Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru
Welsh, The - The Biography
Welsh, The - The Biography
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Disgrifiad Cymraeg / Welsh Description
Dyma gyfrol sy'n adrodd yr hanes rhyfeddol am oroesiad y Cymry a'r Gymraeg, y genedl a'r iaith hynaf yn Ewrop. Cawn weld sut y mae'r pedwar llwyth Celtaidd gwreiddiol yn dal i gael eu hadlewyrchu gan leoliad pedair cadeirlan hynaf Prydain, a sut y mae'r ymdeimlad o genedligrwydd Cymreig wedi para er gwaethaf ymosodiadau cyson.
Disgrifiad Saesneg / English Description
The Welsh - The Biography tells the story of the remarkable survival of the oldest nation and oldest language in Europe. We see how the four original major Celtic tribes are still reflected in the location of Britain's four oldest cathedrals, and how, after one and a half millennia of constant invasions and eventual conquest, the Welsh retained their sense of nationality.
Manylion y cynnyrch / Product details
- ISBN 13
- 9781445608082
- Gwales Code
- gwales.com.9781445608082
- Gwerthwr / Vendor
- Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru
- Long Title
- Welsh, The - The Biography
- Awdur / Author
- Breverton, Terry
- Current Price ex VAT
- £16.99
- Current Price inc VAT
- £16.99
- Availability Status (EN)
- Available
- Availability Status (CY)
- Ar gael
- Dyddiad cyhoeddi / Publication Date
- 2014-02-25
- Cyhoeddwr / Publisher
- Amberley Publishing
- Media Type (EN)
- Paperback / softback
- Media Type (CY)
- Clawr meddal
- Pages
- 368 pages
- Size
- 156 × 234 mm
- Language Code
- English
- Categori / Category
- CY: Bywgraffiadau a Chofiannau (yn Saesneg) | EN: Biographies (in English)
- Is-gategori / Subcategory
- CY: Bywgraffiadau - Cymysg (yn Saesneg) | EN: Biographies - Mixed (in English)
Adolygiad y Cyhoeddwr / Publisher Review
Despite its close physical resemblance to John Davies’s The History of Wales , Terry Breverton’s Biography is not, and does not wish to be a conventional history book. It is unashamedly partisan, even polemical. It concentrates on areas the author feels have been neglected or misinterpreted by the majority of (English) historians. He also devotes more attention than usual to the current position of Wales in his final chapter: ‘A personal perspective on the 21st Century’. His opening chapters on the prehistoric period are particularly interesting and incorporate very recent research on the people of Britain in the pre-Roman era – which he rightly says are often overlooked by Anglo-centric writers. He makes a good case for Wales being a very difficult ‘province’ for the Romans to hold down but considered worth the effort for the plunder of its mineral wealth. Indeed, this is the most constant pattern in the history – that Wales has been constantly plundered for its natural resources without benefit to the native population. His other prevailing theme is continuity of tradition. He gives proper weight to Roman and Celtic Christianity (which has been overshadowed by Augustinian propaganda and the prejudice of chroniclers such as Bede) and to the importance of the survival of the British/Welsh language. The savagery of Norman methods of invasion and domination is treated in detail but, as Gerald of Wales wrote of his countrymen, ‘If they would be inseparable, they would be insuperable.’ The fragmentation, internal rivalries and problems caused by the Welsh system of inheritance worked against them on many occasions. Consequently, Breverton places great emphasis on the leaders who did succeed in uniting them, particularly on Owain Glyndwr. After the Tudors his coverage becomes more selective, giving prominence to Welsh figures whose pivotal place in history has been under-valued, such as the great Civil War general Thomas Morgan and admiral Henry Morgan (though he surprisingly overlooks the importance of Welsh silver to the royal cause). The central position of the language in Welsh identity (undermined by some Tudor legislation and the anglicisation of Welsh gentry in the 18th century) was supported by the spread of Nonconformist teaching but this suppressed other aspects of native culture which were championed by Iolo Morganwg and his associates. The author uses his research into court records to give a flavour of life and language through the centuries. His treatment of the 20th century does become very passionate and personalised and he clearly has no confidence in the autonomy or effectiveness of the Assembly. Although he is a widely read and prolific author on Welsh subjects, Terry Breverton makes it clear that his approach is not that of the academic historian. He does not include any notes on his sources. This is a pity as I was constantly coming across items and thinking ‘I didn’t know that!’ – which was very much his intention. The Biography does give the impression of having been written in haste. There is inadvertent repetition of lines which an editor’s revision should have sorted out. However, on its own stated terms, this is a challenging and thought-provoking study of the Welsh.
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