Y Gododin: A Poem of the Battle of Cattraeth - 6

Total number of words is 4328
Total number of unique words is 1577
23.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words
40.1 of words are in the 5000 most common words
55.3 of words are in the 8000 most common words
Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.
were arrayed in opposition. This view seems more in unison with reason,
as well as with the grammatical construction of the passage, (“emdaflawr”
being a middle verb) than the supposition that the “milcant a thrychant”
formed the total of the army of the Cymry.
{96a} Or, “They served as butts for the falling lances.”
{96b} “Gorsaf;” “Gorsav arv,” _a magazine of arms_. “Brwydr orsavawl,”
a pitched battle.
{96c} “Mynyddawg Mwynvawr.” The Triads call him “Mynyddawg Eiddin,”
_Edin_, hence _Edinburgh_, which probably corresponds with his original
place of residence, or at any rate may be considered as being situate
within the limits of his ancient dominions. “The retinue of Mynyddawg
Eiddin at Cattraeth” is represented as one of “the three honourable
retinues of the Isle of Britain,” because the men who composed it had
joined their chieftain’s standard of their own accord, and marched at
their own expense, claiming neither pay nor reward for their service,
from king or country.
“Tair gosgordd addwyn Ynys Prydain; Gosgordd Belyn vab Cynvelyn yng
nghadvel Caradawg ab Bran; a gosgordd Mynyddawg Eiddin yng
Nghattraeth; a Gosgordd Drywon ab Nudd Hael yn Rhodwydd Arderydd yn y
Gogledd; sev ydd elai bawb yn y rhai hynny ar eu traul eu hunain heb
aros govyn, ac heb erchi na thal nag anrheg y gan wlad na chan Deyrn;
ac achaws hynny au gelwid hwy y tair gosgordd addwyn.” (Triad 79,
third series.)
{96d} “Hanyanawr,” their natural relatives; “hangenawr,” those who stood
in need of them, their families and friends. The line may likewise be
rendered,—
“Esteemed for their age and disposition.”
{96e} Al. “llawen,” _merry_; “the merry minstrel.”
{97a} These plumes must accordingly have been themselves red. That
military men at this period did wear feathers of particular colours as
distinctive badges, is further evident from the testimony of Llywarch
Hen, who describes himself as having worn “yellow plumes.”
“Gwedy meirch hywedd, a chochwedd ddillad,
A phluawr melyn,
Main vy nghoes, nid oes ym dremyn!” (Elegy on Cynddylan.)
After the sleek tractable steeds, and garments of ruddy hue,
And the waving yellow plumes,
Slender is my leg, my piercing look is gone.”
In some copies we read “phurawr” (purawr) _what purifies_.
{97b} Their weapons were red and white from the effects of _blood_ and
_gore_.
{97c} Mr. Davies and Dr. Pughe seem to have preferred the expression
“_pedryolet_ bennawr,” which they construed into _four pointed helmets_:
“pedryollt,” _split into four parts_, would appear, however, to be much
more accordant with the descriptive tenor of the passage.
{97d} As in the two preceding lines is contained a compliment to
military valour, the evident drift of the poem requires that it should be
applied to the British party; hence “rac” in this place must be
understood to mean that the toiling warriors were _from_ or _of_ the
retinue of Mynyddawg rather than from those who confronted him.
{97e} Disgraced by the blasphemous taunts and treachery of the enemy.
{98a} “Ceugant yw angeu,” (adage.) The line might be rendered,—
“Without end they multiplied the wooden biers;”
An expression similar to that made use of by Llywarch Hen, in reference
to the battle of Llongborth:—
“Ac elorawr mwy no maint.
And biers innumerable. (Elegy upon Geraint ab Erbin.)
“Ceugant,” translated _without end_, is properly a Druidic term,
signifying the circle of eternity.
“Cylch y ceugant, ac nis gall namyn Duw eu dreiglaw.”
The circle of infinitude, none but God can pervade it. (Barddas.)
“Tri phren rhydd yn forest y brenhin; pren crib eglwys; a phren
peleidyr a elont yn rhaid y brenhin; a _phren elawr_.” (Welsh Laws.)
