Les italiques représentent des additions successives

Erse

Story of Armor & Daura ©” Very ancient Connan, & Rivin (if genuine).

Night, described by the six Bards.

Elegy on the death of Morar.

Lamderg, & Gealchossa.

Welch

Some Stanzas (chosen) of Taliessin | Battle of Argoed Llyfain End of Aneurin’s Gododin about A: D: 570 Gwalchmaïs Triumph of Owen .......... about 1260 Gwalchmaïs Delights (the beginning) EN CO:

Gruffudd’s Lamentation for Prince Llewellyn .. about 1284

Article “ Cambri ”.

(Commonplace Book 11, pp. 799-800; 803-6: 809-16).

De tous les essais sur les origines de la poésie anglaise, c’est celui que Mathias a le plus imparfaitement reproduit. Nous le publions intégralement, malgré la longueur des citations latines. On y trouvera, sous sa forme exacte *, un exemple remarquable de ce genre de travail. Bien des points, douteux jusqu'ici, touchant les connaissances de Gray en celtique, seront précisés; on mesurera l’importance de ses recherches, particulièrement en ce qui concerne la métrique. On comprendra mieux aussi dans quelle atmosphère Gray a écrit son Bard; on verra ses facultés critiques s’exercer à la discussion du pro-. blème épineux de l'Histoire de Geoffroy de Monmouth.

5. Toutefois, nous avons dû renoncer à figurer par la typographie les retouches et les additions faites à cet article; pour les notes, qui furent inscrites à des époques très différentes et nullement dans l'ordre du texte, au système compliqué de renvois adcpté par Gray. Les principales additions sont : la note 2: le paragraphe de la note 7 précédé d'un astérisque; es notes 13 et 14. — Le lecteur ne s’étonnera pas de nombreuses bizarre-

ries d'orthographe.

CAMBRI

The proper & peculiar name of y° Britains being call'd (as the Welsh their genuine remains call themselves at this day)’ Cumero, Cymro, & Cumeri. like-as a British or Welsh- Woman Kumerae[s], & the tongue itself Kymraeg CE Introduct:" to his Britannia).

In the ancientest of the British Poets, & others, it appears, that they constantly called themselves Prydhain, & their country Inis-Prydhain, the Isle of Britain. (Carte's History, V: 1. p:95.) The Inhabitants of Wales, removing their cattle & habitations from place to place (w°* is still practised in some mountainous parts & was so universally in former ages) after the custom was disused in England, were call'd Wallenses from Walen,? a word synonymous to that of Nomades. (ibid:

p: 108.) ch

The Druidical Compositions. w® served for a Model to Taliessin, Lhywarch, & others of the most ancient & best of y° British Poets, whose works are preserved, & have since served for the foundation of y° excellent Prosodia, w‘" they have in the Welsh Grammar, & w‘* is perhaps the finest, than any Language affords, were admirably contrived for assisting the memory. they were all adapted to Musick, every word being harmonious, the strongest & most expressive repeated in a beautiful manner, & all of them ranged in an order establish'd by rules well-known, & depending on those, w°" either preceded or follow'd it, that, if any one line in a stanza be remember’ d, all the rest must of course be call’d to mind, & it is almost impracticable to forget, or mistake in any. * The British Poetry, as well as the Language, hath a peculia- " nty, w” no other language perhaps in the world hath: so that "the British Poets in all ages, & to this day call their art ” Cyfrinach y Beirdd, or-the Secret of the Poets. knowing ” this Art of the Poets, itis impossible, that any one word of the

! Language, w°" is to be found in Poetry, should be pronoun- ” ced in any other manner, than is there used. so that withont

1. The N: West of Britain from Lancashire to Dumbritton- Frith was called the Kingdom of Cumbria, & a part of it still retains the Name of Cumberland, having been always in the hands of its ancient inhabitants, the Britains. the Cumbrian: maintained their independency under their own Princes, till most of their country was subdued, & Al-Cluyd (now Dumbritton) their capital City taken, by Eadbert, King of Northumberland, in the year 756. even afterwards they recover’d in some measure their liberty, at least were govern’d by Princes of their own blood, tho’ tributary sometimes to the English, sometimes to the Scots; & continued a distinct People from both those Nations. they spoke the Welch-Tongue till the Reformation. Merlin the Caledonian (so call'd from the Forest of Kelydon in that country) lived under Gwendolen, one of their Princes, in the year 577; & several of his Poems are still preserved in Wales: Lhywarch-Hen, another most celebrated Poet, was Cousin-German to Urien, Lord of Rheged, who reign d about the same time in Cumberland, & had been bred under the famous Arthur, King of Gwent (or Monmouthshire) who was slain in 542. Taliessin was a Cotemporary of these Bards. an infinity of verses by these, & other names of great fame in that Country, are still extant in Mss: but it requires a particular study of the Language & ancient History of Britain to understand them, for they abound in words & phrases now no longer in use.

