Not a lot of successful finds today because we were thwarted
by the weather, but there were some.
First of all, you need to know that very many historians
believe St. Ilid who came to this area to actually be Joseph of Arimathea and
Ilid was the Welsh name for him.
****
At our first try, Llanilid in Tonyrefail, we got all around
the place but every muddy single track road had a sign saying: Not Suitable for
Motor Vehicles, so that was the end of that.
This was supposedly the location of St. Ilid’s house which was built
into and at a right angle to the hillside.
It was located off the south side of the land running from Thomastown to
Gelli’r Haidd near Pontypridd.
Pontypridd, at the end of Laura Street, is also where singer Tom Jones came from—he was
a factory glove-maker before his fame. Just
north of Pontypridd is Aberfan where a landslide occurred in 1966, killing 116
children and 28 adults as it engulfed the local junior school and other
buildings.
***
The next site I kind of suspected was going to be a
problem. You see, I have this irrational
fear of the large windmills here. They
remind me of aliens and pop up in the most unexpected places, catching me unaware. So I knew that the hill of Llanbedr y Myndd, where
the ancient church I wanted to see stood, was FULL of these windmills that I
would have to walk under to get to the ruins of the church.
This is a very special church--Old St. Peter’s Church (Llanbedrfynydd – St. Peter’s on the
Hill) on Mynydd y Gaer. At the ruins
they found an ancient axe, knife, and small silver votive cross (found in a beehive
structure) that read “Pro Anima Artorias” = for the soul of Arthur. The grave of Arthur is here.
He was 1st
hidden by his 1st cousin St. Illtyd in his cave at Coed y Mwstyr
woods, close right behind the now hotel, after being brought by boat up the Ewenny
river.
There was his corpse and a memorial stone of Arthur son of Maurice. There is a cave in Coed y Mwnster wood which is associated with Saint Illtyd. Historians Wilson and Blackett have claimed that this cave was used to secretly bury King Arthur for fear that his death would lead to in-fighting between the Celtic tribes at the time. Their theory then points to King Arthur being moved to a permanent burial place at Saint Peter's Church, which now lies ruined above Brynna.
There are of course many historical claims related to King Arthur, but Wilson and Blackett's books offer a fascinating prospect that this area of South Wales was really at the heart of the Arthurian legends that are known throughout the world.
Then later his corpse was taken to this church and reburied near the altar. Bedwyr = Bedivere = Pedr=Peter Bedivere ended his days living as a hermit where King Arthur is buried. So the beehive structure found here was probably his and this church NOT named for Apostle Peter but for Bedivere. I didn’t know if I was going to be able to actually get to the church because it is set amongst hundreds of windmills, which scare me so much. I think this fear started when I was surprised by lots of them as we came over a hill near Edinburgh several years ago. But I think there was some divine intervention, though not VERY divine. I didn’t get to the church, only to the parking area for the footpath to it, because of the rain and how muddy and slippery the path was. It would have required a grueling, muddy, climb up hills and under the windmills for over a mile. It was hard enough to get to the parking area in the car! The first mile of the road up was heavily rutted and closed in by hedges and hardly any usuable passing places.
There was his corpse and a memorial stone of Arthur son of Maurice. There is a cave in Coed y Mwnster wood which is associated with Saint Illtyd. Historians Wilson and Blackett have claimed that this cave was used to secretly bury King Arthur for fear that his death would lead to in-fighting between the Celtic tribes at the time. Their theory then points to King Arthur being moved to a permanent burial place at Saint Peter's Church, which now lies ruined above Brynna.
There are of course many historical claims related to King Arthur, but Wilson and Blackett's books offer a fascinating prospect that this area of South Wales was really at the heart of the Arthurian legends that are known throughout the world.
Then later his corpse was taken to this church and reburied near the altar. Bedwyr = Bedivere = Pedr=Peter Bedivere ended his days living as a hermit where King Arthur is buried. So the beehive structure found here was probably his and this church NOT named for Apostle Peter but for Bedivere. I didn’t know if I was going to be able to actually get to the church because it is set amongst hundreds of windmills, which scare me so much. I think this fear started when I was surprised by lots of them as we came over a hill near Edinburgh several years ago. But I think there was some divine intervention, though not VERY divine. I didn’t get to the church, only to the parking area for the footpath to it, because of the rain and how muddy and slippery the path was. It would have required a grueling, muddy, climb up hills and under the windmills for over a mile. It was hard enough to get to the parking area in the car! The first mile of the road up was heavily rutted and closed in by hedges and hardly any usuable passing places.
