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.