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Canu Cadwallon - Wikipedia Jump to content

Canu Cadwallon

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Canu Cadwallon
'Gofara Braint' and ll. 26b-28, 40, 51i-56iv of 'Moliant Cadwallon', from NLW MS 9094A, p. 9, in the hand of Robert Vaughan of Hengwrt[1]
Author(s)?Afan Ferddig [cy]
('Moliant Cadwallon' and 'Gofara Braint')
Compiled byRobert Vaughan
(Hengwrt MS 120)
LanguageMiddle Welsh
Date?7th c. ('Moliant Cadwallon' and 'Gofara Braint')
?10th c. ('Englynion Cadwallon')
Manuscript(s)
list:[2]
  • BL Add. MS 14907
  • BL Add. MS 31055
  • Hengwrt MS 120 (lost)
  • Jesus College MS 111
  • NLW MS 9094A
  • Peniarth MS 21
  • Peniarth MS 111
  • Peniarth MS 120
First printed editionGruffydd 1978
Genrepanegyric, elegiac, and antiquarian poetry
SettingWales, Deira, Bernicia, Elfed
Period coveredMigration-period Britain
PersonagesMain subjects:
Cadwallon ap Cadfan
Edwin of Northumbria

Canu Cadwallon (Welsh pronunciation: [ˈkanɨ̞ kadˈwaɬɔn]) is the name given by R. Geraint Gruffydd and subsequent scholars to four Middle Welsh poems associated with Cadwallon ap Cadfan, king of Gwynedd (d. 634 AD). Their titles come from the now-lost book entitled Y Kynveirdh Kymreig 'The Earliest Welsh Poets' (Hengwrt MS 120), compiled by the seventeenth-century antiquarian Robert Vaughan of Hengwrt. Later catalogues derived from this manuscript preserve the titles of these poems. Three of the four poems concerning Cadwallon were copied in other texts.[3] One surviving poem is called 'Moliant Cadwallon' by modern scholars or 'Cerdd y Cor a'r Gorres' in the catalogues of Vaughan's manuscript. Fifty-six lines of the poem survive. It appears to refer to events just before the Battle of Hatfield Chase (Old Welsh: Gueith Meicen) in 633, as Cadwallon's final victory over Edwin of Northumbria is not mentioned in the poem.[4] After narrating Cadwallon's expulsion of the English from Gwynedd, the poet exhorts the king to take the fight to Edwin, "set York ablaze" and "kindle fire in the land of Elfed".[5]

There are two other poems concerning the king, with one known as 'Marwnad Cadwallon ap Cadfan' or 'Englynion Cadwallon', and the other as 'Gofara Braint'. The former poem lists Cadwallon's battles and ends with a reference to his death in the Battle of Heavenfield (Old Welsh: Cant Scaul) in 634, but is thought to be ninth- or tenth-century at the earliest, based on its similarities to other early Welsh 'saga' literature like Canu Heledd and Canu Llywarch Hen.[6][7] 'Gofara Braint' survives only in five lines, and refers to Edwin's head being brought to the court of Aberffraw after the battle of Hatfield Chase.[8] The last poem, titled 'I Gadwallon ap Cadfan, brenin Prydain' by Vaughan, is completely lost.[9] Were this poem earlier than 'Englynion Cadwallon', it may have informed some of the content of that poem, perhaps together with the lost sections of 'Gofara Braint'.[10]

There is no author given to any poem in the manuscripts, though the Welsh Triads give the name of Cadwallon's chief poet as Afan Ferddig [cy].[11] Excepting one copy of 'Englynion Cadwallon' which survives in the Red Book of Hergest, the three surviving poems exist only in seventeenth-century manuscripts.[12] Nevertheless, scholars of medieval Welsh literature generally regard 'Moliant Cadwallon' as a genuine seventh-century composition, which would make it one of the oldest works in Welsh literature alongside those attributed to Aneirin and Taliesin.[13][14] While not edited as part of Canu Cadwallon, there is also a fragmentary verse in Peniarth MS 21 supposedly composed by Cadwallon ap Cadfan which narrates an episode of his exile in Ireland.[15]

Historical background

[edit]

Cadwallon ap Cadfan is a very well-attested monarch by the standards of the seventh century in Wales. According to the tenth-century Harleian genealogies, his father was Cadfan ab Iago and his great-great-great-grandfather was Maelgwn Gwynedd.[16][17][a] In the fifteenth-century genealogical tract Bonedd yr Awyr, Cadwallon's mother is given as Tandreg Ddu, daughter of Cynan Garwyn and sister of Selyf ap Cynan, who was slain by Æthelfrith at the Battle of Chester in c. 615.[17][18][19][b] Cadwallon came to power in Gwynedd c. 625 following his father's death, and commissioned a Latin tombstone for Cadfan which still survives.[17][c] Besides this poetry, the main sources for Cadwallon's life are Adomnán's Vita Columbae (c. 697–700) and Bede's Historia Ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (c. 731), as well as some entries in the Welsh Annals. However, Adomnán only narrates events leading to the battle of Heavenfield concerning Oswald, who grew up in Adomnán's monastery of Iona. He reports that Columba appeared to Oswald in a dream on the night before the battle and encouraged the young king, promising that God would grant him victory over Cadwallon, killer of his uncle Edwin.[17][21]

