There are néere vnto, or not verie farre from the coasts of Britaine
many faire Ilands, wherof Ireland with hir neighbors (not here
handled) séeme to be the cheefe. But of the rest, some are much larger
or lesse than other, diuers in like sort enuironed continuallie with
the salt sea (whereof I purpose onelie to intreat, although not a few
of them be Ilands but at the floud) and other finallie be clipped
partlie by the fresh and partlie by the salt water, or by the fresh
alone, whereof I may speake afterward.
Of these salt Ilands (for so I call them that are enuironed with the
Ocean waues) some are fruitfull in wood, corne, wild foule, and
pasture ground for cattell, albeit that manie of them be accounted
barren, bicause they are onelie replenished with conies, and those of
sundrie colours (cherished of purpose by the owners, for their skins
or carcases in their prouision of household) without either man or
woman otherwise inhabiting in them. Furthermore, the greatest number
of these Ilands haue townes and parish-churches, within their seuerall
precincts, some mo, some lesse: and beside all this, are so inriched
with commodities, that they haue pleasant hauens, fresh springs, great
store of fish, and plentie of cattell, wherby the inhabitants doo
reape no small aduantage. How manie they are in number I cannot as yet
determine, bicause mine informations are not so fullie set downe, as
the promises of some on the one side, & mine expectation on the other
did extend vnto. Howbeit, first of all that there are certeine which
lie neere togither, as it were by heapes and clusters, I hope none
[Sidenote: Nesiadæ.]
[Sidenote: Insulæ Scylurum.]
[Sidenote: Sileustræ.]
[Sidenote: Syllanæ.]
[Sidenote: Sorlingæ.]
[Sidenote: Sylley.]
[Sidenote: Hebrides.]
[Sidenote: Hebudes.]
[Sidenote: Meuaniæ.]
[Sidenote: Orchades.]
will readilie denie. Of these also those called the Nesiadæ, Insulæ
Scylurum, Sileustræ, Syllanæ, now the Sorlings, and Iles of Silley,
lieng beyond Cornwall are one, and conteineth in number one hundreth
fourtie and seauen (each of them bearing grasse) besides shelfes and
shallowes. In like sort the companie of the Hebrides in old time
subject vnto Ireland are another, which are said to be 43. situat vpon
the west side of this Iland, betweene Ireland & Scotland, and of which
there are some that repute Anglesei, Mona Cæsaris, and other lieng
betweene them to be parcell, in their corrupted iudgement. The third
cluster or bunch consisteth of those that are called the Orchades, and
these lie vpon the northwest point of Scotland, being 31. aliàs 28. in
number, as for the rest they lie scattered here and there, and yet not
to be vntouched as their courses shall come about. There are also the
18. Shetland Iles, and other yet farther distant from them, of which
Iohn Frobuser I doubt not touched vpon some in his voiage to Meta
Incognita: but for somuch as I must speake of the Shetlands hereafter,
I doo not meane to spend anie time about them as yet.
There haue beene diuers that haue written of purpose, De insulis
Britanniæ, as Cæsar doth confesse. The like also may be seene by
Plutarch, who nameth one Demetrius a Britaine, that should set foorth
an exact treatise of each of them in order, and among other tell of
certeine desert Iles beyond Scotland dedicated to sundrie gods and
goddesses, but of one especiallie, where Briareus should hold Saturne
and manie other spirits fast bound with the chaines of an heauie
sléepe, as he heard, of which some die now and then, by meane wherof
the aire becommeth maruellouslie troubled, &c: as you may sée in
Plutarch De cessatione oraculorum, &c. But sith those bookes are now
perished, and the most of the said Ilands remaine vtterlie vnknowen,
euen to our owne selues (for who is able in our time to say where is
Glota, Hiucrion, Etta, Iduna, Armia, Æsarea, Barsa, Isiandium,
Icdelis, Xantisma, Indelis, Siata, Ga. Andros or Edros, Siambis,
Xanthos, Ricnea, Menapia, &c? whose names onelie are left in memorie
by ancient writers, but I saie their places not so much as heard of in
our daies) I meane (God willing) to set downe so manie of them with
their commodities, as I doo either know by Leland, or am otherwise
instructed of by such as are of credit. Herein also I will touch at
large those that are most famous, and breeflie passe ouer such as are
obscure and vnknowen, making mine entrance at the Thames mouth, and
directing this imagined course (for I neuer sailed it) by the south
part of the Iland into the west. From thence in like sort I will
proceed into the north, & come about againe by the east side into the
fall of the aforesaid streame, where I will strike saile, and safelie
be set ashore, that haue often in this voiage wanted water, but
oftener béene set a ground, especiallie on the Scotish side.
In beginning therefore, with such as lie in the mouth of the aforesaid
[Sidenote: Hoo.]
riuer, I must néeds passe by the How, which is not an Iland, and
therefore not within the compasse of my description at this time, but
almost an Iland, which parcels the Latins call Peninsulas, and I doo
english a Byland, vsing the word for such as a man may go into
drie-footed at the full sea, or on horssebacke at the low water
without anie boat or vessell: and such a one almost is Rochford
hundred in Essex also, yet not at this time to be spoken of, bicause
not the sea onelie but the fresh water also doth in maner enuiron it,
and is the cheefe occasion wherfore it is called an Iland. This How
lieth between Cliffe (in old time called Clouesho, to wit, Cliffe in
How or in the hundred of How) & the midwaie that goeth along by
Rochester, of which hundred there goeth an old prouerbe in rime after
this maner:
He that rideth into the hundred of How,
Beside pilfering sea-men shall find durt ynow.
[Sidenote: Greane.]
Next vnto this we haue the Greane, wherein is a towne of the same
denomination, an Ile supposed to be foure miles in length, and two in
[Sidenote: Shepey.]
bredth. Then come we to Shepey, which Ptolomie calleth Connos,
conteining seauen miles in length, and three in bredth, wherein is a
castell called Quinborow, and a parke, beside foure townes, of which
one is named Minster, another Eastchurch, the third Warden, and the
fourth Leyden: the whole soile being throughlie fed with shéepe, verie
well woodded, and (as I heare) belongeth to the Lord Cheyney, as
parcell of his inheritance. It lieth thirtéene miles by water from
Rochester, but the castell is fiftéene, and by south thereof are two
[Sidenote: Elmesie.]
[Sidenote: Hertesie.]
small Ilands, wherof the one is called Elmesie, and the more easterlie
Hertesie. In this also is a towne called Hertie, or Hartie, and all in
the Lath of Scraie, notwithstanding that Hartie lieth in the hundred
of Feuersham, and Shepey reteineth one especiall Bailie of hir owne.
From hence we passe by the Reculuers (or territorie belonging in time
past to one Raculphus, who erected an house of religion, or some such
thing there) vnto a little Iland in the Stoure mouth. Herevpon also
[Sidenote: Stureev.]
[Sidenote: Thanet.]
the Thanet abutteth, which Ptolomie calleth Toliapis, other Athanatos,
bicause serpents are supposed not to liue in the same, howbeit sith it
is not enuironed with the sea, it is not to be dealt withall as an
Iland in this place, albeit I will not let to borow of my
determination, and describe it as I go, bicause it is so fruitfull.
