REVERSE. BEATA TRANQVILLITAS A globe placed on an altar, inscribed VOTIS.X.X. Third brass. 39. OBVERSE. CONSTANTINVS.AVC. A helmeted head of the Emperor. REVERSE. VIRTVS EXERCIT. A labarum inscribed VOT. XX. with two captives seated. In the Field S. F. HL. Third brass. 40. OBVERSE. CONSTANTINOPOLIS The helmeted bust of the City of Constantinople personified; the hasta pura on the shoulder. REVERSE. Victory standing on the prow of a vessel, holding a shield in the left hand and a hasta in the right. Third brass. 41. OBVERSE. IMP.CARAVSIVS.P.F.AVC. REVERSE. Peace standing, with a flower or branch in the right hand, and a hasta in the left. 42. OBVERSE. D.CLAVDIVS. REVERSE. FELICITAS. Figure with a magic wand. Third brass, circa A.D. 268? 43. OBVERSE. CONSTANTINVS AVG. REVERSE. SARMATIA.VIC. Third brass. 44. OBVERSE. AVRELIANVS LVCIVS DOMITIVS Second gold, circa A.D. 270 ? 45. 46. Two coins of Carausius, struck in 289, after the defeat of Maximian's fleet when he obtained The figure of Pax holding a laurel branch. Carausius is supposed to have been a native of St. 47. OBVERSE. FL VAL CONSTANTINVS NOB C... Head of Constantine the Great, laurelled, on the shoulders armour. REVERSE. MARTI PATRI CONSERVATORI Mars standing, helmeted, left arm on a shield, right hand resting on a spear. Below PLV Pecunia Lundinensis. Second brass, well preserved. 48. OBVERSE. IMP LICINIVS PFAVC Head of Licinius Senior, laurelled. REVERSE. GENIO POP ROM A turreted figure, holding in the right hand a patera, in the left a cornucopia. To the Editors of the Archaeologia Cambrensis. ST. ASAPH, MAY 2nd, 1846. GENTLEMEN,—In answer to the queries of two of your correspondents, in No. II., p. 190, concerning the families of Griffith of Penrhyn, and Donne, I beg leave to refer the first to Williams's Observations on the Snowdon Mountains, London, 1802, in which at p. 163, et sequent. will be found a very ample genealogical account of the Griffith family. The second may be informed, that the Dwns are descended from Meuric Brenin Dyved. Mr. Morris, of Shrewsbury, could probably give the pedigree of this family. More information will however, most probably, be found in the forthcoming Edition of Lewys Dwnn, concerning both families. I am, &c. To the Editors of the Archeologia Cambrensis. A. LL. GENTLEMEN,-I beg to correct a mistake, which I have inadvertently made, in a note to my communication as to the title of the Prince of Wales, in your last number, p. 143. For "before or on Easter Day, (March 26th,) 1307,” read "before or on March 26th, 1301." I am, &c. April 2nd, 1846. ARCHEOL. CAMB, VOL. I.] W. W. E. W. II OGHAM INSCRIPTIONS. To the Editors of the Archaeologia Cambrensis. GENTLEMEN, The following communication has been made to me by a gentleman whose acquaintance with the subject on which he treats is very extensive; and I forward it to you for the information of your readers. "BLAIR'S CASTLE, CORK, 27th APRIL, 1846. "SIR,-The circumstance of my having been, for many years, engaged in searching after the so long neglected Ogham inscriptions of Ireland, will account to you for the exceeding interest with which I read your communication to the Archaeologia Cambrensis, No. II. p. 182, respecting the Ogham at Kenfegge, in Glamorganshire. I have, in my researches here, seen and examined over eighty of these inscriptions; and satisfied myself that more are to be had, and in great numbers, in Ireland, if only sought after. The discovery of one in Wales leads me to think it cannot be a solitary instance, but that others exist there, and will be found, if looked for. It is also highly probable that Cornwall may possess others. In fact, a new field for exploration seems to open up, arising out of your discovery. The ancient Gauls had their Hercules Ogmius, and it would not now seem too hazardous to believe, that even there in Armorica in particular-the Ogham writing may be found. As you have had the distinction of being the first in this new field of research, I trust you will be enabled to follow up your discovery. 