Y Gododin: A Poem of the Battle of Cattraeth Part 19

Hear the sullen wave beyond the strand, Round the grave of Dysgyrnyn Dysgyveddawd, Heavy the burning impulse raised by sin.

(Myv. Arch. vol. i. p. 78.)

{90a} An allusion to the name of our hero's father, (Bleiddan) and probably to his own standard.

{90b} "Neithyawr." Al. "than go to the altar."

{90c} Al. "elawr" a _bier_, "than obtained a bier." He was devoured by the birds of prey ere he could be removed for interment.

{90d} Or, "Ere he received his nuptial dowry, his blood streamed down."

{90e} Hyveidd Hir was the son of Bleiddan Sant, of Glamorgan, (the celebrated Lupus.) According to the Triads he was one of the three alien kings, upon whom dominion was conferred for their mighty deeds, and for their praiseworthy and gracious qualities.

"Tri eilldeyrn ynys Prydain: Gwrgai vab Gwrien yn y Gogledd, a Chadavael vab Cynvedw yng Ngwynedd, a Hyveidd Hir vab Bleiddan Sant ym Morganwg: sev y rhodded Teyrnedd iddynt am eu campau a'u cynneddvau clodvorion a rhadvorion." (Triad, 26, third series.)

Taliesin, in his Ode to Urien, speaks of Hyveidd in conjunction with G.o.dodin;-

"Hyveidd a G.o.dodin a lleu towys." (Myv. Arch. vol. i. p. 57.)

His name also occurs in another poem, by the same Bard, "to Gwallawg ap Lleenawg;"-

"Haearnddur a Hyfeidd a Gwallawg Ac Owein Mon Maelgynig ddefawd A wnaw peithwyr gorweiddiawg."

Haearnddur and Hyveidd and Gwallawg, And Owain of Mon, of Maelgynian manner, Would prostrate the ravagers. (Myv. Arch. vol. i. p. 64.)

The epithet "Hir," (_long_ or _tall_) applied to Hyveidd, countenances the view of his being conspicuous on account of his size.

{91a} Gognaw must have been the son of Botgad. The name, as well as that of the preceding hero, occurs in an Ode which Taliesin addressed to Gwallawg ab Lleenawg.

"Gognaw ei brawd digones."

If, however, it be not a proper name in this stanza, it may be rendered either "with laughter and sprightliness," or "they were a laughing energy."

{91b} Al. "As with blades they dealt mutual blows."

{91c} "A llaw," _a hand_; metaphorically _power_. Al. "a allaw," _who is able_.

{92a} The same consideration which induced us to regard "Manawyd" as a proper name in a former stanza, has caused us to leave "Gwanar"

untranslated in this place. It is not improbable, however, from the shortness of this sonnet, that the line containing the name of its hero may have been lost. In that case we should translate "chwerthin wanar,"

"their leader laughed." That Gwanar was occasionally used as a proper name by the ancient Britons, appears from Triad xl. (first series) where we find one of the sons of Lliaws ab Nwyvre so called. He flourished however before the date of the G.o.dodin, and cannot on that account be identified with the Gwanar of the text. Taliesin uses the word in his "Mic Dinbych," apparently as a proper name;-

"Clod wasgar a Gwanar ydd ymddullyn."

{92b} Or "gem of a regiment;" his choice regiment.

{92c} Al. "digynny," _went up_.

{92d} The Bard in the two last lines seems to be addressing Death, or Fate, which he designates as "the strong pillar of the living law," or the law of nature, just as the Latins called it "dura necessitas,"

"mortis dura lex," "fatalis Parcarum lex," &c. The expressions "heb vawr drydar," and "arwar," indicative of the effects of death, are introduced by way of contrast to the noisy mirth which characterised the warriors'

march to the field of battle. "Arwar" signifies literally a _quiescent state_, or _state of general rest_; _pacification_; and as such is a very proper term to denote the character of death.

"O _arwar_ daiar down i gyd dyddbrawd." (Ll. P. Moch.)

From the silent state of earth we shall all come at the judgment day.

{93a} As the word "glas," though primarily signifying _blue_, has also a very general sense, and may mean merely _pale_ or _fresh_, yet as we find decided colours attributed to mead elsewhere in the poem, such as "melyn," (yellow) and "gwyn" (white) we have thought proper to retain the literal acceptation in this place, as a poetical variety, however inapplicable to the beverage in question it may seem.

{93b} "Impia sub dulci melle venena latent."

{93c} The name of the chieftain, who commanded this particular troop, is not mentioned, unless (which is not very probable) we take "Trychant" in the third line as a proper name, and translate thus,-

"Trychant marshals his men, armed with the weapons of war."

Or, are we to understand by "trwy beiryant," that he marshalled his men by means of some instrument or machinery?

{93d} I.e. the silence of death.

{94a} "Fyryf frwythlawn," i.e. "_fyrv_ frwythlawn;" the sense of "_furv_ frwythlawn" would seem to be "in vigorous order."

{94b} The followers of the son of Cian (_a little dog_) are evidently called "aergwn," (_dogs of war_) in allusion to his patronymic, as well as to the name of his residence, "maen gwyngwn," (_the stone of the white dogs_.) Probably also the figure of a dog was charged on their banner.

{94c} The Bernicians, as we have already noticed, were at this time opposed to the British patriots. The Cymry carried a traditional hatred of that people with them into Wales, and applied the term _Bryneich_ to such of their kindred as allied themselves to the enemies of their country, as is abundantly manifest in the works of the mediaeval Bards.-See STEPHEN'S Literature of the Kymry, p. 265.)

{94d} Or, "Like a deluge, I would not have left a man alive."

{94e} It is very probable that the son of Cian had married a daughter of one of the chiefs of Bryneich, which would thus account for the Bard's lurking apprehension at first, that he might be induced to barter his allegiance for the dowry to be expected with his wife. His fears however were groundless; for such were the purity and patriotism of our youthful hero, that he even refused the dowry when it was offered to him, and braved his father-in-law's anger withal.

{95a} In Gorchan Maelderw we read of-

"The only son of Cian from Trabannawg."

Cian was a Bard, and is mentioned as such by Nennius in the following pa.s.sage,-

"Item Talhaern Talanguen in Poemate claruit, et Nuevin et Taliessin, et Bluchbar, et Cian qui vocatur Gueinchguant (_Cian who is called Gwyngwn_) simul uno tempore in poemate Britannico claruerunt."

Taliesin likewise represents him in that character in a Poem ent.i.tled, "Angar Cyvyndawd." (Myv. Arch. vol. i. p. 34.)

"Cian pan ddarvu Lliaws gyvolu."

When Cian sang the praise of many.

The circ.u.mstance of his being thus a poet, and cla.s.sed with Aneurin (Nuevin) would account for the intimacy which subsisted between the latter and his son.

Cian is said to have been the servant of Peris, and to them conjointly is Llangian in Caernarvons.h.i.+re dedicated. Cian is commemorated on the 11th of December.-See Rees's Welsh Saints, p. 302.

{95b} It is probable that _three hundred_ was the number which composed the retinue of Mynyddawg, and that a _hundred thousand_, a large round figure, is chosen to denote the preponderance of the enemy's forces that were arrayed in opposition. This view seems more in unison with reason, as well as with the grammatical construction of the pa.s.sage, ("emdaflawr"

being a middle verb) than the supposition that the "milcant a thrychant"

formed the total of the army of the Cymry.