Eisteddfod << ay STEHTH vod or y STEHTH vod >> is a popular festival of music and the arts that takes place in Wales. The most widely known eisteddfods, or eisteddfodau << `ay` stehth VOD y, >> are the International Musical Eisteddfod, held each July at Llangollen, and the Royal National Eisteddfod, held each August. The National Eisteddfod has usually been held alternately in North and South Wales since the 1800’s, when it started. The International Music Eisteddfod, which began in 1947, is an international event, and welcomes singers and dancers from many countries.
Eisteddfods were first recorded in about the A.D. 500’s. They began as contests among poets and musicians at the courts of Welsh princes. The courts would sit (Welsh eistedd) and judge the contestants’ skills. In the 1500’s, the eisteddfod served as a means of fixing standards of correctness and excellence in poetry. Today, a court and Gorsedd (council) at the Royal National keep these standards rigidly. Welsh is the only language officially used at most eisteddfods. Many schools in Wales stage their own eisteddfods.
