Criteria for acceptance of new Bards into the order:

  1. Prospective members of the order must demonstrate competence in skills of storytelling, music and/or poetry to the satisfaction of one of the Elder Bards. Performance at the Open Gorsedd will satisfy this requirement in most cases.
  2. Prospective members must present themselves for initiation at the Open Gorsedd ceremony, whereupon they will become invested as an 'Anruth' - a probationary student of Bardism - They may be considered full members according to their predilection (storytelling, poetry or music) after a year (and a day) and their presentation at a subsequent Open Gorsedd ceremony.
  3. Previous holders of the Chair are known as Elder (or Grand) Bards. The Elder Bards are responsible for inducting new members into the Order and keeping counsel with the initiated members. Such matters should be administrated separately from our public events with the Elder Bards being accountable to the Bardic Council as a whole.
  4. Honourary Bardships may be bestowed at the discretion of the Elder Bards usually to honour pre-existing merit and also in the case of a Bard being Chaired who has not taken formal initiation. These positions must be declared at an Open Gorsedd and it must always be made clear that these are honorary Bardships.

Bardic Knowledge

Line drawing of a windswept Iron-age Bard playing a harp. Bardic colleges were effectively the Arts department of the Druidic 'University' and historically issued degrees in the style of Batchelors', Masters' and Doctorates. Bards were expected to know all the relevant stories of their tribe, the works of the ancient Bards, the histories, the pedigrees and heraldry, as well as the laws and metres of poetry and harmony. They were expected to have a fine voice and the command of an instrument.

Traditionally Bards had poetical rights and authority not subject to the control of the monarchy. Typical duties would include: Entertaining the court; Accompanying armies into battle; To applaud the living and record the dead; To praise virtue and condemn vice; Celebrate gifts of fancy and poetry; Perform at funerals, coronations and other solemnities; To carry messages between princes and to declare War and Peace.

Print of a medieval Lady Bard playing a harp. In the Welsh Eisteddfod tradition it was unusual to expect the Bard to hold public office as such, the Chair is given as a prize for literary achievement, more like the Nobel Prize for Literature than Poet Laureateship to use two familiar examples. The Welsh "Gadair" or Chair, is actually won by writing a long ode ("awdl") in strict Cynghanedd (a complex form of internal alliteration and rhyme) on a given annual theme. Competitors enter anonymously under a pseudonym and having won the Chair, may not be expected to do much more than continue to write poetry and stare at the clouds...

There are approximately 120 forms of meter in the Irish Gaelic system, somewhere around 2 dozen in the Welsh, roughly divided into Awdl (Odes), Cywyddau and Englynion (Englyns). In the Welsh tradition there is a separate Bardic Crown awarded for the best free verse of not more than 200 lines (Pryddest) - The Chair is awarded for the best strict metre verse of not more than 200 lines (Cynghanedd).

Bards are also expected to know about: Assonance, cross consonance, alliteration, puns, verbal symbolism, consonant and vowel sound groupings, plus a system of 'Kennings', which are poetic paraphrases.

Bards should show a good knowledge of traditional legends and lore, starting with the Mabinogion, including faerie tales fragments of shamanic lore and 'stories about important happennings at particular places'.

There are only a few truly historical texts, namely; "The Triads", "The Book of Taliesin", "The Book of Aneirin", "The Black Book of Carmarthen", "The Red Book of Hergest" and the "White Book of Rhydderch". Modern texts also worth studying include; "Barddas", Frazer's "Golden Bough", Robert Graves' "White Goddess" and Eleanor Merry's "The Flaming Door". Much of these later works is rather fanciful and is not considered to be authoritative, indeed the Bardic / Druidic tradition was known to be oral and philosophical, therefore all writings must be considered open to debate. The other major sources of clues are in the folk and sea-song tradition, nursery rhymes, place names, faerie stories and the carolling and Morris traditions. Fortunately there is plenty of material available in various internet archives such as these:

Initiate membership

The Awen = the three pure rays of inspiration. Gorsedd Ynyswitrin has various levels of membership. The Outer Order (sometimes called the 'Gatehouse' level) consists of all the uninitiated members, the minstrels and troubadors, the pipers, guitarists, drummers and comedians who have not yet proven themselves as poets, musicians or heralds (storytellers) and taken the Awen initiation.

Members of the Outer Order would be expected to study the Seven Star Points, the Seven liberal Arts and sciences and the Seven Precepts of Merlin in preparation for their mystery training.

The Seven Star Points

The Seven Precepts of Merlin

  1. Labour diligently to acquire knowledge, for it is power.
  2. When in authority, decide reasonably, for thine authority may cease.
  3. Bear with fortitude the ills of life remembering that no mortal sorrow is perpetual.
  4. Love virtue, for it bringeth peace.
  5. Abhor vice, for it bringeth evil upon us all.
  6. Obey those in authority in all just things, that virtue may be exalted.
  7. Cultivate the social virtues, so shalt thou be beloved by all.

The Seven liberal Arts and sciences

Line drawing of a troubadour playing a lute. The Inner Order are the Bards proper. On taking the Awen Initiation, candidates are enrolled as Anruth or probationary Bards. After a year and a day, they progress to the level of Prydydd. There are three main schools of Bardism: the Poets - including Historical or Antequarian Bards and Domestic or Parenetic Bards; the Musicians - including Harpists, Crwth players (Guitarists) and Singers (and Aweniddion); and the Heralds, which includes Storytellers. The only other grades recognised are those of Chaired Bard and Elder Bard (Pencerdd). The grades of initiate membership are administered by the Elder Bards and are only relevant to the collegiate structure of esoteric studies. All members of the Bardic Council are equal in status and voting rights, with a casting vote being held by the Chair.

Gorseth Prayer (Talhaearn Tad Tanwyn)

Grant, O God, thy protection,
and in protection, strength
and in strength, wisdom
and in wisdom, knowledge
and in knowledge, knowledge of righteousness and in the knowledge of righteousness, its loving and in its loving, the love of all existence and in loving all existence, the love of God God and all goodness.


From small acorns do great oaks grow.