The age of the Cambro-Britons: hyphenated British identities in the seventeenth century

In the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, Welsh writers including the antiquary Humphrey Llwyd, the bard Gruffudd Hiraethog, and the epigrammatist John Owen began referring to themselves as Cambro-Britons. The term was quickly adopted and popularised by English writers, often in ways th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Seventeenth century Vol. 33; no. 4; pp. 427 - 439
Main Author Schwyzer, Philip
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Durham Routledge 08.08.2018
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
17th century
British people
britishness
English language
Hiraethog, Gruffudd
Humphrey Llwyd
hyphenated identity
Llwyd, Humphrey
Michael Drayton
National identity
Owen, John (1560?-1622)
Wales
Welsh literature
Writers
United Kingdom > UK
Wales
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Summary:In the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, Welsh writers including the antiquary Humphrey Llwyd, the bard Gruffudd Hiraethog, and the epigrammatist John Owen began referring to themselves as Cambro-Britons. The term was quickly adopted and popularised by English writers, often in ways that show an imperfect grasp of the intentions behind the hyphenated phrase. Whereas the Welsh had hoped that the English and Scots would adopt similar hyphenated identities, English writers tended to interpret "Cambro-Briton" as an intensified and potentially comical expression of Welshness. Though Welsh writers largely ceased to employ the term after the 1620s, the use and misuse of "Cambro-Briton" in English texts continued unabated throughout the century.
ISSN:0268-117X
2050-4616
DOI:10.1080/0268117X.2018.1484639