Papurau Newydd Cymru

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--:::.-=....-_.--BRITISH ARCHAEOLOGICAL…

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-=. BRITISH ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. At Tuesday evening's meeting Mr. THOMAS MORGAN the treasurer, read a learned paper on the map of North Wales in the thirteenth century. THS WYNNSTAY MUNIMENTS. Sir Watkiri Wynn kindly placed at the disposal of the Association his ancient muniments. Mr. W. W. DE GRAY BIRCH, F.R.S.L. of the British Museum, went over to Wynn stay to select the most valuable and interesting among them. These were exhibited at the evening meet- inc on Tuesday, August 28. Among them were a fine charter with seal of King John, two with nne seats oi King Henrv HI., and one with a seal of Llewelyn, Prince of North Wales, and about twenty early deeds of the 12th and 13th centuries, connected with the Abbeys of Valle Crucis, Strata Marcella, Dore, Cymmer, Conway, and the other numerous Cistercian abbeys which are in the immediate neighbourhood. He pointed out that Wales was peculiarly the home of the Cistercians, who were at- tracted by the rugged wildness of the scenery and the opportunities it afforded to carry out their austere vows. In the twelfth century nearly a hundred were founded, and the thirteenth century found them progressing, but the date of their foundation was not known until he was fortunate enough to discover in the British Museum a document shewing the dates of the foundation of every Cistercian abbey in Europe. This document would be useful alike to historians and to architects. Mr. Birch also described at some length the paleography of the charters, their interest centering in the fact that they have nearly all of them the date of the year in which they were written. The writing of many of them is very beautiful. One of them is dated by the regnal year of Richard I., an almost unique circumstance in Welsh manuscripts of the period. Mr. Birch also showed a fine 14th centnrv copy in Welsh of the laws of Howel Dda, the reat Welsh law giver. This M.S. contains at the end some curious Welsh verses in a later handwriting. A book of painted arms, mostly fabulous, with the Sales- bury pedigree, was also described, and some remarks upon it were made bv Mr. S. Tucker, Rouge Croix. A paper on Offa's Dyke was afterwards read by Mr. J. TOM BURGESS. „ WEDNESDAY. Wednesday's programme included visits to Offa's Duke, Chirk Castle, Valle Crucis Abbey, and Eliseg's Pillar, and a very busy and pleasant day was spent by the members of the Association. The weather during the greater part of the day was simply delightful. The heat of the sun's rays was tempered by a cool and refreshing breeze. Some rain, it is true, fell in the evening, while the (roofless) Abbey of Valle Crucis was being examined, but this slight inconvenience was cheerfully submitted to out of gratitude fqr the sunshine which had preceded it. OPFA'S DYKE. At ten o'clock in the morning a large party left Llan- gollen in carriages, and drove along the lovely V.ale of Llangollen to Offa's Dyke, upon which a paper had been read the previous evening by Mr. J. Tom Burgess, F.S. A., From the point at which tha Dyke was examined, it was found to be in very perfect condition. It-was noticed that the ditch was on the Welsh side, and that the high bank was on the English side, the bank being eight or ten feet high, and the ditch very deep and broad. Something was said about Watt's Dyke being an older fortification, but in not nearly so perfect a condition. It was also pointed out that the line of earth work was not continued, and that wherever high ground, or a natural river, or other boundary intervened, the earthwork ceased. The other boundary, not having an earthwork, was traced to the edge of a cliff, where it stopped; but it is known to recom- mence at some further distance where the river branches in another direction. Several speakers referred to the old chronicles which more than once ascribe the work- manship to Offa. It is very likely that he constructed the work for a boundary and for a defence, and that probably it had a palisade of timber above the earthen rampart. Mr. Burgess here pointed out the construction of the dyke and its manifest weakness as a military work, and he also pointed out the site of Watt's Dyke at the back of Wynnstay, which was plainly visible from this spot. Mr. Burgess said that he had recently had to consider the great earthworks at Tamworth, which were popularly at- tributed to Offa, but which he believed were only the vallum of a Roman camp strengthened may be by the great Mercian king. If he made these fortifications it was strange that no mention was made of them when the found- ing of a small church was recorded. History was silent respecting the formation of this dyke. The Saxon Chronicle does not mention it. There is, indeed, in a work attributed to Asser (the friend and historian of Alfred the Great), quoted in the "Monumenta Historica Britannica," p. 471, a passage which attributes this great vallum to Offa, and as Asser lived within a century of the reign of Offa, this remark, if authentic, would be sufficient to override any vague conjectures, backed as it is by tradi- tions as old as the twelfth century, when it was mentioned by Caradoc of Llancarvan, whose chronicle was continued to the year 1282. This chronicle attributes the formation of the dyke to Offa, after the men of South Wales had ravaged Mercia in the year 773. The dyke is said then to have been called Clawdh Offa; and this account has been deemed conclusive by most of the writers on the subject. It may be taken for granted that from a Terr early period, rightly or wrongly, the dyke or ditch was associated with the name of the greatest of the Mercian kings. The dyke itself is a broad embankment forming a rampart some twenty to twenty-fire feet wide, from tight to tan feet high, with a broad fosse on its wes- tern face, from which the earth was taken to form the dyke. The outline of the dyke is irregular, and this has been caused by the planting of trees and the denudation of the embankment during a thousand years. The dyke commences close to the River Wye, not far from Chep- stow; it runs through the counties of Hereford and Rad- nor, into that of Montgomery; it passes through North Wales, by Buttington, where it is lost for five miles, the channel of the Severn probably serving for that space. It appears again by the Church of Llandysilio. It goes by Trefy Clawdd, Chirk, Ruabon, Brymbo,_ through the parish of Mold', pointing to the Clwyaian hills, where it is lost. All alon £ j its course there are a number of small artificial mound3, evidently posts of observation, and pos- sibly small military forts. The general arrangement is that of the Roman wall, and indeed the plan is similar, if we take into account the differences between an earthwork and a more permanent building. Mr. G. T. Clarke at Hereford ventured an opinion that these mounds and ram- parts were the work of people of Teutonic origin, and could not be attributed to any other race. Mr. Burgess discarded Churchyard's tradition of the space between the two dykes being formed as a debateable or neutral ground between the two nations, though he held that the dyke it- self was a, denned boundary in Saxon times between the Mercians and the Welsh. CHIRK CASTLE. On reaching this noble castle the visitors were very courteously received by Mr. Somerville, on behalf of the owner, Mr. R. Myddelton Biddulph, and were shown over the state rooms by the housekeeper. They first, however, inspected the servants' hall, where there is a large collection of muskets which were used in the civil wars—and the largest Mr. Bloxam said in the kingdom— and a number of other curious relics of the time of the Commonwealth. The muskets, Mr. Bloxam informed us, were fired from a rest from the centre of a column, and surrounded by pikes to keep off cavalry. It will be re- membered that the famous Sir Thomas Myddelton, the then owner of the castle, played a prominent part in the civil wars. When member for Denbigh he at first sided with the King but afterwards went over to the other side, and the King having seized the castle in his absence in 1642, Sir Thomas Myddleton was appointed to the com- mand of the parliamentary forces in Wales. At Welsh- pool, in conjunction with General Mytton, he defeated and shattered Prince Rupert's regiment of horse and took Powis Castle, which was then a great Royalist stronghold. We are told that by one of the whimsical chances of the times" Sir Thomas Myddleton, with the Puritan army, besieged his own house and could not take it. Among the relics of olden times in the servants' hall are some old halberds, some curious armour, a big-brimmed Puritan hat and hat case, and an enormous "blackjack," 22 inches in height and thirty inches