1.
Matthew Stevens
–
Matthew Stevens is a Welsh professional snooker player. Stevens has won two of the games most prestigious events, the Benson and Hedges Masters in 2000 and the UK Championship in 2003 and he has also been the runner-up in the World Snooker Championship on two occasions, in 2000 and 2005. Stevens reached a high ranking of No.4 for the 2005/2006 season. As a prolific break-builder, Stevens has compiled more than 250 century breaks during his career, Stevens turned professional in 1994 and in his second season won the Benson & Hedges Championship to qualify for the 1996 Masters. At the Masters he beat Terry Griffiths 5–3 but lost 6–5 to Alan McManus, the following season he also showed potential by beating Stephen Hendry 5–1 in the Grand Prix. In the 1997/1998 season he reached the semi-finals of both the Grand Prix and UK Championship and he also reached the quarter-finals on his debut at the Crucible of the World Championship, beating Alain Robidoux and Mark King before losing to Ken Doherty. In 1998 he reached his first ranking final at the UK Championship, in 2000, he won the Masters, with a 10–8 win over Ken Doherty in the final. Later that season at the World Championship he reached the first of his two World Championship finals to date. After victories over Tony Drago, Alan McManus, Jimmy White and Joe Swail he faced Mark Williams losing 16–18 after having led 10–6, 13–7 and then 14–10 with only the final session to play. Stevens became only the player in the history of the world championship to lose in the final from holding a 4 frame overnight lead. He has also been a beaten semi-finalist on four occasions in 2001,2002,2004 and 2012, Stevens missed the pot and Ebdon made a famous clearance to win the frame, and went on to take the next two to win the match 17–16. Stevens won the 2003 UK Championship beating Stephen Hendry 10–8 in the final and he trailed Hendry 0–4, but remarkably he reeled off the next five frames. Hendry found his form again to lead 7–5, but Stevens was not to be denied and clinched a 10–8 victory, which remains the only ranking tournament victory of his career. However, he followed this with a run of nine successive first round defeats in best-of-nine matches, in 2005 he was again runner-up, losing 16–18 to Shaun Murphy in the final, having been up 10–6 and then 12–11 with only the final session to play. Again Stevens relinquished a 4 frame overnight lead to lose in the final, the turning point was arguably the 22nd frame, in which Stevens had a shot at the final blue to leave Murphy needing snookers, but elected to play the shot left-handed rather than use the rest. He missed, and Murphy cleared the table to level the match at 11–11, despite the disappointment, Stevens insisted that Murphy had simply been the better player and that he would eventually win the championship. The following year, Stevens was beaten by Ken Doherty 13–8 in the second round, having gone into the final session level at 8–8. In 2007 he lost 12–13 to Murphy in the quarter-finals of the World Championship having led 11–5 and 12–7, the defeat left him ranked outside of the top 16 for the first time in 8 years
2.
Henry VII of England
–
Henry VII was King of England from seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, and the first monarch of the House of Tudor. He ruled the Principality of Wales until 29 November 1489 and was Lord of Ireland, Henry won the throne when his forces defeated King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field, the culmination of the Wars of the Roses. Henry was the last king of England to win his throne on the field of battle and he cemented his claim by marrying Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV and niece of Richard III. Henry was successful in restoring the power and stability of the English monarchy after the civil war and his supportive stance of the islands wool industry and stand off with the Low Countries had long lasting benefits to all the British Isles economy. However, the capriciousness and lack of due process that many would tarnish his legacy and were soon ended upon Henry VIIs death. According to the contemporary historian Polydore Vergil, simple greed underscored the means by which royal control was over-asserted in Henrys final years, Henry VII was born at Pembroke Castle on 28 January 1457 to Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond. His father, Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond, died three months before his birth, Henrys paternal grandfather, Owen Tudor, originally from the Tudors of Penmynydd, Isle of Anglesey in Wales, had been a page in the court of Henry V. He rose to one of the Squires to the Body to the King after military service at the Battle of Agincourt. Owen is said to have married the widow of Henry V. One of their sons was Edmund Tudor, father of Henry VII, Edmund was created Earl of Richmond in 1452, and formally declared legitimate by Parliament. Henrys main claim to the English throne derived from his mother through the House of Beaufort, Henrys mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort, was a great-granddaughter of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, fourth son of Edward III, and his third wife Katherine Swynford. Katherine was Gaunts mistress for about 25 years, when married in 1396, they already had four children. Thus Henrys claim was somewhat tenuous, it was from a woman, in theory, the Portuguese and Castilian royal families had a better claim as descendants of Catherine of Lancaster, the daughter of John of Gaunt and his second wife Constance of Castile. Gaunts nephew Richard II legitimised Gaunts children by Katherine Swynford by Letters Patent in 1397, in 1407, Henry IV, who was Gaunts son by his first wife, issued new Letters Patent confirming the legitimacy of his half-siblings, but also declaring them ineligible for the throne. Henry IVs action was of doubtful legality, as the Beauforts were previously legitimised by an Act of Parliament, but it further weakened Henrys claim. Henry also made political capital out of his Welsh ancestry, for example in attracting military support. He came from an old, established Anglesey family that claimed descent from Cadwaladr and he took it, as well as the standard of St George, on his procession through London after the victory at Bosworth. A contemporary writer and Henrys biographer, Bernard André, also much of Henrys Welsh descent
3.
Welsh language
–
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
4.
Flag of Wales
–
The flag of Wales consists of a red dragon passant on a green and white field. As with many heraldic charges, the representation of the dragon is not standardised. The flag incorporates the red dragon of Cadwaladr, King of Gwynedd, along with the Tudor colours of green and it was used by Henry VII at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, after which it was carried in state to St Pauls Cathedral. The red dragon was then included as a supporter of the Tudor royal arms to signify their Welsh descent and it was officially recognised as the Welsh national flag in 1959. The dragon as a flag design element is shared with the flag of Bhutan. A dragon also appears on the badge of the George Cross on the flag of Malta, the Chinese flag also featured a dragon during the Qing Dynasty. Several cities include a dragon in their design, including Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, Ljubljana, the capital city of Slovenia. The green and white stripes of the flag were additions by the House of Tudor, green and white are also the colours of the leek, another national emblem of Wales. This story was adapted into a prophecy made by the wizard Myrddin of a long fight between a red dragon and a white dragon. According to the prophecy, the dragon, representing the Saxons, would at first dominate but eventually the red dragon, symbolising the Britons, would be victorious. According to the legend, this victory would be brought about by Y Mab Darogan and this is believed to represent the conflict in the 5th and 6th centuries between the Britons and the invading Saxons. A version of the tale also appears as part of the poem Cyfranc Lludd a Llefelys in the Mabinogion, one twelfth-century account of this is Geoffrey of Monmouths Historia Regum Britanniae, where he states Merlins prophecies. The red dragon is popularly believed to have been the standard of Arthur. The dragon is associated in Welsh poetry with Cadwaladr king of Gwynedd from c.655 to 682. The Dragons of Arthur and Cadwaladr were possibly based on the standards carried by Roman cavalry units stationed in Britain. The Draco originated with the Sarmatians, a unit of whom were stationed in Ribchester from the 2nd to 4th centuries. Despite the close link throughout early Welsh history, the dragon was not used exclusively as a symbol for Wales during this period, in 1138, it was adopted by the Scottish as a royal standard, and Richard I took a dragon standard to the Third Crusade in 1191. Henry III fought under the dragon at the Battle of Lewes, in 1400, Owain Glyndŵr raised the dragon standard during his revolts against the occupation of Wales by the English crown
5.
King Arthur
–
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
6.
Celts
–
The history of pre-Celtic Europe remains very uncertain. According to one theory, the root of the Celtic languages, the Proto-Celtic language, arose in the Late Bronze Age Urnfield culture of Central Europe. Thus this area is called the Celtic homeland. The earliest undisputed examples of a Celtic language are the Lepontic inscriptions beginning in the 6th century BC. Continental Celtic languages are attested almost exclusively through inscriptions and place-names, Insular Celtic languages are attested beginning around the 4th century in Ogham inscriptions, although it was clearly being spoken much earlier. Celtic literary tradition begins with Old Irish texts around the 8th century, coherent texts of Early Irish literature, such as the Táin Bó Cúailnge, survive in 12th century recensions. Between the 5th and 8th centuries, the Celtic-speaking communities in these Atlantic regions emerged as a cohesive cultural entity. They had a linguistic, religious and artistic heritage that distinguished them from the culture of the surrounding polities. By the 6th century, however, the Continental Celtic languages were no longer in wide use, Insular Celtic culture diversified into that of the Gaels and the Celtic Britons of the medieval and modern periods. A modern Celtic identity was constructed as part of the Romanticist Celtic Revival in Great Britain, Ireland, today, Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, and Breton are still spoken in parts of their historical territories, and Cornish and Manx are undergoing a revival. The first recorded use of the name of Celts – as Κελτοί – to refer to a group was by Hecataeus of Miletus, the Greek geographer, in 517 BC. In the fifth century BC Herodotus referred to Keltoi living around the head of the Danube, the etymology of the term Keltoi is unclear. Possible roots include Indo-European *kʲel ‘to hide’, IE *kʲel ‘to heat’ or *kel ‘to impel’, several authors have supposed it to be Celtic in origin, while others view it as a name coined by Greeks. Linguist Patrizia De Bernardo Stempel falls in the group. Yet he reports Celtic peoples in Iberia, and also uses the ethnic names Celtiberi and Celtici for peoples there, as distinct from Lusitani, pliny the Elder cited the use of Celtici in Lusitania as a tribal surname, which epigraphic findings have confirmed. Latin Gallus might stem from a Celtic ethnic or tribal name originally and its root may be the Proto-Celtic *galno, meaning “power, strength”, hence Old Irish gal “boldness, ferocity” and Welsh gallu “to be able, power”. The tribal names of Gallaeci and the Greek Γαλάται most probably have the same origin, the suffix -atai might be an Ancient Greek inflection. Proto-Germanic *walha is derived ultimately from the name of the Volcae and this means that English Gaul, despite its superficial similarity, is not actually derived from Latin Gallia, though it does refer to the same ancient region
7.
House of Tudor
–
The House of Tudor was a royal house of Welsh and English origin, descended in the male line from the Tudors of Penmynydd. Tudor monarchs ruled the Kingdom of England and its realms, including their ancestral Wales, the Tudors succeeded the House of Plantaganet as rulers of the Kingdom of England, and were succeeded by the House of Stuart. The first monarch, Henry VII, descended through his mother from a branch of the English royal House of Lancaster. The Tudor family rose to power in the wake of the Wars of the Roses and his victory was reinforced by his marriage to Elizabeth of York, daughter of King Edward IV, symbolically uniting the former warring factions under a new dynasty. They also maintained the nominal English claim to the Kingdom of France, although none of them made substance of it, after him, his daughter Mary I lost control of all territory in France permanently with the fall of Calais in 1558. In total, five Tudor monarchs ruled their domains for just over a century, Henry VIII was the only male-line male heir of Henry VII to live to the age of maturity. Issues around the royal succession became major political themes during the Tudor era, the House of Stuart, descended from Henry VIIIs sister Margaret, came to power in 1603 when the direct Tudor line failed, as Elizabeth I died without a legitimate heir. The church retroactively declared the Beauforts legitimate by way of a bull the same year. A subsequent proclamation by John of Gaunts legitimate son, Henry IV, also recognised the Beauforts legitimacy, nevertheless, the Beauforts remained closely allied with Gaunts legitimate descendants from his first marriage, the House of Lancaster. On 1 November 1455, John Beauforts granddaughter, Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby, married Henry VIs half-brother Edmund Tudor and it was his father, Owen Tudor, who abandoned the Welsh patronymic naming practice and adopted a fixed surname. When he did, he did not choose, as was generally the custom, his fathers name, Maredudd, Owen Tudor was one of the bodyguards for the queen dowager Catherine of Valois, whose husband, Henry V, had died in 1422. Evidence suggests that the two were married in 1429. The two sons born of the marriage, Edmund and Jasper, were among the most loyal supporters of the House of Lancaster in its struggle against the House of York, Edmund died on 3 November 1456. On 28 January 1457, his widow Margaret Beaufort, who had just attained her fourteenth birthday, gave birth to a son, Henry Tudor, at her brother-in-laws Pembroke Castle. Henry Tudor, the future Henry VII, spent his childhood at Raglan Castle, the home of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke, a leading Yorkist. Following the murder of Henry VI and death of his son, Edward, in 1471, concerned for his young nephews life, Jasper Tudor took Henry to Brittany for safety. Lady Margaret remained in England and remarried, living quietly while advancing the Lancastrian cause, capitalizing on the growing unpopularity of Richard III, she was able to forge an alliance with discontented Yorkists in support of her son. Two years after Richard III was crowned, Henry and Jasper sailed from the mouth of the Seine to the Milford Haven Waterway, upon this victory, Henry Tudor proclaimed himself King Henry VII
8.