2. À barbaricâ nuncupatione nomen istud inolevit. Saxones enim, occupato regno Britannico, quoniam linguâ suâ extraneum quemlibet Wallum vocant, & gentes has sibi extraneas Wa!llenses vocant, & inde usque in hodiernum barbarâ nuncupatione & homines Wallenses & terra Wallia vocitatur. (Giraldus Cambrensis. Cambriæ Descriptio, D" Powel's Edition. 1585. Lond: 8*°) it is probable, that neither of these Derivations may be the true one, for Wallia is doubtless the same with Gallia, & Wallum with Galli, Names {1 know not for what reason) appropriated by the Romans above 2000 years ago to that People, who were always call'd by the Greeks, & (as Cæsar assures us) by themselves Celtæ. I conclude them to be the same word, because to this day the French call Wales Païs de Galles, & the People Gallois. the Dutch call such Inhabitants of the Low-Countries as border on France, & are of Gaulish origin, Walloons; & we do the same. the Saxons, our Ancestors, & we after thern, call a particular fruit Wall-nut, because it came to us from Gaul; as appears

* à transformation of the whole language not one word could * be alter’ d.” These are the words of a very judicious Welsh Antiquary, Mr. Lewis Morris, perfectly well versed in the writings of the old British Poets — who adds, that tho’ at first sight it may be naturally thought, their Poetry is clogg’d with so many rules, that it is impossible to write a Poem of Common Sense in the language, yet the vast number of flexions of Consonants in it, & the variations in Declensions &c: make it almost as copious, as four or five Languages added together, & consequently a Poet in the Cambrian Langüage, notwithstanding the strictness of his rules, hath as great a scope & use of words, as in any other tongue whatsoever; as will appear from a Perusal of the ancient British Poets

(ibid: p: 33).

This Secret of the Poets is explain'd to us at large by Dr David Ap Rhys (or Rhœsus) in his Linguæ Cambrobrit:* Institutiones, (Lond: 1592. large 4‘) P: 146, and appears both for variety & accuracy to equal the invention of the most polish’d Nations. he produces a great number of passages from ancient Writers as examples to the several rules; from w‘* (tho’ entirely unacquainted with the Language) one may perceive something of the Measure, Alliteration, & Order of Rhymes, of w‘" their Verse consists. the Rhyme seems to be entirely monosyllabic, as it is (for the most part) in our own tongue; & is sometimes in couplets, sometimes triple, or quadruple, or continued for a great number of lines together, & often alternate. the Composition is generally in Stanzas regularly answering one another; & there is a ‘conceal'd harmony, arising from the regular return of similar letters or syllables in the beginning or middle of a Verse, doubtless very pleasing to ears accustom d to the Cadence of their Poetry & Language: this was practised sometimes without the assistance of any rhyme at all, as in their Prést Cybhnewidiawc, w* Ap KRhys translates Prosaicum Heterorythmicum, p. 170. They had nine different Measures from Verses of three Syllables to those of eleven, each distinguish'd by its particular appellation. thus the Verse of nine was named: Trwscl, the Rough, or Unadorn'd; that of seven, Caeth, the Servile; & that of ten, Hir, the Long, &c: these, & the octosyllabic, have been from a very remote antiquity common among us in the English Tongue, & not improbably might have been borrow’d from the Britons, as | am apt to believe, the use of Rhyme itself was. once [ was (I own) of Monsig’ Crescimbeni's opinion, that is was derived from the use of the Roman Church

from Rodulphus Tortarius, who wrote early in the 12" Century in the reign of our Henrythefirst. describingthe territory of Caën in Normandy, he says Terra ferax segetis, sed opacis indiga sylvis Gallica nux, vitis, ficus, oliva, deest:

Insula diversis quam mercibus Anglia ditat, &c: (Mem: de l’Acad: des Inscript: V: 21. p. 513)

for the same reason the Welch name it Cnau Frengig. i:e:

French-Nut.

3. w°” they call'd Cymeriad, as something peculiar to the Nation. yet this Àrt is of a later invention, than Taliessin & his Cotemporaries. Veteres enim Poetæ (says Ap Rhys. p: 170) in suis carminibus, nullo feré consonantium inter se concentu exacto aut symphonia utebantur. that is, they had not reduced it to rule, but practised it wildly & without art, as we do at present. the Poetry of our Fore-fathers, the Saxons & Danes consisted of nothing else, than this Alliteration, & Measure, without any Rhyme.

Of the Welch Decasyllabic Verse | shall produce the following Example :

Garbronn | y dell wau gwawr | breiniau | dylant,

Gwydhai | Dhuw deillwgh gweldhi dhildoliant; &c:

Of the heptasyllabic, these Lines of Taliessin Elphin dêc taw a’ th’ wylo; Na chablet nêb yr eidho; Ny wna lês drwc obeithio; Ny wyl dyn dhim ai portho:; Ny bydh coec gwedhi Cynlho; Ny thyrr Duw arr adhâwo:

Ny châd ynn Ghhoret wydhno Eryoet cystal a’ heno.

Elphin dêc sych dy dheurudh; Ny weryt bôd yn rhy brûdh; Cyt tybieist na chebhaist’ bhûüdh; &c.

