The Customs and Traditions of Wales (Pocket Guides): A Pocket Guide - Softcover

Trefor M. Owen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0708311180 ISBN 13: 9780708311189

Publisher: University of Wales Press, 2006

Synopsis

Trefor M. Owen's seminal work educates, enlightens and entertains with a far-reaching yet accessible text, which paints a colourful and comprehensive portrait of a nation's rich folk culture. The Customs and Traditions of Wales is an illuminating and engrossing insight into a subject that continues to unfold and develop in contemporary life. Despite an increasingly globalised society that has transformed local communities, folk customs are still practised and enjoyed the world over as people combine modern-day and historical rituals and embrace opportunities to learn about their past, and Owen's influential study has maintained its relevance as customs change and evolve.

About this title

Review:

`This guide is certainly pocket-sized, but the depth and breadth of its contents are quite remarkable, and equal to what is often found in a much bulkier tome.' Lore and Language `... Trefor M. Owen has admirably succeeded in introducing his reader to a wealth of information on the social history, customs and traditions of Wales.' Rural Wales

Synopsis:

This concise and informative guide looks back to the customs and traditions of a predominantly rural Wales during the nineteenth century - the revelries of the corn harvest; winter nights by the fireside, knitting, telling stories and making rush candles; overcoming poverty and hardship by raising funds at a cwrw bach...Each chapter is complemented by several eye-witness accounts - vivid descriptions of a forgotten way of life. Customs are arranged into four main groups: those centred on the hearth and home, agriculture, community life and the parish church. In this book Trefor M. Owen explores their origins and examines the changes they underwent during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in response to industrialization and the growth of Nonconformity. He also looks briefly at the development of folklore studies and the recorders of folk culture.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Wales Press
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0708311180
• ISBN 13: 9780708311189
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 108