Being a Welshman, It’s highly appreciated that you make videos about our ancient and overlooked culture. Right now, you are the RU-vid God of Welsh history!
Raishin L. oh yeah for sure. I agree with you. I’m proud to be Brythonic, and to be Celtic, and it’s great that someone is focused on it, because the focus has always been English history. Cymru am byth.
Raishin L. Now it refers to Wales for ever, or "our Nation forever". In ancient times it actually refers to the Omri family of Isreal (The family who led the 10 tribes of isreal)....it was found written on clay tablets in Assyria. Khumry Am Beth!!! (Modern times Cymru Am Byth).....Or "The House of Omri forever"
I know I'm incredibly late to the party, but as someone born and raised in Wales, who feels a very strong tie to the nation, and is incredibly proud of Wales' rich culture and history, I love how you have dedicated videos to us. I am someone who has a very real distaste for how Welsh people are underrepresented in terms of our history and culture and are often just looked at as a funny brand of English people. I love Wales, and the fact that my country which is so often ignored is getting proper attention. Diolch yn fawr iawn, Hillbert. Cymru am byth!
Im not from there, but love its history. My name is supposed to be Welsh, but was Americanized when somebody immigrated here. (I wish it had its old real spelling.) These are great informative videos.
Owain Glyndŵr's banner known as Y Ddraig Aur or "The Golden Dragon". It was famously raised over Caernarfon during the Battle of Tuthill in 1401 against the English. The flag has ancient origins, Glyndŵr chose to fly the standard of a Golden dragon on a white background, the traditional standard that supposedly, Uther Pendragon had flown when the first Celtic Britons had fought the Saxons to a standstill almost 1,000 years before, which had been passed down to his son king Arthur.
Muerig ap Tewdrig I am new to this subject but owain ddantgwyn seems likely to me as king Arthur and I think his father was einion freinyon or something like that. can you tell me what leads you to believe he was instead the son of this other one ?
Annie May McNeely many areas across Britain claim to be the home of Arthur. The most likely candidate for me is the son of Meurig ap Tewdrig, Athrwys ap Meurig. He was King of Glamorgan and Gwent (together called Morgannwg) and United his Kingdom with Ergnyg to the north. By all accounts he died before his father and in Llandaff cathedral, Cardiff, there is a stain glass window showing St Tewdrig (possibly Arthur's grandfather) next to King Arthur.
The green and white of the Welsh flag is representative of the leek, which was used by the Welsh soldiers led by St. David to distinguish one another. Yes bizarre, but there’s some more history for you.
Actually, they only fought using leeks. They hadn't invented any weapons at the time and used leeks because they were the only things Welsh people could grow, as they hadn't invented soil yet.
The story of the red and white dragons fighting in an underground cave first appears in the Mabinogion. But I believe Geoffrey of Monmouth originated the idea that they represented the Britons and the Saxons.
I'm not sure putting a comment like that out in the open is the most tactful way to ask someone a question like that... I noticed your posts on another popular youtubers comments sections recently, and it seems you're trying really hard to drum up more subscribers. Honestly the only reason I don't subscribe to your channel is that I listen to these sorts of videos as I fall asleep at night, and its too hard for me to listen to your accent. I know others like your channel because of your accent. Perhaps it only has a niche type of appeal?
as an englishman, i like the flag of st. david. it should definitely be on the union flag. have a nice yellow outline to the english red cross. it's only fair after the english just took everything. i love the passion welsh, scots, irish have when they play us at sports. something we lack.
Autumn Willow I bet you are English. Welsh is my first language if I want to speak it I will. If it makes you that sick then don’t come to our beautiful country. Stay at your own
This isn’t what I was taught in school 😂 I was told that Wales was a gloomy because the white dragon ruled. But then the red dragon shoved his claw into the white dragon’s throat (which is why the red dragon has his claws sticking out like that) and killed it. All happiness was restored to Wales. It rains all the time to remind us of our gloomy days.
I was taught that the red dragon protected a village and was sleeping then the white dragon frosted up the town (Hence the white) and the red dragon with its fire melted the ice and fought with the white dragon until the red dragon flew up and smited the white dragon with his tail
Good video, Hilbert. The Ddraig Goch-White Dragon fight begins before Vortigern. In Llud's time, supposedly, their fighting caused a series of plagues. Llud's brother Llefelys was fetched from France to capture the dragons. They were buried in Dinas Emrys (Snowdonia) where they continued to fight; and that was where Vortigern tried to build his castle later on.
