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North American Journal of Welsh Studies, Vol. 1, 2 (Summer 2001)

North American Journal of Welsh Studies Vol. 1, 2 (Summer 2001) © North American Association for

the Study of Welsh Culture and History 2001. All Rights Reserved.

Wizards or Charlatans - Doctors or Herbalists?:

An Appraisal of the "Cunning Men" of Cwrt Y Cadno, Camarthenshire

Richard C. Allen

University of Northumbria

Richard C. Allen is a Research Fellow in the "Nationalizing Taste in the Eighteenth Century" project at

the University of Northumbria. Dr. Allen specializes in Welsh religious, social and folk history.

Recently there has been a renewed spate of academic interest in witchcraft and

magic, notably in the work of Tim Harris, Jim Sharpe, Kathryn Smith, Ronald Hutton and

Owen Davies.1

Their desire to comprehend popular beliefs has not always been shared as

the following report from Yr Haul in 1840 suggests: "Because men insist on being foolish,

they are left to consult Dr. Harries, Cwrtycadno, and go to expense on account of his lies

and deceit… he should be arrested and set on a tread mill for a few months, as happens to

his fellow deceivers in England."2

Similarly, in 1889, John Rowland (‘Giraldus’) of Cardiff

observed that Dr. Harries was "a conjurer, fortune-teller, and quack doctor… He gulled the

credulous for many years and reaped a bountiful harvest."3

A more objective opinion was

voiced by Arthur Mee in 1912: "A wholesome scepticism is good, but the spirit of wholesale

uncompromising disbelief is out of place in an age when things are admitted by leading

scientists and others to be true… mesmerism, or clairvoyance, or crystal-gazing, or the

divining-rod… are now ascertained facts, and after long ostracism, are once again coming to

their own."4 In our modern and fast moving world there is a concentration upon

1 For example, see Bob Bushaway, ‘Tacit, Unsuspected, but Still Implicit Faith: Alternative Belief in Nineteenth

Century Rural England" in T. Harris, Popular Culture in England, c.1500-1800 (London: St. Martin's Press,

1995); James Sharpe, Instruments of Darkness, Witchcraft in England 1550-1750 (Oxford: Oxford University

Press, 1997); Kathryn C. Smith, ‘The Wise Man and His Community," Folk Life, 15 (1977): 24-37; Ronald

Hutton, The Triumph of the Moon. A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft (Oxford: Oxford University

Press, 1999); Owen Davies, ‘Witchcraft: The Spell That Didn’t Break’, History Today, (August 1999): 7-13.; In

his Ph.D. thesis Dr. Owen explains the historiographical reasons why so little research has been undertaken on

witchcraft and magic from the eighteenth century onwards. He suggests that "British historians need to

embrace a more flexible approach in order to gain a better understanding of popular mentalities." See Owen

Davies, ‘The Decline in the Popular Belief in Witchcraft and Magic," unpublished University of Lancaster

Ph.D. thesis, 1995, abstract, ch.1.

2 Anon. (‘Brutus’?), "Cwrt y Cadno," Yr Haul, 5 (1840): 286.; The original Welsh editorial is as follows: "ond gan

y myn dynion fod yn ffyliad, nid oes ond gadael iddynt ymgynghori a Mr. Harris, Cwrtycadno, a myned i draul ar bwys ei gelwydd

a’i dwyll. Y mae yn waeth na lleidr ei fod yn twyllo dynion fel y mae; ac y mae eisiau tost i’w gael i afael y gyfraith a rhoddi ‘tread-

mill’ iddo am ychydig o fisoedd, fel y gwneir a’i gyd-dwyllwyr yn Lloegr." Also provided in K. Bosse-Griffiths, Byd Y Dyn

Hysbys - Swyngyfaredd yng Nghymru (Talybont, Y Lolfa, 1977), 15; It is worth noting that modern academics have

also shied away from the study of witchcraft and magic, and as Owen Davies has noted these studies were "not

a reluctant or even a valid field of research for the modern historian."; See Owen Davies, ‘The Decline in the

Popular Belief in Witchcraft and Magic’, 1; And cited in R. Hutton, The Triumph of the Moon, 84.

3 J. Rowland (‘Giraldus’), "Dr. Harries Court y Cadno, The Carmarthenshire Conjuror," in Arthur Mee (ed.),

Carmarthenshire Notes, Antiquarian, Topographical, and Curious, I (1889): 29; See also MS. 11, National

Library of Wales, 119B; A. Mee, Magic in Carmarthenshire. The Harrieses of Cwrt y Cadno (Llanelly, 1912),

p.11.

4 MS. 11, National Library of Wales, 119B; A. Mee, Magic in Carmarthenshire, p.1.

North American Journal of Welsh Studies, Vol. 1, 2 (June 2001)

69

technological progress with up to the minute information and news from all parts of the

globe. It is easy to communicate from a small rural village in Wales with a person in a large

American city, and one does not feel awe-struck by the magnitude of the distance covered

and the technology employed. Indeed, as the third millennium has now arrived it is

remarkable how the world has advanced. While many people believe that continuous

advances in technology are the only way forward, others have taken a contrary view. Many

more people are looking for alternative answers from ‘new age’ practices, including

astrology, herbalism, aromatherapy and the like. But, of course, these practices are not really

so ‘new’. For one nineteenth century family, the Harrieses of Cwrt y Cadno, they were

commonplace.5

For many people today it can be difficult to imagine a time when magic and

witchcraft was common. Indeed, it is difficult to comprehend a period when those people

who did not conform to society’s norms were not ostracized, as they tend to be now, but

indeed revered for their peculiarities. Sheltered in the Cothi Valley in Carmarthenshire is the

hamlet of Cwrt y Cadno. Here folk remedies and more conventional forms of medicine

were intertwined one with the other. In this community, John and Henry Harries,

acknowledged doctors, were regarded as "the Wizards of Cwrt y Cadno," and were striking

exponents of "low magic" in nineteenth century Wales. Now that a new millennium has

dawned it is perhaps appropriate to re-evaluate the worth of such a phenomenon as the

Harries family.

To ridicule popular beliefs which were prominent in rural communities, although

aspects of folklore and traditional popular activity certainly did permeate urban life as well, is

to ignore the presence of magic and witchcraft which existed in Wales and elsewhere in

Britain for many centuries.6 Indeed, individuals who indulged in arcane practices were often

believed to be beneficial to society and were regularly consulted, and most communities had

their own particular "wise" or "cunning man." Ronald Hutton has recently categorized the

different representations of "popular experience and beliefs," suggesting that there were

three basic forms: first, the classical witch figure who existed in the supernatural world of

fairies and hobgoblins; next, those accused of practising witchcraft or magic or at least

suspected of having done so; third, those who claimed to have magical powers. This final

category can be subdivided between those who expressed magical gifts, but did not provide a

community service, and others who assisted their communities. This second group of

"practitioners" consisted of "charmers" of ailments, fortune-tellers or diviners, and were

5 See William Bottrell, Cornish Witches and Cunning Men, (Penzance, 1996); Owen Davies, "The Decline in

the Popular Belief in Witchcraft and Magic"; Idem., "Cunning Folk in England and Wales during the

Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries," Rural History, 8 (1997): 91-107; Idem., "Charmers and Charming in

England and Wales from the Eighteenth to the Twentieth Century," Folklore, 109 (1998): 41-52; Idem.,

Witchcraft, Magic and Culture (Manchester, 1999); R. Hutton, Triumph of the Moon, 86ff.; For comparative

purposes, see the various conjurors recorded in Brian Luxton, “William Jenkin, the Wizard of Cadoxton-juxta-

Barry,” Morgannwg, XXIV (1980): 31-60.

6 For example, see Revd. Edmund Jones, A Relation of Apparitions of Spirits in the County of Monmouth and

the Principality of Wales (Newport, 1813); The Harries family also rank alongside the physicians of Myddfai in

Carmarthenshire who practised their art from the tenth century through to the nineteenth century, or the

Brahan Seer in the highlands of Scotland in the eighteenth century. See Revd. John Williams ab Ithel (ed.), The

Physicians of Myddfai, trans. ed.(London, 1861)

Allen, Wizards or Charlatans-Herbalists or Doctors?

70

given the titles of "white-witch," "wise-man" or "wise-woman," "wizard," "conjuror" or in

Wales the "dyn hysbys."7

John (c.1785-1839), and Henry Gwynne Harries (1821-49), father and son, were

astrologers and doctors from the Pantcoy Estate in Cwrt y Cadno.8

John Harries, the eldest

son of a prosperous yeoman,9 was born in 1785, possibly at Pantcoy.10

He received a good

education, and qualified as a surgeon before returning to Wales.11 It is not known where he

studied medicine,12 but it is believed that he later became a Fellow of the Royal College of

Surgeons at Edinburgh where he gave lectures to the students.13

John Harries has been

described as 6 feet 2 inches tall, well built in middle age, with:

Short dark hair… Mutton-chops sideboards. Medium sized forehead. Very

straight nose. Mouth wide, slight jaws. At 53 years of age, beginning of a

double chin. Blue, wistful thinking eyes.14

He was also "a countrified man, in countrified attire, with knee breeches, always cheerful,

bright of eye and pleasant of speech."15

It has been claimed that he married Elizabeth Emily

7 R. Hutton, Triumph of the Moon, 84-6; See also Glanffrwd Thomas, "The Witches of the Southern

Counties of Wales," Cymru Fu (10 March 1888): 112-18; Brian C. Luxton, "William Jenkin," 34; Owen Davies,

"Charmers and Charming," 41; Idem., "Cunning Folk," 91-2; Bottrell, Witchcraft, Magic and Culture, 214-16.

8 A description of the first and second Pantcoy and details of the history of the Harries family are provided in

Ithiel Vaughan-Poppy, "The Harries Kingdom - Wizards of Cwrtycadno," 1976, Unpublished Essay, National

Library of Wales, Misc Rec. 329, 8-12, 15-16.

9 John Harries was the son of Henry Jones Harries (1739-1805) and his wife, Mary. John’s father was referred

to in his baptismal entry as Harry John, a mason of C.C. (Cwrt y Cadno or Cwm Cothi). John Harries inherited

the family estate when his father died in 1805, aged 66. Henry Jones Harries was interested in astrology and

medicine, but was never accorded with the title dyn hysbys. See MS.11, National Library of Wales, 119B; MS. 14,

National Library of Wales, 876B; A. Mee, Magic in Carmarthenshire, 2; Owen Davies, "Cunning Folk," 95.

10 The date is calculated from the date of death on his gravestone.

11 Harries was educated until he was ten years of age at The Cowings, Commercial Private Academy, Caeo, and

then boarded at Haverfordwest Grammar School until he was eighteen. Arthur Mee has noted that a family

tradition suggests that the profits and possible sale of Tanyresgryn Farm in the parish of Llanycrwys may have

been spent on his education. See MS. 11, National Library of Wales, 119B; A. Mee, Magic in Carmarthenshire,

19.

12 The ownership of Synopsis Medicinae (1685) by John Harries in 1801 may suggest an early interest in

medicine. See MS.11, National Library of Wales, 119B; A. Mee, Magic in Carmarthenshire, 19.

13 Although Owen Davies has suggested that it is probable that Harries had only "a working knowledge of

medicine and medical practice," Ithiel Vaughan-Poppy has stated that he attended Oxford University. There

are, however, no records of John as an alumnus at Oxford, but the chief librarian of the Royal College of

Surgeons presented Mrs. Vaughan Poppy with details of John and Henry Harries educational pursuits and their

respective qualifications. John was M.R.C.S. and M.D. while Henry was M.R.C.S., L.S.A. and M.B. See R.C.

Allen, "Harries family of Cwrt y Cadno, Carmarthenshire (1785-1849)," New Dictionary of National Biography

(Oxford: Oxford University Press, forthcoming); Owen Davies, "Cunning Folk," 95; Vaughan-Poppy, "The

Harries Kingdom,"12-13; MS.11, National Library of Wales, 119B; A. Mee, Magic in Carmarthenshire, 2.

14 Vaughan-Poppy, "The Harries Kingdom," 4; The National Library of Wales holds a Photograph on glass of

Dr. John Harries of Pantcoy taken by M.D. Bourne of New York. c.1838, PB 8294, National Library of Wales.

15 MS. 11, National Library of Wales, 119B; A. Mee, Magic in Carmarthenshire, 3; Ithiel Vaughan-Poppy notes

that a tradition in her family suggested that Dr. Harries’s favourite attire was "a full length heavy velvet cape,

which he had lined with red Welsh flannel, as he felt the cold. The cape was fastened on the left shoulder with

a three inch solid silver buckle with the family Coat-of-Arms design incorporated above the buckle part. This

he had made with a London Silversmiths." See Vaughan-Poppy, "The Harries Kingdom," 4. Compare this

with the image provided for John Wrightson from Stokesley, Teeside, who in 1840 was described as wearing "a

North American Journal of Welsh Studies, Vol. 1, 2 (June 2001)

71

Lewis, a lawyer’s daughter from Fishguard. However, a marriage licence for 8 August 1821

notes that John Harries, surgeon, and, significantly, a bachelor of Caeo Parish, was married

to Lettice Rees.16

After his studies, Harries allegedly established a practice at Harley Street, London,

with his astrologer friend, Robert Cross Smith (alias ‘Raphael’ 1795-1832), before returning

to Cwrt y Cadno.17 The Welsh surgery was popular as it was recorded that:

The sick and sorrowful came… from all parts of Wales, and… he was eminently

successful in his cures. Lunatics were brought to him from parts of Pembrokeshire

and Radnorshire, and he had a wonderful power over them. The course of treatment

would include what he would term the water treatment, the herbs treatment, and the

bleeding treatment. One of his chief methods was, he would take the afflicted to the

brink of the river, and fire an old flint revolver; this would frighten his patient to

such a degree that he would fall into the pool. He assumed the power of charming

away pain, and was so successful that people believed thoroughly that he was in

league with the evil one.18

Henry Harries, his son, it has been suggested, was born in 1816,19 but a christening at

Caeo Parish for Harry, the eldest son of John and Lettice Harries of Pantcoy, was recorded

on 7 November 1821.20

He was six feet tall and had shoulder length, curly black hair, and

grey-blue "piercing hypnotic eyes,"21 but in later life he was described as having:

a pale face, very dark hair, hanging down in ringlets over his narrow

shoulders; grey eyes, and a very high, narrow forehead... His health was very

delicate, owing to a weak chest.22

Henry followed his father’s footsteps and was educated at The Cowings23 and at the

Haverfordwest Grammar School before attending London University and later the Royal

scarlet coat, a long white waistcoat and full-starched shirt frill; crimson knee breeches and white stockings... a

man of not unkindly nature, with a pungent flavour of rough humour about him, shrewd and observant."

Similarly Jenkyns, a mid-nineteenth cunning-man from Tryleg in Monmouthshire, wore tails, a box hat, and had

a dark, long beard, while "bwm-baili’r cythraul" (the Devil's bum bailiff) of Montgomeryshire wore the more

elaborate attire of pigeon feathers, a multi-coloured coat and an array of talismans; See R. Hutton, The Triumph

of the Moon, 88-90; William Henderson, Notes on Folk-Lore of the Northern Counties of England (1879), 218-19; J.C.

