The commanding figure in this period is, of course, Dafydd ab Edmwnd,
who was a disciple of Meredydd ap Rhys. He bears somewhat the same
relation to his contemporaries as Dafydd ab Gwilym does to his, and to
strain an analogy, we might say that as Dryden was to Milton, so Dafydd
ab Edmwnd was to Dafydd ab Gwilym. He was regarded by his contemporaries
as the greatest poet that North Wales had ever produced, and some would
set him up as a rival even to Dafydd ab Gwilym himself. He would
probably have produced much greater poetry had he understood that the
cywydd and the other metres were strait and shackled enough without the
_cymeriadau_ and other devices which he introduced, or at least
sanctioned and made popular. He begins many of his cywyddau and odes
with the same letter; he is the chief among Welsh formalists, but in
spite of his self-imposed restrictions he is a great poet also. His most
famous poems are three _Cywyddau Merch_ or "Poems to a Lady," and his
_Cywydd i Wallt Merch_, "cywydd to a lady's hair." He is the author of
the lines already quoted: "thy brow," he sings, "is as the snow of
yesternight, and thy cheeks like a shower of roses." He died about 1480.
Dafydd ab Edmwnd's disciples were Gutyn Owain and Tudur Aled, who was
also his nephew. Gutyn Owain lived between 1420 and 1500, and was one of
the men appointed by the king's commissioners to trace, or perhaps to
manufacture, the Welsh pedigree of Henry VII. He belonged entirely to
the school inaugurated by Dafydd ab Edmwnd, and though he was by no
means wanting in imagination, the highest distinction of his verse is
its intricacy of form and very often the felicity of his couplets.
Just as the rise of Owen Glyndwr in the beginning of the century had
given a new impulse and a new interest to poetry, so in 1485, when Henry
VII.--the "little bull" as he is called by the poets--ascended the
throne of England, a particular kind of poetry called _brud_, half
history and half prophecy, became popular, and we have in the
manuscripts much writing of this description, a good deal of it
worthless as poetry. Occasionally, however, some of these "bruts" may
claim to be called poetry, especially the compositions of Robin Ddu o
Fon, who wrote poems in praise of the Tudors and hailed them as the
deliverers of the nation, even before Henry VII. had landed in England,
and Dafydd Llwyd ab Llywelyn, whose works deserve to be much better
known than they are at present. One of the best cywyddau among his works
is the "Address to the Raven," to whom he promises a right royal feast
when the hero whom all Wales is expecting has met his royal enemy. Tudur
Aled, too, was a zealous partisan of Henry VII. and wrote many cywyddau
in praise of Sir Rhys ap Thomas, the great champion of Henry's cause in
South Wales. He is also famous as having supplemented and made a new
recension of Dafydd ab Edmwnd's rules of poetry in the eisteddfod held
at Caerwys in 1524. Tudur Aled has always been more widely known in
Wales than almost any other of the earlier poets except Dafydd ab
Gwilym. This is perhaps due to the quotability and sententiousness of
his couplets. There is a certain refreshing dryness about his poetry
which partly makes up for his want of imagination. One of the most
interesting poets of this century is Lewis Glyn Cothi, who lived between
1410 and 1490. During the Wars of the Roses he was a zealous
Lancastrian, and his bitterest enemies were the men of Chester, who had
treated him scurvily while he was there in hiding, and his _awdl_,
satirizing the men of that city, is one of the most vigorous
compositions in the language. Indeed, among so many _cywyddau_ of this
period in conventional praise of different patrons, it is most
refreshing to find such an outburst of sincere personal feeling, boldly
and fiercely expressed. He wrote an _awdl_ also rejoicing in the victory
of Henry VII. Most of his work, however, consists of _cywyddau
mawl_--praise of patrons--containing weary and unpoetical pedigrees.
Gruffydd Hiraethog, who flourished about 1540, was a disciple of Tudur
Aled. A fierce poetical dispute raged between him and Sion Brwynog of
Anglesey, who was a contemporary of his. About this time there were many
poets in Wales who were imitators of Dafydd ab Gwilym, and who did not
follow implicitly the lead of Dafydd ab Edmwnd, like those whom we have
mentioned. Much of their poetry is feeble, but Bedo Brwynllysg
especially stands out from among the rest, and his poetry, though highly
imitative and often over fanciful, is of a much higher order than the
genealogical poems of Lewis Glyn Cothi and others. In the same way the
only poem of any merit of Ieuan Denlwyn printed in the _Gorchestion_ is
written in this imitative strain. Other poets of the middle of this
period are Deio ap Ieuan Du, Iorwerth Fynglwyd, Lewys Morganwg, Ieuan
Brydydd Hir, and Tudur Penllyn, who wrote a superb _cywydd_ to Dafydd ab
Siencyn, the outlaw.
Towards the end of the period we begin to breathe a literary atmosphere
that is gradually but surely changing,--it is the change from the misty
Wales of Roman Catholic times to the modern Wales after the Reformation.
The poetical incoherencies of the old metres and the tricks of fancy of
the old stylists occasionally form a somewhat incongruous dress for the
thoughts of later poets. The old spirit and the glamour were gradually
wearing away, only to be momentarily revived in the poetry of Goronwy
Owen, nearly two centuries later. Two or three figures, indeed, stand
out prominently during these years, among whom are some of the bards
ordained _penceirddiaid_ (master-poets) in the second Caerwys Eisteddfod
held in 1568, viz. William Llyn, William Cynwal, Sion Tudur, and Sion
Phylip. William Llyn (1530?-1580) was a pupil of Gruffydd Hiraethog. His
complicated _awdlau_ are marvels of ingenuity, but many of them are on
that very account almost unintelligible. He was, however, a complete
master of the _cywydd_, in which he sometimes displays a sense of style
and a sweetness of imagery allied to a melodiousness of language
unequalled by the other poets of the period. His best-known work is the
famous _marwnad_ to his master, Gruffydd Hiraethog. Sion Tudur (d.
1602), also a disciple of G. Hiraethog, was connected in some capacity
or other with the cathedral at St Asaph. He is a realist, and delights
in giving vivid word pictures in a less fanciful strain than his
predecessors. Sion Phylip (1543-1620) wrote a famous _marwnad_ to his
father and a _cywydd_ "to a sea-gull," which is a superb piece of
nature-painting in the style of Dafydd ab Gwilym. While dealing with
this second Eisteddfod at Caerwys, we may note that Simwnt Fychan's
"Laws of Poetry" were accepted at this festival.
Two poets of this period, whom an English writer describes as "the two
filthy Welshmen who first smoked publicly in the streets," were captains
in Queen Elizabeth's navy, viz. Thomas Prys (d. 1634) of Plas Iolyn, and
William Myddleton (1556-1621), called in Welsh Gwilym Canoldref. The
former wrote, among other things, humorous _cywyddau_ descriptive of
life in London and in the English navy of those days, in a style which
was afterwards attempted by Lewys Morys. The work of Myddleton, by
which he is best known, is his translation of the Psalms (1603) into
Welsh _cywydd_ metre, a difficult and profitless experiment.
