Monthly Archives: February 2018

Trip To Swansea In My Husband’s Motherland , Wales –Part 9

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Trip To Swansea In My Husband’s Motherland , Wales –Part 9

John Watts’ Artwork and Welsh history

Swansea Landscape: Artwork by John Watts, Welsh Artist

Oystermouth Castle (Welsh: Castell Ystum Llwynarth) is a Norman stone castle in Wales, overlooking Swansea Bay on the east side of the Gower Peninsula near the village of the Mumbles.

For more information please visit the following link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oystermouth_Castle

 

 Oystermouth castle, with its village and lighthouse, 1839

Newman and Co. (London, England), engraver. – This image is available from the National Library of Wales You can view this image in its original context on the NLW Catalogue

Abstract: A view of the ruins of Oystermouth castle with ships in the bay below and a lighthouse in the background.

For more information please visit the following link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oystermouth_Castle

Oystermouth Castle, showing the gatehouse and the chapel window

The first castle was founded by William de Londres of Ogmore Castle soon after 1106 following the capture of Gower by the Normans. In 1116 the Welsh of Deheubarth retook the Gower Peninsula and forced William to flee his castle which was put to the torch. The castle was rebuilt soon afterwards, but was probably destroyed again in 1137 when Gower was once more retaken by the princes of Deheubarth. The Londres or London family finally died out in 1215 when Gower was again taken by the Welsh under the leadership of Llywelyn the Great. In 1220 the Welsh were expelled from the peninsula and the government of Henry III of England returned the barony of Gower to John de Braose who rebuilt both Swansea Castle and Oystermouth.                                                       For more information please visit the following link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oystermouth_Castle

Cross and Creature 2: Artwork by John Watts

Celtic art is associated with the peoples known as Celts; those who spoke the Celtic languages in Europe from pre-history through to the modern period, as well as the art of ancient peoples whose language is uncertain, but have cultural and stylistic similarities with speakers of Celtic languages.

Celtic art is a difficult term to define, covering a huge expanse of time, geography and cultures. A case has been made for artistic continuity in Europe from the Bronze Age, and indeed the preceding Neolithic age; however archaeologists generally use “Celtic” to refer to the culture of the European Iron Age from around 1000 BC onwards, until the conquest by the Roman Empire of most of the territory concerned, and art historians typically begin to talk about “Celtic art” only from the La Tène period (broadly 5th to 1st centuries BC) onwards.[1] Early Celtic art is another term used for this period, stretching in Britain to about 150 AD.[2] The Early Medieval art of Britain and Ireland, which produced the Book of Kells and other masterpieces, and is what “Celtic art” evokes for much of the general public in the English-speaking world, is called Insular art in art history. This is the best-known part, but not the whole of, the Celtic art of the Early Middle Ages, which also includes the Pictish art of Scotland.[3]

For more information please visit the following link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_art

 

Muiredach’s High Cross, Ireland, early 10th century

High cross. A tall stone standing cross, usually of Celtic cross form. Decoration is abstract often with figures in carved relief, especially crucifixions, but in some cases complex multi-scene schemes. Most common in Ireland, but also in Great Britain and near continental mission centres.

For more information please visit the following link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_art

The Ancient Art of the Celtic People

From The Daily Beast, written by William O’Connor

“Boston Celtics, Celtic pride, Celtic crosses, Celtic tattoos. St. Patrick’s Day is far from the only time we remind ourselves that being Irish has something to do with the Celts. Today, the word Celtic conjures up the aforementioned items and perhaps some vague notions of Druids and art featuring complicated, interwoven lines. In reality, the Celtic history is far older, richer, and more significant than most realize. A new book from Phaidon, Celtic Art, by Venceslas Kruta, takes a deep dive into the impressive artistic history of a people who, as the books notes, in Greek and Roman times “were the largest known family of European peoples outside the Mediterranean.” At its peak, the people who spoke Celtic languages and practiced Celtic culture stretched from the Atlantic to Asia Minor. While that is impressive, what is more impressive is the artwork left behind—the impossibly detailed jewelry, weaponry, and decorative items that show an extraordinary mastery of craft.

To the left is the famous illuminated “Chi-Rho” page of the Book of Kells from about 700–900. While Celtic religion forbade the writing down of pretty much anything, Christianity’s spread ensured that traditional Celtic imagery survived in stunning manuscripts.

Richly illuminated manuscript on parchment, dimensions: 33 x 25 cm, Dublin, Trinity College Library.”

For more information please visit the following link:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-ancient-art-of-the-celtic-people-photos?ref=scroll

 

 Birth of Dragon: Artwork by John Watts

The Welsh Dragon (Welsh: Y Ddraig Goch, meaning the red dragon, pronounced [? ?ðrai? ??o??]) appears on the national flag of Wales. The oldest recorded use of the dragon to symbolise Wales is in the Historia Brittonum, written around AD 829, but it is popularly supposed to have been the battle standard of King Arthur and other ancient Celtic leaders. Its association with these leaders along with other evidence from archaeology, literature, and documentary history led many to suppose that it evolved from an earlier Romano-British national symbol.[1] During the reigns of the Tudor monarchs, the red dragon was used as a supporter in the English Crown’s coat of arms (one of two supporters, along with the traditional English lion).[2] The red dragon is often seen as symbolising all things Welsh, and is used by many public and private institutions. These include the Welsh Government, Visit Wales, the dragon’s tongue is in use with the Welsh Language Society and numerous local authorities including Blaenau Gwent, Cardiff, Carmarthenshire, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Swansea, and sports bodies, including the Sport Wales National Centre, the Football Association of Wales, Wrexham A.F.C., Newport Gwent Dragons, and London Welsh RFC.

For more information please visit the following link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_Dragon

 

King Arthur: Artwork by John Watts

The Arthurian Legend

Geoffrey of Monmouth is known as the Father of the Arthurian Legend for developing the character of King Arthur, adding mythical elements to his story, and introducing many of the central characters and motifs which would later be expanded upon by other writers.

The phrase Arthurian Legend encompasses a number of different versions of the tale but, in the present day, mainly refers to the English work of Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte D’Arthur (Death of Arthur) published by William Caxton in 1485 CE. The legend developed from History of The Kings of Britain, passing over to France, to Germany, to Spain and Portugal, and back to England with numerous additions and versions proliferating, until Malory compiled, edited, revised, and rewrote a prose version in 1469 CE while he was in prison

For more information please visit the following link:
https://www.ancient.eu/King_Arthur/

Ing & John’s Art Exhibition, June 2013 at 194 Market Street, Second floor, Newark, New Jersey

For more information please visit the following link:
https://ingpeaceproject.com/ing-johns-art-exhibition-6-2013/

 

King Arthur & the Lady of the Lake

The basic story goes that, once upon a time, there was a wizard named Merlin who arranged for a mighty king named Uther Pendragon to sleep with a queen named Igrayne who was another king’s wife. Merlin’s stipulation was that, when the child of their union was born, it would be given to him. All of this happens as it should, the child is named Arthur, and he is given to another lord, Sir Hector, to raise with his own son Kay. Many years later, when Arthur is grown, he accompanies Kay and Hector to a tournament in which Kay is to compete, finds that he forgot Kay’s sword at home, and so takes one he finds in the forest stuck in a stone. This is the Sword in the Stone which can only be drawn from the rock by the true king of Britain.

