Evan Davies (6 January 1801 – 23 February 1888), also known by his bardic name Myfyr Morganwg was a Welsh bard, druid and antiquarian. Born in

Pencoed Pencoed ( cy, Pen-coed) is a urbanised community and town in the county borough of Bridgend, Wales. It straddles the M4 motorway north east of Bridgend and is situated on the Ewenny River. At the 2011 census it had a population of around 9,166. ...

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...

shire, it is thought that Davies received no formal education; instead he spent his early years studying Welsh Bardic Rules and teaching himself mathematics, among other subjects. As a young man he preached in his local chapels and became a watchmaker by trade. In 1842 he rose to prominence when he and John Jones of Llangollen began openly debating the subject of

temperance Temperance may refer to: Moderation *Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed *Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion Culture *Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...

at a meeting in Llantrisant, Glamorganshire. Before this, he would preach in chapels near to his home. It was around 1844–45 that Davies moved to Pontypridd, where he first took on the name 'Myfyr Morganwg'. He became very interested by the revival of interest in

Druid A druid was a member of the high-ranking class in ancient Celtic cultures. Druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no written accounts. Whi ...

ism which had swept the local area. He read heavily on the subject and concluded that

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

was merely Druidism in a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

garb. Following the death of

Taliesin Williams Taliesin Williams (bardic name Taliesin ab Iolo or Ab Iolo; 9 July 1787 – 16 February 1847) was a Welsh poet and author, and son of the notable Iolo Morganwg. He was born in Cardiff, went to school in Cowbridge, and became an assistant teache ...

in 1847, Davies proclaimed himself ''archdruid'', and from about 1853 he began to hold religious and druidical services near the Rocking Stone at Pontypridd. For about 25 years the practice of holding meetings at the hour of equinoxes and solstices became a Glamorgan tradition, and Davies published a number of books on druidism. Much of his Neo druidic writings were nothing more than a continuation of the 18th-century revival and thus are built largely around writings produced in the 18th century and after by second-hand sources and theorists. Nevertheless, Davies was considered by some of his contemporaries as an expert in the field.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Evan Welsh poets Neo-druidism in Britain British watchmakers (people) 1801 births 1888 deaths