With Edmwnd Prys (1541-1624), the famous archdeacon of Merioneth, we
come to distinctly modern times. He is hardly a great poet, if we judge
him by the canons which are now popular. His gift was a gift of terse
and biting statement, and his _cywyddau_ on the whole have more of
literary than of poetical merit. He was a man of vast learning, and his
works are full of scholastic and often difficult allusions. His most
famous _cywyddau_ are those written in the literary quarrel between him
and Wiliam Cynwal. "Wiliam Cynwal," says Goronwy Owen, "though the
greater poet, was like a man fighting with bare fists against complete
armour," and it may be freely granted that in this, the most famous
quarrel in Welsh literature, the palm of victory rested with the
contentious old ecclesiastic. We shall deal with the rest of Edmwnd
Prys's literary work in the section on the rise of popular poetry.
Here the age of the _cywydd_ and the _awdl_, as the chief forms of
verse, ends. They appear again in the succeeding centuries, but as
aliens among a nation that no longer paid them homage. The distinctly
Welsh fashion in song was dying out.
6. _Prose, 1550-1750._--One of the most striking features of Welsh
literature is the almost entire absence of prose between 1300 and 1550.
The genius of the people has always been an eminently poetical and
imaginative one, and the history of Wales, politically and socially, has
always been a fitter subject for poetry than for prose. During this
period, Wales enjoyed a rest from propagandists and revolutionaries
which has seldom been the happy lot of any other nation--they lay
content with their own old traditions, acquiescing proudly in their
separation from the other nations of Europe, and in their aloofness from
all the movements which shook England and the continent during those
years. Dynasties came and went, one religion ousted another religion, a
new learning exposed the absurdities of the old, but the Welsh, among
their hills, knew nothing of it; and when new ideas began to brood over
the consciousness of the nation, they never got beyond the stage of
providing new subjects for _cywyddau_. The Peasant Revolt, for instance,
had but little effect on Welsh history, its most important contribution
to the heritage of the nation being Iolo Goch's superb "_Cywydd_ to the
Labourer." Even the Reformation, which helped to change the whole fabric
of English literature, had little effect on that of Wales, and the age
of the _cywydd_ dragged out wearily its last years without experiencing
the slightest quickening from the great movement which was remaking
Europe. Hardly a prophet or reactionary raised his voice in defence or
condemnation, and the Welsh went on serenely making and reading poetry.
The two political movements in which Wales was really interested, the
revolt of Glyndwr and the accession of Henry VII., paid their tribute to
its poetry alone, and both enterprises had sufficient of romance in them
to repel the historian and to capture the poet. Naturally, therefore, we
have no prose in this period, because there was no cause strong enough
to produce it. What prose the nation required they found in the tales of
romance, in the legends of Arthur and Charlemagne and the Grail, and, as
for pedigrees and history, were they not written in the _cywyddau_ of
the poets?
The little prose that was produced during this period (1300-1550) was of
an extraordinary kind. It was simply an exercise in long sentences and
in curiously built compounds, and therefore more nearly allied to
poetry. It generally took the form of _dewisbethau_, a list of the
"choice things" of such and such a person, or of the later triads
(_trioedd_), which, starting from an ancient nucleus, gradually grew
till, at the present day, Wales has a gnomic literature out of all
proportion to the rest of its prose. Modern Welsh prose, however, is
only very indirectly connected with these compositions. It is almost
altogether a product of the Biblical literature which began to appear
after the Reformation, and we shall proceed to give here the main facts
and dates in its development. The first Welsh book was printed in 1546.
It consisted of extracts in Welsh from the Bible and the Prayer Book,
and a calendar. The author was Sir John Prys (1502-1555). The most
important name in the early part of this period is William Salesbury
(1520?-1600?). His chief books were, _A Dictionary in Englyshe and
Welshe_ (printed in 1547, and published in facsimile reprint by the
Cymmrodorion Society), _Kynniver Llith a Ban_ (1551), the Prayer Book in
Welsh (1567), and the most important of all his works, the translation
of the New Testament (1567). It is difficult to form any estimate, at
this distance of time, of the impetus which William Salesbury gave to
Welsh prose, but it must be regretfully admitted that his great work was
marred by many defects. He had a theory that Welsh ought to be written
as much like Latin as possible, and the result is that his language is
very poor Welsh, both in spelling and idiom; it is an artificial
dialect. It is a striking testimony, however, to his influence that many
of the constructions and words which he manufactured are found to this
day in correct literary Welsh.
In 1567 was published a _Welsh Grammar_ by Dr Gruffydd Roberts, a Roman
Catholic priest living at Milan (reprinted in facsimile, Paris, 1883),
and in 1583, under the direction of Dr Rhosier Smyth, his _Drych
Cristionogawl_ was published at Rouen. Many other important Welsh books
were produced during these years, but the work which may be regarded as
having the greatest influence on the subsequent literature of Wales was
the translation of the _Welsh Bible_ (1588) by Dr William Morgan
(1547?-1604), bishop of Llandaff, and afterwards of St Asaph. The
Authorized Version (1620) now in use is a revision of this work by Dr
Richard Parry, bishop of St Asaph (1560-1623). In 1592 the _Welsh
Grammar_ of Sion Dafydd Rhys (1534-1609) was published--a most valuable
treatise on the language and on the rules of Welsh poetry. It was
followed in 1621 by the _Welsh Grammar_, and in 1632 by the _Welsh
Dictionary_ of Dr John Davies o Fallwyd (1570?-1644).
There are two prose compositions which stand entirely by themselves in
this period of Bibles and grammars--the _History_ of Ellis Gruffydd, and
Morris Kyffin's _Deffyniad y Ffydd_. The former was a soldier in the
English army during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and wrote a long
history of England from the earliest times to his own day. This
document, which has never been published, and which lies hidden away
among the Mostyn MSS., is a most important and valuable original
contribution to the history of the author's contemporaries, and it sheds
considerable light on the inner life of the court and the army. It is
written in a delightfully easy style, contrasting favourably with the
stiff diction of this period of translations. The work of Morris Kyffin
(1555?-1598?) which we have mentioned is a translation of Bishop Jewel's
_Apologia Ecclesiae Anglicanae_ (1562) and was published in 1595. This
work is the first piece of modern Welsh prose within reach of the
ordinary reader, written in the rich idiom of the spoken Welsh. It is a
precursor of many other books of its kind, a long series culminating in
the immortal _Bardd Cwsc_. In this sense Morris Kyffin may with perfect
justice be hailed as the father of modern Welsh prose.
Most of the works which were afterwards written in the strong idiomatic
Welsh of Morris Kyffin were on religious subjects, and many of them were
translated from the English. The first was _Ymarfer o Dduwioldeb_ (1630)
by Rowland Vychan o Gaergai (a translation of Bailey's _Practice of
Piety_), which was followed in 1632 by Dr John Davies's _Llyfr y
Resolution_, and in 1666 by _Hanes y Ffydd Ddiffuant_ (A History of the
True Faith) by Charles Edwards. All these authors and many of their
successors were strong adherents of the Established Church, which was
then intensely Welsh in sentiment. But in the midst of these churchmen,
a flame-bearer of dissent appeared--Morgan Llwyd o Wynedd, who published
in 1653 "a mystery to be understood of some, and scorned of
others"--_Llyfr y Tri Aderyn_ (The Book of the Three Birds). It is in
the form of a discussion between the eagle (Cromwell), the dove
(Dissent) and the raven (the Established Church). This book is certainly
the most important original composition published during the 17th
century, and to this day remains one of the widely-read classics of the
Welsh tongue. Morgan Llwyd wrote many other books in Welsh and English,
all more or less in the vein of the first book.
