{"1": {"fulltext": ".W4 02\\nCopy 1\\niWffiJffrlan mvtf^Aioloa^,", "height": "3678", "width": "2244", "jp2-path": "myvyrianarchaiol00deco_0001.jp2"}, "2": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3657", "width": "2068", "jp2-path": "myvyrianarchaiol00deco_0002.jp2"}, "3": {"fulltext": ".U4 D2\\nCopy 1\\n:^y!^n^i n ^vctiaioloQ^\\nTHE PRE-COLUMBIAN\\nVOYAGES OF THE\\nWELSH TO AMERICA.\\nAntiquities or Keiiuiants of History, are, as said, Tanquam Tabula naufrayii.\\nlike planks of a shipwreck, when industrious persons, by an exact and scrupu-\\nlous diligence and observation, out of monuments, names, words, proverbs, tradi-\\ntions, private records and evidences, fragments of stones, passages of books that\\nconcern not story, and the like, do save and recover somewhat from the deluge\\nof time. Advaummcnt of Learning.\\nBy B. F. De COSTA\\nALBANY:\\nJOEL MUNSELL S SONS\\n1891", "height": "3678", "width": "2244", "jp2-path": "myvyrianarchaiol00deco_0003.jp2"}, "4": {"fulltext": "74068\\nPRESS OF DAVID CLAPP SON,\\nBOSTON.", "height": "3667", "width": "2114", "jp2-path": "myvyrianarchaiol00deco_0004.jp2"}, "5": {"fulltext": "TO THE MEMBERS\\nOF\\nne w york city,\\nWhose Ancestors sailed upon the Western Ocean,\\nfollowing close in the track op the northmen,\\nand long preceding the\\nEarliest Navigators op England, Portugal and Spain,\\nand whose more immediate progenitors\\nperformed so large a part,\\nBOTH AS Statesmen and Soldiers,\\nIN LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC,\\nWHICH, BY THEIR PATRIOTIC ENDEAVORS\\nAND WISE DEVOTION\\nTO Moral, Educational and Religious Interests,\\nTHEY ARE NOW DOING SO MUCH TO PERPETUATE,\\nTHIS VERY INSUFFICIENT EsSAY\\nON THE Pre-Columbian Voyages of the Welsh\\nIS", "height": "3683", "width": "2229", "jp2-path": "myvyrianarchaiol00deco_0005.jp2"}, "6": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3667", "width": "2114", "jp2-path": "myvyrianarchaiol00deco_0006.jp2"}, "7": {"fulltext": "THE\\nPRE-COLUMBIAIS^ VOYAGES OF THE WELSH\\nTO AMERICA.\\nThe alleged voyages to America by the Welsh, set down\\nnear the year 1170, form a subject that has never received the\\nattention to which it is entitled by American writers, while in Great\\nBritain it has not been treated with anything like justice. No\\nmonograph of a really meritorious or exhaustive character has ever\\nbeen devoted to this important theme either in Europe or America.\\nSuperficial sketches are certainly not wanting, while the alleged\\nvoyage has often been referred to in historical and general works,\\nand the probabilities of the case have sometimes been discussed.\\nComparatively little historical criticism, however, has been applied\\nto the voyage of Madoc, son of the Prince of Wales, while, as if by\\nsome kind of an understanding, the most of that class of writers who,\\nwith good reason, might have been expected to have studied the\\nsubject with care, have either ignored the voyage, or contented\\nthemselves with a few irrelevant remarks which serve to show that,\\nin reality, they were unacquainted with the merits of the case.\\nJustice requires us to point out that one cause of this neglect may\\nbe found in the fact that the discussion with regard to the voyages\\nof the Northmen to America, which began with the opening of the\\neleventh century, had the prior claim to notice, being superior both\\nin interest and importance, and quite overshadowing the modest\\nclaim of the Welsh. The Northmen, for more than half a century\\nlast past, have largely monopolized the attention of many inquirers\\nconcerning the Pre-Columbian History of America. On the other\\nhand, injudicious advocates of the Welsh have done much to create\\nprejudice and distrust. It is not improbable, too, that Southey, by\\nhis poem of Madoc, did considerable to convey the impression\\nthat the subject was really a theme quite removed from the sphere\\nof veritable