The Oldest Welsh Fairytale Explained: Elidyr and the Fairy Realm

Welsh Folk Custom| Celtic Studies
May 24, 2025•0 min read

The Oldest Welsh Fairytale Explained: Elidyr and the Fairy Realm

The story of Elidyr and the Tylwyth Teg is the oldest Welsh fairy tale on record. It tells of a boy’s journey through ancient liminal spaces, encountering a deep realm of where the fairies have their own high ideals and ethics. But what does this story actually mean? What does it tell us about encounters with the extraordinary, about truth, childhood, and lost wisdom?

Get the short guide ‘The 5 Keys of Celtic Myth’ here.

Studied at Bangor University: 2005, BA: 1st, Welsh 2007, MA: Distinction, Welsh 2012, PhD, School of Welsh Originally from Queens Park (now Caia Park), Wrecsam. Formerly released music as Gwilym Morus, Mwnci Nel and lead singer for Drymbago. He worked as a research fellow at the Library of Congress, Washington DC in 2010. One of the founders of Eos, the Broadcasting Rights Agency for Wales in 2011. He continues to compose, perform, write, teach, consult and make video to this day.

Gwilym Morus-Baird

Studied at Bangor University: 2005, BA: 1st, Welsh 2007, MA: Distinction, Welsh 2012, PhD, School of Welsh Originally from Queens Park (now Caia Park), Wrecsam. Formerly released music as Gwilym Morus, Mwnci Nel and lead singer for Drymbago. He worked as a research fellow at the Library of Congress, Washington DC in 2010. One of the founders of Eos, the Broadcasting Rights Agency for Wales in 2011. He continues to compose, perform, write, teach, consult and make video to this day.

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