by Angela Grant.
For the Welsh to distinguish between myth and history has always been a difficult exercise. – Emyr Humphreys,
The Taliesin Tradition (Bridgend, 1989), p.13.
This paper sets out to explore the connection between ‘Teliessin Penn Beird’ of Arthur’s Court,
the baby who was caught in Gwyddno’s weir, the companion who helped bring Bran’s head back from
Ireland, and the man, real or imagined, who sang songs in the court of Urien, lord of Rheged,
and his son Owein. In doing so it may be necessary to redefine the nature of ‘reality’ to include the ‘reality’
embodied in myth, and consider why the borderline between myth and history is often not clearly defined and how
at one period myth may be regarded as history and at another the lightly drawn figures of history may achieve
the colour and power of myth. The nature of myth may be defined as ‘a means of containing and transmitting
cultural messages which has itself either no basis in reality or else transforms reality. This sense directly
echoes the meaning of the original Greek word muthos, which signified a story told to entertain or to play upon
emotion rather than a logical discourse.’ In this paper I can only sketch in lightly the various sources
that exist in an attempt to illustrate the range in which the bard’s name occurs. I will proceed in
mythological time sequence rather than the estimated ages of the stories concerned. Mythological time is
fortunate in that, unlike the time that governs our watches, it may be stretched or foreshortened or even folded
back upon itself to suit the needs of a particular story or storyteller so that Taliesin may be a reincarnation
of Myrddin in one story and holding a conversation with him in another.
From the Mabinogi
n the Second Branch of the Mabinogi, ‘Branwen Uerch Lyr’, Taliesin is listed as one of the
seven men who survived the final battle between the hosts of ‘Ynys y Kedyrn’ and Matholwch and carried Bendigeituran’s
head to Anglesey, Harlech, Gwales and finally buried it in the White Mount in London with its face towards France
.
This exploit echoes the earlier obscure poem ‘Preiddeu Annwn’
to which I will return below.
In the tale of Culhwch and Olwen, Taliesin, Chief of Bards, is one of those of Arthur’s Court
whose names Culhwch invokes as sureties so that Arthur get for him the gift of Olwen daughter of Yspaddaden Chief Giant.
This is almost certainly the earliest reference to Taliesin as ‘Pen Beirdd’.
Taliesin is also listed in the Triads (Peniarth MS.252) as one of the Three Skilful Bards at Arthur’s Court,
together with Myrddin vab Morvryn and Myrddin Emrys.
Hanes Taliesin
The story of Gwion Bach, the little boy who was turned by the magic of the brew mixed by the witch Cerridwen into Tal Iesin,
Shining Brow, the all-knowing bard, magician, and seer must be known by many children in Wales judging by the number of
children’s books on the subject. We only have the story by the survival of two relatively recent manuscripts: that of
Elis Gruffydd’s ‘Chronicle of the Six Ages of the World’ dating from the first half of the sixteenth century and the ‘
Hanes Taliesin’ in the hand of John Jones of Gellilyfdy dated c.1607. However, it is quite clear from references to the
story in poems in the Book of Taliesin, that the story must have been widespread far earlier than these two manuscripts
would indicate.
To briefly précis the story, Gwion Bach is employed by Cerridwen to keep the fire going under her
cauldron assisted by the blind Morda. Cerridwen is brewing a potion for a year and a day to give wisdom and knowledge
to her fearfully ugly son Morvran (Sea Raven) who is also known as Y Vagddu (Utter Darkness). Just before the brew is
ready three drops of it, either by intent or accident, touch Gwion’s hand and they contain all the knowledge in the
cauldron, which promptly bursts. Gwion sucks his fingers because the brew was hot and receives the knowledge with which
he realises Cerridwen will be after him. A chase ensues in which both go through various transformations ending with
Cerridwen (as a black hen) swallowing Gwion (as a grain of corn). There he stays for nine months until he is reborn as
Taliesin. He is so beautiful that Cerridwen cannot kill him so she casts him adrift in a coracle and he ends up caught
in the fish-weir3 of Gwyddno Long-shank. Here Gwyddno’s son Elphin rescues him and, being surprised one so young can
hold a conversation, he takes him home to become his bard and together they go through a number of adventures at the
court of Maelgwn Gwynedd . It is at that court Taliesin reveals himself in his full glory:
Prifuardd kyffredin
wyf J i Elffin,
A’m bro gynneuin
yw gwlad shieruwbin.