BUT, while
we were up there, the fog and mist were so heavy that I couldn’t see a single
windmill! So it worked out—sort of.
There have
been 6 successive buildings here from 1300 back to 160 AD & a 6thc
beehive hermitage. It is the Arthur II
of 6thc who was buried here.
He was a descendant of Arthur I and lived about 503-579 AD & fought
Saxons & Angles.
On the tomb
here at the church it says: Paul, King Paulentius Paul, son of Meurig, Brother of Arthur, son of Meurig
At one time
there was a fence put up around the church put up by the researchers who bought
it, but it was taken down by a nearby farmer.
It is said
that Joseph of Arimathea built the 1st wattle church on this site of
St. Peter’s-super-Montem (here).
The Llywal
stone was unearthed in a farmer’s field in Wales in 1843 and
was sold to the British Museum for the princely sum of £10.00. It’s an ornately carved piece of stone, its
true importance appears to have been made less significant by its strange
placement. The most significant carving
on this stone seems to have been deliberately obscured by the curators. Turned facing the wall, and almost impossible
to view, there is a clear representation of “a person apparently dressed in
Egyptian garb leaving the pyramids of Egypt on his journey to the west…”
So possibly the British Museum wanted to
obscure the scenes of Christians arrival from the Eastern Mediterranean.
Then there are these photos of the stone from the British Museum:
Pics of Old St. Peter Church on top of the hill:
King Meurig
Uthyrpendragon (Arthur’s father) is the large grave mound inside the Giant
Boat-shaped circle at Caer Caradoc near here.
Arthur’s
son, King Morgan Mwynfwr is buried at the large grave mound at Bedd Morgan
Mwynfawr.
All evidence
of these burials was hidden, helped by a 100mph storm and two 70 mph storms at
the sites.
***
Next try was
Llanilid—the Church of Ilid or Joseph of Arimathea. Since the gate was locked to the road, I
would’ve had to climb over it or drive through the muddy “Rector’s Field.” So no.
Jospeh of Arimathea preached here on a mound in the trees. The sacred circle where he preached is in the
trees on the right if I could’ve walked down to the new church but before I got
to it. The service was conducted in the
open during daylight hours. This mound
predates the church by many centuries.
Parts date to before the Norman Conquest. There is an early Roman motte alongside the
circle.
***
Very near and
just down the road—of course it was in an area of flooded roads and we weren’t
sure if we could get there—but we did find it.
Hard to get a photo of any old buildings, though. This aerial photo shows a swimming pool—haha,
doubt if that was from the first century.
. Here was located the Manor of
Bran the Blessed (my 62 GGF) Bran Fendigaid,
father of Caradoc = Caractacus who for 9 yrs from 43-52 AD fought
ag invading Romans and was captured with his family and taken as prisoner to
Rome. His speech to the Senate so moved
Emperor Claudius that he released him from custody but made him stay in Rome
and never bear arms against Romans.
Around 59 AD, they returned to Glamorgan with Joseph of Arimathea who helped
Eurgain establish a Christian college at Llantwit Major, then named Coreurgain
or Choir of Eurgain. Bran retired to
Trevran while his mentor, St. Ilid (JofA) began preaching at the Giant’s Circle
at Llanilid.
***
I had
checked the opening hours for the Church of St. Mary at Coity and found that it
was open on Thursdays, so that was our next stop. Only, it was closed. I have written to the Reverend and inquired
as to opening hours and I think maybe they are on Saturday morning only
now. We will see.
Next door to
the church is Coity Castle. We visited Coity Castle because the cave where St.
Illltyd (cousin of Arthur II) safeguarded
King Arthur’s body in Coed y Mwstyr Woods had a tunnel to Coity Castle. Inside the cave was a grave of solid granite
lying E to W—11 ft. long and 4 ft wide and 4 ft deep. Coity Castle is said to be the Castle of the
Grail.
The reason
for visiting St. Mary’s was to see the wardrobe/chest reputed to be here--
The Coity
area was the real Vale of Avalon. There
are a couple of small effigies on the floor close to altar. Up against the south wall of the church was asmall
wardrobe, 5 ft high and wide and 1 ft deep with gabled roof, like a dollshouse.
The Guidebook says it was probably an Easter
Sepulchre to symbolize the tomb of Jesus. But it looked more like a reliquary and had
six carved panels on front.
Top R:
Pillar onto which Jesus tied and flogged with whips and crowing cock
Top L: like
on shield over tomb of St. Dyfrig in Llandaff Cathedral—centre was empty
calvary cross with ladder leaning it and spear and 3 pots with burial spices
and Crown of Thorns hanging over central area of cross.
Top middle:
floriated cross with pierced heart at ctr and pierced hands & feet of Jesus
Bottom 2
side panels carvings of vines and flowers.
Bottom
middle: shield with 3 nails. Shields usually
show the family’s coat of arms.
So the authors
of a book on this area say this symbolizes Joseph of Arimathea’s family
tomb. (Joseph either uncle or brother of
the Virgin Mary.)
Welsh
documents Harley 3859 MS at British Library and the Jesus College 20 MS at
Oxford both talk of a marriage involving a cousin of the Virgin Mary who
married Beli, the couple being ancestors of the later Kings & Saints of
Glamorgan. These predate the Norman
Invasion by about a century.
Beli (my 61 GGF)
l
________________________________l_______________________
l
l
l
l
Cassivelaunus
(Caswallon) (my 61GU) King Ludd (my 60 GGF) fought
ag. Julius Caesar 55-54BC l
l
Teneuvantius (Teneufan)
l
Cunobelinus (Cynfelin) d. 40 AD
l l
l l
Genuissa
(adopted /real dtr of Emperor Claudius)
+ Arviragus (Beli, Belyn) Guiderius
(Gweirydd) (“a woman
fr family of Jesus,” cousin of VM, Anna)
(King of Britain, joined forces w Caractacus & Silures)
l
(Amalach) l
Aballach or Avallach (Avalon) (59
GGF)
l l
Eugein Eudelen (58 GGF) l
Eudos (Jude) (57 GGF)
This lineage
of Beli & Anna was the secret of Rosicrucianism—grafting of bloodlines onto
older root stocks.
Vale of
Avalon = Coity to Llanharan where Aballach ruled
{My Ancestry
tree goes:
Arviragus
(Gweirydd) + Anna (Genuissa)
To their dtr Penardin + King Llyr
To their son Bran the Blessed + Anna
(Enygeus)(dtr of JofA+ Anna
To Beli + Anna Don verch Mathowny
To Lludd ( & brother Caswallon)
To Afallach
To Euddolen
To Eudos
And for the holidays, since it is Halloween, thought I'd show this photo of a cracked tomb:
...and this looks like its occupant decorated his own tomb in leaves in the shape of a Christmas tree!
***
There were
too many flooded roads to allow us to get to the next site—the Roman Villa at Caermead, N of Llantwit Major, circa
AD 40-290, with an ancient Palace of the Kings of Glamorgan like King Caradoc &
King Meurig in the 2nd c. The
1st stone structure was built in the 2ndc. It covers over 2 acres and dates from before
the middle of the 2nd century AD.
During the archeological dig, they found intact murals and mosaics, tiles, stonework (finials
and portions of columns), painted wall plaster, window glass, fragments of two
sculptured figures as well as knives, nails and horseshoes. Other finds
included a number of skeletons of both horses and humans. Evidence for date was
provided by both pottery and coins, with almost all dating between the mid-2nd
and 4th centuries.
***
Our next
stop was more than successful.
Driving through Llantwit Major's narrow streets:
We walked in to St. Illtud’s Church in Llantwit Major and were greeted by Jean, who spent the next hour and a half showing us every wonderful thing about the church.
