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MUSICAL AND POETICAL RELICKS
O F T H E
WELSH BARDS:
PRESERVED, BT TRADITION AND AUTHENTIC MANUSCRIPTS, FROM VERT REMOTE A NT I ^U ITT;
AND NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED.
TO THE BARDIC TUNES ARE ADDED Variations for the Harp, Piano-Forte, Violin, or Flute,
DEDICATED, BY PERMISSION,
TO HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINCE OF WALES,
By EDWARD JONES,
TEACHER OF THE HARP, AND
BARD TO THE PRINCE}
Native of Henblas, I.landdervel, Merionethfliiie.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Trivy'r Dolydd tare'r Delyn, Strike the Harp, whofe echoes fhrill " Oni bo'r jds yn y Bryn ; Pierce and fh ike the diftant hill j
" O gyivair Dant, a gyr di Far along the winding vale
Aivr orhoen i Eryri !" Send the founds, till every gale
From the bright harmonic firing Many a tone of rapture bring, And to Snoivdon waft on high An hour of tuneful ecftafy !
f< 5/ quid me a enrmina poffunt,
*' A'dnio flat nam fublimes vert ice Bardos ; " Bardos Pi'eridum cultores, atque canentis c< Phosbi delicias, quibus ejl data citra perennis *' Dicere nobilium clarijjiina Jaffa virorum, " Aureaque excel/am famam fuper aftra locare"
L landus in Affertione Arturi.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
LONDON: Printed for the Author, -df&fr ft And to be had of him, at the Office of Robes, in the South-Eaft Corner of the Lord Steward's Court, St. James's Palace,
CntctfD at ©tattonetg' $)alL lPr'lce
The following Works are publifhed by the fame Author, The Second Volume of the Mufical and Poetical Reikis of the We/Jh Bards, or Bardic Mufeum of Primitive Briti/h Literature and other admirable Rarities ; containing, The ilijhry of the Bards, their War-Songs, and other National Melodies of the Ancient Britons. Price ll. 5s.
Likewife, A Book of Lyric Airs, confiding of Specimens of Greek, Albanian, Walachian, Turki/Jj, Arabian, Ptr- fian, Chinefe, and Moorijh National Songs and Melodies, for the Harp, Piano-Forte, &c. ; with a ihort Dijpita- tion on the Origin of the Ancient Greek Mufic, Price 15s.— A Book of Mufical Mifcellany, Price 108. 6d. — A Book of Mvftcal Remains, Price 10s. 6A — Mufical Trifles, calculated for Beginners on the Harp, Price 7s. 6d. — Mufical Bou- quet, or Popular Songs and Ballads, Price 7s. 6d.— The Che/hire Melodies, Price 5s.- Sold by the Author, as above
mentioned ; and at Mr. Birchall's Mufic Shop, No. 133, in New Bond-Street; and at the principal Mufic Shops.
The NAMES of the SUBSCRIBERS.
Her most Gracious Majesty THE QUEENS His Royal Highness the PRINCE OF WALES. His Royal Highness the DUKE OF GLOUCESTER*
A.
Duke of Argyle. Bilhop of St. Afaph.
George Anion, Efq. Shugborotfgh, Staffordmire. Hon. Mrs. Anfon. Mifs Anfon.
Mrs I. Anfon, Oakedge Hall, Mifs Anfel.
Mrs. Angerftein, Throgmorton-ftreet.
Mifs Aynfcombe.
LI. Anvvyl, Efq.
Mrs. Armftrad.
Dr. Arnold.
Rev. Mr. Alan.
Hugh Arthur, Efq*
B.
Lord Bagot. Lady Bagot. Lord Bulkeley. Lady Bulkeley. Capt. Baker. Mifs Barry. Mifs C. Barry; Lady Beauchamp, Rev. Mr. Bever. Sir Henry Bridgeman. Mifs Bridgeman. Mr. Bolton.
Mrs. Boyer, Great Marlborough-ftreet. Dr. Bumey.
Mr. Bumey, Organift, Salop.
Mrs. Wilbraham Bootle, Bloomfbury-fquare.
Mifs Bootle.
Mr. Brown, Organift, Litchfield.
Mr. Bevan.
Mr. Owen Bellis.
Dr. Warren, Bilhop of Bangor.
Lady Bampfield.
Hon. Daines Barrington.
Mrs. Brutton.
C.
Lord George Cavendilh. Sir Charles Cocks. Lady Chewton.
Mrs. Colhoun, Great George-ftreet.
Countefs of Carlifle. Lady Aug Campbell. Mifs Clive.
Cymmrodorion Society, London.
Mifs Cropp, Brook-ftrect.
Rev. Mr. Clowes, St. John's, Manchefle?
Mifs Cornelian, Queen Ann-ftreer, Eaft.
John Courre, Efq. Itton-court, Monmouthfhirc
Cecilian Society, Litchfield.
Mr. Cozens, Leicefler-ftreet,
Elis Cadwaladr, Efq.
D.
Duke of Devoir/hire. Duchefs of Devonfhire. Earl of Donegal. Mr. Drake, Bedford- fquare. Mrs. Drjke.
Rev. Mr. Davis, Merton College, Oxford. Rev. Mr. Davies, Suffex* Mrs Darner.
Mr. Deacon, Upper Thame s-ftreet* Mrs. Davenport. Mifs Dolben, Ruthin. Mr. Davies, Bond-ftreet. Mifs Dumurgue.
E.
Earl of Eglin^toune.
Rev. Mr. Evans, Montgomery lhire.
Mr. Edwards.
Mr. Edward Edwards, Gwyddelwern. Mifs Edwards, Upper Seymour- ftreet. Mr. Evan Evans, Telynor, Wynftay. Rev. Mr. Evans, Harley-ftreet.
T?
Jk *
Lady Margaret Fordyce.
Hon. Thomas Fitzmaurice, Pall-MalU
Lady Mary Fitzmaurice.
Philip Lloyd Fletcher, Efq.
Mrs. Finch.
G.
Marchionefs Grey, Lord Grofvenor. Lady Gower. Lady William Gordon.
Mif*
S U B S C R I
Mifs Grofvenor, Cavendifh-fquare. Mifs Glover, Dodtors Commons.; Mrs. Giffard, Staffordftiire. Mifs Giffard.
Mr. Gerard, Organift, Wrexham.
Mr. Gwynne.
Hon. William Grimfton.
Mrs. Grimfton.
Rev. Mr. Griffith,' Bangor.
Gwyneddigion Society, London.
Robert Graham, Efq. Chelfea.
• H.
Lady Harriot Herbert.
Hon. Mrs. Hobart, St. James's Square.
Mrs, Bond Hopkins.
Mrs. Jarvis Hill, Salop.
Mils Hawkins.
Mr. Harford.
Mrs. Hoare.
Mrs. Hovvel.
Mr. Cynddelw Hughes.
Rev. Jeffrey Holland, Teyrdan.
> Humphreys, Efq. Llwyn.
Mifs C. Hildyard, Stratton-ftreet. Mr. Hinchliff.
Mifs Hey wood, Portland Place, Mr. Harper, Harley-ftreet. Mr. Hall.
Mr. Hann, Little Heywood.
Mr. Robert Hughes.
Mr. John Humphreys, Saer Melinau.
Sir John Hawkins.
£
Lady Irwin. Mifs Ingram.
Lloyd Jones, Efq. Maes Mawr. Mr. Thomas Jones, Corwen. Mr. Jones, Henblas, Llandderfel. Mr. Rhys Jones, Blaenau. Mr. Jones, Organift, Salop. Mr. Einion Jones. Dr. Jones, Denbigh. Sir Hildebrand Jacob. Mr. Owen Jones, Thames-ftreet. Mr. Rowland Jones, Ludgate-Hill. Mr. T. Jones, Telynor. Mr. Evan Jones.
Mr. Jones, Sudbery, Staffordshire, Kev. Mr. Jeffreys, -Walfall. Mr. Johns, Brook-ftrect.
K.
Lord Keppel.
William Kiffan, Efq. Ireland, R. P. Kmght, Efq. Edward Knight, Efq.
ERS. NAMES.
Mifs Kynncrfley,
Rev. Mr. Thomas, Kingfwood, Wiltfiiire. Mr. Kammel, Halfmoon-ftreet.
L.
Marquis of Lothian. Lady Leicefter. Sir John Leicefter. Mifs Leicefter, Henry Leicefter, Efq; Charles 1 eicefter, Efq. Sir Edward Littelton. Lady Lake. Sir Warkin Lewes. Lady Loyde. Mr. Lewis Llwyd. Lady Lnmm. ■ Edward Lloyd, Efq. Cefn, Denbighfiiire; Mrs. Lloyd, of Maefmor. Maurice Llwyd, Pale, Efq. Rev. Mr. Llwyd, Caerwys, Flintshire. Mr. Lewis, St. James's Palace. Mr. Laurie, Bartholomew Clofe. Rev. Mr. Lambert. Capt. Loyde, Horfe Guards. Mrs. Lewis, Harley-ftreet. Mifs Lloyd.
Mifs Long, Bifhopfgate-ftreet. Mr. Louthefbourg John Lloyd, K-fq, Hafod Unnos. Bifhop ofLandafT ^Dr. Watfon). Dr. Llewelyn.
M.
Earl of Macclesfield. Lord Milford. Sir Herbert Mackworth. Count Malzan.
Thomas Mytton, Efq. Skiptoa, Shropfhire.'
Mr. Mytton, junior.
Mr. Marfhall, Margaret-ftreet.
Mifs Albinia Mathias, Scotland Yard.
Mr. Martin, King-ftreet.
Capt Madoc.
Mr. Morris.
Mr. Montague, Portman Square.
Mrs. Montague.
Mrs. Mufters, Portland Place.
Mifs Modigliani, Old Windfor.
Mifs Meredith.
Mr. Middiman.
Mr. Meirig.
Rev. Mr. Morgan.
N.
Fred. Nicolay, Efq. St. James's.
Mr. John Nichols, Red Lion Paffage, Fleet-ftrce?.
Mr. Norman.
Mr. J. Noel.
SUBSCRIBE
i *■
O.
Mifs Oat way,
Mr. OfHey, New Burlington-ftreer. Mr. Owen, Dublin. Mr. Gwilym Ovvain, Rev. Mr. Oliver.
•ft
Earl of Povvis. Lord Paget. ^ Thomas Pennant, Ef<£-;;£owning. Mrs. Pennant.
Mifs Parfons, Great George- ftreet, Weftminfter.
Mr. Page.
Captain Porter.
Mifs Powis, of Berwick.
Alderman Pugh, Bifhopfgate-flreet.
Mr. S. Pugh. ' "
Rev. Mr. Pugh, Wrexham,
Rev. Mr. Pugh, Garth maelan.
Mr. Povoleri, Harley-ftreet.
Mr. Ithel Puw.
Mrs. Thomas Pechell, Duke- ftreet, Grofve,ncr Square. Mrs. Prefcot. Mr. Prys.
R.
Earl of Radnor. Lord Ravenfworth. Mr. Roberts, Brentford. Mr. Edward Ranel, Telynor, Llewehny. Mr. Thomas Roberts, Telynor, Llanrwft. Mr. William Roberts, Telynor, Llanddervel. J, Roberts*, Efq. Kimmel, St. Afaph. Mrs. Roberts. Mr. J. Richards, Llanrwft. Mr. Gwyn Rhys.
Mrs. Rivers, Ivy -Bridge, Devonfhire0 Mrs. Ryder, Modburyy Devonfhire.
S.
Earl of Surrey. Lady Stormont. Lady Shelburne. Sir Robert Smyth. Lady Smyth. Countefs Spencer.
Sir Edward Smythe, Afton Burneh' Lady Smythe.
Philip Stephens, Efq. Admiralty. Robert Salifbury, Efq. Cotton Hall. Mr. Salifbury, Lincoln's Inn. . Rev. Mr. Stodard, Llandderfeh Mifs D. Scott, Salop* Mr. Sharp, Old Jewry. Mr. Gran. Sharp. Mrs. Strafs, Cockfpur-ftreet.
R S NAMES.
Mifs Seward, Lichfield. Mr. Stafford Smith. Mr. Savel.
Mr. Stuart, Leicefter -fields.
William Sayer, Efq. Victualling Office.
Mr. Stanley, Organift.
Bifhop of Salifbury (Hon. Dr. -Barrington).
Mifs Samuel.
T.
Earl Temple.
Lady Temple.
William Trenchard, Efq.
Mils Tuchet, Berner-ftreet.
Mrs. Tomkins.
Mr. Tierney, Lincoln's Inn.
M*. Twifs.
Mr. J. Turner.
v .
Lord Vernon.
Evan i loyd Vaughan, Efq. Cors-y-Gedol. Mils Unwin. Frederick Vane, Efq. Mts. Emrys Vychan. Rear Admiral Vernon.
W.
Sir George Warren.
Sir Edward Williams.
Owen Wynne, Efq.
Rev. Mr. David Williams*
Mifs Emma Williams.
Albany Wallis, Efq.
Rev. Mr. Williams, of Vrdri.
Wynne, Lfq. Garthewin, Denbighfiiire.
Mrs. Woodington, Salop.
l<ev. Mr John Wiiliams, Gwydir, Caernarvonfhire Robert Wynne, Efq. Plas Newydd. Mifs Walker.
Rev. Mr. Walters, Jefus College, Oxford.
Mr. Wickin, Lichfield.
Lady Werfley.
Mr. Edward Williams.
Lady Waldegrave.
Mr. Wills, Harley-ftreet.
Mrs. Wiitnot, Bedford-Row.
Mr. Charles Wefley.
Rev. Mr. Walters, Llandough, Glamorganfhire.
Y.
Rev. Mr. Youde, flas Madoc, Denbighfiiire.
Dr. Yale.
James Ynyr, Efq.
Neceflary Directions to the Reader who is a Stranger to the Welsh Language; (hewing the right Pronunciation of all the Letters that differ from the Englim Urthogra] hv.
To read Welfh, a right knowledge of the Alphabet is all that is neceffary ; for, (not going to a nicety) all the Letters retain one invariable found, which muft be diftinctly pronounced, as there arc no Mutes. Letters that are circumflexed muft be pronounced long, as Bon like the Englifh Bone; Bw/i, tjoon ; Bin, Been ; &c.
C, as C Englifh in Can ; but never foft as in City.
C/j, as the Greek % properly pronounced. If inftead of touching the Palate with the Tip of the
Tongue to pronounce K, you touch it with the Root, it will effedt this found. Dd, as Th Englifh in Them \ that is, very foft ; not hard as in Thought,
F, as V Englifh.
Ff, as F and Ff Englifh.
G, as G Englifh in God, but never foft as in Genius,
J, as I Englifh in King, and ee in Been ; but never as I in Fine *,
LI, is L afpirated ; and can be reprefented in Englifh only by Lh or Llh.
Th, as 1 h Englifh in Thought ; but never foft, as in Them.
U, as I Englifh in Blifs, This, It, &c.
W, as Oo Englifh in Good.
7, as U Englifh in Burn, though in the lad fy liable of a word, and all monofyllables, except T, Tdd, T m, In, Tr, Tst Fy, Dy, Myn, it is like I in Sin, It, &c. both its powers are nearly fhewn in the word Sundry, or Syndry.
* Fine, according to the Welfli Orthography, would be pronounced Veen£,
[ ' ]
AN HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF
THE WELSH BARDS,
AND
THEIR MUSIC AND POETRY.
BY the Roman invafion, and the more barbarous incurfions of the Saxons, the Danes, and the Norman?, and the emigration of the Britons to Armorica3 j by the frequent deftruction of.MSS k, and the marla- cres of the Clergyc, and the Bards d ; the Poetry and Mufic of Wales have fuffered a lofs, that has thrown a dark cloud over the hiftory of thofe native arts, and for a long time threatened their total extinc- tion. Yet from the memorials {till extant, and the poetical and mufical compofitions which time has fpared, we are enabled often to produce unqueftionable evidence, and always to form a probable conjecture, con- cerning their rife and progrefs among us. There is no living nation that can produce works of fo remote antiquity, and at the fame time of fuch unimpeached authority as the Welfh.
Our hiftorians, ever defirous to trace their fubjedt to the utmoft point of remote antiquity, have derived the name and profeffion of the Bards from Bardus, fifth king of Britain, who began his reign in the year of the world 2082. Berofus fays, he reigned over the Celts, and was famous for the invention of Poetry and Mufic. Perizonius, as Vitus aflerts, called the mufic of Bardus not every mufic, but that which is poetical ei Bardus, however, if other accounts may be credited, was not the firft who cultivated the fitter arts in this ifland. Blegored, king of Britain, who died in the year of the world 2069, was called, for his extraordinary (kill in vocal and inftrumental mufic, the god of harmony f.
The Bards were originally a constitutional appendage of the druidical hierarchy, which was divided into three clafles, priefts, philofophers, and poets e. At Llanidan in Anglefey, formerly inhabited by the druidical conventual focieties, we at this day find vefliges of Tre'r Dryw, the Arch Druid's manfion, and near it, of Tre'r Beirdd, the hamlet of the Bards \ Mr. Mafon, in his Caraclracus, has adopted the ancient diftindtiorr of three orders of Druids. Having fpoken of the arch Druid, he proceeds- 1
His brotherhood PofTefs the neighb'ring cliffs :
On the left Refide the fage Euvates : yonder grots Are tenanted by Bards, who nightly thence,- Rob'd in their flowing vefts of innocent white/ Defcend, with harps that glitter to the moony. Hymning immortal {trains.
1 About the year 383, a hundred thoufand Britons, befides a numerous army of foldiers, followed the emperor Maximus to Armorica, now Breta^nc, in Fiance, which he conquered, and placed Conan Meriadoc, a Briti'th lord and general, on the throne. See Jeffrey of Monmouth, book the 5th, ch. 12, 15, 14. Alfo Drycby P rif QtfoedJ by Theophilus Evans. Likewife Wynne's hiftory of Wales, p. 8. And further particulars in Owen's hiftory of the Ancient Britons, p. 100, vol. I.
b The Welfh nobles, who were captives in the Tower of Lon- don (formerly called the White Tower, and part of it now known by that name), obtained permillion that the contents of their libraries fliould be fent them from Wales, to amufe them m their folitude and confinement. This was a- frequent practice, fo that in procefs of time the Tower became the principal repo- fitory of Welfh literature. Unfortunately for our hiftory and poetry, all the MSS. thus collected were burnt by the villainy of one Scolan, of whom nothing more is known. Guttor Glyn, zti eminent Bard of the 15th century, has in one of his poems the following paflage :
Llyfrau Cymru au llofrudd Tr Tivr Givyn act bant ar gudd Tfcclcr oedd ljcolan F-wrwr tivrr lyfrau ir tan.
The books of Cymru, and' their villainous deftroyer, Were concealed in the White Tower. Curfed was the deed of Scolan, Who committed them in a pile to the flames.
Alfo during the infurrections of Own Glyndivr, the MSS then extan* of the ancient Britifli learning and poetry were fo lcattered
and deftroyed, «« that there efcaped not one (as William Salis- bury relates) that was not incurably maimed, and irrecuperably torn and mangled." See Evan's Specimens, p. t6o.
c " The univerfity of Bangor-h-Coed, founded by Lucius king of Britain, was remarkable for its valuable library. It continued 350 years, and produced many learned men. Congellus, a holy man, who died A. D, 530, changed the univerfity into a monas- tery, containing 2100 Monks. At the inftigation of Auftin the Monk, Ethelfred, king of Northumberland, maflacred twelve hundred of the Britifli clergy of this monaftery : nine hundred, who efcaped, were afterwards flain by pirates. This happened in the year 603. See Humphrey Lloyd's Britannic* Defcrtptionis Comment ariolum. Lewis's hiftory of Great Britain. Folio. Lon- don. 1729, b. 5, ch. I. And Rowland's Mona Antiqua 2d edition, p. 15:, &c. '
d See Guthrie's Hiftorical Grammar, and the fequel of this hiftory.
e Lewis's hiftory, b. 2, ch. 6.
f " Acyn ol SiiJ/'y daetb Blcgywrydy*frcnbim, ac ni bu erlotd Gantor cyjlat ag efo Gclfvddyd Mujic nd cbwarydd cyflal ag rf 0 budol acam bynny y gekvid ef Du w y Gnuareu, A bwn a tu/adycbaivdd ar Ynys Prydein 28 m/ynrdd, agyna a bufarw; //cedd bunny widi ddita *o6q ojifnyddotdd." Tyflilio's Britifli Hiftory, MS. Fabyan alfo, fpcaking of Blcgcrid, names him '« a conynge muficyan, called of the Britons God of Gleemen." Chron. f, 32, ed. icj*. See alfo Lewis's hiftory, b. 3. ch. 35;.
I Mona Antiqua, 2d edition, p. 6c, Sec. Own's H.JIorv t>f th Ancient Bntons, 8vo. London, 1743, vol. h Introduction, p 16. And the 4th book of the Geography of Strabo, who lived under A 11*11 this and Tiberius. h Mona Antiqua, p. 236, 239.
B
are
HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF
Of the Bards, however, and of their poetry and mufic, at thofe remote period?, little more than a famfc tradition is preferred : and that little we either derive from the poetical and fabulous remains of the Bi itiih annals, or glean wherever it is fcattered Over the wider field of Roman hiftory. There is no account, in- deed, of Britain in any writer preceding Casfar ; but as it is incredible that its ancient arts fprung up under the opprefiion of the Roman yoke, and as it has never been pretended that any part of them was borrowed from the conquerors; whatever mention of them is found in the Greek and Roman authors who fucceeded the firft invafion, may fairly be produced as in fome meafure defcriptive of their ftate before it.
Thofe nations could not furely be rude in the conftruction of their poetry and mufic, among whom, as Caefar declares', the fupremacy and omnipotence of the gods was acknowledged, the immortality and tranf- migration of the foul was believed k, opinions were formed concerning the motion of the planets and the dimenfions of the world, and whofe youth was inftructed in the nature and philofophy of things.
In all the Celtic nations we difcover a remarkable uniformity of manners and inftitures. It was the cuftom of the antient Germans, when they marched to battle, to animate themfelves with ringing verfes', prophetic of their fuccefs, which they called Barditus1. It was the honourable office of the Bards of Britain to fing to the harp ; at their nuptials and funeral obfequies, their games and other folcmnities, and at the head of their armies, the praifes of thofe who had fignalized themfelves by virtuous and heroic actions '". This* entertainment made a deep impreflion on the young warriors ; elevated fome to heroifm, and prompted virtue in every breaft. Among the Celts, fays Diodorus Siculus n, are eompofers of melodies, called Bards, who fing to inftruments like lyres, panegyrical, or invective ftrains : and in fuch reverence are they held, that when two armies, prepared for battle, have caft their darts, and drawn their fwords, on the arriva! and interpofition of the Bards, they immediately defift. Thus, even among the rude barbarians, wrath gives place to wifdom, and Mars to the Mufes. "
A fragment of Pofidonius, preferved in Athenxusp, enables us to exhibit the only fpecimen of the genius of the Bards that can be afcribed with certainty to a higher date than the fixth century. Defcribing the wealth and magnificence of Luernius, Pofidonius relates, that, ambitious of popular favour, he frequently was borne over the plains in a chariot, fcattering gold and filver among myriads of the Celts who followed him. On a day of banqueting and feftivity, when he entertained with abundance of choice provifions and a prc- fufion of coftly liquors, his innumerable attendants ; a poet of the barbarians, arriving long after the reft, greeted him with finging the praife of his unrivalled bounty and exalted virtues, but lamented his own bad fortune in fo late an arrival. Luernius, charmed with his fong, called for a purfe of gold, and threw it to the Bard, who, animated with gratitude, renewed the encomium, and proclaimed, that the track of his chariot wheels upon the earth was ■produclive of wealth and blejfings to mankind.
AIOTI TA IXNH THS THS (2*HS APMATHAATEI) XPTSON KAI ETEPTEIIAS ANGPfllTOlS #EPEI.
The difciples of the Druidical Bards, during a noviciate of twenty years, learnt an immenfe number of verfes •>, in which they preferved the principles of their religious and civil polity by uninterrupted tradition for many centuries. Though the ufe of letters was familiar to them, they never committed their verfes to writing, for the fake of ftrengthening their intellectual faculties, and of keeping their myfterious know- ledge from the contemplation of the vulgar. The metre in which thefe poetical doctrines were communi- cated, was called Englyn Milwr, or the Warrior's Song, which, as the reader will fee in the annext fpecirrierv, is a ftanza of three lines, each of feven fyllables, the firft and fecond containing the general fubject of the poem, and the third conveying fome divine or moral precept, or prudential maxim r.
'* De Eello Gallico, lib. vi.
* Thrice happy they beneath their northern fkics Who that word tear, the tear of death, defpife ; Hence they no caies from this frail being feel, But rufli undaunted on the pointed fteel, Provoke approaching fate, and bravely fcorn To fpare that life which muft (b loon return.
Lowe's Lucan, b i.
1 Tacitus de moribus Ocrmanorum. n Fntrcatcd in lilent valley, fing
With notes angelical to many a harp,
Their own heroic deeds, and hapleis fall
I3; d jom of batch-. IVJihon,
n *Eir» xa» ir«»' «tIo~; xai ffoi>}7ai jitfXJv, S; BAPAOYS lay. x\ut.-, troi Ji fj.fi' o^yoltuv Tais Xl/jaif g/aoi'oiv uiovlif, tf; ; .u ifAtSiri, 3; & (3Axo-*
q-nfjiSei. H. Steph. edit. 1559. p 2r;>
Bardi fortia virofum illufcrium facia heroicis compofita verfl- bus cilna dulcibus lyrcc modulis cantitarunt. Ammian. Mar- cellin. I. xv. Ammianus Mareellinus about the veer 380.
0 Diodorus Siculus de Gelt. Fabulos. Antiq 1. vi. See alfo the notes on the fixth fong of Drayton's Poholbion.
p See the Rev. Mr. Evans's Specimens of Welfh Foetry, in Diflert. de Banfift; p .<5c, 06.
s Caefar de Ikllo Gallico, hvi.
r See Mona Antiqua, p. 253., and Llwyd's Archa:o!ogia, p. 351, and 221.
writing
THE WEL SH BARDS.
Druidical tfriambics.
Marchwiail bedzu briglas, A dyn fy nhroed o wanas ; Nac addef dy rin 8 i was,
Marchwiail deriv mwynllwyn\ A dyn fy nhroed o gadzvyn : Nac addef dy rin i forwyn,
Marchwiail derw deiliar, A dyn fy nhroed o gar char ; Nac addef dy rm i lafar \
Eiry myndydd, gzvyn fCb iy \ Cynnefin bran a chanu ; Ni ddaw da o dra chyfgu v.
Eiry mynjfydd, gzvynt ae taw/, Llydan lloergan, glds tafawl ; Odid dyn diriad, dihawl x.
Eiry mynydd, hyddym mron ; Gochwiban gwynt uzvch blaen oil Trydydd troed i hen ei ffon r:
In the three firft, the Druids feem to irivocate their groves, and fet forth their facerdotal privileges and exemptions. In the other three, they apoftrophize the mountain Eryri or Snowdon, the Parnaflus of Wales. We learn from Gildas that the ancient Britains had an extraordinary Veneration for mountains, groves, and rivers.
When the Roman legions, after the invafion of Britain, and the conqueft of the Gallic provinces, were recalled to oppofe the power of Pompey in Italy, the exultation of the Bards, at recovering the fecure pof- feflion and exercife of their ancient poetical function is defcribed in a very animated manner by Lucan^
You too, ye Bards ! whom facred raptures fire To chaunt your heroes to your country's lyre ; Who confecrate in your immortal ftrain Brave patriot fouls in righteous battle llain ; Securely now the tuneful talk renew And nob left themes in deathlefs fongs purfue * !
Such was trie new but imperfectly difcovered fcene which the great Gefar's ambition opened in Britain. 1Sor are thefe accounts only imperfect; they are alfo partially delivered, as fome bold fpirits, even among the Romans, have hinted *.
The Druids, expelled from Britain by the legions, took refuge in Ireland and the Ifle of Man, places which the Roman fword could not then reach. The theory of the Britifh Mufic moved with them, and fettled in Ireland, which from that period was for many ages the feat of learning and philofophy, till wars and diffentions buried almoft every trace of them in oblivion \
The Bards, having now loft their facred Druidical character, began to appear in an honourable, though lefs dignified capacity at the courts of the Britifh kings. The Oak Miflelto c was deprived of its ancient authority, and the fword prevailed in its place. The Mufick as well as the Poetry of Britain, no doubt, received a tincture from the martial fpirit of the times : and the Bards, who once had dedicated their pro- feffion to the worfhip of the gods in their fylvan temples, the celebration of public folemnities, and the praife of all the arts of peace, and who had repreft the fury of armies preparing to rufh upon each other's fpears : now
With other echo taught the mades To anfwer, and refound far other fong d.
If, while Britain remained a Roman province, the defultory wars produced any compofitions that deferved to live, they were deftroyed by the calamity that occafioned them. In the lixth century, the golden age of Welfti Poetry, the Bards refumed the harp with unufual boldnefs, to animate their country's laft fuccefsful ftruggle with rhe Saxons.
* Cyfrlnach, Arcanum.
1 Dyn fiaradus, Homo Garulus. ■ Meltor vigilanth lomno.
* Homo nequam liris occafione non carebit* y Scni baculus, tertius pes cito,
* Rowe's Luc;;n, b. i.
■ SuetOnii Vitae. Lucan Pharfalia.
b An account of the Britifli or Cambrian Mufic, by Mr. Lewis Morris.
e Ad Ft/cum Druid*, DruiJtt ianta> f /olebant. Ovid. See Mona Antiqua. d Milton's Paradife Loft.
praife
H I
TbktcAL Account of
Aneurin Gwawdrydd, called by his fucceffors Monarch of Bards, lived under the patronage of MynyJ* dawg of Edinborough, a prince of the North, whofe Milwyr, or men at arms, 363 in number, all wearing gold chains, were flain, except Aneurin and two others, in a battle with the Saxons at Cattractb. His Gododin written on that event is perhaps the oldeft and nobleft production of that age. Being compofed in a northern dialect, poffibly the Pictifh, it is at prefent in many places extremely difficult and obfeure*. The following paffage, verfified by Mr. Gray, from Mr. Evans's fpecimens, will, though a fragment, give an ample proof of the genius of Aneurin.
O D E,
Selected from the Gododin.
Gwyr a eth Gattraeth feddfaetb feddwn, Ffurf ' frivytblawn oedd cam nas cymbwyllwn, I am lafnawr cocb, gorfawr, gwrmwn, Dwys dengyn-ydd ymleddyn aergwn,
Ar deulu Bryniech be icb barnafwm, Diluw, dyn yn fyw nis gadawfwn, Cyfeillt a golleis, difflais oeddwn, Rhugl yn ymwrtbryn, rbun rbiadwn. Ni niynnws gwrawl gzvaddawl cbwegrwn, Maban y Gian 0 faen Gwyngwn.
Tan gryffiei Garadawg i gad, Nab baedd coed, tryebwn, tryebiad Tarw byddin yn nhrin gommyniadj Ef litbiai wyddgwn oi angad.
Arddyledawyc canu, cymmain 0 fri9
Tivrf tan, a tharan, a rbyferthl,
Gwryd addercbawg marcbawg myfgi
Rhudd Fedel rbyfel a eidduni.
Gwr gwnedd, difuddiazvg, dygymmyni yngbad,
O'r meint gwladyt glywL
Gwyra aetb Gattraeth buant enwawd ;
Gwin a medd 0 aur fu eu %wirawd,
Blwyddyn yn erbyn ivrdyn ddefawd,
¥ rywyr a tbriugaint a tbricbant eurdorcbawd,
O'r fawl yt gryjfiajfant ucb gormant ivirawd
Ni ddiengis namyntri 0 wrhydri ffojfawd,
Dau gatci Aeron a chynon Daearawd
A minnau o'm gwaedffreu gwertb fy ngwenwawd.
Had I but the torrent's might,
With headlong rage, and wild affright,
Upon Bard's fquadrons hurl'd,
To rufh, and fweep them from the world !
Too, too fecure, in youthful pride By them my friend, my Hod, died, Great Kian's fon 5 of Madoc old He afk'd no heaps of hoarded gold ; Alone in nature's wealth array'd, He afk'd, and had the lovely maid.
Have ye feen the tufky boar Or the bull, with fullen roar, On furrounding foes advance ? So Caradoc bore his lance*
Vedel's name, my lay, rehearfe, Build to him the lofty verfe, Sacred tribute of the Bard, Verfe, the hero's fole reward. As the flames devouring force ; As the whirlwind in its courfe, As the thunder's fiery ftroke, Glancing on the Ihiver'd oak j Did the fword of Vedel's mow The crimfon harveft of the foe/
To Cattraetb's vale, in glitt'ring row
Twice two hundred warriors go ;
Ev'ry warrior's manly neck
Chains of regal honour deck,
Wreath'd in many a golden link :
From the golden cup they drink
Nedtar, that the bees produce,
Or the grape's extatic juice.
Flufh'd with mirth, and hope they burn :
But none from Cattraetb's vale return,
Save Aeron brave, and Conan ftrong,
(Burfting thro' the bloody throng),
And I, the meanefl: of them all,
That live to weep, and fing their fall, — - -
e Evani's Diflert. de Eardis ; r>. 68, 69.
TaliefiH,
THE WELSH BARDS.
Talieflrt, who in one of his poems gives an honourable teftimony to the fame of Aneurin f, was like him called Penbeirdd, king of Bards. He lived in the reign and enjoyed the favour of Maelgwn Gwyncdd, king of Britain. He was found, when an infant, expofed in a weir, which Givyddno Garanir, the petty king of Cantrer Gwaelod, had granted as a maintenance to prince Elphin his fon, Elphin, with many amiable qualities, was extravagant ; and having little fuceefs at the weir, grew difcontented and melancholy. At this juncture Taliefm was found by the fifhermcn of the prince, by whofe command he was carefully foftered and liberally educated. At a proper age the accomplished Bard was introduced by his princely patron at the court of his father Gwyddno, to whom he prefented, on that occafion, a poem called Hanes Taliefln, or Ta~ liejins Hiftory ; and at the fame time another to the prince, called Dyhuddiant Elphin s, the confolation of Elphin, which the Bard addrefles to him in the perfon and character of an expofed infant. 1 aliefin lived to recompenfe the kindnels of his benefactor : by the magic of his Poetry he redeemed him from the caftle of Teganwy (where he was for fome mifcondud confined by his uncle Maelgwn), and afterwards conferred upon him an illuftrious immortality.
Taliefln was the mafter or poetical preceptor of Myrddin ap Morfryn : ne enriched the Britifh Protody with five new metres ; and has .tranfmitted in his poems fuch veftiges, as throw new light on the hiftory, knowledge; and manners of the ancient Britons and their Druids, much of whofe myftical learning he imbibed.
The poem which I have chofen for a fpecimen of Taliefln's manner, is his defcription of the battle of Argoed Llwyfain, fought about the year 548, by Goddeu, a king of North Britain, and Urien Reged, king of Cumbria, againft Ffi.mddwyn, a Saxon general, fuppofed to be Ida, king of Northumberland. I am indebted to the obliging difpofition and undiminiftied powers of Mr. Whitehead, for the following faithful and animated verfification of this valuable antique
*!the Battle of Argoed Llwyfain h.
Gwaith Argoed Llwyfain. CANU URIEN. T borau ddyw fadwrn, cddfawr a fuy O'r pan ddivyre haul, hyd pan gynnnu.
Dygrypivys Fflamddwyn yn bedwarlla. Goddeu, a Reged, i ymddyllu. Dyfwy 0 Argoed, hyd Arfynydd. Ni cheffynt einioes hyd yr undyddl
Atorelwis Fflamddwyn, fazur drybcftavjd,
A ddodynt gyngwyfllon, a ynt parawd ?
jTr attebwys Y wain, ddwyrain ffojfawd,
Ni ddodynt iddynt, nid ynt parawd;
A Chenau, mab Loel, byddai gymwyaivg lew,
Cyn a talai 0 wyjll nebawd !
( Talrefin, in his poem called Anrheg Urien, has the two fol- lowing lines .
A -x'lini ttimi Aneurin Givaivdrydd ' azvenydd, A minnau Daliejin o Ian Llyn Geirionydd.
I know the fame of the infpired genius Aneurin Gwaw- drydd,
And I am Tafiefito, whofe abode is by the Lake of — Geirionydd.
e See this poem published and tranflated in Evans's fpecimens. h This is the lad of the ten great battles of Urien Reged, cele- brated by Taliefm in poems now extant. See Car/e't Hijioiy of
Morning rofe : the iffuing fun Saw the dreadful fight begun : And that fun's defcending ray Clos'd the battle, clos'd the day.
Fflamddwyn pour'd his rapid bands, Legions four, o'er Reged's lands. The numerous hoft from fide to fide Spread deftruction wild and wide, From Argoed's 1 fummits, foreft-crown'd, To fteep Arfynydd's k utmoft bound. Short their triumph, fliort their fway. Born and ended with the day !
Flufh'd with conqueft Fflamddwyn faid, Boaftful at his army's head, ' Strive not to oppofe the ftream, Redeem your lands, your lives redeem. Give me pledges, Fflamddwyn cried, Never, Urien's fon replied Owen 1 of the mighty ftroke : Kindling, as the hero fpoke, Ctnau m, CoeH blooming heir Caught the flame, and grafp'd the fpear.
England, p. in, & 212- There is much valuable information relating to the Ancient Britons in the above hiitory.
' A part of Cumbria, the country of prinre Llywarcb Hen, from whence he was drove by the Saxons.
k Some place on the borders of Northumberland.
1 Owen ap Urien afted as his father's general.
m Cenau led to the alfiftance of Urien Reged the forces of his father Coil Godbdo;, king of a northern traft, called God.irm, probably inhabited by the Godini of Ptolemy. O.xtn af> Urien and Ceueu ap Co$l were in the number of Arthur's " Lewis's Hiftory of Britain, p. 261.
Knights
See
Shall
6
HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OP
Atorelwis Urien, ydd yr ecbivyddt O bydd ynghyfarfod am garennydd. Dyrchafwn eidoed odducb mynydd, Ac ymborthwn ivyneb odducb emyl , A dyrchafwn beleidr odducb ben gwyr, A cbyrcbwn Fflamddwyn yn ei Iwydd ; A lladdwn ag ef, a'i gyweithydd !
Shall Coel's iflue pledges give To the infulting foe, and live ? Never fuch be Briton's lhame, Never, 'till this mangled frame Like fome vanquifli'd lion lie Drench'd in blood, and bleeding die.
Day advane'd : and ere the fun Reach'd the radiant point of noon, Urien came with frefh fupplies. 4r Rife, ye fons of Cambria, rife, Spread your banners to the foe, Spread them on the mountain's brow^ Lift your lances high in air, Friends and brothers of the war, Rufh like torrents down the fteep, Thro' the Vales in myriads fweep, Fflamddwyn never can fuftain The force of our united train."
Havoc, havoc rag'd around, Many a carcafe ftrew'd the ground : Ravens drank the purple flood, Raven plumes were dyed in blood ; Frighted crouds from place to place
Eager, hurrying, breathlefs, pale Spread the news of their difgrace, Trembling as they told the tale.
Thefe are Taliejin's rhimes, Thefe lhall live to diftant times, And the Bard's prophetic rage Animate a future age.
Child of forrow, child of pain, Never may I fmile again, If 'till all-fubduing death Clofe thefe eyes, and Hop this breath, Ever I forget to raife My grateful fongs to Urien's praife !
Llywarcb Hen, or Llywarcb the aged, a Cumbrian prince, is the third great Bard of the Britim annals. He paft his younger days at the court of king Arthur, with ths honourable diftihdtion of a free gueft. When the Britiih power was weakened by the death of Arthur, Llywarcb was called to the aid of his kinfman Urien Reged, king of Cumbria, and the defence of his own principality, againft the irruptions of the Saxons.
This princely Bard had four and twenty fons, all inverted with the golden torques, which appears to have been the antient badge of Britiih nobility \ Many of them were flain in the Cumbrian wars, and the Saxons at length prevailed. The unfortunate Llywarcb, with his few furviving fons, fled into Powys, there to revive the unequal and unfuccefsful conteft under the aufpices of the. prince of Powys, Cynddylan. Having loft, in the iflue of thefe wars, all his fons and friends, he retired to a hut at Aber Gog ' in North Wales, to foothe with his harp the remembrance of misfortune, and vent with elegiac numbers the forrows of old age
A rbag gwaith Argoed Llwyfain^
Bu llawer celain :
Rhuddei frainy
Rhag rhyfel gihyr !
A gwerin a fryjfwys gan e\ newydd.
Arinaf y blwyddyn nad wyf cynnydd,
Ac yn 'i fallwyf bent T m dygn angau angen ; Ni byddif ymdyrwen, Na mohvyf Urien !
0 Hylarcb iiv mab y marcbof, (Tu aur) yn arian g"ltrng
° Now DolGiog near Machynlleth in Montgomeryfliire. There Llyivaich died, near the age of 150, about the year 634; and was buried at Uanfor near Bala in Merionethiliire, where, in the weft window of the church, is a ftone with an inlcriptiofl.
in
THE WELSH BARDS. 7
in diftrefs. His poems are in fome places almjft unintelligible : not becaufe they want fimplicity, which is their characteriftic beauty, but from the antiquity of the language, which is partly the Venedotian and partly the Cumbrian dialect, and from fcantihefs of information concerning the facts. The compofitions of Llyivarcb are pure nature, unmixed with that learning and contrivance which appears in the writings of Taliefin : he did not, like that great Bard, extend the bounds of Britifh poetry, but followed implicitly the works of the Druids, clofing many of his ftanzas with their venerable maxims. He writes in fuch a Ample, undifguifed, pathetic manner., that it is impoffible to fufpect him of mifreprefentation ; he has no fictions, no embellifliments, no difplay of ?rt ; but gives an affecting narrative of events and circumftances.
The fubfequent fpecimen, which is a clofe and literal profe tranflation of ftanzas in the firft and fecond poem of this princely Bard, will give my readers a relifli for his excellence in natural, fentimental, and martial description p.
From Poem I;
The Cuckow fends forth her longing arid com- plaining voice, When Ihe has fled from the purfuit of the Hawk, And condoles with me at the waters of Ciog.
In fpring all nature is beautiful and glad : It is the feafon when heroes haften to the field of war : But I cannot go ; infirmity will not fuffer me.
The birds ring, and loud is the cry Of the ftrong-fcented hounds in the defart : Again the birds are heard to warble.
The birds fing, the brooks murmur, The moon Ihines out ; it is the cold hour of mid- night ;
And my heart droops under its lingering cares.
Hear you not how the waves roar, And dafn from rock to rock 1 O my weak heart ! may my fenfes be granted m; to-night !
From Poem IX.
Before I ufed a ffafT, I was comely and eloquent : I was a free and welcome gueft in the palace Of Powis, the Paradife of Wales.
Before I ufed a ftafF, I was fplendidly apparelled : j^ly fpear was of the largeft fize ; its thruft was terrible :
But now my years are many j I am feeble, I am miferable.
O my ftaff ! in fummef
The furrows are red, and the tender blades fpring forth :
Thou art to me inftead of my loft kindred, when I look upon thy beak.
Vallies were thrown up for the trenches of the fortrefs :
And I will arm myfelf with my fhield. My mind muft be difordered ere I give way.
When danger overtakes thee, O Urien Blow thou the horn which I gave thee, Whofe mouth is tipped with gold.
Ghaftly was the wound when Pyll was flalri : Blood ftreamed form his hair On the bank of the rapid Ffrdw.
p Thofe who (hall be incited to a farther acquaintance With the beauties or Lyw«rci Hen, will fliortly have accels to them m an edmon of all his extant works, with a literal vcrfion and
Diftinguifhed among all my fons When they fingled out their adverfaries Pyll ruffied with the violence of flames through — the flreams of Llifon.
When, mounted" on his prancing fteed,
He halted at the door of his tent,
The wife of Pyll gloried in her hufband.
Given ! how joyous did I behold thee laft night !
Thou hadft no roof to cover thee,
But didft traverfe, cold, the banks of Morlas.
O Given ! thou that wert dreadful in thine anger ! My thoughts are bloody becaufe thou art flain : Relentlefs was he that flew thee.
O Given ! fire of a powerful progeny ! Thou wert the attack of an eagle At the mouths of mighty rivers.
Let the waves ceafe to roar, the rivers to flow, Since this fatal deed has been perpetrated! Alas ! my Given ! in my trembling age have I — loft thee.
My fon was a hero : the fun was below Given*
He was the nephew of Urien
He was flain by the Ford of Morlas.
notes, lately announced to the public by the Rev. Mr. T- Walter* ot Jefus College, Oxford ; to whom I am much indebted for adding fome notes to this preface.
I had
8
HISTORICAL ACCOUNT Ol
I had four and twenty fons ; Thefe were my fons,
All leaders Of armies, all decked with the golden The favourites of Bards ;
^ torques. And fair is their renown.
Given was the braveit or them all.
I had Foiir and twenty fons, All princely chiefs, all decked with chains of gold. But compared with Gwen, the reft were children.
The Britifh language, in which rhyme is as old as poetry itfelf, had, in the fixth century, attained fuch copioufnefs and mufical refinement, that the Bards commonly compofed in unirythm ftanzas of many lines. The rhymes of modern Italy are as famous for their number, as its language is admired for its pliability in yielding to all the inflections of the voice. Yet the Italian poets are conftrained to change the rhyme more than once in a ftanza, without producing any other effect than confufion from the diverfity. The old performances of the Bards were therefore mod happily calculated for accompanying the harp.
For this quality none of the remains of this remote period are more remarkable, than the works of Myrd- din ab Morfryn, often called Merlin the Wild \ whofe reputation as a Bard, is not inferior to the prophetic and magical fame of his great predeceflbri Myrddin Emrys He was born at Caerwerthefin, near the foreft of Cdyddon, in Scotland ; where he poffeffed a great eftate, which he loft in the war of his Lord Gwenddolau ap Ceidio, and Aeddan Fradawg againft Rhydderch Hael. His misfortunes in Scotland drove him to Wales : and there is now extant a poetical dialogue between him and his preceptor Ta/iejin. He was prefent at the battle of Camlan, in the year 542, where, fighting under the banner of king Arthur, he accidentally flew his own nephew, the fon of his fifter Gwenddydd r. In confequence of this calamity, he was feized with madnefs, which affected him every other hour «. He fled back into Scotland, and concealed himfelf in the woods of that country, where, in an interval of recollection, he compofed the following poem, which has many beauties, and is ftrongly tinctured with the enthufiafm of madnefs. He afterwards probably returned to Wales, where, in the diforder of his mind, he vented thofe poetical prophecies that pafs under his name^ and were tranflated into Latin, and publifhed by Geoffrey of Monmouth. He was burried in the Ifle of EnlM*9 or Bardfey, on the coaft of North Wales, where there was a college of Black cowled Monks.
Afallennau Myrddin y thai a gaivfai gan ei Arghoyid
Gwenddolau ab Ceidio. A roddaid i neb yn un plygaint, A roed 1 FerDdin cyn no henaint Saith Af alien herein t a faith ugaint ; Tn gyfoed gyfuwch gyhyd gymmaint Trwy fron teyrnedd y tyfeddiant j Un ddoled uched ai gorthoaint ; Gloywedd ei hcnwt gloywyn ei daint.
Af alien beren bren ! y fydd fad,
Nid bychan dy Iwyth fyddffrwyth arnad ;
A minnau wyf ofnawg amgelawg am danad,
Rhag dyfod y coedwyr coed gymmynad
J gladdu dy wraidd a llygru dy had :
Tal na thyfo byth afal arnad*
A minnau wyf givyllt gorthrychiad
hi cathrud, Cythrudd nim cudd dillad
Neum roddes Gwenddolau tlyftuyn rhad
Ac yntau heddy-w fal na buad,
1 Myrddin Em>ys, or Merlin Ambrofe, the prophet and re- puted magician, born at Ctw mar then, was the Ion of a Welfli Nun, daughter of a kin^ of Demctia. His father was un- known. He was made king of Weft Wales by Fvrtigem, who then reigned in Britain. His prophclies, which were written in , prole, were tranflated into Latin, and publiflted by Geoffrey of Monmuuib.
THE ORCHARD.
Was ever given to man fo acceptable a gift, as that beftowed on Myrddin ere age had overtaken him ? a fair orchard, feven fcore and feven fweet apple trees, all equal in age, height, and magni- tude : they pofTeffed the flope of a majeftic hill, branching high and wide, crowned with lovely foliage ; a lovely nymph, whofe hair flowed in beauteous ringlets, guarded them; her name Gloy- wedd, with the pearly teeth.
Sweet and excellent apple-tree ! thy branches are loaded with delicious fruit ; I am full of care and fearful anxiety for thy fafety, left the deftructive woodman fhould dig thee up by the roots, or other- wife fo injure thy prolific nature, that apples would no more grow on thy branches : for this I am wild with grief, torn with anxiety, anguifh pierces me to the heart ; I fuffer no garment to cover my body. Thefe trees are the ineftimable gifts of Gwenddolatt, He who is now, as if he was not.
r Diflertatio de Bardis, p. 77. Lewis's Hiftory of Britain, p. 206.
' A<wr oV gif gan Dduw ry got Anur ymbellyr amhuuytlai.
S. Deifi / FyrMn. MS. 1 Sir William Glynn, in Cyvjyddy Ddra;g Gkh. MS.
7 Sweet
THE WELSH BARDS.
9
Af alien beren bren, addfeinus ! Gwafgadfod glodfazvr, buddfawr brydus 1 'dd wnant bennaetheu gam gyfefgus, A myneicb geuaivg bwydiawg gwydius\ A gweifionein ffraetb bid arfaethus T dd fyddant wyr rammunt rit rwyfanus.
