Tre-Taliesin is a village in

Ceredigion Ceredigion (), historically Cardiganshire (, ), is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the West Wales, west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the River Dyfi, Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire t ...

, Wales, on the

A487 road The A487, officially the Fishguard to Bangor Trunk Road, is a trunk road in Wales that follows the coast from Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, in the south, to Bangor, Gwynedd, in the north. Route The road starts at a junction with the A40 in H ...

, 9 miles north of

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth (; ) is a University town, university and seaside town and a community (Wales), community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the largest town in Ceredigion and from Aberaeron, the county's other administrative centre. In 2021, the popula ...

and 9 miles south of

Machynlleth Machynlleth () is a market town, community and electoral ward in Powys, Wales and within the historic boundaries of Montgomeryshire. It is in the Dyfi Valley at the intersection of the A487 and the A489 roads. At the 2001 Census it had a po ...

. It is in the parish of

Llangynfelyn Llangynfelyn is a Community (Wales), community in Ceredigion, Wales, midway between Aberystwyth and Machynlleth. It stretches from the Afon Leri, Leri estuary in the west to Moel y Llyn in the east, and from Lodge Park in the north to Tal-y-bon ...

. The village is known for the Bedd Taliesin, a hilltop

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

tumulus which is traditionally regarded as the site for the grave of the Welsh bard,

Taliesin Taliesin ( , ; 6th century AD) was an early Britons (Celtic people), Brittonic poet of Sub-Roman Britain whose work has possibly survived in a Middle Welsh manuscript, the ''Book of Taliesin''. Taliesin was a renowned bard who is believed to ...

. A manuscript in the hand of 18th century literary forgerer

Iolo Morganwg Edward Williams, better known by his bardic name Iolo Morganwg (; 10March 174718December 1826), was a Welsh antiquarian, poet and collector.Jones, Mary (2004)"Edward Williams/Iolo Morganwg/Iolo Morgannwg" From ''Jones' Celtic Encyclopedia''. R ...

claimed he was the son of Saint Henwg of

Llanhennock Llanhennock () is a village and former community, now in the community of Llangybi, in Monmouthshire, south east Wales, United Kingdom. The population taken at the 2011 census was 496. The village of Tredunnock was within the community. In 2022 t ...

but this is contrary to every other fact and tradition. It is listed as a Historic Monument. It is a round-kerb cairn with a cist about 2m long. The capstone has fallen; the side stone slabs are more or less in their original positions. The cairn has no proven connection with the historical Taliesin, a 6th-century poet esteemed by the poets of medieval Wales as the founder of the Welsh poetic tradition whose surviving work includes praise poems to the rulers of the early Welsh

kingdom of Powys The Kingdom of Powys (; ) was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain. It very roughly covered the northern two-thirds of the modern county of Pow ...

and

Rheged Rheged () was one of the kingdoms of the ('Old North'), the Brittonic-speaking region of what is now Northern England and southern Scotland, during the post-Roman era and Early Middle Ages. It is recorded in several poetic and bardic sources, ...

, in the

Hen Ogledd Hen Ogledd (), meaning the Old North, is the historical region that was inhabited by the Celtic Britons, Brittonic people of sub-Roman Britain in the Early Middle Ages, now Northern England and the southern Scottish Lowlands, alongside the fello ...

(modern northern England/southern Scotland). He became a figure of legend in medieval Wales and his association with

Elffin ap Gwyddno :''The variant spelling 'Elphin' may refer to Saint Elphin, the town of Elphin, County Roscommon, Ireland or the Diocese of Elphin, cathedral in Sligo Town, Co. Sligo, Ireland. Elphin is also a village in Sutherland, Scotland.'' In Welsh myth ...

, son of the king of the fabled

Cantre'r Gwaelod , also known as or , is a legendary ancient sunken kingdom said to have occupied a tract of fertile land lying between Ramsey Island and Bardsey Island in what is now Cardigan Bay to the west of Wales. It has been described as a "Welsh Atla ...

, off the coast of Ceredigion, may account for the monument's name. The village was established in the 1820s, when a number of houses were built on former common land that had been sold to fund the drainage of

Cors Fochno Cors Fochno () is a raised peat bog near the village of Borth, in the county of Ceredigion, Wales. Lying on the south side of the Dyfi estuary, it forms a component part of the Dyfi National Nature Reserve. It was designated a UNESCO biospher ...

. The village then further expanded in the 1860s to house the families of miners working in the lead mines in the area. Prior to the building in the 1820s there were only a few scattered houses along the turnpike road, and the settlement was known as 'Tafarn Fach' (Small Tavern) - the story locally was that the new name was chosen as a more respectable one, given the religious sensibilities of the time. The village includes a chapel (Rehoboth) and a community hall (Llanfach). The village primary school (Ysgol Llangynfelyn) was closed by Ceredigion Council in 2016. Beddtaliesin

External links

Satellite mapVillage history
{{authority control Villages in Ceredigion