BARDDAS
NOTES TO VOL. 1

1 The other adjudicators were the Rev. T. James, Netherlong, Huddersfield, and the Rev. Silvan Evans, Llangian, Pwllheli.
2 The adjudication was originally written in Welsh, in which language it was also read at the meeting.
3 The other was the Rev. Edward Evan, of Aberdare.
4 See vol. ii.
5 The Mythology and Rites of the British Druids, p. 34.
6 Dr. O. Pughe's Dict., sub voce mymryn.
7 Trioedd Braint a Defod.
8 Suetonius, I.
9 De Bello Gallica, liber vi. cc. 13-18.
10 The Laws of Dyvnwal Moelmud.
11 Caffaeliad Llytlyr.
12 Ystorrynnau Cyssefin.
13 Origin and Progress of Writing, p. 56.
14 Bucher. Fro. p. 183.
15 Laws of Dyvnwad Moelmud.
16 See Davies's Celtic Researches, p. 237.
17 Trioedd Braint a Defod.
18 Trioedd Ynys Prydain.
19 The Cymric form of Jupiter, or Jove.
20 Iau.
21 Llyfr Barddas.
22 Geographia, lib. iv.
23 Trioedd Braint a Defod.
24 Trioedd Barddas.
25 Historia, lib. v. c. 31.
26 De Divinatione, 1, i.
27 Historia Naturalis, lib. xvi. sect. 95.
28 Lib. xxiv. ss. 62-3.
29 Lib. xxix. s. 12.
30 Y Cread. Golychwyd, &c.
31 De Situ Orbis, lib. iii. c, 2.
32 Lib. v. de Claudio Cæsare, c. 25.
33 Lib. xv. c. 9.
34 Lib. xiv. c. 30.
35 Gwehelyth Iestin ab Gwrgant.
36 Trioedd Braint a Defod.
37 Dosparth y Ford Gron.
38 The Venta Silurum of the Romans.
39 See Preface to "Cyvrinach y Beirdd."
40 Cited in W. Owen's "Bardism," prefixed to his "Heroic Elegies of Llywarch Hen."
41 See William Owen's "Bardism," ibid..
42 Probably the same as Elishah, in Gen. x. 4.
43 It is remarkable that, contrary to the popular notion which represents Gomer as the progenitor of the Cymry, Nennius, the Genealogy of Gruffydd ab Cynan, in the 2nd volume of the Myvyrian Archaiology—and other Pedigrees registered by Lewis Dwnn, all support the view of the text as to the descent of that people from Javan. Nennius, indeed, asserts positively that his information was derived "ex traditione veterum, qui incolæ in primo fuerunt Britanniæ."
44 That is, wood of credibility. The ancient mode of cutting letters on wood is frequently alluded to in the poems of the Bards, both early and medieval. Thus;

TALIESIN, 520-570

RHYS GOCH AB RICCERT, 1140-1170

CYNDDELW, 1150-1200

DAVYDD AB GWILYM, 1300-1368

IOLO GOCH, 1315-1402

RHYS GOCH ERYRI, 1330-1420

LLYWELYN MOEL Y PANTRI, 1400-1430

GWILYM TEW, 1430-1470

IEUAN DU’R BILWG, 1460-1500

LEWYS MON, 1480-1520

SION TUDUR, 1560-1602

RHYS CAIN, 1580

A long string of similar quotations might be adduced, but the foregoing are sufficient to show that the practice in question was known to the Bards from the 6th down to the 17th century.
    It may be observed that several words in the Cymric language, which relate to knowledge or literature, have a primary reference to wood. Thus; arwydd, a sign; cyfarwydd, skilful; cyfarwyddyd, information; cywydd, a species of versification, also revelation; dedwydd, having recovered knowledge, happy; derwydd, a Druid; egwyddawr, a rudiment, an alphabet; gwgddawr, a rudiment; gwyddon, a man of science; gwynwyddigion, men of sacred knowledge.
45 Though Roll, as in the text, primarily refers to the schedule that was turned up with the hand in the form of a pipe, it came also to denote a system, or arrangement, as in the phraseologies, Rhol y Crythor, Rhol y Telynor, Rhol y Mesurau, Rhol Iolo Goch, Rhol Achau, Rhol Cof a Chyfrif, and Rhol y Beirdd. It is alluded to by many of the Bards; thus―

DAVYDD AB GWILYM, 1300-1368

GRUFFYDD AB IEUAN AB LLYWELYN VYCHAN, 1470

HUW AP DAVYDD AP LLYWELYN AP MADAWC, 1480-1520

HARRI AP RHYS AP GWILYM, 1530

DAVYDD BENWYN, 1550-1600

LEWYS AP HYWEL, 1560-1600

SION TUDUR, 1560-1602

46 Father of the celebrated Caractacus. Bran is said to have remained at Rome for seven years as hostage for his son. (Tr. 35. Third Series). It was then that be acquired the information imputed to him in the text.
47 The words Menw and Menwyd, which are here used as proper names, signify the source of intellect and happiness, the mind, or the soul, being derived from men, an active principle, There are several words growing out of the same root, such as, menwad, menwawl, menwedig, menwi, menwin, menwydaidd, menwydaw, menwydawg, menwydawl, menwydedd, menwydiad, menwydig, menwydus, menwydusaw, menwyn, through all of which the original idea of intellect and bliss runs. "Tri menwedigion teyrnedd," the three beneficent sovereigns; " tri menwydagion Duw," the three blessed ones of God. (Tr.)

The English words man and mind, and the Latin mens, seem to be of cognate origin.
48 Al. is.
49 The Name is alluded to by Iolo Goch;―

And by Sion Cent, 1380-1420,

Llywelyn ap Hywel ap Ieuan ap Gronw, 1500-1540, makes use of the term, thus,

And Davydd Nanmor, who died A.D. 1460, observes,―

50 Al. llythyr; a cutting, from the prefix lly, signifying what is manifold, various, or manifest, and tyr, (torri,) to cut. Or it may be from lleu, to explain, or to read; or else from llw, an exclamation, an oath, and tyr.
51 That is, A. B. C., the I being inserted with the view of giving B its proper pronunciation, or of filling up the vowel sound between B and C.
52 A word composed entirely of the ten primary letters. See further on.
53 Taliesin observes,

54 The word "Awenyddion" here translated aspirants, generally stands for Bardic disciples, but it literally means persons endowed with poetic genius, being derived from Awen.
55 Cyfrinach, from cyd and rhin; what is known to some, but not to all. The word occurs in the poetical compositions of the Bards. Rhys Goch yr Eryri has a whole poem entitled "Cywydd Cyfrinach," in which there are allusions to the "Awen," "Einigan," "Pont Hu" (the bridge of Hu,) "tair llythyren " (three letters,) "Menw," "Gair heb wybod" (the unknown word,) and other esoteric doctrines of the Bards.
Lewis Mon, in his elegy on Tudur Aled, refers to the Bardic secret,―

56 In one version of Rhys Goch's "Cywydd Cyfrinach" mention is made of this personage as one whose learning was the source of the Awen―

57 Reference is made to the usage of engraving on stone by Huw Cae Llwyd, A.D. 145-1480;―

58 This doubtless is none other than the "Rhufin," whose name occurs in a poem by Edmund Prys (1541-1624) in conjunction with the names of "Plennydd," "Goron," "Meugant," "Melchin," "Mefin," "Madog," and "Cadog."

59 We retain the original term plagawd, (Lat. plagula, plaga; Gr. πληγη, Dorice πλαγη,) because in the documents before us it is described as meaning not only parchment, but also a kind of plant or sedge grown in the East.
60 Thus Taliesin,―

61 Pardion-parodion. Another reading has parorion, continued, permanent.
62 Al. "invested with."
63 There was some such tradition about the Creation in Job's time, as we infer from Chap. xxxviii. 7 of his book. "When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?"
    There is an allusion to the creative melody in the poetic compositions of the Bards. Thus in a version of the "Englynion y Coronog Faban" attributed to Aneurin, about A.D. 550.―

        And William Cynwal (1560-1600)―

64 Cymrice cerdd, which, though now universally meaning a poem, or a song, seems to have originally denoted a going or a walk. We have thus the reason why it received its secondary meaning, i.e. because the melody of the divine vocalization a gerddodd, walked through, or pervaded all creation.
 65 Conformably with this statement is that of the Triads, where Hu the Mighty is called one of "the three cultivators of song and thought," because it was he that " first applied to vocal song the preservation of memory and thought." Tr. 91. Third Series.
66 He was the third of "the cultivators of song and thought," so considered, because it was he that "first conferred art upon vocal song, and system upon thought." Ibid. Geraint the Blue Bard, who flourished about A.D. 900, has recorded his achievement in this respect;―

67 "There were previously Bards and Bardism, but they had no licensed system, nor privileges or usages, but what were obtained by kindness and courtesy, under the protection of country and nation, before the time of these three," i.e. Plennydd, Alawn, and Gwron. Tr. 58, Third Series.
68 "The three primary Bards of the Isle of Britain: Plennydd, Alawn, and Gwron; that is to say, they were the persons who devised the privileges and usages of Bards and Bardism. Therefore are they called the three primaries. * * * Some say that they lived in the time of Prydain son of Aedd the Great; but others say that they lived in the time of Dyvnwal Moelmud, his son, who in some old Books is called Dyvnvarth ab Prydain." Ibid.
69 Stone of credibility. The poets frequently allude to the coelvain, thus,―

CYNDDELW.