Atkinson, Forty Years in a Moorland Parish (1891), 113-17; Beatrix Albina Wherry, "Wizardry on the Welsh

Border," Folk-Lore 15 (1904), 76-7; Thomas Hancock, "Llanrhaiadr-yn-Mochnant," Montgomeryshire

Collections, 6 (1873), 329-30; See also Kathryn C. Smith, ‘The Wise Man and His Community’, 28-9.

16 Vaughan-Poppy, "The Harries Kingdom," 4; Marriage entry no. 119, Reel 213, CPD (Cynwyl Gaeo parish

register), National Library of Wales, 40; In the administration of John Harries’s estate Lettice was recorded as

the widow of John. See Administration of John Harries of Cwrtycadno, 13 May 1842, SD/1842/199, National

Library of Wales.

17 Vaughan-Poppy, "The Harries Kingdom," 13; For details of Robert Cross Smith, see Owen Davies,

Witchcraft, Magic and Culture, 236, 238, 239-42; R. Hutton, The Triumph of the Moon, 93.

18 F. S. Price, History of Caio (Swansea, 1904), 54.

19 Vaughan-Poppy, "The Harries Kingdom," 1.

20 Christening no. 309, Reel 212, CPD (Cynwyl Gaeo parish), National Library of Wales, 39; MS.14,876B,

National Library of Wales.

21 Vaughan-Poppy, "The Harries Kingdom," 5.

22 F.S. Price, History of Caio, 56.

Allen, Wizards or Charlatans-Herbalists or Doctors?

72

College of Surgeons.24

Between 1839 and 1842 Henry lived with his mother at Aberdâr, a

house on their land, while Pantcoy (pictured left) was being rebuilt.25

On 4 November 1842

he married Hannah Marsden, the daughter of a local workman, at Caeo Church,26 and

among the family papers at the National Library of Wales is their ‘bidding letter’:

Pantcoy, Carmarthenshire

March 6th, 1843

Having lately entered the matrimonial state we are encouraged by our friends to

make a Bidding, on Thursday and Friday, the 23rd and 24th days of March instant, at

our house, called Aberdare, in the Parish of Caio; when, and where the favour of

your good and agreeable company is humbly solicited. Whatever donation you may

be pleased to bestow on us then, will be thankfully received, warmly acknowledged,

and most cheerfully repaid whenever called upon a similar occasion.

By Your Most Obedient and Humble Servants,

Henry Harries

Hannah Harries27

The marriage was viewed with horror by his family as it was felt that Henry had married

beneath him, and allegedly the union turned out to be an unhappy one. Harries nevertheless

accepted his fate and stated, "I cannot help it. I must marry her. I dare not cross my

planet."28

The Harrieses used remedies that were well-known in their respective communities,

particularly the use of charms, herbal treatments and "shock" therapy.29 Although these

methods were commonly employed, what legitimized the practices of the cunning folk in

their localities was their "broader and deeper knowledge of such techniques and more

experience in using them."30

For example "charmers" did not set bones or concern

themselves with the major organs, cancers or infectious diseases. Their major concern was

with skin diseases, stopping bleeding, healing wounds or sores, and the mental well-being of

23 On 30 June 1832, John Harries presented his son with a 1777 edition of Alexander Pope’s poetry while at

The Cowings Academy in Caeo. See J.H. Davies (‘Hedd Molwynog’), "Dyn Hysbys Cwrt y Cadno," Cymru, 13

(1897): 217; Vaughan-Poppy, "The Harries Kingdom," 13.

24 Vaughan-Poppy, "The Harries Kingdom," 13; K. Bosse-Griffiths, Byd y Dyn Hysbys, 26.

25 Vaughan-Poppy, "The Harries Kingdom," 15.

26 Marriage entry no. 65, Reel 213, CPD (Cynwyl Gaeo parish register), National Library of Wales, 33; MS.

14,876B, National Library of Wales; Vaughan-Poppy, "The Harries Kingdom," 15.

27 Price, History of Caio, 56; Vaughan-Poppy, "The Harries Kingdom," 15; A further bidding letter for Rees

Evans of Bwlch-y-Rhyw and Anne Thomas of Esgereithry, Caeo, dated 1859 is included in MS.11,117B,

National Library of Wales.

28 MS. 11,119B, National Library of Wales; Mee, Magic in Carmarthenshire, 22.

29 Ithiel Vaughan-Poppy also noted the ability of members of the Harries family to meditate and recorded how

they held popular meditations in the summer by the Five Saints Memorial Stone at Cwrt y Cadno. The

Harrieses similarly advocated ‘Maypole healing’ and the use of ‘healing ribbons’. See Vaughan-Poppy, "The

Harries Kingdom," 18-19.

30 Hutton, The Triumph of the Moon, 86; See also Brian C. Luxton, "William Jenkins," 36; For a clear

definition of their separate roles, see Kathryn C. Smith, "The Wise Man and his Community," 28, 32-4; Owen

Davies, "Charmers and Charming."

North American Journal of Welsh Studies, Vol. 1, 2 (June 2001)

73

their patients. Thus treatment depended on a good working relationship between the patient

and the "doctor" to "produce the necessary effect upon the mind and system of the person

under treatment."31

In her brief biographical sketch of the Harries family, Mrs Vaughan-

Poppy noted that:

Everybody in Wales knew that both Doctors had some power which healed,

they had the power of stopping blood instantly, due to healing through laying

on of hands and prayer.32

They believed that pure spring water was a cure

on its own… They embraced every subject on healing which could possibly

heal and benefit the sick… Their study and knowledge offered practical

solutions to any problems, be it physical, etheric, astral, mental or spiritual.

They could diagnose and treat anyone.33

One recorded case of Dr. Harries treating someone who was unbalanced concerned

a man who was convinced that he was bewitched. Various doctors had prescribed drugs

with little effect, and a cure was provided only when Dr. Harries had chastised the patients’

family for going to "quacks." He informed the man that he had swallowed an evil spirit - a

tadpole which had grown into a frog. After consulting his texts and calling on the spirits,

Harries made the patient vomit. Unsurprisingly, in the vomit was the frog, and the man was

cured.34

Although the Harries family were recognised as doctors, they gained notoriety with

their ability to predict future events, recover lost or stolen property, fight witchcraft, and

invoke benign spirits. Henry Harries issued the following proclamation describing his work

as that of a dyn hysbys. He suggested that he could determine:

Temper, disposition, fortunate or unfortunate in their general pursuits,

honour, riches, journeys and voyages (success therein, and what places best

to travel in or reside in), friends and enemies, trade or profession best to

follow, and whether fortunate in speculation, viz: lottery, dealing in foreign

markets, etc.

Of marriage, if to marry. The description, temper, disposition of the person,

rich or poor, happy or unhappy in marriage, etc.

Of children, whether fortunate or not, etc., deduced from the influence of

the sun and moon, with the planetary orbs at the time of birth.

31 Hutton, The Triumph of the Moon, 95; See also J.H. Davies, (‘Pennard’), Rhai o Hen Ddewiniaid Cymru

(London, 1901), 154; K. Bosse-Griffiths, Byd y Dyn Hysbys, 28-9.

32 Mrs Vaughan-Poppy also observed that the dyn hysbys used healing ribbons and grew many plants and herbs

in their garden for their medicines and ointments. See Vaughan-Poppy, "The Harries Kingdom," 6, 13-14; For

details of folk-medicine, see Anne E. Jones, ‘Folk Medicine in Living Memory in Wales," Folklife. Journal of

the Society for Folklife Studies, 18 (1980): 58-68.

