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Welsh Studies
EARLY
By Jane
AND MEDIEVAL
Cartwright,
527
LITERATURE
Lampeter
whereas
the
is
accompan
poetry
i4th-c. poems
i5th-c.
provided,
4
ied only by lists of vocabulary. N.Jacobs,
"Englynion" yMisoedd:
testun B neu fersiwn Llanstephan
117 a Pheniarth 155', Dwned 6:
9-24, edits four verses of poetry associated with fourmonths of the
year and discusses the relationship between the various manuscripts
inwhich they are extant.
R. M.Jones, Mawla'i Gyfeillion,Llandybie, Cyhoeddiadau Barddas,
258 pp., is a detailed analysis of the nature of praise poetry inWelsh
tradition. The study considers both secular and religious praise poetry
and focuses primarily on medieval poetry: the Cynfeirddand Gogyn
feirdd, Dafydd ap Gwilym and the poets of the gentry, but also
and the work ofWilliam Williams
encompasses the Renaissance
'Iwerddon a Chymru yn yr Oesoedd
Pantycelyn. P. MacCana,
528
Canol',
sources
Early
andMedieval
as he
considers
points
Literature
synthesizes a wide
of contact
between
range of literary
Ireland
and Wales
from the 7th c. to the 17th c. N. Jacobs, 'Red, brown, and grey
cuckoos: a problem inpoetic ornithology', CMCS4.0: 27-33, discusses
the semantic development of the term rhuddand various interpreta
tions of the line Rud cogeugoleu ewyn in 'Can yrHenwr'. L. W. Lloyd,
'Beth yw perthyn? Pedwar term teuluol ymmarddoniaeth yrOesoedd
Canol', Dwned, 6: 25-53, traces the semantic development of the four
familial terms teulu,tylwyth,
cenedland carand examines theirmeanings
'
and uses inMiddle Welsh poetry. D. Johnston, "Ceidwaid yr hen
Y Traethodydd
a'r iaith Saesneg',
iaith"? Beirdd yr Uchelwyr
the
of
demonstrates
that
the
poets
gentry frequently used
150:16-24,
English loan-words in their poetry for both artistic and pragmatic
reasons, and thus demolishes themyth thatmedieval poets helped
conserve an ancient pure form of Welsh untainted by English
'
influences. Id., "Propaganda'r prydydd": gwleidyddiaeth Beirdd yr
Uchelwyr', Cqf Cenedl 14:39-67, highlights many of the pitfalls that
can be encountered when attempting to interpret political poetry
from 14th and i5th-c. Wales, and warns against lifting sections of
"Ar
poetry from their literary and historical contexts. P. L. Williams,'
ar
y
yn
llenyddiaeth
ganghennau'r gynghanedd": agweddau
goedwig
yrOesoedd Canol', Dwned 6: 55-76, surveys references to carpentry,
trees and forests inMiddle Welsh poetry and highlights the relation
ship between the forest and the otherworld in medieval Welsh
literature. Id., 'Tirlun a thirwedd Cymru: golwg ar lenyddiaeth yr
Oesoedd Canol', Univ. ofWales Aberystwyth, occasional series 2,
29 pp., elucidates references to landscape inmedieval Welsh poetry
and prose, and demonstrates that although a sense of place was
extremely important tomedieval authors, theywere not particularly
concerned with the aesthetics of landscape. Id., 'Cywydd "Y Carw"
Dafydd ap Gwilym: rhai ystyriaethau', Y Traethodydd 155:80-92,
considers what inspired Dafydd ap Gwilym to choose a deer as a love
'
"Where cider
messenger in his cywydd'Y Carw'. Marged Haycock,
ends, there ale begins to reign": drink inmedieval Welsh poetry',
H. M. Chadwick Memorial Lectures 10,Dep. ofAnglo-Saxon, Norse
and Celtic, Cambridge,
29 pp., discusses references to alcoholic
in
medieval
Welsh
poetry. A. Breeze, 'The Blessed Virgin
beverages
and the sunbeam through glass', Celtica 23:19-29,
discusses refer
ences inmedieval poetry to the image of the sunbeam
shining through
glass and itsmetaphorical associations with Christ's incarnation and
Mary's virginity. The discussion traces the origins and development
of the topos and considers six examples frommedieval Welsh poetry.
O. Thomas, 'Dafydd Epynt: bardd llythrennog o Frycheiniog', Dwned
6: 77-94, sheds new lights on the poetic career of Dafydd Epynt, a
Welsh Studies
529
15th-c poet from Breconshire who has previously attracted very little
attention. Thomas demonstrates that although Dafydd Epynt cannot
be considered as one of themost important poets in 15th-c. century
Wales, he is nevertheless significant because ' some of his poetry is
recorded in his own hand. J.Walford Davies,
"Hybu'r galon rhwng
yr esgyrn crin": cywydd 'Cysur Henaint' Guto'r Glyn', Dwned 6:
95-127, is a detailed critical analysis of Guto'r Glyn's cywydd'Cysur
Henaint'.
