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36-513: Dorothy Ann Bray summarised the cycle thus: The entire cycle of the Heledd poems ... is a statement of mourning from which a background story has been deduced: Cynddylan, prince of Powys, and his brothers along with his heroic band are slain in battle, defending their country against the English in the mid-seventh century. Heledd, his sister, is one of the few survivors, who witnessed the battle and

72-406: A [choch] dagreu dros erchwyn. Nyt angheu ffreuer a erniwaf heno namyn my hun. [yn] wanglaf vym brodyr am tymyr a gwynaf. Ffreuer wenn brodyr ath uaeth. ny hannoedynt or diffaeth . wyr ny uegynt vygylaeth. Ffreuer wenn brodyr ath uu. pann glywynt gywrenin llu. ny echyuydei ffyd ganthu. Mi a ffreuer a medlan. kyt ytuo cat ym bop mann. nyn tawr ny ladawr an rann. Blessed

108-496: A critical edition of the poems relatively straightforward. Despite surviving first in fourteenth-century manuscripts and in largely Middle Welsh orthography, the poems are thought mostly to have been composed in Old Welsh and transmitted orally and/or in manuscript, due to their archaic style and occasionally archaic spelling. Jenny Rowland judges that the two poems to Llywarch's son Gwên ('Gwên' and 'Marwnad Gwên') belong among

144-512: A lost manuscript closer to the White Book than the Red. The second copy, NLW 4973b, is more complex and may represent a conflation of multiple medieval sources, but seems to have at least some independent value as a witness to the lost archetype of the poems. It is fairly clear that all these manuscripts descend from a lost common original, to which they are all fairly similar, making the creation of

180-556: A teacher. She taught in various schools in Wales ( Dolbadarn Elementary School 1913–1914, Ystalyfera County School 1915–1917, and County Girls' School, Aberdare 1917–1928). Roberts met Morris T. Williams at Plaid Cymru (the Welsh nationalist party) meetings, and married him in 1928. Williams was a printer, and eventually they bought the printing and publishing house Gwasg Gee ('The Gee Press'), Denbigh , and moved to live in

216-749: A tenth-century date for the origin of the text. Heledd has been supposed by some commentators to have 'taken over the mantle of the old Celtic goddess of sovereignty ', but there is no substantial evidence for this. As edited and translated by Jenny Rowland, stanzas 57–65 of Canu Heledd , entitled 'Ffreuer', run: Gwynn y byt freuer mor yw dihent. heno gwedy colli kenueint. o anffawt vyn tauawt yt lesseint. Gwyn y byt freuer mor yw gwann heno. gwedy agheu eluan. ac eryr kyndrwyn kyndylan. Nyt angheu ffreuer. am de heno am danorth brodyrde. duhunaf wylaf uore. Nyt angheu ffreuer am gwna heint o dechreu nos hyt deweint. duhunaf wylaf bylgeint. Nyt angheu ffreuer am tremyn heno. am gwna grudyeu melyn.

252-477: A vriw. edewit ny wnelher ny diw. Gwasgarawt neint am glawd caer. a minneu armaaf. ysgwyt [brwyt] briw. kynn techaf. Y corn ath rodes di vryen. ae arwest eur am y en. chwyth yndaw oth daw aghen. Yr ergryt aghen rac angwyr lloegyr ny lygraf vym mawred. ny duhunaf rianed. Tra vum .i. yn oet y gwas draw. a wisc o eur y ottoew bydei re ruthrwn y waew. Diheu diweir dy waes. ti yn vyw ath dyst ry las. ny bu eidyl hen yn was. Thin

288-502: A wen. Llym vym par llachar ygryt armaaf y wylyaw. ryt kynnyt anghwyf duw gennyt. O diegyd ath welif oth ryledir ath gwynif . na choll wyneb [gwr] ar gnif. Ny chollaf dy wyneb trin wosep wr pan wisc glew yr ystre. porthaf gnif kynn mudif lle. Redegawc tonn ar hyt traeth. ech adaf torrif aruaeth. kat [agdo] gnawt ffo ar ffraeth. Yssit ym a lauarwyf. briwaw pelydyr parth y bwyf. ny lauaraf na ffowyf. Medal migned kalet riw. rac carn cann tal glann

