a short history of wales-第11部分

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p　of　York　and　Lord　Keeper。　　He　was　a　wise　man；　he　saw　that　both　sides　were　a　little　in　the　wrong；　and　if　any　one　could　have　kept　the　peace　between　them；　he　could　have　done　it。　　But　the　king　did　not　quite　trust　him；　and　the　Parliament　almost　despised　him；　and　this　happens　often　to　wise　men　who　get　between　two　angry　parties。

From　1642　to　1646；　the　First　Civil　War　was　waged。　　This　was　a　war　between　the　king　and　the　Parliament　over　taxation；　militia；　and　religion。　　The　south…east；　and　London　especially；　were　for　Parliament；　the　wilder　parts；　especially　Wales；　were　for　the　king。　The　only　important　part　of　Wales　that　declared　for　Parliament　was　the　southern　part　of　Pembrokeshire；　which　had　been　English　ever　since　the　reign　of　Henry　II。

Wales　was　important　to　the　king　for　two　reasons。　　For　one　thing；　it　could　give　him　an　army；　and　he　came；　time　after　time；　to　get　a　new　one。　　When　he　unfurled　his　flag　and　began　the　war　at　Nottingham　in　1642；　he　came　to　Shrewsbury；　and　there　five　thousand　Welshmen　joined　him。　　With　these　and　others　he　marched　against　London；　fighting　the　battle　of　Edgehill　on　the　way。　　While　the　king　made　many　attempts　to　get　London　until　1644；　and　while　the　New　Model　army　attacked　him　between　1645　and　1647；　the　Welsh　fought　in　nearly　all　his　battles；　their　infantry　suffering　heavily　in　the　two　greatest　battles；　Marston　Moor　and　Naseby。　　The　war　went　on　in　Wales　itself　alsoRupert　and　Gerard　being　the　chief　Royalist　leaders；　and　Middleton　and　Michael　Jones　being　the　chief　Parliamentary　ones。　　No　great　battles　were　fought；　but　there　were　several　skirmishes；　and　much　taking　and　retaking　of　castles　and　towns。

Wales　was　important　to　the　king；　also；　because　it　commanded　the　two　ways　to　Ireland。　　The　King　thought；　almost　to　the　last；　that　an　Irish　army　would　save　him。　　Welsh　garrisons　held　the　two　ports　for　Ireland；　Chester　and　Bristol。　　Bristol　was　stormed　by　a　great　midnight　assault；　and　Chester　was　forced　to　yield。　　In　March　1647　Harlech　yielded；　and　the　war　came　to　an　end。　　By　that　time　the　king　was　a　prisoner　in　the　hands　of　the　army。

The　Second　Civil　War；　in　1648　and　1649；　was　a　struggle　between　the　two　sections　of　the　victorious　army。　　The　Parliament　wished　to　establish　one　religion；　the　army　said　that　every　man　must　be　allowed　to　worship　God　as　he　liked。　　One　was　called　the　Presbyterian　ideal；　the　other　the　Independent。　　The　army　was　led　by　Cromwell；　and　Parliament　was　overawed。　　Then　the　Presbyterian　parts　rose　in　revolt…　…Kent；　Pembrokeshire；　and　the　lowlands　of　Scotland。　　The　New　Model　army　marched　against　the　Welsh；　in　order　to　break　the　connection　between　the　northern　and　southern　Presbyterians。　　The　Welsh　generals　were　Laugharne；　Poyer；　and　Powell；　who　had　all　fought　for　Parliament　in　the　first　war。　　They　were　defeated　at　St　Fagans；　near　Cardiff；　and　then　driven　into　Pembroke。　　They　determined　to　hold　out　to　the　last　within　its　walls。　　Cromwell　besieged　them；　and　the　great　feature　of　the　war　was　the　siege　of　Pembroke。　　Walls　and　castles　like　those　of　Pembroke　had　become　useless　because　of　gunpowder。　　But　Cromwell　could　not　at　once　bring　his　guns　so　far。　　His　difficulties　were　increasing　daily：　　the　Parliament　was　trying　to　come　to　terms　with　the　king；　all　Wales　around　him　was　disaffected；　the　Scotch　had　crossed　the　border　and　were　marching　on　London。　　After　many　weeks　of　assaults　and　desperate　defence；　the　guns　came　and　the　old　walls　were　battered　down。　　Pembroke　Castle；　whose　great　round　tower　still　stands；　had　protected　William　Marshall　against　Llywelyn　and　had　enabled　an　important　district　to　remain　a　〃little　England　beyond　Wales；〃　was　the　last　mediaeval　castle　to　take　an　important　part　in　war。　　The　Scotch　were　soon　defeated　at　the　battle　of　Preston；　and　the　king　was　brought　to　trial　and　put　to　death；　the　death…warrant　being　signed　by　two　WelshmenJohn　Jones　of　Merioneth　and　Thomas　Wogan　of　Cardigan。　　The　date　of　Charles'　execution　is　January　20；　1649。

