'The Journey of the
Swine'
The Journey of the
Swine according to JK Bollard.1
Gwydion is the most
mobile of all the individuals in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi
and his movements there are characterised by
their circuitousness, one could say by their circularity. This aspect
of Gwydion finds echo in his traditional association with the Milky
Way which is known in Wales even now as Caer Gwydion,
Gwydion's Fort. This tradition can be traced from the present day
through many writers in the 20th century to Lady Charlotte Guest and
Iolo Morganwg in the 19th, to Lewis Morris in the 18th,
John Jones Gelli Lyvdy in the 17th, David Johns and
William Salesbury in the 16th, Lewis Glyn Cothi in the
15th to Gruffudd Grug in the 14th century. In other words
the association of Gwydion with the Milky Way was current as the
White Book of Rhydderch and the Red Book of Hergest were being
compiled. Indeed, Mark Williams (perhaps following Gruffydd), has
mooted that “It may represent a variant of the story of Gwydion
older than that represented in the Mabinogi”.2
Although to be fair he also says it may be a later development. The
circularity of the Milky Way and its motion across the sky has not,
as far as I know, been compared before with Gwydion's circuitous
movements in the variant of Math which we do possess in the Red and
White Books. W.
J. Gruffydd for instance cites the John Jones Gelli Lyvdi account of
Gwydion searching for Huan (Llew Llaw Gyffes) in the Milky Way on two
occasions but never once is he moved to question the origins of this
astronomical tradition. Mabinogi scholars in general
have paid scant attention to this interesting question.
When we first meet
Gwydion, at the start of the tale, the author immediately emphasises
this characteristic when he contrasts Math's inability, (whom
I think the author equated with Cepheus, see 'The Astronomy of Math
vab Mathonwy. (part 1)) against Gwydion's ability to
make a circuit of the land:
(Math) found his tranquillity at Caer Dathyli
in Arfon, and he might not go the circuit of the land, save
Gilfaethwy son of Don and Gwydion son of Don, his nephews, his
sister's sons, and the war-band with them, would go the circuit of
the land in his stead.
This 'circuitous'
motion of Gwydion here may not seem significant in itself, it
is surely just a figure of speech apparently referring to the cylch
or 'royal circuit', but
this emphasis surfaces again on his return journey from Rhuddlan
Teifi in quite an astonishing way. What is often described as
Gwydion’s ‘circuitous
flight’ with the pigs of Annwfn has been
the subject of a great deal of discussion, but it is now universally
accepted that this is an onomastic episode, ’to
explain how various places came to have a name associated with
pigs’.ii
W.J. Gruffydd, however, early recognised
that this interpretation falls short of a full explanation:
Now Gwydion, as he
himself states, was in a great hurry to reach Arvon and Caer Dathal
before the men of Dyfed should overtake him, and his obvious course
was the (direct) one which Pryderi took... Instead of that he started
away from the coast, went to the uplands of Ceridigion, and went
further out of his way through Elenydd in the Pumlumon district, and
to the district between Keri and Arwystli, almost on the march of
England. He then turned northwards, and came to Rhos, the district
around the modern Colwyn Bay. He was now far to the eastward of his
destination, and so he had to come west towards Caer Dathal, passing
through Arllechwedd.
He goes on to
observe that:
...there was no
dearth of Mochtrevs in Wales; every manor had one...So we cannot
suppose that Gwydion is made to take this devious route in order to
pass through Mochtrev and Mochnant.
This is his route as
we have it in the Red and White books:
From (somewhere
near, see below) Glyn Cych (Valley of Pigs) to Mochdrev (Pigtown) in
the hills of Keridigyawn; from there across the Elenid and then
stopping between Keri and Arwystli in a second town called Mochdrev.
From there through a commot in Powys called Mochnant (Pigstream).
Then they made for the cantrev of Rhos and spent the night at a third
town called Mochdrev. The next day they headed for the Upper Town of
Arllechwedd, where they made a sty for the swine, and so the town is
now called Creuwryon (Gwydion's Sty). They then go to Caer Dathyl where it is announced that a sty has now been made for the pigs
“in the other cantref below”. Gruffydd pointed
out that Creuddyn (Stronghold of the Sty) in Ceredigion and Creuddyn in the
cantref of Rhos dovetail into either end of the route, and he
supposed these also formed part of the original route.
