Folk-Lore of West and Mid-WalesDavies, Jonathan Ceredig
History
Folk-Lore of West and Mid-Wales
Davies, Jonathan Ceredig
Folklore -- Wales; Wales -- Social life and customs
A rival wizard who lived in the neighbourhood of Lampeter, on one
occasion challenged Sir Dafydd to a contest in the black art, in order
to prove to the world which of the two wizards was the cleverest in
controlling the demons. On the morning of the appointed day for the
contest between the two experts in the black art, Sir Dafydd sent
his boy to an elevated spot to have a look round if he could see a
bull coming from the direction of Lampeter. The boy went, but ran
back immediately to inform his master that a most savage bull was
approaching. Off went Sir Dafydd to Craig Ysguboriau, and stood on
the spot with his open magic book in his hand. The bull, or rather
a demon in the form of a bull, fiercely attempted to rush at him,
but Sir Dafydd compelled him to return whence he came. The animal
returned to Lampeter and rushed at once at the Lampeter wizard,
and killed him. So Sir Dafydd defeated and got rid of his rival.
Another story I heard at Ysbytty Ystwyth was that one Sunday morning
when Sir Dafydd went to Church, he sent his boy to keep away the crows
from the wheat field; but when he came home he found that the boy had
collected all the crows into the barn. Sir Dafydd at once discovered
that the boy had learnt the Black Art.
There is a tradition in the neighbourhood that the body of Sir Dafydd
lays buried under the wall of Yspytty Ystwyth Churchyard, and not
inside in the Churchyard itself, and people still believe that this
is a fact. The story goes that the wizard had sold himself to the
devil. The agreement was that the arch-fiend was to have possession
of Sir Dafydd if his corpse were taken over the side of the bed,
or through a door, or if buried in a churchyard. In order to escape
from becoming a prey to the Evil One, the wizard on his death-bed
had begged his friends to take away his body by the foot, and not
by the side of the bed, and through a hole in the wall of the house,
and not through the door, and to bury him, not in the churchyard nor
outside, but right under the churchyard wall. So that his Satanic
majesty, who had been looking forward for the body of Sir Dafydd,
was disappointed after all.
That it was formerly believed that the devil could be out-witted or
deceived is evident from the fact that in the Middle Ages it was often
customary to bury an ungodly rich man in the garb of a Monk. This
could be done by paying the Monks a certain sum of money.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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