During the remaining years of this period, the prose output of the Welsh
press consisted mainly of devotional books, written or translated for or
at the instigation of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. The
Established Church, with the help of this society, made a gallant
attempt to lighten the darkness of Wales by publishing books of this
description, and it is mainly due to its exertions that the lamp of
Welsh prose was kept burning during these years. Among the clergy who
produced books of this description were Edward Samuel (1674-1748), who
published among other works _Holl Ddyledswydd Dyn_, a translation of
_The Whole Duty of Man_ (1718); Moses Williams (1684-1742), a most
diligent searcher into Welsh MSS. and translator; Griffith Jones of
Llanddowror (1683-1761), the father of Welsh popular education; Iago ab
Dewi (1644?-1722) and Theophilus Evans (1694-1769), the famous author of
_Drych y Prif Oesoedd_ (1716 and 1740). This book, like _Llyfr y Tri
Aderyn_ and _Y Bardd Cwsc_, has an established position for all time in
the annals of Welsh literature.
We come now to the greatest of all Welsh prose writers, Ellis Wyn o
Lasynys (1671-1734). His first work was a translation of Jeremy Taylor's
_Holy Living_, under the title of _Rheol Buchedd Sanctaidd_ (1701). His
next work was the immortal _Gweledigaethau y Bardd Cwsc_ (1703). The
foundation of this work was L'Estrange's translation of the _Suenos_ of
the Spaniard Quevedo. Ellis Wyn has certainly followed his original
closely, even as Shakespeare followed his, but by his inimitable magic
he has transmuted the characters and the scenery of the Spaniard into
Welsh characters and scenery of the 17th century. No writer before or
after him has used the Welsh language with such force and skill, and he
will ever remain the stylist whom all Welsh writers will strive to
imitate. The magic of his work has endowed the stately idiom of Gwynedd
with such glamour that it has now become the standard idiom of Welsh
prose. See Stern, _Z. f. celt. Phil._ iii. 165 ff.
7. _The Rise of Popular Poetry, 1600-1750._--When Henry VII. ascended
the throne, the old hostility of the Welsh towards the English
disappeared. They had realized their wildest hope, that of seeing a
Welshman wearing "the crown of London." Naturally enough, therefore, the
descendants of the old Welsh gentry began to look towards England for
recognition and preferment, and their interest in their own little
country necessarily began to wane. The result was that the traditional
patrons of the Welsh muse could no longer understand the language of the
poets, and the poets were forced to seek some more profitable
employment. Besides, the old conditions were changing; the medieval
traditions were indeed dying hard, but it gradually and imperceptibly
came about that the poets of the older school had no audience. The only
poets who still followed the old traditions were the rich farmers who
"sang on their own land," as the Welsh phrase goes. A new school,
however, was rising. The nation at large had a vast store of
folk-poetry, full of all the poetical characteristics of the Celt, and
it was this very poetry, despised as it was, that became ultimately the
groundwork of the new literature.
The first landmark in this new development was the publication in 1621
of Edmwnd Prys's metrical version of the Psalms (followed by later
editions in 1628, 1630, 1638 and 1648), and of the first poem of the
_Welshmen's Candle_ (_Cannwyll y Cymry_) of Rhys Pritchard, vicar of
Llandovery (1569-1644). This was published in 1646. These works were not
written in the old metres peculiar to Wales, but in the free metres,
like those of English poetry. The former work is of the utmost
importance, as these Psalms were about the first metrical hymns in use.
They are often rugged and uncouth, but many of the verses--such as the
23rd Psalm--have a haunting melody of their own, which grips the mind
once and for ever. The second work, the first complete edition of which
was published in 1672, consisted of moral verses in the metres of the
old folk-songs (_Penillion Telyn_), and for nearly two centuries was the
"guide, philosopher and friend" of the common people. Many other poets
of the early part of this period wrote in these metres, such as Edward
Dafydd o Fargam (fl. 1640), Rowland Fychan, Morgan Llwyd o Wynedd and
William Phylip (d. 1669). Poetry in the free metres, however, was
generally very crude, until it was given a new dignity by the greatest
poet of the period, Huw Morus o Bont y Meibion (1622-1709). Most of his
earlier compositions, which are among his best, and which were
influenced to a great extent by the cavalier poetry of England, are love
poems, perfect marvels of felicitous ingenuity and sweetness. He fixed
the poetic canons of the free metres, and made what was before homely
and uncouth, courtly and dignified. He wrote a _cywydd marwnad_ to his
contemporary, Edward Morus o'r Perthi Llwydion (d. 1689), who was also a
poet of considerable merit. Most of his work is composed of "moral
pieces" and carols. Other poets of the period were Sion Dafydd Las
(1650-1691), who was among the last of the family bards, and Dafydd
Jones o Drefriw (fl. 1750). Towards the end of the period comes Lewys
Morys (1700-1765). His poetry alone does not seem to warrant his fame,
but he was the creator of a new period, the inspirer and the patron of
Goronwy Owen. According to the lights of the 18th century, he was, like
his brothers Richard and William, a scholar. His poetry, except a few
well-known pieces, will never be popular, because it does not conform to
modern canons of taste. His greatest merit is that he wrote the popular
poetry then in vogue with a scholar's elegance.
8. _The Revival, 1750-1830._--The two leading figures in this period are
Goronwy Owen (1722-1769) and William Williams, Pantycelyn (1717-1791).
Goronwy Owen wrote all his poetry in the _cynghanedd_, and his work gave
the old metres a new life. He raised them from the neglect into which
they had fallen, and caused them to be, till this day, the vehicle of
half the poetical thought of Wales. But he was in no way a
representative of his age; he, like Milton, sang among a crowd of
inferior poets themes quite detached from the life of his time, so that
he also, like his English brother, lacks "human interest." After Dafydd
ab Gwilym, he is the greatest poet who sang in the old metres, and the
influence of his correct and fastidious muse remains to this day.
William Williams, however, wrote in the free metres in a way that was
astoundingly fresh. It is not enough to say of him that he was a
hymnologist; he is much more, he is the national poet of Wales. He had
certainly the loftiest imagination of all the poets of five centuries,
and his influence on the Welsh people can be gauged by the fact that a
good deal of his idiom and dialect has fixed itself indelibly on modern
literary Welsh. Besides the hymns, he wrote a religious epic,
_Theomemphus_, which is to this day the national epic of evangelical
Wales. Even as Goronwy Owen is the father of modern Welsh poetry in the
old metres, so William Williams is the great fountain-head of the free
metres, because he set aflame the imagination of every poet that
succeeded him. With two such pioneers, it is natural that the rest of
this period should contain many great names. Thomas Edwards (Twm o'r
Nant) (1739-1810) has been called by an unwarrantably bold hyperbole,
"the Welsh Shakespeare." Most of his works are interludes and ballads,
and he used to be very popular with the common people; he is, to this
day, probably the oftenest quoted of all the Welsh poets. William Wynn,
rector of Llangynhafal (1704-1760), is the author of a "_Cywydd_ of the
Great Judgment," which bears comparison with Goronwy Owen's masterpiece.
