1.
Red Book of Hergest
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The Red Book of Hergest is a large vellum manuscript written shortly after 1382, which ranks as one of the most important medieval manuscripts written in the Welsh language. It preserves a collection of Welsh prose and poetry, notably the tales of the Mabinogion, the manuscript derives its name from the colour of its leather binding and from its association with Hergest Court between the late 15th and early 17th century. The manuscript was written between about 1382 and 1410, one of the several copyists responsible for the manuscript has been identified as Hywel Fychan fab Hywel Goch of Buellt. He is known to have worked for Hopcyn ap Tomas ab Einion of Ynysforgan, Swansea, according to scholar Daniel Huws, it is by far the heaviest of the medieval books in Welsh, the largest in its dimensions and the thickest. The Vaughans of Tretower, then in Breconshire, obtained it, ownership is suggested by two odes dedicated to Sir Thomas Vaughan and his sons, which were written into the manuscript by Welsh poet Lewys Glyn Cothi at Tretower. The Red Book soon passed into the possession of the Vaughans of Hergest Court, Sir John Price of Brecon reports to have seen the manuscript in 1550, presumably at Hergest. In the late 1560s, William Salesbury found the manuscript in the possession of Sir Henry Sidney at Ludlow, by the early 17th century, the Red Book had passed to the Mansels of Margam, hence back in Glamorgan. It was possibly brought into the marriage between Henrys granddaughter Catherine Sidney and Sir Lewis Mansel, who is reported to have owned it in 1634. The manuscript is found in the collection of Thomas Wilkins, a Welsh clergyman and antiquarian. In 1697, Wilkins was visited by Edward Lhuyd, who spent some time copying a manuscript which might well have been the Red Book, in 1701, two years after Wilkins death, his son Thomas Wilkins the Younger donated the manuscript to Jesus College, Oxford. Internal evidence, a note by the latter Wilkins, suggests that Edward Lhuyd then held the manuscript on loan and it is now kept at the Bodleian Library on behalf of Jesus College, Oxford, and catalogued as MS111. The rest of the manuscript contains poetry, especially from the period of poetry known as Poetry of the Princes, including the cycles Canu Llywarch Hen, Canu Urien. The Red Book is similar in content to the White book of Rhydderch, both are now thought, however, to descend from a lost common ancestor or ancestors. J. R. R. Tolkien borrowed the title for the Red Book of Westmarch, but there is also a Red Book of Worcester - nearer to Tolkiens home. White Book of Hergest White Book of Rhydderch Red book of Hergest, in Meic Stephens, The new companion to the literature of Wales. Parry, Thomas, A history of Welsh literature, Thomas, Richard Biography of Thomas Wilkins, Welsh Biography Online Thomas, Graham C. G. Llyfr Coch Hergest. Santa Barbara, Denver and Oxford, ABC Clio. pp. 1172–3, Oxford Jesus College 111, An Electronic Edition. The Scribes of the Red Book of Hergest, report on Manuscripts in the Welsh Language
2.
Welsh language
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Welsh is a member of the Brittonic branch of the Celtic languages. It is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, historically it has also been known in English as the British tongue, Cambrian, Cambric and Cymric. The United Kingdom Census 2011 counted 3.1 million residents of Wales, 27% of whom had been born outside Wales, and 73% of whom reported having no Welsh language skills. Of residents of Wales aged three and over, 19% reported being able to speak Welsh, and 77% of these were able to speak, read and this can be compared with the 2001 Census, in which 20. 8% of the population reported being able to speak Welsh. 787,854 of residents in Wales aged three and over had one or more skills in Welsh, in surveys carried out between 2004 and 2006, 57% of Welsh speakers described themselves as fluent in the written language. An estimated 110,000 to 150,000 people speak Welsh in England, Welsh emerged in the 6th century from Common Brittonic, the common ancestor of Welsh, Breton, Cornish and the extinct language known as Cumbric. The Middle Welsh period is considered to have lasted from then until the 14th century, when the Modern Welsh period began, the name Welsh originated as an exonym given to its speakers by the Anglo-Saxons, meaning foreign speech. The native term for the language is Cymraeg, and for the name of the country of Wales it is Cymru, Welsh evolved from Common Brittonic, the Celtic language spoken by the ancient Celtic Britons. Classified as Insular Celtic, the British language probably arrived in Britain during the Bronze Age or Iron Age and was spoken throughout the island south of the Firth of Forth. During the Early Middle Ages the British language began to fragment due to increased dialect differentiation, evolving into Welsh and it is not clear when Welsh became distinct. Kenneth H. Jackson suggested that the evolution in syllabic structure and sound pattern was complete by around 550, Jackson, however, believed that the two varieties were already distinct by that time. The earliest Welsh poetry – that attributed to the Cynfeirdd or Early Poets – is generally considered to date to the Primitive Welsh period. However, much of this poetry was composed in the Hen Ogledd, raising further questions about the dating of the material. An 8th century inscription in Tywyn shows the language already dropping inflections in the declension of nouns, the next main period, somewhat better attested, is Old Welsh, poetry from both Wales and Scotland has been preserved in this form of the language. Both the works of Aneirin and the Book of Taliesin were in this era, Middle Welsh is the label attached to the Welsh of the 12th to 14th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This is the language of all surviving early manuscripts of the Mabinogion. It is also the language of the existing Welsh law manuscripts, Middle Welsh is reasonably intelligible, albeit with some work, to a modern-day Welsh speaker. The famous cleric Gerald of Wales tells, in his Descriptio Cambriae, during one of the Kings many raids in the 12th century, Henry asked an old man of Pencader, Carmarthenshire whether the Welsh people could resist his army
3.