history.", "height": "3678", "width": "2244", "jp2-path": "myvyrianarchaiol00deco_0007.jp2"}, "8": {"fulltext": "4\\nThe present, however, would appear to be a favorable time for\\nthe reopening of the discussion, since the voyages of the Northmen\\nare now substantially accepted, and the Sagas are received as\\ngenuine histories. Indeed there should never have been any doubt\\non this point. Critics like Alexander Von Humboldt did not doubt,\\neven at the outset. That great investigator frankly accepted the\\nrecords, and was of opinion that the scene of the Northmen s exploits\\nwas to be found on the coast of New England. George Bancroft,\\non the contrary, taught for about half a century, in the various edi-\\ntion of his History of the United States, that the Icelandic records\\nwere mythological in form and obscure in meaning, but in the\\nedition of his work published in 1883, he dropped all reference to\\nthe subject, and has since had the frankness to admit that, in taking\\nthat view of the subject, he fell into error. The conviction of the\\ngreat proportion of students, especially in Europe, is now so clear\\nand decided with regard to the reality of these voyages and the\\nhistorical character of the narratives, that few persons will be likely\\nto concern themselves much in the future with regard to objections\\nthat may be urged. The way, therefore, is now open for the dis-\\ncussion of the claims of the Welsh, as Pre-Columbian voyagers to\\nthe shores of North America. One may come to this discussion\\nwith the more confidence, for the reason that old time prejudice is\\ndying out, and that every year there are fewer to be found, who ask\\nwith the irony of Imogen\\nPrithee, think\\nThere s livers out of Britain\\nIn opening this discussion, therefore, we may well quote some\\nobservations by Humboldt, who, speaking of the obscurity which\\nstill shrouds the voyage of the Gaelic Chief Madoc, to a Western\\nLand, 1170, observes\\nIt is much to be desired that, in our days, when a sound and\\nsevere spirit of criticism, devoid of a character of contempt, pre-\\nvails, the old investigations of Powell and Kichard Hakluyt might\\nbe resumed in England and Ireland. Continuing, he says, I do\\nnot participate in the rejecting spirit which has, but too often, thrown\\npopular tradition into obscurity, but I am, on the contrary, firmly\\npersuaded that, by a greater diligence and perseverance, many of\\nthe historical problems which relate to the maritime expeditions of\\nthe early part of the middle ages will one day be cleared by\\nthe discovery of facts with which we have hitherto been entirely un-\\nacquainted.\\nLet us now proceed to inquire upon what the claim of the Welsh\\nto Pre-Columbian enterprise in America is founded? It will be\\nnoticed that we do not say, the Pre-Columbian Discovery of America.\\nUnlike the Northmen, the ancient Welsh did not even claim the\\ndiscovery of New Lands. The discoveries of the Northmen\\nformed a somewhat great surprise in Iceland and Scandinavia, but", "height": "3667", "width": "2114", "jp2-path": "myvyrianarchaiol00deco_0008.jp2"}, "9": {"fulltext": "they did not suppose for a moment that they had found a new\\nContinent. On the contrary, they believed that the New Lands at\\nthe West formed an arm of Europe, stretching around the pohxr\\nregion from Norway to Greenland, extending thence indefinitely\\nsouthward. Still they knew nothing of our land until Biarne, when\\nsailing for Greenland, was blown upon the coast. The Welsh, on\\nthe contrary, did not exhibit surprise on reaching a land at the west.\\nIn fact, evei-ything would seem to indicate that they knew of that\\nland, probably by contact with the Northmen, and that Madoc sailed\\nexpecting to reach some part of the region known as Vinland.