Gereint filius Erbin
--from The Black Book of Carmarthen
Before Gereint, foe’s affliction,
I saw white stallions red-shinned,
And after battle, bitter death.
Before Gereint, foe left fruitless,
I saw steeds red-shinned from strife,
And after battle, bitter brooding.
Before Gereint, foe’s fierce pressure,
I saw steeds, white their trappings,
And after battle, bitter blanket.
At Llongborth I saw fury
And biers, more than abundant,
And men red before Gereint’s rush.
At Llongborth I saw slaughter,
Men quaking and heads bloodied,
Before great Gereint, his father’s son.
At Llongborth I saw rowels
And men who would not flee from spears
Drinking wine from glittering glasses.
At Llongborth I saw weapons,
Soldiers, and blood being spilled,
And after battle, bitter burial.
At Llongborth I saw Arthur,
Brave soldiers would hew with steel,
The emperor, strife’s commander.
At Llongborth was Gereint slain,
Brave soldiers from Devon’s lowlands,
And before they were crushed, they had killed.
There were swift stallions under Gereint’s thigh,
Long-shanked, raised on wheat-grain,
Roans, spotted eagles’ assault.
There were swift stallions under Gereint’s thigh,
Long-shanked, grain was theirs,
Roans, black eagles’ assault.
There were swift stallions under Gereint’s thigh,
Long-shanked, fattened on grain,
Roans, crimson eagles’ assault.
There were swift stallions under Gereint’s thigh,
Long-shanked, devouring grain,
Roans, white eagles’ assault.
The same Gereint as in Gereint and Enid, the Welsh version of Chretien de Troyes’s Erec and Enid. The poem is sometimes attributed to Llywarch Hen, but it is also thought to be anonymous; Patrick Ford doesn’t include it in his translations of Llywarch’s poetry.