324-566: A witness to the lost archetype of the poems. It is fairly clear that all these manuscripts descend from a lost common original, to which they are all fairly similar, making the creation of a critical edition of the poems relatively straightforward. Despite surviving first in manuscripts written between about 1382 and 1410 and in largely Middle Welsh orthography, Canu Heledd are thought mostly to have been composed in Old Welsh and transmitted orally and/or in manuscript, due to their archaic style and occasionally archaic spelling: Jenny Rowland dates

360-456: Is Ffreuer — how painful it is tonight after the loss of family. Because of the misfortune of my tongue they have been slain. Blessed is Ffreuer — how sad it is tonight after the death of Elfan and the hero of Cyndrwyn, Cynddylan. It is not the death of Ffreuer which torments me tonight. Because of the ?slaughter of my ?ardent brothers I wake, I weep at morning. It is not the death of Ffreuer which causes me grief tonight from

396-470: Is considerable uncertainty and debate as to how the poems of Canu Llywarch might originally have been performed. It is usually assumed that they must have been accompanied by some kind of prose narrative, to which they provided emotional depth; but this is not certain. In all the independent witnesses bar NLW 4973a, the Llywarch Hen poems are preceded by the englyn -poem Claf Abercuawg , which in

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432-599: Is fleeing by big talkers. I have that which I speak about. There will be breaking of shields where I am. I will not say that I will not flee. Soft is the swampy ground: firm the slope. The edge of a bank gives way beneath the hoof of a white steed. A promise which is not fulfilled is useless. Waves spread out around the bank of a fortress, and I intend that there will be a broken, shattered shield before I retreat. The horn which Urien gave you with its band of gold around its mouthpiece — blow on it if you come to have need. Despite battle-horrow before

468-718: Is generally accepted that his story was relocated there by later tradition. It is not unlikely that the poetry of Canu Llywarch Hen was gradually built up from nothing more than these sparse genealogical references, with Llywarch's characterisation as an old man inspired by his epithet. An example of the Canu Llyrwarch Hen is the poem entitled 'Gwên and Llywarch' by Rowland: Teneu fy ysgwyd ar asswy fy nhu cy bwyf hen as gallaf ar rodwydd forlas gwiliaf Na wisc wedy kwyn. na vit vrwyn dy vryt. llem awel chwerw gwenwyn. amgyhud vy mam mab yt wyf. Neut atwen ar vy awen yn hanuot. o un achen. trigwyd oric elwic

504-425: Is my shield on my left side. Although I may be old, I can do it: I will keep watch at Rhodwydd Forlas. Do not arm after dinner; let your thoughts not be heavy. Sharp is the wind; bad feeling is hurtful. My mother tells me that I am your son. I know in my heart that we spring from one stock. You are tarrying a precious while, Gwên. Sharp is my spear, bright in battle. I intend to keep watching on

540-500: The White Book of Rhydderch , but are now lost due to damage to the manuscript. However, they are attested in two later manuscripts descended from the White Book, Peniarth 111 (made by John Jones of Gellillyfdy in 1607), whose spelling is very close to the White Book's, and London, British Library, Add. MS 31055 (made by Thomas Wiliems in 1596), which is a less conservative copy. Some other late copies of lost medieval manuscripts of

576-466: The englynion also exist: National Library of Wales 4973 contains two copies of the cycle, both copied by Dr John Davies of Mallwyd , one of Wales's leading antiquarians and scribes of his day, before 1631. The first copy, NLW 4973a, derives from a lost manuscript closer to the White Book than the Red. The second copy, NLW 4973b, is more complex and may represent a conflation of multiple medieval sources, but seems to have at least some independent value as

