Culture of Wales


The culture of Wales encompasses the Welsh language, customs, festivals, music, art, cuisine, mythology, history, and politics. Wales is primarily represented by the symbol of the red Welsh Dragon, but other national emblems include the leek and the daffodil.
Although sharing many customs with the other nations of the United Kingdom, Wales has its own distinct traditions and culture, and from the late 19th century onwards, Wales acquired its popular image as the "land of song", in part due to the Eisteddfod tradition.

Development of Welsh culture

Historical influences

Wales has been identified as having been inhabited by humans for some 230,000 years, as evidenced by the discovery of a Neanderthal at the Bontnewydd Palaeolithic site in north Wales. After the Roman era of occupation, a number of small kingdoms arose in what is now Wales; however, details prior to the 8th century AD are unclear. Kingdoms during that era included Gwynedd, Powys and Deheubarth.
While Rhodri the Great in the 9th century was the first ruler to dominate a large portion of Wales, it was not until 1055 that Gruffydd ap Llywelyn united the individual Welsh kingdoms and began to annex parts of England. Gruffydd was killed, possibly in crossfire by his own men, on 5 August 1063 while Harold Godwinson sought to engage him in battle. This was just over three years before the Norman invasion of England, which led to a drastic change of fortune for Wales. By 1070, the Normans had already seen successes in their invasion of Wales, with Gwent fallen and Deheubarth plundered. The invasion was seemingly complete by 1093. However, the Welsh kingdoms were re-established and most of the land retaken from the Normans over the following decades.
While Gwynedd grew in strength, Powys was broken up after the death of Llywelyn ap Madog in the 1160s and was never reunited. Llywelyn the Great rose in Gwynedd and had reunited the majority of Wales by his death in 1240. After his death, King Henry III of England intervened to prevent Dafydd ap Llywelyn from inheriting his father's lands outside Gwynedd, leading to war. The claims of his successor, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, conflicted with those of King Edward I of England; this resulted in the conquest of Wales by English forces.
The Tudors of Penmynydd grew in power and influence during the 13th to 15th centuries, first owning land in north Wales, but losing it after Maredudd ap Tudur backed the uprising of Owain Glyndŵr in 1400. Maredudd's son, Owain ap Maredudd ap Tudur, anglicised his name to become Owen Tudor, and was the grandfather of Henry Tudor. Henry took the throne of England in 1485, at the end of the Wars of the Roses, when his forces defeated those of Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field.
Under Henry VIII, the Laws in Wales Acts 1535-1542 were passed. The distinction between the Principality of Wales and the Marches of Wales was ended. The law of England became the only law of Wales which was then administered by justices of the peace that were appointed in every Welsh county. Wales was then represented in parliament by 26 members.
English became the only official language of courts in Wales, and people that used the Welsh language would not be eligible for public office in the territories of the king of England. Welsh was limited to the working and lower middle classes, which played a central role in the public attitude to the language.
The House of Tudor continued to reign through several successive monarchs until 1603, when James I took the throne for the House of Stuart; his great-grandmother was Margaret Tudor.

Identity and nationalism

Welsh nationalism emphasises the distinctiveness of Welsh language, culture, and history, and calls for more self-determination for Wales, which might include more devolved powers for the Senedd or full independence from the United Kingdom. While modern ideas of a self-governing Welsh state gained prominence in the mid-18th century, a sense of nationhood and cultural continuity has existed within Wales since the end of Roman occupation.
In 1406 Owain Glyndŵr set out a vision of Welsh independence in the Pennal Letter, sent to Charles VI King of France. This includes an independent Wales with its own parliament, led by Glyndŵr as Prince of Wales, a return to the Cyfraith Hywel of Hywel Dda, the establishment of an independent Welsh church and the founding of two new universities, one in south Wales, and one in north Wales. The letter requested the military support from the French for which Glyndŵr would recognise Benedict XIII of Avignon as the Pope in return.

Symbols

National symbols of Wales include the dragon, the daffodil and the leek. A story of soldiers wearing the leek during battle to make it easier to identify them is recounted in the 17th century, attributed to Saint David. The earliest certain reference of the leek as a Welsh emblem was when Princess Mary, daughter of Henry VIII, was presented with a leek by the yeoman of the guard on Saint David's Day in 1537. The colours of the leek were used for the uniforms of soldiers under Edward I of England.
The Red Dragon standard was most likely introduced to the British Isles by Roman troops who in turn had acquired it from the Dacians. It may also have been a reference to the 6th century Welsh word draig, which meant "dragon". The standard was appropriated by the Normans during the 11th century, and used for the Royal Standard of Scotland. Richard I of England took a red dragon standard with him on the Third Crusade.
Both symbols were popular with Tudor kings, with Henry VII of England adding the white and green background to the red dragon standard. It was largely forgotten by the House of Stuart, who favoured a unicorn instead. By the 17th and 18th centuries, it became common practice in Great Britain for the gentry to wear leeks on St. David's Day. In 1807, a "a red dragon passant standing on a mound" was made the King's badge for Wales. Following an increase in nationalism in 1953, it was proposed to add the motto Y ddraig goch ddyry cychwyn to the flag. This was poorly received, and six years later Queen Elizabeth II intervened to put the current flag in place. It has been proposed that the flag of the United Kingdom be redesigned to include a symbol representing Wales, as it is the only nation in the United Kingdom not represented in the flag.
The daffodil is a more recent development, becoming popular during the 19th century. It may have been linked to the leek; the Welsh for daffodil translates as "St Peter's leek". During the 20th century, the daffodil rose to rival the prominence of the leek as a symbol of Wales. Prime Minister David Lloyd George ensured that the daffodil had a place in the investiture of Edward, Prince of Wales.
The traditional Welsh costume and Welsh hat were well known during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Princess Alexandrina Victoria had a hat made for her when she visited Wales in 1832. The hat was popularised by Sydney Curnow Vosper's 1908 painting Salem, but by then its use had declined.
Welsh people may sometimes engage in gentle self-mockery and claim the sheep as a national emblem, due to the 3 million people in the country being vastly outnumbered by some 10 million sheep and the nation's reliance on sheep farming. The importance of sheep farming led to the creation of the Welsh sheepdog.
Welsh lovespoons are traditionally crafted wooden spoons which a suitor would give to his beloved. The more intricacies of the design served a dual purpose, as it demonstrated the depth of their feelings to the beloved, and their crafting abilities to their potential suitor's family. The earliest known dated lovespoon from Wales, displayed in the St Fagans National History Museum near Cardiff. It is believed to have been crafted in 1667, although the tradition is believed to date back long before that.

Language

The two main languages of Wales are Welsh and English. Throughout the centuries, the Welsh language has been a central factor in the concept of Wales as a nation. Figures released by the Office of National Statistics taken from the 2011 census, show that Welsh is spoken by 19% of the population.

Religion

Before the Roman occupation, the dominant religion in Wales was a pagan one, led by the druids. Little is known about the traditions and ceremonies, but Tacitus, whose claims were sometimes exaggerated, stated that they performed human sacrifice: he says that in AD 61, an altar on Anglesey was found to be "drenched with the blood of their prisoners". Christianity was introduced to Wales through the Romans, and after they abandoned the British Isles, it survived in South East Wales at Hentland. In the 6th century, this was home to Dubricius, the first Celtic saint.
The largest religion in modern Wales is Christianity, with almost 58% of the population describing themselves as Christian in the 2011 census. The Presbyterian Church of Wales was for many years the largest denomination; it was born out of the Welsh Methodist revival in the 18th century and seceded from the Church of England in 1811; The Church in Wales had an average Sunday attendance of 32,171 in 2012. It forms part of the Anglican Communion, and was also part of the Church of England, but was disestablished by the British Government in 1920 under the Welsh Church Act 1914. Non-Christian religions have relatively few followers in Wales, with Muslims making up 1.5% of the population while Hindus and Buddhists represent 0.3% each in the 2011 census. Over 32% of the population in Wales did not note a religion. Research in 2007 by the Tearfund organisation showed that Wales had the lowest average church attendance in the UK, with 12% of the population routinely attending.

Festival days

The patron saint of Wales is Saint David, Dewi Sant in Welsh. St. David's Day is celebrated on 1 March, which some people argue should be designated a public holiday in Wales. Other days which have been proposed for national public commemorations are 16 September and 11 December.
The traditional seasonal festivals in Wales are: