The Description of Wales, by Geraldus Cambrensis

Published：2026-07-31 11:11:03 Source: stacking blocks for 4 year olds under 10 dollars Author: Travel Games

Transcribed from the 1912 J. M. Dent edition by David Price,educational action figures for 9 year oldsemail [email protected]

The Description of Wales
by
Gerald of Wales

p.145FIRST PREFACE
TO STEPHEN LANGTON, ARCHBISHOP OFCANTERBURY

I, who, at the expense of threeyears’ labour, arranged, a short time ago, in three parts,the Topography of Ireland, with a description of its naturalcuriosities, and who afterwards, by two years’ study,completed in two parts the Vaticinal History of its Conquest; andwho, by publishing the Itinerary of the Holy Man (Baldwin)through Cambria, prevented his laborious mission from perishingin obscurity, do now propose, in the present little work, to givesome account of this my native country, and to describe thegenius of its inhabitants, so entirely distinct from that ofother nations.  And this production of my industry I havedetermined to dedicate to you, illustrious Stephen, archbishop ofCanterbury, as I before ascribed to you my Itinerary; consideringyou as a man no less distinguished by your piety, thanconspicuous for your learning; though so humble an offering maypossibly be unworthy the acceptance of a personage who, from hiseminence, deserves to be presented with works of the greatestmerit.

Some, indeed, object to this my undertaking, and, apparentlyfrom motives of affection, compare me to a painter, who, rich incolours, and like another Zeuxis, eminent in his art, isendeavouring with all his skill and industry to give celebrity toa cottage, or to some other contemptible object, whilst the worldis anxiously expecting from his hand a temple or a palace. Thus they wonder that I, amidst the many great and strikingsubjects p.146which the world presents, should choose to describe andto adorn, with all the graces of composition, such remote cornersof the earth as Ireland and Wales.

Others again, reproaching me with greater severity, say, thatthe gifts which have been bestowed upon me from above, ought notto be wasted upon these insignificant objects, nor lavished in avain display of learning on the commendation of princes, who,from their ignorance and want of liberality, have neither tasteto appreciate, nor hearts to remunerate literaryexcellence.  And they further add, that every faculty whichemanates from the Deity, ought rather to be applied to theillustration of celestial objects, and to the exultation of hisglory, from whose abundance all our talents have been received;every faculty (say they) ought to be employed in praising himfrom whom, as from a perennial source, every perfect gift isderived, and from whose bounty everything which is offered withsincerity obtains an ample reward.  But since excellenthistories of other countries have been composed and published bywriters of eminence, I have been induced, by the love I bear tomy country and to posterity, to believe that I should performneither an useless nor an unacceptable service, were I to unfoldthe hidden merits of my native land; to rescue from obscuritythose glorious actions which have been hitherto imperfectlydescribed, and to bring into repute, by my method of treating it,a subject till now regarded as contemptible.

What indeed could my feeble and unexercised efforts add to thehistories of the destruction of Troy, Thebes, or Athens, or tothe conquest of the shores of Latium?  Besides, to do whathas been already done, is, in fact, to be doing nothing; I have,therefore, thought it more eligible to apply my industry to thearrangement of the history of my native country, hitherto almostwholly overlooked by strangers; but interesting to my relationsand countrymen; and from these small beginnings to aspire bydegrees to works of a nobler cast.  p. 147From theseinconsiderable attempts, some idea may be formed with whatsuccess, should Fortune afford an opportunity, I am likely totreat matters of greater importance.  For although somethings should be made our principal objects, whilst others oughtnot to be wholly neglected, I may surely be allowed to exercisethe powers of my youth, as yet untaught and unexperienced, inpursuits of this latter nature, lest by habit I should feel apleasure in indolence and in sloth, the parent of vice.

I have therefore employed these studies as a kind ofintroduction to the glorious treasures of that most excellent ofthe sciences, which alone deserves the name of science; whichalone can render us wise to rule and to instruct mankind; whichalone the other sciences follow, as attendants do theirqueen.  Laying therefore in my youth the foundations of sonoble a structure, it is my intention, if God will assist me andprolong my life, to reserve my maturer years for composing atreatise upon so perfect, so sacred a subject: for according tothe poet,

“Ardua quippefides robustos exigit annos;”

“The important concerns offaith require a mind in its full vigour;”

I may be permitted to indulge myself for a short time in otherpursuits; but in this I should wish not only to continue, but todie.

But before I enter on this important subject, I demand a shortinterval, to enable me to lay before the public my Treatise onthe Instruction of a Prince, which has been so frequentlypromised, as well as the Description of Wales, which is nowbefore me, and the Topography of Britain.

Of all the British writers, Gildas alone appears to me (asoften as the course of my subject leads me to consult him) worthyof imitation; for by committing to paper the things which hehimself saw and knew, and by declaring rather than describing thedesolation of his p.148country, he has compiled a history more remarkable forits truth than for its elegance.

Giraldus therefore follows Gildas, whom he wishes he couldcopy in his life and manners; becoming an imitator of his wisdomrather than of his eloquence—of his mind rather than of hiswritings—of his zeal rather than of his style—of hislife rather than of his language.

p.149SECOND PREFACE
TO THE SAME

When, amidst various literarypursuits, I first applied my mind to the compilation of history,I determined, lest I should appear ungrateful to my native land,to describe, to the best of my abilities, my own country and itsadjoining regions; and afterwards, under God’s guidance, toproceed to a description of more distant territories.  Butsince some leading men (whom we have both seen and known) show sogreat a contempt for literature, that they immediately shut upwithin their book-cases the excellent works with which they arepresented, and thus doom them, as it were, to a perpetualimprisonment; I entreat you, illustrious Prelate, to prevent thepresent little work, which will shortly be delivered to you, fromperishing in obscurity.  And because this, as well as myformer productions, though of no transcendent merit, mayhereafter prove to many a source of entertainment andinstruction, I entreat you generously to order it to be madepublic, by which it will acquire reputation.  And I shallconsider myself sufficiently rewarded for my trouble, if,withdrawing for a while from your religious and secularoccupations, you would kindly condescend to peruse this book, or,at least, give it an attentive hearing; for in times like these,when no one remunerates literary productions, I neither desirenor expect any other recompense.  Not that it would appearin any way inconsistent, however there exists among men of rank akind of conspiracy against authors, if a prelate so eminentlyconspicuous for his p. 150virtues, for his abilities, bothnatural and acquired, for irreproachable morals, and formunificence, should distinguish himself likewise by becoming thegenerous and sole patron of literature.  To comprise yourmerits in a few words, the lines of Martial addressed to Trajan,whilst serving under Dioclesian, may be deservedly applied toyou:

“Laudari debes quoniam sub principe duro,
   Temporibusque malis, ausus es esse bonus.”

And those also of Virgil to Mecænas, which extol thehumanity of that great man:

“Omnia cum possis tanto tam clarus amico,
Te sensit nemo posse nocere tamen.”

Many indeed remonstrate against my proceedings, and thoseparticularly who call themselves my friends insist that, inconsequence of my violent attachment to study, I pay no attentionto the concerns of the world, or to the interests of my family;and that, on this account, I shall experience a delay in mypromotion to worldly dignities; that the influence of authors,both poets and historians, has long since ceased; that therespect paid to literature vanished with literary princes; andthat in these degenerate days very different paths lead tohonours and opulence.  I allow all this, I readily allow it,and acquiesce in the truth.  For the unprincipled andcovetous attach themselves to the court, the churchmen to theirbooks, and the ambitious to the public offices, but as every manis under the influence of some darling passion, so the love ofletters and the study of eloquence have from my infancy had forme peculiar charms of attraction.  Impelled by this thirstfor knowledge, I have carried my researches into the mysteriousworks of nature farther than the generality of my contemporaries,and for the benefit of posterity have rescued from oblivion theremarkable events of my own times.  But this object was notto be secured without an indefatigable, p. 151though atthe same time an agreeable, exertion; for an accurateinvestigation of every particular is attended with muchdifficulty.  It is difficult to produce an orderly accountof the investigation and discovery of truth; it is difficult topreserve from the beginning to the end a connected relationunbroken by irrelevant matter; and it is difficult to render thenarration no less elegant in the diction, than instructive in itsmatter, for in prosecuting the series of events, the choice ofhappy expressions is equally perplexing, as the search after thempainful.  Whatever is written requires the most intensethought, and every expression should be carefully polished beforeit be submitted to the public eye; for, by exposing itself to theexamination of the present and of future ages, it mustnecessarily undergo the criticism not only of the acute, but alsoof the dissatisfied, reader.  Words merely uttered are soonforgotten, and the admiration or disgust which they occasioned isno more; but writings once published are never lost, and remainas lasting memorials either of the glory or of the disgrace ofthe author.  Hence the observation of Seneca, that themalicious attention of the envious reader dwells with no lesssatisfaction on a faulty than on an elegant expression, and is asanxious to discover what it may ridicule, as what it may commend;as the poet also observes:

“Discit enim citius meminitque libentiusillud
Quod quis deridet, quam quod probat et veneratur.”

Among the pursuits, therefore, most worthy of commendation,this holds by no means the lowest rank; for history, as the moralphilosopher declares, “is the record of antiquity, thetestimony of ages, the light of truth, the soul of memory, themistress of conduct, and the herald of ancient times.”

This study is the more delightful, as it is more honourable toproduce works worthy of being quoted than to quote the works ofothers; as it is more desirable to be p. 152the author of compositions whichdeserve to be admired than to be esteemed a good judge of thewritings of other men; as it is more meritorious to be the justobject of other men’s commendations than to be consideredan adept in pointing out the merits of others.  On thesepleasing reflections I feed and regale myself; for I would ratherresemble Jerome than Croesus, and I prefer to riches themselvesthe man who is capable of despising them.  With thesegratifying ideas I rest contented and delighted, valuingmoderation more than intemperance, and an honourable sufficiencymore than superfluity; for intemperance and superfluity producetheir own destruction, but their opposite virtues never perish;the former vanish, but the latter, like eternity, remain forever; in short, I prefer praise to lucre, and reputation toriches.

p.153CONTENTS

p. 155BOOKI

CHAPTER I
OF THE LENGTH AND BREADTH OF WALES, THENATURE OF ITS SOIL, AND THE THREE REMAINING TRIBES OFBRITONS

Cambria, which, by a corrupt andcommon term, though less proper, is in modern times called Wales,is about two hundred miles long and one hundred broad.  Thelength from Port Gordber [155a] in Anglesey toPort Eskewin [155b] in Monmouthshire is eight days’journey in extent; the breadth from Porth Mawr, [155c] or the great Port of St.David’s, to Ryd-helic, [155d] which in Latinmeans Vadum salicis, or the Ford of the Willow, and inEnglish is called Willow-forde, is four days’journey.  It is a country very strongly defended by highmountains, deep valleys, extensive woods, rivers, and marshes;insomuch that from p.156the time the Saxons took possession of the island theremnants of the Britons, retiring into these regions, could neverbe entirely subdued either by the English or by theNormans.  Those who inhabited the southern angle of theisland, which took its name from the chieftain Corinæus, [156] made less resistance, as their countrywas more defenceless.  The third division of the Britons,who obtained a part of Britany in Gaul, were transported thither,not after the defeat of their nation, but long before, by kingMaximus, and, in consequence of the hard and continued warfarewhich they underwent with him, were rewarded by the royalmunificence with those districts in France.

