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This film is part of Free

Berdh Gorsedh Kernow and Map Dyvroeth

Deputy Grand Bard of the Gorsedd explains all

Current affairs 1963 2 mins

From the collection of:

Logo for South West Film and Television Archive

Overview

Academic and Cornish enthusiast Richard Jenkin with the Bardic name of Map Dyvroeth explains the customs of the Berdh Gorsedh Kernow or Gorsedd of the Bards of Cornwall to TV reporter David Mudd. Instituted in 1928 by Henry Jenner to keep the Celtic spirit of Cornwall alive, the Gorsedd meets annually in September and is responsible for nominating new bards as guardians of the language, culture and arts of the Cornish people.

Grand Bard Talek or Cornish writer and journalist Ernest George Retallack Hooper who held the post from 1959 to 1964 is officiating. In 1951 Richard Jenkin became a founder member of the Cornish Political Party Mebyon Kernow and was elected as Grand Bard from 1976 to 1982. The Cornish language comes from Common Brittonic, a Celtic language spoken in Britain but pushed out by the take-up of English. The Cornish language based on Revived Middle Cornish (RMC) and Revived Late Cornish (RLC) is now recognised by the European Charter for minority languages with an ever-increasing number of speakers. In 2010 UNESCO announced that it had taken Cornish off its list of extinct languages.