Einion’s Harp
It was the Third Crusade and Einion of Plas Rhiwhiriaeth heard the call. He left behind his wife, Eva, and son, David. Years passed and eventually the minstrels told of the war’s end and the soldiers’ return. Every day Eva and David waited but Einion never arrived. Another handsome suitor from the war asked Eva for her hand and, after twice rejecting him, she said yes. At the celebration the night before the wedding, a stranger arrived. He played a song on his harp that Einion composed for Eva. It was Einion himself and they returned to living together happily.
Telyn Einion
Cafodd Einion o Blas Rhiwhiriaeth ei alw i ymladd yn y Tir Sanctaidd, yn gadael ei wraig Efa a’u mab bach Dafydd. Tyfodd y bachgen bach lan yn gofyn pryd oedd ei dad yn mynd i ddychwelyd. Cafodd Efa’r newyddion o hen fardd bod y milwyr yn dod adre ond ni ddaeth Einion. Daeth dyn newydd i Blas Rhiwhiriaeth yn gofyn i briodi Efa, a gwrthododd dwywaith, gan gytuno yn y diwedd mewn tristwch. Yng nghanol gwledd y briodasdaeth bardd i fewn a dechrau chwarae’r delyn, at atgoffodd y gerddoriaeth Efa o’r gŵr coll. Fe oedd Einion, a dyma nhw’n byw’n hapus am byth.
And below are two paired tellings in English by young KS2 pupils at Abermule Primary School at the end of a “Story in a Day” workshop with storyteller Amy Douglas.
More about the Montgomeryshire Folktales project
In 1947 the Montgomeryshire History Teachers Committee commissioned a book ‘The Enchanted Wood and Other Stories’ of site-specific tales passed down through Montgomeryshire communities for generations, rewritten as a local history resource for schools.
During 2019/20 Mythstories was funded by The Heritage Lottery Fund in Wales to turn the 1947 book into an on-line resource.
Mythstories commissioned storyteller Amy Douglas and visual artist Helen Kozich to work with young people in Newtown, Powys and help them re-interpret the tales for their peers. Videos of the young people telling the stories in many different ways are among the Montgomeryshire folktales on this website.
Storyteller Tamar Williams ran two day-long stagecraft workshops for young people at Theatr Hafren, Newtown.
Artists Ed Fisher and Imogen Phillips were commissioned to produce black-and-white illustrations of each location, for a series of postcards and use on this website.
Ashley Thomas edited the videos of the storytellings.
Many volunteers helped:
Members of Bangor University Storytelling Soc. produced the English précis of the stories for the postcard series
Fiona Collins, Alison Layland and Tamar Williams produced the Welsh précis of the stories for the postcard series.
Members of Llangollen’s Caffi Stori visited each of the sites, took photos and reported back to the artists on the locations.
And organisations leant their support:
Newtown Library and Newtown High School hosted a Newtown Young Storytellers Club and Penygloddfa Primary School, Caersws Primary School and Abermule Primary School hosted “Story in a Day” workshops.
Theatr Hafren hosted the stagecraft workshops and the final celebratory event
Newtown & Llanllwchaiarn Town Council funded storytelling performances to school children in Newtown to help promote the project.
Thank You All!
The full teachers resource is at https://mythstories.com/stories/montgomeryshire-folktales/
