Much of
Welsh language
Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language family, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, 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 P ...
poetry has, until quite recently, been composed in various forms of strict metre (''canu caeth''), latterly with the encouragement of the
eisteddfod movement. The following list is as inclusive as possible for the years prior to 1600. It includes as many minor poets as possible to illustrate the range and content of Welsh poetry throughout the ages. However much early poetry has been lost, and much medieval verse is either anonymous or, usually in the case of mythological poems and prophetic verse, attributed to the 6th-century poet Taliesin or the mythical figure of
Myrddin. Early religious and gnomic verse is also usually anonymous. Where possible examples of each poet's surviving work is presented a
Welsh Poetry at Wikisource
Each period of the poets listed below is accompanied by a graphical timeline to illustrate the main events and individuals that influenced the poets and their work. These timelines also depict the development of the Welsh language. Further details of its development may be found at
Welsh language
Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language family, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, 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 P ...
.
Pre 6th century
No works by Welsh poets prior to the 6th century have survived. Tradition records:
*Maelgwyn of Llandaff (c. 450) – said, according to one source, to have written of
Joseph of Arimathea's burial at
Glastonbury
Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury ...
.
["St. Joseph of Arimathea at Glastonbury", Theo Brown, Folklore, Vol. 57, No.2, 1946.] However, in the mid-5th century he would have spoken
Brythonic
Brittonic or Brythonic may refer to:
*Common Brittonic, or Brythonic, the Celtic language anciently spoken in Great Britain
*Brittonic languages, a branch of the Celtic languages descended from Common Brittonic
*Britons (Celtic people)
The Br ...
, not Welsh, and as a monk would probably have written in Latin. His existence is doubtful.
*St. Meugan (fl. c. late 5th century) – possibly a court poet to
Cadwallon of Gwynedd
6th century to 1100
Extant
The bulk of surviving verse from the period known as "Canu'r Bwlch" is anonymou
(see Wikisource)
The works of the following poets, belonging to the
Hengerdd or
Cynfeirdd
Medieval Welsh literature is the literature written in the Welsh language during the Middle Ages. This includes material starting from the 5th century AD, when Welsh was in the process of becoming distinct from Common Brittonic, and continuing t ...
period, are extant and accepted as probably genuine:
*
Aneirin (Neirin mab Dwyrei) (
fl.
''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...
550–600)
*
Taliesin
Taliesin ( , ; 6th century AD) was an early Brittonic poet of Sub-Roman Britain whose work has possibly survived in a Middle Welsh manuscript, the '' Book of Taliesin''. Taliesin was a renowned bard who is believed to have sung at the courts ...
(fl. later 6th century)
The following works are probably apocryphal:
*Meigant (fl. c. 600–620) – a poet whose surviving work is recorded in the
Black Book Of Carmarthen'.
*Afan Ferddig (7th century) – accepted as the author of
Moliant Cadwallon' a praise poem to
Cadwallon ap Cadfan
*
Juvencus Manuscript
The Juvencus Manuscript (Cambridge, Cambridge University Library, MS Ff. 4.42; cy, Llawysgrif Juvencus) is one of the main surviving sources of Old Welsh. Unlike much Old Welsh, which is attested in manuscripts from later periods and in partially ...
/ Cambridge Juvencus (late 9th century) contains two Welsh englyn-poems, one of nine and one of three englynion.
[Sir Ifor Williams, 'Beginnings of Welsh Poetry', University of Wales Press, Second Revised Edition,1980] For the text and Sir Ifor William's translation see:
The Juvencus Englynion'.
*The
englyn
(; plural ) is a traditional Welsh and Cornish short poem form. It uses quantitative metres, involving the counting of syllables, and rigid patterns of rhyme and half rhyme. Each line contains a repeating pattern of consonants and accent know ...
-
cycles which were previously attributed to
Llywarch Hen
Llywarch Hen (, "Llywarch the Old"; c. 534 – c. 608), was a prince and poet of the Brythonic kingdom of Rheged, a ruling family in the Hen Ogledd or "Old North" of Britain (modern southern Scotland and northern England). Along with Taliesin, A ...
and
Heledd are now seen as works of later (9th–10th century) poets.
