Some Specimens of the Poetry of the Ancient Welsh Bards Part 17

CWYDD MARWNAD LLEUCU LLWYD.

Lleucu Llwyd ydoedd rian rinweddol, nodedig am ei glendid a'i phrydferthwch, yn byw yn Mhennal, ar lan yr afon Dyfi, oddeutu pedair milltir o Aberdyfi, ar ffordd Machynlleth, yn y 14eg canrif. Cerid hi a chariad pur gan LLEWELYN GOCH AP MEIRIG HEN, o'r Nannan, gerllaw Dolgellau. Ond nid oedd ei thad mewn un modd yn foddlawn i'r garwriaeth, ac achubai bob cyfle i yru annghariad rhwng Lleueu a Llewelyn. Un tro, dygwyddodd i Lewelyn Goch fyned ar daith i'r Deheubarth, a daeth ei thad at Lleucu, adywedodd wrthi, er mwyn diddyfnu ei serch oddiar y bardd, fod Llewelyn wedi ymbriodi yno a merch arall. Pan glywodd Leucu yr ymadrodd byn, hi a syrtbiodd mewn llewyg, ac a drenG.o.dd yn y fan! Dychwelodd Llewelyn adref; ac ofer ceisio darlunio ei deimladau pan ddeallodd fod hyfrydwch ei lygaid wedi huno yn yr angau; a than ei deimladau cyffrous ar yr achlysur, efe a gyfansoddod yr alarnad ganlynol, am yr hon, er holl gloffrwymau'r gynghanedd gaeth, y gellir dywedyd, megys y dywedodd Daniel Ddu am alargwyn Burns ar farwolaeth ei _Highland Mary_, mai cerdd ydyw a fydd byw nes bo i holl dyrau, dawn syrthio i lynclya annghof tragwyddol.

Yr oedd yr anffodus Lewelyn Goch yn fardd penigamp yn ei ddydd; a chyfrifir ei fod yn ei flodau o'r flwyddyn 1330 i 1370. Argraffwyd chwech o'i gyfansoddiadau yn y gyfrol gyntaf o'r _Myfyrian Archaiology of Wales_; ac y mae amryw o bonynt yn aros hyd yn hyn mewn llawysgrifen heb weled goleuni dydd. Nid ydys yn gwybod fod yr alarnad a ganlyn wedi ei bargraffu erioed o'r blaen. Y mae yn ein meddiant gyfieithiad Saesonig o honi mewn rhyddiaeth, o waith Ieuan Brydydd Hir; ac efelychiad o fesur cerdd, yn yr un iaith, o waith y diweddar Risiart Llwyd, Bardd Eryri.

Ysgrifenwyd marwnad Llewelyn Goch ei hun gan Iolo Goch.

Y mae, neu o leiaf yr oedd, caead arch un Lleucu Llwyd, yr hon a fu farw yn y flwyddyn 1402, i'w weled yn Eglwys Llaneurgain, yn ar Fflint; ond nid ymddengys mai Lleucu Llwyd o Bennal yw y rhian a goffeir yno. Yr oedd Lleucu Llwyd Llaneurgain yn ferch i Rys ab Rhobert, o'r Cinmael, ac yn wraig i Hywel ab Tudur, o'r Llys, ynmhlwyf Llaneurgain, ac yn nith i'r bardd Dafydd Ddu o Hiraddug. Hywel ab Tudur ydoedd un o henafiaid y teuluoedd presenol sy'n dwyn yr enw _Mostyn_.

Y mae _Llewelyn a Lleucu_, yn gystal testyn cerdd a _Romeo and Juliet_; ond, pa le mae'r Shacspear Cymraeg i ysgrifenu trychwawd arno?-_Y Brython_.

Llyma haf llwm i hoew-fardd, A llyma fyd llwm i fardd!

Nid oes yng Ngwynedd heddiw, Na lloer, na llewyrch, na lliw, Er pan rodded-trwydded trwch- Dan lawr dygn dyn loer degwch.

