in Achau y Saint and the Triads; for he makes his grandfather to be Meirig, King of Britain, instead of Cyllin, the Saint; and thus carries his genealogy to Brute and the Trojans. As for the time in which he lived, Archbishop Usher has cited above fifty Latin authorities with a view to ascertain the year of his conversion, a few only of whom agree together; and even the name of the Bishop of Rome with whom he is said to have corresponded is differently mentioned, some saying it was Euaristus, while a more numerous party maintain it was Eleutherius. But most of them agree in saying that Lucius flourished in the latter part of the second century, which is rather later than the order of generations in the Welsh account from the known date of Caractacus. the Welsh computation be correct, he must have flourished about the middle of the second century, in the reign of either of the two Antonines, whose edicts in favour of the Christians would give him the opportunity of promoting the new religion. That a native chieftain was allowed to exercise some degree of power, is probable from the known policy of the Romans in Britain and elsewhere. And Tacitust indeed relates that such was their conduct in this country in the time of Ostorius, the captor of Caractacus.

If

Under these circumstances it is certainly possible, if it be not probable, that, according to the first of the two Triads last quoted, some place might have been set apart for the purposes of religious worship by Lucius at Llandaff. But the declaration of the second Triad, that he gave lands to the faithful, cannot be admitted. According to the general testi

* De Brit. Eccl. Primordiis, Cap. III.

+ His words are" Consularium primus Aulus Plautius præpositus, ac subinde Ostorius Scapula, uterque bello egregius: redactaque paulatim in formam provinciæ proxima pars Britanniæ, addita insuper veteranorum colonia; quædam civitates Cogiduno regi donatæ, vetere ac jam pridem recepta populi Romani consuetudine, ut haberet instrumenta servitutis et reges." Life of Agricola, Cap. XIV.

?

86

of ecclesiastical historians, endowments for the mainmony tenance of religion did not commence until several generations afterwards; and from another Triad* in the same collection is seen that they did not commence in Britain until about the end of the fourth century. If any reliance can be placed upon Welsh traditions which relate to so early a period, it will be sufficient to acquiesce in the testimony of the first Triad, which implies no more than that he built a church, said to have been the first erected in Britain. That Llandaff was one of the oldest churches in this country is not improbable, as the circumstance would afterwards be a reason for the selection of the place to be the seat of a Bishoprick; but, whether true or false, in the simple statement of the Triad may be recognised the germ of that story which afterwards grew to be the wonder of Christendom.t

It

As for the other four churches which have passed under the names of Lleurwg, Dyfan, Ffagan, and Medwy, there is nothing in the present state of their endowments from which they may be judged to belong to the most ancient class. might be said that in this age places of worship were supported by the voluntary contributions of the people; and though there is every reason to believe that such was the fact, still had these churches existed at so early a period, the veneration attached to their antiquity would, in some way or other, have distinguished them from their neighbours; but there are not any traces of pre-eminence to be observed. That they whose names persons were built long after the time of the

*Triad 18, Third Series. Archaiology of Wales, Vol. II.

+ In the Catholic Church, the anniversary of the Baptism of Lucius was celebrated May 26, and that of his martyrdom Dec. 3. The festival of Dyfan was held April 8, and of Ffagan August 8; they were also commemorated together May 24. The Saint's day of Elfan was held Sept. 26; that of Medwy is unknown, except it be identified with the festival of Medwyr, which according to some Calendars occurred Jan. 1. (Cressy.— Sir Harris Nicolas's Chronology of History.)

they bear is evident in the instance of Merthyr Dyfan, the designation of which implies that it was a martyrium, and the erection of places of worship of this description did not commence before the fourth century. Ecton, or rather Browne Willis, asserts that the patron Saint of Merthyr Dyfan was Teilo; it is not known upon what authority he gives the name, but if he were correct, it might be said that the church was founded in memoriam martyris Duviani by Teilo in the sixth century. The most safe conclusion is that these four churches were built at a later age to the memory of the persons whose names they bear, and in situations which tradition reported to have been the scene of their labours.

The monkish historians mention that Elfan was the second' Bishop of London; and, according to the authors of the Latin account of the origin of the church of Llandaff, it would appear that he was ordained a Bishop at the time of his visit to Rome, while his companion Medwy, was created a Doctor. Upon these points the Welsh authorities are silent; and all that is related of Elfan is that he presided over a congregation of Christians at Glastonbury; but this allusion to the church founded by Joseph of Arimathea savours of a monkish origin. The monks are also prolix in their detail of the acts of Dyfan and Ffagan in various parts of Britain; but setting the legends aside, it will be sufficient to add, to the little information to be gleaned from the Welsh historical remains, the supposition that the former suffered martyrdom at the place now called "Merthyr Dyfan ;" and as for Ffagan and the rest, the conjecture may be hazarded that they lived and died in Glamorganshire, as in this county alone they seem to retain traces of

"A local habitation and a name."

SECTION V.

An Examination of the early Welsh Pedigrees, with a view to ascertain the period about which the commencement of their authenticity may be dated.

WITH the foregoing Saints is concluded the list for the second century. From the age of Lleurwg, the Triads and the Poems of the Bards present a perfect blank until the time of Macsen Wledig, generally supposed to be Maximus, Emperor of Rome, who began to reign A. D. 383. But not so the Genealogists, for they carry the ancestry of the British Chieftains and Saints, without interruption, through the period of Roman ascendancy. The alleged descendants of Bran Fendigaid are, therefore, drawn up in a tabular form, as it appears on the opposite side.

This pedigree is arranged according to the "Cambrian Biography,"* where each connecting link may be found upon reference to most of the names included, but more especially under the names Caradog ab Iestin, Cadfrawd, Tudwal Befr, and Eldad. The names printed in Italics are those of reputed Saints, and the rest are introduced for the sake of preserving the lineage unbroken. It has been already stated that genealogy, if its details be at all complicated, can hardly fail of betraying itself whenever it is not founded in fact. Thus Ystrafael, the daughter of Cadfan, is said to have been the wife of Coel Godebog; and she is placed in the pedigree in the

*It is to be regretted that Dr. Owen Pughe, to whom Welsh literature is already under greater obligations than to any other individual, does not favour the public with a new and enlarged edition of this useful work.