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THE

CAMBRO-BRITON.

MAY, 1821.

NULLI QUIDEM MIHI SATIS ERUDITI VIDENTUR, QUIBUS
CICERO de Legibus.

NOSTRA IGNOTA SUNT.

THE TRIADS.-No. XIX.

TRIADS OF THE ISLE OF BRITAIN *.

LXXXIII. THREE things that were the cause of the subduing of Lloegr [England] and wresting it from the Cymry: the harbouring of strangers; the liberating of prisoners; and the present of the bald man.

[Triad LXXIX of the first series agrees with the above, which, however, is not in the second series.-The first circumstance, mentioned here, must have been the invitation of the Saxons; but it does not appear, from any memorials now extant, what liberation of prisoners could have been of so momentous a result. The present of the bald man was, most probably, the encouragement given by the Pope, when St. Austin led the Saxons against the Welsh, and instigated the massacre of the monks of Bangor Iscoed, in Flintshire, of which a notice appears in the 17th Number of the CAMBRO-BRITON, p. 218.]

LXXXIV. The three men, who escaped from the battle of Camlan: Morvran ab Tegid, in consequence of being so ugly, that every body, thinking him to be a demon out of hell, fled from him; Sandde Bryd Angel [Angel-Aspect], in consequence of being so fine of form, so beautiful and fair, that no one raised a hand against him, as he was thought to be an angel from heaven; and Glewlwyd Gavaelvawr [Great-grasp], from his size and strength, so that none stood in his way, and every body fled before him that is, excepting those three men, none escaped from Camlan.

[Triad LXXXV of the first series agrees with this, but without the concluding assertion, of none escaping besides those three. It is not in the second series. Sandde, here mentioned, was a * Arch. of Wales, vol. ii. p. 70. Tr, 82-95.

VOL. II.

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son of Llywarch Hen, the celebrated warrior and poet, of whom a copious memoir may be seen in the first volume of this work. What is here recorded of these three warriors is also detailed in the Mabinogi, or Romantic Tale, of Culhwch, with the additional circumstances, that Morvran was covered with hair, like a stag, and that Glewlwyd was the porter of King Arthur.].

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LXXXV. The three chief Perpetual Choirs of the Isle of Britain the College of Illtyd the Knight, in Caer Worgorn; the Choir of Emrys, in Caer Caradawg; and the College of Gwydrin, in the Isle of Avallen: and in each of those three colleges there were 2400 saints; that is, there were a hundred, every hour of the day and the night, in rotation, perpetuating the praise and service of God, without resting, without intermission.

[Triad LXXX of the first series entitles the above the diligent perpetual Song; and, instead of Bangor Illtyd, in Caer Worgorn, it has Bangor only, which is obscure, as there were several Bangors*. Bangor Illtyd is in Glamorganshire, and is now called Llan Illtyd Vawr, which the Englishry there have corrupted into Lantwit Major. Cor Emrys was Ambresbury, and Bangor Wydrin was Glastonbury.]

LXXXVI. The three Tribe Herdsmen of the Isle of Britain: first, Benren the Herdsman, in Gorwennydd, who kept the herd of Caradawg ab Bran and his tribe, and in which herd there were 21,000 milch cows; second, Gwdion, the son of Don, who kept the cattle of the tribe of Gwynedd, above the Conwy, and in that herd were 21,000; third, Llawvrodedd the Knight, who tended the kine of Nudd the Generous, the son of Senyllt, and in that herd were 21,000 milch kine.

[It is no very easy matter to reconcile these memorials with the genuineness of historical narrative: it is, therefore, not improbable, that the circumstances, comprised in this Triad, had some connection with the romantic lore of the Cymry. Gorwennydd, in Glamorganshire, was a part of the ancient Siluria; and Caradog ab Bran was the celebrated Caractacus of the Roman writers, and a prince of Siluria.-Gwdion ab Don has generally been regarded as a mythological character: he is recorded in a subsequent Triad as one of the "three distinguished astronomers of Britain."-Llawvrodedd is considered to be identified with Llawgad Trwm Bargod Eiddyn, commemorated in a Triad, previously translated, as the murderer of Avaon, the son of Taliesin.]

*See No, 19 of the CAMBRO-BRITON, p. 322.-ED.

LXXXVII. The three Cruising Fleets of the Isle of Britain: the fleet of Llawr, the son of Eiriv; and the fleet of Divwg, the son of Alban; and the fleet of Dolor, the son of Mwrchath, king of Manaw.

[The names, as they occur in Triad LXXII of the first series, have been adopted here, thus changing Llawr mab Eidriv into Llawr mab Eiriv. Triad XII of the second scries has the names thus,-Llary vab Yryv, Digniv vab Alan, and Solor vab Urnach. Neither of those two series notices that Mwrchath was king of Manaw, or the Isle of Man. For the original words, Tair Llynges Cynniwair, "three hovering or roving fleets" would be more literal. It cannot be precisely ascertained to what period the events, here recorded, are to be ascribed.]

LXXXVIII. The three Principal Cities of the Isle of Britain: Caer Llion upon Wysg, in Cymru; Caer Llundain, in Lloegr; and Caer Evrawg, in Deivr and Brynaich.

[This Triad does not occur in the other two series.-These names, as at present called, are Caerleon upon Usk, in Wales; London, in England; and York, in Deira and Bernicia, as named by historians.-Caerllion, or the Fortress of the Floods, was so called from its situation; the etymology of Llundain, or London, is not so certain; Caer Evrawg, or the Fortress of Evrawg, took its name from its founder, Evrawg Gadarn, or Evrawg the Mighty, who, according to the British Chronicles, was the sixth king of Britain.]