Merlin returns at this point to explain the situation to Arthur, who had no idea he was adopted, and helps him fight the other lords who contest his claim to the throne. Although the Sword in the Stone is frequently associated with the famous weapon Excalibur, they are two different swords. The sword Arthur draws from the stone is broken in a fight with Sir Pellinore and Merlin brings Arthur to a mystical body of water where the Lady of the Lake gives him Excalibur.

For more information please visit the following link:
https://www.ancient.eu/King_Arthur/

 

Knights of the Round Table

In the enchanted lands of the Arthurian realm aNything can happen, at any time, but goodness will always triumph over evil & darkness can never put out the light.

Excalibur is more than just a sword; it is a symbol of Arthur’s greatness. In some versions of the legend Arthur gives the sword to Sir Gawain but, in most, it is exclusively Arthur’s. This is in keeping with many ancient tales and legends in which a great hero has some kind of magical weapon. Once Arthur has forced the other lords to recognize his legitimacy, he marries the beautiful queen Guinevere and sets up his court at Camelot.

He invites the greatest knights of the realm to come and dine in his banquet hall but, when they do, they begin fighting over who will get the best seat. Arthur severely punishes the knight who began the trouble and, to avert any repeat in the future, accepts a round table from his father-in-law. From this time on, he explains, everyone sitting at the table will be equal, including himself, and everyone’s opinions will be weighed seriously no matter their social standing. Further, anyone requiring assistance will be welcomed in the hall to request it and every wrong shall be righted by Arthur and his knights.

The motif of the Round Table, along with the magical weapon, sets Arthur above the kings who have preceded him who believed that their position of power dictated what was right or wrong; Arthur believes that everyone’s opinion is valid and that might should be used to support right, not define it. Arthur again sends out invitations to noble knights to join him but this time his messengers are to go even farther, beyond the boundaries of Britain.

Knights of the Round Table

Among the knights who answer his call is Lancelot of the Lake, a French knight who is unrivaled in combat. He and Arthur become friends at the same time that he falls in love with Guinevere and she with him. While this affair is going on behind the scenes, the Knights of the Round Table are engaging in all kinds of fantastic adventures. If there is no apparent adventure, Arthur will go off and find one. In the famous story of Gawain and the Green Knight, a challenger comes to court to start the adventure. In the story of Jaufre (also known as Girflet) he arrives at the court to be knighted and then proceeds on his own adventures before returning and involving the others.

The greatest adventure the knights undertake is the quest for the Holy Grail. The grail is originally a platter in the French version of the legend or cauldron in the Welsh. It is transformed, however, into the cup of Christ used at the Last Supper by the time Malory revises the story and this is how it is generally understood. The grail quest can only be completed by a knight pure of heart and this is finally accomplished by Galahad, son of Lancelot.

Arthur remains a good & noble king until the affair of his queen & best friend is revealed by his son Mordred.

Throughout all these adventures there are a number of times Guinevere is kidnapped by some menacing lord and has to be rescued or other ladies are in distress and also need the assistance of a noble knight. There are dragons, giants, invisible spirits, sacred wells, unending waters to cross, inanimate objects which move and speak, courageous heroes, scheming villains, women who are beautiful and noble and others whose beauty conceals their devious nature. Encountering all of these, Arthur remains a good and noble king until the affair of his queen and best friend is revealed by Arthur’s illegitimate son Mordred who then challenges Arthur’s right to rule.

In the final battle between Mordred and Arthur, Mordred is killed and Arthur mortally wounded. Guinevere retires to a convent and Lancelot to a hermitage. All of the other great knights of the court are killed. Sir Bedevere helps Arthur from the field and returns Excalibur to the Lady of the Lake. Once the sword has been returned, Arthur dies and is carried away on a ship to the isle of Avalon.

For more information please visit the following link:
https://www.ancient.eu/King_Arthur/

 

St. George & Dragon: Artwork by John Watts, Welsh Artist

John Watts, my husband said that “I support the dragon”

Ing & John’s Art Exhibition, June 2013 at 194 Market Street, Second floor, Newark, New Jersey

For more information please visit the following link:
https://ingpeaceproject.com/ing-johns-art-exhibition-6-2013/

 

Woodcut frontispiece of Alexander Barclay, Lyfe of Seynt George (Westminster, 1515).

Alexander Barclay (1476-1552) – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:St_GeorgeEnglish.JPG

Life of Saint George, Woodcut of St George Slaying the Dragon, 1515, by Alexander Barclay (1476-1552)

The Saint George and the Dragon legend describes the saint taming and slaying a dragon that demanded human sacrifices; the saint thereby rescues the princess chosen as the next offering.

Only a kernel of the legend occurs in the ancient hagiography of Saint George dating to the 7th century or earlier. Here, a monarch referred to as “dragon of the abyss” persecutes the saint. The dragon-slaying may have been transferred from the legend attached to St. Theodore.

For more information please visit the following link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_George_and_the_Dragon

  

Miniature from a Passio Sancti Georgii manuscript (Verona, second half of 13th century)

Saint George and the Dragon in medieval miniature.

The motif of Saint George as a knight on horseback slaying the dragon first appears in western art in the second half of the 13th century. The tradition of the saint’s arms being shown as the red-on-white St. George’s Cross develops in the 14th century.

The Saint George and the Dragon legend describes the saint taming and slaying a dragon that demanded human sacrifices; the saint thereby rescues the princess chosen as the next offering.

Only a kernel of the legend occurs in the ancient hagiography of Saint George dating to the 7th century or earlier. Here, a monarch referred to as “dragon of the abyss” persecutes the saint. The dragon-slaying may have been transferred from the legend attached to St. Theodore.

For more information please visit the following link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_George_and_the_Dragon

 

 Vortigern and Ambros watch the fight between the red and white dragons: an illustration from a 15th-century manuscript of Geoffrey of Monmouth‘s

Welsh Dragon: Mabinogion

In the Mabinogion story Lludd and Llefelys, the red dragon fights with an invading White Dragon. His pained shrieks cause women to miscarry, animals to perish and plants to become barren. Lludd, king of Britain, goes to his wise brother Llefelys in France. Llefelys tells him to dig a pit in the centre of Britain, fill it with mead, and cover it with cloth. Lludd does this, and the dragons drink the mead and fall asleep. Lludd imprisons them, still wrapped in their cloth, in Dinas Emrys in Snowdonia (Welsh: Eryri).

For more information please visit the following link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_Dragon

 

Dylan Thomas: Artwork by John Watts, Welsh Artist

Poem by Dylan Thomas

Do not go gentle into that good night

Dylan Thomas, 1914 – 1953

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

For more information please visit the following link:

https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/do-not-go-gentle-good-night

 

 Memorial:Statue of Thomas in Swansea, Wales, UK

Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer whose works include the poems “Do not go gentle into that good night” and “And death shall have no dominion“; the ‘play for voices’ Under Milk Wood; and stories and radio broadcasts such as A Child’s Christmas in Wales and Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog. He became widely popular in his lifetime and remained so after his premature death at the age of 39 in New York City. By then he had acquired a reputation, which he had encouraged, as a “roistering, drunken and doomed poet”.[3]

For more information please visit the following link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dylan_Thomas

 

 Thomas was born in Swansea, Wales, in 1914. An undistinguished pupil, he left school at 16 and became a journalist for a short time. Many of his works appeared in print while he was still a teenager; however, it was the publication in 1934 of “Light breaks where no sun shines” that caught the attention of the literary world. While living in London, Thomas met Caitlin Macnamara, whom he married in 1937. Their relationship was defined by alcoholism and was mutually destructive.[3] In the early part of their marriage, Thomas and his family lived hand-to-mouth; they settled in the Welsh fishing village of Laugharne.

