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The Book of Taliesin: Poems of Warfare and Praise in an Enchanted Britain
The great work of Welsh literature, translated in full for the first time in over 100 years by two of its country's foremost poets.
Tennyson portrayed him, and wrote at least one poem under his name. Robert Graves was fascinated by what he saw as his work's connection to a lost world of deeply buried folkloric memory. He is a shapeshifter; a seer; a chronicler of battles fought, by sword and with magic, between the ancient kingdoms of the British Isles; a bridge between old Welsh mythologies and the new Christian theology; a 6th-century Brythonic bard; and a legendary collective project spanning the centuries up to The Book of Taliesin's compilation in 14th-century North Wales. He is, above all, no single 'he'.
The figure of Taliesin is a mystery. But of the variety and quality of the poems written under his sign, of their power as exemplars of the force of ecstatic poetic imagination, and of the fascinating window they offer us onto a strange and visionary world, there can be no question. In the first volume to gather all of the poems from The Book of Taliesin since 1915, Gwyneth Lewis and Rowan Williams's accessible translation makes these outrageous, arrogant, stumbling and joyful poems available to a new generation of readers.
Tennyson portrayed him, and wrote at least one poem under his name. Robert Graves was fascinated by what he saw as his work's connection to a lost world of deeply buried folkloric memory. He is a shapeshifter; a seer; a chronicler of battles fought, by sword and with magic, between the ancient kingdoms of the British Isles; a bridge between old Welsh mythologies and the new Christian theology; a 6th-century Brythonic bard; and a legendary collective project spanning the centuries up to The Book of Taliesin's compilation in 14th-century North Wales. He is, above all, no single 'he'.
The figure of Taliesin is a mystery. But of the variety and quality of the poems written under his sign, of their power as exemplars of the force of ecstatic poetic imagination, and of the fascinating window they offer us onto a strange and visionary world, there can be no question. In the first volume to gather all of the poems from The Book of Taliesin since 1915, Gwyneth Lewis and Rowan Williams's accessible translation makes these outrageous, arrogant, stumbling and joyful poems available to a new generation of readers.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published June 27, 2019
45 people are currently reading
899 people want to read
About the author
Gwyneth Lewis
40 books29 followersGwyneth Lewis was Wales' National Poet from 2005-06, the first writer to be given the Welsh laureateship. She has published eight books of poetry in Welsh and English. Chaotic Angels (Bloodaxe Books, 2005) brings together the poems from her three English collections, Parables & Faxes, Zero Gravity and Keeping Mum. Her latest book is Sparrow Tree. Gwyneth wrote the six-foot-high words for the front of Cardiff's Wales Millennium Centre (which are located just in front of the space-time continuum, as seen on Dr Who and Torchwood.)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
February 14, 2021
This is a history book as well as a book of poetry.
Firstly, there are 60 pages of introduction. I advise you to read this introduction as it sets the scene for both the history and the poetry. There are 6 pages of notes for the introduction.
The book is in English and has been translated from Welsh by two of Wales's foremost Gwyneth Lewis and Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury. The original book dates from the 13th Century and is an anthology of 700 years of anonymous poetry about battles, more battles, heroes, mystery, and Christian faith.
Taliesin is an important name in Welsh Literature who is partly real, partly myth, and partly a folkloric memory. He might well have been a sixth-century poet, a magician, a seer, and a chronicler of early Welsh history from the time just after the Romans left Britain when the Saxons were pushing westwards from their east coast strongholds.
These poems are fascinating and sparkle with imagery. They also show how people enjoyed themselves when they could and fought battles when they had to. Both were part of life, a life that was brutal and short for most people in those days.
Firstly, there are 60 pages of introduction. I advise you to read this introduction as it sets the scene for both the history and the poetry. There are 6 pages of notes for the introduction.
The book is in English and has been translated from Welsh by two of Wales's foremost Gwyneth Lewis and Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury. The original book dates from the 13th Century and is an anthology of 700 years of anonymous poetry about battles, more battles, heroes, mystery, and Christian faith.
Taliesin is an important name in Welsh Literature who is partly real, partly myth, and partly a folkloric memory. He might well have been a sixth-century poet, a magician, a seer, and a chronicler of early Welsh history from the time just after the Romans left Britain when the Saxons were pushing westwards from their east coast strongholds.
These poems are fascinating and sparkle with imagery. They also show how people enjoyed themselves when they could and fought battles when they had to. Both were part of life, a life that was brutal and short for most people in those days.
November 6, 2023
I think this is a really nice translation (tho admittedly the first I can recall reading) - there's really nice rhythm and rhyme, and I suspect it's true to the form of the original (wrt poetical structure).
a small introduction to the poems precede each, and gives helpful context.
the poems are varied: quite alot of praise poems; some parts from the Red Book of Hergest; riddle poems; elegies; tales of Arthur, Uthyr Pendragon, Madog...; Celtic Christianity; poems about trees, the making of mead and beer... 🐝🍯🍻
💔 the poem that envisages the Celtic races uniting to push out the Saxons 💔 (39)
many of the poetic traditions contained are still present and performed at Eisteddfod I think - recitation, poetic patterns...
and it was interesting to see/hear the points awarded some of the poems - links to the recitation and memorising, and the scoring and rewarding of Bardic skill?
🌟
the main introduction and commentary was (wisely) placed at the end, and comprised about forty percent of the book I accessed.
it included:
1. General Introduction, and the cultural significance of the book.
2. Who is Taliesin? several people seems to be the answer. more court bard initially. more riddling, shape shifting person later. then prophet.
3. Reading Taliesin.
Eisteddfod - Bardic competitions held in Wales since 1176. the points/scores mentioned - what do these scores mean?
how much we can and can't understand, including because of loss of information about some Bardic traditions, and shamanic and Druidic law.
Taliesin of the poems has access to things past and future that we don't.
