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To Rheinallt ap Gruffudd ap Bleddyn of the Tower - Tudor Penllyn

Edited by Helen Fulton

The son of Gruffydd ap Bleddyn and his wife Gwerfyl, Rheinallt ap Gruffydd was a Lancastrian supporter and part of the rebel garrison at Harlech which backed Jasper Tudor and the exiled Henry VI in their campaigns against Edward IV. Harlech, held since 1460, finally surrendered to William Herbert in 1468, by which time Rheinallt was dead. Marginal notes in a number of manuscripts (BL Harley 1975, p. 103; NLW Peniarth 75, p. 5; BL Add. 14866, p. 329) record Rheinallt’s death in 1465 when he was ‘not yet 27 years old’ (Roberts 1958, 112).

A year or so before he died, Rheinallt attacked the men of Chester, a Yorkist stronghold, at a New Year’s fair at Mold (Yr Wyddgrug), his home town. The attack followed a proclamation by Edward IV in 1464 requiring the mayor and sheriff of Chester to announce that the defenders of Harlech would be put to death unless they submitted by 1st January 1465 (Rot. Parl., 512). Rheinallt himself was found guilty of treason and told that his lands would be forfeit to the crown unless he took an oath of loyalty before Ascension Thursday that year (1464). The men of Chester took this to be an invitation to start plundering Rheinallt’s lands around Mold, and Rheinallt retaliated with a brutal attack on them which took place on dydd Calan, New Year’s Day, 1465, Edward’s deadline for the surrender of Harlech. In one of a number of violent assaults on the day, Rheinallt seized Robert Bryne (or Byrne), a former mayor of Chester (who held office in 1462), and executed him by hanging (Ormerod 1882, I. 233). Further retaliation by the men of Chester in later weeks resulted in the burning down of Rheinallt’s fortified house, Y Tŵr, ‘the Tower’, with a number of Englishmen inside it, and an attack on Chester itself by Rheinallt’s men, during which part of the city was set on fire (Roberts 1919, 120-121).

The fact that the poem survives in at least 30 copies, mainly from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, suggests that it held a particular resonance for the antiquarian gentry scholars of early modern Wales. A cywydd commemorating the same attack, in praise of Rheinallt, was composed by Hywel Cilan (Jones 1963).

Author: Tudur Penllyn

Metre: Awdl with some englynion

Manuscripts:

Printed Text: Roberts, 1958, 19

I Reinallt ap Gruffudd o’r Tŵr

To Rheinallt ap Gruffudd ap Bleddyn of the Tower

1 Ŵyr Einion 1 â’i ffon ffinied—y Saeson
    i’w sesiwn na chyrched;
   ŵyr Hywel, 2 Gabriel am ged,
  a dynn ofn hyd yn Nyfed.

5Trwy Ddyfed y try ddeufin,
tryw’r Mars, mae trywyr am un,
trwy Wynedd, tarw o Einion,
try lwgwr hwnt, trwy Loegr hen.

Try’r ffon, tarw Einion, onwydd—ysgyrion,
     10gwasgared ddinesydd;
  tarw a’i ofal mewn trefydd,
  tân neu fellt, gwayw twn a fydd.

Ni bydd, baladr onwydd dellt,
fraich sy i ŵr freuach o swllt;
15ni bu wrth fwrw saeth na bollt
na chrynech i wayw Rheinallt.

Gwayw Rheinallt, Oswallt, 3 Iesu—croesed hwn,
    tân gwyllt wrth ymgyrchu;
  gwayw gwaedlyd i’r holl fyd fu,
   20a gwayw Emrys 4 i Gymru.

Cymry ar y llu o’r llan—a’u gorchwyl
    a gyrchodd Ddyw Calan;
  cael ar faes, coelier y fan,
  cadw ac ymlid, Cad Gamlan. 5

25Camlan, wrth y tân, tynion—fu’u pennau,
crimogau, trwynau fal uwd rhynion;
curo’r llu yno â llinon—wewyr,
y rhain, fy eryr, a’u rhoi’n feirwon.