Af alien bcren bydwf glas ! Plu fawr ei changen a'i chain wanas : A nil ddyfgoganaf cad amdias Pengwern cyfeddgrudd medd eu baddas*
Af alien beren a dyfyn llannerch
Angerdd oi hargel rhag rbieu Rhydderch.
Amfatbr yn ei bon, maon yn ei chylcb ;
Oedd aeleu yddynt dulloedd dihefeirch.
Mi ni'm car Gwenddydd ac nim benny rch ;
Wyf cas gan wafawg gzvaefaf Kuy ddekch ;
Ry rewiniais 'ifab ef a'i ferch.
jlngeu a ddwg pawb, pa rag nam cyfelrcb f
A gwedi Gwenddolau neb rbiau- nim peirch
Nim gogazvn gwarwyj nim gofwy gordderch :
Ac yngzvaith Arderydd oedd aur fy ngortborch,
Cyn bwyf aelaw hcddyw gan liw Eleircb,
Af alien beren blodau efplydd
A dyf yn argel yn argoedydd !
Chwedlen a gigleu yn necbreuddrdd
Ry forri gwajfawg gwaefaf Meuwydd ;
Dwywaith a theirgwaitb pedergwaitb yn undydd ;
Ocb Jefu 11a ddyfu fy nihenydd!
Cyn dyfod ar fy Haw llaith mab Gwenddydd ?
Af alien beren bren cil wyddfa,
Civn coed cylcb ei gwraidd digzvafcotwa.
A mi ddyfgoganaf dyddaw etzva
Medrawd ac Arthur mo'ur tyrfa
Lamlan darmeriban difeu yna
Namyn faitb ni ddyraith or cymmanfa.
Edrycbed We^rwyfak wedi ei tbraha
Eglwyftg bendefg a'i tyzvyfa.
Gwaetb i mi a dderfydd beb yfgorfa.
Llcas mab G wen d dydd,/; Haw at gwna.
D
Sweet apple-tree, of tall and ftately growth ! how admired thy fhade aijd fhelter, thy piofitablenefs and beauty often will mighty lords and princes fornl a thoufand pretences for frequenting thy recefs, nor lefs eager the falfe and luxurious monks ; and equally intent are the idle talkative youths : all hankering after thy apples ; they all pretend to pro- phecy the warlike exploits of their prince, this their apology for robbing thee of thy fruit.
Sweet apple tree, vigorous in growth, verdant in foliage ! large are thy branches, beautiful thy form: ere the depredations of flanghtering war caufed my thoughts to boil with grief, how beautiful was the fight of thy robe of vivid gieen ! yet lhall my pro- phetic fong announce the day, when a mighty legion lhall revenge my wrongs; the valourous armies of Pengwern, fierce in battle, animated by mighty mead.
Sweet apple-tree, growing in the lonely glade ! fervent valour fhall ftill keep thee fecure from the ftern lords of Rbyddcrcb. Bare is the ground about thee, trodden by mighty warriors ; their heroic forms ftrike their foes with terror. Alas ! Gwend- dydd loves me not, Ihe greets me not ; I am hated by the chiefs of Rhyddercb ; I have ruined his fon and his daughter. Death relieves all, why does he not vilit me? for after Gwenddolau no prince ho- nours me, I am not foothed with diverfion, I am no longer vifited by the fair : yet in the battle of Arderydd I wore the golden torques, though I am now delpifed by her who is fair as the fnowy fvvan.
'Sweet apple-tree, covered with delicate bloom, growing unfeen in the fequeftered woods ! early with the dawn have I heard that the high-commif- fioned chief of Meuwydd was offended with me ; twice, three times, alas ! four times in the fame day have I heard this ; it rung in my ears ere the fun had marked the hour of noon. O Jefus ! why was I not taken away by deftruction, ere it was the fad fate of my hand to kill the fon of Gwenddydd ?
Sweet apple-tree, appearing to the eye a large and fair wood of (lately trees ! monarch of the furround- ing woods ; fhading ail, thyfelf unfhaded ! yet fhall my fong of prophecy announce the coming again of Medrod, and of Arthur 't monarch of the warlike hoft : again fhall they rufh to the battle of Camlan ; two days will the conflict laft, and only feven efcape from the flaughter. Then let G:vcn bwyf lw remember the crimes fhe has been guilty of, when an ecclefi- aftical hero leads the warriors to battle. Alas ! far more lamentable is mv deftiny, nnd hope affords no refuge. The fon of Gwenddydd is dead, flain by my accurled hand !
Sweet
HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF
Af alien beren beraf ei baeron, A dyfyn argelyn argoed Celyddon ! Cyd ceijier, ofer fydd herwydd H haddon, Tn i ddel Cadwaladr i gynadl rhyd Rheon Cynanj/z erbyn cycbivyn ar Saeson. Cvmry a orfydd cain fydde dragon ; Caff ant bawb ei deithi llawn Ji Br ytiiun : Caintor cyrn elwch3 cat hi heddwcb a hinom
Sweet apple tree, loaded with the fwecteft fruit, growing in the lonely wilds of the woods of Celyd- don ! all feck rhee for the fake of thy produce, but in vain ; until Cadwaladr comes to the conference of the ford of Rkeln, and Cynan advances to oppofe the Saxons in their career. Then (hall the Britons be again victorious, led by their graceful and majeltic chief : then (hall be rcilored to every one his own : then mall the founder of the trump of gladnefs proclaim the long of peace, the ferene days of hap* pineft.
Thefe were the poetical luminaries of the fixth century. Their works arc pregnant with feeling, with fancy, and enthufiafm ; and do honour to the nation that produced them. Foreigners who fhall read them, will be obliged to foften fome of thofe dark colours in which they have ufually painted our anceftors. The rays of genius that fhone forth in the Britons, amid the gloom of the dark ages, are more valuable in the eye of reafon, and contribute more to their glory, than ail the bloody trophies they erected. But how can their poetry produce this effect, if their language remains unintelligible, — if no one will tranflate it into the other languages of Europe u ?
The writings of thefe ancient Bards deferve to be explored and publifhed, not merely as fourccs of poetical and philofophical pleafures, but as ftores of hiftorical information. Their origin is not doubtful like that of fome venerable works which we have reafon to fear, were drawn together from fabulous records or vague tra- dition ; thefe were compofed on recent exploits, and copied immediately from their lubjects, and lent abroad among nations that had acted or feen them. From a diligent investigation and accurate editions of them by learned Welfhmen, many important advantages may be promifed to the Britifh hiftory, which fupplied and im- proved from thefe copious fountains, would no longer difguft with incredible fables of g;ants and magicians, but engage by a defcription of real events and true heroes. For early poetry has in all countries been kno>vn to give the fulleft and moft exact picture of life and manners.
The Druids, in their emigration to Ireland, had not left Britain entirely deftitute of its mufic, which tho lgh no longer communicated by the precepts of that learned order, was perpetuated by practice. It languimed indeed for a time, but afterwards grew and flourifhed in Wales with the other furviving arts of Britain.
" It feems to have been a prerogative peculiar to the ancient kings of Britain, to prefide in the Eifleddfod or Congrefs of the Bards. Accordingly we find that late in the feventh century Cadwaladr fat in an 'Eifleddfod affembled for the purpofe of regulating the Bards, taking into confideration their productions and perform- ance, and giving new laws to harmony. It is recorded w that a Bard, who played on the harp in the pre- fence of this illuftrious alTembly in a key called Is gyxvair ar y Bragod Dannau, was cenfured for the inharmo- nious effect he produced, interdicted under a heavy penalty from ufing it ever after; and commanded when- ever he performed before perfons fkilful in the art to adopt that of Muoynen Giuynedd, the pleating key of North Wales, which the royal affociates firft gave out, and preferred for its conformity with finging, and its fuperiority over the Is Gywair, which flrikingly refembled the tone of the Pipes of M.rfydd, a great per- former on that inftrument. They even decreed that none could fing with true harmony, but in Mwynen Gwynedd, becaufe that key is formed of firings that make a perfect concord, and the other is of a mixed nature : of which fuperiority we have examples in the following tunes ; Caniad Cejf)li:vr, Caniad o fawr- ivyrthiau, Caniad Jeuan ab y Gof, Caniad Anrhcg Dewi, Caniad Cydzvgi, Caniad Einion Delyniwr, Caniad Crych ar y Carft ; and many others."
To this period may be referred, not without probability, thofe great but obfeure characters in Welfh mufic, Itbel, Iorwertb, and yr Athro Fedd and the Keys, and Chromatic Notes by them invented and full dif- tinguifhed by their names.
From the era of Cadwaladr hiftory is obftinately filent concerning the Welfh mufic and poetry to the
■ The reader may fee thefe reflexions better exprefled by M. Mallet, in his Iniroduftion a i'Hi/ioire de Danncmurc.
w Cambro-Britannic* Cymraeca Lin^ucc iujlttuliones By Dr.
John David Rhys, p. 103. Alio G> ammarfeg Cymraig. By John
Rbyrhi, i\b. tamo printed at Shrewsbury, 172S, j>. 134.
* Mr. Lewis Morris, in one of bis MSS. which I have feen, fuppofes 'hat they were Druids,
middle
THE WELSH BARDS. it
middle of the tenth century, a period illuminated by the laws of Howeh. In thefe laws we do not find the mufical or poetical eftablifhmcnt of the national Bards ; but they contain fuch injunctions refpedting the Bard of the palace^ and the chief Bard of Wales, as in fome meafure compenfate for that defect of information.
When the chief Bard appeared at the court of the Welfh princes, he fat next to the judge of the palace. None but himfelf and the Bard of the palace was allowed to perform in the prefence of the prince. When the prince defired to hear mufic, the chief Bard fang to his harp two poems, one in praife of the Almighty, the other .oncerning kings and their heroic exploits, after which a third poem was fung by the Bard of the palace. He obtained his pre-eminence by a poetical conteft, which was decided by the judge of the palace, who received on this occafion from the fuccefsful candidate, as an honorary fee, a bugle-horn, a gold ring, and a cufhion for his chair of dignity. His poetical rights and authority were not fubjedt to the con- troul of the prince, and his privilege of protection Lifted from the beginning of the firft fong in the hall of the p dace, to the conclufion of the laft z. But what remains to be faid of the manner of his election, and the nature of his office, I muft defer, till the inftitutes of Grujfudd ap Cynan enable me to fpeak more largely; and with greater certainty, of this dignified perfon.
The Bard of the palace, who was in rank the eighth officer of the prince's houfhold, received at his ap- pointment a harp a nd an ivory chefs board from the prince, and a gold-ring from the princefs. On the lame occafion he prefented a gold-ring to the judge of the palace. At the prince's table on the three great feftivalsof ChnJlmas,Eajler, an&PFhitfuntidii, he fat next to the mailer of the palace, and publickly received from the hands of that officer the harp on which he performed. When he went with other Bards upon his Clera or mufical peregrination, he was entitled to a double fee. He was obliged, at the queen's defire, to fing td his harp three pieces of poetry, but in a low voice, that the court might hot be diverted from their avoca- tions. He accompanied the army when it marched into an enemy's country ; and while it was preparing
for battle, or dividing the fpoils, he performed an ancient fong, called Unbennactb Prydaia % the Monarchy cf Britain :
" The Bard who firft. adorn'd our native tongue, " Tun'd to his Britilh lyre this ancient fong. Dryden. and for this fervice, when the prince had received his fhare of the fpoils, was rewarded with the moft valu- able beaft that remained b.
In thefe conftitutions we difcover the firft account of the Clera c, or triennial circuit of the Bards, as we before traced the origin of the Eijleddfod, their triennial afTembly, in the annals of Cadwaladr. We likewife find that a vaflal by the practice of Poetry and Mufic, which he could not adopt without the permiffion of his lord or prince, acquired the privileges of a freeman, and an honourable rank in fociety H. Nothing can difplay more forcibly the eftimation and influence which the Bards enjoyed at this early period, than their remarkable prerogative of petitioning for prefents e by occafional poems. This cuftom they afterwards car- ried to fuch excefs, and fuch refpetft was conftantly paid to their requefts, that in the time of Grujf udd ap Cynan, it became neceflary to controul them by a law which reftrained them from afking for the prince's Horfe, Hawk, or Greyhound, or any other pofleffion beyond a certain price, or that was particularly valued by the owner, or could not be replaced. Many poems of the fucceeding centuries are now extant, written to obtain a horfe, a bull, a fword, a rich garment, &c.
About the year 1070, prince Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, the author of another code of Welfh Laws, eftablifhed fome regulations refpedting the mufical Bards f, and revifed and enforced thole which were already made.
y See Cyftfitbieu T-fyivel DJa ac E'-aiU, or L'-^es Wallicee, tranf- lated in Latin by Dr. Wotton and Mr. Mofes Williams; and publilhed with a learned preface by Mr. Clarke. Folio. Lon- don 1732.
1 King Howel's Laws, p. 6 8, 60.
a Ho it's I a:vs, p. 35, 36, 57.
b M Dr Wotton, the learned editor of Howl's Laws, in a note on this paflage, conjectures that the title and fubjedt only were prescribed, and that the choice and compolition of the Poetry was left to the Lard. The V\ e!fl>, l.iys he, always pre- fervee! a tradition that the whole ifland had once been poiTeued by their anceftors. who were driven into a corner of it by their Saxon invaders. When they lavaged the h nglifli borders, they dignified their incurlions with the pretext of recovering their hereditan rights. Their poets therefore enteitained theft) with delcriptions and praifes of the lplendor and courage w>th which the monarchy of Britain was maintained by its ancient heroes, and inlpired with an ardour of emulating their glorious example.
5 Towards
If any thing can be added to the conjectures of fo difcerning a critic as Dr. Wotton, it is, that probably an excellent old poem, called Uhbinnatth Prydain, was conftantly recited in the field and accompanied by a tune of the fame antiquity, till by a long interval of peace, or iome other accident, they were both forgotten, and that afterwards the. Bards l'upplied what had been loft from their own inventions." Vranjlated Specimens of l>".,Jb Poetry in Jinglilh verfe. 178a. p. 33.
But heed, ye Bards, that for the fig n of onfet
1 e Jound the ancient eji of all your rhymes,
Wage birth traditiott mtti n.t, nor wohofamd
Us lofty fti ainti
Mafon's Caractacus.
c Howel's Laws, p. 37. § it, 12. d Howel's Laws, p. 307, 3 ill Triad. e Howel's Laws, p. 37. § 12.
f Dr. Rhys's Gi amrr.atK.al Injlitutes of tot Wt'Jl Language, p. 295.
12
HISTORICAL A C C O (J N T O i
Towards the clofe of the eleventh century, the great prince Grujfudd ap Cynan invited to Wales lomc of the befr. muficians of Ireland s ; and being partial to the mufic of that ifland, where he was born, and obiuv- ing with difpleafure the diforders and abufes of the Welfh Bards, created a body of inftitutes for the amend- ment of their manners, and the correction of their art and practice \ Accordingly I find in an old MS. of Welih Mufic >, in the library of the Welfh fchool, a curious account of fo remarkable a revolution, begin- ning with;ehefe words Here follow the four-and-twenty meafures of inftrumental Mufic, all conformable to the
laws of harmony, as they were fettled in a congrefs by many Doclors Jkilful in that fcience, WclfJj and Irifn, in the reign of Gruffudd ap Cynan, and written in books by order of both parties princely and principally, and thence copied, &c*.
This grand reformation of the Bards was effected by dividing them into claffes, and afligning to each clafs a diftinct profeffion and employment. We have hitherto viewed them in a very various and extenfive fphere. It was their office to applaud the living and record, the dead : they were required to poffefs learning and genius, a fkill in pedigrees, an acquaintance with the laws and metres of poetry, a knowledge of harmony, a fine voice, and the command of an inftrumcnt. This divcrfity of character is well exprefled by Drayton in the fixth fong of his Polyolbion :
f Mufician, Herald, Bard, thrice may 'ft thou bereno wn'd " And with three feveral wreaths immortally be crown'd !" Such variety of excellence was unattainable by human capacity. The Bards were now therefore diflributed into three grand orders, of Poets, Heralds, and Muficians ; each ol which again branched into fubordinate diflinctions.
Neither of thefe orders or diflinctions was any longer compatible with thofe with which it had been con- nected, or with any other profeffion. According to a more minute arrangement, there were of regular Bards, proceeding to degrees in the Eifleddfod, fix claffes : three of Poets and three of Muficians.
The firfl clafs of the Poets confifted of hiftorical or antiquarian Bards', who fometimcs mixed prophecy with their infpiration : they were alfo critics and teachers : and to them belonged the praife of virtue and the cenfure of vice. It was their duty to celebrate the gifts of fancy and poetry. Of them it was required to addrefs married women without the air of gallantry, and the clergy in a ferious ftrain fuitably to their function, to fatirife without indecency, and without lampooning to anfwer and overthrow the lampoons of the inferior Bards.
The fecond clafs was formed of domeftic or parenetic Bards m, who lived in the houfes of the great, to celebrate their exploits and amiable qualities : they fung the praifes of generofity, contentment, domeflic happinefs, and all the focial virtues : and thus eminently contributed to enliven the leifure of their patrons. It was alfo their province to requeft prefents in a familiar eafy vein, without importunity.
, 115, and 191.
and Rbyddercb' 's
a memorandum
; Dr. Fowel, in his notes on Caradoc informs ns, that either our Mufic came hither with prince Grvjfudd's Irifh Muficians, or was compoied by them afterwards. Mr. Wynne, the other editor of Caradoc's Hiftory, miftaking this pafiage in Dr. Powel, and not diftinguifhing inftrumental mufic from mulical inftru- nients hath reified his readers by afierting that the Harp and CVw/Z>came from Ireland. See Wynne's Hiftory of Wales, edit.
1774, p- 159.
h Ibid Alfo Powel's Hiftory of Wales, p Clarke's Preface to the Welfli Laws, p. 25, W rip Grammar, p. 177, &X.
i " Some part of this MS, according to " which 1 found in it, was tranferibed in the time of Charles the Firft, by Robert ap Hunt of Bodiwgen, in the ifle of Axglejcy, from tVilllam Penllyni Hook." Dr. Buiney's Hiftory of Mufic ; vol. il. p. 1 10- William Penllyn is recorded among the fuccefs- ful candidates on the harp, at an Eifleddfod at Cae'ivys, In 1568, uherehewas elected one of the chief Bards and Teachers of inftrumental fong. Pennant's Tour in Noith Wales, printed j-78, P-43&- 1 his MS, Dr. Purney informs me, " contains pieces for the harp that are in full harmony or counterpoint : they are written in a peculiar notation, and fuppofed to be as old as the year 11^0 at lcaft, fuch is the known antiquity of many of the fongs mentioned in the collection." Hiilory or Mulic,
' 24 mcafutti of Mufic arc here annexed from the MS. in the original Welfh: for the purpolc of afiiiling future enquiries, and fhewing by the variefy of us technical terms, what perfection the art had formerly acquired. As they have never be .11 ex- plained, I foibear attempting a tranflatfem, from apprchenlion of mifwko, M.d miileading the reader.
T Pedwar Mefur ar hugain cerdd Dant.
Alfarch. Mac v tmvnbir. Cord/a tytlucb. Cor- Aedan. Cor Finfain, CaiJL
Cor-vcrgog.
IVnfach,
Toddy/.
Mac y Delgi.
Cor-Alcban.
Rbiniart.
Mac y awn byr. Fflamgiur Gnurgan Brdtb yn ffget. Mac v m^'.y faen. T udyr bach. Hxtyr.
Brut Odidflg. Cor-Ffiniiur, Aiban Hxfaidd. Triv/gtMavjr. Cor-y-gtjUfn. J Prefix b,li.
In the fame MS. are preterved the five principal keys of Welfh Mulic, eftablifi.ed by the fame authority. Is gywair, the Grave, or Bals Key. Crdsgywair, the Mcute, or Sharp Key. IJediij gyixai>\ the Plat Key.
Go gywairj a Secondary Key, or perhaps the NaturalKey.
BVagod gjnva/r, the Mixt, or Minor Key. k L.lyma,r Pedwar Mefur ar bu^ainCcrdd dant, yn ol rieot fcfur oil, fal y eyfanfiuhhvyd TOWH Eifleddfod, i3c. MS, ' Pryaydd, or Prfa-dd. m Teuluivr, or Pofardd.
" We find the King had always a civil judge to attend him, " and one of the chief lords to confult with upon all emergen- " cics, He had a Bard to celebrate the praifes of his anceftors ; " a Cbrmcler to regifter his own actions; ^Pbyjician to take " care of his health, and a Mufician to entertain him. Thele t; were obliged to be always prelent, and to attend the King " whither-loever he went. Befides thele, there were a certain " number of heroic men called Mi.'iv\r, who attended him, " when he went on his progrefs, or marched out with his
is"
army, and were refolved to (land by him, even at theexpenc« of their lives." Oxent Hfoty of tbe Ancient Britons, p. *x
The
THE WELSH BARDS.
The third clafs, though laft, was probably not leaft in eftcem : for it confifted of Herald Bards who were the national chroniclers, and were alfo well verfed in pedigrees and blazonry of arms, and the works of the ancient Bards, fuch as Take/in and the two Merlins. According to the account of them which Giraldus • hqs given in the fucceeding century^ they were admirably qualified for Poetry, if invention be one of its principal requifites : for he affirms that they could trace back the defcents of their princes and nobles, not only to Rodericy but to Belt, Sylvius, and JEneas, and even to Adam himfelf. But their Poetry was of an humbler kind : it was ufually confined to fubjects of jocularity and mimickry, invective, and reproach.
Of the mufical Bards, the firft clafs was appropriated to the performers on the Harp : concerning whom the reader may colled: fome information from the fequel of this Ihort hiftory, and from an account of the Welfh mufical inftruments in another part of this volume.
The fecond contained performers on the fix-ftringed Crwth ; concerning whom alfo I refer the reader to the fame places for information.
The third confifted of fingers, whofe employment was to fing to the harps of others the compofitions of the poetical Bards ; but from whom a variety of other qualifications was expected. " A linger, faid the Laws, Ihould know how to tune a Harp or Crwth, and to play feveral efiays and embellifhments, two preludesy a cwhvm, a caniad, and the 13 principal tunes, with all their flats and fharps p. He fhould underftand like- wife the 13 principal ftyles of expreffion ; and accenting them with his voice to feveral tunes: he fhould know the 24 metres of Poetry, and 24 meafures of Mufic, and be capable of compofipg in two of the Englyn metres q, and one of the Cywydd metres. He fhould read Welfh with propriety and write it with exact- nefs, and be fkilful in correcting and reftoring any old poem or fong that has been corrupted by tranferibers."
■ C/rrivr, or Arwyddfardd. ° Cambria Defcriptio, cap. 3.
p Thefe technical terms of Welfh mufic are very obfeure, and are too unintelligible to admit of a pofitive translation, If Dr. Burney ihou'd hereafter be able to decypher the notation of the ancient and very curious mufical MS. I have quoted above, much light would be thrown on this dark fubject. 'J ill that de- firable object is accomplished, the candid reader will accept the following imperfect attempt to explain it.
Civl-wm, a congruous piece of mufic, with words.
Cohfn, pillar, or fundamental part.
Cydge>ad, mufic in parts.
Cadair, a maiterly piece of mufic, I conjecture, by the per-
T Pedwar Mefur ar hugain Cerdd Dafod,
formance of which the mufical Bards rofe to the fupe- rior degrees, and to the chair ; whence it probably took its name.
Canlad, a tune, or fong.
Go/leg, a prelude, or overture.
Dtfr, a meafure, or a diverting air.
Mu-ch-ivl, this famous piece of mufic feems only was acquired by a pencerddox Doclor of Mufic of the Harp. N.B. The three noble Mwcbwlt was equal to the four
Colofns.
A Cohfn was equivalent to 10 cvjliams. A Cadair parallel with 5 cvjlwms.
The 24 Metres of Poetry.
Englyn
Cyvydd
Unodl union Unodl gyrcb Unoal grivcca Profl cyfntividiog Proji cadixynodl Deuair birion Dsuair fyrion Llofgyrnog Aivdl gyvjydd Toddaid
Hir a tboddaid Byr a tboddaid Cyhydcdd fer Lybydedd bir Cybydcdd navjlan Huppynt bir Huppynt byr Gwiavudorfyn hir {jtuaivdcdym byr Cadixyn fyr Tavcddgyrcb cadivynog Cyrcb a chivtta Clngyrnacb Gorcheji y Beirdd
, Clofe Metre.
Parallel Metre.
^ Pindaric Metre.
J
Of all thefe mefres fpecimens are exhibited by Dr. Rbys, John Rbyddercb, and. the Rev. Mr. Gronw Ovuen (fee Beirdd Mon, by Hugh Jones, i8vo. London, 1763) : alfo in the conllitutions of the Society of Cymmrodorion,, reprinted 1778. There are other metres, now accounted obfolete and irregular ; luch as Tnban or Englyn Mihvr, The Warrior's Song. Englyn ar bhi ganiad, The Song of the Ancient Strain. Englyn gatrbir, The Song of the Long Thigh. Englyn ciidv-rn. The Song of the Clinched
The 24 Metres were probably antecedent to the 24 meafures of Mufic, for the latter ieem to have been adapted to", and founded upon them.
