DOCSLIB.ORG

The Figure of Taliessin

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Figure of Taliessin Volume 7 Number 1 Article 2 3-15-1980 The Figure of Taliessin David A. Dowdy Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore Part of the Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons Recommended Citation Dowdy, David A. (1980) "The Figure of Taliessin," Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature: Vol. 7 : No. 1 , Article 2. Available at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol7/iss1/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Mythopoeic Society at SWOSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature by an authorized editor of SWOSU Digital Commons. An ADA compliant document is available upon request. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To join the Mythopoeic Society go to: http://www.mythsoc.org/join.htm Mythcon 51: A VIRTUAL “HALFLING” MYTHCON July 31 - August 1, 2021 (Saturday and Sunday) http://www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/mythcon-51.htm Mythcon 52: The Mythic, the Fantastic, and the Alien Albuquerque, New Mexico; July 29 - August 1, 2022 http://www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/mythcon-52.htm Additional Keywords Taliesin; Thadara Ottobris; Annalee Peoples This article is available in Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol7/iss1/2 THE FIGURE OF TALIESSIN BY DAVID A. DOWDY . The Arthurian myths stretch over a period of manuscripts list Taliesin as the son of Henwg or about 1400 years and there is no indication of their St. Henwg, a missionary in the B ritish Isles. One cessation in this age. Of all the tellings and re­ manuscript lists Taliesin as the descendent of Bran tellings of the Arthurian cycle, I am concerned the Blessed, the Son of Llyr Llediaith, one of the particularly with the retellings of the twentieth- earliest of Celtic heroes. The same source goes on century English poet, author, and essayist, Charles to report that Taliesin erected the church of Williams. Williams has w ritten a series of poems Llanhenwg at Caerlleon upon Usk in honour of his dealing with various stories of the Arthurian myths father. Other sources suggest Taliesin's education but what is unique about his handling of the cycle took place at Llanveithin, in Glamorgan, in the is that it is relayed through and revolves around school of Cattwg. The last item of probable cred­ the character of Taliesin, the King's poet. Be­ ible information concerns his burial place which cause Taliesin is an obscure figure in the Arthur­ is traditionally named near Aberstwyth. He had one ian myths and because Williams is the first w riter son, Afaon or Adaon, a warrior bard. to invest such an obscure figure with the focus of his whole poetic cycle, the remainder of this study At this point the historical documentation will fall into two general sections: the first hav­ gives way to the legendary. The figure of Taliesin ing to do with the historicity of Taliesin, the anc­ is found in many legends and tales, many of which ient Celtic bard, seeking to find out his identity do not support the claims made by another. Robert in order to discover W illiams' motivations for high­ G ra v e s i n The White Goddess reminds us of the theory lighting him; and the second section w ill study that Taliesin originally was a C eltic Apollo and he W illiams' work as it relates to the larger topic of ties this theory in with an appearance of gods at living myth. A rthur's court in"Kilwch and Olwen" of the M a b in o - gion. I n The Figure of Arthur Richard Barber says What is known about Taliesin is sketchy at the older version of the "Spoils of Annwyn" which best and sometimes is contradictory. Scholars and is called "Preiddeu Annwfn", a poem found in the historians believe him to have lived sometime in Book of Taliesin , is the earliest link between Tal­ the very late sixth century or very early seventh iesin and Arthur. It records the exploits of Ar­ century. This date places him about 100 years lat­ thur going into the Celtic Otherworld in search of er than the time of Arthur (basing A rthur's lifetim e a cauldron held by the Irish. The cauldron is said around 463 - 516 A.D.). Yet these dates are at best to contain the Inspiration of poets, and the poem estim ates and are not to be taken as conclusive. may be a commentary on the poet. Other lesser sources suggest dates slightly differ­ ent. What is more substantially known is that Tal­ From the old Iolo manuscripts several tradit­ iesin served as court poet to Urien of Rheged, ions of Taliesin's life are given. While much is called by the Welsh Uryens of Gore (Gower), one of probably legendary there are still enough sim ilar­ the greatest of the British chieftains of the North, ities to make a somewhat cogent account. The first in what was later the area called Northumberland. o n e , th e Llwydarth M anuscript, translated by Anthony To Urien is attributed a vision of unity among the Powell, has Taliesin and E lffin, the son of Urien British tribes in an effort to be free of Saxon and Rheged, abducted by Irish pirates as the two youths Piet invasions and to restore a quasi