An ODE, on the ABBOT of VALLE CRUCIS Abbey, in Denbighshire; by GRUFFYDD HIRAETHOG, whe flourished in the 14th Century.

In the beautiful British Original of this Poem the Bard is warmly grateful, and defcriptive of the monaftic hospitality and feftivities, peculiar to the Christmas season among our beneficent ancestors.

«HIL yr Haul ar Ferwyn gwyn,

"Y Beirdd fy'n byw o ddeutu 'r bryn." C. H.

The LEGEND of TYDECHO, the Patron Saint of Llan y Mawddwy, in Meirioneth fhire; by DAVYDD LLWYD, ab Llywelyn ab Gruffydd, who wrote about the year 1450: with fome explanatory Notes, by the late Antiquary, LEWIS MORRIS, Efq, in 1761.

I.

2.

Cywydd i Tydecho Sant, yn amfer Maelgwn Gwynedd.

Mae gwr llwyd yma ger-llaw, Mawl a wedd yn aml iddaw; Crefyddwr cryf o Fawddwy, Ceidwad dros eu boll wlad hwy: 3. Tydecho lwys, tad uwch-law, Un o filwyr Nef aelaw.

4. Llyma lle bu'r gwyr-da gynt,

Llandudoch, lle nid ydynt.

5. Dogwel' heb gêl i galwant,
laith gwiw fun a Thegfan fant.

6. Abad bael yn bitelu

7.

A'i fagl fawr, di fwgl fu;

Car o waed cywir ydoedd,

Arthur bennadur ban oedd.

8. Ni charai ban dreiglai, draw

He that put this legend in rhyme was Davydd Llwyd ab Llywelyn ab Gruffydd, Lord of Mathafarn, in Denbighshire; who had a great hand in bringing in Henry the Seventh, by feeding his countrymen with prophetical poems of a countryman of theirs, who was to deliver them from the fervitude of the English: by which means fome thousands of them met Henry, (then Earl of Richmond,) at Milford Haven, under the conduct of Sir Rees ab Thomas. The poetry is not very smooth, and in fome places not very intelligible; but as far as I understand it, the historical part is this:- Tydecho, an Abbot in Armorica, or Little Britain, (verfe 6,) having fuffered by an inundation of the fea, came over here, in the time of King Arthur, whofe relation Tydecho was, (verse 7,) being a grandson of Emyr Llydaw, King of Armorica. Wales fwarmed at that time with ecclefiaftics from Little Britain, a vast number of them having come over with Aurelius Ambrofius, and Uthr Ben Dragon, the fons of Conftantine, who deftroyed Vortigern and his party, who ufurped the British Crown. These princes gave the best places in the church to their friends and relations, and the people with their effects were in a great measure at their disposal, as the Church and State joined to rid them.

The Saxons by this time having poffeffion of the greatest part of England, which, at beft, was but the feat of war; this part of Wales was therefore fafe from their inroads, and a proper place to act the hermit in. The poem fays, (verfe 4, and 5,) that St. Tegvan, and St. Dogfael had once their cells here; and at Llandegvan, in Anglefey. Tydecho had a cell which bears his name to this day; fo that it feems, though they were hermits, they loved company. Also it is faid, that Tedecho refided at one time near Llanymawddwy; where there is a crook which is the fource of the Dyfi, called Laethnant; and, according to tradition, this Saint converted it into milk, for the use of the which is poor, thus commemorated in a couplet :

Tydecho dad di duchan,

"Ai gwnaeth yn llaeth at y Llan*.”

The ancient MS. of Bonedd y Saint, at Llanerch, in Denbighs fhire, fays, Tydecho was fon of Anunddu, fon of Emyr Llydaw; and the British history makes Howel ap Emyr Llydaw to be an auxiliary with Arthur in all his wars; fo that Tydecho's time agrees very well with Maelgwn Gwynedd's youth, about the year 560.

