Emlyn Phillips
@emlyn-traethiad.bsky.social
Writer, sense-maker, coach, Druid and other things.
Contributor to The Welsh Agenda, Planet: The Welsh Internationalist, & Bylines Cymru. Cymro Cymraeg. /|\
Contributor to The Welsh Agenda, Planet: The Welsh Internationalist, & Bylines Cymru. Cymro Cymraeg. /|\
Pinned
Magical War in the Land of Giants
Poets. Magicians. Hypnotherapists. All use word and image to cause change in accordance with will. Were the tales of the Mabinogion spells in a conflict spanning generations?
traethiad.substack.com
How did the medieval Welsh understand their place in the world? I discuss giants, and ask: were the tales of the Mabinogion and of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight part of a multi-generational magical conflict?
traethiad.substack.com/p/magical-wa...
traethiad.substack.com/p/magical-wa...
How did the medieval Welsh understand their place in the world? I discuss giants, and ask: were the tales of the Mabinogion and of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight part of a multi-generational magical conflict?
traethiad.substack.com/p/magical-wa...
traethiad.substack.com/p/magical-wa...
Magical War in the Land of Giants
Poets. Magicians. Hypnotherapists. All use word and image to cause change in accordance with will. Were the tales of the Mabinogion spells in a conflict spanning generations?
traethiad.substack.com
January 4, 2026 at 7:02 AM
How did the medieval Welsh understand their place in the world? I discuss giants, and ask: were the tales of the Mabinogion and of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight part of a multi-generational magical conflict?
traethiad.substack.com/p/magical-wa...
traethiad.substack.com/p/magical-wa...
The great Welsh rebellion of 1400 should never have happened, but a simple act of malice plunged Wales into years of brutal war.
I contemplate Tarot card XVI, The Tower, and ask: how do we respond when our former life is destroyed in an instant?
traethiad.substack.com/p/when-the-t...
I contemplate Tarot card XVI, The Tower, and ask: how do we respond when our former life is destroyed in an instant?
traethiad.substack.com/p/when-the-t...
When the Tower Falls
A walk to Owain Glyndŵr’s ruined home becomes a reckoning with grief, honour and the quiet question of who we are when everything we relied on is gone.
traethiad.substack.com
December 28, 2025 at 4:06 AM
The great Welsh rebellion of 1400 should never have happened, but a simple act of malice plunged Wales into years of brutal war.
I contemplate Tarot card XVI, The Tower, and ask: how do we respond when our former life is destroyed in an instant?
traethiad.substack.com/p/when-the-t...
I contemplate Tarot card XVI, The Tower, and ask: how do we respond when our former life is destroyed in an instant?
traethiad.substack.com/p/when-the-t...
A miracle-working saint who was Sir Gawain's nephew; the original Robin Hood; a medieval rap battle presenting different views of feudalism... plus a cat. And I still don't get to Sycharth
traethiad.substack.com/p/tales-from...
traethiad.substack.com/p/tales-from...
Tales from a Conquered Kingdom
Beuno, Fulk III Fitz Warin, and Owain Glyndŵr: in this chapter I explore the closely interwoven histories of Welsh and English in the old lands of Powys - and once again fail to get to Sycharth.
traethiad.substack.com
December 7, 2025 at 1:27 PM
A miracle-working saint who was Sir Gawain's nephew; the original Robin Hood; a medieval rap battle presenting different views of feudalism... plus a cat. And I still don't get to Sycharth
traethiad.substack.com/p/tales-from...
traethiad.substack.com/p/tales-from...
In the latest chapter of my walk in Sir Gawain's footsteps... I don't walk at all. Am I being opposed by a long-dead, miracle-working saint and his niece? I suspect I am.
traethiad.substack.com/p/two-saints...
traethiad.substack.com/p/two-saints...
Two Saints, a Storm, and an Unwelcome Pilgrim
Strange clouds blaze where a king was crucified, the trains stop, and my pilgrimage collapses. Was it coincidence - or Saint Beuno steering me away?
traethiad.substack.com
November 30, 2025 at 6:30 AM
In the latest chapter of my walk in Sir Gawain's footsteps... I don't walk at all. Am I being opposed by a long-dead, miracle-working saint and his niece? I suspect I am.
traethiad.substack.com/p/two-saints...
traethiad.substack.com/p/two-saints...