GRUFFYDD AB DAVYDD AB TUDUR, 1290-1340

GRUFFYDD AB MEREDYDD AB DAVYDD, 1310-1360

SION TUDOR

70 Al. "Name."
71 Al. "conditions."
72 Al. "condition." Al. "energy."
73 Al. "intellect; affection; and deliberation."
74 Probably "score" is to be supplied.
75 Saith ugein ogrfen
        Y sydd yn Awen.
          Seven score gogyrvens
        Are there in Awen.―Taliesin.

76 This line is from the works of William Lleyn, 1540-1587.
77 Al. "ten."
78 The sameness of the word is better kept in the original, "torri" meaning both to cut and to break.
79 The literary achievement of Alawn is thus recorded in the "Englynion y Gorugiau" by Geraint the Blue Bard;―

80 Added from another MS.
81 I.e. between A. D. 1021 and 1064.
82 See Gen. iv.
83 The Eastern people have likewise certain traditions respecting Enos which are not recorded in the Holy Bible, such as, that Seth his father declared him sovereign prince and high-priest of mankind, next after himself; that Enos was the first who ordained public alms for the poor, established public tribunals for the administration of justice, and planted, or rather cultivated, the palm tree.
84 The MS. breaks off abruptly here.
85 He was the father of the celebrated Casswallawn or Cassivelaunus, who opposed the Roman invasion.
86 Arthur was elected pendragon of the Britons about A. D, 517, and died A, D. 552.
87 Several of Taliesin's poems to Urien Rheged are printed in the 1st vol. of the Myvyrian Archaiology.
88 I.e. in writing.
89 It may be remarked here that according to one version of the poem by Taliesin, in which the expression "Saith ugain Ogrfen y sydd yn Awen," occurs, (See Ante p.48) the word "iaith" is used instead of "Saith," which makes the meaning to be—"the language of twenty letters is in Awen,"―a statement that in some measure bears out that of the text.
90 A.D. 1412-1122.
91 Llawdden flourished from about 1440 to 1480.
92 Talhaiarn presided in the chair of Urien Rheged, which was established at Caer Gwyroswydd, or Ystum Llwynarth. He composed a prayer, which has always been the formula used in the Gorsedd Morganwg, or Bardic Sessions of Glamorgan. He was also domestic chaplain to Emrys Wledig, or Ambrosius Aurelianus. Taliesin in his Poems alludes to Talhaiarn,―

93 Llywelyn Sion was an eminent bard of Glamorgan, distinguished for having been appointed to collect the System of Bardism as traditionally preserved in the Gorsedd Morganwg, in which he presided in 1580. A great portion of the present Volume is due to his care and assiduity.
94 Davydd Benwyn was a Bard who flourished from 1550 to 1600, being a native of Glamorganshire. He presided at the Glamorgan Gorsedd in 1580.
95 A Gwilym Tew presided at the Glamorgan Gorsedd in 1460.
96 The Monastery of Pen Rhys was suppressed in the second year of King Henry V.'s reign, AD. 1415, because its inmates had sided with Owain Glyndwr.
97 The insurrection of Owain Glyndwr began about 1400, and continued with varied success for fifteen years, when he died, i.e. September 20th, 1415.
98 I.e. Manogan.
99 The non reception of a perjured Bard in the world of bliss is likewise dwelt upon by Sion Cent;―

100 Sion Bradford was admitted a disciple of the bardic chair of Glamorgan in 1730, being then a boy. He presided in the same chair in 1760, and died in 1780.
101

102 I.e. in writing.
103 A body.
104 This could hardly have been the same as Ithel the Tawny, son of Llywelyn of the Golden Torque, in the middle of the 12th century. The number of his alphabet, being less than that of Howel the Good, who died A.D. 948, would require that he should have flourished before the latter date.
105 Ystudvach was a Bard who flourished in the early part of the fifth century.
106 Iorwerth Vynglwyd, or the Gray-haired, was an eminent Poet, who was a disciple of the Glamorgan Gorsedd in 1460, and presided there in 1500.
107 This statement is made by the copyist, Iolo Morganwg.
108 A letter, probably either or , ought to be supplied here, in order to make up the number four, if that, and not three, was really intended.
109 This English sentence is evidently Iolo Morganwg's own observation.
110 Adam Davie, an old English Minstrel or Poet floruit Anno 1312.―Percy's Essay, p. 101. He was probably the same as Addav Eurych, who was also called Addav ap Davydd, and wrote in English as well as in Welsh. His son, Gruffydd ap Addaf ap Davydd, was the friend of Davydd ap Gwilym; and was murdered at Dolgelley.
111 These English observations are, no doubt, those of the copyist, Iolo Morganwg.
112 We have placed the vowels E and O in the positions which they ought to occupy so as to form the word Apcetilros.
113 "Cai Hir, nephew of the emperor Arthur, lord of the Comot of Maes Mawr in Glamorgan, was the first who appointed a Chair of Vocal Song in Tir Iarll, which was anciently called the Comot of Maes Mawr, whither it had been re-moved from Caerleon upon Usk, on account of the surrounding incursions of the Saxons. It was still called there the Chair of Caerleon. In the time of the contests between Rhys, son of Tewdwr, and Iestyn, son of Gwrgant, the Chair was disturbed, until the time of William, earl of Gloucester, who renewed it in Tir Iarll, (the earl's land,) for such, after his appellation, was the new name bestowed upon the Comot of Maes Mawr, and gave privilege and license to Bards."―Anthony Powell.
114 Geraint, the Blue Bard, has recorded a tradition respecting some of the services which Hu the Mighty showed to the Cymry, preparatory to their journey from Deffrobani:―

115 Probably Taprobane, the island of Ceylon, is meant; celebrated as having been the residence of Adam. The Historical Triads, however, identify "the summer country" with that "in which Constantinople now is." (Tr. 4. 56; Third Series.)
116 "They came across the Hazy Sea to the island of Britain and Armorica where they remained." (Tr. 4; Third Series.)
117 Anglice "the narrow green point," where also the Romans are said to have landed under Julius Cæsar. (Tr. 22; Second Series.)
118 The Coranians are described as the first of "the three usurping hordes that came into the Isle of Britain, and went not out of it," (Tr. 7; Third Series;) and as having in course of time "coalesced with the Romans until they became one people," and ultimately with the Saxons, "against the Cymry." (Tr. 15; ibid.) They were evidently the same as the Coritani.
119 Llawdden, or Ieuan Llawdden, was a very eminent Poet, who flourished from about 1440 to 1480. He was at one time Rector of Machynlleth, but in his old age he retired to the place of his nativity, the Vale of Llychwr, where he died, and was buried in the Churchyard of Llandeilo Talybont. His elegy was written by his contemporary, Iorwerth Vynglwyd, from which we learn that he obtained the highest bardic honours.
120 Gwilym Tew was a Poet who flourished from 1430 to 1470, and who presided at the Glamorgan Gorsedd in 1460.
121 Taliesin Williams says that this observation is Llywelyn Sion's.
122 An eminent Poet of Glamorgan, who presided in the Gorsedd Morganwg in the year 1560, and died in 1600. Llywelyn Sion in the early part of his life was well acquainted with him.
123 Al. "voice."
124 Al. "harmony."
125 He was living somewhere from 1160 to 1180. See a brief notice of him in Iolo MSS. p. 88.
126 This Ode is printed in "Cyfrinach Beirdd Ynys Prydain," p. 213.
127 Gruffydd, son of Nicholas, was illustrious for his power, riches, and family, was a great patron of the Bards, and extremely popular throughout the principality. He latterly joined the Yorkists, in whose cause he fought, and was fatally wounded at the battle of Mortimer's Cross, in 1461.
128 Davydd, son of Edmund, was a native of Hanmer, in Flintshire, and is celebrated as the reformer of Welsh Prosody, having compiled the twenty-four new canons of poetry, which are still adopted by the Bards of North Wales, though they have been protested against by those of Gwent and Morganwg as innovations.
129 "Rhiaint was a name given to the sixteen letters, and in the Ancient Secret the Birds of Rhianon:—one letter was called Rhïan, plur. Rhieinau."—Iolo Morganwg, who refers to Llywelyn Sion.

130 "The Yniales. That book, the work of Hopkin ap Thomas of Glyn Tawy, contained various matters, memorials, and sciences appertaining to things advantageous to be known. He lived in Ynys Tawy, and made the Gwernllwyn Chwith. Llywelyn the Red, son of Meurig the Aged, sang his praise."―MS.
In a poem addressed to Hopkin ap Thomas by Davydd y Coed, who flourished 1300-1350, mention is made of the Yniales as being in the former's possession.

131 Al. "of language."
132 Lit. "stringed."
133 Cattyrva (cad-tyrva) means literally, the crowd of battle.
134 Rhiallu, (rhi-allu,) the power of a sovereign; army of a country.
135 Manred, (man-rhed,) the elementary particles of creation.
136 Cyvanred, (cyd-man-rhed,) an aggregate of the elementary particles of creation.
137 Ceugant (cau-cant,) an enclosing circle, being the term used by the Bards to denote the infinite space which God alone traverses.
As these several terms were borrowed to represent particular figures in the Numeration Table of the Bards, it would seem that at first they respectively presented to the Bardic eye definite ideas of numbers, such indeed as those which were afterwards attached to them. This view is supported by the fact that the Romans considered their caterva as composed of a definite number of men, namely, six thousand.
138 Wallice, "cant," which literally means a circle. Ceugant again is the enclosing circle, which comprehends all.
139 The elementary principles of sound.
140 A throne, a circle.

141 The number of battle. In al. cattyrva.
142

143 "Mwnt" is probably of cognate origin with a mons, mount, mynydd.
144 Tyrva, Lat. turba, a multitude, a crowd.
145 Cadrawd, (cad-rhawd,) the rage or course of battle; an army.
146 The virtue or charm attributed to letters, as here explained, accounts very clearly for the etymology of rhint, (a rhin,) a notch.
147 Peithyn, any thing ribbed or cogged, a term applied to the Wooden Book of the Bards.
148 Peithynvain is the plural of peithynvaen, (peithyn maen,) the stone of elucidation.
149 He was also Archdeacon of Llandaff. See Ancient Laws and Institutes of Wales, vol. i. p. 343.
150 This is supposed to be the same as Pendennis Castle. See Hughes's Horæ Britanicæ, vol. ii. append. iii.
151 Glasgow.
152 It is not very clear whether this word is the same or not with crawen, a crust, having here the meaning of rind or skin.
153 The introduction of the Roll is elsewhere specially attributed to Bran the Blessed, father of the renowned Caractacus.
154 "A gift besom;" probably in reference to its employment of clearing off what hides the bare truth, or of divulging the secret in which it is couched.
155 Before we dismiss the subject of the Coelbren, it may not be uninteresting to notice a fact which, as far as it goes, clearly disproves the charge, which would palm upon the late Iolo Morganwg the invention of the Bardic characters. About six or seven years ago, during the process of repairing an old house, called "The Court," at Merthyr Tydvil, a room, which had been closed for a period of time exceeding the memory of man, was laid open, and in it were found several pieces of oak furniture, of decidedly a Tudor character, on one of which, a bedstead, were engraved, in relief, the letters that is, in modern orthography, M C L. Mr. Thomas Stephens, author of The Literature of the Cymru, who has examined the carving, and inquired into the history of the family that owned the bedstead, has kindly favoured us with the following remarks,--"As to the age of the letters, they are probably, and to all appearance, of the same age as the bedstead. Wood carving in England does not lay claim to any great antiquity. A taste for carving prevailed during the reigns of the Tudors as well as of the Stewards; and it seems to me that the bedstead in question may be about 250 years old, or perhaps 300; but certainly not more. If the true date is ever ascertained, I think it not unlikely that I shall be found to have overstated its age than otherwise. This, however, will be of service in determining the age of the Coelbren to be at least as old as the age of Llywelyn Sion, and in setting aside all imputations upon the character of Iolo Morganwg, as a setter forth of an alphabet of his own invention."
    This is a most important admission on the part of one who is in general extremely sceptical about the traditions of the Bards. Mr. Stephens proceeds to give some account of the family, thus:―

He lived at Van, near Caerphilly, and was the patron of Meyrig Dafydd, (See Cyfrinach y Beirdd, pp. 124, 127,) Dafydd Llwyd Matthew, and other Bards, The family, therefore, was one which must have been cognizant of Coelbren y Beirdd. Next in descent was―
1. Thomas Lewis, of Van, also Sheriff of Glamorgan in 1569--died Nov. 2, 1594, 87th of Queen Elizabeth. He had the following brothers and sisters, viz.,―

Thomas Lewis married Margaret, daughter of Robert Gamage of Coyty, and uncle of the Countess of Leicester, the great Gamage heiress; and as his eldest son was born in 1560, the marriage probably took place during the Shrievalty of Sir Edward Lewis in 1559.
We have here the material for the interpretation of M C L. If these letters are not the initials of any one of the three sisters―Mary, Margaret, or Cicely Lewis, then they are most probably those of the bride of Thomas Lewis—Margaret Damage Lewis—C being used as a radical instead of G. There are two carved bedsteads at the Court; one far more elaborately carved than the subject of these remarks. The former was probably the wedding gift of Sir Edward Lewis to his son; the latter, part of the dowry of Margaret Gamage. That at all events is my exposition of ."
156 These Triads are printed in Edward Williams's Lyric Poems, vol. second. Of the copy from which they were taken, he gives the following account;—"The Triades that are here selected are from a Manuscript Collection, by Llywelyn Sion, a Bard of Glamorgan, about the year 1560. Of this manuscript I have a transcript; the original is in the possession of Mr. Richard Bradford, of Bettws, near Bridgend, in Glamorgan. This collection was made from various manuscripts of considerable, and some of very great antiquity―these, and their authors, are mentioned, and most or all of them still extant."
They were published at Geneva, in 1856, by M. Pictet, under the title of "Cyfrinach Beirdd Ynys Prydain," or " Le Mystere des Bardes de l’Ile de Bretagne," accompanied by a translation and a commentary in the French language.
157 Cylch y Ceugant, translated by Ed. Williams, "the circle of infinity," and by M. Pictet, "le cercle de la region vide," means literally, the circle of the enclosing circumference, that is, the perfect rim that bounds the entire space of existence. From the idea of unchangeableness or absoluteness, involved in the doctrine of the ceugant, the word has acquired a secondary meaning, that of "certain." It is in that sense that we are to understand it in the adage―

Also in the following passage from Llywarch Prydydd y Moch, A.D. 1160-1220―

158 Cylch yr Abred is rendered by Ed. Williams, "the circle of inchoation," and by M. Pictet, "le cercle de transmigration." Abred seems to be compounded of ab, from, and rhed, a course, in reference to the migration of the soul from one animal to another, until it reaches the state of humanity.
Abred is mentioned in a poem attributed to Taliesin, where it is used to denote hell.

159 Cylch y Gwynvyd, the circle of the white, or, (taking that colour as the emblem of purity,) the holy world;―the circle of felicity, for, be it observed, gwynvyd is the term generally used by the Cymry to this day to denote bliss or happiness.
160 Annwn = annwfn, (an-dwfn,) a bottomless gulf; an abyss; the great deep, or lowest point of existence, as it is translated by Ed. Williams. There is an old adage which says,

Taliesin opposes it to heaven, when he speaks of a deluge;―

In the Christian code, annwn is made to stand for hell.
161 Cythraul, (cy-traul,) the principle of destruction. The term is that which is still employed for the most part to denote the devil, or Satan.
162 M. Pictet has rendered this "l’impassibilitié," as if the word was compounded of di, non, and goddef, to endure. He was driven to prefer this acceptation, from having mistaken the word "angenorfod," which be supposed to mean what was necessary for the triumph of man, over evil, and not, as we have rendered it, "the necessary obligations" of a man, as such.
163 Obryn is an obsolete word, but seems to be compounded of ob, a going out of, and rhyn, an emotion, or perception, and to signify an equivalent state of perception. Ed. Williams has it, "a state corresponding with his turpitude," and is followed therein by M. Pictet, who writes "point de démérite équivalent."
164 Cydvil, (cyd-mil,) co-animal, meaning an animal corresponding in disposition with himself. "A corresponding state of brutal malignity."―Ed, Williams.
165 Genius.
166 Al. "God."
167 Al. "love."
168 Not in one version.
169 Al. "they have no."
170 Al. "unicoloured."
171 Al. "finitenesses."
172 Al. "loveable."
173 Al. "sense."
174 Al. "will." Al. "love."
175 Al. "seeking."
176 Al. "what He would do."
177 Al. "things."
178 Al. "it is not in the least known."
179 Al. "celestials."
180 Al, "for ever."
181 Al. "goodness."
182 Al. "dwellers."
183 Between this and what follows there is a larger space than usual in the Manuscript, so that it is not quite clear whether they were not originally two different fragments.
184 Al. "knowledge."
185 We presume that "anhyrym," feeble, or non-effective, is a mistake for "anhyrwym," that cannot be bound, or restrained, which is the sense we have given it in the translation.
186 Al. "impulsive attributes." Al. "original attributes."
187 Al. "original attributes."
188 Al. "encounters."
189 "Save God" omitted in one version.
190 Al. "virtues."
191 "Geni," to be born, comes from "gen," a soul, a spirit.

