Transcript Cymru - University of Ottawa

Cymru-Wales- Le
Pays de Galles
Who are the Welsh?
► The
word ‘welsh’ was given to the Celticspeaking Britons by the first ‘Anglo-Saxons’
who settled in Britain in the 4-5th centuries.
It was often used to mean Romanised Celt.
(as in France).
The word ‘Welsh’
► In
Old English (Anglo-Saxon) the word used
for the Britons was ‘wealas’ which can be
translated as ‘stranger’, ‘foreigner’, Briton,
even slave.
In time the word wealas became Wales.
The Britons to ‘Welsh’
► The
Britons called themselves by several
names including ‘Brython’ (Britons), and
especially ‘Cymry’ (fellowcountrymen/women.
Who are the Welsh?
► Eventually
the ‘Welsh’ (Celtic Britons), were
only in a majority in western Britain,
especially today’s Wales, Cornwall and
Cumbria (NE England).
► Eventually the word was only used for the
descendants of the Britons (Celtic Britons) in
Wales itself.
The ‘Welsh’ before Wales.
► The
Britons had inhabited the island of
Britain for at least one thousand years
before.
► They were the Celts of Britain, and by the
3rd century BC shared the La Tene Celtic
culture of the continent.
Found in
Tal-y-Llyn.
C150-50BC
Boudica
Boudica
of the Iceni
The revolt in 60AD
Magnus Maximus
383AD
Declared Emperor in
Britain.
‘left the nation as one’.
Circa 600-700AD
‘Welsh’
‘Cymry’
‘Britons’
Wales- Cymru- Pays de Galles
► With
the end of the Roman presence in
Britain (c430AD), and the beginnings of the
early medieval period (or as it used to called
the ‘dark ages’), we see the emergence of
Wales as a series of political entities, all
contributing to a sense of independence.
Wales- Cymru- Pays de Galles
► The
colonisation of the east of Britain by
Germanic peoples (‘Anglo-Saxons’) meant
that Celtic culture and language was
increasingly restricted to northern and
western Britain.
► This is many ways ‘created’ Wales.
Wales- Cymru- Pays de Galles
► And
in mainland Britain it was in Wales, that
Celtic culture was mostly preserved and
promoted after the 6th century AD.
► Nowhere were the ties to the past stronger.
► A past which the Welsh remembered as a
Golden Age of British (ie=Celtic) heroes,
saints and above all political autonomy.
Christianity in
Early Wales
400-1000AD
The Celtic Church in Wales
► Although
Christianity was introduced into
Britain under Roman rule, it was mainly
concentrated in the south-east of Britain in
urban locations.
► After the end of Roman rule (c410AD),
Christianity in the Celtic west between the
fifth and the eighth centuries was diffused
by groups of monks, often led by
charismatic leaders.
The Celtic Church in Wales
► Such
leaders known as ‘saints’ spearheaded
the growth of Christianity in the Celtic west
of Britain as the Anglo-Saxons arrived in the
east.
► The British Celts (Welsh, Cornish,
Cumbrians), the Bretons and the Galicians
developed a cultural and spiritual
consciousness which was clearly identifiable
as ‘Atlantic’.
The Celtic Church in Wales
► Shipping
routes played an important role in
bringing new ideas from one region to
another.
► As far as Wales was concerned, the sea
acted as a major Christianizing
superhighway.
► Links between Wales, Cornwall (also devon
and Somerset), Ireland and Brittany.
The Celtic Saints of Wales
► The
‘Lives’ of the saints (biographies).
► One of the most influential was St Dyfrig (d
c 550).
► He was undoubtedly one of the first of
these saints.
► He was a teacher, bishop and organizer.
The Celtic Saints of Wales
► One
of his students was St Illtud who
converted his own monastery into a protoUniversity.
► One of his students was St Samson who
brought this version of Christianity to
Brittany. (The bishopric of Dol).
The Celtic Saints of Wales
► The
most prominent of all Welsh saints was
St David (d.c.589AD).
► He was the acknowledge abbot-bishop in St
David’s in south-west Wales.