Romano-British were fishing in a skin coracle. Talcing advantage society. Urien was ambushed and assassinated before of his captor's drunkenness one night, Taliesin he could see his vision realized. So there is a managed to escape in his coracle using a shield as parallel between the two B ritish kings, Arthur and an oar. The violent waves took his shield away and Urien, their visions for a strong British union he was left.to drift until he became fixed on a and their downfall through treachery before their pole of the weir of Gwyddno, a local lord. Discov­ visions were fully actualized. ered there by Gwyddno's fishermen, it was soon learned that Taliesin was the important bard of T aliesin wrote panegyrics commemorating U rien's Urien and had been the tutor of E lffin. Gwyddno many victories. He also wrote elegies and lamenta­ too had a son named Elffin and Taliesin was invited tions. When Urien was killed his son Owain ascended to take up the same position in this new court. to the C hieftain's position. Owain is Uwain in Eventually the land was overcome by the sea and it M a l o r y 's Le M orte d'Arthur , the good friend of Sir is at this time in the legend that Arthur invited Galahad. U rien's wife and Owain's mother was Taliesin to the court at Caerleon upon Usk. There, supposedly Morgan le Fay, King A rthur's sister, but it is said, he was "highly celebrated for his poetic a certain Modron is sometimes also mentioned as genius and useful, meritorious services." When Ar­ Owain's mother. thur died, Taliesin retired with Elffin to an es­ tate of Gwyddno. This particular manuscript claims to be the source for the most important legend of Some time after the defeat of the B ritish by Taliesin, found in the M a b in o g io n . the English in the North, Taliesin and the remainder of Owain's court made their way down into southern Another of these old Iolo manuscripts details Wales (the Cymry). Taliesin served as the bard of a little more of the same story with a few altera­ the Court of Powys, a center of poetry, while Cynan tions. The important ones are that Elphin is not was king. In 616 the Northumbrian king attacked in really the son of Gwyddno but actually a lost son of the Battle of Chester. Urien Rheged, King of Gower. At Caerleon upon Usk Thus far most historians are in agreement T aliesin's "feats, learning, and endowments were about the historical Taliesin. After that there is found to be so superior that he was created a gold­ a wide range of m aterial, much of it purely legend­ en tongued Knight of the Round Table." ary though some legends find more corroboration than others. In the Notes to the "Taliesin" of the The Iolo manuscript by Llywelyn Sion records M a b in o g io n (Everyman Edition) we learn that ancient Taliesin presiding in three chairs, one of which 6 was Caerlleon upon Usk. Afterwards he was invited From the incident of the leathern bag the M abi- to the lands of Gwyddnyw. He was highly honoured n o g i o n account leaves off with Caridwen's story and until Maelgwn Gwynedd came and dispossessed him. picks up with Elphin, Gwyddno, and Taliesin. The Taliesin put the curse of the Vad Velen on Mael­ leathern bag was found by Elphin at his father's gwn, a sure death to anyone who looked upon it. Tal­ weir and when he opened it, seeing the boy's fore­ iesin returned to the son of Urien and died in high head, Elphin exclaimed, "Behold a Radiant Brow" honour. It is said, "Taliesin, Chief of the Bards, which is the meaning of the name Taliesin. Elphin was the highest of the most exalted class, either took him home with him.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • “The Prophecies of Fferyll”: Virgilian Reception in Wales
    “The Prophecies of Fferyll”: Virgilian Reception in Wales Revised from a paper given to the Virgil Society on 18 May 2013 Davies Whenever I make the short journey from my home to Swansea’s railway station, I pass two shops which remind me of Virgil. Both are chemist shops, both belong to large retail empires. The name-boards above their doors proclaim that each shop is not only a “pharmacy” but also a fferyllfa, literally “Virgil’s place”. In bilingual Wales homage is paid to the greatest of poets every time we collect a prescription! The Welsh words for a chemist or pharmacist fferyllydd( ), for pharmaceutical science (fferylliaeth), for a retort (fferyllwydr) are – like fferyllfa,the chemist’s shop – all derived from Fferyll, a learned form of Virgil’s name regularly used by writers and poets of the Middle Ages in Wales.1 For example, the 14th-century Dafydd ap Gwilym, in one of his love poems, pic- tures his beloved as an enchantress and the silver harp that she is imagined playing as o ffyrf gelfyddyd Fferyll (“shaped by Virgil’s mighty art”).2 This is, of course, the Virgil “of popular legend”, as Comparetti describes him: the Virgil of the Neapolitan tales narrated by Gervase of Tilbury and Conrad of Querfurt, Virgil the magician and alchemist, whose literary roots may be in Ecl. 8, a fascinating counterfoil to the prophet of the Christian interpretation of Ecl. 4.3 Not that the role of magician and the role of prophet were so differentiated in the medieval mind as they might be today.