in diameter, probably of the time of Elizabeth, and some singular square-toed boots, which Mr. Brock thought were of the time of William III., and might have suggested the nick-name of old square-toes." The main features of the Castle are now Elizabethan, though it was originally an Edwardian structure. In the court-yard is a stone inserted in a still later portion of the building of the date of 1636, with the inscription "This new building, with the tower, was built all in one year by Thomas Myddleton, Knight." In going through the state rooms the visitors examined with the utmost interest the treasures of art and antiquity which they contain. While looking at the portraits in the saloon, which are principally of the time of the Charleses, MrBloxamstated with regard to the Duke of Monmouth that after devoting a great "deal of care and attention to the subject and ex- amining many documents, he believed the Duke of Mon- mouth to have been the legitimate son of Charles II. He had a great deal of evidence to show that the king was actually married to Lucy Walters, otherwise Mrs. Barlow. Amongst the things which attracted the special attention of the visitors was a cabinet. one of the finest in England, "I said to have cost ten thousand pounds, and given by Charles II. to Sir Thomas Myddleton. The pictures painted on the cabinet, of the miracles of Christ, are ascribed to Rubens. The visitors were shown Charles the First's bedroom, but the bed in which the king slept has been removed to another part of the castle. On their re- turn to the courtyard Mr. Bloxam made some observa- tions upon the architecture of the Castle. He said he cer- tainly had not expected to find Chirk Castle such a magni- ficint specimen of old work as it was. The exterior dif- fered very little from the views of the last century repre- senting it. Many remarks had been made with respect to the extreme lowness and massive character of the towers, and also with respect to their being of a comparatively modern period. There was but little of the exterior of the castle much older than the time of Elizabeth, while the windows on one side were clearly of the date assigned to them over the doorway leadmg into the domestic apart- ments, viz., 1636. They could therefore readily imagine that the Castle was in capital order for the siege, which they had all read of with so much interest. A careful ex- amination of the Castle, however, rewarded them by in- dicating many relics of a building of much greater an- tiquity. On that side the approach and the little doorways 0 leading to it were all indicative of all Edwardian castle, of the date of somewhere about 1350, probably a little earlier. The round towers there told their own history. They were relics of the Edwardian castle, with many architec- tural features of the time of Elizabeth, and with the ad- ditions still later to which he had referred. The domestic chapel certainly had been a gem of its kind. It was one of the most interesting domestic chapels he had seen for a long time. It had a decorated window with very good tracery, and there was a window on the north side of the same character, very pure in style and now built against by a more modern erection. There was also a perpendicu- lar window on the south side with very characteristic tracery. They had, therefore, within the chapel archi- tectural relics of an earlier period than would appear upon a cursory inspection. It was filled with the peculiar I fittings of a domestic chapel of the time of Charles I, an 1 I was on that account even deserving of a careful examin tion. There was a screen of that period which was by tit) means a rood screen, for it never had a crucifix. Trio pulpit, reading desk, and other ecclesiastical fittings were within the chancel screen. The communion table was very singular. It was not placed was usual in the Carolian period, but was actually made up of wood carving in the form of an altar. T.,is was a fact of some interest. The other fittings, however, were in a very dilapidated condition, and he trusted the suggestion might be conveyed to Mr. Myddelton Biddulph, of whose liberality they had b- ii grateful partakers, that something should be done to rescue the chapel from its present state of decay. Mr. BLOXAM said that the fittings in the chapel were of the early part of the last century. Mr. BROCK said they were so dilapidated that it was difficult to say what they were. Mr. TALBOT said he wished to point out with regard to a portion of the building assigned to 1636, that the present finish was not original, but that a parapet had been added. The fourteenth century wall of the Castle appeared to have been abruptly broken. The very fine old entrance gateway, with two arches near the outer arch, was also, he supposed, of the fourteenth century. Mr. S. J. TUCKER (Rouge Croix) said he thought that a portion of the Castle assigned to the 17th century was of an older date. Before leaving, many of the visitors ascended the watch tower and ramparts, which are reached by a flight of stone steps, and from which a magnificent view of the surrounding country is obtained. It is said that seventeen counties can be seen from this point of 'vantage," but that it, of course, an exaggeration. Leaving the Castle, the party drove through the finely wooded park to the Hand Hotel, where an excellent luncheon was awaiting them in the schoolroom. After luncheon they drove back through Llangollen to visit Valle Crucis Abbey and Eliseg's Pillar. VALLE CRUCIS ABBEY. At Valle Crucis Abbey a very able and interesting paper upon it was read by Mr. BROCK, which we shall give in a future number. After the reading of the paper an inspection of the ruins was made. At the east end Mr. Brock said it was very unusual to find windows of that great size coming down so very low. It was one of the peculiarities of Welsh build- ings. He thought that the mysterious little holes in many portions of the building were intended for ventilation. Ha pointed out the very quaint and beautiful carving round the shafts. With regard to the remarkable little window in the south wall which opened from an apartment on the upper part of the monastery, Mr. Brock said that in Cistercian houses a lamp was perpetually kept burning before the altar, and this window was probably to enable the sacristan to watch the lamp. Ornament was forbidden in Cistercian houses, but the elegance and beauty of the carving in that Abbey served the purpose of ornament. It was a singular fact that a great number of the stones in the Abbey were marked by the masons' mark. In the short space of a quarter of an hour he had discovered no fewer than sixteen different ones. At the east end of the south transept was a doorway which led from the dormitories into the Church. The monks lay in their dormitories without changing their clothes, so that at the sound of the bell they could immediately go into the Church, and perform the first service of the day. Mediaeval architects, like modern ones, sometimes made mistakes. In that Abbey the foundations of the tower were not laid deep enough, and it consequently sank. The monks, however, set to work pretty vigorously, to save their building from falling, and succeeded. The tower, or steeple, as it was called, was standing in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, but there was no record as to whether it fell or was demolished. Mr. WYNNE, of Peniarth, said that his late friend, Lord Dungannon, and himself, had that building excavated. There was not a single tomb stone visible before that work was begun, except that in the upper part of the monastery, now forming the top of a chimney piece. The name on the stone was certainly not Welsh. With regard to the name of the Abbey, he thought it was sometimes called the Abbey of Llan Egwestl, and sometimes that of Valle Crucis. In an award under a reference to settle a dis- pute between some chieftains and the monastery, now in his possession, it was called Valle Crucis. The award was dated 1247. On the west wall was an inscription in memory of Abbot Adam, and there was the record of an Abbot of that name, in the fifth year of Edward III., and again in the seventeenth year of the same King. He supposed that the part of the church was finished after his death, as there were the words, Quiescat anima." Some Perpen- dicular work was introduced in the wall of the south transept, and where there was a very good Perpendicular window. The date on one of the tombstones was 1290, which was the earliest dated tombstone he ever heard of. Mr. Bloxam could tell them whether there was any earlier. Mr. BLOXAM said there were one or two of earlier date, but that was one of the very earliest. Mr. WYNNE said it was the tomb of a relative of the founder's family, the Lords of Dinas Bran. It was protected by amovable cover, so thatit might not be injured by people walking