THE
LITERATURE OF THE KYMRY
LOSDOS : PRINTED BY
SPOTTI8WOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE AND PARLIAMENT STREET
THOMAS STEPHENS.
FROM A BUST BY J. EDWARDS.
All right* reserved.
THOMAS STEPHENS.
THE
LITERATURE OF THE KYMRY:
BEING A CRITICAL ESSAY ON THE HISTORY OF THE
LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE OF WALES
DURING THE TWELFTH AND TWO SUCCEEDING CENTURIES;
CONTAINING NUMEROUS SPECIMENS OF ANCIENT WELSH POETRY IN THE ORIGINAL AND ACCOMPANIED WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS.
BY
THOMAS STEPHENS.
SECOND EDITION,
EDITED, WITH THE AUTHOR'S ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS, BY
THE REV. D. SILVAN EVANS, B.D.
WITH A LIFE OF THE A UTHOR BY
B. T. WILLIAMS, ESQ., Q.C.
LONDON : LONGMANS, GEE EN, AND CO.
1876.
AU rights resfrv<-J,
PB
5? '1*76
[DEDICATION OF THE FIUST KDITION, 1849.]
TO HIS KOYAL HIGHNESS
ALBEET EDWAED, PEINCE OF WALES,
IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED,
BY PERMISSION OF HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN,
THE FOLLOWING RECORD OF LITERARY AND INTELLECTUAL LABOURS
AMONG THE
Ancient anfc 3[Hujftriou£ Ulace
WHOSE REPRESENTATIVE HE IS,
IN THE HOPE THAT WHEN FUTURE YEARS HAVE EXTENDED HIS EXPERIENCE
AND RIPENED HIS JUDGMENT, HE MAY FEEL A REGARD FOR THE INHABITANTS OF
AS STRONG AS IS THEIR AFFECTION FOR THE HEIR APPARENT TO THE THRONE OF BRITAIN.
EDITOE'S PREFACE.
THE AUTHOR of the following work had for some years been collecting materials for a new and improved edition ; but owing to declining health, and a pressure of other engage- ments, he had, at the time of his death, been able to accom- plish but a portion of the improvements which he had con- templated.
It was his intention to re-write the part relating to the alleged discovery of America, by Prince Madog ab Owain Gwynedd in the twelfth century, his opinion, after further investigation, having undergone a considerable change on that subject ; to treat of the Triads at greater length, in order to ascertain their true historical value ; and to devote a section to the unravelling of the fable of Hu Gadarn. He would probably have also modified some of the statements respecting the poems attributed to the early Bards in accordance with the views which he put forth in a series of articles contributed to the ' Archseologia Cambrensis,' subse- quent to the appearance of the ' Literature of the Kymry.'
With the exception of some verbal corrections, and a few unimportant foot-notes, which are distinguishable from
EDITORS PREFACE.
the others, the additions to the volume are all from the papers of the Author, and in his own words, it being the desire of his representatives, as well as of the Editor, that the work should, in the present issue, express no other senti- ments or opinions than those of him whose name it bears.
D. SILVAN EVANS.
January 1, 1876.
PREFACE.
ON THE MAP OF BRITAIN, facing St. George's Channel, is a group of counties called Wales, inhabited by a people distinct from, and but very imperfectly understood by, those who surround them. Their neighbours call them Welsh- men. Welsh, or Walsch, is not a proper name, but a Teutonic term signifying " strangers," and was applied to all persons who were not of that family ; but the proper name of these people is " Kymry." They are the last remnant of the Kimmerioi of Homer, arid of the Kymry (Cimbri) of Germany, that great people whose arms struck terror into the Eoinan legions, and whose virtues Tacitus held up for the imitation of his countrymen. From the Cimbric Chersonesus (Jutland) a portion of these landed on the shores of North- umberland, gave their name to the county of Cw/wforland, and in process of time followed the sea-side to their present resting-place, where they still call themselves Kymry, and give their country a similar name. Their history, clear, concise, and authentic, ascends to a high antiquity ; their language was embodied in verse long before the languages now spoken rose into notice ; and their literature, cultivated and abundant, lays claim to being the most ancient in modern Europe.
PREFACE.
In the history of Cambrian literature there are four marked periods. Of these the first relates to the fortunes of the Strath clyde Kymry, the wars of the Ottadini in the North of England in the sixth century, and the subsequent emigration of that people to North Wales ; the second is embraced between the years 1080 and 1350 ; the third, thence to the first half of the seventeenth century ; and the fourth from 1650 to the present time. The following Essay treats of the second period, and is the work to which the Yen. Archdeacon Williams awarded the Prize offered by His Eoyal Highness the Prince of Wales at the Abergavenny Eisteddvod of 1848. It has been since considerably en- larged, and through the liberality of Sir John Guest, Bart., M.P., is now made public. It embraces a term of years among the most stirring in the history of man ; for in the greatness of the aims, the vastness of the achievements, and the prevalence of profound excitement it can only be com- pared to the age of the Eeformation or the late European war. Activity prevailed everywhere, and was as apparent in literature, philosophy, and theology as it was in warfare. It is during such an era of general movement that we have to treat of the literature of Wales ; and it will be found, on examination, that the Kymry need not shrink from a com- parison with any contemporaneous people.
The Essay, it will be observed, embraces a variety of subjects, and surveys all the manifestations of the Cambrian intellect. My object was to give a complete account of the mental labours of the Kymry of these centuries ; and to this end Poetry, Music, History, the Triads, and the Mabino- gion have been made subsidiary. In order to embrace this variety of topics, I found it necessary to divide the history
PREFACE.
of the Poetry into four periods, and preferred arranging the special dissertations in groups around the fixed points thus obtained to interrupting a continuous narrative by such a number of lengthy episodes. By this arrangement we gain in variety what is lost in symmetry ; and as the episodical sections are the most original in the book, it is to be hoped that the defect they have caused in the plan may be the more readily pardoned. A rational account is now given of the poems so long erroneously attributed to Taliesin and Merddin ; an attempt is here made to develope the pregnant meaning of " Hud a Lledrith ; " and the old stories of the massacre of the bards, with the burning of the books by the often execrated Ysgolan, have been thoroughly sifted with a view to their final settlement.
My own predilections were strongly in favour of taking an enlarged view of the literature of the centuries embraced between the ages of Meilir and Gwilym Ddu, and I have been strengthened in that desire by a conviction that this ought to be an Essay more particularly directed to English readers. This is the way in which the Kymry can best serve their country, as the preponderance of England is so great, that the only hope of obtaining attention to the just claims of the Principality is by appealing to the convictions and sympathies of the reading part of the English popula- tion. It is full time for some of us to do this ; and there- fore it was my aim so to shape the Essay that, if successful, it might be published, and its contents made known to the English people, that they might no longer be ignorant of our real literary worth. This is a knowledge of which our neighbours are deficient, and one which we feel confident will surely produce an effect most favourable to the inha-
xii PREFACE.
bitants of the Principality. Past experience justifies this anticipation ; for Sharon Turner was not slow to exhibit his appreciation of our poetic remains ; and Eobert Southey, the late Poet Laureate, lent us a willing ear. Leigh Hunt, a veteran in literature, exhibits the same kind regard in these
lines :
I used to think of thee and thine As one of an old faded line, Living in his hills apart, Whose pride I knew, but not his heart ; But now that I have seen thy face, Thy fields, and ever youthful race, And women's lips of rosiest word, (So rich they open), and have heard The harp still leaping in thy halls, Quenchless as the waterfalls, I know thee full of pride, as strong As the sea's most ancient song, And of a sympathy as wide.
And it would be ingratitude not to acknowledge our obliga- tions to the poet Gray and to Mrs. Hemans. These examples teach us that we have but to make known the richness of our ancient literature to earn a favourable estimate of our- selves ; and I, for one, will no longer bear the too just reproach that we are continually boasting of literary wealth which we never produce for the public inspection in an intelligible form ; for how can we reasonably expect our neighbours to appreciate our literature until they are made acquainted with it in a form which they can understand ? But, while I exhort my countrymen to additional exertions, it is not to be inferred that they have hitherto made no efforts to diffuse a knowledge of their ancient literature. Llwyd's account of our ancient MSS. was pulished in 1707 ; and in 1764 Dodsley, under the designation Dissertatio de
PREFACE. xiii
Bardis, published several specimens of ancient Kymric poetry, with translations, undertaken by the Kev. Evan Evans, at the suggestion of Bishop Percy. Mr. Lewis Morris had frequent correspondence on the subject with Mr. Thomas Carte and Dr. Samuel Pegge ; Sir Walter Scott was on intimate terms with Mr. William Owen, afterwards Dr. W. 0. Pughe, and has included in the notes to several of his poems extracts from Kymric documents, furnished by the Cambrian lexicographer ; and Mr. Hooper, Pall Mall East, in 1834, published a small volume of translations by Arthur James Johnes, Esq., of the Poems of Davydd ab Gwilym.
I have not thought it necessary to offer any vindication of the antiquity of the Cambrian Poems ; a large portion of the originals are lodged in the British Museum, and may be seen on enquiry. Such specimens as are here given are accompanied by the originals ; and the translation being line for line, the reader may easily test my fidelity. The Cambrian names of persons and places have been ren- dered in English equivalents ; the English v has been substituted for the Kymric /; and where there was any probability of the c being pronounced soft its place has been supplied by the letter k : in all cases I have not hesitated to alter the symbols, in order to preserve the proper sounds.
Throughout the volume I have been more solicitous to inform than to instruct, to state facts than to advance speculations, to allow our ancient remains to make their own impression than to make out a case for them, and to supply the reader with materials wherewith to frame his own opinions than to furnish him with thoughts ready
xiv PREFACE.
made. Of such a work the specimens must of necessity form a most important part ; in adhering as closely as pos- sible to the originals, I have been in most cases compelled to give unrhyrned translations ; but where metrical versions, such as those of Mrs. Llewelyn, which were kindly placed at my disposal, were also distinguished for fidelity, they have been given in preference. In my own translations I have derived much valuable assistance from the Dictionary of Dr. Pughe, the translations of the Rev. Evan Evans, and the paraphrases of the Eev. Thomas Price. I am also under considerable obligations to the works of the Eev. Edward Davies and the Eev. Walter Davies. Many errors may naturally be expected to have crept into the pages of one whose life has been spent within the shadows of his native mountains, and whose scanty information has been, as chance directed, picked up on the outskirts of the empire of intelligence. For the correction of many of these I am much indebted to Lady Charlotte Guest, whose suggestions, as well as those of Mr. Eees, the publisher, offered while the sheets were passing through the press, have been grate- fully received and generally adopted.
MEKTHYR TYDVIL \ July 2, 1849.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
THE LIFE OF THOMAS STEPHENS . * , xix
CHAPTER I.
SECTION I.
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CAMBRIAN LITERATURE PRIOR TO THE
TWELFTH CENTURY. Aneurin, Taliesin, Llywarch, Merddin, Golyddan, Cadwaladr, and Howel the
Good , 1
SECTION II, HISTORY OF POETRY FROM A.D. 1080 TO A.D. 1194.
Meilir, Grwalchmai, Owain Kyveiliog, Hywel ab Owain, Periv ab Kedivor,
Einion ab Grwalchinai, Llywarch Llaety . 10
SECTION III.
WELSH MUSIC*
Gruffydd ab Kynan — Irish Teachers — Bagpipes 55
SECTION IV,
INCIPIENT DRAMA.
Hud a Lledrith— Poetical Dialogues— A Miracle Play 69
CHAPTER IT.
SECTION I. BARDS AND BARDISM.
The Bards, theii* Social Position, Sincerity, Numbers, Morals, Distinctions,
Learning, and Patriotism — Messengers of Peace . . . . . .84
a
xvi CONTENTS.
SECTION II. POETKY FROM A.D. 1194 TO A.D. 1240.
PAGE
Kynddelw, Llywarch ab Llywelyn, Prince Madoc, Einion ab Gwgan, Davydd Benvras, Elidir Sais, Phylip Brydydd, Gwynvardd Brycheiniog — Other Bards 118
SECTION III. MYTHOLOGICAL POEMS, USUALLY ATTRIBUTED TO TALIESIN.
Belong to the Twelfth and Succeeding Centuries— Kesemble the Arabian Nights
— Are Metrical Eomances — Bardic Philosophy .167
SECTION IV. POEMS FICTITIOUSLY ATTRIBUTED TO MERDDIN AND OTHERS.
Identity of Merddin Emrys and Merddin ab Morvryn — Kyvoesi Merddin, its Age — The Avallenau and Hoianau, Composed by Prydydd y Moch — The Gorddodau, Composed by Gruffydd ab yr Ynad Coch — Classification of the Poems of Taliesin — Poems Erroneously Ascribed to Taliesin, Golyddan, Meugant, Aneurin, and Llywarch . 198
SECTION V. PROSE LITERATURE.
The Chronicles — Geoffrey not the Inventor of all the Fables in his Book — Walter Mapes — Caradoc — Liber Landavensis — Effects of Geoffrey's History — The Mental Idiosyncrasy of the Kymry 295
CHAPTER III.
SECTION I. HISTORICAL SURVEY FROM A.D. 1030 TO l.D." 1322*.
Visible Improvement in Poetry — General Excitement — Formation of Languages — Position of the Kymry — Personal Influence of the Cambrian Princes — Crusades — Massacre of the Bards Disproved — The Ysgolan Story Refuted — State of Cambrian MSS.— Popular Songs .,,.... 318
SECTION It \VfiL8H POETRY FROM A,D. 1240 TO A.D. 1284.
Llygad Gwr, Einion ab Madawg Rhahawd, Y Prydydd Bychan, Hywel Voel,
Bleddyn Vardd — Grruffydd ab yr Ynad Coch's Elegy on Prince Llewelyn . 344
CONTENTS. xvii
SECTION III. RELIGIOUS POETRY OF THE BARDS.
PAGE
Elidir Sais, Llewelyn Vardd — Giraldus — Welsh Princes — Gruffydd ab yr Ynad,
Brother Madawg ab Gwallter . 376
SECTION IV. THE MABINOGION; CLASSIFIED.
Arthur, a Creation of the Armtfrican Kymry — Cambrian Stories Lost — Authors of the Mabinogion — Lady Charlotte Guest's Translation — Influence of the Normans — The Church — Character of these Tales — Scarcity of Copies — The Greal . , 395
SECTION V.
THE TRIADS.
Character — Antiquity — Historical Value 427
CHAPTER IV.
SECTION I.
THti WELSH LANGUAGE .... 430
SECTION II. WELSH POETRY FROM A.D. 1280 TO A.D. 1322.
Gwilym Dclti — Other Bards — Character of the Poetry of the Succeeding Era — Ehys Goch — Date of his Poetry — Specimens — Davydd ab Gwilym's Address to the Summer 443
SECTION LtL GENERAL CRITICISM ON THE BARDIC POEMS . 475
APPENDIX. THE TRIADS . 493
THE LIFE
OF
THOMAS STEPHENS.
BY B. T. WILLIAMS, ESQ., Q.C.
CHAPTER I.
IN the Vale of Neath, at the foot of the hills that skirt the boundaries of the counties of Brecon and Glamorgan, is Pontneddf echan, the birthplace of Thomas Stephens. Before the awakening of enterprise in South Wales the Vale of Neath, now teeming with a busy population and darkened by the srnoke of great works, was distinguished for its beauty and solitude. It was inhabited by an industrious and happy people, among whom lingered many quaint traditions, ancient customs, and songs of characteristic melody. The house of Aberpergwm, famed for its love of Welsh literature and music, had long flourished in this valley. Its influence was traceable among the people. Miss Jane Williams of Aberpergwm, going from house to house, caught their traditional songs, put them into form, and thus aided in winning for Welsh melody its present fame. The valley still retains much of its ancient beauty, and Pontneddfechan has lost none of it. This mountain village attracts still the attention of the traveller as it nestles among the wild hills. It was there, on the 21st of April, 1821, that Thomas Stephens was born, and it was there that he passed his early years under auspices the most favourable to awaken in him a love of the historic romance and poetry of the Welsh people.
The circumstances of his parents were removed from poverty, and still farther removed from wealth. His grandfather was a Unitarian minister, and had a small chapel near at hand. This fact had an influence upon the career of young Stephens. The Unitarians from early times in Wales, as well as elsewhere, have sought to promote a sound classical education. In
THE LIFE OF THOMAS STEPHENS.
many a town and village in South Wales has the Unitarian minister kept a school at which the youth of the district were enabled to obtain an accurate and severe training in Latin and Greek. Classical learning was one of the traditions of the Unitarians, and Stephens received the benefit o I! it to some extent. He was sent to a school at Neath, kept by the Rev. John Davies, a Unitarian minister there, who was known to be a sound classical scholar. This school had been established by the son of Davies, of Castell-howell — well known as a poet, scholar, and divine. Stephens remained there for several years, and got a thorough grounding in the Latin language. Without this he could not subsequently have pursued his philological studies with the success that attended them. Soon after he had attained his fourteenth year he was apprenticed to a chemist at Merthyr Tydfil. The term of his apprenticeship extended over five years, and was marked by close application to study. ** Reading — ever reading," is the account given of him at this time — " reading every moment in the day which was at his disposal — reading often all night" If Stephens was ever missed, he was always found reading ; if ever guilty of any neglect or breach of duty, it was traceable to reading. He then struck the mine of knowledge which afterwards brought him honour and fame, and when quite a boy commenced to write essays upon Welsh history and litera- tiire, whu h appeared in some of the local newspapers. He pursued also t}ie studies of his own business with assiduity, and in time became an able and scientific chemist. In after years he was accustomed to undertake chemical analysis and to give evidence as an expert in the law courts of Glamorganshire. On the completion of his apprenticeship, and before he had attained the age of twenty-one years, he succeeded to his master's business as a chemist and druggist at Merthyr Tydfil. He remained at the head of this business ail his life, and died in the house in which he had served as a boy. His triumphs were won and his studies were pursued there. T^e student's victories are none the less glorious because they are unattended by the exciting cheers of approving crowds. His victories are achieved in silence, and posterity marks his fame. There are no stirring events in the life of Thomas Stephens. He was a successful student, a man of undoubted talent, worthy in himself, but seeking not his own, modest, kind, courteous, and true. It is gratifying to turn aside from vulgar self-assertion and false claims to worth and learning, to the real merits of this illustrious life. " I value Stephens," said his Distinguished friend Lord Aberdare, *' for the force of his intellect, for his courage in maintaining unpopular opinions and opposing cherished but unfounded prejudices, for his simplicity of character and genial warmth of heart, and for the true friendship he showed me during the many years of our acquaintance. He was honoiired by all for his high qualities, and he has left a lasting mark on the literature of his time and country."
THE LIFE OF THOMAS STEPHENS.
CHAPTER II.
WHEN Mr. Anthony Trollope, in one of his books, proposes to settle a hero comfortably out of the civilised world, he suggests that he should either become Chief Justice of Patagonia or the county court judge at Merthyr Tydfil. Like many others, this writer was probably not aware of the dense populations that crowd around the great manufacturing and colliery districts of Glamorganshire.
When Stephens first commenced the business of life Merthyr had not attained its present position ; but Stephens profited, as others have done, by attaching himself to its fortunes. He took an interest, as we shall see, in the promotion of every effort to raise and improve the people, and to alleviate their sufferings and poverty. He was also a pro- nounced politician and a fearless asserter of his own views of religion. ' But he was not one of those restless patriots who ever seek noise. He had a depth of faith in his own views ; and, as some one has said, the deeper a man's faith the more calm is his own life. While Stephens concealed not his opinions, and held not his light under a bushel, he was no agitator. Above all, like a true student and artist, he never permitted popular turmoil to interfere with the great studies of his life. These were pursued incessantly year after year, until he became at length the most learned of all men in those branches of research and study which he had selected for his own. In the meantime also he had not any of the weaknesses of Mr. Harold Skimpole — weaknesses which some are still pleased to parade. He was attentive to his business. He did all in his power to win the con- fidence of the people of Merthyr in his shop, and he won it. Year by year his circumstances improved, and after the lapse of a compara- tively short time he became free from all pecuniary anxieties. His money enabled him to stock his library with rare and valuable works and to maintain the manly independence of his character. He never sought favours from anyone, and he left his wife well provided for through his industry and care.
I am disposed to think that the great pleasure of Stephens consisted in studentship. His efforts were mainly devoted to the acquiring of know- ledge and to the solution of historic difficulties. The putting of the results of 'his studies into shape for the benefit of the public was a secondary consideration, and was rarely attempted by him except for the sake of winning prizes at a Welsh Eisteddfod. Much has been said about the continuation of this national institution in these times. It may, how- ever, claim the honour of having encouraged Thomas Stephens to per- severe in his work. To the Eisteddfod we owe all his best efforts, and
THE LIFE OF THOMAS STEPHENS.
among them his far-famed " Literature of the Kymry." But Stephens was himself well, aware of the unsatisfactory character o£ the literature usually produced by the giving of prizes at the Eisteddfod or elsewhere ; and we cannot but regret that his own genius was not fostered under higher and better auspices. " Much," writes Stephens, " of the prize literature of every country is worse than useless, having been written more from a desire to please than to aid the cause of truth — more for self- gratification and pecuniary gain than from any desire to leave the world better and wiser — more in the way of supporting foregone conclusions than in the spirit of honest enquiry. But whether it becomes a blessing or a curse must depend in a great measure upon the judges. If writers must not hope for success, except by inculcating the peculiar views of the judges, and by confirming their prejudices, the literature produced by prize-giving at the Eisteddfod were well sunk at the bottom of the sea ! '
As the majority of my readers know, the Eisteddfod is the revival of those great assemblages of the Welsh bards which used to take place at the courts of the native princes of Wales. On such occasions they competed against each other in music and song. The modern Eisteddfod embraces also competition in literature and science and in art and industry. The Eisteddfod is now as popular in Wales as it ever has been in the history of that country. It has many faults, and the chief are attributable to the fact that loud and uncultured men sometimes, on account of their power of Welsh speaking, get to leading positions in it. It is a mistake, too, in these days that any gn at public gathering should be conducted upon the principle that every man present must be taken to understand Welsh.
But when the faults of the Eisteddfod are corrected, and when modern facts, however painful and disagreeable, are recognised, it will, I trust, long continue. It stimulates culture, art, and thought, and encourages the Welsh people to develope the gifts they possess of oratory, music, 'and song. I know of no national institution coming down from the far-off past of which a people have greater reason to be proud.
