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+Project Gutenberg Etext of Description of Wales by G. Cambrensis
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+The Description of Wales
+
+by Geraldus Cambrensis
+
+November, 1997  [Etext 1092#]
+
+
+Project Gutenberg Etext of Description of Wales by G. Cambrensis
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+Corrected EDITIONS of our etexts get a new NUMBER, dscwl11.txt.
+VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, dscwl10a.txt.
+
+
+This etext was prepared by David Price from the 1912 J. M. Dent
+edition, email ccx074@coventry.ac.uk
+
+
+
+
+
+The Description of Wales
+
+
+
+
+FIRST PREFACE to Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury
+
+
+
+I, who, at the expense of three years' labour, arranged, a short
+time ago, in three parts, the Topography of Ireland, with a
+description of its natural curiosities, and who afterwards, by two
+years' study, completed in two parts the Vaticinal History of its
+Conquest; and who, by publishing the Itinerary of the Holy Man
+(Baldwin) through Cambria, prevented his laborious mission from
+perishing in obscurity, do now propose, in the present little work,
+to give some account of this my native country, and to describe the
+genius of its inhabitants, so entirely distinct from that of other
+nations.  And this production of my industry I have determined to
+dedicate to you, illustrious Stephen, archbishop of Canterbury, as
+I before ascribed to you my Itinerary; considering you as a man no
+less distinguished by your piety, than conspicuous for your
+learning; though so humble an offering may possibly be unworthy the
+acceptance of a personage who, from his eminence, deserves to be
+presented with works of the greatest merit.
+
+Some, indeed, object to this my undertaking, and, apparently from
+motives of affection, compare me to a painter, who, rich in
+colours, and like another Zeuxis, eminent in his art, is
+endeavouring with all his skill and industry to give celebrity to a
+cottage, or to some other contemptible object, whilst the world is
+anxiously expecting from his hand a temple or a palace.  Thus they
+wonder that I, amidst the many great and striking subjects which
+the world presents, should choose to describe and to adorn, with
+all the graces of composition, such remote corners of the earth as
+Ireland and Wales.
+
+Others again, reproaching me with greater severity, say, that the
+gifts which have been bestowed upon me from above, ought not to be
+wasted upon these insignificant objects, nor lavished in a vain
+display of learning on the commendation of princes, who, from their
+ignorance and want of liberality, have neither taste to appreciate,
+nor hearts to remunerate literary excellence.  And they further
+add, that every faculty which emanates from the Deity, ought rather
+to be applied to the illustration of celestial objects, and to the
+exultation of his glory, from whose abundance all our talents have
+been received; every faculty (say they) ought to be employed in
+praising him from whom, as from a perennial source, every perfect
+gift is derived, and from whose bounty everything which is offered
+with sincerity obtains an ample reward.  But since excellent
+histories of other countries have been composed and published by
+writers of eminence, I have been induced, by the love I bear to my
+country and to posterity, to believe that I should perform neither
+an useless nor an unacceptable service, were I to unfold the hidden
+merits of my native land; to rescue from obscurity those glorious
+actions which have been hitherto imperfectly described, 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 the
+histories of the destruction of Troy, Thebes, or Athens, or to the
+conquest of the shores of Latium?  Besides, to do what has been
+already done, is, in fact, to be doing nothing; I have, therefore,
+thought it more eligible to apply my industry to the arrangement of
+the history of my native country, hitherto almost wholly overlooked
+by strangers; but interesting to my relations and countrymen; and
+from these small beginnings to aspire by degrees to works of a
+nobler cast.  From these inconsiderable attempts, some idea may be
+formed with what success, should Fortune afford an opportunity, I
+am likely to treat matters of greater importance.  For although
+some things should be made our principal objects, whilst others
+ought not to be wholly neglected, I may surely be allowed to
+exercise the powers of my youth, as yet untaught and unexperienced,
+in pursuits of this latter nature, lest by habit I should feel a
+pleasure in indolence and in sloth, the parent of vice.
+
+I have therefore employed these studies as a kind of introduction
+to the glorious treasures of that most excellent of the sciences,
+which alone deserves the name of science; which alone can render us
+wise to rule and to instruct mankind; which alone the other
+sciences follow, as attendants do their queen.  Laying therefore in
+my youth the foundations of so noble a structure, it is my
+intention, if God will assist me and prolong my life, to reserve my
+maturer years for composing a treatise upon so perfect, so sacred a
+subject:  for according to the poet,
+
+
+"Ardua quippe fides robustos exigit annos;"
+"The important concerns of faith require a mind in its full
+vigour;"
+
+
+I may be permitted to indulge myself for a short time in other
+pursuits; but in this I should wish not only to continue, but to
+die.
+
+But before I enter on this important subject, I demand a short
+interval, to enable me to lay before the public my Treatise on the
+Instruction of a Prince, which has been so frequently promised, as
+well as the Description of Wales, which is now before me, and the
+Topography of Britain.
+
+Of all the British writers, Gildas alone appears to me (as often as
+the course of my subject leads me to consult him) worthy of
+imitation; for by committing to paper the things which he himself
+saw and knew, and by declaring rather than describing the
+desolation of his country, he has compiled a history more
+remarkable for its truth than for its elegance.
+
+Giraldus therefore follows Gildas, whom he wishes he could copy in
+his life and manners; becoming an imitator of his wisdom rather
+than of his eloquence - of his mind rather than of his writings -
+of his zeal rather than of his style - of his life rather than of
+his language.
+
+
+
+SECOND PREFACE to the same
+
+
+
+When, amidst various literary pursuits, 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 its adjoining regions; and
+afterwards, under God's guidance, to proceed to a description of
+more distant territories.  But since some leading men (whom we have
+both seen and known) show so great a contempt for literature, that
+they immediately shut up within their book-cases the excellent
+works with which they are presented, and thus doom them, as it
+were, to a perpetual imprisonment; I entreat you, illustrious
+Prelate, to prevent the present little work, which will shortly be
+delivered to you, from perishing in obscurity.  And because this,
+as well as my former productions, though of no transcendent merit,
+may hereafter prove to many a source of entertainment and
+instruction, I entreat you generously to order it to be made
+public, by which it will acquire reputation.  And I shall consider
+myself sufficiently rewarded for my trouble, if, withdrawing for a
+while from your religious and secular occupations, 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 desire nor expect any other recompense.  Not
+that it would appear in any way inconsistent, however there exists
+among men of rank a kind of conspiracy against authors, if a
+prelate so eminently conspicuous for his virtues, for his
+abilities, both natural and acquired, for irreproachable morals,
+and for munificence, should distinguish himself likewise by
+becoming the generous and sole patron of literature.  To comprise
+your merits in a few words, the lines of Martial addressed to
+Trajan, whilst serving under Dioclesian, may be deservedly applied
+to you:
+
+
+"Laudari debes quoniam sub principe duro,
+Temporibusque malis, ausus es esse bonus."
+
+
+And those also of Virgil to Mecaenas, which extol the humanity of
+that great man:
+
+
+"Omnia cum possis tanto tam clarus amico,
+Te sensit nemo posse nocere tamen."
+
+
+Many indeed remonstrate against my proceedings, and those
+particularly who call themselves my friends insist that, in
+consequence of my violent attachment to study, I pay no attention
+to the concerns of the world, or to the interests of my family; and
+that, on this account, I shall experience a delay in my promotion
+to worldly dignities; that the influence of authors, both poets and
+historians, has long since ceased; that the respect paid to
+literature vanished with literary princes; and that in these
+degenerate days very different paths lead to honours and opulence.
+I allow all this, I readily allow it, and acquiesce in the truth.
+For the unprincipled and covetous attach themselves to the court,
+the churchmen to their books, and the ambitious to the public
+offices, but as every man is under the influence of some darling
+passion, so the love of letters and the study of eloquence have
+from my infancy had for me peculiar charms of attraction.  Impelled
+by this thirst for knowledge, I have carried my researches into the
+mysterious works of nature farther than the generality of my
+contemporaries, and for the benefit of posterity have rescued from
+oblivion the remarkable events of my own times.  But this object
+was not to be secured without an indefatigable, though at the same
+time an agreeable, exertion; for an accurate investigation of every
+particular is attended with much difficulty.  It is difficult to
+produce an orderly account of the investigation and discovery of
+truth; it is difficult to preserve from the beginning to the end a
+connected relation unbroken by irrelevant matter; and it is
+difficult to render the narration no less elegant in the diction,
+than instructive in its matter, for in prosecuting the series of
+events, the choice of happy expressions is equally perplexing, as
+the search after them painful.  Whatever is written requires the
+most intense thought, and every expression should be carefully
+polished before it be submitted to the public eye; for, by exposing
+itself to the examination of the present and of future ages, it
+must necessarily undergo the criticism not only of the acute, but
+also of the dissatisfied, reader.  Words merely uttered are soon
+forgotten, and the admiration or disgust which they occasioned is
+no more; but writings once published are never lost, and remain as
+lasting memorials either of the glory or of the disgrace of the
+author.  Hence the observation of Seneca, that the malicious
+attention of the envious reader dwells with no less satisfaction on
+a faulty than on an elegant expression, and is as anxious to
+discover what it may ridicule, as what it may commend; as the poet
+also observes:
+
+
+"Discit enim citius meminitque libentius illud
+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 moral
+philosopher declares, "is the record of antiquity, the testimony of
+ages, the light of truth, the soul of memory, the mistress of
+conduct, and the herald of ancient times."
+
+This study is the more delightful, as it is more honourable to
+produce works worthy of being quoted than to quote the works of
+others; as it is more desirable to be the author of compositions
+which deserve to be admired than to be esteemed a good judge of the
+writings of other men; as it is more meritorious to be the just
+object of other men's commendations than to be considered an adept
+in pointing out the merits of others.  On these pleasing
+reflections I feed and regale myself; for I would rather resemble
+Jerome than Croesus, and I prefer to riches themselves the man who
+is capable of despising them.  With these gratifying ideas I rest
+contented and delighted, valuing moderation more than intemperance,
+and an honourable sufficiency more than superfluity; for
+intemperance and superfluity produce their own destruction, but
+their opposite virtues never perish; the former vanish, but the
+latter, like eternity, remain for ever; in short, I prefer praise
+to lucre, and reputation to riches.
