Month: November 2022

CHILDHOOD MEMORIES

What freedom we had when I was a child
Compared to nowadays.
We were allowed to roam about at will,
And even ride our bikes on the roads.

When we were little and days were sunny
Our Mother and her friend would meet
Their purses were empty and they had no money
But loved taking us out for a treat.

We would visit the Drope half a mile away
Where we could all picnic and play.
Mother made sandwiches and took some pop
And we would all have a lovely day.

The field was quite large with a river close by,
And a railway viaduct
We would wave to the trains as they went by,
And the drivers and guards would wave back.

We played rounders and shouted until we were hoarse,
And even the Mothers joined in.
Together with others that happened to be there,
Enjoying the afternoon sun.

We would swim in the river to cool ourselves off
The water was clean in those days.
We would dive from the bank and cross on the log
And from the bank pick the daisies.

A tributary stream into the river dull flow,
With water as clear as a bell.
When we were thirsty we just cupped our hands
And drank as if from a well.

As the evening approached and the sun went down,
We would wend our way home to our Dad.
The lane seemd so long as we daudled along,
With Mother carrying all the bags.

Zena Ball

THE DERIVATION AND MEANING OF PLACE-NAMES

MERTHYR DYFAN

 – The Welsh word ‘merthyr’ is seen in a number of place-names in Wales – and this again is often mistakenly translated. Many people are familiar with the word ‘merthyr’ which derives from the Latin word ‘martyr/martyris’ – meaning ‘martyr’ – a person who dies for his beliefs. And it is a temptation to translate place-names such as Merthyr Dyfan, Merthyr Tudful, Merthyr Mawr as churches dedicated to the martyrs Dyfan, Tudful and Myfor (which has given us ‘Mawr’ today).

But there is another Latin word – ‘martyrium’ – which means ‘shrine’ or ‘ the place where a saint’s relics lie’. And that is what we have in the place-name Merthyr Dyfan – the martyrium or shrine of Dyfan. The same is true of Merthyr Tudful and Merthyr Mawr. Nothing is known of Saint Dyfan – though tradition states that he was one of four saints who were sent by Pope Eleutherius to bring Christianity to this part of Britain in the 2nd Century.

The name ‘saint’ was used by the Celtic Church – and earlier – to refer, simply, to a holy man or woman. The four saints were Ffagan, Elfan, Meudwy and Deruvian – four missionaries of their day. Scholars don’t give great credence to this tradition – and furthermore, there is no proof that the person who was named Deruvian was indeed our Dyfan.

It is said that it was Saint Teilo in the 6th Century who was responsible for creating Dyfan’s martyrium – and the present church on the site – which dates back to the 13th Century – is dedicated to St Dyfan and St Teilo.

HOLTON – This name is made up of two Old English words – ‘hol’ and ‘ton’. The first element ‘hol’ simply means ‘a dip/ hollow’ and the second element ‘-ton’ is the suffix which means ‘a homestead, or ‘a settlement’ (which has given us ‘town’ in modern English.) So Holton could mean ‘a homestead or a farm in a hollow.’

BUTTRILLS – This name again is easily explained. The two elements are ‘buttr’ and ‘hills’ – meaning ‘butter hills’ – an area where there was good pasture for the production of butter.

TREGATWG – CADOXTON – The Welsh name Tregatwg is made up of two elements – ‘Tre’ and ‘gatwg’. The prefix ‘Tre’ is the Welsh equivalent of the English suffix ‘-ton’ – and as explained above, means a ‘homestead’ or a ‘settlement’. It has given us ‘tre(f), meaning ‘town’ in modern Welsh. The second element is a version of the name St Cadog. So this homestead was situated near where the saint had his cell.

The English name is merely the Anglicized version of the name Cadog or Cadoc – the ‘x’ being merely a different spelling which has developed over the years. He was born around 497 and he established a monastery and an important centre of learning in Llancarfan. There are many churches dedicated to him in Wales and in Brittany.