It should be remembered that the traditional Welsh pigsty was a circular, stone built, beehive construction. This is what the author of Math would have imagined Gwydion's sties to look like. I am reminded of another circular, conical structure which occurs later in the tale, this is the thatched, circular roof beneath which Lleu Llaw Gyffes must stand 'in order that he may be slain', (See 'The Death of Lleu Llaw Gyffes'). Without referring to the circles which Gwydion's 'pig route' traces across Wales, there are at least two more circular images in Math, (discussed below) these are the twelve (circular) mushrooms or toadstools and the twelve (circular) golden shields which Gwydion 'created by illusion' from the mushrooms. This is a theme, and I hope to show that each of these images of radiated circles carry a similar, if not the same, function.
According to the
tale these various pig or swine towns, stream and fortresses and sties
are so called because Gwydion passed through them with the
pigs but it is now universally accepted that this is an onomastic
tale, i.e. Gwydion’s route was invented
by the story-teller in order to explain the numerous occurrences of
Pig-towns etc. that exist throughout Wales. This apparently
reasonable deduction is, I think, quite wrong, for Gwydion’s
flight with the pigs of the South inscribes across the landscape of
Wales two interlocking circles, one above the other, and overlapping
at the centre of the country. In other words this devious route is but a part of a larger, and very specific design.
My suspicions that
Gwydion's circular motions in Math were related to his
traditional association with the Milky Way were partly confirmed
whilst studying the map entitled Place names in the Mabinogi in
J.K. Bollard's translation (with Anthony Griffiths photographs) of
The Mabinogi, and subtitled Legend and Landscape of Wales. This
is possibly the most accurate map of the route yet compiled.
In studying Gwydion's route on this map, ones first inclination
is to join the pig sties or dots, as it were, by straight lines,
however, I came to realise that the 'pig route' could be better
described as two curves or arcs, one stretching from west Wales
across mid-Wales and the other along the north coast, these two arcs
are joined by a straight, not quite north-south, line from Mochdref
in Powys to Mochdref in Creuddyn and passing through the comote of
Mochnant. What is really striking and surprising is that these two
arcs, when extended, appear to be segments of two circles with
identical radii which overlap or intersect in mid-Wales. These
intersecting circles cover the whole length of Wales, north to
south, as well as the width, with the exception of Anglesey and the
peninsulas of Lleyn and Dyfed, (approximately modern Pembrokeshire).
The underlying
structure of the Pig Route.
You will notice in
JK Bollard's map that:
a. The two arcs
describing the south and north sections of Gwydion's route can be
extended to form two circles of exactly equal circumference.
b. A line drawn
through the centres of the two circles reveals that they are tilted
several degrees west from true north. As a result of this, a line
drawn through the two points where the circles intersect has a
noticeable slant, rising from west to east. (This is very significant
as I will demonstrate shortly).
c.The part of the
route represented by the line Mochdre - Mochnant - Mochdre / Creuddyn
perfectly dissects the northern circle. (The angle this line
takes is not north - south, nor does it follow the axis of the
centres of the two circles).
d. The angular
distance between the styes ranges through: 12.5°, 20°, 22.5°, 30°,
30°, 40°. I may be wrong but this seems to be a very neat sequence, hardly random.
e. Utilising the
centres of the two circles a Vesica Piscis can
be drawn, and it transpires that the ratio between the inner and outer
circles is the same as the ratio between the Tropics and the
Celestial Equator found on the stereographic projections of medieval
celestial charts and astrolabes.
According to this analysis Gwydion's starting point is neither at Rhuddlan Teifi
nor at the sty of Glyn Cuch in Emlyn, (the 'north-easternmost
cantref' of Dyfed) - the location of the (seven) swine as given in
Triad 26 - but at a point in between, in fact at precisely the
meeting place of the three boundaries of the territories of
Ceredigion, Dyfed and Ystrad Tywi. This would have been a very
sensible place, for all sorts of reasons, for the exchange of the
swine with Gwydion’s magical creations to
have taken place. Though the author doesn't actually specify where
that exchange took place, we
are merely told that, 'He came to Pryderi with the horses and the
dogs', I feel strongly that he must have had this site, or a ford
somewhere close by, in mind.
To explain. The
First Branch begins with these words, 'Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed, was
lord over the seven cantrefs of Dyfed.', but by the end of the First
Branch Pryderi has extended his father's territory to include, 'The
three cantrefs of Ystrad Tywi and the four cantrefs of Ceredigion'.