H.
M.
Edwards,
'Dwyn
marwnadau
adref',
LIC
23:
21-38,
530
Early andMedieval Literature
The Welsh King and his Court, ed. T. M. Charles-Edwards, Morfydd
of Wales
E. Owen
and Paul Russell, Cardiff, Univ.
Press,
ix + 603 pp., is a detailed and authoritive account of the organization
and operation of theWelsh
royal court prior to the Edwardian
conquest. The study provides a thorough analysis of the Laws of
Court, editions of primary texts and English translations and includes
the following articles which are relevant to this section: D. Jenkins,
'Bardd teuluand pencerdd? (142-66), carefully examines the roles of the
names a
pencerddand bardd teuluand demonstrates thatwhilst pencerdd
status in the independent bardic organization, bardd teulunames an
office in the state organization. P. I. Lynch, 'Court poetry, power and
polities' (167-90), also examines the status of court poets and their
relation to both court and state, but focuses primarily on the political
aims of their poetry. T. M. Charles-Edwards
and N. A. Jones,
'BreintiauGwyr Powys: the liberties of the men of Powys' (191-23),
analyse an unusual poem by Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr which
champions the liberties of themen of Powys and demonstrates that
ap Maredudd's
pencerddwas capable of expressing views
Madog
contrary to the interests of the rulers of Powys. M. E. Owen,
'Royal
propaganda: stories from the law texts' (224-54), discusses a series of
stories and anecdotes recorded in theWelsh law texts and considers
the purpose of these stories. Editions of theMiddle Welsh texts and
English
translation
are
provided
in an
appendix.
P. Russell,
'Canu
Welsh Studies
53i
CMCS
39:1
22, further
scrutinizes
the manuscript's
vernacu
lar glosses and notes that the scribe responsible for theOW englynion
was one of the first to add material to the Cambridge Juvencus.
McKee
tentatively suggests that the manuscript may have been
produced at Llanilltud Fawr or Llancarfan.
Math Uab Mathonwy Pedwaredd Gainc y Mabinogi, ed. Ian Hughes,
of Welsh,
Univ.
of Wales,
Aberystwyth, Dep.
Aberystwyth,
xli 4- 114 pp., provides a new edition ofMath Uab Mathonwy, the
fourth branch of PKM. His edition is based on theWhite Book of
Rhydderch, but also lists themost significant variant readings found
in theRed Book ofHergest. A useful introduction is provided which
includes information on the manuscripts, previous editions of the
text,
translations,
dating,
structure,
authorship
and
characterisation
as well as two maps relating to the legend. The eleven tales known
collectively as theMabinogion have been translated into Portuguese
and a translation of Tstorya Taliesin is included in an appendix: 0
Mabinogion, trans. Jose Domingos Morais, Lisbon, Assirio & Alvim,
*Das
translation has also appeared:
443 PP- A second German
trans.
Die
Bernhard
der
walisischen
Kelten:
Vier
des
Mabinogi,
Sagenbuch
The Mabinogion, trans. Lady Charlotte Guest,
Maier, Miinchen.
London, Harper Collins, x 4- 355 pp., republishes Lady Charlotte
Guest's English translation of theMabinogion, which first appeared in
three volumes in 1846. This beautifully illustrated volume also
includes Guest's notes on the tales, a brief introduction by Alan Lee,
the illustrator, and facsimile reproductions of the wood engravings
which originally appeared in the 1877 reprint. TheMabinogion, trans.
Gwyn Jones and Thomas Jones, London, Everyman, xliii 4- 259 pp.,
is a revised edition of the classic Jones and Jones translation with the
addition of a Preface by John Updike and some erroneous informa
tion printed on the dust jacket.
532
Early
andMedieval
Literature
tenuous
rather
links
between
images
of
animals
on
pre
assesses
Ifor Williams's
and
Charles-Edwards's
phonolo
gical arguments concerning the dating of PKM and examines the title
Mabinogi. Sioned Davies, O'r Pair i'r Sosban, Y Ddarlith Lenyddol,
Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Llanelli a'r Cylch, 22 pp., traces references
to cauldrons inmedieval Welsh literature and comments on author
ship and the relationship between orality and literacy in the
Mabinogion. I. Daniel,
'TmborthyrEnaid a'r chwedlau brodorol', LIC
the
1-20,
23:
compares
language and styleof TmborthyrEnaid and the
and
that the Dominican
author of Tmborthyr
proposes
Mabinogion
Enaid was also responsible for six of theMabinogion legends. Having
reiterated his view that Cnepyn Gwerthrynion was possibly respons
ible for Tmborthand Gramadegau'rPenceirddiaid, he tentatively suggests
that some of theMabinogion legends may have been composed at a
Dominican house inNorth Wales, possibly at Bangor or Rhuddlan.
R. M. Jones, 'Macsen Wledig a'i berthynas a'r genedl', Cqf Cenedl
examines the character of Macsen Wledig
15:3-28,
(Magnus
Maximus) and theways inwhich Welsh literature andWelsh scholars
have depicted him as the founding father of the Welsh nation.
'La violence contre les femmes dans la litterature
C. Lloyd-Morgan,
du
galloise
Moyen Age', in Violence et societeenBretagne etdans lespays
celtiques,Brest, Centre de Recherche Bretonne et Celtique, 339-47,
discusses episodes inMiddle Welsh
literature where women are
to
in
violence, focusing
subjected
particular on the female characters
of theMabinogion. Although themajority of the texts in question are
generally assumed to be of male authorship, Gwerful Mechain's
poetry provides a unique glimpse of a female author's attitude
towards violence, sexuality and life in general.
CanhwyllMarchogyon Cyd-destunoliPeredur, ed. Sioned Davies and
Peter Wynn Thomas, Cardiff, Univ. of Wales Press, x + 162 pp.,
provides a detailed and thorough analysis of the Middle Welsh
Arthurian legend Peredur.The study suggests that the earliest written
Welsh Studies
533
S. Knight,
'Resemblance
and menace:
post-colonial
reading
context'.
534
Early
andMedieval
Literature
and
theWelsh future: Gerald of Wales, Geoffrey of Monmouth
reassesses Gerald de Barri's
Arthur of Britain', Celtica 23:60-75,
criticisms of Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia regumBritannie and
demonstrates thatwhilst both authors can be viewed as counterparts
because of theway inwhich they exploited their sources and viewed
the British past, they differed considerably in their visions of the
British future. Crick argues that Gerald actively sought to discredit
Geoffrey's vision of a unified kingship of Britain.
T. D. Breverton, The Book ofWelsh Saints, 606 pp., is a popular
its rather
publication published by the author's own press. Despite
to
the
of
the
introduction
non-academic
Saints', it
naive,
Age
on the traditions
a
amount
of
information
considerable
provides
associated withWelsh saints. It draws on a number of hagiographical
sources and summarizes relevant legendary material, although itdoes
not list its sources and should be used with care. Karen Jankulak, The
Medieval Cult of St Pedroc,Woodbridge,
Boydell, xi + 261 pp., is a
detailed and thorough analysis of themedieval cult of St Petroc and
its related hagiography. The
study pays particular attention to
examines Welsh
but
also
and
Cornwall,
hagiographic
Brittany
material including Vita Cadoci, theWelsh triads and poetry by Dafydd
Nanmor. The Welsh triads claim St Pedrog as one of the 'three just
knights' ofArthur's court and Dafydd Nanmor refers to the tradition
that Pedrog dedicated himself to the religious life following the battle
of Camlan and was later buried at Y Ferwig. Two Mediaeval Lives of
SaintWinefride, ed. Ronald Pepin and Hugh Feiss, Toronto, Peregrina,
126 pp., provides English translations of the two I2th-c. Latin Lives
of StWinefride (Gwenfrewi) of Holywell: the brief anonymous Life
and the more detailed vita by Robert, Prior of Shrewsbury, which
includes an account of the translation of her relics fromGwytherin to
Shrewsbury. GogoneddusArglwydd,HenffychWell: Detholiad 0Ryddiaith a
BarddoniaethGristnogolGymraegdrwy'rCanrifoedd,ed. Gwynn ap Gwilym,
xliv + 325 pp., brings together a selection of religious poems and
sections of prose. The firstpart covers the period up to 1499 and
contains twenty-eight texts chosen by J. E. Caerwyn Williams,
including anonymous early poetry, poetry of the Gogynfeirddand
Cywyddwyrand short sections of prose such as Mabinogi Iesu Grist,
EfengyINicodemus and GwyrthiauyWynjydedigFair. Gesta Romanorum, ed.
Patricia Williams, Cardiff, Univ. of Wales
Press, lxvi + 201 pp.,
this
the
of
highlights
importance
previously neglected collection of
moral tales which were translated from Latin intoWelsh c. 1600.
Williams edits theWelsh text, extant in only one manuscript, and
considers the text's authorship, dating, orthography, linguistic char
acteristics, main themes and images, as well as its relationship to the
Latin manuscripts andWynkyn deWorde's English edition.