Yr Hen Iaith Yr Hen Iaith

Pennod 39 (cyfres 2, pennod 6)
Mae’r bennod hon yn canolbwyntio ar y datblygiad technolegol hollbwysig hwnnw, y wasg argraffu. O gofio mai trafod hanes llenyddiaeth Gymraeg yw nod y podlediad hwn, dylid gweld dyfodiad y cyfrwng hwn fel carreg filltir ryfeddol o drawsffurfiannol o safbwynt cynhyrchu a lledaenu llenyddiaeth.
Argraffwyd y llyfr Cymraeg cyntaf yn 1546, ac eglurwn y teitl-nad-yw’n deitl a roddir arno, sef Yn y Llyfr Hwn. Syr John Prys a oedd yn gyfrol am gynhyrchu’r gyfrol Gymraeg arloesol hon, ond nodwn ei fod yn gymeriad a oedd wedi helpu chwalu rhai o adnoddau llenyddol Cymru yn ogystal â bod yn gyfrifol am wthio’r iaith Gymraeg dros drothwy byd print.

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The Welsh Language and the New World of Print

This episode focuses on that all-important technological development, the printing press. Given that discussing the history of Welsh literature is this podcast’s aim, we should see the arrival of this medium as an incredibly transformative milestone as far as creating and disseminating literature is concerned.
The first Welsh book was printed in 1546, and we explain the title-which-is-not-a-tile normally used in referring to it, Yn y Llyfr Hwn (‘In This Book’). Sir John Price was responsible for producing this landmark Welsh volume, but we note that he was a character who helped destroy some of Wales’ literary resources in addition to being responsible for pushing the Welsh language across the threshold of the world of print.

Cyflwynwyd gan: Yr Athro Jerry Hunter a'r Athro Richard Wyn Jones
Cynhyrchwyd gan: Richard Martin
Cerddoriaeth: Might Have Done gan The Molenes

Darllen Pellach / Further Reading:
- Graham C. G. Thomas, ‘From Manuscript to Print – II. Print’, yn R. Geraint Gruffydd (gol.), A Guide to Welsh Literature 1530-1700 (1997).
- R. Geraint Gruffydd, ‘Yny lhyvyr hwnn (1546): the earliest Welsh printed book, Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies, 23.1 (Mai, 1969).

Pennod 38 (cyfres 2, pennod 5)

Trafodwn fardd benywaidd hynod ddiddorol yn y benod hon – Alis ferch Gruffudd neu ‘Alis Wen’, a fu’n canu yn ystod yr unfed ganrif ar bymtheg. Dynion oedd beirdd proffesiynol y cyfnod, ond dysgodd Alis grefft barddoni a chyfansoddodd nifer o gerddi gan ddefnyddio un o’r hen fesurau caeth, yr englyn unodl uniawn. Mae’n debyg iawn mai ei thad, Gruffudd ab Ieuan ap Llywelyn Fychan oedd ei hathro barddol, a gwelwn fod ei pherthynas ungryw â’i thad yn bwnc dan sylw yn rhai o’i cherddi. Dyma lais barddol benywaidd prin sy’n amlygu teimladau gonest Cymraes am gariad, priodas a diswyliadau cymdeithasol. Er bod cymdeithas Cymru’r cyfnod yn ormesol o batrïarchaidd, gwelwn Alis yn protestio ac yn dymuno dilyn ei chalon yn hytrach nag ufuddhau i’r disgwyliadau hynny. Yn ogystal â mynegi’i barn a’i theimladau mewn modd di-flewyn-ar-dafod, mae’n gwneud hynny mewn modd rhyfeddol o ffraeth hefyd.

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Alis Wen

In this episode we discuss a remarkably interesting female poet –Alis ferch Gruffudd or ‘Alis Wen’, who composed poetry in the sixteenth century. Men were the professional poets in the period, but Alis learned the poetic art and composed a number of verses using one of the old strict metres, the englyn unodl union. It’s very likely that her father, Gruffudd ab Ieuan ap Llywelyn Fychan, was her bardic teacher, and we see that her unique relationship with her father is given attention in some of her poems. Here is a rare female poetic voice from the period which manifests a Welsh woman’s honest feelings about love, marriage and society’s expectations. Although Welsh society in the period was oppressively patriarchal, we see Alis protesting and expressing a desire to follow her own heart instead of submitting to those expectations. In addition to expressing her opinion and her feelings in a forthright manner, she also does that in a wonderfully witty way.

