been an ancient mythological emblem preserved by the Cymry, unconnected with the introduction of the various stories concerning Troy into Wales; and, in such a case, those who practised it could have given it no other signification than was conveyed, abstractedly, by the words Caer Troiau, or The Citadel of Turnings. Should it have been so preserved by the Cymry, from high antiquity, we might then pronounce it to have been an hieroglyphical representation of the orbits of the planets in the solar system, and invented among those nations that paid adoration to the host of heaven.

By whomsoever invented, the figure of the Caer Troiau, or labyrinth, is of the highest antiquity; for we find it introduced as an emblematical ornament on the temple of Theseus, at Athens, erected about five hundred years prior to the Christian era; and it is also to be seen on several Greek coins; but, more particularly, on those of Crete, wherein was raised the principal structure repre senting this emblem, and which bore the appellation of the Cnosian Labyrinth, or the Labyrinth of Minos, and whence, doubtless, the whole island came also to be called Cnosus and Gnosus.

And as the Caer Troiau of the Cymry was exactly delineated on the coins of Greece, a copy of one of them will serve to illus trate its form, as it is at the present time cut on the mountains of Wales. A print of the coin selected for the purpose is given by Chishull, in his " Antiquates Asiaticæ," under the section of Monumenta Teia, page 127, and he refers to the original, as being in the collection of the Duke of Devonshire. This author describes the coin as having, on one side, the prison of the celebrated Minos, with the word KNEION, or labyrinth; and, singularly, on the other side is delineated, not Apollo, as is usually seen, but, agreeably to the forms of democratic cities, a female head, as the collective head of the people, with the epithet ПоAXOE impressed,-a word probably of the same origin as the Italian Volgo, and the Teutonic Volck, or Folk.

Having thus laid before the Institution an exact model of the Caer Troiau, as cut on the mountains of Wales, delineated on a Greek coin upwards of two thousand years old, I take the liberty, in the next place, of offering some hints which may be conducive towards corroborating the idea, before suggested, of this maze being originally designed for an emblem of the solar system..

1

But here it may be proper to bring to our recollection that the Welsh tongue preserves a great body of primitive words, in common with the Hebrew, Arabic, Greek, and other ancient languages, and identified as agreeing in sound and signification; and, that being demonstrated, it might not be presumptuous to assert that the Welsh may also have retained the meaning of many other words which might be sought for in vain elsewhere.

Proofs have been adduced by Bryant, in his Mythology, of there having been anciently several towns bearing the name of Troy; and both he and De Gebelin, with others, say, that such places were so denominated as being, like Heliopolis, distinguished resorts for the adoration of the host of heaven.

Very conclusive reasons are given by De Gebelin, as well as by others, that the fable of the Seven Kings of Troy designated the seven planets as regents of the days of the week; and that Priam's reign of fifty-two years, with his fifty daughters, represented the year and its subdivisions; as, also, did Ourchol, or Hercules, with his twelve labours, designate the year divided into months.

The fable of the seven noble Athenians, annually delivered as victims to the Minotaur, in the labyrinth of Minos, has also the appearance of bearing an allusion to the mysteries connected with the solar worship therein: probably, those seven were so devoted to be sacrificed, under the sanction of some ancient compact between the two states, for the celebration of the horrid rites belonging to their depraved worship.

To the foregoing hints may be added another, and which is a very interesting fact, with which the authors above-named were unacquainted. Of the celebrated names of Troy and Ilion we in vain look for any plain and evident significations in the Greek language; but both are familiar words, and of well-known import, in the Welsh, and are both equally appropriate terms for the revolutions of the planetary system. Our word tro is equally common as its equivalent in English, which is turn; as, also, its several derivatives, like the verb troi, to turn, and its plurals, troiau and troion, turns or turnings. The word il signifies a whirl; and it is the common term for the working or fermentation of liquors, as rhoi breci yn yr il, to put wort in the ferment; and the appropriate plural form of il is ilion.

Thus, admitting the suggestions, that have been here brought forward, to be well grounded, of Troy being so named on account of its being a place of distinguished resort for solar worship, also, its being denominated Ilion by the Grecians is accounted for, because Troiau and Ilion are synonymous terms preserved in the Welsh, of the same import as turns and whirls in English, and appropriate terms for the planetary revolutions. And the common Welsh phrase for the turn of the summer or winter solstice is Troad y Rhod, the turning of the wheel or ecliptic.

August 1, 1821.

IDRISON.

AN

HISTORICAL ESSAY

ON THE

STATE OF WALES,

FROM THE CONQUEST IN 1284 TO THE UNION IN 1535,

By Mr. THOMAS RICHARDS.

"Opus adgredior opimum casibus, atrox præliis, discors seditionibus, ipsâ etiam pace sævum. Non tamen adeò virtutum sterile sæculum, ut non et bona exempla prodiderit."-TACITI. HISTOR. lib. i. c. 2.

THE Conquest of Wales by Edward I. was one of the most illustrious exploits achieved by that enterprising monarch: by his prowess and policy he considerably weakened the pertinacious resistance manifested by the Welsh in defence of their liberties; and, although he could not wholly quell their patriotic ardour, he eventually secured to England the possession of the Principality.

The annals of the forty years, which immediately preceded this event, display a terrible tissue of conspiracies, proscriptions, and bloodshed. The strong arm of England had already reduced the Welsh to a state of absolute and oppressive bondage*; and it is probable that Henry III. might have claimed the honour of effectually subduing our nation, had he succeeded in quenching that high-born spirit of enthusiastic patriotism which glowed in the breasts of our ancient nobility. But this was an achievement reserved for time and oppression only to accomplish; and, for nearly two centuries after the subjugation of their country, we find sparks of this fiery valour occasionally emitted in attempts to regain that freedom so congenial to the wild habits of the mountaineer.