► He lived in an area where was Irish
influence.
► St David became a potent symbol of the
distinctive identity of the Welsh Church.
The Celtic Saints of Wales
► The
hallmark of the monastic settlements
was austerity, simplicity and purity.
► The most widely used word for church or
Christian foundation was llan, a word often
followed by a saint’s name:
► Llanddewi (the church of St David),
Llanbadarn, Llanilltud.
► Their churches were made of timber, and
were very small indeed.
The early Christian
treasures of Wales
The Gospels of St
Chad
730AD
Survival of Latin in
The early Welsh
church
Survival of
Romano-British
culture
Cadwgan’s
Stone
The Stone of
Paulinus
Peulin)
The Bell
Of
Gwynhoedl
Cross of Houelt
Cross of
Conbelin
(Cynfelin)
Cross of Nevern
(Nanhyfer)
Pembrokeshire
St Melangell
Wales- Cymru- Pays de Galles
► In
inhabitants of Wales were soon cut off
from the Britons (ie=Celts) of Cornwall and
Cumbria (northern Britain) by the expansion
of the Germanic kingdoms of Wessex, and
Northumbria.
► The Vikings too, who assumed power on the
Isle of Man were able to attack the Welsh
coastal areas.
Cumbria
Elmet
Britain
c.600AD
Wales
Cornwall
The Kings of Early Wales
► Cunedda
Wledig (Cunedag)
► He and his eight sons left the territory of
the Uotadini (Gododdin- today’s Scotland)
for Gwynedd (NW Wales)
► They expelled Irish settlers and founded a
new dynasty. The Royal House of Gwynedd.
► Rhufoniog; Edeirnion, Ceredigion,
Meirionydd.
The Kings of Early Wales
► Other
kingdoms were formed in the south of
Wales in Dyfed, Brycheiniog and
Morgannwg.
► In north central Wales, the kingdom was
called Powys- which may possibly have
existed from Roman times.
► (Paganses)
Irish influence in early Wales
► During
the late Roman period, parts of
Wales became Irish colonies especially in
the NW and SW.
► Inscriptions in ogam are found in both parts
of the country.
► Irish missionaries passed through Wales on
their way to the Continent.
► Some words were borrowed from Irish into
Welsh (eg cerbyd=chariot).
The Kings of Early Wales
► Although
Wales was largely a patchwork of
small kingdoms until the 800s, by 855,
Rhodri Mawr (‘the Great;’) started to unify
Wales.
Wales- Cymru- Pays de Galles
► One
of the most prominent Welsh kings of that
time was Rhodri Mawr (Rhodri the Great), who
became ruler of Gwynedd in 844. He became an
internationally famous warrior king by defeating
the Danes in 856 AD. He extended his kingdom to
all of North and mid Wales.
Offa’s Dyke-Clawdd Offa
Wales- Cymru- Pays de Galles
► The
opinion today is that Offa’s Dyke was a
boundary, a means of economic and
political control between Offa and the Welsh
kings.
► The bank itself was 7 meters high, with a
ditch 2 meters deep, and up to 20 meters
wide. This would have made it difficult for
troops or livestrock to cross this cultural,
political and linguistic border.
Wales- Cymru- Pays de Galles
► With
the dangers posed by the heathen
Vikings, the Welsh made alliances with
English kingdoms to withstand their attacks.
► Around 893 the Welsh princes stood with
their Wessex allies against the Viking
invasion of c893AD.
Hywel Dda
The Lawgiver
Wales- Cymru- Pays de Galles
► Although
Wales was still a collection of
kingdoms (5 in all), we see the beginnings
of a desire for some form of unity.
► Under Hywel Dda (Hywel the ‘Good’ who
was Rhodri’s grandson), Wales codified its
law system (no small matter for a nation
that wants to find a sense of unity). He had
a vast territory which had brought most of
Wales under his rule.
Wales- Cymru- Pays de Galles
► Typically,
this disintergrated after his death.
► Wales had its own version of a civil war
during the hundred years between 9501050. The two side represented the
northern kingdom (Gwynedd) and the
southern kingdom (Deheubarth).
