MARGARET WYN o Feifod
Roedd Margaret Wyn yn fenyw a gafodd ei chyhuddo o ddefnyddio dewiniaeth i orfodi menyw arall o’r enw Margaret Lloyd i garu dyn o’r enw John ap Gruffydd.
Yn ôl y cyhuddiadau, yn mis Medi 1578, cwrddodd merch o’r enw Margaret Lloyd â gŵr bonheddig o’r enw John ap Gruffydd, o Lanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant, yn marchnad Llanfyllin. Aeth Margaret Lloyd â John ap Gruffydd i dafarn, lle cwrddodd y ddau â menyw hŷn o’r enw Margaret Wyn. Ceisiodd Margaret Wyn berswadio Margaret Lloyd i fynd i ffwrdd â John ap Gruffydd, ond gwrthododd Margaret Lloyd.
Rai wythnosau yn ddiweddarach, ceisiodd Margaret Wyn wahodd Margaret Lloyd draw i’w thŷ, gan fod John ap Gruffydd am siarad â hi. Gwrthododd Margaret Lloyd, felly anfonodd Margaret Wyn Lowri, ei merch a oedd yn ffrindiau gyda Margaret Lloyd, draw i’w pherswadio. Unwaith iddi gyrraedd y tŷ, ceisiodd Margaret Wyn ei pherswadio eto i redeg i ffwrdd â John ap Gruffydd, ond gwrthod eto wnaeth Margaret Lloyd.
Rhoddodd Margaret Wyn afal iddi, a wedi i Margaret Lloyd ddechrau bwyta’r afal, dechreuodd deimlo’n benysgafn, a dechreuodd gael dannodd ar ochr dde ei cheg. Cwynodd ei bod yn teimlo’n sâl. Rhoddodd Margaret Wyn bowdr iddi er mwyn ei gwella. Cymerodd Margaret Lloyd y powdr, er ei fod yn blasu’n chwerw, a theimlodd ei llwnc yn boeth wedi iddi ei lyncu. Aeth Margaret Lloyd yn chwys drosti, a theimlai fel bod rhywun wedi ei tharo. Cynigodd John ap Gruffydd fynd â hi i dŷ dyn o’r enw Dafydd ap William Vaughan ym Mhenybont ger Llangollen.
Ar y ffordd, cwrddodd y ddau â llawer o bobl oedd yn poeni am Margaret, gan fod John ap Gruffydd yn gymeriad amheus, ac yn ŵr priod a chanddo blant. Talodd John arian i bobl i beidio a dweud eu bod nhw wedi ei weld gyda Margaret.
Arhosodd y ddau yn nhŷ Dafydd ap William o ddydd Iau hyd at fore Llun, er bod perchennog y lle i ffwrdd, ac nad oedd wedi rhoi caniatâd iddynt aros yno.
Yn ôl yr achos llys, dywedodd Margaret Lloyd , ers iddi gymryd y powdr a’r afal bod sawl un o’i dannedd wedi cwympo allan, a’i bod wedi dechrau teimlo ei hun yn gwallgofi pan fyddai’r lleuad yn newid. Roedd Margaret Lloyd yn argyhoeddedig ei bod wedi cael ei rheibio i garu John ap Gruffydd drwy fwyta’r afal a’r powdr.
Gwadodd Margaret Wyn ei bod wedi defnyddio gwrachyddiaeth a rheibio Margaret Lloyd.
Dywedodd Margaret Wyn mai alwm llosg oedd y powdr a’i bod wedi dysgu gan feddyg o’r enw William Gilbert sut gallai powdr alwm llosg wella dannodd. Roedd hi wedi ei roi i sawl person oedd â dannodd yn y gorffennol.
Methwyd ei chosbi am reibio, ond mae’n debygol ei bod wedi cael ei chosbi am beth ddigwyddodd i Margaret Lloyd.
Darllen Pellach:
Mae’r erthygl hwn yn ddyledus iawn i Gwrachod Cymru – Eirlys Gruffydd (p.32-4)
E. Lois yw arlunydd Prosiect Drudwen, Rhithganfyddiad a phrosiect #GwrachodCymru, ymhlith pethau eraill. Mae hi ar Instagram fel @efalois a Twitter fel @efalois.
MARGARET LLOYD
Margaret Wyn was a woman who was accused of using witchcraft in order to force another woman called Margaret Lloyd to love a man called John ap Gruffydd. According to the accusations, in September 1578, a young woman called Margaret Lloyd met a gentleman called John ap Gruffydd, from Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant, in Llanfyllin market. Margaret Lloyd and John ap Gruffydd went to a pub, where both met a third older woman called Margaret Wyn. Margaret Wyn tried to persuade Margaret Lloyd to go away with John ap Gruffydd, but Margaret Lloyd refused.
Some weeks later, Margaret Wyn attempted to invite Margaret Lloyd to her house, as John ap Gruffydd wanted to speak to her. Margaret Lloyd refused, so Margaret Wyn sent her daughter Lowri, who was friends with Margaret Lloyd, over to persuade her. Once Margaret Lloyd arrived at the house, Margaret Wyn once again tried to persuade her to run away with John ap Gruffydd, but Margaret Lloyd refused once more. Margaret Wyn gave Margaret Lloyd an apple, and as soon as Margaret Lloyd began to eat the apple she started to feel light-headed, and she started to develop a tooth-ache on the right side of her mouth. She complained that she was beginning to feel ill. Margaret Wyn gave Margaret Lloyd some powder to make her feel better. Margaret Lloyd took the powder, although it tasted bitter, and she felt her throat get hot as she swallowed it. Margaret Lloyd started to sweat, and felt like someone had hit her. John and Gruffydd offered to take her to a man called Dafydd ap William Vaughan’s house in Penybont near Llangollen.
While they were on their way to Llangollen, John ap Gruffydd and Margaret Lloyd both met people who were worried about Margaret Lloyd as John ap Gruffydd was a suspicious character, and was married with children. John gave people money so that they wouldn’t repeat that they had seen him with Margaret Lloyd.
Margaret Lloyd and John ap Gruffydd stayed in Dafydd ap William’s house from Thursday until Monday morning, although the owner of the house was away and hadn’t given them permission to stay there. In the court case, Margaret Lloyd said that her teeth had started to fall out since she ate the apple and the powder, and she’d started to feel herself maddening as the moon changed. Margaret Lloyd was convinced that Margaret Wyn had cursed her to love John ap Gruffydd by eating the apple and the powder.
Margaret Wyn denied the accusation, and denied using witchcraft and cursing Margaret Lloyd. Margaret Wyn stated that the powder was burnt alum, and she had learnt how to use it to cure toothache from a doctor called William Gilbert. She had also given this powder to several other people to treat toothache in the past. Although the court couldn’t punish her for cursing the young woman, it is likely that she was punished for what had happened to Margaret Lloyd.
Further Reading :
Gwrachod Cymru – Eirlys Gruffydd (p.32-4)
E. Lois is the illustrator of Prosiect Drudwen, Rhithganfyddiad and the #GwrachodCymru project. She is on Instagram as @efalois and Twitter as @efalois.