This article is about the poem by Gruffudd ab Adda. For other uses, see Maypole (disambiguation).
"The Maypole" or "To a Birch Tree", known in Welsh as "I'r fedwen", "Y fedwen yn bawl haf", or "Y fedwen las anfadwallt", is a cywydd (a Welsh-language verse form) by the mid-14th century bard Gruffudd ab Adda; it is one of only three poems of his that have survived.[1] It was formerly attributed to the pre-eminent Welsh-language poet,[2] Dafydd ap Gwilym. The poem presents the unhappy fate of a woodland birch tree which has been chopped down and re-erected in the town of Llanidloes as a maypole, then with pathetic irony asks the tree to choose between its former existence and its present one.[3] Dancing round a maypole was a popular recreation in medieval Welsh towns,[4] and this poem is the first record of it.[5] "The Maypole" has been praised by literary historians as one of the very finest of Welsh cywyddau, and was included in The Oxford Book of Welsh Verse.[6]
^Stephens 1986, p. 228.
^Koch, John T. (2006). Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia. Volume 5. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. p. 1770. ISBN 1851094407. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
^Edwards, Huw M. (1996). Dafydd ap Gwilym: Influences and Analogues. Oxford: Clarendon Press. pp. 146–147. ISBN 0198159013. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
^Klausner 2012, p. 264.
^Ifans, Rhiannon (2000). "Folk Poetry and Diversions". In Jarvis, Branwen (ed.). A Guide to Welsh Literature. Vol. 4: c. 1700–1800. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. p. 201. ISBN 0708314821. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
A maypole is a tall wooden pole erected as a part of various European folk festivals, around which a maypole dance often takes place. The festivals may...
"TheMaypole" or "To a Birch Tree", known in Welsh as "I'r fedwen", "Y fedwen yn bawl haf", or "Y fedwen las anfadwallt", is a cywydd (a Welsh-language...
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