|
Gorsedd Cymru
Gorsedd Cymru (), or simply the Gorsedd or the Orsedd ( cy, yr Orsedd), is a society of Welsh-language poets, writers, musicians and others who have contributed to the Welsh language and to public life in Wales. Its aim is to honour such individuals and help develop and promote their fields in addition to maintaining relationships with other Celtic nations and Y Wladfa. The Gorsedd is most prominent at the National Eisteddfod of Wales where it is responsible for the main ceremonies held. Name The word ''gorsedd'' (plural ''gorseddau'') means "throne" in Welsh. Equivalent terms exist in Cornish (''gorsedh'') and Breton (''goursez''). When the term is used without qualification, it generally refers to the national ''Gorsedd'' of Wales, namely ''Gorsedd Cymru''. Note that when referred to as simply "the Gorsedd" in Welsh, the initial g is dropped due to soft mutation, resulting in ''yr Orsedd''. Other ''gorseddau'' exist outside of Wales, such as the Cornish Gorsedh Kernow and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Awen
Awen is a Welsh, Cornish and Breton word for "inspiration" (and typically poetic inspiration). In Welsh mythology, awen is the inspiration of the poets, or bards; or, in its personification, Awen is the inspirational muse of creative artists in general. The inspired individual (often a poet or a soothsayer) is described as an awenydd. Neo-Druids define awen as "flowing energy," or "a force that flows with the essence of life." In current usage, ''awen'' is sometimes ascribed to musicians and poets. It is also used as female given name. It appears in the third stanza of Hen Wlad fy Nhadau, the national anthem of Wales. Etymology ''Awen'' derives from the Indo-European root ''*-uel'', meaning 'to blow', and has the same root as the word ''awel'' meaning 'breeze' in Welsh and 'wind' or 'gale' in Cornish.Dr Ken George,''Gerlyver Meur'', Kesva an Taves Kernewek (Cornwall) 1993, p81. Historical attestation The first recorded attestation of the word occurs in Nennius' '' His ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Simon Brooks
Simon Brooks (born 1971) is a Welsh academic and writer. Academia and Government Adviser He is currently an Associate Professor in the School of Management at Swansea University, an interdisciplinary scholar specialising in history, the history of ideas, multiculturalism, political theory and public policy. He is also a member of the University's Morgan Academy. Brooks has also been appointed as an advisor to the Welsh Government as a member of the Welsh Language Partnership Council, for which he published the report 'Second homes: Developing new policies in Wales' in 2021. Recommendations underpinned government policy in the area. In 2020 he chaired the government committee established to review the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales on Welsh-speaking community groups. Once again, the Committee recommendations underpin government policy. Author Brooks is an independent author and is a former editor of the Welsh language current affairs magazine ''Barn'' (1996–2007), an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Culture Of Wales
The culture of Wales (Welsh language, Welsh: ''Diwylliant Cymru'') is distinct, with its own Welsh language, language, customs, Politics of Wales, politics, festivals, Music of Wales, music and Welsh_art, Art. Wales is primarily represented by the symbol of the red Welsh Dragon, but other national emblems include the leek and the daffodil. Although sharing many customs with the other nations of the United Kingdom, Wales has its own distinct traditions and culture, and from the late 19th century onwards, Wales acquired its popular image as the "land of song", in part due to the eisteddfod tradition. Development of Welsh culture Historical influences Wales has been identified as having been inhabited by humans for some 230,000 years, as evidenced by the discovery of a Neanderthal at the Bontnewydd Palaeolithic site in north Wales. After the Wales in the Roman era, Roman era of occupation, a number of small kingdoms arose in what is now Wales. These early kingdoms were also influ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christine James
Christine James (born 2 February 1954) is a Welsh poet and academic. She served as the first female Archdruid of Wales from June 2013 until June 2016. She first presided over the ceremonies at the National Eisteddfod in the 2013 Eisteddfod in Denbigh. Like all holders, she qualified by winning a major literary prize at a previous National Eisteddfod. She was elected Cofiadur (Recorder) of the Gorsedd of Bards at the National Eisteddfod in 2017, again as the first woman to hold the post. She is a recipient of the Wales Book of the Year. Life and academic career Christine Mumford was born 2 February 1954, in Tonypandy, Rhondda, and educated at Porth County Grammar School. Later at Aberystwyth University she gained a first-class honours degree in Welsh and was subsequently awarded a PhD for a thesis on the Laws of Hywel Dda. Mumford currently lives in Cardiff and is an emeritus professor in the Department of Welsh, Academi Hywel Teifi, Swansea University. She is an elected Fellow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robyn Léwis
Robyn Léwis (October 1929 – 12 August 2019) was a Welsh author, politician and former archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales. Biography Born Robyn Lewis, he studied at Pwllheli Grammar School and University College of Wales, Aberystwyth before becoming a solicitor and barrister. He became active in the Labour Party and stood, unsuccessfully, in Denbigh at the 1955 general election.''The Times Guide to the House of Commons 1970'', p.71 During the 1960s, Léwis left Labour and joined Plaid Cymru. He was elected to Lleyn Rural District Council, and stood for the party in Caernarfon at the 1970 general election, where he came second with more than 33% of the vote. He was subsequently elected as a Vice President of Plaid Cymru.Dr Robyn Lewis: I'm willing to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crowning Of The Bard
The Crowning of the Bard () is one of the most important events in an eisteddfod. The most famous such ceremony takes place at the National Eisteddfod of Wales, and is normally on the Monday afternoon of Eisteddfod week (it was formerly held on the Tuesday). A new bardic crown is specially designed and made for each eisteddfod and is awarded to the winning entrant in the competition for the Pryddest, poetry written in free verse. There are three judges and these have included past crowned bards, such as Mererid Hopwood and T. James Jones. The National Eisteddfod crown was first awarded in 1867. The crowning ceremony is presided over by the Archdruid, who invites one of the judges to read the adjudication and judges' comments before announcing the identity of the bard, using only the pen name that the winner has used when submitting the work. Up to this point, no one knows the true identity of the bard, who is asked to stand and is then escorted to the stage and crowned. Winnin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bardic Name