Priestholm, an island to the east of Anglesey where Cadwallon was said to be besieged in 629 according to the Welsh Annals
Priestholm (Old Welsh: Glannauc), where Cadwallon was besieged in 631 or 632 by Edwin

Bede's account of Cadwallon is problematic because Cadwallon opposed Edwin of Northumbria.[17][19] Edwin is a main protagonist of Bede's narrative since on Easter 627 he accepted baptism, the first Northumbrian monarch to have done so.[22] Bede reports that Edwin ruled over 'all the inhabitants of Britain, English and Britons alike, except for Kent... he even brought under English rule the Mevanian Islands (Anglesey and Man) which lie between Ireland and Britain and belong to the Britons.'[17][23] The Welsh Annals record that Cadwallon was besieged on insula Glannauc in 629.[17][24] This must refer to a final stage in Edwin's conquest of Anglesey, but the date should be corrected to 631 or 632, given that the Welsh Annals record events three years too early, such as Edwin's death in 633.[17][25][26] There are later Welsh traditions suggesting that Cadwallon was for a time an exile in Ireland, and so he may have gathered support there to recover his kingdom.[27][28] This may be paralleled by the exile in the Northern Uí Néill- and Dál Riata-sponsored monastery of Iona of Oswald and Oswiu, sons of Æthelfrith and therefore also threats to Edwin's rule.[29]

Under unclear circumstances, Cadwallon returned to Britain and, together with his junior ally Penda of Mercia, slew Edwin on 12 October 633 at the battle of Hæthfelth, probably Hatfield Chase.[17][30][31] Hatfield Chase would have been in the kingdom of Elfed until its conquest by Edwin in c. 620, and was situated between Deiria, Mercia, and Lindsey.[32] The battle is also recorded in the Welsh Annals (as Gueith Meicen), in the Annals of Tigernach, and in the Annals of Inisfallen.[25][33] Bede refers to Cadwallon's rule over Northumbria as the "ill-omened" year, and calls him a "savage tyrant" of "outrageous tyranny", "even more cruel than the heathen (i.e. Penda)".[17][30][34] He even suggests that Cadwallon was "meaning to wipe out the whole English nation from the land of Britain" and "spared neither women nor innocent children".[17][30] Cadwallon slew Edwin's cousin and successor in Deira, Osric, as well as Edwin's nephew Eanfrith, son of Æthelfrith by Edwin's sister Acha. Eanfrith succeeded Edwin to Bernicia, and was slain whilst entreating Cadwallon for peace.[17][34][d]

Ultimately, Cadwallon was in turn killed by Oswald, Edwin's nephew and Eanfrith's brother, sometime in 634.[17] Oswald returned from his own exile at the head of an army "small in numbers", but still triumphed.[34] This was at Hefenfeld (Latin: Cælestis campus), recorded as Cantscaul in the Welsh Annals and the Historia Brittonum, where Oswald is called Oswald Lamnguin "O. Bright-blade".[25][37][38]

The manuscripts

[edit]

It appears that Robert Vaughan (d. 16 May 1667) sought to assemble all poetry sung to or about Cadwallon.[3] Vaughan was a descendant of Cadwgan, son of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, and a native of Dolgellau. His maternal uncle Robert Owen mortgaged the manor home of Hengwrt to Vaughan's father, Hywel.[39] Vaughan's pursuit of Welsh antiquities continued unperturbed by the tumults of the seventeenth century.[39] He was close to other antiquarians of the period such as Dr. John Davies, William Maurice, and John Jones of Gellilyfdy.[39] When John Jones died in c. 1658, Robert Vaughan came into possession of all his manuscripts, and curated a great library at Hengwrt, "the finest collection of Welsh manuscripts ever assembled by an individual".[39] This extensive collection provided Vaughan with ample material from which to compile poetry concerning Cadwallon.

One manuscript (Hengwrt MS 120) was written in order to collect the earliest specimens of Welsh poetry, and was titled Y Kynfeirdh Kymreig 'The Earliest Welsh Poets'.[3] Unfortunately, it has since been lost, but William Maurice and Robert Vaughan himself wrote catalogues of the manuscripts in the Hengwrt library which preserve the titles of the poems therein.[40] Vaughan gave the poems concerning Cadwallon the following titles:

  1. 'Gofara [?] Braint'
  2. 'Cerdd y Cor a'r Gorres'
  3. 'I Gadwallon ap Cadfan, brenin Prydain'
  4. 'Marwnad Cadwallon ap Cadfan'[3]

Only two folios of Hengwrt MS 120 survive, bound in a manuscript of Lewis Morris (BL Add. MS 14907).[41] However, these two pages preserve much of the material of 'Cerdd y Cor a'r Gorres', known as 'Moliant Cadwallon' by modern scholarship.[3][42] NLW MS 9094A, a compilation of Vaughan's notebooks on British history, contains four and a half lines of this poem which appear in BL Add. MS 14907, six which are absent in BL Add. MS 14907, and five lines of 'Gofara Braint'. These lines were copied into NLW MS 9094A because he interpreted the poems as referencing 'Cymru' as a place-name, though the word might instead stand for Cymry 'the Welsh', since the two words were identical in Middle Welsh.[3][43] Two folios of this manuscript have dates of 1652 and 1658, and the latter part of the manuscript was probably written while Vaughan was working on a chronology of British history for Archbishop Ussher.[44]

