The Mabinogion Part 20

The king rejoiced greatly at these tidings, and he sent for his councillors, to whom he told the whole story from the beginning. And he caused Elphin to be brought out of his prison, and he chided him because of his boast. And he spake unto Elphin on this wise.

"Elphin, be it known to thee beyond a doubt that it is but folly for a man to trust in the virtues of his wife further than he can see her; and that thou mayest be certain of thy wife's vileness, behold her finger, with thy signet ring upon it, which was cut from her hand last night, while she slept the sleep of intoxication." Then thus spake Elphin. "With thy leave, mighty king, I cannot deny my ring, for it is known of many; but verily I a.s.sert strongly that the finger around which it is, was never attached to the hand of my wife, for in truth and certainty there are three notable things pertaining to it, none of which ever belonged to any of my wife's fingers. The first of the three is, that it is certain, by your grace's leave, that wheresoever my wife is at this present hour, whether sitting, or standing, or lying down, this ring would never remain upon her thumb, whereas you can plainly see that it was hard to draw it over the joint of the little finger of the hand whence this was cut; the second thing is, that my wife has never let pa.s.s one Sat.u.r.day since I have known her without paring her nails before going to bed, and you can see fully that the nail of this little finger has not been pared for a month. The third is, truly, that the hand whence this finger came was kneading rye dough within three days before the finger was cut therefrom, and I can a.s.sure your goodness that my wife has never kneaded rye dough since my wife she has been."

Then the king was mightily wroth with Elphin for so stoutly withstanding him, respecting the goodness of his wife, wherefore he ordered him to his prison a second time, saying that he should not be loosed thence until he had proved the truth of his boast, as well concerning the wisdom of his bard as the virtues of his wife.

In the meantime his wife and Taliesin remained joyful at Elphin's dwelling. And Taliesin showed his mistress how that Elphin was in prison because of them, but he bade her be glad, for that he would go to Maelgwn's court to free his master. Then she asked him in what manner he would set him free. And he answered her:-

"A journey will I perform, And to the gate I will come; The hall I will enter, And my song I will sing; My speech I will p.r.o.nounce To silence royal bards, In presence of their chief, I will greet to deride, Upon them I will break And Elphin I will free.

Should contention arise, In presence of the prince, With summons to the bards, For the sweet flowing song, And wizards' posing lore And wisdom of Druids, In the court of the sons of the Distributor Some are who did appear Intent on wily schemes, By craft and tricking means, In pangs of affliction To wrong the innocent, Let the fools be silent, As erst in Badon's fight, - With Arthur of liberal ones The head, with long red blades; Through feats of testy men, And a chief with his foes.

Woe be to them, the fools, When revenge comes on them.

I Taliesin, chief of bards, With a sapient Druid's words, Will set kind Elphin free From haughty tyrant's bonds.

To their fell and chilling cry, By the act of a surprising steed, From the far distant North, There soon shall be an end.

Let neither grace nor health Be to Maelgwn Gwynedd, For this force and this wrong; And be extremes of ills And an avenged end To Rhun and all his race: Short be his course of life, Be all his lands laid waste; And long exile be a.s.signed To Maelgwn Gwynedd!"

After this he took leave of his mistress, and came at last to the Court of Maelgwn, who was going to sit in his hall and dine in his royal state, as it was the custom in those days for kings and princes to do at every chief feast. And as soon as Taliesin entered the hall, he placed himself in a quiet corner, near the place where the bards and the minstrels were wont to come in doing their service and duty to the king, as is the custom at the high festivals when the bounty is proclaimed. And so, when the bards and the heralds came to cry largess, and to proclaim the power of the king and his strength, at the moment that they pa.s.sed by the corner wherein he was crouching, Taliesin pouted out his lips after them, and played "Blerwm, blerwm," with his finger upon his lips. Neither took they much notice of him as they went by, but proceeded forward till they came before the king, unto whom they made their obeisance with their bodies, as they were wont, without speaking a single word, but pouting out their lips, and making mouths at the king, playing "Blerwm, blerwm," upon their lips with their fingers, as they had seen the boy do elsewhere. This sight caused the king to wonder and to deem within himself that they were drunk with many liquors.

Wherefore he commanded one of his lords, who served at the board, to go to them and desire them to collect their wits, and to consider where they stood, and what it was fitting for them to do. And this lord did so gladly. But they ceased not from their folly any more than before. Whereupon he sent to them a second time, and a third, desiring them to go forth from the hall. At the last the king ordered one of his squires to give a blow to the chief of them named Heinin Vardd; and the squire took a broom and struck him on the head, so that he fell back in his seat. Then he arose and went on his knees, and besought leave of the king's grace to show that this their fault was not through want of knowledge, neither through drunkenness, but by the influence of some spirit that was in the hall. And after this Heinin spoke on this wise. "Oh, honourable king, be it known to your grace, that not from the strength of drink, or of too much liquor, are we dumb, without power of speech like drunken men, but through the influence of a spirit that sits in the corner yonder in the form of a child." Forthwith the king commanded the squire to fetch him; and he went to the nook where Taliesin sat, and brought him before the king, who asked him what he was, and whence he came.