*St Elaeth (11th century) – a poet and a monk whose surviving verse is recorded in the
Black Book Of Carmarthen'.
Non-extant or doubtful
Four others are named by
Nennius
Nennius – or Nemnius or Nemnivus – was a Welsh monk of the 9th century. He has traditionally been attributed with the authorship of the ''Historia Brittonum'', based on the prologue affixed to that work. This attribution is widely considered ...
as poets of renown alongside
Taliesin
Taliesin ( , ; 6th century AD) was an early Brittonic poet of Sub-Roman Britain whose work has possibly survived in a Middle Welsh manuscript, the '' Book of Taliesin''. Taliesin was a renowned bard who is believed to have sung at the courts ...
and
Aneirin:
:*Blwchbardd
:*Cian (Guenith Guaut)
:*Culfardd
:*
Talhaearn Tad Awen
Talhaearn Tad Awen (''fl'' mid-6th century), was, according to medieval Welsh sources, a celebrated British poet of the sub-Roman period. He ranks as one of the earliest, if not the earliest, named poets to have composed and performed in Welsh. ...
*
Arofan (7th century)
* (?9th century) – referred to in several poems but otherwise unknown. None of his work survives. The earliest reference to him is in a tex
English version found in the
Black Book Of Carmarthen'. However, a later charter of Sir Nicholas FitzMartin,
Marcher Lord
A Marcher lord () was a noble appointed by the king of England to guard the border (known as the Welsh Marches) between England and Wales.
A Marcher lord was the English equivalent of a margrave (in the Holy Roman Empire) or a marquis (in F ...
of
Kemes, off-handedly describes someone as his descendant; the charter grants the supposed descendant land in the
Preseli Hills
The Preseli Hills or, as they are known locally and historically, Preseli Mountains, (Welsh: ''Mynyddoedd y Preseli / Y Preselau'' , ) is a range of hills in western Wales, mostly within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.
The range stret ...
.
*Bleheris (?11th century) – an otherwise unknown poet of doubtful authenticity referred to as "born and bred in Wales" in ''
Gawain
Gawain (), also known in many other forms and spellings, is a character in Arthurian legend, in which he is King Arthur's nephew and a Knight of the Round Table. The prototype of Gawain is mentioned under the name Gwalchmei in the earliest ...
'' and as a source for the story.
[Bleheri]
"J. L. Weston, From Ritual to Romance, Cambridge University Press 1920"
/ref>
Other
*Myrddin ab Morfryn – was believed by some to be an historical person who died in AD 570, but is now accepted as a mythical figure (see Merlin
Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...
).[Myrddin " A.O.H. Jarman, 'A oedd Myrddin yn Fardd Hanesyddol?', (Studia Celtica 1976)]
Timeline
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at:410 text:• Collapse of the Roman Empire in Britain
from: 550 till: 600 color:PA text:" Aneirin"
at:570 text:†St Gildas
from: 575 till: 600 color:PA text:"Taliesin
Taliesin ( , ; 6th century AD) was an early Brittonic poet of Sub-Roman Britain whose work has possibly survived in a Middle Welsh manuscript, the '' Book of Taliesin''. Taliesin was a renowned bard who is believed to have sung at the courts ...
"
at:589 text:†St David
at:594 text:• First occurrence of 'Arthur' in Welsh poetry
at:597 text:• St. Augustine in Britain
at:640 text:• Earliest date 'Marwnad Cynddylan' thought to be composed
at:670 text:• Earliest date 'Canu Heledd' thought to be composed
from: 757 till: 795 color:BL text:"Offa’s Dyke constructed"
from: 800 till: 825 color:PA text:"Llywarch Hen
Llywarch Hen (, "Llywarch the Old"; c. 534 – c. 608), was a prince and poet of the Brythonic kingdom of Rheged, a ruling family in the Hen Ogledd or "Old North" of Britain (modern southern Scotland and northern England). Along with Taliesin, A ...
