With Respect To The Two Sees Of Canterbury And St. David's,
I Will Briefly Explain My Opinion Of Their Present State.
On one
side, you will see royal favour, affluence of riches, numerous and
opulent suffragan bishops, great abundance of
Learned men and well
skilled in the laws; on the other side, a deficiency of all these
things, and a total want of justice; on which account the recovery
of its ancient rights will not easily be effected, but by means of
those great changes and vicissitudes which kingdoms experience from
various and unexpected events.
The spot where the church of St. David's stands, and was founded in
honour of the apostle St. Andrew, is called the Vale of Roses; which
ought rather to be named the vale of marble, since it abounds with
one, and by no means with the other. The river Alun, a muddy and
unproductive rivulet, {124} bounding the churchyard on the northern
side, flows under a marble stone, called Lechlavar, which has been
polished by continual treading of passengers, and concerning the
name, size, and quality of which we have treated in our Vaticinal
History. {125} Henry II., on his return from Ireland, is said to
have passed over this stone, before he devoutly entered the church
of St. Andrew and St. David. Having left the following garrisons in
Ireland, namely, Hugh de Lacy (to whom he had given Meath in fee) in
Dublin, with twenty knights; Fitz-Stephen and Maurice Fitzgerald,
with other twenty; Humphrey de Bohun, Robert Fitz-Bernard, and Hugh
de Grainville at Waterford, with forty; and William Fitz-Adelm and
Philip de Braose at Wexford, with twenty; on the second day of
Easter, the king embarked at sunrise on board a vessel in the
outward port of Wexford, and, with a south wind, landed about noon
in the harbour of Menevia. Proceeding towards the shrine of St.
David, habited like a pilgrim, and leaning on a staff, he met at the
white gate a procession of the canons of the church coming forth to
receive him with due honour and reverence. As the procession
solemnly moved along, a Welsh woman threw herself at the king's
feet, and made a complaint against the bishop of the place, which
was explained to the king by an interpreter. The woman, immediate
attention not being paid to her petition, with violent
gesticulation, and a loud and impertinent voice, exclaimed
repeatedly, "Revenge us this day, Lechlavar! revenge us and the
nation in this man!" On being chidden and driven away by those who
understood the British language, she more vehemently and forcibly
vociferated in the like manner, alluding to the vulgar fiction and
proverb of Merlin, "That a king of England, and conqueror of
Ireland, should be wounded in that country by a man with a red hand,
and die upon Lechlavar, on his return through Menevia." This was
the name of that stone which serves as a bridge over the river Alun,
which divides the cemetery from the northern side of the church.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 57 of 103
Words from 29804 to 30311
of 54608
