A Certain Woman Secretly Conveyed This
Bell To Her Husband, Who Was Confined In The Castle Of Raidergwy,
{24} Near Warthrenion, (Which Rhys, Son Of Gruffydd, Had Lately
Built) For The Purpose Of His Deliverance.
The keepers of the
castle not only refused to liberate him for this consideration, but
seized and detained the bell; and in the same night, by divine
vengeance, the whole town, except the wall on which the bell hung,
was consumed by fire.
The church of Luel, {25} in the neighbourhood of Brecheinoc
(Brechinia), was burned, also in our time, by the enemy, and
everything destroyed, except one small box, in which the consecrated
host was deposited.
It came to pass also in the province of Elvenia, which is separated
from Hay by the river Wye, in the night in which king Henry I.
expired, that two pools {26} of no small extent, the one natural,
the other artificial, suddenly burst their bounds; the latter, by
its precipitate course down the declivities, emptied itself; but the
former, with its fish and contents, obtained a permanent situation
in a valley about two miles distant. In Normandy, a few days before
the death of Henry II., the fish of a certain pool near Seez, five
miles from the castle of Exme, fought during the night so furiously
with each other, both in the water and out of it, that the
neighbouring people were attracted by the noise to the spot; and so
desperate was the conflict, that scarcely a fish was found alive in
the morning; thus, by a wonderful and unheard-of prognostic,
foretelling the death of one by that of many.
But the borders of Wales sufficiently remember and abhor the great
and enormous excesses which, from ambitious usurpation of territory,
have arisen amongst brothers and relations in the districts of
Melenyth, Elvein, and Warthrenion, situated between the Wye and the
Severn.
CHAPTER II
Journey through Hay and Brecheinia
Having crossed the river Wye, we proceeded towards Brecheinoc, and
on preaching a sermon at Hay, {27} we observed some amongst the
multitude, who were to be signed with the cross (leaving their
garments in the hands of their friends or wives, who endeavoured to
keep them back), fly for refuge to the archbishop in the castle.
Early in the morning we began our journey to Aberhodni, and the word
of the Lord being preached at Landeu, {28} we there spent the night.
The castle and chief town of the province, situated where the river
Hodni joins the river Usk, is called Aberhodni; {29} and every place
where one river falls into another is called Aber in the British
tongue. Landeu signifies the church of God. The archdeacon of that
place (Giraldus) presented to the archbishop his work on the
Topography of Ireland, which he graciously received, and either read
or heard a part of it read attentively every day during his journey;
and on his return to England completed the perusal of it.
I have determined not to omit mentioning those occurrences worthy of
note which happened in these parts in our days. It came to pass
before that great war, in which nearly all this province was
destroyed by the sons of Jestin, {30} that the large lake, and the
river Leveni, {31} which flows from it into the Wye, opposite
Glasbyry, {32} were tinged with a deep green colour. The old people
of the country were consulted, and answered, that a short time
before the great desolation {33} caused by Howel, son of Meredyth,
the water had been coloured in a similar manner. About the same
time, a chaplain, whose name was Hugo, being engaged to officiate at
the chapel of Saint Nicholas, in the castle of Aberhodni, saw in a
dream a venerable man standing near him, and saying, "Tell thy lord
William de Braose, {34} who has the audacity to retain the property
granted to the chapel of Saint Nicholas for charitable uses, these
words: 'The public treasury takes away that which Christ does not
receive; and thou wilt then give to an impious soldier, what thou
wilt not give to a priest.'" This vision having been repeated three
times, he went to the archdeacon of the place, at Landeu, and
related to him what had happened. The archdeacon immediately knew
them to be the words of Augustine; and shewing him that part of his
writings where they were found, explained to him the case to which
they applied. He reproaches persons who held back tithes and other
ecclesiastical dues; and what he there threatens, certainly in a
short time befell this withholder of them: for in our time we have
duly and undoubtedly seen, that princes who have usurped
ecclesiastical benefices (and particularly king Henry the Second,
who laboured under this vice more than others), have profusely
squandered the treasures of the church, and given away to hired
soldiers what in justice should have been given only to priests.
Yet something is to be said in favour of the aforesaid William de
Braose, although he greatly offended in this particular (since
nothing human is perfect, and to have knowledge of all things, and
in no point to err, is an attribute of God, not of man); for he
always placed the name of the Lord before his sentences, saying,
"Let this be done in the name of the Lord; let that be done by God's
will; if it shall please God, or if God grant leave; it shall be so
by the grace of God." We learn from Saint Paul, that everything
ought thus to be committed and referred to the will of God. On
taking leave of his brethren, he says, "I will return to you again,
if God permit;" and Saint James uses this expression, "If the Lord
will, and we live," in order to show that all things ought to be
submitted to the divine disposal. The letters also which William de
Braose, as a rich and powerful man, was accustomed to send to
different parts, were loaded, or rather honoured, with words
expressive of the divine indulgence to a degree not only tiresome to
his scribe, but even to his auditors; for as a reward to each of his
scribes for concluding his letters with the words, "by divine
assistance," he gave annually a piece of gold, in addition to their
stipend.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 9 of 53
Words from 8192 to 9258
of 54608
