17th March 2004: An article in the gardening section of the Times on Saturday the 13th of March on the Tenby Daffodil and whether this is the true emblem of Wales has spurned me on to try and unravel fact from fiction. Is it the leek or the daffodil that is the true emblem of Wales and what is the possible origin of the word Cenhinen? Cenhinen is singular, cennin is plural. It of course refers to the leek (Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum) as we know it. The derivation of the word is Celtic going back to the period of Roman occupation. The Romans introduced this plant to the British Isles and they undoubtedly used this to flavour stews. As a wild plant, the leek comes from Southern Europe and Western Asia. It has certainly has been grown as a vegetable in Wales and was used by the famous Myddfai Physicians of Carmarthenshire to cure a variety of illnesses from a common cold, protection against wounds, help in alleviating childbirth, fore-telling the future and keeping evil spirits away.
In literature it seems that the earliest written records go back to the fourteen century - the battle of Crecy - 1346 and there is of course the story of St David ordering his soldiers to wear the leek on their helmets in a battle against the hated, pagan Saxon invaders of Britain taking place in a field full of leeks - perhaps!! The ancient King of Gwynedd, Cadwallon ap Cadfan, is said in AD 633, to have given leeks to his men to wear on their hats to distinguish them from their saxon foes. You try wearing a leek on a hat or helmet! We have much later the Account Book of Princess Mary Tudor who mentions the leek as a Welsh emblem in the 16th Century - then of course Shakespeare and the oft quoted Henry the Fifth telling Fuellen that he is wearing a leek "for I am Welsh, you know, good countryman." Past and present members of the Welsh military regiments have been forced and are still forced to take part in tear -jerking ceremonies that involve eating them raw. The leek has also been used for centuries as a national badge with its colours of green and white, colours being associated with the independent princes. The Welsh Tudor dynasty adopted these colours and Henry VIII is said to have presented a leek to his daughter in 1536, the Wales was annexed to England to mark St David's Day. In the Mabinogi, the Red Book of Hergest, which is a 13th century collection of ancient Welsh tales and fables, leeks are mentioned. The famous Welsh poet Taliesin also refers to leeks in his war epics written in the 6th century.
I am afraid the use of the Cenhinen Bedr, the Daffodil as a symbol of Wales, is a modern concoction created by middle class Welsh looking for an identity especially at the time of the instigation of the Eisteddfod as we know it today. Perhaps the ordinary leek was too "vulgar, too smelly". Lloyd George did a great deal to popularise the Daffodil always wearing it on March the 1st. and also at the investiture of the Prince of Wales in Caernarfon in 1911. Why they choose St. Peter, and who chose this Saint, God knows - no pun intended, but it may refer to a Breton Saint Peter not the "original" - common sense should perhaps dictate Cenhinen Ddewi! Iolo Morganwg created a great many traditions at the time the Eisteddfod started which unfortunately were completely false and he could well be responsible for this choice of name.
There is a 13th Century Church (perhaps earlier) in the Conway valley called Llanbedr y Cennin near Rowen where Narcissus pseudonarcissus subsp. pseudonarcissus grows in apparently natural ecosystems. This Church was certainly on one of the paths taken to Bardsey Island - Ynys Ennlli - the Island of a Thousand Saints and one wonders whether the Daffodil may have been brought by pilgrims as certainly Sambucus elbus has been. This Sambucus is found in several Churchyards on this pilgrims path. This is all conjecture however, the name is there and it is probably just a coincidence. The word cenhinen is very interesting - it is a celtic word not derived from latin - cornish is kenin, irish, cainnenn, breton, kinnen; it does not seem to come from the Greek. Tenby Daffodils are known as Cenhinen Ddinbych - referring to Tenby not the North Wales Denbigh, there are many local names also used rather as Arum maculatum in Devon and Cornwall has a multitude of common names from different areas. The conclusion therefore must be that the Leek not the Daffodil is the true emblem of Wales!! The word Cenhinen seems to be shrouded in mystery.

18th March 2004: I can now prove that the statement that use of the name Cenhinen Bedr for Daffodil is of a relatively modern origin is certainly not true, but its use as an emblem probably is. Hugh Davies in his book "Welsh Botanology - A systematic catalogue of the Native plants of the Isle of Anglesey". London. 1813. gives on page 32 and 170, three common names for the Daffodil - Cyffinos cyffredin, Croeso gwanwyn and Cenhinen Pedr. On page 170 he lists specifically Cenninen y gwinwydd and Cenninen Pedr for Narcissus pseudonarcissus. Cenninen y Brain refers to the Wild Hyacinth which he lists as Scilla nutans, but today is known as Hyacinthoides non-scripta. Garlic or as Hugh Davies spells it Garlik - Cenninen Enwinawg. He also refers to the Leek as Cenninen cyffredin (p. 170).

19th March 2004: The story continues. From a Welsh Encyclopedia - Y Geirlyfr Cymraeg by O. Jones Waunfawr and I. Jones Aberystwyth, Albion Press, Llanfair-Caereinion. 1835., cenin is referred to as a leek (note that the second "n" is missing) and it is stated that its derivation is from the word "cen". The meaning of the word cen not only includes lichen as it is normally referred to today, but skin, peel or scales. This presumably refers to the bulb of the leek or the daffodil. Cen is said to be derived from the word "en" whose meaning is "the source of life, a being, a soul, a living principle." In this book the daffodil is referred to as Cenin Pedr.

As a final twist to this analysis, the wild daffodil in Wales has been around far, far longer than the leek; the daffodil in a few localities is native therefore going back to at least the last ice age; the leek has only been around since its introduction by the Romans. When does something become a national emblem officially? You will have to decide!