\\nNinety-five years before the voyage of Madoc, Adam of Bremen,\\nafter a visit to Denmark, wrote that a region had been discovered\\nby many in that [Western] Ocean, which was called Winland, be-\\ncause vines grow there spontaneously, making excellent wine for\\nthat fruits, not planted, grow there of their own accord we know,\\nnot by false rumors, but by certain testimony of the Danes, which is\\nin accord with the pleasant and fruitful countries reported by Madoc.\\nThe proof upon which the voyages of Madoc to the New Woi ld\\nrest, may be divided into two parts, taken respectively from Pre-\\nColumbian and Post-Columbian sources. First, we give the Pre-\\nColumbian statements taken from the Welsh Bards and Chroniclers,\\nthough it may be proper to preface our quotations with a few re-\\nmarks concerning the ancient literature of the Welsh, which carries\\nus back to a period before the Christian era.\\nWith the introduction of Christianity into Wales, where the wor-\\nship of Christ was established under an Episcopal Church govern-\\nment, long before the Roman missionaries turned their steps towards\\nGreat Britain, letters were cultivated and oral poetry and traditions\\nwere committed to writing, the Bards assuming a high position in\\nthe nation. These bards were not musical vagrants, roving, harp\\nin hand, through the country side, singing songs for what they could\\npick up. The poet and the harpist formed separate offices, and\\nwhile some poets were skilled in the use of this instrument, others\\nwere not, while many compositions were not adapted to musical ex-\\npression. Besides, as fully recognized by scholars like Sharon\\nTurner, the verses of the bards had other uses, being more or less\\nof a historic character, and preserving important facts in British\\nhistory. The poetry of the ancient Welsh did not possess the won-\\nderful characteristics of Icelandic verse, nor did the Welsh cultivate\\nprose in proportion to verse. Indeed, Icelanders were the first of\\nall European people to produce a high style of original vernacular\\nprose. The Welsh literature cannot take rank with the Icelandic,\\nportions of which, as for instance the Eddas and the Heimskringla,\\nwill hold their high place like the productions of Homer and\\nHerodotus, while literature endures. The Icelandic writings, too,\\nhave an advantage in their greater popularity, since the most serious\\nefforts have been made to obscure the glory of Welsh literature, to\\n1#", "height": "3678", "width": "2244", "jp2-path": "myvyrianarchaiol00deco_0009.jp2"}, "10": {"fulltext": "keep it in the background, and even destroy it, the Bards at one j\\ntime being considered as politically dangerous. Hence it cost a\\nsevere effort to bring out that great collection of Welsh literature,\\nMyvyrian Archaiology, in three royal octavo volumes, forming an\\nimperishable monument of Welsh industry and genius. Yet, not-\\nwithstanding the extent of this collection, taken together with a\\nlarge quantity of unpublished material, it may truly be said that we\\nnow possess only a comparatively small portion of the ancient\\nwritings, many of which were destroyed by vandals, while fire and\\nneglect have largely supplemented other destructive agents. The\\nsubject of Madoc must have engaged the attention of many poets\\nand chroniclers, for it would be idle to suppose that the few scraps\\nthat remain are all that were ever written. Let us, however, turn\\nto these surviving fragments and observe their bearing upon what\\nlater writers have laid down with respect to the Western voyages of\\nthe Welsh chief.\\nThe first authority to be quoted is Lywarch ab Llwelyn, who\\nflourished at the close of the thirteenth century. Speaking, evidently,\\nof the two brothers, Hyvval and Madoc, he says\\nTwo princes of strong passions broke oifin wrath,\\nThe multitude of the earth did not love them\\nOne on land in Avron allaying ambition,\\nAnd another, a placid one, on the bosom of the vast ocean,\\nIn trouble great and immeasurable,\\nProwling after a possession easily guarded,\\nEstranged from every one for a country.