Extinct Animals that the Britons Saw

Welsh mythology and Welsh history are filled with stories of animals that have long been extinct in this country. The history of Wales is marked with the influence of 3 animals in particular, the bear, the boar, and the wolf. In this video I will be discussing their appearance in various stories across Welsh mythology, from Geoffrey of Monmouth's 'History of the Kings', to Culhwch and Olwen's tale in the Mabinogion, and the tragic story of Llywelyn and Gelert.
Reference List:
Bartrum, P.C. (1993). A Welsh classical dictionary : people in history and legend up to about A.D. 1000. Aberystwyth National Library of Wales.
O’Regan, H.J. (2018). The presence of the brown bear Ursus arctosin Holocene Britain: a review of the evidence. Mammal Review, [online] 48(4), pp.229-244. Available at: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/a...
Maroo, S. and Yalden, D.W. (2000). The Mesolithic mammal fauna of Great Britain. Mammal Review, [online] 30(3-4), pp.243-248. Available at: www.ceacb.ucl.ac.uk/cultureclu...
Richards, M. (1972). Some Welsh place-names containing elements which are found in Continental Celtic. Etudes Celtiques, [online] 13(1), p.371. Available at: www.persee.fr/doc/ecelt_0373-...
Zimmer, S. (2009). The name of Arthur - a new etymology. Journal of Celtic Linguistics, [online] 13, pp.131-136. Available at: codecs.vanhamel.nl/Zimmer_(St...
AYBES, C. and YALDEN, D.W. (1995). Place-name evidence for the former distribution and status of Wolves and Beavers in Britain. Mammal Review, [online] 25(4), pp.201-226. Available at: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/a...
Nilsen, E.B., Milner-Gulland, E.J., Schofield, L., Mysterud, A., Stenseth, N.C. and Coulson, T. (2007). Wolf reintroduction to Scotland: public attitudes and consequences for red deer management. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, [online] 274(1612), pp.995-1003. Available at: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
Map Atrribution:
© OpenStreetMap contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA: www.openstreetmap.org/copyright.
Contains OS data © Crown Copyright and database right 2022
Music:
I Don't See the Branches, I See the Leaves, It's Always Too Late to Start Over by Chris Zabriskie are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Source: chriszabriskie.com/dtv/
Artist: chriszabriskie.com/
Image Attribution (in order of appearance):
Wolf:
"A London encyclopaedia, or universal dictionary of science, art, literature and practical mechanics" by Curtis, Thomas.
Source: www.flickr.com/photos/interne...
www.flickr.com/commons
Boar:
"A wild boar standing in a forest clearing in front of a rock" by J. E. Ridinger.
Source: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Licensed under CC BY 4.0 - creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Bear:
"BEAR AND YOUNG BATHING" by Alfred Brehm, Wilhelm Haacke, Eduard Pechuël-Loesche and Richard Schmidtlein.
Source: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Licensed under CC BY 2.0 - creativecommons.org/licenses/...
King Arthur:
Source - commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Dyfynwal Moelmud - Source: Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru - The National Library of Wales. hdl.handle.net/10107/4396654 (p 43)
Google and the Google logo are trademarks of Google LLC.
Moccus:
"Aulerques Eburovices (Région d'Évreux) Bronze à l'enseigne de sanglier" by cgb.
Source: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moccus
Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 - creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Skull and Crossbones: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...
Beaver:
"Castor fiber eating in Eskilstuna, Sweden" by Hangsna.
Source: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
Membyr ap Madog - Source: Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru - The National Library of Wales. hdl.handle.net/10107/4396654 (p 31)
Llywelyn:
Source - commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Cunedda, Maelgwn - Source: Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru - The National Library of Wales. hdl.handle.net/10107/4396654 (p 41, 204)
Brynach:"Our Lady and Saint Non's chapel ( St Davids, Wales )" by Wolfgang Sauber.
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
Dewi Sant:"Stained Glass Depiction of Saint David" by Hchc2009. commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
#wales

[@cadian101st]

Coming from America it was so weird moving to Scotland and realising pretty much the biggest natural predator was a fox. I get the wolves being gone, only coyotes are left where I am from, but boar and bears being gone is astounding. I could have left it at Britain being an island, but now I live in Japan where bear and boars still roam so I am once again astounded.

[@owellafehr5191]

Same - I'm from Canada and have lived in northern BC for the past few years, where moose, bears, and deer are all fairly common. It's wild to me to think that none of them live wild in England/Britain (except maybe the deer?)

[@justmyselfcn]

@@owellafehr5191 Roe deer and red deer live wild in Britain. There are also a small number of moose in Scotland living wild, but only due to successful reintroduction measures. Boar have reintroduced themselves throughout Britain by escaping from farm enclosures and now have a stable population.

[@owellafehr5191]

@@justmyselfcn Interesting - I have no idea about the moose! I actually remember seeing some deer at the grounds of a castle/palace when I was in England, but I thought they were probably semi-tame/there for tourists to see.

