Geraint the Blue Bard ( cy, Geraint Fardd Glas) is a fictional 9th century Welsh bard and harpist, originally purported by

Iolo Morganwg Edward Williams, better known by his bardic name Iolo Morganwg (; 10 March 1747 – 18 December 1826), was a Welsh antiquarian, poet and collector.Jones, Mary (2004)"Edward Williams/Iolo Morganwg/Iolo Morgannwg" From ''Jones' Celtic Encyclopedi ...

to be an historical figure. Geraint has been definitively shown by Welsh scholar G. J. Williams to be the invention of Iolo Morganwg,G. J. Williams, ''Iolo Morganwg'' (University of Wales Press, Cardiff, 1956), pp. 288-9. a talented author and antiquarian now infamous for his numerous literary forgeries. Iolo called him Geraint Fardd Glas or Y Bardd Glas o'r Gadair ("the Blue Bard of the (Bardic) Chair") and associated him with his version of the early history of

Morgannwg Morgannwg was a medieval Welsh kingdom formed via the merger of the kingdoms of the Kingdom of Glywysing and the Kingdom of Gwent. Formation of Morgannwg First under King Morgan the Generous (fl. ) until the end of the reign of his descendant I ...

(Glamorgan). Iolo makes the figure of Geraint, otherwise unattested in Welsh manuscript sources or tradition, the inventor of

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 v ...

and brother of king Morgan of

. He even went so far as to equate him with

Asser Asser (; ; died 909) was a Welsh monk from St David's, Dyfed, who became Bishop of Sherborne in the 890s. About 885 he was asked by Alfred the Great to leave St David's and join the circle of learned men whom Alfred was recruiting for his c ...

in the court of

Alfred the Great Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who bot ...

. He invented numerous 'Sayings' etc. attributed to Geraint and printed in the notorious third volume of the ''

Myvyrian Archaiology of Wales ''The Myvyrian Archaiology of Wales'' is a printed collection of medieval Welsh literature, published in three volumes by the Gwyneddigion Society between 1801 and 1807. Until John Gwenogvryn Evans produced diplomatic editions of the important m ...

''. Iolo based his invention on some vague references in medieval English and Scots poetry to a certain Glascurion (the name "Geraint Fardd Glas" and its variants only occurs in Iolo's works) mentioned in Chaucer’s 'House of Fame': :Ther herde I pleyen on an harpe :That sowned bothe wel and sharpe, :Orpheus ful craftely, :And on his syde, faste by, :Sat the harper Orion, :And Eacides Chiron, :And other harpers many oon, :And the Bret Glascurion; Glascurion figures as Glasgerion in the English and Scots folk ballad: :Glasgerion was a kings owne sonne, :And a harper he was good; :He harped in the kings chamber, :Where cuppe and candle stoode, :And soe did hee in the queens chamber, :Till ladies waxed wood. :And then bespake the kings daughter.

References

External links

* Chaucer's House of Fam

* Child Ballad 67: Glasgerio

Literary forgeries Welsh literature {{Wales-stub