The Juvencus Triple Englyn
C10th, from the Cambridge Juvencus MS.
Diplomatic Digital Reconstructions with A Select Critical Reader
Steve Sweeney-Turner (2007)
Manuscript Source: Cambridge University Library MS. Ff.4.42
Digitisation Source: various
Required Font: Junicode (click here to download)
The main body of Cambridge MS. Ff.4.42 consists of a ninth century copy in broadly-Gaelic Insular script of a Latin Gospel paraphrase by the fourth century Spanish poet, Juvencus. Within and around this are numerous glosses and marginalia in Latin, Old Irish and Old Welsh added by a sequence of various scribes. Most famously, we find two Old Welsh poems composed in englyn form: (1) a nine-stanza religious poem at the top of p.1/f.1r; and (2) three stanzas of a secular poem split across the top margins of pp.48-50/ff.25v-26v. Both poems are now generally thought to have been copied by the same scribe (Jackson 1953, 52-53) and to date to the tenth century. Although later manuscripts (such as Llyfr Aneirin) contain earlier literature, the Juvencus englynion are two of the earliest known examples of writing in Old Welsh. It is the shorter, three-stanza "triple englyn" from p.48 that I transcribe below.
Unfortunately, this poem has suffered at the hands of what Ifor Williams called "some vandal of a binder" (1980, 89) who saw fit to crop p.48 rather closely, and sliced right through the inserted word ":franc". Happily, we have transcriptions by earlier scholars attesting to its existence and form, as well as internal evidence from the structural repetition of its containing phrase ("mi amfranc dam") in the following stanza. As such, I have described my own transcription as a "reconstruction". I also freely admit to basing the transcription on the extant canon of facsimiles, transcripts and editions, rather than working from the manuscript "in the flesh". Overall, I have attempted to give the texts reasonably diplomatically in digital format (required font: Junicode). Following my transcriptions, you will find a Critical Reader containing some of the earliest commentaries. The larger, younger poem from the manuscript is not transcribed here, but is discussed in the later excerpts of the Critical Reader.
The Juvencus Triple Englyn
Diplomatic & Standardised Reconstructions
Triple Englyn: Stanza 1
(Top Margin, p.48 / f.25v)
:nc
nɩuocom nmhunu hnoɩ mɩƖu nɩ umu mɩ m: m ncƖɥ
niguorcosam nemheunaur henoid mitelu nit gurmaur mi amfranc dam ancalaur
Triple Englyn: Stanza 2
(Top Margin, p.49 / f.26r)
nɩcñ̛nɩum nɩcum hnoɩ c ɩbn m nouƖ mɩ mnc m nƖ
nicanãniguardam nicusam henoid cet iben med nouel mi amfranc dam anpatel
Triple Englyn: Stanza 3
(Top Margin, p.50 / f.26v)
nmcɩ mɩ np Ɩunɩ hnoɩ ɩɩcȝ mɩ couɩɩ ou nm ɩcu unuɩ
namercit mi nep leguenid henoid isdiscyrr micoueidid dou nam riceus unguetid
The Juvencus Triple Englyn
Modernised Format
niguorcosam nemheunaur henoid
mitelu nit gurmaur
mi amfranc dam ancalaur
nicanamniguardam nicusam henoid
cet iben med nouel
mi amfranc dam anpatel
namercit mi nep leguenid henoid
is discyrr micoueidid
dou nam riceus unguetid
Transcription Notes
On close reading, the majority of the text is unambiguous and previous editions are generally in agreement on the main points, with significant convergence after Williams. However, two ambiguities remain controversial in form but not meaning: (1) the second " a " of nicananiguardam in stanza 2 line 1; and (2) the " y " of discyrr in stanza 3 line 2.
(1) Williams gives " ã " in nicanãniguardam (1980, 90) where most previous readings are along the lines of either Lhuyd's " il " or Villemarqué's " u ". In his palaeographical notes, Williams expands on his printed reading as follows:
I believe the letter to be an a with an open top [...] In addition, it looks as if a stroke has been written above the a, and a slight inclined stroke is attached to the second stroke of the a [...] One must note, however, that the form of the first stroke of the a is not a usual one, since it is hooked at the top. (1980, 91)
Following Williams's printed edition, I have given this character's diacritic as a tilde, but following his more detailed notes, I have made the main character itself an open " a " with a small combining horn (Unicode 031B) to the right vertical. This solution is both unsatisfactory and provisional, but approximately follows Williams's full reading beyond what his typesetter achieved. Both Williams (1980, 91) and McKee (2000b, 274) interpret the diacritic as an abbreviation for "m", hence: "nicanamniguardam".
(2) In the case of the highly problematic " y " of discyrr, Williams suggests a "wavy, trembling" form of " i " descending below the line in discirr (1980, 90-91). While his reading is clearly functional, we cannot escape the bare facts of how the character actually looks — a point particularly highlighted in Villemarqué's 1856 autograph transcript where it appears almost as a mutant ezh/yogh for " z " in diszur (apparently accepted by Skene in 1862), or in Stokes's 1863 observation of its similarity to an obscure abbreviational form of a long Insular " g " but reading otherwise in disenirr, or in Skene's final position in 1868 which implies yogh for " y " in discyrr (see the Critical Reader below for all of these points). McKee's reading (2000b, 276) concurs with Skene rather than Williams. In the end, and after many unproductive hours of digitally mangling the available facsimiles, I resigned myself to the Skene/McKee position, which hopefully is not too far from Williams in linguistic functionality, while broadly retaining the look of what the scribe actually wrote, which in reality remains far from even the most mead-inflected " i ". Nonetheless, the question still seems rather open to debate.
Other unsatisfactory provisional solutions worth apologising for are my use of a turned " h " (Unicode 0265) to represent the " u " with descender in ancalaur, the use of Junicode's open wynn character (at Unicode F211) to represent the open " p " in anpatel, and the slightly over-Insular " t " throughout.
A Select Critical Reader
Historical Debates on the Juvencus Englynion
Edited by Steve Sweeney-Turner (2007)
The following is a brief selection from various historical editions and commentaries, both major and minor. Note that for the sake of standardised presentation, original pagination and footnote-numbering has been revised. However, original orthography has generally been followed, sometimes to ludicrously-slavish extents. In fact, Lhuyd's rather ornate eighteenth-century Welsh in the extract from Archæologia Britannica presented far more typographical encoding problems than the Juvencus englynion themselves!
Edward Lhuyd (1702)
Letter to Rev. Henry Rowlands of Llanidan, Anglesey (01-11-1702)
Oxford, Nov. 1, 1702.
Dear Sir,
I was this summer, for about three or four weeks, at Cambridge ; being invited thither by a false title of a manuscript in their late-printed Catalogue, which promised me a map of Britain and Ireland by Giraldus Cambrensis ; though the book, when consulted, afforded nothing but the out-lines of two islands, with the word Britannia in the midst of one of them, and Hibernia in the other, and the Orchades placed betwixt them both, instead of the Hebrides. I had several other manuscripts to consult ; but received no great instruction. However, being there, I copied Giraldus's Epistles ; and lingered out my time betwixt the public library, that of Bennet-College, and Trinity.
