Plaid Cymru (Welsh pronunciation: [ˈplaɪd ˈkəmrɨ], English: The Party of Wales; often referred to simply as Plaid) is a political party in Wales. It advocates the establishment of an independent Welsh state.^[3]

Plaid Cymru was formed in 1925 and won its first seat in 1966. Plaid Cymru by 2012 had 1 of 4 Welsh seats in the European Parliament, 3 of 40 Welsh seats in the Parliament of the United Kingdom, 11 of 60 seats in the National Assembly for Wales, and 206 of 1,264 principal local authority councillors.^[2]

Platform[link]

Plaid Cymru's goals as set out in its constitution are:

1. To promote the constitutional advancement of Wales with a view to attaining independence within the European Union;
2. To ensure economic prosperity, social justice and the health of the natural environment, based on decentralist socialism;
3. To build a national community based on equal citizenship, respect for different traditions and cultures and the equal worth of all individuals, whatever their race, nationality, gender, colour, creed, sexuality, age, ability or social background;
4. To create a bilingual society by promoting the revival of the Welsh language;
5. To promote Wales's contribution to the global community and to attain membership of the United Nations.

In September 2008, a senior Plaid Cymru assembly member spelled out her party's continuing support for an independent Wales. The Welsh Minister for Rural Affairs, Elin Jones, kicked off Plaid's annual conference by pledging to uphold the goal of making Wales a European Union member state. She told the delegates in Aberystwyth that the party would continue its commitment to independence under the coalition with Labour.^[4]

History[link]

Beginnings[link]

Plaid Cymru Founding Plaque - geograph.org.uk - 644944

While both the Labour and Liberal parties of the early 20th century had accommodated demands for Welsh home rule, no political party existed for the purpose of establishing a Welsh government. Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru (English: National Party of Wales) was formed on 5 August 1925, by Moses Gruffydd, Fred Jones and Lewis Valentine, members of Byddin Ymreolwyr Cymru (Home Rule Army of Wales; literally, Self-Rulers' Army of Wales); and H. R. Jones, Saunders Lewis and David John Williams of Y Mudiad Cymreig (The Welsh Movement).^[5] Initially, home rule for Wales was not an explicit aim of the new movement; keeping Wales Welsh-speaking took primacy, with the aim of making Welsh the only official language of Wales.^[6]

In the general election of 1929 the party contested its first parliamentary constituency, Caernarvonshire, polling 609 votes, or 1.6% of the vote for that seat. The party contested few such elections in its early years, partly due to its ambivalence towards Westminster politics. Indeed the candidate Lewis Valentine, the party’s first president, offered himself in Caernarvonshire on a platform of demonstrating Welsh people's rejection of English dominion.^[7]

1930s[link]

By 1932 the aims of self-government and Welsh representation at the League of Nations had been added to that of preserving Welsh language and culture. However this move, and the party's early attempts to develop an economic critique, did not broaden its appeal beyond that of an intellectual and socially conservative Welsh language pressure group.^[8] The alleged sympathy the party's leading members (including President Saunders Lewis) towards Europe's totalitarian regimes compromised its early appeal further.^[9]

In 1936 Lewis, David John Williams and Lewis Valentine attacked and set fire to the newly constructed RAF Penyberth air base on the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd in protest at its siting in the Welsh-speaking heartland. The leaders' treatment, including the trial judge's dismissal of the use of Welsh and their subsequent imprisonment in Wormwood Scrubs, led to "The Three" becoming a cause célèbre. This heightened the profile of the party dramatically and its membership had doubled to nearly 2,000 by 1939.^[6][10]

1940s[link]

Penyberth, and Plaid Cymru’s neutral stance during the Second World War, prompted concerns within the UK Government that it might be used by Germany to insert spies or carry out other covert operations.^[11] In fact, the party adopted a neutral standpoint and urged (with only limited success) conscientious objection to war service.^[12]

In 1943 Saunders Lewis contested the University of Wales parliamentary seat at a by-election, gaining 1,330 votes, or 22%. In the 1945 general election, with party membership at around 2,500, Plaid Cymru contested 7 seats, as many as it had in the preceding 20 years, including constituencies in south Wales for the first time. At this time Gwynfor Evans was elected president.

