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Photography: Shiro Ang
Photo Assistants: Bé Trai Hoang Mang & Meiji Torii
Model: Zing Ruby
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© Shiro Ang
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I remember my first breath of freedom after eight years if imprisonment as if it were yesterday. I had been in the wrong place at the wrong time and been given fifteen years for a crime I had not committed.
The day my freedom came began rather violently; I had tripped in the mess hall, causing a larger inmate to drop his tray. To say the least, the larger man made short work of me, as I am a fairly small man. A guard finally broke up the fight and I spent the next little white getting patched up in the infirmary. Later, I was put in solitary confinement for my own protection.
I lay on my cot that night, twiddling my thumbs and thinking to myself. After a while, at about two in the morning, i finally drifted off to sleep. I dreamt of the family I had left and not seen since my arrest.
Suddenly, there was a loud explosion and a sound of crumbling. I sprang up from my cot only to see a hole had appeared in my wall.The cold air of the winter night nipped at my flesh. A somewhat tall man gracefully climbed through the broken wall and stood in front of me. On his head was a strange looking helmet with a green lens, he wore black military grade armour and carried a gun.
"Are you Umberto?" The man said softly.
I nodded my head and tripped, my hand landing on my cot.
"There is no need to be scared or upset, Umberto. I am not here to harm you."
"Th-then what's with that gun in your hand?"
"T'is but a tool. I am here to give you an opportunity..."
"At-at what?"
"To save this wretched country."
"And... how could I do that? L-look me... I'm tiny!"
The man chuckled warmly. "I've heard you have a certain way with words."
"I've been told that, yes..."
"I hear you are quite convincing as well..."
"I've also heard that..."
"Come with me and I shall tell you of my plans. You will fit into them quite nicely, Umberto... very nicely indeed."
"Y-yes! Sure! Alright!"
"Then come with me."
"R-right... but what do I call you?"
"Me? You may call me... Mordred."
And as fast as he had come in, Mordred summoned a great black helicopter and we were on our way.
...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Detail from:
The Man of Sorrows (Christ Crowned with Thorns)
A Florentine copy after a Netherlandish painting in the Galleria di Palazzo Bianco, Genoa
Made in Florence, Italy
c. 1495
Domenico Ghirlandaio, Italian (active Florence), 1449 - 1494
Oil on panel
21 3/8 x 13 1/4 inches (54.3 x 33.7 cm)
Monumento a las víctimas del 11M en la estación de trenes Atocha, Madrid, España.
Monument to the deads of March 11 at Atocha train station, Madrid, Spain.
Referencias / references:
www.magazin-world-architects.com/de_08_09_onlinemagazin_p...
Sorrow is a quiet companion.
It finds us alone in an empty room
Playing Chinese Whispers with our disquieting thoughts
And keeps us company
While outside,
Time passes by without us.
The Catholic Church celebrates the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows on September 15, the day after the feast of the Holy Cross to show the close connection between Jesus' Passion and Mary's Sorrows.
This advocation has its roots in the Gospel. Here are some major references: John 19:25 (Calvary); Luke 2:35 (Mary pierced with a sword). Other sorrows can be inferred: Luke 2:7 (no room at the inn); Matthew 2:6-18 (massacre of the Innocents); Luke 2:41-50 (anxious search for Jesus); Luke 4:28-30 (rejection by townspeople of Nazareth); and Luke 11:53-54 (rejection by authorities of Jerusalem), etc.
This form of Marian piety goes back to the 14th century, but Mary's compassion was remembered from early centuries:
Abbot Poemon (5th c.) Apothegms 144: "I would like to weep with her always."
Ephrem the Syrian (373) Lamentation of Mary (still used in the Syrian Rite).
Romanos the Melodist (500) Hymn of Mary at the Cross (Jesus instructs His mother on the mystery of the Cross).
Also to be mentioned are Ambrose, Anselm and Bernard who preached/meditated on Mary's sorrows. There is also abundant Franciscan and Servite literature on this theme, for example, Plaint of the Madonna by Jacopone da Todi (1306), and Meditations on the Life of Christ (11th c. -- "swooning" of Mary).
The devotion to the Sorrows of Mary properly appears toward the middle of the 14th c. Contributing authors may have been Henry Suso (d. 1366) and other Rhenish mystics. Devotion to the five sorrows of Mary appears first and eventually develops into devotion to seven sorrows. In fact, two lists of seven sorrows were drawn up, one including the infancy and childhood of Jesus Christ, the other concentrating on the Passion.
1. The prophecy of Simeon ("a sword ...");
2. The massacre of the Innocents and flight to Egypt;
3. Jesus lost in Jerusalem;
4. Jesus arrested and judged;
5. Jesus crucified and dying;
6. Jesus taken down from the Cross;
7. Jesus wrapped and laid in the tomb;
and ...
1. Jesus is arrested and struck;
2. Jesus is led to Pilate to be judged;
3. Jesus is condemned to death;
4. Jesus is nailed to the Cross;
5. Jesus gives up His Spirit and dies on the Cross;
6. Jesus is taken down from the Cross;
7. Jesus is wrapped and laid in the tomb.
The commemoration of Mary's sorrows gave rise to meditations, prayers, poems, lamentations, not to forget the representations of the Pieta. This devotion became part of the rosary, as we know, and the present form of the Seven Sorrows was popularized by John de Coudenberghe (1482):
1. The prophecy of Simeon (Lk 2:34-35);
2. The Flight into Egypt (Mt 2:13-21);
3. The Loss of Jesus for Three Days (Lk 2:41-50);
4. The Ascent to Calvary (Jn 19:17);
5. The Crucifixion and Death of Jesus (Jn 19:18-30);
6. Jesus Taken Down from the Cross (Jn 19:39-40);
7. Jesus Laid in the Tomb (Jn 19:39-42).
彼方に浮かぶ雲のかたちをあなたはいつも指差していた
「今日も2人は仲がいいね」なんて言っていたよね
やっぱり2人は手を繋いで見えたの
幸せは必ずいつもあの子の横にあるように思えてた
あなたの指が触れる今、このときまでずっと
ずっと、ずっと、ずっと、ずっと、ずっと。
"Een man gaf zich niet zo over aan zijn smart, een man had zijn bezigheden en mijmerde niet immer over een teleurgestelde liefde." Louis Couperus - Eline Vere
THE LEGACY OF PROSPECT HILL PLANTATION
Of all the historic places that I have visited, there has never been one that has captivated me like Prospect Hill. The story of Prospect Hill is a tale of wealth, prosperity, tragedy, sorrow, grief, greed, revenge and murder spanning more than 200 years and two continents. It is a story forged by war and the brotherhood of men fighting side by side, black and white. It is a story rooted in the ways of the Antebellum South and the conflict between right and wrong. It is a story that is being played out even today in the country of Liberia, so many miles away from rural Mississippi where it all began.
