Y llawysgrifau
Ceir y testun hwn mewn 5 llawysgrif, a’r cwpled cyntaf yn unig yn un ohonynt, sef Pen 221. Testun BL 14967 yw ffynhonnell Pen 152 a BL 31092, a Pen 152 yn ei thro yw ffynhonnell BL 12230. Diau mai o BL 14967 y tarddodd cwpled Pen 221 hefyd, ond ni ellir profi hynny. Mae testun BL 14967 yn un da, a derbyniwyd ei ddarlleniadau bron bob tro. Er hynny mae llinell 21 yn llwgr yno, a derbyniwyd diwygiad Robert Vaughan yn Pen 152. Seiliwyd y golygiad, felly, ar destun BL 14967.

Trawsysgrifiad: BL 14967.

Stema

3 wnaud  Ffurf ail unigol amherffaith mynegol y ferf gwneud. Dilynir BL 14967 (a Pen 152) ac felly nid oes sail dros GGl wnânt. Cyfarch y tad a wna Guto yn y sangiad.

21 deheuwawd hir  BL 14967 bynhend hir a’r darlleniad wedi ei danlinellu, gan y brif law, mae’n debyg, a sylweddolodd fod y darlleniad yn wallus. Fe’i cywirwyd gan Robert Vaughan wrth gopïo’r testun i Pen 152, I dafawd deheuwawd hir, a dyna a dderbyniwyd yn GGl. (Mae’r ffaith fod Vaughan wedi ysgrifennu hir wrth ymyl y llinell yn BL 14967 yn cadarnhau mai dyma oedd ei ffynhonnell.) Derbynnir y diwygiad yn betrus; ac am enghraifft arall o deheuwawd, cf. DG.net 150.23 Foel-llwyd ddeheuwawd frawd-ddyn.

22 nawtir  BL 14967 nowd tir a ddehonglwyd yn nowtir yn Pen 152.

34 â’i bais wen  BL 14967 ai bais wen, ond Pen 152 i bais wen a dderbyniwyd yn GGl.

40 gydag  BL 14967 gyda, a roddai gynghanedd groes gyda d berfeddgoll yn yr ail hanner. Derbynnir y dywygiad a gynigir yn GGl yn enwedig gan fod Guto yn defnyddio gydag o flaen gair yn dechrau ag i gytsain, cf. 79.29.

54 y sydd  BL 14967 sydd, sy’n peri bod y llinell yn fyr o sillaf. Ychwanegir y, fel y gwnaeth Robert Vaughan yn Pen 152, er mwyn hyd y llinell.

Fel bardd i’r Abad Dafydd ab Ieuan o Lyn-y-groes y mae Guto yn canu’r gerdd hon: Dafydd ab Ieuan yw f’abad i (4), medd, a dywedd ei fod yn teithio yn ôl ac ymlaen rhwng Glyn-y-groes ac Ystrad Marchell: O lawr Egwestl … / I Bowys, o’r llys i’r llall (11–12). Gallwn gasglu ar sail y llinellau hyn fod Guto wedi treulio amser yn y ddau abaty, a’i bod yn debygol fod corff o ganu ganddo i Ddafydd ab Owain wedi ei golli. Ond er cyfeirio at y ddau abad yn y llinellau agoriadol hyn, mawl i Ddafydd ab Owain, abad Ystrad Marchell, yw prif bwnc y cywydd, ac ar ôl llinell 12 ni chyfeirir at Ddafydd ab Ieuan eto. Gan fod Guto’n cyfeirio at Ddafydd ab Ieuan fel mab i Ddafydd ab Owain (3–4), gallwn gasglu mai abad Glyn-y-groes oedd y gŵr iau, ac iddo o bosibl dderbyn hyfforddiant o ryw fath dan Ddafydd ab Owain. Credir bod y ddau Ddafydd wedi eu dyrchafu’n abadau Glyn-y-groes ac Ystrad Marchell c.1480, ond ni wyddys ym mha sefydliad Sistersaidd yr oeddent cyn hynny na beth oedd eu statws. Gwyddom i Ddafydd ab Owain dderbyn gradd doethur yn y gyfraith ganon yn Rhydychen (29n), ac mae’n bosibl y bu Dafydd ab Ieuan yntau’n fyfyriwr yno, gan fod y beirdd yn rhoi cryn bwys ar ei wybodaeth yntau o ramadeg, mydr ac awgrym (mathemateg), pynciau a oedd yn rhan bwysig o radd yn y celfyddydau yn y cyfnod. A ddarfu i Ddafydd ab Ieuan, fel myfyriwr ifanc, ddod o dan adain Dafydd ab Owain yn Rhydychen, pan oedd hwnnw efallai wedi cychwyn ar ei radd uwch? Gweler hefyd 3–4n isod.

Canmolir Dafydd ab Owain am ei ddoniau fel amaethwr da, ac yn arbennig fel bridiwr ceffylau. Bu Powys yn enwog am ei cheffylau ers dyddiau Gerallt Gymro, ac roedd Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr yntau’n fawr ei ganmoliaeth i geffylau tywysogion Powys yn y ddeuddegfed ganrif, cf. Davies and Jones 1997: 77–8. Canwyd tua naw o gerddi yn gofyn march i Ddafydd ab Owain, sy’n awgrymu’n gryf ei fod yn enwog am ei geffylau. Fel y dywed Glanmor Williams amdano (1976: 404) gydag ychydig o fin ar y dweud, ‘Here was another monkish Nimrod who rode to hounds and kept what must have been one of the finest stables in the land.’ Yn y gerdd hon sonnir am y modd y defnyddiai’r abad ei dir da i dyfu bwyd meirch (sef ceirch, o bosibl) lle bu’n tyfu ŷd yn y gorffennol. Yn ôl y ddelfryd Sistersaidd dylai’r abad ddefnyddio’r tir i dyfu bwyd ar gyfer mynaich ei abaty ac ar gyfer bwydo gwesteion a thlodion, a hefyd er mwyn tyfu coed ar gyfer gwaith adeiladu, felly ar ôl canmol ystorfeydd llawn bwyd meirch yr abad, prysura Guto i’n sicrhau fod yr abad yn cyflawni’r dyletswyddau hynny hefyd. Neilltuir cryn dipyn o linellau i ganmol dysg eithriadol Dafydd ab Owain (19–42), yn enwedig ei wybodaeth o’r gyfraith ganon a’r gyfraith sifil (29–30) gan awgrymu ei fod yn cymryd rhan ym mhrosesau cyfraith ei ardal. Mae’n bosibl ei fod yn aelod o rai o lysoedd y brenin, ac o bosibl o Gyngor y Gororau (gw. nodiadau ar 39–40). Cymherir Dafydd ab Owain ymhellach â Dewi Sant, gan gyffelybu dŵr ffynnon (48 dwfr ffons) iachusol yr abad i ddŵr gwenwynig Caerfaddon a fendithiwyd gan Ddewi Sant a’i droi’n ddwfr iechyd (45–6).

Mae’r cywydd yn gorffen mewn dull sy’n nodweddiadol o sawl cerdd gan Guto, sef gan ddefnyddio patrwm rhifol. Rhoddwyd Dafydd (ab Owain) yn abad lle buasai tri abad yn y gorffennol, sef y seintiau Bened, Berned a Beuno (49–52), ac felly efô, Dafydd ab Owain, yw’r pedwerydd. Cloir y gerdd â dymuniad i’w weld yn cael ei ddyrchafu’n esgob. Dyrchafwyd Dafydd ab Owain yn esgob Llanelwy yn 1503, ond bu Dafydd ab Ieuan yn esgob o’i flaen (1500–3).

