{"collection":"Classics","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/cla/mab/taliesin.htm","path":"cla/mab/taliesin.htm","source_url":"https://sacred-texts.com/cla/mab/taliesin.htm","text":"(Translation by Lady Charlotte Guest)\nIN times past there lived in Penllyn a man of gentle lineage, named Tegid Voel, and his dwelling was in the midst of the lake Tegid, and his wife was called Caridwen. And there was born to him of his wife a son named Morvran ab Tegid, and also a daughter named Creirwy, the fairest maiden in the world was she; and they had a brother, the most ill-favoured man in the world, Avagddu. Now Caridwen his mother thought that he was not likely to be admitted among men of noble birth, by reason of his ugliness, unless he had some exalted merits or knowledge. For it was in the beginning of Arthur's time and of the Round Table.\nSo she resolved according to the arts of the books of the Fferyllt, to boil a cauldron of Inspiration and Science for her son, that his reception might be honourable because of his knowledge of the mysteries of the future state of the world.\nThen she began to boil the cauldron, which from the beginning of its boiling might not cease to boil for a year and a day, until three blessed drops were obtained of the grace of Inspiration.\nAnd she put Gwion Bach the son of Gwreang of Llanfair in Caereinion, in Powys, to stir the cauldron, and a blind man named Morda to kindle the fire beneath it, and she charged them that they should not suffer it to cease boiling for the space of a year and a day. And she herself, according to the books of the astronomers, and in planetary hours, gathered every day of all charm-bearing herbs. And one day, towards the end of the year, as Caridwen was culling plants and making incantations, it chanced that three drops of the charmed liquor flew out of the cauldron and fell upon the finger of Gwion Bach. And by reason of their great heat he put his finger to his mouth, and the instant he put those marvel-working drops into his mouth, he foresaw everything that was to come, and perceived that his chief care must be to guard against the wiles of Caridwen, for vast was her skill. And in very great fear he fled towards his own land. And the cauldron burst in two, because all the liquor within it except the three charm-bearing drops was poisonous, so that the horses of Gwyddno Garanhir were poisoned by the water of the stream into which the liquor of the cauldron ran, and the confluence of that stream was called the Poison of the Horses of Gwyddno from that time forth.\nThereupon came in Caridwen and saw all the toil of the whole year lost. And she seized a billet of wood and struck the blind Morda on the head until one of his eyes fell out upon his cheek. And he said, \"Wrongfully hast thou disfigured me, for I am innocent. Thy loss was not because of me.\" \"Thou speakest truth,\" said Caridwen, \"it was Gwion Bach who robbed me.\"\nAnd she went forth after him, running. And he saw her, and changed himself into a hare and fled. But she changed herself into a greyhound and turned him. And he ran towards a river, and became a fish. And she in the form of an otter-bitch chased him under the water, until he was fain to turn himself into a bird of the air. She, as a hawk, followed him and gave him no rest in the sky. And just as she was about to stoop upon him, and he was in fear of death, he espied a heap of winnowed wheat on the floor of a barn, and he dropped among the wheat, and turned himself into one of the grains. Then she transformed herself into a high-crested black hen, and went to the wheat and scratched it with her feet, and found him out and swallowed him. And, as the story says, she bore him nine months, and when she was delivered of him, she could not find it in her heart to kill him, by reason of his beauty. So she wrapped him in a leathern bag, and cast him into the sea to the mercy of God, on the twenty-ninth day of April.\nAnd at that time the weir of Gwyddno was on the strand between Dyvi and Aberystwyth, near to his own castle, and the value of an hundred pounds was taken in that weir every May eve. And in those days Gwyddno had an only son named Elphin, the most hapless of youths, and the most needy. And it grieved his father sore, for he thought that he was born in an evil hour. And by the advice of his council, his father had granted him the drawing of the weir that year, to see if good luck would ever befal him, and to give him something wherewith to begin the world.\nAnd the next day when Elphin went to look, there was nothing in the weir. But as he turned back he perceived the leathern bag upon a pole of the weir. Then said one of the weir-ward unto Elphin, \"Thou wast never unlucky until tonight, and now thou hast destroyed the virtues of the weir, which always yielded the value of an hundred pounds every May eve, and to-night there is nothing but this leathern skin within it.