In the year 1840, when Stephens was nineteen years of age, he won a prize at the Liverpool Eisteddfod for a " History of the Life and Times of lestyn ab Gwrgant, the Last Native Lord of Glamorgan." He believed in the historical existence of that great hero then, but in his later years he was a breaker of many Welsh images and had many doubts with regard to Welsh idols. In 1841 he gained a prize at the Abergavenny Eisteddfod for a " History of Remarkable Places in the County of Cardigan," and in 1845 he won another Eisteddfod prize for an essay on the " Heraldic Poetry of Wales." But scant justice would be done to the learning and o-enius of Stephens if it were supposed that these prize essays represent his
THE LIFE OF THOMAS STEPHENS. xxiii
claims to consideration. They were mere accidental scintillations of a greater light and but faintly evidenced its glory. He pursued ever in the meantime his far-extended researches, but the full benefit of these, on account of his having been stricken by early paralysis, the world will never receive.
In 1847 there was an agitation among the Dissenters of Wales with regard to the receipt of Government grants for educational purposes. It is interesting to note this controversy. It shows that since that time the leading parties to it have entirely changed their opinions and their sides. The Dissenters maintained that the education of the people was no part of the duty of the State, and that it ought to be left entirely to voluntary effort. " It is against our principles," they argued, " to receive money from the Government for religious purposes. We object to a State Church because religion must be left for its support to the will of the people. There is no proper education unless religion is made the basis of it. We would rather," exclaimed they, u see the people uneducated than educated without belief in orthodox Christianity." On the other hand, their op- ponents, the members of the Church of England, contended that the secular education of the people was a part of the duty of the State, because all citizens were interested in the decrease of the number of the inmates of our gaols and prisons, in the advancement of the health, enter- prise, sobriety, and general well-being of the people, all of which would be promoted by a widespread education. Grant this, and why should not the State discharge its duty in this respect ? " The question of religion," they said, " is settled. We have the charge of that." The Dissenters are now the strong advocates of secular education and Government aid, and the Churchmen plead in solemn tones for voluntary efforts and denomina- tional schools. Stephens took a deep interest in this question at the time and boldly maintained his opinions. I have now before me a series of powerful letters written by him then, the arguments of which I need not repeat, because, after thinking upon the subject for nearly thirty years, the Welsh people have come to the conclusions which he then powerfully maintained. He was conscious that he was nearly alone, for, quoting from De Foe, he says, " If the impartial writer regards truth, let him expect martyrdom on both sides, and then he may go on fearless ; and this is the course I take myself." In this spirit in a series of sound arguments, supported by facts and statistics, he proves —
" 1. That voluntary exertions \vould be insufficient to provide education for the very large number of children who now remain un- educated.
"2. That the Government scheme by which the deficiency was proposed
xxiv THE LIFE OF THOMAS STEPHENS.
to be supplied was fair, just, and honourable, and fraught with no injury to any power or party."
In the course of the long argument his opponents, bearing out De Foe's theory, denounced him as " a maniac and a liar," and as a traitor to the Church and Dissent. " I thank you," he writes to the editor of the Monmouthshire Merlin, in which paper the correspondence appeared, " for the very handsome manner in which you have borne testimony to the truthfulness of my character during the years we have known each other." And thus this most loyal man had to combat with the bigots of his time !
Education was Stephens's idea of all reform. " The ballot box and the power to vote will not make thee a hero, my drunken collier of Cyfarthfa ! ' Thus would he exclaim with Carlyle. Libraries, mechanics' institutes, schools of all sorts, were ever engaging his energies. Nothing tempted him to leave his own literary labours as did endeavours to educate those around him, and to stimulate to intellectual efforts the young men who came to him for advice.
CHAPTER III.
IN the year 1846 Stephens was actively engaged in promoting the es- tablishment of the Merthyr Library. In this institution he ever afterwards continued to be deeply interested, and to it he bequeathed a valuable legacy of books by his will. He was still only twenty-five years of age, but he was hard at work at many things. Early he had the good fortune to win the respect and confidence of Sir John Guest, the great ironmaster of Dowlais, and of Lady Charlotte Guest, his gifted and amiable wife. Their friendly encouragement and aid were of incalculable value to Stephens then. In the struggle for position in early life the hand that helps then is blessed. Sir John Guest co-operated with Stephens in the founding of the Merthyr Library. This institution was established forthwith, and it continues to this day to be of great benefit and use to the people of that town.
In 1848 much interest was awakened among the Welsh people by the offer of a prize, to be given at an Eisteddfod at Abergavenny by the Prince of Wales, for the best essay on the " Literature of Wales during .the Twelfth and Succeeding Centuries." The value of the prize was no more than 25Z. ; but the fact that it was the first occasion on which the Prince of Wales had patronised an Eisteddfod, as well as the nature of the subject itself, awakened the competition of the best Welsh scholars. Here
THE LIFE OF THOMAS STEPHENS. xxr
was an opportunity for a man, if he had distinguished learning upon this subject, to show it. Stephens set himself to the task. He started with advantages such as few possessed, because he had all the knowledge with which the severe studies of many years had stored his mind. At the Eis- teddfod, when the judges were prepared to announce the prize, the greatest interest and excitement prevailed, and this the late Archdeacon Williams, of Cardigan, still further increased by declaring, as he rose to make the award, that " a new star was to appear this day in the literature of Wales." When the bardic name attached to the essay was read out, the silence of expectation was most painful. Again the name rang through the building, and then a young man, with marks of severe study upon his face, rose and announced that he was Thomas Stephens, the author of the successful essay. This essay was the basis of his great work the " Literature of the Kymry." It was shortly afterwards published under that name. It was accepted as a leading authority by all Celtic scholars, not only at home, but also abroad. Count Villemarque, Henri Martin, and other literary critics were loud in their praises of it. Professor Schuitz translated it into German, and Mr. Matthew Arnold in due time saw in it " sweetness and light." Stephens always regarded it as his best work. "Is it to be believed," said the venerable Welsh scholar the Kev. Walter Davies, "that the author of this is only twenty -eight years of
O )>
age?
The "Literature of the E'.ymry " was published at the expense and risk of Sir John Guest. " Sir John," writes Lady Charlotte Guest to the publishers, "having been the means of bringing Mr. Stephens's composition within reach of the public, wishes also to do what is most liberal to Mr. Stephens himself. He desires me to say that he wishes a hundred copies to be placed at the disposal of Mr. Stephens free of all charge, and if any profit should accrue from the sale of the remaining copies, Sir John desires to present Mr. Stephens with the same." The book was waited for anxiously by Welsh scholars. While it was passing through the press enquiries were continually made about it by eminent men ; and when it was at length issued, it sold quickly. " Your book," writes the local publisher, Mr. W. Rees of Llandovery, " sells as fast as my binder can turn it out of hand. Messrs. Longmans have sold off their first supply, and I have just sent off to them another." The work was most favourably noticed in all the leading literary reviews of the day, and the fame of the author was established. The admiration of it of the present accomplished editor, Mr. Silvan Evans, is not of recent origin. In August 1849 he thus wrote to Stephens : " I do not hesitate to pronounce your book a most masterly production, reflecting the highest credit on yourself and conferring a boon of infinite worth upon the literature of the Principality."
The Prince Consort, on the part of the Prince of Wales, duly forwarded
xxvi THE LIFE OF THOMAS STEPHENS.
to Stephens a cheque for the value of the prize. Then carne the difficult question, How was a copy of the book which had thus won the royal prize to be presented to the Queen and the Prince of Wales ? With all his research and learning, this was a problem that Stephens could not solve. Lady Charlotte Guest is resorted to ; and she obtains all the necessary information. This I reproduce here for the guidance of any loyal and ambitious reader. Lady Charlotte says that " she called at Mr. Murray's, and enquired what was usual with regard to presentation copies to the Queen. She was informed that it was customary to have them bound in morocco or white vellum, with gold lettering, and to have the royal arms on the side." But this was only a step. How was the book so bound and decorated to get to the Queen ? This Lady Charlotte solves as follows : " I believe that it is not usual to send any note or inscription addressed to the Queen or Prince with the copies of any work to be presented. The Queen's private secretary is the proper channel through which they should be sent, and the best way will be for you to write to him to take the Queen's pleasure as to accepting the copies, and at the same time to write to him any observations which it may be wished should be conveyed to the Queen or the Prince relating to the work." This course was followed ; the Queen consented to accept the copies of the book, and they were duly sent. Lady Charlotte was presented by Stephens with a beautifully bound copy for herself; and well did her Ladyship deserve it.
It is to be remembered that at the same Eisteddfod at which Stephens won the royal prize he also won another prize for an interesting history of the famed Caerphilly Castle.
CHAPTER IV.
IN 1849 Stephens took an extended tour upon the Continent. In these days the Continent is made familiar in early years to the youth of England, and they never learn the interest which a journey through Europe is to a man who takes it for the first time late in life. Dr. Johnson was an old man when he first saw Paris ; and the long postpone- ment of this pleasure was well compensated for by his being able to ap- preciate all around him with the keen sense which the thought and varied experiences of his life had given him. Stephens emerging from his studies — pursued without intermission for many years — and from his constant attention to his business, shaking off all learning and care, and going through the cities of Europe simply to see and enjoy, must have been for the time a happy man. All that he could have done under the
THE LIFE OF THOMAS STEPHENS.
circumstances of his life he had done; and now all the glory of the civili- sations, old and new, was exhibited to him.
But he did not long remain idle, for in the following year three prizes were awarded him at the Rhuddlan Eisteddfod. One was for an essay on the " Advantages of a Resident Gentry," another for a " Biographical Account of Eminent Welshmen since the Accession of the House of Tudor," and a third for a " Summary of the History of Wales." It has often been said that no one has yet written a fair arid reasonable History of Wales. We have had summaries of prehistoric traditions and of national legends which few in these days can with gravity pretend to believe. The facts of our real history as a people have not been collected. We recently have read with a new interest the excellent books l of Dr. Nicholas and Mr. J. Roland Phillips, as giving us almost for the fir^t time some solid information with regard to the important part played by the Welsh people in the history of England since the Conquest. t was hoped by many that Stephens had applied himself to this work. He has, however, done no more than write the summary for which he won this prize and several other treatises which bear upon the subject. Lady Hall— now Lady Llanover — has always been ready to patronise the Eisteddfod. Her Ladyship appears to have given these prizes herself at Rhuddlan. She sent a cheque direct to Stephens for the amount which he had won, and informed him that "she had declined to pay it to the Rhuddlan Committee."
After the establishment of the fame of Stephens as a Welsh scholar and historian by the publication of the " Literature of the Kymry, ' he became general referee upon all subjects relating to the Welsh language and antiquities. His correspondence immensely increased. Scholars from all quarters of Europe wrote to him for his views on disputed historical, philological, and antiquarian questions. It is to be inferred from their re- plies, many of which are before me, that he usually returned learned and elaborate answers to the enquiries sent him. The publication of this cor- respondence, if it could be got together — and there is no doubt that it could — would be welcomed by all Celtic scholars. The limits assigned for this biography permit only of a passing reference to it. He became a critic and a stern upholder of historical truth in the ArcJiceologia Cambrensis and other journals. He bowed to no prejudices, but exposed all falsities which family and national pride sought to perpetuate. He traced the origin of alleged prehistoric triads to the thirteenth and fourteenth centurie-s ; he exposed the vain notion that America was discovered by the Welsh before the time of Columbus ; and he pronounced the story of
The County Families of Wales, by Dr. Nicholas, and the Ciril War in Wales, by Phillip?. The two are published by Messrs. Longmans.
xxviii THE LIFE OF THOMAS STEPHENS.
the massacre of the Welsh bards by Edward I. to be false. A Conti- nental writer said of him that he " scaled the Celtic mythological heavens and scattered the false gods and goddesses that disported there." At- tached to the Welsh people, and admiring their literature and song, he never allowed his patriotic sentiments to interfere with the assertion of the hard truths of history. For this he lost in popularity, and was often regarded with distrust by Welsh enthusiasts ; but this quality of seeking truth above all things won for him the confidence of all true scholars.
The following letter, addressed to the editor, was inserted in the Archccologia Cambrensis :
SIR, — I hardly know whether it is worth while to intrude on the gravity of your pages with allusions to a subject started by some of the more illiterate among our fellow-countrymen not long ago ; but, having observed in print a suggestion as to the propriety of publishing a list of such persons as have proved themselves " traitors," as the term goes, to the last of the several phases of traditionary belief among the Kymry, I send you a list of the more prominent names of persons of this description. I cannot but remark that, in this our day, " treason " of the kind alluded to assumes so bold a front that vigorous measures must be taken by its opponents to hinder its progress, or else we shall all have to alter and renew our notions of Cambrian history j stump-oratory will be deprived of some of its most Valuable and successful claptraps ; and the nation itself will have to content itself with an honourable and rational account of its past existence.
The list of the principal " traitors " is as follows :
1. Meurig Davydd, of Glamorgan (1560-1600), for asserting that the Gospel was brought hither by the Apostle Paul, whereas he should have had prescience enough to see that after his day the legend of Bran ap Llyr would be invented, and would become the authoritative belief. — Cyvrinach y Beirdd, p. 31.
2. Llywelyn Sion (1601). for a similar want of prescience, and for believing that the Gospel was brought hither by Joseph of Arimathea. — Cyvrinach y Beirdd, p. 8.
3. George Owen Harry, for asserting cromlechs to have been graves.
4. Thomas Pennant, for the same ofience.
5. Edward Lhuyd, for asserting that the Gael occupied this country before the Kymry
6. The Rev. Ed. Davies, for denying the antiquity of the bardism of Glamorgan.
7. lolo Morganwg, for denying that there ever was a Brut Tyssilio.
8. The Rev. Thomas Price, for asserting that the pretensions of the chair of Glamorgan can on no account be received. — Hanes Cymru, p. 42.
9. Rev. Walter Davies, for denying that Prince Madoc ever went to America.
10. Professor Rees, for denying any historical foundation to the Bran ap Llyr legend.
THE LIFE OF THOMAS STEPHENS. xxix
11. Rev. John Williams (ab Ithel), for denying the truth of the Trojan legend.
12. Rev. W. Basil Jones, for having written " Vestiges of the Gael in Gwynedd."
13. Mr. Aneurin Owen, for having denied the antiquity of the laws of Dyvnwal.
14. Archdeacon Williams, for insinuating the paganism of the bardic chair
15. And that arch-heretic Mr. Thomas Stephens, for having adopted nearly all the heresies of his predecessors, with I know not how many more, and es- pecially for having abandoned his qualified belief in the Triads, on the ground that, after seven years of incessant researches into the sources of Cambrian history, he found them to be neither old nor trustworthy.
All these men, it is true, were thoroughly conscientious in their belief, and laboured under the delusion that they were doing their country a real and im- portant service in unveiling its true history, and in paving the way for such a reconstruction of its annals as should command the respect of the literary world, instead of exciting its ridicule, and might be accepted as an authentic, integral, and honourable portion of the history of Europe. Moreover, they seem to have had a most obstinate love of something they call TRUTH, and in their simplicity to have believed that history should not be an illusion, and that patriotism should have some more enduring foundation than a series of demonstrable truths.
I remain, &c.,
INVESTIGATOR.
With reluctance I pass over this learned correspondence. I see that Dr. Basil Jones, the present Bishop of St. David's, ever an enthusiastic student of Welsh literature, carried on a frequent discussion through the post office with Stephens. In one letter the Bishop, doing himself but scant justice, says, " I am a very poor Welsh scholar, and am so far from understanding the poems attributed to Taliesin that I always regarded it as a strong exercise of faith to believe they mean anything." As a boy in school with a decent dictionary has no difficulty in understanding Homer, we are bound to ask, How was it that Dr. Basil Jones, who was, notwithstanding his modest statement to the contrary, a profound Welsh scholar, could see no meaning in the rhapsodies of Taliesin?
Not only was Stephens regarded as the corrector of Welsh errors and general instructor and critic of all Welsh subjects, but he was also some- times sought to check the follies of individual Welshmen. The late Mr. Williams of Aberpergwm, a man of great culture, requests the aid of Stephens in the following difficulty : " The bearer of this," writes Mr. Williams to Stephens, "has just introduced himself to me. He says you have had the kindness occasionally to manifest some interest in his behalf. He now informs me of his intention to undertake a journey to London and to present himself to the Queen ! I have endeavoured, without hurting his feelings, to dissuade him from committing that absurdity ; but people
xxx THE LIFE OF THOMAS STEPHENS,
in his excited state of mind are not easily moved from a fixed idea. It is a pity to think that one who, by his conversation and appearance, deserves at least the tenderness of the world, should expose himself to public ridicule. I am sure you will, in your charity, prevail upon him to relinquish his ill-advised project, or at least to defer it until instruction through books and converse with the informed may render him more presentable at the Palace than he is now." We have reason to believe that the kind offices of Stephens were exercised with success, and that this peculiar ambition remained without realisation.
In 1851 Stephens received a prize at the Cardiff Eisteddfod for a " History of Cardiff." In 1852, at Port Madoc, he won a prize for an essay on the " Working Men of Wales." At the Abergavenny Eisteddfod in 1 853 he won three prizes— one for an essay on " Names of Places Designated from Remarkable Events," another for a " History of Welsh Bards," and a third for an essay on the " History of Trial by Jury in Wales." This last prize, which was one of 70£., was awarded to him by Chevalier Bunsen. The essay is a remarkable production, which will, I trust, some day be published. The Chevalier Bunsen spoke of it in terms of unqualified praise. Sir Erasmus Williams and many others urged the publication of this work at the time. " Bunsen's judgment," wrote Sir Erasmus, " is, in my opinion, an effectual recommendation of any work that may come from you. Laudari a laudato is something, but laudari a laudatissimo is much more. Happy should he be who has won, as you have done, the praise and admiration of that noble and most admirable man."
The following is the adjudication of the Chevalier Bunsen :
The author of the fourth essay, marked " Savigny " (Mr. Stephens), has gone over the same ground as his competitors, with so much more caution, and with such a thorough knowledge of the critical researches of the last thirty years, that he has left his competitors far behind. " Savigny," too, stands -up for the claims of the Britons as originators of the trial by jury, but he thinks it necessary to sift critically the sources of our knowledge of their institutions. He exhibits, in his judgment of the earliest Welsh traditions, great conscien- tiousness and that impartiality which alone is worthy of a historian. He shows the mythical and legendary character of some of those traditions, and treats especially of those connected with Dyvnwal Moelmud, whom he supposes to belong, not to the sixth century before Christ, but to the seventh of our era. " Savigny " adopts, essentially, the definition of jury given by Forsyth in his classical work, which he reduces to four principal points. Two of the distinctive features are negative — the first, that they are not a distinct class of men ; the second, that they are not judges and no part of the judicial court. Two are positive— the third, that they are a sworn body of men ; the fourth, that their duty is to find the truth of disputed facts, decide upon the effect of evidence, and to inform the court truly upon the question at issue. Starting, however, from this point, " Savigny " arrives at a very different conclusion from Forsyth. Allow- ing fnlly that the trial by ury, as well in Wales as in the rest of the island, re-
THE LIFE OF THOMAS STEPHENS. xxxi
_— . — ,
ceived its specific English form in the period between Henry II. and Elizabeth, he thinks that, although the Celtic element has contributed more to the formation of the institution than the Anglo-Saxon, yet the original germ Ls to be sought for in the laws and practices imprinted on the British during the Roman dominion — principally in the third and fourth centuries,
. . . Now, what I consider the distinctive merit of the author of the essay signed " Savigny " is, that he has brought forward, with much critical judgment, the claims of the Kymry ; and, by so doing, has rilled up an important chasm in the history of the judicial institutions of Great Britain. He has, besides, col- lected many interesting facts and specialities about the jury in Wales since Henry II. 's time. His merit in drawing the attention of the civilised world to the historical importance of the Cymreigyddion — also as regards the great principle of the co-existence of popular and professional judgments —is the more worthy of approbation as, even in Forsyth's work, the Kymric institutions have been passed over in silence. I can,, consequently, have no hesitation in awarding the prize to the excellent essay signed " Savigny," which I trust may, without delay, be prepared for the press ; and I conclude with expressing my hope that the publication of such a work will go far to show the importance of the Cymreigyddion y Fenni, and that it will encourage the members and friends of that society to lay before the public, both in the original language and in faithful translations, the great documents of the glory of ancient Kymry.
BTJNSEN.
The President mentioned that he had received a letter from Chevalier Bunsen, in which he spoke very«highly of Mr. Stephens's production : and de- sired him to mention to Mr. Stephens that he was so much struck with the tone and learning displayed in it, that he hoped, it he should be in London, he would call at his Excellency's residence, Carlton Terrace, as he wished to have an opportunity of making the acquaintance of so distinguished an essayist.
Stephens was a man of great amiability and of modest benevolence. No one who deserved help or charity applied to him in vain. To young men struggling in poverty for better positions in life he ever gave his friendly aid, and the cry of distress he quickly heard. I have now before me letters and papers about an appeal which he successfully made to the " patrons of Welsh literature on behalf of a Welsh writer and bard," and a contributor to Welsh periodicals, " who had always been a vigorous promoter of a standard of Welsh orthography." This worthy man had removed to London, and had there been reduced to a state of great want and privation. Contributions duly flow in — one coming from that dis- tinguished man Dr. Connop Thirl wall, the Bishop of St. David's — and the Welsh writer living in Somers Town, London, is relieved. " I have an overpowering desire," writes the poor bard in his wretched dwelling in town," to see the hills of Gwent and Morganwg again, but that, I fear, will never be.
THE LIFE OF THOMAS STEPHENS.
CHAPTER V.
IN politics Stephens was a philosophical reformer. His abstract theories with regard to political justice were fas in advance of those around him, who often mistrusted him because of his apparent want of party zeal. But he was prepared to accept good results even when produced by anomalous conditions ; and he was in no haste to see change until favour- able opportunities arose for it. I would class him with the philosophical Radicals, were it not that, while they believe in the possibility of realising some day all the schemes of their books, Stephens, coming out from his long study of all the histories, had grave doubts about the attainment of perfection for any human institution. His career as an active politician may be said to have begun and ended with the representation of Merthyr Tydfil by Mr. H. A. Bruce— now Lord Aberdare. From 1851 to 1868 Mr. Bruce was the member for Merthyr, and during that time he had no more steadfast supporter than Stephens. There existed between them the most perfect confidence, and the member soon learnt to appreciate the sterling worth of his friend. Mr. Bruce has been no dreamer. He has taken his part in the discussion of burning questions, not without glory, but his attention has been chiefly directed to the doing of practical good. In all his efforts to promote education, sanitary reform, and good habits among the people, to improve the relations of master and servant, to protect the children, and to secure the well-being of the collier and miner, he had the warm support of Stephens.
