| Englynion y Beddau | |
|---|---|
| "Stanzas of the Graves" | |
| Also known as | Beddau Milwyr Ynys Prydain ("The graves of the warriors of the Island of Britain") |
| Language | Middle Welsh |
| Manuscript(s) | (1) Black Book of Carmarthen (MS Peniarth 1); (2) Red Book of Hergest and transcripts; (3) MS Peniarth 98B |
| Genre | heroic and elegiac verse, place-name lore |
| Verse form | englyn, especially englyn milwr and englyn penfyr[1] |
| Subject | the sites of the graves where the heroes of early Welsh tradition are supposed to lie |
| Personages | include King Arthur, Bedwyr, Beid(d)awg Rudd, Beli ap Benlli, Bradwen, Cynddylan, Cynddylig son of Corcnud, Cynon ap Clydno, Dehewaint, Dylan Eil Ton, Eiddew and Eidal sons of Meigen, Eilinwy, Garwen daughter of Hennin, Gwalchmai, Gwên son of Llywarch, Gwgawn Red-Sword, Gwrtheyrn Gwrthenau, Gwythur son of Greidawl, Llemenig, Lleu, March (probably Mark of Cornwall), Meigen son of Rhun, Owain, Pryderi, Rhydderch Hael, Seithenin, Talan, etc. |
The Englynion y Beddau (English: The Stanzas or Verses of the Graves) is a Middle Welsh verse catalogue listing the resting places (beddau) of legendary heroes. It consists of a series of englynion, or short stanzas in quantitative meter, and survives in a number of manuscripts. The collection is thought to be considerably older than its earliest manuscript, the 13th-century Black Book of Carmarthen, and provides an important early glimpse at medieval Welsh heroic tradition and topographical folklore.