The Gwyneddigion Society ( cy, Cymdeithas y Gwyneddigion) was a
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
-based
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
literary and cultural society. The original society was founded in 1770 and wound up in 1843. It was briefly revived in 1978. Its proceedings were conducted through the medium of
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
.
History
The Gwyneddigion Society was founded in December 1770 by a group of expatriate Welshmen resident in London, its first formal meeting taking place on 4 February 1771. Foremost of the founders was
Owen Jones
Owen Jones (born 8 August 1984) is a British newspaper columnist, political commentator, journalist, author, and left-wing activist. He writes a column for ''The Guardian'' and contributes to the ''New Statesman'' and '' Tribune.'' He has two ...
(known as Owain Myfyr), who became the society's first president. Originally from
Llanfihangel Glyn Myfyr
Llanfihangel Glyn Myfyr is a village and community in Conwy County Borough, in Wales. It is located within the historic county of Denbighshire (on the border with Merionethshire) on the Afon Alwen, at the south western edge of the Clocaenog Fore ...
, Jones had moved to London as a young man and had earned his fortune as a furrier. Other notable early members included
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 ...
(Edward Williams),
William Owen Pughe
William Owen Pughe (7 August 1759 – 4 June 1835) was a Welsh antiquarian and grammarian best known for his ''Welsh and English Dictionary'', published in 1803, but also known for his grammar books and "Pughisms" (neologisms)."The Inventio ...
,
Jac Glan-y-gors (John Jones),
Siôn Ceiriog (John Edwards),
Edward Jones ("Bardd y Brenin"), and
Twm o'r Nant
Twm o'r Nant was the pseudonym of a Welsh language dramatist and poet, Thomas Edwards (January 1739 – 3 April 1810), also known as ''Tom of the Dingle''. He was famous for ''anterliwtau'' (interludes or short plays), which he performed mainly ...
(Thomas Edwards). Although the society's name (meaning "Gwynedd scholars") suggests a particular link with the region of
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 C ...
, its affiliations were from the start with the whole of
North Wales
, area_land_km2 = 6,172
, postal_code_type = Postcode
, postal_code = LL, CH, SY
, image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg
, map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...
, and later with all parts of Wales.
[Davies 2008, p. 346.]
It seems likely that the society was formed in part in reaction to the perceived social and intellectual elitism of the existing London Welsh societies, notably the
Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion
The Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion ( cy, Anrhydeddus Gymdeithas y Cymmrodorion), often called simply the Cymmrodorion, is a London-based Welsh learned society, with membership open to all. It was first established in 1751 as a social, cultural ...
(although there was in practice considerable overlap between the membership and the officials of the various societies). The emphasis in the early years was on sociability, music (including
harp
The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...
-playing and
penillion-singing), and pleasure. The society's principal meeting-place was the Bull's Head Tavern in
Walbrook
Walbrook is a City ward and a minor street in its vicinity. The ward is named after a river of the same name.
The ward of Walbrook contains two of the City's most notable landmarks: the Bank of England and the Mansion House. The street runs ...
, and one member,
David Samwell
David Samwell (15 October 1751 – 23 November 1798) was a Welsh naval surgeon and poet. He was an important supporter of Welsh cultural organisations and was known by the pseudonym Dafydd Ddu Feddyg.
Personal history
Samwell was born in Nan ...
, wrote:
Under rules adopted in 1777, every member had to be Welsh-speaking, and had to avow a fondness for singing, or at least for hearing poetry sung to the harp. However, the society rapidly adopted a more broadly cultural, and specifically a literary, role. When the Cymmrodorion Society was dissolved in 1787, its presidential chair was passed to the Gwyneddigion Society. One member described the Bull's Head between 1790 and 1815 as the "centre of Welsh literary life" ("''canolfan bywyd llenyddol ein gwlad''").
The society promoted annual
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, a ...
au in Wales, the precursors of the
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 ...
(the first being held at
Bala in 1789); but these experienced difficulties, and the experiment was abandoned after 1793. It had its own library, and maintained contact with scholars across Wales, such as
William Jones, to aid them in their knowledge gathering. It also offered an annual prize for literature, in the form of a silver medal. Most significantly, the society (with the financial backing of Owen Jones) published important Welsh literary texts, including ''Barddoniaeth Dafydd ab Gwilym'' (1789) and ''
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 ...
'' (1801–07).
A noteworthy event in the society's early history was its funding in the 1790s of
John Evans' exploration of North America in search of the legendary "Welsh Indians", the supposed descendants of
Madog ab Owain Gwynedd.
From the beginning of the 19th century the society began a slow decline, and by the mid-1830s it had been effectively subsumed into the
Cymreigyddion Society
The Cymreigyddion Society ( cy, Cymdeithas y Cymreigyddion) was a London-based Welsh social, cultural and debating society, which existed from 1794 or 1795 until about 1855.
History
The Cymreigyddion Society was stated in later accounts to have b ...
(founded in 1795). It was formally dissolved in 1843.
[Jenkins and Ramage 1951, pp. 127–8.]
Revival
A new Gwyneddigion Society was formed in London in 1978, but it is not known to have survived.
Notes
Bibliography
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External links
Words can be dangerous: the Gwyneddigion eisteddfodauCasgliad y Werin Cymru/Peoples Collection Wales
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gwyneddigion Society
Clubs and societies in London
Social sciences organizations
1770 establishments in England
1843 disestablishments
Welsh literature
Welsh language
Welsh culture
Welsh diaspora in Europe
Defunct learned societies of the United Kingdom
Text publication societies
Organizations established in 1770
Celtic language advocacy organizations