The practical career of Mr. Bruce, accompanied as it was with un- doubted sincerity and earnestness of purpose, won his admiration. The correspondence which during all these years passed between them was of a very confidential character, and I have no right to publish it. In questions of difficulty the member frequently wrote to Stephens for his opinion. " I am glad," says Mr. Bruce in one letter before me, " to escape from the heated atmosphere of party and to have the cool opinion of my Merthyr friend, who has nothing but national interests and honour to guide him in his judgment." When Stephens was in any difficulty about procuring books necessary for his studies, Mr. Bruce was usually asked to make a search for them. " I wish to obtain," wrote Stephens, " * Baga de Secretis.' " " I will do my best," replied Mr. Bruce, " to get you ' Baga de Secretis.' It is not a blue-book, but, whatever be its description or colour, I will get it for you." But Baga is not so easily to be found, because in a subsequent letter thus wrote Mr. Bruce : " ' Baga de Secretis ' keeps his own secrets so successfully that I cannot unearth him. The librarian of the House of Commons knows not Baga, neither can
THE LIFE OF THOMAS STEPHENS. xxxiii
I find anyone else who does. He has certainly never been bound in blue."
At the Abergavenny Eisteddfod in 1853 Stephens won the prize for an " Analysis of the Remains of the Writings of the Welsh Poets from the Earliest Period to the Present Times, with Reference to the Elucida- tion of Welsh History." The Rev. Chancellor Williams, in awarding the prize, spoke of this essay in very high terms. It contained a minute and elaborate history of the first great era of Cambrian bardism, in addition to the required analysis of the poetry of that period and of the others subsequent to it. There was a general desire that the essay should be printed as a companion to the " Literature of the Kymry." This was, however, never done ; and it now remains in manuscript among the other unpublished works of the author.
In August 1856 Stephens took a tour through Ireland. This tour was ever afterwards associated in his mind with many stories of Irish character, which he would recount at times. He lost no opportunity of seeing life, for I observe a play bill of the theatre at Tralee, which he at- tended, still preserved among his papers. The prices of admission charged on the occasion were, for the pit, fourpence, and for the gallery twopence. I wonder whether he verified in Ireland the following opinion, expressed to him at this time by a distinguished Welshman, whose name I had better withhold ! " A South Wales 'man is by nature straightforward and candid, but a North Wales man cannot possibly shake off his duplicity under any circumstances whatever. Cunning is the study of all classes north of the Dovey. The inhabitants of Carnarvonshire and Anglesey are Irish in origin, and in character are like that people."
Nowhere was the learning of Stephens more appreciated than it was among the scholars of France. In his " Etudes d'Archeologie Celtique " Henri Martin said of him : " 1 am glad to pay here a debt of gratitude. Mr. Thomas Stephens, author of the * Literature of the Kymry,' is one of those men who are surrounded by conditions the least favourable, yet by their indomitable vigour and capacity win entirely by themselves and are the sons of their courage and persevering will." The following letter to Stephens from M. de la Villemarque, one out of a large correspondence, is not without its interest :
Au chateau de Keransker, pres Kemperle (Brctagne) :
le 17 mai 1856.
Monsieur, — Quand meme il n'existerait pas une republique dcs lettres, dont tousles niembres sont freres, il y aurait pour nous, Bretons- Armoricains, et pour vous, ~Kymrys- Bretons, une mere-patrie commune dont nous sommes les fils ; nous devons done nous aimer et nous entre-aider. Vous m'avez prouv6 que ces sentiments sont les votres, en voulant bien parler de moi d'une maniere airaable dans votre excellent livre " The Literature of the Kymry : " et moi-meme j'ai e"t6 tres-heureux de pouvoir louer ce livre dans ma trad action fra^aisedes " Poemes
b2
xxxiv THE LIFE OF THOMAS STEPHENS.
des Bardes Bretons du ive Siecle," publiee a Paris par Renouard, rue deTournon, en 1850. Dernierement encore j'ai eu occasion de citer vos travaux, comme des modeles de critique, dans une lecture que j'ai faite a 1'Institut de France sur les monatnents de la langae des aruiens Bretons
C'est done avec un veritable chagrin que j'ai lu dans le lt Cambrian Journal," revue distinguee, edite"e par un hotnme si intelligent et si impartiel, ce me femble, une lettre a 1'editeur ou. vous etes traite" d'une maniere inqualifiable. Non ! quelques dissentiments qui puissent exister sur certains points de detail, vos " Studies in the British Biography " ne sont point indignes de vos etudes prec<§- dentes ; vous continuez a marcher dans la bonne et large voie, et vous y marchez meme d'un pied plus assure et plus independant; vous perpetuez la saine ecole d'Edward Lhuyd, a laquelle appartenait aussi mon excellent et a jamais regrettable ami Thomas Price, et vous partagez avec d'autres 1'honneur de cette renaissance cambrienne qui attire sur votre beau et interessant pays les regards de 1'Europe savante. Mais j'espere que ce nuage eleve entre compatriotes s'est dissipe depuis longtemps, et que vos contradicteurs aurontfini par juger, comme les etrangers, qu'une severite, meme poussee a 1'exces, vaut mieux qu'une com- plaisance facheuse ou qu'une deplorable flatterie. Je serais bieu aise de Tap- prendre de vous, car je n'airne poiut les querelles de famille : (< Gas bethau Breton Gwrth ac ymryson Rhwny cydvrodorion."
Vous savez qu'on attribue ces vers a un de vos sages et de vos saints qui vin<t nous precher au vie siecle, et qui est mort chez nous. Je les cite souvent. Pour vous, monsieur, si, comme je n'en doute pas, vous avez fait la paix avec vos critiques, revenus a des sentiments plus equitables, a ceux du temps ou ils vous regardaient <k with pride as the future historian of Wales," vous pouvez dire, en le leur prouvant, avec le sage des Kymry :
" Nerth cryv, ei drugaredd."
Veuillez agre"er 1'assurance de rnon estime et de la sympathie avec laquelle j'ai 1'honneur d'etre, votre serviteur,
Le Pirocteur de 1' Association bretonne,
VTE. HERSART DE LA VILLEMARQU^.
In the year 1857 Stephens consented to be one of the adjudicators of a prize offered for the best critical analysis in Welsh on Hebrew prophecy. ^'You will have," Dr. Rowland Williams wrote to him, "as colleagues two clergymen and two Dissenters, and it will be your business to keep the peace between them, and to aid in the adjudication of the prize with reference to literary and general merit and to the dissemination of truth rather than that of any particular view or theory." After accepting the office of adjudi- cator Mr. Stephens received the following letter from Professor David Williams, of Lampeter College :
St. David's College, Lampeter: June 22, 1857.
Sir, — As judges of the best essay on Prophecy, for which Dr. Williams, our Vice-Principal, has propounded a prize, it will be necessary for us and our colleagues to exchange our thoughts and opinions on certain preliminary
THE LIFE OF THOMAS STEPHENS. xxxv
arrangements as soon as we conveniently can. But I trust you will pardon me if, before we enter upon the consideration of any business connected with that essay, I venture to ask you one question. I have no doubt, from all I have heard of you, that you will frankly avow your religious sentiments, if necessary, whatever they may be. I do not know whether you will be surprised to hear that you have been represented to me by several people as holding certain opinions on religion which, if you do, it may be a question whether I nmy not be prevented from acting with you in ad indicating upon the essay. Will you, therefore, kindly answer me one question, which shall be expressed in few words? Do you believe the Christian religion to be of Divine origin ? I hope you will give me credit for having asked this question in no uncharitable spirit, but simply for the sake of ascertaining whether you and I do not hold opinions so opposite that it may be either unwise or impossible for us to act together in deciding upon the merits of theological essays. I may add that I write this without the knowledge of Dr. Williams.
I am, Sir,
Yours very faithfully, DAVID WILLIAMS, Professor of Welsh. THOMAS STEPHENS, ESQ.
To this Stephens sent the following reply :
July 28, 1857.
Sir, — I have to apologise to you for not having replied to your note earlier. With reference to your enquiry whether or not I believe in the Divine origin of Christianity, I have to remark that, though I should have no difficulty in re- plying to this or any other question of a similar nature, I cannot reconcile my giving you a reply at all with my sense of independence. For you to institute an inquisition into my religious opinions is a grave infringement of the liberty of conscience, which Protestants claim as a right and believe it their bounden duty to preserve. It appears to me that you are attempting to exercise an authority which you do not possess and which I ought not to recognise.
Yours, &c.,
T. STEPHENS.
To the REV. D. WILLIAMS.
To this Mr. D. Williams sent the following reply :
Pontarddulais, Llanelly : July 30, 1857*
Sir, — On my return home last evening I found your letter of the 28th inst. I must confess I regret you do not think fit to give me a direct u yes " or " no " to the question I put to you. But I think this may have arisen from my not having made myself understood. I did not ask that question because I was afraid the differences of opinion between you and myself in adjudicating upon the essays would be so great as to render it impossible for us to act together. I have no reason at all to fear that. But what I wished to say was, that you are reported to hold opinions which I consider would make it unwise and posi- tively wrong for a clergyman at least to co-operate with you as a judge of theo- logical essays. It is veiy probable I should agree with you in thinking that the judges ought to act independently of each other. But, before I take a single
xxxvi THE LIFE OF THOMAS STEPHENS.
step in the matter, you will excuse me for saying that I must have, as you will probably admit I have a right to claim, a direct answer to the question I put to you.
I had rather not apply to Dr. Williams for your answer, as I think it is a matter to be settled entirely by you and myself. I have only to add that if you do not think proper to give me a direct answer, the only alternative left me will be to resign my office as judge.
I am, Sir,
Yours very faithfully,
DAVID WILLIAMS. THOMAS STEPHENS, ESQ.,
Dr. Rowland Williams, then professing with some courage those charitable sentiments and opinions which eventually led him to the " Essays and Reviews " difficulties, tried in vain to induce Mr. David Williams to make peace. " I regret exceedingly," he wrote to Stephens, " that any- thing should have occurred to hurt your just susceptibilities. It is foreign to all my habits of thought to institute unauthorised inquisition into any man's conscientious relations to his Divine Judge." But Dr. Rowland Williams's amiable efforts were in vain. Mr. David Williams preferred to adhere to the straight and narrow road that leads to no difficulty in the Church, and retired from the position of adjudicator. Such example, as is usually the case, was followed, and Stephens was left alone with the Rev. David Lloyd, LL.D., principal of the Carmarthen College, a Unitarian like himself, to decide about this prize. In their adjudication, which was approved of by Dr. Rowland Williams, they say, " We accepted the office of judges from a sense of the importance of Hebrew prophecy, and of the desirability of having the views of Biblical scholars made known to our countrymen in their own language. Knowing that since the retirement of the majority of the judges originally appointed considerable distrust arose from the supposition of our holding extreme opinions on the subject, we thought it becoming in us to announce that we would not allow our doctrinal views to have any influence upon our' decision. We are pleased to find that the competitors accepted our declaration in good faith, and honestly wrote out their convictions. As it happens, we are under no temptation to depart from our pledge. Not one of the essays represents our own views."
CHAPTER VI.
THOMAS STEPHENS did more than any man of his time to elevate the tone of the Eisteddfod, and to win for it the confidence of scholars. " The non- sense talked at Welsh gatherings," wrote to him Mr. Clark, of Dowlais, a well-known antiquarian and an austere critic, " makes an English man of business ashamed to support them. But you have done so much to
THE LIFE OF THOMAS STEPHENS. xxxvii
introduce common sense and the principles of sound criticism into Welsh literature, that I entertain a hope that an Eisteddfod promoted by yourself will be an exception to the general rule." Stephens won prizes at every Eisteddfod of any importance at which he chose to compete. I have given a list of many of his prizes : I could add many more, but I care not to do so. After the European fame that he had won, the medal of an Eisteddfod, and the praises of the judges there, appear not to me to be of much moment. But I must not pass over the incident connected with the Madoc prize at the Llangollen Eisteddfod in 1858. There is a notion — nay, a firm belief — among some Welsh bards that the discovery of America was made by the Welsh people in the twelfth century under the leadership of Prince Madoc. They believe that many Welshmen settled there then, and that they are now represented by a tribe of Welsh Indians. It is further believed that these Welsh Indians have been visited by Welsh- men in recent times, and that a conversation in the Welsh language was carried on between them.
Accordingly, a prize of 20/. and a silver star were offered for presenta- tion at the Llangollen Eisteddfod, in 1858, " for the best essay on the Discovery of America in the Twelfth Century by Prince Madoc ap Owen Gwynedd." Stephens investigated the subject with his wonted critical skill, and came to the conclusion that the whole story rested upon no reliable historical evidence. He sent in an essay to the Eisteddfod in competition for the prize, in which he contended — with success, as most reasonable men thought at the time — (1) that Prince Madoc never left his own country — that he came to a violent death at home, and that a bard was tried on a charge of having murdered him ; (2) that no hint of the discovery of America appears in Welsh literature until after the time of Columbus; and (3) that the story of the Welsh Indians was unsupported by any evidence, but that a young Welshman, of the name of John Evans, in 1798 spent a winter among the alleged descendants of Madoc's followers, and found no trace of anything Welsh about them or their language. When it became known that this essay had been sent in, and that the judges thought it the best, great was the alarm among the Welsh enthusiasts at the Eisteddfod. " The discovery of America," said one illogical bard, " is a jewel that our mother race has long worn, and it is not to be taken from her except on the clearest possible proof."
The Rev. John Williams ab Ithel, intolerant in his national wrath, denounced the suggestion that the essay should win the prize, or should be admitted into the competition at all. The discovery of America by Madoc as a fact was a postulate at the Eisteddfod, and everyone who questioned it was ineligible as a candidate for the prize. Mr. Silvan Evans was one of the judges, and he thus ably states the facts with regard to this con- troversy :
xxxviii THE LIFE OF THOMAS STEPHEYS.
THE MADOC ESSAYS.
To THE SECRETARIES OF THE LiANeoLLEK EISTEDDFOD.
GENTLEMEN, — Inasmuch as a controversy h as arisen respecting the adjudication on the Madoc essays, and as one of the grounds alleged by the Llangollen Com- mittee for withholding the prize from the author of the best essay is an imputed informality in my award, I, as one of the appointed judges, consider it to be my duty to the competitors and to myself again to lay before the Committee a formal statement of my views.
The subject was announced in these terms : u For the best essay on the Dis- covery of America in the Twelith Century by Prince Madoc ap Owen Gwynedd, 20/. and a silver star."
Six essays were forwarded to me. Five of the writers took the affirmative side, and laboured, with more or less ability, to show that Madoc ap Owen had discovered America ; but one of them, under the signature " G wrnerth Ergydlym," by far the ablest writer, took the opposite side, examined the subject fully and candidly, displayed throughout a deep acquaintance with all the evidences bearing upon the question, and manifested no small amount of critical sagacity.
While the essays were under consideration I received a note from one of the secretaries stating that both he and his colleague were of opinion that a treatise "sent in on the wow-discovery of America" "ought not to be received, there being no such subject in the programme." This interference with the functions of the judges appears to me to have been irregular and improper, and implied that those to whom the adjudication of these essays had been entrusted were not capable of deciding whether they were on the proposed subject or not. I therefore claim for myself, and for those who acted with me, the right to inter- pret the terms of the announcement in accordance with their obvious meaning and the spirit of the age in which we live ; I am decidedly of opinion that the negative essayist ought to participate in the competition, and I emphatically deny that the competitors were bound to commit the immorality of adopting any conclusion that seemed to them not warranted by the premises.
I do not think it necessary to enter mto the comparative merits of the affir- mative essays. All of them, whetLer we take them singly or collectively, appear to me to fall far short of establishing -the points which their respective writers have undertaken to prove ; and as literary compositions none of them will bear comparison with the masterly essay of " Gwrnerth Ergydlym."
Having read the whole of the essays with as much care as the circum- stances permitted, the impressions left on my mind are these :
That the existence of the so-called Welsh Indians has not yet been esta- blished ;
That Madoc's alleged discovery of the American Continent rests upon bare conjecture ; and,
That it is still an open question whether he ever left his own country.
If these essays exhaust the subject to which they refer, I can draw no other inference from their contents than that these points cannot, with our present stock of knowledge, be proved to the satisfaction of unbiassed minds, I am
THE LIFE OF THOMAS STEPHENS. xxxix
therefore of opinion that one decision alone is possible, and that the prize ought to be awarded to " Gwrnerth Ergydlym."
In this sense, but less fully, I had expressed myself in the communication which I addressed to you in the earlier part of the Eisteddfod week ; and I must be permitted to observe that my decision in this case was as formal as in the case of Barddas and the Diarebion Cyrnraeg, of which I acted as one of the judges, and no complaint was made that my verdict in reference to those subjects was deficient in point of formality.
I now confirm my former judgment, arid must be understood to affirm emphatically —
1. That the essay of " Gwrnerth Ergydlym " is strictly upon the subject and entitled to compete ;
2. That it is by far the best essay sent to me; — and,
3. That the author is fully entitled to the prize of 201. and the silver star.
I remain, Gentlemen,
Your faithful Servant,
D. SILVAN EVANS. Llangi'an: Dec. 8, 1858.
But all reasoning was of no avail. The Committee of the Eisteddfod, led on by Mr. John Williams ab Ithel, withheld the prize from Stephens, on the ground that no essay could be admitted in competition which did not labour to support the discovery of America by Prince Madoc. When this announcement was made at the Eisteddfod, Mr. Stephens stepped on the plat- form and claimed permission to say a few words. The chairman begged him to refrain from doing so, and one leading man ordered the brass band present to strike up, in order to drown his voice. There were, however, many present who wished to hear him, and, yielding to their cry, the chairman allowed him to speak. He said "the real objection to his essay was that the conclusion arrived at was at variance with the precon- ceptions of the Committee. The Eisteddfod was riot an arena for special advocacy, but for the promulgation of truth. He raised his indignant protest against the right claimed by the Committee to award their prizes for the advocacy of one-sided views of disputed questions. Gwir yn erbyn y byd (Truth against the world) was a common motto at the Eisteddfod, and he honestly wrote his opinions upon the supposition that their object was to arrive at the truth. The first affirmation of Madoc's discovery was made in 1559, sixty-seven years after the discovery of America by Columbus, and the person who made this affirmation referred to Lopez de Gomara, a Spanish historian of New Spain. His ambition was to be the interpreter of the claims of the language and literature of Wales to the neighbouring and Continental nations ; this he had hitherto endeavoured to be to the best of his ability. He was proud to be considered a firm exponent of well-founded claims on the part of the Welsh people, and he would still continue to urge strongly and persistently every merit honestly
xl THE LIFE OF THOMAS STEPHENS.
pertaining to the history and national character of the Kymry ; but it lowered them as a people to claim what they could not prove belonged to them, and they tarnished their own reputation in attempting to deprive Christopher Columbus of the great glory of his discovery." Applause, loud and long, was won from the audience by this manly speech. But it was all of no avail. The Committee withheld the prize. Ab Ithel's enthusiasm carried all before it, and the brass band which was at his command struck up again, to the general delight. After this Stephens sought no more Eisteddfod laurels. He retired to his severe studies, his literary criticism, and the practical and benevolent duties of his daily life. Pie found in his experience the truth of his own quotation from De Foe : " If a man resolves to venture upon the dangerous precipice of telling un- biassed truth, let him proclaim war with mankind ! "
The virtues of private citizenship usually remain unsung. In towns and villages are to be seen schoolrooms, infirmaries, libraries, chapels and churches, and halls, all the work of silent heroes, who, though unrecognised by Carlyle, exist throughout the land, working faithfully for no reward in the discharge of what they believe to be their duty. Stephens, during the many years which he passed at Merthyr, never lost an opportunity of doing his part to improve the town and to elevate its inhabitants. He had to educate it in the way of sanitary reform, and had to fight manfully against the powerful cry that his schemes would increase the local rates. In con- junction with Dr. Dyke, a learned medical practitioner there, and a few other thoughtful men, he succeeded in securing for Merthyr the advantages of a Local Board of Health. When a new cemetery was required he ad- vocated the selection of the present site at Cera, in opposition to the views of many of the ratepayers. His letters published in the public papers upon this subject are powerful appeals to his fellow-townsmen not to allow an unwise economy to interfere with their best efforts to promote the general health of the town. He was for many years an earnest advocate of the cause of temperance among the colliers and miners, and he was active in promoting the construction of the Temperance Hall. He spared no effort to advance the usefulness and success of the Merthyr Library, of which, as we have seen, he was one of the founders. His excellent addresses and lectures to the young men of the district are now remembered by them with gratitude. One of the anomalies springing up from the sudden rise of populous towns in the mineral districts of Glamorganshire is that they remain without any of the advantages of municipal corporations. At Merthyr, however, there exists the habit of treating the chief constable of the upper division of the hundred of Caerphilly with the honours of a quasi-mayoralty. The principal men of the town are in successive years appointed to this office. Stephens was high constable in 1858.
Mr. N. R. Williams, the Unitarian minister of Merthyr, found in
THE LIFE OF THOMAS STEPHENS. xli
Stephens not only one of the chief supporters in his chapel, but also a profound theologian, to whom he could ever resort for information and advice. Stephens had read deeply in Biblical criticism and had mastered the history of the creeds. He was strong in his own belief as a Unitarian ; and I have letters of his, published in the papers, now before me which show with what vigour and learning he could maintain his argument in sup- port of it. He made the Unitarian chapel the centre of many of his good deeds. The care of the poor, the instruction of the young by the lending of books and by his own never- failing attendance at the Sunday school, were duties never neglected by him. Among the earnest and intellectual people who attend that little chapel his manly and genial countenance will long be missed and his noble example long remembered. " He was," says Mr. N. R. Williams, " my friend and support when I first came here, young and inexperienced in life ; and such he continued to be for fifteen years."
Mr. C. H. James, who has worked with Stephens for years in many a good cause at Merthyr Tydfil, thus writes to me about him :
I knew Mr. Stephens for a great number of years, and worked with him in various gooa causes up to the time that his powers failed him, and during the whole course of time that we were so engaged there never occurred the slightest ruffle in our intercourse.
