Six Old English Chronicles/Appendix 2
APPENDIX.—No. II.
HANES TALIESIN, OR THE HISTORY OF TALIESIN.
The primary domestic bardAm I to Elphin,And my original countryIs the region of Cherubims.Joannes the divineCalled me Merddin,At length every kingWill call me Taliesin.I was full nine monthsIn the womb of mother Cyridwen;[1]I was little Gwion heretofore,Taliesin am I now.I was with my LordIn the superior state,When Lucifer did fallTo the infernal deep.I have borne a bannerBefore Alexander:I know the names of the starsFrom the north to Auster.I have been in the circle of GwdionTetragammaton;[2]I conducted Hean[3]To the depth of Ebron vale,I was in CanaanWhen Absalom was slain,I was in the Court of Don[4]Before Gwdion was born,I was an attendantOn Eli and Enoc;I was on the cross-devoting sentenceOf the Son of the merciful God.I have been chief keeperOf the work of Nimrod's tower;I have been three revolutionsIn the circle of Arianrod.[5]I was in the ArkWith Noah and Alpha;I beheld the destructionOf Sodoma and Gomorra;I was in AfricaBefore Rome was built;I am come hereTo the remnants of Troia.I was with my LordIn the manger of the she-ass;I strengthened MosesThrough the Jordan water.I have been in the firmamentWith Mary Magdalen;I have been gifted with geniusFrom the Cauldron of Cyridwen.I have been bard of the harpTo the Teon of Lochlyn;[6]I have endured hungerFor the son of the Virgin.I have been in the White Hill[7]In the court of Cynvelyn,In stocks and fetters,For a year and a day.I have had my abodeIn the kingdom of the Trinity;It is not known what is my body,Whether flesh or fish.I have been an instructorTo the whole universe;I shall remain till the day of doomOn the face of the earth,I have been in an agitated seatAbove the circle of Sidin,[8]And that continues revolvingBetween three elements:Is it not a wonder to the world,That it reflects not a splendour?
[From Meyrick's History of Cardiganshire, p. 65, 2 vols. London, 1806.]