Beda noteth it in times past to haue conteined 600. families, which
are all one with Hidelands, [*]Ploughlands, Carrucates, or Temewares.
[Sidenote: * In Lincolneshire the word Hide or hideland,
was neuer in vse in old time as in other places, but for
Hide they vsed the word Carucate or cartware, or Teme,
and these were of no lesse compasse than an Hideland.
_Ex Hugone le blanc Monacho Petrolurgensi._]
He addeth also that it is diuided from our continent, by the riuer
called Wantsume, which is about thrée furlongs broad, and to be passed
ouer in two places onelie. But whereas Polydore saieth, the Thanet is
nine miles in length & not much lesse in bredth, it is now reckoned
that it hath not much aboue seauen miles from Nordtmuth to Sandwich,
and foure in bredth, from the Stoure to Margate, or from the south to
the north, the circuit of the whole being 17. or 18. as Leland also
noteth. This Iland hath no wood growing in it except it be forced, and
yet otherwise it is verie fruitfull, and beside that it wanteth few
other commodities, the finest chalke is said to be found there. Herein
also did Augustine the moonke first arriue, when he came to conuert
the Saxons, and afterward in processe of time, sundry religious houses
were erected there, as in a soile much bettered (as the supersticious
supposed) by the steps of that holy man, & such as came ouer with him.
There are at this time 10. parish churches at the least in the Ile of
Thanet, as S. Nicholas, Birchington, S. Iohns, Wood or Woodchurch, S.
Peters, S. Laurence, Mownton or Monkeron, Minster, S. Gyles and all
Saincts, whereof M. Lambert hath written at large in his description
of Kent, and placed the same in the Lath of sainct Augustine and
hundred of Kingslow, as may easilie be séene to him that will peruse
it.
[Sidenote: Rutupium.]
Sometime Rutupium or (as Beda calleth it) Reptacester, stood also in
this Iland, but now thorough alteration of the chanell of the Dour, it
is shut quite out, and annexed to the maine. It is called in these
daies Richborow, and as it should seeme builded vpon an indifferent
soile or high ground. The large brickes also yet to be seene there, in
the ruinous walles, declare either the Romane or the old British
workemanship. But as time decaieth all things, so Rutupium named
Ruptimuth is now become desolate, and out of the dust thereof Sandwich
producted, which standeth a full mile from the place where Reptacester
stood. The old writers affirme, how Arthur & Mordred fought one
notable battell here, wherin Gwallon or Gawan was slaine; at which
time the said rebell came against his souereigne with 70000. Picts,
Scots, Irish, Norwegians, &c: and with Ethelbert the first christian
king of Kent did hold his palace in this towne, and yet none of his
coine hath hitherto béene found there, as is dailie that of the
Romanes, whereof manie péeces of siluer and gold, so well as of
brasse, copper, and other mettall haue often beene shewed vnto me. It
should appéere in like sort, that of this place, all the whole coast
of Kent therabout was called Littus Rutupinum, which some doo not a
little confirme by these words of Lucane, to be read in his sixt booke
soone after the beginning:
[Sidenote: The last verse of one couple and first of an other.]
Aut vaga cum Tethis, Rutupináq; littora feruent,
Vnda Calidonios fallit turbata Britannos.
Or when the wandering seas
and Kentish coasts doo worke,
And Calidons of British bloud,
the troubled waues beguile.
Meaning in like sort by the latter, the coast néere Andredeswald,
which in time past was called Littus Calidonium of that wood or
forrest, as Leland also confirmeth. But as it is not my mind to deale
anie thing curiouslie in these by-matters, so in returning againe to
my purpose, and taking my iourney toward the Wight, I must needs passe
[Sidenote: Seolesey of Seles there taken.]
by Selesey, which sometime (as it should séeme) hath béene a noble
Iland, but now in maner a Byland or Peninsula, wherin the chéefe sée
of the bishop of Chichester was holden by the space of thrée hundred
twentie nine yeares, and vnder twentie bishops.
Next vnto this, we come vnto those that lie betweene the Wight and the
[Sidenote: Thorne.]
maine land, of which the most easterlie is called Thorne, and to saie
truth, the verie least of all that are to be found in that knot. Being
[Sidenote: Haling.]
past the Thorne, we touched vpon the Haling, which is bigger than the
Thorne, and wherein one towne is situat of the same denomination
[Sidenote: Port.]
beside another, whose name I remember not. By west also of the Haling
lieth the Port (the greatest of the three alreadie mentioned) and in
this standeth Portsmouth and Ringstéed) whereof also our Leland,
saieth thus: "Port Ile is cut from the shore by an arme of the maine
hauen, which breaketh out about thrée miles aboue Portsmouth, and
goeth vp two miles or more by morish ground to a place called
Portbridge, which is two miles from Portsmouth." Then breaketh there
out another créeke from the maine sea, about Auant hauen, which
gulleth vp almost to Portbridge, and thence is the ground disseuered,
so that Portsmouth standeth in a corner of this Ile, which Iland is in
length six miles, and three miles in bredth, verie good for grasse and
corne, not without some wood, and here and there inclosure. Beside
this, there is also another Iland north northwest of Port Ile, which
is now so worne and washed awaie with the working of the sea, that at
the spring tides it is wholie couered with water, and thereby made
vnprofitable. Finallie being past all these, and in compassing this
gulfe, we come by an other, which lieth north of Hirst castell, &
southeast of Kaie hauen, whereof I find nothing worthie to be noted,
sauing that it wanteth wood, as Ptolomie affirmeth in his
Geographicall tables of all those Ilands which enuiron our Albion.
[Sidenote: Wight.]
[Sidenote: Guidh.]
The Wight is called in Latine Vectis, but in the British speach Guidh,
that is to saie, Eefe or easie to be séene, or (as D. Caius saith)
separate, bicause that by a breach of the sea, it was once diuided
from the maine, as Sicilia was also from Italie, Anglesei from Wales,
Foulenesse from Essex, & Quinborow from Kent. It lieth distant from
the south shore of Britaine (where it is fardest off) by fiue miles &
a halfe, but where it commeth neerest, not passing a thousand paces,
and this at the cut ouer betwéene Hirst castell and a place called
Whetwell chine, as the inhabitants doo report. It conteineth in length
twentie miles, and in bredth ten, it hath also the north pole eleuated
by 50. degrées and 27. minutes, and is onelie 18. degrees in distance,
and 50. od minuts from the west point, as experience hath confirmed,
contrarie to the description of Ptolomie, and such as folow his
assertions in the same. In forme, it representeth almost an eg, and so
well is it inhabited with meere English at this present, that there
are thirtie six townes, villages and castels to be found therein,
beside 27. parish-churches, of which 15. or 16. haue their Parsons,
the rest either such poore Vicars or Curats, as the liuings left are
able to sustaine. The names of the parishes in the Wight are these.
[Sidenote: P signifieth parsonages, V. vicarages.]