Supporter
–
In heraldry, supporters, sometimes referred to as attendants, are figures or objects usually placed on either side of the shield and depicted holding it up. Early forms of supporters are found in medieval seals, however, unlike the coronet or helmet and crest, supporters were not part of early medieval heraldry. As part of the achievement, they first become fashionable towards the end of the 15th century. The arms of nutritionist John Boyd-Orr use two garbs as supporters, the arms of the USS Donald Cook, missiles, the arms of the state of Rio Grande do Norte in Brazil, letters of the alphabet are used as supporters in the arms of Valencia, Spain. Human supporters can also be allegorical figures, or, more rarely, specifically named individuals, the arms of the Congo provide an extremely unusual example of two supporters issuing from behind the shield. While such single supporters are generally eagles with one or two heads, there are examples, including the cathedra in the case of some Canadian cathedrals. At the other extreme and even rarer, the Scottish chief Dundas of that Ilk had three supporters, two red lions and the whole supported by a salamander. The coat of arms of Iceland even has four supporters, an example of whales non-rampant is the arms of the Dutch municipality of Zaanstad. However, medieval Scottish seals afford numerous examples in which the 13th and 14th century shields were placed between two creatures resembling lizards or dragons, further, on his retirement from office as Chief Herald, Robert Watt was granted supporters as an honour. Trees and other objects which are sometimes used are called Soutiens. Knights Grand Companion and Principal Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit are granted the use of heraldic supporters, originally, in England, supporters were regarded as little more than mere decorative and artistic appendages. In the United Kingdom, supporters are typically an example of royal favour. Hereditary supporters are normally limited to hereditary peers, certain members of the Royal Family, knights banneret were also granted non-hereditary supporters, but no such knight has been created since the time of Charles I. Tom Brown was so knighted by George II at the Battle of Dettingen, supporters may also be granted to corporations which have a royal charter
9.
Welsh Government
–
The Welsh Government is the executive of the devolved National Assembly for Wales. The government consists of cabinet secretaries, who attend meetings, and ministers who do not. It is led by the first minister, usually the leader of the largest party in the National Assembly, the government is responsible for tabling policy in devolved areas for consideration by the assembly and implementing policy that has been approved by it. As initially established, the Welsh Government had no independent executive powers in law, following separation, the Welsh ministers exercise functions in their own right. Further transfers of functions from the British government can be made directly to the Welsh ministers by an Order in Council approved by the British parliament. Separation was designed to clarify the roles of the assembly. The result mirrored much more closely the relationship between the British government and British parliament and that between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament. This separation between the two bodies took effect on the appointment of the First Minister by Queen Elizabeth II following the election on 3 May 2007. Separation was meant to clarify the roles of the assembly. The role of the government is to make decisions, develop and implement policy, exercise executive functions, Assembly measures can now go further than the subordinate legislation which the assembly had the power to make prior to 2007. The assemblys functions, including that of making subordinate legislation, in the main, a third body was also established under the 2006 Act from May 2007, called the National Assembly for Wales Commission. It employs the staff supporting the new National Assembly for Wales, the 2006 Act made new provision for the appointment of Welsh ministers. The First Minister is nominated by the Assembly and then appointed by Her Majesty the Queen, the First Minister then appoints the Welsh Ministers and the Deputy Welsh Ministers, with the approval of Her Majesty. The Act created a new post of Counsel General for Wales, the Counsel General is appointed by the Queen, on the nomination of the First Minister, whose recommendation must be agreed by the National Assembly. The Counsel General may be, but does not have to be, the Act permits a maximum of 12 Welsh Ministers, which includes Deputy Welsh Ministers, but excludes the First Minister and the Counsel General. Accordingly, the size of the Welsh Government is 14. Subject to limitations prescribed by the Government of Wales Act 2006, the government is composed of cabinet secretaries and ministers. The counsel general attends cabinet meetings, the current government is formed by Welsh Labour and also the sole Liberal Democrats Assembly Member, Kirsty Williams
10.
Visit Wales
–
Visit Wales is the Welsh Governments tourism team within the Department for Heritage to promote Welsh tourism and assist the tourism industry. Visit Wales has taken over the functions of the former Wales Tourist Board, the mission of Visit Wales is to maximise tourisms contribution to the economic, social and cultural prosperity of Wales. The baseline budget at the Wales Tourist Board for 2005/2006 was £22.6 million, tourists spend over £8 million a day on trips in Wales, amounting to around £3 billion a year. In direct terms, tourism contributes 3. 7% of whole-economy value added in Wales and it is important to note that this figure does not include indirect value added that occurs. Approximately 100,000 people in Wales are employed in tourism, over one million trips are taken to Wales annually by overseas tourists. The general United Kingdom accounts for 93% of tourism trips to Wales, seventy percent of tourists to Wales come from other parts of the United Kingdom for a holiday, 20% to visit friends or relatives and 7% for a business trip. Fifty percent of trips by UK tourists to Wales go to the countryside or small towns/villages, the most popular origins of overseas visitors are Republic of Ireland, United States, and Germany. The most popular activities undertaken by tourists in Wales are, walking, swimming, visiting historic attractions such as castles and visiting museums, the most popular attraction in Wales is the Museum of Welsh Life which attracts over 600,000 visitors annually. In serviced accommodation in Wales, there are over 80,000 bed spaces available and this network of centres offers an essential service to the 13 million visitors that come to Wales every year. They are run by over 40 different managing authorities and Visit Wales co-ordinates the network to set and monitor standards of presentation, information and customer care. The Wales Tourist Board was established in 1969 as a result of the Development of Tourism Act 1969, an Abolition Order was passed by the National Assembly for Wales 23 November 2005 and full transfer of functions into the Welsh Assembly Government was made 1 April 2006. On that day, the Wales Tourist Board ceased to exist, Tourism in Wales VisitBritain VisitEngland VisitScotland Global website - www. visitwales. com - The official guide to places to stay and things to do in Wales
11.
Welsh Language Society
–
The Welsh Language Society is a direct action pressure group in Wales campaigning for the right of Welsh people to use the Welsh language in every aspect of their lives. The current Chairperson of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg is Heledd Gwyndaf, the Society was established in name on 4 August 1962 at Pontarddulais in South Wales, but did not have a constitution until 18 May 1963. The formation was at least partly inspired by the annual BBC Wales Radio Lecture given on 13 February 1962 by Saunders Lewis and entitled Tynged yr iaith. The Societys first public protest took place in February 1963 at Pont Trefechan in Aberystwyth, the first campaigns were for official status for the language, with a call for Welsh-language tax returns, schools, electoral forms, post office signs, birth certificates and so on. Typical actions include painting slogans on buildings owned by businesses, at the beginning of the 1970s Cymdeithas began to campaign for a Welsh-language radio and television service. Some protesters refused to buy television licences and others climbed up television masts, the TV channel S4C was launched in 1982. On 24 July 2004, Radio Carmarthenshires studios in Narberth were invaded by eleven activists from the Welsh Language Society Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg and they were protesting against Radio Carmarthenshires decision to limit the amount of its Welsh-language programming. The offices and studios were stormed during a live broadcast, taking Radio Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire off-air for fifteen minutes, according to Keri Jones, his head of sales was injured, and needed hospital treatment for a fractured wrist sustained during the scuffles which ensued. Police arrested eleven activists, and subsequently released them pending further enquiries, Cymdeithas claim that 50% of the population in Carmarthenshire speak Welsh as a first language, but less than 5% of Radio Carmarthenshires output is in Welsh. The Welsh Language Act 1993 declared that Welsh should be treated on a basis with English. This group leads on a number of matters, including housing and planning policy and this group campaigns for rights to see and hear the language. This includes campaigns for investment in Radio Cymru and S4C, as well as the presence of the Welsh language online, Welsh medium education is available in most areas of Wales in the primary and secondary stages of school education. Welsh second-language GCSEs are compulsory in English medium education and this group demands improvements and also massive expansion in further and higher education. This mainly includes a Welsh language federal college, which would be a college that provides courses and resources in the medium of Welsh. Following the 2011 Census results, the group held a series of rallies across Wales, in the first rally in Caernarfon in December 2012, the group published its Maniffesto Byw which outlined tens of policies designed to strengthen the language. The society launched the Dwi eisiau byw yn Gymraeg slogan at the same rally, on 6 February 2013 and 4 July 2013, deputations of Cymdeithas met First Minister Carwyn Jones to press for urgent policy changes in light of the Census results. A revised version of the Maniffesto Byw was published in July 2013, following a public consultation, ceartas Cymdeithas yr Iaith website Cymdeithas yr Iaith website Documents on the founding of the Society
12.
Local government in Wales
–
For local government purposes, Wales has since 1 April 1996 been divided into 22 single-tier principal areas. The elected councils of these areas are responsible for the provision of all government services, including education, social work, environmental protection. Below these there are also elected community councils to which responsibility for specific aspects of the application of local policy may be devolved. The Queen appoints a Lord Lieutenant to represent her in each of the eight preserved counties of Wales, subdivisions of Wales created for such purposes as the provision of police and emergency services and the organization of the National Health Service are made up of combinations of principal areas. There are six cities in total in Wales, in addition to the three areas with city status, the communities of Bangor, St Davids and St Asaph also have the status. City status is granted by letters patent, the status was, however, not officially recognised for many years. When city status was restored to St Davids in 1994, St Asaph town council submitted a petition for the same purpose, the petition was refused as, unlike St Davids, there was no evidence of any charter or letters patent in the past conferring the status. Applications for city status in competitions in 2000 and 2002 were unsuccessful, There are 22 principal areas in Wales. They came into being on 1 April 1996 by virtue of the Local Government Act 1994, eleven are named as counties, including the Cities and Counties of Cardiff and Swansea, and eleven are styled as county boroughs. In 2002 Newport was granted city status, and the county borough is now styled as the City of Newport, Welsh language forms are given in parentheses, except where there is no English equivalent. Locations of each council headquarters are indicated by yellow markers, the current names of certain unitary authority areas are different from those specified in the Local Government Act 1994. Elections planned for 2012 were delayed until 2013, the historic counties of Wales are ancient subdivisions of Wales, used for various functions for several hundred years. The oldest date from 1138 By 1066 the whole of England had been divided into counties, the first counties, Cardiganshire and Carmarthenshire, were established in the 1240s. In 1284 the Principality of Gwynedd was divided into three counties, Anglesey, Caernarvonshire and Merionethshire and this can be regarded as an arrangement imposed on Wales by the English during the last years of Prince Llywelyn II. Before the end of the century, Flintshire had also become a county, the formation of counties was completed under the Act of Union 1536, which created Pembrokeshire, Montgomeryshire, Denbighshire, Radnorshire, Glamorganshire, Brecknockshire and Monmouthshire. These 13 counties were the main subdivisions of Wales from 1889 until the implementation in 1974 of the Local Government Act 1972. At the lowest level of subdivision in Wales are the communities. They may have elected community councils which perform a number of roles, such as providing local facilities, community councils are the equivalent of English parish councils
13.