Cyflwynwyd gan: Yr Athro Jerry Hunter a'r Athro Richard Wyn Jones
Cynhyrchwyd gan: Richard Martin
Cerddoriaeth: Might Have Done gan The Molenes

Dilynwch ni ar Trydar: http://www.twitter.com/YrHenIaith
neu YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@yrheniaith
Tanysgrifwch yn eich hoff ap podlediadau neu ar YouTube i derbyn y pennod nesaf ar cyhoeddiad.

Darllen Pellach / Further Reading:
- Gwen Saunders Jones, Alis ferch Gruffudd a’r Traddodiad Barddol Benywaidd (2015).
- Cathryn Charnell-White(gol.), Beirdd Ceridwen: Blodeugerdd Barddas o Ganu Menywod hyd tua 1800 (2005).
- Katie Gramich a Catherine Brennan (goln.), Welsh Women’s Poetry 1460-2001: An Anthology (2003).

Pennod 37 (cyfres 2, pennod 4)
Wedi trafod natur ac arwyddocâd cronicl mawr Elis Gruffydd yn y bennod ddiwethaf, edrychwn y tro hwn ar nifer o straeon a gynhwyswyd yn y gwaith sydd o ddiddordeb neilltuol. Mae’n bosibl edrych ar y straeon hyn fel chwedlau gwerin Cymraeg nas cofnodwyd mewn unman arall – hanesion a glywodd Elis ar lafar pan oedd yn blentyn yn sir y Fflint a/neu straeon a welodd mewn llawysgrifau Cymraeg sydd bellach wedi diflannu. Diolch i Elis mae gennym y fersiwn cynharach sydd goroesi o ddwy stori gysylltiedig sy’n darlunio hanes y bardd arallfydol Taliesin, naratifau llawn hwyl sydd hefyd yn dweud llawer am y modd y canfyddai’r Cymry rym barddoniaeth.
Sylwn hefyd ar chwedl sy’n darlunio’r Brenin Arthur fel merchetwr hunanol eiddigeddus. Ac yntau’n filwr ffyddlon ym myddin Harri VIII, cofnododd Elis nifer o chwedlau’n ymwneud â ‘hanes’ y Tuduriaid hefyd, gan gynnwys un sy’n dyrchafu Harri VII fel ‘y mab darogan’ ar draul Owain Glyndŵr, stori gariad sy’n egluro tarddiad y teulu, ac un am y brudiwr o fardd Rhobin Ddu a broffwydodd am enedigaeth Harri Tudur.

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Old Welsh Legends and Tudor Propaganda: Elis Gruffydd ( Part 2)

Having discussed the nature and significance of Elis Gruffydd’s long chronicle in the last episode, we look this time at a number of stories of special interest which were included in the work. It’s possible to look at these narratives as Welsh folktales which were note recorded anywhere else – stories which Elis Gruffydd heard recited orally when he was a child in Flintshire and/or tales which he saw in Welsh manuscripts which have since disappeared. Thanks to Elis Gruffydd we have the earliest version of two connected tales presenting the history of the otherworldly poet Taliesin, narratives full of fun which also say a great deal about the way in which the Welsh perceived the power of poetry.
We also mention a tale which depicts King Arthur as a selfish and jealous womanizer. A loyal soldier in the army of Henry VIII, Elis recorded a number of tales having to do with the ‘history’ of the Tudors as well, including one which elevates Henry VII as y mab darogan (the prophesied savior of the Welsh) above Owain Glyndŵr, a love story which explains the origins of the family, and one about the prophet bard Rhobin Ddu who foresaw the birth of Henry Tudor.

Cyflwynwyd gan: Yr Athro Jerry Hunter a'r Athro Richard Wyn Jones
Cynhyrchwyd gan: Richard Martin
Cerddoriaeth: Might Have Done gan The Molenes

Dilynwch ni ar Trydar: http://www.twitter.com/YrHenIaith
neu YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@yrheniaith
Tanysgrifwch yn eich hoff ap podlediadau neu ar YouTube i derbyn y pennod nesaf ar cyhoeddiad.

Darllen Pellach / Further Reading:
- Patrick K. Ford (gol.), Ystoria Taliesin (1992)
- Jerry Hunter, ‘Taliesin at the Court of Henry VIII: Aspects of the writings of Elis Gruffydd’, Trafodion Anrhydeddus Gymdeithas y Cymmrodorion (2003).
- Jerry Hunter, ‘Poets, Angels and Devilish Spirits: Elis Gruffydd’s Meditations on Idolatry,’ yn Joseph F. Nagy a Leslie Ellen Jones (goln.), Heroic Poets and Poetic Heroes in Celtic Tradition (Dulyn, 2005).

