i G-R so I FOLK-LORE AND FOLK-STORIES OF WALES THE HISTORY OF PEMBROKESHIRE By the Rev. JAMES PHILLIPS Demy 8vo», Cloth Gilt, Z2l6 net {by post i2(ii), Pembrokeshire, compared with some of the counties of Wales, has been fortunate in having a very considerable published literature, but as yet no history in moderate compass at a popular price has been issued. The present work will supply the need that has long been felt. WEST IRISH FOLK- TALES S> ROMANCES COLLECTED AND TRANSLATED, WITH AN INTRODUCTION By WILLIAM LARMINIE Crown 8vo., Roxburgh Gilt, lojC net (by post 10(1j). Cloth Gilt,3l6 net {by posi 3lio% In this work the tales were all written down in Irish, word for word, from the dictation of the narrators, whose name^ and localities are in every case given. The translation is closely literal. It is hoped' it will satisfy the most rigid requirements of the scientific Folk-lorist. INDIAN FOLK-TALES BEING SIDELIGHTS ON VILLAGE LIFE IN BILASPORE, CENTRAL PROVINCES By E. M. GORDON Second Edition, rez'ised. Cloth, 1/6 net (by post 1/9). " The Literary World says : A valuable contribution to Indian folk-lore. The volume is full of folk-lore and quaint and curious knowledge, and there is not a superfluous word in it." THE ANTIQUARY AN ILLUSTRATED MAGAZINE DEVOTED TO THE STUDY OF THE PAST Edited by G. L. APPERSON, I.S.O. Price 6d, Monthly. 6/- per annum postfree, specimen copy sent post free, td. London : Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, E.C. FOLK-LORE AND FOLK- STORIES OF WALES BY MARIE TREVELYAN Author of "Glimpses of Welsh Life and Character," " From Snowdon to the Sea," " The Land of Arthur," *' Britain's Greatness Foretold," &c. INTRODUCTION BY E. SIDNEY HARTLAND, F.S.A. LONDON: ELLIOT STOCK 62, PATERNOSTER ROW, E.G. 1909 '#: PREFACE BRITISH mythology preserved by the ancient Druids, poems of the early bards, oral and written tradition, and legends, form the foundation- and corner-stones of the folk-lore and folk-stories of Wales. About two thousand, if not more, years before Christ the Druids of Britain taught the belief that the sun, moon, and stars had mysterious and mighty influences. Evidences of this are numerous in Wales, where Druidism, merging into Christianity, left many survivals in the form of May and Midsummer fire festivals and other periodical celebrations. Mingled with these was the primitive imagination that the elements, animals, birds, trees, flowers, plants, and herbs were semi-human, and capable of working out actions of pleasure and pain. The wind conveyed secrets, the waves had warning voices, trees whispered, animals and birds provided omens and tokens, while flowers, plants, and herbs had mystic attributes. With thunder, lightning, and storms the sorcerer and sorceress of old were supposed to be capable of destroying the enemies* hosts. With incantation and spell the wizard was enabled to per- form his mysteries of defence and revenge. In later times their descendant, the Dyn Hysbys, or wise man, had rare gifts and magnetic influence, and the witch was associated with magical and uncanny deeds. Many centuries reveal superstitions without a break, and here and there remnants of the Roman, the Saxon, the Dane, and the Norman are traced in the folk-lore and folk-stories of the Princi« pality. Arthurian romance, mediaeval monkish influence, and puritanical severity can be clearly identified in the lore so late as the seventeenth, eighteenth, and first half of the nineteenth cen- turies. That additions are unconsciously being made is evident, 362908 vi PREFACE for the umbrella, the German band, and the locomotive are among later contributions. iMuch of the folk-lore and many of the folk-stories, which formed a valuable contribution to the early history and condition of the Welsh people, survived the itinerary of Wesley in Wales, and were preserved by the oldest inhabitants, who considered it reverential to prayerfully assist in the laying of ghosts, the con- founding of malign spirits, and the exorcism of evil-doers. During the religious revival of the fifties of the nineteenth century the lore and stories were regarded as gross superstitions, and were held in abeyance, but not wholly suppressed. Here and there families might be found holding these fragments as connecting-links between the past and the people of the day, who cherished loving memories of "... the touch of a vanished hand, And the sound of a voice that is still." Love for ancestral sayings and doings is strong in the Welsh temperament, and while the religious revival already mentioned doubtless purged and purified Wales of gruesome superstitions and coarse practices, the minds of men winnowed the bad from the good, and the fittest of the lore and stories survived. In later years it was not unusual to hear people who had taken prominent parts in the religious movement of that period relating, quite in a spirit of reverence, the stories told by their grandsires and grand- dames, always prefacing them with the intimation that, personally, they did " not believe in such things,'' adding, ** but my old grand- Ifather was a Christian and a truth-teller.