Chapter I (1)

1. The shore of Gaul would be the boundary of the world, did not the island[353] of Britain claim from its magnitude almost the appellation of another world; for if measured to the Caledonian promontory[354] it extends more than eight hundred miles in length.[355]

2. Britain was first called by the ancients Albion,[356] from its _white_ cliffs; and afterwards in the language of the natives, Britain. Hence all the islands hereafter described were denominated British.[357]

3. Britain is situated between the north and west,[358] opposite to, though at some distance from, Germany, Gaul, and Spain, the most considerable parts of Europe, and is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean.

4. On the south of Britain lies Belgic Gaul, from which coast passengers usually sail to the Rhutupian port.[359] This place is distant from Gessoriacum,[360] a town of the Morini, the port most frequented by the Britons, fifty miles, or according to others, four hundred and fifty stadia. From thence may be seen the country of the Britons whom Virgil in his Eclogues describes as separated from the whole world,--

"--penitus toto divisos orbe Britannos."

5. By Agrippa, an ancient geographer, its breadth is estimated at three hundred miles; but with more truth by Bede at two hundred, exclusive of the promontories.[361] If their sinuosities be taken into the computation, its circuit will be three thousand six hundred miles. Marcian, a Greek author, agrees with me in stating it at MDI[OO]LXXV.[362]

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 353: The early Greeks and Romans doubted whether Britain was an island, or part of the continent. This uncertainty gave rise to a controversy which was not settled till the time of the propraetor Julius Agricola.--_Tac. Vit. Agric. c._ 38. _Dio. Cass. Hist. Rom. lib._ 39.]

[Footnote 354: Dunnet Head.]

[Footnote 355: Richard gives too great an extent to our island, which, according to the most accurate observations, stretches only from lat. 49 deg. 48', the most southern point, to Dunnet Head, which is in lat. 58 deg. 40' or scarcely 540 geographical miles.]

[Footnote 356: Various explanations have been given of the names of Albion and Britain, applied to our island. Some derive Albion from the white rocks which bound the coast; some from Albion, a son of Neptune, who is represented as its first discoverer and cultivator; others have likewise derived the name Britain from the Phoenician or Hebrew _Baratanac_, signifying the land of tin. It was also called by the natives, _Hyperborea_, _Atlantica_, _Cassiteris_, _Romana_, and _Thule_.

According to the British Triads, "the three names given to the isle of Britain, from the beginning, were: before it was inhabited, the name of _Clas Merddyn_ (or the green spot defended by water); after it was inhabited, _Y Vel Ynys_ (the honey island); and, after it was brought under one government by Prydain, son of Aedd, it was called _Ynys Prydain_ (or the isle of Britain)."

In some old writings it is also termed, _Yr Ynys Wen_, (or the white island.)]

[Footnote 357: This part is taken from Pliny, who enumerates the British isles in the following order:--Orcades, 40; Acmodae, 7; Haebudes, 30. Between Britain and Ireland, Mona, Menapia, Ricnea, Vectis, Silimnus, Andros; beneath, Siambis and Axuntos: on the opposite side, towards the German Sea, the Glessariae, called Electrides by the later Greek writers, from the amber found there: and last of all, Thule.

He refers to others mentioned by different authors, viz., Mictis, Scandia, Dumnia, Bergos, and Nerigos.]

[Footnote 358: That is, from Rome. Richard, in copying the Roman writers, adopted their expressions in regard to the relative positions of places.]

[Footnote 359: Richborough, Kent.]

[Footnote 360: Boulogne.]

[Footnote 361: Richard errs in supposing the estimation of Bede more accurate than that of Agrippa.]

[Footnote 362: The numerals are here so incorrect that it is difficult to discover what number was meant by Richard. Marcian observes that the circuit of our island is not more than 28,604 stadia, or 3575 miles, nor less than 20,526, or 2576 miles. Hence Bertram is led to prefer the greater number.]

CHAP. II.

1. Albion, called by Chrysostom Great Britain, is, according to Caesar, of a triangular shape, resembling Sicily. One of the sides lies opposite to Celtic Gaul. One angle of this side, which is the Cantian promontory,[363] is situated to the east; the other, the Ocrinian promontory,[364] in the country of the Damnonii, faces the south and the province of Tarraconensis in Spain. This side is about five hundred miles in length.

2. Another side stretches towards Ireland and the west, the length of which, according to the opinion of the ancients, is seven hundred miles.

3. The third side is situated to the north, and is opposite to no land except a few islands;[365] but the angle of this side chiefly trends towards Germania Magna.[366] The length from the Novantian Chersonesus,[367] through the country of the Taixali, to the Cantian promontory,[368] is estimated at eight hundred miles. Thus all erroneously compute the circuit of the island to be two thousand miles; for from the Cantian promontory to Ocrinum,[369] the distance is four hundred miles; from thence to Novantum, a thousand; and from thence to the Cantian promontory, two thousand two hundred. The circumference of the whole island is therefore three thousand six hundred miles.[370]

4. Livy and Fabius Rusticus compare the form of Britain to an oblong shield or battle-axe; and as, according to Tacitus, it bears that figure on the side of Caledonia, the comparison was extended to the whole island, though the bold promontories at its further extremity give it the shape of a wedge. But Caesar and Pomponius Mela assert that its form is triangular.

5. If credit may be given to the celebrated geographer Ptolemy and his contemporary writers, the island resembles an inverted Z,[371] but according to the maps the comparison is not exact. The triangular shape, however, seems to belong to England alone.[372]

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 363: North Foreland.]

[Footnote 364: Lizard Point.]

[Footnote 365: The Orkney and Shetland isles.]

[Footnote 366: Under this name the ancients comprised not only Germany proper but Denmark, Norway, &c.]

[Footnote 367: Rens of Galloway.]

[Footnote 368: North Foreland.]

