Taliesin facts for kids
Taliesin (pronounced tal-YES-in) was an early British poet who lived around the 500s AD. His poems might still exist today in an old book called the Book of Taliesin. Taliesin was a famous bard, which means he was a poet and singer. People believe he sang for at least three different kings.
Many of the poems thought to be by Taliesin praise King Urien and his son Owain mab Urien. These poems also suggest Taliesin worked for King Brochfael Ysgithrog and King Cynan Garwyn of Powys. Some events mentioned in his poems, like the Battle of Arfderydd around 573 AD, are also found in other historical records. This helps us believe he was a real person.
In old stories and poems from Wales, Taliesin is often called Taliesin Ben Beirdd, meaning "Taliesin, Chief of Bards." He is listed as one of the five most famous British poets in an old book called Historia Brittonum. He is also mentioned in a collection of poems known as Y Gododdin. By the 1100s, people thought Taliesin had written many romantic legends.
Legends say that Elffin, the son of Gwyddno Garanhir, adopted Taliesin as a child. Taliesin then predicted that King Maelgwn Gwynedd would die from a sickness called the Yellow Plague. In later stories, Taliesin became a legendary hero, a friend of Bran the Blessed and King Arthur. The oldest story about his life was written by Elis Gruffydd in the 1500s.
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Who Was Taliesin?
Details about Taliesin's life are not very clear. The first time he is mentioned is in old Saxon family records from 828 AD. These records name five poets, including Taliesin, who lived when Ida of Bernicia was active (around the mid-500s). This information is thought to be true because another of the five poets, Aneirin, also mentions Taliesin. Aneirin is famous for writing Y Gododdin, which tells the sad stories of men who died fighting at the Battle of Catraeth around 600 AD.
Many people agree that Taliesin wrote several poems for King Urien Rheged, who died around 590 AD. These poems talk about the Eden Valley and an enemy leader named Fflamddwyn, who might have been Ida or his son Theodric. The poems describe Urien's victories in battles like Argoed Llwyfain, The Ford of Clyde, and Gwen Ystrad. Taliesin also sang praises for Cynan Garwyn, who was king of Powys.
Old stories in the Book of Taliesin say that Taliesin's first supporter was Elffin ap Gwyddno. Elffin was the son of Gwyddno Garanhir, a lord of a lost land in Cardigan Bay called Cantre'r Gwaelod. Taliesin stood up for Elffin and made fun of his enemy, the powerful King Maelgwn Gwynedd. This happened shortly before Maelgwn died, probably in 547 AD.
According to old Welsh stories called the Welsh Triads, Taliesin had a son named Afaon. Afaon was known as a great warrior and died a violent death. People in folklore believe Taliesin's grave is near the village of Tre Taliesin, called Bedd Taliesin. However, this is actually a Bronze Age burial chamber. The village of Tre-Taliesin was named after the burial chamber in the 1800s.
Legends About Taliesin's Life
More detailed stories about Taliesin's life started appearing around the 1000s. One story, Historia Taliesin ("The Tale of Taliesin"), comes from the 1500s. In the mid-1500s, Elis Gruffydd wrote down a legendary story about Taliesin. This story is similar to the tale of the Irish hero Fionn mac Cumhail and the salmon of wisdom. Another version of the story was written by John Jones of Gellilyfdy around 1607. These stories match parts of the Book of Taliesin.
According to the Hanes Taliesin, Taliesin was first known as Gwion Bach ap Gwreang. He worked for a goddess named Cerridwen. He had to stir her Cauldron of Inspiration for a year to make a special potion. This potion was for Cerridwen's son, Morfran, who was very ugly. She wanted him to have the gift of "Awen," which means poetic inspiration.
When the potion was ready, three drops splashed out and landed on Gwion Bach's thumb. He put his thumb in his mouth to cool the burn, and suddenly he gained great wisdom. Fearing what Cerridwen would do, Gwion ran away. He changed into a grain of wheat, which Cerridwen then ate. This caused Cerridwen to become pregnant. When she gave birth, she couldn't bring herself to kill the baby Gwion. Instead, she put him in a large leather bag and threw him into the ocean. Elffin found the baby and named him Taliesin, which means "radiant brow."