Dyddiad
Mae ansicrwydd am fanylion gyrfa Dafydd ab Owain, ond y tebyg yw iddo fod yn abad Ystrad Marchell o c.1480 neu c.1485 tan dechrau’r 1490au. Gallwn leoli’r gerdd, felly, yn y blynyddoedd hynny.

Golygiadau a chyfieithiad blaenorol
GGl cerdd CXX; CTC cerdd 109. Ceir cyfieithiad a nodiadau gan Hywel W. Lloyd yn Jones 1873: 357–9 a’i ddilyn yn agos gan Price 1952: 271–2.

Mesur a chynghanedd
Cywydd, 58 llinell.
Cynghanedd: croes 65.5% (38 llinell), traws 9% (5 llinell), sain 24% (14 llinell), llusg 1.5% (1 llinell).

3 oedi  Hynny yw, nid oedd yn oedi rhag rhoi rhoddion i’r bardd (cf. llinell 2).

3–4 Un yn dad … / A’i fab doeth yw f’abad i  Gan nad oedd Dafydd ab Owain a Dafydd ab Ieuan yn dad a mab, cymerir mai’r ystyr yw bod y naill un ai’n hŷn neu ynteu wedi hyfforddi’r llall. Casglwn mai bardd Abad Dafydd ab Ieuan o Lyn-y-groes (y mab) oedd Guto, ac felly rhaid cymryd mai Dafydd ab Owain yw’r tad yma. Cofier hefyd fod abaty Glyn-y-groes yn ‘ferch’ i’r fam eglwys Ystrad Marchell, ac felly roedd disgwyl i abad Ystrad Marchell ymweld yn rheolaidd â Glyn-y-groes: CistYork s.n. Carta Caritatis V: Ut semel per annum mater visitet filiam. Yn yr ystyr honno felly yr oedd gan Ddafydd ab Owain ofal rhiant dros abad Glyn-y-groes.

7 arglwyddi  Defnyddid arglwydd yn gyson fel teitl abad – cf. 108.13–14n. Mae’r gystrawen yn amwys. Deellir arglwyddi da yma’n wrthych y ferf a gawn, gyda Gwledd-dai aur a gwin aml, ond gellid hefyd ddileu’r coma ar ôl aur (‘gwledd-dai aur yr arglwyddi da’), neu ddeall aur yn enw a rhoi coma o’i flaen (‘gwledd-dai, aur, arglwyddi da’).

8 yma  Sef yn y gwledd-dai (7), abatai Ystrad Marchell a Glyn-y-groes.

10 deunod  Sef y ddau abad y mae’r bardd yn anelu ei daith atynt. Cyfeiria Guto mewn mannau eraill at ganu cerdd i noddwr yn nhermau saethu saeth o fwa at nod, cf. 11.1–4 Seythydd wyf, od ymsaethaf / Saethu nod yn syth a wnaf: / Nid nod gwael, iawngael angerdd, / Nod a gaiff enaid y gerdd.

11 Egwestl  Sef Egwystl neu Lanegwystl, un o’r enwau ar abaty Glyn-y-groes, gw. 105.44n.

11 goreugall  Ar lun goreudeg (GPC 1476) un ai ‘rhagorol o gall’ (a gorau yn goleddfu call), neu ‘gorau a chall’ (a’r ddau ansoddair yn goleddfu Egwestl).

12 Powys … llys  Odlir Powys gan amlaf ag -ys yng ngwaith Guto fel yma (cf. 41.31), ond weithiau ag -wys (cf. 39.18 cwys … Bowys).

14 bwyd meirch lle bu ŷd  Gw. y sylwadau rhagarweiniol uchod am bwysigrwydd yr Abad Dafydd ab Owain fel bridiwr ceffylau. Lle bu tir Ystrad Marchell yn tyfu ŷd yn y gorffennol, tyfir bellach fwyd hefyd ar gyfer ceffylau. Ymhellach ar fwyd meirch, gw. Davies and Jones 1997: 71–2, lle gwelir bod y meirch gorau yn oes y Cyfreithiau yn cael eu bwydo mewn stablau (pennill neu garchar) ar geirch.

14 Marchell  Fe’i deellir yn enw santes, y tybir bod ei henw yn enw’r fynachlog, Ystrad Marchell. Yn ôl ‘De Situ Brecheniauc’, Marchell oedd enw merch Tewdrig a mam Brychan. Anfonodd ei thad hi i Iwerddon lle priododd Anlach, tad Brychan. Gw. LBS iii, 437–8; EWGT 14 (2), WCD 453–4. Ond ni wyddys am draddodiadau yn ei chysylltu hi ag Ystrad Marchell. Tybed a oes cyfeiriad yn y llinell hon at ddigwyddiad ynglŷn ag ŷd ym mywyd Marchell?

16 A galw ’dd wyf …  Cf. 117.20 Galw ydd wyf Arglwydd Ddafydd (am Abad Dafydd ab Ieuan).

16 Arglwydd Ddafydd  Yr Abad Dafydd ab Owain.

17 tai  Sef mynachlog Ystrad Marchell, a gynhwysai nifer o adeiladau ac ystafelloedd.

17 dwystrefn  Mae ystod eang o ystyron i trefn, ac er ei ddeall i olygu ‘rheolaeth’ yma, yn ganmoliaeth i reolaeth drefnus yr abad ar ei fynachlog, gall trefn hefyd olygu ‘ystafell, … tŷ’ – felly ‘dwys ei thai’, yn ddisgrifiad o’r fynachlog ac iddi nifer o rannau, neu ‘gradd, urdd … (o angylion, … mynachod’, &c.)’, – felly ‘niferus ei mynachod’. Gw. GPC 3574.

17 ystrad  Fe’i deellir yn enw priod yn GGl (am Ystrad Marchell), ond mae’n fwy tebygol mai enw cyffredin yw yma, GPC 3865 ‘(llawr) dyffryn, glyn, gwastadedd’, cf. Bedo Aerddrem, &c.: Gw 385 Ystryt duw yw’r ystrad hon (a ddyfynnir yn GPC am yr un abad).

19 Mechain  Cwmwd ym Mhowys Wenwynwyn, a ffiniai yn y de â chymydau Caereinion a Deuddwr. Nid ym Mechain yr oedd Ystrad Marchell, ond yng nghwmwd Ystrad Marchell ychydig pellach i’r de-ddwyrain (Rees 1951: plat 28, 34). Fodd bynnag, hanai Dafydd ab Owain o deulu Llwydiaid Dolobran ym mhlwyf Meifod, Mechain. Cyfeirio a wna Guto yma, felly, at gartref teuluol yr abad; cf. y modd y tynnodd sylw at gysylltiad yr Abad Dafydd o Lyn-y-groes â Threfor, 111.23–5.

19 drem uchel  Deellir y sangiad yn ddisgrifiad o Ddafydd, ond gellid hefyd ei ddeall am Fechain.

20 aeth â’r bêl  Am yr ymadrodd dwyn neu mynd â’r bêl, cf. 3.13 Â’r bêl o ryfel yr aeth, 10.59 Aeth â’r bêl, fab Llywelyn a gw. GPC 1130 d.g. d[wyn] y bêl ‘to excel or win the prize, bear away the ball, take the lead or gain supremacy’. Fodd bynnag bel yw darlleniad y llawysgrif, a chaniatâ hynny i ni hefyd ystyried yr ymadrodd dwyn y bel (a byddai bel neu bêl yn odli’n gywir â gair diacen uchel). Gyda’r ymadrodd hwnnw, cf. OED Online s.v. bell, n.¹ ‘to bear the bell: to take the first place, to have foremost rank or position, to be the best’ hefyd ‘to bear or carry away the bell: to carry off the prize’. Trafodir hyn ymhellach yn Breeze 1992: 441–3.