For more information please visit the following link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dylan_Thomas

Stone Clouds: Artwork by John Watts

Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument in Wiltshire, England, 2 miles (3 km) west of Amesbury. It consists of a ring of standing stones, with each standing stone around 13 feet (4.0 m) high, 7 feet (2.1 m) wide and weighing around 25 tons. The stones are set within earthworks in the middle of the most dense complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in England, including several hundred burial mounds.[1]

For more information please visit the following link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonehenge

 

Stonehenge in 2007

Stonehenge: garethwiscombe – https://www.flickr.com/photos/garethwiscombe/1071477228/in/photostream/

CC BY 2.0, File:Stonehenge2007 07 30.jpg, Created: 30 July 2007

Archaeologists believe it was constructed from 3000 BC to 2000 BC. The surrounding circular earth bank and ditch, which constitute the earliest phase of the monument, have been dated to about 3100 BC. Radiocarbon dating suggests that the first bluestones were raised between 2400 and 2200 BC,[2] although they may have been at the site as early as 3000 BC.[3][4][5]

One of the most famous landmarks in the UK, Stonehenge is regarded as a British cultural icon.[6] It has been a legally protected Scheduled Ancient Monument since 1882 when legislation to protect historic monuments was first successfully introduced in Britain. The site and its surroundings were added to UNESCO‘s list of World Heritage Sites in 1986. Stonehenge is owned by the Crown and managed by English Heritage; the surrounding land is owned by the National Trust.[7][8]

Stonehenge could have been a burial ground from its earliest beginnings.[9] Deposits containing human bone date from as early as 3000 BC, when the ditch and bank were first dug, and continued for at least another five hundred years.[10]

For more information please visit the following link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonehenge

The Sun rising over Stonehenge on the morning of the Summer Solstice (21st June 2005).

Photograph by Andrew Dunn, 21 June 2005.

A crowd of between 14,000 and 19,000 people watched the sunrise from the ground, along with three paramotor pilots who watched the events from the air.

This photograph was taken a couple of minutes after sunrise, and a little to the right of the solar alignment line. A more perfectly aligned photograph taken immediately after sunrise can be seen at Image:Summer Solstice 2005 Sunrise over Stonehenge 01.jpg.

Description of the solar alignment

If you look at an aerial view, north is approximately along the path to the right. On the morning of the solstice, the sun rises from behind the Heel Stone in the bottom right hand corner, and can be observed on an alignment running from the Heel stone, passing between the two Slaughter Stones (only one remains fallen on the outer bank), through the outer Sarsen ring, across the centre of the henge, then between the tallest trilith at the back of the Sarsen horseshoe. If you continue the line onward to the bank and ditch top left, that’s the point from which this photo is taken.

Tallest stone

Today the tallest trilith at the back of the Sarsen horseshoe is largely collapsed. Only one of its three stones remains standing, which is the tallest stone just left of the sun in this photograph.

The lintel stones on the triliths and the outer Sarsen circle are held in place with mortise and tenon joints. I believe the triangular spike on top of the tallest stone, is the tenon exposed after its neighbouring stones had fallen.

Photograph Andrew Dunn, 21 June 2005.

Website: htt://www.andrewdunphoto.com/

For more information please visit the following link:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Summer_Solstice_Sunrise_over_Stonehenge_2005.jpg

 

Stones 2: Artwork by John Watts, Welsh Artist

“Heel Stone”, “Friar’s Heel”, or “Sun-Stone”

The Heel Stone lies north east of the sarsen circle, beside the end portion of Stonehenge Avenue.[41] It is a rough stone, 16 feet (4.9 m) above ground, leaning inwards towards the stone circle.[41] It has been known by many names in the past, including “Friar’s Heel” and “Sun-stone”.[42][43] At summer solstice an observer standing within the stone circle, looking north-east through the entrance, would see the Sun rise in the approximate direction of the heel stone, and the sun has often been photographed over it.

For more information please visit the following link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonehenge

The Heel Stone

“Heel Stone”, “Friar’s Heel”, or “Sun-Stone”

A folk tale relates the origin of the Friar’s Heel reference.[44][45]

The Devil bought the stones from a woman in Ireland, wrapped them up, and brought them to Salisbury plain. One of the stones fell into the Avon, the rest were carried to the plain. The Devil then cried out, “No-one will ever find out how these stones came here!” A friar replied, “That’s what you think!”, whereupon the Devil threw one of the stones at him and struck him on the heel. The stone stuck in the ground and is still there.[46] Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable attributes this tale to Geoffrey of Monmouth, but though book eight of Geoffrey’s Historia Regum Britanniae does describe how Stonehenge was built, the two stories are entirely different.

The name is not unique; there was a monolith with the same name recorded in the nineteenth century by antiquarian Charles Warne at Long Bredy in Dorset.[47]

For more information please visit the following link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonehenge

Dancing inside the stones, 1984 Stonehenge Free Festival

Salix alba at en.wikipedia                                            Photo of the en:Stonehenge Free Festival in 1984

CC BY-SA 3.0, File:Stonehenge84.jpg, Created: 31 December 1983

The earlier rituals were augmented by the Stonehenge Free Festival, loosely organised by the Politantric Circle, held between 1972 and 1984, during which time the number of midsummer visitors had risen to around 30,000.[67] However, in 1985 the site was closed to festivalgoers by English Heritage and the National Trust. A consequence of the end of the festival in 1985 was the violent confrontation between the police and New Age travellers that became known as the Battle of the Beanfield when police blockaded a convoy of travellers to prevent them from approaching Stonehenge. Beginning in 1985, the year of the Battle of the Beanfield, no access was allowed into the stones at Stonehenge for any religious reason. This ‘exclusion zone’ policy continued for almost fifteen years and until just before the arrival of the twenty-first century, visitors were not allowed to go into the stones at times of religious significance: the two Solstices (Winter and Summer) and two Equinoxes (Vernal and Autumnal).[68]

However, now due to the Roundtable process and the ‘Court of Human Rights’ rulings gained by picketing by campaigners such as Brian “Viziondanz” Felstein and King Arthur Pendragon, some access had been gained four times a year. The ‘Court of Human Rights’ rulings recognises that members of any genuine religion have a right to worship in their own church, and Stonehenge is a place of worship to Neo-Druids, Pagans and other ‘Earth based’ or ‘old’ religions. The Roundtable meetings include members of the Wiltshire Police force, National Trust, English Heritage, Pagans, Druids, Spiritualists and others.

At the Summer Solstice 2003, which fell over a weekend, over 30,000 people attended a gathering at and in the stones. The 2004 gathering was smaller (around 21,000 people).