66 My chief object in addressing you now is to point your attention to those scores on the left angle of the stone at Kenfegge, which resemble arrow heads. In my experience, I have never found any scorings of this form; and I am, therefore, rendered apprehensive of some mistake in the present instance. Should you deem it worth your notice again to look at the monument, I would solicit your special attention to this matter. The vowels, which are usually small lozenge-shaped dots on the angle of the stone, may probably have escaped your observation altogether. They are, however, very essential components of the inscription. "I contemplate a publication on the subject of our Irish Oghams in the course of the present year, should I obtain a sufficient number of subscribers, say at about a cost to each of ten shillings and sixpence, to defray the mere expense of it; and I should be very well pleased indeed, if, at your convenience, you would favour me with a more detailed account of this stone, and a full copy of the inscription, which I might use hereafter in the intended work. I trust it will not be necessary for me to apologise to you for this trouble; and I shall conclude by assuring you that it will give me great pleasure, if, on my part, I can in any way aid you in your enquiries on this subject.I am, Sir, your very obedient Servant, J. WINDELE." The scorings like arrow heads, that is, three lines radiating from a point, on the angle of the stone, noticed with an expression of enquiry by Mr. Windele, certainly exist in the Kenfegge monument, but I did not notice any of the lozenge shaped dots or vowels. I am happy to perceive not only by the observations of Mr. Windele, but also by the article in the second No. of this work, (No. II. pp. 186, 193) that the attention of our Archæologists is at length directed towards Armorica, a country which deserves and will amply repay an archæological pilgrimage. Perhaps some of your numerous correspondents may be able to discover inscriptions like that at Kenfegge in other parts of Wales. At all events they are worth searching for.-I am, &c. Hammersmith, May 4th, 1846. J. O. WESTWOOD. RETROSPECTIVE CRITICISM. To the Editors of the Archeologia Cambrensis. GENTLEMEN, I fear that a casual reader would infer, from the observations respecting Cadvan, (supra No. II., pp. 167-8), that the two extracts from Rees's Welsh Saints, related to the same Cadvan, which is not the case; for if you consult the Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Welshmen, you will find that St. Cadvan was the son of Eneas Lydewig, and came over to Britain, about A.D. 516. He was the founder of Llangadvan, and Towyn, in the churchyard of the latter of which St. Cadvan's stone is still to be seen; and here he is traditionally reported to have been buried, though another tradition claims Bardsey as his final resting-place, of which monastery he had formerly been Abbot. The Cadvan who was buried at Eglwys Ael, or Llangadwaladr, in Anglesey, was Cadvan, the son of Iago ab Beli, who succeeded his father as Prince of North Wales, in A.D. 603, and died in 630. I remain, &c. ON THE MEANING OF "BETTWS.” To the Editors of the Archaeologia Cambrensis. R. W.. GENTLEMEN,-Connected with the Antiquities of the Medieval Church, in Wales, as illustrated in both Numbers of your Archaeology, there is a subject of considerable interest, to which I beg leave to draw your attention, as it embraces the origin of those Churches which bear the name of Bettis, and affords matter for enquiry, from whence the name is derived. Being, apparently, an English word, viz., Bead-house, or a House of Prayer, and generally applied, if not invariably, to places of worship, and of frequent occurrence in the Principality, it forms a subject matter for investigation as to the particular period of the introduction of such a term, and by whom it was imported. The word Bettws, in conjunction with the name of some early Saint or Prince, is found to designate several Parishes in South Wales, such as Bettws-Bledrys, Bettws-levan, &c., and yet in the Liber Landavensis, which contains the earliest grants to the Church, and commemorates the foundation of a great portion of the parochial Churches, the term Bettws does not occur in any single instance; affording a presumptive proof, that it was not applied in the primitive stages of the Church, and that recourse must be had to the Medieval period, for a solution of the question. The Book of Teilo, closes about the year 1130; and it may be fairly concluded that the erection of Churches, under the designation of Bead-houses, did not take place prior to this time, though the majority of them, in South Wales, are dedicated to St. David. The application of this term to Parochial Churches first occurs in the Taxation of Benefices, by order of Pope Nicholas, about the year 1292. The intermediate period, being remarkable for the excitement produced throughout Europe by the wars of the Crusades, it may be presumed that Bead-houses, as well as Hospitia, were established for some purposes