Death and Burial - British Goblins CT028

Wedding Customs

British Goblins: Welsh Folk Lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions (1881)

Book 3 Chapter 7

by

Wirt Sikes

Find out all the customs about food and drinking, especially Beer, by a coffin, how important Salt is, the Sin-Eater (and whether the stories are true or not), the Scapegoat and Welsh funeral possessions. We learn about praying at crossroads where criminals may have been buried. Sikes also tells us about the Grassless Grave and the Parson's Offerings.

• Death and Burial 1:50
• The Gwylnos 2:49
• Beer-Drinking at Welsh Festivals 3:24
• Food and Drink over the Coffin 3:56
• Sponge Cakes at Modern Funerals 6:00
• The Sin-Eater 6:45
• Welsh Denial that this Custom ever existed 7:48
• The Testimony concerning it 8:08
• Plate of Salt on Corpse's Breast 12:07
• Superstitions regarding Salt 15:05
• The Scapegoat 17:32
• The St. Tegla Cock and Hen 18:13
• Welsh Funeral Processions 19:51
• Praying at Crossroads 20:29
• Superstition regarding Criminals' Graves 20:44
• Hanging and Welsh Prejudice 21:03
• The Grassless Graves 22:40
• Parson's Penny, or Offrwm 24:40
• Old Shows to the Clerk 25:59
• Arian y Rhaw, or Spade Money 26:32
• Burials without Coffin 29:06
• The Sul Coffa 30:07
• Planting and Strewing Graves with flowers 32:28

Names Used in this Section

All proper names and words in Welsh or other languages are recorded here in the show-notes and we've done our best to get the pronunciations right for you.

 

• Gwylnos
• St Tegla
• Offrwm
• Arian y Rhaw
• Sul Coffa
• Pennant
• Thomas Myddleton
• Coranich
•      'cum mago dolore et clamore cognatorum et propinquorum omnium'
•      'Claddu y marw ac at y cwrw' (To bury the dead, and to the beer')
• Cymru Fu
• Cwrw brwd

 

Pic: Giving Food over the Coffin

 

• Llancaiach
• Servis & Humphrey
• Rev. E. L. Barnwell
• Malkin
• John Aubrey
• Lansdwone Mss.
• Hereford
• Rosse
• 'ipso facto'
• Dynder (nolens volens)
• Brecon
• Llangors
• Mr. Gwin
• Bishop White Kennet
• Amersden, Oxford
• Ludlow
• Mr. Matthew Moggridge, Swansea
• Llandebie
• Chepstow
• Mr. Allen, Pembrokeshire
• Mr. E. A. Freeman
• Mr. Eugene Schulyer
• iskatchi
• Cardiganshire
• Cardiff
• Aaron
• Wrexham & Ruthin, Llandegla
• Clwyf y Tegla
• Pater Noster
• Metellus, conqueror of Macedon
• Montgomeryshire
• John Newton
• Welshpool
• Defynog, Breconshire
• Llanrhaiadr-yn-Mochnant
•       'cyfneseifiaid' (next-of-kin)
•       'yr hen glochydd'
•      'cadach deupen
• Richard Griffith, Trefeglwys
• Thomas Dinelly
• Ivan the Harper
• Williams of Merllyn
• Richard the Harper
• Llanfwrog
• Dafydd y Garreg Wen (David of the White Stone)
• Toriad y Dydd (the Dawn)
• Glamorganshire
• Cymbeline 
• Milford Haven
• Fidele

Pic: Dafydd y Garreg Wen

British Goblins can be found on Archive.org

You can find out more about Wirt Sikes on Wikipedia.

Try the Celtic Myth Podshow for the Tales and Stories of the Ancient Celts at http://celticmythpodshow.com or on Apple Podcasts.

Our theme music is "Gander at the Pratie Hole" by Sláinte.  You can find their music on the Free Music Archive.

