Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 3.djvu/244

 238

NOTES AND QUERIES. [9 th s. in. MAR. 25, m

applicable. The reason given to me when in Freiburg, in South Germany, some years ago, was as follows. When, in the old days, there was much fighting between the Germans and the ancient Komans, the Germans, when successful in battle, made use of the skulls of their slain enemies as drinking cups ; and these short glasses with the large bowls are called Romer, as re- minding their users of the skull set on a stem ; possibly so made to commemorate the fact. My hostess, my informant, was a native of one of the Rhine provinces, and no doubt related a tradition of the people. The glass to which she referred was a green- coloured wineglass with a large bowl.

E. A. C.

The lines quoted by ST. SWITHIN are ascribed in a slightly different form to Richard Brinsley Sheridan. It is said that on the Prince entering the "Thatched House Tavern," and "raising his spirits up by pouring spirits down" Sheridan gave these impromptu lines :

The Prince came in, and said 'twas cold,

Then took a mighty rummer, When swallow after swallow came, And then he swore 'twas summer.

WALTER JERROLD.

GLYNDYFRDWY (9 th S. iii. 6, 74, 156). The Dyfrdwy of this name has already been explained by so competent a philologist as Prof. Rhys, in his 'Celtic Britain,' s.v. 'Deva.' He states that Deva, the old Celtic name of the Dee, yielded regularly in old Welsh doiu or duiu, which was written later dwyw, and that the final w was either dropped or changed into -v, and he instances the river Dyfrdwy, "rarely Dyfrdwyf, which means the goddess's river." In other words the olc e has in this word gone through the regular Welsh developments oi, ui, to modern wy, anc the w of the suffix (represented in Ptolemy's Ar)ova=Dewa) has disappeared. See also Holder's ' Altceltischer Sprachschatz,' s.v 'Deva.' The etymologies mentioned by C.C. B. and D. M. R. show how useless it is even for Welshmen to dabble in Welsh philology without a knowledge of the history of the language and of the old forms of th word under consideration. The Dee is callec Dubr Duiu by Nennius in the ninth century which proves the accuracy of Prof. Rhys'* derivation. W. H. STEVENSON.

If we suppose the letter d t in the las portion of this name, to be a euphonic in trusion, our difficulty as to the etymology i removed. That the supposition is perrnissibL would appear from known instances of ar

ntruded d in other Welsh and Cornish place- ames ; as, for instance, in Tredelerch (Tre+ lerch, "the abode of swans"), the Welsh iame for the village called in English iumney, on the western boundary of Mon- nouthshire. In West Cornwall, when Cornish was on the point of extinction as a, spoken language, d was very commonly lipped in before n; as Tol-Pedn-Penwith, vhere we have pedn for pen ; and gwidden for nvyn, gladden for glan, &c,

JOHN HOBSON MATTHEWS.

" THE POLICY OF PIN-PRICKS " (9 th S. iii. 46, 115). Will MR. H. G. HOPE be kind enough to quote, in French, the passage from Le Matin of 8 Nov., 1898, to which he has drawn attention? ST. S WITHIN.

NOTES ON BOOKS, &c.

Cardiff Records. Edited by John Hobson Matthews.

Vol. I. (Stock.)

[T is pleasant to commend the public spirit of the Corporation of Cardiff in publishing the civic records. In so doing it has set a praiseworthy example to places which hold themselves of more importance. Only during the latter half of the present century has Cardiff attained commercial celebrity. It is', however, of remote antiquity, and one of its charters at least dates back to the twelfth century. The earliest document now given is included in the Cotton MSS., and belongs to a period before 1147. It consists of a statement of the liberties and free customs granted to the free resiants or burgesses of Cardiff and Tewkesbury by Robert and William, Earls of Gloucester. Many of the privileges and immunities conceded by the lords are common enough in documents of the kind. Such are brewing and baking without licence and without toll and custom. Privilege is also accorded to build dovecotes and horse and hand mills, " El si burgensis summonitus fuerit ad hundredum et perexerit ad suum negocium extra Villam vel fuerit presto recedere ita quod habeat unum pedem in strepo et inde habuerit duos vicinos testes quietus erit." The terms generally freeing bur- gesses from the most oppressive forms of feudal obligation embody, presumably, much earlier con- cessions. In the year 1282 Cardiff petitioned for leave to use such of the Hereford customs as suited her requirements, a request that was granted by favour. The first royal concession confirmative of privileges to the burgesses of Cardiff is by King Edward II. in the year 1324. It is not in the possession of the Corporation, and is only known by its confirmation by King Edward III. in the charter of 1359. Other grants are from William and Eleanor la Zouche, Lord and Lady of Glamor- gan and Morganwy, from Hugh le Despenser, Edward le Despenser, Thomas le Despenser, Richard de Beauchamp, Isabel la Despenser, Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, and others, all lords of Glamorgan and Morganwy, with confirmations by Henry VI., Edward IV., and Richard, Duke of Gloucester. The last-named charter, the original of which is not in the possession of the Corporation, is known only