Tywysog and Taoiseach
When I heard that King Charles III has conferred the title “Prince of Wales, Tywysog Cymru”, on his eldest son and heir William, I was intrigued by the appearance of the Welsh word Tywysog because of its similarity to the Irish word Taioseach. There aren’t that many words that sound so similar in Welsh and Irish because the two language groups to which they belong diverged in the distant past. Their similarity suggests to me a common etymology that pre-dates the development of the two distinct branches of the Celtic languages that we now refer to as Goidelic and Brythonic. There isn’t any literature to go on, as ancient Celtic languages were primarily oral, but the theory is that both words are derived from a Proto-Celtic form towissākos.
The Goidelic group comprises Irish, Manx and Scottish Gaelic; and the Brythonic group comprises Welsh, Cornish and Breton. These are sometimes referred to as q-Celtic and p-Celtic, respectively, although not everyone agrees that is a useful categorization. It stems from the fact that the “q” in Indo-European languages morphed into a “p” in the Brythonic languages. The number five in Irish is a cúig which has a q sound (though there is no letter q in the Irish alphabet); five in Welsh is pump. Contrast with the number two: a dó in Irish and dau in Welsh.
Incidentally, Scottish Gaelic is not the language spoken by the Picts, the Celtic people who lived in Scotland at the time of the Romans, which is lost. Scottish Gaelic is actually descended from Middle Irish due to migration and trading contacts. The Ulster dialect of Irish is in turn much influenced by reverse migration from Scotland. Languages do not evolve in isolation or in any simple linear trajectory.
Contrary to popular belief, Breton is not a Continental Celtic language but was taken to Brittany by a mass migration of people, which peaked in the 6th Century AD, from South-West Britain, fleeing the Anglo-Saxons. The Saxons won a great victory in battle at Dyrham (near Bath) in 577 after which they advanced through Somerset and Devon, splitting the Celts of Cornwall and Wales and leading to the formation of two distinct Brythonic language groups, Welsh and Cornish. Breton is much closer to Cornish than it is to Welsh.
The Continental Celtic languages are all extinct, except for fascinating remnants that linger here and there in local dialect words in French and Spanish.
Anyway, both modern words tywysog and taioseach originally meant “leader”. In Scots Gaelic, tòiseach was the name given to a clan chief; the Irish taioseach had a similar usage. The capitalized form “Taioseach” has only been used for the Head of the Irish Government since 1937 when the name was introduced in the Constitution. It was remarked at the time that An Taoiseach – the equivalent of Prime Minister – has the same literal meaning as “Il Duce” or “Die Führer“…
The last native Welsh Tywysog was Owain Glyndŵr after whose demise in c1415 the title was appropriated by the English monarchy no doubt as part of its rigorous suppression of Welsh identity. The term doesn’t actually mean “Prince” and the “Prince of Wales” is certainly not a leader. If anything the word should be applied to the First Minister of Wales, an office currently held by Mark Drakeford.
P.S. The presence of the “e” in taioseach indicates that the “s” is pronounced like “sh” (as in “Seán”) so the word should not be pronounced “tea sock”…
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In the Dark 
September 12, 2022 at 2:52 pm
Breton is much closer to Cornish than Welsh.
Do you mean “Breton is much closer to Cornish than to Welsh” or “Breton is much closer to Cornish than Welsh is”, please?
I believe that Cornwall was once referred to as South Wales after the Anglo-Saxons drove Celtic culture westwards and the Bristol Channel split it. The Welsh call the English Saes, for Saxon, as do the Scots with ‘Sassenach’.
Some years ago I faxed Mel Gibson’s agent and suggested that he make a film with himself as Owain Glyndŵr, as a sort-of follow-up to Braveheart. I was careful to say that I wanted no money or acknowledgement for the suggestion – I just wanted to see the film. I got a horrible reply back saying that Mr Gibson had not seen my fax, not to send it again, and that he reserved all right to make whatever film he liked without acknowledgement or debt to me. Some people are just unpleasant (and I don’t mean Gibson).
September 12, 2022 at 3:00 pm
“Do you mean “Breton is much closer to Cornish than to Welsh” or “Breton is much closer to Cornish than Welsh is”, please?”
I think both statements are true, but I meant the former.
In the Irish language, England is “Sasana” (and English is “Sasanach”). This Irish word for Wales is “An Bhreatain Bheag”, which means “Little Britain”…
September 12, 2022 at 3:46 pm
Not everyone appreciates Mark Drakeford’s dry wit, but his public comments on the recent announcement are worth reading for that alone.
For what it’s worth, and I am no expert, it seems that by the time of the Lord Rhys the term “king” [rhi, or later, brenin] had become “somewhat dilute” [following Kari Maund], and the term “tywysog” [which is how the Brut y Tywysogion translates “princeps”] may actually have had a higher status within Wales itself.
September 12, 2022 at 3:56 pm
Interesting — the connection between Tywysog
and Taoiseach had not occurred to me.
‘Brut y Tywysogion’ is usually translated as Chronicles of the Princes. So, I think Tywysog as Prince is OK.
It was though a mistake to appoint William as a new Prince of Wales. The title should be discontinued.
It would be an even bigger mistake to try and carry out an Investiture at Caernarfon.
Times have moved on since 1969. And there was already a lot of trouble in 1969.
It is worth recollecting that the Anglo-Saxon Kings were not hereditary.
They were elected by the Witenagemot
Far from a democracy, of course, but at least an early acknowledgement that a hereditary monarchy is not a sensible proposition.
September 12, 2022 at 5:00 pm
It was the tradition among Celtic tribes that the taoiseach would nominate a successor while still alive. That was the original meaning of “tánaiste” (i.e. a designated heir or ‘expected one’). The term is now used for the Deputy Prime Minister in Ireland.
September 12, 2022 at 6:04 pm
I disagree about the Anglo-Saxon kings of England being elected, not hereditary. Look to the kings of Rome for an elected system, before the Republic and the consuls. After the seventh king (Tarquin the Proud) had acted so insufferably, Rome moved to the system of two consuls elected annually.
England was unified under the House of Wessex during the rollback of the Danes which began in Wessex under King Alfred, and was completed under his grandson. Here are the kings from Alfred onward, with their relation to the preceding king stated.
Alfred ‘the Great’ (d. 899)
Edward ‘the Elder’ (d. 924), son.
927 – 939 Athelstan, son.
939 – 946 Edmund, half-brother.
946 – 955 Eadred, brother.
955 – 959 Eadwig, nephew.
959 – 975 Edgar ‘the Peaceful’, brother.
975 – 978 Edward ‘the Martyr’, son.
978 – 1016 Ethelred ‘the Unready’, half-brother.
1016 – 1016 Edmund ‘Ironside’, son.
1016 – 1035 Cnut [Canute] ‘the Great’ (Danish conquest).
1035 – 1040 Harold ‘Harefoot’, son.
1040 – 1042 Harthacnut, half-brother.
1042 – 1066 Edward ‘the Confessor’, son of Ethelred the Unready.
1066 – 1066 Harold, brother-in-law.
September 12, 2022 at 6:28 pm
It clearly was not the case that absolutely anyone could be King of England.
But, the Witan chose the most capable amongst the extended royal family, so descent did not necessarily follow the law of primogeniture.
September 12, 2022 at 8:08 pm
Agreed Wyn.
September 12, 2022 at 9:07 pm
Different before and after ~ Alfred the Great’s time: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86theling
Stating the obvious, but English ‘dukes’ aren’t leaders either. Meanings of words evolve.
September 12, 2022 at 10:25 pm
There is a Normanised version of the word too: William Adelin the son and heir of Henry I (and so a grandson of William the Conqueror) wrecked Henry’s plans for succession by dying in a shipwreck off the coast of France. Adelin is the same word as Atheling. The teenage Wiliam Adelin was showing off his hospitality and the crew got drunk on him before setting off for England. Wiser heads in his party declined passage on that vessel and took sail on another. As a result of the loss, when Henry I eventually died there was protracted civil war in England between a son of a daughter of the Conqueror, and a daughter of a son, known as the anarchy.
September 12, 2022 at 10:48 pm
That is the period in which the excellent Brother Cadfael novels by Ellis Peters are set. They are located in and around Shrewsbury. This, the second one in the series, is particularly good:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Corpse_Too_Many
September 12, 2022 at 11:47 pm
Despite living 15 miles north of Shrewsbury Abbey I’ve not read any of the books. Entombed in the abbey is Roger of Montgomery, one of William the Conqueror’s closest advisers. I was there most recently for a concert to inaugurate the restored organ, which broke down during the concert and had to be repaired in an impromptu 25-minute break.