I first visited Prospect Hill on a beautiful, cool, crisp autumn day. Seven miles deep in the woods of rural Mississippi, she sits atop of a hill as a sentinel to what once was, but is nearly lost now. The home stands in ruins now and holds only a glimpse of what she once was. The beautiful fireplaces have grown cold and no longer add warmth to the space that was loved by so many and called home to generations of family members. The brightly colored walls show only remnants of the colors that they once boasted and the wall paper hangs in shreds. An old piano sits weathered and in ruins, no longer filling the home with its beautiful music but rather remains silent knowing its last note has resonated. A beautiful brass mirror still sits above a fireplace, but its reflection is now tarnished by years of abandonment, no longer does it catch the gazes of familiar faces, but rather darkness, emptiness and hopelessness as the house crumbles around it. As I walked around the yard, I couldn’t help but notice the remnants of what I am sure were once lavish gardens, and even today flowers are still blooming against the overgrown entanglement of weeds and vines as if they too have a story to tell and are begging not to be forgotten. A strange peace and tranquility surrounds the place, leaving me feeling far removed from the cares of life and wishing I could just sit under the shade of the ancient cedar trees and imagine what life would have been like. I begin to wonder, where they gathered when the original house burned and can only imagine the screams filling the night air as they realized little Martha didn’t make it out, yes somewhere on this hallowed ground the soil was saturated with tears. I look upon what was once a mighty oak but is now only a decaying mass of wood and chills run down my spine as I imagine the slaves being lynched on the very limbs that they had surely sought refuge under before. Maybe it is a fitting end to the tree, it’s time too has come to an end, just like the home it once shaded.
Captain Isaac Ross was born in South Carolina in 1760. He fought in the Revolutionary War alongside men of color and forged a friendship with many of them. This brotherhood was the basis for his respect for the black man despite being raised in the ideologies of the antebellum south. Captain Ross moved to Mississippi in 1808 with a large contingent of slaves and free men of color and built Prospect Hill Plantation. He was a successful businessman and the fertile Mississippi soil soon made him an extremely wealthy cotton planter. Captain Ross treated his slaves favorably, teaching them to read and write, which was illegal in many areas at this time. He also taught them specific skills and trades that made them valuable assets to his plantation as well as equipping them for a future on their own, the latter of which may or may not have been intentional. Captain Ross encouraged his slaves to marry and even allowed some of the ceremonies to be held at the Prospect Hill mansion. Many of these ceremonies were attended by Captain Ross himself, complete with gifts for the bride and groom. He seemed to have a respect for his slaves that was missing in most areas of the south at this time.
Captain Ross started to realize during the latter years of his life, that he owed a great deal of debt and gratitude to the slaves who had worked so hard for him and alongside him to build the empire of which he proudly called his own. Whether by spiritual awakening, or some type of epiphany, Captain Ross began to set in motion a series of events that would play out on two continents and affect the lives of countless individuals including his family, the slaves with whom called him master, and generations of their descendants. Captain Ross drew up a will in August of 1834, which upon his death, would free his slaves. Working through an organization called The American Colonization Society, the plantation was to be sold and the proceeds were to fund the transport of all of his slaves to a new colony in Africa called Liberia. This colony, which was soon called Mississippi in Africa, would be a fresh start to the slaves that wanted to travel there and Captain Ross even set aside provisions for a school to be established there so that the slaves could further their education and live a prosperous life in the new land. He included many of the slaves closest to him in his will and granted them money to start a new life if they chose to stay in Mississippi.
In 1836 Captain Isaac Ross passed away and the years that followed was a tumultuous time for the slaves and Ross’s family alike. Isaac Ross’s grandson, Isaac Ross Wade contested the will and the years that followed were marked with bitter disputes and litigations as well as unrest and anger on the part of the slaves. In 1845 tragedy struck, the slaves tired of waiting for the freedom that had been promised them by their beloved Captain Ross, had the cook drug the family and the house was set on fire, burning it to the ground. Everyone got out safely but little Martha, Captain Ross’s 6 year old granddaughter. A vigilante group was quickly formed and 11 slaves were hung to their death in an old oak tree out back of the burnt mansion. The present mansion was constructed in 1854.
After several years of litigation and tragedy, a group of nearly 300 Ross family slaves made the arduous journey to Africa but the story doesn’t end here. The slaves built for themselves, elaborate mansions reminiscent of the ones belonging to their masters back in Mississippi and some even enslaved the native peoples of Africa resulting in years of conflict and civil unrest which still goes on to this day. Most of the mansions built during this time were also destroyed during the years of civil unrest that followed. Copies of letters written by the Ross slaves to their families and former masters back in Mississippi still exist and sometimes outline less than desirable conditions in their new land of freedom. In an ironic twist of fate, seems maybe estranged family members or perhaps the slaves themselves had the last laugh. While all of the graves in the Ross family cemetery face presumably east, Isaac Ross Wade’s grave faces in the opposite direction, forever memorializing him as the man who stood in opposition and perhaps casting a light of shame on him for as long as the cemetery remains.
The legacy of Prospect Hill does not end with the massive oak or the crumbling mansion but still lives on in Liberia in the lives of the people whose ancestors came from Mississippi and in the descendants of the freed slaves who chose to stay. Her legacy lives on in the precedent that was set paving the way for people of color to gain their freedom and in the stories passed down from generation to generation. This Legacy still lives on in the cemetery bearing the name of all who called the mansion home and in the hearts and minds of the photographers who have been fortunate enough to capture her beauty even as she lay in ruins.
