as the wedding customs differed, the funeral customs also differed, and still differ in many respects in wales from those of england. in wales funerals are public, and the day and the hour on which they are to take place are always announced both in church and chapel, and in some places the day was made known by sending a man or a woman round the houses. one or two from almost every house in the neighbourhood in which the deceased lived [40]attend his funeral, so that funeral processions are very large, even in districts where the population is small and scattered. both men and women come, many of them from a long distance, the majority of them on foot, others in their traps, and some on horses, and even wet and stormy weather does not prevent them, for they have a profound reverence for the dead and death from time immemorial; and the night before the funeral a prayer meeting is held in the room where the corpse is lying, and pious appeals to heaven are made in which strong emotions are expressed, the deceased is referred to in stirring sentences, and his death made a theme for warning on the brevity of earthly life, and the importance of the future life of the soul.
this prayer meeting is called gwylnos (wake-night), and it is the only surviving feature of the various customs which were once in vogue in connection with watching the corpse in the house, or keeping vigil over the dead.
in wales in former times when any one died, candles were always lighted every night in the room where the corpse was, and it was customary for friends or relatives to sit up all night to watch it, and even at the present day the custom is observed by some. some are of the opinion that this custom had its origin in pre-reformation times. but it seems more probable to have been a pagan custom, and much older than christianity.
the original design of the lighted candles, undoubtedly, was to give light to the spirit of the dead on its way to the other world. this is done for that purpose at the present day in china.
it was once the custom in some parts to open the windows when a person was dying. principal sir john rhys, oxford, says that he well remembers this done in the neighbourhood of ponterwyd, in north cardiganshire, and that a farmer near ystrad meurig, in the same county, informed him that when his mother (the farmer’s) was dying, a neighbour’s wife who had been acting as nurse tried to open the window of the room, and as it would not open, she deliberately smashed a pane of it; and the learned professor remarks that “this was doubtless originally meant to facilitate the escape of the soul.”—celtic folk-lore.
it was once customary in the neighbourhood of llangennech, carmarthenshire, to cover with muslin the looking glass in the room in which the corpse lay. but to return to the wake night, or keeping vigil over the dead, i have already mentioned that the only feature of the old customs in connection with it still observed is the prayer meeting on the night before the funeral, and even this has been almost discontinued in pembrokeshire, though still [41]popular in cardiganshire and parts of carmarthenshire, but the custom is very injurious to the health of those who attend these meetings, as people crowd together in large numbers into the room—often a small one—where the coffin is. it was once the custom for every person on entering the house to fall devoutly on his knees before the corpse, and repeat the lord’s prayer, or some other prayer, and then a pipe and tobacco were offered to him, but is not done now; but it was done in former times in many districts before the commencement of the prayer meeting.
the manner of conducting this prayer meeting also differs at the present day to what it used to be once. in former times, before the nonconformists became strong in wales, it was the custom for the clergyman to read the common service appointed for the burial of the dead, and at the conclusion of which psalms were sung; but at the present day the custom is, as a rule, for three or four persons to offer extemporary prayers, and an address delivered on the melancholy subject by the clergyman of the church of england or a nonconformist minister, and hymns are sung. and afterwards the crowd depart for their homes.
formerly when it was customary to keep vigil over the dead, young men and women were glad to volunteer their services to watch the corpse during the night in order to enjoy the society of each other, and on some occasions, it seems, from what i have been told by old persons, some of the young men were rather merry before morning, and often went as far as to drink beer, and in order to pass the time good many stories were related about corpse candles, phantom funerals, etc., but the old welsh wake nights were never so rowdy as the irish ones.
in pembrokeshire, about hundred and fifty years ago there was a most curious, strange, and mysterious custom performed during the wake night, known as “hir-wen-gwd” (long white bag, or shroud). the corpse was drawn up through the chimney, and the process was as follows:—a certain number of young men took out the corpse from the coffin and moved it, clad in a long white shroud, to a convenient place near the fire. then a rope was tied round to the upper part of the body, and when this was done securely, the other end of the rope was passed up the chimney by means of a long stick for that purpose; and the next step was for a party of the men to go up to the top of the chimney from the outside of the house by means of a ladder, and take hold of the rope which had been sent up inside, and when they were ready for the ceremony, they gave a sign to those who were inside the house with the corpse, by crying in welsh, “hirwen-gwd,” and [42]those who were inside the house would answer by saying, “chware’n barod,” or we are ready. then the party who were on top of the house pulled up the corpse slowly through the chimney by means of the rope, and brought it to the very top and lowered it again, and eventually re-placed it in the coffin. an aged person, named mrs. mary thomas, bengal, near fishguard, told me that she had heard a good deal from her mother about this strange old custom, “hirwen-gwd,” and that the last of such ceremonies took place at a house called pantycnwch, in the parish of bridell, about a hundred and forty years ago. according to mrs. thomas, it was customary to put a living man in the coffin whilst the ceremony of drawing up the corpse through the chimney was going on, and this was done in the case referred to at bridell; but when the party at the end of the game approached the coffin in order to take out the living man so as to replace the corpse in it, they found him dead. this sad incident caused people after this to put an end of the old custom. when in pembrokeshire, i enquired everywhere from very old persons as to the origin and object of such strange and mysterious ceremony, and in reply some of them informed me that it was only a game indulged in by those who were keeping vigil over the dead, to pass the time, whilst others said that there was once a superstition that another death would soon follow the funeral in the family or in the district unless the ceremony was duly performed. hirwen-gwd, whatever might have been the origin of it, seems to have been confined to pembrokeshire, at least i have not found any tradition of the custom among the old people of cardiganshire and carmarthenshire, except in one district in the latter county, situated on the very border of pembrokeshire.