*' Folk-stories are gradually diminishing, and in the present day can only be obtained from the very oldest inhabitants, or from private manuscripts and notebook collections. My late father's memory for the old stories told in his boyhood was reliable, and his collection of notes, taken from relatives and others, was very large. * All instances where the lore and stories are not attributed to infonnants, manuscripts, or printed sources, have been personally collected from old inhabitants, some of whom have passed away, while others still survive. It has not been my purpose to dissect the lore and trace it back to its original sources, or to embellish the stories, but just to present them in their simple form, as a contribution to. a fascinating section of the literature of Wales. PREFACE vii It is to be distinctly understood that the fairy-lore, fairy, giant, and dwarf stories of Wales have not been included in this work. They have a separate identity, and, if the present book finds favour among the lovers of folk-lore and of Wales, the genuine fairy-lore —of which the author has a large collection—^will form a subsequent volume. In conclusion, as a native of and resident in the Principality, I gratefully acknowledge my sincere appreciation of the invaluable suggestions, advice, and assistance so readily proffered and ren- dered to me by Mr. E. Sidney Hartland, the well-known and eminent folk-lorist, during the arrangement, classification, and revision of this book. His practical and indefatigable efforts to guide me in making the volume useful to students, and at the same time interesting to general readers, has been of the greatest pos- sible service, and for these I am deeply indebted to him. Mr. Hartland's knowledge and experience of these and kindred subjects are very far-reaching, and he placed both unreservedly at my disposal. The preparation of the work, which entailed laborious research, time, and patience, has proved exceedingly pleasant from a personal point of view, and I earnestly hope it will be equally agreeable to all those who value the quaint old lore and stories of Wales. MARIE TREVELYAN. INTRODUCTION following pages are .so full of interest to students THEof tradition, and to Welshmen, whether students or not, as well as to that omnivorous but capricious abstraction known as " the general reader,** that the question may well be put why it should be necessary that anybody should stand sponsor for them. To that question no answer is possible but that it was the wish of the author. Accordingly, though my qualifications for the task are small, I have undertaken with pleasure to write a few words by way of introduction. The folk-lore here brought together is primarily that of Glamorgan and the immediately surrounding districts, but it also includes much from other parts of Wales. Folk-lore already on record has, as a rule, been avoided, and only referred to incidentally and by way of illustration. The author has had special facilities for the work. Not merely is she herself a child of Wales, enthusiastically devoted to the memories and the lore of her people ; she has had the advantage of inheriting a manuscript collection made by her late father, to which have been added contributions from other members of her family on both sides. Living among the people, she has made it her business to seek out those who were best versed in tradition, and to take methodical notes of the in- formation they put at her disposal. The result, I venture to think, is a work which fills many a gap of the previous record, and helps us materially to an insight into the mind of bygone generations. The favourite music of the Welsh is commonly pitched in the minor key. In harmony with this, the most obvious note of the folk-lore embodied in the following collection will, I think, be found to be one of sombre mysticism. It pervades it all more or less, but naturally it is most insistent in the chapters on the Cwn Annwn, Corpse-Candles and Phantom Funerals, Death and Transfonnation. This note is essentially human. It is found in the traditional lore of most peoples—at any rate, of most peoples who have attained a relatively high degree X INTRODUCTION of civilization. But it may be thought to have been intensified in Wales by the religious revival of the eighteenth and nine- teenth centuries. A careful examination of the folk-lore of Scotland, and particularly of Brittany, will dispel any such suspicion.