{98b} He is described as of “Baptism” in contradistinction to the
infidel Saxons.
{98c} A reference to the last unction. See St. James, v. 14.
{98d} I.e. Tudvwlch Hir, the hero of this particular stanza.
{99a} “Ne.” The statement at line 138 would determine the affirmative
character of this word.
{99b} “Veinoethyd,” (_meinoethydd_;) not “in the celebration of May
Eve,” which is Davies’s rendering, as we clearly infer from the
conjunction of the word with “meinddydd,” (confessedly a _serene day_) in
Kadeir Taliesin and Gwawd y Lludd Mawr. (See Myv. Arch. v. i. pp. 37,
74.)
{99c} “Gynatcan.” Al. “gyvatcan,” (_cyvadgan_) a proverb. “Though his
success was proverbial.”
{99d} Or, “Through ambition he was a soarer.” The person here
commemorated was of an ambitious turn of mind, and bore armorial ensigns
of a corresponding character, which were looked upon, in a manner, as
prophetic of his successful career as a warrior, but the result of this
battle miserably belied such a promise.
“Prenial yw i bawb ei drachwres.”
The path of glory leads but to the grave.—(Taliesin.)
{99e} Where Edinburgh now stands; and which was probably the head
quarters of Mynyddawg, (see line 89 note.) In a poem printed in Davies’s
Mythology of the Druids, p. 574, and supposed to have been written by
Aneurin, Tudvwlch and Cyvwlch are represented as feasting with Mynyddawg.
“Gan Vynydawc
Bu adveiliawc
Eu gwirodau.”
Destructive were their wassails with Mynyddawg.
{100a} In the Poem alluded to, Tudvwlch Hir is described as a _man of
dignity_, “breein,” and as having in conjunction with Cyvwlch made
breaches in the bastions of forts,—
“A oreu vwlch ar vann caerau.”
The Gorchan Maelderw in like manner speaks of him as,—
“Tudvwlch the oppressor of war, the destroyer of forts.”
{100b} “Ech,” εχ.
{100c} Lit. “until the seventh day;”—an expression intended probably to
denote the space of a week. The operations of each day are specified
further on in the Poem. In like manner we are presented in “Gwawd Lludd
y Mawr,” (Myv. Arch. vol. i. p. 74) with an enumeration of certain
martial deeds that were performed on each day during an entire week.
{100d} Lit. “Should have made him a free man,” or “should have continued
him,” &c.
{100e} Al. “ugain,” _a score_,
{100f} Al. the powerful supporter—“drut nerthyd.”
{100g} Kilydd is mentioned in the Mabinogi of “Kilhwch and Olwen,” where
he is represented as the son of Prince Kelyddon.
{100h} “Gwyr;” al. the hero, “gwr.”
{101a} Lit. “the gleamers assembled.” The 1, 2, 3, and 6, versions,
“cyn hynt treiawr,” might be translated “ere the return of the ebbing
tide,” and the meaning of the whole would seem to be, that the men,
having marched to the field of battle at dawn, experienced a bloody
engagement before the evening; the space of time between tide and tide
being equal to the length of a day.
{101b} “Like the thunder of heaven was the clashing of the
shields.”—(Gorch. Mael.)
{101c} “Od uch lle.” Al. “Od uch lled,” _above the plain_.
{101d} Mark the antithesis “gwr llawr”—“arbennawr,” and
“cethrawr”—“llavnawr.”
{101e} “En gystud heyrn;” an allusion to the instrument which caused his
death. “Ferreus somnus.”
{101f} It is clear from this statement that Erthai was the lawful lord
of the Mordei. He had been deprived of his dominions for a time,
probably through the usurpation of the “steel-clad commander,” but at
length succeeded in recovering them. Who Erthai was we know not;
Llywarch Hen had a son, whose name bore some resemblance to the word: he
is mentioned in the following triplet;—
“The best three men in their country,
For protecting their habitation,
Eithyr and _Erthyr_ and Argad.” (Elegy on Old Age.)