Special thanks to my awesome tour guide Mrs. Ann Brown. She made this tour possible and was such a wealth of knowledge. I can’t thank her enough for the hospitality and enthusiasm that she shared concerning the history of this area.
For more information there are two books published about Prospect Hill. Mississippi in Africa by Alan Huffman and Burning Prospects by Melissa Miles
At the NY Botanical Gardens for the last weekend of the Japanese Chrysanthemum Show.
It had rained earlier, and most of the outdoor flowers drooped from it....
These Japanese Chrysanthemums, 'kiku' (thank u sofarsocute!) were so beautiful...the colors spoke of Fall.
Be well my friends!
;0}
This was my favorite corner of the Cathedral here in Barcelona - actually, it's from the Cloister outside. Mary standing over John, holding the body of Jesus at the base of the cross, with a woman weeping at his feet. It is quite simply done, and I found very moving. I shot many different angles....
Bendigeidfran The Two Kings situated in the UK in the Town Of Harlech. The year of creation was :1984
Bendigeidfran (Welsh for “Blessed Raven”) is a giant and king of Britain in Welsh mythology. He appears in several of the Welsh Triads, but his most significant role is in the Second Branch of the Mabinogi. The equestrian sculpture near Harlech Castle, Wales, called The two Kings, shows Bendigeidfran carrying the body of his nephew Gwern following the latter’s death at Efnysien’s hands.
Sculptor: Ivert Robert-Jones
(1913 –1996) was an English sculptor of Welsh heritage.
Description: Harlech plays a role in Medieval Welsh mythological literature. In the second branch of the Mabinogi “Branwen, Daughter of Llŷr,” Harlech is the seat of Bendigeidfran, Branwen’s brother and king of the “Isle of the Mighty.” Towards the ending of the tale, the seven survivors of the war between the Irish and the Welsh are requested by the wounded Bendigeidfran to have his head cut off and carried to Gwynfryn in London. As instructed the seven men first return to Harlech and feast for seven years, entertained by the three birds of Rhiannon, and later spend another eighty years at Gwales. The otherworldly feasting at Harlech and Gwales, with boundless supply of food and drink, heavenly music, and the absence of grief and sorrow, is known in the early Welsh tradition as “The Assembly of the Noble Head.”
Ivor Roberts-Jones RA (2 November 1913 – 9 December 1996) was an English sculptor of Welsh descent on both his parents' sides. He is best known for his sculpted heads of notable people such as Yehudi Menuhin and George Thomas, Viscount Tonypandy.
He was born in Oswestry, where one of his works, The Borderland Farmer, stands in the town centre. He studied at Oswestry School and Worksop College before attending Goldsmiths College, London and the Royal Academy of Arts.
During the Second World War he served in the Burma Campaign. From 1964 he taught sculpture at Goldsmiths, University of London.
He received his first full-scale commission in 1964 for the memorial sculpture of the Bohemian British painter Augustus John (1878–1961). This sculpture took three years to complete and required major alteration (from a double sculpture of John and his wife Dorelia) due to limitation of funds. Nonetheless, the final 1967 single-figure sculpture was dramatically successful and led to Roberts-Jones's election as an Associate of the Royal Academy. This sculpture was erected in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, near John's last home.
In 1971 he was commissioned to produce the full-length statue of Winston Churchill which now stands in Parliament Square, London. The artist Kyffin Williams, a friend of Roberts-Jones, is said to have acted as the model for Churchill. The organiser of the appeal to raise money for the statue did not like its initial appearance, and reported: "At the moment the head is undoubtedly like Churchill, but perhaps not quite right of him at the pinnacle of his career. The cheeks, the eyes, the forehead and the top of the head require improvement. I told Mr Roberts-Jones that above the eyes I thought I was looking at Mussolini." The sculptor promised to "remove the dome of the head to bring about a lowering of the forehead".
Roberts-Jones's 1984 sculpture The Two Kings at Harlech Castle illustrates a scene from Welsh mythology, in which Bendigeidfran carries the body of his nephew Gwern.
In 1988, Roberts-Jones was commissioned to produce a statue of the poet Rupert Brooke at Regent Place, a small triangular open space, in Brooke's birth town of Rugby. The statue was unveiled by Mary Archer.
Brân the Blessed (Welsh: Bendigeidfran or Brân Fendigaidd, literally "Blessed Crow") is a giant and king of Britain in Welsh mythology. He appears in several of the Welsh Triads, but his most significant role is in the Second Branch of the Mabinogi, Branwen ferch Llŷr. He is a son of Llŷr and Penarddun, and the brother of Brânwen, Manawydan, Nisien and Efnysien. The name "Brân" in Welsh is usually translated as crow or raven.
The Irish king Matholwch sails to Harlech to speak with Brân the Blessed, high king of the Island of the Mighty and to ask for the hand of his sister Branwen in marriage, thus forging an alliance between the two islands. Brân agrees to Matholwch's request, but the celebrations are cut short when Efnysien, a half-brother of Brân and Branwen, brutally mutilates Matholwch's horses, angry that his permission was not sought in regard to the marriage.[1] Matholwch is deeply offended until Brân offers him compensation in the form of a magic cauldron that can restore the dead to life. Pleased with the gift, Matholwch and Branwen sail back to Ireland to reign.
Once in Matholwch's kingdom, Branwen gives birth to a son, Gwern, but Efnysien's insult continues to rankle among the Irish, and eventually Branwen is mistreated, banished to the kitchen and beaten every day. She tames a starling and sends it across the Irish Sea with a message to her brother Brân. Brân wades across the Irish Sea to rescue her with his brother Manawydan and a huge host of warriors, mustered from the 154 cantrefi of Britain, following in ships. The Irish offer to make peace, and build a house big enough to entertain Brân, but they hang a hundred bags inside, supposedly containing flour but actually containing armed warriors. Efnysien, suspecting treachery, reconnoitres the hall and kills the warriors by crushing their skulls. Later, at the feast, Efnysien, again feeling insulted, murders Gwern by burning him alive, and a vicious battle breaks out. Seeing that the Irish are using the cauldron to revive their dead, he hides among the Irish corpses and is thrown into the cauldron by the unwitting enemy. He destroys the cauldron from within, sacrificing himself in the process.
