The Bardic Chair of Caer Badon (Bath) was resurrected from the ancient list of the Bardic Chairs of Britain by Tim Sebastian, Arch-Druid of the Secular Order of Druids in 1995 when he announced his intent to claim the chair at a midwinter ceremony attended by King Arthur Pendragon, among others. After a year and a day no one had come forward to challenge Tim and so he became the first chaired Bard of Bath. Since then, there has been nine chaired bards, among them Tallyessin (Kevan Manwaring) who was chosen in the first competition resulting from more than one contender coming forward. His epic poem Spring Fall: the story of Sulis and Bladud of Bath was deemed the winner by four top academic judges (Ronald Hutton, Graham Harvey, Michael York and Marion Bowman). That year (1998) also saw the first Bardic Festival of Bath, launched on William Blake's birthday (November 28th) and lasting for three weeks up to the winter solstice when the annual eisteddfod and chairing of the bard takes place. The winner receives a beautiful carved chair and robe for a year and a day. The chaired bard?s role is to promote the Bardic Tradition through talks and performances, and set the theme for the next years competition. Each chaired bard has added his or her own contribution to the Bardic Chair, i.e. a residency; a website; a poetry night etc, a raising the profile of the Chair and reaching out to a different section of the community. So far, the chaired bards have been young and old, male and female, performers, whose style and medium varies from the traditional to the contemporary: storyteller to pop poet, writer to singer-songwriter. The competition is open to any resident of the Bath and North East Somerset area.
In 2000 a Millennium Grove was planted at a local woodland based upon the Celtic Tree Alphabet and this has served as the Gorsedd grove ever since, although many ceremonies take place in the heart of the city of Bath, in the Circus, the circular urban temple designed by Georgian Druid-architect, John Wood the Elder. The Gorsedd also has an Ovatian Chair, which is held for three years, to promote the healing and divinatory arts; and a Druidic Chair, lasting seven years. The Bardic Chair receives regular coverage in the local press and the annual "Battle of the Bards" and subsequent winner are widely publicised. Over the years the Gorsedd has campaigned for the restoration of local heritage, promoted green issues, cross-cultural links (as in the Coming Together Druid-Maori Camp in 2004) and equal access to the arts. All are welcome to attend the free monthly bardic circle, run by Tallyessin at The Raven pub on Queen St, Third Monday of the Month where stories, poems and songs are shared (performed from memory, not read). FFI: 01225 334204. Future plans include The Book of the Bardic Chair to commemorate the tenth year of the Gorsedd, and a Young Bard of Bath competition.
kevanmanwaring [at] yahoo [dot] co [dot] uk( )