\" \"How now,\" said Elphin, \"there may be therein the value, of an hundred pounds.\" Well, they took up the leathern bag, and he who opened it saw the forehead of the boy, and said to Elphin, \"Behold a radiant brow!\" \"Taliesin be he called,\" said Elphin. And he lifted the boy in his arms, and lamenting his mischance, he placed him sorrowfully behind him. And he made his horse amble gently, that before had been trotting, and he carried him as softly as if he had been sitting in the easiest chair in the world. And presently the boy made. a Consolation and praise to Elphin, and foretold honour to Elphin; and the Consolation was as you may see, -\n\"Fair Elphin, cease to lament! \nLet no one be dissatisfied with his own, \nTo despair will bring no advantage. \nNo man sees what supports him ; \nThe prayer of Cynllo will not be in vain; \nGod will not violate his promise. \nNever in Gwyddno's weir\nWas there such good luck as this night. \nFair Elphin, dry thy cheeks! \nBeing too sad will not avail, \nAlthough thou thinkest thou hast no gain\nToo much grief will bring thee no good; \nNor doubt the miracles of the Allmighty: \nAlthough I am but little, I am highly gifted. \nFrom seas, and from mountains, \nAnd from the depths of rivers, \nGod brings wealth to the fortunate man. \nElphin of lively qualities, \nThy resolution is unmanly; \nThou must not be over sorrowful: \nBetter to trust in God than to forbode ill. \nWeak and small as I am, \nOn the foaming beach of the ocean, \nIn the day of trouble I shall be\nOf more service to thee than three hundred salmon. \nEIphin of notable qualities, \nBe not displeased at thy misfortune: \nAlthough reclined thus weak in my bag, \nThere lies a virtue in my tongue. \nWhile I continue thy protector \nThou hast not much to fear; \nRemembering the names of the Trinity, \nNone shall be able to harm thee.\" \nAnd this was the first poem that Taliesin ever sang, being to console Elphin in his grief for that the produce of the weir was lost, and, what was worse, that all the world would consider that it was through his fault and ill-luck. And then Gwyddno Garanhir* asked him what he was, whether man or spirit. Whereupon he sang this tale, and said,-\n\"First, I have been formed a comely person, \nIn the court of Ceridwen I have done penance; \nThough little I was seen, placidly received, \nI was great on the floor of the place to where I was led; \nI have been a prized defence, the sweet muse the cause, \nAnd by law without speech, I have been liberated \nBy a smiling black old hag, when irritated \nDreadful her claim when pursued : \nI have fled with vigour, I have fled as a frog, \nI have fled in the semblance of a crow, scarcely finding rest \nI have fled vehemently, I have fled as a chain, \nI have fled as a roe into an entangled thicket \nI have fled as a wolf cub, I have fled as a wolf in a wilderness, \nI have fled as a thrush of portending language \nI have fled as a fox, used to concurrent bounds of quirks \nI have fled as a martin, which did not avail \nI have fled as a squirrel, that vainly hides, \nI have fled as a stag's antler, of ruddy course, \nI have fled as iron in a glowing fire, \nI have fled as a spear-head, of woe to such as has a wish for it \nI have fled as a fierce bull bitterly fighting, \nI have fled as a bristly boar seen in a ravine, \nI have fled as a white grain of pure wheat, \nOn the skirt of a hempen sheet entangled, \nThat seemed of the size of a mare's foal, \nThat is filling like a ship on the waters \nInto a dark leathern bag I was thrown, \nAnd on a boundless sea I was sent adrift; \nWhich was to me an omen of being tenderly nursed, \nAnd the Lord God then set me at liberty.\" \nThen came Elphin to the house or court of Gwyddno his father, and Taliesin with him. And Gwyddno asked him if he had had a good haul at the weir, and he told him that he had got that which was better than fish. \"What was that?\" said Gwyddno. \"A Bard,\" answered Elphin. Then said Gwyddno, \"Alas, what will he profit thee?\" And Taliesin himself replied and said, \"He will profit him more than the weir ever profited thee.\" Asked Gwyddno, \"Art thou able to speak, and thou so little?\" And Taliesin answered him, \"l am better able to speak than thou to question me.