General
chair
What does chair mean?
The bardic chair awarded at the National Eisteddfod to the winning poet of the awdl — a long poem in the strict-metre form known as cynghanedd. A new chair is made specially each year by Welsh craftsmen. Winning it earns you the title Prifardd ('Chief Bard') and a very public ceremony on Friday of Eisteddfod week. The 1917 'Black Chair' — awarded posthumously to Hedd Wyn, killed at Passchendaele weeks earlier — remains the most famous.
"She won the chair at the National Eisteddfod in 2019 — only the third woman ever to do it."
Origin
From the eisteddfod tradition dating to the 1176 contest at Cardigan, where Lord Rhys awarded two chairs as prizes. The word eisteddfod itself comes from eistedd, 'to sit'.
Frequently asked questions
What is the chair at an Eisteddfod?
It's the top prize awarded for a bardic poem written in the strict cynghanedd metre.
How do you use chair in a sentence?
"He won the chair at this year's Eisteddfod for his poem in strict metre."
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