1 Newport, a chap.
2 Cairsbrosie. v.
3 Northwood.
4 Arriun. v.
5 Goddeshill. v.
6 Whitwell.
7 S. Laurence. p.
8 Nighton. p.
9 Brading. v.
10 Newchurch. v.
11 S. Helene. v.
12 Yauerland. p.
13 Calborne. p.
14 Bonechurch. p.
15 Mottesson. p.
16 Yarmouth. p.
17 Thorley. v.
18 Shalflete. v.
19 Whippingham. p.
20 Wootton. p.
21 Chale. p.
22 Kingston. p.
23 Shorwell. p.
24 Gatrombe. p.
25 Brosie.
26 Brixston. p.
27 Bensted. p.
It belongeth for temporall iurisdiction to the countie of Hamshire,
but in spirituall cases it yéeldeth obedience to the sée of
Winchester, wherof it is a Deanerie. As for the soile of the whole
Iland, it is verie fruitfull, for notwithstanding the shore of it
selfe be verie full of rocks and craggie cliffes, yet there wanteth no
plentie of cattell, corne, pasture, medow ground, wild foule, fish,
fresh riuers, and pleasant woods, whereby the inhabitants may liue in
ease and welfare. It was first ruled by a seuerall king, and
afterwards wonne from the Britons by Vespasian the legat, at such time
as he made a voiage into the west countrie. In processe of time also
it was gotten from the Romans by the kings of Sussex, who held the
souereigntie of the same, and kept the king thereof vnder tribute,
till it was wonne also from them, in the time of Athelwold, the eight
king of the said south region, by Ceadwalla, who killed Aruald that
reigned there, and reserued the souereigntie of that Ile to himselfe
and his successors for euermore. At this time also there were 1200.
families in that Iland, whereof the said Ceadwalla gaue 300 to
Wilfride sometime bishop of Yorke, exhorting him to erect a church
there, and preach the gospell also to the inhabitants thereof, which
he in like maner performed, but according to the prescriptions of the
church of Rome, wherevnto he yéelded himselfe vassall and feudarie: so
that this Ile by Wilfride was first conuerted to the faith, though the
last of all other that hearkened vnto the word. After Ceadwalla,
Woolfride the parricide was the first Saxon prince that aduentured to
flie into the Wight for his safegard, whither he was driuen by
Kenwalch of the Westsaxons, who made great warres vpon him, and in the
end compelled him to go into this place for succour, as did also king
Iohn, in the rebellious stir of his Barons, practised by the clergie:
the said Iland being as then in possession of the Forts, as some doo
write that haue handled it of purpose. The first Earle of this Iland
that I doo read of, was one Baldwijne de Betoun, who married for his
second wife, the daughter of William le Grosse Earle of Awmarle; but
he dieng without issue by this ladie, she was maried the second time
to Earle Maundeuille, and thirdlie to William de Fortes, who finished
Skipton castell, which his wiues father had begun about the time of
king Richard the first. Hereby it came to passe also, that the Forts
were Earls of Awmarle, Wight, and Deuonshire a long time, till the
ladie Elizabeth Fortes, sole heire to all those possessions came to
age, with whom king Edward the third so preuailed through monie &
faire words, that he gat the possession of the Wight wholie into his
hands, & held it to himselfe & his successors, vntill Henrie the sixt,
about the twentieth of his reigne, crowned Henrie Beauchamp sonne to
the lord Richard Earle of Warwike king thereof and of Iardesey and
Gardesey with his owne hands, and therevnto gaue him a commendation of
the Dutchie of Warwike with the titles of Comes comitum Angliæ, lord
Spenser of Aburgauenie, and of the castell of Bristow (which castell
was sometime taken from his ancestors by king Iohn) albeit he did not
long enioy these great honors, sith he died 1446. without issue, and
seuen yéeres after his father.
After we be past the Wight, we go forward and come vnto Poole hauen,
[Sidenote: Brunt Keysy.]
wherein is an Ile, called Brunt Keysy, in which was sometime a
parish-church, and but a chapell at this present, as I heare. There
are also two other Iles, but as yet I know not their names.
We haue (after we are passed by these) another Ile, or rather Byland
[Sidenote: Portland.]
also vpon the coast named Portland not far from Waymouth or the Gowy,
a prettie fertile peece though without wood, of ten miles in circuit,
now well inhabited, but much better heretofore, and yet are there
about foure score housholds in it. There is but one street of houses
therein, the rest are dispersed, howbeit they belong all to one
parish-church, whereas in time past there were two within the compasse
of the same. There is also a castell of the kings, who is lord of the
Ile, although the bishop of Winchester be patrone of the church, the
parsonage whereof is the fairest house in all the péece. The people
there are no lesse excellent slingers of stones than were the
Baleares, who would neuer giue their children their dinners till they
had gotten the same with their slings, and therefore their parents
vsed to hang their meate verie high vpon some bough, to the end that
he which strake it downe might onlie haue it, whereas such as missed
were sure to go without it, Florus lib. 3. cap. 8. Which feat the
Portlands vse for the defense of their Iland, and yet otherwise are
verie couetous. And wheras in time past they liued onlie by fishing,
now they fall to tillage. Their fire bote is brought out of the Wight,
and other places, yet doo they burne much cow doong dried in the
sunne, for there is I saie no wood in the Ile, except a few elmes that
be about the church. There would some grow there, no doubt, if they
were willing to plant it, although the soile lie verie bleake and
open. It is not long since this was vnited to the maine, and likelie
yer long to be cut off againe.
Being past this we raise another, also in the mouth of the Gowy,
betweene Colsford and Lime, of which for the smalnesse thereof I make
no great account. Wherefore giuing ouer to intreat any farther of it,
[Sidenote: Iardsey.]
[Sidenote: Gardesey.]
I cast about to Iardsey, and Gardesey, which Iles with their
appurtenances apperteined in times past to the Dukes of Normandie, but
now they remaine to our Quéene, as parcell of Hamshire and
iurisdiction of Winchester, & belonging to hir crowne, by meanes of a
composition made betwéene K. Iohn of England and the K. of France,
when the dominions of the said prince began so fast to decrease, as
Thomas Sulmo saith.
[Sidenote: Iardsey.]
Of these two, Iardsey is the greatest, an Iland hauing thirtie miles
in compasse, as most men doo coniecture. There are likewise in the
same twelue parish-churches, with a colledge, which hath a Deane and
Prebends. It is distant from Gardsey full 21. miles, or thereabouts,
and made notable, by meanes of a bloudie fact doone there in Queene
Maries daies, whereby a woman called Perotine Massie wife vnto an
honest minister or préest, being great with childe by hir husband, was
burned to ashes: through the excéeding crueltie of the Deane and
Chapiter, then contending manifestlie against God for the mainteinance
of their popish and antichristian kingdome. In this hir execution, and
at such time as the fire caught holde of hir wombe, hir bellie brake,
and there issued a goodly manchilde from hir, with such force that it
fell vpon the cold ground quite beyond the heate and furie of the
[Sidenote: Horrible murther.]
flame, which quicklie was taken vp and giuen from one tormentor and
aduersarie to an other to looke vpon, whose eies being after a while
satisfied with the beholding thereof, they threw it vnto the carcase
of the mother which burned in the fire, whereby the poore innocent was
[Sidenote: Gardsey.]
consumed to ashes, whom that furious element would gladlie haue left
vntouched, & wherevnto it ministred (as you heare) an hurtlesse
passage. In this latter also, there haue béene in times past, fine
religious houses, and nine castels, howbeit in these daies there is
but one parish-church left standing in the same. There are also
certeine other small Ilands, which Henrie the second in his donation
calleth Insulettas, beside verie manie rocks, whereof one called
[Sidenote: S. Hilaries.]
