Gwenc'hlan
Encyclopedia
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Gwenc'hlan is the cognomen of a legendary 6th century Breton
druid and bard
called Kian, the subject and purported author of a Breton
song called "Diougan Gwenc'hlan" (Gwenc'hlan's prophecy), published by Hersart de la Villemarqué in his 1839 anthology Barzaz Breiz
.
In this song, Gwenc'hlan is imprisoned after having his eyes gouged out for refusing to convert to Christianity
, sings out that he isn't afraid to die and makes a prophecy wherein he will be avenged. The motive of the blinded prisoner is reminiscent of the historical fate of Boethius
.
One Gwenc'hlan or Guinclaff around 1450 wrote a "chant royal", or "Dialogue between King Arthur
and Gwenc'hlan", quoted by Dom Le Pelletier and Gregory of Rostrenen. The poem was rediscovered in 1924. The Breton used by this Gwenc'hlan is already deeply pervaded by French. The legend of the 6th century bard is largely a creation of de la Villemarqué's, but he may have based his account on the 15th century author, as well as on other traditional Breton tales. He quotes 6th to 12th century Welsh
poems attributed to the bards Aneurin
, Taliesin
and Llywarch Hen
as his sources.
Gwenc'hlan is the cognomen of a legendary 6th century Breton
Breton people
The Bretons are an ethnic group located in the region of Brittany in France. They trace much of their heritage to groups of Brythonic speakers who emigrated from southwestern Great Britain in waves from the 3rd to 6th century into the Armorican peninsula, subsequently named Brittany after them.The...
druid and bard
Bard
In medieval Gaelic and British culture a bard was a professional poet, employed by a patron, such as a monarch or nobleman, to commemorate the patron's ancestors and to praise the patron's own activities.Originally a specific class of poet, contrasting with another class known as fili in Ireland...
called Kian, the subject and purported author of a Breton
Breton people
The Bretons are an ethnic group located in the region of Brittany in France. They trace much of their heritage to groups of Brythonic speakers who emigrated from southwestern Great Britain in waves from the 3rd to 6th century into the Armorican peninsula, subsequently named Brittany after them.The...
song called "Diougan Gwenc'hlan" (Gwenc'hlan's prophecy), published by Hersart de la Villemarqué in his 1839 anthology Barzaz Breiz
Barzaz Breiz
Barzaz Breiz is a collection of Breton popular songs collected by Théodore Hersart de la Villemarqué and published in 1839. It was compiled from oral tradition and preserves traditional folk tales, legends and music...
.
In this song, Gwenc'hlan is imprisoned after having his eyes gouged out for refusing to convert to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, sings out that he isn't afraid to die and makes a prophecy wherein he will be avenged. The motive of the blinded prisoner is reminiscent of the historical fate of Boethius
Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius
Anicius Manlius Severinus Boëthius, commonly called Boethius was a philosopher of the early 6th century. He was born in Rome to an ancient and important family which included emperors Petronius Maximus and Olybrius and many consuls. His father, Flavius Manlius Boethius, was consul in 487 after...
.
One Gwenc'hlan or Guinclaff around 1450 wrote a "chant royal", or "Dialogue between King Arthur
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
and Gwenc'hlan", quoted by Dom Le Pelletier and Gregory of Rostrenen. The poem was rediscovered in 1924. The Breton used by this Gwenc'hlan is already deeply pervaded by French. The legend of the 6th century bard is largely a creation of de la Villemarqué's, but he may have based his account on the 15th century author, as well as on other traditional Breton tales. He quotes 6th to 12th century Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
poems attributed to the bards Aneurin
Aneirin
Aneirin or Neirin was a Dark Age Brythonic poet. He is believed to have been a bard or 'court poet' in one of the Cumbric kingdoms of the Old North or Hen Ogledd, probably that of Gododdin at Edinburgh, in modern Scotland...
, Taliesin
Taliesin
Taliesin was an early British poet of the post-Roman period whose work has possibly survived in a Middle Welsh manuscript, the Book of Taliesin...
and Llywarch Hen
Llywarch Hen
Llywarch Hen was a 6th-century prince of the Brythonic kingdom of Rheged, a ruling family in the Hen Ogledd or 'Old North' of Britain...
as his sources.
Literature
- Mary-Ann Constantine Prophecy and Pastiche in the Breton ballads: Groac'h Ahès and Gwenc'hlan, Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies 30, (Winter, 1995) 87-121.
- Antone Minard, The Dialogue between King Arthur and Gwenc'hlan: a translation in: Comitatus. A journal of medieval and renaissance studies 30 (1999), 167-177.
External links
- http://chrsouchon.free.fr/gwenlaf.htm
- http://perso.wanadoo.fr/per.kentel/diougan3.htm