+
+
+
+
+BOOK I
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+
+
+Of the length and breadth of Wales, the nature of its soil, and the
+three remaining tribes of Britons
+
+
+Cambria, which, by a corrupt and common term, though less proper,
+is in modern times called Wales, is about two hundred miles long
+and one hundred broad.  The length from Port Gordber (1) in
+Anglesey to Port Eskewin (2) in Monmouthshire is eight days'
+journey in extent; the breadth from Porth Mawr, (3) or the great
+Port of St. David's, to Ryd-helic, (4) which in Latin means VADUM
+SALICIS, or the Ford of the Willow, and in English is called
+Willow-forde, is four days' journey.  It is a country very strongly
+defended by high mountains, deep valleys, extensive woods, rivers,
+and marshes; insomuch that from the time the Saxons took possession
+of the island the remnants of the Britons, retiring into these
+regions, could never be entirely subdued either by the English or
+by the Normans.  Those who inhabited the southern angle of the
+island, which took its name from the chieftain Corinaeus, (5) made
+less resistance, as their country was 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 king Maximus, and, in consequence of the hard and
+continued warfare which they underwent with him, were rewarded by
+the royal munificence with those districts in France.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+
+
+Of the ancient division of Wales into three parts
+
+
+Wales was in ancient times divided into three parts nearly equal,
+consideration having been paid, in this division, more to the value
+than to the just quantity or proportion of territory.  They were
+Venedotia, now called North Wales; Demetia, or South Wales, which
+in British is called Deheubarth, that is, the southern part; and
+Powys, the middle or eastern district.  Roderic the Great, or
+Rhodri Mawr, who was king over all Wales, was the cause of this
+division.  He had three sons, Mervin, Anarawt, and Cadell, amongst
+whom he partitioned the whole principality.  North Wales fell to
+the lot of Mervin; Powys to Anarawt; and Cadell received the
+portion of South Wales, together with the general good wishes of
+his brothers and the people; for although this district greatly
+exceeded the others in quantity, it was the least desirable from
+the number of noble chiefs, or Uchelwyr, (6) men of a superior
+rank, who inhabited it, and were often rebellious to their lords,
+and impatient of control.  But Cadell, on the death of his
+brothers, obtained the entire dominion of Wales, (7) as did his
+successors till the time of Tewdwr, whose descendants, Rhys, son of
+Tewdwr, Gruflydd, son of Rhys, and Rhys, son of Gruffydd, the
+ruling prince in our time, enjoyed only (like the father) the
+sovereignty over South Wales.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+
+
+Genealogy of the Princes of Wales
+
+
+The following is the generation of princes of South Wales:  Rhys,
+son of Gruffydd; Gruffydd, son of Rhys; Rhys, son of Tewdwr;
+Tewdwr, son of Eineon; Eineon, son of Owen; Owen, son of Howel Dda,
+or Howel the Good; Howel, son of Cadell, son of Roderic the Great.
+Thus the princes of South Wales derived their origin from Cadell,
+son of Roderic the Great.  The princes of North Wales descended
+from Mervin in this manner:  Llewelyn, son of Iorwerth; Iorwerth,
+son of Owen; Owen, son of Gruffydd; Gruffydd, son of Conan; Conan,
+son of Iago; Iago, son of Edoual; Edoual, son of Meyric; Meyric,
+son of Anarawt (Anandhrec); Anarawt, son of Mervin, son of Roderic
+the Great.  Anarawt leaving no issue, the princes of Powys have
+their own particular descent.
+
+It is worthy of remark, that the Welsh bards and singers, or
+reciters, have the genealogies of the aforesaid princes, written in
+the Welsh language, in their ancient and authentic books; and also
+retain them in their memory from Roderic the Great to B.M.; (8) and
+from thence to Sylvius, Ascanius, and AEneas; and from the latter
+produce the genealogical series in a lineal descent, even to Adam.
+
+But as an account of such long and remote genealogies may appear to
+many persons trifling rather than historical, we have purposely
+omitted them in our compendium.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+
+
+How many cantreds, royal palaces, and cathedrals there are in Wales
+
+
+South Wales contains twenty-nine cantreds; North Wales, twelve;
+Powys, six:  many of which are at this time in the possession of
+the English and Franks.  For the country now called Shropshire
+formerly belonged to Powys, and the place where the castle of
+Shrewsbury stands bore the name of Pengwern, or the head of the
+Alder Grove.  There were three royal seats in South Wales:
+Dinevor, in South Wales, removed from Caerleon; Aberfraw, (9) in
+North Wales; and Pengwern, in Powys.
+
+Wales contains in all fifty-four cantreds.  The word CANTREF is
+derived from CANT, a hundred, and TREF, a village; and means in the
+British and Irish languages 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 was in
+ancient times the metropolitan church, and the district only
+contained twenty-four cantreds, though at this time only twenty-
+three; for Ergengl, in English called Urchenfeld, (10) is said to
+have been formerly within the diocese of St. David's, and sometimes
+was placed within that of Landaff.  The see of St. David's had
+twenty-five successive archbishops; and from the time of the
+removal of the pall into France, to this day, twenty-two bishops;
+whose names and series, as well as the cause of the removal of the
+archiepiscopal pall, may be seen in our Itinerary. (11)
+
+In South Wales also is situated the bishopric of Landaff, near the
+Severn sea, and near the noble castle of Caerdyf; bishop Teilo
+being its patron.  It contains five cantreds, and the fourth part
+of another, namely, Senghennyd.
+
+In North Wales, between Anglesey and the Eryri mountains, is the
+see of Bangor, under the patronage of Daniel, the abbot; it
+contains 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 is
+subject.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+
+
+Of the two mountains from which the noble rivers which divide Wales
+spring
+
+
+Wales is divided and distinguished by noble rivers, which derive
+their source from two ranges of mountains, the Ellennith, in South
+Wales, which the English call Moruge, as being the heads of moors,
+or bogs; and Eryri, in North Wales, which they call Snowdon, or
+mountains of snow; the latter of which are said to be of so great
+an extent, that if all the herds in Wales were collected together,
+they would supply them with pasture for a considerable time.  Upon
+them are two lakes, one of which has a floating island; and the
+other contains fish having only one eye, as we have related in our
+Itinerary.
+
+We must also here remark, that at two places in Scotland, one on
+the eastern, and the other on the western ocean, the sea-fish
+called mulvelli (mullets) have only the right eye.
+
+The noble river Severn takes its rise from the Ellennith mountains,
+and flowing by the castles of Shrewsbury and Bridgenorth, through
+the city of Worcester, and that of Gloucester, celebrated for its
+iron manufactories, falls into the sea a few miles from the latter
+place, and gives its name to the Severn Sea.  This river was for
+many years the boundary between Cambria and Loegria, or Wales and
+England; it was called in British Hafren, from the daughter of
+Locrinus, who was drowned in it by her step-mother; the aspirate
+being changed, according to the Latin idiom, into S, as is usual in
+words derived from the Greek, it was termed Sarina, as hal becomes
+SAL; hemi, SEMI; hepta, SEPTEM.
+
+The river Wye rises in the same mountains of Ellennith, and flows
+by the castles of Hay and Clifford, through the city of Hereford,
+by the castles of Wilton and Goodrich, through the forest of Dean,
+abounding with iron and deer, and proceeds to Strigul castle, below
+which it empties itself into the sea, and forms in modern times the
+boundary between England and Wales.  The Usk does not derive its
+origin from these mountains, but from those of Cantref Bachan; it
+flows by the castle of Brecheinoc, or Aberhodni, that is, the fall
+of the river Hodni into the Usk (for Aber, in the British language,
+signifies every place where two rivers unite their streams); by the
+castles of Abergevenni and Usk, through the ancient city of
+Legions, and discharges itself into the Severn Sea, not far from
+Newport.
+
+The river Remni flows towards the sea from the mountains of
+Brecheinoc, having passed the castle and bridge of Remni.  From the
+same range of mountains springs the Taf, which pursues its course
+to the episcopal see of Landaf (to which it gives its name), and
+falls into the sea below the castle of Caerdyf.  The river Avon
+rushes impetuously from the mountains of Glamorgan, between the
+celebrated Cistercian monasteries of Margan and Neth; and the river
+Neth, descending from the mountains of Brecheinoc, unites itself
+with the sea, at no great distance from the castle of Neth; each of
+these rivers forming a long tract of dangerous quicksands.  From
+the same mountains of Brecheinoc the river Tawe flows down to
+Abertawe, called in English Swainsey.  The Lochor joins the sea
+near the castle of the same name; and the Wendraeth has its
+confluence near Cydweli.  The Tywy, another noble river, rises in
+the Ellennith mountains, and separating the Cantref Mawr from the
+Cantref Bachan, passes by the castle of Llanymddyfri, and the royal
+palace and castle of Dinevor, strongly situated in the deep
+recesses of its woods, by the noble castle of Caermarddin, where
+Merlin was found, and from whom the city received its name, and
+runs into the sea near the castle of Lhanstephan.  The river Taf
+rises in the Presseleu mountains, not far from the monastery of
+Whitland, and passing by the castle of St. Clare, falls into the
+sea near Abercorran and Talacharn.  From the same mountains flow
+the rivers Cleddeu, encompassing the province of Daugleddeu, and
+giving it their name one passes by the castle of Lahaden, and the
+other by Haverford, to the sea; and in the British language they
+bear the name of Daugleddeu, or two swords.