In this chapter, I walk through lands where rioters once revelled in churches, where travellers feared to venture, where crusaders built a church inside a stone circle... and one man created a garden and a library in the Green desert.
traethiad.substack.com/p/aelwyd-a-h...
traethiad.substack.com/p/aelwyd-a-h...
Aelwyd: A Haven from Peril
A crusaders' church in a circle of stones. Circles of time and firelight. The colours of the Otherworld, its lord's court, and Gawain's destination. Why did Gawain have to sleep in his armour?
traethiad.substack.com
November 16, 2025 at 6:36 AM
In this chapter, I walk through lands where rioters once revelled in churches, where travellers feared to venture, where crusaders built a church inside a stone circle... and one man created a garden and a library in the Green desert.
traethiad.substack.com/p/aelwyd-a-h...
traethiad.substack.com/p/aelwyd-a-h...
A raised bog, a hidden abbey, and crusading warrior-monks. As my pursuit of Gawain brings me to the Green Desert, I encounter some of the complex layers of medieval Wales.
traethiad.substack.com/p/a-bog-and-...
traethiad.substack.com/p/a-bog-and-...
A Bog and a Vale of Flowers
I walk with black knights, white monks, and dreamer of the day in deserts of sand and green.
traethiad.substack.com
November 9, 2025 at 8:29 AM
A raised bog, a hidden abbey, and crusading warrior-monks. As my pursuit of Gawain brings me to the Green Desert, I encounter some of the complex layers of medieval Wales.
traethiad.substack.com/p/a-bog-and-...
traethiad.substack.com/p/a-bog-and-...
As I progress in Sir Gawain's footsteps, I pass through a place of miracles, where the role of divine grace versus human free will was once passionately debated, and where Hu Gadarn lost an ox.
traethiad.substack.com/p/towards-th...
traethiad.substack.com/p/towards-th...
Towards the Green Desert
From Lampeter to Tregaron, I follow Gawain’s path into the Green Desert, through theology, memory, and the heresy of free will.
traethiad.substack.com
November 2, 2025 at 8:51 AM
As I progress in Sir Gawain's footsteps, I pass through a place of miracles, where the role of divine grace versus human free will was once passionately debated, and where Hu Gadarn lost an ox.
traethiad.substack.com/p/towards-th...
traethiad.substack.com/p/towards-th...
In a clan-based society, family is everything. What would make a man reject his name? Especially a soldier-seer and master poet? Answering that leads to a man who was hanged until dead twice, and came back to tell the tale.
traethiad.substack.com/p/a-soldier-...
traethiad.substack.com/p/a-soldier-...
A Soldier-Seer and a Hanged Man
From Emlyn's hills through Glyndŵr's lands, I search for Ffinnant: a name that links Gawain with rebellion, magic - and a man twice hung until dead who yet lived.
traethiad.substack.com
October 26, 2025 at 6:59 AM
In a clan-based society, family is everything. What would make a man reject his name? Especially a soldier-seer and master poet? Answering that leads to a man who was hanged until dead twice, and came back to tell the tale.
traethiad.substack.com/p/a-soldier-...
traethiad.substack.com/p/a-soldier-...
As I follow Sir Gawain's search for the Green Knight, I'm led into the world of Welsh master-poets, who were expected to master history, verse... and divination. Also, the legacy of Pelagius, and spiritual dissent.
traethiad.substack.com/p/the-scab-o...
traethiad.substack.com/p/the-scab-o...
The Scab of Pride and the Black Spot
Searching for a soldier-seer who doesn't want to be found takes me to the link between Glyndŵr and the Mabinogion, the nature of Welsh divination, and a long struggle for spiritual independence.
traethiad.substack.com
October 19, 2025 at 6:29 AM
As I follow Sir Gawain's search for the Green Knight, I'm led into the world of Welsh master-poets, who were expected to master history, verse... and divination. Also, the legacy of Pelagius, and spiritual dissent.
traethiad.substack.com/p/the-scab-o...
traethiad.substack.com/p/the-scab-o...
It's one thing to visit an ancient tomb; quite another to receive news of a death. In this instalment, I'm forced to contemplate whether the person I thought I was is also gone.
traethiad.substack.com/p/the-grave-...
traethiad.substack.com/p/the-grave-...
The Grave of Pentre Ifan and the Dead
At an ancient tomb, my journey turns inward: what remains of belonging when the myths still stand but the people have moved on?
traethiad.substack.com
October 12, 2025 at 8:08 AM
It's one thing to visit an ancient tomb; quite another to receive news of a death. In this instalment, I'm forced to contemplate whether the person I thought I was is also gone.
traethiad.substack.com/p/the-grave-...
traethiad.substack.com/p/the-grave-...
In November 2023 I visited Waun Mawn, the original site of the Stonehenge bluestone circle. Here I piece together myth, history and archaeology to restore a tale spanning millennia... and explaining the link between druids and pigs.
traethiad.substack.com/p/a-site-of-...
traethiad.substack.com/p/a-site-of-...
A Site of Stolen Stones
I journey into “deep time”: where King Arthur hunts, druids gather, and a lonely stone recalls an age when Britain spoke with one sacred voice.
traethiad.substack.com
October 5, 2025 at 5:47 AM
In November 2023 I visited Waun Mawn, the original site of the Stonehenge bluestone circle. Here I piece together myth, history and archaeology to restore a tale spanning millennia... and explaining the link between druids and pigs.
traethiad.substack.com/p/a-site-of-...
traethiad.substack.com/p/a-site-of-...
Owain Glyndŵr was - reputedly - born on the line between two languages and cultures... and in a parish where our world and the Otherworld overlap. My walk in Gawain's footsteps leads me to the feet of the mountains of magic - and the kindness of strangers.
traethiad.substack.com/p/the-forgot...
traethiad.substack.com/p/the-forgot...
The Forgotten River in a Thin Place
Locked doors, holy wells, and bluestones hint at the nearness of Annwn, the Welsh Otherworld.
traethiad.substack.com
September 21, 2025 at 8:29 AM
Owain Glyndŵr was - reputedly - born on the line between two languages and cultures... and in a parish where our world and the Otherworld overlap. My walk in Gawain's footsteps leads me to the feet of the mountains of magic - and the kindness of strangers.
traethiad.substack.com/p/the-forgot...
traethiad.substack.com/p/the-forgot...
My latest article on Bylines Cymru, on life in Timor-Leste and the lessons it holds for the Welsh independence movement.
bylines.cymru/politics-and...
bylines.cymru/politics-and...
The power’s out again
Life in Timor-Leste means power cuts, food shortages and pricey cheese – but behind the daily grind lie lessons for independence movements
bylines.cymru
September 18, 2025 at 4:10 AM
My latest article on Bylines Cymru, on life in Timor-Leste and the lessons it holds for the Welsh independence movement.
bylines.cymru/politics-and...
bylines.cymru/politics-and...
From the pleasure garden of Camelot to Wolf’s Castle: my latest episode explores how the tales of Sir Gawain and Owain Glyndŵr, the last Prince of Wales, are intertwined. We’ll explore dreams of lost lands, the land of Logres, and futures not yet grasped.
traethiad.substack.com/p/from-camel...
traethiad.substack.com/p/from-camel...
From Camelot's Pleasure Garden to Wolf's Castle
Rainbows lead me out of Camelot and into the borderlands. I cross the line that separates worlds.
traethiad.substack.com
September 14, 2025 at 7:16 AM
From the pleasure garden of Camelot to Wolf’s Castle: my latest episode explores how the tales of Sir Gawain and Owain Glyndŵr, the last Prince of Wales, are intertwined. We’ll explore dreams of lost lands, the land of Logres, and futures not yet grasped.
traethiad.substack.com/p/from-camel...
traethiad.substack.com/p/from-camel...
We all know the name Camelot.
In this latest instalment following in the footsteps of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, I explain what Camelot really meant, and where it was to be found.
traethiad.substack.com/p/the-cold-r...
In this latest instalment following in the footsteps of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, I explain what Camelot really meant, and where it was to be found.
traethiad.substack.com/p/the-cold-r...
The Cold Road to Camelot
In which I seek a grave that isn't there, en route to the wandering court that only exists when it arrives. I reveal the true meaning and location of King Arthur's Camelot.
traethiad.substack.com
September 7, 2025 at 7:41 AM
We all know the name Camelot.
In this latest instalment following in the footsteps of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, I explain what Camelot really meant, and where it was to be found.
traethiad.substack.com/p/the-cold-r...
In this latest instalment following in the footsteps of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, I explain what Camelot really meant, and where it was to be found.
traethiad.substack.com/p/the-cold-r...
