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Translation:

08. Moliant Simon a Jwd

edited by Dafydd Johnston

In praise of Simon and Jude by Lewys Glyn Cothi. Date c.1447 × c.1489.

I Grist ar y ddaear gron
Y bu stâl ebostolion;
Deuddeg i unDuw oeddynt
Yn droednoeth esgeirnoeth gynt,1 mae Llst 7 only has esg, and the remainder of this reading is from BL Add 14871.
5A dau oeddyn’ o’r deuddeg
O byst wal,1 o byst wal This metaphor is taken to refer to Simon and Jude, but it could refer to the twelve apostles. dau ’bostol deg;2 deg This is the reading given by John Davies in BL Add 14871 to fill the gap in Llst 7.
Sud gwŷr i Grist a’i geraint,2 a’i geraint According to tradition Simon and Jude were brothers, the sons of the Virgin Mary’s sister, and were thus cousins of Christ.
Simon, Siud,3 Siud This form seems to be an attempt to represent the pronunciation of the English name Jude. Cf. the form Sud, and see further EEW 173 and 227. hwsmyn y saint.3 y saint This is the reading given by John Davies in BL Add 14871 to fill the gap in Llst 7.
Ni edyn’ wŷr ein Duw ni
10Newid ffydd na’i diffoddi.

Arffacsadd,4 Arffacsadd A Persian magician who is called Arphaxad in the Welsh life and Arphaxat in the Legenda Aurea. ni bu raddol,
Ioryw 5 Ioryw Jaran is the name given in the Welsh life, and Zaroes in the Legenda Aurea. ei was ar ei ôl;
Rhag Mathau 6 Mathau According to the Welsh life the two magicians had already fled from the Apostle Matthew. sy orau sant,
O’u closydd y ciliasant,4 y ciliasant This is the reading given by John Davies in BL Add 14871 to fill the gap in Llst 7.
15A phregethu y buant
Geiriau o dwyll, ar gred ânt.5 ânt This is the reading given by John Davies in BL Add 14871 to fill the gap in Llst 7.
Hwy ddoethon, Simon a Siud,
Yw calcia6 Yw calcia The rest of the line is missing in both manuscripts. Yw could be interpreted as i’w, but without the remainder of the sentence it is not possible to decide. We cannot be certain either whether calcia is a complete word or not, but it is probably related to the verb calcio ‘count’, cf. GLGC 174.31-2, calcio bûm wrth y cloc bach / dy oriau a’th bedeirach. . . .
Gwnaethant, ddeusant urddasawl,
20Wyrthiau pur fal gwyrthiau Pawl.7 gwyrthiau Pawl This is the reading given by John Davies in BL Add 14871 to fill the gap in Llst 7, and the repetition of gwyrthiau is perhaps doubtful.
Ymlid delwau Persidys 7 Persidys Persia. Cf. Persidia in DB 89.
A’u bwrw oll gan faint eu brys.
E’ fu ŵr a fu arab,
Bu i8 bu i hwn . . . bu i honno The preposition i was omitted in Llst 7because it merges with the preceding vowel in both cases. hwn ferch, bu i honno fab;
25Tad y mab nid adnabu,
Anap ei fam, neb pwy fu.
Y saint a ddangoses wir
A throi gau’n waith rhy gywir;
Peri i fab, hy ar ei fam,
30Newydd eni yn ddinam,
Ddywedyd rhwng y ddeudir
Ar ei fam air a fu wir.
Gwadasant dros Effrosius 8 Effrosius The man who is falsely accused is not named in the Legenda Aurea, but the name Ephrosiws is given in the Welsh Life.
Gelwydd rhag ei ladd â rhus.9 rhus This is the reading given by John Davies in BL Add 14871 to fill the gap in Llst 7.
35Dechrau wnaethant ill deuoedd
Geiriau Duw yn y gred oedd.
Bwrw o’u braint heb air a brys
Bobl weinion Babilonys.
Simon aeth drosom i nef,
40 Siud addwyn, dros dioddef.
Hwy a fernir i farnu
Ar y tair lleng a’r tri llu.9 y tair lleng a’r tri llu It was believed that people would be divided into three groups on the Day of Judgement, some to go to heaven, some to hell, and some to purgatory.
Gostegyn’, briwyn’ gerbron
Geudduwiau ac Iddewon.
45Ban weles heb niwl a sias10 Ll. 45–8 Cf. Section 4 of the Welsh life: Ac oddyna yr aethant hwy yll dau i’r dinas a elwid Samany ac yno yr oedd temyl yn llawn o’r gau dduwiau. A phan doeth Simon a Jwd i’r temyl honno, ef a roddes y kythreuliaid a oedd yn y gau dduwiau hynny garm o lefain yny oedd yn ysgyryd gan a oedd yno o ddyn warando arnynt.
Eu dau wyneb y dinas,
Delwau o gorff diawl i gyd
A roes garm arw10 A roes garm arw The rest of the line is missing in both manuscripts. . . .

