r
BflROIC CONGRESS OF WALES
First Established for the Welfare of
the Community,
ANTEDATES
CHRISTIAN ERA
r
the First Fdsteddfod Wos Held Centuries
Beforo the Christian Era, and
' ' Its Exercises Similar to
Those of Today.
3. Humphreys Parry, the editor of
"The Transactions of the ; CymrodorN
ons, or Metropolitan Cambrian lnBtltu
tlon," a learned antiquarian and ele
gant writer, a native of North Wales,
at the beginning of the present century,
who had' a university training, and
gained the admiration of his fellow
countrymen bythe publications of the
Cambro-Brlton, a most valuable mis
cellany, in which Is contained a mass
of Information respecting the history
of Wales, writes of the Gorsedd lnsti.
tutlon in the following manner:
' "The Gorsedd, or Congress of Bards,"
lie says, "owed Its birth to the liardic or
Druldical Institution. It was at . tlrst
established for the promotion of objects
connected with the moral and political
welfare of the community, as well as
for the minor or subordinate purposes
of cultivating -the arts of music' and
poetry. The most ancient notices of It
now extant occur In the Triads, of the
social state, which are ascribed ' to
Dyfnwal Moelmud, who lived three or
four centuries before the Christian-era.
In these ancient records, the Qorsedd y
Belrdd, or congress of bards, is num
bered among the "national privileged
meetings of the Cymry." It was held
t stated times, In some central or ex
posed part of the country, or according
to the bardic maxim, "in the face of the
sun, and in the eye of light." Such was
the primitive character of the ancient
convention; but how long-it was re
tained there are no means of ascertain
ing with any degree of precision. The
long internecine wars consequent on the
successive Invasions of the Romans and
Baxons, as well as the introduction of
Christianity, by destroying the politi
cal and religious ascendancy of the
Druids, must have deprived the Institu
tion of Its primitive Importance, and
from this period there Is no' doubt it
gradually departed more and more
from Its genuine character. .
The Qorsedd In its earliest stage, we
have thus seen, was of a very different
nature from what it has since become.
In its next gradation It appears to have
been devoted to the more partculalr en
couragement of the musical and poetic
al talents of the country, as well as
to the perservatlon of the ancient or
dinances and traditions of the bards.
The earliest congresses of this charac
ter of which we have many memorials
are two which took place In the sixth
and seventh centuries, under the pat
ronage of Maelgwyn Uwynedd and Cad
waladr, last kings of the Britons, at
which several poets and minstrels at
tended. From this period we have no
further memorials of these national fes
tivals until we arrive at the time of
Bleddyn ab Cynfyn and Qruffydd ab
Cynan, when the original designation
of the Qorsedd seems to have been tlrst
exchanged for that now in use, of els-,-teddfod
or session. At the elstedd-
fodau holden during the reign of Qruf
fydd ab Cynan, In particular, many
alterations or amendments were made
in the Bardlo laws, and the national
music and poetry were subjected to a
varietyof Important regulations, which
have wen In operation more or less
ever Blmce.
In thl early part of the twelfth cen
tury Ctfuwgan ab Bleddyn ab Cynfyn
followeBthe example of his father In the
encouraffment he gave to these na
tional conventions nd he waa succeed
ed by JU"y ap Qruffydd, generally
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ing the latter part of the same era.
From the period now mentioned for
nearly three centuries we have no
particular records of the eisteddfod.
