Englynion y Beddau
Encyclopedia
The Englynion y Beddau is a Middle Welsh verse catalogue listing the resting places (beddau) of legendary heroes. It consists of a series of englyn
ion, or short stanzas in quantitative meter, and survives in a number of manuscripts. The collection is thought to be considerably older than its earliest manuscript, the 13th-century Black Book of Carmarthen
, and provides an important early glimpse at medieval Welsh heroic tradition and topographical folklore.
ion, are transmitted in four classes of medieval Welsh manuscripts and later transcripts. The earliest, best known and most reliable version of the text is the collection of 73 englynion preserved in the Black Book of Carmarthen
. The first 69 stanzas were copied in the first quarter of the 13th century, while the last four were added at a later stage, probably in the same century. Five further englynion survive as part of the poetic cycles of Heledd and Llywarch Hen
in the Red Book of Hergest
and two transcripts, supposedly from the White Book of Rhydderch
, made in the decades on both sides of 1600: BL, Additional MS 31055 and Peniarth MS 111. The third significant group is represented by Dr John Davies
' copy in NLW Peniarth 98(B) and a number of manuscripts which appear to go back to a 16th-century manuscript, now lost. It contains 18 stanzas in corrupt form, some of which are alternative versions of the englynion in the Black Book of Carmarthen. Finally, there is a single englyn milwr preserved in Wrexham MS 1 and still later manuscripts.
Although the earliest extant manuscript dates to the 13th century, much of the material is thought to be considerably earlier. According to Thomas Jones, the language, style and metre of the verses suggests a date of composition somewhere in the 9th or 10th century. Likewise, Jenny Rowlands has dated some of the stanzas contained in the Black Book text to the 9th century.
), 19 (part of 17-19, on Meigen son of Rhun), 30 (part of 28-30, on graves at a site called Gwanas), 37-38 (on Beid(d)awg Rudd), 42-43 (presumably uttered by the legendary Taliesin
), 41 (on Cynddylig son of Corcnud), 47 (part of 46-7, on Eiddew and Eidal, sons of Meigen), 62 (on Bradwen) and 64.
A single englyn may describe up to three different heroes. Place-names are often absent and when described, the grave-sites may assume a variety of locations - in mountainous, hilly or flat landscapes, near waterways or churches, and even in the sea. The verses occasionally refer to the physical condition of the graves, such as wetness and growth of moss.
Like the Trioedd Ynys Prydein
or Welsh Triads, the work is valuable for offering numerous glimpses of Welsh heroic tradition. These are embedded in snippets of topographic folklore, which "[testify] to the close association between heroes and places in early Welsh literature".
The work is famous for containing an early allusion to King Arthur
, whose grave is said to be one of the mysteries of the world (anoeth byd). References or possible allusions to Bedwyr
, Gwalchmai
and the Battle of Camlann
also testify to some absorption of Arthurian tradition in the text, though the work has little in common with the earliest Welsh Arthurian tale, Culhwch ac Olwen.
There are also references to characters known from the Middle Welsh prose tales of the Mabinogi
. The Dylan of stanza 4, whose grave is said to be near the church of St Beuno
(i.e. at Clynnog Fawr), appears to be the Dylan Eil Ton ("son of Wave") who occurs in the Fourth Branch. Another Mabinogi character is Pryderi
, of whom the Fourth Branch tells that he was slain and buried at Maen Tyriawg
, above the Felenrhyd. Stanza 7 locates his grave at the confluence of the Gwenoli, which is where the stream meets the Felenrhyd. The relation between the grave of Lleu Llaw Gyffes
"under cover of the sea, / where his disgrace was, / a man who spared no one" (stanza 35) and the account of his death in the Fourth Branch is uncertain and it may be that the englyn alludes to a somewhat different story.
Englyn
Englyn is a traditional Welsh and Cornish short poem form. It uses quantitative metres, involving the counting of syllables, and rigid patterns of rhyme and half rhyme. Each line contains a repeating pattern of consonants and accent known as cynghanedd.- The Eight Types :There are eight types of...
ion, or short stanzas in quantitative meter, and survives in a number of manuscripts. The collection is thought to be considerably older than its earliest manuscript, the 13th-century Black Book of Carmarthen
Black Book of Carmarthen
The Black Book of Carmarthen is thought to be the earliest surviving manuscript written entirely or substantially in Welsh. Written in around 1250, the book's name comes from its association with the Priory of St. John the Evangelist and Teulyddog at Carmarthen, and is referred to as black due to...
, and provides an important early glimpse at medieval Welsh heroic tradition and topographical folklore.
Transmission
The stanzas, or more specifically, englynEnglyn
Englyn is a traditional Welsh and Cornish short poem form. It uses quantitative metres, involving the counting of syllables, and rigid patterns of rhyme and half rhyme. Each line contains a repeating pattern of consonants and accent known as cynghanedd.- The Eight Types :There are eight types of...
ion, are transmitted in four classes of medieval Welsh manuscripts and later transcripts. The earliest, best known and most reliable version of the text is the collection of 73 englynion preserved in the Black Book of Carmarthen
Black Book of Carmarthen
The Black Book of Carmarthen is thought to be the earliest surviving manuscript written entirely or substantially in Welsh. Written in around 1250, the book's name comes from its association with the Priory of St. John the Evangelist and Teulyddog at Carmarthen, and is referred to as black due to...
