Y Gododin: A Poem of the Battle of Cattraeth Part 28

"Marw Morgeneu marw kyvrennin Marw Moryen mur trin Trymmav oed am dy adoed di Vyrdin."

Morgeneu dead, Kyvrenin dead, Morien the bulwark of conflict dead; Most sad the lingering that thou art left, O Merddin.

{138b} The meaning seems to be, that the enemies directed their attack to the part which abounded most with riches, or where the treasures were collected, or it may refer to the banquet; "alavvedd," signifying the _flowing mead_.

{138c} "Llaes;" al. "lliaws," _numerous_.

{138d} Beli son of Benlli, a famous warrior in North Wales. Allusion is made to his burying place in Englynion y Beddau;-

"Pieu y bedd yn y maes mawr, Balch ei law ar ei lavnawr?

Bedd Beli vab Benlli gawr."

Who owns the grave in the great plain, Proud his hand upon his spear?

The grave of Beli son of Benlli Gawr. (Myv. Arch. v. i. p. 82.)

Or Beli son of Rhun, a sovereign of North Wales.

{139a} "Ffin;" i.e. the Catrail.

{139b} The contrast between the appearances of the two heralds is remarkable.

{139c} I.e. the "Nar," the puny messenger of the Saxons, compared here to a "twrch," a _boar_, or a _mole_.

{139d} "Of a worthy character."

{139e} Or, "the battle spear."

{139f} "A clat," cladd, a trench. "In those parts where it (the Catrail) is pretty entire,-the fosse is twenty-six and twenty-five feet broad; and in one place which was measured by Dr. Douglas, the fosse was twenty-seven and a half feet broad. But in those parts where the rampart has been most demolished, the fosse only measures twenty-two and a half feet, twenty, and eighteen; and in one place only sixteen feet wide."

Chalmers's Caledonia, vol. i. Al. "aclut," i.e. Alclud, (Dunbarton.) "The warriors upon the far-famed Alclyde."

{140a} Or, "in behalf of the power."

{140b} Being skilled in the knowledge of the stars.

{140c} Lit. "For the falling." To pull one's hair was looked upon in the light of a great insult, as we may well infer from the kindred one of handling the beard, which was punishable by law. Thus e.g. a man might legally beat his wife "am ddymuno mevl ar varv ei gwr"-for wis.h.i.+ng disgrace on the beard of her husband. Such a treatment appears to have been offered to Gwydion, which made his attendant determined upon avenging his cause.

{140d} "Awyr eryr," a t.i.tle given to him in reference to the sublime character of his profession. Gwydien, or Gwydion, was one of the three blessed astronomers of the Isle of Britain,

"Tri gwyn Seronyddion ynys Prydain. Idris Gawr, a Gwydion mab Don, a Gwyn ab Nudd; a chan vaint eu gwybodau am y ser a'u hanianau a'i hansoddau y darogenynt a chwenychid ei wybod hyd yn nydd brawd."

(Triad lx.x.xix. third series.)

Two stanzas ent.i.tled "Cad G.o.ddau," published in the Myv. Arch. vol. i. p.

167, are ascribed to him. He is reported to have been buried in Morva Dinllev. See Englynion y Beddau, (Myv. Arch. vol. i. p. 78.)

{141a} Gwyddwg seems to have been in the service of Gwydien.

{141b} Al. "protect him with his spear," (wayw.) The other reading (waen) is preferred on account of the rhyme.

{141c} "Murdyn;" it may be "mur dyn," (_the bulwark of men_) as descriptive of the character of Morien, who is elsewhere styled "mur trin," see line 382, note.

{141d} We meet in British history with several instances of female heroism; the following Triad records the names of three viragos in particular;-

"Tri gwrvorwyn ynys Prydain; Llewei verch Seithwedd Saidi; a Mederai Badellvawr, a Rh.o.r.ei vawr verch Usber Galed." (Triad 96, third series.)

The Englynion Beddau y Milwyr point out the graves of others,-

"Y beteu yn y morva ys bychan ae haelwy Y mae Sanant Syberv vun y mae Run ryvel achwy Y mae Carwen verch Kennin y mae lledin a llywy." (Myv. Arch. i. 82.)

The graves on the sh.o.r.e, on which but little generosity has been bestowed, Are those of Sanant the courteous maid, of Rhun foremost in the war, Of Carwen daughter of Cennyn, of Lledyn and Llywy.

{141e} His character has been described before in stanza xxv.

{142a} The servant in question, for "unben" does not exclusively mean a monarch, but it is applied also as a complimentary appellation like the modern Sir, "Ha unben! Duw a'ch noddo." "O Sir! G.o.d protect you."

(Kilhwch and Olwen.)

{142b} Al. "heb benn," a headless wolf.

{142c} It would appear as if the servant retaliated in kind upon the slayer of his mistress, who was either a wolf in disposition, or bore it as a badge; and that such a deed ent.i.tled him to bear a coat charged with figures emblematic thereof.

{142d} "Ysgrwydiat." Al. "Gold mailed warriors slept in death, (cysgrwyddiad) on the city walls."

{142e} "Cred," of faith, as distinguished from the unbelieving Saxons.

{142f} "Aerflawdd," nimble for slaughter. "There was a tribute of carnage, nor were they long engaged in the tumult of battle."

_Gorch Mael_.

{143a} Another version gives "the birds of battle;" but both doubtless refer to the birds of prey which roved to the scene of battle, prepared to perch upon the carcases of the dead. There is something extremely natural and affecting in the conduct of the "feeble man," as here described.

{143b} Or, "of fair observation:" probably the very individual who warded off the birds. The Gorchan Maelderw would indicate that Syll was an incorrect transcript of _pelloid_ or _pellwyd_, which word would supply the blank after _brwydryat_, and make the line rhyme with the preceding. The pa.s.sage would then be, "and drove away the roving birds.

Truly, Mirain," &c.

{143c} A river so called, which cannot now be identified, as there are several in the South of Scotland, which would admit of this Welsh form; such as, the Leith, the Lugar, &c. Perhaps it is the same with Aber Lleu, where Urien Rheged was a.s.sa.s.sinated, and Aber Llyw mentioned in the "Elegy on Old Age" by Llywarch Hen.

{143d} "In the day of conflict." _Gorch. Mael_.

{144a} Al. "look."

{144b} "Gwyr nod;" this expression has two significations, it means both "men of note" and "slaves." The lines that follow seem to restrict it here to the latter sense.

{144c} The word Din indicates it to have been a camp or a fort.

{144d} "We may suppose this to refer to the property that was collected within the camp on the summit of the hill.

{144e} "Dinas," a fortified town. In these lines we have a graphic picture of the panic stricken state of that portion of the army in which Aneurin happened to be at this particular time; and it is a fitting prelude to the account of his incarceration which he gives in the succeeding stanza but one. But whilst the bard exposes his own incapacity, he pays an indirect compliment to the skill and courage of Gwynwydd; such a state of affairs, he seems to say, was owing to the absence of that hero on the heights.

{144f} Meaning, perhaps, that had he himself been present, this cowardice would not have been manifested. We may, however, render the line thus,-"Vines are not named when they are not found," and regard it as a proverb intended to ill.u.s.trate the truth of the foregoing statements, viz. that no mention would have been made of such things had they not really existed. Truth was a necessary element of Welsh Poetry.

{145a} "Ceny," i.e. cyni. Llywarch Hen has introduced a stanza into his "Elegy on Old Age," very similar in some of its expressions;