Medieval Welsh literature is the
literature
Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
written in the
Welsh language
Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the 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 ...
during the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
. This includes material starting from the 5th century AD, when Welsh was in the process of becoming distinct from
Common Brittonic, and continuing to the works of the 16th century.
The Welsh language became distinct from other dialects of Old British sometime between AD 400 and 700; the earliest surviving literature in Welsh is
poetry
Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...
dating from this period. The poetic tradition represented in the work of ''Y Cynfeirdd'' ("The Early Poets"), as they are known, then survives for over a thousand years to the work of the ''Poets of the Nobility'' in the 16th century.
The core tradition was praise poetry; and the poet
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 ...
was regarded as the first in the line. The other aspect of the tradition was the professionalism of the poets and their reliance on
patronage from kings, princes and nobles for their living. The fall of the
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, th ...
and the loss of Welsh independence in any form in 1282 proved a crisis in the tradition, but one that was eventually overcome. It led to the innovation of the development of the
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 b ...
meter
The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its pref ...
, a looser definition of praise, and a reliance on the
nobility
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The character ...
for patronage.
The professionalism of the poetic tradition was sustained by a Guild of Poets, or Order of Bards, with its own "rule book" emphasising the making of poetry as a craft. Under its rules poets undertook an
apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...
of nine years to become fully qualified. The rules also set out the payment a poet could expect for his work. These payments varied according to how long a poet had been in training and also the demand for poetry at particular times during the year.
Alongside the court poet, kings, princes and nobles patronised an official storyteller (Welsh: ''cyfarwydd''). Like poets, the storytellers were also professionals; but unlike the poets, little of their work has survived. What has survived are literary creations based on native Welsh tales which would have been told by the storytellers. The bulk of this material is found in the collection known today as the ''
Mabinogion''. Medieval Welsh
prose
Prose is a form of written or spoken language that follows the natural flow of speech, uses a language's ordinary grammatical structures, or follows the conventions of formal academic writing. It differs from most traditional poetry, where the ...
was not confined to the story tradition but also included a large body of both religious and practical works, in addition to a large amount translated from other languages.
Welsh poetry before 1100
In Welsh literature the period before 1100 is known as the period of ''Y Cynfeirdd'' ("The Early Poets") or ''Yr Hengerdd'' ("The Old Poetry"). It roughly dates from the birth of the
Welsh language
Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the 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 ...
until the arrival of the
Normans
The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. ...
in Wales towards the end of the 11th century.
The oldest Welsh literature does not belong to the territory we know as
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
today, but rather to northern
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and southern
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
(collectively
Yr Hen Ogledd
Yr Hen Ogledd (), in English the Old North, is the historical region which is now Northern England and the southern Scottish Lowlands that was inhabited by the Brittonic people of sub-Roman Britain in the Early Middle Ages. Its population spok ...
), and so could be classified as being composed in
Cumbric
Cumbric was a variety of the Common Brittonic language spoken during the Early Middle Ages in the ''Hen Ogledd'' or "Old North" in what is now the counties of Westmorland, Cumberland and northern Lancashire in Northern England and the souther ...
, a
Brythonic dialect closely related to
Old Welsh. Though it is dated to the 6th, 7th, and 8th centuries it has survived only in 13th- and 14th-century manuscript copies. Some of these early poets' names are known from the 9th-century ''
Historia Brittonum
''The History of the Britons'' ( la, Historia Brittonum) is a purported history of the indigenous British ( Brittonic) people that was written around 828 and survives in numerous recensions that date from after the 11th century. The ''Historia B ...
'', traditionally ascribed to the historian
Nennius. The ''Historia'' lists the famous poets from the time of King
Ida, AD 547–559:
:"At that time,
Talhaiarn Tataguen was famed for poetry, and
Neirin, and
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 ...
, and Bluchbard, and Cian, who is called Guenith Guaut, were all famous at the same time in British (that is,
Brythonic or Welsh) poetry."
Of the poets named here it is believed that works that can be identified as Aneirin's and Taliesin's have survived.
Taliesin
The poetry of
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 ...
has been preserved in a 14th-century
manuscript
A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in ...
known as ''
Llyfr Taliesin'' (Book of Taliesin). This manuscript contains a large body of later mystical poetry attributed to the poet, but scholars have recognised twelve poems that belong to the 6th century. They are all poems of praise: one for
Cynan Garwyn Cynan Garwyn was king of Powys in the north-east and east of Wales, who flourished in the second half of the 6th century. Little reliable information exists which can be used to reconstruct the background and career of the historical figure. Availa ...
, king of
Powys
Powys (; ) is a county and preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain.
Geog ...
about 580; two for Gwallawg, king of
Elmet
Elmet ( cy, Elfed), sometimes Elmed or Elmete, was an independent Brittonic kingdom between about the 5th century and early 7th century, in what later became the smaller area of the West Riding of Yorkshire then West Yorkshire, South Yorkshir ...
, a kingdom based around the modern
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...