Evan Evans (Ieuan Brydydd Hir) (1731-1789) was famous both as a poet and
as a scholar and antiquarian. Edward Rhisiart (1714-1777), the
schoolmaster of Ystradmeurig, was a scholar and a writer of pastorals in
the manner of Theocritus. Most of the other poets who flourished towards
the end of this period--Dafydd Ddu Eryri (1760-1822), Gwallter Mechain
(1761-1849), Robert ab Gwilym Ddu (1767-1850), Dafydd Ionawr
(1751-1827), Dewi Wyn o Eifion (1784-1841)--were brought into prominence
by the Eisteddfod, which began to increase in influence during this
period until it has become to-day the national festival. They all wrote
for the most part in _cynghanedd_, and the work of nearly all of them is
marked by correctness rather than by poetical inspiration.
9. _Prose after 1830._--In the preceding periods, we have seen that
Welsh prose, though abundant in quantity, had a very narrow range. Few
writers rose above theological controversy or moral treatises, and the
humaner side of literature was almost entirely neglected. In this
period, however, we find a prose literature that, with the exception of
scientific works, is as wide in its range as that of England, and all
departments are well and competently represented, though by but few
names. Dr Lewis Edwards (1809-1887) struck a new note when he began to
contribute his literary and theological essays to the periodicals, but,
though many have equalled and even surpassed him as theological
essayists, few, if any, of his followers have attempted the literary and
critical essays on which his fame as writer must mainly rest. Together
with Gwilym Hiraethog (1802-1883), the author of the inimitable
_Llythyrau Hen Ffarmwr_, he may be regarded as the pioneer of the new
literature. Samuel Roberts (1800-1885), generally known as S.R., wrote
numerous tracts and books on politics and economics, and as a political
thinker he was in many respects far in advance of his English
contemporaries. It was in this period, too, that Wales had her national
novelist, Daniel Owen (1836-1895). He was a novelist of the Dickens
school, and delighted like his great master "in writing mythology rather
than fiction." He has created a new literary atmosphere, in which the
characters of Puritanical and plebeian Wales move freely and without
restraint. He can never be eclipsed just as Sir Walter Scott cannot be
eclipsed, because the Wales which he describes is slowly passing away.
He has many worthy disciples, among whom Miss Winnie Parry is easily
first. Indeed, in her finer taste and greater firmness of touch, she
stands on a higher plane than even her great master. The inspiring
genius of the latter part of this period is Owen M. Edwards (b. 1858),
and, as a stylist, all writers of Welsh prose since Ellis Wynn have to
concede him the laurel. His little books of travel and history and
anecdote have created, or rather, are creating a new school of writers,
scrupulously and almost pedantically careful and correct, an ideal
which, on its philological side is the outcome of the scientific study
of the language as inaugurated by Sir John Rhys and Professor Morris
Jones. One of the earliest, if not the ablest writer of this "new Welsh"
was the independent and original Emrys ap Iwan (d. 1906), whose
_Homiliau_ was published in 1907.
10. _Poetry after 1820._--The origins of this period are really placed
in the last period. Its great characteristics are the development of the
lyric, and the influence of English and continental ideas. Just as the
_cywydd_ was among the older writers the favourite form of poetry, so
the lyric becomes now paramount, almost to the exclusion of other forms.
The first great name, after those already mentioned in the development
of this form of poetry, is that of Anne Griffiths (1776-1805). Her
poetry is exclusively composed of hymns, but to the English mind, the
word "hymn" is entirely inadequate to give any idea of the passion, the
mysticism and the rich symbolistic grace of her poems. She gave to the
Welsh lyric the depth and the rather melancholy intensity which has
always characterized it. Evan Evans (Ieuan Glan Geirionydd) (1795-1855)
was also a hymnologist, but he wrote many secular lyrics and
_awdlau_--among the former being the famous _Morfa Rhuddlan_. Ebenezer
Thomas (Eben Fardd) (1802-1863) was a famous _Eisteddfodwr_; his best
work is his _awdlau_, and no one will deny him the distinction of being
the master poet of the _awdl_ in the 19th century. Gwilym Cawrdaf
(1795-1848), also a writer of _awdlau_, has the gift of simple and
direct expression, well exemplified in _Hiraeth Cymro am ei wlad_.
Daniel Ddu (1792-1846) was a scholar who wrote some touching lyrics and
hymns. Gwilym Hiraethog (1802-1883) attempted an epic, _Emmanuel_, with
indifferent success. His shorter works and some of his _awdlau_ are of a
much higher order. Caledfryn (1801-1869) was a direct successor of Dewi
Wyn and the earlier writers of _awdlau_, but his _Drylliad y Rothsay
Castle_ is superior to anything which his master wrote. Similar in
genius, though not on quite as high a plane, were Nicander (1809-1874),
Cynddelw (1812-1875), Gwalchmai (1803-1897) and Tudno (1844-1895).
John Blackwell (Alun) (1797-1840) was a lyricist of the first order.
With Ieuan Glan Geirionydd, he is the pioneer of the secular lyric of
the 19th century. Succeeding to this group of lyricists, we have another
later group, Ceiriog (1832-1887), Talhaiarn (1810-1869) and Mynyddog
(1833-1877), who certainly had the advantage over their predecessors in
freshness, in vigour and in human interest, but they lacked the
scholastic training of the earlier group, and so their work is often
uneven, and cannot therefore be fairly compared with that of the earlier
poets. Ceiriog, of course, is the greater name of the three, and is to
Wales what Robert Burns was to Scotland, sharing with him his poetical
faults and merits. He is called the national poet of Wales, because he
was the first to sing of the land and the nation he knew, and he cast
the glamour of his genius over the life of the _gwerin_, the peasants of
Wales.
Somewhat higher flights were essayed by Gwilym Marles (1834-1879) and
Islwyn (1832-1878). Their poetry is Wordsworthian and mystical, and well
exemplifies the love of metaphysics and speculation which is growing in
Wales. Islwyn's _Y storm_, though uneven, is full of powerful passages,
and he was a master of blank verse. Of the remaining poets of the period
living in 1908, the most distinguished was the Rev. Elvet Lewis in the
older generation, and Eifion Wyn in the younger--both writers of lyrics.
Other lyrical poets of the first class are Gwylfa and Silyn Roberts. In
the old metres, two poets stand out prominent above all others--J.
Morris Jones and T. Gwynn Jones. The _Awdl i Famon_ of the former, and
the _Ymadawiad Arthur_ of the latter, gave reason to believe that Welsh
poetry was only entering on its golden period.
