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the Lord; this would be a Norman custom, and the fact that it was only payable in certain places would point to this, that the Norman had not been able to introduce it universally. (2) In some places leyrwyt, that is, a payment by the locality for the unchastity of its females, was payable. The Black Book defines it as "emenda pro corruptione native". The curious part of this is that the payments varied in different localities, the usual sum is 2s. in the case of a maid, 1s. in other cases, but in some places it is less. (3) The service of working in the Lord's field, making his hay, reaping his corn, may or may not be Welsh. Another incident is curious from the phraseology; the tenants of certain places were bound to follow the Shrine of St. David wherever it was taken, some only so far that they could return the same night, others without restriction. The most noticeable point is that David is never called Saint, "Sanctus", the term used by Latin ecclesiastics for a person regularly canonized, but always "Beatus", Blessed, the term used for a reputed, not a canonized, Saint.

The Shrine and Relics are constantly spoken of, so that the usually received idea that the Shrine and Relics were part of the plunder of the Danes does not seem to have been received as a fact in the 14th century.

The record shows that a great deal of land was held by tenants in common, obviously a trace of the old tribal ownership. The entries that some one, usually a Welshman, with his co-owner "compocionaris", holds certain land, are very numerous, thus showing that the Normans treated the old tribal joint ownership as what the Norman lawyer called a tenancy in

common.

Food rents seem to have been very common, another instance of tribal survivorship.

The record contains numerous points of interest, especially as throwing light on Welsh customs and the way the Norman tenures were introduced, not so much by direct change, as by applying Norman law to the existing state of things; and reading the customs in the light of Norman rules thus, joint owners

would be joint tenants, contributions for the support of the tribe would be rents payable to the Lord.

It would be occupying too much space to quote other matters, but it seems to me that the record will be a very important contribution to Welsh history, for the reasons above stated. There had just been time enough for Edward the First's legislation to make itself felt, and this record shows the results of such laws as the Statute of Wales.

Another curious point is worth notice; so far as I have gone there is no mention of tithes as part of the property of the Bishop; it is, perhaps, not right to draw any inference until the whole MS. is before me, but so far it forms a very remarkable feature. A comparison of the MS. with the Valor of Pope Nicholas also brings out some interesting results as to the property of Welsh ecclesiastical bodies.

About a quarter of the book is now translated, the whole is transcribed, and I hope to get it all translated shortly; there will then be the collation with the different MSS. and various other matters to be done. The work is much heavier than I was led to expect at the beginning, and it seems to me it would be a pity not to have it done as well as possible. I do not, therefore, think it will be possible, at the earliest, to get it published before the end of next year, if then. But I am sure of this, that when it is published the Society will find it is a most important contribution to Welsh historical literature.

December 13th, 1894.

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JOHN BURRELL, ELLIS W. DAVIES,

By Rent, Insurance, etc.

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£491 12 3

Auditors.

H. LLOYD ROBERTS, Treasurer.

E. VINCENT EVANS, Secretary

TRANSACTIONS

OF THE

Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion.

SESSION 1893-94.

THE ANCIENT CHURCH IN WALES.'

BY SIR ROLAND LOMAX VAUGHAN-WILLIAMS,
One of Her Majesty's Judges.

THE subject upon which I propose to address you this evening is, "The Ancient Church in Wales." It is not without some doubt and hesitation that I have selected this subject. It is a subject upon which I felt that one might easily be tempted to give one's observations a political tone, which would not be suitable in an address to a learned society, such as your Society. I will, however, try and avoid this danger, and take care that my observations exhibit no political bias.

The choice of a subject was, I assure you, not easy. I could not suppose, when you did me the honour to invite me to address you, that you expected me by my address to add anything to the stores of learning of this Society. I am, I regret to say, no antiquary or archæologist. I cannot offer to you the fruits of years spent in the study of the memorials of the past. I wish to approach you in the spirit in which the dedication by Mr. Probert, of his Translation of the Ancient Laws of Cambria, is written. The

The Inaugural Address of the Session, delivered 10th January 1894, at No. 20, Hanover Square. Chairman, the Right Hon. Sir Geo.

Osborne Morgan, Bart., M.P.

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terms of it are a little more overstrained than you would meet now-a-days; but the spirit is right enough, and I should like to quote it to you. It runs thus:—

"Gentlemen,-A descendant of the old Silurians presents himself before you with becoming deference, and very respectfully dedicates his Translation of The Welsh Laws to your patronage. You, gentlemen, have set a noble example of patriotism and true greatness. The efforts you are making to recover the precious literary productions of our beloved country from decay and oblivion demand the thanks of every Welshman, and I hope that the praiseworthy example you have exhibited will rouse the dormant spirit of the great and affluent in the Principality, and induce them so to co-operate with you that the genius of Cambria may awake from the slumber of ages, and shake off that darkness and false taste which Gothic barbarity and tyranny imposed upon her, and re-assume her ancient splendour and greatness."

I, unfortunately, have no such valuable work to offer to you; but I have been most anxious, I assure you, to make the best offering to you which the means at my command allow, and this is the motive which has actuated me in the choice of a subject. What I did was this. From the moment I got your flattering invitation I have spent all my spare time in looking up Welsh subjects, with a view of choosing a suitable subject for my address. I thought of Welsh Laws at first. I looked at Probert's Laws of Ancient Cambria and at Lewis's Ancient Laws of Wales, and came to the conclusion that the subject was so difficult that I could not hope to say anything worth hearing about it after the study of a few weeks; besides, I found that Mr. Brynmôr Jones, who is far more competent to deal with the subject than I am, has recently addressed you upon Wherever I turned, whatever subject I looked up, I found, owing, no doubt, largely to the action of your Society, that every subject had been well and exhaustively written upon by able and learned men within the last few years. It occurred to me, therefore, that the best thing I could do was to select some popular historical subject and point out

it.

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