Urien Yrechwydd

Urien Yrechwydd (in English: Urien of Yrechwydd) is a late Old Welsh or Middle Welsh heroic poem found uniquely in the Book of Taliesin. It is among those poems in the manuscript thought by Ifor Williams possibly to have originated as part of a sixth-century corpus of Canu Taliesin, a series of poems really composed by the semi-legendary sixth-century court poet of Rheged, Taliesin.^[1]

Gweith Gwen Ystrat
"The Battle of Gwen Ystrad"
Author(s)	unknown
Ascribed to	Taliesin
Language	late Old Welsh or Middle Welsh
Manuscript(s)	Book of Taliesin (NLW MS Peniarth 2)
Genre	praise poem
Period covered	late 6th century
Personages	Urien, prince of Rheged

Location of Yrechwydd

This poem and another of the Taliesin corpus, Argoed Llwyfain, characterise Urien as lord of Yrechwydd/Erechwydd, a place whose whereabouts has occasioned much debate, with implications for guessing the historical extent of the kingdom of Rheged.^[2] The Welsh word echwydd is thought to have meant 'fresh (of water); fresh water; ?cataract', suggesting that Yrechwydd was in the vicinity of fresh water. The most recent extensive studies, by Andrew Breeze, conclude that

Sir Ifor Williams thought it might be the Lake District, with plenty of fresh water (if not too much), where he is hesitantly followed by John Koch. But this makes no sense. The great area of fresh water in the Old North was that on the lower Ouse and Trent, a prodigious marsh that stretched from north of York to south of Gainsborough, sixty miles away in Lincolnshire. We can be sure that Yrechwydd was the area bordering that marsh, and hence equivalent to modern North Yorkshire, including York itself.^[3][4][5]

Text

Uryen yr echwyd. haelaf dyn bedyd.  lliaws a rodyd y dynyon eluyd.  Mal y kynnullyd yt wesceryd.  llawen beird bedyd tra vo dy uuchyd.  ys mwy llewenyd gan clotuan clotryd.  ys mwy gogonyant vot Uryen ae plant.  Ac ef yn arbennic yn oruchel wledic.  yn dinas pellennic. yn keimyat kynteic.  lloegrwys ae gwydant pan ymadrodant.  agheu a gawssant a mynych godyant  llosci eu trefret a dwyn eu tudet  ac eimwnc collet a mawr aghyffret  heb gaffel gwaret. rac vryen reget.  Reget diffreidyat clot ior agor gwlat  vy mod yssyd arnat. O pop erclywat  dwys dy peleitrat pan erclywat kat.  kat pan y kyrchynt gwnyeith a wneit.  Tan yn tei kyn dyd rac vd yr echwyd.  Yr echwyd teccaf ae dynyon haelhaf.  gnawt eigyl heb waessaf. am teyrn glewhaf.  glewhaf eissyllyd tydi goreu yssyd.  or a uu ac a uyd. nyth oes kystedlyd.  pan dremher arnaw ys ehalaeth y braw.  Gnawt gwyled ymdanaw am teyrn gocnaw.  Amdanaw gwyled. a lliaws maranhed  eurteyrn gogled arbenhic teyrned. Ac yny vallwyf hen  Ym dygyn agheu aghen.  ny bydif ym dirwen  na molwyfi vryen.[6]

Urien of Yrechwydd, Most bountiful of Christian, Much you bestow On the men of this land. As you gather in, So you give away. Joyful Christendom's poets As long as you live. Greater is the joy To have such a hero, Greater is the glory Of Urien and his offspring, Since he is chieftain, Ruler supreme, Wayfarers' refuge, Powerful champion. Lloegr-men know him As they will report: Death's what they get And pain a-plenty, Their dwellings ablaze And their garments seized, And heavy losses And grievous hardship, Getting no deliverance From Urien of Rheged. Rheged's defender, Renowned lord, land's anchor, I delight in you From all that's reported: Savage your spear-thrust When battle is sounded. When you charge into battle You wreak a slaughter, Houses fired before daybreak By Yrechwydd'slord. Most fair, Yrechwydd, And most bountiful its men. No safeguard for Angles: Round the bravest ruler, The bravest offspring. You yourself are best: Was not nor will be Ever your equal. When one beholds him Great is the terror. Ever joy around him, Round a spirited monarch, Around him rejoicing And abundant riches, Golden king of the north, High lord of monarch. And until I die, old, By death's strict demand, I shall not be joyful Unless I praise Urien.[7]