In the public library I happened to meet with a very ancient manuscript of Juvencus, a Spanish priest, who turned the gospel into heroic verse in the time of Constantine. It was written upon very thick parchment, in that character we call the Irish, but was indeed anciently British, whence both they and the Saxons received it. Turning the leaves over, I observed here and there some words glossed or interpreted by other more familiar Latin words, and sometimes by British ; whereby I learned that the Britons pronounced the letter M in the midst at and the end of words as we now pronounce V consonant ; which accounts for the name of Cadvan being written Catamanus at Lhan Gadwaladr. I learned several other notes as to their orthography, with the signification of some few words ; but I am at a loss to know the British of what country it was; for it seems so different from ours, that I should rather suspect it either for the language of the Picts, or that of the Stradclwyd Britons ; as perhaps you will own upon reading the three following Englyns, which I found at the top-margin of three successive pages in the midst of the book. [These Englyns he hath printed in the letter which he found them written in, and may be seen, with his reading of them, in his Archæologia, p.221.
[Current Editor's note: although Rowland omits Lhuyd's transcriptions here, they are given below from Lhuyd's published edition.]
I have sent it to one Mr. ********, a Shropshire Welshman, and a famous linguist and critic ; but he returned me such an interpretation as I shall not now trouble you withal.
Sir, I hope towards the latter end of spring to begin to print my Archæologia ; what information you can contribute in the interim (particularly as to ancient customs, &c.) will be very acceptable to,
Worthy Sir,
Your most obliged humble Servant,
Edward Lhwyd.
Edward Lhuyd (1702)
Letter to Rev. Humphrey Foulkes of Llanvair, Monmouthshire (20-12-1702) — excerpt
I have lately begun a correspondence with him[1] ; and I take him for a person of learning and integrity, thô, I fear me, too apt to indulge fancy : wch I gather from his interpretation of those three Englyns wch I found this last summer in the margin of a very ancient Latin MS. at the publique library in Cambrige. The book seemed to me about 1000 years old and the marginall Englyns not much later. I have this very post sent them in the originall hand as near as I could imitate it to Mr John Lloyd of Ruthyn, but have not time to insert them so here. I should be glad to know your thoughts of them and so shall forbear inserting Mr Baxter's reading least it should prejudice you, only tell you in generall that he declares it is to him a very plaine prediction that our gracious Queen shall have another prince who shall reign after her. The words are thus.
niguorcosam nemhennaur
henoid mitolu nit gurmaur
mi am franc dam an calaur
ni camwiguardam nicusam
henoid cet iben med nouel
mi am franc dam an patel
namercit un nep ceguenid
henoid isdiscir mi conedid
don nam ricens imguetid
As to our old Brittish orthography you must know that a was sometimes pronounced e ; b sometimes as f ; c sometimes as ch, sometimes as g, hut generally k ; D commonly as now, and after it served for dd ; g often superfluous in the middle for the word pedwar the wrote petguar : ll was expressed by a single l ; m often in the midst and att the end as f (or v) : p att the end of words for b ; and b at the end was always as v ; t supplyed th and nw.
I once supposed from the last line of these Englyns that they alluded to St Peter's denying our Saviour : but I can not make it out. As for Dr Leigh one difference betwixt him and Mr Baxter is that Baxter understands severall languages, but Leigh never a one : nor indeed (as an author) scarce common sense or civility.
[1] The Welsh antiquarian and linguist, William Baxter (1650-1723).
Edward Lhuyd (1707)
From: Archæologia Britannica, vol.i, p.221.
Ymae yχụaneg o eiriæ ẏn ẏr ŷn papyræ ; ond Kẏſſẏlhtedig ag velhy hẏdhyſg i bȏb Kẏmro yụ lhaụer o honynt ; ag erilh ni argrafes o herụydg nad mûy hynod i kẏvieithiad drụy Ladin ne Gẏmraeg aneglyr, nai hynen. Ag hevyd er dȗad ẏ rhan vụya o'r eiriæ ẏmma odhiụrth ẏ Kẏmreigụyr dẏſgedig Mr. Henry Salsbri o Dhol belidr, Aụdụr ẏ Gramadeg argrafedig, Mr. Robert Vyχan o'r Hengurt a Mr. Thomas Prys o Blâs Ioln ; etto nis gȗyr neb a roeſon nhȗ i lhâụ dhyụaetha urth i Kẏvieithiad ; ag am hẏnny na roed y Darlhennydh hẏder diammæ arnynt, ond lhe kafo gẏttyndeb kẏſſon rhẏngthynt a ſens ne bȗylh ẏ Geiriæ (ôl a blaen) lhe darlhenno ẏn ẏr hȇn lẏvræ.
Iaith hȇn Vrẏthon Gogledh ẏr ẏnys ẏmma, lhe mae Tyrnas yr Yſgùydiæd ẏn aụr, ẏdyụ 'r Brẏthoneg 'ſydh ẏn Kanlyn. Mi ai kevæs ẏn nhàl dalen o hȇn lẏvyr Lhadin 'ſgrivennedig o lâụ Gụydhelig ar groen hẏvyr er ẏng hylχ mȋl o vlẏnẏdhoedh. Ag ụrth ẏ lhȃu ag ẏmbelh air aralh o'r ŷn Iaith ẏn ẏ lhẏvyr ẏ mae hẏsbys enniv mai o'r Alban (ne'r Yſgùidir) ẏ daeth ; ag amkan hevyd ar ẏr amſer pan 'ſgrivennụyd ẏ lhẏvyr.
Nis gụn ai Iaith Brython Yſtrad Klûyd ẏdyụ, ai Iaith ẏ Gwydhyl Fiχtiæd, kanys velhy ẏ galụæ 'r hȇn Gẏmry ẏ Genedl Ogledhig a ẏmgadụodh drụy i Deụredh yχelvryd, a χadernid i gụlâd (gan dhẏvroedh a χreigiæ a phôb anialụχ mẏnẏdhig a thẏlodi) odhiụrth arvæ Rhyvæn.
Y mae gennim ẏng Hẏmry etto rai o Gẏụẏdhæ ag Englẏnion ẏr Ynben ardherχog diledryụ Lhywarχ hên, vâb Elidr Lydanwyn o Yſtrad Klûyd, (a) ne ryụ ụlâd aralh ẏn ẏ Gogledh gẏffınol i'r Yſtrad: Ond nailh ai mae 'n Kymry nȋ ụrth i dadſgrivenny ẏn vẏnyχ, gụedi neụid lhaụer ar ẏ Geiriæ, ne did oedh ond ẏχẏdig ụân rhụng i hiaith nhȗ a'n hŷn ninne. Yr ŷn peth hevyd a elhir i dhụedyd am Uaith Myrdhyn 'ab Morvryn o Goed Kelydhon. Velhy mae 'n debẏgol mai Albanæg ne Iaith ẏ Fiχtiæd, hên Drigolion ẏr Alban, ydyụ hon ẏmma ; ẏnghylχ pa iaith, ẏ dụedir ẏmmŷsk ẏr Haneſſụyr Dẏſgedig o'r dẏrnas honno, nad oes air (os by ŷn erioed) o honi ar 'skriven ; a χan na ụydhys moi hiaith ammæ a ụnânt, prŷn ai o Genedl ẏ Britanniæd ẏr oedhynt ai o Uledydh Lhyχlyn ne'n hẏtraχ ai o Ardaloedh ẏr hên Yuχ-Elhwyn y rhain a elụir ẏn aụr Germaniæd. Os i'r Fiχtiæd ẏ perthẏnæ 'r Iaith 'ſydh ẏn kanlyn, Brẏthon oedhynt ẏn dhiammæ. Ond prŷn bẏnnag gan nad ẏdynt ond ẏχẏdig eiriæ ; a'r 'ſgriven Vrẏthoneg hẏna a dieithra a dharlhennæs hyd ẏn hyn ; mi a ụelæs ẏn dha (er nad ẏdụi etto ẏn y dealh) y hargrafy er ẏχẏdig dhyụenydh i'r dẏſgedig ẏn ẏr hên Gymraeg. A χan nad oes nag ẏn Argrafdy Rhẏdẏχen nag ẏn ynlhe aralh ẏr ŷn lhẏthrennæ ; Kẏmerụχ nhụ 'n ẏr hȇn Lẏthrennæ Kẏmreig, o blegid nad oes ond ẏ dim lheia o ụân rhẏngthynt.
