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Rhonabwy
''The Dream of Rhonabwy'' ( cy, Breuddwyd Rhonabwy) is a Middle Welsh prose tale. Set during the reign of Madog ap Maredudd, prince of Powys (died 1160), its composition is typically dated to somewhere between the late 12th through the late 14th century. It survives in only one manuscript, the Red Book of Hergest, and has been associated with the ''Mabinogion'' since its publication by Lady Charlotte Guest in the 19th century. A diplomatic version of the text is published by the University of Wales Press as ''Breuddwyt Ronabwy'', edited by Grafton Melville Richards, first published in 1948. The bulk of the narrative describes a dream vision experienced by its central character, Rhonabwy, a retainer of Madog, in which he visits the time of King Arthur. The text seems to use the fictional trope of time travel. Narrative The frame story tells that Madog sends Rhonabwy and two companions to find the prince's rebellious brother Iorwerth. One night during the pursuit they seek shel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mabinogion
The ''Mabinogion'' () are the earliest Welsh prose stories, and belong to the Matter of Britain. The stories were compiled in Middle Welsh in the 12th–13th centuries from earlier oral traditions. There are two main source manuscripts, created c. 1350–1410, as well as a few earlier fragments. The title covers a collection of eleven prose stories of widely different types, offering drama, philosophy, romance, tragedy, fantasy and humour, and created by various narrators over time. There is a classic hero quest, "Culhwch and Olwen"; a historic legend in " Lludd and Llefelys," complete with glimpses of a far off age; and other tales portray a very different King Arthur from the later popular versions. The highly sophisticated complexity of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi defies categorisation. The stories are so diverse that it has been argued that they are not even a true collection. Scholars from the 18th century to the 1970s predominantly viewed the tales as fragmentary ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Owain Mab Urien
Owain mab Urien (Middle Welsh Owein) (died c. 595) was the son of Urien, king of Rheged c. 590, and fought with his father against the Angles of Bernicia. The historical figure of Owain became incorporated into the Arthurian cycle of legends where he is also known as Ywain, Yvain, Ewain or Uwain. In his legendary guise he is the main character in Chrétien de Troyes's '' Yvain, the Knight of the Lion'' and the Welsh Romance '' Owain, or the Lady of the Fountain'', which corresponds to Chrétien's poem. Historical Owain Our chief references to the historical Owain appear in the poems of Taliesin, Urien's bard. In one poem, he appears as the victor of the Battle of Alclud Ford. Another, ''Gweith Argoed Llwyfain'' ("The Battle of Argoed Llwyfain"), tells of Owain's part in a battle between the men of Rheged under Urien and the men of Bernicia under "Fflamddwyn" (Firestealer), possibly the Anglian king Theodric. When Fflamddwyn demands hostages, Owain shouts defiance and ins ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ywain
Sir Ywain , also known as Yvain and Owain among other spellings (''Ewaine'', ''Ivain'', ''Ivan'', ''Iwain'', ''Iwein'', ''Uwain'', ''Uwaine'', etc.), is a Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend, wherein he is often the son of King Urien of Gorre and the sorceress Morgan le Fay. The historical Owain mab Urien, on whom the literary character is based, was the king of Rheged in Great Britain during the late 6th century. Yvain was one of the earliest characters associated with King Arthur. He was also one of the most popular, starring in Chrétien de Troyes' late-12th-century ''Yvain, the Knight of the Lion'' and appearing prominently in many later accounts, often accompanied by his fierce pet lion. He remains Urien's son in virtually all literature in which he appears, whereas other characters in Arthurian legend based on historical figures usually lost their original familial connections in romance literature. Welsh tradition Ywain (Yvain) takes his name from Owain mab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Camlann
