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The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales, published in January 2008, is a single-volume-publication encyclopaedia about Wales. The Welsh-language edition, entitled Gwyddoniadur Cymru is regarded as the most ambitious encyclopaedic work to be published in Welsh since the 19th century. The English-language and Welsh-language editions were published simultaneously.
Unlike the Welsh Encyclopedia, published in ten volumes, between 1854 and 1879, by Thomas Gee, the encyclopaedia is about only Wales. In this respect it is more like the Cymru: Yn Hanesyddol, Parthedegol, A Bywgraphyddol ("Wales: Historical, Regional, & Biographical"), edited by Owen Jones and published between 1871 and 1875.
The encyclopaedia indexes 6,000 facts about Wales compiled by 400 researchers over ten years. Biographical articles are restricted to individuals no longer living. The editors are John Davies (consultant editor for both versions), Menna Baines (editor of the Welsh language version), Nigel Jenkins (editor of the English version) and Peredur Lynch. The project was started in January 1999 and the book eventually published January 2008, although 14 November 2007 was the original launch date.
Funding for the project, which cost £300,000, came from the Literature Wales (formerly known as "the Academi"), University of Wales Press and also from the Arts Council of Wales lottery funding.
Publishers claim they have included facts from every community in Wales. Ashley Drake of the University of Wales said that it is a "celebration of Wales and Welshness. With everything you could think of about Wales in [the encyclopaedia]," adding "Every town, every village, every city is mentioned in there," and including famous people in the fields of science, religion, politics, popular culture, amongst others.
The encyclopaedia includes such important facts as these:
In her report on BBC Wales Today , on 12 July 2007, correspondent Caroline Evans said: "It is a long way from the infamous entry in an index of a 19th-century encyclopaedia which read 'For Wales, See England'."
Saunders Lewis was a Welsh political activist, poet, dramatist, historian and literary critic. He was a prominent Welsh nationalist and one of the founders of Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru, later known as Plaid Cymru. Lewis is usually acknowledged as one of the most prominent figures of 20th century Welsh-language literature. In 1970, Lewis was nominated for a Nobel Prize in Literature. Lewis was voted the tenth greatest Welsh hero in the '100 Welsh Heroes' poll, released on St. David's Day 2004.
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in 2011 of 3,063,456 and has a total area of 20,779 km2 (8,023 sq mi). Wales has over 1,680 miles (2,700 km) of coastline and is largely mountainous with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon, its highest summit. The country lies within the north temperate zone and has a changeable, maritime climate.
Anglo-Welsh literature and Welsh writing in English are terms used to describe works written in the English language by Welsh writers. It has been recognised as a distinctive entity only since the 20th century. The need for a separate identity for this kind of writing arose because of the parallel development of modern Welsh-language literature; as such it is perhaps the youngest branch of English-language literature in the British Isles.
The Encyclopaedia Judaica is a 22-volume English-language encyclopedia of the Jewish people and of Judaism. It covers diverse areas of the Jewish world and civilization, including Jewish history of all eras, culture, holidays, language, scripture, and religious teachings. As of 2010, it had been published in two editions accompanied by a few revisions.
The Treachery of the Blue Books or Treason of the Blue Books was the publication in 1847 of the three-volume Reports of the Commissioners of Enquiry into the State of Education in Wales, which caused uproar in Wales for disparaging the Welsh; being particularly scathing in its view of the Welsh language, nonconformity and the morality of the Welsh people in general. The term Brad y Llyfrau Gleision was coined by the author Robert Jones Derfel in response to the Reports' publication.
John Davies was a Welsh historian, and a television and radio broadcaster. He attended university at Cardiff and Cambridge and taught Welsh at Aberystwyth. He wrote a number of books on Welsh history.
Richard Ithamar Aaron, was a Welsh philosopher who became an authority on the work of John Locke. He also wrote a history of philosophy in the Welsh language.
The media in Wales provide services in both English and Welsh, and play a role in modern Welsh culture. BBC Wales began broadcasting in 1923 have helped to promote a form of standardised spoken Welsh, and one historian has argued that the concept of Wales as a single national entity owes much to modern broadcasting. The national broadcasters are based in the capital, Cardiff.
Bethan Gwanas is a popular contemporary Welsh author, who publishes almost exclusively in the Welsh language. A prolific writer, she has had 17 titles published in the last decade. Whilst not just a fiction writer, she has written novels for teenagers and Welsh learners, though most of her recent work has been for adults.
Literature Wales is the Welsh national literature promotion agency and society of writers, existing to promote Welsh-language and English-language literature in Wales. It offers bursaries for writing projects, runs literary events and lectures, and provides financial assistance for creative mentoring and other literary-based ventures. The organisation also selects the National Poet for Wales, and manages competitions including Wales Book of the Year, the Cardiff International Poetry Competition, and the Rhys Davies Short Story Competition.
Nigel Jenkins was an Anglo-Welsh poet. He was an editor, journalist, psychogeographer, broadcaster and writer of creative non-fiction, as well as being a lecturer at Swansea University and director of the creative writing programme there.
Y Cymro is a Welsh language newspaper, which was first published in 1932. Y Cymro was founded in Wrexham, and succeeded other newspapers of the same name that had existed during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It is the only Welsh language national newspaper for Wales and was previously published weekly. In 2017, the owners and publishers, Tindle Newspapers Group announced that they would stop publishing the paper and that they were looking for new owners to publish the paper. In March 2018, after negotiations between the two companies, new owners Cyfryngau Cymru Cyf started publishing Y Cymro as a monthly newspaper. The new company also set up a new Y Cymro website.
The Welsh Wikipedia is the Welsh-language edition of Wikipedia. This edition was started in July 2003. On 23 June 2007 it reached 10,000 articles, the 66th Wikipedia to do so. On 20 November 2008 it attained 20,000 articles. Less than a year later, on 28 October 2009, it reached 25,000 articles. In July 2013 it reached 50,000 articles and is now the 62nd largest Wikipedia edition. It is the only internet resource of its kind in Welsh, has an average of 2.7 million hits every month making it the most popular Welsh language website; it therefore has an important place in Welsh language online culture.
Wales was an English-language literary journal, published from 1937 to 1949 and from 1958 to 1960. The magazine contained fiction, poetry, reviews and articles pertaining to Wales.
The Dictionary of Welsh Biography (DWB) is a biographical dictionary of Welsh people who have made a significant contribution to Welsh life over seventeen centuries. It was first published in 1959, and is now maintained as a free online resource.
Y Traethodydd is a quarterly cultural magazine published in the Welsh language covering historical, literary and theological topics. It is the oldest magazine in Wales and the oldest magazine in the Welsh language still in publication.
Revd Dr Trystan Owain Hughes is a Christian theologian, historian and author. He is noted for his work in church history, theology and spirituality.
William Jones was a Welsh antiquary, poet, scholar and radical. Jones was an ardent supporter of both the American and French Revolutions – his strong support of the Jacobin cause earned him the nickname "the rural Voltaire" or "Welsh Voltaire". Despite his support for foreign revolutionary causes, he never advocated an uprising within his own country, instead campaigning to encourage his countrymen to emigrate to the United States. Jones held strong anti-English feelings, which led to one contemporary to describe him as "the hottest arsed" Welshman he had ever known.
Isaac Foulkes (Llyfrbryf) (1836–1904) was a Welsh author and editor.
Geraint Huw Jenkins, FBA, FLSW is a historian of Wales and a retired academic. He was Professor of Welsh History at the Aberystwyth University from 1990 to 1993, when he became Director of the University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies. In 2009, he retired from academia and was appointed Professor Emeritus of Welsh History at the University of Wales.