Of the Octosyllabic, the following verses Yn lôr ydwyd lôn warêdawc The Metre thus, in Stanza's

SORA , of four on one Rhyme, is call'd A° n° côûn eurbhalch nee Cyhydedh Bherr, wh Signifies

Equality (from the equal mea- Wyr Bherêdydh arbh rywaedawc, os shorallion the ahoit Aer arbhôdhau ‘orwyr Bhadawc. ness of the Stanza).

Eye

in its Hymns, & from thence pass’d to the People of Provence. but if we consider, that some few slight traces of Rhyme among the Romans excepted, there is nothing of their Hymns, or Sequentiæ, written in that manner earlier than the time of Pope Gregory the Great in the end of the 6th Century; & that at the same time it was regularly & very artificially practised among the Britains in a variety of measures, & these too of a peculiar contrivance, & (as Men of Letters acquainted with the Language assure us) full of poetical spirit & enthus'asm=ifwe consider how well adapted the Difvi]sion & Rhyme of their Poesy is to assist the Memory; & that the British Druids (once the Priesthood of the Nation) deliver’d all the Precepts of their Doctrine in Verse, w°* never was to be committed to writing, we may easily enough be induced to believe, that these Bards of the 6th Century practised an Art, w°” they had received by tradition from the times of the Druids, & tho’ the Precepts of their Superstition had been laid aside, & forgot at the introduction of Christianity; yet the traces of their Harmony did still remain.

That the Saxons (who had no rhyme among them) might borrow both that, & some of the measures still in use, from their Neighbours, the Britons, seems probable to me, tho’ at what time they did it, is very uncertain. for above 150 Years after the Saxon Invasion, the two Nations had no other commerce, than in the rough intercourse of War, & seem'd to breathe nothing, but unextinguishable hatred & mutual defance*. but Christianity (it is likely) something soften’d their spirits, & brought the Britons to regard their bitter enemies, who were now no longer Pagans, as their Brethren, and Fellow- Creatures. even before the Saxon Conversion, | find Edwin, King of Deïra, (then an Infant, & driven by the Usurper Ethelfrid out of his Country) taking refuge in N: Wales, where he was educated at the Court of Cadvan with the Princes, his own children; & afterwards was himself Master of that Country for some years; and during the usurpation of Ethelfrid, the Britons of Cheshire had submitted to his arms without deserting their Country. but afterwards, in the year 750, Eadbert, King of Northumberland, subdued in the same man- . ner almost all the Territory of the Strathcluyd, or Cumbrian- Britons, who (tho’ they soon recover’d their independency) yet, in 922, submitted together with three Princes of N: Wales to Edward the elder; & 44 years after, having join'd the Danes, they were finally master'd, & given by King Edmund to Malcolm, King of Scots, to hold in fee of him; yet they always

The measure of the following Stanza is call’d peculiarly Gorchest Beirdh, or the Excellence of the Bards; | suppose from its peculiar difficulty, & as invented, & practised by none but consummate Masters. it is often written in two lines only.

Ï rhwydh ‘air hîr, l’w chwydh, och wir, l'w swydh a’i sfr, I sydh saeth:

[ glai a ’glyn, Ï rhai o’r hyn, I dhai y dhyn, I Dhuw dhaeth.

And the following, named Tawdhgyrch Cadwynoc, signifying (l suppose) that one verse as it were invades & melts into another, & that the whole Stanza is chain’ d toge- . ther. from Toddi, to melt, Cyrchu, to assault, & Cadwyno, to enchain.

O gwyr redeg i wiriôdau,

Yn bhêl codau vn bhel Cadog:;

Megys hedeg mae gosôdau,

At diôdau yn vn tadog: 4. Vid: Præfat: ad Leges [ aulôdau ir gwaulôdau, - -:Wallicas, p. 11.

Drwy iâd rodau dûr droâdog: AL

Adho'‘r nodau arr dhurnôdau,

Yw debhôdau r Dû o Bhadosg.

The following, call'd Cywydh Lhosgyrnioc from Cywydh (Metre of equal length) & Llosgwrn (a Tail) resembles the old Metre of S° Thopas (w°”* in Chaucer is call’ d a Northern Tale; perhaps the North of England might borrow it from the Cumbrian Britons) but that the Tail (or third Verse) is of 7 syllables, & that these rhyme to one another throughout the Composition.

Lhiniawdh bhy hoen o boen benyd, Lhudhiawdh y m'hûn Ihôn bûn lhoer byd, Lhetryd nyd bywyd am bydh.

but be that as it will: one Species of the Cywydh (or Coowith, as it is pronounced) Î take to be the Couwe, w°”* Robert Mannyng of Brunn (a Writer who lived in Edward the 1*, & 2°, reign) mentions, as used in his time. not much unlike in composition are those verses of William, Duke of Guienne addressed to Fulk, Count of Anjou, before he went to the Holy Land

