GDG 50; HGDG 47–8.
The game cnau i'm llaw ('nuts in my hand') was a means of discovering whether whoever sent the nuts loved the one who received them. There are two other poems on the same theme, one by Iolo Goch (GIG XXVI), and the other by Ieuan ap Rhydderch (GIRh 2). By comparing the three it is possible to derive a fairly clear idea of how the game worked. It was played by two people, in this poem a friend and the poet, in Iolo's poem a Jealous Husband and his wife, and in Ieuan's poem the two lovers.. There would be a ritual exchange as follows:
First: Cnau i'm llaw ('I have nuts in my hand')
Second: I mi y dônt ('They are mine')
First: Pam? ('Why?')
Second: Oherwydd eu danfon i mi ('Because they were sent to me')
First: Gan bwy? (By whom?)
Second: Hwn-a-hwn, neu hon-a-hon ('so-and so')
First: A yw hi (neu ef) yn dy garu? ('Does she (or he) love you?')
Second: Os yw'n fy ngharu, gad yna amnifer o gnau ('If she (or he) loves me, leave an odd number of nuts there')
The crucial expression which occurs in all three poems is 'gad yna amnifer'. The fact that there are nine nuts in the husband's hand is proof that Iolo loves the wife, and the fact that there are seven in the girl's hand is proof that she loves Ieuan. It is not stated here precisely how many nuts are in the friend's hand, but it is clear that the omen is favourable, since Dafydd goes on to praise the nuts. Nevertheless, there remains some uncertainty about the reading amnifer in line 30 of this poem, since the Vetustus version reads cyfnifer ('even'). If the second player was supposed to guess whether the number of nuts was odd or even, then both readings are possible, as D. Machreth Ellis argued in LlC 5 (1958–9), 187–90. And even if an odd number was the only favourable omen, as Parry assumed (GDG1 485–6; GDG2 557), the variation between the two readings could be significant bearing in mind the poet's uncertainty as to whether the omen is true or false (lines 38–42). Note also the expression gwarae gau ('false game') in line 15 and the emphasis on cunning and guile in the first paragraph. Clearly the holder of the nuts had the opportunity to ensure a favourable result to the game, and that is perhaps another reason for the uncertainty over the validity of the omen. In any case, the poem concludes on a very positive note, playing on the sexual symbolism of the nuts (for examples of such symbolism in free-metre verse see DGIA 180–2).
llyfr Ofydd Cf. 72.20 and llyfr cariad 105.45. There are a number of other examples of this expression in the poetry of the period, see GSRh 11.55, 'Salm o hen gof llyfr Ofydd' (a line very similar to this one, from a cywydd requesting a harp by Gruffudd Fychan), GIRh 2.1, IGE 158.7, BDG X.25, CLXIII.17, CXCIX.4, CSTB XVII.45. If some of these instances refer to a specific book, then it is likely to be Ovid's Ars Amatoria. But as is shown by the title of one of the texts of a Welsh translation of Richart de Fournival's Bestiaire d'Amour, 'Llyma lyfr a elwir Llyfr Ovydd' (Thomas, 1988, 11), llyfr Ofydd could mean any authoritative work about love in the Ovidian tradition. Since the Ars Amatoria advises the lover not to trust in a friend, it is more likely that Le Roman de la Rose was the authority meant here. Amis (friend) is a prominent figure helping the lover in the Roman, see the lines quoted by Edwards in DGIA 216.
32. Deinioel The context suggests that this is the prophet, who was famed in the Middle Ages for his ability to interpret signs and foresee the future . The instances of the name in 127.6 and 128.5, on the other hand, refer to Deinioel ap Dunawd, patron saint of Bangor Cathedral.
52. Ysgolan a character in a lost tale, who was also known in Brittany by the name Skolan, see A. O. H. Jarman, 'Cerdd Ysgolan', YB X (1977), 51–78. In the englynion about him in the Black Book of Carmarthen there is strong emphasis on sin and penance, and Jarman suggests (p. 51) that Dafydd is referring to his own sufferings as a lover in likening himself to Ysgolan. But since the events of the tale are no longer known it is difficult to be sure about the point of the reference. Since the second half of the line talks of keeping the nuts hidden from sight, did Ysgolan hide in a forest in teh tale? Note that the first verse of the Black Book englynion describes him as having a black body, black clothing and a black horse. (see Jarman, 52).