+
+The noble river Teivi springs from the Ellennith mountains, in the
+upper part of the Cantref Mawr and Caerdigan, not far from the
+pastures and excellent monastery of Stratflur, forming a boundary
+between Demetia and Caerdigan down to the Irish channel; this is
+the only river in Wales that produces beavers, an account of which
+is given in our Itinerary; and also exceeds every other river in
+the abundance and delicacy of its salmon.  But as this book may
+fall into the hands of many persons who will not meet with the
+other, I have thought it right here to insert many curious and
+particular qualities relating to the nature of these animals, how
+they convey their materials from the woods to the river, with what
+skill they employ these materials in constructing places of safety
+in the middle of the stream, how artfully they defend themselves
+against the attack of the hunters on the eastern and how on the
+western side; the singularity of their tails, which partake more of
+the nature of fish than flesh.  For further particulars see the
+Itinerary. (12)
+
+From the same mountains issues the Ystuyth, and flowing through the
+upper parts of Penwedic, in Cardiganshire, falls into the sea near
+the castle of Aberystuyth.  From the snowy mountains of Eryri flows
+the noble river Devi, (13) dividing for a great distance North and
+South Wales; and from the same mountains also the large river Maw,
+(14) forming by its course the greater and smaller tract of sands
+called the Traeth Mawr and the Traeth Bachan.  The Dissennith also,
+and the Arthro, flow through Merionethshire and the land of Conan.
+The Conwy, springing from the northern side of the Eryri mountains,
+unites its waters with the sea under the noble castle of Deganwy.
+The Cloyd rises from another side of the same mountain, and passes
+by the castle of Ruthlan to the sea.  The Doverdwy, called by the
+English Dee, draws its source from the lake of Penmelesmere, and
+runs 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 southern
+boundary of Wales.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+
+
+Concerning the pleasantness and fertility of Wales
+
+
+As the southern part of Wales near Cardiganshire, but particularly
+Pembrokeshire, is much pleasanter, on account of its plains and
+sea-coast, so North Wales is better defended by nature, is more
+productive of men distinguished for bodily strength, and more
+fertile in the nature of its soil; for, as the mountains of Eryri
+(Snowdon) could supply pasturage for all the herds of cattle in
+Wales, if collected together, so could the Isle of Mona (Anglesey)
+provide a requisite quantity of corn for all the inhabitants:  on
+which account there is an old British proverb, "MON MAM CYMBRY,"
+that is, "Mona is the mother of Wales."  Merionyth, and the land of
+Conan, is the rudest and least cultivated region, and the least
+accessible.  The natives of that part of Wales excel in the use of
+long lances, as those of Monmouthshire are distinguished for their
+management of the bow.  It is to be observed, that the 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 South Wales, placed as it were in
+the middle and heart of Cambria, is the most refined.
+
+The people of Cornwall and the Armoricans speak a language similar
+to that of the Britons; and from its origin and near resemblance,
+it is intelligible to the Welsh in many instances, and almost in
+all; and although less delicate and methodical, yet it approaches,
+as I judge, more to the ancient British idiom.  As in the southern
+parts of England, and particularly in Devonshire, the English
+language seems less agreeable, yet it bears more marks of antiquity
+(the northern parts being much corrupted by the irruptions of the
+Danes and Norwegians), and adheres more strictly to the original
+language and ancient mode of speaking; a positive proof of which
+may be deduced from all the English works of Bede, Rhabanus, and
+king Alfred, being written according to this idiom.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+
+
+Origin of the names Cambria and Wales
+
+
+Cambria was so called from Camber, son of Brutus, for Brutus,
+descending from the Trojans, by his grandfather, Ascanius, and
+father, Silvius, led the remnant of the Trojans, who had long been
+detained in Greece, into this western isle; and having reigned many
+years, and given his name to the country and people, at his death
+divided the kingdom of Wales between his three sons.  To his eldest
+son, Locrinus, he gave that part of the island which lies between
+the rivers Humber and Severn, and which from him was called
+Loegria.  To his second son, Albanactus, he gave the lands beyond
+the Humber, which took from him the name of Albania.  But to his
+youngest son, Camber, he bequeathed all that region which lies
+beyond the Severn, and is called after him Cambria; hence the
+country is properly and truly called Cambria, and its inhabitants
+Cambrians, or Cambrenses.  Some assert that their name was derived
+from CAM and GRAECO, that is, distorted Greek, on account of the
+affinity of their languages, contracted by their long residence in
+Greece; but this conjecture, though plausible, is not well founded
+on truth.
+
+The name of Wales was not derived from Wallo, a general, or
+Wandolena, the queen, as the fabulous history of Geoffrey Arthurius
+(15) falsely maintains, because neither of these personages are to
+be found amongst the Welsh; but it arose from a barbarian
+appellation.  The Saxons, when they seized upon Britain, called
+this nation, as they did all foreigners, Wallenses; and thus the
+barbarous name remains to the people and their country. (16)
+
+Having discoursed upon the quality and quantity of the land, the
+genealogies of the princes, the sources of the rivers, and the
+derivation of the names of this country, we shall now consider the
+nature and character of the nation.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER 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 of arms; for not only the nobles, but
+all the people are trained to war, and when the trumpet sounds the
+alarm, the husbandman rushes as eagerly from his plough as the
+courtier from his court; for here it is not found that, as in other
+places,
+
+
+"Agricolis labor actus in orbem,"
+
+
+returns; for in the months of March and April only the soil is once
+ploughed for oats, and again in the summer a third time, and in
+winter for wheat.  Almost all the people live upon the produce of
+their herds, with oats, milk, cheese, and butter; eating flesh in
+larger proportions than bread.  They pay no attention to commerce,
+shipping, or manufactures, and suffer no interruption but by
+martial exercises.  They anxiously study the defence of their
+country and their liberty; for these they fight, for these they
+undergo hardships, and for these willingly sacrifice their lives;
+they esteem it a disgrace to die in bed, an honour to die in the
+field of battle; using the poet's expressions, -
+
+
+"Procul hinc avertite pacem,
+Nobilitas cum pace perit."
+
+
+Nor is it wonderful if it degenerates, for the ancestors of these
+men, the AEneadae, rushed to arms in the cause of liberty.  It is
+remarkable that this people, though unarmed, dares attack an armed
+foe; the infantry defy the cavalry, and by their activity and
+courage generally prove victors.  They resemble in disposition and
+situation those conquerors whom the poet Lucan mentions:
+
+
+- "Populi quos despicit Arctos,
+Felices errore suo, quos ille timorum
+Maximus haud urget leti metus, inde ruendi
+In ferrum, mens prona viris, amimaeque capaces,
+Mortis et ignavum rediturae parsere vitae."
+
+
+They make use of light arms, which do not impede their agility,
+small coats of mail, bundles of arrows, and long lances, helmets
+and shields, and more rarely greaves plated with iron.  The higher
+class go to battle mounted on swift and generous steeds, which
+their country produces; but the greater part of the people fight on
+foot, on account of the marshy nature and unevenness of the soil.
+The horsemen as their situation or occasion requires, willingly
+serve as infantry, in attacking or retreating; and they either walk
+bare-footed, or make use of high shoes, roughly constructed with
+untanned leather.  In time of peace, the young men, by penetrating
+the deep recesses of the woods, and climbing the tops of mountains,
+learn by practice to endure fatigue through day and night; and as
+they meditate on war during peace, they acquire the art of fighting
+by accustoming themselves to the use of the lance, and by inuring
+themselves to hard exercise.
+
+In our time, king Henry II., in reply to the inquiries of Emanuel,
+emperor of Constantinople, concerning the situation, nature, and
+striking peculiarities of the British island, among other
+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 did not fear to
+encounter an armed force; being ready to shed their blood in
+defence of their country, and to sacrifice their lives for renown;
+which is the more surprising, as the beasts of the field over the
+whole face of the island became gentle, but these desperate men
+could not be tamed.  The wild animals, and particularly the stags
+and hinds, are so abundant, owing to the little molestation they
+receive, that in our time, in the northern parts of the island
+towards the Peak, (17) when pursued by the hounds and hunters, they
+contributed, by their numbers, to their own destruction."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+
+
+Of their sober supper and frugality
+
+
+Not addicted to gluttony or drunkenness, this people who incur no
+expense in food or dress, and whose minds are always bent upon the
+defence of their country, and on the means of plunder, are wholly
+employed in the care of their horses and furniture.  Accustomed to
+fast from morning till evening, and trusting to the care of
+Providence, they dedicate the whole day to business, and in the
+evening partake of a moderate meal; and even if they have none, or
+only a very scanty one, they patiently wait till the next evening;
+and, neither deterred by cold nor hunger, they employ the dark and
+stormy nights in watching the hostile motions of their enemies.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+
+
+Of their hospitality and liberality
+
+
+No one of this nation ever begs, for the houses of all are common
+to all; and they consider liberality and hospitality amongst the
+first virtues.  So much does hospitality here rejoice in
+communication, that it is neither offered nor requested by
+travellers, who, on entering any house, only deliver up their arms.
+When water is offered to them, if they suffer their feet to be
+washed, they are received as guests; for the offer of water to wash
+the feet is with this nation an hospitable invitation.  But if they
+refuse the proffered service, they only wish for morning
+refreshment, not lodging.  The young men move about in troops and
+families under the direction of a chosen leader.  Attached only to
+arms and ease, and ever ready to stand forth in defence of their
+country, they have free admittance into every house as if it were
+their own.
+
+Those who arrive in the morning are entertained till evening with
+the conversation of young women, and the music of the harp; for
+each house has its young women and harps allotted to this purpose.
