What was a good witch and a bad witch?
Is it right to think of witchcraft as a religion?
Was the fight against the natural world the basis of the fight against the 'witch'?
In this online Welsh-language event, Siân Melangell Dafydd discusses the historic and contemporary witches of Wales as part of a research project support by Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol.
Siân Melangell Dafydd is a writer, poet, translator, naturalist and yoga teacher. 'Coel Gwrach' (Witch's belief) is her research and creative project which is a natural development of her background exploring and living in a way that would have been considered questionable (and still is today by some). It is time for the story of the five who were persecuted for being 'witches' in Wales to be told in their own language. As a result of searching for information, other questions have arisen, including an appreciation of Welsh and Welsh vocabulary and traditions. These conversations are part of the 'Coel Gwrach' research.
Gareth Evans-Jones hails from the witches' island of Llanddona, and he is a lecturer in Philosophy and Religion at Bangor University. He has won the National Eisteddfod Drama Medal twice, and the 2023 Creative Nonfiction award for his book of literature and photographs, Cylchu Cymru. His latest novel is Y Cylch, which follows a group of modern witches in an imaginary Bangor. Gareth is interested in witchcraft as a tradition, religion and way of life, and the history of witches in society. Currently, he is compiling a study about the relationship between historical persecution of 'witches' and the exploitation of the natural world.
This project is supported by Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol.