The Cambro-Briton – David Smith
In the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, Welsh writers including the antiquary Humphrey Llwyd, the bard Gruffudd Hiraethog, and the epigrammatist John Owen began referring to themselves as Cambro-Britons. The term was quickly adopted and popularised by English writers. This explains the title of The Cambro-Briton, a short-lived periodical published monthly from 1819 to 1823 and edited by John Humffreys Parry. It contained articles relating to the history and antiquity of Cambria (ie Wales), especially those which record facts of an early date. It includes historical material (biographical sketches and memoirs), literature (short stories and poetry) and miscellany, including proverbs, songs and Pennillion songs (a particularly Welsh tradition of song accompanied by the harp). Editorial policy included publishing English translations of Early and Middle Welsh literature.
It is densely written in the verbose and flowery style of those days. One example, in which I have retained the original spellings and oddly hyphenated words, is this account of Mold and its environs: “The parish comprises at present the thirteen town-ships of Arddynwent, Argoed, Bistree, Broncoed, Gwernaffyllt, Gwysaney, Hartsheath, Hendrebiffa, Leeswood, Llwynegrin, Mold, Nerquis, and Treuddyn. In length it reaches about seven miles, and its extreme breadth exceeds five, being thus one of the most extensive parishes in the county.
“Placed in a fertile valley, almost co-extensive with itself, this parish possesses a pleasing diversity of scenery, and especially in the lower part of it. The town of Mold is seated in the centre of the valley, of which it affords, from its sylvan fortress, the Bailey Hill, a full and agreeable pros-pect. The scene embraces, for the most part, a mixture of gentle eminences and sloping woods, interspersed with a considerable number of country seats, and altogether forming a landscape not easily to be excelled within the same space. If it wants the sub- lime features, which in general distinguish North Wales, it possesses other charms, which are not commonly assembled elsewhere”.
An anonymous visitor noted the following impression of Llangollen: “Between nine and ten the following morning we bade adieu to Wrexham, and, after a delightful walk of three hours, arrived at the Arcadia of Cambria – the far-famed and beautiful valley of Llangollen. The mid-day sun was shining in all its glory on the green woods of the valley, as we walked towards the little town at its western extremity, and the rapid stream of the Dee glanced brilliantly in the sun-beams as it glided on towards the deep and distant ocean. This is certainly a more beautiful spot than the Vale of Festiniog in Merionethshire. There is more rich-ness and altogether more fertility and fantastic luxuriance in the scenery; and the placid little river Dwyryd of Festiniog is not to be compared with the broad and deep Dee of Llangollen”.
He and his companion stayed at the Hand Hotel in the town, “a tolerably decent inn” and visited Valle Crucis Abbey. “To judge from the architectural specimens which the Abbey still displays, it must have been a grand and magnificent pile …. and there is something exceedingly tranquil and soothing in the scene which its decaying fragments exhibit”. Dinas Bran on its lofty summit, then as now, impressed the visitors: “The ruins of this old castle present an object wildly desolate.”
The narrative continues westward: “There are few tracts in North Wales, of equal extent with the road from Llangollen to Corwen, which present so beautiful a va-riety of scenery, and are so powerfully interesting in an histori- cal point of view. About four miles from the former is Glyn-dyfrdwy, a delightful spot, and celebrated as having once wit- nessed the generous hospitality of the last of Cambria’s Patriots, wild Glyndwr. A green hillock, surrounded with oak and fir- trees, marks the place where the mansion of the chieftain was situated, and all the signs, that now remain of it, are a few loose and straggling stones, scattered about on the eminence. I have always entertained an enthusiastic veneration for the character of this heroic Welshman: but I am well aware that he has been often depreciated (early form of deprecated, I assume – DS) as an incorrigible traitor- as a cruel and blood-thirsty rebel.