nıuocoam nemheunau henoı mıelu nı umau mı amanc am ancalau
nıcanılnıuaam nıcuam henoı ce ıben me nouel mı amanc am an pael
nameeı un nepleuenı henoi ııcınn micoueıı dou nam ıceɥ ımueı.
Val hyn ẏ kevæs nhụ 'n 'ígrivenedig ; ond er hẏnny trȋ Englyn ẏdynt o'r ŷn vȃth ag oedh arverol ẏmmhlȋth ẏr hȇn Gẏmry dan enụ Englyn milụr ; a (bȇth bẏnnag yụ i pûylh ai harụydhokâd) ẏn ȏl ſain ẏ lhẏthrennæ a χẏſíodiad ẏ Geiriæ ẏn ẏr hȇn oeíoedh, rhyụ vâth dharlhenniad ag ſy'n kanlyn ſŷdh berthẏnaſol ydhynt ẏn breſènol.
Ni wyrchyſſaf nam’n ûn awr
heno, fy nheulu nid gorfawr ;
mi am Ffrank daf an callawr.
Ni chanaf, ni chwrâf, ni chwſaf
heno, cyhŷd ei ben medd Nywell ;
mi am franc daf an padell.
Na fyred un nȇb lhawenydd,
heno ys diſcin fy nghyhyddydd :
dau nam ry ceir y ngụadydd.
(a) 'ab Meirχion, 'ab Grûſt, 'ab Kene, 'ab Koel Godebog.
William Owen Pughe (1832)
From: A Grammar of the Welsh Language, vol.i, p.9.
From the manuscript at Cambridge, under the title of Juvencus, as copied by Lhuyd ; Archæologia, p. 224:
Niguorcosam nemheunaur henoiò mitelu nit gurmaur mi amfranc dam ancalaur.
This, divided into the form of its verse, in the orthography of the dictionary would be thus:
Ni worchysaf, ni’m hunawr henoeth,
Fy nheulu nid gorfawr :
Mi a’m ffranc daf a’n callawr.
S. R. Meyrick (1832)
From: "On Irish Mythology," pp.318-319.
La Taim Aois, the sun's death, which took place at the winter solstice, on the 22d of December, was a day of lamentation, the celebration of which, in the northern parts of Britain, is probably alluded to in the following lines:
Ni guorcosam nemheunawr henoid
Mi telu nit gurmaur
Mi amfranc dam an calaur
Ni can ili ni guardam ni cusam henoid
Cet iben med nouel
Mi amfranc dam an patel
Na mereit un nep leguenid henoid
Is discinn mi coneidid
Dou nam riceur imguetid.[1]
Spiritless (as I am) I will not study profit this night,
My household are not valiant,
I will put away the cauldron[2]
The bard shall not sing, I will not laugh nor feast this night,
Let men of renown drink mead together,
I will put away the pan.[3]
Let no one meddle with mirth this night
Till my supporter comes down,
(When) my Lord comes we shall feast to the full.[4]
[1] This is taken from Edward Llwyd's Archæologia, p. 221. He says, "it is the ancient language of the Britons in the north of the island. I found it in the first leaf of an old Latin book, on decayed vellum, written in a Gwyddelian hand, about one thousand years ago. By the writing, and by a few more words of the same language, I am certain that the book has come originally from Scotland, and I can also compute the age of the manuscript. I know not whether it be the language of the Strath Clyde Britons, or of the Picts, or old Caledonians. It is the oldest and strangest British I have seen." The Rev. E. Davies, from a knowledge of the Irish and Welsh languages, has been able to give the above translation.
[2] Used in preparing the mystic feast.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Alluding to the return of the Sun and La Nollad Aois.
John Williams ab Ithel (1850)
From: "Observations on the Stone of St. Cadfan," p.97.
The proper division of words and sentences was very much neglected in old Welsh MSS. Thus, in a MS. at Cambridge, under the title of "Juvencus," as copied by Llwyd, (Archæologia, p. 224,) we have,—
"Nigourcosam nemheunaur henoio mitelu nit gurmaur mi amfranc dam ancalaur."
Which, divided into the form of its verse, in the orthography of the present day, would be,—
"Ni worchysav, ni’m hunawr henoeth,
Vy nheulu nid gorvawr ;
Mi a’m franc dav a’n callawr."
See Dr. Pughe's Grammar, p.9.
In the above extract we see also how the m was anciently used where we would now use the v, or the soft f.
J.C. Zeuss (1853)
From: Grammatica Celtica, vol.ii, pp.946-947.
Constructionis metricae communem faciem celticam et specialem memoratam cambricam jam prae se ferunt tres versiculi primam linguae cambricae aetatem scriptione et formis grammaticalibus prodentes, quos e codice Juvenci Cantabrigiensi publicavit Lhwyd (Archaeol. Brit. p. 221 ; cf. Owen. Gramm. p. 7):
Ni guorcosam nemheunaur henoid mitelu nit gurmaur mi amfranc dam ancalaur.
Quorum assonantiae, si significantur ut supra hibernicae, erunt hae :
| Ni guorcosam | nem|heunaur || | henoid | mitelu nit gur|maur || | mi amfranc dam | ancalaur.
Vel versibus dispositis secundum assonantiam praevalentem cambricam finalem :
| Ni guorcosam | nem|heunaur
| henoid. | mitelu nit gur|maur
| mi | amfranc dam | ancalaur.[1]
"Non dormiam, non dormitum erit mecum
hac nocte, familia mea non adeo magna,
ego et puer meus et lebes noster."
[1] Verba coelibis, ut videtur. Exstat adhuc cws, somnus, pro cwsg, unde cysgu, dormire ; guorcosam cum particula intensiva fortasse significationis obscenae, cujus passivum indicatur sequente nemheunaur (hod. hunaw, dormire) solito modo impersonali cum terminatione -aur futuri secundarii. Aliunde incognita vox dam vix non est eadem ac hibern. dam (etiam).
Hersart la Villemarqué (1856)
From: Notices des Principaux Manuscrits des Anciens Bretons, p.46.
John Williams ab Ithel (1856)
From: Dosparth Edeyrn Davod Aur, p.28.
A MS. at Cambridge, under the title of Juvencus ; written in the 7th century according to E. Lhuyd. "Archæologia," p. 224.
Niguorcosam nemheunaur henoio mitelu nit gurmaur mi amfranc dam ancalaur.
