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A SHORT HISTORY OF WALES
A SHORT HISTORY OF WALES
BY OWEN EDWARDS T. FISHER UNWIN LTD. LONDON: ADELPHI TERRACE First Published 1906 Second Impression 1909 Third Impression 1913 Fourth Impression 1920 Fifth Impression 1922 [ All rights reserved ] CHAP. PAGE I. Wales: What it is made of, and What it is like 1 II. The Wandering Nations. The Iberians and Celts 5 III. Rome. Roman conquest, Settlement, and Influence 10 IV. The Name of Christ. The Old Religion and the New 15 V. The Welsh Kings. Wearers of the “Crown of Arthur” 20 VI. The Law
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INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
This little book is meant for those who have never read any Welsh history before. It is not taken for granted that the reader knows either Latin or Welsh. A fuller outline may be read in The Story of Wales , in the “Story of the Nations” series; and a still fuller one in The Welsh People of Rhys and Brynmor Jones. Of fairly small and cheap books in various periods I may mention Rhys’ Celtic Britain , Owen Rhoscomyl’s Flame Bearers of Welsh History , Henry Owen’s Gerald the Welshman , Bradley’s
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I WALES
I WALES
Wales is a row of hills, rising between the Irish Sea on the west and the English plains on the east. If you come from the west along the sea, or if you cross the Severn or the Dee from the east, you will see that Wales is a country all by itself. It rises grandly and proudly. If you are a stranger, you will think of it as “Wales”—a strange country; if you are Welsh, you will think of it as “Cymru”—a land of brothers. The geologist will tell you how Wales was made; the geographer will tell yo
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II THE WANDERING NATIONS
II THE WANDERING NATIONS
By land and by sea, race after race has come to make the hills of Wales its home. One race would be short, with dark eyes and black hair; another would be tall, with blue eyes and fair hair. They came from different countries and along different paths, but each race brought some good with it. One brought skill in taming animals, until it had at last tamed even the pig and the bee; another brought iron tools to take the place of stone ones. Another brought the energy of the chase and war, and
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III ROME
III ROME
It is not a spirit of adventure and daring alone that makes a nation. Rome rose to say that it must have the spirit of order and law too. It rose in the path of the nations; it built the walls of its empire, guarded by the camps of its legions, right across it. For four hundred years the wandering of nations ceased; the nations stopped—and they began to till the ground, to live in cities, to form states. The hush of this peace did not last, but the memory of it remained in the life of every
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IV THE NAME OF CHRIST
IV THE NAME OF CHRIST
The name of Christ had been heard in Britain during the period of Roman rule, but we do not know who first sounded it. There are many beautiful legends—that the great apostle of the Gentiles himself came to Britain; that Joseph of Arimathea, having been placed by the Jews in an open boat, at the mercy of wind and wave, landed in Britain; that some of the captives taken to Rome with Caratacus brought back the tidings of great joy. We know that the name of Christ, between 200 and 300 years after
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V THE WELSH KINGS
V THE WELSH KINGS
The spirit of Rome remained, though Rome itself had fallen. And Welsh kings rose to take the place of the Roman ruler, trying to force the tribes of Wales—of different races and tongues—to become one people. The chief Roman ruler, at any rate during the later wars against the invaders, was called Dux Britanniae, “the ruler of Britain.” It became the aim of the ablest kings to restore the power of this officer, and to carry on his work, to rule and defend a united country. And I will tell you
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VI THE LAWS OF HOWEL
VI THE LAWS OF HOWEL
The two ideas which ruled Wales were—the love of order and the love of independence. The danger of the first is oppression; the dangers of the other are anarchy and weakness. Wales was sometimes united, under a Maelgwn or a Rhodri, and the princes obeyed them; oftener, perhaps, the princes of the various parts ruled in their own way. The internal life of Wales is best seen in the laws of Howel the Good. Howel was the grandson of Rhodri; and, about 950, he called four men from each district to
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VII THE NORMANS
VII THE NORMANS