The　Commonwealth　was　established　immediately；　and　Wales　was　looked　upon　with　much　distrustthe　Presbyterian　parts　and　the　Royalist　partsby　the　new　Government。　　It　was　represented　in　the　English　Parliaments；　it　is　true；　but　its　representatives　were　often　English；　and　practically　appointed　by　the　Government。　　When　the　country　was　put　under　the　military　dictatorship　of　the　major…generals；　Harrison　was　sent　to　rule　Wales。

Honest　attempts　were　made　to　give　it　an　efficient　clergy；　but　the　zeal　of　Vavasour　Powel　aroused　much　opposition。　　Wales　either　clung　tenaciously　to　its　old　religion；　or；　if　it　changed　it；　the　changes　were　extreme。　　Though　the　country　generally　returned　to　its　old　life　and　thought　at　the　Restoration　in　1660；　much　of　the　new　life　of　the　Commonwealth　remained：　　congregations　of　Independents　still　met；　Quaker　ideals　survived　all　persecution；　and　even　the　mysticism　of　Morgan　Lloyd　permeated　the　slowly　awakening　thought　of　the　peasants　whom；　in　his　dreams；　he　saw　welcoming　the　second　advent　of　Christ。



CHAPTER　XXTHE　GREAT　REVOLUTION



Except　to　the　reader　who　is　of　a　legal　or　antiquarian　turn　of　mind；　the　sixteenth　and　seventeenth　centuries　are　the　least　interesting　in　the　history　of　Walesthe　very　centuries　that　are　the　most　glorious　and　the　most　stirring　in　the　history　of　England。　　The　older　historians　stop　when　they　come　to　the　year　1284；　and　sometimes　give　a　hasty　outline　of　a　few　rebellions　up　to　1535。　　They　then　give　the　Welsh　a　glowing　testimonial　as　a　law…abiding　and　loyal　people；　and　find　them　too　uninteresting　to　write　any　more　about　them。

The　history　of　Wales　does；　indeed；　appear　to　be　nothing　more　than　the　gradual　disappearance　of　Welsh　institutions。　　The　Court　of　Wales　was　restored　with　the　king　in　1660；　but　its　work　had　been　done；　and　it　came　to　an　end　in　1689。　　The　Great　Sessions　came　to　an　end　in　1830；　and；　though　we　now　see　that　their　disappearance　was　a　mistake；　the　bill　abolishing　them　passed　through　Parliament　without　a　division。　The　last　difference　between　England　and　Wales　was　deleted；　and　if　Wales　has　no　separate　existence　left；　why　should　we　write　or　read　its　history？

Because　the　two　centuries　of　apparent　settlement　and　sleep　were　the　period　of　a　silent　revolution；　more　important；　if　our　aim　is　to　explain　the　living　present　rather　than　the　dead　past；　than　all　the　exciting　plots　and　battles　of　the　House　of　Cunedda　from　the　rise　of　Maelgwn　to　the　fall　of　the　last　Llywelyn。　　During　these　centuries；　the　history　of　Wales　ceases　to　be　the　history　of　princes　and　nobles；　it　becomes　the　history　of　the　people。　　Owen　Glendower's　few　years　of　power　were　a　kind　of　prophecy；　but　Owen　once　appeared　to　the　abbot　of　Valle　Crucis；　so　tradition　says；　to　declare　that　he　had　come　before　his　time。　　We　pass　then；　very　gradually；　from　the　history　of　a　privileged　class；　speaking　literary　Welsh；　with　a　literature　famous　for　the　wealth　of　its　imagination　and　the　artistic　beauty　of　its　formwe　pass　on　to　the　history　of　a　peasantry；　rude　and　ignorant　at　first；　retaining　the　servile　traits　of　centuries　of　subjection；　but　gradually　becoming　self…reliant；　prosperous；　and　thoughtful。

