TALIESIN.
(Translation
by Lady Charlotte Guest)
IN times past there lived in Penllyn a man of gentle
lineage, named Tegid Voel, and his dwelling was in the
midst of the lake Tegid, and his wife was called Caridwen.
And there was born to him of his wife a son named Morvran
ab Tegid, and also a daughter named Creirwy, the fairest
maiden in the world was she; and they had a brother, the
most ill-favoured man in the world, Avagddu. Now Caridwen
his mother thought that he was not likely to be admitted
among men of noble birth, by reason of his ugliness, unless
he had some exalted merits or knowledge. For it was in the
beginning of Arthur's time and of the Round Table.
So she resolved according to the arts of the books of the
Fferyllt, to boil a cauldron of Inspiration and Science for
her son, that his reception might be honourable because of
his knowledge of the mysteries of the future state of the
world.
Then she began to boil the cauldron, which from the
beginning of its boiling might not cease to boil for a year
and a day, until three blessed drops were obtained of the
grace of Inspiration.
And she put Gwion Bach the son of Gwreang of Llanfair in
Caereinion, in Powys, to stir the cauldron, and a blind man
named Morda to kindle the fire beneath it, and she charged
them that they should not suffer it to cease boiling for
the space of a year and a day. And she herself, according
to the books of the astronomers, and in planetary hours,
gathered every day of all charm-bearing herbs. And one day,
towards the end of the year, as Caridwen was culling plants
and making incantations, it chanced that three drops of the
charmed liquor flew out of the cauldron and fell upon the
finger of Gwion Bach. And by reason of their great heat he
put his finger to his mouth, and the instant he put those
marvel-working drops into his mouth, he foresaw everything
that was to come, and perceived that his chief care must be
to guard against the wiles of Caridwen, for vast was her
skill. And in very great fear he fled towards his own land.
And the cauldron burst in two, because all the liquor
within it except the three charm-bearing drops was
poisonous, so that the horses of Gwyddno Garanhir were
poisoned by the water of the stream into which the liquor
of the cauldron ran, and the confluence of that stream was
called the Poison of the Horses of Gwyddno from that time
forth.
Thereupon came in Caridwen and saw all the toil of the
whole year lost. And she seized a billet of wood and struck
the blind Morda on the head until one of his eyes fell out
upon his cheek. And he said, "Wrongfully hast thou
disfigured me, for I am innocent. Thy loss was not because
of me." "Thou speakest truth," said Caridwen, "it was Gwion
Bach who robbed me."
And she went forth after him, running. And he saw her, and
changed himself into a hare and fled. But she changed
herself into a greyhound and turned him. And he ran towards
a river, and became a fish. And she in the form of an
otter-bitch chased him under the water, until he was fain
to turn himself into a bird of the air. She, as a hawk,
followed him and gave him no rest in the sky. And just as
she was about to stoop upon him, and he was in fear of
death, he espied a heap of winnowed wheat on the floor of a
barn, and he dropped among the wheat, and turned himself
into one of the grains. Then she transformed herself into a
high-crested black hen, and went to the wheat and scratched
it with her feet, and found him out and swallowed him. And,
as the story says, she bore him nine months, and when she
was delivered of him, she could not find it in her heart to
kill him, by reason of his beauty. So she wrapped him in a
leathern bag, and cast him into the sea to the mercy of
God, on the twenty-ninth day of April.
And at that time the weir of Gwyddno was on the strand
between Dyvi and Aberystwyth, near to his own castle, and
the value of an hundred pounds was taken in that weir every
May eve. And in those days Gwyddno had an only son named
Elphin, the most hapless of youths, and the most needy. And
it grieved his father sore, for he thought that he was born
in an evil hour. And by the advice of his council, his
father had granted him the drawing of the weir that year,
to see if good luck would ever befal him, and to give him
something wherewith to begin the world.
