How to use this Page

Tweet

By Chris Williams

 
Friedrich Engels once dismissed the Welsh, amongst others, as a ‘non-historic’ people, destined to be absorbed into the grander story of the English nation-state. Much of the subsequent history of Wales has proven him wrong, at least on that point, but carving out a distinct niche for the written history has always been a challenge.

Welsh historians have traditionally hovered between either going their own way (we’ve had a respectable journal—The Welsh History Review—for more than half a century, and a monograph series—Studies in Welsh History—for over thirty years) and running the risk of ghettoization, or trying to gain an audience for their work in British or European contexts and occasionally being patronized as ‘parochial’.

Historical biography has presented similar difficulties. To many Welsh scholars the original, Victorian edition of the Dictionary of National Biography reeked of the English establishment, and given that most were either socialists or Welsh nationalists (or both) this was not something to be welcomed.

The rival Bywgraffiadur Cymreig/Dictionary of Welsh Biography (first published in 1953) was a never fully satisfactory alternative—only once being brought up to date (from 1940 to 1970, in 2001). Its great strengths were its entries on male preachers and littérateurs. Women, trade unionists, even businessmen, were few and far between. Aneurin Bevan is alleged to have stated that ‘biography is fiction’ and, allegedly or not, many agreed with him.

More recently, however, the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography  has been offering biographers manqués opportunities to refine their craft, and has aimed to broaden the remit of the old DNB, not least through embracing the explosion of interest in social and gender history.

The latest Oxford DNB update looks to Wales with the addition of new entries on 45 men and women who’ve shaped modern Welsh history, and who join more than 3200 others already in the dictionary with a close association with Wales. As an advisory editor for this update I was excited to help frame the selection of these 45 individuals and fascinated to discuss, with ODNB staff and my fellow adviser Professor Gareth Williams (no relation—there are a lot of us Williamses) who should (or should not) go in to the new edition. It was a horizon-expanding experience—I guess a good dozen of those who have been included were people I was but dimly aware of, if at all.

I wrote two entries myself, on the cartoonist J. M. Staniforth (1863-1921) and on the military hero, landowner, and politician Godfrey Charles Morgan, Viscount Tredegar (1831-1913). In the process I discovered a connection between the two—Staniforth had illustrated a volume on The Wit and Wisdom of Lord Tredegar (the Encyclopedia of Wales suggests, rather unfairly, that this proved Tredegar ‘was not over-endowed with either’).

But much of my role consisted of reading and reviewing the entries supplied by others. In doing that it became evident that the picture of Welsh society being prosopographically generated was much more varied than the conventional stereotypes of politicians, Nonconformists, and rugby heroes.

Politicians there are, of course, but the archetypal career trajectory of Ness Edwards (1897-1968: miner, trade union leader, Labour MP, and minister under Clement Attlee) can be counterbalanced

The Hay Festival of Arts and Literature is one of the highlights of the UK literary calendar. Every year it takes place in Hay on Wye, a small village on the English-Welsh border, famed for its numerous bookshops. This year sees events from lots of big names including  AC Grayling, Niall Ferguson, Ian McEwan, and Karen Armstrong. Several OUP authors are also doing events during the festival, including Anthony Julius, Ian Glynn, Robin Hanbury-Tenison, and Jerry Coyne.

OUP UK’s Head of Publicity, Kate Farquhar-Thomson, is also there, and this week will be sending her dispatches from the festival front line. Today, though, she writes about the other side of Hay.

It would be easy to make a list of the stars that I have spotted here at the Hay Festival since I arrived, or indeed the past colleagues I have worked with, but actually what strikes me more, on this visit, is what is going on outside the boundaries of the festival.

The fact is that whilst tens of thousands of people descend on this small Welsh border town for a week (or so) to mingle with politicians, models (oh yes, Jerry Hall was here!), historians, novelists and more, life around the UK’s premier ‘Book Town’ still goes on.  I see tractors going about their farm business, sheep lambing and hay being made.  However it is not only hay that is being made in Hay by the indigenous population.  There are numerous little stalls of bric-a-brac, tea shops, cake stalls and plant sellers that have sprung up in gardens, on pavements, under tents and in driveways.  The whole town embraces the festival and is keen to capitalise on it!  Good for them I say.  It happens but once a year and it is truly special.  It is like the circus is in town… all encompassing but transient.

Some of Hay on Wye’s native residents.

Talking of circuses there is actually one in town in the grounds of Hay Castle this year.  Giffords Circus, normally to be found every other year in a field just over the Hay Bridge has bedded down in the town centre this year.  Within the castle, which was built in 1200, is a flat owned by Richard Booth, the self-proclaimed “King of Hay” whose eponymous bookshop stands at the centre of Hay and was the first second-hand bookshop to open here well over 40 years ago.  And for the first time since I have been coming to Hay I actually met the man himself last Saturday night!

Today, 16 September, in 1400, Owain Glyndwr, was proclaimed Prince of Wales. He was the last truly Welsh-born Prince of Wales...

Here's part 1 of a great BBC documentary about this hero. An intellectual, cultured, Prince who reluctantly led his countrymen to war against England in the 15th century and came so close to achieving a remarkable transformation of his country.



Makes a girl extra proud of her Welsh ancestry.

But what I want to know is... why is he so NOT well known? When we've all heard of the famous Scot, William Wallace (Brave Heart)...? This guy seems to me to be just as heroic, if not more ...

Look! it's in Welsh!

and ..







Welsh, Korean, Croatian, Norwegian, Finnish, German, Danish Tiny Bears!

Recently I wrote a post in which I lamented loudly that there is no such thing in this world as an action movie starring black kids. There isn't. Not one. Zippo. Zero. Zilch. And I said that it would make beautiful sense to turn The Ear, the Eye and the Arm into a film. But what could any of us have done about such a thing? Well this reader had an idea, and it's a damn fine one at that. Check it out.

My kids and I LOOOOVED that book, just loved it. It really does have all the elements of a great feature film. So, I thought: heck, who in Hollywood has power and would want to make a great fantasy/sci fi movie that starred black people in a positive light? Who has kids who'd love the book? Who could star in the movie itself?

Will Smith!!!!!!!

I tracked down his production company, found his VP of development, had my kids write letters to the VP, wrote one myself, threw in our battered and beloved copy and popped it into the mail.