TJnirythm direct. Unirythm incurfive. TJnirythm inverted. Profaic interchanged. Profaic concatenated. Long double diltich. Short double diltich. Tailed. Multirythm. Melting.
Long and melting. Short and melting. Short and of equal extent. Long and of equal extent. Nine fyllabled and of equal extent. Long Brunt. Short Brunt. Long Parenetic. Short Parenetic. Short chain.
Soft concatenated incurfive. Incurfive with a little tail. Rugged.
Mafler-piece of the Bards.
" The Cambro-Britijb Mufe hath, at the inftance of her vo- taries, condefcended to put on various other garbs wherein fhe hath appeared not only not ungraceful, but even with fome de- gree of dignity and eaie ; yet the robes Ihe hath ever gloried in, are the Twenty-four celebrated antitnt Britijb Metres, unknown to every Mufe belides, and wherein flie hath always flione with unrivalled luftre."
The Rev. Mr. Walter* $ Differ tat ion ou the ff'elfb Lan- guage, p. 51.
At
14
HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF
At the nuptials of the prince or any of the princely blood, the finger waited upon the iliufirious Bride, and at thofe entertainments was expected to carve dexteroufly every kind of fowl that might come before him.
Such, and fo various were the regular Bards, who by a noviciate and probation of an appointed term of years, and the performance of poetical and mufi al exercifes, acquired degrees in the E fteddfod. As that venerable aflembly exifted long before the period I am defcribing, a defcription of it ought, perhaps, to have been already exhibited : but I chofe to wait till, under the aufpices of a prince to whom our Poetry and Mufic are forever obliged, I am enabled to difplay it to the eyes of the curious in its moll perfect form.
The Eifteddfod was a triennial affembly of the Bards, (ufually held at Abetffrcrjy, the royal feat of the princes of North-Wales formerly, fituated in Angkfey ; likewife Dinejuivr, the royal cattle of the princes of South Wales, vt\ Car mar then foire \ and Mathrafael, the royal palace of the princes of Powis, in Montgomery- Jhire.) For the regulation of Poetry and Mufic, for the purpofe of conferring degrees, and of advancing to the chair of the Eijlidd/od by the decifion of a poetical and mufical conteft fome of the rival candidates; or eftabliming in that honourable feat the Chief Bard who already occupied it.
Wilhing to convey to my readers a clear idea of this important fubject, I annex an extract, faithfully tranflated, from the Jlatute of prince Gruffudd a[> Cynan, concerning the manner of holding an Ei/teddfod.
" When the congrefs hath affembled, according to notice and fummons previoufly iflued, at the place appointed, they mall choufe as umpires twelve perfons fkiiled in the Wclfh Language, Poetry, Mufic, and lie' raldry, who lhall give to the Bards a fubjecl: to ting upon, in any of the 24 metres : but not in amasbean carols, or any fuch frivolous compofitions. The umpires mail fee that the candidates do not defcend to fatire or perfonal invective, and lhall allow to each a fufficient interval for compoling his Englyn or Cywydd, or other talk that they mail affign. They mail moreover take down the names of the feveral Bards prefent intending- to ling, that every one may be called by his name in order to the chair to perform his compofi- tion. The unfuccefsful candidates mall acknowledge in writing that they are overcome, and mail deliver their acknowledgment to the chief Bard, that is, to him who lhall win the chair : and they all lhall drink health to the chief Bard, and all fliall pay him fees ; and he lhall govern them till he is overcome in a future Eijleddfcd\"
From this injunction it appears, that the duties which upon this occafion, in the reign of Howel, belonged to the judge of the palace, were afterwards held in commiffion.
What ferved greatly to heighten the emulation of the Bards, if they wanted any additional incitement, was the prefence of the prince, who ufually prelided in thefe contefts. Their compofitions delivered upon thefe occalions are frequently upon hiftorical fuhjects, and are valuable for their authenticity : for it was the bufinefs of the Eifteddfod, not only to give laws to Poetry and Mufic, but to extinguilh falfehood and eftablilh certainty in the relation of events. " A cuftom fo good (fays Drayton), that had it been judicioully ob- " ferved, truth of ftory had not been fo uncertain : for there was, we fuppofe, a correction of what was a faulty in form or matter, or at lealt a cenfure of the hearers upon what was recited. Of which courfe " fome have wilhed a recontinuance, that either amendment of opinion, or change of purpofe in publiHiing, " might prevent blazoned errors '."
Before any perfon could be enrolled in the Eifteddfod, the permiffion of the prince or lord, within whole jurifdi&ion he lived, was neceffary. If he defired to proceed to degrees in Poetry, he was obliged at his prefentation to explain the five Englyn Metres, and to fing them in fuch a manner, that one of the principal Bards would declare upon his conference that he was competent to be admitted. He then became the pupil of fome one of the principal Bards, whom he was obliged to attend annually in Lent, and without whofe ap- probation he could make no compofition public, and during three years, that is, till the next Eiflcddfod, remained a non-graduate, and was called Difgybl Tfpas cerdd dafaivd, a probationary ftudent of Poetry.
At the next Eifteddfod, three years having expired, Difgybl Tfpas was examined for the degree of Difgybl Difgyblaidd, or Bachelor of the Art of Poetry, and was required to be verfed in the five Englyn Metres, the four Cyzvydd metres, and three Awdl Metres ; and to produce, in a fcholar-like manner, compofitions of his own, free from the 15 common errors.
After the fame interval, the Bard took the degree of Difgybl Penceirddiaidd, or Mailer of the Art of Poetry, for which he was required to underftand the rules of Grammar and Rhetoric, and analyfe and explain the
' John Rbj-ddcrtVi Wtyb Grammar, p. 188, 189.
* Notes on tlic Fourth Song of PJy Wion.
alliterative
THE WELSH BARDS.
*5
alliterative concatenations of the language ; to efcape all the errors ; and to ling with harmony and in parts, 21 of. the metres.
To the Pencerdd, or Doctor of Poetry, who obtained his degree at the end of the fame period, belonged the whole myftery of the art. He knew to fing in parts and concord, and was well veffed in tranfpofed alliteration. Among his qualifications are enumerated, fertility in poetical fubjects, a ftore of matter and invention, authority of decifion, and a facility ki compofing in praife of the great, what would be heard or read with mo ft delight, and longeft retained in memory.
If a Difgybl or difciple of any degree was dilcovered in taverns or fecret places playing for money at dice or any other game, any perfon was authorifed to take from him whatever money was found in his purfe. For mockery and derifion, and the- invention or propagacion of falfehood, the Difgyblion were alfo punifhed with rlnes and imprifonment. For, fays the laws, the Bards fhall be eafy and peaceful in their manners, friendly in their difpofition, and humble in their fervices to the prince and his adherents.
Thofe hards alone who had acquired the degree of Pencerdd were authorifed to teach : nor were more than a Angle pupil allowed to each Pencerdd. The pupils were exprefsly enjoined to refrain from ridiculing their teachers for that abfence and inattention which is natural to a contemplative mind. But the moft valued privilege of the Penceirddiaid was their exclufive right to the chair of the Eijleddfod. All thofe among them who afpired to the honour of prefiding over the Bards, came forward (as the ftatute prefcribes) at the tri- ennial affembly and contefted it with each other, and with the Chief Bard who already pofleffed it. The fuccefsful candidate was feated in a magnificent chair, and was hence called Bardd Cadeiriog, the Chair- Bard. He was at the fame time invefted with a little filver or gold chair, which he wore on his breaft as the badge of his office. As his rank was high, his emoluments were confiderable : they arofe from the Bifgyblion or ftudents, when they laid afide the hair ftrung harp, and were admitted to the practice of their art ; from brides on their nuptials ; and the marriage-fine of the daughters of all the Bards within his jurifdietion ; likewife his own daughter had a marriage portion from the prince.
Whoever defired to proceed to degrees in Mufic, was prefented to the Eijleddfod by a mufical Pencerdd, who vouched for his capacity. During his noviciate of three years, he was called Difgybl Tfpds heb rddd, a probationary ftudent of Mufic without a degree : and if he learnt to play the harp, was only fuffered to ufe that inftrument ftrung with horfe-hair, that he might not (as I conjecture) by his rude attempt at harmony, torment the ears of the principality, and might purfue his ftudies with greater diligence, incited by the hope of relinquishing it for one furnifhed with firings of a more audible and pleafing found.
His next ftep was to the degree of Difgybl Tfpds graddol, a graduate probationary ftudent of Mufic, for which he was obliged to know ten cwlwms, one colofn, five cwlwms of cydgerdd, one cadair, and eight caniads.
He then commenced Difgybl Difgyblaidd, or Bachelor of Mufic, but was previoufly required to be mafter of twenty cwlwms, two colofns, ten cwlwms of cydgerdd, two cadairs, fixteen caniads, and the twenty-four mcafures of Mufic : and to play them with facility and correctnefs.
He next became Difgybl Peiueirddiaidd, or Mafter of Mufic, a degree which implied a preparatory know- ledge of thirty cwlwms, three colofns, fifteen cwlzvms of cydgerdd, three cadairs, twenty-four caniads, and four go/legs : and fk.il 1 in defining them properly and diftinctly.
Laftly he was admitted Pencerdd, or Doctor of Mufic, and was obliged to know forty cwlwms, four colofnt, twenty cwlwms of cydgerdd, four cadairs, thirty-two caniads, and four goflegs : to underftand all the laws and modifications of harmony, efpecially the twenty-four Meafures of Mufic, and to explain them as they were written in the book of mufical divifion 1 : to compofe a caniad pronounced faultlefs by the proficient Bards, and to fhow all its properties, its divifions and fubdivifions, its licenfes and refts, the natural notes, all the flats and fharps, and every change of movement through the feveral keys. If the Pencerdd was a Harper, he was required to know the three excellent Mzvcbwls, which were equal to the four co'ofns, and the three new Mzvcbwls which were equal to the four cadairs. All this he was obliged to know and perform in a mafterly manner, lb that profeflbrs lhould declare him competent to be an author and a teacher of his art.
The Eijleddfod was a rigid fchool. The poetical or mufical difciple who, at the expiration of his trien- nial term could not obtain a higher degree, was condemned to lofe that which he already poffefied.
\Yc know that before Gruffudd op Cynan the mufical Bards were fubject to the chief Bard of the Poets.
• This MS, called Lh/r Dofparth, is not now extant.
But
i6
HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF
But I have reafons for thinking that in his reign, and afterwards, they had a chair and a prefident of their own. In Mr. Pennant's Tour in Wales, p. 434, there is an engraving of the filver Harp in poffeflion of Sir Roger Moftyn, " which has been from time immemorial in the gift of his anceftors, to bellow on the chief of the faculty. This badge of honour is about five or fix inches long, and furnifhed with firings equal to the number of the Mufes." It was probably worn by the Chief Mufician, as the filver chair was by the chief Poet.
The revenues of the Bards arofe from prefents at princely and other nuptials, and from fees in their an- nual circuits at Chrijlmas, Eafter, and Whitfuntide, and in their triennial clera, or grand circuit. Their fees and prefents were regulated with proportion to their degrees : and the number of vifitants to the condition of the perfon that received them. Likewife in order to encourage the clerwyr to keep up the language, and the memory of the exploits and pedigrees of the Britons, they were allowed a certain fum out of every plough land, and in proportion out of every half plough-land of their diftridl. A month before each fefti- val, the pupils enquired of their teachers what routs they mould take in their approaching circuit, left too many mould refort to the fame part of the country. A Pencerdd was not licenfed to vifit the commonalty, unlefs he chofe to accept a fee beneath his ftation and dignity : nor could any Bard of an inferior degree ap- pear before the gentry and nobles. The Bards were not fuffered to requeft prefents beyond a certain value, under penalty of being deprived of their mufical inftruments and practice for three years : when this hap- pened, the prefent illegally requefted became forfeit to the prince.
The Ei/ieddfod was followed by the grand triennial Clera, which was not limited, as the circuits of the feftivals, to commots and cantreds, but extended through all Wales. Such was the benevolence of the Welfa inftitutions, that Bards afflicted with blindnefs, or any fuch natural defect, were indulged with the privilege of Clera, as well as the four poetical, and the five mufical graduates. At a wake or ftftival a circuiting Bard was not fuffered, during its continuance, to depart from the houfe he firfl vifited, without the content* of the mafler of the houfe, or invitation given him by another. If he rambled from houfe to houfe, or be- came intoxicated, he was deprived of his Clera fees, which were applied to the ufes of the church. If he offered any indecency to miflrefs or maid, he was fined and imprifoned, and forfeited his Clera for feven years.
Every art ha3 its fubordinate profeffors. Befides the four claffes of regular or graduated Bards I have recounted, there were four other claries of inferior and unlicenfed Bards, (if that name may be given them without profanation) : thefe were Pipers, Players on the three-flringed Crwth, Taborers, and Buffoons. Of the pipe, the three-firing Crwth, and the tabor, the reader will find fome mention near the trophy of the mufical inftruments of the Welfh. The performers who ufed them, were looked upon among Bards, as Weeds among Flowers ; they had no connexion with the Eijleddfod ; and their eftimation and their profits were equally inconfiderable. One of their number, the Datceiniad Pen Paftwn, was a minftrel who rehearfed only, and played no inftrument : on occafions of feftivity, he flood in the middle of the hall where the company was aflembled, and beating time with his ftaff, fung a poem to the found. When any of the re- gular Bards were prefent, he attended them as a fervant, and did not prefume to fing, unlefs they fignified their affent.
The only connexion that exifted between the higher and lower orders of the Bards, we difcover in the appointment of Cyff Cler at the marriage of a prince, or any perfon of princely extraction. A year and a day before the celebration of the nuptials, notice was given to a Pencerdd to prepare himfelf to fupport that cha- racter. When the time came, he appeared in the hall, and a facetious fubject being propofed, the inferior Bards furrounded him, and attacked him with their ridicule. In this extempore fatirical effufions they were reftrained from any perfonal allufion or real affront. The Cff cier fat in a chair in the midfl of them, and filently fuffered them to fay whatever they chofe, that could tend to the diverfiori of the affembly. For this unpleafing fervice he received a confiderable fee. The next day he appeared again in the hall, and an- fwered his rcvilers, and provoked the laughter and gained the applaufe of all who were prefent, by expoiing them in their turn, retorting all their ridicule upon themfelves u.
At Chriftmas, in the year 11 76, Rhys, prince of South IVales, gave a magnificent entertainment with deeds of arms, and other fhows in his new caftle of Cardigan or Aberteifi, to a great number of illuftrious natives and foreigners; notice of which had been given a year an^ a day before by proclamation through all Britain and Ireland. The mufical Bards of North Wales and South Wales, who had been exprefsly invited
• Dr. Rhys* Inftitutes of the Welfli Language, p. 296, &c. RhyJJf-V% Grammar, p. 179, &c. and Pennant' * Tour in Waks, printed 1778, p. 427, &c.
6 to
THE WELSH BARDS.
to the feftival and a poetical conteft, were feated in chairs with much ceremony in the middle of the great hall of the caftle. Animated with their ufual emulation, the prefence of their noble audience, and expec- tation of the rich rewards promifed to the victors, they purfued to a great length their generous ftrife, which terminated with honour to both parties, the pre-eminence in Poetry being adjudged to the poetical Bards of No rtb Wales ; and in mulic to the domeftic mufical Bards of Prince Rhys. In thus regaling his guefts with poetry and mufic, the Wellh prince (as Lord Lyttelton remarks in his hiftory of Henry II.) kept up the ancient cuftom of his country, and by the number and Ikill of the Poets and Muficians he aflembled to- gether, did undoubtedly much excel what Henry could exhibit in the fame way to him, and to the other chiefs of Wales, when he entertained them in his royal caftle of Oxford™.
At this feaft the Bards were confirmed by the prince's authority in the franchifes and privileges granted them by former ftatutes. They were alfo recompenfed with fees, fettled by prefcription, and proportioned to the order of their profeffion, and the degree they had obtained in it \
Though the age of Rhys was thus propitious to the Bards, we lhould have remained unacquainted with the nature of the poetry and mufic for which they were fo highly valued, if they had not found in Giraldus Cambrenjis % an hiftorian worthy of their fame. He was a native of the country, and travelled in it in fearch of information with fuch an induftrious and philofophical fpirit of learned curiolity, as very rarely occurs in thofe early timesi The manner in which the fubject of Wellh Mufic is treated in the following quotation from his Delcription of Wales, will fufficiently juftify its length.
" By the fweetnefs of their mufical inftruments they foothe and delight the ear : they ate rapid yet de- licate in their modulation ; and by the aftonilhing execution of their fingers, and their fwift tranfitions from difcord to concord, produce the moft pleafing harmony. This cannot be better explained than by what I have faid in my Topography of Ireland concerning the mufical inftruments of the three nations.— -It is remark- able that in all their hafte of performance they never forget time and mufical proportion; and fuch is their art, that with all their inflexion of tones, the variety of their inftruments, and the intricacy of their har- mony, they attain the perfection of confonance and melody, by a fweet velocity, an equable difparity, and a difcordant concord. The ftrings ftrike together fourths or fifths : they always begin with B flat, and return to it, that the whole may be completed under the fweetnefs of a grand and pleafing found. They enter into a movement, and conclude it in fo delicate a manner, and play the little notes fo fportively under the blunter found of the bafe ftrings, enlivening with wanton levity, or communicating a deeper internal fenfa- tion of pleafure, that the perfection of their art appears iii the concealment of it. For
Art profits when conceal'd; Difgraces when reveal'd."
Here I cannot refrain from interrupting this curious narrative of Giraldus, for the purpofe of introducing from one of Philips'^ paftorals, fome lines which are beautifully defcriptive of thofe effects which the harp is peculiarly capable of producing, and for which it is univerfally admired.
f Now lightly Ikimming o'er the ftrings they pafs;
" Like wings that gently brulh the plying grafs,
" And melting airs arife at their command ;
" And now, laborious, with a weighty hand,
*' They fink into the chords with folemn pace;
" And give the fwelling tones a manly grace." " From this caufe, thofe very ftrains which afford deep and unfpeakable mental delight to thofe who have looked far, and Ikilfully penetrated into the myfteries of the art, fatigue rather than gratify the ears of others, who, though they fee, do not perceive, and, though they hear, do not underftand. By fuch the fineft Mufic is efteemed no better than a confufed and diforderly noife, and will be heard with unwillingnefs and difguft. The Wellh have three kinds of mufical inftruments, the Harp, the Cr-xlh, and Pipes*.
They do not fing in unifon, like the inhabitants of other countries : but in many different parts. So that in a company of fingers, which one frequently meets with in Wales, as many different part's and voices are
w Hiftory of ficnryW, 4to. vol. III. p. 302. * PnvtP» Hiftory of Wales, p. 205. Dr. J. D. Rlys's hjli- tiites, p. 296.
y Syhefter Giraldus, or Giraldus Cambrenjis, of a noble Flemifli family near Tenby, in P,m'»ohJ}?ire, was b6rn in 1145. He was fecretary to Henry II, tutor to king John, and Bijhcp
F
nfSt. David's. In 11S7 he accompanied Baldwin, archbifliop of Canterbury, into Wales, to preach the Crufade. He wrote an Irijb and Wtljh Itinerary, and other works. He died and was buried at St. David's about the age of 70. * Cambria Dtjiriptio, ch. 11.
heard,
iS
HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF
heard, as there are performers : who all at length unite, with organic melody, in one confonane'e, and rrMf foft fweetnefs of B flat.
In the northern parts of Britain, beyond the Humber, and on the borders of Torkjhire, the inhabitants life in linging the fame kind of fymphonious harmony : but with lefs variety, ringing only in two part?, one murmuring in the bafe, the other warbling in the acute or treble. Neither of the two nations has acquired this peculiar property by art, but by long habit, which has rendered it familiar and natural : and the practice is now fo firmly rooted in them, that it is unufual to hear a fimple and finglc melody well fung. And, which is ftill more wonderful, their children, from their infancy, fing in the fame manner a."
After the account that has been given of the mufical conftitutions of the Welflr, the teftimony of Giraldus was not wanted to prove that they highly efteemed and cultivated mufic, and that harmony muft have ex- ifted among them in confiderable perfection. But from the pafTages I have quoted concerning their art, we may colled: from the faireft prefumption of certainty, that they pofleffed an improvement of it, the fir ft in- vention of which has always been attributed to Guidoh. They either were acquainted with counterpoint, and the method of ringing in parts, or Giraldus himfelf muft have invented it, and given them the merit of his difcovery. I cannot, without feeling a repugnance, contradict the opinion of fo diligent an hiftorian, and fo ingenious a critic as Dr. Burney « : but I am purfuaded, that if he had previoufjy enquired into the mufical ftudies of the Bards, and their public eftabliftiment, in the preceding centuries, he would not have fuffered his unfavourable opinion of Giraldus's veracity to prevail againft the ftrong light of his evidence. If that the Bards underftood counterpoint requires farther proof, it is to be found in the Four and Twenty ancient games of the Wel/h6 ; of which cam cywydd pedwar, ftnging an ode or fong of four paits is among the number : and in the MS. to which I have referred in p. 12, which contains feveral Welfh tunes in full har- mony that may be afcribed with certainty to fo early a date as the eleventh century, and fome to remoter periods.
■ Ibid. ch. 13.
b " It is well known that Guido's new invented counterpoint *' was expreil in long notes to protract and lengthen out his *4 harmonious founds ; and that his movements were flow. *' But Giraldus Cambrenjis, his contempoi ary, gives us an amaz- *' ing account of the celerity, rapidity, execution, and correcl- " nefs, with which the Britons played in parts their intricate and " complicated mulic on their harps. If Guido's invention had " then reached Wales, would they have been fo expert fo foon *' in the practice of it ? or would they have written their mufic " in the rude, clumfy, old-fafhioned manner of the MS. you " allude to, when a much better method had been found out? *' It may therefore be inferred that the Britons performed mulic " harmonioufly in parts, before the Italians.
«•• The characters in the Welfh MS. were probably
T Pedair camp ar hugain.
6 0 rym Corph. «
4 O rym arfau.
Cryfder dan bvjyfau.
Rhedeg.
Neidio.
Nofio,
Ymafael.
Marcbogacth.
i
Feats of ac tivity.
r
- ; Sactbu. Cbwarau eleddyf a tbaria*.
tCbwarau eleddyf deuddivrti. Cbivarau Jfon ddwybig. f Hela a Mtlgi. 3 Htl-wriactb, ^ Htla Pyfg.
Hela Aderyn.
Barddoniaeth, Canu Telyn. Darllain cymraeg. 7 Gamf Dtuluaidd. ^ Canu tyiuyddgan dart.
I Canu Cywydd ptdwar, ac acctnu. I Tynnu arfau. J Herodraeth.
'Cbivarau giuyddb<wyll, bwarau tawlbuirdd. hwarau ffriftial. ywcirio ttlyn.
!
4 Gogampau,
}'
M chants or recitatives, uftd in bands of mi»fic, concerts, fymp- *' phonies, and chorufes, in great houies, or perhaps iu di- "vine worfhip. We read of Kor Alun, Kor Acdan, Kor E./'vw, " Kor Finivr, &c. which iignifies a body or number of voices " and inftruments joined in harmony."
A Letter from the Rev. Mr. Evans, of Vanyniynecb, •uitb lubieh I hi as favoured in anfveer to my enquiries, N. B. Alfo the name of the ancient and famous monaflery of Bangor in North Wales, feems to be derived from Bann gor, or famous choir.
c Hiftory of Mufic, vol. II. p. 108, Sec. d I annex an accurate copy and tranflation of thefe celebrated games, confifling of twenty -fnur kinds of exercifes, ufed by tbe ancient Britons, as they are printed in Dr. Davison Wellh-Latin, and Latin- Welfh Dictionary, folio, London, 1632.
The Four and Twenty games.
IfD ifplay of flrength in fupporting and hurling weights, fuch as pitching a bar of iron, throwing a fledge, quoits, or large (tone. , Running. •{ Leaping. Swimming, eftling.
ng, which perhaps extended to feats in chariots of war.
{Archery, and throwing the javelin. Fencing with a fword and buckler. Fencing with the two-handed fword. Playing with the quarter ftaff. r Hunting. Rural fports.i Fifliing.
L Hawking. fPoetry.
I Playing the harp. Domed" I Reading Welfh.
and literarv^ binSing a Poem vvith the HarP» °rCrwth. namoc ?\ Singing an ode of four parts, and accenting it with proper cx-
Ipreflion. Heraldry, t Embafly. /-Chefs.
I Draughts, Back Gammon, or feme fimilar game "j Dice.
^Tuning the harp.
Even
j Swiu Wrel [Ridh
games.