+Two circumstances here deserve notice:  that as no nation labours
+more under the vice of jealousy than the Irish, so none is more
+free from it than the Welsh:  and in each family the art of playing
+on the harp is held preferable to any other learning.  In the
+evening, when no more guests are expected, the meal is prepared
+according to the number and dignity of the persons assembled, and
+according to the wealth of the family who entertains.  The kitchen
+does not supply many dishes, nor high-seasoned incitements to
+eating.  The house is not furnished with tables, cloths, or
+napkins.  They study nature more than splendour, for which reason,
+the guests being seated in threes, instead of couples as elsewhere,
+(18) they place the dishes before them all at once upon rushes and
+fresh grass, in large platters or trenchers.  They also make use of
+a thin and broad cake of bread, baked every day, such as in old
+writings was called LAGANA; (19) and they sometimes add chopped
+meat, with broth.  Such a repast was formerly used by the noble
+youth, from whom this nation boasts its descent, and whose manners
+it still partly imitates, according to the word of the poet:
+
+
+"Heu! mensas consumimus, inquit Iulus."
+
+
+While the family is engaged in waiting on the guests, the host and
+hostess stand up, paying unremitting attention to everything, and
+take no food till all the company are satisfied; that in case of
+any deficiency, it may fall upon them.  A bed made of rushes, and
+covered with a coarse kind of cloth manufactured in the country,
+called BRYCHAN, (20) is then placed along the side of the room, and
+they all in common lie down to sleep; nor is their dress at night
+different from that by day, for at all seasons they defend
+themselves from the cold only by a thin cloak and tunic.  The fire
+continues to burn by night as well as by day, at their feet, and
+they receive much comfort from the natural heat of the persons
+lying near them; but when the 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 both inconveniences; and then returning to their couch, they
+expose alternately their sides to the cold, and to the hardness of
+the bed.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+
+
+Concerning their cutting of their hair, their care of their teeth,
+and shaving of their beard
+
+
+The men and women cut their hair close round to the ears and eyes.
+The women, after the manner of the Parthians, 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 their teeth,
+which they render like ivory, by constantly rubbing them with green
+hazel and wiping with a woollen cloth.  For their better
+preservation, they abstain from hot meats, and eat only such as are
+cold, warm, or temperate.  The men shave all their beard except the
+moustaches (GERNOBODA).  This custom is not recent, but was
+observed in ancient and remote ages, as we find in the works of
+Julius Caesar, who says, (21) "The Britons shave every part of
+their body except their head and upper lip;" and to render
+themselves more active, and avoid the fate of Absalon in their
+excursions through the woods, they are accustomed to cut even the
+hair from their heads; so that this nation more than any other
+shaves off all pilosity.  Julius also adds, that the Britons,
+previous to an engagement, anointed their faces with a nitrous
+ointment, which gave them so ghastly and shining an appearance,
+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 of understanding
+
+
+These people being of a sharp and acute intellect, and gifted with
+a rich and powerful understanding, excel in whatever studies they
+pursue, and are more quick and cunning than the other inhabitants
+of a western clime.
+
+Their musical instruments charm and delight the ear with their
+sweetness, are borne along by such celerity and delicacy of
+modulation, producing such a consonance from the rapidity of
+seemingly discordant touches, that I shall briefly repeat what is
+set forth in our Irish Topography on the subject of the musical
+instruments of the three nations.  It is astonishing that in so
+complex and rapid a movement of the fingers, the musical
+proportions can be preserved, and that throughout the difficult
+modulations on their various instruments, the harmony is completed
+with such a sweet velocity, so unequal an equality, so discordant a
+concord, as if the chords sounded together fourths or fifths.  They
+always begin from B flat, and return to the same, that the whole
+may be completed under the sweetness of a pleasing sound.  They
+enter into a movement, and conclude it in so delicate a manner, and
+play the little notes so sportively under the blunter sounds of the
+base strings, enlivening with wanton levity, or communicating a
+deeper internal sensation of pleasure, so that the perfection of
+their art appears in the concealment 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 and
+unspeakable mental delight to those who have skilfully penetrated
+into the mysteries of the art, fatigue rather than gratify the ears
+of others, who seeing, do not perceive, and hearing, do not
+understand; and by whom the finest music is esteemed no better than
+a confused and disorderly noise, and will be heard with
+unwillingness and disgust.
+
+They make use of three instruments, the harp, the pipe, and the
+crwth or crowd (CHORUS). (22)
+
+They omit no part of natural rhetoric in the management of civil
+actions, in quickness of invention, disposition, refutation, and
+confirmation.  In their rhymed songs and set speeches they are so
+subtle and ingenious, that they produce, in their native tongue,
+ornaments of wonderful and exquisite invention both in the words
+and sentences.  Hence arise those poets whom they call Bards, of
+whom you will find many in this nation, endowed with the above
+faculty, according to the poet's observation:
+
+
+"Plurima concreti fuderunt carmina Bardi."
+
+
+But they make use of alliteration (ANOMINATIONE) in preference to
+all other ornaments of rhetoric, and that particular kind which
+joins by consonancy the first letters or syllables of words.  So
+much do the English and Welsh nations employ this ornament of words
+in all exquisite composition, that no sentence is esteemed to be
+elegantly spoken, no oration to be otherwise than uncouth and
+unrefined, unless it be fully polished with the file of this
+figure.  Thus in the British tongue:
+
+
+"Digawn Duw da i unic."
+"Wrth bob crybwyll rhaid pwyll parawd." (23)
+
+
+And in English,
+
+
+"God is together gammen and wisedom."
+
+
+The same ornament of speech is also frequent in the Latin language.
+Virgil says,
+
+
+"Tales casus Cassandra canebat."
+
+
+And again, in his address to Augustus,
+
+
+"Dum dubitet natura marem, faceretve puellam,
+Natus es, o pulcher, pene puella, puer."
+
+
+This ornament occurs not in any language we know so frequently as
+in the two first; it is, indeed, surprising that the French, in
+other respects so ornamented, should be entirely ignorant of this
+verbal elegance so much adopted in other languages.  Nor can I
+believe that the English and Welsh, so different and adverse to
+each other, could designedly have agreed in the usage of this
+figure; but I should rather suppose that it had grown habitual to
+both by long custom, as it pleases the ear by a transition from
+similar to similar sounds.  Cicero, in his book "On Elocution,"
+observes of such who know the practice, not the art, "Other persons
+when they read good orations or poems, approve of the orators or
+poets, not understanding the reason why, being affected, they
+approve; because they cannot know in what place, of what nature,
+nor how that effect is caused which so highly delights them."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+
+
+Of their symphonies and songs
+
+
+In their musical concerts they do not sing in unison like the
+inhabitants of other countries, but in many different parts; so
+that in a company of singers, which one very frequently meets with
+in Wales, you will hear as many different parts and voices as there
+are performers, who all at length unite, with organic melody, in
+one consonance and the soft sweetness of B flat.  In the northern
+district of Britain, beyond the Humber, and on the borders of
+Yorkshire, the inhabitants make use of the same kind of symphonious
+harmony, but with less variety; singing only in two parts, one
+murmuring in the 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 is unusual to
+hear a simple and single melody well sung; and, what is still more
+wonderful, the children, even from their infancy, sing in the same
+manner.  As the English in general do not adopt this mode of
+singing, but only those of the northern countries, 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 contracted their mode of singing as well
+as speaking.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+
+
+Their wit and pleasantry
+
+
+The heads of different families, in order to excite the laughter of
+their guests, and gain credit by their sayings, make use of great
+facetiousness in their conversation; at one time uttering their
+jokes in a light, easy manner, at another time, under the disguise
+of equivocation, passing the severest censures.  For the sake of
+explanation I shall here subjoin a few examples.  Tegeingl is the
+name of a province in North Wales, over which David, son of Owen,
+had dominion, and which had once been in the possession of his
+brother.  The same word also was the name of a certain woman with
+whom, it was said, each brother had an intrigue, from which
+circumstance arose this term of reproach, "To have Tegeingl, after
+Tegeingl had been in possession of his brother."
+
+At another time, when Rhys, son of Gruffydd, prince of South Wales,
+accompanied by a multitude of his people, devoutly entered the
+church of St. David's, previous to an intended journey, the
+oblations having been made, and mass solemnised, a young man came
+to him in the church, and publicly declared himself to be his son,
+threw himself at his feet, and with tears humbly requested that the
+truth of this assertion might be ascertained by the trial of the
+burning iron.  Intelligence of this circumstance being conveyed to
+his family and his two sons, who had just gone out of the church, a
+youth who was present made this remark:  "This is not wonderful;
+some have brought gold, and others silver, as offerings; but this
+man, who had neither, brought what he had, namely, iron;" thus
+taunting him with his poverty.  On mentioning a certain house that
+was strongly built and almost impregnable, one of the company said,
+"This house indeed is strong, for if it should contain food it
+could never be got at," thus alluding both to the food and to the
+house.  In like manner, a person, wishing to hint at the avaricious
+disposition of the mistress of a house, said, "I only find fault
+with our hostess for putting too little butter to her salt,"
+whereas the accessory should be put to the principal; thus, by a
+subtle transposition of the words, converting the accessory into
+the principal, by making it appear to abound in quantity.  Many
+similar sayings of great men and philosophers are recorded in the
+Saturnalia 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 to that sword?" thus changing the
+accessary into the principal.  The same person, on seeing the half-
+length portrait of his brother Quintus Cicero, drawn with very
+large features and an immense shield, exclaimed, "Half of my
+brother is greater than the whole!"  When the sister of Faustus had
+an intrigue with a fuller, "Is it strange," says he, "that my
+sister has a spot, when she is connected with a fuller?"  When
+Antiochus showed Hannibal his army, and the great warlike
+preparations he had made against the Romans, and asked him,
+"Thinkest thou, O Hannibal, that these are sufficient for the
+Romans?"  Hannibal, ridiculing the unmilitary appearance of the
+soldiers, wittily and severely replied, "I certainly think them
+sufficient for the Romans, however greedy;" Antiochus asking his
+opinion about the military preparations, and Hannibal alluding to
+them as becoming a prey to the Romans.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+
+
+Their boldness and confidence in speaking
+
+
+Nature hath given not only to the highest, but also to the
+inferior, classes of the people of this nation, a boldness and
+confidence in speaking and answering, even in the presence of their
+princes and chieftains.  The Romans and Franks had the same
+faculty; but neither the English, nor the Saxons and Germans, from
+whom they are descended, had it.  It is in vain urged, that this
+defect may arise from the state of servitude which the English
+endured; for the Saxons and Germans, who enjoy their liberty, have
+the same failing, and derive this natural coldness of disposition
+from the frozen region they inhabit; the English also, although
+placed in a distant climate, still retain the exterior fairness of
+complexion and inward coldness of disposition, as inseparable from
+their original and natural character.  The Britons, on the
+contrary, transplanted from the hot and parched regions of Dardania
+into these more temperate districts, as
+
+
+"Coelum non animum mutant qui trans mare currunt,"
+
+
+still retain their brown complexion and that natural warmth of
+temper from which their confidence is derived.  For three nations,
+remnants of the Greeks after the destruction of Troy, fled from
+Asia into different parts of Europe, the Romans under AEneas, the
+Franks under Antenor, and the Britons under Brutus; and from thence
+arose that courage, that nobleness of mind, that ancient dignity,
+that acuteness of understanding, and confidence of speech, for
+which these three nations are so highly distinguished.  But the
+Britons, from having been detained longer in Greece than the other
+two nations, after the destruction of their country, and having
+migrated at a later period into the western parts of Europe,
+retained in a greater degree the primitive words and phrases of
+their native language.  You will find amongst them the names Oenus,
+Resus, AEneas, Hector, Achilles, Heliodorus, Theodorus, Ajax,
+Evander, Uliex, Anianus, Elisa, Guendolena, and many others,
+bearing marks of their antiquity.  It is also to be observed, that
+almost all words in the British language correspond either with the
+Greek or Latin, as [Greek text which cannot be reproduced], water,
+is called in British, dwr; [Greek text], salt, in British, halen;
+[Greek text], eno, a name; [Greek text], pump, five; [Greek text],
+deg, ten.  The Latins also use the words fraenum, tripos, gladius,
+lorica; the Britons, froyn (ffrwyn), trepet (tribedd), cleddyf, and
+lluric (llurig); unicus is made unic (unig); canis, can (cwn); and
+belua, beleu.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+
+
+Concerning the soothsayers of this nation, and persons as it were
+possessed
+
+
+There are certain persons in Cambria, whom you will find nowhere
+else, called Awenddyon, (24) or people inspired; when consulted
+upon any doubtful event, they roar out violently, are rendered
+beside themselves, and become, as it were, possessed by a spirit.
