The Last Curtain Call...maybe...

Human occupation of my family's homeland has been dated from around 12,000 BC. In the limestone caves of Cefn-yr-Ogof, Cefn, human bones along with flint flakes [along with the bones of extinct animals] has place this in the earliest period of man's existence in Britain. [The fancy term is Palaeolithic] The rising of the last ice curtain left the land separated by a watery passage now called "The English Channel"!

Left to their own design, i.e., no easy way to escape, the folks appear again around 5,700 BC leaving signs of summer camps among the hills. [Those hunters you know.] Signs of continued occupation continues in the area with Moel Y Gare (several sites) and Brenig (archaeological trails at Brenig, Clwyd) giving record of the continued human occupation.

The figure to the right is my attempt to show the approximate location of the sites listed above. The cluster is in the hills of Clwyd. I have place the modern locations of the boarder towns north to south. Chester in the north, to Gloucester in the south. It must have been the road that allowed access to the mountains where I imagine copper, and those animals would be the major drawing cards.

The last ice curtain has risen, believed between 8,000 - 6,000 BC... is it indeed the last curtain call?

The Devil's Ditch

The land of my ancestors is shown in the figure to the right. No names, no descriptors, just the land and the rivers are shown. The tracings in blue represent the river Dee. [The head waters to the west.] The tracings in green represent the river Severn. [The headwaters to the west.] They begin their long journeys to the sea, the Dee flowing north, and the Severn flowing south. The black stars are the locations of iron age "hill forts" that represent the locations of defensive positions arranged by the family units occupying the land. They seem to cluster in a certain pattern, four to the southeast, two in the middle, and three to the north. The red dashed line shows the position of Offa's Dyke as it runs north to south. In some cases, the dyke ran right through a hill fort. [Believed by most to be built during his reign 757 - 796 AD ] Some are to the west of the dyke, and some are to the east. At the time of its placement, this must represent those who came under Offa's control, and those stayed on the other side of the fence. It certainly fits the geographic location of the Kingdom of Mercia moving up the Severn to the northwest. At completion, the ditch was 6 feet deep, and from the bottom of the ditch, the rampart was 24 feet above. [The ditch facing west of course.] The Welsh were to call this "The Devil's Ditch".

Say hello to Offa. The drawing to the left is my attempt to picture this fella. It is taken from his image on the silver penny he introduced for the first time to the pockets of those in the land. He appears fairly young with quite a hair do! It appears that he had a beard, and certainly looks like would want to take charge of things around him. He had contact with Pope Hadrian I, who allowed him to establish a church center at Lichfield. It was out of this center that much of Charlemagne's educational institutions were derived. [Was to change the world as we know it.] There was certainly a lot of international intrigue surround Offa and Charlemagne! [Marriage of sons and daughters, and trade and such.]

It would appear that my family managed to walk this fence through out the generations to come. Hello Offa... you devil you.

It's a Small Word After All

Cultures are held together by their language. It is their language that binds people together and identifies their presence to others. For the genealogist, trying to understand a language that differs from our own is sometimes a complex task. This is especially true for those of Welsh descent who face a language (Welsh) totally different then the one spoken to the ear of the researcher. Words change, and their meanings change, and their common usage changes, and...on and on it goes. The following is such an example of words that have become confused for the genealogist.

Let's begin with the descriptor(adjective) "small". This would seem a simple thing, naming a "small island"...a "small tree"... a "small man". In the Welsh, the word "small" is "bach".(1) It was often used in a Welsh name to distinguish the smaller of two individuals that happened to share the same name, for example " Ievan ap Rhys"[ who would be bigger ] and "Ievan ap Rhys fychan"[who was the smaller by size]. It was written in the Welsh this way because the sound "b" was mutated [changed] to an "f" and word "bach" became "fach".

The Welsh also had different words for "younger" = "ieuaf" or "ifanc", and "young" = "ieuanc" and to make matters worse a word for "the younger" = "leiaf"! [The Normans also threw in their word for "young"= "jeune".

Now these adjectives appear very similar to the proper names "Ieuan", "Ievan", "Yevan", and "Ioan". Now just imagine if your name was "Ieuan fychan ap Yevan ieuaf". Were you the smaller, younger, or junior, and in which order?

It has become common for the genealogist to assume that the name "fychan" means "junior". [the youngest son of ] In reality, this may not be case. Likewise, several surnames have developed from the use of these adjectives among those writing down the records. "Fychan" has become the origin for the surnames "Vaughan" and "Jenkin". Wow, it's a small word after all.

Unto These Hills

Furnaces reaching temperatures of around 2800 degree Fahrenheit were needed to melt iron from ferrous ores. Special drafts from blowpipes and bellows were needed, and the use of charcoal in shaft furnaces helped things along. From common oxide ores, the production of iron was accomplished. These developments seemed to center in Anatolia, and greatly advanced by the Hittites. Of course the Hittites past their knowledge along to those folks who became known as the Celts.

By around 800 BC these Celts began their exploration and settlement of the area which was to become Wales. This new material produced some of the most destructive weapons of the day. What was one to do? The widespread replacement of bronze produced a new strategy for survival. The "Hillfort" it was called.

The drawings above are my attempt to try and visualize this environment. These fortifications helped defend the farms, and settlements of what was to become Wales, The Marches, and Northern Britain. A ditch and wall to stand behind was the principle. Throw things down, not throw things up. Drawing labeled #1 is the simple plan. Let the enemy come to you. Let them climb up a slop A, to fall down to the ditch B, while facing a sharp wall C, and the wooden defensive wall D. Stand behind D, and throw down on those helpless folks trying to throw upward some 10 - 16 feet. Wow, nice plan if your standing at the top looking down. Drawing #2 gives a little more sense of the depth A to B, to C. Sketch # 3 tries to show a lateral view with the platform and wall. Stone could also be used for the wall. There could be many, many ditches and walls constructed around the hill top.

