At the time of Hywel Dda’s death in a.d. 940, Cymru as a kingdom had consolidated itself and no longer thought of itself as British. To England, however, Cymru (land of compatriots) was Wales (the land of foreigners). Both the Anglo-Saxons and later the Normans continued their policy of expansion through Britain, making continued attempts at conquest. In a.d. 1282 Llywellyn ap Gruffydd ap Llywellyn was killed by an Englishman at Cilmeri and his brother Dafydd ap Gruffydd ap Llywellyn became the last native monarch of Wales. But six months later he was captured and beheaded by the English. From 1287 until 1400 Wales was a restless country, continually engaged in insurrection against English rule. Then Owain Glyn Dwr reasserted Welsh independence. However, by 1409 the English were once more attempting a reconquest, and by 1415 Wales was back under English control.

The English parliament passed acts in 1535 and 1542 that annexed Wales to England, incorporating it fully—politically, administratively, and culturally—into England. The Welsh language and culture was to be utterly destroyed. In 1968 a Welsh Language Act relieved the cultural conquest to some extent, but administratively Wales continues to be part of England.

Wells

The veneration of water, in the form of rivers and wells, was dominant in ancient Celtic society. It has been argued by Professor Richard Bradley, of Reading University, that the Thames (Tamesis = the sluggish river) occupied a place with the Britons paralleled by the Ganges with the Hindus. Certainly many items, skulls, swords, shields, and other items, which have been deemed votive offerings, have been found in the Thames, especially in the London area.

Nowhere is this religious observance more clearly seen than with regard to springs and wells. Like many aspects of the landscape—with which the Celts felt at one—wells were formed by the deities. In Gaul, Grannos and Borvo were said to be especially connected with wells. But it seems from the long list made by the Romans of Celtic “well nymphs” that each well had its own indwelling spirit.

Those who did not observe the taboos connected with wells, even though they be deities themselves, could be in trouble. The Well of Segais rose up and drowned Boann, and the path it made chasing her became the Boyne. In medieval times, as reflected in certain Arthurian tales, the spirits of the wells were still there. Indeed,