"
at:820 text:• Historia Britonum composed
at:840 text:• Viking raids on the Welsh coast
at:870 text:• Juvencus Manuscript
at:877 text:†Rhodri Mawr
at:909 text:†Asser
at:930 text:• Armes Prydein composed
at:950 text:†Hywel Dda
at:970 text:• Annales Cambriae
at:1060 text:• Mabinogion composed
at:1063 text:†Gruffudd ap Llywelyn
at:1066 text:• Norman Conquest
at:1090 text:• Creation of Welsh March
at:1100 text:• Birth of Geoffrey of Monmouth
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color:blue bar:Welsh from:500 till:800 text:"Early Welsh"
color:yellow bar:Welsh from:800 till:1050 text:"Old Welsh
Old Welsh ( cy, Hen Gymraeg) is the stage of the Welsh language from about 800 AD until the early 12th century when it developed into Middle Welsh.Koch, p. 1757. The preceding period, from the time Welsh became distinct from Common Brittonic ...
"
shift:(-10,-5)
color:white bar:Welsh from:1050 till:1200 text:" Middle Welsh"
1100 to 1290
The following group of court poets used to be called the Gogynfeirdd
Medieval Welsh literature is the literature written in the Welsh language during the Middle Ages. This includes material starting from the 5th century AD, when Welsh was in the process of becoming distinct from Common Brittonic, and continuing to ...
and are now generally referred to as "Beirdd y Tywysogion", the Poets of the Princes
Medieval Welsh literature is the literature written in the Welsh language during the Middle Ages. This includes material starting from the 5th century AD, when Welsh was in the process of becoming distinct from Common Brittonic, and continuing t ...
. The list is roughly chronological.
*Meilyr Brydydd
Meilyr Brydydd ap Mabon ( fl. 1100–1137) is the earliest of the Welsh Poets of the Princes or ''Y Gogynfeirdd'' (The Less Early Poets) whose work has survived.
Meilyr was the court poet of Gruffudd ap Cynan (ca. 1055–1137), king of Gwynedd. He ...
(fl. 1100–1137)
*Gwalchmai ap Meilyr
Gwalchmai ap Meilyr ( fl. 1130 – 1180) was a Welsh-language court poet, connected with Trewalchmai in Anglesey. He was one of the earliest of the ''Gogynfeirdd'' ("less early poets") or ''Beirdd y Tywysogion'' ("Poets of the Princes"). He compos ...
(fl. 1130–1180)
*Owain Cyfeiliog
Owain ap Gruffydd (c. 1130–1197) was a prince of the southern part of Powys and a poet. He is usually known as Owain Cyfeiliog to distinguish him from other rulers named Owain, particularly his contemporary, Owain ap Gruffydd of Gwynedd, who is k ...
(c. 1130–1197)
* Llywarch Llaety (fl. c. 1140–1160)
*Llywelyn Fardd I – (fl. c. 1150–1175) – named in the Red Book of Hergest
The ''Red Book of Hergest'' ( cy, Llyfr Coch Hergest, Oxford, Jesus College, MS 111) is a large vellum manuscript written shortly after 1382, which ranks as one of the most important medieval manuscripts written in the Welsh language. It preser ...
as “Llywelyn Fardd, son of Cywryd”.[J Lloyd-Jones, 'The Court Poets of the Welsh Princes', Proceedings of the British Academy, 1948]
* Seisyll Bryffwrch (fl. 1155–1175)
* Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr (fl. 1155–1200)
* Peryf ap Cedifor (fl. c. 1170)
* Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd (died 1170)
*Gwynfardd Brycheiniog
Gwynfardd Brycheiniog (fl. c. 1170–80) was a Welsh-language poet.
Gwynfardd is noted for his eulogies in praise of Saint David and the Lord Rhys
Rhys ap Gruffydd, commonly known as The Lord Rhys, in Welsh ''Yr Arglwydd Rhys'' (c. 1132 – 2 ...
