|
Llywarch Hen
Llywarch Hen (, "Llywarch the Old"; c. 534 – c. 608), was a prince and poet of the Brythonic kingdom of Rheged, a ruling family in the Hen Ogledd or "Old North" of Britain (modern southern Scotland and northern England). Along with Taliesin, Aneirin, and Myrddin, he is held to be one of the four great bards of early Welsh poetry. Whether he actually wrote the poems attributed to him is unknown, and most of what is known about his life is derived from early medieval poems which may or may not be historically accurate. Life Llywarch Hen was the son of Elidurus, chief of Argoed (in the Rheged region, later Cumberland). In the genealogy known as "Bonedd Gwŷr y Gogledd (The Descent of the Men of the North)" he is listed as a descendant of Coel Hen (King Cole), and is first cousin to King Urien Rheged. It is thought that he may have been a monarch himself, with Urien ruling northern Rheged, and Llywarch ruling the south. In his 1953 book ''The Derbyshire Dales'', Norman Price link ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rheged
Rheged () was one of the kingdoms of the ''Hen Ogledd'' ("Old North"), the Brittonic-speaking region of what is now Northern England and southern Scotland, during the post-Roman era and Early Middle Ages. It is recorded in several poetic and bardic sources, although its borders are not described in any of them. A recent archaeological discovery suggests that its stronghold was located in what is now Galloway in Scotland rather than, as was previously speculated, being in Cumbria. Rheged possibly extended into Lancashire and other parts of northern England. In some sources, Rheged is intimately associated with the king Urien Rheged and his family. Its inhabitants spoke Cumbric, a Brittonic dialect closely related to Old Welsh. Etymology The origin of the name ''Rheged'' has been described as "problematic". One Brittonic-language solution is that the name may be a compound of ''rö-'', a prefix meaning "great", and ''cę:d'' meaning "wood, forest" (c.f. Welsh ''coed'') although ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Owain Mab Urien
Owain mab Urien (Middle Welsh Owein) (died c. 595) was the son of Urien, king of Rheged c. 590, and fought with his father against the Angles of Bernicia. The historical figure of Owain became incorporated into the Arthurian cycle of legends where he is also known as Ywain, Yvain, Ewain or Uwain. In his legendary guise he is the main character in Chrétien de Troyes's ''Yvain, the Knight of the Lion'' and the Welsh Romance '' Owain, or the Lady of the Fountain'', which corresponds to Chrétien's poem. Historical Owain Our chief references to the historical Owain appear in the poems of Taliesin, Urien's bard. In one poem, he appears as the victor of the Battle of Alclud Ford. Another, ''Gweith Argoed Llwyfain'' ("The Battle of Argoed Llwyfain"), tells of Owain's part in a battle between the men of Rheged under Urien and the men of Bernicia under "Fflamddwyn" (Firestealer), possibly the Anglian king Theodric. When Fflamddwyn demands hostages, Owain shouts defiance and inspires ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Canu Heledd
''Canu Heledd'' (modern Welsh /'kani 'hɛlɛð/, the songs of Heledd) are a collection of early Welsh ''englyn''-poems. They are rare among medieval Welsh poems for being set in the mouth of a female character. One prominent figure in the poems is Heledd's dead brother Cynddylan. Summary Dorothy Ann Bray summarised the cycle thus: The entire cycle of the Heledd poems ... is a statement of mourning from which a background story has been deduced: Cynddylan, prince of Powys, and his brothers along with his heroic band are slain in battle, defending their country against the English in the mid-seventh century. Heledd, his sister, is one of the few survivors, who witnessed the battle and the destruction of Cynddylan's hall at Pengwern. She has lost not only all her brothers, but also her sisters and her home, and the poems suggest that she blames herself for the destruction of Cynddylan's court because of some ill-spoken words. As with the other so-called 'saga ''englynion''’ (p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Canu Llywarch Hen
