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Oddities
Perhaps I should explain my earlier blogs; Jan Morris got her fact wrong in stating that Crumlin is in Glamorgan, the viaduct was well into Monmouthshire. I am from Merthyr Tydfil, and to go to work in Ebbw Vale I crossed the River Rhymney at Rhymney Bridge, the County border, and past the River Sirhowy at Tredegar before arriving at the head of the Ebbw Fawr, which, after its confluence with the Ebbw Fach was the river that the viaduct spanned. The Glamorganshire Canal ran from the Cyfarthfa Iron Works at Georgetown, Merthyr Tydfil down the Taff Valley to the docks at Cardiff.As for the Cymric Celts; the first wave of Celts were the 'Q' Celtic or Gaels, followed by the second wave, the 'P' Celtic or Brythons, British or Britons: it was this second wave of Celts who began referring to themselves as the Cymry, the first mention of which was in the 'Armes Prydein Fawr', 'The Great Prophesy of Britain', written between 935 and 950. Although, according to Geoffrey of Monmouth, Wales was named after Kamber, a son of Brutus, leader of the Trojans, who gave his name to the Britons.He had two brothers, Albanactus and Locrinus, who gave their names to Scotland (Yr Alban) and England (Lloegr) respectively.Owen M. Edwards says that for a long time the name Cymry was despised as a term of reproach, to express degeneracy, taking the place of the proud name of Britons and didn't come into its own until the rule of Llywelyn Fawr, when by then it was obvious where we stood. 'Britain' was still used by the bards, but the leaders were now Princes of Cymru.