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THE ORIGIN OF THE PEVERILS.

BY PYM YEATMAN, ESQ.

The

THE writer very recently, through the courtesy of Sir Watkin Williams Wynne, has had full access to the remains of his once splendid library at Wynnstay. débris of the ancient MSS. is apparently of little value; but of copies there is a fine collection, chiefly the work of Joseph Morris, of Shrewsbury; probably nearly fifty volumes. The most important is a grand copy of the Salusburie Pedigrees, by Owen of Rûg, and John Salusburie, of Erbestock, 1630-77. In this volume, in his handwriting, is written: "Transcribed by Joseph Morris of Shrewsbury, 1832; the original MSS. perished in the fire at Wynnstay in 1858, and this is the only copy in existence. Signed, J.M."

The well-known character of the transcriber gives this MS. a value practically equal to the original; and it is much to be desired that a competent editor would give it to Wales and England, for both countries are alike interested in its contents. The writer ventured to impress the importance of this idea upon Sir W. W. Wynne, who certainly did not discourage it, for he promised to consider it more fully if presented to him in proper form: that is, if he could be assured that it would be worthily produced.

It appears to the writer that Joseph Morris's transcript, for all practical purposes, is as valuable as the original work. To an English lawyer, in the absence of an original document, one copy is equal in value to another, provided that the transcribers are of equal merit; and he is profane enough, after some little study of Welsh MSS., to doubt whether there was ever an original, in the sense of one possessing very remote antiquity. The story that "Griffin ap Cynan, Rys ap

Tewdyr, and Bleddyn ab Cynfyn collected the armes ensignes and pedigrees of their ancestors; and ordained 5 Royal Tribes, there only being 3 before, and 15 special tribes, of whom the gentry of N. Wales are for the most part derived" must be summarily rejected, for many reasons: principally because, at that interesting period, the usage of coat-armour was not common; and the gentry of North Wales had not then entitled themselves to the gratitude of these great men; and if they had, it is very certain that such a procedure was utterly opposed to the traditions and habits of the people. The study of pedigrees was the especial province of a very learned body of men, who would be most strongly opposed to it The abolition of Heralds' College at the present day would be comparatively easy, for very few of the Heralds take any pride in their work, or any interest in it, except as a means of obtaining exorbitant fees: a procedure which, it is to be hoped, the Government may stop, even though Lord Halsbury might, for the present, obtain the rights of patronage; but imagine the commotion which their alleged transcription would create in the sacred colleges of the Druids-no mere monarch, nor even a Triad of them would dare to affront them; but the strongest objection to the theory is, where is the evidence of it? Who possesses this Armorial Domesday?

As a fact, very few if any of these genealogical histories can be dated much earlier than the period of the Tudor usurpation of the Crown of England. Then indeed, forged pedigrees of those delectable monarchs, and the Cecils and other plebeian Welshmen, who crept into power in supporting them, became very common; and it was possibly in revenge, or to stop these forgeries, that some of the ancient bards put their memories and traditions into writing. Unhappily, this was not a common movement, but adopted separately by several scribes; and it is to this, probably, that there is so much error and confusion in Welsh genealogy. At best, we can only hope for a general harmony; and

that perhaps, after all-representing as it does the evidence of many credible witnesses-is better than any mere cut-and-dried account. Hence it is most desirable to obtain evidence of each separate item; and assuredly one of the most important sources of our knowledge is to be found in this precious MS. at Wynnstay.

The writer was endeavouring to obtain some kind of evidence to support and to give the true history of the connection between the Fitzalans and the Peverils-a matter of great importance to Welsh and English alike, and even to the Scotch and Irish-for the pedigree of the present Royal Family of England depends upon it. It is, besides, a question of very great literary interest, since William Shakspeare, partly in his immortal play of "Macbeth," has most minutely recorded the story of the love of Flaald, or Fleance, with Nesta, the unhappy daughter of King Griffith, who some accounts (mostly Welsh) assert, were put to death by the irate monarch for the dreadful offence of marrying without his leave. Some prosaic writers assert that only Fleance was slain, and that the lady married again, and there may be some colour for this statement; but be that as it may, the sceptre departed from King Griffith, and his half-brother Bleddyn succeeded him for want of heirs. The question is curiously complicated by the position which Alan fil. Flaald bore towards the sons Bleddin, with respect to the half-Welsh, half-English— or, perhaps, it would be more correct to write the alternate English and Welsh-province which comprised the Castles of Whittington and Oswestry.

of

It has always been assumed that the Fitzalans claimed possession of these estates under the suzerainty of the Welsh princes; whereas it is now fairly established by the writer (see his History of Derbyshire, 7th Section, and the Brownes of Beckworth Castle) that the Fitzalans, with respect to this property, were all along Lords of the Welsh princes, including the Peverils, who were clearly a part of them; and the reason for it has been discovered in the fact that Nesta,

daughter of King Griffith, was English heir to her mother, who was co-heir with her sister (who married the Earl of Chester) of the Earls of Mercia, the ancient Lords of Oswestry and of this debateable border land. The learned reader must be referred to the writer's works just mentioned for further proof of these propositions, and also for explanation of the fact that Shakspere, in recording the pedigree of the Fitzalans, was writing from his own family tradition. His grandmother was one of the Princesses of Powis; and the Lords of Hatton, under whom the Shaksperes held their estates, certainly from the time of Edward III, were directly connected with the Lords of Monmouth (great tenants of King Griffith) who secretly nurtured the young Fitz-Flaald in one of their castles, and who gave him his soubriquet of Senescal or Steward, by appointing him to that office at Monmouth. This office of steward was common in Wales and Brittany, but not in Scotland, where probably it never existed. The evidence of the Salusbury MSS. is of inestimable value in giving information respecting this family, as the following pedigrees partly compiled from it will

show.

PEDIGREE OF HOWELL DDA

(Chiefly from Add. C. No. 177 in the Bodleian Library.)

(Wrenoc) Ranulf Pever ap Tudor, of Salop, tempe Domesday. Ingelric.

Wm. Peverel of Nottn.,..

tempe Domesday.

Wm. of Hamon of High
Dover.

Pagan of Brun.

Ercal.

It is only fair to Joseph Morris to give his own views of the value of the Salusbury MSS.

THE FAMILY OF FITZ-WARINE

(Article by Joseph Morris from Archæologia Cambrensis, 2nd. Ser., vol. iii, and Powys Fadog, vol. vi, p. 180.)

At the period of the Norman Conquest a large tract of the Marches of Wales, including the greater part of the present parishes of Whittington and Oswestry, the district of Maelor, etc., was held by the head of a distinguished Cambrian line named Rhys Sais, which latter appellation was given to him because he was conversant in the Saxon or English language. He doubtless came to an amicable arrangement with the suc