Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr ("Cynddelw the Great Poet"; wlm, Kyndelw Brydyt or ; 1155–1200), was the
court poet
A poet laureate (plural: poets laureate) is a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution, typically expected to compose poems for special events and occasions. Albertino Mussato of Padua and Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) ...
of
Madog ap Maredudd
Madog ap Maredudd ( wlm, Madawg mab Maredud, ; died 1160) was the last prince of the entire Kingdom of Powys, Wales and for a time held the Fitzalan Lordship of Oswestry.
Madog was the son of King Maredudd ap Bleddyn and grandson of King Bleddy ...
,
Owain Gwynedd
Owain ap Gruffudd ( 23 or 28 November 1170) was King of Gwynedd, North Wales, from 1137 until his death in 1170, succeeding his father Gruffudd ap Cynan. He was called Owain the Great ( cy, Owain Fawr) and the first to be ...
(Owen the Great), and
Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd
Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd ( – 1203) was Prince of Gwynedd from 1170 to 1195. For a time he ruled jointly with his brothers Maelgwn ab Owain Gwynedd and Rhodri ab Owain Gwynedd.
Dafydd was the son of Owain Gwynedd by Cristin ferch Goronwy ab ...
,
and one of the most prominent
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
poets of the 12th century.
Cynddelw began his career as court poet to Madog ap Maredudd,
Prince of Powys. At Madog's death in 1160, Cynddelw wrote the following elegy:
While Madog lived there was no man
Dared ravage his fair borders
Yet nought of all he held
Esteemed he his save by God's might…
If my noble lord were alive
Gwynedd would not now be encamped in the heart of Edeyrnion.
Cynddelw composed poems for a number of the later rulers of Powys, now divided into two parts, such as
Owain Cyfeiliog
Owain ap Gruffydd (c. 1130–1197) was a prince of the southern part of Powys and a poet. He is usually known as Owain Cyfeiliog to distinguish him from other rulers named Owain, particularly his contemporary, Owain ap Gruffydd of Gwynedd, who is k ...
and
Gwenwynwyn
Gwenwynwyn ab Owain Cyfeiliog (died c. 1216) was the last major ruler of mid Wales before the completion of the History of Wales#Wales and the Normans: 1067–1283, Norman English invasion. He was one of few native rulers to represent a real threa ...
. He also composed poems addressed to the rulers of
Gwynedd
Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and C ...
and
Deheubarth
Deheubarth (; lit. "Right-hand Part", thus "the South") was a regional name for the realms of south Wales, particularly as opposed to Gwynedd (Latin: ''Venedotia''). It is now used as a shorthand for the various realms united under the House of ...
, and notably poems addressed to
Owain Gwynedd
Owain ap Gruffudd ( 23 or 28 November 1170) was King of Gwynedd, North Wales, from 1137 until his death in 1170, succeeding his father Gruffudd ap Cynan. He was called Owain the Great ( cy, Owain Fawr) and the first to be ...
and to his son
Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd
Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd (circa 11201170), Prince of Gwynedd in 1170, was a Welsh poet and military leader. Hywel was the son of Owain Gwynedd, prince of Gwynedd, and an Irishwoman named Pyfog. In recognition of this, he was also known as ''Hy ...
and later to
Rhys ap Gruffudd
Rhys ap Gruffydd, commonly known as The Lord Rhys, in Welsh ''Yr Arglwydd Rhys'' (c. 1132 – 28 April 1197) was the ruler of the Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth in south Wales from 1155 to 1197 and native Prince of Wales.
It was believed that h ...
of Deheubarth and to the young
Llywelyn the Great
Llywelyn the Great ( cy, Llywelyn Fawr, ; full name Llywelyn mab Iorwerth; c. 117311 April 1240) was a King of Gwynedd in north Wales and eventually " Prince of the Welsh" (in 1228) and "Prince of Wales" (in 1240). By a combination of war and d ...
. Poems and elegy to Lord Rhirid Flaidd of Penllyn. There is also a eulogy for Cynddelw's own son, Dygynnelw, who was killed in battle. He gives a vivid picture of the aftermath of a battle in one of his poems:
I saw after battle intestines on the thorns
Left for the wolves to bury.
Cynddelw was known in his time for opposing superstition, and the monks of
Strata Marcella
The Abbey of Strata Marcella ( cy, Abaty Ystrad Marchell) was a medieval Cistercian monastery situated at Ystrad Marchell (''Strata Marcella'' being the Latinised form of the Welsh name) on the west bank of the River Severn near Welshpool, Powys ...
in Powys sent "a deputation to him with a requisition that he should renounce his errors, and make satisfaction to the Church, threatening, in case of non-compliance, that he should be excommunicated and deprived of Christian burial."
[ His answer was the following:
]Cen ni bai ammod dyfod—i'm herbyn
A Duw gwyn yn gwybod
Oedd iawnach i fynach fod
Im gwrthefyn nag im gwrthod.
Which, translated, reads, "Since no covenant would be produced against me, which the God of purity knows, it would have been more just of the monks to receive than to reject me."[
]
Works
The traditional English names are not always direct translations of the Middle Welsh
Middle Welsh ( cy, Cymraeg Canol, wlm, Kymraec) is the label attached to the Welsh language of the 12th to 15th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This form of Welsh developed directly from Old Welsh ( cy, Hen G ...
names.
*"The First Panegyric on Owain Gwynedd
Owain ap Gruffudd ( 23 or 28 November 1170) was King of Gwynedd, North Wales, from 1137 until his death in 1170, succeeding his father Gruffudd ap Cynan. He was called Owain the Great ( cy, Owain Fawr) and the first to be ...
