wen the
lineal male representation of the sovereigns of Powys; but I am not aware
that there is any printed pedigree establishing in detail, on authentic
date, his descent, and that of the collaterals of his line; while
uncertainty would seem to exist as to one of the links in the chain of
deduction, as to the fate of his sons and their descendants, if any, as
well as to the marriages and representatives of more than one of his
daughters.

I have in vain looked for the particulars I have indicated in Yorke's
_Royal Tribes of Wales_; in the _Welsh Heraldic Visitation Pedigrees_,
lately published by the Welsh MSS. Society, under the learned editorship of
the late Sir Samuel Meyrick; and in the valuable contributions to the
genealogy of the Principality to be found in the _Landed Gentry_ and the
_Peerage and Baronetage_ of Mr. Burke,--a pedigree, in other respects
admirable, in the _Landed Gentry_ of a branch of the dynasty of Powys,
omitting the intermediate descents in question.

S. M.

_Meaning of Gig-Hill._--Can any of your readers favour me with an
explanation of the following matter in local topography? There are two
places in the neighbourhood of Kingston-on-Thames distinguished by the name
of _Gig-Hill_[3], although there is no indication of anything in the land
to warrant the name.

{223}

Are there any instances to be met with where the place of punishment by the
stocks or pillory in olden times, was known by that name?

There was a king of Brittany who resigned his crown, and obtained the
honours of canonisation as Saint Giguel, in the seventh century. St. Giles,
who died about the sixth century, might, perhaps, have had some connexion
with those who are traditionally believed to have been punished on the
spot; that is, if we judge by his clients, who locate themselves under the
sanctity of his name as a "Guild" or fraternity in London.

There is, however, a curious use by Shakspeare of the word gig. It occurs
in _Love's Labour's Lost_, Act V. Sc. I.:

Holofernes says,

"What is the figure?"

_Moth._ Horns.

_Holofernes._ Thou disputest like an infant. Go, whip thy gig."

I submit this matter, as local names have often their origin in religious
associations or in proverbial philosophy.

It has been suggested that _giggle_, as a mark of the derision to which the
culprit was exposed, might so become corrupted.

If the term be connected with the punishment, it would be, doubtless, one