Welsh tradition has it that Sir Gawain left Arthur's court to become a hermit living on the south Pembrokeshire coast. I went to his chapel - and something unexpected happened.
traethiad.substack.com/p/the-knight...
traethiad.substack.com/p/the-knight...
The Knight Retreats From The World
Tradition says Gawain ended his days in a sea-cave chapel. I went there - and experienced a vision.
traethiad.substack.com
August 31, 2025 at 7:22 AM
Welsh tradition has it that Sir Gawain left Arthur's court to become a hermit living on the south Pembrokeshire coast. I went to his chapel - and something unexpected happened.
traethiad.substack.com/p/the-knight...
traethiad.substack.com/p/the-knight...
Who studies the stars and destroys armies? Who dwells on Glastonbury Tor and roams Welsh peaks? Who demands you be your best, and lures you to your death if you don't?
My walk through Wales takes a wrong turn... but a useful one.
traethiad.substack.com/p/on-the-edg...
My walk through Wales takes a wrong turn... but a useful one.
traethiad.substack.com/p/on-the-edg...
On the Edge of Annwn: A Valley of Visions
In the Dyfi valley, Arthur’s Britain, Owain Glyndŵr’s rebellion, and the wild hunt of Gwyn ap Nudd meet. Walking here is to walk with myths.
traethiad.substack.com
August 24, 2025 at 6:13 AM
Who studies the stars and destroys armies? Who dwells on Glastonbury Tor and roams Welsh peaks? Who demands you be your best, and lures you to your death if you don't?
My walk through Wales takes a wrong turn... but a useful one.
traethiad.substack.com/p/on-the-edg...
My walk through Wales takes a wrong turn... but a useful one.
traethiad.substack.com/p/on-the-edg...
Alternative technology, the cauldron of inspiration, and why a Christian knight has a pentacle on his shield. Oh, and star-gazing giants. All part of my quest for Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
traethiad.substack.com/p/annwn-awai...
traethiad.substack.com/p/annwn-awai...
Annwn Awaits: A Quarry on the Dulas
Halloween, 2023. The veil between the world thins; summer weather marks the arrival of winter. I meet idealists, giants, and a mysterious maiden.
traethiad.substack.com
August 17, 2025 at 6:47 AM
Alternative technology, the cauldron of inspiration, and why a Christian knight has a pentacle on his shield. Oh, and star-gazing giants. All part of my quest for Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
traethiad.substack.com/p/annwn-awai...
traethiad.substack.com/p/annwn-awai...
Our lives are defined by the stories we tell ourselves.
But, if they don't fit - if they can't help us deal with objective reality - things go bad very quickly.
That's where I was in August 2023. But a chance encounter with the Green Knight changed things.
traethiad.substack.com/p/a-knights-...
But, if they don't fit - if they can't help us deal with objective reality - things go bad very quickly.
That's where I was in August 2023. But a chance encounter with the Green Knight changed things.
traethiad.substack.com/p/a-knights-...
A Knight's Trail: I Set Out
Machynlleth, Halloween 2023: the first step of a year-long quest to follow Gawain’s trail to the Green Chapel, weaving history, myth, and personal transformation
traethiad.substack.com
August 10, 2025 at 6:54 AM
Our lives are defined by the stories we tell ourselves.
But, if they don't fit - if they can't help us deal with objective reality - things go bad very quickly.
That's where I was in August 2023. But a chance encounter with the Green Knight changed things.
traethiad.substack.com/p/a-knights-...
But, if they don't fit - if they can't help us deal with objective reality - things go bad very quickly.
That's where I was in August 2023. But a chance encounter with the Green Knight changed things.
traethiad.substack.com/p/a-knights-...
How is a conversation between a Saxon saint and a reanimated corpse linked to the Mabinogion? Why does the tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight begin with the fall of Troy? And why does the Virgin Mary get involved? It's all in my latest piece on Substack.
traethiad.substack.com/p/from-aenea...
traethiad.substack.com/p/from-aenea...
From Aeneas to Arthur: Tales of New Troy
Trojan refugees, a talking corpse, a British heretic, and the Virgin Mary all suggest that Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was written by a Welshman.
traethiad.substack.com
August 3, 2025 at 7:56 AM
How is a conversation between a Saxon saint and a reanimated corpse linked to the Mabinogion? Why does the tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight begin with the fall of Troy? And why does the Virgin Mary get involved? It's all in my latest piece on Substack.
traethiad.substack.com/p/from-aenea...
traethiad.substack.com/p/from-aenea...