\" \"Let me hear what thou canst say,\" quoth Gwyddno. Then Taliesin sang,-\n\"In water there is a quality endowed with a blessing \nOn God it is most just to meditate aright; \nTo God it is proper to supplicate with seriousness, \nSince no obstacle can there be to obtain a reward from him. \nThree times have I been born, I know by meditation; \nIt were miserable for a person not to come and obtain \nAll the sciences of the world, collected together in my breast, \nFor I know what has been, what in future will occur. \nI will supplicate my Lord that I get refuge in him, \nA regard I may obtain in his grace \nThe Son of Mary is my trust, great in him is my delight, \nFor in him is the world continually upholden. \nGod has been to instruct me and to raise my expectation, \nThe true Creator of heaven, who affords me protection \nIt is rightly intended that the saints should daily pray, \nFor God, the renovator, will bring them to him.\" \nAnd forthwith Elphin gave his haul to his wife, and she nursed him tenderly and lovingly. Thenceforward Elphin increased in riches more and more day after day, and in love and favour with the king, and there abode Taliesin until he was thirteen years old, when Elphin son of Gwyddno went by a Christmas invitation to his uncle, Maelgwn Gwynedd, who sometime after this held open court at Christmas-tide in the castle of Dyganwy, for all the number of his lords of both degrees, both spiritual and temporal, with a vast and thronged host of knights and squires. And amongst them there arose a discourse and discussion. And thus was it said.\n\"Is there in the whole world a king so great as Maelgwn, or one on whom Heaven has bestowed so many spiritual gifts as upon him? First, form, and beauty, and meekness, and strength, besides all the powers of the soul!\" And together with these they said that Heaven had given one gift that exceeded all the others, which was the beauty, and comeliness, and grace, and wisdom, and modesty of his queen; whose virtues surpassed those of all the ladies and noble maidens throughout the whole kingdom. And with this they put questions one to another amongst themselves, Who had braver men? Who had fairer or swifter horses or greyhounds? Who had more skilful or wiser bards-than Maelgwn?\nNow at that time the bards were in great favour with the exalted of the kingdom; and then none performed the office of those who are now called heralds, unless they were learned men, not only expert in the service of kings and princes, but studious and well versed in the lineage, and arms, and exploits of princes and kings, and in discussions concerning foreign kingdoms, and the ancient things of this kingdom, and chiefly in the annals of the first nobles; and also were prepared always with their answers in various languages, Latin, French, Welsh, and English. And together with this they were great chroniclers, and recorders, and skilful in framing verses, and ready in making englyns in every one of those languages. Now of these there were at that feast within the palace of Maelgwn as many as four-and-twenty, and chief of them all, was one named Heinin Vardd.\nWhen they had all made an end of thus praising the king and his gifts, it befel that Elphin spoke in this wise. \"Of a truth none but a king may vie with a king; but were he not a king, I would say that my wife was as virtuous as any lady in the kingdom, and also that I have a bard who is more skilful than all the king's bards.\" In a short space some of his fellows showed the king all the boastings of Elphin; and the king ordered him to be thrown into a strong prison, until he might know the truth as to the virtues of his wife, and the wisdom of his bard.\nNow when Elphin had been put in a tower of the castle, with a thick chain about his feet (it is said that it was a silver chain, because he was of royal blood); the king, as the story relates, sent his son Rhun to inquire into the demeanour of Elphin's wife. Now Rhun was the most graceless man in the world, and there was neither wife nor maiden with whom he had held converse, but was evil spoken of. While Rhun went in haste towards Elphin's dwelling, being fully minded to bring disgrace upon his wife, Taliesin told his mistress how that the king had placed his master in durance in prison, and how that Rhun was coming in haste to strive to bring disgrace upon her. Wherefore he caused his mistress to array one of the maids of her kitchen in her apparel; which the noble lady gladly did; and she loaded her hands with the best rings that she and her husband possessed.\nIn this guise Taliesin caused his mistress to put the maiden to sit at the board in her room at supper, and be made her to seem as her mistress, and the mistress to seem as the maid. And when they were in due time seated at their supper in the manner that has been said, Rhun suddenly arrived at Elphin's dwelling, and was received with joy, for all the servants knew him plainly; and they brought him in haste to the room of their mistress, in the semblance of whom the maid rose up from supper and welcomed him gladly. And afterwards she sat down to supper again the second time, and Rhun with her. Then Rhun began jesting with the maid, who still kept the semblance of her mistress. And verily this story shows that the maiden became so intoxicated, that she fell asleep; and the story relates that it was a powder that Rhun put into the drink, that made her sleep so soundly that she never felt it when he cut from off her hand her little finger, whereupon was the signet ring of Elphin, which he had sent to his wife as a token, a short time before. And Rhun returned to the king with the finger and the ring as a proof, to show that he had cut it from off her hand, without her awaking from her sleep of intemperance.