Bidding home page, with links to related pages
In some places, possibly in both north and south Wales, after the bridegroom’s men had gained admitance to the bride’s home (where she might have been hiding or was in disguise), she was captured by the groom’s men who made her relatives or friends take her to the church but the bridegroom, sometimes concerned that she might not be taken to church, attempted to capture her.
It was suggested by some writers that this custom dated back to mediaeval times when a young woman was to be married against her will, hence she hid and had to be taken forceably to church.
1770 Rhayadr
The Rhayader guide’s story of the method of marrying in this country : if poor, friends of both parties meet at a public [house], collect 20 or 50, and the Sunday of the marriage the girl’s father or near relation takes her behind on horseback, if possible turns out of the road, rides off with her to some house, barricades it, attacked, bloody noses ensue, not married that day unless recovered by lover’s party, and toties quoties.
Hervey, William, (General William Hervey, fourth son of John, Lord Hervey), Journals, mainly of tours in Scotland, Wales, England and Ireland 1767-1770, 33 vols.
Suffolk Record Office, Bury St Edmunds Branch, 941/53/5-9, 30th August, 1770
Digitised version of Hervey’s notebooks, Journals of the Hon William Hervey, condensed and with notes by S.A.H. Hervey published in 1906.
http://www.archive.org/stream/journalsofhonwil00inherv/journalsofhonwil00inherv_djvu.txt
1792
In these they demand the girl as a promised wife, and abuse one another to all intents and purposes, one party within the house, and the other out of doors, to the great diversion of the company, each side extolling the wit of their poets.
Some of the verses follow here that are spoken at the door of the intended bride by the several persons chosen to demand the woman of her father, all on horseback, with their hats off when they deliver their orations; and their answers are by the persons appointed for that purpose. At last the father appears, and welcomes his new guests, when they have admittance after a long dispute; they alight and walk in, and are desired to sit down to a cold collation, and they proceed to church as beforementioned.
This poetical dispute sometimes produces a quarrel, which is determined in their way to church by boxing or cudgeling. In the mean time, while this dispute holds, the girl makes great moans and lamentations; and, if she can counterfeit tears and tearing of hair, it is reckoned a merit. At last, the man’s poets having carried the day, the girl yields, complaining of her hard fate; and up she is mounted behind her father, or brother, or some friend, on the ablest, swiftest horse that they can procure. Here again the poor intended bridegroom runs a seeming hazard of losing his intended bride. Her friends pretend, as soon as she is mounted, to run away with her from the company, and ride at all adventures like mad folks, they do not care whither; and it is very common to have legs and arms broken on this occasion. At last, either the double horse is tired, or the bride thinks the time long a-coming, she consents to go with them quietly, except a few starts of endeavouring to turn out of the road now and then, when a fair opportunity offers, until they get to church.
Morrisian Miscellany. Cardigan Weddings, Gentleman’s Magazine, (February 1792), pp. 109-111
1796
The knight errant cavalcade on horseback — the carrying off the bride — the rescue—the wordy war in rhythm between the parties, &c. which formerly formed a singular spectacle of mock contest at the celebration of nuptials, I believe to be now almost, if not altogether, laid aside every where through the principality.
Review of Pratt and other tourists by Cymro [Theophilus Jones of Brecon, see below 1805] ‘Cursory Remarks on Welsh Tours or Travels’, Cambrian Register, vol. 2 for 1796. (1799), p. 430
1805
On the morning of the ceremony, the lady affects coyness and sometimes conceals herself, but is fortunately always discovered and rescued from the party who are resolved to carry her off. Upon approaching the church, another scene of confusion and bustle ensues; it should seem now, that some of the company are determined to prevent the celebration of the marriage; one of her male friends, behind whom she is mounted on horseback, though generally without a pillion, makes many attempts to escape and to run-away with her, but the companions of her future husband succeed in dragging her (“nothing loath”) to the altar. Upon this occasion, the racings and gallopings on both sides are really alarming to by-standers unaccustomed to these exhibitions, and it is astonishing that more accidents have not happened in these sham flights and pursuits.