Only seven men survive the conflict, among them Manawydan, Taliesin and Pryderi fab Pwyll, prince of Dyfed, Branwen having herself died of a broken heart. The survivors are told by a mortally wounded Brân to cut off his head and to return it to Britain. For seven years the seven survivors stay in Harlech, where they are entertained by Brân's head, which continues to speak. They later move on to Gwales (often identified with Grassholm Island off Dyfed) where they live for eighty years without perceiving the passing of time. Eventually, Heilyn fab Gwyn opens the door of the hall facing Cornwall and the sorrow of what had befallen them returns. As instructed, they take the now silent head to the Gwynfryn, the "White Hill" (thought to be the location where the Tower of London now stands), where they bury it facing France so as to ward off invasion. The imagery of the talking head is widely considered to derive from the ancient Celtic "cult of the head"; the head was considered the home of the soul.
King Bran was sitting on the rocky shore at Harlech when he saw thirteen ships over the horizon coming from Southern Ireland. Soon the boat men came to shore declaring the fleet belonged to the Irish Lord Matholwch who came seeking Bran's sister Branwen's hand in marriage. Of course to Bran this union made sense, someone worthy of his sister had come forth and their union would bring forth a powerful alliance for the two kingdoms. Bran readily welcomed King Matholwch of Ireland ashore and gave him great hospitality. The wedding was decidedly set at the coast to Aberffraw. All this had to be set inside specially erected tents since no house had yet been built that could accommodate the giant King Bran. Soon after all the wedding and celebration took place Bran's half brother Efnysien returned to Wales and was puzzled to see so many foreign horses stabled. He asked whom the horses belonged and was enraged to find his sister had been given away without his consent. In his anger he maimed all the Irish horses by cutting their lips back to their gums, their ears down to their skulls, eyelids to eyeballs, and their tails to their rumps. Matholwch's courtiers advised him to see this as a calculated insult from the Welsh and was in the end persuaded to head back home in dudgeon. Bran sent his best messengers to attempt to sway Matholwch. He sent with them a stick of solid silver as tall as himself and as thick as a finger along with a plate made of gold the circumference of his face. He also offered to replace every horse maimed and begged Matholwch to see his family dilemma, Bran could not execute his own brother. He begged to meet with the Irish King face to face so that he might make a humble apology. The two kings met again, however during the meeting Matholwch expressed his feeling that Bran's compensation was too small. Bran could not stand for that, so he offered Matholwch a magic black cauldron that could bring the dead back to life on the condition they could not speak. Matholwch was astounded by this great gift and forgot all unpleasantries that had come before. The next morning the fleet of thirteen ships left for Ireland with Branwen and Matholwch side by side.
At first sight the Irish loved their new queen, and they brought many gifts to the castle celebrating Matholwch and Branwen's union and in due time Branwen bore a son Gwern and the realm once again rejoiced. A few years passed and the counselors began to reflect once again on the maiming of the horses. They believed that Matholwch had not acted like a man and probed him to take out this injustice on his wife Branwen. The council made him expel her from his court and forced her to work in the kitchen. In the kitchen she faced being bullied by the cook and stared at by the kitchen boys who even boxed her ears. This mistreatment continued on for three years, in that time Branwen had been taming a starling to help take her mind off things. One day she fastened a letter to the starling meant for her brother Bran pleading for help. The bird made its way to Wales and dove from the sky during one of Bran's legislative assemblies. What Bran read inside made him feel despair then fury. He declared war on the Irish to exact revenge for his beloved sister.
Bran led all his armies down the shore to Ireland. From the shore Matholwch's swineherds saw an awesome sight, an entire landscape it seemed moving towards Ireland. They soon saw Bran wading through the water ahead of the fleet since no ship could carry him. The Irish ran across the river Shannon and barred the way from the sea so that no ships could travel up the river. Just before Bran's troops landed they saw that the Irish had destroyed the bridge and blocked the river. At that moment Bran said “The man who would lead his people must first become a bridge”[4] then he positioned himself across the flow so that his troops could march across. Matholwch's men seeing the Welsh advance successfully, said they would atone for the injustice done to Branwen by ensuring the kingship of Bran's nephew Gwern. That alone did not satisfy Bran, so they offered to build him a house that would accommodate his massive body. Bran only accepted after Branwen's plea, for she feared bloodshed. The house the Irish built however was a clever trick as they hid one hundred soldiers inside bags throughout the home instructed to jump out at the feast and kill the nearest Welshman. They did not however factor in Efnysien, who arrived at the house to inspect it, obviously expecting foul play. He went around and crushed the skull of every man hidden inside a bag. Soon after the great feast took place and Gwern went around charming his new-found relatives from Wales. Efnysien complained the boy had not greeted him, and then suddenly grabbed the boy by his heels and cast him head first into the huge fire. Branwen in a craze tried to leap into the fire, Bran stopped her knowing she would die too. He then protected his sister from the fight that broke out escorting her outside the house. The Welsh had the advantage until the Irish brought out their secret weapon, the black cauldron that could reanimate the dead. Efnysien seeing the great trouble he brought his country men he decided upon one last act of valour.
He hid himself in the bodies of the fallen Irish. When the cauldron attendants came along and threw him in, he spread his body out in all directions, shattering the cauldron but sacrificing himself in the process. During the great fight Bran took a fatal blow to the foot, and as he lay in his deathbed he gave his men these last instructions: “Cut my head off and take it to London. Eventually you must bury it in the state on the White Hill of London (thought to be the location where the Tower of London now stands), turning my head towards France.” Ceremonially they cut off Bran's head and left Ireland. When they returned to Wales and Branwen had time to contemplate all that had happened, she died there on the spot of a broken heart. The men buried her where she fell and continued on their quest for London.
According to the Welsh Triads, Brân's head was buried in London where the White Tower now stands. As long as it remained there, Britain would be safe from invasion. However, King Arthur dug up the head, declaring the country would be protected only by his great strength. There have been attempts in modern times to link the still-current practice of keeping ravens at the Tower of London under the care of Yeomen Warder Ravenmaster with this story of Brân. In Celtic languages, in Welsh brân means crow, and bran is the raven in both Cornish and Irish.
