09. I Ffynnon Llanwenfrewy
A poem by Wiliam Llŷn addressed to St Winefride's Well in Holywell, Flintshire. Date c.1555 x 1580.
Llyma fan ddi-wan o ddaioni [—]1
The word following the rhyme-word has been lost due to wear at the corner of the page. It
must have been monosyllabic, and Stephens (1983: 593) suggests
hon ‘her’ (i.e. ‘her goodness’). Although the consonantal
cynghanedd between the word following the rhyme-word and the
beginning of the second line could be extremely slack (CD 277–82),
hon is unconvincing both in terms of its consonance with
Ffynnon (or Llan) and its meaning (note that
Wiliam Llŷn in general preferred full consonance in this regard in his single
englynion, see Stephens 1983: 590–656). It seems more
likely that the word following the rhyme-word corresponded with the first consonant of
Llan (and possibly the second consonant). The possibilities are
numerous.
Ffynnon Llan Wenfrewi,1
The earliest form of the name in Welsh is Treffynnon (1329) and in
English Haliwel (1093), although the form Llanwenfrewy
is attested in 1590 and Ffynnon Wenfrewy is yet another known form (Owen and
Morgan 2007: 197; Richards 1998: 110–11). The above is likely to be an
amalgamation of the last two forms.2
Although the manuscript gives the usual form wenfrewy (cf. 46.1,
51, 55, 58, 63, 69, 73, 77), it has been modified here in line with the end-rhyme.
Dwys waith barch Duw sy i’th3 The manuscript reading iw has been amended. The cynghanedd requires a
th in the second half of the line, and to omit it would be highly
unlikely. Moreover, the third singular i’w would not sit well with
the fact that the holy well (or Winefride herself) is referred to in the second person in
the last line. berchi,
A Duw a’th fendigodd di.2
An eight syllable line unless the words sy i’th
are contracted into a diphthong.
Here’s a powerful place of goodness [—]
Ffynnon Llanwenfrewy,
God’s ceaseless respect honours you,
and it was God who blessed you.
1 The earliest form of the name in Welsh is Treffynnon (1329) and in English Haliwel (1093), although the form Llanwenfrewy is attested in 1590 and Ffynnon Wenfrewy is yet another known form (Owen and Morgan 2007: 197; Richards 1998: 110–11). The above is likely to be an amalgamation of the last two forms.
2 An eight syllable line unless the words sy i’th are contracted into a diphthong.
1 The word following the rhyme-word has been lost due to wear at the corner of the page. It must have been monosyllabic, and Stephens (1983: 593) suggests hon ‘her’ (i.e. ‘her goodness’). Although the consonantal cynghanedd between the word following the rhyme-word and the beginning of the second line could be extremely slack (CD 277–82), hon is unconvincing both in terms of its consonance with Ffynnon (or Llan) and its meaning (note that Wiliam Llŷn in general preferred full consonance in this regard in his single englynion, see Stephens 1983: 590–656). It seems more likely that the word following the rhyme-word corresponded with the first consonant of Llan (and possibly the second consonant). The possibilities are numerous.
2 Although the manuscript gives the usual form wenfrewy (cf. 46.1, 51, 55, 58, 63, 69, 73, 77), it has been modified here in line with the end-rhyme.
3 The manuscript reading iw has been amended. The cynghanedd requires a th in the second half of the line, and to omit it would be highly unlikely. Moreover, the third singular i’w would not sit well with the fact that the holy well (or Winefride herself) is referred to in the second person in the last line.