The Wonder of Wales

The country has its own language - said to be one of the oldest living languages in Europe. This language can only be described as a song of angels, radiating out of the valleys below whilst you journey its paths of wonder.

As you travel down the mountain roads you see before you a stunning coastline which is handsomely protected by its many historic castles and fortresses that stand steadfast in your gaze. Wales stands out proudly on the western side of Britain On the edge of the Celtic sea.

In his writings of "Gorchestion Beirdd Cymru"(The Exploits of the Bards of Wales, 1773), Rhys Jones, said the following:

“God has shown more love and favour to the Welsh than
to almost any other nation under the sun.... Although we
were conquered by the Romans, and driven by the Saxons
from the lowlands of England to the Welsh highlands,
and later conquered by the Normans; and although
laws were passed specifically to delete our language
totally from the face of the earth; yet the Most High
has given us strength and resilience to withstand all
the incursions of our enemies, however frequent they
have been, and to retain our language and some of our possessions, also, despite them all; and let us hope
that we shall remain so forever more.”

My fondest memories of of the countrey are of the island of Anglesey. My parents fell so much in love with Anglesey they decided to retire there and settle along side my sister Jackie, who owns a farm on the island.

The island of Anglesey was and is an important part, of welsh and Celtic culture and if we look back along the timeline, we see that, Anglesey was in fact a centre for Celtic wisdom and the training of the druids.

Anglesey in the Welsh language is: Mon Mam Cwmru (Mona, Mother of Wales).

The country and its people, like all the Celtic tribes, have placed particular emphasis on the passing of its culture through word of mouth. One of the worlds most famous tales of Wales is the Mabinogion.

The Eleven Tales Of Wales

These tales are known as the Mabinogion and were written in the Welsh language around the 11th to 13th century. It was said by Professors Gwyn and Thomas Jones, as being “among the finest flowerings of the Celtic genius and, taken together, a masterpiece of our medieval European literature.”

People in the academic field advise us that there is now no traditional style Storytellers in Wales. I personally disagree.

For example, I have a fantastic book called rare Welsh bits by John Williams. (Also a native welsh speaker and writer) This book hooks you in as you read, stories that take you through time in many Celtic lands and characters such as gypsies and those with a touch of the Celtic supernatural.

Wales as all our Celtic lands is full of stories and tales of magic and enchantment with legendary and mythological beings such as fairies and Magic; some for children; and some filled with humour and traditions reflecting the history of Wales. I will be adding more of Wales soon.

Sometimes it's tough to sort out all the details related to this subject, but I'm positive you'll have no trouble making sense of the information presented above.