AUTHORITIES.--_General_.--T. Stephens, _Literature of the Kymry_
(London[2], 1876); L.C. Stern in _Die Kultur d. Gegenwart_, i. xi. 1
pp. 114-130; Gweirydd ap Rhys. _Hanes Llenyddiaeth Gymreig, 1300-1650_
(London, 1885); C. Ashton, _Hanes Llenyddiaeth Gymreig, 1651-1850_
(Liverpool, 1893); J. Loth, _Les Mabinogion_ (2 vols., Paris, 1889);
E. Anwyl, _Prolegomena to Welsh Poetry_ (London, 1905), also on the
Mabinogi in _Zeitschr. f. celt. Phil._ i. 277 ff.; I.B. John, _The
Mabinogion_ (London, 1901); T. Shankland, _Diwygwyr Cymru_, reprinted
from _Seren Gomer_ (1899); W.J. Gruffydd, _Foreign Influences on Welsh
Literature in the XIV. and XV. Centuries_, Guild of Welsh Graduates
(1908); Gwilym Lleyn, _Llyfryddiaeth y Cymry_ (Llanidloes, 1867);
Robert Williams, _Enwogion Cymru_ (Llandovery, 1852); Owen Jones,
_Cymru_ (2 vols., London, 1875); D.W. Nash, _History of the Battle of
Cattraeth_ (Tenby, 1861); _Encyclopaedia Cambrensis_ (10 vols.,[2]
1889-1896); C. Ashton, _Bywyd ac amserau yr Esgob Morgan_ (Treherbert,
1891); J. Foulkes, _J. Ceiriog Hughes, ei fywyd a'i waith_ (Liverpool,
1887); J.M. Jones, _Llenyddiaeth fy ngwlad_ (Holywell, 1893); H. Elvet
Lewis, _Sweet Singers of Wales_ (London, 1889); H.W. Lloyd, _Welsh
Books Printed Abroad in the XVI. and XVII. Centuries_ (London, 1881).
_Anthologies, Selected Prose and Verse, &c._--W.F. Skene, _The Four
Ancient Books of Wales_ (2 vols., Edinburgh, 1868); W. Owen (Pughe),
Iolo Morganwg and Owen Jones (Myfyr), _Myvyrian Archaiology of Wales_
(3 vols., London, 1801;[2] Denbigh, 1870, in 1 vol.); Dr John Davies
(o Fallwyd), _Flores Poetarum Britannicorum_ (Shrewsbury, 1710;
Swansea, 1814; reprinted London, 1864); Iolo Morganwg, _Iolo
Manuscripts_ (Llandovery, 1848); E. Evans, _Some Specimens of the
Poetry of the Antient Welsh Bards translated into English, &c._
(London, 1764); Hugh Jones, _Dewisol Ganiadau yr Oes Hon_ (Shrewsbury,
1759;[5] Merthyr, 1827), _Diddanwch Teuluaidd_ (London, 1763); David
Jones, _Blodeugerdd Cymry_ (Shrewsbury[2], 1779); Owen Jones, _Ceinion
Llenyddiaeth Gymreig_ (2 vols., London, 1876); W. Lewis Jones,
_Caniadau Cymru_ (Bangor[2], 1908); W. Jenkyn Thomas, _Penillion
Telyn_ (Carnarvon, 1894); Myrddin Fardd, _Cynfeirdd Lleyn_ (1905);
_Cyfres Lien Cymru_, vols. i.-vi. (Cardiff, 1900-1906); W.J. Gruffydd,
_Y Flodeugerdd Newydd_ (Cardiff, 1908); O.M. Edwards, _Beirdd y
Berwyn_ (Conway, 1903).
_Versification, &c_,--Dafydd Morganwg, _Yr Ysgol Farddol_ (Cardiff[3],
1887); Iolo Morganwg, _Cyfrinach Beirdd Ynys Prydain_ (Merthyr,
1829;[2] Carnarvon, 1874); _Simwnt Vychan and Dafydd Ddu Athraw,
Dosparth Edeyrn Davod Aur_, ed. by J. Williams ab Ithel (Llandovery,
1856); J. Morris Jones, "Welsh Versification," _Zeitschr.f. celt.
Phil._ iv. pp. 106-142.
_Collected Works, Editions and Reprints_,--J. Gwenogvryn Evans and
John Rhys, _Y Llyvyr Coch o Hergest_ (2 vols. Oxford, 1887-1890),
_Pedeir Kainc y Mabinogi_ (Oxford, 1897); J. Gwenogvryn Evans, _The
Black Book of Carmarthen_ (Oxford, 1907; also in facsimile, Oxford,
1888), _Llyvyr Job trans. by Dr Morgan, 1558_ (reprinted 1888), _Oll
Synwyr pen_ [Salesbury] (Bangor, 1902); J. Morris Jones and John Rhys,
_Llyvyr Agkyr Llandewivrevi_ (Oxford, 1894); Aneurin Owen, _Ancient
Laws and Institutes of Wales_ (2 vols., London, 1841), _Brut y
Tywysogion_ (London, 1863); J. Williams ab Ithel, _Gododin with Notes
and Translation_ (Llandovery, 1852); T. Stephens, _Gododin with Notes
and Translation_, ed. by T. Powel (London, 1888); R. Williams,
_Selections from the Hengwrt MSS._ (2 vols., London, 1876-1892); T.
Powel, _Ystorya de Carolo Magno_ (London, 1883); _Psalmau Dafydd
trans. by W. Morgan_ (facsimile, 1896); Owen Jones (Myfyr) and W. Owen
(Pughe), _Barddoniaeth Dafydd ab Gwilym_ (London, 1789); Walter Davies
and J. Jones, _Poetical Works of Lewis Glyn Cothi_ (1837); Prince
Louis Bonaparte, _Athrawaeth Gristnogavl by Morys Clynoc_ (facsimile
London, 1880); Walter Davies, _Caniadau Huw Morus_ (2 vols., 1823);
_Psalmau Dafydd gan W. Middleton_ (Llanfair, 1827); J. Morris Jones,
_Gweledugaethai y Bardd cwsg gan Elis Wynne_ (Bangor, 1898); R. Jones,
_The Poetical Works of Goronwy Owen_ (2 vols. London, 1876); W.J.
Gruffydd, _Cywyddau Goronwy Owen_ (Newport, 1906); T.E. Ellis,
_Gweithiau Morgan Llwyd_ (Bangor, 1899); J.H. Davies, _Yn y Llyvyr
hwn_ (Bangor, 1902); S.J. Evans, _Drych y Prif Oesoedd gan Th. Evans_
(Bangor, 1902); W.P. Williams, _Deffyniad Ffydd Eglwys Loegr gan Morys
Kyffin_ (Bangor, 1908); N. Cynhafal Jones, _Gweithiau W. Williams
Pantycelyn_ (2 vols., 1887-1891); O.M. Edwards, _Gweithiau Islwyn_
(1897). (W. J. G.)
V. BRETON LITERATURE.--Unlike the literature of Wales, the literature of
Brittany is destitute of originality, and we find nothing to compare
with the _Mabinogion_. Till the 19th century all the monuments which
have come down to us are copies of French models, though the retention
down to the 17th century of that intricate system of versification found
in Welsh and Cornish may indicate that what was really Breton in spirit
has not been preserved (v. J. Loth, _La Metrique galloise_, ii.