+They do not deliver the answer to what is required in a connected
+manner; but the person who skilfully observes them, will find,
+after many preambles, and many nugatory and incoherent, though
+ornamented speeches, the desired explanation conveyed in some turn
+of a word:  they are then roused from their ecstasy, as from a deep
+sleep, and, as it were, by violence compelled to return to their
+proper senses.  After having answered the questions, they do not
+recover till violently shaken by other people; nor can they
+remember the replies they have given.  If consulted a second or
+third time upon the same point, they will make use of expressions
+totally different; perhaps they speak by the means of fanatic and
+ignorant spirits.  These gifts are usually conferred upon them in
+dreams:  some seem to have sweet milk or honey poured on their
+lips; others fancy that a written schedule is applied to their
+mouths and on awaking they publicly declare that they have received
+this gift.  Such is the saying of Esdras, "The Lord said unto me,
+open thy mouth, and I opened my mouth, and behold a cup full of
+water, whose colour was like fire; and when I had drank it, my
+heart brought forth understanding, and wisdom entered into my
+breast."  They invoke, during their prophecies, the true and living
+God, and the Holy Trinity, and pray that they may not by their sins
+be prevented from finding the truth.  These prophets are only found
+among the Britons descended from the Trojans.  For Calchas and
+Cassandra, endowed with the spirit of prophecy, openly foretold,
+during the siege of Troy, the destruction of that fine city; on
+which account the high priest, Helenus, influenced by the prophetic
+books of Calchas, and of others who had long before predicted the
+ruin of their country, in the first year went over to the Greeks
+with the sons of Priam (to whom he was high priest), and was
+afterwards rewarded in Greece.  Cassandra, daughter of king Priam,
+every day foretold the overthrow of the city; but the pride and
+presumption of the Trojans prevented them from believing her word.
+Even on the very night that the city was betrayed, she clearly
+described the treachery and the method of it:
+
+
+" - tales casus Cassandra canebat,"
+
+
+as in the same manner, during the existence of the kingdom of the
+Britons, both Merlin Caledonius and Ambrosius are said to have
+foretold the destruction of their nation, as well as the coming of
+the Saxons, and afterwards that of the Normans; and I think a
+circumstance related by Aulus Gellius worth inserting in this
+place.  On the day that Caius Caesar and Cneius Pompey, during the
+civil war, fought a pitched battle in Thessalia, a memorable event
+occurred in that part of Italy situated beyond the river Po.  A
+priest named Cornelius, honourable from his rank, venerable for his
+religion, and holy in his manners, in an inspired moment
+proclaimed, "Caesar has conquered," and named the day, the events,
+the mutual attack, and the conflicts of the two armies.  Whether
+such things are exhibited by the spirit, let the reader more
+particularly inquire; I do not assert they are the acts of a
+Pythonic or a diabolic spirit; for as foreknowledge is the property
+of God alone, so is it in his power to confer knowledge of future
+events.  There are differences of gifts, says the Apostle, but one
+and the same spirit; whence Peter, in his second Epistle, writes,
+"For the prophecy came not in the old time by the will of man, but
+men spake as if they were inspired by the Holy Ghost:" to the same
+effect did the Chaldeans answer king Nebuchadonazar on the
+interpretation of his dream, which he wished to extort from them.
+"There is not," say they, "a man upon earth who can, O king,
+satisfactorily answer your question; let no king therefore, however
+great or potent, make a similar request to any magician,
+astrologer, or Chaldean; for it is a rare thing that the king
+requireth, and there is none other that can shew it before the
+king, except the Gods, whose dwelling is not 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; the prophets therefore, who foretold things to come, spake
+by the spirit of God.  Hence some persons object, that, if they
+were under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, they would sometimes
+premise, "Thus saith the Lord God," or make use of some expression
+in the prophetic style; and as such a mode of prophesying is not
+taken notice of by Merlin, and no mention is made of his sanctity,
+devotion, or faith, many think that he spake by a Pythonic spirit.
+To which I answer, that the spirit of prophecy was given not only
+to the holy, but sometimes to unbelievers and Gentiles, to Baal, to
+the sibyls, and even to bad people, as to Caiaphas and Bela.  On
+which occasion Origen says:  "Do not wonder, if he whom ye have
+mentioned declares that the Scribes and Pharisees and doctors
+amongst the Jews prophesied concerning Christ; for Caiaphas said:
+"It is expedient for us that one man die for the people:" but
+asserts at the same time, that because he was high priest for that
+year, he prophesied.  Let no man therefore be lifted up, if he
+prophesies, if he merits prescience; for prophecies shall fail,
+tongues shall cease, knowledge shall vanish away; and now abideth,
+faith, hope, and charity:  these three; but the greatest of these
+is Charity, which never faileth.  But these bad men not only
+prophesied, but sometimes performed great miracles, which others
+could not accomplish.  John the Baptist, who was so great a
+personage, performed no miracle, as John the Evangelist testifies:
+"And many came to Jesus and said, Because John wrought no signs,"
+etc.  Nor do we hear that the mother of God performed any miracle;
+we read in the Acts of the Apostles, that the sons of Sheva cast
+out devils in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preached; and in Matthew
+and Luke we may find these words:  "Many shall say unto me in that
+day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy
+name have 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 certain man casting
+out devils in thy name, and forbade him, because he followeth not
+with us."  But Jesus said:  "Forbid him not; no man can do a
+miracle in my name, and speak evil of me; for whoever is not
+against me, is for me."
