Notes
GDG 131
The tone of this poem to Morfudd is triumphant. The first six couplets, reminiscent of the opening lines of 'The Kiss' (83), express Dafydd's exultation as he contrasts yesterday's joy with the banality of the previous day. Without revealing the cause of his joy, he defiantly insists that in spite of past bruises there is still life in his tired old bones. His claim is underlined by a series of images: he is tough as an apple–tree withe that bends without snapping; he has the soul of a cat that survives whatever abuse is thrown at it; and though not fleet of foot he still has the beating of others. He proceeds to support his argument with a couple of proverbs which emphasize his patience and perseverance, before revealing finally the reason for his new–found joy. Having wooed Morfudd, a married woman, and having praised her for so long, at last she has given him cause for hope. He claims eventually to have had his way, and his ecstasy reaches its climax in the exclamation of the closing line: Aha! wraig y Bwa Bach! 'Aha! the wife of Bwa Bach'. The impression of defiant self–confidence is reflected in the poem's assured movement from couplet to couplet.
7. The meaning is unclear, unless there is a reference to one of the many feasts devoted to the Virgin Mary.
19–22. A reflection of the old belief that a cat has nine lives? There are no early examples in GPC 2555 s.v. naw. The earliest instances in OED s.v. nine date from the sixteenth century.
25. gwawl As an adjective, 'dazzling'. Since Dafydd goes on to identify himself with Pwyll Pendefig Dyfed, the personal name Gwawl is a possibility, representing the jealous husband. Gwawl is referred to in 90.26 and perhaps in 123.21 (see note). In the first branch of the Mabinogi Gwawl fab Clud is supposed to marry Rhiannon against her will, Rhiannon having fallen in love with Pwyll, and the talk of beating and bruising in the preceding lines calls to mind the manner in which Gwawl was insulted in his own wedding–feast through the game of 'badger in the bag' (cf. 90.26 Gwawl ... fab Clud clwyf ). Was there perhaps a version of the tale in which Pwyll was beaten in the bag before taking revenge on Gwawl? When she urges Gwawl to stand in the bag Rhiannon addresses him as ceimad (PKM 16), 'champion, hero'; cf. gwawl gwiwgamp, ceimad being derived from camp 'feat'.
27-8. Gwell ... pwyll nog aur 'Better deliberation than gold'. The proverb is recorded in the thirteenth–century Black Book of Chirk, see B iii (1926–7), 23, and in John Davies's proverb collection in D.
30. Pwyll The significance may be that by the end of the first branch of the Mabinogi Pwyll Pendefig Dyfed has learned the value of wisdom and patience, whereas previously he had betrayed his impetuousness first by setting his hounds on the stag killed by Arawn and then at the beginning of his relationship with Rhiannon. More specifically, the line may refer to the way in which Pwyll deceived Gwawl fab Clud by appearing at his wedding–feast diguised as a beggar. Other probable references to Pwyll include 6.21 and 39.7 (see notes).
31-2. Trech llafur ... No direidi 'Better toil than wickedness'. The proverb is recorded in MA2 859, taken from a copy which derives ultimately from John Davies's collection.
40. y Bwa Bach The nickname of Morfudd's husband which appears in a legal document from the middle of the fourteenth century, see Introduction: 'Y Bardd', 15–16. The name also appears in 'The Wind', 47.16 don't be afraid despite Bwa Bach.