We were engaged together for many years in the management of the Merthyr Library— he as secretary, and I as one of the subscribers and committee. The establishment of that institution was due in a great measure to his zeal and persistent devotedness to its objects ; and its maintenance in the efficiency in which it was maintained was also owing almost wholly to his constant supervi- sion. He was for many years the very soul of the society, and without him it would have collapsed.
It is impossible to estimate the influence for good which he exerted in this way. Had everyone in Merthyr exerted himself with the same singl.eminded- ness and devotion to institutions equally productive of good, the place would by this time have worn a different aspect.
The same desire of enlightening young people which impelled him to give so much time and thought to the Library urged him to Sunday school- teaching.
This, too, he continued for many years in Twynyrodin Unitarian chapel. In this way he got about him a number of intelligent young men, and I have no doubt that many not only in Merthyr, but in parts far away, would acknowledge that the lessons received from Mr. Stephens in these classes have quickened their intelligence and assisted them very materially in the struggle which they have had in life to establish and root themselves in the communities where Providence has placed them.
As a Welsh scholar and critic his works are the greatest testimony to his powers, and by them the world will judge him. Besides, however, those works, he was always ready, when, occasion required, to assist his neighbours by deliver- ing lectures, mostly for the benefit of the Library, and these always showed the scholarly mind which marked everything which came from him.
xlii THE LIFE OF THOMAS STEPHENS.
The characteristic which most struck me in him was the evenness of his mind and temper. Nothing ruffled him. Conscious, I presume, of the inten- tion to do what was right and just on all occasions, he seemed above the petty jealousies and passions which cloud the minds of so many men who have otherwise many admirable traits in their character; and knowing him as I did for many years, seeing him as I did, on some occasions, at meetings of various kinds, when many were raging and storming, my old friend Stephens was always placid, and frequently in a few kindly words, weighty with sense, poured oil on the stormy waters. It was, I suspect, this evenness of his temperament which aided him so greatly in applying his critical faculty to the historical problems which came before him to be solved. He was a Welshman, but he was a truth- loving man, and he never knowingly permitted the patriot to stifle those higher claims which truth and historical impartiality claim from all true men. His judicial attitude as a critic was admirable, and was, I think, in his writings that feature for which he is entitled to the highest praise which such works are entitled to.
CHAPTER VII.
ON the 19th day of February, 1862, the banks of one of Mr. Crawshay's great pits — called Gethin Pit No. 2 — were crowded by wailing women and children — waiting for the dead, who were being sent up from the workings below. An explosion of fire-damp had taken place. Forty-nine persons had been killed ; and by their death twenty-eight women and sixty children had been deprived of their natural support. The destitution of these people in the depth of this winter was great ; and their misery aroused the best energies of Stephens. He became the life of a movement that was set on foot for their relief. He dedicated himself to it night and day ; and it is thought by some that, by over-exertion, he then inflicted an injury upon his constitution from the effects of which it never really recovered. He was honorary secretary to the Gethin Relief Fund, and, to the honour of the inhabitants of Merthyr,and of the Glamorganshire hills, he was well supported. In a short time the sum of 7,528?. was subscribed ; and up to his death this fund, with the assistance of a committee, was administered by Stephens. With it the women have been sustained and the children educated and brought up to useful occupations. Standing in his shop, I have seen the Gethin recipients come to him for their money with happy faces. He knew them all — their story, their wants, their anxieties — and had a kind word for all. He never neglected or forgot them. Even during the last month of his illness, when he could scarcely speak, he would insist upon seeing that the Gethin money was paid, and the last act of his business life was the signing of the cheque for the poor widows.
He was about this time carrying onu large correspondence with learned
THE LIFE OF THOMAS STEPHENS. xliii
men with regard to the importance of arriving at some degree of uniformity and correctness in the orthography of the Welsh language. Without a very cautious regard to the derivations of words it is difficult for a person even well versed in the Welsh language to avoid grave mistakes in spelling. As a matter of fact, the number of men who are masters of Welsh orthography are few. It was Stephens's desire to adopt rules founded upon classical in- vestigation, which should be a universal guide. He took the initiative and for- warded a printed circular to all who were likely to be interested in the subject. Thence followed a weighty correspondence — very dry, but of interest to some who may like to investigate it some day. He was also greatly concerned in endeavours to arrive at a correct account of the Druidic religion — of its origin and influences. To him there appeared to be a subtle metaphysical and ethical system behind the vague and rough sketches we have of it in unlearned histories. He made large purchases of books bearing on this subject, and seemed to entertain the idea of publishing a work upon it. He investigated the historical origin of the Welsh mythological hero or demigod Hu Gadarn. This is a kind of Welsh Proteus, whose history varies in different ages. He is said by some to have been the leader of the Kymry to Britain ; and by others he is described as " Hu the Mighty, Jesus the Son of God — the least in respect of His worldly greatness whilst in the flesh, and the greatest in heaven of all visible majesties." Mr. Stephens's view was that all the stories about this personage originated in the romance of Charlemagne. In the Mabinogi of Charlemagne (Llyfr Coch o Hergest) he figures as the Emperor of Constantinople. The legend is that when the Emperor of the West visited him, he found Hu Gadarn ploughing in a field ; but the plough was made of gold, and he followed it in a golden chair supported by mules. The Welsh Triads, as I have already said, were subjected to the severe criticism of Stephens ; and although they had been thought to be prehistoric in their character, he succeeded in convincing most people who were disposed to accept truth before prejudice, that nearly all of them were of a medieval origin. The results of his study were contributed to various reviews and periodicals, and often merely by letter to some of the most eminent Welsh scholars. In addition to his many occupations he took, in 1864, the management of the " Merthyr Express," a weekly newspaper at Merthyr, which Mr. C. H. James, himself, and a few others had successfully established in that year.
It is interesting to note how much Stephens was sought for informa- tion and opinions upon all Welsh subjects. " I want you to tell me," wrote Mr. H. A. Bruce, " what Kymric bard was born at Ecclefechan, and what evidence there is of the fact. I startled Carlyle very much the other day by stating that several of our Welsh bards Avere geographically Scotchmen, and that one of them was his townsman. He said that Eccle-
xliv THE LIFE OF THOMAS STEPHENS.
fechan did not mean ' little church/ but the church of a sainted Fechan." In another letter the same writer asks, " What say you to the University for Wales ? I do not think it would do for Wales what the Scotch Universities have done for Scotland, unless it were attached to some con- siderable town. It might then become an intellectual centre and do much for us. A mere building in the wilderness would only further pro- vincialise us, and do more harm than good. I believe the want of a common centre of Welsh thought has been the chief, if not the only, cause of that dearth of men of real eminence in Wales which every candid man must admit to have existed." A correspondence was always kept up between Mr. Stephens and Viscount Villemarque and M. Henri Martin, and other Continental scholars, chiefly upon Celtic literature and tradition. But towards the end of the year 1864 the efforts of this worker and student received a check. He had overtaxed his strength. His ever active brain was receiving no rest. Even when attending to the duties of his shop there was always upon his desk, in a retired nook, some learned book or manuscript, to which he resorted whenever he had a moment's time. He never spared hin: self when there was work to be done or when there was a task of learning to master. His medical attendant observed a change in him. He had received a slight attack of paralysis. The effect, however, of it was scarcely perceptible to many. His power of thought and of work remained ; but some observed that much of his vivacity had gone. He became more retiring and diffident. The doctor ordered him to abandon literary work, but this he would not do. His physical health rallied, and it was only those who were well acquainted with the former activity of his brain, his ready wit and freedom of speech, who knew that a great change had come over him.
CHAPTER VIII.
ON September 11, 1866, Mr. Stephens was married atLlangollen Church to Miss Margaret Davis, of Merthyr Tydfil. This lady, possessed herself of a vigorous mind and of literary tastes, appreciated with her whole heart his career and character. Never did wife render to husband deeper venera- tion-and devotion than she did to him. They were old friends. Her re- lations were his chief companions, and one of the lessons of her youth had been to honour this man of learning. Her father, known for much charity in his day, died young ; and her mother lived to bring up his children well. It is right to note of her mother that she was descended from an old family — the Williamses of Penyrheolgerrig. In the time of the Commonwealth these had been stout Puritans and Parliament men ; and their descendants have abided by the principles of freedom. They loved
THE LIFE OF THOMAS STEPHEN*. xlv
to patronise literary men ; and it is recorded that old lolo Morgan wg was a frequent visitor at their house.1 From this stock came the wife of Stephens. She was worthy of him. His own happiness was complete, and the cloud which his attack of illness had cast over his life vanished for a time before the sunshine which she brought.
Merthyr Tydfil was in 1868 the scene of a strange political contest. Mr. H. A. Bruce had represented the constituency in Parliament for many years with advantage and success. Few members were more secure in their seats than he, and everyone regarded his continued representation of Merthyr Tydfil under any circumstances as one of the most certain of future events. Mr. Disraeli, however, assigned by his Reform Act an additional member to this constituency ; and forthwith great excitement arose as to the candidate that should be selected. A panic seemed to seize the leading political spirits. It was at first conceded by all that Mr. Bruce was to retain his seat, and that the sole question was the election of his coadjutor ; but forthwith a considerable portion of the constituency found itself pledged to a line of conduct which was dangerous to Mr. Bruce's interests. Mr. Fothergill brought powerful means to secure his return. Influential deputations waited upon him and strong committees were formed. But the Nonconformists were also on the alert, and formed an irresistible combination for the return of a man who should represent their interests. In the constituency their numbers were overwhelming ; and they selected for their candidate Mr. Henry Richard, a patriotic Welshman of great powers and an earnest Dissenter. A better man for the success of this party could not have been chosen. But many who thus got pledged to Mr. Henry Richard as Nonconformists had already un- wittingly got pledged to Mr. Fothergill, or were soon made to feel the in- fluences that were brought to bear in his favour. The supporters of Mr. Bruce apprehended the danger, but too late. While every effort was being made by the supporters of Mr. Richard and of Mr. Fothergill on their behalf, Mr. Bruce's supporters were content to rely upon the eminent services of their man and upon the undoubted claims which he had upon the constituency. Stephens was the most earnest and devoted advocate of Mr. Bruce's cause. He was indefatigable in his efforts. He spoke at meetings, and wrote much, both in English and in Welsh, in favour of his friend. This was the last effort of his public life, and in it all the energies of his former years seemed for a while to return. But all was in vain. The day of election came; Bruce was defeated, and those who wore his colours or were known to be his supporters could scarcely walk on that day through the streets of Merthyr with safety. "No event,"
1 See Waring' s lolo Morganwg, p. 171.
xlvi THE LIFE OF THOMAS STEPHENS.
writes Mrs. Stephens, " grieved and disappointed my husband as much as this. It had the effect of deadening his interest in the public affairs of Merthyr, and he never more interfered in them."
After holding the office of honorary secretary to the Merthyr Library for twenty-five years Mr. Stephens tendered his resignation of it. This was made the occasion by his friends of raising a testimonial for him — a new ordeal through which some good and many vain and foolish men have in these days to pass. Stephens at first refused to receive any testimonial at all, but at last he was prevailed upon to accept a bust of himself exe- cuted by his old friend Mr. Joseph Edwards. Mr. Edwards entered upon this work not only with the skill and spirit of a real artist, but also with the zeal of a friend. He entertained for Stephens a profound regard, and he studied hard to give to his work those touches which perpetuate in marble character and thought. Eminently has he succeeded ; and it is pleasing to know that Stephens lives not only in his writings and in the memory of those who knew him, but also in this work raised by the skill of one who was at the same time an accomplished artist and a loving friend.
In 1870, while Stephens was taking a walk in company with his wife in the neighbourhood of Vaynor, near Merthyr, he was again stricken by paralysis. This time the attack was severe in its character. Although he recovered to the extent of being able to pursue his studies for some time longer, he rarely attempted to write. During the years of suffering that followed he was watched with the greatest tenderness and care by his devoted wife. Dr. Thomas, of Merthyr, was unremitting in his attention to him. Several visits were made to London for the purpose of obtaining eminent medical advice. But all was in vain. Stephens succumbed at last to a long and painful illness, and died at Merthyr on January 4th, 1875.
In the town in which he had lived for many years his influence as a man of character and learning was felt. He often advocated views that ran counter to the prejudices of its inhabitants, but they failed not to recognise his broad charity and the true nobility of his nature. Swayed though they are by influences which many condemn, the inhabitants of Merthyr are an energetic and generous people. There is much intellectual activity among them. They honoured their distinguished townsman and were proud of the fame that he had won. He intruded not himself upon the rich or the poor, but his manly character had won for him the respect of both. No man stood higher than he did in the universal esteem of his neighbours ; and when he died, Merthyr truly sorrowed for him. It was known and felt then that in all his actions he had been influenced only by the love of truth and by the most enlightened patriotism.
THE LIFE OF THOMAS STEPHENS. xlvii
The Rev. M. Williams, known to fame as "Nicander," wrote the following letter to Stephens while he was engaged in the Madoc controversy.
Llanchyddlad Rectory, Holyhead: Aug. 31, 1860.
Dear Sir,— I never was a believer in the discovery of America by Madoc; your remarks seem quite decisive of the point. It is a misfortune that we so little value historical criticism in our researches. Too much prejudice aud too little knowledge have, on the other hand, puffed us up to take credit for many things that really do not belong to us. How often, for instance, have the words of Tacitus been applied to the Kymry : " Cirnbri parva nunc civitas, sed gloria ingens." Tacitus here makes not the remotest allusion to the Welsh, who in his time were by no means a " parva civitas ; " he is, in fact, speaking of a tribe of Germans.
I remember being much struck with your identification of Aedd Mawr with the Roman general Aetius. There seems to me to be more common sense in this view than in that of Dr. Meyer, who suggests that the sEdui of Gaul were so called from a god Aed, whom they worshipped, and whom he identifies with the Aedd Mawr of the Triads. These ^Edui, he thinks, gave this island the name of Aeddon or Eiddin, which is perpetuated in the word Edinburgh.
Most of our scholars, in endeavouring to grasp at distant shadows, disregard, and therefore miss, the substance that is nearer home and really available for our true history. What a havoc Niebuhr would have made of our traditions, and what materials he would have found for Welsh history where one would have least expected to find any.
It is amusing to see how some actually good scholars receive all our crudest traditions as sound articles of historic faith, and defend them as such with all zeal and earnestness.
I remain, dear Sir,
Truly yours,
M. WILLIAMS. THOMAS STEPHENS, ESQ.
This letter, written by a patriotic Welshman, indicates the field of enquiry in history and literature that was open to Stephens. The illusions and dreams of Welsh historians and bards had become a joke for the world. But mixed up with them and underlying them, often but dimly traceable, there were fragments of historic truth that it were well to preserve. Upon his work Stephens boldly entered, fearless to do what was right and to ascertain the truth. For the task he had qualified himself by years of laborious study. I count but little the alleged disadvantages connected with his keeping of the chemist's shop at Merthyr. Great scholarship has not been UvSually achieved in luxurious rooms amid gilded books ; it has more frequently adorned empty garrets and filled with grandeur lives of poverty. The accidents of place affect but little the real student. Give him but the books, and soon will he become a ruler in a great kingdom. Stephens was able to collect a valuable library of his own and to visit great libraries in London and elsewhere. He mastered
c
xlviii THE LIFE OF THOMAS STEPHENS.
several languages, and had at his ready disposal a store of antiquarian learning such as few possessed. He had a retentive memory, a sound judgment, and capacities for profound thought. He thus became the first Celtic critic of his day, and as such his name will be honoured and pre- served. The work of his life was completed before he was forty-three years of age, for after his first attack of illness in 1864 he did nothing which will add to his fame. He died, moreover, at the age of fifty-three. "Et ipse quidem quamquam medio in spacio integral aetatis ereptus, quantum ad gloriam longissimum aevum peregit."
A LIST OF THE MSS. ESSAYS AND WRITINGS OF THOMAS STEPHENS.
1. An Analysis of the Remains of the Welsh Poets from the Earliest Period to the
Present Time, containing all the Bardic Biography known to exist, being, in fact, a Comprehensive History of the Bards.
2. Biographies of Eminent Welshmen, with an Introductory Essay.
3. An Essay on the alleged Discovery of America by Madoc ap Owen Q-wynedd in
the Twelfth Century.
4. The Gododin of Aneurin Gwawdrwydd: an English Translation, with copious
Explanatory Notes. A Life of Aneurin and several lengthy Dissertations illus- trative of the Gododin and the Battle of 'Cattraeth.
5. A History of Trial by Jury: its Origin and Progress in the Principality of Wales ;
and also the History of Trial by Jury in England.
6. An Essay on the Origin of the English Nation.
7. The History of the Town and Castle of Cardiff, with Appendix.
8. An Essay on the Names of Places in South Wales, to illustrate the Histqry, Local
Traditions, and Legendary Lore of the Principality, taken from the Note- book of a Kambling Pedlar.
9. An Essay on the Working Men of Wales compared with those of England, Scotland,
and Ireland.
10. The History of Wales from the Earliest Period to the Present Time, with an Intro-
duction containing the History of the Migrations of the Kymry prior to their arrival in the Isle of Britain.
11. An Essay on the Advantages of a Eesident G-entry.
12. A Welsh Essay on the, Part taken by Welsh Chieftains in the Wars of York and
Lancaster.
13. An Essay on the Scientific Value of the Chemical Theories and Discoveries of Baron
Liebig.
14. An Essay : Druids, Druidic Customs ; Symbols and Alphabet.
15. Translation of a Treatise on the Position which the Welsh Language occupies among
those of Celtic Origin, with their Branches among the Indo-European, or, as they are generally called, the Indo-G-ermanic Languages. Several Welsh Essays and materials for an Essay on the Neo-Bardic Theosophy.
CHAPTEE I.
SECTION I.
HISTOKICAL SKETCH OP WELSH LITEEATUEE PEIOE TO THE TWELFTH CENTUET.
THE facts of history, apart from the circumstances from which they sprang, can afford no instruction ; for our knowledge of effects is not complete, until we add to it some acquaintance with their causes. And therefore, as the phenomena visible in the twelfth and following centuries, are the products of agents set in operation in a previous era, it becomes of importance to ascertain what those were, and what the state of literature was, when we commence our criticism.
It is said that there are remaining some portions of genuine Druidic lore ; but as I am able neither to deny nor confirm that assertion, it will be wiser to abstain from giving any opinion upon the subject, and proceed at once to the Bards of the sixth century. The genuineness of the compositions, which go under the names of these bards, was denied many years ago by Mr. Malcolm Laing, and the Critical Review ; but as they could have known nothing of the matter, their opinions were not of much value. Mr. Sharon Turner,1 an Englishman of great learning and rare impartiality, has devoted an extensive essay to this enquiry ; and as he has ratified the conclusions of Welsh critics, we may now take it for granted, no one disputes that such persons as Aneurin, Taliesin, and Llywarch lived at the time stated. Many of the pieces imputed to Taliesin are un- doubtedly not older than the twelfth century, as will be here-
1 Vindication of the British Bards, by Sharon Turner, F.A.S. B
WELSH LITERATURE
after shown ; but it is also equally evident that other pieces must be referred to a much earlier date. The bards who lived in the sixth century were Aneurin, Taliesin, Llywarch, Myrddin, Kian, Talhaiarn, Meugant, and Kywryd.
The poems of LLYWARCH HEN are undoubtedly old, and in referring to an age of whose manners we have but few other transcripts, are very valuable, nor are they destitute of poetic excellence. Though a warrior, and treating of warriors, his forte does not lie in heroic poetry ; his descriptions of manners are happy, and the incidental allusions are strikingly illustra- tive of the age ; but his chief power lies in pathetic lamentation, and his elegies have many fine sentiments. He cannot, however, take a high rank in bardic literature ; for either from want of capacity, or in compliance with a bad usage, he begins long strings of verses with the same words, such as " Eryr Pengwern," " Eiry Mynydd," " Eglwysau Bassa," and with better effect, " Ystavell Kynddylan." He has some very affecting verses with this commencement, many of which bring out the facts of the time with great clearness.
The hall of Kynddylan is dark to-night Without fire, without songs ; Tears afflict the cheeks.1
From this we learn that the order of the bards existed in his days.
ANEURIN takes a higher position in the roll of poets, and his Gododin, a poem detailing the adventures of the Ottadini, a tribe of the Kymry, before their immigration from Cumberland and the adjoining country to that portion of this kingdom now known as Wales, justly entitles him to the precedence among the bards of his day ; the next being TALIESIN. Any criticism on this poem, which did not treat the subject at length, could not fail to be unsatisfactory; I shall therefore only pause to offer a few remarks on what the object of the composition seems to be. The Rev. Edward Davies conceives the Gododin to refer to the reported massacre of three hundred Cambrian chiefs, by Hengist and the Saxons, who invited them to a feast at Stone-
1 Owen's Heroic Elegies of Llywarch Hen, p. 78. The original runs thus : Ystafell Cyndylan ys tywyll heno,
Heb dan, heb gerddau, Digystudd deurudd dagrau.
PRIOR TO THE TWELFTH CENTURY.
henge ; but the Eev. Thomas Price dissents from that view, though acknowledging that he has seen no satisfactory explana- tion of the meaning of the word " Cattraeth." Methinks the acuteness which discovered the meaning of " Dyvynaul Vrych," might easily have overcome that difficulty, for I believe the following to be the key to the Gododin. We know that a tribe called the " Ottadini " occupied the shores of Northumberland, from Flamborough Head to the Frith of Forth ; we know further that Deivyr and Bryneich were adjacent territories ; and lastly we know that in the adjoining county of York, there was a Koman town of note, named Cataracton, 1 and now called Catte- rick. The bard says, " The men of Gododin went to Cattraeth ; " now Cattraeth must have been somewhere near. Many phrases countenance this assumption:
Gwyr a aeth Gattraeth gan ddydd. (Twice repeated.) Men went to Cattraeth at break of day, or with the day. and
Gwyr a aeth Gattraeth gan wawr. (Thrice repeated.) Men went to Cattraeth with the dawn.
It therefore appears to me perfectly clear, that the subject of the Gododin is an expedition of the Ottadini against the town of Cataracton, then held most probably by the Brigantes. Taliesin says :
Arwyre gwyr Cattraeth gan ddydd. I will extol the men of Cattraeth who with the day, &c.
and we cannot suppose that this is simply an allusion to Aneurin's poem, and not to real personages who might with propriety be said to be of " the men of Cattraeth." The whole scene and actions are laid in the North ; and there is not the slightest reason for believing it can have had any reference to the reported massacre at Stonehenge in Wiltshire. Aneurin also makes allusions to bards existing in his time :
Hyfeidd hir etmygir tra vo kerddawr. Hyveidd the Tall will be known while there are minstrels.