The third poem in this list, 'I Gadwallon ap Cadfan, brenin Prydain' is completely lost. The fourth poem, 'Marwnad Cadwallon ap Cadfan', called 'Englynion Cadwallon' by Jenny Rowland and subsequent scholars, is the only poem to survive in a complete form, in the fourteenth-century Jesus College MS 111 and in BL Add. MS 31055, written by Thomas Wiliems.[3][45]

The poems

[edit]

'Moliant Cadwallon'

[edit]

A high tide fills in. It surged forward in ranks of thundering eddies:
the clamorous host of generous Cadwallon. The army returns
of an opponent who is like a stag with wild fire in him,
who very freely gives out battle stallions and the largess of his mead feasting…
There was grumbling since the birth of the profoundly gifted man of the Cymry,
when Christ created Cadwallon.
May God grant protection for His bold high hosts (or the high hosts [going] to Deira),
so that the wind and waves do not exhaust them…
May Cadwallon accomplish something that will be thought about throughout the world
for as long as heaven remains above the surface of the earth.
If there is a high place in Anglesey, he has pitched tents on it,
a man like Maelgwn, [both] generous lords of the land.
He has not negotiated, not at the bidding of the Bernicians,
with Edwin over them as father — that's too much of a big lie…
…In the warband's encampment, the bright lodgings for mounted warriors,
deliverance from the exhaustion of the ship in an enclosure of swords,
the hospitality of Cadwallon on the summit of Caer-Garadog,
as he raises his army to set York ablaze.
The chief men of the stronghold are ready for the sovereign of Britain,
anxious to restore a victorious prince.
He kept the honour of the Cymry by the protection of his shield…
…Let the heathen tribe be gone; they have been driven as far as a briny anointing
Standing before a giant, one may fail to comprehend
what could be higher than you, generous diademed lord,
except the treetops, sky, and stars:
Cadwallon, another Einion: the imperium
…to kindle fire in the land of Elfed by the Cymry…

— Ll. 1–4, 12–15, 20–25, 34–40, 46-51i. a of 'Moliant Cadwallon', translated by John T. Koch.[46][e]

The most important of the poems edited as part of Canu Cadwallon by R. Geraint Gruffudd is known as 'Moliant Cadwallon'. This is in contrast to Robert Vaughan, who entitled it 'Cerdd y Cor a'r Gorres' ('Song of the Dwarf and the Dwarfess') in Hengwrt MS 120. This title is difficult to understand as there are no reference to dwarves in the poem. R. Geraint Gruffydd suggested that a copyist at some point in the transmission of the poem may have mistook the occurrence of "Efrawg" in the poem as referring to the father of Peredur, in whose eponymous story there exists a pair of dwarfs who prophesy the young knight's future.[48][49] Sir Ifor Williams therefore retitled the poem 'Moliant Cadwallon' (Praise of Cadwallon).[50] There are fifty lines of awdlau in BL Add. MS 14907, while six further lines are copied in NLW MS 9094A. Because it survives only in fragments, R. Geraint Gruffydd suggested the original may originally have had at least eighty lines, though it perhaps had even more.[51][43]

Interpretation

[edit]

The poem begins with a narration of Cadwallon's resistance to Edwin's conquest of Anglesey (ll. 1–27), where it is recalled that "if there is a high place in Anglesey, he has pitched tents on it".[52] Edwin's oppressive rule over Gwynedd is alluded to, where "men [are] killed in lethal combat of fighters who would not submit".[53] However, this is contrasted with the 'hospitality of Cadwallon of the summit of Caergaradog" — which appears to be going on at the time of the singing of the poem.[54] The Caergaradog here is not the present Caer Caradoc in Shropshire, which is first named in the eighteenth century under antiquarian influence, but is probably Caradog in Herefordshire, recorded in 1292 as Cayrcradoc.[55] This hill is three miles north-west of Ross-on-Wye, and so would have been a strategic location for Cadwallon.[56][f] In the 630s, this hill would have lain in the Welsh kingdom of Ergyng, perhaps then a subkingdom of Gwent.[57] Cadwallon’s attack on Edwin does not appear to have been preceded by a recovery of Gwynedd. Instead, he may have gathered his forces near the region of Mercia controlled by Penda. The seemingly spontaneous fighting in Gwynedd would have acted as a diversion, allowing Cadwallon and Penda to strike deep into Northumbria while Edwin was preoccupied in Gwynedd.[58] The poet's urging of Cadwallon to "set York ablaze" and "kindle fire in the land of Elfed" seems to prefigure this campaign which would end with Edwin's death at Hatfield.[5]