Here Tydecho tilled the ground, and kept a plentiful house, but lived himself an auftere life, and wore a coat of hair, lying upon bare ftones, v. 12. The report of his fanctity reached the ears of Maelgon Gwynedd, a diffolute young man, son of Cafwallon Law bir, Prince of North Wales, which Maelgwn, (or Arthur,) for his feats in war, was called the Island Dragon. He, to make a joke of the old Abbot, fent to him a ftud of white horses, to be fed by the prayers of the Abbot: the horses immediately changed colour, and ran wild to the mountains, where they fed on heath. When the horses were fent for, they were all found of a golden yellow colour, (v. 19,) which, it seems, Maelgwn would not own to be his horfes, and therefore, by way of reprifal, took away Tydecho's oxen: but, the next day, wild bucks were feen to plow Tydecho's field, and a grey wolf harrowing the ground after them. (Well ftretched, Monks!)-Maelgwn, with his white dogs, came to hunt to this rock; and he fat upon the blue ftone, where his backside stuck so fast that he was immoveable. This ftone is fhewn by the inhabitants to this day. Maelgwn, upon fubmitting, and asking pardon, was released, and he delivered up the oxen, and granted feveral privileges to the place; particularly that of a fanctuary for malefactors.

Uwch y llan ar y llech lás;

THE THIRTEEN ROYAL RARITIES OF BRITAIN.

Llymma TRI-THLWS-AR-DDEG. FRENHIN DLYSEU YNYS PRYDAIN: Y rhai a gedwid yn Nghaer-Lleon ar Wyfg; ac a aethant gyda Myrddin ab Morfran, i'r Tÿ Gwydr, yn Enlli (Eithr mae rhai awdwyr yn yfcrifennu mai Taliesin Ben Beirdd a'u cafas hwynt.)

47,

Here are the THIRTEEN RARITIES of KINGLY REGALIA, of the ISLAND of BRITAIN; which were formerly kept at Caerlleon', on the river Ufke, in Monmouthshire. These Curiofities went with Myrddin, the fan of Morvran, into the boufe of Glafs, in Enlli, or Bardfey Island': It has also been recorded by others, that it was Taliefin, the King of the Bards, who poffeffed them.

Thefe Royal Regalia, or Curiofities, were held in high eftimation in the Sixth Century: They are rather hyperbolically described; but they convey to us fome original heroic traits, of the manner of promoting Chivalry, and of ancient Liberality, and Hofpitality. It appears that this Mufeum of admirable Rarities was kept at Caerlleon, in King Arthur's time; and upon the diffolution of that place, it was carried by Myrddin, the Caledonian Bard, to the famous Monaftery of Enlli, in the Island of Bards. i. e. Myrddin went, greatly to his praife, for his good intention, Into the House of Glafs, for the fake of preservation.

"

Myrddin aeth, mawr daawn ai wedd,

"Mewn Gwydr, er mwyn ei gydwedd.”—I. Dyfi.

The ancient Monaftery of Bardsey was one of the Druidical and Bardic conventicles, founded in the beginning of Chriftianity, where Myrddin ftudied, and where he ended his days and was buried, about A. D. 570. Dubricius, the Archbishop of Caerlleon, and many other religious men, retired to the Monaftery of Bardfey about the year 522. Giraldus's Itinerary of Wales mentions this Monaftic inftitution, by the name of Cwflau Dúon, or Black Cowls; a College of Lay Monks: and Martial calls them Bardo cucullus, or Bardic Cowls.

The Metropolitan See of Caer Lleon, in Monmouthshire, was removed to Menevia, in Pembrokeshire, about A. D. ever fince, has been called Ty Dewi, or St. David's.

1. Llenn Arthur, yn Ngherniw: pwy bynnag elai dani a welai bawb, ac ni welai néb fo.

2. Dyrnwyn gledd, neu Gleddau Rhydderch Hael; pwy bynnag a'i tynai o'r wain, (ond y nêb ai piau,) ef a ennynai yn fflam dân yn i law ef.

447; which,

1. The Veil, or Mafk of King Arthur, in Cornwall: whoever look'd from under it, could fee every body, and no one could know him '.

2. The Sword of Rhydderch the Generous: whoever drew it out of the fcabbard, (except the owner ;) it would appear a gleaming flame of fire in his hand.

According to an old Welsh Chronicle, Beli ab Dyfnwal, a chief King of Britain, about 400 years before Chrift, built a city on the river Ufke, (where there had been the Castle of Lleon;) which afterwards was the principal city in all Britain, because there the King refided, and the Parliament of the country was held, about 65 years before Christ.