The contest between Edward and the last Llywelynt was dis

* A treaty, concluded in 1241, between Davydd ab Llywelyn, Prince of Wales, and Henry III. placed the former in a state of the most disgraceful vassalage to the English monarch.-Vide Warrington's History of Wales, vol. ii. p. 106, where the treaty is given at length.

+ This prince was the grandson of the great and good Llywelyn, and nephew to his predecessor Davydd. He reigned thirty-six years, nearly the whole of which were spent in warfare with the English. His death, which happened in 1282, was but a prelude to the subjugation of his country: for, two years afterwards, the regal power of the Principality was irrevocably annihilated.

puted with mutual spirit and bravery. The rival princes were both young. Edward, indeed, when he first appeared in arms against the Welsh, had scarcely numbered seventeen summers; and Llywelyn was only a few years his senior. The one fought for conquest, the other for life and liberty, for his crown and his country; and, as both were actuated by motives which spurred them to exertion, it was not likely that the contest would terminate either tamely or speedily. The event has proved how prolonged was its duration, how fatal and unfortunate to Wales its termination and consequences!

It is impossible to contemplate the patriotic struggles of our ancestors, during this period, without pity and admiration. They were heroically contending for their birth-rights,-for the ancient and revered laws of their forefathers; and the most noble feelings of patriotism and loyalty animated them to defend those laws, and to preserve them from violation by a cruel and detested enemy. But in vain did they strive against the overwhelming force of England. After a succession of unhappy and delusive vicissitudes, they submitted to the yoke of the conqueror, and lamented in the gloom and solitude of their mountains the loss of their loved independence.

"The

Mr. Warrington has eloquently commented on the conquest of the Cambro-British, in the following spirited passage. fall of nations," he observes, " distinguished only by misfortunes, or merely illustrious for conquests, may raise, for a moment, a sigh of pity, or the transient effusions of applause; but a people like the Welsh, satisfied with their mountains,-who had been forced into a long and unequal contest in defence of their native rights, with few other resources than their valour, and a fond attachment to their liberties,-though falling in the ruins of their country, will have a claim upon the esteem and admiration of the world, as long as manly sentiment and freedom shall remain. But, in reflecting on the history of this nation with a just and discriminating spirit, we are frequently led to survey its manners and national character with the opposite emotions of pleasure and disgust. We are not, however, to estimate this character too nicely by the refined standard of civilized judgement. It is true, there are traits in the genius of this people, marking in their manners the deepest ferocity; it is true, that caprice and levity, and the spirit of discord, too often predominated in their councils, and governed their conduct; and it is also true, that striking defects may be traced in their policy and laws, ruinous to themselves, and disgraceful even to a less cultivated period. But the vices of an uncivilized people are in some degree softened, and even balanced by their virtues. A spirit unsubdued by danger and misfortune, hospitable manners, and eager friendships,-a high relish of the arts of music and poetry, with a principle of justice inherent in their laws, are qualities to be thrown into the opposite scale. And, no doubt, the influence of these, blending the lighter with the darker shades, softened the asperity of ruder fea

tures, and tempered into a milder mass the colouring of the whole. But the spirit of freedom and an ardent love of their country were the distinguishing characteristics of the Cambro-British. These were the animating springs of their genius, which enabled them to sustain, through a long succession of ages, the most striking and discouraging reverses of fortune. And it is the collision of such vicissitudes, by calling into exertion public virtue and heroism, which imparts dignity to the character of man, and constitutes the true glory of a nation*."

Although Wales had, at length, been subdued by the superior prowess of England, the measures, pursued to crush the proud and gallant spirit of her people, contributed largely to the fostering of that enmity, which had been engendered by the cruelty and oppression of the English, and which the mountaineers entertained towards their conquerors with vindictive and terrible malignity. Notwithstanding the destruction of the regal power, there yet existed a number of brave and resolute patriots, who, headed by chieftains, as remarkable for their nobility as for their valour and military experience, boldly determined to regain their independence, or to sink amidst the ruins of their country's freedom. Rhys ab Meredydd, therefore, a chieftain of great influence in South Wales, was the first who rebelled against the domination of the English; and, during Edward's absence at Guienne, he appeared in arms against the ruling power, at the head of six thousand followers. For a short time Rhys was successful; but, at length, after having been proclaimed a traitor, he fell into the hands of the enemy, and was executed at York, his castles and domains having been previously confiscated.

Soon after the suppression of this revolt, Edward, being then at war with the King of France, attempted an experiment of taxation on his newly-acquired subjects; and, anticipating considerable resistance on their part, he appointed, as the collector of this impost, (which was to consist of a fifteenth of all moveables,) Roger de Pulesdone, a man high in the monarch's favour, and of a brave and daring spirit. No sooner, however, did he attempt to execute his commission, than it was indignantly and outrageously opposed, and three insurrections sprang up in consequence, in different parts of the Principality, and nearly all at the same timet. The revolt commenced with acts of hostility which evinced an inveterate and decided resolution in the Welsh, that the sword alone should determine the dispute. Roger de Pulesdone, and his colleagues in the collection of the odious tribute, were the first who became a sacrifice to the fury of the rebels,-they were hanged, and afterwards beheaded. A considerable number of English, assembled at

* History of Wales, vol. ii. p. 289, et seq.

The natives of West Wales, or Powysland, rose under Maelgwn Vychan, or Vaughan; those of North Wales, under Madog, an illegitimate son of the late Llywelyn; and the Southwallians were led to the field by a chieftain, named Morgan, the representative of a noble family in South Wales.