(fl. c. 1170–1180)
*Llywarch ap Llywelyn
Llywarch ap Llywelyn ( fl. 1173–1220) was an important medieval Welsh poet. He is also known by his bardic name, "Prydydd y Moch" ("poet of the pigs").
Llywarch was a poet at the court of the kingdom of Gwynedd in the reigns of Dafydd ab Owain ...
("Prydydd y Moch") (1173–1220)
* Elidir Sais (1190–1240)
*Meilyr ap Gwalchmai
Meilyr ap Gwalchmai (fl. second half of the 12th century) was the son of the Welsh poet Gwalchmai ap Meilyr ( fl. 1130–1180) and brother of another poet, Einion ap Gwalchmai
The Welsh court poet Einion ap Gwalchmai ( fl. 1202–1223) was the ...
(fl. second half of the 12th century)
*Gwilym Rhyfel
Gwilym Rhyfel ( fl. 12th century) was a Welsh-language poet and warrior.
Gwilym's surviving work are poems of intercession to Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd
Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd ( – 1203) was Prince of Gwynedd from 1170 to 1195. For a time he ...
(12th century)
* Cneppyn Gwerthrynion (c. 13th century)
*Einion ap Gwalchmai
The Welsh court poet Einion ap Gwalchmai ( fl. 1202–1223) was the son of the poet Gwalchmai ap Meilyr and brother of the poet Meilyr ap Gwalchmai. He lived in Gwynedd. Some lines of a praise poem to Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, Prince of Gwynedd, ha ...
(fl. 1202–1223)
*Einion Wan
Einion Wan ( fl. 1230–1245) was a Welsh-language court poet whose surviving poems include elegies to Llywelyn the Great and Madog ap Gruffydd "Maelor" ap Madog, Prince of Powys Fadog
Powys Fadog (English: ''Lower Powys'' or ''Madog's Powys ...
(fl. c. 1202–1245)
*Einion ap Gwgon
Einion ap Gwgon (fl. c. 1215) was a court poet in the Welsh language. His sole surviving poem is a eulogy to Prince Llywelyn ap Iorwerth
Llywelyn, Llewelyn or Llewellyn is a name of Welsh language origins. See Llywelyn (name) for the name's etym ...
(fl. c. 1215)
* Y Prydydd Bychan (fl. c. 1222–1268)
*Goronwy Foel
Goronwy Foel (fl. about the middle of the 13th century) was a Welsh language court poet from Deheubarth, south-west Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish ...
(fl. c. middle of the 13th century)
*Dafydd Benfras
Dafydd Benfras () was a court poet in the Welsh language, regarded by Saunders Lewis and others as one of the greatest of the Poets of the Princes (''Beirdd y Tywysogion'').
Dafydd Benfras was a poet of the court of the kingdom of Gwynedd and most ...
(fl. 1230–1260)
*Hywel Foel ap Griffri ap Pwyll Wyddel
Hywel Foel ap Griffri ap Pwyll Wyddel (fl. c. 1240–1300) was a Welsh language court poet.
Hywel Foel's only surviving work is an ''awdl'' which laments the capture and imprisonment of Owain ap Gruffudd at Dolbadarn Castle. The text of this '' ...
(fl. c. 1240–1300)
* Adda Fras (c. 1240 – c. 1320) – whose poems haven't survived but whose name is recorded in one of the Peniarth manuscripts and in Tudur Aled's elegy to Dafydd ab Edmwnd.[Gwaith Tudur Aled, Thomas Gwynn Jones (ed.), (Cardiff, 1926).]
* Madog ap Gwallter (fl. c. 1250)
*Bleddyn Fardd
Bleddyn Fardd (fl. c. 1258 – 1284) was a Welsh-language court poet from Gwynedd.
Bleddyn is noted for his elegies on the death of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) i ...
(fl. c. 1258–1284)
* Llygad Gŵr (fl. 1268)
*Gruffudd ab yr Ynad Coch
Gruffudd ab yr Ynad Coch ( fl. 1277–1282) was a Welsh court poet.
