Dafydd ap Gwilym: His Poems

Atranslated by Gwyn Thomas A collection of 160 poems from the fourteenth century Welsh poet, Dafydd ap Gwilym. The collection includes religious poems, poems about love and sex, the transience of life, and a plethora of inconsequential but sensuous things - sunlight, trees, birds, snow and rain, mirrors and clocks. The translator has leaned more towards an accurate rendering of the poet's meaning and emotional complexity than towards expressing the formal syllabic and rhythmic requirements of medieval Welsh poetry. The poems are briefly annotated, and the translation is accompanied by an introduction to the poet, his historical context and literary techniques.