Description Of A Monastery

Stat autem in valle de Ewyas profundissima, quantum sagittae est jactus arcu emissae, montibus ethereis orbiculariter undique conclusa, ecclesia Sancti Joannis Baptisae, plumbeis laminis operta, lapideo tabulatu pro loci natura non indecenter extructa; in loco videlicet ubi paupercula prius Sancti David Archiepiscopi capella steterat, musco silvesti solum et hedrae nexibus adornata. Vere religioni locus idoneus, et disciplinae canonicae prae cunctis insulae Britannicae coenobiis competentissimus, a duobus eremitis in honorem eremiticae vitae primo fundatus, ab omni populari strepitu in solitudine quadam longe remotus, super fluvium Hodeni per vallis ima labentis situs: unde ab Hodeni Lanhodeni dictus. Lan enim locus ecclesiasticus sonat, exquisitus tamen dici potest, quod propria loci illius nuncupatio Cambrice est Nanthodeni. Nant etenim rivus dicitur aquae decurrentis, unde usque hodie ab accolis locus iste lingua Cambrica Landewi Nanthodeni vocatur, id est, ecclesia Davidis super rivum Hodeni. Corrupte igitur Angli Lanthoni per N et, t, id est, rivus Hodeni, vel Lanhodeni, per L sine t, id est, ecclesia Hodeni, dici deberet. Pluviae quas montana creant hic creberrimae, venti pervalidi, nebulae sub bruma fere continuae; et tamen aeris quanto obtusioris tanto benignioris et clementioris salubri temperantia: morbi rarissimi, adeo quidem ut fratres apud filiam diutino labore consumpti et desperabiliter afflicti, tanquam ad salubre remedium et unicum sospitatis asylum ad matris ubera translati optatae sanitati restituantur. Giraldus Cambrensis, Itinerarium Cambriae, Liber I, Caput III, De Ewyas at Lanthoni Source: Here, p27

In the very deep valley of Ewyas, shut in on all sides by encircling lofty mountains, and no more wide than three arrow shots from a bow, stands the church of Saint John the Baptist. It is covered with a roof of lead and built of squared stones, well suited to the nature of the place. It is on the same spot where once stood a chapel of Saint David, the archbishop, which was adorned with woodland moss and wreathes of ivy. Truly the place is very fitting for piety and better for canonical discipline than any other monastery in the island of Britain. It was first founded by two hermits in honour of the eremitical life, in solitude, far distant from all common bustle, set on the bank of the Honddu river, deep in the valley where the river flows, whence it is called Llanhonddu from the river, with 'Llan' meaning the place of a church. This may seem strange because the name of the place is called Nanthonddu in Welsh, where 'Nant' means a stream of flowing water, and the place is still called Llanddewi Nanthonddu by the locals, that is the Church of David on the river Honddu, but the English tongue has corrupted it to Lanthony, though it should be called Nant Honddu with an N and t that is Honddu stream, or Llanhonddu with an L but no t, that is, the church on the Honddu. Because of the mountains there is a large amount of rain and the winds are strong, and in winter clouds continually cover the peaks, and yet as much as the air is heavy, it is soothing and clement, and the climate is healthy, with illness being very rare, so that when brothers afflicted and worn out by long labours in the daughter houses are brought back to their mother's breasts, they are quickly restored, for this is their wholesome cure and sole retreat and sanctuary Gerald of Wales, The Journey Through Wales, Book 1, Chapter 3, On Ewyas And Llanthony