[Footnote 369: Lizard Point.]

[Footnote 370: Bertram has endeavoured to reconcile the various and discordant calculations given by different ancient authors of the circuit of our island. On such vague principles as these estimations are made, it would be almost impossible, even now, for two persons to produce the same result.]

[Footnote 371: Ptolemy's expression is obscure; but he was evidently led to this supposition by the notion that Caledonia or Scotland trended to the east, as appears from his latitudes and longitudes. This form, therefore, he not unaptly compares to the inverted Z. It would be a trespass on the patience of the reader to attempt to reconcile what is irreconcilable.]

[Footnote 372: These words are chiefly taken from Tacitus. The obscurity of the expression and the absurdity of the comparison, will sufficiently show the ignorance of those ancients whose works have reached the present time, in regard to our island.--_Tacit. Vit. Agricolae, sec. 10._]

CHAP. III.

1. The original inhabitants of Britain, whether indigenous or foreign, are, like those of most other countries, unknown. The Jews alone, and by their means the contiguous nations, have the happiness of tracing their descent since the creation of the world from undoubted documents.

2. From the difference of personal appearance different conjectures have been drawn. The red hair and large limbs of the Caledonians proclaim their German origin; the painted faces and curled locks of the Silures, and their situation opposite to Spain, corroborate the assertion of Tacitus, that the ancient Iberians passed over and occupied this country and Ireland. Those who live nearest the Gauls resemble them, either from the strength of the original stock, or from the effects which the same positions of the heavens produce on the human body.

3. If I were inclined to indulge a conjecture, I might here mention that the Veneti[373] in their commercial expeditions first introduced inhabitants and religion into this country. Writers are not wanting, who assert that Hercules came hither and established a sovereignty. But it is needless to dwell on such remote antiquities and idle tales.[374]

4. On the whole, however, it is probable that the Gauls occupied the contiguous regions. According to Tacitus, their sacred rites and superstitions may be traced; nor is the language very different; and lastly, the tradition of the druids, with the names of the states which still retain the same appellations as the people sprung from the cities of Gaul, who came hither and began to cultivate the country.[375]

5. According to Caesar, the country was extremely populous, and contained numerous buildings, not dissimilar to those of the Gauls. It was rich in cattle.

6. The inhabitants of the southern part were the most civilized, and in their customs differed little from the Gauls. Those of the more distant parts did not raise corn; but lived on fruits and flesh. They were ignorant of the use of wool and garments, although in severe weather they covered themselves with the skins of sheep or deer. They were accustomed to bathe in the rivers.

7. All the Britons formerly stained their bodies of a blue colour, which according to Caesar gave them a more terrible appearance in battle. They wore their hair long, and shaved all parts of the body except the head and the upper lip.

8. Ten or twelve Britons had their wives in common; and this custom particularly prevailed among brethren, and between fathers and sons; but the children were considered as belonging to him who had first taken the virgin to wife. The mothers suckled their own children, and did not employ maids and nurses.

9. According to Caesar also they used brass money, and iron rings of a certain weight instead of coin.[376]

10. The Britons deemed it unlawful to eat hares,[377] fowls, or geese; but they kept those animals for pleasure.

11. They had pearls, bits made of ivory, bracelets, vessels of amber and glass, agates, and, what surpasses all, great abundance of tin.

12. They navigated in barks, the keels and ribs of which were formed of light materials; the other parts were made of wicker and covered with the hides of oxen.[378] During their voyages, as Solinus asserts, they abstain from food.[379]

13. Britain produces people and kings of people, as Pomponius Mela writes in his third book; but they are all uncivilized, and in proportion as they are more distant from the continent, are more ignorant of riches; their wealth consisting chiefly in cattle and land. They are addicted to litigation and war, and frequently attack each other, from a desire of command, and of enlarging their possessions. It is customary indeed for the Britons to wage war under the guidance of women, and not to regard the difference of sex in the distribution of power.

14. The Britons not only fought on foot and on horseback, but in chariots drawn by two horses, and armed in the Gallic manner. Those chariots, to the axle-trees of which scythes were fixed, were called _covini_, or wains.

15. Caesar relates that they employed cavalry in their wars, which before the coming of the Romans were almost perpetual. All were skilled in war; each in proportion to his family and wealth supported a number of retainers, and this was the only species of honour with which they were acquainted.[380]

16. The principal strength of the Britons was in their infantry, who fought with darts, large swords, and short targets. According to Tacitus, their swords were blunt at the point.

17. Caesar in his fourth book thus describes their mode of fighting in that species of chariots called _essedae_.[381] At first they drove through the army in all directions, hurling their darts; and by the terror of the horses, and the noise of the wheels, generally threw the ranks of the enemy into disorder. When they had penetrated between the troops of cavalry, they leaped from their chariots and waged unequal war on foot. Meanwhile the chariots were drawn up at a distance from the battle, and placed in such a position, that if pressed by the enemy, the warriors could effect a retreat to their own army. They thus displayed the rapid evolutions of cavalry, and the firmness of infantry, and were so expert by exercise, as to hold up the horses in steep descents, to check and turn them suddenly at full speed, to run along the pole, stand on the yoke, and then spring into the chariot.

18. The mode of fighting on horseback threatened equal danger to those who gave way, or those who pursued. They never engaged in close lines, but in scattered bodies, and with great intervals; they had their appointed stations, and relieved each other by turns; and fresh combatants succeeded those who were fatigued. The cavalry also used darts.

19. It is not easy to determine the form of government in Britain previous to the coming of the Romans. It is however certain that before their times there was no vestige of a monarchy, but rather of a democracy, unless perhaps it may seem to have resembled an aristocracy.[382] The authority of the Druids in affairs of the greatest moment was considerable. Some chiefs are commemorated in their ancient records, yet these appear to have possessed no permanent power; but to have been created, like the Roman dictators, in times of imminent danger. Nor are instances wanting among them, as among other brave nations, when they chose even the leader of their adversaries to conduct their armies. He, therefore, who before was their enemy, afterwards fought on their side.

