And from the depths of rivers, God brings wealth to the fortunate man. Elphin of lively qualities, Thy resolution is unmanly; Thou must not be over sorrowful: Better to trust in God than to forbode ill. Weak and small as I am, ocean, In the day of trouble, 1 shall be Of more service to thee than 300 salmon. Elphin of notable qualities, Be not displeased at thy misfortune; Although reclined thus weak in my bag, There lies a virtue in my tongue. While I continue thy pro tector Thou hast not much to fear: Remembering the names of the Trinity, None shall be able to harm thee. The foregoing, with various other verses were sung by Taliesin for the comfort of Elphin, during his journey, who, on arriving at home, presented the contents of the pannier to his wife, who nursed the child dearly and tenderly. From that time forward the wealth of Elphin increased more and more day after day, and he obtained the favour and love of the king; who, some short time afterwards, kept open court in Christmas time at the castle of Dyganwy, surrounded by his lords, both spiritual and Elfin gynneddvau diddan, Cyd bwyv eiddil a byçan Mi à wnav yn nydd cyvrdan It' well no thriçan maran. Elfin gynneddvau hynod, Mae rhinwedd ar vy nhavod, Y rhai hyn, gydag amryveilion englynion ereill á ganai Taliesin, er dyddan wç i Elfin, ar hyd ei fordd adrev; ac yn y mán y rhoddes Elfin ei gafaeliad i'w wraig briawd, yr hon á vagasai y mab yn gu ac yn anwyl. O hyny allan yr amlhäai golud Elfin beunydd, ac o gariad a cymeriad gan y brenin : yr hwn o vewn dogn o amser ar ol hyn á oedd yn cynnal llys agored o vewn castell Dyganwy, àr amser nadolig, ag ei holl amlder arglwyddi o bob un o'r ddwy radd, ysbryd temporal, with a great number of knights and esquires. * In this assembly the following conversation took place: "Is there in the whole world a king so powerful as Maelgwn, and so endowed by heaven with spiritual gifts? In the first place, comliness of person, and urbanity, and strength, besides all the energies of the soul; and along with these gifts, they say, the Father has bestowed upon him one eminent gift that is superior to the others altogether, which is, happiness in having a queen whose form and demeanour, and wisdom, and chastity, are qualities possessed by her in a higher degree than by all the noble ladies in the kingdom." Besides this subject, they threw out questions amongst themselves, as to who was the bravest of his men; who had the finest and swiftest horses and greyhounds; who had better informed and wiser bards than Maelgwn. These were at the time in great esteem amongst the dignitaries of the kingdom; and at that time none were advanced to the office at present called a herald, except such as were learned men; and not only were they employed in the service of kings and princes, but were required to be well versed in genealogies, armorial bearings, and the deeds of kings and princes, as well in respect to foreign kingdoms as to the awl, a bydawl, gyda mawr luosogrwydd niver o varçogion ac ysweiniaid. Yn mhlith y gynnulleidva hon y cyvodes ymddyddan a dywedyd vàl hyn: "A oes yn yr holl vyd vrenin cyvoethoced â Maelgwn, ac á roddid 0 nev gymaint o voddion. ysbrydawl iddo? Yn gyntav, pryd a gwedd ac addwynder a nerth, heblaw cwbl o alluau yr enaid, a cyda y rhoddion hyn yma a ddywedant vod y Tad wedi ei roddi iddo un rodd ragorawl, yr hon hagen à vlaena ár y rhoddion ereill i gyd, sev o vod pryd a gwedd ac ymddygiad a doethineb a diweirdeb yn rhinweddau yr ydoedd ei vrenines yn rhagori år holl arlwyddesau a merçed boneddigion yr holl deyrnas." Heblaw hyn y bwriesynt wy ovynion yn mysg eu hunain, pwy ddewraç ei wyr? pwy decaç a buanaç ei veirç ac ei vilgwn? pwy gyvarwyddaç a doethaç ei veirdd no Maelgwn? Y rhai yn yr amser hyn à oeddynt mewn cymeriad mawr yn mhlith