1.
Christopher Williams (Welsh artist)
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Christopher David Williams was a Welsh artist. Williams was born in Maesteg, Wales and his father Evan Williams intended him to be a doctor, but he disliked the idea. A visit to the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, in 1892 and he left the Gallery with a firm decision that he would be an artist. He studied first in Neath at the towns Technical Institute in 1892 and 1893 under Mr. Kerr, from 1893 he spent three years at the Royal College of Art and then studied at the Royal Academy Schools from 1896 until 1901. In 1902, his Paolo and Francesca was hung in the Royal Academy and these were the first of 18 paintings by Williams exhibited there. He also exhibited with the Royal Society of Portrait Painters until 1930, in 1911, Williams received a commission from King George V to work on a commemorative painting of the Investiture of Edward, Prince of Wales at Caernarfon Castle. As well as attending the ceremony, he visited Buckingham Palace and he completed two versions of this painting. Among his portraits were those of David Lloyd George, Sir John Williams, Sir John Rhys, Sir Henry Jones, Sir John Morris Jones, Dr Stanton Coit, Sir Frederick Mills and he painted the first of three portraits of Lloyd George in the summer of 1911. Lloyd George described him as one of the most gifted artists Wales has produced, during the First World War, he painted the Welsh Charge at Mametz Wood, now in Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales. Williams painted three scenes from the Mabinogion, ceridwen and Branwen are in the collection of the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea. Blodeuwedd is at the Newport Museum and Art Gallery, Williams painted many landscapes in Wales, Switzerland, Italy, France, Spain, Morocco and Holland. Amongst his landscapes is The Red Dress at the National Museum of Wales and he had a great love for humanity and deep sympathy with the downtrodden and oppressed. Shortly before his death in 1934, he presented to the Salvation Army a large picture of the Thames Embankment scene at night which he called Why, Williams married Emily Appleyard and together they had two sons, Gwyn and Ivor. Evan Gwyn Williams was an astronomer and his son was the artist Ivor Williams. He was the brother-in-law of fellow artist Fred Appleyard, in 1973, an exhibition was organised on the centenary of Williams birth at the National Museum of Wales, Glynn Vivian Art Gallery and Maesteg Town Hall. A major retrospective exhibition of his took place from July to September 2012 at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth. A version of this exhibition toured to the Gwynedd Museum and Art Gallery, Branwen The subject is from the Mabinogion. The beautiful Branwen was a sister of the King of Britain and she died in Anglesey, and Branwen looked towards Ireland and towards the Island of the Mighty, to see if she could descry them
2.
Lleu Llaw Gyffes
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Lleu Llaw Gyffes is a hero of Welsh mythology. He is a warrior and magician, invariably associated with his uncle Gwydion and he is widely understood to be the Welsh equivalent of the Irish Lugh and the Gaulish Lugus. It has been suggested that Lleu, like Pryderi, is related to the divine son figure of Mabon ap Modron, the name Lleu is derived from Proto-Celtic *Lugus, the exact meaning of which is still a matter of scholarly debate. For many years the name *Lugus was thought to have derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *leuk-, light. This etymology has been dismissed because Proto-Indo-European *k did not under any circumstances become *g- in Proto-Celtic. The direct descendent of the Proto-Indo-European root *leuk- in Proto-Celtic is *leuk- as in the name of the Gaulish lightning god Loucetios, Proto-Celtic *Lugus may be related to the root of the Proto-Celtic *lug-rā ‘moon’. Another possibility is Proto-Indo-European *leug- meaning blackness, dimness, darkness, or *leug- swamp, Proto-Celtic *Lugus may equally be related to Proto-Celtic *lug- meaning oath, pledging, assurance on the one hand and deceive on the other. Juliette Wood interprets his name as deriving from Proto-Celtic *lug-, oath, the name may also be related to Old Irish lug lynx, perhaps indicating the existence of a Proto-Celtic root that denoted an animal with shining eyes, from PIE *leuk- to