4. The Text and Translation, and the original manuscript.
this is apparently the first time it's been translated in one volume since J Gwynoddin Evans in 1910 and 15.
what was included, what wasn't. thoughts about the history of the manuscript and it's compilation. the physical manuscript and how it's laid out.
this translation is not in the order of the manuscript - the layout/approach is largely based on Marged Haycock's (cf Ivor Williams). tho the translators have occasionally gone with their own reading/interpretation in context, esp where the manuscript text is corrupt and meanings need to be guessed at.
they've added their own punctuation in places. the afterword also talks here of how they've dealt with place names that were mixed in the original, the silent capitalisation of place names etc., the placing of contemporary place names in footnotes having kept older Welsh names (with k amended to c in places,...). and the keeping of some key words awen, annwfn, in Welsh.
there's also some discussion here of specific poetic structure, including cynghanedd, metre/metrics/measures of the poems. alliteration, rhyme, strict syllable counting...
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
accessed as a library audiobook, ably read by David Sibley 🙂
a small introduction to the poems precede each, and gives helpful context.
the poems are varied: quite alot of praise poems; some parts from the Red Book of Hergest; riddle poems; elegies; tales of Arthur, Uthyr Pendragon, Madog...; Celtic Christianity; poems about trees, the making of mead and beer... 🐝🍯🍻
💔 the poem that envisages the Celtic races uniting to push out the Saxons 💔 (39)
many of the poetic traditions contained are still present and performed at Eisteddfod I think - recitation, poetic patterns...
and it was interesting to see/hear the points awarded some of the poems - links to the recitation and memorising, and the scoring and rewarding of Bardic skill?
🌟
the main introduction and commentary was (wisely) placed at the end, and comprised about forty percent of the book I accessed.
it included:
1. General Introduction, and the cultural significance of the book.
2. Who is Taliesin? several people seems to be the answer. more court bard initially. more riddling, shape shifting person later. then prophet.
3. Reading Taliesin.
Eisteddfod - Bardic competitions held in Wales since 1176. the points/scores mentioned - what do these scores mean?
how much we can and can't understand, including because of loss of information about some Bardic traditions, and shamanic and Druidic law.
Taliesin of the poems has access to things past and future that we don't.
4. The Text and Translation, and the original manuscript.
this is apparently the first time it's been translated in one volume since J Gwynoddin Evans in 1910 and 15.
what was included, what wasn't. thoughts about the history of the manuscript and it's compilation. the physical manuscript and how it's laid out.
this translation is not in the order of the manuscript - the layout/approach is largely based on Marged Haycock's (cf Ivor Williams). tho the translators have occasionally gone with their own reading/interpretation in context, esp where the manuscript text is corrupt and meanings need to be guessed at.
they've added their own punctuation in places. the afterword also talks here of how they've dealt with place names that were mixed in the original, the silent capitalisation of place names etc., the placing of contemporary place names in footnotes having kept older Welsh names (with k amended to c in places,...). and the keeping of some key words awen, annwfn, in Welsh.
there's also some discussion here of specific poetic structure, including cynghanedd, metre/metrics/measures of the poems. alliteration, rhyme, strict syllable counting...
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
accessed as a library audiobook, ably read by David Sibley 🙂
January 20, 2022
The sixth century Welsh bard Taliesin took on mythical stature. Over the centuries that followed his career in the courts of kings and lords, his name was borrowed by a long line of anonymous poets seeking to call upon his spirit, to evoke the chief bard’s essence from ages past.
A poet from history evolved into something beyond his real form, into a prophet, a seer, an advisor, a shapeshifter, a shaman who transcends time and space. I don’t mean this hyperbolically. The poems in the collection known as the Book of Taliesin show the man of myth in all these forms. He becomes a cosmic entity reaching through the centuries and materializing as everything from a human being lamenting a fallen hero to a viper in the river, from a weapon of battle to a particle of beer in a king’s mouth. He is an enigmatic bard of war poetry, praise poetry, visionary works of lore and prophecy and history and adoration of nature and knowledge.
Gwyneth Lewis and Rowan Williams authored this translation of the Book of Taliesin. It’s the first new translation in over a hundred years of a book compiled in the 14th century, but made up of works that span the 700 previous years of Welsh poetry under a single name. They write a captivating introduction and notes. The introduction is almost 80 pages, and is one of the best and most informative intros I’ve read to any piece of ancient literature. This intro almost warrants its own review.
Lewis and Williams present an excellent analysis of Taliesin as he appears over the course of the poems. As historical figure in the courts of warlords writing war poetry and praise poetry. Then as a persona that mutates over the generations into a riddling, charismatic, figure, taking on the role of an allusive Sage or Druid blessed with the gift of awen and conveying his elite knowledge of the craft of poetry to his successors.
Then as a seer foretelling ruin, or predicting victories and liberation or downfalls and doom, writing obscure verses of history and the future and passages of esoteric knowledge. And finally, Taliesin as legendary figure, as a shape-shifter, as both a teller and subject of folklore, as a voice for others to speak through, and as an archetype of bardic might and an uninterrupted line of Welsh literary traditions. He is a cauldron of imagination and creative power overflowing. The gamut of the poetry in this book sees him in all these forms.
The complicated history of these poems are unwound just a little, but the mystery behind them does not lend itself to easy solutions. There is much still unknown about the poems or some of the non-Taliesin authors. Informed speculation offers rather interesting insights and theories, nonetheless.
The translators have organized the poems loosely by categories. The first group is the heroic poems. These are poems thought to have possibly been written by the historical Taliesin in the sixth century, either in praise of his powerful benefactors, or relating a conquest, detailing a war or series of battles, calling the people to rise up together, or singing elegies for fallen heroes. These works portray real people and real events, sometimes revealing bits and pieces of early medieval Welsh culture and customs, or complex webs of genealogies, and frequently battles and death and conflict.
Taliesin gives grand praise to the lords whose courts he resided in, like the military exploits and high character of Urien, king of Reghed, or Cynan Garwyn, king of Powys, who fought the much hated Anglo-Saxons, or lamentation for Owain, the son of Urien. Some poems make recurring references to a Prince Elffin, whose court Taliesin may or may not have been a part of.