And he answered the king in verse.

"Primary chief bard am I to Elphin, And my original country is the region of the summer stars; Idno and Heinin called me Merddin, At length every king will call me Taliesin.

I was with my Lord in the highest sphere, On the fall of Lucifer into the depth of h.e.l.l I have borne a banner before Alexander; I know the names of the stars from north to south; I have been on the galaxy at the throne of the Distributor; I was in Canaan when Absalom was slain; I conveyed the Divine Spirit to the level of the vale of Hebron; I was in the court of Don before the birth of Gwdion.

I was instructor to Eli and Enoc; I have been winged by the genius of the splendid crosier; I have been loquacious prior to being gifted with speech; I was at the place of the crucifixion of the merciful Son of G.o.d; I have been three periods in the prison of Arianrod; I have been the chief director of the work of the tower of Nimrod; I am a wonder whose origin is not known.

I have been in Asia with Noah in the ark, I have seen the destruction of Sodom and Gomorra; I have been in India when Roma was built, I am now come here to the remnant of Troia.

I have been with my Lord in the manger of the a.s.s: I strengthened Moses through the water of Jordan; I have been in the firmament with Mary Magdalene; I have obtained the muse from the cauldron of Caridwen; I have been bard of the harp to Lleon of Lochlin.

I have been on the White Hill, in the court of Cynvelyn, For a day and a year in stocks and fetters, I have suffered hunger for the Son of the Virgin, I have been fostered in the land of the Deity, I have been teacher to all intelligences, I am able to instruct the whole universe.

I shall be until the day of doom on the face of the earth; And it is not known whether my body is flesh or fish.

Then I was for nine months In the womb of the hag Caridwen; I was originally little Gwion, And at length I am Taliesin."

And when the king and his n.o.bles had heard the song, they wondered much, for they had never heard the like from a boy so young as he.

And when the king knew that he was the bard of Elphin, he bade Heinin, his first and wisest bard, to answer Taliesin and to strive with him. But when he came, he could do no other but play "blerwm"

on his lips; and when he sent for the others of the four-and-twenty bards they all did likewise, and could do no other. And Maelgwn asked the boy Taliesin what was his errand, and he answered him in song.

"Puny bards, I am trying To secure the prize, if I can; By a gentle prophetic strain I am endeavouring to retrieve The loss I may have suffered; Complete the attempt I hope, Since Elphin endures trouble In the fortress of Teganwy, On him may there not be laid Too many chains and fetters; The Chair of the fortress of Teganwy Will I again seek; Strengthened by my muse I am powerful; Mighty on my part is what I seek, For three hundred songs and more Are combined in the spell I sing.

There ought not to stand where I am Neither stone, neither ring; And there ought not to be about me Any bard who may not know That Elphin the son of Gwyddno Is in the land of Artro, Secured by thirteen locks, For praising his instructor; And then I Taliesin, Chief of the bards of the west, Shall loosen Elphin Out of a golden fetter."

"If you be primary bards To the master of sciences, Declare ye mysteries That relate to the inhabitants of the world; There is a noxious creature, From the rampart of Satanas, Which has overcome all Between the deep and the shallow; Equally wide are his jaws As the mountains of the Alps; Him death will not subdue, Nor hand or blades; There is the load of nine hundred wagons In the hair of his two paws; There is in his head an eye Green as the limpid sheet of icicle; Three springs arise In the nape of his neck; Sea-roughs thereon Swim through it; There was the dissolution of the oxen Of Deivrdonwy the water-gifted.

The names of the three springs From the midst of the ocean; One generated brine Which is from the Corina, To replenish the flood Over seas disappearing; The second, without injury It will fall on us, When there is rain abroad, Through the whelming sky; The third will appear Through the mountain veins, Like a flinty banquet, The work of the King of kings, You are blundering bards, In too much solicitude; You cannot celebrate The kingdom of the Britons; And I am Taliesin, Chief of the bards of the west, Who will loosen Elphin Out of the golden fetter."

"Be silent, then, ye unlucky rhyming bards, For you cannot judge between truth and falsehood.

If you be primary bards formed by heaven, Tell your king what his fate will be.

