And Sevnyn 1320–1378 asserts that
“The praise of Aneurin is proclaimed by thousands.” [0j]
Such is the language in which the mediæval Bards were accustomed to talk of the author of the Gododin.
The basis of the present translation is a MS. on vellum apparently of about the year 1200. In that MS. the lines are all written out to the margin, without any regard to the measure. Capital letters are never introduced but at the beginning of paragraphs, where they are ornamented and coloured alternately red and green. At page 20 Gwilym Tew and Rhys Nanmor [0k] are mentioned as the owners of the Book, but the names are written in a hand, and with letters more modern than the MS. It at one time belonged to Mr. Jones the Historian of Brecknockshire, and came latterly into the possession of the late Rev. T. Price, with whose Executrix, Mrs. E. Powell of Abergavenny, it now remains. The author of the Celtic Researches took a transcript of it, which he communicated to the Rev. W. J. Rees, of Cascob, who had previously copied the said transcript by the permission of the Rev. E. Davies. Mr. Rees’s copy was afterwards collated by Dr. Meyer with Mr. Davies’s transcript, and the only inaccuracy which had crept in was by him carefully corrected. Dr. Meyer again transcribed Mr. Rees’s copy for the use of the present work, and that version in its turn has been collated by Mr. Rees, during the progress of the work through the press, with the transcript in his possession. To these two gentlemen the translator is under deep obligations.
Also to Mr. Owen Williams of Waunfawr, for the loan of three other manuscript copies of the Gododin. Two of them occur in the same book, which purports to have been a transcript made by the Rev. David Ellis, the first part, A.D. 1775 of an old book, the second part, June 7, 1777, of a book supposed to have been written by Sion Brwynog about the year 1550. In these versions the stanzas are not divided. The third version appears in a book containing a variety of poems and articles in prose, of which, however, the writer or copyist is not known, though one “Davydd Thomas” is mentioned in a poor modern hand as being the owner. Our poem is therein headed “Y Gododin. Aneurin ae cant. Gydâ nodau y Parchedig Evan Evans.” These “nodau” are marginal notes, and evidently the different readings of another version.
The different copies or versions used are distinguished as follow;—
| Myvyrian | 1 | E. Evans | 5 |
| D. Ellis | 2 | P. Panton | 6 |
| Ditto | 3 | E. Davies | 7 |
| D. Thomas | 4 | Dr. Meyer | 8 |
Nos 1 and 6 are those which are printed in the Archaiology of Wales, vol. i. All words that differ in form or meaning, though not in orthography, from those of No. 7, are duly arranged at the foot of the page [0l], from which it will be seen that 1, 2, 3, 5, generally agree one with the other, whilst 4 and 6 also for the most part go together.
It is to be observed, moreover, that though we have taken No. 7 as our text, we have not servilely confined ourself to it, but that wherever any of the other versions have been considered preferable, we have unhesitatingly adopted them. The different meanings, however, are generally inserted in the notes.