Gruffudd composed a number of poems on the theme of religion. His greatest fame however, lies with his moving elegy for Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Prince of Wales
Prince of Wal ...
(fl. 1277–1282)
* Cadwgan Ffôl (13th century) – whose englyn celebrating a victory gained by the Welsh over the English at Degannwy is preserved in one of the Peniarth Manuscripts.
Timeline of major poets
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from: 1100 till: 1137 color:PA text:" Meilyr Brydydd (1100–1137)"
from: 1130 till: 1180 color:PA text:" Gwalchmai ap Meilyr (1130–1180)"
from: 1130 till: 1197 color:PA text:" Owain ap Gruffydd (1130–1197)"
from: 1155 till: 1200 color:PA text:" Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr(1255–1200)"
at:1160 text:†Madog ap Maredudd
at:1170 text:†Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd
at:1176 text:• First known eisteddfod at Cardigan
at:1223 text:†Gerald of Wales
from: 1230 till: 1260 color:PA text:" Dafydd Benfras(1230–1260)"
at:1240 text:†Llywelyn ab Iorwerth
from: 1277 till: 1282 color:PA text:" Gruffudd ab Yr Ynad Coch (1277–1282)"
at:1282text:†Llywelyn ap Gruffydd
at:1284 text:• Statute of Rhuddlan incorporates Wales into England
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color:white bar:Welsh from:1090 till:1250 text:" Middle Welsh"
color:red bar:Welsh from:1250 till:1350 text:"Early Modern Welsh
The history of the Welsh language (Welsh: ''Hanes yr iaith Gymraeg'') spans over 1400 years, encompassing the stages of the language known as Primitive Welsh, Old Welsh, Middle Welsh, and Modern Welsh.
Origins
Welsh evolved from British, the Cel ...
"
1290 to c.1500
The poets of this period are known as Beirdd yr Uchelwyr. The list is fairly chronological but not exhaustive as the work of some minor poets of the late 15th and 16th centuries remains in manuscript and a large corpus of late medieval Darogan, prophetic verse, is anonymous or attributed to early poets. Traditional patronage dwindled in the late 16th century but a handful of bards still received patronage from the gentry into the 17th century. Free verse by individuals composing "freelance" gradually took over from the mid-16th century onwards.
* Casnodyn (fl. first half of the 14th century)
* Phylip Brydydd (fl. c. 1300–1325)
* Madog Benfras (fl. c. 1320–1360) – best known for his '' elegy on Dafydd ap Gwilym''.
* Dafydd ap Gwilym (c. 1320 – c. 1370)
* Iolo Goch (1320–1398)
*Bleddyn Ddu
Bleddyn Ddu (c. 1200) was a Welsh poet. Some of his works were included in the ‘Red Book of Hergest’ - to God, and to the abbot of Aberconway.
References
13th-century Welsh poets
{{Wales-poet-stub ...
(fl. c. 1330-1385) – whose surviving poems are preserved in the Red Book of Hergest
The ''Red Book of Hergest'' ( cy, Llyfr Coch Hergest, Oxford, Jesus College, MS 111) is a large vellum manuscript written shortly after 1382, which ranks as one of the most important medieval manuscripts written in the Welsh language. It preser ...
.
*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 ...
(1330–1420)
*Gruffudd Gryg
Gruffudd Gryg (fl. c.1340–1380) was a Welsh poet from Anglesey, North Wales.
A number of Gruffudd's poems have survived including poems to a wave during his pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela and to an April moon. Also extant are the debate ...
(fl. c.1340–1380)
*Gruffudd ab Adda
Gruffudd ab Adda (fl. mid 14th century) was a Welsh language poet and musician. Gruffudd was a contemporary of Dafydd ap Gwilym, whose death he mourned in elegy
An elegy is a poem of serious reflection, and in English literature usually a lame ...
(fl. mid 14th century)
*Llywelyn Goch ap Meurig Hen
Llywelyn Goch ap Meurig Hen (fl. c. 1350–1390) was a Welsh language court poet from Merionethshire, in the north west of Wales.
