Y Gododin: A Poem of the Battle of Cattraeth Part 36

The other was Pryderi, the son of Pwyll Pen Annwn, a chieftain of Dyved, which country is by Lewis Glyn Cothi called "Gwlad Pryderi;" and by Davydd ab Gwilym, "Pryderi dir." He is styled one of the three strong swineherds of Britain, having tended the swine of Pendaran his foster father, during the absence of his father in the unknown world.

"Tri Gwrddveichiad ynys Prydain; cyntav vu Pryderi vab Pwyll Pendaran Dyved, a getwis voch ei dad tra yttoedd yn Annwn; ac yng nglyn Cwch yn Emlyn y cetwis eve wynt." &c. (Triad, 101.)

In the Tale of Math Mathonwy, he is said to have been buried at Maen Tyriawg, near Ffestiniog. We may therefore presume that the Englynion y Beddau refer to the other in the following pa.s.sage;

"Yn Abergenoli y mae Bet Pryderi Yn y terau tormeu tir."

In Abergenoli is the grave of Pryderi, Where the waves beat against the sh.o.r.e.

A saying of Pryderi has been thus recorded;-

"Hast thou heard the saying of Pryderi, The wisest person in counselling?

There is no wisdom like silence." (Iolo MSS. p. 661.)

{190a} "Pryderaf," I am anxious about; a word suggested by the name of the chief.

{190b} A result brought about by the arrival of Pryderi's troops.

{190c} "Have I been afflicted."

{190d} "Celaig;" from _cel_, the root also of Celtiaid and Celyddon.

{190e} There were two territories of this name, Argoed Derwennydd, (Derwent wood apparently) and Argoed Calchvynydd, "between the river Tren and the river Tain, that is the river of London." (Iolo MSS. p. 476.) One of them, the former probably, was the patrimony of Llywarch Hen.

"Cyn b.u.m cain vaglawg, b.u.m cyfes eiriawg, Ceinvygir ni eres; Gwyr Argoed eirioed a'm porthes." (Elegy on Old Age.)

Before I appeared with crutches, I was eloquent in my complaint, It will be extolled, what is not wonderful- The men of Argoed have ever supported me!

{191a} "Gwal." "The Cymmry appropriated this name to regions that were cultivated and had fixed inhabitancy, as opposed to the wilds, or the unsettled residences of the Celtiaid, Celyddon, Gwyddyl, Gwyddelod, Ysgotiaid, and YsG.o.dogion; which are terms descriptive of such tribes as lived by hunting and tending their flocks." (Dr. Pughe, sub. voce.) Both descriptions of persons are thus included in the Bard's affectionate regret. Al. "accustomed at the rampart."

{191b} "Pwys;" pressure or weight. Or perhaps "arlwydd pwys" means "the legitimate lord," in opposition to usurpers, just as a wedded wife is styled "gwraig bwys," as distinguished from a concubine.

{191c} "Dilyvn;" or perhaps "dylyvn," smooth.

{191d} Al. "rekindled."

{191e} "Gosgroyw," rather fresh.

{191f} Geraint, the son of Erbin, was prince of Dyvnaint, (Devon) and one of the three owners of fleets of the Isle of Britain, each fleet consisting of 120 ships, and each ship being manned by 120 persons.

"Tri Llynghesawg ynys Prydain; Geraint mab Erbin; Gwenwynwyn mab Nav; a March mab Meirchion; a chweugain llong gan bob un o'r Llynghesogion, a chweugain llongwyr ymhob llong." (Triad 68, Third series.)

Llywarch Hen wrote an Elegy upon Geraint, in which the place of his death is thus mentioned;-

"Yn Llongborth y llas Geraint, Gwr dewr o goettir Dyvnaint, Wyntwy yn lladd gyd a's lleddaint."

At Llongborth was Geraint slain, A strenuous warrior from the woodland of Dyvnaint, Slaughtering his foes as he fell.

Geraint ab Erbin was the grandfather of Aneurin, but as he died in king Arthur's time, A.D. 530, we can hardly identify him with the Geraint of the text, who probably was a son, or some other relation, that had inherited his fleet.

{192a} "Llwch gwyn," probably "Vanduara," _Gwyn Dwr_, or White Water, which seems to have been one of the old designations of a river in Renfrewshire. (See _Caledonia Romana_, p. 143.) Adar y y llwch gwyn, the birds of the white lake, is a mythological epithet for vultures.

Their history is recorded in the Iolo MSS. p. 600.

{192b} Al. "There was a white badge on his shield."

{192c} Lit. "his anchor."

{192d} "Cyman," "cydvan," (i.e. cyd man) the place of gathering. Al.

"his broken anchor."

{192e} It is not improbable that the eagle was charged on Geraint's standard, for it is also frequently alluded to in Llywarch Hen's Elegy-e.g.

"Oedd re redaint dan vorddwyd Geraint, Garhirion, grawn odew, Rhuddion, rhuthr eryron glew."

Under the thigh of Geraint were fleet runners, With long hams, fattened with corn; They were red ones; their a.s.sault was like the bold eagles.

{193a} "Lledvegin," an animal partly reared in a domestic way. We have chosen the lamb as being one of the animals most commonly reared in this manner. Nevertheless, a previous wildness, with reference to the military aspect of his character, might be intended to be conveyed in this epithet.

"_Lledvegyn_ is a kine, or what shall be tamed in a house; namely, such as a fawn, or a fox, or a wild beast similar to those." (Welsh Laws.)

{193b} "Rhan," see lines 40 and 732.

{193c} Or, "He presided over the feast, pouring from the horn the splendid mead." So Cynddelw,-

"Baran lew llew lloegyr oual Lleduegin gwin gwyrt uual." (Myv. Arch. v. i. p. 225.)

{193d} As the natural consequence of military operations.

{193e} "Llawr llaned," ground of smooth surface. Al. "llanwed," every region was filled with slaughter.

{193f} "Hual amhaval," like a fetter. "Avneued" from "avn," courage.

{194a} The sound of the name, in connection with the word "hual," in a former line, makes it very probable that the hero mentioned was of the tribe of Caswallon Law Hir, celebrated as one of the "hualogion deulu" of the Isle of Britain, called so because the men bound themselves together with the "hualau," or fetters of their horses, to sustain the attack of Serigi Wyddel, whom Caswallon slew with his own hand, when he drove the Irish out of Anglesey.

"Tri hualogion teulu Y. P. Teulu Caswallon Llawhir a ddodasant hualeu eu Meirch ar eu traed pob deu o naddynt wrth ymladd a Serigi Wyddel yng Cerrig y Gwyddyl y Mon, a theulu Rhiwallon mab Uryen yn ymladd ar Saeson, a theulu Belyn o Leyn yn ymladd ag Etwyn ym mryn Ceneu yn Rhos." (Triad 49, first series.)

Caswallon Law Hir was the son of Einion Yrth ab Cunedda Wledig, king of G.o.dodin. He succeeded to the sovereignty of North Wales, A.D. 443, and is said to have died in 517. There was a Cas son of Seidi, who was one of the heroes of Arthur's Court.

{194b} A hundred in the middle part of North Wales, so called from Rhuvon son of Cunedda Wledig, whose inheritance it was.

{194c} Probably the enemy.

{194d} Or, "the shout was raised."

{194e} Cadvorion, i.e. cad-vawrion; or, it may be, more literally, cad-vorion, "martial ants," in reference to their activity.

{194f} Lit. "warning."