Several scholars have noted similarities between Brân the Blessed and the Arthurian character the Fisher King, the keeper of the Holy Grail. The Fisher King first appears in Chrétien de Troyes's 12th century French romance Perceval, the Story of the Grail; he has been dealt a mortal wound in the leg (Brân's wound was in his foot) but stays alive in his mystical castle due to the effects of the Grail, waiting to be healed by Percival. A later author who took up the story, Robert de Boron, describes the history of the Grail in ancient times, and says the first Fisher King was a man called "Bron". Additionally, the Welsh story Peredur son of Efrawg, a version of the Percival story with several striking deviations, features the hero visiting a mysterious castle, although he does not find the Grail there, but rather a severed human head. Additionally, some works attribute to the Grail the power to restore the fallen, making it somewhat similar to Brân's cauldron. Others have identified Bendigeidfran with the Irish hero Bran mac Febal.
John T. Koch proposes a number of parallels between the mythological Bendigeidfran and the historical Celtic chieftain Brennus, who invaded the Balkans in the 3rd century BC. He goes on to suggest an association between Brân and Brancaster, a fort on the Norfolk coast, while Rachel Bromwich suggests that Castell Dinas Brân in Denbighshire is similarly related.[7] Count Nikolai Tolstoy proposes that Brân's original function was that of a psychopomp, guiding the souls of the dead to the Otherworld.
Brân is praised in the poetry of 12th century bard Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr, in which he is described as "a good commander of the host; in battle, in hostile territory, in the contest, in stress", while, in his elegy for Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Prince of Wales, Bleddyn Fardd compares the overthrow of the prince to the deaths of Llywelyn Fawr, King Arthur and Brân. A poem found in the Black Book of Carmarthen refers to Bendigeidfran's death in Ireland, claiming that Gwyn ap Nudd was present at the battle, either as a warrior or in his traditional role as a psychopomp.
The novel series The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander, whose second installment is named The Black Cauldron, is based on Welsh mythology. The Disney film The Black Cauldron, based loosely on the novel series, features a cauldron that can bring the dead back to life.
The novel series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin includes several characters named Brandon (Bran) Stark. Many of them have epithets commonly associated with their names, such as Brandon the Builder, Brandon the Breaker, Brandon the Shipwright, Brandon the Burner, Brandon the Bad, and Brandon the Daughterless. The television series Game of Thrones is based on the Martin novels. One of the Brandon Starks is associated with crows in the novels, and with ravens in the TV series.
The Welsh mythological texts of the Mabinogion were recorded between the 14th and 15th centuries in Middle Welsh. As a result, there are discrepancies regarding the spelling of names, because English translations maintain Middle Welsh orthography whereas Modern Welsh versions use Modern Welsh orthography. In Middle Welsh, there was some variation on the name Brân. In modern Welsh, the treiglad meddal (soft mutation) is Frân, but in Middle Welsh documents, this might be rendered as Vran or Uran (the latter arising because U and V represented the same letter in Latin).
In the Mabinogion, the character is referred to virtually exclusively as "Bendigeituran"; that is, with the epithet "Bendigeit" (blessed or praiseworthy) attached (a terminal D is pronounced similarly to T in Welsh, and in early documents was also spelt with T). The only exceptions are in the patronymic of his son Caradog ap Brân and a single reference to his gathering in Ireland as Gwledd Brân, "The feast of Brân (or 'Crow')". This usage is followed in the Welsh Triads. Bendigeituran becomes "Bendigeidfrân" or "Brân Fendigeid" in Modern Welsh; Bendigeidfran is the form used in many Modern Welsh adaptations of the Mabinogion. However, earlier references generally do not include the epithet, instead calling the character Brân fab Llŷr or simply Brân. Ifor Williams thought Bendigeit was a late addition, perhaps a replacement for a word that had become obsolete by the time the Mabinogi was recorded. "Vran" appears in an old poem in the Book of Taliesin, while Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr and Prydydd y Moch mention Brân fab Llŷr several times in their poetry, under different spellings. However, Bleddyn Fardd refers to "Benigeitran" in his elegy for Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, demonstrating that the epithet "Bendigeit" had been attached to Brân since the late 13th century.
In West Penwith, Cornwall, the name Bran is associated with Caer Bran a Cornish Round and the Men Scryfa which records a Brittonic RIALOBRANI CUNOVALI FILI ('royal raven' son of 'Famous Leader') suggesting a local leader carried the name of the famous hero, the son of a Cynfawl.
Harlech Castle in Harlech, Gwynedd, Wales, is a Grade I listed medieval fortification built onto a rocky knoll close to the Irish Sea. It was built by Edward I during his invasion of Wales between 1282 and 1289 at the relatively modest cost of £8,190. Over the next few centuries, the castle played an important part in several wars, withstanding the siege of Madog ap Llywelyn between 1294–95, but falling to Owain Glyndŵr in 1404. It then became Glyndŵr's residence and military headquarters for the remainder of the uprising until being recaptured by English forces in 1409. During the 15th century Wars of the Roses, Harlech was held by the Lancastrians for seven years, before Yorkist troops forced its surrender in 1468, a siege memorialised in the song "Men of Harlech". Following the outbreak of the English Civil War in 1642, the castle was held by forces loyal to Charles I, holding out until 1647 when it became the last fortification to surrender to the Parliamentary armies. In the 21st century the ruined castle is managed by Cadw, the Welsh Government's historic environment service, as a tourist attraction.
UNESCO considers Harlech, with three others at Beaumaris, Conwy, Caernarfon, to be one of "the finest examples of late 13th century and early 14th century military architecture in Europe", and it is classed as a World Heritage Site. The fortification is built of local stone and concentric in design, featuring a massive gatehouse that probably once provided high-status accommodation for the castle constable and visiting dignitaries. The sea originally came much closer to Harlech than in modern times, and a water-gate and a long flight of steps leads down from the castle to the former shore, which allowed the castle to be resupplied by sea during sieges. In keeping with Edward's other castles in the north of Wales, the architecture of Harlech has close links to that found in the County of Savoy during the same period, an influence probably derived from the Savoy origins of the main architect, James of Saint George.
