Who Are the Welsh?

Wales occupies a beautiful place within Britain, but it also has a long and storied history. This documentary explores the origins of Wales and the Welsh people (Cymru), from the late Bronze Age to the end of the medieval period, covering some of the most important events that shaped the nation of Wales.

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[oldhippiejon]

Born in England from Welsh stock the country called me far before I understood the politics, one visit to family was all it took, like meeting your true love it grew in my heart, this land were I now live is in my soul and will always be. My grandchildren are all Welsh who speak the old language, soon maybe my remains will be buried under Welsh soil and I will be part of the country again, I will rest easy of that I am sure.

[northernlion]

As an Englishman currently studying in Wales, I have mad respect for the Welsh. The fact the language has stood against the test of time to the modern day is remarkable.

[jaywatanabe]

As a Welsh descendent in Canada I’ve always wanted to know more about our roots as it was made clear by my Grandpa that we were “Welsh” folk. I have a great admiration for our forefathers tenacity, endurance and preservation of our culture against great odds - As was noted they withstood the Germanic tribes while Rome itself fell to them. And the bards, singers and great epics! Culture is a beautiful thing that is indeed worth preserving and protecting. Thanks for helping keep it alive for us far-flung Cymru 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 One day I look forward to seeing it with my own eyes

[meilir.ap.emrys]

Centuries ago my ancestors were forced to renounce their traditional Welsh names and adopt the name ‘Roberts’ as a more formal, more proper English surname. That all ended on October 12th, 2003. The day I was born, Christened as Meilir Ap Emrys, son of Emrys Roberts. There is nothing in this world I will ever be more thankful for than my name, no matter how hard people may find it to pronounce, because it represents the tenacity and endurance of my people, and how we have overcome everything thrown at us. Thank you for sharing the history of my cyndeidiau so eloquently and with so many people. Our history is one that has inspired countless world-famous works of fiction, and the truth is worth telling and sharing. Diolch yn fawr, fawr iawn, gyfaill. Cymru am byth.

[thegreenmage]

Good to see you covering this.
We do like to get a mention, us Welsh.

[ajarnwordsmith]

I spent more than 20 years living and working in the Orient. During my time there, I was engaged in conversation with an elderly gentleman from the USA. The pronunciation of just one word informed me, in the blink of an eye, that this American gentleman had an association with Wales, the Land of my Fathers. How so, I hear you ask? He was recounting a recent visit to a local dentist and pronounced the singular of the plural noun teeth as "tuth", not the more familiar sounding "two-th" (tooth). I paused the conversation and asked him if he had a connection with South Wales. He was struck dumb for a few seconds and then blurted out, "Yes, I was born in Bridgend (near Cardiff), but my parents emigrated to the US when I was a baby and have never been back. How do you know?" The answer, of course, is that he was brought up in the US by Welsh parents from Glamorgan, who never lost their accent and its quirky pronunciation of certain words.

[brucemacallan]

Everyone needs to read up on Wilson & Blackett's research. Wales is an incredible place, and has the most amazing history. The true history of the Welsh is a problem for the British Establishment.

[jrjhughes]

Whilst I’m English my grandfather was from Abersoch so I spent much of my childhood growing up in Wales, and it is so underrated. Proud of my Welsh heritage and absolutely love the country.

[kelseycoyote]

Fantastic oration and content! As a person of Welsh descent I am impressed by how you have arranged the massive amount of content. The Welsh never gave in, never gave up, and were able to preserve language and cultures where others were completely overwhelmed and lost.
Thank you

[madit]

As a welsh woman, living in Wales, studying to teach in Wales, the more i am learning about our history the more i want to add History on top of my Physics education choice

[WelshAmericanChannel]

Hello from the Welsh American Channel. Just want to let you know that we Welsh Americans are also interested in what is going on in Wales and its rich history. Cymru am byth!

[exploreseafaring]

Fantastic to hear such a well put together history. I've lived in North Wales my whole life, speak the language and my family tree is rooted deep here. I still struggle to put dates to names and people in places. I pass castles and ancient tumulus just to go to the supermaket and it breaks my heart to be powerless as I watch and feel Wales turn into something it shouldn't be.

[devinlawton]

Just have to say, as a Cymro living in Wales, I congratulate the heck out of your pronunciation. It was very accurate with very few exceptions and you handled the extra vowels and unfamiliar consonants well. An unfortunate majority of modern Britons lack the exposure or interest to try, and at worst, make fun of the language.

[susanbell]

I am Welsh born and bred, Welsh to my core, and proud to be. For those of you reading this who are not Welsh it's easy to understand us once you accept that we are a proud nation, loyal to our heritage; many have tried to oppress us and beat us down. It will NEVER happen. As the great Bill Beaumont said when playing rugby against the Welsh 'Wales have never lost a match, we just score points against them'. However I am not a rabid Plaid Cymru supporter. Wales and the Welsh nation is well able to survive without creating aggression and division. It will go on regardless of fanatics who do not serve Wales well.

[halmillett]

My Grandmother spoke Welsh, taught to her by her grandfather who told her to remember she was Cymry.

[cadarn]

Brilliant vid! We Cymry definitely deserve more love in the history space.

On the subject of Arthur being Abrosius' nephew, this is surprisingly plausible. In Medieval Wales, a king's nephew the was the most common/ideal relation to be the "Penteulu" (commander of the Royal Household troops and chief military advisor). This could explain Ambrosius' victories being attributed to Arthur also. That said, I understand it is complicated and Arthur may just be a god figure rather than a real human.

Edit: The earliest Arthur source, Nennius, says that though he was not a king, he was Dux Bellorum (war leader) of the Kings of Britain.

[trayccox]

Wow that was an amazing history lesson..as a native born English from Scottish/Irish parents..I'd never heard Welsh history before and always wanted to.. thank you so much what a gorgeous language..and amazing history poetry x

[juditrotter]

My Grandmother was a pioneer in the US State of Montana. She was the oldest of five. Her father was killed by her brother in a hunting accident and the following year 1917 her mother died in the great flu pandemic.

When I was growing up (from 1948 on) she would say “Now, don’t put on airs we are just Welsh miners.” When I’ve visited Wales I can’t say that I found a pronunciation gene.

One interesting happening for me was my first trip to Wales was with my son Colburn(Colby). We were so interested and happy to see how much his beam appeared as place names. His Dad and I had no idea.

[goodsoup]

It’s so nice to hear proper Welsh pronunciation from outside of wales. I never knew people found ‘ll’ hard to pronounce, it just seems so easy and natural for me. I suppose it’s like rolling your ‘r’s, some people can do it naturally and some people can’t.

[vo]

11:39 I went to Caerleon (pronounced Ki-er-leon) for comp, as we call high school in Cymru. And the one block we had was called the Isca block or block I. This was due to the Roman fortress, baths and the amphitheater that remain to this day within the village. Isca was the name of the camp which held the fortress' guards, and the village was renamed to it's resident fort, Isca...

Btw, I used to have my lunch on both the amphitheater AND the baths, it was tranquil and serene almost always.