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.
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