63t5 lietroJpeSl of Domcjit'c Liierature — Topographj and Antiquities. 



fffcnt lunguapcs. The mod valuable 

 ari', " On Che Organs of Pcifpiration in 

 Jflan!s," by M. IlKDwir;; and " Suwc 

 Malcriiih for the lUiiJirution of the Bo- 

 tankul Gto^raphi/ of thi- Soutli-wcJ'tcrn 

 vartfi of Europe," by PrDK'iTor Link. 



The fill} fcven voiiiiiu's ot' tlie " Cr- 

 ituir>e and Vnrcerfal Hi/ftem of Naturul 

 Hijiorij" appear lo be ii refpoctiible com- 

 pilation: tbc ("iibjc('Ms have been incthf)- 

 dically incorporated aiici ariaii{;c(l by the 

 3'',(iitorb of the Ihicyciopa'dia Londiiieti- 

 £i : and to the coni|jri.i!ed ;;ccoiints of" 

 the " Si/Jttma ^iiCurff," they have arided 

 iiif'ormution fVoin tbc latcll and belt 

 works in the dirterent brant bos ot'fcience. 



TOPOGKArilY AND A.NT/Q l'£TIES. 



One of" tiic mod Iplendid works w nich 

 have of late appeared on tlie ropop;rapliy 

 of Wales, is .Sir Rkiiaiip lloAivt's " (li/- 

 raldus Caiiiltreii/iii," elegantly printed in 

 two vobnnts fjuurto, and ilitilinued by 

 numerous engravings. (jyraldii>de liarri, 

 diftniguillied by the name of Caip.brenlis, 

 or tlie Cambrian, was born about the 

 year lliG, at the cuttle of Manorbcer in 

 Pombrokclliiri'. hy tiie tutliei-'s fide he 

 \v;ts of Norman ext^ju'don; by liis mo- 

 thcr'!i, preat-prantifon to Hbys-ap-'I'hc- 

 odore, Prince of Soiitii Wales. His early 

 education was good. Having linillied it 

 at I'ans, on returnins; to En^r'and about 

 117'2, lie entered into holy orders, 

 and obtained (>refernicnl, not only in 

 England liut in Wiiies. One of the firlt 

 obie<Ms of his attention was to redify the 

 abuffs which bad crept into the diocefe 

 of St. David's, for « hich purpofe, after 

 various c;omplaints, he vas appointed 

 leg,ate, by liicliard Archbifliop of Can- 

 terbury: anfl at the end of his legation, 

 was rewal■ded'^vith two pieces of prefer- 

 ment, the arehdoacojiry of Brecknock, 

 and a prebend of St. David's. IVorn this 

 time almoft to the end of bis life,tlie me- 

 ti'opobtan fee of St. David's appears to 

 have been tlie higheft oltject of his ambiti- 

 on, llemadoattemptsduring dilferenc va- 

 cancies to get elected to it, but the con- 

 nections of his family being holiile to the 

 interefts of England, and his temper be- 

 ing known for its ambition, tiie i'ucceirive 

 kings who were folieited for him appoar 

 to have (h-eadotJ placing liini upon the 

 opilcopal throne. His d'fappoiiitniont 

 in the (iril inllance determined iiim to 

 pafs another period of relidence at Paris : 

 after bis return from whence, he was ap- 

 pointed- V)y kmg Henry the fecond, in 

 1185, preceptor to hisfonJobii, \vhoinhe 

 accompanied to Ireland as his fecittary. 

 In Ireland lit iij>peari lo htive rel'ufed 



fomc of the iiighcft prefemicnts in the 

 church, and to have contented bin)felf 

 with collecting materials for two works, 

 on the Topography and Cmiqucll of 

 the Country. In 1187 he became an 

 enthufudtic encournger of the cnifades ; 

 and when liuldwin, archbilliop of Can- 

 terliury, was font upon the holy niilhoii 

 through Wales, not oidy enlilied under 

 the confecrated banners liiiid'elf, but 

 gained numerous proielytcs by his elo- 

 quence. The plea of age and poverty, 

 however, gained abfolution botii for Jiim- 

 felf and the bilhop of St. David's, from 

 tlie vow which each had niad'i to go to 

 the Holy Land : and the only fniit of that 

 ciithiiliaftic /cal which carried him in 

 company with the archbilliop through 

 the Principality, was tiie Itincrurij 

 through Wales, a tranllalion of wiiichis 

 here, for the full time, prefented to the 

 public by Sir Richard Iloare. In lUIQ, 

 Oyraldus attended Henry the Second on 

 his military exjK'dition into France: but 

 On the dcatii of tir.it prince he returned 

 to England, and on the departure of 

 Kichardfor the Holy fand, was appointed 

 couiljutor to William de Longchamp, bi- 

 fliop of P.ly, in the regency of the king- 

 dom. Ditiippointed in tiie cxpcWation 

 of preferment, lie once more devoted 

 himfolf to the puifuit of literature, anti 

 retired for fix years to Ijneoln, wiicre he 

 iludie<i theology under William de Monte, 

 chancellor of the diocelt-. In 1199, 

 tliough at firlt patronifcd by John him-, 

 fclf, he was again frullrated in the attain- 

 ment of hi.-i favourite promotion. Gyraldus 

 was acknowledged bidiop by the election 

 of the Chapter, but tiiougli he profecutcd 

 his canle at Rome, both with eloquence 

 p.nd vigour, his competitor for the fee of 

 St. David's foiiiui little ditiiculty in fuc- 

 ceediiig at a court where all things were 

 veiird. Gyrabiiis himleif only prefented 

 the Pope witii iiis works. Alter a tedi- 

 ous litigation of live years, and three fuc- 

 celiivc journeys to Italy, at a conlidcrabio 

 expencc. Innocent the Third pafled a de- 

 finitive feiuence, and declared his elec- 

 tion null. Sometime after this he re- 

 figned Ins archdeaconry and prebend to 

 his nephew, and })aiicd the lali feventeen 

 years of liis lite in Wales; employed in 

 reviling his former literary works, and in 

 coinpoliu'.: others, of wliicii helms himfclf 

 given a copious index. In the luicill of 

 tliefe avocations, he received once more 

 an otlcrof his favourite bilhopric, but from 

 tilt* ddliononrable terms on wliicii it was 

 piolfcred, -he rcfufed the ncceptance -fif 

 it ; and died at St. David's in tlie feventy- 



tbuvth 