And the next day when Elphin went to look, there was
nothing in the weir. But as he turned back he perceived the
leathern bag upon a pole of the weir. Then said one of the
weir-ward unto Elphin, "Thou wast never unlucky until
tonight, and now thou hast destroyed the virtues of the
weir, which always yielded the value of an hundred pounds
every May eve, and to-night there is nothing but this
leathern skin within it." "How now," said Elphin, "there
may be therein the value, of an hundred pounds." Well, they
took up the leathern bag, and he who opened it saw the
forehead of the boy, and said to Elphin, "Behold a radiant
brow!" "Taliesin be he called," said Elphin. And he lifted
the boy in his arms, and lamenting his mischance, he placed
him sorrowfully behind him. And he made his horse amble
gently, that before had been trotting, and he carried him
as softly as if he had been sitting in the easiest chair in
the world. And presently the boy made. a Consolation and
praise to Elphin, and foretold honour to Elphin; and the
Consolation was as you may see, -
"Fair Elphin, cease to lament!
Let no one be dissatisfied with his own,
To despair will bring no advantage.
No man sees what supports him ;
The prayer of Cynllo will not be in vain;
God will not violate his promise.
Never in Gwyddno's weir
Was there such good luck as this night.
Fair Elphin, dry thy cheeks!
Being too sad will not avail,
Although thou thinkest thou hast no gain
Too much grief will bring thee no good;
Nor doubt the miracles of the Allmighty:
Although I am but little, I am highly gifted.
From seas, and from mountains,
And from the depths of rivers,
God brings wealth to the fortunate man.
Elphin of lively qualities,
Thy resolution is unmanly;
Thou must not be over sorrowful:
Better to trust in God than to forbode ill.
Weak and small as I am,
On the foaming beach of the ocean,
In the day of trouble I shall be
Of more service to thee than three hundred salmon.
EIphin of notable qualities,
Be not displeased at thy misfortune:
Although reclined thus weak in my bag,
There lies a virtue in my tongue.
While I continue thy protector
Thou hast not much to fear;
Remembering the names of the Trinity,
None shall be able to harm thee."
And this was the first poem that Taliesin ever sang, being
to console Elphin in his grief for that the produce of the
weir was lost, and, what was worse, that all the world
would consider that it was through his fault and ill-luck.
And then Gwyddno Garanhir*
asked
him what he was, whether man or spirit. Whereupon he sang
this tale, and said,-
"First,
I have been formed a comely person,
In the court of Ceridwen I have done penance;
Though little I was seen, placidly received,
I was great on the floor of the place to where I was led;
I have been a prized defence, the sweet muse the cause,
And by law without speech, I have been liberated
By a smiling black old hag, when irritated
Dreadful her claim when pursued :
I have fled with vigour, I have fled as a frog,
I have fled in the semblance of a crow, scarcely finding
rest
I have fled vehemently, I have fled as a chain,
I have fled as a roe into an entangled thicket
I have fled as a wolf cub, I have fled as a wolf in a
wilderness,
I have fled as a thrush of portending language
I have fled as a fox, used to concurrent bounds of quirks
I have fled as a martin, which did not avail
I have fled as a squirrel, that vainly hides,
I have fled as a stag's antler, of ruddy course,
I have fled as iron in a glowing fire,
I have fled as a spear-head, of woe to such as has a wish
for it
I have fled as a fierce bull bitterly fighting,
I have fled as a bristly boar seen in a ravine,
I have fled as a white grain of pure wheat,
On the skirt of a hempen sheet entangled,
That seemed of the size of a mare's foal,
That is filling like a ship on the waters
Into a dark leathern bag I was thrown,
And on a boundless sea I was sent adrift;
Which was to me an omen of being tenderly nursed,
And the Lord God then set me at liberty."
Then came Elphin to the house or court of Gwyddno his
father, and Taliesin with him. And Gwyddno asked him if he
had had a good haul at the weir, and he told him that he
had got that which was better than fish. "What was that?"
said Gwyddno. "A Bard," answered Elphin. Then said Gwyddno,
"Alas, what will he profit thee?" And Taliesin himself
replied and said, "He will profit him more than the weir
ever profited thee." Asked Gwyddno, "Art thou able to
speak, and thou so little?" And Taliesin answered him, "l
am better able to speak than thou to question me." "Let me
hear what thou canst say," quoth Gwyddno. Then Taliesin
sang,-
"In water there is a quality endowed with a blessing
On God it is most just to meditate aright;
To God it is proper to supplicate with seriousness,
Since no obstacle can there be to obtain a reward from him.
