Product Description

This volume provides a reference to Anglo-Welsh and Welsh literature. It has been corrected, updated and revised since its original printing in 1986 and includes over 150 new pages, 400 new sections including contemporary writers, and features over 320 contributors and 3300 entries.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2717337 in Books
• Published on: 1998-09-23
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 841 pages

Review
'The New Companion to the Literature of Wales is without peer, by far the most comprehensive and well conducted guide we have yet had...it is a stunning bargain...an indispensable, invaluable accession for reference libraries worldwide.' Reference Reviews.

Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Welsh

Customer Reviews

The greatest encyclopedia of Welsh culture ever written
I enjoyed the original edition of this work ('The Oxford Companion to the Literature of Wales', 1986). This completely revised and up-dated version has increased the content by some 400 new entries (approximately 150 more pages) and all in all there are 3,250 entries. The editor Prof. Meic Stephens needs no introduction. He is one of the greatest scholars and specialists in his field (and not to be confused with the Welsh singer and poet Meic Stevens - for whom there is also an entry in this work). The entries from pages 1-825 range from 'A oes heddwch?' (i.e. 'is there peace' - the cry of the archdruid in the 'Gorsedd' ceremony) to the 'Zeitschrift fur Celtische Philologie' (Ger. Journal for Celtic Philology).
In addition to the main dictionary entries there is a preface as well as a useful pronunciation guide for non-Welsh-speakers. There is also a list of the 320 contributors. At the end of the work there is a chronology of important historical and literary events which have marked Wales, culminating in the 1999 elections for the Welsh Assembly. This is followed by a threefold appendix pertaining to the 'eisteddfod' (Welsh festival of literature and culture). Even though many entries are from the Welsh language, the order of the companion reflects the English rather than Welsh alphabetical order. For instance, the 'ffon wen' ('white stick' - the once sick custom of sending a peeled hazel rod to mock the jilted man on the day of his girlfriend's wedding) appears before 'fran wen, y'(the mythical'white crow' invoked when talking to children). However, in a Welsh dictionary words beggining 'ff' would appear after all word with 'f'. Similarly, the 'llatai' ('love messenger' - usually a device in the form of a bird etc. with which a poet conveys his message) would normally appear after not before the entry on the 'London Welsh'.
This work is amazing in its wide range of content matter. The literature of Wales in all its forms is represented in clear, informative and concise entries. The companion deals with both the literature written in the Welsh-language and Anglo-Welsh literary forms (i.e. written by Welsh authors or poets in English). Perhaps the most famous Anglo-Welsh writer of international repute was Dylan Thomas (for whom there is a long detailed entry as well as entries on his major works and characters from those works). The writers of Anglo-Welsh literature often use the finest examples of English but also occasionally dialect - forms of 'Wenglish' (Welsh-English). Perhaps the most interesting genre of Anglo-Welsh literature is the short story form. The magazines 'Cambrensis' and 'the New Welsh Review' have pioneered this art form whereas other magazines like 'Planet' have just restricted this form by pandering only to well-known authors or authors of exotic provenance as well as promoting the editor's own work but never giving a voice to new Welsh talent (in the days of the original editor Ned Thomas, 'Planet' was a more powerful magazine). As this new companion shows, there is so much fresh talent in Wales today. Many short story writers have become renowned novelists and many Welsh poets have also gained international fame. For instance, R.S. Thomas (who passed away only a couple of years after the publication of this companion) was one of the greatest poets WORLDWIDE and even nominated for the Nobel prize for literature.
By contrast, the Welsh language is marked by different traditions. Welsh-language poetry used literally hundreds of unique forms of poetic verse. An understanding of these poetic forms is essential to an appreciation of Welsh poetry. Thus there are entries on most of the major poetic forms : the 'cynghanedd', 'pryddest' and 'cywydd', 'sangiad' and 'gorchan' etc., to name but a few. All these very subtle terms are carefully explained with clear examples. The only problem I feel is that in the cases of the 'englyn' and the 'cynghanedd', for instance, the metre and alliterative patterns are illustrated by using English-language examples whereas extracts from actual Welsh verse (albeit with a translation provided) would have been better.