Simon a Siud sy mewn swydd
50Ar yr eglwys i’r Arglwydd;11 arglwydd Llst 7 has only ar, but although the line contains the fault ‘crych a llyfn’ the reading of BL Add 14871 can hardly be questioned.
Hwy a farnan’ yn12 yn unawr Both manuscripts read fy unawr. This has been emended to improve the sense, but the line still lacks cynghanedd, and may be corrupt. unawr
Y dydd cadarn a’r Farn fawr.13 fawr This is the reading given by John Davies in BL Add 14871 to fill the gap in Llst 7, and no other word would fit the bill.
Barnu ’ngŵydd Iesu wna’r ddau,
Barnu gerbron y14 Barnu gerbron y John Davies completed the line in BL Add 14871 with breiniau. The fact that that reading gives the fault ‘crych a llyfn’ is not in itself sufficient reason to reject it (see GLGC xxxiv), but since the sense is not entirely satisfactory either, and since more than one type of cynghanedd is possible, the gap has been left unfilled. . . .
55Barnu i15 i This is not in Llst 7, but the cynghanedd requires soft mutation of the next word, so there must be a preposition which merges with the preceding vowel. John Davies inserted o in BL Add 14871, and that was accepted in GLGC, but reading i gives a better sequence with the saints as subject of the verbal noun in all three lines. The idea of the saints giving an order to God was perhaps theologically unacceptable to John Davies. Dduw a brynodd iaith
Dwyn f’enaid i nef unwaith.16 unwaith This is the reading given by John Davies in BL Add 14871 to fill the gap in Llst 77.

Christ had a troop of apostles
on the round earth;
they were twelve for the one God
with bare feet and bare legs long ago,
5and there were two of the twelve
like pillars, two fair apostles;
as men to Christ and his kinsmen,1 o byst wal This metaphor is taken to refer to Simon and Jude, but it could refer to the twelve apostles.
Simon, Jude, labourers of the saints.
Our God’s men would not permit
10the faith to be altered or extinguished.

Arphaxat,2 a’i geraint According to tradition Simon and Jude were brothers, the sons of the Virgin Mary’s sister, and were thus cousins of Christ. he was not noble,
Zaroes3 Siud This form seems to be an attempt to represent the pronunciation of the English name Jude. Cf. the form Sud, and see further EEW 173 and 227. his servant following him;
they fled from their courts
from Matthew4 Arffacsadd A Persian magician who is called Arphaxad in the Welsh life and Arphaxat in the Legenda Aurea. who is the best saint,
15and they preached
deceitful words which are believed.
Those wise ones, Simon and Jude,
. . .
The two noble saints performed
20pure miracles like the miracles of Paul.
They attacked the idols of Persia5 Ioryw Jaran is the name given in the Welsh life, and Zaroes in the Legenda Aurea.
and felled them all by their sudden assault.
There was a man who was gentle,
he had a daughter and she had a son;
25no one knew who the boy’s father was,
his mother’s misfortune.
The saints revealed the truth
and turned falsehood into absolute fact;
they caused the boy, bold towards his mother,
30new-born and innocent,
to speak between the two lands
a word about his mother which was true.
On behalf of Ephrosius6 Mathau According to the Welsh life the two magicians had already fled from the Apostle Matthew. they denied
a lie to save him from a dreadful death.
35Together they initiated
belief in the words of God.
They ejected the weak people of Babilon
from their honoured status without any fuss at all.
Simon went on our behalf to heaven,
40and worthy Jude, through martyrdom.
They will be appointed to sit in judgement
on the three legions and the three hosts.7 Persidys Persia. Cf. Persidia in DB 89.
They silenced and publicly defeated
false gods and Jews.
45When their two faces saw the city8 Effrosius The man who is falsely accused is not named in the Legenda Aurea, but the name Ephrosiws is given in the Welsh Life.
without fog or strife,
bodily images of the devil
all gave a grievous cry . . .

