1. The Riches of Myrddin’s Land by T. Gwyn Jones

  2. Note: this was written decades before the greening of the
  3. south eastern Welsh valleys and the closing of coal mines.

  4. The Land of Myrddin is such a romantic countryside. In the
  5. east of Carmarthenshire alone is the wealth of its coal - in
  6. the Aman valley and the Gwendraeth valley, the anthracite
  7. (stone coal) areas. Great change has taken place in these
  8. valleys during the last half-centurie - a great change in the
  9. way of life, and a tremendous increase in population, as the
  10. coal mines were opened. Yet less of the old glory was lost
  11. from these places than was done in many another similar
  12. locality, which came under the influence of the Industrial
  13. Revolution within the same period. We gather that the Aman
  14. Valley was a wooded fruitful land when there was a hunting
  15. of the Twrch Trwyth (the famous wild boar of the Mabinogion
  16. Tales) there long ago; the dear dwelt in the forests of the
  17. Gwendraeth valley when Gerald the Welshman went on his
  18. journey that way at the end of the twelfth century, and saw
  19. sheep and cattle grazing on the coastal plain between
  20. Kidwelly and the sea. And however much the change in these
  21. areas by today much of the beauty and romance of the olden
  22. days still remain.
  23. If I were asked to say in a word what is the greatest wealth
  24. of the Land of Myrddin, I would say that it is the endless
  25. vareity of its scenery. The wildness of ravines, the solitude of
  26. mountains, the fertility of dales, the magic of the sea-coasts -
  27. all this belongs to it.

Jones, T. G, (1938), Cymru 'n Galw, Detholiad o Sgyrsiau Radio Cymraeg, 1936-7, in Welsh and translated into English as ‘The Riches of Myrddin's Land’ in Bowen, J. T., Jones, T. J. R. (1960), Welsh, London: Teach Yourself Books, Hodder and Stoughton, 183-191; this extract from the English, 187-188.

Questions on the Land of Myrddin
Multiple Choice

  1. The main purpose of this article is:
    1. To persuade you to change your mind
    2. To argue a case against a contrary case
    3. To give a personal reflection
    4. To describe a means of travelling

  2. The genre of this writing might be described as:
    1. Horror
    2. Fiction
    3. Travel
    4. Historical

  3. There is a spelling mistake on line:
    1. Line 2
    2. Line 5
    3. Line 8
    4. Line 10

  4. There is another spelling mistake on line:
    1. Line 12
    2. Line 16
    3. Line 19
    4. Line 21

  5. There is yet another spelling mistake on line:
    1. Line 23
    2. Line 24
    3. Line 25
    4. Line 26

  6. The greatest wealth of the Land of Myrddin (lines 23-24) is claimed to be:
    1. The magic of the sea-coasts
    2. The fertility of dales
    3. The solitude of mountains
    4. The wildness of ravines
    5. The endless variety of its scenery

  7. Deer (line 16) dwelt in the forests of the:
    1. Twrch Trwyth
    2. Mabinogion Tales
    3. Gwendraeth valley
    4. Land between Kidwelly and the sea

  8. This piece by T. Gwyn Jones was written:
    1. Before the Industrial Revolution
    2. Before the south eastern Welsh valleys were greened
    3. After the closing of the coal mines
    4. During the time of Myrddin

  9. Gerald the Welshman went on his journey in the Gwendraeth valley:
    1. During the Industrial Revolution
    2. When the coal mines were opened
    3. In the nineteenth century
    4. In the twelfth century

  10. Anthracite is described as:
    1. Stone cold
    2. Coal stored
    3. Smokeless coal
    4. Stone coal

  11. The Aman and Gwendraeth valleys (from line 6):
    1. Saw the opening of coal mines but did not suffer the effects of the Industrial Revolution
    2. Did not see the opening of coal mines yet suffered the effects of the Industrial Revolution
    3. Saw the opening of coal mines and suffered the effects of the Industrial Revolution
    4. Neither saw the opening of coal mines nor  suffered the effects of the Industrial Revolution

  12. The opening of the coal mines (line 10) was accompanied by:
    1. A rise in the population but no alteration of the way of life
    2. No rise in the population but an alteration in the way of life
    3. A rise in the population and an alteration of the way of life
    4. Neither a rise in the population nor an alteration in the way of life

  13. Before the Industrial Revolution the Aman valley was a place with:
    1. Woods where people were unable to go hunting
    2. Devoid of trees leaving space for people to go hunting
    3. Woods where people were able to go hunting
    4. Devoid of trees yet people went hunting elsewhere

  14. According to the text shown, the Land of Myrddin is:
    1. A place at the time of the Mabinogion tales
    2. A romantic setting
    3. Where Merlin lived
    4. Where Gerald the Welshman lived

Questions  on  the  Land  of  Myrddin

 

Adrian Worsfold