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Today's eisteddfodau (plural form) and the National Eisteddfod of Wales in particular, are in equal parts a Renaissance fair, a Celtic festival, a musical festival, a literary festival, and, "the supreme exhibition of the Welsh culture." : 52
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Since its 18th-century revival, the eisteddfod tradition has been carried all over the world by the Welsh diaspora. The revival therefore proved enormously successful and is credited as one of the primary reasons for the continued survival of the Welsh language, literature, and culture after more than eight centuries of colonialism.ĭuring his two 20th-century terms as Archdruid of the Gorsedd Cymru, Albert Evans-Jones, whose bardic name was Cynan and who was a war poet and minister of the Presbyterian Church of Wales, created new rituals for both the Gorsedd and the eisteddfod which are based upon the Christian beliefs of the Welsh people rather than upon Modern Druidry. The current format owes much to an 18th-century revival first patronized and overseen by the London-based Gwyneddigion Society and later co-opted by the Gorsedd Cymru, a secret society of poets, writers, and musicians founded by Iolo Morganwg whose beliefs were, "a compound of Christianity and Druidism, Philosophy and Mysticism." : 191ĭespite the Druidic influences and the demonstrably fictitious nature of Iolo Morganwg's doctrines, rituals, and ceremonies, both the Gorsedd and the eisteddfod revival were embraced and spread widely by Anglican and nonconformist clergy. However, the subsequent loss of Welsh independence at the hands of King Edward I, the closing of the bardic schools, and the Anglicization of the Welsh nobility made it fall into abeyance. The first documented instance of such a literary festival and competition took place under the patronage of Prince Rhys ap Gruffudd of the House of Dinefwr at Cardigan Castle in 1176.
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The term eisteddfod, which is formed from two Welsh morphemes: eistedd, meaning 'sit', and fod, meaning 'be', means, according to Hywel Teifi Edwards, "sitting-together." Edwards further defines the earliest form of the eisteddfod as a competitive meeting between bards and minstrels, in which the winner was chosen by a noble or royal patron. In Welsh culture, an eisteddfod is a festival with several ranked competitions, including in poetry and music.