Arwystli, the name of one of the cantreds of Powys. Belyn, a great man from Lleyn in Carnarvonshire, mentioned in the Triades, and is said there to have fought with Edwin, king of the Northumbrians, in Bryn Cenau in Rhos, in the county of Denbigh; probably he was one of Cadwallon’s generals; it is well known, and confessed by Beda himself, that that prince was a terrible scourge to the Saxons. Garthan, the name of a fort or castle somewhere near the Severn. This was the famous battle of Bangor-is-y-coed in Flintshire, after the murder of the monks, at the instigation of Austin, the first converter of the Saxons to Christianity. This is the account Humphrey Lloyd gives of that affair: “Ille vero [Augustinus S.] ob hanc contumeliam, & quod archiepiscopo CantuariÆ a se constituto, & quod cum Romans ecclesia in quibusdam non convenirent, Anglorum odium ita in eos concivit, ut paulo post (ut dixi) ab Ethelfredo, Ethelberti, CantiÆ regis, ob Augustino incitati, opera & auxiliis, monachi pacem petentes, crudeliter occisi; & postea Britanni duce Brochwelo PowisiÆ Rege, victi sunt, donec tandem Bletrusii CornaviÆ ducis, Cadvanni NorthwalliÆ, Mereduci SuthwalliÆ regum copiis adjuti, & Dunoti abbatis viri doctissimi concione animati, quique jussit (ut nostri annales referunt) ut unusquisque terram oscularetur, in memoriam communionis corporis Dominici, aquamque ex Deva fluvio manu haustam biberet, in memoriam sacratissim isanguinis Christi pro eis effusis, & ita communicati, memorabili proelio Saxones, occisis (ut Huntingtonensis refert) ex eis MLXVI. Cadvanumque in civitate Legionis regem creavere.” Britan. Descript. Commentariolum, p. 90, & 91, Moses Williams’s Edition. This battle is called in our annals sometimes Gwaith Caerlleon, that is, the battle of Chester, and is said to have been fought, a.d. 633. We have no account at present, that I know of, who this Morach Vorvran was, nor the occasion of his joy and festivity, alluded to in this poem; probably it was upon the defeat of the Saxons at Bangor. The name of a place, but where situated, I know not. Talgarth, the name of many places in Wales; but this must be somewhere near the sea. Hirlas, the epithet of the horn, from hir, long; and glÂs, blue, or azure. Mochnannwys, in the original, he calls himself prince of the Mochnannwys, or inhabitants of Mochnant. Gwestun, the name of a place somewhere in Powys. By this circumstance, it seems they rescued the prisoner from some maritime town. Sun equally, that is, at noon day, which added much to the merit of the action. The guards of Mynyddawc Eiddin, or of Edinborough, in the battle of Cattraeth, which is celebrated by Aneurin Gwawdrydd, in his heroic poem entitled the Gododin. Mynyddawc was a prince of the North: he is mentioned in the Triades of Britain; and his guards, who were famous for their loyalty and bravery, were reckoned among the three noble guards of the kingdom of Britain; the other two being the guards, or, as the word Gosgordd may be translated, the clans of Melyn, the son of Cynvelyn, and the guards of Drywon, the son of Nudd, in the battle of Rhodwydd Arderydd. Llidwm, the name of a place somewhere in Maelor. I do not recollect what country this place is in. I cannot recollect who Myfanwy Fechan, the subject of the poem, is, but guess her to be descended from the princes of Powys. Castell Dinas Bran, or Bran’s Castle, is situated on a high hill near Llangollen in Denbighshire. Mr. Humphrey Llwyd, the antiquarian, thinks it took its name from Brennus; but Llwyd of the Museum, more probably, from Bran, the name of a river that runs there about. Bran signifies a crow, and is the name of several rivers in Wales. I suppose on account of their black streams issuing from turfaries. There are still remains of the ruins of this castle. Howel-ap-Einion Lygliw was a man of note in his time, and a celebrated Bard. Dr. Davies thinks he was uncle to Griffydd Llwyd-ap-Dafydd-ap-Einion Lygliw, another famous bard, who flourished a.d. 1400. Creirwy, a lady of great beauty often mentioned by the bards. Garwy, one of king Arthur’s knights. Trystan-ap-Tallwch, another of king Arthur’s knights. Caswennan, the name of one of king Arthur’s ships, which was wrecked in a place denominated from her Goffrydau Caswennan. Alban, Scotland. It seems the Bard rode upon a Scotch steed. Aran, the name of two high mountains in Merionethshire. Some of the Trefor-family (and perhaps descendants) now live near Castell Dinas Bran. Rhun, son of Maelgwn Gwynedd king of Britain, a.d. 570. I do not remember the story alluded to here by the Bard. I suppose Myfanwy Fechan was descended from Tudur Trefor earl of