Jones, Theophilus, The History of the County of Brecknock, vol. 1, (1805), pp. 287-288
1809 (2nd edition); 1898 edition; 1909 (4 vols.)
1808 [MORE]
In his long and somewhat unreliable account of traditional weddings, Meyrick said nothing about the bride hiding herself.
Samuel Meyrick, The History and Antiquities of Cardigan, (1808, 1810), pp. cxxviii-cxlvi
1814
Ayton, who journied around the coast of Britain, described the custom of capturing the bride but suggested that it was no longer practiced.
In their marriages the Welsh formerly got up a kind of drama that was really quite romantic, and the poorest of the people observed the ceremony. The bridegroom, on the important morning that was to make him happy, always repaired to the house of his bride with a posse of assistants, for the lady was invariably supposed to be hostile to his designs, and was not to be taken but by force. She had accordingly her troop of defenders, and various stratagems and evasions and poetical parleys occurred in the course of the contest, till the bride, no longer able to resist or to run, was compelled to yield to her conqueror.
We did not hear that any custom of the kind prevails at present, and I believe that the men are now content to take quiet possession of their wives, after the direct and common-place manner that is adopted in England.
Ayton, Richard, A Voyage Round Great-Britain, Undertaken in the Summer of 1813 … with a Series of Views … by William Daniell, vol. 2 (London, 1815), p. 69
1815
The custom [of kidnapping the bride], particularly known, is not of British origin; and I believe it was introduced into this country by the Romans, who certainly had such a custom established, as it is said, by Romulus, in memory of the carrying off of the Sabine virgins. Rosini, in his Roman Antiquities, gives a description of the custom on the authority of Apuleius, which exactly resembles the one in South Wales, viz., that when the bride was dressed, a multitude of armed men, flourishing their swords, as if raging for battle, burst into her chamber and carried her off, without any resistance on the part of her friends. The pipers were also the musicians. As the Romans were so long in Britain, and the families connected with them, or such as could not return when their legions were withdrawn, may have settled in South Wales, it is no great trespass on probability to conclude, that such was the real origin of this part of the ceremony. Whether the Gwyntyn, or Quintain, was in use among the Romans, I am not certain, though I rather think not. The name is, I think, with the learned author of the manuscript above mentioned, decisively of Welsh origin; and, in the custom of guarding the Quintain, the origin of the stories in romance, in which a knight guards a shield hung on a tree against all adventures, is clearly perceived.
Another part of the custom, and perhaps more ancient, is still more curious ; viz., that when the door is shut against those who come to take away the bride, admission is to be obtained only by the united powers of music and poetry, and it is impossible not to recognise in it an illustration of the well-known story of Orpheus and Eurydice, as a simple fact, no farther varied than, that Pluto is made the representative of a Thracian chieftain, who had carried off the wife of the Bard. It may surprise, that such an illustration can be found in a custom of this country, not yet wholly, I believe, relinquished, yet the comparison of the circumstances leave no doubt that it is applicable, and I have no doubt but, that many more of the supposed fables of antiquity, would admit of as simple an explanation as this of Orpheus, by an attention to popular customs and traditions.
On the day of the ceremony, the nuptial presents having previously been made, and the marriage privately celebrated at an early hour, the signal to the friends of the bridegroom was given by the piper, who was always present on these occasions, and mounted on a horse, trained for the purpose; and the cavalcade, being all mounted, set off full speed, with the piper playing in the midst of them, for the house of the bride. The friends of the bride in the mean time raised various obstructions, to prevent their access to the house of the bride, such as ropes of straw across the road, blocking up the regular one, &c., and the Gwyntyn, (literally the Vane), corrupted in English into Quintain, consisting of an upright post, on the top of which a spar turned freely.
