Awen
Awen is a Welsh , Cornish and Breton word for "(poetic) inspiration". In the Welsh tradition, Awen is the inspiration for the poet bards ; or, in his personification, Awen is the inspirational muse of creative artists in general: the inspired individual (often a poet or a fortune teller) is referred to as Awenydd . Emma Restall Orr, founder and former director of the Druid Network, defines Awen as "flowing spirit" and says that "flowing spirit energy is the essence of life".
In today's usage, Awen is sometimes attributed to musicians and poets. It is also occasionally used as a male and female first name in English-speaking countries .
It appears in the third stanza of "Hen Wlad fy Nhadau", the national anthem of Wales .
etymology
Awen is derived from the Indo-European root * -uel, which means "to blow", and has the same root as the Welsh word "awel", which means "breeze".
Historical background
The first documented confirmation of the word can be found in Nennius ' Historia Brittonum , a Latin text from around 796, based in part on earlier writings by the Welsh monk Gildas . It occurs in the phrase "Tunc talhaern tat aguen in poemate claret" (Talhaern, the father of the muse was known in poetry at the time), with the old Welsh word Aguen (Awen) occurring in the Latin text, the poet from the sixth Century describes.
It is also recorded in its current form in Canu Llywarch Hen (9th or 10th century?), Where Llywarch says, "I know of my Awen" that it is referred to as the source of instinctive knowledge.
Taliesin's book often implies this on connections between Awen as poetic inspiration and as an outflow from the divine . A particularly striking example is contained in the lines:
Ban Pan Doeth Peir
Ogyrwen Awen Teir
Literally "the three elements of inspiration that came gloriously from the cauldron", but implicitly "that came from God" as "Peir" (cauldron), can also mean "sovereign", often meaning "God". It is the "three elements" that are skilfully processed here, as Awen sometimes consisted of three subdivisions ("ogyrwen"), thus "the ogyrwen of the triune inspiration", which possibly indicates the trinity.
Giraldus Cambrensis , in his description of Wales (1194), referred to those inspired by the Awen as "Awenyddion":
There are certain people in Cambria who you won't find anywhere else called Awenyddion or inspired people; When asked about a dubious event, they shout violently, become frantic, and become obsessed with a ghost, so to speak. They provide the answer to what is required in a non-coherent way; But the person who cleverly observes them will, after many preambles and many nugatory and incoherent, if ornate, speeches find the desired explanation, which is conveyed in a twist of a word: they will then be torn from their ecstasy as from a deep sleep. and forced, so to speak, by force to return to their correct senses. After answering the questions, they do not recover until they are violently shaken by other people. They also can't remember the answers they gave. If consulted a second or third time at the same time, they will use completely different expressions. Maybe they speak to fanatical and ignorant spirits. These gifts are usually bestowed on them in dreams: some seem to have poured sweet milk or honey on their lips; Others claim that a written schedule is applied to their mouth and upon awakening they publicly declare that they have received this gift.
(Chapter XVI: Concerning the Fortune Teller of That Nation and the Persons Who Were Obsessed) In 1694, the Welsh poet Henry Vaughan wrote to his cousin, the antiquarian John Aubrey , in response to a request for information on the remnants of Druidism, which to this time was found in Wales.
... The old bards ... did not communicate anything of their knowledge, except through the path of tradition: which I believe is the reason they left no reports, nor any remnants or other monuments of their learning of the way of life. As for the later bards, you have a most exciting account of it. This vein of poetry they called Awen, which in their language means rapture or a poetic fury and (in truth) so many of them I've spoken to are (as I can tell) gifted or inspired by it. I was told by a very sober, knowing person (now dead) that in his day there was a young, fatherless and motherless boy who was so poor that he had to beg; but in the end he was picked up by a rich man who kept a large herd of sheep in the mountains not far from where I now live, who dressed him and sent him to the mountains to keep his sheep. There, in the summer, with the sheep, he looked at their lambs and fell into a deep sleep in which he dreamed of seeing a handsome young man with a garland of green leaves and a hawk on his fist. A quiver full of arrows is on his back and he comes up to him (whistling a few bars or melodies all the way). Lastly, he let fly the hawk, which (he dreamed) flew into his mouth and inner parts, whereupon he suddenly awoke in a great fear and dismay: but with a large vein or a gift of poetry, then he left it Sheep and wandered the lands, making songs on all occasions, becoming the most famous bard in all lands of his time.
- Henry Vaughan, in a letter to John Aubrey, October 1694
Modern druids
In some forms of modern druids , the term is symbolized by an emblem that shows three straight lines that expand as they move downward, sometimes within a circle or series of circles of varying thicknesses, often with a point or a point , shown on each line. The British Druid Order attributes the symbol to Iolo Morganwg . The symbol was adopted by many modern druids and is one of the most famous druidic symbols today.
The Order of the Bards, Ovates and Druids (OBOD) describes the three lines as rays emanating from three points of light, these points representing the threefold aspect of the deity and also the points where the sun rises on the equinoxes and solar vests. known as the triad of sunrises. The emblem used by the OBOD is surrounded by three circles that represent the three circles of creation.
Different neo-Druid groups and individuals have their own interpretations of the Awen. The three lines refer to earth, sea and air; Body Mind and Soul; or love, wisdom and truth. It is also said that the Awen stands not only for inspiration but also for inspiration of truth; Without it one cannot preach the truth.
The three foundations of Awen are truth, wisdom and righteousness / justice, since without these three a life in the druidic ideals and an inspired and all-encompassing poetry (and also other inspiration) is not possible.
A version of the Awen was approved by the U.S. Veterans Administration for veteran tombstones in early 2017.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Emma Restall Orr: Living Druidry. Piatkus Books, 2004
- ↑ Welsh National Anthem . Wales website. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
- ↑ Canu Llywarch Hen ed.Ifor Williams Cardiff, 1935
- ↑ Legendary Poems from the Book of Taliesin ed. Marged Haycock CMCS, 2007 p.296
- ↑ Gerald of Wales Description of Wales and the Journey Through Wales trans Lewis Thorpe, Penguin, various editions
- ^ "Early Modern Letters Online". Bodleian Library. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
- ^ "Awen - The Holy Spirit of Druidry - The British Druid Order". The British Druid Order.
- ^ Order of Bards, Ovates & Druids (2001). Approaching The Forest: Gwers 2, Pg. 24. " Oak Tree Press.
- ↑ Available Emblems of Belief for Placement on Government Headstones and Markers ( English ) United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Retrieved March 19, 2019.