Inferior games.
t i-i e Welsh bard s. $
Even at this day, our- untaught native harpers, who are totally unacquainted with modern n:v.n.c. Main fomething of that ikill for which the Bards were famous. For, like their great predeceffonj from whom they have received theirtunes by tradition, they perform, however rudely, in concert; they accompany the voice with harpegios, they delight in variations* and without deviation from their fub;:-c.i, indulge the fportive excurfions of mufical tancy*
Quales fuere, cum tales lint reiiquise ' \
The Poetry, as well as the Mufic, of the Bards, has received much illuftration from the peri of Giralius : and of its adherence to truth, and its ufe in recording events to pofterity, he has tranfmitted to us a rue- n.orable example. In his time the veracity of the Wellh Mufe was made known by an extraordinary dil> covery to the world. Henry II. was led to the churchyard of Glajlonbury in fearch of the body of Arthur by fome lines of Taliefin (defcribing the manner of his death, and the place of his interment) that had been repeated in his prefence by a Wellh Bard, (if I may borrow from Drayton, one of his beautiful ajgoft trophes)
w To Pembroke call'd before the Englifli king, And to thy powecful harp commanded there to ring, Of famous Arthur toid'ft, and where he was interr'd, In which thofe wreeklefs times had long and blindly err'd, And ignorance had brought the world to fuch a pafs As now, which fcarce believes that Arthur ever was. But when king Henry fent th' reported place to view, He found that man of men : and what thou faidft was true,
Polyolbion. 'The Sixth Song f."
This is not fi&fon. The fuccefs of the inveftigation was not ungrateful to the monarch's poetic faith i and Henry had the fatisfa&ion to view the ftupendous remains, and to count the glorious wounds, of the laft of Britons s.
To thefe incidents Mr. Warton (with his ufual Ikill and ingenuity) has given a new and poetical form in an ode called the Grave of Arthur, which poffeffes fo many beauties as to perplex my choice, and deter me from a feledtion.
Of the ufe of our poetry in preferving the memory of events, and of the aid it has lent to hiftory, the fame period produced a fimilar example. Of the celebrated Ma dog ab Ozvain Gwynedd, and of his difcovery of America »>, we know nothing but what we gather from the poems of Cynfrig ab Gronn^ and Mcredydd ,.p Rhysf and the more exprefs declaration of that learned herald and bard, Guttun Ozvain'': who all preceded the expedition of Columbus, and relate or allude to the expedition of Madog as an event well known and uni- verfally received, that had happened three hundred years before.
If Geoffrey of Monmouth, when he tranflated Tyjfdio, had known the works of Taliefin and Llywarch Hen, he might have found in them abundance of hiftorical paflages that would have fcrved better to enlarge and embellifh that venerable and authentic hiftory, than thofe legendary tales and incredible fi&ions he has adopted.
•■ • Juvat integros accedere fontes k* Bur left the purity of thefe genuine fources yet unexplored fhould be doubted, let it be remembered that the defendants of the Celts could never be brought to think with the G>eeks and Remans on the fo.1 je£f of heroic Poetry, which was held in fuch reverence by that primitive nation and its pofterity, that fable ;;: d invention (the effence of the claffical epopee) were never fuffered to make any part of it. From this caufe neither the Britons, the Irijh, the Erfe, the Cornijli, nor the Armoricans, have ever to this day produced a pq>e hj fimilar in its ftructure to the Iliad or Mneid ; though moft other nations have ihown an inglorious pride in imi- tating them. What in one country is called an heroic poem, and the grandeft performance of human art, is defpifed in another as a fabulous empty fong, calculated to pleafe a vain and boaftful people, who have no actions of their own virtue and courage to" be recorded, but are conftrained to have recourfe to fict.uous gods,
« Thadrus.
f See alfo the notes of the third long of Pvlyolbiov. * Gutbries Hiftory of England, v®]. L p. 102. h For a candid enquiry into this fubjed, fee Lord Lyttelton's notes on the 5th book of his Hijioy oj titnry IK See alfo Owen's
Britijb Remains, 8vo. London, 1777. Likewife Carte's Hiftory of England, p. 638.
' Mtrrdydd af> Rhys flcmriflied '1 4 70 : G»frtn Owain, 1 480 : and Cynfr/g up Gronw near the fame period.
k Luciitius,
fictitious
ZO
HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF
fictitious heroes, fictitious battles, and fuch anachronifms as a grave Britifh writer would have blufhcd to own. Hiftorians who are acquainted only with the compofitions of this character, may well regard Poetry with the contempt they have ufually teftifitd, as a vain art, that draws its materials more from fancy t!-.m nature, and delights in fiction rather than truth. But widely different is the Poetry of the Britifh Bards, which has ever been from the fii-ft of rimes the facred repofitory of the actions of great men.
The period which interfered between the reign of Gruffudd ab Cynan, and that of the lait prince, Llewelyn, is the brighteft in our annals. It abounds with perhaps the nobleft monuments of genius as well as valour of which the Welfh nation can boaft. It will be fufficicnt for m" to mention a few i)luflriou3 names, who with veneration derived from their great predecefTors, the Arts, Poetry, and Mufic, and tranfmiited them with augmented honours to their pofterity. I wifh the limits of this tffay would fuffcr me to give more than their names •, or that my learned counUymen would fliow fome of that enterprifing fpirit for which their anceftors are famed, and publifh their remains to the world. The poems of Meitir, the Bard of Gruffudd ap Cynan ; Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr ; Owen Gyfeiliog, prince of Powys ; Gwalchmai ap Mcilir ; Gwrgant ap Rhys, Llywarcb, the Bard of Llewelyn the Great ; Einion ap Gwalchmai ; and Grujfudd ap yr Ynad Cacb are now extant, and afcribed with certainty to their authors. But the harmonies of Albon ap Cynan, Kbydderch Foci, Cynwrig Bencerdd, Cyhelyn m, and Cadwgan, that oblivion has fharcd', are thinly fcattered in our M^S. while the memory of their compofers is only preferved by fome flight mention in the pages of fucceeding poets. " Since Writing and practical Mufic have become feparate profeffions, the celebrity of the poor Mufician has died with the vibration of his firings. The voice of acclamation, and thunder of applaufe, pals away like vapours ; and thofe hands that were mod active in teftifying temporary approbation, fuffer the fame of thofe who charmed away their cares and forrows in the glowing hour of innocent delight, to remain unre- corded "." Some of the mufical productions of this period are to be found in the prefent collection ; and fome far more ancient. I decline the talk of pointing them out by any decifive opinion, becaufe the ori- ginal titles are loft, and they are now known by other names, fubftituted by later Bards in compliment to later patrons. This remark is minute, but neceflary ; for without it, the age of fome of the belt remains of Welfh Mulic might inadvertently be miftaken.
Early in the twelfth century, Harmony and Verfe had approached their utmoft degree of perfection in Wales. Nor, by the common fate of the Arts in other countries, did they fuddenly fall from the eminence they had attained. If in the progrefs of the fucceeding age they fhowed any fymptoms of decay, remedy was fc* diligently applied by the fkill of the Eijleddfod to the declining part, that they preferved their former vigour, and perhaps acquired new graces. And had not the fatal accident which overwhelmed, in the hour of its profperity, the hereditary princedom of Wales, involved in the fame ruin its Poetry and Mufic, our country might have retained to this day its ancient government, and its native arts, in the bofom of thofe mountains which protected them for ages. The Poets of thefe memorable times added energy to a nervous language, and the Mufieians called forth from the harp its loudeft and grandeft tones, to re-animate the ancient ftrug- gle of their brave countrymen for freedom and the poffeffion of their parent foil. What was the fuccefs of their virtuous and noble purpofe, the hiftory of the eras when they flourifhed, can beft explain. It is no flight proof of their influence, that when the brave but unfortunate prince Llewelyn the laft, after the furrender of his rights, and the facrifice of his patriotifm to his love °, was treacheroufly flain at Buellt, Edward I. did not think himfelf fecure in his triumph, till he added cruelty to injuflice, and gave the final blow to Welfh liberty in the maflacre of the Bards p. In this execrable deed Edward imitated the policy of Philip of Macedon, who demanded from the Athenians as a condition of amity the furrender of their orators. The maf- facre was general, and as fome of our mofl eminent Bards muft have perifhed, it is probable that many of their works, and of the remains of their predeceflbrs, were alio deflroyed, and are for ever loft. This la- mentable event has given birth to one of the nobleft Lyric compofitions in the Englifh language : a poem of fuch fire and beauty as to remove, as a late writer has thought <*, our regret of the occafion, and to compen- fate for the lofs. But in heightening our regret confifts the great merit of this admirable ode : and withouc
i The name and dates of thefe Bards are to be found in the catalogue of britifh authors publiflied by Dr. Davics and Mr. Ricba' Ji, in their Dictionaries of the Welfli Language. Some extracts from their writings are inlerted in Mr. Evans's fpeci- mens of VVcllh Poetry, and his Ditlertatio de Bardis. Likewile an extentive catalogue of the work» -of the Bards in Mr. Lbujd't Arthaoli'iia Bntanmca, p. 2 J 4, &c.
2
m Chwaer Cyhelyn befrddyn bach, Chiwbanogl, chwe' buanach.
Dafydd ap G vjilym, n TV. Barney's Hi (lory of Mufic, vol.11, p 70. • See Wynnii Hiilory of Wales, edit. 1774., p. 283, P See GuibiHS hiliorical Grammar. ' See the lion. Mr. Harrington's Mifcellanics.
beftowing.
THE WELSH BARDS.
2t
bellowing on it any fuch extravagant praife, I may boldly affirm that the Polyolbion of Drayton r} and the Bard of Cray, have contributed no lefs to the reputation bf their authors than to the glory of Wales, and are the Only modern productions worthy to alleviate the lofs we fuftained, in fo immenfe a wafte of literary treasures, and fuch irreparable ruin of genius.
After the diffolution of the princely government in Wales, fuch was the tyranny exercifed by the Eng- Hfh over the conquered nation, that the Bards who were born " fince Cambria's fatal day," might be faid to rife under the influence of a baleful and malignant ftar. They were reduced to poflefs their facred art in obfeurity and forrow, and conitrained to fupprefs the indignation that would burft forth in the moft ani- mated {trains againft their ungenerous and cruel oppreflbrs. Yet .they were not filent or inactive. That their poetry might breathe with impunity the fpirit of their patriotifm, they became dark, prophetic, and oracular. As the Monks of the Welfh church, in their controverfy with Rome, had written, to countenance their doctrines, feveral religious poems which they feigned to be the work of Taliejin : the Bards now afcribed many of their political writings to the fame venerable author, and produced many others as the prophecies of the elder Merlin. Hence much uncertainty prevails concerning the genuine remains of the lixth century, great part of which has defcended to us mutilated and depraved : and hence that myfterious air which per- vades all the Poetry of the later periods I am now defcribing. The forgery of thofe poems, which are en- tirely fpurious, though they may have paft unqueftioned even by fuch critics as Dr. Davies" and Dr. J. D» Rhys, may, I think, be prefently detected. They were written to ferve a popular and a temporary purpofe, and were not contrived with fuch fagacity and care as to hide from the eye of a judicious and enlightened fcholar their hiftorical miftakes, their novelty of language, and their other marks of impofture.
While the Bards were thus cramped in their poetical department, they had greater fcope and leifure for the ftudy of heraldry, and their other domeftic duties. Every great man had under his roof and patronage fome Eminent Bard, who, at his death, compofed on the fubject of his defcent, his dignities, and the actions of his life, a funeral poem, which was folemnly recited by a Datcetniad in the prefence of his furviving rela- tions*. Hence it has happened that pedigrees are fo well preferved in Wales.
By the infurredtion, however, in the reign of Henry IV. the martial fpirit of the Awen or Welfli Mufe was revived, to celebrate the heroic cnterprifes of the brave Glyndwr*. Like him the Bards of his time were " irregular and wild :" and as the taper glimmering in its focket gives a fudden blaze before it is extin- guished, fo did they make one bright effort of their original and daring genius, which was then loft and bu- ried for ever with their hero in the grave. Yet though Poetry flourilhed, Learning fuffered : for fuch was the undiftinguifhing fury of that celebrated partifan, and his enemies, againft the monafteries that withftood them, that not only their cells, but alfo their libraries and MSS. were deftroyed u.
The following Ode to Glyndwr, by his favourite Bard Gruffudd Llwyd, happily transfufed into Englifli verfe by Mr. Williams of Vron", claims a diftinguilhed place in this hiftory, for the genius of the author, and the Ikill of the tranflaton
O D ARWYRAIN Owain Glyndwr', Gruffudd Llwyd abDafyddabEiniona'icant.AiDi 1400*.
E.
The Praife of Owain GlYndwr.
i.
Eryr digrif afrifed* Owain, helm gain, hael am gectj Eurfab (a guur a orfod) Gruffudd Fychan glan ei glod ; Aer y Glyn, meiftr rhoddlyn rbyddj Dyfrdwy fawr, dwfr diferydd.
r Mich. Drayton, by the communications of his friend, Mr. John Williams, was extremely well informed refpefting the Bards, and their inUitutions : and his accurate knowledge is conveyed in the Polyolbion in the moft elegant and Ipirited poetry.
* Differtatio de Bardis, p. 92.
* Owens Memoirs of Owain Glyndwr ± 4to. Lond. 1775, and Pennant's Tour in Wales, p. 302, &c. The liberality and ex- ploits of this daring chief are celebrated in the moft animated ftrains by that famous and It .rned Bard, Jolo G6cb.
u Rvaafs fpecimens of Wellh poetry, p. 160. Pennant's Tour in Wales, p. 325, 330.
I;
Cambria's princely eagle, hail !
Of Gruffudd Vychan's noble blood ! Thy high renown fhall never fail,
Owain Glyndwr, great and good ! l ord of Dwrdwv's fertile vale, Warlike, high-born Owain, hail!
* Pennant's Tour, p. ? t r .
x Owain Glyndtv, defcended from the ancient race of Britiih princes, firft appeared in arms againft Henry IV. in the year 1400. He directed his attack againft the lands of his enemy Lord Grey, and immediately recovered what he had unjuftly been difpoflerTed of by him, and foon after caufed himfelf to be proclaimed prince of Wales. His chief Bard, Grujfydd Li:iyd, regretting his abfence, chants his praife, and predicts the fuc- cefs of the war in a Cywydd. This (.ywydd, or Ode, is elegantly verfified from the Welfh by the Rev. Mr. Williams oiVron.
G
Llafar
22
HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF
Llafar ymannos no/wait h Oeddwn wrtb gyfedd Medd maitb) Fy nghrair i'th ami gellweiriaw Vth lys, lie cawn win oth law. Medd fynny mwy oeddf'anfoes, A gwaetb dros fy maeth fy moes.
m 3.
Ner mawlair naw rym ?mlwrt Nag, ar fynad arnad wr. Yr awr fr aethojl ar wyth /Brydain darpar adwyth, Bu agos i hlraeth gaeth gad A'm dwyn i farw am danadl Nld aeth dy gof drofof draw, Aur baladr, awr heb wylawj
Dagrau dros fy ngrudd dygrych, Dyfry gwlaw fal dwfr a'i gzvlycb j Pan oedd drymmaf fy nhrafael Am danad, mab y tad hael, Clywais o ben rhyw gennad, Cei rds Duw, cywir yjlad ! Caelynyr aery calon rwydd, 0 honod, fawr glod f* Arglwyddf
Dwrdwy, whofe wide-fpreading ftreams, Reflecting Cynthia's midnight beams,
Whilom led me to thy bower ;
Alas ! in an unguarded hour ! For high in blood, with Britifn beverage hot, My awful diftance I forgot ;
But foon my generous chief forgave
The rude prefumption of his flave.
2.
But leave me not, illuftrious lord!
Thy peaceful bow'r, and hofpitable board,
Are ill exchang'd for fcenes of war,
Tho' Henry calls thee from afar. My prayers my tears were vain ; He flew like lightning to the hoftile plain.
While with remorfe, regret, and woe,
I faw the god-like hero go ;
I faw, with aching heart,
The golden beam depart. His glorious image in my mind, Was all that Owain left behind.
Wild with defpair, and woe-begone,
Thy faithful Bard is left alone,
To figh, to weep, to groan I
3-
Thy fweet remembrance, ever dear, Thy name, ftill ulher'd by a tear,
My inward anguifh fpeak ; How could'ft thou, cruel Owain, go, And leave the bitter ftreams to flow
Down Gruffudd's furrow'd cheek? I heard (who has not heard thy fame ?) With extafy I heard thy name, Loud echo'd by the trump of war, Which fpoke thee brave, and void of fear ; Yet of a gentle heart poflefs'd, That bled within thy generous breaft, Wide o'er the fanguine plain to fee The havock of hoftility.
}
Daroganawdd drymlawdd dr«,
Duw a dyn, o doid yno ;
P enaid, uwcb Dyfrdwy Faenawr,
Fy Ner fwrw llawer i\ llawr.
Dewin os mi a'i dywawd
Fan yma gyfrwydda gwawd
Cefaijl rammant yn d'antur,
Uthr Bend r agon, ddwy fron ddur :
Pan ddialawdd gaivdd, goddef
Ei frawd, a'i rwyfg, a'ifrwydr ef.
t The omen alluded to was a ftar and fiery dragon; which according to the interpretation of Mtilin, predicted the reign of Uihur, afterwards fill named Pendra^on. from having caufed two golden Dragons to be made, one or' which he prelented to the
Still with good omens may'ft thou fight, And do thy injur'd country right ! Like great Pendragon J fhalt thou foar, Who bade the din of battle roar, What time his vengeful fteel he drew His brother's grandeur to renew,
And vindicate his wrongs ; His gallant actions ftill are told By youthful Bards, by Druids old,
And grateful Cambria's fongs.
cathedral of Wincbefttr; the other he carried along with him in his wais, or, what is more likely, wore by way of creit on his helmet. His ion Arthur adopted the lame. See Jeffrey of «f Monmouth, p. 254, 357, 283.
2 LJywiaijl
T HE W 5-
Llywiaift fiwrneaift helynt, Owen ab Urien gain gynt> Pan oedd Juan ymwanzvr, T marchog duog o'r dwr : Duroloedd wrth ymdaraw A phen draig ar eiffon draw ; Gzvyr fuant er llwyddiant Hit, Gwrdd ddewrnertb gwewyr ddarnU. Tithau Owain, taith ewybr, T aer y gzvnaed drafn lafnwaed Iwybr. A'tb byrddwaew rudd cytbrudd cant, A tbeg enw, o'tb ddigoniant.
6>
Brawd tinweithred i}th edir. Barn hoff, ifab Urien hir. Guuelai bawb draw o'tb Jaw Ian, Gwiw fawldaith, gwaew gafaeldaii^ Tan oedd drymmaf dy lafur, Draw, yn ymwriaw ar murt Torres dy onnen gennyd, Tirion grair} taer yn y gryd i Dewr ffon, dur oedd ei phent Dros garr yn dair yfgyren.
1>
Hyd ddydd brawd medd dy waivdydd, Hanwyd o feilcb, bynodfydd, Dy lafn glwys dau-finirg glain ; Hel brwydr, da bwyli Brydain ; Wrth dorri br/fg cith wifg zven, A'th ruthr ir maes, a'tb rethren* Peraijl fy naf o'tb lafur Byjl mellt rhwng y dellt cCr dur.
E L S BARDS. i|
5-
On fea, on land, thou ftill didft brave The dangerous cliff and rapid wave ; Like Urien, who fubdu'd the knightj And the fell dragon put to flight,
Yon mofs-grown fount, befide ; The grim, black warrior of the flood, The Dragon, gorg'd with human blodd,
The waters' fcaly pridej Before his fword the mighty fled : But now he's number'd with the dead, Oh ! may his great example fire My noble patron to afpire To deeds like his ! impetuous fly, And bid the Saxon fquadrons die : So fhall thy laurel'd bard rehearfe Thy praife in never-dying verfe ; Shall fing the prowefs of thy fword, Beloved and victorious Lord.
6.
In future times thy honour'd name
Shall emulate brave Urien's fame !
Surrounded by the numerous foe,
Well didft thou deal th' unequal blow, How terrible thy afhen fpear, Which fhook the braveft heart with fear* Yon hoftile towers beneath !
More horrid than the lightning's glance,
Flafh'd the red meteors from thy lance, The harbinger of death.
Dire, and more dire, the conflict grew ;
Thoufands before thy prefence flew ;
While borne in thy triumphal car,
Majeftic as the god of war,
Midft charging hofts unmoved you ftoodj
Or waded thro' a fea of blood.
7-
Immortal fame fhall be thy meed
Due to every glorious deed ;
Which lateft annals fhall record^
Beloved and victorious Lord !
Grace, Wifdom, Valour, all are thine^
Owain Glyndwrdwy divine !
Meet emblem of a two-edg'd fword,
Dreaded in war, in peace ador'd !
Steer thy fvvift Ships to Albion's coaft
Pregnant with thy martial hoft.
Thy robes are white as driven fnow, And Virtue fmiles upon thy brow :
But terrible in war thou art,
And fwift and certain is the dart,
Thou hurleft at a Saxon's heart.
Clywfom
M
HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF
8.
Chivfom ddinain ddaiont Hort teg, gah herod i ti ; Gyrraijl yno givrs doniog T llu, gyrriad ychen llog, Bob ddau, bob dri rhif rhyfawr, A'r dorf oil o'r dyrfa fawr : Dryllidijl, duliaijl ar dalwrn By ddart hydym mron dy ddwrn ; O nerth ac arial calon, A braicb ac yfgivydd a Iron.
8.
Loud fame has told thy gallant deeds ; In every word a Saxon bleeds, Terror, and flight, together came, Obedient to thy mighty name : jDeath, in the van, with ample ftridc, Hew'd thee a paffage deep and wide. Stubborn as fteel, thy nervous cheft With more than mortal ftrength poffefs'd And every excellence belongs To the bright fubject of our fongs.
Cwych wyd ddiarfwyd ddurjiamp A chlod i Gvmro V gamp \ A gwaxvr drift o'r garw dro, Brydnhaivn ar Brydain yno. A'r gair i Gymry by hwyl, Wrih archoll brwydr o'th orchwyt, A'r gwiw rwyfg, a'r gorefgyn, A'r glod i'r Marchog o'r Glyn !
Strike then your harps, ye Cambrian Bards ; The fong of triumph belt rewards An hero's toils. Let Henry weep His warriors wrapt in everlafting ileep : Succefs and victory are thine, Owain Glyndwrdwy divine ! Dominion, honour, pleafure, praife, Attend upon thy vigorous days I And, when thy evening fun is fet, May grateful Cambria ne'er forget Thy noon-tide blaze ; but on thy tomb Never-fading laurels bloom !
Though heroic Poetry was afterwards no more attempted in Wales ; a long feries of Bards fucceeded, who by their elegies and odes have made their names memorable to ages. Among thefe Dafydd ap Gwilym 2, the Wellh Ovid, poflefles a deferved pre eminence. He often adds the fublime to the beautiful ; of which his Cywydd y Daranx, or Ode of the Thunder, is a noble proof. It is the picture of a well-chofen fcene admirably varied : it opens with placid ideas, and rural images ; a lovely maiden, and a delightful profpect : then fucceeds a fudden and tremendous change of the elements ; the beauties of nature overfhadowed and concealed ; the terror of animals, and the flirieks of the fair one. A thoufand inftances of fimilar excel- lence might be produced from the writings of this elegant Bard, and his contemporaries. Let thofe who complain that by the prefent fcarcity of works of genius they are reduced to beftow on Horace, Pindar, and Gray, a tenth perufal, explore the buried treafures of Wellh Poetry, and their fearch will be rewarded with new fources of pleafure, and new beauties of language and fancy.
The acceflion of a Tudor to the throne was the happy era deftined to recal the exiled arts of Wales, and Henry VII. was referved to be the patron and reftorer of the Cambro-Britilh Mufes. If during the former inaufpicious reigns the Eifteddfods had been difcontinued, they were now re-eftabliihed ; and the Barch were employed in the honourable commiflion of making out from their authentic records the pedigree of their king b. Henry VIII. the Item and cruel fon of a mild father, did not, however, refufe to the Bards his fmiles and favour0. I infert, as an inftance, the following fummons to an Eifieddfod by his authority.
" Be it known to all perfons, both gentry and commonality, that an Eijleddfod of the profeflers of Poetry and Mujic will be held in the town of Caerwys, in the county of Flint, the 2d day of July, 1523^ and the
1 He flouriflied about the year 1400. 5ee the titles of fame of his poems, in the catalogue of Britilh MSS. hi Mr. Edward L.wyds Arehasologia Bntannica.
a See his poem publiflied by Mr. Rice Jones, in Gorcbeftlon Bcirdd Cyuvy. For the following remarks I am obliged to that excellent Welfli critic, the l-ate Mr. Lewis Morris. *• Mr. *• Pcpc in his Preface to the Iliad, enumerating Homer's excellen- " cics, next to hi 3 boundlels invention places his imitative M founds, and mikes them peculiar to him and Virgil, and " lays that no other poet ever reached this point of art.
