Gwyddon or the Traditional Witchcraft of Wales

The history of early Wales is bedeviled by the lack of contemporary written and pictorial sources. As a result there are long periods of time where we know little or nothing about large areas of Wales. This problem is compounded by the tendency of some of the earlier modern historians to retrospectively apply evidence from later medieval Wales, which first occur in thirteenth century copies of twelfth century manuscripts.

To understand Welsh Witchcraft, it is therefore necessary to understand the heritage and culture of the Welsh prior to the thirteenth century.

THE KINGS (Old Welsh: Rhi, or Teyrn) claimed their right to rule by descent. Kingship was most frequently passed from father to son or brother to brother. The annals and genealogies stress "dynastic dominance and dynastic continuity, sons were expected to succeed fathers. In practice kingdoms were sometimes shared, and occasionally quarreled over between brothers and uncle and nephew. Occasionally there were quarrels between father and son.

THE NOBLES (Old Welsh: Uchelwr, or Breyron) were the free landowners in Wales, and as such formed the aristocracy. There is evidence for their existence from the sixth century. They owed their position to their hereditary freedom to own land, and the power this gave them over their tenant farmers and slaves. They owed no service, rent or due to the king other than the gwestfa, repair of bridges and roads on their lands, and service in war. The king might choose to ignore or remit these as he wished, or a noble might be powerful enough to resist his monarch's attempts to enforce them.

Nobles owned their land in the form of large estates. These could be grouped together to form multiple estates, or spread over a wider area. They could dispose of their lands as they wished, provided interested parties such as heirs or kindred were in agreement, although for a while kings tried to control land grants to the invading Christian Church. Nobles could act as foster parents to the sons of kings and other nobles sons. They could also serve on the king's council (OW. Degion) as a Gwr Da or good man, acting as royal officers and advisors. The Degion could even govern the kingdom in the king's absence.

THE PEASANTS (Old Welsh: Aillt) were bondsmen, the unfree tenant land holders of noble landlords. They were tied to the land and could not leave it without their lord's permission, and they accompanied the land if it was sold or granted away.

They lived in separate settlements known as a tref (pl trefi) with the slaves who worked for them. They worked the land, returning a food rent to their landlord and a twice yearly direct payment to the king of dawnbwyd; They were required to fight for their landlord but they did not do labor services. There is no evidence that peasants could rise to the nobility and by the twelfth century their position was being eroded.

THE SLAVES (Old Welsh: Caeth) were primarily agricultural laborers, born into slavery and tied to the land. They were regarded as important property. However, there is evidence that they were often undernourished and underfed. Slavery could be imposed as a religious penance or a criminal punishment. In their spare time both slaves and peasants could specialize in craft activities like smithing and shoemaking. Slaves were allowed to own goods and save money; they could and did, where possible, buy their freedom. Peasants (and Nobles) could fall into slavery through economic reasons, as a penance, a criminal punishment, or as captives.

Tales of this battle of fathers and sons are found in the apocryphal books of the Bible, Babylonian fables as well as Norse and Greek mythology. This legend of the Nephelim also tells of the mysteries of a three-part being called The Triad. The Triad taught humanity about the Earth Mother Goddess, Donn who had conceived them in the distant past, and of whom they were a part. The Triad taught them about the Sky Father, HU who ruled the skies and was the first light bearer. It taught the three essentials, the laws, and The Word. This being communicated with the First People, who had just begun to use language. The Triad gave our ancestors their knowledge, and part of itself. After a time The Triad left our land and returned to its own land, leaving its work here to ripen and bear fruit.

Manuscripts hint that approximately three hundred and sixty-two thousand years ago the Nemue again visited this land. They are the ones we call today The Old Ones. Then for some reason not spoken of in the records, there was a great cataclysm that killed many of the Nemue, and left them unable to return to their home. They began to trade with the primitive people in Poseidia.

Between 50,000 B.C. and 15,000 B.C., great human development occurred. Primitive civilizations rose and fell. During the Upper-Paleolithic period in Europe, the worship of the Goddess became prominent.

