An Introduction to Early Welsh - Arthur Pendragon of Wales

26 THE ADJECTIVE. [32.
llynges the fleet was shattered MA. i5o
b
,
bit wenn gwylyan the
seagull is white FB. 247, Hem awel keen is the wind FB. 255, ys
lledan y lenn its mantle is broad FB. 146, bolch y lauyn his
blade is notched MA. 172*; but here the masculine form is also
found, e.g. llym awel keen is the wind BB. 45* i, pan yw gwyrd
llinos when the linnet is green FB. 133, oedd bwlch llafn yn Haw
gynnefin the blade was notched in a practised hand MA. 2i7 b ,
guaedlyd y lein bloody is his spear MA. 184*.
Number.
33. With the attributive adjective there is concord, the dual or a
singular noun preceded by a numeral having the construction of the
plural, e.g. danned hiryon melynyon long yellow teeth, deu
vackwy wineuon ieueinc two auburn young lads, pedeir
meillionen gwynnyonfour white blades of clover. But there are
many exceptions; with certain adjectives the singular is regularly
used; such are adjectives in -awe, -awl, -eid, -ic, comparatives and
superlatives, some other simple adjectives such as mawr great, tec
beautiful, and compound adjectives; e.g. gwyr arvawc armed men
(but exceptionally o vrenhined coronogyon of crowned kings
WB. p. 90*), llygeit hebogeid hawklike eyes, niveroed mawr
great numbers, dyrnodeu calet-chwerw hard bitter buffets.
With
the predicative adjective there are found on the one hand, e.g.
bychein ynt wynteu they are small RB. 60, wynteu a veynt veirw
they would be dead Hg. I. 138, oedd beilch gweilch
heroes were
proud MA. 2 1 7 b , kertoryon neud ynt geith now poets are captive
b
MA. i57 on the other
, hand, e.g. cadarn oed y holl aelodau all
his limbs were strong CM. 26, balch iawn yw dy eiryeu thy words
are right haughty CM. 34, marw ynn they are dead MA. 164% rud
ynt wy they are red FB. 284, doeth y veirt his bards are learned
MA. 262% ys da y gampeil his feats are good MA. 237
b
. The
whole subject needs a thorough investigation.
Order.
34. (a) In Welsh, as in the other Celtic languages, the adjective
normally follows the noun, e.g. dyn doeth a wise man, gwreic