Hereford, of one side. The worthy family of the Mostyns of Mostyn and Gloddaith, are descended from Tudur Trefor. Dinbrain, the same as Dinas Bran. There were two Myrddins, or Merlins, as they are wrongly written by the English, viz. Myrddin Emrys and Myrddin Wyllt; the last was a noted poet, and there is a poem of his extant, entitled Avallennau, or the Apple-trees. Aneurin Gwawdrydd Mychdeyrn Beirdd, i.e. Aneurin the monarch of Bards, was a celebrated poet of North Britain. His poem, the Gododin, upon the battle of Cattraeth, is extant; but by reason of its great antiquity, is not easily understood at this distance of time, being upwards of twelve hundred years old: however, it appears, from what is understood of it, to have been a very spirited performance. Craig Vreiddin, is a high hill in Montgomeryshire. I know not where this country is. Some lines are wanting in the original. Knocking, I suppose, is somewhere near Offa’s ditch. Porth Ysgewin is near Chepstow, in Monmouthshire or Glamorganshire. Taliesin Ben Beirdd, or the chief of Bards, flourished about the year 560, or thereabout, under Maelgwn Gwynedd king of Britain, called by Gildas Maglocunus. Many of Taliesin’s poems are extant, but on account of their great antiquity are very obscure, as the work of his contemporaries are. There is a great deal of the Druidical Cabbala intermixed in his works, especially about the transmigration of souls. Rheidol is the name of a large river in Cardiganshire, and Glasgrug, one of the palaces of the princes of South Wales, is very near it, about a measured mile from Aberystwith, and at present the property of the Rev. Mr. William Powel, of Nanteos. Lleision was one of the palaces of the princes of Powys, corruptly now called Llysin; and the park about it is called Llysin-park, the patrimony of Lord Powys. The battle of Llwyvein was fought by Urien Reged and his son Owain, against Ida king of the Northumbrians. It is celebrated by Taliesin in a poem, entitled Gwaith Argoed Llwyvein, i.e. the battle of Argoed Llwyvein. Eurgain, Northop in Flintshire, so called from Eurgain, the daughter of Maelgwn Gwynedd. Demetia. This expedition of Llewelyn-ap-Iorwerth was against the Flemings and Normans, of which there is an account in Powel’s History of Wales, p. 277, 278. Llan Huadain, the name of a place in Pembrokeshire. Cilgeran, the name of another place in the same county, near the river Teivi. Llywarch Hen, the son of Elidir Lydanwyn a nobleman of North Britain, and cousin german to Urien Reged king of Cumbria; he was a great warrior, and fought successful against the Saxons; but fortune at last favouring the Saxons, he was obliged in his old age to retire to Wales. He had twenty-four sons, who wore golden chains, and were all killed in battles against the Saxons. Llywarch Hen was a noted Bard, his works are extant, wherein he celebrates the noble feats of his sons, and bewails his misfortunes, and the troubles of old age, especially in distress. Tanad is the name of a river in Montgomeryshire, which emptieth itself into the Severn. Nudd Hael, or the Generous, was a nobleman of North Britain remarkable for his liberality. Huail was a brother of Gildas, the son of Caw, and a noted warrior. His brother Gildas was the author of the Epistle De excidio BritanniÆ. Rhydderch Hael, or the Generous, was another nobleman of the North, noted for his liberality. Rhun, the son of Maelgwn Gwynedd king of Britain, a great warrior. As an hand, &c., i.e. I am as necessary to him as one of those members to the body, to celebrate his martial feats. Gwriad is the name of a hero mentioned in the Gododin. Hunydd, the name of a woman, probably the prince’s mistress. The Bards had no great affection for Joan the princess, daughter of king John, because she was an Englishwoman, and not faithful to the prince’s bed. Arvon, the county of Carnarvon, so called, because situated opposite to MÔn, or Anglesea. Arvon, literally Supra Monam, from the particle Ar, super, and MÔn, Mona. Owain Gwynedd, prince of North Wales, was descended in a direct line from Roderic the Great, prince of all Wales, who divided his principality amongst his three sons. Iwerddon, the British name of Ireland, hence the Hibernia of the Latins, and ????? and ??????a of the Greeks, probably called from the British Y Werdd Ynys, i.e. the Green Island. Lochlynians, the Danes, so called from the Baltic, which our ancestors called Llychlyn. Llychlyn is the name of Denmark and Norway, and all those northern regions mentioned in the works of our bards. Normans. Moses Williams, in his notes on the ÆrÆ Cambro BrittanicÆ, gives the following account of this battle.
