called the country Loegyr, as they still do, gave the inhabitants the name of Saeson.* Cynddylan, son of the Prince of Powys, a territory which comprized parts of Shropshire, Montgomeryshire, and Radnorshire, fell in battle in the vicinity of Shrewsbury, then called Pengwern, the seat of royalty. The Bard, lamenting his patron, says, "Cynddylan, thy heart was like the fire raging through the heath—in embracing the society of thy countrymen, and in defending Tren (or Tern), now laid waste. Cynddylan, thy heart is now like the ice of winter. Cynddylan was the glorious pillar of his territory: he wore the wreath of honour, and was foremost in the host. Cynddylan was (swift) as the hawk; and tenacious in his onset: he had the heart of a wild boar: when he descended into the tumult of battle there was dreadful carnage: he was bold as the lion; furious, like the wolf tearing his prey." But I shall here annex the elegant lines of the Rev. John Walters, of Cowbridge, as an imitation of Llowarch's elegy on the death of Cynddylan: The death of Cynddylan, the son of Cyndrwyn, prince of Powys: imitated from the Welsh of Llowarch Hen. Come forth and see, ye Cambrian dames, Fair Pengwern's royal roof on flames. The foe the fatal dart hath flung, (The foe that speaks a barbarous tongue) Such fire as wastes the forest hill, Now like the winter's ice is chill. O'er the pale corpse, with boding cries, * Gorthmul, Morial and Caranmael, Cynan and Cynvraith, are mentioned in the elegy of Cynddylan. He flies exulting o'er the plain, Its joyous visitants are fled, Its hospitable fires are dead. No longer ranged on either hand Its dormitory couches stand; But all above, around, below, Dread sights, dire sounds, and shrieks of woe. And pour the weak desponding strain; 1 The concise abruptness of the original shews a heart overloaded with sorrow, and forms the strongest evidence of their being the genuine remains of Llowarch. I refer the curious reader, and especially if he be a Cambrian, to Mr. Owen's edition of the poems of this unfortunate Bard. I subjoin a few of the most expressive of the original stanzas : Ystavell Cynddylan ys tywyll heno Wylav dro, tawav wedy! Ystavell Cynddylan ys tywyll heno Heb dân, heb oleuad Elid amdaw am danad! Ystavell Cynddylan ys digariad heno Wi! o angau, byr a'm gad ! Ystavell Cynddylan ys tywyll heno, Heb dân, heb gerddau Dygystudd deurudd dagrau ! Ystavell Cynddylan a'm gwân ei gweled, Marw vy nglyw, byw my hunan! My English reader will pardon my mountain Greek— I recollect myself, and return to my subject, to close my historical sketch of that period of our national history; terminating in the establishment of the Anglo-Saxons in all the eastern and central parts of Britain. I shall then have done with noticing the deeds of slaughter and bloodshed; and rejoice, that in the age in which we live, all distinctions are blended, and Britain reposes under the shade of one monarch and one legislature. The various territories occupied by the Anglo-Saxons were as follows: The Jutes possessed Kent, the Isle of Wight (Vectis), and that part of the coast of Hampshire which fronts it. The Saxons were subdivided, into South Saxons, in Sussex; East Saxons, in Essex, Middlesex, and the south part of Hertfordshire; West Saxons, in Surrey, Hampshire (the coast of the Jutes excepted), Berks, Wilts, Dorset, Somerset, Devon, and that part of Cornwall which the natives were unable to retain :* this kingdom was called Wessex. The Angles were divided into East Angles in Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridge, the Isle of Ely, and part of Bed * Athelstan took Exeter from the Britons. fordshire. Middle Angles, in Leicestershire, which appertained to Mercia. The Mercians, divided by the Trent into South Mercians, in the counties of Lincoln, Northampton, Rutland, Huntingdon, the north parts of Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, Bucks, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Staffordshire, Shropshire. The North Mercians were in the counties of Chester, Derby, and Nottingham. The Northumbrians, who were the same as the Deiri, inhabited the counties of Lancaster, York, Westmoreland, Cumberland, and Durham. The Bernicians occupied Northumberland, and the south of Scotland, between the Tweed and the Firth of Forth. As it does not comprise a part of our original plan to treat of the history of the Anglo-Saxons, we shall conclude this period of British transactions with a few remarks. The eastern shores were first assailed, and the contiguous countries were first conquered. It was with greater difficulty that the Saxons gained footing in the central parts of the kingdom; and that only by means of continual reinforcements, by the coming over of new bands of roving adventurers, willing to try their fortune in a fine and fertile country. The Britons of the western coast, from Cornwall to the Clyde, valiantly opposed the new comers; and were successful in defending their country, long after a great part of Britain was laid under the Saxon yoke. The Coritani, or the people of Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Rutlandshire, &c. according to the Triads, joined the Saxons, and confederated with them against the natives who wished to retain their independence, but ultimately fell a prey to their mutual feuds and jealousies against each other. The natives of Wales alone successfully maintained themselves independent of a foreign yoke; and many of the chiefs of various districts, who lost their dominions, fled into that country for refuge, rather than live in a state of vassalage. As the Saxons were heathens, many of the religiously disposed were glad to secure not only shelter from the storm, but to be gratified with liberty to enjoy the consolations of Christianity. Many religious institutions were founded in the sixth century, in consequence of the desire of these distressed families to devote themselves to a religious life, under the protection of the Cambrian princes. The Bards, although professing Christianity, made pretensions to the gift of vaticination, and especially Merddin and Taliesin. The latter, after lamenting the subjugation of England to foreigners, comforts his countrymen with the assurance, that in a future age the Britons should regain their sovereignty by triumphing over the aliens. The poem I allude to is well known among the Welsh: Sarphes cadwynog, &c. The Bard having mentioned that the Britons have lost their country, all but the wilds of Wallia, by the prevalence of the Saxon arms, from the northern ocean to the Severn; then predicts, that the imperial crown shall be restored to the Britons, and the aliens should vanish away. Yna bydd Brython O Saxonia. Eu ner a volant A'u hiaith a gadwant |