This bibliography accompanies a brief and opinionated survey of the history and present status of the Welsh language written to accompany Mark Nodine's online Welsh lessons.
Perhaps the most impressive of recent histories of Wales written from the undertanding of Welshman is
Aside from everything else about it, this book is remarkable for being Penguin Books' first publication in Welsh. Davies has subsequently translated it into English,
A shorter survey of Welsh history from the British wars of independence to the present century, and written from a respectable left-wing perspective is:
A good reference for the period between Roman occupation and the fall of Britain, the period leading up to the creation of Welsh as a separate language, and Wales as a separate country is
Some years ago Kenneth Morgan began what was billed as a history of Wales in several volumes, one to a century. As far as I know, only the one volume exists:
There is a great deal of writing about the experience of the common man, and the formation in this period of what is now called the working class. perhaps a good source on the diversity of experience in parts of Wales would be Dai Smith's collection of essays by Labour historians and writers:
For someone insterested in the nature of Welsh nationalism in the second half of the twentieth century, I might suggest:
which contains a chapter on twentieth century Wales entitled "Identity in Retreat", and
which is a collection of essays by academics and practicing politicans alike.
Perhaps the most famous figure in the politics of the Welsh language in the twentieth century is John Saunders Lewis. As well as his literary outpuit, there are several volumes of his essays including:
Canlyn Arthur contains accounts of the reasons for the burning of the bombing school at Penyberth, and Ati, Wy+r Ifainc contains the text of the 1962 BBC radio lecture Tynged yr Iaith which led to the foundation of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg. (The word Wy+r is spelled with a y-circumflex, which is not in the standard character set of web documents.)
Some of Saunders Lewis' essays are to be found in English translation in
Tynged yr Iaith also appeared in English translation in Planet, number 4, 1971; a sound recording is available on cassette from Sain, and an online text from Cymdeithas yr Iaith.
Another more recent source is to be found in the collection of papers edited as a seventy-fifth birthday celebration:
Meredydd Evans is a philosopher, a collector and singer of folk songs, had a career in television production, and is a much respected figure in the nationalist community. He writes about the philosophy of non-violent protest, about actions in which he has taken part, and about culture.
If you are interested in Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg you might want to look at
which is a history in cuttings and photographs and jottings of the first quarter century of its campaigns, principally written to make those of us who took part in them nostalgic. You might also want to look for the Society's aperiodic periodical, Y Tafod.
Another source on the state of debate in the sixties is
I believe that there is a later, much revised edition of this book but do not have the details to hand; if you do, please send them to me for inclusion here.
If you have been learning Welsh and want a collection of brief biographies to bluff your way through our history, try
which contains popular biographies of the fifty most famous figures in the history of the Welsh nation.