The Altai band & Bennett Konesni from USA
YouTube video by musicagencymn
youtu.be
July 27, 2025 at 2:15 PM
How did a court case connect Owain Glyndŵr with King Arthur and Cornish independence? And what did Sir Gregory Sais have to do with Sir Gawain and the end of English feudalism?
traethiad.substack.com/p/a-gold-bar...
traethiad.substack.com/p/a-gold-bar...
A Gold Bar on a Sky-Blue Field
A heraldic dispute links Cornish identity to Owain Glyndŵr, King Arthur, and Geoffrey Chaucer - not to mention the end of feudalism.
traethiad.substack.com
July 27, 2025 at 8:10 AM
How did a court case connect Owain Glyndŵr with King Arthur and Cornish independence? And what did Sir Gregory Sais have to do with Sir Gawain and the end of English feudalism?
traethiad.substack.com/p/a-gold-bar...
traethiad.substack.com/p/a-gold-bar...
Who wrote 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight': an Anglo-Norman? A Welshman?
He must have been Welsh: too many things in the story only make sense when viewed through a Welsh prism.
And it tells us that the unsung hero of the Second Branch is... Efnisien.
traethiad.substack.com/p/the-son-of...
He must have been Welsh: too many things in the story only make sense when viewed through a Welsh prism.
And it tells us that the unsung hero of the Second Branch is... Efnisien.
traethiad.substack.com/p/the-son-of...
The Son of the King's Sister
Nephew to a king, grandson to a goddess? Gawain's story means evaluating Welsh sovereignty and Welsh authorship - and discovering Efnisien as the unsung hero of the Second Branch.
traethiad.substack.com
July 20, 2025 at 8:16 AM
Who wrote 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight': an Anglo-Norman? A Welshman?
He must have been Welsh: too many things in the story only make sense when viewed through a Welsh prism.
And it tells us that the unsung hero of the Second Branch is... Efnisien.
traethiad.substack.com/p/the-son-of...
He must have been Welsh: too many things in the story only make sense when viewed through a Welsh prism.
And it tells us that the unsung hero of the Second Branch is... Efnisien.
traethiad.substack.com/p/the-son-of...
Le Morte d'Arthur helped a traumatised nation heal. it came 100 years after Gawain & the Green Knight, so doesn't help our understanding of the poem. But Malory's creation dominates the way we think about Arthur, so we need to talk about him.
traethiad.substack.com/p/arthur-in-...
traethiad.substack.com/p/arthur-in-...
Arthur in Three Acts: Myth, Empire, and Tragedy
From Macsen Wledig to Constantine the Great to Harry Tudor, Arthur’s myth reflects collapsing worlds and the birth of modern Britain. Thomas Malory's was only the latest to cope with crisis.
traethiad.substack.com
July 13, 2025 at 6:32 AM
Le Morte d'Arthur helped a traumatised nation heal. it came 100 years after Gawain & the Green Knight, so doesn't help our understanding of the poem. But Malory's creation dominates the way we think about Arthur, so we need to talk about him.
traethiad.substack.com/p/arthur-in-...
traethiad.substack.com/p/arthur-in-...
Who was King Arthur?
There are 3 different answers to this question. What's that got to do with Myrddin & Merlin, Gwalchmai & Gawain?
To follow 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight', we need to know the answers.
traethiad.substack.com/p/the-arthur...
There are 3 different answers to this question. What's that got to do with Myrddin & Merlin, Gwalchmai & Gawain?
To follow 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight', we need to know the answers.
traethiad.substack.com/p/the-arthur...
The Arthurs of the Isles and the Exiles
To understand Gawain, we must first meet the king he served. This is Arthur’s story - twice told across time, memory, and the clash of worlds, evolving in the edgelands of the Welsh March.
traethiad.substack.com
July 6, 2025 at 6:02 AM
Who was King Arthur?
There are 3 different answers to this question. What's that got to do with Myrddin & Merlin, Gwalchmai & Gawain?
To follow 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight', we need to know the answers.
traethiad.substack.com/p/the-arthur...
There are 3 different answers to this question. What's that got to do with Myrddin & Merlin, Gwalchmai & Gawain?
To follow 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight', we need to know the answers.
traethiad.substack.com/p/the-arthur...