Daniel Evans (1792 – 28 March 1846), better known by his pseudonym, Daniel Ddu o Geredigion, was a Welsh language poet.

Life

Evans was born at Maesymynach, a farm in the parish of

Llanfihangel Ystrad Llanfihangel Ystrad (English "Vale of St Michael") is a constituent community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is named after the principal place of worship, St Michael's church at Ystrad Aeron. The total population of the community taken at the United K ...

Cardiganshire Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cere ...

. He was the second of three sons born to a farmer, David Evans. Daniel Evans attended the grammar school in Lampeter, where he was taught by

Eliezer Williams Rev. Eliezer Williams (baptised 4 October 1754 – 20 January 1820) was a Welsh clergyman and genealogist, who served the Earl of Galloway as a family tutor and genealogical researcher. Life Williams was born in Pibwr-lwyd, Llangynnwr, Carm ...

, before attending Jesus College, Oxford. He matriculated in 1810, and obtained degrees of B.A. (1814), M.A. (1817) and B.D. (1824). In 1817, he was elected by the college to a fellowship, which he held until his death in 1846, but he resided mainly in Wales. Although Evans was ordained, he came to public attention as a poet rather than as a priest. He served briefly as chaplain of the Royal Military Asylum in Northampton, but resigned due to ill-health and returned home to his parents in Wales. He had no clerical appointments thereafter. In 1819, he was involved with the Dyfed Cambrian Society's attempt to revive the eisteddfod, and was also elected as poet to the London-based

Gwyneddigion Society The Gwyneddigion Society ( cy, Cymdeithas y Gwyneddigion) was a London-based Welsh literary and cultural society. The original society was founded in 1770 and wound up in 1843. It was briefly revived in 1978. Its proceedings were conducted through ...

. Four years later, in 1823, he won two major poetry prizes at the Carmarthen Eisteddfod, one for ' and the other for '. He had a particular skill for love and nature poetry. His collected works were published in 1830 under the title ', with an expanded second edition in 1872 drawing on unpublished sources; a third edition was published in 1906. He wrote in classical forms as well as in modern style. Whilst Evans did write a few poems in English, these are regarded as of lesser merit than his Welsh poems. Though highly regarded in the nineteenth century, his reputation has fallen in later times. Evans, who suffered from depression, committed suicide in Maesnewydd, Llanwnnen, Cardiganshire on 28 March 1846, and was buried on 1 April 1846 at

Pencarreg Pencarreg () is a village and community located in Carmarthenshire, Wales, to the south-west of Lampeter. Settlement is primarily grouped around the A485 road from Lampeter to Carmarthen, the primary settlement being Cwmann. The population in the ...

, Carmarthenshire.

Works

Evans's writings included: * ' (1810) * ' (1819?) (a poem trying to persuade

John Jones (Tegid) John Jones (10 February 1792 – 2 May 1852), commonly known by his bardic name of Ioan Tegid or simply Tegid, was a Welsh clergyman and writer. He was born at Bala and educated there and at the grammar school in Carmarthen, going on to Jes ...

to remain in Wales rather than travel to the East Indies) * ' (1820) * ' (1822) * ' (1826) * ' (1826) * ' (1841) * ' (1845) * ' won Evans a silver medal and prize, presented by Thomas Beynon, a fellow poet, who was president of the Carmarthen Society of Cymreigyddion.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Daniel 1792 births 1846 deaths Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford Fellows of Jesus College, Oxford 19th-century Welsh Anglican priests Welsh-language poets People from Ceredigion Suicides in Wales 19th-century Welsh poets People educated at Lampeter School 1840s suicides