1 It is but justice to an old bard to acknowledge that I was anticipated in this remark by lolo Morganwg, Lyric Poems, ii. 16
B 2
WELSH LITERATURE
and again :
Blwyddyn bu llawen llawer kerddawr.
That year many minstrels were merry.
Both Aneurin and Taliesin l have been honoured with the title of " King of the Bards," but in my opinion the title has been, given with least propriety to the latter ; for he has no single work to compare with the Gododin, though he has several small poems possessing more real poetry than any portion of that poem. His life seems to have been more ex- clusively devoted to the profession; and unlike Aneurin he does not seem ever to have handled the spear. His poems show more skill in composition, finer ideas, bolder images, and more intense passion than any poet of the same age. The historical value of the Gododin is greater; poetical merit be- longs more exclusively to Taliesin. There are nearly eighty pieces attributed to him, most of which belong to a much later date ; but the " Battle of Gwenystrad," the " Battle of Argoed Llwyvain," the " Battle of Dyffryn Gwarant," and some of the Gorchanau, seem to be genuine remains.
Under the name of MERDDIN, the editors of the Myvyrian Archaiology place the " Hoianau," the " Avallenau," " Kyvoesi Merddin a Gwenddydd ei Chwaer," the " Gwasga.rgerdd," and " I Ysgolan." The Hoianau, which were supposed to be as old as the sixth century, will, with the Avallenau, be shown to belong to the thirteenth century, and the Kyvoesi to the tenth ; the Ysgolan here alluded to will be found identical with the Ysgolan, whom our poets and historians have conjured up in the Tower of London to destroy an imaginary heap of books ; and the real Ysgolan of actual history will be produced in the third chapter to answer for himself. From this it would seem that not one of the poems which are attributed to Merddin, is likely to be his.
We have but few remains of the labours of other authors, much too few to form any useful estimate of their poetical merits. KUHELTN, LLEVOED, ELAETH, TYSSILIO, GWYDDNO, and GWDION AB DON, were bards who lived about the same time. A
1 The name Telesinus occurs in Koman history, that of Pontius Telesinus, " dux Samnitium," the opponent of Lucius Cornelius Sulla (Keightley, Hist. Some, 349). A Roman consul of the same name is mentioned by Tacitus.
PRIOR TO THE TWELFTH CENTURY. >r>
little later lived A VAN VERDDIG, who has left an elegy on Cad- wallon, of which leuan Brydydd Hir has formed a favourable opinion ; and still later lived GOLYDDAN.
It is also said that Cadwaladr held an Eisteddvod some time during his reign*1 The abdication of this monarch left the Kymry in great difficulties ; and the two succeeding centuries are barren of literary productions. We are not, however, to infer, that the order of bards was extinct, for on the contrary, it seems to have grown considerably. The bard had, in fact, become a necessary element in Welsh society; and, as we learn from the Laws of Howel Dda, had obtained a,n eminent social position. These laws throw much light upon the character and office of the bard, and show him to have formed an essential member of the royal household. Minstrels attended the monarch whenever he went from home ; but the chief minstrel should not be confounded, as he sometimes is, with the Bardd Teulu, for it was the latter and not the former that was a member of the household, one of the twenty- four officers of the court. This expression, Bardd Teulu (the Family Bard), at once shows the estimation in which that personage was held ; and his position will be still more clearly understood from the following notices in the Welsh Laws.2
' The domestic Bard shall receive of the family, a beast out of every spoil in which he shall be present ; and a man's share like every domestic.
If there should be fighting, the Bard shall sing The Monarchy of Britain in front of the battle.
When a Bard shall auk a gift of a prince, let him sing one piece ; when he asks of a baron, let him sing three pieces; should he ask of a villain, let him sing until he falls asleep.
His land shall be free ; and he shall have a horse in attendance from the King.
The Chief of Song shall begin the singing in the common hall.
He shall be next but one to the patron of the family.
He shall have a harp from the King, and a gold ring from the Queen, when his office is secured to him. The harp he shall never part with.
The protection of the domestic Bard, is to conduct a person to the patron of the family.
1 " The prince held his court — that is, received his vassals — three times a year, Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost." The laws originated thus, and these were fitting times for Eisteddvodau. — Myv. Arch. iii. 363 ; VILLEMAEQVE, Ronde Tabk, 311.
2 Wotton's Leges Wallica.
WELSH LITERATURE
The domestic Bard, and the physician, shall be in the lodging of the patron of the family.
The steward of the household, judge of the court, headgroom, chief of song, master of the hawks, page for the chamber, and domestic chaplain ; the satisfaction of their insult and murder are the same, and their heriots the same ; and their daughters are alike in rank.
In satisfaction for their insult shall be paid nine cows, and nine score pence of money.
In their satisfaction for murder shall be paid nine hundred and nine cows, with three advancements.
A pound is the heriot of each of them.
A pound is the maiden fee of their daughters, their covert fee is three pounds, their jointure is seven pounds.1
We have here clear evidences of the high estimation in which the Bardic Order was held in the tenth century ; and it would seem that the profession had been organised to a considerable extent, so that there were at that time various degrees of bards. The copies of the laws consulted by Dr. Wotton, and also the one given in the first volume of the Cambrian Register, are some- what defective ; and their account of the domestic bard, the presiding bard, and the chief of song, is so confused that one might suppose them to be various names for the same person. A copy of the laws in the Welsh School in London, supplies the deficiency, and enables us to see with more clearness into
1 Bardd teulu a geif eidyon y gan y teulu o bop anrheith yd vo yndi, aran gwr mal pob teuluwr. Enteu a ddyly canu unbenaeth prydein o byd y wlad rac bron y gad.
Ban a archo bard y teyrn caned un-canu ; ban archo breyr caned tri chanu. Od eirch ytaeawc, caned yny gysgo.
Y dir yn ryd amarch bith osseph ygan y brenhin.
Y penkerd a dechreu canu yn y neuad kyssevin.
Eil nesaf ir penteulu vyd.
Telyn a geif y gan y brenhin, amodrwy eur ygan y vrenhines, pan gwystler yswyd idaw. Y delyn ni ad byth ganthaw.
Nawd y bard teulu yw kanhebrwng dyn hyd ar y penteulu.
En llety ypenteulu ybydant y bard teulu a'r medic.
Dystain, ygnad llys, Pengwastrawd, Penkynyd, Penkerd, Hebogyd, Gwas ystavell, Effeiriad teulu, vn sarhaed, ac vn galanas, ac vn ebediw, ac vn vreint eu merched.
En eu sarhaed ytelir naw muw, a nawugaint aryant.
En eugalanas ytelir naw muw anaw ugaint muw gan dri dyrchavael.
Punt yw ebediw pob un onadunt.
Punt yw gobyr en merched ; teir punt yw eu kowyll ; seithpimt yw eu hagwedi.
PRIOR TO THE TWELFTH CENTURY.
their actual conditions ; and from this we find the differences between these functionaries to be the following :
The chief of song was not one of the twenty-four officers of the court.
The chief of song and the bard president might be the same person, if he should have obtained in bardic contests the chair of presidency ; but they were frequently different persons. The being a bard president entitled the bard to a seat at the royal table, though the chief of song was not permitted to enter the hall.
The bardd teulu was distinct from both. At the table the bardd teulu sat below the pillars with the inferior officers of the court, while the bard president sat above.
It is somewhat singular that the bards who lived at this time, and under the guardianship of so able and accomplished a prince, should have left 110 traces of their poetical labours. It will perhaps be suggested that their poems have been lost ; but I cannot countenance such an assumption. We shall pre- sently see, in the first work of Meilir, that the poetry of the bards one hundred and fifty years later was very rudimental, and may therefore conclude that the age was not honoured by any extraordinary intellectual exhibitions. The greatness of the age was concentred in Howel j and perhaps we shall not be 'far wrong, if we attribute to the bards of that day no higher aims than " Englynion y Clywed," and such moral lessons as " Chwedlau y Fran," or the Aphorisms of Cattwg. These verses, though indicating no great intellectual capacity, are in their way exceedingly curious, and instructively show how an intelli- gent people supplied the defect felt in the want of a written literature. For this purpose we subjoin the following :
Hast thou heard what Avaon sung,
The son of Taliesin of just lay ?
The cheek will not conceal the anguish of the heart.1
That is one of the Verses of the Hearing, and here follows one of the Fables of the Crows :
A glyweisti a gant Avaon Vab Taliesin, gerdd gyfion, — Ni chel grudd gystudd calon.
WELSH LITERATURE
A crow sang a fable on the top
Of an oak, above the junction of two rivers, —
Understanding is more powerful than strength.1
This is one of Cattwg's aphorisms :
Make the best on all occasions
Of what you already possess : —
Better than nothing is the shelter of a rush.2
Cattwg the Wise sang it.
Possibly some of these may be later than the time of their reputed authors ; but some of them may lay claim to high an- tiquity.
These however rather confirm than disprove the assertion, that after Howel, darkness covered the land. King Alfred in- forms us that there were but very few ab?e to read in his day, and we may thence infer that there were no exertions made to cultivate literature, or diffuse information. Perhaps, we have no right to expect more than the Laws of Howel, the Life of Alfred, and the writings of Asser, from so barren an age. Some persons have, in a most uncritical manner, referred the poems sometimes called mythological to the time which intervened between the death of Howel and the appearance of Meilir ; for this they assign no better reason than that a number of poems exist to which there has hitherto been assigned no date, and
1 Bran a gant chwedl ar uwchder Derwen uwch deuffrwd aber, Trech deall na grymusder.
2 Gwna y goreu ym mhob angen, O'r peth a fo'n dy berchen, Gwell no dim gwasgawd brwynen.
Cattwg Ddoeth a'i cant.
We must reject the pretension of the Bardic school, that this is the wisdom of Cattwg, though we may hesitate as to the correct merit to assign them, whether to charge them with a design to pander to national vanity in assigning to Cattwg the merit that really belonged to Des Cartes and Spinoza, or whether, if the outcry against Spinoza had begun so early, we are to credit them with courage in giving the protec- tion of the honoured name of " Cadoc the Wise" to a philosophy which saw the light much too soon for the world to recognise its merit as a grand contribution to the fund of European thought. In either case^we must concede to the bards of Glamorgan this decisive merit, that they had the capacity to appreciate the merit of Spinoza two cen- turies before appreciative Germany, and possibly three or more centuries before the exhaustive system of that bold thinker became recognised in England. See Lewis i. 187.
PRIOR TO THE TWELFTH CENTURY.
that there is a gap which ought to be filled by something or another : — they, it would seem, not being cognisant of the fact, that the internal evidence of these poems contradicts such an assumption. Their true character, and probable date, will be shown in a subsequent chapter.
Another part of the literature of these centuries, was com- pcsed of the prose histories of Gildas, Nennius, and Tyssilio, and the sources from which they derived their information. I know not for certain, what class of persons Gildas means by the "seculares" (men of the world), to whose fables monks and princes were so prone to listen ; but there can be no mistake when Nennius speaks of " antiquis libris nostrorum veterum," the old books of our ancestors. Such old books there must have been. Mr. Price has advanced as a proof that Nennius was less an original .historian than translator, that his statement of the likeness of the Virgin being borne on Arthur's shoulders, is pro- bably a translation of "ysgwyd," a shield, which he is supposed to have found in a Welsh history, and mistaken for "ysgwyt," shoulder, or " ysgwydd," as it is now written. This opinion is to my thinking extremely probable, and is confirmed by the occurrence in Nexmius of such words as " Cat Coet Celyton," where the Welsh is not translated into Latin equivalents at all. If these conjectures are correct, then it would result that the Welsh had in addition to their poetry valuable prose histories, in their own language, about A.D. 858. We also find mention of many learned men during these years ; but they for the most part belonged to the Church.
We have not many memorials left by which to judge of the fortune of the bards during the stormy period, which succeeded the death of our legislator, though an occasional ray darts through the gloom, and enables us to form an imperfect notion of the character of the order. There is an assertion sometimes made that there was an Eisteddvod held in the ninth century, at which presided Geraint, usually called Bardd Glas, or the Blue Bard, and at which cynghanedd was established as a con- stituent part of verse.1 How much truth there may be in the former statement, as to the fact of an Eisteddvod having been held, I am unable to ascertain ; but that which relates to cyng- hanedd as an element in, though not as yet a necessary consti-
1 Cambrian Register, i. p. 400.
10 WELSH POETRY
tuent of, Welsh poetry is correct. It is however pretty well ascertained that Bleddyn ab Kynvyn held an Eisteddvod in 1070, and issued some regulations for the better government of the order.
The important truths we learn from the preceding digest of facts, are that in the eleventh century, the Welsh had an an- cient literature ; a language which had been forming for many centuries, and was always used as the vehicle for the trans- mission of thought ; and an order of bards possessing great influence over the popular mind, very numerous, and held high in public estimation. Add to these, intelligent princes, a people of subtle genius, an educated priesthood, and an intimate inter- course with Ireland, the then favourite seat of learning, and some preparation will have been made to appreciate the facts and intellectual phenomena which will be unfolded in the following pages.
SECTION II.
WELSH POETRY FEOM A.D. 1080 TO A.D. 1194.
FROM the remarks in the preceding section, it would appear that no poems of any great merit except those of the bards of the sixth century had appeared prior to the appearance of MEILIR, and the very inferior character of the first poem we have belong- ing to Meilir, will infallibly lead to the conclusion that at that time bardism was at a low ebb. It may therefore be safely in- ferred that no poems of any moment, belonging to the tenth or eleventh centuries, have been lost, for it was scarcely probable that any existed. The tranquillity of the reign of Howel, and the stormy period which succeeded, are both equally barren of literary fruit. Brighter times are now about to appear. Gruff- ydd ab Kynan returned from Ireland to claim the patrimony of his father from the usurper Trahaearri, whom he at length defeated in the battle of Carn ; l and Meilir, the bard of the
1 Mynydd Cam is in Pembrokeshire, situated between Fishgunrd and Hfl.rp,rford- weet
FROM A.D. 1080 TO AD. 1194. 11
latter prince, in a lament upon his patron's fall composed soon after the battle, furnishes us with the first poem demanding critical remark. He narrates briefly, and with evident sincerity, the fall of his patron ; and though the poem possesses but little merit of a poetical character, it will be found useful for the facts it mentions^ and as an illustration of the manner in which men and things were contemplated in his day. Meilir was a man of some repute, and held in considerable estimation ; but this short piece affords no trace whatever of the poetical capacity which he afterwards showed :
I will adore my God, King of air ;
The Lord knows my distress ;
In trouble I grieve greatly,
For my kind lord , the ruler of many.
O that they should have come across the sea a second time,
The restless (un tractable, uneasy) people of Nanhy ver,1
The Gwyddelians, the black devils ; 2
And the Scots, a people half strong.
A battle there was in Carn mountain,
And Trahaearn was slain,
And the son of Rhy wallawn, a spirited leader,
Came not away from the conflict ;
Thursday, three weeks since,
Towards night, was he slain. 3
1 " Nanhyfer is in the parish of Nevern, of which I am the vicar. Nanhyfer, the Valley of Hyfer. Hyfer is the name of the river that flows through the valley." — Tcgid's Note, Nov. 7, 1849.
2 That is, the Danes.
3 I DRAHAEARN A MEILYR.
Meilyr Brydyt agant yr Awdyl hon yn y lluyt y lias Trahaearn uab Caradawc a Meilyr uab Khiwallawn vab Cynvyn.
G-wolychaf ym Ken rex awyr
Arglwyt a wyr uym pryder
Pryder pryderaf yn fawr
Am fy Arglwydd llawr lliw niuer
Ny dotynt dros uor etwaith
Pobyl anhyuaeth nanhyuer
Grwytyl dieuyl duon
Ysgodogion dynion lletfer
Cad a uyt ym mynyt Carn
A Trahaearn a later
A mab Khy wallawn rwyf mygr
O'r gyfergyr nyd aduer
Difiei ympen y teir wythnos
Tu a nos yd ith later.
12 WELSH POETRY
The attentive reader will notice the orthography of the original, that he may be better prepared for a dissertation upon the language, which will form an introduction to the fourth chapter ; and also bear in mind that the " u " coming before " y " and the vowels is to be read as " v," and the " t " fre- quently is to be sounded as " dh." *
Apart from its historical value, the most noticeable feature is the metre. It does not rhyme at the ends of the lines ; but the last word of a line rhymes with a word towards the middle of that which succeeds. This u awyr " rhymes with " wyr," " fawr " with "llawr," and so on throughout the poem. In the language of the bards this recurrent rhyme is called Ban Kyrch ; and with me it has ever been an especial favourite.
We have two other poems by Meilir, one an elegy on the death of his second patron Gruffydd ab Kynan,1 and the other on the near approach of his own. Meilir must have been an old man when he wrote the latter ; a wide gap of fifty-seven years separates the dates of these and his former poem ; but, as has been clearly shown by the author of Hanes Cymru, there is no difficulty here presented which may not be explained on the assumption that he was a young man at the death of Trahaearn. The battle of Carn2 was fought 1080, and the death of Gruffydd ab Kynan took place in 1137. Now if we assume that Meilir was twenty years old at the former period, he must have been seventy-seven at the latter ; and when we know that the king himself was quite as old, an octogenarian poet is by no means an unaccountable phenomenon. However, I am less solicitous about the age of the poet, than about the very striking difference which appears between the poems of the same man. What his first poem was, we have seen ; the first was tame and uninteresting ; the latter are full of poetic traits, vigorous thought, and weighty observations. Youth is impressed upon one, the others indicate maturity. We shall select as an example the poem entitled the " Death Bed of the
1 The Eev. Evan Evans (Lissertatio, p. 106) says that Meilir on one occasion officiated as an ambassador from Gr. ab Kynan to Henry I.
2 " E mynydd hagen i bu y frwydyr ynddaw, a eilaw (hwnnw a eilw, y.a.} ciwdawt y \vlat y Mynydd Carn, sef yw hynny Mynydd y Garnedd, canys yno i mae dirfawr Garnedd o fein adan (Gerrig a than) yr hon i cladchvyt rhytswr yng cynnoesoedd gynt." — Myv. Arck. ii. 594.
fROM A.D. 1080 TO A.D. 1194. 13
Bard," for we shall have elegies on monarchs in abundance as we proceed.1
The King of kings is accessible to be adored ; — To my Lord supreme I will prefer a prayer :
Sovereign of the region of necessity,
The most exalted circle of bliss,
Beneficent Being, make a reconciliation Betwixt Thee and me !
Returning memory iterates a groan, that Thou shouldst Be contemned for my sake, yet repenting it was done !
I deserved shame,
In the presence of God the universal Ruler,
In not serving truly
In my devotion k
Thou wilt serve me nevertheless, my Protector and King, Ere I am become an earthly clod !
A faithful prediction
To Adam and his race,
Foretold in ancient days The prophets.
The being of Jesus in the womb of martyrdom ;— The good Mary the burden did sustain.
1 Rex Regwm rybyt rwyt i voli : — Ym Arglwyt uchav archav weti. Gwledic gwlad orvod Goruchel Wenrod : Gwrda gwna gymmod Ryngod a mi !
Advrev advant c6v dy rygoti Erov, ac edivar y di joni !
Digonais geryt
Yggwyt Duw Dovyt,
Vy iawn grevyt Heb i weini.
Gweinivi hagen, ym reen ri, Cyn bwyv deierin divenyni !
Diheu darogant,
I Adav a'i blant,
Y rydraethasant Y profwydi.
Bod lesu yn mru merthyri ; — Mair mad ymborthes i beichiogi.
14 WELSH POETRY
A burden have I accumulated Of tormenting sin : Severely have I been agitated By its perturbations.
Sovereign of all life, how good art Thou when worshipped ! May I worship Thee ; may I become pure before I am tried 1
The King of all chiefs
Knows that He will not refuse me,
Of His mercy
For my evil deed?.
I have received heaps of gold and velvet, From frail princes for loving them !
But after the gifted muse I feel another impulse ;
Faltering is my tongue, urging me to silence.
I Meilir the Poet am a pilgrim to Peter,
A porter that regulates appropriate merits.
On that appointed day, when there shall rise up Those who are in the grave, I will then look forward,
When I am in my allotted rest,
There waiting for the call
To strive and win the goal In time of need : —
Baich rygynnullais O bochawd annovais, Ey dy ergrynais O'i gymhelri!
Rwyv pob wa mor wyd da wrth dy ioli A'th iolwyv : ry purwyv cyn nom poeni !
Brenin holl riet,
A'm gwyr na'm gomet,
Am i drugaret
O'm drygioni.
Cevais i liaws awr aur a phali Gran vreuawl riau am eu horn ! Ac wedy dawn awen amgen yni : Amdlawd vyn tavawd ar vyn tewi ! Mi, Veilyr Brydyt, berierin i Bedyr, Porthawr a gymedyr gymmes deithi.
Pryd y bo cyvnod yn cyvodi Ysawl y sy 'met, armaa vi,
As bwyv yn adev
Yn aros y llev,
Y Hoc a achev,
Aches wrthi : —
FROM A.D. 1080 TO A.D. 1194.
And let that be a solitude, by passengers not trodden, And around its walls the bosom of the briny sea ;
The fair isle of Mary ;
The holy isle of saints,
The type of renovation,
There to rest in happiness.
Christ the predicted Cross, Will recognise me there And guard me from the rage of hell, A place of exiled beings ; —
The Creator who formed me, will give me room among
The community of the inhabitants of Enlli ! l
This poem is infinitely superior to the preceding. It contains poetical sentiments, a mastery of the metre, and skill in the use and application of the language ; and if we subtract the bardic colouring, the conception of the attributes of the Deity would not discredit a more enlightened age. His chosen resting-place is quite a poet's thought ; and I should like the reader to peruse the verse a second time.
A very striking improvement had taken place in Welsh poetry during the life of Gruffydd ab Kynan ; and the muse which limped so lamely in 1080, after a lapse of fifty years, takes such flights, that but few succeeding bards have been
Ac yssi didryv, didraul ebri Ac am i mynwent mynwes heli :
Ynys Vair Virain :
Ynys glan y glain,
Gwrthrych dadwyrain. — Ys cain yndi.
Crist, croes darogan,
A'm gwyr, a'm gwarthan,
Rac iifern afan, ,
Wahan westi
Creawdyr a'm crewys a'm cynnwys ym plith Plwyv gwirin gwerin Enlli!