Now it is obvious that if the pigs were being kept at Glyn Cych,
which is south of the Teifi, then they were in Dyfed, this therefore
is the 'country' which Pryderi means when he informs Gwydion that the
pigs cannot leave because of a covenant between him and his country.
But Gwydion's initial meeting with Pryderi takes place at Rhuddlan
Teifi which is north of the Teifi and in Ceredigion. When Gwydion
meets with Pryderi the following morning the story implies that
Pryderi has the pigs with him, they must therefore have removed from
Rhuddlan Teifi in Ceredigion to within the confines of the 'country'
of Dyfed and the nearest entry point into Dyfed from Rhuddlan Teifi
is precisely at the point where his three territories of Dyfed,
Ceredigion and Ystrad Tywi meet. This must, therefore, have been the
starting point for Gwydion's 'circuitous flight' with the pigs of
Annwfn.
WJ Gruffydd noticed
that the first part of the route would have taken Gwydion and the
pigs through the district of Creuddyn, meaning 'Stronghold of the
Sty' between the rivers Rheidol and Ystwyth, 'which he would pass on
his way north and east'. But the first named stopover is in 'the
uplands of Ceredigion, the place that is still called for that reason
Mochtrev'. This must refer to the
township or hamlet of Nant y Moch, meaning 'Pig's Stream',
which was flooded during the
creation of the Nant y Moch Reservoir in 1964. Accepting this
and acknowledging some uncertainty in the exact siting of
these 'pigsties', account should also be made for the expertise of
the map's compiler, (J.K. Bollard) and the care taken to provide as
accurate a map as possible.
The details in the
build up to 'The Journey of the Swine', (to use Gruffydd's
term), and those immediately following, are pertinent to
understanding that the author of Math intended that this route could
be understood to have occurred on two distinct levels. There is a
terrestrial component and a celestial component, the terrestrial
route appears unnecessarily slow and circuitous, hence the author has
Math's men quip "Strange how very slowly you have journeyed!"
However, I hope to show that Gwydion, in his 'disguise' as the
constellation figure of Cygnus the Swan, actually did take the
swiftest route possible on his return journey to Caer Dathyl. The
numbers in the text provide some obvious clues:
a. When Gwydion is
disguised as a Pencerdd or Chief Bard, (perhaps he is
wearing a tugen and carrying a crwth. or
Swan feather mantle and Lyre) 12 men travel to the South.
b. Pryderi cannot
part with the swine unless 'they have bred double their number in
the land.'
c. Gwydion conjured,
('created by illusion') in exchange the for the (7) swine, 3 sets
of 12 magical items; 12 Stallions, 12 Hunting
Dogs and 12 Golden Shields (these last 'he had made by magic
out of toadstool'). I.e. 36 items in all.
d. It is necessary
that Gwydion and his men should travel in haste, via the quickest
route, because 'the magic will not last but from one time to
another'. 'i.e. for twenty-four (24) hours'.
e. The mustering of
the 21 cantrefs of the South.
All of this is
relevant in determining that, in the intention of the author, the
actual route taken by Gwydion was as much celestial as it was
terrestrial. These details appear to refer to the temporal divisions,
the coordination system and constellation figures which characterised
the celestial charts, and the astrolabes, of the early Middle Ages.
To take the number 12 first, most people would immediately
associate 12 with the zodiac, but it is also an important
subdivision on the outer ring of the mater of an astrolabe or
of a constellation chart. This outer circle was divided into 24
hours, but was very often written as two consecutive sets of 12
hours. The circle of 24 hours was accompanied by a second ring
which counted off the 360°
and which was further arranged into 36 decans of 10°
each, primarily for astrological purposes, (there were 3
decans or faces for each of the 12 signs of the zodiac).
Furthermore it is important to point out here, though it may seem
obvious, that a circle contains 12 'wedges' of 30°
and this division is also a convention commonly found on
ancient star charts and astrolabes. It is important to note also that
according to Ptolemy's scheme, if we include the zodiacal
constellations, there were 27
constellations in the northern hemisphere and 21 constellations
in the southern hemisphere.
It is remarkable
that when the author of Math describes Gwydion in a company of 12
and conjuring 3 sets of 12 magical items, (36
in all) whose efficacy would only last for 24 hours, followed
by the mustering of 21 southern cantrefi, he perfectly
duplicates the number of constellations in the southern hemisphere,
the temporal divisions, the coordination system and the major
operation of the mechanics of a medieval astrolabe.