[@Dearth_Vader]

Theres some evidence of a small population of big cats living in the uk, from people releasing them into the wild after they made it illegal to own them or whatnot

[@Idle_Hands]

Boars have been reintroduced to England. They were gone from the isles because we hunted them to extinction for food, theyre agressive if they have young and it was also a status thing to kill a Boar since they dont go down easily. a symbol is strength used a lot by the celts and algo saxons/jutes/ frisians etc etc

[@HighPriestFuneral]

I love how the King Arthur story sounds like something from a classic RPG, even down to the ridiculous "item drops" from the Boar Leader and gathering a party to fight the larger threat. The way its described Culhwch didn't do anything. He let his powerful cousin handle all of the work while he waited for him to finish the job.

[@WhichDoctor1]

from across the boarder my favourite wolf related fact is that the city of Wolverhampton started out as a plot of land owned by a Anglo-Saxon noblewoman called Wulfrun (which means wolf run). And her son was called Wulfric (which means wolf ruler) and his nickname was Spot. Which leads me to the unshakable conviction that Wolverhampton was founded by a family of wear wolves

[@CHAAAAAOTIC]

Imagine your king being named Wulfric

[@jussikankinen9409]

Vikings moved moon light with wolf head

[@WildwoodTV]

There's a place near me called 'Wolfshead' would have been in Wales

[@hollyingraham3980]

This just shows the Anglo-Saxons were Germanic. As a theme, first or second, wulf or ulf is very common, Wulfric in or Cynewulf. As well, families using a single theme until they wore it out was common, like Hadubrand son of Chlodubrand son of Arnebrand. So Wulfrun is just like someone named Black founding Blacksburgh or Daniel Boone founding Boonesboro.

[@rumpelpumpel7687]

where were werewolves wearing fur?

[@k-matsu]

Interesting to hear the history. All three animals have a very important part to play in legend because all three have similar habitat, diet and intelligence. That is to say - all three tend to be direct competitors with humans, and thus, they are simultaneously feared (hunted) and respected by people emerging into an agricultural society. In Japan we still have boars and bears throughout the mountains. Ive encountered both, just walking in the fields near my house. While they are smaller than the European versions, you certainly dont want to surprise one. Japanese schoolchildren wear bells on their backpacks just in case there are inoshishi (boars) or kuma (bears) nearby as they walk to school. Their importance in legend is similar to that in European societies, as well. Many of the great heroes of Japans pre-truly-historic past are associated with some victory over a great bear or a destructive herd of boars. Our wolf is extinct, though, and was probably not all that common in Japan even in Jomon times. Our shapeshifting trickster creature is the kitsune (fox) - and Japanese foxes can be quite large. It is intersting, though, how all three groups have similar places in myth and legend, not only throughout Europe but in North America and Asia, as well.

[@CambrianChronicles]

That is fascinating, thank you for sharing!

[@MatGTAM]

There were also Tigers in Japan at the time of human settlement. Could be a useful species to re-introduce today to keep the massive Sika Deer and introduced Muntjac population in check.

[@2yoyoyo1Unplugged]

The Japanese perspective on history and myth is always so fascinating to hear. The storytelling is unmatched. I hope in my studies of the Japanese language and culture that I become competent enough to read and learn more of this sort of take on things all cultures have, but through the lens of a culture I did not come from. The idea of the kitsune being a trickster of shaky morality or intent has also always fascinated me. Could that stem from some sort of tendency for foxes to attack sometimes? I mean I can't imagine a fox being aggressive enough towards a person where it would fight rather than flee, but you DID say Japanese foxes are rather large...

[@CambrianChronicles]

Hello again! This is a bit of a different video than the last two, focusing more on mythology than strictly history, but I hope you find it interesting nonetheless! It also turns out that having a friend who lives near a public footpath that has a forest and is willing to record ~60 seconds of background footage for you is both extremely specific and very useful! The next video I’ll be working on will be a bit more in-depth than the first two, with a focus on the medieval sources (with examples!) rather than just a brief chronology, I hope that sounds interesting and I’ll see you all again in 2-3 weeks. Edit: for anyone new reading, the video I’m describing in this comment has run into some hiccups, so I’m working on a few smaller projects that’ll come out before this one (while I’m still working on it), the next one should be out in the next few days

[@wolfganggugelweith8760]

Whats about the Woodwose?

[@Pippis78]

Where's our "10 stupidest dead animals video"?

[@JackSardonic]

On the Anglo-Saxons' refusal to name bears directly, it's worth mentioning that _Beowulf_ means "bee wolf", which is theoretically another OE kenning for a bear (similar to the Slavic etymological references to honey that you mentioned). If this is true, then it might invoke an Anglo-Saxon berserker cult similar to the Norse _ulfhethnar._

[@suzbone]

Cool!

[@Rauser142]

or they were simply afraid of them

[@auzawandilaz6971]

Perhaps from Bēow. a Wolf of the God Bēow

[@BigScreamingBaby]

It's wild and hilarious to think that the original names of Bears were lost in Germanic and Slavic languages because people were to afraid to say them (ps.: All Slavic languages not just Russian and Proto-slavic use Medved or a form of it even the polish word is just a very mangled version of Medved)

[@newoneinblack]

Good point, I noticed when he spelled out the proto-Slavic it's basically Latvian. Lithuanian is almost mutually intelligible, is it the same or a little different?

