Article
English
ID: <
10.3406/ecelt.1992.1991>
·
DOI: <
10.3406/ecelt.1992.1991>
Abstract
literary convention and historical reality: the Court of the Prince in the Welsh poetry of the XIIe-XIIIth. From the origins Welsh poetry has sought to describe the teaching court. The descriptions of the court’s ceremonies had already become a common lid in the poetry of the professional Bardes at the time of the Gododdin poems, in the sixth. This report mainly analyses the poetry of the Gogynfeirdd, the XIIth and XIIIth s, which were called the ‘Welsh Princes’ courtyard poets. They use the same ‘topoi’ to describe courtyard life. Poets also mention special places: some of these places, such as Aberffraw and Cemais, are of particular importance in the political history of the period. After characterising the Llys (the “Court”) using legislation, archaeological data and historical documents, the author deals with some specific issues, such as poems dedicated to court officers, and poems confirming legal documents.