\nThe king rejoiced greatly at these tidings, and he sent for his councillors to whom he told the whole story from the beginning. And he caused Elphin to be brought out of his prison, and he chided him because of his boast. And he spake unto Elphin on this wise. \"Elphin, be it known to thee beyond a doubt that it is but folly for a man to trust in the virtues of his wife further than he can see her; and that thou mayest be certain of thy wife's vileness, behold her finger, with thy signet ring upon it, which was cut from her hand last night, while she slept the sleep of intoxication.\" Then thus spake Elphin. \"With thy leave, mighty king, I cannot deny my ring, for it is known of many; but verily I assert strongly that the finger around which it is, was never attached to the hand of my wife, for in truth and certainty there are three notable things pertaining to it, none of which ever belonged to any of my wife's fingers. The first of the three is, that it is certain, by your grace's leave, that wheresoever my wife is at this present hour, whether sitting, or standing, or lying down, this ring would never remain upon her thumb, whereas you can plainly see that it was hard to draw it over the joint of the little finger of the hand whence this was cut; the second thing is, that my wife has never let pass one Saturday since I have known her without paring her nails before going to bed, and you can see fully that the nail of this little finger has not been pared for a month. The third is, truly, that the hand whence this finger came was kneading rye dough within three days before the finger was out therefrom, and I can assure your goodness that my wife has never kneaded rye dough since my wife she has been.\"\nThen the king was mightily wroth with Elphin for so stoutly withstanding him, respecting the goodness of his wife, wherefore he ordered him to his prison a second time, saying that he should not be loosed thence until he had proved the truth of his boast, as well concerning the wisdom of his bard as the virtues of his wife.\nIn the meantime his wife and Taliesin remained joyful at Elphin's dwelling. And Taliesin showed his mistress how that Elphin was in prison because of them, but he bade her be glad for that he would go to Maelgwn's court to free his master. Then she asked him in what manner he would set him free And he answered her,-\n\"A journey will I perform, \nAnd to the gate I will come \nThe hall I will enter, \nAnd my song I will sing; \nMy speech I will pronounce \nTo silence royal bards. \nIn presence of their chief, \nI will greet to deride, \nUpon them I will break \nAnd Elphin I will free. \nShould contention arise, \nIn presence of the prince, \nWith summons to the bards \nFor the sweet flowing song, \nAnd wizards' posing lore \nAnd wisdom of Druids. \nIn the court of the sons of the distributor \nSome are who did appear \nIntent on wily schemes, \nBy craft and tricking means, \nIn pangs of affliction \nTo wrong the innocent, \nLet the fools be silent, \nAs erst in Badon's fight,- \nWith Arthur of liberal ones \nThe head, with long red blades \nThrough feats of testy men, \nAnd a chief with his foes. \nWoe be to them, the fools, \nWhen revenge comes on them. \nI Taliesin, chief of bards, \nWith a sapient Druid's words, \nWill set kind Elphin free \nFrom haughty tyrants bonds. \nTo their fell and chilling cry, \nBy the act of a surprising steed, \nFrom the far distant North, \nThere soon shall be an end. \nLet neither grace nor health \nBe to Maelgwn Gwynedd, \nFor this force and this wrong \nAnd be extremes of ills \nAnd an avenged end \nTo Rhun and all his race: \nShort be his course of life, \nBe all his lands laid waste \nAnd Iona exile be assigned \nTo Maelgwn Gwynned!