"The grave in Ystyvachau,

Which everyone suspects to be

The grave of Gwrtheyrn Gwrtheneu."

King Gwrtheyrn Gwrtheneu left issue by his first wife Seveira (the daughter of the Emperor Flavius Clemens Maximus, a Spaniard, who was Governor of Britain in 370, and having defeated and slain the Emperor Gratian, was proclaimed Emperor of Rome, by the army in Britain, in 383, and who was put to death by Theodosius at Aquileia in 388) three sons,-1. Gwrthevyr or Vortimer, King of Britain; 2, Cyndeyrn; and 3, Pascens, King of Buallt.

CYNDEYRN. He bravely fought against the Saxons, and was slain in 457. He was the father of Rhuddfedyl Frych, the father of Rhydwf, the father of Pasgen, whose name is mentioned in the inscription on the column of Eliseg. He was the father of,—

CADELL DEYRNLLWG AB PASGEN, King of Teyrnllwg, he had issue, three sons, according to the Harl. MS. 4181. -1, Cyngen, King of Powys or Teyrnllwg; 2, Gwynfyn Frych, Prince of Drewen or Whittington and Maelor; and 3, Iddig, the ancestor of Cywryd ab Cadvan, who bore argent three boars' heads couped sable, armed or and langued gules.

The

About the year 540, the fatal battle of Cattraeth was fought between the Britons and Saxons, when the former were defeated with such slaughter that, out of 363 British chieftains, three only, of whom one was Aneurin, the son of Caw, Lord of Cwm Cawlyd, escaped with their lives. He was afterwards taken prisoner, loaded with chains, and thrown into a dungeon, from which he was released by Ceneu, the son of Llywarch Hên. disastrous battle of Cattraeth caused the migration of numbers of Northern Britons to their kindred race in Wales, and Aneurin is said to have found a refuge at the famous college of Cattwg in South Wales; where, about 570, he was treacherously slain by one Eiddin.1 The battle of Cattraeth is the subject of a noble heroic 1 Mye. Arch., ii, 65.

poem by Aneurin, which is still extant, and the authenticity of which has been indisputably proved by Sharon Turner, in his Vindication of Ancient British Poems, Svo., London, 1803. This great poem is entitled the "Gododin", from the Ottadini, which was the name of the British tribe to which Aneurin belonged.

CYNGEN AB CADELL DEYRNLLWG, King of Teyrnllwg. He hospitably entertained and provided for Pabo Post Prydain, a prince of the Northern Britons, and his son Dunawd Ffûr, when they were driven from their territories by the Picts and Scots. Dunawd was celebrated in the Triads, with Gwallawg ab Lleenawg, a prince of the plains of Amwythig, or Shrewsbury, and Cynvelin Drwsgl, as the three "Post Cad", or pillars of battle; being so called, because they exceeded all others in military tactics and the laws of war. Dunawd married Dwywe, the daughter of Gwallawg ab Lleenawg. He afterwards embraced a religious life, and, in conjunction with his sons, Deiniol, Cynwyl, and Gwarthau, founded the celebrated college or monastery of Bangor is y Coed, on the banks of the Dyfrdwy, or Dee river, in Maelor Saesneg. This institution, which was amply endowed by King Cyngen, and over which Dunawd presided as abbot, was one of the most eminent in the island; and

1 Gwallawg ab Lleenawg is also styled one of the three "Aerveddawg", or grave-slaughterers of the Isle of Britain; the other two were Selyf ab Cynan Garwyn, King of Powys, and Avaon, the son of Taliesin, and they were so called because they avenged their wrongs, in continuing the slaughter from their graves (Myv. Arch., ii, 69). Among the poems attributed to Taliesin and which are printed in the Myvyrian Archaeology, there are two addressed to Gwallawg, in which. the scenes of his battles are named, and it is said of him that his fame extended from Caer Clud, or Dunbarton, to Caer Caradawg, or Salusbury. His name also occurs in Llywarch Hên's Elegy on Urien Rheged, and he was one of the three northern kings who united with that prince for the purpose of opposing Ida's successors (see Turner's Anglo-Saxons, b. iii, c. 4). In the Welsh Chronicles he is mentioned as one of the knights at the coronation of King Arthur in 516, and he is recorded to have been slain in the last battle between that sovereign and the Saxons (Brut Gr ab Arthur, Myv. Arch., ii, 320, 347). According to Englynion y Beddau, he was buried on the banks of the river Carrog in Carnarvonshire.

according to Bede, such was the number of the monks, that when they were divided into seven classes under their respective superintendents, none of these classes contained less than three hundred persons, all of whom supported themselves by their own labour.

At this time, we find that there was a king of another part of Powys, named Cynddylan, whose capital was Pengwern Powys, or Shrewsbury, who was the son of Cyndrwyn, King of Powys, who kept his court at Llys Dinwennan, in Caer Einion. Cynddylan hospitably received the warrior bard Llywarch Hên, Prince of the Strath Clyde Britons, who, with his family, was driven from his dominions by the Picts and Scots. Cynddylan was assisted by Llywarch Hên and his sons, in his battles against the Saxons. King Cynddylan was slain with his brother, Cynwraith, in defending a town called Tren, and was buried at Eglwys Bassa, or Baschurch, in 613. Cyngen, King of Teyrnllwg, was succeeded by his son, Brochmael.

