Angharad James (16 July 1677 – 25 August 1749) was a Welsh farmer, harpist and poet.Nia Mai Jenkins, ''A’i Gyrfa Megis Gwerful': Bywyd a Gwaith Angharad James', ''Llên Cymru'' Volume 24 (2001)

Life

She was born in Gelliffrydau farm at Baladeulyn in the

Nantlle Valley The Nantlle Valley ( cy, Dyffryn Nantlle, ) is an area in Gwynedd, North Wales, characterised by its numerous small settlements. The area is also historically important geologically, and featured in one of the most contentious disputes of the ...

, Wales, on 16 July 1677. When still a young woman, she married William Prichard, a man far older than herself, who farmed Cwm Penamnen, a valley to the south of

Dolwyddelan Dolwyddelan ( ; ; ) – in Victorian times, often spelled Dolyddelen – is a village and community in Conwy county borough, Wales, on the main A470 road between Blaenau Ffestiniog and Betws-y-Coed. As a community, the population of Do ...

.Owen Thomas, D. D., ''Cofiant Y Parchedig John Jones, Talsarn'' (Wrexham 1874) She lived in Parlwr, or Tai Penamnen, a house which had earlier been a home to the Wynn family of Gwydir, for the remainder of her life. She continued to farm the valley after being widowed. As of 2009, the house was being uncovered by archaeologists.

Death

She was buried on 25 August 1749 and is buried within the church of St. Gwyddelan in Dolwyddelan.

Arts

She was a skilled harpist who commanded her workers to dance to her playing as they returned from the milking. She is notable as an early

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

female

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

.Ceridwen Lloyd-Morgan ''Women and their poetry in medieval Wales'' in ''Women and Literature in Britain 1150–1500'' ed. Caroline Meale (1996) Due in part to the transcription work of one of James's correspondents, the poet and copyist

Margaret Davies Margaret Sidney Davies (14 December 1884 – 13 March 1963), was a Welsh art collector and patron of the arts. With her sister Gwendoline, she bequeathed a total of 260 works, particularly strong in Impressionist and 20th-century art, which form ...

, manuscripts of James's work have survived and are held at the

National Library of Wales The National Library of Wales ( cy, Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru), Aberystwyth, is the national legal deposit library of Wales and is one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies. It is the biggest library in Wales, holding over 6.5 million boo ...

. They include an elegy to her son, who had died when 16, and another to her husband, in the form of an imaginary dialogue.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Angharad 1677 births 1749 deaths 17th-century women musicians 18th-century British women musicians 17th-century Welsh musicians 18th-century Welsh musicians 17th-century Welsh poets 18th-century Welsh poets 17th-century Welsh women writers 18th-century Welsh women writers People from Gwynedd Welsh-language poets Welsh folk harpists Women harpists Welsh women musicians Welsh women poets Welsh farmers British women farmers