The order in which
Gwydion conjures his magical items is revealing and it is possible
that the 12 horses, the 12 hounds and the 12 shields are intended to
be understood as a sequence of three particular southern
constellations, namely Centaurus, Canis Major and Cetus respectively.
Both the stallions and the dogs are described as ’black but white
breasted’, which easily fits this idea. Canis Major was frequently
depicted by many of the later celestial cartographers, (Hevelius
1687, Zahn 1696, Flamsteed 1729, Thomas 1730 etc.) as a greyhound or
hunting hound wearing a golden collar, but
whether this reflects earlier tradition is hard to say, though it
would be impossible to argue that the 12 golden collar wearing
greyhounds in Math had influenced these giants of the Golden
Age of Celestial Cartography, perhaps indicating the use of a common
source. All three of these constellation figures are contained within
three consecutive 30°
wedges set 90°
apart, (we are interested only in the curled tail of Cetus) as
depicted on a conventional stereographic star chart of the Southern
Hemisphere, centered on the south ecliptic pole and based on the star
catalogues of Eratosthenes or Ptolemy. So, precisely 12 Centaurs
(minus human torso) would be required to make a full circle and
exactly 12 Canis Majors would also be required to do the same.
The tail of Cetus as
shield requires explanation. My idea the that the author of Math was
thinking of this tail, which was always depicted as wound into a
circle, as the inspiration for golden shields made from mushrooms,
may at first appear not very convincing. But I think this must have
occurred to the author of Math also, and so he omits their magical
construction from his narrative. (The way they are introduced
sounds suspiciously like a cue to an audience "and the twelve
golden shields you see over there", and then an aside,
'Those he had made by magic out of the toadstool').
Yet, I believe his
scheme required an image from this 30°
section containing the coiled tail of Cetus which reminded him of a
mushroom or toadstool and then of a round shield or a buckler, and I
think that the author has also taken this opportunity to convey
an image of a star map containing the 360°
radials. In the Mabinogi of Math this image of the heavens is made
explicit through the form of three very effective visual puns.
Gwydion conjures 12 golden shields from mushrooms. Consider a diagram
of an upturned, open cap mushroom or toadstool; you would see a slim
outer rim of flesh surrounding the gills which radiate from a central
circle representing the stalk. To turn this into a diagram of a
round shield or a targe, with a central boss, no changes need to be
made to the original diagram of the mushroom. Now, to turn this into
a planispheric template of a celestial hemisphere, no changes need to
be made to the original diagram of the mushroom. According to James
E. Morrison 'most astrolabes included several plates (tympans)
covering a reasonable range of latitudes'. Six plates per astrolabe
seems to have been the norm. Is it possible that in the passage "and
the twelve golden shields you see over there", a
reference is being made to 12 polished brass tympans? It is easy to
see how these could be compared with twelve golden shields and 12
mushrooms. Evidently, magician Gwydion was a master of optical
illusion and understood the power of suggestion. But Welsh tradition
insists that he was also an Astronomer.
360ยบ Planispheric
projection (derived from Schaubach), Mushroom and Shield
The motif of the
gift of a golden shield inscribed with the constellations and the
Milky Way has a very ancient provenance for it occurs in the fountain-head of Western European literature, in Homer’s Iliad.
This is the famous shield the
smith god Hephaistos forged for Achilles.
First he
(Hephaistos) began to make a huge and massive shield, decorating it
all over. He put a triple rim round its edge, bright and gleaming,
and hung a silver baldric from it. The body of the shield was made of
five layers: and on its face he elaborated many designs in the
cunning of his craft. On it he made the earth, and sky, and sea, the
weariless sun and the moon waxing full, and all the constellations
that crown the heavens.
The author of Math
describes Gwydion's magical activity thus 'And then he betook him
to his arts, and began to display his magic'. This phrase bears a
striking resemblance to Homer's description of Hephaistos, (just
quoted) who is also engaged in the making of a magical golden shield
'...he elaborated many designs in the cunning of his craft'.
