ROBERTS'S EARLY HISTORY OF THE CYMRY, OR ANCIENT BRITONS. 
age of the writer; which as an exposition is 
ot use, as it gives a distinct circumstance in 
the history, and one that is of importance.” 
Both in the middle and early ages, 
the Roman ideas probably prevailed at 
‘the extremities of their empire. The 
eastern and the western world, separated 
from each other by the Euphrates, or the 
coast of Syria, and distinguished by the 
names of Asia and Europe, constituted 
the prominent, popular subdivisions of 
the earth. Whatever was not Iurepe 
was Asia, in the notion of the vulgar 
geographer; hence Pheenicians, with 
their long dresses, whether they came 
from Tyre, from Alexandria, trom Car- 
thage, or from Cadiz, would equally be 
described by a Welsh bard, as coming 
from Asia; that was the terra incognita, 
of which he had learnt the collective 
name. In the time of Taliesin, Tyre 
and Carthage were no more. Had the 
people he describes come from either of 
these cities, according to the records 
preserved, it is probable that he would 
substitute some extant, real and familiar 
name, toa name which he would sup- 
pose fictitious, because extinct ; it would 
not shock him to place a sea-port in Bo- 
hemia, or Tyre in Tirol; but he would 
take the most analogous and resembling 
known name, instead of the obscure 
name of his older authority; in short, 
he would change Carthage into Cadiz, 
and place this Gafis in Asia. ‘There are 
but two great cities, by the destruction 
of which the Pheenicians can have been 
driven to settle in Britain: Tyre and 
Carthage. It is more probable, that the 
latter should have given origin to the 
colony, of which so many vohsistent re- 
coids conspire to prove the migration, 
than the former; both because the Ty- 
rians are well known to have distributed 
themselves chieily among the Mediterra- 
nean sea-ports, and because Britam was 
ill-known at the time of the prosperity 
of Tyre. But, before the destruction 
of Carthage, it was already frequented 
by ships irom the Mediterranean; nor 
vas the distance from Cornwall to the 
traits, such as to alarm a colony of 
merchants. This is further corroborated 
_by the geography of the Triads, where 
we are told that the original settlers 
came from a summer country, called 
Deflrobani, which is evidently a corrup- 
tion of Africani, an assertion that they 
were Africans ; Africans from the Medi- 
terranean, where Constantinople is at 
present. 
229 
The following observations on the 
language of the iceni do not appear to 
us convincing : 
** Cunobeline, the next in succession, 
married Areddawg Foeddawg, daughter of 
the traitor Afarwy, the too well known Cars 
tismandua of Tacitus. Attached to the Ro- 
man interests, he appears to have favoured 
their views, and to have imitated them. ‘To 
this connection with the Romans he perhaps 
owed his knowledge of coining money; and 
to him the only coin that has a name pro- 
perly Welsh, owes its appellation; that is the 
Ceiniog or Denarius; which, there is no great 
risque in saying, was originally called Cunog, 
and softened afterwards into Ceiniog. It is 
at least the only probable etymology of the 
name I can find. The word Z'ascio, on the 
reverse of his coins, seems to be Gielic, or 
the dialect of the Logrians, and to signify the 
Mint or Treasury, as in the Irish the word 
Taisgish signifies hoarding, and Taisgiodan a 
store house of arms, &c. Armarium. Lhuyd 
As Cunobeline was king of thé Iceni, the in- 
ference is certainly that their language was 
the Gelic.” 
Why may it not be suspected, that the 
word Iceni is of the Gothic origin, sig- 
nifying oak-men ; either in the sense hearts 
of oak, or dwellers among caks? The word 
Coning, or king, and the word Tascio, 
purse or scrip, are as explicable in Go- 
thic as in Welsh; nor isthe name Cuno- 
belin unlike Kvhn-bald,soon bold. There 
are su few traces on the Saxon shore, or 
eastern coast of any British or Celtic po- 
pulation, that strong proofs must be ex- 
acted from the antiquary, who would 
have us believe that Welsh was ever 
spoken there. 
A very interesting illustration of St. 
Paul’s second Epistle to Timothy occurs: 
it appears that the Claudia of scripture 
vas a relation of Caractacus. 
«© When this hero went to battle, says the 
Triad, ‘none would stay at home. They 
followed him freely, and maintained them- 
selves at their own expence. Unsolicited 
and unsoliciting they crowded to his stand- 
ard.’ "Triad 79. Such was the.admiration of 
the character, on which adversity in the ex- 
treme could alone throw greater lustre. 
«* Disastrous as the fate of Caractacus was 
to Britain at the time, HE whose providence 
brings good out of evil, made his family, even 
in their captivity, a blessing to their country. 
His family, captives in Rome, there learned 
the great truths newly revealed to mankind ; 
and Bran his father returning to Britain, 
after seven years captivity, as an hostage for 
his son, first published them here, ‘riad 33. 
A convert to the gospel, he became a refor- 
mer of the manners of his countrymen ; his 
name with the epithet Clessed annexed, is 
Q3 
