For much of the present essay I am indebted to the following works:—Commentarioli BritanniÆ descriptionis fragmentum, Auctore Humfredo Llwyd; Powel’s History of Wales; Edward Llwyd’s Notes, in Gibson’s edition of Camden’s Britannica; Rowland’s Mona Antiqua Restaurata; Stukeley’s Medallic History; the Preface to Owen’s Translation of the Elegies of Llywarch Hen; Jones’s Musical and Poetical Relics of the Welsh Bards; the Monthly Magazine, and the first and second volumes of the Cambrian Register. Atkins’s Glocestershire. Grose’s Antiquities. Warner’s First Walk through Wales. He was buried in the cathedral church of St. David, and many hundred years after canonized by Pope Calistus II.—Godwin’s English Bishops, p. 414. Willis’s Landaff, p. 34. Grose—Willis. Vol. II. p. 92. Pennarth, eight miles south-west of Swansea. From the Welsh Pen Rhys. William of Malmesbury, p. 158. Famous as being the birth-place of Sylvester Giraldus de Barri (more generally known as Giraldus Cambrensis), nephew of David Fitzgerald, Bishop of St. David’s; to which see Giraldus himself aspired. He was twice elected to it by the chapter, but never attained that dignity, although he had refused, in such expectation, three or four bishoprics, as well as the Archbishopric of Cashel. Acting as legate to the Archbishop of Canterbury in Wales, he evinced great spirit in correcting numerous abuses which had crept into the church in that principality. The great credit which he derived from these spirited exertions were greatly added to, by the many valuable works he bequeathed to posterity, the merits of which have been recently revived under the fostering auspices of Sir Richard C. Hoare, Bart., who has enhanced the value and interest of his translation of the Itinerary of Giraldus by illustrations derived from his own pencil. Seventeen years before his death he resigned all his ecclesiastical preferments, giving himself up to his studies: he died in the 74th year of his age, at St. David’s, where his monument is still remaining. The pedestrian will not possibly find time to examine the ruins of Carew Castle in this day’s route, but will find it more convenient to visit it in his way from Tenby to Haverfordwest. The price for two oars seven shillings and sixpence; and twelve shillings and sixpence for four oars. Wyndham’s Tour through Monmouthshire and Wales. Philosophical Survey of Ireland. “This castle (says an eminent author) is said to have been built by Gilbert, Earl of Clare, who lived in the reign of King Stephen; and Camden reports, that Richard, Earl of Clare, made Richard Fitz-Tancred governor thereof. It was one of those in the hands of the Flemings, when they first came into Dyvet, or Pembrokeshire.” These lines were frequently repeated by Dr. Johnson, whose partiality to inns is well known. “This celebrated person was uncle to King Arthur, and son of a Prince of Wales. After being seated in the see of St. David sixty-five years, and having built twelve monasteries; after having been exemplary in the piety of these days, this holy person died, at a most advanced period of human life; having attained, as it is said, to the age of one hundred and forty-six years. He was buried in the cathedral church of St. David, and many years after canonized by Pope Calistus the Second.” Warrington’s History of Wales, Vol. II. p. 385. To whose son a M.S. t. Elizabeth, quoted by Willis, p. 69, gives Owen’s monument. Tan. Bib. Brit. Tanner, p. 720. Pope Calistus, by whom David was canonized, had, it seems, raised this place to a rank second only to the pontifical city itself, in the meritorious efficacy of the pilgrimages made to it; having declared that two visits to St. David’s were equal to one to Rome:—this occasioned a proverbial rhyme in Welsh, which has been thus translated into Latin:
Roma semel quantum, bis dat Menevia tantum.