{102a} Al. “Erthgi,” which is obviously the same as “Arthgi,” a
_bear-dog_. The rhythmical run of the line seems, however, to point to
the other as the proper word.
{102b} “Erthychei;” there is here evidently an allusion to the name of
the hero, (that is, supposing the name adopted in the translation to be
the right one) which consideration induces us to prefer it to the other
reading, viz. “erthrychei.” “With the latter word, however, we should
translate the passage as follows;—
“In the front Erthai would mangle an army.”
{102c} Al. “dychurant,” _will be afflicted_.
{102d} Probably Edeyrn may have been the hero of this stanza, and that a
play upon the word is intended in the expression “edyrn diedyrn.” Edyrn
the kingdom will remain, but Edyrn the king is gone.
{102e} “Gowyssawr,” the furrower of battle: the designation of a
warrior.
“Wyr i Vleddyn arv leiddiad
A oedd draw yn _cwysaw cad_.” (Hywel Cilan.)
A grandson of Bleddyn with the weapon of slaughter,
Was yonder furrowing the battle.
Al. “lynwyssawr,” “the plague;” or “the pool maker,” in reference to the
effusion of blood which he caused on the field of battle.
As just observed, this individual may have been Edeyrn, the son of Nudd
ab Beli ab Rhun ab Maelgwn ab Caswallon Lawhir ab Einiawn Yrth ab Cunedda
ab Edeyrn ab Padarn Beisrudd by Gwawl daughter of COEL GODEBOG, who would
be removed from the field of battle by his own clan.
{103a} “Bu truan,” just as in line 107.
{103b} The names of both these persons, as we have already seen, occur
together in a Poem attributed to Aneurin, and printed in Davies’s
Mythology of the Druids. The latter, moreover, appears in the Tale of
“Kilhwch and Olwen,” where a daughter of his is likewise mentioned by the
name of Eheubryd. Cyvwlch is there stated to have been one of the three
grandsons of Cleddyv Divwlch, the other two being Bwlch and Sevwich.
“Their three shields are three gleaming glitterers. Their three spears
are three pointed piercers. Their three swords are three griding
gashers, Glas, Glesig, and Clersag.” (page 291.)
{103c} “Leu,” the root of “goleu,” “lleuad,” &c. The other reading
“liw,” is equally proper, even as we still say “liw dydd,” “liw nos,” &c.
{103d} Lit. “rush-light.”
{103e} Lit. “its enmity lasted long.” The latter portion of this
stanza, which refers to Tudvwlch and Cyvwlch, seems to have been
misplaced.
{103f} Qu. “Icenorum arx?”
{103g} “Ewgei,” _e wgei_ from “gwg,” _a frown_. Al. “negei,” _he shewed
resistance_, from “nag,” a _denial_. So in “Englynion y Beddau;”—
“Y Beddau hir yn Ngwanas
Ni chavas ae dioes
Pwy vynt hwy, pwy eu _neges_.”
i.e. “who will own, or who will deny them.”
{104a} Can this mean _blood_ or _bloody field_? It is certain that
Meigant (600–630) uses the word in that sense;—
“_Plwde_ y danav hyd ymhen vy nghlun.” (Myv. Arch. vol. i. p. 160)
Under me was blood to the top of my knee.
{104b} “Digalonnit,” the other reading “dygollovit,” (dygoll ovid) would
signify that the horn _banished his sorrow_.
{104c} Al. “Even on the foam-bordered Mordei.”
{104d} Which “Gwarthlev,” ( the voice of reproach) was not. Davies
makes “eno bryt,” into a proper name, and construes the sentence thus;—
“Whilst Gwarthlev and Enovryd were pouring forth the liquor.”
{105a} “Arch.” Al. “arth en llwrw.” “He was an impetuous bear.” There
may be here a faint allusion to the name Gwarthlev, nor is it unlikely
that his ensign bore the figure of a bear.
{105b} “Gwd,” (gwdd) _that turns round_.
{105c} “Gyfgein,” (cyvgein) _co-light_.