The poet then declares of the Anglo-Saxons: "let the heathen people be gone; they have been driven as far as a briny anointing".[59] This is followed by "Cadwallon, another Einion: the imperium."[60] This references Einion Yrth, an early king of Gwynedd and Cadwallon’s ancestor. The only apparent deed of note attributed to him, according to the narrative of the Historia Brittonum, was driving out the Irish from Wales, alongside his father, Cunedda.[61] The geographical focus of this stanza is on south-east Wales, with a reference to Portskewett occurring before this comparison, so perhaps this refers to the aftermath of the victory of the philo-Cambrian Penda in the 628 Battle of Cirencester, in which Wessex expansionism had been checked across the Severn Sea.[62] However, considering Einion’s legendary act of ethnically cleansing the Irish from Wales, the poet might be urging Cadwallon to emulate his ancestor’s actions against the Anglo-Saxons of Northumbria.[63] If this was in agreement with Cadwallon's aims, it may have been the inspiration for Bede's assertion that Cadwallon sought to utterly destroy the Anglo-Saxons.[64] John T. Koch argues that the word ymher in line 50 (derived from and thus translated as Latin imperium) is an echo of Bede's concept of the imperium Britanniae (Old English: Bretwalda), which Edwin was the fifth king to possess.[65] Cadwallon ultimately slew Edwin and assumed this office, while Oswald in turn killed Cadwallon and took the imperium from the king of Gwynedd, though Bede ultimately excluded Cadwallon from his numbering of rulers with this authority.[66]

Authorship and dating

[edit]

None of the poems edited as Canu Cadwallon have authors attributed to them in the manuscript. However, 'Moliant Cadwallon' is the only poem of this collection widely considered to date from the seventh century.[67] This judgement is not without criticism, however. David Dumville doubted that the poem could be genuine, as it would imply that the Gododdin was known in Gwynedd in the 630s, since it says 'Fierce Gwallog caused the greatly renowned death toll at Catraeth', the event about which the poem was written.[68][69] However, John T. Koch argued that the poet could have known about the battle of Catraeth from other sources and that the reference would be very apt as Edwin was likely descended from the Deiran leader in that battle.[70] Alex Woolf hypothesised that the Cadwallon in Bede's narrative was not Cadwallon ap Cadfan, but rather Cadwallon Lyw, a shadowy figure in the northern British genealogies.[71][g] However, Koch notes that this theory would mean that not only would 'Moliant Cadwallon' be ignorant of basic historical facts, but also Historia Brittonum, the Welsh Annals, and probably the Gwynedd lineage in the Old Welsh genealogies.[73] Thomas Charles-Edwards also rejects Woolf's argument, and says it sees 'in Bede's account implications which, to me, are invisible'.[19] Likewise, Oliver Padel suggests the poem should be seen as literature and not history, in his judgement like all the rest of the Hengerdd.[74] Therefore, the question is still an open matter.

The Welsh Triads name Cadwallon's chief bard as Afan Ferddig ('little bard' or 'favourite bard').[11][75] His name was known by later poets, and so it may be that what survives of 'Moliant Cadwallon' may be his work.[76] Nothing else is known about the poet.

'Gofara Braint'

[edit]

The title of this poem as given by Vaughan is apparently corrupt. It should instead be amended to 'Gofera Braint', gofera meaning 'overflow'.[77][78] This poem survives only in five lines in the metre known as cyhydedd naw ban [cy]. Its only copy (NLW MS 9094A) was created by Vaughan because the lines mention 'Cymru/Cymry' or the Britons.

i. It is easier for me to proceed without strife
from leaving Wales after my counsel.
ii. Because Edwin's head came to Aberffraw's court
and [all] Wales becomes one assembly.
iii. Gwynedd brought joy to Britons.

— 'Gofara Braint', translated from R. Geraint Gruffydd's modern Welsh paraphrase.[79][h]

Interpretation

[edit]

This poem is important for a number of reasons. It flatly contradicts the testimony of Bede, who says that Edwin's head was brought to York Minster after his death.[30] This may suggest the poem is not from the seventh century, though Bede's chronology does not rule out the possibility that Edwin's head was brought to York some time after his death.[77] Given the disruption that Northumbria faced after the death of Edwin, his relatives and the flight of their royal family, it would seem most likely that Edwin's head was not brought to York Minster until Oswald's reign, making the series of events narrated in 'Gofara Braint' plausible.[80] If this poem genuinely dates from the seventh century, it would also be one of the earliest references to Aberffraw as the chief court of the kings of Gwynedd, together with 'Marwnad Cynddylan'.[81]

A view of the mouth of the river Braint, looking south towards Eryri
The mouth of the Braint at high tide, facing south towards Arfon and Eryri

Since the poem says o adaw Kymbry wrth ynghussyl 'from leaving Wales after my counsel', the poem refers to events after Cadwallon's death at Heavenfield.[82] The title appears to anthropomorphise the river Braint in Anglesey, suggesting it bursts its banks for mourning of Cadwallon, though this is not explicitly stated in the surviving five lines of the poem. The river Braint is not far from the royal centre of Aberffraw, and shares its name with the goddess Brigantia, both of which are ultimately derived from Proto-Celtic *brigantī.[83] Other rivers in Britain are derived from the names of Celtic goddesses, such as the Aeron and Ayr, both of which are named for *Agronā, 'the goddess of slaughter and battle'.[84] It has been argued that the Welsh word for 'king', brenin, originally referred to the ruler who was in a hieros gamos with the goddess, and who was afterwards called *brigantīnos, the male counterpart of Brigantia.[85][86] If this theory is true, the river Braint overflowing with grief may represent a memory in the Christian era of the idea of the land being personified by a sovereignty goddess, here Brigantia, who mourns for the death of her mortal consort.[87]