it is, however, possible that such custom was once known in other parts of south wales, but discontinued at an earlier date.
in a series of spurious letters, known as “llythyrau anna beynon,” bearing the date 1720, and pretending to give an account of the old rural customs of two hundred years ago in the parish of llandyssul and the surrounding districts, i found the following strange story in connection with “hirwen-gwd,” but i cannot vouch for the truth of the account, as it is evident that the “letters” referred to are not authentic:—
“gwylnos.
“fe fu farw shann, ty clai yn ddiweddar, yn 90 oed. nid oedd ganddi yr un plentyn yn y byd i alaru ar ei hol, ond yr oedd abel ei hwyr, bachgen 18 oed, yn llefain yn dost ar ol yr unig [43]ffrynd oedd ganddo yn y byd. fe fu yno ryw wylnos ryfedd ar ei hol. cafwyd cwrw yno o dafarn nani dan-yr-allt, a buwyd yn adrodd hanes twm shon cati, ac yn yfed hyd haner nos. yna gollyngodd rhyw rai raff yn ddistaw i lawr trwy y simnau, tra yr oedd eu cyfeillion tu mewn yn canu can ‘ysgyfarnog pen crug y balog.’ yr oedd abel druan, yn eistedd yn bendrwm yng nghornel yr aelwyd, a’i law dan ei ben, ac yn llefain wrtho ei hunan, ac evan blaen cwm ar ei bwys, ac yn ei gysuro, a’i law dros ei gefn, gan dd’weyd, ‘paid llefan abel bach; yf lymaid eto; rhaid i ti ymroi i fod yn dawel, a ni a wnawn ninau ein goreu drosof ti. gwnawn nas cyffrwy i, abel!’ ar yr un pryd yr oedd yr hen andras yn cylymu y rhaff am ganol yr hogyn tlawd. yn y man dyna y cymdeithion o’r tu maes yn gwaeddi, ‘hirwen gwd,’ ac evan o’r tu mewn yn gwaeddi, ‘chwareu yn barod.’
“gyda hyny, dyna abel yn araf esgyn i fyny i’r simnai, ac evan yn gofyn, ‘pa le yr wyt ti yn myned, abel bach?’ ac yntau yn ateb, ‘wn i ddim b’le mae’r d——l yn myned a fi.’ tyn-wyd ef i maes trwy y simnai. hen lwfer gul ydoedd, yn llawn o huddugl, ac yr oedd golwg ofnadwy arno wedyn....
“mae nhad a’r dynion goreu yn teimlo i’r byw fod y fath beth wedi cymeryd lle yn yr ardal, ac na fu y fath beth o’r blaen er ys pymtheg mlynedd.”
translated into english the above reads as follows:—
“wake-night.
“shann, ty clai died lately, at the age of 90 without leaving a child to bewail her loss, except abel, her grandson, a lad of 18 years of age, who was crying sorrowfully after the only friend he had in the whole world. there was there a very strange wake-night kept at the house. they got some beer there from nanny dan-yr-allt’s inn, and the time was spent until midnight in telling stories about twm shon catty, and in drinking. then a rope was let down secretly through the chimney by some fellows, while their companions inside were singing ‘ysgyfarnog pen crug y balog.’ poor abel was sitting in the corner of the hearth in sorrow, with his hand under his head, and crying by himself, and evan, blaen cwm, close by him comforting him and saying, ‘don’t cry, dear abel; drink a drop more; you must try and be calm, and we will do our best for thee. yes, by jove, we shall!’ at the same time the old rascal was tying a rope around the poor lad’s waist. then, suddenly, the party outside cried ‘hirwen-gwd,’ and evan from within, cried, ‘chwareu yn barod.’ [44]
“almost instantly, abel found himself being dragged up the chimney, whereupon evan asked ‘where are you going, dear abel?’ the latter answered, ‘i don’t know where the d——l takes me to.’ he was pulled out through the chimney—a narrow old luffer as it was, full of soot, and there was an awful sight on him afterwards....