In modern orthography,
Ni worchysaf, ni’m hunawr—heno,
Fy nheulu nid gorfawr,
Mi a’m Franc, daw, a’n callawr.
John Williams ab Ithel (1858)
From: Essays on Various Subjects, frontispiece & pp.371-373.
M. Villemarqué then proceeds to give an account of the three stanzas which Edward Llwyd found written in a page of a manuscript copy of the religious poem of Juvencus, and which Llwyd himself thus describes, Arch. Britt. p. 221 :—
"The British words which follow belong to the dialect of the Britons of the northern parts of the island, now the kingdom of Scotland. I found them on the leaf of an old Latin manuscript, copied on vellum by an Irish hand, about a thousand years ago ; and from the handwriting, and a few more words in the same dialect, I am convinced that the book was brought from the Alban, now Scotland, and can make a fair conjecture about the time when it was copied. I know not whether it is the dialect of the Britons of Strathclyde, or of the Gwithel Picti, for so the ancient Cumri named the northern race, who, by their daring courage and the strength of their country, saved themselves from the arms of Rome."
He then observes, that in Wales there were compositions (not very dissimilar in style) of the Northern Britons, of Lomarch the aged, and of Merdin the Caledonian.
"So it is likely that it is Albaneg, or the language of the Picti, the ancient inhabitants of the Alban, respecting which language the learned historians of Scotland say that there remains not a single written word ; and owing to this complete ignorance respecting their language, some have rather doubted whether they were of British descent or from the shores of the Baltic, or from the country of the 'High Elmen,' now called Germans. If the dialect in which these verses are written was spoken by the Picti, they were undoubtedly Britons. But, however that may be, as the words are but few, and constitute the oldest and strangest written British I ever saw, I thought it right (although as yet I do not understand them) to print them for the gratification of those who are learned in the ancient Cumraeg. And, as there are no Irish types either at Oxford or anywhere else, I print them in the ancient Cumric characters, which only slightly differ from the Irish."
M. Villemarqué visited Cambridge on purpose to examine the original document, and has given a facsimile of the manuscript, which slightly differs from Llwyd's edition, but is in one point certainly erroneous, as he has introduced the letter Z, equally unknown both to the Irish and British writers of ancient times. I have already given my own opinion in Gomer, Part II., and have to confess my mistake in trusting too much to the version and text of Edward Davies. In a second edition of Gomer, now preparing for the press, I shall again re-examine the question by the new light thrown upon it by the comments of M. Villemarqué, who found another fragment, written by the same hand and in the same dialect, in the same manuscript. This he pronounces very important, but has not yet made it public. He thus concludes his observations :—
"Before leaving Juvencus, I ought to indicate its provenance. The name 'Price,' written in large characters on the first leaf, informs us that it belonged to the family of a celebrated Welsh antiquary. We know that Sir John Price, one of King Henry the Eighth's council in the Court of the Marches, was one of the commissioners appointed by that prince to visit the monasteries at the time of their dissolution. He collected a great number of manuscripts concerning the antiquities of his own country, and made use of some of them in his Defence of the History of the Britons against Polydore Virgil, which was published after his death in 1553. Among his books this Juvencus was found. There is some reason to believe that he found it in some abbey on the borders of Scotland, where the Ancient Britons maintained their independence and language up to the tenth century."
David William Nash (1858)
From: Taliesin, Or, The Bards and Druids of Britain, pp.77-80.
The most ancient piece of British poetry extant is composed in this style of stanzas of triplets. Lhuyd was in doubt whether it was in the language of the Strathclyde Britons, or of the Pictish or old Caledonians ; and Archdeacon Williams pronounces it "an unique surviving specimen of the Pictish composition in the language mentioned by Beda, as a living speech in his day, and as the representative of the language of Galgacus and his Caledonians, partially, perhaps, affected by the intercourse established between the Picts and Scots during their long-continued struggles against imperial Rome."
The composition in question, which was discovered by Lhuyd inscribed in an old copy of Juvencus, might, in his opinion, have been written in the seventh century, and may fairly be supposed to be as old as the ninth, the verbal forms being similar to those of the glosses in the Bodleian MSS., which Zeuss refers to about the latter date. The Juvencus lines are the only independent composition preserved in which those forms appear, the MSS. of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, as seen in the Black Book of Caermarthen, differing only in unimportant particulars from those of the fourteenth.
In the original MS. the lines are written continuously without division, but are evidently metrical in form, and constitute three stanzas of three lines each. Archdeacon Williams has printed them in a modernized form, and gives the following translation :—
1.
I will not sleep even an hour's sleep to-night.
My family is not formidable,
I and my Frank servant and our kettle.
2.
No bard will sing, I will not smile or kiss to-night ;
Together — to the Christmas mead.
Myself and my Frank client and our kettle.
3.
Let no one partake of joy to-night,
Until my fellow-soldier arrives.
It is told to me that our lord the king will come.
This," says the Archdeacon, " is the trifling effusion of a young officer given to literary pursuits, who otherwise would not have carried his Juvencus with him. The writer of the stanzas seems to have been on a midnight watch, at a military outpost, whence he was not to move until a superior officer should arrive, whom he styles a fellow-soldier. His callaur, or padell, was his camp-kettle. The last line alludes to the rumoured arrival of their common prince. The Frank servant is evidently a Frank by birth serving with the Pictish army —the name often occurring among the Cymric poets of this age."
The idea of an officer of the Pictish army, in the seventh century, carrying about with him, a Frank servant, a copy of Juvencus, and a camp-kettle, appears a little far-fetched. We can see, however, that the words admit of a somewhat different division from that adopted by the Archdeacon, and that the lines contain what we should expect from them—the effusion of a bard desirous of obtaining a share of the feast in return for the display of his musical or poetic skill.
1.
Ni guorcosam nemheunaur henoid
Mi telun it gurmaur
Mi am franc dam an calaur.
2.
Ni can ili ni guardam ni cusam henoid
Cet iben med nouel
Mi am franc dam an patel.
3.
Na mereit nep leguenid henoid
Is discinn mi coweidid
Dou nam Riceur imguetid.
The substitution of "telun," "telyn," a harp, for "teulu," a family, or household, renders the first stanza intelligible, and gives the key to the meaning of the whole. Instead of reading the word "franc " as a proper name, a Frank, we give it the meaning ascribed to it by Dr. Owen, "a play, frolic, prank," or, as an adjective, "active, sprightly." The following translation, though not free from objections, presents a more reasonable rendering of the meaning of these antique lines, and more in accordance with the tenor and contents of those fragments of British minstrelsy with which we are, in other instances, familiar :—
1.
I shall not sleep a single hour to-night,
My harp is a very large one.
Give me for my play a taste of the kettle.
2.
I shall not sing a song nor laugh or kiss to-night,
Before drinking the Christmas mead.
Give me for my play a taste of the bowl.
3.
Let there be no sloth or sluggishness to-night,
I am very skilful in recitation.
God, King of Heaven, let my request be obtained.
We know so little of the Picts, or the dialect of the British language spoken by that people, that we cannot affirm or deny that these lines present a specimen of the Pictish dialect ; the close affinity with the Cambric glosses of the Bodleian MSS. which they present, is, perhaps, no reason for denying their Pictish origin.
Hersart la Villemarqué (1860)
From: Les Bardes Bretons, pp.447-453.
