'This is a well researched and well documented book by a scholar of international standing . . . a comprehensive and contextual analysis of Glyndwr folklore.' (Ethnologies)
Through focusing on one person, this book provides an account of how folklore and history shape each other. The author traces the development of Owain Glyndŵr as a national redeemer in Welsh folklore, history, and literature. Glyndŵr, who led the last major armed rebellion of the Welsh against the English at the beginning of the fifteenth century, was viewed in his own time as a redeemer-hero (the hero who will restore the nation to its former glory) and has since become a primary symbol of modern Welsh nationalism.
This study examines the redeemer-heroes who preceded Glyndŵr and provided the traditional role which he assumed, the ways in which Glyndŵr and his followers used traditional expectations, and the variations and developments in the traditions which have arisen in the centuries since Glyndwr, leading to his invocation by politicians and nationalists. It is concerned with patterned expectations, with the ways in which tradition shapes people's understanding of history, their perception of the present, and thus the unfolding of the future, and conversely, it is concerned with the ways in which people shape their traditions to fit their ever changing needs and perceptions.
Based on research carried out in both the library and the field, with materials ranging from ninth-century poetry to twentieth-century legends, it puts contemporary issues of nationalism in an historical and traditional context.
Readership: Does not require specialized knowledge and therefore will be of interest to the general reader as well as students of folklore and the medieval period.
' . . . this book by Henken is a superb read. It is scholarly and well researched . . . I like the way that it examines the "interplay of folklore, history, literature and politics" for the resultant fusion is both vibrant and entertaining. The book not only traces the story of Glyndwr from medieval rebel to modern day hero but considers the complex historiographical factors which have shaped this "national redeemer". Containing a wealth of original sources in both English and Welsh this book is a marvellous read.' (Welsh Historian)
' . . . valuable and thought-provoking . . . ' (Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies)
'Besides deploying the basic literary evidence of the Welsh prophetic tradition, Henken shows us through a thorough analysis of her fieldwork the importance (and prevalence) of the Glyn Dŵr legend in many parts of Wales today.' (New Welsh Review)
Author: Associate Professor, teaching Folklore and Celtic Literature at the University of Georgia.
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