The　real　history　of　a　nation　is　shown　by　its　literature。　　Its　records　and　its　chronicles　are　but　the　notes　and　comments　of　various　ages。　In　the　period　of　the　princes　and　nobles；　you　can　trace　the　rise　and　decline　of　a　great　literature；　watch　how　it　gathers　strength　and　beauty　from　Cynddelw　to　Dafydd　ap　Gwilym；　and　how　the　strength　begins　to　fail　and　the　beauty　to　wane；　from　Dafydd　ap　Gwilym　to　Tudur　Aled。　In　the　period　of　the　people；　from　Tudor　times　on；　the　peasants　tried　at　first　to　imitate　the　poetry　of　the　past；　then　they　began　to　write　and　think　in　their　own　way。　　It　is　not　my　aim　to　explain　the　periods　of　Welsh　literature　now；　I　am　going　to　do　that　in　another　book。　　But；　as　I　have　mentioned　three　typical　poets　in　the　period　of　the　princes；　I　will　also　mention　three　poets　in　the　period　of　the　people。

In　1579　Rees　Prichard　was　born；　in　1717；　Williams　Pant　y　Celyn；　in　1832；　Islwyn。　　We　have；　in　these　three；　writers　typical　of　the　seventeenth；　eighteenth；　and　nineteenth　centuries　respectively。　　Rees　Prichard；　still　affectionately　remembered　in　every　Welsh　home　as　the　〃Old　Vicar；〃　wrote　stanzas　in　the　dialect　of　the　Vale　of　Towyrough；　full　of　peasant　phrases　and　mangled　English　words；　and　he　wrote　them；　not　in　books；　but　on　the　memory　of　the　people。　　In　the　same　valley；　a　century　later；　Williams　Pant　y　Celyn　wrote　hymns；　melodious　and　inspiring；　of　great　poetic　beauty；　though　with　a　trace　of　dialect；　they　were　written　and　published；　but　they　also　haunted　every　ear　that　heard　them。　　Beyond　the　Black　Mountains；　in　the　hills　of　West　Monmouth；　after　another　century；　Islwyn　wrote　odes　without　a　trace　of　dialect；　they　were　written　and　remained　for　some　time　in　manuscript；　when　published；　they　met　with　a　welcome　which　shows　clearly　that　Islwyn　is　the　typical　poet　of　modern　Welsh　thought。　　If　you　wish　to　see　and　realise　the　rise　of　the　Welsh　peasant；　pass　from　the　homely　stanzas　of　the　good　Old　Vicar's　Welshmen's　Candle　to　the　poetic　theology　of　Pant　y　Celyn；　and　from　that　to　the　poetic　philosophy　of　Islwyn；　where　concentrated　intensity　of　thought　is　expressed　in　a　style　that　is；　at　any　rate　at　its　best；　superior　to　the　best　work　of　the　poets　of　the　princes。

If　I　were　to　tell　you　the　reasons　for　this　change；　I　would　be　writing；　in　a　slightly　different　form；　what　I　have　already　written　in　this　book　about　early　Welsh　history。　　The　fall　of　Llywelyn；　the　Black　Death；　Owen　Glendower's　ideals　and　the　Tudor　legislation；　all　prepared　the　way。

The　long…bow　and　gunpowder；　we　have　seen；　made　the　peasant　as　important　as　the　noble　in　war。　　The　long…bow　made　the　coat　of　mail　useless；　gunpowder　made　the　castle　uselessthe　defence　of　the　privileges　of　the　Middle　Ages　departed。

Ideas　of　equality　were　advanced。　　They　were　looked　upon　at　first　as　truths　applicable　only　to　a　perfect　and　impossible　condition；　and　their　discoverers　were　ignored；　if　not　hanged　or　burnt。　　But　they　always　became　a　reality；　and　were　victorious　in　the　end。　　Take　the　truths　discovered　or　championed　by　Welshmen。　　Walter　Brute　rediscovered　the　theory　of　justification　by　faiththat　all　men　are　equal　in　the　sight　of　God；　and　that　no　lord　could　be　responsible　for　them。　　Bishop　Pecock　advocated　the　doctrine　of