200 
A LOCAL HISTORICAL LEGEND. 
The county of Brecon derives its present name from Prince Brychan, who 
ruled in this district A.D. 400, and who died in 450, or thereabouts. This part of 
the Principality of Wales was called from him the land of Brychan, or in the 
language of the country Brechiniauc, Brechiniowy, Brechinioc, or Brecheiniog, 
according to the orthography, or fashion, prevailing at different periods of 
history. The more ancient name of the county was Garthmadryn (meaning 
Foxcliff, or Foxhold), but this is only now mentioned to state that Trwdrig, the 
last ruler of Garthmadryn had one only daughter, Marchella, whom he sent over — 
to Ireland to avoid a dangerous pestilence that was raging in the Principality at 
that period. He sent her in great state, though the emergency was so sudden. 
There were 300 men to protect her, and twelve honourable maidens to wait upon 
her, and intelligence of her approach was forwarded to Ireland. How they 
crossed the channel, history sayeth not, but on their arrival, Aulac, the son of 
Gormace, the king of the country, met her with a princely train. He was at once 
smitten with her beauty, soon married her, and made honourable provision for 
her twelve maidens by giving them also in marriage to lords of his country. 
Brychan Brecheiniog was the son of this marriage, and he was brought, as had 
been previously arranged, into the Principality to be educated and to rule. That 
learned work, Jones’s ‘‘ History of Brecknock” (to which this paper is greatly 
indebted), states that there are at least seven or eight pedigrees of Prince 
Brychan most skilfully drawn out, but their interesting details and their many 
variations may not be entered into by a Saxon reader to a Saxon audience—but 
this is the less necessary since it is neither the history of Breconshire, nor the life 
and adventures of the prince that are now dealt with. It must suffice to say that 
Prince Brychan became a valiant, brave, and wise man, who overcame all 
obstacles opposed to him, and ruled so supreme in this portion of the Principality 
that it has ever after borne bis name. He married three wives and had a 
numerous progeny of sons and daughters, legitimate and illegitimate—some say as 
many as 40 sons and 26 daughters. Many of them embraced a religious life and 
became saints and saintesses (to keep the translation literal) of high celebrity, and 
what is quite certain is that many of the churches in the Principality, which exist 
at the present day, were dedicated to one or other of them. ** Quibus passim per 
Cambro-Britaniam,” says Giraldus, ‘‘templa et divorum et divaruin nomina 
inscribantur.” The name of Brychan’s wives and the names and good deeds of 
many of his sons and daughters are to be found variously given in the Welsh 
M.S. of Llewellyn Offeiriad, in the archives at Jesus College, Oxford; the 
Harleian MSS. in the British Museum, and at the Herald’s College, to which 
sources of information all those who may wish to study the details of the family 
history are respectfully referred. 
Tt should be stated, however, that several of them went to live in the 
counties of Devon and Cornwall; and some also went to Ireland, at that time 
renowned for its religious faith and teaching. Prince Brychan’s daughters 
became even more renowned than his sons, and each seems to haye surpassed the 
