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 GIFT OF 
 
A MANUAL OF 
 WELSH LITERATURE 
 
A MANUAL OF 
 
 WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 Containing a Brief Survey of the Works 
 
 of the Chief Bards and Prose Writers 
 
 from the Sixth Century to the end of 
 
 the Eighteenth 
 
 BY THE 
 
 REV. J. C. MORRICE, M.A. 
 
 BANGOR 
 
 
 BANGOR 
 JARVIS & FOSTER 
 
 MCMIX 
 
-á 
 
 
 
 1 • • 
 
 »B • • . • 
 
 
 Jakvis & Foster, Bangor, North Wales 
 

 TO 
 
 PRINCIPAL SIR HARRY REICHEL, M.A., LL.D. 
 
 SOMETIME FELLOW OF ALL SOUI.s', OXFORD 
 
 FELLOW OF JESUS COLLEGE, OXFORD 
 WHO HAS GUIDED THE DESTINIES OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF NORTH WALES 
 
 WITH SUCH DISTINGUISHED SUCCESS 
 
 FOR A QUARTER OF A CENTURY 
 
 THE AUTHOR, AN OLD STUDENT, RESPECTFULLY 
 
 BEGS TO DEDICATE THIS BOOK 
 
 ooUloo 
 
PREFACE 
 
 This little book was undertaken at the request of many 
 who urged that there was no Handbook of Welsh Litera- 
 ature, at a popular price, which could be used by those 
 who wished to make a general acquaintance with the 
 subject, when time and opportunities prevented their 
 undertaking a more detailed study. 
 
 It is also written with the hope that Welsh boys and 
 girls in the Higher Forms of our Intermediate Schools, 
 and Junior Students at the University Colleges, may have 
 within their reach a general outline of the Literature of 
 Wales, before they engage in the closer study required by 
 the higher examinations of the University of Wales. 
 
 The writer experienced the need of such a work in the 
 early part of his own career, when a Welsh library was 
 difficult of access, and books in which the treasures of our 
 literature were locked were not procurable, even when a 
 slender purse could supply the wherewithal. 
 
 The following works have been freely consulted in its 
 
viii A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 preparation : Skene's Four Ancient Books of Wa/es, 
 Stephens's Literature of the Kymry, The Myvyrian Archai- 
 ology, Gweirydd ap Rhys's Hanes Llenyddiaeth Gymreig, 
 Charles Ashton's Hanes Llenyddiaeth Gymreig, Wilkins's 
 History of the Literattire of Wales, the volumes of Reprints 
 issued by the Guild of Graduates of the University of 
 Wales, CeinioŶi Llenyddiaeth Cymru, Llyfryddiaeth y Cymry, 
 Emvogion y Ffydd, the Greal, the Geninen, the Traeth- 
 odydd, Williams's Emi?ient Welshmen, Dictionary of 
 National Biography, Gwallter Mechain's works, and 
 several works issued by the Cymmrodorion Society. Many 
 MSS. at Cardiff and the British Museum have also 
 supplied valuable information. 
 
 I am proud to acknowledge a special debt to Professor 
 John Morris Jones, one that is far deeper than any I could 
 have contracted by the mere use of his writings, great as 
 that is. For three years I was privileged to enjoy his 
 lectures on the Welsh language and its literature at the 
 University College of North Wales, and ever since cordial 
 personal intercourse with Professor Jones has been an 
 unfailing source of stimulus and enlightenment. I regret 
 that this little work is not a worthier tribute to his teaching 
 and influence. 
 
 It is also my pleasant duty to express my special 
 gratitude to the Rev. T. Shankland, the Welsh Librarian 
 of the University College of North Wales, who has done 
 
PREFACE ix 
 
 me the favour to read the work in proof, and has made 
 many valuable corrections and additions in the dates, 
 titles, and biographies of this little work, the results of his 
 own researches in Welsh Bibliography. 
 
 Some of the matter was delivered in the form of lectures 
 by the writer at the University College of South Wales 
 and Monmouthshire, 1902-3. 
 
 J. C. MORRICE. 
 
 Bangor, 1909. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGES 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE BARDS OF THE SIXTH CENTURY, . . .1-5 
 
 CHAPTER n 
 
 WELSH POETRY FROM I080 TO 1200, . . . . . 6-I3 
 
 CHAPTER HI 
 
 THE BARDS OF LLEWELYN AB IORWERTH's REIGN, . . I4-24 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 MEDIEVAL WELSH PROSE, . . . . , 25-32 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 THE BARDS OF LLEWELYN AB GRUFFUDD's REIGN, . . 33-4O 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 FROM THE DEATH OF LLEWELYN TO THE MIDDLE OF THE 
 
 FOURTEENTH CENTURY, ..... 4I-47 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 GRUFFUDD AB MF.REDYDD AB DAFYDD — DAFYDD AB GWILYM, 48-61 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THE BARDS OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY — I., . . 62-79 
 
 xi 
 
xii A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 PAGES 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 THE BARDS OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY — II., . 80-93 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 THE SIXTKENTH-CENTURY BARDS — I.,. . . 94-117 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 THE SIXTEENTH-CENTURY BARDS — II., . . II8-I25 
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 PROSE WRITERS OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY, . I26-I44 
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 PROSE AND VERSE WRITERS OF THE SEVENTEENTH 
 
 CENTURY, ...... I45'7I 
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 HUW MORUS AND EDWARD MORUS, . . . 172-18S 
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 THE CHIEF PROSK WRITERS OF THE EIGHTEENTH 
 
 CENTURY, ...... 186-210 
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 THE BARDS OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY— 1., 
 
 GORONWY OWEN, ..... 211-226 
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 THB BARDS OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY— II., . 227234 
 
 INDEX, .....•• 235-242 
 
•. ' ',• 
 
 A MANUAL OF WELSH 
 LITERATURE 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE BARDS OF THE SIXTH CENTURY 
 
 C^SAR, Strabo, Diodorus Siculus and other writers affirm 
 that the Britons had bards who composed and sang poetry 
 at the very early period in which they lived; and, such 
 being the case, there seems no reason to doubt that some 
 fragments of our literature have been handed down to us 
 from the sixth century, as has been claimed, and that such 
 well-known names as Aneurin, Taliesin, Llywarch Hen, 
 and Myrddin, together with others not so well known, 
 Kian, Talhaearn, Meugant, and Kywryd, were not the 
 myths that some would have us suppose, but really 
 flourished at the period assigned to them. Care must be 
 taken, however, not to accept as authentic all the writings 
 attributed to these bards. Much, if not most, of the poetry 
 that bears their name is undoubtedly spurious and of much 
 later date, but there are sometimes whole poems, and at 
 other times fragments of poems, which bear marks of 
 undoubted antiquity, and can be reasonably supposed to 
 be as genuine as the works of some prose writers of that 
 far-off time. 
 
 A 
 
2 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 The works of later bards — for example, those of the 
 twelfth century — who eulogised their work and sometimes 
 quoted them, show how firmly the sixth-century bards had 
 fixed themselves in the imagination of their countrymen ; 
 and work which had bridged the intervening centuries, with 
 all their troubled history, must have been of some merit. 
 
 Of these early bards, the first in order of importance is 
 Aneurin, a name which a modern scholar has identified 
 with the Roman name Honorinus. Aneurin was a Briton 
 of Manau Gododin, a part of Strathclyde, and his reputa- 
 tion rests mainly upon his great poem the ' Gododin,' which 
 relates an expedition of the Britons against a place named 
 Cattraeth, where they sustained a crushing reverse, partly 
 accounted for, according to the poet's own showing, by 
 their drunken dissipation on the night previous to the 
 battle. Aneurin himself either actively participated in this 
 battle, or was an interested spectator, for his narrative is 
 that of an eye-wátness, and he suffered personally from the 
 reverse by being cast into prison. The * Gododin ' is in 
 verse partly lyric and partly heroic, and is of historical 
 interest rather than poetic. It is the unadorned story of a 
 warrior rather than the polished production of a poet. It 
 contains passages of rugged strength such as one would 
 expect from the pen of a warrior, but when he describes 
 Nature he has occasional touches of delicate beauty. 
 
 Taliesin has been ranked with Aneurin by some 
 writers, but he has no work that will compare in merit 
 with the 'Gododin,' and more spurious poems bear his 
 name than that of any other early bard except Myrddin. 
 The Book of Taliesin is probably a collection of the poems 
 of various bards of the early fourteenth century, who loved 
 the protecting shelter of a great name. .Some passages in 
 the Gorchanau, however, appear to be modifications of 
 
THE BARDS OF THE SIXTH CENTURY 3 
 
 something much older, and some of the historical poems 
 contain allusions to events prior to 600 a.d. — for example, 
 those referring to Arthur Wledig, and to the earlier 
 mythical Gwydion ap Don. Assuming the genuineness of 
 some of these, Taliesin appears to have been a skilful 
 composer, and there are some striking passages in which 
 the imagery is both clear and bold. The ode on the battle 
 of Argoed Lhvyvain is said to be a genuine poem. It 
 narrates the fight between Urien Rheged and Ida, King of 
 Northumbria, who is called Fflamddwyn in the poem. 
 Rheged is the modern Cumberland. Of the seventy-seven 
 poems attributed to Taliesin, twelve are considered to 
 belong to the sixth century, and eight are doubtful. 
 Rhydderch Hael, who is a prominent figure in some of the 
 poems, was King of the Strathclyde Cymry, and was con- 
 verted to Christianity by Columba. He died in 601. In 
 defence of Christianity he fought the battle of Arderydd in 
 577 against Gwenddoleu, an upholder of the old faith, 
 and Aeddan, King of Scots. The pagans lost the day, and 
 Gwenddoleu perished with ' seven score chiefs.' 
 
 Myrddin, who was an adherent of Gwenddoleu, to 
 whom he seems to have been deeply attached, was perse- 
 cuted by Rhydderch and compelled to conceal himself in 
 the forests which he calls ' Coed Celyddon,' where he is 
 supposed to have addressed his reflections in the poems 
 called the ' Hoianau ' to a little pig who was the companion 
 of his exile, an animal which amongst the old Cymry had 
 a reputation for wisdom scarcely conceded to it now. Like 
 Aneurin, Myrddin was a Strathclyde Briton, but he is 
 more mythical than any of the early bards, and very few of 
 the poems attributed to him have stood the test of modern 
 criticism. Nennius does not mention him in his list of the 
 bards who, he says, were 'all famous at the same time in 
 
4 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 British poetry,' although Aneurin, TaHesin, and Llywarch 
 Hen appear in it. He is said to have fled from the per- 
 secutions of Rhydderch to Brittany, and this may account 
 for his reputed reappearance in Breton poetry under the 
 name Gwenchlan. The less authentic nature of the poems 
 attributed to him is seen from the fact that his predictions 
 had fallen into disrepute long before any of those purport- 
 ing to be the work of Taliesin were doubted by the bards. 
 Internal evidence disproves the possibility of the genuine- 
 ness of most of the poems that bear his name, for they 
 refer to persons and events of a much later period. The 
 least open to doubt is that known as ' Kyvoesi Myrddin ' 
 (a dialogue between the bard and his sister), but portions 
 of this are evidently late. Apart from their matter, their 
 smoothness of diction as compared with the abruptness of 
 the earlier bards' work, the presence of conjiinctions which 
 were generally conspicuous by their absence in genuine 
 early poems, and the traces they bear of that fondness for 
 alliteration, which afterwards developed into the cyngha?iedd, 
 preclude the possibility of their being Myrddin's work. 
 This applies particularly to the poems known as the 
 ' Hoianau ' and the ' Afallenau,' that class of poem which 
 generally contained predictions of the future glory of the 
 Cymry, and which is now known to have been the work 
 of later bards who, at the instigation of the princes, fired 
 the imagination of their countrymen when their energies 
 tended to flag under the strain of adverse circumstances, 
 and spurred them to renewed efforts by effusions of this 
 kind. They were the stimuli which the Cymry needed for 
 a long contest. 
 
 Llywarch Hen is the reputed author of many poems 
 in the Red Book of I/ergcst, some of which are undoubtedly 
 old. They are written in the same metre as the Juvencus 
 
THE BARDS OF THE SIXTH CENTURY 5 
 
 fragment, a metre which has been clearly proved to have 
 been no invention of the twelfth century, for it has been 
 discovered upon monumental slabs belonging to the 
 seventh century. It is difficult to resist the conclusion 
 that the matter of some of the poems is as old as the sixth 
 century, although the verbal forms are those of a much 
 later date. This is no doubt due to the fact that every 
 succeeding editor or scribe modernised the forms, not only 
 into his own orthography, but that he also in many cases 
 substituted his own vocabulary. Llywarch's poems are 
 happy in their description of the manners of his age, and 
 from a literary standpoint they are of higher merit than 
 the works of Taliesin and the ' Gododin ' of Aneurin. He 
 is more subjective than Taliesin and has a great power of 
 pathetic lamentation, many of his elegies containing fine 
 sentiments. He is fond of beginning long strings of verses 
 with the same word or phrase : for example, ' Ystafell 
 Kynddylan,' and ' Eiry Mynydd.' The former is the most 
 striking and best known of his poems. His strength lies 
 in descriptive rather than heroic poetry. His historical 
 poems contained in the Red Book of Hergest are full of 
 expressions which imply that the bard witnessed many of 
 the events he mentions : for instance, the poem which refers 
 to the war between his own sons and Mwg Mawr Drefydd. 
 There are numerous other poems assigned to the Cyn- 
 feirdd, the bards responsible for them being mentioned 
 by name in some cases, but not all. Meigant is responsible 
 for a poem called ' Marwnad Cynddylan,' Elaeth for some 
 verses called 'Cyngogion,' Tyssilio for those entitled 
 'Ymatreg Llywelyn a Gwrnerth,' Gwydion ab Don for 
 ' Englynion Cad Goddau,' and other verses attributed to 
 theCynfeirdd are ' Englynion y Clywed,' by Catwg Ddoeth. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 WELSH POETRY FROM I080 TO I200 
 
 Assuming that the bards who have just been noticed wrote 
 some portion of the work that bears their name, how can 
 the considerable gap between the sixth century and the 
 revival of Welsh bardism in the twelfth century be ex- 
 plained? These intervening centuries would seem to have 
 been almost entirely barren of literature. 
 
 Two considerations show, however, that bardism did not 
 die out in that period. The laws of Howel Dda, which 
 belong to the tenth century, make it quite clear that the 
 bards played an honourable part in the life of the nation at 
 that time, as the following extracts show : 
 
 The bard's land shall be free ; and he shall have a horse in 
 attendance from the king. 
 
 He shall be next but one to the patron of the family. 
 
 The heriot of the bard is the same as that of the steward of 
 the household, the judge of the court, the domestic chaplain, 
 etc. 
 
 He shall have a harp from the king and a gold ring from 
 the queen when his office is secured to him. 
 
 Tlic laws of Howel also show that bardism was an 
 organised profession with several distinctive grades. 
 
 It is also asserted that there was an eisteddfod in the 
 ninth century presided over by Geraint, and the statement 
 
 G 
 
WELSH POETRY, 1080-1200 7 
 
 is made with more certainty that Bleddyn ap Kynfyn held 
 an eisteddfod in 1070 and 'issued some regulations for the 
 better government of the order.' 
 
 The other consideration is that the language had been 
 growing and ripening in this interval and becoming more 
 elastic as a medium of thought. It is impossible to think 
 that the abrupt, disconnected style of the early bards could 
 have ripened into the smooth and clear versification of the 
 twelfth century, had there not been in the interval con- 
 siderable literary practice. A nation with no Uterature for 
 five centuries could not have suddenly developed the 
 comparatively artistic productions of the twelfth century. 
 
 There is some reason to believe that this period, al- 
 though it produced little itself, kept aUve the work of the 
 old bards and to a considerable extent reconstructed it. 
 
 The battles of Deorham and Caerleon had had their 
 effect in dispiriting the Cymry, and the dark days which 
 followed were not favourable to the creative and imagina- 
 tive faculties which were necessary to the production of the 
 literature of a race of their temperament. 
 
 Strenuous times and critical periods in the life of nations 
 generally witness much literary activity, but when the crisis 
 is past with a result adverse in every respect, as it was in 
 the case of the Cymry, a period of mental apathy and 
 stagnation follows. 
 
 The bards remained, as certain fragments belonging to 
 the seventh and ninth centuries testify, but they lived upon 
 the reflected glory of the past. The unsettlement and 
 confusion caused by the pouring in of the Strathclyde 
 Britons and those from Cornwall and Devon into Wales, 
 are no doubt potent factors which go far to explain this 
 mysterious blank in Welsh literature for five centuries. 
 That it was a period of decline is well seen from the first 
 
8 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 feeble productions of Meilyr, who was the ' morning star ' 
 of the twelfth-century revival, the causes of which will now 
 be set forth. 
 
 At the end of the eleventh century two events of con- 
 siderable importance to Wales happened. One was the 
 return of Rhys ap Tewdwr, the heir to the throne of South 
 Wales, in 1077, and the other that of Gruffudd ap Cynan 
 in 1080 to claim the throne of North Wales. 
 
 Cynan had fled to Ireland in 1041, leaving North Wales 
 in the hands of a usurper, and after two unsuccessful 
 efforts to recover his territory, had died in exile. Rhys ap 
 Tewdwr had spent many years in Brittany, and upon his 
 return in 1077, to claim his own, he was 'unanimously 
 elected by the people.' The combined armies of Gruffudd 
 ap Cynan and Rhys ap Tewdwr were successful at Carno 
 in loSo, and Trahaearn the usurper was killed on the field. 
 Hence the two princes who had been in exile were estab- 
 lished on the thrones of North and South Wales respec- 
 tively. The outburst of literary activity which now took 
 place centred around them. Gruffudd ap Cynan had been 
 born in Ireland, and had lived there sufificiently long to 
 imbibe the culture of that country, which at the time was 
 an important centre of learning, as it had been for many 
 centuries previous. He must have been familiar with 
 Irish poetry and Irish music, and having literary tastes 
 himself, he would naturally communicate them to his 
 court, and soon have around him a band of men animated 
 with a spirit for literature kindred to his own. Rhys ap 
 Tewdwr had brought with him much store of those tradi- 
 tions in which Brittany was so rich, having received many 
 of them, it is believed, from the Cymric exiles who, under 
 stress of the evil times they experienced in the sixth 
 century, had found in that land a congenial home even as 
 
WELSH POETRY, 1 080-1 200 9 
 
 Rhys himself had later. These traditions form the basis of 
 many of the beautiful romances now found in the Red 
 Book of Hergest. Hence it was that this revival of litera- 
 ture, as might have been expected, took a poetical turn in 
 North Wales, and led to the production of some vigorous 
 prose in South Wales. Leaving the latter to a later chapter, 
 for it demands separate treatment, the revival of poetry 
 will be noticed in the rest of this chapter. 
 
 The first to strike the strings of his lyre and to break the 
 silence of many centuries was Meilyr, who has been 
 already mentioned. Striking at first with rather an un- 
 steady, unpractised hand, he gathered strength and confi- 
 dence as he proceeded. -It will be seen in the poem ' I 
 Drahaearn a Meilyr,' that the slumbering embers of poetic 
 fire, when first stirred, gave but an intermittent flame. 
 Trahaearn was the usurper who fell at Carno, and the first 
 product of Meilyr's muse laments the fall of his master, for 
 he was his bardd teiilu. There is no real poetic merit in 
 the poem ; its interest is rather historical. It is written in a 
 metre known as the Ban Kyrch, in which the last word of 
 a line rhymes with a word in or near the middle of the 
 succeeding line ; e.g. 
 
 Cad a vydd ym mynydd Cam 
 A Trahaear;; a ladder. ^ 
 
 This will be found to have been a favourite metre with the 
 bards of this period. 
 
 Strangely enough, Meilyr also wrote an elegy to the new 
 ruler, Gruffudd ap Cynan, on his death in 1137. It is a 
 poem of some length, and a great improvement on the one 
 above mentioned. Another ode of his, entitled Marwysgafn 
 Feilyr Brydydd, written by the bard on his deathbed as the 
 ^ These quotations are not given in the early orthography. 
 
lo A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 title implies, shows an immeasurable advance in poetic 
 merit and power of thought, and gives some idea of the 
 vigorous growth of the literary revival during the fifty years 
 of Gruffudd ap Cynan's reign. 
 
 Gwalchmai was Meilyr's son, and achieved greater ex- 
 cellence as a poet than his father. There are twelve of his 
 poems in the Myvyrian Archaio/ogy, five of which are 
 composed to Owen Gwynedd, prince of North Wales, one 
 to each of Owen's sons, Rodri and Dafydd, two to Madoc 
 ap Meredydd, one to his own wife, and two personal poems 
 entitled Breuddivyd Gwalchmai and Gorhoffedd Gwalchmai. 
 The latter is a fine poem displaying an ardent love of Nature 
 and a cultivated taste in appreciating its beauties. 
 
 Poems of this kind are in striking and pleasing contrast 
 with the martial poems and the eulogies and elegies so much 
 in vogue at that and subsequent periods, and a rapid tran- 
 sition from the clash and din of war to the ' soothing lays 
 of the wood, the melodious talk of birds, the murmuring 
 brooks, the nightingale brimful of song, and the sea-birds 
 playing in their beds of foam ' (as a great Welsh writer has 
 summarised the Gorhoffedd), which is a feature in many of 
 Gwalchmai's odes, comes as a great relief, and imparts a 
 freshness to this bard's work, all too rare in early Welsh 
 poetry. Gwalchmai's best-known poem is his ode on the 
 battle of Tal y Moelfre, which has been described by 
 Stephens as a 'continued fiery torrent of poetic flame.' It 
 is supposed to refer to the defeat of Henry ii.'s fleet in its 
 attempt to land at Abermenai in 1157. Gray's poem 
 ' The Triumphs of Owen ' is a translation of this ode. Its 
 finest poetic idea is contained in the two lines — • 
 
 A Menai heb drai o drallanw gwacdryar 
 A Uiw gwyar gwŷr yn heli ; 
 
WELSH POETRY, 1080-1200 11 
 
 which Gray translates — 
 
 Checked by the torrent tide of blood, 
 Backward Menai rolls his flood. 
 
 Owain Kyveiliog", the next poet of mark in this 
 period, was not less successful in war than in song. He 
 .was the son of Gruffudd ap Meredydd, prince of Powys, 
 and is first mentioned in 1162, when he led an army into 
 the territories of Howel ab leuav between the Wye and the 
 Severn, and inflicted upon him a crushing defeat. In 
 1 165 he led the men of Powys in the combined and 
 successful resistance which the Welsh princes offered in 
 that year to Henry n. It is to some incident in this 
 campaign that Owain Kyveiliog's famous poem 'Corn 
 Hirlas ' refers, and it is this rather than his military achieve- 
 ments, successful as they were, that will enshrine him 
 in the minds of his countrymen. The Corn Hirlas was 
 the long, blue, silver-rimmed drinking cup which was 
 passed round the table on the occasion of a feast. The 
 poet's conception is that a battle had taken place in the 
 morning, followed by a banquet in the evening, at which 
 the prince presided and recited the merits of each warrior 
 as the cup was passed to him. He commands the cup- 
 bearer to fill up the horn, and enumerates their feats on 
 that and other fields. Having sung the praises of Tudur 
 and Moreiddig, two chiefs of renown, the cup is passed to 
 them and the prince proceeds to greet them, but alas ! 
 their place knows them no more, and it is realised with a 
 bitter pang that they have fallen in the morning's conflict. 
 The sudden transition from hilarity and exultation to the 
 most intense grief is the feature of the poem. 
 
 In another poem, entitled 'I Gylchau Kymru,' one of 
 the national customs of the period is described. At stated 
 
12 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 times, the prince made a circuit through Powys to receive 
 his rents, preceded by a herald who announced him with 
 the customary pomp. The poem in a series of englynion 
 describes such a circuit, the customs that obtained, and 
 the various places visited. 
 
 Howel ab Owain Gwynedd is the second prince of 
 this period who not only lent the influence of his patron- 
 age to literature, but was himself an active contributor. 
 He was the natural sun of Owain Gwynedi.1, King of North 
 Wales, and distinguished himself both in the arts of peace 
 and war. He possessed great mechanical skill in the 
 warfare of his age, and was an adept at besieging castles. 
 The poet Cynddehv, who refers to him as ' gwawr trin ' 
 (the hero of battle), sings his praises as a successful 
 besieger on two occasions — the taking of Carmarthen 
 Castle from the Normans in 1144, and Kynvael Castle 
 from his uncle Cadwaladr a few years later. Gwalchmai's 
 ode to the battle of Tal y Moelfre, 1157, implies that 
 Howel was also present there : 
 
 A draig Môn mor ddrud i eisyllydd yn aer 
 
 (Mona's dragon whose son was so valiant in battle) — 
 
 the draig referring to Owain Gwynedd, and eisyllydd to 
 Howel. The latter, too, in a short but vivid ode gives a 
 description of the same battle with its gore and fire, its blood- 
 stained homesteads, burning churches, and perishing ships. 
 On the death of his father in 11 69, Howel succeeded 
 him, and for two years reigned in peace, but on his departure 
 to Ireland in 1171 to take possession of his mother's 
 property, his younger half-brother David aspired to the 
 throne and proclaimed himself King of North Wales. Howel 
 returned immediately, but was slain in his effort to regain 
 his patrimony. His death was the occasion of Periv ap 
 
WELSH POETRY, 1080-1200 13 
 
 Kedifor's fine and intelligible elegy, which is full of genuine 
 feeling, for between him and the dead prince had existed a 
 deep attachment, inasmuch as they had been nurtured 
 together. 
 
 Howel's poems are much more readable than those of 
 previous bards, and he avoids the pedantries of so 
 many of his contemporaries. His short poems, and they 
 predominate, are particularly bright and tuneful, and 
 richly deserve the many praises that have been bestowed 
 upon them. Stephens says that they were ' the sweetest 
 productions of the age.' His more lengthy poem 'Gwlad- 
 garwch Howel ' is full of admiration for his country, and 
 glows with genuine feeling. It has been suggested that he 
 wrote it upon his return from Ireland to defend his crown 
 against his half-brother. Howel felt the hopelessness of 
 his cause from the first, and seemed to write under the 
 shadow of coming disaster. He dwells longingly upon the 
 natural beauties of his country, and extols the passion of 
 love — a theme on which he is easily the first poet of his 
 age. 
 
 Einion, the son of Gwalchmai, who has been already 
 noticed, was a bard of some taste, and five of his poems 
 have been preserved. His elegy upon Nest, who was 
 probably the daughter of Howel ab Owain Gwynedd, is the 
 best known. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 THE BARDS OF LLEWELYN AB IORWERTH's REIGN 
 
 The first bard to be noticed in this period is Cynddeiw 
 Brydydd Mawr, who was the most proHfic writer of his 
 age, judging from the number of his poems which have 
 escaped the ravages of time. No less than forty-nine of 
 them appear in the Myvyriati Anhaiology, and a study of 
 them shows Cynddehv to have been a man of much 
 influence and varied interests, and a poet of ready but 
 cumbersome muse. He was in touch with most of the 
 leading men of his day, as will be seen from his composi- 
 tions to Owain Gwynedd, Owain Kyveiliog, the Lord Rhys 
 of South Wales, Llewelyn ab lorwerth, Gwenwynwyn, and 
 Tyssilio. The intricacy and difficulty of his language 
 make his compositions very unreadable. His elegy upon 
 Owain Gwynedd shows that his muse was best adapted to 
 heavy subjects. He has not the charm of some of the bards 
 who preceded him, and lacks the power of calling up vivid 
 images, although they be the stereotyped images popular 
 with the bards of his day. He has a greater wealth of 
 vocabulary than any of his contemporaries, but often wields 
 it so as to hide his meaning in a cloud of words. But in 
 spite of the lack of poetic merit from which much of his 
 work suffers, it must be admitted that he was a skilled 
 versifier. 
 
 14 
 
THE BARDS OF LLEWELYN'S REIGN 15 
 
 His poems betray an inveterate hatred of the monks ; 
 but he was no exception to the bards in this respect, 
 although few of them give such strong expression to it. 
 There existed between them a natural antipathy, because 
 their interests clashed in more ways than one. 
 
 Cynddelw's ' Awdl i Dduw' is interesting, because it 
 discloses the ideas of theology prevalent amongst the bards 
 of his age. They displayed a spirit of toleration much in 
 advance of their time, and an intellectual keenness which 
 does them much credit. 
 
 The manners of the people and the state of the country 
 are well described in his verses to Rhys ap Grufifudd, 
 which are more readable than many of his poems. His 
 ode addressed to Owain Kyveiliog has been regarded as a 
 companion sketch to 'Corn Hirlas,' and although it lacks 
 the vividness and pathos of that striking poem, it yet 
 possesses some merit, and sometimes rises to a pitch of 
 animated description. 
 
 It has been suggested that the verses known as the 
 Avallenau, spuriously attributed to Myrddin, are either the 
 work of this bard or that of Gwalchmai. A careful com- 
 parison of them with the work of each inclines one to 
 believe that they have more in common, especially in 
 their smoothness and pliancy of diction, with the odes 
 of Gwalchmai than with the more pedantic effusions of 
 Cynddelw. 
 
 Llywarch ap Llewelyn, who shall next be noticed, 
 was a bard of considerable talent, and his unfettered ima- 
 gination, together with his power of sympathy and lucidity 
 of expression, gave him a high place amongst the bards 
 of the thirteenth century. He is sometimes known as 
 Prydydd y Moch, and Stephens suggests that this is pro- 
 bably due to the knowledge possessed at the time, that he 
 
i6 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 was the author of the verses known as the ' Hoianau,' and 
 sometimes called 'Ceiniadon Moch.' This seems very 
 likely, for the matter of many of the verses clearly refers 
 to events which happened in the thirteenth century. The 
 light they throw upon the political movements of the time, 
 their predictions of the greatness of Llewelyn ab lorwerth, 
 their mention of Meredydd and Rhys Gryg, sons of the 
 Lord Rhys of South Wales, their reference to the quarrels 
 of the sons of Owain Gwynedd, and their resemblance to 
 much of Llywarch ap Llewelyn's other work, form a 
 weight of testimony in favour of this theory not easily 
 shaken. 
 
 Llywarch was Llewelyn ab lorwerth's bardd teulu, and 
 most of his poems are composed in honour of the royal 
 house of Gwynedd. His Address to Llewelyn is one of 
 his finest efforts, and is full of the intensity of feeling and 
 vividness of description, couched at the same time in 
 smooth, flowing language, which characterise most of his 
 work. In design it is typical of many poems of that age. 
 It begins with an invocation to the Deity, full of suppressed 
 anxiety to do justice to the task in hand, and passes to 
 the hero's pedigree and a glowing description of the 
 battle of Porthaethwy. Then, after recounting Llewelyn's 
 previous conflicts, it ends with a tribute to the prince's 
 unbounded generosity to the bards, especially to the 
 writer himself. The verse below, quoted from this poem, 
 will serve as an example of Llywarch ap Llewelyn's power 
 of description : 
 
 Ef yn Uyw cyn Hid gyfysgar, 
 Ysglyfion ysglyfiynt Ihvrw bar, 
 Oedd rynn rudd ebyr or gwyr gwar, 
 Oedd ran feirw fwyaf o'r drydar, 
 Oedd amliw tonnau, twnn amhar i naid, 
 
THE BARDS OF LLEWELYN'S REIGN 17 
 
 Neud oeddynt dilafar, 
 Ton heli ehelaeth i bar, 
 Ton arall guall, goch gwyar, 
 Porthaethwy pan aetham ni ar feirch mordwy, 
 
 Uch mowrdwrf tonniar, 
 Oedd ongyr, oedd engir i bar, 
 Oedd angudd godrudd gwaedryar, 
 Oedd enghyrth yn hynt, oedd angar, 
 Oedd ing, oedd angau anghymar, 
 Oedd ammau ir byd bod abar o honam, 
 
 O henaint lleithiar. 
 
 In one of his poems, ' Awdl yr Haearn Twymn,' he 
 mentions the ordeal for testing innocence or guilt by 
 grasping a red-hot iron. If this was used in Wales in his 
 day, as the poem implies, it had survived its existence in 
 England for a considerable period. The bard implies 
 that he had resorted to it to clear himself from the impu- 
 tation of the murder of Madoc, son of Owain Gwynedd, 
 who, it seems, was last seen in his company before his 
 mysterious disappearance. Although he scarcely believes 
 in the virtue of the test, he begs the iron to exonerate 
 him : 
 
 Da haearn diheura pan Has 
 
 Lleith Madawc nad om Haw y cavas 
 
 Noc ae ceifif cain ae glas 
 
 Rann o nef ae naw teyrnas 
 
 A minheu mynnaf gyweithas 
 
 Bodd Duw ym a dianc oe gas. 
 
 Einion ap Gwgan has only one poem preserved in 
 the Myvyrian Archaiology, but it is of such excellence that 
 it commands attention. It is an address to Llewelyn ab 
 lorwerth whom he describes as — 
 
i8 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 Llaiuenydd y dydd^ deddyf ai maul, 
 LUewychcdig llafn yn Ihuv reddfawl, 
 
 Llawcnydd lltíoedd^ lleiv yn brydet\ 
 Llywiawdyr yiHiiicrawdr inor a lleiifcr. 
 
 He contrasts the prince as a warrior upon whom he 
 cannot bestow too laudatory terms, 'the joy of armies,' 'a 
 lion in danger/ the ' eagle of battle, conspicuous above the 
 rest,' with the same man upon his own hearth, genial and 
 witty, refined and thoughtful, tender and generous : 
 
 Dyn yw Llewelyn llywiawdr tyner, 
 Doeth, coeth, cywrenin, gwin a gwener, 
 A'r gwr ai rhoddes in ran or pader 
 Ai rhoddo ef gwenfro gwynfryn uch ser. 
 
 Dafydd Benvras is the next bard of any importance 
 in this period. Twelve of his poems are extant, and most 
 of them are addressed to Llewelyn ab lorwerth. He is 
 not quite on so high a level as Llywarch ab Llewelyn, but 
 his work has less apparent wastage of words than that of 
 many of his contemporaries, more continuity of thought, 
 and less straining after effect. Although he seldom 
 reaches any great excellence, he rarely indulges in com- 
 monplaces, and in his moral verses he dispenses with 
 much of the jargon of his order. His style is dignified, 
 and he has an unerring gift of choosing words appropriate 
 to his theme. His finest poem is one composed in honour 
 of his prince and patron, Llewelyn ab lorwerth, and it 
 compares favourably with that of Llywarch. He begins 
 with a similar invocation, and implores the aid of the muse 
 of Myrddin and Aneurin. After a fine description of 
 Llewelyn's prowess, and unstinted praise of his warriors, 
 couched in well chosen terms, he closes the poem with a 
 fervent benediction. 
 
THE BARDS OF LLEWELYN'S REIGN 19 
 
 To Dafydd Benvras and Llywarch ap Llewelyn belongs 
 the credit of attempting to free bardism from the too 
 restrictive metres and obscure diction of the more pedantic 
 of the fraternity. With this object they began to use the 
 loose hupynt metre, which, owing to its elasticity, after- 
 wards became so popular, especially with the versified 
 tale writers. The following is a fair example of Dafydd 
 Benvras' use of this metre. It is taken from a poem 
 addressed to the last prince of Wales, and is of some his- 
 torical value, because it relates his military exploits, in the 
 order of their sequence : 
 
 Pummed Forganwg 
 
 Parhaus gilwg ; 
 
 Er a wnel o ddrwg 
 Nis diwedda. 
 
 Chweched i dramwy, 
 Chwechad yn Adwy, 
 Yn Aber Tawy, 
 Teg esgorva. 
 
 Seithved Gedweli, 
 Seithgad iw liosgi, 
 
 Ystrad Tywi, 
 Tew i haerva. 
 
 Wythved hynt greulawn, 
 
 1 Garnewillawn, 
 O Geredigiawn, 
 
 Y dug yma. 
 
 In the hands of the abler bard, Llywarch ap Llewelyn, 
 the following is an example of its more effective use. He 
 is addressing Llewelyn ab lorwerth : 
 
 Cyfarchaf im Rhen, 
 Cyvarchvawr Awen, 
 Cyvreu Cyrridwen, 
 Rwyv Barddoni. 
 
20 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 Yn dull Taliesin, 
 Yn dillwng Elphin, 
 Yn dyllest Barddrin, 
 Beirdd vanieri. 
 
 Several of the mythological poems are written in this 
 metre, and it is quite possible that the two bards just 
 mentioned were responsible for a few of them. The 
 anachronisms they contain make it impossible to assign to 
 them an earlier origin. They breathe the same spirit as 
 the Mabinogion and the Romances, and the characters are 
 sometimes identical ; also the same clear and smooth 
 language is employed, and the same topics treated. By 
 far the most interesting of these poems is the Mabonigi of 
 Taliesin, from which the lines below are quoted in order 
 to show how well adapted was the hupyiit metre for these 
 descriptive stories in verse : 
 
 Priv vardd cyssevin 
 Wyv vi i Elfin, 
 A'm gwlad gynnevin 
 Yw bro ser hevin ; 
 loannes ddewin 
 Ym gelwis Merddin, 
 Bellach pob brenin 
 Ym geilw Taliesin. 
 Bum gyda vy Ner 
 Yn ngoruchelder, 
 Ar gwymp Lucifer 
 I ufern ddyvnder ; 
 Bum yn dwyn baner 
 Rhag Alexander ; 
 Mi wn enwau ser 
 Gogledd ac awster, 
 Bum yn nghaer Gwdion 
 Gan orsedd Deon ; 
 
THE BARDS OF LLEWELYN'S REIGN 21 
 
 Bum mi yn Nghanon 
 Pan las Absalon. 
 
 The language here, as well as the metre, shows that the 
 poem cannot be earlier than the end of the thirteenth 
 century. The traditions contained in this and similar 
 poems were old, but the very form in which they have 
 been cast places this period as the very extreme limit of 
 their literary antiquity. 
 
 Hiidir Sais has eleven poems bearing his name in the 
 Aiyvyriati, and two of them throw some light upon his 
 relations with Llewelyn ab lorwerth. He seems to have 
 angered the prince and come under his suspicion owing to 
 his frequent intercourse with the English, and this, perhaps, 
 accounts for the appellation 'Sais.' It was certainly not 
 owing to any inferiority in the language of his poems. 
 The easy flow of his verse makes it extremely unlikely that 
 he was an Englishman who had learned Welsh. Whatever 
 the cause of the prince's anger, he pleads his innocence 
 warmly, and begs him not to expatriate him: 
 
 Nam gad i wybraw eb obryn — dy far 
 Oth fawr eang derfyn 
 Glew llawr cenedl fawr Ferfyn 
 Glyw Lliwellydd Llywelyn. 
 
 He throws himself upon Llewelyn's mercy and forswears 
 England : 
 
 Bydd wrth wann gyfran gywrenin 
 Bydd iawn llary wrth gerddeu iownllin 
 Bydd wrddrud aer ddylud ddilin 
 Dilein Lloegr a llwgr oi gwerin. 
 
 Most of his poems are on religious subjects and are 
 above the average in merit. They form part of that mass 
 of religious poetry, produced in the Middle Ages, which 
 
2 2 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 discloses the prevailing attitude of the bardic mind towards 
 the theology of their day. The bards seem to have had 
 broad and enlightened views on many questions, and to have 
 understood and appreciated the principles of Christianity, 
 although they were often ill-disposed towards its accredited 
 exponents. Elidir wrote : 
 
 Ystyr di enwir herwydd a treithir 
 Gan Dduw ni cheffir dim cynirha 
 Eithyr gvvirionedd a gwar tangnefedd 
 A gwir drugaredd val y gwedda 
 Edrych dy vuchedd kyn mynd ith fedd 
 O gwnaethost gamwedd na ryvedda 
 Bod yn dir talu ger bron lesu. 
 
 The picture he draws of the Crucified One is full of touch- 
 ing appeal to the emotions : 
 
 Dangos fifrowylleu ae holl archolleu, 
 Ae gethreu, ae greu, ae groc a wna 
 Hynn a wnaethuin i, both a wnaethost di ? 
 Medd Crist Celi rhi rheid oedd yna 
 Bod gieindyd purawd yn erbyn Duudawd, 
 Rhag trallawd pechawd devawd diva. 
 
 The religious sentiment which drew so many men into the 
 Crusades is taken note of by Elidir Sais, who shows how 
 strong an influence it had on the public mind. 
 
 Phylip Brydydd was the family bard of Rhys Gryg, 
 Lord of South Wales, and in one of his poems entitled 
 ' Kynghorion Dadolwch a gant Phylip Brydydd i Rys 
 Gryg gwedi sorri wrthaw am brydu i neb avail namyn 
 iddaw ef,' he throws an interesting light on the relations 
 existing between himself and his patron. The latter 
 strongly objected to his going on circuit, after the bardic 
 custom of the time, and singing the praises of others, but 
 Phylip defends himself with much moderation and tact. 
 
THE BARDS OF LLEWELYN'S REIGN 23 
 
 Sandwiched amongst the encomiums he bestows upon his 
 patron is a dignified passage in which he declares he 
 cannot eat Rhys' bread so long as his anger and dislike 
 continue : 
 
 Ys yng yn ystwng ystic vara Rhys. 
 
 He appeals to their old friendship to remove the misunder- 
 standing : 
 
 Bardd vum itt trimud tremynt 
 A chedymddeith kanweith kynt. 
 
 In another poem he champions the cause of the chief 
 bards against the poetasters, whom he strongly opposed as 
 bringing discredit upon the bardic profession. He uses 
 the lash unsparingly, employing such stinging epithets as 
 'geufardd anghyfrwys.' This is the poem which mentions 
 the blow given by the bard Golyddan to Bran the Blessed, 
 a lack of respect which Phylip does not attempt to defend. 
 
 O gwnaeth Golyddan gyflafan diryeid 
 Bid ar i eneid yr enwiredd. 
 
 He expresses an exalted idea of his calling, and asserts 
 that in spite of the discord introduced by the poetasters, 
 real poetry, the divine gift, cannot suffer. It is God-given, 
 and beyond man's power to injure. 
 
 Divreiniaw dawn Duw nyd dyn ae medd. 
 
 Einion Wann was regarded by his contemporaries as 
 a bard of great excellence. Gruffudd ab Gwrgeneu refers 
 to him as ' Einion dawn dinam,' and what has been pre- 
 served of his work undoubtedly compares favourably with 
 anything produced in his age. His diction is fairly 
 intelligible to a modern reader, and he has the power of 
 presenting striking images in remarkably few words. His 
 
2 4 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 elegy to Madoc ab Gruffudd Maelor contains some lines 
 of rugged strength and powerful sympathy, and is certainly 
 one of the best marwnadau composed in the thirteenth 
 century. The following englynioii are taken from it : 
 
 Neud rhaid am Fadawg trengi — ciwdodoedd 
 Gwalch cadoedd cadrfalch ri 
 Neud trai calon donn dug fi 
 Ac neud trwydoll o'i golli. 
 
 O golli Madawg edgyllaeth — cofion 
 Gwyw calon gan hiraeth 
 Gwawr llawr Uwyddedig bennaeth 
 Gwae i fro ai frodyr maeth. 
 
 Maeth Madawg mynawg mynudrwydd — wrthlyw 
 Ac wrth lew ymorchwydd 
 Arf tarf terfyn ehangrwydd 
 Aerwr oreu pei canmlwydd. 
 
 Canmlwydd ydd oedd raid ruddelwch — i fod 
 I fad gynnal heddwch 
 Gwalch brynn brenin ynialwch 
 Gwael nad byw byd neud am drwch. 
 
 It would be difficult to employ more realistic phrases 
 descriptive of the energy, strength, and impetuosity of his 
 dead patron than some of those used by Einion Wann, 
 e.g. 'blaidd blaengar,' ' teyrn arfrudd cad,' 'tymestl cad.' 
 He takes a touching farewell of Madoc and leaves him in 
 his 'cynnoer wely diddestl,' as he so aptly expresses the 
 coldness and forgetfulness of the grave. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 MEDIEVAL WELSH PROSE 
 
 Geoffrey of Monmouth, or, as he is better known in 
 Welsh literature, Gruffudd ab Arthur, was educated by his 
 uncle Uchtryd, Bishop of Llandaf, who ordained him and 
 made him Archdeacon of Monmouth. He was a dis- 
 tinguished man of letters, his chief works being a Latin 
 translation of the prophecies of Myrddin, and his Historia 
 Briionum, a chronicle which purports to give the history 
 of Britain from the earliest times to the abdication of 
 Cadwaladr in the middle of the seventh century. It is 
 upon the latter work that his fame mainly rests, for it 
 became a great treasure-house from which medieval poets 
 and romancers so often chose their themes. He dedicated 
 it to Robert, Earl of Gloucester, to whom he was chaplain, 
 and it was written not later than 1147, for Robert died in 
 that year. It is sometimes asserted that Geoffrey became 
 Bishop of St. Asaph in 1 152, but this is evidently a mistake, 
 for the chronicler Caradoc states that he was made Bishop 
 of Llandaf in that year, but died before he entered upon 
 his duties. 
 
 Whether Geoffrey's Chronicle is a translation or an 
 original work is a vexed question. He himself says that 
 he translated a book which Walter, Archdeacon of Oxford, 
 had brought from Brittany. It was at least natural that a 
 
 25 
 
26 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 Welshman should be asked to translate Breton stories, and 
 if the assertion were untrue, it is difficult to believe that 
 Walter would not have repudiated it, for he outlived 
 Geoffrey. Whether he translated, collected, or invented 
 these stories, literature owes him a debt of gratitude. It 
 is probable that some such book as he mentions came into 
 his hands, and that he made use of materials from many 
 other sources from which such a history could be compiled, 
 and which he says ' were preserved in writing by a great 
 many people.' Many of the legends he relates were drawn 
 from Nennius and Gildas and enlarged upon. The old 
 Celtic legends with which his Bruts are crowded could not 
 deceive any one into a belief in their accuracy as facts. If 
 they had a purpose at all, it would seem to have been the 
 allaying of race animosities by pointing out the common 
 origin of the inhabitants of Britain. Their fabulous 
 character was, of course, recognised in his own day, for 
 Gerald the Welshman relates the delicious story that one 
 from whom evil spirits had been cast out experienced their 
 prompt return as soon as a copy of Geoffrey's Historia was 
 placed near him. Sometimes Geoffrey inserts his own re- 
 flections, and with candid criticism points out a defect in 
 the character of his countrymen, where, for instance, he 
 rebukes the British for lack of sustained effort and con- 
 tinued perseverance ; they would rush eagerly to the attack 
 but lacked tenacity in its conduct. 
 
 Wace's Brut d' Anghterre is a translation of Geoflfrey's 
 Historia, and Layamon in his Brut is considerably in- 
 debted to him. To him, also, Shakspeare was indebted for 
 the foundation of some of his plots. Very few tales of 
 chivalry for the next four hundred years failed to borrow- 
 something from Geoffrey of Monmouth. 
 
 Caradoc of Llancarvan, who is mentioned by 
 
MEDIEVAL WELSH PROSE 27 
 
 Geoffrey as his contemporary, begins his Chronicle where 
 the latter ends, viz. at the abdication of Cadwaladr. It is 
 possible that much of it was not Caradoc's work, but was 
 continued by various writers from time to time. The 
 work is known as Brut y Tywysogiotiy and is found with 
 that of Geoffrey and Walter de Mapes in the second 
 volume of the Myvyriati Archaiology. 
 
 The Liber Landavensis, or Book of Teilo, is a 
 chronicle, written in Welsh and Latin, of the lives of the 
 Bishops of Llandaf, and covers a period of five hundred 
 years, ending in the middle of the twelfth century. Its 
 contents are mostly monkish legends, but many of its facts 
 throw considerable light upon the manners of the times, 
 in which slavish superstition and clerical despotism play a 
 prominent part. 
 
 Edeyrn Dafod Aur was a celebrated grammarian of 
 the thirteenth century, who, at the instigation of Llewelyn 
 ab Gruffudd (1254-1282), compiled an able book on British 
 prosody. 
 
 Meddygon Myddfai is an interesting work of the 
 early part of the thirteenth century, containing a compen- 
 dium of the medical recipes and remedies of Rhiwallon of 
 Myddvai and his sons, who were physicians to Rhys Gryg, 
 lord of Dynevor. 
 
 Brut Tyssilio is supposed to have been the work of 
 Walter de Mapes, Archdeacon of Oxford, who translated it 
 from Welsh into Latin, and then back into Welsh. It is 
 the opinion of some writers that what Walter translated the 
 second time was not the original copy but an improved 
 Latin version of that copy by Geoffrey of Monmouth. 
 Brut Tyssilio and Brut Gruffudd aù Arthur agree word for 
 word in many parts. The fiction of the Trojan origin of 
 the kings of Britain is common to both. 
 
28 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 Brut y Saeson is not a chronicle recounting the 
 history of the Saxons, as its name would perhaps imply, 
 but one showing the connection of Wales with England, 
 and reviewing the transactions of Britain generally. 
 
 The Laws of Howel Dda, who was king of South 
 Wales at the beginning of the tenth century, are of the 
 greatest historical interest. Howel succeeded his father 
 Cadell at a time of great disorder, to diminish which he 
 assembled a great council of nobles, bishops, and clergy 
 at Ty Gwyn ar Dav, and from amongst them he selected a 
 small committee who drew up these laws. They throw 
 great light on the life of the people and the conduct of the 
 court. The exact date of their compilation is uncertain, 
 but 948 is generally given as the year of Howel's death. 
 They afterwards developed into, at least, two different 
 codes : the Venedotian code operating in Gwynedd and 
 Powys, was a modification of that of South Wales and 
 Gwent, to meet the different conditions that existed there. 
 The laws of the court are given as distinct from the laws 
 of the country. 
 
 The Triads. — Ciesar affirmed that the Druids culti- 
 vated the art of memory, and in an age when writing was 
 seldom resorted to, and at that was the accomplishment of 
 a very few, it is easy to understand that facts put into the 
 terse form of the triad would Ijc readily remembered, not 
 indeed that there are any triads which hark back to Druid 
 times, but it is not unreasonable to believe that the habit 
 of epitomising facts in a form that would thus appeal to 
 the memory was cultivated at a very early period. There 
 is no collection of triads earlier than the twelfth century in 
 their present form, and the majority, it is believed, are 
 fifteenth-century productions. They cover a wide range of 
 subjects — history, bardism, theology, ethics, and jurispru- 
 
MEDIEVAL WELSH PROSE 29 
 
 dence. Many of the historical triads are plainly fabulous, 
 and others refer to events in support of which no con- 
 firmatory evidence can be produced. It is said that the 
 bards at their public congresses recited these triads. 
 
 The Mabinogion.— The national character of Wales 
 is better reflected in the prose literature of the Middle Ages 
 than in the work of the bards, whose effusions were too 
 severe and artificial to enjoy popular favour amongst a 
 people so free, merry, and witty, as Gerald the Welshman 
 states his countrymen were. 
 
 When the revival of literature came in the twelfth 
 century, it was natural that the traditions which they had 
 clung to for many centuries, the fables and tales of the 
 winter fireside, which had naturally received accretions 
 from every succeeding age, and had been moulded by each 
 to suit its own tastes, should be collected and arranged. 
 It was suggested that many of the romantic tales recited 
 by Geoffrey of Monmouth were doubtless drawn from 
 these traditions. In them, too, we have the origin of the 
 Mabinogion. The term has been applied loosely to all 
 the tales, but, strictly speaking, it should be confined to four 
 —the stories of Pwyll, Branwen, Math, and Manawyddan. 
 Three of the rest may be termed Breicddivydion, viz. 
 Macsen Wledig, Rhonabwy, and Lludd and Llevelis, and 
 all the remainder may be taken as forming one group— the 
 Romances. 
 
 These tales differ greatly in character. Some of them 
 deal with persons and events of a very remote antiquity, 
 and others belong to the period of chivalry. The very 
 earliest tales are marked by the absence of Arthur, who 
 afterwards became the central hero of romance, and the 
 antiquity of the rest can be gauged to some extent by their 
 treatment of that character. 
 
30 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 On this basis they can be further divided into three 
 classes : 
 
 (i) The Mabinogi of Pwyll, Branwen, Manawyddan, 
 and Math, Breuddwyd Macsen Wledig, and Lludd and 
 Llevehs. 
 
 These refer to a period before Arthur had become a 
 popular hero. He is not mentioned in them at all, nor do 
 they contain any trace of knight-errantry, which is a feature 
 peculiar to the later tales and the period of chivalry. The 
 dominant influence in them is the supernatural ; magic 
 and enchantment take the place of personal prowess. 
 
 (2) Breuddwyd Rhonabwy and the story of Kulhwch 
 and Olwen. 
 
 These are the oldest of the Arthurian group, but in them 
 Arthur had not developed into the magnificent hero of 
 later tales. He is a prince of some distinction, but not 
 yet a mighty emperor. His court is at Gellivvig in Corn- 
 wall, the dazzling splendour of Caerlleon has not yet been 
 reached. In both tales he hunts the mythological animal 
 called the Twrch Trwyth with his knights. It is a collec- 
 tive task, not a display of individual prowess. 
 
 The story of Kulhwch and Olwen is, in point of lan- 
 guage and the customs mentioned, older than any in the 
 Red Book of Ilergest, and the presence of Arthur in it at 
 all may have been due to a subsequent writer who made a 
 concession to the spirit of the times after he had become 
 a popular hero, but both here and in Breuddwyd Rhonabwy 
 he is distinctly a Kymric hero with his court fixed at 
 Gelliwig in Cornwall. 
 