In these Upper-Paleolithic societies, the concept of the creator of all human life was formulated by each clan's image of women, who they considered to be their most ancient primal ancestors. The mother was regarded as the sole parent of children in this culture. Ancestor worship was the basis for most of their sacred rituals, and ancestry was determined through the mother's ancestral line. This was because it was often difficult if not impossible to determine who the father was, for the sexual customs encouraged promiscuity.

The most tangible evidence supporting the theory that these cultures worshipped a Goddess is the numerous sculptures of women found throughout most of Europe and the Near East. Some of these sculptures date to 25,000 B.C..

These small female figurines made of stone and clay, most of which are seemingly pregnant, have been found throughout widespread sites in areas as far apart as Spain, France, Germany, Austria, and Russia. These sites and figurines appear to span a period of at least 10,000 years.

Johannes Maringer, in his book, The Gods of Prehistoric Man, says:

"It appears highly probable then that the female figurines were idols of a Great Mother cult, practiced by the non-nomadic Aurignacian mammoth hunters who inhabited the immense Eurasian territories that extended from Southern France to Lake Baikal in Siberia."

It was from the Lake Baikal area in Siberia during this time period that tribes are believed to have migrated across the land bridge between Siberia and Alaska, and formed the nucleus known today as the Native American population. This supports the observation that European Witchcraft and American Indian shamanism have similar roots.

European explorers during the great age of discovery found similarities of belief among primitive tribes who were so cut off from the world that they were unaware of the people on the next island. The Europeans were amazed to find that certain beliefs, legends, myths and traditions, customs and taboos were universal from Siberia to the South Seas, varying only slightly.

Legend says that the Atlantean people utilized their special skills (through psychic abilities), thus marking the history of the Earth. Three recorded migrations of the Atlantean population preceded the cataclysmic destruction, which resulted in complete inundation of Atlantis.

The first migration settled in Asia and is believed to be the basis of the legends of Mu, approximately 13,000 B.C. The second migration settled in the Himalayas and are the basis of the Tibetan tradition, approximately 9,000 B.C. The third migration carried with it all that was left of Atlantis; its culture, people, language and knowledge. These people settled in Hyperborea; what is now be an inundated area opposite the coasts of France, England, and Germany in the North Sea, around 7,000 years ago. Later some of these people migrated to Egypt, Anatolia and Central America. Archeological finds in the North Sea show that an advanced civilization lived on peninsulas and Islands and were inundated by earthquakes.

Although historical records of the people of Egypt span 5,000+ years, and name Egypt as the birthplace of the Western Mystery Tradition, in fact during this period, there were two centers of learning and culture: Hyperborea in Northern Europe and Egypt in North Africa.

According to legend, Atlantis was destroyed between 13,000 and 7,000 B.C. Therefore, in the thousand years between Atlantis and Hyperborea, volumes of knowledge and culture were lost. But, certain concepts remained: Nature worship and the veneration of a God and Goddess. Archaeologists unearthed evidence that in 7,000 B.C., a settlement covering 32 acres existed in southern Anatolia (Turkey) named Catal Huyuk. Ruins of shrines to the Horned Bull God and Mother Goddess (Mother of All Living) lay within the settlement. This was absolute proof of a Nature-based religious people believing in and worshipping the duality of the God and Goddess from ancient times.

The religious leader of these early tribes was a priest, shaman, herbalist, astrology, poet or bard. The early shaman was the wise man or wise woman of the tribe, the healer and priest or priestess. The wise ones knew about the seasons, weather and crops and were, therefore, very important members of the early culture. Over the years, a priestess became more than a wise woman; she became powerful through consolidating her knowledge and keeping it secret. It was only she who knew the Gods' and Goddesses' true names, it was only she who knew the secret of conception.

