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.
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
3.
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
4.
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
5.
Eagle
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Eagle is a common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae, it belongs to several groups of genera that are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the 60 species of eagles are from Eurasia and Africa, outside this area, just 14 species can be found – two in North America, nine in Central and South America, and three in Australia. Eagles are large, powerfully built birds of prey, with heavy heads, most eagles are larger than any other raptors apart from some vultures. The smallest species of eagle is the South Nicobar serpent eagle, the largest species are discussed below. Like all birds of prey, eagles have large, hooked beaks for ripping flesh from their prey, strong, muscular legs. The beak is typically heavier than that of most other birds of prey, Eagles eyes are extremely powerful, having up to 3.6 times human acuity for the martial eagle, which enables them to spot potential prey from a very long distance. This keen eyesight is primarily attributed to their extremely large pupils which ensure minimal diffraction of the incoming light, the female of all known species of eagles is larger than the male. Eagles normally build their nests, called eyries, in trees or on high cliffs. Many species lay two eggs, but the older, larger chick frequently kills its younger sibling once it has hatched, the dominant chick tends to be a female, as they are bigger than the male. The parents take no action to stop the killing, due to the size and power of many eagle species, they are ranked at the top of the food chain as apex predators in the avian world. The type of prey varies by genus, the snake and serpent eagles of the genera Circaetus, Terathopius, and Spilornis predominantly prey on the great diversity of snakes found in the tropics of Africa and Asia. The eagles of the genus Aquila are often the top birds of prey in open habitats, where Aquila eagles are absent, other eagles, such as the buteonine black-chested buzzard-eagle of South America, may assume the position of top raptorial predator in open areas. Many other eagles, including the species-rich Spizaetus genus, live predominantly in woodlands and these eagles often target various arboreal or ground-dwelling mammals and birds, which are often unsuspectingly ambushed in such dense, knotty environments. Hunting techniques differ among the species and genera, with some individual eagles having engaged in quite varied techniques based their environment, most eagles grab prey without landing and take flight with it, so the prey can be carried to a perch and torn apart. The bald eagle is noted for having flown with the heaviest load verified to be carried by any flying bird, golden and crowned eagles have killed ungulates weighing up to 30 kg and a martial eagle even killed a 37 kg duiker, 7–8 times heavier than the preying eagle. It has been observed that most birds of prey look back over their shoulders before striking prey, all hawks seem to have this habit, from the smallest kestrel to the largest Ferruginous – but not the Eagles. Among the eagles are some of the largest birds of prey, only the condors and it is regularly debated which should be considered the largest species of eagle. They could be measured variously in total length, body mass, different lifestyle needs among various eagles result in variable measurements from species to species
6.
Owl
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Exceptions include the diurnal northern hawk-owl and the gregarious burrowing owl. Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds and they are found in all regions of the Earth except Antarctica and some remote islands. Owls are divided into two families, the Strigidae family of owls, and the Tytonidae family of barn-owls. Owls possess large, forward-facing eyes and ear-holes, a beak, a flat face, and usually a conspicuous circle of feathers. The feathers making up this disc can be adjusted to focus sounds from varying distances onto the owls asymmetrically placed ear cavities. Most birds of prey have eyes on the sides of their heads, although owls have binocular vision, their large eyes are fixed in their sockets—as are those of most other birds—so they must turn their entire heads to change views. As owls are farsighted, they are unable to see anything within a few centimeters of their eyes. Caught prey can be felt by owls with the use of feathers on the beak. Their far vision, particularly in low light, is exceptionally good, Owls can rotate their heads and necks as much as 270°. Owls have 14 neck vertebrae compared to seven in humans, which makes their necks more flexible, other anastomoses between the carotid and vertebral arteries support this effect. The smallest owl—weighing as little as 31 g and measuring some 13.5 cm —is the elf owl, around the same diminutive length, although slightly heavier, are the lesser known long-whiskered owlet and Tamaulipas pygmy owl. The largest owl by length is the great grey owl, which measures around 70 cm on average, however, the heaviest owls are two similarly sized eagle owls, the Eurasian eagle-owl and Blakistons fish owl. These two species, which are on average about 2.53 cm shorter in length than the great grey, as noted above, their facial discs help owls to funnel the sound of prey to their ears. In many species, these discs are placed asymmetrically, for better directional location, Owl plumage is generally cryptic, although several species have facial and head markings, including face masks, ear tufts, and brightly coloured irises. These markings are more common in species inhabiting open habitats. Sexual dimorphism is a difference between males and females of a species. Reverse sexual dimorphism, when females are larger than males, has been observed across multiple owl species, the degree of size dimorphism varies across multiple populations and species, and is measured through various traits, such as wing span and body mass. Overall, female owls tend to be larger than males
7.
Robert Graves
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Robert von Ranke Graves was an English poet, novelist, critic and classicist. He produced more than 140 works, Irish literature deeply affected Graves White Goddess theories, specifically the genre aisling. He earned his living from writing, particularly historical novels such as I, Claudius, King Jesus, The Golden Fleece. He also was a prominent translator of Classical Latin and Ancient Greek texts, his versions of The Twelve Caesars and The Golden Ass remain popular, for their clarity, Graves was awarded the 1934 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for both I, Claudius and Claudius the God. Graves was born into a family in Wimbledon, then part of Surrey. Gravess mother was from a recently ennobled German family, the eldest daughter of Heinrich von Ranke, a professor of medicine at the University of Munich and she was also a greatniece of the German historian Leopold von Ranke. At school, Graves was enrolled as Robert von Ranke Graves and in Germany his books are published under that name but before and during the First World War, the name caused him difficulties. In August 1916 an officer who disliked him spread the rumour that he was a spy, the problem resurfaced in a minor way in the Second World War, when a suspicious rural policeman blocked his appointment to the Special Constabulary. Gravess eldest half-brother, Philip Perceval Graves, achieved note as a journalist and his brother, Charles Patrick Graves, was a writer. Among the masters his chief influence was George Mallory, who introduced him to contemporary literature, in his final year at Charterhouse, he won a classical exhibition to St Johns College, Oxford but did not take his place there until after the war. At the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, Graves enlisted almost immediately and he published his first volume of poems, Over the Brazier, in 1916. He developed a reputation as a war poet and was one of the first to write realistic poems about experience of frontline conflict. In later years, he omitted his war poems from his collections, at the Battle of the Somme, he was so badly wounded by a shell-fragment through the lung that he was expected to die and was officially reported as having died of wounds. He gradually recovered and, apart from a spell back in France. One of Gravess friends at this time was the poet Siegfried Sassoon, in 1917, Sassoon rebelled against the conduct of the war by making a public antiwar statement. Graves feared Sassoon could face a court martial and intervened with the authorities, persuading them that Sassoon was suffering from shell shock. As a result, Sassoon was sent to Craiglockhart, a hospital in Edinburgh. Graves also suffered shell shock, or neurasthenia as it was then called, but he was never hospitalised for it, I thought of going back to France
8.
John Steinbeck
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John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr. was an American author of 27 books, including 16 novels, six non-fiction books, and five collections of short stories. He is widely known for the comic novels Tortilla Flat and Cannery Row, the multi-generation epic East of Eden, the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Grapes of Wrath is considered Steinbecks masterpiece and part of the American literary canon. In the first 75 years after it was published, it sold 14 million copies, the winner of the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature, he has been called a giant of American letters. His works are widely read abroad and many of his works are considered classics of Western literature, most of Steinbecks work is set in southern and central California, particularly in the Salinas Valley and the California Coast Ranges region. His works frequently explored the themes of fate and injustice, especially as applied to downtrodden or everyman protagonists, Steinbeck was born on February 27,1902, in Salinas, California. He was of German, English, and Irish descent, johann Adolf Großsteinbeck, Steinbecks paternal grandfather, shortened the family name to Steinbeck when he immigrated to the United States. The family farm in Heiligenhaus, Mettmann, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, is still named Großsteinbeck and his father, John Ernst Steinbeck, served as Monterey County treasurer. Johns mother, Olive Hamilton, a school teacher, shared Steinbecks passion for reading and writing. The Steinbecks were members of the Episcopal Church, although Steinbeck later became agnostic, Steinbeck lived in a small rural town, no more than a frontier settlement, set in some of the worlds most fertile land. He spent his summers working on ranches and later with migrant workers on Spreckels sugar beet farms. There he learned of the aspects of the migrant life and the darker side of human nature. He explored his surroundings, walking across local forests, fields, while working at Spreckels Sugar Company, he sometimes worked in their laboratory, which gave him time to write. He had considerable mechanical aptitude and fondness for repairing things he owned, Steinbeck graduated from Salinas High School in 1919 and went on to study English Literature at Stanford University near Palo Alto, leaving, without a degree, in 1925. He travelled to New York City where he took odd jobs while trying to write, when he failed to publish his work, he returned to California and worked in 1928 as a tour guide and caretaker at Lake Tahoe, where he met Carol Henning, his first wife. They married in January 1930 in Los Angeles, where, with friends, the elder Steinbecks gave John free housing, paper for his manuscripts, and from 1928, loans that allowed him to write without looking for work. When those sources failed, Steinbeck and his wife accepted welfare, whatever food they had, they shared with their friends. Carol became the model for Mary Talbot in Steinbecks novel Cannery Row, in 1930, Steinbeck met the marine biologist Ed Ricketts, who became a close friend and mentor to Steinbeck during the following decade, teaching him a great deal about philosophy and biology. Ricketts, usually quiet, yet likable, with an inner self-sufficiency
9.