21 deheuwawd  Mae’r ystyr ‘araith gelfydd’ yn briodol yma yng nghyswllt ateb nawtir yn llinell 22, ond cofier bod gwawd hefyd yn golygu ‘barddoniaeth’; gw. 24n.

22 ateb  Am yr ystyr ‘ateb a roddir i gyhuddiad, cwyn, hawliad, &c., amddiffyniad’, cf. GPC² 513. Mae llinellau 37–40 hefyd yn awgrymu bod gan Dafydd ab Owain rôl mewn prosesau cyfreithiol.

22 nawtir  Cf. DG.net 47.36 Neitiwr gwiw dros nawtir gŵydd (am y gwynt) lle y’i haralleirir ‘llawer o diroedd’. Dichon mai dyna’r ystyr yma hefyd, yn hytrach na bod naw i’w ddeall yn llythrennol.

24 mydr  Gallai olygu ‘cân, cerdd, barddoniaeth’ yn gyffredinol yng nghyswllt barddoniaeth (cf. GPC 2526), cf. GP 46.10, 12, Mydyr neu brydyat yw kyuansodyat ymadrodyon perfeith kyuyawn … ar gerd dauawd ganmoledic. A dyna sut y’i deellir yma, gan ddehongli’r ferf troi i olygu ‘trafod’ neu ‘gyfansoddi’, GPC 3604–5. Ond mewn cyswllt â gramadeg, gallai mydr hefyd gyfeirio yn fwy penodol at bwnc academaidd mewn prifysgol. Roedd mydryddiaeth yn perthyn i grammatica, oedd yn rhan bwysig o’r Trivium, sef y cwrs sylfaenol yn y celfyddydau: cf. disgrifiad Ieuan ap Rhydderch o’i addysg yntau, GIRh 3.15–16 Dysgais yn brifdda drahydr, / Dysg deg, ramadeg a’i mydr, a gw. ibid.n a tt. 7–9 am ddisgrifiad o’r cwrs celfyddydau yn y prifysgolion yn y cyfnod. Am gyfeiriadau at y pynciau prifysgol hyn yn y farddoniaeth, cf. GO XXIV.27–30 Pa sant â’r holl gampav sydd / Yn i twf, onit Davydd?/ Awgrym, mydr, a gramadec / Yw’r hain, a darllain yn dec (am yr un Abad Dafydd ab Owain). Cyfeiria’r beirdd yn gyffredinol at gefndir dysgedig Dafydd ab Owain, ac er bod canmol dysg abad i’w ddisgwyl (fel y canmolir merch am ei harddwch a dyn am ei gryfder), ceir yr argraff fod Dafydd ab Owain yn fwy dysgedig na’r arfer.

25 Abad Rys  Mae’n debygol mai cyfeirio a wna Guto yma at yr Abad Rhys ap Dafydd o Ystrad-fflur, un o’i noddwyr cynharaf. (Defnyddir yma’r ffurf dreigledig Rys, cf. 9.12, 30.46.)

25–6 Ni chad … / Neb un wyneb …  Hynny yw, ni chafwyd neb o’r un statws a pharch â Dafydd ab Owain ers dyddiau’r Abad Rhys. Am y gystrawen, cf. GLGC 27.37–8 Ni bu i’n oes neb un wên / neu mor goeth ym mro Gathen, ac am wyneb ‘anrhydedd, parch, statws, safle’, gw. GPC 3742 a cf. GLGC 108.35 Ni aned gŵr un wyneb (am Wiliam, abad Margam).

27 oesgael  Unig enghraifft o’r ffurf, ond cf. DG.net 9.60 gwawdgael ‘un a folir’. Am oes yn yr ystyr ‘oes hir’ neu o bosibl ‘oedran mawr’, cf. dymuniad Gutun Owain dros yr Abad Dafydd ab Ieuan, GO XXVIII.1–4 Davydd y gŵr dv divalch, / … / Yr arglwydd, lawer blwyddyn, / A vag oes oni vo gwyn.

28 Catwn  Sef Cato Hen neu Gato Ddoeth a ystyrid gan y beirdd yn ddelfryd o ddoethineb: gw. 104.30n Cadw Ddoeth. Ceir ffurfiau megis Cato, Cadw a Catwn gan y beirdd Cymraeg: gyda Catwn, cf. Caton, Catoun a geir yng ngwaith Chaucer, ac y nodir yn Weever 1996: 78–9 eu bod yn ffurfiau Ffrangeg neu Eingl-Normanaidd ar yr enw.

29 Salmon  Solomon fab Dafydd Broffwyd, y defnyddir ei enw’n aml fel delfryd o ddoethineb, cf. 103.40n.

29 canon  Gan fod Guto yn cyfeirio at awdurdod Dafydd ab Owain ar y gyfraith sifil yn y llinell ganlynol, dichon mai cyfeirio at gyfraith eglwysig a wna canon yma (GPC 416 d.g. canon¹), ac er mai topos yw canmol gwŷr dysgedig am eu meistrolaeth o’r ddwy gyfraith hyn, gwyddom fod gan Ddafydd ab Owain radd doethuriaeth yn y gyfraith ganon o Rydychen, Emden 1957–9: i, 532–3, 549 a cf. ID 31.1–2 Mae genym yma gannon / ag abad da yn gwybod hon (am Ddafydd ab Owain, pan oedd yn abad Ystrad-fflur). Am gyfeiriadau eraill at y ddwy gyfraith, cf. GLM LXXIX.55–6 Mae’r ganon yn gron, a’i gwraidd; / mae sifil ym Maesyfaidd (am Mastr Gruffudd).

30 sifil  Enw yma, ‘cyfraith neu system gyfreithiol sy’n ymwneud â’r berthynas breifat rhwng dinasyddiol, cyfraith Rufeinig’, GPC 3274 a gw. y nodyn blaenorol.

30 ar ei fys  Ymadrodd yn cyfateb i ‘ar flaen ei fysedd’, cf. GO XLII.35–6 Arfav a ŵyr ar ei fys, / A chronigl iachav’r ynys (wrth ganmol dysg Elisau ap Gruffudd).

31 Marchell  Gw. 14n.

31 erchwyn  ‘Nawdd, amddiffyn; noddwr, amddiffynnydd, cynhaliwr’, GPC 1229; fe’i deellir yn ddisgrifiad o Farchell, ond gall hefyd ddisgrifio’r abad.

32 lleuad mewn llwyn  Disgrifiad braidd yn anarferol, ond diau y cyfeirir yn ffigurol at yr abad fel un sy’n oleuni i’w bobl yn y tywyllwch. Cf. disgrifiad Siôn ap Hywel o’r un gŵr, pan oedd yn abad Maenan, fel Abad fal lleuad, nid llai, GSH 1.54.

33 iaith a chyfraith  Yn ffigurol am yr abad sy’n arbenigwr ar y ddau faes.

33 uwch Hafren  Lleolid abaty Ystrad Marchell ar lan orllewinol afon Hafren, heb fod ymhell o’r Trallwng.

