Welsh Journals

Gorsedd. Prof. Hubert Herkomer, a Fellow of the British Academy, designed the robes, but as for the head-dress worn by the Archdruid Clwydfardd which was in the shape of a bishop's mitre, we cannot be too sure who designed it, as Herkomer, along with T. H. Thomas (Arlunydd Pen-y-garn), the Herald of Bards, later regarded it as inappropriate. These were the robes worn in the Caemarfon Gorsedd in 1894 when Edward Prince of Wales and Princess Alexandra were initiated as members. The accumulation of robes created a storage problem, but fortunately Lord Mostyn offered to store them in Neuadd Mostyn. A number of the gentry also volunteered to act as trustees. At the Llandudno Gorsedd of 1896 Sir Arthur Stepney of Llanelli presented a Banner designed by Arlunydd Pen-y-garn to the Gorsedd and at the Newport Proclamation Ceremony Hwfa Mon wore for the first time the tiara and breastplate designed by Herkomer and jointly paid for by Herkomer and W. Mansel Lewis of Strade, Llanelli. At the Cardiff Gorsedd of 1899 the Great Sword, also designed by Herkomer, was presented by him to the Gorsedd, and Lord Tredegar presented the Horn of Plenty designed by W. Goscombe John. When the Archdruid Dyfed in the Bangor Gorsedd in 1906 appealed to the gentry to present a harp for use in the gorsedd circle, Ab Eos Mon, a well known penillion singer, protested against the endless grovelling to the gentry, saying that the time had come for the werin, the ordinary people, to uphold the dignity of the Gorsedd and he offered one of his own triple harps to the Archdruid. Gorsedd y Beirdd was totally immersed in the cultural life of Wales throughout the last century and its leaders were without doubt the elite of the Welsh cultural scene. Although lolo had stated that gorseddau could be held in any place, the Welsh Bards were reluctant to hold gorseddau beyond Offa's Dyke, except in the case of Liverpool and Birkenhead, which were regarded ac cities built on ancient Brythonic territory owned by a tribe called y Gordofigion. A request by a contingent of London Welshmen that the National Eisteddfod be held in London was discussed at a meeting during the Eisteddfod at Aberdare in 1885. The Londoners convinced the Eisteddfod authorities by arguing that the Gorsedd and National Eisteddfod were due to be held in South Wales in 1887 and that Iolo had stated that gorseddau could be held in London as long as they were held under the patronage of the