; and nine other poems associated with
Urien Rheged
Urien (; ), often referred to as Urien Rheged or Uriens, was a late 6th-century king of Rheged, an early British kingdom of the Hen Ogledd (today's northern England and southern Scotland) of the House of Rheged. His power and his victories, ...
, a ruler of the kingdom of
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 b ...
, located around the
Solway Firth
The Solway Firth ( gd, Tràchd Romhra) is a firth that forms part of the border between England and Scotland, between Cumbria (including the Solway Plain) and Dumfries and Galloway. It stretches from St Bees Head, just south of Whitehaven ...
, and his son,
Owain.
Taliesin's verses in praise of Urien and Owain became models for later poets, who turned to him for inspiration as they praised their own patrons in terms that he had used for his.
Aneirin
Aneirin
Aneirin , Aneurin or Neirin was an early Medieval Brythonic war poet. He is believed to have been a bard or court poet in one of the Cumbric kingdoms of the Hen Ogledd, probably that of Gododdin at Edinburgh, in modern Scotland. From the 17th c ...
, a near-contemporary of Taliesin, wrote a series of poems to create one long poem called ''
Y Gododdin
''Y Gododdin'' () is a medieval Welsh poem consisting of a series of elegies to the men of the Brittonic kingdom of Gododdin and its allies who, according to the conventional interpretation, died fighting the Angles of Deira and Bernicia a ...
''. It records the
Battle of Catraeth
The Battle of Catraeth was fought around AD 600 between a force raised by the Gododdin, a Brythonic people of the ''Hen Ogledd'' or "Old North" of Britain, and the Angles of Bernicia and Deira. It was evidently an assault by the Gododdin party on ...
, fought between the
Britons
British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs mod ...
of the kingdom of
Gododdin
The Gododdin () were a Brittonic people of north-eastern Britannia, the area known as the Hen Ogledd or Old North (modern south-east Scotland and north-east England), in the sub-Roman period. Descendants of the Votadini, they are best known ...
(centred on
Eidyn
Eidyn was the region around modern Edinburgh in Britain's sub-Roman and early medieval periods, approximately the 5th–7th centuries. It centred on the stronghold of Din Eidyn, thought to have been at Castle Rock, now the site of Edinburgh Cas ...
, the modern
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
) and the
Saxon kingdoms of
Deira
Deira ( ; Old Welsh/Cumbric: ''Deywr'' or ''Deifr''; ang, Derenrice or ) was an area of Post-Roman Britain, and a later Anglian kingdom.
Etymology
The name of the kingdom is of Brythonic origin, and is derived from the Proto-Celtic *''daru' ...
and
Bernicia
Bernicia ( ang, Bernice, Bryneich, Beornice; la, Bernicia) was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom established by Anglian settlers of the 6th century in what is now southeastern Scotland and North East England.
The Anglian territory of Bernicia was ap ...
in the north east of England. This battle was fought at
Catterick in about the year 598. It has survived in
''Llyfr Aneirin'' (The Book of Aneirin), a manuscript dating from c. 1265.
Llywarch Hen and Heledd
The poetry associated with
Llywarch Hen, ''
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 ...
'' and with Heledd, ''
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 i ...
'', dates from a somewhat later period: the whole of ''Canu Heledd'' is generally thought to be from the 9th century; while the earliest parts of ''Canu Llywarch'' are probably also 9th century, other parts of the cycle may be as late as the 11th or 12th century. These poems, in the form of monologues, express the sorrow and affliction felt at the loss of the eastern portion of the
Kingdom of Powys
The Kingdom of Powys ( cy, Teyrnas Powys; la, Regnum Poysiae) was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain. It very roughly covered the northern t ...
(present day
Shropshire
Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...
) to the English, but they are also works where nature is an important element in the background, reflecting the main action and feelings of the poetry itself.
Other early poetry
Though the
Anglo-Saxon invaders seem to break Welsh hearts in most of the early poetry, there are some poems of encouragement and the hope of an eventual and decisive defeat that would drive them back into the sea. One such poem is the 10th-century ''
Armes Prydein
''Armes Prydein'' (, ''The Prophecy of Britain'') is an early 10th-century Welsh prophetic poem from the '' Book of Taliesin''.
In a rousing style characteristic of Welsh heroic poetry, it describes a future where all of Brythonic peoples are a ...
'' from the Book of Taliesin which sees a coalition of
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
,
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
, and
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...
n forces defeating the English and restoring Britain to the Welsh.
This period also produced religious poetry, such as the
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 ...
ion in praise of the
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God th ...
found in the 9th-century Juvencus Manuscript (Cambridge MS Ff. 4.42), which is now at
Cambridge University Library
Cambridge University Library is the main research library of the University of Cambridge. It is the largest of the over 100 libraries within the university. The Library is a major scholarly resource for the members of the University of Cambri ...
. In the Book of Taliesin we find a 9th-century poem ''Edmyg Dinbych'' (''In Praise of
Tenby
Tenby ( cy, Dinbych-y-pysgod, lit=fortlet of the fish) is both a walled seaside town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, on the western side of Carmarthen Bay, and a local government community.
Notable features include of sandy beaches and the Pembroke ...
