- Language and Identity in Modern Wales -
Consequently, there are a number of 'institutions' which have established them-
selves as protectors, defenders and promoters of the language. Since the Second
World War there has been a heightening of awareness and concern about the language
and this has been matched with a proliferation of supporting organizations.
One of the most important of these is the National Eisteddfod, officially known as
The Royal National Eisteddfod of Wales (Figure 40.1). The Eisteddfod is a peculiar
Welsh institution which has its origins in mediaeval times. It is a competitive festival
of the arts in music and poetry. It began as an ornament of the culture of the nobility
but it has become democratized and since its revival in the nineteenth century has
become an integral part of our culture. It is an annual event and visits North and
South Wales in alternate years. It is a travelling cultural circus which costs well over
£1 million annually.
In 1948 the Eisteddfod authorities made a fundamental decision about its future.
They reasserted Welsh as the sole official language of the Eisteddfod; a means of safe-
guarding and promoting the language. Since then it has flourished and the first week
of August is a fixed feast for anyone interested in the Welsh cultural scene at its
amateur best and worst. Attendances during the week average 150,000.
If the competitive element is paramount this is not to the exclusion of other
activities of a non-competitive nature. All in all, it is an arts festival where pride of
place is given to literature, music and drama, to the visual arts and tactile crafts and
to the Welsh pop culture. Superimposed on to this cultural trunk are all manner of
related branch activities to be found in tent and caravan on the Eisteddfod field. It is
a microcosm of an ideal world where it is possible to live out one's life entirely in
a i_!
EISTEDDFOD GENEDLAETHOL FRENHINOL CVMRU
Figure 40.1 National Eisteddfod logo.797