Texts

Englynion y beddau ‘Stanzas of the graves’

  • Middle Welsh
  • verse
  • Medieval Welsh poetry
Scope
entire text • single version
Manuscripts

include:

Aberystwyth, National Library of Wales, Llanstephan MS 145
f. 68r
Aberystwyth, National Library of Wales, MS 2040A
pp. 138–151
Versions of individual stanzas in the Cycles of Llywarch Hen and Heledd
(Unidentified)
Copy of the 16th century written by William Salesbury of Llanrwst. The manuscript is now lost but the text had been copied into a number of later manuscripts.
Aberystwyth, National Library of Wales, MS 21001B ii
ff. 195v–197r
Language
  • Middle Welsh
Form
verse (primary)

Classification

Medieval Welsh poetryMedieval Welsh poetry
...

Sources

Primary sources Text editions and/or modern translations – in whole or in part – along with publications containing additions and corrections, if known. Diplomatic editions, facsimiles and digital image reproductions of the manuscripts are not always listed here but may be found in entries for the relevant manuscripts. For historical purposes, early editions, transcriptions and translations are not excluded, even if their reliability does not meet modern standards.

[ed.] [tr.] Sims-Williams, Patrick, The medieval Welsh Englynion y beddau: the ‘Stanzas of the graves’, or ‘Graves of the warriors of the Island of Britain’, attributed to Taliesin, Studies in Celtic History, 46, Woodbridge: Boydell & Brewer, 2023.  
abstract:
The "Stanzas of the Graves" or "Graves of the Warriors of the Island of Britain", attributed to the legendary poet Taliesin, describe ancient heroes' burial places. Like the "Triads of the Island of Britain", they are an indispensable key to the narrative literature of medieval Wales. The heroes come from the whole of Britain, including Mercia and present-day Scotland, as well as many from Wales and a few from Ireland. Many characters known from the Mabinogion appear, often with additional information, as do some from romance and early Welsh saga, such as Arthur, Bedwyr, Gawain, Owain son of Urien, Merlin, and Vortigern. The seventh-century grave of Penda of Mercia, beneath the river Winwæd in Yorkshire, is the latest grave to be included. The poems testify to the interest aroused by megaliths, tumuli, and other apparently man-made monuments, some of which can be identified with known prehistoric remains.This volume offers a full edition and translation of the poems, mapped with reference to all the manuscripts, starting with the Black Book of Carmarthen, the oldest extant book of Welsh poetry. There is also a detailed commentary on their linguistic, literary, historical, and archaeological aspects.
[ed.] [tr.] Jones, Thomas [ed.], “The Black Book of Carmarthen ‘Stanzas of the graves’”, Proceedings of the British Academy 53 (1967): 97–137.
[dipl. ed.] Jarman, A. O. H. [ed.], Llyfr Du Caerfyrddin, Cardiff: National University of Wales, 1982.
[id. 18.]
Contributors
Dennis Groenewegen
Page created
August 2013, last updated: January 2024