Shihannes ddewin
a’m gelwis J Merd[d]in;
Bellach poob prenin
a’m geilw J Taliesin.
|
Official chief-poet
to Elphin am I,
And my nativ e abode
is the land of the Cherubim.
Johannes the prophet
called me Merlin,
But now all kings
Call me Taliesin.
|
He then goes on to describe his presence at various times and places throughout
biblical, historical and Welsh mythological time, one couplet of which will do for the flavour:
Myui a ddugum heon
J lawr Glyn Ebron;
Myui a vum yn llys deon
kynn genni Gwidion;
|
I brought seed down
to the vale of Hebron;
I was in the court of Dôn
before the birth of Gwydion;
|
Before he finishes with a flourish:
Myui a vu[m] ymlygiawd
yngwlad y Drinidawd;
A myui a vum ddysgogawd
J’r holl uyddygawd;
A myui a vyddaf hyd dydd brawd
ar wynneb daiarawd;
Ac ni widdis beth yw vy nghnawd-
ai kig ai pisgawd;
A myui a uum naw mis haiach
ynghroth Keridwen y wrach;
Myui a vum gyntt Wion Bach,
Neithyr Taliesin wyf J bellach.
|
I was revealed
in the land of the Trinity;
And I was moved
through the entire universe;
And I shall remain till doomsday,
upon the face of the earth.
And no one knows what my flesh is-
whether meat or fish.1
And I was nearly nine months
in the womb of the witch Ceridwen;
I was formerly Gwion Bach,
But now I am Taliesin.
|
So here we have a fully fledged and detailed myth or folktale, the basis which must have entered into Welsh folklore
at the absolute latest by the first quarter of the fourteenth century and most probably considerably earlier than
that. Myths are often based on fact. Now we move on to what remains to us of that fact.
Canu Taliesin
The Historia Brittonum, attributed to Nennius, has been dated to the year 828/9.
It contains what the author describes as ‘a heap of all that I have found, both from the Annals of the Romans and from the Chronicles of the
Holy Fathers, and from the writings of the Irish and the English, and out of the tradition of our elders’.
In the section known as the Northern History, when talking of the reign of Ida of Northumbria
who reigned in the late sixth century, he says:
[T]unc Dutigirn in illo tempore fortiter dimicabat contra gentem Anglorum. Tunc Talhaern Tat Aguen in
poemate claruit ; et Neirin, et Taliessin, et Bluchbard, et Cian, qui vocatur Guenith Guaut, simul uno tempore in
poemate Brittannico claruerunt.
At that time Outigirn (Eudeyrn) then fought bravely against the English nation. Then Talhaearn Tad Awen was
famed in poetry; and Aneirin and Taliesin and Bluchbard and Cian, known as Guenith Guaut, were all simultaneously
famed in British verse.
Here Taliesin is clearly not being named as the most famous bard, that place being reserved for Talhaearn (Iron Brow)
Tad Awen (Father of Inspiration). The appellation ‘Pen Beirdd’ has yet to appear. Ifor Williams, in his Canu Taliesin
reduced the total canon of poetry attributed to Taliesin in the Book of Taliesin and other manuscripts down to twelve
poems that he felt, on various criteria, could be safely attributed to the bard mentioned in the Historia Brittonum.