CHAPTER II
OF THE ANCIENT DIVISION OF WALES INTOTHREE PARTS

Wales was in ancient times dividedinto three parts nearly equal, consideration having been paid, inthis division, more to the value than to the just quantity orproportion of territory.  They were Venedotia, now calledNorth Wales; Demetia, or South Wales, which in British is calledDeheubarth, that is, the southern part; and Powys, the middle oreastern district.  Roderic the Great, or Rhodri Mawr, whowas king over all Wales, was the cause of this division.  Hehad three sons, Mervin, Anarawt, and Cadell, amongst whom hepartitioned the whole principality.  North Wales fell to thelot of Mervin; Powys to Anarawt; and Cadell received p. 157the portionof South Wales, together with the general good wishes of hisbrothers and the people; for although this district greatlyexceeded the others in quantity, it was the least desirable fromthe number of noble chiefs, or Uchelwyr, [157a] men of a superior rank, who inhabitedit, and were often rebellious to their lords, and impatient ofcontrol.  But Cadell, on the death of his brothers, obtainedthe entire dominion of Wales, [157b] as did hissuccessors till the time of Tewdwr, whose descendants, Rhys, sonof Tewdwr, Gruflydd, son of Rhys, and Rhys, son of Gruffydd, theruling prince in our time, enjoyed only (like the father) thesovereignty over South Wales.

CHAPTER III
GENEALOGY OF THE PRINCES OFWALES

The following is the generation ofprinces of South Wales: Rhys, son of Gruffydd; Gruffydd, son ofRhys; Rhys, son of Tewdwr; Tewdwr, son of Eineon; Eineon, son ofOwen; Owen, son of Howel Dda, or Howel the Good; Howel, son ofCadell, son of Roderic the Great.  Thus the princes of SouthWales derived their origin from Cadell, son of Roderic theGreat.  The princes of North Wales descended from Mervin inthis manner: Llewelyn, son of Iorwerth; Iorwerth, son of Owen;Owen, son of Gruffydd; Gruffydd, son of Conan; Conan, son ofIago; Iago, son of Edoual; Edoual, son of Meyric; Meyric, son ofAnarawt (Anandhrec); Anarawt, son of Mervin, son of Roderic theGreat.  Anarawt leaving no issue, the princes of Powys havetheir own particular descent.

It is worthy of remark, that the Welsh bards and p. 158singers, orreciters, have the genealogies of the aforesaid princes, writtenin the Welsh language, in their ancient and authentic books; andalso retain them in their memory from Roderic the Great to B.M.;[158a] and from thence to Sylvius, Ascanius,and Æneas; and from the latter produce the genealogicalseries in a lineal descent, even to Adam.

But as an account of such long and remote genealogies mayappear to many persons trifling rather than historical, we havepurposely omitted them in our compendium.

CHAPTER IV
HOW MANY CANTREDS, ROYAL PALACES, ANDCATHEDRALS THERE ARE IN WALES

South Wales contains twenty-ninecantreds; North Wales, twelve; Powys, six: many of which are atthis time in the possession of the English and Franks.  Forthe country now called Shropshire formerly belonged to Powys, andthe place where the castle of Shrewsbury stands bore the name ofPengwern, or the head of the Alder Grove.  There were threeroyal seats in South Wales: Dinevor, in South Wales, removed fromCaerleon; Aberfraw, [158b] in North Wales;and Pengwern, in Powys.

Wales contains in all fifty-four cantreds.  The wordCantrefis derived from Cant, a hundred, andTref, a village; p. 159and means in the British and Irishlanguages such a portion of land as contains a hundred vills.

There are four cathedral churches in Wales: St. David’s,upon the Irish sea, David the archbishop being its patron: it wasin ancient times the metropolitan church, and the district onlycontained twenty-four cantreds, though at this time onlytwenty-three; for Ergengl, in English called Urchenfeld, [159a] is said to have been formerly withinthe diocese of St. David’s, and sometimes was placed withinthat of Landaff.  The see of St. David’s hadtwenty-five successive archbishops; and from the time of theremoval of the pall into France, to this day, twenty-two bishops;whose names and series, as well as the cause of the removal ofthe archiepiscopal pall, may be seen in our Itinerary. [159b]

In South Wales also is situated the bishopric of Landaff, nearthe Severn sea, and near the noble castle of Caerdyf; bishopTeilo being its patron.  It contains five cantreds, and thefourth part of another, namely, Senghennyd.

In North Wales, between Anglesey and the Eryri mountains, isthe see of Bangor, under the patronage of Daniel, the abbot; itcontains about nine cantreds.

In North Wales also is the poor little cathedral of Llan-Elwy,or St. Asaph, containing about six cantreds, to which Powys issubject.

CHAPTER V
OF THE TWO MOUNTAINS FROM WHICH THE NOBLERIVERS WHICH DIVIDE WALES SPRING

Wales is divided and distinguishedby noble rivers, which derive their source from two ranges ofmountains, p.160the Ellennith, in South Wales, which the English callMoruge, as being the heads of moors, or bogs; and Eryri, in NorthWales, which they call Snowdon, or mountains of snow; the latterof which are said to be of so great an extent, that if all theherds in Wales were collected together, they would supply themwith pasture for a considerable time.  Upon them are twolakes, one of which has a floating island; and the other containsfish having only one eye, as we have related in ourItinerary.

We must also here remark, that at two places in Scotland, oneon the eastern, and the other on the western ocean, the sea-fishcalled mulvelli (mullets) have only the right eye.

The noble river Severn takes its rise from the Ellennithmountains, and flowing by the castles of Shrewsbury andBridgenorth, through the city of Worcester, and that ofGloucester, celebrated for its iron manufactories, falls into thesea a few miles from the latter place, and gives its name to theSevern Sea.  This river was for many years the boundarybetween Cambria and Loegria, or Wales and England; it was calledin British Hafren, from the daughter of Locrinus, who was drownedin it by her step-mother; the aspirate being changed, accordingto the Latin idiom, into S, as is usual in words derived from theGreek, it was termed Sarina, as hal becomes sal; hemi,semi; hepta, septem.

The river Wye rises in the same mountains of Ellennith, andflows by the castles of Hay and Clifford, through the city ofHereford, by the castles of Wilton and Goodrich, through theforest of Dean, abounding with iron and deer, and proceeds toStrigul castle, below which it empties itself into the sea, andforms in modern times the boundary between England andWales.  The Usk does not derive its origin from thesemountains, but from those of Cantref Bachan; it flows by thecastle of Brecheinoc, or Aberhodni, that is, the fall of theriver Hodni into the Usk (for Aber, in the British language,signifies every place where two rivers unite their p. 161streams);by the castles of Abergevenni and Usk, through the ancient cityof Legions, and discharges itself into the Severn Sea, not farfrom Newport.

The river Remni flows towards the sea from the mountains ofBrecheinoc, having passed the castle and bridge of Remni. From the same range of mountains springs the Taf, which pursuesits course to the episcopal see of Landaf (to which it gives itsname), and falls into the sea below the castle of Caerdyf. The river Avon rushes impetuously from the mountains ofGlamorgan, between the celebrated Cistercian monasteries ofMargan and Neth; and the river Neth, descending from themountains of Brecheinoc, unites itself with the sea, at no greatdistance from the castle of Neth; each of these rivers forming along tract of dangerous quicksands.  From the same mountainsof Brecheinoc the river Tawe flows down to Abertawe, called inEnglish Swainsey.  The Lochor joins the sea near the castleof the same name; and the Wendraeth has its confluence nearCydweli.  The Tywy, another noble river, rises in theEllennith mountains, and separating the Cantref Mawr from theCantref Bachan, passes by the castle of Llanymddyfri, and theroyal palace and castle of Dinevor, strongly situated in the deeprecesses of its woods, by the noble castle of Caermarddin, whereMerlin was found, and from whom the city received its name, andruns into the sea near the castle of Lhanstephan.  The riverTaf rises in the Presseleu mountains, not far from the monasteryof Whitland, and passing by the castle of St. Clare, falls intothe sea near Abercorran and Talacharn.  From the samemountains flow the rivers Cleddeu, encompassing the province ofDaugleddeu, and giving it their name one passes by the castle ofLahaden, and the other by Haverford, to the sea; and in theBritish language they bear the name of Daugleddeu, or twoswords.

The noble river Teivi springs from the Ellennith mountains, inthe upper part of the Cantref Mawr and p. 162Caerdigan,not far from the pastures and excellent monastery of Stratflur,forming a boundary between Demetia and Caerdigan down to theIrish channel; this is the only river in Wales that producesbeavers, an account of which is given in our Itinerary; and alsoexceeds every other river in the abundance and delicacy of itssalmon.  But as this book may fall into the hands of manypersons who will not meet with the other, I have thought it righthere to insert many curious and particular qualities relating tothe nature of these animals, how they convey their materials fromthe woods to the river, with what skill they employ thesematerials in constructing places of safety in the middle of thestream, how artfully they defend themselves against the attack ofthe hunters on the eastern and how on the western side; thesingularity of their tails, which partake more of the nature offish than flesh.  For further particulars see the Itinerary.[162a]

From the same mountains issues the Ystuyth, and flowingthrough the upper parts of Penwedic, in Cardiganshire, falls intothe sea near the castle of Aberystuyth.  From the snowymountains of Eryri flows the noble river Devi, [162b] dividing for a great distance Northand South Wales; and from the same mountains also the large riverMaw, [162c] forming by its course the greater andp. 163smallertract of sands called the Traeth Mawr and the TraethBachan.  The Dissennith also, and the Arthro, flow throughMerionethshire and the land of Conan.  The Conwy, springingfrom the northern side of the Eryri mountains, unites its waterswith the sea under the noble castle of Deganwy.  The Cloydrises from another side of the same mountain, and passes by thecastle of Ruthlan to the sea.  The Doverdwy, called by theEnglish Dee, draws its source from the lake of Penmelesmere, andruns through Chester, leaving the wood of Coleshulle, Basinwerk,and a rich vein of silver in its neighbourhood, far to the right,and by the influx of the sea forming a very dangerous quicksand;thus the Dee makes the northern, and the river Wye the southernboundary of Wales.

CHAPTER VI
CONCERNING THE PLEASANTNESS AND FERTILITYOF WALES

As the southern part of Wales nearCardiganshire, but particularly Pembrokeshire, is muchpleasanter, on account of its plains and sea-coast, so NorthWales is better defended by nature, is more productive of mendistinguished for bodily strength, and more fertile in the natureof its soil; for, as the mountains of Eryri (Snowdon) couldsupply pasturage for all the herds of cattle in Wales, ifcollected together, so could the Isle of Mona (Anglesey) providea requisite quantity of corn for all the inhabitants: on whichaccount there is an old British proverb, “Mon mamCymbry,” that is, “Mona is the mother ofWales.”  Merionyth, and the land of p. 164Conan, isthe rudest and least cultivated region, and the leastaccessible.  The natives of that part of Wales excel in theuse of long lances, as those of Monmouthshire are distinguishedfor their management of the bow.  It is to be observed, thatthe British language is more delicate and richer in North Wales,that country being less intermixed with foreigners.  Many,however, assert that the language of Cardiganshire, in SouthWales, placed as it were in the middle and heart of Cambria, isthe most refined.

The people of Cornwall and the Armoricans speak a languagesimilar to that of the Britons; and from its origin and nearresemblance, it is intelligible to the Welsh in many instances,and almost in all; and although less delicate and methodical, yetit approaches, as I judge, more to the ancient Britishidiom.  As in the southern parts of England, andparticularly in Devonshire, the English language seems lessagreeable, yet it bears more marks of antiquity (the northernparts being much corrupted by the irruptions of the Danes andNorwegians), and adheres more strictly to the original languageand ancient mode of speaking; a positive proof of which may bededuced from all the English works of Bede, Rhabanus, and kingAlfred, being written according to this idiom.

CHAPTER VII
ORIGIN OF THE NAMES CAMBRIA ANDWALES

Cambria was so called from Camber,son of Brutus, for Brutus, descending from the Trojans, by hisgrandfather, Ascanius, and father, Silvius, led the remnant ofthe Trojans, who had long been detained in Greece, into thiswestern isle; and having reigned many years, and given his nameto the country and people, at his p. 165death divided the kingdom of Walesbetween his three sons.  To his eldest son, Locrinus, hegave that part of the island which lies between the rivers Humberand Severn, and which from him was called Loegria.  To hissecond son, Albanactus, he gave the lands beyond the Humber,which took from him the name of Albania.  But to hisyoungest son, Camber, he bequeathed all that region which liesbeyond the Severn, and is called after him Cambria; hence thecountry is properly and truly called Cambria, and its inhabitantsCambrians, or Cambrenses.  Some assert that their name wasderived from Camand Græco, that is,distorted Greek, on account of the affinity of their languages,contracted by their long residence in Greece; but thisconjecture, though plausible, is not well founded on truth.

The name of Wales was not derived from Wallo, a general, orWandolena, the queen, as the fabulous history of GeoffreyArthurius [165a] falsely maintains, because neither ofthese personages are to be found amongst the Welsh; but it arosefrom a barbarian appellation.  The Saxons, when they seizedupon Britain, called this nation, as they did all foreigners,Wallenses; and thus the barbarous name remains to the people andtheir country. [165b]

Having discoursed upon the quality and quantity of the land,the genealogies of the princes, the sources of the rivers, andthe derivation of the names of this country, we shall nowconsider the nature and character of the nation.

p.166CHAPTER VIII
CONCERNING THE NATURE, MANNERS, AND DRESS,THE BOLDNESS, AGILITY, AND COURAGE, OF THIS NATION

This people is light and active,hardy rather than strong, and entirely bred up to the use ofarms; for not only the nobles, but all the people are trained towar, and when the trumpet sounds the alarm, the husbandman rushesas eagerly from his plough as the courtier from his court; forhere it is not found that, as in other places,

“Agricolis laboractus in orbem,”

returns; for in the months of March and April only the soil isonce ploughed for oats, and again in the summer a third time, andin winter for wheat.  Almost all the people live upon theproduce of their herds, with oats, milk, cheese, and butter;eating flesh in larger proportions than bread.  They pay noattention to commerce, shipping, or manufactures, and suffer nointerruption but by martial exercises.  They anxiously studythe defence of their country and their liberty; for these theyfight, for these they undergo hardships, and for these willinglysacrifice their lives; they esteem it a disgrace to die in bed,an honour to die in the field of battle; using the poet’sexpressions,—

         “Proculhinc avertite pacem,
Nobilitas cum pace perit.”

Nor is it wonderful if it degenerates, for the ancestors ofthese men, the Æneadæ, rushed to arms in the cause ofliberty.  It is remarkable that this people, though unarmed,dares attack an armed foe; the infantry defy the cavalry, and bytheir activity and courage generally prove victors.  Theyresemble in disposition and p. 167situation those conquerors whom thepoet Lucan mentions:

— —“Populi quos despicitArctos,
Felices errore suo, quos ille timorum
Maximus haud urget leti metus, inde ruendi
In ferrum, mens prona viris, amimæque capaces,
Mortis et ignavum redituræ parsere vitæ.”

They make use of light arms, which do not impede theiragility, small coats of mail, bundles of arrows, and long lances,helmets and shields, and more rarely greaves plated withiron.  The higher class go to battle mounted on swift andgenerous steeds, which their country produces; but the greaterpart of the people fight on foot, on account of the marshy natureand unevenness of the soil.  The horsemen as their situationor occasion requires, willingly serve as infantry, in attackingor retreating; and they either walk bare-footed, or make use ofhigh shoes, roughly constructed with untanned leather.  Intime of peace, the young men, by penetrating the deep recesses ofthe woods, and climbing the tops of mountains, learn by practiceto endure fatigue through day and night; and as they meditate onwar during peace, they acquire the art of fighting by accustomingthemselves to the use of the lance, and by inuring themselves tohard exercise.

In our time, king Henry II., in reply to the inquiries ofEmanuel, emperor of Constantinople, concerning the situation,nature, and striking peculiarities of the British island, amongother remarkable circumstances mentioned the following:“That in a certain part of the island there was a people,called Welsh, so bold and ferocious that, when unarmed, they didnot fear to encounter an armed force; being ready to shed theirblood in defence of their country, and to sacrifice their livesfor renown; which is the more surprising, as the beasts of thefield over the whole face of the island became gentle, but thesedesperate men could not be tamed.  The wild animals, andparticularly the stags and hinds, p. 168are so abundant, owing to the littlemolestation they receive, that in our time, in the northern partsof the island towards the Peak, [168] when pursued bythe hounds and hunters, they contributed, by their numbers, totheir own destruction.”

CHAPTER IX
OF THEIR SOBER SUPPER ANDFRUGALITY

Not addicted to gluttony ordrunkenness, this people who incur no expense in food or dress,and whose minds are always bent upon the defence of theircountry, and on the means of plunder, are wholly employed in thecare of their horses and furniture.  Accustomed to fast frommorning till evening, and trusting to the care of Providence,they dedicate the whole day to business, and in the eveningpartake of a moderate meal; and even if they have none, or only avery scanty one, they patiently wait till the next evening; and,neither deterred by cold nor hunger, they employ the dark andstormy nights in watching the hostile motions of theirenemies.

CHAPTER X
OF THEIR HOSPITALITY ANDLIBERALITY

No one of this nation ever begs,for the houses of all are common to all; and they considerliberality and hospitality amongst the first virtues.  Somuch does hospitality here rejoice in communication, that it isneither offered nor requested by travellers, who, on entering anyhouse, only deliver up their arms.  When p. 169water isoffered to them, if they suffer their feet to be washed, they arereceived as guests; for the offer of water to wash the feet iswith this nation an hospitable invitation.  But if theyrefuse the proffered service, they only wish for morningrefreshment, not lodging.  The young men move about introops and families under the direction of a chosen leader. Attached only to arms and ease, and ever ready to stand forth indefence of their country, they have free admittance into everyhouse as if it were their own.

Those who arrive in the morning are entertained till eveningwith the conversation of young women, and the music of the harp;for each house has its young women and harps allotted to thispurpose.  Two circumstances here deserve notice: that as nonation labours more under the vice of jealousy than the Irish, sonone is more free from it than the Welsh: and in each family theart of playing on the harp is held preferable to any otherlearning.  In the evening, when no more guests are expected,the meal is prepared according to the number and dignity of thepersons assembled, and according to the wealth of the family whoentertains.  The kitchen does not supply many dishes, norhigh-seasoned incitements to eating.  The house is notfurnished with tables, cloths, or napkins.  They studynature more than splendour, for which reason, the guests beingseated in threes, instead of couples as elsewhere, [169a] they place the dishes before them allat once upon rushes and fresh grass, in large platters ortrenchers.  They also make use of a thin and broad cake ofbread, baked every day, such as in old writings was calledlagana; [169b] and they p. 170sometimes add chopped meat, withbroth.  Such a repast was formerly used by the noble youth,from whom this nation boasts its descent, and whose manners itstill partly imitates, according to the word of the poet:

“Heu! mensasconsumimus, inquit Iulus.”

While the family is engaged in waiting on the guests, the hostand hostess stand up, paying unremitting attention to everything,and take no food till all the company are satisfied; that in caseof any deficiency, it may fall upon them.  A bed made ofrushes, and covered with a coarse kind of cloth manufactured inthe country, called brychan, [170] is then placedalong the side of the room, and they all in common lie down tosleep; nor is their dress at night different from that by day,for at all seasons they defend themselves from the cold only by athin cloak and tunic.  The fire continues to burn by nightas well as by day, at their feet, and they receive much comfortfrom the natural heat of the persons lying near them; but whenthe under side begins to be tired with the hardness of the bed,or the upper one to suffer from cold, they immediately leap up,and go to the fire, which soon relieves them from bothinconveniences; and then returning to their couch, they exposealternately their sides to the cold, and to the hardness of thebed.

CHAPTER XI
CONCERNING THEIR CUTTING OF THEIR HAIR,THEIR CARE OF THEIR TEETH, AND SHAVING OF THEIR BEARD

The men and women cut their hairclose round to the ears and eyes.  The women, after themanner of the p.171Parthians, cover their heads with a large white veil,folded together in the form of a crown.

Both sexes exceed any other nation in attention to theirteeth, which they render like ivory, by constantly rubbing themwith green hazel and wiping with a woollen cloth.  For theirbetter preservation, they abstain from hot meats, and eat onlysuch as are cold, warm, or temperate.  The men shave alltheir beard except the moustaches (gernoboda).  Thiscustom is not recent, but was observed in ancient and remoteages, as we find in the works of Julius Cæsar, who says, [171] “The Britons shave every part oftheir body except their head and upper lip;” and to renderthemselves more active, and avoid the fate of Absalon in theirexcursions through the woods, they are accustomed to cut even thehair from their heads; so that this nation more than any othershaves off all pilosity.  Julius also adds, that theBritons, previous to an engagement, anointed their faces with anitrous ointment, which gave them so ghastly and shining anappearance, that the enemy could scarcely bear to look at them,particularly if the rays of the sun were reflected on them.

CHAPTER XII
OF THEIR QUICKNESS AND SHARPNESS OFUNDERSTANDING

These people being of a sharp andacute intellect, and gifted with a rich and powerfulunderstanding, excel in whatever studies they pursue, and aremore quick and cunning than the other inhabitants of a westernclime.

Their musical instruments charm and delight the ear p. 172with theirsweetness, are borne along by such celerity and delicacy ofmodulation, producing such a consonance from the rapidity ofseemingly discordant touches, that I shall briefly repeat what isset forth in our Irish Topography on the subject of the musicalinstruments of the three nations.  It is astonishing that inso complex and rapid a movement of the fingers, the musicalproportions can be preserved, and that throughout the difficultmodulations on their various instruments, the harmony iscompleted with such a sweet velocity, so unequal an equality, sodiscordant a concord, as if the chords sounded together fourthsor fifths.  They always begin from B flat, and return to thesame, that the whole may be completed under the sweetness of apleasing sound.  They enter into a movement, and conclude itin so delicate a manner, and play the little notes so sportivelyunder the blunter sounds of the base strings, enlivening withwanton levity, or communicating a deeper internal sensation ofpleasure, so that the perfection of their art appears in theconcealment of it:

“Si lateat, prosit;
— — ferat ars deprensa pudorem.”

“Art profits when concealed,
Disgraces when revealed.”

From this cause, those very strains which afford deep andunspeakable mental delight to those who have skilfully penetratedinto the mysteries of the art, fatigue rather than gratify theears of others, who seeing, do not perceive, and hearing, do notunderstand; and by whom the finest music is esteemed no betterthan a confused and disorderly noise, and will be heard withunwillingness and disgust.

They make use of three instruments, the harp, the pipe, andthe crwth or crowd (chorus). [172]

p. 173Theyomit no part of natural rhetoric in the management of civilactions, in quickness of invention, disposition, refutation, andconfirmation.  In their rhymed songs and set speeches theyare so subtle and ingenious, that they produce, in their nativetongue, ornaments of wonderful and exquisite invention both inthe words and sentences.  Hence arise those poets whom theycall Bards, of whom you will find many in this nation, endowedwith the above faculty, according to the poet’sobservation:

“Plurima concreti fuderunt carminaBardi.”

But they make use of alliteration (anominatione) inpreference to all other ornaments of rhetoric, and thatparticular kind which joins by consonancy the first letters orsyllables of words.  So much do the English and Welshnations employ this ornament of words in all exquisitecomposition, that no sentence is esteemed to be elegantly spoken,no oration to be otherwise than uncouth and unrefined, unless itbe fully polished with the file of this figure.  Thus in theBritish tongue:

“Digawn Duw da i unic.”

“Wrth bob crybwyll rhaïd pwyll parawd.” [173]

p. 174Andin English,

“God is together gammen andwisedom.”

The same ornament of speech is also frequent in the Latinlanguage.  Virgil says,

“Tales casus Cassandra canebat.”

And again, in his address to Augustus,

“Dum dubitet natura marem, faceretvepuellam,
Natus es, o pulcher, pene puella, puer.”

This ornament occurs not in any language we know so frequentlyas in the two first; it is, indeed, surprising that the French,in other respects so ornamented, should be entirely ignorant ofthis verbal elegance so much adopted in other languages. Nor can I believe that the English and Welsh, so different andadverse to each other, could designedly have agreed in the usageof this figure; but I should rather suppose that it had grownhabitual to both by long custom, as it pleases the ear by atransition from similar to similar sounds.  Cicero, in hisbook “On Elocution,” observes of such who know thepractice, not the art, “Other persons when they read goodorations or poems, approve of the orators or poets, notunderstanding the reason why, being affected, they approve;because they cannot know in what place, of what nature, nor howthat effect is caused which so highly delights them.”

CHAPTER XIII
OF THEIR SYMPHONIES AND SONGS

In their musical concerts they donot sing in unison like the inhabitants of other countries, butin many different p.175parts; so that in a company of singers, which one veryfrequently meets with in Wales, you will hear as many differentparts and voices as there are performers, who all at lengthunite, with organic melody, in one consonance and the softsweetness of B flat.  In the northern district of Britain,beyond the Humber, and on the borders of Yorkshire, theinhabitants make use of the same kind of symphonious harmony, butwith less variety; singing only in two parts, one murmuring inthe base, the other warbling in the acute or treble. Neither of the two nations has acquired this peculiarity by art,but by long habit, which has rendered it natural and familiar;and the practice is now so firmly rooted in them, that it isunusual to hear a simple and single melody well sung; and, whatis still more wonderful, the children, even from their infancy,sing in the same manner.  As the English in general do notadopt this mode of singing, but only those of the northerncountries, I believe that it was from the Danes and Norwegians,by whom these parts of the island were more frequently invaded,and held longer under their dominion, that the natives contractedtheir mode of singing as well as speaking.

CHAPTER XIV
THEIR WIT AND PLEASANTRY

The heads of different families, inorder to excite the laughter of their guests, and gain credit bytheir sayings, make use of great facetiousness in theirconversation; at one time uttering their jokes in a light, easymanner, at another time, under the disguise of equivocation,passing the severest censures.  For the sake of explanationI shall here subjoin a few examples.  Tegeingl is the nameof a province in North Wales, over which David, son of p. 176Owen, haddominion, and which had once been in the possession of hisbrother.  The same word also was the name of a certain womanwith whom, it was said, each brother had an intrigue, from whichcircumstance arose this term of reproach, “To haveTegeingl, after Tegeingl had been in possession of hisbrother.”

At another time, when Rhys, son of Gruffydd, prince of SouthWales, accompanied by a multitude of his people, devoutly enteredthe church of St. David’s, previous to an intended journey,the oblations having been made, and mass solemnised, a young mancame to him in the church, and publicly declared himself to behis son, threw himself at his feet, and with tears humblyrequested that the truth of this assertion might be ascertainedby the trial of the burning iron.  Intelligence of thiscircumstance being conveyed to his family and his two sons, whohad just gone out of the church, a youth who was present madethis remark: “This is not wonderful; some have broughtgold, and others silver, as offerings; but this man, who hadneither, brought what he had, namely, iron;” thus tauntinghim with his poverty.  On mentioning a certain house thatwas strongly built and almost impregnable, one of the companysaid, “This house indeed is strong, for if it shouldcontain food it could never be got at,” thus alluding bothto the food and to the house.  In like manner, a person,wishing to hint at the avaricious disposition of the mistress ofa house, said, “I only find fault with our hostess forputting too little butter to her salt,” whereas theaccessory should be put to the principal; thus, by a subtletransposition of the words, converting the accessory into theprincipal, by making it appear to abound in quantity.  Manysimilar sayings of great men and philosophers are recorded in theSaturnalia of Macrobius.  When Cicero saw his son-in-law,Lentulus, a man of small stature, with a long sword by his side:“Who,” says he, “has girded my son-in-law tothat sword?” thus changing the accessary into theprincipal.  The same person, on seeing p. 177thehalf-length portrait of his brother Quintus Cicero, drawn withvery large features and an immense shield, exclaimed, “Halfof my brother is greater than the whole!”  When thesister of Faustus had an intrigue with a fuller, “Is itstrange,” says he, “that my sister has a spot, whenshe is connected with a fuller?”  When Antiochusshowed Hannibal his army, and the great warlike preparations hehad made against the Romans, and asked him, “Thinkest thou,O Hannibal, that these are sufficient for theRomans?”  Hannibal, ridiculing the unmilitaryappearance of the soldiers, wittily and severely replied,“I certainly think them sufficient for the Romans, howevergreedy;” Antiochus asking his opinion about the militarypreparations, and Hannibal alluding to them as becoming a prey tothe Romans.

CHAPTER XV
THEIR BOLDNESS AND CONFIDENCE INSPEAKING

Nature hath given not only to thehighest, but also to the inferior, classes of the people of thisnation, a boldness and confidence in speaking and answering, evenin the presence of their princes and chieftains.  The Romansand Franks had the same faculty; but neither the English, nor theSaxons and Germans, from whom they are descended, had it. It is in vain urged, that this defect may arise from the state ofservitude which the English endured; for the Saxons and Germans,who enjoy their liberty, have the same failing, and derive thisnatural coldness of disposition from the frozen region theyinhabit; the English also, although placed in a distant climate,still retain the exterior fairness of complexion and inwardcoldness of disposition, as inseparable from their original andnatural character.  The Britons, on p. 178thecontrary, transplanted from the hot and parched regions ofDardania into these more temperate districts, as

“Cœlum nonanimum mutant qui trans mare currunt,”

still retain their brown complexion and that natural warmth oftemper from which their confidence is derived.  For threenations, remnants of the Greeks after the destruction of Troy,fled from Asia into different parts of Europe, the Romans underÆneas, the Franks under Antenor, and the Britons underBrutus; and from thence arose that courage, that nobleness ofmind, that ancient dignity, that acuteness of understanding, andconfidence of speech, for which these three nations are so highlydistinguished.  But the Britons, from having been detainedlonger in Greece than the other two nations, after thedestruction of their country, and having migrated at a laterperiod into the western parts of Europe, retained in a greaterdegree the primitive words and phrases of their nativelanguage.  You will find amongst them the names Oenus,Resus, Æneas, Hector, Achilles, Heliodorus, Theodorus,Ajax, Evander, Uliex, Anianus, Elisa, Guendolena, and manyothers, bearing marks of their antiquity.  It is also to beobserved, that almost all words in the British languagecorrespond either with the Greek or Latin, asὑδωζ, water, is called in British, dwr;ἁλς, salt, in British, halen;ονομα, eno, a name;πεντε, pump, five;δεκα, deg, ten.  The Latins alsouse the words frænum, tripos, gladius, lorica; the Britons,froyn (ffrwyn), trepet (tribedd), cleddyf, and lluric (llurig);unicus is made unic (unig); canis, can (cwn); and belua,beleu.

p.179CHAPTER XVI
CONCERNING THE SOOTHSAYERS OF THIS NATION,AND PERSONS AS IT WERE POSSESSED

There are certain persons inCambria, whom you will find nowhere else, called Awenddyon, [179] or people inspired; when consultedupon any doubtful event, they roar out violently, are renderedbeside themselves, and become, as it were, possessed by aspirit.  They do not deliver the answer to what is requiredin a connected manner; but the person who skilfully observesthem, will find, after many preambles, and many nugatory andincoherent, though ornamented speeches, the desired explanationconveyed in some turn of a word: they are then roused from theirecstasy, as from a deep sleep, and, as it were, by violencecompelled to return to their proper senses.  After havinganswered the questions, they do not recover till violently shakenby other people; nor can they remember the replies they havegiven.  If consulted a second or third time upon the samepoint, they will make use of expressions totally different;perhaps they speak by the means of fanatic and ignorantspirits.  These gifts are usually conferred upon them indreams: some seem to have sweet milk or honey poured on theirlips; others fancy that a written schedule is applied to theirmouths and on awaking they publicly declare that they havereceived this gift.  Such is the saying of Esdras,“The Lord said unto me, open thy mouth, and I opened mymouth, and behold a cup full of water, whose colour was likefire; and when I had drank it, my heart brought forthunderstanding, and wisdom entered p. 180into my breast.”  Theyinvoke, during their prophecies, the true and living God, and theHoly Trinity, and pray that they may not by their sins beprevented from finding the truth.  These prophets are onlyfound among the Britons descended from the Trojans.  ForCalchas and Cassandra, endowed with the spirit of prophecy,openly foretold, during the siege of Troy, the destruction ofthat fine city; on which account the high priest, Helenus,influenced by the prophetic books of Calchas, and of others whohad long before predicted the ruin of their country, in the firstyear went over to the Greeks with the sons of Priam (to whom hewas high priest), and was afterwards rewarded in Greece. Cassandra, daughter of king Priam, every day foretold theoverthrow of the city; but the pride and presumption of theTrojans prevented them from believing her word.  Even on thevery night that the city was betrayed, she clearly described thetreachery and the method of it:

“— talescasus Cassandra canebat,”

as in the same manner, during the existence of the kingdom ofthe Britons, both Merlin Caledonius and Ambrosius are said tohave foretold the destruction of their nation, as well as thecoming of the Saxons, and afterwards that of the Normans; and Ithink a circumstance related by Aulus Gellius worth inserting inthis place.  On the day that Caius Cæsar and CneiusPompey, during the civil war, fought a pitched battle inThessalia, a memorable event occurred in that part of Italysituated beyond the river Po.  A priest named Cornelius,honourable from his rank, venerable for his religion, and holy inhis manners, in an inspired moment proclaimed, “Cæsarhas conquered,” and named the day, the events, the mutualattack, and the conflicts of the two armies.  Whether suchthings are exhibited by the spirit, let the reader moreparticularly inquire; I do not assert they are the acts of aPythonic or a diabolic spirit; for as foreknowledge is theproperty of God alone, so is it in his p. 181power toconfer knowledge of future events.  There are differences ofgifts, says the Apostle, but one and the same spirit; whencePeter, in his second Epistle, writes, “For the prophecycame not in the old time by the will of man, but men spake as ifthey were inspired by the Holy Ghost:” to the same effectdid the Chaldeans answer king Nebuchadonazar on theinterpretation of his dream, which he wished to extort fromthem.  “There is not,” say they, “a manupon earth who can, O king, satisfactorily answer your question;let no king therefore, however great or potent, make a similarrequest to any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean; for it is arare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other thatcan shew it before the king, except the Gods, whose dwelling isnot with flesh.”  On this passage Jerome remarks,“The diviners and all the learned of this world confess,that the prescience of future events belongs to God alone; theprophets therefore, who foretold things to come, spake by thespirit of God.  Hence some persons object, that, if theywere under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, they would sometimespremise, “Thus saith the Lord God,” or make use ofsome expression in the prophetic style; and as such a mode ofprophesying is not taken notice of by Merlin, and no mention ismade of his sanctity, devotion, or faith, many think that hespake by a Pythonic spirit.  To which I answer, that thespirit of prophecy was given not only to the holy, but sometimesto unbelievers and Gentiles, to Baal, to the sibyls, and even tobad people, as to Caiaphas and Bela.  On which occasionOrigen says: “Do not wonder, if he whom ye have mentioneddeclares that the Scribes and Pharisees and doctors amongst theJews prophesied concerning Christ; for Caiaphas said: “Itis expedient for us that one man die for the people:” butasserts at the same time, that because he was high priest forthat year, he prophesied.  Let no man therefore be liftedup, if he prophesies, if he merits prescience; for propheciesshall fail, tongues shall cease, knowledge shall vanish p. 182away; andnow abideth, faith, hope, and charity: these three; but thegreatest of these is Charity, which never faileth.  Butthese bad men not only prophesied, but sometimes performed greatmiracles, which others could not accomplish.  John theBaptist, who was so great a personage, performed no miracle, asJohn the Evangelist testifies: “And many came to Jesus andsaid, Because John wrought no signs,” etc.  Nor do wehear that the mother of God performed any miracle; we read in theActs of the Apostles, that the sons of Sheva cast out devils inthe name of Jesus, whom Paul preached; and in Matthew and Luke wemay find these words: “Many shall say unto me in that day,Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy namehave cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?and then I will profess unto them, I never knew you.” And in another place, John says: “Master, we saw a certainman casting out devils in thy name, and forbade him, because hefolloweth not with us.”  But Jesus said: “Forbidhim not; no man can do a miracle in my name, and speak evil ofme; for whoever is not against me, is for me.”

Alexander of Macedon, a gentile, traversed the Caspianmountains, and miraculously confined ten tribes within theirpromontories, where they still remain, and will continue untilthe coming of Elias and Enoch.  We read, indeed, theprophecies of Merlin, but hear nothing either of his sanctity orhis miracles.  Some say, that the prophets, when theyprophesied, did not become frantic, as it is affirmed of MerlinSilvestris, and others possessed, whom we have beforementioned.  Some prophesied by dreams, visions, andenigmatical sayings, as Ezechiel and Daniel; others by acts andwords, as Noah, in the construction of the ark, alluded to thechurch; Abraham, in the slaying of his son, to the passion ofChrist; and Moses by his speech, when he said, “A prophetshall the Lord God raise up to you of your brethren; hearhim;” meaning Christ.  Others have prophesied in amore excellent p.183way by the internal revelation and inspiration of theHoly Spirit, as David did when persecuted by Saul: “WhenSaul heard that David had fled to Naioth (which is a hill inRamah, and the seat of the prophets), he sent messengers to takehim; and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying,and Samuel standing at their head, the Spirit of God came uponthe messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied; and he sentmessengers a second and again a third time, and they alsoprophesied.  And Saul enraged went thither also; and theSpirit of God was upon him also, and he went on, and prophesieduntil he came to Naioth, and he stripped off his royal vestments,and prophesied with the rest for all that day and all that night;whilst David and Samuel secretly observed whatpassed.”  Nor is it wonderful that those persons whosuddenly receive the Spirit of God, and so signal a mark ofgrace, should for a time seem alienated from their earthly stateof mind.

CHAPTER XVII
THEIR LOVE OF HIGH BIRTH AND ANCIENTGENEALOGY

The Welsh esteem noble birth andgenerous descent above all things, [183] and are,therefore, more desirous of marrying into noble than richfamilies.  Even the p. 184common people retain theirgenealogy, and can not only readily recount the names of theirgrandfathers and great-grandfathers, but even refer back to thesixth or seventh generation, or beyond them, in this manner:Rhys, son of Gruffydd, son of Rhys, son of Tewdwr, son of Eineon,son of Owen, son of Howel, son of Cadell, son of Roderic Mawr,and so on.

Being particularly attached to family descent, they revengewith vehemence the injuries which may tend to the disgrace oftheir blood; and being naturally of a vindictive and passionatedisposition, they are ever ready to avenge not only recent butancient affronts; they neither inhabit towns, villages, norcastles, but lead a solitary life in the woods, on the borders ofwhich they do not erect sumptuous palaces, nor lofty stonebuildings, but content themselves with small huts made of theboughs of trees twisted together, constructed with little labourand expense, and sufficient to endure throughout the year. They have neither orchards nor gardens, but gladly eat the fruitof both when given to them.  The greater part of their landis laid down to pasturage; little is cultivated, a very smallquantity is ornamented with flowers, and a still smaller issown.  They seldom yoke less than four oxen to theirploughs; the driver walks before, but backwards, and when hefalls down, is frequently exposed to danger from the refractoryoxen.  Instead of small sickles in mowing, they make use ofa moderate-sized piece of iron formed like a knife, with twopieces of wood fixed loosely and flexibly to the head, which theythink a more expeditious instrument; but since

“Segnius irritant animos demissa peraures,
Quam quæ sunt oculis subjecta fidelibus,”

their mode of using it will be better known by inspection thanby any description.  The boats [184] which they employp. 185infishing or in crossing the rivers are made of twigs, not oblongnor pointed, but almost round, or rather triangular, covered bothwithin and without with raw hides.  When a salmon throwninto one of these boats strikes it hard with his tail, he oftenoversets it, and endangers both the vessel and itsnavigator.  The fishermen, according to the custom of thecountry, in going to and from the rivers, carry these boats ontheir shoulders; on which occasion that famous dealer in fables,Bleddercus, who lived a little before our time, thus mysteriouslysaid: “There is amongst us a people who, when they go outin search of prey, carry their horses on their backs to the placeof plunder; in order to catch their prey, they leap upon theirhorses, and when it is taken, carry their horses home again upontheir shoulders.”

CHAPTER XVIII
OF THE ANTIQUITY OF THEIR FAITH, THEIRLOVE OF CHRISTIANITY AND DEVOTION

In ancient times, and about twohundred years before the overthrow of Britain, the Welsh wereinstructed and confirmed in the faith by Faganus and Damianus,sent into the island at the request of king Lucius by popeEleutherius, and from that period when Germanus of Auxerre, andLupus of Troyes, came over on account of the corruption which hadcrept into the island by the invasion of the Saxons, butparticularly with a view of expelling the Pelagian heresy,nothing heretical or contrary to the true faith was to be foundamongst the natives.  But it is said that some parts of theardent doctrines are still retained.  They give the firstpiece broken off from every loaf of bread to the poor; they sitdown to dinner by three to a dish, in honour of theTrinity.  With extended arms and bowing head, they ask ablessing of every monk or priest, or of every person p. 186wearing areligious habit.  But they desire, above all other nations,the episcopal ordination and unction, by which the grace of thespirit is given.  They give a tenth of all their property,animals, cattle, and sheep, either when they marry, or go on apilgrimage, or, by the counsel of the church, are persuaded toamend their lives.  This partition of their effects theycall the great tithe, two parts of which they give to the churchwhere they were baptised, and the third to the bishop of thediocese.  But of all pilgrimages they prefer that to Rome,where they pay the most fervent adoration to the apostolicsee.  We observe that they show a greater respect than othernations to churches and ecclesiastical persons, to the relics ofsaints, bells, holy books, and the cross, which they devoutlyrevere; and hence their churches enjoy more than commontranquillity.  For peace is not only preserved towards allanimals feeding in churchyards, but at a great distance beyondthem, where certain boundaries and ditches have been appointed bythe bishops, in order to maintain the security of thesanctuary.  But the principal churches to which antiquityhas annexed the greater reverence extend their protection to theherds as far as they can go to feed in the morning and return atnight.  If, therefore, any person has incurred the enmity ofhis prince, on applying to the church for protection, he and hisfamily will continue to live unmolested; but many persons abusethis indemnity, far exceeding the indulgence of the canon, whichin such cases grants only personal safety; and from the places ofrefuge even make hostile irruptions, and more severely harass thecountry than the prince himself.  Hermits and anchoritesmore strictly abstinent and more spiritual can nowhere be found;for this nation is earnest in all its pursuits, and neither worsemen than the bad, nor better than the good, can be met with.

Happy and fortunate indeed would this nation be, nay,completely blessed, if it had good prelates and pastors, and butone prince, and that prince a good one.

p. 187BOOKII

p.188PREFACE

Having in the former book clearlyset forth the character, manners, and customs of the Britishnation, and having collected and explained everything which couldredound to its credit or glory; an attention to order nowrequires that, in this second part, we should employ our pen inpointing out those particulars in which it seems to transgressthe line of virtue and commendation; having first obtained leaveto speak the truth, without which history not only loses itsauthority, but becomes undeserving of its very name.  Forthe painter who professes to imitate nature, loses hisreputation, if, by indulging his fancy, he represents only thoseparts of the subject which best suit him.