Y ferch wen o'r dderw brenol, Arfaeth ddig yw'r fau o'th ol!

Cain ei llun, canwyll Wynedd, Cyd bych o fewn caead bedd!

F' enaid! cyfod i fynu, Agor y ddaiar-ddor ddu!

Gwrthod wely tyfod hir, A gwrtheb f' wyneb, feinir!

Mae yma, hoewdra hydraul, Uwch dy fedd, hoew annedd haul, Wr llwm ei wyneb hebod, Llewelyn Goch, gloch dy glod; Yn cynnal, hyd tra canwyf, Cariad amddifad ydd wyf;- Ud-fardd yn rhodio adfyd O Dduw gwyn! hyd hyn o hyd.

Myfi, fun fwyfwy fonedd, Echdoe a fum uwch dy fedd, Yn gollwng deigr lled eigr-braff Ar hyd fy wyneb yn rhaff: t.i.thau, harddlun y fun fud, O'r tew-bwll ni'm hatebud!

Tawedawg ddwysawg ddiserch, Ti addawsud, y fud ferch, Fwyn dy sud fando sidan, Fy aros, ddyn loew-dlos lan, Oni ddelwn, gwn y gwir, Er dy hud, o'r Deheudir, Ni chigle, sythle saeth-lud, Air na bai wir, feinir fud, Iawn-dwf rhanaidd Indeg, Onid hyn o'th eneu teg.

Trais mawr! ac ni'm tawr i ti!

Toraiat ammod, trist imi, Tydi sydd yn y gwydd gwan Ar y gwir, ddyn deg eirian!

Minnau sydd uthrydd athrist Ar y celwydd-tramgwydd trist!

Celwyddawg iawn, cul weddi, Celwydd lais a soniais i.

Mi af o Wynedd heddyw, Ni'm dawr ba faenawr i fyw: Fy myn foneddig ddigawn, Duw'n fach, petid iach nid awn!

P'le caf, ni'm doraf dioer, Dy weled, wendw' wiw-loer?

Ar fynydd-sathr Ofydd serch- Olifer, yn oleu-ferch.

F' enaid yno a'n fynych, O'th wela', ddyn wiwdda wych.

Lleucu deg waneg wiwnef!

Llwyr y dyhaeraist fy llef; A genais, llygorn Gwynedd!

Eiriau gwawd i eiry 'i gwedd, O'r geneu yn organawl, A ganaf, tra fyddaf, fawl.

F' enaid hoen geirw afonydd!

Fy nghaniad dy farwnad fydd.

Lliw-galch rian oleugain, Rhy gysgadur o'r mur main!

Rhiain fain, rhy anfynych Y'th wela'; ddyn wiwdda wych.

Cyfod i orphen cyfedd, I edrych a fynych fedd; At dy fardd ni chwardd ychwaith, Erot, dal euraid dalaith!

Dyred, ffion ei deurudd, I fyny o'r pridd-dy prudd!

Anial yw f' ol, canmoleg, Nid twym yw fy neudroed teg, Yn bwhwman gan annwyd Cylch drws dy dy, Lleucu Llwyd!

A genais, lygorn Gwynedd, O eiriau gwawd i eiry 'i gwedd, Llef dri-och, llaw fodrwy-aur, Lleucu! llawenu lliw aur.

Cymhenaidd, groew, loew Leucu!

Ei chymmyn, f' anwyl-fun, fu Ei henaid, grair gwlad Feiriawn, I Dduw Dad-addewid iawn; A'i mein-gorff, eiliw'r mangant, Meinir, i gyssegr-dir sant: Dyn pell-gwyn doniau peill-galch, A da byd i'r gwr du balch; A'r hiraeth, cywyddiaeth cawdd, I minnau a'i cymmynawdd.

Lleddf ddeddf ddeuddaint ogyfuwch, Lleucu Llwyd, lliw cawod lluwch!

Pridd a main, glain galar chwerw, A gudd ei deurudd, a derw.