“my father and the best men feel to the very life that such a thing has taken place in the district, and they say that no such thing has taken place before for 15 years.”
it seems that many strange and mysterious events took place sometimes at the wake-nights in pembrokeshire, if all the stories we hear are true. miss martha davies, fishguard, informed me that her late uncle, mr. howells, cilgwyn, vouched for the truth of the following account of an event which happened about a hundred years ago or more. saith she:—an old gentleman farmer, who was a notorious ungodly man, lived at a farmhouse called dolgaranog, in north pembrokeshire. he at last died, and was placed in his coffin, and the candles were lighted, and people came together to the house and the ‘gwylnos,’ or wake-night went on in the usual manner, according to the customs of those days. some of the young men and young maidens were talking together, whispering words of love to each other, and were rather merry, it seems. as these things went on, they were suddenly surprised by hearing the sound of horses’ feet, as if a large concourse of people were approaching the house on horses and driving full speed. the next moment the sound of men’s footsteps was heard entering in through the door and into the very room where the wakenight went on; but nothing could be seen.
the invisible intruders, as they passed into the room where the dead man lay, put out all the candles. at last the same sound of footsteps could be heard departing from the house, and as this mysterious sound passed out through the room, people heard the bustle, and even felt the crush, and on leaving, the strange visitors re-lighted the candles, but nothing was to be seen, but the sound of horses’ feet was heard as if a large concourse of cavaliers were driving away from the house, in the same manner as they had approached it, and gradually the sound died away. then the relatives and friends and others who were present at the ‘gwylnos,’ keeping vigil over the dead, were anxious to know what this sound of invisible footsteps meant, and what had happened, so they entered the room where the coffin was, and when they opened it, to their great alarm, they found that [45]nothing but an empty coffin, for the corpse was gone, and was never found again. the people of the neighbourhood really believed that the body was taken by the devil, or evil spirits, as the man had lived such a bad life. the coffin was afterwards filled with stones and buried.
another strange old death custom, if it ever existed, was the “sin eater.”
it seems that the first to refer to the subject was mr. john aubrey, in 1686, who asserted that there was such a custom in herefordshire and also in north wales, and at the annual meeting of the cambrian arch?ological association, which was held at ludlow in august, 1852, mr. matthew moggridge, of swansea, made the following observation:—“when a person died, his friends sent for the sin-eater of the district, who, on his arrival, placed a plate of salt on the breast of the defunct, and upon the salt a piece of bread. he then muttered an incantation over the bread, which he finally ate, thereby eating up all the sins of the deceased. this done, he received his fee of 2s. 6d. and vanished as quickly as possible from the general gaze; for, as it was believed that he really appropriated to his own use and behoof the sins of all those over whom he performed the above ceremony. he was utterly detested in the neighbourhood—regarded as a mere pariah—as one irredeemably lost.” the speaker then mentioned the parish of llandebie, in carmarthenshire, where the above practice was said to have prevailed to a recent period. mr. allen, of pembrokeshire, said that the plate and salt were known in that county, where also a lighted candle was stuck in the salt, and that the popular notion was that it kept away the evil spirit.
a few years ago, one rhys read at tregaron an interesting paper on that town and district, and after referring to the custom of keeping vigil over the dead, he makes the following statement: “there was also an old custom in the town (tregaron) connected with the ‘sin-eater.’ where there was a corpse in the house the ‘sin-eater’ was invited. the relatives of the dead prepared him a meal on the coffin, he was supposed to eat the sins of the dead man so as to make the deceased’s journey upward lighter.”
the late chancellor d. silvan evans, and other well-informed welshmen, have denied that any such custom as that of the sin-eater ever existed in wales, and wirt sikes, after diligent searching, failed to find any direct corroboration of it, and i may add that, though i venture no opinion of my own upon the subject, i have never come across in any part of wales any old persons, [46]either men or women, who had heard any tradition about it. on the other hand, the celebrated welsh novelist, allen raine, informed me a short time ago, that she knew a man at carmarthen who had seen a “sin-eater”; and the rev. g. eyre evans showed me a portrait of a man that had seen one long ago in the parish of llanwenog.
perhaps the following, which appeared in volume 15 of “folk lore,” may prove of interest in connection with the subject. the writer, mr. rendel harries, who had visited archag, an armenian village, where he attended service, says as follows in his “notes from armenia:—“at the evening service, to my great surprise, i found that when the congregation dispersed, a corpse laid out for burial was lying in the midst of the building. it had, in fact, been brought in before we came, and was to lie in the church in preparation for burial next day. i noticed that two large flat loaves of bread had been placed upon the body. inquiry as to the meaning of this elicited no other explanation than that the bread was for the church mice and to keep them from eating the corpse. i did not feel satisfied with the explanation. some months later, on mentioning the incident to some intelligent armenians in constantinople, they frankly admitted that in former days the custom was to eat the bread, dividing it up amongst the friends of the deceased. whether this is a case of sin-eating, i leave mr. frazer and mr. hartland to decide.”
