Form

The Englyn

Short Lyric and Epigrammatic Forms

A short, strict-meter Welsh verse form, among the oldest fixed forms in the Welsh bardic tradition, governed by cynghanedd, the elaborate system of internal alliteration and consonance that defines classical Welsh poetics, and still composed and judged in competition today.

Facts
Place of Origin
Wales, attested from the early medieval period, among the oldest fixed forms of the Welsh bardic tradition. 1
Structure
In its most common form (englyn unodl union), four lines of 10, 6, 7 and 7 syllables, rhymed and governed throughout by cynghanedd sound-patterning. 1
Notable Example
The englynion of the medieval Canu Llywarch Hen and Canu Heledd cycles; englyn composition remains a competed discipline at the Welsh National Eisteddfod today. 1
Mode
Poetry 2
Structure
Fixed Form 2
Connections

Form Of Genre

Lyric Poetry, Genres
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
In the Other Atlases

Original Language

Welsh

Also in Language Atlas: the original language of this subject.

Source Wikipedia: EnglynLead paragraph
Quote, Lead paragraph
is a traditional Welsh short poem form

Originated In

United Kingdom

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.

Sources
1. The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
Princeton University Press
  • Place of Origin: Wales, attested from the early medieval period, among the oldest fixed forms of the Welsh bardic tradition.
  • Structure: In its most common form (englyn unodl union), four lines of 10, 6, 7 and 7 syllables, rhymed and governed throughout by cynghanedd sound-patterning.
  • Notable Example: The englynion of the medieval Canu Llywarch Hen and Canu Heledd cycles; englyn composition remains a competed discipline at the Welsh National Eisteddfod today.
2. Wikipedia: Englyn
  • Lead paragraph, sentence on structure
    The metre involves the counting of syllables, and rigid patterns of rhyme and half rhyme.
  • Early history
    The englyn is found in the work of the earliest attested Welsh poets (the cynfeirdd), where the main types are the three-line englyn milwr and englyn penfyr.
  • Lead paragraph, mode
    is a traditional Welsh short poem form
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