Early Welsh Saga Poetry: A Study and Edition of the Englynion

350 Pages·1990·124.73 MB·English

by  Jenny Rowland

EARLY WELSH SAGA POETRY
A Study and Edition of
the Englynion
JENNY ROWLAND
D. S. BREWER
Editorial matter and translation © Jenny Rowland 1990
All Rights Reserved. Except as permitted under current legislation no part of this
work may be photocopied, stored in a retrieval system, published, performed in
public, adapted, broadcast, transmitted, recorded or reproduced in any form or by
any means, without the prior permission of the copyright owner.
CONTENTS
First published 1990 by D. S. Brewer, Cambridge
Part I
D.S. Brewer is an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Ltd
PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3DF
and of Bovdell & Brewer Inc. Acknowledgements ix
1
PO Box 41026, Rochester, NY 14604, USA Introduction
Chapter 1 The Llywarch Hen Poems 77
Appendix: Early Welsh Genealogical Tracts 73
ISBN 0 85991 275 2 Chapter 2 The Urien Rheged Poems 75
Chapter 3 Canu Heledd 120
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data I. The Historical Background 120
[Englynion. English & Welsh]. Early Welsh II. The Poems 141
saga poetry: a study and edition of the
Englynion. Appendix: Edition and Text of Marwnad Cynddylan 174
1. Poetry in English. Englynion, 1600-- Chapter 4 Claf Abercuawg and Penitential Lyrics 190
Anthologies
.1 Rowland, Jenny, 1950- Chapter 5 Miscellaneous Saga Poems and the
891.6'612'08 Performance of the Saga Englynion 229
ISBN 0-85991-275-2 Chapter 6 Other Genres using the Three-line Englyn
276
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Metres
Rowland, Jenny, 1950- Chapter 7 Metrics, Authorship, Language, Dating 305
Early Welsh saga poetry : a study and edition of the englynion /
Jenny Rowland.
p. cm.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-85991-275-2 (alk. paper) Part II Edition and Translation of the Texts
1. Englynion - History and criticism. .2 Welsh poetry - To 1550 -
History and criticism. 3. Englynion - Translations into English
4. English poetry - Translations from Welsh. 5. Englynion. The Manuscripts of the Saga Englynion 393
I. Title.
PB2231.R69 1990 Editorial Note 403
891.6'611-dc19 88-19098
CIP
Texts
CANU LLYWARCH 404
'Gwên and Llywarch' 404; 'Marwnad Gwên' 406; 'Pyll' 408;
This publication is printed on acid-free paper
'Maen' 410; Miscellaneous Stanzas about Llywarch's Sons
411; 'Enwev meibon llywarch hen' 413; 'Gwahodd Llywarch i
Printed in Great Britain by
St Edmundsbury Press, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk Lanfawr' 414; 'Cân yr Henwr' 415
CANU URIEN 419 CANU HELEDD 483
'Unhwch' 419; 'Pen Urien' 420; 'Celain Urien' 422; 'Anoeth' Prologue 483; 'Marwnad Cynddylan' 483; stray verse 484;
423; 'Efrddy|' 423; 'Marwnad Rhun' 423; a stray verse 425; "Stafell Gynddylan' 484; 'Eryr Eli' 486; 'Eryr Pengwern' 486;
'Dwy Blaid' 425; 'Elno' 426; miscellaneous verses 426; 'Egiwysau Basa' 487; 'Y Drefwen' 487; 'Ffreuer' 488;
'Aelwyd Rheged' 427 "Herding' 488; O' n the Courses of Rivers' 489; 'Newid Byd'
489; 'Gorwynion' 489; 'Gyrthmyl' 490; 'Ercal' 490; 'Heledd
CANU HELEDD 429 Hwvedig' 490; 'Gazing' 490; fragment 490; 'Heledd's
Brothers' 491; Epigram 491; 'Hedyn' 491; 'The Boar's Den'
Prologue 429; 'Marwnad Cynddylan' 429; a stray verse 431;
491: 'Caranfael' 492; 'Heledd a'i Brawd Claf' 492; 'Beddau'
'Stafell Gynddylan' 431; 'Eryr Eli' 433; 'Eryr Pengwern' 434;
'Eglwysau Basa' 435; Y' Drefwen' 436; 'Ffreuer' 436; Y' 493; 'Tren' 493; 'Heledd's Sisters' 493; 'Cynddylan and