the question of the alleged sin-eater in wales and the borders has several times been discussed in “bye-gones,” oswestry, and whether there was at any time such strange custom in vogue in the country, there are at least ample proofs that it was customary in pembrokeshire, if not in other parts of the country, to place a plate of salt on the breast of the corpse, and it was believed by some that this kept the body from swelling, and by others that it kept away the evil spirits.
pennant, a very keen observer, noticed a similar custom in the highlands of scotland 140 years ago, where “the friends lay on the breast of the deceased a wooden platter containing a small quantity of salt and earth separately and unmixed; the earth an emblem of the corruptible body; the salt an emblem of the immortal spirit.”
there are several superstitions in west wales concerning salt, but shall refer to the subject in another chapter.
it was once the custom in wales to make the sign of the cross on the dead body or a cross was placed at or near his head; and though the ceremony was discontinued long ago, we even [47]now occasionally hear the old saying, “mae e dan ei grwys” (he is under his cross), when a dead body is in the house.
as a rule in west wales, coffins are made of oak, but poor people are satisfied with elm, and the corpse is placed in it, covered in a white shroud, but good many are buried in their best clothes, both at present and in the past, and a writer in “bye-gones,” 1888, says that in an old book in tregaron vestry, dated 1636, he found that it was the rule of the parish at that time to bury paupers without a coffin, and they were to wear their best apparel, and best hat; the charge for burial was two-pence; if any were buried in a coffin they also were to don their sunday best, and the charge for their burial was 2s. 6d.
to bury the dead in their best clothes instead of a shroud is a custom that has been continued in wales till the present day by some, but not without a coffin; but it seems to have been a common practice to bury paupers, and those who were in very poor circumstances, without a coffin till about 200 years ago and even at a later date, as the registers of some of the old parish churches prove. it was also customary in former times to “bury in woollen”—that is, in a shroud made of woollen material, and the eminent antiquarian, mr. john davies, of the national library, has found out “that this was the practice in the parish of llandyssul in the year 1722. undoubtedly, burying in woollen was in vogue for some generations and a statute of the time of queen elizabeth provided that it should be done in order to encourage the flannel industry; and an act of parliament was passed in the reign of charles the second to promote the sale and use of english wool, and there was once a penalty of ￡5 for burying in a shroud not made of wool.
on the appointed day for the funeral, a large concourse of friends and neighbours come together at the house of the deceased, and all are welcomed to partake of food, as the welsh people have always been remarkable for their hospitality on melancholy as well as joyful occasions.
in former times great preparations were made, for the day of the funeral was in reality a regular feasting day for those who attended. meyrick, in his “history of cardiganshire,” writing about a hundred years ago, observes:—“a profuse dinner, consisting principally of cold meat, fowls, tongues, etc., is spread on several tables, and a carver placed at the head of each, whose sole business is to carve for different parties as they alternately sit down. as the company are too numerous to be all accommodated within, the poorer people are seated on stools round the outside [48]of the house, and are presented with cakes and warmed ale, with spice and sugar in it.”
it was once customary to prepare a special kind of drink known as a “diod ebilon,” which contained the juice of elder tree and rosemary, in addition to the ordinary substances of ale. the custom of giving beer and cake at funerals continued in some districts till very recently, and the rev. d. g. williams, st. clear’s, says that this was done at the funeral of an old gentleman farmer in the parish of trelech, in carmarthenshire, about 30 years ago. though it is not customary to give beer at the present day, but food, especially in a way of tea and cake, is given to everybody in rural districts, not only to those who have come from a distance, but even to near neighbours. the nearest relations make it a point of sitting in the death chamber, and before the coffin is nailed up, almost everybody present in the house enters the room to see the body and look on it with a sigh. then divine service is conducted, at the close of which, the body is borne out of the house, by the nearest male relatives of the deceased, a custom introduced, undoubtedly, into wales by the “romans during their residence in this country, for the coffins of roman citizens held in high esteem were borne by senators, but those of enemies were borne on the other hand by slaves.”
according to pennant’s tours in north wales, there was formerly an old custom to distribute bread and cheese over the coffin to poor people who had been gathering flowers to decorate it. sometimes a loaf of bread was given or a cheese with a piece of money placed inside it, and a cup of drink also was presented. cakes were given in south cardiganshire to those who attended the funerals of the wealthy.
i found that in pembrokeshire in the present day, it is customary to place the coffin on chairs before the door outside before placing it on a bier. in most districts of west wales, hearses have been until a few years ago, almost unknown, and such is the case even at the present day with few exceptions, except in those places adjoining the towns, but no doubt they are continually becoming more general every day. it is still the custom, especially in out of the way places where the funeral procession wends its way graveward on foot, to bear the corpse alternately, four men at the time, and sometimes even women carry as well as men.
