the welsh - circa 1265

Welsh Customs - Part One

by Tony Westmancoat

Way of Life & Hospitality

(1) The Welsh value distinguished birth and noble descent more than any other thing. They would rather marry into a noble family than a rich one Even the common people can recite their family tree from memory and because of this intense interest in their family descent they avenge, with great ferocity, any wrong or insult done to their relations. They are bloodthirsty, violent and often vindictive and ready for vengence.

(2) When they meet a monk, priest or any holy man they stretch out their arms, bow their heads and ask for his blessing.

(3) The Welsh do not live in large towns, villages or castles, but prefer a solitary existance deep in the woods, contenting themselves with wattled huts put up with little labour or expense, but strong enough to last a year or two. They have no gardens or orchards but if you give them fruit or garden produce, they are only too pleased to eat it. They make great use of waterfowls which they hunt for food.They lack no freshwater fish, but have an abundance of salmon, trout, tench, eels, pike and perch. They love grayling that some call umber. They have much pasture and woodland, the first is full of cattle and the other is full of wild animals and deer.

(4) In Wales, no-one begs, everyone's home is open to all. Generosity and hospitality are the greatest virtues of all. No-one asks for accomodation, no-one offers it, you just march into a house and hand over your weapons to the person in charge.

(5) With these people, the offering of water in which to wash one's feet is an invitation to stay. If you refuse the offer, it means that you have just dropped in for refreshment during the early part of the day and do not propose to stay for the night.

(6) Guests who arrive early are entertained until nightfall by girls who play to them on the harp.

(7) When night falls, and no more guests are expected, the meal is prepared. There is not often a variety of dishes, but this depends upon the importance of the visitors. There are no highly- seasoned tit-bits to whet your appetite. In a Welsh house there are no tables, no tablecloths and no napkins. There is no attempt whatsoever at English etiquette, people behave quite naturally.\par \par (8) They sit down to a meal in memory of the Holy Trinity.

(9) When a loaf of bread is put befor them, they break a piece off and give it to the poor.

(10) As you sit in threes they put the food on a large trencher (enough for three) in front of you resting on rushes or green grass. Sometimes the main dish is served on bread rolled large and thin (fresh each day) called 'Lagana'.

(11) In a small household, the whole family waits upon the guests and the host and hostess stand there making sure that everything is being attended to. They, themselves, do not eat until everyone else has finished. If there is a shortage of anything, it will be they who will go without. The Welsh are neither given to gluttony or drunkeness (not the ones I know - Ed.), thus they have food for other days and are alert for enemy attacks.

(12) They constantly clean their teeth with green hazel shoots and rub them with woollen cloths until they shine like ivory. They never eat hot food but only what is cold, tepid or slightly warm.

(13) When it is time to retire to bed, one communal bed is placed alongside one of the walls. It is a bed stuffed with a few rushes and covered with a single, harsh stiff sheet made locally and called, in Welsh, a 'Brychan'. Everyone is expected to go to bed together. The Welsh keep their day clothes (usually a thin cloak and a tunic) on which is all they have to keep out the cold. A fire will be kept burning all night at their feet, just as it has done all day. When their underneath side begins to ache through the hardness of the bed and their uppermost side is frozen stiff with cold, they get up and sit by the fire. Once warmed they go back to bed and sleep on their other side, if they wish, so that a different part is frozen and another side bruised by the hard bed. Thus they spend the night 'till day breaks.

(14) Hospitality, the giving and receiving of it, puts a serious binding oath upon the people present in a household. Even English enemies were sometimes entertained out of all proportion to the circumstances. Breaking the laws of hospitality was an unforgivable offence, that gave only a short-lived advantage. The Welsh customs of vengance meant total dishonour and probable death to the oath-breaker and all of his family for generations to come, as many Marcher-Lords found

Welsh Customs - Part Two

by Tony Westmancoat

Warfare.

Above: 12th / 13th century pictures of Welsh warriors

(1) The People should rightly be called 'Cymric' or 'Cambrenses'. Both the men and the women cut their hair short and shape it around their ears and eyes. The men shave their beards leaving only a long moustache. They are particular to shave the lower body hair. The women cover their hair with a flowing white veil which sticks up in folds like a crown.

(2) The Cymric people are light and agile. They are fierce rather than strong. They are totally dedicated to the practice of arms. The young people go about in groups and families under their chosen leader. They spend their time in training with their weapons, and because of this, they are ready, at a moment's notice, to protect their homeland. While they aare on the move, their sole interests are caring for their horses and keeping their weapons in good order. Their main preoccupation is the defence of their realm and the seizing of booty. From morning to evening they eat nothing and in the evening they eat a modest meal. If food is short or if they have none at all, they merely wait patiently for the next evening. Neither hunger nor cold can deter them. They spend the dark, stormy nights in observing the movements of their enemies.

(3) They fight with, or without, weapons against fully armoured enemies, even those on horseback. They use light weapons which do not impede their quick movement. They wear leather corselets; use round or oval shields; long spears; short swords; and handfuls of arrows (or darts) which they throw. Some wear iron greaves and helmets They go either barefoot or shod in boots made from untanned leather and roughly sewn together.

(4) In battle they are very ferocious at first, they shout, glower and use long, high-pitched battle trumpets. They shower the enemy with their darts, but if the enemy resists manfully, they are easily confused and retreat making no attempt to counter attack. In the first onslaught they are more than men and in the second they are less than women. If the enemy follows them too closely, they will shower them with arrows. In victory even their cowards say how brave they have been , in defeat no man is deemed to have fought bravely. They are never dejected about losses. They do not shine in open combat or fixed formations but harass the enemy with ambushes and night attacks. In a single battle they can easily be beaten and do not lose heart when things go wrong. They merely regroup and try again. Thus they are difficult to conquer in a long war.out to their costs.

These articles were compiled from:

Translations of British Library Cotton Vitellius C.X (18th century) by Lewis Thorpe (1978) Translations of Topographia Hiberniae (1585) by David Powell.\par The Journey through Wales (British Library Cotton Nero DVIII (1376 copy) by Geraldus Cambrensis.}