FUNERAL CUSTOMS.
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 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 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 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 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.'
"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 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 Archæological 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, 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 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 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 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.
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.
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."
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 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; 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 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."
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. 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
Archæologia 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 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.