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Awdl
In Welsh poetry, an ''awdl'' () is a long poem in strict metre (i.e. '' cynghanedd''). Originally, an ''awdl'' could be a relatively short poem unified by its use of a single end-rhyme (the word is related to ''odl'', "rhyme"), using cynghanedd; such early ''awdlau'' are associated with the Cynfeirdd such as Aneirin and Taliesin as found in collections such as the ''Book of Taliesin'', the '' Black Book of Carmarthen'', the '' Hendregadredd Manuscript'' or '' The Red Book of Hergest''. By the nineteenth century however it came to its modern definition as a long poem using at least two of the twenty-four recognised "official" strict forms (without the single end-rhyme). Each year at the National Eisteddfod the bardic chair is awarded for the ''awdl'' judged worthiest; this competition is the most famous and prestigious in the Eisteddfod, and perceived to be the most difficult. History ''Awdlau'' in the early period are to be distinguished from ''Englynion'', which are short, ...
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Eisteddfod
In Welsh culture, an ''eisteddfod'' is an institution and festival with several ranked competitions, including in poetry and music. The term ''eisteddfod'', which is formed from the Welsh morphemes: , meaning 'sit', and , meaning 'be', means, according to Hywel Teifi Edwards, "sitting-together." Edwards further defines the earliest form of the eisteddfod as a competitive meeting between bards and minstrels, in which the winner was chosen by a noble or royal patron.Hywel Teifi Edwards (2015), ''The Eisteddfod'', pages 5–6. The first documented instance of such a literary festival and competition took place under the patronage of Prince Rhys ap Gruffudd of the House of Dinefwr at Cardigan Castle in 1176. However, with the loss of Welsh independence at the hands of King Edward I, the closing of the bardic schools, and the Anglicization of the Welsh nobility, it fell into abeyance. The current format owes much to an 18th-century revival, first patronized and overseen by th ...
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Eisteddfod
In Welsh culture, an ''eisteddfod'' is an institution and festival with several ranked competitions, including in poetry and music. The term ''eisteddfod'', which is formed from the Welsh morphemes: , meaning 'sit', and , meaning 'be', means, according to Hywel Teifi Edwards, "sitting-together." Edwards further defines the earliest form of the eisteddfod as a competitive meeting between bards and minstrels, in which the winner was chosen by a noble or royal patron.Hywel Teifi Edwards (2015), ''The Eisteddfod'', pages 5–6. The first documented instance of such a literary festival and competition took place under the patronage of Prince Rhys ap Gruffudd of the House of Dinefwr at Cardigan Castle in 1176. However, with the loss of Welsh independence at the hands of King Edward I, the closing of the bardic schools, and the Anglicization of the Welsh nobility, it fell into abeyance. The current format owes much to an 18th-century revival, first patronized and overseen by th ...
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Llywelyn Ap Gruffudd
Llywelyn ap Gruffudd (c. 1223 – 11 December 1282), sometimes written as Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, also known as Llywelyn the Last ( cy, Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf, lit=Llywelyn, Our Last Leader), was the native Prince of Wales ( la, Princeps Walliae, links=no; cy, Tywysog Cymru, links=no) from 1258 until his death at Cilmeri in 1282. Llywelyn was the son of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn Fawr and grandson of Llywelyn the Great, and he was one of the last native and independent princes of Wales before its conquest by Edward I of England and English rule in Wales that followed, until Owain Glyndŵr held the title during the Welsh Revolt of 1400–1415. Genealogy and early life Llywelyn was the second of the four sons of Gruffydd, the eldest son of Llywelyn the Great, and Senana ferch Caradog, the daughter of Caradoc ap Thomas ap Rhodri, Lord of Anglesey. The eldest was Owain Goch ap Gruffydd and Llywelyn had two younger brothers, Dafydd ap Gruffydd and Rhodri ap Gruffydd. Llywelyn ...
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Hedd Wyn
Hedd Wyn (born Ellis Humphrey Evans, 13 January 188731 July 1917) was a Welsh-language poet who was killed on the first day of the Battle of Passchendaele during World War I. He was posthumously awarded the bard's chair at the 1917 National Eisteddfod. Evans, who had been awarded several chairs for his poetry, was inspired to take the bardic name ''Hedd Wyn'' (, "blessed peace") from the way sunlight penetrated the mist in the Meirionnydd valleys. Born in the village of Trawsfynydd, Wales, Evans wrote much of his poetry while working as a shepherd on his family's hill farm. His style, which was influenced by romantic poetry, was dominated by themes of nature and religion. He also wrote several war poems following the outbreak of war on the Western Front in 1914. . Early life Ellis Humphrey Evans was born on 13 January 1887 at Penlan, a house in the centre of Trawsfynydd, Meirionydd, Wales. He was the eldest of eleven children born to Evan and Mary Evans. In the spring of 18 ...
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Ymadawiad Arthur
''Ymadawiad Arthur'' ("The Passing of Arthur") is a Welsh-language poem, some 350 lines in length, by Thomas Gwynn Jones. It won its author the Chair at the National Eisteddfod in 1902 but was several times heavily revised by him in later years. It portrays King Arthur's last hours with his companion Bedwyr at the battle of Camlann and his final departure for Afallon. ''Ymadawiad Arthur'' is a hugely influential work, widely held to have opened a new era for Welsh-language poetry, marking the beginning of the early 20th century renaissance of Welsh literature. Synopsis The poem opens in the closing stages of King Arthur's final battle with Medrawd, the battle of Camlann. There is a cry of "Medrawd is killed", and Arthur's army pursues his enemies off the battlefield, leaving only Arthur himself and his companion Bedwyr. Bedwyr asks why Arthur is not with his army; Arthur says that he is gravely injured, and asks to be helped off the battlefield. Bedwyr carries him ...
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Dafydd Llwyd Mathau
Dafydd Llwyd Mathau (fl. 1601–1629) was a 17th-century Welsh poet and strolling minstrel. It was thought by the bibliographer John Humphreys Davies (1871–1926) that he may have been from the Llangeitho area of Ceredigion (Cardiganshire). Poetry Mathau's works, written in Welsh, include poems in praise of several prominent Welsh families and a number of love poems. He is also known to have composed an awdl In Welsh poetry, an ''awdl'' () is a long poem in strict metre (i.e. '' cynghanedd''). Originally, an ''awdl'' could be a relatively short poem unified by its use of a single end-rhyme (the word is related to ''odl'', "rhyme"), using cynghanedd ...-style verse in 1611. References Welsh male poets 17th-century Welsh poets 17th-century male writers {{Wales-writer-stub ...
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Cynghanedd
In Welsh-language poetry, ''cynghanedd'' (, literally "harmony") is the basic concept of sound-arrangement within one line, using stress, alliteration and rhyme. The various forms of ''cynghanedd'' show up in the definitions of all formal Welsh verse forms, such as the ''awdl'' and '' cerdd dafod''. Though of ancient origin, ''cynghanedd'' and variations of it are still used today by many Welsh-language poets. A number of poets have experimented with using ''cynghanedd'' in English-language verse, for instance Gerard Manley Hopkins. Some of Dylan Thomas's work is also influenced by ''cynghanedd''. Forms of ''cynghanedd'' Note that ⟨dd⟩, ⟨ll⟩ and ⟨ch⟩ are digraphs in the Welsh alphabet, each representing a single consonant /ð/, /ɬ/ and /χ/ respectively. ''Cynghanedd groes'' ("cross-harmony") All consonants surrounding the main stressed vowel before the caesura must be repeated after it in the same order. However, the final consonants of the final words of ea ...
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Cywydd
The cywydd (; plural ) is one of the most important metrical forms in traditional Welsh poetry ( cerdd dafod). There are a variety of forms of the cywydd, but the word on its own is generally used to refer to the ("long-lined couplet") as it is by far the most common type. The first recorded examples of the cywydd date from the early 14th century, when it is believed to have been developed. This was the favourite metre of the Poets of the Nobility, the poets working from the fourteenth to the seventeenth centuries, and it is still used today. The cywydd consists of a series of seven-syllable lines in rhyming couplets, with all lines written in cynghanedd. One of the lines must finish with a stressed syllable, while the other must finish with an unstressed syllable. The rhyme may vary from couplet to couplet, or may remain the same. There is no rule about how many couplets there must be in a cywydd. The and the related , and the all occur in the list of the twenty four trad ...
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The Red Book Of Hergest
The ''Red Book of Hergest'' ( cy, Llyfr Coch Hergest, Oxford, Jesus College, MS 111) is a large vellum manuscript written shortly after 1382, which ranks as one of the most important medieval manuscripts written in the Welsh language. It preserves a collection of Welsh prose and poetry, notably the tales of the ''Mabinogion'' and Gogynfeirdd poetry. The manuscript derives its name from the colour of its leather binding and from its association with Hergest Court between the late 15th and early 17th century. Compilation The manuscript was written between about 1382 and 1410. One of the several copyists responsible for the manuscript has been identified as Hywel Fychan fab Hywel Goch of Buellt. He is known to have worked for Hopcyn ap Tomas ab Einion ( 1330–1403) of Ynysforgan, Swansea, and it is possible that the manuscript was compiled for Hopcyn. According to scholar Daniel Huws, it is "by far the heaviest of the medieval books in Welsh, the largest in its dimensions...a ...
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National Eisteddfod
The National Eisteddfod of Wales (Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competitors typically number 6,000 or more, and overall attendance generally exceeds 150,000 visitors. The 2018 Eisteddfod was held in Cardiff Bay with a fence-free 'Maes'. In 2020, the event was held virtually under the name AmGen; events were held over a one-week period. History The National Museum of Wales says that "the history of the Eisteddfod may etraced back to a bardic competition held by the Lord Rhys in Cardigan Castle in 1176", and local Eisteddfodau have certainly been held for many years prior to the first national Eisteddfod. There have been multiple Eisteddfodau held on a national scale in Wales, such as the Gwyneddigion Eisteddfod of , the Provincial Eisteddfodau from 1819 to 1834, the Abergavenny Eisteddfodau of 1835 to 1851, ...
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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 ...
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Hendregadredd Manuscript
The Hendregadredd Manuscript ( cy, Llawysgrif Hendregadredd), is a medieval Welsh manuscript containing an anthology of the poetry of the "Poets of the Princes" ( Gogynfeirdd); it was written between 1282 and 1350. The manuscript was long part of the library at Hengwrt, assembled by the antiquary Robert Vaughan (d.1667). A catalogue of the library made in the early 1800s failed to find the manuscript, it having likely been taken in 1778 by the Anglican priest and scholar Richard Thomas (1753–80), who is notorious for removing important medieval manuscripts from libraries and not returning them.Guy, R. "A Lost Medieval Manuscript from North Wales: Hengwrt 33", ''Studia Celtica'' L (2016), 75. Thomas probably also removed Hengwrt 33, the ''Hanesyn Hen'', from the library at the same time; it has not been seen since. The manuscript then disappeared for over a century. It was unexpectedly rediscovered in 1910 in a cupboard in a disused bedroom of the mansion of Hendregadredd nea ...
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