APPENDICE.
CHANT D'UN GUERRIER
DANS LA DÉTRESSE.
ARGUMENT.
La bibliothèque de l'université de Cambridge possède un volume en parchemin de couleur jaunâtre, du format infolio, ayant vingt-sept centimètres de long sur vingt de large ; il contient cinquante-deux feuillets et porte, avec le n° 1232, la marque F. F. IV. 42 ; il n'a point de titre, mais il est aisé d'y reconnaître une copie de la paraphrase des Evangiles, œuvre du poète latin Juvencus. L'écriture est saxonne, et paraît, aux juges les plus compétents, notamment à M. Henri Coxe, antérieure à l'an 700. Au haut des pages 48, 49 et 50, on trouve trois lignes en caractères irlandais, mais infiniment plus menus que ceux du texte latin, et qui semblent de la fin du VIIIe siècle ou du commencement du IXe à l'autorité grave que je viens de citer. La première de ces lignes est précédée des deux mots Hen vrythonæg, c'est-à-dire « [Ceci est] de l'Ancien breton. » Je crois reconnaître dans cette note l'écriture du savant antiquaire gallois Edward Lhuyd, auteur de la découverte du texte en question. Il l'a imprimé en 1707, dans son grand ouvrage, l'Archæologia britannica, page 221, sous le n° 5, intitulé Some welsh words omitted in Doctor's Davies dictionary. Mais, comme s'il avait voulu garder sa découverte pour ses compatriotes, non-seulement il ne traduit point le texte en anglais, mais encore il l'accompagne de considérations écrites en gallois. Quoi qu'il en soit, voici, pour ceux qui ignorent cette langue, une traduction des paroles du trop mystérieux antiquaire :
» A la vieille langue bretonne du nord de cette île, au pays où est aujourd'hui le royaume d'Ecosse, appartient le texte breton suivant. Je l'ai trouvé en tête d'une page d'un ancien livre latin sur vélin écrit il y a environ mille ans (c'est-à-dire au VIIe siècle), et dontl'écriture est irlandaise... C'est le morceau breton le plus vieux et le plus étrange que j'aie lu jusqu'ici. Quoiqu'il ne soit pas toujours intelligible, il m'a paru digne d'être publié pour donner un peu de joie aux hommes instruits dans notre ancien langage kimrique. »
Après l'avoir reproduit tel qu'il est dans le manuscrit, c'est-à-dire comme de la prose, l'antiquaire gallois ajoute : « Ainsi l'ai-je trouvé écrit, mais on y reconnait trois couplets d'un genre de poésie usité chez les Cambriens d'autrefois, et appelé Triban milur ou chant de guerrier. » Et divisant régulièrement les vers, il écrit le texte primitif d'après le système d'orthographe employé par les Gallois modernes, de manière à reproduire trois strophes, chacune de trois vers monorimes, dans le genre des tercets de Dante.
Un siècle après la mort de Lhuyd, en 1802, à propos des variations de l'ortographe cambrienne, le grammairien gallois Owen Pughes, s'appuyant sur l'autorité du manuscrit de Cambridge, réimprimait la première strophe telle que l'a citée Lhuyd, avec la forme moderne en regard ; [1] et, en 1832, la seconde strophe, qu'il rajeunissait et essayaít de traduire. [2]
Dernièrement enfin, Zeuss a cité le manuscrit de Cambridge; mais comme il ne l'a point eu entre les mains, et que l'ouvrage même de Lhuyd, devenu très-rare, paraît ne pas lui avoir passé sous les yeux, il se borne à reproduire, d'après Owen, trois vers seulement de la pièce bretonne en faisant remarquer que « ces trois vers appartiennent, et par l'orthographe et par les formes grammaticales, au premier âge de la langue cambrienne, primam linguæ cambricæ ætatem scriptione et formis grammaticalibus prodentes. [3] Leur importance ne pouvait lui échapper ; il est fâcheux qu'il n'ait pas connu les autres et qu'il ne les ait pas tous traduits. Pour en juger par mes propres yeux, je suis allé à Cambridge, et gracieusement secondé par le vice-chancelier de l'Université, M. Edwin Guest, par le docteur Powel, conservateur, et le révérend H. R. Luard, chargé du catalogue des bibliothèques de la ville, j'ai pu retrouver le précieux texte breton.
La copie qu'en a prise Lhuyd, et sur laquelle on a imprimé, est peu exacte, j'en ai acquis la preuve, et elle avait besoin d'être comparée avec l'original ; mais il ne s'est pas exagéré l'importance de la pièce. C'est bien le chant d'un chef de guerre breton : dans l'isolement et l'insomnie, ce guerrier barde pleure sa ruine et celle de sa famille.
[1] A weslh grammar, p. 9.
[2] A dictionary of the welsh language, 1.I, p. 346.
[3] Grammatica celtica, t. II, p. 946.
TRIBAN MILUR
IN GUETID.
Ni guorkosam, n’em heunaur, — henoid ;
Mi telu n’it gurmaur :
Mi a’m frank ; dam an kalaur !
Ni kanu, ni guardam, ni kusam, — henoid,
Ket iben med nouel ;
Mi a’m frank ; dam an patel !
Na mereit i’m nep leguenid, — henoid ;
Is diszur mi kouedid ;
Don n’am rikeur i’m guetid ! [1]
[1] Voici ce vieux texte breton avec l'orthographe galloise moderne que Lhuyd lui a imposée, et le sens qu'il lui prête. Ses prédécesseurs du moyen-âge ont ainsi rajeuni les poèmes des bardes en les copiant :
Ni wyrchyssaf nam'n ûn awr
Heno, fy nheulu nid gorfawr ;
Mi am Ffrank daf an callawr.
Ni chanaf, ni chwraf, ni chwsaf
Heno, cyhyd ei ben medd Nywell ;
Mi am franc daf an padell.
Na fyred un nêb lhawenydd,
Heno ys discin fy nghyhyddydd :
Dau nam ry ceir y nguadydd.
(Archæologia britannica, p. 221.)
CHANT D'UN GUERRIER
DANS LA DÉTRESSE. [1]
Je ne repose point, je ne m'endormirai point, cette nuit ; ma maison n'est plus considérable : [2] [plus personne ici que] moi et mon serviteur ; plus de chaudière ! [3]
Je ne chante point, je ne ris point, je ne fais point l'amour, cette nuit, en buvant l'hydromel vivifiant; [plus personne ici que] moi et mou serviteur ! plus de coupe !
Il ne me reste aucune joie, cette nuit ; il est découragé, mon compagnon ; personne ne m'assiste dans ma détresse !
[1] J'ai publié et traduit pour la première fois, en 1856, d'après le manuscrit original, dans mes Notices des principaux Manuscrits des anciens Bretons, le texte de ce petit poème, accompagné du fac-simile que je reproduis plus haut.
[2] Le savant M. Nash, plus heureux d'ordinaire, a été assez mal inspiré en corrigeant telu (maison), par telyn (harpe), et n'it (n'est), par it (est). « Cette substitution, dit-il, rend la première strophe intelligible, et donne la clé de toute la pièce. » (Taliésin, p. 79 et 80.) La vérité est que le sens est ainsi complètement changé, et qu'une première erreur a entraîné le trop ingénieux critique dans d'autres erreurs non moins regrettables.