“Normanni, qui in hoc loco Frainc appellantur, erant copiÆ quas Henricus Secundus in Monam misit a.d. mclvii. duce Madoco filio Maredudii PowisiÆ principe. Hi ecclesias SS. MariÆ et Petri (ut annales nostri referunt) spoliavere. IstÆ vero ecclesiÆ in orientali MonÆ plaga sunt, unde liquet locum Tal Moelvre dictum alicubi in Mona esse, fortasse etiam haud procul ab ecclesiis praedictis: omnes vero qui navibus egrediebantur a MonÆ incolis interfecti sunt.” Vide Annales a Powelo editos, p. 206, 207.
It seems by Gwalchmai’s poem to have been a very large fleet, which came partly from Ireland, partly from the Baltic, and the rest from Normandy, to invade the principality. It is plain that its forces were numerous, as they came from so many countries; but it seems they met with a very warm reception from the prince and his sons, and that they were glad to sail away as soon as possible. Owain Gwynedd had many sons noted for their valour, especially Howel, who was born of Finnog, an Irish lady. He was one of his father’s generals in his wars against the English, Flemings, and Normans, in South Wales, and was a noted Bard, as several of his poems, now extant, testify. It seems that the fleet landed in some part of the firth of Menai, and that it was a kind of a mixed engagement, some fighting on shore, others from the ships. And probably the great slaughter was owing to its being low water, and that they could not set sail: otherwise I see no reason why, when they were worsted on land, they should continue the fight in their ships. It is very plain that they were in great distress, and that there was a great havoc made of them, as appears from the remainder of this very spirited poem. Who this lady was is not known at present. What country this is I cannot recollect. Teivi, the name of a large river in Cardiganshire. Elivri, the name of a woman; but who she was, or when she lived, is not clear. Cadvan is the saint of Towyn Meirionydd. Dysynni is the name of a river that runs by Towyn. I cannot recollect at present who this person is, nor the occasion of his grief, though it is mentioned in some of our manuscripts. Eryri, Snowdon, called Creigiau Eryri and Mynydd Eryri, i.e. the rocks and mountains of snow, from Eiry, which signifies snow. As Niphates, the name of a mountain, from a word of the same signification in Greek. Dewi, St. David, a bishop in the time of king Arthur, and the patron saint of Wales. Iorwerth, surnamed Drwyndwn, or with the broken nose, the father of Llewelyn, was the eldest son of Owain Gwynedd, but was not suffered to enjoy his right on account of that blemish. Owain Gwynedd, prince of North Wales. Llewelyn was the lawful heir of the principality of North Wales, in right of his father Iorwerth, and accordingly put in his claim for it, and got it from his uncles David and Rodri, when he was very young. David, the son of Owain Gwynedd, who succeeded his father as prince of Wales. This battle is not mentioned by any of our historians. The description is very animated in the original, and very expressive of such a scene. It was fought near Porth Aethwy. The steeds of the main is a poetical expression for ships. Alun, the name of a river in Flintshire, where there was a battle fought by Llewelyn against the English. Caeawg Cynnorawg is the name of a hero celebrated by Aneurin Gwawdrydd in the Gododin. Deudraeth Dryfan is the name of some place near the sea. There are many places in Wales called Deudraeth; but where this in particular is situated I cannot guess. Ogrfan Gawr, an ancient British prince, cotemporary with king Aurthur. Camlan, the name of a place somewhere in Cornwall, where the decisive battle between king Arthur, and his treacherous nephew Medrod happened, who had usurped the sovereignty while he was absent on a foreign expedition. King Arthur, according to our ancient historians, slew Medrod with his own hand; but received his death-wound himself, and retired to Ynys Afallon or Glastenbury, where he soon afterwards died. His death was politically concealed, lest it should dispirit the Britons. Hence arose so many fabulous stories about it. Cadwallon, the son of Cadfan, is that victorious king of Britain, who was a terrible scourge to the Saxons. Beda, in his ecclesiastical history, calls him tyrannum sÆvientem, an outrageous tyrant. Caer Lleon, Chester, so called, as our historians relate, from Lleon Gawr, or king Lleon, and not from Castra legionum, as modern writers will have it. Cawr anciently signified a king, as Benlli Gawr, is called by Nennius, cap. 30, Rex Benlli; but now it signifies a giant, or a man of an extraordinary strength and stature. It is not improbable but that the Ancient Britons chose such for their kings. Gwyddgrug, Mold, in Flintshire, so called from Gwydd, high, and Crug, a hill. Mold is a corruption of Mons altus. Elsmere, the name of a town in Shropshire. Mochnant is a part of Powys. Argoedwys, the men of Powys, from Ar, above, Coed, wood. The Powysians are called by Llywarch Hen, gwyr Argoed. As, “Gwyr Argoed erioed a’m porthant,” i.e. I was ever maintained by the men of Argoed. The princes of Powys adhered to the kings of England, and the lords Marchers, against their natural Prince, to whom they were to pay homage and obedience, according to the division made by Rhodri Mawr, as appears from the Welsh History. Coed Aneu, the name of a place near Llanerchymedd, in Anglesea. Dygen Ddyfnant, another place whose situation I am ignorant of, where another battle was fought. Bryn yr Erw, another place unknown. Celyddon, the British name of that part of North Britain, called Caledonia by the Romans. Dinbych, Denbigh. Foelas, or Y Foel las, i.e. the green summit, which is the name of a place in Denbighshire, where there is an old fort, now in the possession of Watkyn Wynn, Esq., colonel of the Denbighshire militia, whose seat is near it. Gronant, the name of a fort or castle in Flintshire. Dinas Emreis or Emrys, the name of a place in Snowdon, near Bedd Gelert, where Gwrtheyrn, or Vortigern, attempted to build a castle. Morgant, the name of one of Llewelyn’s generals. Mechain, a part of Powys. Caer Liwelydd, Carlisle. Arllechwedd, a part of Carnarvonshire. Cemmaes, the name of several places is Wales. The Bard means here a cantred of that name in Anglesea. Tyganwy, the name of an old castle near the mouth of the river Conway to the east; it was formerly one of the royal palaces of Maelgwn Gwyneld, king of Britain, and was, as our annals relate, burnt by lightning, ann. 811, but was afterwards rebuilt, and won by the Earls of Chester, who held it for a considerable time, but was at last retaken by the princes of North Wales. Arfon, the country now called Carnarvonshire. Beli. This was probably Beli Mawr, to whom our Bards generally trace the pedigree of great men. Eryri, Snowdon, which some suppose derived from mynydd eryrod, the hill of eagles, but more probably from mynydd yr eiry, the hill of snow. Snowdon, in English, signifies literally the hill of snow, from Snow and Down, that being still a common name for a hill in England, as Barham Downs, Oxford Downs, Burford Downs, &c. Greidiawl, the name of a hero mentioned by Aneurin Gwawdrydd in his Gododin. Teivi, the name of a large river in Cardiganshire. Bryneich, the men of Bernicia, a province of the Old Saxons in the North of England. The inhabitants of Deira and Bernicia are called by our ancient historians, Gwyr Deifr a Bryneich. It was the policy of the British princes to make the Bards foretell their success in war, in order to spirit up their people to brave actions. Upon which account the vulgar supposed them to be real prophets. Hence the great veneration they had for the prophetical Bards, Myrddin Emrys, Taliesin, and Myrddin Wyllt. This accounts for what the English writers say of the Welsh relying so much upon the prophecies of Myrddin. There are many of these pretended prophecies still extant. The custom of prophecying did not cease till Henry the Seventh’s time, and the reason is