At first, the religion was simple Nature worship: worship of the Earth mother and the Sky Father. But it began to grow in complexity as the people rediscovered the old sources of power and obtained new knowledge by experimentation and meditation. The religion taught of male and female deities which, together, created the Great Spirit. The female deity evolved into the Goddess represented by the earth and moon, ruling over birth, life, love, death and rebirth. The male deity evolved into the God represented by the sun, ruling over the seasons. These precepts are fundamental to our faith and belief today. From this early religion Druidism developed

To understand the religion of Welsh Witchcraft, you must first understand the origins and philosophy of Druidism. For, it is only within the mind of the druid that we will find the power of the Welsh Witch. Again, the following information is offered for your evaluation, and can not be proven after all, so read it, think about it and hopefully it will add to your knowledge of that time.

The Druids, Celtic Picts and Welsh Witches have left few decipherable written records of their history and philosophies, but we can extrapolate what took place during the pre-historical period of their existence through legends, archaeological finds and informed hypothesis.

We know from archeological studies that the early Druids were pre-Brythonic with a highly organized philosophy and religion by the time the Celts arrived. This philosophy was all that remained of the early Hyperborean migration to Great Britain. The Celtic Druids of Europe, believed that their religion originated in Britain, and it was their practice to send their students across the English Channel, to Britain, from Gaul (modern day France and Germany) to learn the Druid doctrines at their purest source.

The doctrines of the Druids were much the same as those of the Brahmins of India, the Magi of Persia, and the priests of Egypt. Like them, the Druids had two sets of religious doctrines, exoteric and esoteric. They practiced their rituals in Britain and Gaul, but their religion was brought to much greater perfection in the former country, where the Isle of Anglesey was the center and heart of their religious practice.

The word Druid is generally considered to be derived from DRU which means Oak Tree, which is sacred, although its etymology may also be found in the Gaelic word Druidh, "a wise man" or "magician."

Their temples, wherein the sacred fire was preserved, were generally situated on the tops of hills and mountains, and in dense groves of oaks. The adytum or cave of the mysteries was called a Cromlech, and was used as the sacred altar of regeneration. It consisted of three upright stones on which a broad, flat stone rested, making a small cell. This construction was used during initiation.

The Caer Sidi, where the mysteries of Druidism were performed, consisted of a range of buildings. Adjoining the temple were apartments of all sizes, cells, vaults, baths, and long and artfully contrived passages. Most frequently these places were underground.

Druidism embraced certain religious and philosophical ideas with particular reverence for astronomical calculations. Their chief deities are reducible to two, a great father and a great mother, Hu and Donn, distinguished by similar characteristics as those of Osiris and Isis, Bacchus and Ceres, or other supreme gods and goddesses representing the two principles of all being. These two principles were seen as personifications of the one source of all life, the Great Spirit of all.

The grand periods of initiation were quarterly, and determined by the course of the sun, and its arrival at the equinoctial and solstitial points. But the two main celebrations were at May-eve and November-eve, Beltaine and Samhain. At these times, fires were kindled on all the cairns and Cromlechs throughout the land, which burned all night to introduce the Festivals. Round these fires choral dances were performed in honor of the Goddess and the God who were said to be rising from their tomb - the Goddess at Beltaine and the God at Samhain. The festivals were also a time of peace and joy and continued from sundown on the eve of the festival and continued to the next evening when the priests and priestesses retired to the forests where lovemaking was the order of the hour.

Initiations were performed at midnight and consisted of three major degrees. The first was the Ovate, the second the Bard, and the third the Druid. The candidate was placed in a tomb, where his symbolic death represented the death of Hu, the sun; and his restoration in the third degree symbolized the resurrection of the sun. He or she had to undergo trials and tests of courage similar to those practiced in the mysteries of Orpheus.

The Druids taught the doctrine of one supreme creative force which was personified as a mother Goddess and father God. They believed in the immortality of the soul through a form of reincarnation. Their authority in many cases exceeded that of the monarch. They were of course the sole interpreters of religion, and consequently supervised all rituals; for no private person was allowed to perform a ritual without their sanction. They possessed the power of excommunication, which was the most horrible punishment that could be inflicted next to death. They determined all disputes by a final and unalterable decision, and had the power of inflicting the punishment of death. Priestesses clothed in white, wearing a metal girdle, foretold the future from the observation of natural phenomena.