“I do not, however, acknowlege the justice of this accusation. We are not to estimate his actions by the nice standard of civilized judgment, nor must we overlook his own private wrongs, and those of his suffering countrymen. Plunged as Wales then was in a state of the most oppressive slavery, the revolt of her brave people was an act of venial, nay of commen- dable, self-defence, rather than of traitorous disloyalty; and that man must have been bold and patriotic, indeed, and without one single particle of treason in his heart, who ventured to restore his country from a domination so despotic and powerful. But Owain Glyndwr would not have been that man, had he not been driven to arms by infamous and unendurable oppression.”
After this digression comes, “It was late before we reached Corwen , which is an insignificant village, but rather romantically situated at the foot of the Berwyn Mountains.” This concludes my notes gleaned from the Cambro-Briton referring to our National Landscape. Once again, credit goes to the US HathiTrust for digitising literally millions of books and documents, mostly culled from the libraries of American universities, and making them freely available.
Y Cambro-Bryton – David Smith
Yn niwedd yr unfed ganrif ar bymtheg a dechrau’r ail ganrif ar bymtheg, dechreuodd awduron Cymreig gan gynnwys yr hynafiaethydd Humphrey Llwyd, y bardd Gruffudd Hiraethog, a’r epigramydd John Owen gyfeirio atynt eu hunain fel Cambro-Brytoniaid. Mabwysiadwyd y term yn gyflym a’i boblogeiddio gan awduron Seisnig. Dyma sy’n egluro teitl Y Cambro-Bryton, cyfnodolyn byrhoedlog a gyhoeddwyd yn fisol o 1819 i 1823 ac a olygwyd gan John Humffreys Parry. Roedd yn cynnwys erthyglau yn ymwneud â hanes a hynafiaeth Cambria (h.y. Cymru), yn enwedig y rhai sy’n cofnodi ffeithiau o ddyddiad cynnar. Mae’n cynnwys deunydd hanesyddol (brasluniau bywgraffyddol a chofiannau), llenyddiaeth (straeon byrion a barddoniaeth) a phethau amrywiol, gan gynnwys diarhebion, caneuon a chaneuon Penillion (traddodiad Cymreig arbennig o gân gyda’r delyn). Roedd polisi golygyddol yn cynnwys cyhoeddi cyfieithiadau Saesneg o lenyddiaeth Cymraeg Cynnar a Chanol.
Mae wedi’i ysgrifennu’n drwchus yn arddull llawn geiriau a blodeuog y dyddiau hynny. Un enghraifft, lle rwyf wedi cadw’r sillafiadau gwreiddiol a’r geiriau â chysylltnod rhyfedd, yw’r hanes hwn o’r Wyddgrug a’i chyffiniau: “Mae’r plwyf ar hyn o bryd yn cynnwys tair tref ar ddeg Arddynwent, Argoed, Bistree, Broncoed, Gwernafyllt, Gwysaney, Hartsheath, Hendrebiffa, Leeswood, Llwynegrin, yr Wyddgrug, Nerquis, a Threuddyn. Mae’n cyrraedd tua saith milltir o hyd, ac mae ei led eithaf yn fwy na phum milltir, felly mae’n un o’r plwyfi mwyaf helaeth yn y sir.
“Wedi’i leoli mewn dyffryn ffrwythlon, bron yn gydradd â’i hun, mae gan y plwyf hwn amrywiaeth ddymunol o olygfeydd, ac yn enwedig yn rhan isaf ohono. Mae tref yr Wyddgrug wedi’i lleoli yng nghanol y dyffryn, ac mae’n cynnig, o’i chaer goedwig, Bryn y Bailey, obaith llawn a dymunol.” Mae’r olygfa, i raddau helaeth, yn cynnwys cymysgedd o uchelfannau ysgafn a choedwigoedd ar oleddf, wedi’u rhyngosod â nifer sylweddol o seddi gwledig, ac yn ffurfio tirwedd nad yw’n hawdd ei rhagori o fewn yr un lle. Os yw am gael y nodweddion godidog, sydd yn gyffredinol yn nodweddu Gogledd Cymru, mae ganddo swynion eraill, nad ydynt yn gyffredin yn unman arall”.
