PASSAGE OF THE RIVER CONWY IN A BOAT, AND OF DINAS EMRYS
ON our return to Banchor from Mona, we were shown the tombs of prince
Owen and his younger brother Cadwalader, {125a} who were buried in a
double vault before the high altar, although Owen, on account of his
public incest with his cousin-german, had died excommunicated by the
blessed martyr St. Thomas, the bishop of that see having been enjoined to
seize a proper opportunity of removing his body from the church. We
continued our journey on the sea coast, confined on one side by steep
rocks, and by the sea on the other, towards the river Conwy, which
preserves its waters unadulterated by the sea. Not far from the source
of the river Conwy, at the head of the Eryri mountain, which on this side
extends itself towards the north, stands Dinas Emrys, that is, the
promontory of Ambrosius, where Merlin {125b} uttered his prophecies,
whilst Vortigern was seated upon the bank. There were two Merlins; the
one called Ambrosius who prophesied in the time of king Vortigern, was
begotten by a demon incubus, and found at Caermardin, from which
circumstance that city derived its name of Caermardin, or the city of
Merlin; the other Merlin, born in Scotland, was named Celidonius, from
the Celidonian wood in which he prophesied; and Sylvester, because when
engaged in martial conflict, he discovered in the air a terrible monster,
and from that time grew mad, and taking shelter in a wood, passed the
remainder of his days in a savage state. This Merlin lived in the time
of king Arthur, and is said to have prophesied more fully and explicitly
than the other. I shall pass over in silence what was done by the sons
of Owen in our days, after his death, or while he was dying, who, from
the wicked desire of reigning, totally disregarded the ties of
fraternity; but I shall not omit mentioning another event which occurred
likewise in our days. Owen, {126} son of Gruffyth, prince of North
Wales, had many sons, but only one legitimate, namely, Iorwerth Drwyndwn,
which in Welsh means flat-nosed, who had a son named Llewelyn. This
young man, being only twelve years of age, began, during the period of
our journey, to molest his uncles David and Roderic, the sons of Owen by
Christiana, his cousin-german; and although they had divided amongst
themselves all North Wales, except the land of Conan, and although David,
having married the sister of king Henry II., by whom he had one son, was
powerfully supported by the English, yet within a few years the
legitimate son, destitute of lands or money (by the aid of divine
vengeance), bravely expelled from North Wales those who were born in
public incest, though supported by their own wealth and by that of
others, leaving them nothing but what the liberality of his own mind and
the counsel of good men from pity suggested: a proof that adulterous and
incestuous persons are displeasing to God.