1950s[link]

1959 election in Merioneth

Gwynfor Evans' presidency coincided with the maturation of Plaid Cymru (as it now began to refer to itself) into a more recognisable political party. Its share of the vote increased from 0.7% in the 1951 general election to 3.1% in 1955 and 5.2% in 1959. In the 1959 election, the party contested a majority of Welsh seats for the first time. Proposals to drown the village of Capel Celyn in the Tryweryn valley in Gwynedd in 1957 to supply the city of Liverpool with water played a part in Plaid Cymru's growth. The fact that the parliamentary bill authorising the drowning went through without support from any Welsh MPs showed that the MPs' votes in Westminster were not enough to prevent such bills from passing.^[13]

1960s[link]

Support for the party declined slightly in the early 1960s, particularly as support for the Liberal Party began to stabilise from its long-term decline. In 1962 Saunders Lewis gave a radio talk entitled Tynged yr Iaith (The fate of the language) in which he predicted the extinction of the Welsh language unless action was taken. This led to the formation of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg (the Welsh Language Society) the same year.^[14]

Labour's return to power in 1964 and the creation of the post of Secretary of State for Wales appeared to represent a continuation of the incremental evolution of a distinctive Welsh polity, following the Conservative government's appointment of a Minister of Welsh Affairs in the mid-1950s and the establishment of Cardiff as Wales's capital in 1955.

However in 1966, less than four months after coming third in the constituency of Carmarthen, Gwynfor Evans sensationally captured the seat from Labour at a by-election. This was followed by two further by-elections in Rhondda West in 1967 and Caerphilly in 1968 in which the party achieved massive swings of 30% and 40% respectively, coming within a whisker of victory. The results were caused partly by an anti-Labour backlash. Expectations in coal mining communities that the Wilson government would halt the long-term decline in their industry had been dashed by a significant downward revision of coal production estimates.^[15] However — in Carmarthen particularly — Plaid Cymru also successfully depicted Labour's policies as a threat to the viability of small Welsh communities.^[16]

1970s[link]

In the 1970 general election Plaid Cymru contested every seat in Wales for the first time and its vote share surged from 4.5% in 1966 to 11.5%. Gwynfor Evans lost Carmarthen to Labour, but regained the seat in October 1974, by which time the party had gained a further two MPs, representing the constituencies of Caernarfon and Merionethshire.

Plaid Cymru's emergence (along with the Scottish National Party) prompted the Wilson government to establish the Kilbrandon Commission on the constitution. The subsequent proposals for a Welsh Assembly were, however, heavily defeated in a referendum in 1979. Despite Plaid Cymru's ambivalence toward home rule (as opposed to outright independence) the referendum result led many in the party to question its direction.^[7]

At the 1979 general election the party's vote share declined from 10.8% to 8.1% and Carmarthen was again lost to Labour.

1980s[link]

Caernarfon MP Dafydd Wigley succeeded Gwynfor Evans as president in 1981, inheriting a party whose morale was at an all-time low. In 1981 the party adopted "community socialism" as a constitutional aim. While the party embarked on a wide-ranging review of its priorities and goals, Gwynfor Evans fought a successful campaign (including the threat of a hunger strike) to oblige the Conservative government to fulfill its promise to establish S4C, a Welsh-language television station.^[17] In 1984 Dafydd Elis-Thomas was elected president, defeating Dafydd Iwan, a move that saw the party shift to the left. Ieuan Wyn Jones (later Plaid Cymru leader) captured Ynys Môn from the Conservatives in 1987. In 1989 Dafydd Wigley once again assumed the presidency of the party.

1990s[link]

In the 1992 general election the party added a fourth MP, Cynog Dafis, when he gained Ceredigion and Pembroke North from the Liberal Democrats. Dafis was endorsed by the local branch of the Green Party. The party's vote share recovered to 9.9% by the 1997 general election.

In 1997, following the election of a Labour government committed to devolution for Wales, a further referendum was narrowly won, establishing the National Assembly for Wales. Plaid Cymru became the main opposition to the ruling Labour Party, with 17 seats to Labour's 28. In doing so, it appeared to have broken out of its rural Welsh-speaking heartland, and captured traditionally strong Labour areas in industrial south Wales.

Plaid Cymru in the Assembly era[link]

First Welsh Assembly, 1999–2003[link]

In the 1999 election Plaid Cymru gained seats in traditional Labour areas such as Rhondda, Islwyn and Llanelli, achieving by far its highest share of the vote in any Wales-wide election. While Plaid Cymru regarded itself as the natural beneficiary of devolution, others attributed its performance in large part to the travails of the Labour Party^[who?], whose nomination for Assembly First Secretary, Ron Davies, was forced to stand down in an alleged sex scandal. The ensuing leadership battle, won by Alun Michael, did much to damage Labour, and thus aided Plaid Cymru, whose leader was the more popular and higher profile Dafydd Wigley. The Labour Party's UK national leadership was seen to interfere in the contest and deny the popular Rhodri Morgan victory.^[18] Less than two months later, in elections to the European parliament, Labour support slumped further, and Plaid Cymru came within 2.5% of achieving the largest share of the vote in Wales. Under the new system of proportional representation, the party also gained two MEPs.

Plaid Cymru then developed political problems of its own. Dafydd Wigley resigned, citing health problems but amid rumours of a plot against him.^[19] His successor, Ieuan Wyn Jones, struggled to impose his authority, particularly over controversial remarks made by a senior councillor, Seimon Glyn.^[20] At the same time, Labour leader and First Minister Alun Michael was replaced by Rhodri Morgan.

