1176 Cardigan eisteddfod

1176 Welsh cultural event July 2020 February 2019 thumb|A depiction of the 1176 Eisteddfod in a 1930 schoolbook The 1176 Cardigan eisteddfod, as it is commonly described today, was a cultural tournament involving bards and musicians, held in the grounds of Cardigan Castle, Cardigan, West Wales, by the Lord Rhys ap Gruffydd. Though the term eisteddfod was not commonly used until several centuries later, the 1176 gathering is commonly claimed to be the earliest recorded forerunner of the modern national eisteddfod event.Phil Carradice The first eisteddfod – Christmas 1176 BBC News https://www.bbc.co.uk/webarchive/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fblogs%2Fwales%2Fentries%2Fa1b7c602-5c9b-3bc1-ba13-fd64dc068ffc blog 22 December 2010 4 February 2019 7 February 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190207034355/http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wales/entries/a1b7c602-5c9b-3bc1-ba13-fd64dc068ffc live John T. Koch Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia ABC CLIO https://books.google.com/books?id=f899xH_quaMC&pg=PA664 I A-Celti 664–665 2006 1-85109-440-7 Background 2 400 right RhysapG.png Cardigan Castle in Wales.jpeg Rhys ap Gruffydd held the event at the grounds of Cardigan Castle left Rhys ap Gruffydd became the ruler uniting the whole of Deheubarth, covering southwest Wales, in 1155. This had followed years of battles with the English King Henry II. Rhys was made Lord of Ystrad Tywi or, commonly, the Lord Rhys. There followed a period of relative peace and security. In the early 1170s Henry II sought friendship with Rhys and confirmed his leadership of Deheubarth.Professor Thomas Jones Pierce RHYS ap GRUFFYDD (1132–1197), lord of Deheubarth, known in history as 'Yr Arglwydd Rhys' ('The lord Rhys') Dictionary of Welsh Biography https://biography.wales/article/s-RHYS-APG-1132#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0&manifest=https%3A%2F%2Fdamsssl.llgc.org.uk%2Fiiif%2F2.0%2F4674458%2Fmanifest.json&xywh=-1618%2C-1%2C7498%2C6051 7 February 2019 9 August 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200809074540/https://biography.wales/article/s-RHYS-APG-1132#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0&manifest=https%3A%2F%2Fdamsssl.llgc.org.uk%2Fiiif%2F2.0%2F4674458%2Fmanifest.json&xywh=-1618%2C-1%2C7498%2C6051 live In 1171 Rhys rebuilt Cardigan Castle in stone, as a political and military statement, making it his chief residence.Medieval legacy is there to be enjoyed Wales Online 21 March 2013 https://www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/showbiz/medieval-legacy-enjoyed-1848163 7 February 2019 9 February 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190209124238/https://www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/showbiz/medieval-legacy-enjoyed-1848163 live Welsh princes commonly patronised professional bards at the time, who in return wrote poetry praising their sponsors.Hywel Teifi Edwards Hywel Teifi Edwards The Eisteddfod University of Wales Press https://books.google.com/books?id=K81RDwAAQBAJ&q=eisteddfod+1451 10–11 2016 978-1-78316-914-6 The gathering at Cardigan Castle in 1176 is recorded in the medieval chronicle Brut y Tywysogion. The next eisteddfod in Wales of any certainty took place circa 1451 in Carmarthen.Cardigan Castle chapter closes with death of last private owner Tivy-side Advertiser 13 February 2009 https://www.tivysideadvertiser.co.uk/news/4122574.cardigan-castle-chapter-closes-with-death-of-last-private-owner/ 4 February 2019 28 January 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190128082816/https://www.tivysideadvertiser.co.uk/news/4122574.cardigan-castle-chapter-closes-with-death-of-last-private-owner/ live Description According to Brut y Tywysogion, Lord Rhys announced the event a year in advance, "throughout Wales, England, Scotland, Ireland and the other islands", which suggests the event was on an unprecedented scale. Participants came from as far away as Ireland and France. It was held at Cardigan Castle over Christmas of 1176. Cardigan Castle was newly restored in stone and, by holding a tournament here rather than at the traditional base of Deheubarth at Dinefwr, Lord Rhys was making a statement to the old Norman and Welsh rulers. According to the 1770 'History of Wales' "a great feast" was held and "many hundreds of English, Normans, and others coming to Aberteifi [Cardigan], were very honourably received, and courteously entertained by Prince Rhys ...Rhys called all the bards or poets throughout all Wales to come thither ...the bards being seated, they were to answer each other in rhyme."Francis Grose The Antiquities of England and Wales Hooper & Wigstead https://books.google.com/books?id=5pIFAAAAQAAJ&pg=RA1-PA35 London 35–36 1778 28 September 2020 12 February 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220212162325/https://books.google.com/books?id=5pIFAAAAQAAJ&pg=RA1-PA35 live Rhys awarded two chairs as prizes, one for the winner of the poetry competition and the other for music. The poetry chair went to a bard from Gwynedd, while the music prize went to the son of Eilon the Crythwr, a member of Rhys's