The Misfortunes of Elphin |
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abbey abbot amongst Andraste Angharad ap Seithyn Saidi arms Avallon bard Bardic Congress beautiful Bedwyr breakers Britain Britons buffalo horn Caer Lleon Caredigion castle cavern Ceridwen chace CHAP coracle court cupbearers daughter deep Diganwy Dinas Vawr draught drink Druids Elphin and Teithrin embankment eyes feast festival fish forest gates golden goblet GWIN Gwythno Garanhir hall hand harp head heard Hengist hero honourable isle of Britain King Arthur King Melvas ladies land light liquor Llywarch looked Maelgon Gwyneth Mawddach mead Melanghel MISFORTUNES OF ELPHIN mountain NONNUS oppression of Gwenhidwy palace Plain of Gwaelod poem portion Prince Seithenyn princess Queen Gwenyvar Rhûn roar rock rolling royal Saxons Seithenyn ap Seithyn shore song sound spear springtide stood storm stranger sword Taliesin Teithrin ap Tathral thing torrents tower TRIADS tumult Uther Pendragon voice Vortigern Vortimer walls waters waves weir wife wind Wine from gold
Popular passages
Page 69 - twould win me That with music loud and long, I would build that dome in air, That sunny dome ! those caves of ice ! And all who heard should see them there, And all should cry, Beware ! Beware ! His flashing eyes, his floating hair ! Weave a circle round him thrice, And close your eyes with holy dread, For he on honey-dew hath fed, And drunk the milk of Paradise.
Page 142 - The mountain sheep are sweeter, But the valley sheep are fatter; We therefore deemed it meeter To carry off the latter. We made an expedition; We met a host and quelled it; We forced a strong position, And killed the men who held it. On Dyfed's richest valley, Where herds of kine were browsing, We made a mighty sally, To furnish our carousing. Fierce warriors rushed to meet us; We met them and o'erthrew them: They struggled hard to beat us; But we conquered them and slew them.
Page 143 - Spilt blood enough to swim in: We orphaned many children, . . And widowed many women. The eagles and the ravens We glutted with our foemen; The heroes and the cravens, The spearmen and the bowmen. We brought away from battle, And much their land bemoaned them, Two thousand head of Cattle, And the head of him who owned them: Ednyfed, king of Dyfed, His head was borne before us ; His wine and beasts supplied our feasts, And his overthrow, our chorus.
Page 141 - VAWR The mountain sheep are sweeter, But the valley sheep are fatter; We therefore deemed it meeter To carry off the latter. We made an expedition; We met an host and quelled it; We forced a strong position, And killed the men who held it.
Page 142 - As we drove our prize at leisure, The king marched forth to catch us : His rage surpassed all measure, But his people could not match us.
Page 148 - They have not made it known to me," said Seithenyn, "for the best of all reasons, that one can only know the truth ; for, if that which we think we know is not truth, it is something which we do not know. A man cannot know his own death ; for, while he knows anything he is alive ; at least, I never heard of a dead man who knew anything, or pretended to know anything : if he had so pretended, I should have told him to his face he was no dead man.
Page 25 - I could build any thing that would stand against them half an hour; and here this immortal old work, which God forbid the finger of modern mason should bring into jeopardy, this immortal work has stood for centuries, and will stand for centuries more if we let it alone. It is well: it works well: let well alone. Cupbearer, fill. It was half rotten when I was born, and that is a conclusive reason why it should be three parts rotten when I die.
Page 23 - is one thing, and danger is another. Every thing that is old must decay. That the embankment is old, I am free to confess ; that it is somewhat rotten in parts, I will not altogether deny ; that it is any the worse for that, I do most sturdily gainsay. It does its business well : it works well : it keeps out the water from the land, and it lets in the wine upon the High Commission of Embankment.
Page 210 - ... whole retinue of magnanimous heroes were inflamed with intense ardour to join the standard of Arthur ; and Melvas vowed most solemnly to Taliesin that another sun should not set before Queen Gwenyvar should be under the most honourable guidance on her return to Caer Lleon. CHAPTER XV. THE CIRCLE OF THE BARDS. The three dignities of poetry : the union of the true and the wonderful ; the union of the beautiful and the wise ; and the union of art and nature.
Page 27 - Not to level the embankment," said Teithrin. " Good, very good," said Seithenyn. " I love a smart saying, though it hits at me. But, whether yours is a smart saying or no, I do not very clearly aee ; and, whether it hits at me or no, I do not very sensibly feel. But all is one. Cupbearer, fill.