2 When the Britons were no longer able to defend their country against the Saxons, and others, in the time of Egbert, about A. D. 750. (or 800,) there was a proclamation, that all the Britons fhould depart out of England within fix months, upon pain of death. This was probably after the great overthrow of Caredic, when the Pagan Saxons razed the British churches to the ground; at which time Theon, the Archbishop of London, and Tadioc, the Archbishop of York, removed with their relicks of Saints, books, and ornaments, and fled into Wales, into the adjacent islands, and fome into Britany, and many priests with them.

Lewis's Ancient Hiftory of Britain, page 208: and Gibfon's Camden.

"These are the haunts of meditation, these

"The ícenes where ancient Bards th' inspiring breath,
"Extatic felt, and from this world retired."—Thomson.

3 It is recorded, that great military officers anciently wore hoods, or helmets, to obfcure their faces during the time of battle. See in page 23, note: Alio, Sir William Dugdale's Ancient Ufage of Arms, page 1.

Rhydderch, ton of Tudwal, furnamed Hael, or the generous, King of Cumbria, who lived at Alclwyd, now Dumbarton, in Scotland and was alfe King of the ifle of Man. He was efteemed the moft liberal, and one of the greatest warriors of his time; he fought the famous battle of Arderydd, in A. D. 577, againk Aeddan Vradog, and Gwenddolau ab Ceidiaw, in which Rhydderch gained the victory, and Gwenddolau was flain, with a great number of his followers. See Carte's Hiftory, Vol. I. p. 210. The name of Prince Rhydderch's fword was Dyrnwyn, or the white grafpf; and from the above defcription it was probably highly polished, and not diffimilar to the elegant account given of the Grecian army, when marching against the Trojans :

"As on fome mountain, thro' the lofty grove,
"The crackling flames afcend, and blaze above,
"The fires expanding as the winds arife,

"Shoot their long beams, and kindle half the skies:
"So from the polish'd arms, and brazen shields,

"A gleamy fplendor flash'd along the fields.-Pope's Homer.

King Arthur's exploits were fo great, during the reign of King Henry the Second, fays Lord Lyttelton in his hiftory of that Monarch, that a word, fuppofed to have been King Arthur's, was prefented in the year 1191, to Tancred, King of Sicily, by Richard the Firft, King of England, as a valuable gift. The fwords of heroes in thofe days had names given them, and this was called Caledwrn, or Caledonulch, that is, hard-handled, or hard-notched. (See the previous pages, 23 & 25.) How Richard got it, and whether it was found in the Abbey of Glaftonbury, together with the body, or in fome other place, we are not told; but I prefume, when that Monarch took it with him out of England, he intended to use it himself, in the war against the infidels.

It was the cuftom among other warlike nations to give names to their fwords; but the Ancient Britons took a particular pride in adorning their words, and making them polished handles of the teeth of fea animals; (fee Solinus Poly-biftor, c. 25 :) And their warlike difpofition and love of the fword was fuch, that it was the cuftom for the mother of every male child to put the first victuals into the child's mouth, on the point of his father's fword, and with the food to give her first bleffing, or wish to him, that he might die no other death than in war, and arms. Sol, Pol. Hift. and Selden's Mare Clausum, 1. 2. c. 2. and 10.

2

3. Mwys,

5. The Câr, or Chariot of Morgan the Courteous: whoever fat in it, would find himself wherever he wifhed to be".

6. The Whetstone, (or Hone,) of Tudno Tyd glyd: which would fharpen the fword of every hero immediately; and always deftroy the weapons of a coward' (in another manufcript it is expreft thus: whoever fhould be wounded with the arms that are whetted thereon, would foon die.)-

7. The Purple Caffock of Padarn Beifrydd; no perfon of ignoble birth could wear it, without dying.——

8. The Cauldron of Dyrnog, the Chief, or Prince: if flesh should be put into it to boil for a cowardly man, it would never be done: but if it was for a hardy hero, it would foon be boiled enough".

