Investors in Cats

Welsh Icons - Literature
Welsh Triads

Welsh Icons
About Wales

and all things Welsh

Welsh Triads

 Back

 Previous

Next

The Welsh Triads (Welsh: Trioedd Ynys Prydein, literally "Triads of the Island of Britain") are a group of related texts in medieval manuscripts which preserve fragments of Welsh folklore, mythology and traditional history in groups of three.

Contents
The texts include references to King Arthur and other semi-historical characters from Sub-Roman Britain, mythic figures such as Bran the Blessed, undeniably historical personages such as Alan IV, Duke of Brittany (who is called Alan Fyrgan) and even Iron Age characters like Caswallawn (Cassivellaunus) and Caradog (Caratacus).

Some triads simply give a list of three characters with something in common (such as "the three frivolous bards of the island of Britain") while others include substantial narrative explanation. The triad form probably originated amongst the Welsh bards or poets as a mnemonic aid in composing their poems and stories, and later became a rhetorical device of Welsh literature. The Medieval Welsh tale Culhwch and Olwen has many triads embedded in its narrative.

Earliest surviving collection
The earliest surviving collection of the Welsh Triads is bound in the manuscript Peniarth 16, now at the National Library of Wales, which has been dated to the third quarter of the 13th century and containing 46 of the 86 triads edited by Rachel Bromwich. Other important manuscripts include Peniarth 45 (written about 1275), and the pair White book of Rhydderch (Welsh: Llyfr Gwyn Rhydderch) and Red Book of Hergest (Welsh: Llyfr Coch Hergest), which share a comment version clearly different from the version behind the collections in the Peniarth manuscripts.

Later collections
The 18th century Welsh antiquarian Iolo Morganwg compiled a collection of triads, which he claimed to have taken from his own collection of manuscripts. Some of his triads are similar to those found in the medieval manuscripts, but some are unique to Iolo, and are widely believed to have been of his own invention.


     

    Comment Script
    Post this page to: del.icio.us Yahoo! MyWeb Digg reddit Furl Blinklist Spurl

    Comments

    Name
    E-mail (Will not appear online)
    Title
    Comment
    ;-) :-) :-D :-( :-o >-( B-) :oops: :-[] :-P
    [Home] [Food & Drink] [Symbols] [Sport] [Products] [Places] [Buildings] [Artists] [Entertainers] [Events] [Famous Welsh] [Journalists] [Musicians] [Politicians] [Songs] [Writers] [Welsh Info] [About Us] [Vox Pop] [Contact Us] [Forums] [Our Sponsors] [Welsh Produce] [Arts & Crafts]

    All copyrights acknowledged with thanks to Wikipedia. Another site by 3Cat Design 2006-2008
    Whilst we try to give accurate information, we accept no liability for loss or incorrect information listed on this site or from material embedded on this site from external sources such as YouTube.
    If you do spot a mistake, please let us know.
    Email: [email protected]

     

    This Space
    could be YOURS
    From Just �30
    a Year

    Click Here to
    Find Out More

    Help us to keep
    this Site up and running

     

    Key

    Bold Red
    Internal Link
    Red
    External Link

     Admission Charges
     Address
     Arts/Galleries
     Buses
     B&B�s/Guest Houses Campsites/Caravans
     Castles
     Credit Cards
     Cricket
     Disabled Facilities
     Email
     Farmers Markets
     Fax
     Film
     Food
     Football
     Parks/Gardens
     Golf
     Historic Houses
     Hotels
     Libraries
     Museums
     Opening Hours
     Pubs/Bars
     Rugby
     Shops/Gifts
     Taxis:
     Telephone No.
     Theatres
     Tourist Information
     Trains
     Vets
     Web Address
     Welsh Produce
     Youth Hostels
    llustration(s) or photograph(s) viewable Illustration(s) or
           photograph(s)

    This Month

    September 2nd

    Victor Spinetti (actor) born 1932 in Abergavenny

    September 7th

    Max Boyce (entertainer) born 1945

    September 12th

    Desmond Llewelyn (actor) born 1914 in
    Newport

    September 13th

    Roald Dahl (writer) born 1916, Cardiff