'Englynion Cadwallon'

[edit]
The text of 'Englynion Cadwallon', from the Red Book of Hergest
The text of the poem from the Red Book, ff. 259r–260v

As mentioned, this poem was called 'Marwnad Cadwallon ap Cadfan' by Robert Vaughan, as he understood the poem to be an elegy for Cadwallon. It also is the only poem in Canu Cadwallon to survive in a medieval manuscript, as it is found in the Red Book of Hergest. However, Jenny Rowland edits and translates the poem as 'Englynion Cadwallon', a name which is followed by most subsequent scholars, though John T. Koch refers to it as 'Marwnad Cadwallon' in his edition of 'Moliant Cadwallon'.[88] Rowland renamed it because she understood it to be a later antiquarian composition of the tenth century based on its metre and content, specifically, it replaces the regular tropes of elegy with a catalogue of Cadwallon's battles.[89] This catalogue is fifty-five lines in eighteen stanzas, the first in englyn unodl crwca and the rest in englyn milwr, though Rowland argues that the eighteenth stanza was not originally part of the text.[90] The list appears to be symbolic of Cadwallon's overlordship over Wales as the battles are recorded in a clockwise fashion around the country.[91] This desire for a preeminent status over the Welsh is also reflected in 'Moliant Cadwallon'.[51] In stanza 15, the speaker calls Cadwallon vym brawt 'my brother', and so R. Geraint Gruffydd understood the speaker to have possessed a similar narrative role as Heledd, who mourns her brother in the saga englynion known as Canu Heledd.[6] However, Jenny Rowland notes that brawt can also mean 'brother-in-arms, comrade', so a family relationship between the speaker and Cadwallon need not be assumed.[90] Nevertheless, 'Englynion Cadwallon' shows how dramatised and historically plausible saga englynion could be created from history, even if many of their events are ultimately pseudo-historical fictions.[92]

In the early Middle Ages, it appears that many traditions about Cadwallon were in circulation.[93][94] This poem appears to make reference to some stories which are now lost, and the battles do not appear to be arranged in chronological order. The only battles which much can be said about are those which are related to Cadwallon's campaign against Edwin.[95] The second stanza mentions a battle 'by the Caint', which is identified with the Ceint, a tributary of the River Cefni in Anglesey.[96] The third stanza mentions the 'Idon', probably to be identified with the River Eden in Cumberland.[97] The fifth stanza may refer to a departure from Breiddin to Hatfield Chase, though note that the fourth stanza recalls also refers to a battle of Meigen which must be in Powys rather than in Northumbria.[98] The last three stanzas of the poem refer to places in the north of Britain. The 'land of Dunawd' is probably that of Dunod ap Pabo, a ruler somewhere in the 'Old North'.[99] Likewise, the [M]eirin in the sixteenth stanza is probably the Solway Firth, which is known as Merin Reget elsewhere in medieval Welsh literature.[100][101] All other stanzas of the poem not presented below refer to Cadwallon's battles in Wales, but these are difficult to reconcile with what is known of his chronology and activities, so they may be purely figurative claims of overlordship.[102]

Cadwallon before his ?death
achieved ?our success:
fourteen chief battles around great, fair Britain and sixty clashes.
The encampment of Cadwallon by the Caint:
England in affliction, ?tribulation from birds of prey,
a releasing hand – letting go was a privilege.
The encampment of Cadwallon by the Idon:
ungentle grief to his enemies,
a lion with hosts against the Saxons…
The encampment of Cadwallon by the Severn
and from the opposite side to Dygen
Freiddin the burning of Meigen…
The encampment of Cadwallon my brother
on the heights of Dunawd's land:
his anger was not gentle in battle.
The encampment of Cadwallon by Meirin:
a lion with numerous soldiers,
a great host, very cruel its assault.
Because of the counsel of a foreigner and unrighteous monks
water flows from a fountain.
Wretched the day of mourning for Cadwallon.

— Stanzas 1–3, 5, 15–17 of 'Englynion Cadwallon', translated by Jenny Rowland.[103][i]

The seventeenth stanza refers to Cadwallon's death at Heavenfield at the hands of Oswald, which is why it was given the title 'Marwnad Cadwallon ap Cadfan' by Robert Vaughan. The reference to water flowing from a fountain may hint at a tradition where Cadwallon was held to be a saint, and he is indeed called bendigeit 'blessed' in one of the Welsh Triads.[105] Cadwallon and his son Cadwaladr often had details of their lives and legends confused in later tradition.[106] Other fountains were said to have sprung from the place where a saint or innocent is slain in Welsh hagiography.[107] The references to the 'counsel of a foreigner' and 'unrighteous monks' are also difficult to interpret. The former probably lays blame on Penda, Cadwallon's Anglo-Saxon ally, for the events of the battle, though whether through treachery or misjudgement is unknown.[108] R. Geraint Gruffydd thought it referred to the intervention by Saint Columba recorded in Adomnán's Vita Columbae.[6] However, Jenny Rowland notes that this story does not seem to have been particularly widespread, and suggests that 'monks' may be a contemptuous name for the pious Northumbrian army under Edwin and Oswald, as Oswald held a religious ceremony before the battle.[109] It may also be that these monks ill-advised, betrayed, or even cursed Cadwallon, as he is similarly cursed by Beuno in that saint's Life.[108]

