GDG 111

The poem describes the pain felt by the poet after he saw a girl in the cathedral at Bangor. Some have suggested that the girl was Morfudd, although it is not stated anywhere in the poem. The poet is suffering because of love, and he describes his love as a spear, often poisonous, going through him. There are several different words for spear and other sharp instruments. The poem follows the convention of love's wounds which is found commonly in the medieval courtly love literature, see Edwards, 1996, 230–1, where a specific similarity with the Roman de la Rose is noted (see the note on 15–16, below). The girl opens with a description of the girl, rather conventional — she is compared to Esyllt, Fflur and Mary — and the remainder of the poem focuses on the pain of love suffered by the poet.

The manuscripts all offer a similar text, but it should be noted that Llywelyn Siôn's is the only one including every line in the edited text, but there are at least two sources for each couplet so it appears that they are all valid. Each version apart from Wmffre Dafis' include an additional couplet at the end of the poem, as follows:

	Truan mor glaf yw Dafydd,

	Trwyddew serch trwyddo y sydd.

This couplet is located at the beginning of the first couplet in the bardic debate in many manuscripts, and although it was not accepted by Parry (see GDG 528) it is more appropriate in that location as it refers to Dafydd in the third person (see 23.1–2 for more detail). There may have been, at one stage, a copy without an attribution, and perhaps the two poems ran from one to the other? The location of this couplet in this poem in some copies, however, confirms the link between the bardic debate and this poem and shows that they are very closely related to each other.

balchnoe   Noah's ark. arch Noa. This is discussed by J. E. Caerwyn Williams ('Balchnoe', Y Traethodydd, 134 (1979), 139–141) T. M. Chotzen, ('À Propos de Deux Allusions chez Dafydd ab Gwilym', Revue Celtique, 44 (1927), 68–75) and Enid Roberts ('Dafydd ap Gwilym a Bangor', Yr Haul a'r Gangell (1982), 14–21.). See also the note by Parry, GDG 528.

6. Deinioel   The manuscripts vary in the spelling of the saint's name. Nowadays, the saint is Deiniol, and he is the patron saint of the cathedral at Bangor.

8.Fflur   see 156.15n.

11. seithochr wayw   It is assumed that the poet is referring to a spear with seven sides, but there is no evidence for any specific seven–sided spear. The other option is a straight–sided spear, but all spears are straight–sided. A pike with seven sides, particularly with seven sides on the sharp point, would cause more damage than a smooth–sided one.

29. Esyllt   see 125.8 a 14n.

30. aseth   an awl, a sharp point for binding and securing   a thatched roof. An awl is worth a penny in Welsh law, and it is listed amongst roofing instruments. (Llyfr Iorwerth, 139.6)

33. mynawyd   a small sharp tool for making holes in leather or wood, mainly used by shoemakers.