35 Pecoc  Reginald Pecock (c.1392–c.1459), eglwyswr ac awdur toreithiog a anwyd yng Nghymru ac a gysylltid yn gynnar yn ei yrfa ag esgobaeth Tyddewi, DNB Online s.n. Pecock, Reginald, ffynhonnell yr wybodaeth ganlynol. Derbyniodd addysg yng Ngholeg Oriel Rhydychen, ac yn 1444 cafodd ei gysegru’n esgob Llanelwy yn Croydon, ond nid oes unrhyw dystiolaeth iddo erioed ymweld â’i esgobaeth. Fe’i dyrchafwyd yn esgob Chichester yn 1450. Pan oedd yn Rhydychen daeth dan ddylanwad Archesgob Thomas Arundel ac ymunodd â’r mudiad gwrth-Lolardaidd (a wrthwynebai syniadau John Wycliffe) a meddai Wendy Scase amdano, ibid., ‘He studied Lollard doctrine in order to refute it. Grasping the importance Lollards placed on the written word, especially on vernacular writings, he decided to try to counter the heresy by composing and circulating vernacular books of his own.’ Ond daeth ei weithiau i sylw archesgob Caer-gaint, Thomas Bourchier, a archwiliodd ei syniadau yn fanwl a’i gyhuddo o herasi. Collodd Pecock ei holl swyddi a threuliodd ei flynyddoedd olaf yn abaty Thorney yn swydd Caer-grawnt.

Byddai’n ddiddorol gwybod sut yn union y gwyddai Guto amdano. Ai fel esgob Llanelwy (er nad oedd i’w weld lawer yn yr esgobaeth), neu fel un y clywodd sôn amdano fel awdur, o bosibl gan Ddafydd ab Owain a fu’n astudio yn Rhydychen?

35 Bacwn  Sef Roger Bacon (c.1214–c.1292), gŵr arall tra nodedig am ei ddysg: arno, gw. DNB Online s.n. Bacon [Bakun], Roger. Roedd Bacon yn un o’r brodyr llwydion, a bu’n darlithio ym mhrifysgolion Rhydychen a Paris gan ymddiddori’n fawr yng ngweithiau Aristotle. Yn gam neu’n gymwys fe’i hystyrir yn rhagflaenydd cynnar dulliau gwyddonol modern, gan iddo seilio’i wybodaeth ar wyddoniaeth arbrofol (scienta experimentalis). Bu opteg, mathemateg ac astroleg ymysg y pynciau a aeth â’i fryd. Fel yn achos Pecock, mae’n ddigon posibl mai’r abad Dafydd ab Owain a soniodd am ddysg eithriadol Bacon wrth Guto, a thrwy fynegi rhagoriaeth Dafydd ar y ddau hynny yma mae Guto hefyd yn cydnabod yr hyn y mae wedi ei ddysgu gan Ddafydd.

35–6 Ni wnâi Becoc na Bacwn, / Ni wesgir hawl …  Cystrawen anodd. Deellir llinell 36 yn brif frawddeg a llinell 35 yn sylw cyfosodol.

37 Nid ateb neu endeitio / I’r brenin …  Roedd gradd doethur gan Ddafydd ab Owain mewn cyfraith ganon (gw. 29n), ond mae’r llinellau hyn yn awgrymu bod ganddo ran mewn cyfraith sifil hefyd, a’i fod o bosibl yn bresennol yn llysoedd y brenin (39n), gyda’r Iarll Siôn (40n).

39 cyngor y Goron  Os cyfeirir at gyngor penodol, tybed ai Cyngor y Gororau a sefydlwyd gan Edward IV yn 1472, neu at Fainc y Brenin, a oedd yn wreiddiol yn rhan o’r curia regis? Yn rhinwedd eu statws fel tirfeddianwyr (tenants in chief) byddai gan abadau gynrychiolaeth mewn cynghorau neu lysoedd o’r fath.

40 Iarll Siôn  Ni allwn fod yn sicr at bwy y cyfeirir, ond gallwn fod yn sicr, ar sail y ferf yw yn y llinell hon, ei fod ar dir y byw pan ganwyd y gerdd hon, sef ar ôl 1480. Rhaid gwrthod, felly, awgrym GGl 364 (a oedd yn dilyn awgrym petrus Jones 1873: 359) mai John Tiptoft, iarll cyntaf Worcester a fu farw 1470, ydyw. Derbynnir yr awgrym gan D.H. Williams (DNB Online s.n. Dafydd ab Owain), sy’n ychwanegu y byddai gwybodaeth gyfreithiol yr abad wedi ei alluogi ‘between 1461 and 1467, to serve John Tiptoft, first earl of Worcester, then chief justice of north Wales.’

Rhaid gwrthod hefyd ail gynnig GGl 364 (gan ddilyn Price 1952: 272) mai Iarll Siôn Talbod, trydydd iarll Amwythig, ydyw – mab y Siôn Talbod y canodd Guto ei fawl, cerdd 78. Bu farw ef yn 1473 a’i fab, George Talbot, oedd iarll Amwythig adeg canu’r cywydd hwn.

Posibilrwydd arall yw John Grey, mab Richard Grey, iarll Tankerville (Jones 1868: 345). Er i’r teulu golli’r iarllaeth gyda marwolaeth Richard, daeth John yn farwn neu arglwydd cyntaf Powys a phriododd Ann ferch Wiliam Herbert, iarll cyntaf Penfro. Ond go brin y byddai Guto wedi cyfeirio ato mor benodol fel iarll.

42 o ben dawn a bonedd  Ceir yr un ymadrodd gan Dudur Aled wrth drafod llinach Rheinallt Conwy, TA XXXI.13–14 Dytwn, dod atyn dy wedd, / Don, o ben dawn a bonedd; a chan Lewys Morgannwg ym marwnad Syr Rhys ap Tomas, GLMorg 63.39 Dyna ben dawn a bonedd.

43 dewisgoeth  Defnyddir yr un ansoddair gan Ieuan ap Rhydderch am Ddewi, GIRh 8.35–6 Peulin esgob, dewin doeth, / A’i dysgodd, fab dewisgoeth (ceir hefyd yr un prifodlau yn y cwpled). Mae rhagor o adleisiau o’r cywydd hwn yma: cf. 44n, 45–6n a 48n.

43–4 Dewi … / Tad bedydd i Ddafydd  Cymherir yr Abad Dafydd yn rhan hon y cywydd â Dewi Sant; yn yr un modd, cymharodd Iorwerth Fynglwyd yr Abad Dafydd o Fargam (dan Ddafydd ‘arglwydd Dafydd’) â Dewi Sant wrth drafod yr un thema, GIF 22.55–68. Roedd Dewi Sant yn dad bedydd i Ddafydd ab Owain yn yr ystyr eu bod ill dau’n rhannu’r un enw.

45 y Badd  Cyfeiriad at Gaerfaddon. Ei dŵr iachusol sydd ym meddwl Guto yma.

45 teiroes byd  Am teiroes, cf. 15.39–40 Caf roddi cyfarwyddyd / Ym, dros ben, am deiroes byd a hefyd GLlGt 2.1–2 Y meibion yn eu mebyd / A droes budd i deiroes byd, lle esbonia golygydd y gerdd honno mai ‘y byd o ran ei bresennol, ei orffennol a’i ddyfodol’ yw’r ystyr. Diau mai dyna’n fras yr ystyr yma hefyd (gyda’r treiglad yn cadarnhau bod yr ymadrodd i’w ddeall yn adferfol): ‘am dri chyfnod y byd’, neu hyd yn oed ‘tra bod y byd yn parhau’, yn cyfateb i hyt Dyd Brawt y chwedl, gw. 45–6n lle dyfynnir hefyd GIG XXIX.65–8.