\\nThis translation, from Stephens s Literature of the Cymry^^\\n(II. \u00c2\u00a72), is accepted as literal, and, like thereat of his translations,\\nit is considered by judges entirely reliable, conveying both the letter\\nand the spirit of the text. The original is found in Myvyrian\\nArchaiology (I. 283).\\nWe have here the picture of a sea rover, whose story was well\\nknown by the people, who would at once recognize its faithfulness\\nwhile the incidental character of the reference renders it all the more\\nvaluable. The same Bard makes an additional allusion to Madoc,\\nwhere, speaking of the latter s brother lorworth, he says that\\nlor worth met the Saxons by Llanwynwry s Lake, and describes him as\\nNephew of Madoc, whom we more and more\\nLament that he is gone\\nThat Madoc disappeared from his native country, Stephens, a\\nhostile and able critic, frankly admits as proved beyond a doubt.\\nThis appears, he says, from the poem of The Hot Iron, which\\ngive^ an account of the trial of one who was accused of having\\nmurdered the sea rover. The accused says\\nGood iron exonerate me\\nFrom the charge of having slain Madoc,\\nAnd show that he who slew the fair Prince\\nShall have no part of heaven. 3Iyr. Archaiol. I. 289.", "height": "3667", "width": "2114", "jp2-path": "myvyrianarchaiol00deco_0010.jp2"}, "11": {"fulltext": "Madoc son of Gvvynedd is not to be confounded with that Madoc\\nwho, in 1180, was slain by Thomas, his drunken brother.\\nA later Bard, Meredydd ab Rhys, who wrote about the year\\n1440, also shows distinctly that Madoc was a sea rover\\nMadoc am I who through my life\\nBy set. will seek my wonted prey.\\nIn the 1583 edition of Hakluyt s Voyages there are found some\\nancient lines which, the author says, I received of my learned friend,\\nMr. William Camden. The English version runs\\nMadoc I am the sonue of Oweu Gwynedd,\\nWith stature large aud comely grace adorned\\nNo laud at home, nor store of wealth me please,\\nMy mind was whole to search the ocean seas.\\nCamden evidently drew the lines from Rhys. At the period when\\nthe latter wrote, the accused man had been exonerated from the\\nmurder of Madoc, and it was concluded that the adventurer had lost\\nhis life on the sea, which may have been the case, as we do not\\nknow the result of his last western voyage. The poet, Cynddelu,\\nwho lived about the time of Llywelen, wrote\\nAnd is not Madoc by the whelming wave\\nSlain? How I sorrow for the helpful friend\\nEven in battle he was free from hate,\\nYet not in vain grasped he the warrior s spear.\\nBut now, whither did Madoc sail, and what land beyond the\\nsea did he make the scene of enterprise In partial reply we may\\nquote the Pre-Columbian Genealogies compiled by levan Brecva,\\nwhich say that Madoc and Riryd found land far in the west and\\nsettled there. William Owen, in the Cambrian Biography\\n(p. 233), says that the expedition is recorded in a book of pedigrees\\nby Brecva, written about the year 1466. This is supported by\\nGuttyn Owain, a distinguished poet and genealogist who wrote be-\\ntween 1460 and 1490.\\nBut we must quote here from the ancient Triad of the Three\\nDisappearances,^ ionndi in Oambi O-Briton (Vol. I. 1820, p.\\n123), which makes the third remarkable Disappearance, that of\\nMadawg, son of Owain Gwynedd, who, accompanied by three\\nhundred men, went to sea in ten ships, and it is not known to what\\nplace they went.\\nWe should not hesitate to consider such testimonies, because they\\nare associated with some things that are marvellous. Discrimination\\nmust be used. The essential fact given in the Triad is, that Madoc\\nwent to sea with ten ships. The writer did not know the exact\\ndestination of the fleet. The point he makes is, that the disappear-\\nance of Madoc and his fleet was a remarkable occurrence. This is\\nall that he wanted to convey. He was not writing to convince any-\\none that an enterprise was undertaken. He had no interest in show-\\nins: that the Welsh knew of a sreat land in the West. The fact", "height": "3678", "width": "2244", "jp2-path": "myvyrianarchaiol00deco_0011.jp2"}, "12": {"fulltext": "8\\nwas of no account at that period. He was simply writing a Triad.