The Battle of Camlann ( cy, Gwaith Camlan or ''Brwydr Camlan'') is the legendary final battle of King Arthur, in which Arthur either died or was fatally wounded while fighting either with or against Mordred, who also perished. The original legend of Camlann, inspired by a purportedly historical event said to have taken place in the early 6th-century Britain, appears only in vague mentions found in several medieval Welsh texts dating since around the 10th century. The battle's much more detailed depictions have emerged since the 12th century, generally based on that of a catastrophic conflict described in the pseudo-chronicle ''Historia Regum Britanniae''. The further greatly embellished variants originate from the later French chivalric romance tradition, in which it became known as the Battle of Salisbury, and include the 15th-century telling in '' Le Morte d'Arthur'' that remains popular today. Etymology The name may derive from a Brittonic ''*Cambo-landa'' ("crooked/twist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Madog Ap Maredudd
Madog ap Maredudd ( wlm, Madawg mab Maredud, ; died 1160) was the last prince of the entire Kingdom of Powys, Wales and for a time held the Fitzalan Lordship of Oswestry. Madog was the son of King Maredudd ap Bleddyn and grandson of King Bleddyn ap Cynfyn. He followed his father on the throne of Powys in 1132. He is recorded as taking part in the Battle of Lincoln in 1141 in support of the Earl of Chester, along with Owain Gwynedd's brother Cadwaladr ap Gruffydd and a large army of Welshmen. In 1149 he is recorded giving the commote of Cyfeiliog to his nephews Owain Cyfeiliog and Meurig. The same year Madog was able to rebuild Oswestry Castle, a fortress of William Fitzalan. It would seem likely that he had gained both the fortresses of Oswestry and Whittington in 1146. Defeat by Gwynedd At this time the King of Gwynedd, between 1149 and 1150, Owain Gwynedd was exerting pressure on the borders of Powys, despite the fact that Madog was married to Susanna, Owain's sister. Ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dartmoor Longhouse
The Dartmoor longhouse is a type of traditional stone-built home, typically found on the high ground of Dartmoor, in Devon, England and belonging to a wider tradition of combining human residences with those of livestock (cattle or sheep) under a single roof specific to western Britain; Wales, Cornwall and Devon, where they are more usually referred to simply as longhouses and in general housebarns. History The earliest are thought to have been built in the 13th century, and they continued to be constructed throughout the mediaeval period and into the Early Modern, using local granite or other stone. One particular longhouse near Carreg Cennen Castle in Wales is dated to the 11th century. Many longhouses are still inhabited today (although adapted over the centuries), while others have been converted into farm buildings. Forms of longhouses identical to those on Dartmoor are found in Cornwall, particularly on Bodmin Moor and in Wales where they are commonly called ''tyddyn'' m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Octa Of Kent
Octa (or Octha) (c. 500 – 543) was an Anglo-Saxon King of Kent during the 6th century. Sources disagree on his relationship to the other kings in his line; he may have been the son of Hengist or Oisc, and may have been the father of Oisc or Eormenric. The dates of his reign are unclear, but he may have ruled from 512 to 534 or from 516 to 540. Despite his shadowy recorded history Octa made an impact on the Britons, who describe his deeds in several sources. Sources The 9th-century ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', one of the most important sources for this period of history, does not mention Octa. It does, however, mention Hengist and gives Oisc as his son. However, Bede's '' Ecclesiastical History of the English People'', completed around 731, names Octa as the son of "Orric, surnamed Oisc" and the grandson of Hengist. Conversely, the 9th-century Cotton Vespasian manuscript indicates that Octa was the son of Hengist and the father of Oisc. Octa also appears in the '' Histori ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fidchell
(in Irish; also spelled , , or , and pronounced in Old Irish) or (in Welsh, pronounced ) was a board game popular among the ancient Celts. The name in both Irish and Welsh is a compound translating to "wood sense"; the fact that the compound is identical in both languages suggests that the name is of extreme antiquity. The game is often compared to or identified with chess, though this is evidently erroneous, as chess was unknown in Europe until the 12th century. The game was played between two people who moved pieces across a board; the board shared its name with the game played upon it. The name has evolved into , the word used in Irish for modern chess; the similar is the name in Welsh for modern chess. History or is mentioned often in ancient Celtic legends and lore, but the exact form of the game is open to speculation due to lack of detail on the rules, playing pieces, and the board. What is clear is that it was played on a board, with opposing sets of pieces i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grafton Melville Richards