[@newoneinblack]

As for the reason you can't actually WRITE or SAY bear out loud, it's because of the 'continent' wide superstition that if you did it would call that being either to that place or into existence. The Great Cave Bear is a mighty beast, and mythical in the sense of being supernatural. Even when hunting a lesser bear, you (and your entire village) would participate in ritual rites to assure that you all tricked the bear into thinking that it killed itself by accident, and place the skull high in a tree very far away from the village so if (or when) it reincarnates it will fall from the tree and be unable to find you.

[@c.s.oneill2079]

I had a Finnish friend and it sounded like it was the same for them. They were reluctant to say the word out loud IIRC.

[@petrfedor1851]

I am bit suprisr with the meaning because medved sounds more like honey knower then eater. And in Czech there is another animal known as honey eater - medojed, the honey badger

[@BigScreamingBaby]

@@petrfedor1851 It's probably because in Protoslavic "to eat" was ved and naturally Slavs met bears way before the Slavic migration so all Slavic languages kept that word even though ved became jed (or something similar) while the honey badger was discovered way later when all the modern Slavic languages already existed so the honey badger got a directly Czech name instead of a Protoslavic one.

[@chucknorrismlg425]

For a new youtuber you make really good high quality videos! Im really interested in welsh and celtic history in general so i am definitly watch your future videos. Keep up the good work!

[@CambrianChronicles]

Thank you so much, I really appreciate that! I’m glad you’re interested, there’s a new video coming soon in the next few days!

[@jeevanrehal3324]

YOOOOOO CHUCK NORRIS

[@richarddaniel6896]

I'm from Ammanford and the symbol of our valley, school, rugby club, etc, is the boar. We have a 'modern' sculpture of three boars at the edge of town.

[@EmilyCaissie]

I came across this randomly and am studying Welsh and it’s not easy (I’m Canadian there’s not many resources) but hearing and reading Welsh is helpful, I played back many instances and repeated them. I also love that the evil boars had surnames.

[@zekeolopwi6642]

As someone from the Midwest in America, your lack of wolves, bears, and boars baffles me. I don't think any American outside of cities would grow up without seeing at least one of those 😂

[@newoneinblack]

Hey, it's hard work civilizing things. Apparently the Brittons are up for the job. ;-)

[@andrewsuryali8540]

@@newoneinblack A few years back a survey of forests in the UK came up with the startling conclusion that ALL forested land in Britain bear marks of forestry management stretching back at least 300 years and possibly 1000 years in some places. This means there are technically no more "natural" forests left. That's really crazy when you think about it.

[@peterjeremymckenzie8444]

Minnisota is 86,000 sq miles, Wales is 8,000 sq miles. People are in close proximity everywhere, it is surprising to me that foxes have survived, the biggest predator left, and still hunted. Even the Pine Martin, 3.5lbs are having to be re-introduced as game-keepers in Victorian times almost made them extinct.

[@zekeolopwi6642]

@@peterjeremymckenzie8444 Fair. The size difference between just states and Wales is quite astonishing.

[@robertewalt7789]

Even some of us in suburban NYC have seen wolves and bears, but not boars.

[@imaad2042]

Welsh people are so calm

[@CambrianChronicles]

Thank you for watching! I think it’s all the rain that makes us so calm

[@sterlingdafydd5834]

Bwaaaaaa haaaaaa haaaaaaa !!!!

[@davidyates1860]

I'm welsh canadain

[@sterlingdafydd5834]

@@davidyates1860 I’m Welsh-Texan…my mum grew up in Llanidloes……I’ve never known the Welsh to be “calm”..!!!!!!

[@leephillips6405]

Not met my wife we are welsh welsh and calm is not a word I would use 😂😂

[@MUSTASCH1O]

The boars have been reintroduced, or possibly escaped, into some UK woods. Beavers are being trialed in parts too. Perhaps one day wolves could come back in the larger parks to control the deer. Of course, after hundreds of years without wolves or bears, a large educational programme would be needed to inform people of how to stay safe in those places they were introduced.

[@CambrianChronicles]

Yeah I don't think wolves or bears would be super feasible, unlike in Italy for example where they expanded a still-existing population, Wolves and especially bears have been extinct for hundreds of years. The food chain that the bears used to fit in to is also gone, so by now they may not even provide that much of a benefit, or at least not until a long-term population is established. It'd also be hard to sell to the public. Beavers, though, I hope make a big comeback, one was recently photographed again in Wales for the first time in centuries!

[@scallopohare9431]

Oh, dear! Here in the US, we have assorted bears, mountain lions, and other predators. We also have people who go blythly wandering about in parks alone and/or without ant form of protection. And then, we have families desperately searching for missing hikers. I'll spare you the bigfoot theories. Point is, you will not educate folks to use good sense around wildlife.

[@beetrootmcguillicuddy4185]

We have these problems in the US too. The big problem with wolves is that no one ever told them that the fences are for them and even though biologists publish articles and maps of where the wolves are supposed to live they still dont know because wolves cant read.

[@newoneinblack]

What absurdity, thinking you need PACKS OF WOLVES to control deer populations. Ask any king of olde how to do that, they'll tell you - just pass a law against the peasants poaching. I jest, but seriously, just ration out a few hunting licenses each year.