\\nMadoc s well-known case formed one side of the triangle. We\\nshould simply try to put ourselves back in the age when the Triad\\nwas written, and feel its force as a testimony to the voyage of Madoc\\nupon the Atlantic.\\nThese testimonies are of more consequence than, possibly, they\\nmay appear at the outset. Carefully considered, it will be evident\\nthat they cover six important points\\n1. That there was a well-knowa historic person named Madoc, the son\\nof Gwyoedd, Priuce of AVales.\\n2. That he was a sailor, whose natural disposition drew him to adven-\\ntures on the sea.\\n3. That this Madoc made westward voyaoes on the Atlantic.\\n4. That after the first voyage, upon which he embarked more or less\\nsecretly, he was supposed to have been murdered, while, on trial, the\\naccused man was cleared.\\n5. That he reappeared in Wales, raised a company of three hundred\\nmen and women, embarking the company in ten ships, with the intention of\\nreturning to the site of his colony.\\n6. That he sailed westward for the purpose of founding a colony and\\nnever returned.\\nThese are statements that antedate the voyage of Columbus, and\\ncome down to us from a period when discoveries on the Atlantic\\nwere viewed with general indifference by the Welsh, who found\\nsuch matters of interest only in the incidental manner pointed out,\\nwhile no glory was ever claimed in connection with Madoc s enter-\\nprise, the genealogist and poet being concerned only in the melan-\\ncholy result. This is testimony of a kind that must inevitably have\\nforce with minds accustomed to weigh historic evidence.\\nWe now turn to the Post-Columbian proof. First of all, we find\\nPowell adding to our facts, and showing the course taken by Madoc\\non his first voyage, for he left the coast of Ireland so far north that\\nhe came to a land unknown. Powell gives as his authority (and\\nhis statements are accepted by Hakluyt) the Herald Bard, Gutty n\\nOwain, who flourished, as we have seen, before Columbus. This\\nstatement attributed to Owain was first published in Post-Columbian\\ntimes, but there is no sufficient reason for doubting that it was con-\\ntained in some one of the many versions of his works, and was taken\\nthence by Powell, as the latter declares.\\nPortions of the narrative given in the notej below are plainly unhis-\\nThe use of this word does not interfere with the belief that the Welsh knew of the\\nvoyages of the Northmen. Seventeenth century voyagers often spoke in this way of lands\\nalready discovered but not explored.\\nt Powell s narrative states, as one result of dissension in Wales, during the twelfth cen-\\ntury, that Madoc, son of Owen Gwyneth, left the land in contention betwixt his brethren\\nand prepared certaine ships, with men and munition, and sought adventure by seas, sailing\\nWest, and leaving the coast of Ireland so farre North that he came to a land unknowen,\\nwhere he saw many strange things. This Land, Powell illogically says, must needs\\nbe some part of that countrey of which the Spaniards afBrme themselves to be the first\\nfinders since Hanno s time. For by reason and order of Cosmographie, this land to which\\nMadoc came, must needs be some parts of Nova Hispania, or Florida. Whereupon it is", "height": "3667", "width": "2114", "jp2-path": "myvyrianarchaiol00deco_0012.jp2"}, "13": {"fulltext": "torical. The intelligent reader will discover the chafF. It should\\nbe observed, however, that this particular narrative has been made\\nthe subject of numerous sketches, superficial articles, by writers in-\\ncapable of perceiving what was required of a critic, and who, after\\ndespatching the Mexican allusions, have fondly regai ded the claims\\nof the Welsh as laid to rest. It will be necessary, however, to\\nseparate what is mere conjecture from what is supported by