[{"text_idx": "#000068", "text": "Mo\u0302r-gathod, morgwn ac esgidiau brain"}, {"text_idx": "#000070", "text": "O dan y pennawd Pysg eu henwau a physgota casglodd dros gant a hanner o enwau pysgod a physgod chregyn, gan ychwanegu disgrifiad difyr o sawl un ohonynt. Mae nifer o\u2019r enwau bellach yn anhysbys, ond mae eraill yn gyfarwydd, er na ellir bod yn gwbl sicr bob tro mai\u2019r un yw\u2019r pysgodyn dan sylw a\u0302\u2019r pysgodyn rydym ni\u2019n ei adnabod gyda\u2019r un enw heddiw."}, {"text_idx": "#000071", "text": "Soniwyd y tro diwethaf am yr abad, sef math o forgi neu siarc, y Rhina squatina. Mae John Jones yn rhoi cryn sylw i\u2019r morgwn: cw\u0302n coegion yw ei enw amdanynt. \u2018Ffals\u2019 neu \u2018gwag\u2019 yw ystyr arferol coeg \u2013 cneuen goeg ydi cneuen wag, fel yn y dywediad cneuen goeg sy galetaf. Yn yr Oesoedd Canol gallai coeg hefyd ddisgrifio person \u2018dall\u2019 neu un a chanddo ryw fath o nam ar ei lygad: Maredudd Goeg, er enghraifft, oedd enw mab dall yr Arglwydd Rhys o Ddeheubarth. Tybed ai cyfeirio at ryw nodwedd ar lygaid y morgwn a wna\u2019r elfen coeg yn y cyfuniad ci coeg? Gwelaf o rai ffynonellau fod trydydd amrant pw\u0302l gan nifer ohonynt, a allai beri iddynt edrych fel pe baent yn ddall."}, {"text_idx": "#000072", "text": "Cw\u0302n coegion yw yr henw cyffredin ar yr holl gw\u0302n bysgod sydd yn magu yn y mo\u0302r, ac y maent yn bwrw oddi wrthynt ac ohonynt beth a elwir esgid y fra\u0302n, o\u2019r hon y mae yr holl gw\u0302n yn dyfod."}, {"text_idx": "#000073", "text": "Mae\u2019n rhaid mai\u2019r mermaid\u2019s purse yw esgid y fra\u0302n, sef y cwdyn du caled yn dal wyau\u2019r morgwn a\u2019r mo\u0302r-gathod a welir wedi sychu ar hyd y traethau yn y gaeaf. Ni lwyddais i ddod o hyd i unrhyw enghraifft arall o\u2019r ffurf esgid y fra\u0302n am y cwdyn hwn \u2013 pwrs y fo\u0302r-forwyn, term diweddar wedi ei gyfieithu o\u2019r Saesneg, a geir yng Ngeiriadur Prifysgol Cymru ac yng Ngeiriadur yr Academi. O 1700 y daw\u2019r dystiolaeth gynharaf am mermaid\u2019s purse yn Saesneg, ond o tua\u2019r un cyfnod (1688) ceir enw arall amdano, sef y crow-purse \u2013 a\u2019r elfen crow, fel yr elfen bra\u0302n yn yr enw Cymraeg, yn cyfeirio at liw du\u2019r cwdyn wyau pan fydd wedi sychu ar y traeth."}, {"text_idx": "#000074", "text": "O ran y mathau o gw\u0302n coegion mae John Jones yn enwi\u2019r cadell fantach fel y banw o\u2019r cwn coegion (sef y pysgodyn benyw, a mantach yn cyfleu\u2019r ffaith ei bod yn ddiddanned neu ag ychydig iawn o ddannedd); a\u2019r gwryw, meddai, yw\u2019r ci pigog. Yna rhestrir y ci brych, y penci brych a\u2019r ci glas i gyd fel aelodau o rywogaeth y cw\u0302n coegion."}, {"text_idx": "#000075", "text": "Disgrifia\u2019r morgath fel a thornback, gan esbonio:"}, {"text_idx": "#000076", "text": "pedwar rhywogaeth morcath y sydd, sef cath felen, bila gwyn, clwt y torddu, cath bigog \u2013 a honno yw\u2019r iawn thornback."}, {"text_idx": "#000077", "text": "Tybed ai\u2019r thornback ray (Raja clavata) yw\u2019r gath bigog (cf. GPC morcath bigog), ac ai\u2019r blonde ray yw\u2019r gath felen? Byddai\u2019n braf cael rhagor o wybodaeth am glwt y torddu (?pysgodyn sy\u2019n edrych fel clwtyn ac iddo fol tywyll) a\u2019r bila gwyn."}, {"text_idx": "#000078", "text": "Daw\u2019r llun o esgid y fra\u0302n / pwrs y fo\u0302r-forwyn (wedi ei addasu) o \u2019n paratoi golygiad o eirfa\u0302u John Jones, a byddwn yn ddiolchgar o dderbyn unrhyw wybodaeth am y geiriau a drafodir yma."}, {"text_idx": "#000079", "text": "Daw\u2019r llun o esgid y fra\u0302n / pwrs y fo\u0302r-forwyn (wedi ei addasu) o "}, {"text_idx": "#000082", "text": "Under the heading \u2018Fish, their names and fishing\u2019, he collected over a hundred and fifty names of fish and shellfish, adding short and interesting definitions to many entries. Many of the names are unidentifiable, others are known, but still we cannot be completely sure in each instance that the name we know today corresponds to the fish John Jones had in mind."}, {"text_idx": "#000083", "text": "In the last post I discussed the abad \u2018abbot\u2019, probably the angel shark, Rhina squatina. John Jones pays particular attention to the dogfish or small sharks: he calls them cw\u0302n coegion. Coeg usually means \u2018false\u2019 or \u2018empty\u2019 \u2013 for example cneuen goeg refers to an empty nut, as in the old saying cneuen goeg sy galetaf \u2018the empty nut is the hardest\u2019. In the Middle Ages coeg could also describe a blind person, or one with some sort of deformity in his eye: for instance the blind son of the Lord Rhys of Deheubarth was known as Maredudd Goeg. Is it possible, therefore, that coeg in the name ci coeg refers to a feature of the dogfish\u2019s eyes? I see from some sources that dogfish have a third translucent eyelid which could give them the appearance of being blind."}, {"text_idx": "#000084", "text": "Cw\u0302n coegion is the general name for all dogfish that are reared in the sea, and they cast from them, and from within them, something that is called esgid y fra\u0302n, from which all the dogs come."}, {"text_idx": "#000085", "text": "From the description we can infer that esgid y fra\u0302n \u2018crow\u2019s shoe\u2019 refers to the mermaid\u2019s purse, the tough, black, dried egg cases of sharks and rays that are often found washed up on our beaches in winter. I have been unable to find any other instances of the name esgid y fra\u0302n \u2013 the modern term pwrs y fo\u0302r-forwyn, given in the University of Wales Dictionary and Geiriadur yr Academi, is a direct translation of the English mermaid\u2019s purse. The Oxford English Dictionary gives 1700 as the date of the earliest evidence for mermaid\u2019s purse, and interestingly, from about the same period (1688) comes another name for it, the crow-purse \u2013 with the element crow, like the Welsh bra\u0302n, referring to the blackness of the dried pouches."}, {"text_idx": "#000086", "text": "John Jones names the cadell fantach as the female of the dogfish (y banw o\u2019r cwn coegion, with the element mantach meaning \u2018toothless\u2019 or \u2018with very few teeth\u2019), and the male, he says, is the ci pigog (\u2018spiny dog\u2019). The ci brych (\u2018spotted dog\u2019), penci brych (probably \u2018spotted nursehound\u2019) and ci glas (\u2018blue\u2019 or \u2018grey dog\u2019) are also \u2018of the species of dogfish\u2019 (o rywogaeth y cw\u0302n coegion)."}, {"text_idx": "#000087", "text": "He further describes the morcath (\u2018skate\u2019 or \u2018ray\u2019, lit. \u2018sea cat\u2019) as a thornback, explaining:"}, {"text_idx": "#000088", "text": "there are four species of rays, namely cath felen, bila gwyn, clwt y torddu, cath bigog \u2013 and the last one is the correct thornback."}, {"text_idx": "#000089", "text": "Can the cath bigog be identified with the thornback ray (Raja clavata, GPC morcath bigog), and the cath felen with the blonde ray? But what about clwt y torddu (?a black-bellied fish shaped like a piece of cloth), and the bila gwyn, which is presumably of a light colour?"}, {"text_idx": "#000091", "text": "The image of the mermaid\u2019s purse (adapted) comes from: "}]