O ystyried holl gynnyrch diwylliannol yr iaith Gymraeg trwy’r canrifoedd, beth, tybed, a gafodd y dylanwad mwyaf ar ddiwylliannau ieithoedd eraill a gwledydd eraill? Awgrymwn yn y bennod hon mai straeon am y brenin arwrol Arthur yw’r ateb.

Erbyn diwedd yr Oesau Canol, byddai’r chwedloniaeth hon wedi teithio ar draws Ewrop ac esgor ar lenyddiaeth Arthuraidd mewn llawer o wahanol ieithoedd, ac mae’r daith ryfeddol hon yn parhau heddiw, gan gofio’r holl ffilmiau Holywoodaidd, nofelau ffantasi a gemau cyfrifiadorol sy’n dangos ddylanwad y traddodiad cyfoethog hwn. Ond dechreuodd y cyfan yma yng Nghymru – neu, hwyrach, dechreuodd yn yr iaith Gymraeg (gan gofio nad ffiniau presennol Cymru oedd ffiniau’r iaith Gymraeg yn yr Oesau Canol cynnar).

A oedd Arthur yn gymeriad hanesyddol ar y dechrau? Beth yw’r enghreifftiau cynharaf o lenyddiaeth Arthuraidd Gymraeg sydd wedi goroesi? Trafodwn y cwestiynau hyn, ac wrth fynd i’r afael â gwreiddiau’r traddodiad Arthuraidd edrychwn ar rai o’n hoff drioedd, gan gynnwys ‘Tri Gwrfeichiad Ynys Prydain’, a gyfieithir gan Rachel Bromwich fel ‘The Three Powerful Swineherds of the Island of Britain’!

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The Arthurian Tradition: Wales’s Greatest Gift to the World?

Considering all of the culture produce of the Welsh language through the centuries, what has had the greatest influence on the cultures of other languages and other nations? We suggest in this episode that stories about the heroic king Arthur is the answer to that question.

By the end of the Middle Ages, this legendry would travel across Europe and give birth to Arthurian literature in many different languages, and this wondrous journey continues today, considering all of the Holywood films, fantasy novels and computer games which display the influence of this rich tradition. But all of it started here in Wales – or, rather, it started in the Welsh language (remembering that the present borders of Wales were not the borders of the Welsh language in the early Middle Ages).

Was Arthur a real historical figure to begin with? What are the earliest examples of Welsh Arthurian literature which have survived? We discuss these questions, and while getting to grips with the roots of the Arthurian tradition we look at some of our favourite triads, including ‘Tri Gwrfeichiad Ynys Prydain’, translated by Rachel Bromwich as ‘The Three Powerful Swineherds of the Island of Britain’!

Cyflwynwyd gan: Yr Athro Jerry Hunter a'r Athro Richard Wyn Jones

Cynhyrchwyd gan: Richard Martin

Cerddoriaeth: Might Have Done gan The Molenes

Dilynwch ni ar Trydar: http://www.twitter.com/YrHenIaith

Tanysgrifwch yn eich hoff ap podlediadau neu ar YouTube i derbyn y pennod nesaf ar cyhoeddiad.

Darllen pellach: / Further Reading:

Rachel Bromwich, A. O. H. Jarman a Brynley F. Robers (goln.), The Arthur of the Welsh: The Arthurian Legend in Medieval Welsh Literature (Caerdydd, 1991)

Rachel Bronwich (gol.), Trioedd Ynys Prydain [:] The Triads of the Island of Britain (Caerdydd, 1961 [4ydd argraffiad 2014])