Meirwon fu’r Saeson wedi’u sowsio,
30gwaed aliwns, a gwayw Ffwg 6 i’w dulio.
gwae Gaer o’u geni, goegwyr gwyno,
gwae egin Alis, 7 gwae gan wylo;
gwae Sais, crin ei bais, a bwyso—i’r tir,
gwae’n wir, fo’i lleddir, diawl a’i lladdo.

35Eu lladd fu eu gradd gwreiddiawg—hydd a’i gwnâi,
a’r clai fu’u lifrai, gan law Efrawg; 8
eu hesgyrn lle y dyrn, darniawg—wayw awchus,
yn grinus eisys a wna’r osawg.

Syganai osawg Einion:
40‘taw, hors’, a baetio hwrswn;
celennig rhag gelynion
fu’r gorsed wrth fwrw’r garsiwn.
caiff elw pawb, cyffelyb hyn
câi ei eilwaith y calan.

45I’w ran y calan y coeliaf—roi serch,
ac i ŵyr Rydderch 9 gair a roddaf:
i Ddewi offrwm addawaf,—a Non, 10
er ordrio’r Saeson i’r drws isaf,
ac ymlid gofid a gaf,—bob taeog,
50gwiw ddelw’r wirgrog 11 a addolaf.

Y ddelw fyw 12 o’r Wyddgrug oedd ddialwr,
ac yntau’i hunan, gwnaeth gyfran gŵr,
a phawb ar ei ran oni las cannwr,
a’r lleill yn cilio dan wylo’r dŵr,
55a dwylo gwaedlyd ein dialwr—llon,
gwaywffon draig Einion, ein droganwr.

Droganwr y dŵr a’r holl diredd,
dogenais ei gael yn darw Gwynedd;
derfel mewn rhyfel, gwnâi’i wayw’n rhyfedd,
60darrisg dur yw’r wisg, dewr yw’r osgedd.
dilyw ar swydd Gaer, dialedd—Saeson,
dryllio’n gelynion yn gelanedd.

Celanedd y cledd, coluddion—Alac, 13
curwyd Wil a’i bac a Siac a Siôn;
65llas Twm â gordd blwm fal blowmon—mewn cors,
llas Siors, ef a’i hors, ni wnaf hirson.

Llas Hugyn beiswyn a’r bon 14 —ar ei din,
llas Wilcin o’r Grin a’r gar union;
llas Wilcoc o Stoc, os digon—er hyn,
70llas iwmyn â ffyn Iarll y Ffynnon. 15

Lladded ef eilwaith, nas lluddion’—fy naint,
naw ugain cymaint o gŵn ceimion.
llawer yw canmil, lliwion’—eu hangred,
lladded a llywied wŷr Caerlleon.

75Llawenydd i’r braich, llaw union—dros gred,
lladded, gosteged frith gostogion.
llew llawir breichir, brychion—adenydd,
llaw a dyr onwydd, llid ŵyr Einion.

Ŵyr Einion â’i ffon ffinied—y Saeson,
80 holl Siesir distrywied;
a Chaer, amyn iawn a ched,
ef a delw fyw dialed.

1 Einion’s descendant 1 , may he punish the Saxon with his spear,
let him not set forth to his judgment;
descendant of Hywel, 2 Gabriel favours him,
who attracts fear as far as Dyfed.

5Through Dyfed he overruns two borders,
through the March, three men to one,
through Gwynedd, a bull out of Einion,
he unleashes havoc even further, through old England.

Einion’s bull unleashes his spear, shattering ash-trees,
10may he scatter citizens;
a bull and his trouble in towns,
like fire or lightning, spears will be broken.

In a lattice of ash-spears, there’s no man whose hand
is more ready with a shilling;
15there’s no point in hurling arrow or bolt
or hammer againstRheinallt’s spear.