Gwae fi drymder y gweryd A'r pridd ar feistres y pryd!

Gwae fi fod arch yn gwarchae, A thy main rhof a thi mae!

Gwae fi, ferch wen o Bennal, Brudded yw briddo dy dal!

Clo du derw-galar chwerw gael- A daiar, deg ei dwyael!

A throm-goed ddor, a thrym-gae, A llawer maes, rhof a'i lliw mae; A chlyd fur, a chlo dur du, A chlicied-yn iach, LEUCU!

LLEWELYN GOCH AP MEIRIG HEN.

THE FEUDAL SYSTEM.

BY JOHN JENKINS, ESQ.

[As much of the proceeding Work relates to Feudal times and usages, the following able Paper from the pen of a modern writer cannot be otherwise than acceptable to the reader.-ED.]

A clear idea of the Feudal System is in the highest degree interesting to the inhabitants of modern Europe, as it was the first form of society which succeeded ancient civilization, and is the foundation of most of our modern laws, systems, and inst.i.tutions. Without a definite idea of this system, much or most of the present regulations of civilized life would be unintelligible.

But I have spoken of ancient civilization. What did this term mean?

What does it comprise? I believe, it means that progressive or advancing state of human society, which existed among the various nations and empires of the world previous to the dissolution of the Roman Empire.

The countries where this civilization reached its highest stage are well-known. History presents them in bold relief on its pages. They were Persia, a.s.syria, Chaldea, Egypt, Greece, and Rome; and, in an inferior degree, China and Hindoostan. In these countries the inhabitants had subst.i.tuted a stationary for a wandering life, had acquired the notions and defined the limits and rights of property, had entered the bonds and enjoyed the benefits of society, had extended their ideas beyond supplying the rude necessities of life, had acquired a taste for the comforts and even luxuries of social life, had begun to cultivate the arts and sciences, had built vessels whereby they could traffic by sea, and had erected towns and cities (some of costly magnificence) on land. The bulk of the people had forsaken the sword for the plough, and exchanged the spear for the pruning-hook. They dwelt peaceably and securely in their villages, towns, and rural homes. They divided their employments. The land was cultivated, the stock of living animals was fed, and commerce carried on. A parliament or congress of the chief inhabitants a.s.sembled, and deliberated on the affairs of State. Laws were enacted, and justice administered in the public courts. The spiritual interests of the people were also provided for, and magnificent temples, churches, and cathedrals were built and adorned the land. A regular gradation of n.o.bles or chiefs was established, to whom the people at large looked up, while a King, Sovereign, or Emperor governed the whole. These are the leading ideas connected with ancient civilization.

These elements flourished largely in the last of the old empires, or that of Rome, which before its fall had transcended all that went before in commerce, civilization, learning, refinement, science, art, as well as in grandeur and extent of territory.

We have spoken of the fall of the Roman Empire. This occurred in the beginning of the fifth century. We will just glance at the state of Europe immediately before the dissolution of that vast empire. The Roman Empire (which comprised Italy and the adjacent territories) was at that time and had been for centuries the only kingdom in Europe where the arts of peace and civilization reigned. All the vast countries north of the Alps, west of the Mediterranean, and east and north of the Adriatic seas, were in a state of comparative, if not complete barbarism. Among the people who inhabited these countries we may name the Franks, who occupied Gallia or modern France; the Goths, Vandals, and Germanic tribes, who occupied modern Germany; the Scythians and other Sclavonic races who occupied modern Russia; the Visigoths, who occupied Spain; the Celts, who dwelt in Great Britain and Ireland; and the Scandinavians, who occupied the north of Europe, or Lapland, Sweden, and Norway. These various populations were, during the zenith, and down to the fall of the Roman Empire, in a state of semi if not perfect barbarism. A great portion of them were nomadic or roving tribes, and had in their career of devastation and conquest traversed the vast plains of Asia and eastern Europe, before taking up a more settled though not permanent abode in the broad plains and forests of Germany, Spain, and Russia. The Goths, Scythians, and Sclavonic tribes who thus poured into Europe, were emigrants from Asia. The native races who inhabited eastern Europe were unequal to repel the savage invasions of these formidable marauders, who inundated Europe with their fierce and unsettled bands. If we may credit the account given of these tribes by the Roman writers of the period, their manners were savage, their habits of life simple, but of a roving and predatory character. By the Roman historians they are invariably styled-the Barbarians. They cultivated not commerce, they built not cities, they dwelt not in luxurious towns. Their abode was the vast forest or plain, their occupation hunting and war, their food the produce of the chase or the plunder of war, their dress the skins of beasts and articles of the rudest manufacture. Yet in their spirit was energy, in their hearts a love of conquest and aggrandis.e.m.e.nt. After having for ages in vain withstood the conquering arms of Julius Caesar and other Roman commanders, they in turn became the a.s.sailants. After the reign of Augustus Caesar the military spirit of the Romans decayed their energy declined, their ambition was lost. The chief people surrendered themselves to all the enervating effects of pleasure and luxury. No valorous chief led the army in the field, no Cato or Tully thundered alarm in the Capitol, to summon the inhabitants to glory or even defence:-they were rather found revelling in riot and debauchery at home.

No Pompey governed in Spain; no Sall.u.s.t was Praetor in Numidia. The race of the wise and mighty had departed. The infection had reached the common people, who were equally given up to indolence, license, riot, debauchery, and sloth. In this state was Rome and the Romans, when the barbarians rose in the north under Alaric, King or Chief of the Goths, descended the Alps with the rapidity and force of the avalanche, overthrew the empire, and possessed Rome. Then was presented a scene the most unexampled the world ever beheld. The chief or warrior who a few months before held his counsels in a hut or wigwam on the banks of the Danube or Rhine, was seated on the throne of the Caesars-the herdsman of the forest inhabited the palaces of Rome. The savage hid himself in the fine linen of the Roman citizen-the barbarian covered himself with patrician gold. The effeminate luxury of the Empire had yielded all to the insatiate energy and ambition of the North.

But even the nomadic tribes of central Europe found the miseries and inconveniences of a wandering and predatory life. The Saxons, Goths, and Scythians experienced the comforts and enjoyments of a settled and stationary life. They even grew weary of conquest, and knew the hazard of warlike achievements. They therefore wished to settle down upon some fixed and definite territory. They determined to appropriate a place which they could call their home, and to inhabit a country which they could call their own. They saw the precarious subsistence which awaited those who depended on the spontaneous produce of the earth, and the greater riches which would accrue from a cultivation of the soil. They therefore resolved on a stationary life. But this new life must have order and laws. There must be a Head to whom they should look up, a law or rule which they should obey. The warrior or chief under whose guidance the tribe had conquered and become powerful, was chosen Head of the community, and Lord paramount of the soil. The lesser warriors or captains were placed next in degree and power. The people at large were in a state of va.s.salage and dependence upon the Lord paramount and his Esquires and Deputies. The Lord paramount built and fortified a castle on some eligible spot in the domain. This castle was used for the residence of the Lord and his family in time of peace, and for the hospitable reception of his retainers and dependents. But in time of war the castle was the refuge and resort of all the inhabitants of the domain. There they retired before the superior number or power of the enemy, and were generally safe. Thence arose the rights and duties of chief and people. The chief owed to the people protection and security from foreign enemies, as well as arbitration and counsel. The people on the other hand owed the Lord suit and service in time of war to repel the common enemy, and allegiance at all times. For these purposes in time of peace the va.s.sals or people farmed and cultivated the domain for their own benefit, paying to the Lord rent, suit, and service. The Lord reserved for his own use a large tract in the vicinity of his castle.

