches to the number of vi. or vii., wᶜʰ in tymes past have been places of strength in tyme of war: All wᶜʰ castles and forts wolde yelde greate advantage to the enemyes to strengthen themselves in such sorte, that it wolde be an infynite charge to remove them from thence. Agayne, the same is situate within vii. hours sailing of Waterforde and Wexforde, in Yrelande; so as yf the enemye have an intencon to invade Yrelande, his harborough in this haven maie serve him to greate purpose.
“Ffurthermore, being lorde, as it weare, of thease seas, by possessing this harbour, what spoile he maie make along Seaverne on both sides, even to Bristoll, maie be easelie conjectured. And if he—wᶜʰ God forbidd—shᵈ enjoye Brytanie withall, our Englishe marchants can have no trade, wᶜʰ will decrease her Highness’ customes and decaie the navy.
“Ifit be thought that he may be kept from landinge, neyther the force of men, nor furniture here, will serve the turne; considering here be manie places where he may easelie land, and he maie com upon us within half a daie’s saylinge, we having no ships at sea to descry hym sooner—and how then our small forces may be in a readyness to withstande hym, wee referr to yʳ Honʳ’ˢ judgment.Andif it be thought that her Maᵗⁱᵉ’ˢ Navy Royall be able to conquer them being once in this haven, and that by them fortyfied, yt woulde be founde very harde, by reason that, uppon every little storme, they shall be in greate danger of wrack, and no lande forces are able to expell them: Whereupon we humblie praie yʳ Lp. to consider whether it be not expedient for the withstanding of the enemye, that he obtayne not this harborough, to have a convenient number of ships of warr, and fortyficacons to defende the same, wᶜʰ preparacon, if the enemye might perceave, wee beleve verelie it woulde alterhis mynde from adventuringe his navy uppon this coaste.Andwhereas, of late, Mr. Pawle Ivye was sent hither to survey yᵉ Haven, and to consider of fitt places for fortyficacon, what report he hath made of his opinyon wee know not: but sure wee are, that his abode about that service was verie short, and his survey verie speedilie dispatched; so that, because none of us were privye to his entennt or conceyte, wee do yet retayne some hope that, if some other man of experience were sentt downe hither, to consider of all the said circumstances, some such report woulde happlie be made unto yʳ Honʳ. and the reste, as some better event might ensue for the safetie of this poore countrey, and the whole realme, than as yett, for ought we knowe, hath beene determined uppon: especiallie yf the partie shall have instruccons to viewe the Towne and Castle ofTynby, being a place wᶜʰ may be easelie made of exceedinge strenth, and was not seene by Mr. Ivye nearer than two myles distance, for aught that we can learne....”
Pembroke Castle.—“Of William Earl of Pembroke,” says Clarendon, “a short story may be here not unfitly inserted:—It being very frequently mentioned by a person of known integrity, whose character is here undertaken to be set down, and who, at that time, being on his way to London, met, at Maidenhead, some persons of quality, of relation or dependence upon the Earl of Pembroke. These were Sir Charles Morgan, commonly called ‘General’ Morgan, who had commanded an army in Germany, and defended Stoad; Dr. Field, then Bishop of St. David’s; and Dr. Chafin, the Earl’s then chaplain in his house, and much in his favour. At supper, one of them drank a health to the Lord Steward;[412]upon which another of them said, that he believed his lord was at that time very merry, for he had now outlived the day which his tutor, Sandford, had prognosticated, upon his nativity, he ‘would not outlive.’ But he had done it now, for that was his birthday, which completed his age to fifty years. The next morning, however, by the time they came to Colebrook, they met with the news of his death!” [He died “exceedingly lamented by men of all qualities, and left many of his dependents and servants owners of good estates, raised out of his employments and bounty.”]
Benedictine Rule.—The Abbot is presumed to represent Jesus Christ: he is authorised to summon all his monks to council in important affairs, and afterwards to adopt and carry into practice what he considers the best advice. He is entitled to obedience without delay; commands silence; permits no scurrility, idle or angry words, or such as tend to provoke unseemly mirth or laughter. The rule enjoins humility, patience, and forbearance, under all injuries and provocations; manifestation or confession of secret faults to be made to the Abbot;contentment with the meanest things in food, dress, and employments; not to speak unless when asked; to observe habitual gravity; to keep the head and eyes inclined downwards to the earth; to rise to church service two hours after midnight; thePsalterto be sung through once a week; to leave the church together, at a sign from the Superior; and in large abbeys every ten monks to be under the surveillance of a Dean.