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pofmg rerfes of their own, aflilled in fu-giilg tlie verfis of 

 ethers to the mufic of thoir harps. Many of thofe fong- 

 fters, or parafitcs (as Atheiiaeu'?, 1. vi. c. 12. calls them), 

 which the CeUic pvincet took with them when they went to 

 war, were mere niuficians, and the forigs which they fiing 

 were compofed by thole among tliera who had a poetical 

 genius, and were called bards. Oflian, however, excellfd as 

 much both in vocal and inllrunuiital mnfic as he did in 

 poetry, and he feeras to have had no idea of playing on an 

 inilrument without hnging at the fame time. Whenever his 

 bards touch the firing, tlicy always raife the fong. 



Tlie bards conftituted one of the moll refpeCttd orders of 

 men in the ancient Britilh dates ; and many of the greatell 

 kings, heroes, and nobles, elteemed it an honour to 

 be enrolled in this order. They enjoyed, by law asd 

 cudom, many honourable diftindions and valuable pri- 

 vileges. Kings and princes made clioice of bards 

 to be their bofom-friends and conftant companions ; 

 indulged them with the greatell familiarity, and gave them 

 the mod flattering titles. Their perfons were held facred 

 and inviolable ; and the mod cruel and bloody tyrants dared 

 not to offer tliem any injury. The bards, as well as the 

 druids, were exempted from taxes and military fcrvices, even 

 in times of the greateft danger ; and when they attended 

 their patrons in the field, to record and celebrate their great 

 adions, they had a guard affigned them for their protection. 

 At all feflivals and public attemblics they were feated near 

 the perfon of the king or chieftain, and fometimes even 

 above the greateft nobility and chief officers of the court. 

 Nor was the profelFion of the bard lefs lucrative than ho- 

 nourable. For, belides the valuable prefents wliich they oc- 

 cafionally received from their patrons, when they gave them 

 uncommon pleafure by their performances, they had eftates 

 in land allotted for their fupport. Nay, fo great was the 

 veneration which the princes of thefe times entertained for 

 the perfons of their poets, and fo highly were they charmed 

 and delighted with their tuneful ftrains, that they fome- 

 times pardoned even their capital crimes for a fong. It may be 

 reafonably luppofed that a profeffion, which was fo honour- 

 able -and advantageous, and to which were annexed fo many 

 flattering diftinftions and defirable immunities, woidd not 

 be deferted. Accordingly, the accounts we have of the 

 numbers of the bards in fome countries, particularly in Ire- 

 land, are hardly credible. In the poems of OfTian we often 

 read of ico bards' belonging to one prince, finging and 

 playing in concert for his entertainment. Every chief bard, 

 who wa.s called Allah Redan, or doclor in poetiy, was al- 

 lowed to have 30 bards of inferior note conftantly about his 

 perfon ; and every bard of the fecond rank was allowed a 

 retinue of 15 poetical difciples. But it is probable that 

 the bards of Britain and Ireland were not fo numerous at 

 an early period as they became afterwards ; nor were they 

 then guilty of thcfe crimes by v.hich they at length for- 

 feited the public favour. In this moft ancient period, the 

 Britifh bards feem to have been in general men of genius 

 and virtue, who merited the honours which they enjoyed. 

 Though the ancient Britons of the fouthern parts of this 

 ifiand had originally the fame tafle and genius for poetry 

 with thofe in the north, yet none of their poetical compo- 

 fitions liave been preferved ; and this may be eafily account- 

 ed for. After the provincial Britons had fubmitted quietly 

 to the Roman government, yielded up their arms, and had 

 loft their free and martial fpirit, they could take little plea- 

 fure in hearing or repeating the fongs of their bards, in ho- 

 nour of the glorious atchievements of their brave anceftors. 