King Arthur
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King Arthur is a legendary British leader who, according to medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the late 5th and early 6th centuries AD. The details of Arthurs story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, the sparse historical background of Arthur is gleaned from various sources, including the Annales Cambriae, the Historia Brittonum, and the writings of Gildas. Arthurs name also occurs in early sources such as Y Gododdin. Arthur is a figure in the legends making up the so-called Matter of Britain. The legendary Arthur developed as a figure of international interest largely through the popularity of Geoffrey of Monmouths fanciful, how much of Geoffreys Historia was adapted from such earlier sources, rather than invented by Geoffrey himself, is unknown. Geoffrey depicted Arthur as a king of Britain who defeated the Saxons and established an empire over Britain, Ireland, Iceland, Norway and Gaul. The 12th-century French writer Chrétien de Troyes, who added Lancelot, in these French stories, the narrative focus often shifts from King Arthur himself to other characters, such as various Knights of the Round Table. Arthurian literature thrived during the Middle Ages but waned in the centuries that followed until it experienced a resurgence in the 19th century. In the 21st century, the lives on, not only in literature but also in adaptations for theatre, film, television, comics. The historical basis for the King Arthur legend has long debated by scholars. These culminate in the Battle of Badon, where he is said to have single-handedly killed 960 men, recent studies, however, question the reliability of the Historia Brittonum. The other text that seems to support the case for Arthurs historical existence is the 10th-century Annales Cambriae, the Annales date this battle to 516–518, and also mention the Battle of Camlann, in which Arthur and Medraut were both killed, dated to 537–539. These details have often used to bolster confidence in the Historias account. Problems have been identified, however, with using this source to support the Historia Brittonums account, the latest research shows that the Annales Cambriae was based on a chronicle begun in the late 8th century in Wales. Additionally, the textual history of the Annales Cambriae precludes any certainty that the Arthurian annals were added to it even that early. They were more likely added at point in the 10th century. The Badon entry probably derived from the Historia Brittonum and this lack of convincing early evidence is the reason many recent historians exclude Arthur from their accounts of sub-Roman Britain. These modern admissions of ignorance are a recent trend, earlier generations of historians were less sceptical
4.