 (3) Owain and Luned, Geraint and Enid, and Peredur 
 belong to a later period, when the Arthurian romance had 
 developed considerably. Arthur himself is no longer a 
 petty chieftain but a powerful emperor holding sway over 
 
MEDIEVAL WELSH PROSE 31 
 
 the whole civilised world. His court is fixed at Caerlleon, 
 and is of unrivalled splendour. The individual exploits of 
 himself and his knights are now all-prominent. The 
 knight-errantry of the age of chivalry is fully developed. 
 These stories were no doubt written after Geoffrey of 
 Monmouth had so popularised Arthur that he was readily 
 and even eagerly received as the national hero, and the 
 writers of these romances simply supplied the popular 
 demand. The bards were more tardy in this respect, and 
 clung to Cadwaladr as the national hero for some time 
 subsequently. They probably failed to reconcile them- 
 selves to those elements in the character of Arthur which 
 were not strictly Kymric. This lends countenance to the 
 theory that it was the exiles who returned with Rhys ap 
 Tewdwr in 1077 who brought with them the Arthurian 
 stories, and also to Geoffrey's statement that he translated 
 some of his work from Breton sources. The proximity of 
 Brittany to Normandy probably explains the spirit of 
 knight-errantry which had crept into the stories. It is well 
 known that the Normans exercised an influence upon our 
 literature, improving and extending the tales they derived 
 from Celtic sources. The spirit of personal adventure was 
 strong in the Norman character, so the un-Celtic element 
 of knight-errantry in these tales can with some reason be 
 ascribed to the Normans. They adopted the Celtic 
 framework, but clothed it with their own strong imitative 
 and illustrative faculties. 
 
 So strong was the popular taste for stories of this kind, 
 that even the bards, exclusive and conservative as they 
 were, yielded at length to expediency, and Bleddyn Fardd 
 in the thirteenth century refers to Arthur in eulogistic 
 terms, and to Caerlleon as the best of places. 
 
 In their present form the Mabinogion are not older than 
 
32 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 the twelfth century, but they represent traditions that were 
 in circulation before. For the term Mabinogion the bards 
 were probably responsible. It was applied to the stories 
 slightingly, at first, as lighter literary productions scarcely 
 worthy of comparison with their more weighty themes and 
 severer form and diction. They were tales for the young, 
 and nothing more. 
 
 The Mabinogi of Taliesin is later than the rest, and is 
 reputed to have been the work of Thomas ab Einion 
 Ofifeiriad who lived in the thirteenth century. The re- 
 ligious colouring of the later stories, the ' San Greal,' 
 'Ystori i draethu mal ydd aeth Mair i'r nef,' and many 
 others of the same kind, is due to the monks, who quickly 
 saw the advantage of using them to quicken religious 
 sentiment. In the tales of the Greal, the monastic influence 
 is supreme, and the Mabinogi of Taliesin bears the same 
 imprint. Geoffrey and Layamon both used the romances 
 in this way, with the result that they gained both in tone 
 and dignity. They contain many passages of surpassing 
 beauty, and without the Mabinogion, not only Welsh 
 literature, but the literature of Europe would be decidedly 
 the poorer. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 THE BARDS OF LLEWELYN AB GRUFFUDD'S REIGN 
 
 The bards of the earlier part of the reign have left little 
 of any merit, but towards its close many compositions 
 which rank high in Welsh literature both in wealth of 
 ideas and poetic fervour were produced. 
 
 Llygad Gwr in 1270 wrote an ode to Llewelyn ab 
 Gruffudd in five parts, which contains much that will 
 interest the historian of this period. It cannot be said 
 that the ideas in this poem are well connected, and per- 
 haps the flattery showered upon the prince is too excessive, 
 but the list of place-names, and persons, and the conflicts 
 mentioned are useful material for the historian. He speaks 
 of Llewelyn's dominions as extending to the Teifi, and 
 calls the prince 'llyw pedeiriaith ' (a ruler who spoke four 
 languages). If this is true, it shows that the Welsh princes 
 of that period were more cultured than might have been 
 expected in times so warlike and unsettled. But it is 
 known that Llewelyn was not only a patron of literature, 
 but that he indulged in writing verses himself, as many of 
 his predecessors had done. 
 
 The images which fascinated Llygad Gwr were decidedly 
 gory, and remind one of a state of mind into which, it is 
 said, savage tribes are sometimes worked up, and which 
 has been described as 'seeing red.' He speaks of the 
 
 C 38 
 
34 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 prince's blood-red spear, his army bathed in red, and of 
 the blood flowing from the soles of the feet of a flying 
 foe and staining the field of battle. The bard shows in 
 this poem that he had imbibed the philosophy peculiar to 
 his order; for instance, he says that Llewelyn was the 
 best prince ever made out of the /oi/r e/emenfs : 
 
 Ef difeiaf naf rhy wnaeth Dofydd 
 Yn y byd o bedwar defnydd. 
 
 Einion ab Madoc composed a poem to Gruffudd, 
 Llewelyn's father. It is brimful of the spirit of the times, 
 and sounds a note of defiance to both the English and 
 the Normans, who were scouring the country. He men- 
 tions a fierce conflict at Trallwng Elfael, a place on the 
 borders of Radnorshire, and airs the opposition of his 
 countrymen to taxes and oaths of submission : 
 
 Nid gnawd oe ardal na thai na thwng. 
 
 Y Prydydd Bychan, probably so called on account 
 of the shortness of his poems, has twenty compositions 
 addressed mostly to the princes of South Wales, but his 
 longest poem is to Owain Goch, son of Gruffudd ab 
 Llewelyn. Both Owain and his father had been im- 
 prisoned for many years by David, son of Llewelyn ab 
 lorwerlh. The Bishop of Bangor, who had been partly 
 instrumental in getting them imprisoned, sought afterwards, 
 but in vain, for their release. The King of England inter- 
 fered, and took both Owain and Gruffudd with him to 
 London, being assured by David that they were dangerous 
 to the peace of the country. They were kept in honour- 
 able confinement in the Tower, hence the reference to 
 Owain in this poem as 'gwawr Llundain ' (the hero of 
 London). Owain escaped into North Wales, and sup- 
 
LLEWELYN AB GRUFFUDD'S BARDS 35 
 
 ported by a strong party he got possession of the counties 
 of Anglesey and Carnarvon, holding his court at Aber- 
 ffraw : 
 
 Dreic llys Ffraw drwc ar lies Ffranc. 
 
 Embarking upon a more ambitious scheme, he was 
 opposed by Llewelyn ab Gruffudd and taken prisoner at 
 the battle of Bryn Derwyn, and was afterwards kept in 
 confinement for twenty-three years at the castle of Dolba. 
 darn, Llanberis. Howel Voel wrote him two poems during 
 his incarceration. On his release in 1277, Llewelyn, who 
 had in the interval ruled North Wales alone, generously 
 gave him the Cantref of Lleyn. The date of Owain's 
 death is unknown, but Bleddyn Vardd, who shall be 
 noticed later, wrote an elegy to his memory. 
 
 Prydydd Bychan used a metre called Proest Cyffiewidiog 
 which has a different vowel in the last syllable of each 
 line, thus : -ed, -yd, -ud, -ad. This came into frequent 
 use later on. Here is an example of a sixteenth-century 
 bard's use of it : 
 
 Amryvv enwog mawr w^mwydd 
 A mawr enw am a ranodd 
 A mawr iawn ymro Wynedd 
 Am roi i weiniaid Meir'ionj'dd. 
 
 Wm. Llŷn. 
 
 Howel Voel, or Howel the Bald, was partly of Irish 
 extraction, and had not, according to the custom of that 
 age, established his claim to the rights of a fully naturalised 
 Welshman. The laws of naturalisation were then very 
 exclusive, and only recognised the ninth in descent from 
 a foreigner. But Howel, whose grandfather Pwyll was an 
 Irishman, wrote the language with as much freedom and 
 ease as any of his contemporary bards. He affects their 
 
36 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 fondness for beginning long strings of lines with the same 
 word, and he does this in his ode to the imprisoned Owain, 
 which has been already mentioned. The poem is a bold 
 protest against his imprisonment, and the lines below are 
 quoted from it : 
 
 Gwr yssydd yn twr yn hir westi 
 Gwreidd teyrneidd teyrnwalch ri 
 Gwr am doddyw gwall oe golli o vyw 
 Gwreiddlyw a glyw y glodfori 
 Gwr teleid teiluoedd lochi 
 Gwr teilu teilwng y vol! 
 Gwr y gryd yn ryd gwr val Rodri niawr 
 Gwr eurglawr aessawr ysswydd holi 
 Gwr yn rwym gan rwyf Eryri 
 Gwr pel rydd val Run vab Bell 
 (iwr ny adei loegyr y losgi i dervyn 
 Gwr o hil Mervryn mawrvryd benlli 
 Gwr torvoedd gwr gwisgoedd gwisgi 
 Gwr gwasgawd kiwdawd kad weini 
 (iwr cadarn cadoedd reoli 
 Gwr cadwent kedwis haelyoni. 
 
 Bleddyn Vardd has contributed thirteen poems to 
 Welsh literature, the most striking of which is his elegy 
 to Llewelyn ab Gruffudd, which has the virtue of not over- 
 idealising the departed hero. It would seem that the 
 bard's effort was directed to give a true picture of the last 
 prince of Wales, and this makes the poem of considerable 
 interest. He strikes a true note at the outset by calling 
 him 'gwawr gwreiddiaf (the manliest hero) • he also men- 
 tions the prince's seriousness of purpose, and his sincerity 
 as a friend. The poem is short, and worth quoting in 
 full : 
 
 Colles Gymru fawr gwawr gwreiddiaf, 
 (iwreiddllafn esgud gloywddrud glewaf, 
 
LLEWELYN AB GRUFFUDD'S BARDS 37 
 
 Gwreiddlyw nid byw, ba wnaf o'i golled? 
 Gwreiddlew hyged, roddged rwyddaf. 
 
 Gwr a las drosom, gwr oedd drosaf 
 Gwr oedd dros Gymru, hyf yr henwaf, 
 Gwrawl Lewelyn, gwraf o Gymio ; 
 Gwr ni charai ffo i'r fFordd nesaf. 
 
 Gwr gwrdd yn cyrchu llu lledeithaf, 
 Gwr gwyrddliw bebyll, gwersyll gorsaf, 
 Gwreiddfab Gruffudd digraffaf am reg, 
 Yn neddfau mawr deg Nudd a Mordaf. 
 
 Gwr gwayw rudd, gwr prudd megys Priaf, 
 Gwr gwiw yn frenin fyddin falchaf, 
 Gwr hylwydd y glod, gwr haelaf am draul, 
 Hyd y cerdda haul i hwyl bellaf. 
 
 Gwr dig i ddistryw, Ilyw llyseiddiaf, 
 Gwr dygn i alar, car cywiraf ; 
 Gwr cywirgoeth, doeth, detholedig, o Fôn 
 Hyd yn Nghaerlleon, y He teccaf. 
 
 Gwr vu Lywelyn ger terfyn Taf", 
 Gwawr kyhoedd wisgoedd wasgaroccaf, 
 Gwr oedd arbennic bennaf o vilwyr, 
 Hyd ym porth Wegyr eryr araf. 
 
 Y gwr a gymyrth enghyrth yngliaf 
 Anghen dros bymhoes drymloes drymaf, 
 A gymero vy rwyf rywoccaf vonhedd, 
 Yn rann trugaredd vawredd vwyhaf. 
 
 Myv. Arch. i. 368. 
 
 The last bard, and by far the ablest, who sang the 
 praises of the fallen prince was Gruffydd ab yr Ynad 
 Coch. His elegy to Llewelyn ab Gruffudd is the finest 
 composition of that age. It gives some conception of the 
 terrible blow Llewelyn's death inflicted on the Cymry, and 
 
38 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 the bard himself must have felt most poignant personal 
 
 sorrow before he could have written such grief-stricken 
 
 lines. In the acuteness of his loss, his imagination seizes 
 
 upon the boldest imagery, and there can be no doubt that 
 
 this poem is 'worthy of the occasion which called it forth, 
 
 and forms a fitting wail on a hero's fall.' Part of it has 
 
 ji been rendered in English verse in 'Jones's Relics,' and the 
 
 !■ lines which describe Nature's sympathy with the fallen 
 
 '*' prince do full justice to the original : 
 
 Nature herself is changed, and lo ! 
 
 Now all things sympathise below ! 
 
 Hark I how the howling wind and rain 
 
 In loudest sympathy complain ! 
 
 Hark ! how the consecrated oaks. 
 
 Unconscious of the woodman's strokes, 
 
 With thundering crash proclaim he's gone ; 
 
 Fall in each other's arms and groan ! 
 
 Hark how the sullen tempests roar ! 
 
 See how the white waves wash the shore ! 
 
 See how eclipsed the sun appears, 
 
 See how the stars fall from their spheres ! 
 
 Why are we left to mourn in vain, 
 
 The guardian of our country slain .'' 
 
 No place, no refuge for us left, 
 
 Of homes, of liberty bereft. 
 
 Where shall we flee, to whom complain 
 
 Since our dear prince Llewelyn 's slain .'' 
 
 How faithful a reproduction these lines are in meanin 
 and spirit will be discovered by a comparison with the lines 
 quoted below : 
 
 Llawer lief druan fal ban fu'r Gamlan 
 Llawer deigr dros ran wedir greiniaw 
 O leas gwanas gwanar eurllaw 
 
LLEWELYN AB GRUFFUDD'S BARDS 39 
 
 O laith Llywelyn cof dyn ni 'm daw 
 Oerfelawg calon dan fron o fraw 
 Rewydd fal crinwydd y sy'n crinaw 
 Poni welwchwi hynt y gwynt a 'r glaw 
 Poni wehvchwi 'r deri yn ymdaraw 
 Poni welwchwi 'r môr yn merwinaw'r tir 
 Poni welwchwi 'r gwynt yn ymgyweiriaw 
 Poni welwchwi 'r haul yn hwyliaw 'r awyr 
 Poni welwchwi 'r syr wedi syrthiaw 
 Poni welwchwi Dduw dyniadon ynfyd 
 Poni welwchwi 'r byd wedi bydiaw 
 Och hyd attad Dduw na ddaw — môr dros dir 
 
 Pa beth i'n gedir i ohiriaw 
 Nid oes le y cyrcher rhag carchar draw 
 Nid oes le y triger och o'r trigaw 
 Nid oes na chyngor na chlo nac egor 
 
 Unffordd i esgor brwyngyngor braw. 
 
 Pen pan las ni bu gas gymraw 
 Pen pan las oedd lesach peidiaw 
 Pen milwr pen moliant rhagllaw 
 Pen dragon pen draig oedd arnaw 
 Pen Llewelyn deg dygn o fraw i 'r byd 
 
 Bod Pawl haiarn drwyddaw 
 Pen arglwydd poen dygngwydd amdaw 
 Pen fenaid heb fanag arnaw 
 Pen a fu berchen ar barch naw canwlad 
 
 A naw canwledd iddaw 
 Pen teyrn heyrn heid o 'i law 
 Pen teyrnwalch balch bwlch i ddeifniaw 
 Pen teyrnaidd flaidd flaengar ganthaw 
 Pen teyrnef nef i nawdd arnaw 
 Gwir freiniol frenin Aberfifraw 
 Gwenwlad nef boed addef iddaw. 
 
 Tliis latter verse mentions the terrible indignities inflicted 
 upon Llewelyn's dead body, after the manner of those bar- 
 
40 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 barous times. There is some historical foundation for this. 
 Warrington says that the head of the hapless prince was 
 first placed in the pillory at Cheapsidc, then carried by a 
 horseman on a spear-point through the streets, and after- 
 wards 'placed upon the highest turret in the Tower of 
 London, where it remained a long time.' 
 
 In Gruifudd ab yr Ynad Coch, the bardism of the 
 thirteenth century reached its highest point of perfection, 
 and this poem, in particular, was its high-water mark. 
 Worthy of note in it are its wealth of vocabulary, the bard's 
 skill in the formation of new words, and its arrangement, 
 the chief features of which are the repetition of the same 
 word at the beginning of so many lines and of the same 
 syllable at the end. 
 
 Incidentally the poem mentions a meeting which took 
 place at Builth in Brecknockshire, to which Llewelyn had 
 been invited to confer with other Welsh chiefs and some 
 disaffected English lords, numbering eighteen in all. It 
 was the betrayal of this design that led to his death. 
 
 Uched y cwynaf och o 'r cwynaw 
 Arghvydd llwydd cyn lladdj detoiaw. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 FROM THE DEATH OF LLEWELYN TO THE MIDDLE OF 
 THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY 
 
 Llewelyn ab Gruffudd's death was followed by a period of 
 petty insurrections which had a dispiriting effect upon the 
 whole country. Chafing at the loss of their independence, 
 and yet powerless to regain their freedom, and lacking able 
 leaders, the Cymry could not well settle down to literary 
 pursuits, and the next forty years, although not entirely 
 barren of literature, produced nothing of outstanding merit, 
 and only the chief bards will be noticed here. 
 
 One bard, Gwilym Ddu o Arfon, in two of his poems 
 praises the courage of his countrymen, and especially that 
 of a nobleman named Sir Gruffudd Llwyd, who had been 
 knighted by King Edward, but had afterwards become dis- 
 affected, owing, it is said, to the oppression suffered by 
 many of his compatriots. He first attempted negotiations 
 with Robert Bruce of Scotland, but these failed ; and then, 
 trusting to his own resources, he raised the standard of 
 rebellion, and seized many castles, but was soon overthrown 
 and imprisoned. Gwilym Ddu's verses in his praise, which 
 are called ' Odlau'r Misoedd,' throw some light on the state 
 of the country at the time. He bewails the numbers 
 suffering captivity, more especially his hero Gruffudd, and 
 the sad plight of the bards consequent upon the helpless- 
 
 41 
 
42 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 ness of their late benefactors, although with true Celtic 
 introspection he regards many of his country's woes as a 
 punishment for transgressions. The burden of his song is 
 that May and June, the months of joy and gladness, are 
 now cheerless and comfortless, and the office of a bard is 
 now but a vain and empty name. 
 
 Neud arfer ofer beirdd nifer byd. 
 
 He lays the unction to his soul, however, that his panegyric 
 to his hero Gruffudd is devoid of flattery, a subtle rebuke 
 to so many of his fraternity who flattered for gain. The 
 poem reflects the settled gloom which followed upon the 
 fate of Llewelyn. The country mourns, and looks as if it 
 were doing Lenten penance : 
 
 Nid oes wledd na moes, massw ynyd yw'n gwlad. 
 
 That such a poem as this could be produced soon after 
 the death of Llewelyn sufifices to disprove the oft-told tale 
 that Edward i. massacred the bards. The paucity of 
 bardic efl"usions was due, no doubt, to their dejection 
 natural upon the loss of their independence, which meant 
 evil times to their patrons, and the prohibition of their 
 own writings, as calculated to further disturb the country in 
 its already unsettled state. 
 
 Gwilym Ddu uses what has been called the ' semi-lineal ' 
 rhyme with some frequency : 
 
 Neud cynhebig, ddig, ddygn adrossedd drist 
 Er pan ddelid Crista weddw athrist wedd 1 
 
 His other poem to Sir Gruffudd Llwyd resembles the 
 first one in tone, and the only other lines attributed to 
 him are an elegy to the bard Trahaearn, a man of some 
 eminence who presided at a bardic conference at Morganwg 
 in 1300, and is supposed to have written under the name 
 
LLEWELYN TO FOURTEENTH CENTURY 43 
 
 Casnodyn. If this is so, it adds interest to the poem, which 
 is for the most part a recapitulation of the names of the 
 leading bards up to Trahaearn's time, and occasionally a 
 short criticism of their work. For instance, he sums up 
 Cynddelw as ceiftddawn (of splendid gifts), Dafydd Benvras 
 as digas (kindly, amiable), Einion ab Gwalchmai as berw 
 ffynnoft (a foaming fountain), Llygad Gwr as uniawn 
 (correct), and concludes by referring to Trahaearn as 
 superior to them all. 
 
 So far Welsh poetry had been somewhat restricted in its 
 scope of subjects. War, eulogies of living warriors, and 
 elegies after departed ones, were the subjects which mostly 
 engrossed the bards ; so much so, that the love poems of 
 Howel ab Owain Gwynedd, and the Nature poems of 
 Gwalchmai come as welcome breaks, cheerful and refresh- 
 ing. It is true that the awkward efforts of Meilyr had 
 ripened into the polished verse of Gruffudd ab yr Ynad 
 Coch, but war and bloodshed are not the most palatable 
 of subjects. The bards had been votaries at the fane of 
 Mars so long that their odes tended to monotony. Now 
 that they were no longer able, owing to Edward's prohibi- 
 tion, to stir up the passions of war, they found an outlet 
 for their wealth of imagination in other directions. Many 
 of the Romances were probably the product of this period, 
 and love ousted war as the all-absorbing topic of the bards. 
 
 There is one poet in particular for whom a place must 
 be found in this period, and he was the sweetest and most 
 elegant exponent of the tender passion, with the possible 
 exception of Dafydd ab Gwilym, of all Welsh poets. For 
 some time Rhys Goch ap Rhiccert had been assigned a 
 place in the twelfth century, but Stephens amply demon- 
 strated that this was impossible. The language and 
 structure of his poems, the atmosphere of peace which 
 
44 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 they breathe, the absence of political allusions and all 
 reference to national feeling, point to the middle of the 
 fourteenth century as the most likely time of their pro- 
 duction, while the absence of cynghanedd'^ in most of his 
 poems is sufficient evidence to prove that they were not 
 composed later. 'Can i Wallt Merch' is an admirable 
 love-poem describing a lady's beauty in detail : her hair 
 of loveliest gold, her forehead white as spray, her cheeks 
 and lips redder than rosy wine — but the bard had best 
 continue in his own vivid words : 
 
 Trwyn main moddus 
 
 Bychan gweddus 
 
 A min fel mel 
 
 I'm dyn dawel. 
 Gwefus mirain liw cain cwrel 
 A man ddannedd a gwedd hoywgoeth 
 Amlwg ymhen gwenn gymhenddoeth 
 Gen bychan crwn a hwn mor hynod 
 Ag yn nydd mynydd mewn gwn manod. 
 
 Her lightness of foot is described by exactly the same 
 image as that of Olwen in the old Mabinogion story : not 
 the smallest trefoil would bend beneath her : 
 
 Bun deg dawel ddawn ysgawn wisgi 
 Ni phlyg manfeillion ar donn dani. 
 
 It is the same image as Scott gives : 
 
 E'en the slight hare-bell raised its head, 
 Elastic from her airy tread ; 
 
 and Rhys Goch ap Rhiccert often returns to it. In another 
 poem he says : 
 
 Ag ni phlygai man y cerddai 
 
 Dan wyn draed hon un o'r mcillion. 
 
 ' Sec note, p. 47. 
 
LLEWELYN TO FOURTEENTH CENTURY 45 
 
 There is an ecstasy of love in the following passage : 
 
 Gorwedd yn dau ym mysg blodau, 
 Gorwedd ar donn ymhlith meillion, 
 Finfin a gwen o'm boll awen, 
 Gwledd a gefais ar fin meinais, 
 Gwledd Dewi Sant ynghor Hodnant, 
 Gwledd Taliesin yn Llys Elphin, 
 Gwledd y ford gron yng Nghaerllion, 
 Gwledd angel glwys ym Mharadwys. 
 
 Hyn ar yn can oedd y cyfan 
 Felly nynni cydfoddloni 
 I fyw yn Ian ar wledd cusan 
 I farw yn dau o gusanau. 
 
 His love of Nature is equally passionate. He is in 
 perfect sympathy with her. He feels the melancholy of 
 winter, but the verdure of May revives him ; the growing 
 trees rejoice his heart, and the song of the thrush, the 
 nightingale, and the lark complete his joy. The follow- 
 ing verses help to show his varying moods with those 
 of Nature : 
 
 Gorthrwm a thrwm a thrist fyddaf, 
 
 Ni charaf un tro tra fo gaeaf, 
 
 Oni ddel Mai glasai glosydd 
 
 A gwyrddlen penn pob glwys irwydd 
 
 Mai imi glas urddas gwyrddail 
 
 Calon hoywfron hyfryd adail. 
 
 Cyntedd tirion mwynion manwydd 
 
 Ar lawr meillion gleision glosydd, 
 
 A chôg serchog ddoniog ddenus 
 
 Yn canu'n Iwys lais cariadus, 
 
 A chiw bronfraith buriaith beraidd 
 
 Yn canu'n hardd loyw hoywfardd hafaidd. 
 
46 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 His love of birds is very conspicuous : 
 
 Eos o'r llwyn yn fwyn gyfanedd 
 Arail mewn gvvyrddail gerddi maswedd, 
 A chyda'r dydd ehedydd hoywdon 
 A gân yn drylwyn fwyn bennillion, 
 A phob llawenydd hirddydd hyfryd 
 O'th gaf di Wenno yno ennyd. 
 
 With him begins the device, which afterwards became 
 so popular, of feigning to send love-messages by birds or 
 animals. In this, Dafydd ab Gwilym was his most con- 
 spicuous imitator. Here is an example : 
 
 Dos di'r fwyalch, 
 At ddyn feinfalch, 
 Dangos iddi 
 Mhoen am dani, 
 Bronfraith a gân 
 Ar wydd eirian, 
 Dwg oil o'm cwyn 
 At loyw forwyn. 
 
 In another beautiful poem he entrusts his message to 
 a seagull, and an exquisite gem is his poem to the thrush, 
 where these lines occur : 
 
 O goed y glynn 
 Prydai englyn, 
 O goed y rhiw 
 Canal 'n gywiw, 
 Brith oedd i fronn, 
 Mewn dail gleision. 
 
 Yn ymyl nant 
 Pawb a'i clywant, 
 Gan wawr y can 
 Mai cloch arian, 
 
LLEWELYN TO FOURTEENTH CENTURY 47 
 
 Cynnal aberth 
 Hyd awr anterth. 
 
 gangau cyll 
 Gwyrddion defyll 
 Y can gywydd 
 
 1 Dduw Dofydd, 
 A chaiol serch 
 O las lannerch. 
 
 AWi. —There are some who asssign to Rhys Goch ap Rhiccert a 
 later date than this, on the ground that he uses the cywydd metre, 
 which was introduced by Dafydd ab Gwilym, in some of his poems, 
 and employs the cynghanedd. But he has no whole poem in which he 
 uses the latter consistently throughout. The probability is that he 
 was a contemporary and imitator of the great bard who made the 
 cywydd famous, but had not risen to so full a mastery of the 
 cynghatiedd (although Dafydd ab Gwilym is not without blemishes in 
 this respect), and preferred to write in the free metres which so 
 admirably suited him. In his sweet love odes he is the poetical 
 offspring of Gwalchmai and Howel ab Owain Gwynedd. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 GRUFFUDD AB MEREDYDD AB DAFYDD — 
 DAFYDD AB GWILVM 
 
 The most important of Dafydd ab Gwilym's immediate 
 predecessors is Gruffudd ab Meredydd ab Dafydd, 
 who, although he employs the cynghanedd in some of his 
 poems, does not do so regularly. In this he seems to have 
 a fellow in Rhys Goch ap Rhiccert, who wrote some poems 
 in cynghanedd^ but the majority in the free metres. Poetry 
 was probably in a transition stage at this time, and it was 
 the powerful influence of Dafydd ab Gwilym that settled it. 
 
 There are twenty-eight of Gruffudd ab Meredydd's 
 poems in the Myvyrian, eight of which are composed to 
 Tudur ab Gronwy of Penmynydd, Môn, and four to his 
 son Gronwy Vychan, one an elegy, written in 1382, which 
 states that the latter met his death by drowning. 
 
 This bard has several love odes, and a beautiful elegy on 
 Gwenh7vyfar o Fan, in which there are some lines worthy 
 of quotation, e.g. 
 
 Haul Wynedd neud bedd nid byw — unbenncs 
 Heb ynnill ei ' chyfryw 
 
 ' The lines are quoted from the Myvyrian Archaiology, as are most 
 of those up to the end of the fourteenth century. There was no such 
 form as «■ at this time. It is a late sixteenth-century form for which 
 WilHam Salisbury is responsible. Wherever it occurs previous to 
 this, it should read /. 
 48 
 
DAFYDD AB GWILYM 49 
 
 Henvv gorhoffder a dderyw 
 Hoen Uoer hun oer heno yw. 
 
 Gwae fi hvysgrair IVIair mawr i'm cyffry— deigr 
 Am eurdegwch Cymry 
 Myned mewn argel wely 
 Meinir dwf is mynor dy. 
 
 Uchenaid fan 
 Gelain deir-ran 
 
 Galon dorri. 
 Am Wenhwyfar 
 Gwn drais galar 
 
 Gan draws guli. 
 
 Am deg ei gwedd a haul Wynedd o haelioni 
 
 Am ddiweirdeb am loerwyneb ami rieni 
 
 Bardd hardd hirddysg eurglyd addysg ar glod iddi 
 
 Bum i'w chanmawl fy nedwydd hawl f'enaid oedd hi. 
 
 His other poems are on religious subjects — Englynion y 
 Sul, two odes I Fair, and two / Dduw. He shows a great 
 fondness for the hupyni metre, and uses it very effectively. 
 
 With Dafydd ab Gwilym Welsh literature begins a 
 new era, the chief feature of which is the regular adoption 
 in poetry of the strict principles of versification known as 
 the cynghanedd. This came about by a gradual development. 
 Giraldus Cambrensis speaks of the fondness of the Cymry 
 for alliteration, ' and that kind more especially which repeats 
 the first letters or syllables of words.' This characteristic 
 •cannot fail to have been noticed in the quotations already 
 given, and in it is found the germ of what afterwards 
 developed into the cynghanedd^ a strict method of versifica- 
 tion of which Dafydd ab Gwilym is the first regular 
 exponent. The poetic conceit of beginning or ending 
 long strings of lines with the same word or syllable is 
 
 D 
 
50 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 more noticed in the work of the bards as we approach the 
 middle of the fourteenth century. Gruffudd ab yr Ynad 
 Coch, for instance, ends a hundred and four lines in his 
 elegy upon Llewelyn ab Gruffudd with the syllable -aw. 
 
 One assumes that there must have been a council of the 
 bards, and a clear understanding and adoption of these 
 new principles of versification, before they could come into 
 general use. Perhaps it was in this connection that the 
 eisteddfodau known as the Tair Eisteddfod Dadeni were, held, 
 for there seems to be no satisfactory explanation of them 
 on other grounds, and there are many who doubt they were 
 ever held at all. But so important and definite a change 
 could never have taken place without the consent of the 
 whole bardic fraternity. That consent must have been 
 given at their congresses, and the term dadetii is very 
 suggestive of the demise of the old versification, and its 
 regeneration under the new forms known as cynghanedd. 
 The question of the exact order of its development is beset 
 with many difficulties, into which it is not proposed to 
 enter here, but an example of each of the three chief 
 classes will perhaps be helpful. 
 
 L Cynghanedd Groes. — In this the line is divided into 
 two parts, and the consonants contained in the first part 
 occur in the same order in the second : e.g. 
 
 M&tr dy dda. \ mz.\ir yw dy ddawn. 
 
 There is a variety of this known as cynghanedd draws, in 
 which some of the consonants in the first part of the line 
 are not in correspondence with those in the second. But 
 the irregularity is in the middle of the line. The beginning 
 and end have to correspond : e.g. 
 
 (Jonvedd ynt oil mewn ^vcryd. 
 
DAFYDD AB GWILYM 51 
 
 II. Cynghanedd Sain, — In this the line is divided into 
 three parts, and the end of the second part rhymes with 
 the end of the first ; in the second and third parts the 
 consonants have to correspond as in cynghanedd groes: e.g. 
 
 Myfi^yw I ffraeth/yw | fifrwythlawn. 
 
 In this line j'ze/ rhymes with lyto, and the consonants _^ r, 
 th, I, in the second and third parts of the line correspond. 
 
 III. Cynghanedd Lusg. — In this there is no correspon- 
 dence of consonants. The line is divided into two parts, 
 the second of which must end in more than one syllable. 
 The last syllable in the first part must rhyme with the last 
 but one in the second, which must always be accented : e.g. 
 
 Dyna'r parch \ oil a archai. 
 
 So much that is haphazard has been written about 
 Dafydd ab Gwilym's life, that one is forced to the con- 
 clusion that where conjecture is so rife, very little can be 
 known with certainty. It is a curious coincidence that 
 this should be so in the case of the supreme English poet 
 and of the hitherto unsurpassed Welsh bard. The lolo 
 MSS., which do not always err on the side of accuracy, 
 state that Dafydd ab Gwilym lived from 1300 to 1368. 
 This is in conflict with most other authorities, and the 
 weight of evidence is against it. Dr. Davies, whose dates 
 generally stand the test of inquiry, places him at 1400. 
 In the preface to the 1789 edition of Dafydd ab Gwilym's 
 work, William Owen argues that he was born in 1340, and 
 died in 1400. If the marwnad composed by the bard to 
 Tudur ap leuan Llwyd of Gogerddan is authentic, it proves 
 that he was alive in 1397, for that was the year of Tudur's 
 death. It is thought that he could not have lived beyond 
 1400, because his poetry contains no mention of Owain 
 
52 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 Glyndwr's insurrection, and such an upheaval, if he 
 witnessed it, must have found expression in the writings 
 of so eminent a bard. He was the son of Gwilym Gam 
 and Ardudful, the sister of Llewelyn ab Gwilym Fychan of 
 Emlyn, Cryngae, and Dolgoch, and was born at Bro Gynin, 
 Llanbadarn Fawr, near Aberystwyth. The pathetic story 
 told about his birth can be dismissed as fabulous. But 
 there seems no doubt that he spent some of his early days 
 at Gwern y Clepa with his uncle Ifor Hael, who was also 
 the owner of Maesaleg, that pleasant mansion, the hospi- 
 tality of which is so well described by the bard. It is said 
 that he returned home to Bro Gynin, but that domestic 
 strife forced him once more to seek the kindly shelter of 
 Maesaleg. His mother's brother, Llewelyn ab Gwilym, a 
 man of some importance, seems also to have taken an 
 interest in him at this time. He was a skilled bard and 
 taught his nephew the art of versifying, his other pupils 
 being ' y tri brodyr Marchwiail,' whom the bard mentions. 
 At the death of Llewelyn, Dafydd ab Gwilym returned to 
 Ifor Hael who made him his steward and his bardd teulu. 
 This is his own description of his life there : 
 
 Myfi yw ffraethlyw lifrwythlawn 
 Maer dy dda mawr yw dy ddawn 
 
 Mawr anrhydedd a'm deddyw 
 Mi a gaf o byddaf byw 
 Hel a ch\vn nid haelach lor 
 Ac yfed gydag Ifor 
 Saethu i geirw a saethynt 
 A bwrw i weilch i'r wybr wynt 
 A cherddau cildannau 'n deg 
 A solos yni Maesaleg 
 Chwarau ffristial a thalbwrdd 
 Yr un gyflwr a'r gŵr gwrdd. 
 
DAFYDD AB GWILYAI 53 
 
 His other diversion, which he does not mention, must 
 have been the writing of numerous odes. He is said to have 
 won a chair for a composition written in a new metre — the 
 cywydd — which he himself invented. It already existed, 
 though not as a separate metre, in the two last lines of the 
 englyn u?iodl union. It was Dafydd ab Gwilym's genius to 
 see its utility as a separate metre, and it certainly became 
 the most popular henceforth with the bards. It runs in 
 couplets consisting of two heptasyllabic lines ; if the 
 accent is on the ultimate syllable in the first line, it must 
 be on the penultimate in the second, and vice versa. In 
 the first two lines quoted above, the accent is respectively 
 on ffrwyih and ddaivn ; in lines 5-6 it is on /«yr and Ifox. 
 The lines in the cywydd couplet must always rhyme. 
 
 The odes /V L/eian, I yrru llatai i hndo Mynaches fr 
 llwyn, I Fynaches na ivehai ond i hwyneb gan i chrefydd- 
 wisg, and many similar to these, are supposed to have been 
 addressed by the bard to Ifor Hael's daughter, who, the 
 story goes, was sent to a nunnery to escape his attentions, 
 but there seems to be no foundation for this. The fact is 
 that such themes were in many cases purely fanciful, and it 
 is possible that the Nun, Dyddgu, and Morfudd were but 
 creations of the bard's imagination, although it is fair to 
 state that in his last poem he mentions the death of Mor- 
 fudd amongst others whom he laments : 
 
 Mae Ifor a'm cynghorawdd? 
 Mae Nest oedd unwaith i'm nawdd? 
 Mae dan wydd Morfydd fy myd, 
 Gorwedd ynt oil mewn gweryd. 
 
 If Morfudd was anything more than an imaginative 
 ideal, and the bard's statements respecting her are true, he 
 is supposed, after seven long years, during each of which 
 
54 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 he wrote to her full more than a score poems, to have been 
 successful in his suit, as far as the maiden herself was 
 concerned : 
 
 Cred o luned oleuni 
 A roes da i moes i mi 
 Llw i Dduw a'i Haw ddehau 
 Llyna od gwn llw nid gau. 
 
 This is a clear reference to their betrothal ; but her 
 family interposed, for they had pledged her to a rich old 
 miser nained Cynfrig Cynin, whom Dafydd ab Gwilym 
 scornfully calls F Bwa Bach, because of his deformity. 
 Their elopement, their illegal marriage by Madog Benvras 
 in the grove, the pursuit by the irate parents, the recovery 
 of Morfudd, and her forced marriage to the hated miser, 
 are all part of the bard's romantic story as set forth by 
 himself; and the conversation one May morning, which he 
 has with a cuckoo, which bids him cease his longing and 
 put away his hopeless passion, gives expression to his own 
 reflections. The bird says : 
 
 Ni thill porthi gofalon 
 Bun iach ym mhellach am hon 
 Gwra wnaeth Gwen gymen gall 
 Gwiriwyd hi 'n wraig i arall. 
 
 But the bard's anger is aroused at the very suggestion, and 
 he replies : 
 
 Taw ! na'in gwatwor am forwyn 
 
 Y llais ni chredaf i'm llwyn. 
 
 He reminds the cuckoo of Morfudd's oath, and of their 
 marriage in the grove. But the discreet bird replies : 
 
 Ynfyd yth glywaf, Dafydd 
 Yn|]awr yn siarad dan wýdd 
 
DAFYDD AB GWILYM 55 
 
 Ni chei Forfydd werydd wen 
 Y fun eglur fynyglwen. 
 
 The bard in furious anger lays the bird under his curse, 
 and wishes the winter to blight him with death : 
 
 Am a genaist i'm gwanu 
 
 Yma'n y gwŷdd am Wen gu 
 
 Deled it ddyddiau gaeaf 
 
 A throi'r haul a threio'r haf 
 
 A rhew yn dew ar y dail 
 
 A gwywo coed a gwiail 
 
 A'th ladd gan oerfel i'th hvyn 
 
 Edn ynfyd a'th don anfwyn. 
 
 Then he turns his resentment upon Morfudd for her 
 breach of faith, but he is immediately filled with remorse 
 and forgives her, seeing that she had been forced into the 
 marriage. He sends her a pleading message by a wood- 
 cock to entice her away, and, when that fails, a nightingale 
 is sent to employ his sweetest notes with the same purpose. 
 Finding this unavailing, he threatens her with loss of her 
 fair looks by companionship with the Biva Bach, and bids 
 her flee before the transformation is complete. Then he 
 beseeches S. Dwynwen to help him, and finally, having 
 achieved his object, he sings one of his finest odes, heaping 
 contumely the while upon her husband, and assuring her of 
 the protection of Ifor Hael, whom he describes as the open 
 enemy of the Bwa Bach. In Ifor's hall they will be safe : 
 
 Hawddamor beunydd yma 
 
 A gawn gyda phob dawn da 
 
 Llwyn is twyn yn llawn ystôr 
 
 A lies hefyd llys Ifor 
 
 Ifor yw trysor traserch 
 
 A rhyswr a sawdwr serch 
 
 Gelyn blin heb gyfrinach 
 
 Yw r gwrda i'r Bwa bach. 
 
56 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 Five odes he sings describing their joyous sylvan life, but 
 alas ! the emissaries of Cynfrig Cynin track them down. 
 Morfudd is dragged away to her lawful spouse, the bard 
 is imprisoned for his temerity, and writes to Morfudd in 
 rather a petulant spirit, blaming her for acceding to his 
 request : 
 
 Peraist annog fy nghrogi 
 Pe'm cerit ni fynnit fi. 
 
 He changes his mood, however, and beseeches her to help 
 him to pay the fine, but does not fail to punctuate his 
 resentment against the Bwa Bach. The sincerity of feel- 
 ing here tends to show the reality of these events, especially 
 as it is recorded that the men of Morganwg nobly came to 
 his rescue and paid the fine. No sooner is he free, how- 
 ever, than he begins his perilous quest of Morfudd once 
 more, recording his exploits in his remaining cywyddaUy 
 which, taken all together, form one of the longest rliian- 
 gerddi in any language. 
 
 It will be seen that Dafydd ab Gwilym has imitated 
 Rhys Goch ap Rhiccert (if, indeed, the latter preceded 
 him in point of time) in the way he has made Nature 
 and the animal world, especially winged creatures, the 
 emissaries of his love. He regarded Nature herself as 
 instinct with life. He was absorbed in her, and found in 
 her a source of inspiration. He is not always free, it is 
 true, from the conventionalities common to the bards of 
 his age, but there are passages of striking beauty in his 
 work which show not only close observation of her moods, 
 but also the dominating influence these had upon his 
 muse. Of Summer he sings : 
 
 Ysgwyd Iwyth o bar ffrwythydd 
 Yn rad gwrs ar hyd i gwŷdd, 
 
DAFYDD AB GWILYM 57 
 
 Rho'th gnwd fal ffrwd ar bob ffrith, 
 Ar gweunydd a'r tir gwenith, 
 Gwisg berllan, gvvinllan, a gardd, 
 A'th lavvnder a'th ffiwythlondardd, 
 Gwasgar hyd i daiar deg 
 Gu nodau dy gain adeg. 
 
 This is not only a picture of the abundance, charm, and 
 beneficence of Summer, but the season is endowed with 
 life. It is her own vitahty that enables her to strew her 
 path with these benignant gifts. The sharp contrast drawn 
 between her and Winter is as real as though he described 
 two persons irreconcilably opposite ; with a sigh at Summer's 
 departure he bewails the blight and melancholy of Winter 
 in equally vivid manner. He strides through the land like 
 a giant destroyer, leaving havoc and ruin in his train : 
 
 Weithian o'n gwlad yr aethost, 
 A daeth bar hyd daear dost, 
 Mae pob Ilwyn ar dwyn a dol 
 Ys dyddiau yn gystuddiol. 
 
 Gaeaf sy'n lladd y gwiail, 
 A dug o goedydd y dail, 
 A'i chwithig wynt yn chwythu, 
 A'i ruad arth, a'i raw du. 
 
 It is upon his Nature and Love poetry that Dafydd ab 
 Gwilym's fame rests. It is difficult to decide which of the 
 two influences was strongest upon him. Indeed, one often 
 merges into the other, for in many of the Morfudd odes 
 Nature becomes the central theme. Amongst Welsh poets 
 he stands apart in his treatment of these two subjects, and 
 when compared with their ablest exponents in the poetry 
 of other great literatures, he must still hold an honourable 
 place. 
 
58 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 In his attitude towards religion he joins issue with many 
 previous bards in his hostihty to the monks and priests 
 of his day, and in this respect he may be said to have done 
 nothing more than continue a prejudice which was based, 
 to a certain extent, upon the clashing of their interests 
 where patrons were concerned. But Dafydd ab Gwilym 
 strikes a more genuine note of difference. He was opposed 
 to some of the doctrines which obtained prominence in the 
 current theology of his time, notably that of purgatory, to 
 which he shows a determined hostility : 
 
 Cosbwr y marwawl bechawd,^ 
 Casbeth gennyf bregeth brawd. 
 
 Nid ydyw Diiw mor greulon 
 Ag y dywed hen ddynion. 
 
 It may be argued that his own moral code, to judge from 
 his poems, was not as lofty as it might have been, and 
 that would predispose him to the attitude of mind shown 
 here, but this is scarcely tenable when one considers the 
 age in which he lived. It is far more likely that he was in 
 touch with the intellectual movements of his time, on the 
 Continent, to a greater extent than has been generally 
 supposed ; and, influenced by them in his mental outlook, 
 he adopted an attitude on some religious questions, which 
 obtained greater prominence a century later, and which 
 entitles him to be regarded as a herald of the Reforma- 
 tion movement in this country. It has been demon- 
 strated that his works show the influence of Petrarch and 
 Boccaccio, and a man of his genius would naturally be 
 acquainted with as much of European thought as filtered 
 through into this country. 
 
 ' This line, if correctly reproduced, is an instance of his occasional 
 lapses from correct cynghanedd. 
 
DAFYDD AB GWIT-YM 59 
 
 Dafydd ab Gwilym was practically the first writer of 
 Modern Welsh ; he certainly had more share than any one 
 else in the formation of the modern literary language. 
 The language of his poems represents the ordinary speech 
 of educated people of his day, and it is a regularly modified 
 form of the medieval literary language. He may be said 
 to have set the fashion for writing cywyddau and for 
 cynghanedd, and no new principle was introduced into the 
 latter after his time. This was the prevalent form of 
 poetry until the time of Edmund Prys. How close the 
 language has adhered to the standard set by Dafydd ab 
 Gwilym is significantly seen if a cynvydd composed by each 
 of these well-known bards is placed side by side and carefully 
 compared. For two hundred years Dafydd ab Gwilym's 
 forms remained unchanged. William Salesbury tried to 
 effect what he considered an improvement upon them, but 
 he utterly failed. The writers of the 1620 Bible returned 
 to the Welsh of Dafydd ab Gwilym and Edmund Prys, 
 and that Bible is, of course, the standard Welsh of to-day. 
 
 The bard's well-known Cywydd Vr Llwynog and his 
 inimitable Cyzvydd y Darati may be cited as instances of 
 the strength and beauty of his language. The latter can 
 scarcely be equalled, as the following lines show : 
 
 Taro a wnaeth, terwyn oedd, 
 Trwst taran tros y tiroedd ; 
 A ffrydiaw croyw-wlaw creulawn, 
 A phoeri mellt yn ftrom lawn. 
 Durun ftiam y daran fflwch 
 Dug warwfa'n digrifwch ; 
 Trwst enbyd tristyd i'r trwyn, 
 Trwst mawr yn tristau morwyn. 
 Twrf a gly w pob tyrfa glau, 
 Twrw crug yn tori creigiau. 
 
6o A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 Taran a ddug trinoedd ynn, 
 Trwst arfau'r wybr tros derfyn ; 
 Tan ami a dwr tew'n yniladd, 
 Tan o lid, dwr tew'n i ladd. 
 Clywais fry, ciliais o fraw, 
 Cawrlais udgoin y curwlaw. 
 Mil fawr yn ymleferydd, 
 O gadwynau sugnau sydd. 
 Braw a ddisgynodd i'ni bron, 
 Bei w deri o'r wybr dirion. 
 Gwyllt yr awn a'm gwallt ar ŵyr, 
 Gan ruad gwn yr awyr. 
 
 His awdlan generally show the influence of the older 
 poets, and are not so readable as the rest of his poems. 
 
 Borrow, in his iVihi IVales, claims that he had the 
 combined gifts of an Ovid, Horace, Martial, and Tyrtaeus, 
 and thinks some of his more serious poetry towards the 
 end of his life would not have been unworthy of Ciedmon. 
 He also expresses the opinion that ' he was the greatest 
 genius who had appeared in Europe after the Revival of 
 Literature.' 
 
 The year of his death is, as was stated, uncertain. The 
 lolo MSS. aflirm that he was buried at Tal-y-llychau, 
 but this has been shown to be incorrect. Gruffudd Gryg, 
 a contemporary bard, who had a contest in verse with 
 Dafydd ab Gwilym, composed to him two marwnadau^ 
 which afford valuable testimony on this point. The first 
 he wrote when a false report of his rival's death was circu- 
 lated by their common friends in order to end the unhappy 
 quarrel between them. It had the desired effect, and 
 Gruffudd Gryg in much grief wrote : 
 
 Dafydd ab Gwilym ymy 
 Y bu fraw am na bai fry. 
 
DAFYDD AB GWILYM 6i 
 
 Yn nhir Deheubarth yn hardd, 
 Ac aerfa r/iofac eiirfardd. 
 
 The last line shows that this was the first marwfmd, for 
 it mentions the quarrel. Therefore, it can be concluded 
 that the other inarivnad was written when the bard really 
 died, and it contains lines showing that his burial-place 
 was Ystrad Fflur (Strata Florida) near Aberystwyth : 
 
 Yr ywen i oreuwas 
 
 Ger mur Ystrad Fflur a'i phlâs. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THE BARDS OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY 
 
 The chief political event in the beginning of the fifteenth 
 century was the insurrection of Owain Glyndwr in 1402, 
 and the bards who wrote during that stirring time shall 
 first be noticed, chief amongst them being lolo Goch. 
 In the Heraldic Visitations of Wales, by Lewys Dwnn, the 
 following interesting note concerning this baid appears : 
 ' lolo Goch, Master of Arts, Poet Lawiell or Cheif Poet, 
 who hath written concerning the three provinces of 
 Wales, and he was the cheifcst of Poets.' He was a 
 native of Llannefydd, Denbighshire, and lived at Coed 
 Panton in that village. Dwnn's statement points to his 
 having received a good education at one of the universities, 
 and to the high estimate of his writings as a bard which 
 prevailed in his day. Some writers have thought that he 
 flourished early in the fourteenth century, but this is quite 
 impossible, seeing that he look an active part in the 
 Glyndwr rebellion, and employed his muse effectively in 
 rousing Welsh patriotic sentiment and persuading his 
 countrymen to enlist under Glyndwr's banner. 
 
 Several of his poems sing the praises of his hero and 
 patron. In one he gives a picture of his court before the 
 insurrection. In another he refers to the betrayal of 
 
 62 
 
BARDS OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY 63 
 
 Richard 11., and implies that Owain Glyndwr's rising was 
 a sequel to this. Cywydd i Owain Glyndwr pan oedd 
 fwya i rwysg gives a glowing description of the Welsh 
 warrior at the height of his glory, and well expresses the 
 sentiment of Welsh independence in the lines : 
 
 Cael arglwydd Ilawn arwydd Ilain 
 O honyn hwy i hunain. 
 
 Cywydd y Seren was written on the appearance of a 
 comet in 1402, which lolo declared was a portent of 
 Glyndwr's success, and through it he influenced many of 
 his superstitious countrymen to join in the rising. Shak- 
 speare mentions this same phenomenon, and has put these 
 words into Glyndwr's mouth : 
 
 At my nativity 
 The front of heaven was full of fiery shapes 
 Of burning cressets ; and at my birth 
 The frame and huge foundation of the earth 
 Shaked like a coward. 
 
 lolo writes upon a variety of other topics. His Cywydd 
 Vr Llafunvr gives a very natural description of the farming 
 class of his day. He depicts them as religious according 
 to their lights, and very careful of almsgiving : 
 
 O rhoddes ef wr hoywryw 
 Offrwm a'i ddegwm i Dduw. 
 
 Although their knowledge was scanty, they were charitable 
 and hospitable. Content with their husbandry, they led 
 honest, peaceful lives, following the plough with a song, 
 and making a frugal meal under the shelter of some hedge. 
 In this ode he refers to Hii Gadarn as the father of Welsh 
 agriculture. 
 
 His Cywydd Vr Byd, Cywvdd Vr Drindod, and Cywydd 
 
64 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 ar yr ystyriaeth o enedigaeth dyn deal with religious topics, 
 and his views are Scriptural, but do not identify him with 
 any doctrine peculiarly Roman. This lends colour to the 
 suggestion that Lollardism had begun to influence the 
 upper classes in Wales at this time. Lord Cobham is said 
 to have sheltered at Aber Tanad, the palace of Owain 
 Glyndwr. 
 
 Other religious odes of his are Oedran a phara pethau 
 bydol a phethaii nefol, Cyffes lolo Goch, and Awdl Gyffes. 
 
 Judging from his Cy^vydd i'r Llong, he was not 
 enamoured of the sea, for he says of the ship : 
 
 Rocian a wnai bai o beth 
 Ar i hochr oer i hachreth 
 Cosb im oedd er cosbi myr 
 Castell ing cist y llongwyr. 
 
 He wrote an ode to Syr Hoivcl y Fzvya/l, a noted soldier 
 who had been in the retinue of the Black Prince at the 
 battle of Poictiers, 1356. The story was that Sir Howel 
 with one blow of his battle-axe beheaded the King of 
 France's horse, and that he was authorised ever afterwards 
 to quarter the battle-axe upon his coat-of-arms. 
 
 Amongst his chief marwnadau may be mentioned those 
 to Llewelyn Goch ab Meurig Hen, Sir Rhys ap Thomas of 
 Dinevor, and Dafydd ab Gwilym. Of Llewelyn Goch he 
 writes : 
 
 Prydydd fardd priod addfwyn, 
 Proffwyd cerdd praff ydyw cwyn. 
 
 Primeist cywydd ofydd oedd, 
 Profedig prif-wi ydoedd ; 
 Prydfawr fu'r fifyddfrawd mawr man, 
 Prydlyfr i bob per odlau. 
 
BARDS OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY 65 
 
 He also depicts the last stage in Owain Glyndwr's career 
 in Cytvydd i Otuam Glyndwr wedi i fyned ar ddifancoll, 
 the misfortunes that overwhelmed him in 1405, when over 
 two thousand of his men were slain, and Owain himself 
 sought refuge in flight. Glyndwr, however, recovered this 
 blow for a time, and took the field once again with the 
 assistance of some French soldiers. 
 
 lolo Goch wrote some things in lighter vein, for instance, 
 Cytvydd i Farf y Bardd a'i rhivystrodd i gusanu i gartad, a 
 love poem, as its title indicates, but he seems happier in 
 more solemn themes. 
 