+
+Alexander of Macedon, a gentile, traversed the Caspian mountains,
+and miraculously confined ten tribes within their promontories,
+where they still remain, and will continue until the coming of
+Elias and Enoch.  We read, indeed, the prophecies of Merlin, but
+hear nothing either of his sanctity or his miracles.  Some say,
+that the prophets, when they prophesied, did not become frantic, as
+it is affirmed of Merlin Silvestris, and others possessed, whom we
+have before mentioned.  Some prophesied by dreams, visions, and
+enigmatical sayings, as Ezechiel and Daniel; others by acts and
+words, as Noah, in the construction of the ark, alluded to the
+church; Abraham, in the slaying of his son, to the passion of
+Christ; and Moses by his speech, when he said, "A prophet shall the
+Lord God raise up to you of your brethren; hear him;" meaning
+Christ.  Others have prophesied in a more excellent way by the
+internal revelation and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, as David
+did when persecuted by Saul:  "When Saul heard that David had fled
+to Naioth (which is a hill in Ramah, and the seat of the prophets),
+he sent messengers to take him; and when they saw the company of
+the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing at their head, the
+Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also
+prophesied; and he sent messengers a second and again a third time,
+and they also prophesied.  And Saul enraged went thither also; and
+the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied
+until 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 what passed."  Nor is it
+wonderful that those persons who suddenly receive the Spirit of
+God, and so signal a mark of grace, should for a time seem
+alienated from their earthly state of mind.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+
+
+Their love of high birth and ancient genealogy
+
+
+The Welsh esteem noble birth and generous descent above all things,
+(25) and are, therefore, more desirous of marrying into noble than
+rich families.  Even the common people retain their genealogy, and
+can not only readily recount the names of their grandfathers and
+great-grandfathers, but even refer back to the sixth 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 revenge with
+vehemence the injuries which may tend to the disgrace of their
+blood; and being naturally of a vindictive and passionate
+disposition, they are ever ready to avenge not only recent but
+ancient affronts; they neither inhabit towns, villages, nor
+castles, but lead a solitary life in the woods, on the borders of
+which they do not erect sumptuous palaces, nor lofty stone
+buildings, but content themselves with small huts made of the
+boughs of trees twisted together, constructed with little labour
+and expense, and sufficient to endure throughout the year.  They
+have neither orchards nor gardens, but gladly eat the fruit of both
+when given to them.  The greater part of their land is laid down to
+pasturage; little is cultivated, a very small quantity is
+ornamented with flowers, and a still smaller is sown.  They seldom
+yoke less than four oxen to their ploughs; the driver walks before,
+but backwards, and when he falls down, is frequently exposed to
+danger from the refractory oxen.  Instead of small sickles in
+mowing, they make use of a moderate-sized piece of iron formed like
+a knife, with two pieces of wood fixed loosely and flexibly to the
+head, which they think a more expeditious instrument; but since
+
+
+"Segnius irritant animos demissa per aures,
+Quam quae sunt oculis subjecta fidelibus,"
+
+
+their mode of using it will be better known by inspection than by
+any description.  The boats (26) which they employ in fishing or in
+crossing the rivers are made of twigs, not oblong nor pointed, but
+almost round, or rather triangular, covered both within and without
+with raw hides.  When a salmon thrown into one of these boats
+strikes it hard with his tail, he often oversets it, and endangers
+both the vessel and its navigator.  The fishermen, according to the
+custom of the country, in going to and from the rivers, carry these
+boats on their shoulders; on which occasion that famous dealer in
+fables, Bleddercus, who lived a little before our time, thus
+mysteriously said:  "There is amongst us a people who, when they go
+out in search of prey, carry their horses on their backs to the
+place of plunder; in order to catch their prey, they leap upon
+their horses, and when it is taken, carry their horses home again
+upon their shoulders."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+
+
+Of the antiquity of their faith, their love of Christianity and
+devotion
+
+
+In ancient times, and about two hundred years before the overthrow
+of Britain, the Welsh were instructed and confirmed in the faith by
+Faganus and Damianus, sent into the island at the request of king
+Lucius by pope Eleutherius, and from that period when Germanus of
+Auxerre, and Lupus of Troyes, came over on account of the
+corruption which had crept into the island by the invasion of the
+Saxons, but particularly with a view of expelling the Pelagian
+heresy, nothing heretical or contrary to the true faith was to be
+found amongst the natives.  But it is said that some parts of the
+ardent doctrines are still retained.  They give the first piece
+broken off from every loaf of bread to the poor; they sit down to
+dinner by three to a dish, in honour of the Trinity.  With extended
+arms and bowing head, they ask a blessing of every monk or priest,
+or of every person wearing a religious habit.  But they desire,
+above all other nations, the episcopal ordination and unction, by
+which the grace of the spirit is given.  They give a tenth of all
+their property, animals, cattle, and sheep, either when they marry,
+or go on a pilgrimage, or, by the counsel of the church, are
+persuaded to amend their lives.  This partition of their effects
+they call the great tithe, two parts of which they give to the
+church where they were baptised, and the third to the bishop of the
+diocese.  But of all pilgrimages they prefer that to Rome, where
+they pay the most fervent adoration to the apostolic see.  We
+observe that they show a greater respect than other nations to
+churches and ecclesiastical persons, to the relics of saints,
+bells, holy books, and the cross, which they devoutly revere; and
+hence their churches enjoy more than common tranquillity.  For
+peace is not only preserved towards all animals feeding in
+churchyards, but at a great distance beyond them, where certain
+boundaries and ditches have been appointed by the bishops, in order
+to maintain the security of the sanctuary.  But the principal
+churches to which antiquity has annexed the greater reverence
+extend their protection to the herds as far as they can go to feed
+in the morning and return at night.  If, therefore, any person has
+incurred the enmity of his prince, on applying to the church for
+protection, he and his family will continue to live unmolested; but
+many persons abuse this indemnity, far exceeding the indulgence of
+the canon, which in such cases grants only personal safety; and
+from the places of refuge even make hostile irruptions, and more
+severely harass the country than the prince himself.  Hermits and
+anchorites more strictly abstinent and more spiritual can nowhere
+be found; for this nation is earnest in all its pursuits, and
+neither worse men 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 but one prince,
+and that prince a good one.
+
+
+
+
+BOOK II
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+
+Having in the former book clearly set forth the character, manners,
+and customs of the British nation, and having collected and
+explained everything which could redound to its credit or glory; an
+attention to order now requires that, in this second part, we
+should employ our pen in pointing out those particulars in which it
+seems to transgress the line of virtue and commendation; having
+first obtained leave to speak the truth, without which history not
+only loses its authority, but becomes undeserving of its very name.
+For the painter who professes to imitate nature, loses his
+reputation, if, by indulging his fancy, he represents only those
+parts of the subject which best suit him.
+
+Since, therefore, no man is born without faults, and he is esteemed
+the best whose errors are the least, let the wise man consider
+everything human as connected with himself; for in worldly affairs
+there is no perfect happiness under heaven.  Evil borders upon
+good, and vices are confounded with virtues; as the report of good
+qualities is delightful to a well-disposed mind, so the relation of
+the contrary should not be offensive.  The natural disposition of
+this nation might have been corrupted and perverted by long exile
+and poverty; for as poverty extinguisheth many faults, so it often
+generates failings that are contrary to virtue.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+
+
+Of the inconstancy and instability of this nation, and their want
+of reverence for good faith and oaths
+
+
+These people are no less light in mind than in body, and are by no
+means to be relied upon.  They are easily urged to undertake any
+action, and are as easily checked from prosecuting it - a people
+quick in action, but more stubborn in a bad than in a good cause,
+and constant only in acts 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 to
+sacrifice their faith for nothing, by holding forth the right hand,
+not only in serious and important concerns, but even on every
+trifling occasion, and for the confirmation of almost every common
+assertion.  They never scruple at taking a false oath for the sake
+of any temporary emolument or advantage; so that in civil and
+ecclesiastical causes, each party, being ready to swear whatever
+seems expedient to its purpose, endeavours both to prove and
+defend, although the venerable laws, by which oaths are deemed
+sacred, and truth is honoured and respected, by favouring the
+accused and throwing an odium upon the accuser, impose the burden
+of bringing proofs upon the latter.  But to a people so cunning and
+crafty, this yoke is pleasant, and this burden is light.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+
+
+Their living by plunder, and disregard of the bonds of peace and
+friendship
+
+
+This nation conceives it right to commit acts of plunder, theft,
+and robbery, not only against foreigners and hostile nations, but
+even against their own countrymen.  When an opportunity of
+attacking the enemy with advantage occurs, they respect not the
+leagues of peace and friendship, preferring base lucre to the
+solemn obligations of oaths and good faith; to which circumstance
+Gildas alludes in his book concerning the overthrow of the Britons,
+actuated by the love of truth, and according to the rules of
+history, not suppressing the vices of his countrymen.  "They are
+neither brave in war, nor faithful in peace."  But when Julius
+Caesar, great as the world itself,
+
+
+"Territa quaesitis ostendit terga Britannis,"
+
+
+were they not brave under their leader Cassivellaunus?  And when
+Belinus and Brennus added the Roman empire to their conquests?
+What were they in the time of Constantine, son of our Helen?  What,
+in the reign of Aurelius Ambrosius, whom even Eutropius commends?
+What were they in the time of our famous prince Arthur?  I will not
+say fabulous.  On the contrary, they, who were almost subdued by
+the Scots and Picts, often harassed with success the auxiliary
+Roman legions, and exclaimed, as we learn from Gildas, "The
+barbarians drove us to the sea, the sea drove us again back to the
+barbarians; on one side we were subdued, on the other drowned, and
+here we were put to death.  Were they not," says he, "at that time
+brave and praiseworthy?"  When attacked and conquered by the
+Saxons, who originally had been called in as stipendiaries to their
+assistance, were they not brave?  But the strongest argument made
+use of by those who accuse this nation of cowardice, is, that
+Gildas, a holy man, and a Briton by birth, has handed down to
+posterity nothing remarkable concerning them, in any of his
+historical works.  We promise, however, a solution of the contrary
+in our British Topography, if God grants us a continuance of life.
+
+As a further proof, it may be necessary to add, that from the time
+when that illustrious prince of the Britons, mentioned at the
+beginning of this book, totally exhausted the strength of the
+country, by transporting the whole armed force beyond the seas;
+that island, which had before been so highly illustrious for its
+incomparable valour, remained for many subsequent years destitute
+of men and arms, and exposed to the predatory attacks of pirates
+and robbers.  So distinguished, indeed, were the natives of this
+island for their bravery, that, by their prowess, that king subdued
+almost all Cisalpine Gaul, and dared even to make an attack on the
+Roman empire.
+
+In process of time, the Britons, recovering their long-lost
+population and knowledge of the use of arms, re-acquired their high
+and ancient character.  Let the different aeras be therefore
+marked, and the historical accounts will accord.  With regard to
+Gildas, who inveighs so bitterly against his own nation, the
+Britons affirm that, highly irritated at the death of his brother,
+the prince of Albania, whom king Arthur had slain, he wrote these
+invectives, and upon the same occasion threw into the sea many
+excellent books, in which he had described the actions of Arthur,
+and the celebrated deeds of his countrymen; from which cause it
+arises, that no authentic account of so great a prince is any where
+to be found.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+
+
+Of their deficiency in battle, and base and dishonourable flight
+
+
+In war this nation is very severe in the first attack, terrible by
+their clamour and looks, filling the air with horrid shouts and the
+deep-toned clangour of very long trumpets; swift and rapid in their
+advances and frequent throwing of darts.  Bold in the first onset,
+they cannot bear a repulse, being easily thrown into confusion as
+soon as they turn their backs; and they trust to flight for safety,
+without attempting to rally, which the poet thought reprehensible
+in martial conflicts:
+
+
+"Ignavum scelus est tantum fuga;"
+
+
+and elsewhere -
+
+
+"In vitium culpae ducit fuga, si caret arte."