'', a town in
Pembrokeshire), probably produced by a court poet in
Dyfed
Dyfed () is a preserved county in southwestern Wales. It is a mostly rural area with a coastline on the Irish Sea and the Bristol Channel.
Between 1974 and 1996, Dyfed was also the name of the area's county council and the name remains in use f ...
to celebrate the
New Year
New Year is the time or day currently at which a new calendar year begins and the calendar's year count increments by one. Many cultures celebrate the event in some manner. In the Gregorian calendar, the most widely used calendar system to ...
(Welsh: ''Calan''). The book also includes important poems which were probably not composed by Taliesin, including the ''Armes Prydein'' (''The Great Prophecy of Britain'') and ''
Preiddeu Annwfn
''Preiddeu Annwfn'' or ''Preiddeu Annwn'' ( en, The Spoils of Annwfn) is a cryptic poem of sixty lines in Middle Welsh, found in the Book of Taliesin. The text recounts an expedition with King Arthur to Annwfn or Annwn, the Welsh name for the ...
'', (''The Spoils of
Annwn
Annwn, Annwfn, or Annwfyn (in Middle Welsh, ''Annwvn'', ''Annwyn'', ''Annwyfn'', ''Annwvyn'', or ''Annwfyn'') is the Otherworld in Welsh mythology. Ruled by Arawn (or, in Arthurian literature, by Gwyn ap Nudd), it was essentially a world of de ...
''), and the Book of Aneirin has preserved an early Welsh
nursery rhyme, ''
Peis Dinogat'' (''Dinogad's Smock''). Much of the nature poetry,
gnomic poetry
: ''For the map projection see Gnomonic projection; for the game, see Nomic; for the mythological being, see Gnome.''
Gnomic poetry consists of meaningful sayings put into verse to aid the memory. They were known by the Greeks as gnomes (c.f. the ...
, prophetic poetry, and religious poetry in the
Black Book of Carmarthen and 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 preser ...
is also believed to date from this period.
Welsh poetry 1100–1600
From c. 1100 to 1600 Welsh poetry can be divided roughly into two distinct periods: the period of the ''Poets of the Princes'' who worked before the loss of Welsh independence in 1282, and the ''Poets of the Nobility'' who worked from 1282 until the period of the English incorporation of Wales in the 16th century.
Poets of the Princes (c. 1100 – c. 1300)
In Welsh this period is known as ''Beirdd y Tywysogion'' (Poets of the Princes) or ''Y Gogynfeirdd'' (The Less Early Poets). The main source for the poetry of the 12th and 13th centuries is the
Hendregadredd manuscript, an anthology of court poetry brought together at the
Cistercian Strata Florida Abbey
Strata Florida Abbey ( cy, Abaty Ystrad Fflur) () is a former Cistercian abbey situated just outside Pontrhydfendigaid, near Tregaron in the county of Ceredigion, Wales. The abbey was founded in 1164. is a Latinisation of the Welsh ; 'Valley o ...
from about 1282 until 1350.
The poets of this period were professionals who worked in the various princely courts in Wales. They were members of a Guild of poets whose rights and responsibilities were enshrined in native Welsh law; and as such, they worked within a developed literary culture and with inflexible traditions. Bardic families were still common—the poet
Meilyr Brydydd
Meilyr Brydydd ap Mabon ( fl. 1100–1137) is the earliest of the Welsh Poets of the Princes or ''Y Gogynfeirdd'' (The Less Early Poets) whose work has survived.
Meilyr was the court poet of Gruffudd ap Cynan (ca. 1055–1137), king of Gwynedd. ...
had a poet son and at least two poet grandsons—but it was becoming more and more usual for the craft of poetry to be taught formally, in bardic schools which might only be run by the ''pencerdd'' (chief musician). The ''pencerdd'' was the top of his profession, and a special chair was set aside for him in the court, in an honoured position next to the heir. When he performed he was expected to sing twice: once in honour of God, and once in honour of the king. The ''bardd teulu'' (household poet) was one of the 24 officers of the court and he was responsible for singing for the military retinue before going into battle, and for the queen in the privacy of her chamber. The lowest ranking poets were the ''cerddorion'' (musicians).
The poetry praises the military prowess of the prince in a language that is deliberately antiquarian and obscure, echoing the earlier praise poetry tradition of Taliesin. There is also some religious poems and poetry in praise of women.
With the death of the last native prince of Wales in 1282, the tradition gradually disappears. In fact, Gruffudd ab yr Ynad Coch's (
fl. 1277–83) elegy on the death of
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 Wall ...
, is one of the most notable poems of the era. Other prominent poets of this period include:
*
Meilyr Brydydd
Meilyr Brydydd ap Mabon ( fl. 1100–1137) is the earliest of the Welsh Poets of the Princes or ''Y Gogynfeirdd'' (The Less Early Poets) whose work has survived.
Meilyr was the court poet of Gruffudd ap Cynan (ca. 1055–1137), king of Gwynedd. ...
, fl. c. 1100–1137; the earliest of the Gogynfeirdd
*
Bleddyn Fardd, fl. c. 1258–1284;
*
Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr
Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr ("Cynddelw the Great Poet"; wlm, Kyndelw Brydyt or ; 1155–1200), was the court poet of Madog ap Maredudd, Owain Gwynedd (Owen the Great), and Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd, and one of the most prominent Welsh poets of the 12 ...
; fl. c. 1155–1200;
*
Dafydd Benfras, fl. c. 1220–58; and
*
Llywarch ap Llywelyn
Llywarch ap Llywelyn ( fl. 1173–1220) was an important medieval Welsh poet. He is also known by his bardic name, "Prydydd y Moch" ("poet of the pigs").
Llywarch was a poet at the court of the kingdom of Gwynedd in the reigns of Dafydd ab Owa ...
(also known as ''Prydydd y Moch'' (English: "Pigs' Poet")), fl. 1174/5-1220.
A rather different poet of this period was
Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd
Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd (circa 11201170), Prince of Gwynedd in 1170, was a Welsh poet and military leader. Hywel was the son of Owain Gwynedd, prince of Gwynedd, and an Irishwoman named Pyfog. In recognition of this, he was also known as ''Hyw ...
(d. 1170) who as the son of Prince
Owain Gwynedd
Owain ap Gruffudd ( 23 or 28 November 1170) was King of Gwynedd, North Wales, from 1137 until his death in 1170, succeeding his father Gruffudd ap Cynan. He was called Owain the Great ( cy, Owain Fawr) and the first to be ...
, was not a professional poet.
Poets of the Nobility, or Cywyddwyr (c. 1300 – c. 1600)
The poetic tradition thrived in Wales as long as there were patrons available to welcome its practitioners. Until 1282, Wales consisted of a number of 'kingdoms', each with its own independent ruler; this ensured that there was no shortage of courts available to the travelling professional poet or "
bard". After 1282 the poetic tradition survived by turning to the land-owning nobility to act as patrons, and these included some
Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norm ...
lords who had successfully integrated themselves with the Welsh.
Much of the poetry of this period is praise poetry, in praise of the patron and his family, his ancestors, his house and his generosity; and the ''
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 b ...
'' is the most popular poetic metre used. Because of the popularity of the ''cywydd'', this period is also known as the period of the ''Cywyddwyr'' (poets who wrote using the ''cywydd'' metre). The poetry was very often sung to the accompaniment of the harp. Though praise was the main matter of poetry,
satire
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...
(Welsh: ''dychan'') also thrived. The poets organised themselves into a Guild to protect their professional status, and from time to time their rules were revised and updated. Perhaps the most important such revisions were those concerning patronage and poetic rank made at the
Caerwys
Caerwys is a town in Flintshire, Wales. It is just under two miles from the A55 road, A55 North Wales Expressway and one mile from the A541 road, A541 Mold, Flintshire, Mold-Denbigh road. At the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census, the popula ...
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, ac ...
of 1523. The work of numerous poets of this period survives; some are anonymous, but very many are identified. Here are a few of the most prominent and influential of these:
Dafydd ap Gwilym (c. 1315/20 – c. 1350/1370)
Wales's greatest poet worked during the period of the Poets of the Nobility. He is known for such poems as "
The Girls of Llanbadarn
"The Girls of Llanbadarn", or "The Ladies of Llanbadarn" (Welsh: ''Merched Llanbadarn''), is a short, wryly humorous poem by the 14th-century Welsh poet Dafydd ap Gwilym, in which he mocks his own lack of success with the girls of his neighbourhoo ...
", "
Trouble at a Tavern", "
The Wind" and "
The Seagull
''The Seagull'' ( rus, Ча́йка, r=Cháyka, links=no) is a play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 and first produced in 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramatises th ...
". For more information about his life and work, see
Dafydd ap Gwilym
Dafydd ap Gwilym ( 1315/1320 – 1350/1370) is regarded as one of the leading Welsh poets and amongst the great poets of Europe in the Middle Ages.
Life
R. Geraint Gruffydd suggests 1315- 1350 as the poet's dates; others place him a little ...
.
Iolo Goch (c. 1325 – c. 1398)
From the Vale of
Clwyd,
Iolo Goch
Iolo Goch (c. 1320 – c. 1398) (meaning ''Iolo the Red'' in English) was a medieval Welsh bard who composed poems addressed to Owain Glyndŵr, among others.
Lineage
Iolo was the son of Ithel Goch ap Cynwrig ap Iorwerth Ddu ap Cynwrig Ddew ...
(English: "Red Iolo") bridged between the periods of the Poets of the Princes and Poets of the Nobility. Early in his career he composed in the former tradition, but he was among the first to sing the praises of the nobles and others using the ''
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 b ...
''. One of his main patrons was Ithel ap Robert, archdeacon of St Asaph. Perhaps his most famous work is
a ''cywydd'' in praise of Owain Glyndŵr's home at Sycharth.
Siôn Cent (c. 1400 – 1430/45)
Traditionally associated with
Breconshire
, image_flag=
, HQ= Brecon
, Government= Brecknockshire County Council (1889-1974)
, Origin= Brycheiniog
, Status=
, Start= 1535
, End= ...
,
Siôn Cent
Siôn Cent (c. 1400 – 1430/45), (or 1367? – 1430?) was a Welsh language poet, and is an important figure in Medieval Welsh literature.
Similarity to other persons
He has also been called Sion Gwent by Gruffydd Robert and Sion Y Kent and Sion ...
is most famous for using his poetry in the service of his Christian beliefs, and standing outside the tradition of praise of patron. He uses the ''cywydd'' for his work, to attack the sins of this world. Perhaps his most famous poem is ''I wagedd ac oferedd y byd'' (English: "
n praise of
N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''.
History
...
the vanity and dissipation of the world"). He turns his back on the praise of nobles, which he sees as flattery and falsehood, and sets his eyes on the blessedness of heaven.
Guto'r Glyn (c. 1435 – c. 1493)
Guto'r Glyn
Guto'r Glyn (c. 1412 – c. 1493) was a Welsh language poet and soldier of the era of the ''Beirdd yr Uchelwyr'' ("Poets of the Nobility") or ''Cywyddwyr'' ("cywydd-men"), the itinerant professional poets of the later Middle Ages. He is consid ...
is associated with
Glyn Ceiriog
Glyn Ceiriog is the principal settlement of the Ceiriog Valley and a community in Wrexham County Borough, north-east Wales. Glyn Ceiriog translates simply as Ceiriog Valley, though there are other villages in the valley. The village and commun ...
,
Denbighshire
Denbighshire ( ; cy, Sir Ddinbych; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. Its borders differ from the historic county of the same name. This part of Wales contains the country's oldest known evidence of habitation – Pontnewydd (Bontnewy ...
, where many of his patrons lived. He also wrote poems for other patrons in the four corners of Wales whose houses he visited on his journeys. He was a master of the praise tradition in poetry. Guto was also a soldier who fought on the
Yorkist
The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, t ...
side during the War of the Roses, but spent his last years as a lay guest at the Cistercian abbey of
Valle Crucis, near
Llangollen
Llangollen () is a town and community, situated on the River Dee, in Denbighshire, Wales. Its riverside location forms the edge of the Berwyn range, and the Dee Valley section of the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Bea ...
(a short distance from Glyn Ceiriog).
Dafydd Nanmor (fl. 1450 – 1490)
Dafydd Nanmor, born at Nanmor (or Nantmor),
Gwynedd, is one of the most significant poets of this period. It is said that he was exiled to south Wales for overstepping the mark in his poetry and spent the rest of his life outside
Gwynedd. The 20th-century critic
Saunders Lewis
Saunders Lewis (born John Saunders Lewis) (15 October 1893 – 1 September 1985) was a Welsh politician, poet, dramatist, Medievalist, and literary critic. He was a prominent Welsh nationalist, supporter of Welsh independence and was a co-founde ...
saw particular significance in his work. Lewis saw him as a poet of philosophy who praised the ideal ruler as he praised his patrons who saw that within the Welsh tradition all who had privilege and power also had responsibilities towards family, community and nation.
Tudur Aled (c. 1465 – c. 1525)
Tudur Aled
Tudur Aled (c. 1465 – 1525) was a late medieval Welsh poet, born in Llansannan, Denbighshire (Sir Ddinbych). He is regarded as a master of cynghanedd.
Beginnings
It is uncertain when Tudur Aled started to write poetry. A remark by him in his el ...
was himself a nobleman and one of the greatest of the Poets of the Nobility. Born in Llansannan,
Denbighshire
Denbighshire ( ; cy, Sir Ddinbych; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. Its borders differ from the historic county of the same name. This part of Wales contains the country's oldest known evidence of habitation – Pontnewydd (Bontnewy ...
, his most important patrons were the Salisbury family of Dyffryn
Clwyd. He was one of the instigators of the Caerwys eisteddfod of 1523. In his final illness he took the habit of the
Order of St. Francis
, image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans
, abbreviation = OFM
, predecessor =
, ...
and died in
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, ...
, where he was buried in the Brothers' Court. At his death the elegies his fellow poets wrote in his memory attested to his greatness as a poet. He was renowned as a praise poet of both secular and religious noblemen, and also reflects the changes at the beginning of the 16th century which were threatening the future of the bardic system.
Gruffudd Hiraethog (d. 1564)
A native of
Llangollen
Llangollen () is a town and community, situated on the River Dee, in Denbighshire, Wales. Its riverside location forms the edge of the Berwyn range, and the Dee Valley section of the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Bea ...
,
Gruffudd Hiraethog
Gruffudd Hiraethog (died 1564) was a 16th century Welsh language poet, born in Llangollen, north-east Wales.
Gruffudd was one of the foremost poets of the sixteenth century to use the cywydd metre. He was a prolific author and gifted scholar. Tho ...
was one of the foremost poets of the 16th century to use the ''
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 b ...
''. Though he was a member of the medieval guild of poets and a notable upholder of that tradition, he was also closely associated with
William Salesbury
William Salesbury also Salusbury (c. 1520 – c. 1584) was the leading Welsh scholar of the Renaissance and the principal translator of the 1567 Welsh New Testament.
Early life
Salesbury was born some time before 1520 (possibly as early as 1 ...
, Wales' leading Renaissance scholar. In fact one of the first
Welsh literature to be published in print was Gruffudd's collection of proverbs in 1547, ''Oll synnwyr pen Kembero ygyd'' (Modern Welsh spelling: ''Holl synnwyr pen Cymro i gyd''; English:"All the wisdom of a Welshman's head (collected) together").
Other voices in poetry 1300–1600
Not all of the poetry which survives from this period belongs to the tradition of the praise poetry of the nobility. Some groups of poets and genres of poetry stood completely outside that tradition. Women seem to be totally excluded from the Welsh poetic guild, or Order of bards. But we do know that some women did master the Welsh poetic craft and wrote poetry at this time, but only the work of one woman has survived in significant numbers, that of
Gwerful Mechain
Gwerful Mechain ( fl. 1460–1502), is the only female medieval Welsh poet from whom a substantial body of work is known to have survived. She is known for her erotic poetry, in which she praised the vulva among other things.
Life
Gwerful Mecha ...
.
The prophetic poetry (Welsh: ''canu brud'') was a means of reacting to and commenting upon political situations and happenings. This poetry is intentionally ambiguous and difficult to understand. But at its heart it prophesies victory for the Welsh over their enemies, the English. This poetry looked towards a man of destiny who would free them from their oppressors. With the victory of the 'Welshman' Henry VII in 1485 at the battle of Bosworth the poets believed that the prophecies had been fulfilled and the tradition comes to an end. Satire poetry (Welsh: ''canu dychan'') was part of the 'official' poets' repertoire and sparingly used within the praise tradition to chastise a miserly patron. But it was in private poetic bouts with fellow poets that the satire tradition flourished.
Welsh prose
It is believed that the earliest written Welsh is a marginal note of some sixty-four words in ''Llyfr Teilo'' (''The Book of
St. Teilo''), a gospel book originating in
Llandeilo
Llandeilo () is a town and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales, situated at the crossing of the River Towy by the A483 on a 19th-century stone bridge. Its population was 1,795 at the 2011 Census. It is adjacent to the westernmost point of the ...
but now in the library of St. Chad's Cathedral,
Lichfield
Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west o ...
, and also known as the ''
Lichfield Gospels
The Lichfield Gospels (recently more often referred to as the St Chad Gospels, but also known as the Book of Chad, the Gospels of St Chad, the St Teilo Gospels, the Llandeilo Gospels, and variations on these) is an 8th-century Insular Gospel ...
'', or, ''The Book of
St. Chad''. The marginal note, known from its opening (Latin) word as ''The Surexit memorandum'', dates from the ninth century, or even earlier, and is a record of a legal case over land.
The native Welsh storyteller, known as the ''cyfarwydd'' ("the one who knows") was an official of the court. He was expected to know the traditional knowledge and the tales. But the storytelling tradition was basically oral, and only a few remnants suggest the wealth of that tradition. Amongst the most important are ''Trioedd Ynys Prydain'', or the
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 ...
, a compendium of mnemonics for poets and storytellers. The stories that have survived are literary compositions based on oral tradition.
In the Middle Ages Welsh was used for all sorts of purposes and this is reflected in the type of prose materials that has survived from this period: original material and translations, tales and facts, religious and legal, history and medicine.
Native Welsh tales, or, ''Mabinogion''
The name ''
Mabinogion'' is a convenient label for a collection of tales preserved in two manuscripts known as the
White Book of Rhydderch
The White Book of Rhydderch (Welsh: ''Llyfr Gwyn Rhydderch'', National Library of Wales, Peniarth MS 4-5) is one of the most notable and celebrated surviving manuscripts in Welsh. Mostly written in southwest Wales in the middle of the 14th century ...
and 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 preser ...
. They are written in Middle Welsh, the common literary language between the end of the eleventh century and the fourteenth century. They include the four tales that form ''Pedair Cainc y Mabinogi'' ("The
Four Branches of the Mabinogi
The ''Four Branches of the Mabinogi'' or ''Pedair Cainc Y Mabinogi'' are the earliest prose stories in the literature of Britain. Originally written in Wales in Middle Welsh, but widely available in translations, the ''Mabinogi'' is generally agre ...
"):
*
Pwyll prince of Dyfed;
*
Branwen daughter of Llŷr;
*
Manawydan son of Llŷr;
*
Math son of Mathonwy.
Two are native tales embodying traditions about
King Arthur:
*''
Culhwch and Olwen
''Culhwch and Olwen'' ( cy, Culhwch ac Olwen) is a Welsh tale that survives in only two manuscripts about a hero connected with Arthur and his warriors: a complete version in the Red Book of Hergest, c. 1400, and a fragmented version in the Whi ...
'' the earliest Arthurian tale in any language;
*''
The Dream of Rhonabwy
''The Dream of Rhonabwy'' ( cy, Breuddwyd Rhonabwy) is a Middle Welsh prose tale. Set during the reign of Madog ap Maredudd, prince of Powys (died 1160), its composition is typically dated to somewhere between the late 12th through the late 14th c ...
''.
Two more are native tales embodying traditions about the early history of Britain:
*''
Lludd and Llefelys
''Lludd and Llefelys'' ( cy, Cyfranc Lludd a Llefelys) is a Middle Welsh prose tale written down in the 12th or 13th century; it was included in the '' Mabinogion'' by Lady Charlotte Guest in the 19th century. It tells of the Welsh hero Lludd Ll ...
'';
*''
The Dream of Maxen''.
The final three are the Arthurian
Welsh Romances
The Three Welsh Romances ( Welsh: ') are three Middle Welsh tales associated with the '' Mabinogion''. They are versions of Arthurian tales that also appear in the work of Chrétien de Troyes. Critics have debated whether the Welsh Romances are b ...
, showing the influence of French poet
Chrétien de Troyes:
*''
Owain, or the Lady of the Fountain'', from ''
Yvain, the Knight of the Lion
, original_title_lang = fro
, translator =
, written = between 1178 and 1181
, country =
, language = Old French
, subject = Arthurian legend
, genre = Chivalric romance
, fo ...
'';
*''
Geraint and Enid
Geraint () is a character from Welsh folklore and Arthurian legend, a valiant warrior possibly related to the historical Geraint, an early 8th-century king of Dumnonia. It is also the name of a 6th-century Dumnonian saint king from Briton h ...
'', from ''
Erec and Enide
, original_title_lang = fro
, translator =
, written = c. 1170
, country =
, language = Old French
, subject = Arthurian legend
, genre = Chivalric romance
, form ...
'';
*''
Peredur son of Efrog
''Peredur son of Efrawg'' is one of the Three Welsh Romances associated with the ''Mabinogion''. It tells a story roughly analogous to Chrétien de Troyes' unfinished romance ''Perceval, the Story of the Grail'', but it contains many striking di ...
'', from ''
Perceval, the Story of the Grail
''Perceval, the Story of the Grail'' (french: Perceval ou le Conte du Graal) is the unfinished fifth verse romance by Chrétien de Troyes, written by him in Old French in the late 12th century. Later authors added 54,000 more lines in what are kn ...
''.
Native Welsh law
Tradition holds that
Hywel Dda
Hywel Dda, sometimes anglicised as Howel the Good, or Hywel ap Cadell (died 949/950) was a king of Deheubarth who eventually came to rule most of Wales. He became the sole king of Seisyllwg in 920 and shortly thereafter established Deheubart ...
summoned a conference at
Whitland
Whitland (Welsh: , lit. "Old White House", or ''Hendy-gwyn ar Daf'', "Old White House on the River Tâf", from the medieval ''Ty Gwyn ar Daf'') is both a town and a community in Carmarthenshire, Wales.
Description
The Whitland community is ...
,
Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...
, in about 945. At this conference
Welsh law
Welsh law ( cy, Cyfraith Cymru) is an autonomous part of the English law system composed of legislation made by the Senedd.Law Society of England and Wales (2019)England and Wales: A World Jurisdiction of Choice eport(Link accessed: 16 March 20 ...
was codified and set down in writing for posterity. Since the earliest manuscripts containing these legal texts date from about two hundred and fifty years after the event they are probably not a record of what was codified there, if such a conference was even convened. In fact, until the annexation of Wales in 1536, native Welsh law grew and developed organically and for that reason many more copies of it have survived than of the native tales.
The use of Welsh for legal texts shows that it had the words and the technical terms with definite and exact meanings needed in such circumstances. It also shows that reading and writing Welsh was not confined to priests and monks, but that there were also lawyers "whose skill is directed not to administrating the law (there were judges for that), but to writing it, to giving it permanence in words, to ordering words and sentences in such a way that what was stated should be quite clear" (Thomas Parry (1955), p. 68).
Religious texts
The vast majority of Welsh religious texts from the Middle Ages are translations and mostly the works of unknown monks and priests. The works themselves reflect the tastes and fashions of Christendom at the time: apocryphal narratives, dreams or visions, theological treatises and exegesis, and mystical works.
Lives of the saints
About thirty
lives of the saints
A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies might ...
, both native ones like Beuno, Curig, and
Gwenfrewi and the more general such as the
Mary, the mother of Jesus
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...
,
Mary Magdalene,
Martin of Tours, and
Catherine of Alexandria
Catherine of Alexandria (also spelled Katherine); grc-gre, ἡ Ἁγία Αἰκατερίνη ἡ Μεγαλομάρτυς ; ar, سانت كاترين; la, Catharina Alexandrina). is, according to tradition, a Christian saint and virgin, ...
survive, all translations into Welsh from
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
. Even the lives of the native saints were composed in Latin originally, and that a long time after the saint's actual life and so of little or no interest to those looking for actual historical information. Perhaps the two most important is ''Buchedd Dewi'' ("The life of
Dewi, or, David") written by Rhygyfarch in about 1094, and ''Buchedd Cadog'' ("Life of
Cadog
Saint Cadoc or Cadog ( lat-med, Cadocus; also Modern Welsh: Cattwg; born or before) was a 5th–6th-century Abbot of Llancarfan, near Cowbridge in Glamorgan, Wales, a monastery famous from the era of the British church as a centre of learnin ...
") written by Lifris of Llancarfan in c. 1100.
History texts
The Welsh medieval history texts belong to the class of literary creations, but the split into two distinct groups. While the first group, ''
Brut y Tywysogion
''Brut y Tywysogion'' ( en, Chronicle of the Princes) is one of the most important primary sources for Welsh history. It is an annalistic chronicle that serves as a continuation of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s ''Historia Regum Britanniae''. ''Brut ...
'', tends to stick to historical facts, the second, ''
Brut y Brenhinedd
''Brut y Brenhinedd'' ("Chronicle of the Kings") is a collection of variant Middle Welsh versions of Geoffrey of Monmouth's Latin ''Historia Regum Britanniae''. About 60 versions survive, with the earliest dating to the mid-13th century. Adaptat ...
'', is the fantastic creation of
Geoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth ( la, Galfridus Monemutensis, Galfridus Arturus, cy, Gruffudd ap Arthur, Sieffre o Fynwy; 1095 – 1155) was a British cleric from Monmouth, Wales and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography ...
.
''Brut y Tywysogion''
''
Brut y Tywysogion
''Brut y Tywysogion'' ( en, Chronicle of the Princes) is one of the most important primary sources for Welsh history. It is an annalistic chronicle that serves as a continuation of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s ''Historia Regum Britanniae''. ''Brut ...
'' (''Chronicle of the Princes'') consists of variant Welsh translations of Latin original ''annales'' telling the history of Wales from the seventh century to the death of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd in 1282. It is believed that the original and its translation were produced at the Cistercian
Strata Florida Abbey
Strata Florida Abbey ( cy, Abaty Ystrad Fflur) () is a former Cistercian abbey situated just outside Pontrhydfendigaid, near Tregaron in the county of Ceredigion, Wales. The abbey was founded in 1164. is a Latinisation of the Welsh ; 'Valley o ...
.
''Brut y Brenhinedd''
''
Brut y Brenhinedd
''Brut y Brenhinedd'' ("Chronicle of the Kings") is a collection of variant Middle Welsh versions of Geoffrey of Monmouth's Latin ''Historia Regum Britanniae''. About 60 versions survive, with the earliest dating to the mid-13th century. Adaptat ...
'' (''Chronicle of the Kings'') is the name given to a number of texts that ultimately trace their origins back to translations of
Geoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth ( la, Galfridus Monemutensis, Galfridus Arturus, cy, Gruffudd ap Arthur, Sieffre o Fynwy; 1095 – 1155) was a British cleric from Monmouth, Wales and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography ...
's
Historia Regum Britanniae
''Historia regum Britanniae'' (''The History of the Kings of Britain''), originally called ''De gestis Britonum'' (''On the Deeds of the Britons''), is a pseudohistorical account of British history, written around 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. I ...
(1136). As such they were key works in shaping how the Welsh thought of themselves and others, tracing their origins back to
Brutus of Troy
Brutus, also called Brute of Troy, is a legendary descendant of the Trojan hero Aeneas, known in medieval British history as the eponymous founder and first king of Britain. This legend first appears in the ''Historia Brittonum'', an anonymous ...
, the mythical founder of Britain. In fact the Welsh word ''brut'' is derived from Brutus's name and originally meant "a history of Brutus" and then "a chronicle history".
References
Sources
Welsh poetry before 1100
*General
**
**
*Taliesin
**
**
** ''Gives access to colour images of the entire manuscript''.
*Aneirin
** ''A translation into English including notes, glossary and bibliography.''
**
** ''Gives access to colour images of the entire manuscript''.
*Llywarch Hen and Heledd
**
**
*Other early poetry
**
**
Welsh poetry 1100–1600
*General
**
**
*Poets of the Nobility, or, Cywyddwyr
**
** ''Translated into English with an introduction.''
**
Welsh prose
*
*
*
*
*
Welsh religious texts
*
General
*
Further reading
* Hemming, Jessica. "Pale Horses and Green Dawns. Elusive Colour Terms in Early Welsh Heroic Poetry". In: ''North American Journal of Celtic Studies'' 1, no. 2 (2017): 189–223. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.26818/nortamerceltstud.1.2.0189.
See also
*
List of Welsh language poets (6th century to c.1600)
Much of Welsh language poetry has, until quite recently, been composed in various forms of strict metre (''canu caeth''), latterly with the encouragement of the eisteddfod movement. The following list is as inclusive as possible for the years pr ...
.
Welsh Prose 1350–1425 – Online searchable corpus of Medieval Welsh prose
{{DEFAULTSORT:Medieval Welsh Literature
Welsh-language literature
Welsh literature
History of the Welsh language
Welsh poetry
Medieval Wales