In the 2001 general election, Plaid Cymru lost Wyn Jones's former seat of Ynys Môn to Albert Owen, but gained Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, where Adam Price was elected. Notwithstanding these mixed results, the party recorded its highest-ever vote share in a general election, 14.3%.

Second Welsh Assembly, 2003–07[link]

The Assembly elections of May 2003 saw the party's representation drop from 17 to 12, with the gains of the 1999 election falling again to Labour and the party's share of the vote declining to 21%. Plaid Cymru narrowly remained the second-largest party in the National Assembly ahead of the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Forward Wales.

On 15 September 2003 folk-singer and county councillor Dafydd Iwan was elected as Plaid Cymru's president. Ieuan Wyn Jones, who had resigned from his dual role as president and Assembly group leader following the losses in the 2003 Assembly election, was re-elected in the latter role. Elfyn Llwyd remained the Plaid Cymru leader in the Westminster Parliament. Under Iwan's presidency the party formally adopted a policy of independence for Wales in Europe.

The 2004 local election saw the party lose control of the two south Wales councils it gained in 1999, Rhondda Cynon Taff and Caerphilly, while retaining its stronghold of Gwynedd in the north-west. However, the results led the party to claim a greater number of ethnic minority councillors than all the other political parties in Wales combined,^[21] along with gains in authorities such as Cardiff and Swansea, where Plaid Cymru representation had been minimal. In the European Parliament elections of the same year, the party's vote share fell to 17.4%, and the reduction in the number of Welsh MEPs saw its representation reduced to one.

Old logo (above) and new logo (below)

In the general election of 5 May 2005, Plaid Cymru lost the Ceredigion seat to the Liberal Democrats, the result was a disappointment to Plaid, who had hoped to gain Ynys Môn. Overall therefore, the party's Parliamentary representation fell to three seats, the lowest level for Plaid Cymru since 1992. The party's share of the vote fell to 12.6%.^[22]

In 2006, the party voted constitutional changes to formally designate the party's leader in the assembly as its overall leader, with Ieuan Wyn Jones being restored to the full leadership and Dafydd Iwan becoming head of the voluntary wing of the party. 2006 also saw the party unveil a radical change of image, opting to use "Plaid" as the party's name, although "Plaid Cymru — The Party of Wales" would remain the official title. The party's colours were changed to yellow from the traditional green and red, while the party logo was changed from the 'triban' (three peaks) used since 1933 to a yellow Welsh poppy (Meconopsis cambrica).

Third Welsh Assembly, 2007–11[link]

In the Welsh Assembly election of 3 May 2007, Plaid Cymru increased its number of seats from 12 to 15, regaining Llanelli, gaining one additional list seat and winning the newly created constituency of Aberconwy. The 2007 election also saw Plaid Cymru's Mohammad Asghar become the first ethnic minority candidate elected to the Welsh Assembly.^[23] The party's share of the vote increased to 22.4%.

After weeks of negotiations involving all four parties in the Assembly, Plaid Cymru and Labour agreed to form a coalition government. Their agreed "One Wales" programme included a commitment for both parties to campaign for a 'Yes' vote in a referendum on full law-making powers for the Assembly, to be held at a time of the Welsh Assembly Government's choosing.^[24] Ieuan Wyn Jones was subsequently confirmed as Deputy First Minister of Wales^[25] and Minister for the Economy and Transport. Rhodri Glyn Thomas was appointed Heritage Minister. He later stood down, and Alun Ffred Jones took over. Ceredigion AM Elin Jones appointed to the Rural Affairs brief in the new 10-member cabinet. Jocelyn Davies became Deputy Minister for Housing, and later, Regeneration.

In the 2010 general election, Plaid returned three MPs to Westminster. They took part in the Yes for Wales cross-party campaign for the March 2011 referendum.

Fourth Assembly, 2011–[link]

In the 2011 Assembly election Plaid slipped from 2nd place to third, being overtaken by the Conservative Party and losing its deputy leader Helen Mary Jones. The party has since begun an inquiry into the reasons for the failure to capitalise on its time in government.^[26] In May 2011, Ieuan Wyn Jones announced that he will stand down as leader within the first half of the Assembly term.^[27] A new leader was to be elected on 15 March 2012, a week before the party's spring conference.^[28]

Following the election, an internal investigation suggested a solution to the party's reduced performance might be found in changing its official name to the English-language "Welsh National Party"^{[29] [30]}. In 2012, Plaid Cymru elected Leanne Wood as the new leader. She is the first female, and the first non-fluent Welsh speaker.^[31][32]

Party leadership[link]

