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LETTERS OF POPE ALEXANDER IV. CONCERNING RICHARD DE CAREW, BISHOP ELECT OF

ST. DAVID'S.

The

following documents were communicated to one of the Editors by Patrick Chalmers, Esq., of Auldbar, N.B. They are extracted from a collection of papers relating to England, which was presented by Pope Gregory to George IV., and are now preserved in the British Museum. The documents occur in Vol. VIII. of the Collection, p. 353. They are published here as an illustration of the state of society and of religious feeling in the thirteenth century. Richard de Carew received his consecration at Rome in 1256.

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ANN. II. EPIST. 195.

ALEXANDER &c. CAPITULO MENEVEN.

Ecclesia Meneveñ pastoris solatio destituta, vos convenientes in unum, Spiritus Sancti gratia invocata, Venerabilem fratrem nostrum Riccardum Meneven Episcopum, tunc Canonicum ejusdem Ecclesię, in vestrum Episcopum concorditer postulâstis, et postulationem suam nobis per communes nuncios presentantes, ut cum eo qui de clerico in ordinibus constituto minoribus, et soluta genitus fuerat misericorditer agere dignaremur humiliter supplicàstis. Nos igitur attendentes honestatem morum, vitę meritum, donum scientię, famam personę suę a pluribus approbatę nec non et commune votum vestrum ei ad postulatam gratiam suffragari, et sperantes ex bonis quç de suę circumspectionis industria predicantur quod eadem ecclesia sub ejus regimine grata suscipiet Deo propitio, in spiritualibus et temporalibus incrementa, postulationem predictam de fratrum nostrorum consilio et liberalitate apostolicę benignitatis admisimus ipsum preficiendo eidem ecclesiç in pastorem ac demum sibi de nostris manibus munere consecrationis impenso, eum ad prefatam ecclesiam cum gratię nostrę plenitudine duximus remittendum. Quocirca Universitatem vestram rogamus, monemus, et hortamur, attentius mandantes quatenus eumdem Episcopum tamquam patrem et pastorem animarum vestrarum devote suscipientes obedientiam sibi et reverentiam debitam impendatis, ipsius salubribus monitis et mandatis humiliter intendendo. Alioquin sententiam &c. usque observari. Datum Laterani Idibus Martii, anno secundo.

In eundem modum Clero Civitatis et diocesis Meneveñ.

In eundem modum populo Civitatis et diocesis Meneven usque suscipientes ejus salubribus monitis et mandatis humiliter intendatis,

Datum ut supra.

In eundem modum Carissimo in Christo filio Regi Anglię usque remittendum. Quocirca Serenitatem tuam rogamus, monemus, et hortamur attente quatenus prefatum Episcopum et commissam sibi Ecclesiam habens pro nostra et Apostolicę Sedis reverentia propensius commendatos, eum tamquam acceptum nobis tibique devotum et fidum favore Regio in assignatione regalium et aliorum quę a tua expectantur magnificentia prosequaris, ac ipsum et predictam ecclesiam molestari ab aliquibus tuę dictioni subjectis quantum in te fuerit non permittas. Molestatores si qui fuerint clementi potestate tibi celitus tradita compescendo. Ita quod ipsum Episcopum tuo nomine devotionem constituas ex devoto, nosque reddamur ad tua beneplacita promptiores. Datum ut supra.

In eumdem modum Riccardo Episcopo Meneveñ usque demum tibi consecrationis munus de nostris duximus manibus impendendum, mutatis mutandis. Ad eandem igitur ecclesiam quam Dei et Apostolica tibi conjunxit dispensatio cum gratię nostrę plenitudine proficiscens in caritate Christi pascendum suscipe gregem ejus, et sic fideliter et prudenter regere studeas domum Dei quod tibi per vite meritum et aliis proficias per exemplum, nosque devotionis tuę studium non immerito commendemus. Datum ut supra.

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Cambrian Archæological Association. . The Annual Meeting of the Cambrian Archæological Association, for 1854, will be held at Ruthin, on Wednesday, September 13th,' and the five following days.

PRESIDENT, FREDERICK RICHARD WEST, Esq., M.P. The following Report of the Special Committee appointed to consider the extension of the Association, has been received by the Secretaries, and will be submitted to the Association at the General Meeting :

“At a meeting held on the 29th of May, 1854, and, by adjournment, on the following day, at the Treasurer's rooms, (4, Elm Court, Temple,)—the Earl of Cawdor in the chair,-it was resolved by the sub-committee appointed at Brecon to consider as to the extension of the Cambrian Archæological Association, to recommend as follows:

“That the Association be styled “The Cambrian Association of Archæology and Natural History,'—on which subjects papers shall be received.

"That papers, which in the opinion of the committee shall be of sufficient local interest may be read at the General Meetings, although not upon subjects of Archæology or Natural History.

