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Cyfres Amdani: Chwedlau Cymru: Ceffylau
Dyma chwe chwedl neu stori o Gymru. Chwedlau am geffylau. Chwedlau am bobl enwog yn hanes Cymru – fel y Brenin Arthur. Mae’r chwedlau’n dod o sir y Fflint, Sir Gaerfyrddin, Gwynedd, Castell-nedd, Port Talbot a Dyfed. Rwyt ti’n gallu darllen chwedl am dy ardal di. Mae’n bwysig gwybod am dy ardal. Mae’n bwysig gwybod am chwedlau dy ardal.
- GenresShort Stories
50 pages, Paperback
Published April 1, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 15, 2022
Hmmm...I feel slightly biased in my review of this book as I have a degree in medieval Celtic literature and it is a pet peeve of mine when people describe medieval Celtic literature as "folk tales" in a way they don't do with medieval literature of other cultures but it is a MASSIVE pet peeve of mine when people make medieval literature (and folk tales) into something childish.
I have criticised Amdani books before for being childish on the grounds that there are plenty of childish books in simple Welsh around already (they're called children's books). This series is supposedly for adults so when there exists a version of a tale about a 'blemished' king with asses ears putting his barbers to death to hide that he was unfit to rule, I don't know why exactly Fiona Collins decided to tell the cutesy version where no barbers are put to death and in the end everyone loves the king's ears. Same goes for the story of Pwyll meeting Rhiannon which I certainly would not describe as a "stori am syrthio mewn cariad". I would perhaps have chosen instead the episode where they persuade Rhiannon that she's murdered her own baby and force her to carry people on her back like a horse.
The other tales here I must admit I am less familiar with and probably are more legitimately folk tales. However, from the tone used and events described, I strongly suspect Fiona Collins has similarly selected children's versions of these tales for no apparent reason.
I think a big opportunity has been missed here to tell adult Welsh learners the adult versions of these beautiful tales. Instead, I feel patronised. To top it off, more than one of them had almost nothing to do with horses.
I have criticised Amdani books before for being childish on the grounds that there are plenty of childish books in simple Welsh around already (they're called children's books). This series is supposedly for adults so when there exists a version of a tale about a 'blemished' king with asses ears putting his barbers to death to hide that he was unfit to rule, I don't know why exactly Fiona Collins decided to tell the cutesy version where no barbers are put to death and in the end everyone loves the king's ears. Same goes for the story of Pwyll meeting Rhiannon which I certainly would not describe as a "stori am syrthio mewn cariad". I would perhaps have chosen instead the episode where they persuade Rhiannon that she's murdered her own baby and force her to carry people on her back like a horse.
The other tales here I must admit I am less familiar with and probably are more legitimately folk tales. However, from the tone used and events described, I strongly suspect Fiona Collins has similarly selected children's versions of these tales for no apparent reason.
I think a big opportunity has been missed here to tell adult Welsh learners the adult versions of these beautiful tales. Instead, I feel patronised. To top it off, more than one of them had almost nothing to do with horses.
January 14, 2022
I had the pleasure of hearing Fiona Collins speak at a Sadwrn Siarad (Speaking Saturday) session as part of my endeavour to learn Welsh with Dysgu Cymraeg.
She won the annual award of Welsh Learner of the Year, and is a professional storyteller, so the style of this book entirely reflects the way in which she orally relates stories. It wasn’t therefore, as entertaining for me personally as some of the other books in this series, but it did serve the purpose of getting used to reading and comprehending Welsh.
Diolch yn fawr, Fiona!
She won the annual award of Welsh Learner of the Year, and is a professional storyteller, so the style of this book entirely reflects the way in which she orally relates stories. It wasn’t therefore, as entertaining for me personally as some of the other books in this series, but it did serve the purpose of getting used to reading and comprehending Welsh.
Diolch yn fawr, Fiona!
August 16, 2021
Very gog, and seems written for a much younger audience than the Amdani books are actually meant for. The back cover specifically says "ar gyfer oedolion sy'n dysgu Cymraeg" but the book reads as if for 7-12 year olds. Still nice stories, and nice that I only had to look up a few things.
August 21, 2022
Fiona Collins writes in her intro that she is primarily a storyteller, and you can certainly tell when you go through this short collection of stories.
Written as they are, these would actually make good bedtime tales to read to kids, and so I'll keep Ceffylau to hand for when my nephew's a bit older - but if you're an adult and know the folktale of Rhiannon (for example) and read Ms Collins's version of it here, I can see why one wouldn't grok with this book. I'm not familiar with all the stories, but the ones about Rhiannon and King March are sanitised to the point where even Disney would raise an eyebrow.
To be fair to this book, all of the Welsh material I've read (specifically devised for learners) have been fairly light hearted, which I can understand. When you're getting to grips with reading in a second language you might not want a heavy topic, but this is much in the vein of Caru Canu a Stori. Personally? I don't mind that, as long as it's marketed as such. What Cyw has on offer (including the legendary Byd Tad-cu) and Ceffylau have a place in my Welsh learning materials when I want something soft and simple in my second language, but I'd perhaps aim this at older children learning Welsh, rather than adults.
Still quite nice tales, though - just take with a pinch of salt.
