one of the logical consequences of Arthur's having, as I have ventured to suppose, occupied the historical position of the Comes Britanniæ, in other words, that of the Imperator himself, which it became when Britain ceased to form a part of the dominions of Rome.
We next have a poem consisting of a dialogue between Arthur and Glewlwyd Gavaelvawr, who in the Welsh stories about Arthur is represented as one of his chief porters; but here he seems to have a castle of his own, the gates of which he appears in no hurry to open for Arthur and his companions. He asks Arthur who he is and what followers he has, which Arthur is made to seize as an opportunity for describing some of them, especially Kei, Malory's Sir Kay the seneschal. Unfortunately, the poem is so obscure that I can only guess its meaning, as follows[1]:—
| Pa gur yv y porthaur. | Who is the porter? |
| Gleuluid gauaeluaur. | Glewlwyd Gavaelvawr. |
| Pa gur ae gouin | Who asks the question? |
| arthur. a chei guin.[2] | Arthur and worthy Kei. |
| Pa imda genhid. | What following (?) hast thou? |
| Guir goreu im bid. | The best of men are mine. |
| Ym ty ny doi. | To my house thou shalt not come |
| onys guaredi. | Unless thou plead (?) for them. |
| Mi ae guar[e]di. | I will plead (?) for them. |
| athi ae gueli. | And thou shalt see them:— |
| Vythneint elei. | Wythneint of Elei, |
| Assivyon ell tri. | And the wise men three— |
| Mabon am mydron. | Mabon son of Modron, |
| guas uthir pen dragon. | (Uther Pendragon's man) |
| Kysceint · mab · Banon. | Kyscaint son of Banon, |
| A guin godybrion. | And Gwyn Godyvrion. |
| Oet rinn vy gueisson | Sturdy would be my men |
| in amuin ev detvon. | In defence of their laws— |
| Manawidan ab llyr. | Manawydan son of Llyr |
| oet duis y cusil. | Profound in counsel; |
- ↑ Evans' Facsimile, fol. 47b—48b.
- ↑ Guin, now written gwyn means as a colour adjective white, but it is a very difficult word to render, one of its uses being somewhat like that of French beau in beau pere. On the banks of the Dovey in Mid-Wales a stepfather is respectfully called tad gwyn, literally "white father," and I surmise that it had a somewhat similar force here. It is to be borne in mind that Kei is, so far as I can remember, elsewhere called Kei guin only in the story of Kulhwch. See Red Book Mabinogion, p. 105, and for further remarks on gwyn see my Hibbert Lectures, pp. 527–8.