{105d} A peculiarity observable in Welsh documents is, that they
frequently consign general circumstances to the island of Britain in
particular. This may be exemplified by the account which is given of the
deluge in Triad 13. (Third Series;)—
“The three awful events of the _Isle of Britain_; first, the bursting
of the lake of waters, and the overwhelming of the face of all lands;
so that all mankind were drowned, excepting Dwyvan and Dwyvach, who
escaped in a naked vessel, and of them the Isle of Britain was
repeopled,” &c.
{105e} Gwrveling.
{105f} Al. “ungentle.”
{105g} Vide supra, lines 89, 113.
{105h} As there is nothing to rhyme with “ryodres,” probably there is a
line left out here.
{106a} It would appear from this that the feast was given in celebration
of the time of harvest. That the Britons, like the Jews, exhibited signs
of great joy at that season, may be inferred from the following Triads of
Dyvnwal Moelmud. (Myv. Arch. vol. iii. p. 283.)
“Tair clud udcorn sydd; dygynnull gwlad gan riaint a phencenedloedd,
_corn cynhauav_, a chorn cad a rhyvel rhag gormes gorwlad ac estron.”
There are three trumpet progressions; the assembly of a country
according to heads of families and chiefs of tribes, the horn of
harvest, and the horn of war and of battle against the oppression of
neighbours and aliens.
“Tair clud addwyn y sydd; beirdd yn darogan heddwch, _cyrch
cynhauav_, a phriodas.”
There are three happy progressions; bards announcing peace, a meeting
in harvest time, and a marriage.
“Tri corn cynghlud y sydd; _corn cynhauav_, corn dadlau, a chorn
goly-chwyd.”
There are three horns for mutual progression; the horn of harvest,
the horn of contention, and the horn for religious adoration.
{106b} “Arvel,” which is required on account of the rhyme.
{106c} Bright shields, which are here likened to wings.
“Y gylchwy dan y gymwy bu adenawc.” Line 361
His round shield was with fire winged for slaughter.
{106d} An allusion to the trappings of the horses.
{107a} “Diryf.” “Rhyv;” that enlarges or swells out; “diryv,” without
enlargement. A descriptive reference to the expanding or bulging effects
of spears when hurled against a shield.
{107b} Al. “with equal step they thickly assembled,” “cnydyn” from
_cnydiaw_, to yield a crop. And “cynfedion” from _cyd_ together, and
_pedion_, feet.
{107c} Al. “unprofitably.”
{107d} “Hudid” (huddid) covered over.
{107e} Query, “vras” to rhyme with “glas”?
{107f} “Teithi;” _the character_, i.e. of the military preparations.
{107g} “Amgant;” al. “etmygant;” in which case the passage might be
rendered,—
“Famous were the characteristics
Of, &c.”
{107h} The Novantæ comprised the present districts of Galloway, Carrick,
Kyle, and Cunningham.
{108a} If we have interpreted “pumcant” aright, as giving the number of
men in each battalion, it would appear that “mwnt,” though primarily
standing for one hundred thousand, has also a general sense. This view
of it might in like manner apply to the statement made at line 49.
{108b} “Trychwn,” i.e. tri cwn (a head) a regiment commanded by one
head.
{108c} Al. “Thrice six,” &c. Al. “Three noisy,” &c. That as many as
300 commanders should issue from Eiddin, can only be explained on the
supposition that, because of its proximity to Cattraeth, it formed the
principal station of the allied forces.
{108d} Lit. “golden kings wearing chains.” The manner in which the
greater and lesser numbers are placed in juxtaposition (lines 184–187)
makes it very probable that the latter designate the commanders of the
troops there mentioned. And we may well suppose that the statement from
line 188 to line 191 is a mere continuation of the character of the
“three bold knights.”
{108e} _Lead_, being heavy, answers to “trwm” in the preceding line.
{108f} A reference to the armour of the soldiers.
{109a} Or “who were Brython.” The Brython were the third “social tribe
of the Isle of Britain,” who “came from the land of Llydaw, and were
descended from the primitive tribe of the Cymry,” (Triad 5, third
series.) Being the third principal tribe that settled in Britain, it is
probable that their original inheritance was Alban, one of the “three
principal provinces of the Isle of Britain,” (See Triad 2) which they
must have occupied prior to the time of Prydain the son of Aedd Mawr.
