There is also a certain degree of obscurity in the very words and language of Taliesin; and the same may be observed of the compositions of Aneurin Gwawdrydd and other bards of the same age, a catalogue of whose works may be found in the learned Edward Llwyd’s Archæology, collected from the notes of William Maurice, Esq., of Cefn y Braich. But Mr. E. Llwyd never saw any of the poetical compositions of Taliesin, Aneurin, and other early bards, except those of Llywarch Hen, which he found in Llyfr Coch o Hergest: and the works of these ancient authors will afford us very material assistance, not only in the investigation of our ancient British language, but also in examining historical facts, and in tracing the origin of the various tribes, who inhabited this island during that early period. Taliesin, in a poem, of which the following is the title, “Cerdd am Feibion Llyr ap Brychwel Powys,” mentions three separate nations, who had taken possession of different parts of Britain, previous to his time, viz., Gwyddyl (Celts or Gauls,) Brython, and Romani, (Romans.)
Gwyddyl, a Brython, a Romani,
A wna hon dyhedd, a dyfysci;
Ac am derfyn Prydein, cain ei threfi.
And they are represented as exciting war and tumult on the borders of this fair isle, and its beautiful towns and cities; and it appears evidently from this poem, that the first inhabitants were Gwyddyl or Celts, which circumstance Mr. Llwyd and others have proved most satisfactorily, from the names of mountains, rivers, &c. But by the word Gwyddyl Taliesin must, by no means, be understood to mean the modern Irish; for their language at present contains a very considerable mixture of Cantabrian and Spanish, and differs very materially from the ancient genuine Celtic and British, which clearly appears from the writings of the old bards, and the ancient British Proverbs. For, if any person were vain enough to suppose, that he could discover the meaning of some of our obsolete British words, by consulting an Irish Dictionary, he would soon find himself woefully disappointed, and I am clearly of opinion, that the ancient genuine Celtic dialect had a very near affinity to the old Welsh or British. I believe, that the persons, denominated Gwyddyl by Taliesin, were genuine Celtæ, and inhabited this island previous to the arrival of the Britons, and probably soon after the general deluge, and that these Celtæ were the progeny of the Titans; for the Curetes and Corybantes, who were their princes and nobles, are clearly identified with the Cowri of the British history, written by Tyssilio (the bishop), which Geoffrey of Monmouth has very improperly translated Giants. And this blunder of his has been the source of endless mistakes; for the word Cowri evidently means princes, generals, nobles, or persons of great eminence. The Curetes are therefore our Cowri; and the Corybantes (i.e. Cowri-Bann) were princes or persons of great eminence, as the expression denotes; and, what is still more to our purpose, the word gwyddyl also implies any thing conspicuous, and is nearly synonymous with Cowri, which is the usual term, even to the present day, to designate persons of uncommon stature or great bodily strength. The Curetes, therefore, were evidently our Cowri, and the Corybantes (i.e. Cowri-Bann) imply princes or leaders, or persons of the most eminent rank and consequence: and, in order to corroborate this assertion, it may be observed here, that there is a very high mountain near Towyn, in the county of Merioneth, which, to this day, bears the name of Gwyddyl Fynydd; and the highest peak or summit of Snowdon, is denominated Yr Wyddfa, (i.e. the highest eminence or the most conspicuous,) and by the common people, even at this time, is known by no other name. And Gwydd Grug means a high hill, or eminence; Gwydd Fryniau, high banks; and Trum Gwydd, the ridge of a mountain; and many others, which it would be tedious and useless to enumerate. And it may also be observed here, that the Κελται and Γαλαται of the Greeks, and the Celtæ and Galli, of the Latins, appear to me to bear no other import. For Gallt and Allt are clearly synonymous with Gwyddel, and denote any thing high or eminent, though the word Gallt is, at present, restricted to designate the steep ascent of a hill, or a
declivity; but, that the word Gallt was anciently used to denominate high mountains may be justly inferred from the word Alps, which is evidently composed of two Celtic words, Gallt-ban, or pen, i.e. Allt-ban, Al-pen, or Alpine, which commutation or change of initial letters will appear easy to any person acquainted with the British language, and perfectly justified by the rules of grammar, as the mutations of radical letters in Welsh are well known to be nearly endless. It would not be difficult to prove, that the ancient Britons are descendants of the Celtæ, and a close connection and affinity may be traced between their language not with the ancient Celtic only but also with the Greek; and, it is at the same time very evident, that their dialect differed materially from that of the aboriginal inhabitants of this island, and whom on that account they denominated Gaillt and Gwyddyl. The British language retains to this day many words purely Greek, such as Haul, Ηλιος, the sun, Dwfr, Υδωρ, water, and many others, which have been pointed out some time by the learned Pezron. But, that the Britons had other words of the same import purely Celtic may be proved from the works of the ancient bards; for huan is made use of by Iorwerth Vychan, and many other bards, to signify the sun,—
Llewyrch ebyr myr, morfeydd dylan;
Pan lewych huan ar fann fynydd.Iorwerth Vychan.
Coruscatio portuum aquarum, et paludum marinarum;
Cum sol splendet ab excelso monte.
And the old bard, Avan Verddig, in his elegy on the death of Cadwallon, the son of Cadvan, makes use of bêr for water, instead of dwr or dwfr.
“Goluchav glew, hael, hilig Nâv Nêr,
Aded gynt, ettiynt, hyd yn irfer hallt.”Avan Verddig.
Exorabo potentem et liberalem Dominum Creatorem,
Iverunt ad madidam aquam salsam.
And from hence it is manifest, that huan and bêr are two ancient Celtic words; but, if any one were to consult an Irish lexicon in hopes of finding the expressions, he would be disappointed; yet he may discover bir among the obsolete words in that language. The names of moors, meadows, and rivers, in different parts of Wales, may also be produced as an additional evidence that ber and mer originally signified water,—for instance, Bereu Derwenydd, near Snowdon, Castell y Berau, in Llanfihangel y Pennant, in Merionethshire, where many mountain torrents meet. Aber, a confluence, seems also to justify this opinion, and inver, in the Erse dialect.