Wikipedia
Gwalia is an archaic Welsh name for Wales. It derives from the Medieval Latin Wallia, which in turn is a Latinisation of the English 'Wales'. (For the Germanic etymology of this name see Walha.) Although never as widely used as Cymru, Gwalia was once popular as a poetic name for the country, akin to Albion.
The name originated in the Middle Ages and there are several instances of it in Late Medieval Welsh poetry. Possibly the best-known is in 'Yr Awdl Fraith', a long poem or awdl attributed to Taliesin, and one of the most popular of the period. It imagines gwyllt Walia (Wild Gwalia) rising up against the Saxon invaders of Britain.
In the nineteenth century, at the height of Romanticism, the name Gwalia once again became popular among writers. It has now largely fallen out of use due to its Victorian associations.
Gwalia is an archaic Welsh name for Wales.
Gwalia may also refer to:
- Gwalia, Liverpool, building
- D. Gwalia, musician
- Gwalia Singers (Swansea), male voice choir
- Gwalia, Western Australia, town located in Western Australia's Great Victoria Desert
- Gwalia Gold Mine, gold mine in Western Australia
- Sons of Gwalia, company
Gwalia was a weekly conservative Welsh language newspaper published by Robert Williams. It was distributed throughout Wales and also in Liverpool, Manchester, and London. It contained general political, social and religious news, and news of local interest such as eisteddfod events.
Welsh Newspapers Online has digitised 651 issues of Gwalia (1883-1910) from the newspaper holdings of the National Library of Wales.
Associated titles: Clorianydd a'r Gwalia (1921-1969); Clorianydd a'r Gwalia (1921-1969).