Roberts, Peter, The Cambrian Popular Antiquities: or, An account of some traditions, customs, and superstitions, of Wales, with observations as to their origin, &c. &c., (London : Printed for E. Williams, 1815), pp. 159-166
1819
MARRIAGE CUSTOMS IN WALES
In Cardiganshire there is a strange custom at marriage, practised in no other part of the kingdom. The bride is mounted on horseback behind her father, who immediately takes to flight, while the bridegroom and friends pursue him. The former suffering himself to be overtaken, the bride is carried away by force and conveyed to church, where the ceremony is performed. This singular custom was observed at the small village of Pengos, in the above county, a few days since.
Leaves from our Early Issues for December 7, 1819, to January 18, 1820, The North Wales Chronicle and Advertiser for the Principality, 24th March 1888
Cymru Fu, (October 13, 1888), p. 286
The North Wales Chronicle and Advertiser for the Principality, 9th April 1915
It is not clear which newspaper this came from:
North Wales Chronicle and General Advertiser (1827-1850)
The North Wales Chronicle and Advertiser for the Principality (1850-1949)
The North Wales Chronicle (1949-present)
1823
Dydd Sadwrn yw diwrnod y briodas, a chyfeillion y mab ieuanc a ddeuant oll ar eu ceffylau, i’w dŷ ef, lle y cant fara a chaws ac ymenyn, a diod, ar ei gost ef; ac yno y rhoddant eu rhoddion ac y talant eu pwythion. O’r gwŷr hyn hwy a ddewisant wyth neu ddeg, ac weithiau ugain, o’r marchogion gorau, i fyned i dŷ y ferch ieuanc i’w chyrchu i’r briodas. Yno y mae y ferch ieuanc gyda’u chyfeillion hithau, y rhai ydynt yn talu pwythion ac yn rhoddi anrhegion iddi, yn dysgwyl am danynt, ac yn barod i’w derbyn; ond nid oes modd cael meddiant o’r ferch heb lawer o drafferth ac o ymddadleu ; a chynnelir y ddadl yn y blaen mewn prydyddiaeth Gymraeg dros amryw oriau rai gweithiau. Yn y pennillion arferedig ar yr achlysur hwn, hwy a ofynant y ferch fel gwraig ddyweddiedig, a hwy a ddwrdiant y naill y llall yn greulawn, rhai oddifewn a rhai oddiallan, er mawr ddifyrwch i’r cwmpeini, y rhai ar bob tu á ganmolant ddawn eu prydyddion eu hunain. Yna y gwŷr a ddewiswyd i ofyn y ferch gan ei thad, a farchogant i’r drws, ac a gymmerant ymaith eu hetiau, ac a draddodant eu hareithiau, ac attebir hwy gan wyr y ferch oddifewn. O’r diwedd y tad ei hunan a ddaw yn mlaen, ac a’u croesawa hwynt, a hwythau a ddisgynant, ac a ddeuant i mewn, ac a eisteddant i lawr i fwyta ac i yfed.
Y mae y ddadl brydyddawl hon yn fynych yn creu cynhen, yr hon a benderfynir ar eu ffordd i’r eglwys trwy ddyrnodio neu ffonnodio. Yn y cyfamser, tra y parhao y ddadl, y ferch a wna gwynfanau a galarnadau mawrion; a phe medrai golli dagrau, a thỳnu ei gwallt, cyfrifid hyny yn glod iddi.
O’r diwedd, gwedi i brydyddion y mab i gario y dydd, y ferch, gan achwyn o herwydd ei thynged, a berswadir i roddi i fynu; a hi a gyfodir y tu ol i’w thad neu ei brawd, neu ryw gyfaill arall, ar gefn y ceffyl cyflymaf ag a allant gael.