20. The Britons exceeded in stature both the Gauls and the Romans. Strabo affirms that he saw at Rome some British youths, who were considerably taller than the Romans.

21. The more wealthy inhabitants of South Britain were accustomed to ornament the middle finger of the left hand with a gold ring; but a gold collar[383] round the neck was the distinguishing mark of eminence. Those of the northern regions, who were the indigenous inhabitants of the island from time immemorial, were almost wholly ignorant of the use of clothes, and surrounded their waists and necks, as Herodian reports, with iron rings, which they considered as ornaments and proofs of wealth. They carried a narrow shield, fitter for use than ornament, and a lance, with a sword pendant from their naked and painted bodies. They rejected or despised the breast-plate and helmet, because such armour impeded their passage through the marshes.

22. Among other particulars, this custom prevailed in Britain. They stopped travellers and merchants, and compelled them to relate what they had heard, or knew, worthy of notice. The common people usually surrounded foreign merchants in the towns, and obliged them to tell from whence they came, and what curious things they had observed. On such vague reports they often rashly acted, and thus were generally deceived; for many answered them agreeably to their desires with fictitious stories.[384]

23. Their interments were magnificent; and all things which they prized during life, even arms and animals, were thrown into the funeral pile. A heap of earth and turf formed the sepulchre.[385]

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 373: The Veneti, a tribe seated on the coast of Armorica or Bretagne, distinguished for their maritime power, and with whom Caesar waged war. Their territory according to his description, was part of Celtic Gaul, and the present Vannes was their capital.]

[Footnote 374: To these conjectures relative to the original inhabitants, and subsequent colonists of Britain, it may not be uninteresting to add the accounts preserved in the Welsh Triads.

The historical Triads record that the first colonists of Britain were _Cymry_, who originally came from _Defrobani Gwlad Yr Hav_, the summer land, or Tauric Chersonesus. There they have left many traces of their name preserved by ancient authors, among which we may instance the Cimmerian Bosphorus.

Subsequent colonists arrived from the neighbouring continent at various times. The _Loegrwys_ (Loegrians) from Gascogne; the _Brython_ from _Lydaw_ (Britanny), who were descendants from the original stock of the _Cymry_. Two descents are also mentioned in Albin, or North Britain; one called the tribe of _Celyddon_, the other the primitive _Gwyddelians_. Another descent is said to have been made in the south, in _Ynys-Wyth_, or the Isle of Wight, by the men of _Galedin_ (the Belgae), when their native country was inundated. Another colony called the _Corani_ came from the country of the _Pwyl_ (Poland), and settled on the sea coast, about the river Humber. A descent in Albin, or North Britain, of a colony of _Gwyddelian Ficti_ [Irish Picts], who are described as coming from the sea of _Loclyn_ (the Baltic); and a partial settlement of the men of _Loclyn_ (Scandinavians), who were expelled after remaining for three generations. The arrival of the Romans and Saxons is also mentioned, as well as some partial settlements of Gwyddelians from Ireland.]

[Footnote 375: We discover a few cities in Gaul, bearing nearly the same appellations as those of Britain; and in both countries we find the Atrebates, the Morini, the AEdui, the Senones, the Menapii, and the Rhemi.]

[Footnote 376: The natives of China and Japan follow a similar custom in regard to gold and silver, which are not coined, but pass according to weight.]

[Footnote 377: It seems that they considered the appearance of a hare a fortunate omen; for the Roman historians observe that Boadicea, after haranguing her troops, let loose a hare which she had concealed in her garments.]

[Footnote 378: This species of boat is still used on the Welsh rivers, and is called a coricle in English, and _cwch_ in Welsh. It is so light that a man may carry one on his back.]

[Footnote 379: Richard has mistaken the sense of Solinus, who, in describing the passage from Great Britain to Ireland, observes that from its shortness they abstained from food. "Navigantes escis abstinent, pro freti latitudine." C. 25.]

[Footnote 380: In all periods the Britons seem to have been divided into numerous petty communities or states, headed by chiefs, who are here dignified with the title of kings. From the jealousies and weakness attending such a state of society, the island first became a prey to the Romans, and afterwards to the Saxons; and when the Britons were confined to the mountains of Wales, the same causes hastened the annexation of their country to England.]

[Footnote 381: In the early ages chariots were universally used in war. In the Scriptures they are frequently mentioned as forming the principal strength of an army; and the mode of fighting in chariots among the Greeks and Trojans, according to the description of Homer, was exactly similar to that of the Britons. The steeds of his heroes were

"Practised alike to stop, to turn, to chase,
To dare the shock, or urge the rapid race."

His warriors sometimes drive through the ranks of the enemy, sometimes fight from their chariots, and sometimes alight and maintain the combat on foot, while their chariots retire to the rear.

"This counsel pleased, the godlike Hector sprung
Swift from his seat; his clanging armour rung.
The chief's example follow'd by his train,
Each quits his car and issues on the plain;
By orders strict the charioteers enjoin'd
Compel the coursers to their ranks behind."

The Britons, however, appear to have devised an improvement in this mode of warfare, which was unknown to the Greeks. Their chariots seem to have been of two kinds, the _covini_ or wains, heavy and armed with scythes, to break the thickest order of the enemy; and the _essedae_, a lighter kind, adapted probably to situations and circumstances in which the _covini_ could not act, and occasionally performing the duties of cavalry. The _essedae_, with the cavalry, were pushed forward to oppose the first landing of Caesar; and Cassivellaunus afterwards left 4000 _essedae_ as a corps of observation to watch his movements.--_Caesar. Comment. lib._ 5, sec. 15.]

