Englynion y Clywaid (or Englynion y Clyweit) is a collection of

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 ...

stanzas. The stanzas date to around the 10th century or the late 12th or early 13th century according to

Ifor Williams Sir Ifor Williams, (16 April 1881 – 4 November 1965) was a Welsh scholar who laid the foundations for the academic study of Old Welsh, particularly early Welsh poetry. Early life and education Ifor Williams was born at Pendinas, Tregarth near ...

, as well as other academics. The earliest manuscript witnesses are Jesus College MS 3 (c. 1350) and NLW Llanstephan MS 27, the Red Book of Talgarth (c. 1400), the latter almost exclusively in the hand of Hywel Fychan, main scribe of the Red Book of Hergest). The series consists of 73

stanzas In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian ''stanza'' , "room") is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme and metrical schemes, but they are not required to have eithe ...

with

proverbs A proverb (from la, proverbium) is a simple and insightful, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and use formulaic speech, formulaic language. A proverbial phra ...

that are attributed to characters from Welsh folklore or Welsh saints.

Style

The poems are melodic, with each

englyn (; plural ) is a traditional Welsh and Cornish short poem form. It uses quantitative metres, involving the counting of syllables, and rigid patterns of rhyme and half rhyme. Each line contains a repeating pattern of consonants and accent know ...

beginning with the opening phrase "A glyweist-di a gant...?" ("Did you hear what ... said/declaimed?"), followed by the name of a character from Welsh tradition, or one of the

Welsh saints This list of Welsh saints includes Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive ...

. The answer is in the form of a traditional proverb, most of which are attributed to characters from Welsh folklore, or Welsh and foreign saints. The exceptions are those given in the mouths of animals. The selection of Welsh characters includes a number of characters from ''

Culhwch and Olwen ''Culhwch and Olwen'' ( cy, Culhwch ac Olwen) is a Welsh tale that survives in only two manuscripts about a hero connected with Arthur and his warriors: a complete version in the Red Book of Hergest, c. 1400, and a fragmented version in the Whit ...

'', and the work as a whole describes a selection of mythical, historical or semi-historical heroes and Christian saints.

History

The poem is a reflection of the antiquarian interest of the 13th and 14th centuries when there was a great deal of collecting, composing and recording of proverbial material by learned Welshmen in a spirit which is compared by

Kenneth H. Jackson Prof Kenneth Hurlstone Jackson CBE FRSE FSA DLitt (1 November 1909 – 20 February 1991) was an English linguistics, linguist and a translator who specialised in the Celtic languages. He demonstrated how the text of the Ulster Cycle of tales, wr ...

to the antiquarian mindset that later spurred on the editors of

The Myvyrian Archaiology of Wales ''The Myvyrian Archaiology of Wales'' is a printed collection of medieval Welsh literature, published in three volumes by the Gwyneddigion Society between 1801 and 1807. Until John Gwenogvryn Evans produced diplomatic editions of the important ...

in the early 19th century.

Cynfarch fab Meirchion

One poem describes a proverb attributed to Cynfarch fab Meirchion of the

Hen Ogledd Yr Hen Ogledd (), in English the Old North, is the historical region which is now Northern England and the southern Scottish Lowlands that was inhabited by the Brittonic people of sub-Roman Britain in the Early Middle Ages. Its population spo ...

(Old North):

"Did you hear
Cynfarch Cynfarch Oer ('Cynfarch the Dismal', also known as Cunomarcus or Cynfarch ap Meirchion) was probably a 6th-century king of the Sub-Roman realm of Rheged, believed to be located in north-west England and south-west Scotland. Next to nothing is k ...
sing? 'Bid thy shoulder upon thy horse; And we will not respect nor revere you."

Other heroes include

Llywarch Hen Llywarch Hen (, "Llywarch the Old"; c. 534 – c. 608), was a prince and poet of the Brythonic kingdom of Rheged, a ruling family in the Hen Ogledd or "Old North" of Britain (modern southern Scotland and northern England). Along with Taliesin, A ...

, Heledd,

Urien Rheged Urien (; ), often referred to as Urien Rheged or Uriens, was a late 6th-century king of Rheged, an early British kingdom of the Hen Ogledd (today's northern England and southern Scotland) of the House of Rheged. His power and his victories, i ...

, Gwenddolau and Geraint fab Erbin. From the world of legends there are characters such as

Culhwch Culhwch (, with the final consonant sounding like Scottish "loch"), in Welsh mythology, is the son of Cilydd son of Celyddon and Goleuddydd, a cousin of Arthur and the protagonist of the story ''Culhwch and Olwen'' (the earliest of the medieval W ...

, Drystan, and Cadriaith mab Seidi . The author has a particular fondness for South Wales saints, including Idloes,

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

Padarn Padarn ( la, Paternus, Padarnus; cy, Padarn; br, Padern; ? – 550 AD) was an early 6th century British Christian abbot-bishop who founded St Padarn's Church in Ceredigion, Wales. He appears to be one and the same with the first bishop of Bra ...

Gwynllyw Gwynllyw Filwr or Gwynllyw Farfog (), known in English in a corrupted form as Woolos the Warrior or Woolos the Bearded ( la, Gundleus, Gundleius or Gwenleue; 450 – 500 AD) was a Welsh king and religious figure. He was King of Gwynllwg in South ...

and

Teilo Saint Teilo ( la, Teliarus or '; br, TeliauWainewright, John. in ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'', Vol. XIV. Robert Appleton Co. (New York), 1912. Accessed 20 July 2013. or '; french: Télo or '; – 9 February ), also known by his C ...

, which suggests he is a native of South Wales.

References

{{Reflist Welsh poetry 13th-century poems