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Dylan (god)
Dylan ail Don () (in Middle Welsh) is a character in the Welsh mythic Mabinogion tales, particularly in the fourth tale, "''Math fab Mathonwy''". The story of Dylan reflects ancient Celtic myths that were handed down orally for some generations before being written down during the early Christian period by clerics. The story as it has been preserved therefore exhibits elements and archetypes characteristic of both Celtic pagan and Christian mythologies. His name translates as ''"Dylan the Second Wave"'', referring to him as being the second born (''ail don'' meaning "second wave") of Arianrhod. In some interpretations of legend, Dylan represents darkness while his twin brother Lleu Llaw Gyffes represents light. But the more common interpretation is that Dylan is a Welsh sea-god. Dylan was killed by his uncle, and it has been said that "The clamour of the waves dashing upon the beach is the expression of their longing to avenge their son." In Wales, Dylan is one of the most popul ...
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History Of The Welsh Language
The history of the Welsh language (Welsh: ''Hanes yr iaith Gymraeg'') spans over 1400 years, encompassing the stages of the language known as Primitive Welsh, Old Welsh, Middle Welsh, and Modern Welsh. Origins Welsh evolved from British, the Celtic language spoken by the ancient Britons. Alternatively classified as Insular Celtic or P-Celtic, it probably arrived in Britain during the Bronze Age or Iron Age and was probably spoken throughout the island south of the Firth of Forth.Koch, pp. 291–292. During the Early Middle Ages, the British language began to fragment due to increased dialect differentiation, evolving into Welsh and the other Brythonic languages (Breton, Cornish, and the extinct Cumbric). It is not clear when Welsh became distinct.Koch, p. 1757. Primitive Welsh (550–800) Kenneth H. Jackson suggested that the evolution in syllabic structure and sound pattern was complete by around 550, and labelled the period between then and about 800 "Primitive Welsh". ...
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Welsh Language
Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language family, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). Historically, it has also been known in English as "British", "Cambrian", "Cambric" and "Cymric". The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 gave the Welsh language official status in Wales. Both the Welsh and English languages are ''de jure'' official languages of the Welsh Parliament, the Senedd. According to the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the Welsh-speaking population of Wales aged three or older was 17.8% (538,300 people) and nearly three quarters of the population in Wales said they had no Welsh language skills. Other estimates suggest that 29.7% (899,500) of people aged three or older in Wales could speak Welsh in June 2022. Almost half of all Welsh speakers consider themselves fluent Welsh speakers ...
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Taliesin
Taliesin ( , ; 6th century AD) was an early Brittonic poet of Sub-Roman Britain whose work has possibly survived in a Middle Welsh manuscript, the '' Book of Taliesin''. Taliesin was a renowned bard who is believed to have sung at the courts of at least three kings. In 1960, Ifor Williams identified eleven of the medieval poems ascribed to Taliesin as possibly originating as early as the sixth century, and so possibly being composed by a historical Taliesin. The bulk of this work praises King Urien of Rheged and his son Owain mab Urien, although several of the poems indicate that Taliesin also served as court bard to King Brochfael Ysgithrog of Powys and his successor Cynan Garwyn, either before or during his time at Urien's court. Some of the events to which the poems refer, such as the Battle of Arfderydd (c. 573), are referred to in other sources. John T. Koch argues that the description of Easter in the praise poem ''Yspeil Taliesin'' ('The Spoils of Taliesin') indicates ...
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Bard
In Celtic cultures, a bard is a professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise the patron's own activities. With the decline of a living bardic tradition in the modern period, the term has loosened to mean a generic minstrel or author (especially a famous one). For example, William Shakespeare and Rabindranath Tagore are respectively known as "the Bard of Avon" (often simply "the Bard") and "the Bard of Bengal". Oxford Dictionary of English, s.v. ''bard'', n.1. In 16th-century Scotland, it turned into a derogatory term for an itinerant musician; nonetheless it was later romanticised by Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832). Etymology The English term ''bard'' is a loan word from the Celtic languages: Gaulish: ''bardo-'' ('bard, poet'), mga, bard and ('bard, poet'), wlm, bardd ('singer, poet'), Middle Breton: ''barz'' ('m ...