1 For much of the above translation, I am indebted to the Cambrian Register. " The region of necessity," is a phrase from the bardic mythology ; and " the circle of bliss" is a term for heaven in the doctrine of transmigration. "Enlli" was the "Welsh name for the isle of Bardsey. There was formerly a religious house in it, where it was customary for people of note to be buried ; and the bards in particular. The Celtic people seem to have had a general desire of being interred in olitary islands ; for we find similar buryiug-grounds on the coasts of Ireland and Scotland.
16 WELSH POETRY
able to equal them. Upon the causes which had a general tendency towards improvement, we shall hereafter treat; but much of the excellence exhibited is owing to the individual capacities of the poets themselves. Favourable circumstances may afford facilities for the exhibition of original powers ; but general causes cannot produce genius. Meilir in his latter poems shows great ability ; yet he was greatly distanced by his son. Few men have ever shown a greater mastery over the Welsh language than GWALCHMAI, and he has left us twelve pieces, most of which are excellent.1 We shall draw attention to two of them. The poem, called " Gorhoffedd G walchmai " shows a love of nature, which reminds one of passages in Ij 'Allegro, and of some of the sweet small poems of Words- worth,— so natural are the sentiments, so smooth and flowing the diction, and so poetic the ideas. We shall quote a few of the lines : 2
GWALCHMAl'S DELIGHTS.3
Thou early rising summer sun ! hasten,
The melodious talk of birds — the glorious season of song.
I am of the golden order fearless in battle,
I am a lion in the front of the army, — ardent in my advance,
Anxiously have I, at night, watched the boundary
Forda of the murmuring waters of Dygen Vreiddin,4
Where the untrodden grass was supremely green, the water limpid,
And excessively talkative the nightingale well versed in odes 5
And where the sea mews were playing on a bed of streams,
In love-united groups with glittering plumage.
I love the nightingale of May, with his long white face,
1 Cambrian Register, i. 4^7.
2 Mochddwyreawg huan ddyfestin Maws llafar adar mygr hyar bin Mi ydwyf eurddeddf diofn fy nhrin Mi ydwj f llew rag llu lluch fy ngorddin Gorwyliais nos yn achadw ffin Gorloes rydau dwfr Dygen Freiddin Gorlas gwellt didryf dwfyr neud iesin Gordyar eaws awdyl gynnefin
Gwylain yn gware ar wely lliant Lleithrion eu pluawr pleidiau edrin. Caraf Eos Fai, forehun ludd * Translated in Pennant, iii. 223.
4 Dygen Vreiddin was not far from Shrewsbury, but within -the Radnorshire boundary ; and the name remains to this day attached to the Breiddin Hills.
FROM A.D. 1080 TO AD. 1194 17
At the break of day, and at evening's close ;
I love the sweet musicians, who so fondly dwell
On clear plaintive murmurs, and the accents of woe ;
I love the birds, and their sweet voices
In the soothing lays of the wood.
Lines such as these have at this day a double merit, that of being in themselves poetical, and of showing that occasionally the bards turned from war and turmoil to commune with the sweet choristers of the grove. Many of the bards were men of good social position ; * and from such examples as are furnished by Gwalchmai, we may infer, that some of them were men of learning and of cultivated tastes, — men with eyes to see the beauties of nature, and minds to appreciate them as objects worthy of the poet's affection. There is a world of poetry and truthfulness in that little line :
Cathl foddawg coed ;
the epithet " soothing "" as applied to the "lays of the wood " being so beautifully descriptive, and so strictly appropriate. It should however be observed, that Gwalchmai is better known among Cambrian critics by his ode upon the battle of Tal y Moelvre. It is not clearly ascertained what battle the bard alludes to, since Welsh history supplies no account of any en- gagement of sufficient magnitude a,t that time, to justify the language of the poet. The editor of the Gambro-Briton (vol. i. p. 231) gives it as his opinion, that the poem refers to a series of engagements ; but I am of opinion, with the Rev. Moses Williams, that the poet treats of the defeat of the fleet en- trusted by Henry II. to Madoc ab Meredydd in 1157, and which attempted to land at Abermenai.2 Mr. Price, I am happy to perceive, came to the same conclusion ; and the fact that Howel ab Owain, a contemporary bard, has a poem refer-
Agolygon hwyr hirwyn ei grudd ; Oaraf eilon mygr maith arnadudd, — Eiliwed asserw, a seirch cystudd : Carafi yr ednan, a'u llarian lais Cathl foddawg coed.
1 Gwalchmai says he was descended from Kynan ab Coel Godeboc. — Myv. Arch. i. 194.
2 The battle of 1157 or 1159 is expressly called the Battle of Tal y Moelvre in a MS. chronicle in the Red Book of Hergest. — Cambro-Briton, ii. 220.
C
18 WELSH rOETRY
ring to the same event, very clearly shows that Mr. J. Humphreys Parry was wrong when he designated the engage- ment as a mere skirmish. The following translation, which I have altered where it did not seem sufficiently literal, is by Mr. Parry.
ODE TO OWAIN GWYNEDD, KING OF NOKTH WALESA
The generous chief I sing of Rhodri's line, . With princely gifts endowed, whose hand
Hath often curbed the border land,
Owain, great heir of Britain's throne ;
Whom fair Ambition marks her own,
Who ne'er to yield to man was known ; Nor heaps he stores at Avarice's shrine.
Three mighty legions o'er the sea-flood came, Three fleets intent on sudden fray, One from Erin's verdant coast, One with Lochlin'n armed host, Long burthens of the billowy way : The third, from far, bore them of Norman name, To fruitless labour doom'd and barren fame.
'Gainst Mona's gallant lord, where lo ! he stands,
His warlike sons rang'd at his side,
Rushes the dark tumultuous tide, Th' insulting tempest of the hostile bands ;
Boldly he turns the furious storm,
1 ABWYRAIN i OWAIN.
Ardwyreav hael o hil Rodri, Ardwyad gorwlad, gwerlin teithi.
Teithiawc Prydein
Twyth avyrdwyth Ywein
Teyrnein ni grein
Ni grawn rei.
Teir Hong y daethant, liant lestri ; Teir prav priv lynges wy bres brovi.
Un o Iwerton ;
Arall arvogion
O'r Llychlynigion,
Llwrw hirion Hi ;
A'r drydet dros vqr o Normandi A'r drafferth anverth, anvad iti, A dreic Mon, mor druJ i eisyllyd yn aer Y bu tervysc taer, y haer holi.
FROM A.D. 1080 TO A.D. 1194. 19
Before him wild Confusion flies, While Havoc rears her hideous form, And prostrate Rank expiring lies : Conflict upon conflict growing, Gore on gore in torrents flowing, Shrieks answering shrieks, and slaughter raving, And high o'er Moelvre's front a thousand banners waving.
Now thickens still the frantic war, The flashing death-strokes gleam afar, Spear rings on spear, flight urges flight, And drowning victims plunge to night ;
Till Menai's overburthened tide,
Wide-blushing with the streaming gore, And choked with carnage, ebbs no more ;
While mail-clad warriors on her side, In anguish drag their deep-gash'd wounds along, And 'fore the King's Red Chiefs are heap'd the mangled throng.
Thus Loegria's onset, Loegria's flight,
The struggle doom'd her power to tame, Shall with her routed sons unite
To raise great O wain's sword to fame : While sevenscore tongues of his exploits shall tell, And all their high renown through future ages swell.
Before entering into a minuter criticism of this poem, it might not be uninteresting for the English reader to know that " The Triumphs of Owen " in Gray's poetical works is a
A rhacdo rewys dwys dyvysgi, A rewin, a thrin, a thranc Cymri,
Ar gad gad greude ;
Ar gryd gryd graende,
Ae am dal Moelfre
Mil Vanieri !
Ar lat lat llachar ar bar beri ; Ar f wyr fwyr fyrvgawt ; ar vawt voti ; A menei lieb drei o drallanw gwaedryar; A lliw gwyar gwyr yn heli ;
A llurygawr glas a gloes trychni ; A thrychion yn dut rac reitrut ri. O dygyvor Lloegr a dygyvrang a hi, Ac eu dygyvwrw yn astrusi, Y dygyvod clod cletyv dirri, Yn seith ngein iaith wy veith voli, c 2
WELSH POETRY.
translation of the above. Of the two versions, that of Mr. Parry is the more correct generally, though the finest image in the poem is better, and more accurately rendered by Gray. Mr. Parry's version is tame and diffuse ; Gray's is nearly as nervous, terse, and bold as the original :
Check'd by the torrent tide of blood, Backward Menai rolls his flood.
This ode, when presented to the English public by the Eev. Evan Evans, won the admiration of several literary men. Gray translated it ; and another critic of no less taste than that poet was known to possess, has written a flattering criticism upon it, which I here copy at length. It occurs in a letter from the Eev. Thomas Percy, Bishop of Dromore, and editor of Percy's Reliques, to the Eev. Mr. Evans already mentioned, and is as follows :
" I admire your Welsh ode very much ; it contains a large portion of the sublime. The images are very bold and animated, and are poured forth with such rapidity, as argues an uncommon warmth of imagination in the bard, whose mind seems to have been so filled with his subject, and the several scenes of the war appear to have so crowded in upon him, that he has not leisure to mark the transitions with that cool accuracy, which a feebler genius would have been careful to have done. It is one continued fiery torrent of poetic flame, which, like the eruptions of .ZEtna, bears down all opposition. . . ."
The writer then corrects an error respecting the character- istics of epic and lyric poetry, and continues : " On the other hand, it is the essence of the ode to neglect circumstances, being more confined in its plan, and having the sublime equally for its object. In order to attain this, it is obliged to deal in general terms, to give only such hints as will forcibly strike the ima- gination, from which we may infer the particulars ourselves. It is no demerit or disparagement in your bard to have neglected the minute circumstances of the battle, because it would have been impossible for him to have described them within the narrow limits of his ode. Here lies his great merit, that the hints he drops, and the images he throws out, supply the absence of a more minute detail, and excite as grand ideas as the best description could have done. And so far I agree with your critical friend that no poet ever hit upon a grander image
FROM A.D. 1080 TO A.D. 1194. 21
than that of A Menai lieb drai o drallanw, &c., nor could take a nobler method to excite our admiration at the prodigious cause of so amazing an effect." *
There is another feature connected with Welsh poetry, with which the Bishop does not seem to have been made acquainted ; but which is essential to a thorough understanding of the literature of the country. In the Laws of Howel, we find that it was customary to have songs after meals : " The chief of song shall begin the singing in the common hall. When a song is called for, the bard president should begin; the first song addressed to God, the next to the king to whom the court be- longs, or if there is not one, to another king. After the bard president, the domestic bard is to sing three pieces on different subjects. If the queen should desire a song, let the domestic bard go aside and recite without music, and softly, so as not to disturb the hall." Now we have here, as in many other places, proof that singing, and singing to the harp, were established customs ; there must therefore have existed many songs at that period, though we have now not a single specimen, unless Gwalchmai's ode may be accounted one. I am inclined to think this was sung to the harp. For such a purpose con- densation was an object which a judicious poet would not neglect, as a heap of expletives and connectives would only render the most energetic poem tame and insipid, while, on the contrary, the mind which could marshal great thoughts to- gether, giving each palpability and individuality like the ghosts raised before the eyes of Macbeth, and suggesting rather than describing the links of connexion, would exhibit the most perfect mastery of his art : — the highest art being an abandonment of the mind to its natural tendency, for great ideas make their own appropriate expression, and, as Milton finely expresses this truth, there are
thoughts that voluntary move
Harmonious numbers.
The abrupt transitions of this ode, when sung in accompani- ment to the harp, were rather beauties than defects. Every hearer would readily supply the connecting links as best suited his own taste ; and when an enthusiastic people had bold images
Cambro-Briton, vol. i. pp. 175-6.
WELSH POETRY
presented to their minds in nervous language, and in such a manner that by an easy transition each auditor would find re- sponses to the sentiments in his own noble and ardent feelings, the effect must have been electric.
But this ode has other merits ; for not only is it poetical ; it is also true to nature, as all genuine poetry must be. It is a reflection of the time, place, and circumstance. This truthful- ness to the manners, customs, and minutise of everyday life, is a fine feature in the poems of the bards, which is strikingly ap- parent in the line —
A thrychion yn dut rac reit rut ri,
which I have translated into —
And 'fore the King's Red Chiefs are heaped the mangled throng.
The learned reader will perceive that this differs from every other translation yet given. The Rev. Evan Evans translates "Reit rut Ri," into "the king's red lance;" Mr. Price, into " red streams of blood ;" Dr. Pughe, Mr. Parry, and Mr. Ryder render it by "red-stained chief;" while Mr. Gray adopts the version given by Mr. Evans. To my thinking, not one of these conveys a correct idea of the original meaning ; which, for the reasons which follow, appears to me to be that given above. I cannot help thinking that the chiefs and nobles of the country are to be here understood ; and among other contemporary allusions there is a line in Owain Kyveiliog's Hirlas, where the words reit rut occur in a connexion which confirms my view, and discountenances each of the others.
Achubeit pol reit rut eu harveu, Ec'.edwynt rag terfysg eu tervynau,
Each of the red chiefs was prompt to use his arms, And keep their boundaries free from turmoil.
This line of itself is enough to decide the question ; but as na- tional dresses and costumes are always objects of interest, I will continue the quotation of extracts of the same purport. " Reit " is evidently the plural of " rei," a chief, a word in popular use among the bards. In the Avallenau mention is made of " riau Rhydderch," the chiefs of Rhydderch ; Meilir speaks of God as King of all chief* " Brenin holl riet," and in another place—
FltOM A.I). 1080 TO A.D. 1194. 23
Cefais Haws awr aur a phali, Gan vreuawl riau am eu hoffi.
I have received heaps of gold and vel vet From various princes for my friendship.
Einion ab Gwalchmai terms Nest the daughter of Howel " reid y meini/ the chief of the pearls, and even Gwalchmai himself in this very ode says :
Ni grawn rei.
The King hoards no treasures.
From these it is pretty apparent that " reit " refers to persons, and not inanimate objects, or qualities ; and if we wanted ex- press testimony on the point we have it in Kynddelw:
Gwirawd an gwrthvyn, gvvrth syr a lleitad Gan rwyv rad rut vyhyr.
Liquor is pressed upon us, by the light of stars and moon, By the ruler of the impetuous red chieftains.
and again :
Ninth tribe of the red-clad chiefs of battle.
Before death became their fate, Tyngyriawn of triumphant destiny,
Tyrigyr was no lover of peace.1
The Tribes of Powyt.
It therefore only remains for us to see if the notion of red cloth- ing is consistent with the idea of the reid being chieftains, warriors, or knights. Apart from the quotations already given> in which the words reit rut three times occur in the sense here expressed, there are other testimonies which clearly show that the most honourable dress among the Welsh were red garments.2 Kynddelw in praise of Howel ab Owain says :
1 Nawved eu riued rut wet yg Kyfrane
Kyn bu tranc eu tros<*kl Tygyriawn tynghed orvolet Ni cliarws Tynghyr tangnovet.
Gwelygorteu Powys.
2 Red coats were in use as early as the time of Queen Elizabeth. How much earlier? — Notes and Queries, May 9, 1868.
24 WELSH POETRY
Gwnawd im ri ruddfeirdd o faran, A rhoddi rlmddwisg am danan.
My prince transformed us into red bards, By putting red garments about us ;
and leaves us to infer that this was a mark of great honour ; and Lly warch Hen says :
Gwedy meirch hywedd, a chocliwedd ddillad
A phluawr melyn,
Main fy nghoes, nid oes ym dremyn.
This verse is thus translated by Dr. Pughe :
After delighting in the sleek tractable steeds, and garments
of ruddy hue,
And the waving yellow plumes, Slender is my leg, my piercing look is gone.
Which thus combining the two ideas of red clothing, and warrior wearers, conclusively proves that red was the most honourable colour of military garments. But this colour was not confined to the men, for red was also in favour with the fair sex. The reader knows the story about the landing at Fish- guard of the French in 1797, and of the army of " Eed-whittled " old women who frightened them to submission, and ifc is to be presumed knows that the red stripe ' is the exclusive wear of the women of Pembroke and Carmarthenshire ; — the women of Pont ar Dawe, and Cwm Tawe generally, are also noticeable for the glaring red of their gowns and petticoats. Probably the taste of the modern females is inherited from their ancestors ; Howel ab Einion Lygliw speaks of the " scarlet dresses " of Myvanwy Yechan; and Gfuffydd ab Meredydd, in Marwnad Gwenhwy var, is very clear on this point : 2
1 As female wear, there are two articles extensively used in Carmarthenshire, one known as "minko" where the red predominates over the blue in the stripe, and another where the blue predominates. In each stripe there are red and blue, as in the poem.
2 Lie bu ra a gwyrdd, lie bu rudd a glas, Neud gloes angau gystudd ; Lie bu aiir am eu deurudd, Lie bu borifor cor ai cudd.
Lie bu fflwch degwch, deigr a wylir
A phorphor a rhudd, neud grudd grodir.
FROM A.D. 1080 TO A.D. 1194. 25
The wearer of white and green,1 of red and blue, Is now in the painful confinement of death ; She whom gold so adorned, The wearer of velvet, the church conceals her.
We mourn in tears that the flush of beauty's gone, That the wearer of velvet and red is no more.
Whence came the red dragon of Cadwaladr ? Why was the Welsh dragon in the fables of Merddin, Nennius, and Geoffrey described as red, while the Saxon dragon was white ? Has this anything to do with the red and white roses ? Whence the derivation of the red uniforms of English soldiers? Should these conjectures be founded in truth, then should we have in this line the double merit of being true to actual facts, and of suggesting a train of reasoning, which has thrown light upon a national custom of an interesting character. We think living warriors more dignified than inanimate spears, or streams of blood, and therefore adhere to the reading above given.
Bardism had now become an honourable calling, and ex- cellence in poetical composition was thought not unworthy of kings and princes ; for we find persons of no less note and influence than Owain Kjveiliog, Prince of Powys, and Howel, one of the seventeen sons of Owain Gwynedd, aspiring to the laurel crown.
OWAIN KTVEILIOG took a prominent part in the military and political affairs of his day. He was the son of Gruffydd ab Meredydd, prince of one of the three divisions of Wales, called Powys. His father died while his elder brother ruled over the country, and therefore on the death of Madoc ab Meredydd, we find him taking an active part in the affairs of his district. There is reason to believe that his father was held high in favour at the English court, as most of the Powysian princes were ; and that Owain may therefore have thus contracted the regard for the Saxons, which he sometimes showed in his after life. The first mention of him occurs in the year 1162. A little before that, Cadwallawn ab Madoc ab Idnerth was appre- hended by his brother Einion Clud, and transferred to Owain Ky veiliog. He sent him to England, and got him imprisoned at
1 Llewelyn ab lorwerth wore green and white. — Prydydd y Mock. (Myv. Arch. i. 303.)
26 WELSH POETRY
Winchester ; but by the assistance of some of his friends he escaped and returned to his own country. This Cadwallon, on whom Kynddelw has a long elegy, belonged most probably to the tribe of Elystan Glodrydd ; for we find in 1162, that Howel ab levav ab Cadwgan ab Elystan Glodrydd, whose territories lay between the Wye and the Severn, laid siege to Walwern castle in Kyveiliog, the district which gave Owain his name, and destroyed it. Owain in return led an army into the territories of Howel, destroying whatever came in his way, on which the country people, led by their chief, followed Owain to his encamp- ment on the banks of the Severn. A bloody conflict ensued, in which Howel's forces were beaten, and compelled to seek safety in the woods, and Owain returning to his own country, fortified his castle. In the following year Owain Kyveiliog, with two other Welsh chieftains, took the castle of Carreg Hova, near Oswestry, then in the possession of GruiFydd Maelor.
In consequence of an incursion in 1165 into Tegeingl, then in the possession of the King, by David the son of Owain Gwynedd, the King of North Wales, Henry II. determined to subjugate the Principality ; large preparations were made for this purpose, and in addition to the men furnished by the barons of England, he sent for levies from Normandy, Flanders, Anjou, Gascony, Guienne, and Scotland. With these he came to Oswestry, intending wholly to destroy the people of Wales. On the other hand, the Welsh chieftains were not idle. The princes of the three divisions of the country joined their forces to receive him. Owain Gwynedd, and his brother Cadwaladr, brought the men of North Wales ; the Lord Rhys those of South Wales ; Owain Kyveiliog, lorwerth Goch, and the sons of Madoc ab Meredydd brought the men of Powys ; and to these were added the men between the Wye and Severn led by the sons of Madoc ab Idnerth. These forces having joined, marched to Cor wen (Merionethshire) to meet the King. Here the two armies lay in sight of each other for some time, neither daring to attack. The King being at length tired of this inactive life, and knowing that it was the object of the Welsh princes to prevent supplies coming to his camp, moved his army to Aberceiriog, whence he was followed by the Welsh- men, and a skirmish, commenced between some straggling parties, led to a general engagement in which the King's forces were so severely handled, that he retreated to the Berwyn moun-
FROM A.D. 1080 TO AtD. 1194. 27
tain. The skirmish was commenced between some men who had been sent to cut down the trees which grew so plentifully near Aberceiriog, as the King was anxious to avoid the incon- venience which had previously befallen him, in Eulo wood; and the Welsh, knowing the advantage it gave them, determined to preserve the wood. Henry was much chagrined at the result, and wantonly caused Cadwallawn and Kynwrig, two sons whom Ovvain Gwynedd had on a previous occasion given to him as hostages, as well as Meredith the son of the Lord Rhys, and other young princes, to have their eyes pulled out, and to be otherwise maltreated ! Soon after, harassed by the Welsh, and suffering from the heavy rains and want of provisions, he found his position to be untenable, and completely discomfited returned homeward ; and it would seem as if the English chroniclers shared his discomfiture, for Matthew Paris does not say a word about the expedition, and Matthew of Westminster simply says, " Eex in Walliam expeditionem fecit "'—the King made an expedi- tion into Wales.
It is conjectured that the poem of The Hirlas Horn was composed on the occasion of this battle of Crogen,1 as it is called ; and Mr. Price, to whose History of Wales I am indebted for the preceding facts, confirms the belief. But as the poem relates only to Powysian chiefs, indicates that the prince was at home at the time, and affords no trace of the presence of the allied army, it appears to me to have been intended for a less public occasion.