in the old times when the roads were bad, especially in the mountainous parts of the country, it was customary to make use of a what was known as “elorfarch” (horse-bier). the elorfarch [49]was carried by horses, and it consisted of two long arms or shafts into which the horses were placed, with transverse pieces of wood in the centre, on which the coffin was placed.
before the funeral procession leaves the house, a hymn is sung, and in former times it was customary to sing on the way, especially when passing a house, and sometimes the singing continued all the way from the house to the churchyard without ceasing; and this singing along the lanes was undoubtedly one of the most beautiful of all the old welsh funeral customs, and it is a pity that it has been discontinued.
during my recent visit to st. david’s, an old gentleman named evans informed me that he well remembered the funeral processions singing on the way to the churchyard of st. david’s cathedral; and that it was also the custom to march round the old stone cross, which i noticed in the centre of the town, before entering the churchyard.
when a funeral takes place at aberystwyth, in cardiganshire, it is customary for the town crier to go through the streets tolling a small hand-bell, a short time before the funeral procession. this is a survival of a very ancient custom which was once very general throughout wales, and in pre-reformation times this corpse-bell which was known as “bangu,” was kept in all the welsh churches, and when a funeral was to take place, the bellman took it to the house of the deceased. when the procession began, a psalm was sung, and then the sexton sounded his bell in a solemn manner for some time, and again at intervals, till the funeral arrived at the church. [50]
giraldus cambrensis, writing 700 years ago, mentions of such bell at “elevein, in the church of glascwm, in radnorshire; a portable bell endowed with great virtue, called bangu, and said to have belonged to st. david. a certain woman secretly conveyed this bell to her husband who was confined in his castle of raidergwy (rhaiadyrgwy) near warthreinion (which rhys, son of gruffyth, had lately built), for the purpose of his deliverance.
“the keepers of the castle not only refused to liberate him for this consideration, but seized and detained the bell; and in the same night, by divine vengeance, the whole town, except the wall on which the bell hung, was consumed by fire.”
formerly, in all parts of wales, the passing bell was tolled for the dying, just as the spirit left the body. in ancient times there was a superstition among the welsh people that the evil spirits were hovering about the sick man’s chamber, waiting to pounce upon the soul as it left the body, but that the sound of a bell frightened away the fiends.
according to “cymru fu,” an interesting welsh book published by hughes and son, wrexham, another old custom in connection with welsh funerals in former times, was to set down the bier and kneel and repeat the lord’s prayer, whenever the procession came to a cross road. the origin of this custom, as given by the welsh, is to be found in the former practice of burying criminals at cross-roads. it was believed that the spirits of these criminals did not go far away from the place where their bodies lay, and in repeating the lord’s prayer was supposed to destroy and do away with any evil influence these spirits might have on the soul of the dear departed.
the venerable archdeacon williams, aberystwyth, informed me that he was told by the late principal edwards, university college of wales, that there was once an old custom in the parish of llanddewi brefi for funeral processions to pass through a bog instead of proceeding along the road which went round it. those who bore the bier through the bog, proceeded with much difficulty and often sank in the mud. the ceremony of taking the corpse through the bog was, at least, in pre-reformation times, supposed to have the effect of lessening the time or suffering of the deceased’s soul in purgatory, but the custom was continued in the said parish for many generations after the reformation, if not until recent times.
it was once customary at rhayader, in radnorshire, for funeral processions to carry small stones which were thrown to a large heap at a particular spot before arriving at the church. [51]
when the funeral procession was nearing the churchyard a hymn was again sung. the custom was, and still is, for the clergyman, arrayed in his surplice, to meet the corpse at the entrance of the churchyard, as directed in the prayer book, and placing himself at the head of the procession, they proceed into the body of the church, and the bier is placed before the altar. it was once customary for all the relations of the deceased to kneel around it until taken from the church to the place of interment. after the body has been lowered into the grave, and at the close of the funeral service one or more hymns are sung, generally those that were favourites of the deceased. when the deceased who is buried in the churchyard of the parish church, happened to have been a nonconformist, it is sometimes customary to have services both in chapel and in church; in the former first, and in the latter before the interment. this was done in connection with the funeral of the late mr. john evans, pontfaen, lampeter, a few years ago, when i was present myself.
it was once customary to give the shoes of the dead man to the grave-digger, a vestry at tregaron in cardiganshire, about 200 years ago passed that this should be done in that place. there is no such practice at present in any part of wales. there was once a curious old custom known as “arian y rhaw” (spade money) which survived in some districts of west wales until a comparatively recent date, especially in the northern parts of cardiganshire, and that part of carmarthenshire which borders breconshire.
mr. john jones, pontrhydfendigaid, an old man of 95, informed me that the custom was observed at lledrod, a parish situated about nine miles from aberystwyth, about eighty years ago. it was something as follows:—at the grave, the grave-digger extended his spade for donations, and received a piece of silver from each one of the people in turn.
