pp 302 Demy 8vo paperback edition 1992
ISBN 0-7083-1143-1
This is the first of a series of volumes which outline the history and development of Welsh literature from its beginnings in the sixth century to the present day.
Volume 1 deals with Welsh literature during the first seven centuries of its existence, roughly the period of Welsh independence, and surveys the poetry of the Cynfeirdd and the Gogynfeirdd and the work of prose writers from the eleventh century onwards. The end of the thirteenth century was adopted as a terminus for the period surveyed, but the limitation has not been applied too strictly. Importantly the volume brings out the relationship between Welsh literature and its historical and social background, both within the confines of Wales and in the broader Celtic, British or European context. Quotations from the works discussed are in nearly every instance given in English.
Contents: The Historical Background of Early Welsh Verse, Ceri W. Lewis; Taliesin, A.O.H. Jarman; Aneirin - The Gododdin, A.O.H. Jarman; Saga Poetry - The Cycle of Llywarch Hen, A.O.H. Jarman; The Later Cynfeirdd, A.O.H. Jarman; The Court Poets: Their Function, Status and Craft, Ceri W. Lewis; The Poets of the Princes, D. Myrddin Lloyd; Early Prose: The Mabinogi, Glyn E. Jones; Tales and Romances, Brynley F. Roberts; Historical Writing, Brynley F. Roberts; Functional Prose: Religion, Science, Grammar, Law, Morfydd E. Owen.