The legendary poems explore the mysteries of the universe and of the world. They reach deep into the past and into myths, folklore, the memory of the people of Wales, and sometimes further back, to heroes from classical antiquity. Hercules and Alexander are the focus of a few poems, and Taliesin himself, or the art of poetry, or Arthurian characters like Ulther Pendragon, or Cu Roi, a legendary figure from Irish heroic sagas, or the mystifying powers of the heavens and of creation are the focus of others.
One of the greatest poems in the book, “The Battle of the Trees”, sees Taliesin as a warrior poet, and as an eternal omnipresent all-knowing being who creates all of reality. And as its title suggests, it features a battle between trees and shrubs, as well as a bounty of other elements which might or might not be metaphors for other things. It has references to myth and magic and transformation and impossible knowledge, and like a few other poems, hints at the esoterica of medieval cosmology. No one has figured out precisely what the poem means, but it doesn’t matter. It might be better that way. Like many of these poems, it is shrouded in a sense of mystery and irrecoverable truth. It’s incredible, a whimsical, mysterious, puzzling, beautiful, surreal hellscape of imagination at the height of its powers.
A theme of transmigration is the focus of a few of the major poems here, as Taliesin takes the form of various people and beasts and inanimate objects, like water or dust, being born into multiple forms and transported through all parts of the world and through battles and bodies and the heavens, seeing all things and knowing all there is to know.
This theme reminds me of the transmigration seen in Irish mythology, in the story “The Wooing of Etain”, in which Etain is turned into water, then a fly, and is then blown around and thrown around for eons and undergoing a multitude of troubles until landing in a cup and being drunk down and reborn a thousand years later. I recall similar sequences of transformation and movement in a few other old Irish myths.
Some of these poems were apparently performed in contests, and the existing manuscript from which they are translated have remarks written about how many points they were worth in such contests. It is thought that apprentice bards were evaluated by how well they memorized and performed certain poems, but we know nothing of how the scores were computed.
A few of these “scored” poems are boastful and dramatic, taking a tone that the translators compare to a rap battle. For example, Taliesin will mock lesser poets, criticize their poor style or amateur grasp of the form, and then artfully and eloquently build himself up as the most awesome, the most important and towering bard in the land, celebrating his endless knowledge and wisdom and poetic skill through verse. These are deserving of the category “legendary” in a way quite distinct from the rest.
The prophetic poems have repeated themes of unification of the British, and predict the appearance of a hero to raise Wales and the other British people above the Saxons, the Vikings, and any other oppressive forces. These brilliant works call to mind raging battles, apocalyptic punishments and divine acts.
Another of the greatest poems in the book is in this section, called “The Great Prophesy of Britain”, which introduces a lot of ideas that would appear in the later prophetic poems, borrowed and repurposed through the ages to accommodate whatever contemporary medieval concerns were relevant to the Welsh.
It is a small but forceful epic that predicts the return of early saviors of Britain, Cynan and Cadwaladr. These two men appear in many of the prophetic poems, as chosen ones who will return to liberate the people against Saxon rule. Cadwaladr was son of Cadwallon of Gwynedd, a warlord who conquered Northumbria. A couple poems detail his courage and heroism, presenting him as a conqueror that will crush the enemies of the Welsh. Cynan is a bit more mysterious, possibly a fusing of two historical figures, one being Cynan, the king of Powys whom had Taliesin in his court, and one being Conan Meriadoc, credited with establishing an independent line of British kings in Brittany in the fifth century.
The prophetic poems are also semi-legendary, and many make references to the Welsh myths of the Mabinogion, alluding to its characters and its stories, and events that the poets were intimately familiar with.
The final poems cover religious and devotional topics as well as secular. They peer into the world of miracles and spirituality, the visions of apocalypses and hell, prayers for kings and warriors, as well as offering more prophecies and treatments on forgotten knowledge, libraries, fortresses, heroes, and hopes for an indomitable Wales that casts off its afflictions and basks in the glory of its great rulers of past ages.
This is a peerless book, a work of towering imagination and mesmerizing poetic vision. It is a book of mystical, mythical, magical medieval Welsh magnificence.
A poet from history evolved into something beyond his real form, into a prophet, a seer, an advisor, a shapeshifter, a shaman who transcends time and space. I don’t mean this hyperbolically. The poems in the collection known as the Book of Taliesin show the man of myth in all these forms. He becomes a cosmic entity reaching through the centuries and materializing as everything from a human being lamenting a fallen hero to a viper in the river, from a weapon of battle to a particle of beer in a king’s mouth. He is an enigmatic bard of war poetry, praise poetry, visionary works of lore and prophecy and history and adoration of nature and knowledge.
Gwyneth Lewis and Rowan Williams authored this translation of the Book of Taliesin. It’s the first new translation in over a hundred years of a book compiled in the 14th century, but made up of works that span the 700 previous years of Welsh poetry under a single name. They write a captivating introduction and notes. The introduction is almost 80 pages, and is one of the best and most informative intros I’ve read to any piece of ancient literature. This intro almost warrants its own review.
Lewis and Williams present an excellent analysis of Taliesin as he appears over the course of the poems. As historical figure in the courts of warlords writing war poetry and praise poetry. Then as a persona that mutates over the generations into a riddling, charismatic, figure, taking on the role of an allusive Sage or Druid blessed with the gift of awen and conveying his elite knowledge of the craft of poetry to his successors.
Then as a seer foretelling ruin, or predicting victories and liberation or downfalls and doom, writing obscure verses of history and the future and passages of esoteric knowledge. And finally, Taliesin as legendary figure, as a shape-shifter, as both a teller and subject of folklore, as a voice for others to speak through, and as an archetype of bardic might and an uninterrupted line of Welsh literary traditions. He is a cauldron of imagination and creative power overflowing. The gamut of the poetry in this book sees him in all these forms.
The complicated history of these poems are unwound just a little, but the mystery behind them does not lend itself to easy solutions. There is much still unknown about the poems or some of the non-Taliesin authors. Informed speculation offers rather interesting insights and theories, nonetheless.
