The Mystery of the Missing Medieval Plague

Video Description

Medieval Wales was no stranger to disease. Throughout its history it has been beset by many plagues, from the famous Black Death to the far more obscure Yellow Plague, which is the topic of today. The Yellow Plague, also known as Y Fad Felen, Pestis Flava, Lallwelen, and Y Dilead Melen, came and went in 6th century Wales, ending the reign of Maelgwn Gwynedd, and ravaging the kingdom of Gwynedd. While Welsh history is full of mysteries, what exactly the Yellow Plague was, and where it went, has remained one of the most pertinent throughout history. Chapters: 0:00 - The Dragon Tyrant 1:17 - Y Dilead Melen 4:15 - Lallwelen 8:08 - Buidhe Conail 11:48 - Y Fad Felen 15:53 - Pestis Flava Sources (turn on captions): Bartrum, P.C. (1993). A Welsh Classical Dictionary: People in History and Legend up to about A.D. 1000. The National Library of Wales. [1] p.295-296 [2] p.503-504 [3] p.500 Cule, J. (1973). Pestis Flava: Y Fad Felen. Wales and Medicine. [4] p.141 [5] p.142 [6] p.143 [7] p.144 [8] p.145 [9] p.146 [10] p.147 [11] p.148 [12] p.149 [13] p.150 [14] p.151 [15] p.152 [16] p.153 [17] p.154 Dooley, A. (2006). The Plague and Its Consequences in Ireland. Plague and the End of Antiquity. [18] p.216 [19] p.217 [20] p.218 [21] p.219 [22] p.174 Gwenogvryn, J. (1893). The text of the Book of Llan Dav. Oxford. [23] p.107 [24] BoL p131 [25] p.144 Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru Archives. [26] https://archives.library.wales/index.php/brut-y-brenhinedd-12 MacArthur, W. (1947). Famine Fevers in England and Ireland. Post-Graduate Medical Journal, (260). https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2529527/ [27] p.285 [28] p.286 Snowden, J., Yarrarapu, S.N.S., Nguyen, A.D. and Oliver, T.I. (2025). Relapsing Fever. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. [29] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK441913/ [30] Wood, J. (2020). Y Fad Felen and Gwrach y Rhibyn: The Supernatural Female as Carrier of Disease in Welsh Tradition. ---------- Music courtesy of the YouTube Audio Library: Fortress Europe - Dan Bodan Stuck In The Air - The Tower of Light Your Suggestions - Unicorn Heads Namaste by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Artist: http://audionautix.com/ Under The Rug - Density & Time Lucid Haze - Amulets July - John Patitucci ---------- Images of, and from: Deganwy - Chris / The Site of Degannwy Castle: aerial 2015 / CC BY-SA 2.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/ , via Wikimedia Commons Llanrhos - NoelWalley, CC BY-SA 3.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ , via Wikimedia Commons all other images are public domain, via the Rijksmuseum, Public Health Image Library, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Chicago Art Institute, Yale Center for British Art, the British Library