Wales was for centuries under English/Saxon rule, analogous with the position of the American Indians in their own homeland(incidentally, one entry of this companion deals with the so-called 'Welsh Indians' the Mandan tribe descendants of Prince Madoc who supposedly visited America four centuries before Columbus). It is to be expected that, from the Welsh people's servitude (and from their hope for freedom and justice) patriotism has always been an important element in Welsh literary thought. In the medieval vaticinatory verse, for example, poets often looked to the coming of a future 'mab darogan' or 'son of prophecy' who would come and redeem their nation. Indeeed, history is invariably inextricably linked with the literature of Wales through all stages of its evolution. It is therefore not incongruous to see a rich selection of political and historical entries that range from the ancient Laws of Hywel Dda (i.e. the Good) to concepts like 'cymhortha'. The political unrest of the C19th saw the activity of movements in Wales like the Rebecca Riots and the Scotch Cattle. Then in the C20th many Welsh people believed that their deliverer had come when Welshman David Lloyd George became prime minister of Britain. However, Welsh Nationalists even today regard him as a traitor to their cause and to the Welsh language which he did nothing to save. He compromised his pristine professions of Welsh patriotism for his own political ambitions. Moreover, his token reforms were nothing compared with what a government of Kier Hardy's Labour Party would have achieved. Even though he is called the 'Welsh Wizard' (a title more aptly given also to the boxer Freddy Welsh) and also 'the man who won the war', he did little to bring Britain's involvement in W.W.1. to an end. The real heroes of this war were not sitting comfortably in Downing Street but being massacred in N. France. I am still moved to tears when I read about the great young poet Hedd Wyn who was awarded the 'eisteddfod' chair posthumously after being killed in that war (see the entry on the 'black chair of Birkenhead').
Contemporary political expressions is also represented like 'Meibion Glyndwr'('Sons of Glyndwr' - i.e. named after the hero Owain Gyndwr) who opposed the trend of English hoiliday homes or 'tai haf' (summer houses)in Wales by committing arson. Unlike certain cultures who have sometimes resorted to violent means to secure independence, the Welsh have never indulged in violence (apart from the wars of history and the aforementioned extreme exception of vandalising property). The Welshman's social grievances have always been best expressed by the poet, journalist or novelist whether writing in Welsh or English.
Wales is the land of myth and culture. This fact is often reflected in the literature. If literature is the art of expressing a people, then to understand that people one must first be acquainted with their culture. The companion contains many entries prertaining to characters and incidents that are taken from the 'Mabinogion' (collection of Welsh mythology). Welsh legends are also represented such as Arthurian material and associated entries such as 'caledfwlch' (i.e. excalibur) and 'Ynys Afallon' (Avallon) etc.
Wales has a very rich folklore and the reader can also find many entries related to folk interest. There are supernatural beings such as the 'afanc' (water monster) and the 'bwci bo' (type of bogeyman), not to mention the 'tylwyth teg' ('fair people' - i.e. fairies) and the 'tanwedd' ( moving light presaging a death). Interesting customs are also included such as the 'ceffyl pren' ('wooden horse' - the Welsh equivalent of rough music/charivari), the 'dyn hysbys' ('wise man' - a type of folk magician), the 'stafell' and 'pwnco' ( wedding customs), 'Calan Gaeaf' ( literaly 'eve of winter' - the Welsh equivalent of Halloween)and the 'calennig' (New year's gift tradition) etc. Old games are also mentioned like 'bando'(a primitive version of hockey), 'cnapan' (a ball game) and the dialect word 'kayles' ( referring to a kind of skittles). Types of food are also mentioned such as 'brwes', 'llymru' and 'siot', etc. While there is so much material from Welsh folklore, in some of the entries the actual Welsh terms could have been supplied. For example, the corpse candle should have been described with its Welsh name 'cannwyl corff'. Similarly, the 'corpse bird' (which is a death omen is called in Welsh 'aderyn corff' and the Welsh equivalent of bundling 'courting in bed' was known as 'caru yn y gwely'. Moreover, the 'love spoon' (made by a man as a form of marriage proposal for his intended) is called either a 'llwy serch' or 'llwy caru'. In this entry the dialect word 'sboner' is used yet the purer Welsh word would be 'naddwr'( or carver).
There are so many other fascinating entries such as the 'coelbren y beirdd' or alphabet devised by Iolo Morganwg and untranslateable terms like 'hiraeth' (almost like a nostalgia, literally a 'longing')etc. This is an indispensable work for all those who loves Welsh culture. It is also a most interesting book for anyone who wants an authentic and detailed cultural insight into the people who were the original inhabitants of Britain.