S. Hilaries (wherein sometime was a monasterie) is fast vpon Iardsey,
[Sidenote: Cornet. Serke.]
another is named the Cornet, which hath a castel not passing an arrow
shot from Gardsey. The Serke also is betwéene both, which is six miles
about, and hath another annexed to it by an Isthmus or Strictland,
wherein was a religious house, & therwithall great store of conies.
[Sidenote: Brehoc.]
[Sidenote: Gytho.]
[Sidenote: Herme.]
There is also the Brehoc, the Gytho, and the Herme, which latter is
foure miles in compasse, and therein was sometime a Canonrie, that
afterward was conuerted into a house of Franciscanes. There are two
other likewise neere vnto that of S. Hilarie, of whose names I haue no
[Sidenote: Burhoo, aliàs the Ile of rats.]
notice. There is also the rockie Ile of Burhoo, but now the Ile of
rats, so called of the huge plentie of rats that are found there,
[Sidenote: Turkie conies.]
though otherwise it be replenished with infinit store of conies,
betwéene whome and the rats, as I coniecture, the same which we call
Turkie conies, are oftentimes produced among those few houses that are
to be seene in this Iland. Some are of the opinion that there hath
béene more store of building in this Ile than is at this present to be
seene, & that it became abandoned through multitudes of rats, but
hereof I find no perfect warrantise that I may safelie trust vnto, yet
in other places I read of the like thing to haue happened, as in Gyara
of the Cyclades, where the rats increased so fast that they draue away
the people. Varro speaketh of a towne in Spaine that was ouerthrowne
by conies. The Abderits were driuen out of Thracia by the increase of
mice & frogs; and so manie conies were there on a time in the Iles
Maiorca and Minorca (now perteining to Spaine) that the people began
to starue for want of bread, and their cattell for lacke of grasse.
And bicause the Ilanders were not able to ouercome them, Augustus was
constreined to send an armie of men to destroie that needlesse brood.
[Sidenote: Causes of the desolation of sundrie cities and townes.]
Plin. lib. 8. cap. 55. A towne also in France sometime became desolate
onelie by frogs and todes. Another in Africa by locustes and also by
grashoppers, as Amicla was by snakes and adders. Theophrast telleth of
an whole countrie consumed by the palmer-worme, which is like vnto an
huge caterpiller. Plinie writeth of a prouince vpon the borders of
Æthiopia made void of people by ants and scorpions, and how the
citizens of Megara in Grecia were faine to leaue that citie through
multitudes of bées, as waspes had almost driuen the Ephesians out of
Ephesus. But this of all other (whereof Ælianus intreateth) is most
woonderfull, that when the Cretenses were chased out of a famous citie
of their Iland by infinit numbers of bees, the said bees conuerted
their houses into hiues, and made large combes in them which reached
from wall to wall, wherein they reserued their honie. Which things
being dulie considered, I doo not denie the possibilitie of the
expulsion of the inhabitants out of the Ile of Burhoo by rats,
although I say that I doo not warrant the effect, bicause I find it
not set downe directlie in plaine words.
[Sidenote: Alderney.]
Beside this there is moreouer the Ile of Alderney a verie pretie plot,
about seuen miles in compasse, wherin a préest not long since did find
[Sidenote: _Comment. Brit._]
a coffin of stone, in which lay the bodie of an huge giant, whose fore
téeth were so big as a mans fist, as Leland dooth report. Certes this
to me is no maruell at all, sith I haue read of greater, and mentioned
them alreadie in the beginning of this booke. Such a tooth also haue
they in Spaine wherevnto they go in pilgrimage as vnto S. Christophers
tooth, but it was one of his eie teeth, if Ludouicus Viues say true,
who went thither to offer vnto the same. S. August. de ciuit. lib. 15.
cap. 9. writeth in like sort, of such another found vpon the coast of
Vtica, and thereby gathereth that all men in time past were not onlie
far greater than they be now, but also the giants farre exceeding the
[Sidenote: _Iliad._ 6.]
huge stature and height of the highest of them all. Homer complaineth
that men in his time were but dwarfes in comparison of such as liued
[Sidenote: _Iliad._ 5. & 7.]
in the wars of Troy. See his fift Iliad, where he speaketh of
Diomedes, and how he threw a stone at Æneas, (which 14. men of his
[Sidenote: _Vergilius Aen._ 12.]
time were not able to stirre) and therewith did hit him on the thigh
and ouerthrew him. Virgil also noteth no lesse in his owne deuise, but
Iuvenal bréefelie comprehendeth all this in his 15. Satyra, where he
saith:
Saxa inclinatis per humum quæsita lacertis
Incipiunt torquere, domestica seditione
Tela, nec hunc lapidem, quali se Turnus, & Aiax,
Et quo Tytides percussit pondere coxam
Aeneæ: sed quem valeant emittere dextræ
Illis dissimiles, & nostro tempore nata.
Nam genus hoc viuo iam decrescebat Homero,
Terra malos homines nunc educat, atque pusillos,
Ergo Deus quicunque aspexit, ridet, & odit.
But to returne againe vnto the Ile of Alderney, from whence I haue
digressed. Herein also is a prettie towne with a parish-church, great
plentie of corne, cattell, conies, and wilde foule, whereby the
inhabitants doo reape much gaine and commoditie: onelie wood is their
want, which they otherwise supplie. The language also of such as dwell
in these Iles, is French; but the wearing of their haire long, & the
attire of those that liued in Gardsey and Iardsey, vntill the time of
king Henrie the eight, was all after the Irish guise. The Ile of
Gardsey also was sore spoiled by the French 1371. and left so
desolate, that onlie one castell remained therein vntouched.
Beyond this, and neerer unto the coast of England (for these doo lie
about the verie middest of the British sea) we haue one Iland called
[Sidenote: Bruchsey.]
the Bruch or the Bruchsey, lieng about two miles from Poole, whither
men saile from the Fromouth, and wherein is nought else, but an old
chapell, without any other housing.
Next to this also are certeine rocks, which some take for Iles, as
Illeston rocke néere vnto Peritorie, Horestan Ile a mile from
Peritorie by south, Blacke rocke Ile southeast from Peritorie toward
Teygnemouth, and also Chester, otherwise called Plegimundham: but how
(to saie truth) or where this latter lieth, I cannot make report as
yet, neuerthelesse sith Leland noteth them togither, I thinke it not
my part to make separation of them.