arddercogion y deyrnas: ac yn yr amser yma ni wnaid neb o'r swydd à elwir heddyw yn arwyddiaid oni byddynt wyr dysgedig; ac nid yn unig mewn gwasanaeth breninoedd a thywysogion, namyu bod yn vyvyr ac yn hyvedr ár açau ac arvau a gweithredoedd teyrnolion, yn gysdadl o deyrnasoedd dyeithr ag o henaviaid y deyrnas hon; yn enwedig o hanes y This was Maelgwn, who reigned over Gwynedd, or Venedotia, from A.D. 517 to A.D. 654. elders of these kingdoms; and particularly as to the history of the principal nobility. It was necessary also, for all of them to be most ready with their answers in the several languages of Latin, French, Welsh, and English; and, in addition to this, to be great historians, and to be of good memory, and accomplished in poetry, so as readily to compose metrical verses in each of those languages. And of these there were at the court of Maelgwn, during that festival, as many as four and twenty; and chief over them was one who was called Heinin the Bard. Thus, after all had extolled the king, and enumerated his virtues, it happened that Elphin should express himself in this manner: "Truly, no one is able to compete with a king but a king; however, let that be granted, and indeed if he were not a king, I might say that I have a wife equal in respect to personal chastity to any lady that can be found in the kingdom. And besides, I have one bard who is better informed than all the bards of the king. In a little time the king was informed of all the boasting of Elphin by some of his companions, for which the king commanded him to be confined in a strong prison, until he should be enabled to obtain true information in respect to the chastity of his wife, and also in respect to the talents of his bard." Then, after Elphin had been placed in a tower of the castle, "Yn wir, nid oes neb à alla ymgysdadlu â brenin onid brenin; eithr yn ddiau, pe na byddai eve vrenin, myvi á ddywedwn vod imi wraig yn gysdal o ddiweirdeb ei çorf ag un arlwyddes à gefir o vewn y deyrnas; a hevyd, y mae i mi un bardd à sy gyvarwyddaç no holl veirdd y brenin. Yn mhen yçydig amser y dangosed i'r brenin gwbl o vocsaç Elfin iddo. Yna y gorcymynai y brenin ei ddodi ev mewn carçar cadarn, hyd onis darvyddai iddo gael gwir wybodaeth o ddiweirdeb ei wraig ev, a gwbodaeth hevyd am ei vardd ev." Yna, gwedi dodi Elfin mewn twr o'r castell, a gevyn trym اله with heavy fetters on his legs, which fetters were said to be of silver, on account of his being of royal blood, the account shows that the king employed Rhun, his son, to prove the chastity of the wife of Elphin, which Rhun was one of the most lascivious characters that ever lived; for neither wife nor maiden escaped free from imputation, with whom he obtained but a short space for discourse. And as Rhun was coming in great haste towards the mansion of Elphin, with full intention to debauch his wife, Taliesin told his mistress what he had long observed, from the conduct of the king in confining his master, and the way that Rhun had come with the design of assailing her chastity; and therefore he advised his mistress to dress one of the maids of the kitchen in her clothes. This the lady gladly complied with unsparingly, by ornamenting her hands. with a profusion of the choicest rings in the possession of herself and her husband. In this manner Taliesin directed his mistress to place the maid to sit at the table in her stead to supper, and Taliesin contrived to make her appear like her mistress, and the mistress to be like the maid. Thus as they were seated in the most sumptuous style at supper, as has been described, Rhun suddenly appeared at the hall of Elphin, and was joyfully ushered in, for all the attendants knew him well; and they ion àr ei draed; a dywedir mai gevyn arian oeddynt, am ei vod o waed breninawl; yr