[@MUSTASCH1O]

@@newoneinblack The presence of the wolves themselves for wildlife watching value would be a key motivation too. They wouldn't be purely a control mechanism. The UK is a densely populated island so it would take a lot of work to bring them back and would likely only be possible in the most remote regions, and it is unlikely we'll be ready in our lifetimes. I'm not suggesting we bring them back before people are ready. I don't see why people couldn't learn to live with wolves in specially designated reserves if there was a great enough desire. It is a matter of education, signage and setting rules for compensation where applicable. In the meantime, a lot of other work is needed to enrich our natural resources before a serious debate is had about introducing apex predators capable of harming humans. You are safe from the wolves for now.

[@celtofcanaanesurix2245]

I've been binge watching your videos, and I love the mix of highly informative and clearly well learned facts, sources for those facts, and jokes mixed in between. As a lover of the welsh language and someone who wants to know more about the history of this group of his ancestors, I hope to see more from you.

[@CambrianChronicles]

Thank you so much! I’m really happy you’ve been enjoying them, there will be many more to come!

[@owellafehr5191]

I love how you concluded it - you'll never see any of these animals in Wales nowadays, but you might meet the many-times-great-grandchild of someone who did! What an interesting way to think about it.

[@CambrianChronicles]

Thank you, I'm glad you think so!

[@jeevanrehal3324]

I apologise for the captiols letters I used I was speeking in a gentle tone

[@CambrianChronicles]

It’s ok we all capitalise sometimes

[@veuzou]

very interesting, thank you. Here in Brittany we have a saint Envel who came from Wales after the Saxon invasion with his sister Yuna (a saint too). He's represented with a wolf. The wolf ate the saint's donkey and then was condemned to take its place, carrying things and pulling the saint's plough.

[@imogenagnew]

What a joy to watch! My favourite video so far thank you so much for sharing

[@CambrianChronicles]

Thank you so much, I really appreciate it!

[@entwistlefromthewho]

Culhwch and Olwen was an inspiration for J. R. R. Tolkien's Beren and Lúthien

[@evandonovan9239]

Wow - that makes a lot of sense. I didn't know of this myth until today.

[@fringeflix]

Too bad you didn't mention the newest extinct animal in Wales, the grey squirrel! It went extinct on Anglesey after nearly two decades of a mass eradication to get their numbers down, but it spun out of control and culled all of them. There's now a debate on a colonization effort from the rest of Britain to migrate them back over into Anglesey, but it's unknown whether they will be re-introduced. Edit- hey folks. Not sure why people are still replying to this. Everyone seeing they've seen the squirrel in Anglesey/Wales, they must have been reintroduced.

[@CambrianChronicles]

Oh wow I didn’t know they wiped them out! I’m not sure if they’ll succeed in a campaign to reintroduce them though, they are considered an invasive species after all

[@ftumschk]

Did you mean the red squirrel?

[@fringeflix]

@@ftumschk No sir! The red squirrel was under threat of endangerment because the grey squirrel population climbed so high due to outcompeting them. Eventually, to save the red squirrel, the Welsh government culled the grey squirrel population too much by accident. The red squirrel was saved and allowed to flourish again at the cost of the greys. Hope that cleared it up!

[@ftumschk]

@@fringeflix Thanks for the clarification. I did a double-take when you said that the grey squirrel was extinct in Wales. There are plenty of grey squirrels elsewhere in Wales... outside Anglesey, evidently :)

[@fringeflix]

@@ftumschk No issue man :) I've never been to Wales, so I wasn't too sure of the squirrel scene in the British Isles, but I am fairly up on environmental issues. It would appear as if Anglesey is going the same way with squirrels as Ireland did, with the whole "no snakes" thing. Apparently, Anglesey has this whole elaborate ecosystem they have to keep in constant (sometimes forced) balance because it's a small island with a huge biodiversity. I guess squirrels are just the tip of the iceberg!

[@poogmaster1]

Your old videos are more sassy than your new ones. Im okay with either but I think I prefer the more academic approach

[@martinwarner1178]

Like your style. Very much enjoyed the presentation, and content. Peace be unto you.

[@CambrianChronicles]

Thank you!

[@deancoopey1256]

Excellent video. There’s a village- Bleddfa in the Radnor forest aswell.

[@Rocinante2300]

The foremost expert of Welsh history on KZbin!

[@CambrianChronicles]

Thank you for such an honour!

[@kristiandent1798]

I’m already in love with your work. Diolch ✌🏼

[@CambrianChronicles]

Thank you so much!

[@cecemepls0]

“He also wasn’t real” made me laugh way harder than it should have 😂

[@TuorTheBlessedOfUlmo]

i named my dog gelert, i never heard the story until my partner who is welsh told me. that sent me down the rabbit hole of welsh mythology and history and its such a fascinating place

[@patrickoconnell4879]

Each video is already an improvement on the previous (and those are also still v good), from the perspective of someone who knows v little about this stuff I find particularly the more specific ones like this v engaging

[@CambrianChronicles]

Thank you so much, I really appreciate your support! I like making specific videos as they help reel in my attention span, so I’m really glad you like them!