Druids were both men and women and were held in the highest esteem prior to the invasions of the Romans. According to Tacitus, in the first century A.D. the object of worship was a Great Goddess whose shrine was a grove of Oaks upon an island in the Sea.

They knew of sciences that the rest of the world at that time could only dream about. Their knowledge of astronomy and physics, and their ideas of the immortality of the soul were far too elaborate to have been invented by barbarians.

The evidence supporting these statements is contained in parchment and vellum manuscripts long preserved from destruction in mansions and monasteries in England, Wales and Scotland, as well as certain historical records of the tribe of Dynion Mwyn and Llewelyn family descendants.

Of the Irish manuscripts, the earliest and most important is The Book of Dun Cow which is in the possession of the Royal Irish Academy. It preserves the romances relating to the Old Gods and heroes of Ireland, and has protected the source of ancient Irish prehistory. Far thicker is the Book of Leinster which supplements the Book of the Dun Cow and is about the same age. Other sources include the Book of Invasions, The Book of Ballymote, The Yellow Book of Lecan, and Books of Lecan and Lismore. Unfortunately, many of these books are now only fragmented manuscripts.

The Advocate library in Edinburgh contains the Scottish manuscripts, which corroborate the Irish documents, add to the Cuchulainn saga, and describe the wonderful deeds of Finn, Ossian and the Fenians. They contain stories of other characters more ancient than Finn or Cuchulainn -- the Tuatha De Danaan, the goddess tribe of the ancient Gaels.

The Welsh manuscripts cover the same time period as the Irish and Scottish. Four of these are the most important, The Black Book of Caermarthen, The Book of Aneurin, The Book of Taliesin, and The Red Book of Hergest. Other books complete the basic Welsh sources: Barddas; or a collection of original documents illustrative of the theology, wisdom, and usage's of the bardo-druidic system of the Isle of Prydain in two volumes by John ab Ithel Williams; The Iolo Manuscripts, by E. Taliesin Williams; The Myvyrian Archaeology of Wales printed in the Welsh language and edited by Owain Jones, Edward Williams and [Pughe] William Owen; and The Mabinogion translated by Lady Charlotte Guest.

To uncover the Bardic philosophy, one must read the classical texts available which clarify and add to the above works, and their sources. Posidonius, a Stoic philosopher who lived in the first century B.C., provides us with the deepest insights into Celtic Druidism. In Book twenty-three of his History he presents a detailed description of Druidism. Since it is known that he lived in southern Gaul for some period of time, we may reasonably suppose that he collected his material by firsthand account. Unfortunately his "Celtic Ethnography" no longer survives intact but comes to us in summaries provided by three main writers who seem to have borrowed, quoted from, or adapted Posidonius.

These classic scholars include Strabo (63 B.C. to 21 B.C.) who had known Posidonius personally; Diodorus Siculus (writing 60-30 B.C.) was also a contemporary; and Athenaeus (flourishing around 20 B.C.) who acknowledged him as a source. Although they naturally made additions of their own, their basic source is clearly Posidonius.

In addition, we have the writings of Julius Caesar, general, politician and polymath, who between 58 and 51 B.C., fought a series of bitter campaigns against the Celts of Gaul and Britain. Caesar, writing his account of the Gaulish campaigns in 52-51 B.C. seems to have based his account of the Druids on Posidonius, but with non-Posidonian additions, the authenticity and reliability of which have been the subject of much discussion.

The viewpoint presented by the above four writers is for the most part factual and the general picture of Druidism which emerges from their writings is consistent with that contained in the writings of Polybius who wrote before Posidonius. In addition, Pomponius Mela, Lucan and Tacitus were later authors who drew heavily from these previous efforts. It is also consistent with the Welsh and Irish sources discussed above and with the inferences made from archeological evidence. In addition to these primary sources, there is also a group of writers of less importance for their general comments on the Celts, but important to us because they talk about the Druids.