continued a People, & a distinct Nation. 1 mark these Periods to shew in what time the Britons might be so connected with the Saxons, as to give them possibly some knowledge of their tongue, & some tincture of their manners. in the Kingdom of Wessex there was a more remarkable union between them, after Ina had possessed himself of Somersetshire (w°" till then had belonged to the Britons) for he gave terms to the Inhabitants, & permitted their Chiefs to retain a considerable part of their Lands. In this Prince’s Laws the Britons and their Privileges are expressly mention'd & comprehended, & he is said to have given them encouragement to intermarry with the Saxons. we see too, that Aldhelm, the famous Bishop of Shireburn in this reign, inscribes his Treatise on the time of celebrating Easter to Gereint, King of Cornwall, a Britain, A:D:705. andit appears, that the City of Exeter was inhabited jointly by this People & the Saxons above 200 years afterwards, when Athelstan, the Grandson of Alfred, thought proper to separate them & remove the formèr into Cornwall beyond the River Tamar. to this Prince all Cornwall paid tribute on account of the respect they bore to his Character, as did too the Prince of N: Wales. he died in 94]. about 100 years after this all Wales was tributary to Edward the Confessor, who appointed Princes of their own Nation to reign over them. upon the Norman Conquest the frequent journeys of the Welch to our Court either on occasion of paying tribute or renewing treaties, & the frequent Progresses of our Kings (particularly Henry 2°, Richard the 1, &c:) thro’ their Country must have heighten’d the intercourse,° w (in 1284) Edward the first compleated by their total Reduction. he is said to have hanged up all their Bards, because they encouraged the Nation to rebellion, but their works (we see), still remain, the Language (tho’ decaying) still lives, & the art of their versification is known, and practised to this day among them.

If anyone ask, why then (supposing us to have first borrow'd rhyme from the Britons) no memorial of it is left in England earlier than the Conquest, nay perhaps, than Henry the 2% reign, which is about 450 years after our first connection with the Welch, I answer, the fact is not certainly true, for there are some few rhymes recorded as old as the beginning of the 10* Century, witness ‘Athelstan’s Donation tu Beverly-Minster, & in the succeeding Century the Freedom of Coventry granted by Earl Leofric, & the Tenure of Cholmer & Dancing in Essex, attributed to Edward the Confessor. but

on the first Crusade. they are the most ancient Remains of the Provençal Poesy extant. vid: supra P: 772. Not: [cf. WM [1 34, n. 6, quatrième $: « Avvi certezza, etc. »]

Pus lo partirs mes aitan grieus Del senhoratge de Peytieus

Es garda la Falcou d’Angeius Tota ma terra mon Cousi.

Si Falco d’'Angieus nolh Seror

EI Reis de cuy jeu tene m'enor, Mal Li faran tug li plusor

Qu'el veyran jovonet meschi, &c.

And thai Epitaph of John & Joan Cressy in Waltham Abbey Church without a date (cited by Weever, p: 645) runs much like the Stanza of the Bards abovemention'd.

Yourself mak mon, Or ye bin gon; And prey for us.

Without delay Past is the dey, We may not prey For you. it's thus.

5. Mores antiqui Britonum Jam ex convictu Saxonum Commutantur in melius, Ut patet ex his clarius.

Hortos & agros excolunt, Ad oppida se conferunt, Et loricati equitant,

EI calceati peditant, Urbané se reficiunt,

Et sub tapetis dormiunt, Ut judicentur Anglici

(Caseneuve. Origines de la Langue Françoise, (v:

Foulque) & Menage. Dictionaire FEtymologique, p.

324. (Fol: 1694. Paris.) where he cites Recueil imprimé des Poesies Provançales, w°" [ never have seen.

Wbhilst yat yow mey

Both night & dey

Look yat yow prey Jesu of Grase.

When ye bin gon,

Help is ther non;

Wherefor yink on, Why! ye have spase.

See a lively picture of their manners, & way oi life in Henry the 2° time, in Giraldus Cambrensis. (Itinerarium Cambriæ., Cap. 8,

Nunc potius, quam Wallici. &c:

(In Camdan's Remains, p: [| an anonymous old Poet....) 6... Als free

Make I thee

if these should be only the fictions of after-ages; can any one tell me, why the Franks, who (we know) wrote rhyme in their own tongue” in the middle of the 9” Century, should have nothing to produce of rhyme in the French or Provençal language till almost 250 years afterwards? why have they no monument at all, preserved in their ancient Tongue, of the Gothic Poetry, tho’ for so many years they border d on the Anglo-Saxons in Germany, who practised it, a People of like Origin & Manners, & who probably spoke the same tongue? why have these Saxons themselves for above 300 years after they landed in this Island no Verses of this sort remaining, but a small Fragment of Cædmon, preserved in a book of King Alfred's? why have the Normans nothing at all ot this kind extant among them after their arrival in France? who can account for the Caprice of Time; & shew why one Monument has, & another has not escaped the Wreck of Ages) : perhaps Rhyme might begin among the common People, & be applied only to the meaner Species of Poetry, Adages, Songs, & vulgar histories, passing by tradition from one to another; while the Clergy and others, who possess’d what Litterature there was in the Nation, either wrote in the Latin Tongue, or in the Measures peculiar to their Country & Language, w‘! by a very natural prejudice they would prefer to those of a conquer d People; especially as Poesy had been cultivated among them, & in the highest esteem for ages past; & their Scalds were as necessary in their armies, & in the Courts of their Princes, as either Druid, or Bard among the Britons. after the Normans came over, & had introduced so much of the French (or Roman) Tongue among us, Rhyme must of course grow more prevalent & familiar in England; especially when Henry 2° (himself an Angevin, & educated in France) had married the Heiress of Aquitaine, where the Provençal School first began about 50 years before, & was at that time in the highest reputation. |

Girard Barry (commonly call'd Giraldus Cambrensis, or Silvester) Archdeacon of St David’'s, & employed in several Embassies & Offices of high trust by Henry 2°, & Richard the first, has many curious observations on the Character of the Welch, their Poetry & Music, in his Descriptio Cambriæ, written in the Reign of K: John the beginning of the 13 Century — C: 6. he says.

