378 THE president's address. 



been two at least, we have a meagre account in the Legend of 

 of SS. Fingar and Piala, and in the notes of Leland from 

 other Legends now lost. 



But that there was an invasion on a much larger scale of 

 the North-east of Cornwall and of North Devon is most 

 probable, but of it we possess not even the most meagre detail. 



Brecknock was but a basin between lofty and desolate 

 mountains, and could not satisfy the aspirations of a number of 

 princelings, nor that of the horde of L'ish who had come over 

 with Aulac and settled down on the land they had conquered. 



The Brychan family was allied by marriage with that of 

 Grwent ; and the kingdom of Gwent was parcelled up among a 

 number of princes with prospect of further subdivision. 



The north coast of Cornwall, if somewhat wind-swept and 

 bleak, had its fertile coombes, and it attracted the eyes of these 

 half Irish, half Welsh princes of Brecknock and Gwent, and 

 they descended on and occupied all the district mentioned. 



As I said before, there is no historical record of this 

 invasion, for unhappily the Cornish have preserved no historical 

 records whatever of their past. We conclude that this took 

 place, in the first place, because of the dedications of the 

 churches, all, or nearly all, to brothers, sisters, and cousins 

 belonging to the royal houses of Gwent and Brecknock. In the 

 second place this district shews us camps of the peculiar construc- 

 tion adopted by the Irish Goidels. The Brythonic Celt was not a 

 builder in stone. Wattle and dab were his material. He threw 

 up earthworks, but not stone caerau. The Goidel, however, had 

 learned to manipulate stone from the Ivernian native whom he 

 had subdued and with whom he had mingled his blood. We 

 have at Carn Bre, at Whittor on Dartmoor, and at the Cheese- 

 wring, also at Helsborough, camps that are Goidelic, but whether 

 as late as the period of this 5th century invasion is uncertain. 

 What is more to the point is the existence of Oghams in East 

 Cornwall and Devon, and Oghams are only found there, in 

 South Wales, in that part of North Wales which was for some 

 time in the possession of the Irish, and in Ireland itself . Again 

 another point. The inscribed stones belonging to this district 

 bear Goidelic names, Maceodechet, Dobunnus Enobarri, 