Three times have I been born, I know by meditation;
It were miserable for a person not to come and obtain
All the sciences of the world, collected together in my
breast,
For I know what has been, what in future will occur.
I will supplicate my Lord that I get refuge in him,
A regard I may obtain in his grace
The Son of Mary is my trust, great in him is my delight,
For in him is the world continually upholden.
God has been to instruct me and to raise my expectation,
The true Creator of heaven, who affords me protection
It is rightly intended that the saints should daily pray,
For God, the renovator, will bring them to him."
And forthwith Elphin gave his haul to his wife, and she
nursed him tenderly and lovingly. Thenceforward Elphin
increased in riches more and more day after day, and in
love and favour with the king, and there abode Taliesin
until he was thirteen years old, when Elphin son of Gwyddno
went by a Christmas invitation to his uncle, Maelgwn
Gwynedd, who sometime after this held open court at
Christmas-tide in the castle of Dyganwy, for all the number
of his lords of both degrees, both spiritual and temporal,
with a vast and thronged host of knights and squires. And
amongst them there arose a discourse and discussion. And
thus was it said.
"Is there in the whole world a king so great as Maelgwn, or
one on whom Heaven has bestowed so many spiritual gifts as
upon him? First, form, and beauty, and meekness, and
strength, besides all the powers of the soul!" And together
with these they said that Heaven had given one gift that
exceeded all the others, which was the beauty, and
comeliness, and grace, and wisdom, and modesty of his
queen; whose virtues surpassed those of all the ladies and
noble maidens throughout the whole kingdom. And with this
they put questions one to another amongst themselves, Who
had braver men? Who had fairer or swifter horses or
greyhounds? Who had more skilful or wiser bards-than
Maelgwn?
Now at that time the bards were in great favour with the
exalted of the kingdom; and then none performed the office
of those who are now called heralds, unless they were
learned men, not only expert in the service of kings and
princes, but studious and well versed in the lineage, and
arms, and exploits of princes and kings, and in discussions
concerning foreign kingdoms, and the ancient things of this
kingdom, and chiefly in the annals of the first nobles; and
also were prepared always with their answers in various
languages, Latin, French, Welsh, and English. And together
with this they were great chroniclers, and recorders, and
skilful in framing verses, and ready in making englyns in
every one of those languages. Now of these there were at
that feast within the palace of Maelgwn as many as
four-and-twenty, and chief of them all, was one named
Heinin Vardd.
When they had all made an end of thus praising the king and
his gifts, it befel that Elphin spoke in this wise. "Of a
truth none but a king may vie with a king; but were he not
a king, I would say that my wife was as virtuous as any
lady in the kingdom, and also that I have a bard who is
more skilful than all the king's bards." In a short space
some of his fellows showed the king all the boastings of
Elphin; and the king ordered him to be thrown into a strong
prison, until he might know the truth as to the virtues of
his wife, and the wisdom of his bard.
Now when Elphin had been put in a tower of the castle, with
a thick chain about his feet (it is said that it was a
silver chain, because he was of royal blood); the king, as
the story relates, sent his son Rhun to inquire into the
demeanour of Elphin's wife. Now Rhun was the most graceless
man in the world, and there was neither wife nor maiden
with whom he had held converse, but was evil spoken of.
While Rhun went in haste towards Elphin's dwelling, being
fully minded to bring disgrace upon his wife, Taliesin told
his mistress how that the king had placed his master in
durance in prison, and how that Rhun was coming in haste to
strive to bring disgrace upon her. Wherefore he caused his
mistress to array one of the maids of her kitchen in her
apparel; which the noble lady gladly did; and she loaded
her hands with the best rings that she and her husband
possessed.
In this guise Taliesin caused his mistress to put the
maiden to sit at the board in her room at supper, and be
made her to seem as her mistress, and the mistress to seem
as the maid. And when they were in due time seated at their
supper in the manner that has been said, Rhun suddenly
arrived at Elphin's dwelling, and was received with joy,
for all the servants knew him plainly; and they brought him
in haste to the room of their mistress, in the semblance of
whom the maid rose up from supper and welcomed him gladly.