177-203). It is usual to divide the literature into three periods in
conformity with the language in which the monuments are written--Old,
Middle, and Modern Breton. No connected monuments of the first period
(8th to 11th centuries) have come down to us. For our knowledge of the
language of this period we must have recourse to the manuscripts
containing glosses and the names occurring in ancient documents. The
chief collections of glosses are (1) the Oxford glosses on Eutychius;
(2) the Luxemburg glosses; (3) the Bern glosses on Virgil; (4) the
glosses on Amalarius (Corpus Christi, Cambridge); (5) five _Collationes
Canonum_, the chief manuscripts being at Paris and Orleans. All these
glosses have been published in one volume by J. Loth (_Vocabulaire
Vieux-Breton_, Paris, 1884). From a linguistic point of view the Breton
names in the Latin lives of saints are very important, particularly
those of St Samson, St Paul, Aurelian, St Winwaloe, St Ninnoc, St Gildas
and St Brieuc. Of even greater value are the names in the Charter of
Redon, which was written in the 11th century, but dates largely from the
9th (published by A. de Courson, 1865); we may also mention the Charter
of Landevennec (11th century). In the Middle Breton period, which
extends from the 11th to the 17th centuries, we are obliged, down to the
15th century, to rely on official documents such as the Charter of
Quimperle. French seems to have been the language of the aristocracy and
the medium of culture. Hence the oldest connected texts are either
translated or imitated from French, and are full of French words. We
might mention a Book of Hours belonging to the 16th century, published
by Whitley Stokes, and three religious poems bound up with the _Grand
Mystere de Jesus_; further, the _Life of St Catherine_ (1576) in prose
(published by Ernault, _Revue celtique_, viii. 76), translated from the
_Golden Legend_, the _Mirror of Death_, containing 3360 verses, which
was composed in 1519 and printed in 1576, the _Mirror of Confession_, a
translation from the French in prose (1621), the _Christian Doctrine_, a
translation in verse (1622), a collection of carols (_An Nouelou
ancien_, 1650, _Rev. celt._ vols. x.-xiii.) and the _Christian
Meditations_ of J. Cadec, 1651 (_Rev. Celt._ xx. 56). The earliest
Breton printed work is the _Catholicon_ of Jean Lagadeuc, a
Breton-Latin-French dictionary, dated 1464 but printed first in 1499
(reprinted by R.F. Le Men, Lorient, 1867). Modern Breton begins with the
orthographical reforms of the Jesuit, Julien Maunoir, whose grammar (_Le
Sacre College de Jesus_) and dictionary appeared in 1659. Throughout the
modern period we find numerous collections of religious poems and
manuals of devotion in prose and verse, which we cannot here attempt to
enumerate. But the bulk of Breton literature before the 19th century
consists of mysteries and miracle plays. This class of literature had a
tremendous vogue in Brittany, and the native stage was only killed about
1850. It is stated, for instance, that no less than 15,000 copies were
sold of the _Tragedy of the Four Sons of Aymon_, first published in
1815. It is impossible to give the titles of all the dramas which have
come down to us (about 120). The manuscript collection of the
Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris is described in the _Revue celtique_,
xi. 389-423 (many since published) and Le Braz gives a useful list of
other manuscripts in the bibliographical appendix to his _Theatre
celtique_. A few of these plays belong to the Middle Breton period. The
_Life of St Nonn_, the mother of St David, belongs to the end of the
15th century, and follows the Latin life (published by Ernault in the
_Revue celtique_, viii. 230 ff., 405 ff.). _Le Grand Mystere de Jesus_
(1513) follows the French play of Arnoul Gresban and Jean Michel
(published by H. de la Villemarque, Paris, 1865). A French original is
also followed in the _Mystere de Sainte Barbe_ (1st ed., 1557, 2nd ed.,
1647, reprinted by Ernault, Nantes, 1885). These mystery plays may be
divided into four categories according to the subjects with which they
deal: (1) Old Testament subjects; (2) New Testament subjects; (3) lives
of saints; (4) romances of chivalry. There is occasionally a dash of
local colouring in these plays; but the subject matter is taken from
French sources or, in the case of the third category, from Latin lives.
Even when the life of a Breton saint, e.g. St Gwennole, is dramatized,
the treatment is the traditional one accorded to all saints of whatever
origin. Amongst the most favourite subjects in addition to those already
mentioned we may note the following: _Vie des quatre fils Aymon_, _Ste
Tryphine et le roi Arthur_, _Huon de Bordeaux_, _Vie de Louis Eunius_,
_Robert le Diable_. These mysteries commonly contain from 5000 to 9000
lines of either 12 or 8 syllables apiece. For the sake of completeness
we may add the names of three farces, described by Le Braz: _Ar Farvel
goapaer_ (_Le bouffon moqueur_), _Ian Melarge_ (_Mardi-gras_), _La Vie
de Mardi-gras, de triste Mine, sa femme, et de ses enfants_. The actors,
who were always peasants, came to be regarded with an unfavourable eye
by the clergy, who finally succeeded in killing the Breton stage.
We look in vain for any manifestation of originality in Breton
literature until we reach the 19th century. The consciousness of
nationality then awakened and found expression in verse.
The movement led by Le Gonidec (described above in the section on Breton
language) caused ardent patriots to endeavour to create a national
literature, more especially when the attention of the whole world of
letters was directed to Brittany after the publication of the _Barzas
Breiz_. The most prominent of these pioneers were Auguste Brizeux, F.M.
Luzel and Prosper Proux. Brizeux (1803-1858), better known as a French
poet, wrote a collection of lyrics entitled _Telen Arvor_, or the
_Armorican Harp_ (Lorient, 1844, reprinted Paris, 1903). Luzel's
original compositions were published under the title of _Bepred Breizad,
Toujours Breton_ (Morlaix, 1865), and Prosper Proux is known as the
author of _Canaouenno gret gant eur C'hernewod_ (1838) and _Ar Bombard
Kerne_, or _The Hautboy of Cornouailles_ (Guingamp, 1866). Dottin also
mentions _Telenn Remengol_, by J. Lescour (Brest, 1867); _Telenn
Gwengam_, by the same writer (Brest, 1869), a volume of _Chansoniou_ by
Y.M. Thomas (Lannion, 1870), and another by C. Rannou. This was a very
creditable beginning, but the themes of these writers are apt to be
somewhat conventional and the constant recurrence of the same situation
or the same idea grows monotonous. An anthology of poems connected with
this movement appeared at Quimperle in 1862 under the title of _Bleuniou
Breiz, Poesies anciennes et modernes de la Basse-Bretagne_ (reprinted,
Paris, 1905). Several of La Fontaine's fables were published in a Breton
dress by P.D. de Goesbriand (Morlaix, 1836), and a collection of fables
in verse which is thought very highly of by cultivated Bretons appeared
under the title of _Marvaillou Grac'h koz_ by G. Milin (Brest, 1867). A
book of Georgics in the dialect of Vannes appeared under the title of
_Levr al labourer_ (The Farmer's Book) by l'Abbe Guillome (Vannes,
1849), and Le Gonidec prepared a translation of the Scriptures, which
was revised by Troude and Milin, and published at St Brieuc in 1868. But
the real literature of Brittany consists of legends, folk-tales and
ballads. The first to tap this source was Hersart de la Villemarque
(1815-1895), who issued in 1839 his famous collection of ballads
entitled _Barzas Breiz_, but which cannot be regarded as an anthology of
Breton popular poetry. The publication of this work gave rise to a
controversy which is almost as famous as that caused by Macpherson's
forgeries. De la Villemarque was endowed with considerable poetic gifts,
and, coming as he did at a time when folk-poetry was the fashion, he
determined to collect the popular literature of his own country.
