Englynion y Beddeu

Englynion y Beddau [ eŋ'lənjon ɘ 'beðei ] ( "The verses the graves"), even Englynion y Beddau ( welsh bedd = "grave", Mz. "Beddau") is the title of a group of poems about tombs. Linguists date these poems to the 9th / 10th centuries. Century, but a manuscript is only included in the Llyfr Du Caerfyrddin ("The Black Book of Carmarthen") from the 13th century , namely a collection of 73 such poems. Around 1600 more were collected in the Llyfr Coch Hergest ("The Red Book of Hergest").

content

Englynion y Beddeu lists the tombs of famous Welsh heroes in englyn form (see below) . One deals with the burial place of King Arthur , others with figures from the Mabinogion , such as Dylan Eil Ton , Pryderi or Llew Llaw Gyffes or British heroes such as Rhydderch Hael . However, only very few of the places listed can actually be located. The collection is very significant, however, as the individual poems contain many indications of the content of lost sagas and myths of the Celts of Britain .

englyn

Englyn [ 'eŋlin ] is the oldest known stanza form in literature in the Cymrian language , which dates back to the 8th / 9th centuries. It was formed in the 16th century and is still used today. The englyn consists of three to four verses , which are connected according to fixed rules both by end rhymes and by alliteration . Very often the whole poem consists of a single stanza of this kind.

See also

• List of Celtic gods and legendary figures
• Myths and legends from Wales and Britain
• Englynion United
• Englynion y Clyweid

literature

• Bernhard Maier : Lexicon of Celtic Religion and Culture (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 466). Kröner, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-520-46601-5 .

Web link

• Robert Williams: A biographical dictionary of eminent Welshmen , William Rees, 1852

Individual evidence

1. ^ Bernhard Maier: Lexicon of the Celtic religion and culture . P. 112.