We had only gone in to see Samson’s Pillar, whose Inscription reads: In Latin "IN NOMINE DI SUMMI INCIPIT CRUX SALVATORIS QUAE PREPARAVIT SAMSONI ABATI PRO ANIMA SUA ET PRO ANIMA *IUTHAHELO REX ET ARTMAIL ET TECAN" "In the name of the most high God begins the cross of the Saviour which Samson the Abbot prepared for his soul, and for the soul of Iuthahelo the King and of Artmail and of Tecan"
Driving through Llantwit Major's narrow streets:
We walked in to St. Illtud’s Church in Llantwit Major and were greeted by Jean, who spent the next hour and a half showing us every wonderful thing about the church.
Video of the cool stream rushing by the cathedral:
We had only gone in to see Samson’s Pillar, whose Inscription reads: In Latin "IN NOMINE DI SUMMI INCIPIT CRUX SALVATORIS QUAE PREPARAVIT SAMSONI ABATI PRO ANIMA SUA ET PRO ANIMA *IUTHAHELO REX ET ARTMAIL ET TECAN" "In the name of the most high God begins the cross of the Saviour which Samson the Abbot prepared for his soul, and for the soul of Iuthahelo the King and of Artmail and of Tecan"
Cor
Eurgain was the college begun by JofA. It was later called Cor Tewdws or College of
Theodosius. It is believed to be UNDER
St. Illtyd’s Church on College Gardens at College St. It was founded by St. Illtyd in the 6th
c. and is the site of the 1st church of JofA There are rosy-crosses on unmarked
flagstones in the floor of the north aisle in St. Illtud’s.
Jean showed us the
hagioscopes (squints), the Samson Pillar, the other Celtic pillars and crosses,
told us that John Wesley had preached here in 1777, and so many other interesting
facts.
The first cross she showed
us was from the grave of Ethyll who died in 848 or the Ethyll who died in
1775. These crosses are mentioned in The
Crosses of South Wales by Rednap. This is the Samso Pillar.
The 2nd cross
was of Hywel , son of Rhys, from 886. I
have a Hywel ap Rhys in my family tree but he was born in 1415.
The third was the 10th
c. Samson Pillar. On the back is the
inscription Illtud and Samson King. Jean said this was the greatest possession of the church here.
This is one of the hagioscopes or squints which allowed the sick or diseased to see the altar without being seen themselves:
Jesse Tress in stone:
Little statue that was found hidden away in the church:
Memorial window to an only son who fell off nearby cliff while walking with fiance in 1910:
***
Next was Boverton Castle to see the blue plaque
and gate and ruins. During the reign of
Richard I, Boverton Castle was the property of the Earl of Gloucester. His daughter, Hadwisa, married Prince John
(my 25 GGF). Ten yrs later, John
divorced Hadwisa of Gloucester, so that he could marry Isabella of Angouleme
(my 25 GGM). Hadwisa retired to the
seclusion of Boverton Castle. According
to local tradition, King John once fled from his barons, and was sheltered in
Boverton Castle by the woman he had wronged.
Her ghost still haunts the castle, her face scarcely visible, her long
dark hair in neatly braided tresses down to her waist. She wanders from room to room in a slow,
disconsolate manner, and occasionally her sobs break the silence. It was recently up for sale for £55,000. It now sits on .94 of
an acre. Boverton settlement was founded
in the 11th c. and the castle was begun in the 12th
c. It was completely rebuilt in 1587 by Roger
Seys a land owner and attorney general of Wales. The family moved out in the 17th
c. and it fell into decay. Hadwisa’s
ghost was seen by many workmen who were renovating the castle in the late 19th
c. and was known as the Black Lady of Boverton.
***
Llandaff
Cathedral—“church on the
Taff”-- in Cardiff is one of the oldest in Britain, built by order of King
Lleirwig (Lucius) in the early 2nd c. AD. Following extensive damage in 5th
c., it was rebuilt by St. Teilo in early 6th c. during King Meurig,
then rebuilt by Victorians.
Interesting fact--Roald Dahl is from Llandaff!
There is a
statue that shows the 3 faces in one--Gnostic image of God, supposedly somewhere
in the church, but we didn’t find it. We
entered through the west door and went up the north aisle. It is not in a cruciform plan—there are no
transepts, no crossing in middle. Instead
it has N & S aisles and chapels on either side of the altar area.
On the floor by the High Altar is the effigy of Sit David
Mathew of Radyr (1400-1484), a supporter of Edward IV. At age 61, he fought in the Battle of
Towton. About 50,000 fought and only
22,000 lived. David saved the life of
Edward IV and was made Knight Banneret and appointed Grand Standard Bearer of
England. David paid for the repairs to
St. Teilo’s skull after a mob smashed it and he was presented with the skull as
the guardian of it. David married
Gwenllian Herbert, 1st cousin to Sir William ap Thomas. After Sir David died, and a later descendant,
William Mathew died when he was a child in 1658, the skull went to Melechiors
where it was used to draw water as a cup for a holy well, so this brought bad
luck to the Mathews for 200 years, In
1927, a descendant of Sir David purchased the skull back and in 1996 he
returned it to Llandaff Cathedral. Today
is is locked away in a reliquary and is supported by wings of silver angels.
There is a 20th
c. Stained Glass in the North Mathew Chapel:
Arthur-- is shown twice, once showing him carrying the
True Cross after the Mt. Baedan Battle.
Arthur is my 10th cousin, 37x removed. Not a CLOSE relative, but this is what it
shows when I put MY ancestors into Ancestry.com.
Tewdrig -- also shown twice-- one shows his vision before the Battle of Tintern (father-in-law of 9th c 38x removed
St. Cadwaladr—My 38th GGF
St. Cadwaladr
Fendigaid ap Cadwallon (Cadwaller) who died in 682 in Rome, Italy but was
brought back to be buried at Llangadwaladr Church in Wales—the church I visited
where Shirley Jones is the warden.
We also
found the tomb sunken into the wall with the croisier and shield above it.
...and a cadaver tomb:
...and a cadaver tomb:
...a reminder that we all must die and that the afterlife will be better than this life.
Elaborately painted effigy tomb:
...and the awkwardly placed man & wife with the shield of Eystein ap Gwrgan, the last King of Glamorgan:
Very
strangely, I found many gingko leaves here, but there were no gingko trees
around that I could see.
***
Since we had
finished all of our tasks for the day and it was only 1:00, we added in going
to see Cardiff Cstle and the park beside it—Bute Park.
Cute little tree on the way to Bute Park:
Cute little tree on the way to Bute Park:
and a big milemarker:
Maybe the
answer to the mystery was given when we showed up in Cardiff and almost instantly
found a great parking space and as soon as I walked into the park—in the rain—there
were more of the gingko leaves! And no
gingko trees. I love gingko leaves and
always have. Hmm…
Author Michael A Clark claims that Jesus’ great uncle actually lies buried beneath Cardiff’s Bute Park. Joseph is said to have been a trader in minerals, which Mr Clark says makes his presence in South Wales understandable.
The grave of Joseph of Arimathea was described in the Sixth century by Maelgwyn of Llandaff, and Llandaff Cathedral stands on the west bank of the river Taff a mile north of Cardiff Castle on the East side of the river.
Around 1/3rd of a mile south of Llandaff Cathedral the river Taff divided and split into two and rejoined into one stream immediately south of the Castle, and so an island was formed "enclosed by water on all sides".
This is the exact description written by the Maelgwyn of Llandaff who was almost certainly the brother of King Meurig the father of Arthur II, when describing the place of the grace of Joseph of Arimathea.
The grave is described by Maelgwyn as being in the southern bifurcated angle of the church.
There was a medieval Black Friars Abbey on this river island and there is a very ancient tomb in the Southern bifurcated angle of the church.
So from his book, this is what I was looking for, although I heard they had done some restoration work on it:
I very easily found the Gorsedd Stone Circle. This is not an ancient monument, having been erected to celebrate the holding of the Welsh National Eisteddfod in the city in 1978. There is an historic link however as it is said that the central stone slab was recovered from a megalithic monument found in the park. I took a few pics of the Castle,
then headed on to my main objective here…indeed in the whole of Wales—the site of the Blackfriar’s Church. For here is said to be the grave of…tah, dah…Joseph of Arimathea. No one could’ve been more surprised than I when my ancestry tree kept going back and back on my mother’s side through the Kings of Wales and on back to my 63rd Great Grandfather, Joseph of Arimathea!
He said: “Joseph was like the Carnegie of the ancient world – the great uncle of Christ, trading all the metal of the Roman empire. He was a very powerful man. He was a man that the Romans feared.
“They used to come here for all the minerals in South Wales, it was on the trade route. It’s quite logical this happened you see – it has just been forgotten.”
Llandaff was one of the first bishoprics – with London and Wroxeter in Shropshire said to be the others.
The Holy Kingdom by the Welsh Historian Alan Wilson and others says the grave is barely a shell but it is said this could be the final resting place of Arthur 2nd, son of Meurig and cousin of St Illtyd.
Around 1/3rd of a mile south of Llandaff Cathedral the river Taff divided and split into two and rejoined into one stream immediately south of the Castle, and so an island was formed "enclosed by water on all sides".
This is the exact description written by the Maelgwyn of Llandaff who was almost certainly the brother of King Meurig the father of Arthur II, when describing the place of the grace of Joseph of Arimathea.
The grave is described by Maelgwyn as being in the southern bifurcated angle of the church.
There was a medieval Black Friars Abbey on this river island and there is a very ancient tomb in the Southern bifurcated angle of the church.
So from his book, this is what I was looking for, although I heard they had done some restoration work on it:
Walking through Bute Park in the rain....
Something like a plaque has been removed from this rock by the ruins OR has yet to be added:
How the Friary would've looked:
The plan of the old Friary:
There is a strange tomb like a slab at the foot of the altar that has a long inscription on it made of bronze letters set into the stone. A stone such as this would of cost a lot of money in those days so it was for a very important individual especially when bronze was used instead of lead. This stone appears to commemorate the Bishop of Bethlehem, and records several visits made to this place by King Edward II of England. The Bishop of Bethlehem used to come here to visit the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea and it appears that he also requested to be buried here.
Llandaff Cathedral is being recorded as being founded by King Lleirwg-Luke, and another Llan-Lleiwg church now called St. Mellons was on the East side of the city .
In Medieval times there was a Blackfriars abbey and a small White friar's abbey was 100 yards to the South.
In addition there was a large St John's church around 80 yards to the south of a large St Mary's church about 240 yards to the south of the Castle.
The whole place was peppered with religious institutions and there can be no doubt that this was the centre of Christianity.
In addition King Lleirwg sent two relatives to Rome to talk to the Bishop of Rome about Roman secular Law, and they returned with two others.
All four left churches in the Cardiff area and St Dyfan, St Fagan, St Medwy, and St Elfan.
I was
actually trembling as I approached the grave.
It is beautiful. It is one of two
graves here. This one is outlined in
beautiful tiles, but it is so ancient that any writing on the gravestone has
been obliterated. It stands unmarked now
inn the corner of the ruined Blackfriar’s Church to the rear of Cardiff Castle
and dates to 79 AD. Maelgwn of Llandaff
was instrumental in relating a lot of the information about Joseph of
Arimathea. Maelgwn was my 44GGF.
Horrible photo in the rain, but I couldn't not have my picture made with my 63rd GGF!
I collected
3 large leaves from around his grave to save.
Walking back
to the car, I remembered the ghost of Cardiff Castle. The male Marquess of Bute walks thru the fireplace
in the library then leaves thru a 6 ft thick wall into hall then through the
wall of the chapel and into the room he died in. A faceless vision in a flowy gray-white skirt
has been seen in the stockroom, disarranging things. Her name is Sarah. Then there is a Gray lady who walks down
Queen St. and stands on the bridge waving towards castle.
Went to Waitrose for goodies and will stay in tonight to relax.
Notes:
town named Caerphilly--wonder if it's pronounced CAREFULLY? It's actually pronounced kueh-fi-lee but when said sounds like a posh English person saying Carefully.
Unicorn Cake sold at Morrisons here:
Many Morrisons here use this photo of a policeman (Heddlu) to head off crime:
Happy Halloween from Abergavenny!