"
*"The Second Panegyric on Owain Gwynedd"
*"The Third Panegyric on Owain Gwynedd"
*"Elegy on Owain Gwynedd"
*"A Contention with Seisyll for the Chair of Madog
Madoc ab Owain Gwynedd (also spelled Madog) was, according to folklore, a Welsh prince who sailed to America in 1170, over three hundred years before Christopher Columbus's voyage in 1492.
According to the story, he was a son of Owain Gwyned ...
"
*"To Madog Prince of Powys"
*"The First Verses to Madog Prince of Powys"
*"The Second Verses to Madog Prince of Powys"
*"Elegy on Madog Prince of Powys"
*"An Address to Madog's Family on His Death"
*"Verses to Owain Owain () is a name of Welsh origin, variously written in Old Welsh as Ougein, Eugein, Euguen, Iguein, Ou(u)ein, Eug(u)ein, Yuein, and in Middle Welsh as Ewein, Owein, and Ywein. Other variants of the name Owain include Ewein, Iguein, Owein, Ouein, Y ...
Son of Madog"
*"A Verse to Owain Son of Madog"
*"A Panegyric on Owain Son of Madog"
*"Elegy on Owain Son of Madog"
*"A Virgin Eulogy to Efa Daughter of Madog"
*"To Llywelyn Son of Madog"
*"Elegy on Cadwallon Son of Madog"
*"An Ode to Owain Cyfeiliog
Owain ap Gruffydd (c. 1130–1197) was a prince of the southern part of Powys and a poet. He is usually known as Owain Cyfeiliog to distinguish him from other rulers named Owain, particularly his contemporary, Owain ap Gruffydd of Gwynedd, who is k ...
"
*"Elegy on the Family of Owain Gwynedd"
*"The Reconciliation of the Lord Rhys
Rhys ap Gruffydd, commonly known as The Lord Rhys, in Welsh ''Yr Arglwydd Rhys'' (c. 1132 – 28 April 1197) was the ruler of the Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth in south Wales from 1155 to 1197 and native Prince of Wales.
It was believed that he ...
"
*"A Panegyric on the Lord Rhys"
*"Elegiac Verses on Rhiryd"
*"Verses on Rhiryd"
*"Elegy on Rhiryd"
*"Elegy on Einion ab Madog ab Iddon"
*"Verses to Owain Cyfeiliog"
*"The Reconciliation of Rhys
Rhys or Rhŷs is a popular Welsh given name (usually male) that is famous in Welsh history and is also used as a surname. It originates from Deheubarth, an old region of South West Wales, with famous kings such as Rhys ap Tewdwr.
It is pronounced ...
Son of Gruffydd"
*"Elegy on Ithel Son of Cadifor the Gwyddelian"
*"Elegy on Iorwerth Son of Maredudd"
*"The Circuit; or, Battles of Llywelyn"
*"To Gwenwynwyn
Gwenwynwyn ab Owain Cyfeiliog (died c. 1216) was the last major ruler of mid Wales before the completion of the History of Wales#Wales and the Normans: 1067–1283, Norman English invasion. He was one of few native rulers to represent a real threa ...
"
*"Verses of Praise to Gwenwynwyn"
*"Verses to Gwenwynwyn"
*"An Ode to Tysilio
Saint Tysilio (also known as/confused with Saint Suliac; la, Tysilius, Suliacus; died 640 AD) was a Welsh bishop, prince and scholar, son of the reigning King of Powys, Brochwel Ysgithrog, maternal nephew of the great Abbot Dunod of Bangor ...
"
*"To God"
*"A Sonnet to a Damsel"
*"Verses to Ednyfed"
*"Elegy on the Sons of Dwywg"
*"Verses to an Alien of Llansadwrn
Llansadwrn (; ; ) is a small village and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales.
It is located in the countryside above the valley of the River Tywi, about halfway between Llandovery (Welsh: Llanymddyfri) to the north-east, and Llandeilo to the ...
"
*"A Verse"
*"Verses to Hywel Hywel (), sometimes anglicised as Howel or Howell, is a Welsh masculine given name. It may refer to:
* Saint Hywel, a sixth-century disciple of Saint Teilo and the king of Brittany in the Arthurian legend.
*Hywel ap Rhodri Molwynog, 9th-century ki ...
Son of Ieuaf
Idwal ab Idwal ( en , Idwal son of Idwal, died 988), usually known as Ieuaf ( cy, Junior) to distinguish him from his father Idwal Foel, was joint king of Gwynedd in northern Wales from 950 to 969. He possibly also ruled Powys for some time.
Ieua ...
"
*"Elegy on Bleddyn the Bard"
*"Verses to Dygynnelw Son of Cynddelw"
*"The Tribes of Powys"
*"The Privileges of the Men of Powys"
*"An Ode to Hywel Hywel (), sometimes anglicised as Howel or Howell, is a Welsh masculine given name. It may refer to:
* Saint Hywel, a sixth-century disciple of Saint Teilo and the king of Brittany in the Arthurian legend.
*Hywel ap Rhodri Molwynog, 9th-century ki ...
Son of Owain"
*"To Llywelyn"
*"To the Monks of Strata
In geology and related fields, a stratum ( : strata) is a layer of rock or sediment characterized by certain lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by visible surfaces known as ei ...
Who Refused Cynddelw Burial"
*"The Death-bed of Cynddelw"
See also
Cynddelw at Wikisource
*Meic Stephens (ed). ''A Companion to Welsh Literature''.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr
12th-century deaths
12th-century Welsh poets
13th-century deaths
Welsh male poets
Year of birth unknown
Year of death unknown