Quote Originally Posted by Benning Boy View Post
The rousing Welsh song Men of Harlech has, in one version of the lyrics, a reference to pipes of war. Is this a reference to some sort of Welsh bagpipes?
I guess we would have to find out from whoever wrote those words. About Welsh pipes, Wiki has this to say

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_bagpipes

The time-frame is in line with when bagpipes first appear in Ireland and Scotland.

BTW most people's concept of the chronology of bagpipes in "the Celtic fringe" is backwards. They see bagpipes in Ireland, Scotland, Britanny, and Galicia and think that these "Celtic lands" have been the bastion of piping from times immemorial. The reverse is true: the very reason these places have been the longest to hold onto old things (the Celtic languages for example) is why they're also the last places to get new things, in this case, bagpipes. Bagpipes swept through the centre of Europe in the Middle Ages, beginning around the 9th century, but didn't arrive at the fringes of Europe until a few hundred years later. So, yes, bagpipes were all the rage in the high-culture areas of Germany, Italy, France, and England while still unknown in the extreme west and other remote areas.

Anyhow no Welsh pipes are known to survive so it's a revival rather than a continuous living tradition. Ditto Cornish pipes and English pipes other than Northumbrian pipes.