Wales
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Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, and it had a population in 2011 of 3,063,456 and has a total area of 20,779 km2. Wales has over 1,680 miles of coastline and is mountainous, with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon. The country lies within the temperate zone and has a changeable. Welsh national identity emerged among the Celtic Britons after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century, Llywelyn ap Gruffudds death in 1282 marked the completion of Edward I of Englands conquest of Wales, though Owain Glyndŵr briefly restored independence to Wales in the early 15th century. The whole of Wales was annexed by England and incorporated within the English legal system under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542, distinctive Welsh politics developed in the 19th century. Welsh Liberalism, exemplified in the early 20th century by Lloyd George, was displaced by the growth of socialism, Welsh national feeling grew over the century, Plaid Cymru was formed in 1925 and the Welsh Language Society in 1962. Established under the Government of Wales Act 1998, the National Assembly for Wales holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters, two-thirds of the population live in south Wales, mainly in and around Cardiff, Swansea and Newport, and in the nearby valleys. Now that the countrys traditional extractive and heavy industries have gone or are in decline, Wales economy depends on the sector, light and service industries. Wales 2010 gross value added was £45.5 billion, over 560,000 Welsh language speakers live in Wales, and the language is spoken by a majority of the population in parts of the north and west. From the late 19th century onwards, Wales acquired its popular image as the land of song, Rugby union is seen as a symbol of Welsh identity and an expression of national consciousness. The Old English-speaking Anglo-Saxons came to use the term Wælisc when referring to the Celtic Britons in particular, the modern names for some Continental European lands and peoples have a similar etymology. The modern Welsh name for themselves is Cymry, and Cymru is the Welsh name for Wales and these words are descended from the Brythonic word combrogi, meaning fellow-countrymen. The use of the word Cymry as a self-designation derives from the location in the post-Roman Era of the Welsh people in modern Wales as well as in northern England and southern Scotland. It emphasised that the Welsh in modern Wales and in the Hen Ogledd were one people, in particular, the term was not applied to the Cornish or the Breton peoples, who are of similar heritage, culture, and language to the Welsh. The word came into use as a self-description probably before the 7th century and it is attested in a praise poem to Cadwallon ap Cadfan c. 633. Thereafter Cymry prevailed as a reference to the Welsh, until c.1560 the word was spelt Kymry or Cymry, regardless of whether it referred to the people or their homeland. The Latinised forms of names, Cambrian, Cambric and Cambria, survive as lesser-used alternative names for Wales, Welsh
5.
Lady Charlotte Guest
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The title Guest used derived from a mediaeval copyist error already established in the 18th century by William Owen Pughe and the London Welsh societies. As an accomplished linguist, and the wife of a foremost Welsh ironmaster John Josiah Guest she became a figure in the study of literature. With her second husband, as Charles Schreiber, she became a well known Victorian collector of porcelain, their collection is held in the Victoria and she was also an international industrialist, pioneering liberal educator, philanthropist and elite society hostess. Lady Charlotte was born on 19 May 1812 at Uffington House in Uffington, Lincolnshire, the daughter of Albemarle Bertie, 9th Earl of Lindsey and she was christened Lady Charlotte Elizabeth Bertie. When she was six years old she suffered the loss of her father and during this year she was caught in a house fire. Her mother later remarried the Reverend Peter Pegus, whom Charlotte disliked and she had two younger brothers and half-sisters. With time her mother began to change from being an active women to someone who retreated with illness. It is during this time that Charlotte began to take over for her mother in the running of the house and it appears that she particularly enjoyed the refuge of the garden and with time she developed a dislike for being kept inside. Furthermore, at the age of nineteen she had to apologize for her families actions. Ever since she was young she had a keen interest in politics, Charlotte showed a great aptitude for languages and literature. She taught herself Arabic, Hebrew, and Persian as well as studying Latin, Greek, French, from looking at Lady Charlotte’s life it is clear that her life is very structured as she was someone who rose early and apparently despised laziness. It appears that Lady Charlotte’s upbringing met the standards that society had held for her classes and she learnt various skills, such as singing and dancing. As she came from a family, the Berties, it is clear that public school was not a success. Some members of the family were bullied, for example Lindsey, so he was taken out of school. It appears that Lady Charlotte did not have any close friends, with the backing of her cousin, Henry Layard, Lady Charlotte eventually focussed her efforts on providing education in Dowlais. Maugre her sex, a disadvantage in that day in public affairs, Lady Charlotte managed to propagate her ideas. Lady Charlotte was very dedicated in her work and routinely visited schools, in addition, she used to give out prizes and otherwise encourage students. She also supplied schools with materials for needlework and arranged for the purchase of requisite teaching supplies and she supported schools in Swansea and Llandaff, as well as Dowlais
6.