+
+
+The character given to the Teutones in the Roman History, may be
+applied to this people.  "In their first attack they are more than
+men, in the second, less than women."  Their courage manifests
+itself chiefly in the retreat, when they frequently return, and,
+like the Parthians, shoot their arrows behind them; and, as after
+success and victory in battle, even cowards boast of their courage,
+so, after a reverse of fortune, even the bravest men are not
+allowed their due claims of merit.  Their mode of fighting consists
+in chasing the enemy or in retreating.  This light-armed people,
+relying more on their activity than on their strength, cannot
+struggle for the field of battle, enter into close engagement, or
+endure long and severe actions, such as the poet describes:
+
+
+"Jam clypeo clypeus, umbone repellitur umbo,
+Ense minax ensis, pede pes, et cuspide cuspis."
+
+
+Though defeated and put to flight on one day, they are ready to
+resume the combat on the next, neither dejected by their loss, nor
+by their dishonour; and although, perhaps, they do not display
+great fortitude in open engagements and regular conflicts, yet they
+harass the enemy by ambuscades and nightly sallies.  Hence, neither
+oppressed by hunger or cold, nor fatigued by martial labours, nor
+despondent in adversity, but ready, after a defeat, to return
+immediately to action, and again endure the dangers of war; they
+are as easy to overcome in a single battle, as difficult to subdue
+in a protracted war.  The poet Claudian thus speaks of a people
+similar in disposition:-
+
+
+"Dum percunt, meminere mali:  si corda parumper
+Respirare sinas, nullo tot funera censu
+Praetercunt, tantique levis jactura cruoris."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+
+
+Their ambitious seizure of lands, and dissensions among brothers
+
+
+This nation is, above all others, addicted to the digging up of
+boundary ditches, removing the limits, transgressing landmarks, and
+extending their territory by every possible means.  So great is
+their disposition towards this common violence, that they scruple
+not to claim as their hereditary right, those lands which are held
+under lease, or at will, on condition of planting, or by any other
+title, even although indemnity had been publicly secured on oath to
+the tenant by the lord proprietor of the soil.  Hence arise suits
+and contentions, murders and conflagrations, and frequent
+fratricides, increased, perhaps, by the ancient national custom of
+brothers dividing their property amongst each other.  Another heavy
+grievance also prevails; the princes entrust the education of their
+children to the care of the principal men of their country, each of
+whom, after the death of his father, endeavours, by every possible
+means, to exalt his own charge above his neighbours.  From which
+cause great disturbances have frequently arisen amongst brothers,
+and terminated in the most cruel and unjust murders; and on which
+account friendships are found to be more sincere between foster-
+brothers, than between those who are connected by the natural ties
+of brotherhood.  It is also remarkable, that brothers shew more
+affection to one another when dead, than when living; for they
+persecute the living even unto death, but revenge the deceased with
+all their power.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+
+
+Their great exaction, and want of moderation
+
+
+Where they find plenty, and can exercise their power, they levy the
+most unjust exactions.  Immoderate in their love of food and
+intoxicating drink, they say with the Apostle, "We are instructed
+both to abound, and to suffer need;" but do not add with him,
+"becoming all things to all men, that I might by all means save
+some."  As in times of scarcity their abstinence and parsimony are
+too severe, so, when seated at another man's table, after a long
+fasting, (like wolves and eagles, who, like them, live by plunder,
+and are rarely satisfied,) their appetite is immoderate.  They are
+therefore penurious in times of scarcity, and extravagant in times
+of plenty; but no man, as in England, mortgages his property for
+the gluttonous gratification of his own appetite.  They wish,
+however, that all people would join with them in their bad habits
+and expenses; as the commission of crimes reduces to a level all
+those who are concerned in the perpetration of them.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+
+
+Concerning the crime of incest, and the abuse of churches by
+succession and participation
+
+
+The crime of incest hath so much prevailed, not only among the
+higher, but among the lower orders of this people, that, not having
+the fear of God before their eyes, they are not ashamed of
+intermarrying with their relations, even in the third degree of
+consanguinity.  They generally abuse these dispensations with a
+view of appeasing those enmities which so often subsist between
+them, because "their feet are swift to shed blood;" and from their
+love of high descent, which they so ardently affect and covet, they
+unite themselves to their own people, refusing to intermarry with
+strangers, and arrogantly presuming on their own superiority of
+blood and family.  They do not engage in marriage, until they have
+tried, by previous cohabitation, the disposition, and particularly
+the fecundity, of the person with whom they are engaged.  An
+ancient custom also prevails of hiring girls from 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 as there are
+principal men in the parish.  The sons, after the decease of their
+fathers, succeed to the ecclesiastical benefices, not by election,
+but by hereditary right possessing and polluting the sanctuary of
+God.  And if a prelate should by chance presume to appoint or
+institute any other person, the people would certainly revenge the
+injury upon the institutor and the instituted.  With respect to
+these two excesses of incest and succession, which took root
+formerly in Armorica, and are not yet eradicated, Ildebert, bishop
+of Le Mans, in one of his epistles, says, "that he was present with
+a British priest at a council summoned with a view of putting an
+end to the enormities of this nation:" hence it appears that these
+vices have for a long time prevailed both in Britany and Britain.
+The words of the Psalmist may not inaptly be applied to them; "They
+are corrupt and become abominable in their doings, there is none
+that doeth good, no, not one:  they are all gone out of the way,
+they are altogether become abominable," etc.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+
+
+Of their sins, and the consequent loss of Britain and of Troy
+
+
+Moreover, through their sins, and particularly that detestable and
+wicked vice of Sodom, as well as by divine vengeance, they lost
+Britain as they formerly lost Troy.  For we read in the Roman
+history, that the emperor Constantine having resigned the city and
+the Western empire to the blessed Sylvester and his successors,
+with an intention of rebuilding Troy, and there establishing the
+chief seat of the Eastern Empire, heard a voice, saying, "Dost thou
+go to rebuild Sodom?" upon which, he altered his intention, turned
+his ships and standards towards Byzantium, and there fixing his
+seat of empire, gave his own propitious name to the city.  The
+British history informs us, that Mailgon, king of the Britons, and
+many others, were addicted to this vice; that enormity, however,
+had entirely ceased for so long a time, that the recollection of it
+was nearly worn out.  But since that, as if the time of repentance
+was almost expired, and because the nation, 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 unanimously affirm, that in a short time their
+countrymen shall return to the island, and, according to the
+prophecies of Merlin, the nation, and even the name, of foreigners,
+shall be extinguished in the island, and the Britons shall exult
+again in their ancient name and privileges.  But to me it appears
+far otherwise; for since
+
+
+"Luxuriant animi rebus plerumque secundis,
+Nec facile est aequa commoda mente pati;"
+
+
+And because
+
+
+"Non habet unde suum paupertas pascat amorem, . . .
+Divitiis alitur luxuriosus amor."
+
+
+So that their abstinence from that vice, which in their prosperity
+they could not resist, may be attributed more justly to their
+poverty and state of exile than to their sense of virtue.  For they
+cannot be said to have repented, when we see them involved in such
+an abyss of vices, perjury, theft, robbery, rapine, murders,
+fratricides, adultery, and incest, and become every day more
+entangled and ensnared in evil-doing; so that 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 be
+attributed to the diligence and activity of the Norman kings than
+to their own merits or power.  For previous to the coming of the
+Normans, when the English kings contented themselves with the
+sovereignty of Britain alone, and employed their whole military
+force in the subjugation of this people, they almost wholly
+extirpated them; as did king Offa, who by a long and extensive dyke
+separated the British from the English; Ethelfrid also, who
+demolished the noble city of Legions, (27) and put to death the
+monks of the celebrated monastery at Banchor, who had been called
+in to promote the success of the Britons by their prayers; and
+lastly Harold, who himself on foot, with an army of light-armed
+infantry, and conforming to the customary diet of the country, so
+bravely penetrated through every part of Wales, that he scarcely
+left a man alive in it; and as a memorial of his signal victories
+many stones may be found in Wales bearing this inscription:- "HIC
+VICTOR FUIT HAROLDUS" - "HERE HAROLD CONQUERED." (28)
+
+To these bloody and recent victories of the English may be
+attributed the peaceable state of Wales during the reigns of the
+three first Norman kings; when the nation increased in population,
+and being taught the use of arms and the management of horses by
+the English and Normans (with whom they had much intercourse, by
+following the court, or by being sent as hostages), took advantage
+of the necessary attention which the three succeeding kings were
+obliged to pay to their foreign possessions, and once more lifting
+up their crests, recovered their lands, and spurned the yoke that
+had formerly been imposed upon them.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+
+
+In what manner this nation is to be overcome
+
+
+The prince who would wish to subdue this nation, and govern it
+peaceably, must use this method.  He must be determined to apply a
+diligent and constant attention to this purpose for one year at
+least; for a people who with a collected force will not openly
+attack the enemy in the field, nor wait to be besieged in castles,
+is not to be overcome at the first onset, but to be worn out by
+prudent delay and patience.  Let him divide their strength, and by
+bribes and promises endeavour to stir up one against the other,
+knowing the spirit of hatred and envy which generally prevails
+amongst them; and in the autumn let not only the marches, but also
+the interior part of the country be strongly fortified with
+castles, provisions, and confidential families.  In the meantime
+the purchase of corn, cloth, and salt, with which they are usually
+supplied from England, should be strictly interdicted; and well-
+manned ships placed as a guard on the coast, to prevent their
+importation of these articles from Ireland or the Severn sea, and
+to facilitate the supply of his own army.  Afterwards, when the
+severity of winter approaches, when the trees are void of leaves,
+and the mountains no longer afford pasturage - when they are
+deprived of any hopes of plunder, and harassed on every side by the
+repeated attacks of the enemy - let a body of light-armed infantry
+penetrate into their woody and mountainous retreats, and let these
+troops be supported 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
+overcome without the above precautions, nor without great danger
+and loss of men.  Though many of the English hired troops may
+perish in a day of battle, money will procure as many or more on
+the morrow for the same service; but to the Welsh, who have neither