the following account of the custom by an eye-witness appeared in the folk-lore column of the “carmarthen journal,” july 7th, 1905:—“it was in the summer of 1887, if i remember well, that i had occasion to attend the funeral of a young child at llangurig church, situated on the main road leading from aberystwyth to llanidloes, and about five miles from the latter. after the service at the graveyard, the sexton held up an ordinary shovel into which all present cast something. the cortege was not large, as the child buried was only eight months old. when all had contributed their mites, and the sum had been counted, the sexton in an audible voice, declared the amount received, saying twenty-eight shillings and sixpence, many thanks to you all.” [52]
another curious old custom at welsh funerals was the “offrwm,” or parson’s penny, which was as follows: after having read the burial service in the church, the clergyman stood near the altar until the nearest relation went up first to him and deposited an offertory on the table, then the other mourners, one and all followed, and presented a piece of money, and the money received by the parson in this manner amounted sometimes to a very large sum, especially when the mourners were wealthy.
the author of cradock’s account of the most romantic parts of north wales, published in 1773, makes the following observation concerning the custom: “many popish customs are still retained in wales; particularly offering made to the dead. these offerings must, of course, vary according to the rank of the persons deceased, as well as the affection that is borne to their memories. i was at a pauper’s funeral when the donations amounted to half-a-crown, and i met with a clergyman afterwards who had once received 90 guineas.” this has not been practised in cardigan and carmarthenshire within the memory of the oldest inhabitant, but the custom was observed in former times, we have not the least doubt, and it has survived even until the present day in some form or other, in some parts of the principality, especially in parts of north wales, as the following correspondence which appeared in the “oswestry advertiser” in july, 1906, proves:
“offertories at funerals in wales.”
“sir,—a correspondent in your columns, about a fortnight ago, called attention to this subject, and expressed disapproval of the manner in which the offertories are taken in some churches at funeral services—by laying the plate on the bier near the pulpit, and the congregation in a disorderly manner laying their offertory on the plate. i regret to observe that this practice is still pursued in two parishes in this neighbourhood, and i should like to call the attention of the proper authorities to the desirableness of changing the custom, and adopting the system suggested by your correspondent, that the offertory should be taken at the gate, or that two or more plates should be taken around the congregation. the parish clerk, too, might be instructed not to announce the amount of the offertory.”
undoubtedly, this custom has survived from pre-reformation times, and was originally intended to compensate the priest for praying for the soul of the departed in purgatory, but at present it only means a token of esteem towards the officiating clergyman, or perhaps a tribute of respect to the departed. it was formerly [53]customary in wales to throw a sprig of rosemary into the grave on the coffin. the custom has been discontinued now, but it was done in the vale of towy, in carmarthenshire as late as sixty years ago.
an excellent old welsh magazine, the “gwyliedydd” for may, 1830, makes the following observation concerning the custom: “in ancient times, it was customary for all who attended a funeral to carry each a sprig of rosemary in his hand, and throw it into the grave as the minister was reading the last words of the funeral service”; and a writer in the cambrian quarterly magazine, in the following year adds that a custom analogous to this prevailed amongst the ancient heathens; who used to throw cypress wood into the grave in the same manner. the reason why they made choice of the cypress was, because its branches do not bud when thrown into the earth, but perish altogether; it was thus an expressive symbol of their opinion, that the bodies of the dead would never rise again. on the other hand, the christians threw the rosemary into the graves of their brethren to express that hope of a joyful resurrection with which their faith had inspired them.
it was once customary to read the will of deceased over the grave. sir s. r. meyrick mentions this in his history of cardiganshire, a hundred years ago, and the custom has been continued to a more recent date. the rev. t. d. thomas, vicar of llangorwen, near aberystwyth, informed me that this was done by him at llangadock, carmarthenshire, about the year 1897, when officiating in the absence of the vicar of that parish.
there was also an old custom of burying one who had been murdered, in a coffin covered with red cloth. the rev. d. g. williams, in his collection of carmarthenshire folk-lore, says that one william powell, of glan areth, vale of towy, was so buried in the year 1770.
in wales in pre-reformation times, it was sometimes the practice to bury a rich man in the garments of a monk, as a protection against evil spirits; but this could not be done without paying large sums of money to the priests.
the custom of covering the coffin with wreaths is very generally observed at the present day throughout west and mid-wales. the coffin of the late sir pryse pryse, bart., gogerddan, who was buried at penrhyncoch, cardiganshire, april 23rd, 1906, was covered with wreaths of most beautiful flowers, sent by dowager lady pryse, sir edward and lady webley-parry-pryse, countess lisburne, viscountess parker, lady evans, lovesgrove; [54]mr. and mrs. loxdale, and many other relations and friends, as well as the tenants and servants.