So after the pressure of the English forces had been removed, we find the Welsh princes, in their usual manner, quarrelling among themselves; for two years afterwards we see Owain Kyveiliog, and his cousin Owain ab Madoc, making war upon their neighbour lorwerth Goch, driving him away, and dividing his lands among themselves, Mochnant above Ehaiadr being given to Owain Kyveiliog, and Mochnant below Rhaiadr to Owain ab Madoc. The Princes of North and South Wales, being made acquainted with these facts, determined to punish the malefactors, and invading Powys, Owain Gwynedd and his brother Cad waladr, with the Lord Rhys, compelled Owain Kyveil- iog to seek refuge in England, and made Owain ab Madoc
! See Powell's History of Wales for an interesting passage respecting Crogen, p. 223.
28 WELSH POETRY
leave the castle of Caereinion in the hands of Owain Gwynedd. Shortly after Owain Kyveiliog returned assisted by a body of Normans, and soon reconquered his lands, took Caereinion castle, and burnt it to the ground.
Three years afterwards we find a dispute between the Lord Rhys and Owain Kyveiliog, the reason given in the Chronicle of Caradoc being, " for as often as Owain could oppose the Lord Rhys he would do so." Rhys led an army into his country, and compelling Owain to give hostages for good behaviour in future, considerately retired without inflicting any injury on the property of his opponent. This magnanimity, it would seem, had the desired effect, for we hear no more of Owain for nearly eighteen years.
In 1188, Archbishop Baldwin, accompanied by Giraldus, visited the Principality with the view of enlisting soldiers for the Crusades. They succeeded in getting three thousand volunteers, and were well received wherever they went. Several of the Welsh princes showed them much respect, and all came forth to meet them, except Owain Kyveiliog : he would not come, and therefore says the ecclesiastic, "we excommunicated him." Owain seems to have seen through the hollowness of their pre- tences, and to have deemed it wiser to protect his own country- men. The other princes gave them warm receptions ; but re- fused to enlist personally in the cause. The Lord Rhys had some intention of going to Palestine, but his wife dissuaded him from going, and thereby drew upon her head the censure of the Church. Owain, however, would neither go himself nor induce others to go ; and probably was much too intelligent to be frightened by the anathema of the disappointed Archbishop.
Judging from the commendations bestowed upon him by Kynddelw, Owain Kyveiliog must have shone conspicuously among the warriors of his day, for skill and personal prowess ; and the same authority represents his court as being distin- guished for generous hospitality :
Yn y mae yved heb neued heb nag Heb nebawd eisiwed.
There was drinking without regret, without refusal, And without any kind of want.
Yet it seems singular that Kynddelw, who sang the praises of Owain himself, and afterwards of his son Gwenwynwyn,
FROM A.D. 1080 TO A..D. 1194. 29
should have left no elegy on his death. Latterly he owned allegiance to Henry II., and was on friendly terms with that monarch, who admired the wit and conversational powers of the Cambrian chieftain. He died in 1197, and his son in- herited his possessions.
But though Owain Kyveiliog was a prince renowned for warlike achievements, his claim upon the notice of posterity chiefly rests upon his poetical labours. The Hirlas is one of the longest poems we have of the twelfth century, and has more than ordinary merit. Its plan is eminently original and curious. The prince imagines all his warriors assembled at night in his palace, after an engagement which had taken place in the morn- ing. Himself presiding, he gives instructions to his cup-bearer to fill the Hirlas horn, and as the cup is taken to each chief in succession, he enumerates the warrior's feats. He begins each verse with " Diwallaw di venestr," Fill, cup-bearer, and first of all ordering it to be taken to a chieftain named Rhys, he narrates that chief's exploits, and in going over the names of the various chiefs shows much tact in diversifying the praise bestowed upon each. One of the verses thus appropriated to individual praise, has a fine touch of pathos, which speaks volumes for the poet's taste. In going round the circle, it became the turn of a chief- tain named Moreiddig to be mentioned ; and this the poet does in 'the following lines :
Fill, cup bearer, as you would avoid death,
Fill the horn of honour at our banquets,
The long blue horn, of high privilege, of ancient silver,
That covers it not sparingly ;
Bear to Tudur, eagle of slaughter,
A prime beverage of florid wine.
Thy head shall be the forfeit, if there come not in
The most delicious mead.
Having thus, to enhance the compliment, threatened death to his cup-bearer if he brought not in the appropriate mead, he proceeds :
To the hand of Moreiddig, encourager of songs; — May they become old in fame before they leave us ! Ye blameless brothers of aspiring souls, Of dauntless ardour that would grasp ev'n fire ; Heroes, what services ye have achieved for me !
30 WELSH
Not old, disgustingly, but old in skill ; Unwearied, rushing wolves of battle ; First in the crimsoned ranks of bleeding pikes, Brave leaders of the Mochnantians from Powys, The prompt red chiefs to use their arms, And keep their boundaries free from turmoil, Praise is your meed, most amiable pair.
Having thus recited the merit of Tudur and Moreiddig, he turns to greet them ; but their places are vacant, and suddenly he recollects they had fallen in the morning's conflict, he hears their dying groans, his triumphant exultations cease, his hilarity flies, and the broken tones of mournful exclamations suddenly burst out :
Ha ! the cry of death — And do I miss them ;
O Christ ! how I mourn their catastrophe ;
O lost Moreiddig — How greatly shall I need thee ! *
This poem affords us a curious insight into the mode of living in Wales ; and in perusing the lines which follow^ I could
1 This translation, slightly altered, is taken from Turner's Vindication; the original is —
" Diwallaw di venestr na vyn angau Korn can anrydet ynghyvetau Hirlas buolin breint uchel hen ariant Ai gortho nid gortheneu A dytwg i Dudur eryr aereu Gwirawd gyssevin o'r gwin gwineu Oni daw i mewn or met goreu oil Gwirawd o ban dy ben vateu Ar Haw Voreiddig llochiat certau Kertyn hyn i glod cyn oer adnau Dieithr vrodyr vryd ucheldeu Diarchar arial a dan daleu Cedwyr am gorug gwasanaetheu Nid ym hyn dihyll nam hen deheu Kynnivieid gyrthieid vleiuieid vleitiau Kynvaran creulawn creulyd vereu Glew glyw Mochnannwys o Bowys beu 0 glew gwnet arnatunt deu Achubieit pob rlieid rhut eu harveu Echedwynt rag tervysc eu tervynau Moliant yw ei rann y rei gwynnau Marwuad vu neud mi newid y dau O chan Grist mor drist wyv o'r anaeleu O goll Moreiddig mawr ei eisieu."
FROM A.I). 1080 TO A.D. 1104. 31
almost fancy myself reading some old Scottish legend of " Black Mail : "
Llys Owain a borthwyd eirioed ar braidd
Forth mil a gly wi — pyrth agored.
Owain's court has ever been fed on prey • And open wide his gates are flung, In Cambria's peaceful days.
It would, perhaps, be well to state that the Hirlas was a drinking-horn — long, blue, and rimmed with silver, and is thus described :
This hour we dedicate to joy ; Then fill the Hirlas horn, my boy,
That shineth like the sea ; Whose azure handles, tipped with gold, Invite the grasp of Britons bold, — The sons of liberty.
And the poem concludes with the following apostrophe : T
For Daniel fill the horn so green,
Of haughty brow, and angry mien ;
While less'ning tapers shine
Fill it up with generous wine ;
He no quarter takes nor gives,
But by spoil and rapine lives.
Comely is the youth and brave,
But obdurate as the grave.
Hadst thou seen in Maelor fight
How we put the foe to flight !
Hadst thou seen the chiefs in arms
When the foe rush'd on in swarms !
Round about their prince they stood,
And stained their swords with hostile blood,
This passage in the original runs thus :
Gwr ni dal ni dwng, ni bydd wrth wir Daniel dreig cannerth, mor ferth hewir Menestr mawr a gweith yd ioleithir. Gwyr ni oleith lleith ; oni llochir, Menestr medd ancwyn a'n cydroddir, Gwrth dan gloyw, goleu, gwrddloyw babir, Menestr gwelud dy gwyth yn Llidwm dir Y gwyr a barchaf wynt a bercjiir.
32 WELSH POETRY
Glorious bulwarks ! to their praise
Their prince devotes his latest lays.
Now, my boy, thy task is o'er ;
Thou shalt fill the horn no more.
Long may the King of kings protect,
And crown with bliss my friends elect :
Where Liberty and Truth reside,
And Virtue, Truth's immortal bride !
There may we altogether meet,
And former times renew in converse sweet. — R. W.
This prince has left us another poein upon an interesting national custom. At this early period, the King was compelled to visit his subjects in various parts of his dominions to receive his revenue at stated periods, and also to hold his court. Owain has finely described his circuit, and named one by one the various places he was in the habit of visiting. The subject being novel, I insert the poem at length, in a translation by R. Fenton, Esq., a gentleman favourably known in literature as the author of Fenton's Pembrokeshire.
THE CIRCUIT THROUGH Powvs.1
To share the festal joy and song
Owain s train we move along;
Every passion now at rest,
That clDuds the brow, or rends the breast ;
But oppression's foes the same,
Quick to kindle into flame :
Setting off from Mortyn, say
Whither shall we bend our way ?
Menestr gwelud dy galchdoed Cyngrein, Ynghylchyn Owain gylchwy enwir, Pan breiddwyd Cawres, taerwres trwy dir, Preidd ostwng orvlwng a orfolir, Menestr nam didawl, nim didolir, Boed ym mharadwys in cynhwysir, Can pen teyrnedd, poed hir eu trwyddod, Yn i mae gweled gwaranred gwir.
1 I GYLCHAU KYMRY.
Teulu Ywein llary lluoet anhun treis —
Yn en traws arovun Fyrt kyrt kyvetau duhun Pa fort yt awn o Vortun,
FROM A.D. 1080 TO A.I). 1194. 33
Quick dispatch thee, boy ; take heed, That thou slack not of thy speed, Or with idle gossip greet The loit'rer thou mayst chance to meet, Onward push, and look nc t back ; Let nought divert thee from thy track.
To Keri hie thee, lad, and say,
Thither will we bend our way.
Keri greeted, onward haste ;
Thy time will not admit of waste ;
With no vulgar message sent,
On thy duty be intent ;
Dread our anger to excite,
Lest our vengeance on thee light.
Then announce that in our rounds,
We visit next Arwystli's bounds.
Thy errand told, stay not long, Herald of a princely .throng : But onward still thy steps pursue, Ceredig s confines in thy view ; Thither with speed increasing go, Swift as arrow from a bow :
And to Penwedig tidings bear
Of our approach and visit there.
Hence without delaying, boy, To toil familiar by employ ; Scorn fatigue, and unsubdued Be thy painful march renewed :
Dos was yn ebrwydd heb roti— geirda
Yr gwrda y sy yndi Dywan wan trywan trwydi Dywed an dyvot i Geri
Dos was o Geri ac archwn wrthid
Eae an Hid an llochi Diwet y doetham i ti Dywed y down Arwystli
Dygychwyn gennad gan vawrrydic doryf
Y dervyn Keredie Dywan ar wyllt ar wallt pic Dywed y down Benwedic
Dos o benwedic boen ouyt- -gennad Gan yth wna kewilyt D
34 WELSH POETRY
Then with shout as hunter's loud, Publish this our message proud :
That Meirion's mountains shall detain The course of our convivial train.
Quick proceed, the mountain crost, That not a moment may be lost ; Fast by the margins of the deep, Where storms eternal uproar keep. The road to shorten mend thy pace, Be thy speed contracting space ; And faithful to thy message, say We take Ardudwy in our way.
No delaying, boy, push on ; Ardudwy visited, be gone ; Haste the region to survey, Which Mervyn gloried erst to sway, To Nevyn go, inquire for Nest, And lodging there become her guest, By which untold it may be seen, That we are on our road to Lleyn.
Messenger, set off again, Forerunner of our gallant train, Hurry at our chief's command, Prince of liberal heart and hand : And as through Arvon winds thy way, Armed knight, we charge thee stay, That having journeyed many a mile, We mean to visit Mona's isle.
Dywan ar gynan gynyt Dywed y down Veiryonnyt
Dygychwyn gennad gyvyl mordwy— gwynt
Gordyar y gylchwy Dywan yr traean tramwy Dywed y down Ardudwy
Dygychwyn gennad gein dervyn y wlad
A wletychwys Mervyn Dos y west ar nest Nevyn Dywod an dyvod Leyn
Dygychwyn gennad o gylch dragon— a llary
Lluossawc y galon Dos varchawc arvawc Arvon A dywed an dyvod Von
FROM A.D. 1080 TO A.D. 1194. 35
We are O wain's princely host ; Spoils. of foes the wealth we boast; Tyrant Lloegyr overthrown Gives us title to renown ; Then our toilsome marches o'er Can we want an opening door ?
Shall we not find in Rhos a bed,
Whereon to lay the weary head ?
Thy prince commands thee to depart (Except the mistress of his heart Haply thou should st chance to meet), With strictest orders none to greet ; But quickly mount the fleetest steed, Not confiding to thy speed ;
To Llanerch tidings to convey
That we shall stop there on our way.
Off again, that region face, Nurse of a renowned race, Who, for many a gallant deed, Deserve the horn, the hero's meed ; Thither haste with our commands, Quitting Tyno Bedwal's lands,
And say we purpose to regale,
And taste of social joys at 18,1.
But tarry not, no respite take, This witching region quick forsake, Howe'er her sons to charm thy stay, May throw temptation in thy way ;
Teulu Ywein hael hawl dioleith — Lloegyr
Lluossawc am anrheith A ennir wedi hirdeith A annwny yn Ros nosweith
Dos was y gennyf ac nac annerch — nep
Ony byt vyg gorterch Dywan ar yuan Veinerch Dywed an dyvod Lannereh
Dygychwyn gennad gadyr ardal — teulu
Teilwng met o vual A dywan Dyno Bydwal A dywed an dyfod lal
Kychwyn yw thervyn pathawr — en hoewet Hirvelyn en gwaewawr D 2
36 WELSH POETRY
We forbid thy lingering there Beyond the opening of the year ;
To Maelor then thy steps direct,
That she our coming may expect.
This performed, yet loiter not,
Be thy very food forgot :
Every hindrance put away,
All that can create delay.
To stop at Maelor's not allow'd,
For further still extends thy road ; To visit Kynllaith we propose, Then haste the message to disclose.
Thy progress then, with counsel due, And forms that suit our rank pursue ; Worthy of our commission prove, For not like petty tribes we move ; Prompt to discharge the duty go, And borrow fleetness from the roe,
That Mechain in her turn may hear
Of our intended visit there.
What though our prince, with prosperous rounds, Has measured Cambria's lovely bounds, Though conquer'd realms enrich our train, Heaven's kingdom yet is ours to gain, Which to possess may we aspire, Faith lending pinions to desire ;
Where we, our earthly journeys past,
May find eternal rest at last.
Dywan diw Calan lonawr Dywed an dyvod Vaelawr
Dos was na olut na oleith — dy Iwrw
Dy lutyaw nyd hawtweith Dywan o Vaelawr vawrdeith Dywed an dyvod Gynlleith
Dos was a chynghor na chyngein — an toryf
Val teilwt bychein Dywan dwc rybut hytwein Dywed an dyvod Vochein
Teulu Ywein rwyf rwystrassam — wladoet
Poed gwlad nef a welam Kyrch kyfrwyt kyflwyt adlam Kylch Kymry kymerassam.
FROM A.l). 1080 TO A.D. HIM. 37
This mode of sending messages was practised among the farmers of the counties of Carmarthen and Cardigan, during the " Eebecca riots ; " and the reader who has read Scott's exhor- tation in The Lady of the Lake, and followed Malise over the Highland crags, will not fail to relish a similar exhortation written under actual circumstances six hundred years ago. The practice of proclaiming war by sending an arrow round the houses of the chiefs, which is said to have been prevalent in Wales, is now found among the Indian tribes, also among those whom Catlin supposes to have been the Madogwys, or Madocians — " the gentlemanly Mandans."
We now come to another poet prince, HOWEL AB OWAIN. He was the son of Owain Gwynedd, King of North Wales, by a la,dy named Pyvog, the daughter of an Irish chieftain. He was distinguished in early youth for skill and ingenuity, and he began his warlike career while yet a very young man. In 1144, we find him and his brother Kynan leading an army into South Wales, defeating the Flemings, and taking Car- marthen castle from the Normans. J'his feat is referred to by Kynddelw :
Am byrth Caer Fyrddin
Porthes gwyr gwaedlin
A gwawr trin bu trechaf.
About the forts of Carmarthen
Were collected warlike men,
And the hero of battle was victorious.
In 1155, Rhys ab Gruffydd and his brothers, the princes of South Wales, sent to desire his assistance to destroy Tower castle, Howel having obtained great reputation for engineering talents and for military skill. Not long after, we find him en- gaged in besieging his uncle Cadwaladr in Kynvael castle, wherein he was successful, as appears from the ode above alluded to, which Kynddelw addressed to this prince :
Thunderlike was the sound of the generous prince's army, And heavy it was to hear Kynvael's towers fall ; Flames crackled all around, And arms were there to aid fire's destructive powers.1
1 Twrwf Tonn torchawc hael— trwm oet y clywet
Twr Kynvael yn kwytaw A flameu o drin yn edrinaw Ac angert ac ongyr yn Haw.
38 WELSH
Just about the same period occurred the battle of Tal y Moelvre, at which he was undoubtedly present, as appears from Gwalchmai's ode, wherein he says :
A draig M6n, mor ddrud ei eisyllydd yn aer, And the chief of Mona's son so earnest in battle.
This clearly refers to Howel. The same fact is proved by one of Howel's own poems, which could scarcely have been so written had he not been on the spot ; and of which I have at- tempted a translation in Ban Cyrch metre, such as is seen in the following lines :
Pan ruddlam ruddflam flamy chei hyt nef Yn addef ny noddei,
where the " nef " at the close of the first line, rhymes with the last syllable of "addef" in the second.
THE BATTLE.
The ravens croak'd, and human blood In ruddy flood, poured o'er the land ; Then burning houses war proclaimed, Churches inflamed and palace halls ; While sheets of fire scale the sky, And warriors cry, " To Battle ! "
They clearly heard the conflict's roar On Menai's shore from Seiont's fort ; Three hundred ships, so heroes say, The third of May, were set on fire. Ten hundred times as many fled, And not a beard staid on Menai.1
1 Pan vei lawen vrein pan vrysei waed
Pan wyar waryei Pan ryvel pan rudit e thei Pan ruddlan pan rudlys losgei
Pan rudlam rudflam flemyehei hyt nef
Yn addef ny noddei Hawdd gweled goleulosc arnei 0 gaer wenn geir emyl menei
Treghissant trydydyd o vei trichanllong
Yn llyglies vordei A deckant kymant ae kilyei Kyuaryf heb un varyf ar venei.
FROM A.D. 1080 TO A.D. 1194. 39
Owain Gwynedd died in 1169, after a prosperous reign of fifty-two years ; and after some disputes had taken place re- specting the succession, Howel, being the eldest son, seized the reins of government, and ruled the country for two years, during which there prevailed perfect peace. At the end of that time his grandfather dying, he went to Ireland to take posses- sion of the property which now became his mother's. During his absence, David, a younger brother by O wain's second wife, but who had the merit of being a legitimate son, aspired to de- prive Howel of the sovereign power. Neither of them had in reality any legal claim to rule ; but this was a period when hereditary monarchy was very little respected, unless the son at the same time inherited the father's ability. In this case, it would seem that the children of Owain's first wife were incap- able. Howel, therefore, though illegitimate, having the double qualification of being the eldest son, and, what was better in a warlike age, being possessed of military skill, and used to command, found no great difficulty in being made King of North Wales. Being now from home, David, who also seems to have had more daring than his elder brothers, availed himself of the first opportunity afforded by Howel's absence, called together the friends of his mother, and being joined by some discontented spirits, proclaimed himself King of North Wales. Howel hearing of this, returned with all possible despatch, but meeting David with a much larger army than he had been able to muster, Howel was defeated and mortally wounded.1
This young prince was not only talented himself, but seems to have won the affections of many other men of talent. We have alluded to Kynddelw's ode to him already ; and in the Myvyrian Arcliaiology there is a poem by PERIV AB KEDIVOR mourning his death, in truly elegiac strains, and with all the marks of genuine feeling. From this poem it would seem that his body was buried in Bangor, with two other sons of this Kedivor. And now, while speaking of these sons of Kedivor, whose affection for this young poet prince has linked them in- separably in my thoughts with Howel ab Owain, perhaps I may be allowed to quote another poem written upon the death of the
1 These facts are taken from an extract in Hanes Cymru, from the Llyfr Aber- pergwm, a manuscript which Mr. Price thinks former historians had not consulted.
40 WELSH POETRY
prince. The editors of the Archaiology attribute the poem to Llewelyn Vardd in one place, and to Einiawn ab Gwgan in an- other ; but the arguments urged by Mr. Price seem to me to be conclusive, — there being more reason for attributing them to one of the sons of Kedivor, than to any other person. Periv, the author of the elegy already mentioned, was most probably the author of the following Englynion : 1
While we were seven, three sevens could not beat us,
We would not fly ; Unfortunately there now remain unkilled
But three out of the seven.
Seven men we were, faultless, firm,
And irresistible in our outset, Seven immovable men, who would not fly,
Nor tolerate an insult.
Since Howel suffered death
While we were with him, A great loss has befallen us,
But he is in the better company of the family of heaven.
The sons of Kedivor, numerous children
In the hollow above Pentraeth, Fought desperately in the battle,
And, were slain with their foster brother.2
1 r original:
Tra vuam ein seith triseith nyn beitei Nyn kilyei kyn andleith
Nid oes yssywaeth o'r seith Namyn tri trin dioleith.
Seithwyr y buam dinam digythrut
Digyflut eu kyflam, Seithwyr ffyryf ffo diadlam, Seith gynt ny gyminerynt gam.
Can etiw Hywel hwyl diotef kad,
Kyd vuam gyd ac ef, Handym oil goll gyvadef
Handid tegach teulu nef.
Meibion kedivor kyd ehelaeth blant Yny pant uch pentraeth,
Bnant brwysgyon breisc arvaeth Buant briw ger ei brawd maeth
2 Kedivor was Howel's foster father.
FROM A.D. 1080 TO A.D. 1104. 41
There was deep treachery, and unchristian
On the part of the sons of Cristin,1 There is not a man living in Mona,
Of the freckled Brochvaelians.