Should any dispute arise between the tenants or va.s.sals respecting the owners.h.i.+p or cultivation of their respective tracts of the domain, or otherwise, the Lord was arbiter or judge. Afterwards and in process of time the Lord called his chief dependents or va.s.sals to a.s.sist him in the arbitrament of his subjects' disputes. These tribunals were subsequently called the Baron's Court, or Court of the Manor, and were the only tribunals of justice in the earlier period of the feudal society. The Lord presided, and was a.s.sisted by his princ.i.p.al tenants or va.s.sals. The Baron or Manorial Court was of the utmost importance in those rude times, for there were recorded all the transactions relating to the land within the manor; and there a.s.sembled all the tenants who had rent, suit, or service to pay or render, or who had complaint to make of disturbance, injury, or grievance, from a fellow tenant, or va.s.sal. The decision of this court was final, the disobedience of which was punished by heavy fines, forfeitures, and disqualifications.

We thus see that the feudal society arose not more from choice than from the necessity and circ.u.mstances of the time. At this unsettled and warlike period, protection was required for the tribe or clan from the enmity or rapacity of neighbouring hordes. The tribe therefore united under one common chief to defend their own territory and people, and when necessary, to make war on a neighbouring or distant community. Rule and internal government were also necessary for the comfort and security of the tribe itself. These were therefore the circ.u.mstances which induced, or rather compelled the various tribes or hordes of the barbarian population of mediaeval Europe to enter the feudal society. And in this manner sprung up, soon after the dissolution of the Roman Empire, that vast net-work of feudal society, which eventually extended itself from Cape Trafalgar to the Euxine Sea, and from the Gulf of Bothnia to the Pillars of Hercules.

It was among the vast forests and plains of Russia, Hungary, Germany, and France, and by a people just emerging from barbarism, that the feudal system arose, and that about the fifth century of the Christian era; thence it was carried by the Continental invaders into their newly conquered territories. But in no country was the system more predominant, than in Gaul, or France, whence it was carried by their Duke of Normandy, or our William the Conqueror, after the battle of Hastings in the eleventh century into Britain, and was more rigorously established here for the protection of the conquerors and the subjection of the native races than it had ever been in Normandy itself. The Conqueror parcelled out all the richest parts of the territory among seven hundred of his Captains or warlike retainers, and erected each into a Barony.

The Barons rented a portion of their domains to their Knights, which were denominated knights' fiefs, and were 60,215 in number;-these again sub-let part of their fiefs to their Esquires. The cultivation of the soil and all kind of manual labor were carried on by the va.s.sals, or villeins, who formed the ma.s.s of the people. Each cla.s.s owed rent, suit, and service to their superiors, and the whole were subject to the Lord paramount, or Sovereign, to whom the right to the soil of all the land in his kingdom was reserved, and the herbage or surface alone was granted to the Barons and their tenants, on condition of yielding suit and service to the King, failing which the land reverted to its original owner-the Lord paramount. The wily Conqueror thus founded a superstructure of government which proved impregnable to all a.s.saults from the vanquished races, and reared a cordon of despotism strong and compact from within, and una.s.sailable from without.

The object of this superstructure being military strength, each Norman Baron erected a stately castle fortified by walls, towers, and, if available, a moat, on the strongest site or position within his manor.

Here the Baron dwelt, with his domestics, and a chosen body of his warlike va.s.sals, who always bore arms, and watched and were prepared by day and by night at any alarm to sally forth to any summons of conquest or defence. In times of peace the chief occupation of the Baron and his princ.i.p.al retainers was the chase, and the game on the manor was preserved with the greatest care, and its destruction guarded against by the forest laws, which were the most cruel of any enactments on record, inasmuch as the punishment for killing a deer or even a hare was the taking out the eyes of the delinquent; while at the same time the punishment of homicide, or murder, was only a small pecuniary fine, and when perpetrated by the Baron or any of his retainers on an inferior va.s.sal was seldom enforced. In short, under this system there was then no appeal or redress by an inferior for any crime or wrong perpetrated by his superior in rank; and the va.s.sals, or people at large, were in a state of the greatest subjection and most abject slavery, inasmuch as the will and pleasure of the superior liege formed the only law of the land.