45–6 A droes y Badd … / … yn ddwfr iechyd  Cyfeirir at draddodiad fod Dewi Sant wedi bendithio dŵr gwenwynig yng Nghaerfaddon a’i droi’n ddŵr iachusol, BDe 6.3–5 Dewi a doeth y’r lle yr oed dwfyr yn llawn o wenwyn, ac a’e bendigawd, ac a wnaeth y dwfyr hwnnw yn dwymyn hyt Dyd Brawt. A hwnnw a elwir yr Enneint Twymyn. Gw. ymhellach BDe 38 ac am gyfeiriadau’r beirdd at y chwedl, cf. GIRh 8.48n, GIG XXIX.65, 67–8 Ef yn deg a fendigawdd, / Cantref o nef oedd ei nawdd, / … / Ni dderfydd, tragywydd trig, a chyfeiriadau pellach yn Henken 1987: 43–6.

46 dau fraich  Gwrywaidd yn aml yw braich yn y cyfnod hwn.

47 yr ail dwfr  Byddai enw gwrywaidd yn cadw ei ffurf gysefin yn dilyn y trefnol, gw. TC 40–1.

48 dwfr ffons  Cf. GIRh 8.31–2 Duw wrth fedyddio Dewi / A wnaeth ffons o ddwfr i ni. Diau fod yr Abad Dafydd yn bendithio pobl â dŵr o ffynnon fendigaid yn Ystrad Marchell.

49 dofi  Cf. 113.51 lle mae eto’n cynganeddu â Dafydd, a gw. yno ar ei ystyr yng nghyswllt noddwr yn rhoi cysur i westai.

51–2 Bened a Berned … / Beuno  Enwir y tri sant yn gyffredin yn y canu i’r abadau: y ddau gyntaf yn gysylltiedig â’r Urdd Sistersaidd yn benodol (cf. 113.54n, 72n) a Beuno (a fu, yn ôl traddodiad, yn bennaeth y clas yng Nghlynnog Fawr) yn sant a gysylltir yn aml â Phowys ac a oedd yn enwog am ei wleddoedd (113.72n). Yn ôl traddodiad a adroddir yn ei Fuchedd, gadawodd Beuno ei gartref ger afon Hafren ar ôl clywed Saesneg yn cael ei siarad yr ochr arall iddi, Henken 1987: 84.

53 pedwerydd  Mae’n rhaid mai cyfeirio eto a wneir at Abad Dafydd ab Owain, a enwyd yn 49–50. Ar ôl Bened, Berned a Beuno, 51–2, ef yw’r pedwerydd.

56 bagl uchel  Roedd ffon fagl esgob yn un arbennig o hir. Roedd y beirdd yn gyffredinol wedi bod yn galw am ddyrchafu Dafydd ab Ieuan yn esgob ers sawl blwyddyn: cf. GO XXV.19–20 O ddysc, yn esgob ydd â, / I Dŷ Assa y dewisir. Y tebyg yw i Guto ganu’r gerdd hon ar ymweliad ag Ystrad Marchell, ac iddo fynegi’r dymuniad i weld dyrchafu Dafydd ab Owain yn esgob er mwyn ei blesio. Dyrchafwyd Dafydd ab Owain yn esgob Llanelwy yn 1503, yn dilyn marwolaeth Dafydd ab Ieuan yn y flwyddyn honno. Gw. ymhellach Dafydd ab Owain a Dafydd ab Ieuan.

58 meitr  Penwisg arbennig sy’n rhan o wisg esgob, GPC 2416.

Llyfryddiaeth
Breeze, A. (1992), ‘ “Bear the Bell” in Dafydd ap Gwilym and Troilus and Criseyde’, Notes and Queries, ccxxxvii: 441–3
Davies, S. and Jones, N.A. (1997), The Horse in Celtic Culture: Medieval Welsh Perspectives (Cardiff)
Emden, A.B. (1957–9), A Biographical Register of the University of Oxford (3 vols., Oxford)
Henken, E.R. (1987), Traditions of the Welsh Saints (Cambridge)
Jones, B. (1965) (ed.), John Le Neve: Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1300–1541. XI The Welsh Dioceses (London)
Jones, M.C. (1868), ‘The Feudal Barons of Powys’, Mont Coll i: 257–423
Price, G.V. (1952), Valle Crucis Abbey (Liverpool)
Rees, W. (1951), An Historical Atlas of Wales from Early to Modern Times (Cardiff)
Weever, J. (1996), Chaucer Name Dictionary: A Guide to Astrological, Biblical, Historical, Literary and Mythological Names in the Works of Geoffrey Chaucer (new ed., London)
Williams, G. (1976), The Welsh Church from Conquest to Reformation (second ed., Cardiff)

It is in his capacity as poet to Abbot Dafydd ab Ieuan of Valle Crucis that Guto sings this poem. Dafydd ab Ieuan is f’abad i ‘my abbot’ (4), and Guto journeys to and fro between Valle Crucis and Strata Marcella: O lawr Egwestl … / I Bowys, o’r llys i’r llall ‘from the land of most wise Egwystl / to Powys, from the one court to the other’ (11–12). We can assume that Guto spent time at both abbeys, and that the poems he sang to Dafydd ab Owain have been lost. But although Guto refers to both abbots in the opening lines of this poem, it is Dafydd ab Owain, the abbot of Strata Marcella, who is the main focus of the cywydd, and after line 12 Guto does not mention Dafydd ab Ieuan again. As Dafydd ab Ieuan is described as the ‘son’ of Dafydd ab Owain (3–4), we may assume that the abbot of Valle Crucis was the younger of the two, and that he possibly received spiritual guidance from Dafydd ab Owain. They are both believed to have been made abbots c.1480, but it is not known in which Cistercian institution(s) they were before then or what their status was. We know that Dafydd ab Owain received a doctoral degree in canon law from Oxford (29n), and it is quite possible that Dafydd ab Ieuan was also a student there, since the poets emphasize his knowledge of grammar, metrics and mathematics, subjects which formed a crucial part of a degree in the arts in the period. Did Dafydd ab Owain, when studying for his higher degree in Oxford, take the younger Dafydd ab Ieuan under his wing? See 3–4n below.

Dafydd ab Owain is praised for being a good husbandman, and especially as a breeder of horses. Powys had been famous for its horses since the days of Gerald of Wales, and Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr had also been generous in his praise for the horses of the Powysian princes in the twelfth century, cf. Davies and Jones 1997: 77–8. At least nine poems requesting horses from Dafydd ab Owain have been preserved, which seems to confirm his fame in this regard. As Glanmor Williams characteristically says of him (1976: 404), ‘Here was another monkish Nimrod who rode to hounds and kept what must have been one of the finest stables in the land.’ In this poem Guto mentions how the abbot used his land to grow food for his horses (possibly oats), where wheat was grown formerly. According to the Cistercian ideal, the abbot should use his land to grow food for his monks and for feeding guests and the poor, as well as for growing trees for building work. Accordingly, after praising the full supply of food for the horses, Guto assures us that the abbot did indeed fulfil his obligations towards his monks and guests. He dedicates several lines to praising Dafydd ab Owain’s great scholarship (19–42), especially his knowledge of canon and civil law (29–30), suggesting that he took part in legal processes in the region. He may have been a member of one of the king’s courts, and possibly the Council of the March (see notes on lines 39–40). Dafydd ab Owain is compared to St David, and the healing water of the abbot’s well (dwfr ffons, 48) are compared to the poisonous water of Bath which was blessed and miraculously turned by St David into dwfr iechyd ‘healing water’ (45–6).

To end the poem Guto resorts to a play on numbers, as he does in other poems. Dafydd (ab Owain) is named first (un, 49): he has been installed as abbot where three abbots had been previously, namely the saints Bened, Berned and Beuno (49–52), and thus, he, Dafydd ab Owain, is the pedwerydd ‘fourth’. The poem closes with a desire to see the present abbot promoted to the status of bishop. Dafydd ab Owain was indeed made bishop of St Asaph in 1503, following the death of Dafydd ab Ieuan, abbot of Valle Crucis, who was bishop 1500–3.

Date
There is uncertainty regarding the details of Dafydd ab Owain’s career, but he is likely to have been abbot at Strata Marcella between c.1480 or c.1485, and the early 1490s. The poem can be dated to that period.

The manuscripts
There are 4 manuscript copies of this poem, and a fifth, Pen 221, which contains only the opening couplet. The oldest copy is in BL 14967, and this is the direct source for both Pen 152 and BL 31092. BL 12230 was copied from Pen 152. The edited text, therefore, is based on the copy in BL 14967.

Stemma

Previous editions and translations
GGl poem CXX; CTC poem 109. There are a translation and notes by Hywel W. Lloyd in Jones 1873: 357–9, which are followed closely by Price 1952: 271–2.

Metre and cynghanedd
Cywydd, 58 lines.
Cynghanedd: croes 65.5% (38 lines), traws 9% (5 lines), sain 24% (14 lines), llusg 1.5% (1 line).

3 oedi  I.e., he did not hesitate to give his poet gifts (cf. line 2).

3–4 Un yn dad … / A’i fab doeth yw f’abad i  As Dafydd ab Owain and Dafydd ab Ieuan were not father and son, we may assume that Guto is suggesting that the former was older than the other, or perhaps provided him with guidance. Guto was primarily the poet of Dafydd ab Ieuan – the mab ‘son’, – so Dafydd ab Owain must be the tad ‘father’. Remember also that Valle Crucis was a daughter foundation of Strata Marcella, so the abbot of Strata Marcella would be expected to visit Valle Crucis regularly: CistYork s.n. Carta Caritatis V: Ut semel per annum mater visitet filiam. In that sense, therefore, Ddafydd ab Owain had parental authority over the abbot of Valle Crucis.

7 arglwyddi  Arglwydd ‘lord’ was often used to address an abbot – cf. 108.13–14n. The syntax is ambiguous. Here arglwyddi da ‘fine lords’ is taken to be the object of the verb a gawn ‘I would find’, along with Gwledd-dai aur ‘excellent feast-houses’ and gwin aml ‘abundant wine’, but the comma after aur could be removed (‘excellent feast-houses of the fine lords’), or aur could be taken as a noun, and a comma placed before it (‘feast-houses, gold, fine lords’).

8 yma  In the gwledd-dai ‘feast-houses’ (7) of Strata Marcella and Valle Crucis.

10 deunod  ‘Two targets’, namely the two abbots to whom the poet aims his journey. Guto in other places refers to his poems for patrons in terms of an archer shooting his arrow at a target, cf. 11.1–4 Seythydd wyf, od ymsaethaf / Saethu nod yn syth a wnaf: / Nid nod gwael, iawngael angerdd, / Nod a gaiff enaid y gerdd ‘I am an archer, if I go shooting / I can shoot straight at a target: / this is no mean target, accurate skill, / but a target which the soul of song will hit.’

11 Egwestl  Egwystl or Llanegwystl, one of the many names for Valle Crucis, see 105.44n.

11 goreugall  Following the pattern of goreudeg ‘surpassing fair, most beautiful’ (GPC 1476), goreugall can be taken to mean either ‘most wise’ (with gorau ‘best’ modifying call ‘wise’), or ‘best and wise’ (with the two adjectives modifying Egwestl).

12 Powys … llys  Powys mostly rhymes with -ys in Guto’s poetry, as it does here (cf. 41.31), but sometimes with -wys (cf. 39.18 cwys … Bowys).

14 bwyd meirch lle bu ŷd  See the introductory remarks above for Dafydd ab Owain’s fame as a breeder of horses. Where the land of Strata Marcella had been used to grow corn in the past, it is now used to grow fodder for horses. Further on horse fodder, see Davies and Jones 1997: 71–2, where it is stated that the most prized horses in the period of the Laws were fed in stables on oats.

14 Marchell  A female saint, whose name is Latinized in the name Strata Marcella. According to ‘De Situ Brecheniauc’, Marchell was the name of Tewdrig’s daughter, mother of Brychan. Her father sent her to Ireland where she married Anlach, Brychan’s father. See LBS iii: 437–8; EWGT 14 (2), WCD 453–4. Yet no traditions connecting her with Strata Marcella are known. Is there perhaps a reference in this line to an event in Marchell’s life concerning corn?

16 A galw ’dd wyf …  Cf. 117.20 Galw ydd wyf Arglwydd Ddafydd (for Abbot Dafydd ab Ieuan).

16 Arglwydd Ddafydd  Abbot Dafydd ab Owain.

17 tai  A reference to the complex of Strata Marcella, which would have contained many buildings and rooms.

17 dwystrefn  The noun trefn has many meanings in Welsh, and although I have taken it to mean ‘order’ here, with Guto praising the abbot for his well-ordered house, trefn could also mean ‘room, … house’. Thus dwystrefn could mean ‘numerous its houses’, being a description of the many parts of the monastery, or even ‘grade, order … (of angels, … monks’, &c.)’, – therefore ‘numerous its monks’. See GPC 3574.

17 ystrad  This is taken to be a place name by the editors of GGl (for Ystrad Marchell), but it’s more likely to be the common noun here, GPC 3865 ‘(floor) of valley, vale, plain’, cf. Bedo Aerddrem, &c.: Gw 385 Ystryt duw yw’r ystrad hon ‘This vale is God’s street’ (quoted in GPC from a poem to the same abbot).

19 Mechain  A commote in Powys Wenwynwyn, whose southern borders ran alongside the commotes of Caereinion and Deuddwr. Strata Florida was not in Mechain, but rather in the commote of Strata Marcella which lay further to the south-east (Rees 1951: plate 28, 34). However it is likely that Dafydd ab Owain came from the Llwyd clan of Dolobran in the parish of Meifod, Mechain. Guto may therefore be referring to the abbot’s family home; similarly, he draws attention to the family home of Abbot Dafydd of Valle Crucis which was in Trefor, 111.23–5.

19 drem uchel  The words describe Dafydd, but could also refer to Mechain.

20 aeth â’r bêl  For the phrase dwyn or mynd â’r bêl, cf. 3.13 Â’r bêl o ryfel yr aeth ‘…he has returned from war with victory’, 10.59 Aeth â’r bêl, fab Llywelyn ‘The son of Llywelyn has taken the ball’, and see GPC 1130 s.v. d[wyn] y bêl ‘to excel or win the prize, bear away the ball, take the lead or gain supremacy’. However, the manuscript reading is bel, which allows us to consider the phrase dwyn y bel ‘take the bell’ (and bel or bêl would rhyme correctly with the unaccented uchel). With that phrase, cf. OED Online s.v. bell, n.¹ ‘to bear the bell: to take the first place, to have foremost rank or position, to be the best’ also ‘to bear or carry away the bell: to carry off the prize’. This is discussed further in Breeze 1992: 441–3.

