Many modern poets have found the awen in Taliesin’s myth, not just in Wales but also beyond. Simon Lilly and Chris Martin are two such wordsmiths who have thrown themselves willingly into the cauldron. In this wide rangeing discussion we hear them read their own Taliesin-inspired poetry, and talk through some of the more powerfulContinue reading “Taliesin in Modern Poetry”
Category Archives: The Celtic Bard
Taliesin the Guide
I recently proposed in a talk for Druids Down Under that Taliesin is a suitable guide to the world of Welsh myth. More recently, I was asked to expand on what I meant by that. Here’s a brief answer: You can also listen to this episode as a podcast here.
Taliesin Origins (my own and his)
There’s not many folks who end up in my line of work, and I often reflect on how I’ve ended up here, why I’m still following the path of Celtic myth. It all began with Taliesin, and I have a very distinct set of memories from my youth about those first tentative steps. This videoContinue reading “Taliesin Origins (my own and his)”
Ritual Masks and Channeling
What can the almost universal practice of ritual mask wearing tell us about the Welsh bardic tradition? As far as we know, the medieval Welsh bards didn’t use masks in performance, but they did take on archetypal personas such as that of the legendary Taliesin, and there are suggestions that some of these performances wereContinue reading “Ritual Masks and Channeling”
Bardic Craft and Animal Transformation
This video is in answer to two questions sent in from The Taliesin Tradition course: You can follow the new Taliesin Origins course (as well as several others) with a membnership to the website. More details on this page. If you want to learn more about Taliesin’s myth, I recently published a book, Taliesin Origins.Continue reading “Bardic Craft and Animal Transformation”
King Arthur and the Eagle
‘The Discourse of Arthur and the Eagle’ is a 12th century Welsh poem that was very popular in the Welsh oral and written tradition. Even though it’s a poem about Christian learning, it also draws on a far more pagan mythology.
Were the Welsh bards shamans?
A question that often arises on courses is whether or not the medieval Welsh bards — those that gave us the Taliesin myth as we understand it today — were shamans in any way? As always, the answer is more complex than a simple yes or no.
The Welsh Bardic Triads
The Welsh Bardic Triads (‘Trioedd Ynys Prydein‘) provide an index to the oral storytelling tradition of medieval Wales. They were used by bards across the centuries not only to help them remember the vast network of traditional myth and lore, but also to present a distinct vision of the ancient past.
Bardic Trickery
Taken from the Gafael Tir tour 2018, a show I perform with my good friend Owen Shiers. Gafael Tir is a history of land-rights and protest in Wales, telling a thousand years of the common folks’ history through folk song, story and verse. Mwynhewch:
The bard as druid
Medieval Welsh bards had a taste for the theatrical. Like many men of high standing they had an appreciation of the power of drama. In the 12th century, Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr composed a poem blessing the Lord Rhys’ court gates, probably declaimed in a pounding voice as the old bard swished into the hall followedContinue reading “The bard as druid”