Notandum etiam, quia in Nordwalliâ lingua Britannica delicatior, ornatior & laudabilior est, quanto alienigenis terra illa impermixtior esse perhibetur. (Careticam tamen in Sudwallia xegionem, tanquam in medio Cambriæ ac meditullio sitam,

As heart may think, or eie may see. (Cambden, in Yorkshire) and this, [| King Athelstane geves to Paulane Odhian & Rhodiam Als guid & als faire, Als ever yay mine waire. And yarto witnes Mawd my Wyff. (Hollingshed's Hist: of Scotland; & Weever. p: 604)

7. As we have* no reason to imagine the Gothic Nations of the North made any use of rhyme in their Versification, & as the Franks appear to be the first, that practised it (above 350 years after they had conquer’d Gaul) it seems highly probable that they borrow'd it from the Natives of this country, to whom it must have been familiar at least 300 years before. for, as we know the Britons had it so early, who spoke the same tongue with the Gauls, & deliver’d to them the Precepts of their Religion & Philosophy in verse; these latter could not possibly be ignorant of their Poetry, w°" they imitated in their own country. nor is it probable, that the Government of the Romans had obliterated all traces of their ancient arts & learning in the minds of the Gauls, since it had not made them forget their ancient language. it is plain, that in the 5" century the Arverni still spoke the Celtic Tongue, from a Letter of Sidonius Apollinaris (L. 3. Ep: 3) & that it was still understood even in the 9°” Century, appears from the Life of * St Germain, written in the reign of Charles the Bald by Heric, a Monk of Auxerre; wherein he interprets the Names of several Cities in Gaul, as

From Llug, light; and Dune, a Hill. tho’ the true

Etymology of Lugdunum is

Lugduno celebrans Gallorum famine nomen Impositum quondam,

quod sit Mons Lucidus idem.

and Augustidunum demum tum cœpta vocari, Augusti Montem transfert quod Celtica lingua, &c. (see Mem:

de l’Acad: des Ins-

from Dune, & Lug, a Crow.

this word is now out of use in the Breton Tongue, but preserved in some compound Names, as Coet-lcgon, the Wood of Crows or Ravens.

criptions, &c. Vol: 20. p. 43, 44)

* Wormius in his Litter : Runica, p: 177, affirms this; but Mons: Mallet takes notice, that he himself has cited in this very treatise (p: 105) verses of great antiquity, w°” are in rime. On trouve aussi deux petites chansons rimées, dont l’une a été

linguâ præcipuâ uti, et laudatissima, plerique testantur. Cornubienses vero & Armoricani Britonum linguâ utuntur feré persimili, Cambris tamen propter originem & convenientiam in multis adhuc & feré cunctis intelligibil. quæ, quanto delicata minus & incomposita, magis tamen antiquo linguæ Britannicæ idiomati (ut arbitror) appropriata. Sicut in Australibus Angliæ finibus, & præcipué circa Devoniam, Anglica lingua hodié magis videtur incomposita, ea tamen vetustatem longé plus redolens (borealibus insulæ partibus per crebras Dacorum & Norwagiensium irruptiones valdé corruptis) originalis linguæ proprietatem & antiquum loquendi modum magis observat; cujus etiam rei non solum argumentum, sed et certitudinem inde habere potes, quod omnes libros Anglicos Bedæ, Rabini, Regis Alfredi, vel aliorum quorumcunque, sub hujus idiomatis proprietate scriptos invenies. & C: 12 he has these observations on their poetical vein. In cantilenis rithmicis & dictamine tam subtiles inveniuntur, ut miræ & exquisitæ inventionis linguâ proprià tam verborum quam sententiarum proferant exornationes. unde & Poetas (quos Bardos vocant) ad hoc deputatos in hâc natione invenies. — præ cunctis autem rhetoricis exornationibus Annominatione” magis utuntur, eâq præcipué specie, quæ primas dictionum literas vel syllabas convenientià jungit. adeo igitur hoc verborum ornatu duæ nationes, Angli scilicet & Cambri, in omni sermone exquisito utuntur, ut nihil ab his eleganter dictum, nullum nisi rude & agreste censeatur eloquium, si non schematis hujus limâ plené fuerit expolitum, sicut Britanniæ in hunc modum.

Digawn duw da y unic.

Wrth bob crybwylh pwylh parawd.