\" \nAfter this he took leave of his mistress and came at last to the Court of Maelgwn, who was going to sit in his hall and dine in his royal state, as it was the custom in those days for kings and princes to do at every chief feast. And as soon as Taliesin entered the hall, he placed himself in a quiet corner, near the place where the bards and the minstrels were wont to come in doing their service and duty to the king, as is the custom at the high festivals when the bounty is proclaimed. And so, when the bards and the heralds came to cry largess, and to proclaim the power of the king and his strength, at the moment that they passed by the corner wherein he was crouching, Taliesin pouted out his lips after them, and played \" Blerwm, blerwm,\" with his finger upon his lips. Neither took they much notice of him as they went by, but proceeded forward till they came before the king, unto whom they made their obeisance with their bodies, as they were wont, without speaking a single word, but pouting out their lips, and making mouths at the king, playing \" Blerwm, blerwm,\" upon their lips with their fingers, as they had seen the boy do elsewhere. This sight caused the king to wonder and to deem within himself that they were drunk with many liquors. Wherefore he commanded one of his lords, who served at the board, to go to them and desire them to collect their wits, and to consider where they stood, and what it was fitting for them to do. And this lord did so gladly. But they ceased not from their folly any more than before. Whereupon he sent to them a second time, and a third, desiring them to go forth from the hall. At the last the king ordered one of his squires to give a blow to the chief of them named Heinin Vardd; and the squire took a broom and struck him on the head, so that he fell back in his seat. Then he arose and went on his knees, and besought leave of the king's grace to show that this their fault was not through want of knowledge, neither through drunkenness, but by the influence of some spirit that was in the hall. And after this Heinin spoke on this wise. \" Oh, honourable king, be it known to your grace, that not from the strength of drink, or of too much liquor, are we dumb, without power of speech like drunken men, but through the influence of a spirit that sits in the corner yonder in the form of a child.\" Forthwith the king commanded the squire to fetch him; and he went to the nook where Taliesin sat, and brought him before the king, who asked him what he was, and whence he came. And he answered the king in verse.\n\"Primary chief bard am I to Elphin, \nAnd my original country is the region of the summer stars; \nIdno and Heinin called me Merddin, \nAt length every king will call me Taliesin.\nI was with my Lord in the highest sphere, \nOn the fall of Lucifer into the depth of hell: \nI have borne a banner before Alexander; \nI know the names of the stars from north to south; \nI have been on the galaxy at the throne of the Distributor; \nI was in Canaan when Absalom was slain; \nI conveyed the Divine Spirit to the level of the vale of Hebron; \nI was in the court of Don before the birth of Gwdion. \nI was instructor to Eli and Enoc; \nI have been winged by the genius of the splendid crosier; \nI have been loquacious prior to being gifted with speech; \nI was at the place of the crucifixion of the merciful Son of God\nI have been three periods in the prison of Arianrod; \nI have been the chief director of the work of the tower of Nimrod\nI am a wonder whose origin is not known.\nI have been in Asia with Noah in the ark, \nI have seen the destruction of Sodom and Gomorra; \nI have been in India when Roma was built, \nI am now come here to the remnant of Troia.\nI have been with my Lord in the manger of the ass; \nI strengthened Moses through the water of Jordan; \nI have been in the firmament with Mary Magdalene;\nI have obtained the muse from the cauldron of Ceridwen;\nI have been bard of the harp to Lleon of Lochlin. \nI have been on the White Hill, in the court of Cynvelyn, \nFor a day end a year in stocks and fetters, \nI have suffered hunger for the Son of the Virgin.\nI have been fostered in the land of the Deitv, \nI have been teacher to all intelligences, \nI am able to instruct the whole universe. \nI shall be until the day of doom on the face of the earth; \nAnd it is not known whether my body is flesh or fish.\nThen I was for nine months\nIn the womb of the hag Ceridwen\nI was originally little Gwion, \nAnd at length I am Taliesin.\"\nAnd when the king and his nobles had heard the song, they wondered much, for they had never heard the like from a boy so young as he. And when the king knew that he was the bard of Elphin, he bade Heinin, his first and wisest bard, to answer Taliesin and to strive with him. But when he came, he could do no other, but play \" blerwm\" on his lips ; and when he sent for the others of the four-and-twenty bards, they all did likewise, and could do no other. And Maelgwn asked the boy Taliesin what was his errand, and he answered him in song.