It Happened That In The Reign Of King
Stephen, Who Succeeded Henry I., A Knight, Born In Armorican
Britain, Having Travelled Through Many Parts Of The World, From A
Desire Of Seeing Different Cities, And The Manners Of Their
Inhabitants, Came By Chance To Lhanpadarn.
On a certain feast-day,
whilst both the clergy and people were waiting for the arrival of
the abbot
To celebrate mass, he perceived a body of young men,
armed, according to the custom of their country, approaching towards
the church; and on enquiring which of them was the abbot, they
pointed out to him a man walking foremost, with a long spear in his
hand. Gazing on him with amazement, he asked, "If the abbot had not
another habit, or a different staff, from that which he now carried
before him?" On their answering, "No!" he replied, "I have seen
indeed and heard this day a wonderful novelty!" and from that hour
he returned home, and finished his labours and researches. This
wicked people boasts, that a certain bishop {144} of their church
(for it formerly was a cathedral) was murdered by their
predecessors; and on this account, chiefly, they ground their claims
of right and possession. No public complaint having been made
against their conduct, we have thought it more prudent to pass over,
for the present, the enormities of this wicked race with
dissimulation, than exasperate them by a further relation.
CHAPTER V
Of the river Devi, and the land of the sons of Conan
Approaching to the river Devi, {145} which divides North and South
Wales, the bishop of St. David's, and Rhys the son of Gruffydd, who
with a liberality peculiarly praiseworthy in so illustrious a
prince, had accompanied us from the castle of Aberteivi, throughout
all Cardiganshire, to this place, returned home. Having crossed the
river in a boat, and quitted the diocese of St. David's, we entered
the land of the sons of Conan, or Merionyth, the first province of
Venedotia on that side of the country, and belonging to the
bishopric of Bangor. {146} We slept that night at Towyn. Early
next morning, Gruffydd son of Conan {147} came to meet us, humbly
and devoutly asking pardon for having so long delayed his attention
to the archbishop. On the same day, we ferried over the bifurcate
river Maw, {148} where Malgo, son of Rhys, who had attached himself
to the archbishop, as a companion to the king's court, discovered a
ford near the sea. That night we lay at Llanvair, {149} that is the
church of St. Mary, in the province of Ardudwy. {150} This
territory of Conan, and particularly Merionyth, is the rudest and
roughest district of all Wales; the ridges of its mountains are very
high and narrow, terminating in sharp peaks, and so irregularly
jumbled together, that if the shepherds conversing or disputing with
each other from their summits, should agree to meet, they could
scarcely effect their purpose in the course of the whole day.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 64 of 103
Words from 33590 to 34091
of 54608