The translators have organized the poems loosely by categories. The first group is the heroic poems. These are poems thought to have possibly been written by the historical Taliesin in the sixth century, either in praise of his powerful benefactors, or relating a conquest, detailing a war or series of battles, calling the people to rise up together, or singing elegies for fallen heroes. These works portray real people and real events, sometimes revealing bits and pieces of early medieval Welsh culture and customs, or complex webs of genealogies, and frequently battles and death and conflict.
Taliesin gives grand praise to the lords whose courts he resided in, like the military exploits and high character of Urien, king of Reghed, or Cynan Garwyn, king of Powys, who fought the much hated Anglo-Saxons, or lamentation for Owain, the son of Urien. Some poems make recurring references to a Prince Elffin, whose court Taliesin may or may not have been a part of.
The legendary poems explore the mysteries of the universe and of the world. They reach deep into the past and into myths, folklore, the memory of the people of Wales, and sometimes further back, to heroes from classical antiquity. Hercules and Alexander are the focus of a few poems, and Taliesin himself, or the art of poetry, or Arthurian characters like Ulther Pendragon, or Cu Roi, a legendary figure from Irish heroic sagas, or the mystifying powers of the heavens and of creation are the focus of others.
One of the greatest poems in the book, “The Battle of the Trees”, sees Taliesin as a warrior poet, and as an eternal omnipresent all-knowing being who creates all of reality. And as its title suggests, it features a battle between trees and shrubs, as well as a bounty of other elements which might or might not be metaphors for other things. It has references to myth and magic and transformation and impossible knowledge, and like a few other poems, hints at the esoterica of medieval cosmology. No one has figured out precisely what the poem means, but it doesn’t matter. It might be better that way. Like many of these poems, it is shrouded in a sense of mystery and irrecoverable truth. It’s incredible, a whimsical, mysterious, puzzling, beautiful, surreal hellscape of imagination at the height of its powers.
A theme of transmigration is the focus of a few of the major poems here, as Taliesin takes the form of various people and beasts and inanimate objects, like water or dust, being born into multiple forms and transported through all parts of the world and through battles and bodies and the heavens, seeing all things and knowing all there is to know.
This theme reminds me of the transmigration seen in Irish mythology, in the story “The Wooing of Etain”, in which Etain is turned into water, then a fly, and is then blown around and thrown around for eons and undergoing a multitude of troubles until landing in a cup and being drunk down and reborn a thousand years later. I recall similar sequences of transformation and movement in a few other old Irish myths.
Some of these poems were apparently performed in contests, and the existing manuscript from which they are translated have remarks written about how many points they were worth in such contests. It is thought that apprentice bards were evaluated by how well they memorized and performed certain poems, but we know nothing of how the scores were computed.
A few of these “scored” poems are boastful and dramatic, taking a tone that the translators compare to a rap battle. For example, Taliesin will mock lesser poets, criticize their poor style or amateur grasp of the form, and then artfully and eloquently build himself up as the most awesome, the most important and towering bard in the land, celebrating his endless knowledge and wisdom and poetic skill through verse. These are deserving of the category “legendary” in a way quite distinct from the rest.
The prophetic poems have repeated themes of unification of the British, and predict the appearance of a hero to raise Wales and the other British people above the Saxons, the Vikings, and any other oppressive forces. These brilliant works call to mind raging battles, apocalyptic punishments and divine acts.
Another of the greatest poems in the book is in this section, called “The Great Prophesy of Britain”, which introduces a lot of ideas that would appear in the later prophetic poems, borrowed and repurposed through the ages to accommodate whatever contemporary medieval concerns were relevant to the Welsh.
It is a small but forceful epic that predicts the return of early saviors of Britain, Cynan and Cadwaladr. These two men appear in many of the prophetic poems, as chosen ones who will return to liberate the people against Saxon rule. Cadwaladr was son of Cadwallon of Gwynedd, a warlord who conquered Northumbria. A couple poems detail his courage and heroism, presenting him as a conqueror that will crush the enemies of the Welsh. Cynan is a bit more mysterious, possibly a fusing of two historical figures, one being Cynan, the king of Powys whom had Taliesin in his court, and one being Conan Meriadoc, credited with establishing an independent line of British kings in Brittany in the fifth century.
The prophetic poems are also semi-legendary, and many make references to the Welsh myths of the Mabinogion, alluding to its characters and its stories, and events that the poets were intimately familiar with.
The final poems cover religious and devotional topics as well as secular. They peer into the world of miracles and spirituality, the visions of apocalypses and hell, prayers for kings and warriors, as well as offering more prophecies and treatments on forgotten knowledge, libraries, fortresses, heroes, and hopes for an indomitable Wales that casts off its afflictions and basks in the glory of its great rulers of past ages.
This is a peerless book, a work of towering imagination and mesmerizing poetic vision. It is a book of mystical, mythical, magical medieval Welsh magnificence.
January 17, 2022
I was enticed to read this book after finishing ‘The Mabinogion’ by Evangeline Walton. Taliesin gets scant mention there, but I recognized the name from reading fantasy novels - Guy Gavriel Kay - and decided why not lear something about him? Taliesin was a real historical figure - 6th century - though little is actually known of him or his life. ’The Book of Taliesin’ - one of the most famous Middle Welsh manuscripts, dating from the first half of the 14th century - may include some of his poetry but that cannot be proven, only surmised based on historical references. There is a wonderful selection of poems here, ranging from praise songs to elegies, from christian verse to hymns, and prophetic, philosophic, and gnomic ones too (‘gnomic’ being brief, seemingly wise, but difficult to understand aphorisms NOT poems about gnomes!). I got as much, if not more, enjoyment from the Introduction, Notes, and chapter headings as I did from reading the actual poems. There are only so many similar examples I can read before feeling a bit overwhelmed, or underwhelmed, as the case may be. Still, I did like reading them, and I can easily see this book being utilized as part of an academic course on Welsh history, literature, or mythology. Reading this book when I did made it intriguing and valuable, and my rating reflects that, even if I was not necessarily enchanted by the poems themselves.