solid\\ntestimony, and especially that testimony which is drawn from\\nancient writings. The study of Mexican antiquities long ago per-\\nsuaded the historical world that the use of the Cross had no necessary^\\nconnection with Christianity. The forced interpretation of the facts\\nby Powell grew out of the desire to antedate the Spanish claim to\\nthe New World. The struggle between England and Spain was\\ncoming on apace. The Armada was already foreshadowed, and men\\nwere ready for any pretext to urge against Spain. Powell, howev-\\ner, made a poor use of the facts, and would have done the Welsh a ser-\\nvice if he had abstained from speculation, since, by false deductions,\\nhe prejudiced a large number of writers against the whole subject.\\nWe have now to turn to another Post-Columbian writer. In\\n1634, Sir Thomas Herbert published, A Melation of Some yeares\\nTravaile in which (p. 217) he gives additional particulars relating\\nto the voyage of Madoc, saying that Madoc put to sea from\\nAbergwilley, that after some weeks sailing due west he descried\\nland, probably New Foundland but whatever it was, it overjoyed\\nhim. He continues, Madoc then ranged the coast fixed on\\na spot to form his intended settlement. After he had stayed there\\nawhile to recruit the health of his men, he fortified his settlement\\nand left 120 there to protect it. Eeturning to Wales, he organized\\na second expedition and went back with his ten ships, and found\\nfew of those whom he had left remaining, but, with the help of\\nmanifest that that countrey was long before by Britahie discovered, afore either Columbus\\nor Americus Vesputius led any Spaniards thither.\\nOf the Voyage and retui ne of this Madoc, Powell says, there may be fables fiiined as\\nthe common people do use in distance of place and length of time rather to augment than\\nto diminish, but sure it is that he was there. And after he had returned home, and de-\\nclared the pleasant and fruitful countreys that he had seen without inhabitants, and upon\\nthe contrary part, for what barren and wilde ground his brethren and nephews did murther\\none another, he prepared a number of shippes, and got with himsuch men and women as\\nwere desirous to live in quietness,^ and taking leave of his friends tooke his journey thither-\\nward again. Therefore it is to be presupposed that he and his people inhabited part of\\nthose countreys, for so it appeareth by Francis Lopez de Gomara, that in Acwzanid and iu\\nother places the people honored the crosse. Whereby it may lie gathered that Christians\\nhad beene there before the coming of the Spaniards. But ))ecause these people were not\\nmany they followed the manners of the Land they came vnto, and used the language they\\nfound there. This Madoc, arriving in that western countrey, vnto which he came in the\\nyeere 1170, left most of his people there, and returning back for more of his own nation,\\nacquaintance and friends to inhaljit that fayre and large countrey, went thither again with\\nten sailes, as I find noted by Gutten Owen. I am of opinion, adds the writer, with\\nlittle judgment, that the land whereunto he came was near some port of Mexico. The\\ncauses which make me to think so be these. 1. The common report of the inhabitants of\\nthat countrey, which affirm that theyr rulers descended from a strange nation that came\\nthither fi om a farre countrey, which theory is confessed by Montezuma, King of that\\ncountrey, in an oration made for quieting his people, at his submission to the King of\\nCastile, Hernano Cortes being then present 2. The British words and names of places\\nused in that country, etc.", "height": "3678", "width": "2244", "jp2-path": "myvyrianarchaiol00deco_0013.jp2"}, "14": {"fulltext": "10\\nhis brothers Eneon and Edwal, put things once more in good order,\\nand remained there some time, expecting the arrival of more of their\\ncountrymen but they never came, and caused grievous disap-\\npointment, as the wars in Wales prevented further help. For\\nauthorities he refers to Cynwric ab Grono, Meredydd ab Rhys,\\nGuttain Ovvain, Lloyd, Hov^^ell, Prys [Rhys?J, Hackluit, Brough-\\nton, Purchas, Davy and others.