Heledd ferch Cyndrwyn was a mid-seventh-century princess of the Kingdom of Powys. She was the first major female character named in Welsh literature. She was the brother of Cynddylan and the narrator in the Canu Heledd poems.[1][2][3][4]
Heledd ferch Cyndrwyn | |
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| Born | |
| Parent(s) |
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| Family | Cynddylan |
She was the only survivor of an attack by an English group, possibly Mercians, on the Pengwern royal family. The Canu Heledd poems are a eulogy to her brother's death and a lament to the devastation of their kingdom.[1][5][6]
The name 'Heledd' means a saline pool or estuary.[2] It is one of the oldest Welsh-language names.[4]
References
edit- 1 2 Matthew, H. C. G.; Harrison, B., eds. (2004-09-23), "The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography", The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford: Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/51395, retrieved 2026-06-12
- 1 2 Koch, John T. (ed.). Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia. Vol. I. ABC CLIO. p. 900. ISBN 1-85109-440-7.
- ↑ Bartrum, Peter C. (1993). A Welsh classical dictionary: people in history and legend up to about A.D. 1000 (PDF). Aberystwyth: National Library of Wales. p. 411. ISBN 978-0-907158-73-8.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - 1 2 "Yr enwau unigryw ar blant Cymru yn 2020". BBC Cymru Fyw (in Welsh). 2021-11-08. Retrieved 2026-06-12.
- ↑ Wall, Martin (2014-02-03). "The Lost Monastery of Ismere and other Mercian mysteries". West Midlands History.
- ↑ Bray, Dorothy Ann (1995-01-01). "A woman's loss and lamentation: Heledd's song and The Wife's Lament". Neophilologus. 79 (1): 147–154. doi:10.1007/BF00999569. ISSN 1572-8668.