Strata Florida Abbey ( Abaty Ystrad Fflur)

Strata Florida Abbey ( Abaty Ystrad Fflur) is a former Cistercian abbey situated just outside Pontrhydfendigaid, near Tregaron.

Shortly after the Norman invasion of Wales, a monastery, from which the present Abbey takes its name, was fo...unded on the banks of the Afon Fflura, a short distance from the present site, by a group of Cistercian monks from Whitland Abbey

Benedictine houses were usually established near Norman castles, but because they were seen as instruments of conquest, they failed to make any real impression on the local Welsh population. The Cistercians, in contrast, sought out solitude in the mountains and moorlands. Their austere discipline and emphasis on pastoral farming fitted in well with the local Welsh stock-rearing economy.

The present Abbey was founded around 1164 A.D, by the Lord Rhys, who because of pressure from the Normans, transferred his patronage from St Davids to Strata Florida and it is why many of his descendants were buried there.

By 1184 Strata Florida had increased in status and authority and its influence was felt throughout Wales. It is believed that it is at Strata Florida the most important primary historical source for early Welsh history, the Brut y Tywysogion was compiled.

Around 1238, Prince Llywelyn ap Iorwerth (Llywelyn the Great), held a council at Strata Florida, at which he made the other Welsh Princes swear that they would acknowledge his son Dafydd as his rightful successor.

In 1401, Strata Florida Abbey was the military base of king Henry IV and his son, later to become Henry V, during the early years of the rebellion of Owain Glyndwr.

Strata Florida was dissolved in the 1540s during Henry VIII's dissolution of the monastries

Strata Florida was left to deteriorate until the arrival of the railways in the late 19th century, when it became more accessible as a place of pilgrimage..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strata_Florida_Abbey

Cardiff Castle

4th September
In 1947, John Crichton-Stuar, the fifth Marquess of Bute, inherited Cardiff Castle on the death of his father and faced considerable death duties. He sold the very last of the Bute lands in Cardiff and on 4th September 1947 he gifted the castle and the surrounding park to the city; the family flag was taken down from the castle as part of the official hand-over ceremony. The castle was protected as a grade I listed building and as a scheduled monument.
Cardiff... Castle is now run as a tourist attraction, and is one of the most popular sites in the city. The castle is not fully furnished, as the furniture and fittings in the castle were removed by the Marquess in 1947 and subsequently disposed of; an extensive restoration has been carried out, however, of the fittings originally designed for the Clock Tower by Burges. The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, founded in 1949, was housed in the castle's main range for many years, but moved into the castle's former stables north of the castle in 1998. A new interpretation centre, which opened in 2008, was built alongside the South Gate at a cost of £6.5 million, and the castle also contains "Firing Line", the joint regimental museum of the 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards and the Royal Welsh.

The castle has been used for a range of cultural and social events. The castle has seen various musical performances, including by Tom Jones, Green Day and the Stereophonics, with a capacity to accommodate over 10,000 people. During the 1960s and 1970s the castle was the setting for a sequence of military tattoos.

EMBLEMS OF WALES

The History of Wales

EMBLEMS OF WALES
The leek and the daffodil
According to legend, St David ordered Welsh soldiers to wear leeks in their helmets in battle that took place in a field full of leeks against the Saxons to avoided striking their own countrymen and it helped to secure a great victory. What is known is that in the 14th century, possibly at the Battle of Crecy, Welsh archers used green and white uniforms to identify themselves and in the 16th century there is a reference to the leek in the account book of Princess Mary Tudor. Shakespeare then refers to the custom of wearing a leek as an "ancient tradition" and whose character Henry V tells Fluellen that he is wearing a leek "for I am Welsh, you know, good countryman."
Throughout the years, leeks have been associated with the practice of medicine. The famous Myfddfai Physicians of Carmarthenshire used the vegetable to cure a variety of illnesses. It was highly regarded as a cure for the common cold, a protection against wounds in battle or being struck by lightning, a means of foretelling the future, of keeping away evil spirits and a tasty, healthy ingredient in cawl, the traditional Welsh broth. If placed under a pillow, leeks could help young maidens see an apparition of their future husbands as well as assist in alleviating the pains of childbirth.
The leek is worn in the caps of today's Welsh soldiers every year on St. David's Day. On the same day, in the prestigious Welsh Guards Regiment, a large raw leek has to be eaten by the youngest recruit to the cheers of his comrades. The green and white plume worn in the "Bearskin" hats of the Guards also identifies them as belonging to the Welsh Regiment.
The leek is often substituted with the daffodil, probably as a result of the similarity of their names in Welsh, as the Welsh for leek is Cenhinen, while the Welsh for daffodil is Cenhinen Bedr. Over the years it has become adopted.