\\nOn this it may be observed, first, that, in the time of Herbert,\\nthe interest in the subject of America had increased, and that, vi^hile\\nthis would tend to the amplification of facts, and the exercise of\\nimagination, it would, at the same time, lead to inquiry among the\\nWelsh for additional information. Herbert, indeed, produces an\\nadditional name, in the Pre-Columbian Bard, Cynwric ab Grono.\\nWhy, therefore, should not Sir Thomas be credited when he tells\\nus that he found new matter respecting the voyage? It is a fact,\\nthat he had access to the finest and by far the most valuable collec-\\ntion of ancient Welsh manuscripts ever brought together, that of\\nRhaglan Castle, collected by his relation, the distinguished Earl of\\nPembroke. Why are not these ancient testimonies produced? In\\nreply, it may be said that Rhaglan Castle, one of the first of British\\nCastles, was destroyed during the Cromwellian Wars.\\nNo one has yet produced any real reason for questioning the\\nveracity of Sir Thomas Herbert, and the only course open to the\\naverage mind among the promiscuous eulogists of Columbus, who\\ndo not understand the real merits of the Genoese and are bitter\\nagainst all Pre-Columbian adven turerson the high seas, is to employ\\nthe common, if not convincing argument, and to declare, in the\\nterms of the unhistorical class to which they belong, that Sir\\nThomas Herbert falsified.\\nAs it remains, however, no one has yet shown a shadow of a\\nreason for questioning Herbert s veracity, though we may properly\\ncriticize the use he made of his material for certainly Madoc sailed\\nfrom Wales. That fact is indisputable, and he must have sailed\\nfrom some port. That the name of the port lingered in tradition,\\nbeing preserved in some one of the many Rhaglan manuscripts,\\nis very likely, and it is not at all unlikely that Sir Thomas should dis-.\\ncover that the name of the port was Abergwilley. At least he says\\nso, and it is the business of the critic, in the absence of Sir Thomas\\nhimself, to prove that it is false, which cannot be done simply by\\ndeclaring it false. That the Welsh adventurer should have built a\\nfort in the land to which he sailed is not very remarkable. There\\nwere doubtless more things in the Rhaglan archives than are just\\nnow dreampt of in our histories, and doubtless the fuller story of\\nMadoc s voyage was preserved there in chronicles, which, together\\nwith many precious historical treasures, perished by fire. Indeed\\nthe wholesale destruction of Welsh manuscript in many parts of\\nGreat Britain is simply deplorable. At one time for instance nearly", "height": "3667", "width": "2114", "jp2-path": "myvyrianarchaiol00deco_0014.jp2"}, "15": {"fulltext": "11\\na hundred copies of the Chronicle of Caradoc existed in manuscript,\\nbut now nearly all have disappeared. This is not very surprising,\\nhowever, when we consider the fact that no copy of the earliest edi-\\ntions of the New Engla,nd Primer is known, though the book was\\none scattered abroad as thickly as the leaves in Vallambrosa.\\nUnder the circumstances, considering the indifference of the Welsh\\ntowards the early voyages, how poor would be the chance for the\\nperservation of the story of Madoc. The possibility, nevertheless,\\nis, that the class of partisan writers, who are unable to make the\\nnoble Columbus appear as great as they wish, will continue to reflect\\nupon Sir Thomas Herbert, who was an upright man and a diligent\\nstudent of the Welsh language and literature.