For more information please visit the following link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonehenge

 

Stones twice: Artwork by John Watts, Welsh Artist

On 18 December 2011, geologists from University of Leicester and the National Museum of Wales announced the discovery of the exact source of some of the rhyolite fragments found in the Stonehenge debitage. These fragments do not seem to match any of the standing stones or bluestone stumps. The researchers have identified the source as a 70-metre (230 ft) long rock outcrop called Craig Rhos-y-Felin (51°59?30.07?N 4°44?40.85?W), near Pont Saeson in north Pembrokeshire, located 220 kilometres (140 mi) from Stonehenge.[85][86]

On 10 September 2014 the University of Birmingham announced findings including evidence of adjacent stone and wooden structures and burial mounds, overlooked previously, that may date as far back as 4000 BC.[17] An area extending to 12 square kilometres (1,200 ha) was studied to a depth of three metres with ground-penetrating radar equipment. As many as seventeen new monuments, revealed nearby, may be Late Neolithic monuments that resemble Stonehenge. The interpretation suggests a complex of numerous related monuments. Also included in the discovery is that the cursus track is terminated by two five-meter wide extremely deep pits,[87] whose purpose is still a mystery.

For more information please visit the following link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonehenge

Seventeenth century depiction of Stonehenge from the Atlas van Loon

1600–1900

Throughout recorded history, Stonehenge and its surrounding monuments have attracted attention from antiquarians and archaeologists. John Aubrey was one of the first to examine the site with a scientific eye in 1666, and recorded in his plan of the monument the pits that now bear his name. William Stukeley continued Aubrey’s work in the early eighteenth century, but took an interest in the surrounding monuments as well, identifying (somewhat incorrectly) the Cursus and the Avenue. He also began the excavation of many of the barrows in the area, and it was his interpretation of the landscape that associated it with the Druids.[69] Stukeley was so fascinated with Druids that he originally named Disc Barrows as Druids’ Barrows. The most accurate early plan of Stonehenge was that made by Bath architect John Wood in 1740.[70] His original annotated survey has recently been computer redrawn and published.[71][page?needed] Importantly Wood’s plan was made before the collapse of the southwest trilithon, which fell in 1797 and was restored in 1958.

For more information please visit the following link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonehenge

 

An early photograph of Stonehenge taken July 1877

William Cunnington was the next to tackle the area in the early nineteenth century. He excavated some 24 barrows before digging in and around the stones and discovered charred wood, animal bones, pottery and urns. He also identified the hole in which the Slaughter Stone once stood. Richard Colt Hoare supported Cunnington’s work and excavated some 379 barrows on Salisbury Plain including on some 200 in the area around the Stones, some excavated in conjunction with William Coxe. To alert future diggers to their work they were careful to leave initialled metal tokens in each barrow they opened. Cunnington’s finds are displayed at the Wiltshire Museum. In 1877 Charles Darwin dabbled in archaeology at the stones, experimenting with the rate at which remains sink into the earth for his book The Formation of Vegetable Mould Through the Action of Worms.

For more information please visit the following link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonehenge

The following are more of John Watts’artworks:

Prey small: Artwork by John Watts

Alice Final: Artwork by John Watts

 

Ameba: Artwork by John Watts

 

 Cinderella: Artwork by John Watts

Dino Landscape: Artwork by John Watts

 

 Don Q: Artwork by John Watts

 

Portrait of Joyce: Artwork by John Watts

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Have A Happy Valentine’s Day Everyone

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🙂 🙂 Have A Happy Valentine’s Day Everyone 🙂 🙂

Poem, Artwork and Photographs by Ing-On Vibulbhan-Watts

 

🙂 🙂 Have A Happy Valentine’s Day Everyone 🙂 🙂

Snow is cold

But our hearts are warm

Warmth keeps us alive

Love and kindness within us

Togetherness with warm hearts

Brings peace and happiness

To us all

🙂 Have A Happy Valentine’s Day Everyone 🙂

From Ing, John, Mali, Jim and Kai

If you have time please visit my “Have A Happy Valentine’s Day Everyone”, February 14, 2016 project on my website, the link is: https://ingpeaceproject.com/2016/02/14/have-a-happy-valentines-day-everyone/

Snow Day with Kai, Grandma Ing & Grandpa John’s Sculpture on Monday January 8, 2018

 

Last month, January 2018 the weather was very cold and snow fell a few times.  When Kai came to visit Grandma and Grandpa on January 8, we could not go to the park or even go to the backyard garden.  Kai and I sat by the window looking at the garden which was covered with snow, including Kai’s slide.

 

Kai said “Grandma, go out play with snow”  I could not deny the little one.  I said to Kai “We have to get dressed very warmly.  It is very cold outside”  After we got well dressed we went to Grandpa John’s closet to find a scarf.  Kai found Grandpa John’s colorful tie.  He said he would like to wear Grandpa’s tie.  So I tied John’s tie for him.  

 

Kai climbed down the steps carefully.

Kai went directly to his slide that was covered with snow.

 

Kai started to clean his slide.

Kai tried to get all the snow off of his slide.

 

Kai tried to play on his slide after he almost cleared all the snow.

 

 Then he came to me and said, Grandma, look, my mittens are covered with snow.  Then he took his mittens off.  I tried to get the icy snow off of his mittens and wanted to put them back on Kai’s hands.  But Kai did not want to wear his mittens.  I said “If you do not put your mittens on, then we have to go in the house.”  Kai did not want to go inside.  I was afraid of frost bite on his little fingers.  So what Grandma had to do, was put my arms around his west and carried him inside the house.  I could feel his little legs wiggling.  But when we got inside the house he just walked directly to his toys and played with them just like nothing had happened.

 Love makes us do different things on different occasions. Sometimes we allow the loved one to do things that makes our loved one happy, and sometimes we will say no if that is for the good or well being of the loved one.  

 🙂 🙂 Happy valentine’s Day Kai. 🙂 🙂

🙂 🙂 🙂 Grandma and Grandpa always loves you. 🙂 🙂 🙂

🙂 🙂 🙂 Grandma Ing and Grandpa John 🙂 🙂 🙂

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

 

  John’s sculpture looks lonely all by itself in the garden with freezing weather and snow all around.

 Wednesday, February 14, 2018

🙂 🙂 Have A Happy Valentine’s Day Eve Everyone 🙂 🙂

🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 From Kai, Mali, Jim, John, Ing and family 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

Poem and Photograph by Ing-On Vibulbhan-Watts

Beautiful rose

Beautiful rose

Nature creates

 

Beautiful world

Humans create

 

Let us shine

Our beauty

 

Smile, Kind worlds

And kind actions

That is human beauty

 

Let us have no tears

No fear of one another

 

Let our beauty shine

Just like a beautiful rose

Transporting happiness to our world

 

🙂 🙂 And Have A Happy Valentine’s Day Everyone 🙂 🙂

Ing-On Vibulbhan-Watts, Sunday, February 14, 2016

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Trip To Swansea In My Husband’s Motherland , Wales – Part 8

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Photograph and Artwork by Ing-On Vibulbhan-Watts

 Ing’s “Peace Comes To You”Poem translated into Welsh By Mr. Hywel Lewis on October 9, 2017

Sent: 09 October 2017 19:38
From: Lewis, Hywel                                                      Subject: poem

Pan fyddwch chi’n mwynhau diferion glaw,

Ddaw heddwch i chi,
Pan fyddwch chi’n clywed adar yn canu,

Ddaw heddwch i chi,
Pan welwch chi bysgod’n nofio mewn dwr glân,

Ddaw heddwch i chi,
Pan fyddwch chi’n clywed plant yn chwerthin,

Ddaw heddwch i chi,
A phan fyddwch chi’n hwmian wrth gerdded yn y goedwig

Ddaw heddwch i chi,,
A phan fyddwch chi’n eistedd yn dawel yn gwylio’r haul yn codi a’i osod
Gwrando ar y tonnau’n canu,
Yna ddaw heddwch i chi,
Gadewch i heddwch ddod atoch mewn gwahanol ffyrdd
Gadewch i heddwch fod gyda ni holl.