Good points. Perhaps best not to make the distinction too sharply between the Red and Gold Dragons, though. First, red and gold are symbolically very similar, right across the expanse of Indo-European tradition, particularly in connection with solar and avian symbolism. Second, there is some record of a Pendragon Ddraic Aur", Golden Dragon (can't remember where); however I believe this is a late source, so maybe an outlier/unreliable. The Golden Dragon was also originally Mercian, I think. And tbqh the Saxons may well have ended up using both gold/red and silver/white dragon-standards.
Yes, good to point it out. Re. y Ddraig Aur -- No, I don't think you were wrong on any point. Mercians and West Saxons both used the Golden Dragon (in that order, chronologically); and according to sources I don't recall, Uther, Arthur, etc., or whatever historical milieu they stand in for mythically, used a Ddraic Aur standard. Presumably this is a re-inscription of later heraldry back onto an unclear past, but might reflect some more substantial point in Welsh tradition.
As far as I'm aware, the White Dragon was not used by Anglo-Saxons till later on, maybe once they'd inherited it from the Britons -- however, maybe this is just a lack of knowledge on my part. I don't know if they believed it. Certainly people believed Dinas Emrys to have been a site closely associated with Merlin and the British kings until very recently. But imo the dragon-duel and Llud's plagues should be considered a mythologisation of the early stages of the Roman invasion. Note that the dragon-symbolism was likely passed from the Romans to the Romano-Britons, in which case Llud's pre-Roman Britain having a dragon-mascot is ahistorical. Maybe it's an effort by Romano-Britons to lend Imperial dignity to their pre-Roman royalty. But considering how wide dragons and birds are associated with Empire (not just in the Indo-European tradition, but all over Eurasia), maybe pre-Roman Britons did have draconian- or avian-Imperial symbols? I don't know and I'm rambling now so I'll stop.
@@ferguscullen8451 I didn't recall the WELSH people making the golden wyvern, but rather the ENGLISH making it. Also, back then in Celtic times, gold wasn't as valuable, nor seen in the British isles, rather bronze was used as a substitute for gold. Because back them, both gold & Diamonds weren't valuable as they are today. Also it's ironic that they think wales called wyverns dragons, when French and Wales are the ones who made the name (more so french) due to their strong connections to one another, and the fact that historical records say before the British isles became the isles, they once where connected by a piece of land to France, supporting the strong bond between france and Wales. And while modern times wyvern is a dragon, back then it was not seen as a dragon. Also, the red serpent appears far more back than that. I read somewhere that he was omce worshipped as the red serpent named dewi, but his name was given to saint David of Wales, in order to rid the dragon along with pagan belief out of wales.
Not in Welsh, it's pronounced like a lisp-y "sh." Essentially, push air out of the side of your mouth while your tongue is between your top and bottom teeth and mouth is widened on the sides. That's actually incorrect, but will produce a similar sound. The "true" way to do it is pronounce an "L" whilst blowing air around the side of your tongue, but I find that more difficult. When I say "L" I mean the kind of L in "cattle" rather than "lets."
CJ Burkey - Roughly, but a simpler way to describe (and produce) the sound is: breathe out through the mouth, front teeth slightly apart, while saying 'l' (lIke the French article before a vowel).
Welsh nationalism is idiotic just like every other form of nationalism. Just because you are proud to be Welsh that doesn’t make you a nationalist. You be pro-British and pro-European to .🇬🇧🏴🇪🇺🏴 🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴
I am a Nationalist Republican. And I am proud to say this having been brought up within a Unionist environment. An Independent Wales will bring great prosperity to our Nation and release the shackles that Westminster currently has on our Y Ddraig Coch 🏴
Very interesting. Many of my ancestors were Irish, Scottish and Welsh, so I learned a lot about how and why my ancestors’ flags evolved. I want to know more about the man who killed two kings. Impressive.
St David's flag is almost the same the flag of St Piran (or baner Peran) is a white cross with a black background. My Grandad always said the white cross represented tin (St Piran being patron Saint of tin-miners this might make sense), but also likely has something to do with the cultural link to Brittany and some of the noble houses from there. As well as a possible influence from St David's flag.