Simon and Jude are in authority
50over the church on behalf of the Lord;
they will judge in a single hour
the mighty day and the great Judgement.
The two will judge in the presence of Jesus,
judging before . . .
55Decree that God who saved a nation
should take my soul to heaven at the same time.

1 o byst wal This metaphor is taken to refer to Simon and Jude, but it could refer to the twelve apostles.

2 a’i geraint According to tradition Simon and Jude were brothers, the sons of the Virgin Mary’s sister, and were thus cousins of Christ.

3 Siud This form seems to be an attempt to represent the pronunciation of the English name Jude. Cf. the form Sud, and see further EEW 173 and 227.

4 Arffacsadd A Persian magician who is called Arphaxad in the Welsh life and Arphaxat in the Legenda Aurea.

5 Ioryw Jaran is the name given in the Welsh life, and Zaroes in the Legenda Aurea.

6 Mathau According to the Welsh life the two magicians had already fled from the Apostle Matthew.

7 Persidys Persia. Cf. Persidia in DB 89.

8 Effrosius The man who is falsely accused is not named in the Legenda Aurea, but the name Ephrosiws is given in the Welsh Life.

9 y tair lleng a’r tri llu It was believed that people would be divided into three groups on the Day of Judgement, some to go to heaven, some to hell, and some to purgatory.

10 Ll. 45–8 Cf. Section 4 of the Welsh life: Ac oddyna yr aethant hwy yll dau i’r dinas a elwid Samany ac yno yr oedd temyl yn llawn o’r gau dduwiau. A phan doeth Simon a Jwd i’r temyl honno, ef a roddes y kythreuliaid a oedd yn y gau dduwiau hynny garm o lefain yny oedd yn ysgyryd gan a oedd yno o ddyn warando arnynt.

1 mae Llst 7 only has esg, and the remainder of this reading is from BL Add 14871.

2 deg This is the reading given by John Davies in BL Add 14871 to fill the gap in Llst 7.

3 y saint This is the reading given by John Davies in BL Add 14871 to fill the gap in Llst 7.

4 y ciliasant This is the reading given by John Davies in BL Add 14871 to fill the gap in Llst 7.

5 ânt This is the reading given by John Davies in BL Add 14871 to fill the gap in Llst 7.

6 Yw calcia The rest of the line is missing in both manuscripts. Yw could be interpreted as i’w, but without the remainder of the sentence it is not possible to decide. We cannot be certain either whether calcia is a complete word or not, but it is probably related to the verb calcio ‘count’, cf. GLGC 174.31-2, calcio bûm wrth y cloc bach / dy oriau a’th bedeirach.

7 gwyrthiau Pawl This is the reading given by John Davies in BL Add 14871 to fill the gap in Llst 7, and the repetition of gwyrthiau is perhaps doubtful.

8 bu i hwn . . . bu i honno The preposition i was omitted in Llst 7because it merges with the preceding vowel in both cases.

9 rhus This is the reading given by John Davies in BL Add 14871 to fill the gap in Llst 7.

10 A roes garm arw The rest of the line is missing in both manuscripts.

11 arglwydd Llst 7 has only ar, but although the line contains the fault ‘crych a llyfn’ the reading of BL Add 14871 can hardly be questioned.

12 yn unawr Both manuscripts read fy unawr. This has been emended to improve the sense, but the line still lacks cynghanedd, and may be corrupt.

13 fawr This is the reading given by John Davies in BL Add 14871 to fill the gap in Llst 7, and no other word would fit the bill.

14 Barnu gerbron y John Davies completed the line in BL Add 14871 with breiniau. The fact that that reading gives the fault ‘crych a llyfn’ is not in itself sufficient reason to reject it (see GLGC xxxiv), but since the sense is not entirely satisfactory either, and since more than one type of cynghanedd is possible, the gap has been left unfilled.

15 i This is not in Llst 7, but the cynghanedd requires soft mutation of the next word, so there must be a preposition which merges with the preceding vowel. John Davies inserted o in BL Add 14871, and that was accepted in GLGC, but reading i gives a better sequence with the saints as subject of the verbal noun in all three lines. The idea of the saints giving an order to God was perhaps theologically unacceptable to John Davies.

16 unwaith This is the reading given by John Davies in BL Add 14871 to fill the gap in Llst 77.