Whose swift moving shield is that,
And bright shining spear?

Who is the determined warlike chief,
Who holds it by its armlets?

it is the shield of Llewelyn the brave
Protector of his country's rights;

A shield with a man's shoulder behind it ;
A shield which carries terror before it.

Whose is the flashing sword which cuts the air,
A sure wound-inflicter;

A mblem of honour it will ever be,

And in that right hand will destroy enemies.

He who handles it, is the defender of his country, Renown'd for downward strokes ;

A

ourageous soldier in the day of battle,

- the hero of Mechain,-his country's pride.

These is that red helmet of battle

Sermounted with a fierce wolf?

Who is the rider of the fierce white steed? at is his name? how wonderful his appearance'

If called long-handed Llewelyn,

The irresistible leader of conflict,

Coriander of men of the terrible shout,

stater of England; faultless, and perfect 's b`.

Whose is the suit of complete armour?
He will not fly from the battle field.
Who is this hero of princely race?
I ask you all, whence sprang he?
He is a renowned and valiant prince,
Famed for bravery, and slaughtering;
The majestic Chief, dreadful in the fight,
Is the son of Madoc ap Meredydd.

Whose is the war-steed, fastest in the race,
Which so haughtily paws the ground?
Who the prince so loved by his army,

With the spear which pierces without warning?
He is a known, ambitious chief,

Who as long as God supports him,

Will be famed as conqueror, brave and glorious-
Worthy of the men of Tysiliaw.

We can now easily understand the feeling which won for this young prince, the name of being the "sole hope of the men of Powys," for every line of the above Englynion, free from bardic affectation and stamped with sincerity, clearly shows that Llewelyn was a young chief of no ordinary promise.

The authorship of the verses is involved in some degree of obscurity. Llywarch Llaety, the reputed author, lived between 1290 and 1340; and therefore so long after the death of Llewelyn, as to render it quite impossible for him to be the author of lines which were written during this prince's life time. The poet gives his name, as is shown by

Pieu yr arveu arvet heb gilyaw

Ni gylyant hyd angeu

Pwy wr pennaetheid geneu

Rac pawb pieu y dechreu.

Yssef yw hwnnw honneit nud or glyw

Ef yw giew a llotrud

Mygyr gawr var trablawr trablud

Mab Madawe vab Maredud.

Pieu y katvarch, catvlaen ae gorveid

Ar gorvot dihavarch

Ar gwr ar gwyr am barch

Ar gwaew ar gwan anghyvarch,

Yssef yw hwnnw hanneit gan llaw draws

Dra savo Duw ganthaw

Gwyr orvod gwrd glot gludaw

Gwr rac gwerin dyssiliaw.

the subscription to the Englynion, as Llywarch Llew Cad; and therefore, as Carnhuanawe suggests, either Llywarch Llaety and Llywarch Llew Cad were different persons, or the former lived a hundred years earlier than the date usually given to his compositions. I therefore incline to the opinion that the Author is the person called Lywarch Llew Cad; though I have no further knowledge of that personage, for we know but little of the biography of most of the bards,

The last remark indicates a sad defect, which is felt by every one who attempts to give anything like a correct historical sketch of our bardie literature. Few facts are so unsubstantial as the bards, like shadows they come and like shadows depart. We know something of Davydd ab Gwilym, Iolo Goch, and Lewis Glyn Cothy; but who was Meilir? Where lived his son Gwalchmai? Llywarch ab Llywelyn, where was he born? Whose son was Kynddelw? When was Davydd Benfas born? When did Gruffydd ab Yr Ynad die? We cannot tell. Rhys Goch came from the neighbourhood of Eryri; Davydd Nanmor wrote extravagant panegyrics; Tudur Aled was liked by Sir Rhys ab Thomas; Guttyn Owain wrote history; and Davydd Llwyd lived at Mathraval; but beyond these scanty hints we have no materials to construct biographies. The lives of the most worthy are written in their poems;-the lower grade, or clerwyr, many of them were spies, beggars, and wanderers ; they lived from house to house, composed songs for weddings, and importuned farmers for beds, cows, guns, saddles, bridles, and horses; they eat and drank whatever came in their way, and were jealous of their rivals-the monks; but beyond these facts, which hold good of all, we know nothing. Particular incidents we have not; and therefore biographical sketches are impossible.

Having thus passed in review such portions of the poetry of the twelfth century as seemed most deserving of notice, we now come to speak of such other employments, as composed with poetry the intellectual life of the Welsh. Of these the science of music first demands attention.

SECTION III.

MUSIC.

Or literature and civilization, music has ever formed a part; ad in most countries, the popular sentiment has very closely allied a love of music with the love of virtue. Plato in one of his dialogues makes Socrates express a regret that he had not paid sufficient attention to the science; Polybi attributes the advancement in civilization of an Arcan tribe, to their love of music; and Quintilian commends the selence of harmony to the notice of the learned. The poots of Italy make frequent allusions to its civilizing tendency; it has been acknowledged in other countries that "music has charms to soothe the savage breast"; and Shakspere, followed by Congreve, have borne their testimony in favo of the same doctrine. The poets of Wales have not been behind hand, as is shown in these verses, translated from the Welsh:

The man to whom the harp is dear,

Who loves the sound of song and ode,
Will cherish all that's cherished there,
Where angels hold their blest abode.
But he who loves not tune or strain,
Nature to him no love has given;
You'll see him while his days remain,

Hateful at once to earth and Heaven.

Nor is this affection, which greatly prevails at the present day, a thing of recent origin. It is inseparably linked wi r literature and history; and the first poem we have conys the intelligence of a prevalent love of music.

have seen these allusions to the Cerddorion in the extracts from the early bards; and the fact that a pencerdd, or doctor of music, was recognised by the laws of Howel, is full of significance. Towards A.D. 1100, we find Gruffydd ab Kynan, king of North Wales, turning his attention to the subject of musical regulations; and from his paying more attention to music than to poetry, we may infer that he was partial to the former, and was perhaps himself a competent judge of musical excellence. He was born and educated in Ireland, of Welsh parents,—his father having sought a refuge there; and he had, it is probable, imbibed a taste for sweet sounds in the Emerald Isle. In fact he seems to have fallen in love with the pipe-the bagpipe, and when the country became somewhat pacified, he made an attempt to inoculate the people of North Wales with a similar taste. We learn this from the account of his life by Robert ap Gruffydd,

Gruffydd ap Kynan, King of North Wales, held an Eisteddvod, for the purpose of regulating minstrelsy, at Caerwys, whither travelled all the musicians of Wales. There came also some from England and Scotland. At that time the Welsh disliked the pipes, and in fact forbade their use; and therefore it was a Scot that won the prize, and the king gave him a silver pipe as a reward for his skill. The laws then enacted, continue in force now, and are binding upon, and guides to, the Welsh minstrels at the present day. Gruffydd did not attempt to make these regulations binding in South Wales, on account of its being in the possession of strangers; nor can the Princes of South Wales lay claim to the obedience of the North Welsh minstrels."

In the 1st volume of the Cambrian Register, (page 386,) we find a more specific statement :

"Observe this is the book, called the Repertory of string music, that is to say the harp and erwth, within the three principalities of Wales, which was drawn up from the science of music, at the desire of four musical performers,