Witchcraft in Wales

[Ci Celli Ddu]

Well, seeing as there are as yet no threads on this particular forum, I thought I'd make a contribution with the following post:
One the best sources for Welsh Witchcraft and Witchcraft in Welsh Folklore is Marie Trevelyan's "Folk-lore and folk-stories of Wales":
A fascinating, entertaining and extremely valuable source of information. If you only read just one book about Welsh folklore it's got to be Marie Trevelyan's "Folk-lore and folk-stories of Wales". Published in 1909 and based on considerable research and documentation undertaken by her father and extensively added to by the author herself from interviews with many people throughout Wales during the latter part of the 19th century.
source: Folklore and folk stories of Wales (http://vwales.co.uk/Folklore/trevelyan/trevfolklore.htm)

Witches: Their Rendezvous and Revels (http://vwales.co.uk/Folklore/trevelyan/welshfolklore/chapt16.htm)
The Devil and his Doings in Wales (http://vwales.co.uk/Folklore/trevelyan/welshfolklore/chapt12.htm)

Further links found at Folklore and folk stories of Wales (http://vwales.co.uk/Folklore/trevelyan/trevfolklore.htm) are:

Hounds of the Underworld and Others
Trees, Birds and Water-Fowl
Death: Its Omens and Personifications
The Sea, Lakes, Rivers and Wells
Water-Horses and Spirits of the Mists
Wind and Weather
Dragons, Serpents and Snakes
Charms, Pentacles and Spells
Transformations and Transmigration
Fires and Fire Festivals
Animals, Birds of Prey and Insects
Stones and Caverns
Corpse-Candles; Phantom Funerals
Days and Months
Colour-lore and Old-Time Remedies
The Heavens and Earth
Plants, Herbs and Flowers
Secret Hoards and Treasure
Weird Ladies and Their Work
Births, Weddings and Funerals
The Leasing

Also: Welsh Fairy Stories (http://vwales.co.uk/Folklore/fairystories.htm)

[m1thr0s]

Wow...long article!
When copying these to the boards, please take the time to break up paragraphs so it's not so intimidating to read. I tried to do that for you but this thing is really long. Also bullet items that might need it etc...it really helps...I couldn't get to it all in this case...most of it. If you get a chance you might clean up the rest. (alt+0149 is the bullet I used in this case).

Also...we need copied articles to include a working link to where they originated if it is pulled from the web (or cite the source if not). We need to make sure the material is not copyrighted or else it will be better to run a few key extrapolations and post the link for the rest.

Finally, your Welsh Fairy Stories link isn't working...please check the URL...

This isn't nit-picking. I want these articles to actually be read and commented upon as should you. Otherwise it's just a waste of bandwidth. I've been a prolific poster on many boards for many years and I have learned what works and what doesn't...

Thanks for the article Ci Celli Ddu...it's really interesting. Long but interesting...

m1thr0s

[Ci Celli Ddu]

Cheers m1thr0s. I've substituted the article for a link to the same article. :)

[m1thr0s]

sweet...looks great! thanks Ci Celli Ddu...

m1thr0s

[Seipiriz]

First of all, very nice thread and thank you...:)

Secondly, I would like to mention that having been this summer in the country of the Basques in the north of Spain, I have realised that there is a great similarity of their witchcraft trditions with the ones of Wales and Ireland...

The Basque parliament is placed near their sacred tree trunk, which is there from the middle ages, and all decisions made inside the parliament must be sealed with an oath on the trunk until our days!

The Basques, who also posess a similar to King Arthour story in their folklore, still use names such as Itsasu (Sea) and Irata (forest) and use a language called "euskeran" which is similar to the language of the Saxons...

[Ci Celli Ddu]

First of all, very nice thread and thank you...:)

Secondly, I would like to mention that having been this summer in the country of the Basques in the north of Spain, I have realised that there is a great similarity of their witchcraft trditions with the ones of Wales and Ireland...

The Basque parliament is placed near their sacred tree trunk, which is there from the middle ages, and all decisions made inside the parliament must be sealed with an oath on the trunk until our days!

The Basques, who also posess a similar to King Arthour story in their folklore, still use names such as Itsasu (Sea) and Irata (forest) and use a language called "euskeran" which is similar to the language of the Saxons...

actually euskara resembles no language on earth, and is the only indigenous stone age language to survive the arrival of the Indo-Europeans in Europe. I often visit Euskal Herria and have many friends there. Itsasoa (sea) is a common girls name, and I remember on my first visit in 1995 going out in Bermeo one night and being introduced to five Itsasoas. I was wandering why my friends kept introducing me to this Itsasoa but on meeting the fifth one, who was a redhead and not a brunette as the others had been, I realised that each Itsasoa had been a different one. Hey, the bars were dark and we were drinking...

[Kuroyagi]

Thanks for all the info!

Good fortune to you! :)