City of Cardiff Council
–
The County Council of the City and County of Cardiff is the governing body for Cardiff, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. The council consists of 75 councillors, representing 29 electoral wards, the authority is properly styled as The County Council of the City and County of Cardiff or in common use Cardiff Council. No other style is sanctioned for use on Council Documents although it does occasionally appear wrongly as Cardiff County Council on documents, the City & County itself is usually simply referred to as Cardiff. After the 2004 election, which changed the control of the Council from Labour to No Overall Control, the Liberal Democrats remained the largest party following the 2008 local election, and formed an administration with Plaid Cymru. In 2012, the Labour Party took overall control of Cardiff council, elections to Cardiff Council take place every four years. The last election was 3 May 2012, the council was run by a Labour majority administration between 1995 and 2004. The Liberal Democrats ran a minority administration from 2004-2008, in 2012 Labour regained control of the council. Following the 2008 local elections in Cardiff there was no party with an overall majority. The Lib Dems increased their number of councillors to 35, forming an administration with Plaid Cymru. The Conservatives replaced Labour as the official opposition, Labour suffered badly, losing 14 councillors. Three independent councillors were elected, two former Conservatives who had left the group in 2006 being joined by an additional member, municipal life in Cardiff dates back to the 12th century, when Cardiff was granted borough status by the Earls of Gloucester. The offices of the Mayor, Aldermen, and Common Councillors developed during the Middle Ages, in 1905, Cardiff became a City, and the Borough Council became a City Council. The City of Cardiff is the county town of Glamorgan, however, prior to 1974, Cardiff was a County Borough in its own right and not subject to Glamorgan County Council. Council reorganisation in 1974 paired Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan together as district councils subject to the new county of South Glamorgan, further local government restructuring in 1996 resulted in Cardiff Citys district council becoming once again a unitary authority - the present Cardiff Council. The first Mayor of Cardiff is listed by the County Borough Records as Ralph Prepositus de Kardi who took up office in 1126, in 1835, Thomas Revel Guest became the first elected Mayor of Cardiff when the first council elections were held. When Cardiff was granted city status in 1905 Cardiffs First Citizen became Lord Mayor, robert Hughes, the Mayor in 1904, was re-elected to become Cardiffs first Lord Mayor in the following year. The Lord Mayor was granted the right to the style The Right Honourable, the Lord Mayor now bears the style The Right Honourable the Lord Mayor of Cardiff. In 1999 a new system was introduced whereby the Leader of the Council could also serve as mayor for the duration of the Council without re-election and this led to Russell Goodway serving as both council leader and mayor from 1999 to 2003
14.
Carmarthenshire
–
Carmarthenshire is a unitary authority in the south-west of Wales and is the largest of the thirteen historic counties of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford, Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre of Carmarthenshire, but the most populous settlement is Llanelli. Carmarthenshire has been inhabited since prehistoric times, the town of Carmarthen was founded by the Romans, and the region was part of the Principality of Deheubarth during the High Middle Ages. It saw turbulent times during the invasion by the Normans in the 12th and 13h centuries before it was subjugated, along other parts of Wales. There was further unrest in the early 15th century when the Welsh rebelled under Owain Glyndŵr, Carmarthenshire is mainly an agricultural county, apart from the southeastern part which at one time was heavily industrialised with coal mining, steel-making and tin-plating. In the north of the county the woollen industry was important in the 18th century. Nowadays the economy of the county depends on agriculture, forestry, fishing, with the decline in its industrial base and the low profitability of the livestock sector, Carmarthenshire is economically one of the worst-performing regions in the United Kingdom. Although Carmarthenshire is less frequented as a tourist destination than some other counties in Wales, further west are the sandy beaches at Llansteffan and Pendine, and Dylan Thomas boathouse at Laugharne. Further inland there are a number of castles, hillforts. Humans have been living in Carmarthenshire since at least 40,000 years ago as evidenced by stone tools found in Coygan Cave, near Laugharne. The Romans established two forts in South Wales, one at Caerwent to control the southeast of the country, the fort at Carmarthen dates from around 75 AD, and there is a Roman amphitheatre nearby, so this probably makes Carmarthen the oldest continually occupied town in Wales. Carmarthenshire has its roots in the region formerly known as Ystrad Tywi and part of the Principality of Deheubarth during the High Middle Ages. After the Normans had subjugated England they tried to subdue Wales, Carmarthenshire was disputed between the Normans and the Welsh lords and many of the castles built around this time, first of wood and then stone, changed hands several times. Following the Conquest of Wales by Edward I, the region was reorganized by the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284 into Carmarthenshire. Edward I made Carmarthen the capital of new county, establishing his courts of chancery and his exchequer there. The Normans transformed Carmarthen into a trading port, the only staple port in Wales. Merchants imported food and French wines and exported wool, pelts, leather, lead, Carmarthen was particularly susceptible to plague as it was brought in by flea-infested rats on board ships from southern France. In 1405, Owain Glyndŵr captured Carmarthen Castle and several other strongholds in the neighbourhood, however, when his support dwindled, the principal men of the county returned their allegiance to King Henry V
15.
City and County of Swansea Council
–
The City and County of Swansea Council is the governing body for one of the Principal Areas of Wales covering Swansea, Gower and the surrounding area. The council consists of 72 councillors representing 36 electoral wards, the council is controlled by the Labour Party. Elections take place five years. The last election was 3 May 2012, source, Between 1996 and 2004, the council was under Labour control. However these figures changed during the 2004-2008 period with the defection of Cllr, keith Morgan from Plaid Cymru to the Welsh Liberal Democrats in 2005 and Cllr. Rene Kinzett from the Welsh Liberal Democrats to the Conservatives in 2006, following the 2008 elections, the Liberal Democrats agreed with the Independents to form another coalition for the next four years. Swanseas first charter was granted sometime between 1158-1184 by William de Newburgh, 3rd Earl of Warwick, the charter gave Swansea the status of a borough, granting the townsmen, called burgesses certain rights to develop the area. A second charter was granted in 1215 by King John, by 1888, the borough acquired the status of county borough, separating it from the administrative county of Glamorgan. Swansea County Borough Council was created in 1889 and the first elections held in November of that year, in 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, Swansea was merged with Gower Rural District, to become a district of West Glamorgan called the District and City of Swansea. Swansea has had a Mayor since it became a borough in 1835, the dignity of Lord Mayor was conferred on the city by Queen Elizabeth II on 22 March 1982 to celebrate the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales. The status was confirmed on 1 April 1996 when the Unitary Authority of the City and County of Swansea came into being, the style of the Lord Mayor is The Right Worshipful the Lord Mayor of Swansea. The official residence is the Mansion House in Ffynone, which was built as the home of a previous mayor. It was purchased by the then County Borough of Swansea in 1922, undated, Cornelius Collins, The city is divided into 36 electoral wards. Most of these wards are coterminous with communities of the same name, each community can have an elected council. The following table lists council wards, communities and associated geographical areas, communities with a community council are indicated with a *, *1 -2001 Census The logo of the City and County of Swansea depicts a stylised Osprey. It is sometimes shown with the name the council written beneath it or written in a ring around the Osprey pictogram, the official coat of arms used by the council today were granted by the College of Arms in 1922. In April 1974, the City of Swansea was merged with the Gower Rural District to form the new District, the Arms granted to the Corporation of the County Borough of Swansea in 1922 were transferred unchanged to the new City Council in May 1975. The Certificate of Transfer of the College of Arms dated 11 March 1976 confirmed the re-granting of the Arms, with the 1996 reorganisation of local government, the arms were transferred a second time to the present City Council
16.
Sport Wales National Centre
–
The Sport Wales National Centre is a sports facility in Cardiff, Wales, set up to assist the development of elite athletes in Wales. The Centre, owned and operated by Sport Wales, was established by the then Sports Council for Wales in 1971 as the National Sports Centre for Wales, renamed the Welsh Institute of Sport in 1994, it has been known as the Sport Wales National Centre since April 2010. The Centre is located in Sophia Gardens, Cardiff and opened on 30 October 1971, the main building housing the indoor sports halls is by F. D. Williamson & Associates and is described in The Buildings of Wales as An impressive piece of minimalism. Several governing bodies of sports in Wales are based at the Centre and it hosts the Welsh International Badminton Championship every year in December. Welsh national teams that train at the Centre include badminton, netball, gymnastics, field hockey and it is responsible for the management of the Welsh National Basketball League, the national teams and for the organisation of all national and international basketball competitions held in Wales. Hockey Wales is the governing body for hockey in Wales. Previously known as the Welsh Hockey Union it rebranded as Hockey Wales though the organisation still retains the name as a business. The Welsh Hockey Union was established in 1996 by the merger of the Welsh Hockey Association, Hockey Wales is responsible for the administration of all aspects of the game including clubs, competitions, development, internationals, schools, umpiring and universities. Sport Wales is responsible for developing and promoting sport and active lifestyles in Wales and it was established in 1972 with the objectives of fostering the knowledge and practice of sport and physical recreation among the public at large in Wales and the provision of facilities thereto. Sport Wales is the Welsh Assembly Governments main adviser on sporting matters and is responsible for distributing National Lottery awards to national governing bodies of sports in Wales, the Welsh Judo Association is the governing body for judo in Wales. The WJA has 80 affiliated clubs and over 2,400 members, a purpose built dojo is under construction at the Institute to house the WJA, allowing full-time tutorage of promising athletes. It has a membership of over 60 NGBs, the WSA acts as an independent consultative body to the Welsh Assembly Government, Sport Wales and to UK Sport. The Welsh Sports Association is based at the Sport Wales National Centre, Sophia Gardens, Sport in Cardiff Sport in Wales English Institute of Sport Scottish Institute of Sport Sports Institute for Northern Ireland Official website
17.
Football Association of Wales
–
The Football Association of Wales is the governing body of association football in Wales. It is a member of FIFA, UEFA and the IFAB, the FAW was founded at a meeting held on 2 February 1876 at the Wynnstay Arms Hotel in Wrexham, initially to formalise the arrangements for the forthcoming match against Scotland. In May 1876, a meeting was called, this time in the ballroom of the Wynnstay Arms Hotel in Ruabon where the name Football Association of Wales was agreed. The arguments and discussions continued so long that the local policeman came in to call time, the meeting ended with Llewelyn Kenrick appointed as the first chairman and honorary secretary with John Hawley Edwards as first treasurer. Kenrick continued to serve the FAW until 1884, when he left, in 1897, when the FAW secretary was charged with fraud, Kenrick returned to guide the association through the crisis. He made the break a few months later over the minor issue of the allocation of gate money to Welsh Cup semi-finalists and finalists. The FAW is also responsible for all actions against players in teams associated with the FAW. This includes Welsh teams playing in the English football pyramid, superseding the English FA disciplinary system with the exception of Cardiff City, the FAW is based at Neptune Court, Vanguard Way, Cardiff. It is governed by a council including nineteen councillors who are either elected, in 2012, chief executive Jonathan Ford claimed the FAW had an income of £14 million, funded from FIFA, UEFA, grants, sponsorship and TV revenue. All finances were spent on the development of the game. In 2013, Dragon Park, the Wales National Football Development Centre, Wales national football team List of football clubs in Wales Official website Wales at FIFA site Wales at UEFA site A Bibliography of Association Football in Wales
18.
