IORWERTH BELI
, a
poet
who sang in
Gwynedd
early in the 14th cent.
He sang an
awdl
to the
bishop of Bangor
(
Myv. Arch.
, 317-8) reproaching him for neglecting
poets
and overesteeming
musicians
. This poem makes use of a metre which, according to
Cerdd Dafod
, 339, is not found in any poem before
1322
which can be precisely dated. In
Iorwerth Beli
's
awdl
we are given a glimpse of the position and outlook of the poets in the period after the fall of
Llywelyn the Last
.
Poets
who took pride in the old court tradition were turning to the
bishop
, expecting him now to give the leadership and patronage which had been the role of the
Welsh
prince
, and reminding him of the dignity of the
poet
in the court of
Maelgwn
. But the
bishop
does not choose to assume this role. He neglects the
poets
, and gives honour and fine raiment to the ‘
dregs of art
,’ to
English
youths with their ‘
earsplitting noises
,’ their song which is like the squealing of piglets, their horns and drums, and they are respected even for knowing
English
. The
bishop
to whom this poem is addressed must therefore have been a
Welshman
, but favourable to the
English
and their entertainments. Thus one may presume that it was composed
before 1327
, and in all probability during the bishopric of
Anian Sais
, that is
between 1309 and 1327
.
Bibliography:
-
The Myvyrian Archaiology of Wales
, , and
, 3
vols., 1801–7; another edn. in 1 vol., 1870. Some contributors
have used the original edition, citing it by volume and page,
others the reprint, citing it by page and column
, 317-18.
Author:
David Myrddin Lloyd, M.A., (1909-81), Aberystwyth / Scotland