"Geni," to attain to a soul or life, to become animated. "Ganed plentyn," a child has been animated, become animated. Enaid in Silurian is written genaid.
192 Plennydd, Alawn, and Gwron, who are said to have been contemporaries of Prydain, son of Aedd the Great.
193 Al. "God."
194 "Saith brif-gydoldeb un cadarn sef, Cydfan―Cydfod―Cyflawn―Cyfnerth―Cydfyn―Cydwaith―a Chydfy."―MS.
The seven principal universalities of one fundamentality: co-presence; co-existence; co-plenitude; co-power; co-will; co-operation; and co-eternity.
195 This phrase, undoubtedly Bardic, seems to have been present to the mind of the Welsh translator of the Litany, who has employed it as equivalent to "the assaults of the devil."
196 These Triads, it will be seen, arc incomplete.
197 Al, "restrained."
198 Instead of "qualities and properties," another version has "attributes." Al. simply, "properties."
199 Al. "four things."
200 Bardism recognises another principle of evil, which is called "DERA," respecting which Iolo Morganwg has the following note:―"The old Bardic idea was that the DERA usurped the occupation of Cylch y Ceugant, and that he would suffer none but himself to occupy it, destroying all other beings;―that God, being more powerful, is able to dispossess him, and, with Himself to occupy it, creates beings highly susceptible of happiness, to enjoy it with Him to all eternity, on condition of joining with Him to resist evil. The common proverb is hence derived―'Myn y diawl y cwbl iddo ei hunan, fal y cybydd: mae Duw, fal yr haul, yn rhoi than i bob un arall.'"
201 These aphorisms are sometimes ascribed to Cattwg the Wise, in the sixth century.
202 "Dirgel" is compounded of "dir," true, and "cel," concealment.
203 It is very difficult to render the exact meaning of "dim" in this place, which is evidently not nothing in the popular use of the term. The translation, which we have adopted, was suggested by the late Archdeacon Williams in his Gomer, p. 136, and is in fact the "nihil cogitabile," as distinguished from the "nihil purum," in Sir William Hamilton's analysis of negative thought.
204 "Difant," from "di," non, and "man," a place.
205 "Cymmant," from "cyd," with, or together, and "man," a place. Al. "that is restored in place"―"that is in place all around "―"intellectual place"―"elementation."
206 "Cynnegolion," the plural of "cynnegawl," a word compounded of cyn, primary, and neg, adj. negawl, negation.
207 That is, " the Ancient and Unoriginated One." The word occurs as one of the designations of the Supreme Being in the Welsh Bible, Dan. vii. 7; in the English Bible it is "the Ancient of days." The following definition of the word is given in one of Iolo Morganwg's Notes;―"Dihenydd-Gwehynwg. Yr Hen Wehynwg, the same as Hen Ddihenydd. (Barddas.) Gwehynwg, sef y tardd i fywydoldeb yn Annwn―the original lifespring, or springing into life at the lowest point of animated existence, or out of the chaotic mass of matter in its utmost state of decomposition."
208 The word is here taken in the sense of Younger, or as denoting the last manifestation of the Deity.
209 "Dovydd;" Domitor; the Tamer.
210 "Perydd;" the Causer; the First Cause; the Creator.
211 "Ner;" Energy; the Powerful.
212 "Nav;" the Former; the Creator. Sion Cent has a Poem on "the Names of God," into which he has introduced all these, with the exception of "Hen Ddihenydd," and "Perydd," thus,―

They are also, with many others of undoubtedly Druidic origin, still used by the Cymry as epithets for the Deity.
213 "A yoke." It would appear, rather, that the iau, or yoke, being the badge of power on the part of him who imposed it, was so designated from , a combination of Bardic symbols, which indicates preservation, creation, and destruction, and which was one of the earliest forms of the Divine Name. Iolo Morganwg interprets "Iau" as meaning "the recent, or last manifestation of the Deity—Mithras, Mithra;" from the adjective, which literally signifies younger.
214 The yoke, as a measuring rod, is mentioned in the Welsh Laws; it follows, therefore, that this catechetical fragment must have been composed when those laws were in force.
215 The meaning of "Hu," is that which is apt to pervade, or to spread over. It is used as an epithet of the Deity, in reference to His omniscience, and is not unfrequently to be met with as such in the works of the Bards; thus Taliesin, describing the resurrection of our Lord, observes,―

And Cynddelw,―

Rhys Goch Eryri, also, in his "Cywydd Cyfrinach," speaks of "Pont Hu," the bridge of Hu, in reference to the subject of the Incarnation; pont being a term used bardically to denote a teacher that conveys his disciples over the bog of ignorance. Hence the adage―"A fo ben bid bont." He who is head let him be a bridge.
Derived from HU is the word HUON, used also as a Divine appellation; e.g.,

It also occurs in the list of "the Names of God" by Sion Cent;―

Both Hu and HUON were no doubt originally identical with the HEUS of Lactantius, and the HESUS of Lucan, described as gods of the Gauls. The similarity of the last name to IESU is obvious and striking.
Hu the Mighty is, moreover, described in the Triads as a Historical personage; that is, as the one who first established the Cymry in a civil community, taught them agriculture, with other useful arts, and conducted them over into the island of Britain. See Triad, 3rd Series, Ap. Myv. Arch. vol. ii.
216 This extract is from a list of "Damhegion Beirdd Ynys Prydain."
217 Some persons, and among them M. Henri Martin, the celebrated French Historian, are of opinion that the three Circles of existence are represented in the old stone enclosures of the Bards, such as Avebury, and in the wheels observable on ancient British coins.
218 See Note, p.62.
219 Einion Offeiriad, or the Priest, was the father of Thomas ap Einion, author or compiler of the "Greal," the tale of "Pwyll Pendaran Dyved," and the "History of Taliesin." He lived in the 14th century.
220 Taliesin flourished from A.D. 520 to 570. He is ranked in the Triads, with Merddin Emrys and Merddin ab Madog Morvryn, as the three "privardd bedydd," or baptismal Bards of the Isle of Britain. Many of his compositions are still extant, which, with some of later date, wrongly attributed to him, are printed in the first volume of the Myvyrian Archaiology. Several Bardic allusions may be discovered in his Poems.
221 Al. "of Euas." His proper name was Davydd ab Roderic ab Madog, which is still to be seen on his effigies in Dymeirchion Church, of which he was Vicar, and where he lies buried. He flourished about 1340. He was an eminent and learned Poet, and had a great share in regulating Welsh prosody. There is a sacred poem by him "Am ddiwedd dyn a’i gorph," and a very poetical translation of the "Officium B. Mariæ," from Latin into Welsh, which fills thirty columns of the first volume of the Myvyrian Archaiology.
222 He was Meurig or Maurice, treasurer of Llandaf, who died in 1290. He obtained the name of "Cwtta Cyvarwydd" from a book of his, so called, which contains a compendium of the History of Glamorgan, with other articles, a list of which is given by Edward Llwyd in the Archaiologia Britannica, p. 257. He also wrote the History of the whole Isle of Britain; a Book of Proverbs; the Rules of Poetry; and Welsh Theology. He also translated the Gospel of St. John from the Latin into Welsh, with commentaries. "These Books," says Ingo ab Dewi, (about 1700,) "were at Abermarlas about fifty years ago."
223 Iohannes Menevensis, a divine and poet, who flourished towards the close of the tenth century. Some compositions, attributed to him, are printed in the first volume of the Myvyrian Archaiology.
224 A poet and grammarian, who flourished in the thirteenth century. The Grammar, which he undertook at the command of the Princes of Wales, about 1270, has recently been published under the auspices of the Welsh MSS, Society.
225 Sion Cent, or Dr. John Kent, a very eminent poet, and learned divine, who flourished from about 1380 to 1420. He wrote various Treatises in Latin on theological subjects, thirty-nine of which may be enumerated, and many poems in his native language, which were highly esteemed. Every manuscript volume of Welsh poetry of early date generally contains some of his productions. Three of them, one of which enumerates the Bardic Names of God, are printed in the Iolo MSS.
226 Rhys Goch Eryri, or Rhys ab Davydd, was a very eminent poet, who flourished from A.D. 1330 to 1420. About 30 of his poems on various subjects are preserved, among them one entitled "Cywydd Cyfrinach," which is printed in the Iolo MSS, p. 307, and is full of allusions to the mysteries of Bardism.
227 A distinguished patron of Welsh literature. He was the author of a set of Theological Triads, which appear from the style and language as if they were of Bardic origin.
228 There are two poems printed in the Myv. Arch., vol. i., and attributed to Taliesin, entitled respectively, "Canu y Byd mawr," and "Canu y Byd bychan," or the Great World, and the Little World. The former, referring to the creation, and the latter, to the maintenance of the world, seem, both of them, to be founded on the doctrine of the text. Iorwerth Vynglwyd (1460-1500) bears his testimony to the fact that man was described in the creed of the Bards as a little world, thus;―

229 It was this doctrine relative to the commencement of life from Annwn, that was, no doubt, at the bottom of the opinion, which Julius Cæsar attributes to the Gauls. "Galli se omnes ab Dite patre prognatos prædicaut, idque a Druidibus proditum dicunt." (De Bello Gallica l. vi, c. 18.)
230 "Ei gwrthryw," i.e. their species may be opposed by a contrary species.
231 "Au gwrthrym," i.e. their force be opposed by a contrary force.
232 What is stated here may explain the adage;―

233 Ieuan du’r Bilwg refers to Seth as a Bard;―

234

235 As it is now generally admitted that the Hyperboreans, spoken of by ancient authors, were the same as the primitive inhabitants of Britain, or the Cymry, it is very probable that their priest Abaris, who, according to Herodotus, (I. iv. 36.) carried an arrow round the whole earth fasting, referred mystically to the circle of Abred. He is said to have presented his arrow to Pythagoras, by which we are probably to understand that the philosopher received the doctrine of the metempsychosis from the Druids.
According to Stephanus of Bysantium, (De Urb.,) the Cimbri or Cimmerii were called also Abroi, perhaps Abredolion.
Αβροι-Κιμβροι, ως τινες φασι, Κιμμεριοι.
236 Al. ''stability.''
237 "Pryf," a worm, originally written prif, probably obtained its name from its being the first prif = primus—link in the chain of Abred.
There seems to be some allusion to the doctrine enunciated here in those lines by Casnodyn, A.D. 1290-1340;

238 This view of our blessed Saviour is identical with the heresy of the Sabellians, or Patripassians. See Hammond's Canons of the Church, p. 54.
239 The Sabellianism, which marks this fragment, does not appear to have been adopted by all the Christian Bards. Thus, in "the Venedotian Triads of the Isle of Britain," it is stated,―

"Taliesin Ben Beirdd a weles yn y Dwydid (in al. Dwydawd and Duwdid) dri pherson o Dad, o Fab, o Yspryd Glan."
Taliesin, the Chief of Bards, beheld in the Godhead three Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

240 Rom. i. 20.
241 "Manred " is compounded of mân, small, fine, and rhêd, a course.

242 Ti ymhob pwnk.—Thou art in every point.
                    Gruff. Gryg i Dduw, (1330-1370.)

243 "Cymminedd cyfungwlm;" light is thrown here upon the expression "manred gymmined," with which Meugant commences the several stanzas of his "Marwnad Cynddylan," (Ap. Myv. Arch. v. i. p. 159.) It is but a phrase borrowed from the Druidic Creed, and employed by the Bard for some fanciful reason or other, but without any immediate reference to the strain or drift of the song. Dr. Pughe knew nothing of the Bardic import of the word "manred," which he renders, "of small step or pace," and "manred gymmined," "short-paced traveller." So necessary, for the proper understanding of the works of the Bards, is a knowledge of Bardism!
244 This fragment, in connection with the fact that His is one of the Names of God, throws wonderful light upon the language of Rhys Brydydd, whilst that also bears testimony to the existence in his days, namely, between 1450 and 1490, of the curious doctrine of the text:

It would have been utterly impossible to explain the allusions, contained in this poetical passage, without the key which the Bardic Catechism offers to us.
245 In the document printed at p. 11, Huon is said to be the son of Alser. Gwyn ab Nudd is celebrated in Welsh Romance as the King of the Fairies, Brenin y Tylwyth Teg, in which capacity many interesting particulars respecting him have been collected in the Notes to Guest's Mabinogion, ii, p. 323.
246 See note, p.54.
247 Al. "chair."
248 This explains the component rhed, which occurs in the word "manred;"―q. d. the flowing particles.
249 "The Mover."
250 "The condition of the Mover."
251 See Gen. iii. 5.
252 Howel ap Davydd ap Ieuan ap Rhys, (A.D. 1450-1480,) clearly alludes to the doctrine of the text in the following couplet;—

On which Ieuan Tir Iarll, who presided in the Chair of Glamorgan A.D. 1760, and was remarkably well versed in Bardic lore, has the following observations;―

"There was a general opinion in the age when this was composed, that the sun was the abode, or habitation of God—in other words, that the sun was heaven. There are many words and sentences in other poems and odes which show that such was the view held by our ancestors respecting the sun. One of the Names of God in primitive times was Hu, and therefore the sun was designated Huan, which means annedd Hu, or the abode of God. Sion Mowddwy, in a poem in which he sends the sun as a messenger, says,

"It may be supposed that they formerly sacrificed to the sun, or at least in the face of the sun, which, in the opinion of those who are skilled in the Mysteries of the Bards, is the most probable, for I have not yet noticed in any place which I have read, that they themselves worshipped the sun, but only Him who dwelt in it. Therefore, in the act of worshipping, as well as in the performance of every other solemn rite, they did all in the face of the sun and the eye of light, that is, in the face, or before the face of Him, whom they regarded as living and existing in the sun and the light.
"Gwilym Tew, in a poem eulogistic of the large wine flagon of Rhys ap Sion of Glyn Nedd, says thus;―

253 Ieuan ab Hywel Swrdwal was an eminent poet, who flourished from about 1450 to 1480.
254 Literally, "the ten words of the law," which phraseology has been, also, retained in the Welsh Prayer Book, though it is not now popularly used. When the Cymry embraced Christianity, they manifested a special veneration for the Ten Commandments, as is evidenced by the fact that "the ten words of the law, the Gospel of John, and the blessed cross," constitute a Triad of the instruments of swearing, which succeeded the more ancient forms which had been used by the Bards, and which shall be hereafter described.
When Taliesin took the Bardic vow "on the Altar of St. Teilo at Llandaf," among other things he is made to say,―

255 This is the motto of the Chair of Powys, and is supposed to be co-eval with its foundation in the 6th century. It is quoted by Davydd ab Gwilym,―

