Chronicle of Abbot Ralph of Coggeshall
The Chronicle of Abbot Ralph of Coggeshall (Chronicon Anglicanum) is an indispensable medieval history that brings to life centuries of English and European affairs through the eyes of a learned Cistercian monk. Ralph of Coggeshall, abbot of the Abbey of Coggeshall in Essex in the early 13th century, continued and expanded his community’s chronicle, documenting events from the Norman Conquest of 1066 into the tumultuous reign of King Henry III. Blending eyewitness testimony, careful compilation, and the monastic commitment to record-keeping, this chronicle offers a rare narrative of political intrigue, royal power struggles, and social upheaval in England and beyond. Ralph’s work captures the reigns of pivotal figures such as Richard I and King John, providing invaluable insights into their characters, decisions, and the forces that shaped medieval rule. More than a simple annal, Chronicon Anglicanum conveys the texture of medieval life and governance, making it a rich source for scholars and readers fascinated by English history, monastic authorship, and the shaping of the medieval world.
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Llan Druidion Burial Chamber is in Ffynnon Druidion, Fishguard, Prehistoric Wales Neolithic Burials.
Archaeologia Cambrensis 1872 Pages 81-143. Within a short distance is a place called "Ffynnon Druidion [Map]," and another "Llan Druidion [Map]," whence Fenton draws the conclusion that these names, as well as the numerous megalithic monuments there, prove that this was a favourite residence of the Druids. But has the word "Druidion" anything to do with Druids? The Welsh for a Druid is "Derwydd." "Ceryg y Druidion," in Merioneth, popularly translated stones of the Druids, is said by Welsh scholars to be rather stones of brave or strong men. "Druidion" seems to be the English word Druid with a Welsh plural suffix; and it is difficult to conceive how such a barbarous word can be of such antiquity as might be assigned to names of places in Wales. The assigning of it in these two instances, where megaliths abound, only shews that these stones were thought, in later times, to be Druidical by those who gave the names. But then remains the difficulty, how such a hybrid word as "Druidion" could have come into existence in a district where English is hardly to this day understood. "Drudion" means "heroes" or "brave men."
Near Ffynnon Druidion was once a small dolmen, now so entirely demolished that only one or two of its stones are left to mark where it stood; but it was here that five flint celts were discovered, and which had, no doubt, been buried with the corpse.
A little lower, to the westward, was in Fenton's time a circle of stones, in the centre of which was discovered a stone hammer. One of the flint celts and hammer are figured by Fenton. He does not state the kind of stone of which the hammer is made. The flint weapons are well worked, and must have been brought from a great distance.