Spear of Rheinallt, of Oswald, 3 may Jesus welcome it,
wild fire on the attack;
it was a bloody spear against the whole world,
20and the spear of Ambrosius 4 for Wales.

Welshmen upon the host from the parish, the task
of those who attacked on New Year’s Day;
on a field – the place was trusted -
guarding and chasing, they held the Battle of Camlan. 5

25Camlan put to the fire, stiff were their heads,
legs and noses like a porridge of oats;
my eagle, striking the host there with spears
of agony, and turning the rest into dead men.

Dead men were the Saxons after their trouncing,
30the blood of aliens, and the sword of Fulke 6 striking them.
Woe to Chester for giving them birth, complaining fools,
woe to the offspring of Rhonwen, 7 woe and weeping;
woe to the Englishman, in a crumpled coat, who weighs down the earth,
woe indeed, he’ll be killed, the devil kill him.

35Their innate status was to be killed, a stag did it,
and the clay was their livery, by the hand of Efrog; 8
their bones shattered where he threshes with eager spear,
the hawk has already shattered them.

Einion’s hawk said:
40‘Silence, old nag’, baiting a whore’s-son;
a New Year’s gift for enemies
was the steel plate battering the garrison.
Everyone gets a present – he would have
a new year like this all over again.

45To his cause I believe that the new year gives love,
and to Rhydderch’s descendant 9 I’ll give my word:
I promise an offering to St David and Non 10
if I can push the Englishman to the lowest doorway,
and if I can hound every churl with grief,
50I will worship the fine image of the true cross. 11

The living image 12 of Mold was the avenger,
and he himself – the man did his share –
and everyone on his side until a hundred men were killed,
and the rest retreating beneath the water’s hands
55and the bloody hands of our mighty avenger,
spear-shaft of Einion’s dragon, our prophet.

Prophet of the water and all the lands,
I prophesied that he would be the bull of Gwynedd;
obdurate in battle, his spear created a marvel,
60steel scales are his clothing, stalwart is his form.
A flood upon Chester county, Saxon vengeance,
shattering our enemies in a slaughter.

The sword’s slaughter, Alac’s 13 entrails,
Will and his pack, and Jack and John, struck down;
65Tom killed with a lead hammer like a black man in a bog,
George killed, and his horse – I won’t make a long story.

White-coated Hughie killed 14 and the hilt on his backside,
Wilkin of the Green killed, his leg straight out;
Wilcock of Stock killed, if that’s enough by now,
70Yeomen killed with spears of the Lord of the Fountain. 15

May he kill a second time – my rage wouldn’t prevent it -
nine twenties as many of those false dogs.
A hundred thousand is plenty, they flaunt their heathenism,
let him kill and let him dominate the men of Chester.

75Good luck to his arm, his straight hand over Christendom,
let him kill, let him silence the motley churls.
A lion, with long hands and arms and speckled wings,
a hand which breaks ash-spears, the wrath of Einion’s descendant.

Einion’s descendant, may he punish the Saxon with his spear,
80may he destroy the whole of Cheshire;
and Chester, besides compensation and tax,
may he and a living image take revenge on it.