Poetry attributed to Cadwallon

[edit]

In addition to these poems edited together as Canu Cadwallon, there are also some englynion which are said to have been composed by the king himself. They are rubricated Katwallaw[n] vab Katvan av kant 'Cadwallon ap Cadfan sang them' in the manuscript in which they appear.[110] They occur at the bottom of f. 38r of Peniarth MS 21, below a copy of Brut y Brenhinedd, during a section running from 37v to 39v concerning Geoffrey of Monmouth's narrative of Cadwallon.[111] At least half an inch has been cut off from the bottom of f. 38, leaving only seven lines of the poem mostly intact.[112]

The blue-green waves near Dublin
The blue-green waves near Dublin

Broad is the [ocean/ship]'s resolute protection, its long side […]
of the same colour of the blue-green wave before the city of Dublin
before the city of Dublin
Very bright are the bluish-green waves around me
Through fate the seeing of my enemy
my head is wet before […] waves
The ocean is my license, woe is me, God…

— Englynion attributed to Cadwallon ap Cadfan, translated by G. C. G. Thomas.[113][j]

The poem reflects the tradition in the Welsh Triads of Cadwallon as one of the "Three Frivolous (Amateur?) Bards".[114] As mentioned, it seems that Cadwallon went into exile in Ireland and gathered his forces before launching his campaign against Edwin. However, Geoffrey of Monmouth recorded that Edwin employed a seer to intercept Cadwallon whenever he would try to land in Britain from his exile, and so this may be the 'fate' causing Cadwallon to see his 'enemy' in the fifth line.[115] It is not certain if Geoffrey invented the story, however, and this may therefore be a fragment of a longer verse saga concerning Cadwallon, though it also likely the scribe may have been the author, and was inspired by the text above on the folio.[110]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ [§1]: Catgollaun map Catman map Iacob map Beli map Run map Mailcun.[16]
  2. ^ [§28b]: Mam Gatwallawn ap Katfan, Tandreg ddu ferch Gynan garwyn.[20]
  3. ^ Cadfan's date of death is not known, but it is likely that he died before Cadwallon became politically active. See Thornton 2004.
  4. ^ Were Selyf really Cadwallon's uncle, this may also have been revenge for the Battle of Chester in which Eanfrith's father Æthelfrith killed Selyf.[35] More practically, it was a ruthlessly pragmatic destruction of dynastic rivals.[36]
  5. ^ For the original text, see here:
    • a ches ymleinw taflei tyrrwy ymbyddin.
    • twruf Catwallawn hael edhwyl uydin
    • esgar hyd haual a than chwefrin
    • Rhahawd y adveirch ai radlann medud…
    • gardei ir pan aned dyn dyuyndawn kymry
    • Pan rygreas Christ Kadwallawn
    • As amodwy Duw y dewr orchordon
    • nys arlludion gwynt a thonnawr
    • yd wnao Cadwallawn pan gymhwyllo y myd
    • Tra barhao nef ucheluit lawr
    • Ossidd art y Mon ryphebyllas
    • Malgwn hevelit haylon o gwas
    • nyd ar arch Brineich ny ry dadlas
    • ac Edwin arnadynt yn dad rwy tulluras…
    • …yg cattreu gwyn gwesti varchawc
    • esgor lluded long llann gledyfawc
    • yspydawd Cadwallawn gaer Garadawc vre
    • wrth y gyfwyre gynne Efrawc
    • Kyweir dennmeir yvvneir Prydein
    • pryder ior udic aduer
    • kedwessid grut Kymry can differ y ysgwyd…
    • …ad[aw]ed gynt ethynt <yn> byd irver hallt
    • rac gawr pallt gorthrycher
    • a uo uch no thi hael dimynver arglwydd
    • onid gordeil awyr a ser
    • Catwallawn [einiawn aral ymher]…
    • …O Gymru dygynneu tan yn tir Elued…
    • —Ll. 1–4, 12–15, 20–25, 34–40, 46-51i. a of 'Moliant Cadwallon.[47]
  6. ^ [SO 5527]
  7. ^ [§19] Catguallaun Liu map Guitcun map Samuil Pennissel map Pappo Post Priten map Ceneu map Goyl Hen.[72]
  8. ^ For the original text, see here:
    • i. Handid haus genyf gerdet yn ddigynvyl
    • o adaw Kymbry wrth ynghussyl
    • ii. Can dodyw pen Edwin lys Aberffraw
    • a dyfod Cymru yn un andaw
    • iii. Neus duc Gwynedd gorvoled i Vrython
    • —'Gofara Braint', from NLW MS 9094A (i, ii) and Peniarth MS 120 (iii).[77]
  9. ^ For the original text, see here:
    • Katwallawn kyn noe dyuot.
    • ae goruc an digonot.
    • pedeir prifgat ar dec am brifdec brydein.
    • a thrugein kyuaruot.
    • Lluest catwallawn ar geint.
    • lloegyr ar dres armes etneint.
    • llaw dillwng ellwng oed vreint.
    • Lluest gatwallawn ar ydon.
    • auar anwar yw alon.
    • llew lluydawc ar saesson…
    • Lluest gatwallawn glotryd.
    • yg gwarthaf digoll uynyd.
    • seithmis a seith gat beunyd.
    • Lluest gatwallawn ar hafren.
    • ac or tu draw y dygen.
    • [breitin] llosgi meigen…
    • Lluest gatwallawn vym brawt.
    • yg gwertheuin bro dunawt.
    • y uar annwar yn ffossawt.
    • Lluest gatwallawn ar ueirin.
    • llew lluossawc y werin.
    • twrwf mawr trachas y ordin.
    • O gyssul estrawn ac anghyfyawn ueneich
    • dillyd dwfyr o ffynnawn.
    • tru trwmdyd am gatwallawn.
    • Gwisgwys coet keindudet