[Sidenote: Mount Iland.]
From hence the next Ile is called Mount Iland, otherwise Mowtland,
situate ouer against Lough, about two miles from the shore, and well
néere thrée miles in compasse. This Iland hath no inhabitants, but
onelie the warrenner and his dog, who looketh vnto the conies there:
notwithstanding that vpon the coast thereof in time of the yeere,
great store of pilchards is taken, and carried from thence into manie
places of our countrie. It hath also a fresh well comming out of the
rocks, which is worthie to be noted in so small a compasse of ground.
Moreouer in the mouth of the créeke that leadeth vnto Lough, or Loow,
as some call it, there is another little Iland of about eight acres of
[Sidenote: S. Nicholas Iland.]
ground called S. Nicholas Ile, and midwaie betweene Falmouth and
[Sidenote: Greefe.]
Dudman (a certeine Promontorie) is such another named the Gréefe,
[Sidenote: Inis Prynin.]
wherein is great store of gulles & sea foule. As for Inis Prynin, it
lieth within the Baie, about three miles from Lizards, and containeth
not aboue two acres of ground, from which Newltjn is not far distant,
and wherein is a poore fisher-towne and a faire wel-spring, wherof as
yet no writer hath made mention. After these (omitting Pendinant in
[Sidenote: S. Michaels mount.]
the point of Falmouth hauen) we came at last to saint Michaels mount,
whereof I find this description readie to my hand in Leland.
The compasse of the root of the mount of saint Michael is not much
more than halfe a mile, and of this the south part is pasturable and
bréedeth conies, the residue high and rockie soile. In the north side
thereof also is a garden, with certeine houses and shops for
fishermen. Furthermore, the waie to the mountaine lieth at the north
side, and is frequented from halfe eb to halfe floud, the entrance
beginning at the foot of the hill, and so ascending by steps and
greeces westward, first; and then eastward to the vtter ward of the
church. Within the same ward also is a court stronglie walled, wherein
on the south side is a chapell of S. Michaell, and in the east side
another of our ladie. Manie times a man may come to the hill on foot.
On the north northwest side hereof also, is a Piere for botes and
ships, and in the Baie betwixt the mount and Pensardz are seene at the
lowe water marke, diuers roots and stubs of trées, beside hewen stone,
sometimes of doores & windowes, which are perceiued in the inner part
of the Baie, and import that there hath not onelie beene building, but
also firme ground, whereas the salt water doth now rule and beare the
[Sidenote: S. Clements Ile.]
maisterie. Beyond this is an other little Ile, called S. Clements Ile,
of a chapell there dedicated to that saint. It hath a little from it
also the Ile called Mowshole, which is not touched in any Chard. As
for Mowshole it selfe, it is a towne of the maine, called in Cornish
Port Enis, that is, Portus insulæ, whereof the said Ile taketh
denomination, and in tin workes néere vnto the same there hath beene
found of late, speare heds, battell axes, and swords of copper wrapped
vp in linnen, and scarselie hurt with rust or other hinderance. Certes
the sea hath won verie much in this corner of our Iland, but chéefelie
betwéene Mowshole and Pensardz.
Hauing thus passed ouer verie neere all such Iles, as lie vpon the
south coast of Britaine, and now being come vnto the west part of our
countrie, a sudden Pirie catcheth hold of vs (as it did before, when
we went to Iardsey) and carrieth vs yet more westerlie among the flats
[Sidenote: Sylley Iles or Syl.]
of Sylley. Such force dooth the southeast wind often shewe vpon poore
trauellers in those parts, as the south and southwest dooth vpon
strangers against the British coast, that are not skilfull of our
rodes and harborowes. Howbeit such was our successe in this voiage,
that we feared no rocks, more than did king Athelstane, when he
subdued them (and soone after builded a colledge of preests at S.
Burien, in performance of his vow made when he enterprised this voiage
for his safe returne) nor anie tempest of weather in those parts that
could annoie our passage. Perusing therefore the perils whereinto we
were pitifullie plunged, we found the Syllane Ilands (places often
robbed by the Frenchmen and Spaniards) to lie distant from the point
of Cornewall, about three or foure hours sailing, or twentie English
miles, as some men doo account it. There are of these (as I said) to
the number of one hundreth fortie seauen in sight, whereof each one is
greater or lesse than other, and most of them sometime inhabited:
howbeit, there are twentie of them, which for their greatnesse and
commodities excéed all the rest. Thereto (if you respect their
position) they are situat in maner of a circle or ring, hauing an huge
lake or portion of the sea in the middest of them, which is not
without perill to such as with small aduisement enter into the same.
Certes it passeth my cunning, either to name or to describe all these
one hundreth fourtie seauen, according to their estate; neither haue I
had anie information of them, more than I haue gathered by Leland, or
gotten out of a map of their description, which I had sometime of
Reginald Woolfe: wherfore omitting as it were all the rags, and such
as are not worthie to haue anie time spent about their particular
descriptions, I will onelie touch the greatest, and those that lie
togither (as I said) in maner of a roundle.
[Sidenote: S. Maries Ile.]
The first and greatest of these therefore, called S. Maries Ile, is
about fiue miles ouer, or nine miles in compasse. Therein also is a
parish-church, and a poore towne belonging thereto, of threescore
housholds, beside a castell, plentie of corne, conies, wild swans,
puffens, gulles, cranes, & other kinds of foule in great abundance.
This fertile Iland being thus viewed, we sailed southwards by the
[Sidenote: Agnus Ile.]
Norman rocke, and S. Maries sound vnto Agnus Ile, which is six miles
ouer, and hath in like sort one towne or parish within the same of
fiue or six housholds, beside no small store of hogs & conies of
sundrie colours, verie profitable to their owners. It is not long
since this Ile was left desolate, for when the inhabitants thereof
returned from a feast holden in S. Maries Ile, they were all drowned,
and not one person left aliue. There are also two other small Ilands,
[Sidenote: Annot.]
betwéene this and the Annot, whereof I find nothing worthie relation:
for as both of them ioind togither are not comparable to the said
Annot for greatnesse and circuit, so they want both hogs and conies,
[Sidenote: Minwisand.]
[Sidenote: Smithy sound.]
[Sidenote: Suartigan.]
[Sidenote: Rousuian.]
[Sidenote: Rousuiar.]
[Sidenote: Cregwin.]
wherof Annot hath great plentie. There is moreouer the Minwisand, from
whence we passe by the Smithy sound (leauing thrée little Ilands on
the left hand, vnto the Suartigan Iland, then to Rousuian, Rousuiar,
and the Cregwin, which seauen are (for the most part) replenished with
conies onelie, and wild garlike, but void of wood & other commodities,
sauing of a short kind of grasse, or here & there some firzes wheron
their conies doo féed.
Leauing therefore these desert peeces, we incline a little toward the
[Sidenote: Moncarthat.]
[Sidenote: Inis Welseck.]
[Sidenote: Suethiall.]