[3] Un soldat français dirait moins poétiquement : la marmite est renversée !
NOTES ET ÉCLAIRCISSEMENTS.
Quelle est la date de ces vers? A ne tenir pour certaine que celle de l'écriture, dont le fac-simile prouve assez l'antiquité, ils seraient au moins de la fin du VIIIe siècle ou du commencement du IXe ; mais il est très-vraisemblable que leur rédaction remonte à une date fort antérieure à la copie. Doit-on toutefois se borner à dire, avec Zeuss, qu'ils appartiennent au premier âge de la langue bretonne, et n'avons-nous aucun moyen de connaître, soit l'époque où ils ont été faits, soit le nom de l'auteur? Il y en a un : c'est de les rapprocher des poèmes des bardes bretons du VIe siècle, qui pour nous être parvenus rajeunis avec des modifications d'orthographe regrettables, n'en sont pas moins authentiques. Or, parmi ces poèmes, nous en avons trouvé un où la situation de l'auteur, ses sentiments, son langage, son genre, son style, sa forme rhythmique, tout concorde avec ce que vient de nous offrir le chant de guerrier du Juvencus. Ruiné aussi lui, seul, sans toit, sans serviteurs, sans chaudière, sans sommeil, il passe les nuits à gémir au souvenir de sa prospérité passée :
« La salle de Kendelann n'est pas agréable, cette nuit, au sommet du rocher d'Hédouez ; sans maître, sans société , sans fête !
» La salle de Kendelann est sombre, cette nuit ; sans feu, sans chansons ; les larmes me creusent les deux joues.
» La salle de Kendelann est triste , cette nuit, après les honneurs que'j'y reçus ; sans les guerriers, sans les dames qu'elle recevait. » [1]
Et s'affaissant tout-à-fait sous le poids de la douleur :
« Je suis vieux, je suis seul, je suis difformé et glacé ; plus de lit d'honneur pour moi ! je suis misérable ; je suis plié en trois.
» Les jeunes filles ne m'aiment plus ! Personne ne me soulève [sur ma couche] ; je ne puis remuer : ah ! malheur ! ô mort, tu ne m'es pas favorable !
» Rien ne m'est favorable ! Plus de sommeil ! Plus de bonheur !.... » [2]
L'auteur de ces vers nous est connu ; on se le rappelle, c'est Liwarc'h, le centenaire, chef du Cumberland, si célèbre par ses malheurs comme prince et comme père de famille ; ils ont une date bien fixée ; ils remontent au temps de la mort du roi breton Kendelann, qui périt en l'an 577, comme on le sait positivement par la Chronique saxonne. La ressemblance frappante qu'offre avec eux le premier morceau ne permet-elle pas de conclure qu'il est du même barde, et par conséquent du même temps ? Si cela était, nous posséderions enfin, sous sa forme orthographique primitive, et sans aucune altération ni de style ni d'écriture, l'œuvre d'un des poètes les plus anciens et les plus fameux des Bretons.
Ar benn karec Hydwyth ;
Heb ner, heb nifer, heb ammwyth.
Ystafel Kyndylan ys tywyl, — heno,
Heb dan, heb gerddau ;
Dygystudd deurudd dagrau.
Ystafel Kyndylan ys oergrai, — heno,
Gwedy y parch am huai :
Heb wyr, heb wragedd ai kadwai.
Voyez plus haut, p. 79 et 80.
[1] Ystafel Kyndylan nis esmwyth, — heno,
[2] P. 134 et 136.
John Parry (1861)
From: Encyclopædia Cambrensis, p.445.
Y tri phennill o Juvencus yn y nawfed neu y ddegfed ganrif:—
Niguorcosam nemheunaur henoid mitelu nit gurmaur mi amfranc dam ancalaur.
Nican ili guardam ni cusam henoid cet iben med nouel mi amfranc dam anpatel.
Namereit nep leguenid henoid isdiscinu micoueidid dou nam Riceur imguetid.
William Forbes Skene (1862)
From: The Dean of Lismore's Book, pp.146-147.
The oldest known poem in this dialect which has been preserved in its original orthography is a short poem of three stanzas, written in the Irish character in a parchment ms. at Cambridge, containing a paraphrase of the Gospels by Iuvencus, a Latin poet. The writing of this ms. is anterior to the year 700.
The poem is as follows :—
I.
Ni guorcosam nemheunaur henoid,
Mi telu nit gurmaur.
Mi am franc dam an calaur.
II.
Ni canu ni guardam ni cusam henoid.
Cet iben med nouel
Mi am franc dam an patel.
III.
Na mereit im nepleguenit henoid
Is diszur mi coueidid
Donn am riceur im guetid.
It is the song of a warrior mourning his fate and his solitude, and may be thus translated :—
Neither repose nor sleep for me this night,
My house is no longer great.
For me and my servant no caldron more,
No songs, no smiles, no kisses this night,
As when I drank the fortifying mead.
For me and my servant no goblet more,
No longer joy for me this night.
My supporter is discouraged ;
No one aids me in my distress.
The Irish character, in which this poem is written, is of the eighth century, and Villemarqué has remarked upon its resemblance in sentiment and character to a poem of Llywarch Hen, a Cumbrian bard of the sixth or seventh century, whose poems are universally admitted to be genuine, the orthography of which is much more modern. The poem is in triplets, the first line also ending with "heno," and a single stanza or two will show the resemblance :—
Y stafel Kyndylan nis esmwyth-heno
Ar benn karec Hydwyth
Heb ner, Heb nifer, Heb ammwyth.
Istafel kyndylan ys tywyll—heno
Heb dan, Heb gerddau
Dygystudd deurudd dagrau.
The following are a few of the verses :—
The hall of Kyndylan is not joyous this night,
On the top of the rock of Hydwyth,
Without its lord, without company, without feasts.
The hall of Kyndylan is gloomy this night,
Without fire, without songs,
Tears afflict the checks.
The poem, attributed to Ossian in the Dean's MS., is of the same character :—
Long are the clouds this night above me ;
The last was a long night to me.
This day, although I find it long,
Yesterday was longer still.
. . . .
Long are the clouds this night above me.
No rising up to noble feats ;
No mirthful sport as we would wish,
No swimming heroes on our lakes.
Long are the clouds this night above me, etc.