Anglice vero; God is together gamen & wisedome. In latino quoque haud dissimiliter eloquio eandem exornationem frequens est invenire in hunc modum. Virgilius — Tales casus Cassandra canebat &c:

in nullis tamen linguis, quas novimus, hæc exornatio adeo. ut in prioribus duabus est usitata. mirum autem, quod Gallica lingua alias tam ornata hunc verborum ornatum ab aliis tam usitatum prorsus ignorat. nec ego tamen id crediderim quod priores populi duo, tam diversi ab invicem & adversi, in hoc verborum ornatu ex arte conveniant: sed potius ex usu longo, qui, quia placuit solum, & facili similium ad similia transitu aures demulcet, per succedentia tempora inolevit. sicut lullius in libro de eloquutione, de talibus, qui usum

faite avant le tems du Roi Olaus Tryggueson, & l’autre, qui est inserée dans l'histoire des Jomsbourgeois, paroit etre du meme siecle. (Introduction a l'Histoire de Dannemarc. Copen-

ap 1755. 4to. p. 248) vid: supra p: 772 [Cf. WM II 32, n. 2].

8. His Grandmother was Nesta, the Daughter of Rhys ap Tudor, Prince of South-Wales. in her first youth she bore a Natural Son to Henry the First, King of England; she after- Wards married Girald de Windsor, by whom she had a Daughter call'd Angarath, who was the Archdeacon’s Mother by William de Barri. he died in 1223 (& was born 1146) about 77

years old. (see Tanner’s Bibliotheca: & Itinerarium Cambriæ.

BTS LE) R

9. The Cymeriad, mention’d above, (p:800 [173]. Not:8 [3].) as this art was not practised by the most ancient Bards, whose works are yet extant; it is highly probable, that the Welch borrow'd it from the Anglo-Saxons & Danes, who in their turn caught the art of Rhyme, & some of their measures from the

Welch. (vid: p: 771 [Cf. WM II 31-2], & 804 [175].)

habent et non artem, loquitur dicens, Cæteri cum legurt orationes bonas aut poemata probant oratores et poetas, neque intelligunt qualiter commoti probent, eo quod scire non possunt, ubi sit, aut quid sit, quomodo factum sit id, quod eos maximé delectat.. his account of their Musick is very rema:-

kable. C: 13.

In musico modulamine non uniformiter, ut alibi, sed multipliciter multisq modis et modulis cantilenas emittunt: adeo ut in turbâ canentium, sicut huic genti mos est, quot videas capita, tot audias carmina discriminaq vocum varia, in una denique sub B mollis dulcedine blandâ consonantiam, & organicam convenientia melodiam. in borealibus quoque majoris Britanniæ partibus trans Humbrum, Eboraciq finibus, Anglorum populi, qui partes illas inhabitant, simili canendo symphoniacâ utuntur harmoniâ : binis tamen solummodo tonorum differentiis, & vocum modulando varietatibus, unâ inferius submurmurante alter vero’ superne demulcente pariter et delectante. nec arte tantum, sed usu longævo, et quasi in. naturam morâ diutinâ jam converso, hæc vel illa sibi gens hanc specialitatem comparavit. qui adeo apud utramque invaluit, & altas jam radices posuit, ut nihil hic simpliciter, ubi multipliciter, ut apud priores, vel saltem dupliciter ut apud sequentes, mellité proferri consueverit; pueris etiam (quod magis admirandum) et feré infantibus, cum primum a fletibus in cantus erumpunt, eandem modulationem observantibus. Angli vero quoniam non generaliter omnes, sed boreales solum, hujusmodi vocum utuntur modulationibus, credo, quod a Dacis & Norwagiensibus, qui partes illas insulæ frequentius occupare, ac diutius obtinere solebant, sicut loquendi affinitatem, sic canendi proprietatem contraxerunt.…. and more particularly of their instrumental Musick. C: 12 — Mirum, quod in tant tam præcipiti digitorum rapacitate musica servatur proportio, et-arte per omnia indemniter crispatos modulos, organaq, multipliciter intricatâ tam suavi velocitate, tam dispari paritate, tam discordi concordia, consona redditur & completur melodia, durescapa , seu diurévre, chordæ concrepent. semper autem a B molli incipiunt & in idem redeunt, ut cuncta sub jucundæ sonoritatis dulcedine compleantur. tam subtiliter modulos intrant & exeunt, sicq sub obtuso grossioris chordæ sonitu gracilium tinnitus licentius ludunt, latentius delectant, lasciviusq demulcent, ut pars artis maxima videatur artem velare, tanquam

Si lateat, prosit. ferat ars deprensa pudorem. hinc accidit, ut ea, quæ subtilius intuentibus & artis arcana’!