LXXXIX. The three Mighty Achievements of the Isle of Britain the raising of the Stone of Ceti; the building of the Work of Emrys; and the heaping of the Pile of Cyvrangon.

[The first and second series have not this Triad. We are informed, that there is a vast stone, resting upon others, in that part of Glamorganshire, which forms the peninsula of Gwyr, or Gower, and which still bears the name of Maen Ceti, or the Stone of Ceti. As this monument cannot be far distant from Swansea, some reader of the CAMBRO-BBITON, residing there, will perhaps oblige the Editor with a description of it. The work of Emrys, or Ambrosius, is Stonehenge. That this structure is not older than the period here mentioned, may be inferred from the fact of the stones having been worked by tools; that, being contrary to the principles, upon which the ancient bardic or druidical circles were formed. An accurate observer will easily discover, that the present erection has been blended with a more ancient circle, of which some of the stones remain, on

the inner verge of the vallum.—Cludair Cyvrangon, translated the Pile of Cyvrangon, is, literally, the Heaped Mound of Congregations; and there is a circumstance, which goes a great way to prove that Silbury was thus designated; which is its taking its name from the primary circle of Abury, and the circle also having its name from the mound of Gorsedd Bryn Gwyddon, or the Presidency of the Hill of Cognitions; the two thus connected being the place where the Britons held their general assemblies. A future opportunity will be taken for offering some observations on these stupendous remains, which, for their rude magnificence, are not to be surpassed in this or any other country. In the mean time, the reader is referred to p. 468 of the first volume, for a brief account of their general characteristics.]

xc. The three Distinguished Astronomers of the Isle of Britain: Idris the Giant; Gwdion, the son of Don; and Gwyn ab Nudd; and by the extent of their knowledge concerning the stars, their natures and their qualities, they could prognosticate whatever was wished to be known unto the day of doom.

[This Triad is not in the first and second series. The title of Gwyn-seronyddion, or white astronomers, in the original, is ambiguous. If they were Druids, the epithet might have related to their dress, as the dress of that order was white; gwyn was also a term for intellectual state, or happiness. Idris Gawr is supposed to have flourished prior to the commencement of all historical documents now extant. Tradition assigns to him the highest mountain in Meirion for his study; and which, therefore, is named, after him, Cader Idris, or the Keep of Idris.-Though Gwdion ab Don and Gwyn ab Nudd are placed towards the close of the fifth century, and introduced into the Mabinogion, as cotemporary with the warriors of that period, they appear, nevertheless, to have been mythological characters. The galaxy is called Caer Guwdion, or the rampart of Gwdion. The Woden of the Saxons is said to have come originally from the banks of the river Don; and, as the Cymry make Gwdion the son of Don, they probably were one and the same personage. The name of Gwdion occurs also in the next Triad as a disciple of Math ab Mathonwy; and he is besides recorded as lord of Arvon, as in the following line of Taliesin:

"Pan aeth Caswallon Hir i dir mab Don." From a poem composed by Davydd ab Gwilym, in 1346, we learn that Gwyn ab Nudd was the king of the fairies.]

* M. de Gebelin, in his Monde Primitif, (tom. 3. p. 392,) observes, that Enoch was known in the East under the name of Idris, or the Wise.-ED.

XCI. The three Men of Illusion and Phantasy of the Isle of Britain: Math ab Mathonwy, who discovered his illusion to Gwdion, the son of Don; and Menw, the son of the Three Cries, who taught his illusion to Uthyr Bendragon; and Rhuddlwm the Giant, who learned his illusion from Eiddilig the Dwarf, and Coll, the son of Collvrewi.

[Triad XXXII of the first series and Triad xx of the second series are thus:-The three Primary Illusions of the Isle of Britain: the illusion of Math, the son of Mathonwy, which taught Gwdion, the son of Don; and the illusion of Uthr Bendragon, which taught Menw mab Teirgwaedd; and the third was the illusion of Rhuddlwm Gawr, which taught Coll, the son of Collvrewi. In the first series are two other Triads of these illusions, No. XXXI and xxxIII. No. XXXI is thus:-The three Men of Illusion and Phantasy of the Isle of Britain: Menyw, the son of the Three Cries; Eiddilig the Dwarf; and Math ab Mathonwy. No. XXXIII. The three Primary Ones of Phantasy of the Isle of Britain: Coll, the son of Collvrewi; Menyw, the son of the Three Cries; and Drych ail Cibddar.-Math is the hero of one of the Mabinogion, wherein he is called Prince of Gwynedd.-Menw was, probably, the same as the Indian Menu, who delivered the three revelations of the Vedas; and what adds to the probability is, that the terms Veda and Gwaedd appear to be of one origin; for a great number of words, in the Sanscrit, as well as in the Latin, and other languages, having for their initial, exist also in the Welsh with a g for their initial, a variation which may be accounted for by the system of initial mutations, still common to the Welsh language, as fully explained in page 401, &c. of the first volume of the CAMBRO-BRITON. It may be remarked generally of the characters recorded in this Triad, that their history is so involved in mythological obscurity as not to be now explained with any certainty. Their connection with the fabulous personages of other countries is, however, to be inferred from a similarity of names and other obvious affinities, which cannot be satisfactorily elucidated within the limited compass of these illustrations.]

XCII. The three Beneficent Artisans of the Isle of Britain: Corvinwr, the Bard of Ceri, of the Long White Lake, who first made a ship with sail and rudder for the nation of the Cymry; Morddal, the Man of the Torrent, the artisan of Ceraint ab Greidiawl, who first taught the work of stone and lime to the nation of the Cymry, in the time when the Emperor Alexander was bringing the world under him; and Coel ab Cyllin ab Caradawg

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