Grafton Melville Richards (1910-1973) was a Welsh scholar in the field of Welsh language and literature and Celtic studies. Early life He was born on 29 September 1910 as the third son of William and Elizabeth Richards (his father was a railway foreman) in Ffair-fach, Llandybie, Llandeilo, Carms. Grafton Melville Richards married Ethyn Anne Bowen in Llanelli in July 1939 and had a son and daughter. He was educated at Neath Grammar School and went onto achieve a first-class (1:1) Honours degree in Welsh from the University College of Swansea, (now Swansea University) starting in 1928 and finishing in 1931. Academic beginnings In 1933, he gained a research M.A. with distinction. Following on from that, he was elected to a University Fellowship in 1934 which enabled him to continue his studies in Dublin with the scholars, Osborn Bergin, Myles Dillon and Gerard Murphy, as well as in Paris with Joseph Vendryes, Antoine Meillet and Émile Benveniste. In October 1936, he was given the pos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lady Charlotte Guest
Lady Charlotte Elizabeth Guest (née Bertie; 19 May 1812 – 15 January 1895), later Lady Charlotte Schreiber, was an English aristocrat who is best known as the first publisher in modern print format of the '' Mabinogion'', the earliest prose literature of Britain. Guest established the ''Mabinogion'' as a source literary text of Europe, claiming this recognition among literati in the context of contemporary passions for the chivalric romance of King Arthur and the Gothic movement. The name Guest used for the book was derived from a mediaeval copyist's error, already established in the 18th century by William Owen Pughe and the London Welsh societies. As an accomplished linguist, and the wife of a foremost Welsh ironmaster John Josiah Guest, she became a leading figure in the study of literature and the wider Welsh Renaissance of the 19th century. With her second husband, Charles Schreiber, she became a well known Victorian collector of porcelain; their collection is held in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mordred
Mordred or Modred (; Welsh: ''Medraut'' or ''Medrawt'') is a figure who is variously portrayed in the legend of King Arthur. The earliest known mention of a possibly historical Medraut is in the Welsh chronicle ''Annales Cambriae'', wherein he and Arthur are ambiguously associated with the Battle of Camlann in a brief entry for the year 537. Medraut's figure seemed to have been regarded positively in the early Welsh tradition and may have been related to that of Arthur's son. As Modredus, Mordred was depicted as Arthur's traitorous nephew and a legitimate son of King Lot in Geoffrey of Monmouth's pseudo-historical work ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' which then served as the basis for the following evolution of the legend from the 12th century. Later variants most often characterised him as Arthur's villainous bastard son, born of an incestuous relationship with his half-sister, the queen of Lothian or Orkney named either Anna, Orcades, or Morgause. The accounts presented in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medieval Welsh Literature
Medieval Welsh literature is the literature written in the Welsh language during the Middle Ages. This includes material starting from the 5th century AD, when Welsh was in the process of becoming distinct from Common Brittonic, and continuing to the works of the 16th century. The Welsh language became distinct from other dialects of Old British sometime between AD 400 and 700; the earliest surviving literature in Welsh is poetry dating from this period. The poetic tradition represented in the work of ''Y Cynfeirdd'' ("The Early Poets"), as they are known, then survives for over a thousand years to the work of the ''Poets of the Nobility'' in the 16th century. The core tradition was praise poetry; and the poet Taliesin was regarded as the first in the line. The other aspect of the tradition was the professionalism of the poets and their reliance on patronage from kings, princes and nobles for their living. The fall of the Kingdom of Gwynedd and the loss of Welsh independenc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