Ammianus Marcellinus, a historian of the fourth century B.C. used earlier sources, including Timagenes, who wrote in the first century B.C., and who is quoted as speaking of the Druids by Diodorus. Lucan, in the first century B.C., was a poet who described the strangeness of the Druid religion. The elder Pliny wrote a discourse on natural history in which he mentions Druid magic, folk-medicine, oak trees, and mistletoe. Finally Tacitus in his Annals, gives us our only Historical glimpse of British Druids as he describes their ritually cursing the Roman soldiers across the Menai Straits.

Hecataeus of Miletus, a celebrated writer and geographer of the 5th century BC wrote:

"Opposite to the coast of Gallic Celtica, there is an island in the ocean, not smaller than Sicily, lying to the north, which is inhabited by the Hyperboreans, who are to named because they dwell beyond the North Wind. This island is of a happy temperature, rich in soil, and fruitful in everything, yielding its produce twice a year.

"The Hyperboreans use a peculiar dialect and have a remarkable attachment to the Greeks, especially to the Athenians and the Delians, deducing their friendship from remote periods."

There is evidence to suggest that the Hyperborean civilization lasted until approximately three thousand (3,000) B.C. when it was torn asunder by earthquakes, flooding and tidal waves.

Plato in writing about Atlantis stated that it had artificial harbors, a royal palace the walls which were covered with brilliant oreichalcos (possibly molten amber), as well as a highly disciplined armed forces, and a gigantic fleet and the land was so fertile that it had two harvests a year. It is our belief that in fact Plato might have been talking about Hyperborea, not Atlantis.

Strabo, the Greek geographer who lived in Rome and Alexandria, traveled widely in the first century B.C. and early first century B.C. His seventeen books on Geography, most of which survive, contain a valuable compilation of data from the Roman world and beyond. For his information on the Celts he used Posidonius as a primary source. Strabo wrote:

"...among the whole of them three classes more especially are held in distinguished veneration, the Bards, the Ovates, and the Druids. The Bards are chanters and poets. The Ovates are . . . physiologists. The Druids, in addition to physiology, practice ethic philosophy. They are deemed to be most upright, and, in consequence, to them are committed both public and private controversies, in as much that on some occasions they decide on battles and stop the combatants on the eve of engaging. These and others say that souls are immortal, and that the world is so too; yet that ultimately fire and water will prevail."

Diodorus Siculus in 44 B.C., describing Druidism:

"And there are among...(The Gauls)...composers of verses, whom they call Bards; these singing to instruments similar to a lyre, applaud some, while they vituperate others. There are also certain philosophers and priests surpassingly esteemed, whom the call Druids.

Caesar, speaking of Druidism said:

"The institution (Druidism) is thought to have originated in Britain, and to have been thence introduced into Gaul; and even now those who wish to become more accurately acquainted with it, generally repair thither, for the sake of learning it."

Caesar also recorded the scope of Druid teachings:

"As one of their leading dogmas," he said, "they include this: that souls are not annihilated, but pass after death from one body to another, and they hold that by this teaching, men are much encouraged to valor, through disregarding the fear of death. They also discuss and impart to their young many things concerning the heavenly bodies and their movements, the size of the world and our earth, natural sciences, and the influence and power of the immortal gods."

It was at Stonehenge that the British Apollo was seen harping and dancing. Although Stonehenge was a Druid religious center, equally revered by and belonging to ALL British tribes, it had been constructed by Pre-Druidic peoples. Pythagoras, whose philosophy was very similar to the Druids, is said to have visited the Hyperboreans in search of Truth, and to have received the Arrow of Abaris, which had been carried around the world. Aristotle affirms that a mystical philosophy did not pass from Greece to Gaul (the Celtic Druids) but was received FROM them.

In India, Hyperborea was spoken of in ancient times as The Sacred Isles of the West, calling one of them Bretashtan or The Seat and Place of Religious Duty. These sacred western islands were claimed by the Hindus to be the Abode of Petries or Fathers of the Human Race, and they sent their priesthood there to be trained.

While the above classical sources of historical information about the Celts and Druids are not totally reliable, they are the only sources that modern scholars have been able to find to this date. It is the purpose of the rest of this chapter to expand on this information, using ancient documents and sources mentioned previously.

