The song 'Yma o Hyd', written by the Welsh nationalist Dafydd Iwan in 1981.
Y gân 'Yma o Hyd' a ysgrifennwyd gan y cenedlaetholwr Cymreig, Dafydd Iwan, yn 1981.
I'll actually put the cards in the video when I get on a computer tonight :)
Card 1:
Welsh is a VSO language (verb-subject-object word order) and frequently uses periphrastic constructs.
"Mae mil a chwe chant o flynyddoedd yn amser rhy hir i'r co'" ("1600 years is a time too long for memory") is formed by:
the verb, "mae": third person present tense of 'bod' ('to be'): "is"
the subject, "mil a chwe chant o flynyddoedd": the number 1600, followed by the word 'o' ('of') causing the soft mutation in blynyddoedd ('years', singular blwyddyn): literally '1600 of years', "1600 years"
a linking particle in the present tense, "yn", literally 'in'
the predicate, "amser rhy hir i'r co'": made up of the noun 'amser' ('time'); the adverbial phrase 'rhy...i' ('too...to') and adjective 'hir' ('long'); and the noun 'y cof' ('the memory')
'i y cof' becomes 'i'r cof' for fluency (cf. English a vs an) and the soft final 'f' in cof is elided
Magnus Maximus (Welsh: Macsen Wledig) was Western Roman Emperor from 383 to his death in 388.
In 383, as commander of Britain, he usurped the throne of Emperor Gratian and was made emperor in Britannia and Gaul. In 387, Maximus' ambitions led him to invade Italy, resulting in his defeat by Theodosius I at the Battle of the Save in 388.
Legendary versions of Macsen's career, in which he marries the Welsh princess Elen, circulated in popular tradition in Welsh-speaking areas from an early date. He is given a prominent place in the earliest version of the Welsh Triads. Welsh poetry frequently refers to Macsen as a figure of comparison with later Welsh leaders.
The verb form 'wele' is the third person imperative, according to Wiktionary, which is comparable to the English structure 'Someone help'. "He left us whole and now [may he] look at us"
Card 2:
An 'east wind' is referenced as symbolism in mythology and poetry. For example: in the Book of Exodus, the east wind is summoned by Moses to bring the locusts that plague Egypt, and to part the Red Sea so that the Jews can escape the Pharaoh's armies. Several other Biblical references exist, most associating the east wind with destruction - often the destruction of the wicked by God. It's noteworthy also that England is east of Wales, so "Let the wind blow from the East" can be analysed as "Let the vastly more powerful English try to destroy us"
Card 3:
Dic Siôn Dafydd, a Welshman who despises his language and imitates the English, is a character from an 1803 poem by the Welsh-language satirical poet, Jac Glan-y-gors. He left Wales to work in London, then, claiming that he had forgotten how to speak Welsh, insisted on speaking English to his monolingual Welsh-speaking family in Wales. The poem ridicules the Welsh who turned their backs on their country and language to win the favour of the English. 'Dic Siôn Dafydd' has entered the Welsh language as a pejorative term for such a person, similarly to the black 'Uncle Tom' persona.
'old Maggie' refers to Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom between 1979 and 1990. She is described as 'one of the most divisive figures in British politics,' not least where Wales is concerned.
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