However, he was not content to publish the poems as he found them
circulating in Brittany. With the aid of several collaborators he
transformed his material, eliminating anything that was crude and gross.
The poems included in his collection may be divided into three classes:
(1) Poems rearranged by himself or others. These consist mainly of
love-songs and ballads. (2) Modern poems transferred to medieval times.
(3) Spurious poems dealing with such personages as Nominoe and Merlin.
The compiler of the _Barzas Breiz_ unfortunately laboured under the
delusion that these Breton folk-songs were in the first instance the
work of medieval bards corresponding to Taliessin and Llywarch Hen in
Wales, and that it was possible to make them appear in their primitive
dress. The very title of the collection indicates the artificial nature
of the contents. For _Barzas_ (in the 2nd edition of 1867 spelt
_Barzaz_) is not a Breton word at all but is formed on Welsh _barddas_
(bardic poems). For the whole controversy the reader may consult H.
Gaidoz and P. Sebillot, "Bibliographie des traditions et de la
litterature populaire de la Bretagne" (_Revue celtique_, v. 277 ff., and
G. Dottin in the _Revue de synthese historique_, viii. 95 ff.). In
Brittany it is usual to divide the popular poetry into _gwerziou_ and
_soniou_. The _gwerziou_ (complaintes) deal with local history,
folk-lore, religious legends and superstitions, and are in general much
more original than the other class. The _soniou_ consist of love-songs,
satires, carols and marriage-lays, as well as others dealing with
professional occupations, and seem in many cases to show traces of
French influence. The first scholar who published the genuine ballad
literature of Brittany was F.M. Luzel, who issued two volumes under the
title of _Gwerziou Breiz-Izel, chants populaires de la Basse-Bretagne_
(Lorient and Paris, 1868, 1874). This collection contains several of the
originals of poems in the _Barzas Breiz_. Luzel is also the author of a
collection of Breton tales in French translation, _Contes bretons
recueillis et traduits par F.M. Luzel_ (Quimperle, 1870). The same
author published _Les Legendes chretiennes de la Basse-Bretagne_ (Paris,
1881) and _Veillees bretonnes, moeurs, chants, contes et recits
populaires des Bretons-Armoricains_ (Morlaix, 1879). Another
indefatigable collector of Breton legends is Anatole le Braz, who was
commissioned by the minister of public instruction to investigate the
stories current with reference to _An Ankou_ (death). Le Braz's results
are to be found in his _La Legende de la mort_ (1902[2]). A well-known
collection of stories with a French translation was issued by the
lexicographer Troude under the title of _Ar marvailler brezounek_
(Brest, 1870), and one of the most popular books at the present day is
_Pipi Gonto_, by A. le Moal (St Brieuc, vol. i. 1902, vol. ii. 1908). A
recent collection of stories with a religious tendency is C.M. le Prat's
_Marvailhou ar Vretoned_ (Brest, 1907). The modern movement, which
started in the 'nineties of last century, has already produced numerous
dramas and volumes of lyrics, and it may now be affirmed in all
seriousness that Brittany is producing something really national. The
scope of the writers of the earlier movement was very limited and little
originality was displayed in their productions. The literary output of
the last ten years in Brittany may truly be termed prodigious, and much
of it reaches quite a high level. The dramas which are being produced
are mainly propagandist in the interests either of the _Union
Regionaliste Bretonne_ or of temperance reform. These are for the most
part very crude, but they have been received with great enthusiasm, and
this has led to the revival of the old mysteries, though in a somewhat
modified form. The foremost living writer is Fanch Jaffrennou, who
writes under the name of "_Taldir_" (Brow of Steel) and is the author of
two very striking volumes of lyrics--_An Hirvoudou_ or _Sighs_ (St
Brieuc, 1899) and _An Delen Dir_ or _The Harp of Steel_ (St Brieuc,
1900). The latter is the most interesting outcome of the modern
movement. Among other poets we may mention N. Quellien (_Annaik_, Paris,
1880; _Breiz, Poesies bretonnes_, Paris, 1898), Erwan Berthou (_Dre an
Delen hag ar c'horn-boud, Par la harpe et par le cor de guerre_, St
Brieuc, 1904), C.M. le Prat, who writes under the name of Klaoda (_Mouez
Reier Plougastel_, "The Voice of the Cliffs of Plougastel," St Brieuc,
1905), J. Cuillandre (_Mouez an Aochou, La Voix des greves_, Rennes,
1903), abbe Lec'hvien, _Gwerziou ha soniou_ (St Brieuc, 1900), and,
further, two anonymous volumes of verse, _An Tremener, Gwerziou ha
soniou_ (Brest, 1900), and _Kanaouennou Kerne_ (Brest, 1900). Two older
collections are mentioned by Dottin--J. Cadiou, _En Breiz-Izel_
(Morlaix, 1885) and _Ivona_ (Morlaix, 1886). An anthology of latter-day
lyrics appeared at Rennes in 1902 under the title of _Bleuniou
Breiz-Izel, Dibab Barzoniezou_. Of the numerous plays those most
deserving of mention from a literary point of view are perhaps _Ar
Vezventi_ by T. le Garrec; the comedy _Alanik al Louarn_ by J.M. Perrot
(Brest, 1905) based on the farce of Pathelin; Tanguy Malmanche, _Le
Conte de l'ame qui a faim_, in which Breton superstitions connected with
the spirits of the dead are introduced with strange effect; J. le Bayon,
_En Eutru Keriolet_ (Vannes, 1902), which deals with the life and death
of a blaspheming Breton nobleman of the early part of the 17th century;
F. Jaffrennou, _Pontkallek_ (Brest, 1903), which tells of the betrayal
of a noble Breton who was put to death by the French in 1720; and the
farce _Eur Pesk-Ebrel_ by L. Rennadis (Morlaix, 1900).
AUTHORITIES.--A history of Breton literature does not exist, though we
possess ample materials for such a work. The following works and
articles may be consulted: G. Dottin. _Revue de synthese historique_,
viii, 93-104, contains a full bibliography; J. Loth, _Chrestomathie
bretonne_ (Paris, 1890); L.C. Stern in _Die Kultur d. Gegenwart_, i.
xi. 1, pp. 132-137; A. le Braz, _Le Theatre celtique_ (Paris, 1904);
H. Gaidoz and P. Sebillot, "Bibliographie des traditions et de la
litterature populaire de la Bretagne" (_Revue celtique_, v. 277-338;
supplement by P. Sebillot_, Revue de Bretagne, de Vendee, et d'Anjou_,
1894); F.M. Luzel, "Formules initiates et finales des conteurs en
Basse-Bretagne" (_Revue celtique_, iii. 336 ff.); L.F. Sauve,
"Formulettes et traditions diverses de la Basse-Bretagne" (_Revue
celtique_, v. 157 ff.); _Charmes_, "Oraisons et conjurations
magiques," ib vi. 66 ff.; "Devinettes bretonnes," _ib._ iv 60 ff.;
"Proverbes et dictons de la Basse-Bretagne," _ib._ i-iii. For Breton
proverbs see also A. Brizeux, "Furnez Breiz," in _Oeuvres de A.