MÔR HAFREN – SEVERN ESTUARY / BRISTOL CHANNEL – The Welsh word ‘môr’ is derived from the Celtic word ‘mori’ and it simply means ‘sea’. The second word, ‘Hafren’ again derives from a Celtic word – ‘Sabrina’ – which gave us ‘Habren’ in Old Welsh and ‘Hafren’ in modern Welsh – the consonant ‘b’ having softened to ‘f’ (which represents the ‘v’ sound in Welsh of course) – and the initial consonant ‘s’ becoming ‘h’. So, remembering the Welsh word order, ‘Môr Hafren’ literally translates as ‘Severn Sea’. The word ‘Severn’ is also derived from ‘Sabrina’ but you’ll notice that the ‘S’ has been kept and, like the Welsh word, the original ‘b’ has softened to ‘v’ – to give us ‘Severn’.

The consonant ‘s’ in a Celtic – or in a Latin – word often becomes ‘h’ in Welsh. In another example we see that an earlier word has developed into ‘salt’ in English but into ‘halen’ in Welsh.

By the way, an ancient legend tells us that Sabrina was a Celtic princess who was drowned in this river by her stepmother, thus giving it its name!

Next month – Llanilltud Fawr / Llantwit Major, y Rhws / Rhoose, Sain Tathan / St Athan, Penmarc,

Ann M. Jones

THE WELSHMAN BEHIND THE GUNPOWDER PLOT

Guy Fawkes may be the most infamous figure in the Gunpowder Plot but he might not have been involved in the legendary conspiracy to blow up Parliament, if it had not been for a Welsh spy.

Fearing the wrath of the authorities, Hugh Owen fled to Flanders and built up a network of contacts that anyone seeking to wipe out the political establishment would want to tap into. He was known to have been involved in some way or an-other with all sorts of conspiracies and plots. He was also popular with other conspirators due to his ability to communicate in Latin, French, Spanish and Italian, as well as English and Welsh. Owen’s contribution included providing intelligence to Catholic Spain, perhaps even during plans for the Spanish Armada of 1588. Research by Jonathan Roche, of the University of Nottingham has shown how in 1597 Owen told Spain that Essex had taken most of the front line fleet to the Azores to intercept a treasure fleet, which left England undefended. His report apparently led to the immediate deployment of the third Spanish Armada, which failed only because of storms off the Scilly Isles. Roche said ‘The Armada of 1597 came within miles of landing in Cornwall and, if it weren’t for a storm, who knows what might have happened?’

By 1605 Catholics had given up on hopes that James I would be more sympathetic to them. Attempts to instigate rebellions among the aristocracy and to secure a foreign invasion had failed. So, led by Robert Catesby, the Gunpowder plotters decided the best way to destroy the government was to blow it up. By then, Owen himself had developed a passionate dislike of King James, calling him ‘this stinking King of ours’ and ‘a miserable Scot’. Owen could be trusted and knew all the right people. It was no surprise when one of the lead conspirators in the Gunpowder Plot, Thomas Wintour, came to Flanders in 1604 to see him. Wintour outlined the plan to blow up the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament on 5th November 1605. Owen was only too glad to play his part, using his secret contacts to put Wintour in touch with a Spanish explosive expert, none other than Guido Fawkes, better known today of course as Guy Fawkes.

England later demanded Owen’s extradition from Flanders but had little evidence of his involvement. Owen successfully distanced himself from the conspiracy saying, ‘I take my oath that no human being ever wrote to me about it, nor did I write to anyone about it, nor did any other person do so by my order.’ He was able to spend his last years courtesy of the Spanish government, living out his life in relative luxury at the Spanish embassy in Rome. It was a welcome obscurity, entirely suitable for someone who lived life in the shadows. His end was a lot less traumatic than that of Guy Fawkes, who revealed the names of his fellow conspirators partly due to being stretched four inches on the rack. Following interrogation, Fawkes, Win-tour and several other conspirators were hanged, drawn and quartered. Hugh Owen lived on and eventually died in 1618 at the age of 80.

Hugh Owen, was a devout Catholic born in 1538 at Plas Du in Caernarvonshire. He was known as the “Welsh Intelligencer” and was one of the most determined plotters against the Protestant monarchy. Owen was hated by the government in England who considered him a major trouble maker…with good reason!