over it. In excavating they found an immense number of human bones, and one entire skeleton, which they had re-buried. The Cistereians did not appear to have adhered very strictly to their rules of discipline. One of the Abbots had a bard who wrote a great number of poems, and in one of these addressed to a friend he invited him to come and drink the Abbot's ale." They found in the Abbey a great mass of rubbish, which was no doubt the debris of the central tower. Mr. BROCK said he thought they ought not to separate without expressing their deep sense of the obligation under which all archaeologists lay to Mr. Wynne. (Cheers.) They owed to him almost all the beauty of that Church. Mr. Wynne found it a heap of rubbish, and he had left it one of the most interesting objects of study in the Princi- pality. He hoped that some of the owners of similar buildings would take a lesson from Mr. Wynne. By charging a fee for admission they might not only obtain a fund sufficient to keep up the building, but also to em- ploy some one to take charge of it. (Cheers.) Mr. WYNNE said he was very much obliged for the remarks which had been made. The credit for the work, though partly due to him, was much more due to the late Lord Dungannon, who took a strong interest in every- thing that related to the antiquities of his country, and especially to the restoration of churches. Lord Dun- gannon proposed the restoration, and he (Mr. Wynne) gladly helped him in carrying it out. Mr. BLOXAM then made a few remarks upon the monu- ments of the church. He said it was extremely rare to find sepulchral effigies of Abbots. He only knew two and they were both of the fourteenth century. In Stone- leigh Abbey was a very curious manuscript written by an Abbot of the fourteenth century called Acta Abbatum. One of the Abbots appeared to have been regarded as a very simple-minded man, and it LS remarked of him that the disposal of money was not in his way. The chronicle also said of an Abbot that tho only good thing he did in his life was to rebuild the refectory. The Cistercian order were generally considered to be farmers rather than monks. They were the great agriculturists of their day and cultivated their lands by their own labour. With regard to the domestic buildings, what was said to be the monks' domitory was he thought the Abbots' lodgings. With reference to the double piscina in that church the only writer who had given an explanation of it wasalearned French Ritualist who said that the one side was used for the water with which the priest performed his ablutions previous to the sacrifice of the mass, and the other for the water with which the chalice was rinsed. Mr. Bloxam's re- marks were interrupted by the blowing of the Secretary's horn, and the party then proceeded to ELISEG'S PILLAR. Mr. BLOXAM had prepared a paper on the subject, from which he read some extracts, after expressing his regret that the elucidation of the subject had not been under- taken upon the occasion by a Welsh antiquary. That pillar was perhaps the earliest inscribed lapidary pedigree in this country and carried them back several generations. Of the numerous inscribed post Romano memorial stones in this country, extending from the 6th to the 9th century, the Pillar of Eliseg is the most remarkable. These me- morial or inscribed sepulchral stones are mostly rude and unshapen monoliths, with the inscriptions irregularly in- cised in misformed letters, altogether dissimilar to the regular-formed and sculptured sepulchral monuments and altars of the Roman era, with their well-cut inscriptions. Those of the post Romano period, that is, of the Britons after the Romans, are ofttimes inscribed in a corrupted and false latinity, sometimes in a few words only, not dis- posed horizontally, but vertically, and in many cases merely contain the name of the person commemorated and of his father, as that on the Margam Mountain, the Bodvor stone, commonly called the Maen Llythyro". I can, continued Mr. Bloxam, find no mention of this monu- ment in Leland or the early editions of Camden, neither of whom appear to have seen it, or had any knowledge of it. As far as I have been able to ascertain it was first noticed by Archbishop Usher about the middle of the seventeenth century. He transmitted an account of his discovery to Dr. Gerard Langbaine, a learned divine of those days. The pillar was thrown down during the Civil Wars, and broken into two pieces. Mr. Robert Vaughan, of Hengwrt, a celebrated Welsh antiquary, saw it in this state in 1662, and took a copy, which Mr. Edward Llwyd transcribed, and sent in 1692 to the learned Dr. Mill, the Principal of Edmund Hall, Oxford. Mr. Llwyd also in- serted the inscription in his Welsh Itinerary. It there con- sisted ofthirty-one lines. In 1779 Mr. Lloyd, of Trevor Hall, erected the upper part of the column containing sixteen lines of inscription on its ancient base, which he placed upon a rough tumulus, and set it up upon the tumulus upon which it now stands. The remaining portion of the column has long since disappeared. For these facts he was indebted to Owen and Blakeway's History of Shrewsbury, pub- lished in 1825. After quoting Pennant, Mr. Bloxam gave the inscription from Mr. Vaughan's copy, and a transla- tion of it. The following is the first portion of the in- scription and translation as given in the Archwologia Cambrensis Concenn filius Catteli, Catteli filius Brohcmail, Brohmail tilius Eliseg, Eliseg filius Guoillauc. Concenn itaque pronepos Eliseg edificavit hunc lapidem proavo suo Eliseg. Concenn, the son of CatteU Catteli, the son of Brochmail Brochmail, the son of Eliseg; Eliseg, the son of Guoillauc Concenn, therefore, the great-grandson of Eliseg, erected this stone to the memory of his great-grandfather, Eliseg. With regard to the age of the monument, Mr. Bloxam said—It is a late, perhaps the latest, lapidary inscription of the kind we have. It may be of the eighth cen- tury, but how comes it to be so unlike in form the rude and unworked monoliths on which the other lapidary in- scriptions are graven. I believe it to have been originally a Roman column from some Roman building, perhaps brought there from Deva, Chester, perhaps from Urico- nium, Wroxeter. It has the peculiar entases or swelling of classic art. It is not represented so in the various en- gravings that appear of it, and I cannot find that any photograph has been taken of it. The inscription is not le^-il^e, but if a cast was taken of it it is possible that portion might be made out by artificial light and shade. An engraving of this pillar appears in the History oi Shrewsbury. Another, after a drawing by Dr. Parker, is given in the Gentleman's Magazine for April, 1809, and a third appears in Pennant's Tours in Wales, published in 1810. Pennant treats of it as follows :—It is said that the stone when complete was 12 feet high. It is now re- duced to 6ft. Sin. The remainder of the capital is 18 inches long. It stood upon a square pedestal, still lying on the ground. The breadth of it is 5ft. 3in., and the thickness 18 inches. Within these few years, says Pen- nant, the tumulus was opened, and the relics and certain bones found there placed as usual in those days between some flat stones. Mr. BROCK mentioned a curious story about a skull which was found when the excavations were made there having been gilded and then re-interred. THE HISTORY OF RELIGION AMONG THE KYMRIC CELTS. At the evening meeting, which was held under the presidency of the Bishop of Grahamstown, the following paper was .read by Mr. John Rhys, Professor of Celtic at Oxford Others may be trusted to point out to the members of this learned Association the material remains of archaeo- logical interest in this charming district of Llangollen, but there is a sense in which tumuli, earthworks, and cromlechs are no more facts than are words and especially names. It is by directing attention to the tales which two or three of those supplied by this part of the country have to tell that I would attempt to do my part in wel- coming this Association on its first visit to North Wales. One might begin by dwelling on the history of some of the neighbouring churches, more than one of which com- memorate the names of St. Germanus and St. Bride or Bridget, such as Llanarmon and Llansantffraid; one of the lessons to be learned from those names seems to be that there has been a fashion in the case of saints as in everything else. Whether any of those mentioned are the oldest names of the churches now so called may be doubted; at any rate there are reasons for doubting that the churches called Llanarmon received that name during the period in which St. Germanus lived, but in the case of the church after which this parish is called, this is not so, and the Welsh have never allowed oblivion to cover the memory of the man who seems to have been the first missionary