    [Show full text]
  • A Lost Medieval Manuscript from North Wales: Hengwrt 33, the Hanesyn Hên
    04 Guy_Studia Celtica 50 06/12/2016 09:34 Page 69 STUDIA CELTICA, L (2016), 69 –105, 10.16922/SC.50.4 A Lost Medieval Manuscript from North Wales: Hengwrt 33, The Hanesyn Hên BEN GUY Cambridge University In 1658, William Maurice made a catalogue of the most important manuscripts in the library of Robert Vaughan of Hengwrt, in which 158 items were listed. 1 Many copies of Maurice’s catalogue exist, deriving from two variant versions, best represented respec - tively by the copies in Aberystwyth, National Library of Wales [= NLW], Wynnstay 10, written by Maurice’s amanuenses in 1671 and annotated by Maurice himself, and in NLW Peniarth 119, written by Edward Lhwyd and his collaborators around 1700. 2 In 1843, Aneirin Owen created a list of those manuscripts in Maurice’s catalogue which he was able to find still present in the Hengwrt (later Peniarth) collection. 3 W. W. E. Wynne later responded by publishing a list, based on Maurice’s catalogue, of the manuscripts which Owen believed to be missing, some of which Wynne was able to identify as extant. 4 Among the manuscripts remaining unidentified was item 33, the manuscript which Edward Lhwyd had called the ‘ Hanesyn Hên ’. 5 The contents list provided by Maurice in his catalogue shows that this manuscript was of considerable interest. 6 The entries for Hengwrt 33 in both Wynnstay 10 and Peniarth 119 are identical in all significant respects. These lists are supplemented by a briefer list compiled by Lhwyd and included elsewhere in Peniarth 119 as part of a document entitled ‘A Catalogue of some MSS.
    [Show full text]
  • Invisible Ink: the Recovery and Analysis of a Lost Text from the Black Book of Carmarthen (NLW Peniarth MS 1)
    Invisible Ink: The Recovery and Analysis of a Lost Text from the Black Book of Carmarthen (NLW Peniarth MS 1) Introduction In a previous volume of this journal we surveyed a selection of the images and texts which can be recovered from the pages of the Black Book of Carmarthen (NLW Peniarth MS 1) when the manuscript and high-resolution images of it were subject to a series of digital analyses.1 The present discussion focuses on one page of the manuscript, fol. 40v. Although the space was once filled with text dating to just after the compilation of the Black Book, it was obliterated at some stage in the manuscript’s ‘cleansing’.2 In fact, it is possible that this page was erased more than once, and that the shadow of a large initial B which we initially believed to be the start of a second poem is instead evidence of palimpsesting.3 The particular exuberance of the erasure in the bottom quarter of the page may support this view. As it stands, faint traces of lines of text can be seen on the page in its original, digitised and facsimile forms;4 in fact, of these Gwenogvryn Evans’s facsimile preserves the most detail.5 Minims and the occasional complete letter are discernible, but on the whole the page is illegible. Nevertheless, enough of the text of this page is visible for it to feel tantalizingly recoverable, and the purpose of what follows is first to show what can be recovered using modern techniques 1 Williams, ‘The Black Book of Carmarthen: Minding the Gaps’, National Library of Wales Journal 36 (2017), 357–410.
