Cywydd

by S. L. P. Van der Veer

Summer 2001

This issue we look at a Welsh form, the cywydd (cuh’-with; plural form is cywyddau). Cywydd is a flexible verse form with four variations. It was developed by Dafydd ap Gwylym (alternatively spelled Gwilym), leading Welsh poet in the fourteenth century and one of the foremost poets of medieval Europe. The cywydd was the leading Welsh poetic form from the 14th to early 17th centuries, experiencing revivals in the mid-18th century (thanks to Goronwy Owen and others of the classical school of Welsh poets) and again in the 19th century. It still finds favour with contemporary Welsh poets. The most common variation is the cywydd deuair hyrion (cuh’-with day’-air her’-yon). It is made up of rhyming couplets of seven syllables each, with the accent differing on the rhyming words (i.e., alternating between stressed and unstressed final syllables). This differing accentuation is called cynghanedd, which is a term for a system of alliteration and internal rhyme. There may be any number of couplets.

Soul Forge

by S. L. P. Van der Veer

 

It was a night much like this,

cool, clear, the sky an abyss ~

ink-black sea held endless stars.

Then, they didn’t seem so far ~

we could catch them if we tried.

Instead, we sang on hillsides,

danced as elves are wont to do,

told fantastic tales and true,

felt the magic in our bones,

had no fear of the unknown.

Starry nights, I reminisce....

souls are forged on nights like this.

For Additional Information

Court, Wesli. Translation of “Lament for Owain ab Urien” by Taliesin (6-7th c.)

Note: Court has translated a number of Welsh poems of various styles, including other cywyddau forms.

Owen, Goronwy. 18th c. poet. “Cywydd y Farn Fawr” (Cywydd of the Great Judgment) and “Cywydd y Gem neu’r Maen Gwerthfawr (Cywydd of the Gem or the Precious Stone), among others.

Nanmor, Dafydd. 15th c. poet. “Llio’s Hair” and “Maiden’s Elegy”, among others.

The Poetical Works of Dafydd Nanmor, edited by Thomas Roberts and Ifor Williams, 1923.

Cothi, Lewis Glyn. 15th century poet.

Glyn, Guto’r. 15th century poet.

Jones, Thomas Gwynn.

Parry, Robert Williams.

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