And afterwards she sat down to supper again the second
time, and Rhun with her. Then Rhun began jesting with the
maid, who still kept the semblance of her mistress. And
verily this story shows that the maiden became so
intoxicated, that she fell asleep; and the story relates
that it was a powder that Rhun put into the drink, that
made her sleep so soundly that she never felt it when he
cut from off her hand her little finger, whereupon was the
signet ring of Elphin, which he had sent to his wife as a
token, a short time before. And Rhun returned to the king
with the finger and the ring as a proof, to show that he
had cut it from off her hand, without her awaking from her
sleep of intemperance.
The king rejoiced greatly at these tidings, and he sent for
his councillors to whom he told the whole story from the
beginning. And he caused Elphin to be brought out of his
prison, and he chided him because of his boast. And he
spake unto Elphin on this wise. "Elphin, be it known to
thee beyond a doubt that it is but folly for a man to trust
in the virtues of his wife further than he can see her; and
that thou mayest be certain of thy wife's vileness, behold
her finger, with thy signet ring upon it, which was cut
from her hand last night, while she slept the sleep of
intoxication." Then thus spake Elphin. "With thy leave,
mighty king, I cannot deny my ring, for it is known of
many; but verily I assert strongly that the finger around
which it is, was never attached to the hand of my wife, for
in truth and certainty there are three notable things
pertaining to it, none of which ever belonged to any of my
wife's fingers. The first of the three is, that it is
certain, by your grace's leave, that wheresoever my wife is
at this present hour, whether sitting, or standing, or
lying down, this ring would never remain upon her thumb,
whereas you can plainly see that it was hard to draw it
over the joint of the little finger of the hand whence this
was cut; the second thing is, that my wife has never let
pass one Saturday since I have known her without paring her
nails before going to bed, and you can see fully that the
nail of this little finger has not been pared for a month.
The third is, truly, that the hand whence this finger came
was kneading rye dough within three days before the finger
was out therefrom, and I can assure your goodness that my
wife has never kneaded rye dough since my wife she has
been."
Then the king was mightily wroth with Elphin for so stoutly
withstanding him, respecting the goodness of his wife,
wherefore he ordered him to his prison a second time,
saying that he should not be loosed thence until he had
proved the truth of his boast, as well concerning the
wisdom of his bard as the virtues of his wife.
In the meantime his wife and Taliesin remained joyful at
Elphin's dwelling. And Taliesin showed his mistress how
that Elphin was in prison because of them, but he bade her
be glad for that he would go to Maelgwn’s court to free his
master. Then she asked him in what manner he would set him
free And he answered her,-
"A journey will I perform,
And to the gate I will come
The hall I will enter,
And my song I will sing;
My speech I will pronounce
To silence royal bards.
In presence of their chief,
I will greet to deride,
Upon them I will break
And Elphin I will free.
Should contention arise,
In presence of the prince,
With summons to the bards
For the sweet flowing song,
And wizards' posing lore
And wisdom of Druids.
In the court of the sons of the distributor
Some are who did appear
Intent on wily schemes,
By craft and tricking means,
In pangs of affliction
To wrong the innocent,
Let the fools be silent,
As erst in Badon's fight,-
With Arthur of liberal ones
The head, with long red blades
Through feats of testy men,
And a chief with his foes.
Woe be to them, the fools,
When revenge comes on them.
I Taliesin, chief of bards,
With a sapient Druid's words,
Will set kind Elphin free
From haughty tyrants bonds.
To their fell and chilling cry,
By the act of a surprising steed,
From the far distant North,
There soon shall be an end.
Let neither grace nor health
Be to Maelgwn Gwynedd,
For this force and this wrong
And be extremes of ills
And an avenged end
To Rhun and all his race:
Short be his course of life,
Be all his lands laid waste
And Iona exile be assigned
To Maelgwn Gwynned!"