    [Show full text]
  • The Thirteenth Mt Haemus Lecture
    THE ORDER OF BARDS OVATES & DRUIDS MOUNT HAEMUS LECTURE FOR THE YEAR 2012 The Thirteenth Mt Haemus Lecture Magical Transformation in the Book of Taliesin and the Spoils of Annwn by Kristoffer Hughes Abstract The central theme within the OBOD Bardic grade expresses the transformation mystery present in the tale of Gwion Bach, who by degrees of elemental initiations and assimilation becomes he with the radiant brow – Taliesin. A further body of work exists in the form of Peniarth Manuscript Number 2, designated as ‘The Book of Taliesin’, inter-textual references within this material connects it to a vast body of work including the ‘Hanes Taliesin’ (the story of the birth of Taliesin) and the Four Branches of the Mabinogi which gives credence to the premise that magical transformation permeates the British/Welsh mythological sagas. This paper will focus on elements of magical transformation in the Book of Taliesin’s most famed mystical poem, ‘The Preideu Annwfyn (The Spoils of Annwn), and its pertinence to modern Druidic practise, to bridge the gulf between academia and the visionary, and to demonstrate the storehouse of wisdom accessible within the Taliesin material. Introduction It is the intention of this paper to examine the magical transformation properties present in the Book of Taliesin and the Preideu Annwfn. By the term ‘Magical Transformation’ I refer to the preternatural accounts of change initiated by magical means that are present within the Taliesin material and pertinent to modern practise and the assumption of various states of being. The transformative qualities of the Hanes Taliesin material is familiar to students of the OBOD, but I suggest that further material can be utilised to enhance the spiritual connection of the student to the source material of the OBOD and other Druidic systems.
    [Show full text]
  • A Welsh Classical Dictionary
    A WELSH CLASSICAL DICTIONARY DACHUN, saint of Bodmin. See s.n. Credan. He has been wrongly identified with an Irish saint Dagan in LBS II.281, 285. G.H.Doble seems to have been misled in the same way (The Saints of Cornwall, IV. 156). DAGAN or DANOG, abbot of Llancarfan. He appears as Danoc in one of the ‘Llancarfan Charters’ appended to the Life of St.Cadog (§62 in VSB p.130). Here he is a clerical witness with Sulien (presumably abbot) and king Morgan [ab Athrwys]. He appears as abbot of Llancarfan in five charters in the Book of Llandaf, where he is called Danoc abbas Carbani Uallis (BLD 179c), and Dagan(us) abbas Carbani Uallis (BLD 158, 175, 186b, 195). In these five charters he is contemporary with bishop Berthwyn and Ithel ap Morgan, king of Glywysing. He succeeded Sulien as abbot and was succeeded by Paul. See Trans.Cym., 1948 pp.291-2, (but ignore the dates), and compare Wendy Davies, LlCh p.55 where Danog and Dagan are distinguished. Wendy Davies dates the BLD charters c.A.D.722 to 740 (ibid., pp.102 - 114). DALLDAF ail CUNIN COF. (Legendary). He is included in the tale of ‘Culhwch and Olwen’ as one of the warriors of Arthur's Court: Dalldaf eil Kimin Cof (WM 460, RM 106). In a triad (TYP no.73) he is called Dalldaf eil Cunyn Cof, one of the ‘Three Peers’ of Arthur's Court. In another triad (TYP no.41) we are told that Fferlas (Grey Fetlock), the horse of Dalldaf eil Cunin Cof, was one of the ‘Three Lovers' Horses’ (or perhaps ‘Beloved Horses’).
    [Show full text]
  • Y in Medieval Welsh Orthography Sims-Williams, Patrick
    Aberystwyth University ‘Dark’ and ‘Clear’ Y in Medieval Welsh Orthography Sims-Williams, Patrick Published in: Transactions of the Philological Society DOI: 10.1111/1467-968X.12205 Publication date: 2021 Citation for published version (APA): Sims-Williams, P. (2021). ‘Dark’ and ‘Clear’ Y in Medieval Welsh Orthography: Caligula versus Teilo. Transactions of the Philological Society, 1191, 9-47. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-968X.12205 Document License CC BY-NC-ND General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the Aberystwyth Research Portal (the Institutional Repository) are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the Aberystwyth Research Portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the Aberystwyth Research Portal Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. tel: +44 1970 62 2400 email: [email protected] Download date: 28. Sep. 2021 Transactions of the Philological Society Volume 1191 (2021) 9–47 doi: 10.1111/1467-968X.12205 ‘DARK’ AND ‘CLEAR’ Y IN MEDIEVAL WELSH ORTHOGRAPHY: CALIGULA VERSUS TEILO By PATRICK SIMS-WILLIAMS Aberystwyth University (Submitted: 26 May, 2020; Accepted: 20 January, 2021) ABSTRACT A famous exception to the ‘phonetic spelling system’ of Welsh is the use of <y> for both /ǝ/ and the retracted high vowel /ɨ(:)/.
    [Show full text]
  • Creation of a Bibliography of Welsh-Celtic Literature: a Case Study on the Suitability of Using Online Catalogues for Bibliographic Research
    Creation of a bibliography of Welsh-Celtic literature: a case study on the suitability of using online catalogues for bibliographic research by Mary L. Evans, B.A.(Hons.) A master's dissertation, submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the award of the Master of Arts degree of the Loughborough University of Technology September 1994 Supervisor: Inese A. Smith, B.A, M.A. Department of Information and Library Studies ® Mary L.Evans, 1994 Abstract The dissertation discusses the creation of a bibliography of Welsh-Celtic literature and considers the usefulness of OPACs as a bibliographic information source. It asks whether OPACs can be relied upon to be the sole information source when conducting a bibliographic search. Different aspects of OPAC use are discussed in relation to the subject of Welsh-Celtic literature. These include: the search facilities that OPACs offer; aspects of searching in a bilingual subject and the development of bilingual OPACs; the subject headings required for searching in this subject. The dissertation concludes that OPACs can be useful to bibliographic research. However, the limited scope of the information they include and the poor quality and level of the information that they contain means that they cannot be relied upon to be an entirely accurate and comprehensive source. Acknowledgements I wish to express my thanks to my supervisor, Inese Smith, for guidance and encouragement. To all those who took the time to respond to my questionnaire and to m·y parents for their support. Contents Page No. Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Purpose of the dissertation 1 1.2 Choice of information source 2 1.3 Advantages of OPACs 3 1.4 Other sources 4 1.5 Outline of dissertation 6 Chapter 2 Definition of Celtic literature 2.
    [Show full text]
  • The Figure of Taliesin in Charles Williams' Arthuriad
    Volume 10 Number 1 Article 4 4-15-1983 The Figure of Taliesin in Charles Williams' Arthuriad Richard Woods Stritch School of Medicine, IL Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore Part of the Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons Recommended Citation Woods, Richard (1983) "The Figure of Taliesin in Charles Williams' Arthuriad," Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature: Vol. 10 : No. 1 , Article 4. Available at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol10/iss1/4 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Mythopoeic Society at SWOSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature by an authorized editor of SWOSU Digital Commons. An ADA compliant document is available upon request. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To join the Mythopoeic Society go to: http://www.mythsoc.org/join.htm Mythcon 51: A VIRTUAL “HALFLING” MYTHCON July 31 - August 1, 2021 (Saturday and Sunday) http://www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/mythcon-51.htm Mythcon 52: The Mythic, the Fantastic, and the Alien Albuquerque, New Mexico; July 29 - August 1, 2022 http://www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/mythcon-52.htm Abstract Discusses Taliesin as a historical personage and as a legendary and mythological figure, and specifically the sources for Williams’s portrayal of Taliesin in his Arthurian poetry. Speculates on why Williams chose Taliesin as the “romantic focus” of his poems, how he conceived his role, and why he departed from traditional sources.
    [Show full text]
  • Within the Pages of the Black Book of Carmarthen (National Library Of
    THE BLACK BOOK OF CARMARTHEN: MINDING THE GAPS Within the pages of the Black Book of Carmarthen (National Library of Wales Peniarth MS 1) is a body of material which both greatly enriches our corpus of medieval Welsh verse, and has the potential to reveal much about the workings of the scribe who created it.1 Although the manuscript has been re-dated from the twelfth century to the mid-thirteenth, it remains our earliest collection of medieval Welsh poetry and it has rightly attracted considerable scholarly attention over the years.2 Many of the poems it contains are unique copies, and even for those which are attested elsewhere, such as within The Hendregadredd Manuscript (National Library of Wales MS 6680B) or the Red Book of Hergest (Oxford, Jesus College MS 111), the Black Book provides an invaluable witness; much may be gained in a detailed analysis of its readings and arrangement of stanzas both internally and in comparison with other versions.3 A memorandum, now lost from among the papers of Sir John Prise, noted that it came originally from the Priory at Carmarthen.4 Though a circumstantial detail, a southern origin for the book is supported by orthographical evidence, making this the only thirteenth-century Welsh manuscript to survive from South Wales.5 As the dating of the manuscript has been re-assessed, so too has the number of hands found within it. Described as a ‘palaeographical freak’ by Denholm-Young, the script in the Black Book 1 J. Gwenogvryn Evans, Report on Manuscripts in the Welsh Language I, pt.