in times past the welsh always carried the association of graves and flowers to the most lavish extreme, and shakespeare, alluding to this in “cymbeline,” the scene of which tragedy is more especially in pembrokeshire, says:
“arv. with fairest flowers,
whilst summer lasts, and i live here, fidele,
i’ll sweeten thy sad grave. thou shalt not lack
the flower, that’s like thy face, pale primrose; or
the azur’d harebell, like thy veins; no, nor
the leaf of eglantine, whom not to slander,
outsweeten’d not thy breath.”
it is more generally the case at the present day to cover the coffin with wreaths than with loose flowers, and occasionally the graves are lined with moss and flowers. to decorate the graves of the departed with flowers is a very old custom amongst the welsh, especially on palm sunday, which is known in wales as “sul y blodau”—flowering sunday. the custom is very generally observed even at the present day in glamorganshire, where the churchyards and other burial places present a very beautiful appearance; but it is to be regretted that in west wales, during the last sixty years, the practice to a very great extent has been discontinued, at least in rural districts. but it is reviving at the present day, and likely to grow as years go on. a correspondent from aberaeron, in one of the papers noticed that on palm sunday, of the year 1906, many of the graves of henfynyw, in that district had been cleaned and flowers placed upon them, whilst on others flowers grew. whilst staying for a short time in the parish of cilcennin, about five years ago, i took particular notice, that the planting of flowers and plants on the graves is renewed every year about easter or spring time, and that they are kept blooming through the loving care of the descendants of the departed. an old man named jenkin williams, a native of llangwyryfon, a parish in the same county, who is 89 years of age, informed me that he well remembered the custom observed in his native parish, about seven miles from aberystwyth, many years ago; but it is rarely observed at the present day. there are many parts of the country nowadays, where the practice is unknown, but there are evident signs that the beautiful old custom is reviving in parts of carmarthenshire, cardiganshire, and pembrokeshire. in glamorganshire, as i have already observed, the custom is very general.
the custom of placing tombstones on the graves is very generally observed, but very few of the stones are in the form of [55]a cross. indeed, crosses are remarkable for their absence in welsh churchyards. the welsh people in rejecting what they consider as a too popish a practice, have gone into the opposite extremes of adopting as monuments for their dear departed, the polytheistic obelisk of the ancient egyptians; the greek and roman urns, and the chest-stone of the druids. it has been the custom in some places to whitewash the small inscribed stones at the head and feet of poor people’s graves. several english authors who have written about wales remark that in nearly every churchyard in the country, the mountain ash is to be seen. it seems to me that this is a mistake; for, as far as my experience is concerned, it is rarely seen in welsh churchyards, at least in the present day, and i have seen a good many of the churchyards; but it must be admitted that the welsh have regarded the tree as sacred, and there are a good many superstitions in connection with it, so that it is possible that the custom of growing it in churchyards was more common in former times.
the most common tree in the churchyards of wales is the yew, and the welsh people from time immemorial, have always regarded the tree with solemn veneration, probably owing to its association with the dead. the yew is famed in welsh song, for the poets of cambria in their elegies for their dead friends, often mention “ywen werdd y llan” (the green yew of the churchyard), and the poet ioan emlyn in his “bedd y dyn tlawd”—“the pauper’s grave” says:
“is yr ywen ddu gangenog,
twmpath gwyrddlas gwyd ei ben.”
in former times the yew was consecrated and held sacred, and in funeral processions its branches were carried over the dead by mourners, and thrown under the coffin in the grave. with rosemary, ivy, bay, etc., branches of the trees were also used for church decorations. the following extract from the laws of howel dda, king of wales in the tenth century, shows that the yew tree was the most valuable of all trees, and also how the consecrated yew of the priests had risen in value over the reputed sacred mistletoe of the druids:—
“a consecrated yew, its value is a pound.
a mistletoe branch, three score pence.
an oak, six score pence.
principal branch of an oak, thirty pence.
a yew-tree (not consecrated), fifteen pence.
a sweet apple, three score pence.
a sour apple, thirty pence.
a thorn-tree, sevenpence half-penny.
every tree after that, four pence.”
[56]
the planting of yew trees in churchyards in wales is as old as the churchyards themselves; and it is probable that they were originally intended to act as a screen to the churches by their thick foliage, from the violence of the winds, as well as a shelter to the congregation assembling before the church door was opened. the first churches in wales were only wooden structures, and needed such screens much more than the comfortable stone churches of the present day.
another important object in planting the yew was to furnish materials for bows, as these were the national weapons of defence. the churchyards were the places where they were most likely to be preserved, and some authorities derive the english word “yeoman” from yewmen, that is, the men who used the yew bow. the yew bow was very common throughout wales in the old times, and skill in archery was universal in the country; and as late as tudor times, the welsh poet, tudur aled, asks, in lamenting the death of a squire:—
“who can repeat his exploits to-day?
who knows so well the strength of yew.”
