Select notes:
Translation:

4. Mawl i Ddewi Sant

edited by Dafydd Johnston

In praise of St David by Iolo Goch. Date c.1380 × c.1400.

Dymuno da i’m enaid,
Heneiddio’r wyf, hyn oedd raid,
Myned i’r lle croged Crist
Cyd boed y ddeudroed ddudrist1 ddudrist This is assumed to be what is represented by Pen 53 ddydrist (cf. ryvein in l. 24 and vyr in l. 40). Weaker in sense is ddidrist BL 14967. Cf. GIG I.55 A’r Iddewdref arw ddudrist.
5Mewn trygyff yma’n trigaw,
Ni myn y traed myned draw.
Cystal ymofal ym yw
Fyned deirgwaith i Fynyw
 myned, cymyrred2 cymyrred A variant form of cymyrredd, ‘esteem, honour’, cf. DG.net 31.4. This is the reading of BL 14967 (cymyred), but cf. cynired ‘visitation’ in LlGC 19904B. cain,3 Pen 53 has a completely different couplet here: Och vineu na chaf einoes / Y vyned or gred lle mayr groes. The desire to visit Jerusalem repeats what is said in the first sentence, and this couplet appears to have been composed to fill a gap left as a result of forgetting the second part of the sentence about the value of pilgrimages to Menevia.
10Yr hafoedd hyd yn Rhufain.1 Three pilgrimages to St Davids were normally considered as equivalent to one to Jerusalem, and two as equivalent to one to Rome, see DewiIRh ll. 115–22, and StDW 103, 213. Since the place of Christ’s crucifixion is mentioned at the beginning of the poem it can be assumed that a pilgrimage to Jerusalem is what is actually meant here.
Gwyddwn lle mynnwn fy mod,
Ys deddfol yw’r eisteddfod,4 Lines 11–12 are missing in Pen 53.
Ym maenol Ddewi Mynyw,
Mangre gain, myn y grog, yw.
15Yng Nglyn Rhosyn mae’r iesin,
Ac olewydd a gwŷdd gwin
Ac edmig musig a moes
A gwrle gwŷr ac orloes
A chytgerdd hoyw, loyw lewych,
20Rhwng organ achlân a chlych,
A thrwblwm5 thrwblwm A borrowing from the Latin t(h)ūribulum, see GPC s.v. trwblwm. The vowel in the first syllable follows Pen 53; cf. BL 14967 trvblwm. Ieuan ap Rhydderch has the form thryblwm (DewiIRh l. 104). aur trwm tramawr
Yn bwrw sens i beri sawr.
Nef nefoedd yn6 yn This is not in Pen 53 or BL 14967. The emendation made by Robert Vaughan in LlGC 19904B has been accepted in order to restore seven syllables. gyhoedd gain,
Ys da dref ystad Rufain,
25Paradwys Gymru lwys lefn,
Pôr dewistref p’radwystrefn.


Petrus fu gan Sain Patrig⁠2 According to the Life an angel was sent to warn Patrick to leave Glyn Rhosyn thirty years before the birth of David, and to show Ireland to him from Eisteddfa Badrig, see BDe 2.
Am sorri Duw, amser dig,
Am erchi hyn, amarch oedd,
30Iddo o’r lle a wnaddoedd,7 wnaddoedd One of the variant forms of the third singular pluperfect of gwneuthur, see GMW 131. The form is based on Pen 53 naddoedd, but BL 14967 wnaeddoedd is also possible.
Fyned ymaith o Fynyw
Cyn geni Dewi, da yw.
Sant oedd ef o nef i ni
Cynhwynol cyn ei eni;8 Lines 33–4 are missing in Pen 53, but clearly form a unit with the following couplet.
35Sant glân oedd ef pan aned
Am hollti’r maen,3 According to the Life a stone near Non’s head split in two when David was born, see BDe 4. graen ei gred.
Eilwaith y rhoes ei olwg4 The Life tells how a blind man who held David to be baptized had his sight restored, see BDe 4; DewiGB ll. 158–61n(e). According to Rhygyfarch the godfather’s name was St Mobi of Glasnevin (⁠Mobi Clarainech in Irish, a word which corresponds to wynepglawr).
I’r claf drem rhag clefyd drwg,
Ei dad bedydd, dud bydawl,
40Dall wynepglawr, mawr fu’r mawl.9 Lines 37–40 are missing in BL 14967.
Sant ei dad,5 Sant ap Ceredig was David’s father. diymwad oedd
Penadur saint10 saint Pen 53 has byd, perhaps influenced by GIG VI.82 Penadur byd pan ydoedd. pan ydoedd;
Santes gydles lygadlon
Ei fam dda ddi-nam oedd Non
45Ferch Ynyr fawr ei chenedl,6 No genealogy is given for Non in the Life, but according to Bonedd y Saint her father’s name was Cynyr (EWGT 54), cf. DewiIRh l. 18.
Lleian wiw, gwych11 gwych This follows Pen 53, but uwch is also possible on the basis of BL 14967 vwch. ydiw’r chwedl.
Un bwyd a aeth yn ei ben,
Bara oer a beryren
A dwfr du tra fu fyw,
50Waneg anrheg, o’r unrhyw12 Lines 49–50 are missing in BL 14967.
Ag13 Ag This is not in Pen 53 or BL 14967, and the emendation made by Robert Vaughan in LlGC 19904B has been accepted for the sake of both sense and line length. aeth ym mhen Non wen wiw
Er pan gad, penaig ydiw.7 The Life states that Non consumed only bread and water from the time she conceived, and that David did the same throughout his life (BDe 3), but watercress is also mentioned in the poetry, DewiIRh l. 21, DewiLGC1 l. 21.


Holl saint y byd, gyd gerrynt,
A ddoeth i’r senedd goeth gynt8 One of the high points of the Life is the synod of the saints at Llanddewibrefi and the story of the hill rising up beneath David’s feet when he was preaching, see BDe 15–18; DewiIRh ll. 79–86.
55I wrando yn yr undydd
Ei bregeth a pheth o’i ffydd.14 Lines 53–6 are missing in Pen 53.
Cyfodes, nid oedd resyn,15 resyn Pen 53 ryssin. The form in the text is necessary for the cynghanedd lusg; cf. BL 14967 iessyn which gives correct cynghanedd but contrary sense.
Dan draed Dewi Frefi fryn
Lle dysgodd llu dewisgoeth,
60Lle bu yn pregethu’n goeth,
Chwemil, saith ugeinmil saint9 The number of the saints is not specified in the Life, but the same number is given by Gwynfardd Brycheiniog DewiGB l. 28n(e) (where it is suggested that Iolo Goch may have seen the text of Gwynfardd Brycheiniog’s awdl in the Hendregadredd Manuscript) and by Ieuan ap Rhydderch DewiIRh ll. 81–2.
Ac unfil, wi o’r genfaint.
Rhoed iddo fod, glod glendyd,10 According to the Life it was agreed at the synod that David was chief of all the saints of the Island of Britain, BDe 18.
Yn ben ar holl saint y byd.16 Lines 63–4 are missing in Pen 53.
65Ef yn deg a fendigawdd,
Cantref17 cantref The version of the line in Pen 53, Ac ef o nef yw y nawdd, is also possible, but the reading of BL 14967 is judged to be the lectio difficilior. o nef oedd ei nawdd,
Yr ennaint twymn18 twymn BL 14967 twymyn, cf. BDe 6 yr Enneint Twymyn. wyrennig,
Ni dderfydd, tragywydd trig.11 The Life relates how David blessed a warm spring at Bath, BDe 6; for other references in the poetry see TWS 43–5.
Hydr y gwnaeth ef genhiadu,
70Gras da y Garawys du,
I’r Brytaniaid, brut wyneb,
Y gwynad yn anad neb.12 This is not mentioned in the Latin or Welsh Lives, but in DewiIRh ll. 49–50 David is seen to have freed the sustenance of the land during Lent by allowing eating of a fish called gwynad, probably the herring.
Duw a rithiawdd,19 Pen 53 has a garbled version of this story which does not make clear that God had turned the two men into wolves in the first place. dygngawdd dig,
Ddeuflaidd anian ddieflig,
75Deuwr hen oedd o dir hud,
Gwydre Astrus ac Odrud,13 This miracle is not attested elsewhere, see TWS 64, but the tale of Culhwch and Olwen refers to deu geneu Gast Rymhi, Gwydrut a Gwyden (ms. gwydneu) Astrus (CO llau. 315–16). The idea of turning people into animals as a punishment for their sins brings to mind the story of Gwydion and Gilfaethwy in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi.
Am wneuthur, drygantur20 drygantur Pen 53 has two separate words, dryc antur, but the vowel of the first word suggests that a compound was intended. This word is not noted in GPC, but cf. words such as dryganian. BL 14967 drvd gives unsatisfactory cynghanedd. gynt,
Ryw bechod a rybuchynt;
A’u mam – baham y bai hi? –
80Yn fleiddiast, oerfel iddi;
A Dewi goeth21 goeth The reading of BL 14967, geth, is unsatisfactory, and Robert Vaughan’s emendation in LlGC 19904B has been followed (cf. l. 60). But consideration should also be given to gerth, ‘right, true, certain’, see GPC, and cf. GGGr 2.9 Iorwerth ab Iorwerth gerth, goeth, and GGLl 19.86 A’r Tad a’r Ysbryd cyd certh. a’u dug wynt22 Lines 81–2 are missing in Pen 53.
O’u hirboen yn eu herwbwynt.23 This line is garbled in BL 14967: Oi hir ben yni evr bwynt, and the edited text follows Robert Vaughan’s reasonable emendation in LlGC 19904B.
Diwallodd Duw ei allawr,
Ei fagl a wnaeth miragl mawr;
85Yr adar gwyllt o’r hedeg
A yrrai i’r tai, fy iôr teg;14 There is no mention of this in the Latin or Welsh Lives, but there are similar references to a miracle involving birds in the awdl by Gwynfardd Brycheiniog and in two poems by Lewys Glyn Cothi, see DewiGB ll. 168–75n(e); DewiLGC1 ll. 19–20n(e).
A’r ceirw osglgyrn chwyrn chwai,24 This line is two syllables short in Pen 53 and BL 14967, since ceirw was monosyllabic as a rule in this period. Robert Vaughan added a syllable in LlGC 19904B by reading A’r, which also improves the flow of this section.
Gweision uthr, a’i gwasnaethai.15 There is no mention of this miracle either in the Latin or Welsh lives, but Lewys Glyn Cothi refers to David gathering stags, see DewiLGC1 n4(e) and cf. DewiGB l. 18n(e).


Dyw Mawrth Galan Mawrth ym medd
90I farw’r aeth ef i orwedd.
Bu ar ei fedd, diwedd da,
Cain glêr yn canu gloria,
Engylion nef yng nglan nant
Ar ôl bod ei arwyliant.16 The Life describes the death of David on a Tuesday, the first day of March, and his soul being accompanied to heaven by Christ and an angelic host, but there is no description of his funeral as such.
95I bwll uffern ni fernir
Enaid dyn, yn anad tir,
A gladder, diofer yw,
Ym mynwent Ddewi Mynyw;17 On the belief that no one buried in David’s cemetery would go to hell, see TWS 65 and DewiGB ll. 166–7n(e).
Ni saing cythraul brycheulyd
100Ar ei dir byth er da’r byd.


