‘Yn ych iaith ych un’: the afterlives of two early Anglo-Welsh poems

Thuillier, Manon Gwendoline Morgane (2024) ‘Yn ych iaith ych un’: the afterlives of two early Anglo-Welsh poems. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

Building on two preliminary dissertations, Chwedl o Rhydychen: A Study of the Welsh Hymn to the Virgin (M.A., 2017) and The Welsh Hymn to the Virgin: Contexts and Receptions (M.Phil., 2019), this thesis is a study of the manuscripts and early printed editions of the earliest two Anglo-Welsh poems, both dating from the 15th century: Tudur Penllyn’s ‘Y Bardd a Saesnes,’ and Ieuan ap Hywel Swrdwal’s ‘Hymn to the Virgin.’ The two poems distinguish themselves through their language: both were written in Middle to Early Modern English, but their distinctive feature is their deployment of Welsh orthography.

Though the originals are lost, the textual witnesses of these poems survive in great number, with seven manuscripts for ‘Y Bardd a Saesnes’ and thirteen for the ‘Hymn to the Virgin,’ to which can be added three late 18th-and 19th-century printed editions of note. These witnesses are valuable for our understanding of the contexts in which they were transmitted. For that reason, a detailed survey and comparison of these witnesses and their specific features precedes a discussion of the form and significance of the afterlives of the texts, particularly in the context of antiquarianism of the Renaissance and early Romanticism.

The aim of this study is to demonstrate that the transmission, or absence thereof, of these texts, is not linked to any intrinsic qualities they may have, but to the way they answer concerns shared throughout the centuries by their copyists. More specifically, it is held that they reflect the tension between two cultures, the Welsh and the English, and the seeming irreconcilability between the traditionally oppressed and the oppressor: a view that was kept alive through the transmission of foundational myths of Wales.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Subjects: P Language and Literature > P Philology. Linguistics
• Colleges/Schools: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Critical Studies > English Language and Linguistics
• Supervisor's Name: Smith, Professor Jeremy and Clancy, Professor Thomas
• Date of Award: 2024
• Depositing User: Theses Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:2024-84590
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 27 Sep 2024 10:14
• Last Modified: 27 Sep 2024 10:14
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.84590
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/84590