One rather curiously worded praise poem is to Cynan Garwyn, Lord of Powys. Two are to
Gwallawg, Lord of Elmet (Elfed),
a kingdom in the angle between the Saxon kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. The remaining nine are to Urien,
Lord of Rheged, and his son Owein. The exact area of Rheged is uncertain but it was probably centred somewhere near
Carlisle and abutted the territory of Ystrad Clud (Strathclyde) in the north, covering part of the western lowlands of
Scotland and modern Cumbria and may originally have extended as far south as the Mersey and the borders of Elmet.
Urien is also described as ruler of Catraeth which indicates this poem to date earlier than the Gododdin of Aneirin.
The same page of Historia Brittonum also mentions that:
Deodric contra illum Urbgen cum filiis dimicabat fortiter.
Theodoric fought vigorously against Urien and his sons.
Theodoric is usually listed as reigning in the years 572-9. The dates come from the Moore Memoranda
compiled by Bishop John Moore (1646-1714) and attached to the so-called Moore Bede.
These are somewhat shaky foundations on which to declare that there was a living bard called Taliesin who was bard to Urien,
Lord of Rheged in the late sixth century, but that is all the evidence we have. So let us pass to the
evidence of the poems themselves. Many of them end with:
Ac yny vallwyf y hen
ym dygyn agheu aghen.
Ny bydif yn dirwen.
na molwyf i vryen.
|
And until I am old and ailing
in the dire necessity of death
I shall not be in my element
if I don’t praise Urien.
|
Indeed, here we do have a bard’s praise for his lord:
glewhaf eissyllyd
tydi goreu yssyd.
or a uu ac a uyd.
nyth oes kystedlyd.
|
Of most courageous stock
you are the best;
of all who have been and will be
you have no competitor.
|
Comments on his war prowess:
Gweleis i ran reodic am vryen
pan amwyth ae alon. Yn llech wen
galystem y wytheint oed llafyn
aessawr gwyr goborhit wrth aghen.
Awyd kat a diffo eurwyn.
|
I saw noble men about Urien
When he cut down his foes in Llech Wen.
Routing foes in wrath gave him joy,
Men’s bucklers were borne where needed:
Lust for battle never leaves Urien.
|
And his lord is generous:
Meuedwys med
a chein tired
A ryfed mawr
Ac awr a chet
|
y oruoled
imi yn ryfed.
ac aur ac awr.
a chifriuet
|
Plenty of mead for revels,
And fine estates for me as wealth.
Wealth galore, gilded and golden,
Gold and gifts and esteem
|
And how do we know these poems are by Taliesin? Why, he says so:
Llwyfenyd van.
yn vn trygan
taliessin gan
|
Ac eirch achlan
mawr a bychan
tidi ae didan.
|
Beautiful Llwyfenydd and all of Eirch,
Great and small, in a single song,
Taliesin entertains you
|
His name also appears in another poem:
Adunswn y ar orwyd ffysciolin
tut ynyeil gwerth yspeil taliessin.
|
I would loved to have gone
on a frisky horse
with the foragers
for the spoils of Taliesin...
|
The weight of scholarship would appear to support Sir Ifor Williams’ contention that these were written by a bard who lived
in the late sixth century and who sang and fought for Urien, lord of Rheged.
So let us pass on to what other evidence there is.
Llyfr Taliesin
If we assume from the title ‘Book of Taliesin’ that the contents are to be regarded as attributed to the bard,
then once we have extracted Sir Ifor’s Canu Taliesin and the poems connected with the Hanes Taliesin we are left
with a somewhat motley collection. According to Sir Ifor, after deductions, there are seven religious poems, ten prophecies, five eulogies to Tenby,
Alexander, Arthur, and Hercules, five elegies to Madawg ac Erof, Corroi m. Dayry, Dylan, Aeddon, and Cunedda, and Songs of the
Macrocosm and the Microcosm. However Sir Ifor included in the poems related to the
Hanes a poem called ‘Preiddeu Annwn’, which may be translated as the ‘Spoils or Booty of Annwn’, in which there is
no reference to any of the characters of the folktale. It refers to a cauldron:
yg kynneir or peir
pan leferit.
