Gwaith Syr Huw Pennant ac Eraill

: A Critical Edition of Eighteen Cywyddau Brud with Translation, Textual Notes, and Commentary

Abstract

This dissertation provides critical editions of eighteen examples of canu brud, a genre of late medieval Welsh poetry which intersected with a broader pan-insular tradition of political prophecy. The core of this edition comprises the complete unpublished vaticinatory work of five minor poets of the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries: Gruffudd ap Gronw Gethin (poem 1), Llywelyn ap Cynwrig Ddu o Fôn (poem 2), Llywelyn ab Owain (poems 3-6), Hwlcyn, (poem 7), Gruffudd ap Llywelyn Fychan (poems 8-9), and Syr Huw Pennant (poems 10-14). It also includes three poems of uncertain authorship, attributed to Dafydd Llwyd o Fathafarn (poem 16) and Gruffudd Llwyd ap Dafydd ab Einion Lygliw (poems 17 and 18) respectively, and a single example of the work of the prolific prophetic poet Gruffudd ap Dafydd Fychan (poem 15), included here because of its unusual historical interest and its value as a companion-piece to Syr Huw Pennant’s ‘Iesu Grist a ro tristyd’ (poem 14).

The dissertation is divided into three parts. The first provides an overview of the canu brud corpus and a brief discussion of what is known of the six poets whose work is represented in this edition. The second part provides editions of the eighteen poems, with textual apparatus and translations into modern English. The final part provides commentary on the edited poems with textual and explanatory notes.

The dissertation concludes with appendices, an index to personal and place names, a list of manuscripts, a bibliography, and an index to the first line of each edited text.

Date of Award	20 Jan 2026
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bristol
Supervisor	Helen Fulton (Supervisor) & Dylan Foster Evans (Supervisor)