256 Illegible in the MS.
257 Iolo Morganwg, whose transcript we have adopted on the present occasion, observes of St. Paul's Triads, that they are found in MSS. of a date anterior to the Reformation. We embody them in our Collection, because some of them, as Series the Third, not only associate Bardism with their Pauline Title, but also contain unmistakable traces of pre-Christian doctrines. It would seem, as in the case of the Ten Commandments, that the early Christians of Britain held the memory of the Great Apostle of the Gentiles likewise in peculiar veneration. Besides "Trioedd Pawl," or the Triads of St. Paul, allusion is frequently made to "Pregeth Pawl," or St. Paul's Sermon, and "Deifregwawd Pawl," St. Paul's distichs or verses. These, with "Efengyl Ieuan," or the Gospel of St. John, seem to have constituted the only Cymric writings, which, in the infancy of the Church, contained the doctrines of Christianity. It is probable that the attachment of the Cymry to the name of St. Paul had some reference to the supposed share he had in the foundation of their Church. It is not necessary, in order to establish their claim to authenticity, that the Triads in question should have been actually composed by the Apostle himself; though it is quite possible that he might have dictated their substance to Bran the Blessed, who happened to be at Rome at the same time with St. Paul. Bran, being a Bard, would naturally throw them into the Triadic form, as that which was best calculated at the time to impress them on the public memory. Or perhaps they were composed by the Bards, and received the sanction of the Gorsedd, after these had in general become converts to Christianity—the name of St. Paul being associated with then, because they were either derived from his writings, or supposed to be in unison with his doctrine. There is reason, indeed, to suppose that some of them were derived immediately from some Apocryphal Scriptures, such as those which refer to the Counsels of Lazarus. Though a Bardic tone runs through the whole, yet, as already hinted, it is more observable in the Third Series than in either of the other two. But whether that formed a part of the original compilation—afterwards separated from it as being of a too Druidic character, or whether it is altogether a distinct document, the work of a different school of Bards, we have no means of ascertaining.
258 Al. "health."
259 Al. "ease."
260 Al. "and they are three faculties of man."
261 Al. "call."
262 Al. "to seek it."
263 Al. "worldliness."
264 Al. "what is right."
265 Al. "and."
266 Al. "if."
267 Al. "contradict."
268 This Triad is the same as the 42nd.
269 Al. "Three things positively."
270 Al. "mercy."
271 One version omits the words "there are."
272 These are similar to the Evangelical Counsels of the Church, which are, voluntary poverty, perpetual chastity, and perfect obedience.
273 Al. "wrong."
274 Al. "annihilated."
275 Al. "There are three kinds of men."
276 Al. "his fellow-man." Al. "human beings."
277 Lazarus is asserted to have accompanied Joseph of Arimathea into Britain. See Morgans's St. Paul in Britain, p. 147.
278 Al. "belief."
279 Al. "belief."
280 Al. "the falsehood that is not shewn."
281 Al. "the sick and diseased."
282 Al. "the sick and diseased."
283 Al. "renounce."
284 Al. "support."
285 Al. "the predestination of God."
286 Al. "The three dignities of meditation," &c.
287 Al. "The three dignities of God."
288 Al. "obedience."
289 Al. "to learn profession and duty."
290 Al. "virtue."
291 Al. "for him and for me."
292 Al. "Awen."
293 Al. "recognised and known."
294 Al. "and the orders."
295 Al. "a man should not."
296 Some persons profess to discover indications of the doctrine of Abred, or the metempsychosis, in the Holy Scriptures. Thus, they say that the passage in Job, (ch. xxxiii. 29, 30,) "Lo, all these things worketh God often times with man, to bring back his soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the light of the living," ought, according to the Hebrew, to be rendered,―"Lo, all these things worketh God with man, AND THRICE to bring back his soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the light of the living." Again, they say that the Jews, when in reference to the man that was blind from his birth, asked our Saviour, "Who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?" (St. John ix. 2) must clearly have held a belief in a pre-existent state.
297 Al. "imagination."
298 "Al. "all-existent."
299 There is a set of thirteen Triads, entitled "Paul's Triads," printed in E. Williams's Lyric Poems, vol. ii; but as they seem to be other versions only of some of those Triads which we have already inserted, it has not been deemed advisable to transfer them into our pages.
300 Copied by Iolo Morganwg, Oct. 1797.
301 Al. "resuscitation."
302 "Llion " means an aggregate of floods. The bursting of the Lake of Llion is thus chronicled in the Triads:―"The three awful events of the Isle of Britain: first, the bursting of the Lake of Llion, and the overwhelming of the face of all lands; so that all mankind were drowned, excepting Dwyvan and Dwyvach, who escaped in a naked vessel, and of them the island of Britain was re-peopled." (13, Third Series.) In another Triad (97) it is stated that "the ship of Nevydd Nav Neivion carried a male and female of all living beings, when the Lake of Llion burst."
It is alluded to by Iorwerth Vynglwyd;―

In the British Chronicles Arthur is introduced, as saying thus;―"There is a lake near the Severn, called the Lake of Llion, which swallows all the water that flows into it at the tide of flood, without any visible increase; but at the tide of ebb, it swells up like a mountain, and pours its waters over its banks, so that whoever stands near it at this time, must run the risk of being overwhelmed."―Myv. Arch. v. ii. p. 311.
303 "The three benefactors of the Isle of Britain: the first, Hu the Mighty, who first shewed the nation of the Cymry the method of cultivating the ground, when they were in the Summer Country, namely, where Constantinople now stands, before they came into the Isle of Britain." Tr. 56.
The benefit which he thus conferred on his countrymen is frequently alluded to by the Bards; for instance, Iolo the Red, or Iolo Goch, the bard of Owain Glyndwr, observes of him;―

See Dr. Pugh's Dict. v.
304 Hu. Al. "his life."
305 The doctrine of eneidvaddeu is recognised in the Laws of Dyvnwal Moelmud. Thus, in Triads 19, 20, we read:―"There are three strong punishments: eneidvaddeu; cutting off a limb; and banishment from the country, by the cry and pursuit of men and dogs; and it is for the king to direct which he willeth to be inflicted." "There are three eneidvaddeu punishments: beheading; hanging; and burning; and it is for the king or lord of the territory to order which he willeth to be inflicted." On the supposition that these laws were really enacted by, or under the authority of Dyvnwal Moelmud, it follows, that the doctrine which the above Triads involve, is as old at least as 430 before Christ. It seems as if a misapprehension of its real nature gave rise to the opinion which Julius Cæsar entertained, that the Britons offered human sacrifices.
306 These are the equinoxes and solstices of the year.
307 In Iolo's manuscript the five last Triads follow immediately after Tr. 19; but they are crossed, as if they were not of the same series.
308 These follow the preceding, in Iolo's manuscript, without any heading, except, "*These marks refer to the printed copy. After 38," which seems to indicate that they belong to the "Triads of Bardism," which are published in the "Lyric Poems."
309 The heading in MS. is, "Ex Egwyddor Dewiniaeth," id est, "From the Rudiments of Divinity." Probably the above fragment and "Egwyddor Dywiniaeth," printed at p. 288, are portions of the same work.
310 Trahaiarn Brydydd Mawr, or the Great Poet, flourished from about 1290 to 1350. He presided at the Glamorgan Gorsedd in 1300. Two of his poems are printed in the Myvyrian Archaiology. He is also supposed to have been the same person as the one who distinguished himself under the assumed name of Casnodyn, which is subscribed to five other poems in the same collection.―Williams' Eminent Welshmen.
311 This was the motto of the Glamorgan or Silurian Chair.
312 See ante, p.62, note.
313 It is not quite clear whether "Bardd Prydain," means here the Bard of Britain, that is, the Isle of Britain, or the Bard of Prydain, the son of Aedd the Great. Among the Gwyddoniaid, which was the name by which the priests and public teachers were known previous to the reformation of Bardism under Prydain, we meet with a son of Peredur Wrawn; and if this Gwrawn was the same as Gwron, one of "the three primary Bards of the Isle of Britain," Peredur, in point of time at least, might well be called the Bard of Prydain. There were two others of the same name, who lived some time after the Christian era; Peredur, the son of Eliver Gosgorddvawr, who lived about the close of the fifth century, and Peredur, the son of Evrawg, a chieftain who flourished in the early part of the sixth century, and is mentioned by Aneurin as having fallen in the battle of Cattraeth. Neither of these, however, is represented as of the Bardic order. We may remark here, that, whenever the island of Britain is mentioned in old documents, it is almost invariably described as Ynys Prydain, a circumstance which gives force to the supposition that Peredur, in the heading of the above Prediction, was meant for the Bard of the son of Aedd the Great.
314 "Gwarthefin " is also one of the Names of the Deity, and is derived from gwarthaf, a summit, or a surface.
315 These are the three primitive letters, , the secret of which was known only to the Bards.
316 This is probably a corrupt reading of "Gwarthefin;" unless we take it as meaning "Gwrthenau," the cognomen of Gwrtheyrn, one of "the three arrant traitors of the Isle of Britain." In that case, the "stratagem" referred to would undoubtedly be the treacherous plot of the long knives on Caer Caradog, of which he was the promoter.
317 "Ysgyr," the plural of ysgor, which, according to Llywelyn Sion, is used for a letter, i.e. a notch, or opening, from ys, and gor, an opening, or aperture. There is here clearly a reference to the Coelbren or Peithynen of the Bards, to the use of which, under certain national troubles, the people would have to recur, as was the case in the time of Dwain Glyndwr.
318 Merddin Emrys was the Bard of Emrys Wledig, or Ambrosius, in the 5th century.
319 These Triads have been selected from a series entitled "Triads of Wisdom," which, together with the "Triads of Bardism," and the "Triads of St. Paul," were required to be recited at every meeting for public worship.
"There are three Triads of worship: the Triads of Bardism; the Triads of Paul; and the Triads of Wisdom; and they ought to be recited in every resort of worship."
320 The root of this word is cal, the root-also of caled, hard; it is translated corporeity.
321 Dr. Pughe gives the following meanings to this word,—"the ethereal sphere; the firmament, the atmosphere," and in support thereof quotes from Taliesin and Llywarch Hen:

It is compounded of nwyf and rhe, nwyf signifying "a subtil pervading element; a fine ethereal fluid;" and rhe, "a swift motion."
322 "Nyf " seems to be but another form of nwyf, and nwf, and has the same signification.
323 "Ufel," according to Dr. Pughe, is "elementary fire; a spark of fire."
324 Al. "natural."
325 The rest are wanting.
326 Al. "water."
327 This word is used now simply to denote heaven. It seems to be the same as the neph or cneph of the Egyptians, the ψυκη κοσμου, that pervaded and animated the whole world.
328 Al. "nwyvre."
329 Al. "air."
330 Al. "breath." Al. "firmament."
331 Al. "fire." Al. "uvel." Al. "uddel."
332 Al. "the soul." Al. "nyvel," i.e. a subtil element.
333 Al. "enyvel" = nyvel. Al. "animation." Al. "soul." Al. "uddel" = uvel.
334 Al. "firmament."
335 The plural of nev,―"heavens."
336 The same number of elements is recognised in "Hanes Taliesin," Ap. Myv. Arch. v. i. p. 20:

337 It is, probably, on this account that the Bards described man as a "little world." They were not, however, singular in their views on this point, for some ancient and medieval Christian writers have spoken of man in the same strain. Thus St. Augustine: " God therefore placed on the earth the man whom He made, as it were another world, the great and large world in the small and little world." (Aug. 1. qu. 83, 84, 87; Retr. l. i. c. 2.) Gregory Nazianzene remarks;―"Every creature, both heaven and earth, are in man." (Greg. Naz. Epist.) And Zanchius:—"The body of man is the image of the world, and called therefore microcosmos." (Zanch. de oper. Del, l. iii. c. 1.)
338 The title of a Book.
339 Al. "the Son of God."
340 It will be observed that this and the two following Triads are imperfect.
341 The meaning of this statement is not very clear. We are not sure whether it is intended that our first parents were expelled from Paradise within three days of their creation, or whether they were deprived of the holy enjoyment of three days, or portions of days, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, that closed the first week of time. Or are we to understand that Adam and Eve were formed out of the constituents or elements of three days? The first notion would not be consistent with the opinion that generally prevailed in the middle ages, which represents them as having continued but seven hours in their state of innocency. "Et ut tradunt historiagraphi eos fuisse in Paradiso per vii. horas et non ultra et statim ejecti sunt." Eulog. Hist. c. viii.

342 Pump gwregys terra.―The five zones of the earth.
                 Taliesin. Ap. Myv. Arch. i. p. 25.

343 Though, according to the ancients, St. John always led a single life, many of the middle writers of the Church, assert that he was married, and that it was his marriage which our Lord was at in Cana of Galilee. Bed. Prœf. in Ioan. Rupert. Tuit. Comm. in Ioan. lib. ii. in fin. Cyr. in Ioan, cap. 2, et alii.
344 "There is no number beyond ten."―Laws of Howel the Good.
345 Al. "perceptions."
346 Al. "the soul."
347 Al. "to understand."
348 The rest are wanting.
349 It is to be regretted that L. Morris should have omitted from a poem, which is inserted in the Myv. Arch. v. i. p. 47, a portion "containing an odd sort of philosophy about the origin of salt water, rain, and springs," as it might, notwithstanding its oddity, have been of service in ascertaining the amount and species of knowledge possessed by our Bardic ancestors on these matters.
350 Seven of the Planets are mentioned in a poem of Taliesin, called "Canu y Byd Mawr," or the Song of the Great World. Myv. Arch. v. i. p. 25.
351 The daughter of Don, and styled in the Triads (Myv. Arch. ii. 73) one of the three beautiful ladies of the Isle of Britain." This constellation is the same with the Corona Borealis. Mentioned in " Hanes Taliesin," Ap. Myv. Arch. i. 19.
352 The Lyre.
353 The son of Don; one of "the three sublime astronomers of the Isle of Britain." Tr. 89, third Series. The Galaxy.
354 The Great Bear.
355 The Orion.
356 The Pleiades. Mentioned in "Hanes Taliesin," Ap. Myv. Arch. i. 19.
357 Cassiopeia.
358 The title of one of Taliesin's poems, Myv. Arch. i. 65.
359 The zodiac, or ecliptic. Mentioned in "Hanes Taliesin."
360 Styled in the Triads as one of "the three monarch bulls." Tr. 73; third Series.
361 There was a king of Britain of this name, who flourished from B.C. 859 to 839. He founded Bath.
362 Mentioned in "Hanes Taliesin."
363 The Twins.
364 The son of Bleiddyd―the celebrated king Lear of Shakespeare.
365 Elfin is said to have first discovered Taliesin, in a leathern bag, fastened to one of the poles of a weir. He is frequently mentioned by the Bard.
366 A distinguished character in Welsh Romance.
367 Cyntefin, (cynt-hefin,) the commencement of summer.

368 The summer solstice.
369 The autumnal equinox.
370 The winter solstice.
371 The vernal equinox.
372 Brut―Brutus, supposed to be the same with Prydain.
373 Al. "nine."
374 The fragment would appear to be imperfect, unless we read "to this time."
375 Gwyn-mer; in reference to either frost or snow.
376 Gwyn-hy-mer.
377 Gwyn-wy-bar; ice. Gwenhwyvar is also used as a proper name, three of Arthur's wives being so called.
378 Gwyn-myr; myr being the aggregate plural of mor, a sea.
379 Gwyn-hy-bar, or gwyn-y-bar. From bar comes barug, the term in popular use for hoar-frost.
380 Probably in reference to the penitential season of Lent.
381 Cyn-nodd-awr.
382 Daronwy is one of the epithets of the Deity. It was also the name of a person who is considered as one of the three molestations of the isle of Anglesey. (Tr. 81; first Series.) There is a historical poem by Taliesin, preserved in the 1st vol. of the Myv. Arch, entitled "Cerdd Daronwy," or Daronwy's Song. Probably this name is given to the month of March, not from any idea that thunder happens in it oftener than in other months, but because it is a powerful month―the lord of months, as regards the severity of the weather, even as it is called Mawrth, March = Mars, the god of war.
383 "Cynhewin," from cyn, and haw, ripe. It may, however, be but another form of Cyntefin.
384 "Canowin," from cenaw, an offspring; a graft. It may refer to the sprouts of trees, as well as to the young of animals. We say cenawon cyll, the catkins of hazel, and cenawon llewod, lion whelps.
385 Cenaw-tardd.
386 Probably because the pear trees now begin to blossom.
387 Also " May;" and is the name still in use.
388 "Cogerddan," (cog-cerdd.) It may signify also the departure of the cuckoo.
389 "Gwerthefin " is likewise an epithet for the Deity, and signifies what is supreme, from gwarthaf, the upper part, or summit. We have above derived it from gwarth and hefin.
390 Gorhïan, i.e. gor-huan.
391 This clearly indicates that vineyards were formerly cultivated in Britain.
392 "Gwynollydd," or "gwynyllydd," probably from gwyntyll. Many of the above names are, however, now so obsolete, and their roots so obscure, that we do not vouch for accuracy of translation in every case.
393 Sic in MS.; but we are inclined to regard them as clerical mistakes for alban, a primary point. It seems also as if "gwanwyn," spring, should have been written for the former summer.
394 Or,―The winter solstice; the vernal equinox; the summer solstice; and the autumnal equinox.
395

396 Literally, "separation."
397 Al. "after rest."
398 The terms in the third column are jumbled together, with no particular assignment, and may be thus translated: evening, the end of day, commencement of night, twilight, ditto, evening.
399 Al. "twilight."
400 Al, "rest."
401 "Days of days are those on which it is not proper to prosecute a suit." Welsh Laws.

Dr. Pughe renders "dyddiau dyddon," by blank days;―

BARDDAS
NOTES TO VOL. 2

402 "Even now those who wish to become more perfectly acquainted with it, for the most part repair thither [to Britain] for the sake of learning it." De Bello Gallica, lib. vi, c. 13.
403 The three Degrees here mentioned, Bard, Ovate, and Druid, are frequently alluded to in the compositions of the Poets, from Taliesin to the present day. To notice a few examples: 

TALIESIN, 520-570

MEUGANT, 600-650

BEDDAU Y MILWYR, about the 9th century

HYWEL AB OWAIN GWYNEDD, 1140-1172

GWALCHMAI, 1150-1190

CYNDDELW, 1150-1200

LLYWARCH AB LLYWELYN, 1160-1220

PHILIP BRYDYDD, 1200-1250

MADOG DWYGRAIG, 1290-1340

DAVYDD AB GWILYM, 1300-1360

LLYWELYN COCH Y DANT, 1440-1480

GRUFFUDD AB DAVYDD YCHAN, 1450-1480

LEWYS MORGANWG, 1500-1540

404 "The institution is thought to-have originated in Britain, and to have been thence introduced into Gaul; and even now those who wish to become more accurately acquainted with it, generally repair thither, for the sake of learning it." Cæs. De Bello Gallica, lib. vi. c. 13.
405 William Cynwal (1560-1600) makes a distinction between a Bard and a poet in the following lines:―

406 Llawdden, at the Eisteddvod, which was held at Caermarthen in the 15th century, thus describes the costume of a Bard:―

407 William Cynwal alludes to a distinctive dress of the Druids:―

408

409 Al. "and."
410 Or, "even if such men of privileged arts and sciences be strangers."
411 Al. "Alan."
412 Al. "the sense and understanding of man."
413 Al. "Coelbren."
414 Al. "are not."
415 Al, "of original discovery and order."
416 Al. "in their presence."
417 "Ban ac adfan;" division and subdivision, i.e. the new and full moon, and the first and third quarters.
418 "Adneu," compounded of ad and neu. It is usually translated a pledge, or a deposit.
419 "Adwedd," compounded of ad and gwedd, a return to a former state or appearance.
420 "Adfann," from ad, and man, a place, or ban, a point or division, whether of time or place; the reversal, or re-arrangement, of the usual seasons and localities, for holding a Gorsedd.
421