who laboured on the banks of the Dee to turn our pagan ancestors to Christianity, and the name of Collen will be remembered as long as this place continues to be called Llangollen. This is not the time for a lesson on Welsh phonology, but I always feel glad of an oppor- tunity of learning a new sound, and perhaps some of those attending the meeting of the Association here would be glad to acquire the sound of our Welsh 11 before return- ing to England. The directions need not be long. Dis- card the grotesque accounts of that sound in English books, place your tongue in position for pronouncing 1, and blow a good deal harder than need be for that con- sonant, then you have our 11; so long, however, as you hear thl, or chl, you may be sure you have not hit it, as it is a single consonant and not a combination. To return to St. Collen, it would be needless to trouble you with the legends usually attached to his name, but I would call your attention to one which I have never seen published in English, and I am indebted for it to one of our best Welsh archaeologists, the Rev. Owen Jones, of Llan- dudno. The following is the substance of a Welsh letter with which he favoured me about a fortnight ago :— "I have long been of opinion that our early Welsh legends are to be regarded as allegorical descriptions of historical facts, and on one occasion, several years ago, I happened to be lodging at a farm house near Pentref-y- Dwfr, at the foot of Bwlch-y-Rhiwfelen. In the morning the farmer, Mr. John Tudor, accompanied me over the Bwlch on my way to Llandegla, and in answer to my en- quiries he related to me the following legend, which he had heard as a boy engaged as a shepherd on the moun- tains there :—In some very early period there used to live on the top of this Bwlch a giantess, who used to mutilate and kill all who came that way; at last, some man from the neighbouring Vale of Llangollen, made up his mind to rid the country of her; he sharpened his sword in order to go to fight with her. After he had climbed to her court, she came out to converse with him, and the result was that they engaged in a severe combat. By and by the man suc- ceeded in cutting off the right arm of the giantess, but she continued to fight as strenuously as ever. This went on until he managed to cut off her left arm also, whereupon the giantess began to call aloud to Arthur in the rock of Eglwyseg, entreating him to come to her rescue, as that knave was .nurdering her. The end, however, was that she was killed, and that the man hurried away to wash himself clean from her blood in a spring on the mountain, which is to this day known as Collen's Well. "The ex- planation," continues Mr. Jones, which I ventured to give Mr. Tudor was the following:—By the giantess was meant a cruel and oppressive system of religion, which prevailed here before the introduction of Christianity it was the missionary who first brought the Gospel into those parts, and to whose memory Llangollen was consecrated that was represented by the man who came to fight the giantess. It was with the sword of truth that he broke the force of her influence, partially at first and more completely afterwards, and in spite of her appeal to the secular power, here represented by Arthur, she was killed so as to rid the country of her violence and cruelty. Perhaps, adds Mr. Jones, the legend was invented by one of the monks of Valle Crucis Abbey in that neighbourhood." So far his explanation, which is highly ingenious, as ap- plied to the legend in its present form. However, I am inclined to think that it dates long before the time of Valle Crucis Abbey, and that most of the materials out of which it was constructed are even older than Christian- ity perhaps one might characterize it as a pagan legend fertilized by Christianity. I doubt whether we might ven- ture to compare the giantess with the sphynx, but if we substitute for her a dragon we can connect it with a well- known class of legends, and at the same time discover a motive for the victorious slayer of the giantess hurrying away to a well to wash himself clean from her blood, for that may, as in some of the dragon legends, have been poisonous. It is hard to say, whether the reference to the well partakes more of the, nature of a solar myth or of Christianity, but certain it is that St. Collen, who by implication is the hero, represents Christianity. Consequently, Arthur ap- pears as one who might be appealed to on the pagan side; this is, I am inclined to think, the original character of Arthur as the Solar hero of Kymry and Bretons, and it is easy to understand how, when they became Christians, he had to follow suit, so as to become the good Christian we find him in the Mabinogion as such one cannot with- out some difficulty think of him as paying no heed to the cries of a female in distress. On the whole it would seem that an Arthur who was neither Christian nor chivalrous is an older and more original character than the one pic- tured in mediaeval romance. The foregoing legend probably did not stand alone; within the last few days I have succeeded in collecting a few shreds of a nearly parallel one at Llanberis. Between Llanberis church and the pass, nearly opposite the house called Cwmglas, under a large stone called Y Grom- lech, on the left hand side as you ascend, was the abode of a giantess called Canrig (or Cantrig) Bwt, which seems to have meant Canrig the Stumpy, and to have indicated that her stoutness was out of all proportion to her stature. Now, Canrig Bwt was a canibal, and especially fond of feasting on children, so when the man came who was destined to put an end to her, and challenged her to come out to fight, she coolly replied, "Wait till I have scraped this young skull clean." In the meantime he placed him- self on the stone under which she was to come out, and chopped off her head with his sword, when she made her appearance in quest of him. He is said to have been a criminal, sentenced to death, who had the alternative of trying his luck in conflict with the giantess, and the name of Canrig Bwt has come down to our time only as a means of frightening naughty children, but I am not sure that this is a sufficient proof that her ravages were confined to infants. I would call your attention next to the name of the river you have lately crossed and re-crossed so frequently, the Dee in Welsh it is called Dyfrdwy, a word which analyses itself into Dyfr-dwy, whereof the first syllable is a wakening of D wf'r, water; but what is the other syllable? Two answers are given. It is sometimes crudely guessed to be the same as the Welsh da, black, which is phoneti- cally impossible, and deserving of no further mention. The more popular etymology indentifies it with Welsh dwy, the feminine of dau, two, and treats the entire name as meaning the water of two, that is of two rivers, and the two rivers supposed to form the Dee are pointed out in the neighbourhood of Bala. It would perhaps be no serious objection to this etymology, that Dyfrdwy would accordingly be a name which could be literally applied to almost all the rivers in the world, but a little fact suffices to dissolve a great deal of conjecture. The former offers itself in one of the ways in which Giraldus Cambrensis spells the name of the river, namely as Deverdoeu, where doeu is the same as the old Welsh doiu or duiu, the genitive of old Welsh diu, a god. It is not altogether unknown in its full form in later Welsh, as for instance in dwyw-ol (divine), now written and pronounced dwyfol, but more commonly duiu or dwyw is shortened into dwy as in meudwy (a hermit), literally servus dei: similarly an old name Giuas-duiu, which also means servus dei, appears later as Gwas-duy. So the phonology of Dyfrdwy is perfectly plain and simple, and the word would have to be regarded as meaning aqua dei, but for other evidence which makes me prefer treating dwy as here meaning goddess, whence Dyfrdwy would be aqua dece. Who was the goddess I do not know, but most probably she was a personification of the river. In later Welsh poetry the latter is personified under the name of Aerfen, which would seem to mean a war divinity, or simply war, and I have heard a tradition mentioned which indicates that in times when our ancestors and the English were at war the Dee had still some traces of its divinity preserved, as it seems to have been treated as the arbiter of victory and defeat: if the Dee ate away its eastern bank, it be- tokened defeat to the English, and vice versa, but what authority there is for such a tradition I cannot say, and I should be glad to learn whether there is any. Now, according to the rules of Welsh Phonology, old Welsh duiu, and later dwyw, stand for early Welsh dev or dric, which is the same whence the Romans had their Deva, and the English their Dee. It is not my intention to dwell on river worship among