After this he took leave of his mistress and came at last
to the Court of Maelgwn, who was going to sit in his hall
and dine in his royal state, as it was the custom in those
days for kings and princes to do at every chief feast. And
as soon as Taliesin entered the hall, he placed himself in
a quiet corner, near the place where the bards and the
minstrels were wont to come in doing their service and duty
to the king, as is the custom at the high festivals when
the bounty is proclaimed. And so, when the bards and the
heralds came to cry largess, and to proclaim the power of
the king and his strength, at the moment that they passed
by the corner wherein he was crouching, Taliesin pouted out
his lips after them, and played " Blerwm, blerwm," with his
finger upon his lips. Neither took they much notice of him
as they went by, but proceeded forward till they came
before the king, unto whom they made their obeisance with
their bodies, as they were wont, without speaking a single
word, but pouting out their lips, and making mouths at the
king, playing " Blerwm, blerwm," upon their lips with their
fingers, as they had seen the boy do elsewhere. This sight
caused the king to wonder and to deem within himself that
they were drunk with many liquors. Wherefore he commanded
one of his lords, who served at the board, to go to them
and desire them to collect their wits, and to consider
where they stood, and what it was fitting for them to do.
And this lord did so gladly. But they ceased not from their
folly any more than before. Whereupon he sent to them a
second time, and a third, desiring them to go forth from
the hall. At the last the king ordered one of his squires
to give a blow to the chief of them named Heinin Vardd; and
the squire took a broom and struck him on the head, so that
he fell back in his seat. Then he arose and went on his
knees, and besought leave of the king's grace to show that
this their fault was not through want of knowledge, neither
through drunkenness, but by the influence of some spirit
that was in the hall. And after this Heinin spoke on this
wise. " Oh, honourable king, be it known to your grace,
that not from the strength of drink, or of too much liquor,
are we dumb, without power of speech like drunken men, but
through the influence of a spirit that sits in the corner
yonder in the form of a child." Forthwith the king
commanded the squire to fetch him; and he went to the nook
where Taliesin sat, and brought him before the king, who
asked him what he was, and whence he came. And he answered
the king in verse.
"Primary chief bard am I to Elphin,
And my original country is the region of the summer stars;
Idno and Heinin called me Merddin,
At length every king will call me Taliesin.
I was with my Lord in the highest sphere,
On the fall of Lucifer into the depth of hell:
I have borne a banner before Alexander;
I know the names of the stars from north to south;
I have been on the galaxy at the throne of the Distributor;
I was in Canaan when Absalom was slain;
I conveyed the Divine Spirit to the level of the vale of
Hebron;
I was in the court of Don before the birth of Gwdion.
I was instructor to Eli and Enoc;
I have been winged by the genius of the splendid crosier;
I have been loquacious prior to being gifted with speech;
I was at the place of the crucifixion of the merciful Son
of God
I have been three periods in the prison of Arianrod;
I have been the chief director of the work of the tower of
Nimrod
I am a wonder whose origin is not known.
I have been in Asia with Noah in the ark,
I have seen the destruction of Sodom and Gomorra;
I have been in India when Roma was built,
I am now come here to the remnant of Troia.
I have been with my Lord in the manger of the ass;
I strengthened Moses through the water of Jordan;
I have been in the firmament with Mary Magdalene;
I have obtained the muse from the cauldron of Ceridwen;
I have been bard of the harp to Lleon of Lochlin.
I have been on the White Hill, in the court of Cynvelyn,
For a day end a year in stocks and fetters,
I have suffered hunger for the Son of the Virgin.
I have been fostered in the land of the Deitv,
I have been teacher to all intelligences,
I am able to instruct the whole universe.
I shall be until the day of doom on the face of the earth;
And it is not known whether my body is flesh or fish.
Then I was for nine months
In the womb of the hag Ceridwen
I was originally little Gwion,
And at length I am Taliesin."
And when the king and his nobles had heard the song, they
wondered much, for they had never heard the like from a boy
so young as he. And when the king knew that he was the bard
of Elphin, he bade Heinin, his first and wisest bard, to
answer Taliesin and to strive with him. But when he came,
he could do no other, but play " blerwm" on his lips ; and
when he sent for the others of the four-and-twenty bards,
they all did likewise, and could do no other. And Maelgwn
asked the boy Taliesin what was his errand, and he answered
him in song.
Puny bards, I am trying
To secure the prize, if I can;
By a gentle prophetic strain
I am endeavouring to retrieve
The loss I may have suffered;
Complete the attempt I hope,
Since Elphin endures trouble
In the fortress of Teganwy,
On him may there not be laid
Too many chains and fetters;
The Chair of the fortress of Teganwy
Will I again seek;
Strengthened by my muse I am powerful;
Mighty on my part is what I seek,
For three hundred songs and more
Are combined in the spell I sing.
