Nac ydyw Marwnad Owen Gwynedd o waith Cynddelw ddim yn y llyfr yma, fel y gellwch weled wrth y Fynegai Nid wyf yn meddwl fod y darn a yrrasoch ohoni yma chwaith yn anhawdd ei ddirnad. It is a very pretty passage sure enough, and 'tis a pity if it is imperfect in your book. I'm almost certain that most of these Odes have been corrnpted by the ignorance or carelessness of transcribers, which has been the common fate of all authors before the invention of printing, and which at present can no otherwise be remedied than by the comparing of various readings, and fixing on that which carries in it the best sense, and is most agreeable to the context. I read this piece as follows in the modern orthography.
Gwyrdd heli Teifi tewychai;
The green water of Tivi grew thick.
Gwaedlanw gwyr a llyr a'i llenwai;
Being filled with the streaming blood of men.
Gwyach rudd gorfudd goralwai;
The brown Diver[1] called it the greatest happiness.
Ar doniar gwyar gonofiai;
And waded o'er planks of clotted blood.
Gwyddfeirch tòn torent yn ertai;
The wild sea horses were broken at low water.
Gwychr ei naws fel traws a'i treisiai;
The stout hearted (i.e. O.G.) like a tyrant seiz'd or oppress'd 'em.
Gwyddfaau Eingl ynghladd a'u trychai;
Heaps of English buried (in the sand, wreck'd 'em.
Gwydd-gwn coed collwyd a'u porthai;
The wild dogs of the woods lost their provider.
Gwyddwal dyfnwal dyfnasai fy medd;
The deep thickets were wont (viz.) to find 'em meat.
Fy modd, fy meddiant a gaffai;
And wanted neither my consent or assistance.
If that be not meaning of it, I don't know what it means, or whether it has any meaning at all; as I never had the honour of Mr. Wily Wawch's acquaintance, I can't tell whether he and gwyach be the same or not. Ai rhudd yw lliw Wil y Wawch? Os ê, mi dybiwn mai yr un peth yw Wil y Wawch a Wil y Wyach ond ei fod heb ei fedyddiaw yn Wil yn amser Cynddelw. But as to your observation, "nid hwyrach nad am gig y dug yr hen fardd o i mewn, &c." It is very just. It would have given you a very odd idea if he had introduced a
- ↑ "The bloodstained grebe called aloud for a glut of food; on a swelling wave of gore she swam with toil."
