Bestow the famous wreath upon the brave, Let titl'd guest rejoice, and beauty smile, Let Cambria wide re-echo with his praise, In castl'd mansion let the bold reside, Heroic Maldwyn, bravest of the brave, Him grant I all-but his faithful love I give Gwenhwylar fair, To whom of richer worth could I my rule On whom of purer love could I bestow My daughter and my pride? II. Thou wast my valour's strength, my arm's bold nerve To wield my dreaded sword; The thought of thy fond mem'ry made me fight And rout the pagan horde. Had I no love for thee, nor car'd thy smile, Nor sought thy beauteous hand, I ne'er had braved the Moslem's scimitar Nor trod the Holy Land! GWENHWYFAR. (SOLO.) I. Brave Maldwyn who for love and fame Of seeing thee no more! GWENHWYFAR, MARY, MALDWIN, AND MEYRIC. (QUARTETT. Oh, blissful life, when Love and Fame Shine on two hearts united! When Love with Fame enchanted is Two hearts united With love delighted; Two lives to one sweet purpose plighted? CHORUS. The fair deserves the hero's name, Let love live under Valour's care! I. Prose. For the best History of Welsh Literature, from the year 1300 to the year 1650, in English or Welsh. Prize £100, given by the National Eisteddfod Association. Adjudicators-Thomas Powel, Esq., M.A., Editor of the Cymmrodor; Professor Rhys, M.A., Oxford; and T. Marchant Williams, Esq., B.Á. [The History of the Literature of Wales is a subject of great and growing interest. Some thirty years ago the late Mr. Thomas Stephens wrote the "History of the Literature of the Kymry," which has since become a recognised standard work amongst scholars. Mr. Stephens treated the subject up to a certain date, and it has been felt that the work begun by him ought to be extended to later times. A prize was consequently offered at the Denbigh Eisteddfod in 1882 for the best "History of Welsh Literature from 1300 to 1650." Several essays were sent in, but not one of them was considered worthy of the prize. It was suggested afterwards that one of the essays should be adopted as a basis for a history, and that a sum of money be voted to the author on condition that he should amend and improve his production, but the proposal was rejected, and it was resolved instead that a larger sum be offered for a similar prize at the Cardiff Eisteddfod, in the hope that abler men would enter the field. But the extra prize did not produce the desired result; the same persons competed at Cardiff as at Denbigh. The adjudicators were not satisfied with any of the essays, and suggested the same arrangement as that proposed at Denbigh. The Committee of the Cardiff Eisteddfod had the matter under their consideration at two special meetings, and came to the conclusion that the stamp of the National Eisteddfod should not be placed upon a work admittedly imperfect and incomplete. It has since been announced that the National Eisteddfod Association intend publishing the best of the essays on the terms suggested by the adjudicators. The authors of some of the other essays have also expressed their intention of publishing their productions -ED.] ADJUDICATION. Seven compositions were sent in for competition, bearing the names"Glantanad," "A Daughter of Wales," "A Compiler," "Merlin," "Sion Cent," "Herodotus," and "Llywelyn Vychan." Glantanad has written 104 pages, and A Daughter of Wales 150 smaller ones in Welsh. Neither the one nor the other gives more than a short summary of the history of the literature of the period under notice. A Compiler sent in an English essay. He has written at some length, but his language is often halting and occasionally faulty. He very rarely names his authorities, and when he refers to a manuscript he does not inform us where it may be seen. He tells us that so-and-so has written a song commencing this way or that, or he gives us a few lines only from some ode or poem. His criticism is not of much value, and his essay is hardly more than a list of the names of the principal authors of the period, with historical notes and selections from their works. Merlin has also written in English, and has collected most of his materials from English publications. Judging from his essay, his knowlege of Welsh is not extensive. He mentions "The Remains of Benvras and Brydydd Bychan," "Gwilym Cam," "Merddin Gwyllt," &c. As specimens of the works of the authors mentioned by him, he gives us translations that have already appeared. We find only a line here and there in its original form, and his efforts to explain these are not always successful. For example, he gives Morus Kyffin's "Englyn" to the Cuckoo, ending "Croesaw Duw, cares y dail." His note thereon is as follows:-" Here the transition is well shown from Nature to the Deity. He (the author) begins by welcoming the cuckoo.. He concludes by welcoming God, &c." Again as "a pen picture in the original," we have lines of Vicar Prichard's commencing Which "Merlin" explained as "drinking, fowling, dancing, loitering." The composition has also many things that do not appertain to the subject, such as the history of George Herbert, Lord Herbert of Cherbury, James Howell, &c. In addition to this, the essay has been written hastily and is badly arranged. But the great difficulty of the author has been his deficiency of knowledge of the Welsh language. Herodotus.-This also is an English essay, but the author has very properly given the original Welsh at the foot of the page, with the translation in the body of the work. He has not only collected much information concerning the authors of the period, but shows considerable acquaintance with their works. But his essay is tedious and badly arranged, and even the spelling is often faulty. Much of the same carelessness is apparent in other things. For instance, in his essay he invariably writes "cynhanedd." He speaks of Dr. Gruffydd Roberts as "Robert Griffiths," and in speaking of the euphony of the Welsh translation of the Bible, quotes four out of ten verses incorrectly. This is unfortunate, as the author might, with a little care, have written a much better essay. |