Taliesin

“ A village which has sprung up near the site is now called Taliesin. Taliesin is connected with Geirionydd lake in Carnarvonshire, on the strength of a line (of which the true reading is doubtful) in one of the poems attributed to him (Four Ancient Books, ii. 293) ; a modern monument has been raised in the poet's honour on the banks of the lake, and this the ordnance surveyors have wrongly described as ‘Bedd Taliesin’ (Taliesin's grave) .
The ‘Book of Taliesin’ is a manuscript of the early fourteenth century, now in the Hengwrt collection ”

“ But, unfortunately, Taliesin, 318as a credible personage, rests under exactly the same disabilities as Arthur himself. It is not denied by scholars that there was a real Taliesin, a sixth-century bard to whom were attributed, and who may have actually composed, some of the poems in the Book of Taliesin. [369] But there was also another Taliesin, whom, as a mythical poet of the British Celts, Professor Rhys is inclined to equate with the Gaelic Ossian. ”

“ None shall be able to harm thee."
And 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 [2] asked him what he was, whether man or spirit. ”

“ And you shall hear now how, on one occasion alone, Taliesin, the child-bard, was as good as his word.
OLD ROMAN BRIDGE NEAR SWANSEA. Page 4.
Elphin had been made prisoner by the cruel King Maelgwn, who cast him into a dungeon, barred by thirteen locked doors. After some attempts had been made in vain to win his freedom, Taliesin bade Elphin wager the King that he had a horse both better and swifter than the King’s horses. The King accepted the challenge, promised him his freedom if he should win the race, and fixed day, and time, and place for the trial of the steeds. ”

“ The birds do fly, the fish do swim,
The bees collect honey, worms do crawl,
Every thing travails to obtain its food,
Except minstrels and lazy useless thieves.
I deride neither song nor minstrelsy,
For they are given by God to lighten thought;
But him who abuses them,
For blaspheming Jesus and his service."
Taliesin 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. ”

“ Are two separate myths combined in the Hanes Taliesin, one making Taliesin son of a goddess with an abode In the divine land; the other viewing him as a culture hero, stealing the gifts of the gods' land, and therefore obnoxious to Cerrldwen. And if so, do these myths "reflect the encroachment of the cult of a god on that of a goddess, his worshippers regarding him as her son, her worshippers reflecting their hostility to the new god In a myth of her enmity to him"?56
Taliesin was supreme In shape-shifting and rebirth. ”

“ The work of the King of kings,
You are blundering bards,
In too much solicitude;
You cannot celebrate
The kingdom of the Britons;
And I am Taliesin,
Chief of the bards of the west,
Who will loosen Elphin
Out of the golden fetter."
*⁠*⁠*⁠*⁠*
"Be silent, then, ye unlucky rhyming bards,
For you cannot judge between truth and falsehood.
If you be primary bards formed by heaven,
Tell your king what his fate will be.
It is I who am a diviner and a leading bard,
And know every passage in the country of your king;
I shall liberate Elphin from the belly of the stony tower ”

“ The accomplished Taliesin was introduced by Elphin to his father Gwyddno’s court, where he delivered him a poem, giving an account of himself, entitled, Hanes Taliesin, or Taliesin’s History; and at the same time another to his patron and benefactor Elphin to console him upon his past misfortune, and to exhort him to put his trust in Divine Providence. This is a fine moral piece, and very artfully addressed by the Bard, who introduces himself in the person and character of an exposed infant. As it is probable that the prince’s affairs p. ”

“ About eight miles north of Aberystwyth is an ancient grave known as Bedd Taliesin. According to a local tradition, Taliesin, Chief Bard of the Island of Britain was buried on this spot. The grave, which is composed of stones, is in the centre of a large heap of earth or mound surrounded by stone circles, and some generations ago bones, and even a human skull, were found in it, which probably were the remains of the great ancient poet. There is a superstition respecting Bedd Taliesin that should anyone sleep in it for one night, he would the next day become either a poet or an idiot. ”

“ This was to the summit of Cader Idris, sixteen miles off. On this summit there is a Druidical circle, of which the stones, themselves to ruin grown, are strange and death-like old. Legend says that this is the burial-place of Taliesin, the first of Welsh bards, the primeval poet of Celtic time. Whoever sleeps on the grave will awake either a madman or a poet, or is at any rate unsafe to become one or the other. ”

“ There is a similar popular belief in connection with Cader Idris, in Merionethshire, where an eminent bard once tried the experiment. Taliesin’s Grave is in the Parish of Llanfihangel genau’r Glyn, and in the adjoining parish of Llancynfelin there is a village bearing the name of Taliesin; and, according to the “Mabinogion,” the great poet was born somewhere between the Dyvi and Aberystwyth. The people of North Cardiganshire believe to this day that Taliesin was both born and buried in their district. ”

“ Some of these and other deeds are referred to in the Taliesin poems, while Taliesin describes himself as enchanted by Gwydion.369 In the Triads he is one of the three great astrologers of Prydein, and this emphasis laid on his powers of divination is significant when it is considered that his name may be derived from a root vet, giving words meaning "saying" or "poetry," while cognate words are Irish fáith, "a prophet" or "poet," German wuth, "rage," and the name of Odinn.370 The name is suggestive of the ecstasy of inspiration producing prophetic and poetic utterance. ”

“ And the coldness of the moon.
The moon is less beneficial,
Inasmuch as her heat is less.
One Being has prepared it,
Out of all creatures,
By a tremendous blast,
To wreak vengeance
On Maelgwn Gwynedd."
And 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. ”

“ And 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 some time after this held open court at Christmastide 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. ”

“ Taliesin was a foundling, discovered in his infancy lying in a coracle, on a salmon-weir, in the domain of Elphin, a prince of North Wales, who became his patron. During his life he arrogated to himself a supernatural descent and understanding, and for at least a thousand years after his death he was regarded by the descendants of the ancient Britons in the character of a prophet or something more. The poems which he produced procured for him the title of “Bardic King;” they display much that is vigorous and original, but are disfigured by mysticism and extravagant metaphor ”

“ I never could procure a perfect nor correct copy of this poem of Taliesin, otherwise I would gratify the curious with a translation of it. It is certain from his history, that he was a very learned man for his time, and seems to have been well versed in the doctrine of the Druids, particularly the μετεμψύχωσις, which accounts for the extravagant flights frequent in his poems. ”

“ Fionn and Gwion obtain inspiration accidentally. Fionn is reborn, not as Oisin, but as Mongan, and Gwion as Taliesin. Oisin and Taliesin are both bards, and Oisin's name is perhaps equivalent to -essin or -eisin in Taliesin. Taliesln's shape-shifting has no parallel with Fionn or Oisin, but Oisin's mother and, in one tradition, Fionn's also became a fawn. Thus inspiration, rebirth, and shape-shifting are attached to different personages in different ways, showing that mythical elements common to the Celtic race have been employed. ”

“ At Tre-Taliesin we are reminded of the grave of Taliesin, the 'King of the Bards' during the sixth century; the pilgrimage to his grave, which lies about a mile to the left of the road, is a favourite one from Aberystwyth. Two miles farther on the remains of a British camp or fort crown the summit of Moel-y-Gaer, close to the road upon the right; they are remarkably well preserved, and in the neighbourhood are some Druidical circles. In this district the open country around is quite park-like in many places ”

“ It is a great pity Taliesin is so obscure, for there are many particulars in his poems that would throw great light on the history, notions, and manners of the Ancient Britons, especially of the Druids, a great part of whose learning it is certain he had imbibed. This celebrated Bard was in great favour with all the great men of his time, particularly with Maelgwn Gwynedd, the warlike and victorious king of all Britain, with Elphin his patron, whom he redeemed with his songs from the castle of Tyganwy, where he was upon some account confined by his uncle Maelgwn. ”

“ Taliesin, says the legend, then an exile from his native land of Britain, dwelt on the seashore. To him came the messenger of Jud-Hael and said: “O thou who so truly dost interpret all things ambiguous, hear and make clear the strange vision which my lord hath seen.” He then recounted Jud-Hael’s dream to the venerable bard.
For a time the sage sat pondering deeply, and then 21 replied: “Thy master reigneth well and wisely, O messenger, but he has a son who will reign still more happily even than himself, and who will become one of the greatest men in the Breton land. ”

“ Taliesin was the greatest of the ancient Welsh bards, and was a contemporary of Aneurin in the sixth century. He appears to have been a native of Cardiganshire, for we find him at an early age living at the court of Gwyddno, a petty king of Cantre y Gwaelod, who appointed him his chief bard and tutor to his son Elphin. He was afterwards attached to the court of Urien Rheged, a Welsh prince, king of Cambria and of Scotland as far as the river Clyde, who fought and conquered in the great battle of Gwenystrad, and is celebrated by the bard in the following song. ”

“ 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. ”

“ What is most worth your care is the works of the poets; especially that part of them that is historical, as some of Taliesin, Merddin, Llywarch Hen’s are. Merddin mentions the war in Scotland, between Rhydderch Hael, Aeddan ab Gafran, Gwenddolau ab Ceidio, &c., and Taliesin mentions several battles, that none of our historians ever so much as heard of. These are matters of great curiosity—Llywarch Hen in one of his Elegies, mentions Eglwysau Bassa, that was destroyed by the Saxons. Nennius says, that one of the twelve battles fought by Arthur against the Saxons, was upon the river Bassas. ”

“ Porth Ysgewin is near Chepstow, in Monmouthshire or Glamorganshire.
[19c] Taliesin Ben Beirdd, or the chief of Bards, flourished about the year 560, or thereabout, under Maelgwn Gwynedd king of Britain, called by Gildas Maglocunus. Many of Taliesin’s poems are extant, but on account of their great antiquity are very obscure, as the work of his contemporaries are. There is a great deal of the Druidical Cabbala intermixed in his works, especially about the transmigration of souls. ”

“ Taliesin then bade his mistress conceal herself, and she gave her raiment and jewels to one of the kitchenmaids, who received Rhun as if she were mistress of the household. And after supper Rhun plied the maid with drink, and she became intoxicated and fell in a deep sleep; whereupon Rhun cut off one of her fingers, on which was the signet-ring of Elphin that he had sent his wife a little while before. Rhun brought the finger and the ring on it to Arthur's Court.
Next day Elphin was fetched out of prison and shown the finger and the ring. ”

“ The legend has reference to the Welsh proverb, so old, that it is by some considered anterior to even Merlin, that “he who spends a night in the chair or Cader Idris will be found mad, dead, or a poet.” Tradition relates that Merlin sat there, and that Taliesin also went through the dread ordeal that touched his lips with the fire of prophecy.
“You know,” broke in young Herbert Griffith, “the gap cut in the live rock, on the high peak where the cairn is, just above the cliff? It looks like the throne of some queer old king. ”