Dunbarton is Dun Bretton, i.e. Dinas y Brython.
{109b} Cynon was the son of Clydno Eiddin, and one of the three
counselling warriors of Arthur.
“Tri chyngoriad varchawg llys Arthur; Cynon ab Clydno Eiddin, Arawn
ab Cynvarch, a Llywarch Hen ab Elidyr Lydanwyn.” (Triad 86, first
series.)
He was also one of the “three ardent lovers,” on account of his passion
for Morvydd, daughter of Urien Rheged.
“Tri serchawg Ynys Prydain; Caswallawn mab Beli am Flur merch Fugnach
Gorr, a Thrystan mab Tallwch am Essyllt gwreig March Meirchiawn ei
ewythr, a Chynon ab Clydno Eiddun am Forwydd verch Urien.” (Tr. 53.)
Cynon ab Clydno Eiddin was educated at the college of Llancarvan, and is
said to have answered one of the seven questions proposed by Cattwg
Ddoeth, the President, as follows,—
“Pa gamp decav ar ddyn?
Atteb. Cyweirdeb.” (Cynan ab Clydno Eiddin ai dywawd.)
What is man’s fairest quality?
Answer. Sincerity.
His grave is recorded in the Englynion y Beddau. (Myv. Arch. vol i. p.
79.)
{109c} We adopt this as a proper name, because it makes up the number
three. A person of that name is mentioned in the following stanza;—
“A glywaist ti chwedl Cynrain,
Pen cyngor Ynys Prydain,
Gwell ydyw cadw nag olrhain.”
Hast thou heard the saying of Cynrain,
The chief counsellor of the Island of Britain?
Better to keep than to pursue. (Iolo MSS. pp. 251, 651.)
The word has however been construed “chief spearmen,” and “of the stock
of.”
{109d} There is a place so called in Cardiganshire.
{110a} Al. “gogyverth,” to oppose.
{110b} “Yn hon,” from _on_ an ash, and by metonymy, a spear. Or, as
“hon” means what is present to the sight, we may construe the passage
thus,—
“To greet openly,” &c.
{110c} “Deivyr diverogion,” the droppers of Deivyr; not “the men who
dropped _into_ Deira,” as Davies has it. Deivyr and Bryneich were now
opposed to the British patriots. See lines 50, 78.
{110d} Namely Cydywal, a chieftain of Gwynedd, now stationed in the
region of Mordei; considering the disaster that ensued, it appeared
whilst he presided over the banquet in his own camp, as if he were merely
preparing a feast for the birds of prey.
{110e} His history is unknown.
{110f} “Cyn y,” i.e. _cyni_.
{111a} Nothing is known of this diviner.
{111b} The “croes” was probably a kind of cross bow. Taliesin in
“Gwaith Gwenystrad” says of the slain warriors,—
“Llaw ynghroes”—
Which has been translated by Ieuan Vardd,
“Their hands were on the crucifix [cross.]” (Myv. Arch. vol. i. p.
52.)
Al. “Athrwys,” (ath-rhwys) “very vigorously.”
{111c} This appears to have been the compact entered into by the
different tribes of the Britons, for the purpose of withstanding the
usurpation of the common foe. See line 32.
{111d} “Ermygei,” which might also, and perhaps more literally, be
rendered _he paid respect to_. The other reading “dirmygei,” would mean
_he spurned_, or _dishonoured_.
{111e} “Blaen Gwynedd,” the borders of North Wales, whither the Saxon
encroachment had already extended.
{112a} “Fawd ut,” i.e. ffawddyd, from ffawdd, radiation, splendour. We
may also render the sentence as follows,—
“I fell by the radiant rampart, (ffin)”
the epithet _radiant_ having a reference to the arms of the soldiers.
{112b} Or, as a moral reflection,—
“A hero’s prowess is not without ambition.”
There are various readings of the word which is here translated
_prowess_, e.g. cobnet, colwed, eofned, but all of them are capable of
that construction, thus “cobnet” comes from _cobiaw_, to thump, “colwed,”
from _col_ a sting, or a prop, whilst “eofned” literally means
fearlessness.