obvious. Pwlffordd, is the name of a place in Shropshire. There is a bridge of that name still in that county. Cydweli, the name of a town, and Comot, in Carmarthenshire. Cefn Gelorwydd, is the name of some mountain, but where it is situated I know not. Arderydd, is the name of a place somewhere in Scotland; perhaps, Atterith, about six miles from Solway Frith. This battle is mentioned in the Triads, and was fought by Gwenddolau ap Ceidiaw and Aeddan Fradawg, petty princes of the North, against Rhydderch Hael, king of Cumbria, who got the battle. Myrddin Wyllt, or Merlin, the Caledonian, was severely handled by Rhydderch Hael, for siding with Gwenddolau, his patron, which he complains of in his poem entitled Afallenau, or Apple-trees. Eiddionydd, now Eifionydd, the name of a Comot, or district, in Carnarvonshire. Drws Daufynydd, is the name of a pass between two hills, but where it lies I know not. Drws Daufynydd signifies, literally, the door of the two hills. There are many passes in Wales denominated from Drws, as Drws Ardudwy, Drws y Coed, Bwlch Oerddrws, &c. Aberffraw, the name of the prince’s chief palace in Anglesea. Dinefwr, the name of the prince of South Wales’s palace, pleasantly situated upon a hill above the river Towy, in Carmarthenshire, now in the possession of George Rice, of Newton, Esquire, member of parliament for that county. Mathrafal, the seat of the prince of Powys, not far from Pool, in Montgomeryshire, now in the possession of the earl of Powys. Rhos and Penfro, the names of two Cantreds in Pembrokeshire. Fflamddwyn, the name of a Saxon prince, against whom Urien, king of Cumbria, and his son Owain, fought the battle of Argoed Llwyfein. Nudd Hael, or the Generous, one of the three liberal heroes of Britain mentioned in the Triads, and celebrated by Taliesin. Griffydd Llwyd, the hero of the poem, was the son of Rhys, son of Griffydd, the son of the famous Ednyfed Fychan, seneschal to Llewelyn the great, and a brave warrior. Edward Philipp Pugh, Esq., of Coetmor, in Carnarvonshire, is a descendant in a direct line from Ednyfed Fychan, and has in his custody a grant from prince Llewelyn the Great of some lands in Creuddyn given to the said Ednyfed, and his posterity, with the prince’s seal in green wax affixed to it. To this worthy gentleman, and his lady, I am much obliged for their civility when I lived in those parts.—The royal family of the Tudors are likewise descended from Ednyfed Fychan, as appears by a commission that was sent to the Bards and Heralds of Wales, to enquire into the pedigree of Owain Tudor, king Henry the Seventh’s grandfather. The land of the Angles, i.e., England. Gwynedd, the name of the country, called by the Romans Venedotia, but by the English North Wales. Urien Reged, a famous king of Cumbria, who fought valiantly with the Saxons, whose brave actions are celebrated by Taliesin and Llywarch Hen. He is mentioned by Nennius, the ancient British historian, who wrote about a.d. 858. This writer is terribly mangled by his editors, both at home and abroad, from their not being versed in the British language. I have collected some manuscripts of his history, but cannot meet a genuine one without the interpolations of Samuel Beulan, otherwise I would publish it. I have in my possession many notes upon this author, collected from ancient British manuscripts, as well as English writers, who have treated of our affairs. This I have been enabled to do, chiefly by having access to the curious library at Llannerch, by the kind permission of the late Robert Davies, Esquire, and since by his worthy son, John Davies, Esquire, which I take this opportunity gratefully to acknowledge. Cywryd. This Bard is not mentioned either by Mr. Davies or Mr. Edward Llwyd, in their catalogues of British writers. It seems he flourished in the sixth century, as did all the ancient British Bards we have now extant. Here let me obviate what may be objected to me as mentioning so many facts, and persons who lived in the sixth century, within the course of this performance. It was the last period our kings fought with any success against the Saxons, and it was natural, therefore, for the Bards of those times, to record such gallant acts of their princes, and for their successors to transmit them to posterity. Every person, though but slightly versed in the British history of that time, knows that Cadwaladr was the last king of Britain. Since his time there are no works of the Bards extant till after the conquest, as I have shewed in my Dissertatio de Bardis. Dunawd, the son of Pabo Post Prydain, one of the heroes of the sixth century, who fought valiantly with the Saxons. Afan Ferddig, was the Bard of the famous Cadwallon, son of Cadfan king of Britain. I have got a fragment of a poem of his composition on the death of his patron Cadwallon; and as far as I understand it, it is a noble piece, but very obscure on account of its great antiquity; as are the works of all the Bards who wrote about this time. It is as difficult a task, for a modern Welshman to endeavour to understand those venerable remains, as for a young scholar just entered upon the study of the Greek language to attack Lycophron or Pindar, without the help of a dictionary or scholiast. How Mr. Macpherson has been able to translate the Erse used in the time of Ossian, who lived a whole century at least before the earliest British Bard now extant, I cannot comprehend. I wish some of those that are well versed in the Erse or Irish language, would be so kind to the public, as to clear these matters; for I can hardly believe that the Erse language hath been better preserved than the British. Cadwallon, the son of Cadfan, the most victorious king of Britain, fought many battles with the Saxons; and, among the rest, that celebrated one of Meugen, in which he slew Edward king of Mercia, where the men of Powys behaved themselves with distinguished bravery; and had from thence several privileges granted them by that brave prince. These privileges are mentioned by Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr, a Powysian Bard, in a poem entitled “Breintiau Gwyr Powys,” or the Privileges of the men of Powys, which is in my custody. MÔn, the Mona of the Latins, called by the English Anglesea, in which, at a place called Aberffraw, was the palace of the princes of North Wales. The Bard seems here to hint at the loss of Llewelyn-ap-Griffydd, the last prince of Wales of the British line. Arfon, the country now called Carnarvonshire. Rheon, the name of a river in Carnarvonshire, often mentioned by the Bards; but it must have altered its name since, for I do not recollect any such river which bears that name at present. P. 213. H. Steph. Edit. 1559. P. 246. D. Footnote mark in book, but no corresponding footnote, unless it’s a mix-up with the one on page 60.—DP. Fortasse, “Vindictam in Deirorum populum,” &c. Quid sibi vult hic Bardus non mihi constat. Sc. cruore fuso. “Qui Harpatorem in manum percusserit, componat ilium quarts parte majori compositione quam alteri ejusdem conditionis homini.” Inter Legg. Ripuariorum et Wesinorum a Lindenbrochio collectas—Unde patet quanto in honore apud exteros etiam Bardus et Harpator (idem enim pleruuque fuit munus) habitus esset. PrÆter harpam aliud instrumenti genus sibi peculiare Norwallenses vindicant, quod Crwth vocant—Hinc verbum Anglicum Crowdero apud Hudibrastum pro Fiddler, or Player upon the Violin, ad quod Crwth principium dedisse videtur. Hoc instrumenti genus ferÈ in desuetudinem abiit, et violino cessit.—Ex sex chordis felinis constat, nec eodem modo quo violinum modulatur, quamvis a figur haud multÙm abludat: in Sudwalli peintus ignoratur:
“Romanusque Lyr plaudat tibi, Barbarus HarpÂ,
GrÆcus Achilliaca, Crotta Britanna canat.”
Venantius. Lib. 7. Carm. 8. Vid. Prynne’s Coll. of Records, Vol. III. p. 1214. Dygen Freiddin, hodie Craig Freiddin, est rupes alta et prÆrupta in agr. Salopiensi, non procul a Sabrina. Quaenam sit hÆc avis mihi non constat. PotÛs genus apud veteres Britannos.