BROCHMAEL, surnamed YSGYTHRAWG, King of Powys, is styled in the Brut of Gruffydd ab Arthur "Tywysawg Caer Llion", Prince of Chester. In this Brut we find the following account of this king.

"And at that time, Girioel the Pope sent Austin to the Isle of Britain, to preach to the Saxons, in that part of the island that they had taken possession of, or to prevent their destroying the whole creed and Christianity of the Catholic faith. And Christianity had strengthened itself since the time

of Pope Eleutherius, who first sent it to the Isle of Britain, without being destroyed any time between them, A.D. 607. And after Austin came as above stated, he found in the part of the Britons, an Archbishoprick and seven Bishopricks, strong with learned bishops of religious and holy life, and many monasteries devoted to the service of God, and keeping strict rule and order. And among these, there was in Dinas Bangor, a noble monastery, in which it is said that there were so many, that after they had been divided into seven parts, that there would be three hundred monks in each part, so that their number altogether was 2,100, and the Priors and Prelates ruled them. And they all supported themselves by the labour of their hands. And Dunawd was Abbot over them. He was a man wonderful for his learning in the Arts (kelvydodeu) A.D. 608. And this Dunawd, when Austin wanted to get his submission from the bishop and to join him in preaching to the Saxons, then by numerous proofs and authority of the holy Scriptures, that they ought not to submit to him, for they had an Archbishop of their own, and that the nation of the Saxons was taking the lands of their ancestors from them. Upon which intense hatred sprung up between them, and they would have no more to do with their creed or company any more than with dogs, A.D. 609. And upon which Edelflet, King of Keint (Kent), when he saw that the Britons would not obey Austin and despised his speech, was greatly displeased on that account. And he sent a message to Edelfryt, King of Scotland, and the other petty kings of the Saxons, to collect an army, and to come with him to Dinas Bangor to take revenge on Dinawd, and on the other bishops with him, and to trample them down and destroy them; upon which they all came with an immense army to the parts and country of the Britons. And then they came to Caer Lleon, where Brochmael Ysgythrowc, the Prince of Caer Lleon (Chester) was then staying. And to this city there came from all parts of Wales innumerable monks to look after the health of their people and race, and most of them from Dinas Bangor. And having collected their army together from all parts, they began to fight. And Brochmael had a less number of knights than Edelflet, and at last Brochmael was obliged to leave the city, but yet not before he had destroyed an immense number of his enemies, and had to take to flight, A.D. 610. And after Edelflet had taken the city, and found out the cause of the monks coming to that place, he commanded their arms to be taken from them; and thus on that day twelve hundred of them obtained the crown of martyrdom, and obtained a heavenly

seat, A.D. 611. And after having committed this cruelty they went to Bangor; and when the Britons heard of this cruelty and madness, they assembled together from all parts, namely, Bledrws, Prince of Cornwall, Maredudd, King of Dyfed, Cadvan ab Iago, King of Gwynedd, and having commenced the battle, they defeated Ethelflet, who was wounded, and compelled him to take to flight, and with that they killed of his army 10,306, and on the part of the Britons they lost Bledrws, Prince of Cornwall, who was commander-in-chief in this battle, A.D. 612."

I must here insert an adventure1 that King Brochmael Ysgythrog met with one day with a recluse whilst he was hunting in Mechain in Mochnant Uwch Rhaiadr.2

:

"There was in former times in Powys, a certain most famous Prince, by name Brochmael Ysgythrog, and Consul of Caer Lleon (Chester), who at that time dwelt in Pengwern Powys, which signifies the Head of Powys Marsh, but is now called Salop and whose domicile or habitation stood in that spot where the College of St. Chad is at present situate. Now the same illustrious Prince gave his domicile or palace aforesaid, of his own free will, for the use of God, and at the same time from a sense of his own duty, for eleemosynary purposes, made a perpetual grant of it for himself and his heirs. At length, when upon a certain day in the year of our Lord 604, the said Prince had gone hunting to a certain place which is called Pennant in the British language, within the said principality of Powys, and when the hounds of the same Prince had started a hare, the dogs were following the hare, and he was pursuing to a certain bramble thicket, a thicket large and thorny; in which thicket he found a certain virgin, beautiful in appearance, praying as devoutly as possible, and given up to divine contemplation, together with the said hare lying under the extremity or fold of her garments (with its face turned towards the dogs) boldly and intrepidly. Then the Prince vociferating, Catch her, little dogs, catch her!' the more he shouted while he urged them on, the more remotely and further off did the dogs retreat, and fled from the little wild animal howling. At length the Prince, altogether astonished, asked the virgin how long she had dwelt alone on his lands in so

1 From the MSS. of Dr. Powel, Vicar of Rhiwabon.

Cwmmwd Mechain, in Mochnant Uwch Rhaiadr, contains the parishes of Meivod, Llanvihangl yn Ngwynva, Llanwddyn, Pennant Melangell, Llangynog, Llan Hirnant, Llanvyllyn, Llanarmon yn Mechain, and Llansanfraid yn Mechain.