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Caswallawn
Cassivellaunus was a historical British military leader who led the defence against Julius Caesar's second expedition to Britain in 54 BC. He led an alliance of tribes against Roman forces, but eventually surrendered after his location was revealed to Julius Caesar by defeated Britons. Cassivellaunus made an impact on the British consciousness. He appears in British legend as Cassibelanus, one of Geoffrey of Monmouth's kings of the Britons, and in the ''Mabinogion'', the ''Brut y Brenhinedd'' and the Welsh Triads as Caswallawn, son of Beli Mawr. Name The Common Brittonic personal name ''Cassiuellaunos'' stems from the word ''uellaunos'' ('chief, commandant'). The meaning of the prefix ''cassi-'' has been debated, but it possibly signifies 'tin, bronze'. Cassivellaunus may thus been translated as 'Chief-of-Tin', that is to say 'the inflexible'. The personal name ''Ver-cassivellaunus'' ('True-Chief-of-Tin') is related. History Cassivellaunus appears in Julius Caesar's ''Com ...
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Welsh Triads
The Welsh Triads ( cy, Trioedd Ynys Prydein, "Triads of the Island of Britain") are a group of related texts in medieval manuscripts which preserve fragments of Welsh folklore, mythology and traditional history in groups of three. The triad is a rhetorical form whereby objects are grouped together in threes, with a heading indicating the point of likeness; for example, "Three things not easily restrained, the flow of a torrent, the flight of an arrow, and the tongue of a fool." Contents The texts include references to King Arthur and other semi-historical characters from sub-Roman Britain, mythic figures such as Brân the Blessed, undeniably historical personages such as Alan IV, Duke of Brittany (who is called ''Alan Fyrgan'') and Iron Age characters such as Caswallawn (Cassivellaunus) and Caradoc (Caratacus). Some triads simply give a list of three characters with something in common (such as "the three frivolous bards of the island of Britain") while others include substantial ...
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Dôn
Dôn () is an ancestor figure in Welsh legend and literature. She is typically given as the mother of a group known as the "Children of Dôn", including Gwydion, Arianrhod, and Gilfaethwy, among many others. However, antiquarians of the early modern era generally considered Dôn a male figure. The House of Dôn In astronomy Llys Dôn (literally "The Court of Dôn") is the traditional Welsh name for the constellation Cassiopeia. At least three of Dôn's children also have astronomical associations: Caer Gwydion ("The Castle of Gwydion") is the traditional Welsh name for the Milky Way, and Caer Arianrhod ("The Castle of Arianrhod") being the constellation of Corona Borealis. See also *The House of Llŷr *Tuatha Dé Danann *Danu (Irish goddess) In Irish mythology, ''*Danu'' () is the reconstructed mother goddess of the Tuatha dé Danann (Old Irish: "The peoples of the goddess Danu"). Though primarily seen as an ancestral figure, some Victorian sources also associate he ...
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Kingdom Of Gwynedd
The Kingdom of Gwynedd (Medieval Latin: ; Middle Welsh: ) was a Welsh kingdom and a Roman Empire successor state that emerged in sub-Roman Britain in the 5th century during the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain. Based in northwest Wales, the rulers of Gwynedd repeatedly rose to dominance and were acclaimed as " King of the Britons" before losing their power in civil wars or invasions. The kingdom of Gruffydd ap Llywelynthe King of Wales from 1055 to 1063was shattered by a Saxon invasion in 1063 just prior to the Norman invasion of Wales, but the House of Aberffraw restored by Gruffudd ap Cynan slowly recovered and Llywelyn the Great of Gwynedd was able to proclaim the Principality of Wales at the Aberdyfi gathering of Welsh princes in 1216. In 1277, the Treaty of Aberconwy between Edward I of England and Llewelyn's grandson Llywelyn ap Gruffudd granted peace between the two but would also guarantee that Welsh self-rule would end upon Llewelyn's death, and so it represented ...
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Black Book Of Carmarthen
The Black Book of Carmarthen ( cy, Llyfr Du Caerfyrddin) is thought to be the earliest surviving manuscript written solely in Welsh. The book dates from the mid-13th century; its name comes from its association with the Priory of St. John the Evangelist and Teulyddog at Carmarthen, and is referred to as black due to the colour of its binding. It is currently part of the collection of the National Library of Wales, where it is catalogued as NLW Peniarth MS 1. This was one of the collection of manuscripts amassed at the mansion of Hengwrt, near Dolgellau, Gwynedd, by Welsh antiquary Robert Vaughan (c.1592–1667); the collection later passed to the newly established National Library of Wales as the Peniarth or Hengwrt-Peniarth Manuscripts. It is believed that the manuscript is first recorded when it came into the possession of Sir John Price of Brecon (1502?–1555), whose work was to search the monasteries dissolved by Henry VIII. It was given to him by the treasurer of ...
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