David Richards (22 January 1751 – 12 May 1827), better-known by his

bardic name A bardic name (, ) is a pseudonym used in Wales, Cornwall, or Brittany by poets and other artists, especially those involved in the eisteddfod movement. The Welsh term bardd ("poet") originally referred to the Welsh poets of the Middle Ages, who m ...

Dafydd Ionawr, was a

Welsh-language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). Historically, it has als ...

poet, born at Glanyrafon near

Bryn-crug Bryncrug (), sometimes spelt Bryn-crug, is a village and community in Gwynedd, Wales. Afon Fathew flows through the village and into the River Dysynni. The village is situated to the north east of the town of Tywyn, at the junction of the A49 ...

in the parish of

Tywyn Tywyn (Welsh: ; in English often ), formerly spelled Towyn, is a town, community, and seaside resort on the Cardigan Bay coast of southern Gwynedd, Wales. It was previously in the historic county of Merionethshire. It is famous as the loc ...

Merionethshire , HQ= Dolgellau , Government= Merionethshire County Council (1889-1974) , Origin= , Status= , Start= 1284 , End= , Code= MER , CodeName= ...

(now

Gwynedd Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and C ...

), north-west

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. He took an interest in poetry as a result of his acquaintance with Evan Evans (Ieuan Brydydd Hir), who was curate of

St Cadfan's Church, Tywyn St Cadfan's Church ( cy, Eglwys Cadfan) is situated in Tywyn in the county of Gwynedd, formerly Merionethshire, Wales. The church is noted for its Romanesque architecture and for housing the Cadfan Stone, a stone cross dating from ninth century ...

, and was later sent to a school at Ystradmeurig to obtain a better education than was available locally. After a period as a junior schoolmaster in

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

, he spent one term at

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship St ...

, before going to teach at

Oswestry Oswestry ( ; ) is a market town, civil parish and historic railway town in Shropshire, England, close to the Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5, A483 and A495 roads. The town was the administrative headquarters of the Borough of ...

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

. He then taught at the grammar school in

Carmarthen Carmarthen (, RP: ; cy, Caerfyrddin , "Merlin's fort" or "Sea-town fort") is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community in Wales, lying on the River Towy. north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. The population was 14,185 in 2011, ...

before being appointed head of a free school in his native area. From 1800 to 1807, he taught in

Dolgellau Dolgellau () is a town and community in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, lying on the River Wnion, a tributary of the River Mawddach. It was the traditional county town of the historic county of Merionethshire ( cy, Meirionnydd, Sir Feirionnydd) un ...

, where he remained until his death.

Works

*''Cywydd y Drindod'' (1793) *''Y Mil-Blynyddau'' (1799) *''Gwaith Prydyddawl'' (1803) *''Joseph, Llywodraethwr yr Aipht'' (1809) *''Barddoniaeth Gristianogawl'' (1815) *''Cywydd y Dilyw'' (1821)

Sources

Welsh Biography Online
1751 births 1827 deaths Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford Welsh-language writers Welsh-language poets People from Gwynedd 18th-century Welsh writers 18th-century British male writers 19th-century Welsh writers 18th-century Welsh poets 19th-century Welsh poets People from Merionethshire People from Tywyn {{Wales-writer-stub