And further on, it is said of the giant,
"Al the armare he was yn
Was noght bot of a bal-skyn."
State of Stupor.—Page 29.
The literal meaiiing of this passage is not advantageous to the four-and-twenty ladies, as it gives them a character for anything but sobriety. It is possible, however, that allusion is made to some act of necromancy (not by any means unusual in the old writers of romance), by which they were thrown into a state of insensibility.
Hospice.—Page 29.
Spytty—This term is derived from the Latin word Hospitium, and is used to designate those establishments which were erected and maintained by the monks for the reception of travellers. They bore some remote resemblance to our present inns, and were generally placed in secluded spots at a distance from any town. Several places in Wales retain the recollection of these hospitable institutiona in the name they still bear, as Spytty Ivan, Spytty Cynvyn, &c.
Ravens.—Page 30.
As some explanation of this strange expression, it may be noticed, that in another of the Mabinogion, called the "Dream of Rhonabwy," Owain is represented as having an army of Havens in his service, which are engaged in combat with some of Arthur's attendants. But in that, as well as in the present Tale, the adventure is introduced with an abruptness that can only be accounted for by supposing that the story was well known, and that it formed a part of that great store of Romance which existed among the Welsh, and which furnished to the other nations of Europe the earliest materials of imaginative composition. This Raven Army of the Prince of Rheged has evidently a connection with the armorial bearings of that house already alluded to.
