Trwy aml nawdd, troi ymlaen neb⁠^{1 ⁠Trwy aml nawdd, troi ymlaen neb⁠ Cf. the manuscript reading, Trwy aml⁠al nawdd troi ’mlaen neb. William Bodwrda likely changed aml to amal after realizing that the line was a syllable short. It is highly unlikely that the colloquial form amal was used by the poet, and restoring the unnecessary apostrophe in ’mlaen seems more appropriate (-y was likely lost at the end of the previous word, troi). However, it is also possible that the apostrophe is genuine and that aml was considered disyllabic (with -l a liquid consonant).}⁠
Ar Feuno⁠^{1 ⁠Beuno⁠ On the saint, see LBS i, 208–21, Sims-Williams 2018:1–88.} yr wyf f’wyneb.⁠^{2 ⁠wyf f’wyneb⁠ The manuscript reading, wy f’wyneb, is possible (wy’ f’wyneb), but it is more likely that William Bodwrda wrote one f in place of two.}⁠
Iacháu cyrff, mynych y caid
⁠Beuno, a chadw pob enaid.^{2 Ll. 3–4. For the absence of verbal particle yn when a verbal noun is fronted, cf. GHDafi 48.55 Cynyddu Cymru y’i caid. It is also possible that mynych refers to the cyrff ‘bodies’ that Beuno healed, that is ‘Beuno was found healing many bodies’.}⁠
5Mab geirwir ym mhob gwarant
I Binsi yw Beuno Sant,^{3 ⁠mab … / i Binsi⁠ Ll. 5‒6. The saint’s life gives Beuno’s father as ⁠Bugi⁠, see VSB2⁠ 337, 344 and the note on page 345. The form in the text – which is confirmed by the cynghanedd – follows the preposition i, therefore the unlenited form is ⁠Pinsi⁠, cf. ll. 8 i Lawdden⁠, 22 i Feuno⁠, cf. TA LXXIII.63–4 Bendigiad i dad ydoedd, / Beuno Sant ar binsi oedd. This form is found in some versions of Bonedd y Saint, but the forms ⁠Pinsi⁠ and ⁠Llawdden Lueddawg⁠ (see ll. 7‒8n ŵyr … / … i Lawdden Lueddawg⁠) do not appear in the same text in any extant version. The closest match is found in the version of Bonedd y Saint in Pen 127 (which has the unlenited forms ⁠Binsi⁠ and ⁠Llawdden Lueddawg⁠) in the hand of Thomas ab Ieuan ap Deicws of Maelor, written 1510–23. The poem’s forms of the names may derive from this version of Bonedd y Saint (note that all copies that derive from Pen 127 were written after the likely date of this poem). Cf. also ap pinsi⁠ in texts of Bonedd y Saint (such as Pen 128) that derive ultimately from the same source as Pen 127, but these have ⁠lewdwn lvyddoc⁠ or similar forms. It seems that this version of Bonedd y Saint circulated widely in the 16c., but nothing is known of the date of its composition except that it was earlier than c.1510. Further, see TWS 74–5.}⁠
Ac ŵyr â’r⁠^{3 ⁠â’r⁠ The definite article has been added to aid the meaning (it may well have merged with r- at the beginning of the next word, cf. l. 2n wyf f’wyneb).} rhyw gorau rhawg
Yw i Lawdden Lueddawg.^{4 ⁠ŵyr … / … i Lawdden Lueddawg⁠ Ll. 7‒8. The life gives Beuno’s mother as [P]eren verch Lawdden⁠, see. VSB2⁠ 16, 337. On the form of the grandfather’s name in Bonedd y Saint, see ll. 5‒6n mab … / i Binsi⁠. On the epithet, see GPC Ar Lein s.v. lluyddog ‘having many warriors, having an army’.}⁠
Abad oedd a bedyddiwr,^{5 ⁠bedyddiwr⁠ There does not seem to be any other specific reference to Beuno as a baptizer.}⁠
10A’i fryd oedd ar fara a dŵr,
A chael nef am ei grefydd
Y mae, a pharch am ei ffydd.
