862 



WALDIS WALES. 



dom, were treacherously attacked in lf>55, by 

 monks and soldiers, treated with brutal cruelty, 

 and many shamefully murdered. The rest of their 

 male population took up arms ; and their bravery, 

 aided by the mediation of the Protestant powers, 

 finally procured them a new, though more limited 

 ratification of their freedom by the treaty concluded 

 at Pignerol, August 18, 1655. New oppressions, 

 in 1664, gave rise to a new contest and treaty. 

 The persecution exercised in 1685, through French 

 influence, obliged thousands to emigrate into Pro- 

 testant countries. In London, they united with 

 the French Huguenots; in the Netherlands, with 

 the Walloons; in Berlin, with the French congre- 

 gations; nearly 2000 went to Switzerland. Some 

 of these returned by force to Piedmont, in 1689, 

 and, with those who had remained, maintained 

 themselves, under many oppressions, to which limits 

 were finally put, in 1725, in consequence of Prus- 

 sian mediation. 



The Waldenses now enjoy religious freedom 

 and civil rights in their old valleys of Lucerne, 

 Perusa, and St Martin, in western Piedmont, 

 where they have thirteen parishes, containing about 

 20,000 souls. Their church service is under the 

 direction of a synod. After long negociations, in 

 the way of which great difficulties were thrown by 

 the religious zeal of the Tubingen theologians, 

 several hundreds of the above-mentioned fugitives 

 settled in Wiirtemberg, in 1699, where their descen- 

 dants have ten parishes, and are 1600 in number. 

 They are next to the Calvinists in the simplicity 

 of their worship, and in their ecclesiastical consti- 

 tution, but in intellectual cultivation, they are be- 

 hind the other Protestants. In later times, Eng- 

 land and Prussia have afforded aid to the Walden- 

 ses. By contributions which they collected from 

 all Europe, in 1824, they erected an hospital. The 

 latest accounts of them were collected on the spot, 

 in 1823, by W. St Gilly, an English clergyman- 

 Narrative of an Excursion to the Mountains of 

 Piedmont, and Researches among the Vaudois, 

 Protestant Inhabitants of the Cottian Alps, &c. 

 (second edition, London, 1825, 4to.). Also see 

 Hugh Dyke Akland's Sketch of the History and 

 present Situation of the Waldenses in Piedmont 

 (London, 1826), and the same author's History of 

 the ylorious Return of the Vaudois to their Valley, 

 in 1689 (from the original accounts of their pastor, 

 H. Arnaud), with a Compendium of the History of 

 that People, &c. (London, 1827, 1 vol.). 



WALDIS, BURKARD. See Burkard Waldis. 



WALDST.&DTE (i. e. the Forest Towns), OR 

 VIERWALDST^EDTE (i. e. the Four Forest 

 Towns} ', a name given, in Switzerland, to the 

 four forest towns of Rheinfelden, Seckingen, 

 Waldshut, and Lauffenburg, which are a part of 

 the Black Forest. 



WALDST^DTERSEE. See Vierwaldstad- 

 tersee. 



WALDSTEIN-WARTEMBERG ; a Bohe- 

 mian family, known since the thirteenth century, 

 and from which sprung the famous Wallenstein. 

 There are at present two lines, with large posses- 

 sions, in Bohemia and Moravia, containing 90,000 

 inhabitants. The late Francis Adam, count of 

 Wallenstein, after having served in several wars, 

 travelled for seven years in Hungary, to study the 

 plants of the country, and published, in 1812, De- 

 scriptiones et Icones Plantarttm rariarum Hungarice 

 (Vienna, folio), which procured him the member- 

 chip of several learned societies. Wildenow called 



a plant, after him, Waldstenia, in his Species Plan- 

 tn rum Linncei. He died in I8i'.;. 



WALES ; a principality in the west of Great 

 Britain, washed on the north and west by the Irish 

 sea, and on the south and south-east by the British 

 channel. It is from 130 to 180 miles in length 

 from north to south, and from 50 to 80 in breadth, 

 comprising an area of 8125 square miles. It is 

 divided into North and South Wales, containing 

 twelve counties, Anglesey, Caernarvon, Denbigh, 

 Flint, Merioneth and Montgomery in the former, 

 and Brecknock, Cardigan, Caermarthen, Glamorgan, 

 Pembroke and Radnor in the latter division. The 

 general aspect of Wales is mountainous, affording 

 numerous views of wild scenery, interspersed with 

 delightful valleys. The Vale of Clwyd, in North 

 Wales, is not less remarkable for the noble pano- 

 rama of natural graces displayed in a length of 

 thirty miles, than for the verdure of its pastures 

 and the value of its grain harvests. This, however, 

 is the elysium of Wales. The Vale of Eideirnion 

 is also fruitful, but less extensive and less beauti- 

 ful ; and the Vale of the Conway is a grassy mead 

 of twenty miles in length, where excellent cattle 

 are reared. The loftiest summits in North Wales 

 are Snowdon (3579 feet), Plinlimmon (2463 feet), 

 and Cader Idris (3550 feet). Numerous small lakes 

 are scattered among the mountains ; and there are 

 several navigable rivers, such as the Severn, the 

 Coye, the Conway, the Towy, and the Dee. The 

 climate is colder than in England, and humid ; but 

 the air is, in general, salubrious, and the country 

 healthy. The Cambrian goat is found here in a 

 wild state ; and goat-hunting is a favourite diver- 

 sion of the people. The mineral kingdom is rich 

 in silver, copper, lead, iron and coal. The agri- 

 culture of Wales is, in general, much behind that 

 of England, though, of late years, the implements 

 of farming, and the management of the land, have 

 been much improved. The roads have also been, 

 until recently, in a bad state. The Ellesmere, 

 Montgomery, Brecknock, Cardiff, and other canals, 

 facilitate the internal intercourse. See Canals. 



The common Welsh still retain many peculiar 

 superstitions and customs, and, in many parts, their 

 peculiar language. The gentry, however, are, in 

 general, educated in England ; and the influence of 

 their example is gradually exterminating the old 

 Welsh peculiarities. Many remains of the ancient 

 literature are yet extant, and societies have been 

 formed for preserving such relics. (See Sard.') 

 The Welsh are descendants of the ancient Britons, 

 who, being driven out of England by the Anglo- 

 Saxons, took refuge in these fastnesses, or fled to 

 the continent of Europe, where they gave their 

 name to Brittany. (See Gael.) The Welsh lan- 

 guage is Celtic. (See Roberts's Cambrian popular 

 Antiquities, London, 1815), and Collectanea Cam- 

 brica. 



When Julius Caesar invaded Britain, B. C. 54, 

 the country included between the Severn and tin- 

 sea was called Cambria, and inhabited by the Si- 

 lures, Dimetae, and Ordovices. In a little time 

 the Romans extended hither their ambitious views, 

 and overpowering the aborigines, reduced their 

 little kingdom to a province, and gave it the name 

 of Britannia Secunda. In this territorial arrange- 

 ment, Monmouthshire and portions of other adjacent 

 English counties were annexed to Wales. Upon 

 the retirement of the Romans, intestine feuds con- 

 vulsed and rent this province for many years, and 

 its distraction was augmented by the frequent pre- 