On the death of Griffith ap Llywelyn, many princes tried to become supreme. Bleddyn of Powys, a good and merciful prince, became the most important. In January 1070, when the snow lay thick on the mountains, William, the Norman Conqueror, appeared at Chester with an army. He had defeated and killed Harold, the conqueror of Griffith ap Llywelyn, in 1066; he had crushed the power of the Mercian allies of Bleddyn; he had struck terror into the wild north, and England lay at his feet. He turned ba
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VIII GRIFFITH AP CONAN AND GRIFFITH AP REES
VIII GRIFFITH AP CONAN AND GRIFFITH AP REES
In the battle of Mynydd Carn, a young chief led the shining shields of the men of Gwynedd. He was Griffith, the son of a prince of the line of Cunedda and of a sea-rover’s daughter. He was mighty of limb, fair and straight to see, with the blue eyes and flaxen hair of the ruling Celt. In battle, he was full of fury and passion; in peace, he was just and wise. His people saw at first that he could fight a battle; then they found he could rule a country. And it was he that was to say to the N
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IX OWEN GWYNEDD AND THE LORD REES
IX OWEN GWYNEDD AND THE LORD REES
The men who opposed the Normans left able successors—Owen Gwynedd followed his father, Griffith ap Conan; the Lord Rees followed his father Griffith ap Rees; and in Powys the sons of Bleddyn were followed by the castle builder Howel, and by the poet Owen Cyveiliog. Owen Gwynedd ruled from 1137 to 1169; the Lord Rees from 1137 to 1197. The age was, in many respects, a great one. It was, of course, an age of war. Up to 1154, during the reign of Stephen, the English barons were fighting against e
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X LLYWELYN THE GREAT
X LLYWELYN THE GREAT
On the death of the Lord Rees, one of the grandsons of Owen Gwynedd becomes the central figure in Welsh history. Llywelyn the Great rose into power in 1194, and reigned until 1240—a long reign, and in many ways the most important of all the reigns of the Welsh princes. Llywelyn’s first task was to become sole ruler in Gwynedd. The sons of Owen Gwynedd had divided the strong Gwynedd left them by their father, and their nobles and priests could not decide which of the sons was to be supreme. Io
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XI THE LAST LLYWELYN
XI THE LAST LLYWELYN
David II., a mild and well-meaning prince, was too weak to carry his father’s policy out. He tried to maintain peace, and did homage to his uncle, the King of England. But, as the head of the patriotic party, his more energetic brother, Griffith, opposed him. By guile he caught Griffith, and shut him in a castle on the rock of Criccieth. The other princes shook off the yoke of Gwynedd, and Henry III. tried to play the brothers against each other. David sent Griffith to Henry, who put him in
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XII CONQUERED WALES
XII CONQUERED WALES
The war between Edward and Llywelyn was not a war between England and Wales, as we think of these countries now. Some of the best soldiers under Edward were Welsh, especially the bowmen who followed the Earl of Gloucester and Roger Mortimer from the Wye and Severn valleys. It is not right that we Welshmen should feel bitter against England, because, in this last war, Edward won and Llywelyn fell. It is easy to say that Edward was cruel and faithless, and it is easy to say that Llywelyn was shi
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XIII CASTLE AND LONG-BOW
XIII CASTLE AND LONG-BOW
So far I have told you very little about war, except that a battle was fought and lost, or a castle built or taken. War has two sides—attack and defence. New ways of attacking and defending are continually devised. When the art of defence is more perfect than the art of attack, the world changes very little, for the strong can keep what he has gained. When the art of attack is the more perfect, new men have a better chance, and many changes are made. The chief source of defence was the castl
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XIV THE RISE OF THE PEASANT
XIV THE RISE OF THE PEASANT
I have told you much about princes and soldiers, but very little about the lowly life of peasants, and the trade of towns. The conquest of Wales, by Norman baron and English king, tended to raise the serf to the level of the freeman. The chief causes of the rise of the serf were the following: 1 The ignorance of the English officials. The Norman baron very often paid close attention to the privileges of the classes he ruled, and the Welsh freeman retained his superiority. But the English off
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XV OWEN GLENDOWER
XV OWEN GLENDOWER
