Precious was the amber, but its price was the grave.
[88a] The hero of this stanza we take to be the “son of Ysgyran” himself. He disdained the eager advance of the enemy; for such was his will, that he had only to declare it, to make Venedotia and the North acknowledge his power, and submit to his jurisdiction; or, it may be, to march unanimously to his side. Supposing “gwyar,” however, to be the correct reading, we might render the line thus,—
He repelled violence, and gore trickled to the ground.
Perhaps the identity of the person commemorated with the son of Ysgyran would become more evident by the addition of a comma after “gyssul,” thus,—
“Ket dyffei wyned a gogled e rann
O gussyl,—mah Ysgyrran.”
Who Ysgyran, or Cyran (the ys being a mere prefix) was, we have no means of knowing, as the name does not occur any where in history.
[88b] Al. “The maimed shield-bearer,” (ysgwydwr.)
[88c] “Cyn-nod,” the principal mark or butt; the most conspicuous, owing to his being in advance of his men, and perhaps on account of his stature also, if “eg gawr,” or “yggawr” mean giantlike.
[88d] “Cyn-ran;” the foremost share, or participation of an action.
[89a] “Pymwnt,” (i.e. pum mwnt; “deg myrdd yn y mwnt,”) five hundred thousand, which, multiplied by five, would give us 2,500,000 as the number of men who composed the above battalions.