+foreign nor stipendiary troops, the loss is for the time
+irreparable.  In these matters, therefore, as an artificer is to be
+trusted in his trade, so attention is to be paid to the counsel of
+those who, having been long conversant in similar concerns, are
+become acquainted with the manners and customs of their country,
+and whom it greatly interests, that an enemy, for whom during long
+and frequent conflicts they have contracted an implacable hatred,
+should by their assistance be either weakened or destroyed.  Happy
+should I have termed the borders of Wales inhabited by the English,
+if their kings, in the government of these parts, and in their
+military operations against the enemy, had rather employed the
+marchers and barons of the country, than adopted the counsels and
+policy of the people of Anjou and the Normans.  In this, as well as
+in every other military expedition, either in Ireland or in Wales,
+the natives of the marches, from the constant state of warfare in
+which they are engaged, and whose manners are formed from the
+habits of war, are bold and active, skilful on horseback, quick on
+foot, not nice as to their diet, and ever prepared when necessity
+requires to abstain both from corn and wine.  By such men were the
+first hostile attacks made upon Wales as well as Ireland, and by
+such men alone can their final conquest be accomplished.  For the
+Flemings, Normans, Coterells, and Bragmans, are good and well-
+disciplined soldiers in their own country; but the Gallic soldiery
+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 consider their armour as an
+honour, here as a burden; there soldiers are taken prisoners, here
+they are beheaded; there they are ransomed, here they are put to
+death.  Where, therefore, the armies engage in a flat country, a
+heavy and complex armour, made of cloth and iron, both protects and
+decorates the soldier; but when the engagement is in narrow
+defiles, in woods or marshes, where the infantry have the advantage
+over the cavalry, a light armour is preferable.  For light arms
+afford sufficient protection against unarmed men, by whom victory
+is either lost or won at the first onset; where it is necessary
+that an active and retreating enemy should be overcome by a certain
+proportional quantity of moderate armour; whereas with a more
+complex sort, and with high and curved saddles, it is difficult to
+dismount, more so to mount, and with the greatest difficulty can
+such troops march, if required, with the infantry.  In order,
+therefore, that
+
+
+"Singula quaeque locum teneant sortita decenter,"
+
+
+we maintain it is necessary to employ heavy-armed and strong troops
+against men heavily armed, depending entirely upon their natural
+strength, and accustomed to fight in an open plain; but against
+light-armed and active troops, who prefer rough ground, men
+accustomed to such conflicts, and armed in a similar manner, must
+be employed.  But let the cities and fortresses on the Severn, and
+the whole territory on its western banks towards Wales, occupied by
+the English, as well as the provinces of Shropshire and Cheshire,
+which are protected by powerful armies, or by any other special
+privileges and honourable independence, rejoice in the provident
+bounty of their prince.  There should be a yearly examination of
+the warlike stores, of the arms, and horses, by good and discreet
+men deputed for that purpose, and who, not intent on its plunder
+and ruin, interest themselves in the defence and protection of
+their country.  By these salutary measures, the soldiers, citizens,
+and the whole mass of the people, being instructed and accustomed
+to the use of arms, liberty may be opposed by liberty, and pride be
+checked by pride.  For the Welsh, who are neither worn out by
+laborious burdens, nor molested by the exactions of their lords,
+are ever prompt to avenge an injury.  Hence arise their
+distinguished bravery in the defence of their country; hence their
+readiness to take up arms and to rebel.  Nothing so much excites,
+encourages, and invites the hearts of men to probity as the
+cheerfulness of liberty; nothing so much dejects and dispirits them
+as the oppression of servitude.  This portion of the kingdom,
+protected by arms and courage, might be of great use to the prince,
+not only in these or the adjacent parts, but, if necessity
+required, in more remote regions; and although the public treasury
+might receive a smaller annual revenue from these provinces, yet
+the deficiency would be abundantly compensated by the peace of the
+kingdom and the honour of its sovereign; especially as the heavy
+and dangerous expenses of one military expedition into Wales
+usually amount to the whole income among from the revenues of the
+province.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+
+
+In what manner Wales, when conquered, should be governed
+
+
+As therefore this nation is to be subdued by resolution in the
+manner proposed, so when subdued, its government must be directed
+by moderation, according to the following plan.  Let the care of it
+be committed to a man of a firm and determined mind; who during the
+time of peace, by paying due obedience to the laws, and respect to
+the government, may render it firm and stable.  For like other
+nations in a barbarous state, this people, although they are
+strangers to the principles of honour, yet above all things desire
+to be honoured; and approve and respect in others that truth which
+they themselves do not profess.  Whenever the natural inconstancy
+of their indisposition shall induce them to revolt, let punishment
+instantly follow the offence; but when they shall have submitted
+themselves again to order, and made proper amends for their faults
+(as it is the custom of bad men to remember wrath after quarrels),
+let their former transgression be overlooked, and let them enjoy
+security and respect, as long as they continue faithful.  Thus, by
+mild treatment they will be invited to obedience and the love of
+peace, and the thought of certain punishment will deter them from
+rash attempts.  We have often observed persons who, confounding
+these matters, by complaining of faults, depressing for services,
+flattering in war, plundering in peace, despoiling the weak, paying
+respect to revolters, by thus rendering all things confused, have
+at length been confounded themselves.  Besides, as circumstances
+which are foreseen do less mischief, and as that state is happy
+which thinks of war in the time of peace, let the wise man be upon
+his guard, and prepared against the approaching inconveniences of
+war, by the construction of forts, the widening of passes through
+woods, and the providing of a trusty household.  For those who are
+cherished and sustained during the time of peace, are more ready to
+come forward in times of danger, and are more confidently to be
+depended upon; and as a nation unsubdued ever meditates plots under
+the disguise of friendship, let not the prince or his governor
+entrust the protection of his camp or capital to their fidelity.
+By the examples of many remarkable men, some of whom have been
+cruelly put to death, and others deprived of their castles and
+dignities, through their own neglect and want of care, we may see,
+that the artifices of a crafty and subdued nation are much more to
+be dreaded than their open warfare; their good-will than their
+anger, their honey than their gall, their malice than their attack,
+their treachery than their aggression, and their pretended
+friendship more than their open enmity.  A prudent and provident
+man therefore should contemplate in the misfortune of others what
+he ought himself to avoid; correction taught by example is
+harmless, as Ennodius (29) says:  "The ruin of predecessors
+instructs those who succeed; and a former miscarriage becomes a
+future caution."  If a well-disposed prince should wish these great
+designs to be accomplished without the effusion of blood, the
+marches, as we before mentioned, must be put into a state of
+defence on all sides, and all intercourse by sea and land
+interdicted; some of the Welsh may be stirred up to deadly feuds,
+by means of stipends, and by transferring the property of one
+person to another; and thus worn out with hunger, and a want of the
+necessaries of life, and harassed by frequent murders and
+implacable enmities, they will at last be compelled to surrender.
+
+There are three things which ruin this nation, and prevent its
+enjoying the satisfaction of a fruitful progeny.  First, because
+both the natural and legitimate sons endeavour to divide the
+paternal inheritance amongst themselves; from which cause, as we
+have before observed, continual fratricides take place.  Secondly,
+because the education of their sons is committed to the care of the
+high-born people of the country, who, on the death of their
+fathers, endeavour by all possible means to exalt their pupil; from
+whence arise murders, conflagrations, and almost a total
+destruction of the country.  And, thirdly, because from the pride
+and obstinacy of their disposition, they will not (like other
+nations) subject themselves to the dominion of one lord and king.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+
+
+In what manner this nation may resist and revolt
+
+
+Having hitherto so partially and elaborately spoken in favour of
+the English, and being equally connected by birth with each nation,
+justice demands that we should argue on both sides; let us
+therefore, at the close of our work, turn our attention towards the
+Welsh, and briefly, but effectually, instruct them in the art of
+resistance.  If the Welsh were more commonly accustomed to the
+Gallic mode of arming, and depended more on steady fighting than on
+their agility; if their princes were unanimous and inseparable in
+their defence; or rather, if they had only one prince, and that a
+good one; this nation situated in so powerful, strong, and
+inaccessible a country, could hardly ever be completely overcome.
+If, therefore, they would be inseparable, they would become
+insuperable, being assisted by these three circumstances; a country
+well defended by nature, a people both contented and accustomed to
+live upon little, a community whose nobles as well as privates are
+instructed in the use of arms; and especially as the English fight
+for power, the Welsh for liberty; the one to procure gain, the
+other to avoid loss; the English hirelings for money, the Welsh
+patriots for their country.  The English, I say, fight in order to
+expel the natural inhabitants from the island, and secure to
+themselves the possession of the whole; but the Welsh maintain the
+conflict, that they, who have so long enjoyed the sovereignty of
+the whole kingdom, may at least find a hiding place in the worst
+corner of it, amongst woods and marshes; and, banished, as it were,
+for their offences, may there in a state of poverty, for a limited
+time, perform penance for the excesses they committed in the days
+of their prosperity.  For the perpetual remembrance of their former
+greatness, the recollection of their Trojan descent, and the high
+and continued majesty of the kingdom of Britain, may draw forth
+many a latent spark of animosity, and encourage the daring spirit
+of rebellion.  Hence during the military expedition which king
+Henry II. made in our days against South Wales, an old Welshman at
+Pencadair, who had faithfully adhered to 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, be harassed, and in a great measure weakened and destroyed
+by your and other powers, and it will often prevail by its laudable
+exertions; but it can never be totally subdued through the wrath of
+man, unless the wrath of God shall concur.  Nor do I think, that
+any other nation than this of Wales, or any other language,
+whatever may hereafter come to pass, shall, in the day of severe
+examination before the Supreme Judge, answer for this corner of the
+earth."
+
+
+
+Footnotes:
+
+
+[The text of the footnotes has been removed from this version of
+the eText until their copyright status can be ascertained.]
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg Etext of Description of Wales by G. Cambrensis
+