how did it come to pass that a medieval princess, name gwenllian ferch gruffydd, would lead me to take a journey back through the annals of time? gwenllian, princess of deheubarth, introduced me to the history of wales, and its fantastical mythical characters. i met the beautiful blodeuwedd and the enigmatic phycisians of myddfai. the amorphous aura that shadows characters such as cadwaladr the blessed, ancient king of the britons, did nothing to dampen my interest. it only encouraged me to pull back the heavy curtain and to bring light to an ancient and alluring civilisation.
beyond the brume, i met the dark prince of welsh history, dafydd ap gruffydd. an intangible enigma. was he so black as history paints him? or the victim of rumours spread, like honey on bread? viscous.
‘my name is gwenllian’ is a fantasy of history and myth combined. a voyage through the everlasting beauty of the mynyddoedd cambria. past the majestic strata florida abbey, where the cistercian monks lived side by side, in harmony with the welsh princes. writing it awakened in me the desire to look deeper into the history of wales and the real story behind the character of dafydd ap gruffydd.