 Llywelyn Goch ab Meurig Hen lived at Nannau, 
 near Dolgellau, and seven of his compositions appear in 
 the Myvyrian Archaiology, but he is best known by his 
 celebrated poem Marwnad Lleucu Llwyd. The story of 
 this elegy is interesting, because it treats of a tragic cir- 
 cumstance in the bard's own life. Lleucu Llwyd was a 
 beautiful maiden who lived at Pennal on the banks of the 
 Dyfi, with whom the bard fell in love, and wished to marry. 
 Her parents, however, placed every obstacle in his way, 
 and, when Llywelyn was on a bardic tour in South Wales, 
 they thought they would nip the romance in the bud by 
 telling the maiden that the bard had married another. 
 When she heard it, she expired on the spot ; and when the 
 bard, upon his return, heard the awful tidings, his feelings 
 may well be imagined : they find expression in this beauti- 
 ful elegy, which, despite some faults in the cynghanedd, is 
 one of the finest emotional odes in the language. The 
 following lines are quoted from it : 
 
 Llyma haf llwm i hoew-fardd, 
 A llyma fyd llwm i fardd ! 
 Nid oes yng Ngwynedd heddiw 
 Na lloer, na Uewyrch, na lliw, 
 £ 
 
66 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 Er pan rodded — trwydded trwch — 
 Dan lawr dygn dyn loer degwch. 
 Y ferch wen o'r dderw brenol, 
 Arfaeth ddig yw'r fan o'th ol ! 
 Cain i Hun, canwyll Wynedd, 
 Cyd bych o fewn caead bedd ! 
 F'enaid ! cyfod i fyny, 
 Agor y ddaear-ddor ddu ! 
 
 Mae yma hoewdra hydraul, 
 Uwch dy fedd, hoew annedd haul, 
 Wr llwm i wyneb hebod, 
 Llywelyn Goch, gloch dy glod. 
 Yn cynnal hyd tra canwyf, 
 Cariad amddifad ydd wyf ; 
 Udfardd yn rhodio adfyd, 
 O Dduw gvvyn ! hyd hyn o hyd. 
 Myfi, fun fwyfwy fonedd, 
 Echdoe a fum uwch dy fedd, 
 Yn gollwng deigr lied eigrbraff 
 Ar hyd fy wyneb yn rhaff : 
 Tithau, harddlun y fun fud 
 O'r tewbwll ni'm hatebud ! 
 
 These lines are sufficient to show that Llewelyn Goch was 
 a really gifted bard. Of his other poems, his Awdl i Dduw 
 is of some interest, because it reflects his religious senti- 
 ments. It contains an englyn for each day of the week, 
 and a short creed, but in poetic merit it cannot compare 
 with the beautiful ode to Lleucu. 
 
 One of the most excellent bards of the early fifteenth 
 century was Gruffudd Llwyd ab Dafydd ab Einion 
 Lygliw who was bardd teulu to Owain Glyndwr, and em- 
 ployed his muse with considerable success in his cause. 
 His stirring odes influenced many of the better class, notably 
 the educated Welshmen of the period, to rally round 
 
BARDS OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY 67 
 
 Glyndwr's standard. His chief composition is that written 
 to his patron when the insurrection was at its height. He 
 addresses him thus : 
 
 Eryr digrif afrifed, 
 
 Owain helm gain hael am ged ; 
 
 Aer y Glyn, meistr rhoddlyn rhydd 
 
 Dyfrdwy fawr, dwfr diferydd. 
 
 Clywais o ben rhyw genad, 
 
 Cei ras Duw cywir ystâd. 
 
 Cael yn yr aer calon rwydd, 
 
 O honod fawrglod f'arglvvydd. 
 
 F'enaid uwch Dyfrdwy faenawr, 
 
 Fy ner, fwrvv llawer is llawr. 
 
 Gwelai bawb draw o'th law Ian 
 
 Gwiw fawldaith gwayw gafaeldan, 
 
 Pan oedd drymaf dy lafur, 
 
 Draw yn ymwriaw a'r mur, 
 
 Hyd ddydd brawd, medd dy wawdydd, 
 
 Hanwyd o feilch hynod fydd 
 
 Dy lafn glwys, dau finiog, glain, 
 
 Hel brvvydr da hwyli Brydain : 
 
 Wrth droi yn brisg a'th wisg wen, 
 
 A'th ruthr i'r maes a'th rethren. 
 
 He has another poem interesting for the light it throws 
 upon the social conditions of the time, and the administra- 
 tion of justice. It is written to the Chief Justice at 
 Carmarthen, whom he addresses as Syr Da/ydd, begging 
 him to secure the acquittal of Morgan Dafydd Llewelyn r 
 
 for killing a magistrate on the Carmarthen Bench. He | 
 
 suggests that the 'twelve good men and true,' who were to '\ 
 
 sit upon the case in Gwenllian Hir's tavern, should be '" 
 
 selected from amongst the bards, and that he himself be 
 one. He saves the magistrate the trouble of choosing the 
 other eleven by naming them all in his poem, and saying a 
 
68 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 word in praise of each. Incidentally he mentions the loftier 
 social status of the bards than that of those who generally 
 served on juries at the time. He had already prejudged 
 the case himself, and declares that if the other eleven hold 
 the same view, Morgan Dafydd's innocence will be amply 
 
 proved : 
 
 Os dydd y cydeisteddir 
 Yn nhal ty Gwenllian Hir, 
 Diddan yw ynt y deuddeg 
 Om barn yn y dafarn deg. 
 Er deulong o aur dilyth, 
 Ni adwaenan Forgan fyth ; 
 Boed melldith Mair fengrair fio 
 A Duw ar i gadawo. 
 
 Rhys Goch Eryri was an ardent admirer and sup- 
 porter of Owain Glyndwr, and was a gentleman of means 
 who lived at Hafod Garegog, near Beddgelert. Dr. Davies 
 gives his date as 1420, but that was, probably, the year of 
 his death. His connection with the Snowdonia district 
 comes to light in a poem in which he addresses Carnedd 
 Llywelyn from the top of Snowdon. He is supposed to 
 have sheltered Owain Glyndwr at one time, when the latter 
 narrowly escaped capture, and only succeeded in eluding 
 his pursuers by climbing the difficult Simnai y Foel, on 
 Moel Hebog. This was probably in 1405, when his star 
 waned for a time, and he was a fugitive. In the poem in 
 which Rhys Goch addresses Carnedd Llywelyn, he pre- 
 dicts a renewed outbreak of hostilities in the summer : 
 
 Yr haf i bydd y rhyfel, 
 E ddarfu barnu y bel. 
 
 His genius as a bard was acknowledged by the ablest 
 men of his own day. His best-known poems are Cyivydd 
 
BARDS OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY 69 
 
 ateb i Sion Cenf, with whom he had a controversy, Cywydd 
 i Fenno Abad, Cywydd Vr Byd, Cywydd Vr Llwytwg, 
 Cyivydd y Far/, Cywydd Marwnad Gwilym ap Gruffudd 
 un hynaif y Fenrhyn, Cyivydd Marwnad i Lywelyn 
 Moel y Pantri, Cyivydd Marwnad Owain Glyndivr, and 
 Awdl Diichan Vr Llwytwg am iddo ladd y Paun. The 
 latter poem seems to have claimed much attention, and it 
 affords an excellent illustration of the device of the Welsh 
 bards to make the sound answer to the sense. It is so full 
 of consonantal difficulties that Sion Tudur suggested that 
 it would be a good test of a man's sobriety, for, he said, no 
 man when drunk could possibly pronounce it. 
 
 One of his poems, an elegy to Gruffudd ab Robert 
 Fychan, has been said to be a curious blend of Christianity 
 and Druidism, but the hollowness of this would-be mystic, 
 Druidic philosophy of the Cabalists has been amply shown. 
 His elegy to Owain Glyndwr contains some fine lines : 
 
 Heddiw mae argae oergwm, 
 
 Hil bedd mawr ar y llawr llwm ; 
 
 A oes obaith in iaith ni, 
 
 Faith gof owdyl fyth gyfodi ? 
 
 Oes, oes, cwynwn anfoes caith, 
 
 Bo iawn gwbwl, byw yw'n gobaith. 
 
 Pa bryd, feibion digonawl, 
 
 Pencerddaidd hydr mydr a mawl, 
 
 I cawn ni Aleliwia 
 
 O farn yn Duw, Frenin da ? 
 
 Pan ddel caledwaith chwaith chweg, 
 
 Cnawd pwy o'r mordwy mowrdeg ? 
 
 Gloywfab cas hydrddrych gvvych gwydn, 
 
 Golau y marchog elydn, 
 
 Ag yna awen genau, 
 
 Yn y tir gwir ag nid gau. 
 
70 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 Pawb y sydd cyn deunydd dail 
 Ddiryfig dan ddur efail. 
 Pa ham draw nad ym lawen ? 
 Er Mair par bader, Amen. 
 
 Rhys Goch Eryri was buried in the old churchyard at 
 Beddgelert. There is still shown at Hafod Garegog a seat 
 consisting of large stones placed in the form of a chair and 
 called Cadair Rhys. 
 
 Sion Cent was a contemporary of Rhys Goch, and was 
 a very eminent bard and learned divine. He was Collector 
 of Kentchurch in Herefordshire, where he was the near 
 neighbour of Sir John Oldcastle, who seems to have influ- 
 enced him in his opinions, for he inclined strongly to 
 LoUardism. He wrote various treatises in Latin on theo- 
 logical subjects, and every MS. copy of ^Velsh poetry 
 generally contains something of his prolific writings. In 
 the popular mind his great learning endowed him with 
 magical skill, and supernatual power was attributed to him. 
 His patrons were the Scudamores of Kentchurch, and it is 
 said that a representative of the family still possesses a 
 portrait of him, which shows a strong, intellectual, and 
 kindly face. 
 
 As one might expect from his office (some assert that he 
 was in Orders) and training, his poems are tinged with 
 theological ideas. Denunciation of sin, the evils of the 
 world, the imminence of death, and other grave topics 
 form the burden of his muse. His outlook is aptly ex- 
 pressed in the couplet : 
 
 Astud boen, ystod benyd, 
 Ystâd beirdd yn studio byd. 
 
 Some of his lines have quite a Miltonian strain ; he is 
 perplexed by the same themes, and takes the same view 
 
BARDS OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY 71 
 
 of life as the great Puritan, but lacks, of course, his 
 strident, majestic measures. The cywydd was rather too 
 thin a metre for some of his subjects. Here is an example 
 of one of his theological poems : 
 
 Cyntaf dial medd Psaleg 
 Erioed a fu er dysgu'n deg, 
 Oedd yrru Liwsffer ddiriaid 
 O'r nef lle'r oedd fawr i naid ; 
 Uchel angel heb gelu, 
 Euraidd i fodd erioed a fu ; 
 A meistr oedd ym mwstr Ion 
 Yngolwg yr angylion. 
 
 Cwympodd y cythraul campus, 
 Ef a'i lu aeth rhannu rhys. 
 
 Cywydd i Ddmv is a paraphrase of the Lord's Prayer, and 
 possesses an interest from the vivid contrast it presents 
 between the condition of the lost and the blessedness of 
 the saved. 
 
 Satan is realistically described as 
 
 Wynebwr brwnt aniben, 
 Corniog, danheddog, hen. 
 
 And Hell : 
 
 Lie mae gwlad ddrwg i hagwedd, 
 Heb barch, heb gariad, heb hedd, 
 Ond ochain a dadsain dig 
 Ar i gwar awr ag orig. 
 
 Then follows the description of Heaven : 
 
 Lie ceir well well y cariad 
 A rhôl deg gyda'r hael Dad ; 
 Yno cael hael wehelyth 
 Lie ni ddaw na glaw na gwlith. 
 Nag ia, nag eira, nag ôd 
 
72 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 Na thymestl fyth i ymod ; 
 
 Ond pob llawnder per, perawd, 
 
 Mewn ffydd, mewn cariad, mewn ffawd ; 
 
 Pob can, pob chwareu, pob cerdd, 
 
 Pob mawl vvisg, pob melusgerdd, 
 
 Pob rhyw fath, pob rhai a fydd 
 
 Yn orlawn o lawenydd ; 
 
 Syched, niwed, na newyn 
 
 Ni ad Duvv i enaid dyn, 
 
 Pawb yn i rhif yn ifanc, 
 
 Heb dro, heb niwed, heb dranc. 
 
 He boldly denounces the luxury and corruption of the 
 churchmen of his day in his famous cywydd, written after 
 the manner of a parable, against intemperance and 
 worldliness, in which he says : 
 
 Y brodyr, pregethwyr gynt 
 A oeddynt heb dda iddynt. 
 
 An old, inscriptionless tombstone in the churchyard at 
 Grosmont is supposed to mark his grave. 
 
 Meredydd ap Rhys is said to have been a clergyman 
 living at Ruabon, and the bardic teacher of Dafydd ab 
 Edmwnd. Judging from his poems, he was the Isaac 
 Walton of the bards. Cywydd i ofyfi rhwyd pysgota is of 
 excellent workmanship, and as the lines show, in which he 
 mentions that Lent and Fridays were not insupportable, 
 because they demanded practice in the art he loved, he 
 was not entirely devoid of humour : 
 
 Hel rwyf heolau'r afon 
 Ar hyd dwr a dryll rhwyd don 
 Gweled pysgod brig Alun 
 Gwilio'r wyf heb gacl yr un, 
 Prafifawdur in profitwydwyd 
 Prudd y\v Meredydd am rwyd 
 
BARDS OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY 73 
 
 Efo i praw gwell gan fab Rhys 
 Eitha'r dwr na thir dyry 
 Esgud ir af ir afon 
 A chad haf i chwilio hon 
 
 Gras mawr y Grawys ym oedd 
 Gael rhwyd a gwilio rhydoedd. 
 
 Having obtained his rod, his efforts meet with unqualified 
 success : 
 
 A mil o bysgod Maelawr 
 
 Ar fy mwrdd llyna rif mawr, 
 
 Pawb yno sydd pob nos lau 
 
 Yn aros y Gwenerau, 
 
 Deliais ar Nos Nadolig, 
 
 Pam waeth dydd caeth na dydd cig? 
 
 His love of the pastime is well described in the couplet : 
 
 Mewn awr dda minnau ar ddwr 
 O fodd hael a fydd heliwr. 
 
 He compares himself to Madog ab Owain Gwynedd in his 
 love for the water, and upon some of his lines theorists 
 based the absurd notion that Madog discovered America. 
 
 Madog wych, mwyedig wedd, 
 lawn genau Owain Gwynedd, 
 Ni fynnai dir, fenaid oedd, 
 Na da mawr ond y moroedd. 
 
 Madog died about 11 70, and it has been supposed that 
 he was killed by Llywarch ab Llewelyn. In his Awdl yr 
 Haearn Twymn, which has been noticed, that bard asks 
 to be proved innocent of the charge. In any case, it is 
 strange that it should have taken three hundred years to 
 find out that Madog discovered America, for Meredydd ap 
 Rhys wrote in the middle of the fifteenth century. 
 
74 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 Dafydd Nanmor. — It is difficult to assign to this 
 bard his proper date, because it appears there were 
 two of the same name. But if it is true that Rhys Goch 
 lived up to 1420, which is very probable, for he out- 
 lived Owain Glyndwr, and that Dafydd Nanmor was his 
 disciple and his rival for the affections of the fair Gwen 
 o'r Ddôl, as the i)oems of each bard testify, then the 
 date which Dr. Davies gives, 1460, must be approximately 
 correct. 
 
 Various places claim to be Dafydd Nanmor's birthplace 
 — a certain sign that he was of some eminence in the 
 bardic world. Each place has a tradition of his having 
 been discovered by Rhys Goch Eryri gathering cockles 
 with some other youths on the traeth adjacent to his 
 home, and that he showed a genius for cynghanedd in his 
 reply to Rhys, who addressed the urchins in that form. 
 Penmorfa in Eifionydd, and Harlech in Meirionydd, both 
 lay claim to him, but they have a rival in the little village 
 of Nanmor which supplied him with his bardic fiofn-de- 
 plume. There is a tradition that he was the natural son of 
 Rhys Goch, who, finding the youth intelligent and a born 
 versifier, adopted him and taught him the bardic lore. 
 The truth is that the early part of his life is lost in 
 obscurity, and that the traditions were only circulated 
 when he had obtained some distinction as a bard, a certain 
 road to the affections of his countrymen. 
 
 The first lines of thirty-one of his poems are found 
 on the cover of the Greal, five of them are printed in 
 Gorchestion Beirdd Cymm, and twelve in Cei?iion Llenydd- 
 iaeth Cymru. They mostly consist of satires upon the 
 monks, duels in verse with Rhys Goch, and a few love 
 poems in which the bard excels. His poem in praise of a 
 lady of the Gogerddan family, a daughter of Rhydderch ap 
 
BARDS OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY 75 
 
 leuan Llwyd, illustrates this. It is entitled Cywydd i 
 Wallt Llio, and contains a few happy similes : 
 
 Llio eurwallt Iliw arian 
 Llewych mellt ar y lluwch man ; 
 Mae ar i phenn seren serch 
 Lliw rhuddaur Llio Rhydderch. 
 
 Mae r gwallt mwya ar a gaid 
 Am y gwarr fal mvvg euraid, 
 Ni ad dy gwyn mewn tŵ gwallt 
 Farw Llio friallenwallt. 
 
 Dafydd Nanmor wrote a cywydd and an awdl to Rhys 
 o'r Tywyn (?the Abbot Rhys of Ystrad Tywy), and an 
 Awdl Farwnad Tof?ias, Arglwydd y Tywyn. His Cywydd 
 y Cae Bedw is a pretty little Nature poem, and might have 
 been written, as far as its quality goes, by Dafydd ab 
 Gwilym himself. In an ode entitled Cywydd Davion a 
 Fhidas, he tells the old story of Dionysius, the tyrant of 
 Syracuse, who had condemned Damon to death, but 
 allowed him to go home to exchange farewells with his 
 family before the execution of his sentence, provided he 
 could find a substitute who would suffer for him in case of 
 his non-return. Such a man was found in Pythias, who 
 almost had to bear the consequences of his noble act of 
 self-sacrifice, owing to the unavoidable delay of Damon in 
 returning. The latter arrived just as the sentence was 
 about to be carried into effect upon his friend. 
 
 Howel Swrdwal. — If early historians are correct, the 
 name Swrdwal is of Norman origin, and one of that name 
 is said to have enlisted in the Crusades in the time of 
 William II. Howel lived at Cydewain in Montgomeryshire, 
 and afterwards at Machynlleth and Newtown, respectively. 
 He is stated to have been an authority on heraldry. 
 
76 A MANUAL OF WELSH LLrERATURE 
 
 and to have sat upon a Royal Commission in 1460, 
 which would require the knowledge of an expert in that 
 branch. The internal evidence of his poems shows that 
 he flourished a little earlier than Lewis Glyn Cothi, for 
 they both wrote the praises of the Vaughans of Bred- 
 wardine, but the latter has poems to later members of that 
 family than Swrdwal mentions. The poems of Howel 
 Svvrdwal are permeated with the religious ideas of his age ; 
 for example, his Cywydd i Fair Wyryf, from which the 
 following lines are taken : 
 
 Y fun deg a fendigwyd, 
 Fry o nef Fair Wyry yn wyd ; 
 Dy ddelw di addolir, 
 Loyw deg yn ymylau dir, 
 
 Pan ganer yr opheren 
 
 Ef air a chwyr at y ferch wen, 
 
 Kwyr ar fy llun fy hunan, 
 
 A chwyr yn dorch iw roi'n dan : 
 
 Lie i bwy fi yn gweddiaw 
 
 Gwelir kannwyll hir im Haw, 
 
 Dann lief yr wyf yn dwyn Uin 
 
 Yn olau ar fy neulin. 
 
 Dy garu a wybiium, 
 Darllain dy bylgain y bum, 
 A gwrando yn graff pan gaffwyf 
 Opheren, Fair wen, yr wyf. 
 
 leuan ab Howel Swrdwal was an abler bard than 
 his father, and an eminent scholar. He is said to have 
 held a post at one of the Oxford colleges, and was looked 
 upon by the Welshmen who frequented the University in 
 the middle of the fifteenth century as their leader. At 
 his death a bard named Howel Dafydd sang : 
 
BARDS OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY 77 
 
 Dig wyf am dewi gofeg 
 Yn pen yn Rhydychen deg. 
 
 He wrote a very remarkable English poem, entitled 
 Awdl i Ddiiw ac i Fair JVyrv/, in Welsh metres and 
 orthography, the first verse of which reads : 
 
 O meichti ladi owr lading — tw haf 
 At hefn owr abeiding 
 In tw thei ffest eferlasting 
 I set a braints ws tw bring. 
 
 This was written in answer to a challenge by an 
 Englishman 'nad oedd na mesur na chynghanedd yng 
 Nghymraeg.' 
 
 He also sang, like his father and Lewis Glyn Cothi, to 
 the Vaughans of Bro Dorddun and Bleddfach. 
 
 He had a duel in verse with Llawdden, a bard and 
 antiquary, who was vicar of Machynlleth in the middle of 
 the fifteenth century. The dispute arose because leuan, 
 who had been despatched by Llawdden as a llatai (mes- 
 senger) to a maiden, abused his trust and transferred to 
 her his own affections. Llawdden rebuked him severely 
 for his treachery, saying : 
 
 Teg oedd Ifan fal cannwyll, 
 Llyna deg yn llawn o dwyll ! 
 A drwg yw r unrhyw anrheg 
 Kydwybod hwn, kyd bo teg : 
 Brawd ffydd o herwydd hiraeth 
 Oeddwn gynt iddaw yn gaeth. 
 
 Llawdden was a native of Dyffryn Llychwr in Car- 
 marthen, and returned there in his old age. His pupil 
 lorwerth Fynglwyd, wrote his Ynajtvnad, and it is a very 
 worthy composition, as these few selected lines testify : 
 
78 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 Athraw ym oedd aeth a'r mawl 
 Am wybodau mebydawl. 
 
 A minnau fal y mynor 
 
 Yn wylaw am f'athraw'n for. 
 
 Aeth Llawdden a'i dalcen doeth, 
 Yr unvvedd a gwr annoeth, 
 A'i enaid aeth yn uniawn 
 I'r nef mewn hedd i vvledd lawn, 
 Ac yno'n fardd a'i gân fyth 
 Yn addoli Duw'n ddilyth. 
 
 And, visiting his grave on a subsequent occasion, in the 
 Llandeilo Tal-y-Bont churchyard, he wrote : 
 
 Llawdden a'i Awen Eos — a ballodd, 
 Pwy bellach i'n dangos? 
 Dan y ddaear mae'n aros, 
 Dall yw'n iaith mae'n dywyll nos. 
 
 leuan Brydydd Hir Hynaf, so called to distinguish 
 him from a later bard (the Rev. Evan Evans, who, in spite 
 of the fact that his real bardic name was leuan Fardd ac 
 Offeiriad, was popularly called leuan Brydydd Hir), 
 flourished about the middle of the fifteenth century. 
 Tudur Penllyn, a contemporary bard, shows that he was a 
 blacksmith by trade, in the lines : 
 
 Dyro dy gledda leuan, 
 
 Dur tawch, rhwng y dwr a'r tan. 
 
 leuan has a fine ode to old age — Cywydd yn dangos 
 bytrcd oes dyn, a satiric ode written to Tudur Penllyn, and 
 a Cywydd ir Byd ac i Henaini^ which is a skilful produc- 
 tion. In the first he gives expression to his belief in 
 Purgatory : 
 
BARDS OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY 79 
 
 Dwg lor o le di gerydd 
 F'enaid wrth raid yn rhydd ; 
 
 and shows old age in its most uninviting aspect : 
 
 Crynedig i'm croen ydwyf, 
 Crynfa daelen aethnen wyf. 
 
 Tudur Penllyn was a native of Eifionydd, as he himself 
 states : 
 
 Wyf o Ynys Eifionydd — 
 
 viz. Ynyscynhaiarn, near Criccieth. 
 
 Two of his cywyddau have appeared in print — one a 
 satiric reply to leuan Brydydd Hir, the general tenor of 
 which is to suggest that leuan was jealous of him, because 
 his wealth was increasing : 
 
 Goreu dyn end y gred wan, 
 Ar y ddaear oedd leuan ; 
 Da o'i dda [ac] nid oedd well, 
 Drud garedig droed gradell ; 
 Ond ni fynai am unawr 
 Weled i mi olud mawr. 
 
 The other published cywydd which is found in the 
 BrythoŶi, vol. iii. p. 99, was apparently written during the 
 Wars of the Roses, and has references to Harris Arglwydd 
 Rhismwnt, which help to fix this bard's date — the latter 
 half of the fifteenth century. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 THE BARDS OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY 
 
 II 
 
 One of the most conspicuous bards of this century was 
 Guto'r Glyn, a native of Llangollen, who wrote his proHfic 
 odes between 1430 and 1460. Williams in his Eminent 
 Welshmen refers to him as 'an excellent poet.' He 
 appears to have been the domestic bard to the Abbot of 
 Valle Crucis, although no direct statement to that effect 
 is made in his writings. He was born at Llansantffraid, 
 Glyn Ceiriog (hence his nom-de-plume Guto'r Glyn), in the 
 neighbourhood of that famous monastery, and several of 
 his poems are addressed to its abbots, Davydd ab lorwerth 
 and Abbot John. Whether he held an appointment in 
 the abbey, or not, he was in high favour with the monks, 
 and was selected for the delicate task of trying to obtain 
 for the monastery a copy of the San Greal as a loan from 
 the Abbot of Neath. His poems show keen observation, 
 and he possesses descriptive powers of no mean order. 
 They are interesting because they reveal much of the 
 inner life of a monastery of that period. The particulars 
 respecting Valle Crucis Abbey are such as cannot be 
 obtained elsewhere. It is described as an open palace 
 with festive board loaded with luxuries. The hospitality 
 of the monks is singled out for a torrent of eulogistic 
 
 80 
 
BARDS OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY 8i 
 
 comment, and their love of books is often dwelt upon. 
 These were not the views of monasticism that prevailed 
 with the bards; and it is interesting to contrast this 
 description by one who knew the life from within, with 
 the adverse criticism of the monks which is so striking 
 a feature in the writings of many of the bards of the 
 period. 
 
 Even when making the necessary deductions for adula- 
 tion, monastic life would appear to have had much to 
 recommend it from the accounts Guto'r Glyn gives of his 
 visits to the abbeys of Waunllwg (Neath), where the copy 
 of the San Greal was kept, Marchell, Shrewsbury, and 
 Strata Florida. 
 
 His reputation was great, not only amongst the monks, 
 but also with lay patrons, with whom he was always sure of 
 a warm welcome, chief among them being the Herberts of 
 Rhaglan, who valued his genius, and to whom he addressed 
 many of his poems. In one, he welcomes one of the 
 Herberts home from a battle in the Wars of the Roses, 
 where they supported Edward iv. He refers to the ' Bear 
 on the Ragged Staff,' the Warwick standard, in the 
 lines : 
 
 Yn rhaid/ baedd yn rhodio bu 
 Yn Lloegr, ninnau'n Ilewygu. 
 
 Amongst his chief cynvyddau may be mentioned Cywydd i 
 Arglwydd Herbert, Cywydd yn dangos fal y bu ym Maes 
 Mambri, Mawl i Ddafydd ab Dafydd, Cywydd Marwnad i 
 Feurig Fychan o Nannau ac Angharad i wraig, Cywydd i 
 Feredydd ab leuan Fychan i ofyn march, Cywydd i Harri 
 Dhu o Euas, and Cywydd ateb i Syr Rhys Drewen, who 
 had written to the bard lamenting that he had not come 
 on his usual round to lâl : 
 
82 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 Gutyn y Glyn y sydd gla 
 Os gweryd ni esgora : 
 Pa ryw gihvyf perigl ofal 
 A'i lluddiodd i wahodd lâl. 
 
 Llewelyn ab Gutyn wrote a marwnad to Guto'r Glyn when 
 it was reported he had been drowned at Malltraeth, in 
 which these lines occur : 
 
 Tristwch yw Cymry trostyn, 
 Tref a gvvlad am Guto'r Glyn ; 
 Boddi wnaeth ar draeth heb drai, 
 Mae'n y nef am na nofiai. 
 
 But Guto replies : 
 
 Myfyrio mae oferwr 
 
 Marnad ym ymerw'r dwr, 
 
 Telynor tal awenydd 
 
 Trwytho beirdd mewn traethau bydd. 
 
 The bardic fiction that Ysgolan destroyed a great quan- 
 tity of Welsh manuscripts in the Tower of London, which 
 Stephens, in his Literature of the Kymry, has so ably dis- 
 proved, has been thought by some to have originated with 
 Guto'r Glyn. 
 
 It was to this bard's work also that lolo Morganwg 
 turned to endeavour to find proof of the genuineness of 
 the ancient British alphabet called ' Coelbren y Beirdd,' 
 and he cites his ode to Dafydd Llwyd in support of it. 
 
 Perhaps Guto'r Glyn's finest ode is that written to thank 
 the Abbot of Valle Crucis for a buckler and sword, which 
 were worn at the time more for ornament than use. The 
 poem rises to a sublimer strain than personal flattery, and 
 its tone lends colour to the truth of the tradition that the 
 abbot came upon the bard while he was composing it, 
 
BARDS OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY 83 
 
 sitting in an arbour in the abbey garden, and asked him 
 what he was doing. ' I am composing an ode in honour 
 of yourself,' replied Guto. 'Oh, then,' said the abbot, 'let 
 it not be in honour of me, but compose one rather to the 
 glory of God.' There are indications that it was composed 
 towards the end of the bard's life, and some lines strike 
 rather a pathetic note : 
 
 Mae Adda Fras ym medd fry 
 Minnau yn lâl mynnwn wely ; 
 A'm bwcled a'm bywiog-cledd 
 Yn arfau maen ar fy medd. 
 
 His elegy to the Lady Gwerfyl, the mother of Dafydd 
 Llwyd of Glan Tanad, is full of plaintive sadness. 
 
 His poems are a valuable contribution to the social 
 history of Wales in the fifteenth century. The natives of 
 Oswestry considered that he had given such a fine descrip- 
 tion of their town, that they made him a burgess.^ 
 
 Dafydd ap Edmwnd is the next bard to be noticed, 
 and he was the central figure of bardism in the fifteenth 
 century. He probably created the greatest stir in Welsh 
 bardic circles of any known member of that fraternity. 
 
 He was a native of Hanmer in Tegeingl, Flintshire, and 
 lived at a place called Pwll Gweppra, and was undoubtedly 
 a man of position and means, as well as of great learning. 
 It has been mentioned that he was a disciple of Meredydd 
 ap Rhys, and it was admitted by the bards of South Wales 
 that he was the ablest bard of Gwynedd. 
 
 Rather earlier than the middle of the fifteenth century 
 there was a movement on foot to purify bardism, the 
 originator of which is said to have been Llawdden. He 
 gave strong expression to the views held by many of his 
 
 ' Bygones, September 1875. 
 
84 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 chief contemporaries, when he referred to the poetasters 
 who were bringing bardism into disrepute, in such un- 
 measured terms as the following englyn contains : 
 
 Pob gair eras, diras, pob dyri — goegwaith 
 Pob gogan a bryntni, 
 Pob drewdod, pob direidi, 
 I gludo wnaed i'n gwiad ni. 
 
 Llawdden's great kinsman, Gruffudd ab Nicholas, who 
 was afterwards killed at the battle of Mortimer's Cross, 
 1461, threw himself heartily into the movement for reform, 
 and on an appeal to the king a commission was granted — 
 Llythyr Cynnwys Harri Sant o Winsor — to hold an Eistedd- 
 fod at Carmarthen, the date of which is now generally 
 accepted as 1451, to rearrange the metres. Dafydd ab 
 Edmwnd's undoubted abilities made him a prominent 
 figure at that eisteddfod. He had the reputation of being 
 the greatest master of the aivdl then living, and out of a 
 large number of competitors he was awarded the Chair 
 after a lengthy contest. His most formidable opponent 
 was Gwilym Tew, a bard who had written several poems of 
 the Hoianau type, containing predictions. He was a mystic, 
 and may have belonged to that school of bards known as 
 the Cabalists, who pretended to have received many 
 ancient doctrines through tradition. 
 
 It has been shown in recent years that, as far as the 
 Welsh bards were concerned, these doctrines were not 
 older than the beginning of the fifteenth century. Pro- 
 fessor J. Morris Jones points out that Cy^vydd Cyfrinach, 
 attributed to Rhys Goch Eryri, was their first Cabalistic 
 composition. In it, that bard thanks a certain Llywelyn 
 for teaching him the new doctrines. Gwilym Tew, in high 
 dudgeon that his system of metres was not adopted at 
 
BARDS OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY 85 
 
 Carmarthen, set up a school of his own in Glamorgan, 
 which ultimately formed itself into Gorsedd y Beirdd; and 
 his followers took up the Cabalistic doctrines which 
 Gwilym Tew affected, and pretended to great antiquity, 
 asserting themselves to be the real successors of the Druids. 
 Their first grievance against the rest of the bards had rela- 
 tion to the metres. They urged that Dafydd ap Edmwnd 
 had departed from ancient usage, and arrogated to them- 
 selves the superior claim that they were the followers of 
 the old bards. For this reason they adopted the name 
 Gorsedd Beirdd Ynys Pfjdain, in imitation of the ancient 
 bards. Not content with this, they evolved in process of 
 time an arrangement of metres of their own, a system 
 which was completed in 1681, and adopted at Bewpyr in 
 that year. No one outside Morganwg knew much of this 
 system until lolo Morganwg's son published Cyfrinach 
 Beirdd Ynys Prydaiti in 1829. 
 
 The diíìference between the system of metres known as 
 Dafydd ab Edmwnd's, and that of Morganwg, is that the 
 former consists of twenty-four stanzas, and the latter of 
 twenty-four kinds of stanza. The old system (which it is 
 wrongly said Dafydd ab Edmwnd departed from) which 
 was in force long before his time, and is given in detail in 
 the Red Book of Hergesi, consisted also of twenty-four 
 stanzas, and iiot of twenty-four kinds of stanza. The only 
 difference between them and those of Dafydd ab Edmwnd, 
 consists in his rejection of an old metre and the substitu- 
 tion of a new one of his own, with a slight modification of 
 two or three others. In the main they are identical, and 
 no new name was given to a single metre, except to that 
 which he himself had invented. 
 
 The following are the names of the metres as given in 
 the Bed Book of Hergesi, and it will be easy to compare 
 
86 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 them with those in any more recent aivdlau — for instance, 
 those of William Llŷn or Goronwy Owain : 
 
 E7iglyinon : 
 
 Unodl union, Unodl grwcca, Englyn kyrch, Lleddf Broest, 
 Proest talgron, Proest gadvvynog, Englyn o'r hen 
 ganiad (two are described thus). 
 Odleu : 
 Toddaid, Gwawdodyn byr, Cyhydedd hir, Cyhydedd fer, 
 Hupynt byr, Hir a Thoddaid, Gwawdodyn hir, Cy- 
 hydedd naw ban, Clogyrnach, Byr a Thoddaid, Cyrch 
 a Chwtta, Tawddgyrch cadwynog. 
 Cywyddati : 
 
 Deuair hirion, Deuair fyrion, Awdl gywydd, Cywydd 
 llosgyrnog. 
 
 Dafydd ab Edmwnd's share in altering the mesurau cerdd 
 dafod was therefore much less drastic than the Glamorgan 
 bards maintained. He only improved the hipynt and the 
 cadwyn fyr, and introduced the new metre called gorchest 
 y beirdd. 
 
 Llawdden, who was best acquainted with the gwybodau 
 of the bards, was deputed by Gruffudd ap Nicolas to 
 arrange the rules {defodau) of the bards and minstrels. 
 He did so, obtaining his information from the old records, 
 and incorporated them in a work called Ystadyd Lla7i<dden. 
 Dafydd ab Edmwnd's place amongst the bards was well 
 stated in the manvnad written by his nephew, Tudur 
 Aled: 
 
 Ni bu fyw neb fwy i Awen 
 
 Ond da fardd Glan Teifi wenn, 
 
 Mab Gwilym heb gywely, 
 
 Heb iddo frawd ni bydd fry. 
 
 Tudur Aled, his sister's son, was also a disciple, and so 
 was Gutyn Owain who accompanied him to the Eisteddfod 
 at Carmarthen. 
 
BARDS OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY 87 
 
 There are eight of Dafydd ab Edmwnd's compositions 
 in the Gorchestion : two are written to Rhys o Fôn, three 
 are entitled Cywydd MercJi, in which the bard adopts the 
 curious device of beginning every hne in the same poem 
 with the same letter, and one relates of a maiden who lost 
 her speech when the bard addressed her, and he bewails 
 
 it thus : 
 
 Y ddyn fwyn oedd ddoe'n f 'anarch, 
 Aeth yn fud weithian y ferch ; 
 A minau heb law meinwen, 
 Ar y ffordd heb air o'i phen. 
 Udo'r wyf, mor fud yr aeth, 
 Am y dyn oM mudaniaeth ; 
 Collais o'i phen bob cellwair, 
 Canwn gerdd pe cawn un gair ; 
 Gwynedd ni phair i'm genau 
 Ganu dim os Gwen a dau. 
 Nos da iwch ferch, nis dichon, 
 Nos da i ti nis dywaid hon. 
 
 Awdly Meddiant is a poem showing exceptional skill in 
 the handling of the metres, and Cywydd i Wallt Merch is 
 a pretty love-poem in praise of a golden-haired maiden. 
 
 Gutyn Owain, the historian and herald of the abbeys 
 of Basingworth and Ystrad Fflur, in which he seems to 
 have resided alternately, very much resembles Guto'r Glyn 
 in his bardic efforts as well as in his vocation, and the 
 themes of many of their poems are identical. Thirty of 
 his compositions are found in a folio MS. in the British 
 Museum, and the dates afifixed show that none of them 
 were written after 1488. Six were addressed to the Abbot 
 David of Valle Crucis, and seven to his successor. Abbot 
 John. In one of them he requests the loan of a horse, 
 and a spirited description of the animal is given. These 
 requests were often mere fancies, but served to furnish the 
 
88 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 bard with a theme. In such poems he generally eulogised 
 his patron before proceeding to ask for the desired favour, 
 and then portrayed the gift with all the descriptive powers 
 at his command. It was a useful exercise in displaying 
 his mastery of the cynghafiedd. 
 
 Gutyn Owain is one of the narrators of that nebulous 
 myth, the Madogian discovery of America. More valuable 
 to us are his poems on Valle Crucis Abbey, wherein he 
 describes the richness and beauty of its architecture, and 
 the life led by the monks, whom he shows to be pious and 
 generous men. The Abbot David is said to have added 
 considerably to the building. 
 
 This bard sat on the commission appointed by 
 Henry vii. to examine his pedigree, a task for which his 
 close acquaintance with old Welsh MSS. admirably fitted 
 him. He copied the Brift of Caradoc, and brought it 
 down to his own time. This book is known as Llyfr Du 
 Bassing. 
 
 He was a disciple of Dafydd ab Edmwnd, and the 
 Gorchesfion contains fifteen of his poems, in which he 
 seems to succeed best as a marwnadwr. 
 
 In the Heraldic Visitations of Wales he is thus described : 
 ' Guttyn Owen, Poet Lawrel, of Maelor hath written con- 
 cerning the three provinces, and his books be very faire.' 
 
 leuan Deulwyn flourished from 1460 to 1490, and 
 was a native of Pendeulwyn in the parish of Cydweli. 
 He calls himself ' bardd o Gaerfyrddin.' When the split 
 took place in the bardic ranks after the Eisteddfod 
 of Carmarthen, he threw in his lot with the bards 
 of Morganwg, and was their president in 1480. Tudur 
 Aled ranks him high amongst the bards, putting him in 
 the same category as Dafydd Nanmor and Dafydd ab 
 Edmwnd : 
 
BARDS OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY 89 
 
 Bwrw Dafydd gelfydd dann gòr, 
 Bwrw ddoe'n un meistr, bardd Nanmor 
 Bwrw Deulwyn y brawd olaf, 
 Blodau Cerdd, ba wlad y caf ? 
 Tair Awen oedd i'r Triwyr, 
 A fai les i fil o wyr. 
 
 The seven selected poems which appear in the Myvyrian 
 show much taste and refinement, especially Cywydd y 
 Fedwen^ from which the following lines are taken : 
 
 Mae yno ym Mai enwog, 
 Allorau gwyrdd a lle'r gôg ; 
 A He teg i orlliw ton, 
 Lletyau i'w llateion. 
 A gorsedd o gowirserch 
 A rhôl a sut, rholau serch : 
 Ac i'r ddyn o gaerau'r ddôl 
 Osber adar ysprydol ; 
 A phader serch hoffder son, 
 O baderau bedw irion. 
 
 Lie rhoed, llawer a'i hoedaf, 
 Friallu teg, afrllad haf ; 
 Meillion teg, mae llonaid twyn 
 Man serliw mynwes irlwyn. 
 Y fedwen ydyw f adail 
 Wybren deg o bran a dail : 
 Teml yr haf, ty ami y rhyw, 
 Ty o goedwig teg j'dyw. 
 
 Lewis Glyn Cothi, who is sometimes known as Lewis 
 y Glyn or Llywelyn Glyn Cothi, is a bard of exceptional 
 importance in this century, because his poems throw con- 
 siderable light upon the social and political events of the 
 time, especially the trying period covering the Wars of the 
 Roses. 
 
 He is said to have belonged to the Dolau Cothi family, 
 
90 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 and his own home was Pwlltynhyd, in Cwm Cothi. No 
 details are known of his early life, but he had certainly 
 developed into a writer of verses by 1450, for one of his 
 poems recounts an incident which happened in that year, 
 when the whole of France, with the exception of Calais, 
 threw off the English yoke. At the battle of Fournigni, 
 where the English were routed, Matthew Goch, a noted 
 Welshman, who was in dire peril of his life, was saved by 
 the promptness and valour of a soldier named Gwilym 
 Gwent, whom the bard refers to thus : 
 
 Y vo gedwis i vywyd 
 I Vathew Goch fyth i gyd ; 
 Yno ill dau ni neillduynt 
 I roi y gad i wyr gynt. 
 
 He saw the end of the Wars of the Roses, and 
 Henry vii. placed upon the throne, for he wrote a con- 
 gratulatory ode to that monarch ; therefore the period 
 1440-1490, which is generally assigned to him, is well 
 within the mark. 
 
 Socially he must have been a person of some distinc- 
 tion, for he was a military official under Jasper, Earl of 
 Pembroke, and on intimate terms with such men as 
 Rheinallt ap Gruffudd, Y Twr, who took up his quarrel 
 against the men of Chester, which arose because the bard 
 had married a widow from that city, without the consent of 
 the citizens, who had a local law forbidding marriages with 
 Welshmen. They took away his wife and wrecked his 
 belongings, so the bitterness expressed against gwŷr 
 Caerl/eon in some of his poems is matter of small wonder. 
 In one poem he begs a sword from Dafydd ab Gutyn of 
 Oswestry, that he may wreak vengeance upon the men of 
 Chester. From that place he fled to Flint, but had a very 
 
BARDS OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY 91 
 
 poor reception there, and he gave utterance to his dis- 
 appointment in the satiric Cywydd Duchafi i Saeson Fflint. 
 He had meant to write a poem in their praise, but they 
 mocked his efforts, as the following lines state : 
 
 Dechreuais, ffrystiais yn fifraeth, 
 Ganu awdl i'r genhedlaeth : — 
 Gwatwaru, llysu vy llais, 
 Govid yno a gevais. 
 
 He then sought refuge in Llwydiarth, near Llanerchymedd, 
 in Môn, and his poems describe his abject plight at this 
 time. But he was received with kindness, and his stay 
 there is marked by the poems ' Cywydd i ofyn hilyn gwely 
 i Elen ferch Llywelyn o Lwydiarth,' ' Marwnad Dafydd ab 
 Gwilym o Lwydiarth,' ' Mawl Huw Lewis o Brysaddfed,' 
 and 'Marwnad Sioned Bwlclai.' 
 
 Most of his poems are very vigorous, and are of great 
 interest to antiquarians and historians because of the flood 
 of Hght they throw upon the leading Welsh families of the 
 time, and the effect of the Wars of the Roses upon the 
 country. Prosperity, wealth, and comfort seem to have 
 prevailed before the outbreak of this civil strife ; but here, 
 as in England, it led to the sacrifice of the best blood of 
 the nation, and in its train brought havoc and ruin to 
 many of the best homes. 
 
 His poems follow Henry Tudor from the obscurity of 
 Penmynydd to the open light of a throne. He also follows 
 the careers of Edmund, Jasper, and Owen Tudor, and the 
 results of the battles of Mortimer's Cross, Banbury, and 
 Bosworth. He passes under review the leading nobles of 
 the time and their achievements, and was particularly 
 devoted to the house of Gam and all its offshoots. His 
 genealogies are endless, and, except from an historical 
 standpoint, tend to monotony. 
 
92 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 He describes the landing of Edward iv. and his meeting 
 with one of the Welsh nobles thus : 
 
 Edward ban ddaeth i'w advvedd, 
 Drwy y môr, i dir y medd ; 
 Llew Rhys wrth roi llawer rhodd, 
 I dii ban a'i derbyniodd ; 
 Ac ar dasg y gwnaech basgwaith, 
 Ym mron dydd y murniad waith : 
 Ac yn Newksbri dodi dydd 
 A'i ynnill ev a'i onwydd. 
 
 The manners and customs of the country are well described 
 in other poems ; gambling with dice seems to have been 
 a popular indoor amusement, and throwing the bar the 
 favourite outdoor pastime. The age was not favourable 
 to industries, but in one poem the bard mentions the lead 
 furnaces of Flint. Race antipathy sometimes came to a 
 head in garrison towns, in conflict between the soldiers and 
 the inhabitants. But Lewis Glyn Cothi saw the ties 
 between the two countries cemented when a Tudor was 
 placed upon the throne. He describes the eager anxiety 
 with which the coming of the Earl of Richmond was 
 awaited, in the lines : 
 
 Pa vor y mae d'angorau ? 
 
 Pa bwnt lle'r wyt hwnt, wr tau ? 
 
 Pa bryd, pa hyd y'n hoedir ? 
 
 Y tarw du y troi i dir? 
 Gwyl \'air, gwylia o voroedd, 
 Gwynedd wen dan ganu 'dd oedd. 
 Mis Mai, di vai yw dy vodd, 
 
 Od wyt draw, y doit drwodd : 
 Duw ! Awst gwedi i estyn, 
 
 Y doit : ti a oedit hyn : 
 O rod i rod ple'r ydwyt ? 
 Sori ddyn ! aros ydd wyt ? 
 
BARDS OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY 93 
 And Henry's success he hails with unbounded delight : 
 
 Duw áoá&sforiun, do ; doded hirhoedl 
 I'r King Harri seithved ; 
 Da y gŵyr vvedi gwared 
 Dynu'r groes a'i dwyn i'r Gred. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 THE SIXTEENTH-CENTURY BARDS 
 
 The chief event in bardism in the sixteenth century was 
 the meeting of the famous Eisteddfod at Caerwys in 1568. 
 There are, however, four bards of some importance whose 
 works must be noticed before that event is treated of. 
 Two of them partly belong to the last century, but many 
 of their best poems were composed in the early part of this. 
 Gruffudd ab leuan ab Llywelyn Fychan wrote a 
 few graceful and artistic love-poems which deserve to be 
 better known than they are, as the following lines testify : 
 
 Dydd da fo i'r fwyna fu, 
 Dig i wyr yw dy garu. 
 Dy gussan bychan oedd ber, 
 Dy gael yw dig i lawer. 
 Tegwch ail Tegau wych wyd, 
 Teg yngwlad Tegaingl ydwyd. 
 Nid un Uiw yn dwyn llewych, 
 Yr un a thi yr eneth wych. 
 Ffriw uchel lie ir el lliw'r ôd, 
 Ffortunus i phryd hynod. 
 Wyth 111, wen, a'th foliaiman, 
 O'r iâd i lawr ir wyd Ian. 
 Ni rodia dyn ar dy du 
 Ond a geir yn dy garu 
 94 
 
THE SIXTEENTH-CENTURY BARDS 95 
 
 Doeth iavvn a da i'th luniwyd, 
 Dy liw a gannodd Duw Iwyd. 
 
 Y fun bach a fynn i bod 
 
 Ar un rhyw gwedd arianrhod. 
 
 Pan welais gresynais i, 
 Pured oedd y pryd eiddi ; 
 Ni aned yn nwy Wynedd 
 Oil i gyd un well i gwedd. 
 
 One of his best poems is his Marwnad Tudur Aled. In 
 it he refers to that bard's vocation. He belonged to the 
 Franciscan Order of the Grey Friars : 
 
 Ymroi i Dduw a Mair ydd oedd 
 Wedi'r sidan drwsiadoedd ; 
 I Ddofydd yr addefwyd, 
 I ddewis glôg oedd wisg Iwyd ; 
 Cryf oedd o serch crefydd saint, 
 Crefyddfrawd car ufuddfraint. 
 Ffydd y saint hoffoedd i swydd, 
 Ffransis a hofifei'r unswydd. 
 
 Och dorri braich draw a bron 
 Angel anwyl englynion, 
 Bowiog englyn heb gonglau, 
 Berw gan fryd brig awen frau. 
 
 Eilio'r iaith fal lolo'r oedd, 
 Eiliad owdl Aled ydoedd ; 
 Awen ddofn o'r un ddefnydd 
 A'r gawod fêl ar goed fydd. 
 Ymarn y byd marw ni bydd 
 Ail Dudur Aled wowdydd ; 
 Athrylith aeth ar elawr, 
 A therm oes i'r athro mawr. 
 
96 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 In the Cywydd yn erbyji braint delwau he shows strong 
 leanings towards the Reformation spirit, as the following 
 lines bear witness : 
 
 Llyma'r dallter arferwyd, 
 Delwau oedd well no Duw Iwyd. 
 Rhoi urddoliant ar ddeulin, 
 A ddylai Grist i ddelw grin. 
 Ffyniant Gwenffrewi ffynon, 
 Ffiaidd a hyll fu'r ffydd hon. 
 Gwehvn cymerwn gwilydd 
 Mor fifol yr aethom o'r ffydd. 
 Ffydd dduwiol y postolion, 
 Hoffai Dduw hael y ffydd hon. 
 Trown ninnau i gyd byd bedydd, 
 O ran a pharch i'r un ffydd, 
 A rhown heibio, tro trymddig, 
 Ganhwyllau a delwau dig. 
 
 One of the quaintest of his odes is that entitled Gweddt ar 
 Gynhafal rhag gwaew niexvn dun, which shows that 
 although the bard had cast off what he regarded as super- 
 stitions in one direction, he clung to them firmly in another. 
 This is how he describes his pain : 
 
 Cainc o nych acw yn y knawd, 
 Kyn f 'elor yn knoi f 'aelawd. 
 
 Then he beseeches St. Cynhafal to remove it : 
 
 D'wrthieu draw diwarth a drig, 
 Dy ras a dyr waew ysig. 
 Addef it y weddi fan 
 A yr gwewyr o'r giaii. 
 
 * • • • 
 
 Gwan adyn gan waew ydwyf, 
 Gweddiwr it gweiddi'r wyf. 
 
THE SIXTEENTH-CENTURY BARDS 97 
 
 The result is not stated in the poem itself, but it is sub- 
 scribed thus: 'Gruffudd ab leuan ap Llewelyn Vychan 
 a'i gwnaeth ag ai kanodd yngwydd y plwy ag aeth yn iach.' 
 Tudur Aled was a very prominent bard, and by voca- 
 tion a Franciscan monk, as Gruffudd ab leuan states in 
 the lines just quoted. Tudur Aled himself in a well-known 
 englyfi, composed when he was received into that frater- 
 nity, sings : 
 
 Brawd i Sant Ffransis, na bo brych— f'wyneb. 
 Pan fyner i edrych ; 
 Yn i grefydd yn gryfwych, 
 Yn i wisg wyf yn was gwych. 
 
 He was a nephew of Dafydd ab Edmwnd, by whom he was 
 taught the bardic lore, and of whom he writes : 
 
 F'ewythr o waed, f athraw oedd, 
 Fynwes gwawd, fy nysg ydoedd. 
 
 The exact dates of his birth and death are not known, but 
 he was not present at the Carmarthen Eisteddfod in 145 1, 
 where his uncle played so prominent a part, and he was 
 still living when the first Eisteddfod of Caerwys was held 
 in 1524; or, as Gruffudd Hiraethog states in one of his 
 englyniofi, 1525 : 
 
 Mil pum cant, rhifant y rhed,— a rhagor 
 Pump ar hugain, rhodded 
 Yn ddeddf bwys beirdd Gaerwys ged, 
 Rheolau Tudur Aled. 
 
 The rheolau seem to have effected no changes in Welsh 
 prosody, and are thought to have been nothing more than a 
 confirmation of those adopted at the Carmarthen Eisteddfod 
 through the influence of Llawdden and Dafydd ab Edmwnd. 
 
 Tudur Aled's home was at Garth Geri, in the parish of 
 
 G 
 
98 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 Llansannan, Denbighshire, and he took his name from the 
 river Aled which flows through that charming vale. He 
 was a strong supporter of the Lancastrian cause, and a 
 follower of Rhys ap Thomas of Dinevor, to whom he wrote 
 several poems. He had a most proHfic muse, and wrote 
 many eulogies to the Salusburys of Llyweni, and also to 
 the monks and clergy, as was natural. Amongst the latter 
 may be mentioned Aivdl Foliaiit Sion Abad Caerlleon, 
 Cywydd i ofyn march i Abad Abercoìiwy^ and Cywydd 
 Moliant Ffoivk Salbri, Deoti Llanehvy. His cywydd to 
 Gwenffrewi (St. Winifred) gives a description of the miracles 
 wrought at St. Winifred's well, and a recital of some of the 
 legends that had clustered round that saint's name. 
 
