he beloved friend of Owain;

an alteration, which will do no great violence to the allusion about the
ravens.

{82a} Al. "March," as if addressing the horse of the slain;--

O steed, in what spot
Was slaughtered, &c.

{82b} "Cynhaiawc," (cyn-taiawg.) Adopting this version for the sake of
variety, and under the impression that all the different readings of this
poem are not the mere result of orthographical accident, but that the
forms of obscure or illegible words were sometimes determined by
tradition, we must believe that the _taiogion_, who composed the army of
Madog, were simply his own tenants or dependants.

{83a} "Diffun," (di-ffun.) _Ffun_ is any thing united together, and is
used at line 803 for a band of men. Some read "diffyn," (protection or
defence) and in that case the sense of the passage would seem to be,

He brought protection to women, and mead he distributed.

The former reading is preferred, inasmuch as it exhibits in a more
natural and consistent manner the twofold character of Madog, as a
soldier and a courtier, which appears to be the object of the Bard to
delineate. Our inference on this point is moreover supported by more
obvious passages of that description, which occur again in the Poem, such
as,--

"Ragorei veirch racvuan
En trin lletvegin gwin o bann."

He surpassed the fleetest steeds
In war, but was a tame animal when he poured the wine from the
goblet.

The epithet "cynhaiawc," assuming it to be the proper term, would also,
by reason of its contrasting effect, considerably enhance the value of
our hero's domestic and social courtesy.

{83b} "Twll tal y rodawr." Dr. Owen Pughe translates this "the front
opening of his chariot;" "twll ar ysgwyd," however, in the lxxxvii
stanza, evidently refers to a shield, and this sense is, moreover,
supported by "tyllant tal ysgwydawr," in Taliesin's Ode on Gwallawg, as
well as "rac twll y gylchwy," used by Cynddelw. The meaning therefore
appears to be that wherever the battle raged, there would the chief be
found, so boldly and _directly_ fighting as to have the very boss of his
shield perforated by the spears of his enemy.

{83c} "Brwyn." From the practice which the Welsh Bards commonly had of
adapting their descriptive similes to the names, armorial bearings, or
some other peculiarities of their heroes, we may infer that the
chieftain, who is celebrated in this stanza, is none other than Madog ab