Ring the bell, and come. Save yourself...come unto these hills.

A wonderful reference is The Iron Age Hillforts of England, A Visitor's Guide, by Geoffrey Williams, Horace Books, 1993.

Spellin' Llywelyn

The spelling of words often change over time. This is especially true when two distinct languages collide over the pages of history. Such is the case with the name "Llywelyn"... "LLewellin"... "Lewelyn"...or however you spell it. A good Welsh name it is. It appears to be derived from the Welsh word "llen" meaning "lion". [ A word often found in pub names!] Among the Welsh, it was taken as a given name, and in the earliest English records spelled it"Leulin". [ Patent Rolls, 1216-1225 AD.] The following is a table showing the spelling of Llywelyn as used over time. The sources are listed in general terms, but a detailed reference is available if requested. The source of the spelling is listed first, followed by the date of publication, followed by the spelling as recorded in the source. Various spellings may have occurred in the same source. Brackets are used to identify center of word. Here goes:

Patent Rolls - 1216-1225 AD - L-E-(U) - L-I-N
LL-E-(WE) -L-I-N

Patent Rolls - 1301 AD - L-E-(WE)-L-Y-N
L-E-(WE)-L-I-N
LL-E-(WE)-LL-I-N
LL-E-(WE)-LL-Y-N

Dwnn - 1586 - 1613 AD - LL-E-(W{n}) n written as superscript
1846 edition LL- E-(WE)-L-Y-N

Nicholas - 1872 AD - LL-E-(WE)-LL-Y-N
LL-E-(WE)-L-Y-N

Burke - 1884 edition - LL-E-(WE)-LL-Y-N

Wood - 1903 LL-E-(WE)-LL-I-N

Lloyd - 1911 LL-Y-(WE)-L-Y-N

College of Arms - 1988 LL-E-(WE)-L-Y-N

Maund - 1991 LL-Y-(WE)-L-Y-N

Ashely - 1998 LL-Y-(WE)-L-Y-N

Carpenter - 2003 LL-Y-(WE)-L-Y-N

Mortimer - 2003 LL-Y-(WE)-L-Y-N

From Welsh to English, so go the names.

Research done by The Jones Genalogist, 1980-2005. Any additions please add.

Reader's Choice: The Top 10 Posts

This is the second article which outlines the posts that the readers of Welsh Genealogy have selected to view. They are listed in order from #1 to #1o. They can be viewed using the column titled "Blog Archives" on the page outline shown. The title of the post and the date of the post are given. This blog is intended to help those who have an interest in Welsh Genealogy, but have no real connection to Wales. [Like us Americans.] Here goes:

1) Words of Life - Aug. 8, 2011.
2) The Palatinate - Sept. 7, 2011.
3) Welsh Adjectives as Names - May 15, 2011.
4) Eyri (Land of Eagles) - Dec. 13, 2010.
5) Tribes to Territories - Apr. 3, 2011.
6) Welsh Genealogical Research: The Foundation - Dec. 15, 2010.
7) The Flow and Ebb - Sept. 26, 2011.
8) The Ebb and Flow - Sept. 19, 2011.
9) Wat's Dyke - Oct. 25, 2011.
10) A Penny for Your Thoughts - Aug. 27, 2011.

Based upon 4,424 views as of 2/16/2012.

ICE CAPADES

Human existence on the stage of mankind has depended upon many factors. On our little part of the world, a major factor was an "ice curtain" that rose and fell over time. Ice Ages they are called, but they could be viewed as the ice curtain that rose and fell upon the stage of mankind's existence.

At least eight major warm-cold cycles are felt to have occurred. (1) The most severe curtain fall was felt to extend all the way down to the Alps. Moving up and down the continent of Europe leaving its geological trail, it appears to have risen to the shores of Wales at least by 25,000 BC. The drawing to the right is my attempt to shown the human evidence which has been discovered.

Goat's Cave (Paviland) appears to be the remains of the earliest human occupation of the coastline of Wales. Buried some 16,000 years ago are the bones of a young man covered in red. (2) Animal bones have been dated to around 25,000 BC, documenting the fact that life came to occupy this cave at a very early period. (3) By 15,000 BC the ice curtain had lifted to above the river Clwyd since human remains have been found in caves noted on the drawing. [Cefn-Yr-Ogof, Ffynnen Beuno, and Bonthewydd ] (3) The curtain must have fallen again to the coast line of Europe since the land bridge that connected the island is felt to have disappeared around 6,000 BC. By 5,700 BC folks seem to have lived again on the stage of north Wales in the area around Brenic (3). Dinas Bran in the valley of the Dee shows occupation during the Bronze Age [ 2,500 - 2,000 BC] (3). All these acts occurred before Old Oswestry which waited until the need for fortified hill forts of the iron age starting around 800 BC. Certainly, the Ice Capades have been preforming for years!

These actors provided outstanding performances. Shakespeare would have been proud.

(1) Hadingham, E., Secrets of The Ice Age, A Reappraisal of Prehistoric Man, John Wiley & Sons, Ontario, Canada, 1979. pp. 17-23.

(2) Mackenzie, D.A., Ancient Man In Britain, Blackie & Son, London, 1922. pp. 19-22.

(3) Dyer, J., Prehistoric England and Wales, Penguin Books, New York, 1982. pp.321-328.