the Celts; and I would merely refer you to a valuable paper by M. Pictet in the Revue Celtique, entitled De Quelques Noms Celtique de Rivieres qui se lient au Culte des Eaux," in which the learned Celtist, who is now no more, not only calls atten- tion to Gallo-Roman votive tablets to such water divini- ties as Dea Sequana, Dea Icaune, Dea Bormonia, Deus Borvo and the like, but finds traces in Spain, Gaul, Britain, and Ireland of rivers bearing the same names as the Dee in the forms of Deva, Diva, and Divona, and nearly related ones. (Rev. Celtique ii., pp. 1-9). In the same paper he notices the rivers known in Gaul as Ifatra and Matrona, that is, names inti- mately connected with the Gaulish form of the word for mother- and recalling the numberless Gaulish divinities entitled Matres in Gallo-Roman in- scriptions. This leads me to suggest a possible expla- nation of the name of the principal point in the Clwydian range of hills, namely, Moel Famau. Now moel means bald, without hair or without horns, and as applied to hills it signifies one with a round top, such, in fact, as Moel Famau is, but for the unfortunate jubilee tower on it. Famau is a regular mutation of Mamau, apparently the plural of Mam, a mother, thus Moel Famau would mean the moel of mothers, which sounds, however, some- what more indefinite than the majority of Welsh names of the kind, and suggests that the definite article here. as in so many other instances, has been dropped; the name would then in full be Moel-y-Famau, but that could only be a relic of the use of dual number in Welsh, and should be rendered into English the Moel of the two Mothers. But who were these mothers, whether two or more in number ? I am inclined to think that they were no human mothers, but imaginary beings, possibly associated with, or personifica- tions of springs of water rising in the Moel but whether further acquaintance with the ground would tend to confirm this somewhat vague conjecture, I am unable to say, as I have never had an opportunity of examining it. On the other hand, it would be evidently unwise to neglect any traces in this country of cults which, it may be presumed, were once common among the Celts, both in the British Isles and on the Continent. WHENCE THE APPELLATION KYMRY? The Rev. Dr. MARGOLIOUTH, Vicar of Little Sinford, Bucks,^ read an elaborate paper to prove that the two terms Gael" and Kymry" are of purely Hebrew origin. The title of the paper was Whence the appellation of the term 'Kymry,' a problem for British Philological Archoeologists." Gml-the same as Gaer in the Hebrew language, in which the land ther frequently interchange- means stranger or foreigner, a term by which the over- bearing Saxon invaders nicknamed the early settlers on the island now familiar to us as Great Britain. Kymro, in the same language, means a priest of an idolatrous system. Analyses of Oriental archaeological fragments, now in the British Museum, led me, said the learned Doctor, to conclude that the term Kymro, priest of an idolatrous system, was closely allied to the name Omri, the notorious king of Israel, who consummated the idola- trous system amongst the Ten Tribes who f-eceded from the House of Jacob." I have proved last year at Bodmin that some of the dispersed of Judah had found their way to this island, not long after the conquest of Palestine by Nebuchadnezzar. I hold it probable that about the same time some of the captive Israelites, with some of the teachers of their religious system, had also found their way, from the regions of Halah and Habor. If so, I should think it a problem well worth considering whether the dispersed of Judah, who were previously domiciled in this island, did not, by way of disparage- ment, describe the new comers and their teachers by the soubriquet Kymary Omri, that is, the idolatrous priests and followers of Omri. Hence the term Kymry. In sup- port of this extraordinary theory Dr. Margoliouth, quoted the mystic saying of Taliesin, the Prince of Druid Bards, My love has been declared in Hebrew, in the Hebraic tongue." At the close of Dr. Margoliouth's paper, Professor RHYS proceeded in a vigorous and merciless manner, which_ was thoroughly enjoyed by his audience, to demolish the ingenious theory which the rev. doctor had with a great expenditure of labour and learning con- with a great expenditure of labour and learning con- structed. He said that he (the Professor) did not know much about the Semetic languages, but from a Celtic point of view the whole thing was a jumble. The word Kymry" was perfectly capable of analysis according to the rules of Welsh philology, and they had no occasion to go to the Hebrew or any other language for an explana- tion of it. Professor Rhys then explained the derivation of_ the word, which originally meant compa- triot," "kym" being the same prefix as "com" in the Latin. As the word was perfectly explic- able as a Welsh word, why should they go to the Hebrew ? It was a long way off. (Cheers and laughter.) The learned Doctor seemed to suppose that Gael and Kymry were synonymous. They were nothing of the kind. It was useless to compare a Welsh word of the present day with the Hebrew. The mutations of consonants and the gradual change known as phonetic decay must be taken into account. Welsh words of four syllables, found on ancient inscribed stones, were in the present day reduced to two syllables. Dr. Margoliouth had drawn his picture without any perspective. Any number of absurd theories might be constructed from the superficial resemblance of words in different languages, but no man in his senses would think of constructing them. On the whole he hoped that such a "problem" would never be submitted again to philological archaeologists. (Cheers.) Dr. MARGOLIOUTH, who was received with cheers and laughter, made a short reply, the substance of which ap- peared to be that grammar was made from language, and not language from grammar. THE DISCOVERIES AT MTCEN.E. After this lively passage of arms, Mr. J. S. PHENE, L.L.D., F.S.A., gave an interesting account of Dr. Schielman's discoveries at Mycenae, where he (Dr. Phen6) had stayed for six months. His remarks were received with much applause. THURSDAY. The members and visitors left Llangollen in carriages at ten o'clock for Corwen. The morning was bright with a rather sharp, though pleasant, breeze, and, with the ex- ception of one or two showers, the weather continued fine throughout the day. As they left Llangollen they entered the delightful valley of Glyndyfrdwy, so largely associated with the history and traditions of the great chieftain, Owain Glyndwr. On the way the visitors alighted at an ancient farm-house, to look at a table which is said to have come from Owain Glyndwr's house. The table, which is a very primitive piece of furniture, has been at some time or other cut in two. Mr. Blaxam, who is generally rather sceptical in regard to the supposed age of relics of antiquity, was inclined to think that both the house and the table were not older than the first half of the 17th century, though a splayed and deeply-recessed window in one of the rooms seems of much earlier date. The visitors also inspected a tumulus, near which Mr. Bloxam and other authorities said was in all probability a small British military outpost or watch tower. SYCHNANT. On their reaching the supposed site at Sychnant of one of the residences of Owain Glyndwr, where there is a tumulus about thirty feet high by the road side, near the seventh mile stone from Llangollen, and called Glyn- dwr s Mount," Mr. G. R. WRIGHT, the Congress secretary, read a paper containing an interesting historical sketch of Owain Glyn- dwr. Mr. Wright said that from that neighbourhood the great chieftain used to view his territory, for from one point he could, it is said, see forty square miles of his patrimony. A celebrated poet, lolo Goch, had given a gloomy description of Glyndwr's palace, but whether there or at Sycharth, at which he frequently enjoyed the griet chieftain's hospitality, was not certain. They might probably allow somewhat for the poetic licence of the bard when he compared the house to Westminster Abbey. It appeared to have had a gatehouse and moat. Within its walls were nine halls, each furnished with a wardrobe, which had to modern antiquarians more than one signifi- cation, though Pennant thought the word applied to the clothes of the adherents of this great Prince of Wales. Near the house, on a verdant bank, was a wooden house supported on posts and covered with tiles. It contained four apartments, each divided into two, for the use of the guests. Here was a church, of a cruciform shape, with several chapelries. The seat was surrounded with every convenience for good living. There was a warren, and of course a pigeon-house, a mill, orchard, and a vineyard. Fit-ii ponds filled with pike and gwyniads, which were brought