(OR DIGOLL VYNYDD, MYNYDD HIR, THE LONG MOUNTAIN.) BY THE REV. GEORGE SANDFORD, M.A. CEFN DIGOLL, or the Long Mountain, about five miles from Montgomery, extends along the eastern border of Montgomeryshire from Chirbury to Alberbury, Co. Salop, and is an historic name intimately associated with the annals of Wales. Probably the earliest historical reference to this locality is to be found in the "Stanzas on the Graves of the Warriors of the Isle of Britain" (Myv. Arch.), where three warriors, whose achievements are now forgotten, are stated to have been buried here: "The graves in the Long Mountain— Multitudes well know it Are the graves of Gwrien Gwryd, Engwawd, and Llwyddawg, son of Lliwelydd.” There is also in the "Mabinogion" (vol. ii, pp. 379, 403), the following interesting allusion to Cefn Digoll: "And thence Iddawe took Rhonabwg behind him on his horse, and that mighty host moved forward, each troop in its order towards Cefn Digoll." Llywarch Hen, in his "Englynion y Gorwynion" (Stanzas on the Coruscants), also refers to it thus: "Very glittering are the hazel tops by the hill of Digoll; Every prudent one will be free from harm; "Tis the act of the mighty to keep a treaty." Here, also, occurred many a desperate fight between the Welsh under Cadwallon and their Saxon invaders in the seventh century. Llywarch Hen, whom we have already quoted, records that "The army of Cadwallon, the illustrious, Encamped on the top of the Mount of Digoll, For seven months, and seven skirmishes daily." The struggle culminated in that fierce and terrible conflict between Cadwallon and Edwin, King of Northumberland, which caused one of the three discolourings of the Severn recorded in the Triads, when that river was crimsoned with blood nearly from its source to its estuary. Besides this mountain, too, the genial hospitality of Owen Cyfeiliog, Prince of Upper Powys, celebrated in the bardic lays of Cynddelw, was freely dispensed. Lo! the chieftain's sparkling store, Prouder we near Havren's stream.' On this eminence, also, Owen Tudor, Earl of Richmond, afterwards Henry the Seventh, mustered the adherents who had undertaken to join his banner from North Wales and Shropshire; and not one failed of his promise, so that the mountain acquired a fresh title to its ancient name Digoll, "without fail". But Cefn Digoll chiefly interests us as being the scene of the discomfiture and capture of Madoc, the last champion of the nationality of Gwynedd; and on its summit, 1330 feet above the level of the sea, are the remains of an ancient encampment, called the Beacon Ring, the site of the disastrous conflict of the Welsh with Edward the First. English chronicles and records supply the scantiest material for ascertaining 1 The "Hirlas," or drinking horn. 2 c Hirvryn," the long mountain. 3 Ex. inf. Richard Williams, Esq., Newtown. the true history of the Welsh outbreak, which occurred in 1294-5, and has been usually designated the insurrection of Madoc. It is clear, however, that the disturbance was of no ordinary character. It operated to prevent King Edward's expedition to Guienne, and to cause his personal presence for more than half a year in Anglesea, North Wales, and the Marches. The leader of the patriotic host is differently spoken of, as son, illegitimate son, cousin, and relative of Llewelyn ap Griffith, the last Prince of North Wales. Madoc is reputed to be his son in the Montgomeryshire Collections, vol. ii, page 337, and in Eyton's Antiquities of Shropshire; but Llewelyn had no male heir, and the absence of male issue had much to do with the bringing over of his brother, Prince David, from the English interest to the ranks of the patriots. Madoc himself seems to have countenanced the delusive report of the paternity of the popular prince Llewelyn, as flattering to his vanity, and favourable to his ambitious designs. Nicholson, in his Cambrian Guide, speaks of Madoc as cousin of Llewelyn; but reliable historians, who might be expected to be accurate on such a point, such as Florence of Worcester, Powell, and Jane Williams, in their History of Cambria, and Pennant, in his Tour in North Wales, speak of him distinctly, as Madoc ap Maredudd. Doubtless, however, the leading chiefs of North Wales gave him their confidence and support, chose him as their leader, and regarded him in their struggle for freedom, as "Fairest flower of Roderick's stem, Gwynedd's shield and Britain's gem,”—Gray. and entertained feelings of indignation against the aggressive policy of Edward the First, in harmony with the malediction of the Cambrian Bard "Ruin seize thee, ruthless King, Confusion on thy banners wait! Though fann'd by Conquest's crimson wing, The immediate causes of the outbreak deserve our attention. The intrepid hearts of the Cymry, who had never crouched to a foreign yoke, could not brook the loss of their ancestral liberties, or endure the badges of Norman conquest in their hereditary strongholds of freedom. The rigour of taxation also was added to their grievances, and caused the smouldering embers of discontent to burst into a flame. The King' had commanded, in 1294, Reginald de Grey, Justiciary of Chester, and Robert de Staunton, Justiciary of North Wales, to lay a tax upon Gwynedd, towards defraying the charge of his wars in Gascony, and he sent Roger de Pulesdon down to collect the proceeds. Against this unprecedented and harsh impost, a formidable opposition was raised, which soon took the form of a provincial insurrection, under Madoc ap Maredudd, a kinsman of Llewelyn's race. The insurgents hanged several of the king's taxgatherers, and after having subjected Roger de Pulesdon to this degrading death, they beheaded his corpse. In the commotion which ensued, the town of Caernarvon was destroyed, and the legal authorities of the province were completely overpowered. At the same time, exactions of a similar nature occasioned serious disturbances in South-Western Wales, and induced the king, who had an army ready to go into Gascony, under the command of his brother Edmund, Earl of Lancaster, and Henry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, to countermand his order, and to require their immediate presence in North Wales. The army of the insurgents was skilfully led by Madoc to encounter the English, and on November 11, 1294, a battle took place near Denbigh, in which the royal forces incurred great loss, and sustained a signal defeat. Intent on retrieving this disaster, and on inspiring his troops with courage by his example, Edward speedily levied another army, and marched at its head into Gwynedd, and Madoc deemed it expedient to retire for awhile to his mountain-fastnesses, until fortune smiled on him again. The tides happened to be unusually high at that time, and King Edward succeeded with great difficulty in getting a part of his forces across the Conway. Madoc was too subtle a general not to take advantage of this mishap. He forthwith invested the king in his new castle, reduced him to extreme scarcity and distress, and slew, or otherwise caused the death of, one thousand of his followers. "Never was horde of tyrants met With bloodier welcome-never yet To patriot vengeance hath the sword More terrible libations pour'd."-Moore. This memorable achievement touched a responsive chord, which vibrated through the excited heart of Cambria. The air was rent with deafening acclamations. The men of Powys-land gathered round the champion of independence. The long-expected deliverer seemed to have come. In Madoc, the exulting patriots thought they beheld their great liberator, the avenger of all their wrongs, the redresser of their bitter grievances. Victory and triumph, and the waving folds of the red dragon were floating before the eyes of the jubilant sons of the Cymry. The days of Gwynedd's ancient glory were to be restored in tenfold splendour and lustre once more. The glowing predictions of Merlin were to be fulfilled, and Cambria was destined to shine from beneath her temporary eclipse like the sun in his meridian glory. "But oh! what solemn scenes on Snowdon's height, All hail, ye genuine Kings, Britannia's issue, hail." -Gray. |