Oanadyl naw morwyn
gochyneuit.
Neu peir pen annwfyn
pwy y vynut.
gwrym am yoror
amererit.
|
My poetry, from the cauldron
it was uttered.
From the breath of nine maidens
it was kindled.
The cauldron of the chief of Annwfyn:
What is its fashion?
A dark ridge around its border
and pearls.
|
It also has a number of references to only seven returning from the expedition:
nam seith ny dyrreith
ogaer sidi.
|
Except seven none rose up
from the Fortress of the Mound.
|
Which links it to the story in ‘Branwen Uerch Lyr’ that I referred to above. However, in this case, it is Arthur,
rather than Bendigeituran, that leads the expedition, which is to Annwn rather than Ireland. This is clearly entertainment
with overtones of comparing the deeds of the mythic past with the lesser deeds of the speaker’s time. However, the speaker
has taken the persona of Taliesin, one of the founding fathers of the Bardic order. He playfully contrasts the learning
of the Bards, sourced from the cauldron, with the learning of monks. As Marged Haycock says:
‘By stressing the omniscience of the Taliesin figure, his familiarity with mythology and legend, his Otherworld
connections, his mastery of exotic learning, they would, in a way, be swelling their own prestige and emphasizing the
archaic origins of their poetic order’.
As has been said, many of the poems in Llyfr Taliesin are prophetic in nature, which ties in very well with an
entry in the Welsh Laws:
19. Tri swyddawc a wasnaetha y brenin o’i heiste: ynat; a throedyawc a phencerdd, sef yw hynny bardd cadeiriawc a
wypo peth a ddel rhag llaw o gerdd Taliessyn.
Three officers who serve the king sitting: a judge, and a foot-holder and a chief poet, namely a seated poet who
knows what may happen in the future by means of a poem of Taliesin.
And again:
23. Tri dyn sydd well eu breint o’e heiste noc o’e sefyll: ynat y frawdle o sarheir o weli tafawt; pencerdd,
sef yw hwnnw bardd a ynillo cadeir, sef yw hwnnw a wyppo daro(n)gangerdd Talyessin a gwerth pob canu; troydyawc y
freint yw eiste dan driet y brenin, ac yna y mae nawdd iddaw.
Three persons whose status is better when sitting than when standing: a judge in his judgement-place if he is
injured with a tongue-wound; a chief poet, namely a poet who gains a chair, that is, someone who knows a prophetic
poem of Taliesin and the value of every poem; a foot-holder’s privilege is to sit beneath the king’s foot, and
then he can give safe-conduct.
Taliesin, from being the bard of one of the wild kingdoms of the sixth century north, has become a Welsh medieval institution.
Conclusion
I would like to believe that the twelve poems that Sir Ifor Williams selected were indeed composed by a sixth century
bard even though their language had mutated somewhat before they were written down. Three centuries later, however,
it is clear that successive generations of Bards that followed him, as well as mutating the language, had mutated the man.
If he had been flesh and blood originally, by the ninth century he had been granted the status of demigod. If the Bardic
class needed a mythic father-figure to refer back to, they now had one. Someone to hold forward, to say this is where our
skills and learning have come from. Whether or not he deserved the epithet ‘Chief of Bards’ originally, he did so in the
eyes of his medieval successors. Why it was Taliesin that achieved this status rather than the other four listed by Nennius
we shall probably never know. Of three we have no poetry at all; of Aneirin we have one major work and no more. It is
Taliesin’s name that has shone out like a beacon from the troubled age that created the separate cultures of England and Wales.
It is he, and he alone, who has been elevated by successive generations to the rank of ‘Taliesin Pen Beirdd’.
Long may his songs be sung, whoever wrote them.
Angela Grant.