Since, therefore, no man is born without faults, and he isesteemed the best whose errors are the least, let the wise manconsider everything human as connected with himself; for inworldly affairs there is no perfect happiness under heaven. Evil borders upon good, and vices are confounded with virtues; asthe report of good qualities is delightful to a well-disposedmind, so the relation of the contrary should not beoffensive.  The natural disposition of this nation mighthave been corrupted and perverted by long exile and poverty; foras poverty extinguisheth many faults, so it often generatesfailings that are contrary to virtue.

p.189CHAPTER I
OF THE INCONSTANCY AND INSTABILITY OF THISNATION, AND THEIR WANT OF REVERENCE FOR GOOD FAITH ANDOATHS

These people are no less light inmind than in body, and are by no means to be relied upon. They are easily urged to undertake any action, and are as easilychecked from prosecuting it—a people quick in action, butmore stubborn in a bad than in a good cause, and constant only inacts of inconstancy.  They pay no respect to oaths, faith,or truth; and so lightly do they esteem the covenant of faith,held so inviolable by other nations, that it is usual tosacrifice their faith for nothing, by holding forth the righthand, not only in serious and important concerns, but even onevery trifling occasion, and for the confirmation of almost everycommon assertion.  They never scruple at taking a false oathfor the sake of any temporary emolument or advantage; so that incivil and ecclesiastical causes, each party, being ready to swearwhatever seems expedient to its purpose, endeavours both to proveand defend, although the venerable laws, by which oaths aredeemed sacred, and truth is honoured and respected, by favouringthe accused and throwing an odium upon the accuser, impose theburden of bringing proofs upon the latter.  But to a peopleso cunning and crafty, this yoke is pleasant, and this burden islight.

p.190CHAPTER II
THEIR LIVING BY PLUNDER, AND DISREGARD OFTHE BONDS OF PEACE AND FRIENDSHIP

This nation conceives it right tocommit acts of plunder, theft, and robbery, not only againstforeigners and hostile nations, but even against their owncountrymen.  When an opportunity of attacking the enemy withadvantage occurs, they respect not the leagues of peace andfriendship, preferring base lucre to the solemn obligations ofoaths and good faith; to which circumstance Gildas alludes in hisbook concerning the overthrow of the Britons, actuated by thelove of truth, and according to the rules of history, notsuppressing the vices of his countrymen.  “They areneither brave in war, nor faithful in peace.”  Butwhen Julius Cæsar, great as the world itself,

“Territaquæsitis ostendit terga Britannis,”

were they not brave under their leader Cassivellaunus? And when Belinus and Brennus added the Roman empire to theirconquests?  What were they in the time of Constantine, sonof our Helen?  What, in the reign of Aurelius Ambrosius,whom even Eutropius commends?  What were they in the time ofour famous prince Arthur?  I will not say fabulous.  Onthe contrary, they, who were almost subdued by the Scots andPicts, often harassed with success the auxiliary Roman legions,and exclaimed, as we learn from Gildas, “The barbariansdrove us to the sea, the sea drove us again back to thebarbarians; on one side we were subdued, on the other drowned,and here we were put to death.  Were they not,” sayshe, “at that time brave and praiseworthy?”  Whenattacked and conquered by the Saxons, who originally had beencalled in as stipendiaries p. 191to their assistance, were they notbrave?  But the strongest argument made use of by those whoaccuse this nation of cowardice, is, that Gildas, a holy man, anda Briton by birth, has handed down to posterity nothingremarkable concerning them, in any of his historical works. We promise, however, a solution of the contrary in our BritishTopography, if God grants us a continuance of life.

As a further proof, it may be necessary to add, that from thetime when that illustrious prince of the Britons, mentioned atthe beginning of this book, totally exhausted the strength of thecountry, by transporting the whole armed force beyond the seas;that island, which had before been so highly illustrious for itsincomparable valour, remained for many subsequent years destituteof men and arms, and exposed to the predatory attacks of piratesand robbers.  So distinguished, indeed, were the natives ofthis island for their bravery, that, by their prowess, that kingsubdued almost all Cisalpine Gaul, and dared even to make anattack on the Roman empire.

In process of time, the Britons, recovering their long-lostpopulation and knowledge of the use of arms, re-acquired theirhigh and ancient character.  Let the different æras betherefore marked, and the historical accounts will accord. With regard to Gildas, who inveighs so bitterly against his ownnation, the Britons affirm that, highly irritated at the death ofhis brother, the prince of Albania, whom king Arthur had slain,he wrote these invectives, and upon the same occasion threw intothe sea many excellent books, in which he had described theactions of Arthur, and the celebrated deeds of his countrymen;from which cause it arises, that no authentic account of so greata prince is any where to be found.

p.192CHAPTER III
OF THEIR DEFICIENCY IN BATTLE, AND BASEAND DISHONOURABLE FLIGHT

In war this nation is very severein the first attack, terrible by their clamour and looks, fillingthe air with horrid shouts and the deep-toned clangour of verylong trumpets; swift and rapid in their advances and frequentthrowing of darts.  Bold in the first onset, they cannotbear a repulse, being easily thrown into confusion as soon asthey turn their backs; and they trust to flight for safety,without attempting to rally, which the poet thought reprehensiblein martial conflicts:

“Ignavum scelusest tantum fuga;”

and elsewhere—

“In vitiumculpæ ducit fuga, si caret arte.”

The character given to the Teutones in the Roman History, maybe applied to this people.  “In their first attackthey are more than men, in the second, less thanwomen.”  Their courage manifests itself chiefly in theretreat, when they frequently return, and, like the Parthians,shoot their arrows behind them; and, as after success and victoryin battle, even cowards boast of their courage, so, after areverse of fortune, even the bravest men are not allowed theirdue claims of merit.  Their mode of fighting consists inchasing the enemy or in retreating.  This light-armedpeople, relying more on their activity than on their strength,cannot struggle for the field of battle, enter into closeengagement, or endure long and severe actions, such as the poetdescribes:

“Jam clypeo clypeus, umbone repelliturumbo,
Ense minax ensis, pede pes, et cuspide cuspis.”

Though defeated and put to flight on one day, they are p. 193ready toresume the combat on the next, neither dejected by their loss,nor by their dishonour; and although, perhaps, they do notdisplay great fortitude in open engagements and regularconflicts, yet they harass the enemy by ambuscades and nightlysallies.  Hence, neither oppressed by hunger or cold, norfatigued by martial labours, nor despondent in adversity, butready, after a defeat, to return immediately to action, and againendure the dangers of war; they are as easy to overcome in asingle battle, as difficult to subdue in a protracted war. The poet Claudian thus speaks of a people similar indisposition:—

“Dum percunt, meminêre mali: si cordaparumper
Respirare sinas, nullo tot funera censu
Prætercunt, tantique levis jactura cruoris.”

CHAPTER IV
THEIR AMBITIOUS SEIZURE OF LANDS, ANDDISSENSIONS AMONG BROTHERS

This nation is, above all others,addicted to the digging up of boundary ditches, removing thelimits, transgressing landmarks, and extending their territory byevery possible means.  So great is their disposition towardsthis common violence, that they scruple not to claim as theirhereditary right, those lands which are held under lease, or atwill, on condition of planting, or by any other title, evenalthough indemnity had been publicly secured on oath to thetenant by the lord proprietor of the soil.  Hence arisesuits and contentions, murders and conflagrations, and frequentfratricides, increased, perhaps, by the ancient national customof brothers dividing their property amongst each other. Another heavy grievance also prevails; the princes entrust theeducation of their children to the care of the principal p. 194men oftheir country, each of whom, after the death of his father,endeavours, by every possible means, to exalt his own chargeabove his neighbours.  From which cause great disturbanceshave frequently arisen amongst brothers, and terminated in themost cruel and unjust murders; and on which account friendshipsare found to be more sincere between foster-brothers, thanbetween those who are connected by the natural ties ofbrotherhood.  It is also remarkable, that brothers shew moreaffection to one another when dead, than when living; for theypersecute the living even unto death, but revenge the deceasedwith all their power.

CHAPTER V
THEIR GREAT EXACTION, AND WANT OFMODERATION

Where they find plenty, and canexercise their power, they levy the most unjust exactions. Immoderate in their love of food and intoxicating drink, they saywith the Apostle, “We are instructed both to abound, and tosuffer need;” but do not add with him, “becoming allthings to all men, that I might by all means savesome.”  As in times of scarcity their abstinence andparsimony are too severe, so, when seated at another man’stable, after a long fasting, (like wolves and eagles, who, likethem, live by plunder, and are rarely satisfied,) their appetiteis immoderate.  They are therefore penurious in times ofscarcity, and extravagant in times of plenty; but no man, as inEngland, mortgages his property for the gluttonous gratificationof his own appetite.  They wish, however, that all peoplewould join with them in their bad habits and expenses; as thecommission of crimes reduces to a level all those who areconcerned in the perpetration of them.

p.195CHAPTER VI
CONCERNING THE CRIME OF INCEST, AND THEABUSE OF CHURCHES BY SUCCESSION AND PARTICIPATION

The crime of incest hath so muchprevailed, not only among the higher, but among the lower ordersof this people, that, not having the fear of God before theireyes, they are not ashamed of intermarrying with their relations,even in the third degree of consanguinity.  They generallyabuse these dispensations with a view of appeasing those enmitieswhich so often subsist between them, because “their feetare swift to shed blood;” and from their love of highdescent, which they so ardently affect and covet, they unitethemselves to their own people, refusing to intermarry withstrangers, and arrogantly presuming on their own superiority ofblood and family.  They do not engage in marriage, untilthey have tried, by previous cohabitation, the disposition, andparticularly the fecundity, of the person with whom they areengaged.  An ancient custom also prevails of hiring girlsfrom their parents at a certain price, and a stipulated penalty,in case of relinquishing their connection.

Their churches have almost as many parsons and sharers asthere are principal men in the parish.  The sons, after thedecease of their fathers, succeed to the ecclesiasticalbenefices, not by election, but by hereditary right possessingand polluting the sanctuary of God.  And if a prelate shouldby chance presume to appoint or institute any other person, thepeople would certainly revenge the injury upon the institutor andthe instituted.  With respect to these two excesses ofincest and succession, which took root formerly in Armorica, andare not yet eradicated, Ildebert, bishop of Le Mans, in one ofhis epistles, says, “that he was p. 196presentwith a British priest at a council summoned with a view ofputting an end to the enormities of this nation:” hence itappears that these vices have for a long time prevailed both inBritany and Britain.  The words of the Psalmist may notinaptly be applied to them; “They are corrupt and becomeabominable in their doings, there is none that doeth good, no,not one: they are all gone out of the way, they are altogetherbecome abominable,” etc.

