IK WELSH LTTERATURE. 235 reverse of fortune in 655. In the poem called CSerdd y Vab Llyr (B. T. 14) there is this line— A battle against the lord of fame in the dales of Sereniy Against Brochmail of Powys, who loved mj Awm.
which implies that the bard was contemporary with Brochmaily who is mentioned by Bede as being present at the battle fought in 613. In the Bed Book of Hergcsty in the historical poems attributed to liywarch Hen, there occurs throughout a current of expressions which imply that the bard witnessed the events he alludes to, and must have lived during the period ex- tending from the death of Urien to that of Cadwallawn in 659. But what was this period thus indicated in so many of the poems, and running through the four ancient books? It was that of the great outburst of energy on the part of the Cymry under Cadwallawn, when they even, for the time, obtained supremaqr over the Angles of Northumberland, and throughout his life presented a formidable front to their Saxon foes — ^when their hopes must have been excited, and their exultation equally great, till, after the first reverse in 655, they were finally quenched by the death of Cadwaladyr, in the pestilence of 664, who, they fondly hoped, would have re-established the power they had enjoyed under his father.
The first poem in the Bed Book of Hergest is the Cyvoesi Myrddin, and its peculiar form requires special consideration. It is a species of chronicle written in the shape of a dialogue between Myrddin and his sister Gwendydd, in which the latter appeals 236 TRUE PLACE OF POEMS to her brother's prophetical power to foretell the suc- cessive rulers over Britain. This is a device of which there are other examples, and it is a favourite one iu rude times. A record of past events is written in the shape of a prophecy of future events, and the period of its composition is indicated by the termination of a distinct and literal record, and the commencement of one clothed in figurative and obscure language. This is a species of poetic chronicle which is peculiarly adapted to addition and interpolation. A few imitative Tcrses in the same style can be inserted or added, bringing the record from time to time further down.
The Cyvoesi commences with Eydderch Hael, in whose time the prophecy is supposed to be uttered, and the bard foretells the rule of Morcant after him; after Morcant, Urien; and after Urien, Maelgwn Hir. He then takes the line of Maelgwn's descendants down to Cynan Tindaethwy, when he introduces Mervyn o dir ManaUy and follows his descendants to Howel dda. The record then changes its character, and proceeds to foretell a succession of kings under descriptive names, until it announces the coming again of Cadwaladyr, who is said to reign 303 years and 3 months, and to be succeeded by Cyndaf; and after some further ob- scure references, the poem assumes a more personal character, in which the bard is described as having been imprisoned beneath the earth, and concludes.
It has been supposed that this poem must have been composed in the reign of Howel dda, who died in 948, as after his name the style of the poem changes from the direct mention of historic kings . IN WELSH LITERATURE. 237 under their real names to that of a list of apparentl7 imaginary kings, designated by obscure epithets; but Mr. Stephens does not admit this, and maintiainfl that these obscure epithets can be so easily identified as to show that the bard was in fact recording the historic successors of Howel dda. An example of this identifi- cation will suffice: The bard, when asked, Who will rule after Howel? answers T Bargodyein^ the borderers. Mr. Stephens thinks this word plainly indicates Jevan and Jago, the sons of Edwal Yoel, king of North Wales, because their claim to the throne which they usurped only bordered on a rightful title,* There is reason to think, however, that parts of this poem were compiled at an earlier date than the reign of Howel dda. It may in fact be divided into four parts — the first, from the beginning to the end of the 2Gth stanza, containing the stan2a mentioning CSad- Wiiladyr; the second, from the 26th stanza to the 65th; the tliird, from the G6th stanza to the 102d; and the fourth, from the 102d stanza to the end.
Now there is this peculiarity in the first part of the poem, that it names as the kings who ruled before Maelgwn, Urien, Morcant, and Rydderch HaeL Is it possible to conceive that any chronicle containing such a succession of kings could have been composed in Wales even so early as the tenth century? Would the author not have given, in preference, the kings said to have ruled in Wales? Its connection, however, with Nennius and with Bemicia is apparent Nennius states that the British kings who fought against the Bemician * Tlie italics are Mr. Stepbena'.