It is I who am a diviner and a leading bard, And know every pa.s.sage in the country of your king; I shall liberate Elphin from the belly of the stony tower; And will tell your king what will befall him.

A most strange creature will come from the sea marsh of Rhianedd As a punishment of iniquity on Maelgwn Gwynedd; His hair, his teeth, and his eyes being as gold, And this will bring destruction upon Maelgwn Gwynedd."

"Discover thou what is The strong creature from before the flood, Without flesh, without bone, Without vein, without blood, Without head, without feet, It will neither be older nor younger Than at the beginning; For fear of a denial, There are no rude wants With creatures.

Great G.o.d! how the sea whitens When first it comes!

Great are its gusts When it comes from the south; Great are its evaporations When it strikes on coasts.

It is in the field, it is in the wood, Without hand, and without foot, Without signs of old age, Though it be co-aeval With the five ages or periods And older still, Though they be numberless years.

It is also so wide As the surface of the earth; And it was not born, Nor was it seen.

It will cause consternation Wherever G.o.d willeth.

On sea, and on land, It neither sees, nor is seen.

Its course is devious, And will not come when desired; On land and on sea, It is indispensable.

It is without an equal, It is four-sided; It is not confined, It is incomparable; It comes from four quarters; It will not be advised, It will not be without advice.

It commences its journey Above the marble rock, It is sonorous, it is dumb, It is mild, It is strong, it is bold, When it glances over the land, It is silent, it is vocal, It is clamorous, It is the most noisy On the face of the earth.

It is good, it is bad, It is extremely injurious.

It is concealed, Because sight cannot perceive it.

It is noxious, it is beneficial; It is yonder, it is here; It will discompose, But will not repair the injury; It will not suffer for its doings, Seeing it is blameless.

It is wet, it is dry, It frequently comes, Proceeding from the heat of the sun, And the coldness of the moon.

The moon is less beneficial, Inasmuch as her heat is less.

One Being has prepared it, Out of all creatures, By a tremendous blast, To wreak vengeance On Maelgwn Gwynedd."

And while he was thus singing his verse near the door, there arose a mighty storm of wind, so that the king and all his n.o.bles thought that the castle would fall on their heads. And the king caused them to fetch Elphin in haste from his dungeon, and placed him before Taliesin. And it is said, that immediately he sang a verse, so that the chains opened from about his feet.

"I adore the Supreme, Lord of all animation, - Him that supports the heavens, Ruler of every extreme, Him that made the water good for all, Him who has bestowed each gift, and blesses it; - May abundance of mead be given Maelgwn of Anglesey, who supplies us, From his foaming meadhorns, with the choicest pure liquor.

Since bees collect, and do not enjoy, We have sparkling distilled mead, which is universally praised.

The mult.i.tude of creatures which the earth nourishes G.o.d made for man, with a view to enrich him; - Some are violent, some are mute, he enjoys them, Some are wild, some are tame; the Lord makes them; - Part of their produce becomes clothing; For food and beverage till doom will they continue.

I entreat the Supreme, Sovereign of the region of peace, To liberate Elphin from banishment, The man who gave me wine, and ale, and mead, With large princely steeds, of beautiful appearance; May he yet give me; and at the end, May G.o.d of his good will grant me, in honour, A succession of numberless ages, in the retreat of tranquillity.

Elphin, knight of mead, late be thy dissolution!"

And afterwards he sang the ode which is called "The Excellence of the Bards."

"What was the first man Made by the G.o.d of heaven; What the fairest flattering speech That was prepared by leuav; What meat, what drink, What roof his shelter; What the first impression Of his primary thinking; What became his clothing; Who carried on a disguise, Owing to the wilds of the country, In the beginning?

Wherefore should a stone be hard; Why should a thorn be sharp-pointed?

Who is hard like a flint; Who is salt like brine; Who sweet like honey; Who rides on the gale; Why ridged should be the nose; Why should a wheel be round; Why should the tongue be gifted with speech Rather than another member?

If thy bards, Heinin, be competent, Let them reply to me, Taliesin."

And after that he sang the address which is called "The Reproof of the Bards."

"If thou art a bard completely imbued With genius not to be controlled, Be thou not untractable Within the court of thy king; Until thy rigmarole shall be known, Be thou silent, Heinin, As to the name of thy verse, And the name of thy vaunting; And as to the name of thy grandsire Prior to his being baptized.

And the name of the sphere, And the name of the element, And the name of thy language, And the name of thy region.

Avaunt, ye bards above, Avaunt, ye bards below!

My beloved is below, In the fetter of Ariansod It is certain you know not How to understand the song I utter, Nor clearly how to discriminate Between the truth and what is false; Puny bards, crows of the district, Why do you not take to flight?