Matheson Collection > Introduction to early Welsh

14 CONSONANT MUTATIONS [§ 16.
II. 327. But usually without lenation seith cantref, seith
CUppyt seven cubits, seith cant seven hundred, seith punt seven
pounds, seith meib seven sons. wi- -, j^ . '-^^, '^^^^' ; è^t^-^.'*^'
wyth eíg/it : wyth drawst eigAf beams RB. 1 1 1, 21, wyth g"ant
eight hundred RB. II. 386, but wjrth cant 39, 40, 230, 257, 258,
385, wyth temyl eight temples loi, wyth tywyssawc eight chiefs
14.
naw 7iÌ7ie. After this lenation is occasionally found, e.g. naw
Cyx^ 1 «■^l' '. -éîi' rad nine ranks LA. 1 7.
mil thousand: mil verthyr a thousand martyrs RB. II. 199.
10. — In pumwyr /tje mew, seith wyr scfew wen, nawwyr nine men, canwr
a hundred men, there seems to be composition.
{(Ì) After ordinal numbers.
After the feminine ordinals from three onwards there is lenation,
e.g. y dryded geinc the third branch, y seithvet vlwydyn the
seventh year, yr Vgeinuet vlwydyn the tiventieth year.
11. --The same rule seems to hold with eil other, second, e.g. yr eil
marchawc the second horseman, but yr eil vlwydyn the second year, and
with neill one of two, e.g. y neill troet the one foot, but y neill law the one
hand.
(f) After the pronoun.
(a) After the possessives dy thy and y his, e.g. dy davawt thy
tongue, ath lu and thy host ; y benn his head, ae rud and his
cheek.
(/3) After interrogatives, e.g. pa le, py le where? pa beth "what
thing?
(7) In apposition, e.g. ynteu Bwyll he Pivyll, hitheu wreic
Teirnon she the wife of Teirnon ; ef Vanawydan he Manaivydan ;
on hachaws ni bechaduryeit because of us sinners.
(g) After the verb.
(a) After the verb lenation is found not only of the object but also
of the subject, whether the verb immediately precedes the lenated
form or is separated from it, e.g. mi a wnn gyghor da / kiioiv
good counsel, y gwelynt uarchawc they saw a horseman,
ny mynnei Gaswallawn y lad ynteu (Jasivallaivn did not desire
to slay hi7n. The proportion of lenation to non-lenation differs