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that the British Shastonians worshipped Pallas and had a 

 temple of Pallas. If Pal meant Pallas, then "Pall-a-dwr," 

 which should be "Pal-a-ddwr," would mean Pallas and Water 

 (nonsense) not the waters of Pallas : or if you took it as Pal-y- 

 dwr it would mean Pallas of Water (nonsense) and of what 

 " water ?" That of the Motcombe spring ? There is not, how- 

 ever, in Welsh lore any token of a worship of Pallas. Now, 

 I do not believe that a bird, Eagle (Eryr) foretold with a 

 voice of words, but Eryr (eagle) might be the name of a sooth- 

 sayer, or some one might have taken an augury from an eagle, 

 but the stronghold must have been built by some one, and his 

 name might have been " Ehun Stoutspear," and such a name 

 sounds of an olden time. Anno Mundi 3048 sounds too early 

 for a ready belief in its truth ; but then to see how many years 

 it was ere the year of our Lord we should learn how far back 

 the Bardic lore put the creation of the world. But the name 

 Caer Paladr is marked as the true name by the Saxon name, 

 Sceaftesbyrig, which is simply the British name turned into Saxon, 

 for Byrig is Caer, and Sceaft is Palacbr, and as the Saxons must 

 have heard the name from British lips it is pretty clear that 

 they found here a British population, and that their abode is 

 most likely to have been called "Caer Paladr," from the name 

 of the king. A.D. 871 King Alfred came to the throne, and he 

 founded at Shaft esbury an abbey or a nunnery, and set over it 

 as the first abbess his " medernesta-dehter," as he calls her his 

 midmost daughter, Ethelgede. By his will he leaves to his mid- 

 most daughter the Home (Manor) at Clear (King's Clear, Hants), 

 and at Cendefer (Chilton Candofer). He gives " thare 

 medemesta dehtere thare ham aet Clearan and aet Cendefer." 

 He also leaves to each of his three daughters a hundred pounds, 

 " and minre y'ldstan dehter and there medemestan " (Ethelgede) 

 "and thaere gingstan aelcum an hund pund." (To my oldest 

 daughter, and to the midmost, and to the youngest to each a 

 hundred pound), and in those days when a pound was a pound 

 weight of silver, and silver was of a far higher worth than it 

 now is, this was a fine legacy. Asser, Alfred's learned friend, 