Footnotes

1.
Einion: Rheinallt’s great-grandfather on his father’s side. For his genealogy, see Roberts (1958), p. 111. Back to context...
2.
Hywel: Rheinallt’s maternal grandfather. References to the genealogy and ancestors of patrons was an important part of the Welsh tradition of praise poetry. Back to context...
3.
Oswallt, ‘Oswald’: king of Northumbria from 634 to 642, who united Bernicia and Deira into the kingdom of Northumbria and was responsible for the spread of Christianity there. He defeated the British ruler, Cadwallon ap Cadfan, and a pagan army at Heavenfield, near Hexham in Northumbria, where, according to Bede, Oswald raised a cross on the field which subsequently became associated with miracles of healing. Back to context...
4.
Emrys, ‘Ambrosius’: this is the character known as Aurelius Ambrosius in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Regum Britanniae, known in Welsh as Emrys Wledig, ‘Ambrosius the Protector’ (Bromwich, 1978, 345-6). He was, in Welsh tradition, the son of Custennin Fendigaid (Constantine the Blessed), a ruler of the British kingdom of Dumnonia and whom Geoffrey of Monmouth conflates with Constantine the Great, the first Christian emperor. Emrys was celebrated in Welsh poetry for his role in killing the tyrant and traitor Vortigern (Welsh Gwrtheyrn) who allied himself with the Saxons against the British people. Back to context...
5.
Cad Gamlan, ‘the battle of Camlan’: this was the battle in which Arthur and Mordred were both killed. It is mentioned in the ninth-century Annales Cambriae and in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Regum Britanniae (c. 1136). In Welsh literature, the battle is often invoked as a symbol of particularly violent and chaotic warfare. Back to context...
6.
Ffwg, ‘Fouke’: The dynasty of Fouke le Fitz Waryn, lords of Whittington in Shropshire, was celebrated in a late-thirteenth-century Anglo-Norman verse romance, surviving only in a prose version of about 1325-40. There are quite a number of references in Welsh poetry of the fourteenth and fifteenth century to Ffwg, or Syr Ffwg, celebrating his outlaw exploits and martial heroics. Back to context...
7.
egin Alis, literally ‘offspring of Alice’: that is, the English. ‘Alice’ is Alice Rhonwen, the daughter of Hengist whose marriage to Vortigern was regarded by the British as the beginning of the hated Saxon race in Britain. Back to context...
8.
Efrawg, ‘York’: in Welsh legend, Efrawg was the father of Peredur, the Welsh equivalent of Perceval the Grail knight. Efrawg (modern Welsh Efrog) is actually a place-name rather than a personal name, deriving from the Latin name for York, Eburacum. The name is used here to align Rheinallt with an early British warrior hero. Back to context...
9.
ŵyr Rydderch, ‘descendant of Rhydderch’. Rheinallt was the grandson (ŵyr) of Tibot daughter of Einion, and her maternal grandfather was Rhydderch ab Ieuan Llwyd of Ceredigion, a leading patron of Welsh literature and culture in the fourteenth century. Back to context...
10.
the mother of St David (Dewi). Back to context...
11.
gwirgrog, ‘true cross’: a silver-gilt cross in the church of St John’s in Chester was supposed to contain relics of the true cross. References in Welsh poetry suggest that it was renowned for its healing powers. See Lewis and Thacker, 2003, pp. 85-6 Back to context...
12.
y ddelw fwy, ‘the living image’. There was a ‘living image’ of Mary in the church at Mold (Yr Wyddgrug), that is, a wooden statue which probably had some kind of jointed parts which allowed movement of head or hands (Cartwright, 2008, 61-2). Here Rheinallt, who comes from Mold, is likened to a ‘living image’ of Christ, as if he were the counterpart to the statue of Mary. Back to context...
13.
Alac: probably a man’s name – Alec? The poet is deliberately using a list of very English names to indicate the kind of men – ordinary working men, not soldiers - cut down by Rheinallt and his forces. Back to context...
14.
bon: possibly an English borrowing? See OED bane, with variants ban, bon, meaning (1) murder, death, destruction; (2) that which causes ruin, the curse; (3) ruin. So perhaps means angau, melltith, dinistr here. See variant readings. Mae’r brifodl – on yn ofynnol yn ôl y mesur. Back to context...
15.
Iarll y Ffynnon, ‘lord of the Fountain’: a reference to the medieval Welsh tale of Owain neu Iarlles y Ffynnawn, ‘Owain or the Lady of the Fountain’, based on the French verse romance by Chrétien de Troyes, Yvain. The hero, Owain ab Urien, defeats the lord of the Fountain and then takes on the role himself, including marriage to the lady of the Fountain. The reference in the poem to the English ‘yeomen’ and the Welsh ‘Lord of the Fountain’ suggests a class element which is typical of anti-English commentary in Welsh literature. Back to context...