Armes Prydein (vawr) ‘The (great) prophecy of Britain’verse beg. Dygogan awen dygobryssyn
- Old Welsh
- verse
- Medieval Welsh poetry
An early Welsh prophetic poem which envisages a future in which the Welsh will join forces with other peoples of Britain and Ireland to resist and drive out the English.
In the manuscript, the poem is headed Arymes Prydein vawr, traditionally translated as ‘The great prophecy of Britain’, although some scholars have suggested that mawr is more likely to belong with Prydein. The title is echoed in a similar phrase, Arymes yr ynys hon (‘The prophecy of this island’), towards the end of the poem (l. 194).
- Dygogan awen dygobryssyn
- Old Welsh
Sources
Primary sources Text editions and/or modern translations – in whole or in part – along with publications containing additions and corrections, if known. Diplomatic editions, facsimiles and digital image reproductions of the manuscripts are not always listed here but may be found in entries for the relevant manuscripts. For historical purposes, early editions, transcriptions and translations are not excluded, even if their reliability does not meet modern standards.
Secondary sources (select)
This article examines the connections between Asser's Life of King Alfred and the tenthcentury Welsh poem Armes Prydein Vawr. It studies the use of the place-name Santwic ‘Sandwich’ in Armes Prydein, and presents evidence that this form derives from a written source. An investigation of the sources containing this place-name before the late tenth century raises the distinct possibility that Asser's Life was the source drawn upon by the Welsh poet. Examination of the context in which Sandwich occurs in Asser and Armes Prydein highlights striking similarities in usage, strengthening the argument for a connection between the two texts. Further correspondences between these works are noted before discussing the potential implications of this new finding for our understanding of Asser (and his reception) and Armes Prydein more generally.
Deux textes témoignent de relations entre Edmond de Wessex (939-46) et Hywel le Bon (f 950), de Dyfed : ce sont le poème politique Armes Prydein «La prophétie de Grande-Bretagne» et une note annalistique pour 945 recueillie par le chroniqueur du XIIIe siècle. Roger de Wendover. On montre que des allusions jusque ici obscures, dans le poème, se rapportent à la capitulation d’Edmond devant les Vikings, à Leicester, au début de 940. Cela prouverait que Armes Prydein a été écrit à la fin de 940, et que ce texte appelait à attaquer les Anglais en 941. La note annalistique pour 945 évoque l’aide apportée par un roi inconnu, «Leolin», à l’attaque menée par Edmond contre le Strathclyde. «Leolin» ne peut s’expliquer que par la déformation du nom de Hywel, qui a dû donner à Edmond de solides renforts militaires dans son expédition au Nord de la Grande-Bretagne. L’examen de ces problèmes difficiles introduit un éclairage nouveau sur les relations anglo-galloises au début du Xe siècle.
[EN] Two texts provide evidence for relations between Edmund of Wessex (939)46) and Hywel the Good (d. 950) of Dyfed. They are the political poem Armes Prydein ‘The Prophecy of Britain’and an annal for 945 preserved by the thirteenth-century chronicler Roger of Wendover. Hitherto obscure references in the poem can be shown to refer to Edmund’s capitulation to the Vikings at Leicester in early 940. It can thus be proved that Armes Prydein was written in late 940, and that it called for an attach on the English in 941. The annal for 945 refers to the help given by an obscure king ‘Leolin’ in Edmund’s attack on Strathclyde. ‘Leolin’can be explained only as a corruption of the name of Hywel, who must have given Edmund strong military support in this attack on North Britain. The solution of these cruxes thus breaks new ground on Anglo-Welsh relations in the early tenth century.
page url: https://codecs.vanhamel.nl/Armes_Prydein
redirect: https://codecs.vanhamel.nl/Special:Redirect/page/246
numerical alternative: https://codecs.vanhamel.nl/index.php?curid=246
page ID: 246
page ID tracker: https://codecs.vanhamel.nl/index.php?title=Show:ID&id=246