Leland, Vol. V. p. 25. For a description of these monuments, see Wyndham. “From Cwrwgl: in Irish Curach. The Greenland boats are also made of laths, tied together with whale-bone, and covered with seal-skins. In these slender vehicles they are said to be able to row upwards of sixty miles a day; and the tops being covered with skins, they resist the fury of every storm. For when a wave upsets them, the boat rises again to the surface of the water, and regains its equilibrium. When Frobisher first saw them, in 1576, he took them for seals or porpoises. In the voyages of the two Zenos, they are compared to weavers’ shuttles. They are used, also, in the islands of the North-Asian Archipelago, where the Russians call them Baidars; and are found to be of such practical use, that Lieut. Kotzebue, in his expedition along the American coast of the Frozen Sea, took with him boats of a similar construction, in order to ford any rivers that might obstruct his journey. Similar boats are used by the Samoides of Nova Zembla. They are also used in Labrador, Hudson’s Bay, and Norton Sound. They glide with almost inconceivable swiftness. The Arctic highlanders of Baffin’s Bay, however, have no method of navigating the water. They never even heard of a canoe.” Beauties, Harmonies, and Sublimities of Nature, vol. iii. p. 335. Second Edit. Itinerary, Vol. V. p. 12. Over the river Rhyddol. Near the town of Aberystwith, in the year 1795 or 1796, a very fine coral stone was found, washed up from the sea, by an exciseman. It is now in the possession of Mr. Charles Hall, of Aller, in Hilton parish, Dorsetshire; is extremely fine on one side, near two inches in diameter, rather flat, but with some convexity. The late Dr. Pulteney, of Blandford, allowed it to be the finest specimen he had ever seen. Its colour is a yellowish white, its filaments are finely curved, and very uneven on the surface. The additions to Camden, 1695, suppose this Bishop Idnert. Called in Latin, Vaga. See an excellent account of the woollen manufactory in the seventh chapter of Aikin’s Tour through North Wales. See Pennant’s Snowdonia, p. 89, and likewise Wilson’s excellent View of Cader Idris. Mr. Pennant, in his Snowdonia, p. 397, edit. 1781, mentions, that there are brought annually to Salop “seven hundred thousand yards of web; and to Welsh Pool, annually, between seven and eight hundred thousand yards of flannel;” but he does not state the particulars whence he deduces his general estimate. I have quoted this passage from Aikin’s excellent chapter (vii.) on the woollen manufacture of North Wales, not having in my possession Mr. P.’s Snowdonia. First Walk through Wales. Dr. Fuller observes—“It would be more facile to find graves for as many saints, than saints for so many graves.” Gelert was given to Llewelyn by King John in 1205. Evan Thomas worked in the copper-works at Aber Glaslin, and lived at a place called Dous Coreb, about a mile and a half beyond Beddgelert. The most usual and best direction, in which to ascend Snowdon at the present day, commences between the New Inn and Dolbadarn Castle, near the Bridge. “The Cambrian fair would blush as much at the term courting in bed as any other modest female would, that has never heard of this custom before. It is not expressed, Caru-yn-y-Gwely, which means courting in bed; but Caru-ar-y-Gwely, courting on the bed. Should the lover offer any indecency, his mistress would not only fly from him with the velocity of lightning, but he would be fortunate if she would so leave him without giving him a bloody nose at parting. In a few days also, the tidings of his impudence would reach the ears of every lass in the neighbourhood; his company would be shunned with the greatest caution: and were he so successful as to prevail upon a young woman to accept of his visits, her continency would be considered as doubtful.” “Assembled there, from pious toil they rest,
And sadly share the last sepulchral feast.”
Pope’s Homer. This last custom is not in use in Anglesey. Such is the received opinion; but the place noted for this event is only a thoroughfare to the grand apartments of the tower, the middle one of which appears more probably to have been the room. They shew, also, a cradle in which the Prince is said to have been rocked. “On the outside of the town walls is a broad and pleasant terrace along the side of the Menai, extending from the Quay to the north end of the town walls, and in the evening is a fashionable promenade for persons of all descriptions. From the top of a rock behind the hotel is a fine view of the town and castle: and on a clear day the Isle of Anglesea, Holyhead, and Paris Mountains, may be distinctly seen, like a good map before the eyes.” Evans. The parish-church is dedicated to Publicius, a brother of the far-famed and illustrious Helen, whose splendid acts in favour of Christianity are at this day attested in Palestine. Near the church are the remains of Segontium, built about the year A.D. 365, by Maximus; or, as he is styled by the British historians, Maxen Wledig. It was from hence, it is supposed, that Maximus marched in his ill-fated expedition to gain the imperial purple at Rome, taking with him all the youth whom Helen invited to join his standard. The line of march which he pursued is, even at this time, traditionally recorded amongst the common people in the neighbourhood. The hire of a boat is from seven shillings and sixpence to half-a-guinea. “The eastern seems originally to have consisted of seven stones, six uprights supporting an immense superincumbent one (with its flat face lying upon them), thirteen feet long, nearly as much broad, and four feet thick.”