The next Chapter from Celtic Tomes has been released

Wedding Customs - British Goblins CT027

Wedding Customs

British Goblins: Welsh Folk Lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions (1881)

Book 3 Chapter 6

by

Wirt Sikes

Ancient Wedding Customs of the Welsh, including the custom of bidding for wedding gifts and the importance of the person doing the Bidding! We learn how to steal a Bride away and how to reform a wife who hen-pecks her husband.

• Wedding Customs 0:54
• The Bidding 1:36
• The Gwahoddwr 3:55
• Forms of Cymmhorth 7:32
• Horse-Weddings 9:43
• Stealing of a Bride 11:24
• Obstructions to the Bridal Party 14:20
• The Gwyntyn 14:32
• Chaining 15:10
• Evergreen Arches 16:56
• Strewing Flowers 17:45
• Throwing Rice and Shoes 18:00
• Rosemary in the Garden 20:22
• Names after Marriage 23:36
• The Coolstrin 24:10
• The Ceffyl Pren 27:49

Names Used in this Section

All proper names and words in Welsh or other languages are recorded here in the show-notes and we've done our best to get the pronunciations right for you.

Cymmhorth
Gwahoddwr
Gwyntyn
Coolstrin
Ceffyl Pren
Pembroke, Cardigan and Carmarthen
Cardiff
Ty'r Bwci
Llanfair ar y Bryn
Owen Gwynt
Elen Morgan
Llewelyn & Margaret Gwynt
Evan Gwyn, Maes y Blodau
Gwladys & Hannah
Mary Bowen, Llwyn y Fedwen, llannon
Rhys Morgan, Castell y Moch
Howel, Gruffydd, & Gwenllian Morgan
Pant y Clacwydd
Llansadwrn
Cwrw da
Nos Blaen
Priodas Cymmhorth
Cyfarfod Cymmhorth
Merry Andrew

Pic: The Old-Time Gwahoddwr

Carmarthenshire
Glamorganshire
Malkin
'toujours trop tard'
'Les Brigands'

Gwrando, leidr hoyw'r ddafad,
Ai ti sydd yma heddyw'n geidwad?
Ai dyna y rheswmcloi y drysau
Rhag dwyn y wreigan liw dydd goleu

Sketty
Sabines
Apuleius
Sabine Virgins
Rector of Merthyr
Tenby
Herefordshire
Lampeter
Mr. & Mrs. Jones of Glandennis
Roberts of the Dingle
Williams of Pwlldu
Jones of Nevada
John Thomas
Betty Willkiams
Dick Shon
skimitry or skimmington
Clos (breeches)
Breconshire

 

British Goblins can be found on Archive.org

You can find out more about Wirt Sikes on Wikipedia.

Try the Celtic Myth Podshow for the Tales and Stories of the Ancient Celts at http://celticmythpodshow.com or on Apple Podcasts.

Our theme music is "Gander at the Pratie Hole" by Sláinte.  You can find their music on the Free Music Archive.

The next Chapter from Celtic Tomes has been released

Courtship and Marriage - British Goblins CT026

Courtship and Marriage

British Goblins: Welsh Folk Lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions (1881)

Book 3 Chapter 5

by

Wirt Sikes

Welsh customs of courtship and marriage. Sikes tells us about the Welsh Goddess of Love, later known as St. Dwynwen and how commonplace was the Welsh custom of 'Bundling' or 'courting abed'! We learn about romantic divination and how a Maid may find herself in trouble with the fairies if she is not a 'true maid'. He finishes the chapter by discussing divination by the Knife and the Sheath!

• Courtship and Marriage
• Planting Weeds and Rue on the Graves of Old Bachelors
• Special Significance of Flowers in connection with virginity
• The Welsh Venus
• Bundling, or Courting Abed
• Kissing Schools
• Rhamanta
• Lovers' Superstitions
• The Maid's Trick
• Dreaming on a Mutton Bone
• Wheat and Shovel
• Garters in a Lovers' Knot
• Egg-Shell Cake
• Sowing Leeks
• Twca and Sheath

 

Names Used in this Section

All proper names, and words in Welsh or other languages, are recorded here in the show-notes and we've done our best to get the pronunciations right for you.