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	Name and Portrait	Party Office	Constituency (if any)	Notes
1	Leanne Wood Leanne Wood	Party Leader since 2012 and Welsh Assembly Group Leader	South Wales Central
2	Dafydd Wigley	Honorary Party President From 2001		Former Party President
3	Jill Evans	President From 2010	MEP for Wales	Member of the European Parliament
4	90px Elfyn Llwyd	UK Parliament Group Leader	MP Dwyfor Meirionnydd
5	90px Rhuanedd Richards	Chief Executive		Appointed June 2011 [33]

Elected representatives[link]

UK Parliament[link]

• Jonathan Edwards, MP for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr
• Elfyn Llwyd, MP for Dwyfor Meirionnydd
• Hywel Williams, MP for Arfon

European Parliament[link]

• Jillian Evans, MEP for Wales

Welsh Assembly[link]

• Jocelyn Davies, AM for South Wales East electoral region
• Dafydd Elis-Thomas, AM for Dwyfor Meirionnydd
• Llyr Huws Gruffydd, AM for North Wales electoral region
• Bethan Jenkins, AM for South Wales West electoral region
• Alun Ffred Jones, AM for Arfon
• Elin Jones, AM for Ceredigion
• Ieuan Wyn Jones, AM for Ynys Môn
• Rhodri Glyn Thomas, AM for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr
• Simon Thomas, AM for Mid and West Wales electoral region
• Lindsay Whittle, AM for South Wales East electoral region
• Leanne Wood, AM for South Wales Central electoral region

Local councillors[link]

• 206 councillors in local government elected in 2008. They form the Plaid Cymru Councillors Association.

Electoral performance[link]

European Parliament elections[link]

UK general elections[link]

• Six seats contested on a joint Plaid Cymru/Green Party ticket

Welsh Assembly elections[link]

European Free Alliance[link]

Name and Portrait	Party Office	Constituency (if any)	Notes
	EU Parliament Group Leader	Wales in the EU

Plaid retains close links with the Scottish National Party, with both parties' MPs co-operating closely with one another. They work as a single group within Westminster, and were involved in joint campaigning during the 2005 general election campaign. Both Plaid and the SNP are part of the European Free Alliance party in the European Parliament, a nationalist and regionalist bloc of parties. The EFA works with the European Green Party in order to form a joint group in the European Parliament: the The Greens–European Free Alliance.

See also[link]

• History of Plaid Cymru
• Politics of Wales
• Lists of Plaid Cymru politicians

References[link]

External links[link]

Listen to this article (info/dl)

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v t e Plaid Cymru   Leadership Leader Ieuan Wyn Jones (2006–2012) · Leanne Wood (2012-present) Assembly Group Leader (party leader since 2006) Dafydd Wigley (1999–2000) · Ieuan Wyn Jones (2000–2012) · Leanne Wood (2012-present) Presidents (Party leader pre-2003) Lewis Valentine (1925–1926) · Saunders Lewis (1926–1939) · John Edward Daniel (1939–1943) · Abi Williams (1943–1945) · Gwynfor Evans (1945–1981) · Dafydd Wigley (1981–1984) · Dafydd Elis-Thomas (1984–1991) · Dafydd Wigley (1991–2000) · Ieuan Wyn Jones (2000–2003) · Dafydd Iwan (2003–2010) · Jillian Evans (2010–present) Chair (chief executive) Phil Williams (1970–1976) · Ieuan Wyn Jones (1980–1982) Dafydd Iwan (1982–1984) · Syd Morgan (1984–1990) · Ieuan Wyn Jones (1990–1992) · John Dixon (1992–1994) · Jillian Evans (1994–1996) · Marc Phillips (1996–2000) · Elin Jones (2000–2002) · John Dixon (2002–2010) · Gwenllian Lansdown (2010–2011) · Rhuanedd Richards (2011–2012) · Helen Mary Jones (2012-present) Honorary President Dafydd Wigley (2001–present)   Parliamentarians Members of the Welsh Assembly Davies · Elis-Thomas · Evans · Franks · Jenkins · A. F. Jones · E Jones · G Jones · H. M. Jones · I. W. Jones · Lloyd · Ryder · Thomas · Wood Members of the European Parliament Eurig Wyn (1999–2004) · Former Eurig Wyn (1999–2004) Current Jillian Evans (1999-)   History of Plaid Cymru Founders Byddin Ymreolwyr Cymru (The Welsh Home Rule Army) Moses Gruffydd · Fred Jones · Lewis Valentine Y Mudiad Cymreig (The Welsh Movement) H.R. Jones · Saunders Lewis · David John Williams Other co-founders David James Davies (formerly Labour) · Ambrose Bebb Related organisations Cymru X Category · Website