Wrexham A.F.C.
–
Wrexham Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wrexham, Wales. Based on the clubs recorded formation date of 1864, they are the oldest club in Wales, since August 2011 Wrexham have been a supporter-owned football club. As of May 2015, the club has 4,129 adult members, Wrexham are perhaps most notable for an FA Cup upset over reigning English Champions Arsenal in 1992 and a 1–0 victory over FC Porto in 1984 in the European Cup Winners Cup. Wrexhams home stadium, the Racecourse Ground, is the worlds oldest international stadium that still continues to host international games, the record attendance at the ground was set in 1957, when Wrexham hosted a match against Manchester United in front of 36,445 spectators. Their first game was played on 22 October 1864 at the Denbigh County Cricket Ground against the Prince of Wales Fire Brigade, as the rules of football were still somewhat fluid at the time, early matches featured teams with up to 17 players on each side. In these early years Wrexham were leaders of the campaign to restrict teams to having just 11 players on the pitch at any one time. C, in the 1877–78 season the FAW inaugurated the Welsh Cup competition, to run on similar lines to the English FA Cup. The first Welsh Cup Final was played at Acton Park, Wrexham got to the final of the inaugural competition, where they defeated Druids F. C. 1–0, with James Davies being credited with the goal. Because of a lack of money at the fledgling FAW, Wrexham did not receive their trophy until the next year. 1883 also saw Wrexhams first appearance in the FA Cup, when receiving a bye to the second round of the competition they were defeated 3–4 at home by Oswestry. Crowd trouble at the game led to the club being expelled from the Football Association, Olympic was dropped from this clubs name in 1888. In 1890 Wrexham joined The Combination league, playing their first game against Gorton Villa on 6 September 1890, Lea played for the club despite only having one arm as did playing colleague James Roberts. Wrexham finished the second from bottom in eighth place in the first season. Wrexham played in the Combination for four years before an increase in costs resulted in the club joining the Welsh League in the 1894–95 season. The club then remained in the Combination league until 1905, by time they had managed to win the league four times. After several unsuccessful attempts Wrexham were finally elected to the Birmingham, Wrexhams first ever match in this league was at home against Kidderminster Harriers at the Racecourse, and two thousand spectators witnessed Wrexham win the match 2–1. Wrexham finished sixth in their first season in this league, during their time in the Birmingham and District League, Wrexham won the Welsh Cup six times, in 1908–09, 1909–10, 1910–11, 1913–14, 1914–15, and 1920–21. They also reached the First Round proper of the FA Cup for a time in the 1908–09 season before losing a replay 1–2 to Exeter City after extra time. In 1921 Wrexham were elected to the newly formed Third Division North of the Football League and their first League game was against Hartlepool United at the Racecourse in front of 8,000 spectators
19.
Dragons (rugby union)
–
Newport Gwent Dragons are one of the four professional Rugby Union regional teams in Wales. They are jointly owned by Newport RFC and the Welsh Rugby Union and play all their games at Rodney Parade. They play in the Pro12 league, the Anglo-Welsh Cup and the European Rugby Champions Cup/European Rugby Challenge Cup, however the team finished in the bottom three in the 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08 and 2008–09 seasons. In 2007 they reached the semi-finals of the European Challenge Cup, in 2011 they reached the semi-finals of the Anglo-Welsh Cup, losing to Gloucester. They are yet to make the stages of the Heineken Cup. They were formed on 1 April 2003, following an agreement between Ebbw Vale RFC and Newport RFC to form one of five regional rugby entities. Fundamental disagreements between the clubs saw a period of arbitration, led by the then Welsh Rugby Union chief executive David Moffett, on 28 July the side was launched under that name. This prompted Newport RFC benefactor Tony Brown of Bisley, Surrey to withdraw his support for the region. However, by 21 August Brown returned after Ebbw Vale chairman Marcus Russell resigned, with the Welsh Rugby Union demanding an explanation for the changes, and acrimony between the two clubs another agreement was struck, the side officially became Newport Gwent Dragons. On 12 November 2003 the regions founding company Gwent Rugby Ltd entered into administration, on 27 November a new company, Dragons Rugby Ltd. was established to run the region, with Newport RFC and the Welsh Rugby Union each holding a 50% stake. Despite starting their life in rugby with a 35–11 defeat away to Llanelli Scarlets. A 29–19 win over the Ospreys was to prove more telling, captained by Andy Marinos the side remained unbeaten at home in the Celtic League and eliminated Stade Français in the Heineken Cup. Ruddock rewarded two of his former Dragons players, Hal Luscombe and Jason Forster, with their first test caps on Wales summer tour of Argentina, Percy Montgomery also impressed Springbok selectors enough to remind them of his international credentials, and earn a Tri Nations recall. The following off season saw a change in direction. Gareth Cooper, Kevin Morgan and Ceri Sweeney were amongst a handful of players who joined the region when the Celtic Warriors were disbanded, having originally agreed to replace Mike Ruddock as head coach, Declan Kidney decided instead to seek employment back home with Leinster. It was not until 27 July 2004 that former Australian rugby league coach Chris Anderson was appointed, another credible Celtic League campaign followed, finishing fourth, the second highest Welsh region. Chris Andersons contract was not extended beyond its initial one-year duration, the region looked to Harlequins backs coach Paul Turner, a Welshman, as their new head coach. Turner would also have to contend with Percy Montgomery returning to South Africa, munster and Sale Sharks proved too strong in the 2005–06 Heineken Cup
20.
London Welsh RFC
–
London Welsh Rugby Football Club was a professional rugby union club formed in 1885. The club returned to Old Deer Park in 2015 after three seasons at the Kassam Stadium, Oxford, the club went into liquidation in December 2016, being given a temporary licence to complete two fixtures in the Championship. On 24 January 2017 it was announced that London Welsh had been removed from the RFU Championship, the RFU stated that their place in the league was untenable. As a result the club ceased to exist as a professional team, the status of London Welsh Amateur RFC was not affected by the expulsion and they retain voting rights within the RFU. Despite professionalism, London Welsh has tried to retain the atmosphere of an amateur club, the first-XV squad are fully professional, and they are complemented with the London Welsh Amateurs, Wizards and Occies are still strong parts of the club. They also have a social section, which goes a long way towards maintaining the amateur ethos of enjoying a game. London Welsh has one of the womens sides – LWWRFC – which celebrated thirty years of womens rugby at the club in the 2015–16 season. While still being amateur, the women train hard and have enjoyed recent success with the club, there are London Welsh Women representatives at England Regional Level and on the Wales National Touch team. There is also a popular mini & junior section, London Welsh, established by and for Londons Welsh community, has played senior-level rugby in England since its formation in 1885. Its name in Welsh, is Clwb Rygbi Cymry Llundain, over the years the club has contributed 177 players to the Wales national team and 43 players to the British and Irish Lions. Seven London Welsh players were selected for the 1971 tour to New Zealand, captain John Dawes, JPR Williams, Gerald Davies, Mervyn Davies, John Taylor, Mike Roberts and Geoff Evans. In December 2006, London Welsh revealed their ambition to leave the English league, in June 2009, the club went into administration shortly after turning professional. They were bought from the receivers in July 2009 by Saudex Global, owned by Neil Hollinshead, the former shareholders of London Welsh RFC rescinded the 2009 agreement, by which they sold the shares of the club to Hollinshead, and had regained control by January 2010. However a legal appeal by the club against the RFUs actions was upheld on 28 June 2012, after the panel ruled that the criteria were in breach of EU. Promotion was ultimately secured when it was announced that Newcastle Falcons, on 14 April 2013, London Welsh were relegated from the English Premiership in their first season after a 14–31 defeat at home to Northampton Saints. Newcastle Falcons were eligible for promotion and therefore confirmed Welshs relegation, on 4 June 2014, London Welsh won promotion to the English Premiership again, defeating Bristol Rugby 27–8 at home and 21–20 away, 48–28 on aggregate. The team therefore finished bottom and was relegated to the RFU Championship for the 2015–16 season, the team was also defeated in every single European Challenge Cup game, as well as every single Anglo-Welsh cup game. As a result, they became the first top-flight English side to defeat in every single competitive match over a season
21.
Mabinogion
–
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
22.
White dragon
–
The white dragon is a symbol associated in Welsh mythology with the Anglo-saxons. More recently, a featuring a white dragon on a red field has been adopted by English nationalist movements. In Welsh legend, the dragon was one of two warring dragons who represented the ongoing war between the English and the Welsh. The white dragon represented England, as opposed to the red dragon of Wales, the battle between the two dragons is the second plague to strike the Island of Britain in the mediaeval romance of Lludd and Llefelys. The White Dragon would strive to overcome the Red Dragon, making the Red cry out a fearful shriek which was heard over every Brythonic hearth. The plague was finally eradicated by catching the dragons and burying both of them in a pit at Dinas Emrys in Snowdonia, north Wales, the securest place in Britain at that time. The dragons were caught by digging out a pit under the point where the dragons would fall down exhausted after fighting. This place was at Oxford, which Lludd found to be the centre of the island when he measured the island of Britain. The pit had a covering over it and a cauldron of mead in it at the bottom. First, the dragons fought by the pit in the form of terrific animals, then they began to fight in the air over the pit in the form of dragons. The dragons were then wrapped up in the covering and placed in the pit to be buried at Dinas Emrys. The red dragon was taken to represent the Welsh and their victory over the Anglo-Saxon invaders. The tale is taken up by Nennius in the Historia Brittonum, the dragons remain at Dinas Emrys for centuries until King Vortigern tries to build a castle there. Every night the castle walls and foundations are demolished by unseen forces, Vortigern consults his advisers, who tell him to find a boy with no natural father, and sacrifice him. Vortigern finds such a boy who is supposed to be the wisest wizard to ever live, on hearing that he is to be put to death to solve the demolishing of the walls, the boy dismisses the knowledge of the advisors. The boy tells the king of the two dragons, Vortigern excavates the hill, freeing the dragons. They continue their fight and the red dragon finally defeats the white dragon, the boy tells Vortigern that the white dragon symbolises the Saxons and that the red dragon symbolises the people of Vortigern. If Vortigern is accepted to have lived in the century, then these people are the British whom the Saxons failed to subdue
23.
Dinas Emrys
–
Dinas Emrys is a rocky and wooded hillock near Beddgelert in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. Rising some 250 ft above the floor of the Glaslyn river valley, little remains of the Iron Age hillfort or castle structures that once stood here, save its stone ramparts and the base of a keep. Some believe the castle was erected by Llewelyn the Last to guard the road to the pass of Snowdon. Little remains of the structures once stood on the hill. Such remains as are visible today, including three series of ramparts and other walls and some foundations, mostly date to the Middle Ages, the original means of access was by a steep path on the western side of the hillfort. The present entrance from the north-east is a later addition, excavations in 1910 and 1954–56 revealed several periods of habitation at the site. The earliest elements date to the Iron Age, perhaps to the 1st or 2nd century, a pool within the enclosure, thought to be an artificial construction, may date to this phase. It is perhaps connected to the found in the popular tale of Vortigern. Other traces suggest habitation into the 5th century, which would put it in the frame for Vortigern. It has long known that there is a pool inside the fort. This is the setting of the exchange of the warlord Vortigern. According to legend, when Vortigern fled into Wales to escape the Anglo-Saxon invaders, every day his men would work hard erecting the first of several proposed towers, but the next morning they would return to find the masonry collapsed in a heap. This continued for weeks until Vortigern was advised to seek the help of a young boy not conceived by a mortal man. The King sent his soldiers out across the land to such a lad. The boy they found was called Myrddin Emrys, Vortigern, following the advice of his councillors, was planning to kill the boy in order to appease supernatural powers that prevented him from building a fortress here. Merlin scorned this advice, and instead explained that the hillfort could not stand due to a pool containing two vermes. He explained how the White Dragon of the Saxons though winning the battle at present, after Vortigerns downfall, the fort was given to alias Emrys Wledig, hence its name. As to how the dragons became confined there, the story of Lludd, according to the legend, when Lludd ruled Britain, a hideous scream, whose origin could not be determined, was heard each May Eve
24.