Bugeiles Lom' 437; 'Afonydd' 438; 'Newid Byd' 438; Cvnwraith' 493; 'Maes Cogwy' 494; 'Llemenig' 494
'Gorwynion' 439; 'Gyrthmyl' 439; 'Ercal' 439; 'Heledd Englynion Cadwallon' 495
Hwyedig' 440; 'Gazing' 440; fragment 440;' Heledd's
Brothers' 440; epigram 441; 'Hedyn' 441; 'Gwal Twrch' 442; "CLAF ABERCUAWG' AND 'KYNTAW GEIR' 497
'Caranfael' 442; 'Heledd a'i Brawd Claf' 443; 'Beddau Maes Claf Abercuawg' 497; 'Kyntaw Geir' 499
Maoddyn' 443; 'Tren' 444; 'Chwiorydd Heledd' 444;
'Cynddylan a Chynwraith' 444; 'Maes Cogwy' 445; MISCELLANEOUS SAGA POEMS 501
'Llemenig' 445 'Llym awel' 501; 'Geraint fab Erbin' 504; 'Gwyn ap Nudd'
'Englynion Cadwallon' 446
506; M' i a wum' 507; 'Taliesin and Ugnach' 507; 'Seithennin'
508; 'Gwallawg' 509; 'Ysgolan' 510; Trystan fragments 510;
'CLAF ABERCUAWG' AND 'KYNTAW GEIR' 448 The Three Juvencus Englynion 510; Miscellaneous verses 511
'Claf Abercuawg' 448; 'Kyntaw Geir' 452
Notes
MISCELLANEOUS SAGA POEMS 454 CANU LLYWARCH 512
'Llym awel' 454; 'Geraint fab Erbin' 457; 'Gwyn ap Nudd' CANU URIEN 549
461; 'Mi a wum' 462; 'Taliesin ac Ugnach' 463; 'Seithennin'
CANU HELEDD 572
464; 'Gwallawg' 465; 'Ysgolan' 465; Trystan fragments 466;
'CLAF ABERCUAWG' AND 'KYNTAW GEIR' 617
The Three Juvencus Englynion 466; Miscellaneous Stanzas
MISCELLANEOUS SAGA POEMS 632
467
Abbreviations 642
Bibliography 646
General Index 6??
Translations
Index to the Textual Notes 6??
CANU LLYWARCH
468
'Gwên and Llywarch' 468; 'Marwnad Gwên' 469; 'Pyll' 470;
'Maen' 471; Miscellanous Stanzas about Llywarch's Sons 472;
'Enwev meibon' 473; 'Gwahodd Llywarch i Lanfawr' 474;
'Cân yr Henwr' 474
CANU URIEN
4 7 7
'Unhwch' 477; 'Pen Urien' 477; 'Celain Urien' 478;
'Difficulty' 479; 'Efrddy!' 479; 'Marwnad Rhun' 480; a stray
verse 480; 'Dwy Blaid' 480; 'Elno' 481; miscellaneous versés
481; 'Aelwyd Rheged' 481
vi
Acknowledgements
This work began as a doctoral dissertation for University College of Wales,
Aberystwyth. It would not have been possible without the uncommonly dedi-
cated supervision of Professor J. E.C erwyn Williams, and his encouragement and
support ever since. I also benefitted greatly from tutorials and discussion with
other members of the Welsh department, in particular Professor R. Geraint Gruf-
fydd and Dr Brynley F. Roberts. Their help, too, did not end with my departure
from Aberystwyth
continued to work on the englynion after coming to University College, Dublin,
and once again had frequent assistance from colleagues. I wouldl ike to thank in
particular Professor Arwyn Watkins, and the members of the MPhil seminar in
Medieval Studies, almost all of whom have kindly answered queries or given
references at some time or other. Special thanks also goes to the Computer Centre
staff for their provision of assistance and hardware in preparing the text. And of
course I am also indebted to many other colleagues in the field of Celtic studies
outside UCD. I would also like to thank the artist, Gareth Lloyd Hughes, and Huw
Ceiriog, Gwasg y Wern, for their permission to reproduce the woodcut on the
cover
With any lengthy and on-going work often the most important aid is on the
personal rather than the purely academic level. My parents have from the earliest
stages been my greatest support, and understanding of my involvement in a
subject whose only drawback is that its pursuit requires long periods away from
them. Marged Haycock from the beginning has fulfilled the role both of most
important colleague and friend. Iowe much to discussions with her over the years,
her hospitality and friendship, and the zest of her approach to scholarship. Finally,
to Arnaud I can only say: meep.
