Musical and Poetical Relicks of the Welsh Bards

Of the Bards, however, and of their poetry and music from those remote periods, little more than a faint tradition is preserved. What little we know is derived either from the poetic and legendary remains of the British annals or gathered from where it is scattered across the broader field of Roman history. There is no account of Britain in any writer preceding Caesar; however, it is incredible to suggest that its ancient arts first appeared under the oppression of the Roman yoke. Since it has never been claimed that any part of these arts was borrowed from the conquerors, whatever mention of them is found in the Greek and Roman authors who followed the first invasion may fairly be presented as being, in some measure, descriptive of their state before that time.

Those nations could not surely be unrefined in the composition of their poetry and music, among whom—as Caesar declaresⁱ—the supremacy and omnipotence of the gods was acknowledged, the immortality and transmigration of the soul was believed^k, opinions were formed concerning the motion of the planets and the dimensions of the world, and whose youth were instructed in the nature and philosophy of things.

In all the Celtic nations, we discover a remarkable uniformity of manners and institutions. It was the custom of the ancient Germans, when they marched to battle, to inspire themselves by singing verses prophetic of their success, which they called Barditus^l original Latin: "Barditus". It was the honorable duty of the Bards of Britain to sing to the harp at weddings and funerals, at their games and other ceremonies, and at the head of their armies, singing the praises of those who had distinguished themselves by virtuous and heroic actions^m. This entertainment made a deep impression on the young warriors, lifting some to heroism and encouraging virtue in every heart. Among the Celts, says Diodorus Siculusⁿ, there are composers of melodies called Bards, who sing to instruments resembling lyres, performing songs of praise or criticism. They are held in such high reverence that when two armies, prepared for battle, have already thrown their spears and drawn their swords, they immediately stop upon the arrival and intervention of the Bards. Thus, even among the fierce barbarians, wrath gives place to wisdom, and Mars The Roman god of war yields to the Muses The goddesses of the arts and music.^o

A fragment of Posidonius, preserved in the works of Athenaeus^p, allows us to show the only example of the Bards' genius that can be attributed with certainty to a date earlier than the sixth century. Describing the wealth and magnificence of Luernius, Posidonius relates that, eager for popular favor, he was frequently carried over the plains in a chariot, scattering gold and silver among the thousands of Celts who followed him. On a day of banqueting and celebration, when he hosted his countless attendants with an abundance of choice food and a wealth of costly drinks, a barbarian poet arrived long after the others. He greeted Luernius by singing the praise of his unmatched generosity and noble virtues, but lamented his own bad luck in arriving so late. Luernius, delighted with his song, called for a purse of gold and threw it to the Bard, who, filled with gratitude, renewed his praise and proclaimed: that the tracks of his chariot wheels upon the earth brought wealth and blessings to mankind.

original Greek: "ΔΙΟΤΙ ΤΑ ΙΧΝΗ ΤΗΣ ΓΗΣ (ΣΦΗΣ ΑΡΜΑΤΗΛΑΤΕΙ) ΧΡΥΣΟΝ ΚΑΙ ΕΥΕΡΓΕΣΙΑΣ ΑΝΘΡΩΠΟΙΣ ΦΕΡΕΙ."

The students of the Druidical Bards, during an apprenticeship of twenty years, learned an immense number of verses^q, in which they preserved the principles of their religious and civil laws by unbroken tradition for many centuries. Although they were familiar with the use of letters, they never committed their verses to writing, both to strengthen their mental faculties and to keep their mysterious knowledge from the common people. The meter in which these poetic doctrines were shared was called Englyn Milwr, or the Warrior’s Song. As the reader will see in the attached example, this is a stanza of three lines, each with seven syllables; the first and second lines contain the general subject of the poem, and the third provides some divine or moral teaching or a practical proverb^r.

ⁱ Commentaries on the Gallic War, book 6.
^k Thrice happy they beneath their northern skies
Who that worst fear, the fear of death, despise;
Hence they no cares from this frail being feel,
But rush undaunted on the pointed steel,
Provoke approaching fate, and bravely scorn
To spare that life which must so soon return.

^l Tacitus, On the Customs of the Germans.
^m Retreated in a silent valley, they sing
With angelic notes to many a harp,
Their own heroic deeds, and unhappy fall
By the fate of battle.

ⁿ "There are among them also composers of melodies, whom they call BARDS; these sing to instruments similar to lyres, praising some and criticizing others." original Greek: "Εἰσὶ καὶ παρ᾿ αὐτοῖς καὶ ποιηταὶ μελῶν, οὓς ΒΑΡΔΟΥΣ ὀνομάζουσι, οὗτοι δὲ μετ᾿ ὀργάνων ταῖς λύραις ὁμοίων ᾄδοντες, οὓς μὲν ὑμνοῦσι, οὓς δὲ βλασφημοῦσι." H. Stephens edition, 1559, page 213.
"The Bards sang the brave deeds of illustrious men, composed in heroic verses, with the sweet melodies of the lyre." original Latin: "Bardi fortia virorum illustrium facta heroicis composita verisbus cum dulcibus lyrae modulis cantitarunt." Ammianus Marcellinus, book 15. Ammianus Marcellinus wrote around the year 380 AD.
^o Diodorus Siculus, On the Fabled Deeds of Antiquity, book 6. See also the notes on the sixth song of Drayton’s Poly-Olbion.
^p See the Rev. Mr. Evans’s Specimens of Welsh Poetry, in A Dissertation on the Bards; pages 65, 66.
^q Caesar, Commentaries on the Gallic War, book 6.
^r See Mona Antiqua, page 253, and Llwyd’s Archaeologia, pages 251 and 221.

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