brènini̯áethau ‘kingdoms’. So we have cènedláethau ‘generations’, bòneddígaidd ‘gentlemanly’ (voneẟigeiẟ r.g. 1129).
iii. Note therefore the shifting of the h in such a word as diháreb ‘proverb’, Ml. W. dihaereb r.p. 1326, pl. dìarhébi̯on, Ml. W. diaerhebẏon r.b. 974, 975, 1083. The word has etymologically two h’s: di-haer-heb, but only that is preserved which precedes the principal accent.
iv. The above rules may be briefly stated thus: an intrusive h sometimes appears before the accent, and an organic h regularly disappears after the accent. It is obvious that the rule cannot be older than the present system of accentuation; it is indeed the direct result of that system, and is probably not much later in origin. The first change was the weakening and subsequent loss of h after the accent, giving such pairs as brenin, brenhinoedd; angen, anghenus (< *n̥ken‑, Ir. ēcen); cymar, cymharu (< Lat. compar‑): here h vanishes in the first word of each pair. Later, on the analogy of these, other pairs were formed, such as bonedd, bonheddig; cenedl, cenhedloedd; where an intrusive h appears in the second word of each pair.
In O. W., when the accent fell on the ultima, it was easy to say bre|en|nhī́n; but when the accent settled on the penult, it required an effort to sound the aspirate after the breath had been expended on the stressed syllable. Hence we find, at the very beginning of the Ml. period, breenhineẟ and breenin l.l. 120. But the traditional spelling, with h, persisted, and is general in b.b., as minheu 12; synhuir (≡ synnhwyr) 17; ag̃hen ag̃heu 23; breenhin 62; though we also find a few exceptions, as kag̃ell 35. In r.m. it still survives in many words, as brenhin 2; ag̃heu 5 (but angeu ib.); mwyhaf 11; minheu 12; but more usually vwyaf 13; minneu 3; gennyf 8; synnwyr 13; amarch 36; llinat (for llin-had) ‘linseed’ 121. In the r.p. we find ánawẟ 1227, 1264, 1270, 1299; áneirdd, ánoew̯ 1226; diagɏr (for dí-hagr) 1289; lláwir (for llaw-hir ‘long-handed’) 1207, 1226; láwhir 1214, with h inserted above the line—an etymological correction; áwrḥonn 1271, with h deleted by the underdot—a phonetic correction.
Intrusive h makes its first appearance later, and is rarer in Ml. W. than lost h. In a.l., ms. a., we find boneẟyc ii 6, 14, but in this ms. n may be for nh; in later mss. bonheẟyc i 176–8, ms. e.; bonheẟic in Ml. W. generally. In other cases it is less usual; thus kennadeu is the form in r.m., though the older w.m. has sometimes kenhadeu 184, 249; kenedloeẟ r.b.b. 259, Ỻ.a. 169, so generally.
The orthography of the 1620 Bible generally observes the phonetic rule; thus brenin, brenhinoedd Ps. ii 6, 2; cenedl, cenhedloedd do. xxxiii 12, ii 1; angeu, anghefol do. vi 5, vii 13; aros, arhosodd Jos. x 12, 13; bonheddig, boneddigion Es. ii 9, 1 Cor. i 26; ammarch, ammherchi Act. v 41, Rhuf. i 24; etc. There are some irregularities and inconsistencies; e.g. diharebion Diar., title, i 1, and anghall Diar. i 4 beside the phonetic angall do. viii 5. The Bible spelling was