Snowdonia
–
Snowdonia is a mountainous region in north Wales and a national park of 823 square miles in area. It was the first to be designated of the three parks in Wales, in 1951. The English name for the area derives from Snowdon, which is the highest mountain in Wales at 3,560 ft, in Welsh, the area is named Eryri. The term ‘Eryri’ first appeared in a manuscript in the 9th-century Historia Brittonum, in the Middle Ages the title Prince of Wales and Lord of Snowdonia was used by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, his grandfather Llywelyn Fawr used the title Prince of north Wales and Lord of Snowdonia. This is apparent in books published prior to 1951, such as the classic travelogue Wild Wales by George Borrow, F. J. North, as editor of the book Snowdonia, states When the Committee delineated provisional boundaries, they included areas some distance beyond Snowdonia proper. The traditional Snowdonia thus includes the ranges of Snowdon and its satellites, the Glyderau, the Carneddau and it does not include the hills to the south of Maentwrog. As Eryri, this area has a place in Welsh history, tradition. Snowdonia National Park was established in 1951 as the national park in Britain, following the Peak District. It covers 827 square miles, and has 37 miles of coastline, the park is governed by the Snowdonia National Park Authority, which is made up of local government and Welsh representatives, and its main offices are at Penrhyndeudraeth. Unlike national parks in countries, Snowdonia are made up of both public and private lands under central planning authority. The makeup of land ownership at Snowdonia is as follows, More than 26,000 people live within the park,58. 6% of the population could speak Welsh in 2011. While most of the land is open or mountainous land. Since the local government re-organisation of 1998, the park partly in the county of Gwynedd. Unusually, Snowdonia National Park has a hole in the middle, around the town of Blaenau Ffestiniog and this was deliberately excluded from the park when it was set up to allow the development of new light industry to replace the reduced slate industry. The Snowdonia Society is a charity formed in 1967. It is a group of people with an interest in the area. Amory Lovins led the successful 1970s opposition to stop Rio Tinto digging up the area for a massive mine. Research indicates that there were 3.67 million visitors to Snowdonia National Park in 2013, total tourist expenditure was £433.6 million in 2013
25.
Geoffrey of Monmouth
–
Geoffrey of Monmouth was a British cleric and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography and the popularity of tales of King Arthur. He is best known for his chronicle The History of the Kings of Britain and it was credited, uncritically, well into the 16th century, but is now considered historically unreliable. Geoffrey was probably some time between 1100 and 1110 in Wales or the Welsh Marches. He must have reached the age of majority by 1129, when he is recorded as witnessing a charter. In his Historia, Geoffrey refers to himself as Galfridus Monemutensis, Geoffrey of Monmouth, which indicates a significant connection to Monmouth, Wales, Geoffreys works attest to some acquaintance with the place-names of the region. To contemporaries, Geoffrey was known as Galfridus Artur or variants thereof, the Arthur in these versions of his name may indicate the name of his father, or a nickname based on Geoffreys scholarly interests. Earlier scholars assumed that Geoffrey was Welsh or at least spoke Welsh and it has been argued, by Frank Stenton among others, that Geoffreys parents may have been among the many Bretons who took part in William Is Conquest and settled in the southeast of Wales. Monmouth had been in the hands of Breton lords since 1075 or 1086 and he may have served for a while in a Benedictine priory in Monmouth, but most of his adult life appears to have been spent outside Wales. Between 1129 and 1151 his name appears on six charters in the Oxford area and he was probably a secular canon of St. Georges college. All the charters signed by Geoffrey are also signed by Walter, Archdeacon of Oxford, another frequent co-signatory is Ralph of Monmouth, a canon of Lincoln. On 24 February 1152, at Lambeth, Archbishop Theobald consecrated Geoffrey as Bishop of St Asaph, there is no evidence that he ever visited his see, writes Lewis Thorpe, and indeed the wars of Owain Gwynedd make this most unlikely. He appears to have died between 25 December 1154 and 24 December 1155, in 1155 according to Welsh chronicles, when his apparent successor, Richard, Geoffrey wrote several works of interest, all in Latin, the language of learning and literature in Europe during the medieval period. His major work was The History of the Kings of Britain, modern historians have dismissed this claim. The History of the Kings of Britain is now acknowledged as a work of national myth containing little reliable history. Other contemporaries were similarly unconvinced by Geoffreys History, Geoffreys major work was nevertheless widely disseminated across the whole of Medieval Western Europe, Acton Griscom listed 186 extant manuscripts in 1929, and others have been identified since. Where it was accepted as a true account. It consists of a series of obscure prophetic utterances attributed to Merlin, the Historys effect on the legend of King Arthur was so vast that Arthurian works have been categorised as pre- or post-Galfridian depending on whether or not they were influenced by him. The third work attributed to Geoffrey is another hexameter poem Vita Merlini, the story is set long after the timeframe of the Historys Merlin, but the author tries to synchronise the works with references to the mad prophets previous dealings with Vortigern and Arthur
26.
Historia Regum Britanniae
–
Historia regum Britanniae, originally called De gestis Britonum, is a pseudohistorical account of British history, written around 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. It is one of the pieces of the Matter of Britain. Although credited uncritically well into the 16th century, it is now considered to have no value as history, when events described, such as Julius Caesars invasions of Britain, can be corroborated from contemporary histories, Geoffreys account can be seen to be wildly inaccurate. Yet the deeds of men were such that they deserve to be praised for all time. He also cites Gildas and Bede as sources, then follows a dedication to Robert, earl of Gloucester and Waleran, count of Meulan, whom he enjoins to use their knowledge and wisdom to improve his tale. The Historia itself begins with the Trojan Aeneas, who according to Roman legend settled in Italy after the Trojan War and his great-grandson Brutus is banished, and, after a period of wandering, is directed by the goddess Diana to settle on an island in the western ocean. Brutus lands at Totnes and names the island, then called Albion, Brutus defeats the giants who are the only inhabitants of the island, and establishes his capital, Troia Nova, on the banks of the Thames, after his time it is renamed London. When Brutus dies, his three sons, Locrinus, Kamber and Albanactus, divide the county between themselves, the three kingdoms are named Loegria, Kambria and Albany. The story then progresses rapidly through the reigns of the descendants of Locrinus, including Bladud, bladuds son Leir reigns for sixty years. He has no sons, so upon reaching old age he decides to divide his kingdom among his three daughters, Goneril, Regan and Cordelia, to decide who should get the largest share, he asks his daughters how much they love him. Goneril and Regan give extravagant answers, but Cordelia answers simply and sincerely, angered, Goneril and Regan are to share half the island with their husbands, the Dukes of Albany and Cornwall. Cordelia marries Aganippus, King of the Franks, and departs for Gaul, soon Goneril and Regan and their husbands rebel and take the whole kingdom. After Leir has had all his attendants taken from him, he begins to regret his actions towards Cordelia, Cordelia receives him compassionately and restores his royal robes and retinue. Aganippus raises a Gaulish army for Leir, who returns to Britain, defeats his sons-in-law, Leir rules for three years and then dies, Cordelia inherits the throne and rules for five years before Marganus and Cunedagius, her sisters sons, rebel against her. They imprison Cordelia, grief-stricken, she kills herself, Marganus and Cunedagius divide the kingdom between themselves, but soon quarrel and go to war with each other. Cunedagius eventually kills Marganus in Wales and retains the whole kingdom and he is succeeded by his son. A later descendant of Cunedagius, King Gorboduc, has two sons called Ferreux and Porrex and they quarrel and both are eventually killed, sparking a civil war. This leads to Britain being ruled by five kings, who keep attacking each other, dunvallo Molmutius, the son of the King of Cornwall, becomes pre-eminent
27.
Vortigern
–
Vortigern, also spelled Vortiger and Vortigen, was possibly a 5th-century warlord in Britain, known perhaps as a king of the Britons. His existence is contested, and information about him is obscure and he may have been the superbus tyrannus said to have invited Hengist and Horsa to aid him in fighting the Picts and the Scots. However, they revolted, killing his son in the process and it is said that he took refuge in North Wales, and that his grave was in Dyfed or the Llŷn Peninsula. He is cited at the beginning of the genealogy of the early Kings of Powys, the 6th century historian Gildas wrote De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae in the first decades of the 6th century. In Chapter 23, he tells how all the councillors, together with that proud usurper made the mistake of inviting the fierce and impious Saxons to settle in Britain. According to Gildas, apparently, a group came at first and was settled on the eastern side of the island. This small group invited more of their countrymen to join them, eventually the Saxons demanded that their monthly allotments be increased and, when their demands were eventually refused, broke their treaty and plundered the lands of the Romano-British. It is not clear whether Gildas used the name Vortigern, most editions published presently omit the name. A, refers to Uortigerno, and Mommsens MS, Gildas adds several small details that suggest either he or his source received at least part of the story from the Anglo-Saxons. The first is when he describes the size of the party of Saxons. This may be the earliest recovered word of English, both of these details are unlikely to have been invented by a Roman or Celtic source. Gildas never addresses Vortigern as the king of Britain and he is termed an usurper, but not solely responsible for inviting the Saxons. To the contrary, he is portrayed as being aided by or aiding a Council, Gildas also does not consider Vortigern as bad, he just qualifies him as unlucky and lacking judgement, which is understandable, as these mercenaries proved to be faithless. Modern scholars have debated the various details of Gildas story and it is not known whether private individuals imitated this practice. It is also not known whether Gildas reference to the side of the island refers to Kent. Apparently, even the close to Gildas in time struggled with the gaps in his account. The first extant text considering Gildas account is Bede, writing in the early- to mid-8th century, the Vertigernus form may reflect an earlier Celtic source or a lost version of Gildas. Bede also gives names in the Historia to the leaders of the Saxons, Hengest and Horsa, specifically identifying their tribes as the Saxons, another significant detail that Bede adds to Gildas account is calling Vortigern the king of the British people
28.
Merlin
–
Merlin is a legendary figure best known as the wizard featured in Arthurian legend and medieval Welsh poetry. The standard depiction of the character first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouths Historia Regum Britanniae,1136, and is based on an amalgamation of previous historical and legendary figures. He is allegedly buried in the Broceliande forest, near Paimpont in Brittany, Geoffreys rendering of the character was immediately popular, especially in Wales. Later writers expanded the account to produce an image of the wizard. Merlins traditional biography casts him as a cambion, born of a woman, sired by an incubus. The name of Merlins mother is not usually stated, but is given as Adhan in the oldest version of the Prose Brut, Merlin matures to an ascendant sagehood and engineers the birth of Arthur through magic and intrigue. Later authors have Merlin serve as the kings advisor until he is bewitched and imprisoned by the Lady of the Lake, the name Merlin is derived from the Welsh Myrddin, the name of the bard Myrddin Wyllt, one of the chief sources for the later legendary figure. Geoffrey of Monmouth Latinised the name to Merlinus in his works, medievalist Gaston Paris suggests that Geoffrey chose the form Merlinus rather than the regular Merdinus to avoid a resemblance to the Anglo-Norman word merde for feces. Clas Myrddin or Merlins Enclosure is a name for Great Britain stated in the Third Series of Welsh Triads. Celticist A. O. H. Jarman suggests that the Welsh name Myrddin was derived from the toponym Caerfyrddin and this contrasts with the popular folk etymology that the town was named for the bard. The name Carmarthen is derived from the towns previous Roman name Moridunum, itself derived from Celtic Brittonic *moridunon, sea fortress. The former had nothing to do with Arthur, in British poetry he was a bard driven mad after witnessing the horrors of war, who fled civilization to become a wild man of the wood in the 6th century. Geoffrey had this individual in mind when he wrote his earliest surviving work, the Prophetiae Merlini, Geoffreys Prophetiae do not reveal much about Merlins background. He included the prophet in his next work Historia Regum Britanniae, supplementing the characterisation by attributing to him stories about Aurelius Ambrosius, according to Nennius, Ambrosius was discovered when the British king Vortigern was trying to erect a tower. The tower always collapsed before completion, and his men told him that the only solution was to sprinkle the foundation with the blood of a child born without a father. Geoffrey retells this story in Historia Regum Britanniæ with some embellishments and he goes on to add new episodes that tie Merlin into the story of King Arthur and his predecessors, such as bringing the stones for Stonehenge from Preseli Hills in south-west Wales and Ireland. Geoffrey dealt with Merlin again in his third work Vita Merlini and he based the Vita on stories of the original 6th-century Myrddin, set long after his time frame for the life of Merlin Ambrosius. He tries to assert that the characters are the same references to King Arthur and his death
29.
Uther Pendragon
–
Uther Pendragon also known as King Uther, is a legendary king of sub-Roman Britain and the father of King Arthur. He is a fairly ambiguous individual throughout the literature, but is described as a strong king, according to Arthurian Legend, Merlin magically disguises Uther to look like his enemy Gorlois, enabling Uther to sleep with Gorlois wife Lady Igraine. Thus Arthur, the once and future king, is an illegitimate child and this act of conception occurs the very night that Uthers troops dispatch Gorlois. This theme of illegitimate conception is repeated in Arthurs siring of Mordred by his own half-sister Morgause in the prose romances. It is Mordred who mortally wounds King Arthur in the Battle of Camlann. Uthers epithet Pendragon literally means Chief-Dragon or Head-Dragon, but in a sense, chief leader, chief of warriors, commander-in-chief, generalissimo, or chief governor. The name was misinterpreted by Geoffrey of Monmouth in the Historia to mean dragons head. According to Geoffrey and works based on his version, Uther acquired the epithet when he witnessed a portentous dragon-shaped comet, which inspired him to use dragons on his standards. According to Robert de Boron and the Grail cycle based on his work, it was Uthers older brother who saw the comet and received the name Pendragon, though the Welsh tradition of the Arthurian legend is fragmentary, some material exists through the Welsh Triads and various poems. Uther appears in fragments, where he is associated with Arthur and, in some cases. He is mentioned in the circa-10th century Arthurian poem Pa gur yv y porthaur, where it is only said of him that Mabon son of Modron is his servant. He is also memorialized with The Death-song of Uther Pen from the Book of Taliesin, the latter includes a reference to Arthur, so the marginal addition of dragon to Uthers name is probably justified. The Colloquy of Arthur and the Eagle, a contemporary with but independent of Geoffrey, mentions another son of Uther named Madoc. In Triad 28, Uther is named the creator of one of the Three Great Enchantments of the Island of Britain, since Menw is a shapeshifter according to Culhwch and Olwen, it might be that Uthyr was one as well. Uthyrs other reference, Triad 51, however, shows influence from Geoffreys Historia and it follows Geoffreys description of Uther as son of Constantine II, now called Custennin the Blessed, and brother of both Aurelius Ambrosius and Constans II. Uther is best known from Geoffreys Historia Regum Britanniae where he is the youngest son of King of Britannia Constantine II and his eldest brother Constans succeeds to the throne on their fathers death, but is murdered at the instigation of his adviser Vortigern, who seizes the throne. Uther and his other brother Aurelius Ambrosius, still children, flee to Brittany, Vortigern makes an alliance with the Saxons under Hengist, but it goes disastrously wrong. Aurelius and Uther return, now adults, Aurelius burns Vortigern in his castle and becomes king. With Aurelius on the throne, Uther leads his brother in arms to Ireland to help Merlin bring the stones of Stonehenge from there to Britain, later, while Aurelius is ill, Uther leads his army against Vortigerns son Paschent and his Saxon allies
30.
Caernarfon
–
Caernarfon is a royal town, community, and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,615. It lies along the A487 road, on the shore of the Menai Strait. The city of Bangor is 8.6 miles to the north-east, Carnarvon and Caernarvon are Anglicised spellings that were superseded in 1926 and 1974, respectively. The villages of Bontnewydd and Caeathro are close by, abundant natural resources in and around the Menai Straits enabled human habitation in prehistoric Britain. The Ordovices, a Celtic tribe, lived in the region during the known as Roman Britain. The Roman fort Segontium was established around AD80 to subjugate the Ordovices during the Roman conquest of Britain, the Romans occupied the region until the end of Roman rule in Britain in 382, after which Caernarfon became part of the Kingdom of Gwynedd. In the late 11th century, William the Conqueror ordered the construction of a castle at Caernarfon as part of the Norman invasion of Wales. He was unsuccessful, and Wales remained independent until around 1283, in the 13th century, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, ruler of Gwynedd, refused to pay homage to Edward I of England, prompting the English conquest of Gwynedd. This was followed by the construction of Caernarfon Castle, one of the largest and most imposing fortifications built by the English in Wales. The ascent of the House of Tudor to the throne of England eased hostilities between the English and resulted in Caernarfon Castle falling into a state of disrepair. The city has flourished, leading to its status as a major tourist centre and seat of Gwynedd Council, with a thriving harbour, Caernarfon has expanded beyond its medieval walls and experienced heavy suburbanisation. Its population includes the largest percentage of Welsh-speaking citizens anywhere in Wales, the status of Royal Borough was granted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1963 and amended to Royal Town in 1974. The castle and town walls are part of a World Heritage Site described as the Castles, the present city of Caernarfon grew up around and owes its name to its Norman and Edwardian fortifications. The earlier British and Romano-British settlement at Segontium was named for the nearby Afon Seiont, the work states that the inscribed tomb of Constantius the Emperor was still present in the 9th century. The medieval romance about Maximus and Elen, Macsens Dream, calls her home Caer Aber Sein, the Norman motte was erected apart from the existing settlement and came to be known as y gaer yn Arfon, the fortress in Arfon. A1221 charter by Llywelyn the Great to the canons of Penmon priory on Anglesey mentions Kaerinarfon, in 1283, King Edward I completed his conquest of Wales which he secured by a chain of castles and walled towns. The construction of a new stone Caernarfon Castle seems to have started as soon as the campaign had finished, edwards architect, James of St. George, may well have modelled the castle on the walls of Constantinople, possibly being aware of the towns legendary associations. Edwards fourth son, Edward of Caernarfon, later Edward II of England, was born at the castle in April 1284, Caernarfon was constituted a borough in 1284 by charter of Edward I
31.
Celtic Britons
–
They spoke the Common Brittonic language, the ancestor to the modern Brittonic languages. The earliest evidence for the Britons and their language in historical sources dates to the Iron Age, after the Roman conquest of Britain in the 1st century, a Romano-British culture emerged, and Latin and British Vulgar Latin coexisted with Brittonic. During and after the Roman era, the Britons lived throughout Britain south of the Firth of Forth, with the beginning of Anglo-Saxon settlement in the 5th century, the culture and language of the Britons fragmented and much of their territory was taken over by the Anglo-Saxons. The extent to which cultural and linguistic change was accompanied by wholesale changes in the population is still a matter of discussion. During this period some Britons migrated to mainland Europe and established significant settlements in Brittany as well as Britonia in modern Galicia, Common Brittonic developed into the distinct Brittonic languages, Welsh, Cumbric, Cornish and Breton. Although none of his own writings remain, writers during the time of the Roman Empire made much reference to them, the group included Ireland, which was referred to as Ierne inhabited by the race of Hiberni, and Britain as insula Albionum, island of the Albions. The term Pritani may have reached Pytheas from the Gauls, who used it as their term for the inhabitants of the islands. The first inhabitants were the Britons, who came from Armenia, the Latin name in the early Roman Empire period was Britanni or Brittanni, following the Roman conquest in AD43. Brittonic languages is a recent coinage intended to refer to the ancient Britons specifically. In English, the term Briton originally denoted the ancient Britons and their descendants, most particularly the Welsh, who were seen as heirs to the ancient British people. After the Acts of Union 1707, the terms British and Briton came to be applied not just to the remaining Brittonic peoples themselves, the Britons spoke an Insular Celtic language known as Common Brittonic. Brittonic was spoken throughout the island of Britain, as well as islands such as the Isle of Man, Scilly Isles, Orkneys, Hebrides. Thus the area today is called Brittany, Common Brittonic developed from the Insular branch of the Proto-Celtic language that developed in the British Isles after arriving from the continent in the 7th century BC. The language eventually began to diverge, some linguists have grouped subsequent developments as Western and Southwestern Brittonic languages, Pictish is now generally accepted to descend from Common Brittonic, rather than being a separate Celtic language. Welsh and Breton survive today, Cumbric became extinct in the 12th century, Cornish had become extinct by the 19th century but has been the subject of language revitalization since the 20th century. Ideas about the development of British Iron Age culture changed greatly in the 20th century, by this time Celtic styles seem to have been in decline in continental Europe, even before Roman invasions. Throughout their existence, the inhabited by the Britons was composed of numerous ever-changing areas controlled by Brittonic tribes. Part of the Pictish territory was absorbed into the Gaelic kingdoms of Dál Riata and Alba
32.
Saxons
–
The Saxons were a group of Germanic tribes first mentioned as living near the North Sea coast of what is now Germany, in the late Roman empire. They were soon mentioned as raiding and settling in many North Sea areas, as well as pushing south inland towards the Franks. Significant numbers settled in parts of Great Britain in the early Middle Ages. Many Saxons however remained in Germania, where they resisted the expanding Frankish Empire through the leadership of the semi-legendary Saxon hero, the Saxons earliest area of settlement is believed to have been Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein. This general area also included the probable homeland of the Angles, Saxons, along with the Angles and other continental Germanic tribes, participated in the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain during and after the 5th century. The British-Celtic inhabitants of the isles tended to refer to all of these collectively as Saxons. It is unknown how many Saxons migrated from the Continent to Britain, the Saxons may have derived their name from seax, a kind of knife for which they were known. The seax has a symbolic impact in the English counties of Essex and Middlesex. Their names, along with those of Sussex and Wessex, contain a remnant of the word Saxon. The Elizabethan era play Edmund Ironside suggests the Saxon name derives from the Latin saxa, Their names discover what their natures are, More hard than stones, in the Celtic languages, the words designating English nationality derive from the Latin word Saxones. The most prominent example, a loanword in English, is the Scottish Gaelic Sassenach and it derives from the Scottish Gaelic Sasunnach meaning, originally, Saxon, from the Latin Saxones. Scots- or Scottish English-speakers in the 21st century usually use it as a term for an English person. The Oxford English Dictionary gives 1771 as the date of the earliest written use of the word in English. Sasanach, the Irish word for an Englishman, has the same derivation, as do the words used in Welsh to describe the English people, Cornish terms the English Sawsnek, from the same derivation. In the 16th century Cornish-speakers used the phrase Meea navidna cowza sawzneck to feign ignorance of the English language, England in Scottish Gaelic is Sasainn. Other examples include the Welsh Saesneg, Irish Sasana, Breton saoz, and Cornish Sowson, Sowsnek, the label Saxons was also applied to German settlers who migrated during the 13th century to southeastern Transylvania. From Transylvania, some Saxons migrated to neighbouring Moldavia, as the name of the town, Sas-cut, sascut is located in the part of Moldavia that is today part of Romania. The Finns and Estonians have changed their usage of the term Saxony over the centuries to denote now the country of Germany
33.
