It Appears Remarkable To Me That The Entire Inheritance Should
Devolve On Richard, Son Of Tankard, Governor Of The Aforesaid Castle
Of Haverford, Being The Youngest Son, And Having Many Brothers Of
Distinguished Character Who Died Before Him.
In like manner the
dominion of South Wales descended to Rhys son of Gruffyd, owing to
the death of several of his brothers.
During the childhood of
Richard, a holy man, named Caradoc, led a pious and recluse life at
St. Ismael, in the province of Ros, {107} to whom the boy was often
sent by his parents with provisions, and he so ingratiated himself
in the eyes of the good man, that he very often promised him,
together with his blessing, the portion of all his brothers, and the
paternal inheritance. It happened that Richard, being overtaken by
a violent storm of rain, turned aside to the hermit's cell; and
being unable to get his hounds near him, either by calling, coaxing,
or by offering them food, the holy man smiled; and making a gentle
motion with his hand, brought them all to him immediately. In
process of time, when Caradoc {108} had happily completed the course
of his existence, Tankard, father of Richard, violently detained his
body, which by his last will he had bequeathed to the church of St.
David; but being suddenly seized with a severe illness, he revoked
his command. When this had happened to him a second and a third
time, and the corpse at last was suffered to be conveyed away, and
was proceeding over the sands of Niwegal towards St. David's, a
prodigious fall of rain inundated the whole country; but the
conductors of the sacred burthen, on coming forth from their
shelter, found the silken pall, with which the bier was covered, dry
and uninjured by the storm; and thus the miraculous body of Caradoc
was brought into the church of St. Andrew and St. David, and with
due solemnity deposited in the left aisle, near the altar of the
holy proto-martyr Stephen.
It is worthy of remark, that these people (the Flemings), from the
inspection of the right shoulders of rams, which have been stripped
of their flesh, and not roasted, but boiled, can discover future
events, or those which have passed and remained long unknown. {109}
They know, also, what is transpiring at a distant place, by a
wonderful art, and a prophetic kind of spirit. They declare, also,
by means of signs, the undoubted symptoms of approaching peace and
war, murders and fires, domestic adulteries, the state of the king,
his life and death. It happened in our time, that a man of those
parts, whose name was William Mangunel, a person of high rank, and
excelling all others in the aforesaid art, had a wife big with child
by her own husband's grandson. Well aware of the fact, he ordered a
ram from his own flock to be sent to his wife, as a present from her
neighbour, which was carried to the cook, and dressed.
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