Without all this assistance this work would have been farp oorer, but I am solely
responsible for all errors and omissions
Introduction
Lyric poems in character are among the literary remains from the early Middle
Ages which still have the power to move both expert and layman. The so-called Old
English elegies are second onlyt o Beowulf ni their appeal and the scholarly interest
they have evoked. The study of Latin lyrics of the early period, long neglected in
favour of the vernacular, has been given new impetus by the recognition that they
are to some extent the precursors of later vernacular poetry and mirrors of the
largely lost vernacular literature of the time. It is increasingly clear that the sharp
divide once seen between Latin and vernacular is primarily a modern creation, and
that progress in our understanding and appreciation of early literatured epends on
approaching the subject as a whole. And just as linguistic boundaries can be
validly ignored in the comparison of vernacular and Latin poetry, so too can
cultural boundaries- indeed, it is often imperative to examine all available sources
given the limited material available from the earlier periods. The importance of
earlyW elsh and Irish poetry particularly for Old English has moved from af anciful
hypothesis to a well-argued scholarly theory in this century. 'One of the largest and
most important bodies oflyric poetry is the Welsh saga englynion, but it is one often
known only sketchily to medievalists who are not also Celticists, and the second-
ary critical material available is also very limited. The main purpose of this study is
to provide a new edition of the main body of saga englynion and a detailed critical
analysis of the poems. Wherever possible the comparative approach has been
followed, placing the englynion in the wider context of early medieval literature. A
secondary aim has been to make the entire body available and comprehensible to
non-Celticists, in the hope that this will be of benefit to their own disciplines, and
eventually that other disciplines will enrich the all-too-often isolated study of
Welsh literature.
The englyn is the only early stanzaic metre in Welsh, and is still in vogue in Wales
albeit in a much developed form. The origins of the metre cannot be traced, but it is
thought to have been in existence by the eighth century at the latest. The main
period of floruit for the three-line types is the ninth and tenth centuries; by the
eleventh century the higher classes of poets, the bards, had adopted four-line
variants of the earlier types, and the three-line types were used only by lesser, more
popular poets. The englyn is used for aw ide range of subjects in the early period:
1 Many of the studies of the interchange between Celt or Saxon, or simply comparison of the
literature of two cultures at a similar time and state o f development are referred to throughout
this work, and particularly in chapter 4.
2 For a study of the form and its history in Welsh literature see R.M.Jones, 'Inglyn ' r
Englyn', YB 12 (1982), pp. 250-93
INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION
religious verse, gnomic poetry, prophecy, and antiquarian works. The main bardic the saga englynion to have indications of earlier copies extending back close to the
genre, praise poetry, is not attested for the early period (unlike later), but this is time of composition and an exceptional number (for Welsh) of medieval and
most probably an accident of survival. But by far the most extensive and important post-medieval copies of the major texts.' The comparative richness of surviving
body of englynion poetry are the lyric poems in character termed 'englynion chwed- manuscripts no doubt attests to the popularity and importance of the genre.
lonol' or 'saga englynion'.
As the name implies these poems in character offer strong clues to a story back-
ground for their characters' lyric reflections. To what extent they were accom-
panied by or included in a prose narrative recital is still a point for debate. The Previous Editions, Translations and Scholarship
poems are not accompanied by any prose in the manuscripts, and titles and poem
divisions are rare. For the longer poems and poems in cycles it is possible to Most of the saga englynion were first published in 1792 by William Owen, 5T he
reconstruct broadly the stories behind the poems, and this has been a major aspect Heroic Elegies and Other Pieces of Llywars Hen, Prince of the Cumbrian Britons. The
of the analysis. A narrative background has been assumed throughout, although work includes an unsound text compiled from the copies of the London Cymmro-
the question of the exact relationship of the narrative to the poetry has been dorion rather than the medieval manuscripts, a complete translation, a romantic
deliberately leftopen, to be resolved as far as possible by the evidence of the poetry introduction on the British bards imbued with the druidic notions of lolo Mor-
itself rather than theories about prose-verse narrative. The characters in whose gannwg, as well as a 'biography' of Llywarch Hen drawn from the evidence of the
mouths the poems are placed are nearly all historical figures from the sixth and poetry by Richard Thomas. As the title reveals at the time Llywarch was believed to
seventhcenturies, or placed in the milieu of known historical figures. Their stories, be the composer of the englynion, not a character in some of the verse, and since
as far as can be detected, are pseudo-historical and realistic., In both dramatis historical figures named range from Arthur in the fifth century to Cynddylan in the
personae and subject matter they contrast markedly with the well-known medieval seventh he was seen to have richly merited his epithet 'the Old'! Both text and
Welsh tales collected in The Mabinogion. translation date from the infancy of Welsh scholarship and have far more to offer
The poetry is truly lyric, with the main interest lying not so much on the events of the literary historian than the modern editor.
