Darogan: Prophecy, Lament and Absent Heroes in Medieval Welsh Literature

The Welsh literary tradition is in many ways sui generis: few medieval cultures gave comparable respect to their poets. This book is the first in over seven decades to explore the literary, theological, and philosophical relevance of a somewhat ignored, but remarkably powerful, body of Welsh literature—the daroganau, or, political prophecies. Engaging the critical tradition exemplified by such writers as Walter Benjamin, Martin Heidegger, Roman Jakobson, Jacques Derrida, Paul de Man, Roland Barthes, and Paul Ricoeur, Aled Llion Jones delves into the means of expression in these radical philosophies of nationalism, internationalism, and allegorical eschatology, as well as their breathtakingly beautiful use of language and form.