The Britons, a Celtic tribe, who first settled in the area that
is now
Wales, had already begun to identify themselves as a distinct
culture by
the sixth century
C.E.
The word "Cymry," referring to the country, first appeared
in a poem dating from 633. By 700
C.E.
, the Britons referred to themselves as Cymry, the country as
Cymru, and
the language as Cymraeg. The words "Wales" and
"Welsh" are Saxon in origin and were used by the invading
Germanic tribe to denote people who spoke a different language.
The Welsh
sense of identity has endured despite invasions, absorption into
Great
Britain, mass immigration, and, more recently, the arrival of
non-Welsh
residents.
Language has played a significant role in contributing to the
sense of
unity felt by the Welsh; more than the other Celtic languages,
Welsh has
maintained a significant number of speakers. During the eighteenth
century
a literary and cultural rebirth of the language occurred which
further
helped to solidify national identity and create ethnic pride among
the
Welsh. Central to Welsh culture is the centuries-old folk
tradition of
poetry and music which has helped keep the Welsh language alive.
Welsh
intellectuals in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries wrote
extensively
on the subject of Welsh culture, promoting the language as the key
to
preserving national identity. Welsh literature, poetry, and music
flourished in the nineteenth century as literacy rates and the
availability of printed material increased. Tales that had
traditionally
been handed down orally were recorded, both in Welsh and English,
and a
new generation of Welsh writers emerged.