Wales- Cymru- Pays de Galles
► The
beginning of the eleventh century saw
the appearance of several new dynasties.
► A certain Llywelyn ap Seisyll became king of
Gwynedd around 1010. He extended his
control to include Deheubarth by warfare.
► His young son, Gruffudd (ap Llywelyn) took
over where his father left off and extended
the lands of this Gwynedd dynasty even
further.
Wales- Cymru- Pays de Galles
► Between
1056 and his death in 1064,
Gruffydd ap Llywelyn ruled the whole of
Wales, the only Welsh king ever to do this.
► He also played an important part in English
politics; he made alliances many of the
English earls. This soured, and led finally to
the assassination of Gruffydd.
Wales- Cymru- Pays de Galles
► Gwynedd
lost its independence and
Deheubarth regained theirs.
► England had emerged as a unified kingdom
under Alfred, but in Wales were plagued by
an adherence to petty kingdoms and local
power.
Wales- Cymru- Pays de Galles
► This
early Welsh society had eveolved a
kind of ‘tribal’ society in which blood
relationships were all-important.
► This society was found in scattered
settlements called maenors, groups of
which formed cantrevs, the basic unit of
royal administration.
Wales- Cymru- Pays de Galles
► By
the latter part of the twelfth century, three
Welsh kingdoms stood out: Gwynedd (capital:
Aberffraw), Powys (capital: Mathrafal) and
Deheubarth (capital: Dinefwr).
► This was called in medieval Latin Wallia or Pura
Wallia and was seen as being quite different to the
parts of Wales that came increasingly under
Norman control the Marchia Wallie.
Wales- Cymru- Pays de Galles
► In
that era the dynasties ruling Gwynedd became
the most important political force in Wales.
► The most impressive was Llywelyn ap Iorwerth (or
Llywelyn the Great). He spent much time fighting
against his own relatives, until he was the
undisputed ruler of Gwynedd, and recognised as
such by the English king John. (Llywelyn married
his daughter).
Wales- Cymru- Pays de Galles
► In
1216 he summoned the Welsh princes
from the south to a kind of parliament at
Aberdyfi.
► He repeated this in 1238 to a kind of privy
council at Strata Florida in west Wales.
► He never called himself ‘prince of Wales’ but
he clearly was deserving of the title. He died
in 1240.
Wales- Cymru- Pays de Galles
► His
grandson Llywelyn ap Gruffudd. After an
internecine war between the sons of
LLywelyn ap Iorwerth and also another by
his own brothers, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd
created a kingdom which came close to
covering the whole of Wales, and he
declared himself ‘Prince of Wales’ (Tywysog
Cymru).
Wales- Cymru- Pays de Galles
► He
created a a Principality of Wales
composed of Gwynedd, Powys and
Deheubarth.
► Eventually hostility developed between
Llywelyn and the powerful English king
Edward I. Certain impositions made the
Welsh indignant and eventually a revolt
ensued.
Wales- Cymru- Pays de Galles
► Llywelyn
was killed shortly before the battle of
Irfon Bridge in mid Wales on 11 December 1282.
► Llywelyn, the last native Prince of Wales, was
beheaded.
► His brother Dafydd fought on for another year.
► Welsh independence was at an end. Wales
became an integral, if troublesome, part of the
realm of England.
The tomb of Llywelyn ab Iorwerth
The Castles of Wales
The Castles of Wales
► Most
of the castles in Wales today date
from the period of the defeat of the Welsh
after 1282
► Dolwyddelan
Castle:
is however a native Welsh
Conwy Castle
The Castles of Wales
Caernarfon Castle
Caernarfon Castle
► The
great castle of Caernarfon stands at the
junction of the Menai Straits and the river
Seiont.
► In design the the castle is a long oval
enclosure running east-west.
► All the castle towers are polygonal, copying
possibly designs known elsewhere,
especially the walls of Constantinople.
Caernarfon Castle
Caernarfon Castle
Rhuddlan Castle
Beaumaris Castle Anglesey