Trivia: One of the more recent adoptions of the red dragon flag is that the basic flag was "borrowed" by the village/town of Rio Grande (in this case "Rio" rhymes with "Ohio") in SE Ohio, as a symbol of that village/town. Why? Something unique about that "village/town". Back in the days of mass imigratiom to the States the Welsh came over in droves. The Welsh Government feared that the Welsh were not "up to speed" (a recent term) on the American knowledge and pratices toward farming, etc. So it was decided to create a source of education which would educate the relocated Welsh. This was before the American Civil War and most of the US population was east of the Ohio River as the Ohio Territory had only recently been opened. But there were also fears as to the outcome of the feared Civil War and what effect it would have on the school. That is why the resulting school, University of Rio Grande, was established in SE Ohio. Over the years the school has lived up to it's assigned task. But the neighboring village of Rio Grande has grown recently and the leaders of the town decided the town should have a uniqe flag. In this case it is the national flag of Cymru with the words, in red, above and below the dragon, "Rio Grande". Please bear in mind that the University of Rio Grande put the village/town "on the map" and it is the ONLY WELSH CHARTERED SCHOOL in the State of Ohio! I had seen photos of this flag in publications supporting "Welshness" here in the United States. One day I happened to be at a flag store here in Central Ohio looking for a St. David's flag and the clerk and I began to talk about Rio Grande. "Hang on a second", said the clerk as he walked into the back room. He returned holding the 2nd Rio Grande flag. The store had made the original and the 2nd flag was a "backup copy". What were the chances of me coming across the 2nd flag? Now to brag. There was a short lived drive by the Maddog Center of Welsh Studies, located at the University of Rio Grande, to re light the school's original task of educating people about Wales. They began holding festivals. I was member of a local Welsh Society and arrived at the festival bearing a St. David's Cross flag. The school DID NOT HAVE ONE! (Today you can buy the flag off of E Bay, but they were hard to find back then.) I gave my flag to the school. Afterwards that flag started appearing in photos of St. David's day events held in SE Ohio and I was given credit by the school for my donation. At keast I did something "right" in my life...
Thanks for all of this knowledge. I’d love to drive up for one of these festivals and celebrate Welsh culture with the crowd. Are Welsh societies common through your America? I’d like to join one.
@@RoyCitySlicker I find that Welsh societies are NOT uncommon in the United States, but they seldom "stand out". This is the reverse of the Irish and Scotts. Look at history for movements of Welsh groups westward from Pennsylvania (which has a strong Welsh connection) into the expension of the United States. One example is the Welsh Quakers. That is the reason my family (branch) settled in Central Ohio, but then they left that religion circa the Civil War.
On one hand, adding a dragon to the Union Jack would make it more cool. On the other hand, the Welsh flag would be less special. I reckon they could add the gold cross from the St David flag and have it be in the middle of the St George cross.
Nada Barton Red, white, silver and gold dragons have all been used by the English over a thousand years ago. There is red dragons (or perhaps gold) flown by the English on the Bayeux Tapestry, in fact. These are, I think, noise-generating windsocks and banners rather than flags as we know them today, but dragons nonetheless. With the renewed English nationalist thought in recent decades, the White Dragon on a red background has been picked as an alternative flag of England
J ack Throughout history?! I said the Gold one on a White background (being really specific)...That was stolen From Glamorgan and Gwent when they Unified!!! The Wessex Dragon is actally a Wyvern, no back legs! Please Learn the difference.
Great video, but a few things to add: Another anology of the colours behind the red dragon are from the colour psychology/symbolism in which they represent, white=purity green=land. The Welsh historically have been great advocates of protecting their land, as well as being one of the first countries to ush legislation to protect "Areas of Naturally Outstanding beauty". The reason as to why Wales is not represented on the Union Jack, is simply because we did not sign the act of union.
Cadwaladr ap Cadwallon :/ The double L vs single L is a big difference. The “w” is also a vowel, pronounced the same as the vowel in “boot” in English. So it is /kad'waladər/ not /kað'valaðər/ that you seem to say at first. (Additionally, double D is /ð/ (the same as the ”“th” in “the”) while a single D is still /d/.)
You should've explained that the *reason* for the lack of Welsh representation in the current Union Jack stems from the formation of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707, where Wales was denoted as part of the 'English' side of the Union. Dispute this inclusion now if you like, but that is the reason why the Welsh representation (as part of England) continued into the flag revamp in 1801. Due to the Empire's global expansion over these two centuries, the flag became known across the world and continues to be a British icon. And so its revising for incorporating Wales has since been overlooked; although I do wonder if, had Wales used the conventional St David's Cross like the other three parts of the UK, they might have been integrated into a new Union Flag.
Possibly one of the reasons why Wales isn't represented on the flag is because it is the flag of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland and then Ireland) while Wales was not only absorbed before the union of England and Scotland, but was also a principality, not a kingdom
The Kingdom of the Suebi in the northwest of Iberia (a relatively short-lived Swabian/Alan court with jurisdiction over some Celtiberian and Lusitani territory) was also known to have a flag similar (same dragon) to that of Wales.
