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History of the Welsh Language, Part 4

© Sarah Stevenson

During the 18th century, intellectual London-based Welshmen revived a sense of romanticism about Welsh history and culture. At the same time, the proliferation of Methodism and non-conformity in Wales contributed to this mini cultural revolution--and there was a corresponding rise in the use of the native language. But this was not to last. Wales would not be able to withstand the population explosion of the Industrial Revolution nor the invasion of English culture that accompanied it.

Industry, Riot...and Identity. At first the Welsh language thrived with the coming of industry. Communication and transportation systems expanded throughout the country as more and more Welsh speakers moved into South Wales to take jobs in the coal and iron industries. As a result, Welsh remained the language of everyday use for the growing industrial communities in the valleys of the south.

Big Pit Mining Museum, Blaenafon

But the coal mining industry would inexorably alter the landscape, and ultimately change the attitude of the Welsh people toward their own culture and language. Once green valleys became home to mines, factories, slag heaps, and huge numbers of people. As the population exploded during the first half of the 19th century, poverty and discontent increased. Miners, forced to work in horrifying conditions, revolted in the huge mining town of Merthyr Tydfil. Farmers in Pembrokeshire, angered and financially burdened by the increasing use of toll gates along the roads, began destroying the gates in a series of attacks known as the "Rebecca Riots."

This period of unrest saw the beginning of a major division between North and South Welsh culture. The mining towns of South Wales developed a unique "Anglo-Welsh" sensibility that eventually grew to dominate most of Welsh life: it was characterized by singing, drinking, rugby fanaticism, workers' strikes, and--most significantly--the increasing use of English. Meanwhile, the North Welsh remained staunchly Methodist, and Welsh continued to be used throughout the countryside. Nevertheless, North Wales would also fall victim to drastic changes as the more English-speaking areas began to denounce and punish Welsh speakers. Attempts to eliminate the language through humiliation included the use of the "Welsh lump," a piece of lead hung around the neck of a person caught using Welsh.

It is incredible to think that around this same time--the mid-1800s--Lady Charlotte Guest published her famous translation of the Mabinogion. Even Queen Victoria had favored the teaching of Welsh in schools. But although many still retained their romantic view of the language, others treated it with disdain and viewed it as the culprit for the moral decline of the people of Wales. This was only the beginning of an increasing trend against the use of Welsh. Royal Commissions in 1842 and 1847 surveyed the state of education in Wales, and the resulting publication of these "Blue Books," as they were known, led to outrage. The reports viewed the Welsh language as a "barrier to the moral progress" of the people, and blamed it for all sorts of social problems from ignorance to lack of chastity.

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