\nPuny bards, I am trying\nTo secure the prize, if I can; \nBy a gentle prophetic strain\nI am endeavouring to retrieve\nThe loss I may have suffered; \nComplete the attempt I hope, \nSince Elphin endures trouble\nIn the fortress of Teganwy, \nOn him may there not be laid\nToo many chains and fetters; \nThe Chair of the fortress of Teganwy\nWill I again seek; \nStrengthened by my muse I am powerful; \nMighty on my part is what I seek, \nFor three hundred songs and more\nAre combined in the spell I sing. \nThere ought not to stand where I am\nNeither stone, neither ring; \nAnd there ought not to be about me\nAny bard who may not know\nIs in the land of Artro, \nSecured by thirteen locks, \nFor praising his instructor; \nAnd then I Taliesin, \nChief of the bards of the west, \nShall loosen Elphin\nOut of a golden fetter.\"\nIf you be primary bards\nTo the master of sciences, \nDeclare ye mysteries\nThat relate to the inhabitants of the world; \nThere is a noxious creature, \nFrom the rampart of Satanas, \nWhich has overcome all\nBetween the deep and the shallow; \nEqually wide are his jaws\nAs the mountains of the Alps; \nHim death will not subdue, \nNor hand or blades; \nThere is the load of nine hundred waggons\nIn the hair of his two paws\nThere is in his head an eye\nGreen as the limpid sheet of icicle; \nThree springs arise\nIn the nape of his neck; \nSea-roughs thereon\nSwim through it; \nThere was the dissolution of the oxen\nOf Deivrdonwy the water-gifted. \nThe names of the three springs\nFrom the midst of the ocean; \nOne generated brine\nWhich is from the Corina, \nTo replenish the flood\nOver seas disappearing; \nThe second, without injury\nIt will fall on us, \nWhen there is rain abroad, \nThrough the whelming sky\nThe third will appear\nThrough the mountain veins, \nLike a flinty banquet.\nThe work of the King of kings. \nYou are blundering bards, \nIn too much solicitude; \nYou cannot celebrate\nThe kingdom of the Britons; \nAnd I am Taliesin, \nChief of the bards of the west, \nWho will loosen Elphin\nOut of the golden fetter.\"\nBe silent, then, ye unlucky rhyming bards, \nFor you cannot judge between truth and falsehood. \nIf you be primary bards formed by heaven, \nTell your king what his fate will be. \nIt is I who am a diviner and a leading bard, \nAnd know every passage in the country of your king; \nI shall liberate Elphin from the belly of the stony tower; \nAnd will tell your king what will befall him. \nA most strange creature will come from the sea marsh of Rhianedd\nAs a punishment of iniquity on Maelgwn Gwynedd; \nHis hair, his teeth, and his eyes being as gold, \nAnd this will bring destruction upon Maelgwn Gwynedd.\"\nDiscover thou what is\nThe strong creature from before the flood, \nWithout flesh, without bone, \nWithout vein, without blood, \nWithout head, without feet; \nIt will neither be older nor younger\nThan at the beginning; \nFor fear of a denial, \nThere are no rude wants\nWith creatures. Great God! how the sea whitens\nWhen flrst it comes! \nGreat are its gusts\nWhen it comes from the south; \nGreat are its evaporation\nWhen it strikes on coasts. \nIt is in the field, it is in the wood, \nWithout hand and without foot, \nWithout signs of old age, \nThough it be co-aeval\nWith the five ages or periods; \nAnd older still, \nThough they be numberless years.\nIt is also so wide; \nAs the surface of the earth \nAnd it was not born, \nNor was it seen. \nIt will cause consternation\nWherever God willeth. \nOn sea. and on land, \nIt neither sees, nor is seen. \nIts course is devious, \nAnd will not come when desired \nOn land and on sea, \nIt is indispensable. \nIt is without an equal, \nIt is four-sided; \nIt is not confined, \nIt is incomparable; \nIt comes from four quarters \nIt will not be advised, \nIt will not be without advice. \nIt commences its journey\nAbove the marble rock. \nIt is sonorous, it is dumb, \nIt is mild, \nIt is strong, it is bold, \nWhen it glances over the land. \nIt is silent, it is vocal, \nIt is clamorous, \nIt is the most noisy\nOn the face of the earth. \nIt is good, it is bad, \nIt is extremely injurious. \nIt is concealed, \nBecause sight cannot perceive it. \nIt is noxious, it is beneficial; \nIt is yonder, it is here\nIt will discompose, \nBut will not repair the injury\nIt will not suffer for its doings, \nSeeing it is blameless. \nIt is wet, it is dry, \nIt frequently comes, \nProceeding from the heat of the sun, \nAnd the coldness of the moon. \nThe moon is less beneficial, \nInasmuch as her heat is less. \nOne Being has prepared it, \nOut of all creatures, \nBy a tremendous blast, \nTo wreak vengeance\nOn Maelgwn Gwynedd.\"\nAnd while he was thus singing his verse near the door, there arose a mighty storm of wind, so that the king and all his nobles thought that the castle would fall on their heads. And the king caused them to fetch Elphin in haste from his dungeon, and placed him before Taliesin. And it is said, that immediately he sang a verse, so that the chains opened from about his feet.