in the memorable battle of cressy, three thousand five hundred welsh archers followed the black prince in the attack on france in the year 1346, and as many more came from the welsh lordships, and bore such distinguished parts, for the success of this war was due to the skill of the welsh archers, and at the end of the battle the prince adopted the motto, “ich dien,” which has been the motto of the princes of wales ever since.
evelyn’s opinion is “that we find it (the yew) so numerously planted in churchyards from its being thought a symbol of immortality, the tree being so lasting and always green.” there are at the present day in the churchyards of carmarthenshire and cardiganshire, some fine specimens of the yew tree, and some of them hundreds of years, if not nearly a thousand years old. in former times when churchyards were resorted to for recreation, seats were fixed round the trunk of the tree.
many of the churchyards in wales in ancient times, before the introduction of christianity, had been druidical circles. this is evident from the oval form of the ground of many of them, which often resemble small embankments, or mounds. such is the case as regards tregaron church, in cardiganshire, llanddewi brefi also is on elevated ground, as well as several other churchyards.
how early the practice of enclosures near the churches or monasteries for burial of the dead began in wales is quite uncertain. [57]it seems that the practice was introduced into england by archbishop cuthbert about 750; but the origin of churchyards in wales was of a much earlier date, in all probability about two or three hundred years earlier than in england. some of the best authorities assert that a few (but few only) of the welsh parish churches and consecrated churchyards can be traced to the days of st. garmon, or germanus, bishop of auxerre, who paid two visits to this country about a.d. 429, and 447 respectively. it is possible that there were few christians in britain even in the first century; but parochial churches did not belong to the earlier ages of christianity, and the clergy lived in towns, and undertook missionary journeys about the country, under the direction of their bishops.
prior to the introduction of enclosures round churches for the purpose of burial, it was customary (as it is in china to-day), to bury on high places, such as hills and mountains. cremation had also been practised as it is evident from the urns for the preservation of the ashes of the dead, which are being discovered in various parts of wales, from time to time. perhaps the most recent and interesting discoveries of such urns were those found near capel cynon, in cardiganshire, containing ashes and portions of small calcined bones. a labourer named john davies, came across them accidentally in an old mound on a hill, whilst working for evan thomas, a contractor under the county council of cardiganshire, in digging out stones for road-mending. (see arch?ologia cambrensis for january, 1905.)
the introduction of christianity put an end to the practice of cremation.
carneddau, or cairns, and tumuli, or mounds of earth, have been preserved till the present day in different parts of wales, but it is to be regretted that many of these interesting monuments of antiquity, which the welsh in ancient times erected in honour of their great men have been destroyed. that wales has been celebrated for its carneddau, is evident from the words of taliesin, the chief poet of king arthur’s time, who calls the country “cymru garneddog” (cairn wales), and one the most interesting “carnedd” is what is known as “bedd taliesin”—taliesin’s grave, about eight miles north of aberystwyth, where, according to tradition, taliesin himself was buried.
such monumental heaps over the mortal remains of the dead were of two kinds, according to the nature of the country. in stony districts, a cairn of stones was heaped, but where stones were [58]scarce, a mound of turf of a circular construction, called tomen (tumulus), was deemed sufficient.
in ancient times this mode of burial was considered a most honourable one, and in passing the tomb of a warrior or some great man, it was customary for every passer by to throw a stone to the cairn, out of reverence to his memory. there was a similar custom among the indians of patagonia, which was still observed a few years ago. a patagonian chief in passing the grave of an eminent chief or a great warrior, would dismount from his horse, and search for a stone to throw on the cairn.
monumental cairns were also common in scotland, for in ossian’s poems, shibric, in carricthura says: “if fall i must in the field, raise high my grave, vinvela. grey stones, and heaped earth, shall mark me to future times.” to erect mounds seems to have been a very ancient custom, for herodotus, in giving a full and most interesting account of the strange practices of the ancient scythians, in connection with the burial of their kings, observes amongst other things, “having done this, they all heap up a large mound, striving and vieing with each other to make it as large as possible.”
when the custom of burying in churchyards became general in wales, in course of time, to bury in cairns and mounds, which formerly had been an honourable practice, was discontinued, and even condemned, as fit only for the great criminals; and, as dr. owen pugh, observes: “when this heap became to be disgraced, by being the mark where the guilty was laid, the custom for every one that passed, to fling his stone, still continued, but now as a token of detestation”; hence originated the old welsh sayings “carn lleidr (a thief’s cairn), “carn ar dy wyneb.” (cairn on thy face). even at the present day throughout wales, when any one is guilty of robbery or swindle, it is customary to call such a man a “carn leidr” (a cairn thief). in the parish of llanwenog, six miles from lampeter, there is a spot called “carn philip wyddyl.” an old farmer, named “tomos, ty-cam,” informed me that according to the traditions of the district, this philip was a “carn leidr,” or the ringleader of a gang of thieves, who, in an attempt to escape, jumped down from llanwenog steeple, and broke his leg. his pursuers stoned him to death, and buried him beneath a carn.