Welsh Journals

BEDD TALIESIN Just over a mile due east of the village of Tre Taliesin are the disturbed remains of a cairn believed to have been erected during the Early Bronze Age.1 The site is one of a number in the area, but merits special interest because it is the traditional burial place of the poet Taliesin. Although it is impossible that the sixth century poet, who was probably associated with the kingdom of Rheged, could have been buried here, the site has been associated specifically with his name for over 200 years. The historical poet who eulogized the native Welsh princes such as Urien Rheged became a figure of magic and prophecy in medieval Wales, and the hero of a comparatively late folktale narrative, Hanes Taliesin. In view of this a re-examination of the histori- cal records relative to the site and of the traditions associated with it may throw some light on the development of pseudo-historical Taliesin. The cairn in its present state measures approximately 40 feet east to west and 42 feet north to south and is enclosed by a low kerb of which twelve stones are still visible. The centre of the cairn is occupied by a now collapsing and very shallow cist.2 The capstone whose maxi- mum length is 5'8" and whose maximum width is 3'8"has been removed and replaced several times and now lies off the cavity. The cairn commands a wide view of the Dovey estuary and its prominent location may have been a factor in its being ascribed to a notable personage such as Taliesin. The earliest recorded notice of the site connecting it with Taliesin appears in Edward Lhuyd's additions to Gibson's edition of Camden's Britannia in 1695. Lhuyd calls it Gwely Taliesin and gives a rough estimate of its size. He adds that it is supposedly the grave of Taliesin ben beirdd but suggests that the site is much older than that.3 Lhuyd was an ingeneous and thorough antiquarian and frequently solicited information from local informants such as vicars, private scholars and officials. It may be that one of these local scholars either knew the tradition himself or had heard it, and it is through him that the story passed into written topographical literature. A third possibility is that Lhuyd's informant created the tradition in response to Lhuyd's enquiries, but as we shall attempt to demonstrate, the tradition has an aura of authenticity about it. Some fifty years later, in 1745, Lewis Morris was shown the site which he locates in the village of Ceulan near Tal-y-Bont. Beyond noting that this is the grave of Taliesin, Morris gives no further details or traditions.4 Two more eighteenth century descriptions of the site exist. Henry Penruddocke Wyndam notes in his Gentleman's Tour Thru Wales (1774) that he visited the spurious sepulchre of Taliesin, but