Yma etto y mae y priodas-fab yn debyg o golli y briodas-ferch, canys cyn gynted ag y byddo ar gefn y ceffyl, ei chyfeillion a ffugiant i ýru ymaith â hi oddiwrth y cwmpeini, a hwy a farchogant fel dynion ynfyd, heb waeth ganddynt pa le; a dygwydda rai gweithiau i gluniau a breichiau gael eu tòri yn yr ymdrech hwn. O’r diwedd, gwedi i’r ceffyl fethu, neu fod y ferch ieuanc yn gweled yr amser yn myned heibio, y mae yn boddloni myned yn esmwyth, oddieithr ei bod yn cynnyg troi o’r ffordd yn awr ac eilwaith, fel y mae cyfleusderau yn caniatâu, hyd nes y deuant i’r eglwys.
(Saturday is the day of the wedding, and friends of the young son bring all their horses to his house, where they can eat bread and cheese and butter, and drink, at his expense; and there they give their gifts and pay their pwythion. Of these men they choose eight or ten, and sometimes twenty, of the best knights, to go to the young woman’s house to fetch her for the wedding. There the young girl with her friends, who are paying pwythion and giving her presents, are awake and ready to receive them; but it is not possible to get possession of the girl without much trouble and disputation; and the debate is put to the fore in Welsh poetry over several hours. In the verses used on this occasion, they asked the woman as a virgin, and they brutally chastise each other, both inward and outwardly, to the amusement of the companions, who on every side praise the talent of their poems. Then the men who were chosen to ask the girl by her father, ride to the door, and took off their hats, and deliver their speeches, and are answered by the woman’s grandson within. At last the father himself comes forward, and welcomes them, and they fall and they come in, and sit down to eat and drink.
This often humorous debate creates controversy, which is decided on their way to the church by quoting or phrasing. In the meantime, while the debate continues, the girl makes moans and laments; and if she could shed tears, and twist her hair, that would be a credit to her.
At last, let the son’s ministers carry the day, the girl, complaining of her fate, who is persuaded to give up; and she is raised behind her father or brother, or some other friend, on the fastest horse as they can get.
Here the son-in-law is likely to lose the bride, for as soon as he is on the horse, her friends and forgery [ffugiant] take away her from the companions, and they ride like foolish men, without regardless of where; and some works result in thighs and arms being amputated in this endeavor. At last, when the horse has failed, or the young girl sees the time passing by, she is content to go smoothly, unless she offers to turn off the road now and again, as the case may be conveniences allow, until they come to church.)
Anon, [Hugh Hughes], Yr Hynafion Cymreig: neu, Hanes am draddodiadau, defodau, ac ofergoelion, yr Hen Gymru … (Caerfyrddin, 1823), pp. 125-137
1828
After depositing their offerings, and partaking of a little refreshment, twelve of the bridegroom’s friends, headed by Ianto Gwyn the harper, mounted their ponies and called at Catti’s house, to demand the bride; {The Pwnco verses.} Now the important ensnarer of moles, with the air of an ancient chieftain who throws wide his castle gates for the hospitable reception of his retainers, opens the door, struts forth, and with a smiling face gives the welcome, while, with his party, he assists them to alight. After taking a little more refreshment, consisting of newly-baked oaten cakes, with butter and cheese, washed down with copious draughts of ale, they all remounted, and were joined by the rest of the bridegroom’s party; the whole rustic cavalcade making their way towards the church.
