Y llawysgrifau
Ceir yr englyn hwn mewn un llawysgrif yn unig, sef LlGC 17113E, a ysgrifennwyd nid yn hwyrach na 1547. Fe’i hysgrifennwyd ar gyfer Siôn ap Wiliam ap Siôn o Ysgeifiog (taid John Jones, Gellilyfdy) a hynny’n bennaf yn ei law ei hun ac yn llaw Thomas ap Llywelyn ab Ithel. Ceir ynddi hefyd gerddi gan lawiau anhysbys cyfoes, gan gynnwys y gerdd hon a ysgrifennwyd yn fertigol ar gwr de ochr verso y ddalen olaf. Lled dda yw’r darlleniadau.

Trawsysgrifiad: LlGC 17113E.

Stema

3–4 Bwrw y … / Bwrw y  LlGC 17113E Bwrw … Bwrw. Gan fod bwrw yn llinell 1 yn unsill, naturiol disgwyl iddo fod yn unsill yn yr enghreifftiau hyn hefyd, ond gan y gwna hynny’r llinellau yn chwesill, diwygir trwy ychwanegu’r fannod er mwyn eu gwneud yn seithsill.

4 maen  LlGC 17113E man. Diwygir er mwyn y synnwyr. Digwydd mân fel amrwyiad ar maen ond gan mai â de Cymru fel arfer y cysylltir y ffurf, haws credu i’r copïwr ei hysgrifennu ar gam am maen.

Englyn unodl union yw hwn lle dychana Dafydd ab Edmwnd Guto’r Glyn trwy ei bortreadu’n cyflawni gwahanol gampau corfforol gerbron arglwydd Penfro (2), eithr terfynir yr holl orchest â rhech. Yr awgrym, mae’n debyg, yw bod Guto, er ei holl nerth, yn gwrs a gwladaidd, a hawdd y gellir dychmygu uchelwr cefnog a thiriog fel Dafydd ab Edmwnd yn synio felly amdano. Mae’n anodd gwybod a ddigwyddodd yr hyn mewn gwirionedd, ond un peth sy’n rhoi gwedd hanesyddol ar y mater yw’r cyfeiriad at arglwydd Penfro. Mae’r campau a briodolir i Guto yn dwyn i gof eiriau Gutun Owain yn ei farwnad iddo – Ac ar faen gorau a fu, 126.15.

Dyddiad
Ar sail y cyfeiriad at arglwydd Penfro (gw. 3n), gellir dyddio’r gerdd i’r cyfnod 1461–9 (gw. 2n).

Golygiad blaenorol
Dim.

Mesur a chynghanedd
Englyn unodl union, 4 llinell.
Cynghanedd (llinellau 1, 3, 4): croes 1 llinell, traws 1 llinell; sain 1 llinell.

1 bwrw trosol  Cf. 3 bwrw bar, 4 bwrw y maen. Dyma rai o’r campau corfforol a oedd yn hoff gan foneddigion y cyfnod; ymhellach, gw. GIRh 3.107–22n; GLMorg 95.35–6n; 36.43n a cf. 36.43–4 Ni thrwsiodd maen na throsol, / Ni bu neb na bai’n ei ôl.

1 peri trwsio – ’i ddorglwyd  Geiriau anodd eu dehongli, gan nad yw ystyr [d]orglwyd yn eglur yn y cyd-destun. Ar ei ystyr sylfaenol, gw. GPC 1077, ‘drws ar ffurf clwyd neu lidiart, clwyd neu fath o lidiart bychan symudol ar fynedfa i adeilad’. Cynigir mai gair teg sydd yma am ‘falog, copis’, ystyr a fyddai’n gydnaws ag ysbryd a symudiad y gerdd.