Un adeilwr i’n dwywlad^{6 ⁠dwywlad⁠ The life notes that Beuno built many churches along the border and in the north, and the poet may therefore be referring to Gwynedd and Powys. But as Clynnog Fawr, Beuno’s foremost church, is in Gwynedd Uwch Conwy, this could also be a reference to Gwynedd Uwch Conwy and Is Conwy. The implication is that the poet was composing for an audience in a different location or for a mixed audience, or that he came from another part of the country and was working in Uwch Conwy (or the opposite).}⁠
A oedd, a’i dai i Dduw Dad;
15Duwiolaidd yw’r adeilwr,⁠^{4 ⁠adeilwr⁠ The manuscript reading, adelwr, is amended, cf. l. 13 adeilwr.}⁠
Dilesg oedd yn dal oes gŵr.^{7 ⁠Dilesg oedd yn dal oes gŵr⁠ A reference to the support that Beuno gave to those in need. The poet could also be referring to Beuno’s ability to heal. The life mentions Beuno miraculously raising the dead on three occasions, including the resurrection of an Irishman commemorated in the village of Gwyddelwern to the north of Corwen, see VSB2⁠ 339 and the note on pages 351–2 (further on Beuno’s ability to heal, see Henken 1991 184).}⁠
Cnau⁠^{5 ⁠Cnau⁠ Following the manuscript reading, cynav, it would be possible to apostrophize yn and read Cynnau’n firagl i’w fagl fu but, as the explanatory note on this line shows, the correct reading is undoubtedly cnau. On the epenthetic vowel, see GMW 12–13.} yn firagl i’w fagl fu,^{8 ⁠Cnau yn firagl i’w fagl fu⁠ This story, of which no mention is made in the life, is fleshed out in a poem of praise by Tudur Aled for Abbot Siôn ap Dafydd Llwyd of Valle Crucis, see TA XXVIII.49–52 Fy Nuw, ar ffon Feuno’r ffydd, / Y rhoes gnau a rhisg newydd; / Yr un dail îr yn dy law, / Unben, dwg i’n bendigaw ‘On the staff of Beuno of the faith, my God / placed nuts and new bark; / may you, supreme lord, / carry the same verdant leaves in your hand to bless us’. It is likely that the same story lies behind Lewys Môn’s poem of praise for Abbot Dafydd ab Owain of Aberconwy, see ll. 19–20n. Similarly, cf. the story of Cybi’s staff, to which no reference is made in the saint’s life, mentioned in a poem by Dafydd Llwyd of Mathafarn, GDLl 18.3–4 Cnau a dail, cnwd a welynt, / Gwisgi ar ffon Gybi gynt ‘They’d see a crop, supple nuts and leaves, / on Cybi’s staff of yore’. For other similar references, see Henken 1991 171.}⁠
Sy’n tywysaw^{9 ⁠sy’n tywysaw⁠ The subject is the [b]agl ‘staff’ in the previous line. In the context of the staff’s miraculous ability to sprout like a plant, the use of tywysaw ‘leading’ may punningly recall the noun tywys ‘new corn on a stalk’.} saint Iesu;
A’r ail gwyrth: ar ei ôl^{10 ⁠ar ei ôl⁠ The pronoun refers to Beuno himself, who led the way for his followers with the aid of his staff.} gynt
20Sarn oedd a’u siwrnai iddynt;^{11 ⁠iddynt⁠ A reference to the saint ‘saints’ in l. 18. 12 Ll. 19–20. It seems that the poet is still referring in this couplet to Beuno’s staff (see l. 17n), as suggested by the following excerpt from Lewys Môn’s poem of praise for Abbot Dafydd ab Owain of Aberconwy, see GLM LXV.5–10 Arwain ffon Aron, a’i ffydd, / iti tyf, y tad Dafydd: / dy fagl ar bendefigion, / dêl y rhisg a’r dail ar hon: / ym mrig Enlli, môr gwynllwyd, / bu yn ei law, Beuno lwyd ‘Take both Aaron’s staff and his faith, / it will grow for you, father Dafydd: / your staff upon noblemen, / the bark and leaves will come upon it: / above Bardsey, grey white sea, / it was in his hand, holy Beuno’s’. In other words, the staff’s first miracle was bearing fruit, and the ail gwyrth ‘second miracle’ was providing a causeway over which Beuno’s followers could safely cross. The same story may be referred to in Ieuan ap Maredudd Hir’s poem of praise for Beuno, BeunoMH ll. 15‒16. Lewys Môn’s poem suggests that this second miracle happened between the mainland and Bardsey – of which no mention is made in the life – but another reference to the causeway in Siôn Brwynog’s poem of praise for Rhydderch ap Rhys of Tregaean may point to a location near Anglesey, see Kerr 1960: 74 (ll. 35–6) Sinsur a brig, sens aur bro, / Siwrnai fynych Sarn Feuno⁠ ‘Ginger and shoots, a land’s golden incense, / a frequent journey [over] Sarn Feuno’. Cf. mention of Gored Beuno ‘Beuno’s Weir’ off the coast of Clynnog Fawr in Thomas (1863: 58; on the name, see GPC Ar Lein s.v. cored), as well as the belief that it was possible at one time to walk from Clynnog to Anglesey, and a story recorded by Rhŷs (1901: 219) which mentions Beuno journeying on foot from Clynnog Fawr to Llanddwyn on Anglesey. Cf. also the causeway that miraculously appeared so that Mordeyrn (on a horse) and his followers could cross the sea to Bardsey in Dafydd ap Llywelyn’s poem of praise to the saint, MWPSS 6.13–30 (for other examples of saints in connection with miraculous causeways, see Henken 1991 153).}⁠
A’r man y rhoddes fesen,
I Feuno, praff fu fôn pren,⁠^{6 ⁠fôn pren⁠ The manuscript reading, fôn bren, which is almost meaningless and makes the cynghanedd incorrect, is amended.}⁠
Ac yna rhai byganiaid^{13 ⁠rhai byganiaid⁠ The mutation following rhai is unusual, but cf. IGE2⁠ 272 (l. 20) Rhai boenau, rhyfawr benyd. For the vowel -y-, see GPC Ar Lein s.v. pagan ‘pagan’, where the variant form pygan is noted.}⁠
Dan frig hon^{14 ⁠dan frig hon⁠ The feminine hon refers to the oak (see ll. 21‒4n), even though the poet actually used the masculine pren ‘tree’.} doe yn feirw⁠^{7 ⁠doe’n feirw⁠ Following the apostrophized ’n in the manuscript reading, feirw must be disyllabic, but contrast monosyllabic cadw in l. 4. The syllable is recovered in the edition and feirw counted monosyllabic, cf. l. 1n.} caid.^{15 Ll. 21–4. This story appears in the life, see VSB2⁠ 17 Gwedy hynny Beuno a drigyawd ar dref y dat, ac a adeilawd eglwys yno, ac ae kyssegrawd yn enw yr arglwyd Grist, ac a blannawd vessen yn ystlys bed y dat, a honno a dyfawd yno yn derwen diruawr y huchet ae frasset. Ac ar vric y prenn hwnnw ef a wrthtyfawd keing hyt y llawr, ac or llawr dracheuen yn ogyuuch a bric y prenn, a thrigyaw elin yr geing ar y llawr. Ac velle y mae yn w[a]stat. Ac od a Seis yrwng yr elin honno a bon y prenn, yn diannot y byd marw. Ac os Kymro a a yno, ny henuyd gwaeth. Note the use of the adjective praff ‘strong’ both in the life and the poem.}⁠