CHAPTER VII
OF THEIR SINS, AND THE CONSEQUENT LOSS OFBRITAIN AND OF TROY

Moreover, through their sins, andparticularly that detestable and wicked vice of Sodom, as well asby divine vengeance, they lost Britain as they formerly lostTroy.  For we read in the Roman history, that the emperorConstantine having resigned the city and the Western empire tothe blessed Sylvester and his successors, with an intention ofrebuilding Troy, and there establishing the chief seat of theEastern Empire, heard a voice, saying, “Dost thou go torebuild Sodom?” upon which, he altered his intention,turned his ships and standards towards Byzantium, and therefixing his seat of empire, gave his own propitious name to thecity.  The British history informs us, that Mailgon, king ofthe Britons, and many others, were addicted to this vice; thatenormity, however, had entirely ceased for so long a time, thatthe recollection of it was nearly worn out.  But since that,as if the time of repentance was almost expired, and because thenation, by its warlike successes and acquisition of territory,has in our times unusually increased in population and strength,they boast in their turn, and most confidently and unanimouslyaffirm, that in a p.197short time their countrymen shall return to the island,and, according to the prophecies of Merlin, the nation, and eventhe name, of foreigners, shall be extinguished in the island, andthe Britons shall exult again in their ancient name andprivileges.  But to me it appears far otherwise; forsince

“Luxuriant animi rebus plerumquesecundis,
Nec facile est æqua commoda mente pati;”

And because

“Non habet unde suum paupertas pascatamorem, . . .
Divitiis alitur luxuriosus amor.”

So that their abstinence from that vice, which in theirprosperity they could not resist, may be attributed more justlyto their poverty and state of exile than to their sense ofvirtue.  For they cannot be said to have repented, when wesee them involved in such an abyss of vices, perjury, theft,robbery, rapine, murders, fratricides, adultery, and incest, andbecome every day more entangled and ensnared in evil-doing; sothat the words of the prophet Hosea may be truly applied to them,“There is no truth, nor mercy,” etc.

Other matters of which they boast are more properly to beattributed to the diligence and activity of the Norman kings thanto their own merits or power.  For previous to the coming ofthe Normans, when the English kings contented themselves with thesovereignty of Britain alone, and employed their whole militaryforce in the subjugation of this people, they almost whollyextirpated them; as did king Offa, who by a long and extensivedyke separated the British from the English; Ethelfrid also, whodemolished the noble city of Legions, [197] and put to death the monks of thecelebrated monastery at Banchor, who had been called in topromote the success of the Britons by their prayers; and lastlyHarold, who himself on foot, with an army of light-armedinfantry, and conforming to the customary diet of the p. 198country, sobravely penetrated through every part of Wales, that he scarcelyleft a man alive in it; and as a memorial of his signal victoriesmany stones may be found in Wales bearing thisinscription:—“HIC VICTOR FUITHAROLDUS”—“Hereharold conquered.” [198]

To these bloody and recent victories of the English may beattributed the peaceable state of Wales during the reigns of thethree first Norman kings; when the nation increased inpopulation, and being taught the use of arms and the managementof horses by the English and Normans (with whom they had muchintercourse, by following the court, or by being sent ashostages), took advantage of the necessary attention which thethree succeeding kings were obliged to pay to their foreignpossessions, and once more lifting up their crests, recoveredtheir lands, and spurned the yoke that had formerly been imposedupon them.

CHAPTER VIII
IN WHAT MANNER THIS NATION IS TO BEOVERCOME

The prince who would wish to subduethis nation, and govern it peaceably, must use this method. He must be determined to apply a diligent and constant attentionto this purpose for one year at least; for a people who with acollected force will not openly attack the enemy in the field,nor wait to be besieged in castles, is not to be overcome at thefirst onset, but to be worn out by prudent delay andpatience.  Let him divide their strength, and by bribes andpromises endeavour to stir up one against the other, knowing thespirit of hatred and envy p. 199which generally prevails amongstthem; and in the autumn let not only the marches, but also theinterior part of the country be strongly fortified with castles,provisions, and confidential families.  In the meantime thepurchase of corn, cloth, and salt, with which they are usuallysupplied from England, should be strictly interdicted; andwell-manned ships placed as a guard on the coast, to preventtheir importation of these articles from Ireland or the Severnsea, and to facilitate the supply of his own army. Afterwards, when the severity of winter approaches, when thetrees are void of leaves, and the mountains no longer affordpasturage—when they are deprived of any hopes of plunder,and harassed on every side by the repeated attacks of theenemy—let a body of light-armed infantry penetrate intotheir woody and mountainous retreats, and let these troops besupported and relieved by others; and thus by frequent changes,and replacing the men who are either fatigued or slain in battle,this nation may be ultimately subdued; nor can it be overcomewithout the above precautions, nor without great danger and lossof men.  Though many of the English hired troops may perishin a day of battle, money will procure as many or more on themorrow for the same service; but to the Welsh, who have neitherforeign nor stipendiary troops, the loss is for the timeirreparable.  In these matters, therefore, as an artificeris to be trusted in his trade, so attention is to be paid to thecounsel of those who, having been long conversant in similarconcerns, are become acquainted with the manners and customs oftheir country, and whom it greatly interests, that an enemy, forwhom during long and frequent conflicts they have contracted animplacable hatred, should by their assistance be either weakenedor destroyed.  Happy should I have termed the borders ofWales inhabited by the English, if their kings, in the governmentof these parts, and in their military operations against theenemy, had rather employed the marchers and barons of thecountry, than adopted the p. 200counsels and policy of the people ofAnjou and the Normans.  In this, as well as in every othermilitary expedition, either in Ireland or in Wales, the nativesof the marches, from the constant state of warfare in which theyare engaged, and whose manners are formed from the habits of war,are bold and active, skilful on horseback, quick on foot, notnice as to their diet, and ever prepared when necessity requiresto abstain both from corn and wine.  By such men were thefirst hostile attacks made upon Wales as well as Ireland, and bysuch men alone can their final conquest be accomplished. For the Flemings, Normans, Coterells, and Bragmans, are good andwell-disciplined soldiers in their own country; but the Gallicsoldiery is known to differ much from the Welsh and Irish. In their country the battle is on level, here on rough ground;there in an open field, here in forests; there they considertheir armour as an honour, here as a burden; there soldiers aretaken prisoners, here they are beheaded; there they are ransomed,here they are put to death.  Where, therefore, the armiesengage in a flat country, a heavy and complex armour, made ofcloth and iron, both protects and decorates the soldier; but whenthe engagement is in narrow defiles, in woods or marshes, wherethe infantry have the advantage over the cavalry, a light armouris preferable.  For light arms afford sufficient protectionagainst unarmed men, by whom victory is either lost or won at thefirst onset; where it is necessary that an active and retreatingenemy should be overcome by a certain proportional quantity ofmoderate armour; whereas with a more complex sort, and with highand curved saddles, it is difficult to dismount, more so tomount, and with the greatest difficulty can such troops march, ifrequired, with the infantry.  In order, therefore, that

“Singulaquæque locum teneant sortita decenter,”

we maintain it is necessary to employ heavy-armed and strongtroops against men heavily armed, depending p. 201entirelyupon their natural strength, and accustomed to fight in an openplain; but against light-armed and active troops, who preferrough ground, men accustomed to such conflicts, and armed in asimilar manner, must be employed.  But let the cities andfortresses on the Severn, and the whole territory on its westernbanks towards Wales, occupied by the English, as well as theprovinces of Shropshire and Cheshire, which are protected bypowerful armies, or by any other special privileges andhonourable independence, rejoice in the provident bounty of theirprince.  There should be a yearly examination of the warlikestores, of the arms, and horses, by good and discreet men deputedfor that purpose, and who, not intent on its plunder and ruin,interest themselves in the defence and protection of theircountry.  By these salutary measures, the soldiers,citizens, and the whole mass of the people, being instructed andaccustomed to the use of arms, liberty may be opposed by liberty,and pride be checked by pride.  For the Welsh, who areneither worn out by laborious burdens, nor molested by theexactions of their lords, are ever prompt to avenge aninjury.  Hence arise their distinguished bravery in thedefence of their country; hence their readiness to take up armsand to rebel.  Nothing so much excites, encourages, andinvites the hearts of men to probity as the cheerfulness ofliberty; nothing so much dejects and dispirits them as theoppression of servitude.  This portion of the kingdom,protected by arms and courage, might be of great use to theprince, not only in these or the adjacent parts, but, ifnecessity required, in more remote regions; and although thepublic treasury might receive a smaller annual revenue from theseprovinces, yet the deficiency would be abundantly compensated bythe peace of the kingdom and the honour of its sovereign;especially as the heavy and dangerous expenses of one militaryexpedition into Wales usually amount to the whole income amongfrom the revenues of the province.

p.202CHAPTER IX
IN WHAT MANNER WALES, WHEN CONQUERED,SHOULD BE GOVERNED

As therefore this nation is to besubdued by resolution in the manner proposed, so when subdued,its government must be directed by moderation, according to thefollowing plan.  Let the care of it be committed to a man ofa firm and determined mind; who during the time of peace, bypaying due obedience to the laws, and respect to the government,may render it firm and stable.  For like other nations in abarbarous state, this people, although they are strangers to theprinciples of honour, yet above all things desire to be honoured;and approve and respect in others that truth which theythemselves do not profess.  Whenever the natural inconstancyof their indisposition shall induce them to revolt, letpunishment instantly follow the offence; but when they shall havesubmitted themselves again to order, and made proper amends fortheir faults (as it is the custom of bad men to remember wrathafter quarrels), let their former transgression be overlooked,and let them enjoy security and respect, as long as they continuefaithful.  Thus, by mild treatment they will be invited toobedience and the love of peace, and the thought of certainpunishment will deter them from rash attempts.  We haveoften observed persons who, confounding these matters, bycomplaining of faults, depressing for services, flattering inwar, plundering in peace, despoiling the weak, paying respect torevolters, by thus rendering all things confused, have at lengthbeen confounded themselves.  Besides, as circumstances whichare foreseen do less mischief, and as that state is happy whichthinks of war in the time of peace, let the wise man be upon hisguard, and prepared against the approaching p.203inconveniences of war, by the construction of forts,the widening of passes through woods, and the providing of atrusty household.  For those who are cherished and sustainedduring the time of peace, are more ready to come forward in timesof danger, and are more confidently to be depended upon; and as anation unsubdued ever meditates plots under the disguise offriendship, let not the prince or his governor entrust theprotection of his camp or capital to their fidelity.  By theexamples of many remarkable men, some of whom have been cruellyput to death, and others deprived of their castles and dignities,through their own neglect and want of care, we may see, that theartifices of a crafty and subdued nation are much more to bedreaded than their open warfare; their good-will than theiranger, their honey than their gall, their malice than theirattack, their treachery than their aggression, and theirpretended friendship more than their open enmity.  A prudentand provident man therefore should contemplate in the misfortuneof others what he ought himself to avoid; correction taught byexample is harmless, as Ennodius [203] says: “Theruin of predecessors instructs those who succeed; and a formermiscarriage becomes a future caution.”  If awell-disposed prince should wish these great designs to beaccomplished without the effusion of blood, the marches, as webefore mentioned, must be put into a state of defence on allsides, and all intercourse by sea and land interdicted; some ofthe Welsh may be stirred up to deadly feuds, by means ofstipends, and by transferring the property of one person toanother; and thus worn out with hunger, and a want of thenecessaries of life, and harassed by frequent murders andimplacable enmities, they will at last be compelled tosurrender.