March 9, 2020
This book is a wonderful entry-level collection of Brythonic poetry which reiterates the fact that the "dark ages" in post-Roman Britain were, in fact, overflowing with inventive poetry steeped in myth and enchantment. The introduction is compelling and relays plenty of background information about the diction, structure, and rhyming schemes of early Welsh panegyric poetry.
The book was an absolute pleasure to read, and I trust that the translations are accurate - emphasis on 'trust'. If there was any change I could suggest in order to further improve this book, it would be to include the original poems next to the translators' versions. As a Celticist, I was disappointed they were not included, but the cover and introduction make it quite clear that the editors' intentions were not to create a scholarly reference, but to translate the works of the elusive bard and publish them as a tome accessible to those without any prior knowledge of Celtic studies. Hence, five stars.
The book was an absolute pleasure to read, and I trust that the translations are accurate - emphasis on 'trust'. If there was any change I could suggest in order to further improve this book, it would be to include the original poems next to the translators' versions. As a Celticist, I was disappointed they were not included, but the cover and introduction make it quite clear that the editors' intentions were not to create a scholarly reference, but to translate the works of the elusive bard and publish them as a tome accessible to those without any prior knowledge of Celtic studies. Hence, five stars.
February 3, 2023
This book is an excellent and informative translation of the medieval poems that are attributed to the Taliesin persona. This translation was performed by two eminent Welsh poets, the first being Gwyneth Lewis, known in part for her words which are inscribed above the Wales Millennium Center in Cardiff.
The other poet that contributed to this translation is Rowan Williams, a former Archbishop of Canterbury. You really couldn’t hope for more qualified translators than the two who worked on this translation.
This edition has a superb introductory section, 77 pages in length, that excellently explains the history and heritage of The Book of Taliesin. I always recommend reading a book before reading the literary introduction, that way you can decide what the text means to you, after reading, I then go back and read the introduction, to see what others say and to obtain the background information. One of the great things about poetry is that what it means to you can be different than what the text actually says, and as long as you don’t insist that your interpretation is the only correct one, no wrong is done. The body of this book is positively littered with extremely helpful footnotes and explainers, and each poem is proceeded by a brief historical introduction which is also quite handy. A Welsh language pronunciation guide is also included, which made reading much easier. This edition contains all that you could wish for in a translation of this type. If you’re looking for a more scholarly work, see Legendary Poems from the Book of Taliesin by Marged Haycock, she has a translation and a transcription of the original text side-by-side.
A translation can never contain the elegance and force of an original, but in this case the translators did very well. The language was simple yet forceful and moving. Regarding the poetry itself, I loved the questions it asked, often asking them without an answer. It was a good mental exercise.
Here are a just few of my favorite lines:
I will certainly be re-reading this again in the near future. Even writing this review and going back over some of the material has me itching to start over. I highly recommend this edition and translation.
Cross posted on my blog
There are two inscriptions, one in Welsh and the other in English, each inscription having a different meaning. The Welsh inscription is: CREU GWIR FEL GWYDR O FFWRNAIS AWEN, which translates to: Creating Truth Like Glass From Inspiration's Furnace. The English inscription reads: IN THESE STONES HORIZONS SING.
The other poet that contributed to this translation is Rowan Williams, a former Archbishop of Canterbury. You really couldn’t hope for more qualified translators than the two who worked on this translation.
This edition has a superb introductory section, 77 pages in length, that excellently explains the history and heritage of The Book of Taliesin. I always recommend reading a book before reading the literary introduction, that way you can decide what the text means to you, after reading, I then go back and read the introduction, to see what others say and to obtain the background information. One of the great things about poetry is that what it means to you can be different than what the text actually says, and as long as you don’t insist that your interpretation is the only correct one, no wrong is done. The body of this book is positively littered with extremely helpful footnotes and explainers, and each poem is proceeded by a brief historical introduction which is also quite handy. A Welsh language pronunciation guide is also included, which made reading much easier. This edition contains all that you could wish for in a translation of this type. If you’re looking for a more scholarly work, see Legendary Poems from the Book of Taliesin by Marged Haycock, she has a translation and a transcription of the original text side-by-side.
A translation can never contain the elegance and force of an original, but in this case the translators did very well. The language was simple yet forceful and moving. Regarding the poetry itself, I loved the questions it asked, often asking them without an answer. It was a good mental exercise.
Here are a just few of my favorite lines:
My spear shaft of ash is my holy awen. - Taliesin’s Plunder
Through language, skilled man,
Make majestic trees seem
Like a hundred-strong army,
Resisting the vigorous,’
Spendthrift warlord. – The Battle of the Trees
Do you know what you are
When you’re fast asleep—
Body or soul,
Or shining angel? – Young Taliesin’s Works
Noble is truth when it shines,
More noble when it speaks,
Nobly it came from the cauldron, - Teyrnon’s Prize Song
I will certainly be re-reading this again in the near future. Even writing this review and going back over some of the material has me itching to start over. I highly recommend this edition and translation.
Cross posted on my blog
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March 27, 2022Early poetry - whether Norse, Anglo-Saxon, Welsh or other - is a feast for anyone who loves words. The use of metaphor, the kennings, alliteration, all the devices are employed to create poetry that sings, even in translations. Taliesin, brings myth and magic, history and religion, from a lost time.
May 23, 2025
Fascinating, as although I'm of Irish immigrant parentage, the Welsh across the sea, their rivals and cousins alternatively, have long enchanted me. Their language, as Tolkien reflected, inspired his lore, and the look of it his longing. I share that, and getting to survey the sixty-odd verses (arguably only the first dozen may be originated with the shadowy bard; the rest are attributed dubiously as the era lengthened and the struggles against the Saxon invasion faltered before the first millennium arrived) proved a boon. Gwyneth Lewis and the Archbishop of Canterbury himself, Rowan Williams, combine to deliver the definitive English translation; it's now 110 years since we've had a decently edited ed.
My only regret? Had to notch the rating down. Penguin may be to blame, cost cuts, but this esteemed series features, in these carefully marketed, inclusive publishing times, bilingual presentations aplenty.