Prichard, T.J. Llewelyn, The Adventures and Vagaries of Twm Shôn Catti, Descriptive of Life in Wales, (Aberystwyth, 1828), pp. 54-68
1850s
John Rhys, (1840-1915) professor of Celtic at Oxford University from 1877 was one of the commissioners on the Royal Commission on Land in Wales and Monmouthshire (1896). Although he was born at Ponterwyd, north Cardiganshire, his questions to witnesses at Commission meetings suggests that he was not familiar with biddings, nor with the term neithior. (Royal Commission on Land in Wales and Monmouthshire, Appendix, vol. 3, (1896), p. 1035). However, he is reported to have observed the attempted capture of a bride:
The International Folk-lore Congress has been meeting in London. During a discussion on marriage customs Professor Rhys said that as to the marriage by capture he himself remembered witnessing, when a boy, one of these quasi-capture weddings in Wales. He went early to the bride’s house, and at a certain hour the door was barred. The bridegroom’s party approached to get the bride, but entrance was denied. They then parleyed with the bride’s father, the whole conversation being conducted in verse. While this was going on the bride was disguised, and when all the poetry had been finished the bridegroom’s party was allowed to come in. Then they had to search for the bride, whom, in this case, they failed to discover, her disguise being so effective. (Laughter.) After a time they all set out for the church, and at a point where two roads forked the bride and her father endeavoured to get away along the wrong road. (Renewed laughter.) They were, however, immediately brought back by the bridegroom’s party.
Anon, Bye-gones, (21 October 1891), pp. 182-183
1851
As soon as the heroine of the day, makes her appearance, in bridal array among the assembled guests at her father’s house, her friends proceed to hide her in the most unattainable place possible. Should the dwelling not afford such accommodation, the cowhouse and stables are invaded, or even a neighbour’s domicile. When hidden, notice is given to the bridegroom’s chosen representatives, who are four or five in number; they advance to the door, and demand the fair prize from her father. The bride’s chosen spokesmen reply to those outside. All the stock of wit possessed by either party is exchanged, amidst general hilarity, until the claimants are admitted to seek the lost one. Sometimes, she is so hopelessly concealed, that time creeps most alarmingly near twelve. When matters assume this serious aspect some kind friend is found to act as guide, and she is found, amidst universal acclamations. The bride’s perils are, by no means, over; for, instead of going quietly to church, where the bridegroom has been waiting, his delegates make an attack upon her appointed body-guard. The poor girl often gets very rough handling, between the combatants; and, should the opposing one be victorious, she is carried off to some place of concealment, until again rescued. When, at last, the lady reaches the church gate, her betrothed comes forward, attended by two girls, determined, apparently, to make the most of his last unfettered minutes. He then, having shaken hands with his future father-in-law, receives and conducts his bride to the altar. The instant the ceremony is over and the names registered, a furious scene of racing commences – very dangerous at a “horse wedding.” The fleetest courier wins the pint of ale awarded to the bearer of the first intelligence from church to those at home.
Dickens, Charles, (ed.), ‘A Welsh Wedding’, Household Words, vol. 6, (Leipzig, 1851), p. 168-170
1880
There have been cases, however, when the bride was caught by a member of the pursuing party, and borne away – an incident which occurred in the knowledge of an acquaintance, who related it to me. As may readily be inferred, the bride in this case was not unwilling to be caught; in fact, she was averse to marrying the man who was taking her to church, and who was her parent’s choice, not her own. The lover who had her heart, caught up with her by dint of good hard riding, and whisked her on his horse within sight of the church door, to the intense astonishment of the bridegroom, who gazed at them open mouthed as they galloped away. He thought at first it was a joke, but as the lovers disappeared in the distance the truth dawned upon him; a Welsh custom had served something like its original purpose.
But usually, the whole performance is a vehicle for fun of the most good-natured and innocent sort. It begins by the arrival of the neighbours on horseback at the residence of the expectant bridegroom. An eye-witness to a certain wedding gathering in Glamorganshire a few years ago states that the horsemen exceeded one hundred in number. From among them a deputation was chosen to go (still on horseback), to the bride’s residence to make formal demand for her. Her door was barred inside, and the demand was made in rhyme, and replied to in the same form from within. It often happens that a brisk contest of wits signalizes this proceeding for if the voice of anyone within is recognized by one of those outside, his personal peculiarities are made the subject of satirical verse. A voice inside being recognized as that of a man who was charged with sheep stealing, this rhyme was promptly shouted at him.
Gwrando, leidr hoyw’r ddafad, …
The doors are opened in the end, of course, and after refreshments the wedding party gallops off to church. The bride is stolen away and borne off to a distance on her captor’s horse, but only in sport; her captor brings her back to the church, where she is quietly married to the proper person. Sometimes the precaution is taken of celebrating the marriage privately at an early hour, and the racing takes place afterwards.
Sikes, Wirt, British Goblins: Welsh Folk-lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends, and Traditions, (London, 1880), Chapter 6; (Boston, 1881), pp. 306-314.
1885
One of the closest of these ‘hidings’ which came under the writer’s ken tried to the utmost the detective powers of the searchers. Every nook and cranny had been searched in vain, even the oven and chimney explored; the fetchers had tramped up and down the stairs a dozen times, when it suddenly struck one of them that there must be a closet under the stair. Quickly they descended again and searched kitchen and parlour for the usual door to the closet, but none could be found. The laughter of the bride’s friends redoubled, and the chagrin of the searchers deepened in proportion. Not only was their own honour at stake, but that also of the bridegroom they represented; for well they knew that unless they found the bride the wedding would have to be put off, and they and he would become the laughing-stock of the place. Suddenly the quick eyes of one of the searchers noticed a shade of difference in the colour of the wall paper. He placed his hand upon it. It was wet! With a whoop of triumph he took out his jack-knife, ran it round the hidden door which had been pasted over an hour previously, and discovered the bride, seated comfortably within, but almost choked with suppressed laughter.
There is a tradition in North Wales, in the beautiful valley of Gwrtheyrn, of the comedy ending in tragedy. The bride had slipped out of the house. The fetchers having failed to find her, her friends joined in the search, but all in vain. She had mysteriously disappeared as utterly as if the earth had swallowed her. Her lover became insane, and wandered about the place a hopeless idiot. His favourite spot during his insanity was near a large oak tree, where he was wont to declare he heard his lost bride’s voice. A twelvemonth after the bride’s mysterious disappearance, the place was visited by a thunderstorm. A person passing by after the storm was over discovered the insane bridegroom lying dead by the trunk of the tree; the tree itself was riven by the lightning, and inside the hollow trunk was the body of the lost bride, easily recognised by the mouldering remnants of her bridal finery, which still clung to her fleshless skeleton. No doubt she had climbed the tree to hide, and fallen into the cavity, which, narrowing downwards, had held her immovably fixed, and stilled her frantic cries.
Evans, B.G., ‘The Peasantry of South Wales’, Longman’s Magazine, Volume 6, (May to October, 1885), pp. 294-296
1891
She takes refuge in some obscure corner of the house, where she crouches out of sight, completely covered with her long cloak. This game of hide and seek has sometimes been so prolonged that, when the bride was found, it was too late for her to be married that day, but this has not happened very often. … When the happy couple appeared the bride was seized, and placed behind one of the men, who galloped off with her. Of course, she was hotly pursued by the bridegroom, who equally, of course, after an exciting chase, eventually captured her. When at last secured, the wife takes her seat behind her husband, and on his own horse, and the company gallop off again to the bride’s old home.
Cymru Fu, (June 20, 1891), pp. 276-277
Weekly Mail, 20th June 1891 from the Newbery House Magazine
1893
On the morning of the wedding day, the bridegroom and his friends proceed to the residence of the bride’s father. They find the door locked, and the relatives and friends of the bride prepared to resist the bride. Considerable scuffling, merriment, and sometimes horseplay is indulged in, until order is restored by a spokesman on each side, who hold an animated dialogue, chiefly in verse. When that is concluded, the bridegroom is then admitted, but although he searches, he cannot find the bride, who disguises herself. Great is the merriment when, perhaps, the bride is discovered disguised, either as an aged woman knitting in a corner, or as an old crone nursing a baby boy. The boy infant is regarded as a symbol of good luck, and promise of sons rather than daughters.