{112c} In Maelderw’s stanzas thus,—
“When all went up, thou didst go down.”
In another place,—
“When all were extended, thou didst also fall.”
{112d} The line in Gorchan Maelderw, Myv. Arch. vol. i. p. 62, has been
translated by Dr. W. O. Pughe,
“Present, ere he spoke, was carried with the arms.” (Dict. _Voce_
Breichiawl.)
That in the other Gorchan of Maelderw, page 85, may be rendered,
Present narrates that he was carried with the arms.
{113a} Lit. “Three heroes and three score and three hundred, wearing the
golden torques.”
{113b} If “ffosawd” ever bears the meaning assigned to it by Dr. Pughe,
it must have derived it from the practise of fighting in the _fosse_ of a
camp, (which would be peculiarly _gashing_) for on his own showing the
word has no other etymon than that of “ffos,” a _ditch_, a _trench_.
From the same root Merddin gives it the sense of burial—defossio.
“A hyt vraut yth goffaaf
Dy _ffossaut_ trallaut trymmaf.” (Myv. Arch. vol. i. p. 149.)
Until doom will I remember
Thy interment, which was a most heavy affliction.
Likewise Taliesin;—
“Hyd ydd aeth ef
Ercwlf mur _ffosawd_
As arnut tywawd.” (Myv. Arch. i. p. 69.)
Until he, Ercwlf,
Descended into the fosse of the rampart,
And was covered with sand.
{114a} Their names are given in “Gwarchan Cynvelyn.” (Myv. Arch. vol.
i. page 60. Davies’s Mythology, page 622.)
Three warriors and three score and three hundred,
To the conflict of Cattraeth went forth;
Of those who hastened from the mead of the cup-bearers,
Three only returned,
Cynon and Cadreith, and Cadlew of Cadnant,
And I myself from the shedding of blood.—
{114b} The grave of Cynon is thus recorded;—
“Bet gur gwaud urtin
In uchel titin in isel gwelitin
Bet Cynon mab Clytno Idin.”
The grave of a warrior of high renown
Is in a lofty region—but a lowly bed;
The grave of Cynon the son of Clydno Eiddin.
And in another stanza;
“Piau y bet y dann y brin
Bet gur gwrt yng Kiuiscin
Bet Kinon mab Clytno Idin.”
Whose is the grave beneath the hill?
It is the grave of a warrior valiant in the conflict,—
The grave of Cynon the son of Clydno Eiddin. (Myv. Arch. vol. i. p.
79.)
A saying of Cadreith has been preserved in the Englynion y Clywed.
“A glyweisti a gant Cadreith
Fab Porthawr filwr areith
Ni char Dofydd diobeith.” (Myv. Arch. i. 175.)
Hast thou heard what Cadreith sang,
The son of Porthawr, with the warlike speech?
God loves not the despairer.
{114c} “Gwenwawd.” It might be translated “flattering song,” but
_candid_ or _sacred_ seems more consonant with the character of a Bard,
whose motto was “Y gwir yn erbyn y byd.” We may presume that Aneurin on
this occasion displayed his heraldic badge, which, according to the law
of nations, would immediately cause a cessation of hostilities.
“Tair braint Beirdd ynys Prydain; Trwyddedogaeth lle’r elont; nas
dycer arv noeth yn eu herbyn: a gair eu gair hwy ar bawb.”
The three primary privileges of the Bards of the Isle of Britain;
maintenance wherever they go; that no naked weapon be borne in their
presence; and their word be preferred to that of all others.
(Institutional Triads. See also Myv. Arch. vol. iii. Laws of
Dyvnwal Moelmud.)
“Sed me per hostes Mercurius celer
Denso paventem sustulit aere. (Horace Carm. lib. ii. Ode 7.)
{115a} “Gwyn dragon;” probably Hengist, who bore, as his arms, a _white
prancing horse_ upon a red field. There is here accordingly an allusion
to the first arrival of the Saxons, which was the cause to the Britons of
all their national calamities for many a long year after.
