$76 
my chaplyns or some other good 
preacher doe make a sermon, or 
read a lecture, tending to instruct 
men to the reverent and worthy re- 
ceiving of that holy and blessed sa- 
crament, And such as shall either 
willfullie refuse so to doe, or cauti- 
ously absent themselves of purpose, 
that good notice be taken of such 
by my counsell or officers, and my- 
selfe informed thereof, to give such 
further order therein as may stand 
for an eminent example and chas- 
tisement to such ungodly and unchris- 
tianlike disposition ; for the which = 
kinde of people my court shall be no 
shelter, nor my service any protec. 
tion. 
wlccount of Ancient Welsh Manu- 
scripts, in a Letter from William 
Owen, Esq. F. A. S. to the Rev. 
John Brand, Secretary: from the 
same. 
Sir, 
HAVE sent herewith, the two 
first volumes of the Archaiology 
of Wales, as an acknowledgment of 
my respect to the society ; the ar- 
chives-of which, are well adapted to 
secure the longest duration to a copy 
of the work, which is of a character 
that requires some precaution of this 
kind*, 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1803. 
The contents of the Archaiology | 
of Wales are derived from various 
tollections of old manuscripts, pre- 
served, for the most part, within the. 
principality; sources but little 
known to the inquisitive antiquary. ; 
sources of which even the existence 
hath been doubted by the candid 
literati ; and, I may add, of course 
denied by the captious, ever more 
indulgent to their own prejudices, 
than anxious to investigate’ the — 
truth. But such must unavoidably 
be the case with respect to a people 
so circumstanced as we are in Wales, 
insulated from the nation, at large, 
by the barrier of a peculiar lan- 
guage: for, in this language, is 
written every thing deemed worthy 
of preservation ; and, as none study 
it but ourselves, the whole remains, 
generally speaking, unknown to the 
rest of the world. ei 
There are some instances, indeed, 
of a few articles having been pre- 
sented to the public, through the 
medium of translation, by those, 
whose partiality for the subject, 
hath enabled them to overcome the 
obstacles which, in their situation, 
thwarted very much their wishes to 
bestow proper attention to the stu- 
dy of the literary remains of their 
ancestors. But they came forward, 
in all that simplicity of heart that is 
the attendant of truth, without the 
precaution 
* The first of these volumes contains the Welsh poetry from the sixth century to 
the fourteenth. ‘The most ancient, or those preceding the tenth century, are ar- 
ranged under the title of Cynveirz.. The bards of the middle ages follow the for- 
mer, under the title of the Gogynveirz. 
the poets less ancient. 
These words imply the early poets and 
The second volume consists of the Triads, which are our ancient traditions, ar- 
yanged under that peculiar form; a form which I admit to be capricious, but 
which was probably used to fix them better in the memory. After these, are our 
genealogies of the founders of the British churches. Several ancient Welsh chro- 
nicles then follow. The others are genuine annals of Welsh history, in a plain sim- 
ple form, from the seventh to the thirteenth century, A life of Grufudd ab Cy- 
nan, who died in 1137, and written soon afterwards, follows ; and some ancient 
divisions of Wales close the volume. Other ancient documents of our nation are 
now printing. 