There are three things which ruin this nation, and prevent itsenjoying the satisfaction of a fruitful progeny.  p. 204First,because both the natural and legitimate sons endeavour to dividethe paternal inheritance amongst themselves; from which cause, aswe have before observed, continual fratricides take place. Secondly, because the education of their sons is committed to thecare of the high-born people of the country, who, on the death oftheir fathers, endeavour by all possible means to exalt theirpupil; from whence arise murders, conflagrations, and almost atotal destruction of the country.  And, thirdly, becausefrom the pride and obstinacy of their disposition, they will not(like other nations) subject themselves to the dominion of onelord and king.

CHAPTER X
IN WHAT MANNER THIS NATION MAY RESIST ANDREVOLT

Having hitherto so partially andelaborately spoken in favour of the English, and being equallyconnected by birth with each nation, justice demands that weshould argue on both sides; let us therefore, at the close of ourwork, turn our attention towards the Welsh, and briefly, buteffectually, instruct them in the art of resistance.  If theWelsh were more commonly accustomed to the Gallic mode of arming,and depended more on steady fighting than on their agility; iftheir princes were unanimous and inseparable in their defence; orrather, if they had only one prince, and that a good one; thisnation situated in so powerful, strong, and inaccessible acountry, could hardly ever be completely overcome.  If,therefore, they would be inseparable, they would becomeinsuperable, being assisted by these three circumstances; acountry well defended by nature, a people both contented andaccustomed to live upon p. 205little, a community whose nobles aswell as privates are instructed in the use of arms; andespecially as the English fight for power, the Welsh for liberty;the one to procure gain, the other to avoid loss; the Englishhirelings for money, the Welsh patriots for their country. The English, I say, fight in order to expel the naturalinhabitants from the island, and secure to themselves thepossession of the whole; but the Welsh maintain the conflict,that they, who have so long enjoyed the sovereignty of the wholekingdom, may at least find a hiding place in the worst corner ofit, amongst woods and marshes; and, banished, as it were, fortheir offences, may there in a state of poverty, for a limitedtime, perform penance for the excesses they committed in the daysof their prosperity.  For the perpetual remembrance of theirformer greatness, the recollection of their Trojan descent, andthe high and continued majesty of the kingdom of Britain, maydraw forth many a latent spark of animosity, and encourage thedaring spirit of rebellion.  Hence during the militaryexpedition which king Henry II. made in our days against SouthWales, an old Welshman at Pencadair, who had faithfully adheredto him, being desired to give his opinion about the royal army,and whether he thought that of the rebels would make resistance,and what would be the final event of this war, replied,“This nation, O king, may now, as in former times, beharassed, and in a great measure weakened and destroyed by yourand other powers, and it will often prevail by its laudableexertions; but it can never be totally subdued through the wrathof man, unless the wrath of God shall concur.  Nor do Ithink, that any other nation than this of Wales, or any otherlanguage, whatever may hereafter come to pass, shall, in the dayof severe examination before the Supreme Judge, answer for thiscorner of the earth.”

FOOTNOTES

[155a]  Port Gordber, writtenGordwrby Humphrey Lhwyd in his Breviary of Britain,probably a corruption from Gorddyar, a roaring, applied to thesea, as Gorddyar môr, the roaring of the sea.

[155b]  The harbour, now known by thename of Portscwit, (and recorded in the Triads as one of thethree passages or ferries in the Isle of Britain), is situated onthe Welsh side of the Bristol channel, at a short distance fromthe lower passage.

[155c]  Port Mawr, or the large port,is thus mentioned by Leland in his Itinerary, tom. v. pp. 28,29:—“About a mile of is Port Mawre, where is a greatsande with a shorte estuary into the lande.  And sum saythat there hath beene a castel at or aboute Port Mawr, but thetokens be not very evidente.”

[155d]  Rhyd-helyg, or the Ford of theWillow.—I imagine this place is Walford in Herefordshire,near the banks of the river Wye.

[156]  Brutus, according to the fable,in his way to Britain, met with a company of Trojans, who hadfled from Troy with Antenor and Corinæus at their head, whosubmitted themselves to Brutus, and joined his company; whichCorinæus, being a very valiant man, rendered great serviceto Brutus during his wars in Gaul and Britain; in return forwhich, Brutus, having subdued the island, and divided it amongsthis people, gave Cornwall to Corinæus, who, as it is said,called it after his own name, Cernyw.

[157a]  Uchelwyr, so called fromUchel, high, and gwr, a man.

[157b]  This assertion is unfounded, ifwe give credit to the Welsh Chronicle, which dates the death ofCadell in 907, and that of Anarawdin in 913.  [Howell Dda,the son of Cadell, reunited Wales under one sovereign.]

[158a]  B.M.—This abbreviation,which in every manuscript I have seen of Giraldus has beenconstrued into Beatam Mariam, and in many of them iswritten Beatam Virginem, may with much greater proprietybe applied to Belinus Magnus, or Beli the Great, adistinguished British King, to whom most of the British pedigreesascended; and because his name occurred so frequently in them itwas often written short, B.M., which some men, by mistake,interpret Beata Maria.—(Sir R. C. H.)

[158b]  Aberfraw, a small town at theconflux of the river Fraw and the sea, on the S.W. part of theisle of Anglesey, and twelve miles S.E. of Holyhead.

[159a]  A great lordship inHerefordshire, including the district between Hereford andMonmouth, bordering on the river Wye.

[159b]  Book ii. chapter i.

[162a]  Book ii. c. 4.

[162b]  If by the mountains of Eryri weare to understand the Snowdonian range of hills, our author hasnot been quite accurate in fixing the source of the river Dovy,which rises between Dynas-y-mowddu and Bala Lake, to thesouthward of Mount Arran: from whence it pursues its course toMallwyd, and Machynlleth, below which place it becomes anestuary, and the boundary between North and South Wales.

[162c]  Our author is again incorrectin stating that the river Maw forms, by its course, the twotracts of sands called Traeth Mawr and Traeth Bychan.  Thisriver, from which Barmouth derives the name of Abermaw, and towhich Giraldus, in the fifth chapter of the second book of hisItinerary, has given the epithet of bifurcus, runs far tothe southward of either of the Traeths.  The Traeth Mawr, orlarge sands, are formed by the impetuous torrents which descendfrom Snowdon by Beddgelert, and pass under the Devil’sBridge at Pont Aberglasllyn, so called from the river Glasllyn;and the Traeth Bychan, or little sands, are formed by numerousstreams which unite themselves in the vale of Festiniog, andbecome an æstuary near the village of Maentwrog.

[165a]  Better known as Geoffrey ofMonmouth.

[165b]  The Anglo-Saxons called theBritons Wealhas, from a word in their own language, whichsignified literally foreigners; and hence we derive the modernname Welsh.

[168]  The Peak, in Derbyshire.

[169a]  Sir R. C. Hoare has altogethermisunderstood the original here.  It was the custom in themiddle ages to place the guests at table in pairs, and each twopersons ate out of one plate.  Each couple was amess.  At a later period, among the great the messconsisted of four persons; but it appears that in Wales, at thistime, it was formed of three guests.

[169b]  “Bread, calledLagana, was, I suppose, the sort of household bread, orthin cake baked on an iron plate, called a griddle(gradell), still common in Caermarthenshire, and calledBara Llechand Bara Llechan, or griddle bread, frombeing so baked.”—Owen.  “Laganum, afritter or pancake, Baranyiod.”—Lluyd,Archaiology, p. 75.

[170]  Brychan, in Lhuyd’sArchaiology and Cornish Grammar, is spelt Bryccan, andinterpreted a blanket.

[171]  “Omnes vero se Britannivitro inficiunt, quod cæruleum efficit colorem, atque hochorridore sunt in pugna adspectu; capilloque sunt promisso, atqueomni parte corporis rasa, præter caput et labrumsuperius.”—Cæsar de Bello Gallico, cap.13, 14.

[172]  This instrument is generallysupposed to have been the origin of the violin, which was notcommonly known in England till the reign of Charles I. Before this time the crwth was not probably confined to thePrincipality, from the name of Crowderoin Hudibras; asalso from a fiddler being still called a crowderin someparts of England, though he now plays on a violin instead of acrwth.

[173]  These Welsh lines quoted byGiraldus are selected from two different stanzas of moral verses,called Eglynion y Clywed, the composition of some anonymous bard;or probably the work of several:

“A glyweisti a gant Dywyneg,
Milwr doeth detholedig;
Digawn Duw da i unig?

“Hast thou heard what was sung by Dywynic?
A wise and chosen warrior;
God will effect solace to the orphan.

“A glyweisti a gant Anarawd?
Milwr doniawg did lawd;
Rhaid wrth anmhwyll pwyll parawd.

“Hast thou heard what was sung by Anarawd?
A warrior endowed with many gifts;
With want of sense ready wit is necessary.”

Or, as Giraldus quotes it,

“Wrth bob crybwll rhaid pwyllparawd.”

“With every hint ready wit is necessary.”

Myvyvrian Archaiology, page172.

[179]  Awenydhion, in a literal sense,means persons inspired by the Muse, and is derived from Awen andAwenydd, a poetical rapture, or the gift of poetry.  It wasthe appellation of the disciples, or candidates for the BardicOrder; but the most general acceptation of the word was, Poets,or Bards.

[183]  Genealogies were preserved as aprinciple of necessity under the ancient Britishconstitution.  A man’s pedigree was in reality histitle deed, by which he claimed his birthright in thecountry.  Every one was obliged to show his descent throughnine generations, in order to be acknowledged a free native, andby this right he claimed his portion of land in thecommunity.  He was affected with respect to legal process inhis collateral affinities through nine degrees.  Forinstance, every murder committed had a fine levied on therelations of the murderer, divided into nine degrees; his brotherpaying the greatest, and the ninth in affinity the least. This fine was distributed in the same way among the relatives ofthe victim.  A person past the ninth descent formed a newfamily.  Every family was represented by its elder; andthese elders from every family were delegates to the nationalcouncil.—Owen.

[184]  The naviculæmentioned by Giraldus bear the modern name of coracles,and are much used on the Welsh rivers for the taking ofsalmon.  Their name is derived probably from the Celtic wordcorawg, which signifies a ship.  They arementioned by the ancient writers.

[197]  By the city of Legions Chesteris here meant, not Caerleon.

[198]  Of the stones inscribed“HIC VICTOR FUITHAROLDUS”—“HEREHAROLD CONQUERED,” no original, I believe, remainsextant; but at the village of Trelech, in Monmouthshire, there isa modern pedestal bearing the above inscription.—See thedescription and engraving in Coxe’s Monmouthshire, p.234.

[203]  In one MS. of Giraldus in theBritish Museum, this name is written Ovidius.

Related articles