The Woodland Mass

The opening of "The Woodland Mass" in a 16th-century manuscript, the Llyfr Ficer Woking

"The Woodland Mass" or "The Mass of the Grove" (Welsh: Offeren y Llwyn) is a poem in the form of a cywydd[1] by the 14th-century bard Dafydd ap Gwilym, widely seen as the greatest of the Welsh poets.[2] It is one of his most popular works.[3] Sometimes seen as blasphemous, it presents a woodland scene in which a thrush, sent by the poet's lover, and a nightingale officiate at a Mass celebrating both God and sexual love. "The Woodland Mass" is an example of a common type of medieval Welsh poem in which some bird or beast is used as a llatai or love-messenger, though this poem is unusual in that the message is sent to Dafydd rather than by him.[4]

  1. ^ Bromwich 1986, p. 77.
  2. ^ Koch, John T. (2006). Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia. Volume 5. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. p. 1770. ISBN 1851094407. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  3. ^ Allchin, A. M. (1991). Praise Above All: Discovering the Welsh Tradition. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. p. 17. ISBN 9780585273877. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  4. ^ Bollard 2019, p. 112.