concerning a warrior who goes mad during the Battle of Arfderydd fought c. 573 between Rhydderch Hael and Gwenddolau, two rival kings of British tribes in the 'Old North' and who, on the defeat of his master Gwenddolau, flees to the Caledonian Forest where he lives as a wild man and acquires the art of prophecy. Later, this story was relocated in Wales. However, it was Geoffrey of Monmouth in his History of the Kings of Britain (1136) who first gave this prophet of Welsh tradition the name of Myrddin and connected him with the town of Carmarthen (Caerfyrddin). (NLW)
The manuscript also contains a poem that is a dialogue between Myrddin (as Geoffrey of Monmouth imagined him) and Taliesin, a bard who was also said to be prophetic, and who is conflated with Myrddin in some sources. Indeed, their stories bear many similarities; but those about Taliesin are based on a historical figure (more about him in the upcoming installment about the Book of Taliesin). Peter Williams, on Go Britannia! Wales, notes that the legends of Myrddin, like those of Taliesin, "were used to give authority to many poems that prophesied victory for the native Britons over the Saxon invaders."
Now that your interest is piqued, I'll leave you with some resources-online and print-for reading more about the Black Book of Carmarthen. Come back next month for the second installment of Early Welsh Manuscripts!
Sources:
The Four Ancient Books of Wales by William F. Skene. (The Internet Sacred Text Archive)
Read the text of his 1868 book here, as well as translations of many of the poems in the four books.
An Introduction to Welsh Literature by Peter Williams. (Go Britannia! Wales)
A fascinating and detailed look at Welsh literature from the early heroic poets to the 20th century.
The Black Book of Carmarthen. (National Library of Wales Digital Mirror)
Don't miss this site! A scholarly introduction to the Black Book, plus the entire manuscript in digitized form.
The Black Book of Carmarthen. (Tŷ'r Beirdd - House of Bards)
Another, possibly more recent translation compiled by Mary Jones of Paley Library, Temple University. Includes text of the poems in original Welsh. She also has online translations of the other three Ancient Books of Wales and a fount of other interesting Celtic information.
Davies, John. A History of Wales. London: Penguin Books, 1990.
The definitive book on Welsh history, available either in Welsh or in English. Check out the early sections about life in Wales at the time of the court poets.
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