2 arglwydd Penfro  Gallai gyfeirio at Wiliam Herbert, iarll cyntaf Penfro neu ei fab o’r un enw. Os y cyntaf, mae’n naturiol tybio bod y geiriau’n dynodi ei swydd fel iarll cyntaf Penfro a ddaliodd o 8 Medi 1468 hyd ei farw ar 28 Gorffennaf 1469. Er hynny, gair digon llac yw arglwydd, a gall hefyd fod arglwydd Penfro yn cyfeirio at y cyfnod o 1461 ymlaen wedi i Herbert feddiannu Penfro. Os ei fab a olygir, roedd hwnnw’n ail iarll Penfro o adeg marw ei dad hyd 1479 pryd y gorfu iddo ildio iarllaeth Penfro am un Huntingdon, gw. ByCy Ar-lein s.n. Herbert, William (1460–1491); Griffiths 1972: 155–6; CLC² 329–30; DNB Online. Fodd bynnag, ni ddisgwylid i Guto fod yn hen, fel y cyfryw, pan gyflawnodd y gamp a ddisgrifir a haws tybio, felly, mai’r Wiliam Herbert hŷn a olygir.

3 poed byr y bo  Cyfeiriad, mae’n debyg, at chwimder y tafliad.

Llyfryddiaeth
Griffiths, R.A. (1972), The Principality of Wales in the Later Middle Ages: The Structure and Personnel of Government, i: South Wales, 1277–1536 (Cardiff)

This is an englyn of the unodl union variety where Dafydd ab Edmwnd satirizes Guto’r Glyn by representing him as performing various athletic feats before arglwydd Penfro (2), but the whole exploit ends with a fart. The implication, probably, is that Guto, for all his strength, is coarse and rustic, and it is easy to imagine a wealthy and landed aristocrat such as Dafydd ab Edmwnd viewing him in such terms. It may be asked whether the incident actually occurred, but a point that gives a historical complexion to the matter is the reference to the lord of Pembroke. The feats attributed to Guto bring to mind the words of Gutun Owain in his elegy to him – Ac ar faen gorau a fu ‘and he was best at throwing a heavy stone’, 126.1.

Date
On the basis of the reference to arglwydd Penfro (see 2n), the poem may be dated to the period 1461–9 (see 2n).

The manuscripts
The poem has been preserved in only one manuscript, namely LlGC 17113E, written no later than 1547 for Siôn ap Wiliam ap Siôn of Ysgeifiog (the grandfather of John Jones, Gellilyfdy) mainly in his own hand and that of Thomas ap Llywelyn ab Ithel. It serves as the basis of the edited text. The readings are fairly good.

Stemma

Previous edition
None.

Metre and cynghanedd
An englyn unodl union, 4 lines.
Cynghanedd (of lines 1, 3 and 4): croes 1 line, traws 1 line; sain 1 line.

1 bwrw trosol  Cf. 3 bwrw bar, 4 bwrw y maen. These are some of the physical feats enjoyed by the aristocracy of the age; further, see GIRh 3.107–22n; GLMorg 95.35–6n; 36.43n and cf. 36.43–4 Ni thrwsiodd maen na throsol, / Ni bu neb na bai’n ei ôl ‘No-one handled stone nor bar, / there was no-one who was not inferior to him.’

1 peri trwsio – ’i ddorglwyd  Difficult words to interpret, mainly because the meaning of dorglwyd is unclear in the context. On its basic meaning, see GPC 1077, ‘door-hurdle, wattle gate’. It is suggested that it is here a euphemism for ‘cod-piece, fly’, a meaning that would be consistent with the spirit and movement of the poem.

2 arglwydd Penfro  This could refer to William Herbert, first earl of Pembroke, or his son of the same name. If the former, it is natural to suppose that the words signify his position as first earl of Pembroke, which he held from 8 September 1468 till his death on 28 July 1469. However, arglwydd is a rather imprecise term, and arglwydd Penfro may also refer to the period from 1461 onwards after Herbert took control of Pembroke. If his son is meant, he was second earl of Pembroke from the time of his father’s death till 1479, when he was compelled to relinquish the earldom of Pembroke for that of Huntingdon, see WB Online s.n. Herbert, William (1460–1491); Griffiths 1972: 155–6; NCLW 316; DNB Online. However, one would not expect Guto to be old, as such, when he performed the feat described and it is easier to suppose that the older William Herbert is meant.

3 poed byr y bo  Probably a reference to the speed of the throw.

Bibliography
Griffiths, R.A. (1972), The Principality of Wales in the Later Middle Ages: The Structure and Personnel of Government, i: South Wales, 1277–1536 (Cardiff)

Stema fwy