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Prydain (, ; Middle Welsh: ''Prydein'') is the modern Welsh name for
''Prydain'' is the medieval Welsh term for the island of Britain. The Latin name Albion was not used by the Welsh. More specifically, Prydain may refer to the Brittonic parts of the island; that is, the parts south of Caledonia. This distinction appears to derive from Roman times, when the island was divided into
Prydain (, ; Middle Welsh: ''Prydein'') is the modern Welsh name for Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
.
Medieval
''Prydain'' is the medieval Welsh term for the island of Britain. The Latin name Albion was not used by the Welsh. More specifically, Prydain may refer to the Brittonic parts of the island; that is, the parts south of Caledonia. This distinction appears to derive from Roman times, when the island was divided into Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the territory that became the Roman province of ''Britannia'' after the Roman conquest of Britain, consisting of a large part of the island of Great Britain. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410.
Julius Caes ...
to the south and the land of the Caledonians to the North. The peoples north of the Roman borders eventually came to be known as the Picts
The Picts were a group of peoples in what is now Scotland north of the Firth of Forth, in the Scotland in the early Middle Ages, Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and details of their culture can be gleaned from early medieval texts and Pic ...
(Welsh: ''Brithwyr''); the Welsh term for Pictland was ''Prydyn'', which caused some confusion in the texts with ''Prydain''.
In Middle Welsh texts, the related term ''Ynys Prydein'' (Island of Britain), or ''Ynys Brydein'', can also refer to the island (''ynys'') itself but more often is a name for the Brittonic territories south of Caledonia. It is in this context that the name of the collection of traditional material arranged in triads known as '' Trioedd Ynys Prydein'' should be understood. In modern Welsh ''ynys'' means 'island', but in Middle Welsh it can also mean 'land' or 'realm' (cf. Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
''insula'').
There are numerous other instances of the term ''Prydain'' in medieval Welsh texts. One of the best known is found in the title of the 10th-century vaticinatory poem '' Armes Prydein'' ('The Prophecy of Britain').Ifor Williams (ed.), ''Armes Prydein'' (University of Wales Press, 1955).
In popular culture
Prydain is also used by Lloyd Alexander as the name for the realm in which hisfantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures.
The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...
book series '' The Chronicles of Prydain'' takes place.
See also
* History of Wales * Lloegyr * Britain (place name) * '' Trioedd Ynys Prydein''References
History of Wales Welsh mythology Medieval history of Wales Terminology of the British Isles {{Wales-hist-stub