Written as they are, these would actually make good bedtime tales to read to kids, and so I'll keep Ceffylau to hand for when my nephew's a bit older - but if you're an adult and know the folktale of Rhiannon (for example) and read Ms Collins's version of it here, I can see why one wouldn't grok with this book. I'm not familiar with all the stories, but the ones about Rhiannon and King March are sanitised to the point where even Disney would raise an eyebrow.
To be fair to this book, all of the Welsh material I've read (specifically devised for learners) have been fairly light hearted, which I can understand. When you're getting to grips with reading in a second language you might not want a heavy topic, but this is much in the vein of Caru Canu a Stori. Personally? I don't mind that, as long as it's marketed as such. What Cyw has on offer (including the legendary Byd Tad-cu) and Ceffylau have a place in my Welsh learning materials when I want something soft and simple in my second language, but I'd perhaps aim this at older children learning Welsh, rather than adults.
Still quite nice tales, though - just take with a pinch of salt.
April 2, 2023
Enjoyed this as a learner who's just completed Mynediad. I know others have issues with the historical accuracy - I'm less concerned given the audience for this is kids/learners.
My main issue is that it seems quite focused on Cymraeg Gogledd (which is fine) but could be marked a bit more clearly - otherwise this is quite a bit more intimidating for learners yn y De!
My main issue is that it seems quite focused on Cymraeg Gogledd (which is fine) but could be marked a bit more clearly - otherwise this is quite a bit more intimidating for learners yn y De!
January 24, 2025
I really enjoyed this book, it was one of the first I managed to breeze through fairly quickly and I can tell my Welsh is coming along in leaps and bounds! I’m so grateful to these books for being available as a learning tool as they’ve been great for me. I can really see how far I’ve coming from reading my first book in Welsh.
And it helped that the subject matter was so interesting too. Yes, they may have been massively oversimplified but they are for learners! And at the Mynediad (entry) level as well, I’m glad it wasn’t too far out of my reach and left me feeling confident in my progress.
I really enjoyed each of the folktales and the stories were easy for me to follow with a handy key of words to refer to at the end of each page. Brilliant resource!
And it helped that the subject matter was so interesting too. Yes, they may have been massively oversimplified but they are for learners! And at the Mynediad (entry) level as well, I’m glad it wasn’t too far out of my reach and left me feeling confident in my progress.
I really enjoyed each of the folktales and the stories were easy for me to follow with a handy key of words to refer to at the end of each page. Brilliant resource!
December 4, 2025
Dw i eisiau darllen y llyfr hwn ers dechrau Lefel Mynediad, achos mae’r lluniau a’r clawr mor prydferth a dw i’n hoff iawn o chwedlau. Dw i’n falch o ffeinidio’r amser i ei ddarllen e ar ôl yr holl amser hwn - er bod y lefel yn rhy hawdd i fi nawr - achos mae’r straeon yn ddifyr.
Roedd dewis y chwedlau ar sail thema “ceffyl” yn syniad da; taswn i’n darllen y llyfr yn ystod Lefel Mynediad, dw i’n meddwl baswn i’n ei ffeindio hi’n hawdd i gofio geirfa newydd achos mae’r geiriau yn codi’n aml ledled y storïau i gyd.
Roeddwn i hefyd yn meddwl ei bod hi’n syniad gwych i ddechrau’r chwedl am Rhiannon o’i pherspectif hi; roeddwn i wastad yn meddwl ei bod hi’n rhyfedd iddi hi jest ymddangos yn sydyn yn y Mabinogi fel hynny. Ond gallai’r terfyniad y fersiwn hon wedi sôn am y drais sydd yn dilyn y rhan hwn o’r stori.
Pedair seren achos roedd terfyniad rhyfedd gyda’r chwedl olaf achos doedd dim canlyniad o gamgymeriad y prif gymeriad. Roedd hi’n teimlo’n eithaf “anti-climactic” ond tybed dyna jest sut mae’r chwedl yn mynd. Ar ôl darllen adolygiadau eraill, dw i hefyd yn cytuno bod y “chwedlau” hyn yn fwy ar gyfer blant yn lle oedolion.
Roedd dewis y chwedlau ar sail thema “ceffyl” yn syniad da; taswn i’n darllen y llyfr yn ystod Lefel Mynediad, dw i’n meddwl baswn i’n ei ffeindio hi’n hawdd i gofio geirfa newydd achos mae’r geiriau yn codi’n aml ledled y storïau i gyd.
Roeddwn i hefyd yn meddwl ei bod hi’n syniad gwych i ddechrau’r chwedl am Rhiannon o’i pherspectif hi; roeddwn i wastad yn meddwl ei bod hi’n rhyfedd iddi hi jest ymddangos yn sydyn yn y Mabinogi fel hynny. Ond gallai’r terfyniad y fersiwn hon wedi sôn am y drais sydd yn dilyn y rhan hwn o’r stori.
Pedair seren achos roedd terfyniad rhyfedd gyda’r chwedl olaf achos doedd dim canlyniad o gamgymeriad y prif gymeriad. Roedd hi’n teimlo’n eithaf “anti-climactic” ond tybed dyna jest sut mae’r chwedl yn mynd. Ar ôl darllen adolygiadau eraill, dw i hefyd yn cytuno bod y “chwedlau” hyn yn fwy ar gyfer blant yn lle oedolion.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews