First Welsh Writers, The Bards

Even before the time of the great grandfather of Concenn [Eliseg] ca. 700 A.D., the story tellers and song writers of the day had started to write down their muse. The poets, Taliesin and Aneirin, seemed to be the ones credited with starting this Welsh writing. In a reference titled "Book of Taliesin", there is a group of poems believed to be some of his authenic work. These also include religious, prophetic, scriptural, and legendary poems. The connections to the Celtic church must have been a major driving force. Aneirn (or Neirin) came to called "Aneirin of flowing verse, prince of poets". These folks were the first to show that the Welsh language could be used to document the flowers of the tongue.

The image of a Welsh bard is shown in the figure to the right. Harp is in hand, muscular arms and legs, leaning over the precipice to ring out the message of the day. This image was produced in 1784 by an Edward Jones. [Joneses seemed to be everywhere!] What a image it is. These first writers of the Welsh language