Volume Twelve - Pre-Victorian to the Present Day - further aspects - Random Rants, Notes and Articles No.2 . . .

LE CHÉNE DE PÉNARTH - I deviate from the history of the Penarth Dock and Ely Tidal Harbour to a time before the industrial revolution ; back to the 12th century and a time when the eldest son of William-the-Conqueror was imprisoned within Cardiff Castle. He apparently gazed out of his cell to the distant promontory of Penarth upon which grew an impressive oak and which became the inspiration for his poem. The author, Robert Courte-Heuse (or Courte-Botte) was born in 1087 and died in 1134, after twenty-eight years in captivity. A parish church was established upon Penarth Head in 1191 on land provided by Osbert-le-Penard ; I assume that this church was the predecessor of the present day St. Augustine's Church.

During my searches for the Penarth Dock story, I came across the following article and poem written in French by Robert Courte-Botte, entitled 'The Penarth Oak' and which was published within 'Le Magasin Pittoresque' during 1835. [1191] [499]

	The poem 'LE CHÉNE DE PÉNARTH' ('The Penarth Oak') as published within 'Le Magasin Pittoresque' in 1835.
	The accompanying French text and historical framework regarding the poem as published within 'Le Magasin Pittoresque' in 1835.

The translation, on the following pages, has been made using a French dictionary and Google translate and hence, is not intended to be a continuation of our history of 1,000 years of annoying the French! Maybe some educated person(s) would be kind enough to correct my efforts!