COLLECTANEA.

ANTIQUITATES PAROCHIALES.
[Continued from page 55.]

"NOTWITHSTANDING some persons may doubt whether Llanddwyn ever constituted one of the Prebends of Bangor, yet this circumstance will be placed beyond all question by the following document ::- Know all men by these presents, that 'I Griffith Young, LL.D., Archdeacon of Merioneth, having 'been appointed deputy to the Rev. Wm. Vaughan, Canon of the 'Cathedral of Bangor, and Prebendary of Llanddwyn, with full "power and authority to nominate any other person or persons 'my agent or agents, to receive the rents, profits, offerings, and ' emoluments whatsoever, to the said Church of Llanddwyn be'longing and appertaining, do hereby nominate and appoint our 'beloved in Christ, Evan ap Bleddyn, Archdeacon of Anglesey, • Meredydd ap Tudur*, and Meredydd ap Cynvrigt, (stewards to "the Bishop of Bangor,) my deputies and agents, to receive the 'said rents, &c., and with full power also to commence legal 'proceedings against Iorwerth Vychan, rector of Llanddoget, in 'the diocese of St. Asaph, for having violently, unjustly, 'illegally, and sacrilegiously taken possession of part of the rents, 'profits, and offerings of the said Prebendal Church of Llanddwyn,

• and against any other persons, who may, in like manner, transgress and offend; in testimony of which, I have hereunto 'caused my seal to be affixed. Given at the Camp of Llan'Badarn‡, 19 Jan. 1404.'

for the overthrow of the tyrant Richard III., and for bringing that nobleman to the throne, by the name of Hen. VII., in which they were at last successful, the usurper having been killed, as is well known, in Bosworth Field, and Henry proclaimed king.

“ The church of Llanddwyn was dedicated, as it is conjectured, to Dwynwen, the daughter of Brychan Brycheiniog, one of the celebrated Colidei or Culdees. This Brychan, as we are informed by Giraldus Cambrensis, had a great number of sons and daughters, who had acquired, in that dark age, a great reputation for sanctity, and were, consequently, (as was usual in those times,). denominated saints, and several churches in Wales were dedicated to their memory. On a small plain or meadow, in the middle of this little promontory, are situated the remains of the once celebrated church of Llanddwyn; and its present ruinous and desolate appearance must forcibly impress the mind of every person, who

may be induced to visit this retired spot, with the transitory nature of all sublunary greatness and magnificence. It appears, that, soon after the Reformation, this church became so neglected, that it was exposed to the depredations of the neighbouring inhabitants, who, from time to time, despoiled it of all the timber and lead, and converted them to various domestic uses; but it is generally reported and believed, that the wretches, who were guilty of such an act of sacrilege, did not prosper long, for that the just judgment of the Almighty fell upon them. It is very probable, that, in ancient times, Llanddwyn might have been an island, and that sands, stones, and sea-weeds, collected by storms and tempests, gradually formed the present isthmus. For it is evident, that small islands of this description, nearly adjoining the main land, were the places generally selected by the Colidei in remote ages, as best adapted for devotion and contemplation, on account of their comparative security from the incursions of plunderers and marauders, and their remoteness from the convulsions and commotions of those turbulent times of anarchy, misrule, and domestic discord. Holyhead, (Ynys Gybi,) Llandyssilio, and Llangwyfaen, the former an island, and the two latter small rocks, on this coast, which were the different retreats of Cybi or Kebi, Tyssilio, and Gwyvaen*, may be mentioned as instances in proof of this assertion.

"As to the other parts of this small parish, they are perfectly barren and uncultivated, except a few tenements adjoining New borough, tolerably well adapted for tillage, and from which (as they are considered extra-parochial) no tithes are demanded; the remainder consists of a rabbit warren, (which is consequently undermined by those animals,) and marshes, pools, and sandbanks, covered with sedges, reeds, and bulrushes, which supply the inhabitants of Newborough with great abundance of materials for the manufacture of mats, ropes, hassocks, &c. A grant of this warren was made, many years ago, to the family of Bodowen by one of the bishops of Bangor. It would be inconsistent with the design of this short history, and too tedious at present, to describe the variety of shells, shell-fish, and marine plants, which are fre quently discovered on this shore; I shall, therefore, omit these for the present, and proceed to describe other portions of this district, which are more populous and better cultivated.