[@angharadhafod]

Aberarth - Ceredigion, where the river Arth flows into the sea. I always assumed this was Arth as in Bear. In a weird twist, the river Arth is one of few rivers which has a Boar (not the animal though - in this case, the phenomenon of a tidal surge).

[@CambrianChronicles]

I'd heard of that but I wasn't sure, the source I used mentioned that Dinerth is apparently the only place with certainty, as the "arth" element can also apparently refer to cliffs, such as in Penarth in south Wales

[@angharadhafod]

@@CambrianChronicles Ah yes - I guess that's a corruption of Allt? Or maybe simply an alternative form of allt. Just the other side of Aberaeron to Aberarth, there's Llanarth too. As there are steep hills down to the sea, your explanation makes sense.

[@peterjeremymckenzie8444]

Penarth could also just be Pen + Garth with the G being dropped as a easier pronounciation. Garth being an enclosure or a hill. Personally always fancied the cliff originally having the outline of a bears head.

[@Galactus-gp8jj]

Arth mean Earth 🌎 idiot

[@zacharywranovsky]

I didn’t realize that bears, boars, and wolves all went extinct in England! We still have them in America, though boars are invasive and we have fewer bears and wolves than we did historically due to overhunting, but they’re still around. I wonder if this is why I once heard a British person claim that the 2nd amendment was for when people died to wild animals, as if they aren’t still a problem

[@leonroberts7273]

I am new to this, I appreciate what you are saying, my ancestors come from northern Wales. Thank you.

[@CambrianChronicles]

You're welcome!

[@ieatmice751]

Gelert is one of my favourite British folk stories. It’s so tragic and shows the loyalty and nobility of our canine friends 😢

[@Lou.B]

Very interesting! Thank You!

[@CymruCreator]

you know what would get your channel more attention? if you chronicle the many Welsh names in the game Elden Ring. The most obvious one that people would notice is the character 'Blaidd' the giant wer-wolf.

[@CambrianChronicles]

True, if I ever get around to playing Elden Ring I’ll try and find them all!

[@KingMoogoe]

Enjoying this channel good work!

[@CambrianChronicles]

Thank you so much!

[@mathieuleperson836]

Thank you for your content! I did not know of Brynach, but I live close to menez bre in Britanny, a hill related to saint Hervé. He is represented with a tame wolf in his iconography, and his questionable hagiography mentions a story of taming the wolf which had killed a peasant work cattle, so that it has to pull the plow instead.

[@LiminalQueenMedia]

You should consider remastering these older video's sound, I think it would improve their tail performance a lot.

[@harveytweats2119]

You say that you won't see a boar in Welsh woodlands, but they are returning, they are on the border, in the forest of Dean

[@CambrianChronicles]

True, maybe someday you will run into one!

[@ChrisShute62]

Yes, I've seen them near Mitcheldean. I think the cricket pitch there has barbed wire added below their fences in order to keep the rascals out!

[@gwynedd4023]

i love your videos! thank you

[@CambrianChronicles]

Thank you for watching!

[@lucasbttger9988]

I love your videos. I was a bit sceptical about the bear thing, but all the explanations for the etymology of bear lead only to that answer.

[@AndrewGruffudd]

I was under the impression that the story of Beddgelert was a Victorian concoction of the town's leaders, so to effect an increase in the tourist trade, much like the story of the name Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogeryllchwerndrobwllllantissiliogogogoch.

[@CambrianChronicles]

The story itself is a real story, but the connection to Beddgelert was indeed made up for the exact reasons you said

[@nickbarber2080]

Escaped wild boars have re-naturalised in the South of England (Sussex mainly,but also neighbouring parts of Kent and Hampshire)

[@jeevanrehal3324]

Such a good video so mooch loooveeee

[@CambrianChronicles]

Thanks for your support!

[@ashliiprigmore5441]

There's another place named after bears in Wales, Arthog, near Dolgellau, its name means bear cave!

[@richieaerthen24]

Great video, thank you Wild to imagine some of these no longer live in the UK, back home (Ukraine) we've still got all of those

[@douglasfell4199]

Arth is fairly widely used in lowland scotland, Airth as an example. Arthurs fort was Athkar where car is round enclosure or fort.

[@jfjoubertquebec]

I would love to hear your thoughts on the lark... ehedydd Bonjour du Québec!

[@stuffedninja1337]

I spit-laughed hard at the ending and I blame you lol

[@alphatoomegabeyondthematri5166]

Very good stories but the Boar are back I` have some on my land near Llandeilo so they are back and spreading fast throughout England and Wales.

[@AndyZach]

Fun to hear of Welsh mythology, which is often used in fantasy stories. One was the Paradise War trilogy where it speaks of the now extinct oryx, a gigantic bovine once native to Britain.

[@deinsilverdrac8695]

You mean auroch ? Bos primigenius The large wild ancestor of modern eurasian cattle. . because there's no oryx in Europe and never have been. Those are large antelope of desert in Africa and arabian peninsula.

[@Lugh666]

Need to turn the volume up on the video

[@roosjen]

It’s been a while since you got 100 likes. Where is that video you promised? It should be epic!