These stories say that Taliesin was raised by Elffin ap Gwyddno in Aberdyfi. When he was 13, he visited King Maelgwn Gwynedd, who was Elffin's uncle. Taliesin correctly predicted how and when Maelgwn would die. Many old poems said to be by Taliesin mention this legend, but these poems were written much later than the real Taliesin lived.
Some experts believe that later Welsh writers saw Taliesin as a kind of shamanic figure. The poems linked to him show that he could connect with other spirits, like the Awen (inspiration). This also meant that later poets could connect with Taliesin himself when they wrote poems and said they were his. This idea suggests that people are connected to each other and to nature through the creative spirit of the Awen.
The idea that Taliesin was a bard at the court of King Arthur goes back to a story called Culhwch and Olwen, possibly from the 1000s. This idea is also found in modern English poems like Tennyson's Idylls of the King. However, the real Taliesin lived in the late 500s. King Arthur's victories are usually placed around 500 AD, and his death around 539 AD. This means Taliesin lived after Arthur. Taliesin also appears as a friend of Bran the Blessed in stories, showing he was seen as a legendary figure who could exist in many different times.
Taliesin's Influence
Many people have been inspired by Taliesin.
In Literature
As early as the 1100s, Welsh bards pretended to be Taliesin to claim their poems were inspired by him. Some poems in the Book of Taliesin might have been written by later bards who wanted to follow in the footsteps of the legendary Taliesin.
His name, spelled Taliessin, was used in Alfred, Lord Tennyson's Idylls of the King. He is a character in Thomas Love Peacock's 1829 novel The Misfortunes of Elphin, where Elphin finds him as a baby floating in a small boat. In the 1951 novel Porius by John Cowper Powys, Taliesin is shown as a smart court bard who is good at both cooking and poetry.
Taliesin also appears in many modern books that mix history with Arthurian legends. These include Bernard Cornwell's The Warlord Chronicles and Guy Gavriel Kay's The Fionavar Tapestry. In Stephen R. Lawhead's The Pendragon Cycle, Taliesin is a main character in the first book, also called Taliesin, where he is Merlin's father. M. K. Hume's King Arthur trilogy shows him as Merlin's oldest son. Gillian Bradshaw uses him instead of Merlin in her Arthurian trilogy.
He is also a main character in Moonheart, a fantasy novel by Charles de Lint. Taliesin appears as the chief bard of the Kingdom of Prydain in the children's novels by Lloyd Alexander, which are based on the Welsh Mabinogion. The historical novel Radiant Brow – The Epic of Taliesin by H. Catherine Watling is based on "The Tale of Taliesin." In the young adult series The Dark Is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper, Taliesin guides young heroes in the final book, Silver on the Tree. Taliesin's harp-tuning key appears in "A String in the Harp" by Nancy Bond, a time-travel story set in Wales. The key lets the main character, Peter Morgan, see visions of Taliesin's life.
In Charles Williams' unfinished poems about Arthur, found in Taliessin Through Logres and The Region of the Summer Stars, Taliesin is the main character. He is Arthur's bard and a leader in Camelot.
He is also a character in Traci Harding's Chosen series, starting with The Ancient Future Trilogy. In these books, he is an immortal time traveler who helps human minds grow.
In Music
The Norwegian composer Martin Romberg wrote a music piece for saxophone and orchestra called "The Tale of Taliesin." It was first played in 2009.
In modern music, the rock band Deep Purple named their second album The Book of Taliesyn to honor the bard. A song on the album Softs by the band Soft Machine is called "The Tale of Taliesin." Paul Roland's 2006 album Re-Animator has a song about the bard called "Taliesin." There is also a German band named Taliesin The Bard.
Other Influences
The American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, whose mother was from Wales, named his homes and studios Taliesin in Wisconsin and Taliesin West in Arizona.
Susan Kare, a typographer and graphic designer who made the first fonts for the early Macintosh computers, created a font called Taliesin. This font came with a computer update in 1985. It's not clear why it was named after the poet, as other fonts were named after cities. However, since it has pictures of buildings, furniture, and other things related to architecture, some think it was named after Frank Lloyd Wright's studios.
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