[Footnote 382: The government of the ancient Britons may be denominated patriarchal. Each community was governed by its elders; and every individual who could not prove his kindred to some community, through nine descents, and the same number of collateral affinities, was not considered as a freeman. Beyond this degree of kindred, they were formed into new communities. The elders of the different communities were subordinate to the elders of the tribes. But in times of public danger, as is recorded in the Triads, some chief of distinguished abilities was entrusted with the supreme authority over the tribes or communities, who united in common defence--Such were Caswallon (Cassivellaunus), Caradwg (Caractacus), and Owain, son of Macsen.]

[Footnote 383: This _torques_, chain, or rather wreath, is frequently alluded to by the early British bards.

"Yet in the battle of Arderydd I wore the _golden torques_"
_Merddin Avellanaw._

"Four and twenty sons I have had
Wearing the _golden wreath_, leaders of armies."
_Llywarch Hen._

"Of all who went to Cattraeth, wearing the _golden torc or wreath_."
_Aneurin._

The same bard states that in the battle of Cattraeth were three hundred and sixty who wore the _golden torques_.

We give a description of one of these ornaments found near the castle of Harlech, in Merionethshire, in 1692. "It is a wreathed bar of gold, or perhaps three or four rods jointly twisted, about four feet long, but naturally bending only one way, in the form of a hatband. It is hooked at both ends. It is of a round form, about an inch in circumference, and weighs eight ounces."--_Gibson's Camden_, p. 658.

Another mark of dignity was a string of amber beads worn round the head. To this Aneurin alludes--

"With wreaths of _amber_ twined round his temples."

These beads have been frequently found in tumuli, particularly in those on Salisbury Plain.--See _Turner's Vindication of the Welsh Bards.--Owen's Elegies of Llywarch Hen_.]

[Footnote 384: This is Caesar's account of a Gallic custom; but it is applied, not without reason, to the Britons, and indeed is equally applicable to all uncivilized people.]

[Footnote 385: As the classic authors have left us no description of the modes of interment among the Britons, Richard was induced, by the conformity of their manners and customs to those of the Gauls, to adopt the words used by Caesar in his account of the Gallic funerals. Unfortunately the remains of the British bards afford little assistance in supplying this deficiency. It appears, however, that the Britons raised tumuli over their dead, and continued the practice till after the introduction of Christianity; and that their other modes of interment were the _carned_, or heap of stones; the _cistvaen_, or stone chest; and perhaps the _cromlec_, or hanging stone. From a curious fragment commemorating the graves of the British warriors, which is printed in the first volume of the Welch Archaeology, we learn further, that they buried their dead on the top of hills and lofty cliffs, on declivities, in heaths and secluded valleys, on the banks and near the fords of rivers, and on the sea-shore "where the ninth wave breaks." Allusions are also made to corresponding stones raised on these graves; and it is said, "the _long_ graves in Gwanas, no one knows to whom they belong nor what is their history."

As the modes of interment among all early nations were in many respects similar, there is perhaps no part of our national antiquities which has given scope to so much conjecture as this. The reader who is desirous of more particular information relative to this subject, may at least find amusement in consulting the works of Stukeley, Douglas's _Nenia Britannica_, the _Archaeologia_, and various accounts scattered in different periodical publications.]

CHAP. IV.

1. All the Britons, like the Gauls, were much addicted to superstitious ceremonies; and those who laboured under severe disorders, or were exposed to the dangers of war, either offered human victims, or made a vow to perform such a sacrifice.

2. The druids were employed in the performance of these cruel rites; and they believed that the gods could not be appeased unless the life of a man was ransomed with human blood. Hence arose the public institution of such sacrifices; and those who had been surprised in theft, robbery, or any other delinquency, were considered as the most acceptable victims. But when criminals could not be obtained, even the innocent were put to death, that the gods might be appeased.

3. The sacred ceremonies could not be performed except in the presence of the druids; and on them devolved the office of providing for the public as well as private rites. They were the guardians of religion and the interpreters of mysteries; and being skilled in medicine, were consulted for the preservation or restoration of health.

4. Among their gods, the principal object of their worship was Mercury.[386] Next to him they adored justice (under the name of Astarte), then Apollo, and Mars (who was called Vitucadrus), Jupiter, Minerva, Hercules, Victory (called Andate), Diana, Cybele, and Pluto. Of these deities they held the same opinions as other nations.

5. The Britons, like the Gauls, endeavoured to derive their origin from Dis or Pluto, boasting of this ancient tradition of the druids. For this reason they divided time, not by the number of days, but of nights, and thus distinguished the commencement of the month, and the time of their birth. This custom agrees with the ancient mode of computation adopted in Genesis, chapter i.[387]

6. The druids, being held in high veneration, were greatly followed by the young men for the sake of their instructions. They decided almost all public and private controversies, and determined disputes relative to inheritance or the boundaries of lands. They decreed rewards and punishments, and enforced their decisions by an exclusion from the sacrifices. This exclusion was deemed the severest punishment; because the interdicted, being deemed impious and wicked, were shunned as if contagious; justice was refused to their supplications, and they were allowed no marks of honour.[388]

7. Over the druids presided a chief, vested with supreme authority. At his death he was succeeded by the next in dignity; but if there were several of equal rank, the contest was decided by the suffrages of their body; and sometimes they even contended in arms for this honour.[389]

8. The druids went not to war, paid no tribute like the rest of the people, were exempted from military duties, and enjoyed immunities in all things. From these high privileges many either voluntarily entered into their order, or were placed in it by friends or parents.

9. They learned a number of verses, which were the only kind of memorials or annals in use among them.[390] Some persons accordingly remained twenty years under their instruction, which they did not deem it lawful to commit to writing, though on other subjects they employed the Greek alphabet. "This custom," to use the words of Julius Caesar, "seems to have been adopted for two reasons: first, not to expose their doctrines to the common people; and, secondly, lest their scholars, trusting to letters, should be less anxious to remember their precepts; for such assistance commonly diminishes application, and weakens the memory."

