On 23rd February 1959, the flag currently in use was officially recognised as the national flag of Wales.
A history of factors associated with the Welsh Flag;
It is thought that the Romans brought the dragon emblem to what is now Wales in the form of the Draco standards carried by Roman cavalry units. The Draco itself originated with the Sarmatians, a unit of whom were stationed in Britain from the 2nd to 4th centuries.
The oldest known use of the dragon to represent Wales is from the Historia Brittonum, which is commonly attributed to the Welsh monk Nennius around 830. The text describes a struggle between two serpents who prevent King Vortigern from building a fortress. This story was later adapted by Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae (c. 1136) into a prophecy by Merlin that the white dragon, representing the Saxons would at first dominate but would eventually be conquered by the red dragon, symbolising the Celts. Geoffrey also tells us that King Arthur had a golden dragon banner.
In 1400 Owain Glyndwr raised a golden dragon on a white background as his banner during his revolts against the occupation of Wales by the English crown.
Henry VII’s banner at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 incorporated a red dragon, which he attributed to Cadwaladr, King of Gwynedd from c.655 to 682, on the Tudor colours of green and white. Afterwards it was carried in state to St Pauls Cathedral and included as a supporter of the Tudor royal arms to signify their Welsh descent.
Source: https://www.facebook.com/groups/268476174699271/permalink/599937724886446/?paipv=0&eav=Afb3-CvfvqDHsEXVNMkOJfRjy4F-O-JPJiJDbg1cna9hlct4_kCbo6nwRIpKz42D1oU&_rdr 24.02.2023 @08:24 Central European Time.
The book, The Mabinogion – a collection of early Welsh tales.
The Mabinogion is based upon a 14th century manuscript known as ‘Red book of Hergest’. The work is a collection of eleven tales of early Welsh literature and draws upon the mystical word of the Celtic people intertwining myths, folklore, tradition and history.
Wiki: “The Mabinogion (Welsh pronunciation: [mabɪˈnɔɡjɔn]) are the earliest Welsh prose stories, and belong to the Matter of Britain. The stories were compiled in Middle Welsh in the 12th–13th centuries from earlier oral traditions. There are two main source manuscripts, created c. 1350–1410, as well as a few earlier fragments. The title covers a collection of eleven prose stories of widely different types, offering drama, philosophy, romance, tragedy, fantasy and humour, and created by various narrators over time. There is a classic hero quest, “Culhwch and Olwen” a historic legend in “Lludd and Llefelys,” complete with glimpses of a far off age; and other tales portray a very different King Arthur from the later popular versions. The highly sophisticated complexity of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi defies categorisation. The stories are so diverse that it has been argued that they are not even a true collection.[1]
The Two Kings (sculptor Ivor Roberts-Jones, 1984) near Harlech Castle, Wales. Bendigeidfran carries the body of his nephew Gwern.
Ceridwen by Christopher Williams, (1910)
The opening few lines of the Mabinogi, from the Red Book of Hergest, scanned by the Bodleian Library
Scholars from the 18th century to the 1970s predominantly viewed the tales as fragmentary pre-Christian Celtic mythology,[2] or in terms of international folklore.[3] There are certainly components of pre-Christian Celtic mythology and folklore, but since the 1970s[4] an understanding of the integrity of the tales has developed, with investigation of their plot structures, characterisation, and language styles. They are now seen as a sophisticated narrative tradition, both oral and written, with ancestral construction from oral storytelling,[5][6] and overlay from Anglo-French influences.[7]
The first modern publications were English translations by William Owen Pughe of several tales in journals in 1795, 1821, and 1829.[8] However it was Lady Charlotte Guest in 1838–45 who first published the full collection,[9] bilingually in Welsh and English. She is often assumed to be responsible for the name “Mabinogion”, but this was already in standard use in the 18th century.[10] Indeed, as early as 1632 the lexicographer John Davies quotes a sentence from Math fab Mathonwy with the notation “Mabin” in his Antiquae linguae Britannicae … dictionarium duplex, article “Hob”. The later Guest translation of 1877 in one volume has been widely influential and remains actively read today.[11] The most recent translation is a compact version by Sioned Davies.[12] John Bollard has published a series of volumes with his own translation, with copious photography of the sites in the stories.[13] The tales continue to inspire new fiction,[14] dramatic retellings,[15] visual artwork, and research.[16]”
Wiki link 28.11.2022 @08:42 European Standard Time: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mabinogion
Sources: Bedd Gelert is a well known story. The town Beddgelert is named after it. Beddgelert dates back to pre-roman times.
The story is also rumoured to be a Victorian fabrication for the tourist industry.
Wiki: “The folk tale of the faithful hound “Gelert” is often associated with the village. A raised mound in the village is called “Gelert’s Grave” and is a significant tourist attraction. But the grave was built by the late 18th-century landlord of the Goat Hotel, David Pritchard, who created it in order to encourage tourism. Similar legends can be found in other parts of Europe and Asia.[4]
The village is probably named after an early Christian missionary and leader called Celert (or Cilert) who settled here early in the 8th century. The earliest record of the name Beddgelert appears on a document dated 1258, and the name recorded is “Bekelert”. In a document of 1269 it is recorded as “Bedkelerd”.[5]
Wiki link dated 28.11.2022 @08:43 European Standard Time : https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beddgelert