from Bala lake a heronry for sport, and to sup- ply the palace with game. The bard dwelt feelingly on the wine, the ale so sparkling, and the bread so white and as he descanted on the cook he did not forget the kitchen. Two dates were given as that of Owain's birth, 1354 and 1349, both during Edward III.'s long reign of fifty years, the former being the generally received date. After a looking at a tumulus close by, just above the Dee, and covered with trees, the archteologists returned to their carriages and drove on to Corwen which was reached about mid-day. CORWEN CHURCH. The parish church of Corwen was then visited, and a paper on the subject was read by the Rector, the Rev. W. RICHARDSON. The church is dedicated in the names of the Armorican missionaries, Mael and Sulien, who lived in the sixth century. There is a singular legend in connection with a rude stone which is built into the wall of the north porch. The stone was called Carreg y big yn y fach rewlyd," the pointed stone in the icy nook." It is said that all attempts to build the church in any other place were frustrated by the influence of certain adverse powers, till the founders warned in vision, were directed to the spot where this pillar stood. The Gossiping Guide says that similar stories are told of other Welsh churches. Mr. Richardson remarked that this stone appears also to supply the name of "Corfaen," the enclosure or choir of the stone," rather than "Corwen," the white choir or church." The latter would not have been applicable to the church, both the freestone and the rough stone being of a rather darkish shade. Another curious legend is to the effect that the mark of a cross on the stone over the south door of the chancel is the impress of Owain Glyndwr's dagger, which he threw down from the precipitous cliff just behind the town. In the churchyard is the shaft of a vry ancient cross, probably of the seventh or eighth century, called the Sword of Glyndwr" seven feet high with roll mouldings with interlaced cable work on the top. On Ihc north side of the chancel under a semi-circular arch lies the very curious monumental effigy of Iorwerth Sulien, a vicar of Corwen, in his sacerdotal vestments, the upper part of the figure being in relief and holding the chalice of the priest, and the lower portion a flat surface with the inscription Hie jacet Jorwerth Sulien vicarius de Corvaen ora pro eo." The monument belongs to the end of the 14th or beginning of the 15th century. It has been said, but without good authority, to refer to St. Julien, "the godliest man and greatest clerke in all Wales," who gave his name to a sacred well near Rhftg Chapel, from which it is said water was fetched in olden times to fill the font of Corwen Church. The church was "restored" in 1871-2 by Mr. Ferrey. It was originally cruciform, but the south transept has been entirely swept away, and a south aisle with an arcade of heavy arches and pillars added. Mr. Richardson, in his paper, said that before the alterations made by Mr. Ferrey there was little architectural character to the church. Most of the windows were round headed ones of the Hanoverian period, without mullions or tracery, while those which possessed any tracery were of comparatively modern and very debased type. The tower, it would be noticed, remained untouched to gladden the heart of the new Society for the Protection of ancient Buildings. A project for improving the tower was, fortunately, as some might think, deferred on account of a lack of funds. There is a beautiful triple-lighted window at the east end. According to Mr. Thomas, the date of 1777 upon the chancel ceiling appears to indicate the time I when the narrow lancets which had existed throughout the church in 1729 were closed up or replaced by round headed Haneverian windows, but no indications of old lancet windows were found when the present windows were inserted. Mr. Richardson said it was characteristic of Welsh churches that they were of great length in pro- portion to their width. Very frequently no break occurred in the roof which ran from end to end, as it did at Llanycil, the mother church of Bala, Llanfor, near Bala, and other churches. There was usually a chancel arch but only a rood screen. He thought that the narrow- ness of the churches might be explained from the fact of their being stronger and more easily roofed over. The plan of a continuous roof was more likely to keep the rain out, which in Wales frequently found its way through the thickest and apparently best built walls. During the re- storation the base of the original rood screen was dis- covered, which instead of being in a line with the walls of the transept was found to be considerably further east- ward. The general opinion expressed by the antiquaries present was that the church was of the 14th century, though Mr. Richardson thought the east window probably indicated the date of a century earlier. The date of the font was said to be 1060, but its ancient features are almost destroyed. After luncheon, which was provided by Mr. and Mrs. Jones, of the Owain Glyndwr Hotel, in the schoolroom, John Roberts, a Welsh bard, and his four sons, gave some Welsh music, and the party then drove to the RHUG CHAPEL. This chapel which is about a mile from Corwen on the north-west side of the Dee, and is of the 17th century, has nothing in its exterior to attract notice, but the inter- nal arrangements and decorations give it a quite unique and old world appearance. The only distinction between the nave and chancel is a Carolian screen with a perforated fringe of older date. Seen through the openings is a very quaint reading desk, with Welsh mottoes on the panels. On the eastern side of the screen are two curious stalls, with small panels and turned posts, highly decorated with colour. One of these belonged to the Lord of the Manor, and the other to the incumbent of the parish. The upper part of the communion table is enclosed with panel work. The sittings of the church are very low, and quaintly carved. The bench ends are of very singular pattern, rising from a solid carved beam in the floor, in a crescent-shaped support to the seat. The curious carving on their supports is part of the oldest work in the building. The roof is divided into four bays by moulded arches, and the inter- vening space is panelled by moulded purlieus and beams with illuminated bosses. The cornice is of later date, and belongs to the period of the general restoration of the interior in 1637. The gallery has open balusters of the Stuart period, the supporting beam being ornamented with a late imitation of the bolt and hand moulding, and the springers with quaintly-robed angels. There is a most eccentric looking candelabra in the centre of the church, and amongst the mural decorations is the figure of a skeleton, with representations of an hour glass and two half burnt candles in ordinary brass candlesticks, with an inscription in Welsh, of which the following is a transla- tion :— As the candle burns so life passes away. My eyes and nose are gone, aud I am silent. My flesh is consumed, and no one knows me." The Rev. W. RICHARDSON read the following paper upon Rhdg Chapel There is very little reliable information about the an- cient features of Rhtig chapel. What I have put together I have taken in a great measure from Mr. Thomas's book on the Diocese of St. Asaph, and from a book known as Bishop Short's book, handed over to me, and partly com- piled by the late chaplain, the Rev. T. Price. The chapel was built A.D. 1637 as appears from a beam over the communion table, by Colonel William Salisbury, of Rhu°- the loyal governor of Denbigh Castle, who by a deed A.lj' 1641 created a charge on Carrogucha Farm of £ 12 per an- num. The original deed is in the possession of Lord Bagot, and a copy exists at the registry at St. Asaph. The chapel was never consecrated. It is rather a private or domestic chapel, belonging to the house of Rhfig. An early notice mentions that RhClg is not a township, and that it pays no tithe, but is taxed with Aelhaiarn, a town- ship of Gwyddelwern. A subsequent notice tells us that the demesne of Rhtig pays no tithes at all, and adds that as some of its twenty-eight fields are let to persons of neighbouring parishes-they bring their ewes to cast the lambs, and so pay no tithes of them, either to their own minister or to the rector or vicar of Corwen. This chapel bears a considerable resemblance to the private chapel in the Gwydir grounds, near Llanrwst. Two reasons have been handed down why the chapel was built, and so near to Corwen. 1. For the convenience of the neighbourhood when the bridge between them and Corwen had been swept away by a flood. 2. That in consequence of some dispute with the town of Corwen as to their right of crossing the bridge, or a quarrel with the then Vicar of Corwen, it was built out of mere opposition, and hence, as the tale goes, the Cor- wenites often called it the chapel of spite. From a close inspection it is doubtful whether the church was painted when it was first built. Report says not, and it is evi- dent that the painting on the different compartments of the roof was done by different hands and at different times. There were persons living some forty years ago who remembered and often spoke of the painting as done by a man brought down for that purpose from London, about 1750 to 1780. Upon examining the wood which was used in the building of it, there were indications of its having been used before, and there is an impression that the wood was taken from Gwyddelwern Church, which seems to have been rebuilt a few years before A.D. 1634. The two wooden chandeliers, the one at Rhdg Chapel, and the other at Gwyddelwern Church, are very similar, and point to a common date. The name is a corruption from Crfig, a mound or hillock such as still exists near the old house. The present house was built during this century. In 1858, Sir R. W. Vaughan, Bart., the then owner of the Rhdg estate, left by will £2,000, as an endowment for this chapel. This was invested in Three per cent. Con- sols, in the names of Thomas Vowler Short, Bishop of St. Asaph, and W. W. E. Wynne, Esq., M.P., of Peniarth, in trust for service at Rhftg. In 1854 the chapel was re- paired, chiefly under the direction of Mr. Wynne. In answer to a question, Mr. RICHARDSON said it was generally supposed that the roof was brought from an old chapel five miles off. The inscriptions were in Welsh. If the chapel had been built in Roman Catholic times they would have been in Latin. Mr. BLOXAM said that the internal arrangements of the chapel were exceedingly interesting. The first time he passed by it, a few years ago, judging from the exterior, he thought it was all new work. It was one of those structures to which they might apply the old saying, Fronti nulla fides", and it was certainly one of much his- torical interest. Unfortunately the arrangements of many of these chapels had been or were being destroyed. Sometimes they were the arrangements of the Puritan system, where they had seats arranged round the com- munion table. These were fast disappearing, and he re- gretted it very much. They had also the Laudian Church arrangements, where the chancel, as in pre-Reformation times, was separated by a screen from the body of the church, as in that chapel. Both these arrangements spoke of historical times and of the polemics of those times. The emblems of death painted on the walls were very common in the latter part of the sixteenth and the earlier part of the seventeenth century. In the fifteenth century sepulchral monuments were sculp- tured effigies, but in the two succeeding centuries they found skeleton figures which had been described as the lively figures of death." He quite agreed that the roof had been brought from elsewhere. It was of earlier antiquity than the rest of the fittings. He hoped those fittings would be allowed to remain. He hoped those fit- tings would be allowed to remain as they now were as an historical memorial of the church arrangements of the 17th century. He was very sorry to see either the Puritan ar- rangements on the Laudian arrangements disturbed. Mr. MORGAN, the hon. treasurer, then proposed the thanks of the Association to Mr. Richardson for his courtesy and for his lucid papers on Corwen Church and Rhdg Chapel. We may add that in the churchyard stands the octagonal shaft (probably of the 14th century) of the ancient church- yard or wayside cross. The cross now upon it was taken from the roof of the church at its restoration, from the belief that it belonged to it, but this appears at least doubtful. The general opinion was that the cross was of later date. THE BRITISH ENCAMPMENT ON THE GAER. The archaeologists next drove to the foot of the Gaer, a high and somewhat steep hill, on the summit of which are the remains of Caer Drewyn, a most interesting ancient British encampment and fortification. It consists of a rough rain part formed of the loose stones of the country, about fifteen feet wide at the base, with a rectangular enclosure to guard the entrance. At the north-east corner some stronger entrenchments could be seen. The anti- quarians present were all agreed that the entrenchment was to British origin. It is true that some Roman remains have been found, but it is suggested that the Romans might have made a temporary sujourn here. They did not, it was said, like the British, construct their forti- fications on such heights, but more often in the valleys. Mr. Bloxam said it was most probably one of the frontier fortresses of the Ordovices, one of the three great British tribes. The Romans would hardly have erected the large circular huts found in the encampment. They might have taken possession of the ancient British works, but their regular entrenchments were low down near the stream. Mr. Wright referred to a tradition tint Owain Glyndwr took possession of these heights, and entrenched himself there. It has been also suggested that Owain Gwynead, a prince who ruled in 1165, and who made Corwen his head quarters might have occupied 1:1 his oonfliot with the forces of Heur; iJennant speaks of his having traced the marks of abundance of tents" from the encampment south of Corwen Church to the vil- lage of Cynwyd, two miles distant, but they might have belonged to Owen Glyndwr, who concentrated his forces here previous to the battle of Shrewsbury. In one part of the Caer Drewyn encampment a quantity of debris had been removed, in order to show a portion of the wall still standing. In the course of a few remarks made by Proft ior HUGHES, he said he thought the camp belonged to he bronze age, and he showed a bronze implement which had been found there. The ancient British adapted their fortifications to the natural conformation of the ground, the height of the wall being determined by the gradient, and they constructed their entrenchments in such a man- ner as to enable them to see as far down the valley as pos- sible. He did not think it at all likely that the fortification was strengthened by Owen Glyndwr. We need hardly say that the attention of visitors was not too much concentrated on these relics of a long past age to preclude them from enjoying the glorious prospect before them of the lovely valley and stately range of hills. Not only the Arrans and the Arrenigs, but Snowdonia, and even Snowdon itself, may sometimes be seen from the Gaer. On descending the hill the party started on their home- ward journey. They alighted, however, at Corwen, and went to the Rectory to look at a repousse silver chalice now in the possession of the Rector of Corwen, which was found during the last century in a cellar at Nannau, and was supposed to have come from Cymmer Abbey. The =- Rector said the cup was considered to be of the 13tK cen- tury, and of very great value. It was, however, P* nounced to be of late though good workmanship. date hazarded by one gentleman, supposed to be authority on the subject, was actually later than the da of the discovery of the cup—a rather amusing instance an excess of antiquarian incredulity. The design of cup contains the emblems of our Saviour's passion. COMMEMORATIVE MEDALS. # At the evening meeting Dr. Merriman, the Bishop Grahamstown, again presided. < The Rev. E. OWEN read a paper On Certain CircuJ^ Hut Dwellings in North Wales." He was followed by G. G. Adams,^ the medallist, who read a paper on Commemorative of Events in English History." He sP°1J first of the importance of the workers in stone, clay, metal to the archaeologists, who were so much indebted the remains left by these workers for dates and facts. A*? first medal now extant is the gold medal of Henry VI-D'' and the last that struck in commemoration of 1 Victoria being proclaimed Empress of India. The ine" of Henry VIII. is dated 1545, and as the King was i11 0l* sense a Welshman the fact was curious. The first coroo tion medal was that of Edward VI., and the last that her Gracious Majesty. Amongst remarkable medals a Dutch one dated 1587, to commemorate the destructi of the Spanish Armada, and the last sea medal was one commemorate the Arctic Expedition in 1875-6. One the most curious of coronation medals was one 5 £ in- .f diameter, to celebrate the coronation of George I. u some allusion to some other medals, he passed 011 to of the medal which was struck to commemorate the press of India. James I. had a medal in which he styled Emperor of all the Isles of Britain. Mr. closed with the remark that a the British Government, U like the governments abroad, gave but little encoura# ment to the art of the medallist. e Mr. DE GRAY BIRCH pointed out that when the title Empress was under discussion he was employed arch logically on the question, and found that the terr. "Imperator" had been used by Athelstan and Alfred, that the title was not a political but an archEeological f*S He also mentioned that the title assumed by Henry £ as head of the Church, was supremum caput ecclf3^ Anglicana, and this title was resumed by George lH-> one of his later great seals. TRB'R CABRI. U.. Dr. PHKNE, F.S.A., followed with a very elabor» £ paper On some similarities between Tre'r Caeri, n A Pwllheli, North Wales, and the structures in Brittany. in the East." A number of carefully coloured diagra showed the remarkable monuments and emblems 3010 the route from the Archipelago to Brittany. Mr. GROVER afterwards made a few remarks. FRIDAY. tbo A special train left Llangollen at 8-45 to take t members of the Association and visitors to DolgelJ?7j They were again favoured with delightful sunshine, with an occasional shower, which enabled ^.Ij' fully to appreciate and enjoy the striking and beauts, scenery of the valleys of Llangollen, Glyndyfrdwy, and«&r llwyd. R CYMMBR ABBET. The last-named valley was the chosen home of a C°J « munity of white-robed monks. The ruins of the Cisterci*" Abbey of Cymmer or Vanner as it is commonly called very picturesquely situated, about a mile and a half frobe Dolgelley.