" D'qfodd ah Gwilym, if 1 miftake not, has alfo a ftrong claim ** to this excellency. You muil either allow of the atomical phi- " loiophy ; or that copying nature by its own light, he intended
u his Cywydd y Daran fhould found what it really is — a defcrip- " tion of thunder ana lightning, though in his love piems, and *' other foft fubjedts (of which I have now by me near a hun- " dred) he is as fmooth, and glides as eafy, as an Italian fong,
" Let thole who are not over pirtial to the fchool languages, " and are proper judges of >>urs, compare this poem in its " founds, and the lottinefs of its metaphors, with the b;-lr paf- " fages of this kind in the above authors, and 1 doubt not but " thev will deem this boldnels of comparifon exculable, let Ho- " wfr's character be ever lb facred." Thfau V ben ■tjoidj.
b Wymii Hiftory of Wales, p. 325, edit 774.
c See 'jr. Evans's addrd'i At y Cywy ; Specimens of Wellh Poetry, p. 107.
15th
THE \V E L S ^ BARDS.
\$th year of the reign of Henry the VHIth, king of England, under the commifiion of the faid king, before Richard ap Howel ap Ivan Vaughan, Efq. by the confent of Sir William Griffith, and Sir Roger Salfbri, and the advice of Griffith ap Ivan ap Llyivelyn Vaughan, and the Chair-Bard, Tudor Aled, and feveral other gentlemen and fcholars, for the purpofe of inftituting order and government among the profeflbrs of Poetry and Mujicy and regulating their art and profeflion V
After a long interval of anarchy among the Bards, commiffioners were appointed by Queen Elizabeth to alfemble another EiJIeddfod at Caerwys in 1568 % They were inftrudted to advance the ingenious and fkilful to the accuftomed degrees, and reftore to the graduates their ancient exclufive privilege of exercifing their profeffion. " The reft not worthy" were by this commiflion commanded to betake themfelves to fome honeft labour and livelihood, on pain of being apprehended and puntfhed as vagabonds f.
In a private colle&ion of MSS. I fortunately met with the following beautiful extempore ftanzas on the Nightingale, which were the fruit of the poetical contejl of the Bards of North- Wales, and South Wales, for the chair, in a pofterior EiJIeddfod at Caerwys g in the fame reign. They are a curious relic ; they Ihow the poetry of our country in its utmoft extent of alliterative and mufical refinement ; and are the only fpecimen of the kind that has ever been exhibited from the prefs.
ENGLYNION I'R EOSh.
O vuaith amrafacl Brydyddion 0 Wynedd ar Deheudir, ynyr EiJIeddfod yn Nhre Gacrwys,
Clywais deg eurllais wedi gorllwyn - - nos,
I 'maros a morwyn :
Ar lawes maes irlaes mwyn,
Eos glwyllais is glaflwyn !
Jach lawen ydwyf o chlywais - - ar fedw>
Arfodi pereiddlais ;
Edyn llwyd adwaen 'i llais,
Eos gefnllwyd yfgafnllais !
Miwfig min coedwig mewn ceudawd - - y Uwyn, Llawenydd hyd ddyddbrawd ; Mae'r Eos feindlos fwyndlawd Mewn y gwydd yn man wau gwawd !
Mwynlan gloyw chwiban cloch aberth - - y llwyn, Mae'n llawenydd prydferth : Miwfig heb poen ymmyfg perth Mwyn ei glwylbwngc mewn glafberth !
Mefurol garol dan geurydd - - glafberth, Gogleifbwngc llawenydd, Kiiwfig mwyn ymmyfg manwydd Eos hyd y nos dan wydd !
* Rhydderth\ Welfli Grammar, p. 1 86.
• " 1 his Commiffion," fays Mr. Pennant (Tbnr, p. 437.) " is the laft of the kind which was granted." If he under- ftands that this was the laft Eifteddfid, he is milinformed. For the commifiioners, here mentioned, having in 1 568 conftituttd Simm-wtit Fychan Chief Bard, appointed another EiJIeddfod to be held in 1 5C9, the tenth year of queen Elizabeth's reign. See -Et-rt^'s ipecimens of Welfli Poetry, p. viii. before the preface.
f Rbydde<ch\ Welfli Grammar, p. 187. Ev<m>'s Specimens of Welfli Poetry, p. v. before the preface. And Pennant's Tour in Wales, p. 434.. At this EiJIeddfod the number of the poetical Bards was 17, and of their mufical brethren 38.
g As in the reigns of the princes, Jibtrjfra<w^ Dinefawr, and Matbmfcd had been the feats of Eijieddfods ; Caauys, a town in
H
Eos fwyn o'r llwyn darlleiniais - - y mann Mynych i rhyfeddais ; Lleied hon greulon groywlais Mewn torr llwyn a maint yw'r llais !
Er llais tra hoffais trafferth - - man adar, A'u mwyn wawdydd dierth ; Eos drwynbert is droenberth Yw'r gwin bwngc organ y berth !
Nid cwafriad crychiad crochach - - no'r organ, Neu gowirgerdd degach, Nid manwl nodau mwynach Nid yfbort ond Eos bach !
Dyfgedig fiwfig foefawl - - gerdd Eos, Gradd Awen ylbrydawl, Defgant mwyn dwys gnottie mawl Defgant i'r dyfg naturiawl !
Clywais o bare glas a bort, Cyn nod dydd nid caniad hurt, Cyd eilio 'fbongc cydlais bart, Cerais bwngc yr Eos bert !
Sion 'Tudur.
Flint/hire, received in later times that honourable diftinc"tion. It was chofen for this purpofe, in compliance with the ancient cuftom of the Welfli, becaule it had been the princely refidence of Lyivelyn the laft. See Pennant '6 Tour, p. 427.
h Thefe elegant Englynion have inch peculiar and fimple bre- vity, that I have forborne to tranflatc them, left I fliould de- grade them by an inadequate repreientation. The EiJIeddfod which produced them was held, I conclude, between the year 1 569 and 1580 ; as the Bards who compoied them, flouriflied before or at this latter pe: icd.— Some of the contending Bards took degrees in the L fteddfod in 1568 : William Lfitn was admitted to the degree of Pmceidd, or Doctor ; and Sion i udur, Wtuiam Cyn- txal, and Hww £&*t commenced Dij^jbiion Penten dSaid, Maf- ters of the art of Poetry.
Cyfaniad
HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF
Cyfahiad ganiad gloyvv gynnar - Clywch odiaeth cloch adar, Cathl Eos gwivv cechlais gwar ! Cyd teilvvng mevvn coed talar !
clodfacth,
JVm, Cynwal.
Call byngclau yn amlhau ym mhlith - - y pillgoed, Pebillge dd ccueddwlith i Cywir ar ganol cac'r gwenith, Chwibanogl aur uwch ben gvvlith !
IVm. Llyn.
Chwerthiniad ganiad genau - - yn crychn, Pwngc crechwain telynau, Llawen yw cerdd y ll.vyn cau Am Eos war a'i mefurau !
Daildai ddehuddai hoywddyfg - - bro diddan
Brydyddes y manwrvfg, Eos yn nyddu fain addy fg, O i fijfiai dan folffio dyfg !
Clywais Uawenais mevvn lie, - - iach obaith
Chwiban mil o byngcie,
O'r gvvrych drain ar gyrch y dre'
Eos wyt yn fib tanne !
Rd. Davis, Efgob Mynyw'1.
Mwyndlos main Eos mwyn awydd Mewn nefawl leferydd : Mwyn odiaeth yw man wawdydd, Miniwn gwawd a mwynen gwydd !
nwyfus
Cnithiad gwir argiad croywgerdd, - • clau chwiban,
Cloch aberth eglwyfgerdd ;
Clir organ claiar irgerdd,
Can (natur gwych) cnott ar gerdd !
Eos fain wiwglos fwyn eglur, - - fawl gynnydd,
Fel ganiad pob mefur ;
O'th enau bach a'th Awen bur,
Moes guottio miwfig natur !
Robt. Gruffudd ap Jcuan.
Gan natur yn bur eb werth - - Eofgyw Y dyfgaift yn brydferth ; Duw mydfawr yw dy 'madferth, Can i Dduw pur, cynnydd perth.
Defgan gloyw organ eglurgerdd - - oflef Eoflais drebl angerdd :
Prif lwyfgan per felyfgerdd,
Perogl fain camp pricf'vvn cerdd !
Bartholomew Jones.
Eos braint coednaint caeadnerth, - - croywbwngc Da driphwngc di draffcrth ; Clau'i chwiban cloch aberth Gwin irgan pine organ perth !
Huw Llyn.
Pulpudwraig coedwraig cauadros - - glaflwyn,
Glwyflais per ddiweddnos ;
Awen a roed i'r Eos
Chwibanu 'i phwngc uwch ben ffos !
Elis ap Rhys ap Edward*
Cerddgar dlos Eos uwch fail, . Twr Cedwyn, Tor coedallt ag adail ; Clywch gywy*dd cloch y gwiail, Crechwen tad Awen ty dail !
Will. Llyn,
Eiliad mawl ganiad mel gwenyn, - - iawnllwydd
Mai arianllais telyn ; Arian gloch ar enau glyn Is coedallt Eos Cedwyn !
Blaengar fwn claiar clywais - - gwin awen,
Gan Eos felyflais ;
Bryd ofle' baradwyflais,
Berw o goed llwyn bragod llais !
Huw Llyn.
About the end of Queen Elizabeth's reign, flourifhed Twm Bach (or Thomas Pritchard) who was the Orpheus on the Harp at that time. He was born at Coity in Wales; died (anno 1597) in London, and was buried in St. Sepulchre's church. That Poetry fympathized with the fifter Art for the lofs, we may be convinced by the following bipartite Englyn, written upon his death, the two firft lines by Hugh Griffith, the fequel by Rhys Cain.
Ah, fee ! our laft, beft lyrifl: goes : bellach Sweet as his ftrain be his repofe !
ExtincT: are all the tuneful fires, And Mufic with Twm Bach expires : No finger now remains to bring The tone of rapture from the firing.
We fee that the EiftetU/nd was flill very refpeftablc, when bi- ihops did not difdain to be enrolled amoii^ the Bards.
* A MS. of Engljn'wn in the library of Jefus College, ford.
Yn iach i Dwm Bach ; aeth ir bedd ; E' ballodd Cynghanedd : A7/' wn i'w 61, yn un wedd, A zvyr fiwjig ar fyfedd k.
' Richard Davis, D. D. Bifliop of St. David's, one of the trantlators of the New Teftament into VVelfli, 410. London, 1 ^67. See an Hiftorical Account of the Welfli Tranflations of the Bible. By Thomas Llrwttyn, LL. D. 8vo. London, 1768,
Ox- In
THE WELSH BARDS.
*7
In the reign of George II. Vowel, a Welfh Harper, who ufed to play before that Monarch, drew fu tones from his inftrument, that the great Handel was delighted with his performance, and ccmpofed for him feveral pieces of Mufic, fome of which are in the firft fet of Handel's Concertos. He alfo introduced him as a performer in his Oratorios, in which there are fome fongs Harp Obligato, that were accompanied by Poivel: fuch as, " Tune your Harps" and " Praife the Lord with chearful voice" in EJiber, and " Hark! he ftrikcs the gulden lyre" in Alexander Balus.
Having now conducted nearly to our own times the fhort hiftory I intended ; I make a little paufe, before I bring it to its conclufion ; and examine fomewhat more minutely the caufes that conferred fuch peculia- rity and excellence on the Poetry and Mufic of Wales. The laws, manners, and fortunes of nations have a principal influence in giving an original character to national arts. The firft. care of the Welfh laws was the freedom of the people. They were free, and their manners accordingly were at Once generous and impe- tuous ; gentle, hofpitable, and focial among their friends, and full of refentment and revenge againft their enemies. They inhabited a country where they found in the works of nature what they afterwards copied into their own, the beautiful and the fublime. They were equally addicted to love and war : when they forfook the camp, they did not return to agriculture, commerce, or the mechanic arts, but pail their lei- fure in hunting and other manly fports and games, in converfe with the fair ', and in recounting their ex- ploits amidfl libations of mead at the tables of lords and princes. Hence they learnt to write verfe and found the harp.
" Another caufe, which operated with equal power on our poetry, was the flrength and beauty of the lan- guage in which it was conveyed : if it may not with greater truth be faid, that by the Poetry thole inherent properties of the language were called forth. The character of Welfh Poetry, and its dependence on the language, have been fo well difplayed in a dhTertation on the fubject by the Reverend Mr. Walters™, that I am unwilling to make ufe of his fentiments in any other words than his own.
The Weifli language, he obferves, is poffefTed of native ornaments, and unborrowed treafures. It rivals the celebrated Greek in its aptitude to form the raoft beautiful derivatives, as well as in the elegance, faci- lity, and expreffivenefs of an infinite variety of compounds, and deferves the praife which has been given it by an enemy n, that noiwithjlanding the multiplicity of gutturals and confonants with which it abounds, it has the foftnefs and harmony of the Italian, with the majefiy and expreffion of the Greek?'
+ Of all the tifTues ever wrought
JV/ phrofais, dan ffurfafen, On the Parnaffian hill,
Gwe mor gaeth ar Gymraeg wen °. Fair Cambria's web, in art and thought,
Difplays the greaterl /kill.
" The glory of a language is a copious rotundity, a vigorous tone, and a perfpicuous and expreflive bre- vity ; of which a thoufand happy inffances might be produced from the Cambro-Britifh MSS. Their com- pafs reaches from the fublimity of the ode to the concifenefs of the epigram. Whoever explores thefe an- cient and genuine treafures-, will find in them the moft melodious numbers, the mod poetical diction, the moil nervous exprefiion, and the moft elevated fentiments, to be met with in any language."
A language, however fortunate in its original conftruction, can never attain fuch perfection without a very high degree of cultivation p. It is evident therefore that at fome remote period the Welfh themfelves were highly cultivated, ancUhad made great progrefs in learning, arts, and manners ; fince we difcover fuch elegance, contrivance, and philofophy in their language. Some authors have attributed- this refinement of the Cambro-Britifh dialect to the Druids. From this opinion I difTent : becaufe I obferve that Tclicfm and his contemporaries, by whom they were followed and imitated, do not afford fuch fpecimens of polifhed numbers and diction as the Bards who lived under the later princes have exhibited. The Eijleddfcd was the fchool in which the Welfh language was gradually improved, and brought at lafl to its unrivalled per- fection. " The Bards, fays the ingenious critic I have before quoted, have been always confidered by the Welfh as the guardians of their language, and the confervators of its purity."
The metre of Welfh poetry is very artificial and alliterative ; pofTefling fuch peculiar ingenuitv in the fe- lection and arrangement of words, as to produce a rhythmical concatenation of founds in every verfe. To an
rtni&ure of the Weifli language to its peculiar property of varv- ing artificially, euphonic gratia, its mutable initial confonants j making it iuperior in this relpecl to the Hebrew .ind the Greek. See Hillorical and Critical Remarks on theBritiih Tongue 8vo". London, 1769. p. 58, &c. l.ikewife Antiquk Lagtia BntameJL by Dr. Dav:t>t 8vo. London, 162 1.
Englifh
1 Lord Lyttelton from GiralJus Cainbrenfu. Hifl. Henry II. vol. II. p. 09.
0i A Diflertation on the Weifli Language. 8vo. Cowbrid^e. 1771.
n The author of the Letters from Snovvdon.
0 Edmund Prys, D. 1). Archdeacon of Merioneth.
t Dr. Llewelyn ingenioully refers the curious and delicate
HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF
Englifli reader It may fccm a laborious way of trifling : but every language has peculiar laws of harmony: The ancient languages of Greece and Rome were not clogged with a fuperabundance of confonants, and were chiefly compofed of polyfy llabic words and vocal terminations. Their poets therefore made their metre confift in quantity, or the artf ul diftribution of long and fhort fyllables. The old Britifh language abounded with confonants, and was formed of monofyllables, which are incompatible with quantity ; and the Bards could reduce it to concord by no orher means, than by placing at fuch intervals its hardier confonants, fo intermix- ing them with vowels, and fo adapting, repeating, and dividing the feveral founds, as to produce an agree- able effect from their ftru&ure* Hence the laws of poetical compofition in this language are fo ftrict and rigorous, that they muff greatly cramp the genius of the Bard, but that there is, in the language itfelf, a particular aptitude for that kind of alliterative melody, and is as elTential as Harmony in Mufic, which con- ftitutes the great beauty of its poetry. To the ears of natives the Welfh metre is extremely pleating, and does not fubject the Bard to more reftraint than the different forts of feet occafioned to the Greek and Roman Poets'1. There are traces of Cynghancdd or alliteration in the poetical remains of the Druids. It was known to the Bards of the fixfli century, but they ufed it fparingly, and were not circumfcribed by rules. From the Norman conqueft to the death of Llywelyn the laft, they were more ftrict. From Llywelyn to £//'- %abeth the laws of alliteration were prefcribed and obferved with the moft fcrupulous exactnefs. A line not perfectly alliterative was condemned as much by the Welfh grammarians, as a falfe quantity by the Greeks and Romans r.
The Bards, like other poets, were oflentatious of their wealth : for they had no fooner learnt the extent of their power, than they began to wander at will through all the mazes of Cyngbanedd.
They gave other relative proofs of an unrivalled profody. Not content with the mellifluence of this couplet, written on a harp*
Mae mil o leifiau melyfon, Within the concave of its womb is found
Mel mil o hyd ym viola hon. The magic fcale of foul-enchanting found*.
they fought after more liquid meafures, and produced fuch fpecimens as the following Englyn i'r Pry/ Coppyn, or Epigram en the Spider, compofed entirely of vowels.
O'i wiw wy i weu e a, - - a'i weuau
O'i wyau y weua; E' weua ei we aia, A'i, weuau y w ieuau Ja
In grandeur the following diftich on Thunder could not be furpafledj
Tan a dvvr yn ymwriaw
Yw'r taranau dreigiau drawu.
but it is exceeded in difficulty by the fubfequent Englyn, compofed of vowels and the confonant r.
Oer yw'r eira ar Eryri - - o ryw,
Ar awyr i rewi,
Oer yw'r ia ar riw'r Ri,
Ar eira oer yw 1 Ryri \
Such fpecimens deferve not to be read with ridicule or difguft : they were not defigned to difplay the fkill of the poet, but the powers of the language.
Something now remains to be faid of Welfh Mufic. Though the fupernatural power and effects, fabu- loufly afcribed to the Mufic of antiquity, are now held in juft derifion ; it is not difficult to conceive, that (notwithstanding its known fimplicity) by its aflbciation with poetry, which it rendered more articulate and expreflive, it might operate with much greater fuccefs on the mind and affections, than the artificial melody and complicated harmony of modern times. The mufic, as well as the poetry, of Wales, was tinctured with its peculiar and original character by the genius of the country : they fprung out of the fame foil, deriving from its delightful vallies their foft and tender meafures, and from its wild mountainous fcenes their bolder and more animated tones w.
9 Northern Anticruities, 8vo. London, vol. X. p. 401, &c.
» Northern Antiquities, vol. II. p. 197, &c.
' Walters'* Differtation on the Welfh Language, p. 52.
« Rbyddertb's Welfh G ram m ar, p. 141. i^ee this Englyn inge- niously aniwered in another, compofed in like manner of vowels, by the Kev« Mr. Groniu Owen ; Diddanwcb Teuluaidd, Givai/b P.rirddMon, i8vo. Lond. 1763, p. 35. n
" Walter ?% DhTertation, p. 53.
T Rbyddercb's Welfh Grammar, p. 141.
w Whoever defires to fee this idea puriued to fome length, may find it ingenioufly and philofophically developed, with reference to the native mulic of Scotland, in Dr. Bcatue'% Eflays on Poetry and Mufic.
deriving
THE WELSH BARDS;
29
And where could the Mufes have chofen a happier refidence ? Now you are delighted with rallies at Once wild and beautiful : in other parts, you are altoniihed with a continued tradt of dreary cloud- capt'
country, " hills whole heads touch heaven" dark, tremendous precipices fwift rivers roaring over
disjointed rocks black caverns, and iliuing cataracts. Did Salvata Rofa's extravagant fancy ever in- dulge itfelf in fuch grand and favage profpedts ? Or has Claude Lorraine's inimitable pencil excelled the vale of Clivyd?
It is not to be wondered that the venerable Cambro fongs poffeffed fuch influence on the minds of our anceftors, when we confider their beautiful and various change of fty le and time; tranfitions abrupt as the rocky profpedts of the country, and fudden as the paffions of the people.
The moft ancient ftyle of Welfh Mufic is the grave and fokmn, which was confecrated to religious pur- pofes and occafions \ The next, diftindt from the former, is vehemently martial and magnificent y. Another is plaintive and exprejjive of forrow, being appropriated to elegies and the celebration of the dead z. Ano- ther is of the pajloral kind, and of all perhaps the moft agreeable ; coming neareft to nature, and poffef- fing a plealing fimplicity and foothing tranquillity, fuitable to genial love *.
Of thefe ancient melodies I have recovered lbme genuine remains ; and their effedts are not wholly loft or forgotten. A new era of Cambro-Britifh harmony has rifen in our times, and the wonderful things related of it in former ages have been already realifed.
The trembling firings about her fingers crowd, And tell their joy for every kifs aloud Small force there needs to make them tremble fo ; Touch'd by that hand, who would not tremble too ? Waller. The harp, in the hands of the Britifh fair -f, has acquired new honours and a more irrefiftible influence ; and never produced fuch tranfport and enthufiafm when ftruck by a Cyhelyn, or a Cadwgan, as it now excites, aflifted by the liquid voice and diftinguifhed beauty of our modern female Bards.
EDWARD JONES*
» The fine old Pfalms, which are chanted in fome of the churches in Wales, particularly in thofe where modern tinging is not introduced.
Likewife Cor-Aedan, Cor-finfain, Cor-ivrgog, Cor-Alcban, Cor- Fftniwr, Cor-y-golofn, tsV. * Some of thefe Cor's or holy Songs, are carefully difplayed from an ancient manuicript in' the ori- ginal mufical notes fuppofed to be Druidical, which the reader wih fee engraved on a book, delineated in the print of the mu- fical inftruments, further in this volume.
y Triban, or. The Warriors Song, Triban Morganivg, Myne- diad Cadpcn Morgan, F.rdaigan tro'r tant, Cudyn G'yn, Ytrutaitk Miungc, Brcuddivyd y Frenhines. Blodcur Gi ug, ¥01 riad y Dydd, Sienfyn, Fiygiad y Bedol-facb, Wyra Ned Pu<w, Pen Rbanv, Fariuel NcdPuu; &C
z Morfa Rbuddlan, Y Galon Vrotn, DafyddGarreg-wcn, Gorddi- tam, Con/el Grvffudd ab Cynan, Anbaivdd ymadael, Mwynen Mo/r, Symlen Ben bys, Tr Hen Don, &C
* Mentra Gwen, GUn FedJwdod mnxyn, Cod'iadyr Hedydd, He/i Sibil, Merch Megan, Twit yn ei bocb, Ton y Fammaeth, Denxis Mcinvjen, Dylyn Sercb, Conjct Dafydd ab Guo'dym, Matdod Arglixyddes Ovjch, Mantell Siani, Nil G.ilan, Ar byd y nos, Tros y Garreg, Megen a gollcdd ei gar das, Blodeu'r Drain, Cnottji Coed, Hob y dirif, Digany Pibydd Cocb, &C. &C.
f " The harp is the favourite inftrument of the fair fex, and " nothing fliould be fpared to make it beautiful : for it mould " be a principal object of mankind to attach them by every " means to mufic, as it is the only amufement that may be en- " joyed to excefs, and the heart ftill remain virtuous and un- *' corrupted." Dr. Burneys Hiftory of Mufic, vol. J.
" Their Bufinefs fliould be to practice merely for the amufe- " ment of themieh es, their own family, and particular friends, " or rather for domeftic comfort, which they were by provi- " dence deligned to promote ; viz. To calm the boiflerous paf- 11 fion — to relieve the anxieties and cares of life — to inipire " cheerfulnels- to appeafe the nerves, when irritated by pain, " licknefs, or labour of mind or body, to foothe the peevifli- " nefs of infancy and old age — and to raife the mind to a feel- " ing and love of order. She who fliall improve the natural " talents, with which women are born, of doing all thefe things, " will not have miipent her time by applying a few years to " mufic."
StillingjlteC s Principle and Power of Harmony, p.
I
OF
( 30 )
OF THE
WELSH PENNILLION,
O R,
EPIGRAMMATIC STANZAS', and PASTORALS.
*Altwni<s dicetii. sAman^ afleina Cam&nze : Virgil.
THESE have been tranfmitted to us by oral tradition from time immemorial, and ftill arc the domeftic and colloquial Poetry of the natives of Wales, a people uncommonly awake to all the imprefllons of forrow, love, and joy.
The memorial verfes, which in the time of Casfar b were never committed to writing, and which the Druidical Difciples employed fo many years in learning, were Pennillion, conveyed in that moft ancient metre called Englyn Milwr.