In local mythology, the site of Harlech Castle in North Wales is associated with the legend of Branwen, a Welsh princess, but there is no evidence for a native Welsh fortification having been built there. The kings of England and the Welsh princes had vied for control of North Wales since the 1070s and the conflict was renewed during the 13th century, leading to Edward I intervening in North Wales for the second time during his reign in 1282. Edward invaded with a huge army, pushing north from Carmarthen and westwards from Montgomery and Chester. English forces advanced down the Conwy valley and through Dolwyddelan and Castell y Bere, onto Harlech, which Sir Otton de Grandson took with 560 infantry in May.
Edward ordered the construction of a castle at Harlech, one of seven built across North Wales in the wake of the 1282 campaign. Money to pay for the initial phase arrived in mid-May and carpenters and 35 stonemasons were dispatched in June and July to commence work. By the winter of 1283, the first 15 feet (4.6 m) of the inner walls had been constructed, allowing the castle to be defended in the event of an attack, and a small, planned town had been founded alongside the castle. John de Bonvillars was appointed the constable of the castle in 1285; after his death in 1287 his wife, Agnes, took up the role until 1290.
Construction continued under the overall direction of James of Saint George, a Savoy architect and military engineer. In 1286, at the height of the construction, the workforce comprised 546 general labourers, 115 quarriers, 30 blacksmiths, 22 carpenters and 227 stonemasons, and the project was costing nearly £240 a month. The castle was essentially complete by the end of 1289, having cost an estimated £8,190, around 10 percent of the £80,000 that Edward spent on castle-building in Wales between 1277 and 1304.
Harlech was established with a garrison of 36 men: a constable, 30 men, including 10 crossbowmen, a chaplain, a smith, carpenter and stonemason, and Master James was rewarded by being made the constable of Harlech from 1290 to 1293. In 1294, Madog ap Llywelyn began an uprising against English rule that spread quickly through Wales. Several English-held towns were razed and Harlech, along with Criccieth Castle and Aberystwyth Castle, were besieged that winter. Fresh supplies were sent from Ireland by sea, arriving via Harlech's water gate, and the uprising was quashed. In the aftermath of the revolt, additional defences were built around the route down to the sea. Further work was undertaken between 1323 and 1324, following the Despenser War; Edward II was threatened in the region by the Mortimer Marcher Lord family, and ordered his sheriff, Sir Gruffudd Llwyd, to extend the defences leading up to the gatehouse with additional towers.
In 1400 a revolt broke out in North Wales against English rule, led by Owain Glyndŵr. By 1403 only a handful of castles, including Harlech, still stood against the rebels, but the castle was under-equipped and under-staffed to withstand a siege, the garrison having just three shields, eight helmets, six lances, ten pairs of gloves, and four guns. At the end of 1404, the castle fell to Glyndŵr. Harlech became his residence, family home and military headquarters for four years; he held his second parliament in Harlech in August 1405. In 1408 English forces under the command of the future Henry V placed Harlech and its commander, Edmund Mortimer, under siege, conducting a bombardment with cannon, probably destroying the south and east parts of the outer walls. When this failed to take the castle, Henry left John Talbot in charge of the siege and moved on to deal with Aberystwyth Castle. Supplies finally ran short, Mortimer and many of his men died of exhaustion, and Harlech fell in February 1409.
In the 15th century, Harlech was involved in the series of civil wars now known as the Wars of the Roses that broke out between the rival factions of the House of Lancaster and House of York. In 1460, following the Battle of Northampton, Queen Margaret of Anjou fled to the castle and between 1461 and 1468 it was held by her Lancastrian supporters, under the command of Dafydd ap Ieuan, against the Yorkist Edward IV. Thanks to its natural defences and the supply route by sea, Harlech held out and as other fortresses fell, eventually became the last major stronghold still under Lancastrian control. The castle became a base for their operations across the region: there were planned operations in 1464, Sir Richard Tunstall mounted attacks from Harlech in 1466 and Jasper Tudor landed there with French reinforcements in 1468, before then raiding the town of Denbigh. Tudor's arrival caused Edward IV to order William Herbert to mobilise an army, possibly up to 10,000 strong, to finally seize the castle. After a month's siege, the small garrison surrendered on 14 August. This siege is credited with inspiring the song Men of Harlech.
The English Civil War broke out in 1642 between the Royalist supporters of Charles I and the supporters of Parliament. Harlech apparently had not been repaired following the 1468 siege, and had become completely dilapidated, with the exception of the gatehouse, which was used for the local assizes. In 1644 Prince Rupert appointed a local Royalist, Colonel William Owen, as the castle's constable, and Owen was entrusted with repairing the fortifications. A long siege ensued from June 1646 until 15 March 1647, when the garrison of 44 men surrendered to Major-General Thomas Mytton. The castle was the last mainland royal fortress to surrender in the war, and the date marked the end of the first phase of the war. The castle was no longer required for the security of North Wales and, to prevent any further use by the Royalists, Parliament ordered its slighting, or destruction. The orders were only partially carried out, however, and the gatehouse staircases were destroyed and the castle rendered generally unusable, but it was not totally demolished. Stone from the castle was reused to build houses in the local town.
In the late-18th and 19th centuries, the picturesque ruins of Harlech began to attract visits from prominent artists, including John Cotman, Henry Gastineau, Paul Sandby, J. M. W. Turner and John Varley. In 1914 it was transferred from the Merioneth Crown Estate to the control of the Office of Works, who commenced a major restoration project after the end of World War I. In 1969 the castle was transferred to the Welsh Office and then to Cadw, who manage the property in the 21st century as a tourist attraction. Harlech was declared part of the Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd World Heritage Site in 1986, UNESCO considering Harlech one of "the finest examples of late 13th century and early 14th century military architecture in Europe".
Harlech Castle rests upon part of the Harlech Dome, a spur of rock almost 200 feet (61 m) high; the land falls away sharply on the north and west, and a ditch cut into the rock protects the remaining approaches to the castle. The castle has a concentric design, with one line of defences enclosed by another, forming an inner and outer ward; the outer wall was originally somewhat taller than today. Harlech is built from local grey-green sandstone, with large, regular blocks used for the towers and irregular material, possibly taken from the ditch, used for the walls. A softer yellow sandstone is used for the decorative work in the castle, possibly quarried from around Egryn Abbey near Barmouth.