"Llan Bedr cum Novo Burgo, St. Peter's cum Newborough This parish, the ancient manor of Rhosyr, was the grange of demesne of some of the Welsh princes, and was denominated a manor and not a vill, and, according to the custom of those times, was divided into two parts. That next to the palace was destined for the villains, or bondmen, and the other inhabited by tenants, who were yet bound to their lord under certain rents and services. The former of these was again subdivided into two comportions. One was appropriated as the residence, and placed under the management, of an officer called Maer y Biswail*, and was distinguished by the name of Maer-Drev, or Bailiff's Town or Habitation, and there are still many places, which retain this appellation. The Maer-Drev consisted of twelve gavels or tenements, which were held subject to certain services; and the other sub-division contained twelve small fields or enclosures, called gerddi; and those, who cultivated them, were distin

* Maer Biswail, in the laws of Hywel, signifies a land-steward, or bailiff of a manor, and particularly with reference to the royal domains. His duties, as enumerated in these laws, were chiefly to superintend the management of the land under his care, and to provide certain necessaries for the court. In return, he was entitled to certain fines from the vassals and dependents, and other fees, besides the hides of all cattle that should be under his care for three nights. He had also certain other privileges, and was allowed a lodging in the buttery (bwyttys) or refectory, as Wotton translates it.ED..

VOL. II**

X

guished by the names of garddwyr, who were persons of the meanest or lowest description. The second principal division or comportion of the manor contained eight gavels, (or holdings, which were held by those denominated liberi nativi, or freemen,' who claimed an hereditary right to their possessions; and there are some of these, whose posterity are to this day proprietors of the same tenements. But even these last were bound to perform certain services, such probably as the cultivation of certain portions of the demesne or prince's farm, keeping some of his horses or dogs, the payment of a particular quantity of corn, or meat, and so many heads of cattle, &c.

“ These appear to have been the ancient divisions of this parish ; but after the conquest, when the English kings became princes of Wales, these Welsh customs and regulations were disa continued: The bondsmen were liberated, and the first mentioned portion of the manor, containing the site of the prince's palace, was converted into a borough, first of all subject to Carnarvon and afterwards to Beaumaris ; and it retains, to the present time, the name of Newborough, as appears from what are called the Kensington Petitions. In the time of Edw. II., however, this place obtained a separate and independent charter et gildam mercatoriam cum hansa, and, under Edw. III., obtained many privileges confirmed after the manner of the statute of Rhuddlan, under the sanction of Parliament, which were again re-enacted and re-confirmed in the time of Richard II., Henry VI., and Henry VIII., which facts may be easily ascertained by any per

may
think
proper

to consult the Newborough charter, now in the possession of Mr. Owen, the worthy mayor of this borough*.”

(To be continued.)

son, who

PREFACE BY THE REV. EVAN EVANS.

[Continued from page 59.] “ There is also a certain degree of obscurity in the very words and language of Taliesin; and the same may be observed of the compositions of Aneurin Gwawdrydd and other bards of the same age, a catalogue of whose works may be found in the learned

Qu., was this Mr. Owen of Bodowen ? If so, this charter may be in the possession of his descendant, Sir John Owen, of Orielton, Pembrokeshire, and where probably there may be some valuable MSS.---P. B. W.

Edward Llwyd's Archæology, collected from the 'notes of William Maurice, Esq. of Cefn y Braich. But Mr. E. Llwyd never saw any of the poetical compositions of Taliesin, Aneurin, and other early bards, except those of Llywarch Hen, which he found in Llyfr Coch o Hergest : and the works of these ancient authors will afford us very material assistance, not only in the investigation of our ancient British language, but also in examina ing historical facts, and in tracing the origin of the various tribes, who inhabited this island during that early period. Taliesin, in a poem, of which the following is the title, “ Cerdd am Feibion Llyr ap Brychwel Powys," mentions three separate nations, who had taken possession of different parts of Britain, previous to his time, viz. Gwyddyl (Celts or Gauls*,) Brython, and Romani, (Romans.)

Gwyddyl, a Brython, a Romani,
A wna hon dyhedd, a dyfysci;

Ac am derfyn Prydein, cain ei threfi. And they are represented as exciting war and tumult on the borders of this fair isle, and its beautiful towns and cities; and it appears evidently from this poem, that the first inhabitants were Gwyddyl or Celts, which circumstance Mr. Llwyd and others have proved most satisfactorily, from the names of mountains, rivers, &c. But by the word Gwyddyl Taliesin must, by no means, be understood to mean the modern Irish; for their language at present contains a very considerable mixture of Cantabrian and Spanish, and differs very materially from the ancient genuine Celtic and British, which clearly appears from the writings of the old bards, and the ancient British Proverbs. For, if any person were vain enough to suppose, that he could discover the meaning of some of our obsolete British words, by consulting an Irish Dictionary, he would soon find himself woefully disappointed, and I am clearly of opinion, that the ancient genuine Celtic dialect had a very near affinity to the old Welsh or British, I believe, that the persons, denominated Gwyddyl by Taliesin, were genuine Celtæ, and inhabited this island previous to the arrival of the Britons, and probably soon after the general deluge, and that these Celtæ were the progeny of the Titans; for the Curetes and Corybantes, who were their princes and nobles, are