Shortly afterwards, the wedding party goes to church or chapel, as the case may be. As soon as the bride reaches the church, she is seized by her father and brother or other relatives, who ride or drive off with her. A chase ensues, and when the bridegroom catches the party, the bride is delivered into his keeping; then they return to the church, and the wedding ceremony proceeds in the usual manner. …
Search was made either then [at the bride’s home] or in the evening, after the wedding festivities, for the bride, who ultimately was discovered under the disguise of a “granny.”
[After the ceremony, dinner was served to the guests, then] Dancing was the order of the evening, when reels, country dances, and jigs were indulged in up to a late hour. Then the trick of concealing the bride from the bridegroom was played, and great was the astonishment and amusement of the guests at seeing the young husband seeking his wife everywhere, and finding her at last perhaps only behind the parlour door.
Trevelyan, Marie, Glimpses of Welsh Life and Character, (London, 1893), pp. 56-65
1895
‘Mofyn y Briodferch. –
Nid oedd hi i’w chael heb fawr drafferth y boreu hwn. Y mae yn arferiad hyd heddyw yn ardaloedd Trachloien, Capel Isaac, Llansawyl [sic Llansawel, Carms], a’r ffordd yna, i gwmni o fechgyn perthynol i’r “mab ifanc” fyned ar gefn ceffylau foreu y briodas i ‘mofyn y “ferch ifanc”. Weithiau bydd llawer o waith chwilio am dani, oblegid bydd wedi ei chuddio’n ofalus – olion hen arferion priodasol oeddynt ladrad gwirioneddol unwaith yw hyn oll, na pherthyn i mi eu hegluro. Cofia cyfaill i mi glywed ei fam yn adrodd am helynt ryfedd gyda chwilio am y briodferch flynyddoedd lawer yn ol. Methid yn lân a chael gafael arni. Tynnid rhan o dô y tŷ i ffwrdd. Meddylid fod y ferch ei hun yn ddifrifol am unwaith gyda’r “cwato” yna. Ond un o’r gwahoddegigion a sylwodd fod yn y cwmni ryw ddyn ieuanc dyeithr. Yr oedd pibell yn ei enau, ond methai y person hwn a dirnad pwy ydoedd. Tarawodd y syniad ef o’r diwedd mai y ferch ienanc yr oeddid wedi bod yn ei chwilio am gymaint o amser a ymguddiai yn y dillad hyn. Y gwrid a ymsaethai i’w gwyneb hithau yn awr; brysiodd i newid ei dillad, a diflannodd pryder y priodfab. Ond hyd yn oed pan na fyddai y ferch ienanc wedi ymguddio mor ofalus a hyn nid oedd i’w darpar wr rhydd fynedfa ati y boreu hwn. Byddai y drws wedi ei gau a’i folltio yn erbyn ei gwmni. Rhaid fyddai Ii’r cwmni tuallen orchfygu y cwmni y tufewn cyn cael y ferch. Mewn odlau y byddid yn ymladd y frwydr hon. Byddai rhai hen gymeriadau mewn gwahonol ardaloedd yn enwog am eu talent barod dan amgylchiadau felly, a sicrheid eu gwasanaeth gan dylwyth y priodfab a thylwyth y briodferch. Yr oedd y rhannau hynny o’r sir a ffiniant ar sir Forganwg yn bur enwog, a hynny’n gydmarol ddiweddar, am feirdd parod i wasanaethu fel giders fore priodas.
[Rough translation]
To seek the Bride.
She couldn’t find it without much trouble this morning. It is still the custom in the Trachloien region of Capel Isaac, Llansawel [Carmarthenshire], and that way, for a company of boys belonging to the “groom” to go on horseback the morning to ask the “young girl”. Sometimes there is a lot of searching for her, because she is carefully hidden – all this is the remains of old marriage practices that were once actual theft, not for me to explain. A friend of mine remembers hearing his mother recount a strange affair with the search for the bride many years ago. The groom ould not find her. Part of the roof of the house was removed. The girl herself was thought to be serious for once with “hiding”. But one of the invited guests noticed that amongst the company was an unusual young man. There was a pipe in his mouth, but this person did not understand how to smoke. The idea finally struck him that it was the young girl that he had been searching for so long and dressed in men’s clothes. The flush that was now on her face; she hurried to change her clothes, and the groom’s anxiety disappeared.
Williams, D.G., (Lloffwr) ‘Casgliad o Lên Gwerin Sir Gaerfyrddin’, Transactions of the National Eisteddfod of Wales, Llanelly, 1895, (1898), pp. 279-288
1911
the bridegroom’s party are admitted into the house; but even then the trouble is not always over, for it was the custom for the bride to hide herself, when search would be made for her everywhere under the tables, beds, behind the doors and every corner in the house, and at last found, perhaps, under the disguise of a young man smoking his pipe, or of a “granny ” knitting in the corner.
Whoever discovered the bride received a pint, of beer and a cake as a prize in some places. All these things were done for fun or amusement, but I heard of one young woman at least, who was hiding in real earnest, and could not be found. An old farmer near Carmarthen, Griffiths, of Rhenallt, who is 96 years of age, informed me about five years ago, that he once heard his father mention of a man called “Dafydd y Llether,” a butcher near Alltwalis, who was disappointed in this manner. This happened about 100 years ago. This butcher was engaged to be married to a farmer’s daughter who lived in the parish of Llanllwni, about eight miles off, and had made all preparations for the wedding. When the wedding morning dawned, Dafydd and his neighbours and friends, about one hundred in number, mounted their horses at Alltwalis, and galloped away full speed to Llanllwni, and having arrived at the house of the young bride’s parents, search was made for her everywhere, but she was nowhere to be found. At last the young man and his friends had to return home without finding her in great disappointment ! The young woman’s parents had prevailed upon her not to marry the young man, “because” added the old man to me “he was too much of a jolly boy.” So they had contrived between them to hide her where she could not be found on the wedding morning.
Davies, Jonathan Ceredig, Folk-lore of West and Mid-Wales, (1911), p. 31
1911
Although such things as I have already said were done for sport, yet I have heard of a few cases in which the bride was born away in earnest, and disappeared willingly in company of an old lover of hers, to the intense astonishment and disappointment of the bridegroom, who happened to be her parents’ choice, and not her own. In this case, the custom of a feigned attempt to run away with the bride had in some respects served its original purpose; for, undoubtedly, the origin of the custom of hiding, running away with, and capturing the bride could be traced back to those barbarous times when marriage by capture was a common practice. Thus in the Mabinogion, we find that when a King named Kilydd, after being for some time a widower, wanted to marry again, cue of his counsellors said to him, “I know a wife that will suit thee well, and she is the wife of King Dogel.” And they resolved to go and seek her; and they slew the King and brought away his wife.” When his son also named Kilhwch wanted a wife, he went to demand her from her father Yspaddaden Pencawr, the Giant, and obtained her at last after many adventures, and the help of Arthur and his men. It is probable that when the Celtic Tribes had settled in Britain that they often obtained a wife by capturing her from the Aborigines.
Davies, Jonathan Ceredig, Folk-lore of West and Mid-Wales, (1911), p. 33
[Other biblical record of taking wives by force.] I well remember when I lived in the Welsh Colony of Patagonia, about 20 years ago, that it was a very common custom for a young man and a young woman when in love, to mount their steeds and take a long ride of 20 miles or more in each others company, and whilst driving along together in such manner words of love were often whispered. Also when a wedding took place, the guests went to it on their horses, but the old custom of driving after, and capturing the bride was not observed.
Davies, Jonathan Ceredig, Folk-lore of West and Mid-Wales, (1911), p. 33
Early Tourists in Wales 