Al. “Had it not been for the two hundred (al. ten hundred) men of the
white-bannered commander.”
{115b} Or, “we were not—until.” &c.
{115c} Lit. “thorn bushes.” For an illustration of the advantage which
the natives would derive from their woods and thickets in times of war,
the reader is referred to a story told of Caradoc in the Iolo MSS. pp.
185, 597. which on account of its length we cannot transfer into our
pages.
{115d} Or more sententiously, as Davies has it,
“Base is he in the field, who is base to his own relatives.”
The construction adopted in the text, might allude to the marriage of
Rowena with Vortigern.
{116a} “Llwyeu,” from “llwyv,” a _frame_, a _platform_, a _loft_. Or it
may be “llwyv,” an _elm tree_, in reference to the devastation of the
groves just mentioned. The elm was very common in the island at the
period under consideration. Taliesin celebrates a battle entitled
“Gwaith Argoed Llwyvein,” which means “the battle of the forest of elms.”
“A rhag gwaith Argoed Llwyvain
Bu llawer celain.” (Myv. Arch. vol. i. p. 53.)
Al. “When we were deprived of our sharpened weapons.”
{116b} Thus in Gorchan Maelderw,—
“There trod not, in Gododin, on the surface of the fosse,
When deprived of his sharpened weapon, none more destitute.”
{116c} One reading has “the weapon of death,” another, “the death-formed
weapon, is broken and motionless.”
{116d} If we give an affirmative meaning to the words “angkynnull
agkymandull agkysgoget,” the couplet might be thus rendered,—
“They assembled in arms, and in complete array they moved along,
And rolled through the mighty horde.”
It is observable that Carnhuanawc adopted this affirmative form in a
similar passage with which “Gorchan Tudvwlch” opens, thus:
“Arv ynghynnull,
Yn nghymandull,
Twrv yn agwedd;
Y rhag meiwedd,
Y rhag mawredd,
Y rhag madiedd.”
They assemble in arms,
The forces are marshalled,
Tumult approaches:
In the van are the warlike,
In the van are the noble,
In the van are the good.
And he moreover traces a similarity between this style and that of
Tacitus, wherein the latter describes the effects of Galgacus’s address
upon his British followers;—
“Jamque agmina, et armorum fulgores, audentissimi, cujusque procursu,
simul instruebantur acies.” (See Hanes Cymru, p. 96.)
{117a} Al. “llawr,” “and _prostrate_ the horde of the Lloegrians.”
{117b} The Lloegrians were the second “social tribe” that settled in
Britain. Their province was that of Lloegyr, by which the Welsh still
designate England, (Triads v. ii. first series) though there is reason to
believe that it was originally of much smaller extent. The Lloegrians
for the most part coalesced with the Saxons, (Triad vii. third series)
and grievously harassed the Cymry in the sixth century.
“Cynddylan, cae di y rhiw,
Er yddaw Lloegyrwys heddiw;
Amgeledd am un nid gwiw!” (Llywarch Hen.)
Cynddylan, guard thou the cliff,
Against any Lloegrians that may come this day;
Concern for one should not avail.
{117c} “Ygcynuor,” i.e. “yn cynvor.” Al. “cynnor,” _the entrance_. Al.
“ynghynwr,” _in the turmoil_.
{117d} This probably refers to the enemy, who, being pagans, burnt their
dead. The fact might have been suggested to the poet’s mind, by the name
of his hero “Graid,” which signifies _heat_.
{117e} Viz. that of Graid.
{117f} The rhyme determines this form, which occurs in 1. In Gorchan
Maelderw, we have, instead of Graid the son of Hoewgi, “Braint the son of
Bleiddgi.”
{118a} “Orwydan,” from Gorwydd. Another way of translating these lines
would be—
“There was the hero of the two shielded wings,
The one with the variegated front; the other of like quality with
Prydwen;
which was the name of Arthur’s shield;—
“Tarian a gymmerai Arthur ar ei Ysgwydd, yr hon a elwid Prydwen.”
A shield did Arthur take upon his shoulder, which was called Prydwen.
(Gr. ab Arthur.)
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