ONE of the first things that King Edward did, when Dafydd was dead, was to cause a survey to be made, somewhat on the lines of Domesday Book, and the survey of Merioneth was made sometime between the years 1285 and 1310.
In it there is a very full description of Dolgelley, but Llanelltyd is not expressly mentioned by name.
In that survey we find that Dolgelley was held by 46 "unfree" tenants, and that, among them, were included some "foreigners," that is to say either imported Irishmen or Englishmen, holding on a servile tenure.
The area held by Welsh tenants for agricultural purposes cannot be determined accurately. They held some land, apparently between 80 and 90 acres and paid a produce-rent therefor of 14/- per annum or roughly £42/- in the money of to-day.
The foreigners cultivated 135 acres of Crown land for the Crown without pay, receiving probably as, a consideration some other land for their own cultivation. The value of their labour was estimated at £11/-, or £60 in to-day's valuation.
The Welsh unfree tenants also were
compelled between them to do certain work on the Crown lands, such as
harvesting, ploughing, etc., without pay, and the value of their toil
was reckoned to be worth 7s/4d in the year.
Both the foreign and
the Welsh tenants were bound also to carry goods for the Crown within
the cymwd of Tal-y-bont, whenever required, and the value of the
foreigners' duties was reckoned to be 4s/6d in the year, that of the
Welshmen's 8d.
These figures show very clearly that there was a very considerable foreign element in Dolgelley at that time, and that the main burdens fell upon it. The fact suggests that when the village was founded by Cadwgan ap Bleddyn's family, foreign captives of war or slaves were set to make the village area inhabitable, and that the Welsh tenants were those who lived, not in the neighbourhood of the present town, but in the more outlying parts of the old parish.
A very interesting difference between the two sets of tenants, which perhaps confirms this possibility, lay in the fact that the Welsh ones were principally cattle-breeders, and not agriculturists, the main burden of agriculture falling on the foreigner, for we find that, whereas the Welsh tenants were liable to pay 36s/8d per annum on account of their calves, the foreigners paid nothing.
The ordinary rule in regard to calves was that half of those born in a year went to the Crown, the tenants in return thereof being allowed free and full grazing rights throughout the lands of the village. As the value of a calf was fixed at the sum of 8d, we arrive at the conclusion that the average number of calves born in Dolgelley in a year was 110, which gives us a fair indication of the extent of the herds which belonged to the Welsh villagers of the day.
In the course of the preparation of this Survey, Edward I. spent some time in Merioneth, and Dolgelley was the centre for a while of a large occupying force, and subsequent to the Madoc rising.
The King came to the town in May of 1295 in order to receive there the homage of the tribal chieftains of the neighbourhood.
Little is known of the story of Dolgelley and Llanelltyd for many long years after this. The centres of interest in Merioneth in those days were Harlech and Bala, two new boroughs created by the King.
The shire of Merioneth was created by Edward I., and in the reign of Edward III. one Walter de Manny, who had been conspicuous at the seige of Calais, was made Vicecomes of the county. In his days, markets and fairs were established at Dolgelley. The King had not made Dolgelley a borough-it has never been such, and it is one of the few county towns in Great Britain, which has never returned a member of its own to Parliament.
The creation of markets by de Manny was undoubtedly a breach of the royal prerogative, for which, and for many other things, de Manny was brought to book in course of time. But this breach of royal rights was, nevertheless, justified by the central position of Dolgelley, eminently suited as it was for becoming an important market. Though, therefore, de Manny got into trouble, the markets and fairs which he established have continued to be held in Dolgelley to this day, and de Manny may fairly be claimed as the person who gave Dolgelley the status of a town.
The fairs he established were held on the 5th and 6th of May, the 28th and 29th of September, and the 5th and 6th of December, and we happen to possess the tariff of tolls levied at the time, namely for every horse 4d, for every ox or cow 2d, for every horse load of honey, butter, oats and other merchandise 2d and upwards, for every bale of wool 4d, and for every ox-hide ½d. Put into percentages these tolls came to roughly 31% on the selling value.
The list of commodities for which a specific tariff was fixed is of interest as showing the type of occupation of the people at the time. Mainly, of course, they are agricultural and stock raising, but something may be said of two of the items. The appearance of wool in the tariff is of more than passing interest, for it shows how very early the work of Cymmer Abbey was beginning to bear fruit; and in the centuries which followed, the welfare of Dolgelley depended very largely upon its wool trade. It may be said to have lived on it until the middle of the last century.
The other item is that of honey. The neighbouring country, especially the Ganllwyd valley, was famous for its honey, and it is a matter of great regret that the cultivation of Welsh honey, which in its day was considered to be unsurpassed, should have decayed in these parts. Even 40 years ago most cottages and farms had their hives, but they are few and far between now.
In medieval times honey was an invaluable product, and it often formed part of rentals in kind. It had many uses. From it was distilled the famous "metheglyn" or mead, once the national drink of Wales, as Powerful an intoxicant as could well be met with anywhere.
Some villages were under the liability of rendering "metheglyn" to the prince, and in the old laws the measure thereof is given; for it is said that it should be brought to the prince's palace and poured into. a vat, which was to be big enough to allow of the Prince and the village elder to bathe in together without bumping into each other!
Honey was also in great demand because, until the discovery of the sugar-cane, it was the ordinary sweetening material in use. In addition, the keeping of bees was essential for the production of wax, especially needed for the candles used in the services of the Church. SO important was the bee in medieval times that many early laws, including the Welsh ones, had special provisions regarding them and property in them; and it was a common belief in the Middle Ages that there was a divine blessing upon bees, making the use of beeswax candles incumbent during Mass, because when Adam and Eve sinned in Eden, the bees were so busy at work that they alone did not see the fall, and, when they discovered it, they, alone of all created kind, fled horrified from the garden. Wales was one of the great honey-producing countries of the world, and nowhere was the industry in higher repute than in the heather-clad hills around Dolgelley and Llanelltyd.
It must not be supposed that
Walter de Manny was induced to found a market at Dolgelley with a
view to benefit the town; his principal object was to' stop free
trade in the countryside, and to concentrate it in defined
localities, whence he could abstract something for his own
pocket.
This restriction of trade lasted a long time, and in the
reign of Henry VI., we find one Jak ap Tomlyn of Harlech-a queer
name, apparently of English origin-fined heavily for buying five cows
at Garthcynfawr, outside the Dolgelley market, "in contempt of
the King."
Besides being economically exploited for the benefit of others, Wales was drained for years of men to fight on foreign soil.
Crecy, Poictiers, Falkirk were
fought mainly by Welsh troops-five-sixths, for instance, of the
troops that fought at Crecy were Welsh-and this neighbourhood sent
its quota to those battles.
They went, no doubt, willingly enough,
and it is rather interesting to recall that Welsh troops, arrayed in
the national colours of green and white, were the first infantry to
wear uniform.
Walter de Manny disputed with the King as to who was
responsible for paying for the uniform and arms of the Merioneth
contingents.
Needless to say, the land, neither then nor after, got the credit for the victories won; but then little Wales never has got credit for anything performed by her sons.
There is no need, however, to enlarge upon the years of economic and political oppression to which Merioneth, with the rest of Wales, was subjected during the 120 years or so which followed the death of Llywelyn.
Edward III. tried to do something to stop it; but the interests of others were too strong to allow much change to be wrought.
It was this terrible misgovernment which was the principal cause of the great rising under Owain Glyndwr in the years 1401 to 1415, and in the course of that tremendous struggle both Dolgelley and Llanelltyd played some part.
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