shine. Gilfaethwy, nephew to the Venedotian king, Math fab Mathonwy, falls in love with his uncles virgin foot-holder, Goewin. His brother Gwydion conspires to start a war between the north and the south, so as give the brothers the opportunity to rape Goewin while Math is distracted by the ensuing war. To this end, Gwydion steals a number of pigs from the Demetian king, Pryderi. Pryderi and his men north and fight a battle between Maenor Bennardd and Maenor Coed Alun, but are forced to retreat. He is pursued to Nant Call, where more of his men are slaughtered, and then to Dol Benmaen, to avoid further bloodshed, it is agreed that the outcome of the battle should be decided by single combat between Gwydion and Pryderi. The two contenders meet at a place called Y Velen Rhyd in Ardudwy, and because of strength and valour and magic and enchantment, Gwydion triumphs, the men of Dyfed retreat back to their own land, lamenting over the death of their lord. When Math hears of the assault on Goewin, he turns his nephews into a series of mated pairs of animals, Gwydion becomes a stag for a year, then a sow, gilfaethwy becomes a hind deer, a boar and a she-wolf. Each year they produce an offspring which is sent to Math, after three years, Math releases his nephews from their punishment and begins the search for a new foot-holder. Gwydion suggests his sister Arianrhod, who is tested for virginity by Math. During the test, she gives birth to a boy with thick yellow hair whom Math names Dylan
3.
Welsh mythology
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Welsh mythology consists of both folk traditions developed in Wales, and traditions developed by the Celtic Britons elsewhere before the end of the first millennium. Like most predominately oral societies found in the prehistoric Britain, Welsh mythology and this oral record has been lost or altered as result of outside contact and invasion over the years. The only character to appear in every branch is Pryderi fab Pwyll, the king of Dyfed, who is born in the first Branch, is killed in the fourth, and is probably a reflex of the Celtic god Maponos. The only other recurring characters are Pryderis mother Rhiannon, associated with the peaceful British prince Manawydan and he manages to win her hand at the expense of Gwawl, to whom she is betrothed, and she bears him a son, but the child disappears soon after his birth. Rhiannon is accused of killing him and forced to carry guests on her back as punishment. The child has been taken by a monster, and is rescued by Teyrnon and his wife and they return him to his real parents, Rhiannon is released from her punishment, and the boy is renamed Pryderi. In the second branch, Branwen, sister of Brân the Blessed, king of Britain, is given in marriage to Matholwch, Matholwch and Branwen have a son, Gwern, but Matholwch proceeds to mistreat Branwen, beating her and making her a drudge. Branwen trains a starling to take a message to Bran, who goes to war against Matholwch and his army crosses the Irish Sea in ships, but Brân is so huge he wades across. The Irish offer to make peace, and build a big enough to entertain Bran, but inside they hang a hundred bags, telling Efnysien they contain flour. Efnysien kills the warriors by squeezing the bags, later, at the feast, Efnysien throws Gwern on the fire and fighting breaks out. Seeing that the Irish are using the cauldron to revive their dead, Efnysien hides among the corpses and destroys the cauldron, only seven men, all Britons, survive the battle, including Pryderi, Manawyddan and Bran, who is mortally wounded by a poisoned spear. Brân asks his companions to cut off his head and take it back to Britain, Branwen dies of grief on returning home. Five pregnant women survive to repopulate Ireland, Pryderi and Manawydan return to Dyfed, where Pryderi marries Cigfa and Manawydan marries Rhiannon. However, a mist descends on the land, leaving it empty, eventually they return to Dyfed and become hunters again. While hunting, a white boar leads them to a mysterious castle, Pryderi, against Manawydans advice, goes inside, but does not return. Rhiannon goes to investigate and finds him clinging to a bowl, the same fate befalls her, and the castle disappears. Manawydan and Cigfa return to England as shoemakers, but once again the locals drive them out and they sow three fields of wheat, but the first field is destroyed before it can be harvested. The next night the field is destroyed
4.