But the conquest of Wales by Edward
in the Thirteenth century, and the
sanguinary events preceding and at
tending that enoch are sulllcient to ac
count for the temporary suspension of
the practice. The ascendancy which
the bards had acquired over their .coun
trymen could not fall, besides. In ren
dering them objects of jealousy to so
politic and ambitious a monarch as Ed
ward. He accordingly deprived them of
the public privileges they had enjoyed
before and it was only after a long in
terval that they recovered any sem
blance of their ancient rites. The first
instance of the revival of the national
usage under consideration, after the
conquest of Wales, of which any me
morial has reached us occur about the
year 1450. when Qruffydd ap Nicholas,
a distinguished patron of the bards, ob
tained the sanction of Edward IV. for
holding an eisteddfod at Carmarthen,
which has been called by way of emin
ence, the great eisteduroa or Carmar
then. To this succeeded another one
in the reign of Henry VII., convoked
also under royal patronage, but of
which no particular details are now
extant. The next In order appears one
to have been an eisteddfod that took
place at Coerwys, in Flinxshire, in the
year 1523, under the immediate auspices
of Richard ab Howel ab Ieuan Vychan,
Sir William Qruffydd and Sir Robert
Salisbury, and at which Tudur Aled and
many other distinguished poets were
present - After this another was con
vened at the same place, on the 26th
May, 1567, by virtue of a command
granted by Queen Elizabeth to several
gentlemen of North Wales and the
Marches, most of whom attended on the
occasion.
Other congresses- also assembled dur
ing the same century in South Wales
under the patronage of Sir Richard
Neville and William Herbert, earl of
Pembroke, for the express purpose of
collecting and consolidating what yet
remained of the ancient bardic Insti
tutes and traditions. In the year 1580
an eisteddfod also took place in the
same division of the principality, un
der the presidency of Sir Edward
Lewys.at which the collections Just al
luded to were considerably augmented;
and these were again thoroughly re
vised and arranged at a congress which
took place at Bewpyr castle, In Glamor
ganshire, in 16X1, under the auspices of
Sir Richard Bassett. This appears to
have terminated the second stage of
the bardic congress, or session, in which
for more fhan six centuries, even ac
cording to our Imperfect records. It had
continued the means of rescuing from
oblivion the ancient ordinances and
traditions of the bards. Since the
period alluded to it has been regarded
more as a festival for the encourage
ment of the national music, poetry, and
general literature. From the time of
Sir Richard Bassett until the year 1819,
when the first meeting of the Cambrian
society in Dyfed was held, the only ef
forts to revive the ancient custom ap
pear to have been those that were made
under the patronage of the Qwynedd
lglon at different places In North Wales,
where appropriate prizes were award
ed to the successful cundldates in mu
sic and poetry." Such Is the outline of
the history of the eisteddfod from Its
earliest dawn until Its late auspicious
revival. Originally, as already ob
served, the design of this nutlonal
meeting, when existing under a differ
ent name, and under the auspices of the
Druldlcnl Institution, was of a higher
nature than at present. It had for its
various objects. In Its primitive char
acter, the reformation of manners and
customs, the support of ancient privi
leges, commemoration of remarkable
occurrences, the maintenance of public
tranquility, and, finally, the general
promotion or science, morality and re
ligion. It was accordingly In the dis
tant ages to which this observation has
reference, connected In an Integral
manner with the public welfare of the
country. It was the great political en
tr
-
glne by which the general prosperity
of the state, as well as the Integrity of
Its several social relations, was upheld
and secured, for It must not be for
gotten that In older times the bards
were the public conservators of the
laws, the literature, and the religion
of the country; they were Its legislat
ors, Its philosophers, and Its priests.
Alderman Thomas Rees Is opposed to
robes for alderman, and he is surprised
that such a "great girlish propiBition
should be made In this the latter end of
an enlightened century. When it was sug
gested to Alderman Rees that at one lime
ha hud worn the mavoral robes with much
pride, the worthy city father said he had
done so only afer a lot of pressure and
much against his indignation.
The bishoo'a residence at Ltandaff was.
it appears, built for Rear Admiral Mathew
during his absence. It is a large three
story building. The old veteran, when he
camo to see It, Is said to have given vent
to his feelings alter this tajthlon: "What!
a three-decker! I have spent too many
years or my life to end them in this!" und
he didn't.
The only Welshman who ever tried to
speak Welsh as "she Is written" was
Caledfryn. But Caledfryn was no ordi
nary man. He used to boast that he wrote
his "Kothsay Castle" with the same pen
and was willing to exchange all his poet
ical works for one line of Anne Griffith's
hymns.
