Glǽmscrafu - Ein Tad

Ein Tad, yr hwn wyt yn y nefoedd,	Ein Tad, yr hwn wyt yn y nefoedd,	Our Father, who art in Heaven,
#ancteiddier dy enw.	sancteiddier dy enw.	hallowed be Thy Name.
Deled dy deyrnas.	Deled dy deyrnas.	Thy Kingdom come,
Gwneler dy ewyllys,	Gwneler dy ewyllys,	Thy Will be done,
megis yn y nef, felly ar y ddaear hefyd.	megis yn y nef, felly ar y ddaear hefyd.	on Earth, as it is in Heaven.
Dyro i ni heddiw ein bara beunyddiol.	Dyro i ni heddiw ein bara beunyddiol.	Give us this day our daily bread,
A maddau i ni ein dyledion,	A maddau i ni ein dyledion,	and forgive us our trespasses,
fel y maddeuwn ninnau i’n dyledwyr.	fel y maddeuwn ninnau i’n dyledwyr.	as we forgive those who trespass against us.
Ac nac arwain ni i brofedigaeth;	Ac nac arwain ni i brofedigaeth;	And lead us not into temptation,
eithr gwared ni rhag drwg.	eithr gwared ni rhag drwg.	but deliver us from evil.

Canys eiddot ti yw’r deyrnas, a’r nerth,	Canys eiddot ti yw’r deyrnas, a’r nerth,	For thine is the kingdom, and the power,
a’r gogoniant, yn oes oe#oedd.	a’r gogoniant, yn oes oesoedd.	and the glory, for ever and ever.

Amen.	Amen.	Amen.

Commentary

The text is the traditional version of the Welsh Pater noster. Its wording goes back to William Morgan’s translation of the Bible in Welsh in 1588. A newer version is found in the Beibl Cymraeg Newydd (“New Welsh Bible”) published in 1988. Both Bible translations are in a highly literary language register.

Facing it is is the traditional English version from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, still used by the Catholic Church – with the final doxology not included, but used afterwards as a liturgical element during the mass. This must have been the version familiar to Tolkien.

Note that the two languages do not put the fifth request in the same words: the Welsh text follows the gospel of Matthew and literally reads “Remit us our debts, as we also remit to our debtors”. On the other hand, the more recent Welsh version (not presented here) rather follows the gospel of Luke and refers to trespasses rather than debts.

The text’s transcription emulates the Gothic minuscule, a common style of the Latin alphabet in the second half of the Middle Ages. We made use of Pia Frauss’ typeface _a e i o u.

References

࿔ Olteanu, Michael. Convent of Pater Noster: The Lord’s Prayer in 1817 languages and dialects. Christus Rex et Redemptor Mundi, 1995-2014. 🌍 Internet Archive.

࿔ Rosary Prayers in Different Languages. 🌍 Mary’s Rosaries.

The works of John Ronald Reuel and Christopher Tolkien are under the copyright of their authors and/or rights holders, including their publishers and the Tolkien Estate.
Quotations from other authors, editors and translators mentioned in the bibliography are under the copyright of their publishers, except for those whose copyright term has ended.