We lack the original Brythonic to look at. These first entries proper, after a valuable introduction (and with both endnotes overall and annotations for certain words appended), survive as the initial forays into what emerged into Cymraeg, which although threatened by what you and I here read, nevertheless (no small credit to Methodist preachers) continues as vernacular in parts of Cymru.
Lots remains obscure. But that adds to the verisimilitude, heightens the allure, and boosts the power. As with much of ancient and medieval literature, for me, this loss of resolution invites speculation, encourages investigation, and rewards imagination. As I recall, Jane Smiley noted regarding the sagas of the Norse: it's a juxtaposition of rigor, demanded for scholars of these periods, and extrapolation given gaps exposed and lacunae embedded in these manuscripts. Joined in an unforgettable alembic?
Parts break into frenetic bursts. Boasts and bravery compress into tight utterances, muttered vows. Speakers jolt into venerable veneration, bitter revenge, tender devotion, delicate song, or raw power.
Taliesin's tradition, whomever anonymously tagged onto his poetic team, certainly illustrates heady influences. Scriptures, myths not only Welsh but Western, battles, heroes, chant, incantations (New Age crowds call the alleged author "the last Celtic shaman" predictably and romantically), fragments of chronicles, praise of leaders, prophecy, prayer, and celebration vie for attention in hectic rhythms.
It's not without head scratchers, utterly opaque phrases, and irretrievably arcane fevered allusion. If that doesn't dissuade but beckons, this jagged, ecstatic, cluttered, whirling compendium's for you too.
My only regret? Had to notch the rating down. Penguin may be to blame, cost cuts, but this esteemed series features, in these carefully marketed, inclusive publishing times, bilingual presentations aplenty.
We lack the original Brythonic to look at. These first entries proper, after a valuable introduction (and with both endnotes overall and annotations for certain words appended), survive as the initial forays into what emerged into Cymraeg, which although threatened by what you and I here read, nevertheless (no small credit to Methodist preachers) continues as vernacular in parts of Cymru.
Lots remains obscure. But that adds to the verisimilitude, heightens the allure, and boosts the power. As with much of ancient and medieval literature, for me, this loss of resolution invites speculation, encourages investigation, and rewards imagination. As I recall, Jane Smiley noted regarding the sagas of the Norse: it's a juxtaposition of rigor, demanded for scholars of these periods, and extrapolation given gaps exposed and lacunae embedded in these manuscripts. Joined in an unforgettable alembic?
Parts break into frenetic bursts. Boasts and bravery compress into tight utterances, muttered vows. Speakers jolt into venerable veneration, bitter revenge, tender devotion, delicate song, or raw power.
Taliesin's tradition, whomever anonymously tagged onto his poetic team, certainly illustrates heady influences. Scriptures, myths not only Welsh but Western, battles, heroes, chant, incantations (New Age crowds call the alleged author "the last Celtic shaman" predictably and romantically), fragments of chronicles, praise of leaders, prophecy, prayer, and celebration vie for attention in hectic rhythms.
It's not without head scratchers, utterly opaque phrases, and irretrievably arcane fevered allusion. If that doesn't dissuade but beckons, this jagged, ecstatic, cluttered, whirling compendium's for you too.
February 12, 2020
This book has a fantastic introduction to Taliesin - the man and the voice. Definitely worth reading to make sense of the poems themselves.
Notation of the poems is excellent. Enough to explain meaning where it could be difficult or where it relies on knowledge of myth and religion but not so heavy as to spoil the reading of the poems.
I would have given this book 5 stars if only the original poems were - as far as could be discerned - given as parallel text. I would love to experience the sounds of the originals as well as the meanings.
Notation of the poems is excellent. Enough to explain meaning where it could be difficult or where it relies on knowledge of myth and religion but not so heavy as to spoil the reading of the poems.
I would have given this book 5 stars if only the original poems were - as far as could be discerned - given as parallel text. I would love to experience the sounds of the originals as well as the meanings.
June 17, 2022
This excellent collection of poems, attributed to the semi-mythical poet Taliesin, is both a gorgeous read as well as a fascinating insight into Medieval Wales. This particular edition comes complete with a rather robust introduction that helps place the poems within the proper historical context for readers that may be unfamiliar with them, as well as two things I think are all important: a map and a pronunciation guide! However, it would have been nice if the collection also included the original Welsh text so that the reader could get a sense of what the original rhyming scheme would have been. Moreover, this collection curiously arranges the poems by theme, rather than how they appeared in the original Llyvyr Taliessin. This is useful for those trying to find a particular poem or group of poems, but it also results in the last section of poems being the religiously oriented "Devotional Poems", which I found insufferably boring and meant the collection ended on a low note for me. Still, These represent small blemishes on an excellent version of what of the greatest collections of poetry in the world.
September 4, 2024
As the subtitle indicates, glorious.
January 25, 2021
There is some good translation here as the awen still comes through in English. "Awen" is a word that is untranslatable from Welsh meaning something along the lines of "muse, inspiration, prophecy, magic" which pretty much sums up this compilation of mystical poetry with hints of history.
It is of some historical humor that for over a thousand years the Welsh listened to bards in their own language unknown to their politically-dominate, Saxon neighbors about how one day a son of destiny would arise and sweep them from the island.
There are a lot of war poems. The most fascinating may be the ones involving shape-shifting and real poetic invocation of a Cymric sense of identity with nature and each other. May the Awen be with you!
It is of some historical humor that for over a thousand years the Welsh listened to bards in their own language unknown to their politically-dominate, Saxon neighbors about how one day a son of destiny would arise and sweep them from the island.
There are a lot of war poems. The most fascinating may be the ones involving shape-shifting and real poetic invocation of a Cymric sense of identity with nature and each other. May the Awen be with you!
January 13, 2025
Some of my favorites among the shorter poems of pseudo-Taliesin's corpus:
The Small Song of the World
"I have sung with skill, and still I shall sing
Until the greatest day of all shall dawn,
Many matters in my mind,
Over which I worry.
I challenge the wide world's poets -
Why will you not tell me
What holds up the world
Lest it fall into emptiness?