Brizeux_ (Paris, 1903); J. Loth, "Chansons en bas-vannetais" (_Revue
celtique_, vii. 171 ff.); N. Quellien, _Chansons et danses des
Bretons_ (Paris, 1889); E. Ernault, "Chansons populaires" (_Revue
celtique_, xxiii. 121 ff.); P. le Roux, "Une Chanson bretonne du
xviii^e siecle" (_Revue celtique_, xix. 1). Since 1901 a complete
bibliography of modern works pertaining to Breton language and
literature appears from time to time in the _Annales de Bretagne._
(E. C. Q.)
VI. CORNISH LITERATURE.--The literature of Cornwall is more destitute of
originality and more limited in scope than that of Brittany, and it is
remarkable that the medieval drama should occupy the most prominent
place in both. The earliest Cornish we know consists of proper names and
a vocabulary. About 200 Cornish names occur among the manumissions of
serfs in the Bodmin Gospels (10th century). They were printed by Whitley
Stokes in the _Revue celtique_, i. 232. Next comes the Cottonian
Vocabulary, which seems to follow a similar Anglo-Saxon collection and
is contained in a 12th-century MS. at the British Museum. It consists of
seven pages and the words are classified under various headings, such as
heaven and earth, different parts of the human body, birds, beasts,
fishes, trees, herbs, ecclesiastical and liturgical terms. At the end we
find a number of adjectives. This vocabulary was printed by Zeuss[2], p.
1065, and again in alphabetical order by Norris in the _Ordinalia_. The
language of this document is termed Old Cornish, although the forms it
contains correspond to those of Mid. Welsh and Mid. Breton.
The first piece of connected Cornish which we know consists of a poem,
or portion of a play(?), of forty-one lines discovered by Jenner in the
British Museum. This fragment was probably written about 1400 and deals
with the subject of marriage (edited by W. Stokes in the _Revue
celtique_, iv. 258). A little later is the _Poem of Mount Calvary_ or
_the Passion_, of which five MSS. are in existence. The poem has been
twice printed, first by Davies Gilbert with English translation by John
Keigwin (1826), and again by W. Stokes for the London Philological
Society in 1862. It consists of 259 stanzas of eight lines of seven
syllables apiece, and contains a versified narrative of the events of
the Passion made up from the Gospels and apocryphal sources, notably the
Gospel of Nicodemus. But the bulk of Cornish literature is made up of
plays, and in this connexion it may be noted that there still exist in
the west of Cornwall the remains of a number of open-air amphitheatres,
locally called _plan an guari_, where the plays seem to have been acted.
The earliest representatives of this kind of literature in Cornwall form
a trilogy going under the name of _Ordinalia_, of which three MSS. are
known, one a 15th-century Oxford MS. from which the two others are
copied. The _Ordinalia_ were published by Edwin Norris under the title
of _The Ancient Cornish Drama_ (Oxford, 1859). The first play is called
_Origo Mundi_ and deals with events from the Old Testament down to the
building of Solomon's temple. The second play, the _Passio Domini_, goes
on without interruption into the third, the _Resurrectio Domini_, which
embraces the Harrowing of Hell, the Resurrection and Ascension, the
legend of St Veronica and Tiberius, and the death of Pilate. Here again
the pseudo-Gospel of Nicodemus is drawn upon, and interwoven with the
Scriptural narrative we find the Legend of the Cross. As the title
_Ordinalia_ indicates, these plays are of learned origin and are
imitated from English sources. The popular name for these dramas,
_quari-mirkle_, is a literal translation of the English term miracle
play, and Norris shows that whole passages were translated word for
word. Many of the events are represented as having taken place in
well-known Cornish localities, but apart from this scarcely any traces
of originality can be discovered. The same remark holds good in the case
of another play, _Beunans Meriasek_ or the _Life of St Meriasek._ This
deals in an incoherent manner with the life and death of Meriasek (in
Breton _Meriadek_), the son of a duke of Brittany, and interwoven with
this theme is the legend of St Silvester and the emperor Constantine,
quite regardless of the circumstance that St Silvester lived in the 4th
and St Meriasek in the 7th century. The MS. of this play was written by
"Dominus Hadton" in the year 1504, and is preserved in the Peniarth
library. The language is more recent than that of the _Ordinalia_, and
there is a certain admixture of English. The _Life of St Meriasek_ falls
into two parts, and at the end of each the spectators are invited to
carouse. St Meriasek was in earlier times the patron saint of Camborne,
where his fountain is still to be seen and pilgrims to it were known by
the name of _Merra-sickers._ In this play, consequently, we might expect
to find something really Cornish. But le Braz has shown that the author
of this motley drama was content to draw his materials from Latin and
English lives of saints. The story of Meriasek himself was taken from a
Breton source and closely resembles the narrative of the 17th-century
Breton hagiographer, Albert le Grand. The last play we have to mention
is _Gwreans an Bys_ (The Creation of the World), of which five complete
copies are known. Two of these are in the Bodleian and one in the
British Museum, which also possesses a further fragment. The oldest text
was revised by William Jordan of Helston in 1611, but there are
indications that parts of it at any rate are older than the Reformation.
This play bears a great resemblance to the first part of the _Origo
Mundi_, and may have been imitated from it. It was printed first by
Davies Gilbert in 1827 with a translation by John Keigwin, and again by
W. Stokes in the _Transactions of the London Philological Society_ for
1864. The language shows considerable signs of decay, and Lucifer and
his angels are often made to speak English. The only other original
compositions of any length written in Cornish are _Nebbaz Gerriau dro
tho Carnoack_ (A Few Words about Cornish), by John Boson (printed in the
_Journal of the Royal Institution of Cornwall_, 1879), and the _Story of
John of Chy-an-Hur_ (Ram's House), a folk-tale which appears in Ireland
and elsewhere. The latter was printed in Lhuyd's _Grammar_ and in
Pryce's _Archaeologia_. Andrew Borde's _Booke of the Introduction of
Knowledge_ (1542) contains some Cornish conversations (see _Archiv f.
celt. Lexikographie_, vol. i.), and in Carew's _Survey of Cornwall_ a
number of words and phrases are to be found. Apart from the Cornish
preface to Lhuyd's _Grammar_, the other remains of the language consist
of a few songs, verses, proverbs, epigrams, epitaphs, maxims, letters,
conversations, mottoes and translations of chapters and passages of
Scripture, the Lord's Prayer, the Creed, the Commandments, King
Charles's Letter, &c. These fragments are to be found (1) in the Gwavas
MS. in the British Museum, a collection ranging in date from 1709 to
1736; (2) in the Borlase MS. (1750); (3) in Pryce's _Archaeologia
Cornu-Britannica_ (1790); (4) in D. Gilbert's editions of the _Poem of
the Passion_ (1826) and the Creation of the World (1827). They are
enumerated, classified and described by Jenner in his _Handbook._
AUTHORITIES.--H. Jenner, _Handbook of the Cornish Language_ (London,
1904); A. le Braz, _Le Theatre celtique_ (Paris, 1905); E. Norris,
_The Ancient Cornish Drama_ (2 vols., Oxford, 1859); T.C. Peter, _The
Old Cornish Drama_ (London, 1906); L.C. Stern, _Die Kultur d.
Gegenwart_, i. xi. 1, pp. 131-132. (E. C. Q.)