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Wales Cymru[nb 1]
Flag
Motto: Cymru am byth (English: Wales for ever)
Anthem: Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau (English: Land of my fathers)
Location of  Wales  (dark green) – in the European continent  (light green & dark grey) – in the United Kingdom  (light green)
Capital (and largest city)		Cardiff (Caerdydd) 51°29′N 3°11′W / 51.483°N 3.183°W / 51.483; -3.183
Official languages		Welsh, English
Demonym		Welsh (Cymry)
Government		Devolved Government in a Constitutional monarchy
-	Monarch	Elizabeth II
-	First Minister	Carwyn Jones AM
-	Prime Minister of the United Kingdom	David Cameron MP
-	Secretary of State (in the UK government)	Cheryl Gillan MP
Legislature		UK Parliament and National Assembly for Wales
Unification
-	by Gruffydd ap Llywelyn[1]	1057
Area
-	Total	20,779 km2  8,022 sq mi
Population
-	mid 2010 estimate	3,006,400
-	2001 census	2,903,085
-	Density	140/km2  361/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2006 (for national statistics) estimate
-	Total	US$85.4 billion
-	Per capita	US$30,546
Currency		Pound sterling (GBP)
Time zone		GMT (UTC0)
-	Summer (DST)	BST (UTC+1)
Date formats		dd/mm/yyyy (AD or CE)
Drives on the		left
ISO 3166 code		GB
Internet TLD		.uk[nb 2]
Calling code		44
Patron saint		Saint David, Dewi Sant

Wales ⁱ/ˈweɪlz/ (Welsh: Cymru;^[2] Welsh pronunciation: [ˈkəm.rɨ] ( listen)) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain,^[3] bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km² (8,023 sq mi). Wales has over 1,200 km (750 mi) of coastline, including its offshore islands; the largest, Anglesey (Ynys Môn), is also the largest island in the Irish Sea. Wales is largely mountainous, with its highest peaks in the north and central areas, especially in Snowdonia (Eryri), which contains Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa), its highest summit.

During the Iron Age and early medieval period, Wales was inhabited by the Celtic Britons. A distinct Welsh national identity emerged in the centuries after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century, and Wales is regarded as one of the modern Celtic nations today. Gruffydd ap Llywelyn was recognised as King of Wales in 1057. Llywelyn ap Gruffydd's death in 1282 marked the completion of Edward I of England's conquest of Wales. The castles and town walls erected to ensure its permanence are now UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Owain Glyndŵr briefly restored independence to what was to become modern Wales, in the early 15th century. Wales was subsequently annexed by England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542 since when, excluding those matters now devolved to Wales, English law has been the legal system of Wales and England. Distinctive Welsh politics developed in the 19th century. Welsh Liberalism, exemplified in the early 20th century by Lloyd George, was displaced by the growth of socialism and the Labour Party. Welsh national feeling grew over the century; Plaid Cymru was formed in 1925 and The Welsh Language Society in 1962. The National Assembly for Wales, created in 1999 following a referendum, holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters.

Wales lies within the north temperate zone, its changeable, maritime climate making it one of the wettest countries in Europe. It was an agricultural society for most of its early history, the country's terrain making arable farming secondary to pastoral farming, the primary source of Wales' wealth. In the 18th century, the introduction of the slate and metallurgical industries, at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, began to transform the country into an industrial nation; the UNESCO World Heritage Sites Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and the Blaenavon Industrial Landscape date from that period. The south Wales coalfield's exploitation in the Victorian era caused a rapid expansion of the Welsh population. Two-thirds of Wales' three million population live in south Wales, mainly in and around the cities of Cardiff, Swansea and Newport, and in the nearby valleys. Another concentration live in eastern north Wales. Cardiff, Wales' capital, is the country's most populous city, with 317,500 residents, and for a period was the biggest coal port in the world. Today, with the country's traditional heavy industries (coal, steel, copper, tinplate and slate) either gone or in decline, Wales' economy depends on the public sector, light and service industries, and tourism.

Although Wales shares a close political and social history with the rest of Great Britain, it has retained a distinct cultural identity. Wales is officially bilingual, the Welsh and English languages having equal status. The Welsh language is an important element of Welsh culture, and its use is supported by national policy. Over 580,000 Welsh speakers live in Wales, more than 20% of the population. From the late 19th century onwards, Wales acquired its popular image as the "land of song", attributable in part to the revival of the eisteddfod tradition. At international sporting events, such as the FIFA World Cup, Rugby World Cup and the Commonwealth Games, Wales is represented by national teams regulated and organised by over fifty national governing bodies of sports in Wales. At the Olympic Games, Welsh athletes compete as part of a Great Britain team. Although association football has traditionally been the more popular sport in north Wales, rugby union is seen as a symbol of Welsh identity and an expression of national consciousness.

Etymology[link]

Etymology of Wales[link]

The Anglo-Saxon word for 'foreign' or 'foreigner' was Waelisc and a 'foreign(er's) land' was called Wēalas. The modern English forms of these words with respect to the modern country are Welsh (the people) and Wales (the land), respectively.

