Bards have been crucial to the culture of Wales for millenia. I would hardly be the first to recognize that the Welsh, as a people, have an affinity for music. Anyone who has heard a stadium full of football supporters singing the Welsh national anthem with full harmonies can see that. What might be less well-known is that the history of Welsh music dates back to the middle ages and beyond, as evidenced not only by the poems and songs left to us by bards throughout the ages, but by the Welsh language itself. In fact, the English word bard is derived from the Welsh word bardd. The tradition of a bardic class can be traced to Celtic times when no distinct line was drawn between a druid and a bard. Upon the advent of Christianity, however, the role of Read more…