only prove that the bards of the middle ages had these notions, but it is highly probable, that what they believed on this point, of vocal song, and the usage of the primitive bards of the Isle of Britain; and was sanctioned in the congress of vocal song, held at Bewpyr Castle, in Morganwg, on the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of Whitsuntide, in the year 1681, under the protection of Sir Richard Basset, Knight, Lord of the place, and under the proclamation and notice of a year and a day, through Morganwg, Gwent, and Euas. "The chiefs of song there, were Charles Bwttwn, Esq. Davyz ir Nant, (1680, presd.) Edward Davyz, of Margam, (1620, disc. 1660 presd.): associated with them were the following poets and bards, according to the privilege and custom of the Isle of Britain, being teachers of critical judgment: Beginning of Edward Davydd's Preface. "As I have from my youth taken a delight in the study of bardism, and to search the books of the bards and the best teachers, and more especially the books of the oldest bards of Wales; and also considering the injunctions given to the bards in the congress of Caerdyv, (1620,) which was held in the castle there, through the protection, license, and command of the Lord William Herbert, that they should search out, and establish anew the old order and regulation of the art of song and its relations, and as to the privileges and customs of the bards of the Isle of Britain, I fully gave up myself to the enterprise of trying whether I could contribute any kind of benefit to the design." Extracts from the Preface of Llywelyn Sion, o Langewydd. "The authors, teachers, and judges who sanctioned this system and code, were the Druids and bards, after they had come to the faith in Christ; and they composed on the nine canons, that is, the nine primary principles of vocal song, and on the recurrent pause, the hupyrt and warrior triplet, which were with them metres of authority. Afterwards came Ancurin, Taliesin, Merddin, and others, who were primary bards of the Isle of Britain, who gave unanimous judgment with respect to song, and formed additional metres from the nine primary canons, namely, the two Toddaids, Englyn, Proest, Triban Cyrç, Llostawdyl, Clogyrnaç, and Cyngog; and afterwards were devised all the other metres, until they formed twenty-four in number, cach of which originated from a particular and different character, irrelevant to the principles of each other; and more than that number, of such a nature, there cannot be of metrical principles. "In the congress of Caermarthen, (1450,) heterogeneous principles were introduced into the system, by the pertinacity of Dawydd ab Edmwnd. This induced Gwilym Tew, (1460, presd.) Icuan ab Hywel Swrdwal, (1430, disc.) and J. Getthin, ab J. ab Lleision, (1430, pres.) to oppose such an innovation, and they proclaimed a congress under the notice of a year and a day, to be held on the mountain of Garth Maelog, and in addition to that, they obtained the authority of the country, and Lord Richard Nevill, as the lord paramount of Morganwg; and in that congress the bards of Morganwg, Gwent, and Euas, entered their protest, and repelled the regulation of Caermarthen, as repugnant to the privileges and customs of the bards of the Isle of Britain. From that time forwards, the three provinces before mentioned, maintained by one consent, their primitive regulation of science, and after they derived from their ancestors, and as we know that the Druids believed in transmigration, we may consider them as the source of the opinions. They mention three regions of existence, which it is very curious to observe, they denominate cylchau, or circles. In the cylch y Ceugant, or the circle of the all-enclosing circle, there was nothing either alive or dead but God (Duw), and he only could pervade it. The circle of Gwynvyd, or felicity, is that which men are to pervade after they have passed through their terrestrial changes. But the circle of Abred, or evil, is that in which human nature passes through those varying stages of its existence, which it must undergo, before it is qualified to inhabit the circle of felicity. All animated beings have three states of existence to pass through. The state of Abred, or evil in Annwn, or the great deep; the state of freedom, in the human form, and the state of love, which is happiness, in the nev, or heavens. All beings but God, must therefore undergo three angen, or necessities: they must have a beginning in Annwn, or the great deep: a progression in Abred, or in the state of evil, and a completion in the circle of felicity in heaven. In the evil state of Abred there are three angen, or necessities. There must be existence in its least possible degree, which is its commencement. There must be the matter of every thing, from which proceeds increase, or progression of existence, which wards was obtained the authority for an exclusive congress for these three districts, through the grant of King Henry the Seventh. In the congresses that were held by virtue of this authority, it was given in judgment, and established as a rule, that the old system, with its regulation and principles of science should be maintained; and from that time to this, there had been continued in Morganwg a complete opposition to the regulation of Caermarthen; with an injunction upon the members to search out the ancient practice and regulation of science. But there were not then nearly so many metres in use, because they were not had in common practice; afterwards, however, many were found out, as may be seen in the books of Gwilym Tew, and William Edwad, who were bards of the chair of Morganwg. Since then Lewys Morganwg, (1500, discd. & presc. 1520,) has written amply and more explicitly respecting the metres and the nature of their composition in his book of bardism. Subsequent to this, the bards of the three districts were sum. moned together in the castle of Caerdyv, under the protection and license of the Lord William Herbert, where a congress was held, (1529,) wherein judgment was given, with order and regulation of the science of song. "Some time afterwards, Meiryg Davydd, (1520, discd. 