[@CambrianChronicles]

I'm definitely going to make it at some point, probably for a subscriber milestone like 100k or something

[@kubbybear5458]

​@@CambrianChronicles but you have over 100k now! I came to the comments to see if anyone asks about this video. I recently found your channel and have been immensely enjoying your work and just subscribed. I'm in the u.s. and when I was younger was told I have Welsh in my lineage, so getting to learn about what you present has felt connecting! Keep up the good work!

[@ymebo]

Great video . But the audio is very quiet.

[@CB-py1xh]

Crazy to think that boars got extinct in Britain - in coninental Europe their population is always on the brink of growing to numerous to be supported by their natural habitats, so they wander into some cities searching or food - despite being hunted. There are said to be 5000 boars within in the city limits of Berlin alone.

[@deinsilverdrac8695]

1 UK is an island that help 3 they also nearly went extinct in lot if Europe, especially western Europe. Just like chamois, beavers, red deer, Ibex, mute Swan, crane and other. We really can't stress enough how nature conservation program helped europe last wildlife. To à point where we forgot they were threathened or rare.

[@weilandiv8310]

Great channel

[@CambrianChronicles]

Thank you!

[@CorinneDunbar-ls3ej]

I enjoyed this so much. With regard to Twrch Trwyth, I have read so many interpretations over the years: the boar as an ancient constellation with his journey following its course, the boar as a bristling sun sign that can cause devastation, the route taken by Cerdic from his homelands to Wessex, the route used for carrying the Preseli bluestones to Stonehenge, an account of the precisely mapped place names on the journey, the Indo European custom of sending out young men to kill a boar, returning to have their hair cut as a rite of passage into adulthood and kingship, and so on. All I ever feel with any story in the Mabinogian is a profound frustration. It's this hotchpotch of elements from so many times and places, with all original context and significance lost. It is infuriatingly tantalising! It is also strange and beautiful and mesmerising. I feel as though there are the ghosts of significance in it. Some of these stories must have origins thousands of years ago. It must be highly significant that Twrch was an Irish prince, not a Welsh prince....but that he journeyed to Wales. It must be significant that he landed at St David's, of all places. And Arthur....almost as a Celtic foster-father. We shall never know how it started. I suppose we have to be very thankful that we have these stories at all. Thank you for your video. It was great.

[@CorinneDunbar-ls3ej]

Another theory I've read at some point was that Twrch was a particularly vicious Irish raider into Wales, who was fought and conquered by a Brythonic warlord ('Arthur'??) in the early sub-Roman period. He was possibly targeting Christian sites. Sadly, we shall never know.

[@AnneDowson-vp8lg]

I have read that the boars could have represented some Vandals who lived in Carthage on the North African coast but were driven out by the Byzantine general Belisarious in 535AD. Three shiploads escaped, and it believed they could have gone to Ireland. They were driven out of there by the original Fiana Foil warriors led by Finn McCool, so tried to invade Britain. Although they were subdued, it seems some of them settled in the Midlands, where certain families have the Blue Boar on their coats of arms and there are many pubs with boar 🐗 names.

[@CorinneDunbar-ls3ej]

@@AnneDowson-vp8lg How absolutely fascinating. I must look into that. Huge thank you. Odd that Richard III's emblem was the boar too.

[@Honne1064]

It's also in ancient Finland where you would not mention bear directly, but avoid it by using words such as Otso, Kontio, Mesikämmen (honey claw), Mettä, Metsä, Otava and even Mörkö. I'm guessing it's thought to be because the word Karhu (bear) is similar to the word Karhea (rough). I wonder if any other cultures, such as Native Americans, or the tribes in Eastern Russia and the Ainu people, who the bear is a very meaningful animal have the spewing the name of bear be a taboo.

[@JessicaD.-vb9ho]

They had a bear clan/tribe so maybe not.

[@idkwhattomakemyname101]

The boar story with Arthur reminds me a lot of the beren and luthien story by Tolkien

[@joshuabradshaw9120]

Interesting how the proto Indoeuropean word for bear was retained in the Italic (Latin and its modern descendants as well as extinct languages like Oscan and Umbrian) and Celtic languages but was replaced with a descriptive term in the Slavic and Germanic languages. What’s interesting too is how the English words ‘mother’ ‘father’ ‘son’ ‘daughter’ ‘brother’ and ‘sister’ have similar sounding cognates in most languages of Europe. In certain languages, for instance the Romance languages the words ‘son’ and ‘daughter’ were replaced with filius and filia, and brother and sister (frater/soror)were replaced in Spanish and Portuguese with other terms from Latin (hermano/irmão, hermana/irmão). In the Slavic languages the word for father and daughter were replaced.

[@differous01]

Welsh 'Arth' - cognate with Greek 'Arctos' - is widely replaced by the euphemism 'Bryn' (eg. St Brynach, and the land of Brynach/English Beornicia, later Northumbria). Their agricultural revolution being more advanced, Roman & Greek city states (including Celtic Galatia), had less to fear than people in the Circle of Arctos: where Mamma Bear is always above the horizon, and Baby She-Bear (Ursa Minor) dances around the Pole.

[@F_A_F123]

The word for daughter in Slavic languages wasn't replaced, it's a cognate to words for daughter in Germanic languages and others. For example, in Russian, it's doč, and it even preserves the r in declension, Gen. dóčer’i for example

[@joshuabradshaw9120]

@@F_A_F123 I stand corrected, thanks for the clarification.

[@bigblue6917]

The bear and the wolf may be gone but the beaver has made a return. So it looks like they won in the end. The idea of not mentioning an animal as to do so may be unluck is still something which happens today. In the City of Hull those who were trawlermen and their families would never say the word rat as it is believed to be connected with them leaving a sinking ship. Instead they would either spell the animals name or would call them longtails. Though the fishing industry has long gone the word longtails is still used today by some of the older generation.

[@DCdabest]

The Welsh just straight up refering to bears as their non-kenning name is such a funny thing to me. I'm just imagining some ancient Britons scaring away superstitious Saxons by yelling, "arth!" loudly and waving their arms.

[@mon_moi]

Not enough people talk about the sheer insanity of the 4th Branch of the Mabinogion (especially Glifaethwy and Gwydion's incest mpreg werewolf son). Have you considered making videos dedicated solely to the tales of the Mabinogion? My favourite is definitely Lludd and Llefelys because I consider that story to be a muddle of mythical tropes and motifs

[@mmyr8ado.360]

0:53 The meme with someone pointing a bear figure as Freddy Fazbear and singing Toreador afterwards comes to mind.

[@DGE123]

Dont forget the 'Covi Ape' a rare and dangerous beast with a penchant for harmony singing and fermented fruit!

[@chrisc9755]

and it's distinctive mating call Tiawncont!

[@jammybizzle666]

I have seen a boar in Wales - there are lots near Monmouth

[@baraxor]

I've wondered whether the Romantic languages' terms for bear--based on the Latin "ursus"--are ultimately derived from the root of "horror". Certainly, in the days of old a lone man with a spear or sword might be able to fend off wolves or even a boar, but was probably done for if he attracted the aggressive attention of a bear. Even with a bow, unless that first shot or strike managed to hit the beast's heart, that enraged bear would respond by completely savaging the man in short order. "The horrible one" indeed. While a bit out of scope here, legends of werewolves, and notably the "good werewolf" betrayed and magically transformed into a wolf, existed in Brittany from at least the late First Millennium, likely inspired by earlier stories from Britain, e.g. Marie de France's "Bisclavret" and the legend of Sir Marrok.

[@DarthWaynea]

I think you're onto something here, as PIE-linguists agree that Latin "ursus"/Ancient Greek "arktos" are derived from the PIE noun *h₂ŕ̥tḱos which itself seemed to be formed by an adjective or noun meaning "destroying" or "destruction". No wonder most following language branches used other words to describe the bear-

[@nox5555]

@@DarthWaynea Bears in Greece and southern Italy are not that scary, same for most of the med. They are tiny when compared with northern bears and an ancient men should have a fair chance to fight those.

[@vikasilverusa3806]

Thank you

[@OpinionatedChicken59]

Pigs bears and wolves? PUH! I was hoping for dragons!

[@maggoli67]

Seen a wolf and plenty of bears in Canada...just saw my first boar in Asia, crossing my path. Stirring sight.

[@kelvyquayo]

@02:04 nice. The Irish word for pig is ‘múc’.

[@ScotchIrishHoundsman]

The story about the hound that killed the wolves and the owner, thinking that the hound had killed his son, is an old folk song in America. I had no clue that the story was that old! That’s the coolest thing I’ve heard all year!

[@CambrianChronicles]

Ah I didn't know it made it into a folk song either! I've seen occasional mentions that the general story premise is even older, so who knows how far back it could go!

[@ScotchIrishHoundsman]

@@CambrianChronicles kzbin.info/www/bejne/j3jRgZ1jid5le9ksi=bU8bs7sRFsOVxvOX

[@ScotchIrishHoundsman]

I’m gonna have to look into it, that’s extremely interesting!

[@rorychivers8769]

If David Attenborough had a time machine, I wonder how he would best choose to use it in an effort to preserve the lives of endangered species, and what implications that would have not only for England, but for humankind in general.

[@jonathan_8747]

I could just hear the airquotes around the word “historian” for Gildas lol

[@coryparni3620]

Glad ther was no talk of dragans in this one.

[@egorm-yw3eu]

Idk if this is intentional but shouldn't y be used as the article for all the words at 0:18 except yr arth bc arth begins with a vowel?

[@CambrianChronicles]

Yes, no idea how I missed that, thank you!

[@nataliepascoe9301]

Penarth in the Vale of Glamorgan. Bear's head.

[@CambrianChronicles]

It may also be referring to cliffs (garth)! Hence why it's hard to determine

[@richieaerthen24]

When is "Stupidest Animals I am glad are extinct" coming? Really looking forward to that one

[@CambrianChronicles]

Someday!

[@CrowSkeleton]

I think St. Brynach just had a pet wolf (or high-content wolfdog) and everyone was as impressed as heck.

[@CwL-1984]

Interesting 🤔

[@clyneheretic]

There were wolves in Scotland until around 1700 or even later. There are now plans to reintroduce them.