Thank you for sharing the story thru this video. .... i would like to know how the other celtic peoples feel about the Welsh. What do the Scotts and Irish think about Wales?
One issue, the welsh dragon as we see it today is due to the Tudor dynasty, they were the ones that added four legs to the dragon and they are the ones who added the green and white to the flag, Green and white being ancient colours representing the Welsh attire. Now back to the four legs, There is no information on why the Tudors decided to add and extra two limbs, but it may be due to the dragon looking a little bit more aggressive, the first depiction of the Welsh dragon is in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 'Prophetiae Merlini' and it shows the dragon being a wyvern.. now a wyvern is a modern classification for a sub-category of a dragon, but back then, a dragon was a dragon despite having none or many legs. Glyndŵr's dragon was more accurate (structure-wise) than Henry Tudor's depiction, but because the Henry Tudor's fore-fathers helped Glyndŵr's rise to power, it must have been obvious now why Henry Tudor decided to change the dragon a little as so that people didn't get confused over who carried what flag. What makes Glyndŵr dragon more interesting is how Glyndŵr's privy seal depicts him (and his stallion) wearing a dragon helmet, could this be symbolism? 'Pen - Dragon'? ('Pen' - Welsh word for 'head') literally a dragon on the head? But if it was not for Glyndŵr's rise, the Tudors would not have been able to fly the Red dragon. But here's one info that has gone over the heads of many, in Arthurian legend, it is said that the Red dragon would one day claim Britain once more.. this was made a reality through the Tudors, A Welshman took up his sword, galloped across the battlefield and took the English crown, if that's not a fulfilled prophecy, I don't know what is.. King Henry Tudor Vii draped his halls with Welsh attire, hired Welsh musicians and proudly used his native tongue.. King Henry Tudor Viii annexed Wales with England, sealing Wales' fate by allowing Wales to have equal powers to England.. the flag would contain both the Welsh and English colours, Queen Elizabeth Tudor i commissioned William Morgan to translate the Bible into Welsh, which essentially saved the Welsh language from decline. However, the Stuarts later removed any aspects of Wales from their coat of arms.. which, in turn sealed the fate of the representation of Wales in the future British flag, no longer was wales an equal power to England, England would dominate Wales and the term 'England and Wales' would mean; 'The kingdom of England and its dominion: Wales', so when Wales was represented in the British flag, it would be under Saint George's cross, so we are on the British flag, just not the way we imagine (or like), it leaves a sour taste in the mouth, it makes you wonder What the English Kingdom and Government really think of the Welsh. Luckily for us though is that in 2011, Plaid Cymru Was alerted that the 'Principality' of Wales was in error, and that the Welsh Principality died out hundreds of years previously, which would make Wales a country, which would make Prince Charles an invalid prince of Wales and would make the British flag seriously outdated and false of its representation of all countries under the British wing. but hey, what real power do we really have? none really, we are not going to argue when our country is forced to be poor.
Fun fact: Malta's flag features the George Cross, as the population were awarded it for their bravery in WW2. The GC features St. George on a horse fighting a dragon, so it may be the only flag to have a human, an animal, and a mythical beast on it.
The flag of St David differs from the flag of St Piran (Cornwall) in that the latter is white on black, rather than yellow on black. But it is not uncommon for tourists seeing St David's flag to get confused.
Perhaps it should also be mentioned that the Cornish flag is a different size then the UN standard. By UN standard the physical size of the flag is a ratio of 3:5. The Cornish flag is 2:3 and physically larger. However, most Cornish flags today are 3:5. One feature of the TV program "Doc Martin" was to see the various sized Cornish flags on display. (But he drank Ty Nant water from Cymru!)
Great video will you be doing a follow up with the what you think the meaning is?? The Welsh version of the story of the conflicting Dragons of the Earth, is a common myth told all over the world in various ways, but its basically the same. If there is 2 massive creatures, who are ripping each other to bits in a welsh underground lair, which has no meaning, just something thats been happening since it began. Or the story is a metaphor which has significant meaning, with the addition of the colours divided horizontally apposed to vertical. which also has meaning, and not simply as it's been used on other flags in association, they had an original meaning, and so the meaning is transferred, and used in correspondence with other parts to bring a coherent representation for the Country.
4:58 why don't they just make the white cross behind St. George's cross yellow? It's only there to separate the red from the blue, it keeps the design of the flag, and it makes Wales equal. Slapping a massive dragon on the front of an already fairly complex pattern just looks ugly.