Or if the world fell,
On to what would it drop?
Who holds it in place?
What a vain thing, a world
Falling into the void!
And yet, truth to tell,
What a wonder's a world
That never thus falls!
What a singular thing,
And how great its radiance!
St John and St Matthew,
St Luke and St Mark -
They hold up the world
Through the grace of the Spirit."
Young Taliesin's Work
"I beg my Lord,
Let me trace epiphany's tale -
What birthed the thirst for it
Before Ceridwen's day,
The first moment in the world
When the lack of it was felt.
Monks with your book-learning,
Why will you not tell me?
Why do you not truss me up
Now your hunt for me is over?
What draws smoke skyward?
What brought evil to birth?
What well pours out radiance
Above darkness's canopy?
Whence came the bright grain-stalks,
Whence the moonlit night,
While another one's too dark to see
(Out in the open) so much as your shield?
Why the great clamour
As waves pound the shore
In vengeance for Dylan,
Reaching out towards us?
Why's a stone so heavy,
A thorn so sharp?
Do you know which is better -
Its trunk or its tip?
Which can best put barriers
Between a man and the cold?
Whose death is better -
A young man or an old?
Do you know what you are
When you're fast asleep -
Body or soul,
Or shining angel?
Now, skillful singer,
Why do you not tell me?
Do you know where
Night waits out the daytime?
Do you know the tally
Of leaves on the trees?
What will lift up the mountains
Before the world ends?
What shores up the wall
Of the earth, day by day?
And the soul that we weep for -
Who's seen it, who knows it?
When I read books, I'm amazed
That they have no clear knowledge
Of where the soul shelters,
Or the shape of its members;
Of which region gives rise
To the great wind and torrent
That wrestle so wondrously
Threatening the sinner.
I wonder as I sing
Whence came the sweet dregs,
What makes the derangement
Of mead and of bragget.
What could fix all their fates
Except God in Trinity?
Why should I extol
Any other but You?
Who made the penny
From a circle of silver?
Whence comes the quick sea,
As loud as a chariot?
Death lies under all,
Dealt out in every land;
Death stands over our heads,
A shroud spread wide -
But above its canopy stands Heaven.
There a man is old at his birth
And grows younger each day.
A matter of anxiety -
This world's prosperity:
One day, great riches -
Then our lives cut short: why?
It will make for great sorrow,
That long stay in the grave.
May the One who created us
(From the land above all),
Our God, be the one
Who at last brings us home to Himself."
The Small Song of the World
"I have sung with skill, and still I shall sing
Until the greatest day of all shall dawn,
Many matters in my mind,
Over which I worry.
I challenge the wide world's poets -
Why will you not tell me
What holds up the world
Lest it fall into emptiness?
Or if the world fell,
On to what would it drop?
Who holds it in place?
What a vain thing, a world
Falling into the void!
And yet, truth to tell,
What a wonder's a world
That never thus falls!
What a singular thing,
And how great its radiance!
St John and St Matthew,
St Luke and St Mark -
They hold up the world
Through the grace of the Spirit."
Young Taliesin's Work
"I beg my Lord,
Let me trace epiphany's tale -
What birthed the thirst for it
Before Ceridwen's day,
The first moment in the world
When the lack of it was felt.
Monks with your book-learning,
Why will you not tell me?
Why do you not truss me up
Now your hunt for me is over?
What draws smoke skyward?
What brought evil to birth?
What well pours out radiance
Above darkness's canopy?
Whence came the bright grain-stalks,
Whence the moonlit night,
While another one's too dark to see
(Out in the open) so much as your shield?
Why the great clamour
As waves pound the shore
In vengeance for Dylan,
Reaching out towards us?
Why's a stone so heavy,
A thorn so sharp?
Do you know which is better -
Its trunk or its tip?
Which can best put barriers
Between a man and the cold?
Whose death is better -
A young man or an old?
Do you know what you are
When you're fast asleep -
Body or soul,
Or shining angel?
Now, skillful singer,
Why do you not tell me?
Do you know where
Night waits out the daytime?
Do you know the tally
Of leaves on the trees?
What will lift up the mountains
Before the world ends?
What shores up the wall
Of the earth, day by day?
And the soul that we weep for -
Who's seen it, who knows it?
When I read books, I'm amazed
That they have no clear knowledge
Of where the soul shelters,
Or the shape of its members;
Of which region gives rise
To the great wind and torrent
That wrestle so wondrously
Threatening the sinner.
I wonder as I sing
Whence came the sweet dregs,
What makes the derangement
Of mead and of bragget.
What could fix all their fates
Except God in Trinity?
Why should I extol
Any other but You?
Who made the penny
From a circle of silver?
Whence comes the quick sea,
As loud as a chariot?
Death lies under all,
Dealt out in every land;
Death stands over our heads,
A shroud spread wide -
But above its canopy stands Heaven.
There a man is old at his birth
And grows younger each day.
A matter of anxiety -
This world's prosperity:
One day, great riches -
Then our lives cut short: why?
It will make for great sorrow,
That long stay in the grave.
May the One who created us
(From the land above all),
Our God, be the one
Who at last brings us home to Himself."
February 11, 2023
The 5 stars are wholly for its historical importance and interest, not for any present-day literary enjoyment of the texts. For the most part, these pieces really aren't that enjoyable to a modern reader, though there are a fair amount of poignant, poetic moments. The entire Devotional Poems section is utterly uninteresting, as it happens, and in fact the overt intrusion of Christianity into many of the poems is the biggest weakness for me. On the one hand I am happy that there was any monastic tradition at all which put things into writing, but on the other hand I wish they could have kept on topic when writing about current or historical or predicted future events.
Nevertheless, one of the most interesting parts of works such as this are the countless paths they point you towards for learning more about various historical figures and events. And of course, who knew that Taliesin was such an inspiration for Alanis Morissette's Ironic:
I do wish that this were a dual-language edition, however, with the Middle Welsh original alongside the translation. I would have enjoyed puzzling through how it might actually have sounded aloud - probably failing by woefully, but nevertheless enjoying the exercise.