Cadwaladr
–
Cadwaladr ap Cadwallon was king of Gwynedd in Wales from around AD655 to 682. Two devastating plagues happened during his reign, one in 664, little else is known of his reign. Though little is known about the historical Cadwaladr, he became a mythical figure in Welsh culture. He is a prominent character in the stories of Geoffrey of Monmouth. In Geoffreys account, he not die of plague. He renounces his throne in 688 to become a pilgrim, in response to a prophecy that his sacrifice of personal power will bring about a victory of the Britons over the Anglo-Saxons. Geoffreys story of Cadwaladrs prophecy and trip to Rome is believed to be an embellishment of the events in the life of Cædwalla of Wessex, Cædwalla renounced his throne and travelled to Rome in 688. For later Welsh commentators, the myth provided a messianic hope for the deliverance of Britain from the dominion of the Saxons. The red dragon has long known as a Welsh symbol, appearing in the Mabinogion, the Historia Brittonum. Since the accession of Henry VII to the English throne, it has often referred to as The Red Dragon of Cadwaladr. The association with Cadwaladr is a one, without a firm historical provenance. Cadwaladr was the son of a father, Cadwallon ap Cadfan. His name appears in the pedigrees of the Jesus College MS.20, Cadwaladr appears to have suffered a major military defeat at the hands of the West Saxons at Pinhoe near Exeter in 658. He is said to have been of a peaceful and pious temperament, the church of Llangadwaldr in Anglesey identifies him as its founder. Cadwaladrs name appears as Catgualart in a section of the Historia Brittonum, the great plague of 664 is not noted in the Annales Cambriae, but Bedes description makes clear its impact in both Britain and Ireland, where its occurrence is also noted in the Irish Annals. The plague of 682 is not noted by Bede, but the Annales Cambriae note its occurrence in Britain, both the Annales Cambriae and the Irish Annals note the plagues impact in Ireland in 683, as do other sources. The genealogies in Jesus College MS.20 and the Harleian genealogies give Cadwaladr as the son of Cadwallon, Idwal, who fathered the later king Rhodri Molwynog, may have been his successor. Cadwaladrs name is invoked in a number of works such as in the Armes Prydein
34.
Battle of Bosworth Field
–
Fought on 22 August 1485, the battle was won by the Lancastrians. Their leader Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, by his victory became the first English monarch of the Tudor dynasty and his opponent, Richard III, the last king of the House of York, was killed in the battle. Historians consider Bosworth Field to mark the end of the Plantagenet dynasty, at the request of his brother Edward IV, Richard was acting as Lord Protector for his son Edward V. Richard had Parliament declare Edward V illegitimate and ineligible for the throne, across the English Channel in Brittany, Henry Tudor, a descendant of the greatly diminished House of Lancaster, seized on Richards difficulties so that he could challenge his claim to the throne. Henrys first attempt to invade England was frustrated by a storm in 1483, marching inland, Henry gathered support as he made for London. Richard mustered his troops and intercepted Henrys army south of Market Bosworth in Leicestershire, Thomas, Lord Stanley, and Sir William Stanley brought a force to the battlefield, but held back while they decided which side it would be more advantageous to support. Richard divided his army, which outnumbered Henrys, into three groups, one was assigned to the Duke of Norfolk and another to the Earl of Northumberland. Henry kept most of his force together and placed it under the command of the experienced Earl of Oxford, Richards vanguard, commanded by Norfolk, attacked but struggled against Oxfords men, and some of Norfolks troops fled the field. Northumberland took no action when signalled to assist his king, so Richard gambled everything on a charge across the battlefield to kill Henry, seeing the kings knights separated from his army, the Stanleys intervened, Sir William led his men to Henrys aid, surrounding and killing Richard. After the battle Henry was crowned king below an oak tree in nearby Stoke Golding, Henry hired chroniclers to portray his reign favourably, the Battle of Bosworth was popularised to represent the Tudor dynasty as the start of a new age. From the 15th to the 18th centuries the battle was glamorised as a victory of good over evil, the climax of William Shakespeares play Richard III provides a focal point for critics in later film adaptations. The exact site of the battle is disputed because of the lack of conclusive data, in 1974 the Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre was built on a site that has since been challenged by several scholars and historians. In October 2009 a team of researchers, who had performed geological surveys and archaeological digs in the area from 2003, during the 15th century civil war raged across England as the Houses of York and Lancaster fought each other for the English throne. In 1471 the Yorkists defeated their rivals in the battles of Barnet, the Lancastrian King Henry VI and his only son, Edward of Lancaster, died in the aftermath of the Battle of Tewkesbury. Their deaths left the House of Lancaster with no direct claimants to the throne, the Yorkist king, Edward IV, was in complete control of England. He attainted those who refused to submit to his rule, such as Jasper Tudor and his nephew Henry, naming them traitors and confiscating their lands. The Tudors tried to flee to France but strong winds forced them to land in Brittany, then a semi-independent duchy, Henrys mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort, was a great-granddaughter of John of Gaunt, uncle of King Richard II and father of King Henry IV. The Beauforts were originally bastards, but Henry IV legitimised them on the condition that their descendants were not eligible to inherit the throne
35.
St Paul's Cathedral
–
St Pauls Cathedral, London, is an Anglican cathedral, the seat of the Bishop of London and the mother church of the Diocese of London. It sits on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grade 1 listed building and its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD604. The present church, dating from the late 17th century, was designed in the English Baroque style by Sir Christopher Wren and its construction, completed in Wrens lifetime, was part of a major rebuilding programme in the City after the Great Fire of London. The cathedral is one of the most famous and most recognisable sights of London and its dome, framed by the spires of Wrens City churches, dominated the skyline for 300 years. At 365 feet high, it was the tallest building in London from 1710 to 1967, the dome is among the highest in the world. St Pauls is the second-largest church building in area in the United Kingdom after Liverpool Cathedral, St Pauls Cathedral occupies a significant place in the national identity. It is the subject of much promotional material, as well as of images of the dome surrounded by the smoke. St Pauls Cathedral is a church with hourly prayer and daily services. The entry fee is £18 for adults, the location of Londiniums original cathedral is unknown. In 1995, however, a large and ornate 5th century building on Tower Hill was excavated, the Elizabethan antiquarian William Camden argued that a temple to the goddess Diana had stood during Roman times on the site occupied by the medieval St Pauls Cathedral. Wren reported that he had no trace of any such temple during the works to build the new cathedral after the Great Fire. Bede records that in AD604 St Augustine consecrated Mellitus as the first bishop to the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Saxons and their king, Sæberht. Sæberhts uncle and overlord, Æthelberht, king of Kent, built a dedicated to St Paul in London. It is assumed, although unproven, that this first Anglo-Saxon cathedral stood on the site as the later medieval. On the death of Sæberht in about 616, his sons expelled Mellitus from London. The fate of the first cathedral building is unknown and this building, or a successor, was destroyed by fire in 962, but rebuilt in the same year. King Æthelred the Unready was buried in the cathedral on his death in 1016, the cathedral was burnt, with much of the city, in a fire in 1087, as recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. The fourth St Pauls, generally referred to as Old St Pauls, was begun by the Normans after the 1087 fire, a further fire in 1136 disrupted the work, and the new cathedral was not consecrated until 1240
36.
Blazon
–
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb to blazon means to such a description. Blazon also refers to the language in which a blazon is written. This language has its own vocabulary, grammar and syntax, or rules governing word order, other objects — such as badges, banners, and seals — may also be described in blazon. The word blazon is not to be confused with the verb to emblazon, or the noun emblazonment, the word blazon is derived from French blason, shield. It was found in English by the end of the 14th century, formerly, experts in heraldry assumed that the word was related to the German verb blasen, to blow. Present-day lexicographers reject this theory as conjectural and disproved, the blazon of armorials follows a rigid formula, designed to eliminate ambiguity of interpretation, to be as concise as possible and to avoid repetition and extraneous punctuation. The nomenclature is equally significant, and its aim is to combine definitive exactness with a brevity that is indeed laconic. The rules of blazonry are as follows, Every blazon of a coat of arms begins by describing the field, with first letter as a capital, in a majority of cases this is a single tincture, e. g. Azure. If the field is complex, the variation is described, followed by the used, e. g. Chequy gules. The most common names are historically abbreviated. A Tincture is named only once in a given blazon, the principal charge are then named, with their tincture, e. g. a bend or. The principal charge is followed by any other charges placed around or on it, if a charge be a bird or beast, its attitude is described, followed by the animals tincture, followed by anything that may be differently coloured, e. g. An eagle displayed gules armed and wings charged with trefoils or, any accessories present — such as crown/coronet, helmet, torse, mantling, crest, motto, supporters and compartment — are then described in turn, using the same terminology and syntax. According to Boutell, It appears desirable always to print all heraldic blazon in italic, heraldry has its own vocabulary, word-order and punctuation, and showing it in italics thus indicates to the reader the presence of a quasi-foreign language. A quartered shield is blazoned one quarter at a time, proceeding by rows from chief to base, a divided shield is blazoned party per or parted per, though the word party or parted is almost always omitted. A tincture is sometimes replaced by of the first, of the second etc. to avoid repetition of tincture names, counterchanged means that a charge which straddles a line of division is tinctured of the same tinctures as the divided field, reversed. But as to the formulae of blazoning, John Brooke-Little, Norroy and Ulster King of Arms, wrote in 1985
37.
Argent
–
In heraldry, argent /ˈɑːrdʒənt/ is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures, called metals. It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it, in engravings and line drawings, regions to be tinctured argent are either left blank or indicated with the abbreviation ar. in them. The name derives from Latin argentum, translated as silver or white metal, the word argent had the same meaning in Old French blazon, from which it passed into the English language. In some historical depictions of coats of arms, a kind of leaf was applied to those parts of the device that were argent. Over time, the content of these depictions has tarnished and darkened. As a result, it can sometimes be difficult to distinguish regions that were intended as argent from those that were sable. This leaves an impression that the rule of tincture has been violated in cases where. He bases this in part on the labels used to difference the arms of members of the British Royal Family. However, it has argued that these could be regarded as white labels proper. Sometimes, the different tinctures are said to be connected with special meanings or virtues, even if this is an idea mostly disregarded by serious heraldists throughout the centuries, it may be of anecdotal interest to see what they are, since the information is so often sought after. Many sources give different meanings, but argent is often said to represent the following, Of jewels, the pearl Of heavenly bodies, the Moon Of metals, silver
38.
Or (heraldry)
–
In heraldry, or is the tincture of gold and, together with argent, belongs to the class of light tinctures called metals, or light colours. In engravings and line drawings, it is hatched using a field of evenly spaced dots and it is very frequently depicted as yellow, though gold leaf was used in many illuminated manuscripts and more extravagant rolls of arms. The use of gold for or was a fashion amongst certain heraldic writers in the mid-20th century who attempted to demystify. Or is sometimes spelled with a letter so as not to confuse it with the conjunction or. However, this incorrect heraldic usage is not met with in standard works such as Bernard Burkes General Armory,1884. Fox-Davies advocated leaving all tinctures uncapitalized, a correctly stated blazon should eliminate any possible confusion between the tincture or and the conjunction or, certainly for the reader with a basic competence in heraldry. Sometimes, the different tinctures are said to be connected with special meanings or virtues, even if this is an idea mostly disregarded by serious heraldists throughout the centuries, it may be of anecdotal interest to see what they are, since the information is so often sought after
39.