Rhamanta
Twca and Sheath
Howell the Good
Dwynwen, daughter of Brychan

St. Dwynwen - Artwork © Jonathon Earl Bowser – www.JonathonArt.com

Anglesea
Thomas Stephens
Sopen, sypio
Pontypool
Caru yn y gwelu (courting abed)

Bundling, or Courting Abed

Myrdim, Carmarthenshire
Pemrokeshire
Glamorganshire

Y sawl sydd i gydfydio,
Doed i gydgribinio!

'Dyma'r twca, p'le mae'r wain?' (Here's the twca, where's the sheath?)

 

British Goblins can be found on Archive.org

You can find out more about Wirt Sikes on Wikipedia.

Try the Celtic Myth Podshow for the Tales and Stories of the Ancient Celts at http://celticmythpodshow.com or on Apple Podcasts.

Our theme music is "Gander at the Pratie Hole" by Sláinte.  You can find their music on the Free Music Archive.

The next Chapter from Celtic Tomes has been released

Welsh Christmas - British Goblins CT025

Welsh Christmas

British Goblins: Welsh Folk Lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions (1881)

Book 3 Chapter 4

by

Wirt Sikes

All about bell-ringing competitions between villages at Christmas time, the 'Pipes of the Watch' who wake the echoes in the early morning. We also hear about the games, music and Eisteddfodau of Christmas. Sikes tells us about the origins of Boxing Day and the Druid feast of Alban Arthur, celebrated at the Winter Solstice.

• Nadolig, the Welsh Christmas 1:35
  
• Bell-ringing 3:13
• Carols 4:20
  
• Dancing to the Music of the Waits 6:37
  
• An Evening in Carmarthenshire 8:44
  
• Shenkin Harry, the Preacher, and the Jig Tune 12:26
  
• Welsh Morality 13:03
  
• Eisteddfodau 14:26
  
• Decorating Houses and Churches 16:04
  
• The Plygain 17:40
•  The Colliers Star 18:47
• he Christmas Thriftbox 19:24
• Pagan Origin of Christmas 21:52
  

 

Names Used in this Section

All proper names, and words in Welsh or other languages, are recorded here in the show-notes and we've done our best to get the pronunciations right for you.

Nadolig
Shenkin Harry
Eisteddfodau
Plygain
Arthur & Merlin
Waits (band of wandering musicians)

 

Bell-Ringing

Cowbridge
Aberdare
Penarth
St. Fagan's
Llantrisant
Llanblethian
ayont the twal
Bacchus
Glamorganshire
Rev. Evan Harris
Stendahl
Hellas
Pindar
Sophocles
Phidias
Praxiteles
Herodotus
Llandaff Cathedral
Gwynt traed y meirw (wind blowing over the feet of corpses)
Bethlehem
Belgium
Rhodd Nadolig - Christmas gift

 

The 'Thrift' Box

Viscount Palmerston
London
'jour de l'an'
Alban Arthur
Avagddu
Hea
Gorsedd
Cerridwen
Awen
Herefordshire

 

British Goblins can be found on Archive.org

You can find out more about Wirt Sikes on Wikipedia.

Try the Celtic Myth Podshow for the Tales and Stories of the Ancient Celts at http://celticmythpodshow.com or on Apple Podcasts.

Our theme music is "Gander at the Pratie Hole" by Sláinte.  You can find their music on the Free Music Archive.

The next Chapter from Celtic Tomes has been released

Midsummer Eve - British Goblins CT024

Midsummer Eve to Hallowe'en

British Goblins: Welsh Folk Lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions (1881)

Book 3 Chapter 3

by

Wirt Sikes

All about Midsummer Eve and the Beltane Fires that precede it leading up to Hallowe'en. Sikes tells us about the Three Nights for Spirits that occur at Halloween - a time at which ghosts and fairies walk abroad. He also talks about bobbing for apples and the Fourth of July celebrations in the States, Guy Fawkes' Night and how important it is that it never be forgotten.

