You couldn’t make it up if you tried. But that’s exactly what one man did. We explore the unlikely history of the eisteddfod.

Clad in flowing robes, the Archdruid partly unsheathes the Grand Sword. “A oes heddwch?” – “Is there peace?” he cries. “Heddwch,” – “Peace,” – answers the crowd. The Corn Gwlad trumpet sounds, calling the Welsh from the four corners of the land to join in the Gorsedd Prayer. So begins the Gorsedd Ceremony, a highlight of the Royal National Eisteddfod of Wales. Each year, thousands flock to a different town for the pageantry and competitions. Everything is in Welsh and Europe’s biggest cultural contest is credited for its role in preserving the native language.

Held in 1176, the first “eisteddfod” – or “sitting” – was a contest to weed out inferior bards, much like an early busker’s licence. If your song earned the silver tongue, you were set for life. The winning poet was crowned in an elaborate “chairing of the bard” symbolising being awarded a place at the king’s table.

Eisteddfodau drifted in and out of fashion until Edward Williams came along in the 1780s. Better known by his bardic name, Iolo Morganwg, Williams was a...