hwn, megys ag y mae yr hanes yn dangosi y danvonws y brenin Run ei vab i brovi diweirdeb gwraig Elfin: ac un o'r gwyr anllatav yn y byd ydoedd Rhun; canys nid ai na gwraig na morwyn hagen yn ddiogan, o cafai eve enyd i ymddyddan à hi. Ac vàl yr oedd Rhun yn dawed ar vrys tuag at lys Elfin, o lawn vryd o amcanu halogi ei wraig ev, y dywedai Taliesin wrth ei arlwyddes, trwy hir broves, y modd yr ydoedd y brenin wedi dodi ei arlwydd mewn carçar, ac y modd yr ydoedd Rhun yn cyrçu yno er llygru ei diweirdeb hi; ac am hyny, eve a arçai y gwnelai ei arlwyddes wisgaw un o verçed y gegin yn ei harçenad hi; a hyn a wnai y wraig voneddig yn llawen ac yn ddiamdlawd, trwy drevnu ei dwylaw yn llawn o'r modrwyau goreu à oedd àr ei helw hi ac ei gwr. Ac yn y modd hyn y perai Taliesin y gosodai ei arlwyddes y vorwyn i eistedd ar y bwrdd yn ei hystavell àr ei çwynos, yr hon y peris Taliesin ei gwneyd yn gyfelyb i'w arlwyddes, ac yr arlwyddes yn gyfelyb i'r vor wyn. Ac vàl yr oeddynt wy brydverthav yn eistedd ar eu cwynos, yn y modd y dywedid, disymmythai Rhun i lys Elfin, y neb à dderbynid i mewn yn llawen; canys pawb o'r gwasanaethwyr ei adwaenyat quickly introduced him into the room to their mistress, in whose resemblance the maid got up from the supper, and politely welcomed him; and afterwards she again sat to supper, Rhun being seated along with her; and presently he began to joke with obscene expressions with the maid, who studied to preserve the semblance of her mistress: and indeed, the narrative shows that the maid became so inebriated as to begin to fall asleep; and it is also stated that Rhun infused some powders in her drink, which caused her to sleep so soundly, as not at all to feel his cutting her little finger off her hand, on which was a ring with the signet of Elphin, which he had sent as a token of his wife a little while before. In this manner he did whatever he thought proper to the girl; and then he took the finger with the ring round it, as a token for the king of his having succeeded, by showing the manner how he had cut off her finger on leaving her, without her being awaked out of her sleep. From these reports the king was greatly delighted; and in consequence he sent for his council, to whom he explained the whole of the matter, from beginning to end: also commanding Elphin to be brought from the prison, that he might be reprimanded for his boasting; and thereupon he addressed Elphin in this manner : "Elphin, be it known to thee, and doubt thou not, that yn hysbys; ac ár vrys wy ei dygynt ev i'r ystavell at eu harlwyddes, yn rhith yr hony cyvodes y vorwyn i vyny, ac ei croesawai ev yn llawen; ac yn ol hyn hi á eisteddes wrth ei çwynos eilwaith, a Rhun gyda hi; yr hwn a ddecreuai ymgellwair drwy eiriau godinebus â'r vorwyn, yr hon oedd yn cadw ei hymddygiad ar ddull ei harlwyddes; ac yn wir, dangosa yr hanes syrthiaw o'r vorwyn yn vrwysg gymaint ag iddi ddecreu cysgu; canys dangosa yr dangosa yr hanes yn mhellaç mai rhyw bylor á roddasai Rhun yn ei diawd à barai iddi hi gysgu gán drymed ag na theimlai hi ev yn tòri ei bys bac oddiwrth ei llaw, am yr hwn yr oedd modrwy insel Elfin, yr hon á anvonasai ev yn arwydd at ei wraig yçydig yn y blaen. Ac yn y modd hwn y gwnai Rhun à weles ev ei vod yn dda ag y verç; a gwedi eve à ddygai y bys ag y vodrwy amdano yn goelvain at y brenin, ac y dangoses ddarvod iddo ev lygru ei diweirdeb hi, trwy ddangosi y modd torasai ev ei bys, wrth ymadael, heb ei defroi hi o'i çwsg. y Y cwedlau hyn oeddynt açaws o lawenydd mawr gan y brenin o herwydd hyny yr anvones ev am ei gynghor, ac iddynt wy y dangoses ev y cyvan o ben-bwy-gilydd yr hanes, trwy beri cyrçu Elfin o'r carçar, ac ei geryddu ev am ei vost; ac ar hyny meddai ev wrth Elfin yny dull yma: Elfin, bydded hysbys iti, ac na ammheua, nadyw ond |