The Book of Taliesin: Poems of Warfare and Praise in an Enchanted Britain

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Interestingly, and not surprisingly given the Caerfyrddin bias of the manuscript’s creator, this poem ends with Myrddin having the last word: Can ys mi myrtin guydi taliessin / Bithaud kyffredin vy darogan, ‘ Since I, Myrddin, [come?] after Taliesin / my prophecy will be common’. Richard Dyer (1999-03-28). "Making 'Star Wars' sing again" (PDF). The Boston Globe. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-01-05 . Retrieved 2009-12-06. a b c Deep Purple (2000). The Book of Taliesyn Remastered (CD Sleeve). London, UK: EMI 7243 52160822. the main introduction and commentary was (wisely) placed at the end, and comprised about forty percent of the book I accessed. One of the greatest poems in the book, “The Battle of the Trees”, sees Taliesin as a warrior poet, and as an eternal omnipresent all-knowing being who creates all of reality. And as its title suggests, it features a battle between trees and shrubs, as well as a bounty of other elements which might or might not be metaphors for other things. It has references to myth and magic and transformation and impossible knowledge, and like a few other poems, hints at the esoterica of medieval cosmology. No one has figured out precisely what the poem means, but it doesn’t matter. It might be better that way. Like many of these poems, it is shrouded in a sense of mystery and irrecoverable truth. It’s incredible, a whimsical, mysterious, puzzling, beautiful, surreal hellscape of imagination at the height of its powers.

The introduction to Gwyneth Lewis and Rowan Williams's translation of The Book of Taliesin suggests that later Welsh writers came to see Taliesin as a sort of shamanic figure. The poetry ascribed to him in this collection shows how he can not only channel other entities himself (such as the Awen) in these poems, but that the authors of these poems can in turn channel Taliesin as they both create and perform the poems that they ascribe to Taliesin's persona. This creates a collectivist, rather than individualistic, sense of identity; no human is simply one human, humans are part of nature (rather than opposed to it), and all things in the cosmos can ultimately be seen to be connected through the creative spirit of the Awen.

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Tim Powers has the protagonist of his book The Drawing of the Dark, Brian Duffy, utter a few verses of the Cad Goddeu to evoke ancient beings to fight with him. [8] Clancy, Thomas Owen, ed. (1998). The Triumph Tree; Scotland's Earliest Poetry, AD 550–1350. Edinburgh: Canongate. pp.79–93. We have no way of knowing, but there is one sobering suggestion as to the scale of the loss: it is known that there were 242 manuscripts in the Welsh Cistercian abbey at Margam, and it seems that not one of these ‘books’ has survived. There is praise poetry from the ‘Old North’ attributed to the figure sometimes called ‘the historical Taliesin’ as well as a great deal of poetry associated with the poet’s legendary manifestation.

The complicated history of these poems are unwound just a little, but the mystery behind them does not lend itself to easy solutions. There is much still unknown about the poems or some of the non-Taliesin authors. Informed speculation offers rather interesting insights and theories, nonetheless.Remember that this manuscript was created in Carmarthen, Caerfyrddin in Welsh (caer, ‘fortress’ + Myrddin, or ‘Myrddin’s fortress’). In 1960, Ifor Williams identified eleven of the medieval poems ascribed to Taliesin as possibly originating as early as the sixth century, and so possibly being composed by a historical Taliesin. [1] The bulk of this work praises King Urien of Rheged and his son Owain mab Urien, although several of the poems indicate that Taliesin also served as court bard to King Brochfael Ysgithrog of Powys and his successor Cynan Garwyn, either before or during his time at Urien's court. Some of the events to which the poems refer, such as the Battle of Arfderydd ( c. 573), are referred to in other sources. John T. Koch argues that the description of Easter in the praise poem Yspeil Taliesin ('The Spoils of Taliesin') indicates that Urien and Taliesin were Christians who adhered to the Latin rather than the Insular observance of Easter. [ citation needed] He also suggests that the figure of Taliesin served as a bridge between the worlds of Brittonic Christian Latin literature and the Heroic Age court poets, allowing monastic scribes to cultivate vernacular poetry. [2]

The prophetic poems are also semi-legendary, and many make references to the Welsh myths of the Mabinogion, alluding to its characters and its stories, and events that the poets were intimately familiar with.According to legends that first appear in the Book of Taliesin, Taliesin's early patron was Elffin ap Gwyddno, son of Gwyddno Garanhir, who was a lord of a lost land in Cardigan Bay called Cantre'r Gwaelod. Taliesin defended Elffin and satirised his enemy, the powerful Maelgwn Gwynedd, shortly before the latter died (probably in 547 CE). [12] The Latin-Breton Life of Iudic-hael refers to Taliesin visiting the monastery of Gildas at Rhuys in Brittany. [13] At that time Talhaearn the Father of the Muse was famous in poetry, and Neirin, Taliesin, Blwchfardd and Cian who is called Gweinthgwawd, at one and the same time were renowned in British poetry." — Gildas et Nennius, ed. Mommsen, p. 205; Mon. Hist. Brit. p. 75), quoted in John Edward Lloyd, Dictionary of National Biography, 1885–1900, Volume 55

Some legends portrayed Taliesin as a hero in his own right, while others portrayed him as a key companion to the hero, rather than a mere advisor. Several of these legends involved King Arthur, though other mythic kings, such as Bran the Blessed, were featured as well. The final poems cover religious and devotional topics as well as secular. They peer into the world of miracles and spirituality, the visions of apocalypses and hell, prayers for kings and warriors, as well as offering more prophecies and treatments on forgotten knowledge, libraries, fortresses, heroes, and hopes for an indomitable Wales that casts off its afflictions and basks in the glory of its great rulers of past ages. Ceridwen gave birth to Taliesin through magical means, and as such was considered to be the bard’s mother. His first patron, Elfin, lord of Ceredigion, served as his foster-father thereafter.Now able to perform magic, Gwion transformed himself into various animals as he tried to outrun the white witch. In a last ditch effort to outsmart the witch, he transformed himself into a piece of grain, which Ceridwen promptly devoured. The witch soon found herself pregnant, and when the time came she brought Gwion into the world for a second time. Moved by his beauty, she decided to seek no further vengeance and fostered the boy with Elfin, the future lord of Ceredigion. Williams, Ifor, ed. (1968). The Poems of Taliesin. Medieval and Modern Welsh Series. Vol.3. Translated by Williams, J. E. Caerwyn. Dublin: The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. p.lxv.