 His excellent knowledge of Welsh prosody constitutes 
 him one of the most reliable of the bards for quota- 
 tion in works dealing with the laws of verse, and most of 
 the Welsh Grammars, which became numerous a little 
 later, found in his poems apt illustrations both in language 
 and versification. He was the bardic teacher of Gruffudd 
 Hiraethog, and on this account his influence was un- 
 doubtedly great upon the bards of this century, for many 
 of the foremost of them were the latter's disciples. At the 
 first Eisteddfod of Caerwys he graduated as pencerdd. 
 The account taken from Llyfr y Plâs Gwyn and copied in 
 the Greal states — ' Tudyr Aled a ganiadwyd ac a gyvrymied 
 yn athraw cadeiriawg, i arwain riandlws.' 
 
 But it was as a writer of marivnadau that Tudur Aled ex- 
 celled, and out of the nine poems selected from his works 
 in the Gorchestiofi, six are elegies, the best known being 
 that to Dafydd ap Edmwnd. The majesty and strength of 
 its opening couplet immediately arrests the attention : 
 
 Llaw Dduw a fu'n lladd awen, 
 Lladd enaid boll ddwned hen. 
 
THE SIXTEENTH-CENTURY BARDS 99 
 
 It breathes a sense of personal bereavement as well as that 
 of a loss to the bardic fraternity, as the following lines 
 
 show : 
 
 Cell a dadl colled ydoedd, 
 Cyfryw ddyn cyfarwydd oedd ; 
 Canu oedd well cyn ei ddwyn, 
 Clymu gwawd cwlm y gadwyn : 
 Canu fyth y cawn y fo, 
 Ac iawn oedd canu iddo. 
 Gwae fi, unig f awenydd, 
 O aros awr er y sydd ! 
 F'ewythr o waed, fathraw oedd, 
 Fynwes gwawd, fy nysg ydoedd ; 
 Mae siom o'i eisiau yma, 
 Methu'r dysg am athro da ; 
 Mi a goUais f mgellwair, 
 A thrach gefn, dieithrwch gair. 
 Dafydd a wnai'r gerdd dafawd, 
 Dyrnod gwn drwy enaid gwawd ! 
 Dwyn diben dewin deubeth, 
 Da fu i air, nid ai feth. 
 
 Then he compares him with Dafydd ab Gwilym : 
 
 Ni bu fyw neb fwy i awen, 
 Ond da fardd Glan Teifi wen ; 
 Mab Gwilym heb gywely, 
 Heb iddo frawd, ni bydd fry. 
 
 Gruffudd Hiraethog {?—c. 1566) forms a link between 
 Tudur Aled and the bards of the second Eisteddfod of 
 Caerwys. He is better known as the teacher of many 
 bards than by his own poems, very few of which have been 
 published, although the first lines of sixty-four of them are 
 given on the cover of the Greal. 
 
 He was a native of Llansannan in Denbighshire, but 
 spent the latter part of his life at Llangollen, where he was 
 
loo A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 also buried, in the chancel of the parish church, as William 
 Llýn testifies in a Cywydd Marwnad he composed to him : 
 
 A'r pwyll, a'r synwyr o'r pen, 
 A'r cellwair ynghôr Collen. 
 
 According to Harl. MS. 2299, he married Catherine, a 
 descendant in an indirect line of Owain Glynclwr. 
 
 The year of his death is unknown, but he was not 
 present at either of the Eisteddfodau at Caerwys, from 
 which it can be concluded that he flourished between 1530 
 and 1566. 
 
 He had a dispute with Sion Brwynog, and they exchanged 
 a few cywyddau, in one of which the latter refers to him as a 
 cripple. This was probably what William Llỳn meant 
 when he addressed the dead bard as — 
 
 Y Bardd bach, uwch beirdd y byd. 
 
 In a poem published in the Camòro-Briíoji, Hiraethog 
 describes one of his bardic tours, and his visit to Moeliwrch 
 House, to which he refers thus : 
 
 Tynnu'r wyf tan arafliynt, 
 Treiglo lie bu'r Guto gynt ; 
 Pawb yno, pob awenydd 
 Yno can bawb, canu bydd. 
 Yno gwau cerdd, nid gwiw eel, 
 Tewach n'ar Guto i Hywel, 
 Llew iawn yn cadw llawenydd 
 Llan Silin, IVIorus Wynn sydd. 
 
 Only one of his poems is given in Gonhestioti Beirdd 
 Cymni, an elegy to Gruffudd ap Robert Fychan of Abercyn, 
 near Criccieth. It contains no striking imagery, and is a 
 composition of average merit, as may be judged from these 
 lines : 
 
THE SIXTEENTH-CENTURY BARDS loi 
 
 Gwae fi ! pie y gweuaf fawl ? 
 Ddaearu Gruffydd wrawl ! 
 Di olud wyf hyd elawr, 
 Daeth i'm oes dau adwyth mawr 
 Un fu i ddwyn, i nef ydd aeth, 
 Ei aer gwrol ragoriaeth ; 
 Heddyw'r ail, hawdd yr wylwn, 
 Hydd hael, am ddyhuddo hwn. 
 
 Ar ol eryr aur luryg, 
 Wyled ei blant, lu di blyg 
 
 Wylaw ar dasg lawer dydd 
 Wna finau yn Yfionydd. 
 Gwae ni bawb gau yn y bedd 
 Gwir gu enaid gwyr Gwynedd. 
 
 Sion Brwynog was a poet and historian of this period 
 of whom very little is known. He was a native of Anglesey 
 and owner of an old mansion called Brwynog, near 
 Llanddeusant, in that county. Apart from the dispute 
 he had with Gruffudd Hiraethog, the best impression of 
 his ability as a bard is that gleaned from William Llŷn's 
 manvnad to him, in which he is highly extolled for his 
 learning and skill. He is thus described : 
 
 Da i Gymraec di gymar oedd, 
 
 Didlawd ymhob dadl ydoedd ; 
 
 Da i awen aeth Duw y\v nol. 
 
 Da i ddysc val diwedd ysgol ; 
 
 Di frwd a difyr ydoedd, 
 
 A brwd iavvn o bai raid oedd. 
 
 Astidivvr issod ydoedd, 
 
 Ysgwir y dysc erioed oedd. 
 
 Prydai i fercli parod i fawl, 
 
 Prydydd y gwawd priodawl ; 
 
 Parod vyth y prydai vo, 
 
 Pryd sedd pyradwys iddo. 
 
Í02 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 To one of the two poems he wrote to Gruffudd 
 Hiraethog, the date 1550 is affixed; and as he is not men- 
 tioned at Caerwys, he probably died before 1567. The 
 cause of the dispute between the two bards was that 
 Gruffudd, in his praise of Tegaingl, took occasion to attack 
 Ifan Gôch, an Anglesey bard, who had been some time 
 dead, and was a kinsman of Sion Brwynog. The latter in 
 warm resentment contrasted the beauties of Môn with 
 those of Tegaingl, and defended Ifan Gôch in an excellent 
 poem in which these lines occur : 
 
 Llawer o wir oil ar wawd 
 
 A wnaeth Ifan a thafawd ; 
 
 Prydydd a fu, prydodd fawl, 
 
 Prydyddfawr gẁr pur ddeddfawl ; 
 
 Parod awen pur diwael, 
 
 Pla bu hwn 1 bobl hael ; 
 
 Ac ni wnae chwaith, lanwaith lên, 
 
 I Degengl erioed ogen ; 
 
 Ei eiriau mwys ar y mawl, 
 
 A wnae gariad angvvriawl ; 
 
 [A] Gruffydd fawr o ffydd wan, 
 
 Arwydd achos ar dduchan ; 
 
 Dewr yw'r gẃr a dieiriach, 
 
 Dewr o bell mal y Driw bach. 
 
 Caerwys Eisteddfod, 1567. — Just as it had been felt 
 in the middle of the fifteenth century that something must 
 be done to put a check upon ignorant and indolent poet- 
 asters and minstrels who were nothing more than pro- 
 fessional beggars who tramped the country, and not only 
 extorted money from the unwary, but annoyed the gentry 
 and those who were capable of judging their incapacity, 
 so now, in the middle of the sixteenth century, it was found 
 necessary to make a renewed effort to put down these 
 
THE SIXTEENTH-CENTURY BARDS 103 
 
 impostors, who sullied the fair fame of bardism and were 
 in danger of bringing it into contempt. 
 
 The bards who took their profession seriously succeeded 
 in 1566 in getting from Queen Elizabeth permission to 
 hold an Eisteddfod, the object of which was to license 
 bards, and to prevent those unable to compose in the 
 regular metres from professing poetry. The commission 
 was entrusted by the Queen to the following gentlemen : 
 Sir Richard Bulkeley, Knt. ; Sir Rhys Gruffydd, Knt. ; 
 Ellis Prys, Esq., D.C.L., and one of the Council of 
 the Marches; William Mostyn, leuan Llwyd of lâl, 
 John Salisbury of Rug, Rhys Thomas, Morus Wynn, 
 William Lewis, Pyrs Mostyn, Owain Sion ap Howel 
 Fychan, Sion William ap Sion, Sion Lewis Owain, Morus 
 Gruffydd, Simwnt Thelwal, Elis ap William Llwyd, Robert 
 Pulestone, Harri ap Harri, William Glyn, and Rhys Huws, 
 Esquires. 
 
 After allowing time for the usual notice of at least a 
 year and a day, the Eisteddfod was held at Caerwys on 
 May 26, 1567. 
 
 The test imposed upon the bards was to write correct 
 cjnghanedd and to display a mastery of the twenty-four 
 metres. This test was quite sufficient to make the bards 
 an exclusive body, for the uneducated would never be able 
 to cope with it. Four bardic degrees were obtainable — 
 Pencerdd, Disgybl Pencerddaidd, Disgybl Disgyblaidd, and 
 Disgybl Yspâs ; musical degrees were also granted for pro- 
 ficiency on the harp and the criuth. 
 
 It is proposed to notice first the four bards who obtained 
 the highest degree in cerdd dafod (poetry), viz. Lewis 
 Edward, William Llỳn, Owain Gwynedd, and Simwnt Fychan. 
 
 (i) Lewis Edward, or Lewis Môn, is unknown by any 
 of his published poems. 
 
I04 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 (2) William Llŷn (1535-1580) was one of the greatest 
 bards of the sixteenth century. Little is known of his early 
 days, but he spent the last twenty years of his life (1560- 
 1580) at Oswestry. There is definite evidence of his death 
 in the latter year, for in the Parish Church Register it is 
 stated that he died on the last day of August, 1580; and 
 in a marwnad composed to him by Rhys Cain, that bard 
 states that he was forty-six years old at the time of his death. 
 It is generally thought that he was a clergyman, and more 
 especially as he himself affirms : 
 
 I garu y gwr gwiwrym, 
 Urdde Duw a roddwyd ym. 
 
 Some of the transactions mentioned in his will, how- 
 ever, are very unsettling on this point, and it is difficult to 
 decide definitely. 
 
 He was one of the disciples of Gruffudd Hiraethog, who 
 had formed a high opinion of his bardic qualities ; his 
 verdict is well known — Nid oes dim yn amvybodus i Wiliatn 
 Llỳn. He was certainly one of the greatest masters of 
 cyngha?iedd who wrote between Dafydd ab Gwilym and 
 Goronwy Owain. In a single couplet he often succeeds 
 in bringing before the mind a clear and well-defined 
 picture, e.g. 
 
 Arf wyt ar fywyd dewrion, 
 Ac eli teg y wlad honn. 
 
 Y mae'n wann edn bychan byrr, 
 Heb plu fawr mewn palf eryr. 
 
 A llwyn gwyrda lien gvvardeg 
 Yn teimlo Duw mewn teml deg. 
 
 He wrote upon no new themes, but lie has a distinct 
 poetic individuality in revealing the old themes in new 
 aspects. Like most of the bards, he censures covetousness 
 
THE SIXTEENTH-CENTURY BARDS 105 
 
 and pride, but he does so more often by drawing a striking 
 contrast between them and their opposite virtues than by 
 attacking them directly. The following lines in praise 
 of hospitality are a fair sample of the quality of his 
 cywyddau : 
 
 Mwy noc i ffair, medd gair gwan, 
 Oedd o Iwybre i Ddolobrann, 
 A fYyrth heb glo na fforthor, 
 A gras Duw ymhob gris a dor, 
 A chynnal beirdd ychwanec, 
 A chanu ymysc teulu tec. 
 
 Ac yno mae digoniant, 
 Ac aur, a gwin, a gwŷr gant, 
 A g\vr mawr a gar roi medd, 
 A gwraic orau orr gwragedd. 
 
 Da kynn gwyl wyt deucan gwaith, 
 A da'r wyl wyd yr eilwaith, 
 I rannu da yr un don 
 Wedi gwyl yw dy galon. 
 
 Many of his lines contain admirable moral precepts, of 
 which the following are good examples : 
 
 Llid sydd flin medd doethineb, 
 Llid ni all wellâd i neb. 
 
 Byw'n gymwys heb hen gamau 
 A bar i hil dyn barhau. 
 
 Trugarhewch trwy garu hedd, 
 Tra gwrol yw trugaredd. 
 
 • • • • • 
 
 Y gwr a haeddo i garu, 
 Wellwell vydd val lowydd Ilu. 
 
io6 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 His love poetry is sometimes of much excellence, especially 
 in descriptive passages. He describes a maiden's beauty 
 in the following fine lines : 
 
 Gwyn yw'r haul gwanwr hell, 
 Gvven awch ton gwynach wyt ti ; 
 Gwen yw gaenen ar y gweunydd, 
 Gwnach yw graen gwen ych grudd. 
 
 But his best poems are those on more weighty themes ; the 
 problems that chiefly engross him are the brevity of human 
 life, and its relation to, and dependence upon, higher 
 powers. Of its brevity he writes : 
 
 Ffol yw'r oes arr ffael a red, 
 Ffei orr einioes i ffrined ! 
 
 Ni ffery dyn hofifaraul, 
 Mwy no rrew ymin yr haul. 
 
 Doe yn wych yn dwyn iechyd, 
 A heddyw'r pridd arr y pryd. 
 
 But he acknowledges a controlling power and a beneficent 
 purpose in what seems so inexplicable : 
 
 Och i'r adwyth na chredwn, 
 I fwriad da fyrred hwn. 
 
 Y byd hwnn a'r bywyd tec 
 Yw yr hudol yn rredec, 
 I fewn gokiu fo'n gelwir 
 O'r hudol hwn i'r hoedl hir. 
 
 A very considerable number of his compositions are 
 Yuanvnadau, and it is in this kind of poem that he excels. 
 His quick sympathy and rather melancholy temperament 
 
THE SIXTEENTH-CENTURY BARDS 107 
 
 were well adapted to it. Here is a picture he gives of the 
 intense grief caused by the ravages of death : 
 
 Oer oedd weled ar ddeulin 
 Wylo gwaed lie bu alvv gwin, 
 A braw lie bu orawen, 
 A gwaedd yn amlach na gwen. 
 
 • ■ • • • 
 
 Wylo a wnewch hyd eiloes, 
 Er hynn ni chair yn ych oes 
 Pe rhoe Dduw pur vveddiwr 
 Ar law dyn er wylo dwr, 
 Wylem waed ar Wiliam maeth 
 Er i weled yr eilwaith. 
 
 Some of his finest lines are those in which he gives expres- 
 sion to a thought which seemed to afford him much con- 
 solation : that death was no respecter of persons, but that 
 û//, man and nature, must succumb to it. In his fine 
 marwnad to his old master, Gruffudd Hiraethog, he 
 expresses it thus : 
 
 Eryr gwyllt ar war gelltydd 
 Nid ymgel pan ddel i ddydd, 
 A'r pysg a fo mysg y môr 
 A ddwg angau'n ddigyngor, 
 Y byd oil be deallwn, 
 Ar y sydd a erys hwn ; 
 Aristotlus foddus fu 
 Ar ddysg oil, urddas gallu, 
 Tydain ail tad awen oedd, 
 Taliesin teulu oesoedd, 
 Pob un oedd aeth pawb yn war 
 Ar i ddiwedd i'r ddaear. 
 
 Some of his other best-written elegies are those to Sir 
 Owain ab Gwilym, curate of Tal-y-llyn ; to the bard Sion 
 
io8 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 Brwynog, which has been already mentioned ; to Howel 
 Fychan ; to William, Earl of Pembroke, in 1570; to 
 Simwnt Thelwal, one of the Commissioners at Caerwys ; 
 to Sion Llw\ d of Lil ; to Sir John Salusbury of Lleweni ; 
 and to Thomas Mostyn. 
 
 (3) Owain Gwynedd, or Owain Ifan, was the domestic 
 bard of Lewis Owen, Baron of the Exchequer for North 
 Wales, who met with such a tragic end at the hands of the 
 Givylliaid Cochiofi of Mawddwy, a notorious band of high- 
 waymen who were a great terror to travellers on the main 
 road between Machynlleth and Welshpool. They had 
 their hiding-place in Dugoed Mawr, about half-way between 
 the two towns, and the Baron, in the course of his judicial 
 duties, had sentenced some of their number to death. 
 They determined to waylay him at the first opportunity, 
 and succeeded in their evil designs the next time he passed 
 their haunts, by erecting a barricade at a bend of the road, 
 which is still called Llidiart y Barwn. Owain Gwynedd 
 composed an elegy upon his murdered patron, and this, 
 together with his bardic quarrel with William Llŷn, in 
 which several cyivyddau passed between the two bards, is 
 nearly all that is known of the third peiicerdd of Caerwys. 
 That quarrel arose out of William Llŷn's visit to Caer Gai, 
 the residence of Owain ap Sion, who invited him to spend 
 a considerable time there. This lengthy stay was resented 
 by Owain Gwynedd as an intrusion upon his own preserves, 
 and he looked upon ^^'illiam Llŷn as having ousted him 
 from favour there. He conducted the controversy in 
 a very acrimonious spirit, as the following couplets 
 show : 
 
 Aed Wiliam i Gydweli 
 Vmhell i Gwent o'm lie i. 
 
THE SIXTEENTH-CENTURY BARDS 109 
 
 Mab yw Wiliam a balai 
 
 O gyrrau Gwent i Gaer Gai. 
 
 Drwg yw o fardd drwg i foes, 
 Dirwyno Duw yr einioes. 
 
 William Llŷn replied with equal warmth, but can hardly 
 be said to have had the better of the contest, although 
 Owain Gwynedd had the grace to admit his excellence as 
 a bard, in the lines : 
 
 Da yw i gerdd a di gam, 
 A dilesg ydiw Wilyam ; 
 Dyn yw ir vrau don aur frig, 
 Dewis gwawdydd dysgedig. 
 
 There is only one cywydd of this bard's in Gorchestion y 
 Beirdd, entitled Cywydd Gonhestol i Sion Lewis Owain. 
 
 (4) Simwnt Fychan (1546- 1606) was that disciple of 
 Gruffudd Hiraethog's whose work his master summed up 
 as gofalus. It was an accurate estimate, for his work was 
 that of a good organiser rather than a great bard. His 
 poems are more noted for their accuracy of form than for 
 their wealth of sentiment. 
 
 He was born in 1546, and was a gentleman of means, 
 living at Tý Brith, Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd. 
 
 His best-known bardic contribution was that shown 
 before the Caerwys Eisteddfod, entitled Awdl i arddangos 
 y pedwar mesur ar hugain Pr Meistr Firs Aiostyn Dal- 
 acre. It is a masterpiece in cynghanedd, and not devoid of 
 ideas. It was published fully in Gra7nadeg Lladiti Sion 
 Dafydd Rhys, and in Gramadeg Cymraeg Sion Rhydderch. 
 
 Simwnt Fychan is also known as the author of a 
 Grammar, and he is the predecessor of a long list of gram- 
 marians in this period. His book is entitled Gramadeg 
 
no A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 Simwnt Fychan o'r Tý Brith, 1565. Of the Welsh 
 alphabet he says — 'Saith lythyren ar hugain ysydd angenr- 
 heidiol wrthynt i ysgrifennu yr iaith gamberaig.' These 
 are the same as those contained in our present alphabet. 
 
 The following lines are quoted from the bard's Marwnad 
 Richard Chvch : 
 
 Braw a droes, oer bryder sydd, 
 
 Briw dwfn fal i bu'r defnydd ; 
 
 Braw anial, briwo Ynys 
 
 Brydain a Llundain a'i llys. 
 
 Aeth yr lesu a'i thrysor, 
 
 A gwresdarn o Loegr a'i stor. 
 
 Marw ddoe hydd, mae'r waedd heddyw, 
 
 Mastr Clwch, boll Westmister a'i chlyw. 
 
 Simwnt Fychan died in 1606. 
 
 Three of the bards who were Disgyblion Pencerddaidd 
 at Caerwys remain to be noticed — William Cynwal, Sion 
 Tudur, and Sion Phylib. 
 
 (i) William Cynwal. — Gruffudd Hiraethog is reported 
 to have said of this bard, who was his disciple, '■ Aweny- 
 ddol yw Gwilym Cynwal.' Most of his poems are un- 
 published, and it is difficult to form a correct estimate 
 of his work on that account. Nineteen of them were 
 written during his controversy with Archdeacon Edmwnd 
 Prys. The greatness of his antagonist threw Cynwal into 
 the shade, and it was an unequal contest from the start. 
 The Archdeacon was noted for his prowess in these con- 
 flicts, but it is hard to think that a bard, who was described 
 by so competent a judge as Gruffudd Hiraethog as aweny- 
 ddol, could employ his muse to the best advantage in an 
 acrimonious discussion of this kind. Edmwnd Prys said 
 that Cynwal's odes were marked by all the faults common 
 to cerdd dafod when handled by an indifferent bard, but so 
 
THE SIXTEENTH-CENTURY BARDS m 
 
 many bitter things were said on both sides that it is interest- 
 ing to have the unbiassed opinion of no less an authority than 
 Goronwy Owen on the merits of both one and the other. 
 He wrote — ' Nid hen ddyn dwl oedd yr Archddiacon, ac 
 ystyried yr amser yr oedd yn byw ynddo ; etto yr wyf yn 
 cyfrif Wiliam Cynwal yn well bardd, o ran natur, anian, ac 
 athrylith, ond bod Edmwnt yn rhagori mewn dysg. Nid 
 oedd Cynwal druan (ysgolhaig bol clawdd), ond megis 
 yn ymladd â'r dyrnau moelion yn erbyn tarian a llurig.' 
 
 This bard was a native of Penmachno in Carnarvonshire, 
 where he was born, it is said, in 1530. 
 
 Three of his poems, which have been published in the 
 Records of Denbigh, were written to the Clwch family. 
 Richard Clwch, or Clough, of Bachegraig, was a prominent 
 and wealthy merchant in the reign of Elizabeth. He is 
 supposed to have visited Jerusalem and to have been a 
 Knight of the Holy Sepulchre.^ Perhaps that is why 
 William Cynwal entitles his elegy ' Kowydd Marwnad am 
 y Mastr Rhissiart Clwch marchog fedd Krist.' He died 
 in 1570, as the following lines show : 
 
 E vynnodd i'w vyw ennyd, 
 
 Wellau ar bawb oil o'r byd, 
 
 Yn gedyrn hwnn a gododd, 
 
 I bobl rhoe gan nobl yn rhodd. 
 
 I'w frodyr doe bu frwydr dydd, 
 
 A chwerw gẃyn i'w chwiorydd. 
 
 Yr oedd deg, hardd diwygiad ! 
 
 Yn aeron teg o'r un tad. 
 
 Oed lesu fu, dewis fodd, 
 
 Di gam pan y degymodd, 
 
 Pymtheg cant, tyfiant ofeg, 
 
 Pum saith ddwywaith, mae'n daith deg. 
 
 William Cynwal died about 1600. 
 
 ^ Ancimt and Modern Denbigh, p. 174. 
 
112 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 (2) Sion Tudur (? — 1602) was another disciple of 
 Gruffudd Hiraethog. He is said to have been one of 
 th'e four Vicars Choral of St. Asaph, but his own testi- 
 mony is against this, for he wrote : 
 
 Curais dri o'r Ficeriaid, 
 Pedvver)'dd pe do'i aros, 
 I'w guro awn dan gwr nos. 
 
 His name is not included in Browne Willis's St. Asaph. 
 A bard named Edward ap Ralph in his Cyivydd MarwnaJ 
 Sion Tudur makes him out to have been a soldier, 
 unless he is referring to him in that capacity in another 
 sense : 
 
 Mel ar wawd, milwr ydoedd, 
 Morda gwyr Meiriadog oedd. 
 
 The date of that cywydd is 1602. He died on Easter 
 Eve, the 4th of April 1602. Sion Tudur was already a 
 very old man in 1588 when he wrote Cywydd i Fibl y 
 Dr. Morgan,^ in which he says : 
 
 Hen fardd a fu hardd fy hynt 
 Wyf, a hynaf honynt. 
 
 Tario 'Nghansel Llanelwy, 
 Heb allu mynd i bell mwy ; 
 A chanlyn gair (iawn air oedd) 
 lesu ; madws i'm ydoedd : 
 Darllen yn fifel hyd elawr — 
 I bobl ym niwth y Bibl mawr. 
 
 These last six lines are decidedly in favour of the opinion 
 that he was in Orders, and if the same rule obtained in 
 cathedrals in those days as at present, he would be one of 
 the dignitaries, and not a Vicar Choral, for the Lessons from 
 
 ' Y Brython, iii. p. 433. 
 
THE SIXTEENTH-CENTURY BARDS 113 
 
 Scripture are usually read by the former, and Sion Tudur 
 mentions it as his constant practice. 
 
 The above-mentioned cyivydd is one of the best of his 
 published poems, twelve of which have appeared in the 
 Brythoji, and many short pieces in the Greal. His theo- 
 logical attitude is made quite clear in it : 
 
 Byr i enaid braw annoeth, 
 Pardwn Pab rhag purdan poeth ; 
 Pan farnai Dduw poen fwrn ddu 
 Pwy yw'r dyn all bardynu ? 
 Gorau pardwn gwn a gaid, 
 Gwaed yr Oen i gadw'r enaid. 
 Llawenydd yn nydd a nos, 
 Llawenychwn Uawn achos ; 
 Dwyn gras i bob dyn a gred, 
 Dwyn geiriau Duw'n agored. 
 
 Gofyn 'rwy i ddyn oedd dda, 
 
 Gofyn y Bibl yn gyfa, 
 
 Dod Gyfraith air maith i mi 
 
 Praff adail, a'r Prophwydi ; 
 
 Yr boll gyfraith freisgwaith frau, 
 
 A'r Efengyl, arf angau. 
 
 Araith Sion Tudur is a very long poem, published in 
 the Brython, vol. v., and is not written in cynghanedd. It 
 purports to be the history of the bard's life, and shows that 
 he was a master of satire, a vein in which he occasionally 
 indulges in other poems,— for instance, that in which he 
 exposes to ridicule a certain miser, who, although he built 
 a house with nine chimneys, used but one of them. He is 
 bidden to burn a straw man in them, that they may per- 
 form their function for once : 
 
 Ffei o gym cedyrn cauadwaith — heb ros 
 Ac heb wres na'i obaith ; 
 H 
 
114 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 Ffagla wellt-was, ffugiol waith, 
 Gnâf gwan, a gwna fwg unwaith. 
 
 Camb. Briton, i. p. 271. 
 
 There is nothing to prove that William Llyn was the 
 bardic tutor of Edmwnd Prys, but the latter in one of his 
 poems states that Sion Tudur certainly was. He writes to 
 him — 
 
 Athraw ydwyd, a thradoeth, 
 
 A cholofn y gerdd ddofn ddoeth. 
 
 ■ ■ • • • 
 
 Disgybl wyf o dysg gwbl [waith] 
 Yspâs hir, yspys araith. 
 
 Mesura rymus wryd, 
 
 Moes di'r gwir,^' ?fteistr, i gyd. 
 
 Euwogion y Ffydd, i. p. 67. 
 
 This bard also, as well as Simwnt Fychan and William 
 Cynwal, wrote a viarwtiad to Sir Richard Chvch. 
 
 (3) Sion Phylip (1543-1620). The last of the graduates 
 of Caerwys who shall be noticed is Sion Phylip of Mochras. 
 Eben Fardd, writing to the Brytho7i^ said that he had dis- 
 covered a statement in one of the MSS. that this bard was 
 twenty-two when the Caerwys Eisteddfod was held. This is 
 not correct, he was born in 1543 ; and Edmwnd Prys, one of 
 the many bards who wrote his cywydd juanvnad, states that 
 he died in 1620. He had a brother, William Phylip, who 
 was also a bard, and the latter in one of his poems, an elegy 
 upon his father, gives their parent's name as Phylip Sion. 
 
 Sion Phylip was the bardd teulu of Nannau and Cors y 
 Gedol, and was very popular with the bards of his day, as 
 the numerous manvtiadau composed to him testify. But 
 he had a slight dispute with Sion Tudur, who wrote finding 
 
 ' Y Brython, iv. p. 142. 
 
THE SIXTEENTH-CENTURY BARDS 115 
 
 fault with him because he had paid a visit to Bishop Davies 
 of St. Asaph in his absence ; and another with his brother 
 Richard Phylip, because of the latter's visit to Huw, Lord 
 of Nannau. 
 
 His marwnad to William Llŷn pays very generous tribute 
 to that bard, of whom he sings : 
 
 Aeth heibio wawd fyth heb wen, 
 Aeth ddoe Duw a thad awen. 
 
 Naddiad yn wastad a wnai, 
 Awenyddol y naddai. 
 
 Naddu'r awdl yn dda'r ydoedd, 
 Nadd yscwir yn y ddysc oedd. 
 
 Dyfal chwiliodd, nid rhodd drwch, 
 Drwy galon pob dirgelwch. 
 
 Sion Phylip met his death by drowning, when he was^on 
 a bardic circuit in Lleyn. His son Gruffudd composed the 
 following englyn while the dead bard was being rowed across 
 the water to his burial at Llandanwg : 
 
 . O fwynion ddynion, bob yn ddau — cyfarwydd 
 Cyfeiriwch y rhwyfau, 
 Tynnwch ar draws y tonnau, 
 A'r bardd trist yn i gist gau. 
 
 Edmwnd Prys sang of him : 
 
 Cafodd oes hir cyfedd sain, 
 Agos i bed war ugain ; 
 Ac yno'i dug dig iawn don, 
 Angau fud y' nghyfoedion : 
 Marw a wnaeth merion ieithoedd, 
 Yn Lleyn megis canwyll oedd ; 
 Ar Wyl Fair, arw leferydd, 
 A gwirod oer garwa dydd ; 
 
ii6 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 Dau wythgant bwriad ieithgoeth 
 A dau ddeg, oed Mab Duw ddoeth. 
 
 Yn ifanc gwnai gerdd nwyfus, 
 Yn naddu'r iaith yn ddirus ; 
 Yn hen, dda awen ddiell, 
 Canai i Dduw can oedd well. 
 
 He was buried at Llandanwg, where the following epitaph 
 written by Hugh Cynfal was placed above his grave : 
 Dyma fedd gwrda gu — Sion Phylib, 
 Sein a philer Cymru ; 
 Cwynwn fynd athro canu 
 I garchar y ddaear ddu. 
 
 Before reviewing the work of the remaining bards of the 
 sixteenth century, which shall be done in the next chapter, 
 two bards who were not graduates at the famous eisteddfod 
 of Caerwys may be noticed here. They were both disciples 
 of William Llyn — Rhys Cain and Maurice Kyffin. 
 
 Rhys Cain (? — 1614) is said to have been an artist by 
 profession, and there is a story extant that he gave great 
 offence to some extreme Puritans by his picture of the 
 Crucifixion. 
 
 The Greal mentions many of his poems, but they have 
 not been published, and from what is known of them they 
 are not of much merit. His inarwnad to William Llvn is 
 written in the form of a dialogue between the living and 
 the dead, in imitation of that written by the latter to 
 Gruffudd Hiraethog. Amongst the tributes he pays to his 
 great master are these : 
 
 Pencerddaf callaf ich caid, 
 Pen cerddawr y pencerddiaid. 
 
 A wnai y gwawd ni wnai gam, 
 Wrth riwl vr athro Wiliam. 
 
THE SIXTEENTH-CENTURY BARDS 117 
 
 He was buried at Oswestry on May 10, 16 14, as the 
 Register there states. He therefore survived William Llŷn 
 thirty-four years. 
 
 Maurice Kyffin will be noticed later, in the chapter 
 on the sixteenth-century prose writers, for his contributions 
 to Welsh literature are mostly in that direction. But he 
 himself mentions that William Llŷn was his bardic teacher, 
 in the following englynion : 
 
 Wiliam Ilyn feithryn fy athro : Dilis 
 Ydolwg heb ango 
 Mwya undaith amendio 
 Anhardd fai ar fy ngherdd fo. 
 
 Prydydd teg wowdydd pur ydych : penkerdd 
 Pynkiau klod urddaswych 
 Pyradwysaidd pryd oeswych 
 Pura mab mam Wiliam wych. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 THE SIXTEENTH-CENTURY BARDS 
 11 
 
 This chapter is to be devoted to those bards who were 
 not graduates at the Eisteddfod of 1567, but who occupy 
 a prominent place in Welsh literature in this century. 
 
 The first, and perhaps the greatest of them, is Edmwnd 
 Prys (1541-1623). He was the son of John Prys, of Tyddyn 
 Du, Maentwrog, and was born in 1 541, as he himself states in 
 his Latin verses which preface Dr. Day'ies's Antique Lingucs 
 Britannica. He removed to Gerddi Bluog, in the parish 
 of Llanfair, when his son married the heiress of that place. 
 
 He was educated at St. John's College, Cambridge, 
 where he graduated in Arts. In 1572 he was appointed to 
 the living of Festiniog, and four years later became Arch- 
 deacon of Merioneth. In 1580 he became Vicar of Llan- 
 ddwywe which he held in plurality, and in 1602 he was 
 appointed to a Canonry at St. Asaph. 
 
 He acknowledged Sion Tudur as his bardic teacher, and 
 confessed to an acquaintance with eight languages, but in 
 spite of that admitted the difficulty of his own : 
 
 Ni phrofais dan ffurfafen, 
 
 Gwe mor gaeth a'r Gymraeg wen.' 
 
 ' Preface to Gorchestion Beirdd Cymru, p. 9. 
 118 
 
THE SIXTEENTH-CENTURY BARDS 119 
 
 His great controversy with William Cynwal has already 
 been noticed. It originated in the promise on the part of 
 the latter of a steel bow, to a man named Rhys Wyn, who 
 asked the Archdeacon, who was present, if he would write 
 a cywydd to ask for it, in accordance with the frequent 
 custom of the bards. The Archdeacon was willing, and 
 William Cynwal said he agreed to this, on condition that 
 he was to name the subject. His long delay in sending it 
 to the Archdeacon was taken to mean that he wanted to 
 relinquish his promise. Edmwnd Prys, at Rhys Wyn's 
 desire, wrote the cywydd at last without waiting for the 
 subject to be named. Cynwal replied that he had lent the 
 bow to Mr. Thomas Prys of Plas lolyn. Two years passed, 
 and the promise was still unfulfilled, and when the Arch- 
 deacon met the bard, he reminded him of it. Cynwal 
 sent a cyivydd and a letter showing his achau. Edmwnd 
 Prys replied with the same; and so the controversy 
 dragged on, its net result being the addition of a large 
 number of cywyddau to the language — fifty-five, it is said, of 
 which the great majority were written by the Archdeacon, 
 whose scathing sarcasm and merciless criticism are credited 
 with having caused William Cynwal's death. 
 
 These cywyddau ymryson, however, do not constitute 
 Edmwnd Prys's greatest work. It is his metrical transla- 
 tion of the Psalms that has endeared him to his country- 
 men. The need for a work of this kind had long been felt, 
 and some had already attempted it. Dafydd Ddu o 
 Hiraddug had translated twenty-six, and William Myddle- 
 ton had busied himself with the same task, both writing in 
 the cynghanedd metres. The latter's work was published 
 after his death by Thomas SaUsbury in 1603, but it never 
 became popular for the reason that the masses could not 
 follow the cynghanedd. Maurice Kyffin had thought of 
 
I20 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 undertaking the work, but death intervened. Edward 
 Kyffin started it, but only finished fifty psalms. 
 
 Edmwnd Prys had sufficient intuition to see where the 
 others had failed, and started translating them in the free 
 metres which were understood by all. He finished his 
 great work in 1621, and this, it is believed, was his last 
 literary task. He gives three reasons for not using the 
 twenty-four metres : 
 
 (i) Am na allwn ryfygu clymu'r Ysgrythyr Santaidd ar 
 fesur cyn gaethed. 
 
 (2) Y mae Gair Duw i'w ganu mewn cynulleidfa 
 santaidd o lawer ynghyd, yr hyn a allant wneuthur ar y 
 mesur gwael hwn, ond ni allant ar gyivydd neu aivdl. 
 
 (3) Pobl annysgedig a ddysgant bennill o garol lie ni allai 
 ond ysgolhaig ddysgu cywydd neu gerdd gyfarwydd arall. 
 
 There are tw^elve hymn-tunes in his book, one for each 
 of the free metres he has employed. A very striking 
 feature of his psalms is the irregularity of the accent, which 
 some have ascribed to the bard's ignorance. But it is 
 more reasonable to suppose that he did it for the sake of 
 the sense, and for variety. 
 
 These psalms contain in every couplet an awdl gyrch, 
 i.e. a word in the end of the first line rhyming with a 
 word or syllable in or about the middle of the second, e.g. 
 
 Am hyn y drwg ni saif mewn barn 
 O llaen y cadar/i union. 
 
 I'r Arglwydd cenwch \2Á?ìx glod 
 A gwnewch ufudd-í/ẁ/ llawen fryd, 
 Dowch o flaen Duw a pheraidd don 
 Drigolwz y ddaear i gyd. 
 
 Throughout his translations his style is uniformly good, 
 and it is a distinctive merit in the work, that he has reduced 
 
THE SIXTEENTH-CENTURY BARDS 121 
 
 the number of irrelevant words (geiriau llanw) to a mini- 
 mum. This was a considerable achievement. 
 
 He always uses the orthography of his own time, e.g. 
 gemiif, wrthi/, not gennyf, wrthyf. 
 
 Na alw monof ger dy fron 
 
 I roddi union gyfrif, 
 
 Yr wy'n cydnabod fy Nuw hael 
 
 Y bywyd gwael oedd gennif. 
 
 Dr. Sion Dafydd Rhys (1534-161-?) was the son of 
 Dafydd Rhys, who was in the service of Sir William 
 Gruffydd, Garreg Lwyd, Llanfaethlu, Môn, and his mother 
 had been maid to Jane Stradling, who married Sir William 
 Gruffydd. He was born in 1534, and at the age of eighteen 
 became an undergraduate of Christ Church, Oxford. He 
 left there without taking a degree and went to the Univer- 
 sity of Sienna, in Tuscany, in 1555, where there was a 
 noted Medical School. He seems to have been living in 
 1617 when his wife died. 
 
 He was a bard and prose writer, and undoubtedly one 
 of the most talented men of the sixteenth century. His 
 capacity as a linguist is seen in his work entitled Rules for 
 the obtaining of the Latin tongue, which was written in 
 Italian and published at Venice. This was followed by a 
 Latin work — De ItaliciZ Linguce Pronunfiatione, printed at 
 Padua. The work from its very nature shows that he 
 must have been very well versed in Italian, and the 
 Italians themselves thought highly of it. 
 
 But his greatest and most useful work for his own 
 country was the publication in 1592 of a Welsh Grammar 
 written in Latin, and entitled Cambrobrytannicce Cytnrcecceve 
 LingucB Instittitiones et Rudivienia, etc. This book, which 
 also contains the rules of Welsh prosody, was printed at 
 the expense of Sir Edward Stradling, and is remarkable for 
 
122 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 its wealth of illustrations from the work of the old bards. 
 The author had also the advantage of being an apt versifier 
 himself, and to explain a rule of prosody he often gives an 
 original example of his own. He wrote the work in Latin 
 because he wished to reach the teachers of the people 
 rather than the masses themselves. His preface, however, 
 is written in Welsh, and that in an orthography in which 
 the chief feature is his novel way of representing the double 
 consonants. His alphabet consists of thirty-one letters as 
 given below : 
 
 Rhys. / a b bh c ch d dh e g gh ghh h i Ih 1 
 Mod. W.l a b f c ch d dd e g ng ngh h i 11 1 
 
 Rhys, f m mh n nh o p ph rh r s t th u 6 y z 
 Mod. W. \ m mh n nh o p ph Í rh r s t th u w y y 
 
 ff i 
 
 It will be noticed that every digraph is formed by 
 means of the letter /i. He has two separate characters to 
 distinguish the two different sounds of_j'. 
 
 Every sound in the Welsh language is included in this 
 alphabet of thirty-one letters. 
 
 The only other peculiarity of his orthography is, that 
 where a letter is dropped at the end of a word, he invari- 
 ably uses an apostrophe — thus, a' Bonedhigion represents 
 that the c of ac has been lost ; but when a letter is omitted at 
 the beginning of a word, he uses an itiverted comma — thus, 
 a '/ g'ivladivyr '/ hu7i represents that the e of ei has been 
 dropped in each case. Where we should write y dyn ar 
 wraig, Dr. Sion Dafydd Rhys would wniQ y dyn a'^r wraig. 
 
 William Myddleton, or Gwilym Ganoldref as he was 
 known amongst the bards, was the third son of Richard 
 Myddleton, Governor of Denbigh Castle, and was a literary 
 man of considerable attainments. Sion Dafydd Rhys 
 refers to him as ' fy hen gyfaill caredig y milwr calonocaf ar 
 
THE SIXTEENTH-CENTURY BARDS 123 
 
 for ac ar dir, a'r mwyaf cyfarwydd mewn barddoniaeth 
 Gymreig, Gwilym Ganoldref.' He added an appendix 
 which contained several fine poems, e.g. Gwilym Tew's 
 A7udl i Fair., Simwnt Fychan's Awdl i Birs Mostyn, and his 
 own Awdl i Grist, which he had composed in 1590, to 
 Sion Dafydd Rhys' s Grammar. 
 
 Although he had been destined for the Church or for 
 the Bar, and had been educated at Oxford for that 
 purpose, he chose the more adventurous career of a 
 soldier, and afterwards joined the Navy and attained the 
 rank of captain. In the war between England and Spain 
 he rendered signal service. An episode is related in 
 Ancient and Modern Denbigh of his saving the fleet in 
 1 59 1 by his dogged watchfulness of the Spaniards, keeping 
 in touch with them the whole time, and giving timely 
 warning to the English admiral. 
 
 His elder brother was the well-known Sir Hugh Myddle- 
 ton, alderman of London and Denbigh, and another brother, 
 Sir Thomas Myddleton, became Lord Mayor of London. 
 
 In 1593 he published in Welsh a book entitled Bardh- 
 oniaeth neu Brydydhiaeth, y Lhyfr Kyntaf. This was 
 printed in London, and, as the title shows, he used the 
 same orthography as Sion Dafydd Rhys. This was 
 republished in the Flores Poetarictn Britatmicorum in 17 10. 
 
 But his greatest work was Psalmaey Brenhinol Brophwyd 
 Dafydh gwedi i cynghanedhu mewn mesurau Cymreig, 1603, 
 a translation of the Psalms into metrical cynghanedd form. 
 He finished this work in January 1595, as he says, apud 
 Scutum insulam Occidentaliuju Indorum ; but it was not pub- 
 lished until after his death, by his friend Thomas Salisbury 
 in 1603. It was reprinted in 1827 by Gwallter Mechain. 
 
 Myddleton was quite a celebrity in his day. It is said 
 that he, with Thomas Prys of Plas lolyn, who was also a 
 
124 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 naval captain and a literary man, and Captain Keat, were 
 the first who smoked tobacco publicly in the streets of 
 London. 
 
 Several of his poems exist in MS. The following lines 
 are taken from his Aivdl i Grist already mentioned : 
 
 Crist o nef cerais dy nod, 
 Can a gaf y Cun o ged ; 
 Cyweir lef cu eiriol yd, 
 Cyfarchaf lor cyfeirchiad ; 
 Ei rym pur oedd i'r mab rhad, 
 A'm prynawdd heb gawdd a gad o'i mau, 
 lor gorau wir gariad. 
 
 lawn i'r dynion ar a'i 'dwaeniad, 
 I folianu ddwyfawl Ynad ; 
 lesu fawrhau can's ef yw'r had, 
 A gras a dawn gorau o stâd ; 
 Canaf a dwedaf Duw dad i'm cymorth 
 O'm camwedd rhag oer frad.^ 
 
 Edward Kyffin (? — 1603) was the son of Thomas 
 Kyffin of Oswestry, and brother of Maurice Kyffin, in 
 whose will he is mentioned as a 'preacher.' His only 
 known work is a translation of the Psalms into metrical 
 form for use in the services of the Church. He had 
 finished some fifty of them before he died in 1603. Of 
 these fifty, however, only i.-xiii. were published by Thomas 
 Salisbury in 1603, under the title Rhann Fsalmae Dafydd 
 Brophwyd iw canu ar ôl y don arferedig yn Eghvys Loegr. 
 It is clear from the Introductory Letter to this part that 
 Kyffin meant to complete the work had the great plague 
 not cut short his life. The merits of his version are not 
 great, but, when we remember the time and conditions of 
 the work, Kyffin's pioneer attempt to make the Psalms 
 
 ^ Ling. Cymr. Inst. Accur., p. 246. 
 
THE SIXTEENTH-CENTURY BARDS 125 
 
 the ballads of the people entitles him to a distinct place 
 in Welsh literature. 
 
 Thomas Prys (?— 1634) of Plas lolyn was the son of 
 Dr. Ellis Prys who was one of the Commissioners at Caerwys 
 and a member of the Council of the Marches, a distin- 
 guished man, and a great supporter of the bards. William 
 Llyn mentions him several times in his poems, and com- 
 posed two in his honour. In one he writes of him : 
 
 Y karw llu kowir llawenn, 
 
 Kymro pont Kymru a'i penn, 
 
 Kowirdeb sydd yn kordiaw, 
 
 Kariad a Iwc arr dy law ; 
 
 Doctor wyd ai akd arr wir, 
 
 A wna geuoc ynn gowir. 
 
 He mentions also that he had been ten times Sheriff for 
 
 his county : 
 
 Siryf y llynedd gwedd gwych 
 
 Sy hardd iawnbarch Sir Ddinbych : 
 
 Dengwaith i buost waithionn 
 Yn y swydd ddaionus honn. 
 
 In his elegy to Gruffudd Hiraethog he reminds that 
 bard of an appointment he had made with Dr. Ellis : 
 Ymrwymaist fardd brau hardd bris, 
 Yr wyl a'r Doctor Elis. 
 
 The son, Thomas Prys, was a naval officer, and a con- 
 temporary and friend of Captain Myddleton, as has been 
 stated already. He wrote numerous poems ; one bulky 
 MS. in the British Museum contains nothing else but his 
 work, and many of his poems are scattered about in other 
 MSB., but they all await publication. His elegy to Richard 
 Myddleton, the bard's father, which is published in the 
 Cambro-BritoH, vol. i. p. 271, shows much depth of feeling, 
 and some originality in style. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 PROSE WRITERS OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY 
 
 Sir John Prys (i 502-1554) was the author of the first 
 book printed in Welsh. Vnj' Ihyvyr hwnn contains the 
 Welsh alphabet, a Calendar, The Creed, the Lord's Prayer, 
 the Ave Maria, the Ten Commandments, and the Seven 
 Virtues, and was published in 1546. 
 
 Prys came from an old Brecknockshire family, and had 
 been educated at All Souls' College, Oxford, where he 
 had taken the degree of B.C.L. in 15 19. He was a dis- 
 tinguished antiquary, and held many important civil 
 appointments before he received the honour of knight- 
 hood. 
 
 Dr. Richard Davies in his ' Epistol at y Cembru,' which 
 prefaces William Salesbury's New Testament, refers to Sir 
 John Prys's work in terms of praise. 
 
 Other works of his, besides the one above mentioned, 
 were (i) Historicc Britantiicce Defeiisio, 1573, which was 
 published twenty years after his death by his son, Richard 
 Price, who was also an author ; (2) Descripiion of Cambria 
 (translated and enlarged by H. Lhwyd), published as a part 
 of the Historie of Cambria^ 1584- 
 
 We have now to notice a group of eminent men who 
 laboured to bring about the translation of the whole of 
 the Scriptures into Welsh. It was naturally the desire of 
 
 126 
 
SIXTEENTH-CENTURY PROSE WRITERS 127 
 
 these men that the New Testament should first be trans- 
 lated and put into the hands of the people. That work 
 had already been accomplished in England, and William 
 Tyndale's translation of the New Testament had gone 
 through several editions between 1525-6 and 1534, and 
 must have been in the possession of many educated 
 Welshmen. Miles Coverdale's translation of the whole 
 Bible had appeared in 1535, and in 1560 the Geneva Bible 
 had circulated freely in England. The circulation and 
 reading of the Epistles and Gospels in Welsh since 1551 
 had also created an earnest desire for the whole Bible 
 in the native tongue. 
 
 The three eminent Welshmen whose names are linked 
 for all time with the translation of the New Testament 
 into Welsh, are Dr. Richard Davies, William Salesbury, and 
 Dr. Thomas Huet. 
 
 Dr. Richard Davies (i 50 i-i 581) was the son of Dafydd 
 ap Gronw, vicar of Gyíîfìn, near Conway. He was born in 
 1 50 1, and educated at New Inn Hall, Oxford, and as a 
 reward for his scholarship received from Edward vi. the 
 livings of Burnham and Maidsmarton in Buckinghamshire, 
 and a canonry at St. Asaph. He was, however, deprived 
 by Queen Mary, and fled to Geneva, where he lived for a 
 time in very straitened circumstances. At iNIary's death 
 he returned, and was preferred by Ehzabeth in 1559 to 
 the Bishopric of St. Asaph. Two years later he was 
 translated to St. David's, and it was while here that he 
 laboured vigorously with William Salesbury and Thomas 
 Huet in the great work which saw completion in 1567. 
 This must have been a very active period of his life, for 
 he translated the Books of Joshua, Judges, Ruth, and 
 some say the two Books of Samuel, into English for the 
 Bishops' Bible of 1568. He was certainly one of the most 
 
128 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 eminent scholars of his time, and it is perhaps owing to 
 his prominent share in the Bishops' Bible, a labour in 
 which he must have been engaged about the same time, 
 that he was responsible for five Epistles only in the trans- 
 lation of the New Testament of 1567 — viz. i Timothy, 
 Hebrews, St. James, and i and 2 St. Peter. Dr. Richard 
 Davies contributed the preface to Salesbury's Testament, 
 which he called Epistol at y Cembru. This is in style 
 and diction a little masterpiece of Welsh prose. It was 
 reprinted by Charles Edwards in Dad-mniad Meibion y 
 Daran in 167 1, and in the Gwyliedydd in 1834. He died 
 in 1581. 
 
 Dr. Thomas Huet (? — 1591) was a native of Brecon- 
 shire. He was educated at Cambridge, where he graduated, 
 and was appointed Master of Trinity College, Pontefract. 
 He held the livings of Trefeglwys, Montgomeryshire (1560), 
 Dyserth, Llandecla, and Llanbadarn, Radnorshire. He 
 was collated to a Precentorship of St. David's Cathedral on 
 February 8, 1 560-1, and held it until his death on August 
 19, 159 1. In a return of the state of his diocese in 1570 
 Dr. Richard Davies describes Huet as ' a professor of 
 Dyvynytie and learned also in the eccly'asticall lawes.' He 
 was recommended by Bishop Davies, and supported by 
 Archbishop Parker, who calls him ' Dr. Huett,' for the 
 Bishopric of Bangor, which he failed to secure. He 
 translated the Book of the Revelation of St. John, and, 
 it is thought, assisted the Bishop with much of his other 
 work. 
 
 William Salesbury, the chief translator of the first 
 Welsh edition of the New Testament, was of Norman 
 descent on his father's side, being the second son of 
 Foulk Salusbury of Plas Isa, Llanrwst, who had married 
 one of the Pulestones of Anglesey, who were an old Welsh 
 
SIXTEENTH-CENTURY PROSE WRITERS 129 
 
 family. He was educated at Oxford, and afterwards went to 
 London to study law at Thavies Inn. He never practised, 
 however, and upon his return took up his residence at Cae 
 Du, and devoted the rest of his life to literature. 
 
 He knew several languages ; and besides his New Testa- 
 ment, he published the following works : 
 
 (i) Oil Symiwyr yen Kembero ygyd (1546 ?), a collection 
 of Welsh proverbs by Gruffydd Hiraethog, transcribed and 
 edited with an Introduction by W. Salesbury. 
 
 (2) A Dictionary in Englyshe and Welshe, which was de- 
 dicated to Henry viii. It was a Welsh-Enghsh vocabulary, 
 printed in black letter, and Salesbury thought it answered 
 a great need of the time — ' much necessary to all such 
 Welshmen as will speedily learn the English tongue.' It 
 was published in 1547, and the explanation it gives of 
 many words is quaint. To it is prefixed a short treatise 
 on the English pronunciation of the letters. 
 
 (3) The baterie of the Popes Botereulx, commonlye called 
 the highe Altare, 1550. 
 
 (4) ^ A Play tie and a familiar Introductio, teaching how 
 to pronounce the letters in the Brytish Tongue.' It was first 
 published in 1550, and revised and augmented in 1567. 
 
 (s) The Descripcion of the Sphere or Frame of the worlde, 
 1550. This was a translation of Diadochus Proclus' work. 
 
 (6) Ban wedy i dynny air yngair allan hen gyfreith 
 Howel dda, 1550. This was a pamphlet written to prove 
 that priests had lawfully married wives under the Welsh 
 laws of Howell Dda. It is the first political pamphlet 
 printed in Welsh. 
 
 (7) ' Kynniver llith a ban o'r yscrythur Ian ac a ddarlleir yr 
 Eccleis pryd Commun y Sulieu a'r Gwilieu trwy'r vlwyddyn : 
 o Cambereiciat W. S.' This book was published in 1551, 
 and contained, as its title implies, the portion of Scripture 
 
 I 
 
1 30 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 appointed for the Epistle and Gospel for each Sunday and 
 Festival in the Church year. 
 