[Sidenote: Rat Iland.]
northwest, where we stumble or run vpon Moncarthat, Inis Welseck, &
Suethiall. We came in like sort vnto Rat Iland, wherein are so manie
monstrous rats, that if anie horsses, or other beasts, happen to come
thither, or be left there by negligence but one night, they are sure
to be deuoured & eaten vp, without all hope of recouerie. There is
[Sidenote: Anwall. Brier.]
moreouer the Anwall and the Brier, Ilands in like sort void of all
good furniture, conies onelie excepted, and the Brier (wherein is a
village, castell, and parish-church) bringeth foorth no lesse store of
hogs, and wild foule, than Rat Iland doth of rats, whereof I greatlie
maruell.
[Sidenote: Rusco.]
[Sidenote: Inis widd[=o].]
By north of the Brier, lieth the Rusco, which hath a Labell or Byland
stretching out toward the southwest, called Inis widdon. This Rusco is
verie neere so great as that of S. Maries. It hath moreouer an hold,
and a parish within it, beside great store of conies and wild foule,
whereof they make much gaine in due time of the yeare. Next vnto this
[Sidenote: Round Iland. S. Lides.]
we come to the Round Iland, which is about a mile ouer, then to S.
Lides Iland, (wherein is a parish-church dedicated to that Saint,
beside conies, wood, and wild foule, of which two later there is some
[Sidenote: Notho. Auing.]
indifferent store) the Notho, the Auing, (one of them being situat by
south of another, and the Auing halfe a mile ouer, which is a iust
[Sidenote: Tyan.]
halfe lesse than the Notho) and the Tyan, which later is a great
Iland, furnished with a parish-church, and no small plentie of conies
[Sidenote: S. Martines.]
as I heare. After the Tyan we come to S. Martines Ile, wherein is a
faire towne, the Ile it selfe being next vnto the Rusco for
greatnesse, and verie well furnished with conies & fresh springs. Also
betwixt this and S. Maries, are ten other, smaller, which reach out of
[Sidenote: Knolworth.]
[Sidenote: Sniuilliuer.]
[Sidenote: Menweth[=a].]
[Sidenote: Vollis. 1.]
[Sidenote: Surwihe.]
[Sidenote: Vollis. 2.]
[Sidenote: Arthurs Ile.]
[Sidenote: Guiniliuer.]
[Sidenote: Nenech.]
[Sidenote: Gothrois.]
the northeast into the southwest, as Knolworth, Sniuilliuer,
Menwetham, Vollis. 1. Surwihe, Vollis. 2. Arthurs Iland, Guiniliuer,
Nenech and Gothrois, whose estates are diuers: howbeit as no one of
these is to be accounted great in comparison of the other, so they all
yéeld a short grasse méet for sheepe and conies, as doo also the rest.
In the greater Iles likewise (whose names are commonlie such as those
of the townes or churches standing in the same) there are (as I here)
sundry lakes, and those neuer without great plentie of wild foule, so
that the Iles of Sylley, are supposed to be no lesse beneficiall to
their lords, than anie other whatsoeuer, within the compasse of our
[Sidenote: Wild swine in Sylley.]
Ile, or neere vnto our coasts. In some of them also are wild swine.
And as these Iles are supposed to be a notable safegard to the coast
of Cornewall, so in diuerse of them great store of tin is likewise to
be found. There is in like maner such plentie of fish taken among
these same, that beside the feeding of their swine withall, a man
shall haue more there for a penie, than in London for ten grotes.
Howbeit their cheefe commoditie is made by Keigh, which they drie, cut
in peeces, and carie ouer into little Britaine, where they exchange it
there, for salt, canuas, readie monie, or other merchandize which they
doo stand in need of. A like trade haue some of them also, with
Buckhorne or dried whiting, as I heare. But sith the author of this
report did not flatlie auouch it, I passe ouer that fish as not in
season at this time. Thus haue we viewed the richest and most wealthie
Iles of Sylley, from whence we must direct our course eastwards, vnto
the mouth of the Sauerne, and then go backe againe vnto the west point
of Wales, continuing still our voiage along vpon the west coast of
Britaine, till we come to the Soluey whereat the kingdomes part, &
from which foorth on we must touch such Ilands as lie vpon the west
and north shore, till we be come againe vnto the Scotish sea, and to
our owne dominions.
[Sidenote: Helenus. Priamus.]
From the point of Cornewall therefore, or promontorie of Helenus (so
called, as some thinke, bicause Helenus the son of Priamus who arriued
here with Brute lieth buried there, except the sea haue washed awaie
his sepulchre) vntill we come vnto the mouth of Sauerne, we haue none
Ilands at all that I doo know or heare of, but one litle Byland, Cape
or Peninsula, which is not to be counted of in this place. And yet
[Sidenote: Pendinas.]
sith I haue spoken of it, you shall vnderstand, that it is called
Pendinas, and beside that the compasse thereof is not aboue a mile,
this is to be remembered farder thereof, how there standeth a Pharos
or light therein, for ships which saile by those coasts in the night.
There is also at the verie point of the said Pendinas, a chappell of
saint Nicholas, beside the church of saint Ia, an Irish woman saint.
It belonged of late to the Lord Brooke, but now (as I gesse) the Lord
Mountioy enioieth it. There is also a blockhouse, and a péere in the
eastside thereof, but the péere is sore choked with sand, as is the
whole shore furthermore from S. Ies vnto S. Carantokes, insomuch that
the greatest part of this Byland is now couered with sands, which the
sea casteth vp, and this calamitie hath indured little aboue fiftie
yeares, as the inhabitants doo affirme.
There are also two rocks neere vnto Tredwy, and another not farre from
Tintagell, all which many of the common sort doo repute and take for
Iles: wherefore as one desirous to note all, I thinke it not best that
these should be omitted: but to proceed. When we be come further, I
meane vnto the Sauerne mouth, we meet the two Holmes, of which one is
called Stepholme, and the other Flatholme, of their formes béeing in
déed parcels of ground and low soiles fit for little else than to
beare grasse for cattell, whereof they take those names. For Holme is
an old Saxon word, applied to all such places. Of these also Stepholme
lieth south of the Flatholme, about foure or fiue miles; the first
also a mile and an halfe, the other two miles or thereabout in length;
but neither of them a mile and an halfe in breadth, where they doo
seeme to be the broadest.
It should séeme by some that they are not worthie to be placed among
Ilands: yet othersome are of opinion, that they are not altogither so
base, as to be reputed amongst flats or rocks: but whatsoeuer they be,
this is sure, that they oft annoie such passengers and merchants as
passe and repasse vpon that riuer. Neither doo I read of any other
[Sidenote: Barri.]
Iles which lie by east of these, saue onelie the Barri, and Dunwen:
[Sidenote: Barri is a flight shot from the shore.]
the first of which is so called of one Barroc, a religious man (as
Gyraldus saith) and is about a flight shot from the shore. Herin also
is a rocke standing at the verie entrance of the cliffe, which hath a
little rift or chine vpon the side, wherevnto if a man doo laie his
eare, he shall heare a noise, as if smithes did worke at the forge,
sometimes blowing with their bellowes, and sometimes striking and
clinking with hammers, whereof manie men haue great wonder; and no
maruell. It is about a mile in compasse, situat ouer against
Aberbarry, and hath a chappell in it.
