Cleddyf y Genedl: Round Two.

Is He Happy? No! He's not!

Llysgenhadaeth Glyndŵr.

www.embassy-glyndwr.co.uk

Communication dated: 27 Feb 2007.

Subject: Cleddyf y Genedl - Sword of the Nation - Symbol of Justice.

Other related matters:

* Coron Glyndŵr and the Honours of Wales.
* Dydd y Senedd - Dydd Coroni Glyndŵr -21 Mehefin 1404.
* Annual National Pobl Glyndŵr gathering in Machynlleth at mid - Summer.

Information on these related matters be found in this blog:

Owain Glyndŵr Communicates.

Cleddyf y Genedl: As a result of an item i placed on our blog, Owain Glyndwr Communicates, voicing concern in regards to the way that 'Cleddyf y Genedl' is being displayed and not securely safeguarded at MOMA in Machynlleth, 'Machynlleth Today', which I believe is a feature of the Northern addition of the Cambrian News, published a report and although we thank Scarlet Jones the reporter in question for drawing public attention to our concerns regards 'Cleddyf y Genedl' we feel that there is a need to correct or to clarify remarks given by Cllr Dunn, Mayor of Machynlleth, within this report which appeared in last week's 'Machynlleth Today'.

To begin with, he makes the point that the Council came aboard late in the day regards the Owain Glyndŵr Commemorative Celebrations of Mehefin 2004, this is not true, we had an informal meeting with the council in their offices early in the year at which we briefly outlined our intentions. Later, two further meeting were held with the full council, at which all was explained. We are very thankful to the council for the support they gave to us, to enable an excellent 1404 - 2004 commemoration which included an excellent 'Cleddyf y Cenedl' ceremony to take place. Regards the then placing of 'Cleddyf y Genedl' in MOMA, we accept all the reasons why, given by Cllr Dunn and we have no problem with it being placed in MOMA whatsoever - given that the sword in question is a modern work of art produced by Jason Gardiner a Master Blacksmith who has produced metal work of great quality for commissions all over the world. Thus, in this respect alone, we would expect a more respectful positioning of 'Cleddyf y Genedl' as befits the work of a craftsman Blacksmith, Then, there are other issues, 'Cleddyf y Genedl' was commissioned at great cost to our sponsor and we are concerned as to how easy it might have been for someone to just walk in through the backdoor of MOMA and steal 'Cleddyf y Genedl'. Whilst we were there taking photos, three people walked in and passed us on the stairwell. It would be so easy for some person to just walk in and, very quickly, carry out a “Smash and Grab”. We could see no CCTV surveillance in existence.

Surely, it is not unreasonable of us to request that 'Cleddyf y Genedl' is not only placed in a prominent place but also in a more secure one - as in a space in the front foyer of MOMA. The cause of our doing a report on this issue in the first place was due to queries, as to “where was this Sword of the Nation?” and complaints my many who had found, like us, that it was not in a good display position. We thus did our blog report and have written to the Town Council voicing our concerns and have requested that they insure that MOMA place 'Cleddyf y Genedl' in a safer and more worthy position. To date, we are still awaiting a reply from the Town Council. We thus stand by our suggestion that the front foyer would be a more appropriate place for 'Cleddyf y Genedl' than the back stairwell of MOMA.

Further, Cllr Dunn seeks to distract from our concern with critcism of me, in which he accuses me of insinuating that the people of Machynlleth are not patriotic. Nowhere in my item on the blog did i insinuate anything of the kind! Patriotic groups from Machynlleth and the surrounding communities were prominent in the organising of the 2004 Dydd y Senedd Festival and no doubt would be happy to contribute their labours to the organising of such a prestigious and colourful festival annually if the Town Council picked up the gauntlet and led the way. If there is to be talk of patriotism, I would suggest that it would be a very worthwhile exercise if the Councillors of Machynlleth Town Council and yes! the people of Machynlleth too, took a look on the internet as to how, in Scotland, Towns associated with The Bruce and Wallace commemorate their heroes annually, they would find that they do so in a very big way. Then, whilst at it, please go and browse the internet to see how Lithuania commemorates and celebrates 'Vytalis' their medieval national hero.

For the information of patriots of Machynlleth or any other Town in Wales with a Glyndwr association who seriously wishes to annually celebrate Owain Glyndwr, below are the three dates of particular Glyndwr appeal:

* 28 Mai - Dydd Geni Glyndwr.

(All Wales Celebrations and 'Elusen Glyndwr' Childrens Charity work).

* 21 Mehefin - Dydd y Senedd - Dydd y Coroni.

(Machynlleth National 'Gwyl Glyndwr' Festival).

* 16 Medi - Dydd Glyndwr - Proclamation Llys Glyndyfrdwy.

(All Wales & Corwen National Festival).

.

I will end this statement with the following quote of Cllr Dunn's taken from the Machynlleth Today report...

“In the dictionary a Patriot is described as a person who vigorously supports their country and its way of life. A Xenophile is someone with a hatred fear of strangers, their politics and their culture. I think its safe to say that we are Patriots in Machynlleth and there ramains a welcome in the hillside in these parts”

I am not quite sure what the aforementioned remark had to do with our reasonable concerns over 'Cleddyf y Genedl' but it seems he's insinuating that I am a Xenophobe! Well, my answer to that is that Welsh Patriotism should not be a matter of just rugby and Saint David's day or an `Ich Dien' slavish perverted patriotism but some thing a lot more solid in it's foundations and it's many mansions. Yes! Cllr Dunn we go beyond that aforementioned patriotism, we are Pobl Glyndwr and that implies that we are “Radical Nationalists” campaigning to realise Owain Glyndwr's ideal of an Independent Wales with a true democracy for one and all. I do not hate or fear strangers, their politics or their culture - so long as they do not try to replace mine with theirs in my own country.

Many “Welsh Patriots” and we Pobl Glyndwr - ''Radical Nationalists' have a right cause to be concerned that Machynlleth Council seems more interested these days in promoting Machynlleth or, as your council have long described, it “The Ancient Capital of Wales” as the ''Alternative Technology Capital of Wales'' rather than as Prif Ddinas Owain Glyndŵr. Apart from the efforts of OGI - when open, very little is done to promote and capitalise on the history of Owain Glyndŵr in the town. Maybe Machynlleth needs a PLAID GLYNDŴR to stand candidates for the Town Council, then we may witness a Gŵyl Glyndŵr being organised annually in the town to mark the celebration of Dydd y Senedd 21 Mehefin 1404?

Let's, for a moment, turn our attention to the Isle of Man and the great festival they hold there to celebrate their Parliament on 'Tynwald Day 5th July'. Photo below depics traditional Manx sports being played as part of the festival. We proposed to Machynlleth that similar, traditional Cymric games could be held there annualy to mark Dydd y Senedd.

The photo shows traditional Manx games being played on Tynwald Day on Tynwald Field, close to Tynwald Hill where an annual ceremony is held to commemorate the founding of an Independent Manx Parliament. This annual event is also held in time of 'Troad y Rhod' and is a most colourful event. Why doesn't Machynlleth and Corwen show the same wisdom in regards to annual commemorations of 'Hanes Glyndŵr' associated with their towns? Why is it that the two biggest and best Glyndŵr Festivals are held at Coity and Abercraf - in the South?

In conclusion, we would still ask patriots, Pobl Glyndŵr and all ''Radical Nationalists'' to write in support of Embassy Glyndŵr on this issue, e-mail Machynlleth Council, MOMA and Scarlet Jones - and direct to Cambrian News via their Machynlleth Today page on the web.

Sian Ifan.

Juratus Oweyn

I Gadw'r Gwir Gyda'r Coron.



PS: Any and all patriots who wish to see Glyndŵr events organised in their town, particularly national Glyndŵr festivals such as at Aberystwyth, Carmarthen, Caernarfon, Dolgellau, Machynlleth, Corwen, Ruthun and Harlech can contact Embassy Glyndŵr for assistance, we have the experience and heaps of information which will aid you in such a patriotic purpose. Contact: llysgenhadaeth@ntlworld.com

A Call for an official Coat of Arms by the Welsh Assembly.

I was approached by Radio Cymru’s ‘Taro Post’ programme last week with a request to participate in a discussion regards the Welsh Assembly’s decision to commission an official Coat of Arms. I did participate and the following is a brief resume of Embassy Glyndwr’s contribution to the debate on the need for the Welsh Assembly to have its own Coat of Arms.

Where does Embassy Glyndwr stand on this?

On the whole, we support the idea but think that the Assembly should be in consultation with the people of Wales as to what images they would like to see on this Coat of Arms rather than with London based heraldic advisors. After all, we have our own ‘Wales Herald Extraordinaire’ in Dr M.P.Siddons and do we really need the permission of the English Crown to have our own seal/Coat of arms? From the earliest of times the heraldry of Cymru was the responsibility of ‘Herald Bards’ and I believe the last of these was Rhys Cain (See Wikapedia on the web)

Thanks to Embassy Glyndwr and Bob Rice of Castle Crafts, Cardiff, The Welsh Assembly does fly Prince Owain Glyndwr’s flag on Sept 16th – Owain Glyndwr Day and as the Assembly is aspiring to be a ‘real’ Senedd one day it would be appropriate and logical to see a gigantic replica of Price Owain’s Seal of State located behind the Presiding Officer’s Chair in the Debating Chamber. Such symbolism is of paramount importance if we are to demonstrate to the world that we, as a nation, are now confident enough to express our ideal to rule ourselves as a people. It was for this right that Owain Glyndwr and the people of Wales of his period fought and sacrificed dearly for, without these sacrifices we would not have a nation and so ‘The Four Lion’s Rampant’ flag and Owain’s Seal of State certainly deserve their place in this aspiring Senedd - wouldn’t you agree?

In fact, any form of symbolism that’s going to bring us a step nearer to fulfilling Owain Glyndwr’s ideal for an Independent Wales is important, be they flags, Seals of Statehood’, statues or, our own official Coat of Arms - and we can learn so much from the experiences of other small nations on this matter. For example, Lithuania has chosen to display their medieval hero ‘Vytalis’ on horseback and waving a sword on their Coat of Arms and the same image also appears on their bank notes. ‘Vytalis’ is certainly a good example for comparing with Glyndwr but, the Lithuanians are 100% nationalist. Will we ever see Owain Glyndwr given the same recognition on our official Coat of Arms and, if we ever get it, our own currency? I doubt it, it seems that the ‘powers that be’ would rather hide our national heroes in those dark corners of history and embrace usurpers. Sadly however, it’s not just the ‘Powers that be’ that treat our heroes in this manner, I suggest you refer to our earlier posting on the ‘’Big issue’’ of how ‘Cleddyf y Genedl’ is displayed in the back stairwell passage at MOMA in Machynlleth.

So yes, ideally, we at Embassy Glyndwr would favour images associated with Owain Glyndwr
When it comes to choosing a design for an official seal following Lithuania’s example and they are not on their own, there are other good examples such as Catalonia - and Estonia who have chosen 3 Lions representing the historical events of three national uprisings. But, as far as the Welsh Assembly is concerned, we cannot see this ‘’Sham Senedd’’ going down the same road really? so perhaps Latvia and the Basque country may be better examples for the Welsh Assembly to follow as they have based their Coat of Arms on ‘’Historic Regions’’ which, in respect to Wales, would have to include our ancient Gwledydd/Principlaities of Gwynedd, Deheubarth, Powys, Morgannwg and Gwent.

All of these aforementioned examples are also decorated with images of other national symbols, particularly Oak Leaves. We would suggest Ivy as being more suitable for Cymru and not Lloyd Georges ‘’Investiture Daffodil’’ nor the ‘’Tudor Leek’’. We would also favour the addition of a White Eagle but cannot see that being adopted but why not the Red Kite? Of course with the Labour, Liberal and Tory party representatives and the English monarchy having the final say, we will not hold our breath in the hope that any of our ideas will be acceptable. But, nevertheless, see below our suggestion as to a potential great Coat of Arms for the Assembly, This is an old stock image that we have in our icons folder. I am not the best of artists but have quickly and roughly adapted to suit the theme of this posting.
Use of a bit of imagination is needed to imagine suggested alterations to image as follows:

· Dragons: Red on Left and Gold on Right.
· Ivy Leaves with also Oak leaves added, Green.
· Coron Glyndwr to be added: Gold.

So what do you think? Can you come up with an idea? Of course if the Welsh Assembly does not take up our suggestion for a ‘Coat of Arms/Crest/Seal’, we will adopt it as our own for ‘Cenedl Glyndwr’ – ‘Cenedl Cymru Rydd’.

For further information see:

· The Development of Welsh Heraldry by Dr M.P. Siddons. Vols I, II & III. 1993.

· Rhys Cain (Wikapedia) The last Herald Bard.

· Flags of the World (FOTW).

· Web sites of three Baltic Countries plus Euskadi, Catalonia, Ireland & Brittany.


Until next posting?

Hwyl Fawr!

Sian.