Darlleniadau o destunau / Readings of texts by TRW
Llwyn Llwyd (pydew defodol)
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An honour to read a text I wrote for the occasion as a living installation within the chamber as part of the Cadw Ancient Archaeology Alive: Bryn Celli Ddu Open Day 13 June 2026.
Golychwyd Gwenllian
Dyma ddarlleniad o’r swyn a lefaraf tua diwedd fy narn sain, Golychwyd Gwenllian. Yma, rwy’n galw ar y ddwy Gwenllian yn y gofod lle cafodd y darn yn cael ei osod.
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This is a reading of the spell I utter towards the end of my sound piece, Golychwyd Gwenllian. Here, I invoke both Gwenllians in the space where the piece was installed.
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Roedd fy narn sain Golychwyd Gwenllian yng Nghastell Caernarfon fel rhan o Arddangosfa CASTELL.04, 10–12 Gorffennaf. Roedd yn ffenestr Tŵr yr Eryr sy’n edrych ar draws y dŵr i Ynys Môn, gyda dau benliniwr a clustffonau wedi’u gosod i wrando. Mae’r gwaith yn tynnu ar fywydau Gwenllian ferch Gruffudd (o Ynys Môn) a Gwenllian ferch Llywelyn, a gymerwyd yn blentyn ac a alltudiwyd am oes. Mae eu presenoldeb wedi’i drwytho drwy’r gwaith, ochr yn ochr â recordiadau maes, hwiangerdd a ganwyd gan fy mam a nith yn ogystal a thestun a lefarwyd gennyf i.
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My soundpiece Golychwyd Gwenllian was installed at the CASTELL.04 exhibition, Caernarfon Castle, 10–12 July. It was placed in the Eagle Tower window that looks across the water to Anglesey, with two kneelers and headphones set for listening. The work draws on the lives of Gwenllian ferch Gruffudd — the warrior tied to Anglesey — and Gwenllian ferch Llywelyn, taken as a child and exiled for life. Their presence emanates through the work, alongside field recordings, a lullaby sung by my mother and niece as well as a text spoken by me.
Gwenfaen
Ffynnon Gwenfaen, Rhoscolyn. Ffynnon sanctaidd ganoloesol gynnar yn ne-orllewin Ynys Gybi, Ynys Môn. Roedd Gwenfaen yn adnabyddus am wella salwch meddwl. Dywedir y bod offrwm o ddau garreg bychain cwarts gwyn i’r dŵr yn gwella salwch meddyliol.
Ysgrifennodd Lewis Morris (2 Mawrth 1701 – 11 Ebrill 1765) o Lanfihangel-Tre’r-beirdd ym Môn (enw barddol Llewelyn Ddu o Fôn) gerdd o’r enw ‘The Sacred Well of Gwenfaen’ (dwi wedi ail-ddychmygu’r llinellau olaf fel swyngyfaredd).
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St Gwenfaen’s well, Rhoscolyn. An early medieval holy well in the south west of Holy Island, Anglesey. Gwenfaen was known for healing mental illness. It is said that an offering of two white quartz pebbles into the water will cure mental maladies.
Lewis Morris (2 March 1701 – 11 April 1765) from Llanfihangel-Tre’r-Beirdd on Anglesey whose bardic name was Llewelyn Ddu o Fôn (‘Black Llewelyn [Lewis] of Anglesey’) wrote a poem called ‘The Sacred Well of Gwenfaen’ (I’ve reimagined the last lines as a chant).
Tyfrydog
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1 January marks the feast day of Saint Tyfrydog. I read my text dedicated to the saint—woven with strands of local folklore—beside the sundial mounted on a medieval stone shaft, within the circular churchyard of St Tyfrydog’s Church, Llandyfrydog.
*NB the recurring line “yng nghanolbarth Môn” is a quotation from John Morris-Jones’ verse about Cybi and Seiriol in nearby Clorach.
Peulan
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1 or 2 November is the feast day of Saint Peulan. This is a text I wrote to honour Saint Peulan; read in front of the 11th century rectangular font with ringed cross (which may have been an altar or reliquary). Peulan was son of Pevl Hen o Vanaw and brother of Gwenfaen and Gwyngeneu as well as being one of Cybi’s disciples along with Maelog and Llibio – other Anglesey saints. We remember you.
Llantristant
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A text I wrote after another visit to the Old Church of St Afran, St Ieuan & St Sannan, Llantristant, Anglesey.
Llanynghenedl
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St Enghenedl, Llanynghenedl, in Anglesey, dedicated to the son of a 6th-century King of Powys. The first church in Llanynghenedl was established in ca. 620. A new church was erected in 1862. Before this Harry Longueville Jones stated the earlier building dated from the 13th – 14th century. According to the Royal Commission on Ancient Monumemts Wales (1937), the 19th century church consisted of of a continuous chancel and nave with a north vestry and south porch on the old foundations. The church fell into disuse due to growth of the nearby village of Valley. In 1988, St Enghenedl’s was dismantled and re-erected as an extension to St Mihangel’s, Llanfihangel yn Nhowyn, which serves as the church for RAF Valley. The lychgate remains as well as parts of the foundations of the building in the churchyard with its old gravestones.
