poem written by Hywel ap Owain Gwynedd, the great-great Grandfather of Llewellyn ap Iorworth,

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The poem was written by Hywel ap Owain Gwynedd, the great-great Grandfather of Llewellyn ap Iorworth, Llewellyn the Last. Hywel was killed in battle in 1170, which fits entirely with his poetry. It tells us a bit about what Wales …not really sure why it’s relevant but it’s rather lovely isn’t it?
A foaming white wave rushes over a grave,
the tomb of Rhufawn Pebyr, regal chieftan.
I love today what the English hate, the open land of the North,
and the varied growth that borders the Lliw.
I love those who gave me my fill of mead
where the seas reach in long contention.
I love its household and its strong buildings
and at its lord’s wish to go to war.
I love its strand and mountains,
its castle near the woods and its fine lands,
its water meadows and its valleys,
its white gulls and its lovely women.
I love its soldiers, its trained stallions,
its woods, its brave men and its homes.
I love its fields under the little clover,
where honour was granted a secure joy.
I love its regions, to which valour entitles,
its wide waste lands and its wealth.
O, Son of God, how great a wonder,
how splendid the stags, great their possessions!
With the thrust of a spear I did splendid work
between the host of Powys and lovely Gwyned.
On a pale white horse, a rash adventure,
may I now win freedom from my exile.
I’ll never hold out till my people come;
a dream says so and God wills so.
A foaming white wave washes over a grave.
A white wave, near the homesteads, foams over,
coloured like hoar-frost in the hour of its advance.
I love the sea-coast of Meirionnydd,
where a white arm was my pillow.
I love the nightingale in the wildwood,
where two waters meet in that sweet valley.
Lord of heaven and earth, ruler of Gwynedd,
how far Kerry is from Caer Lliwelydd!
In Maelienydd I mounted on a bay
and rode night and day to Rheged.
May I have, before my grave, a new conquest,
the land of Tegeingl, fairest in the world.
Though I be a lover of Ovid’s way,
may God be mindful of me at my end.
A white wave, near the homesteads, foams over.

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