The main entrance to the castle would have involved crossing a stone bridge between the two easterly ditch bridge towers and the main gatehouse; little remains of the bridge towers today and a timber entrance way to the gatehouse replaces the bridge. A water gate overlooks a protected stairway of 127 steps that runs down to the foot of the cliffs. In the 13th century, the sea came up close to the stairway, allowing resupply by sea, but today the sea has retreated significantly, making it more difficult to envisage the concept in its original setting.
The gatehouse follows the design, sometimes termed the Tonbridge-style, that became popular during the 13th century, with two massive "D-shaped" defensive towers flanking the entrance. The passage into the castle was guarded by three portcullises and at least two heavy doors. The gatehouse has two upper floors, broken up into various rooms. Each floor has three large windows overlooking the inner ward; the second floor has two additional grand windows on the sides of the gatehouse; the gatehouse was fitted with fireplaces and would originally have had prominent chimneys. The use of these rooms has been the subject of academic debate: historian Arnold Taylor argued that the first floor of the gatehouse was used by the constable as living accommodation, with the second floor used by senior visitors; Jeremy Ashbee has since challenged this interpretation, suggesting the high status accommodation may instead have been in the inner ward, and the gatehouse used for other purposes.
The inner ward is guarded by four large circular towers. Over time these acquired various names: in 1343, clockwise from the north-east, they were called Le Prisontour, Turris Ultra Gardinium, Le Wedercoktour and Le Chapeltour, but by 1564 they had been renamed the Debtors', Mortimer, Bronwen and Armourer's Towers respectively. Le Prisontour incorporated a dungeon and the Le Chapeltour may have contained an artillery workshop in the 16th century. Several ranges of buildings were built around the inner ward, including a chapel, kitchen, service buildings, a granary and a great hall. The battlements may originally have been built with triple finials in a similar fashion to Conwy, although little remains of these in the modern era.
The architecture of Harlech has close links to that found in the Savoy in the same period. These include semi-circular door arches, window styles, corbelled towers and positioning of putlog holes, and are usually ascribed to the influence of the Savoy architect Master James. The links between the Harlech and Savoy are not straightforward, however, as in some cases the relevant Savoy structures were built after James had left the region. The similarity in architectural details may, therefore, be the result of the wider role played by Savoy craftsmen and engineers on the Harlech project.
Gwynedd is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The city of Bangor is the largest settlement, and the administrative centre is Caernarfon. The preserved county of Gwynedd, which is used for ceremonial purposes, includes the Isle of Anglesey.
Gwynedd is the second largest county in Wales but sparsely populated, with an area of 979 square miles (2,540 km2) and a population of 117,400. After Bangor (18,322), the largest settlements are Caernarfon (9,852), Bethesda (4,735), and Pwllheli (4,076). The county has the highest percentage of Welsh speakers in Wales, at 64.4%, and is considered a heartland of the language.
The geography of Gwynedd is mountainous, with a long coastline to the west. Much of the county is covered by Snowdonia National Park (Eryri), which contains Wales's highest mountain, Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa; 3,560 feet, 1,090 m). To the west, the Llŷn Peninsula is flatter and renowned for its scenic coastline, part of which is protected by the Llŷn AONB. Gwynedd also contains several of Wales's largest lakes and reservoirs, including the largest, Bala Lake (Llyn Tegid).
The area which is now the county has played a prominent part in the history of Wales. It formed part of the core of the Kingdom of Gwynedd and the native Principality of Wales, which under the House of Aberffraw remained independent from the Kingdom of England until Edward I's conquest between 1277 and 1283. Edward built the castles at Caernarfon and Harlech, which form part of the Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd World Heritage Site. During the Industrial Revolution the slate industry rapidly developed; in the late nineteenth century the neighbouring Penrhyn and Dinorwic quarries were the largest in the world, and the Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales is now a World Heritage Site. Gwynedd covers the majority of the historic counties of Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire.
In the past, historians such as J. E. Lloyd assumed that the Celtic source of the word Gwynedd meant 'collection of tribes' – the same root as the Irish fine, meaning 'tribe'. Further, a connection is recognised between the name and the Irish Féni, an early ethnonym for the Irish themselves, related to fían, 'company of hunting and fighting men, company of warriors under a leader'. Perhaps *u̯en-, u̯enə ('strive, hope, wish') is the Indo-European stem. The Irish settled in NW Wales, and in Dyfed, at the end of the Roman era. Venedotia was the Latin form, and in Penmachno there is a memorial stone from c. AD 500 which reads: Cantiori Hic Iacit Venedotis ('Here lies Cantiorix, citizen of Gwynedd'). The name was retained by the Brythons when the kingdom of Gwynedd was formed in the 5th century, and it remained until the invasion of Edward I. This historical name was revived when the new county was formed in 1974.
Gwynedd was an independent kingdom from the end of the Roman period until the 13th century, when it was conquered by England. The modern Gwynedd was one of eight Welsh counties created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. It covered the entirety of the historic counties of Anglesey and Caernarfonshire, and all of Merionethshire apart from Edeirnion Rural District (which went to Clwyd); and also a few parishes of Denbighshire: Llanrwst, Llansanffraid Glan Conwy, Eglwysbach, Llanddoged, Llanrwst and Tir Ifan.
The county was divided into five districts: Aberconwy, Arfon, Dwyfor, Meirionnydd and Anglesey.
The Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 abolished the 1974 county (and the five districts) on 1 April 1996, and its area was divided: the Isle of Anglesey became an independent unitary authority, and Aberconwy (which included the former Denbighshire parishes) passed to the new Conwy County Borough. The remainder of the county was constituted as a principal area, with the name Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire, as it covers most of the areas of those two historic counties. As one of its first actions, the Council renamed itself Gwynedd on 2 April 1996. The present Gwynedd local government area is governed by Gwynedd Council. As a unitary authority, the modern entity no longer has any districts, but Arfon, Dwyfor and Meirionnydd remain as area committees.
The pre-1996 boundaries were retained as a preserved county for a few purposes such as the Lieutenancy. In 2003, the boundary with Clwyd was adjusted to match the modern local government boundary, so that the preserved county now covers the two local government areas of Gwynedd and Anglesey. Conwy county borough is now entirely within Clwyd.