 (8) Lliver Gweddi Gyffredin, 1567 and 1586. In this 
 he was assisted by Dr. Richard Davies. 
 
 His last and greatest work was — ' Testament newydd ein 
 Arglwydd lesu Christ. Gwedy ei dynnu yd y gadei yr 
 ancyfiaith 'air yn ei gylydd o'r Groec a'r Llatin, gan newidio 
 ffurf llythyreu y gairiae-dodi. Eb law hyny y mae pop 
 gair a dybiwyt y vot yn andeallus, ai o ran Uediaith y 'wlat, 
 ai o ancynefinder y devnydd, wedy ei noti ai eglurhau ar 
 'ledemyl y tu dalen gydrychiol.' 
 
 It was pubHshed by Humphrey Toy, London, in 1567. 
 
 Each book in it is prefaced by what is called the 
 'Argument,' and each chapter is headed by a synopsis of 
 its contents. From the beginning of St. Matthew to the 
 end of I Timothy, the chapters are not divided into verses, 
 but from there to the end, this division is made. The 
 very great bulk of the work was William Salesbury's. He 
 was responsible for all the books from St. Matthew to 
 
 2 Thessalonians inclusive, for 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, 
 I, 2, 3 John, and the Epistle of St. Jude. 
 
 For this great work William Salesbury must for all time 
 deserve well of his countrymen, in spite of the many 
 defects it contains. These were chiefly due to his eccen- 
 tricities in the treatment of the language, as will be seen 
 from the following quotations : 
 
 Can nad cywiliddus-genyf Evagel Christ : o bleit gallu Duw 
 yw hi er iechydwrieth i bawp un 'sy yn credu. — Rom. i. 
 
 Ac yn ddywethaf oil e welspwyt geny vine hefyt vegis gan 
 un antempic. — i Cor. xv. 8. 
 
 The changes he made were extremely awkward, and very 
 offensive to a Welshman's ear. Besides, the principle upon 
 which he worked was wrong. To Latinise the Welsh 
 
SIXTEENTH-CENTURY PROSE WRITERS 131 
 
 language was to forget the fact that laws had been at work 
 for many centuries changing the words into the form in 
 which he found them. Many of these laws he ignored 
 entirely, and this was equivalent to denying to the language 
 the fundamental principle of developing on its own lines. 
 He set aside those consonantal and vocalic changes which 
 have been discovered since his day to have been con- 
 sistently at work. Besides, he created a large number of 
 spurious forms, ein, eich, sanct, etc., some of which have 
 unfortunately survived. Many of them died in the middle 
 of the eighteenth century, and the existence of many others 
 terminated with the life of their author. Bishop Davies is 
 supposed to have differed from Salesbury owing to his 
 eccentric treatment of the language, and their project of 
 translating the Old Testament was never carried out, it is 
 said, on this account. Maurice Kyffin criticised Sales- 
 bury's work in the following trenchant terms : 
 
 E ddarfuessid cyfieuthu'r Testament Newydd ynghylch yr 
 wythfed neu'r nowfed flwyddyn o Deyrnas eyn harglwyddes 
 frenhines Elizabeth, ond yr oedd cyfled llediaith a chymaint 
 anghyfiaith yn yr ymadrodd brintiedig, na alle clust gwir 
 Gymro ddioddef clywed mo'naw'n iawn. 
 
 Vicar Prichard at a later day gave as one of his reasons 
 for employing his simple metres and homely language : 
 
 Am wel'd dwfnwaith enwog Salsbury 
 Gan y diddysc heb ei hoffi. 
 
 The Rev. Walter Davies (Gwallter Mechain), in a pun- 
 gent criticism of Salesbury's work, wrote: 'Pe rhoddid 
 enw un o'r pedwar mesur ar hugain cerdd dafod ar waith 
 Wiliam Salsbri yn llythyrenu geiriau Cymraeg — Clogyr- 
 nach a fyddai yr enw cymhwysaf.' 
 
 But his great services to Wales must not be forgotten in 
 
132 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 the torrent of adverse criticism which has been poured 
 upon his mistaken attempts to Latinise the language. All 
 the credit must be given him, which rightly belongs to 
 the pioneer of so noble an effort as the translation of the 
 Scriptures into the tongue of his countrymen, a work 
 which, aided by the like unselfish efforts of those who had 
 profited by his mistakes, has had such a far-reaching 
 influence upon the Hfe of his countrymen whose store of 
 literature he did so much to enrich. He is still to Wales 
 what he was in the days of Vicar Prichard — 'yr enwog 
 Salsbury.' 
 
 The exact date of his death is unknown, but he was 
 alive on the 20th of May 1594, for his name is attached 
 to a petition for an Eisteddfod of that date. 
 
 It has been thought that the law passed by Parliament 
 in 1563, enacting that both Testaments were to be trans- 
 lated into Welsh, under the supervision of the five Welsh 
 bishops (the Bishop of Hereford was included), and naming 
 certain penalties if this were not complied with, had some- 
 thing to do with the vigorous prosecution of that great 
 task at this particular time. As a matter of fact, the 
 circulation of the Scriptures in England had influenced 
 Welsh scholars not to be behindhand in the conferment 
 of this benefit upon their country. William Salesbury, in 
 his Preface to Oil Symiwyr pen Kembero ygyd, 1546, had 
 counselled the Welsh people to petition the King and 
 Council for the Scriptures in their vernacular : ' Pererin- 
 dotwch yn droednoeth, at ras y Brenhin ae Gyncor y 
 ddeisyf cael cennat y cael yr yscrythur Ian yn ych iaith, 
 er mwyn y cyniver ohanoch or nyd yw n abyl, nac mewn 
 kyfflypwriaeth y ddyscy Sasnaec' These words show 
 that the work had been thought of before the passing of 
 this law, and the latter would therefore be nothing more 
 
SIXTEENTH-CENTURY PROSE WRITERS 133 
 
 than legal sanction by Parliament to its being undertaken 
 by men responsible to them for the completion of the task. 
 
 The history of the translation of the whole Bible into 
 Welsh will now be given. 
 
 Dr. William Morgan (1547-1604) was the man 
 mainly responsible for this great undertaking. 
 
 He was the son of John Morgan of Wybrnant, near 
 Penmachno, and was educated at St. John's College, 
 Cambridge. In 1575, when he was twenty-eight, he 
 received the living of Trallwm (Welshpool), and after 
 remaining there for some years engaged in the task which 
 was to immortalise him, he was charged with heresy by 
 some of his parishioners, and ordered to appear before 
 Archbishop Whitgift in 1585. The latter found him inno- 
 cent of the charges, and when he discovered the work 
 upon which he was engaged, he gave him considerable 
 encouragement to go on with his translation. The Arch- 
 bishop's support not only assisted him financially, but also 
 led many learned men to offer their help in the excellent 
 work. 
 
 Amongst them were (i) Bishop Hughes (1537-1600) of 
 St. Asaph, who held that see from 1573 to 1600. The 
 nature of his assistance is not mentioned by Dr. Morgan. 
 
 (2) Dr. Hugh Bellot (i 542-1 596), who had been edu- 
 cated at Cambridge, and was raised to the see of Bangor 
 in 1585, and afterwards translated to Chester, where he 
 died in 1596. 
 
 (3) Dr. Gabriel Goodman (15 28-1601), who was born at 
 Ruthin in 1528, graduated at Cambridge, afterwards became 
 chaplain to William Cecil, Lord Burleigh, and through his 
 influence became Vicar-Choral of St. Paul's in 1558, and 
 in 1560 held the same office at Westminster, where he 
 became Dean in 1561. He translated the first Epistle to 
 
134 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 the Corinthians in the Bishops' Bible in 1568. He after- 
 wards became a benefactor to his native place, where 
 in 1590 he established a Grammar School which still 
 exists. 
 
 (4) Dr. Morgan also acknowledges in his Letter of 
 Dedication the help of Dr. Richard Vaughan (i 551-1607). 
 He was born at Cefn Amwlch in Lleyn, and, previous to 
 his acceptance of the see of Bangor in 1595, he was pre- 
 bendary of St. Paul's and archdeacon of Middlesex. In 
 1597 he became Bishop of Chester, and in 1604 was trans- 
 lated to London where he died in 1607. 
 
 Archdeacon Edmwnd Prys and Dr. Powel are also men- 
 tioned by Dr. Morgan as having helped him. 
 
 It is difficult to ascertain the exact nature of the help 
 he received from all these named. In his Dedicatory 
 Letter he says that he translated the whole of the Old 
 Testament and revised the New Testament. It is quite 
 possible, therefore, that their help lay in the reading and 
 revising of his work. In 1583 he says that he had only 
 translated the Pentateuch, and his work for the next five 
 years, if he did it single-handed, must have been very 
 arduous. He stayed at Dr. Gabriel Goodman's house at 
 Westminster while the work was being printed. In 1595 
 Dr. Morgan became Bishop of Llandaff, and m 1601 he 
 was translated to St. Asaph. He died there in 1604 and 
 was buried in the cathedral chancel. 
 
 His memorable work which was published in 1588 
 under the title V Beibl Cyssegr-Lati, sef yr Jfeti Desia- 
 ment a'r Newydd, is said by capable judges to be a very 
 close translation of the original languages. The Welsh is 
 excellent throughout, and in this respect it is the very 
 antithesis of William Salesbury's work. An example 
 from each will illustrate this. 
 
SIXTEENTH-CENTURY PROSE WRITERS 135 
 
 William Salesbury wrote : 
 
 Dew yr hwn a wnaeth y byd, a'r oil pethae ys ydd ynthaw, 
 can y vot ef yn Arglwydd nef a' daear, ny thric ef mewn templae 
 gwneythuredic-a-dwylaw, ac nid addolir a dwylaw dynion, val 
 pe bei arno eisiae dim, ac ef e yn rhoddi i bawp vyvvyt ac 
 anhenetl a' phop path. — Acts xvii. 
 
 This is rendered by Dr. Morgan : 
 
 24. Duw yr hwn a wnaeth y byd a'r hyn sydd ynddo oil, 
 efe yn Arglwydd nef a ddaiar nid yw yn aros mewn temlau 
 waith dwylo : 
 
 25. Ac ni wasanaethir ef â dwylo dyniô, fel pe bai arno 
 eisieu dim, gan ei fod efe yn rhoddi i bawb fywyd, ac anadl, 
 a phob peth oil : 
 
 Side by side with the great movement of translating the 
 Scriptures, was a similar movement which also owed its 
 origin to the Reformation spirit, and which had for its object 
 the spread of that kind of theological literature of which 
 Maurice Kyfifin's Deffyniady Ffyddioxvsxs.diX.^'^xc.dS. instance. 
 
 Maurice Kyffin (? — 1598). Numerous speculations 
 have been rife as to Maurice Kyfifin's origin, and he has 
 invariably been confused with others of the same name. 
 But the patient researches of a recent writer show that 
 he belonged to the Plâs yn Hersedd family, through his 
 mother Catherine lengaf, the daughter of Robert Llwyd 
 Hen. Plâs yn Hersedd is in Ystrad Alun, in the parish of 
 Hope, near Wrexham, and Maurice Kyfifin's father, Thomas 
 Kyfifin, belonged to the town of Oswestry, close by. It was 
 here that Maurice Kyfifin came into contact with William 
 Llŷn, who resided at Oswestry, as already stated, for the 
 last twenty years of his life. 
 
 Nothing can be stated with certainty about his educa- 
 tion, but that it must have been excellent is proved by his 
 translation of Terence's Andria into English in 1588, and 
 
136 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 by the fact that he was tutor in Lord Buckhurst's family, 
 1578-82, and prepared his three sons for Oxford. In 1587 
 he had written the Blessednes of Br^'taifie, which contained 
 a brief rehearsal, as he tells us, of the benefits enjoyed ' not 
 only all England over but also in forrein Partes ' under the 
 ' blessed Rule of our Royall Queene Elizabeth.' This book 
 was dedicated to the Earl of Essex. 
 
 In 1562 Dr. Jewel, Bishop of Salisbury, published his 
 great work, the Apologia Eccksia AnglicaticB, which main- 
 tained that the Reformers were the true successors of 
 the Apostles, because the Church of Rome had erred from 
 the teaching of Christ and His Apostles ; and that the 
 Reformation was a return to uncorrupted Christianity. It 
 was, in short, a justification of the position of the Church 
 of England. 
 
 Deffyniad Ffydd Eghvys Loegr was an elegant translation 
 of this work published by Maurice Kyffin in 1595, and it is 
 considered one of the best examples of Welsh prose both 
 in purity of language and syntactical correctness that the 
 literature of our country possesses. 
 
 After having held positions of some importance under 
 the Crown, e.g. Surveyor of the Muster Rolls in the 
 Low Countries, 1588; Vice-Treasurer of the Forces in 
 Normandy, 1591 ; and Surveyor-General of the Musters 
 in Ireland, 1596 — Maurice Kyfifin died in the last-named 
 country in 1598.^ 
 
 Henry Parry (i 561-16 17) was a contemporary of 
 Maurice Kyffin. He was educated at Oxford, where he 
 took the degree of B.A., 1580, M.A., 1583, and B.D. in 
 1597, and became chaplain to Sir Richard Bulkeley of 
 Beaumaris. In 1601 he became Vicar of Rhoscolyn in 
 
 ^ I am indebted to W. P. Williams, Esq., Cae'r Onnen, Bangor, for 
 most of the facts relating to Maurice Kyffin's life. 
 
SIXTEENTH-CENTURY PROSE WRITERS 137 
 
 Anglesey, a living which he vacated in 1606 when he 
 accepted that of Trefdraeth in the same county. In 161 3 
 he was made a Canon of Bangor, and in 16 14 he received 
 the living of Llanfachreth, Mon. His only known work is 
 the Egliiryn Phraethhieb. Sebh, Dosparth ar Retoreg, un 
 or saith gelbhydhyd, yn dyscu Ihuniaith ymadrodh, dipherth- 
 ynassau, 1595. This work has been, erroneously, attributed 
 to William Salesbury, who had left in manuscript a short 
 collection of ih^figiires of Syntax. The work of Salesbury, 
 however, is of a totally different nature. Henry Parry pre- 
 pared the Egîuryn at the request of his patron, Sir John 
 Salesbury of Lleweni, who probably shared in the expense 
 of its publication. Two editions have since appeared — one 
 in 1805-7 in the Greal, and the other in 1829. 
 
 Huw LewyS (1562-1634), a native of Carnarvonshire. 
 He was educated at All Souls' College, Oxford, where he 
 matriculated August 10, 1582, and graduated B.A., 1587, 
 and M.A., 1590. He was collated to the rectory of Llan- 
 ddeiniolen in 1589, and became Chancellor of Bangor in 
 1608. He published in 1595 a translation of a work which 
 he states in the title-page was first written in Dutch by the 
 learned preacher Otho Wermulerus. It had been trans- 
 lated into English by Miles Coverdale. Huw Lewys called 
 it Ferlmewfi Adfyd. It was a devotional work showing that 
 the soul could be disciplined by adversity, and pointing out 
 the sources of spiritual consolation in time of trouble. It 
 also contains a letter to Dr. Vaughan, Bishop of Bangor, etc., 
 and a few englynion to the same prelate. Hugh Lewys had a 
 son, Morgan, who attained some distinction as a 'Prydydd.' 
 
 Humphrey Llwyd (15 27-1 568) was born at Foxhall, 
 in the parish of Henllan, Denbighshire, in 1527. His 
 name occurs as a commoner of Brasenose College, Oxford. 
 He graduated B.A. in 1547, and M.A. in 1551; he then 
 
138 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 became private physician to the family of Lord Arundel, 
 who was at the time Chancellor of the University. He 
 married Barbara, daughter of the Hon. George Lumley, 
 and he collected for the Lumley family many scarce and 
 valuable works which were afterwards purchased by James i. 
 and placed in the British Museum.^ In 1563 he returned 
 to Denbigh, his native town, and practised there, and was 
 returned as M.P. for Denbigh in that year. About this 
 time he became known to the noted geographer Ortelius, 
 for whom he formed an ardent friendship. He furnished 
 him with several maps and drawings for his geography 
 entitled Theatrum orbis terrarum, a subject for which Llwyd 
 had acquired considerable taste. 
 
 His published works are numerous, and amongst them 
 were : 
 
 (i) An Almanack and Calendar, an astronomical work 
 
 'containing the day, hour, and minute of the 
 
 change of the moon for ever,' etc. 
 
 (2) The Treasury of healthe conteynyng many profitable 
 
 Medycities gathered out of Hypocrates, Galen afid 
 Avycen, by one Petriis Hyspanus translated . . . by 
 H. Lloyde who hath added . . . the causes . . . of 
 every e dysease, with the Aphorismes of Hypocrates, 
 and Jacobus de Party bus . . . With an epistle of 
 Diodes ufito Kyng A^itigonus [1550]. Another 
 edition appeared in 1585. 
 
 (3) A translation of the y^/i^'"'''^'^''''^ ^ ^'''''^•^j ^SS^- 
 
 (4) De Moná Druidum Insula Antiquitati sues, restituia 
 
 . . . et de Armame?itario Romano : a letter dated 
 5th April 1568 and addressed to Ortelius; it was 
 printed by Sir John Price at the end of his 
 Historice Britanniaz Defettsio, 1573. 
 ^ Ancient and Modern Denbigh, p. 183. 
 
SIXTEENTH-CENTURY PROSE WRITERS 139 
 
 (5) Commeniarioli BritanniccB Descriptioms Fragmentum, 
 
 a work of great research, written in 1568, and 
 
 printed at Cologne in 1572. This appeared also 
 
 as The Breviary of Britayne Englished by Thomas 
 
 Twyne in 1573. 
 
 His chief work, however, was the Historie of Cambria, 
 
 compiled from the works of Geoffrey of Monmouth, 
 
 Caradoc of Llancarvan, Mathew Paris, and others. He 
 
 failed to finish it, as did also Sir John Prys who had 
 
 originally designed it. It was completed by Dr. David 
 
 Powel in 1584, and was afterwards further augmented by 
 
 W. Wynne, Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford. 
 
 Humphrey Llwyd died in August 1568, aged 41. 
 Dr. David Powel (? — 1598), a learned divine and 
 antiquary, was born about 1550, went to Oxford in 1568, 
 and graduated in 1573. He held many important livings, 
 and amongst them that of Ruabon. He died in 1598. His 
 chief work was the completion of the Historie of Cambria, 
 1584, in the publication of which he was considerably helped 
 by Sir Henry Sidney, Lord of the Marches, to whom he was 
 chaplain. Many editions of this book have since been 
 published; that of 1697 was augmented and improved by 
 the Rev. W. Wynne, Fellow of Jesus College, and a second 
 edition of this appeared in 1702, and another in 1784. In 
 1832 Richard I.lwyd of Llannerch Brochwel, in Mont, 
 gomeryshire, published a revised and corrected edition, to 
 which was added a collection of Topographical Notices. 
 
 In 1585 he edited and published Pontici Virvnnii . . . 
 Britannicce Bistoricz Libri Sex, and Itinerariiim CambricB, 
 and CambricB Descriptio of Gerald the Welshman. 
 
 Dr. Powel also assisted Bishop Morgan in the trans- 
 lation of the Bible, and had contemplated the production 
 of a Welsh Dictionary, which, however, owing to his 
 
I40 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 ill-health and comparatively early death, he failed to 
 complete. 
 
 Henry Salesbury (1561 — ?) was a noted physician and 
 antiquarian of this century. He belonged to a branch of 
 the ancient Salusbury family, of Lleweni, and was born at 
 Dolbelider in Denbighshire in 1561. He was a commoner 
 of St. Alban's Hall, Oxford, in 158 1, and after taking a 
 degree in Arts he proceeded to study medicine, and after- 
 wards settled in practice at Denbigh. His only published 
 work is a Welsh Grammar, entitled Grammatica Britannica, 
 which was printed in London in 1593, and dedicated to 
 Henry, Earl of Pembroke. He had also compiled a 
 Welsh-Latin Dictionary, which was, however, never 
 published. Dr. Davies of Mallwyd is said to have made 
 some use of it in the compilation of his valuable Dic- 
 tionary. It is also fairly certain that he used a similar 
 work left by William Llyn. 
 
 Besides the Reformation movement which led to the 
 translation of the Scriptures and the Prayer Book, and the 
 publication of several devotional works, the majority of 
 which were also translations, there was another movement 
 in the sixteenth century which contributed to Welsh 
 literature, though not very largely, and which may rightly 
 be termed the Counter-Reformation movement. Its chief 
 exponents were Morris Clynnog, Dr. Gruffydd Roberts, 
 and Roger Smyth. 
 
 Dr. Morris Clynnog (? — 15S0-1), a native of Clynnog, 
 Carnarvonshire, was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, 
 where he graduated B.C.L. in 1548, and became chaplain 
 to Cardinal Pole. He was appointed Bishop of Bangor by 
 Mary in 1558, but the queen died before his consecration. 
 He fled to Rome along with Bishop Goldwell and Gruffydd 
 Roberts in 1559. He was appointed Camcrarius of the 
 
SIXTEENTH-CENTURY PROSE WRITERS 141 
 
 English Hospital at Rome in 1567, and Warden in 1578. 
 In 1579 he was appointed by the Pope the first Rector of 
 the EngUsh College in that city, and was deprived in the 
 same year on account of a dispute between the Welsh and 
 English students. He held the Wardenship of the English 
 Hospital until his death in 1580 or 1581 by drowning. 
 Whilst at Rome he wrote the Athravaeth Gristnogawl, a 
 short catechism of religious doctrine, which was edited 
 and published at Milan by Dr. Gruifydd Roberts in 1568. 
 There was only one copy of this book extant in 1879, which 
 fortunately came under the notice of the Cymmrodorion 
 Society which published a facsimile of the work in 1880. 
 The introduction was written by Dr. Grufîydd Roberts, 
 who commends the work highly on account of its terseness 
 and lucidity. 
 
 Dr. Gruffydd Roberts was a native of Trefalun, 
 Denbighshire. He was probably the Gruffydd Roberts who 
 graduated M.A. at Oxford in 1555. He was appointed 
 Archdeacon of Anglesey by Morris Clynnog, and admitted 
 on October 19, 1558, an office of which he was immediately 
 deprived. He fled to Rome in 1559, and became chaplain 
 of the English Hospital in 1564. Cardinal Borromeo took 
 him to Milan in 1566, and appointed him Canon Theo- 
 logical of Milan in the same year. He afterwards became 
 the Cardinal's Confessor, and Professor of Philosophy at 
 Milan, and was mentioned for a Cardinal's hat in 1595. 
 
 Gruffydd Roberts's first literary work was entitled Y 
 Drych Cristnogavl. It was designed in three parts, but 
 the first is the only part known to have appeared, and this 
 was published eighteen years after his Grammar by his 
 friend Dr. Roger Smyth at Rouen in 1585. It is written in 
 excellent Welsh, like everything that proceeded from the 
 pen of the 'great Doctor of Milan.' 
 
142 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 His chief work, however, was his Grammar of the Welsh 
 language, which was published at Milan in 1567, and 
 entitled — 
 
 Dosparth Byrr ar y rha/ifi gyntaf i ramadeg cymraeg, lie 
 cair llawer o bynciau anhepcor i un a chwennychai na 
 doedyd y gymraeg yn ddilediaith, nai scrifennu'n iawn. 
 A orchfygo yma, a goronir fry. 1567. Primo Martii. 
 
 It is interesting to have Maurice Kyffin's opinion on this 
 work. He wrote thus : 
 
 ' Mi a welais ddosparth byr ar y rhan gyntaf i Ramadeg 
 cymraec a brintiesid er ys-talm, yr hwn sydd ddarn o waith 
 dyscedig ynghelfyddyd graniadec, mor buraidd, mor lath- 
 raidd, ag mor odidawg ei ymadroddiad, na ellir damuno 
 dim perffeithiach yn hynny o beth.' 
 
 Dr. Gruffydd Roberts's alphabet consisted of twenty-six 
 letters, and only differed from that used to-day in its 
 omission of ff, and in its representation of the digraphs 
 thus — d, I, u (for w). 
 
 These peculiarities of orthography have been criticised 
 adversely, because of the strain upon the eyes caused 
 by looking out for these dots, and of the liability to mis- 
 prints. On the other hand, the system has the advantage 
 of not using double letters for any single sound, so that in 
 a word like callon it would at once be recognised that the 
 letter / is doubled, for Dr. Roberts would write / for the 
 modern letter //. 
 
 Only about half a dozen books were written in this 
 orthography. 
 
 Dr. Roberts led the way to the discovery of the laws of 
 sound-changes in words borrowed from the Latin. The 
 same laws were dimly perceived by Edward Llwyd in 1707. 
 It is only in comparatively recent years that they have been 
 fully discovered, and it has been shown by Sir John Rhys 
 
SIXTEENTH-CENTURY PROSE WRITERS 143 
 
 how very gradually the changes took place, so gradually as 
 to be hardly perceptible. Dr. Gruffydd Roberts, on the 
 other hand, thought that the changes took place according 
 to fixed laws, as soon as the words were borrowed. Though 
 he was mistaken in this, it was the light of his genius that 
 led the way to this important discovery. 
 
 The dates of Roberts's birth and death are unknown, 
 but, from a letter of his, now in the Record Office, it is 
 certain that he was alive on May 28, 1596. 
 
 Dr. Roger Smyth (1546-162 5) was a native of St. 
 Asaph, and was educated on the Continent, probably at 
 the University of Douay, and at the English College at 
 Rome. He was at the latter place in 1579. About 1582 
 he came to Rouen to the order of Bridgettine nuns, 
 formerly of Sion in England, and seems to have remained 
 with them till their removal to Lisbon in 1594. He re- 
 moved to Paris before 1596, and here he and others made 
 an attempt at establishing an English College for the 
 education of priests in 1598, which, however, did not 
 succeed. He remained at Paris until his death in 1625. 
 
 In 1585 he published Dr. Gruffydd Roberts's Drych 
 Cristnogavl at Rouen. 
 
 The first book by Dr. Smyth was entitled Crynodeb 
 Addysc Cristnogavl, Paris, 1609. It was a translation from 
 the Latin, and was published afterwards in an enlarged 
 form under the title Optis Catechisticuvi D. Petri Canisii 
 . . . sef yw : Svm ne grynodebo adysc Gristfiogavl, Paris, 
 161 1. It was a compendium of religious doctrine by a 
 learned Jesuit. In it Smyth follows the orthography of 
 Dr. G. Roberts. 
 
 Another work translated by Dr. Smyth was pubHshed in 
 Paris in 1 61 5, and entitled Theater du Motid, sefiw Gorsedd 
 y Byd. 
 
144 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 All Roger Smyth's printed works were translations. 
 They were religious works, written from a Roman Catholic 
 standpoint, and translated into Welsh with the hope of 
 impressing his fellow-countrymen. Considering that he 
 spent most of his time abroad, he wrote very good Welsh. 
 When he translated any passages from the poetical books 
 of the Bible, he did so in verse. 
 
 As his books were printed in Paris, and there is no w in 
 the French alphabet, he had to resort to the use of two vs 
 as a substitute for that letter. 
 
 Father John Salisbury (1575-1625), another Roman 
 CathoHc writer of distinction, was a native of Merioneth- 
 shire, and probably a son of the Rug branch of the Salis- 
 bury family. He was educated at the Jesuits' College of 
 St. Albans, Valladolid, which he entered on 22nd June 
 1595. He was ordained priest on 21st November 1600. 
 He was sent to England in 1603, and in 1605 he entered 
 the Society of Jesus as a ' missioner ' in North Wales. In 
 1 6 15 he became the Superior of the North and South 
 Wales District. In 1622 he became Superior of the 
 College of St. Francis Xavier, which he had founded. He 
 was appointed procurator of the English Province to Rome, 
 but he died while preparing for his journey thither in 1625. 
 
 John Salisbury translated and published in 16 18 a work 
 entitled Eglvrhad Helaeth-lawn or Athrawaeth Grist- 
 nogavvl. A gyfansodhwyd y tro cyntaf yn Italaeg trwy 
 waith yr Ardherchoccaf dr Hybarchaf Cardinal Rhobert 
 Bellarmin. This was a Catechism on Christian Doctrine, 
 and the translation is written in idiomatic Welsh. The 
 work was printed at the press of St. Omer College, France. 
 Salisbury is said to have composed other devotional works, 
 but they were not published. 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 PROSE AND VERSE WRITERS OF THE SEVENTEENTH 
 
 CENTURY 
 
 Vicar Prichard (1579-1644). — Rhys Prichard, Vicar of 
 Llanymddyfri (Llandovery), was, perhaps, the man who 
 exercised the greatest influence on Welsh national life on 
 its religious side in the seventeenth century. 
 
 The few details that can be gleaned of his personal 
 history show that he was born at Llandovery in 1579, 
 educated at Jesus College, Oxford, where he proceeded 
 i^ 1597) graduated B.A. in 1602, and M.A. in 1626. 
 He was ordained at Wytham in Essex by the Suffragan 
 Bishop of Colchester in 1602. In the same year, 
 he was presented to the livings of Llandingad and 
 Llanymddyfri by the Bishop of St. David's. In 16 13 
 King James gave him the living of Llanedi. This was 
 probably through the influence of Robert, Earl of Essex, 
 to whom he was chaplain. The highest dignity he attained 
 in the Church was that of Chancellor of St. David's 
 in 1626. He died in 1644, leaving land to the value of 
 ;^2o per annum to establish a Free Grammar School at 
 Llanymddyfri. 
 
 The state of the country at that time was one of 
 notorious ignorance, and, judging from the evils the good 
 Vicar set himself to remedy, the life of the masses was 
 
 K 
 
146 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 as coarse and vulgar as it well could be. If there is any 
 doubt on this point, let his verses on the abuse of Sunday 
 be read. Not one person in a hundred could read, and 
 for the first twenty-eight years of Vicar Prichard's ministry 
 there were few Bibles in the country except those chained 
 to the lecterns in the churches. 
 
 It was the genius of the Vicar that he understood his 
 countrymen, and in his great humanitarian effort to re- 
 form them he had the unerring foresight to know how 
 to influence them along lines which would bring out the 
 best traits in their character. He knew their poetic 
 instinct, their love of rhymes and songs, and with a soul 
 fired with the desire of bringing home spiritual truths to 
 the masses, he devoted himself to the task of translating 
 his popular sermons into song, and circulating the copies 
 amongst the people. The metres he generally employed 
 were very simple. The majority of his verses are written 
 in four-lined stanzas, each line invariably trochaic (-J) and 
 consisting of eight syllables, e.g. — 
 
 Er croeshoelio'r lesu drosom 
 A rhoi taliad llawn am danom ; 
 Eto ni bydd neb cadwedig 
 Ond a gretto ynddo'n unig. 
 
 But he frequently varies the metre in the same poem, and 
 sometimes in the same stanza there is an unexpected 
 expansion of the line, e.g. — 
 
 Er dy fod ti'n elyn Duw 
 Wrth naturiaeth a'th ddrwg ryw, 
 Cred yn Nghrist, fe'th wna o elyn, 
 I'th nefol dad yn anwyl bentyn. 
 
 He is also fond of a stanza, each of the four lines of which 
 
SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY WRITERS 147 
 
 contains seven syllables, but the third line begins with a 
 strongly accented syllable, e.^. — 
 
 A dysg yn brudd gydnabod, 
 Nad oes o fiaen y Drindod, 
 /a7üH am bechod ond gwaed Crist, 
 A'i angau trist a'i 'fudd-dod. 
 
 In other cases, a stanza similar to the above in other 
 respects has eigA^ syllables in the third line, which begins 
 with an unaccented syllable. 
 
 A gwybydd fod Duw'n foddlon, 
 I'r iawn a wnaeth Crist drosom, 
 Ac er ei fwyn yn barod iawn 
 Roi pardwn llawn i'r ffyddlon. 
 
 Other four-lined stanzas which have seven syllables in each 
 line, begin the first and third lines with an accented 
 syllable, and the second and fourth with an unaccented, 
 e.g.— 
 
 Ni wnaeth Duw un gene 'rioed, 
 Mewn tir, mewn coed, mewn dyfnder, 
 Nes partoi ei ymborth tyn 
 I'r geneu cyn ei ganer. 
 
 Vicar Prichard's chief aim was to be understood by the 
 masses of the people. It was for this purpose that he 
 used such free metres, and he never hesitated to use words 
 quite foreign to the Welsh language as such, provided that 
 they were well known colloquially. His work bristles with 
 such colloquial forms as gwe/d, ange, cadac/ie, crai'ts, crippian^ 
 twtchis, part ?ia pharsel, desprad, diunshwn, bysse. 
 
 Although he descended to these corrupt forms in order 
 to gain the ear of the people, he was a bard of much ability, 
 and could write good verse when he chose. 
 
 One feature of his poems is the practical advice he gives 
 
I4S A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 the people on matters pertaining to their temporal welfare 
 as well as spiritual. He advises them to be careful in 
 making their wills, and to be abstemious in the matter of 
 eating and drinking, with quite as much earnestness as he 
 tells them to pray night and morning and before engaging 
 in religious worship. He seems to have a word for all, 
 the young man, the soldier, the ploughman, the drover, 
 and in particular he addresses himself with much force to 
 the drunkard. 
 
 Numerous editions of this excellent work (for so it must 
 always be esteemed, owing to its elevating influence upon 
 the Welsh people), Canwyll y Cymry, have appeared. 
 The first part was published in 1646, the second in 1659, 
 the third in 1670, and the fourth and last part in 1672; 
 all were edited by Stephen Hughes. In 1771 a poetical 
 version of it appeared in English, translated by the Vicar of 
 Llawhaden. 
 
 Disturbances in Nature, and calamities such as plague 
 and pestilence, he held up as warnings of Divine dis- 
 pleasure. He gives a vivid description of the plague in 
 London in 1603, with all its attendant horrors. 
 
 Gweirydd ap Rhys draws attention to an article in the 
 Traethodydd, vol. ii. pp. 143-155, which divides Vicar 
 Prichard's poems into three classes: (i) Those that throw 
 light upon the condition of the country at the time, and 
 the events of that age. (2) Those that contain a synopsis 
 of the great doctrines of revealed religion. {3) Those that 
 embody a collection of rules or counsels to be followed in 
 every condition of life. 
 
 Edward Dafydd (? — 1690) of Margam is said to have 
 been a Disgybl Cerdd Dafod of the Morgannwg School of 
 bards in 1580; but this is scarcely possible, for he himself 
 states that he was a Pericerdd at the Gorsedd at Bewpyr in 
 
SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY WRITERS 149 
 
 1 68 1. His chief work was the collection and arrangement 
 of Cyfrinach y Betrdd, an important work of its kind. The 
 first part of it is a treatise on Welsh prosody, and the 
 second relates the customs of the bards, their theology, 
 their alphabet, and the rules of their gorsedd. The whole 
 work has been the subject of much controversy, and there 
 is little doubt that much of it is fictitious. 
 
 Edward James (1570-1610), was a native of 
 Glamorganshire. He entered St. Edmund's Hall, Oxford, 
 in 1586, and graduated B.A. in 1589, and M.A. in 1592. 
 He became Vicar of Caerleon in 1596, and Rector of 
 Shirenewton in 1597. He was appointed Chancellor of 
 Llandaff in 1606, which office he held until his death in 
 1 6 10. He translated and published in 1606 a work which is 
 generally known as Llyfr yr Homiliau. Its full title reads ; 
 
 Pregethau a osodwyd allan trwy awdurdod, i'w darllein 
 ymhob Eglwys blwyf a phob capel er adailadaeth i'r 
 bobi annyscedig. Gwedi eu troi i'r iaith Gymeraeg, 
 drwy waith Edward latnes. 
 
 The language in which these homilies are couched has 
 received well-deserved praise from many writers for its 
 purity and flexibility. The editor of Llyfryddiaeth y Cymry 
 expressed the following opinion of the work : 
 
 Y mae ei gyfieithiad o'r Homiliau yn gyfieithiad rhagorol 
 dros ben, ac yn teilyngu syhv, pe na bai ond er mwyn ei briod- 
 wedd wir Gymreig yn unig. . . . Saif Edward James ar orsaf 
 uchel fel gwasanaethwr ei gyd-genedl, yn ymyl Gwilym 
 Salsbri, yr Esgob Morgan, a'r Esgob Parri ; ac fel ysgrifenwr 
 Cymraeg dilediaith, nid yw yn oli un o honynt.^ 
 
 Dr. Richard Parry (1560-1623), Bishop of St. Asaph, 
 was the author of the revised translation of the Bible. He 
 was born at Ruthin in 1560, and received his early education 
 ^ Llyfr. y Cymry, p. 80. 
 
150 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 under the celebrated Camden at Westminster School, 
 whence he proceeded in 1580 to Christ Church, Oxford. 
 In 1592 he became Vicar of Gresford and Chancellor 
 of Bangor, and in 1599 Dean of Bangor. At the death of 
 Bishop Morgan in 1604, he was consecrated Bishop of 
 St. Asaph. Dr. Parry's Bible was entitled : 
 
 Y Bibl Cyssegr-lan, sef yr Hen Destament a'r Newydd. 
 1620. 
 
 The differences between Dr. Parry's Bible and Dr. 
 Morgan's are very numerous. It is thought that very 
 much of the credit for this Revised Version of the Bible 
 belongs to Dr. John Davies of Mallwyd. This is the 
 version (with slight modifications in orthography) which is 
 still in use. 
 
 The necessity for a revised translation of the Bible arose 
 because of the very limited number of copies of Dr. Morgan's 
 Bible which had been printed, and these had now stood 
 the wear of thirty years. The syntax also required some 
 modifications, for Dr. Morgan had kept rather too closely 
 to the original. Sometimes in the 1620 Bible the order 
 and position of a whole verse were changed. Although, on 
 the whole, Bishop Parry's Bible is a great advance on 
 Bishop Morgan's, numerous instances have been pointed 
 out where the latter excelled. The 1620 Bible was printed 
 in black letter, but was larger and rather more cumbersome 
 than that of 1588. 
 
 Bishop Parry died at Dyserth, in Fhntshire, in 1623, 
 and was buried in the Cathedral at St. Asaph, as Bishop 
 Morgan had been. 
 
 It should be mentioned that the 1620 Bible was only 
 meant to be used in the churches. The first portable 
 Welsh Bible was published in London in 1630 by 
 Rowland Heilyn and Sir Thomas Middleton — a very 
 
SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY WRITERS 151 
 
 important step, because it really put it within reach of 
 the people. 
 
 Dr. John Davies (i57o?-i644) was the son of Dafydd 
 ab loan, of Llanrhaiadr, Denbighshire, and he was born at 
 Llanferres, in the same county, in 1570. He states that 
 Robert Vaughan of Hengwrt, the noted antiquarian, was 
 his cousin. He was educated at Ruthin, in what school is 
 not certain, for Dr. Goodman had not yet founded his 
 public Grammar School. In the preface to his Dictionary 
 he says that Dr. Morgan was one of his teachers, ' canys 
 wrth draed y Gamaliel hwnnw y cefais fy addysgu a'm 
 dwyn i fynu.' In 1589 he went to Jesus College, Oxford, 
 where he graduated in 1594, and little is known of him 
 for the next few years. He married Jane, daughter of 
 John Wynn, of Llwyn Ynn, the sister of Bishop Parry's 
 wife. In 1604 James i. preferred him to the living of 
 Mallwyd. In 1608 he again returned to Oxford and 
 stayed there until 16 12, when he was appointed to a 
 canonry at St. Asaph. In 161 3 he became Rector of 
 Llanymawddwy, and two years later of Darowen, which 
 he afterwards exchanged for Llanfawr, near Bala. In 161 7 
 he also exchanged the canonry at St. Asaph for the prebend 
 of Llannefydd. It will thus be seen that he was one of 
 the most notable pluralists of his time, but not all have 
 been so deserving, even if Dr. Davies had done nothing 
 more than assist in the revision of the 1588 Bible. 
 
 Dr. Davies published in 1621 his Welsh Grammar, 
 written in Latin and entitled Antiquce Linguce Britannicce 
 . . . Riidimenia. It is a book very rich in quotations from 
 the old bards, and one writer has censured it because it 
 contains none from prose literature. In the same year he 
 also published A Catechism. 
 
 In 1632 he published his Welsh-Latin Dictionary and 
 
152 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 Latin-Welsh Dictionary in one book. This was the 
 standard dictionary of the language for over a hundred 
 and fifty years, until Dr. Pughe's Welsh-English Dictionary 
 was published in 1803. Nevertheless it was a very scanty 
 work, and it seems, according to his own statement, the 
 time the learned Doctor bestowed upon it was only what 
 he could snatch from other works which he considered of 
 more importance. 
 
 He also published in 1632 an excellent translation of 
 Edmund Bunney's adaptation of Robert Parsons' Chris- 
 tian Directory for Protestant readers, and entitled his work 
 Llyfr y Resolusion, which he says he translated ' er lies 
 i'w blwyfohon.' Five subsequent editions of this work 
 has appeared. 
 
 His last book was issued in 1633, and was entitled Y 
 Llyfr Ply gain a^r Catechism. 
 
 He died in 1644, arid was buried in the chancel of 
 Mallwyd Church, where there exists to his memory a mural 
 tablet of white marble containing a long Latin inscription. 
 
 It is quite possible that he had some share in the pre- 
 paration of Y Llyfr Gweddi Gyffredin of 162 1, which was 
 edited by Edmund Prys. 
 
 Robert Llwyd, the Vicar of Chirk (Y Waun), 1615, 
 and Rector of Llandyssul, Montgomeryshire, 1625, is best 
 known as a translator of the devotional works of the Rev. 
 Arthur Dent. 
 
 Rowland Vaughan refers to him as a learned litterateur, 
 and also calls him 'fy anwyl athro.' He was an excellent 
 writer of Welsh, and a deep religious fervour seems to 
 pervade his work. In 1629 he published Fregeth ynghylch 
 edifeinvch, a translation of a sermon by Arthur Dent. This 
 was followed in 1630 by his chief work, which was called 
 Llwybr hyffordd yn cyfartvyddo yr anghyfarwydd i'r nefoedd, 
 
SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY WRITERS 153 
 
 also a translation of a work by Arthur Dent, which was 
 written in the form of a catechism. In his preface he 
 pleads with his countrymen to abandon the dice-board, 
 the tavern, and unprofitable games (he mentions bowls, 
 football, and tennis amongst them) and to cultivate 
 reading. 
 
 He was retained by the Commissioners of Cromwell in 
 1650, but there is no mention of his name at the Restora- 
 tion, and it is probable that he died before 1660. 
 
 Rowland Vaughan (? — 1667) of Caer Gai was both 
 a bard and prose-writer, and belonged to a distinguished 
 Welsh family which had lived at Caer Gai for some 
 centuries. His father, John Vaughan, had married Ellen, 
 daughter of Hugh Nannau of Nannau, and Rowland, 
 who was at Oxford at the time of his father's death in 
 1620, returned to take care of his patrimony. His lot 
 was cast in troublous times. In the struggle between 
 King and Parliament he took the Royalist side, and, it is 
 said, fought at Naseby in 1645, where he held the rank of 
 captain. This is very probable, because in that year Crom- 
 well's bands burned Caer Gai, and gave his inheritance to a 
 kinsman who was on their side. The bard mentions this 
 in the following englyti : 
 
 Caer Gai nid difai fu gwaith tan — arnad, 
 Oemych wyd yrẅan ; 
 Caer aethost i'm car weithian, 
 Caer Gai lie bu cywir gân. 
 
 It is also said that he suffered imprisonment for three 
 years, but this is not mentioned on any authority, and it is 
 more probable that he was in hiding until the Restoration, 
 In his wanderings he came across the bard William Phylip 
 of Ardudwy, who was also in a similar plight. The meet- 
 
154 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 ing took place on one of the Merionethshire mountains, 
 and Rowland Vaughan gave vent to his feelings thus : 
 
 Pe cawn i'r Pengrynion 
 
 Rhwng ceulan ac afon, 
 Ac yn fy Haw goedftbn o linon ar li, 
 
 Mi gurwn yn gethin 
 
 Ynghweryl fy mrenin, 
 Mi a'u gyrrwn yn un byddin i'vv boddi. 
 
 To which William Phylip replied : 
 
 Pe cawn i'r Pengryniaid 
 
 Ar ben goriwaered, 
 Er gwaned a hyned wyf heno, 
 
 A phastwn du-ddraenen 
 
 Rwy'n ddeuddeg a thrigain 
 Chwi a'm gwelech I'n llawen yn Uowio. 
 
 At the Restoration, Caer Gai was rebuilt, and the follow- 
 ing stanza carved over the entrance : 
 
 Dod glod i bawb yn ddibrin, 
 A char dy frawd cyftredin ; 
 Ofna Dduw can's hyn sydd dda, 
 Ac anrhydedda'r brenin. 
 
 Rowland Vaughan was the author of several hymns and 
 carols. He, and not Edmund Prys, was responsible for 
 the following lines : 
 
 Na thro dy wyneb, Arglwydd glàn, 
 Oddiwrth un truan agwedd 
 Y sydd o flaen dy borth yn awr 
 Mewn cystudd mawr yn gorwedd. 
 
 And the well-known lines beginning 'Tyr'd Yspryd Glàn 
 i'n c'lonnau ni ' are also his. 
 
 It is, however, as a translator of prose works rather than 
 as a poet that he is best known. The first book he trans- 
 
SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY WRITERS 155 
 
 lated was The Practice of Fiety, by Dr. Lewis Bayly, Bishop 
 of Bangor, a book which is supposed to have considerably 
 influenced John Bunyan. He published it in 1630 under 
 the title Yr Ymarfer i Dduwioldeb, and a second edition 
 corrected and amended by the author appeared in 1656, 
 and it was so popular that it went through five editions 
 before 1710. 
 
 In 1658 several translations appeared from his pen, and 
 amongst them 
 
 (i) Prifannau Crefydd Gristnogawl. 
 
 (2) Yr Ai-fer Weddi yr Arglwydd. 
 
 (3) Prifannav Sanciaidd neu Lawlyfr Weddiau, 
 
 a translation of Dr. Brough's Matmal of 
 Prayer^ made at the request of Colonel 
 William Salusbury of Bachymbyd, at whose 
 expense it was printed and distributed among 
 the poor. 
 
 (4) Ytnddiffynniad rhag pla Schism. 
 Rowland Vaughan died in 1667. 
 
 In 1630 appeared an important edition of the Bible, 
 which contained the Book of Common Prayer, the Old 
 Testament, the Apocrypha, the New Testament, and 
 Edmund Prys's metrical version of the Psalms. This use- 
 ful book (for it was of portable size, which made it 
 possible to have a copy of the Scriptures in the home) was 
 the result of a joint effort by Rowland Heilyn and Sir 
 Thomas Middleton, two Welshmen resident in London. 
 
 Rowland Heilyn (? — 1637) was the last heir male ('f 
 Pentre Heilyn in the parish of Llandysilio, Montgomery- 
 shire. He settled in London, and accumulated great 
 wealth, which he freely dispensed in religious charities. 
 He contributed towards the publication of this edition 
 of the Bible, and also of the Lhvybr Hyffordd and Dr. 
 
156 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 Davies' Dictionary^ for the benefit of his countrymen. 
 He was elected Alderman and Sheriff of the City of 
 London, and died in 1637. 
 
 Sir Thomas Middleton (? — 1631), his coadjutor in 
 this good work, was the fourth son of Richard Middleton 
 of Denbigh. He was Lord Mayor of London in 1613, 
 and was a brother of the great Sir Hugh Middleton and 
 the bard Gwilym Ganoldref. He died in 163 1. 
 
 An anonymous book which may be regarded as a sequel 
 to the publication of this crown octavo edition of the 
 Bible, was that which appeared in 1631, entitled Car-wr 
 y Cyitiru. Its object was to exhort the Cymry to make 
 use of the Scriptures now brought within their reach. 
 Amongst its contents is a Welshman's prayer for forgive- 
 ness for his neglect of the Scriptures hitherto, a prayer 
 that his heart may be humbled to keep this law, Morning 
 and Evening Prayer for family worship. Morning and 
 Evening Prayer to be used on Sundays by the head of 
 the family, a Grace before Meat and after Meat, a letter 
 to the reader by Robert Llwyd, Vicar of Y Waun, and 
 an exhortation in English ' To all the Worthy and True- 
 hearted Well-willers and furtherers of the Spiritual weale 
 of Wales who have put their helping hand and hearts to 
 that late, necessary, and worthy worke of Setting forth the 
 Bible in Welsh in a small volume.' The book ends with 
 The Pronunciation of the Letters in the British Tongue, and 
 A Comparison of the Letters in Welsh to the Greeke and 
 Hebrew Letters. By Edward Kyffin. 
 
 Oliver Thomas (1598 — ?), entered as a student at 
 Hart Hall, Oxford, in 1616, and graduated M.A. in 1628, 
 and after leaving the University he became a Presby- 
 terian. His name appears amongst the approvers in 
 the Act for the Propagation of the Gospel in Wales 
 
SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY WRITERS 157 
 
 (1650-1653). He was elected to Llanrhaiadr-ym-Mochnant 
 by the Commissioners in 1650, and before 1657 was pro- 
 moted to some living in Shropshire. He died at Felton 
 in that county. His name is sometimes associated with 
 Car-ivr y Cyniru in 1631 ; there is, however, no evidence 
 to substantiate that opinion. The only work which bears 
 his name is Drych i Dri math Bobl, sef ir Anghristion, 
 Rhith-gristion, a'r Gwir-grisiion, 1647. A second edition 
 of this excellently written work appeared in Trysor ir 
 Cymru, in 1677, edited by the Rev. Stephen Hughes. 
 
 Another edition of the Book of Common Prayer in 
 Welsh appeared in 1634, and in 1647 another edition of 
 the New Testament. The latter bears neither the name 
 of any editor nor publisher, and it has been thought that 
 it was brought out by the evangelists Vavasor Powell 
 and Walter Cradoc, two early leaders of Nonconformity 
 in Wales. 
 
 Vavasor Powell (1617-1670) was born at Cnwc-glas, 
 Radnorshire, and educated at Jesus College, Oxford. On 
 the outbreak of the Civil War he left Wales for London, 
 where for two years he preached, and afterwards for two 
 years at Dartford, Kent. In 1646 he was invited to resume 
 his evangelistic work in Wales, where he became known as 
 the 'Metropolitan of the itinerants.' In 1649 he had a 
 prominent share in obtaining the Act for the Propagation 
 of the Gospel in Wales. In the administration of this Act 
 he took a leading part and became the central object of 
 the attacks of its opponents. He published many tracts 
 in reply to their and other criticisms of his work and 
 teaching, but he wrote in English. Several of his works 
 were translated into Welsh, such as his Scripture's Concord 
 (1646), his autobiography, and his 'Saving Faith ' (Canwyll 
 Crist), etc. The editions of the Welsh New Testament in 
 
158 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 1647, and of the whole Bible in 1654, were brought out by 
 Powell and Cradoc. 
 
 Walter Cradoc (i6o6?-i659) was born at Trefela, in the 
 parish of Llangwm-ucha in Monmouthshire, c. 1606. His 
 home was not far from Llanfaches, and it is probable that 
 he came under the influence of Wroth. He held the curacy 
 of Peterston-under-Ely, and afterwards that of St. INIary's, 
 Cardiff. In 1633 he refused to read The Book of Sỳorts 
 which was ordered to be read in the churches. For this 
 he was deprived of his license, but he succeeded in obtain- 
 ing another curacy at Wrexham, which he held for a year. 
 On his way back to South Wales he stayed for a time at 
 Shrewsbury, w'here he met Richard Baxter. He found a 
 home for the next four years with the family of Sir Robert 
 Harley in Herefordshire, whence he made preaching tours 
 in the adjacent counties of Wales. In 1639 he went to 
 assist Wroth at Llanfaches, and he eventually succeeded 
 him at that place, but when the Civil War broke out he 
 was obliged to flee. The year 1643 found him in London, 
 established at Great All-Hallows. He returned to Wales 
 in 1646 as an itinerant preacher, and published jointly 
 with Vavasor Powell an edition of the New Testament in 
 1647, and an edition of the Bible in 1654. He died at 
 his home, Trefela, in 1659, and, according to the Broad- 
 Ŷìiead Records, he was buried in the chancel of Llangwm- 
 ucha Church. 
 
 He published several works in English. His collected 
 works were published by the Rev. T. Charles of Bala and 
 the Rev. P. Oliver of Chester in 1800. 
 
 William Phylip (157 7- 1669), the bard who has just 
 been noticed in connection with Rowland Vaughan of 
 Caer Gai, wrote Cyivydd Marwnad Siarles y Cyntaf 164S. 
 He was one of the most devoted of the Welsh royalists, 
 
SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY WRITERS 159 
 
 as we have already seen, and this cywydd seems to have 
 been printed and well circulated. After his death, his 
 fellow-bard and kinsman, Phylip Sion Phylip, mentioned 
 it in the fnartcnad he composed to him : 
 
 Ei gwyn am Siarls genym sydd 
 Yn brintiedig, braint dedwydd ; 
 Teilwng oedd, Ian ben talaith, 
 Yn brint roi'i holl lawn-bur iaith. 
 
 William Phylip died in 1669, and was buried at Llan- 
 ddwywe. He strongly objected to the payment of taxes, and 
 in this connection he wrote the two quaint englynion given 
 
 below : 
 
 Am frad i'r holl wlad, wyr hyllion, — a'u trwst, 
 Codi treth anghyfion, 
 Hwy gânt dâl a gofalon, 
 A châs hir achos hon. 
 
 Dyma warant sant dan sêl, — attolwg, 
 Telwch yn ddiochel, 
 Rhag i'r sant a chwant ni chêl 
 Ymgethri a mynd yn Gythrel. 
 