The English baron in Wales tried to add to his possessions by encroaching on the lands of the Welsh freemen. His estate always remained the same, because it all went to the eldest son, according to what is called primogeniture; their lands, on the other hand, were divided between the sons according to what is called gavelkind. He also, by laws they did not understand, took the waste land—forest and mountain. As one man can more easily watch his interest than many, the baron succeeded; but the
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XVI THE WARS OF THE ROSES
XVI THE WARS OF THE ROSES
The reign of Henry V. was a reign of brilliant victories in France, and the reign of Henry VI. one of disastrous defeats. During both reigns the lords were becoming more powerful in Wales as well as in England. The hold of the king over them became weaker every year; they packed the Parliament, they appointed the Council, they overawed the law courts. If a man wanted security, he must wear the badge of some lord, and fight for him when called upon to do so. In the marches of Wales there were
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XVII TUDOR ORDER
XVII TUDOR ORDER
The Tudors—Henry VII., his son, Henry VIII., and his three grandchildren, Edward VI. and Mary and Elizabeth—ruled England and Wales from 1485 to 1603. Under them the people became united, law-abiding, patriotic, and prosperous. The Tudor period is justly regarded as the most glorious in British history, with its great statesmen, its great adventurers, and its great poets. The Tudors were loyally supported by Wales, by the military strength of men like Sir Rees ap Thomas or the Earl of Pembroke
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XVIII THE REFORMATION
XVIII THE REFORMATION
The Reformation in England was, to begin with, a purely political movement. Henry VIII. wished to rule his people in his own way, in religion as well as in politics; and, eventually, he became Supreme Head of the Church as well as the king of the country. His new power brought changes. It was necessary to reform the Church, and the wealth of the monasteries tempted him to do it. There was a new spirit of enquiry, and the King was led on by that spirit, with dilatory and hesitating steps, to
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XIX THE CIVIL WAR
XIX THE CIVIL WAR
After the Tudors came the Stuarts. The Tudors did what their people wanted; the king and the people, between them, crushed the nobles. The Stuarts did what they thought right, and they did not try to please the people. Under the Tudors, there was harmony between Crown and Parliament; and Elizabeth left a prosperous people with strong views about their rights and their religion. But James I., and especially his son Charles I., tried to change law and religion. From the Tudor period of unity,
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XX THE GREAT REVOLUTION
XX THE GREAT REVOLUTION
Except to the reader who is of a legal or antiquarian turn of mind, the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries are the least interesting in the history of Wales—the very centuries that are the most glorious and the most stirring in the history of England. The older historians stop when they come to the year 1284, and sometimes give a hasty outline of a few rebellions up to 1535. They then give the Welsh a glowing testimonial as a law-abiding and loyal people, and find them too uninteresting to wr
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XXI HOWEL HARRIS
XXI HOWEL HARRIS
It is difficult to write about religion without giving offence. Religion will come into politics, and must come into history. It has given much, perhaps most, of its strength to modern Wales; it has given it many, if not most, of its political difficulties. There are periods of religious calm and periods of religious fervour in the life of every nation. I do not know whether it is necessary, but it is certainly the fact—the two periods condemn each other with great energy. With regard to cre
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XXII THE REFORM ACTS
XXII THE REFORM ACTS
The new life brought an inevitable demand for a share in the government of the country, and this brought the old order and the new face to face. The political power was entirely in the hands of the squires, alienated from the peasants in many cases by a difference of language, and in most cases by a difference of religion. The Act of 1535 had, as we have seen, given Wales a representation in Parliament. Each shire had one member only; except Monmouth, which had two. Each shire town had one me
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XXIII EDUCATION
XXIII EDUCATION