Golden Shield /
Planispheric Tympan
The 12 divisions
with Earth at the centre (According to a Macrobius MS)
In
the Chapter on Dillus the Horseman I provided an argument which
proposed that the author of Culhwch and Olwen was identifying the
Boar which Dillus singes over his fire and the giant Boar Twrch
Trwyth with the constellation then known as Therion, now known as Lupus. As I have said Therion or the Wild Beast has elsewhere been
identified as representing the Erymanthian Boar and I have further
argued that it seems likely that this constellation could also be
thought of as the 'roast meat' which the centaur Pholus the Horseman
singes over his fire, (he of course ate his raw) whilst entertaining
Hercules before
the hunt for the Erymanthian Boar. I suggested there that a
connection existed, other than their shared 'seven-ness' and their
supernatural provenance, between the boars in Culhwch and the pigs of
Pryderi in Math. I think that the author of Math also had the
constellation Therion (pars pro toto) in
mind when he was thinking of the pigs of Annwfn.
Horse, Hound,
Shield, Pig.
12 Horses
12 Hounds
12 Shields
Cambriae
Typus
Gwydion's
route with the swindled swine seemed to me to be evidence for a
sophisticated and precise cartographical knowledge of Wales at the
time that Math
was set down in writing, moreover the text seemed to be implying that
this knowledge was linked somehow to the stars and the
constellations, or better, to the astrolabe. If this was truly the
case I wondered, though it hardly seemed likely, if there was any
material elsewhere which might throw some light on this tantalising
evidence. So I Google Imaged 'ancient + map + Wales'. The first map
that came up was the map of Wales by Humphrey Lhuyd called
Cambriae Typus. Cambriae Typus was
the earliest map specifically of Wales to be printed,
it was
first published as a fly sheet in Ortelius' Theatrum Orbis
Terrarum in 1573. I knew this
map from a lecture I attended some 25 years ago and had all but
forgotton about it. I realized - I could see,
immediately, that I had found the evidence I barely dared to suspect
might be there, simply by pressing a computer key.
Cambriae
Typus belongs to an apparently
short-lived cartographic tradition with characteristics discernible
in several other of the earliest printed maps from the late sixteenth
century. Whoever the original authors of these maps were, they
organised land into figures and animals in much the same way as the
ancients constellated the heavens. This was achieved by subtly
altering the course of rivers, lakes and coastlines so as to
emphasise the zoomorphic and anthropomorphic imagery which these
geographical features suggested; often towns churches, monasteries,
hills and mountains were drawn in such a way as to imply facial
features or other details. For example the Map of the British
Isles including Ireland, as drawn by Abraham
Ortelius in 1579, contains a half hidden image known as 'The Angel of
Lincoln'. His 1573 map of Ireland appears as the head of a bearded
man whose 'eye' is the Lake of The Red Eye. Similarly the 'Old Man of
Scotland' first appears in printed maps of this period. Another map
of Northern Europe figures Scandinavia as a lion pouncing on Denmark
which appears to be a mouse. Cambriae Typus contains at least
twelve 'hidden' images, the most well known of which is the dragon
aspect of the map which was recognised by everyone in Wales up until
recent times, in fact the map was usually hung with West at the top
to make the dragon of Wales even more obvious. But turned with North
at the top Wales is also the head of a pig, Herefordshire is a dog,
(which bears comparison with Canis Major), a head of a goat for
Powys, a head of a horse for the Lleyn Peninsula, a salmon for
Ceridigion, Anglesey is made up of two human male heads, Janus-like,
a Cetus like sea monster makes up Deheubarth, a Giants head dominates
Harlech, Denbighshire has two female heads wearing medieval
headdresses.The Wirral has become a slender woman.
The 'Angel of
Lincoln'
The Old
Man of Scotland
The King of
Ireland
The Dragon of Wales
Zoomorphic Wales.
Note the rounded shape of South Wales and the slanting line of text
naming the Irish Sea; also note the political divisions – Gwynedd,
Powys and Deheubarth – they are the same political divisions found
in Math vab Mathonwy.
John Speed's map of
1610 appears modern by comparison and contains none of the imagery discernible in the above series of maps.
As mentioned, I
attended a lecture in the mid-eighties where these strange maps were
first brought to my attention. The lecturer suggested that they may
be much older than their first appearance in print, pointing out that
other contemporary maps do not share these odd characteristics. One
only has to compare them with Christopher Saxton's maps of England
and Wales published in 1579, or John Speed's maps of Wales published
somewhat later in 1610 to see how 'old school' they appear, although
I didn't agree with the lecturer's suggestion that they may have
originated with the Druids. It seemed more likely, to me anyway, that
they could very well be the products of monastic institutions where
astrolabes had been used since at least as early the 1090's when
Prior Walcher of the monastery of Great Malvern pointed his astrolabe
at an eclipse of the moon. As Jonathon Lyons has pointed out this was
a method the early Abbasid astronomers had used 'to establish the
difference in geographic coordinates between cities and other
important places'. By the mid-12th century, Adelard of
Bath's translation of al-Khwarizmi's zij al-Sindhind and
the availibility of Euclidian texts '...allowed the vast magnitudes
involved in measuring the celestial bodies to be captured and
expressed in terms of “angular distance” relative to the earth or
to one another. It also allowed the accurate calculation and mapping
of terrestrial and celestial positions, either on a sphere or
“projected” onto a two-dimensional map or chart, or
onto the faceplate of an astrolabe'.
It
is certain that at least one ambitious mapping project was undertaken
in Wales by monks at an early period for, according to the NLW
website 'The earliest recorded
map specifically of Wales was a manuscript map (owned) by Giraldus
Cambrensis (Gerald of Wales) produced in ca. 1205 and entitled
“Totius Kambriae Mappa”.
This map is referred to in a letter of Gerald’s and several 17th
century sources state that it was at Westminster Abbey. The map is
said to have shown no less than 43 towns and villages in Wales. By
1780 the map’s whereabouts were unknown and it was probably
destroyed in a fire at the Abbey’s Library in 1695'.iii
And in 1889 Henry Owen opined, '...what is the greatest loss of all,
a map of the whole of Wales, with the mountains, rivers, towns,
castles, and monasteries carefully set out...Both Bishop Tanner and
Wharton state that the " Totius Kambriae Mappa" was in
existence in the library at Westminster Abbey. Wharton says that
forty-three towns or villages in Wales were marked on it'.iv
Now it is very curious that Humphrey Lhuyd served as Member of
Parliament for East Grinstead in 1559, and as the Member for Denbigh
Boroughs in 1563 making it highly likely that this bookish man was a
visitor to the library at Westminster and that he was familiar with
Totius Kambriae Mappa. I
wonder if this was the source for Humphrey's map CambriaeTypus.
Dr. F.J. North wrote
a "classic" monograph entitled 'Humphrey Lhuyd's Maps of
England and of Wales', on the origins of these maps, he made several
crucial observations concerning Cambriae Typus, (italics are
mine):
a. "A critical
examination of the map leads to the conclusion that it cannot have
been the direct outcome of a new personal survey of the area".
b. "It would
seem that we must seek for a method whereby a map could be prepared,
more accurate in its general shape and proportions than in minor
details".
c. "...the
Glamorgan coast is given a diagrammatically rounded outline".
(In fact, it forms part of a perfect circle, with the upper 'coast'
of Ceredigion providing the north western arc of this circle).
d. "...the
displacement of the south coast is not due merely to an inclination
of the axis of the map, because all the key points in the north are
fairly correctly placed. The change takes place suddenly
along an east-west line through Aberdovey, ... It is interesting
to note that this displacement takes place about midway between the
top and the bottom of the engraved area".
e. "Lhuyd was
careful to point out that the manuscript sent to Ortelius was not
"beautifully set forth in all poynctes," but would serve
the purpose if "certain notes be observed," and it seems
likely that the original manuscript was in four sheets, or that
the northern and the southern portions were each drawn on either side
of a large folded sheet. If the co-ordination of such sections
had not been carefully indicated, the engraver may well have been
responsible... for much that makes the map appear inaccurate".
Something which Dr.
North did not make comment upon is that there seems to be no apparent
reason why the three lines of text naming the Irish Sea in Latin,
Britannis and Anglis have been set down at an odd
slant, rising from west to east, when all other text, (except river
names) had been set down parallel with the northern and southern
edges of the map. This quirk only appeared on the very first edition
of the map and was 'corrected' for all subsequent (almost fifty)
editions. The top of the line "VERGIVIVM SIVE HIBERNICVM MARE"
is in perfect accord with the line generated by the intersection of
the two circles describing Gwydions route with the swine, (according
to J.K. Bollard's map). It occurred to me that this line - VERGIVIVM
SIVE HIBERNICVM MARE- is the fossilised remains of the original
centre of the map.
