Wales - Cymru
Population
A brief
History
 Settled by waves of different migrants in
ancient times
 Celtic farmers established Druidism
 Romans came in the 1st century
 Missionaries converted Wales to Christianity
 Anglo-Saxons failed to conquer Wales and thus
it was divided into small states between 9th
and 11th centuries
 In the late 13th century Edward I conquered
Wales, introduced English law and proclaimed
his son the Prince of Wales
 During the Wars of the Roses (1453-1487) in
1485, Welshman Harri Tudor defeated Richard
III and became Henry VII of England
More History
 1535 – Wales was given parliamentary
representation in London
 1760s: Development of open-cast coal
mining – Industrialisation began
 In 1913 Wales dispatched over 10 million
tons of coal and steel
 In December 1916 David Lloyd became the
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
 In 1999 the Welsh Assembly was formed,
giving Wales its own parliament
 The main political parties are: the Labour
Party, the Party of Wales, the Conservative
Party and the Liberal Democrats
Much of Wales is mountainous. The highest mountain is
Mount Snowdon (1085 m).
Grasses and rough grazing 73 per cent (sheep farming).
Forest and woodland 13 per cent.
Urban development 10 per cent.
National
The legend of the red dragon:
In the legend, the red dragon fights
with an invading White Dragon.
Their pained shrieks caused women
to miscarry, animals to perish and
plants to become barren. Lludd,
king of Britain, went to his wise
brother in France. His brother told
him to dig a pit in the centre of
Britain, fill it with mead, and cover
it with cloth. Lludd did this, and the
dragons drunk the mead and fell
asleep. Lludd imprisons them, still
wrapped in their cloth, in
Snowdonia.
The Welsh Leek
According to legend, Saint David ordered his Welsh soldiers to
identify themselves by wearing the leek on their helmets during an
ancient battle against the Saxons, which took place in a field of
leeks.
The daffodil
The Welsh national flower is worn on St David's Day, March In
Welsh, the daffodil is known as "Peter's Leek“.
St. David
A Celtic monk, abbot and
bishop who lived in the 6th
century. Archbishop of Wales.
Helped to spread Christianity
among the Celtic tribes.
Lovespoon
The love spoon was given to a young woman by her suitor. It
was important for the girl's father to see that the young man
was capable of providing for the family and woodworking.
Harp
The harp is regarded as the national instrument of Wales. By
the end of the 18th century, the triple harp - so called
because it had three rows of strings - was widely known as
the Welsh harp on account of its popularity in Wales.
Welsh
National sport
Cuisine
Music
Literature
Religion
National costume
Language
National sport
Dishes:
•Laverbread made of seaweed and bacon.
•Roast Lamb, cooked with mint sauce.
•Bara Brith, sweet bread with raisins.
•'Cawl', a stew made of lamb and leeks.
•Faggots, meatballs made from lamb or pig's liver.
•Monkfish often served with laver.
Beverages:
•Beer – Braines, Druidic, Deridwen
•Tea - The Pembrokeshire Tea Company
•Whisky - Penderyn Whisky
•Wine - Bryn Ceiliog Vineyard
Traditional music
Folk music
Pop and rock
Dance
Literature
A tradition of storytelling
The Welsh love to talk, so it’s not surprising their
literature all stems from the storytelling tradition.
We have a real love of language and a thriving
literary culture, in both the Welsh language and
in English.
Poetry
The oldest surviving poetry dates from the sixth
century – predating all European literature except
Greek and Latin. Welsh poetry developed as an
oral art. This led to cynghanedd (harmony), a
very complicated system of alliteration and
internal rhyme, still rewarded today at the
National Eisteddfod.
In mediaeval times Welsh bards or poets played a
social role; their job was to praise their lords and
masters, often the Welsh princes.
Religion
Nearly three quarters of the Welsh
population described their religion as
Christian (72 per cent).
After Christianity, Islam was the next most
common faith. In the country overall
Muslims accounted for less than 1 per
cent of the population (22,000 people).
Among other faiths the next largest
groups were Indian Hindus (over 4,000)
and White Buddhists (3,000), followed by
White Jews and Indian Sikhs (both about
2,000).
Across Wales 19 per cent reported they
had no religion and a further 8 per cent
did not record an answer.
National
costume
Language
What is Welsh?
Welsh is one of the Celtic languages still
spoken, perhaps that with the greatest
number of speakers.
Isn't Welsh just a dialect of English?
No. It is a language with an older pedigree,
and a distinct one.
An English speaker may recognise the rhythms
of the opening of the Gospel according to
Saint John:
Yn y dechreuad yr oedd y Gair; yr oedd y Gair
gyda Duw, a Duw oedd y Gair. Yr oedd ef yn y
dechreuad gyda Duw. Daeth pob peth i fod
trwyddo ef; hebddo ef ni ddaeth un dim i fod,
ynddo ef bywyd ydoedd, a'r bywyd, goleuni
ydoedd. Y mae'r goleuni yn llewyrchu yn y
tywyllwch, ac nid yw'r tywyllwch wedi ei
drechu ef.
but would otherwise be pretty much lost.
What??
1.In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God.
2.The same was in the beginning with God.
3.All things were made by him; and without him
was not any thing made that was made.
4.In him was life; and the life was the light of
men.
5.And the light shineth in darkness; and the
darkness comprehended it not.
And of course, the longest
name of a village!
The Church of Saint Mary in the hollow of the white hazel near the
fierce whirlpool and the Church of St. Tysilio by the red cave.
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch
Classroom English!
Welsh!
The book we
have read….
The short story
Dylan Thomas (27 October
1914 – 9 November 1953) was a
Welsh poet and writer who wrote
exclusively in English. In addition
to poetry, he wrote short stories
and scripts for film and radio,
which he often performed
himself.
Wales Quiz - Answers
1. The welsh flag is green on the bottom half and white on the top half. A
red dragon that faces to the left is placed in the centre...
2. The National Sport of Wales is Rugby.
3. Wales is quite small and has a population of approximately 3 million.
4. The Island of Great Britain.
5. Wales
6. Wales is mostly famous for the Welsh language and singing (Tom Jones,
Shirley Bassey, Stereophonics, ……………..)
7. The principality was brought under English control in 1284.
8. Mount Snowdon, at 3,560 feet or 1085 metres high.
9. It's Cymru (pronounced ''Cumree'' - remember to roll your Rrrrrrrr!)
10. Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch
(58 points in total, 1 point per correct letter in the right order)