The Druids were the teachers, professors, philosophers, lawyers and poets of the Celtic peoples. In all public and private quarrels, the Druid settled all disputes. They passed on knowledge by word of mouth. The Druid Priesthood ruled the Cymry (which means "The People" in the Welsh language) from approximately 3800 B.C. to 61 B.C.. But who were these Cymry and where did they come from?

The Prytani came before the Cymry. Prytani was the name the Celts used to describe the race of people they found when they arrived Gaul and in the British Isles. The Prytani were small dark stocky and reclusive people. They kept separate even from each other. Elves were the Teutonic name given to them by the invaders. Later the Romans would call them Picts or Painted People, a name that evolved into Pixies. They were also called the people of heaths or Heathens. They kept retreating from the invading forces and finally were forced into the far north, but their religion became part of the Celtic way.

Around 2,800 B.C. Prytani tribes constructed parts of Stonehenge and other stone circles in England as sacred religious sites. The sites they chose had been used earlier by Hyperboreans who had survived the deluge. Huge Silbury Mound and Avebury Circle were constructed by these peoples. They became important Druid temples.

In 1000 B.C, the Milesians migrated from southern Anatolia, through the Mediterranean sea, to Spain, across the Bay of Biscayne, and onto Scotia (Ireland) and Wales. They drove all before them. They defeated the Tuatha and almost decimated the Prytani. But they could not destroy the religion of the conquered - Druidism. The Prytani retreated even further into Wales and Scotland and for the next thousand years Druidism became the prevalent religion of the Celts.

"The common religion," writes John Rhys, "was Druidism from the Baltic to the Straits of Gibraltar."

There is strong evidence that the Prytani were the descendants of the survivors of the destruction of Hyperborea. For this reason at first all Celtic tribes sent their priesthood to be trained in Great Britain by Prytani priests. Then, as hundreds became thousands of years, the priesthood of the Prytani evolved into the Druid Hierarchy.

Caesar, said of the Druids:

"The institution (Druidism) is thought to have originated in Britain, and to have been then introduced into Gaul; and even now those who wish to become more accurately acquainted with it, generally repair thither, for the sake of learning it."

After the Celtic invasions, due to lack of food, hiding from invaders by day, and inbreeding, the Prytani grew ever smaller, and the legends about them grew. The Pictish Witches were said to be the offspring of the few marriages between the Prytani and the invaders, and they learned the secrets and magickal methods which were handed down to their children.

The Cymry were what the Celtic Welsh tribes called themselves. The Cymry were among the third wave of Celtic immigrants who arrived in Britain between 1000 B.C. and 450 B.C. During this period, the Celts became organized as common interests forced alliances between tribes, until by the second century B. C. they had spread throughout Europe from the Atlantic ocean and what is now Northern Spain, to an area now considered Eastern Europe, including all of the British Isles and Ireland. They had also established outposts in Greece, Italy, Macedonia and Thrace. Although joined in a common goal of expansion, the Celts never became a totally organized state. That was their downfall. In 349 B. C. the Celts suffered a resounding defeat at the hands of the Romans. By about 180 B.C. their energies were spent and they had either settled in peace with their neighbors or been driven back into Great Britain and Central Europe.

In 55 B.C., Caesar made his first excursion and reconnaissance into Britain. By 51 B.C., most of what is modern day England was under the control of Rome. The Druids escaped into Scotland and Wales.

In the year 51 B.C., during Caesar's campaign against the Celts, a Roman legion under the command of a young, able soldier, discovered the beautiful valley and defeated the warriors who were sent to defend the valley. During the fighting, the old chieftain of the Pictish Celts was killed, but his son Llewelyn continued the fight against the would-be conquerors.

The young Roman entered into personal combat with Llewelyn and was victorious. The combat between the two was long and hard, but eventually llewlelyn lost his hand and was forced to surrender. Horatius was impressed by his enemy's valor and allowed the man to live. Llewelyn One-hand is still the name of the tribal chief at the present time.

He was also responsible for allowing the Druids which were of the Dynion Mwyn tribe to live and carry on their religion and ministrations to the tribe.