 Ing’s comments:
I was very lucky when I went to Swansea, Wales in October 2017. A friend came to visit us with her three daughters and her sister with one daughter. They made us very happy from their visit and all of them read my “Peace Comes to You” poem aloud for me to record their voices. They also wrote their peace comments from my Peace Project “What does Peace mean to you?” on my large Peace Poster. The girls enjoyed drawing artwork and writing their expressions on Peace. I was doubly lucky to have Mr. Hywel Lewis, who works at the Swansea Library, being kind enough to translate my poem “Peace Comes To You” into Welsh. Mr. Lewis also read my poem both in Welsh and in English for me to record. John went to Swansea many times to visit his sister but was unable to find anyone to translate my Peace Poem. John is Welsh, I thought that it is important for me to have a Welsh translation for my Peace Poem. I already have my Peace Poem translated into 28 languages and the Welsh translation added to this number made the total 29. I was so lucky, happy and grateful to receive this help, that I felt much better even though I had bad cold for the entire time of my trip to the UK.
Ing-On Vibulbhan-Watts, Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Mr. Hywel Luwis, Swansea Library, Seashore and Ing’s Peace Poem on Friday, October 13, 2017, Swansea, Wales

 

 Mr. Hywel Luwis was preparing to read my Peace Poem which was translated into Welsh by him at Swansea Library on Friday, October 13, 2017, Swansea, Wales.

 

 Display of writing and Posters in Swansea Library

A portrait of Dylan Thomas in the Swansea Library

 

A photo of Swansea Beach in old times in the Swansea Library 

 

I was lucky to catch this beautiful pink sky over Swansea Bay on Wednesday, October 11, 2017

 

 When I look at or think of Swansea beach at the back of the Library I always see the image of Mr. Hywel Luwis smiling, reading my Peace Poem in Welsh and English.

 

Swansea beach at the back of the Swansea Library on Wednesday, October 11, 2017

 

Swansea Library on Wednesday, October 11, 2017

 

Darkness consumes the light outside, but inside the library human minds are alert and consuming  all the knowledge the library provides.

 

 

Walking alone on the beach is not a lonely feeling, hearing the sounds of waves singing, the cool gentle breeze touching the skin, and the fresh air all around, is a time that one will never feel lonely, but comfortable in the arms of nature.

 

The knowledge in the sea is translated into languages for us to understand nature, to preserve it, for future generations to enjoy a healthy environment always.

 

Far away a standing lighthouse monument of old times, remains to guard against unseen dangers.

 

Swansea beach at the back of Swansea Library on Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Ing’s comments:

 A couple of birds enjoy soaring and surfing from the sky, and a human couple enjoys a leisure time walking. It is a beautiful sight to see and to feel.  But humans dump plastic waste, toxic waste and all kind of objects in the the sea killing sea animals and birds that mistake plastic as food. The birds and sea creatures eat this plastic waste and feed it to their babies, most of them will die from indigestion of plastic materials. Humans at present, have to wake up and be concerned about what they are doing. Consciously or subconsciously, they destroy the world with pollutants in the sea, and carbon dioxides from factories and the cars in the air.  This will contribute to human sickness with cancer and other diseases.  I try to encourage peace for mankind, but there is no longer peace in me when I see humans destroying the world, themselves and all living things on earth.     

Swansea beach at the back of Swansea Library on Wednesday, October 11, 2017

 

 The plants along the pathway to the entrance of the library

 

 

The pathway to the entrance of the Swansea library

 

 

The pathway to the entrance of the Swansea library

 

Swansea Civic Centre is located next to the Swansea Library.

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Trip To Swansea In My Husband’s Motherland , Wales –Part 7

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Photograph and Artwork by Ing-On Vibulbhan-Watts

Ing’s “Peace Comes To You”Poem translated into Welsh By Mr. Hywel Lewis on October 9, 2017

Sent: 09 October 2017 19:38
From: Lewis, Hywel                                                      Subject: poem

Pan fyddwch chi’n mwynhau diferion glaw,

Ddaw heddwch i chi,
Pan fyddwch chi’n clywed adar yn canu,

Ddaw heddwch i chi,
Pan welwch chi bysgod’n nofio mewn dwr glân,

Ddaw heddwch i chi,
Pan fyddwch chi’n clywed plant yn chwerthin,

Ddaw heddwch i chi,
A phan fyddwch chi’n hwmian wrth gerdded yn y goedwig

Ddaw heddwch i chi,,
A phan fyddwch chi’n eistedd yn dawel yn gwylio’r haul yn codi a’i osod
Gwrando ar y tonnau’n canu,
Yna ddaw heddwch i chi,
Gadewch i heddwch ddod atoch mewn gwahanol ffyrdd
Gadewch i heddwch fod gyda ni holl.

 Ing’s comments:
I was very lucky when I went to Swansea, Wales in October 2017. A friend came to visit us with her three daughters and her sister with one daughter. They made us very happy from their visit and all of them read my “Peace Comes to You” poem aloud for me to record their voices. They also wrote their peace comments from my Peace Project “What does Peace mean to you?” on my large Peace Poster. The girls enjoyed drawing artwork and writing their expressions on Peace. I was doubly lucky to have Mr. Hywel Lewis, who works at the Swansea Library, being kind enough to translate my poem “Peace Comes To You” into Welsh. Mr. Lewis also read my poem both in Welsh and in English for me to record. John went to Swansea many times to visit his sister but was unable to find anyone to translate my Peace Poem. John is Welsh, I thought that it is important for me to have a Welsh translation for my Peace Poem. I already have my Peace Poem translated into 28 languages and the Welsh translation added to this number made the total 29. I was so lucky, happy and grateful to receive this help, that I felt much better even though I had bad cold for the entire time of my trip to the UK.
Ing-On Vibulbhan-Watts, Wednesday, December 27, 2017

 

 Ing’s “Peace Comes To You” Poem in English and Welsh translated into Welsh By Mr. Hywel Lewis on October 9, 2017

 Welsh (Cymraeg or y Gymraeg, pronounced Welsh pronunciation: [k?m?rai?, ? ??m?rai?] ( listen)) is a member of the Brittonic branch of the Celtic languages. It is spoken natively in Wales, by few in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina).[10] Historically, it has also been known in English as “Cambrian”,[11] “Cambric”[12] and “Cymric”.[13]
The United Kingdom Census 2011 recorded that 19% of people aged three and over who live in Wales can speak Welsh, a decrease from the 20.8% recorded in 2001. An overall increase in the size of the Welsh population, most of whom are not Welsh speakers, appears to correspond with a fall in the number of Welsh speakers in Wales – from 582,000 in 2001 to 562,000 in 2011. This figure is still a greater number, however, than the 508,000 (18.7%) of people who said that they could speak Welsh in 1991. According to the Welsh Language Use Survey 2013–15, 24% of people aged three and over living in Wales were able to speak Welsh, demonstrating a possible increase in the prevalence of the Welsh language.[14]
For more information please visit the following link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_language

 

Ing’s “Peace Comes To You” Poem in English and Welsh translated into Welsh by Mr. Hywel Lewis on October 9, 2017 and Swansea Bay, Swansea, Wales, UK

