Welsh Journals

BYE-GONES FOR i878. NOTES, QUERIES, and REPLIES, on subjects interesting to Wales and the Borders, must be addressed to " Askew Roberts, Croeswylan, Oswestry." Real names and addresses must be given, in confidence, and MSS must be written legibly, on one side of the paper only. OSWESTRY ADVERTIZER, JANUARY 2, 1878. NOTES. OLD DEED RELATING TO PROPERTY IN THE PARISH OF WHITTINGTON. Nouerint vniuersi per precentes me Robertum Holbache Rectorem Ecclesie parochialis de Whyttynton teneri & firmiter obligari Edwardo ap John treuor* Constabulario de Wliyttynton predicto in viginti libris sterlingorum soluendis eidem Edwardo aut suo certo atturnato heredi- bus vel executoribus suis in festo natalis domini proximo futuro post datum presencium ad quam quidem solucionem bene & fideliter faciendam obligo me heredes & executores meos ac omnia bona mea per presentes Sigillo meo sig¬ nature! Datum quinto decimo die mensis Julii Anno regni Regis henrici octaui post conquestum anglie vn- decimo. The condicion of yis obligacion ys such that if ye within named Edward hj'S heyres & assignes may occupy & pesybly possesse a parcel of land lyyng bybabynswdde & be discharged of ye lordes rent of ye saydparcelle accordyng to a dede of exchaunge made and seyled by ye within bounden Robart to ye sayd Edward berynge dat ye xiiii day of July in the xi yere of kynge harry the viiith without querel or trowbull made by ye sayd Robart or by his heyrys or by any other in tber names that then thys obligacion to stond & voyd elles hit to stond in full strenggth myght & virtue. [L.S.] W. * Edward ap John Trevor was a son of John Trevor of Bryn- kinallt, was an ancestor to the Trevors of that place. He died in 1537. His wife, Ann, dau. of,Jeffrey Kyffin, died in 1493. DYVRDWY.—The Dec—The Editor of the Cijm- mrodor, j. 199, impugns the derivation of the name of this river in the Gossiping Guide to Wales, from Dwvr du, Blackwater, and asserts ex cathedra that it is from divvr, water, and dioy, divine. As I think that I formerly sup¬ plied the first derivation, I still maintain that it is correct, and I will give my reasons for it. I wish now to ask for the authority of dwy meaning divine. _ I believe it to be so asserted without the least foundation. I cannot find dioy, divine, in any Dictionary, and I have every one of the Welsh language. The chief are by Salesbury, Dr. Davies, Edw. Llwyd, and Dr. Owen Pughe. They say nothing of dwy being divine, though Dr. Owen Pughe gives Dyvrdwy, the Divine water, which is a mere asser- xxxx tion, and thence the Cymmrodor obtained his knowledge. There is, however, no authority for this derivation. Dyvr¬ dwy is always called by the present inhabitants of its banks Dwrdu, Black water, and it is very descriptive of it. It was so called in the time of our Welsh hero, who wrote his name Owen de Glendourdy. Water in Old Welsh was dubr, and dobr, and in Old Irish dobur. Then by the regu¬ lar change of b into the soft form bh, dobhr in Welsh, and dobhar in Irish ; now bh was pronounced as v, whence dwvr in Welsh, and contractedly dour or dior; and dur in Irish. Dobhra, dur, in Gaelic, and dour in Manx. Th« old form of du, black, in Welsh and Irish, was dub, and so used by the Ancient Britons, when they occupied Ire¬ land. It is still preserved in its" integrity in Dublin, Blackpool; Modern Welsh, Dulyn. The Welsh and the Irish dub underwent the usual mutation into dubh, and the final, having the sound of v, became indistinct, as is seen in tre for trcv, and plwy for phoyv, and in many other instances, and finally omitted. There is a large river in Ireland, called Blackwater. There are two rivers in Scotland, called Dee, and two more called Dye, and another Duv or Duff, from their colour, and this is corroborated from two rivers in Ayrshire called Dow-uisk, which means nothing else but Black-ioater, without any reference to divinity. The Roman name of both Dees was Dera, whence I suspect the Welsh dwy was drawn; wy being the later equivalent of the Latin e, as is evident from Welsh rhwyd, cwyr, eglioys, &c, from rite, cera, ecclcsia. The idea of divinity attached to our Dee is of comparatively recent times, such as of Spencer and Drayton. The earliest author quoted is Giraldus Cambrensis, and all that he says is—"The inhabitants of these parts assert that the waters of this river, the Doucrdwy change their fords every month, and as it inclines more towards England and Wales, they can with certainty prognosticate which nation will be successful or unfortunate during the year." Rhydycroesau. R. Williams. M.S. HISTORY OF OSWESTRY, 1635.—Refer¬ ences are made by Pennant (1778) and Bingley (1804) to this M.S., which is preserved in the British Museum. Price (1815) and Edwards (1819), in their local histories also refer to it—probably not from actual examination, but copying the earlier Topographers. The M.S. was written by "John Davies, Esq., Recorder of Oswestry," for the Earl of Arundel, and to it the following letter is appended, which now, for the first time I fancy, appears in print:—■ Right Honble I have at length accomplished yor Lor'ps oomand in transcri being the Chres heretofore graunted by yor. noble Aun- cestors unto the Towne of Oswestrie, and now "extant among their Records. The Coppie whereof togeither wth such notes & observacons of myne owne (concerning the antient <fc