—Warner’s Second Walk through Wales. Before the author of this itinerary proposed publishing this tour through the Cambrian territories, he was induced to send an account of this extraordinary sect to the Gentleman’s Magazine, July, 1799, p. 579. This is, therefore, only to be considered as a repetition: with the addition of a brief extract from two subsequent letters, September, 1799, p. 741; and November, p. 938; given to the public by different hands through the medium of the Gentleman’s Magazine. September, 1799, p. 741. “Bishops Glynn, 1550; Robinson, 1584; Vaughan, 1597; Rowlands, 1616; Morgan, 1673; and one with a cross fleuri in the south transept, ascribed to Owen Glendwr; but as he was buried at Monington, in Herefordshire, where he died, I should rather ascribe it to some of the earlier bishops. Mr. Pennant gives it to Owen Gwynned.” A Trip to the Suspension Bridge over the Menai Straits. P. 11. Id est, the Englishman’s Island; having become subject to the English in the time of Egbert. See Rowland’s Mon. Ant. p. 172, 3. See an elegant poem written by Owain Cyveiliog, a bard who flourished in the twelfth century, intitled, “Hirlas Owain.” The original may be found in Evan Evans’s Collections, published with an English dress in Pennant’s Tours, Vol. iii. page 93. This spirited translation, by a gentleman, under the signature of R. W. must convince the reader of genuine taste, that a true poetical genius pervaded at times the bosom of the Welsh; and that some of Owain Cyveiliog’s works scarcely need shrink from a comparison with the first classical productions of Lyric poetry. Princess Joan, daughter of John, king of England. A Trip to the Suspension Bridge over the Menai Straits. P. 27. Elphin was particularly unfortunate, as the Editor has frequently seen from fifty to a hundred fine salmon taken from this weir at a tide; and herrings drawn from it by cart loads. Evans. Vol. iv. p. 67. 2nd Ed. The daughter of this gentleman was married to Captain Franklin, well known for his Expedition to North America, &c. She was an amiable and accomplished woman, and author of two Poems, highly honourable to her memory: “The Veils,” and “Richard Coeur de Leon.” Since our visit to this spot, Mr. Yorke has published a most excellent and valuable book, entitled, An History of the Royal Tribes of Wales. Enquire the way to this aqueduct at the turnpike, about four miles from Llangollen. Lady Eleanor Butler. Miss Ponsonby. Willis’s St. Asaph, p. 52. 285. From a second survey of my note-book, I perceive, when speaking of the house, I omitted mentioning that there are several family pieces, both of the Wynne and Williams, worthy the inspection of the connoisseur. The house has been built at various times. This estimation is taken from the Ludlow guide; from which I have taken such extracts, as, I flatter myself, will not be unacceptable to the tourist. We dedicated two or three days to the investigation of this interesting town; and, consequently, in those parts where the guide is defective, we have made considerable additions. “This view,” says Mr. Gilpin, “is one of the grandest on the river, which I should not scruple to call correctly picturesque; which is seldom the character of a purely natural scene.” “The view at Rure-dean Church,” says Mr. Gilpin, “is a scene of great grandeur. There both sides of the river are steep and both woody; but in one the woods are intermixed with rocks. The deep umbrage of the forest of Dean occupies the front; and the spire of the Church rises among the trees. The reach of the river, which exhibits this scene is long: and, of course, the view, which is a noble piece of natural perspective, continues some time before the eye: but when the spire comes directly in front, the grandeur of the landscape is gone.” “The river is wider at this part,” says Mr. Gilpin, “and takes a sweep round a towering promontory of rock; which forms the side-screen on the left, and is the grand feature of the view. It is not a broad fractured face of rock; but rather a woody hill, from which large rocky projections, in two or three places, burst out; rudely hung with twisting branches and shaggy furniture, which, like mane round the lion’s head, give a more savage air to these wild exhibitions of nature. Near the top a pointed fragment of solitary rock, rising above the rest, has rather a fantastic appearance; but it is not without its effect in marking the scene. A great master in landscape has adorned an imaginary view with a circumstance exactly similar:
Stabat acuta silex, prÆcisis undique saxis,
—dorso insurgens, altissima visu,
Dirarum nidis domus opportuna volucrum,
—prona jugo, lÆvum incumbebat ad amnem.”
Æn, viii. 233.
Tanner’s Notitia Monastica. Warner’s first Walk through Wales. The isles of Anglesea and Man are discovered from Snowdon.