There ought not to stand where I am
Neither stone, neither ring;
And there ought not to be about me
Any bard who may not know
Is in the land of Artro,
Secured by thirteen locks,
For praising his instructor;
And then I Taliesin,
Chief of the bards of the west,
Shall loosen Elphin
Out of a golden fetter."
If you be primary bards
To the master of sciences,
Declare ye mysteries
That relate to the inhabitants of the world;
There is a noxious creature,
From the rampart of Satanas,
Which has overcome all
Between the deep and the shallow;
Equally wide are his jaws
As the mountains of the Alps;
Him death will not subdue,
Nor hand or blades;
There is the load of nine hundred waggons
In the hair of his two paws
There is in his head an eye
Green as the limpid sheet of icicle;
Three springs arise
In the nape of his neck;
Sea-roughs thereon
Swim through it;
There was the dissolution of the oxen
Of Deivrdonwy the water-gifted.
The names of the three springs
From the midst of the ocean;
One generated brine
Which is from the Corina,
To replenish the flood
Over seas disappearing;
The second, without injury
It will fall on us,
When there is rain abroad,
Through the whelming sky
The third will appear
Through the mountain veins,
Like a flinty banquet.
The work of the King of kings.
You are blundering bards,
In too much solicitude;
You cannot celebrate
The kingdom of the Britons;
And I am Taliesin,
Chief of the bards of the west,
Who will loosen Elphin
Out of the golden fetter."
Be silent, then, ye unlucky rhyming bards,
For you cannot judge between truth and falsehood.
If you be primary bards formed by heaven,
Tell your king what his fate will be.
It is I who am a diviner and a leading bard,
And know every passage in the country of your king;
I shall liberate Elphin from the belly of the stony tower;
And will tell your king what will befall him.
A most strange creature will come from the sea marsh of
Rhianedd
As a punishment of iniquity on Maelgwn Gwynedd;
His hair, his teeth, and his eyes being as gold,
And this will bring destruction upon Maelgwn Gwynedd."
Discover thou what is
The strong creature from before the flood,
Without flesh, without bone,
Without vein, without blood,
Without head, without feet;
It will neither be older nor younger
Than at the beginning;
For fear of a denial,
There are no rude wants
With creatures. Great God! how the sea whitens
When flrst it comes!
Great are its gusts
When it comes from the south;
Great are its evaporation
When it strikes on coasts.
It is in the field, it is in the wood,
Without hand and without foot,
Without signs of old age,
Though it be co-aeval
With the five ages or periods;
And older still,
Though they be numberless years.
It is also so wide;
As the surface of the earth
And it was not born,
Nor was it seen.
It will cause consternation
Wherever God willeth.
On sea. and on land,
It neither sees, nor is seen.
Its course is devious,
And will not come when desired
On land and on sea,
It is indispensable.
It is without an equal,
It is four-sided;
It is not confined,
It is incomparable;
It comes from four quarters
It will not be advised,
It will not be without advice.
It commences its journey
Above the marble rock.
It is sonorous, it is dumb,
It is mild,
It is strong, it is bold,
When it glances over the land.
It is silent, it is vocal,
It is clamorous,
It is the most noisy
On the face of the earth.
It is good, it is bad,
It is extremely injurious.
It is concealed,
Because sight cannot perceive it.
It is noxious, it is beneficial;
It is yonder, it is here
It will discompose,
But will not repair the injury
It will not suffer for its doings,
Seeing it is blameless.
It is wet, it is dry,
It frequently comes,
Proceeding from the heat of the sun,
And the coldness of the moon.
The moon is less beneficial,
Inasmuch as her heat is less.
One Being has prepared it,
Out of all creatures,
By a tremendous blast,
To wreak vengeance
On Maelgwn Gwynedd."
And while he was thus singing his verse near the door,
there arose a mighty storm of wind, so that the king and
all his nobles thought that the castle would fall on their
heads. And the king caused them to fetch Elphin in haste
from his dungeon, and placed him before Taliesin. And it is
said, that immediately he sang a verse, so that the chains
opened from about his feet.
