Llywelyn ab y Moel (died 1440) 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 and rebel, and father of the poet Owain ap Llywelyn ab y Moel.

Life

Llywelyn was raised in

Llanwnnog Llanwnog is a village in Powys, Wales. It is located one-and-a half miles north of Caersws in the community of the same name, on the B4568 road. The Ordnance Survey spell the name with a single 'n'. The Welsh romantic poet John Ceiriog Hughes i ...

, a village in

Arwystli Arwystli was a cantref in mid Wales in the Middle Ages, located in the headland of the River Severn. It was chiefly associated with the Kingdom of Powys, but was heavily disputed between Powys, Gwynedd, and the Norman Marcher Lords for hundre ...

Powys Powys (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh succession of states, successor state, petty kingdom and princi ...

. He was also connected through his maternal relatives to the parish of

Meifod Meifod, formerly also written Meivod (), is a small village, community and electoral ward 7 miles north-west of Welshpool in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales, on the A495 road and located in the valley of the River Vyrnwy. The River Banwy has a conf ...

. He fought in the revolt of

Owain Glyndŵr Owain ap Gruffydd (), commonly known as Owain Glyndŵr or Glyn Dŵr (, anglicised as Owen Glendower), was a Welsh leader, soldier and military commander who led a 15 year long Welsh War of Independence with the aim of ending English rule in Wa ...

, and then lived as a rebel outlaw. His poetry contains attacks on the English, and descriptions of life as an outlaw. However, after the failure of Glyndŵr's rebellion, Llywelyn appears to have changed his allegiance; Sir

William ap Thomas Sir William ap Thomas (died 1445) was a Welsh nobleman, politician, knight, and courtier. He was a member of the Welsh gentry family that came to be known as the Herbert family through his son William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke (8th creati ...

is later attested as his patron. Later in his life, Llywelyn became religious, and was ultimately buried at

Strata Marcella The Abbey of Strata Marcella ( cy, Abaty Ystrad Marchell) was a medieval Cistercian monastery situated at Ystrad Marchell (''Strata Marcella'' being the Latinised form of the Welsh name) on the west bank of the River Severn near Welshpool, Powys, ...

Works

In his early career, Llywelyn studied under a poet named Rhys ap Dafydd ab Iorwerth. Llywelyn is noted for his bardic debate between himself and

Rhys Goch Eryri :''Distinguish from Rhys Goch ap Rhicert and Rhys Goch Glyndyfrdwy (fl. 1460)'' Rhys Goch Eryri (or Rhys ab Dafydd) (floruit, fl. 1385 – 1448), was a 15th-century bard who lived at Hafod Garegog, near Beddgelert in North Wales. He was acquainted ...

on the nature and origin of the poetic muse, or

awen Awen is a Welsh, Cornish and Breton word for " inspiration" (and typically poetic inspiration). In Welsh mythology, awen is the inspiration of the poets, or bards; or, in its personification, Awen is the inspirational muse of creative artists ...

. He also wrote many poems addressed to

Guto'r Glyn Guto'r Glyn (c. 1412 – c. 1493) was a Welsh language poet and soldier of the era of the ''Beirdd yr Uchelwyr'' ("Poets of the Nobility") or ''Cywyddwyr'' ("cywydd-men"), the itinerant professional poets of the later Middle Ages. He is consid ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Llywelyn Ab Y Moel 1440 deaths 15th-century Welsh poets Year of birth unknown Welsh male poets