The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1877-12-19
CASTLES IN WALES.

The border barons OF Norman blood,
who took possession of th 3 re giOn tOrcI-
bly, when William the COnquerOr became
King OF England, were compelled to hem
in the " elSh people by chain OF tre-
mendOuS military castles. The SaXOns
were under like necess sity in their day,
but the fOrLresses they erected to pro-
teCt themselves from the Welsh were
not very strong They were usually of
timber, with banks and palisades for
further strength ABOUT the domestic Ot1l-
ces, and moat around all, Win no Other
" all than the mound thrown up in dig
g.ng it.TAelr structures were not enough
Ior the Norman lords marclers; in some
cases tuey used the site OF tue saxon
fortress 10 build their stone castles on,
but the site was all that had Yaiue to
them. In order TO keep what they had
iorciOly seized, tney must tlntrenCh them
selves in sJro gIolus capable 0! dol! Ing
the most terrlnG sleYes, ana which lur.
Lhermore must be large enough TO hold
their families and retainers, as we'll as
their warriors in enormous numbers.
| Hence the prOdlglOus strength and eX-
! lent Of the border castles, whose ruins
now make the country picturesque, auu
which provoked from DR.. Johnson the
| remark that tne courtyard o. a castle IN
w X
castles in Scotland. Hence tne tXLen.
sive runs OF "uuse Caerpuilly" (de.
scribed i'll a former paper), OF r CLAN, oI
CAepst0W, and OF mauy o.Aers which dol
| the landscape at intervals So frequent as
| to tell az eloquent story. IL is uItti ult
| to comprehend, III these day $ OF equally
| before The law, the state OF sUCle y
| wAiGn existed in meuiGYal times, when
an absolute monarchy Was set up Acre
in every nllle district, with baromia
castle tor center; but one Is Amazingly
helped toward SUCH comprehension by
| roaming about from one ruin 10 auo her
ami discovering that 1T is actually pos
| slble 10 visit several within the limits ol
d single day. 1t is the statement OF d
romantic historical fact to say that the
border brlstIed with these feudal Vul
lures nests; but it makes The magtei
practical TO degree that ID posltlYelJ
sensauoual-hke a reallstlc stage etfec
to set out Oh ramp over this sLOrleC
land OF the border barons, and tind tha
your first i've miles brings you w Calde
cot Castle, your second to ChepstoN
castle, your third to Tintern Abbel
| l(elUQuent Ut the same tale the castle
tell, though in different way J, Wnenc,
nine miles carry you TO Monmouth, ant
seven more to Rag Ian, and that you have
passed en- rouLe, and without pauslng T.
look at them, the ruins OF PeunOw, Pen
coed, Mayor, LlanVair, Dinham, Stligull
81. BriaveIs, and nameless others. Ii
the small border county of MONMOUTH
shire, which 10 not SO large as Oneid
county in New York "a center OF Ih
Welsh i'll Amerlca), there are no feWe
than twenty-five ruined castles, beside
many priorles and abbeys, each with it
tale OF battles, sieges, fortunes, durin
the centuries that stretch between tn
Norman Conquest and the days oil olive
, Cromwell. " The least of these ruin
many interesting pages may be writer
Mayor ana Pencoeu stand within tw
miles Of each other. Amy where els
uut in W ales each would be tourist
!, lion, which enthusiastic travellers woul
journey lar TO see Il W irt Skies, in Ha
pers Mas~''"e for January,