Winston Churchill
–
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill KG OM CH TD PC DL FRS RA was a British statesman who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. Churchill was also an officer in the British Army, a historian. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953 for his overall, in 1963, he was the first of only eight people to be made an honorary citizen of the United States. Churchill was born into the family of the Dukes of Marlborough and his father, Lord Randolph Churchill, was a charismatic politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer, his mother, Jennie Jerome, was an American socialite. As a young officer, he saw action in British India, the Anglo–Sudan War. He gained fame as a war correspondent and wrote books about his campaigns, at the forefront of politics for fifty years, he held many political and cabinet positions. Before the First World War, he served as President of the Board of Trade, Home Secretary, during the war, he continued as First Lord of the Admiralty until the disastrous Gallipoli Campaign caused his departure from government. He then briefly resumed active service on the Western Front as commander of the 6th Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers. He returned to government under Lloyd George as Minister of Munitions, Secretary of State for War, Secretary of State for Air, at the outbreak of the Second World War, he was again appointed First Lord of the Admiralty. Following the resignation of Neville Chamberlain on 10 May 1940, Churchill became Prime Minister and he led Britain as Prime Minister until victory over Nazi Germany had been secured. After the Conservative Party suffered a defeat in the 1945 general election. He publicly warned of an Iron Curtain of Soviet influence in Europe, after winning the 1951 election, Churchill again became Prime Minister. His second term was preoccupied by foreign affairs, including the Malayan Emergency, Mau Mau Uprising, Korean War, domestically his government laid great emphasis on house-building. Churchill suffered a stroke in 1953 and retired as Prime Minister in 1955. Upon his death aged ninety in 1965, Elizabeth II granted him the honour of a state funeral and his highly complex legacy continues to stimulate intense debate amongst writers and historians. Born into the family of the Dukes of Marlborough, a branch of the noble Spencer family, Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, like his father. His ancestor George Spencer had changed his surname to Spencer-Churchill in 1817 when he became Duke of Marlborough, to highlight his descent from John Churchill, Churchill was born on 30 November 1874, two months prematurely, in a bedroom in Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, Oxfordshire. From age two to six, he lived in Dublin, where his grandfather had been appointed Viceroy, Churchills brother, John Strange Spencer-Churchill, was born during this time in Ireland
40.
Aneurin Bevan
–
Aneurin Bevan, often known as Nye Bevan, was a Welsh Labour Party politician who was the Minister for Health in the post-war Attlee government from 1945 to 1951. The son of a miner, Bevan was a lifelong champion of social justice, rights of working people. He was a long-time Member of Parliament, representing Ebbw Vale in South Wales for 31 years and he was one of the chief spokesmen for the Labour Partys left wing, and of left-wing British thought generally. He resigned when the Attlee government decided to transfer funds from the National Insurance Fund to pay for rearmament, the left-wing group within the party, known as Bevanite, was named after him, but he did not control it. Bevan remains one of Waless most revered politicians, in 2004, over 40 years after his death, he was voted first in a list of 100 Welsh Heroes, having been credited for his contribution to the welfare state. Bevan was born in Tredegar, Monmouthshire, in the South Wales Valleys and on the edge of the South Wales coalfield, the son of coal miner David Bevan and Phoebe née Prothero. Both Bevans parents were Nonconformists, his father was a Baptist, one of ten children, Bevan did poorly at school and his academic performance was so bad that his headmaster made him repeat a year. At the age of 13, Bevan left school and began working in the local Ty-Trist Colliery. David Bevan had been a supporter of the Liberal Party in his youth, Aneurin Bevan also joined the Tredegar branch of the South Wales Miners Federation and became a trade union activist, he was head of his local Miners Lodge at only 19. Bevan became a well-known local orator and was seen by his employers, the manager of the colliery found an excuse to get him sacked. But, with the support of the Miners Federation, the case was judged as one of victimisation, in 1919, he won a scholarship to the Central Labour College in London, sponsored by the South Wales Miners Federation. There, he spent two years studying economics, politics and history and he read Marxism at the college, developing his left-wing political outlook. Reciting long passages by William Morris, Bevan gradually began to overcome the stammer that he had had since he was a child. Bevan remained at the College until 1921, attending at a time when a number of his contemporaries from South Wales, however, some historians have questioned how influential the College was on his political development. He was not, apparently, one of the most diligent students, Bevan was one of the founding members of the Query Club with his brother Billy and Walter Conway. The club started in 1920 or 1921 and they met in Tredegar and they would collect money each week for any member who needed it. The club intended to break the hold that the Tredegar Iron, upon returning home in 1921, he found that the Tredegar Iron & Coal Company refused to re-employ him. He did not find work until 1924 and his employer, the Bedwellty Colliery, Bevan then had to endure another year of unemployment
41.
Gwilym Lloyd George, 1st Viscount Tenby
–
Major Gwilym Lloyd-George, 1st Viscount Tenby, TD, PC was a British politician and cabinet minister. A younger son of Prime Minister David Lloyd George, he served as Home Secretary from 1954 to 1957, born at Criccieth in north Wales, Lloyd George was the second son of Liberal Prime Minister David Lloyd George and his first wife, Margaret, daughter of Richard Owen. Educated at Eastbourne College and Jesus College, Cambridge, Lloyd George was commissioned into the Royal Welch Fusiliers in 1914, in 1915 he became Aide-de-Camp to Major-General Ivor Phillips, commander of the 38th Division. He transferred to the Anti-Aircraft branch of the Royal Garrison Artillery in 1916 and rose to the rank of Major and he was also mentioned in dispatches. Lloyd George was Liberal Member of Parliament for Pembrokeshire from 1922 to 1924 and it was after the death of his father in 1945 that Gwilym began hyphenating his surname as Lloyd-George. From 1951 to 1957 he was Liberal and Conservative MP for Newcastle upon Tyne North and he was Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade in 1931 and again from 1939 to 1941, and Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food 1941–1942. In 1955, during his time as Home Secretary, he had refused to commute the sentence imposed on Ruth Ellis. Lord Tenby married Edna Gwenfron, daughter of David Jones, in 1921 and they had two children, David Lloyd George, 2nd Viscount Tenby, and William Lloyd George, 3rd Viscount Tenby. He died in February 1967, aged 72, and was succeeded by his eldest son, entry in Dictionary of Liberal Biography Brack et al. ‘George, Gwilym Lloyd-, first Viscount Tenby ’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, first published 2004, online edn, Jan 2011. Leigh Rayments Peerage Pages Leigh Rayments Historical List of MPs Hansard 1803–2005, contributions in Parliament by the Viscount Tenby
42.
Cardiff
–
Cardiff is the capital and largest city in Wales and the eleventh-largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is the chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media. The unitary authority areas mid-2011 population was estimated to be 346,100, the Cardiff metropolitan area makes up over a third of the total population of Wales, with a mid-2011 population estimate of about 1,100,000 people. Cardiff is a significant tourist centre and the most popular destination in Wales with 18.3 million visitors in 2010. In 2011, Cardiff was ranked sixth in the world in National Geographics alternative tourist destinations, the city of Cardiff is the county town of the historic county of Glamorgan. Cardiff is part of the Eurocities network of the largest European cities, the Cardiff Urban Area covers a slightly larger area outside the county boundary, and includes the towns of Dinas Powys and Penarth. A small town until the early 19th century, its prominence as a port for the transport of coal following the arrival of industry in the region contributed to its rise as a major city. Cardiff was made a city in 1905, and proclaimed the capital of Wales in 1955, since the 1980s, Cardiff has seen significant development. A new waterfront area at Cardiff Bay contains the Senedd building, home to the Welsh Assembly, sporting venues in the city include the Millennium Stadium, SWALEC Stadium, Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff International Sports Stadium and Cardiff Arms Park. The city was awarded the title of European City of Sport twice, due to its role in hosting major sporting events, first in 2009. The Millennium Stadium hosted 11 football matches as part of the 2012 Summer Olympics, including the opening event. Caerdydd derives from the earlier Welsh form Caerdyf, the change from -dyf to -dydd shows the colloquial alteration of Welsh f and dd, and was perhaps also driven by folk etymology. This sound change had probably first occurred in the Middle Ages, Caerdyf has its origins in post-Roman Brythonic words meaning the fort of the Taff. The fort probably refers to that established by the Romans, the anglicised form Cardiff is derived from Caerdyf, with the Welsh f borrowed as ff /f/, as also happens in Taff and Llandaff. As English does not have the vowel the final vowel has been borrowed as /ɪ/, although some sources repeat this theory, it has been rejected on linguistic grounds by modern scholars such as Professor Gwynedd Pierce. A group of five Bronze Age tumuli is at the summit of The Garth, four Iron Age hill fort and enclosure sites have been identified within Cardiffs present-day county boundaries, including Caerau Hillfort, an enclosed area of 5.1 hectares. The fort was one of a series of military outposts associated with Isca Augusta that acted as border defences, the fort may have been abandoned in the early 2nd century as the area had been subdued. However, by this time a settlement, or vicus, was established
43.
Gorsedd
–
A gorsedd /ˈɡɔːrsɛð/ plural gorseddau, is a community or coming together of modern-day bards. The word is of Welsh origin, meaning throne and it is often spelled gorsedh in Cornwall and goursez in Brittany, reflecting the spellings in the Cornish and Breton languages, respectively. When the term is used without qualification, it refers to the national Gorsedd of Wales, namely Gorsedd Beirdd Ynys Prydain. However, other gorseddau exist, such as the Cornish Gorsedh Kernow, gorseddau exist to promote literary scholarship and the creation of poetry and music. As part of this, their most visible activity can be seen at Eisteddfodau – Welsh language festivals, nowadays, much of its ritual has Christian influence, and were given further embellishment in the 1930s by Archdruid Cynan. The Gorsedd y Beirdd made its first appearance at the Eisteddfod at the Ivy Bush Inn in Carmarthen in 1819 and it is an association of poets, writers, musicians, artists and individuals who have made a significant and distinguished contribution to Welsh language, literature, and culture. The fictitious origin of these ceremonies was established by Professor G. J. Williams in works touching on Iolo Morgannwg, there are three ranks of membership in the Welsh Gorsedd. Until 2012 they were, in ascending order of honour, Ovates, who wear green robes, Bards, who wear blue robes, and Druids, who wear white robes. The head of a Gorsedd is known as an Archdderwydd, and wears a golden robe and these ceremonies are held to honour literary achievements amongst Welsh poets and prose writers. The ranks within the Breton Gorsedd are the same, in the Cornish Gorsedd, there is only one rank, that of bard, and all robes are blue. In the Welsh Gorsedd, a person may become an ovate or a bard by passing an examination in the Welsh language, Druids may only be nominated by existing druids. Often a new inductee will take a pseudonym, called a bardic name, to become an Archdruid, an individual must have won one of the Eisteddfods three highest awards, the Crown, the Chair, or the Literature Medal. In 2003, Robyn Lewys became the first winner of the Literature Medal to be elected Archdruid, christine James was the first woman to become Archdruid of Wales. People are also made ovates or druids as an honour to reward their contributions to Welsh culture, in 1946, the future Queen Elizabeth II was inducted into the Welsh Gorsedd at the National Eisteddfod of Wales. In recent years, Ron Davies, Rowan Williams, Matthew Rhys, Ioan Gruffudd, three Gorsedd ceremonies are held during the Eisteddfod week, The Crowning of the Bard The Awarding of the Prose Medal The Chairing of the Bard. During these ceremonies, the Archdruid and the members of the Gorsedd gather on the Eisteddfod stage in their ceremonial robes, when the Archdruid reveals the identity of the winning poet, the Corn Gwlad calls the people together and the Gorsedd Prayer is chanted. The Archdruid partially withdraws a sword from its three times, and cries A oes heddwch. to which the assembly reply Heddwch. The sword is then placed back into its sheath
.svg)
.svg)
.svg){kind=icon}
.svg)
.svg){kind=small}