Historically in Britain the words were not restricted to modern Wales or to the Welsh but were used indiscriminately to refer to anything that the Anglo-Saxons associated with Celtic Britons, including other foreign lands (e.g., Cornwall), places once associated with Celtic Britons (e.g., Walworth in County Durham and Walton in West Yorkshire),^[4] the surnames of people (e.g., Walsh and Wallace) and various other things that were once new and foreign to the Anglo-Saxons (e.g., the walnut). None of these historic usages is necessarily connected to Wales or the Welsh.

The Anglo-Saxon words are derived from the same Germanic root (singular Walh, plural Walha), applied to Italic and Celtic peoples and places, that has provided modern names for Continental lands (e.g., Wallonia and Wallachia)^[5] and peoples (e.g., the Vlachs via a borrowing into Old Church Slavonic),^[6][7][8] none of which has any connection to Wales or the Welsh.

Etymology of Cymru[link]

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Moliant Cadwallon

The modern Welsh name for themselves is Cymry, and Cymru is Welsh for "Land of the Cymry". The etymological origin of Cymry is from the Brythonic word combrogi, meaning "fellow-countrymen".^[9] The use of the word Cymry as a self-designation derives from the post-Roman Era relationship of the Welsh with the Brythonic-speaking peoples of northern England and southern Scotland, the peoples of "Yr Hen Ogledd" (English: The Old North). In its original use, it amounted to a self-perception that the Welsh and the "Men of the North" were one people, exclusive of all others.^[10] In particular, the term was not applied to the Cornish or the Breton peoples, who are of similar heritage, culture, and language to both the Welsh and the Men of the North. The word came into use as a self-description probably before the 7th century.^[11] It is attested in a praise poem to Cadwallon ap Cadfan ("Moliant Cadwallon", by Afan Ferddig) c. 633.^[12] In Welsh literature, the word Cymry was used throughout the Middle Ages to describe the Welsh, though the older, more generic term Brythoniaid continued to be used to describe any of the Britonnic peoples (including the Welsh) and was the more common literary term until c. 1100. Thereafter Cymry prevailed as a reference to the Welsh. Until c. 1560 Cymry was used indiscriminately to mean either the people or their homeland.^[9]

The Latinised forms of these names are Cambrian or Cambric (meaning "Welsh") and Cambria (meaning "Wales"). They survive as lesser-used alternative names for Wales, Welsh and the Welsh people. Examples include the Cambrian Mountains (which cover most of Wales), the newspaper "Cambrian News", as well as the organisations Cambrian Airways, Cambrian Railways and Cambrian Archaeological Association. Outside Wales, this form survives as the name of Cumbria in North West England, which was once a part of "Yr Hen Ogledd". This form also appears at times in literary references, perhaps most notably in the pseudohistorical "Historia Regum Britanniae" of Geoffrey of Monmouth, where the character of Camber is described as the eponymous King of Cymru.

History[link]

Prehistoric origins[link]

Bryn Celli Ddu
a late Neolithic chambered tomb on Anglesey

Wales has been inhabited by modern humans for at least 29,000 years.^[13] Continuous human habitation dates from the end of the last ice age, between 12,000 and 10,000 years before present (BP), when Mesolithic hunter-gatherers from central Europe began to migrate to Great Britain. At that time sea levels were much lower than today, and the shallower parts of what is now the North Sea were dry land. The east coast of present day England and the coasts of present day Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands were connected by the former landmass known as Doggerland, forming the British Peninsula on the European mainland. Wales was free of glaciers by about 10,250 BP, the warmer climate allowing the area to become heavily wooded. The post-glacial rise in sea level separated Wales and Ireland, forming the Irish Sea. Doggerland was submerged by the North Sea and, by 8,000 BP, the British Peninsula had become an island.^[14][15] By the beginning of the Neolithic (c. 6,000 BP) sea levels in the Bristol Channel were still about 33 feet (10 metres) lower than today.^[16][17][18] John Davies has theorised that the story of Cantre'r Gwaelod's drowning and tales in the Mabinogion, of the waters between Wales and Ireland being narrower and shallower, may be distant folk memories of this time.^[19]

Neolithic colonists integrated with the indigenous people, gradually changing their lifestyles from a nomadic life of hunting and gathering, to become settled farmers about 6,000 BP – the Neolithic Revolution.^[19][20] They cleared the forests to establish pasture and to cultivate the land, developed new technologies such as ceramics and textile production, and built cromlechs such as Pentre Ifan, Bryn Celli Ddu and Parc Cwm long cairn between about 5,500 BP and 5,800 BP.^{[21][22][23][24]} In common with people living all over Great Britain, over the following centuries the people living in what was to become known as Wales assimilated immigrants and exchanged ideas of the Bronze Age and Iron Age Celtic cultures. According to John T. Koch and others, Wales in the Late Bronze Age was part of a maritime trading-networked culture that also included the other Celtic nations, England, France, Spain and Portugal where Celtic languages developed.^{[25][26][27][28][29]} By the time of the Roman invasion of Britain the area of modern Wales had been divided among the tribes of the Deceangli, Ordovices, Cornovii, Demetae and Silures for centuries.^[19]