10. Any one would imagine, that this & the former Passage -contain'd a just description of the Harmony resulting from a combination of several Parts moving in a different progression, & that of different Notes, tho’ all in the same Mood, & Key. yet I find it is the general opinion, that this Art of Composition was not invented, till about.a hundred years after Giraldus’ time : all the Musick extant of the 13th Century being in two Parts only, & those note against note in exact Counterpoint. (see Memoires de l’Acad: des Inscriptions, &c: Vol: 20. p. 382, & 404. sur Guillaume de Machaut.) ;

see4te

acuté discutientibus internas & ineffabiles comparant animi delicias, ea non attendentibus, sed tanquam videndo non videntibus, & audiendo non intelligentibus, aures potius onerent, quam delectent; & tanquam confuso inordinatoq strepitu invitis auditoribus fastidia pariant tædiosa. tribus ue tur instrumentis, cytharâ, tibiis, & choro...'" he adds (C: 10) Omnes de curia seu familia viri citra etre omnem citharizandi per se peritiam tenent — hospites autem, qui matutinis temporibus veniunt, puellarum affatibus & cythararum modulis usque ad vesperam delectantur : domus enim hic Lee puellas habet, & cytharas ad hoc deputatas.

Dr. Ap Rhys before-mention'd divides the Welch Poetry into Dre Genera: the Clerwriaeth, or Stimulatorium, of w‘° there are two Species, one call’ d Sennu (from Sen, a Reprimand). this is wholly satyrical, & was often perform d Extempore. the other Canu serthed[h]|, i:e: lascivious Song, running on obscene subjects. :

The second Genus is Teulwriaeth (the word signifies domestic kindness & familiarity) and this is also of two kinds, one Digribhgerd[h] (from Digrifwch, Wit & Pleasantry) whose name sufficiently shews its subject, & used often to be perform'd Extempore. the other Cariad (from Caru, to love) turning on that tender Passion.

The third Kind is Prydydhiaeth or Bardoniaeth, as belonging to the Bards & Poets by profession. of this there were many Species, as the 1. Prophetic, treated by the two Myrdhins, whom we call Merlin; by Taliessin, Rhys Bhardh, Dabhydh ap Gwilim, & others.

2. The Divine, on religious subjects, treated also by de hessin, loan y Cent, Cyndhelw, Teilo, &c:

3. The Historical. those who write in this way are known by the name of Posbheirdh.

4. The Genealogical. these are call’'d Arwydhbheirdh, from Arwydh, the Banner or Standard bearing the Insignia of a Family.

5. The Elegiac. 6. the Epitaphic, call'd Bedhgerdh, i:e: Sepulchral. 7. the Moral. 8. the Mathematical, turning chiefly on the celestial Bodies, & their influences; on Musick, Geometry, &c:…. 8. the Physical, on the nature of things, & philosophy. 0. the Mechanic, on the arts of Hunting, Fishing, Agriculture, &c: he adds, that they have also Farces, Comedies, & Tragedies of great antiquity.

Ît was a custom'” of all the Bards, Rhithmen, & Minstrels,

11. ['imagine, it should be read Chrotta. So Fortunatus, L: 7. Carm: 8.

Romanusque lyrâ plaudat tibi, Barbarus harpä, Græcus Achilliacâ, Chrotta Britanna placet.

it is the Crowd, or Crwth, a rude kind of Fiddle still in use among the Welch.

12. In the Commission of Q: Eliz: (afterwards mention’d) she : empowers 22 Persons, Men of wisdom & upright dealing, and also of experience & good knowledge in the scyence, to meet at the Town of Cayroes in Flintshire, the accustom'’d place for the execution of the like commission, & to call before them all, — that intend to maintain their living by name or colour of Minstrels, Rithmers or Barths; to admitt so many, as they shall find worthy, under the degrees heretofore in semblable sort to use & exercise the sciences & faculties of their professions in such decent order, as shall appertain to them; & to give streight commandment to the rest (not worthy) to return to some honest labour, as they be most apt to, for maintenance: of their living upon pain to be taken up for sturdy & idle Vagabonds, & used according to the laws in that behalf provided.

The reason alledged for granting such commission is, that vagrant & idle Persons naming themselves Minstrells, Bards, &c: are lately grown into such intolerable multitude in North- Wales, that not only Gentlemen & others by their shameless disorders are disquieted in their habitations, but also the expert Minstrells & Musicians in tange & cunning thereby much discouraged to travail in-the exercise & practice of their knowledge, & also not a little hindred livings & preferment; the reformation whereof, & the putting these people in order, the L® President & Council of the Marches have thought very necessary, &c: &c: Dated at Chester, 1567. |

The original, & also the Silver Harp, were to be seen Mostyn in 1693.

within the Talaith of Aberfraw, i: e: the Counties of Anglesey, Caernarvon, Merioneth, Denbigh, & Flint to appear at Caerwis in Flintshire to make trial of their skill. the Chief was to have a silver Harp given to him by the family of the Mostyns:* & have degrees confer’d, & licence to travel about the Country, to them that àappear’d well. in M Aubrey's Mon: Brit: Part | is the copy of a Commission from the President & Council of Wales directed to S' Richard Buckley, & several other Gentlemen, to hold this Session on Trinity- Monday, 1568, with a Diploma, whereby one is made Protovates. (Tanner’s Bibliotheca Britann:* v: Bardi.)