Pennod 36 - (cyfres 2, pennod 3)

Dyma gyflwyniad i awdur Cymraeg rhyfeddol, Elis Gruffydd, Cymro o sir y Fflint a fu’n filwr ym myddin Harri VIII ac yn aelod o warchodlu Calais. Yno ar y cyfandir yr ysgrifennodd ei gronicl hirfaith, hanes y byd o’r Creu Beiblaidd hyd at ddechrau’r 1550au, y testun naratifol hwyaf a ysgrifennwyd erioed yn yr iaith Gymraeg.
A’i fywyd yn rhychwantu hanner cyntaf oes y Tuduriaid, mae’n bosibl disgrifio Elis Gruffydd gyda gwrthddywediad ymddangosiadol a dweud ei fod yn awdur cwbl unigryw a oedd yn gwbl nodweddiadol o’i oes. Gwelir yn ei waith ysgrifenedig y pontio rhwng yr hen oes a’r newydd, wrth iddo fynd ati’n uchelgeisiol i gofnodi cymaint o wybodaeth trwy gyfrwng ei famiaith. Gan fod Elis yn sôn am ei fywyd ei hun yn ystod rhan olaf ei groncil, a ellir dweud mai hwn yw’r hunangofiant cyntaf yn yr iaith Gymraeg? Holwn hefyd pam nad oes rhagor o Gymry heddiw sy’n gwybod am yr awdur Cymraeg diddorol hwn a’i waith rhyfeddol? Ai oherwydd y ffaith ei fod yn Gymro a oedd yn deyrngar iawn i’r Frenhiniaeth Seisnig a’i byddin?

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Elis Gruffydd (Part 1)
This is an introduction to a remarkable Welsh author, Elis Gruffydd, a Welshman from Flintshire who served as a soldier in Henry VIII’s army and who was a member of the garrison of Calais. It was there on the continent that he wrote is long chronicle, a history of the world from the Biblical Creation to the start of the 1550s, the longest narrative text ever written in the Welsh language.
His life spanned the first half of the age of the Tudors, and it’s possible to describe Elis Gruffydd with an apparent contradiction and say that he was a completely unique author who was completely characteristic of his age. One can see the bridging between the old age and the new in his written work, as he went at it ambitiously to record so much knowledge in his native language. Given the fact that Elis discusses his own life in the last part of his chronicle, can it be said that this is the first autobiography in the Welsh language? We also ask why more Welsh people today don’t know about this interesting Welsh writer and his remarkable work? Is it because he was a Welshman who was very loyal to the English monarchy and its army?

Cyflwynwyd gan: Yr Athro Jerry Hunter a'r Athro Richard Wyn Jones
Cynhyrchwyd gan: Richard Martin
Cerddoriaeth: Might Have Done gan The Molenes

Dilynwch ni ar Trydar: http://www.twitter.com/YrHenIaith
neu YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@yrheniaith
Tanysgrifwch yn eich hoff ap podlediadau neu ar YouTube i derbyn y pennod nesaf ar cyhoeddiad.

Darllen Pellach / Further Reading:
- Thomas Jones, `A Welsh Chronicler in Tudor England’, Cylchgrawn Hanes Cymru 1 (1960)
- Prys Morgan, ‘Elis Gruffydd of Gronant - Tudor chronicler extraordinary’, Journal of the Flintshire Historical Society, 25 (1971-2)
- Ceridwen Lloyd-Morgan, ‘Elis Gruffydd a Thraddodiad Cymraeg Calais a Chlwyd’, Cof Cenedl 11 (1996)
- Jerry Hunter, Soffestri’r Saeson: Hanesyddiaeth a Hunaniaeth yn Oes y Tuduriaid (2000).
- Jerry Hunter, ‘Taliesin at the Court of Henry VIII: Aspects of the writings of Elis Gruffydd’, Trafodion Anrhydeddus Gymdeithas y Cymmrodorion (2003)
- Jerry Hunter, ‘Poets, Angels and Devilish Spirits: Elis Gruffydd’s Meditations on Idolatry,’ yn Joseph F. Nagy a Leslie Ellen Jones (goln.), Heroic Poets and Poetic Heroes in Celtic Tradition (Dulyn, 2005).