Mabinogion
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The Mabinogion are the earliest prose literature of Britain. The stories were compiled in Middle Welsh in the 12th–13th centuries from oral traditions. The two main source manuscripts were created c, 1350–1410, as well as some earlier fragments. The title covers a collection of prose stories of widely different types. The highly sophisticated complexity of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi defy categorisation, the list is so diverse a leading scholar has challenged them as a true collection at all. Early scholars from the 18th century to the 1970s predominantly viewed the tales as fragmentary pre-Christian Celtic mythology and they are now seen as a sophisticated narrative tradition, both oral and written, with ancestral construction from oral storytelling, and overlay from Anglo-French influences. The first modern publications were English translations of several tales by William Owen Pughe in journals 1795,1821,1829, however it was Lady Charlotte Guest 1838–45 who first published the full collection, and bilingually in both Welsh and English. She is often assumed to be responsible for the name Mabinogion, indeed, as early as 1632 the lexicographer John Davies quotes a sentence from Math fab Mathonwy with the notation Mabin. in his Antiquae linguae Britannicae. The later Guest translation of 1877 in one volume, has been widely influential, the most recent translation is a compact version by Sioned Davies. John Bollard has published a series of volumes between with his own translation, with photography of the sites in the stories. The tales continue to inspire new fiction, dramatic retellings, visual artwork, the name first appears in 1795 in William Owen Pughes translation in the journal Cambrian Register, The Mabinogion, or Juvenile Amusements, being Ancient Welsh Romances. The name appears to have been current among Welsh scholars of the London-Welsh Societies and it was inherited as the title by the first publisher of the complete collection, Lady Charlotte Guest. The form mabynnogyon occurs once at the end of the first of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi in one manuscript and it is now generally agreed that this one instance was a mediaeval scribal error which assumed mabinogion was the plural of mabinogi. But mabinogi is already a Welsh plural, which occurs correctly at the end of the three branches. The word mabinogi itself is something of a puzzle, although derived from the Welsh mab. Eric P. Hamp of the school traditions in mythology, found a suggestive connection with Maponos the Divine Son. Mabinogi properly applies only to the Four Branches, which is a tightly organised quartet very likely by one author, each of these four tales ends with the colophon thus ends this branch of the Mabinogi, hence the name. Lady Charlotte Guests work was helped by the research and translation work of William Owen Pughe
7.
Twrch Trwyth
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Twrch Trwyth is an enchanted wild boar in the Matter of Britain that King Arthur or his men pursued with the aid of Arthurs dog Cavall. The names of the hound and boar are glimpsed in a piece of geographical onomasticon composed in Latin in the 9th century, however, a richly elaborate account of the great hunt appears in the Welsh prose romance Culhwch and Olwen, probably written around 1100. A passing reference to Twrch Trwyth also occurs in the elegy Gwarchan Cynfelyn preserved in the Book of Aneirin, the name in Welsh can be construed to mean the boar Trwyth, and may have its analogue in the boar Triath of Irish mythology. The earliest reference to the boar Trwyth occurs in a tract called De Mirabilibus Britanniae, the Mirabilia is believed to be near-contemporaneous to the 9th century Historia Brittonum and is found appended to it in many extant manuscripts. In French romances such as by Chrétien de Troyes, Ares is the father of a knight called Tor, some scholars consider that Tor son of Ares is the Twrch son of Tared of Culhwch and Olwen and that the authentic name is probably Ares. Culhwch is given the task by Ysbaddaden, the giant whose daughter Olwen Culhwch seeks, of obtaining the comb, later in the story it transpires there is also a razor secreted there. These implements are then to be used to cut and treat Ysbaddadens hair, ultimately Ysbaddaden calls on Culhwch to seek out Arthur, Culhwchs cousin, to help him hunt Twrch. Prior to the hunt, Menw son of Teirgwaedd is sent to verify that the comb and he takes the form of a bird and flies to Twrchs lair, encountering the boar with seven piglets. Although it is Culhwch who is given the task, it is Arthur and his men who take the most prominent role in the chase, Culhwch having successfully enlisted his aid. After causing the death of several of Arthurs troop, the boar surrenders the razor, scissors, and later the comb by force, yet another boar, Ysgithyrwyn or White-Tusk, Chief of Boars, had to be captured for its tusk to complete the grooming of Ysbadadden. As previously noted, the Welsh word twrch means wild boar, hog, mole and its Irish cognate may be Triath, King of the Swine or the Torc Triath mentioned in Lebor Gabála Érenn, also recorded as Old Irish Orc tréith Triaths boar in Sanas Cormaic. Rachel Bromwich regards the form Trwyth as a late corruption, in the early text Historia Brittonum, the boar is called Troynt or Troit, a Latinisation likely from the Welsh Trwyd. Further evidence that Trwyd was the form appears in a reference in a later poem. The Twrch Trwyth was the name of a club in the Amman Valley area of Carmarthenshire. They became the Hells Angels South Wales in 1999, Twrch Trwyth is the name of a Welsh Traditional Dance group based in Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff. Y Twrch Trwyth is also the mascot of Ysgol Dyffryn Aman in Ammanford, Carmarthenshire, henwen, a boar from Cornwall that made a run from the south end to the north tip of Wales, and bore Cath Palug