''Canu Llywarch Hen'' (modern Welsh /'kani 'ɬəwarχ heːn/, the songs of Llywarch Hen) are a collection of early Welsh ''englyn''-poems. They comprise the most famous of the early Welsh cycles of ''englynion'' about heroes of post-Roman North Britain. Contents and themes As edited by Jenny Rowland, the contents of ''Canu Llywarch Hen'' are as follows: The poems contemplate martial, masculine culture, fate, and old age from a critical standpoint. As with the other so-called 'saga ''englynion''’ (pre-eminently ''Canu Urien'' and ''Canu Heledd''), there is considerable uncertainty and debate as to how the poems of ''Canu Llywarch'' might originally have been performed. It is usually assumed that they must have been accompanied by some kind of prose narrative, to which they provided emotional depth; but this is not certain. In all the independent witnesses bar NLW 4973a, the Llywarch Hen poems are preceded by the ''englyn''-poem ''Claf Abercuawg'', which in the White Book is e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Englyn
(; plural ) is a traditional Welsh and Cornish short poem form. It uses quantitative metres, involving the counting of syllables, and rigid patterns of rhyme and half rhyme. Each line contains a repeating pattern of consonants and accent known as . Early history The is found in the work of the earliest attested Welsh poets (the ), where the main types are the three-line and . It is the only set stanzaic metre found in the early Welsh poetic corpus, and explanations for its origins have tended to focus on stanzaic Latin poetry and hymns; however, it is as likely to be a development within the Brittonic poetic tradition. Whereas the metrical rules of later are clear (and are based on counting syllables), the precise metre of the early is debated and could have involved stress-counting. The earliest are found as marginalia written in a tenth-century hand in the Juvencus Manuscript. Many early form poems which seem to represent moments of characters' emotional reflection i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cunedda
Cunedda ap Edern, also called Cunedda ''Wledig'' ( 5th century), was an important early Welsh people, Welsh leader, and the progenitor of the Royal dynasty of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd, one of the very oldest of western Europe. Name The name ''Cunedda'' (spelled ''Cunedag'' in the AD 828 pseudo-history ''Historia Brittonum'') derives from the Common Brittonic, Brythonic word ', meaning "Good Hound/Warrior" or "Having Good Hounds/Warriors". Genealogy His genealogy is traced back to a grandfather living in late Roman Britain named Padarn Beisrudd. His name literally translates as Paternus of the "red tunic" or the Paludamentum, scarlet cloak, a color attributed to Roman officers during the Roman Empire. One traditional interpretation identifies Padarn as a Roman_people#Late_antiquity, Roman (Romano-British) official of reasonably high rank who had been placed in command of the Votadini troops stationed in the Clackmannanshire region of Scotland in the 380s or earlier by th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Merfyn Frych
Merfyn Frych ('Merfyn the Freckled'; Old Welsh ''Mermin''), also known as Merfyn ap Gwriad ('Merfyn son of Gwriad') and Merfyn Camwri ('Merfyn the Oppressor'), was King of Gwynedd from around 825 to 844, the first of its kings known not to have descended from the male line of King Cunedda. Little is known of his reign, and his primary notability is as the father of Rhodri the Great and founder of his dynasty, which was sometimes called the Merfynion after him. Merfyn came to the throne in the aftermath of a bloody dynastic struggle between two rivals named Cynan and Hywel generally identified with the sons of Rhodri Molwynog. The ''Annales Cambriae'' say Merfyn died around 844, the same year in which a battle occurred at Cetyll, but it is unclear whether those were two unrelated events or he fell in battle. Political background The times leading up to Merfyn's reign were unsettled for both Gwynedd and neighbouring Powys. Both kingdoms were beset by internal dynastic strife, e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wild Wales
''Wild Wales: Its People, Language and Scenery'' is a travel book by the English Victorian gentleman writer George Borrow (1803–1881), first published in 1862. The book recounts Borrow's personal experiences and insights while touring Wales alone on foot after a family holiday in Llangollen in 1854, and has come to be regarded as a source of useful information about the social and geographical history of the country at that time. It has been described as "robust, dramatic and cheerful", and the author as "an agreeably eccentric, larger-than-life, jovial man whose laughter rings all through the book". The author makes much of his self-taught ability to speak the Welsh language and how surprised the native Welsh people he meets and talks to are by both his linguistic abilities and his travels, education and personality, and also by his idiosyncratic pronunciation of their language. Borrow's journey Borrow gives a detailed account of his journey and starts his travels into ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Borrow