A Gwynedd Constabulary was formed in 1950 by the merger of the Anglesey, Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire forces. A further amalgamation took place in the 1960s when Gwynedd Constabulary was merged with the Flintshire and Denbighshire county forces, retaining the name Gwynedd. In one proposal for local government reform in Wales, Gwynedd had been proposed as a name for a local authority covering all of north Wales, but the scheme as enacted divided this area between Gwynedd and Clwyd. To prevent confusion, the Gwynedd Constabulary was therefore renamed the North Wales Police.
The Snowdonia National Park was formed in 1951. After the 1974 local authority reorganisation, the park fell entirely within the boundaries of Gwynedd, and was run as a department of Gwynedd County Council. After the 1996 local government reorganisation, part of the park fell under Conwy County Borough, and the park's administration separated from the Gwynedd council. Gwynedd Council still appoints nine of the eighteen members of the Snowdonia National Park Authority; Conwy County Borough Council appoints three; and the Welsh Government appoints the remaining six.
There has been considerable inwards migration to Gwynedd, particularly from England. According to the 2021 census, 66.6% of residents had been born in Wales whilst 27.1% were born in England.
The county has a mixed economy. An important part of the economy is based on tourism: many visitors are attracted by the many beaches and the mountains. A significant part of the county lies within the Snowdonia National Park, which extends from the north coast down to the district of Meirionnydd in the south. But tourism provides seasonal employment and thus there is a shortage of jobs in the winter.
Agriculture is less important than in the past, especially in terms of the number of people who earn their living on the land, but it remains an important element of the economy.
The most important of the traditional industries is the slate industry, but these days only a small percentage of workers earn their living in the slate quarries.
Industries which have developed more recently include TV and sound studios: the record company Sain has its HQ in the county.
The education sector is also very important for the local economy, including Bangor University and Further Education colleges, Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor and Coleg Menai, both now part of Grŵp Llandrillo Menai.
The proportion of respondents in the 2011 census who said they could speak Welsh.
Gwynedd has the highest proportion of people in Wales who can speak Welsh. According to the 2021 census, 64.4% of the population aged three and over stated that they could speak Welsh,[7] while 64.4% noted that they could speak Welsh in the 2011 census.
It is estimated that 83% of the county's Welsh-speakers are fluent, the highest percentage of all counties in Wales.[9] The age group with the highest proportion of Welsh speakers in Gwynedd were those between ages 5–15, of whom 92.3% stated that they could speak Welsh in 2011.
The proportion of Welsh speakers in Gwynedd declined between 1991 and 2001,[10] from 72.1% to 68.7%, even though the proportion of Welsh speakers in Wales as a whole increased during that decade to 20.5%.
The Annual Population Survey estimated that as of March 2023, 77.0% of those in Gwynedd aged three years and above could speak Welsh.
Notable people
Leslie Bonnet (1902–1985), RAF officer, writer; originated the Welsh Harlequin duck in Criccieth
Sir Dave Brailsford (born 1964), cycling coach; grew up in Deiniolen, near Caernarfon
Duffy (born 1984), singer, songwriter and actress; born in Bangor, Gwynedd
Edward II of England (1284–1327), born in Caernarfon Castle
Elin Fflur (born 1984), singer-songwriter, TV and radio presenter; went to Bangor University
Bryn Fôn (born 1954), actor and singer-songwriter; born in Llanllyfni, Caernarfonshire.
Wayne Hennessey (born 1987), football goalkeeper with 108 caps for Wales; born in Bangor, Gwynedd
John Jones (c. 1530 – 1598), a Franciscan friar, Roman Catholic priest and martyr; born at Clynnog
Sir Love Jones-Parry, 1st Baronet (1832–1891), landowner and politician, co-founder of the Y Wladfa settlement in Patagonia
T. E. Lawrence (1888–1935), archaeologist, army officer and inspiration for Lawrence of Arabia, born in Tremadog
David Lloyd George (1863–1945), statesman and Prime Minister; lived in Llanystumdwy from infancy
Sasha (born 1969), disc jockey, born in Bangor, Gwynedd
Sir Bryn Terfel (born 1965), bass-baritone opera and concert singer from Pant Glas
Sir Clough Williams-Ellis (1883–1978), architect of Portmeirion
Owain Fôn Williams, (born 1987), footballer with 443 club caps; born and raised in Penygroes, Gwynedd.
Hedd Wyn (1887–1917), poet from the village of Trawsfynydd; killed in WWI
"Mother, may this prayer be granted:
That Christ's love may be implanted
In the depths of my poor soul.
At the cross, your sorrow sharing,
All your grief and torment bearing,
Let me stand and mourn with you."
- from the Sequence hymn, 'Stabat Mater'
15 September is the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows.
These windows of Our Lord in Gethsemane and of the Deposition are from the Pro-Cathedral of Our Lady of Victories in London.
Dreams and sorrows like fallen empires
Cast about within my conscience
At each event a line is crossed
When every horizon is another place
When mountains rise and rivers flow
And forests cover every land
And merge into unending vistas
With great sky’s above
That threatens storms
That brings about alertness
Am I not then within that place
That other land without a face
It is here and now in quiet grace
Awakened with sorrows memory
That I return alone from dreams
Only to see them vanish in quickened time
The memory seeps away the fear
Released from dark with no one near
To see the look within my eyes
That only another soul could see
The light of a new day then draws near
A future that’s part clear
Reveals that Its hear and now
This place of life
This world of my birth
This space that I am within
Not alone as dreams might say
No proof that there is another way
Where only shadows race
Before some ghostly sun.
Poem: by Richard Walker 21 September 2011
Note: Awakened from a vivid dream can sometimes have us for a moment in that strange place between memory and reality, we try to measure what seems to be a real experience with what is real.
Image: Land & Sky by Christopher Walker (06/03/1974 - 08/01/2005) This is posted again in memory of our son who died 20 years ago on the 8th Jan 2005
This sculpture by Adolfo Apolloni represents sorrow (european-cemeteries.blogspot.ca/2011/06/cimitero-staglien...). It is famous for the long, elegant gown the angel is wearing, and which countless photographers have pictured. To give a slightly different perspective on this piece of art, I focused on the magnificent wings.
Cimitero monumentale di Stagliano, Genova, Italia.