Imagining the Environment of Llywelyn Fardd I: A Discussion of the Poet's Geographical, HIstorical, Literary and Socio-Political Contexts

Abstract

Though little research has been done on the gogynfardd Llywelyn Fardd I and his compositions, the body of extant poetry that can be attributed to this court poet reveals much about the historical context in which the poet worked and lived. This study analyses the references to places and people in Llywelyn’s extant poems, which consist of Canu Cadfan, Arwyrain Owain Gwynedd, Englyn Bygwth Owain Fychan, Dadolwch Owain Fychan, Marwnad Cedifor ap Genillyn and Arwyddion cyn Dydd Brawd. On the base of these references, it reconstructs an itinerary that showcases the poet’s mobility throughout Wales. It follows Llywelyn’s career from his early years as a bardd teulu, to his life in ecclesiastical environments, to the later stages of his career, when he performed in the courts of Owain Fychan and Owain Gwynedd. By looking at the intertextuality of Llywelyn’s animal symbols – the dragon, lion and queen bee (modrydaf) specifically – this study offers a view on the implications Llywelyn and his audience had considering Llywelyn’s patrons, their followers, and even of Llywelyn himself. Though Llywelyn roughly continued the use of animal metaphors according to the tradition of the cynfeirdd, this study shows that his execution of the literary tool also differed from the earlier tradition. Specifically, this thesis argues that Llywelyn employed dragons as symbols of local power to describe himself and his patrons. It also proposes that Llywelyn’s lion symbol revolved around the theme of kingship and forgiveness, included in the extensive account of Isidore of Seville. For both images, the study also considers the rough contemporary Geoffrey of Monmouth as a source of influence on Llywelyn’s animal images. Concerning the image of the modrydaf, first attested in the Welsh laws, the thesis argues that the gogynfeirdd employed the term as a means to capture the essence of the mead-feast – a topos from the hengerdd. The figurative use of the animal first appeared in the poems of the earliest gogynfardd Meilyr Brydydd, and rapidly spread to the works of other gogynfeirdd, including those of Llywelyn. This intertextual analysis considers the associations Llywelyn and his audiences had with the animal symbols and the people they represented, and addresses the quick pace with which compositions could influence one another in twelfth-century Wales. Lastly, through a philosophical approach, this study further considers how Llywelyn and his audiences related to the spaces in Llywelyn’s poems. The constructed spaces facilitated a shared experience that enabled Llywelyn to receive the compassion of his audience and in this way perform social pressure on his patrons, for example to convince them to allow him back into their courts. The shared experience of space could also enable the poet and his audience to commemorate a deceased leader together, as in Marwnad Cedifor ap Genillyn. The constructed spaces in Arwyddion cyn Dydd Brawd, a poem of disputed authorship, specifically enabled the audience to experience the days before Judgment Day. Through the composition, the poet encouraged his audience to consider the biblical material in the context of their own lives. Read in light of the years Llywelyn spent in religious circles, the thesis finally pleads for a reconsideration of Llywelyn as the author of the poem.