George Henry Borrow (5 July 1803 – 26 July 1881) was an English writer of novels and of travel based on personal experiences in Europe. His travels gave him a close affinity with the Romani people of Europe, who figure strongly in his work. His best-known books are '' The Bible in Spain'' and the novels '' Lavengro'' and '' The Romany Rye'', set in his time with the English ''Romanichal'' (Gypsies). Early life Borrow was born at East Dereham, Norfolk, the son of Thomas Borrow (1758–1824), an army recruiting officer, and Ann Perfrement (1772–1858), a farmer's daughter, . His father, a lieutenant with the West Norfolk Militia, was quartered at the prisoner-of-war camp at Norman Cross from July 1811 to April 1813, and George spent his ninth and tenth years in the barracks there. He was educated at the Royal High School of Edinburgh and Norwich Grammar School. Borrow studied law, but languages and literature became his main interests. In 1825, he began his first major Europe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gwynedd
Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and Ceredigion over the River Dyfi. The scenic Llŷn Peninsula and most of Snowdonia National Park are in Gwynedd. Bangor is the home of Bangor University. As a local government area, it is the second largest in Wales in terms of land area and also one of the most sparsely populated. A majority of the population is Welsh-speaking. ''Gwynedd'' also refers to being one of the preserved counties of Wales, covering the two local government areas of Gwynedd and Anglesey. Named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd, both culturally and historically, ''Gwynedd'' can also be used for most of North Wales, such as the area that was policed by the Gwynedd Constabulary. The current area is , with a population of 121,874 as measured in the 2011 Census. Et ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bala Lake
Bala Lake ( cy, Llyn Tegid ) is a large freshwater glacial lake in Gwynedd, Wales. The River Dee, which has its source on the slopes of Dduallt in the mountains of Snowdonia, feeds the long by wide lake. It was the largest natural body of water in Wales before its level was raised by Thomas Telford to provide water for the Ellesmere Canal (later Llangollen Canal). The town of Bala, which was once an important centre for the North Wales woollen trade, is located on the north-eastern end of the lake. The narrow gauge Bala Lake Railway, between the town and Llanuwchllyn (whose name means "church llan'above uwch'the lake llyn'), runs along the lake's south-eastern shore using a section of former trackbed from the former Ruabon–Barmouth line. Toponyms Previous names Gerald of Wales records the lake in his 12th century ''Itinerarium Cambriae'' under the name ''Penmelesmere''. In his 1804 translation of Gerald's work, Sir Richard Colt Hoare states that the lake was a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Llanfor
Llanfor is a village in Gwynedd, Wales near the town of Bala, in the community of Llandderfel. History There is evidence of an Iron Age Hill Fort in the immediate area and Roman Castrum. In the 6th century an unknown Monk from Llanfor was reputedly responsible for converting Llywarch Hen, prince of Rheged, to Christianity. It was also the site of a church built by Saint Tyneio, the 6th century Patron Saint of the town. There is a legend that the Devil used to frequently visit Llanfor Church in the shape of a pig. Notable People from Llanfor * Saint Tyneio a 6th C. pre-congregational Saint of Wales. * William Price (1619–1691), a Welsh politician, MP between 1640 and 1679 and fought as a Royalist colonel in the English Civil War. * Humphrey Foulkes (1673–1737) a Welsh priest and antiquarian. * William Price (1690–1774) a Welsh High Sheriff and antiquarian, from Rhiwlas. * Richard Thelwall Price, British Member of Parliament for Beaumaris, 1754–1768 * John Williams ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> Cunedda")
_NLW3361824.jpg "Click for more on -> Llanfor")