" That the several subjects at the General Meetings may be allotted to different sections.

« That members of the Association may in future be allowed to compound for all subscriptions by a payment of £10. And that all members shall be allowed, on payment of the composition, to deduct half the amount of the subscriptions previously paid by them.

(Signed)

- CAWDOR.

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1 The Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science will be held at Liverpool, commencing on Wednesday, September 20th.

Correspondeare.

To the Editors of the Archæologia Cambrensis. GENTLEMEN, I observe a slight error in the Preface to Vol. IV. of the New Series of the Archeologia Cambrensis, which I am desirous of correcting. It has, no doubt, proceeded from a lapsus memoriæ of my late colleague, as he will no doubt recognize, the moment he perceives it. The Preface says,—“When it had existed about a year, he

suggested the formation of the Cambrian Archæological Association, which also, in conjunction with his colleague, he succeeded in establishing." The more correct state of the case is this :—The formation of an Association constituted the original basis on which my excellent friend Mr. Williams and myself first began to act together; and the

; establishing of the Journal followed that idea, though the publication of the latter was made to precede the former, in order to prepare the minds of Welsh Antiquaries, and to feel the way for our common purpose.

I had been publishing some observations on Antiquities in Anglesey, in the Journal of the British Archæological Association (before the needless and lamentable schism in that body), and had commenced working with Mr. Dearden upon this subject; when, at an interview that took place between Mr. Williams and myself, the idea was started, by one or other of us, that an Archæological Association should be constituted for Wales. I negotiated with the Antiquarian Societies in London, with the view of their forming for us within themselves a “ Section of Welsh Antiquities ;” and afterwards with Mr. Albert Way, and Mr. Parker of Oxford, for obtaining a certain portion of the pages of the Archeological Journal for the reception of Welsh Antiquarian papers. These negotiations not succeeding, Mr. Williams and myself then turned our attention to the practicability of associating and publishing for ourselves. The publication was made to precede the Association ;-Mr. Dearden came forward in the most generous manner and contributed a large portion of the funds ;--and the publication was commenced at my risk. Its success was such that, before the end of the first year, we saw our way towards calling the Association into existence; and it was at length inaugurated at Aberystwyth, under the kind and able presidency of Sir Stephen R. Glynne.

This rectification is of no great moment; still the early history of all scientific bodies is of interest, inasmuch as it may guide the footsteps of others treading in similar paths hereafter.— I remain, &c.

H. LONGUEVILLE JONES. Rhyl, May 12, 1854.

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Reuiews.

DRYCH Y PRIF OESOEDD, &c. Gan y Parch. THEOPHILUS Evans.

Caermarthen. 1851. A new, cheap, and beautiful edition of this work, with a preface by the learned Archdeacon of Cardigan, has been issued by Mr. Spurrell; who has deserved well of his country, by re-publishing a large number of the later Welsh classics. The book itself, a dissertation on Early British and Welsh history, written purely for popular use, at the beginning of the last century, can hardly be supposed, on that very account, to have any great historical or archæological value. Yet it is not without importance, even in that point of view, as stereotyping the historical belief of that era, and it has the additional merit of being a good specimen of modern literary Welsh.

LIVES OF THE CAMBRO-BRITISH SAINTS, of the fifth and immediate

succeeding centuries, from ancient Welsh and Latin MSS. in the British Museum and elsewhere, with English Translations and explanatory Notes. By the Rev. W. J. REES, M.A.,

F.S.A., &c. Llandovery. 1853. The Welsh MSS. Society has at length put forth another volume, one in every way worthy of itself, of the learned Editor, and of the Llandovery press. That Society has done such good service in the field of Welsh Archæology, that we can only regret that its operations are not a little more expeditious. This must be attributed in a great measure to what we cannot but regard as a fundamental error in the system which it has hitherto pursued, the plan, namely, of furnishing translations of all the documents which it undertakes to publish. We are disposed to believe that it wastes half its money, and more than half its time, in producing and printing these versions. Unquestionably they have the advantage of rendering the documents accessible to a greater number of persons, but we seriously doubt whether many people would care to peruse a charter or a legend, who were not able to read it in the original. However, it is now too late to complain of this arrangement, nor should we have the least temptation to do so, were it not that it has the effect of considerably retarding the good work in which the Society is engaged.

Complete as the present volume is in most respects, we are disposed to think that something more might have been done in the way of attempting an analysis of the sources from which the biographies were probably derived. For example, it is evident that of the two Lives of St. David, (pp. 102, 117) one was drawn from the other. It might have been within the power of historical or philological criticism to determine which was the earlier of the two. The Editor has, indeed, stated his own conclusion; and we are quite prepared to accept it, both on his authority, and on other grounds; but he has nowhere discussed the question. So again, in the Life of St. Illtyd,

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