Am eni Sacarïas ^{1 Gwyn 3 has a very different line: Iawn swccr oedd i Sacarias.}
Y ganed i Gred y gras.
Elsbeth fal yn eneth lân ^{2 There was some uncertainty about this line: Sant elsbeth ail eneth lan in Llywelyn Siôn’s manuscripts, Saint elsbeth fel eneth lan in Gwyn 3, and Elizabeth loywbleth lan in Pen 312.}
Oedd ei wraig o ^{3 Gwyn 3, Pen 312 and Llywelyn Siôn’s manuscripts have drwy instead of o.} ddarogan.
5Hwy yn fyw yn hen fuant ^{4 Gwyn 3, Pen 312 and Llywelyn Siôn’s manuscripts Hwy’n fywiol hen a fuant.}
Heb goel plaid a heb gael plant. ^{5 Gwyn 3, Pen 312 and Llywelyn Siôn’s manuscripts Heb goel heb plaid heb gael plant.}
Yntau ŵr o’i naturiaeth
Mal yr oen i’r deml yr aeth,
A Gabriel hyd ei wely ^{6 Gwyn 3 Daeth Gabriel at ei wely.}
10Ato a aeth i’r un tŷ; ^{7 Gwyn 3 Cennad y tad hyd y ty.}
Addef o Abriel ^{8 Gabriel is not mutated in Pen 77 and BL 14871, and Gwyn 3 has Addefodd Gabriel.} iddo
Y byddai fab iddo fo,
Ac ef uwchlaw’r holl grefydd,
A’i enw efô ^{9 A number of manuscripts read fo due to enw being considered bisyllabic.} Ieuan fydd.
15 Ieuan aeth pan fu yn ŵr
Wedy Adda’n fedyddiwr.
E’ ddyfod â’r tafod da
I Fair wen o fru Anna,^{1 According to Luke’s Gospel, 1.41–5, the child in Elizabeth’s womb leapt when it heard the voice of the Virgin Mary, but it was the mother who uttered the words, ‘Blessed art thou among women . . .’.}
‘Gwyliwch lle mae i’n golwg ^{10 The pronoun varies in the manuscripts, Gwyn 3 yn eich, Llywelyn Siôn ywch, Pen 312 ei.}
20Oen Duw o boenau a’n dwg.’
O naw arwydd, mae’n orau,
Enwi ydd ŷm un neu ddau.
Ei dad oedd, da Duw iddo,
Yn fud nes ei eni fo.
25Cyntaf llaw arnaw a aeth
Llaw Fair, llai fu ei hiraeth.^{2 According to the Legenda Aurea the Virgin Mary attended on Elizabeth when John was born.}
Cyntaf ffydd ar fedydd fu
Ac a roes i’r gwir ^{11 i’r gwir Pen 312 only; all other manuscripts read y gwir. It may be that John Jones, Gellilyfdy corrected the reading of his exemplar on the basis of the account in the New Testament.} Iesu,^{3 See Matthew 3.13-16 for the story of John baptizing Jesus.}
A’r sant fal o’r saint filoedd
30Nesa’ un i Iesu oedd.
Ieuan fyth, a’i oen efô,
Fedyddiwr, hawddfyd iddo
Ei boen ^{12 Gwyn 3 and Llywelyn Siôn’s manuscripts have I’r boen.} wedy syrthio’r byd
Ac o’r poen i gwr penyd.
35 Ieuan fawr, ^{13 fawr Pen 77 and BL 14871; Gwyn 3 fwyn, Pen 312 y fo. The couplet is missing in Llywelyn Siôn’s manuscripts.} darogan fu,^{4 Matthew 3.3 refers to the prophecy of Isaiah.}
A groeses ^{14 a groeses BL 14871; Pen 77 ar y groes, Pen 312 y fo ar groes, Gwyn 3 yw’r groes a’r gwir. It may be that John Davies corrected the reading of his exemplar.} y gwir Iesu.
Drwy’r byd mae ^{15 Gwyn 3, Pen 312 and Stowe 959 Mae drwy’r byd.} o bedwar ban
Dai i rai ar dir Ieuan,
A phob ^{16 Gwyn 3 and Stowe 959 Mae pob ty, Pen 312 Mae ymob ty.} tŷ’n ysbyty i’r byd
40A’u rhifo’n seintwar hefyd.^{5 John the Baptist was the patron saint of the Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, an order which maintained hospices for sick and needy travellers, including houses at Ysbyty Ifan in Denbighshire and Slebech in Pembrokeshire.}
Tair gwlad yn un pentwr ^{17 un pentwr Gwyn 3 alawnt wr, Pen 312 tywynau.} glân
A Gröeg a gâr Ieuan: ^{18 Gwyn 3 goreu-fodd a gâr Ifan.}
Holl nef, lle mae llwyn afall,
Holl Gred, holl Anghred yw’r llall.
45Y croen oddi am ^{19 Y croen oddi am BL 14871; Gwyn 3 Ei wisg oedd am.} y camel
A wisgai ef, nid oes gêl. ^{20 nid oes gêl BL 14871; other manuscript readings, such as Gwyn 3 ni cheisiodd gêl, give unsatisfactory cynghanedd.}
Bwyd y macwy meudwyaidd,
Berwr hallt, bara o’r haidd.
Ei ddiod, gannaid ^{21 gannaid BL 14871; other manuscripts have gan ei. This is the lectio difficilior, and it is taken to be a sangiad describing John the Baptist.} ddewin,
50Y dŵr gwyn, ^{22 gwyn Gwyn 3 and Stowe 959 a gai, Llywelyn Siôn’s manuscripts gwyllt.} nid seidr a gwin.^{6 nid seidr a gwin This appears to derive from the Legenda Aurea. The angel Gabriel says, in the words of Caxton’s translation, ‘He shall not drink wine ne cider’.}
Ieuan fab Elisabeth
A wybu pwnc o bob peth.
Proffwyd nesnes i’r Iesu
A dau fwy na phroffwyd fu.
55Ni aned ynn yn unair
I ŵr a gwraig y rhyw ^{23 y rhyw Gwyn 3 cyfryw.} grair.
Ni chad na chynt na chwedy
Dyn un fraint dan y nef fry. ^{24 This couplet is missing in Gwyn 3 and Llywelyn Siôn’s manuscripts.}
Fy nghorff y rhag ofn^{25 y rhag ofn Gwyn 3 and Pen 312 rhag gwynfyd.} fy nghas
60I law ^{26 I law Llywelyn Siôn’s manuscripts; Gwyn 3, Pen 77 and Pen 312 dan law, BL 14871 ai i law dduw ac lias.} Dduw ac Elïas;
F’enaid teg rhag ofn y tân
A ro Duw i ward Ieuan.