[70] The Dôn and Ỻyr groups are not brought into conflict or even placed in contact with one another; and the reason seems to be that the story-teller wanted to introduce the sons of Beli as supreme in Britain after the death of Brân. Beli and his sons are also represented in Maxen’s Dream as ruling over Britain when the Roman conqueror arrives. What is to be made of Beli may be learnt from The Welsh People, pp. 41–3. [↑]
[71] These things one learns about Lir from the story mentioned in the text as the ‘Fate of the Children of Lir,’ as to which it is right, however, to say that no ancient manuscript version is known: see M. d’Arbois dc Jubainville’s Essai d’un Catalogue de la Litérature épique de l’Irlande, p. 8. [↑]
[72] See Skene’s Four Ancient Books of Wales, ii. 303, also 108–9, where the fragment of the poem as given in the Book of Taliessin is printed. The line here quoted has been rendered in vol. i. 286, ‘With Matheu and Govannon,’ which places the old pagan Gofannon in rather unexpected company. A few lines later in the poem mention is made of a Kaer Gofannon: where was that? Skene, in a note on it (ii. 452), says that ‘In an old list of the churches of Linlithgow, printed by Theiner, appears Vicaria de Gumanyn. The place meant is probably Dalmeny, on the Firth of Forth, formerly called Dumanyn.’ This is interesting only as showing that Gumanyn is probably to be construed Dumanyn, and that Dalmeny represents an ancient Dún Manann in a neighbourhood where one already has Clach Manann, ‘the stone of Manau,’ and Sliabh Manann, ‘Mountain of Manau’ now respectively Clackmannan and Slamannan, in what Nennius calls Manau Guotodin. [↑]
[73] This occurred unrecognized and, therefore, unaltered by the scribe of the Nennian Pedigree no. xvi in the Cymmrodor, ix. 176, as he found it written in an old spelling, Louhen. map. Guid gen. map. Caratauc. map. Cinbelin, where Caradog is made father of Gwydion; for in Guid-gen we seem to have the compound name which suggested Gwydion. This agrees with the fact that the Mabinogi of Math treats Gwydion as the father of Ỻew Ỻawgyffes; but the pedigree itself seems to have been strangely put together. [↑]
[74] See Bertrand’s Religion des Gaulois, pp. 314–9, 343–5, and especially the plates. [↑]
[75] The Oxford Mabinogion, pp. 40–3; Guest’s Mabinogion, iii. 124–8. [↑]
[76] See Louis Leger’s Cyrille et Méthode (Paris, 1868), p. 22. [↑]
[77] See Pertz, Monumenta Germaniæ Historia Scriptorum, xii. 794. The whole passage is worth quoting; it runs thus: Erat autem simulacrum triceps, quod in uno corpore tria capita habens Triglaus vocabatur; quod solum accipiens, ipsa capitella sibi cohærentia, corpore comminuto, secum inde quasi pro tropheo asportavit, et postea Romam pro argumento conversionis illorum transmisit. [↑]
[78] See The Welsh People, pp. 56–7. [↑]