CHAPTER VIII
Passage of the river Conwy in a boat,and of Dinas Emrys On our return to Banchor from Mona,we were shown the tombs of prince Owen and his younger brother Cadwalader,{170}who were buried in a double vault before the high altar,although Owen,on account of his public incest with his cousin-german,had died excommunicated by the blessed martyr St.Thomas,the bishop of that see having been enjoined to seize a proper opportunity of removing his body from the church.We continued our journey on the sea coast,confined on one side by steep rocks,and by the sea on the other,towards the river Conwy,which preserves its waters unadulterated by the sea.Not far from the source of the river Conwy,at the head of the Eryri mountain,which on this side extends itself towards the north,stands Dinas Emrys,that is,the promontory of Ambrosius,where Merlin {171}uttered his prophecies,whilst Vortigern was seated upon the bank.There were two Merlins;the one called Ambrosius who prophesied in the time of king Vortigern,was begotten by a demon incubus,and found at Caermardin,from which circumstance that city derived its name of Caermardin,or the city of Merlin;the other Merlin,born in Scotland,was named Celidonius,from the Celidonian wood in which he prophesied;and Sylvester,because when engaged in martial conflict,he discovered in the air a terrible monster,and from that time grew mad,and taking shelter in a wood,passed the remainder of his days in a savage state.This Merlin lived in the time of king Arthur,and is said to have prophesied more fully and explicitly than the other.Ishall pass over in silence what was done by the sons of Owen in our days,after his death,or while he was dying,who,from the wicked desire of reigning,totally disregarded the ties of fraternity;but I shall not omit mentioning another event which occurred likewise in our days.Owen,{172}son of Gruffyth,prince of North Wales,had many sons,but only one legitimate,namely,Iorwerth Drwyndwn,which in Welsh means flat-nosed,who had a son named Llewelyn.This young man,being only twelve years of age,began,during the period of our journey,to molest his uncles David and Roderic,the sons of Owen by Christiana,his cousin-german;and although they had divided amongst themselves all North Wales,except the land of Conan,and although David,having married the sister of king Henry II.by whom he had one son,was powerfully supported by the English,yet within a few years the legitimate son,destitute of lands or money (by the aid of divine vengeance),bravely expelled from North Wales those who were born in public incest,though supported by their own wealth and by that of others,leaving them nothing but what the liberality of his own mind and the counsel of good men from pity suggested:a proof that adulterous and incestuous persons are displeasing to God.
CHAPTER IX
Of the mountains of Eryri I must not pass over in silence the mountains called by the Welsh Eryri,but by the English Snowdon,or Mountains of Snow,which gradually increasing from the land of the sons of Conan,and extending themselves northwards near Deganwy,seem to rear their lofty summits even to the clouds,when viewed from the opposite coast of Anglesey.They are said to be of so great an extent,that according to an ancient proverb,"As Mona could supply corn for all the inhabitants of Wales,so could the Eryri mountains afford sufficient pasture for all the herds,if collected together."Hence these lines of Virgil may be applied to them:-"Et quantum longis carpent armenta diebus,Exigua tautum gelidus ros nocte reponet.""And what is cropt by day the night renews,Shedding refreshful stores of cooling dews."On the highest parts of these mountains are two lakes worthy of admiration.The one has a floating island in it,which is often driven from one side to the other by the force of the winds;and the shepherds behold with astonishment their cattle,whilst feeding,carried to the distant parts of the lake.A part of the bank naturally bound together by the roots of willows and other shrubs may have been broken off,and increased by the alluvion of the earth from the shore;and being continually agitated by the winds,which in so elevated a situation blow with great violence,it cannot reunite itself firmly with the banks.The other lake is noted for a wonderful and singular miracle.It contains three sorts of fish -eels,trout,and perch,all of which have only one eye,the left being wanting;but if the curious reader should demand of me the explanation of so extraordinary a circumstance,I cannot presume to satisfy him.It is remarkable also,that in two places in Scotland,one near the eastern,the other near the western sea,the fish called mullets possess the same defect,having no left eye.
According to vulgar tradition,these mountains are frequented by an eagle who,perching on a fatal stone every fifth holiday,in order to satiate her hunger with the carcases of the slain,is said to expect war on that same day,and to have almost perforated the stone by cleaning and sharpening her beak.
CHAPTER X
Of the passage by Deganwy and Ruthlan,and the see of Lanelwy,and of Coleshulle Having crossed the river Conwy,{173}or rather an arm of the sea,under Deganwy,leaving the Cistercian monastery of Conwy {174}on the western bank of the river to our right hand,we arrived at Ruthlan,a noble castle on the river Cloyd,belonging to David,the eldest son of Owen {175}where,at the earnest invitation of David himself,we were handsomely entertained that night.
There is a spring not far from Ruthlan,in the province of Tegengel,{176}which not only regularly ebbs and flows like the sea,twice in twenty-four hours,but at other times frequently rises and falls both by night and day.Trogus Pompeius says,"that there is a town of the Garamantes,where there is a spring which is hot and cold alternately by day and night."{177}