10. In the first place they circulated the doctrine that souls do not die, but migrate into other bodies.[391] By this principle they hoped men would be more powerfully actuated to virtue, and delivered from the fear of death. They likewise instructed students in the knowledge of the heavenly bodies, in geography, the nature of things, and the power of the gods.[392]

11. Their admiration of the mistletoe must not be omitted. The druids esteemed nothing more sacred than the mistletoe, and the tree on which it grew, if an oak. They particularly delighted in groves of oaks,[393] and performed no sacred rite without branches of that tree, and hence seems to be derived their name of druids, [Greek: Druides]. Whatever grew on an oak was considered as sent from heaven, and as a sign that the tree was chosen by God himself. The mistletoe was difficult to be found, and when discovered was gathered with religious ceremonies, particularly at the sixth day of the moon (from which period they dated their months and years, and their cycle of thirty years,) because the moon was supposed to possess extraordinary powers when she had not completed her second quarter. The mistletoe was called in their language _all heal_.[394] The sacrifice and the feast being duly prepared under the tree, they led thither two white bulls, whose horns were then bound for the first time.[395] The priest, clothed in a white vestment, ascending the tree, cut off the mistletoe with a golden bill, and received it in a white cloth. They then slew the victims, invoking the favour of the Deity on their offering. They conceived that the mistletoe cured sterility in animals; and considered it as a specific against all poisons. So great was the superstition generally prevailing among nations with respect to frivolous objects.

13. At a certain time of the year the druids retired to a consecrated grove in the island of Mona, whither all persons among whom controversies had arisen, repaired for the decision of their disputes.

14. Besides the druids, there were among the Gauls and Britons poets, called bards,[396] who sang in heroic measures the deeds of the gods and heroes, accompanied with the sweet notes of the lyre.

15. Concerning the druids and bards, I shall conclude this chapter in the words of Lucan:--

"You too, ye bards! whom sacred raptures fire.
To chant your heroes to your country's lyre;
Who consecrate, in your immortal strain,
Brave patriot souls, in righteous battle slain,
Securely now the tuneful task renew,
And noblest themes in deathless songs pursue.
The druids now, while arms are heard no more,
Old mysteries and barbarous rites restore,
A tribe who singular religion love,
And haunt the lonely coverts of the grove.
To these, and these of all mankind alone,
The gods are sure revealed or sure unknown.
If dying mortals' doom they sing aright,
No ghosts descend to dwell in dreadful night;
No parting souls to grisly Pluto go,
Nor seek the dreary silent shades below;
But forth they fly immortal in their kind,
And other bodies in new worlds they find;
Thus life for ever runs its endless race,
And like a line death but divides the space,
A stop which can but for a moment last,
A point between the future and the past.
Thrice happy they beneath their northern skies,
Who that worst fear--the fear of death--despise
Hence they no cares for this frail being feel,
But rush undaunted on the pointed steel;
Provoke approaching fate, and bravely scorn
To spare that life which must so soon return."
_Rowe's Lucan_, book i.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 386: This passage has puzzled the British antiquaries, because it militates against the grand principle of the druidic theology, and because, as they assert, no traces of the Greek or Roman deities are found among the early Britons. Possibly some of the British tribes might have brought this mode of worship from Gaul; but more probably the assertion was derived from the misconception of the ancient authors themselves, who gave the names of their own deities to the objects of adoration distinguished by similar attributes in other countries. The account is borrowed from Caesar's description of the Gauls, lib. vi. Sec. 15.]

[Footnote 387: "And the _evening_ and the morning were the first day," &c. ver. 5. We also still say a se'n_night_, a fortnight.]

[Footnote 388: Like the excommunication of the catholic church.]

[Footnote 389: Such a custom would contravene the principles of the druidic or bardic system, which prohibited them from using arms. The remark seems to have been extended to a general application by Richard, from a single instance recorded by Caesar, of a druidic election in Gaul thus decided.]

[Footnote 390: According to the opinion of the Welsh antiquaries, the system of druidical knowledge forms the basis of the Triads. If this be the case, it must be confessed that the bards possessed a profound knowledge of human nature, uncommon critical sagacity, and a perfect acquaintance with the harmony of language and the properties of metre. For example, the subjects of the poetical Triads are,

The Welsh language.
Fancy and invention.
The design of poetry.
Nature of just thinking.
Rules of arrangement.
Rules of description.
Variety of matter and invention.
Rules of composition; comprising the laws of
verse, rhyme, stanzas, consonancy or alliteration,
and accent.

We quote a few of these Triads to show their nature and structure.

The three qualifications of poetry;--endowment of genius, judgment from experience, and happiness of mind.

The three foundations of judgment;--bold design, frequent practice, and frequent mistakes.

The three foundations of learning;--seeing much, suffering much, and studying much.

The three foundations of happiness;--a suffering with contentment, a hope that it will come, and a belief that it will be.

The three foundations of thought;--perspicuity, amplitude, and justness.

The three canons of perspicuity;--the word that is necessary, the quantity that is necessary, and the manner that is necessary.

The three canons of amplitude;--appropriate thought, variety of thought, and requisite thought.]

[Footnote 391: According to the Triads, the theology of the bards was pure monotheism. They taught also the transmigration of souls; believing that the soul passed by death through all the gradations of animal life, from Anoom, the bottomless abyss, or lowest degree of animation, up to the highest degree of spiritual existence next to the Supreme Being. Human nature was considered as the middle point of this scale. As this was a state of liberty, in which the soul could attach itself to either good or evil; if evil predominated, it was after death obliged to retrace its former transmigrations from a point in the animal creation equal to its turpitude, and it again and again became man till it was attached to good. Above humanity, though it might again animate the body of man, it was incapable of relapse; but continued progressively rising to a degree of goodness and happiness, inferior only to the Deity.

It is remarkable that many singular points of coincidence have been discovered in comparing the religious system of the Hindoos with that of the ancient Britons; and in the languages of these two people some striking similarities occur in those proverbs and forms of expression which are derived from national customs and religious ceremonies.]

[Footnote 392: This account of the druids, like some of the preceding paragraphs, is borrowed from Caesar's description of the Gauls.]

[Footnote 393: Gen. xxi. 33.]

[Footnote 394: The worship and religious ceremonies of the druids have formed the subject of many and voluminous dissertations; and the mistletoe, from its connection with their sacred rites, is a plant that has always been interesting to antiquaries. In a letter recently received by the editor from the learned and scientific Professor of Botany, Dr. Daubeny, of Magdalen College, Oxford, that gentleman observes, that though the mistletoe is occasionally found on the oak in Britain, yet this occurs so rarely that it is difficult to suppose the druids could have got a supply for their purposes from such a source.

"There is a plant nearly allied to the mistletoe, the Loranthus Europaeus, which grows freely on the oak, when it occurs; but unfortunately the most western locality known is the garden of Schoenbrunn near Vienna, but out of the limits, I believe, within which the druidical worship existed: it is very uncommon in Hungary.

"This circumstance has given rise to an hypothesis, which I may repeat without attaching to it any very great importance, namely, that the Loranthus is the mistletoe of the druids, and that when the druidical worship was exterminated, this plant, as being introduced into their rites, was extirpated from all those parts of Europe, where the druids were known."

The oak among the ancient Britons was peculiarly sacred as the place of worship, and consequently branches of this tree were used to adorn the altar, and garlands of its leaves to decorate the priest or druid; and the mistletoe, being so seldom found on the oak, was considered so great and desirable an appendage, that no solemn festival was held without it. It has been observed by naturalists that the blossom of the mistletoe falls within a few days of the summer solstice, and the berry within a few days of the winter solstice. These incidents therefore marked the return of two of the usual seasons for holding the bardic conventions and festivals. When the sacrifice was over, the berries of this plant were taken by the ovate, the physician of the tribe, and converted to medical purposes. That these berries possessed medicinal virtues can hardly be doubted. The following passage respecting this sacred plant occurs in Bacon:--"Mistletoe groweth chiefly upon crab trees, apple trees, sometimes upon hazels, and rarely upon oaks; the mistletoe whereof is counted very medicinal. It is ever green, winter and summer, and beareth a white glistening berry: and it is a plant utterly differing from the plant on which it groweth."

Sir John Colbach published a Dissertation on the efficacy of the mistletoe in 1720; but in medicine, as in fashion, what is deemed of high value in one age is discontinued in the next, and thought nothing of. Such is the fate of the mistletoe in the present day as to any medicinal use that is made of it.]

[Footnote 395: As the plough was fastened to the horns of the beasts, this expression signifies that the animal had never been employed in labour.

The doctrine of the druids is said to have been first invented in Britain, and from thence carried into Gaul; on which account Pliny says (in his thirtieth book), "But why should I commemorate these things with regard to an art which has passed over the sea, and reached the bounds of nature? Britain even at this time celebrates it with so many wonderful ceremonies, that she seems to have taught it to the Persians." Julius Caesar affirms the same in his Commentaries: "And now those persons who wish to acquire a more extensive knowledge of such things, repair to Britain for information."

It is a singular coincidence of circumstances that bulls perfectly white were sacrificed by the Egyptians to Apis. When such an animal was found unblemished, and without a single black hair, the priest tied a fillet about his horns, and sealed it with the signet of his ring; it being a capital crime to sacrifice one of these animals except it was thus marked.--_Herodotus._]

[Footnote 396: According to the Welsh antiquaries, these distinctions are erroneous. The druidical, or rather bardic, system consisted of three classes: the bard proper, whose province was philosophy and poetry; the druid, or minister of religion; and the ovate, or mechanic and artist. For a curious account of the bardic system and institutions the reader is referred to the Introduction to Owen's Translations of the Elegies of Llywarch Hen.]

CHAP. V.

1. This island is rich in corn and wood, is well adapted for the maintenance of flocks and cattle, and in some places produces vines. It also abounds with marine and land birds, and contains copious springs, and numerous rivers, stored with fish, and plentifully supplied with salmon and eels.

2. Sea-cows or seals,[397] and dolphins are caught, and whales, of which mention is made by the satirist:

"Quanto delphinis balaena Britannica major."

3. There are besides several sorts of shell-fish, among which are muscles, containing pearls often of the best kind, and of every colour: that is, red, purple, violet, green (_prasini_), but principally white, as we find in the venerable Bede's Ecclesiastical History.

4. Shells[398] are still more abundant, from which is prepared a scarlet dye of the most beautiful hue, which never fades from the effect of the sun or rain, but becomes finer as it grows older.

5. In Britain are salt and warm springs, from which are formed hot baths, suited to all ages, with distinct places for the two sexes.[399]

6. White lead is found in the midland regions, and iron in the maritime, but in small quantities gold and silver are also produced, but brass is imported. Jet of the purest quality abounds; it is of a shining black, and highly inflammable.[400] When burned, it drives away serpents, and when warmed by friction attracts bodies, like amber.

7. Britain being situated almost under the north pole, the nights are so light in summer, that it is often doubtful whether the evening or morning twilight prevails; because the sun, in returning to the east, does not long remain below the horizon. Hence, also, according to Cleomenes, the longest day in summer, and the longest night in winter, when the sun declines towards the south, is eighteen hours; and the shortest night in summer, and day in winter, is six hours. In the same manner as in Armenia, Macedon, Italy, and the regions under the same parallel, the longest day is fifteen, and the shortest nine hours.