Professor D. M. Lewis, of Aberystwlth,
hold heterodox views on dialectic Welsn,
Is the opinion of Welsh purists. The pro
fessor maintains that spoken Welsh may
be better Welsh than of literature, not
withstanding Its being impregnated with
English words. ItB superior merits consist
In its being more racy and idiomatic. .
The bishop, the dean and the archdea
con of Cardiff have long passed the allot
ed span of life three sere years and ten
but they are almost Infants compared
with Canon Hawkins, who has passed his
ninety-sixth year.
Early In the century Swansea had quite
a reputation as a health resort, but a no
tice appears in one of the magazines for
the period that the high-priced of he lodg
ing house keepers effectually frightened
customers away.
One of the Welsh coal owners died a
short time ago at Cheltenham In the per
son of Mr. Shepherd, who was for many
years cashier at Cyfarthfa. In 1847, in con
nection with Mr. David Evans, Brecon
Bank, Merthyr, and others, he sank a
pit at Cymaman, but after a time sold
out to Powell Duffrln. Durln the term of
Shepherd and Evans there was a run of
good times, but the colliery was not a
prosperous one until taken in hand by
Powell Dufferln, who made it one of tl
best In the district. In the good times ev
ery car of coal that came up meant a
guinea for the company.
It has been announced from a Swansea
pulpit that "the Oalatlans and the Welsh
are of the same family, and are allied in nil
characteristics." Of course, this Is sim
ply flaunting the red flag before the eyes
of Morten.
There Is an Ingenious man walking the
streets of Cardiff. He never gets up till
noon If he can help It, and It used to break
him up to find out at night that he was a
meal behind. So he now, as he argues,
contrives to keep square by having his
breakfast and dinner together on the
same plate, as follows; namulv: Eggs
and bacon on the left half of the plate, and
beefsteak and vegetable crowding the
other half. Moreover, with the left half
he drinks a cup of tea, and with the rlgnt
a glass of beer. So far, the authorities
have taken no action, the man being a
musician.
An English traveler gives his traveling
cxperlem-e In Wales in the following way:
"When touring In Wales one summer, not
long ago, I stayed awhile at a little Inn In
an outlying part of the principality. Tho
churctf was old and interesting, and I went
to inspect It. Finding the door open, I
entered, and learnt from the broken Eng
lish of an old woman churchkeeper that a
wedding party from the neighboring vil
lage was soon expected. Wishing to see
a Welsh country wedding, I remained tor
the service. All seemed to go well until
the clergyman asked for the ring, and
then It was found that the bridegroom had
made no provision whatever; Indeed, It
was evident that he had never thought of
It. The clergyman showed no surprise
at what SODeared to me to be an, ntu.
ordinary omission, but sent the old wo
man for - the church-door key. and the
, priuegroom piaeeu uie ring which sq
iVi"fli
for the key-handle over the finger of the
bride, and so she was wed. My curiosity
was aroused In regard to what I had seen,
and 1 soon ascertained that wedding-rings
were quite exceptional among the 'poorer
people In that neighborhood. One ring
a silver one had done duty iu a hi ice
number of instances, and when this ring
could not be obtained from Its fortunate
possessor the ring of the church-door key
was the makeshift, as In the 'marriage 1
had witnessed."
Major Wyndhom-Quinn, one of the
members of parliament for Glamorgan
shire, received an official communication
recently from Windsor Castle In answer
to the representation which he has been
making for the Rhonda Glee singers to
sing before -the queen. He was Informed
that, owing to the death of Prince Henry
of Ballenburg, her majesty has decided not
to have any entertainments or concerts
at the castle for the next ten months, mid
that under the circumstances the queen
will be unable to heat the choir at pres
ent. He has, however, high authority tor
stating that, after this period or mourning
has elapsed, it Is more than probable that
an Invitation will be extended to he choir
to appear before her majesty. Their rep
utation has already penetrated court cir
cles, and a desire has been expressed In
more than one Influential. quarter that her
majesty should hear the members sing.
Major Quinn, who Is very enthusiastic on
the subject, is very sanguine that the
wishes of Rhonda people will be gratified
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