Al. "gwrnvann," the place of the urn. In that case the line might be
thus translated,--
Precious was the amber, but its price was the grave.
{88a} The hero of this stanza we take to be the "son of Ysgyran"
himself. He disdained the eager advance of the enemy; for such was his
will, that he had only to declare it, to make Venedotia and the North
acknowledge his power, and submit to his jurisdiction; or, it may be, to
march unanimously to his side. Supposing "gwyar," however, to be the
correct reading, we might render the line thus,--
He repelled violence, and gore trickled to the ground.
Perhaps the identity of the person commemorated with the son of Ysgyran
would become more evident by the addition of a comma after "gyssul,"
thus,--
"Ket dyffei wyned a gogled e rann
O gussyl,--mah Ysgyrran."
Who Ysgyran, or Cyran (the _ys_ being a mere prefix) was, we have no
means of knowing, as the name does not occur any where in history.
{88b} Al. "The maimed shield-bearer," (ysgwydwr.)
{88c} "Cyn-nod," the principal mark or butt; the most conspicuous, owing
to his being in advance of his men, and perhaps on account of his stature
also, if "eg gawr," or "yggawr" mean _giantlike_.
{88d} "Cyn-ran;" the foremost share, or participation of an action.
{89a} "Pymwnt," (i.e. pum mwnt; "deg myrdd yn y mwnt,") five hundred
thousand, which, multiplied by five, would give us 2,500,000 as the
number of men who composed the above battalions.
{89b} Deivyr and Bryneich, (_Deira and Bernicia_) are situated on the
eastern coast of the island, the river Humber, as we learn from the
Triads, (Myv. Arch. vol. ii. p. 68) flowing through a portion thereof.
In a document which has been published in the Iolo MSS. Argoed
Derwennydd, (Derwent wood probably) and the river Trenn or Trent, are
mentioned as the extreme boundaries of the region. The triads moreover
speak of the three sons of Dysgyvedawg, (or Dysgyvyndawd) viz. Gall,
Difedel, and Ysgavnell, under the appellation of the "three monarchs of
Deivyr and Bryneich," (Ibid. p. 64) about the period, as it would appear,
of our Poem.
It is clear from the above passage in the Gododin, as well as from those
lines, (78, 79.)
"Ar deulu brenneych beych barnasswn
Dilyw dyn en vyw nys adawsswn."
If I had judged you to be of the tribe of Bryneich,
Not the phantom of a man would I have left alive;
that the people of those countries were not at the time in question on
friendly terms with the neighbouring Britons; which circumstance is
further apparent from the contemporary testimony of Llywarch Hen, who
speaks of Urien as having conquered the land of Bryneich;
"Neus gorug o dir Brynaich."
This, it is true, might have a reference to the Saxon tribes, who had
succeeded at an early period, in establishing themselves along the coast
in that part of the island, yet the disparaging manner in which the grave
of Disgyrnin Disgyfedawt, evidently the father of the "three monarchs,"
is spoken of in the Englynion y Beddau, inclines us strongly to the
belief that it was the Aborigines themselves who were thus guilty of
treason to the common weal.
"Cigleu don drom dra thywawd,
Am vedd Dysgyrnyn Dysgyveddawd,
Aches trwm angwres pechawd."
Hear the sullen wave beyond the strand,
Round the grave of Dysgyrnyn Dysgyveddawd,
Heavy the burning impulse raised by sin.
(Myv. Arch. vol. i. p. 78.)
{90a} An allusion to the name of our hero's father, (Bleiddan) and
probably to his own standard.
{90b} "Neithyawr." Al. "than go to the altar."
{90c} Al. "elawr" a _bier_, "than obtained a bier." He was devoured by
the birds of prey ere he could be removed for interment.
{90d} Or, "Ere he received his nuptial dowry, his blood streamed down."
{90e} Hyveidd Hir was the son of Bleiddan Sant, of Glamorgan, (the
celebrated Lupus.) According to the Triads he was one of the three alien
kings, upon whom dominion was conferred for their mighty deeds, and for
their praiseworthy and gracious qualities.
"Tri eilldeyrn ynys Prydain: Gwrgai vab Gwrien yn y Gogledd, a
Chadavael vab Cynvedw yng Ngwynedd, a Hyveidd Hir vab Bleiddan Sant
ym Morganwg: sev y rhodded Teyrnedd iddynt am eu campau a'u
cynneddvau clodvorion a rhadvorion." (Triad, 26, third series.)
Taliesin, in his Ode to Urien, speaks of Hyveidd in conjunction with
Gododin;--
"Hyveidd a Gododin a lleu towys." (Myv. Arch. vol. i. p. 57.)
His name also occurs in another poem, by the same Bard, "to Gwallawg ap
Lleenawg;"--
"Haearnddur a Hyfeidd a Gwallawg
Ac Owein Mon Maelgynig ddefawd
A wnaw peithwyr gorweiddiawg."
Haearnddur and Hyveidd and Gwallawg,
And Owain of Mon, of Maelgynian manner,
Would prostrate the ravagers. (Myv. Arch. vol. i. p. 64.)
The epithet "Hir," (_long_ or _tall_) applied to Hyveidd, countenances
the view of his being conspicuous on account of his size.