In the composite map
below the bottom layer is J.K. Bollards map, visible in the wedge
shape between the two halves of Lhuyd's map. The second layer is
Humphrey Lhuyd's map, but with the two halves, (following Professor
North that 'The
change takes place suddenly along an east-west line through
Aberdovey') restored using the interlinked
circles derived from Bollards map as the template. The top layer
consists of Schaubach's stereographic projections of the
constellations based upon the Catasterismi of Eratosthenes. The two
circles generated from Gwydion's 'circuitous flight' with the swine
will now be seen to be the tropics of Cancer and of Capricorn. I have
a great deal of evidence which suggests that Gwydion is to be equated
with Cygnus (to Christians the Northern Cross) and that the
constellation figure we now call Lupus is to be equated with the
Underworld swine. I have highlighted these figures. If the two
hemispheres are rotated so that the line Mochdre-Mochnant-Mochdre
passes through Deneb, the alpha star of Cygnus, then the Prime
Meridian, which passes through the First Point of Aries and the First
Point of Libra will form two sides of an equilateral triangle.
Finally, the equators of the two charts now interlink to form a
perfect Vesica Piscis, one of the most sacred symbols of Christian
iconography. Gwydions Route with the Pigs of Annwfn was not only the
swiftest possible path from Glyn Cuch to Caer Dathyl, it was the only
possible path.
Cambriae Typus
Vesica Piscis
I therefore conclude
that:
1 Gwydions route
with the pigs is a record of a survey of Wales which used an
astrolabe as the principal means of surveying.
2 The purpose of the
survey was twofold. a. To produce a map of Wales. b. To throw a
protective, sacred talisman, in the form of the Vesica Piscis over
the land.
3 The map which
resulted from this survey may have been the original of the now lost
Totius Kambriae Mappa of
Geraldus Cambrensis, and it would be surprising if copies weren't
made of this map, one at least may still exist but in a
slightly bungled form as Humphrey Lhuyd’s Cambriae Typus.
Which came first?
The Map of Wales or the Flag of Wales?
Math Vab Mathonwy (The Stealing of the Swine)
MATH the son of Mathonwy was lord over Gwynedd, and Pryderi the son of Pwyll was lord over the one-and-twenty Cantrevs of the South; and these were the seven Cantrevs of Dyved, and the seven Cantrevs of Morganwc, the four Cantrevs of Ceredigiawn, and the three of Ystrad Tywi.
At that time, Math the son of Mathonwy could not exist unless his feet were in the lap of a maiden, except only when he was prevented by the tumult of war. Now the maiden who was with him was Goewin, the daughter of Pebin of Dol Pebin, in Arvon, and she was the fairest maiden of her time who was known there.
And Math dwelt always at Caer Dathyl, in Arvon, and was not able to go the circuit of the land, but Gilvaethwy the son of Don, and Eneyd the son of Don, his nephews, the sons of his sister, with his household, went the circuit of the land in his stead.
Now the maiden was with Math continually, and Gilvaethwy the son of Don set his affections upon her, and loved her so that he knew not what he should do because of her, and therefrom behold his hue, and his aspect, and his spirits changed for love of her, so that it was not easy to know him.
One day his brother Gwydion gazed steadfastly upon him. "Youth," said he, "what aileth thee?"
"Why," replied he, "what seest thou in me?"
"I see," said he, "that thou hast lost thy aspect and thy hue; what, therefore, aileth thee?"
"My lord brother," he answered, "that which aileth me, it will not profit me that I should own to any."
"What may it be, my soul?" said he.
"Thou knowest," he said, "that Math the son of Mathonwy has this property, that if men whisper together, in a tone how low soever, if the wind meet it, it becomes known unto him."
"Yes," said Gwydion, "hold now thy peace, I know thy intent, thou lovest Goewin."
When he found that his brother knew his intent, he gave the heaviest sigh in the world. "Be silent, my soul, and sigh not," he said. "It is not thereby that thou wilt succeed. I will cause," said he, "if it cannot be otherwise, the rising of Gwynedd, and Powys, and Deheubarth, to seek the maiden. Be thou of glad cheer therefore, and I will compass it."
So they went unto Math the son of Mathonwy. "Lord," said Gwydion, "I have heard that there have come to the South some beasts, such as were never known in this island before."
"What are they called?" he asked.
"And what kind of animals are they?"
"They are small animals, and their flesh is better than the flesh of oxen."
"They are small, then?"
"And they change their names. Swine are they now called."
"Who owneth them?"
"Pryderi the son of Pwyll; they were sent him from Annwn, by Arawn the king of Annwn, and still they keep that name, half bog, half pig."
"Verily," asked he, " and by what means may they be obtained from him?"
"I will go, lord, as one of twelve, in the guise of bards, to seek the swine."