When the Bards had brought to a very artificial fyftem their numerous and favourite metres ; thofe which they rejected c were left for the drefs of the Ruftic Mufe, the Awen of the multitude. When Wales became an Englim province, Poetry had been generally diffufed among the lower claffes of the people. From that period they forgot their former favourite fubjects of war and terror, and were confined to love, and the paffions which are nearly allied to it, of pity and of grief; fo thefe fort of Pennillicn were naturally re- tained, and admired, on account of the tender beauties contained in them.
At length, towards the reign of Queen Elizabeth, the conftitutional fyftem of the Bards became entirely extinct in Wales j and the only Poetry that furvived, was poured forth in unpremeditated Pennillion, around the hearths of hufbandmen, and in the cots of fhepherds. What contributed to keep alive, under every difcouragement of foreign oppreffion, the poetical vein of the Welfh peafantry, was their primitive fpirit of hofpitality d and focial mirth ; which affembled them to drink mead, and fing, and dance, around the harmony of the Harp, Crwth, Pipe, and Dru ji ; and what has preferved from very diftant times many of thefe little fonnets, is their Angular merit, and the affection with which they are remembered. Some of the old Englim fongs, which have been a thoufand times repeated, Mill continue to pleafe ; while the lullaby of the day is echoed for a time, and is then configned to everlafling oblivion. The metres of thefe ftanzas are various : a ftanza containing from three to nine verfes ; and a verfe confirming of a certain number of fyllables, from two to eight. One of thefe metres is the Triban, or Triplet ; another the Awdl GywyJd, or Hen ganiad, The memorial Ode of the ancient ftrain ; another, what in Englim Poetry would be called the Anapasftic. There are feveral kinds of Pennill metres, that may be adapted and fung, to moft of the following tunes ; and fome part of a tune being occafionally converted into a fymphony. O.ie fet of words is not, like an Englim fong, confined to one tune, but commonly fung to feveral.
The fkill of the /><r»«7/- fingers in this is admirable. According to the metres of their pennillion, they ftrike into the tune in the proper place, and conduct it with wonderful e'xactnefs to the fymphony or the clofe. While the Harp to which they fing is perhaps wandering in little variations and embellifhments ; their ring- ing is not embarrafTed, but true to the fundamental tune. This account explains the ftate of our Mufic and Poetry, defcribed by Gh aldus as they exifted in his time ; when the Welfh were a nation of Muficians and Poets ; when Cor's, or Mufical Bands, wrere frequent among them ; and when their children learnt from their infancy to fing in concert6.
a The word Pennill is derived from Pen, a Head : becaufe thefe ftanzas flowed extempore from, and were trealured in, the Head, without being committed to paper. Pennill /nay alio iignify a brief brad, or Unit fuhj -ft.
b See Ca;far's Commentaries : De Hello Gallico. lib. 6. cap. 8.
c " 1 rbai bynny fy i roddi t<Jlun t'r Bei'dd i ganu arnn, tiaiil ai mevjn Englynion, Unodl union, C'ynydd, ncu ryw un tf pedivar Mrfur ar hugain, ac nid mtVJti DyrS ', Carol, ncu ry<w -ivatl gerddi, y rbai ni fu <Wt<tU gan y prif Ft irdA fg/M gymmaint a'i cryb^vyll, n bernvydd
nod oei Rbeolau pen! ynaiol tddyit." Statud Grufiudd ab Cynan jrnghylch cadw Eiltcddfoci. I
This proves that Pennillion were then frequently compofed and admired.
d " Among this people there is no beggar to be found : the houfes of all are open toy the welcome reception of all comers. Munificence they efteem beyond all virtues ; and the genius of hofpitality is lb well underflood, that the ceieuiony of offering entertainment to (Irangers, and of afking ir, is here unknown." Giraldus Canibroifts.
* Cambria ' Djo iftio, C3p. 13,
PENNILLI0N; 31
In his time it was iifjial for companies of young men, who knew no profclTion but that of arms, to enter without di(linc~tion every houfe they came to. There they enjoyed the free converfation of the young women, joined their voices to the melody of the Harp, and confumed the day in the mod animated feftivity f. " Even at this day fome vein of the ancient minftrelfy furvives amongft our mountains. Number of perfons of both fexes afTemble and fit around the harp, finging alternately Pennillion or ftanzas of ancient or modern compositions."
ts With charming fymphony they introduce
" Their pleafing fong, and waken raptures high ;
" No voice exempt, no voice but well can join
" Melodious part."
" The young people ufually begin the night with dancing, and when they are tired, aflume this fpecies of relaxation. They alternately fing, dance, and drink, not by hours, but by days and weeks ; and mea- fure time only by the continuance of their mirth and pleafure. Often, like the modern Imprcvifatore of Italy, they fmg extempore verfes ; and a perfon converfant in this art, readily produces a Pennlll oppofite to the lafl that was fung." Many have their memories ftored with feveral hundreds, perhaps thoufands, of Pennillion, fome of which they have always ready for anfwers to every fubjed: that can be propofed ; or if their recollection mould ever fail them, they have invention to compofe fomething pertinent and proper for the occafion. The fubjeds afford a great deal of mirth : fome of thefe are jocular, others fatirical, but molt of them amorous, which, from the nature of the fubjed, are beft preferved. They continue finging with- out intermiffion, never repeating the fame ftanza (for that would forfeit the honour of being held firft of the fong,) and, like nightingales, fupport the conteft through the night. The audience ufually call for the tune : fometimes a few only ling to it, and fometimes the whole company. But when a party of capital fingers afTemble, they rarely call for the tune, for it is indifferent to them what tune the Harper plays. Parifhes are often oppofed to parifhes ; even counties contend with counties ; and every hill is vocal with the chorus
In thefe rural ufages, which are beft. preferved in the mountainous counties of Merioneth and Caernarvon, we have a diftant pleafing glimpfe of ancient innocence, and the manners of a golden age. Mannau mwyn am win a medd, Tannau miwfig ton mafwedd !
Whoever confiders the unaffected fenfe and Unadulterated paflioris conveyed in thefe fine little pieces of antiquity — fentiments which all would hope, but few are able to imitate — together with the fweet and foothing air of our mufical compofitions, which are moftly in the Lydian meafure, will not wonder that, like our national proverbs, they have been fo long preferved by tradition, that the fame ftanzas are remem- bered in all the counties of Wales, and that the natives are fo enamoured with them, as to be conftantly chanting them whenever they meet with a Harp, or a Crwth. Nor will he blame my prefumption, when, for an effufion of tender fimplicity, I place them in competition with the affeding tales of the Scots Ballads, and the delicate otipstetct of the Greek Epigrams.
PENNILLION*.
Tecca ei Hun, a brafia ei llais, Tw'r Delyn Jamais
Newydd ; Ti a haeddit glod, am fod yn fwyn.
a- , ,7 Lels varied ftrains awake the grove,
lydi yayw llwyn , ., . . . . &
T , rill d with the notes of fprinp- and love :
Llaivenydd ; T T- 11
t ,j , , Hither the Mufes oft fhall throng;,
1 e ddazv r adar yn y man, _ . . , , , „ ' , **'
, ,. , Infpire the theme, and fwell the fong !
1 diwnw dan A °
D' adenydd !
Beauteous in form the Harp appears, Its mufic charms our ravifh'd ears ;
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llardd ar Terch yio Uygaid du, 'Tis Man's to conquer, fierce in arms,
Hardd ar Fab yw bod yn by' ; Woman prevails by gentle charms ;
Hardd ar Farchy w pedrain lydan, Firm vigour marks the generous Steed,
Hardd ar Filgi yw myn'd ynfuan ! And lightning wings the Grey-hound's fpeed.
f Set Lord Ljttihto's Hijloiy of Henry II. vol. 2. p. 69. f See Pennant's Journey to Snrvodm.
fcvery language has peculiar beauties. The thoughts and words of thefe Pennillion are fo uncommonly fimple and expreflire that I do not prefume to offer the annexed Englifli flaiuas as an adequate tranOation, but merely (for the lake of the h'nghlh reader) as an imperfeft fltetch and idea of them. 6
PENNILLION.
Mi ellir myn'd i lawerffair, A cherdded fair
0 oriau, A charu Merely o lower phvy, Heb ivybod pwy
Sydd orau Mae'n anhawdd dewis deriven deg, Heb ynddifreg
Tn rbywle !
From wake to wake, from plain to plain*
The curious fwain may rove ; A perfedt Nymph he feeks in vain,
To meet his conftant love ; Frequent and fair, like faplings tall,
Whole bevies throng around ; But ah ! what fapling of them all,
Without a flaw is found !
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I.
I.
Tro dy wyneb Gwen bydd fwyn A gwrando gwyn dy gariad ;
Givn nad oes un mab yn fyw Na fercha liw dy lygad ?
Turn, lovely Gwen, be good and kind, And liften to thy lover's pray'r ;
Full well I know, there's none fo blind. But muft adore my charming fair.
2.
2.
'R ydwyf yma fal y gweli Heb na chyfoeth na thylodi 'S meiddi gyda mi gyd-fydio Di get ran o'r fuchedd honno ?
Defpife me not for being poor, I am not very rich, 'tis true ;
But if thou canft my lot endure, I mall be rich enough in you !
Llun y Delyn, llun y tannau, Llun Cyiveirgorn aur yn droau ; Tan eifyfedd 0 ! na f'afai, Llun fy nghalon union innau !
The Harp in Howel's arms reclin'd, Warbles refponfive to his mind ; What joys would thrill this ravifh'd breaft So to his manly bofom preft !
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Dy liw, dy lun, dy law, dy lygad, Dy wen dig, a'tb yfgafn droediad ; Dy olwg hardd, a'tb barabl tawel, Am peryglodd am fy hoedl !
Thy colour, fhape, thine eye, thine hand, Thy nimble ftep, and witching fmile ;
Sweet looks, foft fpeech, my life command, And nearly did, my life beguile !
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T n Sir F6n, y mae fio tannau Tn Nyffryn Clwyd, mae coed Afalau ; Tn Sir Fflint, mae tan i *mdwymno, A lodes landeg i'w cbofleidio !
In Mona's ifle, melodious notes refound, In Clwyd* s rich vale, ne&areous fruits abound ; Flint's verdant trait, conceals the ufeful ore, Much for its minerals fam'd, for lovely women more.
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Blodeu V flwyddyn ywf Anwylyd ; Ebrill, Mai, Mehefin, be/yd; Llewyrcb haul yn t'wynnu ar gyfgod, A gwenithen y genetbod.
My love's the bloffom of the year, The fummer months in her appear ; The lhade enlightens as fhe paries, She is the gem of charming lafTes.
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Dod dy law, ond wyd yn coelio, Dan fy mron, a gwilia 'mriwo ; Ti get glywed, os gwrandewi, Swn y galon fdeb yn torri ?
If doubtful of my truth you ftand, Place on my breaft your lovely hand ; Yet gently touch ; nor aid the fmart That heaves my fond expiring heart ?
PENNILLION.
Ow ! fy nghatont torr os torri, Pabam yr wyd yn dyfal bocni ? Ac yn darjod bob ycbydig, faljd glds ar lechwedd Hit brig!
O break at once, my heart, in twain, Nor pine with flow Unceafing pain : Nor thus with gradual woes decay, As ice on mountains melts aw. ij .
Er melyned gwalli ei phen, Civybydded Gwen
L lizv'r ezvyn ; Fed Uanver gwreiddin chwerw 'n *r ardd, Ac arno hardd
Fk deity n /
What tho' the ringlets of her hair May with the radiant gold compare,
The charming maid fhould know; That many lovely flow'rs that rife From bitter roots, and feent the Ikies,
In many a garden grow !
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Gwyn eu byd yr adar gwylltion Hzuy gdnt fyn'd ir fan y fynnon ; Weithiau i'r mor, ac weithiau i'r mynydd, A dyfod adrcf yn ddigerydd.
How happy is the wild- fowl's flate ?
To the fea, or mountains flying ; True and conftant to its mate,
Free and happy, living, dying.
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Elin yw cam yma ac accw, Elm bod heb, y blinder bzvnnw, O'r blinderau blincf blinder^ Cur anifyr, caru 'n ofer !
A mighty pain to love it is ; 'Tis a pain, that pain to mils ; Of all pains, the greateft pain, Is to love, and love in vain.
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Rhaid i gybydd gadw ei gaban, Rhaid i ieuengclyd dorri allan ; Hyd y' medd mae'n rhaid i minnau, Ganlyn mwynion dy union dannau.
In his lone cell the mifer flays ; The young man walks abroad, and plays And I, till death my paffport brings, Mult found the harp's extended firings.
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I.
I.
Aehvyd ferch fydd rbwng fy nwyfron, Tanwydd cariad ydyw'r galon ; A'r tan bwnnw, bytb n't dderfydd, Ira park do ddim o'r tanwydd!
2.
A jf'yddlondeb yw V meginau Sydd yn chivy thu V tan i gynnau, A ma'int y gwres nid rhyfead gwelcd. T dufr yn berwi, dros fy llygaid !
My heart's the feat of fond defire ; AfTedtion fans the gentle fire ; And conftancy augments the flame That burns eternally the fame !
2.
What wonder then, my throbbing breaft Is with fuch inward heat pofTcfs'd ? Whence all the melting pafiions rife, And burfl in torrents from my eyes.
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Hawdd yw d'wedyd dacczv'r Wyddfa Nid cir drofti end yn ara' ; Hawdd i'r jdeb, a fo 'n ddiddolur Bear cldf gymmeryd cyjfur.
To fpeak of Snoivdoni head fublime, Is far more eafy than to climb : So he that's free from pain and care May bid the Tick a fmile to wear.
K
34
E N N I
I O N.
Tn Hafod Elwy V Gog ni chdn, Llais y frdn
Sydd amla ; Fan fo hi decca, ym mhob tir, Mae hi yno '# zvir
Tn eira.
From Elwy far, the Cuckoo fingSj And funs adorn the fkie ;
But there the Raven, flaps his wings, And fnows eternal lie !
Weithiau yn brudd, weithiau yn llawen, Weithiau a golud, weithiau ag angen ; Weithiau ag aur> ac avian ddigon, Weithiau yn brin o ddvor yr of on /
Sometimes grave, and fometimes merry ; Sometimes rich, and fometimes needy ; Sometimes ftor'd with gold and filvcr, Sometimes fcant of river water.
i.
i.
M ddymunais, fil o weithiau, Fod fy mron o wydr golau, Fa/ y gallai V Fun gael gzveled Fod y galon mewn caethiwed*
How oft, tranfported, have I faid,
Oh ! that my breafl of glafs were made !
Then might fhe fee, angelic fair,
The love, her charms have kindled there !
2.
2.
Ni bu ferth erioed gan laned, Ni bu ferch erioed gan wynned, Ni bu neb o ferched dynion, Nes na hon i dorri 'nghalon. -
There never was a maid fo fair, Of fuch bewitching fhape and air ; There never was of woman kind, One half fo fuited to my mind*
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T rwm yw V plwm, a thr-wm ywyr cerrig, Trom yw calon pob dyn unig ; Trymma peth rhwng haul a lleuad, Canu 'n iach3 lie byddo cariad !
Sad and heavy links the (tone,
On the lake's fmooth furface thrown ;
Man opprefs'd by forrow's weight
Sadly finks beneath his fate ;
But the faddeft thing to tell,
Is to love, and bid farwell 1
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Gwych gan gerlyn yn ei wely Glywed fwn y troellau 'n nyddu ! Gwych gan jnnau Duw a drycho Glywed fwn y tannau *n tiwnis !
Gay the mifer e'er will be,
His wealth to fee augmenting round ; But that's gay and pleafes me
When notes agree with voices crown'd !
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Gzvynt ar for, a haul ar fynydJ,
Cerrig Ihvydion yn lie coedydd ;
A gwylanod yn lie dynion,
Och! Duw pa f odd na thorrai 'nhalon!
Wild o'er the main the tempefi: flies, The radiant fun deferts the Jkies ; Grey ftones the naked heath deform, And loud, and piteous howls the ftorm ; Shrill fcreams, the hungry gulls between And defolation blafts the fcene. What heart fuch terrors can endure, Save in thy aid, my God, fecure !
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Mae gan amledyn y farchnad, Croenyr Ocn, a chroen y Ddafad ; A chan amlcd yn y llan, Gladdu'r Fcrch, a chladdur Fam !
As oft in the market the fkin of the lamb
As the fkin of the wether is fecn : Nor more common in churchyards to bury the dame,
Than her daughter of blooming fifteen.
N N
I O N.
35
Myn'd ir ardd i aorri pivyfi .Gzvrthod lafant, gwrthod lili, Gwrthod mintys, a rhos cochion Dewis pzvyfi o ddanadl pcethion !
For my breaft a nofegay chufing, Every fragrant flow'r refuting; I pafs'd the lilies, and the roles, And of the nettle made my polies * !
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Os collais i fy nghariad Ida, Mae bran i frdn,
Yn rbywlc -K Wrth ei bodd y bo hi byw, Ag 'wilys Duw
I minne* !
Should I lofe my faireft love, For a dove there's ftill a dove^
Somewhere or other to be found ; At hearts-eafe may me ever be ! Whatever heav'n defigns for me,
May lhe in peace and joy abound !
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Ni chdn cog ddim amjer gaua\ Ni chdn Telyn heb ddim tannau ; Ni chdn calon bawdd i'cb' wybod Fan fo galar ar ei gzvaelod /
In wintry months the Cuckoo will not ling ; Nor will the Harp refound without a firing ; With one bright thought the bofom cannot glow, Opprefs'd by grief, and overcome by woe.
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I.
I.
Givyn fy myd, na fawn mor happusj Yn y byd, a chael fy nezvis, Mi ddewifwn o fiden cyfoetb Lendid pryd, a chariad perffaitb !
Fe gair cyfoetb ond cynnilo,
Fe gair tir ond talu 'm dano ;
Fe gair glendid end ymojyn,
Ni chair mwynder, ond gan Rywun,
From pleafure's univerfal ftores
Nor wealth, nor power my heart implores ;
But beauty's fair, ingenuous face,
And faithful love's fincere embrace.
2.
Beauty, too venal, may be hir'd, And land be purchas'd, wealth acquir'd ; But happinefs that ne'er was bought, Mull in One fair one's arms be fought.
Rhywun fydd ! a Rbywun ettb / Ac am Rywun V wy'n myfyrio! Fan fwyf dry mm a* r nos yn cyfgu, Fe ddaw Rhywun, ac am deffry f
Some Fair there is, fome chofen Fair, Whofe charms, my conftant thought and care ; My lleeping breaft too keenly move, And wake me from the dreams of love.
Clywais Jiarad, clywais ddwndro, Clywais ran o'r byd yn beio ; Erioed ni chlywais neb yn da t gan, Fawr oi hyxiod feiau ei hunan !
WThifpers I've heard, and harfh report, And half the world reprove the reft,
But none in all this vaft reibrt
Who much of their own faults confeft.
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Nid oes imi ond dau elyn, Gwyn fy myd, pe byddwn rhyngddyn ; Fan fo Meinir yn fy mreichiau, Tgelynion fydd y gliniau /
Two enemies alone I fear,
And yet I wilh they were more near ;
Oh ! that the two I was between
My love muft guefs — the knees I mean !
7
* A'luding to the choice of a wife.
f avad
3*
PENNILLION.
Cunlad y Gog i Feirionydd *.
The Cuckoo's Song to Merioneth.
x.
Er a welais dan y fer, O lawnder, glewdcr gwledydd ; 0 gwrw da, a gwjr i'w drift , A gwin ar fin afonydd: Coreu bir, a gortu bwyd, A ranwyd i Feirionydd.
2.
Da ydyw'r gwaith, rhcdd d'weyd y gwir,
Ar fryniau fir Feirionydd
Golwg oer o'r gwaela gaivn ;
Mae hi etto'n llawn llaivenydd :
Pwy ddifgwyliai' canai V Gog,
Muwn maw nog yn y mynydd ?
Pwy field Lin o bryd a gwedd, Ond rhyfedd mewn pentrcfydd ? Pwy fy 'nibob hyjwiaeth dda, Yn gwlwm gyd a '/' gilydd ? Pwy fy'n ymyl dwyn fy ngho' ? Morwynicn bro Meirionydd.
Whate'er I've fecn beneath the ftars, Where fruitful climes abound ;
Cf focial youths, and ftreaming jars, When mirth and wine go round :
All thefe are only found compleat,
In fair Mcrvinias fweet retreat,
2.
Mervinia's rocks perhaps are feen, To threaten want and dearth ;
Cold and barren, void of green ; Yet full of joy and mirth ;
Who thinks the nightingale to hear,
On mountains chanting all the year >
3-
Where greater beauty can you find ?
Each villager has charms ! Difcretion's to the houfewife join'd,
The pleas'd beholder warms : In thee, Mervinia, dwell the fair, Who rule all hearts, or caufe defpair !
GIdn yw*r glefiiad yn y llyn, Ntd yyw hyn dd'im netvydd ; Gldnyw'r fironfraith yn ei thy, D an danu ei hadenydd : Glanach yw, os d'wedai V gwir, Morivynion tir Meirionydd.
5-
Anwyl yw gan adar byd, Eu rhyddid hydy coedydd ; Anwyl yiv gan fab an laeth Ei fam>naetb, odiaetb ddedwydd Ob ! ni ddywedwn yn fy myw, Mor anwyl yw Meirionydd.
6.
Mwyn yw Telyn o fietun iy, Lie byddo Teulu dedwydd ; Pawb d'i bennill yn ei gwrs, He b fan am bwrs y cybydd : Mwyn y can, o ddeuti^r tan, Morwynicn gldn Meirionydd.
7-
Er bod fy nghorph mewn huficn byd, 7 n rhodio byd y gwledydd, Yn cael pie fer mor a thir, Ni chafi yn wir mor llonydd ; Myned adre* i flit fy 'raid : Mac'r EnaidjttH Meirionydd.
How b right's the falmon in the flream ?
How beautiful the thrufh ? With wing expanded feems to gleam,
All fpangling in the bulTi : And yet how far the maids excel, Who in Mervinia's vallies dwell ?
5
As fweet as to the feather'd kind,
To range thro' every grove ; As fweet as to the infant-mind,
To lip the milk they love ; Could I, I would explore to thee, How fweet, Mervinia, thou 'rt to me.
6.
O tuneful Harp ! melodious found!
When friends united are ; The odes alternately go round,
Unthinking of the mifer's care. How fweet their voices round the fire, When fair Mervinians join the lyre!
7-
Although in pleafure's maze I'm loft,
And range new joys to find ; Command what feas, and land, can boaft,
Uneafy's ftill my mind : To thee, Mervinia, I'll return, My foul for thee doth ever burn.
* This fonnct Is the compofuion of the late Lewis Morris, Efq. and was tranflated by the late William Vau^han, Efq. of Cors y Cccbl.
3 AV«
PENNI LLION.
37
Moes Erddigan a chaw, Bug in gerdd deg, Awen gu, 2rwy V Dolydd taro'r Delyn, Oni bo'r jds yn y Bryn ; 0 gywair Dant, a gyr di Awr orhoen i Eryri !
Wake, fweet Mufe, fome golden ftrain, Voice and firing, and o'er the plain Strike the Harp, whofe echoes Ihrill Pierce and fhake the diftant hill ; Far along the winding vale Send the founds, till every gale From the bright harmonic firing Many a tone of rapture bring, And to Snowdon waft on high An hour of tuneful extafy !
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Mi df oddiymma i'r Hafod Lorn, Er bod yn drom
Fy fiwrnai ; Mi gaf yno ganu caingc, Ac eijie ar faingc,
T fimnai ; Ac ond odid dyna V fan, Ybyddaf dan
T borau.
What tho' the journey's long I trow, Yet hence to Hafod Lorn I'll go; There chanting many a tuneful fit Safe in the chimney corner fit, And haply on that happy fill, The morn's return fhall find me flill.
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Rhaid i bawb newidio bydy Fe wyr pob ehud
Angall ; Pa waetb marw 0 gariad pury Na marw 0 ddolur
Arall?
The flage of life we all muft leave, And death will yield us eafe ;
As well may love our breath bereave As fome more flow dileafe.
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Gtvna Hafdj clymmedig,
Ac adail 0 goedzvig ;
A thyn y glau ewig i glywed y Gog
A nevoid yn ffyddlon,
Gufanaa 'n gyfonion,
Tan dirion coed irion cadeiricg*
Now the twining arbour rear, Now the verdant feat prepare ; And wooe thy fair and gentle love To hear the Cuckoo in the grove : Thro' the fmiling feafon range, And with faithful lips exchange Mutual kiffes with the maid, Seated in the folding fhade.
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0 ! farglwydd Dduzv cyfon, pa betb fyn eich bryd, A'i dringo pob caugen, o'r bon hyd y brig ? T brigyn fydd uchel ar codwm fydd fawr, Fe geir eich cwmpeini, pan ddeloch i lawr !
Ye Gods ! is it poffible you mould intend, With courage undaunted this tree to afcend ? The branches are lofty, the falling is fore, Your former acquaintance may fee you once more !
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D'accw Lwyn 0 fedw gleijion, Tfaccw'r Llwyn fy'n torri 'ngalon ; Nid am y llwyn yr wy'n ochneidio, Ond am y Ferch a ivelais ynddo !
See where the verdant grove of birches grows, That grove fo fatal to my heart's repofe : Yet not for that I figh in fuch defpair, But for the maid I faw (enamour'd) there.
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Ond ydyiv hyn ryfeddod
Fod dannedd gwraig yn darfod ;
A (bra bo'n eigenau c?jwytb,ni ddeifydd byth mo'i thafod.
A woman's charms will pafs awar, Her eyes grow dim, her teeth decay ; But while fhe breathes the vital gale, 'Tis ftrange her tongue fhould never fail.
Dlofal
3«
N N
LION.
i.
Diofal ydyw V aderyn, KihaUy nifed, ungronun;
Heb ddim gofal yn y byd, ond canu hjdy flwyddyn !
2.
Fefwytty ei fwpper heno
jVa gwyr ym mb'le mae 'i gin'io ;
Dyna V modd y mae *e 'n byw, a gadaw i Dduw arlwyo!
Fe eijledd ar y gangen Gan edrych ar ei aden,
Heb ungein'wg yn ei god, yn llywio bodyn llawen !
I.
Blythe is the bird who wings the plain, Nor fows, nor reaps, a fingle grain ; Whofe only labour is to fing, Thro' Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring.
2.
At night his little meal he finds,
Nor heeds what fare may next betide,
The change of feafons nought he minds, But for his wants lets Heaven provide. 3-
Oft on the Branch he perches gay, Oft on his painted wing looks he,
And, pennylefs, renews his lay, Rejoicing in unbounded glee.
F anwylyd oedd dy ddau lygedyn, Gwn mai arian byw fydd ynddyn ; Yn dy ben y maent yn chwareu Fal y fir ar nofwaith oleu ?
00980300003008000530 00 3O0300C33OO00*
Bu*n edifar fil o weitbiau, O waith ftarad gormod eiriau ; Ni bu erioed mor fath beryglon, 0 waith Jiarad llai na digon*
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Ow f anwylyd, tyrd ar gais, I wrando ar lais
Tr adar, D'accw V llamerch decca erioed, Dan gyfgod Uingoed
Llangar.
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Union natur fy Mun odiaeth, Tw naccau a 'mroi ar unwaith ; Gweiddi heddweh, goddef teimlo, D'wedyd paid a gadael iddo J
O30 3 0300 0030CS39C039O03O0 039003003 SO
Nid oes ymorol fawr am fercb, tfa chwaith am ferch naturiol;
Tmhob lie mae cryf a gwan Am arian yn ymorol f
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Pan baj/io Gwr ei ddeugain oed, Er bod fal coed
Tn deilio ; Fe fydd fwn goriadaur Bedd, Tn $eri i'w wedd
Newidio i
Tebyg ydywW Delyn dyner, I Ferch wen a'i chnawd melujber ; Wrth ei theimlo mewn cyfrinach, E ddaw honno fwynach, fwynach.
O430CJM03MCCMi::3C33j9»:iC3-.3OS>»
0s ei iW coed i dorri givialen, Meddwl fod yn gall fy machgen ; Gwedi ei chael, a myn'd tw nyddu Gwel fod llawer un yn methu.
Ot»X>0»»C011WOa»W»nrmncl»lci0l>BI
F Arglwydd Dduw. pa betb yw byn, Nifedra 'ndfyn
Feddylio ? Lie bo mdb yn fwya '/ ferch, Nifyn un fercb
Mo bono.
Tebyg ydyw Morwyn ferchog I Fachgen drwgyn nhy cymmydog ; Afynnifwydf na fynnaf mono, Ag etto er hynny, marw am dano !
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Mwyn a mwyn, a thra mwyn yw mercb, A mwyn iawn lie rhotho ei ferch ; Lie rho merch ei fercb yn gynta', Dyna gariad byth nid oera.
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Gwae a garia faich o gwrw, Tn eifol ifod yn feddw ; Trymma baich yw hwn o'r beichiau, Baicb ydyw o bechodau !
Flwn yw mam, y cam, o'r celwydd, Mwrdwr, lledrad, ac anlladrwydd; Gwna'r cryf yn wan, a'r gwan yn wannach, Tjfel yn ff6l, a'rfftil ynjf6lach t
E N N
O N.
39
.5* rS l>u mi yn zur cynnes am lloches yn llawn, Fy mqrriu yn fynbzvyrol ragorol a gawn ; Trci 'n ynfyd a vunaethym pan acthymyn 61, Di-rds a di-refwm a pbendrwm a fflol : Fy an^vyl gymdeithion a droefony drych, T rwan m's gwelan' ofgoewan was gwych : Heb un gair 0 gellwa'ir pe i gallent yn rlrwydd, Tnghyfgod rhedynen kzvy '?nguddien' o'm gwydd I
Robin-goch ddaeth at y rhiniog A'i ddwy adenyn anwydog ; Ac fe dd'weudau morr yfmala, Mae hi '« oer fe ddaw yn eira.
O33OO93O03:jO3;:3S339Ci333O33;>G339e33J
A m'tn rhodio ''monwent cglwys. Lie V oedd amryw gyrph yn gorphwys \ T rawn fy nhroed wrth fedd fy 'nwylyd, •Clywn fy nghalon yn iymchwelyd !
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Blin yw daivnfio ar bigau.dur
A blin yw cur y galoh ! BUnacb ydyw colli V Fun
A hithau i bun yn fodlon !
C9<ooo»oaeoc90fo»ooo3ooe3009»eaa9
Derfydd aur, a derfydd arian, Derfydd melfed, derfydd fidan ; Derfydd pob dilledyn belaeth, Etto er hyn, ni dderfydd hiraeth !
09 330090 9 999C0 300030 03OO00 3309909990)
Rhois fy ferch ar fiodau V Dyffryn A rboes hithau 'i ferch ar ryivun ; Fe roes hwnnw 'i ferch ar arall, B'rwi o'r tri ff fwyaf angballf
e«9O59OQ90OC93OO939C999O99OC999O93»
Si an fwyn Sian fain Sian gain Sian gu,
Sian druan hynny heno- ;
Sian beraidd lais
Sian barabl Iwys,
Sian gymmwyi iffii *mgommio :
Ira bo uchel hediad bran
Ni 'llyngai Sian yn ango !
0QP9 39990099009900390991:09900900 3S3t
Mae llawer of a I ar frig Pren,
A melyn donnen iddo, Ni thai y mwydion dan ei groen,
Mo'r cym'ryd poen i'w ddringo / Hwnnw fydd cyn diwedd Ha*
Debycca a ftwra 0 furo.
0 mor gynnes Mynwes
Meinwen, 0 mor fwyn Tw Llwyn
Meillionen ; 0 mor felus yw'r cufanau, Gyda ferch a mwynion eiriau !
O03OO03OO399O939OQ39O90OO09OO309O93*
Tn hen ac yn ieuangc,yn gall ac yn ffdl, Tmerched ffn gzvra, a minnau ar yr 61 ; Pam y mae V meibion i'm gweled mor wael, A minnau cyn laned a merched fy'n cael?
O00g0099O93909300930CS390999C0390939)
Minnau glywais fod yn rhyw-fodd, Tr Byd hwn wyth ran ymadrodd ; Ac i'r Gwragedd anghlod iddynt, Fyn'd a faith o'r wythran rhyngddynt !
O999CS99O99OOt39O0900030Ca99OB09CQC9
Chzverthid mwyalch mezvn celli, Nid ardd, nid erddir iddi ; Nid llawenach neb na hi /
• el000990s9903Q90190009909900690M*fl
Os collais i fy nghariad oratty^ Colli zvnelo V coed eu blodau, Colli* can a wnelo V adar Duzv a gadwo ffrwyth y ddaear.
oosocsogcgggoegoggigeiggcgggcgigtigi
Plwm yw 'mhenyd P'le mae 'mhaunes ? Briw a gofid, Braw a gefais !
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Mentra meinir tyr'd ar f'ol, Di gel ragorol
Gariad f Ni thynaf am ad led y ddis, Ond wyt yn dewis
Dywad !
MigojoooggoasagogggogMOWHtttMif
7* ros y mCr y mae fy nghalon ! T ros y mor y mae fy \hneidion ! Tros y mor y mae f'anzvylyd, Sy'n fy meddwl i bob munyd !
CCa9C330003«O939Q«^^0099O330939QO33S
Darfu'r caru darfu yr cerdded, Darfu i'r Feinir gael bodlondeb ; Darfu i minnau fwrzv'r galar Am bob Jiwrnai a rets yn ofer.
E G L Y N I O N.
4o
N G
N I O N.
Sippias fedd, gwiwfedd gyfon, (go fafwedd)
Gwefitjau melyfion ! Duvv a fwriodd diferion, MU-gafod, hyd dafod hon !
From lips delicious in their bloom
Rich mead I fipp'd that breath 'd perfume,
And kindling rapture drew ! For heaven hath on my fair-one's lip (Which ev^n the bee might love to fip)
Diftill'd ambrofial dew !
(OR)
Rich mead I fipp'd, my heart delighting, From lips delicioully inviting ; Lips, that fuch honied fweets diftill, I ne'er can kifs, and fip my fill !
ENG L YN upon the Greyhound of Prince Llewelyn ap Gruffudd ap Llewelyn*
Claddwyd Cylart c Ifydd, (jmlyniad)
Tmlaenau Efionydd ; Pared ginio i'zv gynydd, TciraiW dyddt yr heliai Hydd !
The remains of fam'd Cylart fo faithful and good The bounds of the cantred conceal ;
Whenever the doe, or the flag he purfued, His mafter was fure of a meal.
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Bydd fwyn Wrth fwyn
Oty /odd, Bydd an fwyn With anfwyn
O'th anfodd ; Nid da'r anfwyn
Er unfodd, Na rhy fwyn
Ond mewn rhyw fodd.
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Bronfraith ber araith bererin, (deilgoed)
A Duwiol-gerdd ddiflm ; Oer foreugwaith arfrigyn Cowirddoeth fydd cerdd o'th fin !
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Gwell mewn bedd gorwedd gwryd, (naws oer)
nag aros mewn drygfyd ; Gwell angau pe im gollyngyd, Gwell oes fer, na gwallus fyd ?
C009CC.COOQ30C 00900390000033003300000
Lie bo cariad brad mewn bron, (yn llechu)
Lloches yr annerchion, Fo drig llufgaid llygaid lion, Llwybr goel lie bo V galon ?
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Ni chdf yr wy'n gldf o glwyfon (fy oer)
Le'i fiarad am Gwenfron Na gyrru ferch, na gair f6n Na'm gwU un o'm gelynion !
Neidiais, a gyrrais heb un gorwydd (danaf,)
If 'el dyna feijlrclrwxdd ! Naid fawr, llizv gwawr yn 'i gwydd, Ar naid dros Aber Nodwydd * !
e»9O03OC630C330 3030O33OO03O 0O00C5M
Tiriondeb d'wyneb, a'm denodd (du elw,)
Dy olwg a'm dalloid, T galon fach, gul iawn fodd Dy degweh di, at dygodd.
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Dy gufan bychan di bechod (digrif)
Fal degryn o wirod \ Medrufaidd medri ofod, Er tuwyn Duw, ar fy nnn dod.
009000399990000909900009009000090909
Aloes gufan im rhan er hwy, {moes fit)
Moes ddwyfil, moes ddeufwy, Moes ugainmil, moes ugainmwy, Moes y ma, am foes imfwy.
000900300000909909390090030900390034)
Moes gufan am ei geifw {imi)
Dan ammod eu rhifo Moes fal hyn im fil heno, Moes, aur grair, rifedi V grd.
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Ar 61 pob man, llan a lie, (a chwrw)
A charu merchede* ; *R 61 rhodioy trciglo pob tre, Teg edrych tuag adre /.
* By Einion to Angharad, when he leapt for her fakt over Aber-Ncdi^JJ*
The
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS O'F THE WELSH.
43
There was lil;c-wifc a C; "Mb Tr.tbani or th-ree-ftringed CrM, which was the ancient-Bafe-Viol, The performers on this inftrument were net held in the fame eftimation and refpedt as the-. Bards of the Harp and Crwb : becaufe the threa-ftringed tnoth did not require equal {Kill, and confequently its power was lefs fenfibly felr. •'The Vlbgorn or Horn Pipe, is fo called, becaufe both extremities are made- of horn, hi blowing the wind pafTes through it, and founds the tongue of a reed concealed within it. It -has feven holes, and meafurcs about 19 inches in length. Its tone is a medium between the Flute and the Clarinet, and is remarkable for its melody. This rural Pipe is peculiar to the IJle of Anglefey, where it is played by the fhepherds, and tends oreatly to ehhanw the innocent delight of paftoral life.
The Tabivrdd, Drum, or Tabret, was ufed either in war, or to accompany other inftruments in concerts, at feftivals, &c. We find indeed in the laws of King Hovjel, that Harps and Voices were principally ufed by the ancient Welfh to infpire courage before a battle. The're is reafon to think, however, that Crwtbs, Pipes, and 'Pabrets, were ufed for the fame purpofe.
The laft, which perhaps fhould have been mentioned before, is the Corn Biulin or Bugle Horn. This inftrument was fomctimes called, Corn Hirlas, Corn O.zveilbas, and Corn Cycbwyn ; names which fighify the Long Blue Horn, The Horn of the Houfhold, and the Marching Horn.. It was made, and received its general appellation, from the horn of the Buffalo, Bugle, or Wild Ox f, an animal formerly common in Wales. In the time of King Howel, it was the office of the mailer of the royal hounds to found his Bugle Horn, in war, for a march, and to give the alarm and fignal of battle. He likewife ufed it in hunting, to animate the hunters and the dogs, and to call the latter together. The matter of the hounds had the fame power of protection within the found of his horn, while he was hunting; as the Chief Bard poffefTed while performing on his Harp. When his oath was required in a court of juftice, he fwore by his horn. By the old Welfh, hunting laws 5 it was decreed, that every perfon carrying a horn was obliged to know the Nine Chaces ; and that if he could not give a proper account concerning them, he mould lofe his horn. There were three Bugle horns belonging to the King : his Drinking Horn, the Horn for calling together the Houfhold, and the Horn of the Matter of the Hounds h.
This 'inftrument had lids occafionally at the ends of it, and was the cup. out of which our anceftors quaffed mead, for which they valued it as much as for its fhrill arid warlike found. The jovial horn was fometimes a fubjedt of the Cambro-Mufe. There is a very fine fpirited poem in tne Rev. Mr. Evans's Spe- cimens of the Welfh Bards, entitled Hirlas Owaiii, compofed by Owain Cyfeiliog, Prince of Pouis ; which is elegantly tranflated in Mr. Pennant's laft Tour in Wales. If I may take the liberty to borrow from it fome lines, it will give my reader fome idea how our famed anceftors ufed to regale themfelves after battle in the days of yore.
«* Fill the Hirlas Horn, my boy, Nor let the tuneful lips be dry
That warble Owain** praife ; Thole walls with warlike fpoils are hung, And open wide his gates are flung
In Cambria's peaceful days.
This hour wc dedicate to joy ; Then fill the Hirlas -Horn, my boy,
That fhineth like the fea ; Whofe azure handle, tipp'd with gold, Invites the grafp of Britons bold,
The fons of liberty.
Fill it higher ftill, and higher, Mead will nobleft deeds infpire. Now the battle's loft and won, Give the horn to Gronzcy's fon ; Put it into Gwgaas hand, Bulwark of his native land,
Guardian of Sabrina's flood,
Who oft has dy'd his fpear in blood.
When they hear their chieftain's voice,
Then his gallant friends rejoice ;
But when to fight he goes, no more
The feftal fhout refounds on Severn's winding Ihore.
Fill the gold- tipp'd horn with fpeed, (We muft drink, it is decreed.) Badge of honour, badge of mirth, That calls the foul of mufic forth I As thou wilt thy life prolong, Fill it with Metheglin ftrong.
Pour out the horn, (though he delire it not) And heave a figh on Morgan s early grave ;
Doom'd in his clay-cold tenement to rot, While we revere the memory of the brave.
* Set the Laws of King Howel.
t Publifhed at the
end of Dr. Davies's Di&ionary. h Howcl's Law?.
Fill
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS OF THE WELSH.
Fill the horn with foaming liquor, Fill it up, my boy, be quicker; Hence away, defpair and forrow ! Time enough to figh to-morrow. Let the brimming goblet fmilc, And Ednyfed's care beguile ; Gallant youth, unus'd to fear, Mafter of the broken fpear, And the arrow- pierced lliield, Brought with honour from the field. Like all hurricane is He, Burfting on the troubled fea. See their fpears diftain'd with gore ! Hear the din of battle roar. Bucklers, fwords, together clalriing, Sparkles from their helmets fiaihing ! Hear ye not their loud alarms ? Hark ! they ftiout — to arms ! to arms !
Thus were Garthen\ plains defended*
Maelor fight began and ended.
There two princes fought^ and there
Was Morach Vorvran 's feaft exehang'd for rout and feat.
Fill the horn : 'tis my delight, When my friends return from fight, Champions 6f their country's glory,
To record each gallant ftory.
To Tnyr's comely offsprings fill,
Foremoft in the battle ftillj
Two blooming youths, in counfel fage,
As heroes of maturer age ;
In peace, and war, alike renown'd ;
Be their brows with garlands crown'd,
Deck'd with glory let them fliine,
The ornament and pride of Tnyr's ancient line !"
I was fortunate in meeting with one of thefe celebrated Horns at Penrhyn near Bangor in Caernarvon/hire, for- merly the feat of the Griffiths. By Initials and a Creft on the Horn, I find that it belonged to Sir Rhys Grujjudd; afterwards to his valiant fon Sir Piers Gruffudd, who was living in 1598. — I made a corrcd: draw- ing of it, which I have caufed to be engraved in the Trophy, where the reader will fee it hanging on the top of the Harp. The original is the moft elegant antique I ever faw : it is tipped with fculptured filver, and decorated with a beautiful filver chain
' Its dimenfions are the following :
The diameter of the femi-circle — 13 J Inches.
The whole line of the femi-circlc — 21 j ditto.
The diameter of the drinking end - 2 i Inches. The diameter of the blowing end rather above \ And contains about half a pint.
•1
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Ffarrvel Ned Puw
Confet Gruffydd ap Cynan?
^rVri,u. li ft 1 KKTDD AV CYUAH, the great Fatroa anrl reformer of the KardsjFlourifhed AH: DOM: HOO.
.Alynediad Cddpen, Afo?'gan
4?
Maeftofo^ •> Heard - - n0-f the
from
z3:
P5
LLoegers ter-.ror, Cymry s fhield,
Hurlech fcpurd the
routed Field.
Wolves, that hear their young ones cry, Tamer on the Spoilers fly : Harvefts,to the flames a prey, Perifh flower ftill than they .
3
Thine, fwift Cykak, thine the race Where the Warrior's line we trace : Brave Tynd aet hwy, boaft to own Hurlech for thy braver Son .
Swift the rapid Eagle's flight, Darting from his airy height: Swifter Hurlech's winged fpe ad When he bade the battle bleed .
6
Strong the Stream of Ogwen deep Thund'ring down his craggy Steep: Stronger Hurlech s matchlefs might, Raging thrd the ranks of fight .
6
Wyddfa's fnows for ages drivn, Melt before the bolts of Heav'n: Blafted fo by Hur lech's Eye Hearts of Heroes melt and die .
7
Stung with terror fly the deer, The Pack's wild uproar burfting near: So, by Hurlech's voice difmay'd, Hofts of Heroes fhrunk and fled.
66
6 6 6 *
wRaife your Harps, your Voices raife, Grateful e'er in Hurlech's praife : Hurlech guards Gwyheddia's Plain, Bloody Hkury thirfts in vain •
9
Louder ftrike,and louder yet, Till the echoing Caves repeat*, "Hurlech guards Gwtheddia's Plain, Bloody Heury thirfts in vain.
10
Hence aloof, from Cymry far Rage, thou Fiend of horrid War; Cymry's Strength in Hurlech's Spear Mocks the Rage that threatens here!
11
Long, too long, a Ruffian Band, Murd'rous Saxons fpoil'd the Land: Hurlech rofe: the Wafte is o'er. Murd'rous Saxoms fpoil no more .
12
LL oeger now fhall feel in turn Cymry's Vengeance too can burn Thirft of Blood, and Thirft of Spoil, On the Plund'rers Heads recoil.
13
Fly the Doves when Kites purfue"! DaftardsJfo we rufh on you: Flight fhall fail, nor Force withftand, Death, and Horror fiU your Land.
I am much indebted to the Rev*. M5 Lawhert ,1'or this animated and faithful tranflation of the Poem bjr Meirion Goch of Eryr i .
48
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The 2*! & tf^ Variation mav be playM to Accompany the Voice
Fair on old Havrehs bankThe modeft violet blooms,&c *ide the fcented air Itsbreathperfumes.
15
^1
» »F red
rea:
intf Orb the clouds arc driven;
Bright fhines the glorious Sun amidftthe Heaven, When from its chearing Orb the clou
i MA frrrjifflp
3
J- j.Jg!
A Formmorebeanteousftill adorriu'the flood, Gmvehdolj;^ f a-tai formLLEWELYN's
^ j r ir*r rii^^
Blcod
55
For Her in Arms oppofed Contending Warriors ftrove *Twas Beauty fircl their Hearts Gwekdole^s Love. On Mokva Rhiudlau1s Plain the Rivals ftood, Till Mokva RhuddlaWs Rain Mas drenclid in Blood: Not all proud LLoeger?s might could Cymry quell, Till foremoft of his Band young Griffith fell.
Gwendolen faw him fall,
And*0 the Maiden cried;
Could Maiden Prayers avail
Thou hadft not died! Diftracted to the Plain Gwehdole* flew, To bathe her Heroes Wounds, hear laft Adieu! Faft o*"er her Heroes Wounds, her Tears Hie flied ButTears alas>l are vain-. his Life was fled
O then for Griffith's Son,
Ye Maids of Cymry mourn,;
For well the Virgins Tear
Becomes his Urn. Nor you, ye Youths, forbid jour Tears to flow, For they fhall beft redrefs.who feel for Woe. Sweet fleeps the lovely Maid wept by the Brave For, ah] fhe died for him fhe could not f ave 1
MORFA RHUDDLAH , or the Red Marfh,on the banks of the CLWYD in FLINTSHIRE, was the fcene of many Battles of the Welfh with the Saxons. At the memorable conflict in 795, the Welfh were unfuccefsful anr! the:- 'onarch CAR ADO C flair..
It is unknown whether this celebrated Time took its name from this or fome later occafion. words now adapted to the
Tune are verfified from a fragment Fublifhed in the Letters from Snowdon. This plaintive flrJ i To predominant in Welfh Mufic, is well adapted to melancholy fubjects . Our Mufic probably received a Fathetic tincture*!.- - our diftrefses under the oppr«fsion of the Saxons
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What.thov no grants of royal donors
With pompons titles grace our blood!
Well fhine in more fubftantial honors, And to be noble well be good.
3 . Our Name, while Virtue thus we tender,
Will fweetly found where-e'er 'tis fpoke:
And all the great ones, they fhall wonder
How they refpect fuch little folk.
Whatthov from fortunes lavifh bounty, No mighty treafures we poffefs ,
We 11 find w ithin our pittance plenty, And be content without excels .
8
be Still fhall each returning feafon Sufficient for our willies give; For we will live a life of re&fon, And that's the only life to live.
6
Through Youth and Age in love excelling, We'll hand in hand together tread;
Sweet-fmiling Peace fhall crown our dwelling, And babes, fweet-fmiling babes, our bed.
7
How fhould I love the pretty creatures , While round my knees they fondly clung;
To fee them look their Mother's features, To hear them lifp their Mother's tongue.
And when with envy time tranfported, Shall think to rob us of our joys;
You 11 in your Girls, again be courted, And I'll go wooing in my Boys .
Tht above beautiful aTdrefs to co Volume of Mifcellaneous Poems
niugal love is a tranflation from the WelTli: and I , uu"(>lifhe<1 b.y 1). David Lewis. 1726. bv/>
believe, was firft printed in :>
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Min-naufvddheb fed-ru coel-i'o, I mi'golL-i ng})ar-iad etTo, I_mi goll — i 'nghar-.iad et-to But my b e at-ing heart %iUfal _ter, Ere it thinks his heart can alter,Ere itthinks his heart can al-ter.
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En-NYFED FycHAH,LOFD of BRYN FFF.UIGL,held rreat yower ft authority inWaIes,in the former part of the XIII*!
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It is a general tradition in CAER-H ARVOH SHIRE , that a Bard of this name lying on his death bed, called for his Harp'T^and performed this plaintive Tune, which he defired fhould be repeated at his Funeral, ever since it has been called by his narre and that of CAKRKG — — WEH ,the houfe where he lived in that county, which ftill remains, whether it was of higher antiquity, or by the dying Bard, is uncertain.
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