612-459: The White Book is entitled 'Englynion Mabclaf ap Llywarch' (‘ englynion of Mabclaf son of Llywarch’). However, modern scholars do not see it as originally linked to the Llywarch Hen material. The poems are attested principally in the late fourteenth-century Red Book of Hergest . They were also included in the White Book of Rhydderch , but are now lost due to damage to the manuscript. However, they are attested in two later manuscripts descended from

648-548: The White Book, Peniarth 111 (made by John Jones of Gellillyfdy in 1607), whose spelling is very close to the White Book's, and London, British Library, Add. MS 31055 (made by Thomas Wiliems in 1596), which is a less conservative copy. Some other late copies of lost medieval manuscripts of the englynion also exist: National Library of Wales 4973 contains two copies of the cycle, both copied by Dr John Davies of Mallwyd , one of Wales's leading antiquarians and scribes of his day, before 1631. The first copy, NLW 4973a, derives from

684-433: The beginning of night till the dead of night. I wake, I weep at daybreak. It is not the death of Ffreuer which moved me tonight and cayses me to have yellow cheeks and (shed) tears of blood over the bedside. It is not the death of Ffreuer which I grieve for tonight, but rather for myself, weak and ill. I mourn for my brothers and my land. Ffreuer Wen, brothers nurtured you — they did not spring from among

720-806: The cycle to c. 800–900. Although neither Cynddylan nor Heledd are attested in historical sources such as the Harleian genealogies , Cynddylan is the subject of a lament in awdl -metre, Marwnad Cynddylan (not to be confused with the englynion of the same title in Canu Heledd ), which is thought to date from the time of his death, and scholars have not doubted that Cynddylan and Heledd were historical figures in seventh-century Powys. However, while some scholars have thought of other details of Canu Heledd as also being good evidence for seventh-century events, other sources suggest that seventh-century relations between Mercia and Powys were more cordial, and that there

756-407: The destruction of Cynddylan's hall at Pengwern. She has lost not only all her brothers, but also her sisters and her home, and the poems suggest that she blames herself for the destruction of Cynddylan's court because of some ill-spoken words. As with the other so-called 'saga englynion ’ (pre-eminently Canu Llywarch Hen and Canu Urien ), there is considerable uncertainty and debate as to how

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792-498: The earliest stratum of saga- englynion , of the late eighth to the mid-ninth century, whereas some of the poems to his other sons are 'very late' (perhaps the twelfth century). Llywarch Hen himself may have been a historical figure—he appears in early Welsh royal genealogies, which situate him in sixth-century north Britain as a cousin of Urien Rheged (the subject of the stylistically similar Canu Urien ). However, Canu Llywarch Hen associate Llywarch with Powys in Wales, and it

828-441: The ford. Although I may not escape, God be with you. If you escape, I will see you. If you are killed, I will lament you. Do not lose the honour of a warrior despite battle hardship. I will not lose your honour, battle-ready man, when warriors arm for the border. I will suffer hardship before I will yield ground. Running is a wave along the beach; soon intentions break — ?a scant protection in battle — frequent

864-581: The hard life of a slate-quarrying family. The book was awarded a prize at the National Eiseddfod of Wales in Neath in 1934. She won the prize jointly with Grace Wynne Griffith and her novel Creigiau Milgwyn . However it was alleged that Creigiau Milgwyn was unworthy of the prize according to the historian Thomas Richards . In 1960 Roberts published Y Lôn Wen , a volume of autobiography. Most of her novels and short stories are set in

900-751: The joy she felt when kissing another woman in Pontardawe , saying that nothing had ever made her more happy. Her first volume of short stories, O gors y bryniau ( From the Swamp of the Hills ), appeared in 1925. Perhaps her most successful book of short stories is Te yn y grug ( Tea in the Heather , 1959), a series about children. Of the novels that Roberts wrote, the most famous may have been Traed mewn cyffion ( Feet in Chains , 1936), which reflected

936-617: The life in the cottage and village made an all-important backdrop to her early literary work. Her autobiographical volume Y Lôn Wen is a memorable portrayal of the district in that period. She attended the council school at Rhosgadfan from 1895 to 1904, and Caernarfonshire School from 1904 to 1910. She went on to graduate in Welsh at the University College of North Wales, Bangor , which she attended from 1910 to 1913 under John Morris-Jones and Ifor Williams , and trained as