the story, but on their characters' reaction, often a highly emotional reaction, to The texts of the Red Book of Hergest englynion and Black Book of Carmarthen
them. Love lyrics are not found. The most typical poems are laments, for the dead, poems in The Myvyrian Archaiology of Wales printed in 1801-7 are basically from
the passing of former society, and the character's wretched fate. The mood is the same sources used by William Owen Pughe, and are little improved. The
generally somber, and it is usually these poems which were cited as evidence by Myvyrian was reprinted in 1870, and was for many years the only readily available
the 'Celtic twilight' school of criticism. The narratives suggest conflict rather than text of early Welsh poetry W. .F Skene's The Four Ancient Books of Wales, 1868,
the inherently depressive nature of the Celt is at the root of the sorrow of this returned to the medieval manuscripts, and despite many inaccuracies is far su-
poetry, with the narrators unable to find resolution to insoluble problems and thus perior to the Myvyrian, but Skene's translations were commissioned from Welsh
endlessly suffering. It has been suggested with some reason that the sorry political clergymen of his day with no training in the older language and are best avoided.?
state of Wales in the eighth and ninth centuries inspired this poetry, but it is also For the texts of the two main medieval manuscripts J. Gwenogvryn Evans's diplo-
true that the narrative character of the poetry allows the poets to explore themes maticeditions, The Black Book of Carmarthen (1906) and The Poetry in the Red Book of
closed to them in panegyric, such as the limits of the heroic code, the conflict of Hergest (1911), are still invaluable.
family and political ties, and the opposing pulls of the religious life vs. the secular, Modern Welsh scholarship begins with the works of Sir John Rhys and Sir John
to which they provide no easy answers.T he thematic concerns of more overtly Morris-Jones, but ti was their pupil, Sir Ifor Williams, to whom we are most
narrative Old English poetry provide many clues to interpretation, as do the
overtly didactic elements in the Old English lyrics.
The dating, however rough, offers unusual certainty in the field of early Welsh * The manuscript sources of the saga englynion and other types are discussed at the begin-
ning of Part II.
poetry. Only a handful of verses survive in written form from the Old Welsh
5 He later added the additional surname Pughe.
period, and most of the englynion,a lthough presumed to be Old Welsh composi- 6 MA, ed. Owen Jones, et al. (Denbigh, 1870). It is still the only published source for some of
tions, are found in Middle Welsh guise in later manuscripts. We are fortunate with the poetry of the Gogynfeirdd.
7 However, The Four Ancient Books gives no variants from other manuscripts, as did the
Myvyrian Archaiology, although these are not very reliable.
&In fact, in references in this work to the two mss, BBC and RB, it is not usually necessary to
3 There are twelve three-line englynion in a tenth-century hand in the Juvencus manuscript, distinguish between the manuscript itself and the diplomatic edition, although not all of the
three of them saga type, and one possible four-line englyn in the a late eleventh-century Red Book has been published. The same holds true for his diplomatic edition of theB ook of
manuscript, Corpus Christi College Cambridge Ms. 199. The Juvencus enslunion are dis- Taliesin [BT], Peniarth 2. However, the somewhat later and standard diplomatic edition of
cussed in chapters 5 and 6. On the other verse see Ifor Williams, 'An Old Welsh Verse', Llawysgrif Hendregadredd [H], N.L.W. Ms. 6680, by John Morris-Jones and T. H. Parry-
reprinted in The Beginnings of Welsh Poetry (BWP], ed. Rachel Bromwich (Cardiff, 1972), Williams (Caerdydd, 1933), is referred to in this work rather than Evans's Poetry of the
chapter X, pp. 181-9. Medieval Welsh Bards.
2
INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION
indebted for editions and elucidations of the early poetry of Wales, the hengerdd. usual interpretations. The book is to be commended despite shortcomings for
Real understanding of the saga englynion began with his Rhys Lecture of 1932, 'The presenting an entire cycle to a wider public. My criticism of Ford, from basic
Poems of Llywarch Hen'.? In it, he demonstrated that the poems were not the work principles to quibbles of translation, has been given full place in the discussion
of Llywarch Hen, as previously supposed, but poems concerning him and other and notes to the poems, reflecting its importance as the one presentation of a
characters. He proposed the theory that the poems are the remains of a prose-verse unified body of saga englynion to English-speaking audiences. 20
saga, and began the work of separating cycles and poems and reconstructing the The edition of Eurys Rolant,?' again only of the poems relating to Llywarch,
narrative background. The lecture was closely followed by an edition of the greater receives little mention in the following pages because his basic approach is at such
portion of the saga poems, Canu Llywarch Hen, which has an extensive introduc- agreat variance with modern scholarship as to make criticism of individual points
tion discussing in more detail the main points of his Rhys lecture. I Various topics a fruitless task. His work consists of a text with full textual apparatus and a facing
concerning the englynion were returned to in the course of his long and fruitful emended text inm odernized orthography. Each poem is followed by textual notes,
career, with a lengthy discussion again undertaken in 1943 in his Lectures on Early offering some rather disjointed clues to Rolant's overall interpretation of the poem
Welsh Poetry." as well as purely textual information. The introduction is insufficient to support
It is a tribute to for Williams's work that there was no other full edition of these the sometimes radical reinterpretations he suggests. These interpretations, at any
poems until 1982, and most of the critical works about the englyn are heavily rate, depend on a heavily emended text. Rolant rejects the principle of leaving a text
dependent not only on his text, but also his opinions. English translations are on as ti is if sense can be made of it in favour of emending to improve the poetry, as he
the whole popular rather than scholarly, and concentrate on certain texts. Scholarly puts it. This editorial procedure is bound to be highly subjective, as is confirmed
translations of selected texts are available by Kenneth Jackson, Studies in Early by his rather presumptuous statement that in his emended text the verse is once
Celtic Nature Poetry?, P. .L Henry, The Early English and Celtic Lyric™, and Gwyn again restored to the status of great poetry (p. 16). Only very rarely, then, is there
Thomas, Y Traddodiad Barddo!!* (into modern Welsh). The readily accessible trans- anything in his notes which recommends itself to those following stricter schools
lations by Anthony ConranS and Joseph Clancy are generally accurate, although of textual criticism.
Conran tends to omit stanzas without notice. A similar selection of the major Canu Llywarch Hen did not include the non-cyclical saga englynion from the Black
poems translated into modern Welsh can be found in YrA elwyd Hon. 71 Glyn Jones Book of Carmarthen, although they are cited in the introduction as being of the
and T. J. Morgan in The Saga of Llywarch the Old'® attempt to recreate a prose setting same type. All by now have been edited piecemeal, most fairly recently. These
for the main poems of the Llywarch cycle, following Ifor Williams's reconstruction. poems are included in this book for convenience of reference and purposes of
It was written as a work of popularization, originally for a radio production. comparison, but it has not been deemed necessary to re-edit them both because the
P. K. Ford's The Poetry of Llywarch Hen' is the first work to present an entire cycle editions are so recent and because most fall into a class which is more antiquarian
to a scholarly English audience. His work is not an edition: it consists of a lengthy than saga (as argued in chapter 5). In addition, all the Black Book poems are edited
introduction, the text in modernized orthography, a full translation, and some by A. O. H. Jarman in his Llyfr Du Caerfyrddin.?? This useful book falls somewhat
textual notes and manuscript variants. The introduction seeks to place the poetry short of a complete edition: the texts are arranged in lines and cautiously emended,
in its Welsh and Celtic literary tradition. Ford, however, is alone among modern but the notes are mainly paleographical. A full glossary, however, to some extent
critics in denying any sort of narrative framework for the poems, seeking rather to compensates for the brevity of the notes. The introduction is more bibliographical
force all the verse into other genres. This approach among other things makes the than analytic. Llyfr Du Caerfyrddin, however, is a convenient reference work which
poetry far less comprehensible. The translation claims to be 'reasonably literal', further obviates the necessity for extensive editorial work on the Black Book en-
but has several inaccuracies, and sometimes seems to be deliberately distant from glynion.