connected with these armaments; either for collecting a revenue, or for propagating the secular and religious views of some of the Church-militant orders by whom they were undertaken. In the absence of any positive proof of such a fact or record, much may be inferred from the history of this period, and the documentary evidence relating to the establishment and dissolution of the various orders of Knighthood, engaged in the holy wars. It is an acknowledged fact, that the Knights of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem founded several establishments of this kind; such as Yspytty Ievan, for the accommodation of Pilgrims for Wales, traces of which still exist near Penmorfa Church, and in the village of Trawsfynydd. In a process of Quo Warranto, issued from the Exchequer of Caernarvon, in 1370, against the Prior of this Order, then residing in England, it appears that the possessions and privileges of this Order were of a very extensive and astringent nature in Wales; insomuch that a tax of one penny was levied upon every house, the goods and chattels of which amounted in value to ten shillings. The influence thus obtained by the Hospitallers, in Wales, must have been with the consent, and under the authority of the native Princes, (of which, however, there is no record;) and took place, in all probability, subsequently to the mission of Archbishop Baldwin, when, accompanied by Giraldus, he preached the first Crusade in 1188. It is a fact well authenticated, that the Hospitallers as well as the Templars, erected Præceptories, in the form of Churches, which answered the double purpose of being places of residence to the spiritual Knights, and of religious worship and instruction, under the sacred banners of the respective Orders; and, it may reasonably be added, of collecting their dues and oblations. It is a subject worthy of speculation, how far the Chapelrics, bearing the name of Bettws, answer to the description given of the Crusadian Præceptories. Some of them, at least, at this day, are occupied as dwellinghouses, of which I shall produce an instance. An enumeration of those still existing under this name, in Anglesey and Caernarvonshire, taken from the Ordnance Maps, 2 may be of service in obtaining further information respecting them, and inducing others to examine them more in detail. Anglesey contains the following list:- Bettws Trefdraeth, in the commot of Malldraeth; Bettws-y-Grog, now called Ceirchiog; Bettws Skerryn, the locality of which I have not been able to ascertain, if not identical with Isgellog, near Rhosbeirio, near to which is Pen-y-fonwent; Bettws Bwlchydw, near Dryslwyn and Paris mountain. Caernarvonshire contains- Bettws Garmon and Bettws-y-Coed; Bettws Gwenrhiw, near Glynlifon gate house, of which the remains are still visible. To these may be added a Chapel, built by the Hospitallers of St. John, near the Cathedral, and belonging to the Vicars of Bangor, which was taken down and the site of it disposed of, about thirty years ago; Bettws alias Treflys, now annexed to Cricciaeth; Bettws, a Villa in Eifionydd, belonging to the See of Bangor, on which is a small Bead-house, at present occupied by a labourer. This cottage still exhibits all the characteristics of a Crusadian Præceptory, having an East Window and a Chancel, with a cemetery used as a garden. It is supposed to have been a private chapel of the Vaughans, of Talhenbont or Plashen. 1 "Et quod habeant de quâlibet domo in Wallia unum denarium per annum si homo inhabitans in eâ habeat in bonis ad valenciam decem solidorum, et pro illo denario distringere si necesse esset, &c. Et quod expedores si essent Villani non possint signo hospitalis prædicti signari absque voluntate dominorum suorum." It is not improbable, that by "expedores" is really meant Expoderes, or persons qualified to wear the Poderis, i.e. a cassock or long white tunic, with a red cross on the back and front of it, which formed the costume of a Knight Templar. A large tract of land near the Rivals, called at this day, Gwynnis, belonged to this Order at that period, containing four Hafodtries, the tenants and occupiers of which were called "The Men of St. John the Baptist," and in Welsh, Spodo's; probably, Hyspoderes or Yspoderwyr, from the garb of the Order, viz., the Cross or signum. It is to be lamented, that more attention was not paid to Welsh nomenclature in the construction of these Maps, and that names of modern date and foreign import, such as Ynys Elba, Zoar, Appiiforum, Mynydd Pisgah, &c., were not altogether omitted. |