Wales and the Welsh Language

DYDDIADAU / HISTORICAL DATES

It was Also in this year that Hywel compiled the Thirteen Treasures and added additional knowledge from several sources: from the Druids came the sacred knowledge of the Stones; from the Order of the Knights Templars he added the Magick of the Egyptians.

"The gentlefolk of Wales, despoiled of their liberty and their rights,
came to Llywelyn ap Gruffudd and revealed to him with tears their
grievous bondage to the English; and they made known to him that
they preferred to be slain in war for their liberty than to suffer
themselves to be unrighteously trampled upon by foreigners."
(Brut y Tywysogion).

At first, Llywelyn was eminently successful, the castles of Builth, Aberystwyth and Ruthin fell into his hands, and a large English force was utterly destroyed in the Menai Straights in Gwynedd. Edward had to devote the whole of his kingdom's resources to deal with the "malicious, accursed" Welsh.

Eleanor died giving birth to a daughter Gwenllian on June 19, 1282. This seemed to be a portent of things to come. For it was a mere chance encounter of Llewellyn with an English knight in a meadow at Cilmeri, near Builth in Powys that ended the Welsh dream.

At Cilmeri, in that quiet green meadow on the road from Builth Wells to Llandovery, you will see a tall granite monolith. It looks, at first, like one of the ancient standing stones erected thousands of years ago by our Neolithic ancestors. A close inspection reveals it to be a monument erected in l956 to the memory of Prince Llewellyn, "our last ruler" (Ein Lliw Olaf). Llywelyn, separated from his army, found himself in a minor skirmish and on December 11, 1282 A.D. he was killed by an English knight unaware of the Welsh prince's identity. Upon discovery, Llewelyn's head was sent to London for display as that of a traitor.

After Llewellyn was killed in battle against Edward's troops, the English took control of Cymru. Edward's troubles with the Welsh, for all practical purposes were at an end. Henceforth, Wales was to live under an alien political system, playing a subordinate role as an integral part of the kingdom of England. A poignant ballad by modern Welsh songwriter and nationalist, Dafydd Iwan, expresses the grief of the Welsh nation at the loss of their beloved Llewellyn: Collir Llywelyn, collir cyfan (losing Llewellyn is losing everything).

The English also put pressure on the Cymry poets, the bards, to prevent them from inciting revolt. Finally, the Cymry chieftains cooperated with Edward I when he promised that only a prince born in Cymru, who could speak no English, would rule over them. In 1301, Edward gave the title Prince of Wales to his son, who had been born in Cymru.

Because of the intense scrutiny, Y Dynion Mwyn, as the way of Dynion Mwyn had become known, became secretive and effectively disappeared for a time. Gruffudd ap Madawg, a relative of Prince Llewellyn, took Madawg Dwygraig as the family Bard and Druid. Madawg Dwygraig wrote of establishing a Druid Grove near the Llynfi valley, Llangynwyd, Wales in 1284. It is alleged that he helped establish the Mt. Haemus Druid Grove, near Oxford, England.

Our research shows that Dynion Mwyn has two linages. Owain, son of Dafydd, kept the tradition of his uncles' family and sent his wife and three children to France where they were to wait until times more favorable. In the meantime, King Edward placed Prince Llewelyn's daughter Gwenllian in a convent of English Gilbertine nuns in Sempringham, Lincolnshire, with her cousin, Eleanor. They were supposed to stay there until death or until King Edward found a use for them.

The family of Owain assumed a false name and returned to England and eventually to Cardiff, Wales. They contacted Lady Gwenllian and informed her of her heritage. At first she rejected their ideas but eventually she escaped from the nunnery, became a priestess of the order, married a nobleman and had six children. His surname was the beginning of the Y Dynion Mwyn Family Tradition. (To be fair, some history books claim that Gwenllian died in the convent and others say that Eleanor was really the daughter of Prince Llywelyn. There is no real proof one way or the other.)

Prince Llewellyn had another daughter from a secret marriage to a English Noblewoman. This daughter was named Catherine. She married Phillip ap Ivor, Lord of Iscoed. They in turn had a daughter Eleanor who married Thomas Llewellyn. Eleanor had two daughters, Margaret and Eleanor. Eleanor married Griffith Vychan, Lord of Glyndwrdwy. The legend says that Griffith Vychan was instrumental in saving the tradition from oblivion. He joined with the family of Owain, which he mentions in his writings (he had a son named Owen Glyndwr, who was a prince of Wales and lived 1400 to 1416.) But it is unclear if the family of Owain or the family of Griffith Vychan was the source of later teachings.

Between the 1700s and today a few Welsh Witchcraft traditions survived and have passed their knowledge down to present day members.