Enwau ac Anryfeddodau Ynys Prydain and a Tradition of Topographical Wonders in Medieval Britain
Keywords:
medieval Welsh literature, wonders, Matter of BritainAbstract
This paper attempts to determine the possible use of the Wonders tradition in later medieval Britain. Enwau ac Anryfeddodau Ynys Prydain and various English chronicles appropriate a marvelous landscape from a partially shared, circulating tradition of British Wonders. I will argue that for both the Welsh and English writers, the Wonders of the Island of Britain are a significant aspect of their nationalist agenda and an important component of the ‘Matter of Britain’. Additionally, I will note that the manuscript context of Enwau ac Anryfeddodau Ynys Prydain convincingly suggests that it was thought of less as a translation (from potential Latin sources) or a geographical treatise and more as cyfarwyddyd (the traditional narrative material or lore of medieval Wales). By upholding the Wonders as Welsh tradition, the Welsh establish themselves as the rightful custodians of the mythos of Prydain (Britain) and its mythological geography that was once theirs.