The chief feature of the history of Wales during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries is the growth of a system of education. The most democratic, the most perfect, and the most efficient method is still that of the Sunday School. It was well established before the death of Charles of Bala, whose name is most closely connected with it, in 1814. It soon became, and it still remains, a school for the whole people, from children to patriarchs. Its language is that of its district. Its teache
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XXIV LOCAL GOVERNMENT
XXIV LOCAL GOVERNMENT
The French Revolution was condemned by Britain, and the voices raised in its favour in Wales were few. The excesses of the Revolution, and the widespread fear of a Napoleonic invasion, caused a strong reaction against progress. The years immediately after were years of great suffering, but the very suffering prepared the way for the progress of the future, because it made men willing to leave their own districts and to move into the coal and slate districts, where wages were high enough to ena
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XXV THE WALES OF TO-DAY
XXV THE WALES OF TO-DAY
The most striking characteristic of the Wales of to-day is its unity—self-conscious and self-reliant. The presence of this unity is felt by all, though it may be explained in different ways. It cannot be explained by race; for the population of the west midlands and the north of England, possibly of the whole of it, have been made up of the same elements. It cannot be explained by language—nearly one half of the Welsh people speak no Welsh. Some attribute it to the inexorable laws of geograp
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INFLUENCES UNDER WHICH THE HISTORY OF WALES WAS FORMED
INFLUENCES UNDER WHICH THE HISTORY OF WALES WAS FORMED
1. The nature of its rocks—Igneous, Cambrian, Silurian, Old Red Sandstone, Limestone, Coal—all belonging to the Primary Period. Its rocks ( a ) explain its scenery; ( b ) explain its wealth, the richest part of Britain in minerals. 2. The configuration of its surface. ( a ) It is isolated, its mountains being surrounded by the sea, or rising sharply from the plains. It is part of the range of mountains which runs along the whole of the west coast of Britain; but the range is broken at the
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THE PEOPLE WHO CAME INTO WALES
THE PEOPLE WHO CAME INTO WALES
1. The Iberians—a general name for the short dark people who still form the greater part of the nations. They had stone weapons, and lived in tribes; they became subject to later invaders, but gradually became free. Their language is lost. 2. The Celts—a tall fair-haired race, speaking an Aryan tongue. It was their migration that was stopped by the rise of Rome. Four groups of mountains, four nations (Celtic and Iberian), four mediæval kingdoms, and four modern dioceses can be remembered t
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I. THE WALES OF THE PRINCES
I. THE WALES OF THE PRINCES
Isolated after the battles of Deorham and Chester, mediæval Wales begins to make its own history. The House of Cunedda represents unity, the other princes represent independence. English, Danish, Norman attacks from without. 1. 613–1063. The struggle between the Welsh princes and the English provincial kings . From the battle of Chester to the fall of Griffith ap Llywelyn. ( a ) Between Wales and Northumbria, 613–700; for the sovereignty of the north. Cadwallon, Cadwaladr v. Edwin, Oswald
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II. THE WALES OF THE PEOPLE.
II. THE WALES OF THE PEOPLE.
In 1535 the march lordships were formed into shires, and a reign of law began. 1535–1603. Period of loyalty to Tudor sovereigns —for equality before law and political rights. 1536. The march lordships become shire ground. Wales given a representation in Parliament, and its own system of law courts—the Great Sessions of Wales. 1539. Welsh passive resistance to the Reformation. 1567. Sir Thomas Middleton opens silver mines of Cardiganshire. 1588. Bishop Morgan’s Welsh Bible. 1593. Execution of Jo
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APPENDIX A—PARLIAMENTARY REFORM IN WALES [109]
APPENDIX A—PARLIAMENTARY REFORM IN WALES [109]
By the Act of 1535. By the Act of 1832. Glamorgan 1 County Member 2 County Members 1 Member for Cardiff 1 Member for Cardiff, Cowbridge, and Llantrisant 1 Member for Swansea, Loughor, Neath, Aberavon, and Kenfig. 1 Member for Merthyr Tydvil. Monmouth 2 County Members 1 Member for Monmouth Carmarthen 1 County Member 1 Member for Carmarthen 1 Member for Carmarthen and Llanelly Pembroke 1 Member for Pembroke 1 Member for Pembroke, Tenby, Wiston, Milford 1 Member for Haverfordwest. 1 Member for Ha
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