    [Show full text]
  • Arthurian Personal Names in Medieval Welsh Poetry
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Aberystwyth Research Portal ʹͲͳͷ Summary The aim of this work is to provide an extensive survey of the Arthurian personal names in the works of Beirdd y Tywysogion (the Poets of the Princes) and Beirdd yr Uchelwyr (the Poets of the Nobility) from c.1100 to c.1525. This work explores how the images of Arthur and other Arthurian characters (Gwenhwyfar, Llachau, Uthr, Eigr, Cai, Bedwyr, Gwalchmai, Melwas, Medrawd, Peredur, Owain, Luned, Geraint, Enid, and finally, Twrch Trwyth) depicted mainly in medieval Welsh prose tales are reflected in the works of poets during that period, traces their developments and changes over time, and, occasionally, has a peep into reminiscences of possible Arthurian tales that are now lost to us, so that readers will see the interaction between the two aspects of middle Welsh literary tradition. Table of Contents Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................... 3 Bibliographical Abbreviations and Short Titles ....................................................... 4 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 9 Chapter 1: Possible Sources in Welsh and Latin for the References to Arthur in Medieval Welsh Poetry .............................................................................................. 17 1.1. Arthur in the White Book of Rhydderch and the
    [Show full text]
  • Robert Graves the White Goddess
    ROBERT GRAVES THE WHITE GODDESS IN DEDICATION All saints revile her, and all sober men Ruled by the God Apollo's golden mean— In scorn of which I sailed to find her In distant regions likeliest to hold her Whom I desired above all things to know, Sister of the mirage and echo. It was a virtue not to stay, To go my headstrong and heroic way Seeking her out at the volcano's head, Among pack ice, or where the track had faded Beyond the cavern of the seven sleepers: Whose broad high brow was white as any leper's, Whose eyes were blue, with rowan-berry lips, With hair curled honey-coloured to white hips. Green sap of Spring in the young wood a-stir Will celebrate the Mountain Mother, And every song-bird shout awhile for her; But I am gifted, even in November Rawest of seasons, with so huge a sense Of her nakedly worn magnificence I forget cruelty and past betrayal, Careless of where the next bright bolt may fall. FOREWORD am grateful to Philip and Sally Graves, Christopher Hawkes, John Knittel, Valentin Iremonger, Max Mallowan, E. M. Parr, Joshua IPodro, Lynette Roberts, Martin Seymour-Smith, John Heath-Stubbs and numerous correspondents, who have supplied me with source- material for this book: and to Kenneth Gay who has helped me to arrange it. Yet since the first edition appeared in 1946, no expert in ancient Irish or Welsh has offered me the least help in refining my argument, or pointed out any of the errors which are bound to have crept into the text, or even acknowledged my letters.
    [Show full text]
  • A Lost Medieval Manuscript from North Wales: Hengwrt 33, the Hanesyn Hên
    04 Guy_Studia Celtica 50 06/12/2016 09:34 Page 69 STUDIA CELTICA, L (2016), 69 –105, 10.16922/SC.50.4 A Lost Medieval Manuscript from North Wales: Hengwrt 33, The Hanesyn Hên BEN GUY Cambridge University In 1658, William Maurice made a catalogue of the most important manuscripts in the library of Robert Vaughan of Hengwrt, in which 158 items were listed. 1 Many copies of Maurice’s catalogue exist, deriving from two variant versions, best represented respec - tively by the copies in Aberystwyth, National Library of Wales [= NLW], Wynnstay 10, written by Maurice’s amanuenses in 1671 and annotated by Maurice himself, and in NLW Peniarth 119, written by Edward Lhwyd and his collaborators around 1700. 2 In 1843, Aneirin Owen created a list of those manuscripts in Maurice’s catalogue which he was able to find still present in the Hengwrt (later Peniarth) collection. 3 W. W. E. Wynne later responded by publishing a list, based on Maurice’s catalogue, of the manuscripts which Owen believed to be missing, some of which Wynne was able to identify as extant. 4 Among the manuscripts remaining unidentified was item 33, the manuscript which Edward Lhwyd had called the ‘ Hanesyn Hên ’. 5 The contents list provided by Maurice in his catalogue shows that this manuscript was of considerable interest. 6 The entries for Hengwrt 33 in both Wynnstay 10 and Peniarth 119 are identical in all significant respects. These lists are supplemented by a briefer list compiled by Lhwyd and included elsewhere in Peniarth 119 as part of a document entitled ‘A Catalogue of some MSS.
    [Show full text]