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Matthew Stevens, Louise Miskell and Sam Blaxland talk with Martin Johnes

Welsh Legends…Or Are They Myths?

 
Hay Festival 2017, 

The panel questions three of the big legends in Wales. They start with the image of medieval Wales as a nation conquered by England and then briefly set free by Owain Glyndwr. Stevens argues that the Welsh were a people rather than a single nation and that Glyndwr was no national redeemer. The second legend is modern Wales as a land made by coal. Miskell looks at how Welsh industry was far more diverse than this in the late 19th century. The third legend is the idea of Wales as a victim of Conservative oppression. Blaxland shows how the Tories have always enjoyed a strong base of Welsh support and argues that they were key architects of the devolved Welsh state.

Matthew Stevens, Louise Miskell and Sam Blaxland talk with Martin Johnes