422 Al. "the verdict of three hundred men."
423 Maxen Wledig, the Welsh title of Clemens Maximus, who commanded the Roman forces in Britain, and revolted against the emperor Gratian in A.D. 383. According to an ancient document printed in the Greal, he was the son of Llwydrod, the son of Trahaiarn, who was the brother of Elen Luyddawg, the mother of Constantine the Great. According to the Welsh accounts, he married Elen, the daughter of Eudav, or Octavius, a powerful nobleman, who is called in the Bruts, earl of Ergyng and Euas, districts now comprised in Monmouthshire and Herefordshire. Maxen having defeated Gratian, and thus obtained possession of Britain, Gaul, and Spain, exercised imperial power until 385, when he was defeated and put to death by Theodosius.
424 Ithel succeeded his brother Meurig, as king of Glamorgan and Gwent, in the year 843. He was slain A.D. 848. "Iudhail rex Guent a viris Broceniauc occiaus est."―Annales Cambria, p. 13.
425 The number entered in MS. is 41, and the succeeding ones are arranged accordingly. The reason is, that 40 was inserted by mistake before the third part of No. 39.
426 Cadwalader the Blessed succeeded his father Cadwallawn ab Cadvan, about A.D. 634, and was the last of the Welsh princes, who assumed the title of chief sovereign of the Britons.
427 Bleddyn, son of Cynvyn, was sole prince of Gwynedd and Powys from about 1068 until 1072, when he was slain in battle by Rhys, son of Owain, son of Edwyn.
428 This Gorsedd was held under the patronage of Gruffudd, son of Nicholas, who had obtained a commission from Edward IV. for that purpose.
429 The celebrated king Arthur, in the 6th century.
430 Gruffudd, son of Cynan, reigned over North Wales from 1075 until his death in 1137. His biography, a very interesting document, written in Welsh soon after his decease, is printed in the second volume of the Myvyrian Archaiology.
431 Edward the Second reigned from 1307 to 1327.
432 Al. "the sense."
433 Al, "the voice."
434 "A preceptive Bard, a teaching Bard."—Dr. O. Pughe's Dict.

435 Al. "to attach himself to song."
436 Al. "territory."
437

438 Al. "learning."
439 Al. "belief."
440 Al. "the name Bards was bestowed upon them."
441 Al. "Tydain, son of Tydnaw." Tud-nawf, qu. Noah?
442 There is evidently an allusion to this Bardic dogma in one of the Mabinogion:―"Bendigeid Vran came to land, and the fleet with him by the bank of the river. 'Lord,' said his chieftains, 'knowest thou the nature of this river, that nothing can go across it, and there is no bridge over it?' 'What,' said they, 'is thy counsel concerning a bridge?' 'There is none,' said he, 'except that he who will be chief let him be a bridge. I will be so,' said he. And then was that saying first uttered, and it is still used as a proverb. And when he had lain down across the river, hurdles were placed upon him, and the host passed over thereby."―Mabinogi, Branwen the Daughter of Llyr.
Gwilym Tew (1433-1470) describes our Saviour as

And Lewys Daron, (1580-1600,) in his Elegy on Tudur Aled, applies the same expressions to him:―

443 Qu. Whether the Glamorgan expressions, "Gwadu coed, maes, a mynydd," "Cyhoeddi coed, maes, a mynydd," &c., are derived from these announcements?
444 Al. "and an ancient usage."
445 Al. "a court and village."
446 Al. "a labourer."
447 Al. "and looking in the eye of the sun and the face of light."
448 "Al. "nor should they be restrained from such as may desire them."
449 Al. "corn contribution; milk contribution; and honey contribution."
450 Al. "privileged."
451 Al. "a foreign army that wins in behalf of the nation of the Cymry"
452

453 I.e. the proclamation of peace by means of a horn.
454 See Vol. i. p. 73, note.
455 Thomas Hopkin was the son of Hopkin Thomas, who wrote the Greal and other works, about the year 1350. John Hopkins, the versifier of the Psalms, was descended from this family.
456 Thomas ab Evan, or Bevan, was a good poet and critic, who flourished between 1660 and 1700.
457

458 These three Bards are mentioned by Edmund Prys:―

459 "Llan" seems to be synonymous with the Latin fanum, and the Greek τεμενος. Its original meaning was simply an inclosure, but in later times the term was applied exclusively, in its simple form, to an area enclosed for public worship, or a church.
460 In MS. it is 77, and the following Triads are numbered accordingly down to 84 inclusive.
461 In MS. it is 86, and the following Triads are numbered accordingly to the end.
462 Al. "augment."
463 Others say: "and to regulate games and festivities."
464 The other points, which are the summer and winter solstices, have not been explained.
465 It is evident from this statement that there are two Triads missing, which accounts, moreover, for the numerical irregularity which we have noticed.
466 Probably Tydain, the father of Awen. See note 2, p.40.
467 The same, most likely, as Hu the Mighty, who in the Triads (57, Third Series) is said to have himself "first collected and disposed the nation of the Cymry into tribes."
468 Mentioned by Edmund Prys in one of his poems See note 1, p.34.
469 His name also occurs in the same poem:—

470 Pillwydd, (pill-gwydd,) wooden sterns.
471 Pill = bill = billet.
472 Ebillwydd, (ebill-gwydd,) a wooden piercer. Ebill also comes from pill.
473 The plural of ebill.

474 Troslath, (tros-llath,) an over or transverse rod.
475 Cyffon, stocks, the plural of cyff, a stock, stem, trunk. Hydlath, (hydllath,) a longitudinal rod.
476 This was the name applied to the Wooden Book of the Bards, meaning originally what is plain or clear, an elucidator. "The term has also been applied to several other things, a weaver's slay, the cogs of a mill wheel, the rows of human teeth, a board of wood, a slate, peithynen y ddwyfron, clwyd y ddwyfron, the breast bone or brisket, &c. Of the several things, and of very different natures and appearances, the original, whence all others figuratively or similitudinarily derive their names, must be the Book, because it is from some part, some appearance, or property to be found in it that every other derives its name that has been so called. All the different ideas to be found in the others separately are united in this. The weaver's slay is similar in its formation to the billets in the Bard's Book when framed together. The cogs of a mill wheel resemble strikingly the ends of those billets that project at each end. The teeth are in similar rows. The board and slate, before parchment or paper became known, were used whereon to inscribe, engrave, paint, or cut letters or literary memorials. The arrangement of the breast bone or ribs are very similar to the billets in the Book and the reeds in the slay. But it is in the Book only, and in no other thing, called peithynen, that all those different ideas can be found or traced up to their origin. This is of itself a striking proof of the antiquity of this kind of Book. The probability is at least great that it was known before the weaver's slay, the cogs of a mill wheel, the use of a slate or board for inscription, &e., were known to the Welsh, and these last must have been used before parchment and paper were introduced by the Romans."—Iolo Morganwg.
477 "Rhill, (rhi-ill,) a row; a small trench or furrow; a drill."—Dr. Pughe's Dict. Drill, d-rill, is probably derived or borrowed from it.
478 Lles, son of Coel, was a contemporary of Eleutherius, bishop of Rome, A.D. 173-189. Lles seems to have been the Welsh form of Lucius, which was the Latin translation of Lleuver, one of the original names of the British prince. His other name was Lleirwg. Geraint, the Blue Bard, has recorded in a triplet the literary achievement of Lleirwg, thus,

479 Owain Glyndwr was born A.D. 1349. He began to wage war against the English king, about A.D. 1400, which was continued for about fifteen years, when Owain died, i.e. A.D. 1415.
480 The Cymric chieftain fought against two king, successively, namely, against Henry IV. and against Henry V., the latter of whom succeeded to the throne AD. 1413, two years before the death of Owain.
481 About A.D. 900. Geraint was the author of a Cymric Grammar, which was preserved among the MSS. in Rhaglan Castle, before it was destroyed in the wars of the Commonwealth.
482 Being the grandson of Owain Tudur, of Penmynydd, in Anglesey, who had married Catherine of France, the queen dowager of Henry V., A.D. 1428. It was in Henry VII. that the British dynasty was restored, according to the vaticinations of the Bards; and it is somewhat remarkable that he was also the rightful heir of Llywelyn, the last independent prince of Wales, and that consequently Queen Victoria reigns over the Principality by inheritance, and not in right of conquest. This may be seen from the following table;

483 Peithwydd, (paith-gwydd,) open or elucidative wood.