{91a} Gognaw must have been the son of Botgad. The name, as well as
that of the preceding hero, occurs in an Ode which Taliesin addressed to
Gwallawg ab Lleenawg.
"Gognaw ei brawd digones."
If, however, it be not a proper name in this stanza, it may be rendered
either "with laughter and sprightliness," or "they were a laughing
energy."
{91b} Al. "As with blades they dealt mutual blows."
{91c} "A llaw," _a hand_; metaphorically _power_. Al. "a allaw," _who
is able_.
{92a} The same consideration which induced us to regard "Manawyd" as a
proper name in a former stanza, has caused us to leave "Gwanar"
untranslated in this place. It is not improbable, however, from the
shortness of this sonnet, that the line containing the name of its hero
may have been lost. In that case we should translate "chwerthin wanar,"
"their leader laughed." That Gwanar was occasionally used as a proper
name by the ancient Britons, appears from Triad xl. (first series) where
we find one of the sons of Lliaws ab Nwyvre so called. He flourished
however before the date of the Gododin, and cannot on that account be
identified with the Gwanar of the text. Taliesin uses the word in his
"Mic Dinbych," apparently as a proper name;--
"Clod wasgar a Gwanar ydd ymddullyn."
{92b} Or "gem of a regiment;" his choice regiment.
{92c} Al. "digynny," _went up_.
{92d} The Bard in the two last lines seems to be addressing Death, or
Fate, which he designates as "the strong pillar of the living law," or
the law of nature, just as the Latins called it "dura necessitas,"
"mortis dura lex," "fatalis Parcarum lex," &c. The expressions "heb vawr
drydar," and "arwar," indicative of the effects of death, are introduced
by way of contrast to the noisy mirth which characterised the warriors'
march to the field of battle. "Arwar" signifies literally a _quiescent
state_, or _state of general rest_; _pacification_; and as such is a very
proper term to denote the character of death.
"O _arwar_ daiar down i gyd dyddbrawd." (Ll. P. Moch.)
From the silent state of earth we shall all come at the judgment day.
{93a} As the word "glas," though primarily signifying _blue_, has also a
very general sense, and may mean merely _pale_ or _fresh_, yet as we find
decided colours attributed to mead elsewhere in the poem, such as
"melyn," (yellow) and "gwyn" (white) we have thought proper to retain the
literal acceptation in this place, as a poetical variety, however
inapplicable to the beverage in question it may seem.
{93b} "Impia sub dulci melle venena latent."
{93c} The name of the chieftain, who commanded this particular troop, is
not mentioned, unless (which is not very probable) we take "Trychant" in
the third line as a proper name, and translate thus,--
"Trychant marshals his men, armed with the weapons of war."
Or, are we to understand by "trwy beiryant," that he marshalled his men
by means of some instrument or machinery?
{93d} I.e. the silence of death.
{94a} "Fyryf frwythlawn," i.e. "_fyrv_ frwythlawn;" the sense of "_furv_
frwythlawn" would seem to be "in vigorous order."
{94b} The followers of the son of Cian (_a little dog_) are evidently
called "aergwn," (_dogs of war_) in allusion to his patronymic, as well
as to the name of his residence, "maen gwyngwn," (_the stone of the white
dogs_.) Probably also the figure of a dog was charged on their banner.
{94c} The Bernicians, as we have already noticed, were at this time
opposed to the British patriots. The Cymry carried a traditional hatred
of that people with them into Wales, and applied the term _Bryneich_ to
such of their kindred as allied themselves to the enemies of their
country, as is abundantly manifest in the works of the mediaeval
Bards.--See STEPHEN'S Literature of the Kymry, p. 265.)
{94d} Or, "Like a deluge, I would not have left a man alive."
{94e} It is very probable that the son of Cian had married a daughter of
one of the chiefs of Bryneich, which would thus account for the Bard's
lurking apprehension at first, that he might be induced to barter his
allegiance for the dowry to be expected with his wife. His fears however
were groundless; for such were the purity and patriotism of our youthful
hero, that he even refused the dowry when it was offered to him, and
braved his father-in-law's anger withal.
{95a} In Gorchan Maelderw we read of--
"The only son of Cian from Trabannawg."
Cian was a Bard, and is mentioned as such by Nennius in the following
passage,--
"Item Talhaern Talanguen in Poemate claruit, et Nuevin et Taliessin,
et Bluchbar, et Cian qui vocatur Gueinchguant (_Cian who is called
Gwyngwn_) simul uno tempore in poemate Britannico claruerunt."
Taliesin likewise represents him in that character in a Poem entitled,
"Angar Cyvyndawd." (Myv. Arch. vol. i. p. 34.)
"Cian pan ddarvu
Lliaws gyvolu."
When Cian sang the praise of many.
The circumstance of his being thus a poet, and classed with Aneurin
(Nuevin) would account for the intimacy which subsisted between the
latter and his son.
Cian is said to have been the servant of Peris, and to them conjointly is
Llangian in Caernarvonshire dedicated. Cian is commemorated on the 11th
of December.--See Rees's Welsh Saints, p. 302.
{95b} It is probable that _three hundred_ was the number which composed
the retinue of Mynyddawg, and that a _hundred thousand_, a large round
figure, is chosen to denote the preponderance of the enemy's forces that
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."