Whitley Stokes (1863)
From: "Die Glossen und Verse in dem Codex des Juvencus zu Cambridge," pp.385, 389 & 415-416 — excerpts
Eine handschrift von des C. Vettius Aquilinus Juvencus hexametrischer paraphrase der evangelien in der universitätsbibliothek zu Cambridge, bezeichnet Ff. 4, 42, aus dem 8. oder 9. jahrh., hat einen zufälligen werth sowohl durch die britischen glossen, die sie enthält, als durch die verse auf pp. 48. 49. 50. Ferner fanden auf einem vorgehefteten blatte, welches offenbar ebenso alt ist als ein theil des originalmanuscripts, Lhuyd im vorigen jahrh. und neuerlich der vicomte Hersart de la Villemarqué neun zeilen, welche mit ausnahme der beiden ersten worte „omnipotens auctor‟ altwelsch zu sein scheinen. Es ist sehr zu bedauern, daſs dieser theil der handschrift so abgerieben ist, daſs er beinah unlesbar geworden. Indeſs ist es kaum zweifelhaft, daſs manches mit hülfe chemischer mittel noch wieder hergestellt werden kann. Ich gebe hier die wenigen worte, die ich mit leidlicher sicherheit zu lesen vermochte:
Z. 1: Omnipotens auctor tidicones adiamor : :
Z. 2: . . . . . . betid hicouid canlon . . . . . . haguid . . . . . .
Z. 3: Dicones pater harinied presen isabruid . . . . . . . . leder
Z. 4: dicones Ihū dielim lu p[er]betid ag . . rdou . . . . . .
Z. 5: gur di[co]nes remedau elbid anguorit anguorair (?) niguru gnim molim trint[aut].
Z. 6: it cluis biban (?) iciman guorsed ceinmicun . . . .
Z. 7: it cluis it humil in harec celmed . . . . ditrintaut gurd meint icouidid (?) imolaut.
Z. 8: rit ercis c[a]raut inadaut p[re]sen piouboi int groisauc inungueid guoled trintaut.
Z. 9: ún hanied napuil heper . . . nitguorgnim molim map meir.
[ . . . ]
Das ganze mauuscript besteht aus 52 blättern, c. 28 zeilen auf die seite.[1] Der text ist durchaus in derselben handschrift. Dieselbe ist äufserst kühn und frei und erinnert an den schaffhausener codex von Adamnán's leben Columba's, ein mauuscript aus dem ende des 8ten oder anfang des 9. jahrh.[2] Des Schreibers name war Nuadu (offenbar identisch mit dem irischen Nuada gen. Nuadat), wie aus dem Schlusse hervorgeht :
Expliciunt. quattuor euangelia.
a iuvenco presbyterodeo gratias ago
pene ad uerbum Translata
Araut dinuadu.
i.e. „Pray ye for Nuadu‟ — araut ist, wie altir. oráit, vom lat. oräte entlehnt. Das moderne arawd „beredsamkeit‟ ist vielleicht von orätio entlehnt. Di „to, for‟ Z. 626 (corn. dhe, bret. da, ir. du, do).
[1] Ein blatt scheint zu fehlen am ende des zweiten bunchs und eines im dritten buch, nach p. 72.
[2] Siehe das facsimile in der schönen ausgäbe von dr. Reeves. Dublin 1857.
[ . . . ]
Nachdem ich so die Juvencus-glossen vorangesetzt, mit der aufrichtigen hoffnung, daſs die mannigfachen schwierigkeiten, die ich nicht zu überwinden vermochte, durch einen gelehrten Welschen möchten gehoben werden, will ich jetzt meine auffassung der drei stanzen folgen lassen, die zuerst Lhuyd in seiner Archaeologia Britannica, neuerlich der Vicomte Hersart de la Villemarqué in seinen Notices des principaux manuscrits des anciens Bretons, Paris 1856 und in der neuen ausgabe seiner Bardes Bretons veröffentlicht hat. Diese verse finden sich am oberen rande der pp. 48, 49, 50 unseres codex : —
p. 48[1]: niguorcosam nemheunaur henoíd mitelu nitgurmaur mi am franc[2] dam ancalaur.
p. 49: nicanu niguardam nicusam henóíd cet iben med nouel mí am franc dam an patel.
p. 50: namereit níí nep leguenid henoíd isdisenirr micoueidid dou nam riceus unguetid.[3]
Die einzig zweifelhaften lesarten sind hier in der dritten zeile. Für níí ist möglicherweise " ḿí " zu lesen (jedoch ist in diesem gedicht in keinem andern wort ein accent auſser über einem vocal), und isdisenirr scheint zuerst isdiserr mit einem langen . Hier ist indeſs, wie oft in irischen mss., das n perpendiculär geschrieben, und das i dann darunter gesetzt. Und im Dubliner ms. bemerkt Lhuyd: mae'r skriven ynbyr debig[4] i honno yn y Ihyvrae gwydhelig, „the writing is quite like that in the Irish books.‟
Es ist klar, daſs jede dieser zeilen aus einer stanze besteht, von denen die eine zwei, die beiden andern drei gereimte zeilen enthalten. Wir erhalten also, wenn wir die wörter trennen: —
1. ni guorcosam nemheunaur — henoíd
mi telu nit gurmaur
mi am franc dam an calaur.
2. ni canu ni guardam ni cusam — henóíd
cet iben med nouel
mí am franc dam an patel.
3. na mereit níí nep leguenid — henoid
is disenirr mi coueidid
dou nam riceus un guetid.
[1] Hier steht in Lhuyd's handschrift „Hen Vrythonæg‟ „Old British‟.
[2] Ueber der linie stehend; die beiden letzten buchstaben jetzt unlesbar.
[3] So in Lhuyd's ms. in der bibliothek des Trinity College, Dublin (H. 5. 20, No. 11): in der Archaeologia Britannica p. 221 fälschlich riceur imguetid gedruckt.
[4] tebig = typicus von teb = typus.
William Forbes Skene (1868)
From: The Four Ancient Books of Wales, vol.ii, pp.1-2 & 311-314.
TWO POEMS
From a MS. of the hexametrical Paraphrase of the
Gospels, by C. Vettius Aquilinus Juvencus, pre-
served in the University Library of Cambridge.
Transcribed in the ninth century.
I.
Poem on Page First.
1. Omnipotens auctor
Ti dicones adiamor
P . . (cut off) . .
2. Nit arcup betid hicouid
Canlon cetticeidin gui– haguid
Uor — rdutou ti guirdoned
3. Dicones pater harimed
Presen isabruid icunmer
Nisacup m — arcup leder
4. Dicones Ihesu dielimlu
pbetid aguirdou pendibu
guotcapaur– anmer adu
5. Gur dicones remedau
Elbid anguorit anguoraut
Niguru gnim molim trinta [ut]
6. It cluis inban iciman
Guorsed ceinmicun ucmout ran
Ucatrintaut bean trident [an]
7. It cluis it humil inhared celmed
Rit pucsaun mi detrintaut
gurd meint iconidid imolaut
8. Rit ercis o — raut inadaut
Presen pioubui int groisauc
Inungueid guoled trintaut
9. Un hanied napuil heper
Uuc nem isnem nitcouer
Nit guorgnim molim map meir
II.
Poem on Pages 48, 49 and 50.
1. Niguorcosam nemheunaur
Henoid mitelu nit gurmaur
Mi amfranc dam ancalaur
2. Nicanu niguardam nicusam
Henoid cet iben med nouel
Mi amfranc dam anpatel
3. Namercit mi nep leguenid
Henoid is discyrr mi coueidid
Dou nam riceus unguetid
Note.—These two poems are written in the Saxon character. The first has been read with great difficulty, owing to its having been transcribed on the first page of the MS., and injured and partly effaced by rubbing. The second poem has been previously but inaccurately printed, and is now for the first time correctly given. There are only two words that are doubtful. Nicanu in the fourth line may be read Nicanil ; and if so, it is probably transposed, and should be placed at the end of the line, so as to correspond in rhyme with the words nouel and patel. The letter represented by y in discyrr is a peculiar letter, which may represent one of the Saxon forms for y, or the Irish contraction for ui, in which case the word will read discuirr.
TWO POEMS FROM THE CAMBRIDGE JUVENCUS.
The text of these two poems has been printed after having repeatedly examined the Cambridge Juvencus with very great care, and having also had the benefit of a very minute and careful examination of this interesting MS., made by a most competent judge—viz. Henry Bradshaw, Esq. of King's College, Cambridge. Our object was not only to obtain a perfectly correct text of these well-known stanzas, but also to decipher, if possible, another and longer poem written on the first page, in the same character and autograph.
The MS. of Juvencus came to the library in 1648, from Dr. Richard Houldsworth, master of Emanuel College, who died in that year, and bequeathed his library to the University. It was first catalogued and put on the shelves in 1663, with the rest of Dr. Houldsworth's books. On the first leaf there is, in the hand- writing of Richard Amadas, who was a clergyman in Essex, and died in 1637, the words "Paraphrasis in Evangelia," with the figures "1233," and at the end, in the same handwriting, "Juvencus Presbyter in 4 Evangelia, Anno 1233. On the first page is the name "Mr. Price," and in the same hand a reference to Juvencus from "James Usher, Bp. of Meathes book, fol. 349." Now Usher was only Bishop of Meath for a few years, from 1624 to 1627, and in a book published by him in 1624, called the Answer to a Jesuit, there is a citation of Juvencus at p. 349, so that the MS. must have belonged to Mr. Price about that time. There was a John Price, noticed in Williams's Biography of Eminent Welshmen, born in London, of Welsh parents, in 1600, who was elected from Westminster to Christ Church, Oxford, in 1617, afterwards turned papist and went to Paris. He seems to have made Usher's acquaintance in Ireland, and it is believed there are some of his letters in Usher's printed correspondence. From him Dr. Houldsworth probably got the MS., with other books, when the troubles began, while John Price, being a Welshman, probably procured it in Wales. [1]
It is a large quarto MS. of 52 leaves of parchment, and is unquestionably of the ninth century. The text is written in a bold and free character, and is in the same handwriting throughout. The colophon at the end, in the same handwriting, is—
"expliqunt quattuor Evangelia
a Juvenco presbytero
pene ad verbum translata
Araut dinuadu."
i.e., "a prayer for Nuadu." The lines of the text have glosses in Welsh, written over them in a smaller hand in the Saxon or Irish character. On the first page, in the same character, is a poem consisting of nine lines, each line forming a triplet, commencing with the words "Omnipotens auctor," and of which the Vicomte de la Villemarqué could only read the last three words, "Molim map Meir." At the top of pages 48, 49, and 50 are, in the same hand- writing and character, the celebrated stanzas beginning " Niguorcosam," and on the last page are, in the same handwriting and character, fifty lines of Latin hexameters, of which the words "dignissime Fethgna" can alone be distinguished. We have thus the text of the MS. connected with the name "Nuadu," and the two Welsh poems connected with the name "Fethgna," to which the epithet of dignissime is attached. Both of these names are Irish in their form, and it is somewhat remarkable that there was an important person in the ninth century in Ireland, whose name was Fethgna. This was Fethgna, who was Bishop of Armagh for twenty-two years, and died in 874. His death is thus recorded, under that year, in the Annals of Ulster :—"Fethgna Episcopus haeres Patricii, caput religionis totius Hiberniæ in Prid. Non. Octobris in pace quievit;" and it is also remarkable, that one of his predecessors in the bishopric of Armagh, in the same century, was Nuadu, whose death is thus recorded : " A.D. 811 Nuadha of Loch Uamha Bishop, anchorite and abbot of Ardmacha, died."
If Fethgna, Bishop of Armagh, is the "dignissime Fethgna" of the MS., then the two Welsh poems must have been transcribed during his occupation of the bishopric from 852 to 874 ; but how came a MS. containing Welsh glosses and Welsh poems[2] to be connected with Armagh and their bishops. The probable clue to this is the following. During the time of Fethgna, Armagh was almost totally destroyed by the Danes. In 850, "Armagh was devastated by the foreigners." In 867, "Ardmacha was plundered and burned, with its oratories, by Amhlach. Ten hundred was the number there cut off, both by wounding and suffocation, besides all the property and wealth which they found there was carried off by them." It was restored again by Fethgna. Now, in the Brut y Tywysogion of Caradoc of Llancarvan, there is the following passage : 883 a'r un flwyddyn y bu farw Cydifor abad Llanfeithin gwr doeth a dysgedig oedd efe a mawr ei dduwioldeb. Efe a ddanfones chwech o wyr doethion ei gor i ddodi addysc i Wyddelod y Werddon. "And the same year Cydivor Abbot of Llanveithin (or Llancarvan) died a wise and learned man and of great piety. He sent six learned men of his abbey to Ireland to instruct the Irish." Surely they were sent in consequence of the destruction of the seats of learning in Ireland by the Danes, and thus may some learned Welshmen have been brought in contact with the Bishops of Armagh. This would connect the MS. with Llancarvan, and it may have been got from thence on the suppression of the monasteries. I see no reason for connecting it especially with the North. The character is the Saxon or Irish, which was used all over England before the Gothic writing began. The language is of the pure Welsh type of the period, and is opposed to what we know aliunde of Pictish forms.[3] I have always been of opinion that the three well-known stanzas bear evident marks of having been the work of the same author who wrote the Marwnad Cynddyllan. It is written in the same metre, there are the same expressions, it is pervaded by the same sentiment, and in both is the expression of "Franc" used, and I am not aware of its occurrence in any other poem. It would almost seem as if these poems of the ninth century had been preserved for the purpose of refuting Mr. T. Wright. He objects to the metre of "Marwnad Cynddylan," as having been introduced by the Normans, and to the use of the word 'Franc,' as being post-Norman. Yet, here are both in a poem transcribed in the ninth century.
There are only two words in the text of this poem that are doubtful. Nicanu in the fourth line may be read Nicanil ; and if so, it is probably transposed, and should be placed at the end of the line, so as to correspond in rhyme with the words nouel and patel. The letter represented by y in discyrr is a peculiar letter, which may represent one of the Saxon forms for y, or the Irish contraction for ui, in which case the word will read discuirr. I read the third line as "Mi a'm Franc dam an calaur," I and my Franc around (dam, so in composition), our (an, old form for ein), kettle. I think the previous line "my household is not large," refers to there being only two persons. Then, in the last line, I consider the rendering of "Dou" by "God," as inadmissible. I am not aware of any stage in Welsh orthography where Duw could be written Dou. It is the old form of "Dau," two, and seems to refer to the same two persons.
The preceding line I am inclined to read "My song is a lament." "Disgyrr," a wail, a lament ; "Cowyddaid," a song. Cyweithydd would certainly never be written in old Welsh with d for th. My translation is as follows :—
I will not sleep, not one hour,
To-night ; my household is not very great,
I and my Franc around our kettle.
I sing not, nor laugh, nor sleep,
To-night ; though drinking the new mead,
I and my Franc around our pot.
No joyousness impresses me,
To-night ; my song is a lament.
Two do not talk to me [with] one speaker.
The first poem I do not attempt to translate.—(S.)
[1] I am indebted to Mr. Bradshaw for much of this information.
[2] The principal text of MS. must have been written by a Welshman, as the word "Araut" in the colophon is the Cymric and not the Gaelic form.
[3] The allusion is to the gu, for which Pictish seems to have substituted f.
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Transcription, edition & notes © Steve Sweeney-Turner 2007.
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