![Map Gaels Brythons Picts GB](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Map_Gaels_Brythons_Picts_GB.png)
Prydain (, ;
Middle Welsh
Middle Welsh ( cy, Cymraeg Canol, wlm, Kymraec) is the label attached to the Welsh language of the 12th to 15th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This form of Welsh developed directly from Old Welsh ( cy, Hen G ...
: ''Prydein'') is the modern
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 ...
name for
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...
.
Medieval
![Geiriadur y Bardd - Cyfrinach y Beirdd 000](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Geiriadur_y_Bardd_-_Cyfrinach_y_Beirdd_000.JPG)
''Prydain'' is the medieval Welsh term for the island of Britain (the name
Albion was not used by the Welsh). More specifically, Prydain may refer to the
Brittonic
Brittonic or Brythonic may refer to:
*Common Brittonic, or Brythonic, the Celtic language anciently spoken in Great Britain
*Brittonic languages, a branch of the Celtic languages descended from Common Brittonic
*Britons (Celtic people)
The Br ...
parts of the island; that is, the parts south of
Caledonia. This distinction appears to derive from
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
times, when the island was divided into
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the period in classical antiquity when large parts of the island of Great Britain were under occupation by the Roman Empire. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. During that time, the territory conquered wa ...
to the south and the land of the
Caledonians to the North. The peoples north of the Roman borders eventually came to be known as the
Picts
The Picts were a group of peoples who lived in what is now northern and eastern Scotland (north of the Firth of Forth) during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and what their culture was like can be inferred from e ...
(Welsh: ''Brithwyr''); the Welsh term for Pictland was ''Prydyn'', which caused some confusion in the texts with ''Prydain''.
In Middle Welsh texts, the related term ''Ynys Prydein'' (Island of Britain), or ''Ynys Brydein'', can also refer to the island (''ynys'') itself but more often is a name for the Brittonic territories south of Caledonia. It is in this context that the name of the collection of traditional material arranged in triads known as ''
Trioedd Ynys Prydein'' should be understood. In modern Welsh ''ynys'' means 'island', but in Middle Welsh it can also mean 'land' or 'realm' (cf.
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 ...
''insula'').
There are numerous other instances of the term ''Prydain'' in medieval Welsh texts. One of the best known is found in the title of the 10th-century vaticinatory poem ''
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 ...
'' ('The Prophecy of Britain').
In popular culture
Prydain is also used by Lloyd Alexander as the name for the realm in which his
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...
book series ''
The Chronicles of Prydain
''The Chronicles of Prydain'' is a pentalogy of children's high fantasy Bildungsroman novels written by American author Lloyd Alexander and published by Henry Holt and Company. The series includes: ''The Book of Three'' (1964), ''The Black Cauld ...
'' takes place.
[McNary, Dave]
"'Chronicles of Prydain' Movie in the Works at Disney (EXCLUSIVE)"
''Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'', 17 March 2016. Retrieved on 30 April 2017.
See also
*
History of Wales
The history of what is now Wales () begins with evidence of a Neanderthal presence from at least 230,000 years ago, while ''Homo sapiens'' arrived by about 31,000 BC. However, continuous habitation by modern humans dates from the period after ...
*
Lloegyr
Lloegyr is the medieval Welsh name for a region of Britain ('' Prydain''). The exact borders are unknown, but some modern scholars hypothesize it ran south and east of a line extending from the Humber Estuary to the Severn Estuary, exclusive o ...
*
Britain (place name)
The name Britain originates from the Common Brittonic term ''*Pritanī'' and is one of the oldest known names for Great Britain, an island off the north-western coast of continental Europe. The terms Briton and British, similarly derived, refer ...
* ''
Trioedd Ynys Prydein''
References
History of Wales
Welsh mythology
Medieval Wales
Terminology of the British Isles
{{Wales-hist-stub