The Itinerary of Archbishop Baldwin through
Wales
by Geraldus Cambrensis
Book II
Chapter VI
Passage of Traeth Mawr and Traeth Bachan, and of
Nevyn, Carnarvon, and Bangor
We continued our journey over the Traeth Mawr,151
and Traeth Bachan,152
that is, the greater and the smaller arm of the sea, where
two stone castles have newly been erected; one called
Deudraeth, belonging to the sons of Conan, situated in
Evionyth, towards the northern mountains; the other named
Carn Madryn, the property of the sons of Owen, built on the
other side of the river towards the sea, on the head-land
Lleyn.153
Traeth, in the Welsh language, signifies a tract of sand
flooded by the tides, and left bare when the sea ebbs. We
had before passed over the noted rivers, the
Dissenith,154
between the Maw and Traeth Mawr, and the Arthro, between the
Traeth Mawr and Traeth Bachan. We slept that night at Nevyn,
on the eve of Palm Sunday, where the archdeacon, after long
inquiry and research, is said to have found Merlin
Sylvestris.155
Beyond Lleyn, there is a small island
inhabited by very religious monks, called Caelibes, or
Colidei. This island, either from the wholesomeness of its
climate, owing to its vicinity to Ireland, or rather from
some miracle obtained by the merits of the saints, has this
wonderful peculiarity, that the oldest people die first,
because diseases are uncommon, and scarcely any die except
from extreme old age. Its name is Enlli in the Welsh, and
Berdesey156
in the Saxon language; and very many bodies of saints are
said to be buried there, and amongst them that of Daniel,
bishop of Bangor.
The archbishop having, by his sermon
the next day, induced many persons to take the cross, we
proceeded towards Banchor, passing through
Caernarvon,157
that is, the castle of Arvon; it is called Arvon, the
province opposite to Mon, because it is so situated with
respect to the island of Mona. Our road leading us to a
steep valley,158
with many broken ascents and descents, we dismounted from
our horses, and proceeded on foot, rehearsing, as it were,
by agreement, some experiments of our intended pilgrimage to
Jerusalem. Having traversed the valley, and reached the
opposite side with considerable fatigue, the archbishop, to
rest himself and recover his breath, sat down on an oak
which had been torn up by the violence of the winds; and
relaxing into a pleasantry highly laudable in a person of
his approved gravity, thus addressed his attendants: "Who
amongst you, in this company, can now delight our wearied
ears by whistling?" which is not easily done by people out
of breath. He affirming that he could, if he thought fit,
the sweet notes are heard, in an adjoining wood, of a bird,
which some said was a woodpecker, and others, more
correctly, an aureolus. The woodpecker is called in French,
spec, and with its strong bill, perforates oak trees; the
other bird in called aureolus, from the golden tints of its
feathers, and at certain seasons utters a sweet whistling
note instead of a song. Some persons having remarked, that
the nightingale was never heard in this country, the
archbishop, with a significant smile, replied, "The
nightingale followed wise counsel, and never came into
Wales; but we, unwise counsel, who have penetrated and gone
through it." We remained that night at Banchor,159
the metropolitan see of North Wales, and were well
entertained by the bishop of the diocese.160
On the next day, mass being celebrated by the archbishop
before the high altar, the bishop of that see, at the
instance of the archbishop and other persons, more
importunate than persuasive, was compelled to take the
cross, to the general concern of all his people of both
sexes, who expressed their grief on this occasion by loud
and lamentable vociferations.
The Itinerary of Archbishop Baldwin through
Wales
by Geraldus Cambrensis
Chapter V
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