Welsh bard, possibly mythical, said to have flourished in the ancient Welsh territories of N Britain. He is known only from a collection of poems, The Book of Taliesin, transcribed in the late 13th-c. His name is given in the 9th-c Historia Britonum of Nennius.
Taliesin or Taliessin (c. His name is associated with the Book of Taliesin, a book of poems written down in the 10th century but which some scholars believed to date in large part from the 6th century. He is believed to have been the chief bard in the courts of at least three British kings of that era. Taliesin's life was later the subject of 16th century mythological work by Elis Gruffydd, who may have relied on existing oral tradition about him.
Biography
Little, beyond what he writes in his own poems, is known about his life.
The poems ascribed to him indicate that he later became court bard to King Brochwel Ysgithrog of Powys around 555, then to his successor Cynan Garwyn, and lastly to King Urien of Rheged and his son Owain mab Urien. The idea that he was bard to King Arthur dates back at least to Culhwch and Olwen, perhaps a product of the 11th century, and was elaborated upon in modern poetry, such as Tennyson's Idylls of the King and Charles Williams' Taliessin Through Logres. In any case the historical Taliesin's career can be shown to have fallen in the last half of the 6th century, while historians who argue for Arthur's existence date his victory at Mons Badonicus in the years to either side of AD 500;
According to tradition first recorded in the 16th century, Taliesin was the foster-son of Elphin, who gave him the name Taliesin, meaning "radiant brow", and who later became a king in Ceredigion. The tradition states that he was then raised at his court in Aberdyfi and that at the age of 13, he visited King Maelgwn, Elphin's uncle, and correctly prophesied the manner and imminence of Maelgwn's death. Bedd Taliesin, a hilltop grave near Ceredigion is the traditional site of his burial;
Book of Taliesin
The work most associated with him is The Book of Taliesin, which scholars consider to have been written in 10th century Welsh. Since all poetry was transmitted orally in Taliesin's day, a plausible hypothesis is that his poems were first written down four centuries later using the contemporary spellings of that day. Sir Ifor Williams published the text with notes in Canu Taliesin (1960), and later published in an English version The Poems of Taliesin (1968).
Of the poems in The Book of Taliesin, twelve are addressed to known historical kings such as Cynan Garwyn, king of Powys, and Gwallog of Elmet. The rest of the book comprises poems addressing mythological, religious or shamanistic topics, as well as a few works such as 'Armes Prydein Vawr', the content of which implies that they were by later authors, perhaps contemporary to the 10th century scribe who compiled the Book of Taliesin. The presumption that all of the poems in the Book of Taliesin are the work of the true, historical Taliesin, is nonsense; Many poems lack the characteristics, metre and 'poetic tag' associated with the work of the historical Taliesin. Apart from the twelve poems considered to be the work of Taliesin, bard of Urien Rheged, the material in Llyfr Taliesin is associated with the mythical Taliesin.
Some of the events to which the poems refer, such as the Battle of Arfderydd (c.
Gruffydd's account of his life
In the mid 16th century, Elis Gruffydd wrote a mythological account of Taliesin which drew from Celtic folklore.
Birth
According to the mythologized version of Taliesin's birth, he began life as boy named Gwion Bach, a servant to the old crone Ceridwen.
As Ceridwen chased Gwion, he turned himself into a rabbit.
Discovery by Elphin
The baby was found by Elphin, the son of Gwyddno Garanhir, 'Lord of Ceredigion', who found the child while fishing for salmon. Taliesin replied, "Yes, that will do well enough." While Elphin carried the baby back to his father in a basket, thinking of what his father would say when he learned that Elphin had caught a baby, but no salmon, the baby began to recite beautiful poetry, saying:
Fair Elphin, cease your lament! "Elphin of the generous spirit, Cowardly is your purpose, You must not grieve so heavily. "Elphin of noble generosity, Do not sorrow at your catch.Amazed, Elphin asked how a baby could talk. Again Taliesin replied with poetry, recounting the transformation chase between himself and Ceridwen.
At the court of Maelgwn
A few years later, when Taliesin turned thirteen, Elphin was at the court of King Maelgwn, who demanded that Elphin praise him and his court. Elphin refused, claiming Taliesin was a better bard and that his wife a prettier woman than anyone the king had in his court. Although he was not present, Taliesin knew what was happening, because he was a seer, and told Elphin's wife. Maelgwn's son Rhun went to Elphin's house to seduce his wife and prove Elphin's claims weren't true. When King Maelgwn attempted to show the finger to Elphin, he pointed out that his wife cut her fingernails more often than the owner of the finger.
Maelgwn then demanded Taliesin come to his court to prove wrong the claim that Taliesin was a better bard than the ones in his court. Taliesin responded with a challenge in which both he and the king's bards were to compose an epic in only twenty minutes. The royal bards failed at the task, but when it came time for Taliesin to recite his, he caused a massive wind to rattle the castle. Frightened, Maelgwn sent for Elphin. Taliesin arrived the next day with an old, weak horse. As each of the king's horses passed him at the very start of the race, Taliesin touched its rump with a twig of holly. When they had all passed, he dropped his hat to the ground, and the king's horses turned back right before crossing the finish line, stopping at the holly twigs Taliesin had laid there, and began to dance. Taliesin's old horse strolled to the finish line and won the race.
Commentary on the traditions
The traditions that Taliesin was the foster-son of Prince Elphin (later King of Ceredigion) and that he was raised at his court in Aberdyfi and that Taliesin visited King Maelgwn do not have any historical substantiation, but also do not conflict with what little history is currently known about those people and that region and period.
In fiction
Taliesin, Elphin, and Gwyddno Garanhir appear in Taliesin, the first book of Stephen R. The bard and prophet Taliesin marries Charis, a princess of Atlantis whose people have escaped its destruction. However, current interpretation is that the real Taliesin lived after the theorized time of Arthur.
In Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon, Taliesin is the Merlin, Merlin being a title of the chief bard (and/or druid) of Britain and Taliesin his name. This commonly leads to the conclusion that Merlin and Taliesin are synonymous, although this is not the case. In Bradley's account, following Taliesin's death, well before that of Arthur, he is succeeded as Merlin by his understudy Kevin, who was severely disfigured by fire as a child. Taliesin plays a small role in Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain series as the Chief Bard of Prydain.
Taliesin also appears as a major character in Charles de Lint's Moonheart. In this story Taliesin is also affiliated with an unnamed horned hunt-god, apparently his grandfather.
The Book of Taliesin is quoted at the start of every chapter in Catherine Fisher's Darkhenge. Taliesin is a major character, although he mainly uses the name Vetch.
Taliesin is a major character in The Ancient Future Trilogy by Traci Harding.
Taliesin/Gwion appears in the book Silver on the Tree by Susan Cooper (last part of The Dark is Rising sequence), where he helps the main characters to acquire sword Eirias in the Lost Land, near Aberdyfi.
In the cyberpunk science fiction novel "The Adventures of Redman Red" by Nathaniel Haynes the central character, Red, undergoes a 'vision quest' in which he becomes a salmon and enters the faery realm in order to confront the malevolent King of the Faeries, who identifies him as Taliesin.
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