• Midsummer Eve 0:56
  
• The Druidic Ceremonies at Pontypridd 1:56
  
• The Snake Stone 3:40
  
• Beltane Fires 4:32
  
• Fourth of July Fires in America 4:42
  
• St. Ulric's Day 6:10
  
• Carrying Cynog 6:44
  
• Marketing on Tombstones 8:06
  
• The First Night of Winter 8:28
  
• The Three Nights for Spirits 8:40
  
• The Tale of Thomas Williams the Preacher 9:30
  
• All Hallows Eve Festivities 10:22
  
• Running through Fire 11:17
  
• Quaint Border Rhymes 12:03
  
• The Puzzling Jug 12:58
  
• Bobbing for Apples 14:08
  
• The Fiery Features of Guy Fawkes' Day 15:12
  
• St. Clement's Day 16:35
  
• Stripping the Carpenter 16:59

 

Names Used in this Section

All proper names, and words in Welsh or other languages, are recorded here in the show-notes and we've done our best to get the pronunciations right for you.

Pontypridd
Beltane
St. Ulric
Cynog
Thomas Williams
Guy Fawkes
St. Clement
St. John's Eve
Myfyr Morganwg
Kali
Belenian
Geleiniau Nadroedd
Sun-god Beal
Barnabe Googe
Naogeorgius

'Wheresoever Huldryche hath his place, the people there brings in
Both carpes and pykes, and mullets fat, his fauour here to win.'

Brychan Brycheiniog
Defynog
Nos Calan Gauaf
Nos Cyn Gauaf
Teir Nos Ysprydnos
Mary
'Wissel wassel, bread and possel,
Cwrw da, plas yma'
Twco am falau
crwc
gwyntyn
Bishop Sanderson
Moloch
Pembrokeshire

 

British Goblins can be found on Archive.org

You can find out more about Wirt Sikes on Wikipedia.

Try the Celtic Myth Podshow for the Tales and Stories of the Ancient Celts at http://celticmythpodshow.com or on Apple Podcasts.

Our theme music is "Gander at the Pratie Hole" by Sláinte.  You can find their music on the Free Music Archive.

The next Chapter from Celtic Tomes has been released

Sundry Lenten Customs - British Goblins CT023

Sundry Lenten Customs

British Goblins: Welsh Folk Lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions (1881)

Book 3 Chapter 2

by

Wirt Sikes

All about traditions and customs occurring around Lent in old Wales. Sikes tells us all about Hot Cross Buns and how they are tied up in a bag, the ceremony of 'Lifting' women high into the air that takes place at Easter, and the possible origins of April Fool's Day. He talks about the Maypole and the giving of Birch rods as a token of love, as well as the battle between the Winter and Summer Kings that takes place each Mayday.

• Sundry Lenten Customs 0:57
  
• Mothering Sunday 1:58
  
• Palm Sunday 2:09
  
• Flowering Sunday 2:15
  
• Walking Barefoot to Church 2:52
  
• Spiritual Potency of Buns 3:18
  
• Good Friday Superstitions 4:20
  
• Making Christ's Bed 4:26
  
• Bad Odour of Friday 5:00
  
• Unlucky Days 5:20
  
• Holy Thursday 6:00
  
• The Eagle of Snowdon 6:18
  
• New Clothing at Easter 6:57
  
• Lifting 7:33
  
• The Crown of Porcelain 8:10
  
• Stocsio 9:05
  
• Ball-Playing in Churchyards 11:00
  
• The Tump of Lies 12:35
  
• Dancing in Churchyards 13:13
  
• Seeing the Sun Dance 14:10
  
• Calan Ebrill, or All Fools' Day 14:56
  
• May Day 15:42
  
• The Welsh Maypole 16:33
  
• The Daughter of Lludd llaw Ereint 17:31
  
• Carrying the Kings of Summer and Winter 18:45
  

 

Names Used in this Section

All proper names, and words in Welsh or other languages, are recorded here in the show-notes and we've done our best to get the pronunciations right for you.