Pennod 35 (cyfres 2, pennod 2)
Roedd y bennod ddiwethaf yn amlinellu’r newidiadau mawr a ddaeth yn ystod oes y Tuduriaid. Mae’r bennod hon yn ystyried effaith rhai o’r newidiadau hyn ar y traddodiad barddol Cymraeg. Ond er gwaethaf yr holl drawsffurfiadau, gwelwn wrth graffu ar ychydig o ganu mawl o ddechrau’r cyfnod fod nifer o agweddau hynafol ar y traddodiad yn parhau wrth i’r traddodiad hwnnw esblygu ac amsugno elfennau newydd.
Yn sicr, cyfuniad o’r hen a’r newydd yw’r hyn sy’n gwneud y cyfnod hwn yn hanes llenyddiaeth Gymraeg mor ddiddorol. Er bod pob rhan o Gymru wedi’i hail-lunio ar ffurf siroedd Seisnig yn ystod teyrnasiad Harri VIII, nodwn fod y gyfundrefn farddol Gymraeg yn parhau i feddwl am ddaearyddiaeth y wlad mewn dull Cymreig hynafol. Ac er gwaethaf awgrym rhai haneswyr Protestannaidd a awgrymai fod mynachdai Cymru’n sefydliadau pydredig erbyn iddynt gael eu diddymu gan Harri VIII, gwelwn fod rhai ohonynt wedi parhau’n ganolfannau diwylliannol a chrefyddol bywiog hyd at y diwedd.
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The Persistence of an Old Tradition


The last episode outlined the big changes which came during the ag of the Tudors. This episode considers the way in which these changes effected the Welsh bardic tradition. But despite of the transformations, we see while examining some praise poetry from the early part of the perioed that ancient aspects of the tradition continue while that tradition evolves and absorbs new elements. Indeed, a combination of the old and the new is what makes this period in the history of Welsh literature so interesting.
Although every part of Wales was redrawn in the form of English shires during Henry VIII’s reign, we note that the Welsh bardic order continued to think of the country’s geography in ancient Welsh terms as well. And while some Protestant historians suggested that the monasteries of Wales were rotten institutions by the time that Henry VIII disestablished them, we see that some of them continued to be vibrant cultural and religious centres right up to the end.

Cyflwynwyd gan: Yr Athro Jerry Hunter a'r Athro Richard Wyn Jones
Cynhyrchwyd gan: Richard Martin
Cerddoriaeth: Might Have Done gan The Molenes

Dilynwch ni ar Trydar: http://www.twitter.com/YrHenIaith
neu YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@yrheniaith
Tanysgrifwch yn eich hoff ap podlediadau neu ar YouTube i derbyn y pennod nesaf ar cyhoeddiad.

Darllen Pellach / Further Reading:
T. Gwynn Jones (gol.), Gwaith Tudur Aled (1926), cyfrol I a chyfrol II
A. Cynfael Lake (gol.), Gwaith Siôn Ceri (1996)

Dyma bennod gyntaf ail gyfres ‘Yr Hen Iaith’! Dechreuwn drafod llenyddiaeth Gymraeg yr unfed ganrif ar bymtheg trwy ystyried y datblygiadau hynny sy’n ein galluogi i wahaniaethu rhwng yr Oesau Canol a’r Cyfnod Modern Cynnar. Un o’r pethau sydd mor ddiddorol am y cyfnod hwn yw’r modd y gwelwn feirdd ac awduron Cymraeg yn ymaddasu ac yn ymateb wrth i gymdeithas newid yn ystod hanner cyntaf yr unfed ganrif ar bymtheg.

Ni ellir gwadu bod datblygiadau gwleidyddol, technolegol, crefyddol ac addysgiadol wedi cyfuno i drawsffurfio cymdeithas Cymru yn ystod y cyfnod hwn. Ond pwysleisiwn hefyd fod llenyddiaeth Gymraeg yn datblygu yn ei ffordd unigryw ei hun a bod cryfder traddodiad yn ein galluogi i weld y ‘cyfnodoli’ hwn mewn golau holl wahanol!

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A New Period?

This is the first episode in the second series of ‘Yr Hen Iaith’! We begin discussing the Welsh literature of the sixteenth century by considering those developments which allow use to differentiate between the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period. One of the things which is so interesting about this period is seeing how Welsh poets and writers adapted and reacted as society changed during the first half of the sixteenth century.

It can’t be denied that political, technological, religious and educational developments combined to transform society in Wales during this period. Yet we also stress that Welsh literature develops in its own unique way and note that the strength o Welsh tradition allows us to see this ‘periodization’ in a completely different light?


Cyflwynwyd gan: Yr Athro Jerry Hunter a'r Athro Richard Wyn Jones
Cynhyrchwyd gan: Richard Martin
Cerddoriaeth: Might Have Done gan The Molenes

Dilynwch ni ar Trydar: http://www.twitter.com/YrHenIaith
neu YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@yrheniaith
Tanysgrifwch yn eich hoff ap podlediadau neu ar YouTube i derbyn y pennod nesaf ar cyhoeddiad.