8. But I have given a sufficient account of Britain and the Britons in general. I shall now descend to particulars; and in the succeeding pages, shall describe the state and revolutions of the different nations who inhabited this island, the cities which ennobled it, with other particulars, and their condition under the Roman dominion.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 397: We do not find that Pennant mentions, among the amphibious animals, the _Vituli Marini_, by which Richard probably meant seals.]

[Footnote 398: Richard calls these shells _Cochleae_, or snails, though he probably alludes to the species styled by naturalists _Murea_, which contained the famous Tyrian purple, so much valued by the ancients. Yet, whatever our island may have formerly produced, we discern no traces in later ages, of any testaceous animal yielding a purple or scarlet dye.]

[Footnote 399: Richard here doubtless principally alludes to Bath, the Aquae Solis of the ancients.]

[Footnote 400: This substance appears to have been wrought into ornaments for the person. In the barrows, jet beads of a long elliptical form were found, together with others of amber, and a coarse blue glass.]

CHAP. VI.

1. Britain, according to the most accurate and authentic accounts of the ancients, was divided into seven parts, six of which were at different times subjected to the Roman empire, and the seventh held by the uncivilized Caledonians.

2. These divisions were called Britannia Prima, Secunda, Flavia, Maxima, Valentia, and Vespasiana, which last did not long remain under the power of the Romans. Britannia Prima is separated by the river Thamesis from Flavia, and by the sea[401] from Britannia Secunda. Flavia begins from the German Ocean, is bounded by the Thamesis,[402] by the Sabrina,[403] on the side of the Silures and Ordovices, and trends towards the north and the region of the Brigantes.[404] Maxima, beginning at the extreme boundary of Flavia, reaches to the wall,[405] which traverses the whole island, and faces the north. Valentia occupies the whole space between this wall and that built by the emperor Antoninus Pius, from the estuary of the Bdora[406] to that of the Clydda.[407] Vespasiana stretches from the estuary of the Bdora to the city of Alcluith,[408] from whence a line drawn to the mouth of the Varar[409] shows the boundary. Britannia Secunda faces the Irish Sea to the north and west. But sufficient notice has now been taken of the provinces.

3. Before we proceed to a more minute description, let us touch upon the form of government. In remote times all Britain was divided among petty princes and states, some of whom are said to have existed after the country was occupied by the Romans; though, under the Roman domination, they retained scarcely the shadow of regal authority. A legate being appointed by the emperor over the conquered countries, Britain became a proconsular province. This form of government continued several ages, although in the meantime the island underwent many divisions, first into the Upper and Lower districts, and then, as we have before shown, into seven parts. It afterwards became the imperial residence of Carausius and those whom he admitted to a share of his power. Constantine the Great, the glory and defence of Christianity, is supposed to have raised Maxima and Valentia to consular provinces, and Prima, Secunda, and Flavia, to praesidials. But over the whole island was appointed a deputy-governor, under the authority of the praetorian prefect of Gaul. Besides whom, an ancient volume, written about that period, mentions a person of great dignity, by the title of _comes_, or count of the Britons, another as count of the Saxon coast, and a third as leader or duke of Britain; with many others, who, although possessed of great offices, must be passed over in silence, for want of certain information.[410]

4. I now commence my long journey, to examine minutely the whole island and its particular parts, and shall follow the footsteps of the best authors. I begin with the extreme part of the first province, whose coasts are opposite Gaul. This province contains three celebrated and powerful states, namely, Cantium, Belgium, and Damnonium, each of which in particular I shall carefully examine.

First of Cantium.

5. Cantium,[411] situated at the extremity of Britannia Prima, was inhabited by the Cantii, and contains the cities of Durobrobis[412] and Cantiopolis,[413] which was the metropolis, and the burial-place of St. Augustine, the apostle of the English; Dubrae,[414] Lemanus,[415] and Regulbium[416] garrisoned by the Romans; also their primary station Rhutupis,[417] which was colonized and became the metropolis, and where a haven was formed capable of containing the Roman fleet which commanded the North Sea. This city was of such celebrity that it gave the name of Rhutupine to the neighbouring shores; which Lucan,

"Aut vaga quum Thetis Rhutupinaque littora fervent."

From hence oysters of a large size and superior flavour were sent to Rome, as Juvenal observes,

"Circaeis nata forent, an
Lucrinum ad saxum, RHUTUPINOVE edita fundo
Ostrea, callebat primo deprendere morsu."

It was the station of the second Augustan legion, under the count of the Saxon coast, a person of high distinction.

6. The kingdom of Cantium is watered by many rivers. The principal are Madus[418], Sturius,[419] Dubris,[420] and Lemanus,[421] which last separates the Cantii from the Bibroci.

7. Among the three principal promontories of Britain, that which derives its name from Cantium[422] is most distinguished. There the ocean, being confined in an angle, according to the tradition of the ancients, gradually forced its way, and formed the strait which renders Britain an island.

8. The vast forest called by some the Anderidan, and by others the Caledonian, stretches from Cantium a hundred and fifty miles, through the countries of the Bibroci and the Segontiaci, to the confines of the Hedui. It is thus mentioned by the poet Lucan:--

"Unde Caledoniis fallit turbata Britannos."

9. The Bibroci[423] were situated next to the Cantii, and, as some imagine, were subject to them. They were also called Rhemi, and are not unknown in record. They inhabited Bibrocum,[424] Regentium,[425] and Noviomagus,[426] which was their metropolis. The Romans held Anderida.[427]

10. On their confines, and bordering on the Thames, dwelt the Atrebates,[428] whose primary city was Calleba.[429]

11. Below them, nearer the river Kunetius,[430] lived the Segontiaci,[431] whose chief city was Vindonum.[432]

12. Below, towards the ocean, and bordering on the Bibroci, lived the Belgae,[433] whose chief cities were Clausentum,[434] now called Southampton; Portus Magnus;[435] Venta,[436] a noble city situated upon the river Antona. Sorbiodunum[437] was garrisoned by the Romans. All the Belgae are Allobroges, or foreigners, and derived their origin from the Belgae and Celts. The latter, not many ages before the arrival of Caesar, quitted their native country, Gaul, which was conquered by the Romans and Germans, and passed over to this island: the former, after crossing the Rhine, and occupying the conquered country, likewise sent out colonies, of which Caesar has spoken more at large.[438]

13. All the regions south of the Thamesis[439] were, according to ancient records, occupied by the warlike nations of the Senones. These people, under the guidance of their renowned king Brennus, penetrated through Gaul, forced a passage over the Alps, hitherto deemed impracticable, and would have razed proud Rome, had not the fates, which seemed like to carry the republic in their bosom, till it reached its destined height of glory, averted the threatened calamity. By the cackle of a goose Manlius was warned of the danger, and hurled the barbarians from the capitol, in their midnight attack. The same protecting influence afterwards sent Camillus to his assistance, who, by assailing them in the rear, quenched the conflagration which they had kindled, in Senonic blood, and preserved the city from impending destruction. In consequence of this vast expedition, the land of the Senones,[440] being left without inhabitants, and full of spoils, was occupied by the above-mentioned Belgae.

14. Near the Sabrina and below the Thamesis lived the Hedui,[441] whose principal cities were Ischalis[442] and Avalonia.[443] The baths,[444] which were also called Aquae Solis, were made the seat of a colony, and became the perpetual residence of the Romans who possessed this part of Britain. This was a celebrated city, situated upon the river Abona, remarkable for its hot springs, which were formed into baths at a great expense. Apollo and Minerva[445] were the tutelary deities, in whose temples the perpetual fire never fell into ashes, but as it wasted away turned into globes of stone.

15. Below the Hedui are situated the Durotriges, who are sometimes called Morini. Their metropolis was Durinum,[446] and their territory extended to the promontory Vindelia.[447] In their country the land is gradually contracted, and seems to form an immense arm which repels the waves of the ocean.

16. In this arm was the region of the Cimbri,[448] whose country was divided from that of the Hedui by the river Uxella.[449] It is not ascertained whether the Cimbri gave to Wales its modern name, or whether their origin is more remote. Their chief cities were Termolus[450] and Artavia.[451] From hence, according to the ancients, are seen the pillars of Hercules, and the island Herculea[452] not far distant. From the Uxella a chain of mountains called Ocrinum extends to the promontory known by the same name.

17. Beyond the Cimbri the Carnabii inhabited the extreme angle of the island,[453] from whom this district probably obtained its present name of Carnubia (Cornwall). Their chief cities were Musidum[454] and Halangium.[455] But as the Romans never frequented these almost desert and uncultivated parts of Britain, their cities seem to have been of little consequence, and were therefore neglected by historians; though geographers mention the promontories Bolerium and Antivestaeum.[456]

18. Near the above-mentioned people on the sea-coast towards the south, and bordering on the Belgae Allobroges, lived the Damnonii, the most powerful people of those parts; on which account Ptolemy assigns to them all the country extending into the sea like an arm.[457] Their cities were Uxella,[458] Tamara,[459] Voluba,[460] Cenia,[461] and Isca,[462] the mother of all, situated upon the Isca. Their chief rivers were the Isca,[463] Durius,[464] Tamarus,[465] and Cenius.[466] Their coasts are distinguished by three promontories, which will be hereafter mentioned. This region was much frequented by the Phoenician, Grecian, and Gallic merchants, for the metals with which it abounded, particularly for its tin. Proofs of this may be drawn from the names of the above-mentioned promontories, namely Hellenis,[467] Ocrinum,[468] and [Greek: Kriou metopon][469] as well as the numerous appellations of cities, which show a Grecian or Phoenician derivation.

19. Beyond this arm are the isles called Sygdiles,[470] which are also denominated Oestromenides and Cassiterides.

20. It is affirmed that the emperor Vespasian fought thirty battles with the united forces of the Damnonii and Belgae. The ten different tribes who inhabited the south banks of the Thames and Severn being gradually subdued, their country was formed into the province of Britannia Prima, so called because it was the first fruit of victory obtained by the Romans.

21. Next in order is Britannia Secunda, which is divided from Britannia Prima by the countries already mentioned, and from the Flavian province by the Sabrina[471] and the Deva;[472] and the remaining parts are bounded by the internal sea. This was the renowned region of the Silures,[473] inhabited by three powerful tribes. Among these were particularly distinguished the Silures Proper, whom the turbid estuary of the Severn divides from the country we have just described. These people, according to Solinus, still retain their ancient manners, have neither markets nor money, but barter their commodities, regarding rather utility than price. They worship the gods, and both men and women are supposed to foretell future events. 22. The chief cities of the Silures were, Sariconium,[474] Magna,[475] Gobanium,[476] and Venta[477] their capital. A Roman colony possessed the city built on the Isca,[478] and called after that name, for many years the station of the second or Augustan legion, until it was transferred to the Valentian province, and Rhutupis.[479] This was the primary station of the Romans in Britannia Secunda.

23. The country of the Silures was long powerful, particularly under Caractacus, who during nine years withstood the Roman arms, and frequently triumphed over them, until he was defeated by Ostorius, as he was preparing to attack the Romans. Caractacus, however, escaped from the battle, and in applying for assistance to the neighbouring chieftains was delivered up to the Romans, by the artifices of a Roman matron, Cartismandua, who had married Venutius, chief of Brigantia. After this defeat the Silures bravely defended their country till it was overrun by Veranius, and being finally conquered by Frontinus, it was reduced into a Roman province under the name of Britannia Secunda.