\n\"I adore the Supreme, Lord of all animation,- \nHim that supports the heavens, Ruler of every extreme, \nHim that made the water good for all, \nHim who has bestowed each gift, and blesses it;- \nMay abundance of mead be given Maelgwn of Anglesey, who supplies us, \nFrom his foaming meadhorns, with the choicest pure liquor. \nSince bees collect, and do not enjoy, \nWe have sparkling distilled mead, which is universally praised. \nThe multitude of creatures which the earth nourishes\nGod made for man, with a view to enrich him ;- \nSome are violent, some are mute, he enjoys them, \nSome are wild, some are tame; the Lord makes them\nPart of their produce becomes clothing; \nFor food and beverage till doom will they continue. \nI entreat the Supreme, Sovereign of the region of peace, \nTo liberate Elphin from banishment, \nThe man who gave me wine, and ale, and mead, \nWith large princely steeds, of beautiful appearance\nMay he yet give me; and at the end, \nMay God of his good will grant me, in honour, \nA succession of numberless ages, in the retreat of tranquillity. \nElphin, knight of mead, late be thy dissolution!\"\nAnd afterwards he sang the ode which is called \"The Excellence of the Bards.\"\nWhat was the first man\nMade by the God of heaven; \nWhat the fairest flattering speech\nThat was prepared by Ieuav; \nWhat meat, what drink, \nWhat roof his shelter; \nWhat the first impression\nOf his primary thinking; \nWhat became his clothing; \n'Who carried on a disguise, \nOwing to the wilds of the country, \nIn the beginning? \nWherefore should a stone be hard\nWhy should a thorn be sharp-pointed\nWho is hard like a flint; \nWho is salt like brine; \nWho sweet like honey; \nWho rides on the gale;\nWhy ridged should be the nose; \nWhy should a wheel be round; \nWhy should the tongue be gifted with speech\nRather than another member? \nIf thy bards, Heinin, be competent, \nLet them reply to me, Taliesin.\"\nAnd after that he sang the address which is called \"The Reproof of the Bards.\"\nIf thou art a bard completely imbued\nWith genius not to be controlled, \nBe thou not untractable\nWithin the court of thy king; \nUntil thy rigmarole shall be known, \nBe thou silent, Heinin, \nAs to the name of thy verse, \nAnd the name of thy vaunting; \nAnd as to the name of thy grandsire\nPrior to his being baptized. \nAnd the name of the sphere, \nAnd the name of the element, \nAnd the name of thy language, \nAnd the name of thy region. \nAvaunt, ye bards above, \nAvaunt, ye bards below! \nMy beloved is below, \nIn the fetter of Arianrod. \nIt is certain you know not\nHow to understand the song I utter, \nNor clearly how to discriminate\nBetween the truth and what is false; \nPuny bards, crows of the district, \nWhy do you not take to flight? \nA bard that will not silence me, \nSilence may he not obtain, \nTill he goes to be covered\nUnder gravel and pebbles; \nSuch as shall listen to me, \nMay God listen to him.\"\nThen sang he the piece called \" The Spite of the Bards.\"\n\"Minstrels persevere in their false custom, \nImmoral ditties are their delight; \nVain and tasteless praise they recite; \nFalsehood at all times do they utter\nThe innocent persons they ridicule\nMarried women they destroy, \nInnocent virgins of Mary they corrupt\nAs they pass their lives away in vanity; \nPoor innocent persons they ridicule; \nAt night they get drunk, they sleep the day\nIn idleness without work they feed themselves\nThe Church they hate, and the tavern they frequent; \nWith thieves and perjured fellows they associate; \nAt courts they inquire after feasts\nEvery senseless word they bring forward\nEvery deadly sin they praise; \nEvery vile course of life they lead; \nThrough every village, town, and country they stroll\nConcerning the gripe of death they think not; \nNeither lodging nor charity do they give\nIndulging in victuals to excess. \nPsalms or prayers they do not use, \nTithes or offerings to God they do not pay, \nOn holidays or Sundays they do not worship; \nVigils or festivals they do not heed. \nThe birds do fly, the fish do swim, \nThe bees collect honey, worms do crawl, \nEvery thing travails to obtain its food, \nExcept minstrels and lazy useless thieves.\nI deride neither song nor minstrelsy, \nFor they are given by God to lighten thought; \nBut him who abuses them, \nFor blaspheming Jesus and his service.'\nTaliesin having set his master free from prison, and having protected the innocence of his wife, and silenced the Bards, so that not one of them dared to say a word, now brought Elphin's wife before them, and showed that she had not one finger wanting. Right glad was Elphin, right glad was Taliesin.