Genisteae
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Genisteae is a tribe of trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants in the subfamily Faboideae of the legume family Fabaceae. It includes a number of plants including broom, lupine, gorse. The tribes greatest diversity is in the Mediterranean, and most genera are native to Europe, Africa, however, the largest genus, Lupinus, is most diverse in North and South America. Anarthrophytum and Sellocharis are also South American and Aryrolobium ranges into India, the Genisteae arose 32.3 ±2.9 million years ago. The members of this tribe consistently form a clade in molecular phylogenetic analyses. Most genera in the tribe produce 5-O-methylgenistein, many genera also accumulate quinolizidine alkaloids, ammodendrine-type dipiperidine alkaloids, and macrocyclic pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Old English bróm is from a common West Germanic *bráma-, from a Germanic stem bræ̂m- of unknown origin, use of the branches of these plants for sweeping gave rise to the term broom for sweeping tools in the 15th century, gradually replacing Old English besema. Brooms tolerate poor soils and growing conditions, in cultivation they need little care, though they need good drainage and perform poorly on wet soils. They are widely used as landscape plants and also for wasteland reclamation. Tagasaste, a Canary Islands native, is grown as sheep fodder. Species of broom popular in horticulture are purple broom, Atlas broom, dwarf broom, Provence broom, many of the most popular brooms in gardens are hybrids, notably Kew broom and Warminster broom. On the east and west coasts of North America, common broom was introduced as an ornamental plant and it is known in much of the pacific northwest as Scotch broom. It has become an invasive weed, and due to its aggressive seed dispersal broom removal has proved very difficult. Similarly, it is a problem species in the cooler and wetter areas of southern Australia. Biological control for broom in New Zealand has been investigated since the mid-1980s, the Plantagenet kings used common broom as an emblem and took their name from it. It was originally the emblem of Geoffrey of Anjou, father of Henry II of England, wild broom is still common in dry habitats around Anjou, France. Charles V and his son Charles VI of France used the pod of the plant as an emblem for livery collars. Genista tinctoria, provides a yellow dye and was grown commercially for this purpose in parts of Britain into the early 19th century
5.
Filipendula ulmaria
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Filipendula ulmaria, commonly known as meadowsweet or mead wort, is a perennial herb in the family Rosaceae that grows in damp meadows. It is native throughout most of Europe and Western Asia and it has been introduced and naturalised in North America. Meadowsweet has also referred to as Queen of the Meadow, Pride of the Meadow, Meadow-Wort, Meadow Queen, Lady of the Meadow, Dollof, Meadsweet. The stems are 1–2 m tall, erect and furrowed, reddish to sometimes purple, the leaves are dark-green on the upper side and whitish and downy underneath, much divided, interruptedly pinnate, having a few large serrate leaflets and small intermediate ones. Terminal leaflets are large, 4–8 cm long, and three- to five-lobed, Meadowsweet has delicate, graceful, creamy-white flowers clustered close together in irregularly-branched cymes, having a very strong, sweet smell. They flower from early summer to autumn and are visited by various types of insects. Filipendula is an herb growing to 70 cm high. The flowers are small and numerous, they show 5 sepals and 5 petals with 7 to 20 stamens, Meadowsweet leaves are commonly galled by the bright orange-rust fungus Triphragmium ulmariae, which creates swellings and distortions on the stalk and/or midrib. Common in damp areas and dominant in fens and wet woods, the flowers can be added to stewed fruit and jams, giving them a subtle almond flavor. The whole plant is a remedy for an acidic stomach. Dried, the flowers are used in potpourri and it is also a frequently used spice in Scandinavian varieties of mead. Chemical constituents include salicylic acid, flavone glycosides, essential oils, in 1897, Felix Hoffmann created a synthetically altered version of salicin, derived from the species, which caused less digestive upset than pure salicylic acid. The new drug, formally acetylsalicylic acid, was named aspirin by Hoffmanns employer Bayer AG after the old name for meadowsweet. This gave rise to the class of known as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. This plant contains the chemicals used to make aspirin, a small section of root, when peeled and crushed smells like Germolene, and when chewed is a good natural remedy for relieving headaches. A natural black dye can be obtained from the roots by using a copper mordant, about one in five people with asthma has Samters triad, in which aspirin induces asthma symptoms. Therefore, asthmatics should be aware of the possibility that meadowsweet, with its similar biochemistry, Filipendula ulmaria flowers or herb have been used in the traditional Austrian medicine internally as tea for treatment of rheumatism, gout, infections, and fever. White-flowered meadowsweet has been found with the remains of three people and at least one animal in a Bronze Age cairn at Fan Foel, Carmarthenshire
6.
