Upon
Them Are Two Lakes, One Of Which Has A Floating Island; And The
Other Contains Fish Having Only One Eye, As We Have Related In Our
Itinerary.
We must also here remark, that at two places in Scotland, one on
the eastern, and the other on the western ocean, the sea-fish
called mulvelli (mullets) have only the right eye.
The noble river Severn takes its rise from the Ellennith mountains,
and flowing by the castles of Shrewsbury and Bridgenorth, through
the city of Worcester, and that of Gloucester, celebrated for its
iron manufactories, falls into the sea a few miles from the latter
place, and gives its name to the Severn Sea. This river was for
many years the boundary between Cambria and Loegria, or Wales and
England; it was called in British Hafren, from the daughter of
Locrinus, who was drowned in it by her step-mother; the aspirate
being changed, according to the Latin idiom, into S, as is usual in
words derived from the Greek, it was termed Sarina, as hal becomes
SAL; hemi, SEMI; hepta, SEPTEM.
The river Wye rises in the same mountains of Ellennith, and flows
by the castles of Hay and Clifford, through the city of Hereford,
by the castles of Wilton and Goodrich, through the forest of Dean,
abounding with iron and deer, and proceeds to Strigul castle, below
which it empties itself into the sea, and forms in modern times the
boundary between England and Wales. The Usk does not derive its
origin from these mountains, but from those of Cantref Bachan; it
flows by the castle of Brecheinoc, or Aberhodni, that is, the fall
of the river Hodni into the Usk (for Aber, in the British language,
signifies every place where two rivers unite their streams); by the
castles of Abergevenni and Usk, through the ancient city of
Legions, and discharges itself into the Severn Sea, not far from
Newport.
The river Remni flows towards the sea from the mountains of
Brecheinoc, having passed the castle and bridge of Remni. From the
same range of mountains springs the Taf, which pursues its course
to the episcopal see of Landaf (to which it gives its name), and
falls into the sea below the castle of Caerdyf. The river Avon
rushes impetuously from the mountains of Glamorgan, between the
celebrated Cistercian monasteries of Margan and Neth; and the river
Neth, descending from the mountains of Brecheinoc, unites itself
with the sea, at no great distance from the castle of Neth; each of
these rivers forming a long tract of dangerous quicksands. From
the same mountains of Brecheinoc the river Tawe flows down to
Abertawe, called in English Swainsey. The Lochor joins the sea
near the castle of the same name; and the Wendraeth has its
confluence near Cydweli. The Tywy, another noble river, rises in
the Ellennith mountains, and separating the Cantref Mawr from the
Cantref Bachan, passes by the castle of Llanymddyfri, and the royal
palace and castle of Dinevor, strongly situated in the deep
recesses of its woods, by the noble castle of Caermarddin, where
Merlin was found, and from whom the city received its name, and
runs into the sea near the castle of Lhanstephan.
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