Snowdon
Stocsio
Calan Ebrill
Lludd llaw Ereint
Monmouthshire
Cardiff
Pembrokeshire
Tenby
Brahmins of India
Giraldus
Thor
Hampshire
Bragawd

pic. Lifting

Rhag i'r feinwen losgi ei thalcen ('Lest the maiden burn her forehead')
Aberconwy
Pen Twthil
Dr. Fosbrooke
St. Dogmell's Parish
'Cnwc y Celwydd' videlicet
Aberedwy
Malkin
St. Almedha, Breconshire
Ffwl Ebrill
Saturnalia
Bedwen
Bedw
Collen
Mabinogi
Kilhwch & Olwen
Gwyn ap Nudd
Gwythyr
Greidawl
Arthur
Defynog
Yo ho!

 

British Goblins can be found on Archive.org

You can find out more about Wirt Sikes on Wikipedia.

Try the Celtic Myth Podshow for the Tales and Stories of the Ancient Celts at http://celticmythpodshow.com or on Apple Podcasts.

Our theme music is "Gander at the Pratie Hole" by Sláinte.  You can find their music on the Free Music Archive.

The next Chapter from Celtic Tomes has been released

Quaint Old Customs - British Goblins CT022

Quaint Old Customs

British Goblins: Welsh Folk Lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions (1881)

Book 3 Chapter 1

by

Wirt Sikes

Quaint Old Customs tells us to rise early on New Year's morning to bring good luck, the Mari Lwyd procession from house to house and the story of the Cutty Wren. Sikes also tells us about St. David, St. Patrick and the wearing of the leek.

• Serious Significance of seemingly Trivial Customs 2:32
  
• Their Origins 2:45
  
• Common Superstitions 3:37
  
• The Age We Live in 4:10
  
• Days and Seasons 6:11
  
• New Year's Day 6:32
  
• The Apple Gift 6:40
• Lucky Acts on New Year's morning 8:23
  
• The First Foot 9:20
  
• Showmen's Superstitions 9:34
  
• Levy Dew Song 10:51
  
• Happy New Year Carol 11:49
  
• Twelfth Night 12:34
  
• The Mary Lwyd 12:40
• The Penglog 14:25
• The Cutty Wren 15:11
• Tooling and Sowling 15:52
• St. Valentine's Day 16:45
• St. Dewi's Day 17:45
• The Wearing of the Leek 19:10
• The Traditional St. David 23:41
• St. Patrick's Day 27:54
• St. Patrick a Welshman 28:00
• Shrove Tuesday 29:44

 

Names Used in this Section

All proper names, and words in Welsh or other languages, are recorded here in the show-notes and we've done our best to get the pronunciations right for you.

Bodleian Library
Levy Dew
Mari Lwyd
Penglog
Sowling
St. Valentine
St. Dewi
St. David
St. Patrick
Luther
Glamorganshire

pic. New Year's Apple

Cardiff

pic. Three Rays

Avagddu
Pembrokeshire
Jonah
Llef i Dduw

Blwyddyn newydd dda i chwi,
Gwyliau llawen i chwi,
Meistr a meistres bob un trwy'r ty,
Gwyliau llawen i chwi,
Codwch yn foreu, a rheswch y tan,
A cherddwch i'r ffynon i ymofyn dwr glan.

awen
Aberconwy (Conway)
Carnarvonshire
Gwent
Morganwg
Rhymney Dingle

pic: Cutty Wren song

soûl
St. George
St. Andrew
Cardigan
Carmarthen
Lampeter
Manby
Cymhortha
Poictiers
Cressy

Pistol & Fluellen

Glyn Hodnant
Teify
Llandewi Brefi
Abel, Noah, Thomas, Peter, Paul & David
William the Conqueror
Llandeilo Talybont
Llantwit Major
Rosina
Iolo MSS
Crammwythau (pancakes)

 

 

British Goblins can be found on Archive.org

You can find out more about Wirt Sikes on Wikipedia.

Try the Celtic Myth Podshow for the Tales and Stories of the Ancient Celts at http://celticmythpodshow.com or on Apple Podcasts.

Our theme music is "Gander at the Pratie Hole" by Sláinte.  You can find their music on the Free Music Archive.

The next Chapter from Celtic Tomes has been released