* PBA 18 (1932), pp. 269-302; reprinted BWP, chapter VIII. All further references are to the
later edition.
01 CLIH, (Caerdydd, 1935); reprinted with minor changes in 1953; all references are to this
second edition.
" LEWP, (Dublin, 1944); reprinted in 1970.
21 ECNP (Cambridge, 1935).
31 EECL (London, 1966). 02 More recent translations are to be found by Ford of some of the englyn poems in Sources and
1 (Caerdydd, 1976). Analogues of Old English Poetry II, Daniel G. Calder, et al. (Cambridge, 1983). Since the
51 The Penguin Book of Welsh Verse, 1967. approach is more fragmentary and not connected with an edition I have not noted below
61 The Earliest Welsh Poetry (London, 1970). changes made from his The Poetry of Llywarch Hen.
71 Ed. Gwyn Thomas (Llandybie, 1970). 12 Llywarch Hen ai ' Feibion (Aberystwyth, 1984).
81 (London, 1955). 2 LIDC (Caerdydd, 1982).
91 (Berkeley, 1974). 32 A' Study of the Saga Englynion, with an Edition of the Major Texts'.
5
INTRODUCTION
My own edition, first submitted as a PhD thesis to the University of Wales in 198223
and revised here, concentrates on the poems previously edited in Canu Llywarch
Hen. I have been able to benefit from Welsh scholarship in the intervening period,
most notably the publication of Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru? and editions of many
important medieval Welsh texts available only in manuscript to Ifor Williams. As
in Canu Llywarch Hen, the basic text of the cyclical poems is taken from the Red 1
Book of Hergest [RB], with important variants from two late copies of a now lost
portion of the White Book of Rhydderch [WB]. However, this edition also uses The Llywarch Hen Poems
manuscript variants from two further late copies of texts of unknown provenance
but great value made by Dr John Davies, Mallwyd, which were not known to Ifor
Williams.25 On the whole, it has been assumed that the textual notes will be pri-
marily of interest to Welsh scholars, for whom Canu Llywarch Hen is a classic not to The poems which are centred around the character of Llywarch Hen are among the
best-known of the saga englynion and include poems which have been extensively
be superseded. I have therefore not repeated in any details arguments of Ifor
studied. The better-known poems of the cycle are often taken as prototypes of the
Williams where there are no points of disagreement or need for updating. On the
sottuhedre nhtasn da,n dt heth eonsgel ywniiothn apree rhamaposn ga tlhiem ietaesdi esktn oofw tlheed ghee nogfe rdmae, dsioe tvoa l enWceolusrha gteo menitsirleea cdoinrpgu. sI onf assa gmau ecnhg laysn tihone. m Tahteisr iias lt or eas ceemrtbaliens e xottheenrt vcyaclildes,, butht ias tc tihmapetse rit cwanill baet
times look ahead to discussion of other works in revealing the themes, techniques,
grapple with the original text I have included references on fairly basic points of
grammar and vocabulary. and major characteristics of the saga englynion. The Llywarch cycle, however,
For those with no knowledge of Welsh there are full translations. Inevitably presents many unique features. His saga was popular for an exceptionally long
period and accrued to itself much additional matter. The various stages of compo-
more than one valid English translation could be made for many lines, and those
sition and the intent of the various authors must be carefully distinguished. A-l
with any competence at all in Welsh would be advised to check the notes. Despite
the fact that it makes the poetry somewhat more difficult, I have tended to err on the though the greater part of the poems in the cycle are typical of saga englynion,
examples of nearly every type of genre which used the englyn metres can be found
side of caution and literalness. Since this work could form the basis for further
among the material connected with Llywarch Hen.
comparative study every attempt has been made not to mislead. The notes often
Urien and Cynddylan, the other two central figureso f surviving englync ycles,
give tentative translations for more dubious lines, or loose translations and
were major leaders of their time. In comparison, Llywarch is a more shadowy
paraphrases. tI is hoped that having all the texts available in one source along with
figure. Considering the sparseness of early historical records, however, this is not
explanatory chapter discussions will outweigh the age-old problems of transla-
surprising. He does appear in most of the genealogical tracts dealing with the men
tion.