Roman era[link]

The Roman conquest of Wales began in AD 48 and took 30 years to complete. Roman rule lasted over 300 years. The campaigns of conquest are the most widely known feature of Wales during the Roman era, due to the spirited, but ultimately unsuccessful, defence of their homelands by two native tribes: the Silures and the Ordovices. Roman rule in Wales was a military occupation, save for the southern coastal region of South Wales, east of the Gower Peninsula, where there is a legacy of Romanisation.^[30] The only town in Wales founded by the Romans, Caerwent, is in South Wales. Both Caerwent and Carmarthen, also in southern Wales, became Roman civitates.^[31] Wales had a rich mineral wealth. The Romans used their engineering technology to extract large amounts of gold, copper and lead, as well as modest amounts of some other metals such as zinc and silver.^[32] Roman economic development was concentrated in south-eastern Britain, and no significant industries located in Wales.^[32] This was largely a matter of circumstance, as Wales had none of the necessary materials in suitable combination, and the forested, mountainous countryside was not amenable to industrialisation. Although Latin became the official language of Wales, the people tended to continue to speak in Brythonic. While Romanisation was far from complete, the upper classes of Wales began to consider themselves Roman, particularly after the ruling of 212 that granted Roman citizenship to all free men throughout the Empire.^[33] Further Roman influence came through the spread of Christianity, which gained many followers after Christians were allowed to worship freely in 313.^[33]

Coin of
Magnus Maximus

Early historians, including the 6th century cleric Gildas, have noted 383 as a significant point in Welsh history,^[34] as it is stated in literature as the foundation point of several medieval royal dynasties. In that year the Roman general Magnus Maximus, or Macsen Wledig, stripped all of western and northern Britain of troops and senior administrators, to launch a successful bid for imperial power; continuing to rule Britain from Gaul as Emperor.^[35][36] Gildas, writing in about 540, says that Maximus left Britain not only with all of its Roman troops, but also with all of its armed bands, governors, and the flower of its youth, never to return. Having left with the troops and Roman administrators, and planning to continue as the ruler of Britain in the future, his practical course was to transfer local authority to local rulers. The earliest Welsh genealogies give Maximus the role of founding father for several royal dynasties, including those of Powys and Gwent.^[37][38] It was this transfer of power that has given rise to the belief that he was the father of the Welsh Nation.^[34] He is given as the ancestor of a Welsh king on the Pillar of Eliseg, erected nearly 500 years after he left Britain, and he figures in lists of the Fifteen Tribes of Wales.^[39]

Post-Roman era[link]

Britain in AD 500: The areas shaded pink on the map were inhabited by the Celtic Britons, here labelled as Welsh. The pale blue areas in the east were controlled by Germanic tribes–the pale green areas to the north were inhabited by the Gaels and Picts.

The 400 years following the collapse of Roman rule is the most difficult to interpret in the history of Wales.^[33] After the Roman departure from Britain in 410, much of the lowlands of Britain to the east and south-east were overrun by various Germanic peoples. Before extensive studies of the distribution of R1b Y-DNA subclades, some used to maintain that native Britons were displaced by the invaders.^[40] This idea has been discarded in the face of evidence that the population has, mainly, at latest Hallstatt era origins, but probably late Neolithic, or at earliest Mesolithic origins with little contribution from Anglo-Saxon source areas.^[41] However, by 500 AD, the land that would become Wales had divided into a number of kingdoms free from Anglo-Saxon rule.^[33] The kingdoms of Gwynedd, Powys, Dyfed and Seisyllg, Morgannwg and Gwent emerged as independent Welsh successor states.^[33] Archaeological evidence, in the Low Countries and what was to become England, shows early Anglo-Saxon migration to Great Britain reversed between 500 to 550, which concurs with Frankish chronicles.^[42] John Davies notes this as consistent with the British victory at Badon Hill, attributed to Arthur by Nennius.^[42] This tenacious survival by the Romano-Britons and their descendants in the western kingdoms was to become the foundation of what we now know as Wales. With the loss of the lowlands, England's kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria, and later Wessex, wrestled with Powys, Gwent and Gwynedd to define the frontier between the two peoples.