    • haf. dybryssit gwyth wrth dyghet
    • kyueruydom ny am eluet.
    • —Stanzas 1–3, 5, 15–17 of 'Englynion Cadwallon'.[104]
  10. ^ For the original text, see here:
    • Llydan y herchwyn dengyn y phleit h[ir] y h[…]
    • vn lyu tonn wyrddlas ger dinas dulyn
    • Ker dinas dulyn
    • Gorwynyon tonneu gwyrdlas ymk[y]lchyn
    • trwy dinged y welet vynngelyn
    • Neut gwlyp vym pen gan […] tonneu
    • Neut gweilgi vyn trwydet gwae vi duw…
    • Englynion attributed to Cadwallon ap Cadfan, from Peniarth MS 21.[110]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Gruffydd 1978, p. 30
  2. ^ Gruffydd 1978
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Gruffydd 1978, p. 26
  4. ^ Koch 2013, p. 218
  5. ^ a b Koch 2013, pp. 191, 192, ll. 37n, 51an.
  6. ^ a b c Gruffydd 1978, p. 35
  7. ^ Rowland 1990, pp. 169–173
  8. ^ Gruffydd 1978, pp. 41–2
  9. ^ Gruffydd 1978, pp. 26–7
  10. ^ Koch 2013, p. 7, note 16
  11. ^ a b Bromwich 2014, pp. 20–21, §11
  12. ^ Gruffydd 1978, pp. 28–31, 36–38, 42
  13. ^ Gruffydd 1978, pp. 27–29
  14. ^ Rodway 2013, p. 14
  15. ^ Thomas 1987
  16. ^ a b Guy 2020, p. 334
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Charles-Edwards 2004
  18. ^ Bartrum 1966
  19. ^ a b c Charles-Edwards 2013, p. 345
  20. ^ Bartrum 1959, p. 91
  21. ^ Anderson & Anderson 1991, pp. 14–15, §8a–9a
  22. ^ Colgrave & Mynors 1969, pp. 186–87, ii.14
  23. ^ Colgrave & Mynors 1969, pp. 148–49, ii.5
  24. ^ Morris 1980, p. 86, s.a. 629
  25. ^ a b c Morris 1980, p. 86, s.a. 630
  26. ^ Koch 2013, pp. 169–170
  27. ^ Bromwich 2014, pp. 62–5, §29
  28. ^ Haycock 2013a, 6.17–88
  29. ^ Koch 2013, pp. 172–73
  30. ^ a b c d Colgrave & Mynors 1969, pp. 202–207, ii.20
  31. ^ Charles-Edwards 2013, p. 425
  32. ^ Koch 2013, p. 175
  33. ^ Koch 2013, p. 174
  34. ^ a b c Colgrave & Mynors 1969, pp. 212–15, iii.1
  35. ^ Koch 2013, pp. 163, n. 16
  36. ^ Koch 2013, pp. 179–81
  37. ^ Colgrave & Mynors 1969, pp. 215–19, iii.2
  38. ^ Morris 1980, pp. 38, 79, §64
  39. ^ a b c d Jones 1959
  40. ^ Huws 2000, p. 261
  41. ^ Thomas 1970, p. 310
  42. ^ Koch 2013, pp. 161–2
  43. ^ a b Koch 2013, p. 162
  44. ^ Huws 2022, pp. 241–2, s.v. NLW 9094A
  45. ^ Rowland 1990, p. 401, n.37
  46. ^ Koch 2013, pp. 188–193
  47. ^ Gruffydd 1978, pp. 29–30
  48. ^ Gruffydd 1978, p. 27
  49. ^ Goetinck 1976, p. 12, ll. 26, 28
  50. ^ Williams 1933, pp. 23–4
  51. ^ a b Gruffydd 1978, p. 28
  52. ^ Koch 2013, p. 190, l. 22
  53. ^ Koch 2013, p. 189, ll. 16–17
  54. ^ Koch 2013, pp. 168, 190, ll. 36-7
  55. ^ Ekwall 1960, p. 86
  56. ^ Breeze 2001, p. 151, ll. 36-7
  57. ^ Koch 2013, p. 168, n. 36
  58. ^ Koch 2013, p. 169
  59. ^ Koch 2013, p. 192, l. 46
  60. ^ Koch 2013, p. 192, l. 50
  61. ^ Morris 1980, pp. 20–21, 37, 62, 78–9, §§14, 62
  62. ^ Koch 2013, p. 191, l. 43n
  63. ^ Koch 2013, p. 170
  64. ^ Koch 2013, p. 181
  65. ^ Colgrave & Mynors 1969, pp. 148–51, ii.15
  66. ^ Koch 2013, p. 185
  67. ^
  68. ^ Dumville 1988, p. 15, n. 72
  69. ^ Koch 2013, p. 190, ll. 29–30
  70. ^ Koch 2013, pp. 209–10, n. 30-1
  71. ^ Woolf 2004
  72. ^ Guy 2020, p. 336
  73. ^ Koch 2013, pp. 186–7
  74. ^ Padel 2013, pp. 135–6
  75. ^ Jones 1978, p. 194
  76. ^ Bromwich 2014, pp. 275–6
  77. ^ a b c Gruffydd 1978, p. 42
  78. ^ Thomas, R. J.; Bevan, G. A.; Donovan, P. J.; Hawke, A., eds. (2024). "goferaf". Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Ar Lein (in Welsh). Aberystwyth: Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies.
  79. ^ Gruffydd 1978, p. 31
  80. ^ Rowland 1990, p. 78, n. 13
  81. ^ Koch 2006, pp. 1–4, s.v. Aberffraw
  82. ^ Gruffydd 1978, p. 42, l. i2
  83. ^ Thomas, R. J.; Bevan, G. A.; Donovan, P. J.; Hawke, A., eds. (2024). "braint". Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Ar Lein (in Welsh). Aberystwyth: Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies.
  84. ^ Charles-Edwards 2013, p. 325
  85. ^ Binchy 1970, pp. 12–13
  86. ^ Charles-Edwards 1974, pp. 39–45
  87. ^ Koch 2006, pp. 287–8, s.v. Brigit (goddess)
  88. ^
  89. ^ Rowland 1990, p. 389
  90. ^ a b Rowland 1990, p. 170
  91. ^ Gruffydd 1978, pp. 34–5
  92. ^ Rowland 1990, pp. 172–3
  93. ^ Thomas 1970, pp. 309–16
  94. ^ Thomas 1976, pp. 406–10
  95. ^ Rowland 1990, p. 171
  96. ^ Rowland 1990, p. 171, n. 13
  97. ^ Williams 1968, p. 37, s.v. kywym don.
  98. ^ Rowland 1990, pp. 127–29
  99. ^ Rowland 1990, p. 615, n. 15b s.v. BRO DUNAWT.
  100. ^ Rowland 1990, pp. 496, 615
  101. ^ Haycock 2013b, p. 25, n. 32
  102. ^ Rowland 1990, pp. 171–2
  103. ^ Rowland 1990, pp. 495–6
  104. ^ Rowland 1990, pp. 446–7
  105. ^ Bromwich 2014, pp. 156–60, §55
  106. ^ Bromwich 2014, pp. 150, 292
  107. ^ Sims-Williams 2018
  108. ^ a b Rowland 1990, p. 172
  109. ^ Rowland 1990, p. 172, n. 190
  110. ^ a b c Thomas 1987, p. 68
  111. ^ Thomas 1987, p. 67
  112. ^ Thomas 1987, pp. 67–8
  113. ^ Thomas 1987, p. 69
  114. ^ Bromwich 2014, pp. 22–24, §12
  115. ^ Wright 1985, pp. 136–44, §§190–202

