Uncorrupt are thy four lines of descent, Of no vile or base extraction is thine ancestor. No better blood exists in distant lands, The blood of Rhys is a rampart, with his vast forest' yonder, To prosper together with the Blood of Llawdden. A wide-spread forest is the Blood of Trevor.2 Pure are thy degrees of affinity wherever the language is spoken.3 Mighty Mathavarn, with its men, Is a portion of the fruit of the ancient warriors. From Urien came a privileged line of descent, The veins of Gethin's roots are one with theirs. This does not touch The sixth part there of what is yours; On you, as on Ivor, hath God bestowed The greatest store of wealth; How true is it that, with a brave heart, By wealth is gained the world! Who doth not love thee, thou Chief over the multitude, Llewelin's Lily, bright as the moon, A Gwenhwyvar, a second Avarwedd. Rampart of thy Tribe! may Mary uphold it! Thou art one to distribute--thy fame shall endure, Like that of the hero Brân, in the Upland of Curig. With this poem we do not yet lose sight of the Four Brothers. The Llyfr Ceniarth contains others addressed 1 A forest, in Welsh poetry, often means a host of kindred or clansmen. respectively to three of their number, as far as may be gathered from internal evidence, for their titles in the MS. speak only of their being written in honour of " the Clochfaen Family;" a circumstance which, together with the numerous gaps and corruptions or mutilations of the text which occur in them, tends greatly to obscure their meaning. In the MS. they are all (one by Sion Keri excepted) subscribed with the name of Huw Arwystli, with the addition of dates, which, however, are either too early or too late to be calculated to do otherwise than mislead; one being fixed at 1570, and the others so far back as at, or about, 1500. As these and most of the following poems have been, and there is little reason to doubt justly, ascribed to Huw Arwystli, who is thus, perhaps, more than any other, entitled to the appellation of "Bard of Llangurig," it may be fitting to introduce them with an epitome of the few scattered notices which we have been able to collect of his career. (To be continued.) A HISTORY OF THE PARISH OF LLANSANTFFRAID-YN-MECHAIN. BY THOMAS GRIFFITHS JONES (CYFFIN). CHAPTER I.-PHYSICAL FEATURES AND DESCRIPTION. THE parish of Llansantffraid-yn-Mechain derives its name from the dedication of its church to St. Ffraid, (St. Bride), and is called Llansantffraid-yn-Mechain, to distinguish it from other parishes in Wales bearing a similar name, the chief portion of this parish, that on the northern side of the Vyrnwy, being in the Comot of Mechain Iscoed, (now called Pool Lower), in the hundred of the Vyrnwy. The remainder, i.e. the portion on the southern side of the Vyrnwy, is in the Comot of Deuddwr, (" between the waters," i. e., of the Severn and Vyrnwy), in the hundred of Ystlyc. The entire parish is in the manors of Plas yn dinas, Deuddwr, and Mechain Iscoed, and in the Poor Law Union of Llanfyllin. It is bounded on the north by the parishes of Llangedwyn and Llanyblodwel; on the south by Guilsfield and Llandysilio; on the west by Meifod and Llanfechain; and on the east by Llanymynech and Llanyblodwel. As already indicated, the river Vyrnwy divides the parish into two portions. The following townships are situated on the northern side of the river, viz. ; -Tref-llan, Llanerch-emrys, Dolwen, Melyniog-fawr, Melyniog-fach, and Lledrod; with a total acreage of 3,159 acres, and a total estimated rental of £3,889: 12:24. On the south side are situated the townships of Tre derwen, Trewylan, Llanerchila, and Collfryn, with a total acreage of about 2,642 acres, and a total estimated rental of £4,819:14:6. Total acreage for the whole parish, 5,801 acres. Total estimated rental, £8,709681. The length, from the river Tannatt (opposite Llangedwyn) to Penrhos, is five miles and a quarter, and the breadth, from near Abertanat to Cefn near Bwlch y Cibau, four miles and three quarters. Trefllan has an acreage of 586 acres, 3 roods, 29 perches, consisting of seven farms of twenty acres and upwards. Total rateable value, £1,120:06. This part of the parish is far superior to any other in the fertility of its soil. The township is called Trefilan, because the church or Llan stands in it. Llanerch-emrys. This is the largest township in this part of the parish. It contains about 855 acres, 3 roods, 17 perches, divided into twelve farms of twenty acres and upwards. Total rateable value, £757: 6: 4. The land is rough and heavy; gravelly, clayey, and peaty soils are also to be found, yet all kinds of corn and green produce are raised in abundance. Tradition states that Emrys Benaur fought a battle here, an event which gave the name to the township. It contains about an acre and a half of turbary, with common rights. Dolwen. This is the smallest township in the parish. Its acreage, 208 acres, 3 roods, 38 perches, is divided into three farms of upwards of twenty acres, and some four small tenements besides, and the total rateable value is £3282:7. This township contains land as fertile as any in the parish; hence it is called Dol-wen (the White Meadow), from the abundance of its whiteblossomed trefoil, Welsh Meillionen Olwen. Melyniog-fawr. Contains 579 acres, 2 roods, 21 perches, divided into six farms of above twenty acres each, and four tenements of a smaller acreage, and its total rateable value is £640:18:6. Much good land is to be found in this part, together with a considerable portion of hill and upland pasture, unfavourable for culti vation. The name Melyniog [a corruption of Meillionog] was given to this township because of the white trefoil, or white clover, produced in its fertile land. Melyniog-fach. Contains 443 acres, 3 perches, divided into five farms of above twenty acres each, and nine tenements of a smaller acreage. The total rateable value is £594:09. Some of the best barley in North Wales is raised in this township, together with abundant crops of other cereals. It is called Melyniogfach, to distinguish it from the larger township. Lledrod. Contains 484 acres, 1 rood, 27 perches, divided into six farms of upwards of twenty acres, and three of a smaller acreage. Total rateable value, £449:36. The land here, taken altogether, is perhaps the poorest in the parish; yet there is some good land, and as the whole of it is well cultivated, it produces an abundant crop. It is difficult to determine the meaning of the word Lledrod: possibly it is derived from Lledran, a portion of the parish, or else Lle-yrhyd, (the place of the ford), from the old ford or stepping stones that lead to it from the Deuddwr side by way of Pen-y-Sarn and Waenfach. There was another division of the parish, but which is not now recognised, called Winllan, and is situate in the township of Melyniogfawr and Llanerchemrys. Llwyd of Llanerchrochwel suggests it to have been "The Winllan," or the vineyard of the Romans, the warmth and aspect of its sheltered corners being very favourable to the cultivation of the vine. The following are the subdivisions of the portions of the parish situate in Deuddwr :— Trederwen. Literally "Oak town." The name given to an ancient town, which, tradition says, once stood in this district, on account of the material (oak timber) with which it was principally built. The estimated extent of this township is 488 acres, 2 roods, 3 perches, and its gross estimated rental, £1,222: 8:6 It is divided into seven farms above twenty acres, and some fifteen lesser holdings. |