33 Similarly Owen Davies has remarked that a cunning-person was "a multifaceted practitioner of magic,

medicine, and prognostication, employing herbalism, astrology, fortune-telling and charms to seek solutions to

their clients’ problems." See Owen Davies, Witchcraft, Magic and Culture, 215; Vaughan-Poppy, "The Harries

Kingdom," 13.

34 See Davies, Rhai o Hen Ddewiniaid Cymru, 154-7; Bosse-Griffiths, Byd y Dyn Hysbys, 28-9.

Allen, Wizards or Charlatans-Herbalists or Doctors?

74

Also judgement and general use in sickness and disease, etc.35

There is also evidence that Henry consulted ‘Raphael’ in 1840 in order to be taught, via a

correspondence course, how to consult the spirits. It would seem that he was unaware that

Robert Cross-Smith had died eight years earlier, and that there was a new "Raphael."36

In the Pantcoy Manuscripts at the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth, there are

various personal items which belonged to the Harries family, including an astrological

almanac37, and a holograph book of incantations which showed how the "cunning man"

could cause benign spirits to appear as well as listing the attributes of each spirit.38 Writing

in 1908, J. Ceredig Davies recalled a visit to Pantcoy three years earlier and noted the details

of a powerful invocation which he had come across in the library there:

After the manner prescribed by magicians, the Exorcist must inform himself

of the Rules of the Travins and Philermus; as also, what Chonactes and

Pentacle, or Larim, belongs to every Genius.

After this is done, let him compose an earnest prayer unto the said Genius,

which he must repeat thrice every morning for seven days before the

invocation… When the day is come wherein the magician would Invocate his

prayer to Genius he must enter into a private closet, having a little table and

silk carpet, and two waxen candles lighted; as also a crystal stone shaped

triangularly about the quantity of an apple, which stone must be fixed upon a

frame in the centre of the table; and then proceeding with great devotion to

Invocation, he must thrice repeat the former prayer concluding the same

with Pater Noster, etc., and a Missale de Spiritu Sancto.

Then he must begin to consecrate the candles, carpet, table and crystal,

sprinkling the same with his own blood, and saying : ‘I do by the power of

the holy names Agalon, Eloi, Eloi, Sabbathon, Anepturaton, Jah, Agian, Jah,

Jehovah, Immanuel, Archon, Archonton, Sadai, Sadai, Jehovaschap, etc

sanctifie and consecrate these holy utensils to the performance of this holy

work, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

35 Henry Harries, "Nativities Calculated," MS. 11, 119B, National Library of Wales; Price, History of Caio, 56;

Mee, Magic in Carmarthenshire, 4; Vaughan-Poppy, "The Harries Kingdom," 14.

36 Wonderful Magical Scrapbook, manuscript, Harry Price Collection, University of London, f.367; The letter,

the identity of this new "Raphael," and the enhancement of Harries subsequent career are discussed in Davies,

"Cunning Folk," 95-6; Davies, "The Decline in the Popular Belief in Witchcraft and Magic," 321-3; Hutton,

The Triumph of the Moon, 93; Mary L. Lewes, "The Wizards of Cwrt-y-Cadno," The Transactions of the

Carmarthenshire Antiquarian Society 19 (1925):33-8; Arthur Mee also noted that from an anonymous source

Henry Harries was "apprenticed" to "Raphael" for several years. See MS. 11, 119B, National Library of Wales;

Mee, Magic in Carmarthenshire, 4.

37 Miscellanea, including "The Prophetic Almanack or Annual Abstract of Celestial Love" (1825), MS. 11,

718C, National Library of Wales; Astrological alamanc, MS. 11, 118C, National Library of Wales; Personal

records of Cadwaladr Davies, 1733-45, MS. 3212, University of Wales Bangor; Hutton, The Triumph of the

Moon, 91, 92.

38 A charm sold at Rhaeadr Gwy in 1867, MS. 11, 117B, National Library of Wales; See W.H. Howse, Radnorshire

(Hereford, 1949), 119; Hutton, The Triumph of the Moon, 94.

North American Journal of Welsh Studies, Vol. 1, 2 (June 2001)

75

Which done, the Exorcist must say the following prayer with his face

towards the East, and kneeling with his back to the consecrated table : "O

thou blessed Phanael, my angel, guardian, vouchsafe to descend with thy holy

influence and presence into this spotless crystal, that I may behold thy glory,

etc.

This prayer being first repeated towards the East, must be afterwards said

towards all the four winds thrice. And next the 70 Psalm, repeated out of a

Bible that hath been consecrated in the like manner as the rest of the utensils,

which ceremonies being seriously performed, the magician must arise from

his knees and sit before the crystal bareheaded with the consecrated Bible in

his hand and the waxen candle newly lighted waiting patiently and

internally for coming and appearance of the Genius...

Now about a quarter of an hour before the Spirit come, there will appear

great variety of apparitions within the Now about a quarter of an hour before

the Spirit come, there will appear great variety of apparitions within the glass;

at first a beaten road or tract, and travellers, men, and women marching

silently along.

Next there be rivers, wells, mountains, and seas appear, after that a shepherd

upon a pleasant hill feeding a goodly flock of sheep, and the sun shining

brightly at his going down; and lastly, innumerable flows of birds and beasts,

monsters and strange appearance, and which will all vanish at the appearance

of the Genius.

The Genius will be familiar in the stone at the performance of the wizard.39

In the collection there are also medical accounts and receipts for medicines40, various

prescriptions, lectures and treatise on urine.41

Failure to pay for these medicines would be

followed by the following printed statement:

39 Extracted from Davies, "Ghost-Raising in Wales," 328-9.

40 Among the Pantcoy papers at the National Library of Wales is an incomplete patients’ account book which

covers the period c.1813-31 and a patients’ day book from 1815-29 which recorded prescriptions for individual

patients. Both these items presumably belonged to Dr. John Harries and suggest that he held a surgery at

Pantcoy while conducting his reputed practice in London; See Account Book, MS. 11, 702F, National Library

of Wales; Patients' Day Book, 1815-1829, MS. 11, 703E, Natiaonl Library of Wales.

41 Prescription Book, MS. 97, National Library of Wales; Medical Lectures, MS. 11, 701C, National Library of

Wales; Medical Prescriptions, MS. 11, 704A, National Library of Wales; MS. 11, 705A, National Library of

Wales; Treatises on Urine, MS.11, 710B, National Library of Wales.

Allen, Wizards or Charlatans-Herbalists or Doctors?

76

Pant-Teg, 182_

Mr

To John Harries

To Medicine and Medical Attendance as per account rendered

.............................................................

£

Sir,

Unless the above amount is paid to me on or before the ….. day of …..

next, adverse means will be resorted for the recovery.

Your humble servant.42

Henry, on the other hand, would personally visit debtors and give away a bottle of tonic, and

invariably receive full payment for his services.43

There was a well-stocked library at Pantcoy which, it has been suggested, was the

finest occult library belonging to cunning folk.44 The possession of a library was a common

feature among such people, and ran contrary to most nineteenth century households which

possessed only a bible.45

Fear of such books among a semi-literate population certainly

could cause local anxiety, especially as it was believed that "each cunning man was

empowered by the possession of one particular volume, from which he or she had learned

the essence of the craft and which had an arcane energy of its own.”46

This led to the

notion that the Harries family derived its power from the large padlocked book of spells.47

42 MS. 11, 119B, National Library of Wales; Mee, Magic in Carmarthenshire, 3; Vaughan-Poppy, "The Harries

Kingdom," 16.

43 Vaughan-Poppy, "The Harries Kingdom," 14.

44 Hutton, The Triumph of the Moon, 91; Both Frederick Price and J.H. Davies earlier observed that the

library consisted of a numerous array of "well-thumbed" books in Greek, Latin, and French. See Price, History

of Caio, 56; Davies, "Dyn Hysbys Cwrt y Cadno," 217; Anon., "The Cwrtycadno Library," Transactions of the

Carmarthenshire Antiquarian Society, 23 (1932): 46 which notes that there was a copy of Ebenezer Sibly, A

Complete Illustration of the Celestial Science of Astrology, or the Art of Foretelling Future Events, (London,

1788); For further details of the books found at Pantcoy, see MS. 11, 119B, National Library of Wales; Mee,

Magic in Carmarthenshire, 15, 22-23; Owen Davies, ‘The Decline in the Popular Belief in Witchcraft and

Magic’, 189.

45 For additional examples, notably Edward Savage, another late eighteenth century Welsh wizard, see Hutton,

The Triumph of the Moon, 90; Edward Hamer, "A Parochial Account of Llangurig," Montgomeryshire

Collections, 3 (1870): 267.

46 Hutton, The Triumph of the Moon, 91; See also Brian C. Luxton, "William Jenkin," 31-2, 35; Owen Davies,

"Cunning Folk," 93.

47 Ithiel Vaughan-Poppy nevertheless makes reference to the book as being housed at the National Library of

Wales. See Vaughan-Poppy, "The Harries Kingdom," 2, 12; See also M.L. Lewes, Stranger Than Fiction;

Being Tales From the By-ways of Ghosts and Folk-lore (London, 1911), 196; Glyn Penrhyn Jones also notes a

reference to the Harries great book in Y Genhinen in 1896 whereby the dyn hysbys placed it on a table in the

centre of the room with "great circumspection and with the dignity appropriate to his status. This substantial

volume is bound in iron and has locks of iron on it. On the presentation of this to me, the Magician avowed

that (1) its contents are sacred, and that (2) it has been the property of the family for generations. No medical

North American Journal of Welsh Studies, Vol. 1, 2 (June 2001)

77

The book itself has failed to materialize, in spite of a search at the National Library of Wales.

Moreover, in 1901, J.H. Davies commented that the book was nothing more than a large

case for surgical instruments.48

Tales of supernatural events involving both John and Henry Harries have long found

their way into Welsh folklore, and are quite numerous and varied. One of the most famous

incidents involving John Harries concerned the disappearance of a local girl and the recovery

of her body at the precise location where Harries had informed the police that they would

find the corpse.49 She had been murdered by her boyfriend, but the discovery led to Harries

being charged as an accessory to the crime and the penning of a popular verse given here in

the original Welsh text and as an English translation:

Awn yn alarus

At Doctor Harries

Am ei fod yn hysbys,

I ‘mofyn hanes hon;

Dywedai ei bod yn gorwedd

Gerllaw Maes yr On;

Mae ceu-bren mawr o wenwyn

Yn tyfu bwys y lle,

A nant yn rhedeg heibio

Lle’i lladdwyd ganddo fe.

We go concerned

To Doctor Harries

Because he is a cunning man

To ask about her fate;

He said that she was lying

Near Maes yr On;

There is a tree full of poison

Growing by the place,

And a stream runs near

Where she was murdered by him.50

The details of the case were passed on to Llwyd, Glansefin, and Gwyn, Glanbran, two

magistrates at Llandovery, who duly summoned Harries before them.51

Harries was

advice would be offered until the appropriate section of the great book had been consulted and the client

having given his firm promise not to divulge the information to anyone." See G. Penrhyn Jones, "Folk

Medicine in the Eighteenth Century," Folklife 7 (1969), 64.

48 Davies, Rhai O Hen Ddewiniaid Cymru, 156; Arthur Mee was equally convinced that this book was fictitious.

See MS. 11, 119B, National Library of Wales; A. Mee, Magic in Carmarthenshire, 15.

49 Possibly Maes yr Onnen (near Llandeilo).

50 MS. 11, 119B, National Library of Wales; Mee, Magic in Carmarthenshire, 5; Lewes, "The Wizards of Cwrt-y-

Cadno," 34-5; Bosse-Griffiths, Byd y Dyn Hysbys, 16.

51 For details of court cases involving "cunning men," see The Cambrian, 7 November 1807, 3; Western Mail,

3-5 November 1904; Morning Leader, 7 November 1904; Mee, Magic in Carmarthenshire, 17; For comparative

purposes, see also O. Davies, A People Bewitched. Witchcraft and Magic in Nineteenth-Century Somerset.

(Towbridge: privately published, 1999).

Allen, Wizards or Charlatans-Herbalists or Doctors?

78

prepared to demonstrate his talent for second sight as part of his defence by suggesting to

the magistrates, "Dywedwch chwi yr awr y daethoch chwi i’r byd, mi ddywedaf finnau yr awr yr ewch chwi

allan ohono."52 ("You tell me which hour you came into the world, and I will tell you the hour

you will depart from it.") The two magistrates, not wishing to pursue this line of

questioning, and possibly unwilling to know their fate, proceeded to set Harries free.53

For

other cunning-men, their luck was not so good. William Jenkin of Cadoxton-juxta-Barry in

Glamorgan was brought several times before the Llandaff Consistory Court during the late

eighteenth century.54

In November 1807, "Dr" William Jones, aged at least 70 of Swansea,

was brought before the Glamorgan Assizes and committed to Cardiff gaol for witchcraft and

conjuration. The Cambrian recorded that he was an "antiquated impostor" and "notorious

offender" who had "so long imposed upon the credulity of the ignorant and unwary."55

One of the many reasons why Welsh people consulted the Harries family was their

ability to locate items which had gone missing. Several journeys often met with spectacular

results. For example, a farmer who lived in the southern part of Carmarthenshire had the

misfortune to lose three cows, and, after a fruitless search, he decided on the long and

arduous trek to Pantcoy to consult the wizard on the possible whereabouts of his cattle. Dr.

Harries offered to give the farmer the information he sought the next day in order for him to

have time to consult the spirits. Yet, unknown to the Doctor, the farmer, weary from his

journey, sought shelter in a local barn not far from the wizard’s house, and bedded down for

the night in some straw. Early the next morning, the farmer was awakened by Harries,

lantern in hand, drawing a circle on the floor while chanting an incantation. The fear of

detection and a prevailing sense of curiosity made him stay silently hidden from view.

Standing in the middle of the drawn circle the wizard continued his chanting,

summoning the appearance of several demons or "familiar spirits" who soon appeared. The

opening questions of the wizard met with little response apart from one spirit who remarked

"a pig in the straw." This referred to the unknown onlooker hidden in the straw. Harries,

however, took no notice of this strange remark and pursued his line of questioning regarding

the missing cows until the final spirit answered him positively: "The farmer’s cows will be on

Carmarthen bridge, at twelve o’clock tomorrow." At the end of his consultation, Harries

returned home, while the farmer, who had overheard the conservation, decided to return

home immediately to retrieve his cows. As predicted the cows were recovered, but to his

dismay, after driving the cows only half a mile, the animals refused to move any further.

Realizing that the only action he could take was to return to Pantcoy, he determined to make

the journey once more. On his arrival, Harries greeted him sternly, "Serve thee right… I

52 MS. 11, 119B, National Library of Wales; Mee, Magic in Carmarthenshire, 5-6; Bosse-Griffiths, Byd y Dyn

Hysbys, 16.

53 Similar tales are told in M.L. Lewes, Stranger Than Fiction, 197-8; Lewes, ‘The Wizards of Cwrt-y-Cadno,"

37.

54 Brian C. Luxton, "William Jenkin," 48-50; For further details of the prosecution of cunning-folk post the

1736 Witchcraft Act, see Owen Davies, "Decline in the Popular Belief," 42-219; Davies, "Cunning Folk," 104-

5; See also Vaughan-Poppy, "The Harries Kingdom," 17; Hutton, The Triumph of the Moon, 107-9, both of

whom claim that Harries never "worried about the law, let alone collided with it."

55 The Cambrian, 7 November 1807, 3; Compare with the actions taken in 1863 against an unspecified cunning

man from Essex who was attacked by a drunken mob after he was accused of cursing a local woman, and

drowned when they "swam" him in the river. See Hutton, The Triumph of the Moon, 87-8; Gordon Ridgewell,

"Swimming a Witch, 1863," Folklore Society News 25 (1997): 151-6; For further comments, see Brian C.

Luxton, "William Jenkin," 33, 44-6.

North American Journal of Welsh Studies, Vol. 1, 2 (June 2001)

79

have cast a spell on thy cattle for running away secretly last night from the barn without

paying me for the information obtained from the spirits." The episode did, however, end on

a happy note. The farmer, after paying the wizard his due, was rewarded with the sight of

his animals returned to their former health, and he was able to drive them back to his farm.56

Tragic consequences were the result of the loss of a wedding ring. Upon searching

for some time, a married woman decided to seek advice at Pantcoy. After walking the

fifteen miles, she was surprised to be met by Dr. Harries who informed her why she had

come to Pantcoy. He also told her that she would receive her ring from one of her relatives

during the course of the next few days. Pleased with the information, she returned home,

and the ring was duly returned by her own son who expressed his sorrow as well as his relief

that he could now die in peace. Tragically he died two days afterwards!57

The cunning man also possessed the ability to know the movements of his enemies,

and could inflict incalculable harm upon them.58

Thus John and Henry Harries were very

influential in the everyday life of rural Welsh communities, and people were fearful of the

punishments which could be meted out to those who committed malicious acts. Cunning

folk could immobilize people with a look, make them see items appear or dance before their

eyes59, or force them to act irrationally.60

Two examples provided by Marie Trevelyan

demonstrate the alleged ability of the dyn hysbys to punish cheats or those of a mean

disposition. During a visit to Carmarthen with his friends, Dr. Harries was denied some ripe

fruit by a "man of considerable means" while they were entertained in his garden. After

persuading the host to venture up a ladder to show the guests that the fruit was unfit for

consumption, Harries ensured that the man could not move up or down the ladder. After

having been taught a lesson in good manners, Dr. Harries released the gentleman from his

predicament.61

On another occasion when he was overcharged for some meat at Swansea,

Harries placed a "spell" upon the butcher who was forced to dance and sing "eight and

six for meat! What a wicked cheat!" His wife, servants and children also succumbed, and

continued to do so until Dr. Harries removed the spell, warning the butcher "that will teach

you not to overcharge honest people again."62

The ability to "mark" those who acted maliciously or people who had stolen property

was commented upon by contemporary observers. One well-known example was the

marking of an old man from Tregaron with a horn on his head. To conceal this horn the old

man wore a handkerchief. The townsfolk strongly believed this to be the work of John

Harries. The "marking" stemmed from a quarrel between two unnamed local farmers. The

first farmer had allegedly cast a spell on the other farmer’s daughter which made her

extremely ill. Although the local doctors persevered, they could not find a remedy. The sick

girl’s father, therefore, sought the help of Dr. Harries who named the culprit and offered to

56 Davies, "Ghost-Raising in Wales," 329-31; MS.11, 119B, National Library of Wales; Mee, Magic in

Carmarthenshire, 15-16; Lewes, "The Wizards of Cwrt-y-Cadno," 35-6.

57 MS.11, 119B, National Library of Wales; Mee, Magic in Carmarthenshire, 15-16; Lewes, "The Wizards of

Cwrt-y-Cadno," 35-6.

58 See Bosse-Griffiths, Byd y Dyn Hysbys, 23.

59 For an example, see Bosse-Griffiths, Byd y Dyn Hysbys, 30.

60 See Hutton, The Triumph of the Moon, 95.

61 Marie Trevelyan, Folk-Lore and Folk-Stories of Wales, 216-17; Bosse-Griffiths, Byd y Dyn Hysbys, 30.

62 Marie Trevelyan, Folk-Lore and Folk-Stories of Wales, 217-18.

Allen, Wizards or Charlatans-Herbalists or Doctors?

80

"mark" him with the provision that the culprit’s name would not be disclosed. Shortly after

the visit to Pantcoy, the two farmers met, and the culprit was exposed as the cause of the

girl’s illness and subsequent death. From that point onwards the horn receded. However,

Dr. Harries’ spell continued and fell upon the farmer’s son who, it was suggested, caused the

original mischief. The son, on returning from work in Glamorgan, contracted a severe

illness and never again left his bed.63

Even fifty years after his death in 1839, John Harries was remembered for his ability

to retrieve lost items and "mark" those who had received ill-gotten gains. Writing in the Red

Dragon in 1886, Helen Watney recalled her life as a young girl at Llanelli and her experiences

of Dr. Harries. She noted that when her mother had several spoons stolen and suspected

one of her servants; she announced that she would consult the dyn hysbys. It is evident that

the thought of being "marked" by Harries was sufficient as the items were returned. Watney

also recalled the example of a farmer whose horse had been stolen. Again there was

recourse to Harries who announced that the farmer would "know the thief who had stolen

the animal by a big mark on his forehead, like a horn." It turned out to be one of his

nephews who had developed a large cyst in the center of his head.64

Arthur Mee similarly recounted several tales where goods had been stolen, but the

offer to "mark" the offender was refused. On one occasion the victim, after having declined

to have the culprit "marked," asked to see the thief. Dr. Harries obliged and an image of the

thief was shown in a looking-glass.65 This was a common instrument used by practitioners

to indicate goods or culprits, but, as Ronald Hutton comments, this practice gave credit to

the practitioner because "the reflecting object was held to be empowered by magic, but it

effectively threw more of the onus of achieving a result onto the client."66 Mee also

recorded the story of an old drover from Five Roads who had lost the £80 which he had

received for selling his cattle. Dr. Harries promised the man that he would quickly get his

money back and that the thief would be punished by being bedridden. The drover was

delighted to hear such news, but was later dismayed to find that his wife, who had confessed

to the crime, had taken to her bed. Here she remained for the next eighteen years.67

How can these events be interpreted? It is possible that, as John and Henry Harries

became widely known, more people would visit the remote hamlet. These individuals, as

well as the local community, would thus seek medical cures, horoscopes and "magical"

spells, and at the same time avail Pantcoy (pictured left) of the local news and more

significantly local gossip. Such information could then easily be assimilated by the doctors

63 Anon., "Three Carmarthenshire Conjurors," Bye-Gones Relating to Wales and the Border Counties, vol. 5

(2nd Series, 1897), 209; Another examples is provided in Glanffrwd Thomas, "The Witches of the Southern

Counties of Wales," 117.

64 H. Watney, "A Welsh Archimago," Red Dragon, 10 (1886): 282-3; MS. 11, 119B, National Library of Wales;

Mee, Magic in Carmarthenshire, 9.

65 MS. 11, 119B, National Library of Wales; Mee, Magic in Carmarthenshire, 10; Marie Trevelyan, Folk-Lore

and Folk-Stories of Wales, 215-16.

66 Hutton, The Triumph of the Moon, 96.

67 MS. 11, 119B, National Library of Wales; Compare to the example of the farmer from Neath whose

neighbor was marked for stealing £100 and was bedridden for eighteen months. See Marie Trevelyan, Folk-

Lore and Folk-Stories of Wales, 216.

North American Journal of Welsh Studies, Vol. 1, 2 (June 2001)

81

and put to good use in the retrieval of lost items or to single out the culprit.68

It is not too

great a stretch of the imagination to accept that the men were abreast of such gossip and

could have made simple deductions.69 Owen Davies advances this argument and

acknowledges that the ability of the cunning-man to diagnose immediately a visitor’s

problem or the reason for the visit enhanced their credibility. This, he suggests, "invoked a

sense of confidence in the cunning-person, and by providing such an impressive display of

magical powers, enabled the cunning-person to accordingly set a higher value on their

subsequent dealings."70 The Harries family, like other Welsh cunning-folk, also had their

own unlicensed public house and, therefore, their own supply of local news.71 Furthermore

when the tales are recounted, especially when they involved illness or death, important facts

tended to be omitted: Was the victim previously ill or vulnerable to disease? To what extent

was the disease contracted prevalent in the locality? Had the intercession of the cunning

man caused a seizure or stroke brought on by stress or guilt? How did the victim die - by

accident or by a short or a prolonged illness?

It could be argued that marking or simply the threat of doing so was meant to

provoke fear, and this measure in rural Welsh communities certainly had a significant degree

of success. John and Henry Harries, aware of local gossip, may well have played upon

people’s superstitious and vulnerable natures. It is also possible that the two men may have

hypnotized their victims, and induced in them the irrational belief that they were marked in

such a way that was visible for all to see. As such, both men manipulated their victims,

pricked their consciences, and made them believe that they were susceptible to retribution.

When these tales and possible explanations are borne in mind, there were occasions

when the ‘cunning men’ of Cwrt y Cadno failed to retrieve lost items or offered misleading

reports. In the early 1830s, The Cambrian newspaper reported that a man from the Merthyr

area who had lost some valuable goods consulted Dr. John Harries, but he left Pantcoy no

wiser than he had been previously.72 Similarly Harries’s report of the death of a man in a

winch was proved incorrect. On separate occasions, upon the instructions of Harries, two

winches were searched, but no body was found. This was not surprising as the man turned

out to be still alive.73

Some contemporaries were also quite scathing in their comments on the work of Dr.

Henry Harries. Dr. Alfred Russell Wallace, a well-known naturalist, observed that the dyn

hysbys when consulted, pretended to know who his guests were and why they were there.

Wallace commented further that:

68 See Hutton, The Triumph of the Moon, 97.

69 Brian Luxton emphasizes the importance of gossip and rumor, and acknowledges that the "written word was

only understood by a small proportion of society and hence tradition, experience and knowledge were carried

by the spoken word." See Luxton, "William Jenkin," 51.

70 Davies "Cunning Folk," 99.

71 Davies, "Cunning Folk," 100; Carmarthen Journal, 23 April 1886; See also the reference to Ysgubor Hannera,

an unlicensed public house near Pantcoy, whereby "the doctor and his friends must have spent a good deal of

time as he was fond of his cup and so were some of his young men."; See MS. 11, 119B, National Library of

Wales; Mee, Magic in Carmarthenshire, 21.

72 For details, see Mee, Magic in Carmarthenshire, 17.

73 Anon., (‘Brutus’?), "Cwrt y Cadno," 286; See also comments by Hutton, The Triumph of the Moon, 97.

Allen, Wizards or Charlatans-Herbalists or Doctors?

82

He is, however, generally not at home, and his wife treats them well and

holds them in conversation till he returns, then he immediately gives them

some particulars of the neighbourhood they live in, and pretends to describe

the person who stole the goods and the house he lives in, etc., and

endeavours to frighten the thief by giving out that he will mark him so that

everybody shall know him. In some cases this succeeds, the person, fearful

of the great conjurer’s power, returns the goods and the conjurer then gets

the credit. In other cases he manages to tell them something which they

cannot tell how he became aware of, and then even if nothing more is heard

of the goods, he still keeps up his fame.74

Between 1839-40, David Owen ("Brutus") and other writers were equally scathing in

Yr Haul and other Welsh publications. Owen attacked Henry Harries’s abilities, and

rebuffed suggestions that there was a great book of spells.75 John Rowland noted, after a

visit to Pantcoy in 1843, that he and a guest were entertained in a kitchen by the housemaid

or the doctor’s wife. While they ate oatmeal cake and drank some ale, the hostess asked

questions pertaining to the health of Rowland’s unspecified companion. Rowland observed

that the doctor’s study was close at hand and every word could have been overheard should

anybody have been listening from the study.76

After finishing their refreshments they were

ushered into an adjoining room where Henry Harries consulted several books in order to

"read" the guest's "planet." The symptoms of the illness and its causes, which Rowland

suggests were already known, were then diagnosed and a cure offered.77

Yet why should Harries lie or risk his reputation by such underhand methods? He

was a respectable doctor and landowner, and the income generated from the estate

presumably would have sustained him and his family. Furthermore, in another account of

the treatment of visitors at Pantcoy, Henry Harries was recorded as "one of the most

kindhearted fellows that ever lived… He was a good Latin and English scholar, and a clever

herbalist."78

John Harries died on 11 May 1839 aged fifty-four in a fire which also damaged the

family home at Pantcoy, and on 13 May he was buried at Caeo churchyard in his father’s

grave.79

The tombstone reads:

74 A.R. Wallace, My Life, I (London, 1905) 219; as cited in MS. 11, 119B, National Library of Wales; Mee,

Magic in Carmarthenshire, pp.7-8.

75 Brutus also challenged Harries to "do your worst. I am ready for you," but the challenge was not taken up.

See Mee (ed.) Carmarthenshire Notes, Antiquarian, Topographical, and Curious, I (1889), 29; Anon.,

(‘Llewelyn’ Brycheiniog; ‘Iorwerth’ Caio), Yr Haul, 4 (1839): 72-6, 142-5; See also comments in The

Welshman, 13 July 1849; Carmarthen Journal, 23 April 1886 (comments from John Rowland).

76 See similar comments in Davies, "Cunning Folk," 99; Hutton, The Triumph of the Moon, 97.

77 J. Rowland, "Dr. Harries Court y Cadno. The Carmarthenshire Conjuror," in A. Mee (ed.), Carmarthenshire

Notes, I, 29; MS.11, 119B, National Library of Wales; Mee, Magic in Carmarthenshire, 12.

78 Anon., "Harries, Court-y-Cadno," Carmarthenshire Notes, II (1890): 61; MS.11, 119B, National Library of

Wales; Mee, Magic in Carmarthenshire, 13

79 The administration of his estate was completed by 1842. See SD/1842/199, National Library of Wales.

North American Journal of Welsh Studies, Vol. 1, 2 (June 2001)

83

IN

MEMORY OF

HENRY JONES, PANTCOY

WHO DIED AUGUST 6, 1805

AGED 66 YEARS

ALSO OF HIS SON

JOHN HARRIES, PANTCOY

SURGEON WHO DIED MAY 11

1839 AGED 54 YEARS.80

The character of his death and funeral was, however, unusual. He had a premonition that he

would die by accident on 11 May, and to avoid this happening he stayed in bed throughout

the day.81

During the night, he was awoken by people crying out that the house was on fire.

In his haste to dowse the flames, he slipped from the ladder he was standing on and was

killed.82 Even after his death, the spirits played a part in the funeral of the dyn hysbys. It was

alleged that while the body was being carried to the churchyard, the coffin suddenly became

far lighter, and it was widely believed that the evil spirits who had possessed his soul at the

time of his death had now taken possession of his body.83 J.H. Davies ("Hedd Molwynog")

commented on the local suggestions that spirits had secured his body by noting that they

"buried him in an isolated spot on the mountainside," and he went on to note that while the

coffin became lighter "a herd of cows were frightened in a field nearby, and they were not

rounded up until they reached Pwll Uffern (‘Hell’s Pool’) waterfall about four miles away."84

Henry Harries had a less sensational death, if not a less tragic end. He died from

consumption on 16 June 1849, aged twenty-eight, and was buried three days later.85

Other

family members also had some ability in predicting the future as "there was also a daughter

who was rather clever in the "art’" while John Harries "dabbled in it but never shone."86

80 Monumental inscription in Caeo Churchyard; See also Burial entry no. 584, CPD (Cynwyl Gaeo parish

register). Reel 212, 73, National Library of Wales; MS. 11, 119B, National Library of Wales; MS. 14, 876B,

National Library of Wales; Mee, Magic in Carmarthenshire, 3; Dr. Harries was buried near the east window.

81 Probably deduced from his own horoscope. This has not been located.

82 MS. 11, 119B, National Library of Wales; Mee, Magic in Carmarthenshire, 6; Vaughan-Poppy, "The Harries

Kingdom," 17.

83 MS. 11, 119B, National Library of Wales; Mee, Magic in Carmarthenshire, 16-17; Price, History of Caio, 55-

6; Bosse-Griffiths, Byd y Dyn Hysbys, 33; E.Gruffydd, Gwrachod Cymru (Caernarfon, 1980), 94; Ceredig Davies

observed that this occurrence was not an uncommon event as a similar case was recorded concerning a

conjuror who was buried in 1873 at Llanafan churchyard in Cardiganshire. See Davies, "Ghost-Raising in

Wales," 331.

84 Davies (‘Hedd Molwynog’), "Dyn Hysbys Cwrt y Cadno," 215; Gruffydd, Gwrachod Cymru, 94; Davies

nevertheless found it strange that the spirits should take the body but leave the headstone at the church intact.

It is worth noting that Harries, like many cunning-folk, retained their Christian beliefs and used Christian

terminology in their healing spells. Arthur Mee tends to confirm this as he points out that John Harries had his

children christened and read devotional literature. One of these texts was inscribed with the verse: "John

Harries, Surgeon, Pantcoy, Caio. His hand and pen, God give him health to-night again." See MS. 11, 119B,

National Library of Wales; Mee, Magic in Carmarthenshire, 21; Hutton, Triumph of the Moon, 101-2.

85 Burial no. 720, CPD (Cynwyl Gaeo parish register). Reel 212, 90, National Library of Wales; MS. 14, 876B,

National Library of Wales; It is also suggested that he may have been buried at Caeo churchyard or in the

Baptist chapel at Pumsaint. See Vaughan-Poppy, "The Harries Kingdom," 15, 19.

86 MS.11, 119B, National Library of Wales; Mee, Magic in Carmarthenshire, 22; It is also suggested that a

servant at Pantcoy had "inherited" the gift, see Rhys "A Welsh Archimago," 373; The idea that witchcraft was

Allen, Wizards or Charlatans-Herbalists or Doctors?

84

These are probably references to Ann (1824-?)87 and John (1828-1863)88, the daughter and

son of John Harries.89

The following letter from J. Williams of The Court, Brecon, on 21

March 1863 addressed to John Harries, shows the continuing role of Harries family in Welsh

social life:

I have written to ask if you would oblige me by ruling my planet. I have long

had a wish to have it done and when I heard of your truly wonderful gift I

determined to write. I wish to know something relating to my marriage and

particular friends.90

This was not an isolated case as the fame of Cwrt y Cadno had spread quickly throughout

Wales and led to number of distinguished visitors, including the actress, Sarah Siddons and

her colleagues in 1851, while in 1854 the writer George Borrow spent a day at Pantcoy.91

Furthermore, in November 1904, a court case concerning a disputed will was recorded in the

Western Mail. The case revolved around the mental stability of the testator, Morgan Jones

of Llanguicke, who, it was argued, "suffered from delusions, and believed himself

bewitched."92

He had prior to his death refused food and stated that he was bewitched by

tailors and by John Harries of Cwrt y Cadno. The reporter also noted that Mr. Jones would:

not go to bed until the early morning, and he would smash the windows,

basins, and earthen ware. He threw the crocks after the witness… He cut the

boots belonging to witness and others in the house, and said he wanted them

inherited is explored in Luxton, "William Jenkin," 41-2; Davies, "Cunning Folk," 95; Hutton, The Triumph of

the Moon, 102-4; There is also a suggestion that Dr. John Harries had "pupils" who were trained in the "art"

whereby Dr. Harries would go to an isolated place in the woods and in a glade he would mark out a circle on

the ground and place a wooden pole about three foot high in the center. Upon this he would place his great

book with seven great locks and would start chanting out aloud from the book, calling to the spirits. See Lewes,

"The Wizards of Cwrt-y-Cadno," 34; Gruffydd, Gwrachod Cymru, 91-2; I am grateful to Dr. Glyn H. Roberts for

his translation of this later study.

87 It is suggested that she married a member of the John family from Carmarthenshire, but the Cynwyl Gaeo

registers record that on 11 March 1842 Anne, aged 18 and the daughter of John Harries Surgeon and farmer,

married Roderick Roderick, a cattle drover from Penrhiw in Caeo parish. See Vaughan-Poppy, "The Harries

Kingdom," 15; Christening no. 388, CPD (Cynwyl Gaeo parish register). Reel 212, p.49, National Library of

Wales; Marriage entry no. 57, CPD (Cynwyl Gaeo parish register). Reel 213, p.29, National Library of Wales.

88 Christening no. 495, CPD (Cynwyl Gaeo parish register). Reel 212, p.62, National Library of Wales; Burial

entry no. 143, CPD (Cynwyl Gaeo parish register). Reel 212, p.18, National Library of Wales.

89 Conwyl Caeo, Pantcoy, Census Returns c. 1841, District 4, HO. 1071381, Public Records Office; MS. 14,

876B, National Library of Wales; John Harries II’s children continued to live at Pantcoy after his death while

Henry Harries sons left the area. One when to live at Petersfield in Herefordshire while the other emigrated to

America. See MS. 11, 119B, National Library of Wales; Mee, Magic in Carmarthenshire, 22.

90 MS. 11, 717B, National Library of Wales; An earlier letter dated 5 January 1860 from William Lloyd of Cillia

farm, Breconshire, required John Harries to offer some medical help and also provide a horoscope. Lloyd

wrote "My sisters desire you to do the best you can for them. Mary Ann have a pain in the breast, will you

please send a receipt for it as well as the paltry. Mary Ann Lloyd was born May 20th or 24th it was on a Sunday

at four o’clock in the morning in the year 1823, lives at Cilbedog, Crickadarin, Breconshire. Catherine Lloyd

was born August 23 at 20 minutes past eleven in the four noon 1830. Lives at Dentwyn, Cwmdu, Breconshire."

MS.11, 716C, National Library of Wales.

91 Vaughan-Poppy, "The Harries Kingdom," 16.

92 Western Mail, 3-5 November 1904; See also Morning Leader, 7 November 1904.

North American Journal of Welsh Studies, Vol. 1, 2 (June 2001)

85

all to be killed. He said he cut the boots that their feet might be wetted and

that they might die…93

Finally, it is perhaps pertinent to conclude with the words of Arthur Mee whose studies of

folklore in the early twentieth century have added to our knowledge of Welsh rural life and

folk customs. He wrote:

Some of the wonders… have a solid basis and are not to be explained away

on the basis of quackery or fraud. Moreover, it must not be forgotten that

whilst we today are privileged to know a great deal, our forefathers were not

all ignorant… John and Henry Harries were clever surgeons and skilful

astrologers; they may or may not have dabbled in magic; but they were

remarkable men in advance of their time…94

93 Western Mail, 3-5 November 1904; See also Morning Leader, 7 November 1904.

94 MS. 11, 119B, National Library of Wales; Mee, Magic in Carmarthenshire, 1-2, 23.