23S TRUE PLACE OF POEMS kings were Urien, Rydderch, Cwallawg, and Morcant^ and the Cyvoesi begins its list with three of them — Rydderch, Morcant, and Urien — and then says that Maelgwn reigned over Gwynedd only. This part of the chronicle must have been composed in the north, but after Cadwaladyr there is an obvious break. Throughout the previous part^ the questions and answers alternate, each answer being followed by a question, Who ruled next? But the verse naming Cadwaladyr is not followed by a question* The verses are as follows — 25 Thoagh I see thy cheek is direful, It comes impulsively to my mind Who will rule after Cadwallawn.
26 A tall man holding a conference, And Britain under one sceptre: Tlie best of Cymro's sons, Cadwaladyr.
27 He that comes before me mildly, His abilities are they not worthless t After Cadwaladyr, IdwaL The question before this last stanza is omitted, but if we go on to the mention again of Cadwaladyr, in the 102d stanza, which commences the fourth portion of the Cyvoesi, we shall find that it must originally have immediately succeeded the 26th stanza. Let ub place them together: — 25 Though I see thy cheek is direful, It comes impulsively to my mind Who will rule after Cadwallawn.
26 A tall man holding a conftrtno^ And Britain under one sceptre: The best of Cymro*s sons, Cadwaladyr.
IK WELSH LITERATUBE. 239 102 Do not separate abruptly from me. From a dislike to the eonfertmce. Who will rule after CadwaladTrt 103 To Gwendjdd I will dedaie, Age after age I will predict^ After Gadwaladyr, Cyndar.
As Cyndav is an imaginary king, I hold that the original poem, of which we have a part in the fiist 26 stanzas, must have been composed before the death of Cadwaladyr, while he was still the hope of the Cymry, and must have belonged to the north.
The second part, which contains the real names of the kings to Howel dda, and a list of imaginary kings after him, must^ I think, notwithstanding Mr. Stephens' attempt to identify them, have been added in the reign of Howel dda; and this is confirmed by the fact that the successor of Cadwaladyr is made to be his son Idwal, and that there is no appearance of Ivor firom Armorica, who would certainly have been mentioned had the poem been composed after the appearance of the Bruts.
The third portion, extending from stanza 66 to stanza 102, has probably been added in South Wales in the twelfth century. The lord of eight fortresses, mentioned in the 65th stanza, may have been Robert Fitz-Hamon, the first Norman who obtained Glamorgan, and built castles; and Mob Henri^ in the 68th stanza, Robert, Earl of Gloucester, who succeeded him in Glamorgan, and was son of Henry the First This part of the poem contains a prophecy that Cadwaladyr would reappear with a powerful host to 240 TRUE PLACE OF POEMS defend the men of Gwynedd, that he would descend in the vale of Tywi, and would reign 303 years.
There were, however, two very distinct fonns in which this prophecy of the reappearing of Cadwaladyr was conveyed. The first we find in the Afallenau, the text of which, as it appears in the Black Book, I consider to be that of an old poem.
The poem in that text concludes with this stanza: — Sweet apple-tree, and a tree of crimson hue Which grows in concealment in the wood of Celyddon, Though sought for their fruit, it will be in vain, Until Cadwaladyr comes from the conference of the ford of Rheon, And Cynan to meet him advances upon the Saxons. The Gymry will be victorious, glowing will be their leader; All shall have their rights, and Britons will rejoice. Sounding the horns of gladness, and chanting the song of peace and happiness.
The other form of the prophecy we find in the HoianaUy which I agree with Mr. Stephens in con- sidering to be spurious.
In it the expressions are as follows: — And I will predict that two rightful princes. Will produce peace from heaven to earth — Cynan and Cadwaladyr — thorough Cymry, May their councils be admired.
And when Cadwaladyr comes to the subjugation of Mona, The Saxons will be extirpated from lovely Britain.
Stout Cynan appearing from the banks of the Teifi, Will cause confusion in Dyfed.
The form of the prophecy in the Hoianau is ob- viously the same with that in the third part of the Cyvoesi, which I consider to have been produced in IN WELSH LITERATURE. 241 South Wales in the twelfth century. In the one, Cadwaladyr comes to Mona^ and Cynan from the valley of the Teifi in Dyfed or South Wales; in the other, Cadwaladyr comes to Gwynedd, and descends in the vale of the l^wi in South Wales.
But the form of the prophecy in the Avallenau is very different There Cadwaladyr comes firom a con- ference at Ryd Kheon^ or the ford of Beon, and this is evidently the same place as Llwck Bhean, which we can identify with Loch Ryan in Galloway, and he goes to the wood of Celyddon to meet Cynan.; In the later form of the prophecy Cynan an4 Cad- walad3rr come from Armorica. Thus^ in the Viia Merlini, Geoflfrey says — The BritoDi their noble kingdom, Shall for a long time lose through weakness, Until from Armorica Conan shall come in his car. And Cadwaladyr, the honoured leader of the Cymry.
And the prophecy can only have assumed this shape after the fictitious narrative of Cadwaladyr taking re- fuge in Armorica was substituted for his death in the pestilence, and the scene of his return is placed in South Wales, whence this form of the prophecy emerged.
But t^ie prophecy which connects his reappearance with the conference at the ford of Loch Byan, and places the meeting with Conan in the wood of Celyd- don, must be much older, and the Cumbrian form of the prophecy; and with this form of it, the first passage in the Gyyoeai is obviously connected, which describes Cadwalad3rr as a tall man holding a conference.
VOL L B 242 RESULT OF EXAMINATION OF POEMS, \ CHAPTER XIV.
RESULT OF THE EXAMINATION OF THE POEMS, AND THEIR CLASSIFICATION.
Of a large proportion, then, of the historical poems, the scenery and events lie in the north; the warriors whose deeds they celebrate were " Gwyr y Gogled," or Men of the North. They are attributed to bards connected with the north, and there is every reason to believe them older than the tenth century. They are, in point of fact^ the literature of the C}nnric inhabitants of Cumbria before that kingdom was subjugated by the Saxon king in 946.
As soon as this view of their birthplace and home is recognised, localities are identified, warriors recog- nised, and allusions heretofore obscure become in- telligible. During the last half-century of the Roman dominion in Britain, the most important military events took place at the northern frontier of the pro- vince, where it was chiefly assailed by those whom they called the barbarian races, and their troops were massed at the Koman walls to protect the province. After their departure, it was still the scene of a struggle between the contending races for supremacy.
AND THEIR CLASSIFICATION., 243 It was here that the provincial Britons had mainly to contend under the Guledig against the invading Picts and Scots, succeeded by the resistance of the native Cymric population of the north to the encroachment of the Angles of Bemicia.
Throughout this dash and jar of contending races^ a body of popular poetry appears to have grown up, and the events of this never-ending war, and the dim recollections of social changes and revolutions, seem to have been reflected in national lays attributed to bards supposed to have lived at the time in which the deeds of their warriors were celebrated, and the legends of the country preserved in language, which, if not poetical, was figurative and obscure.
It was not till the seventh century that these popular lays, floating about among the people, were brought into shape, and assumed a consistent form. The sudden rise of the Cymric population to power under Cadwallawn, and the burst of national enthusiasm and excited hope, found vent in poetry. The Cymry were stimulated to combined effort by the voice of the bards, and poems were composed, and the more ancient lays either adapted to their purpose, or embedded as fragments in their own compositions. It is in the seventh century that I place these poems in their earliest consistent shape, and I do not attempt to take them further back.
■ The hopes excited by the success of Cadwallawn, and the expectations formed of his son Cadwaladyr, were extinguished by the final defeat of the former in 244 RESULT OF EXAMINATION OF POEMS, 655, and the subjection of the Britons to the Angles, which lasted nearly thirty years as to the northern Britons, and probably much longer as to the southern; and we may well suppose that during this subjection the national spirit was kept alive by these popular lajrs, and by prophetic strains as to a possible future regeneration of the Cymry, accompanied by the usual fSEible that the king on whom they built so much and who was said to have perished in the pestilence of 664, had not really died, but would re-appear to renew the success of his father.
The accession to the throne of Wales of Mervyn Frych, from the northern region of Manau, seems to have brought the knowledge of the Historia Britonum to Wales, and the emigration of large bodies of the Cymric population to Wales during the reign of Anaraut, and the termination of their kingdom in 946, when Howel dda, Prince of South Wales, oc- cupied the throne of all Wales, probably made them acquainted with these poems.
But they appear to have found their new home in South Wales. By degrees the memory of the Northern Cymric kingdom passed away, the name of " Y Gogledd'* was transferred from Cumbria to Gwy- nedd, and much of the traditionary history of the north, obscurely reflected in these poems, was applied to North Wales, while the warriors celebrated in them had new homes found for them in South Wales. To adopt the language of an able modem writer: — '' To the inhabitants of the south, Owynedd (of the , AND THEIK CLASSIFICATION. 245 past) was an unknown land. Their imagination filled it with giants^ fiBdries, monsters, and magicians. The inhabitants exercised strange arts; they had cauldrons of like virtue with that which renewed the youth of Aeson; a red dragon and a white were buried as a palladium of their metropolis. Among their monarchs was a veritable cat, the offspring of a wandering sow. Their chief philosopher was of gigantic stature, and sat on a mountain-peak to watch the stars. Their wizard-monarch, Owydion, had the power of effecting the strangest metamorphoses. The simple peasant, dwelling on 'the shore of Dyfed, beheld across the sea those shadowy mountain-summits pierce the.air- guardians, as it seemed, of some unearthly region. Thence came the mists and storms; thence flashed aloft the northern streamers; thence rose through the silent sky the starry path of Gwydion."
It is to this period that I attribute the composition of the oldest group of the prose tales and romances, and especially those peculiarly called the Mabinogi; and while, soon after, a new school of Welsh poetry, which speedily assumed large dimensions and exercised a powerful influence, arose in North Wales, the literary spirit of South Wales manifested itself more in prose composition and in the gradual appearance of spurious poetry, written in the style and sentiments of this older poetry of Cumbria, The introduction of the Arthurian romance into South Wales from Armorica led to the appearance of the Bruts and to the later class of prose tales and 246 RESULT OF EXAMINATION OF POEMS, romances, aud wbeii the kingdom of South Wales terminated by the death of Rhys ap Tewdwr, and the occupation of Glamorgan by the Normans, the extent to which the affections of the people seem to have centred upon Robert, Earl of Gloucester, as the son of Nest., the daughter of their last king, Rhys ap Tewdwr, by Henry the First, manifested itself in the last phase of this poetry.
There are therefore four eras connected with these poems, each of which was succeeded by a period of confusion or national depression: — The era of Cadwallawn and Cadwaladyr, in which they were first brought into shape; that of Howel dda when they were transfenred to South Wales, and when some of the later poems in the Book of Taliessin may have been composed; that of Rhys ap Tewdwr and his grandson Robert Mab Henri, when much of the spurious poetay was written, none of which, however, appears in the Book of Taliessin; and the reign of Henry the Second, when some of these poems, with others of the period, were first transcribed in the Black Book of Caermarthen.
The translation of these poems contained in this work comprises the whole of the poems attributed to these ancient bards, whether genuine or spurious, as we find them in the four books — the Black Book of Caermarthen, the Book of Aneurin, the Book of Taliessin, and the Red Book of Hergest; but in these MSS. they do not appear in chronological order, or in any systematic shape. They are transcribed without reference to date.
AND THEIR CLA8SIFICATI0K. 247 subject^ or supposed author, and are interspersed with poems by authors of the later period. To print the translations in the exact order in which they appear in the MSS. would be to present them in a confused and unintelligible shape, and where the same poem appears in more than one MS., would lead to doable translations. It has been thought better, therefore, while the translation has been made as literal and exact a representation of the text in the MSS. as pos- sible, to group the poems so as to bring those which relate to the same subject together, and thus afford the means of easy comparison as well as fetcilitate a sounder criticism, based upon a true conception of their character in their mutual bearing upon each other.