9. The Table-Cloth, (in another MS. called the Dish,) of the illuftrious-born Rhydderch, the Scholar whatever victuals and drink were wished thereon, were inftantly obtained ".——

Odard had a fword of dignity, like his kinfman, Hugh Lupus, which formerly was kept at Dutton, in Cheshire, as an heirloom of the family; and in the year 1665, was the property of Lady Kilmorey, fole daughter and heiress of Thomas Dutton, of Dutton. This fword of dignity is ftill preferved in the British Museum: it is four feet long; the blade is two edged, and with this infcription upon it; Hugo Comes Ceftria. Hugh Lupus received the Earldom of Chefter from William the Conqueror, who gave him the whole county of Chefhire, to hold to him and his heirs, as freely, by the fword, as the King held the Crown of England." See Sir Peter Leicefler's Hiftory of Cheshire.

5 Gwyddno Garanhir was a King of North Wales, about the end of tne 4th, and in the beginning of the 5th century. His budget was probably fome kind of veffel, or basket; and perhaps used to carry victuals in, by the perfon who went to the wear to take up the nets; and in lieu of the victuals therein, which he eat, and filled the basket, or pannier, with the fith caught in the wear, to bring home or probably the Weel was baited with raw meat to entice the fish into it. Mwys Gwddno is often mentioned by the poets as the most famous wear in the country, which was fomewhere about the mouth of Conway river. See pages 17. 19 & 31.

6 Bran the Hardy was a northern prince, of the fifth century, and diftinguifhed for his generofity. His drinking horn was probably a general horn, for the ufe of his hall, to supply all strangers with what drink they chofe; or it might have been a magic cup, fo contrived as to convey liquors through fecret pipes into it. According to the ancient Web laws, there were three focial horns allotted for the use of the Lord, or Prince; that is, his banqueting horn, his war horn, and the horn for the chace: but thefe latter were made of the horns of the Bugle, or wild Ox; and formed in a femicircle, and occifionally used both for founding, and for drinking. See a Delineation of one in the mufical trophy, in the first Volume of this work, page 89, and a full defcription in the account of the mufical infiruments of the Welsh, page 117, &c.

7 Morgan Mwynvawr was a valiant king of Gla'morgan, from whom that county derives its name. Morgan was born about the year 872; he married Elen, the daughter of Roderic the Great; and lived to be a hundred years old; and on that account he was called Morgan bên, or the Aged. He is alfo honourably recorded in the Ancient Historical Triads, as follows: The three clearers of Great Britain from invaders were, King Arthur; Rhûn, the fon of Beli; and Morgan the Gracious and Great. It feems that his Car was a common and free chariot, kept by this popular prince, for the ufe of his triends, or fomething of that nature. Cafar, in the 4th Book, and chapter 29, of his Commentaries, fays, that the Britons were fo expert in their war chariots, that they often broke his ranks.

• Tudno Tydclyd, the fon of Ithel Hael, of Armorica. There was a Welsh Saint of this name, the founder of Llan-Dudno, on Truyn y Gogarth; on which hill formerly stood the ancient city of Diganwy, near Conwy, in Caernarvonshire.

9 Padarn Beifrudd, the fon of Tegid ab Iago, was a British Bishop, and a reputed Saint, founder of the Monaftery of Llan-badarn-vaur, (or the Church of Padarn the Great,) befide fifteen other churches, in Cardiganshire, and in other places. He was a great friend with St. David, and St. Teilo, and with whom he made a pilgrimage to Jerufalem. According to Britannia Sanɛa, Padarn's name is found fubscribed with Samfon, the Bishop of Vannes, to the third Council of Paris, about A. D. 560. It is faid he was originally a native of Little Britain, and that the inhabitants of Bretagne formerly kept three days to the honour of this Saint, and the 15th of April was the laft of them. Padarn's purple robe, or fhort caffock, became no man fo well as Padarn himself.

10 Dyrnog Gawr was a Cambrian prince, in the time of the Romans in Britain. It feems his pot, or boiler, was intended only for the Hero, and not for the Coward; and probably meant as an encouragement to warlike enterprises.

King Rhydderch, the Generous, who probably kept an open houfe; and I fuppole this was his common hall dish, which was kept ́ in memory of his munificence, where there was nothing refufed that was defired. This hero is recorded in the ancient British Triads, as follows: The three liberal Princes of the Island of Britain; Rhydderch Hael, the son of Tudawal Tytgl;d; Moraav Hael, the son of Servan; and Nudd Hael, the jon of Senyllt. Rhydderch Hael lived to the age of 85; died in the year 601, and was buried at Abererch, (St. Courda's Church.) British Sanda, p. 34. See more in the previous note (4.)

10. Tawl