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Gwenddydd: Enillydd y Fedal Ryddiaith

Gwenddydd is a palimpsest; the ‘surface’ narrative’s focus on a WWII soldier’s battle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is related over an underlying narrative supplied by the poetry associated with the character ‘Myrddin Wyllt’ (‘Wild Myrddin’). The novel’s composition was proceeded by, and predicated upon, detailed work on this body of medieval Welsh literature. While a number of these poems have survived in medieval manuscripts, the associated prose narrative which some scholars think once accompanied this verse has not. Thus the first line of inquiry involved reconsidering

scholarly reconstructions of this ‘lost legend’, including comparative considerations of relevant Irish material. This research helped temper the formation of the novel’s narrative structure. Secondly, close textual analysis was used to identify key lines and phrases which can be seen to function as both emotional and rhythmic anchors for the medieval poems. These were then used as central strands for weaving the novel’s narrative fabric. Finally, following the theory that the medieval Welsh Myrddin Wyllt tradition provided a way of examining the psychological effects of war, comparisons were considered with other relevant works of medieval Welsh literature, most notably the end of the Second Branch of the Mabinogi, a story in which warriors who have survived a catastrophic battle undergo a prolonged period characterized by failure to remember and face that trauma.