Alan Garner
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Alan Garner OBE is an English novelist best known for his childrens fantasy novels and his retellings of traditional British folk tales. Much of his work is rooted in the landscape, history and folklore of his native county of Cheshire, North West England, being set in the region. His first novel, The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, was published in 1960, a childrens fantasy novel set on the Edge, it incorporated elements of local folklore in its plot and characters. Garner completed a sequel, The Moon of Gomrath, but left the book of the trilogy he had envisioned. Instead he produced a string of further novels, Elidor, The Owl Service. Turning away from fantasy as a genre, Garner produced The Stone Book Quartet, in his subsequent novels, Strandloper and Thursbitch, he continued writing tales revolving around Cheshire, although without the fantasy elements which had characterised his earlier work. In 2012, he published a third book in the Weirdstone trilogy. Garner was born in the front room of his grandmothers house in Congleton, Cheshire and he grew up nearby, in Alderley Edge, a well-to-do village that had effectively become a suburb of Manchester. His rural working-class family, had connected to Alderley Edge since at least the sixteenth century. In the mid-nineteenth century Alans great-great grandfather Robert had carved the face of a bearded wizard onto the face of a next to a well. Robert Garner and his relatives had all been craftsmen, and, according to Garner, each successive generation had tried to improve on, or do something different from. Garners grandfather, Joseph Garner, could read, but didnt, instead he taught his grandson the folk tales he knew about The Edge. Garner later remarked that as a result he was aware of magic as a child, and he and his friends often played there. The story of the king and the living under the hill played an important part in his life, becoming, he explained, deeply embedded in my psyche. Garner faced several life-threatening childhood illnesses, which left him bed ridden for much of the time, Garner then won a place at Manchester Grammar School, where he received his secondary education, entry was means-tested, resulting in his school fees being waived. Rather than focusing his interest on creative writing, it was here that he excelled at sprinting, Garner was then conscripted into national service, serving for a time with the Royal Artillery while posted to Woolwich in Southeast London. At school, Garner had developed a keen interest in the work of Aeschylus and Homer, as well as the Ancient Greek language. Thus, he decided to pursue the study of Classics at Magdalen College, Oxford, passing his exams in January 1953
10.
Celtic mythology
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Celtic mythology is the mythology of Celtic polytheism, the religion of the Iron Age Celts. Like other Iron Age Europeans, the early Celts maintained a polytheistic mythology and it is mostly through contemporary Roman and Christian sources that their mythology has been preserved. The Celtic peoples who maintained either their political or linguistic identities left vestigial remnants of their ancestral mythologies, however, from what has survived of Celtic mythology, it is possible to discern commonalities which hint at a more unified pantheon than is often given credit. Indeed, many Gaelic myths were first recorded by Christian monks, the oldest body of myths stemming from the Heroic Age is found only from the early medieval period of Ireland. As Christianity began to take over, the gods and goddesses were slowly eliminated as such from the culture, the Tuatha Dé represent the functions of human society such as kingship, crafts and war, while the Fomorians represent chaos and wild nature. The leader of the gods for the Irish pantheon appears to have been the Dagda, the Dagda was the figure on which male humans and other gods were based because he embodied ideal Irish traits. Celtic gods were considered to be a clan due to their lack of specialization. Irish tales depict the Dagda as a figure of power, armed with a club, in Dorset there is a famous outline of an ithyphallic giant known as the Cerne Abbas Giant with a club cut into the chalky soil. While this was produced in relatively modern times, it was long thought to be a representation of the Dagda. In Gaul, it is speculated that the Dagda is associated with Sucellus, the Morrígan was a tripartite battle goddess of the Celts of Ancient Ireland. She was known as the Morrígan, but the different sections she was divided into were also referred to as Nemain, Macha and she is most commonly known for her involvement in the Táin Bó Cúailnge. The god appearing most frequently in the tales is Lugh, the most famous of these are the cities of Lugdunum, Lugdunum Batavorum and Lucus Augusti. Lug is described in the Celtic myths as the last to be added to the list of deities, in Ireland a festival called the Lughnasadh was held in his honour. Other important goddesses include Brigid, the Dagdas daughter, Aibell, Áine, Macha, notable is Epona, the horse goddess, celebrated with horse races at the summer festival. Significant Irish gods include Nuada Airgetlám, the first king of the Tuatha Dé Danann, Goibniu, the smith and brewer, Dian Cecht, the patron of healing, less is known about the pre-Christian mythologies of Britain than those of Ireland. Important reflexes of British mythology appear in the Four Branches of the Mabinogi, especially in the names of characters, such as Rhiannon, Teyrnon. The children of Llŷr in the Second and Third Branches, and the children of Dôn in the Fourth Branch are major figures, indeed, though there is much in common with Irish myth, there may have been no unified British mythological tradition per se. Whatever its ultimate origins, the material has been put to good use in the service of literary masterpieces that address the cultural concerns of Wales in the early
11.
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
12.
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