"But it may be that he will refuse you," said he. "My journey will not be evil, lord," said he;
"I will not come back without the swine."
"Gladly," said he, "go thou forward."
So he and Gilvaethwy went, and ten other men with them. And they came into Ceredigiawn, to the place that is now called Rhuddlan Teivi, where the palace of Pryderi was. In the guise of bards they came in, and they were received joyfully, and Gwydion was placed beside Pryderi that night.
"Of a truth," said Pryderi, "gladly would I have a tale from some of your men yonder."
"Lord," said Gwydion, "we have a custom that the first night that we come to the Court of a great man, the chief of song recites. Gladly will I relate a tale." Now Gwydion was the best teller of tales in the world, and he diverted all the Court that night with pleasant discourse and with tales, so that he charmed every one in the Court, and it pleased Pryderi to talk with him.
And after this, "Lord," said he unto Pryderi, "were it more pleasing to thee, that another should discharge my errand unto thee, than that I should tell thee myself what it is?"
"No," he answered, "ample speech hast thou."
"Behold then, lord," said he, "my errand. It is to crave from thee the animals that were sent thee from Annwn."
"Verily," he replied, "that were the easiest thing in the world to grant, were there not a covenant between me and my land concerning them. And the covenant is that they shall not go from me, until they have produced double their number in the land."
"Lord," said he, "I can set thee free from those words, and this is the way I can do so; give me not the swine to-night, neither refuse them unto me, and to-morrow I will show thee an exchange for them."
And that night he and his fellows went unto their lodging, and they took counsel. "Ah, my men," said he, "we shall not have the swine for the asking."
"Well," said they, how may they be obtained?"
"I will cause them to be obtained," said Gwydion.
Then he betook himself to his arts, and began to work a charm. And he caused twelve chargers to appear, and twelve black greyhounds, each of them white-breasted, and having upon them twelve collars and twelve leashes, such as no one that saw them could know to be other than gold. And upon the horses twelve saddles, and every part which should have been of iron was entirely of gold, and the bridles were of the same workmanship. And with the horses and the dogs he came to Pryderi.
"Good day unto thee, lord," said he. "Heaven prosper thee," said the other, "and greetings be unto thee."
"Lord," said he, "behold here is a release for thee from the word which thou spakest last evening concerning the swine; that thou wouldst neither give nor sell them. Thou mayest exchange them for that which is better. And I will give these twelve horses, all caparisoned as they are, with their saddles and their bridles, and these twelve greyhounds, with their collars and their leashes as thou seest, and the twelve gilded shields that thou beholdest yonder." Now these he had formed of fungus. "Well," said he, "we will take counsel." And they consulted together, and determined to give the swine to Gwydion, and to take his horses and his dogs and his shields.
Then Gwydion and his men took their leave, and began to journey forth with the pigs. "Ah, my comrades," said Gwydion, "it is needful that we journey with speed. The illusion will not last but from the one hour to the same tomorrow."
And that night they journeyed as far as the upper part of Ceredigiawn, to the place which, from that cause, is called Mochdrev still. And the next day they took their course through Melenydd, and came that night to the town which is likewise for that reason called Mochdrev, between Keri and Arwystli. And thence they journeyed forward; and that night they came as far as that Commot in Powys, which also upon account thereof is called Mochnant, and there tarried they that night. And they journeyed thence to the Cantrev of Rhos, and the place where they were that night is still called Mochdrev.
"My men," said Gwydion, "we must push forward to the fastnesses of Gwynedd with these animals, for there is a gathering of hosts in pursuit of us." So they journeyed on to the highest town of Arllechwedd, and there they made a sty for the swine, and therefore was the name of Creuwyryon given to that town. And after they had made the sty for the swine, they proceeded to Math the son of Mathonwy, at Caer Dathyl. And when they came there, the country was rising. "What news is there here?" asked Gwydion.
"Pryderi is assembling one-and-twenty Cantrevs to pursue after you," answered they. "It is marvellous that you should have journeyed so slowly."
"Where are the animals whereof you went in quest?" said Math. "They have had a sty made for them in the other Cantrev below," said Gwydion.
Notes
1The
Mabinogi. Legend and Landscape of Wales. Translation by: John K.
Bollard. Photography by: Anthony Griffiths. Gomer Press. Llanndysul.
2006.
iSee
'The Astronomy of Math vab Mathonwy' for 'Caer Dathyl'.
iiiNLW
Early Mapping of Wales (Retrieved 12.11.11.)