Thep oints raised in the chapters are deliberately broad-reaching because there of North Britain as:
has been so little critical analysis. Most previouss tudies, too, have concentrated on Llywarch hen m. Elidyr Lydanwyn m. Meirchawn m. Gorust ledlum m.
certain poems or cycles, and conclusions based ont hese are often misleading when Keneu m. Coel.'
applied to the englynion as a whole. In addition, all the genres of poetry using the
There are suggestions in the poetry that he may have ruled over am inor kingdom
early englyn metres have been studied (although not included in the edition), and
('Maen'2c), but this is nowhere named.? Although in the genealogies he is among
these lesser-known works often have a good deal of light to shed on the better-
the sixth-century Gwyr y Gogledd, his story is set mainly in Wales, particularly
known saga poems. Powys, and so it is generally accepted that Llywarch si an example of a northern
figure whose story was later relocated in Wales.' The link made between Lly-
warch's story and that of his cousin, Urien, places him more firmly in the sixth-
century historical milieu,a lthough it is unlikely that any but the vaguesto f histo-
1F or all the early genealogies see P. .C Bartrum, Early Welsh Genealogical Tracts [EWGT]
(Cardiff, 1966). A brief survey of the main tracts and their importance as evidence for history
and tradition si given as na appendix to this chapter. The version of Llywarch's descent
42 GPC, from 1950 to xxxiv in 1985. quoted above comes from Bonedd Gwyr y Gogledd [BGG).
52 The manuscript sources of the englynion and editorial procedure are discussed in more For the late tradition of Llywarch as King of Bohemias ee below.
3 Cf. RachelB romwich, Trioedd Ynys Prydein 2nd edn (TYP] (Cardiff, 1978), p. 431.
detail at the beginning of the edition of the texts in Part II.
EARLY WELSH SAGA POETRY THE LLYWARCH HEN POEMS
rical traditions are preserved about him. Llywarch has been held to be the narrator universally depicted as brave and glorious, but the cycle concentrates on the sorry
of the Urien cycle of poems which would put him much more in the mainstream of figure of Llywarch. It is also striking that no long poem survives concerning Dwg,
northern traditions, but below and in chapter 2 it is argued forcibly that he is not. the son through whom Merfyn's line is traced. Two verses are included in the
Only one poem definitely in his cycle is connected with North Britain, 'Gwahodd miscellaneous verses cataloguing the sons which could be the remnant of a longer
Llywarch i Lanfawr' (CLIH V), but Urien is alluded to elsewhere. marwnad to him.* But even if such a marwnad existed it is obvious that Dwg did not
Patrick Ford, however, argues that Llywarch Hen is a figure created by the family play the second lead to Llywarch in the saga - that clearly belongs to his last son,
of Merfyn Frych for the dynastic purpose of linking their line with the heroes of Gwên. The central episode is Gwên'sc hallenge to his father, followed by his death
North Britain, particularly Urien, and that the poetry was composed with the sole which opens Llywarch's eyes to the nature of his mistakes. The versest o the other
purpose of providing 'documentary' evidence for this ancestor-figure.' Although sons are less essential, and as seen below may be accretions.