[Sidenote: Dunwen.]
Dunwen is so called of a church (dedicated to a Welsh woman saint,
called Dunwen) that standeth there. It lieth more than two miles from
Henrosser, right against Neuen, and hath within it two faire mils, &
great store of conies. Certes if the sand increase so fast hereafter
as it hath done of late about it, it will be vnited to the maine
within a short season. Beyond these and toward the coast of southwales
lie two other Ilands, larger in quantitie than the Holmes, of which
[Sidenote: Caldee.]
the one is called Caldee or Inis Pyr. It hath a parish-church with a
spire steeple, and a pretie towne belonging to the countie of
Pembroke, and iurisdiction of one Dauid in Wales. Leland supposeth the
ruines that are found therein to haue béene of an old priorie
sometimes called Lille, which was a cell belonging to the monasterie
[Sidenote: Londy.]
of S. Dogmael, but of this I can saie nothing. The other hight Londy,
wherein is also a village or towne, and of this Iland the parson of
the said towne is not onelie the captaine, but hath thereto weife,
distresse, and all other commodities belonging to the same. It is
little aboue sixteene miles from the coast of Wales, though it be
thirtie from Caldée, and yet it serueth (as I am informed) lord and
king in Deuonshire. Moreouer in this Iland is great plentie of sheepe,
but more conies, and therewithall of verie fine and short grasse for
their better food & pasturage; likewise much Sampere vpon the shore,
which is carried from thence in barrels. And albeit that there be not
scarslie fourtie housholds in the whole, yet the inhabitants there
with huge stones (alredie prouided) may kéepe off thousands of their
enimies, bicause it is not possible for anie aduersaries to assaile
them, but onelie at one place, and with a most dangerous entrance. In
this voiage also we met with two other Ilands, one of them called
Shepes Ile, the other Rat Ile; the first is but a little plot lieng at
the point of the Baie, before we come at the Blockehouse which
standeth north of the same, at the verie entrie into Milford hauen
vpon the eastside. By north also of Shepes Ile, and betwéene it &
Stacke rocke, which lieth in the verie middest of the hauen, at
another point is Rat Ile yet smaller than the former, but what
[Sidenote: Schalmey.]
commodities are to be found in them as yet I cannot tell. Schalmey the
greater and the lesse lie northwest of Milford hauen a good waie. They
belong both to the crowne, but are not inhabited, bicause they be so
[Sidenote: Schoncold.]
often spoiled with pirates. Schoncold Ile ioineth vnto great Schalmey,
and is bigger than it, onlie a passage for ships parteth them, whereby
they are supposed to be one: Leland noteth them to lie in Milford
hauen. Beside these also we found the Bateholme, Stockeholme, Midland,
and Gresholme Iles, and then doubling the Wellock point, we came into
a Baie, where we saw saint Brides Iland, and another in the Sound
betwéene Ramsey and the point, of all which Iles and such rocks as are
offensiue to mariners that passe by them, it may be my hap to speake
more at large hereafter.
[Sidenote: Limen or Ramsey.]
Limen (as Ptolomie calleth it) is situat ouer against S. Dauids in
Wales (wherevnto we must néeds come, after we be past another little
one, which some men doo call Gresholme) & lieth directlie west of
Schalmey. In a late map I find this Limen to be called in English
Ramsey: Leland also confirmeth the same, and I cannot learne more
thereof, than that it is much greater than anie of the other last
mentioned (sithens I described the Holmes) and for temporall
iurisdiction a member of Penbrookeshire, as it is vnto S. Dauids for
matters concerning the church. Leland in his commentaries of England
lib. 8. saieth that it contained thrée Ilets, whereof the bishop of S.
Dauids is owner of the greatest, but the chanter of S. Dauids claimeth
the second, as the archdeacon of Cairmarden dooth the third. And in
these is verie excellent pasture for sheepe and horses, but not for
other horned beasts which lacke their vpper téeth by nature (whose
substance is conuerted into the nourishment of their hornes) and
[Sidenote: Mawr.]
therefore cannot bite so low. Next vnto this Ile we came to Mawr, an
Iland in the mouth of Mawr, scant a bow shoot ouer, and enuironed at
the low water with fresh, but at the high with salt, and here also is
excellent catching of herings.
After this, procéeding on still with our course, we fetched a
compasse, going out of the north toward the west, and then turning
againe (as the coast of the countrie leadeth) vntill we sailed full
south, leauing the shore still on our right hand, vntill we came vnto
a couple of Iles, which doo lie vpon the mouth of the Soch, one of
them being distant (as we gessed) a mile from the other, and neither
of them of anie greatnesse almost worthie to be remembred. The first
[Sidenote: Tudfall.]
that we came vnto is called Tudfall, and therein is a church, but
without anie parishioners, except they be shéepe and conies. The
quantitie thereof also is not much aboue six acres of ground, measured
[Sidenote: Penthlin.]
by the pole. The next is Penthlin, Myrach, or Mererosse, situat in
maner betwixt Tudfall or Tuidall and the shore, and herein is verie
good pasture for horsses, wherof (as I take it) that name is giuen
[Sidenote: Guelyn.]
vnto it. Next vnto them, we come vnto Gwelyn, a little Ile which lieth
southeast of the fall of Daron or Daren, a thing of small quantitie,
and yet almost parted in the mids by water, and next of all vnto
Bardsey an Iland lieng ouer against Periuincle the southwest point or
promontorie of Northwales (where Merlin Syluestris lieth buried) and
whither the rest of the monks of Bangor did flie to saue themselues,
when 2100. of their fellowes were slaine by the Saxon princes in the
quarell of Augustine the monke, & the citie of Caerleon or Chester
raced to the ground, and not since reedified againe to anie purpose.
Ptolomie calleth this Iland Lymnos, the Britons Enlhi, and therein
also is a parish-church, as the report goeth. From hence we cast
about, gathering still toward the northest, till we came to Caer
Ierienrhod, a notable rocke situat ouer against the mouth of the
Leuenni, wherein standeth a strong hold or fortresse, or else some
towne or village. Certes we could not well discerne whether of both it
was, bicause the wind blew hard at southwest, the morning was mistie,
and our mariners doubting some flats to be couched not far from
thence, hasted awaie vnto Anglesei, whither we went a pace with a
readie wind euen at our owne desire.
This Iland (which Tacitus mistaketh no doubt for Mona Cæsaris, and so
dooth Ptolomie as appeareth by his latitudes) is situat about two
miles from the shore of Northwales. Paulus Iouius gesseth that it was
[Sidenote: Anglesei cut from Wales by working of the sea.]
in time past ioined to the continent, or maine of our Ile, and onelie
cut off by working of the Ocean, as Sicilia peraduenture was from
Italie by the violence of the Leuant or practise of some king that
reigned there. Thereby also (as he saith) the inhabitants were
constreind at the first to make a bridge ouer into the same, till the
breach waxed so great, that no such passage could anie longer be
mainteined. But as these things doo either not touch my purpose at
all, or make smallie with the present description of this Ile: so (in
[Sidenote: Anglesei.]
comming to my matter) Anglesei is found to be full so great as the
Wight, and nothing inferiour, but rather surmounting it, as that also
which Cæsar calleth Mona in fruitfulnesse of soile by manie an hundred
fold. In old time it was reputed and taken for the common granarie to
Wales, as Sicilia was to Rome and Italie for their prouision of corne.