Bibliography

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Editions and translations

[edit]
  • Breeze, Andrew (2001). "Seventh-century Northumbria and a poem to Cadwallon". Northern History. 31. Taylor & Francis: 145–152. doi:10.1179/nhi.2001.38.1.145.
  • Gruffydd, R. Geraint (1978). "Canu Cadwallon ap Cadfan". In Bromwich, Rachel; Jones, R. Brinley (eds.). Astudiaethau ar yr Hengerdd: Studies in Old Welsh Poetry (in Welsh). Cardiff: University of Wales Press. ISBN 9780708306963.
  • Koch, John T.; Carey, John, eds. (1997). The Celtic Heroic Age: Literary Sources for Ancient Celtic Europe and Early Ireland and Wales (2nd ed.). Aberystwyth: Celtic Studies Publications. ISBN 9780964244627.
    ——, ed. (2013). Cunedda, Cynan, Cadwallon, Cynddylan: Four Welsh Poems and Britain 383–655. Aberystwyth: Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies. ISBN 9781907029134.
  • Rowland, Jenny, ed. (1990). Early Welsh Saga Poetry: A Study and Edition of the Englynion. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer. ISBN 9780859912754.
  • Thomas, Graham C. G. (1987). "A verse attributed to Cadwallon fab Cadfan". Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies (in Welsh). 34. University of Wales Press: 67–70.

Secondary sources, historical sources, and commentaries

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