21 deheuwawd  The meaning ‘skilful speech’ is appropriate here in the context of ateb nawtir ‘defence for nine lands’, but gwawd could refer more specifically to poetry, see 24n.

22 ateb  For the meaning ‘answer (to accusation, complaint, claim, &c.), defence’, cf. GPC² 513. Lines 37–40 suggest further that Dafydd ab Owain played some role in legal processes.

22 nawtir  Cf. DG.net 47.36 Neitiwr gwiw dros nawtir gŵydd (of the wind) where it is translated as ‘many lands’. That is probably the meaning here as well, rather than literally ‘nine lands’.

24 mydr  This could mean ‘poem, poetry, verse’ (cf. GPC 2526), cf. GP 46.10, 12, Mydyr neu brydyat yw kyuansodyat ymadrodyon perfeith kyuyawn … ar gerd dauawd ganmoledic ‘Verse or poetry is a composition of perfect and suitable phrases … according to the tongue’s praiseworthy craft’. And that is how it’s taken here, with the verb troi referring to the act of composing, see GPC 3604–5. But in the context of grammar, mydr could more specifically be the academic subject studied at university. Metrics was a part of grammatica, an important part of the Trivium, itself the foundation of the principal courses of a degree in the arts: cf. Ieuan ap Rhydderch’s description of his own education, GIRh 3.15–16 Dysgais yn brifdda drahydr, / Dysg deg, ramadeg a’i mydr ‘I learned grammar and its metrics excellently and solidly, a fair learning’, and see ibid.n and pp. 7–9 for a description of a degree course in the arts in the period. For references in the poetry to the subjects studied at university, cf. GO XXIV.27–30 Pa sant â’r holl gampav sydd / Yn i twf, onit Davydd?/ Awgrym, mydr, a gramadec / Yw’r hain, a darllain yn dec ‘What saint is there who is master of all the achievements / in their entirety, if not Dafydd? / These are mathematics, metrics, and grammar, / and reading well’ (of the same Abbot Dafydd ab Owain). The poets all refer to Dafydd ab Owain’s education, and although it can be argued that such references are to be expected (just as a young woman is praised for her beauty and a man for his strength), we do have the impression that Dafydd ab Owain was educated to a higher level than was usual for abbots of his day.

25 Abad Rys  Guto is probably referring to Abbot Rhys ap Dafydd of Strata Florida, one of his earliest patrons. (The lenited form Rys is used here, cf. 9.12, 30.46.)

25–6 Ni chad … / Neb un wyneb …  I.e., there had not been anyone of the same status and esteem as Dafydd ab Owain since the days of Abbot Rhys. For the syntax, cf. GLGC 27.37–8 Ni bu i’n oes neb un wên / neu mor goeth ym mro Gathen ‘In our time there has not been anyone with the same smile / or so refined in the land of Cathen’, and for wyneb ‘honour, respect, status, position’, see GPC 3742 and cf. GLGC 108.35 Ni aned gŵr un wyneb ‘No one of the same respect has ever been born’ (of Wiliam, abbot of Margam).

27 oesgael  The only example of this form, but cf. DG.net 9.60 gwawdgael ‘much-praised’. For oes ‘a long life’ or possibly ‘a great age’, cf. Gutun Owain’s wish on behalf of Abbot Dafydd ab Ieuan, GO XXVIII.1–4 Davydd y gŵr dv divalch, / … / Yr arglwydd, lawer blwyddyn, / A vag oes oni vo gwyn ‘Dafydd, the black-haired unproud man, / … / the lord, for many a year, / whose age will increase until he is white-haired’.

28 Catwn  Cato the Wise, who was considered by the poets to be the epitome of wisdom: see 104.30n Cadw Ddoeth. The Welsh poets use the forms Cato, Cadw and Catwn: with Catwn, cf. the forms Caton, Catoun which are found in the works of Chaucer, and which are explained in Weever 1996: 78–9 as French or Anglo-Norman forms of the name.

29 Salmon  Solomon son of the Prophet David, whose name also is associated with wisdom, cf. 103.40n.

29 canon  As Guto refers in the following line to Dafydd ab Owain’s mastery of civil law, canon probably refers here to church law (GPC 416 s.v. canon¹), and although it is a topos in the poetry to praise learned men for their mastery of these two laws, we know that Dafydd ab Owain did indeed have a doctoral degree in canon law from the University of Oxford, see Emden 1957–9: i, 532–3, 549 and cf. ID 31.1–2 Mae genym yma gannon / ag abad da yn gwybod hon ‘We have the canon here / and an abbot who knows it’ (of the same Dafydd ab Owain, when he was abbot of Strata Florida). For other references to the two laws, cf. GLM LXXIX.55–6 Mae’r ganon yn gron, a’i gwraidd; / mae sifil ym Maesyfaidd ‘The canon law is complete, and its foundations; / there is civil law in Radnor’ (of Master Gruffudd).

30 sifil  A noun here, ‘civil law’, GPC 3274 and see the previous note.

30 ar ei fys  ‘At his fingertips’, cf. GO XLII.35–6 Arfav a ŵyr ar ei fys, / A chronigl iachav’r ynys ‘He has the heraldic arms at his fingertips, / and the chronicle of the island’s genealogies’ (praising the learning of Elisau ap Gruffudd).

31 Marchell  See 14n.

31 erchwyn  ‘Protection, defence; protector, defender, upholder’, GPC 1229; here it is taken to be a description of Marchell, but it could also describe the abbot.

32 lleuad mewn llwyn  A rather unusual description, but probably refers figuratively to the abbot as one who provides light in darkness. Cf. Siôn ap Hywel’s description of the same Dafydd when he was abbot of Maenan, Abad fal lleuad, nid llai ‘An abbot similar to the moon, no less’, GSH 1.54.

33 iaith a chyfraith  Figuratively of the abbot who is master of the two subjects.

33 uwch Hafren  Strata Marcella abbey is located on the western bank of the river Severn, not far from Welshpool.

35 Pecoc  Reginald Pecock (c.1392–c.1459), ‘bishop of Chichester and religious author, was born in Wales, probably about 1392, and as a young man was associated with the diocese of St David’s’, DNB Online s.n. Pecock, Reginald, from where most of the information below has been taken. He was educated in Oriel College Oxford, and in 1444 was consecrated abbot of St Asaph while in Croydon, but there is no evidence to suggest that he ever visited his diocese. He was elected bishop of Chichester in 1450. When he was in Oxford he came under the influence of Archbishop Thomas Arundel who opposed the followers of Lollardism (i.e. the followers of John Wycliffe). Wendy Scase says of Pecock, ibid., ‘He studied Lollard doctrine in order to refute it. Grasping the importance Lollards placed on the written word, especially on vernacular writings, he decided to try to counter the heresy by composing and circulating vernacular books of his own.’ But his works came to the attention of the archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Bourchier, who investigated his ideas thoroughly and accused him of heresy Pecock was stripped of all his positions and spend his final years at Thorney abbey in Cambridgeshire.

It would be interesting to know how Guto knew about him. Was it as bishop of St Asaph (although he was mostly absent from the bishopric), or did he just hear about him as an author, possibly through Dafydd ab Owain who had studied in Oxford.