Pebai mewn llyfr o’r pabir
Beunydd mal ar hafddydd hir25 Lines 102 and 103 are missing in Pen 53, and as a result two couplets have been merged and the rhyme between pabir a dur is faulty.
Noter pyblig18 Noter pyblig This expression is an adaptation of the Anglo-Norman notaire public, ‘public notary’, see GPC s.v. noter and AND s.v. notaire. un natur26 This seems to have been understood to refer to St Peblig in BL 14967 and LlGC 19904B: Noter a ffeblic vn natur. Iolo Morganwg in BL 14970 was the only copyist who saw that the a needed to be omitted for the sake of both line length and sense.
 phin a du â phen dur
105Yn ysgrifennu, bu budd,
Ei fuchedd ef ddiachudd,27 Lines 105–6 are missing in Pen 53.
Odid fyth, er däed fai,
Ennyd yr ysgrifennai
Dridiau a blwyddyn drydoll
110A wnaeth ef o wyniaith oll.
[Pen 53 →]

Desiring good to my soul,
I am getting old, this was necessary,
to go to the place where Christ was crucified
although my two sad black feet
5are stuck here in fetters,
the feet do not wish to go there.
It is just as beneficial for me
to go three times to Menevia
as to go, fine dignity,
10in the summers as far as Rome.1 Three pilgrimages to St Davids were normally considered as equivalent to one to Jerusalem, and two as equivalent to one to Rome, see DewiIRh ll. 115–22, and StDW 103, 213. Since the place of Christ’s crucifixion is mentioned at the beginning of the poem it can be assumed that a pilgrimage to Jerusalem is what is actually meant here.
I knew where I would wish to be,
it is a virtuous residence,
in the manor of David of Menevia,
it is a fine spot, by the cross.
15In Glyn Rhosyn is the beautiful place,
and olive tress and vines
and excellence of music and manner
and the sound of men and a clock
and lively harmony, shining brilliance,
20in full between an organ and bells,
and a great heavy golden thuribulum
emitting incense to give a sweet odour.
Fine heaven of heavens open to all,
it’s a good town after the fashion of Rome,
25fair smooth paradise of Wales,
choice sovereign town laid out like paradise.


Saint Patrick was reluctant2 According to the Life an angel was sent to warn Patrick to leave Glyn Rhosyn thirty years before the birth of David, and to show Ireland to him from Eisteddfa Badrig, see BDe 2.
because of God’s displeasure, angry time,
because this was commanded, it was an insult,
30that he should go from the place which he had made,
away from Menevia
before David’s birth, he is good.
He was a saint from heaven to us
inherent before his birth;
35he was a pure saint when he was born
because of the splitting of the stone,3 According to the Life a stone near Non’s head split in two when David was born, see BDe 4. marvellous his faith.
He restored his sight4 The Life tells how a blind man who held David to be baptized had his sight restored, see BDe 4; DewiGB ll. 158–61n(e). According to Rhygyfarch the godfather’s name was St Mobi of Glasnevin (⁠Mobi Clarainech in Irish, a word which corresponds to wynepglawr).
to the sick man’s eyes, overcoming bad disease,
his godfather, worldly family,
40without eyes or nose, great was the praise.
Sant was his father,5 Sant ap Ceredig was David’s father. it was undeniable
that he was the chief of the saints;
a beneficial bright-eyed saint
was Non his good pure mother
45daughter of Ynyr of great family,6 No genealogy is given for Non in the Life, but according to Bonedd y Saint her father’s name was Cynyr (EWGT 54), cf. DewiIRh l. 18.
fine nun, it is a wonderful tale.
One food went into his mouth,
cold bread and cress
and black water as long as he lived,
50manner of a gift, of the same kind
as went into bright fine Non’s mouth
since he was conceived, he is sovereign.7 The Life states that Non consumed only bread and water from the time she conceived, and that David did the same throughout his life (BDe 3), but watercress is also mentioned in the poetry, DewiIRh l. 21, DewiLGC1 l. 21.