Oak
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An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 600 extant species of oaks, the common name oak also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus, as well as in those of unrelated species such as Grevillea robusta and the Casuarinaceae. North America contains the largest number of oak species, with approximately 90 occurring in the United States, the second greatest center of oak diversity is China, which contains approximately 100 species. Oaks have spirally arranged leaves, with lobate margins in many species, also, the acorns contain tannic acid, as do the leaves, which helps to guard from fungi and insects. Many deciduous species are marcescent, not dropping dead leaves until spring, in spring, a single oak tree produces both male flowers and small female flowers. The fruit is a nut called an acorn, borne in a structure known as a cupule, each acorn contains one seed and takes 6–18 months to mature. The live oaks are distinguished for being evergreen, but are not actually a distinct group, the oak tree is a flowering plant. Oaks may be divided into two genera and a number of sections, The genus Quercus is divided into the following sections, Quercus, the white oaks of Europe, Asia and North America. Styles are short, acorns mature in 6 months and taste sweet or slightly bitter, the leaves mostly lack a bristle on their lobe tips, which are usually rounded. The type species is Quercus robur, Mesobalanus, Hungarian oak and its relatives of Europe and Asia. Styles long, acorns mature in about 6 months and taste bitter, the section Mesobalanus is closely related to section Quercus and sometimes included in it. Cerris, the Turkey oak and its relatives of Europe and Asia, styles long, acorn mature in 18 months and taste very bitter. The inside of the shell is hairless. Its leaves typically have sharp tips, with bristles at the lobe tip. Protobalanus, the live oak and its relatives, in southwest United States. Styles short, acorns mature in 18 months and taste very bitter, the inside of the acorn shell appears woolly. Leaves typically have sharp tips, with bristles at the lobe tip. Lobatae, the red oaks of North America, Central America, styles long, acorns mature in 18 months and taste very bitter
7.
Gwydion
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He also appears prominently in the Welsh Triads, the Book of Taliesin and the Stanzas of the Graves. The name Gwydion may be interpreted as Born of Trees, Gilfaethwy, nephew to the Venedotian king, Math fab Mathonwy, becomes obsessed with his uncles virgin foot-holder, Goewin. His brother Gwydion conspires to start a war between the north and the south, to this end, Gwydion employs his magic powers to steal a number of otherworldly pigs from the Demetian king, Pryderi, who retaliates by marching on Gwynedd. During the war, while Math is distracted, the return home. Pryderi and his men north and fight a battle between Maenor Bennardd and Maenor Coed Alun, but are forced to retreat. He is pursued to Nant Call, where more of his men are slaughtered, and then to Dol Benmaen, to avoid further bloodshed, it is agreed that the outcome of the battle should be decided by single combat between Gwydion and Pryderi. The two contenders meet at a place called Y Velen Rhyd in Ardudwy, and because of strength and valour and magic and enchantment, Gwydion triumphs, the men of Dyfed retreat back to their own land, lamenting over the death of their lord. When Math hears of the assault on Goewin, he turns his nephews into a series of mated pairs of animals, Gwydion becomes a stag for a year, then a sow, Gilfaethwy becomes a hind deer, a boar and a she-wolf. Each year they produce an offspring which is sent to Math, after three years, Math releases his nephews from their punishment and begins the search for a new foot-holder. Gwydion suggests his sister Arianrhod, who is tested for virginity by Math. During the test, she gives birth to a boy