972-473: The money. It is now in the care of Cadw as a museum presentation of Roberts. She remained in Denbigh after her retirement and died in 1985. Alan Llwyd 's 2011 biography of Roberts used diaries and letters to shed fresh light on her private life and her relationship with Morris. Llwyd suggests that Roberts may have had lesbian tendencies. For example, Roberts sent a letter to her husband describing

1008-493: The poems of Canu Heledd might originally have been performed. It is usually assumed that they must have been accompanied by some kind of prose narrative, to which they provided emotional depth; but this is not certain. As edited by Jenny Rowland, the contents of Canu Heledd are as follows: The poems are attested principally in the Red Book of Hergest , which was written between about 1382 and 1410. They were also included in

1044-544: The region where she lived in North Wales. She herself said that she derived the material for her work "from the society in which I was brought up, a poor society in an age of poverty... [where] it was always a struggle against poverty. But notice that the characters haven't reached the bottom of that poverty, they are struggling against it, afraid of it." Thus her work deals with the uneventful lives of humble people and how they deal with difficulties and disillusionments. It

1080-458: The slopes of Moel Tryfan , Caernarfonshire ( Gwynedd today). She was the oldest child of Owen Roberts, a quarryman in the local slate industry , and Catrin Roberts. She had two half-sisters and two half-brothers (John Evan, Mary, Jane and Owen) from earlier marriages of her parents, and three younger brothers (Richard, Evan and David). She was born in the family cottage, Cae'r Gors . Later

1116-477: The songs of Llywarch Hen ) are a collection of early Welsh englyn -poems . They comprise the most famous of the early Welsh cycles of englynion about heroes of post-Roman North Britain. As edited by Jenny Rowland, the contents of Canu Llywarch Hen are as follows: The poems contemplate martial, masculine culture, fate, and old age from a critical standpoint. As with the other so-called 'saga englynion ’ (pre-eminently Canu Urien and Canu Heledd ), there

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1152-478: The town in 1935. The press published books, pamphlets and the Welsh-language weekly Y Faner ( The Banner ), for which Roberts wrote regularly. After her husband's death in 1946, she ran the press for another 10 years. In 1965 Roberts bought Cae'r Gors and presented it to the nation, but at the time there was not enough money to restore it. It was not restored until 2005, after a long campaign to raise

1188-412: The warriors of England I will not mar my greatness. I will not awaken maidens. When I was the age of the youth over there who wears his spurs of gold it would be swiftly that I rushed to the spear. Certainly your assertion is true: you are alive and your witness slain. No old man was a weakling in youth. Kate Roberts (author) Kate Roberts (13 February 1891 – 14 April 1985)

1224-516: The wicked — warriors who did not nurse fear. Ffreuer Wen, you had brothers. When they heard of a powerful host ?faith did not leave them. Myself and Ffreuer and Meddlan — though there might be battle everywhere it does not worry us — our side will not be killed. Heledd's reception in post-medieval texts has been surveyed by Marged Haycock . These include the novella Tywyll Heno by Kate Roberts . Canu Llywarch Hen Canu Llywarch Hen (modern Welsh /'kani 'ɬəwarχ heːn/,

1260-406: Was no catastrophic invasion of Powys by the English in this period. Such invasions did characterise the ninth century, however, when Canu Heledd was probably composed. Thus the poems are generally now thought more to reflect ninth-century imaginings of what the seventh century must have been like, telling us more about ninth-century realities than seventh-century ones. Some commentators even consider

1296-524: Was one of the foremost Welsh-language authors of the 20th century. Styled Brenhines ein llên ('The Queen of our Literature'), she is known mainly for her short stories, but also wrote novels. Roberts was a prominent Welsh nationalist . In 1963 , she was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature by Welsh scholar Idris Foster . Kate Roberts was born in the village of Rhosgadfan , on

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