35 Bacwn  Roger Bacon (c.1214–c.1292), another scholar noted for his learning, see DNB Online s.n. Bacon [Bakun], Roger. Bacon was a Franciscan friar and he lectured at the universities of Oxford and Paris, taking a keen interest in the works of Aristotle. In the past he has been considered an early forerunner of modern scientific methods, since he based his knowledge on experimental science (scienta experimentalis). Optics, mathematics and astrology were all topics in which he took an interest. As in the case of Pecock, it is quite possible that it was Abbot Dafydd ab Owain who explained to Guto about Bacon’s exceptional learning, and by suggesting that Dafydd’s learning surpasses that of both Pecock and Bacon, Guto is also acknowledging that which he himself has been taught by the abbot.

35–6 Ni wnâi Becoc na Bacwn, / Ni wesgir hawl …  The syntax is difficult. Line 36 is taken to be the main sentence and line 35 is taken in apposition.

37 Nid ateb neu endeitio / I’r brenin …  As mentioned above, Dafydd ab Owain had a doctoral degree in canon law (see 29n), but these lines suggest that he also engaged with civil law, possibly being present in the king’s courts, with Earl John (40n).

39 cyngor y Goron  If this a reference to a specific council, it could be either the Council of the Marches which was established by Edward IV in 1472, or the King’s Bench, which was originally part of the curia regis. As tenants in chief, abbots had representation in such councils or courts.

40 Iarll Siôn  The identity of this Earl John is uncertain, however the present tense verb yw ‘is’ in this line surely suggests that he was alive when this poem was sung, after c.1480 or c.1485. We must therefore reject the suggestion in GGl 364 (following the tentative suggestion made in Jones 1873: 359) that he was John Tiptoft, the first earl of Worcester, who died in 1470. D.H. Williams accepted that suggestion (DNB Online s.n. Dafydd ab Owain), adding that Abbot Dafydd ab Owain’s legal knowledge would have enabled him ‘between 1461 and 1467, to serve John Tiptoft, first earl of Worcester, then chief justice of north Wales.’

We must also reject the second suggestion in GGl 364 (following Price 1952: 272) that he should be identified as Earl John Talbot, the third earl of Shrewsbury – the son of the John Talbot who was Guto’s patron, see poem 78. He died in 1473 and his son, George Talbot, would have been earl of Shrewsbury when this poem was sung.

Another possibility is John Grey, son of Richard Grey, earl of Tankerville (Jones 1868: 345). Although the family lost the earldom with Richard’s death, John became the first lord of Powys, and married Ann, the daughter of William Herbert, the first earl of Pembroke. However it’s unlikely that Guto would have referred to him so specifically as an earl.

42 o ben dawn a bonedd  Tudur Aled uses the same phrase in discussing the lineage of Rheinallt Conwy, TA XXXI.13–14 Dytwn, dod atyn dy wedd, / Don, o ben dawn a bonedd ‘Dytwn, place your countenance next to them, / Dôn, from the source of genius and nobility’; and by Lewys Morgannwg in his elegy to Sir Rhys ap Thomas, GLMorg 63.39 Dyna ben dawn a bonedd ‘He was the source of genius and nobility’.

43 dewisgoeth  Ieuan ap Rhydderch uses the same adjective to describe St David, GIRh 8.35–6 Peulin esgob, dewin doeth, / A’i dysgodd, fab dewisgoeth ‘It was bishop Peulin, a wise prophet, / who taught him, the choice and excellent young man’ (the couplet also has the same main rhyme as lines 43–4 here). There are further echoes of Ieuan ap Rhydderch’s poem in this cywydd: cf. 44n, 45–6n and 48n.

43–4 Dewi … / Tad bedydd i Ddafydd  Abbot Dafydd is compared in this part of the cywydd to St David; similarly Iorwerth Fynglwyd compared Abbot Dafydd of Margam (dan Ddafydd ‘Lord Dafydd’) with St David, GIF 22.55–68. St David was godfather to Abbot Dafydd ab Owain in the sense that they shared the same name.

45 y Badd  A reference to Bath. It is its healing waters that Guto has in mind here.

45 teiroes byd  For teiroes, cf. 15.39–40 Caf roddi cyfarwyddyd / Ym, dros ben, am deiroes byd ‘I’ll be given knowledge, / what’s more, concerning the three ages of the world’ and also GLlGt 2.1–2 Y meibion yn eu mebyd / A droes budd i deiroes byd ‘The sons in their youth / brought about benefit to the three ages of the world’, where the editor suggests that the poet is thinking of the past, the present and the future. That is likely to be the meaning here as well (with the lenition confirming that the phrase is used adverbially): ‘for the three ages of the world’, or even ‘whilst the world exists’, corresponding to hyt Dyd Brawt ‘until Doomsday’ of the legend, see 45–6n where IGP XXIX.65–8 is also quoted.

45–6 A droes y Badd … / … yn ddwfr iechyd  Guto is referring to a tradition that St David blessed the poisonous water of Bath and turned it into healing water, Evans 1998: 4.10–12 Dewi a deuth y’r lle yr oed dwfyr yn llawn o wenwyn, ac a’e bendigawd, ac a wnaeth y dwfuyr hwnnw yn dwymynn hyt Dyd Brawt. A hwnnw a elwir yr Enneint Twymynn ‘Dewi came to the place where the water was full of poison, and he blessed it, and he caused that water to remain hot until Doomsday. And that is called the Hot Bath.’ See further ibid. 38 and for the poets’ references to the legend, cf. GIRh 8.48n, IGP XXIX.65, 67–8 Ef yn deg a fendigawdd, / Cantref o nef oedd ei nawdd, / Yr ennaint twymn wyrennig, / Ni dderfydd, tragywydd trig ‘He, in a fair manner, blessed /… / the powerful and hot bath / which will not end, which will last forever’, and the further references in Henken 1987: 43–6.

46 dau fraich  Braich is often a masculine noun in Middle Welsh, though feminine today.

48 dwfr ffons  Cf. GIRh 8.31–2 Duw wrth fedyddio Dewi / A wnaeth ffons o ddwfr i ni ‘God, as he baptized Dewi, / Made for us a font of water.’ It is probable that Abbot Dafydd blessed people with water from a holy spring at Strata Marcella.

49 dofi  Cf. 113.51 where dofi and Dafydd answer each other in cynghanedd, and see the note, ibid., for the use of the verb in the context of a patron giving his guests succour.

51–2 Bened a Berned … / Beuno  The three saints are often named in the poems to abbots: the first two were associated with the Cistercian order in particular (cf. 113.54n, 72n), and Beuno (who had been, according to tradition, the head of the monastic community at Clynnog Fawr) was a saint often associated with Powys and famed for his feasts (113.72n). His Life recounts that Beuno left his home near the river Severn after hearing English being spoken on the other side, Henken 1987: 84.

53 pedwerydd  This must refer to Abbot Dafydd ab Owain, who was named in 49–50. After Bened, Berned and Beuno, 51–2, he is the fourth.

56 bagl uchel  A bishop’s crozier was especially tall. In these final lines Guto is voicing the usual desire to see an abbot promoted to the more elevated and lucrative position of bishop. The poets had been calling for the promotion of Dafydd ab Ieuan of Valle Crucis for many years: cf. GO XXV.19–20 O ddysc, yn esgob ydd â, / I Dŷ Assa y dewisir ‘Through his learning, he will become bishop, / He will be chosen for St Asaph’s house.’ Guto probably sang this poem of praise to Dafydd ab Owain on a visit to Strata Marcella, and voiced this desire in order to please him. Dafydd ab Owain did eventually become bishop of St Asaph in 1503, following Dafydd ab Ieuan’s death in that year. (See further, Dafydd ab Owain and Dafydd ab Ieuan.)

58 meitr  The mitre, a type of head-dress which is part of a bishop’s attire, GPC 2416.

Bibliography
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