"I adore the Supreme, Lord of all animation,-
Him that supports the heavens, Ruler of every extreme,
Him that made the water good for all,
Him who has bestowed each gift, and blesses it;-
May abundance of mead be given Maelgwn of Anglesey, who
supplies us,
From his foaming meadhorns, with the choicest pure liquor.
Since bees collect, and do not enjoy,
We have sparkling distilled mead, which is universally
praised.
The multitude of creatures which the earth nourishes
God made for man, with a view to enrich him ;-
Some are violent, some are mute, he enjoys them,
Some are wild, some are tame; the Lord makes them
Part of their produce becomes clothing;
For food and beverage till doom will they continue.
I entreat the Supreme, Sovereign of the region of peace,
To liberate Elphin from banishment,
The man who gave me wine, and ale, and mead,
With large princely steeds, of beautiful appearance
May he yet give me; and at the end,
May God of his good will grant me, in honour,
A succession of numberless ages, in the retreat of
tranquillity.
Elphin, knight of mead, late be thy dissolution!"
And afterwards he sang the ode which is called "The
Excellence of the Bards."
What was the first man
Made by the God of heaven;
What the fairest flattering speech
That was prepared by Ieuav;
What meat, what drink,
What roof his shelter;
What the first impression
Of his primary thinking;
What became his clothing;
'Who carried on a disguise,
Owing to the wilds of the country,
In the beginning?
Wherefore should a stone be hard
Why should a thorn be sharp-pointed
Who is hard like a flint;
Who is salt like brine;
Who sweet like honey;
Who rides on the gale;
Why ridged should be the nose;
Why should a wheel be round;
Why should the tongue be gifted with speech
Rather than another member?
If thy bards, Heinin, be competent,
Let them reply to me, Taliesin."
And after that he sang the address which is called "The
Reproof of the Bards."
If thou art a bard completely imbued
With genius not to be controlled,
Be thou not untractable
Within the court of thy king;
Until thy rigmarole shall be known,
Be thou silent, Heinin,
As to the name of thy verse,
And the name of thy vaunting;
And as to the name of thy grandsire
Prior to his being baptized.
And the name of the sphere,
And the name of the element,
And the name of thy language,
And the name of thy region.
Avaunt, ye bards above,
Avaunt, ye bards below!
My beloved is below,
In the fetter of Arianrod.
It is certain you know not
How to understand the song I utter,
Nor clearly how to discriminate
Between the truth and what is false;
Puny bards, crows of the district,
Why do you not take to flight?
A bard that will not silence me,
Silence may he not obtain,
Till he goes to be covered
Under gravel and pebbles;
Such as shall listen to me,
May God listen to him."
Then sang he the piece called " The Spite of the Bards."
"Minstrels persevere in their false custom,
Immoral ditties are their delight;
Vain and tasteless praise they recite;
Falsehood at all times do they utter
The innocent persons they ridicule
Married women they destroy,
Innocent virgins of Mary they corrupt
As they pass their lives away in vanity;
Poor innocent persons they ridicule;
At night they get drunk, they sleep the day
In idleness without work they feed themselves
The Church they hate, and the tavern they frequent;
With thieves and perjured fellows they associate;
At courts they inquire after feasts
Every senseless word they bring forward
Every deadly sin they praise;
Every vile course of life they lead;
Through every village, town, and country they stroll
Concerning the gripe of death they think not;
Neither lodging nor charity do they give
Indulging in victuals to excess.
Psalms or prayers they do not use,
Tithes or offerings to God they do not pay,
On holidays or Sundays they do not worship;
Vigils or festivals they do not heed.
The birds do fly, the fish do swim,
The bees collect honey, worms do crawl,
Every thing travails to obtain its food,
Except minstrels and lazy useless thieves.
I deride neither song nor minstrelsy,
For they are given by God to lighten thought;
But him who abuses them,
For blaspheming Jesus and his service.'
Taliesin having set his master free from prison, and having
protected the innocence of his wife, and silenced the
Bards, so that not one of them dared to say a word, now
brought Elphin's wife before them, and showed that she had
not one finger wanting. Right glad was Elphin, right glad
was Taliesin.