A military base was established to keep watch over the Welsh Celts and within 5 years or so, a town began to grow next to the legion camp.

Vitus Horatius, had fallen in love with the valley. After Caesar's campaign ended, he asked to be allowed to remain in the city as the local legion commander. He was such a local hero that the powers that be in Rome would not replace him. He died there in 23 BC.

  THE DECLINE OF DRUIDISM

For the next 1000 years this knowledge was preserved in the Welsh language as well as Ogham, and was hidden, in the form of manuscripts, by several groups, including the family and tribe of Dynion Mwyn.

By using a highly elaborate mnemonic system, it became easy for the medieval bards to preserve and disseminate the ancient teachings through poems and songs. While it is true that the bards of Wales were often unschooled in the deeper mysteries, they were able to transmit and refine heroic poetry and mystical triads, and we owe them a debt of gratitude for preserving this body of literature that could not otherwise have survived. In Wales, Ireland, and Scotland, the ancient literature was preserved in a nearly identical manner.

The occupation of Wales finally ended in 383 A.D. with the attempt of Maximus of Caernarvon to declare himself the Roman emperor. Prior to the withdrawal of the Roman troops in 383 A.D., all of Britain's territory south of Hadrian's Wall was under Roman rule. In many parts of Britain the iron hand of the Roman Legions were nominal, giving way to tribal rule in all but the cities and commercial centers.

From approximately 400 A.D. to 800 A.D., Europe was steeped in chaos and savagery. These were the Dark Ages. During this period the Christian church conquered the British and Welsh countryside and Druidism and Pictish Witchcraft became even more hidden and secret in nature.

Finally, in 823 A.D., the first leader of importance to emerge among the Welsh was born. He was the warrior king Rhodri Mawr (Rhodri the Great). He owed his heritage to a long line of Welsh Bards from whom he learned the sacred knowledge. He was the first of the clan to have the Druidic Philosophy written in Runes on Folios of Bark. He was the second to call his bardic tribe Dynion Mwyn. In 855 he became king, not only of Powys, but through skillful alliances and marriages, of a great deal of the rest of Wales as well. Successful in warding off attacks, killing in battle the Viking leader Gorm, Rhodri gave his country a remarkable period of unity and stability. Rhodri himself was killed in battle in 878 A.D., fighting an English incursion into his lands.

He had three sons; Anarawd, Cadell and Merfyn. Unfortunately for the future of an independent Wales, the alliance of his sons with the English monarch, Alfred, led to Wales's dependence upon the English monarch for protection. This was perhaps the first sign that the future of Wales was forever to be dependent upon its stronger neighbor to the East.

Here we should say something about Rhodri’s grandson Hywel Dda (Howell the Good). He reestablished a sort of hegemony among the various petty kingdoms of Wales. Hwyel's territories were known as Deheubarth, which united with Gwynedd and Powys to cover most of Wales with the exception of Glamorgan, in the southeast. His reign lasted from 904 to 950.

Although his reign was marked by absolute ruthlessness, it is his brilliant codification of Welsh law, not for his military prowess that Hywel is best remembered. Professor John Davies calls the resulting set of laws ". . .among the most splendid creations of the culture of the Welsh.

The Law of Hywel was a systemization of the legal customs which had developed in his country over many centuries. It was, from a justice point of view, a most democratic system and far in advance of English law; for one thing, it gave significant status to women. They were guaranteed property rights, which did not become part of the laws of England for over one thousand years. For example, a woman had the right to seek compensation if struck by her spouse without cause; she could also receive up to one-half the family property upon divorce.

Of Rhodri’s, sons, only Anarawd followed the old ways and passed the Bardic legacy to his son, Idwal Foel who died in 942 A.D. Before Idwal died, he collected many folios of legends concerning HU Gadarn and the Old Ones. He passed our tradition to his son Meurig.

With Meurig we have the first written mention of Green and Red Dragon Power. Meurig had a son Idwal who retained the tribal knowledge until he invested it in his son Iago, who passed it on to his son Cynan. Before he was killed, legend says that Cynan traveled to the Middle East. He reported that he collected "...many volumes of mystical knowledge..., before he returned.