+Raishin L. +MB Gamer31 The only thing worse then putting a large dragon over the whole flag is putting a small one in the centre, making it even more difficult to make out and breaking the design rules of the flag. Having a yellow cross behind the red cross gives Wales a symbolically equal part and doesn't break the flag's design. +flyingkoopa45 Right, but the important part of the English portion is the cross of St. George, not the background. Changing it to yellow to give Wales a part in the flag doesn't take away from England's representation.
I just learned from Cambrian history channel it’s just the red dragon of Wales, not of Cadwaladr. Wiki : “since the accession of Henry VII to the English throne, often been referred to as "The Red Dragon of Cadwaladr". The association with Cadwaladr is a traditional one without any historical basis.”
Hey, I really love your videos a lot and I always learn a lot from them and this video is no exception. Just look up the "ll" pronunciation in Welsh. There is no English equivalent.
Im not Welsh but i say CYMRU AM BYTH! Either an independant Welsh Kingdom or a Welsh representation on the union jack! The irony of not having the colours of the very Native Britons on the flag is MIND FUCKING BLOWING
An Englishman I have to admit Wales have one of the best looking flags I've seen, that dragon would look smart on the union Jack flag, top right hand corner 👍
I think the Welsh flag is the most interesting flag because well it's a dragon and it has a amazing backstory. I'm Welsh btw. Hello ffrindiau Dwi Yn dod o ynys mon!!
Really enjoyed this brief insight into the history of the Welsh flag as I delve deeper into ancestary. I am half Nigerian and half Welsh and naturally drawn to Glastonbury and The Tor and the dragons leys.
Interesting video but only starts half way through in the flags history. You make no mention of the original origin of the dragon in Celtic Britain. The dragon was used as a standard by several Roman legions and was right up there in front when they were marching or in battle . When the Romans left, the romanised Britons still considered themselves as Roman, and the armies therefore of various local tribal chiefs who stepped into the power vacuum (soon to call themselves kings) continued to make use of the dragon standard. Indeed in Welsh legend King Arthur himself is said to have used it. And yes there is the early medieval tale about the two dragons fighting but by then the red dragon was already recognised by the free native Britons in the west (who would become the Welsh) as a symbol of their identity.
Actually, the red dragon goes FURTHER back than that, as they had a red serpent called dewi that was worshipped as a GOD, and the Romans came, and the WELSH just combined the Roman lizard, as it wasn't a traditional dragon yet, into one of the earliest traditional dragons seen today.
@@dewithedragon7612 Diolch/Thanks for that, but why the capitols - it is considered as shouting. Your comments are more likely to be accepted if you refrain from using upper case. I am wrth gwrs aware of what you refer to but did not mention it for the sake of brevity.
Thanks for edifying the world on a tiny bit of the amazing history and lore of Wales, which has been deleted from history by the Germanic House of Windsor establishment. Don't believe me? I would suggest you look at the True History of Britain videos by Alan Wilson. Oh an Hilbert fair pay to you for having a go at the Welsh names. Ardderchog
I reckon the white dragon isn’t Saxon at all. It represents Dumnonia, the cross-channel kingdom of which the northern half preceded Wessex. Now Wessex was allegedly founded by one Cerdic, which is a Brythonic name. Cerdic was a contemporary of a Breton ruler named Budic (Latin: Victor). Cerdic landed near Southampton, which is where many Bretons landed in later centuries due to the pattern of the Channel tides. Tentative conclusion: Cerdic was a Breton and the House of Wessex had British L21 Y-chromosomes. Another curiosity: Alfred is usually interpreted as an Anglo-Saxon name, but it occurred frequently in the courts of Brittany before he ascended to the throne of Wessex.
@@ARMY2014 Not true though, I suppose you're referring to the scouse, but it's the other way around, Scouse was formed from Welsh "migrants". The South East is heavily anglicised. Gwynedd and Ynys Mon are the most Welsh counties.
Conwy's pretty Englishified, and I say that as someone who's lived in Conwy all my life. Welsh is taught as a second language in most schools. The parents went ballistic when my primary school went from 45% Welsh to 55% Welsh, and I think that says a lot about how single minded the people are. In short, _bloody monolinguals._
So I got the white dragon anglosaxon white flag currently on my doorstep flag pole, and I am a welshguardsman of London from Wales since I wear the bearskin hat and bloody colour coat
May I comment on the term, " Union Jack ", this term is only used for the Union Flag when it is hoisted on the Jack pole of a Royal navy ship, which is on the stern.