As long as the Welch continued under their own Princes, these solemn Assemblies'* were held once in three years, in w‘ the Pencerd[h] (or Chief Musician) otherwise call'd Bardd cadeirjawg, or the inthroned Bard, was elected for that time.”° the Prince of the Country always presented him with a Harp, w® he kept during life. every Musician, who received a Licence to practise in publick, & to demand a reward from the Audience, before whom he perform'd, was obliged to pay him four & twenty Pence in Silver; & he received the same sum upon the marriage of any of their Daughters. his residence in Court was assign’d him in the houshold of the hereditary Prince, & he had the privilege of sitting at the King (or reigning Prince’s) Table next to the Chief Justice'° (who was in dignity the fifth Great-Officer of the Court). when he performed in publick before the King, he had the Precedence of the Bardd-Teulu (or Domestic Bard) & sung first an Ode in honour of God, & then the Praises of the King, nor could any Musician in his presence demand a Reward beside himself, & of what was given among the Musicians he

had a double share.

The Bardd-Teulu'® was one of the Great-Officers of the Court constantly attending the King’s Person, & reckon’d the eighth in rank among them. on the three great Festivals his place was next to the Penteulu'* (or Great Master of the Household) who deliver’d the Harp into his hands. on entering into his Office, he received his Harp from the King: & from the Queen a ring of gold. he was supplied by them with Clothes, & Linnen, & a Horse; & held Lands, free of Taxes, annex'd to his Post. his appartment was in the Lodgings of the Great Master. if he accompanied the other Domesticks of the King in any warlike expedition, during the Battle he was to sing the Unbennjaeth Prydain (the Monarchy of Britain) & his due was the fattest Ox taken among the

13. Hoell (or Powell) of Castle-Yollo, i:e: Castellum Ludovici, who dwelleth at Penrin in Flintshire, by ancient accustume was wont to gyve the bagge of the silver Harpe to the

best Harper of North-Wales, as by a privilege of hys Auncestors (Leland, Itin: V: 5. p: 46).

14. These Meetings were call’ d Stethua. (see Selden’s notes on M: Drayton's Polyolbion, Canto 4th. p. 67). That at the Stethua oft obtain’d the Victor’s praise, Had won the silver Harp, & worn Appollo’s bays, Whose verses they deduced from those first golden times, &c:

15. See Leges Wallicæ, Cap: 45. ed: G: Wotton, D: D: Fol: Lond: 1730. these Privileges of the Musicians (tho’ now inserted in the code of King Hywel-Dda, drawn up about the years 943) we are told by D’ Wotton, are not older than the Reign of Griffith ap Conan, Prince of North-Wales, who was Cotemporary with Stephen, King of Ce towards the middle of the 12th Century.

16. Who was the Magistrate, that elected him, & declared him Chief of the Bards. upon w°”* he was to present this Judge with a Horn to drink out of, a Gold-ring, & the Cushion he sate on at the Ceremony. (ibid: C: 16. art: 23.)

LAMBAS EST" CE 10,

18. He was usually of the Blood-royal, & first of the Great Officers.

Spoil. he was to sing to the Queen (when she desired it) in her own apartment, but in a low voice, that it might not disturb the Court: and also to the Great-Master. upon the Creation of a Chief Justice, he presented him with a gold Ring:'° as he did the Queen with another. in the valuation of Moveables (Legum L: 3. Cap: 7) the price of the Bardd- Teulu’s Harp is set at 120 Pence, & that of a private Gentleman at half as much.

Whatever severity Edward the first”? might exercise at the time, when he reduced that Country, on some of the Welch Bards; yet it appears, he proceeded no farther against them im general, than to order that they should not travel (as usual) about Wales, nor ask any rewards from the Inhabitants.

Ad conquestam Walliæ ordinatum fuit per Dom: FEdwardum Conquestorem quod — les Westeurs, *! Barthes, & Rymours, ac subsidia quærentes, quæ vocantur Kymmortha,”* otiosi & vacabundi non permitterentur, nec sustinerentur in patriâ; ne per scandala & mendacia excitarent populum ad malum, & per subsidia communem populum opprimerent. (Records of Carnarvon. fol. 81. in Append: ad Leg: Wallicas, p: 542) upon the rebellion of Owen Glendour, immediately after Henry 4" came to the Crown, the King and Council found it necessary to enforce & add to the Severity of Edward the 1°’ Laws. one Article is this, Que les Ministrelx”?, Bardes, Rymours, & Westours, & autres Vagabundez Galeys deinz North Gales, ne soient desormes soeffrez de surcharger le Païis, come ad esté devant: mais soient ils outrement deffendux sur peine d'Emprisonement d’un an. (Ordinances de Gales. A: D: 1401. ibid. p: 547). & in an Act of Parliament cf the year following it is said, Pur eschiever plusours diseaz & meschefs, quaunt advenuz devaunt cez heurez en la terre de Gales par plusours Wastours, Rymours, Ministrelx, & autres Vacabundez, ordenuz est, et establez, que nullez Wastours, &c: soent ascunement sustenuz en la Terre de Galez pur faire commortha ou *’coillage sur la commune Peuple

illoeques. (p. 548)

With regard to the ancient History of this Nation the principal information we have, is from Geffrey of Monmouth’. he calls his work a translation from the original Welch: but many have suspected not only the truth of the History (w°* abounds with childish fables) but the veracity of Geffrey, à& look'd upon the Whole, as a fiction of his own brain. others have as eagerly justified both the one, & the other.