Nododd ymwelydd anhysbys yr argraff ganlynol o Langollen: “Rhwng naw a deg y bore canlynol, fe wnaethom ffarwelio â Wrecsam, ac, ar ôl taith gerdded hyfryd o dair awr, cyrhaeddom Arcadia Cambria – dyffryn enwog a hardd Llangollen. Roedd haul canol dydd yn tywynnu yn ei holl ogoniant ar goedwigoedd gwyrdd y dyffryn, wrth i ni gerdded tuag at y dref fach yn ei phen gorllewinol, ac roedd nant gyflym afon Dyfrdwy yn edrych yn wych yng ngolau’r haul wrth iddi lithro ymlaen tuag at y cefnfor dwfn a phell. Mae hwn yn sicr yn fan mwy prydferth na Dyffryn Ffestiniog yn Sir Feirionnydd. Mae mwy o gyfoeth ac yn gyfan gwbl mwy o ffrwythlondeb a moethusrwydd ffantastig yn y golygfeydd; ac ni ellir cymharu afon fach dawel Dwyryd o Ffestiniog â Dyfrdwy lydan a dwfn Llangollen”.
Arhosodd ef a’i gydymaith yng Ngwesty’r Hand yn y dref, “tafarn gymharol dda” ac ymwelasant ag Abaty Glyn y Groes. “I farnu o’r enghreifftiau pensaernïol y mae’r Abaty yn dal i’w harddangos, rhaid ei fod wedi bod yn bentwr mawreddog a godidog …. ac mae rhywbeth hynod o dawel a llonydd yn yr olygfa y mae ei ddarnau pydredig yn eu harddangos”. Gwnaeth Dinas Brân ar ei gopa uchel, bryd hynny fel nawr, argraff ar yr ymwelwyr: “Mae adfeilion yr hen gastell hwn yn cyflwyno gwrthrych gwyllt anghyfannedd.”
Mae’r naratif yn parhau tua’r gorllewin: “Ychydig o diroedd sydd yng Ngogledd Cymru, o’r un maint â’r ffordd o Langollen i Gorwen, sy’n cyflwyno amrywiaeth mor brydferth o olygfeydd, ac sydd mor ddiddorol o safbwynt hanesyddol. Tua phedair milltir o’r cyntaf mae Glyn-dyfrdwy, man hyfryd, ac yn cael ei ddathlu fel un a welodd groeso hael olaf Gwladgarwyr Cambria, Glyndŵr gwyllt. Mae bryncyn gwyrdd, wedi’i amgylchynu â derw a choed ffynidwydd, yn nodi’r lle yr oedd plasty’r pennaeth wedi’i leoli, a’r holl arwyddion sydd bellach yn weddill ohono yw ychydig o gerrig rhydd a gwasgarog, wedi’u gwasgaru o gwmpas ar y bryn. Rwyf bob amser wedi cynnal parch brwdfrydig at gymeriad y Cymro arwrol hwn: ond rwy’n ymwybodol iawn ei fod wedi cael ei ddibrisio’n aml (ffurf gynnar o ddibrisio, rwy’n tybio – DS) fel bradwr anorchfygol – fel gwrthryfelwr creulon a sychedig am waed. “Fodd bynnag, nid wyf yn cydnabod cyfiawnder y cyhuddiad hwn. Nid ydym i asesu ei weithredoedd yn ôl safon braf barn waraidd, ac ni ddylem anwybyddu ei gamweddau preifat ei hun, a rhai ei gydwladwyr dioddefus. Gan fod Cymru wedi’i phlymio bryd hynny mewn cyflwr o gaethwasiaeth fwyaf gormesol, roedd gwrthryfel ei phobl ddewr yn weithred o hunan-amddiffyn diystyriol, yn wir o hunan-amddiffyn canmoladwy, yn hytrach nag o anffyddlondeb brad; a rhaid bod y dyn hwnnw wedi bod yn feiddgar ac yn wladgarol, yn wir, a heb un gronyn o frad yn ei galon, a fentrodd adfer ei wlad o oruchafiaeth mor ddespotig.”