Then he bade Elphin wager the king, that he had a horse
both better and swifter than the king's horses. And this
Elphin did, and the day, and the time, and the place were
fixed, and the place was that which at this day is called
Morva Rhiannedd: and thither the king went with all his
people, and four-and-twenty of the swiftest horses he
possessed. And after a long process the course was marked,
and the horses were placed for running. Then came Taliesin
with four-and-twenty twigs of holly, which he had burnt
black, and he caused the youth who was to ride his master's
horse to place them in his belt, and he gave him orders to
let all the king's horses get before him, and as he should
overtake one horse after the other, to take one of the
twigs and strike the horse with it over the crupper, and
then let that twig fall; and after that to take another
twig, and do in like manner to every one of the horses, as
he should overtake them, enjoining the horseman strictly to
watch when his own horse should stumble, and to throw down
his cap on the spot. All these things did the youth fulfil,
giving a blow to every one of the king's horses, and
throwing down his cap on the spot where his horse stumbled.
And to this spot Taliesin brought his master after his
horse had won the race. And he caused Elphin to put workmen
to dig a hole there; and when they had dug the ground deep
enough, they found a large cauldron full of gold. And then
said Taliesin, " Elphin, behold a payment and reward unto
thee, for having taken me out of the weir, and for having
reared me from that time until now." And on this spot
stands a pool of water, which is to this time called
Pwllbair.
After all this the king caused Taliesin to be brought
before him, and he asked him to recite concerning the
creation of man from the beginning; and thereupon he made
the poem which is now called "One of the Four Pillars of
Song."
The Almighty made,
Down the Hebron vale,
With his plastic hands,
Adam!s fair form:
And five hundred years,
Void of any help,
There he remained and lay
Without a soul.
He again did form,
In calm paradise,
From a left-side rib,
Bliss-throbbing Eve.
Seven hours they were
The orchard keeping,
Till Satan brought strife,
With wiles from hell.
Thence were they driven,
Cold and shivering,
To gain their living,
Into this world.
To bring forth with pain
Their sons and daughters,
To have possession
Of Asia’s land.
Twice five, ten and eight,
She was self-bearing,
The mixed burden
Of man-woman.
And once, not hidden,
She brought forth Abel,
And Cain the forlorn,
The homicide.
To him and his mate
Was given a spade,
To break up the soil,
Thus to get bread.
The wheat pure and white,
Summer tilth to sow,
Every man to feed,
Till great yule feast.
An angelic hand
From the high Father,
Brought seed for growing
That Eve might sow;
But she then did hide
Of the gift a tenth,
And all did not sow
Of what was dug.
Black rye then was found,
And not pure wheat grain,
To show the mischief
Thus of thieving.
For this thievish act,
It is requisite,
That all men should pay
Tithe unto God.
Of the ruddy wine,
Planted on sunny days,
And on new-moon nights;
And the white wine.
The wheat rich in grain
And red flowing wine
Christ's pure body make,
Son of Alpha.
The wafer is flesh,
The wine is spilt blood,
The Trinity's words
Sanctify them.
The concealed books
From Emmanuel's hand
Were brought by Raphael
As Adam’s gift,
When in his old age,
To his chin immersed
In Jordan's water,
Keeping a fast,
Moses did obtain,
In Jordan's water,
The aid of the three
Most special rods.
Solomon did obtain
In Babel’s tower,
All the sciences
In Asia land.
So did I obtain,
In my bardic books,
All the sciences
Of Europe and Africa.
Their course, their bearing,
Their permitted way,
And their fate I know,
Unto the end.
Oh! what misery,
Through extreme of woe,
Prophecy will show
On Troia’s race!
A coiling serpent
Proud and merciless,
On her golden wings,
From Germany.
She will overrun
England and Scotland,
From Lychlyn seashore
To the Severn.
Then will the Brython
Be as prisoners,
By strangers swayed,
From Saxony.
Their Lord they will praise,
Their speech they will keep,
Their land they will lose,
Except wild Walia.
Till some change shall come,
After long penance,
When equally rife
The two crimes come.
Britons then shall have
Their land and their crown,
And the stranger swarm
Shall disappear.
All the angel's words,
As to peace and war,
Will be fulfilled
To Britain's race."
He further told the king various prophecies of things that
should be in the world, in songs, as follows.
*
The
mention of Gwyddno Garanhir, instead of Elphin in this
place is evidently an error of some transcriber of the
MS.