 The Romans too, if they did not pradife the fame barba- 

 rous policy which was long after pradiftd by Edward 1. of 



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puttmg the bards to death, would at leaft difcourage thera, 

 and dilcoiuitenance the repetition of their poems for very ob- 

 vious reafons. Thefe fons of the fong being thus perfceuted by 

 their conquerors, and negleded by their countrymen, either 

 abandoned their country or their prolefhon ; and their fongs, 

 bcincr no lonrjer heard, were foon forgotten. But fo natu- 

 ral was a tade for poetry to the original inhabitants of 

 this illand, that it was not quite dedro)cd by their long 

 fnbjtdion to the Romans, but appeared again in the poi^ 

 terity of the provincial Britons, as foon as they recovered 

 their martial Ipirit, and became a free, brave, and indepen- 

 dent people. Nennius, who wrote in the ninth century, 

 and in the reign of prince Mervyn, is the iirft of the Bri- 

 tidi hifturians who mentions the bards. He fays, that 

 Talhaiarn was famous for poetry ; that Aneurin and Talie- 

 fm, Llyvvarch-hen and Cliian, flourifhed in the 6th century. 

 Of thcfe bards, the works only of three are extant ; thofe 

 of Aneuryn, Taliefin, and Llyvvarch-hen. Bclldes the 

 bards already mentioned, there were others who flourifiied 

 during this period ; of whom the mod eminent was Merd- 

 din Wyllt, who compofed a poem called Afallenau, or the 

 orchard. From the hxth to the tenth century it is difficult 

 to meet with any of the writings of the bards, owing pro- 

 bably to the devaftations of war, and to the civil dilfenfions 

 among the WeKh. 



Such was the refped in which the bards were held, that 

 by a law of Howtl Dha, whoever druck any one of this 

 order mud compound for the offence by paying to the 

 party aggrieved one-fourth more than was neceflary to be 

 paid to any other perfon of the fame degree. 



The election of the bards was made every year, in an af- 

 fembly of the princes and chieftains of the country, in which 

 they were affigned precedence and emolument fuitable to 

 their merit ; but the bard mod highly diftinguidied for his ta- 

 lents was folemnly chaired, and hid hkewiie a badge given 

 him of a fiiver chain. This congrefs of the bards was ufually 

 held at t!ic royal refidence of the prince of Wales ; the fo- 

 vertign himftlf prefiding in that afflmbly. The bards, pro- 

 perly fo called, were didinguifhed from the Druids and Eu- 

 bates or Ovates, by the colour of their drefs ; they were 

 clad in (ky-blue garments, whild the Druids wore white, and 

 the Ovates green. Their difciples were arrayed in varie- 

 gated garments of thcfe three colours united. They held 

 their meetings in circles of unwrought ftones, adronoraically 

 placed as indexes of the feafons, in the open air, and when the 

 fun was above the horizon, or as they expreffed it. In the 

 face of the fun, and hi the eye of the light. Tliey had four 

 principal n-.eetings in the courfe of the year. The tirft was 

 on the winter folftice, called yllhan Arthan, which was the 

 beginning of their year; the fecond on the vernal equinox, 

 or Allan E'd'ir ; the funimer folftice, or Alban Hevin, v;a« 

 the third ; and the autumna! cqumox, or Alhan Jihed, was 

 the fourth folcmn convention. 



It appears, upon a clofe examination of its principles, 

 that one of the primary intentions of bavdifm was, that it 

 diould be a regular fyftem for preferving authtntifated 

 records and various kinds of knowledge in the national me- 

 mory, as it were, by means of oral tradition. And, in or- 

 der that nothing fliould have currency v/ithout due confi- 

 deration, whatever was intended to be received into fuch a 

 public record, whether the hiftorical and aphoriftica! *jiad, 

 or the didadic fong, was always kid before the grand 

 meetings. Tliere it was difcuffed with the mod fcruti- 

 nizing feverity ; if then admitted, it was re-confidered 

 at the fecond meeting ; if then approved of, it was re- 

 ferred to the third meeting ; and being approved of by 

 that, it was ratified or confirmed ; otherwife it was re- 

 1 fsrrcd 