“Welsh orthography: Welsh is written in a Latin alphabet traditionally consisting of 28 letters, of which eight are digraphs treated as single letters for collation:
a, b, c, ch, d, dd, e, f, ff, g, ng, h, i, l, ll, m, n, o, p, ph, r, rh, s, t, th, u, w, y
In contrast to English practice, “w” and “y” are considered vowel letters in Welsh along with “a”, “e”, “i”, “o” and “u”.
The letter “j” is used in many everyday words borrowed from English, like jam, jôc “joke” and garej “garage”. The letters “k”, “q”, “v”, “x”, and “z” are used in some technical terms, like kilogram, volt and zero, but in all cases can be, and often are, replaced by Welsh letters: cilogram, folt and sero.[75] The letter “k” was in common use until the sixteenth century, but was dropped at the time of the publication of the New Testament in Welsh, as William Salesbury explained: “C for K, because the printers have not so many as the Welsh requireth”. This change was not popular at the time.[76]
The most common diacritic is the circumflex, which disambiguates long vowels, most often in the case of homographs, where the vowel is short in one word and long in the other: e.g. man “place” vs mân “fine”, “small”.
Morphology
Main articles: Colloquial Welsh morphology and Literary Welsh morphology
Welsh morphology has much in common with that of the other modern Insular Celtic languages, such as the use of initial consonant mutations and of so-called “conjugated prepositions” (prepositions that fuse with the personal pronouns that are their object). Welsh nouns belong to one of two grammatical genders, masculine and feminine, but they are not inflected for case. Welsh has a variety of different endings and other methods to indicate the plural, and two endings to indicate the singular of some nouns. In spoken Welsh, verbal features are indicated primarily by the use of auxiliary verbs rather than by the inflection of the main verb. In literary Welsh, on the other hand, inflection of the main verb is usual.”

For more information please visit the following link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_language

 

Ing’s “Peace Comes To You” Poem in Welsh translated into Welsh
By Mr. Hywel Lewis on October 9, 2017,  Swansea Bay, Swansea, Wales, UK

“Welsh numerals
The traditional counting system used in the Welsh language is vigesimal, i.e. it is based on twenties, as in standard French numbers 70 (soixante-dix, literally “sixty-ten”) to 99 (quatre-vingt-dix-neuf, literally “four score nineteen”). Welsh numbers from 11 to 14 are “x on ten” (e.g. un ar ddeg: 11), 16 to 19 are “x on fifteen” (e.g. un ar bymtheg: 16), though 18 is deunaw, “two nines”; numbers from 21 to 39 are “1–19 on twenty”, 40 is deugain “two twenties”, 60 is trigain “three twenties”, etc. This form continues to be used, especially by older people, and it is obligatory in certain circumstances (such as telling the time, and in ordinal numbers).[77]
There is also a decimal counting system, which has become relatively widely used, though less so in giving the time, ages, and dates (it features no ordinal numbers). This system is in especially common use in schools due to its simplicity, and in Patagonian Welsh. Whereas 39 in the vigesimal system is pedwar ar bymtheg ar hugain (“four on fifteen on twenty”) or even deugain namyn un (“two score minus one”), in the decimal system it is tri deg naw (“three tens nine”).
Although there is only one word for “one” (un), it triggers the soft mutation (treiglad meddal) of feminine nouns, where possible, other than those beginning with “ll” or “rh”. There are separate masculine and feminine forms of the numbers “two” (dau and dwy), “three” (tri and tair) and “four” (pedwar and pedair), which must agree with the grammatical gender of the objects being counted. The objects being counted appear in the singular, not plural form.”
For more information please visit the following link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_language

Adelaide Dupont’s comments:
#welsh is a very #peaceful #language.

Ing-On Vibulbhan-Watts: +Adelaide Dupont Thank you for your comment
Have A Wonderful New Year

Adelaide Dupont: +Ing-On Vibulbhan-Watts I appreciate your #newyear #wishes!

 

Ing’s “Peace Comes To You” Poem translated into Welsh
By Mr. Hywel Lewis on October 9, 2017 and “The Flag of Wales”

“The Flag of Wales (Y Ddraig Goch) incorporates the red dragon, a popular symbol of Wales and the Welsh people, along with the Tudor colours of green and white. It was used by Henry VII at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, after which it was carried in state to St. Paul’s Cathedral. The red dragon was then included in the Tudor royal arms to signify their Welsh descent. It was officially recognised as the Welsh national flag in 1959. Since the British Union Flag does not have any Welsh representation, the Flag of Wales has become very popular.”
For more information please visit the following link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_people

 

 Ing’s “Peace Comes To You” Poem in English and Swansea Bay, Swansea, Wales, UK

Welsh syntax
The canonical word order in Welsh is verb–subject–object.
Colloquial Welsh inclines very strongly towards the use of auxiliaries with its verbs, as in English. The present tense is constructed with bod (“to be”) as an auxiliary verb, with the main verb appearing as a verbnoun (used in a way loosely equivalent to an infinitive) after the particle yn:
Mae Siân yn mynd i Lanelli
Siân is going to Llanelli.
There, mae is a third-person singular present indicative form of bod, and mynd is the verbnoun meaning “to go”. The imperfect is constructed in a similar manner, as are the periphrastic forms of the future and conditional tenses.
In the preterite, future and conditional mood tenses, there are inflected forms of all verbs, which are used in the written language. However, speech now more commonly uses the verbnoun together with an inflected form of gwneud (“do”), so “I went” can be Mi es i or Mi wnes i fynd (“I did go”). Mi is an example of a preverbal particle; such particles are common in Welsh.
Welsh lacks separate pronouns for constructing subordinate clauses; instead, special verb forms or relative pronouns that appear identical to some preverbal particles are used.
Possessives as direct objects of verbnouns
The Welsh for “I like Rhodri” is Dw i’n hoffi Rhodri (word for word, “am I [the] liking [of] Rhodri”), with Rhodri in a possessive relationship with hoffi. With personal pronouns, the possessive form of the personal pronoun is used, as in “I like him”: Dw i’n ei hoffi, literally, “am I his liking” – “I like you” is Dw i’n dy hoffi (“am I your liking”).
Pronoun doubling
In colloquial Welsh, possessive pronouns, whether they are used to mean “my”, “your”, etc. or to indicate the direct object of a verbnoun, are commonly reinforced by the use of the corresponding personal pronoun after the noun or verbnoun: ei d? e “his house” (literally “his house of him”), Dw i’n dy hoffi di “I like you” (“I am [engaged in the action of] your liking of you”), etc. It should be noted that the “reinforcement” (or, simply, “redoubling”) adds no emphasis in the colloquial register. While the possessive pronoun alone may be used, especially in more formal registers, as shown above, it is considered incorrect to use only the personal pronoun. Such usage is nevertheless sometimes heard in very colloquial speech, mainly among young speakers: Ble ‘dyn ni’n mynd? T? ti neu d? fi? (“Where are we going? Your house or my house?”).
For more information please visit the following link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_language

 

Ing’s “Peace Comes To You” Poem translated into Welsh
By Mr. Hywel Lewis on October 9, 2017 and Swansea Bay at the back of Swansea Library, Swansea, Wales, UK
Photograph and Artwork by Ing-On Vibulbhan-Watts

Swansea Bay (Welsh: Bae Abertawe) is a bay on the southern coast of Wales. The River Neath, River Tawe, River Afan, River Kenfig and Clyne River flow into the bay. Swansea Bay and the upper reaches of the Bristol Channel experience a large tidal range. The shipping ports in Swansea Bay are Swansea Docks, Port Talbot Docks and Briton Ferry wharfs.
Each stretch of beach within the bay has its own individual name:
·Aberavon Beach
·Baglan Bay
·Jersey Marine Beach
·Swansea Beach
·Mumbles Beach
For more information please visit the following link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swansea_Bay

 

 “The 1588 Welsh Bible: The Bible translations into Welsh helped maintain the use of Welsh in daily life. The New Testament was translated by William Salesbury in 1567 followed by the complete Bible by William Morgan in 1588.

The Welsh language arguably originated from the Britons at the end of the 6th century. Prior to this, three distinct languages were spoken by the Britons during the 5th and 6th centuries: Latin, Irish, and British. According to T. M. Charles-Edwards, the emergence of Welsh as a distinct language occurred towards the end of this period.[17] The emergence of Welsh was not instantaneous and clearly identifiable. Instead, the shift occurred over a long period of time, with some historians claiming that it happened as late as the 9th century. Kenneth H. Jackson proposed a more general time period for the emergence, specifically after the Battle of Dyrham, a military battle between the West Saxons and the Britons in 577 AD.[18]
Four periods are identified in the history of Welsh, with rather indistinct boundaries: Primitve Welsh, Old Welsh, Middle Welsh, and Modern Welsh. The period immediately following the language’s emergence is sometimes referred to as Primitive Welsh,[19] followed by the Old Welsh period – which is generally considered to stretch from the beginning of the 9th century to sometime during the 12th century.[19] The Middle Welsh period is considered to have lasted from then until the 14th century, when the Modern Welsh period began, which in turn is divided into Early and Late Modern Welsh.
The name Welsh originated as an exonym given to its speakers by the Anglo-Saxons, meaning “foreign speech” (see Walha)[citation needed], and the native term for the language is Cymraeg, meaning “British”.”

For more information please visit the following link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_language

 

Swansea Bay (1840)
Bartlett, William Henry, 1809-1854, artist. Armytage, James Charles, d. 1897, engraver. – This image is available from the National Library of Wales You can view this image in its original context on the NLW Catalogue
Abstract: A view of showing Swansea bay and a town. Ships are sailing in the sea and a lighthouse can be seen in the background.
For more information please visit the following link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swansea_Bay

 

Bilingual road markings near Cardiff Airport. In Welsh-speaking areas, the Welsh signage appears first. Photograph by Adrian Pingstone
The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 gave the Welsh language official status in Wales,[15] making it the only language that is de jure official in any part of the United Kingdom, with English being de facto official. Thus, official documents and procedures require Welsh and English to be given equality in the conduct of the proceedings of the National Assembly for Wales.[16]
For more information please visit the following link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_language

 

Trilingual (Spanish, Welsh and English) sign in Argentina

Gastón Cuello – Own work

Sign at former Gaiman Station of the Central Chubut Railway

Sign promoting the learning of Welsh: Alan Fryer

Defnyddiwch eich Cymraeg – Use your Welsh. Detail of 488575

Origins

See also: Celtic languages § Classification

Welsh evolved from Common Brittonic, the Celtic language spoken by the ancient Celtic Britons. Classified as Insular Celtic, the British language probably arrived in Britain during the Bronze Age or Iron Age and was probably spoken throughout the island south of the Firth of Forth.[20] During the Early Middle Ages the British language began to fragment due to increased dialect differentiation, thus evolving into Welsh and the other Brittonic languages. It is not clear when Welsh became distinct.[18][21][22]

Kenneth H. Jackson suggested that the evolution in syllabic structure and sound pattern was complete by around 550, and labelled the period between then and about 800 “Primitive Welsh”.[18] This Primitive Welsh may have been spoken in both Wales and the Hen Ogledd (“Old North”) – the Brittonic-speaking areas of what is now northern England and southern Scotland – and therefore may have been the ancestor of Cumbric as well as Welsh. Jackson, however, believed that the two varieties were already distinct by that time.[18] The earliest Welsh poetry – that attributed to the Cynfeirdd or “Early Poets” – is generally considered to date to the Primitive Welsh period. However, much of this poetry was supposedly composed in the Hen Ogledd, raising further questions about the dating of the material and language in which it was originally composed.[18] This discretion stems from the fact that Cumbric was widely believed to have been the language used in Hen Ogledd. An 8th century inscription in Tywyn shows the language already dropping inflections in the declension of nouns.[23]

Janet Davies proposed that the origins of Welsh language were much less definite; in The Welsh Language: A History, she proposes that Welsh may have been around even earlier than 600 AD. This is evidenced by the dropping of final syllables from Brittonic: *bardos “poet” became bardd, and *abona “river” became afon.[21] Though both Davies and Jackson cite minor changes in syllable structure and sounds as evidence for the creation of Old Welsh, Davies suggests it may be more appropriate to refer to this derivative language as Lingua Brittanica rather than characterizing it as a new language altogether.

Sculpture of Owain Glynd?r, the last native Welsh person to hold the title Prince of Wales

Primitive Welsh

The argued dates for the period of “Primitive Welsh” are widely debated, with some historians’ suggestions differing by hundreds of years.

Old Welsh

The next main period is Old Welsh (Hen Gymraeg, 9th to 11th centuries); poetry from both Wales and Scotland has been preserved in this form of the language. As Germanic and Gaelic colonisation of Britain proceeded, the Brittonic speakers in Wales were split off from those in northern England, speaking Cumbric, and those in the southwest, speaking what would become Cornish, and so the languages diverged. Both the works of Aneirin (Canu Aneirin, c. 600) and the Book of Taliesin (Canu Taliesin) were during this era.

Middle Welsh

Middle Welsh (Cymraeg Canol) is the label attached to the Welsh of the 12th to 14th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This is the language of nearly all surviving early manuscripts of the Mabinogion, although the tales themselves are certainly much older. It is also the language of the existing Welsh law manuscripts. Middle Welsh is reasonably intelligible to a modern-day Welsh speaker.

The famous cleric Gerald of Wales tells, in his Descriptio Cambriae, a story of King Henry II of England. During one of the King’s many raids in the 12th century, Henry asked an old man of Pencader, Carmarthenshire whether the Welsh people could resist his army. The old man replied:

It can never be destroyed through the wrath of man, unless the wrath of God shall concur. Nor do I think that any other nation than this of Wales, nor any other language, whatever may hereafter come to pass, shall in the day of reckoning before the Supreme Judge, answer for this corner of the Earth.[24]

Modern Welsh

Modern Welsh is subdivided within itself into Early Modern and Late Modern Welsh.Early Modern Welsh ran from the 15th century through to the end of the 16th century, and the Late Modern Welsh period roughly dates from the 16th century onwards. Contemporary Welsh still differs greatly from the Welsh of the 16th Century, but they are similar enough that a fluent Welsh speaker should have little trouble understanding it. The Modern Welsh period is where one can see a decline in the popularity of the Welsh language, as the number of people who spoke Welsh declined to the point at which there was concern that the language would become extinct entirely. Welsh government processes and legislation have worked to increase the proliferation of the Welsh language throughout school projects and the like.

Welsh as a first language is largely concentrated in the north and west of Wales, principally Gwynedd, Conwy, Denbighshire (Sir Ddinbych), Anglesey (Ynys Môn), Carmarthenshire (Sir Gâr), north Pembrokeshire (Sir Benfro), Ceredigion, parts of Glamorgan (Morgannwg), and north-west and extreme south-west Powys, although first-language and other fluent speakers can be found throughout Wales.

Outside Wales

Welsh-speaking communities persisted well on into the modern period across the border with England. Archenfield was still Welsh enough in the time of Elizabeth I for the Bishop of Hereford to be made responsible, together with the four Welsh bishops, for the translation of the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer into Welsh. Welsh was still commonly spoken here in the first half of the 19th century, and churchwardens’ notices were put up in both Welsh and English until about 1860.[31]

The number of Welsh-speaking people in the rest of Britain has not yet been counted for statistical purposes. In 1993, the Welsh-language television channel S4C published the results of a survey into the numbers of people who spoke or understood Welsh, which estimated that there were around 133,000 Welsh-speaking people living in England, about 50,000 of them in the Greater London area.[32] The Welsh Language Board, on the basis of an analysis of the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Longitudinal Study, estimated there were 110,000 Welsh-speaking people in England, and another thousand in Scotland and Northern Ireland.[33] In the 2011 Census, 8,248 people in England gave Welsh in answer to the question “What is your main language?”[34] The ONS subsequently published a census glossary of terms to support the release of results from the census, including their definition of “main language” as referring to “first or preferred language” (though that wording was not in the census questionnaire itself).[35][36] The wards in England with the most people giving Welsh as their main language were the Liverpool wards: Central and Greenbank, and Oswestry South.[34] In terms of the regions of England, North West England (1,945), London (1,310) and the West Midlands (1,265) had the highest number of people noting Welsh as their main language.[37]

In the later 19th century, virtually all teaching in the schools of Wales was in English, even in areas where the pupils barely understood English. Some schools used the Welsh Not, a piece of wood, often bearing the letters “WN”, which was hung around the neck of any pupil caught speaking Welsh. The pupil could pass it on to any schoolmate heard speaking Welsh, with the pupil wearing it at the end of the day being given a beating. One of the most famous Welsh-born pioneers of higher education in Wales was Sir Hugh Owen. He made great progress in the cause of education, and more especially the University College of Wales at Aberystwyth, of which he was chief founder. He has been credited[by whom?] with the Welsh Intermediate Education Act 1889 (52 & 53 Vict c 40), following which several new Welsh schools were built. The first was completed in 1894 and named Ysgol Syr Hugh Owen.

Towards the beginning of the 20th century this policy slowly began to change, partly owing to the efforts of Owen Morgan Edwards when he became chief inspector of schools for Wales in 1907.

The Aberystwyth Welsh School (Ysgol Gymraeg Aberystwyth) was founded in 1939 by Sir Ifan ap Owen Edwards, the son of O.M. Edwards, as the first Welsh Primary School.[52] The headteacher was Norah Isaac. Ysgol Gymraeg is still a very successful school, and now there are Welsh language primary schools all over the country. Ysgol Glan Clwyd was established in Rhyl in 1955 as the first Welsh language school to teach at the secondary level.[53]

Examples of sentences in literary and colloquial Welsh

English

Literary Welsh

Colloquial Welsh
I get up early every day. Codaf yn gynnar bob dydd. Dw i’n codi’n gynnar bob dydd. (North)
Rwy’n codi’n gynnar bob dydd. (South)
I’ll get up early tomorrow. Codaf yn gynnar yfory. Mi goda i’n gynnar fory
Wna i godi’n gynnar fory
He had not stood there long. Ni safasai yno yn hir.[82] Doedd o ddim wedi sefyll yno’n hir. (North)
(D)ôdd e ddim wedi sefyll yna’n hir. (South)
They’ll sleep only when there’s a need. Ni chysgant ond pan fo angen. Fyddan nhw’n cysgu ddim ond pan fydd angen.

In fact, the differences between dialects of modern spoken Welsh pale into insignificance compared to the difference between some forms of the spoken language and the most formal constructions of the literary language. The latter is considerably more conservative and is the language used in Welsh translations of the Bible, amongst other things (although the 2004 Beibl Cymraeg Newydd – New Welsh Bible – is significantly less formal than the traditional 1588 Bible). Gareth King, author of a popular Welsh grammar, observes that “The difference between these two is much greater than between the virtually identical colloquial and literary forms of English”.[83] A grammar of Literary Welsh can be found in A Grammar of Welsh (1980) by Stephen J. Williams[84] or more completely in Gramadeg y Gymraeg (1996) by Peter Wynn Thomas.[85] (No comprehensive grammar of formal literary Welsh exists in English.) An English-language guide to colloquial Welsh forms and register and dialect differences is “Dweud Eich Dweud” (2001, 2013) by Ceri Jones.[86]

Welsh emigration

Flag of the city of Puerto Madryn, Argentina, inspired by the Flag of Wales, owing to the Welsh immigration

There has been migration from Wales to the rest of Britain throughout its history. During the Industrial Revolution thousands of Welsh people migrated, for example, to Liverpool and Ashton-in-Makerfield.[72][73] As a result, some people from England, Scotland and Ireland have Welsh surnames.[74][75][76][77]

John Adams, the second President of the United States (1797–1801), whose paternal great-grandfather David Adams was born and bred at “Fferm Penybanc”, Llanboidy, Carmarthenshire, Wales[78] and who emigrated from Wales in 1675.

Other Welsh settlers moved to other parts of Europe, concentrated in certain areas. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a small wave of contract miners from Wales arrived in Northern France; the centres of Welsh-French population are in coal mining towns of the French department of Pas-de-Calais.[citation needed] Welsh settlers from Wales (and later Patagonian Welsh) arrived in Newfoundland in the early 1900s, and founded towns Labrador‘s coast region.[citation needed] In 1852 Thomas Benbow Phillips of Tregaron established a settlement of about 100 Welsh people in the state of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil.

Internationally Welsh people have emigrated, in relatively small numbers (in proportion to population, Irish emigration to the USA may have been 26 times greater than Welsh emigration),[79] to many countries, including the USA (in particular, Pennsylvania), Canada and Y Wladfa in Patagonia, Argentina.[80][81][82] Jackson County, Ohio was sometimes referred to as “Little Wales”, and the Welsh language was commonly heard or spoken among locals by the mid 20th century.[citation needed] Malad City in Idaho, which began as a Welsh Mormon settlement, lays claim to a greater proportion of inhabitants of Welsh descent than anywhere outside Wales itself.[83] Malad’s local High School is known as the “Malad Dragons”, and flies the Welsh Flag as its school colours.[84] Welsh people have also settled in New Zealand and Australia.[79][85]

Around 1.75 million Americans report themselves to have Welsh ancestry, as did 458,705 Canadians in Canada’s 2011 census.[5][7] This compares with 2.9 million people living in Wales (as of the 2001 census).[86]

There is no known evidence which would objectively support the legend that the Mandan, a Native American tribe of the central United States, are Welsh emigrants who reached North America under Prince Madog in 1170.[87]

The Ukrainian city of Donetsk was founded in 1869 by a Welsh businessman, John Hughes (an engineer from Merthyr Tydfil) who constructed a steel plant and several coal mines in the region; the town was thus named Yuzovka (??????) in recognition of his role in its founding (“Yuz” being a Russian or Ukrainian approximation of Hughes).[88]

Former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard was born in Barry, Wales. After she suffered from bronchopneumonia as a child, her parents were advised that it would aid her recovery to live in a warmer climate. This led the family to migrate to Australia in 1966, settling in Adelaide.

For more information please visit the following link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_language

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