it cannot be proved beyond doubt that Llywarch was a historical figure, Ford's Because Ford sees the englynion concerning Llywarch as primarily an exercise to
reasons for believing his existence was invented or that the cycle arose to glorify establish a character created to reinforce the legitimacy of Merfyn Frych's line, he
Merfyn Frych's dynasty can be shown to be unconvincing. The genealogical link dismisses the theory that the Llywarch englynion are built around a story and
with Llywarch made through Dwg to Merfyn Frych is a dubious one, but it may attempts to force the material into the categories of traditional panegyrics,
well be late, post-dating the main composition of the cycle. If there is a fictional marwnadau, and poetry incorporating antiquarian lore.' Whatever the merits of the
character created to forge a link between Merfyn and the heroes of North Britain it supposition of political intervention in the development of the verse, this exten-
is more likely to be Dwg m. Llywarch (or a slightly later figure) than Llywarch sion of Ford's theory does great injustice to the evidence of the texts themselves
himself. Few genealogies of northern figures are carried beyond the generation of and leads to a good deal of misinterpretation and obfuscation. As noted in the
Llywarch. It would therefore be far easier to gain acceptance for al ater figure as a Introduction it is preferable to leave the question of to what extent if any the
descendant of Llywarch than to attempt to create a new character ni one of them ost englynion are the remains of a prose-verse saga until the evidence of the poetry as a
glorious periods of Welsh history and legend. These links appear to belong to the whole can be re-examined. This study includes other genres using the englyn
period of codifying and expanding the role of Llywarch's sons which as shall be metres which despite their many similarities show clear distinctions from the saga
seen below is far later than the genesis of his saga. corpus. It is therefore worthwhile to look briefly at Ford's attempts at reclassifica-
Ford's view of the origin and nature of the poetry is a radical departure from tion as a means toward a preliminary definition of the basic characteristics of what
generally accepted scholarship, but it is far from convincing. Rather than glorify- is here termed saga englynion, or englynion chwedlonol.
ing Llywarch, for Williams saw the poetry as possibly embarrassing to the Ford is correct in distinguishing an antiquarian element in the cycle about
dynasty of Merfyn, a point developed by N.J. A. Williams. The argument that Llywarch as found in the manuscripts. The poems listing the names of the sons
Merfyn's line disapproved of the cycle is just as theoretical as that which holds that
(CLIH 1.40-8; VIII.1-12), along with the beddau stanzas interspersed with these
they fostered it.? Nevertheless, Canu Llywarch does not give the impression of and occasionally interpolated in the longer poems are definitely antiquarian in
being the type of poetry one would expect if its chief purpose was to create an character. This lore, however, is not am ajor element in the cycle,a nd there is strong
honourable ancestor-figure for the new Gwynedd kings. It is true that his sons are evidence that much of it post-dates the main poems of the cycle. It would seem to
represent the work of codifiers eager to put the basic pseudo-historical documen-
tation in mnemonic form.
The marwnadau to Llywarch's sons in many ways do resemble traditional bardic
1 See Poetry, particularly pp. 24-32, and 'Llywarch, Ancestor of Welsh Princes', Speculum 45 marwnadau and eulogies. But there are important differences which distinguish
(1970), pp. 442-50. Thisp ossible involvement of the family of Merfyn Frych in the trans- these poems and require for them separate classification and analysis. The first and
mission of the poetry was first raised much less dogmatically by Nora Chadwick, 'Early most important distinction is that these marwnadau are poems in character. The
Culture and Learning in North Wales', Studies in the Early British Church [SEBC], ed. Nora K. first-person narrator is a figure other than a professional poet. The second is that
Chadwick (Cambridge, 1958), pp. 81-2; 86-90. It i s also espoused by D.P. Kirby, British the situation, and particularly the situation of the narrator figure, si usually
DynasticHistory in the Pre-Viking Period', BBCS27 (1976), pp. 102, 110, and Rolant, Llywarch
Hen a' Feibion, pp. 8-9. Neither Rolant nor Kirby, however, believe Llywarch was a created stressed. In 'Marwnad Gwên' we are told how Gwên m e th is death, and the history
figure. in passing of his twenty-three brothers. The effect on the narrator, Llywarch, is
§F ord's arguments are countered more fully in A' Study of the Saga Englynion', Vol. I, pp. pointed, and goes beyond conventional bardic expressions of grief which are
82-90, and I do not propose to rehearse the arguments in detail again here. couched in national as well as in personal terms. The specificsituation in which the
6 CLIH, p. Ixxiv, and 'Llywarch Hen and the Finn Cycle', Astudiaethau ar yr Hengerdd [AH],
ed. Rachel Bromwich and R. Brinley Jones (Cardiff, 1978), pp. 263-5.
N.J. A. Williams's theory raises grave problems of chronology and ignores the fairly vigor-
ous later development of the cycle. His view of the disjointedness of the story is also § The narrator may not be Llywarch, however, suggesting the verses are additions from a
overstated. The important role of this family in the transmission and preservation of nor- different source; see below and the notes to CLI 46, 47.
thern poetry has been often been argued, but the theory is in need of serious reassess- 9 Ford, Poetry, pp. 55-62.
ment. 01 Verses describing the burial places of a hero or heroes. See further chapter 5.
8