The translations are therefore printed in the follow^ ing order: — ^The poems which are either, strictly speak- ing, historical, or which contain historical allusions, arc separated in each of the four books firom those which contain merely the sentiments of the poet, and the latter «are classed under the head of " Miscellaneous Poems." Those that may be called " Historical" fall into two divisions. The first comprises those which contain allusions to early traditions or events prior to the year 560 when Gildas wrote, and to the time when the war- riors fought with the kings of Bemicia, whose names are recorded by the author of the OenecUoguu This division contains the whole of those poems which contain allusions to the persons mentioned in the oldest class of the prose tales or Mabinogion. There 248 RESULT OF EXAMINATION OF POEMS, are, firsts grouped together under letter A, five poems which refer to early traditions; under letter B, four poems which mention Arthur by name; and it is somewhat remarkable that out of this large body of popular poetry there are only these four preserved, and one other, placed in another group, which mention him at alL Under letter C, eight poems, which refer to Llew and Gwydion, and the combination of the Biython and Gwyddyl, or to the Brithwyr. Under letter D has been placed a poem in the Black Book of Caermarthen relating to Gwyddno Garanhir and the mythic Gwynn ap Nudd. Under the letter E four poems in the Book of Taliessin, which belong to a later period; one of these, "the Kadeir Kerritwen," mentions the Books of Beda, and must have been written after his, death; another mentions the line of Anaraut, who died in 913; and the other two contain allusions to the name of Hu, who belongs to a later school One poem in the Black Book attributed to Gwyddneu is also included in this group. And under letter F are placed five poems, two relating to cities of the Cymry, either real or s}rmbolical, and three relating to the legendary heroes generally, and consisting of the Triads of the Heroes in the Black Book of Caer- marthen, the Song of the Horses in the Book of Talies- sin, and the Graves of the Warriors in the former book. The second division comprises the poems more strictly historical, and alluding to events subsequent to 560. Under letter G are placed four poems attributed to Uywarch Hen, in which the war be* AND THEIR CLASSIFICATION. 249 tween bis son Mechyd and Mwg Mawr Diefydd is referred to. Under letter H are three poems relating to Gwallawg ap Ueenawg, one of the four kings re- corded to have fought against Hussa^ who reigned from 567 to 574. Under letter I are nine poems relating to Urien, another of the four kings, concluding with his Dcathnaong. And under letter J are three poems relating to his son Owen, one of the sons who was recorded to have fought with their father Urien against Theodric, who reigned from 580 to 587, and conduding with the Death-song of Owen.
Under letter K is the first poem in the Book of Caermarthen, which relates to the battle of Arddeiyd, fought in 573, and the Avallenau, which is placed appropriately after it Under letter L are the poems relating to the Gododin and the battle of Catraeth. Under letter M are three poems relating directly to Cadwallawn, and concluding with his Death-song; and under letter N the two poems termed Atymes, or the Omen, and another prophetic poem relating to Cad- waladyr. Under letter are two poems relating to events in Powys— one firom the Book of TaUessin, and the other firom the Red Book of Hergest. Under let- ter P the Cyvocsi is first placed, which, as we have seen, ranges in its composition firom the time of Cad- waladyr in the seventh to that of Eobert, Earl of Glou- cester, in the twelfth centuries; and after it are placed six poems, which I conceive to have emerged from South Wales. And this concludes the group of poems which I denominate historical 250 RESULT OF EXAMINATION OF POEMS.
The ^ Miscellaneous poems" consist first of those in the Block Book of Cocnnarthen, and ore placed in three groups. Under letter Q ore phiccd five poems attributed tc» other bards — Meigant, Cuhelyn, and Elaeth. Under letter R ten anonymous poems on religious subjects; and under letter S two poems, which seem connected, and the first of which is the curious poem relating to Yscolan.
There is only one poem in the Book of Aneurin, the Gorchan Adebon, which is not historical It is placed under letter T, The ** Miscellaneous poems^ from the Book of Tali- cssin are placed under three groups. Under letter U are twelve poems, containing allusions to the personal history of Taliessin, or expressing his opinions on philosophy or religion. Under letter V four poems, containing allusions to the history of the Israelites. Under letter W two poems, relating to the legends connected with Alexander the Great.
The ^Miscellaneous poems ^ from the Red Book of Hergest consist of three groups— one, under letter X, of seven poems attributed to Llywarch Hen, which ore not historical; under letter Y, of two poems, b^inning Eiiy Mynyd, one of which is called the Colloquy of Uywelyn and Gwmerth; and under letter Z, of two other anonjrmous poems, the last of which is termed the Viaticum of lievoed Wynebglawr.
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