GDG 117; SPDG 29; HGDG pp. 155–9.
In this poem the wind is sent as a love-messenger (llatai) to Morfudd. 'Y Bwa Bach' (the nickname of Morfudd's husband) is referred to, but since the wind is sent to her father's house (line 50; cf. 116.32 where the roebuck is sent to Dyddgu's father's house) Morfudd was perhaps not yet married to him. Lines 17–8 and 49 suggest that Dafydd was exiled from the commote of Uwch Aeron as a result of legal action y Bwa Bach. Since it is the north wind that is sent, it might be concluded that Dafydd was somewhere north of Uwch Aeron, but the geography of the poem should probably not be interpreted so literally. More significant is the traditional belief that the north wind was beneficial, as these lines by Lewys Glyn Cothi suggest: 'Awn gynt, ar ogleddwynt glas, / yn ieuanc iawn, i Euas' (GLGC 122.31–2). Note that it is the south wind which unroofed the house in 'Yr Adfail' (151.27–8). An English lyric which is very relevant to this poem is 'Blow, northerne wynd' in MS. Harley 2253 of the first quarter of the 14thcentury, see G. L. Brook, (ed.), The Harley Lyrics (Manchester, 1968), 48–50. But that poem asks the wind to send the girl to the poet, rather than take a message, and apart from the address in the refrain the wind.is not described at all.
The first part of the poem is clearly based on the riddle (dychymyg), a popular genre in both literary and oral culture in the Middle Ages. This does not work like a riddle as such, since the wind is named in the first line , but the element of paradox is typical of the genre – the wind is a creature without feet which can run swiftly. This is the common factor linking this poem with 'Cân y Gwynt' in the Book of Taliesin (BT 36–8), a poem which adopts the riddle genre in its opening words: 'Dechymic pwy yw'. There are some similarities between the two poems, as could be expected, e.g. 'heb law a heb troet' (cf. line 4 here), and 'kanys gwyl golwc' (cf. line 31 here), but these are a function of the genre, and there is no reason to believe that Dafydd was referring specifically to 'Cân y Gwynt'.
The poem is discussed in detail by Thomas Parry, 'Dafydd ap Gwilym', YB IX (1976), 41–60; see also D. J. Bowen, 'Nodiadau ar Gywydd y Gwynt', ibid, 57–60, which gives information on professional messengers of the period.
13. Uwch Aeron a commote in Ceredigion to the north of the river Aeron.