\nThen he bade Elphin wager the king, that he had a horse both better and swifter than the king's horses. And this Elphin did, and the day, and the time, and the place were fixed, and the place was that which at this day is called Morva Rhiannedd: and thither the king went with all his people, and four-and-twenty of the swiftest horses he possessed. And after a long process the course was marked, and the horses were placed for running. Then came Taliesin with four-and-twenty twigs of holly, which he had burnt black, and he caused the youth who was to ride his master's horse to place them in his belt, and he gave him orders to let all the king's horses get before him, and as he should overtake one horse after the other, to take one of the twigs and strike the horse with it over the crupper, and then let that twig fall; and after that to take another twig, and do in like manner to every one of the horses, as he should overtake them, enjoining the horseman strictly to watch when his own horse should stumble, and to throw down his cap on the spot. All these things did the youth fulfil, giving a blow to every one of the king's horses, and throwing down his cap on the spot where his horse stumbled. And to this spot Taliesin brought his master after his horse had won the race. And he caused Elphin to put workmen to dig a hole there; and when they had dug the ground deep enough, they found a large cauldron full of gold. And then said Taliesin, \" Elphin, behold a payment and reward unto thee, for having taken me out of the weir, and for having reared me from that time until now.\" And on this spot stands a pool of water, which is to this time called Pwllbair.\nAfter all this the king caused Taliesin to be brought before him, and he asked him to recite concerning the creation of man from the beginning; and thereupon he made the poem which is now called \"One of the Four Pillars of Song.\"\nThe Almighty made, \nDown the Hebron vale, \nWith his plastic hands, \nAdam!s fair form:\nAnd five hundred years, \nVoid of any help, \nThere he remained and lay\nWithout a soul.\nHe again did form, \nIn calm paradise, \nFrom a left-side rib, \nBliss-throbbing Eve.\nSeven hours they were\nThe orchard keeping, \nTill Satan brought strife, \nWith wiles from hell.\nThence were they driven, \nCold and shivering, \nTo gain their living, \nInto this world.\nTo bring forth with pain\nTheir sons and daughters, \nTo have possession\nOf Asia's land.\nTwice five, ten and eight, \nShe was self-bearing, \nThe mixed burden\nOf man-woman.\nAnd once, not hidden, \nShe brought forth Abel, \nAnd Cain the forlorn, \nThe homicide.\nTo him and his mate\nWas given a spade, \nTo break up the soil, \nThus to get bread.\nThe wheat pure and white, \nSummer tilth to sow, \nEvery man to feed, \nTill great yule feast.\nAn angelic hand\nFrom the high Father, \nBrought seed for growing\nThat Eve might sow;\nBut she then did hide\nOf the gift a tenth, \nAnd all did not sow\nOf what was dug.\nBlack rye then was found, \nAnd not pure wheat grain, \nTo show the mischief\nThus of thieving.\nFor this thievish act, \nIt is requisite, \nThat all men should pay\nTithe unto God.\nOf the ruddy wine, \nPlanted on sunny days, \nAnd on new-moon nights; \nAnd the white wine.\nThe wheat rich in grain\nAnd red flowing wine\nChrist's pure body make, \nSon of Alpha.\nThe wafer is flesh, \nThe wine is spilt blood, \nThe Trinity's words\nSanctify them.\nThe concealed books\nFrom Emmanuel's hand\nWere brought by Raphael\nAs Adam's gift,\nWhen in his old age, \nTo his chin immersed\nIn Jordan's water, \nKeeping a fast,\nMoses did obtain, \nIn Jordan's water, \nThe aid of the three\nMost special rods.\nSolomon did obtain\nIn Babel's tower, \nAll the sciences\nIn Asia land.\nSo did I obtain, \nIn my bardic books, \nAll the sciences\nOf Europe and Africa.\nTheir course, their bearing, \nTheir permitted way, \nAnd their fate I know, \nUnto the end.\nOh! what misery, \nThrough extreme of woe, \nProphecy will show\nOn Troia's race!\nA coiling serpent\nProud and merciless, \nOn her golden wings, \nFrom Germany.\nShe will overrun\nEngland and Scotland, \nFrom Lychlyn seashore\nTo the Severn.\nThen will the Brython\nBe as prisoners, \nBy strangers swayed, \nFrom Saxony.\nTheir Lord they will praise, \nTheir speech they will keep, \nTheir land they will lose, \nExcept wild Walia.\nTill some change shall come, \nAfter long penance, \nWhen equally rife\nThe two crimes come.\nBritons then shall have\nTheir land and their crown, \nAnd the stranger swarm\nShall disappear.\nAll the angel's words, \nAs to peace and war, \nWill be fulfilled\nTo Britain's race.\"\nHe further told the king various prophecies of things that should be in the world, in songs, as follows.\n* The mention of Gwyddno Garanhir, instead of Elphin in this place is evidently an error of some transcriber of the MS. - Back to the tale","title":"TALIESIN","type":"page"}