 In his marîunad, his extreme old age is mentioned by 
 Phylip Sion Phylip. It will be remembered that he him- 
 self said he was seventy-two when he met Rowland 
 Vaughan in his wanderings. 
 
 Triniodd y byd tra anwir, 
 Trwy lawn hap i oedran hir ; 
 Mewn glân fuchedd rinweddawl 
 Hyd ei fedd, wr hynod fawl. 
 
 He left behind him a few poems and carols written ia 
 the free metres, and two marivnadaii composed to the 
 same man, Gruffudd Fychan of Caer Gai, which have 
 appeared in the Brython. A few of his englynion were 
 also published in the Greal. 
 
i6o A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 John Edwards {1606 — ?), 'Sion Tre-Redyn,' a native 
 of Caldecot, was educated at Jesus College, Oxford, which 
 he entered in 1624. He graduated B.A. in 1626 and 
 M.A. in 1629, and became rector of Llanmartin in the 
 same year, and of Tredennock in 1 633, of which he was 
 deprived by the Commissioners under the Act of 1650. 
 At this time he translated Edward Fisher's Marrow of 
 Modern Divinity into Welsh. This was a work written 
 in the form of a dialogue between Evafigelista, who 
 represented a minister of the Gospel ; Noniista, a strong 
 supporter of the law ; Antinomista, a man who belittled the 
 law, and Neophiius, a young Christian. 
 
 His translation appeared under the title Madruddyn y 
 Difinyddiaeth Diweddaraf, in 1651, but his Welsh is very 
 clumsy, as he himself admits — ' canys nid wyf fi (a anwyd 
 ar Ian Hafren ym mro Gwent He y mae Saesoniaith yn 
 drech na'r Brittanniaith) yn cymmeryd arnaf, na medraeth, 
 nac hyspysrwydd yn y Cymraeg, eithr nid bychan yw fy 
 serch at yr iaith a daioni fyn' gwlad.' 
 
 Richard Jones, M.A. (1603- 1669), of Llanfaircae- 
 reinion, was the son of John ap Hugh or Pugh of Hendre- 
 Caerwys. He was a graduate of Jesus College, Oxford. 
 He was appointed to Llanfaircaereinion in 1636, deprived 
 in 1650, and restored in 1661. During his forced idleness, 
 as he says, he published in 1653 Testun y Testament 
 Newydd, and in 1655 Perl y Cymro, neu, Cofiadur y Beibl 
 ar fesurati Psalmau Dafydd. Both are summaries of the 
 contents of the books of the Bible in free metric form. 
 The latter contains a commendatory letter by James 
 Howell ' to my reverend and learned Countryman.' 
 Richard Jones died in 1669. 
 
 Morgan Llwyd o Wynedd (16 19-1659) was born 
 at Cynfal, near Festiniog, in 161 9. He was sent to school 
 
SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY WRITERS i6i 
 
 at Wrexham, where in 1635 he came under the influ- 
 ence of the preaching of Walter Cradoc. The impres- 
 sions formed then lasted throughout his life, and, fired 
 with a similar enthusiasm, he travelled the length and 
 breadth of his country preaching the Gospel of Christ 
 wherever he could find listeners. In 1649 he was ap- 
 pointed one of the twenty-five Puritans responsible for 
 the administration of the Act passed in that year for 
 the better propagation and preaching of the Gospel in 
 Wales. 
 
 His first literary production appeared in 1653, and was 
 entitled Dirgelwch I rat hv Ddeail, ac i eraill iw Watwar, 
 sefTri aderyn ynymddiddan. This book takes the form of a 
 dialogue between the Eagle, the Dove, and the Raven, who 
 are supposed to represent Cromwell, the Nonconformists, 
 and the Established Church, respectively. The work 
 proves Morgan Llwyd to have been a great master of 
 allegory. It went through several editions, the most recent 
 of which was that produced by the late Mr. T. E. Ellis, 
 M.P., in 1899, under the auspices of the Guild of Graduates 
 of the University of Wales. 
 
 His second work, Llythyr ir Cymrii Cariadus, w^as also 
 published about 1653. Gwaedd Ytighymrn yn Wyfteb 
 yob Cydwybod Euog was published about two years later. 
 This went through six editions by 1821. Gair or Gair, 
 which appeared in 1656, was considered so excellent a 
 work that it was translated into English in 1739 under 
 the title A Discourse of the Word of God. In 1657 he 
 published four small works, Yr Yviroddiad, Y Discybl at 
 Athraw Newydd, Cyfaruyddid i'r Cymrti and Gwyddor 
 Uchod. The last of these is a poetical work in which he 
 gives expression to strange views of astronomy, as the 
 following lines illustrate : 
 
 L 
 
1 62 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 Mae ymhob dyn naturiol, 
 Saith Blaned fawr ryfeddol ; 
 Ag yn cydweithio heb nâghau 
 Gida'r Planedau nefol. 
 
 Dyn iw Canolfa'r hoUfyd, 
 Dyn o bob peth a grewyd. 
 Fob peth a wnaed sydd ynddo ef, 
 Môr, Dayar, Nef a Bywyd. 
 
 No less than fifty-two poems, songs, hymns, and englynion 
 appear in the first volume of his work edited by the late 
 M.P. for Merionethshire ; the great majority of them are in 
 English, and some of them are very sweet little odes 
 although cast in that vein of seriousness which runs through 
 all Morgan Llwyd's work. The following may be cited as 
 examples of the ease with which he writes englynion : 
 
 O Meirion dirion i dario — ynddi 
 Yn dda rwi'n dy gofio 
 Nid hawddgar ond ath garo 
 Fy annwyl bresswyl am bro. 
 
 Pregethwr, nithiwr a wna — i filioedd 
 Foliannu Jehova- 
 Pregethwr os pregetha 
 Holl lais Duw, a wna les da. 
 
 Some of the rules he gives for the preservation of 
 health, in his short poem lechyd /V Corph, are as quaint as 
 they are true, e.g. : 
 
 3. A byw megis angel 
 Ac nid fel anifel. 
 
 6. Ymgadw rhag afraid 
 A gochel dy lonaid. 
 
 9. Bydd fyw mewn llawenydd 
 A deall dy ddefnydd. 
 
SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY WRITERS 163 
 
 14. Yn gyntaf bydd nefol 
 Yn ail bydd naturiol. 
 
 16. Yn gynnil ymbortha, 
 Drwy chwys bwytta faia. 
 
 1 7. A chyfod yn forau 
 
 Di ddiangi rhag angau. 
 
 19. Na waria yn ofer 
 
 Un fodfedd oth amser. 
 
 20. Ni ddysgo drwy eiriau, 
 Caifif ddysg gan ei angau. 
 
 But it is rather as a writer of excellent prose than as a poet 
 that he has done his greatest service to his country. His 
 works are masterpieces in style and diction, and, unlike 
 those of Rowland Vaughan and the many other translators 
 of this period, their substance is for the most part original. 
 His influence upon the masses was very great, because all 
 his writings, with the exception of the poems noted above, 
 were in Welsh. They show him in many lights, as a theo- 
 logian, a philosopher, a careful student of Nature, and an 
 accurate observer of the social and political events of his day. 
 James Howell (i 594-1666) was one of the most 
 remarkable Welshmen of the seventeenth century. He 
 was a Brecknockshire man, and was the son of a clergy- 
 man named Thomas Howell, curate of Llangammarch, 
 and afterwards Vicar of Abernant in Carmarthenshire. He 
 was educated at Jesus College, Oxford, where in 1623 he 
 was elected a Fellow. In 1626 he became M.P. for Rich- 
 mond. In 1638 he was appointed secretary to the Earl of 
 Leicester, the British ambassador to the Court of Den- 
 mark. On his return he became secretary to the Council 
 in London, but got into debt and was thrown into the 
 Fleet Prison. It was here that he wrote between fifty and 
 
1 64 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 sixty compositions which acquired for him such a reputa- 
 tion that Charles ii. in 1660 made him chief historio- 
 grapher to the Court, a post he held until his death in 
 1666. He was the author of Dodonas Grove and 
 Familiar Letters, which are full of quiet humour and show 
 a wide knowledge of the world gained by observation and 
 travel. Quaint examples of them are the letter he wrote 
 to Captain Thomas, which contains a very well told 
 story of the reclamation of a gambler, and that written to 
 Cliffe on wines, in which he touches on the merits and 
 evils of metheglin, a bottle of which he enclosed to his 
 friend. He refers to this drink as ' the pure juice of the 
 bee, the laborious bee, and King of Insects,' but he ad- 
 vises caution in its use, for it admitted ' of but one good 
 draught, and that in the morning.' 
 
 His most celebrated work was a Lexicon Tetraglotton 
 (the four languages being English, French, Italian, and 
 Spanish). One part of this remarkable book is devoted to 
 Diharebion Cymraeg VVedi ei Cyfieithu yn Saisoneg. It 
 was published in London in 1658, and was dedicated 'to 
 the Right Honorable, Richard Earl of Carbery.' 
 
 Elis Lewis of Llwyngwem, Merionethshire, was a 
 gentleman of culture who at the request of Mrs. Catherine 
 Anwyl of Park translated Drexelius' On Eternity into 
 Welsh. His translation appeared in 1661 under the title 
 of Ystyriaethau Drexelivs ar Dragy^iyddoldeb. He says 
 in the preface that Oxford scholars had 'edited and 
 corrected ' his little book for the benefit of their fellow- 
 countrymen. The work is written in simple and clear 
 Welsh prose, and contains passages of great beauty. Very 
 little is known of the translator except that he was well- 
 connected, for he had married a daughter of Sir John 
 Owen of Clenenau. 
 
SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY WRITERS 165 
 
 D 
 
 Dr. Edward Wynn (? — 1669) was the son and last 
 heir male of Bodewryd, Anglesey. He married first, Jane, 
 the widow of Dr. John Davies, his predecessor at Llany- 
 mawddwy ; and second, Margaret, the daughter of Bishop 
 Robert Morgan of Bangor. He was educated at Jesus 
 College, Cambridge. He held various livings in the 
 diocese of St. Asaph and Bangor, amongst them Llany- 
 mawddwy, of which he was deprived in 1650, and, after the 
 Restoration, Llanllechid, Llangeinwen, and Llaneugrad. 
 He was also a canon of St. Asaph, and chancellor of 
 Bangor, where he is mentioned as having subscribed to 
 the fund for improving the Cathedral. He was an ardent 
 educationist and founded a school at Holyhead, and a 
 bursary at Jesus College, Cambridge, where he himself 
 had been educated. Only one book of his is known to 
 have been published, viz. : Trefn Ymarweddiad y Gwir 
 Gristion, neit Lwybr hyffordd Vr Cyjnro i rodio arno 
 beunydd gyda Duw. Gan Edivard Wynn, D.D. 
 Llundain, 1662. 
 
 Richard Jones (1604-1673), a native of Llansannan, 
 was educated at Balliol College, Oxford, where he gradu- 
 ated M.A. in 1633. He was appointed by the Trustees 
 for the Maintenance of Ministers under Cromwell school- 
 master of Denbigh, a post he held until his death in 1673. 
 He was a man of 'considerable learning and noted piety.' 
 He translated into excellent Welsh Baxter's Call to the 
 Unconverted, which he published in 1659 under the title 
 Galwad ir An?iychweledig, and another book by the same 
 author which was published by Gouge and Stephen Hughes 
 in 1672, entitled Atndo i Babyddiaeth. He also translated 
 for Gouge his Christian Directions, which was issued in 
 1675 under the title of Hyfforddiadaii Christianogol. He 
 also translated Baxter's Now or Never, which was published 
 
i66 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 in 1677 under the title of Bellach neu Byth. All his trans- 
 lations are in idiomatic Welsh. 
 
 Thomas Gouge ( 1 605-1 68 1 ) was the son of Dr. William 
 Gouge, Rector of Blackfriars, London. He was born in 
 1605, and educated at Eton and King's College, Cam- 
 bridge, where he was elected to a Fellowship which he 
 subsequently exchanged for the living of Colsden near 
 Croydon. After a short stay there, he removed to St. 
 Sepulchre, London, where he laboured strenuously for over 
 twenty years. He was a wealthy and generous man, and 
 his assistance to the many poor in his parish was pro- 
 verbial. Some of his wealth he employed in inducing the 
 ignorant poor to attend his classes held every morning in 
 the church. He supplied work to many who would 
 undertake it, doling out flax and hemp for them to spin, 
 and paying them generously. This good work was dis- 
 turbed by the Act of Uniformity of 1662, to which Gouge 
 would not submit, and he resigned his living. London's 
 loss proved a great gain to Wales, where he transferred 
 his educational energy and zeal in 167 1. His first visit 
 to this country impressed him with its lack of educational 
 advantages, and the ignorance which prevailed in conse- 
 quence. He established many schools in different parts, 
 more especially in the towns, and he directed his efforts 
 to secure that the children of the poor should be taught 
 to read and write English, and be carefully grounded in 
 religious principles, and that good books should be circu- 
 lated to counteract vice. In 1674 Gouge's efforts were 
 supplemented by the establishment of a Welsh Trust for 
 promoting his work on a larger scale. Under the direction 
 of Gouge and supported by Dr. Tillotson, Dean of Canter- 
 bury, Benjamin Whichcot, Edward Stillingflcct, Richard 
 Baxter, and many other philanthropists, this Welsh Society 
 
SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY WRITERS 167 
 
 maintained a large number of Charity Schools in North 
 and South Wales. One of the designs of the Welsh Trust 
 was ' the printing and buying of Welsh Books for free 
 distribution among the poor.' For this work Gouge 
 'enlisted the help of divers of his Reverend Brethren in 
 Wales.' Among these were Stephen Hughes, Charles 
 Edwards, Richard Jones, William Jones, David Jones, and 
 James Owen. These men translated, edited, and con- 
 tributed original works of great literary merit for this 
 movement, which the Trust published and freely distri- 
 buted among the poor. Among these the following may 
 be mentioned as examples : Holl Ddyledsivydd Dyn, 1672, 
 2000 copies; Testament N'eivydd, 1672, 2000 copies; Yr 
 Ymarfer i Ddiiivioldeb, 1675, 2000 copies; Hyfforddiadau 
 Christiafiogol, 1675, 35°° copies; Y Bibl, 1677-8, 8000 
 copies. The educational work and the free distribution of 
 these devotional books in the Welsh language led to the 
 literary revival of this period. Thomas Gouge died in 
 1 68 1. The Trust gradually withdrew its labours from 
 Wales to London, where it ultimately led to the founda- 
 tion of the Society for the Promotion of Christian Know- 
 ledge in 1698. 
 
 Charles Edwards (1628 — ?). — Mr. Ivor James in an 
 article in the Traethodydd, 1886, has helped to throw much 
 lisiht on the life of this Welsh writer. He discovered that 
 he was entered as Bible Clerk at All Souls', Oxford, in 
 1644, when he was sixteen years of age. He was born, 
 therefore, in 1628. It is believed that he received his 
 previous education either at Oswestry or Ruthin. 
 
 When Parliament proposed to visit the University in 
 1648, Charles Edwards was amongst those who opposed 
 their decision, and he was dismissed from All Souls' in June 
 of that year, but in October he was elected to a scholarship 
 
i68 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 at Jesus College, took his degree, and was made an 
 honorary Fellow. In 1650 he was engaged by the Com- 
 missioners of North Wales under the Act for the Propaga- 
 tion of the Gospel in Wales at a salary of sixty pounds per 
 annum, and in 1657 he was admitted to the Rectory of 
 Llanrhaiadr-ym-Mochnant by Cromwell, which he held 
 until the Restoration. In 1660 Bishop George Griffith of 
 St. Asaph took it over, and thus Charles Edwards was 
 deprived of his benefice. Domestic troubles added to 
 his unhappiness at this time. After losing his living he 
 devoted himself to literature. His first book, Hanes y 
 Ffydd, was published at Oxford in 1666. It was an 
 original work, and not a translation, as so many produc- 
 tions of this period were. In 1671 a second edition, 
 corrected and augmented, appeared under the title Y 
 Ffydd Ddi-ffuant. Adroddiad Helynty Grefydd Gristian- 
 ogol er dechreiiad y byd hyd yr oes hon, a -bhrofiad oi 
 gwirionedd di rhimvedd. The third edition ' with aug- 
 mentation ' appeared in 1677. In this book he showed 
 that he had drunk deeply of the spirit of William Chilling- 
 worth's Religion of Protestants, but this has not affected 
 the originality of his work. 
 
 Dr. L. Edwards, calling attention to a noted passage in 
 the Ffydd Ddiffu ant, asks : ' Yn awr, ddarllenydd, onid yw y 
 dyfyniad hwn yn profi mai nid dyn cyffredin oedd Charles 
 Edwards ? Nid ydym yn tybied fod un sylw mwy dwfndrei- 
 ddiol na chyffelybiaeth brydferthach yn hoU waith Bacon.' 
 
 In 1 67 1 Charles Edwards edited and published the 
 second edition of Maurice Kyffin's Deffyniad Ffydd Eghvys 
 Loegr under the title Dad-seiniad Meibiofi y Daran, together 
 with Bishop Davies's Epistol at y Cembru, and in 1675 
 he edited and corrected the third edition of Rowland 
 Vaughan's Yr Ymarfer i Ddinvioldeb. This was pub- 
 
SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY WRITERS 169 
 
 lished by Gouge's Trust. During the same year he 
 corrected for the press the Hyfforddiadau Christianogol, 
 a translation by Richard Jones of Denbigh. In 1679 he 
 translated and published Gouge's Principles of the Chris- 
 tian Religion under the title of Gwyddorion y Grefydd 
 Gristianogol. In 1682 he edited and improved Robert 
 Lloyd's Llwybr Hyffordd, and in 1684 the second edition 
 of Llyfr y Resolusion which had been translated by 
 Dr. Davies of Mallwyd. In 1686 he published a work 
 in English under the title of Fatherly Instructiotis : beitig 
 Select Pieces of the Writings of the Primitive Christian 
 Fathers, with an Appendix Intituled Gildas Mininws. The 
 translations were direct from the original Greek and Latin. 
 The last book he published was his own biography, in 
 1 69 1. He calls it An afflicted man's testimony concerning 
 his troubles. A sentence at the end of the book suggests 
 that he gained a livelihood as a bookseller and publisher, 
 after he had been deprived of his living. He says — 'The 
 writer hereof hath many British and English books by him 
 to sell.' 
 
 Stephen Hughes (162 2-1 688) was another who co- 
 operated in what may be called the Gouge Movement for 
 the enhghtenment of the Cymry. Thomas Gouge had lent 
 his powerful personality, his powers of organisation, and 
 his wealth to this movement ; Charles Edwards placed his 
 literary powers at its disposal ; Stephen Hughes, in addition 
 to his literary powers, possessed the more distinctly Cymric 
 characteristic of burning eloquence, and a missionary zeal 
 which was rivalled by none in this century. He saw the 
 importance of Gouge's movement, and was one of the first 
 to help him, but it shows how well he understood his 
 countrymen, when he proceeded to collect Vicar Prichard's 
 poems and publish them. 
 
I70 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 He was a Carmarthen man, but nothing is known of 
 his early education. He was presented to tlie vicarage 
 of Mydrim by the Commissioners for the approbation of 
 public preachers in 1654, and admitted in 1655. He was 
 deprived of his living in 1662, and devoted himself hence- 
 forth to his missionary efforts. 
 
 Stephen Hughes commenced his literary labours in 
 1646 by editing and publishing the first part of the works 
 of Rees Prichard. No copy of this part is known to 
 exist. He published the second part in 1659, bearing the 
 title Rhan waith Mr. Rees Prichard, etc. The preface 
 is signed by S. H., March 4, 1657. The third part ap- 
 peared in 1670. In 1672 the above three parts, together 
 with a fourth part, were published under the title Gwaith 
 Mr. Rees Prichard, Gytit Piece r Llanddyfri, etc., the fourth 
 part having a separate title. The complete work as it left 
 the hands of its first editor was published under the title 
 Canwyll y Cymru in 1 681, and bound with it generally, 
 although with a separate title, and probably issued separ- 
 ately, there appeared Hughes' translation of a work of 
 Francis Pereaud under the title Adroddiad Cyivir oW 
 Peihau pennaf ar a wnaeih, ac a ddtvedodd Ysŷryd Afiari 
 yn Mascon y?i Btirgundy. 
 
 In 1672 with the assistance of Gouge he published 
 another edition of the Testame/it Newydd, reaching to two 
 thousand copies. He also edited R. Holland's Sail y 
 Grefydd Gristnogaivl, and Richard Jones's Amdo i Baby- 
 ddiaeth, and other small tracts, and issued them in one 
 volume during this year. In the same year appeared Holl 
 Ddykdswydd Dyn, published at the expense of Thomas 
 Gouge, and in 1675 Stephen Hughes added a glossary of 
 the difficult words in Hyfforddiadau Christianogol, also the 
 work of Gouge, but translated by Richard Jones, Dinbych. 
 
SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY WRITERS 171 
 
 It is interesting to note that the Bibles which were 
 formerly printed had become so scarce by 1675 that 
 Gouge and Hughes could find no more than twenty for 
 sale in the whole Principality. This spurred them to a 
 renewed effort to bring out another edition, a work in 
 which Archbishop Tillotson assisted. It was issued in 
 1677-1678, and also contained Y Llyfr Gweddi Gyffredin, 
 yr Apocrypha, a^r Salmau Can. In 1677, Hughes edited 
 and issued a series of tracts in one thick volume entitled 
 Trysor ir Cytnrîi, and very probably he had a share in 
 the editing of other reprints issued that year. 
 
 Stephen Hughes collaborated with three others in the 
 translation of Banyan's Pilgrim's Progress, and the work 
 was issued under his editorship under the title Taith neu 
 Siwrnai y Pererifi, fan Rith neu Gyffelybiaeth Breuddwyd, 
 in 1688. 
 
 Sufficient has been said to give a general idea of the 
 activity of the Gouge movement for the educational and 
 spiritual improvement of Wales. No less than fifteen 
 works had been published by Charles Edwards alone. 
 Gouge died in 1681, and Edwards in 169-?, and Stephen 
 Hughes lived just long enough to see the publication of 
 his translation of The Pilgrim's Progress, in 1688. He 
 had prepared for another edition of the Welsh Bible, 
 and after his death, this, to the number of ten thousand 
 copies, was issued in 1690 by his friend David Jones of 
 Llandyssilio, nobly assisted by many supporters of Stephen 
 Hughes, notably Lord Wharton. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 HUW MORUS (1622-1709) AND EDWARD MORUS (? — 1689) 
 
 This celebrated bard was born at a farmhouse named 
 Pont y Meibion, in Glynceiriog, Denbighshire, in 1622, and 
 he was the third and youngest son of a responsible farmer 
 who lived on his own estate. There is no record to show 
 the nature of his early education. It is generally thought to 
 have been very meagre. He was apprenticed to a tanner 
 at Overton (Owrtyn Madog) in Flintshire, and remained 
 there seven years, at the expiration of which he returned to 
 his old home, where he stayed for the rest of his life assist- 
 ing his father, and subsequently his eldest brother, with the 
 farm. Judging from the number of his compositions, his 
 work was not very arduous, and the business of the farm 
 made but small inroads upon his time. 
 
 Two volumes of his work have been published by the 
 Rev. Walter Davies (Gwallter Mechain) under the title 
 Eos Ceiriog, sef casgliad B(r ganiadati H. M.yn ddau lyfr. 
 O gytmul/iad a diwygiad IV. D. 
 
 These volumes contain 18 cy7vyddtii/, 129 carols and 
 songs, and 229 englynion, and Mr. O. M. Edwards states 
 that there are still many of his sweetest poems unpublished. 
 
 Much of his verse was designed to be sung to the harp, 
 and the name of the tune is generally inserted above the 
 song. Difyrrwch Givyr Dyfi, Y Ddeikn iVerdd, Y Galon 
 
 172 
 
HUW MORUS AND EDWARD MORUS 173 
 
 Drom, Brynier Werddon, Llafar Haf^ and Gwiedd 
 Angharad, are amongst the tunes he employed. The first 
 productions of his muse were love-songs, and some of them 
 are particularly bright and vivacious. Take, for example, 
 that entitled Fy Nghariad i, from which these lines are 
 quoted : 
 
 Fy nghariad i, 
 
 Teg wyt ti, 
 Gwavvr ragori, lili lawen, 
 Bêr winwydden, fwynedd feinwen, 
 
 Y gangen lawen lun ; 
 Blode'r wlad, 
 Mewn mawrhad, 
 
 Hardd i hymddygiad, nofiad nwyfus, 
 Bun gariadus, haelwen hwylus, 
 
 Y weddus, foddus fun ; 
 
 Lloer wiw i gwedd, lliw eira gwyn, 
 Yn sydyn rhoes fy serch, 
 Ar f 'enaid fain, 
 Sydd glir fel glain, 
 Rywiog riain irfain yrfa, 
 Na chawn ata ddyn ddiana, 
 I'w meddu, mwyna merch ; 
 Ond, blode rhinwedd croewedd, cred, 
 Er teced ydwyt ti, 
 Y galon fach 
 A gadwa'n iach, 
 Pe baet glanach, gwynnach gwenfron, 
 Nid a trymion caeth ochneidion 
 Dan fy nwyfron i. 
 
 The last five lines occur as a refrain throughout the poem, 
 which was meant to be sung to a tune called Per Oslef. 
 
 His love-poems were addressed to many different 
 maidens, whom he sometimes found occasion to censure 
 as well as to sing their praises. Many have subsequently 
 
174 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 tried to imitate him in the lyric metres he employed in 
 these poems, but with little measure of success. 
 
 He has shown himself equally powerful as a writer of 
 mammadau. That which he composed on the death of 
 Richard Myddelton or Miltwn of Plas Newydd, Llansilin, 
 will serve as a good illustration. He laments him thus : 
 
 Colles y rhai a geres fwya, 
 Ber yw byr oes, marw heb hiroes mae y rhai pura. 
 
 Rwy'n carlo meddwl trwm i'm dwyfron, 
 
 Lie bu llawenydd heb ofalon, 
 
 Nid all calon drom alarus 
 
 Gan anhunedd ganu'n hoenus ; 
 
 Er bod bob dydd mewn difai helynt, 
 Trist anianol yw fy nghalon am fyngherynt ; 
 
 Am un car heb gymar iddo, 
 Aeth i'r ddaear yn rhy gynnar, rwy'n hir gwyno. 
 
 Richard Miltwn oedd i henw, 
 
 Yr angel gwyn, eglurwyn, gloew ; 
 
 Canwyll cenedl y Miltwnied, 
 
 Gvvr hoff inni i gorfla'i ened ; 
 
 Mwyna mwynwalch, difalch dytiad, 
 Gwaredd fuchedd Ha wen gwyredd llawn o gariad ; 
 
 Ni wela i fyth y fath bendefig, 
 Amlwg eglur, mawr Greawdwr, mor garedig. 
 
 A great nobleman's lament for his dead wife is expressed 
 by him in the following pathetic lines : 
 
 Ffarwel garedig wraig foneddig, 
 
 Bendigedig oedd dy gael ; 
 Er colli tegwch a diddanwch, 
 
 Üoniau Harddwch, mae Duw'n hael ; 
 Duw, gwna'n fodlon fy meddylion, 
 
 I'th amcanion doethion di ! 
 Nid yw ryfedd faint fy anhunedd, 
 
 Dod amynedd, Dad, i mi ! 
 
HUW iMORUS AND EDWARD MORUS 175 
 
 A dod drugaredd, rhanwr rhinwedd, 
 
 Yn y diwedd i ni ein dau. 
 A maddeu i'm calon am fy ngwenfron 
 
 Wych a ffyddlon, ei chofYau ! 
 
 Huw Morus lived in the stirring period of the Civil War 
 between King and Parliament, and it is natural to expect 
 to find some traces of these trying times in his work. His 
 sympathies were entirely Royalist. Two Welsh bards have 
 been noticed who were strong adherents of the monarchy 
 and suffered for their convictions — Rowland Vaughan and 
 William Phylip. Huw Morus was more fortunate in this 
 respect. Strongly Royalist as many of his poems were, he 
 managed so skilfully to conceal his meaning in ambiguous 
 allegories, that he was never suspect, and not until the 
 danger was over, and he revealed their inner meaning, 
 were they rightly understood. Even if some of his 
 intimates had understood them previously. Royalist feeling 
 was so strong in Wales, and especially in North Wales, 
 that he ran little risk of exposure. Revealed in the light 
 which he threw upon them after the Restoration, they 
 betray a satiric humour of a quality unequalled amongst 
 the Welsh bards. For instance, in the allegory entitled 
 Brwydr y Bwystifilod, the Barcud and the Cigfra7i repre- 
 sent the opposing factions on the Parliamentary side, viz. 
 the Presbyterians and Independents, the Oen represents 
 the funds of the Church and the State, the Mwyalchen the 
 moderate party, and the Lhvynog Cromwell himself. This 
 is how he describes the Lhvyfiog watching a contest 
 between the Baraid and the Cigfran : 
 
 Pan geisiai'r Barcud damaid, 
 A'i winedd nid oedd weiniaid, 
 Fe ymaflai'r Gigfran yn ei geg, 
 Nid da nid teg mo 'u tynged. 
 
176 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 Tra'r oedd yr ymdrech rhyngthyn', 
 Mi a welwn Lwynog melyn, 
 O glun i glun heb ronyn braw 
 Yn rhodio draw'n y rhedyn. 
 Ynghysgod perth fe lechai, 
 A'i lygaid fel canhwyllau, 
 Yn hyf gwn fod y Cenaw cam 
 Yn chvverthin am eu pennau. 
 Ar ben ychydig amser 
 Gwedi iddo gael ei bleser, 
 Ni adawai i'r ddau aderyn dig 
 Fe rostiai gig y brasder. 
 Ond pwy yn drist ae drostyn' 
 Pe byddent meirw o nevvyn, 
 A'i fol yn llawn mewn lloches glyd, 
 Mae'n Uavven fyd ar Fadyn. 
 
 Breuddwyd y Bardd is another allegory of this kind. 
 
 With the accession of Charles ii. he no longer dis- 
 guised his meaning in parables, but mentioned several 
 adherents of the Commonwealth by name. He wrote 
 Manvnad givyr Oliver, which throws much light on the 
 changes wrought in Society during the Commonwealth. 
 He is very satirical about the tinkers who became mayors, 
 and the blacksmiths, weavers, and others of the same class 
 who conducted public worship on Sunday and sat on the 
 magisterial bench on other days : 
 
 Rhai a ddywed yn dduwiol niai'r Gof syàà. ysprydol 
 Ac eraill modd gwrol a ganmol y Givydd ; 
 
 A rhai sy'n deisyfu y Ctydd i'w ceryddu, 
 A'r Ileill yn moliannu'r MelÌ7iydd. 
 
 There is much humour in his Cerdd i ofyn Feio/, which 
 he writes to Mr, Salisbury of Rug on behalf of a certain 
 William ap Roger. After employing two stanzas to eulogise 
 
HUW MORUS AND EDWARD MORUS 177 
 
 the owner of Rug, he proceeds to plead the cause of the 
 old violinist : 
 
 Canu ar redeg, cwyno'r ydwy 
 Tros hen gerddor o Lyndowrdy, 
 WilHam Robert wrth i henw, 
 Sydd yn cynnig miwsig masw, 
 Gore dyn y gweirie danne, 
 At bob cynhanedd Ion arafedd Iwysedd leisie, 
 Yn sir y Mwythig, wlad Sasnigedd, 
 Pe arhose, aur y fase ar i fysedd. 
 
 The hint in the last two lines, that his countrymen lacked 
 in generosity as compared with the Salopians, is cleverly 
 conveyed, without being offensive. 
 
 He then goes on to describe the character of the old 
 musician. He had never been dishonest, he was an adept 
 flatterer of human vanities, but he had always been some- 
 what feather-brained : 
 
 Gẃr penchwiban er yn blentyn, 
 Gwyddech arno fod rhyw bendro'n gwyro i goryn. 
 
 But these failings must now be excused on the score of 
 his age : 
 
 Mae fo rwan yn heneiddio, 
 
 Fe ddarfu'r grym a'r gwres oedd ynddo. 
 
 Old age and weakness have incapacitated him from taking 
 his usual allowance of beer without dire results, one of 
 which, alas ! was that his cherished instrument had suffered 
 destruction. Its plight is thus described : 
 
 Er bod y cerddor per leferydd 
 
 Yn medru chwalu a chwilio i choludd, 
 
 Mae diffyg anadl yn i fifroene, 
 
 A dwyn i swn o dan i senne ; 
 
 Mi gyffelyba fwa i feiol 
 
 M 
 
1 78 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 I lais lluddedig gwydd ar farrug, gwedd foreuol ; 
 
 Llesg iawn ydi, llais ci'n udo, 
 Fel llais olwyn, ne lais morwyn ar lesmeirio. 
 
 Llais hwch ar wynt, llais Hi yn hogi, 
 
 Llais padell bres yn derbyn defni, 
 
 Llais hen gath yn crio am lygod, 
 
 Tiwnie diflas tan y daflod ; 
 
 Oer i pharabl yw'r offeryn, 
 Yn Uefarii, gwycha ganu, i gychod gwenyn ; 
 
 Ni chlywyd gwraig erioed yn grwgnach, 
 Ped fae'n gruddfan ne'n ystytian, anwastatach. 
 
 The result is that the old minstrel is very unwelcome 
 
 everywhere — 
 
 Haws nag ennill ceniog wrthi 
 
 O fewn y plwy gael dwy am dewi — 
 
 and his livelihood is gone ; and the bard ends his poem 
 by imploring the owner of Rug to have compassion upon 
 
 him : 
 
 Mae'ch calon hael am fael i filoedd, 
 A'ch dwy ddwylo'n llwyddo lluoedd, 
 Mwyn gorff gwrol, a thrugarog, 
 I gyd ydych, a godidog ; 
 Rhowch er dyn, blodeuyn Cymru, 
 Ymwared reiol iddo, feiol i'w ddiofalu, 
 
 Ac ynte a haedde i rwymo i heddwch, 
 Rhag iddo i llelhu, mae'n hawdd i gyrru i anhawddgarwch. 
 
 In another humorous poem he extols the work of the 
 blacksmith, showing how many other occupations are 
 dependent upon him : 
 
 Y Turner^ a'r Cooper, a'r Sadler a sai', 
 
 Y Gwydrwr mewn balchder, a'r Tiler pen tai, 
 Ni enillant fawr arian, ond truan yw'r tro, 
 Heb ddur ac heb haiarn a chenad y Go'. 
 
 Y Barcer, a'r Glwfer, a'r Cwrier, a'r Crydd, 
 
 Y Tailiwr, a'r Pannwr, a'r Gwauwr mewn gwydd, 
 
HUW MORUS AND EDWARD MORUS 179 
 
 Yr Eurych, a'r Cobler, yn fongler a fo, 
 
 Ni wnant hwy mo'r gwyrthiau, byth gartre', heb waith Go' 
 
 He wrote four poems called Cerddi Tiroedd y Taerion 
 in defence of a family which had been deeply wronged in 
 connection with a will to which the signature of the 
 testator had been forged by the diabolic device of guiding 
 the dead person's hand. When the bard heard of it, his 
 indignation knew no bounds, and he gave them a casti- 
 gation in verse with which the whole neighbourhood 
 resounded. He traced the sin of covetousness and its 
 effects throughout the pages of the Old Testament, men- 
 tioning Eve, the sons of Jacob, Achan, Ahab and Jezebel, 
 Haman, and others in whose lives it was exemplified ; and 
 in a vivid touch of imagination he conceived the bells of 
 Ruabon, in which neighbourhood the deed happened, as 
 ringing of themselves at midnight in horror at the crime. 
 The two verses which follow are quoted from the second of 
 these poems : 
 
 Yng nghantref Maelor, cyngor caeth, 
 Y gwnaed y pechod, syndod saeth, 
 Trwy wenieithus dafod ffraeth, 
 Ac yspryd gwaeth yn gweithio ; 
 Nid mawrsynwyr oedd i'w gap, 
 Er bod mor hwylus ar ei hap, 
 Ar sylwedd drwg y seiliodd drap 
 
 i'w dripio. 
 
 Swydd y Waun,' hen orsedd wych, 
 
 Sylfaenwch, sefwch ar le sych, 
 
 A chym'rwch Faelor i chwi'n ddrych, 
 
 A rhybudd clych Rhiwabon ; 
 
 Chwi gewch weled cyn bo hir, 
 
 Os ydyw'r Scrythyr Ian yn wir, 
 
 Rhyw arwydd tost o herwydd tir 
 
 y Taerion. 
 
i8o A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 Huw Morus was also a prolific writer of carols, more 
 especially Christmas carols, requests for which came to 
 him from all parts of the country. They show the work- 
 ings of a devotional mind and one well versed in the 
 Scriptures. He lamented the disregard of Christmas which 
 had crept in under the Commonwealth, in one of the best- 
 known of his carols—' Carol Gwyliau a wnaed yn amser 
 rhwysg Oliver.' In it he says : 
 
 Yn anghof gollyngwyd yr amser y ganwyd 
 Oen hyfryd, wiw Brophwyd y brif-fifordd. 
 Fe a'r Meistr bonheddig, mor fwyn yn ei fenyg, 
 I weithio'r Nadolig, drwy chwithig drwch wedd ; 
 Ar ol hynny flwyddyn ni wna efe un gronyn, 
 Ond eiste'n wr gerwin, a gorwedd. 
 
 Even in his eightieth year he had not tired of compos- 
 ing these sacred odes. At the end of one of them he 
 says : 
 
 Os gofyn dyn duwiol 
 
 Pwy luniodd y carol 
 
 O fawl i Dduw nefol, 
 
 Orseddol ei swydd ; 
 
 Hen ddyn a phen maban, 
 
 A'i awen yn fechan, 
 A'i gorph yn oer egvvan ar ogwydd. 
 
 So far, the poems that have been noticed were written in 
 the free metres, but he also wrote a number of cywyddau 
 and englynion which showed that he had mastered the 
 cyiighaneddion. The following lines are taken from his 
 elegy to Sir Thomas Mostyn and Lady Mostyn, who were 
 buried in the same grave at Eglwys y Rhos, in Creuddyn : 
 
 Oer i eryr hir aros, 
 
 O'i lys rhydd yn Eglwys Rhos ; 
 
HUW MORUS AND EDWARD MORUS i8i 
 
 Angeu a'i rhoes, ing yr hawg, 
 A'i arf erchyll ar farchawg ; 
 A'i Arglwyddes wawr Gloddaith, 
 I ran Duw aent i'r un daith ; 
 Ni ddymunodd i'w maenol, 
 Acres wych, aros o'i ol ; 
 Gado i fonedd gydfyned, 
 A wnaeth Crist am wenith cred ; 
 Un foddion yn fyw oeddynt, 
 Un gred goel, un gariad gynt ; 
 Un galon union, un air, 
 Un ddaioni 'n ddi-anair. 
 
 As was stated at the outset, he wrote also a very large 
 number of englynion, of which the following may be taken 
 as fair examples : 
 
 Bore Gaeaf. 
 
 Tew glog sydd hyd dai y Glyn— gwêr awyr 
 Yn go-rewi'r dyffryn ; 
 Cnwd barrug hyd gnawd Berwyn 
 Yn hulyn a gwedd halen gwyn. 
 
 In praise of Edward Morus as a translator he wrote : 
 
 Y deallwr da i wyllys — diysgog, 
 Di wisgaist yn drefnus 
 Began iaith, di-graith i grys, 
 Da i rad mawr, Edward Morus. 
 
 Llyfr annerch, llafur enaid, — llawenydd 
 A lluniaeth ffyddloniaid ; 
 Lluddio'n rhwysg, Haw Dduw i'n rhaid, 
 A all agor ein llygaid. 
 
 In his last illness, in reply to a friend who made 
 inquiries as to his condition, he said : 
 
 Myn'd i'r ail adail ar redeg— yr wyf, 
 Lie ceir oes ychwaneg, 
 
i82 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 I baradwys bur wiwdeg, 
 Yn enw Duw yn union deg. 
 
 He died at the advanced age of 87, in August 1709, and 
 was buried at Llansilin, where the two following englynion, 
 composed by the Rev. Robert Wynn, Vicar of Gwyddel- 
 wern, were inscribed on his tomb : 
 
 Dyma Huw fu byw yn y byd — yn bencerdd 
 Ar byngciau celfyddyd, 
 Gwir organ y gân i gyd, 
 Diammeu yw — dyma Ovyd. 
 
 Er Groegiaid, blaeniaid, aer blys — iawn naddiad 
 Awenyddiaeth fedrus, 
 Lladinwyr ledwŷr di lys, 
 Hwya mawredd Huw Morus. 
 
 Huw Morus has been ranked with Dafydd ab Gwilym in 
 the quahty of his muse, and in his power of imagination 
 and versatility. Mr. R. L Prys, writing of these two great 
 bards, says with much truth : ' Ychydig iawn o feirdd 
 Cymru sy'n deilwng i gael eu rhestri yn yr un dosparth 
 aruchel a hwynthwy, o ran crebwyll, darfelydd, ac amledd 
 eu cyfansoddiadau awenyddol. Y gwir yw, mai rhai wedi 
 eu getit yn feirdd a llenorion oedd y ddau, ac nid rhai wedi 
 eu saernio gan ddysg a chelfyddyd.' Poetry seemed to 
 flow easily and naturally from Huw Morus ; it was not the 
 result of effort, but of inspiration. 
 
 Edward Morus (? — 1689) also belongs to the seven- 
 teenth century, but his poems were not published until the 
 eighteenth — eleven of them in the Carolatt a Dyriau 
 Duwiolin 1720, and ten others in the B/oJeugerdd, 1779. 
 Very little is known of this bard except that he lived at 
 Perthi Llwydion, Cerrig y Druidion, in Denbighshire. 
 
HUW MORUS AND EDWARD MORUS 183 
 
 Huw Morus mourned him in a Cywydd Marivfiad, in 
 which he states that he died in Essex in 1689 '• 
 
 Dau wyth gant, meddant i'n mysg, 
 Pan gladdwyd pen goleuddysg ; 
 Wyth ddeg a naw, a theg nod, 
 Oed lesu wedi' osod ; 
 Daear Essex, dir isod, 
 Ydyw beddle, claddle clod.^ 
 
 These two bards, who had no compeers in the period 
 in which they hved, seemed to appreciate each other's 
 work, for Edward Morus wrote an englyn to greet his 
 brother bard, as follows : 
 
 Huw Morus fehis fyw alarch — barod, 
 Burvvr cerdd gywreinbarch ; 
 Anerchion cofion cyfarch, 
 I'th wyneb pur, ddoeth enw parch. 
 
 To which Huw Morus replied in a series of e?2glynion, one 
 of which reads : 
 
 Mawr Athro'n eilio, anwylyd— miloedd, 
 Melin y gelfyddyd, 
 Melin dda'n malu'n ddiwyd, 
 Malu'r gerdd mal aur i gyd. 
 
 Edward Morus composed several carols, in which he 
 seems to excel. In Carol yr Haf he addresses the 
 Summer in the following beautiful lines : 
 
 Can diolch, Haf perffaith, tydi yw 'nghydymaith 
 I dramwy at loer odiaeth, bydd helaeth a haws ; 
 Mewn Ilwybrau mawr meithion dy ddyddiau sydd hirion, 
 I gyrchu at Hw'r hinon, loer hynaws. 
 
 ^ Eos Ceiriog, i. 26. 
 
i84 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 Pan ddel 'y ngwawr hoewen dan gwir y ffurfafen, 
 Y bore mor burwen yn llawen o'i llys, 
 I rodio'r Haf tirion, cyfarcha di Wenfron 
 Ar ddolydd glan afon glyn nwyfus. 
 
 He is very happy in this class of poem and seems to 
 have the gift of blending Nature and Love in perfect 
 harmony. 
 
 The lofty moral tone of some of his odes is very impres- 
 sive. An example of this is found in his Cywydd yn erbyn 
 Meddivdod, in which, by pointing out its serious physical 
 and mental effects, he hopes to entice his countrymen to 
 the paths of sobriety. He writes : 
 
 Pwy a ddengys a'i fys fai 
 Mwy na gwendid mewn gwindai ; 
 Y man defyrn yma'n difa 
 A byw ar dwyll, heb air da. 
 
 The miserable excuse so often given for drunkenness, 
 he describes in the couplet : 
 
 Cyfeillach drwy afiach dro 
 A fu'r esgus i frwysgo ; 
 
 while its effects upon mind and body are well summarised 
 in the lines : 
 
 Pylu'r CO trwy ango trwm, 
 
 Bodd rhusol boddi rheswm ; 
 
 Dinistrio'r corft'a'i orfifen, 
 
 Dallu pwyll dyall y pen. 
 
 His delineation of animals gives the impression of one 
 who thoroughly understood them. If it is true that he 
 was a drover, this is at once explained. In Cywydd y 
 Tarw he describes the bull thus : 
 
 Crych leisiwr a rliodiwr rhydd 
 Cryg yni min craig y mynydd ; 
 
HUW MORUS AND EDWARD MORUS 185 
 
 Pur feudwy niewn porfa-dir, 
 Meillion, gwellt a hydd-wellt hir. 
 
 And in Cywydd y Pmm, which gives a fine representation 
 of that stately but unmusical bird, the following lines 
 occur : 
 
 Paun waredd glod, penwyrdd glân, 
 
 Pryd angel parod yngan ; 
 
 Llais cythrel, rhyfel yr bin, 
 
 Llwydrudd, a chamrau lleidrin ; 
 
 A gwddw gwâg, gweiddi o'i go, 
 
 O flaen dryc-hin flin drwcio ; 
 
 Draig laswerdd yn drwg leisiaw, 
 
 Draig yn gloch dyrogan glaw. 
 
 Some of his poems betray his ardent love for his native 
 tongue, and his alertness to events which made for its 
 preservation, or otherwise. He wrote a cywydd to Bishop 
 Lloyd of St. Asaph, ' yn rhoddi y gostyngedig ddiolch am ei 
 ddirfawr serch tuag at yr iaith Gymraeg,' and his gratitude 
 for the appointment of the patriotic Welshman, Bishop 
 Humphreys of Bangor, who was granted the see by 
 William III., was well expressed in a series of englytiion, of 
 which the following is one : 
 
 Gẃr o'n gwlad, gariad geirwir, — gorau ddawn, 
 Gŵr i Dduw sy gywir ; 
 Gŵr o'n hiaith i'w garu'n hir, 
 Ag o'n ffydd a ganfifyddir. 
 
 Edward Morus also translated Rawlet's Christian Monitor 
 into good Welsh prose. This was published in 1689 under 
 the title of Rhybuddiwr Cristnogawl, and reprinted many 
 times in the two succeeding centuries. 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 THE CHIEF PROSE WRITERS OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 
 
 Elis Wyn o Lasynys (1671-1734) was the only son of 
 Edward Wynne, who had married the heiress of Las Ynys, 
 a small mansion near Harlech, where he was born in 167 1. 
 He matriculated March i, 1692, at Jesus College, Oxford, 
 aged 21. He was ordained Deacon October 24, 1704, 
 and Priest December 31, 1704, by the Bishop of Bangor, 
 and on January i, 1705, was preferred to the living of 
 Llandanwg, and in 17 11 to Llanfair. He thus spent the 
 whole of his life in his native place. Hewas twice married — 
 first, in 1698, to Lowri Wynne, of Moel y GIo, near Harlech, 
 who died in the following year ; and afterwards, in 1702, to 
 Lowri Llwyd, of Hafod Lwyfog, Beddgelert, by whom he 
 had numerous issue. He died in 1734, and was buried 
 beneath the altar of his church at Llanfair. 
 
 In 1701 he published a translation of The Rule and 
 Exercises of Holy Living, by Bishop Jeremy Taylor, under 
 the title Rheol Buchedd Sanctaidd. It was dedicated to 
 Humphrey, Bishop of Bangor, and in addition to an excel- 
 lent preface by the author, it contained some eulogistic 
 englynion composed by Edmund Prys, Vicar of Clynog, and 
 some Latin lines by Ffoulk Price, of Llanllyfiii. 
 
 In 1 703, the work which secured his literary reputation 
 
 was published, under the title Gweiedigaetheti y Bardd 
 18S 
 
EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY PROSE WRITERS 187 
 
 Cwsc. Thirty editions of this work and two translations 
 into Enghsh have already appeared. 
 
 In 1 7 10 Elis Wyn issued a revision of the Llyfr 
 Gweddi Gyffredin, with the approval of the four AVelsh 
 bishops and of Bishop Humphreys, who had now been 
 translated to Hereford. In this book first appeared the 
 well-known hymn ^^yfi ytv'r Adgyfodiad Maivr, of which 
 he was the author. 
 
 A work translated and published by his son, Edward 
 Wynne, in 1755, entitled Prif Addysc y Cristion, contained 
 a brief exposition on the Catechism, private and family 
 prayers, and a few hymns and carols by Elis Wyn. His 
 metrical translation of Psalm cxlviii. was published in the 
 Trysorfa Gwybodaeth in 1770. 
 
 It was his chief work, Gweledigaetheu y Bardd Cwsc, 
 that raised him to the highest pinnacle amongst prose 
 writers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. There 
 is no doubt that he meant that work to have consisted of 
 two parts, for on the title-page of Y Bardd Civsc appears 
 the legend Y Rhann Gyntaf. As this contains the three 
 visions entitled Gwekdigaeth Cwrs y Byd, Gweledigaeth 
 Angeu yn ei Frenhinllys isa, and Gweledigaeth Uffern, it is 
 surmised that the second part would have been the anti- 
 thesis to this, and would have borne such a title as Gweledi- 
 gaeth y Nefoedd, but it was never written, although Elis Wyn 
 lived for thirty years after the publication of the first part. 
 
 Perhaps he felt he could not do justice to so great a 
 theme, and he might have profited by the experience of 
 writers in other languages, who undertook similar themes, 
 and had been as unsuccessful in their efforts to describe 
 human life perfected, as they were successful in depicting it 
 in its fallen state, and the future consequences of sin, as 
 they conceived them to be. 
 
i88 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 The question of the amount of original work contained 
 in the Bardd Ctvsc has been treated with great care in 
 Professor Morris Jones's Introduction to his edition of that 
 work. 
 
 In 1649 there had been published at Madrid a book 
 entitled Sue/los (Visions) by a Spaniard named Quevedo. 
 In 1667 an English translation of this was published by 
 Sir Roger L'Estrange, and proved so popular that it ran 
 through four editions. It was not quite a literal translation, 
 but was altered in some parts so as to adapt it to English 
 tastes. This book had evidently come into Elis Wyn's 
 hands, and he in turn adapted it to suit his own country- 
 men, but he did far more than this. Whereas Quevedo's 
 work and L'Estrange's translation had contained seven 
 visions, Elis Wyn contented himself with three, the fifth 
 {The Vision of the World), the second {The Vision of 
 Death and her Empire), and the sixth {The Vision of 
 Hell). 
 
 He borrowed, it is true, a few of his ideas from L'Estrange ; 
 for example, the person who practised the gracious smile 
 before the mirror, the hypocritical grief displayed at the 
 funerals, and some of the characters that appear in his work. 
 But, on the whole, there is little more than a tithe of the 
 work that is not original, as far as its comparison with 
 Quevedo and L'Estrange goes. 
 
 Quevedo himself had not been original in his conception 
 of the visions. There are several pre-Christian works 
 known, describing man's visits to the under-world, includ- 
 ing those by classical writers, and the Middle Ages added 
 their contribution to this kind of literature. 
 
 Elis Wyn saw in them a convenient vehicle in which to 
 convey his thoughts to his countrymen, and to point out a 
 few weaknesses and vices which, though not particularly 
 
EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY PROSE WRITERS 189 
 
 theirs, were common to the whole human race, and as 
 unworthy as they were common. He may be said to have 
 changed the character of Quevedo's work entirely, for 
 where the Spaniard employed humour, Elis Wyn assumes 
 a tone almost terrible in its earnestness. 
 
 None of his successors except, perhaps, Goronwy Owen 
 could write such pregnant prose as he. His style is 
 remarkably free from English idioms, loose expressions, 
 and superfluities. He has at his command a number of 
 strong words and phrases, each of which is capable of 
 delineating a whole idea, and some of them take such a 
 strong hold upon the imagination that they haunt the 
 reader long after he has laid the volume aside, even as 
 they did the mind of Goronwy Owen, who was a great 
 admirer of the Bardd Cwsc, and consciously or uncon- 
 sciously used some of its expressions to adorn the lines of 
 his noblest poem. The affinity of taste between the great 
 prose writer and the poet is scarcely to be wondered at, 
 for Goronwy was himself an excellent prose writer, and 
 Elis Wyn, although he wrote little poetry, as far as we 
 know, except the four odes which form part of his Bardd 
 Cwsc, and a few hymns and carols, was by nature a child 
 of the muse, and in every page of his great prose classic 
 can be traced the impress of a poetic mind. 
 
 Edward Samuel (i 674-1 748), the Vicar of Bettws 
 Gwerfil Goch, was born in 1674, in Penmorfa, Carnarvon- 
 shire. He was educated at Oriel College, Oxford, where 
 he matriculated 19th May 1693, and was ordained Deacon 
 9th August 1695, and Priest ist October 1697, by Dr. 
 Humphreys, Bishop of Bangor, and in 1702 preferred to 
 the above living, which he held until 1721, when he 
 removed to Llangar, where he died in 1748. He is best 
 known as a translator. The only original work he com- 
 
190 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 posed, apart from his few poems, was that entitled 
 Biicheddau'r ApostoUon ar EJangyhvyr, 1704. 
 
 Gwirionedd y Grefydd Grisfnogol^ 17 16, a translation 
 from the Latin of Hugh Grotius, is one of our Welsh 
 classics. The late Dr. Silvan Evans edited the third 
 edition published in 1S54. 
 