Cynan wrote about his handfasting (marriage) to lady Ragnhildr of Dublin. These two produced Gruffydd ap Cynan who handfasted with Angharad daughter of Owain ab Edwin and produced five children, Owain Gwynedd, Cadwaladr, Cadwallon, Susanna and Gwenllian. Gruffydd died in 1063.

In 1162 A.D. Gypsies, who had come from North India via Russia, Romania, and Germany, wandered into Wales and were given safe haven by the family of Owain Gwynedd. They had with them, ancient writings which they called the Tarot.

In 1169 A.D., Prince Madoc ap Owen Gwynedd, an illegitimate son of Owain and a 5th level elder of Dynion Mwyn of Northern Wales, sailed to the Americas and established a colony. He left on a May morning, from Abrgele, with one ship, the Gwennan Gorn, and a crew of twenty. He arrived in the new world and established a settlement. He helped reestablish the Old Atlantean Religion among the Native Americans he found there. He returned to Wales in 1171 A.D. where he described what he had found, and with his brother Riryd, Lord of Clochran in Ireland, returned to the Americas with seven Ships and three hundred men. He was subsequently killed in 1172 A.D., and buried in what is now Georgia, in the United States. (See chapter two) The remains of his expedition were driven north up the Missouri river and blended their blood with an Indian tribe called the Mandans.

Owain handfasted to Gwladus, daughter of Llywarch ap Trahaearn and Christina, daughter of Gronw ab Owain. He had nine children; Rhun, Hywel, Iorwerth, Maelgwn, David, Rhodri, Cynan, Angharad and Gwenllian. Iorwerth handfasted with Marared, daughter of Madog ap Maredudd and produced a son, Llywelyn Fawr or Llewelyn ap Iorwerth. In 1200, Llewelyn ap Iorwerth, became ruler of the kingdom of Gwynedd, and under his strong and determined leadership, Wales was once more united as a single political unit. In 1204 he was recognized by King John of England, who gave him his daughter Joan in marriage. Two entries in "Brut y Tywysogion" attest to his power, influence and confidence. The first is from the year 1230:

In that year William de Braose the Younger,  Lord of Brycheiniog, was hanged by the Lord Llewelyn in Gwynedd after he had been caught in Llewelyn's chamber with the King of England's daughter, Llewelyn's wife.

The second entry is for the year 1240:

He ruled his enemies with sword and spear, gave peace to the monks. . .enlarged his boundaries by his wars, gave good justice to all according to their deserts, and by the bonds of fear or love bound all men duly to him.

Despite some military setbacks, thanks to the troubles between the English monarch and his barons, Llewelyn was ultimately successful in resisting English influence in Wales and received homage from the other Welsh princes. He himself paid his respects to the new English King Henry III and by this gesture was recognized as pre-eminent in Wales.

Llywelyn Fawr had six children by Joan; Gruffydd, David, Gwenllian, Helen, Gwladus Ddu and Margaret. Llywelyn Fawr died April 11, 1240 A.D. Gruffydd ap Llewelyn handfasted with Senena and produced five children; Owain Goch, Rhodri, Gwladus, David and the amazing Llywelyn Y Llyw Olaf, the last true Prince of Wales.

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It was up to Llewelyn Olaf ap Gruffudd to be the great unifying force of Wales. After imprisoning his brothers and taking the kingdom of Gwynedd for himself, Llewelyn was able to assert his claim to be called "Prince of Wales." The title was accorded him officially by Henry III in l267 at the Treaty of Montgomery recognizing the Welsh leader's claim to the three kingdoms of Gwynedd, Powys and Deheubarth. It seemed, for a short time at least, that the dream of the Welsh people had been realized; they had their own prince, they governed their own territories under their own laws and were able to conduct their own affairs in their own language, free from English influence. Wales was poised to take an early place among the developing independent nation states of Europe. All changed, however, and all too soon. The accession to the English throne of Edward I in l272 completely reversed the tide of affairs.