. The first 69 stanzas were copied in the first quarter of the 13th century, while the last four were added at a later stage, probably in the same century. Five further englynion survive as part of the poetic cycles of Heledd and Llywarch Hen
Llywarch Hen
Llywarch Hen was a 6th-century prince of the Brythonic kingdom of Rheged, a ruling family in the Hen Ogledd or 'Old North' of Britain...
in the Red Book of Hergest
Red Book of Hergest
The Red Book of Hergest is a large vellum manuscript written shortly after 1382, which ranks as one of the most important medieval manuscripts written in the Welsh language. It preserves a collection of Welsh prose and poetry, notably the tales of the Mabinogion, Gogynfeirdd poetry...
and two transcripts, supposedly from the White Book of Rhydderch
White Book of Rhydderch
The White Book of Rhydderch is one of the most notable and celebrated manuscripts in Welsh. Written in the middle of the fourteenth century it is the earliest collection of Welsh prose texts, though it also contains some examples of early Welsh poetry...
, made in the decades on both sides of 1600: BL, Additional MS 31055 and Peniarth MS 111. The third significant group is represented by Dr John Davies
John Davies (Mallwyd)
Dr John Davies, Mallwyd was one of Wales's leading scholars of the late Renaissance. He wrote a Welsh grammar and dictionary. He was also a translator and editor and an ordained minister of the Church of England....
' copy in NLW Peniarth 98(B) and a number of manuscripts which appear to go back to a 16th-century manuscript, now lost. It contains 18 stanzas in corrupt form, some of which are alternative versions of the englynion in the Black Book of Carmarthen. Finally, there is a single englyn milwr preserved in Wrexham MS 1 and still later manuscripts.
Although the earliest extant manuscript dates to the 13th century, much of the material is thought to be considerably earlier. According to Thomas Jones, the language, style and metre of the verses suggests a date of composition somewhere in the 9th or 10th century. Likewise, Jenny Rowlands has dated some of the stanzas contained in the Black Book text to the 9th century.
Form and structure
The core of the text in the Black Book of Carmarthen is made up by the englynion which employ either of two basic opening formulas. The first of these formulas is Y bedd "The grave" (33x), or variants thereof, such as Y beddau (6x) and (Y) tri bedd (2x). The other takes the form of a question, Pieu y bedd…? "Whose is the grave…?" (18x), usually followed by an answer identifying the name of the hero who lies in the grave. A further 13 stanzas deviate from this pattern and they may be regarded as additions which derive from other sources, though some are part of a series which contains one of these set formulas. In the standard edition of the work by Thomas Jones, they are given as stanzas 7 (not an englyn), 14-15 (on Owain and CynddylanCynddylan
Cynddylan, or Cynddylan ap Cyndrwyn was a seventh century ruler associated with Pengwern. He is described in the poem Marwnad Cynddylan as a king of Dogfeiling, a sub-kingdom of Gwynedd near Rhuthun to the north of Powys, in modern-day Wales.-History:With the collapse of the Roman Empire and the...
), 19 (part of 17-19, on Meigen son of Rhun), 30 (part of 28-30, on graves at a site called Gwanas), 37-38 (on Beid(d)awg Rudd), 42-43 (presumably uttered by the legendary Taliesin
Taliesin
Taliesin was an early British poet of the post-Roman period whose work has possibly survived in a Middle Welsh manuscript, the Book of Taliesin...
), 41 (on Cynddylig son of Corcnud), 47 (part of 46-7, on Eiddew and Eidal, sons of Meigen), 62 (on Bradwen) and 64.
A single englyn may describe up to three different heroes. Place-names are often absent and when described, the grave-sites may assume a variety of locations - in mountainous, hilly or flat landscapes, near waterways or churches, and even in the sea. The verses occasionally refer to the physical condition of the graves, such as wetness and growth of moss.
Themes and contents
With the exception of the four women mentioned in stanza 70, the names of the dead belong to male heroes of Welsh legend (rather than history). They receive high praise for the virile strength and prowess they have shown in battle, such as Dehewaint, a "strong pillar of warriors". Although the dominant tone remains one of heroic celebration, the eulogies are also touched with a hint of sadness for the inevitability of death, as expressed in the gnomic statement that "each one's death comes at the fated time" (stanza 64).Like the Trioedd Ynys Prydein
Welsh Triads
The Welsh Triads are a group of related texts in medieval manuscripts which preserve fragments of Welsh folklore, mythology and traditional history in groups of three. The triad is a rhetorical form whereby objects are grouped together in threes, with a heading indicating the point of likeness...
or Welsh Triads, the work is valuable for offering numerous glimpses of Welsh heroic tradition. These are embedded in snippets of topographic folklore, which "[testify] to the close association between heroes and places in early Welsh literature".
The work is famous for containing an early allusion to King Arthur
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
, whose grave is said to be one of the mysteries of the world (anoeth byd). References or possible allusions to Bedwyr
Bedivere
In Arthurian legend, Sir Bedivere is the Knight of the Round Table who returns Excalibur to the Lady of the Lake. He serves as King Arthur's marshal and is frequently associated with Sir Kay...
, Gwalchmai
Gawain
Gawain is King Arthur's nephew and a Knight of the Round Table who appears very early in the Arthurian legend's development. He is one of a select number of Round Table members to be referred to as the greatest knight, most notably in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight...
and the Battle of Camlann
Battle of Camlann
The Battle of Camlann is best known as the final battle of King Arthur, where he either died in battle, or was fatally wounded fighting his enemy Mordred.-Historicity:...
also testify to some absorption of Arthurian tradition in the text, though the work has little in common with the earliest Welsh Arthurian tale, Culhwch ac Olwen.
There are also references to characters known from the Middle Welsh prose tales of the Mabinogi
Four Branches of the Mabinogi
The Four Branches of the Mabinogi are the best known tales from the collection of medieval Welsh prose known as the Mabinogion. The word "Mabinogi" originally designated only these four tales, which are really parts or "branches" of a single work, rather than the whole collection...
. The Dylan of stanza 4, whose grave is said to be near the church of St Beuno
Beuno
Saint Beuno was a 7th-century Welsh holy man and Abbot of Clynnog Fawr in Gwynedd, on the Llŷn peninsula.-Life:Beuno was born in Powys, supposedly at Berriew, the grandson of a prince of that realm. After education and ordination in the monastery of Bangor-on-Dee in north-east Wales, he became an...
(i.e. at Clynnog Fawr), appears to be the Dylan Eil Ton ("son of Wave") who occurs in the Fourth Branch. Another Mabinogi character is Pryderi
Pryderi
Pryderi fab Pwyll is a prominent figure in Welsh mythology, the son of Pwyll and Rhiannon, and king of Dyfed following his father's death. He is the only character to appear in all Four Branches of the Mabinogi, although the size of his role varies from tale to tale...
, of whom the Fourth Branch tells that he was slain and buried at Maen Tyriawg
Maentwrog
Maentwrog is a village and community in the Welsh county of Gwynedd, lying in the Vale of Ffestiniog, within the Snowdonia National Park. The River Dwyryd runs alongside the village...
, above the Felenrhyd. Stanza 7 locates his grave at the confluence of the Gwenoli, which is where the stream meets the Felenrhyd. The relation between the grave of Lleu Llaw Gyffes
Lleu Llaw Gyffes
Lleu Llaw Gyffes is a hero of Welsh mythology. He appears most prominently in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi, the tale of Math fab Mathonwy, which tells the tale of his birth, his marriage, his death, his resurrection and his accession to the throne of Gwynedd...
"under cover of the sea, / where his disgrace was, / a man who spared no one" (stanza 35) and the account of his death in the Fourth Branch is uncertain and it may be that the englyn alludes to a somewhat different story.
Editions
- Jones, Thomas (ed.). "The Black Book of Carmarthen 'Stanzas of the Graves'." Proceedings of the British AcademyProceedings of the British AcademyThe Proceedings of the British Academy is a peer-reviewed academic journal. The publication consists of conference proceedings and lectures, and several of the individual volumes have their own unique titles. Articles from volume 51 onwards are available as PDF files for members, with the first...
53 (1967). pp. 97–137. External link. - Jarman, A.O.H. (ed.). Llyfr Du Caerfyrddin. Cardiff, 1982. Diplomatic edition of the text in the Black Book of Carmarthen.
Secondary sources
- Rowland, Jenny. Early Welsh Saga Poetry: a Study and Edition of the Englynion. Cambridge, 1990.
- Sims-Williams, Patrick. "The Early Welsh Arthurian Poems." In The Arthur of the Welsh: The Arthurian Legend in Medieval Welsh Literature, ed. Rachel Bromwich, et al. Cardiff, 1991. pp. 33-71.
Further reading
- Petts, David. "De Situ Brecheniauc and Englynion y Beddau: Writing About Burial in Early Medieval Wales." In Anglo-Saxon Studies in Archaeology & History 14 (2007). pp. 163-72. Also published in Early medieval mortuary practices. New perspectives, ed. Sarah Semple and Howard Williams. Oxford: University of Oxford, School of Archaeology, 2007. RHS record.
See also
- Broccán the Pious, "On the Graves of Leinster Men" (10th-century Irish poem)
- Ernest RhysErnest RhysErnest Percival Rhys was an English writer, best known for his role as founding editor of the Everyman's Library series of affordable classics. He wrote essays, stories, poetry, novels and plays...
, early translation of the Englynion y Beddau into English.