All the saints of the world, joint journey,
came to the fine synod long ago8 One of the high points of the Life is the synod of the saints at Llanddewibrefi and the story of the hill rising up beneath David’s feet when he was preaching, see BDe 15–18; DewiIRh ll. 79–86.
55to listen on the same day
to his sermon and some of his faith.
There rose up, it was no misfortune,
a hill under David of Brefi’s feet
where he taught a splendid host,
60where he delivered a fine sermon,
six thousand, seven score thousand saints9 The number of the saints is not specified in the Life, but the same number is given by Gwynfardd Brycheiniog DewiGB l. 28n(e) (where it is suggested that Iolo Goch may have seen the text of Gwynfardd Brycheiniog’s awdl in the Hendregadredd Manuscript) and by Ieuan ap Rhydderch DewiIRh ll. 81–2.
and one thousand, what a congregation!
It was given to him to be, praise of purity,10 According to the Life it was agreed at the synod that David was chief of all the saints of the Island of Britain, BDe 18.
head of all the saints of the world.
65He blessed fairly,
the cantref of heaven was his refuge,
the warm bubbling bath,
it will not cease, it will continue forever.11 The Life relates how David blessed a warm spring at Bath, BDe 6; for other references in the poetry see TWS 43–5.
Firmly did he permit the gwynad,12 This is not mentioned in the Latin or Welsh Lives, but in DewiIRh ll. 49–50 David is seen to have freed the sustenance of the land during Lent by allowing eating of a fish called gwynad, probably the herring.
70good grace of the black Lent,
to the Britons above all others,
honour of the brut.
God transformed, harsh angry rage,
two wolves of devilish nature,
75two old men who were from the land of magic,
cunning Gwydre and Odrud,13 This miracle is not attested elsewhere, see TWS 64, but the tale of Culhwch and Olwen refers to deu geneu Gast Rymhi, Gwydrut a Gwyden (ms. gwydneu) Astrus (CO llau. 315–16). The idea of turning people into animals as a punishment for their sins brings to mind the story of Gwydion and Gilfaethwy in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi.
for committing, evil exploit long ago,
some sin which they willed;
and their mother – why should she be? –
80was a she-wolf, a curse on her;
and good David released them
from their long suffering in their exile.
God stocked his altar,
his crozier performed a great miracle;
85he drove the wild birds in flight
to the houses, my fair lord;14 There is no mention of this in the Latin or Welsh Lives, but there are similar references to a miracle involving birds in the awdl by Gwynfardd Brycheiniog and in two poems by Lewys Glyn Cothi, see DewiGB ll. 168–75n(e); DewiLGC1 ll. 19–20n(e).
and the spirited, swift stags with their branching antlers,
wonderful servants, served him.15 There is no mention of this miracle either in the Latin or Welsh lives, but Lewys Glyn Cothi refers to David gathering stags, see DewiLGC1 n4(e) and cf. DewiGB l. 18n(e).


On Tuesday the first day of March in the grave
90to die he went to lie.
There were on his grave, good end,
fine clergy singing a gloria,
angels of heaven on the bank of a stream
after his funeral.16 The Life describes the death of David on a Tuesday, the first day of March, and his soul being accompanied to heaven by Christ and an angelic host, but there is no description of his funeral as such.
95The soul of a man who is buried
in the cemetery of David of Menevia
above all other land, it is not vain,
will not be condemned to the pit of hell;17 On the belief that no one buried in David’s cemetery would go to hell, see TWS 65 and DewiGB ll. 166–7n(e).
no filthy devil will ever tread
100on his land for all the world’s wealth.


If there were in a book of paper
every day as on a long summer’s day
one of the same nature as a public notary18 Noter pyblig This expression is an adaptation of the Anglo-Norman notaire public, ‘public notary’, see GPC s.v. noter and AND s.v. notaire.
with ink and steel-tipped pen
105writing, it was profit,
his famous life,
hardly, however good he were,
would he ever manage to write
in three days and a full year
110all the miracles which he performed.