 In 1 7 18 appeared Holl Ddyledsivydd Dyn, and in 1722 
 PriJ Ddleds7vyddau Christion, the translation of a work by 
 Bishop BeveridgC; urging the necessity and benefits of 
 common prayer. In 1723, under the same title, a work 
 by the same author on the importance of frequent Com- 
 munion was translated and published by Edward Samuel. 
 
 In 1 73 1 he translated the first part of Dr. Peter Nourse's 
 work Athrawiaeth yr Egkcys, V Khan Gyntof, together 
 with Gweddiau i Deu/uoedd, from the original of Arch- 
 bishop Wake. In the same year he published a sermon 
 entitled Pregeth ynghylch Gofaloii Bydoi, which he had 
 preached at the funeral of the Rev. Robert Wynne, Vicar 
 of Gwyddelwern. 
 
 Edward Samuel was a bard as well as a prose writer. 
 Five of his poems are found in the Blodeugerdd, and 
 besides these he wrote an elegy upon the well-known bard 
 Huw Morus, to whom he referred as : 
 
 Aneddwr awenyddiaeth 
 Gorau ei gerdd o Geiriog aeth. 
 Swrth oedd ei fynd, syrthiodd fo 
 Drwy oer ing i dir ango.^ 
 
 David Lewis, Curate of Llanllawddog, and Llanfih- 
 angel, Rhosy-corn, Carmarthenshire, and afterwards Vicar 
 of Llangatwg, Glamorganshire, edited and published Dr. 
 John Davies' Flores Poetarum Britannicorutn sef Blodeuog 
 
 1 
 
 Hants Llenyddiaeth Gyvireig^ p. 124. 
 
EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY PROSE WRITERS 191 
 
 IVaith y Prydyddion Bryiannaidd in 17 10. He also pub- 
 lished several works of his own, the chief being Gohvg ar 
 y Byd, yn Cynntvys briwsion oddiar fyrddau y dysgedigion, 
 ac yn dangos gallu, doeihineb, a daioni Dina, etc. It is 
 very well written and of exceptional interest as a work on 
 natural science, and the application of the argument from 
 design in creation. The first edition appeared in 1725, 
 and the second in 1825. 
 
 Edward Llwyd (1660-1709), the greatest Celtic scholar 
 of this era, and the precursor of modern scientific and 
 comparative philology, whose great work Archccologia 
 Britaufiica appeared in 1707, was the son of Edward 
 Llwyd of Llanforda, Oswestry. He was educated at Jesus 
 College, Oxford. His University conferred an honorary 
 degree of M.A. on him in 1701, and he was elected a 
 Fellow of the Royal Society in 1708 in recognition of his 
 great contributions to philology and to natural science. 
 The appearance of the Archccologia Britannica marks a 
 new epoch in the history of Welsh philology. A profound 
 knowledge of the Celtic languages, a critical spirit far 
 in advance of his time, and a remarkably modern scientific 
 method of treatment, are apparent in every page of this 
 monumental work. By his comparative method of treat- 
 ment he discovered Grimm's law more than a century 
 before Grimm formulated it. Llwyd's contributions to 
 natural science and archaeology are equally significant and 
 important. His published works are very numerous and 
 scattered, but much remains in manuscript. He was a 
 great collector of manuscripts, and his services to literature 
 in this field alone were very great. He died in 1709, a 
 poor man but highly respected for his learning and honesty, 
 and although his countrymen failed to appreciate the 
 significance of his work during his time, and for more than 
 
192 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 a century after his death, modern scholarship has fully 
 re-established his claims to be esteemed as the pioneer of 
 modern philology in Britain. 
 
 Moses Williams (1686- 1742), the Vicar of Defynog, 
 in Brecknockshire, was the son of a clergyman, and was 
 born in 1686, in Cardiganshire. He was educated at 
 Carmarthen Grammar School, and afterwards at Oxford, 
 which he left in 1708, and was ordained at St. James's, 
 Westminster, 1709. In 1715 he obtained the living of 
 Llanwenog, in 1716 Defynog, and in 1732 the rectory of 
 Chilton Trinity and the vicarage of St. Mary's, Bridgewater. 
 He died in 1742. 
 
 He translated several devotional books, but wrote rather 
 inferior Welsh, especially in his first efforts. 
 
 In 171 1 two of his translations were published, viz. 
 Llaw-lyýr y Lla/unvr, and Ymarferol- IVaith ir Elusen- 
 Ysgolion. 
 
 In 17 15 he translated the Companion to the Altar, a 
 work which, judging from the number of editions it went 
 through, was very much appreciated by his countrymen. 
 A better translation was, however, published in 1762 by a 
 writer signing himself L. E. 
 
 In 1 717 he issued an interesting list of books which 
 had either been composed in Welsh, or translated into 
 Welsh. It was very imperfect, but he was the first to make 
 an effort which was afterwards carried out more accurately 
 and methodically by Gwilym Lleyn and Silvan Evans. 
 
 In 1 717-18 another edition of Y Bibl Cyssegr-lan wdiS 
 issued under his supervision. The Society for Promoting 
 Christian Knowledge was responsible for its publication. 
 Some copies contained the Book of Common Prayer, and 
 in others it was omitted. 
 
 In 1726 his Repertorium Poetuum, an alphabetical list 
 
EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY PROSE WRITERS 193 
 
 of Welsh poetry contained in manuscripts, giving the first 
 line of each poem, appeared. This was, perhaps, his most 
 important work. It had certainly involved great labour 
 and research. And in 1731 he published a second 
 edition of Britannic^ Descriỳtionis Commentariolum, etc., 
 by Humphrey Llwyd. 
 
 In 1730, in conjunction with Dr. Wotton, who died 
 before the completion of the work, he published the Laws 
 of Howel Dda under the title Cyfreithjeu Hywel Dda ac 
 eraill, seic Leges Wallicce. Ecclesiastics, et Civiles Hoeli Boni 
 et Alioriim Wallice Principum. 
 
 W. M., B.A., are the initials of the translator of 
 Thomas à Kempis' De Imitatione Christi from the original 
 into plain, vigorous, and idiomatic Welsh. This was 
 published in 1723 under the title Pattrwm y Gwir- 
 Gristioti : neu Ddilyniad lesti Grist. The Imitation is one 
 of the great books of the world, and the translation of 
 W. M. is second to none of its innumerable translations as 
 a work of art. It has been surmised that W. M., B.A., 
 was the Rev. William Morgan, B.A., the Curate of 
 Penymynydd, and afterwards Rector of Llanddeusant, 
 Anglesey. He was ordained Deacon in 1696 and Priest 
 in 1698 by Bishop Humphreys, the great patron of Welsh 
 literature at this period. His name appears in the list of 
 subscribers in Difyrrwch Crefyddol, 1721, as 'Curate of 
 Penmynydd.' He was collated to Llanddeusant in 1732, 
 and died in 1742. He was a prydydd of considerable 
 attainments as well as a prose writer of the first rank, if 
 the Pattrwm can be proved to be his work. 
 
 Griffith Jones of Llanddowror (1684-176 1) was born 
 at Cilrhedyn, Carmarthenshire, in 1684, and was educated 
 at the Grammar School at Carmarthen. He was ordained 
 in 1708, and in 17 11 received the living of Llandeloi, 
 
 N 
 
194 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 Abercowyn. Five years later he was appointed by Sir John 
 Phillips of Picton to the vicarage of Llanddowror. He 
 died at Llacharn in 1761, and was buried at Llanddowror. 
 
 Believing that ignorance was ' the mother and nurse of 
 impiety,' as he states in a letter to one of his. friends, the 
 main work of his life was devoted to the establishment of 
 what were known as the Circulatitig Schools which were 
 started by him in 1730. In seven years he had founded 
 thirty-seven schools, 'several of them having two, and 
 some three masters, who are obliged to keep a methodical 
 list of the names, places of abode, ages, quality, calling 
 and condition in the world, dispositions and manners, 
 progress in learning, etc., of all the men, women, and 
 children that are taught by them.' (Extract from one of 
 his letters, dated March 10, 1738.) 
 
 Sir John Phillips of Picton, his brother-in-law, and the 
 pioneer of the Charity School movement in Wales, and 
 the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, encouraged 
 and assisted him with laudable zeal, and later Madam Bevan 
 of Llacharn became his chief supporter in this noble work. 
 The spread of the movement was remarkable. In less than 
 thirty years the number of the schools increased to 3,395, 
 and the number of scholars of all ages to 158,238.^ 
 
 This movement was of incalculable benefit in preserving 
 the Welsh language, for it was one of the main objects of 
 the schools to teach the reading of the Scriptures and other 
 devotional books, in Welsh. 
 
 Griffith Jones had his detractors, even in his own day, 
 and notable amongst them was the Rev. John Evans, of 
 Eglwys Gymmun, a near neighbour of the great educa- 
 tionalist. In 1752 this clergyman published an English 
 tract, the nature of which is clearly shown in its title — 
 ^ Hanes Llenyddiatth Gymreig, p. 129. 
 
EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY PROSE WRITERS 195 
 
 Some Account of the Welch Charity Schools ; atid of the Rise 
 a?id Progress of Methodism in Wales, through the Meafis of 
 them, u?ider the Sole Manage?ne?it and Direction of Griŷlth 
 Jones, Clerk, Rector of Llatiddowror, in Carmarthenshire, 
 in a short History of the Life of that Clergyman as a 
 Clergy mail. 
 
 The works published by Griíifìth Jones are a sufficient 
 refutation of the above charge. They consisted almost 
 entirely of treatises on religious subjects, and were very 
 closely linked with the movement to which he devoted his 
 
 life. 
 
 In 1738 he published Galwad at Orseddfaijtgc y Gras, 
 
 and in 1740 another part of the same work entitled 
 
 Hyfforddwr at Orseddfainc y Gras. The first part was a 
 
 kind of catechism showing the value of prayer, and the 
 
 second contained numerous prayers for various occasions. 
 
 In 1 741 he pubUshed the first part of his Hyfforddiad i 
 
 Wybodaethjachusolo Egwyddorjon a Dyledswyddau Crefydd; 
 
 the second was issued in 1743, and the third, fourth, and 
 
 fifth parts appeared in 1746. In 1748 these were collected 
 
 and published under the title of Drych Difinyddiaeth. In 
 
 1747 he issued a small English tract bearing the title 
 
 Twenty Arguments for Infant Baptism. 
 
 The most popular of his books was undoubtedly the 
 Drych Difinyddiaeth, which went through four editions, the 
 third and fourth of which were entitled Esboniad byr ar 
 Gatecism yr Eglwys. He shared in moving the Society 
 for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge to publish two 
 editions of the Scriptures in Welsh — one in 1746, and the 
 other in 1752. These editions were brought out under 
 the supervision of Richard Morris, chief clerk in the 
 Navy Office. 
 
 As a prose writer, Griffith Jones was verbose, and he 
 
196 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 wrote long, complicated sentences, but there is no mistak- 
 ing the dignity and sincerity of his utterances. One of the 
 thoughts predominant in them is the near approach of the 
 Judgment. 
 
 He also produced some verse, but it is not of much 
 merit. In 1743 he issued Crynodeb y Salmmi Cow?/, and in 
 1745 he published Cerdd Sion: sef, Traethawd ynghylch 
 Moli Dinv mewn Salmau, a JIy7!inau, ac Odlau ysprydol, 
 and also Hymnau Detholedig, and he edited in 1749 a 
 book entitled Figion Prydyddiaeth Peti-Fardd y Cymry, a 
 selection from the songs and hymns of Vicar Prichard 
 of Llanddyfri. 
 
 James Davies (1648-17 22), otherwise known as lagoab 
 Dewi, was born at Llandyssul in 1648. He lived for some 
 time at Pencadair, in Carmarthenshire, and afterwards at 
 Llanllawddog, in the same county, where he died in 1722. 
 
 He is best known as the translator of numerous religious 
 works. In 17 14 he published a translation entitled Llythyr 
 Edward Wells, D.D., at Gyfaill ynghylch y Pechod viawr 
 gytnmeryd Etiw Duw yn o/er, and Cyfeillach beunyddiol 
 â Duw yn Gynddekv neu Ensatnpl y7n Muchedd Sanctaidd 
 Artnele Nicholas. In 1717 appeared Meddylieu neilltuol ar 
 Grefydd. This was an excellent translation of a book 
 by Bishop Beveridge ; and in the same year he gave to 
 his countrymen one of Matthew Henry's works, which 
 he entitled Catechism dr Scryihur, yn Nlirefn Givjr y 
 Gymmanfa. One of the charges brought against Griffith 
 Jones by John Evans of Eglwys Gymmun was that he used 
 this Catechism in his schools. 
 
 In 1 7 19 he translated one of Bunyan's booklets, which 
 he entitled Tyred a Groesaiv at lesu Grist, and this 
 proved very popular. 
 
 lago ab Dewi was also a bard, and several fragments of 
 
EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY PROSE WRITERS 197 
 
 his works have been published. Some of his englynion are 
 found at the end of Morgan Llwyd's Gwaedd Ynghymru, 
 1750, and other poems were printed in Blodau Dyfed, 
 1824, and in a collection of verses by Peter Evans in the 
 Aivenydd^ published at Carnarvon. 
 
 Theophilus Evans (i 693-1 767) was bom at Peny- 
 wenallt, near Newcastle-Emlyn, in Cardiganshire, in 1693. 
 He came of a family which had been deeply attached to 
 the RoyaUst cause in the time of the Civil War, and his 
 grandfather. Captain Evan Griffith Evans, suffered imprison- 
 ment at Cardigan for some time under the Commonwealth, 
 but that did not abate his zeal, for he named his son, 
 the father of the author of Drych y Prif Oesoedd, Charles, 
 after the unfortunate king to whom he had been so 
 devoted. 
 
 It is uncertain where Theophilus Evans was educated. 
 The choice seems to lie between Shrewsbury and Car- 
 marthen. Most of his works were printed at the former 
 place, but he mentions that he had permission to use the 
 library at the great school there, probably during the time 
 his books were going through the press, and the editor of 
 the last edition of his ìnagnum opus thinks that such per- 
 mission would have been unnecessary in the case of an 
 old boy. Carmarthen had an excellent grammar school, 
 which was only a few miles from his home. Many noted 
 men of the period had been educated there, amongst them 
 Griffith Jones of Llanddowror and Moses Williams, who 
 was afterwards Theophilus Evans's vicar and the author of 
 Llawlyfr y Llafiirwr in 17 11. He might, indeed, have 
 met both these men at Carmarthen, for they were only his 
 seniors by a few years. 
 
 Wherever he was educated, he had acquired a good 
 
 ^ Hanes Llenyddiaeth Gymreig, p. 142. 
 
198 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 working knowledge of Latin, and a taste for literature for 
 the rest of his life. 
 
 In 1 71 7 he was ordained by Bishop Ottley of St. David's 
 to the curacy of Defynog under Moses Williams, who had 
 also, as we have mentioned, interested himself in Welsh 
 literature. 
 
 In 1722 he was appointed Vicar of Llandyfriog, a place 
 not far from his old home. He resigned that living in 
 1728 upon his preferment to Llanynys, in Brecknockshire, 
 which he held with the perpetual curacy of Llanddulas, in 
 the same county. Llanwrtyd formed part of his parochial 
 cure, and he is said to have benefited largely by taking 
 the waters at that place, in defiance of the local tradition 
 that they were poisonous, when suffering from an illness 
 during his stay there. Thus were their virtues discovered. 
 
 In 1738 he resigned the living of Llanynys, and was pre- 
 ferred to Llangamarch, and in the following year to St. 
 David's, Llanfaes, Brecon, two livings which he held jointly 
 until 1763. These pluralities necessitated the assistance 
 of a curate, and in 1740 William Williams of Pantycelyn 
 was appointed to Llanwrtyd, but had to leave in 1743 
 because he had come under the influence of that revival in 
 which Howell Harris and Rowlands of Llangeitho were 
 such prominent figures, and the young curate failed to 
 keep within the ecclesiastical bounds to which he had 
 been licensed. 
 
 Theophilus Evans died in 1767, and was buried at 
 Llangamarch. 
 
 His publications were very numerous, and appeared in 
 the following order : 
 
 (i) In 17 15, Cydwybod y Cyfaill Goran ar y Ddaear, 
 a translation of three sermons by Henry Stubbs. 
 This was his first effort, and he apologises for it. 
 
EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY PROSE WRITERS 199 
 
 saying that he had only begun to read Welsh 
 with any pleasure for the last three months 
 before its publication. 
 
 (2) Galwedigaeth ddifrifol Vr Crynwyr, Vw givahawdd 
 
 hwy i ddycîmelyd i Grist' nogaeth. No date is 
 assigned to this, but it was probably published 
 in 1715. 
 
 (3) 17 16. The first edition of Drych y Frif Oesoedd. 
 
 The second edition, considerably enlarged, of 
 Drych y Fri/ Oesoedd SLppesixed in 1740. 
 
 (4) 1719- Cydymddiddan Rhwng Dau Wr yn ammau 
 
 ynghylch Bedydd Flant. This was a translation 
 of a work by the Rev. W. Wâl, Vicar of Shore- 
 ham, in Kent. 
 
 (5) 1722. Frydferthwch Sandeiddrwydd yn y Weddi 
 
 Gyffredin, a translation of four sermons of the 
 work of the Rev. Dr. Bisse. 
 
 (6) 1733- Fwyll y Fader ; nen, Eglurhad ar Weddir 
 
 Arghvydd, a translation of a work by O. Blackall. 
 This book was dedicated to Sir Sackville Gwynn 
 of Glan Bran. 
 
 (7) G2Vth i luddew. Neu Bregeth, i. Yn rhoddi 
 
 Hanes Pobl yr luddewon. ii. Pa mor ysgeler 
 ddynion oeddent. iii. Pa fodd y gorddiweddodd 
 Barn gyfiawn Duw hwy. This work is undated, 
 but it was published before 1738. 
 
 (8) Y Gtvir Ddoethineb, neu Bregeth, etc. 
 
 (9) 1740. Llythyr Addysg Esgob Llimdain at y Bobl 
 
 oH Esgobaeth; yn eu rhybuddio yn erbyn 
 Claiarwch o'r naill du ; a zel danbaid nid ar ol 
 Gwybodaeth, o'r tu arall. 
 (10) 1747. Drych y Dyn Makistis. Pregeth. 
 
200 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 ( 1 1 ) 1752. The History of Modern Efithusiasm, an attack 
 
 on the Revival. Second edition, do., 1757. 
 
 (12) 1758. Llwybr Hyffordd y FIe?ityn Bach i Fywyd 
 
 tragwyddol. 
 
 (13) 1760. Pregeth, yn dangos beth yw Natur ac Anian 
 
 y Pechod yn erbyn yr Yspryd Glan. 
 
 This long list shows how vigorous and industrious a man 
 he was, but it is his Drych y Prif Oesoedd alone on which 
 his reputation as a Welsh writer rests. It claimed to be a 
 ' History of the Welsh People from the earliest times,' and 
 was divided into two parts, the contents of which are as 
 follows : 
 
 Rhan I. Sy'n traethu am hen Ach y Cymru, o ba le 
 y daethant allan : Y Rhyfeloedd a fu rhyngddynt a'r Rhu- 
 feiniaid, Y Brithwyr, ac a'r Saeson. Eu Moesau gynt, cyn 
 troi yn Gristianogion. 
 
 Rhan II. Sy'n traethu am Bregethiad a Chynnydd yr 
 EfengylymMrydain: Athrawiaeth y Brif Eglwys. Moesau 'r 
 Prif Gristnogion. 
 
 This remarkable book has gone through twenty editions ; 
 the last was published under the auspices of the Guild of 
 Graduates in 1902, and edited by Mr. S. J. Evans, M.A. 
 
 The Drych is a work which must have involved con- 
 siderable labour in its preparation, and was written with 
 such apparent regard to authorities for almost every detail 
 the author mentions, that it is not surprising that for a 
 considerable time it was looked upon as a reliable historical 
 work. The careful way in which he weighs the opinions 
 of the different authorities mentioned by him, rejecting 
 some and accepting others, could not fail to impress 
 uncritical minds with the accuracy of the work, and even 
 less credulous minds would often feel reassured by the 
 appearance of such an array of testimony. It shows the 
 
EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY PROSE WRITERS 201 
 
 author's mind was a strange mixture of credulity and in- 
 credulity, for what he rejects, and what he accepts, are 
 both in many instances equally fabulous. 
 
 Probably his appeal to the imagination of his country- 
 men, and his power of vivid description, had more to do 
 with the success of the book than its recognition as 
 accurate history. The story is well told throughout, and 
 the reader feels himself an eye-witness to the events 
 related. 
 
 If Theophilus Evans had any aim in the preparation of 
 this book besides an historical one, it would seem to be 
 to show the dangers of disunion, bearing in mind, particu- 
 larly, the theological unrest of his day, for the Church to 
 which he belonged was threatened on both sides— by Deism 
 on the one, and Nonconformity on the other. He was 
 fully alive to both dangers, and attacked them in turn. 
 But his very close proximity to the Revival movement, 
 which he regarded as inimical to the best interests of the 
 Church, as he conceived them, led him to believe this the 
 predominant danger. The strength of the movement 
 seriously perplexed him, and he wrote in the strain of one 
 foretelling ruin and disaster if his countrymen broke away 
 from the religious conditions which had hitherto obtained 
 amongst them. To him they were as much God's chosen 
 race as the Israelites had been of old, and to break away 
 from what he himself calls ' the Primitive Church restored 
 in these later times ' was as serious a sin as Israel's back- 
 slidings had ever been. Hence his warnings are numerous, 
 and, there can be little doubt, he seriously believed them. 
 
 His attitude towards the Revival movement is amply 
 evidenced in his work, and it is suggested that he was 
 responsible for Williams Pantycelyn's prohibition, and his 
 rejection by his Bishop as a candidate for priest's orders. 
 
20 2 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 This is not definitely known, but it is quite in keeping 
 with the energy he showed in combating what he regarded 
 as zeal without knowledge. 
 
 What must ever remain to his credit is that he did as 
 much as any man of his day for the preservation of the 
 Welsh language, and in this matter he was not in accord 
 with the prevailing ecclesiastical opinion in high quarters. 
 All his books, with one exception, were issued for his 
 countrymen's benefit, and the number of editions the 
 Drych has gone through, shows their appreciation of his 
 work despite the fact that Goronwy Owen reckoned him 
 a 'babbler.' 
 
 His style of writing preserves the harmony so dear to 
 the Cymric ear, and he very seldom indulges in an idiom 
 alien to the language. It is true that his orthography is 
 by no means consistent, but this was a common fault then, 
 as now. He is not so trenchant or so careful a writer as 
 Elis Wyn, but his powers of description will vie with those 
 of any Welsh writer. 
 
 Simon Thomas, a native of Cilgwyn, Cardiganshire, 
 who lived at Hereford from 1730 to 1746 as 'a mercer' 
 and '.Presbyterian minister,' published in 17 18 the first 
 edition of his Hanes y Byd a'r Amseroedd. This work 
 rivalled even Drych y Prif Oesoedd in popularity in the 
 eighteenth century, the sixth edition appearing in 1799. 
 It is written in good Welsh, and the style and matter are 
 popular. He also published Histori yr Heretic Pelagius 
 ii^ I735j2.nd Deoiiglydd yr ysgrythyrau in 1741, and the 
 History of the Cytubri and several other works in English. 
 He, like Lewis Morris after him, set up a printing press in 
 his own house, and issued some of his own and other 
 works from this press. He was an uncle of the Rev. Joshua 
 Thomas, who in his early days served his apprenticeship 
 
EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY PROSE WRITERS 203 
 
 with him, and may have acquired his taste for history from 
 his uncle. The dates of Simon Thomas's birth and death 
 are not yet ascertained. 
 
 Joshua Thomas (1719-1797) was born at Tyhen, 
 Caio, Carmarthenshire, in 17 19, and was educated at 
 private schools in the neighbourhood of his home. He 
 was apprenticed as a mercer with his uncle, Simon 
 Thomas, in 1738, and was called and ordained to the 
 Baptist ministry in 1749, and settled for life at Leominster 
 Baptist Church in 1754, where he also kept a school. He 
 translated several works treating on the controversial 
 subjects of his time, but his fame in Welsh Literature 
 will always be associated with his Hanes y Bedyddwyr, 
 ymhlith y Cymry Amser yr Apostolion, hyd y flwyddyn 
 hon, pubhshed in 1778. He devoted over thirty years of 
 laborious research to this work. He is not, like Theophilus 
 Evans, a brilliant writer, full of fire and eloquence, border- 
 ing on poetry, but he has the simple and lucid narrative 
 style to perfection. The absolute fairness and impartiality, 
 and the love of truth manifested in the treatment of the 
 controversial subjects of the sixteenth, seventeenth, and 
 eighteenth centuries, are worthy of all the praises which 
 have been bestowed on this Hafies. It is a storehouse of 
 reliable facts and delightful reading. Joshua Thomas 
 published also a History of the Baptist Association in 
 Wales 1650-1790, in 1797, and died on August 25 of 
 that year universally respected. 
 
 Daniel Rowland (1713-1790) of Llangeitho was the 
 son of a vicar of Llangeitho and Llancwnlle, of the same 
 name, and he was born in Pant y Beudy in the latter parish in 
 1 7 13. He was educated at Hereford Grammar School, and 
 after his ordination, he first served the curacy of Llangeitho 
 where his brother was vicar ; and it is a curious fact in his 
 
204 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 career in the church, that he subsequently became curate 
 to his own son. He came under the influence of Griffith 
 Jones, Llanddowror, and could not tie himself to any 
 particular sphere of work, because he conceived it his 
 mission to become an itinerant preacher of the Gospel, and 
 he passed from place to place rousing the religious 
 enthusiasm of his countrymen wherever he went. For 
 such work as his, the Established Church had made no 
 provision. It formed no part of her system, which was 
 to restrict the operations of her clergy to the particular 
 parishes or districts to which they were licensed. Her rule 
 in this matter was uniform, and she took no cognisance 
 of special and exceptional circumstances. So Daniel 
 Rowland was discountenanced by her leaders, and in 
 1763 he was obliged to sever his connection with the 
 Church. He died in 1790. 
 
 His first literary production was a sermon entitled Y 
 Llaeth Ysprydol, 1739. 
 
 In 1742 he was one of those clergy responsible for the 
 publication of Sail^ Dibenio?i, a Rheolau y Cymdeithasau 
 neu y Cyfarfodydd Neilltuol a ddechreuasani ymgyfitiull yn 
 ddiweddar yng NghyŶnru. A few hymns were appended to 
 these rules, but only one of them had been composed by 
 Rowland; but in 1744 he issued a small collection of 
 hymns, about a third of which he himself had written. In 
 the same year appeared a translation of uncertain author- 
 ship, but with which he is generally credited, because the 
 introduction was written by him, entitled Rhyfel Ysprydaivl, 
 a wnaethpwyd gati Shaddai ar Diabolus. The original was 
 by Bunyan. A very interesting work was that published 
 in 1749, which he styled Ymddiddan rhivng Methodist 
 Uniaivn-gred ac un Canisyiiiol. It is well written, and 
 shows that Rowland possessed considerable theological 
 
EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY PROSE WRITERS 205 
 
 acumen ; it was directed against the faction led by Howell 
 Harris who broke away from him in 1751. 
 
 Aceldama fieu Faes y Gwaed, a work first published in 
 Dutch, and translated by George Whitefield into English, 
 was translated by Rowland into Welsh, and published 
 in 1759. 
 
 Peter Williams was responsible for the address to his 
 ' Annwyl Gydwladwyr ' at the beginning of the Aceldama, 
 and wrote also an Introduction to Rowland's next book 
 which appeared in 1763, and was entitled Fumtheng Araith, 
 from the original by T. Wetherall. 
 
 Numerous sermons were published between this and his 
 death, the most noted being Llaisy Durtar, and Llwyddiant 
 wrth Orsedd Gras. 
 
 His death in 1 790 was the occasion of several ??iarwnadau, 
 and amongst them one by Williams of Pantycelyn, who 
 died at the end of the same year. 
 
 In the latter half of the eighteenth century the three 
 chief contributors to prose literature were Dr. Owen 
 Pughe, Owain Myfyr, and lolo Morganwg, and they 
 confined their activities chiefly to the history of the 
 language and to antiquarian pursuits. Few dictionaries 
 had hitherto been published, and even the best of these 
 were meagre, and the same can be said of the grammars 
 that had so far appeared. The study of philology had been 
 neglected, and when it is considered that Dr. Pughe was a 
 pioneer in this enterprise, with nothing to assist him except, 
 perhaps, the incomplete works of Dr. Davies of Mallwyd 
 and Edward Llwyd, some allowance must be made for the 
 very numerous errors which crept into his work. 
 
 Dr. Owen Pughe (i 759-1835) was born at Tynybryn, 
 
2o6 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 in the parish of Llanfihangel y Pennant, in Merionethshire, 
 in 1759. He adopted the name Pughe in 1806. Previous 
 to that he was known either as WiUiam Owen, or by one of 
 the bardic names he affected, Gwtlyfn Feirion or Idrison. 
 When he was seven years old his parents removed to 
 Egryn in Ardudwy, in which neighbourhood he received 
 the rudiments of education, and afterwards proceeded to a 
 school at Altrincham, near Manchester. In 1776 he 
 removed to London, and it was here that he came under 
 the notice of Owain Myfyr. He married in 1790. and had 
 one son, Aneurin Owen, of subsequent literary fame. In 
 1806 he returned to Wales, and in his last years endured a 
 painful illness. He died in The Cottage, near Talyllyn, 
 in 1835, ^"<i w^s buried at Nantglyn. He was a member 
 of the Society of Antiquaries, and Oxford University con- 
 ferred upon him the degree of D.C.L., as a reward for his 
 services to literature. 
 
 In 1789 he published jointly with Owain Myfyr Bardd- 
 oniaeth Dafydd ab Gwilyin. The volume contained about 
 half that bard's work. 
 
 In the same year Dr. Pughe edited a Collection of Poems 
 in English, and in 1792 The Heroic Elegies and other Pieces 
 of Llywarch Hen, Prince of the Cambrian Britons : With a 
 Literal Translation. 
 
 In 1800 he translated A Cardiganshire Landlord s Adi'ice 
 to His Tenants, but the translation was scarcely more 
 intelligible than the original to the people for whom it was 
 intended. 
 
 Dr. Pughe was also the editor of the Cambrian Register, 
 which was intended to be a yearly publication, chiefly of 
 interest to antiquarians and historians. 
 
 His most arduous undertaking was the Welsh-English 
 Dictionary, which was published in two volumes in 1803. 
 
EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY PROSE WRITERS 207 
 
 The first part of the first volume was taken up by a Welsh 
 Grammar, This remains the fullest complete Welsh 
 Dictionary to this day. It contains nearly 100,000 words, 
 but is a very faulty production, in spite of the great labour 
 it must have involved. Dr. Pughe's ideas of the etymology 
 of words were very quaint. 
 
 Another very important work which Dr. Pughe took 
 part in editing was the Myvyrian Archaiology, which 
 appeared in 180 1-7. This work is invaluable, both from 
 a literary and historical standpoint, to students of Welsh. 
 His orthography in all his works has the following peculi- 
 arities — V for 7^ /for ^ Ç for ch, z for dd. 
 
 The Society of the Gwyneddigion, jointly with that of the 
 Cymreigyddioti, issued in 1805 Y Greal, a work of con- 
 siderable interest, for it contains extracts from the chief 
 early Welsh writings, and on its covers are the first lines 
 of the poems of numerous Welsh bards. 
 
 In 1808 Dr. Pughe published a Welsh Grammar entitled 
 Cad7vedigaeih yr laith Gyniraeg. 
 
 In 18 19 appeared his translation of Paradise Lost 
 under the title Coll Gwynfa. He also translated Heber's 
 Palestina and Gray's Bard. 
 
 It will thus be seen that Dr. Pughe, in spite of his many 
 eccentricities, did great service to Welsh literature. He 
 also contributed various articles to the leading magazines 
 and periodicals, English as well as Welsh. 
 
 Owen Jones (i 741-18 14), Oivaifi Äíyfyr^ was intimately 
 associated with Dr. Owen Pughe in the production of 
 several of his works. He was born at Tyddyn Tudur, in 
 the parish of Llanfihangel Glyn Myfyr, Denbighshire, in 
 1741, and when quite young was apprenticed to a London 
 firm as a furrier, where he soon became a partner. He 
 spent his leisure hours in collecting and transcribing Welsh 
 
2o8 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 MSS., and his labours in this direction were untiring, as the 
 vast quantity of material which he left behind, amounting 
 to over thirty thousand pages of prose and verse, in addition 
 to what had been published, testifies. He was the chief 
 promoter of the Society of the Gwyneddigion in 1771, and 
 his generosity to bards and litterateurs knew no bounds. 
 He died in 18 14, and was buried in the churchyard of 
 Allhallows. 
 
 He assisted Dr. Owen Pughe in publishing Dafydd ab 
 Gwilym's poems, which he says in his introduction were 
 copied from the manuscripts of Lewis, Richard, and 
 William Morris, and he bore the expenses of publication. 
 
 He was also one of the editors of the Myvyrian Ar- 
 chaiology, as the title of that work indicates. He bore the 
 entire expense of this enterprise, and was the chief pro- 
 moter of the quarterly publication called Y Greal, the first 
 number of which appeared in June, 1805. 
 
 Renan, in his article on 'The Poetry of the Celtic 
 Races,' has paid Owen Jones the following graceful and 
 well-deserved tribute : ' Good works now exist which 
 facilitate the task of him who undertakes the study of 
 these interesting literatures. Wales, above all, is distin- 
 guished by scientific and literary activity, not always 
 accompanied, it is true, by a very rigorous critical spirit, 
 but deserving the highest praise. There, researches which 
 would bring honour to the most active centres of learning 
 in Europe, are the work of enthusiastic amateurs. A 
 peasant called Owen Jones published in 1801-7, under the 
 name of the Myvyrian Archaiology of IVa/es, the precious 
 collection which is to this day the arsenal of Cymric 
 antiquities.' 
 
 Edward Williams (i 746-1 S26), /0/0 Morgannwg, who 
 was one of the three editors of the Myvyrian, was born at 
 
EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY PROSE WRITERS 209 
 
 Llancarvan, in Glamorganshire, in 1747. He received no 
 early education, and was brought up as a stone-mason 
 with his father. In 1770 he went to London, and became 
 acquainted with Owen Jones and Dr. Owen Pughe through 
 the medium of the Gwyneddigion Society. An intimacy 
 sprang up between them, and Williams during the seven 
 years he spent in London, became interested in the same 
 pursuits as his two friends. He returned to South Wales 
 in 1777, and devoted himself to transcribing manuscripts 
 in all the libraries of Wales to which he could obtain 
 access. He was also one of the chief promoters of the 
 Eisteddfod thaX viSiS held at Carmarthen in 1819, and was 
 himself a bard of some attainments. 
 
 In 1772 he had published Dagrau yr Awen, an elegy 
 upon the bard Lewis Hopkin, and in 1793 an English 
 translation in verse of one of Dafydd ab Gwilym's odes to 
 Morfudd, which he entitled The Fair PUgritn. In 1794, 
 two volumes of English poetry entitled Poems, Lyric and 
 Pastoral, issued from his pen. 
 
 In 181 2 \ìQy^\x\>\\i\\Q.à. Salman yr Egkvys ynyr Aniahuch, 
 which went through a second edition in 1827 issued by his 
 son Taliesin. 
 
 The greatest service he rendered to his country was his 
 share in the work of collecting and editing the materials 
 for the Myiyrian Archaiology. This he was enabled to do 
 through the liberality of Owen Jones who furnished the 
 entire funds for this big undertaking. 
 
 He left several INISS. unpublished at the time of his 
 death in 1826. His edition of Cyfrinach Beirdd Ynys 
 Prydain was published by his son Taliesin in 1829. 
 Other material which he had meant to issue as an 
 Appendix to the Myvyrian was published by the Welsh 
 MSS. Society, under the title The lolo Ma?iuscriŷts, in 
 
 o 
 
2IO A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 1848. It was from his manuscript collections that Ab Ithel 
 found the materials for his Barddas. 
 
 lolo Morganwg died in 1826, and must be admitted one 
 of the most industrious of those 'enthusiastic amateurs' 
 whom Renan refers to. Much of his work lacks 
 accuracy, and some of his pretensions relating to the 
 bardic fraternity will not bear scrutiny. The marvel is, 
 that with his slender educational advantages, his mistakes 
 were not more numerous. He lacked the critical faculty, 
 but his unremitting labours have suppHed his countrymen 
 with plenty of material upon which to exercise it. 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 THE BARDS OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 
 
 Goronwy Owen. — This famous Welsh poet was born in 
 
 1722 in a small cottage called Y Dafarn Goch, in the 
 
 parish of Llanfair Mathafarn Eithaf, in the county of 
 
 Anglesey. He was baptized on January i, 1723. His 
 
 father, Owen Goronwy or Gronow, a tinker by trade, 
 
 was a drunken, worthless fellow, and it was to his mother 
 
 Sian Parri, an uncultured but high-souled woman of that 
 
 type which has been the very salt of this country, that 
 
 the boy looked for encouragement in that pursuit of 
 
 knowledge which was to him from his very earliest years 
 
 a burning passion. It is thought that his education 
 
 began at the small village school at Llanallgo, about 
 
 two miles from his home. His industry and intelligence 
 
 attracted the attention of a well-known local family, the 
 
 Morrises of Pentre Eirianell. Margaret Morris and her 
 
 three sons, Lewis, Richard, and William, assisted the poor 
 
 lad generously, and he certainly needed all the help he 
 
 could get at this time, for in 1733, when he was only eleven 
 
 years old, his brave-hearted mother died, and he was left 
 
 to the tender mercies of his dissolute father, who married 
 
 again, and the boy suffered such discomforts that he had 
 
 perforce to leave home. For the next four years little is 
 
 known of him, but having spent some time at Botwnnog 
 
 School, in 1737 he entered Friars' School, Bangor, where 
 
 211 
 
2 12 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 he remained until 1741, prosecuting his studies with all 
 diligence, as his future career shows. His ambition was 
 to go to Oxford, and to return as an ordained clergyman 
 to the land that gave him birth ; but for one year, owing 
 to lack of funds, he accepted a post as usher in a school at 
 Pwllheli. In 1742, however, he succeeded in an application 
 he had made for the Dr. Lewis Charity, which was designed 
 to assist poor boys in their education, and was admitted in 
 that year to Jesus College, Oxford, where he took his degree 
 in 1745, and was ordained in the same year. Then began 
 his career of disappointment. He desired a sphere of 
 work in Anglesey, and was very gratified to hear of a 
 vacant curacy at his old home parish. He applied for it, 
 and was offered it by the Bishop of Bangor's chaplain, in 
 the absence of his lordship, but he only spent three short 
 weeks there, for Bishop Hutton wrote to his chaplain 
 directing him to give the curacy to the Rev. John Ellis of 
 Carnarvon, 'a young clergyman of very great fortune.' It 
 was a cruel blow to Goronwy, and after spending a year 
 with some friends in Denbighshire, in the vain hope that 
 some work could be found for him in Wales, he was forced 
 to cross the border ; his only subsequent visit to this 
 country was when he came to St. Asaph to receive priest's 
 orders in 1747. 
 
 He found a curacy at Oswestry, where he remained for 
 about three years, and there in 1747 he married Elen, the 
 daughter of Owen Hughes, an alderman of that town. 
 
 In 1748 he left Oswestry and accepted the curacy of 
 Uppington near Shrewsbury, where he added to his very 
 slender income by teaching in a school at Donnington. 
 His vicar at this place, who was named Douglas, afterwards 
 became Bishop of Carlisle, and was subsequently translated 
 to Salisbury. 
 
BARDS OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 213 
 
 He employed his leisure at Donnington in studying 
 Oriental languages, and it was while serving this curacy 
 that he wrote his famous poem, Cywydd y Farn Fawr. 
 
 In 1753, through the efforts of William Morris, he ob- 
 tained the curacy of Walton, near Liverpool, which was a 
 little more remunerative, and Goronwy had now a growing 
 family. 
 
 He wrote very little poetry during his stay here, for 
 reasons which are given elsewhere, but his pen was not 
 altogether idle, for most of his thoughtful and instructive 
 letters were written here. 
 
 He Uked the place so little that he removed to London 
 in 1755, in the rather uncertain, and, as it transpired, un- 
 founded hope of obtaining from the Cymmrodorion the 
 chaplaincy of the Welsh church there. In consequence 
 he remained idle for some months, and went through the 
 unfortunate experience of living in a London garret, and 
 he would have fared even worse had not the Morrises coir.e 
 to his rescue. He seems to have produced no work during 
 that period, except Cytvydd y Nenawr, in which he tries not 
 to complain of his garret overmuch, but consoles himself 
 that it shelters him from the evils of the city. Its opening 
 lines are, however, very ironical : 
 
 Croesaw i'm diginiaw gell, 
 Gras Dofydd ! gorau 'sdafell ; 
 Golygle a gwawl eglur, 
 Derchafiad Offeiriad ffur. 
 
 Fortunately, he succeeded before the year was out in 
 obtaining the curacy of Northolt, about twelve miles from 
 London, where he managed to live in comparative comfort, 
 and his favourite relaxation was to fish in the river Brent. 
 It is thought, however, that its proximity to London, 
 
214 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 where he met many friends from time to time, had a de- 
 moralising effect upon him, and that he gave way to drink 
 at this time. It is certain that the friendship of Lewis 
 Morris cooled towards him, and seeing that his chances of 
 preferment were small, he thought it wise to accept an 
 offer of a post as tutor at Williamsburg, Virginia, at a 
 stipend of ;i^2oo a year. 
 
 He sailed in December 1757, in a ship called the Trials 
 surely a significant name, for on the passage out he lost his 
 wife and his youngest son. 
 
 At Williamsburg he married the sister of the Principal 
 of the College, but she died in less than a year. 
 
 From this point, the story of his life becomes rather 
 obscure, but in 1760 he resigned his tutorship in the 
 school and was appointed Rector of St. Andrews, Bruns- 
 wick County. He remained there until his death in 
 1769. 
 
 It was not until 1763 that any of his works were pub- 
 lished. In that year appeared a book entitled Diddamvch 
 Teuhiaidd, which contained some of his poems, together 
 with others by Anglesey bards who were members of the 
 Cymmrodorion. 
 
 In 1 810, Dafydd Ddu Eryri published some of his 
 poems in Corff y Gainc. 
 
 In 1817, more of his poems appeared in Diddanwch 
 Teuluaidd, published at Carnarvon. 
 
 In i860, a collection of his poems and letters made by 
 J. Jones of Llanrwst appeared under the title Gronoviana. 
 
 In 1876, the Rev. Robert Jones of Rotherhithe published 
 
 an excellent edition of his works, entitled The Poetical 
 
 Works of Goronwy Owefi, with his Life and Correspondence. 
 
 In 1877, Mr. Isaac Foulkes of Liverpool published 
 Barddoniaeth Goronwy Oiven, and in 1S95 an edition of 
 
BARDS OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 215 
 
 his Letters. These have since gone through many 
 editions. 
 
 The late Dr. Lewis Edwards said that to praise Goronwy 
 Owen's work was as superfluous as to paint the lily. No 
 poet more tasteful, classical, and lofty in conception has 
 appeared in Welsh literature. He wrote prose also with 
 equal taste, and about all his work is the finish of the 
 skilled artist and the accomplished scholar. The richness 
 and variety of his vocabulary, and his delicate handling of 
 words, are quite unique. He deals, too, with a variety of 
 subjects with equal success. 
 
 His love-poems, of which Calendr y Carwr is a fair 
 example, compare favourably with the best of those written 
 by Dafydd ab Gwilym. The power of a maiden's smile 
 and the beauty of her face always appealed to him, and he 
 could describe them with a felicity unsurpassed by any 
 other Welsh bard. He sang to his Mari fwyn : 
 
 Wyf glwyfus nid a gleifwaith. 
 Gwnaeth meinwen a gwên y gwaith. 
 
 Teg yw dy wen, gangen gu, 
 Wyneb rhy deg i wenu. 
 
 When he turned his attention to a serious subject he 
 attained a sublimity and dignity of expression seldom 
 equalled. Cywydd y Farti Fawr is the best example of 
 this, and it is generally admitted that it is the finest poem 
 he ever penned. So vast a subject required all the strength 
 of portraiture which a great artist could summon to his aid. 
 He well understood the greatness of the undertaking, as he 
 indicates in the opening lines : 
 
2i6 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 Dod ym dy nawdd, a hawdd hynt, 
 Duw hael, a deau helynt ; 
 Goddau farmerth, o'm nerthyd, 
 Yw Dydd Barn a diwedd byd. 
 
 One writer has suggested that he has not worked out the 
 personal element to advantage in this poem, but in spite 
 of this he has given an inspiring picture of the majesty of 
 the Judge, and the expectancy and awe of the judged. 
 The coming of the Judge is thus described : 
 
 Yno'r Glyw, Ner y gloywnef, 
 A ferchyg yn eurfyg nef ! 
 Dyrcha'n uchel ei helynt, 
 A gwân adenydd y gwynt ; 
 A'i angylion gwynion, gant, 
 Miloedd yn eilio moliant. 
 Rhoir gawr nerthol, a dolef, 
 Mai clych, yn entrych y nef; 
 Lief mawr goruwch llif môr-ryd, 
 Uwch dyfroedd aberoedd byd. 
 Gosteg a roir, ac Ust ! draw 
 Dwrf rhaiadr, darfu rhuaw ; 
 Angel a gân, hoywlan lef, 
 Felyslais, nefawl oslef ; 
 Wrth ei fant, groywber gantawr, 
 Gesyd ei gorn, mingorn mawr ; 
 Corn anfeidrol ei ddolef, 
 Corn ffraeth o saerniaeth nef 
 
 The versification of Cywydd y Farn was criticised 
 because it contained more hnes in cynghanedd lusg and 
 sain than any other, Goronwy defended himself against 
 this in a letter to Richard Morris in 1753, in which he 
 says : ' I am not able to comprehend how that conies to 
 be a fault. Had any one taken it into his head to carry 
 on such a piece of criticism on one of his eclogues in 
 
BARDS OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 217 
 
 Pope's day, he would have had an honourable place in the 
 DuHciad for it.' At the same time he accepts the criticism 
 with all modesty, and adds : ' I had no other guide but 
 uncultivated nature, no critic but my own ear, no rule or 
 scale but my own fingers' ends, until you, out of mere 
 pity, were pleased to give me some useful hints.' 
 
 His strong love of country and yearning for his native 
 land are expressed in Cytvydd Ateb i anerch Huiv ap Hinv, 
 and in his Cywydd Hiraeth am Fan. In both of them he 
 breathes a spirit of longing for his island home, something 
 akin to that of the captive Jews who wept by the waters 
 of Babylon, as he reminds us. After describing the grief 
 of the exiled Israelite, he compares it with his own in 
 these powerful and pathetic lines : 
 
 Llyna ddiwael Israeliad ! 
 Anwyl oedd i hwn ei wlad ; 
 Daear Mon, dir i minnau 
 Yw, o chaf fifun i'w choffau. 
 Mawr fy nghwynfan am dani ; 
 Mai Seion yw Mon i mi ; 
 O f einioes ni chaf fwyniant 
 Heb Fôn, er na thôn na thant ; 
 Nid oes trysor a ddorwn, 
 Na byd da'n y bywyd hwn, 
 Na dail Ihvyn, na dillynion, 
 Na byw hwy, onibai hon. 
 
 He describes his quest for happiness in a very fine cywydd 
 entitled Y ATaen Gwerthfawr^ and confesses that he has 
 found it only in Efe?igyl Duzv. He had searched far and 
 wide, as he says : 
 
 Chwilio yman am dani, 
 Chwilio hwnt heb ei chael hi. 
 
2i8 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 Pond tlawd y ddihirffawd hon, 
 Chwilio gem, a chad gwmon. 
 
 But when he has found it, he exclaims with heartfelt 
 satisfaction : 
 
 Dyma gysur pur heb ball, 
 Goruwch a ddygai arall. 
 
 At times he was capable of writing in a strain of mockery 
 and satire of such excessive bitterness, that it has a 
 tendency to enlist our sympathy with the person who 
 comes under his stinging lash. An ode of this nature is 
 his Cyivydd i Ddiawl^ which some have surmised was 
 directed against Lewis Morris when the bard quarrelled 
 with him. If this poem can be taken as an index to his 
 character, it marks him as a man as strong to hate as he 
 was to love. He overwhelms his enemy with opprobrium, 
 and paints him in such dark hues that he advises Satan 
 himself to have nothing to do with him. 
 
 If Goronwy sank into the degradation which Lewis 
 Morris hints at, it must have been the result of despair, for 
 apparently he had at one time a high conception of his 
 work and responsibility. He writes ; 
 
 Deg Ion, OS gweinidog wyf, 
 
 Digwl y gweinidogwyf ; 
 
 Os mawredd yw coledd call, 
 
 Bagad gofalon bugail ; 
 
 Ateb a fydd rhywddydd rhaid 
 
 I'r Ion am lawer enaid. 
 
 I atebol nid diboen, 
 
 Od oes ' Barch,' dwys y w y boen. 
 
 There is every reason to believe that in Goronwy's case 
 ' hope deferred ' had made ' the heart sick.' There is an air 
 
BARDS OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 219 
 
 of dejection apparent in many of his lines when he writes 
 of his country : 
 
 Cerais fy ngwlad geinfad gu, 
 Cerais, ond ofer caru. 
 
 Few passages are more striking than that in which, in the 
 intensity of his longing, he calls upon the waves to be 
 silent that Môn may hear his last words : 
 
 Gorthaw don, dig wrthyd wyf, 
 Llifiant, distewch tra llefwyf : 
 Clyw Fôn, na bo goelion gau. 
 Nag anwir, fyth o'm genau ; 
 Gwiried Ion a egorwyf, 
 Dan Ner, canys Dewin wyf. 
 
 He then proceeds to address his country in tender words 
 of farewell. He sees her, indeed, to use the words of the 
 old Hebrew seer, ' on a throne high and lifted up ' : 
 
 Eistedd ar orsedd eursail 
 Yr wyd, ac ni \velir ail. 
 
 He describes the beauty of the ' queenly isle ' and all her 
 riches, in lines so full of intensity of feeling that they show 
 that had he employed his muse on something other than 
 the abstractions which he compelled himself to adhere to, 
 he might have risen to heights which would leave him in 
 undisputed supremacy amongst Welsh poets. As it is, the 
 premier position is disputed by Dafydd ab Gwilym. 
 
 Goronwy was not the poet of his age, and he was cer- 
 tainly not appreciated in his lifetime. This was due to the 
 fact that he was a reformer in the realms of poetry. He 
 wished to return to the severer metres and diction of the 
 old bards, because he conceived that the penillioti telyn, 
 which was the form of poetry popular with his countrymen 
 
220 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 in his day, were degrading to any true conception of the 
 poet's art. Therefore it was that he refused to pander to it 
 in the least degree. The Elisha Gowpers he regarded with 
 the utmost contempt, and he belaboured the beirdd bol 
 clawdd, as he termed them, without mercy. He has them 
 in mind when he exclaims : 
 
 Gwae ddiles gywyddoliaeth, 
 Gwae fydd o'i awenydd waeth. 
 
 One often wonders whether this was the secret of his mis- 
 understanding with Lewis Morris. He never meant any of 
 his shafts to penetrate the bosom of his life-long friend and 
 helper, and he professed an admiration for his poetry, but 
 Morris himself was of the fraternity of the diles gywydd- 
 oliaeth, although superior to the majority of them when he 
 chose to write chaste verse, and Goronwy never reckoned 
 him amongst them. But if he was at all sensitive, he could 
 not be oblivious to the blows directed at the school of 
 poetry he represented. 
 
 Goronwy purposely used words which were not in 
 popular use, in order to educate the people to them, and 
 to preserve that purity of vocabulary which seemed to him 
 to be threatened by the loose terms which were so current 
 at the time, and by the large admixture of English, whose 
 encroachments on the language he was determined to 
 resist. In such a work as the Bardd Cwsc he recognised 
 the ideal to be aimed at in point of language, and the 
 influence of that work upon his own writings is quite 
 evident. In the realm of poetry, he was what Elis Wyn 
 had been amongst prose writers. His own prose, too, was 
 robust. 
 
 In a letter to Richard Morris, written in 1753, he gave 
 expression to the object he had in writing : ' I conceive 
 
BARDS OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 221 
 
 some hopes of the possibihty of retrieving tlie ancicfit 
 splendour of our language} ... by laying open its worth 
 and beauty to strangers, and publishing something in it 
 that is curious and will bear perusing in succeeding 
 ages.' 
 
 And to William Morris in the same year he wrote : ' I 
 am under no manner of concern about my works. It is 
 equal to me whether they are printed, or continue as I have 
 written them for eighty or a hundred years longer. Let 
 them take their chance, and shift for themselves, and share 
 the common fate of all sublunary things. If I have not a 
 better immortality than they can procure me, I had even 
 as good have none. Yet they, amongst others, may help to 
 preserve our language to posterity ^ ; and so far, and no 
 further, a wise man and a lover of his country ought to 
 regard them.' 
 
 His indignation against those who adulterated the 
 language knew no bounds, and Dafydd ab Gwilym himself 
 does not escape scathing criticism, but not so much as 
 those well-intentioned but ill-advised people who attempted 
 to improve that great bard's work. 
 
 Goronwy writes : ' I wish people were once so far in 
 their right minds as to think they could not mend Dafydd 
 ap Gwilym's works ; then they would certainly never mar 
 them. Dafydd ab Gwilym, it is true, had his foibles, as 
 well as other mortals. He was extravagantly fond of 
 filching an English word now and then, and inserting 
 them in his works, which makes me wonder what should 
 induce the judicious Dr. Davies to pitch upon him as the 
 standard of pure Welsh. Whereas he, of all others of that 
 age, seems least deserving of the honour. I know that 
 that babbler, Theophilus Evans, author of Drych y Prif 
 ^ The italics are not the bard's. 
 
