James James (also known by the

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 ...

''Iago ap Ieuan'') (1832–1902) was a harpist and musician from Hollybush, Blackwood,

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 composed the tune of the Welsh national anthem ''

Hen Wlad fy Nhadau "" () is the official national anthem of Wales. The title, taken from the first words of the song, means "Old Land of My Fathers" in Welsh, usually rendered in English as simply "Land of My Fathers". The words were written by Evan James and ...

'' (also known as ''Land of my Fathers''). Today, the same tune is also used for the

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally ** Breton people ** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Ga ...

anthem, '' Bro Gozh ma Zadoù'', and the Cornish anthem, ''

Bro Goth agan Tasow "" (; "Old Land of our Fathers") is one of the anthems of Cornwall. It is sung in the Cornish language, to the same tune as the Welsh national anthem, "Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau". The Breton anthem, "Bro Gozh ma Zadoù", also uses the same tune. " ...

''.

Life

James was born on 4 November 1832, at the 'Ancient Druid Inn', Hollybush, in the parish of

Bedwellty Bedwellty is a small village in Caerphilly County Borough in south Wales. The village stands on a ridge of high ground between the Rhymney and Sirhowy valleys. The village comprises a parish church, public house and a few houses. The ancient pa ...

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

. He was the son of Evan James (1809–1878) and Elizabeth Stradling of Caerphilly. His father, a Welsh poet who wrote under the pen-name of ''leuan ab lago'', moved with his family to

Pontypridd () (colloquially: Ponty) is a town and a community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Geography comprises the electoral wards of , Hawthorn, Pontypridd Town, 'Rhondda', Rhydyfelin Central/Ilan ( Rhydfelen), Trallwng (Trallwn) and Treforest (). The ...

, where he carried on the business of weaver and wool merchant, in about 1844. His son James assisted him in the business. James James composed the melody which was later to be known as ''Hen Wlad fy Nhadau'' in January 1856. Its initial title was ''Glan Rhondda'' (The banks of the Rhondda), giving rise to the tradition that the tune had come to James as he walked on the bank of the River Rhondda. His father, Evan James, wrote the lyrics that eventually became the words of the Welsh national anthem. James James died in

Aberdare Aberdare ( ; cy, Aberdâr) is a town in the Cynon Valley area of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, at the confluence of the Rivers Dare (Dâr) and Cynon. Aberdare has a population of 39,550 (mid-2017 estimate). Aberdare is south-west of Merthyr Tyd ...

in the

Cynon Valley Cynon Valley () is a former coal mining valley in Wales. Cynon Valley lies between Rhondda and the Merthyr Valley and takes its name from the River Cynon. Aberdare is located in the north of the valley and Mountain Ash is in the south of t ...

on 11 January 1902. He was buried in the local cemetery at

, in the same grave as his wife Cecilia and daughter Louisa. A memorial to James James and his father, in the shape of two figures representing the

muses In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the p ...

of Poetry and Music, stands in

Ynysangharad Park Ynysangharad Park is a cricket ground in the centre of Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It is located in Ynysangharad War Memorial Park. The ground was first established in 1870, but the first recorded match on the ground was in 1924, wh ...

, Pontypridd.

References

Sources

* *

External links

James Memorial at Ynysangharad Park
a video clip at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

website.
''Hen wlad fy nhadau, the national anthem''
on th
National Library of Wales
website.
James Memorial in Ynysangharad Park, Pontypridd
from th
Gathering the Jewels
website.
Free scores
at the

Mutopia Project The Mutopia Project is a volunteer-run effort to create a library of free content sheet music, in a way similar to Project Gutenberg's library of public domain books. It started in 2000.Portal page at thInternet ArchiveRetrieved January 24, 20 ...

1832 births 1902 deaths People from Pontypridd Welsh harpists Welsh-speaking musicians {{Wales-bio-stub