Welsh folklore


Welsh folklore is the collective term for the folklore of the Welsh people. It encompasses topics related to Welsh mythology, folk tales, customs, and oral tradition.
Welsh folklore is related to Irish and Scottish folklore due to its Celtic traditions, as well as English folklore. It also shares similarities with Breton and Cornish folklore due to shared history.

History

Medieval

There are numerous examples of Welsh folklore throughout Medieval Welsh literature, such as in the Historia Brittonum, Middle Welsh poetry and the Book of Taliesin. However, while there are allusions to Welsh folklore in the works of the "Beirdd yr Uchelwyr" 1350 to 1600 it was the cyfarwyddiaid, who were mostly responsible for recording folklore in this period.
The cyfarwyddiaid were members of the bardic order in Wales. The only historical cyfarwydd known by name is Bledri ap Cydifor. The cyfawyddiaid were considered a learned class with duties and an education that exceeded that of a common poet. They were court officials with extensive training in their art, and often had a close relationship with their lord. Their duties extended to the traditions involved in praising, celebrating and mourning their lord. Welsh folklore includes a number of tales that were preserved and told by the cyfarwyddiaid, who were also tasked with conserving the traditional historical material, the accepted myth of the Welsh past, and sharing the corresponding stories, being considered as historians themselves. Besides storytelling, the cyfarwyddiaid also had the task of protecting the genealogies of the powerful families.
The tales of Welsh lore were shared as proverbs and songs, in addition to simple spoken stories. The historical tales were told along with the non-historical fables, without significant distinction. This allowed culture and history to be explored and taught through the poetics of the time. In earlier periods, the penceirddiaid are believed to have narrated stories in the courts of princes and nobles. Later, the stories were told by the cyfarwyddiaid for audiences other than nobility.
The writing of medieval folklore had adopted and explored a set of rules and themes. It relied on the poetic triads of the time, poetics, old verse and knowledge of histories, which enabled the conception of well-crafted stories about the historical truths of the population. Additionally, regions would adopt their own guidelines in storymaking, such as the Triads of the Island of Britain, which led tales to be based on mythological, historical and heroic themes. The writing also followed structure, having a chronological series of events in short episodes, known as features, which reflect the oral origins of the tales for easy story-telling to the audiences.
Welsh folklore was often compared to Irish literature of similar value. They both consisted of similar structure and aimed to inform about the past, rather than to target the mistakes of their ancestry with satire. The form of these tales also mimicked that of early Irish sagas, being prose sprinkled with poetry. Moreover, the conservation of Irish tales was also performed by a class of gentry, much like the cyfarwyddiaid of Wales. However, even with other similar duties, the Irish bards were not story-tellers. That role was saved for the poets in Ireland.
This type of storytelling, in both Ireland and Wales, was believed to have arisen through spiritual inspiration. The poets spoke ‘through’ great knowledge, which was sometimes thought to be acquired only by the practice of divination, a concept known as ái in Irish, and awen in Welsh. The Welsh cyfarwyddiaid were thus considered awenyddion, able to deliver prophetic speech in a possessed state of awen. This is not the only ritual practice that evolved around Welsh folklore, as other customs have originated from the tales themselves.
Folk tales and legends have also survived through retellings by common people. Storytelling could and does occur in many different forms: "gossip, games, dancing, and the reciting of riddles, tongue-twisters, nursery-rhymes, harp-stanzas, folk-songs and ballads." Common occasions for telling folk narratives were the nosweithiau llawen, nosweithiau gwau, and Calan Gaeaf.

Early modern period

During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, a number of laws were passed to suppress Welsh culture. The 1401 and 1402 act, Penal laws against the Welsh forbid any public assembly for Welsh people as well as prohibiting Welsh men from holding senior public office, bearing arms or purchasing property in English boroughs. The laws were reaffirmed throughout the fifteenth century, before being replaced by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. As such, the Welsh-speaking gentry were replaced with a highly anglicised one, who used the English language and English customs. The laws had a substantial impact on Welsh culture, legally limiting both the Welsh language and culture to the lower classes.
Despite the demise of an affluent Welsh class, Wales saw a great number of cultural and educational movements in eighteenth century. As "the decay or demise of an ancient way of life" was matched by an unprecedented level of activity which worked to preserve or develop Welsh culture and an interest in all things Welsh, regardless of social status.

Nineteenth century

The nineteenth century saw a revival of interest in the folklore of nations across Europe. As such, English works such as The Cambrian Popular Antiquities by Peter Roberts and Welsh texts such as Ystên Sioned were published. The period also saw a number of folklore articles appearing in Welsh magazines. One publication, Y Genhinen, was established with the intention to promote folklore studies and protect the traditions of Wales.
While the "historical myth-making of the eighteenth century" saw a new wave of patriotic interest in folklore and folk-culture, the nineteenth century saw this again challenged by wider British state. In 1847 the "Treachery of the Blue Books" was viewed by many as a renewed attack on ordinary Welsh life by the Anglican church and the British government. While the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries saw Wales as a state which "lacked status", it paradoxically saw Welsh folk-culture flourish.

Folk narratives

Tales about animals with human characteristics

The most famous of these are the tales concerning the "Oldest Animals," in which a character gathers information from different animals until the oldest animal is located.
Culhwch and Olwen lists the Blackbird of Cilgwri, the Stag of Rhedynfre, the Owl of Cwm Cowlyd, the Eagle of Gwernabwy, and the Salmon of Llyn Llyw. The Triad "The Three Elders of the World" lists several of the oldest birds.

Witches

Humour about actual persons or types

This includes White Lie Tales, which are obviously and intentionally untrue. Common elements include the narrator's experiences in America, adventures while being carried on wings of a large bird, growing enormous vegetables, prowess at shooting around corners, ability to see over great distances, buying a hare's egg at Pwllheli Fair. Famous recent authors in this genre are James Wade, Daniel Thomas, Gruffydd Jones and John Pritchard.

(Pseudo-)histories of notable figures

  • Arthur
  • Twm Siôn Cati, often called the Welsh Robin Hood
  • The Lives of Saints, originally written in Latin, and usually stressing a male saint's conception, birth and childhood, while emphasizing a female saint's adolescence, virginity and sexual conflict. These include the Life of St. David by Rhygyfarch, and the Life of Cadog by Lifris of Llancarfan. The MSS Cotton Vespasian Axiv, written around 1200, collects the lives of numerous saints. Another important collection is The Book of the Anchorite of Llanddewibrefi.

    Local legends of historical or pseudo-historical figures

This includes Gwylliaid Cochion Mawddwy, a group of bandits who lived in Merioneth in the 16th century, mentioned in Thomas Pennant's Tours of Wales and other sources.
It also includes the legend of Gelert, the namesake of the town of Beddgelert in the Gwynedd area of Wales. The folktale is said to take place in the 13th century, and acts as a moral story about making hasty and rash decisions. In the legend, Llywelyn the Great, then-Prince of North Wales returned from hunting to find his baby missing, the cradle overturned, and his faithful hound Gelert with blood-stained fur and teeth. Believing the dog had killed his child and heir, Llywelyn drew his sword and killed Gelert. After the dog's dying yelp, Llywelyn heard the cries of his baby, unharmed and behind the cradle, along with a dead wolf which had attacked the child and been killed by Gelert. Llywelyn is overcome with sorrow and buries the dog, traumatised from its dying yelp. After that day, Llywelyn was said to never smile again.

Place-name or topography tales

This includes onomastic lore, which explains place-names. One notable example comes from the Historia Britonum, in which the name 'Carn Cafal' comes from a carn which mark the footprint of Arthur's dog Cafal.

Collectors of folk tales