Having lost much of what is now the West Midlands to Mercia in the 6th and early 7th centuries, a resurgent late-seventh-century Powys checked Mercian advancement. Aethelbald of Mercia, looking to defend recently acquired lands, had built Wat's Dyke. According to John Davies, this endeavour may have been with Powys king Elisedd ap Gwylog's own agreement, however, for this boundary, extending north from the valley of the River Severn to the Dee estuary, gave Oswestry to Powys.^[43] Another theory, after carbon dating placed the dyke's existence 300 years earlier, is that it may have been built by the post-Roman rulers of Wroxeter.^[44] King Offa of Mercia seems to have continued this consultative initiative when he created a larger earthwork, now known as Offa's Dyke (Clawdd Offa). Davies wrote of Cyril Fox's study of Offa's Dyke: "In the planning of it, there was a degree of consultation with the kings of Powys and Gwent. On the Long Mountain near Trelystan, the dyke veers to the east, leaving the fertile slopes in the hands of the Welsh; near Rhiwabon, it was designed to ensure that Cadell ap Brochwel retained possession of the Fortress of Penygadden." And, for Gwent, Offa had the dyke built "on the eastern crest of the gorge, clearly with the intention of recognizing that the River Wye and its traffic belonged to the kingdom of Gwent."^[43] However, Fox's interpretations of both the length and purpose of the Dyke have been questioned by more recent research.^[45] Offa's Dyke largely remained the frontier between the Welsh and English, though the Welsh would recover by the 12th century the area between the Dee (Afon Dyfrdwy), and the Conwy known then as Y Berfeddwlad. By the eighth century, the eastern borders with the Anglo-Saxons had broadly been set.

In 853 the Vikings raided Anglesey, but in 856 Rhodri Mawr defeated and killed their leader, Gorm.^[46] The Britons of Wales later made their peace with the Vikings and Anarawd ap Rhodri allied with the Norsemen occupying Northumbria to conquer the north.^[47] This alliance later broke down and Anarawd came to an agreement with Alfred, king of Wessex, with whom he fought against the west Welsh. According to Annales Cambriae, in 894, "Anarawd came with the Angles and laid waste Ceredigion and Ystrad Tywi."^[48]

Medieval Wales[link]

The southern and eastern parts of Great Britain lost to English settlement became known in Welsh as Lloegyr (Modern Welsh Lloegr), which may have referred to the kingdom of Mercia originally, and which came to refer to England as a whole.^{[nb 3]} The Germanic tribes who now dominated these lands were invariably called Saeson, meaning "Saxons". The Anglo-Saxons called the Romano-British 'Walha', meaning 'Romanised foreigner' or 'stranger'.^[49] The Welsh continued to call themselves Brythoniaid (Brythons or Britons) well into the Middle Ages, though the first written evidence of the use of Cymru and y Cymry is found in a praise poem to Cadwallon ap Cadfan (Moliant Cadwallon, by Afan Ferddig) c. 633.^[6] In Armes Prydain, believed to be written around 930–942, the words Cymry and Cymro are used as often as 15 times.^[50] However, from the Anglo-Saxon settlement onwards, the people gradually begin to adopt the name Cymry over Brythoniad.^[51]

Dolwyddelan Castle – built by Llywelyn ab Iorwerth in the early 13th century to watch over one of the valley routes into Gwynedd

From 800 onwards, a series of dynastic marriages led to Rhodri Mawr's (r. 844–77) inheritance of Gwynedd and Powys. His sons in turn would found three principal dynasties (Aberffraw for Gwynedd, Dinefwr for Deheubarth, and Mathrafal for Powys). Rhodri's grandson Hywel Dda (r. 900–50) founded Deheubarth out of his maternal and paternal inheritances of Dyfed and Seisyllwg in 930, ousted the Aberffraw dynasty from Gwynedd and Powys, and then codified Welsh law in the 940s.^[52] Maredudd ab Owain (r. 986–99) of Deheubarth (Hywel's grandson) would, (again) temporarily oust the Aberffraw line from control of Gwynedd and Powys.

Maredudd's great-grandson (through his daughter Princess Angharad) Gruffydd ap Llywelyn (r. 1039–63) would conquer his cousins' realms from his base in Powys, and even extend his authority into England. Historian John Davies states that Gruffydd was "the only Welsh king ever to rule over the entire territory of Wales... Thus, from about 1057 until his death in 1063, the whole of Wales recognised the kingship of Gruffudd ap Llywelyn. For about seven brief years, Wales was one, under one ruler, a feat with neither precedent nor successor."^[1] Owain Gwynedd (1100–70) of the Aberffraw line was the first Welsh ruler to use the title princeps Wallensium (prince of the Welsh), a title of substance given his victory on the Berwyn Mountains, according to John Davies.^[53]

Sculpture of Owain Glyndŵr (c. 1354 or 1359 – c. 1416) at Cardiff City Hall

Within four years of the Battle of Hastings England had been completely subjugated by the Normans.^[1] William I of England established a series of lordships, allocated to his most powerful warriors along the Welsh border, the boundaries fixed only to the east.^[54] This frontier region, and any English-held lordships in Wales, became known as Marchia Wallie, the Welsh Marches, in which the Marcher Lords were subject to neither English nor Welsh law.^[55] The area of the March varied as the fortunes of the Marcher Lords and the Welsh princes ebbed and flowed.^[56] The March of Wales, which existed for over 450 years, was abolished under the Acts of Union in 1536.^[55]