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Welsh-language literature has been produced continuously since the emergence of Welsh from Brythonic as a distinct language c. 5th century AD. The earliest Welsh literature (''llenyddiaeth Gymraeg'') was poetry, which was extremely intricate in form from its earliest known examples, a tradition sustained today. Poetry was followed by the first British prose literature in the 11th century (such as that contained in the Mabinogion). Welsh language literature has repeatedly played a major part in the self-assertion of Wales and the Welsh peoples. It continues to be held in the highest prestige, as evidenced by the massive National Eisteddfod of Wales (''Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Cymru''), the largest arts festival in Europe, which crowns its chosen literary winners in dignified ceremony. ==Middle Ages== (詳細はNorman influence and challenge disrupted Welsh cultures, and the language developed into Middle Welsh. The next period is the Poets of the Princes, when Welsh rulers fought each other and the English in shifting alliances. The first prose literature of Wales was compiled in the 11th century. The next stage was the Poets of the Nobility. The earliest praise poetry to survive is by the poets Taliesin and Aneirin. Praise poetry was powerful propaganda, inspiring loyalty and courage from the ''teulu'', the warband or retinue of a king, prince or lord. It spread his fame, and that of named warriors, as widely as possible, creating a kind of immortality and glory. The art was so valued that the ''beirdd'' (bards) had their liberal rights set out in native Welsh law. The highest levels of the poetic art in Welsh are intensely intricate. The bards were extremely organised and professional, with a structured training which lasted many years. As a class, they proved very adaptable: when the princely dynasties ended in 1282, and Welsh principalities were annexed by England, they found necessary patronage with the next social level, the ''uchelwyr'', the landed gentry. The shift led creatively to innovation – the development of the ''cywydd'' metre, with looser forms of structure. The professionalism of the poetic tradition was sustained by a guild of poets, or Order of bards, with its own "rule book". This "rule book" emphasised their professional status, and the making of poetry as a craft. An apprenticeship of nine years was required for a poet to be fully qualified. The rules also set out the payment a poet could expect for his work – these payments varied according to how long a poet had been in training and also the demand for poetry at particular times during the year. There were also ''cyfarwyddiaid'' (sing. ''cyfarwydd''), storytellers. These were also professional, paid artists; but, unlike the poets, they seem to have remained anonymous. It is not clear whether these storytellers were a wholly separate, popular level class, or whether some of the bards practised storytelling as part of their repertoire. Little of this prose work has survived, but even so it provides the earliest British prose literature. These native Welsh tales and some hybrids with French/Norman influence form a collection known in modern times as the Mabinogion. The name became established in the 19th century but is based on a linguistic mistake (a more original name is ''Mabinogi''). Welsh literature in the Middle Ages also included a substantial body of laws, genealogies, religious and mythical texts, histories, medical and gnomic lore, and practical works, in addition to literature translated from other languages such as Latin, Breton or French. Besides prose and longer poetry, the literature includes the distinctive ''Trioedd'', Welsh Triads, short lists usually of three items, apparently used as aids to memory. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Welsh-language literature」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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