666 Welsh Studies

LITERATURE, 1500-1800 By NESTA LLOYD,Lecturerin Welsh in the University College ofSwansea, Swansea

D. W. Williams, publishes two biographical notes on the Anglesey poets Lewys Mon and Sion Brwynog in the Trans. Anglesey Ant. Soc., 'Ach Lewys Mon', I37-39, and 'Blwyddyn Geni Sion Brwynog', qo. In 'Golwg ar Gyfundrefn y Beirdd yn yr ail ganrif ar bymtheg', Bardos, ed. R. G. Gruffydd, Cardiff, University of Wales Press, pp. 76--94, Gwyn Thomas concludes that, in addition to external influences flowing from the increasing anglicization and the developing bourgeois mentality of the uchelwyr there were internal factors such as the conservatism of the bards and their refusal to use the printing press which led to the decline of the bardic order. The appearance of'part-time' bards led by the I 8th c. to the appearance of new university-trained amateurs. J. G. Jones, 'Reflections on concepts of nobility in Glamorgan ca. I54o-I64o', Morgannwg, 25, I98I: I I-42, looks at the ideas expressed in the poems to Glamorgan families in the I6th c. Bards continually reminded their patrons of their ancestral obligations, whilst at the same time presenting them with the ideal of the Renaissance gentleman, cultured in the new learning of the age. Their dual role of public figure functioning as J.P.s, etc., and their ancient obligation to dispense hospitality and to maintain the family are stressed. The rapid decline in the I 7th c. is illustrated. J.G.J. extends to the remainder of Wales his treatment of the same theme in 'Rhai agweddau ar y consept o uchelwriaeth yn nheuluoedd bonheddig Cymru yn yr unfed a'r ail ganrif ar bymtheg', YB, I 2: 20I-49·J.G.J. reverts to a previous theme in 'Cerdd a bonedd yng Nghymru I54o-I64o: rhai argraffiadau pellach'. Cerddoriaeth Cymru, 7: 25-40. He suggests as reasons why Elizabethan music did not influence Wales to such an extent as the English language or the current architectural styles, the lack of cultural centres, the straitened finances of the leading families and the conservatism of the bards who would not easily tolerate the new musical instruments. Cynfael Lake, 'Gwaith Huw Llwyd o Gynfal'.Jo. Merionethshire Hist. and Rec. Soc., 9, I 98 I :67-88, publishes all the known poems of Huw Llwyd, the grandfather of the more famous Morgan Llwyd, and adds a short but valuable introduction, together with notes on the individual poems. Isaac Thomas, 'Yr Epistolau o'r Hen Destament yn "Kynniver Llith a Ban"', NLW}, 22: 254-76, continues his meticulous survey of the sources of the translations of the scriptures into Welsh, with a study of the seven Old Testament 'epistles' translated by William Salesbury Literature, 150o-I8oo in Kynniver Llith a Ban, 1551. His study reveals that W.S. followed Sebastian Munster's Latin version, the Great Bible, and occasionally the Vulgate. In these 'Epistles' W.S. uses medieval Welsh syntax and vocabulary quite liberally and has fewer neologisms or Latin formations than in his later translations. G. A. Williams, 'Edmwnd Prys ac Ardudwy', NLWJ, 22:282-303, emphasizes that E.P.'s connection with Ardudwy did not begin until 1577 and deals specifically with two aspects of this connection, the litigation concerning the ownership of land in Ffestiniog and Maentwrog, in which Prys was probably the guilty party, and his relationship with the poets who flourished in the area, particularly Sian Phylip. I. Ll. Williams, 'Tri chyfeiriad yn ymwneud a Sian Dafydd Rhys', NLWJ, 22:348, notes three references to S.D.Rh. in poems by Huw Pennant, Huw Machno and Sian Phylip who confirm that S.D.Rh. was in Brecon in 1597. Glanmor Williams,' "Breuddwyd" Tomas Llywelyn ap Dafydd ap Hywel', YB, r2:294-31I, sets Tomas Llywelyn in his historical and literary context and pays particular attention to the Breuddwyd, his most interesting Cwndid, which reveals his Protestant, even perhaps Puritan, faith, and his attitude to social disorder as seen in taverns and which reflects the attitude of the Tudor reformers. The 'cwndid' form would ensure a wide and appreciative audience for the social doctrines exemplified in the poem. Less popular was the work of another author studied by Glanmor Williams, 'Edward James a Llyfr yr Homili:au', Morgannwg, 25, 1981: 79-99· This was a translation by James in r6o6 of the Book ofHomilies, published in 1547 and r 563, originally as a defence of the Henrician reforms. This dignified and readable translation would have been useful to an intelligent parish priest, but its wider influence is difficult to assess. Many of the sermons are echoed in the religious verses of the I 7th c., yet no further edition was published until r8I 7· Juliette Wood, 'The folklore background of the Gwion Bach section of"Hanes Taliesin" ', BBCS, 29:621-34, concentrates on folklore motifs. She suggests that elements of the international tales 'The White Snake', and 'The Magician and his Pupil' have been adapted to fit the specific requirements of the Celtic story-teller. The tale was celticized by attributing to Gwion Bach some of the powers traditionally associated wich Celtic poets, and similarly, the transformation-flight motif in 'The Magician and his Pupil' would fit in to the numerous stories told in Wales and Ireland about shape-shifting. Jenny Rowland and Graham Thomas, 'Additional versions of the Trystan "englynion" and prose', NLWJ, 22:241-53, transcribe four unpublished versions of the Trystan story and discuss points raised by these and other previously published versions. They suggest that there are three types of story, (i) a prose introduction followed by