222 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 Oesoedd, pretends to say that " Davy " understood never a 
 word of English ; but the way he goes about to prove his 
 bare-faced assertion is a sufficient confutation of it, and 
 enough to make the bold assertor ridiculous to boot. 
 How many English words are there to be met with, in 
 those fragments of his only, that are quoted by Dr. 
 Davies ? Mivtlai is one of them ; and what is that else 
 but the English word " mottley " ? Is lifrai a pure Welsh 
 word ? And what can you make of habrisiwn, men, and 
 threbl, and a great many more ? ' 
 
 Sufficient has been quoted to show Goronwy's attitude 
 towards his language. He aimed at nothing less than 
 absolute purity, and in this light his own severity of diction 
 can be understood. This was a noble ideal, but it was 
 too restrictive, and not always practical, as Dafydd ab 
 Gwilym had had the penetration to discern. 
 
 It is also interesting to know the criticism of so great 
 an authority as Goronwy Owen, upon the metres and 
 cynghaftedd. Writing to Richard Morris in 1754, he 
 says : ' I find that all the metres, despised and antiquated 
 as they are, were really what all compositions of that 
 nature should be — viz. lyric verses adapted to the tunes 
 and music then in use. Of this sort were the several 
 kinds of Englynion, Cyivyddau, Odiau, Givmvdodytiy 
 Toddaid, Trybedd y Myneich, and Clogyrnac/i, which to any 
 one person of understanding and genius that way inclined, 
 will appear to have in their composition the authentic 
 stamp of genuine lyric poetry, and of true primitive 
 antiquity. As to the rest — I mean Gorchest y Beirdd, 
 Hupynt hir a byr — the newest, and falsely thought the 
 most ingenious and accurate — I look upon them to be 
 rather depravations than improvements in our poetry ; 
 being really invented by a set of conceited fellows void of 
 
BARDS OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 223 
 
 all taste, and at a time when the tunes of the ancient 
 metres were no more known than those of the odes 
 of Horace are now. What a wretched, low, grovelling 
 thing that Gorchest y Beirdd is, I leave you to judge. 
 And I would, at the same time, have an impartial answer, 
 whether the old despised, exterminated, and, I had almost 
 said, persecuted Englyn Milwr, has not something in it of 
 antique majesty in its composition. Now, for goodness' 
 sake, when I have a mind to write good sense in such a 
 metre as Gorchest y Beirdd, and so begin, and the language 
 itself does not afford words that will come in to finish with 
 sense and cytighanedd too, what must I do ? Why, to keep 
 cynghanedd I must talk nonsense to the end of the metre ; 
 as my predecessors in poetry were used to do to their 
 immortal shame, and cramp and fetter good sense, while 
 the Dictionary is all overturned and tormented to find out 
 words of like ending, sense or nonsense. And besides, 
 suppose our language were more short, comprehensive, and 
 significant than it is — which we have neither reason nor 
 room to wish — what abundance of mysterious sense is such 
 a horrid, jingling metre of such a length able to contain ? 
 an Iliad in a nutshell, as they say. In short, as I under- 
 stand that it and its fellows were introduced by the 
 authority of an Eisteddfod, I wish we had an Eisteddfod 
 again to give them a dimittimus to some peaceable acrostic 
 land, to sport and converse with the spirit of deceased 
 puns, quibbles, and conundrums of pious memory. Then 
 should I gladly see the true primitive metres reinstated in 
 their ancient dignity.' 
 
 Those were his views upon versification, but he claimed 
 no monopoly of wisdom in giving expression to them, and 
 wished in this, as in other things, to leave every man to 
 his own taste. In a passage in which he has declared his 
 
2 24 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 opinion that Gwalchmai far excelled Dafydd ab Gwilym, 
 he hastens to add : ' I claim no sovereignty over any man's 
 judgment, but would be glad to have the liberty of judg- 
 ing for myself.' 
 
 So far, the quotations from his very interesting letters 
 have i^een in English, but an .example or two must be 
 given of his vigorous Welsh prose. Writing to William 
 Morris to apologise for not having composed a cy-wydd to 
 Gvvyl Dewi in 1754, he expresses himself thus: ' Och fi ! 
 Wrth son am yr Awen, y mae hithau wedi marw hefyd ; 
 neu o'r Ueiaf, ar ei marw-ysgafn ; ac ni bydd byw 'chwaith 
 yn hir. Hi a'm cywilyddiodd dros fyth, gan fethu ohoni 
 wneuthur cywydd nag awdl i'r Tywysog wyl Dewi diweddaf. 
 Ond paham imi feio ar yr Awen ? Oerfel yr hin, a noethni'r 
 wlad oerllom yma, oedd ar y bai. Dyna'r pethau a fagasant 
 y peswch, a'r peswch oedd mam y pigyn, a'r ddau hynny 
 rhyngddynt a'm lladdasant yn ddifeth, oni bai borth Duw 
 a chyfifyriau meddygon.' 
 
 This letter is interesting too, because of the light it throws 
 on the bard's life at Walton. He was evidently quite out 
 of harmony with his surroundings, and in bad health at 
 the time. To add to his sorrows, it was here a few 
 months later that he lost his only daughter, whom he 
 laments in that beautiful Alarwnad Unig Ferch y Bardd^ 
 from which the following lines are taken : 
 
 Mae cystudd rhy brudd i'm bron— hyd f wyneb 
 Rhed afonydd heilltion ; 
 Collais Elin, liw hinon, 
 Fy ngeneth oleubleth Ion. 
 
 Anwylyd, oleubryd Ian, 
 Angyles, gynncs ei gwcn, 
 Oedd euiiaith mabiaith o'i min, 
 Eneth liw ser (ni thai son) 
 
BARDS OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 225 
 
 Oedd fwyn llais, addfain ei llun, 
 
 Afieithus groesawus sẃn 
 
 Iw Thad ; ys ymddifad Ddyn ! 
 
 Ymddifad ei Thad, a thwnn 
 Archoll yn ei friwdoll fronn, 
 Ynghur digysur, da gwnn, 
 Yn gaeth o'm hiraeth am honn. 
 
 There is little wonder that a bard who could write such 
 refined verse as Goronwy Owen was fired with indignation 
 against that school of poetasters which had the ear of the 
 public in his day. Half in anger, and half in humorous 
 contempt, he wrote about two such rhymers in 1755 the 
 following letter to William Morris : 'Tan a'm twymo onid 
 digrif o gorifyn yw Elisha Gowper. Mae'n sicr gennyf ped 
 fuasai'r hychrug arnaf, yn lle'r cryd poeth, na buasai raid 
 im wrth amgen meddyginiaeth nag englynion Elis. Dyn 
 glew iawn yw Dafydd Sion Dafydd o Drefriw, ond ei fed 
 yn brin o wybodaeth. Mi welaf nas gwn amcan daear pa 
 beth yw toddaid, oblegid ei fod yn galw y gadwyn hanerog 
 yn ei englynion yn doddaid.' 
 
 Posterity, to the judgment of which Goronwy was 
 content to leave his works, has certainly begun to appreciate 
 them. If anything were wanting to prove his acumen, 
 we have it in the length of time he mentioned, eighty to 
 a hundred years, for which he was content to remain in 
 oblivion. It shows, too, that he knew and trusted the 
 ultimate literary verdict of his countrymen. He under- 
 stood their aspirations better than they did themselves at 
 the time, and subsequent ages have given him the reward 
 which his faith has deserved — a reward which, no doubt, 
 future generations will continue to increase. But Wales 
 must needs always sigh for the treatment her great son 
 received, not indeed at her hands, but at the hands of 
 
 p 
 
226 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 those to whom was committed the destiny of this unfor- 
 tunate man, who, had he been indulged in his own wish 
 to Uve upon her soil and breathe his native air, might have 
 done infinitely more for her enlightenment and advance- 
 ment, and laid her under a deeper debt of obligation to 
 him, than that which she owes him already, great as it is. 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 THE BARDS OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 
 
 II 
 
 Lewis Morris (i 700-1 779) (Llewelyn Ddu o Fôn) did 
 a greater service to Welsh literature by assisting men like 
 Goronwy Owen and leuan Brydydd Hir, and giving their 
 fine talents an opportunity to develop, than by any contribu- 
 tions directly his own. He was the son of Morys ab Rhisiart 
 Morys, by his wife Margaret, the daughter of Morys Owen 
 of Bodafon y Glyn, Llanfihangel Tre'r Beirdd, Anglesey ; 
 their other two sons being Richard and William Morris, 
 ' tri mab o ddoniau tra-mawr,' as Goronwy Owen called 
 them. He was born in 1700, and therefore was twenty- 
 two years senior to that bard. There is no record of his 
 having received a careful education, but the fact that he 
 and his brother Richard, Avho was chief clerk in the Navy 
 Office, were such ardent supporters of literature, shows 
 that a taste for it had been cultivated somewhere. Richard 
 Morris was president of the Cymmrodoriofi Society, 
 and supervised at least two editions of the Welsh 
 Bible. He died in London in 1779, and was buried at 
 St. George in the East. William Morris was an officer of 
 Customs at Holyhead. He transcribed much of the work 
 of the old bards, and was a great student of botany and 
 natural philosophy. He died in 1766, and was buried, it 
 is thought, at St. Cybi's, Holyhead. 
 
 227 
 
2 28 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 Lewis Morris after following his father's trade for some 
 time, gave it up and turned to land-surveying. In 1737 
 he was appointed by the Admiralty to survey the harbours 
 and coasts of Wales, and as a result a work of his was 
 published in 1748, under the úúo. Plans of Harbours, Bars, 
 Bays, and Roads in St. George's Channel. 
 
 In 1735 ^6 s<^t up t^'6 first printing-press in North Wales, 
 at Holyhead. He meant to issue in parts Tlysau yr Hefi 
 Oesoedd, but only one number appeared and the experi- 
 ment failed through lack of support. In 1751 there was 
 issued by him A Short History of the Croivn Manor of 
 Creuthyn, in the County of Cardigan. Another book 
 entitled Rhodd Meistr Vw Brentis, by Lewis Morris, was 
 published in 1751. It contained instructions in the arts 
 of japanning, husbandry, dyeing, and joinery, as well as 
 medical advice for the treatment of animals and man. 
 
 Lewis Morris spent most of his leisure in the compila- 
 tion of numerous manuscripts which remain in the British 
 Museum as monuments of his industry. That which he 
 entitled Celtic Remains, which was published by Silvan 
 Evans in 1878, is considered one of the most important. 
 
 It would have enhanced the reputation of Lewis Morris 
 if he had restricted himself to prose, for his poems were 
 very inferior, although Goronwy Owen and leuan Brydydd 
 Hir acknowledged him as their bardic teacher. The former 
 wrote on one occasion, ' Llywelyn Ddu o Fôn yw pen bardd 
 Cymru oil.' When he did so, he must have had in mind 
 the capacity of the man whom he knew so well, and not 
 the trashy, immoral productions which most of his poems 
 are. 
 
 Forty-six of them w-ere published in the Diddan-ivch 
 Taduaidd in 1763 by Hugh Jones of Llangwm. 
 
 His best poem is considered to be Caniad y Gog i 
 
BARDS OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 229 
 
 Feirionydd, but it is of no particular merit. It is with the 
 matter of his poems rather than their form that fault must 
 be found. His mastery of the language, and of the laws 
 of cyjighanedd, showed considerable talent. Would that 
 they had been employed on loftier themes ! 
 
 Richard Morris composed but little poetry, except the 
 rather lengthy cywydd on the death of Queen Caroline. 
 He published two editions of the Bible, 1746 and 1752, 
 and a second edition of a Welsh-English Dictionary 
 entitled Y Gyniraeg yn ei Disgkirdeb, by Thomas Jones. 
 It had first appeared in 1688, and was corrected and 
 enlarged by Richard Morris. In 1770 he published a very 
 fine volume of Y Llyfr Gweddi Gyffredin^ which sold for 
 two guineas. There are in the British Museum many 
 manuscripts of Welsh poems which were transcribed by 
 him. He died in 1779. 
 
 William Williams of Pantycelyn (1717-1791) was 
 a Carmarthenshire man, and was born near Pantycelyn, 
 Llanfair-ar-y-bryn in that county, in 1 7 1 7. He was intended 
 for the medical profession, but the influence of Howell 
 Harris's preaching decided him in favour of the Church, 
 In 1740 he was ordained by Bishop Clagett of St. David's, 
 and licensed to the curacy of Llanwrtyd and Abergwesyn. 
 He resigned it, however, in 1743, having been refused 
 ordination as a priest, and joined Howell Harris and 
 Daniel Rowland in their movement. 
 
 He is best known in Welsh literature as a great hymno- 
 logist, but was also a translator of many religious works, 
 and the writer of numerous elegies. Charles Ashton gives 
 a list of no less than seventy-four books, pamphlets, and 
 marwfiadmi for which he was responsible. The popularity 
 of most of his works is shown by the numerous editions of 
 them issued. 
 
230 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 The Rev. Kilsby Jones brought out in 1867 Holl 
 
 Weithimi Prydyddawl a Rhyddieithol WiUiatns Pantycelyn, 
 
 and Dr. Cynhafal Jones issued his works in two volumes 
 
 entitled Gzveit/iiau JViV/idfns Paniyce/yn, the ürst in 1887, 
 
 and the second in 1891. 
 
 In most of his prose writings he adopts the conversa- 
 tional method, as better calculated to chain the attention 
 of his readers. He is a facile writer, and his arguments 
 are generally strong and persuasive. His prose effort 
 which shows most research and a careful and powerful 
 judgment is that entitled Pantheologia. 
 
 His longest poetical compositions are those called Golwg 
 ar Deyrnas Crist and Bywyd a Ma7-ivolaeth Theo7nemphus. 
 The first is in six parts, but the unity of the whole is per- 
 fect, and some stanzas fall little short of poetic excellence. 
 The whole pryddest is written in the same metre, but it is 
 relieved from monotony by the lofty and sometimes daring 
 conceptions of the author. Nevertheless, he treats his 
 great subject with the utmost reverence, and there are 
 passages in it which kindle the religious emotions as 
 nothing else in the language can. Gwilym Hiraethog, 
 who was not afraid to compare this poem with Paradise 
 Lost, although he acknowledges the incomparable excel- 
 lence of the latter in many respects, points out Williams's 
 power in this direction. He writes : ' Par athrylith Milton 
 i ni ymgrymu yn wylaidd ger ei bron, . . . Williams a 
 gyffyrdda â holl dannau eich ymysgaroedd — gyr eich calon 
 i losgi ynoch yn ddiarwybod i chwi.' 
 
 Bywyd a Marwolacth 'Pheomanphus is written in twenty 
 parts, each part containing further sub-divisions. Theo- 
 tnemphus bears a strong resemblance to Bunyan's Christian. 
 An outline of his life before his conversion is given, his 
 conviction of sin by Boanerges, his temptations, his fears, 
 
BARDS OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 231 
 
 his meeting with false teachers, his confirmation in the 
 faith, and his death. The treatment of the subject is 
 somewhat unequal, but some parts are of transcendant 
 merit ; for example, the lines from Evangelius' s sermon : 
 
 O, enw ardderchoccaf yvv enw marwol glwy ! 
 Caniadau archangylion a fydd fath enw mwy ; 
 Bydd yr anfeidrol ddyfais o brynedigaeth dyn, 
 Gan raddau filoedd yno yn cael ei chanu yn un. 
 
 Williams composed thirty-three f/iaru'nadau, many of 
 them upon leading men of the day, with whom he had 
 come into direct contact in the religious revival — Daniel 
 Rowland, Griffith Jones, Howell Harris, and others. 
 
 He composed no less than 857 hymns, many of them 
 translations from the work of the best English hymnologists, 
 but the majority were original. A critical examination of 
 them betrays many faults, but in spite of that he will be 
 acknowledged, to quote Hiraethog's words once more, as 
 ' Peraidd ganiedydd y Cymry . . . haul ffurfafen ein 
 caniadaeth gysegredig.' 
 
 Thomas Edwards (1739-1810) (Twm o'r Nant) was 
 born in 1739 at Penparchell, in the parish of Llannefydd, 
 Denbighshire. His parents shortly afterwards removed to 
 a small farm called Nant, near Nantglyn. He received no 
 educational advantages, and when he was twenty-four he 
 married and took a small farm called Bylche, on which he 
 contrived to keep a few horses which he employed in carry- 
 ing timber ; but the venture proved unsuccessful, and he 
 was then compelled to earn a living by labouring on different 
 farms, or by playing interludes up and down the country, 
 which he himself had composed. He gave this up before 
 the end of his life and settled down as a stone-mason in 
 the neighbourhood of Denbigh, where he died in 1810. 
 
232 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 Owing to his ability as a writer of interludes, some have 
 had the temerity to call him 'the Welsh Shakspeare,' but 
 although he delineates some characters with much success, 
 it is needless to assert that the comparison is ridiculous. 
 
 Charles Ashton arranged a list of his productions under 
 thirty-three items, consisting of carols, ballads, dialogues, 
 cyivyddau, englynion., and numerous cerddi. 
 
 A selection of his works was issued by Isaac Foulkes in 
 1861, and enlarged editions in 1874 and 1890. In the 
 two latter, seven interludes are included, of which Pedair 
 Colofn Gwladturiaeth is considered the best, although the 
 others are not lacking in many touches of genius in por- 
 traying different Welsh characters. Like many bards of 
 his period he, unfortunately, often exceeds the bounds of 
 propriety, but when this worthless stuff is winnowed from 
 his writings, he must be acknowledged a bard of great skill. 
 He will not compare with Goronwy Owen in the mesurati 
 caeiJiiofi, nor with Huw Morus and Edward Morus as a 
 writer of carols. His reputation mainly rests upon his 
 interludes, in which he always got the ear of the people 
 whose cause he championed against the evils of the day. 
 
 He took part in many of the Eisteddfodau of the period, 
 and sometimes refused to acknowledge the decision of the 
 adjudicators. This was notably the case at Corwen in 
 1789, when Gwallter Mechain was adjudged the prize for 
 the best extempore engiyn. In the same year at Bala, Twm 
 o'r Nant was again unsuccessful, in the competition for the 
 Chair, and Gwallter was awarded the prize. 
 
 At the request of the Society of Cymreigrddioti., the bard 
 wrote the story of his life, which was published by them. 
 
 Many of his poems contain personal reminiscences; for 
 instance, he relates in one a merciful escape he had when 
 travelling with his waggon which contained a hundred and 
 
BARDS OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 233 
 
 twenty feet of timber, when the chain of the wheel attached 
 to the drag broke as they were descending a hill. The 
 waggon passed over his left leg and right foot 'lie cadd 
 ef Ysictod trwm ac heb dorri un Asgwrn.' Stirring local 
 events are related in others, and in these there is always a 
 strong appeal to the imagination, and sometimes they 
 work upon the credulity and superstition of the peasantry. 
 
 Evan Evans (i73i-i78i)(IeuanBrydyddHir) was born 
 at Cynhawdref in the parish of Lledrod, in Cardiganshire, 
 in 1 731. He was educated at Ystrad Meurig and Merton 
 College, Oxford, and afterwards took Orders, serving in 
 turn the curacies of Tywyn in Merionethshire, Llanberis 
 and Llanllechid in Carnarvonshire, and Llanfair Talhaiarn 
 in Denbighshire. For a few years before his death in 
 1789 he lived on the bounty of Paul Panton, Esq., 
 Plasgwyn, Pentraeth, to whom he promised his MSS. at 
 his death. He acknowledged Lewis Morris as his bardic 
 teacher, and, like Goronwy Owen, was loud in the praises 
 of that bard. 
 
 Three of his poems, entitled respectively Cywydd 
 Hiraeth y Bardd am ei Wlad, Awdl i'r Parchedig Mr. 
 William IVy/me, and Cyivydd Marwnad Frederic Tywysog 
 Cymru, are found in the Dewisol Ganiadau. 
 
 In 1764 he published an important work called De 
 Bardis Dissertatio. The book is in three parts — the first 
 in English, the second in Latin, and the third in Welsh, 
 giving specimens of Welsh poetry in the Middle Ages, 
 which are translated into English in the first part, whilst 
 the second is a Latin treatise on the old bards and their 
 work. 
 
 In 1776 he published Casgliad Bregethatt in two 
 volumes. These were sermons by Doddridge, Watts, 
 Tillotson, and others. 
 
234 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 He had intended publishing many more books and had 
 a vast quantity of material in manuscript, but he com- 
 plained loudly of lack of support. Writing to Owen Jones, 
 in 1779, he says of one nobleman who had promised him 
 support, but had afterwards forgotten him, ' Y mae 
 chwarëyddion, miwsigyddion, a chwareuwyr hud a lledrith 
 yn f\vy ddywenydd ganthaw na gwŷr o ddysg.' 
 
 He had also hoped to publish a Commentary on the 
 Old and New Testaments, but had only got as far as 
 I Kings xiii., and this is contained in three MS. volumes 
 in the British Museum. Paul Panton came into possession 
 of a large number of his MSS. after his death. 
 
 In 1876 Canon Silvan Evans edited Gwaith y Parchedig 
 Evan Evans {leuan Brydydd Hir), which was published 
 by Humphreys, Carnarvon. 
 
 One of his finest compositions is Cywydd Hiraeth y 
 Bardd am ei IViad, in which he breathes his love for his 
 country in memorable lines, amongst which occur the 
 following : 
 
 Gwell yw byw a gallu bod, 
 Dan wybr ein cydnabod ; 
 Na gwag gerdded o'm credir, 
 O nwyf taith i newid tir ; 
 Newid oedd annedwyddach 
 Na bro a oedd yn bur iach, 
 Newidiais ar wan adeg, 
 Wlad iawn Geredigiawn deg ; 
 Lie mae iechyd byd yn byw, 
 Dihoen a gorhoen gwiwryw 
 
INDEX 
 
 Abad Aberconwy, 98. 
 
 Caerlleon, 98. 
 
 Abbot of Valle Crucis, 80, 82, 87, 
 88. 
 
 John, 80, 87. 
 
 of Neath, 80. 
 
 Rhys of Ystrad Tywy, 75. 
 
 Abercyn, 100. 
 Aberffraw, 35. 
 Abermenai, 10. 
 Aber Tanad, 64. 
 Aberystwyth, 52, 61. 
 Aceldama, 205. 
 Act of Uniformity, 166. 
 Admiralty, the, 228. 
 Aeddan, 3. 
 Afallenau, 4, 15. 
 Aled, 98. 
 
 Andria, Terence's, 135. 
 Aneurin, 1-5, 18. 
 
 Owen, 206. 
 
 Anglesey, 35, loi, 102, 128, 211, 
 212. 
 
 Antiquaries, Society of, 206. 
 
 Arderydd, 3. 
 
 Ardudful, 52. 
 
 Argoed Llwyvain, 3. 
 
 Arglwydd Herbert, 81. 
 
 Arthur Wledig, 3, 29, 30, 31. 
 
 Arundel, Lord, 138. 
 
 Ashton, Charles, 229, 232. 
 
 BACHEGRAIG, III. 
 
 Banbury, 91. 
 Bangor, 150, 155, 165. 
 
 Bishop of, 34, 140, 186, 212. 
 
 Ban Kyrch, 9. 
 Barddas, 209. 
 Bardd Cwsc, 187-9. 
 Basingworth, 87. 
 
 Baxter, Richard, 158, 165. 
 Bayly, Dr., 155. 
 Beddgelert, 68, 70. 
 Beirdd bol clawdd, 220. 
 Bellarmine, Cardinal, 144. 
 Bellot, Bishop Hugh, 133. 
 Bevan, Madam, 194. 
 Beveridge, Bishop, 190, 196. 
 Bewpyr, 85, 148. 
 Bishop's Bible, 128, 133. 
 Bisse, Rev. Dr., 199. 
 Blackall, O., 199. 
 Black Prince, the, 64. 
 Bleddyn ap Kyofyn, 7. 
 
 Fardd, 31, 35-6. 
 
 Blodeugerdd, 190. 
 Boccaccio, 58. 
 Book of Sports, The, 158. 
 Borromeo, Cardinal, 141. 
 
 Borrow, 60. 
 
 Bosworth, 91. 
 
 Bran the Blessed, 23. 
 
 Branwen, 29, 30. 
 
 Brasenose College, 137. 
 
 Brecknockshire, 40. 
 
 Breuddwyd Gwalchtnai, 10. 
 
 British Museum, the, 87, 138, 228, 
 229. 
 
 Brittany, 4. 
 
 Broadmead Records, 158. 
 
 Bro Gynin, 52. 
 
 Brut of Caradoc, 88. 
 
 Tyssilio, 27. 
 
 y Saeson, 28. 
 
 Brunswick County, 214, 
 
 Brwynog, loi. 
 
 Bryn Derwyn, 35. 
 
 Brython, Y, 113, 114, 159. 
 
 Builth, 40. 
 
 Bulkeley, Sir Richard, 103, 136. 
 
 235 
 
236 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 Bunyan, John, 155, 196, 204, 230. 
 
 Cabalists, 69, 84. 
 
 Cadell, 28. 
 
 Cadwaladr, 12, 25, 27, 31. 
 
 Casdmon, 60. 
 
 Caer Gai, 108, 109, 153-4, ^S^- 
 
 Caerleon, 7, 30, 31, 90. 
 
 Caerwys, 94, 97, 98, 99, 100, 102-3, 
 
 108-9, 1 10. 114- 
 Cambridge, 118, 133, 166. 
 Ca/nbrian Register, 206. 
 Cambro-Briton, 100, 114, 125. 
 Camden, 150. 
 
 Canwyll y Cymry, 148, 170. 
 Caradoc of Llancarvan, 25, 26, 27, 
 
 139- 
 Carmarthen, 67, 'j-j, 84, 85, 86, 88, 
 
 192, 193. 
 
 Castle, 12. 
 
 Eisteddfod, 97, 209. 
 
 Carnarvon, 35. 
 
 Carnedd Llewelyn, 68. 
 
 Carno, 8, 9. 
 
 Carwr y Cymru, 156. 
 
 Casnodyn, 43. 
 
 Cattraeth, 2. 
 
 Catwg Ddoeth, 5. 
 
 Charles II., 164, 176. 
 
 Cheapside, 40. 
 
 Chester, 90, 134. 
 
 Christ Church, Oxford, 150. 
 
 Circulating Schools, 194. 
 
 Clagett, Bishop, 229. 
 
 Clwch, Sir Richard, no, in, 114. 
 
 Coed Celyddon, 3. 
 
 Panton, 62. 
 
 Coelbren y Beirdd, 82. 
 
 Colchester, Bishop of, 145. 
 
 Columba, 3. 
 
 Corn Hirlas, 11, 15, 
 
 Cors y Gedol, 114. 
 
 Council of the Marches, 103, 124. 
 
 Counter-Reformation, 140. 
 
 Coverdale, Miles, 127, 137. 
 
 Cromwell, 161. 
 
 Cumberland, 3. 
 
 Cydewain, 75. 
 
 Cydweli, 88. 
 
 Cyfrinach y Beirdd, 149, 209. 
 
 Cymmrodorion , 213, 214, 227. 
 
 Cymreigyddion, 207. 
 
 Cynan, 8. 
 
 Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr, 12, 14, 
 
 15. 43- 
 Cynfeinid, 1-5. 
 Cynfal, Hugh, 116. 
 Cynfrig Cynin, 54, 56. 
 Cynhafal, 96. 
 
 Cynwal, \\'m., iio-ii, 114, 119. 
 Cynghanedd Groes, 50. 
 
 ZLkjct, 51. 
 
 Sain, 51. 
 
 Dafydd, 10, 12. 
 
 ab Edmwnd, 72, 83-8, 97, 98. 
 
 ab Gutyn, 90. 
 
 ab Gwilym, 43, 46, 48-9, 51, 
 
 60, 64, 75, 99 104, 206, 208, 
 
 219. 
 
 ab lorwerth, 80. 
 
 ap Llewelyn, 34. 
 
 Benvras, 18, 19, 43. 
 
 Ddu Eryri, 214. 
 
 Ddu o Hiraddug, 119, 
 
 Llwyd, 82-3. 
 
 Nanmor, 74-5, 88. 
 
 Sion Dafydd, 225. 
 
 Damon, 75. 
 
 Davies, Bishop, 115, 131, 168. 
 
 Bishop Richard, 126, 127-8, 
 
 129, 130, 132. 
 
 Dr., 51, 68, 74, 118, 140, 151, 
 
 152, 205, 221. 
 — —James, 196-7. 
 
 Rev. Walter, 127, 131 (see 
 
 Gwallter Mechain). 
 
 Deffyniad Ffydd, 135-6, 168. 
 Denbigh Castle, i, 23. 
 Denbighshire, 62, 98, 99, 137, 141, 
 
 172. 
 Dent, Rev. Arthur, 152, 153. 
 Deon Llanelwy, 98. 
 Deorham, 7. 
 Dictionary, Dr. Davies's, 151, 152. 
 
 Welsh, 139. 
 
 Welsh-Latin, 139. 
 
 Dinevor, 98. 
 Diodorus Siculus, i. 
 Dionysius, 75. 
 Disgybl Disgyblaidd, 103. 
 
INDEX 
 
 237 
 
 Disgybl Pencerddaidd, 103. 
 
 Yspàs, 103. 
 
 Doddridge, 233. 
 
 Dolau Cothi, 89. 
 
 Dolbadarn, 35. 
 
 Dolgellau, 65. 
 
 Dolgoch, 52. 
 
 Dosparth Byrr, 142. 
 
 Douglas, Bishop, 212. 
 
 Dr. Lewis's Charity, 212. 
 
 Druidism, 69, 85. 
 
 Dr-ych y Prif Oesoedd, 197-202. 
 
 Dugoed Mawr, 108. 
 
 Dunciad, 217. 
 
 Dwynwen, St., 55. 
 
 Dyddgu, 53. 
 
 Dyfi, 65. 
 
 Dyffryn Llychwr, 77. 
 
 Dynevor, 27, 64. 
 
 Dyserth, 150. 
 
 Eben F.\rdd, 114. 
 
 Edeyrn Dafod Aur, 27. 
 
 Edmwnd Prys, 59, no, 114, 115, 
 
 118-21, 134, 152. 
 Edmund Tudor, 91. 
 Edward I., 42, 43. 
 
 IV., 81, 92. 
 
 Dafydd of Margam, 148-9. 
 
 Kyffin, 120, 124-5. 
 
 Llwyd, 142, 191-2. 
 
 Morus, 181, 182-5, 232' 
 
 Samuel, 189-90. 
 
 Edwards, Charles, 128, 167-9. 
 
 Dr. Lewis, 168, 215. 
 
 O. M., 172. 
 
 Eifionydd, 74, 79. 
 Einion, 13. 
 
 ab Gwalchmai, 43. 
 
 ab Gwgan, 17. 
 
 ab Madoc, 34. 
 
 Wann, 23, 24. 
 
 Eisteddfod, 84, 86, 88, 94, 102-3, 
 
 209. 
 Elaeth, 5. 
 Elidir Saes, 21, 22. 
 Elis ap Wiliam Llwyd, 103. 
 Elisha Gowper, 220, 225. 
 Elizabeth, Queen, 103, in, 127, 
 
 136. 
 Ellis, Rev. J., 212. 
 
 Ellis, M.P.,T. E., 161. 
 Emlyn, 52. 
 
 Enwogion y Ffydd, 114. 
 Essex, Earl of, 136, 145. 
 Established Church, 204. 
 Evans, Dr. Silvan, 190, 192, 
 
 234- 
 
 Evan, 78, 233-4. 
 
 Peter, 197. 
 
 • Rev. John, 194. 
 
 jM.A. , S. J., 200. 
 
 Theophilus, 197-202, 221. 
 
 Father John Salisbury, 144. 
 
 Fflamddwyn, 3. 
 
 Ffoulk Salbri, 98. 
 
 Fisher, Edward, 160. 
 
 Flint, 83, 90, 92. 
 
 P'oulkes, Isaac, 214, 232. 
 
 Fournigni, 90. 
 
 France, 90. 
 
 Franciscans, 95. 
 
 Friars' School, Bangor, 211. 
 
 Gam, 91. 
 
 Garreg Lwyd, 121. 
 
 Garth Geri, 97. 
 
 Gelliwig, 30. 
 
 Geneva Bible, 127. 
 
 Geoffrey of Monmouth, 25-7, 29, 
 
 31, 32, 139. 
 Geraint, 6. 
 
 and Enid, 30. 
 
 Gerald, 26, 29. 
 Gerddi Bluog, 118. 
 Gildas, 26. 
 
 Giraldus Cambrensis, 49. 
 Glyn Ceiriog, 80. 
 
 William, 103. 
 
 Gododin, 2, 5. 
 
 Gogerddan, 51. 
 
 Golyddan, 23. 
 
 Goodman, Dr. Gabriel, 133, 134, 
 
 151- 
 Gorchanau, 2. 
 
 Gorchestion, 87, 88, 98, 100, 109. 
 Gorchest y Beirdd, 222. 
 Gorhoffedd Gzcalchmai, 10. 
 Gorsedd y Beirdd, 85, 148. 
 Gouge, Thomas, 165, 166-7. 
 GramadegLladin, 109. 
 
238 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 Grammar, Dr. GrufFudd Roberts', 
 
 142-3- 
 
 Simwnt Fj'chan's, 109-110. 
 
 Welsh, 98, 122, 139, 151, 207. 
 
 Grammar School, Llandovery, 145. 
 
 Ruthin, 133. 
 
 Gray, 10, 11, 207. 
 
 Greal Y, 98, 99, 113, 116, 137, 159, 
 
 207, 208. 
 Gronwy Vychan, 48. 
 Grosmont, 72. 
 Gruffudd ab Arthur, 25. 
 
 ab Gwrgeneu, 23. 
 
 ab leuan, 94-97. 
 
 ab Nicholas, 84, 85. 
 
 ab Robert Vychan, 69. 
 
 ab yr Ynad Coch, 37, 40, 43, 
 
 50. 
 
 ap Cynan, 8, 9, 10. 
 
 ap Llewelyn, 34. 
 
 ap Meredydd, 11, 48. 
 
 Gryg, 60. 
 
 Hiraethog, 97-104, 107, 109, 
 
 no, 112, 116, 125. 
 ■ Llwyd, 41. 
 
 Llwyd ab Dafydd ab Einion 
 
 Lygliw, 66. 
 
 Phylip, 115, 
 
 Roberts, Dr., 141-3. 
 
 Sir Rhys, 103. 
 
 Guild of Graduates, 161. 
 Guto'r Glyn, 80-3, 87, 100. 
 Gutyn Ovvain, 86-8. 
 Gwalchmai, 10, 12, 13, 15, 43, 
 
 224. 
 Gwallter Mechain, 131, 172, 232. 
 Gweirydd ap Rhys, 148. 
 Gwenchlan, 4. 
 Gwenddoleu, 3. 
 Gwenllian Hir, 67. 
 Gwen o'r Ddol, 74. 
 Gvvent, 28. 
 Gwenwynvvyn, 14. 
 Gwerfyl, Lady, 83. 
 Gwern y Cleppa, 52. 
 Gwilym Ddu o Arfon, 41. 
 
 Gam, 52. 
 
 Gwent, 90. 
 
 Tew, 83, 85, 123. 
 
 Gwydion ap Don, 3, 5. 
 Gwylliaid Cochion, 108. 
 
 Gwj'nedd, 16, 28, 83. 
 Gwyneddigion, Society of, 207, 208. 
 Gwynn, Sir Sackviile, 199. 
 
 Hafod Garegog, 68, 70. 
 
 Hanmer, 83. 
 
 Harlech, 74, 186. 
 
 Harl. MS., 100. 
 
 Harri, Arglwydd Rhismwnt, 79. 
 
 Ddu o Euas, 81. 
 
 Harri ap Harri, 103. 
 Harris, Howell, 198, 205, 229. 
 Heber, 207. 
 Henry 11., 10, 11. 
 
 VII,, 88, 90, 91, 92. 
 
 Heraldic Visitations, 62, 88. 
 
 Herberts of Rhaglan, 81. 
 
 Hereford, Bishop of, 132. 
 
 Herefordshire, 70. 
 
 Hiraethog, Gwilym, 230, 231. 
 
 Historic of Cambria, 139. 
 
 Hoianau, 3, 4, 16, 84. 
 
 Holyhead, 227, 228. 
 
 Homiliaii, 149. 
 
 Honorinus, 2. 
 
 Hopkin, Lewis, 209. 
 
 Horace, 60, 223. 
 
 Howel ab leuav, 11. 
 
 ab Owain Gwynedd, 12, 13, 
 
 43- 
 
 Dafydd, 76. 
 
 Fychan, 108. 
 
 Swrdwal, 75-6. 
 
 Voel, 35, 
 
 Howell, James, 163-4. 
 
 Hu Gadarn, 63. 
 
 Hugh Grotius, 190. 
 
 Hughes, Bishop of St. Asaph, 133. 
 
 Stephen, 157, 165, 167, 169-71. 
 
 Humphrey Llwyd, 126, 137-9. 
 
 Humphreys, Bishop, 186, 193. 
 
 Hutton, Bishop, 212. 
 
 Huw Lewys, 137. 
 
 Huw Morus, 172-82, 190, 232. 
 
 I AGO AK Dewi, 196-7. 
 
 lâl, 81. 
 
 Ida, 3. 
 
 leuan ab Howel Swrdwal, 76-7. 
 
 Brydydd Hir Hynaf, 78-9. 
 
INDEX 
 
 239 
 
 leuan, Brydydd Hir, 227, 228, 233-4. 
 
 Deulwyn, 88. 
 
 Fardd ac Offeiriad, 78. 
 
 Llwyd of làl, 103. 
 
 Ifan Goch, 102, 
 Ifor Hael, 52, 53, 55. 
 lolo Goch, 62, 63, 65. 
 
 Morganwg, 82, 85, 205, 208. 
 
 MSS., 51, 60, 209. 
 
 Isaac Walton, 72. 
 Ithel, Ab, 209. 
 
 James i. , 138, 145. 
 
 Edward, 149. 
 
 Ivor, 167. 
 
 Jasper, Earl of Pembroke, 90, 91. 
 Jesus College, Cambridge, 165. 
 
 Oxford, 138, 139, 145, 
 
 151, 160, 186, igr, 212. 
 Jewel, Dr., 136. 
 Jones, D. (Llandyssilio), 171. 
 
 Dr. Cynhafal, 230. 
 
 Griffith (Llanddowror), 193-6. 
 
 Hugh, 228. 
 
 ■ John, 214. 
 
 Professor Morris, 84, 188. 
 
 Rev. Kilsby, 230. 
 
 Rev. Robert, 214. 
 
 Relics, 38. 
 
 Richard, i5o, 165, 169. 
 
 Juvencus, 4. 
 
 Keat, Captain, 134. 
 Kentchurch, 70. 
 Kian, I. 
 
 King Edward i., 41. 
 King of France, 64. 
 Kulhwchand Olwen, 30. 
 Kynvael Castle, 12. 
 Kyvoesi Myrddin, 4. 
 Kywryd, i. 
 
 Lancastrian, 98. 
 Laws of Howel Dda, 28. 
 Layamon, 26, 32. 
 Lewes, David, 190- 1. 
 Lewis, Edward, 103. 
 
 Elis, 164. 
 
 Glyn Cothi, 76, 77, 89, 92. 
 
 Môn, 103. 
 
 Owen, 108. 
 
 Lewis, William, 103. 
 Lewys Dwnn, 52. 
 Lexicon Tetraglolton, 164. 
 Liber Landavensis, 27. 
 Llanbadarn Fawr, 52. 
 Llanberis, 35. 
 Llandaff, Bishop of, 134. 
 Llandanwg, 115, 116. 
 Llandeilo, 78. 
 Llanerch Brochwel, 139. 
 Llanfaches, 158. 
 Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd, 109. 
 Llanferres, 151. 
 Llangamarch, 198. 
 Llangollen, 80, 99. 
 Llannefydd, 62, 151. 
 Llansannan, 98, 99. 
 Llansantffraid, 80. 
 Llansilin, 100, 174. 
 Llanymawddwy, 151, 165. 
 Llanymddyfri, 145. 
 Llawdden, 77, 83, 84, 86, 97. 
 Lleucu Llwyd, 65-6. 
 Llewelyn ab Gruffudd, 27, 33, 
 
 36, 39, 41, 42, 50. 
 lorwerth, 14, 16, 17, 
 
 35. 
 18, 
 
 19. 
 
 21, 34- 
 
 Gutyn, 82. 
 
 Gwilym Fychan, 52. 
 
 Ddu o Fôn, 227-9. 
 
 Goch ap Meurig Hen, 64-6. 
 
 Thomas, 132. 
 
 Lleyn, 35. 
 
 Gwilym, 192. 
 
 Llidiart y Barwn, 108. 
 
 Lloyd, Bishop of St. Asaph, 185. 
 
 Lludd and Llevelis, 29, 30. 
 
 Llwyd, Robert, 152. 
 
 Llwydiarth, 91. 
 
 Llyfryddiaeth y Cymry, 149. 
 
 Llyfr y Plas Gwyn, 98. 
 
 Llywarch ap Llewelyn, 15-19, 73. 
 
 Llygad Gwr, 33, 43. 
 
 Llyweni, 98, 108, 140. 
 
 Lollardism, 64, 70, 
 
 London, 34. 
 
 Lord Cobham, 64. 
 
 Lord Rhys, 14, 16. 
 
 Mabinogion, 29, 31, 32. 
 Mabinogi ofTaliesin, 32. 
 
240 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 Macsen W'ledig, 29, 30. 
 
 Machynlleth, 75, 'j'j. 
 
 Madog ab Owain Gwynedd, 17, 
 
 73- 
 
 ab Gruffudd Maelor, 24. 
 
 ap Meredydd, 10. 
 
 Benvras, 54. 
 
 Maelor, 88. 
 Maesaleg, 52. 
 Maes Manibri, 81. 
 Malltraeth, 82. 
 Mallwyd, 151. 
 
 Church, 152. 
 
 Manau Gododin, 2. 
 Manawyddan, 29, 30. 
 Martial, 60. 
 Math, 29, 30. 
 Matthew Goch, go. 
 
 Paris, 139. 
 
 Maurice Kyffin, 116, 117, 119, 124, 
 
 131. 135-6, 142. 
 Mawddwy, 108. 
 Meddygon Myddfai, 27. 
 Meilyr, 8, 9, 10, 43. 
 Meirionydd, 74. 
 Menai, ir. 
 Meredydd, 16. 
 
 ab leuan Fychan, 81. 
 
 ap Rhys, 72, 73, 83. 
 
 Fychan, 81. 
 
 Merton College, Oxford, 233. 
 
 Metres, 145, 146, 222-23. 
 
 Meugant, i, 5. 
 
 Moel Hebog, 68. 
 
 Moeliwrch House, 100. 
 
 Môn, I02. 
 
 Moreiddig, 11. 
 
 Morfudd, 53, 54, 55, 56. 
 
 Morgan, Bishop, 112, 133-5, i39. 
 
 149, 150. 159- 
 Morgan, Dafydd Llewelyn, 67-8. 
 
 Llwyd o Wynedd, 160-3, I97' 
 
 Morganwg, 42, 56, 85, 88. 
 Morris Clynnog, 140-1. 
 
 Lewis, 202, 208, 211, 214, 
 
 227-9. 
 
 Margaret, 211. 
 
 Richard, 195, 211, 216, 
 
 222, 229. 
 
 — William, 202, 208, 211, 
 215, 224. 
 
 220, 
 
 213. 
 
 Mortimer's Cross, 84, 91. 
 Morus Gruffudd, 103. 
 
 Wynn, 100, 103. 
 
 Moses Williams, 192-3. 
 Mostyn, Pyrs, 103, 109, 123. 
 
 Thomas, 108, 180. 
 
 William, 103. 
 
 Myddelton (Middleton), William, 
 119, 122-4, 156- 
 
 Richard, 123, 125, 174. 
 
 Sir Hugh, 123, 156. 
 
 Sir Thomas, 123, 150, 156. 
 
 Myrddin, i, 2, 3, 4, 15, 18, 25. 
 Myfyr, Owen Jones, 205, 207-8, 
 234- 
 
 Nanmor, 74. 
 
 Nannau, 65, 114, 115. 
 
 Naseb)\ 153. 
 
 Navy Office, 195. 
 
 Neath, 81. 
 
 Nennius, 3, 26. 
 
 Nest, 13. 
 
 New College, O.xford, 127. 
 
 Newton, 75. 
 
 Normans, 12, 34. 
 
 Northolt, 213. 
 
 Northumbria, 3. 
 
 Nourse, Dr. Peter, 190. 
 
 Nun, 53. 
 
 Odl.\u'r Misoedd, 41. 
 Oldcastle, Sir John, 70. 
 Ortelius, 138. 
 Oswestry, 83, 90, 104, 135. 
 
 Registers, 104, 117, 212. 
 
 Ottley, Bishop, 198. 
 
 Ovid, 60. 
 
 Owain and Luned, 30. 
 
 ap Sion, 108. 
 
 Glyndwr, 51-2, 62-9, 74, 100. 
 
 Goch, 34, 36. 
 
 Gwynedd (the bard), 108. 
 
 Kyveiliog, 11, 14, 15. 
 
 Sion ap Howel Fychan, 103. 
 
 Owen, Goronwy, 86, 104, in, 189, 
 202, 211-26, 227, 232. 
 
 Gwynedd, 10, 12, 14, 16. 
 
 Tudor, 91. 
 
 Oxford, All Souls', 137. 
 
INDEX 
 
 241 
 
 Oxford, Hart Hall, 156. 
 
 Parri, Sian, 211. 
 
 Parry, Dr. Richaid, 149-51. 
 
 Henry, 136. 
 
 Parsons, Robert, 152. 
 
 Paul Panton, 233-4. 
 
 Pembroke College, Oxford, 126. 
 
 Henry, Earl of, 140. 
 
 William, Earl of, 108. 
 
 Pencerdd, 98, 103. 
 Pendeulwyn, 88. 
 Penmorfa, 74. 
 Penmynydd, 48, 91. 
 Pennal, 65. 
 Pentre Eirianell, 211. 
 Penywenallt, 197. 
 Peredur, 30. 
 
 Periv ap Kedifor, 12, 13. 
 Petrarch, 58. 
 Petrus Canisius, 143. 
 Pliylip Brydydd, 22, 23. 
 
 Sion Phylip, 159. 
 
 Phillips, Sir John, 193-4. 
 Plas yn Hersedd, 135. 
 Plague, the, 148. 
 Poictiers, 64. 
 Pope, the poet, 217. 
 Porthaethwy, 16. 
 Powel, Dr. D., 134, 139. 
 Powys, II, 12, 28. 
 Price, Ffoulk, 186. 
 
 Richard, 126. 
 
 Prichard, Vicar, 131, 145-8, 170, 196. 
 
 Prince of Wales, 36. 
 
 Proest Cyfnewidiog, 35. 
 
 Prosody, Welsh, 98, 122, 149. 
 
 Prydydd Bychan, 34, 35. 
 
 y Moch, 15. 
 
 Prys, Edmwnd, 118, 134. 
 
 Dr. Ellis, 103, 125. 
 
 . R. I., 182. 
 
 . Sir John, 126, 139. 
 
 Thomas, 119, 125. 
 
 Pughe, Dr. W. O., 152, 205-7. 
 
 Pulestone, Robert, 103. 
 
 Pwyll, 29, 30, 35. 
 
 Pwlltynhyd, go. 
 
 Pythias, 75. 
 
 QUEVEDO, 188, 189. 
 
 Radnorshire, 34. 
 
 Ralph, Edward ap, 112. 
 
 Records of Denbigh, iii. 
 
 Red Book of Hergest, 4, 5, 9, 30, 85. 
 
 Renan, 208, 210. 
 
 Reformation, the, 126, 136, 140. 
 
 Revival, 201. 
 
 Rheinallt ap Gruffudd, 90. 
 
 Rheged, 3. 
 
 Rhiwallon of Myddvai, 27. 
 
 Rhonabwy, 29, 30. 
 
 Rhydderch, Hael, 3, 4. 
 
 Rhydderch ab leuan Lhvyd, 74, 75. 
 
 Rhys ap Gruffudd, 15. 
 
 ap TewdwT, 8, 31. 
 
 ap Thomas, 98. 
 
 Cain, 104, 116. 
 
 Dr. Sion Dafydd, 121-2, 123. 
 
 Drewen, Syr, 81. 
 
 Goch ap Rhiccert, 43, 44, 48, 
 
 56. 
 
 Eryri, 68, 70, 74, 84. 
 
 Gryg, 16, 22, 23, 27. 
 
 Huws, 103. 
 
 o'r Tywyn, 75. 
 
 Thomas, 103. 
 
 Sir John, 142. 
 
 Richard Llvvyd, 139. 
 
 Phylip, 115. 
 
 II., 63. 
 
 Richmond, Earl of, 92. 
 Robert Bruce, 41. 
 
 Earl of Gloucester, 25. 
 
 Rodri, 10. 
 
 Roger Smyth, 141, 143-4. 
 
 Rowland Heilyn, 150, 155-6. 
 
 ■ of Llangeilho, 198, 203-5, 229, 
 
 231. 
 Rug, 176, 178. 
 Ruthin, 148, 151. 
 
 Salesbury, Henry, 140. 
 
 Thomas, 119, 123. 
 
 William, 127, 128-133, 140. 
 
 Salisbury, John, 103. 
 
 Salusbury, Sir John, 108, 137. 
 
 Salusburys, 98, 
 
 San Greal, 32, 80, 81. 
 
 Simon Thomas, 202-3. 
 
 Simwnt Fychan, 109, no, 114, 123. 
 
 Thelwal, 103, 108. 
 
242 A MANUAL OF WELSH LITERATURE 
 
 Sion Brwynog, loo, 101-2, 107-8, 
 
 Cent, 70. 
 
 Lewis Owain, 103, 109. 
 
 Llwyd, 108. 
 
 Phylip, 114-16. 
 
 Tre-Redyn, 160. 
 
 Tudur, 69, 112-14, 118. 
 
 Sion William ap Sion, 103. 
 
 Snowdonia, 58. 
 
 Sir Gruffudd Llwyd, 41, 42. 
 
 Sir Owain ab Gwilym, 107. 
 
 Sir Rhys ap Thomas, 64. 
 
 Sir William Griffith, 121. 
 
 S. P. C. K., 194-5. 
 
 St. Asaph, 115, n8, 127, 134, 148, 
 
 149, 150, 185. 
 Stephens, 10, 13, 15, 43, 82. 
 St. David's, 127, 128, 145. 
 Strabo, i. 
 
 Stradling, Sir Edward, 121. 
 Strata Florida, 61, 81. 
 Strathclyde, 2, 3, 7. 
 St. Sepulchre, 166. 
 Stubbs, Henry, 198, 
 Syracuse, 75. 
 
 Tair Eisteddfod D.^deni, 50. 
 
 Talhaearn, i, 42. 
 
 Taliesin, 1-5. 
 
 Tal-y-llychau, 60. 
 
 Tal-y-llyn, 107. 
 
 Tal-y-Moelfre, 10, 12. 
 
 Taylor, Bishop Jeremy, 186. 
 
 Tegeingl, 83, 102. 
 
 Teifi, 33. 
 
 Thomas ab Einion Offeiriad, 32. 
 
 Edwards, 231-3 (Twm o'r 
 
 Nant). 
 
 Huet, 127-8. 
 
 Joshua, 203. 
 
 Oliver, 156-7. 
 
 Tillotson, Archbishop, 166, 171, 
 
 233. 
 Tower, the, 34, 40, 82, 
 Trahaearn, 8, 9, 43. 
 Traeihodydd, 148, 161. 
 Triads, 28. 
 Tudur ab Gronwy, 48. 
 
 ab leuan Llwyd, 51. 
 
 Aled, 86, 88, 97, 99. 
 
 Penllyn, 78, 79. 
 
 Tyndale, Wm., 127, 
 Tyrtaeus, 60. 
 
 Tyssilio, 5, 14. 
 
 UCHTRYD, 25. 
 
 Urien Rheged, 3. 
 
 Valle Crucis Abbey, 80, 88. 
 Vaughan, Dr. Richard, 134, 137. 
 
 Robert, 151. 
 
 Rowland, 153-5, 162, 163, 168, 
 
 175- 
 Vaughans of Bredwardine, 76, 77. 
 Vavasor Powell, 157. 
 Vicar of Clynog, i86. 
 
 of Llawhaden, 148. 
 
 Virginia, 214. 
 
 Wage, 26. 
 
 Wake, Archbishop, 190. 
 
 Walter, Archdeacon, 25, 26, 27. 
 
 Cradoc, 158, 161. 
 
 Wál, Rev. W., 199. 
 Warrington, 40. 
 Warwick, 81. 
 Waunllwg, 81. 
 
 Welsh-English Dictionary, 152, 
 206, 229. 
 
 Latin Dictionary, T40, 151. 
 
 Wetherall, T., 205. 
 Whitgift, Archbishop, 133. 
 William II., 75. 
 
 Llỳn, 35, 86, 100, loi, 104-8, 
 
 114, 115, n6, 125, 135, 140. 
 
 Phylip, H4, 153, 158-9, 175. 
 
 Wroth, 158. 
 
 Williams, Edward, 208-10. 
 
 Pantycelyn, 198, 201, 229-31. 
 
 Peter, 205. 
 
 W. P., 136. 
 
 Willis, Browne, 112. 
 W. M., B.A., 193. 
 Wotton, Dr., 193. 
 Wyn, Elis, 186-9, 202. 
 Wynn, Edward, 159. 
 
 Robert, 190. 
 
 Wynne, Edward, 165, 187. 
 Rev. W., 139. 
 
 Y BiBL Cyssegr-Lan, 134, 192, 
 
 Y Bwa Bach, 54, 55, 56, 
 
 Y Prydydd Bychan, 34. 
 Ysgolan, 82. 
 
 Ystrad .Mun, 135. 
 Ystrad Fflur, 61. 
 
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