Welsh Journals

Arianrhod as Math's 'troediog' (Goewin) by the sixteenth-century cywyddwyr Tudur Aled, Lewis Mon and Sion Brwynog, is a problem that has yet to be adequately addressed. p. 87, n. 4: it is surprising that the editor should query (even slightly) the location of 'y wlad a elwir heddiw Penllyn' (1. 4); there can be no doubt that the cantref of Penllyn in Gwynedd (Powys) is meant: see WA TU 174. Cf. the names of the poets Tudur Penllyn (c. 1420-85/90) and Thomas Penllyn (ob. 1623). p. 93, n. 41: the unusual form 'neithyr' is perhaps to be explained as a reduced form of 'yn eithyr' rather than 'ond neithyr'. p. 122, n. 527-30: with regard to the so-called 'nonsense syllables', 'rimin, ramin, rimiad, ramiad', 'rimin' and 'rimiad' at least may not be unconnected with the English 'rime'. Cf. the Ustus Llwyd's attack on the poet-cleric Madog, 'rimwr puteiniaid', 'rhymer of prostitutes', see YB, XVII, 70, 7; 89. Minor slips noted include 'tranformed' (p. 30) and the use of 'latter' rather than 'former' (p. 90, n. 21-22), whilst the note on 'y'w henwi' (p. 88) mistakenly gives its location as 1.10, not 1.9, in the text. A reviewer inevitably seeks out a book's deficiencies (however slight), often with little regard to its many good qualities. It would be very wrong, however, to give the impression that Ystoria Taliesin is anything but a sound, scholarly, and generally reliable work; it will serve as the standard edition of this intriguing tale for many years and will be welcomed by students and scholars alike of medieval Welsh prose. DAFYDD HUW EVANS Lampeter CULHWCHANDOLWEN. Edited by Rachel Bromwich and D. Simon Evans. University of Wales Press, 1992. Pp. lxxxiii, 226. £ 25.00. Cu/hwch ac Olwen is one of our most important sources for the study of the Arthurian legend. It is a prose tale, written about 1100, and tells of Culhwch's quest for Olwen, the daughter of Ysbaddaden Chief Giant. The young hero eventually wins the maiden's hand with the help of Arthur and his warriors. The tale, together with ten others, forms part of the Mabinogion collection, preserved in the White Book of Rhydderch and the Red Book of Hergest. In 1988, Rachel Bromwich and D. Simon Evans co-edited a Welsh-language edition of Culhwch ac Olwen, based on the research of Sir Idris Foster. This is an English edition of the tale-the text is as printed in the Welsh edition, but the introduction is extended and full notes given on the language and subject-matter. It is a matter of genuine concern that the Welsh edition is not as full as the English. The edited text follows the White Book version until it ends at line 823, and the Red Book variants are noted at the foot of the page. The Red Book version is then followed from line 823 to the end of the tale (line 1245). The editors have chosen to divide the text into sections, giving each one a title, for example 'Culhwch goes to Arthur's Court', 'The Cauldron