[@carelgoodheir692]

The last wolves got killed nearer the end of the 18th Century than to its beginning. The Highland clearances could not have happenred without that. When there were wolves people's cows and sheep needed to be accompanied all the time. When the wolves were gone sheep could be spread over the hills and only checked up on every so often. The landowners found a sheep rancher would pay a bigger rent than a whole village of cattle herders and acted to maximise their incomes.

[@franc9111]

Something that surprises me is that extensive archaeological digs across France have shown quite conclusively that the Gauls didn't eat wild boar, they ate domesticated beasts such as pigs and cattle. Astérix got it wrong. I fully realise that in Irish and Welsh mythology there are accounts of great feasting on wild boar, but were they exagerating ? Of course today in the UK, wild boar have made a comeback, though more by accident than by design, so perhaps some might have made their way back to Wales.

[@jeevanrehal3324]

BRÖTHER I FOLLOW YOUR CHANNEL AS IT GROW AND I CAN SAY YOU HAVE THE TALENT AND GIFTZ WITHIN YUO HOLE BOADAY WHAT A TALENTED MAN I BET YOU HAEVE GENTLE HAND TO CREAT NFTS TOO HAHA YOURE SO FUNNI AND LYKABLE I WAIT EVERY DAY EVERY SEKOND FOR YOUR POST WERE DO U LIVE

[@CambrianChronicles]

Thank you for following! I hope I didn’t keep you waiting for too long!

[@petegreenway8953]

They're not common wales wide, but some areas now have significant wild boar populations. Also its probably a misunderstanding to describe St. Brynach as owning a wolf and symbolising him dominating it through god. St. Brynach was the ultra vegan of his day refusing to use animals in any sense, but wild animals chose to attend to his needs without fore or training, his cart was pulled by a great stag. Great video btw

[@chrisfryer3118]

There are wild boar in England, escapees from farms that have naturalised and bred, no doubt they'll get to Wales if they haven't already

[@cezzajamon]

You will see a boar in the forest of Dean these days which is partially in Wales

[@wolfganggugelweith8760]

Whats about Woodwose there?

[@lupus_croatiae]

St. Brynach is similar to St. Hervé, breton/welsh saint who was accompanied by a tamed wolf.

[@gaius_enceladus]

Ireland apparently used to have *moose* - huge ones!

[@cormacolinde]

That boar hunt in Ireland is very reminiscent of the hunting of Charcharoth by Beren and Thingol in The Silmarillion.

[@CambrianChronicles]

Tolkien had a lot of inspiration from Wales, he taught Medieval Welsh if I'm not mistaken

[@thatonepossum5766]

5:29 oh I know this myth! It’s in my book of Scottish mythology! It was very sad.

[@forthrightgambitia1032]

I wonder if there is any relation to Greek legend of the Calydonian boar hunt, some kind of Indo-European template myth.

[@CambrianChronicles]

It’s definitely an interesting concept, the boar appears everywhere in indo-European mythology but the stories surrounding it can be quite diverse

[@CorinneDunbar-ls3ej]

Yes, I thought the same.

[@lenka156]

All this animals still live in central Europe. And they even multiplayed in the last 30 years due to the enviromental laws. So almost every week (not now in winter) we read news about the bear attack or even wild boars running through the parts of the city near the forests.

[@jimferry6539]

I watched a show about Stonehenge once and they briefly mentioned a myth of a giant cow that possibly existed but now extinct originating from wales, does anybody else know about this or know the name of it ?

[@tjsmcr]

Auroch?

[@jimferry6539]

@@tjsmcr yes that could be it! Thanks

[@iamearthbornami]

what about Upper Cwm Twrch in South Wales near Swansea ?

[@CambrianChronicles]

Another good pick, I hadn't heard of that one unfortunately!

[@11Survivor]

Boars are still extremely common in continental Europe.

[@jointgib]

yeah it was confusing when he said they'd died out

[@CambrianChronicles]

This video covers extinct animals in Wales, bears and wolves are still around in Europe too!

[@jointgib]

@@CambrianChronicles yes that does make sense i suppose

[@christopherellis2663]

Plenty of wild boar in the Royal Forest of Dean.

[@CambrianChronicles]

Indeed, they've been reintroduced and are now in some areas of Wales too I believe

[@christopherellis2663]

@@CambrianChronicles good 👍 just keep walking they get anxious if you stop and stare.

[@damienc.6448]

Neat.

[@shunterbluntos]

Maybe they can re introduce the red squirrels there instead ?

[@deinsilverdrac8695]

We did it And the pine Martens And beaver And some frogs and reptiles And white tailed eagle And capercallie And great bustard And boar actually And osprey eagle And white crane And many bird of prey (goshawk, red kite, bustard, eagle owl, peregrine Falcon etc) And guess what, we can reintroduce them all We should do it, it's practically a moral and ecological obligation. We have to reintroduce wolf, lynx and Bear And should help boar become common in all UK once again. For the ecosystem abd biodiversity But also For culture and History For landscapes and health

[@eastcorkcheeses6448]

When Arthur hunted the great boar in ireland would it have been on the island of Ireland or in an irish kingdom in Wales or Britton , There was record of a wolf killed in kilcrea in Cork , in about 1715 , i think rhe last in Cork ,

[@wesdowner5636]

There were also beavers until the 12th century, I think.