1560, presd. died, 1600,) compiled a book of bardism to his lord, Sir Edward Lewys, of the Van, in which there is seen a faithful view of the art of song, as to its nature and design. This book, I Llywelyn Sion o Langewydd, obtained; and from it I extracted nearly all that is in this book, except the verses by way of exemplifications, which I collected from here and there, out of books, and from different bards, and composed some myself, as well as I could; and in this book of my compiling is seen the system of Morganwg as to vocal song, and its various relations." a We cannot avoid recollecting here, that the great Druidical temples of Stonehenge and Avebury, the smaller remains in Cornwall, that formerly in Jersey, now removed to Lord Conway's park, and others, exhibit circles of stones, as the essential form of their structure. cannot be in the other states; and there must be the forms of all things, whence discriminating individuality. The three necessary causes of the state of Abred, are to collect the matter of every nature, to collect the knowledge of every thing, and to collect power to destroy Gwrth, (the opposing,) and Cythraul, and to divest ourselves of evil. Unless every state of being be thus passed through, there can be no perfection. The three chief infelicities attached to the state of Abred are, that we incur necessity, oblivion and death; and these things are the divine instruments for subduing evil (drwg), and Cythraul. The deaths which follow our changes are so many escapes from their power. Humanity must necessarily suffer, change, and choose, and as it has the liberty of choosing, its sufferings and changes cannot be foreseen. In passing through the changes of being, attached to the state of Abred, it is possible for man, by misconduct, to fall retrograde into the lowest state from which he had emerged. There are three things which will inevitably plunge him back into the changes of Abred. Pride; for this he will fall to Annwn, which is the lowest point at which existence begins. Falsehood, which will re-plunge him to Obryn, and Cruelty, which will consign him to Cydvil: from these he must proceed again in due course, through changes of being, up to humanity. From this exposition, we see that the Bardic transmigration was from Annwn, through the changes of Abred to the felicity of heaven. These changes never ended till man had fitted himself for heaven. If his conduct in any one state, instead of improving his being, had made it worse, he fell back into a worse condition, to commence again his purifying revolutions. Humanity was the limit of the degraded transmigrations. All the changes above humanity were felicitating. To acquire knowledge, benevolence, and power, is the object of the human state; and these, as they require liberty and choice, cannot be attained in any state previous to humanity. Knowledge, benevolence, and power, are the arms by which Drwg and Cythraul are to be subdued. Humanity is the scene of the contest. I will now only add, that to have traversed every state of animated existence, to remember every state and its incidents, and to be able to traverse every state that can be desired for the sake Cythraul is the British name for the devil. It means the destroying principle. It may have been derived from the ancient mythology of the nation: I have therefore preserved the name in the text. Obryn literally means "something nearly equivalent." It therefore implies a degraded transmigration adequate to the fault committed. This literally means "a corresponding animal," or a transmigration into some ferocious animal. of experience and judgment, is that consummation which can only be attained in the circle of felicity. In this circle man will be still undergoing rotations of existence, but happy ones, because God only can endure the eternities of the circle of infinity without changing. Man's happy changes in the circle of felicity, will exhibit perpetual acquisition of knowledge, beautiful variety, and occasional repose." He may visit again the scenes of humanity for his pleasure, but cannot incur any moral depravity. Such is the bardic doctrine of transmigration, as it appears in the Book of Bardism. How far it transmits the tenets of the druids on this subject, or what modifications Christianity introduced, cannot now be ascertained. By recollecting this doctrine of transmigrations we may understand many passages of Taliesin. His Hanes Taliesin is a recital of his pretended transmigrations; and when we read in his other poems, that he has been in various animal shapes, as a serpent, a wild sow, a buck, or a crane, and such like, we must call to mind, that those scenes of existence in Abred, which were between Annwn and humanity, were the changes of being in the bodies of different animals. One great privilege of the being who was far advanced in his progression to the circle of felicity was, to remember all the states through which he had passed. Taliesin seems to have been eager to establish his claims to such a successful probation. He is perpetually telling us what he has been. Oblivion was one of the curses of Abred; the recovery of memory was a proof that Drwg and Cythraul began to be overcome. Taliesin therefore as profusely boasts of his recovered reminiscence, as any modern sectary can do of his state of grace and election. There is so much of Taliesin's poetry which no one can understand, that I cannot but place him, in point of intrinsic merit, below the other bards, although, in the estimation of his countrymen, he seems to have been ranked in a superior class. His Cad Goddeu, the Battle of the Trees, is eminently incomprehensible, and so are others. That I may not be thought to condemn him unjustly, I will beg leave to present the reader with his poem, called Preiddeu Annwn, the Spoils of Annwn. If its allusions are at all historical, they are too much involved in mythology to be comprehended. In his Mead Song, there is a "Copious extracts from the Book of Bardism, which contains these tenets, may be found at the end of the second volume of Mr. Edward Williams's poems, with translations. I cannot speak of this gentleman without mentioning his talents with high respect; nor without recommending him earnestly to the attention of his wealthy countrymen. His age enforces the claims of his genius. Wyf sarph, p. 27—bum bwch—bum banhwch—bum garan, p. 44. connected train of thought. In the following poem, all connection of thought seems to have been studiously avoided." PREIDDEU ANNWN. Praise to the Lord, supreme ruler of the high region,* Who hath extended his dominion to the shores of the world. Through the anger of Pwyll and Pryderi, It is, however, fair to remark, that if the Mabinogion and all the Welsh remains were to be accurately studied, it is probable, that enough might be gathered from them to elucidate some of the allusions of Taliesin to the opinions, tales, and traditions of his day. This would make intelligible many passages now obscure. * Golych wledig pendefig gwad ri Pe ledas y pennaeth tros draeth mundi Yr gadwyn dromlas cywirwas ai cedwi A rhag drws porth Uffern llugyrn lloscid A phan aetham ni gan Arthur trafferth ilethrid Ny wddant hwy yr ych brych bras ei benrhwy A phan aetham ni gan Arthur afrddwl gofwy Ni obrynaf lwyr llaes ei gevyn Ni wddant py ddydd peridydd pen Py awr ym meinddydd y ganed perchen Py fil a gatwant ariant y pen Pan aetham ni gan Arthur afrddwl gynhen |