\\nIt is true that the voyage is not mentioned by Giraldus Cam-\\nbrensis, who lived at the period of Madoc, but, like most writers of his\\nclass, he cared nothing about such subjects. It is also true, that the\\nvoyage is not mentioned in any copy of Guttyn Owain now accessi-\\nble but it is also a fact, that no two copies of these old narratives\\nwere alike, being furnished by the author at different periods, and\\nfor different persons and places, a book written out in old age being\\nentirely different from the history of the same subject in early years.\\nWhether Guttyn mentioned Madoc in one of his earlier or one of his\\nlater compositions, it is impossible to say, but the variety in the\\nmanuscripts is nevertheless pointed out and dwelt upon in Myvy-\\nrian Archaiology though not with the slightest reference to the\\nvoyage of Madoc. Still the remarks of the learned editor apply,\\nand throw light upon the fact, that the present version of Guttyn\\nOwain is defective as respects Madoc. An illustration of these re-\\nmarks will be had by comparing the last edition of Bancroft s His-\\ntory with that of half a century ago. Various voyages have dis-\\nappeared, and new adventures appear in the place of the old and\\nwhen the early editions have actually been worn out, or have dis-\\nappeared, as may actually prove to be the case and at no distant\\nperiod, some one may take up a recent edition, and declare that\\nBancroft never wrote a word about the Northmen.\\nHere, for the present, at least, we rest the case, presenting the\\nsubject as one worthy of study and consideration, and one, more-\\nover, that may richly reward the explorer of the unpublished ancient\\nWelsh manuscripts that may still lie neglected in obscure niches\\namong the mountains and in the seaport towns of beautiful Wales.\\nThe subject, however, should not be left before we emphasize an\\nimportant fact, namely, that, for the sake of the argument, the Post-\\nColumbian authorities could be left out, since even then there would\\nbe solid ground for the probability of Madoc s voyage. This, how-\\never, would be unfair, alike to history and to Lloyd and Powell, as\\nwell as to Sir Thomas Herbert. These men were scholars of emi-\\nnence and of high character. Their integrity has been impeached simply\\nwith sneers. Fair minded men, therefore, in the present stage of\\nLire.", "height": "3678", "width": "2244", "jp2-path": "myvyrianarchaiol00deco_0015.jp2"}, "16": {"fulltext": "12\\nthe discussion, must give these writers due credit, and Herbert\\nespecially must be believed, when he says that he found in the old\\nChronicles, which were open to him at Rhaglan Castle, the fact\\nthat Madoc sailed west from Abergwilly and built a fort in the land\\nbeyond the sea, where he planted a colony. About all that can be\\nsaid in reply, is that Columbus discovered America, wbieit is a\\nstatement that has had its day while it is equally clear, that the\\nreal claims of Columbus, when understood, will require no dispar-\\nagement of voyages made by earlier navigators.\\nNote. The question relating to traces of a Welsh occupation, said to\\nhave been found among the American Indians, especially as set forth by Catlin,\\nhas been avoided purposely, requiring, as it does, a treatment that the Author\\ncannot at present undertake. The Author s thanks are due to Mr. Henry Black-\\nwell for the free use of his library, which contains some two thousand titles\\nrelating to the Welsh; also to Justin Winsor, LL.D., Harvard College Library.\\nKevised and reprinted from the New-England Historical and Genealogical Register for\\nJanuary, 1891.", "height": "3667", "width": "2114", "jp2-path": "myvyrianarchaiol00deco_0016.jp2"}, "17": {"fulltext": "k", "height": "3678", "width": "2244", "jp2-path": "myvyrianarchaiol00deco_0017.jp2"}, "18": {"fulltext": "\u00e2\u0096\u00a0;00", "height": "3667", "width": "2114", "jp2-path": "myvyrianarchaiol00deco_0018.jp2"}, "19": {"fulltext": "1", "height": "3668", "width": "2147", "jp2-path": "myvyrianarchaiol00deco_0019.jp2"}, "20": {"fulltext": ",i,f;^RftRY OF CONGRESS\\n\u00e2\u0096\u00a0I\\n010 730 755 2", "height": "3707", "width": "2211", "jp2-path": "myvyrianarchaiol00deco_0020.jp2"}}