But little good will come even now
Of holding unjust power, And woe be to the false David, for spearing
That hawk of wary Howel the Tall.
Caradoc, old Kedivor's son, Leader of armies of border troopers, Hawk of the family, kind relation, We are loath to part with thee.
The original is in very intelligible Welsh, and forms an im- portant fact to support the opinion that the language of Wales, seven hundred years ago, is easily understood by a Cyniro of the present day, when, as in these Englynion, it is to be had free from the refinements, technicalities, and affectations of the more celebrated bards.
It is now time for us to review the poems of this poet prince, for whom I have a great liking. He is the most sprightly and charming poet I shall have to notice. We have already seen that his talents as an engineer, his skill as a com- mander, and his courage as a warrior, had won him a great reputation among his countrymen ; and it will now be seen that he shines as eminently as a poet as in any of the other cha- racters. The short poems he has left us are the sweetest pro-
Yny bernid brad brython ag cristyawn
0 Cristin ae meibyon Ni bo dyn y myw y mon
Or Brychvaelyeid brychvoelyoii.
Yr a del o da o dala tir pressent
Preswylvod anghywir Y gwaew gwae Daryt enwir
Gwan gwalch ryvel Hywel hir.
Caradoc vab kedivor
Gwalch bydyn gwerin goror Hebawc teulu ku Keiumyn Ankawd genhym dy hepcor.
Myv. Arch. i. 418. Cristin was David's mother, Owain Gwynedd's second wife.
42 WELSH POETRY
ductions of the age ; and free from verbal intricacies, and affected images. While full to overflowing of a love of natural scenery, and gay humour, they are really very delicious little morsels. They could scarcely have found admirers among the more pedantic bards ; but they will be relished by every man of taste, who looks for feeling in poetry, and desires rhymed compo- sitions to be something better than jingling nonsense.
The first we shall notice is " Gwladgarwch Hywel," or Rowel's Patriotism, which is finely expressed in an admiration of the many good things which existed among the Welsh. And if we may judge of Wales from this poem, it was rather a com- fortable sort of place to live in.
HOWEL'S DELIGHT.1
A white foam-crowned wave flows o'er the grave
Of Khuvawn Bevyr,2 chief of rulers.
I love the hated of Lloegr, the land of the north, this day,
With a people involved in every wile ;
I love the land where I had the much-desired gift of mead,
Where the shores extend in tedious conflict;
I love the society and the numerous inhabitants
Therein, who obedient to their Lord,
Direct their views of peace.
I love its sea coast and its mountains,
1 Ton wen orewyn a orwlych bedd Gwyddfa Rhufawn Bcf>r, Ben Teyrnedd. Car;if trachas Lloegyr lleudir goglet hetiw
Ac yn amgant y Hiw 11 laws callet. Caraf am rotes rybuched met Myn y dyhaet myr meith gywrysset Caraf y theilu ae thew anhet yndi
Ac wrth vot ri rwyfaw dyhet Caraf y morfa ac mynytet Ae cbaer ger ei clioed ae chaen diret
2 Rhuvawn Bevyr, son of Gwyddno Garanhir, was apparently a hero of note ; but the most specific notice of him is contained in the following Triad :
" Tri Eurgelein Ynys Prydain : Madawc mab Brwyn, Ceugant Beilliawc, a Rhu- fawn Befyr ab Gwyddnaw Garanhir, sef yu gelwid felly achaws rhoddi eu pwys yn aur am danynt o ddwylaw a'u lladdes."
Which translated means: The three golden corpses of the isle of Britain:— Madoc,theson of Brwyn; Keigant Beillioc; and Rhuvawn Bevyr, the son of Gwyddno Garanhir ; and they were so called because there was given for their lodies, to those who slew them, their weight in gold.
FROM A.D. 1080 TO A.D. 1194. 43
Its cities bordering on its forests, its fair landscapes,
Its dales, its waters, and its vales,
Its white seamews, and its beauteous women.
I love its warriors and its well-trained steeds,
Its woods, its strongholds, and its social domicile ;
I love its fields clothed with tender trefoil,
Where I had the glory of a lasting triumph.
I love its cultivated regions, the prerogative of heroism,
Its far extended wilds, and its sports of the chase ;
Son of God ! great and wonderful,
How majestic the sleek deer, and in what plenty found !
I achieved with a push of a spear the task of honour
Between the Chief of Powys l and fair Gwynedd ; 2
And if I am pale in the rush of conflict,
"Tis that I know I shall be compelled to leave my country,
For it is certain I cannot hold out till my party comes ;
A dream has revealed it, and God says 'tis true.
A white foam-crowned wave flows o'er the grave,
A white bright foaming wave boldly raves against the towns,
Tinted the time it swells like glittering hoar.
I love the marches of Merioneth,
Where my head was pillowed on a snow-white arm,
Ac dolyt ae dwuyr ae dyifrynnet
Ae gwylein gwynnyon ae gwymp wraget
Caraf y milwyr ae meirch hy wet,
Ae choed ae chedyrn ae chyfannet
Caraf y meusyt ae man veillyon arnaw,
Mynyd gafas ffaw ffyryf orfolet Caraf y brooet brcint hywret Ae diffeith mawrfeith ae marannet Wy a un mab Duw mawr a ryvet Mor yw eilon mygyr meint y refet Gwneuthum a gwth gwaew gweith arderchet Y rwng glyw Powys a glwys wynet Ac y ar welw ganu gymiif rysset Gorpwyf ollyngdawd o alltudet Ni dalyaf diheu yny del ymplaid
Breutwyd ae dyweid a Duw ae met Tonn wenn orewyn a orwlych bet Tonn wen orewyn wychyr wrth drefyt Gyfliw ac arien awr yd gynnyt Caraf y morva y nieiryonnyt Men yd bu vreicli wenn yn obonnyt. Caraf yr eaws ar wyrryaws wyt
1 Powys comprised Radnor, Montgomery, and Merionethshire.
2 Gwynedd was that portion of North Wales not included in Powys.
44 WELSH POETRY
I love the nightingale on tho privet wood
In the famous vale of Cymmer Deuddwfr.1
Lord of heaven and earth, the glory of Gwyneddians,
Though it is so far from Keri 2 to Caerliwelydd,3
I mounted the yellow steed, and from Maelienydd 4
Reached the land of Reged5 between night and day.
Before I am in the grave, may 1 enjoy a new blessing
From the land of Tegyngyl G of fairest aspect !
As long as I ani courteous and travel as a craftsman,7
God will watch over my destiny.
Fair foam-crowned wave of impetuous course,
I will implore the Divine Supreme,
Precious from being a king,
Yg kymer Deudyfyr dyffrynt iolyt Arglwyt nef a llawr gwawr gwindodyt Mor bell o geri gaer Lliwelyt Esgynnais ar velyn o vaelyenyt Hyd ynhir Reged rwng nos a dyt Gorpwyfy kyii bwyf bet butei newyt. Tir Tegygyl teccaf yny elfyt Ked bwyfy karyadawc kerted ofyt Gobwylled fy rmwy fy nihenyt. Ton wenn orewyn wychyr wrth drefyt Cyfarchaf yr dewin gwerthefm Gwerthfawr wrth y fod yn frenhin Kyssylltu canu cyssefin
1 Cymmer Deuddwfr is in Radnorshire, and is now called Cwm Deuddwr.
2 Keri is in Montgomeryshire.
8 The Rev. Evan Evans (Dissertatio dc Bardis, p. 36) says Caer Lliwelydd means Carlisle. I cannot say in what part of Wales it lies, but feel assured it is not Carlisle in Cumberland. May it not be Llywel in Breconshire ?
4 Maelienydd is the old name of a district in Badnorshire.
6 The late Rev. T. Price, whose sudden death since this work was put into the press every Welshman must deeply deplore, said that it is difficult to find the geo- graphy of Rheged, and considered it to be the present county of Cumberland. (Hancs Cymru, p. 278.) But this poem shows it to have been within a night's ride of Maelienydd, mentioned in the preceding note, which accords with the locality assigned to it in the recently published volume called lolo Manuscripts, wherein it is stated that it was situated in the district between the rivers Tawy and Towy, and comprised the territories of Grower, Kidwely, Carnwyllion, Iscennen, and Cantrev Bychan.
6 A cantrev in Flintshire.
7 Artisans in Wales could travel anywhere, and had admission everywhere. It is this privilege the bard alludes to ; and this respect for artisans is strikingly shown in the Mabinogion. A knight knocking at the gate of a castle is told, " The knife is in the meat, and the drink is in the horn, and there is revelry in the hall of Gwrnach the Giant ; and except for a craftsman bringing his craft the gate will not be opened to-night." — Mabinogion, vol. ii. p. 293.
FROM A.D. 1080 TO A.D. 1194. 45
To create a primitive muse,
For a song of praise, such as Merddin ?ang, —
To the women who have so long claimed my bardic lore,
And who are so tardy in dispensing grace.
The most eminent in all the west I name,
From the gates of Chester to Portskewitt : l
The first is the nymph who will be the subject of universal praise,
Gwenllian, whose complexion is like the summer's day;
The second is another of high state, iar from my embrace,
Adorned with golden torques.2
Fair Gwervyl, from whom nor token nor confidence
Have I obtained, nor has any of my race ;
Though I might be slain by two-lipped shafts,
She whose foster brother was a king should be my theme.
And Gwladys, the young and modest virgin,
The idol of the multitude ;
Kert folyant fal y cant mertin
Yr gwraget ae met fy martrin mor hir
Hyvyr wetawc ynt am rin Pennaf oil yn y gorllewin 0 byrth caer hyd borth ysgewin Un ywr fun a fyt kyssefin foliant
Gwenllian lliw hafin Eil ywr Hall or pall pell vy inin y wrthi
Y am ortherch eurin. Gwervyl dec fy rec fy rin ni gefeis
Xi gafas neb om llin Yr fy llat a llafnau deufin Rym gwalaeth y gwreic brawdfaeth brenin A Gwladus wetus wyl febin vabwreic
Gofyneic y werin A chenaf ucheneid gyfrin
1 Portskewith is near Chepstow, in Monmouthshire.
2 Torques were rings or chains of gold worn about the neck among the ancient Welsh, as a mark of nobility. They were worn alike by males and females. In 1692 one of these antique chains was found in a garden near Harlech Castle; it weighed eight ounces of solid gold, and measured four feet in length. It is now in the possession of the Mostyn family in Flintshire. The lady of Sir Rhys ab Thomas, in the tomb at Carmarthen, is represented with a square cap on her head, and a chain round the neck; a short gown tied at the waist by a golden string, the ends of which reach her knees ; and a long mantle with large sleeves covers the whole.
" It is my impression that further inquiry might lead you to the opinion that a torque is neither a ring nor chain, but a piece of metal having hooks at the two ends, by which, when worn, it was connected. I have seen several of gold beautifully twisted, and I recollect last year handling an Irish specimen which was flat, likewise of gold ; but in every instance they had a hook at each end." — Note from Mr. Gr. Gr. Francis, Dec. 3, 1849.
40 WELSH POETRY
I will utter the secret sigh ;
I will greet her with the yellow blossoms of the furze.
Soon may I see my vigour rouse to combat,
And my hand on my blade, —
And the bright Lleucu my sister laughing,
Though her husband laught not from anxiety.
Great anxiety oppresses me, makes me sad,
And longing, alas ! is become habitual,
For the fair Nest, like the apple blossom sweet,
For Perwewr, the centre of my desire,
For Generys the chaste, who will not grant me a smile, —
May continence not overcome her,
For Hunydd, whose fame will last till the day of doom, —
For Hawys, who claims my choicest eulogy.
On a memorable day I had a nymph ;
I had a second, more be their praise ;
I had a third and a fourth with prosperity ;
I had a fifth of those with a skin white and delicate ;
I had a sixth, bright and fair, avoiding not the temptation ;
Above the white walls, she arrested me ;
I had a seventh, and this was satiety of love ;
I had eight in recompense for a little of the praise which I sung ;
But the teeth most opportunely bar the tongue.1
Mi ae mawl a melyn eithin.
Moch gwelwyf am nwyf yn etein y wrthaw
Ac ym Haw am fy llain Llecu glaer fy chwaer yn chwerthin Ac ni chwart y gwr hi rac gortin Gortin mawr am dawr*am daerhawd A hiraeth yssywaeth yssy nawd Am nest dec, am debic afallulawd. Am berwewr bervet vymhechawd Am enerys wyry ni warawd ym hoen Ni orpo hi diweirdawd Am hunyt defnyt hyd dytbrawd Am hawis vy newis deyawd Keveisy vun duun diwyrnawd Keveis dwy handid mwy en molawd Keveis deir a phedeir a ffawd Keveis bymp o rei gwymp eu gwyn gnawd Keveis chwech heb odech pechawd Gwenglaer uwch gwengaer yt ym daerhawd Keveisy seith ac ef gweith gordygnawd Keveisy wyth yn hal pwyth peth or wawd yr geint Ysda deint rac tavawd.
Slightly altered, where not sufficiently literal, from the translation of Dr. Pughe.
FROM A.D. 108D TO A.D. 1194. 47
I should conjecture from several parts of this poem that it was sung or composed on his return from Ireland to defend his crown. He had a presentiment of his own death. It would also seem that he was travelling in disguise. These facts would explain the melancholy tone which pervades the poem, in which, though the ruling passion is manifest, it yet shines with a sub- dued light. The poem has many fine lines, and several very elegant and forcible images, and cannot fail as a whole to pro- duce a favourable impression.
Most of HowePs poems are devoted to the passion of love. The following has a delicacy, and gaiety which are quite charming : T
Give me the fair, the gentle maid,
Of slender form, in mantle green ; Whose woman's wit is ever staid,
Subdued by virtue's graceful mien. Give me the maid, whose heart with mine Shall blend each thought, each hope combine ; Then, maiden, fair as ocean's spray, Gifted with Kymric wit's bright ray,
Say am I thine ?
Art thou then mine ?
What ? silent now ?
Thy silence makes this bosom glow. I choose thee, maiden, for thy gifts divine ; 'Tis right to choose ; then, fairest, choose me thine.2
This image of the water- spray, was a very great favourite with the bards, and occurs in the amatory poems of most of
1 Fy newisi riain firain faindeg,
Hirwen yn y lieu lliw ehoeg ; A'm dewis synwyr synhyaw arwreigedcl,
Ban dywed o fraidd weddaidd wofeg ; A'm dewis gydran gyhyd reg a bun,
A bod yn gyfrin am rin, am reg. Dewis yw genyfi harddliw gwaneg, Ydoeth i'th gyfoeth, dy goeth Gymraeg.
Dewis genyf y di ;
Beth yw genyt fi ?
Beth, a dewi di ? Deg y gosteg ? Dewisies fun, fal nad attreg genyf; lawn yw dewissaw — dewis dyn deg.
2 The above very faithful translation, is by Mrs. Llewelyn, of Llangynwyd Vicarage, Glamorganshire.
48 WELSH POETRY
them. Howel himself has used it no less than three times, once in the above, once in the preceding poem, and once in the poem called " The Choice," in the line :—
Gorewynawg ton tynhegyl ebrwydd.
The Rev. Edward Davies, the learned author of the Mytho- logy of the Druids, a gentleman whom I shall have frequent reason to quote in the following pages, is of opinion that some passages in the poems called " Awdl Hoffder Hy we 1," and " Y Dewis," countenance the assumption that the worship of Druidism prevailed in the twelfth century. I am sorry to be obliged to doubt the accuracy of his conclusions ; my reasons will be found stated in another place.
Hereditary talent is not an ordinary phenomenon ; yet we find such a fact in the bardic history of this period. Meilir the father, Gwalchmai the son, and Einion and Meilir the grandsons, were all bards, and bards too of considerable repute. Of Meilir and Gwalchmai we have already treated ; and we will next notice the writings of EINION AB GwALCHMAi.1 Five of his poems have escaped the ravages of time ; the best of which we here lay before our readers, who will then have had religious musings, warlike odes, didactic narratives, love songs, and elegiac strains, laid before them ; and when to these we add some most exquisite Englynion, presently to be noticed, it is to be hoped they will not quarrel with the selection, or complain that the feast is either plain or scanty. The elegy is written upon Nest the daughter of Howel : who the Howel is, is not clear ; but from her being styled " Gwynedd Anrhydedd," Gwynedd's Glory, I am led to suppose the lady Nest, " Queen of Pearls," to be the daughter of Howel ab Owain, the poet-king. It is not necessary to enter into a detailed criticism of the poem ; here and there throughout the piece there are few poetical ideas, but for the most part it is a series of unconnected sentiments of a commonplace character, heaped together with- out any very apparent link of connexion, and it contains nothing truly poetical except the introductory lines : 2
The spring returns, and May with its long days,
The trees are in their bloom, and the forest in its beauty,
1 See lolo Manuscripts, p. 176 ; Cambrian Register, iii. 221, i. 442, iii. 68. 2 Amser Mai raaith ddydd, ncud rhydd rhoddi, Neud coed nad ceithiw, ceinllyw celli ;
FROM A.i). lose To A.D. 1104. 40
The birds chaunt, the sea is smooth,
The gently rising tide sounds hollow, the wind is still.
The best armour against misfortune is prayer;
But I cannot hide nor conceal my grief,
Nor can I be still and silent.
I heard the waves from Gwenonwy land,
At the confines of the land of the sons of Beli : 1
The sea flowed with force, and conveyed
A hoarse complaining noise on account of a gentle maiden.
I have passed the deep waters of the Teivi with slow steps.
I sang the praise of Nest ere she died.
Thousands have resounded her name like that of Elivri.
But now I must, with a pensive and sorrowful countenance,
Compose her elegy, a subject fraught with misery.
The bright luminary of Cad van2 when array 'd in silk,
How beautiful did she shine on the banks of Dysynni ! 3
How great was her innocence and simplicity,
Joined with consummate prudence !
She was above the base arts of dissimulation.
Now the ruddy earth covers her in silence.
How great was our grief,
Neud llafar adar, netid gwar gweilgi, Neud gwaeddgreg gwancg, gwynt yn edwi, Neud arfau cloniau, goddau gwedi, Neud argel clawel nid men. dewi, Endeweis i wenyg o Wynnofi dir,
I am derfyn mawr meibion Beli Oedd hydreidd wychr llyr yn. llenwi, Oedd hydr am ddylan gwynfan genddi, Hyll nid oedd ei deddf hi hwyrecldf holi, Hallt oedd ei dagrau, digrawn lieli, Ar helw bun araf uch bannieri ton,
Tynliegl a gerddais i gorddwfr Teifi ; Ceintum gerdd i Nest cyn noi threngi. Cant cant i moliant mal Elifri, Canaf gan feddwl awrddwl erdcli, Caniad i marwnad, mawr drueni ! Canwyll Cadfan Ian o lenn ball Canneid i synnieid gar Dysynni, Gwan, wargan, wyry gall, ddeall ddogni, G-wreig nid oedd un frad gariad genthi, Gweryd rhudd ai cudd gwedi tewi,
1 Where is the great boundary of the sons of Beli ?
2 Cadvan is the saint of Towyn in Meirionydd.
3 Dysynni is the name of a river that runs by Towyn,
50 WELSH POETRY
When she was laid in her stony habitation !
The burying of Nest was an irreparable loss.
Her eye was as sharp as the hawk s,
Which argued her descended from noble ancestors.
Virtue and goodness added to her native beauty,
She was Gwynedd's ornament and pride.
She rewarded the bard generously.
Never was pain equal to what I suffer for her loss.
Oh death ! I feel thy sting, thou hast undone me,
No man upon earth regretteth her loss like me,
But hard fate regardeth not the importunity of prayers,
Whenever mankind are destined to undergo its power.
0 generous Nest, thou liest in thy safe retreat ;
1 am pensive, and melancholy like Pryderi.1 I store up my sorrow in my breast,
And cannot discharge the heavy burden.
The dark, lonesome, dreary veil,
Which covereth thy face is ever before me, —
A face that shone like the pearly dew on Eryri?
I make my humble petition to the Great Creator o£ heaven and
earth, And my petition will not be denied,
Gwael neuedd maemvedd mynwent iddi, Golo Nest goleu direidi. Golwg gwalch dwythfalch o Lrif deithi, Gwenned gwawn ai dawn o'i daioni, Gwynedd anrhydedd, oedd rhaid wrthi Nid oedd ffawd rhy gnawd rhin y gonthi, Gnawd oedd dal eur mjil er i moli Ni ryfu dognach er i dogni poen,
Penyd a fo mwy no'r meu hcbddi, Neum goran angau anghyfncrtbi, Nid ymglyw dyn byw o'r byd fal mi, Ni chyfeirch angen i awl wen ioli, Er neb rhy barther i rhyborthi, Nest yn ei haddawd, wenwawd weini, Ydd wyf pryderus fal Pryderi. Pryderwawd ccndawd, cyfnerthi ni wnn,
Nid parabl yw hwn ni fo peri. Lien argel issel y sy'm poeni, Lludd Gwen lliw aricn ar Eryri. Arcliaf im Arglwydd culwydd cell, Nid ef a archaf arch egregi, Arch, ydd wyf un arch yn i erchi
1 One of the heroes of Romance, and son of Pwyll, Prince of Dyved
2 Eryri— Snowdon,
FROM A.D. 1080 TO A.D. 1194. 51
That lie grant that this beautiful maid,
Who glitter'd like pearls,
May, through the intercession of Holy Dewi,1
Be received to his mercy,
That she may converse with the prophets,
That she may come to the inheritance
Of the All-wise God with Mary and the Martyrs.
And in her behalf I will prefer my prayer.
Which will fly to the throne of Heaven.
My love and affection knew no bounds.
May she never suffer. St. Peter protect her ;
God himself will not suffer her to be an exile
From the mansion of bliss. Heaven be her lot.
E. EVANS.
There are in the Myvyrian Archaiology twelve Englynion in praise of Madoc ab Meredydd, Prince of Powys, which, with Gwalchmai's ode, and the sweet flowing sonnets of Howel ab Owain, I account the most interesting pieces belonging to the twelfth century. They throw much light upon the military history and habits of the country, show the influence of the Norman manners in their proximity to the people of Powys, and of the intercourse of the Powysian princes with the English court, and are capable of being turned to good purpose by such as understand their real significance, and can appreciate their merits. In the whole range of our literature we have not as lively a portrait of a chieftain; the minutest features are noticed, without the tout ensemble being lost sight of, and Llewelyn ab Madoc stands as palpable before us, as if his portrait had been painted on the canvas. In the easy flow of