I Want To Know More About Wales

Llewellyn was her surname was it? It's strange that she didn't know anything about it. I thought Americans were obsessed with family history!

Why is Llewellyn Fawr called Llewellyn Fawr? Of which kingdom were they princes of and where was their capital?
What sort of things did you tell the college student with the name Llewellyn?

It'll be better if you went to the websites I mentioned or other similar ones for more details. There you'll find answers to many of your questions. One thing that might interest you - wife or Llywelyn Fawr was Siwan, an illegitimate daughter of King John of England. She is the main character in Saunders Lewis's play, "Siwan" I mentioned in another thread.

I don't exactly remember what I told Miss Llewellyn. I think I briefly told her who the famous Llywelyns were in the Welsh history. She said she had been told Llewellyn was just a common Welsh Name. That was all she knew. (What a waste!) Obviously not every American wants to research his ancestry.

I have to tell you my husband's great grandmother was from Wales. My father-in-law is keen on genealogy and is trying to find out about her but he is stuck due to lack of vital information (her birthdate, etc.) At least I have some connection with Wales. This thought always cheers me up.

I'm still fascinated by your attraction to Wales, Gwenynen!

When I was living in London, one of my flatmates was American, but it soon transpired that her grandfather's parents were from Carmarthen, which is perhaps less than an hour from where I live. She came to stay with me for a while and we went to Carmarthen. She knew where her great-grandparents were buried, so she went to see their graves. Of course, the tomb stones were in Welsh.

I'd like to do more research on my ancestry because my family were originally Gaels. But Brits, definitely Celts are much less interested in genealogy than Americans. Welshmen are really lazy in fact and few of us know anything more than where our grandparents came from. (I don't even know where my grandparents were born, I just know that 2 were Scottish and 2 were Welsh).

It's so interesting you have Welsh and Scottish blood; in other words, you are completely Celtic! I hope you'll be able to find out about your ancestors.

I know why Americans are crazy about genealogy; they want to find out their roots. The Welsh people who aren't interested in their genealogy are like the rich who take their wealth for granted. From the point of view of the poor, it's such a waste!

I suppose in a way, we are our genealogy! For example, my good friend Gareth Gwynn lives in a farmhouse cottage in the middle of nowhere. You step inside, it's like going back to the 18th century. His family have owned it for generations, thus his parents don't have a mortgage. His grandmother lives with them and is so elderly, that she is losing her English and could be considered a Welsh monoglot.

My home is 150 years old, I live in the town where my mother's father came from.

We feel that we are living our ancestors.

There, now that's what I mean. You are taking it for granted! A house 100 year-old is a museum around here.

Good grief, you have to come and see the 1000 year old churches then! I went to see the oldest surviving church in Europe a couple of years ago. It's on the Dingle Peninsula in Ireland - it must be like 1500 years old!

They do have old buildings in Japan too. One WOODEN pagoda is 2000 years old. But common people don't live in 150 year-old houses even in Japan. What is your house made of? Stone?

By the way, what's your new avatar?

My house is made of stone. It is semi-detached now, but the man who built it divided it between his two children when he died. We bought it a couple of years ago. It still have wooden beams holding the ceilings up and the doors are so small, my 6"3' brother has to duck every time he moves into another room!!

My new avatar is Egyptian. I love Ancient Egypt, I have a statue of the god Anubis (one with the jackel's head) in my living room and Britain's only museum completely dedicated to Ancient Egypt is the building next door to the Modern Languages department at the University of Wales Swansea. I did work experience there - I got to hold a mummified baby. Was horrible because it looked like it was screaming.

P.S. I tried to learn Ancient Egyptian once, but gave up because I felt it would take up valuable space in my mind for modern languages. I can still say a few words like miw which means cat!!!

I want to change my avatar again because I was just browsing the Ireland threads and saw someone else with my avatar.
The reason I keep changing it is because I want a unique avatar. Any suggestions on how I can upload my own? It never lets me do this!

Have your searched your house for a hidden door that leads to a secret passage?

Miw sounds like a cat.

Is the new avatar your dog?

What are some of those 'Welsh words which neatly sum up concepts that would take a small essay to explain in English'?

My new avatar is my Welsh collie Hugo. He was professionally trained and was going to participate in dog shows, but was tragically killed on the road outside my house. We have photos of him EVERYWHERE! He's my screensaver for my computer and my mobile (cell) phone.
You can tell he's Welsh, because he has brown, whereas Border Collies have no brown.

There are no secret passages, but hundreds of little alcoves and small cupboards.
I am convinced it's haunted, so I sleep everynight with a light on!!!

Some Welsh words. Well, these are quotes from a book I have been reading called The Xenophobe's Guide to the Welsh. It's a humorous book, but is also quite accurate!
The example it gave is gwlad. From this book, page 60:

"Gwlad can appear simply as 'country' in dictionaries, but that does not adequately translate the depth of meaning the word has to a Welshman: when the rousing chorus of the Welsh National Anthem begins with a repitition of the word, it cannot be limply translated as "Country, Country" - it is a strong personal affirmation of nationhood that goes beyond even 'fatherland' or 'patria' ".


By the way, it seems like it's only really you and I in this thread at the time being! Anyone out there? Maybe I scared them off!

I have a theory about why we Americans are so fascinatied with genealogy. You see, America is such a hodge-podge of different cultures that we have no culture of our own. Every bit of culture that we have has been borrowed from somewhere else. So, at least speaking for myself, my interest in my Scottish ancestors stemmed from my desire to find a culture to call my own. I know that I am not truly Scottish, though I wish I were. I only have a couple of blood lines - McKay and Hodge - which I have only been able to trace back to the early 1900s. Haven't even been able to trace either line out of America yet. But given the choice between my English, German, and Scottish ancestry lines, the Scottish just stood out as the family I wnated to identify with.

Have I made sense here, or am I rambling?