with thick yellow hair whom Math names Dylan. Ashamed, Arianrhod runs to the door, but on her way out something small drops from her, some time later, he hears screams from within the chest, and opens it to discover a baby boy. Some scholars have suggested that in a form of the Fourth Branch. Some years later, Gwydion accompanies the boy to Caer Arianrhod, the furious Arianrhod, shamed by this reminder of her loss of virginity, places a tynged on the boy, that only she could give him a name. Gwydion however tricks his sister by disguising himself and the boy as cobblers and luring Arianrhod into going to them in person in order to have some shoes made for her. The boy throws a stone and strikes a wren between the tendon and the bone of its leg, causing Arianrhod to make the remark it is with a hand that the fair-haired one has hit it. At that Gwydion reveals himself, saying Lleu Llaw Gyffes, the one with the skillful hand, is his name now. Furious at this trickery, Arianrhod places another tynged on Lleu, he shall receive arms from no one but Arianrhod herself
8.
Math fab Mathonwy (branch)
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Math fab Mathonwy, Math, the son of Mathonwy is a legendary tale from medieval Welsh literature and the final of the four branches of the Mabinogi. The chief characters of the tale are Math, king of Gwynedd, his nephew Gwydion, a magician, warrior and trickster, along with the other branches, the tale can be found the medieval Red Book of Hergest and White Book of Rhydderch. His brother Gwydion conspires to start a war between the north and the south, so as give the brothers the opportunity to rape Goewin while Math is distracted. To this end, Gwydion employs his magic powers to steal a number of pigs from the Demetian king, Pryderi. Meanwhile, Gwydion and Gilfaethwy attack and rape Goewin, Pryderi and his men march north and fight a battle between Maenor Bennardd and Maenor Coed Alun, but are forced to retreat. He is pursued to Nant Call, where more of his men are slaughtered, and then to Dol Benmaen, to avoid further bloodshed, it is agreed that the outcome of the battle should be decided by single combat between Gwydion and Pryderi. The two contenders meet at a place called Y Velen Rhyd in Ardudwy, and because of strength and valour and magic and enchantment, Gwydion triumphs, the men of Dyfed retreat back to their own land, lamenting over the death of their lord. When Math hears of the assault on Goewin, he turns his nephews into a series of mated pairs of animals, Gwydion becomes a stag for a year, then a sow, Gilfaethwy becomes a hind deer, a boar and a she-wolf. Each year they produce an offspring which is sent to Math, after three years, Math releases his nephews from their punishment and begins the search for a new foot-holder. Gwydion suggests his sister Arianrhod, who is tested for virginity by Math. During the test, she gives birth to a boy with thick yellow hair whom Math names Dylan. Ashamed, Arianrhod runs to the door, but on her way out something small drops from her, some time later, he hears screams from within the chest, and opens it to discover a baby boy. Some scholars have suggested that in a form of the Fourth Branch. Some years later, Gwydion accompanies the boy to Caer Arianrhod, the furious Arianrhod, shamed by this reminder of her loss of virginity, places a tynged on the boy, that only she could give him a name. Gwydion however tricks his sister by disguising himself and the boy as cobblers and luring Arianrhod into going to them in person in order to have some shoes made for her. The boy throws a stone and strikes a wren between the tendon and the bone of its leg, causing Arianrhod to make the remark it is with a hand that the fair-haired one has hit it. At that Gwydion reveals himself, saying Lleu Llaw Gyffes, the one with the skillful hand, is his name now. Furious at this trickery, Arianrhod places another tynged on Lleu, he shall receive arms from no one but Arianrhod herself