1 ddudrist This is assumed to be what is represented by Pen 53 ddydrist (cf. ryvein in l. 24 and vyr in l. 40). Weaker in sense is ddidrist BL 14967. Cf. GIG I.55 A’r Iddewdref arw ddudrist.

2 cymyrred A variant form of cymyrredd, ‘esteem, honour’, cf. DG.net 31.4. This is the reading of BL 14967 (cymyred), but cf. cynired ‘visitation’ in LlGC 19904B.

3 Pen 53 has a completely different couplet here: Och vineu na chaf einoes / Y vyned or gred lle mayr groes. The desire to visit Jerusalem repeats what is said in the first sentence, and this couplet appears to have been composed to fill a gap left as a result of forgetting the second part of the sentence about the value of pilgrimages to Menevia.

4 Lines 11–12 are missing in Pen 53.

5 thrwblwm A borrowing from the Latin t(h)ūribulum, see GPC s.v. trwblwm. The vowel in the first syllable follows Pen 53; cf. BL 14967 trvblwm. Ieuan ap Rhydderch has the form thryblwm (DewiIRh l. 104).

6 yn This is not in Pen 53 or BL 14967. The emendation made by Robert Vaughan in LlGC 19904B has been accepted in order to restore seven syllables.

7 wnaddoedd One of the variant forms of the third singular pluperfect of gwneuthur, see GMW 131. The form is based on Pen 53 naddoedd, but BL 14967 wnaeddoedd is also possible.

8 Lines 33–4 are missing in Pen 53, but clearly form a unit with the following couplet.

9 Lines 37–40 are missing in BL 14967.

10 saint Pen 53 has byd, perhaps influenced by GIG VI.82 Penadur byd pan ydoedd.

11 gwych This follows Pen 53, but uwch is also possible on the basis of BL 14967 vwch.

12 Lines 49–50 are missing in BL 14967.

13 Ag This is not in Pen 53 or BL 14967, and the emendation made by Robert Vaughan in LlGC 19904B has been accepted for the sake of both sense and line length.

14 Lines 53–6 are missing in Pen 53.

15 resyn Pen 53 ryssin. The form in the text is necessary for the cynghanedd lusg; cf. BL 14967 iessyn which gives correct cynghanedd but contrary sense.

16 Lines 63–4 are missing in Pen 53.

17 cantref The version of the line in Pen 53, Ac ef o nef yw y nawdd, is also possible, but the reading of BL 14967 is judged to be the lectio difficilior.

18 twymn BL 14967 twymyn, cf. BDe 6 yr Enneint Twymyn.

19 Pen 53 has a garbled version of this story which does not make clear that God had turned the two men into wolves in the first place.

20 drygantur Pen 53 has two separate words, dryc antur, but the vowel of the first word suggests that a compound was intended. This word is not noted in GPC, but cf. words such as dryganian. BL 14967 drvd gives unsatisfactory cynghanedd.

21 goeth The reading of BL 14967, geth, is unsatisfactory, and Robert Vaughan’s emendation in LlGC 19904B has been followed (cf. l. 60). But consideration should also be given to gerth, ‘right, true, certain’, see GPC, and cf. GGGr 2.9 Iorwerth ab Iorwerth gerth, goeth, and GGLl 19.86 A’r Tad a’r Ysbryd cyd certh.

22 Lines 81–2 are missing in Pen 53.

23 This line is garbled in BL 14967: Oi hir ben yni evr bwynt, and the edited text follows Robert Vaughan’s reasonable emendation in LlGC 19904B.

24 This line is two syllables short in Pen 53 and BL 14967, since ceirw was monosyllabic as a rule in this period. Robert Vaughan added a syllable in LlGC 19904B by reading A’r, which also improves the flow of this section.

25 Lines 102 and 103 are missing in Pen 53, and as a result two couplets have been merged and the rhyme between pabir a dur is faulty.

