The Welsh Triads (Welsh: Trioedd Ynys Prydein, "Triads of the Island of Britain") are a collection of connected writings found in old handwritten books from medieval times. These writings save parts of Welsh stories, myths, and historical traditions by grouping them into sets of three. A triad is a way of organizing information by placing three items together, with a title that shows how they are similar. For example, "Three things that are hard to control: the rush of a fast-moving stream, the path of an arrow, and the words of a foolish person."

Contents

The texts mention King Arthur and other partly based on real people from Britain after the Roman Empire left, mythical figures like Brân the Blessed, clearly real people such as Alan IV, Duke of Brittany (also known as Alan Fyrgan), and characters from the Iron Age like Caswallawn (Cassivellaunus) and Caradoc (Caratacus).

Some triads list three people or things that share a trait, such as "the three playful bards of the island of Britain," while others include detailed stories. Triads likely began as a tool used by Welsh bards to help remember poems and stories, later becoming a way to present ideas in Welsh writing. The Medieval Welsh story Culhwch and Olwen includes many triads within its plot.

As translated and edited by Rachel Bromwich, two examples of Welsh triads are:

Earliest surviving collection

The oldest known collection of the Welsh Triads is found in the manuscript Peniarth 16, now held at the National Library of Wales. This manuscript was created around 1275 and includes 46 of the 96 triads collected by Rachel Bromwich. Other important manuscripts include Peniarth 45, written about 1275, and the pair of manuscripts called the White Book of Rhydderch (Welsh: Llyfr Gwyn Rhydderch) and the Red Book of Hergest (Welsh: Llyfr Coch Hergest). These two manuscripts share a version of the triads that is different from the version found in the Peniarth manuscripts.

Later collections

In the 18th century, a Welsh scholar named Iolo Morganwg gathered a group of triads, which he said came from his own collection of old manuscripts. Some of his triads are similar to those found in medieval manuscripts, but others are only found in Morganwg's work. Many people think these unique triads were created by him, though the incomplete state of the medieval manuscripts makes it hard to be certain whether he truly had unique parts.