"This volume analyses the public reception and criticism of the writings of Iolo Morganwg during the long nineteenth century, considers the development of his ideas about the Eisteddfod and the Gorsedd of the Bards of the Isle of Britain, and reveals how the myth of 'old Iolo' took root at a time when Romanticism and nationalism gave rise to a historicist view of nationhood. The counterfeit material that Iolo added to historical sources was eagerly received by scholars in search of a core historical narrative and also inspired Romantics much farther afield. From the late Victorian period, however, a powerful critique of Iolo's legacy paved the way for more reputable twentieth-century Welsh scholarship. A selection of little-known key texts included in this volume also provides new insights into the way in which this legendary figure and his work were perceived."--Jacket.