26 This seems to have been understood to refer to St Peblig in BL 14967 and LlGC 19904B: Noter a ffeblic vn natur. Iolo Morganwg in BL 14970 was the only copyist who saw that the a needed to be omitted for the sake of both line length and sense.

27 Lines 105–6 are missing in Pen 53.

1 Three pilgrimages to St Davids were normally considered as equivalent to one to Jerusalem, and two as equivalent to one to Rome, see DewiIRh ll. 115–22, and StDW 103, 213. Since the place of Christ’s crucifixion is mentioned at the beginning of the poem it can be assumed that a pilgrimage to Jerusalem is what is actually meant here.

2 According to the Life an angel was sent to warn Patrick to leave Glyn Rhosyn thirty years before the birth of David, and to show Ireland to him from Eisteddfa Badrig, see BDe 2.

3 According to the Life a stone near Non’s head split in two when David was born, see BDe 4.

4 The Life tells how a blind man who held David to be baptized had his sight restored, see BDe 4; DewiGB ll. 158–61n(e). According to Rhygyfarch the godfather’s name was St Mobi of Glasnevin (⁠Mobi Clarainech in Irish, a word which corresponds to wynepglawr).

5 Sant ap Ceredig was David’s father.

6 No genealogy is given for Non in the Life, but according to Bonedd y Saint her father’s name was Cynyr (EWGT 54), cf. DewiIRh l. 18.

7 The Life states that Non consumed only bread and water from the time she conceived, and that David did the same throughout his life (BDe 3), but watercress is also mentioned in the poetry, DewiIRh l. 21, DewiLGC1 l. 21.

8 One of the high points of the Life is the synod of the saints at Llanddewibrefi and the story of the hill rising up beneath David’s feet when he was preaching, see BDe 15–18; DewiIRh ll. 79–86.

9 The number of the saints is not specified in the Life, but the same number is given by Gwynfardd Brycheiniog DewiGB l. 28n(e) (where it is suggested that Iolo Goch may have seen the text of Gwynfardd Brycheiniog’s awdl in the Hendregadredd Manuscript) and by Ieuan ap Rhydderch DewiIRh ll. 81–2.

10 According to the Life it was agreed at the synod that David was chief of all the saints of the Island of Britain, BDe 18.

11 The Life relates how David blessed a warm spring at Bath, BDe 6; for other references in the poetry see TWS 43–5.

12 This is not mentioned in the Latin or Welsh Lives, but in DewiIRh ll. 49–50 David is seen to have freed the sustenance of the land during Lent by allowing eating of a fish called gwynad, probably the herring.

13 This miracle is not attested elsewhere, see TWS 64, but the tale of Culhwch and Olwen refers to deu geneu Gast Rymhi, Gwydrut a Gwyden (ms. gwydneu) Astrus (CO llau. 315–16). The idea of turning people into animals as a punishment for their sins brings to mind the story of Gwydion and Gilfaethwy in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi.

14 There is no mention of this in the Latin or Welsh Lives, but there are similar references to a miracle involving birds in the awdl by Gwynfardd Brycheiniog and in two poems by Lewys Glyn Cothi, see DewiGB ll. 168–75n(e); DewiLGC1 ll. 19–20n(e).

15 There is no mention of this miracle either in the Latin or Welsh lives, but Lewys Glyn Cothi refers to David gathering stags, see DewiLGC1 n4(e) and cf. DewiGB l. 18n(e).

16 The Life describes the death of David on a Tuesday, the first day of March, and his soul being accompanied to heaven by Christ and an angelic host, but there is no description of his funeral as such.

17 On the belief that no one buried in David’s cemetery would go to hell, see TWS 65 and DewiGB ll. 166–7n(e).

18 Noter pyblig This expression is an adaptation of the Anglo-Norman notaire public, ‘public notary’, see GPC s.v. noter and AND s.v. notaire.