EISTEDFOD (Welsh, from eistedd, to sit), the name given to the assemblies or sessions of the Welsh bards, at which poets and minstrels contended for prizes after the manner of the ancient Greeks. These meetings were discontinued after the year 1568; but the old custom has been revived of late, and annual meetings for the recitation of prize poems and performances on the harp are now held under this name. (See Pennant's Tour in Wales.)