- Chapter Forty -
Welsh. Nevertheless, it is productive, inspiring, reassuring and stimulating. If it is a
week of fantasy and creatively artificial it is a powerful manifestation of the virility
and vitality of a minority language and culture which is not echoed in the cultural
life of the majority. It may be exclusively Welsh but it excludes no one.
There is one element in the presentation of the National Eisteddfod which does
provide a sense of ritual and drama. The Gorsedd of Bards is a strong lobby within
the Eisteddfod structure. It may be an admixture of fiction, fantasy, fancy and
fact but it does have a broad appeal. It controls both major poetic ceremonials - those
of the Chairing and the Crowning of the winning bards. These are two of four
prestigious occasions when the members, dressed in robes of white, blue and green,
assemble to honour the successful poets.
The pseudo-Celtic origins are reflected in the symbolism of its ritual, which is
more a fruit of late Celtic romanticism than that of the true Celts. Nevertheless, in a
country which is very short on colourful ceremonial the Gorsedd of Bards does seek
to fill a gap in the Celtic-Welsh relationship.
The other major Welsh competitive festival is an offspring of the 'National'. The
Urdd Eisteddfod - Eisteddfod Genedlaethol yr Urdd -is the cultural apex of Urdd
Gobaith Cymru - the Welsh League of Youth - founded in 1921 (Figure 40.2). Held
in May alternately in North and South Wales, it is firmly based on the competitive
element. Competitors arrive at this Eisteddfod after a sifting process at local and
county level. Its aims are broadly those of its parent but the competitive curriculum
is targeted at children and youth.
Both these annual events make great demands on the localities which host them.
URDD GOBAITH CYMRU
Figure 40.1 Urdd logo.There is a formidable financial commitment, the programme has to be prepared
and published, a site has to be found and accommodation sought. The work involves
a great deal of effort from volunteers over a period of two to three years. The over-
all effect on the locality is to consolidate and to encourage the perception of
Welshness in a variety of ways but, primarily, in terms of the language. Both of these
Eisteddfodau are unashamedly clear in their intention to declare the interdependence
between language and identity.
Since the end of the Second World War there has been a remarkable growth in the
establishing of Welsh-medium schools. These schools have been the result not of
government or even local authority initiative but of parental demand. The need arose,
initially, for education within school to be conducted in most, if not all, subjects