It is certain that the feudal system after the Norman model never existed among the Saxons in this island, or on the continent of Europe, previously to the Norman Conquest. Their Kings were mostly elected to the throne; and the land was possessed princ.i.p.ally by their military chieftains, called Thanes. This order was at first confined to military supremacy; but in process of time successful merchants and others who had acquired wealth were admitted into the rank. The Thanes resided in large irregular halls upon their estates, in a coa.r.s.e but very hospitable manner: their halls were said to be generally filled with their neighbours and tenants, who spent their time in feasting and riot. The great distinction between the Anglo-Saxon n.o.bility and the Norman, according to William of Malmesbury, was, that the latter built magnificent and stately castles; whereas the former dwelt in large but mean houses, and consumed their immense fortunes in riot and hospitality.

Nevertheless this social communion, combined with the hearty generosity and manners of the Saxon n.o.bility, made them extremely popular among their tenants and va.s.sals, between whom was established a spontaneous and steady attachment. The next in degree were called Ceorles, and were freemen. These conducted most of the occupations on the land and in trade;-they formed the most numerous cla.s.s of the Anglo-Saxon population, and enjoyed all the rights of freemen, as these were understood in those times;-they had a voice in the national councils, served on juries in the County and other Courts, and their rights and liberties were protected, and generally enforced by fines against each other, and even against their superiors. The Anglo-Saxons rejoiced in their system of trial by jury, and boasted it as their peculiar inst.i.tution. It was also a law among them that none should be tried except by his equals in the government. These inst.i.tutions, with the historical open-heartedness of the Thanes and landed proprietors, secured to the Ceorles or freemen as much of real liberty and justice as those rude times might admit.

But the Saxon government is defaced by the odious vice of slavery. The slaves were those whom they had conquered in battle; and the Anglo-Saxons introduced them into this island. They were household slaves, performing menial duties, and predial or rustic slaves who labored on the soil. The proprietors sold their slaves with their estates, and they were regarded as chattels: yet the master had not unlimited power over his slave, for it was ordained that if he beat out his slave's eye or teeth, he gained his liberty; and if he killed him, he paid a fine to the King. Yet, notwithstanding this protection, and although the slaves were confined to races vanquished in battle, yet the practice formed a dark stain on the Saxon inst.i.tutions.

The government of the Ancient Britons, or Cymri, corresponded much with the Anglo-Saxon, except that their King was hereditary, and that they were always free from the odious inst.i.tution of slavery. Sovereign power was inherited among the Cymri, according to the present rules of descent in England, from whom it was probably derived. The chief people were the Princes or large land-proprietors, who dwelt in magnificent style, and exercised unbounded hospitality in their halls upon their estates. Here they received their retainers and tenants, to whom they dispensed the greatest liberality: here also dwelt the Bards, Priests, and Literati of the period-the Taliesins, Aneurins, and Dafydd ap Gwilyms-in the enjoyment of the most profuse favors and protection from their munificent patrons. Hence also the spontaneous and faithful attachment of the whole to their Princes,-as exemplified in the poems of the Bards, and the warlike records of the Cymric nation. Besides the Princes, were a large number of independent landowners or Esquires distributed over the whole island. The great ma.s.s of the people, as in every community, labored on the land, or were employed in domestic and mercantile occupations.

Slavery or even abject servitude was unknown among them: every cla.s.s enjoyed the rights and exercised the privileges of freemen, and seldom failed in obtaining redress for any crime or wrong. In their freedom from slavery, and their full enjoyment of civil rights and immunities, the Cymri of ancient times formed a striking contrast with all the European nations.

The effects of the Norman Conquest varied altogether as it respected the Anglo-Saxons and the Cymri. The former were entirely subjected to the feudal system, and their lands forfeited and parcelled out among the Norman chiefs. The forest laws and other odious parts of the feudal system were executed in all their rigor against the vanquished Saxon: hence the sanguinary feuds and mortal enmity which for several centuries existed between the Saxon and Norman race. The former, repelled by the feudal system from open war, retaliated by private and secret murders and injuries upon their Norman oppressors: no Saxon impeaching, the murder or crime was never discovered, and the perpetrator unpunished. At length the Normans, being decimated by this practice of stealthy revenge, pa.s.sed a law that every Saxon in the parish should answer for every Norman found killed within its limits. This law, which would have been rigorously executed, at last suppressed the Saxon retaliation; nevertheless the hostility between the two races continued for ages, and was only inflamed by the contempt and oppression of the Norman on all occasions evinced.

The Cymri on the other hand remained free in their mountain fastnesses and plains west of the Severn and Dee, and unaffected by the Norman invasion and conquest. They even rejoiced at the change, inasmuch as it supplanted a foreign and adverse race-the Saxon-by a kindred and more congenial people; for the Normans were Celts descended from the same Cimbric origin, and had many qualities of mind and heart in common with the Ancient Britons: whereas the characteristics of the Saxons, and of the Teutonic race in general, were entirely opposite. The Normans celebrated the anniversary feasts and cherished the memory of the Cymric King Arthur of the Round Table, whose chivalric fame they regarded as much their own as the Cymri, for he ruled the Celts of Gaul as well as of Britain. The Cymri therefore looked on with placidity and satisfaction at the mutual enmity and reprisals of Normans and Saxons, for they remained unconquered and unmolested in their upland homes. We find them occasionally under their Princes making inroads into England, and conquering and retaining much border territory. The Norman Kings therefore established on the Welsh borders the Lords-marchers, or Lords authorised to conquer and hold by the sword land in Wales; and erected a chain of castles and fortresses from Chester through Shrewsbury and Gloucester to Pembroke, for the defence of the frontier, and the repression of sorties from Wales. Hence the Grosvenors, De Greys, Cliffords, and Mortimers of border chivalry. Hence also the border wars between them and Gruffydd ap Conan, Owain Gwynedd, Llewelyn, and other Princes of Wales, wherein great courage and chivalry were displayed on both sides, and seldom to the advantage of the Norman. At last, after ages of bloodshed and war, and repeated failures, the subjection of the Princ.i.p.ality was accomplished, A.D. 1283, by Edward the First, who, to extinguish the last embers of patriotic fire, ma.s.sacred upwards of one hundred Welsh Bards, in addition to many Cymric Princes. But the Cymri were still discontented and given to insurrection, until a monarch of their own Tudor blood was placed on the British throne in the person of Henry the Seventh, A.D. 1485. Henceforward they became more reconciled to the larger and dominant race, and at length subsided into peaceful submission and attachment to the British throne and laws.

But to return to the feudal system strictly so called, we find the Lords and Barons were all-powerful within their dominions, and had the power of giving or taking away the life, liberty, and property of their retainers and va.s.sals. They often made war upon each other, the consequences of which were frequently awful in the streams of blood which flowed, and the murder, rapine, and spoliation which ensued. Evidences of these internal wars are seen in the ruined castles and dismantled towers which cover our own country and the continent of Europe. The Barons would frequently league together, and make war upon the King or Sovereign, in which they often triumphed. A remarkable instance of this is found in English History, when the Barons joined in opposing King John, and wrested from him Magna Charta at Runnymede. The De Veres, Bohuns, Mowbrays, Nevilles, Howards, Percys, and Somersets often overshadowed their sovereign lieges in England; while the powerful families of Douglas and Scott for ages held the Kings of Scotland in awe. The Kings and Sovereigns were more in fear and had greater apprehensions of the feudal Barons, than from the ma.s.s of their subjects, and were therefore often completely obsequious to their wills. But ever and anon would arise an Edward or a James, who, defying the enmity of the feudal chiefs, diminished their powers and restrained their excesses. Yet this was never done, or even attempted, without the greatest opposition and danger, and never but by a brave and formidable Prince.