Beliefs |
Credoau |
Fairies were believed by many to be spirits or demons with supernatural powers similar to those of witches. The Puritan Charles Edwards (1628-1691?) describes them as neighbourly ‘devils’ who appeared as a ‘visible troop’ to drag people away to join their merriments. Edmund Jones (1702-1793) was also convinced that the fairies were demonic spirits sent by the forces of darkness. The anonymous author of an 18th century tract against witchcraft describes them as spirits of the dead called upon by cunning-folk. Like witches, fairies were thought to punish those who had offended them, and were also believed to carry people through the air.
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Roedd lawer yn credu mai ysbrydion neu ddemoniaid â grymoedd goruwchnaturiol yn debyg i eiddo gwrachod oedd y tylwyth teg. Mae’r Piwritan Charles Edwards (1628-1691?) yn eu disgrifio fel ‘cythreuliaid’ cymdogol a oedd yn ymddangos fel ‘mintai weladwy’ er mwyn llusgo pobl i ffwrdd i ymuno yn eu rhialtwch. Roedd Edmund Jones (1702-1793) yn argyhoeddedig hefyd mai ysbrydion demonig oedd y tylwyth teg a anfonwyd gan rymoedd y fall. Fe’u disgrifiwyd gan awdur di-enw traethodyn o’r 18fed ganrif yn erbyn dewiniaeth fel ysbrydion y meirw wedi eu galw gan ddynion a gwragedd hysbys. Fel gwrachod, roedd pobl yn credu bod y tylwyth teg yn cosbi’r rheiny oedd wedi eu sarhau nhw, a’u bod yn cario pobl drwy’r awyr.
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Edmund Jones, A geographical, historical, and religious account of the parish of Aberystruth, (Trevecka, 1779)
Known as the ‘Old Prophet’ because of his ability to foretell future events, Edmund Jones (1702-1793) was an Independent minister and author connected with Pontypool and Monmouth.
He published several works, including this local history of his native parish. It includes several accounts of fairies, described by Jones as ‘evil Spirits belonging to the Kingdom of Darkness’. |
Gweinidog gyda’r Annibynwyr ac awdur a gysylltir â Phont-y-pŵl a Mynwy oedd Edmund Jones, a adwaenid hefyd fel yr ‘Hen Broffwyd’ oherwydd ei allu i ragweld digwyddiadau yn y dyfodol.
Cyhoeddodd sawl gwaith, gan gynnwys hanes lleol ei blwyf brodorol. Mae’n cynnwys sawl cyfrif o’r tylwyth teg, a ddisgrifir gan Jones fel ‘Ysbrydion ysgeler sy’n perthyn i Deyrnas y Fall’. |
Ellis Wynne, Gweledigaethau y Bardd Cwsg [Visions of the Sleeping Bard], (Carmarthen, 1767)
First printed in London in 1703, this is one of the most influential works of Welsh religious prose. The author describes his visions of earthly vice, death and hell, as he is taken on a supernatural journey by the ‘Tylwyth Teg’, whom he initially mistook for witches. |
Dyma un o’r gweithiau mwyaf dylanwadol o ryddiaith grefyddol Gymraeg, ac fe’i hargraffwyd gyntaf yn Llundain yn 1703. Disgrifia’r awdur ei weledigaethau o ddrygau daearol, marwolaeth, ac uffern wrth iddo gael ei gymryd ar daith oruwchnaturiol gan y ‘Tylwyth Teg’, y mae ar y cyntaf yn eu camgymryd am wrachod. |
D. Silvan Evans, Ysten Sioned [Sioned’s Pitcher], (Wrexham, 1894)
The title refers to a woman named Sioned, who used to travel the country with her pitcher, begging for charity. No matter what was offered, she would collect it all in the pitcher.
This notable Welsh book is an eclectic collection of folktales and ghost stories. One tale recounts how the fairies abducted Ellis Wynne, and how he believed he had been away for many years. |
Mae’r teitl yn cyfeirio at fenyw o’r enw Sioned a fyddai’n teithio’r wlad gyda’i hystên yn deisyf elusen. Beth bynnag a gynigiwyd iddi, byddai hi’n ei gasglu yn ei hystên.
Casgliad eclectig o straeon tylwyth teg a straeon ysbryd yw’r llyfr Cymraeg nodedig hwn. Mae un o’r straeon yn sôn am sut y bu i’r tylwyth teg gipio Ellis Wynne, a sut y credai iddo fod i ffwrdd am blynyddoedd lawer. |
‘The Old Woman of the Mountain’ by T. H. Thomas. Frontispiece from Wirt Sikes, British Goblins (London, 1880)
This work is illustrated by Welsh artist Thomas Henry Thomas (1839-1915), and records several tales of a ghostly woman, or witch, who haunted the mountains, leading travellers astray.
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Yr artist Cymreig Thomas Henry Thomas (1839-1915) a wnaeth y darluniadau ar gyfer y llyfr, sy’n cofnodi sawl stori am fenyw ddrychiolaethol, neu wrach, a gyniweiriai’r mynydd, gan arwain teithwyr ar gyfeiliorn.
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Edmund Jones, A relation of apparitions of spirits in Wales, [1780] (Newport, 1813)
Jones’ work on apparitions was part of a wider body of witchcraft writings, designed to stem the growth of atheism by proving the existence of spirits.
He describes in detail the apparition of a ‘poor old woman’, who led people astray on Llanhyddel mountain in Monmouthshire. |
Roedd gwaith Jones ar ymddangosiad ysbrydion yn rhan o gorff ehangach o ysgrifau am ddewiniaeth, a fwriadwyd i atal twf anffyddiaeth drwy brofi bodolaeth ysbrydion.
Disgrifia mewn manylder ymddangosiad ysbryd ‘hen fenyw dlawd’, a oedd yn arwain pobl ar gyfeiliorn ar fynydd Llanhyddel yn Sir Fynwy. |
Reginald Scott, Scots discovery of vvitchcraft : proving the common opinions of witches
contracting with devils, spirits, or familiars, [1584] (London, 1654)
contracting with devils, spirits, or familiars, [1584] (London, 1654)
In his attempt to disprove the common belief in witchcraft and magic, Scot compiled a highly detailed exposé of early modern witchcraft beliefs and practices, such as conjuring, alchemy, astrology and raising spirits from the dead. First published in 1584, his book became an unintended encyclopaedia for those who chose to practise such arts.
Yn ei ymgais i wrthbrofi’r gred gyffredin mewn dewiniaeth a hudoliaeth, lluniodd Scot datgeliad manwl iawn o gredoau ac ymarferion dewiniaeth cynnar, megis consurio, alcemi, sêr-ddewiniaeth, a chodi ysbrydion o’r meirw. Daeth y llyfr, a gyhoeddwyd gyntaf yn 1594, yn wyddoniadur anfwriadol i’r rheiny oedd yn dewis ymhél â’r cyfryw gelfyddydau.
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