In like maner the Welshmen themselues called it the mother of their
countrie, for giuing their minds wholie to pasturage, as the most
easie and lesse chargeable trade, they vtterlie neglected tillage, as
men that leaned onelie to the fertilitie of this Iland for their
corne, from whence they neuer failed to receiue continuall abundance.
Gyraldus saith that the Ile of Anglesei was no lesse sufficient to
minister graine for the sustentation of all the men of Wales, than the
mountaines called Ereri or Snowdoni in Northwales were to yeeld
plentie of pasture for all the cattell whatsoeuer within the aforesaid
compasse, if they were brought togither and left vpon the same. It
contained moreouer so manie townes welnéere, as there be daies in a
yeare, which some conuerting into Cantreds haue accompted but for
three, as Gyraldus saith. Howbeit as there haue beene I say 363.
townes in Anglesei, so now a great part of that reckoning is vtterlie
shroonke, and so far gone to decaie, that the verie ruines of them are
vnneath to be séene & discerned: and yet it séemeth to be méetlie well
inhabited. Leland noting the smalnesse of our hundreds in comparison
to that they were in time past, addeth (so far as I remember) that
there are six of them in Anglesei, as Menay, Maltraith, Liuon,
Talbellion, Torkalin, and Tindaithin: herevnto Lhoid saith also how it
belonged in old time vnto the kingdome of Guinhed or Northwales, and
that therein at a towne called Aberfraw, being on the southwestside of
the Ile, the kings of Gwinhed held euermore their palaces, whereby it
came to passe, that the kings of Northwales were for a long time
called kings of Aberfraw, as the Welshmen named the kings of England
kings of London, till better instruction did bring them farther
knowledge.
There are in Anglesei many townes and villages, whose names as yet I
cannot orderlie atteine vnto: wherefore I will content my selfe with
the rehearsall of so many as we viewed in sailing about the coasts,
and otherwise heard report of by such as I haue talked withall.
Beginning therefore at the mouth of the Gefni (which riseth at
northeast aboue Gefni or Geuenni, 20. miles at the least into the
land) we passed first by Hundwyn, then by Newborow, Port-Hayton,
Beaumarrais, Penmon, Elian, Almwoch, Burric (whereby runneth a rill
into a creeke) Cornew, Holihed (standing in the promontorie) Gwifen,
Aberfraw, and Cair Cadwalader, of all which, the two latter stand as
it were in a nuke betweene the Geuenni water, and the Fraw, wherevpon
Aberfraw is situate. Within the Iland we heard onelie of Gefni afore
mentioned, of Gristial standing vpon the same water, of Tefri, of
Lanerchimedh, Lachtenfarwy and Bodedrin, but of all these the cheefe
is now Beaumarais, which was builded sometime by king Edward the
first, and therewithall a strong castell about the yeare 1295. to
kéepe that land in quiet. There are also as Leland saith 31.
parish-churches beside 69. chappels, that is, a hundreth in all. But
héerof I can saie little, for lacke of iust instruction. In time past,
the people of this Ile vsed not to seuerall their grounds, but now
they dig stonie hillocks, and with the stones thereof they make rude
walles, much like to those of Deuonshire, sith they want hedge bote,
fire bote, and house bote, or (to saie at one word) timber, bushes and
trees. As for wine, it is so plentifull and good cheape there most
commonlie as in London, through the great recourse of merchants from
France, Spaine, and Italie vnto the aforesaid Iland. The flesh
likewise of such cattell as is bred there, wherof we haue store
yearelie brought vnto Cole faire in Essex is most delicate, by reason
of their excellent pasture, and so much was it esteemed by the Romans
in time past, that Columella did not onelie commend and preferre them
before those of Liguria, but the emperours themselues being neere hand
also caused their prouision to be made for nete out of Anglesei, to
feed vpon at their owne tables as the most excellent beefe. It taketh
now the name of Angles and Ei, which is to meane the Ile of Englismen,
bicause they wan it in the Conquerors time, vnder the leading of Hugh
earle of Chester, and Hugh of Shrewesburie. Howbeit they recouered it
againe in the time of William Rufus, when they spoiled the citie of
Glocester, ransacked Shrewesburie, and returned home with great bootie
and pillage, in which voiage also they were holpen greatlie by the
Irishmen, who after thrée yeares ioined with them againe, and slue the
earle of Shrewesburie (which then liued) with great crueltie. The
Welshmen call it Tiremone and Mon, and herein likewise is a
[Sidenote: Holie head, or Cair kiby.]
promontorie or Byland, called Holie head (which hath in time past
beene named Cair kyby, of Kyby a monke that dwelled there) from whence
the readiest passage is commonlie had out of Northwales to get ouer
into Ireland, of which Ile I will not speake at this time, least I
shuld bereaue another of that trauell. Yet Plinie saith, lib. 4. cap.
16. that it lieth not farre off from and ouer against the Silures,
which then dwelled vpon the west coast of our Iland, and euen so farre
as Dunbritton, and beyond: but to our Cair kybi. The Britons named it
[Sidenote: Enilsnach, holie Ile.]
Enylsnach, or holie Ile, of the number of carcases of holie men, which
they affirme to haue beene buried there. But herein I maruell not a
little, wherein women had offended, that they might not come thither,
or at the least wise returne from thence without some notable reproch
or shame vnto their bodies. By south also of Hilarie point, somewhat
inclining toward the east, lieth Inis Lygod, a small thing (God wot)
and therefore not worthie great remembrance: neuertheles not to be
omitted, though nothing else inforced the memoriall thereof, but
onelie the number and certeine tale of such Iles as lie about our
Iland. I might also speake of the Ile Mail Ronyad, which lieth north
west of Anglesei by sixe miles; but bicause the true name hereof, as
of manie riuers and streames are to me vnknowne, I am the more willing
to passe them ouer in silence, least I should be noted to be farther
corrupter of such words as I haue no skill to deliuer and exhibit in
their kind. And now to conclude with the description of the whole
Iland, this I will ad moreouer vnto hir commodities, that as there are
the best milstones of white, red, blew, and gréene gréets,
(especiallie in Tindaithin) so there is great gaines to be gotten by
fishing round about this Ile, if the people there could vse the trade:
but they want both cunning and diligence to take that matter in hand.
And as for temporall regiment, it apperteineth to the countie of
Cairnaruon, so in spirituall cases it belongeth to the bishoprike of
Bangor. This is finallie to be noted of Anglesei, that sundrie earthen
[Sidenote: Ancient buriall.]
pots are often found there of dead mens bones conuerted into ashes,
set with the mouthes downeward contrarie to the vse of other nations,
which turned the brims vpwards, whereof let this suffice.