^ On alighting at Dolgelley, thither archaeologists some on foot and some in carriages 10 J their way. The ruins are not so beautiful as those °* Valle Crucis Abbey, but they are well worth visiting by people who are not antiquarians or ecclesiologists. abbey is somewhat of a puzzle to antiquarians, beciiU^ although there is undoubted proof of its having to the Cistercian order, its architectural features are unlike those which are characteristic of Cisterci3 churches. The ruins now consist of a roofless nave. west end of the church, within the walls, stands » sycamore tree. The monastery was founded in 119" Griffith and Meredith, Lords of Merioneth, and son3,, Cynan, who was the illegitimate son of Owain Prince of North Wales, by Angharad, daughter of PereU ap Mael ap Bleddyn, of Merioneth. Howell, son Griffith, was als« one of the founders. The visitors havl1^ assembled together in the Abbey, an admirable paper vf read by Mr. BROCK, which will appear next week.. y The architectural features were further pointed ou'tJ Mr. Wynne, of Peniarth, Mr. John Reynolds, Bloxam, and Mr. Talbot. # The visitors then proceeded to what is called Abbot's Hall, where Mr. WYNNE gave an interest^ account of the origin and history of the Abbey, as well „ of the ancient family of the Vaughans, or Vechan^^ who came into possession of the Abbey and buildings after the dissolution of the monastery. *■ 1 foundation was afterwards confirmed by Henry III-, again by Henry VI. Amongst the papers left to (Mr. Wynne) by his venerated friend, Sir R°'' 0 Vaughan, was a very curious memorial of a trial relati to a water course there. It appeared that very corn was grown in that neighbourhood, and that the got all its corn from its estates in Carnarvonshire.. „ th« commencement of the last century the Abbey wa» herited br a daughter of some member of the Vaugh*'1 family, who, it was said, went to live in the Abbot's hou^ and that as she found it extremely uncomfortable. T& house waa altered a good deal at that time. The however, was the original roof of the Abbot's Hall, Ll«yd and himself had some excavations carried out j the Abbey two or three years ago. They hoped to some tombstones, but all they found was an quantity of human bones. There was a very interest}^ tombstone to the memory of the Vaughan family, w he recommended them to see. A member of the fa.ro appeared also to have been buried on j tbo north side of the abbey archway. Howel Sele, age chieftain who was the victim of Owain Glyndwr's reve1 was a member of the Vechan or Vaughan family.. p legend of the discovery of his skeleton in a large oak, which Owain Glyndwrwas supposed to have immured hi was referred to in Sir Walter Scott's Marmion, and in a ballad by the Rev. Geo. Warrington, in which the following lines Back they recoiled the right hand still Contracted, grasped a rusty sword Which erst in many a battle gleamed, And proudly decked their slaughtered lord. They bore the corse to Vaner's shrine, With holy rites and prayers addressed Nine white-robed monks the last dirge sang, And gave the angry spirit rest. Mr. BLOXAM next made a few remarks about the pl"å of the Abbey, in which he said that it resembled the Priory of Ulverscroft, in Leicestershire. He did_nj. think that that room was part of the Abbot's H although the roof was undoubtedly ancient. It was D°, where the Abbot's house would be. The chimney fireplace were clearly of a much later date. it Mr. WTNNE said he certainly did not think that a of that size would have been built after the Reformatlo It might not be the Abbot's refectory, but it must h»v been a hall used for some great purpose. Mr. BLOXAM said he should think the date of the bud' ings was late in the sixteenth or early in the seventeen01 century. It was suggested that the chimney and fireplace all other features of the building had been inserted at alatef date. Mr. BROCK said that in making a survey of the plan b8 had discovered in the exterior of the hall traces of m,%Sq ary which indicated that it was of an early date, and it be within the bounds of possibility that that was a P°r5^ of the old monastic building and its ancient roof. Vtj. features of a later date, which Mr. Bloxam's quick detected, were, he thought, probably additions. Wynne's suggestion that that was the guest house W&3 v likely correct. A member of the Association pointed out that the cbiØ ney was clearly not part of the original design. t- A vote of thanks to Mr. Wynne for his kindness in xae6~. ing them and in giving them so much valuable inf tion about that abbey and the abbey of Valle Crucis heartily accorded. Mr. WYNNE, in acknowledging the vote of thanks, vaefl, tioned the fact that an exceedingly large and valuable lection of Welsh manuscripts had been left to him by late Sir Robert Vaughan. Some large bronze cook11^ vessels of the fourteenth centurry, which had been fouJ1 at Nannau, were exhibited in the hall. On the return from the Abbey the party sat down very admirable luncheon at the Golden Lion Royal Ifote Dolgelley.. After luncheon some of the members visited the chu^1' and the ancient house which has, without the least found3' tion in fact, been been the Parliament of Owain Glyndwr. Mr Breese, local secretary of Cambrian A.Tcheeologica,l Society, stated that some ago a committee was formed and plans prepared f<~>r reparation of thl|_house, under the impression that tf\. story was true. Mr. Brock said that although the hou 11. was much later than Owain Glyndwr's time it was worth preserving and he hoped something would be to preserve it. About half-past two o'clock Archaeologists went by the special train TL Llandderfel. It had been arranged that f Stop at Bala an(1 drive to the ancient manor or Rhiwaedog, which was to be described by Mr. Ij0 |-?,rock and others, but this part of the pro"ramrne vVvj oandoned for want of time. While the special waited at Bala for another train to pass, some of the Pa, sengers went to look at the tumulus and site of Castle close by the railway. Castle close by the railway. LLANDDERFEL CHURCH. to On reaching Llandderfel the train stopped, in order b enable the Archaeologists to visit Llandderfel Clitireb. There is nothing noteworthy in the architecture of Church, except a very good 15 th century roof, a fine \e carved oak rood screen, and the exceptionally ',rote' "e and ludicrous corbel heads outside the Ch"ch. Church is chiefly remarkable for its patron saint, j Dervel Gadarn, to whose wooden imaire piJgrimafi'es.11^ to be made from all parts of Wales, the remains of whic^ part of a very extraordinary wooden horse—and a$Pe T, or crozier, are still be seen. The "more authorized sion of the tradition concerning this image is thus t° in the Gossiping Guide :—" Saint Dervel Gadarn,. Dervel the Mighty (a son of Emyr Llydaw), a saint 6th century, was the patron of the church, and a Sre j wooden image of him was set up; some say it was P^aCl astride the very remarkable animal now in the clillrc The story goes that it had been predicted of this 1111. fI that it should one day set a forest on fire. Now there much wood about Llanddervel, and the good naturally thought that if the trees were to be burnj^ would be more profitable that they should be consumed their own hearths than in the destruction of the ()bjetl;n,e idolatrous worship; and it turning out about thf j«j (1538) that a friar named Forest was condemned burnt at Smithfield for denying the King's suprenaT \0 they gladly dismounted the idol and packed it °jjti30 London. So the poor friar was suspended by h^ ? to a gallows, which had on it the following inscriptlou David Dornel Gutheran, As sayeth the Welshman, Fetched outlawed out of hell,