court. Chairs were a valuable asset, normally reserved for people of high status.Long history of Eisteddfod chair BBC News https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/south_west/8309660.stm 16 October 2009 9 February 2019 12 February 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220212162315/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/south_west/8309660.stm live It has been conjectured by historian Roger Turvey that the idea for a cultural festival of music and poetry at Cardigan may have originated from a similar festival in France known as The Puy. Rhys may have known about the tradition via his connections with the Norman French, or from soldiers returning from the continent.https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/eisteddfod-sprung-french-idea-2273397 Eisteddfod may have sprung from French idea Wales Online 9 February 2007 7 February 2019 9 February 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190209124227/https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/eisteddfod-sprung-french-idea-2273397 live When asked about Turvey's theory, eisteddfod historian Hywel Teifi Edwards said, "It's conjecture, but there's no doubt that there was a bardic tradition of competition for status before this time." Edwards further stated that any foreign influence was an indication of how very cosmopolitan Medieval Wales had been. "It's a sign of a healthy culture to accept – and marry with – other cultures," he added. Legacy 2 400 right Gorsedd circle, Aberteifi-Cardigan - geograph.org.uk - 825924.jpg Cardigan Eisteddfod Plaque.jpg Gorsedd stones (left), erected in 1976 when the National Eisteddfod was held at Aberteifi to mark the 800th anniversary of the 1167 event and a stone plaque (right) erected near the castle left The next recorded eisteddfods were held in Carmarthen between 1451 and 1453, by the powerful nobleman of the area, Gruffudd ap Nicholas. He wanted to emulate the Lord Rhys and, probably as a bard himself, wanted to strengthen the bardic tradition. A 'Cadair Arian' (Silver Chair) was awarded as a prize, to a bard from Flintshire. At the next recorded eisteddfods, in the 16th century, chairs were again awarded as prizes. The first chair made for the modern form of Eisteddfod was at the Carmarthen event of 1819. They became regular prizes after the National Eisteddfod was introduced in the 1860s. In 2015 a 9 ft on high Eisteddfod chair was created and installed at the top of Cardigan Castle's East Tower, as a centrepiece of an exhibition about the Wales Eisteddfod. The chair incorporated interpretative details that would have been important to the Lord Rhys, including a carved lion's head and two bronze horses.Sion Morgan https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/nine-foot-replica-original-national-8870165 Nine foot National Eisteddfod chair installed at the site of Wales' very first cultural festival 18 March 2015 Wales Online 4 February 2019 7 February 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190207015140/https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/nine-foot-replica-original-national-8870165 live The modern restaurant at Cardigan Castle is named "1176" in reference to Lord Rhys's gathering.Steve Adams https://www.tivysideadvertiser.co.uk/news/14974769.restaurant-staff-set-to-turn-back-clock-with-christmas-servings/ Staff at Cardigan Castle's 1176 restaurant round off hectic year with busy Christmas period 19 December 2016 Tivy-side Advertiser 9 February 2019 9 February 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190209180419/https://www.tivysideadvertiser.co.uk/news/14974769.restaurant-staff-set-to-turn-back-clock-with-christmas-servings/ live A novel about the 1176 event, entitled Song Castle by Luke Waterson, was published in 2018. The book imagined what the festival and the journeys made by its participants were like.Mike Lewis http://www.cambrian-news.co.uk/article.cfm?id=119720&headline=Novel%20inspired%20by%20first%20eisteddfod%20and%20historic%20castle&sectionIs=news&searchyear=2018 Novel inspired by first eisteddfod and historic castle 18 March 2018 Cambrian News 4 February 2019 17 March 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180317141932/http://www.cambrian-news.co.uk/article.cfm?id=119720&headline=Novel%20inspired%20by%20first%20eisteddfod%20and%20historic%20castle&sectionIs=news&searchyear=2018 live In June 2026, to mark the 850th anniversary of the 1176 eisteddfod and the holding of the 2026 National Eisteddfod in the Cardigan area, a giant puppet of Lord Rhys paraded through Pembrokeshire. Carreg Filltir Las: Taith Yr Arglwydd Rhys ('Blue Milestone: Tour of Lord Rhys') also included a puppet of his dog, Teifi, and created site-specific ceremonies at each location. Starting in St Davids the tour was due to end at the Cardigan riverfront, 8 days later.https://nation.cymru/news/week-long-cultural-journey-to-mark-850-years-of-the-eisteddfod/ Week-long cultural journey to mark 850 years of the Eisteddfod Nation.Cymru 16 April 2026 23 June 2026 References Category:Cultural festivals in Wales Category:Eisteddfodau in Wales Category:Cardigan, Ceredigion Cardigan Category:12th century in Wales