A bardic name (, ) is a pseudonym used in Wales, Cornwall, or Brittany by poets and other artists, especially those involved in the eisteddfod movement. The Welsh term bardd ("poet") originally referred to the Welsh poets of the Middle Ages, who might be itinerant or attached to a noble household. Some of these medieval poets were known by a pseudonym, for example Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr ("Cynddelw the Master Poet"), fl. 1155–1200 and Iolo Goch ("Iolo the Red"), c. 1320 – c. 1398. The practice seems to have very ancient antecedents, as in the names of the presumably 6th century poets Talhaearn Tad Awen, Blwchfardd and Culfardd, mentioned by the Welsh historian Nennius alongside Taliesin and Aneirin, the last referred to as ''Aneurin Gwenithwawd'' ("Aneurin of the Corn Poetry"). The revival of bardic names became something of a conceit following the reinvention of medieval tradition by Iolo Morganwg in the 18th century. The usage has also extended to Breton and Cornish poe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archdruid
Archdruid () is the title used by the presiding official of Gorsedd Cymru, the Gorsedd. The Archdruid presides over the most important ceremonies at the National Eisteddfod of Wales including the Crowning of the Bard, the award of the and the Chairing of the Bard. Although Iolo Morganwg was the first to preside over the Gorsedd when the National Eisteddfod came into being, his successor David Griffith, under the bardic name "Clwydfardd", was the first to be known by the official title "Archdruid". The Archdruid's regalia, devised by the early revivers of the eisteddfod during the early 19th century, includes a crown, a sceptre, and a breastplate in the form of a torc. These were redesigned in 1896 by Hubert von Herkomer, to be made of gold and decorated with oak leaves, symbolising the sacred groves associated with druidry. (The Welsh word for "oak" is "derw" from which "druid" is thought to be derived.) A special ring of office was also introduced. The current sceptre has been ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Druid
A druid was a member of the high-ranking class in ancient Celtic cultures. Druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no written accounts. While they were reported to have been literate, they are believed to have been prevented by doctrine from recording their knowledge in written form. Their beliefs and practices are attested in some detail by their contemporaries from other cultures, such as the Romans and the Greeks. The earliest known references to the druids date to the 4th century BCE. The oldest detailed description comes from Julius Caesar's ''Commentarii de Bello Gallico'' (50s BCE). They were described by other Roman writers such as Cicero, Cicero (44) I.XVI.90. Tacitus, and Pliny the Elder. Following the Roman invasion of Gaul, the druid orders were suppressed by the Roman government under the 1st-century CE emperors Tiberius and Claudius, and had disapp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ovates
In modern English, the nouns vates () and ovate (, ), are used as technical terms for ancient Celtic bards, prophets and philosophers. The terms correspond to a Proto-Celtic word which can be reconstructed as *''wātis''.Bernhard Maier, ''Dictionary of Celtic Religion and Culture'', trans. by Cyril Edwards (Woodbridge: Boydell, 1997), p. 278 .v. ''vates'' Irish ' "prophet, seer". History of terminology The terminology discussed in this article relates to an Old Celtic word which can be reconstructed as *''wātis''. This word is not directly attested, but is known from renderings into Greek and Latin and from its descendants in later Celtic languages. ''Vates'' in English is a borrowing of a Latin noun :wikt:vates">''vātēs'' (), 'prophet, poet'. This Latin noun was either a cognate of Celtic *''wātis'' (whereby the two words were descended from a common Italo-Celtic origin),Michiel de Vaan, ''Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the Other Italic Languages'', Leiden Indo-Euro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carmarthen
Carmarthen (, RP: ; cy, Caerfyrddin , "Merlin's fort" or "Sea-town fort") is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community in Wales, lying on the River Towy. north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. The population was 14,185 in 2011, down from 15,854 in 2001, but gauged at 16,285 in 2019. It has a claim to be the oldest town in Wales – ''Old Carmarthen'' and ''New Carmarthen'' became one borough in 1546. It was the most populous borough in Wales in the 16th–18th centuries, described by William Camden as "chief citie of the country". Growth stagnated by the mid-19th century as new settlements developed in the South Wales Coalfield. History Early history When Britannia was a Roman province, Carmarthen was the civitas capital of the Demetae tribe, known as Moridunum ("Sea Fort"). It is possibly the oldest town in Wales, recorded by Ptolemy and in the Antonine Itinerary. The Roman fort is believed to date from about AD 75. A Roman coin hoard was found nearby in 20 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Albert Evans-Jones
Sir (Albert) Cynan Evans-Jones CBE (14 April 1895 – 26 January 1970), more commonly known within Wales by his bardic name of Cynan, was a Welsh war poet and dramatist. Early life Cynan was born in Pwllheli as Albert Evan Jones, the son of Richard Albert Jones and Hannah Jane (née Evans) his father was the proprietor of the Central Restaurant in Penlan Street, Pwllheli. He was educated at Pwllheli Grammar School and the University College of North Wales at Bangor, where he graduated in 1916. First World War On graduation Cynan joined the Welsh Student Company of the RAMC, serving in Salonika and France, initially as an ambulance man and then as the company's military chaplain. His wartime experience had a profound effect on his poetic works, to such an extent that Alan Llwyd claims that Cynan, not Hedd Wyn, is the premier Welsh war poet of the First World War. Hedd Wyn's poems relating to the war were written before he had enlisted and he was killed before he could recount ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