Nevertheless, one of the most interesting parts of works such as this are the countless paths they point you towards for learning more about various historical figures and events. And of course, who knew that Taliesin was such an inspiration for Alanis Morissette's Ironic:
Like planning to travel || without any feet,
Like gathering nuts || where there aren't any trees,
...
Like a light that you show || to a man who's blind,
Like a naked man || giving clothes away
I do wish that this were a dual-language edition, however, with the Middle Welsh original alongside the translation. I would have enjoyed puzzling through how it might actually have sounded aloud - probably failing by woefully, but nevertheless enjoying the exercise.
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May 27, 2021Taliesin has always fascinated me. I read a few of his poems, and bit about him, when I was in college. I took a class in Anglo-Saxon, and was a bit intrigued by all the various related languages in England, Ireland, Scotland and other nearby places. Dialects, too. So interesting, I was excited to see this book. I enjoyed reading about what was known of Taliesin, he's more myth than historical figure to me. I know he was a great bard, but hadn''t read much by him until this book. Nice collection of his works with lots of info about him and the history of his age.
It's well written and an easy read, so even a general reader of poetry could appreciate this book. Kudos authors!
I received a Kindle arc from Netgalley in exchange for a fair review.
It's well written and an easy read, so even a general reader of poetry could appreciate this book. Kudos authors!
I received a Kindle arc from Netgalley in exchange for a fair review.
August 16, 2021
Pretty good for what it is. Good footnotes and end notes. I was irritated at the start by the weird mangling in an attempt to make bits of them rhyme especially the 'I'll be not happy save praising Urien' refrain which comes up frequently and is quite famous but was absolutely awfully translated here with some odd insertion of 'aright' to force it to rhyme with 'delight' & it made me cringe every time I saw it. Thankfully they seemed to give up on making it rhyme half way through so that improved.
I don't quite know why they chose that bit to go on the blurb...there are much better excerpts and it wasn't a particularly well translated bit... but anyway.
Really liked the cover and glad I have the hardback for that reason.
I don't quite know why they chose that bit to go on the blurb...there are much better excerpts and it wasn't a particularly well translated bit... but anyway.
Really liked the cover and glad I have the hardback for that reason.
July 11, 2021
The Book of Taliesin by Gwyneth Lewis and Rowan Williams
I really enjoyed this, both the initial history of the figure and the different collections of poetry found here. I perhaps enjoyed most the initial set of poems, most likely to have been the real Taliesin's, but for fans of history and enjoyers of poetry, this is most certainly a must-read.
Admittedly, though, no name do I now dread as much as Cadwaladr, which may be harder for me to say than Worcestershire. 4/5.
I really enjoyed this, both the initial history of the figure and the different collections of poetry found here. I perhaps enjoyed most the initial set of poems, most likely to have been the real Taliesin's, but for fans of history and enjoyers of poetry, this is most certainly a must-read.
Admittedly, though, no name do I now dread as much as Cadwaladr, which may be harder for me to say than Worcestershire. 4/5.
March 17, 2022
This is a useful and affordable translation of the entire collection of poems known as The Book of Taliesin. It is not as scholarly as Marged Haycock's work, and it does not include the Welsh language texts, only the English translations. However, the poems flow well, and there are enough headnotes to keep you grounded.
Lewis and Williams have the advantage of Haycock having done the hard work, and they have made a very good job of this.
Lewis and Williams have the advantage of Haycock having done the hard work, and they have made a very good job of this.
December 23, 2022
It was great to see the entire collection of the Book of Taliesin in translation, as I'd read and re-read Ifor Williams scholarly edition of the poems he ascribes to the 'original' Taliesin and was curious to see the rest. The poetic quality of the original Welsh does get lost in translation however - would have been good to see the Welsh alongside the translations.
June 12, 2025
There are so few good books about Taliesin and so little is known about this sixth century bard, that this book will undoubtedly be the classic work on him, his poetry and his huge influence on literature. The 60 page introduction is brilliant, not just on Taliesin but on poetry, and the translations couldn’t be better. One of the first poets of ancient Britain (the other being Aneirin) if you’re interested in poetry then this is where it starts for us.
March 28, 2022
Obviously this is great - the original poems are early medieval people being delightfully weird little guys, as they always are, about a variety of fascinating topics, and the translations are beautifully handled and often very moving.
December 2, 2022
4.5 stars. A really great collection with a fascinating introduction. The only reason I'm docking half a star is because I really think this suffered from not having the texts of the original poems opposite the translations.
February 25, 2024
I wish this had been a side by side edition to help understand the poetry better, and I'm curious what people more skilled in the language think of the translations. Sometimes the language seemed to be trying too hard to be modern, and didn't convey much sense of poetry.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 30, 2024
In terms of the translation, notes and introduction, this is an excellent book. If it's historical interest that has brought you to these poems then this is an illuminating book. The poetry itself I found difficult to enjoy. There's a lot of blood and battles, and much repetition. The 'Legendary Poems' were by far my favourites.
September 29, 2024
This was rather underwhelming. It is mainly a translation issue; the language seemed to waver between the poetic and the juvenile. Approaching it from a literary, rather than scholarly, angle is perhaps not the best approach for this collection of medieval writing.
February 25, 2025
You probably can guess why a book ascribed to an immortal, shapeshifting bard would appeal to me. This is wonderfully enigmatic, and I deeply enjoyed it. I would like to one day own a copy of this on paper.
March 17, 2025
With the able translation work of Lewis and Williams, the poems of this collection are made accessible for the modern Anglophone reader. I'm glad to be able to add this to my shelf of works about Medieval Wales.
Want to read
September 1, 2020Listened to some of this book on BBC's The power of poetry and want to read it soon.
March 10, 2021
Wonderful book of poetry
I am researching for a novel and find books like this sit in my mind and stir the pot. So tasty.
I am researching for a novel and find books like this sit in my mind and stir the pot. So tasty.
February 13, 2022
Amazing, with introductions based of Haykock I think. Very nice as introduction to reading Taliesin poems!
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