Einion Offeiriad ("Einion the Priest") (died 1356) 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 ...
poet and grammarian.
Einion lived in
Ceredigion
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. Cer ...
, where he was a chaplain to
Sir Rhys ap Gruffudd ap Hywel ap Gruffudd ab Ednyfed Fychan, a wealthy nobleman. Amongst Einion's surviving poems is an awdl sung in praise of Sir Rhys ap Gruffydd.
Einion's fames lies primarily with his metrical grammar, 'llyfr cerddwriaeth', the earliest of its kind known in Welsh. Although written in Welsh it is partly an adaption of Latin grammars in use during the early Middle Ages, in particular those of
Donatus and
Priscianus
Priscianus Caesariensis (), commonly known as Priscian ( or ), was a Latin grammarian and the author of the ''Institutes of Grammar'', which was the standard textbook for the study of Latin during the Middle Ages. It also provided the raw materia ...
. It provides a description of the twenty four metres of the
cerdd dafod
''Cerdd dafod'' (literally ''tongue craft'') is the Welsh tradition of creating verse or poetry to a strict metre in the Welsh language.
History
The history of ''cerdd dafod'' can be traced to 6th century Welsh poets such as Aneirin and Taliesi ...
, how they should be composed and a strict edict on proscribed faults. It also lays out the precedence for the subjects of praise: spiritual poetry in praise of God, Christ and the saints before temporal poetry in praise of the King and nobility.
See also
*An introduction to the poetic metres can be found a
Gwenllian's Poetry Primer
References
*R. Bromwich, 'Gwaith Einion Offeiriad a barddoniaeth Dafydd ap Gwilym', in ''Ysgrifau Beirniadol'', 1977
*A. O. H. Jarman and G. R. Hughes, ''A guide to Welsh literature'', Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1997
*Brynley F. Roberts,
*G. J. Williams and E. J. Jones (eds.), ''Gramadegau'r Penceirddiaid'' (Cardiff, 1934)
Welsh-language poets
14th-century Welsh writers
14th-century Welsh Roman Catholic priests
1356 deaths
Year of birth unknown
14th-century Welsh poets
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