Llywelyn is credited, along with Iolo Goch, with introducing and popularizing the cywydd metre in the north of Wales. ...
(fl. c. 1350–1390)
*Gruffudd ap Maredudd ap Dafydd
Gruffudd ap Maredudd ap Dafydd (fl. 1352 – 1382) was a Welsh bard working in Anglesey in the service of the Tudors of Penmynydd. One of the last of the older school of poets known as the ''Medieval Welsh literature#Poets of the Princes (c. 1100 ...
(fl. 1352–1382) – famed for his awdlau to the Chester Rood and the Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
, and for his elegy to Gwenhwyfar of Pentraeth.[Andrew Breeze, 'Two bardic themes: the Virgin and Child, and Ave-Eva', Medium Aevum, Vol. 63, 1994]
*Einion Offeiriad
Einion Offeiriad ("Einion the Priest") (died 1356) was a Welsh language poet and grammarian.
Einion lived in Ceredigion, where he was a chaplain to Sir Rhys ap Gruffudd ap Hywel ap Gruffudd ab Ednyfed Fychan, a wealthy nobleman. Amongst Einion' ...
(died 1356)
* Tudur ap Gwyn Hagr (fl. second half of the 14th century)
*Iorwerth Beli
Iorwerth Beli (fl. second half of 14th century) was a poet who wrote in the Middle Welsh language. Very little is known of his life.
Iorwerth's only surviving poem expresses his disdain of the Bishop of Bangor
The Bishop of Bangor is the ordi ...
(fl. second half of the 14th century)
* Dafydd ap Hywel ap Madoc ("Dafydd Ddu Athro o Hiraddug") (died 1371)
* Dafydd y Coed (fl. 1380) – whose awdlau and satirical poems are found in the Red Book of Hergest
The ''Red Book of Hergest'' ( cy, Llyfr Coch Hergest, Oxford, Jesus College, MS 111) is a large vellum manuscript written shortly after 1382, which ranks as one of the most important medieval manuscripts written in the Welsh language. It preser ...
.
*Mab y Clochyddyn (fl. c. 1380) – whose elegy to Gwenhwyfar, ''"Marwnad Gwenhwyfar ferch Madog"'', is found in the Red Book of Hergest
The ''Red Book of Hergest'' ( cy, Llyfr Coch Hergest, Oxford, Jesus College, MS 111) is a large vellum manuscript written shortly after 1382, which ranks as one of the most important medieval manuscripts written in the Welsh language. It preser ...
.['Llanarthney – Llanbedrog', A Topographical Dictionary of Wales (1849), pp. 478–93. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=47842]
*Gruffudd Llwyd
Gruffudd Llwyd (fl. c.1380–1410) 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 colo ...
(fl. c.1380–1410)
* Dafydd Bach ap Madog Wladaidd ("Sypyn Cyfeiliog") (fl. 1340–1390)
*Siôn Cent
Siôn Cent (c. 1400 – 1430/45), (or 1367? – 1430?) was a Welsh language poet, and is an important figure in Medieval Welsh literature.
Similarity to other persons
He has also been called Sion Gwent by Gruffydd Robert and Sion Y Kent and Sion K ...
(ca. 1400–1430/45)
* Dafydd Llwyd ap Llywelyn ap Gruffudd (Dafydd Llwyd o Fathafarn) (fl. c. 1400–1490)
*Sefnyn
Sefnyn was a Welsh language court poet from Anglesey, north Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the sout ...
(fl. 1408)
* Dafydd Gorlech (c. 1410 – c. 1490)
* Lewys Glyn Cothi (c. 1420–1490)
*Tudur Penllyn Tudur Penllyn (fl. c. 1420 – 1490) was a Welsh language poet during the time of the ''Beirdd yr Uchelwyr'', the professional poets of the late Middle Ages.
Tudur's place of birth is uncertain, but he was probably brought up in the Hundred of ...
(fl. c. 1420–1490)
*Hywel Swrdwal
Hywel Swrdwal ( fl. 1430 – 1475) was a poet in the Welsh language from Machynlleth, Powys.
Hywel composed poems on themes of patriotism and religion. He was the father of two sons, Ieuan ap Hywel Swrdwal
Ieuan ap Hywel Swrdwal (?1430 – ?1480) ...
(fl. 1430–1475)
*Hywel Cilan (fl. 1435–1470) – who composed poems to the nobility of north Wales.[Islwyn Jones (ed.), Gwaith Hywel Cilan (Caerdydd, 1963)]
*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 ...
(c. 1435 – c. 1493)
*Llywelyn ab y Moel
Llywelyn ab y Moel (died 1440) was a Welsh-language poet and rebel, and father of the poet Owain ap Llywelyn ab y Moel.
Life
Llywelyn was raised in Llanwnnog, a village in Arwystli, Powys. He was also connected through his maternal relatives to ...
(died 1440)
*Sefnyn
Sefnyn was a Welsh language court poet from Anglesey, north Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the sout ...
(fl.1440)
* Gwilym ab Ieuan Hen (fl. c. 1440–1480)
*Llawdden
Llawdden (or Ieuan Llawdden) (fl. 1440–1480) was a Welsh language poet and a Roman Catholic priest.
Llawdden composed poems to many prominent noble families.
Perhaps Llawdden's greatest claim to fame is his inauguration in the Eisteddfod held a ...
(fl. 1440–1480)
*Maredudd ap Rhys
Maredudd ap Rhys ( fl. 1450–1485), also spelt Meredudd ap Rhys, was a Welsh language poet and priest from Powys. He was born in gentry, having pedigree blood, as discovered from the Peniarth Manuscripts. He is thought to have been the bardic tu ...
(fl. 1440–1483)
*Ieuan Gethin
Ieuan Gethin ap Ieuan ap Lleision (fl. c. 1450) was a Welsh language poet, of Baglan, Glamorgan.
References
Welsh-language poets
15th-century Welsh poets
{{Wales-writer-stub ...
(fl. c. 1450)
*Maredudd ap Rhys
Maredudd ap Rhys ( fl. 1450–1485), also spelt Meredudd ap Rhys, was a Welsh language poet and priest from Powys. He was born in gentry, having pedigree blood, as discovered from the Peniarth Manuscripts. He is thought to have been the bardic tu ...
(c. 1450–1480)
* Dafydd ab Edmwnd (fl. c. 1450–1497)
* Rhys Brydydd (fl. mid-15th century)
*Ieuan Brydydd Hir
Ieuan Brydydd Hir ( fl. 1450 – 1485) was a Welsh language poet from Ardudwy in Meirionnydd, north-west Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to th ...
(fl. 1450–1485)
*Dafydd Nanmor
Dafydd Nanmor ( fl. 1450 – 1490) was a Welsh language poet born at Nanmor (or Nantmor), in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. He is one of the most significant poets of this period.
It is said that he was exiled to south Wales for overstepping the mar ...
(fl. 1450–1490)
*Bedo Brwynllys
Bedo Brwynllys (fl. c. 1460) was a Welsh language, Welsh-language poet or bard.
Life
He lived in the Bronllys area near Talgarth in Brycheiniog.
Bedo was a love poet in the tradition of Dafydd ap Gwilym whose work is sometimes mis-assigned to Bed ...
(fl. c. 1460)
*Dafydd Epynt (fl. c. 1460) – who composed poems in praise of Christ, patron saints and the nobility associated with Brecon and Abergavenny. Texts of his poems are found in the Peniarth manuscripts.[Owen Thomas, 'Gwaith Dafydd Epynt', Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies, Aberystwyth, 2002]
* Deio ab Ieuan Du (fl. 1460–1480)
*Ieuan Dyfi
Ieuan Dyfi (c. 1461? – after 1502?) was a Welsh language poet.
Poetry
Very little information has survived relating to Ieuan and his poetry. Ieuan composed five poems to a woman named "Anni Goch" in one of which he accuses how false wom ...
(c. 1460–1500)
*Gutun Owain
Gutun Owain ( fl. 1456–1497) was a poet in the Welsh language. He was born near Oswestry in what is now north Shropshire and was a student of Dafydd ab Edmwnd.
Gutun Owain was closely associated with the Cistercian abbey of Valle Crucis where ...
(fl. 1460–1500)
* Gwilym Tew (fl. 1460–1480)
*Gwerful Mechain
Gwerful Mechain ( fl. 1460–1502), is the only female medieval Welsh poet from whom a substantial body of work is known to have survived. She is known for her erotic poetry, in which she praised the vulva among other things.
Life
Gwerful Mecha ...
(fl. 1462–1500)
*Ieuan ap Tudur Penllyn
Ieuan ap Tudur Penllyn ( fl. 1480) was a Welsh poet of the late mediaeval period.
Ieuan was born at Caer-Gai, near Llanuwchllyn, Merioneth (present-day Gwynedd) and was the son of two notable poets: Tudur Penllyn and Gwerful Fychan. Through the l ...
*Owain ap Llywelyn ab y Moel
Owain ap Llywelyn ab y Moel (fl. 1470–1500) was a Welsh language poet from Powys.
The son of poet and rebel Llywelyn ab y Moel, twenty six of Owain ap Llywelyn ab y Moel's cywydd
The cywydd (; plural ) is one of the most important metrical for ...
(fl. 1470–1500)
*Rhys Nanmor
Rhys Nanmor ( fl. 1480–1513) was a Welsh language poet who lived in Nanmor, near Beddgelert in North Wales.
Among his surviving work is a prophecy to King Henry VII of England and an elegy on the death of Arthur, Prince of Wales, who died in 1 ...
(fl. 1480–1513)
*Siôn ap Hywel
Siôn ap Hywel (fl. c.1490-1532) was a Welsh language poet.
Siôn composed poems on themes of love and religion. He is noted for his elegy on the death of Tudur Aled
Tudur Aled (c. 1465 – 1525) was a late medieval Welsh poet, born in Llansanna ...
(fl. c. 1490–1532)
* Rhisiart ap Rhys (fl. c. 1495–1510)
*Bedo Aeddren
Bedo Aeddren (fl. c. 1500) was a Welsh language poet from the area that is now Denbighshire, north-east Wales.
Bedo composed poems on themes of love and nature in the tradition of Dafydd ap Gwilym and other cywydd
The cywydd (; plural ) is one o ...
(fl. 1500)
* Dafydd ap Ieuan Llwyd (fl. 1500)
Timeline of major poets
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from: 1320 till: 1370 color:PA text:" Dafydd ap Gwilym( c. 1320-c. 1370)"
from: 1320 till: 1398 color:PA text:" Iolo Goch (1320–1398)"
from: 1330 till: 1420 color:PA text:" Rhys Goch Eryri (1330–1420)"
at:1340 text:"• White Book of Hergest"
at:1346 text:"• Book of the Anchorite of Llanddewibrefi "
from: 1347 till: 1350 color:BL text:"Black Death in Wales"
from: 1350 till: 1390 color:PA text:" Llywelyn Goch ap Meurig Hen (fl. c. 1350–1390)"
at:1356 text:"†Einion Offeiriad"
at:1371 text:"†Dafydd Ddu Athro o Hiraddug"
from: 1400 till: 1430 color:PA text:" Siôn Cent (c. 1400 – 1430)"
from: 1400 till: 1490 color:PA text:" Dafydd Llwyd o Fathafarn (fl. c.1400–c.1490"
at:1400 text:"†Geoffrey Chaucer in England"
at:1400 text:"• Red Book of Hergest "
at:1416 text:"†Owain Glyndŵr"
from: 1420 till: 1490 color:PA text:" Lewys Glyn Cothi (c. 1420 – 1490)"
from: 1450 till: 1497 color:PA text:" Dafydd ab Edmwnd (fl. c. 1450–97)"
from: 1450 till: 1490 color:PA text:" Dafydd Nanmor (fl. 1450 – 1490)"
from: 1445 till: 1485 color:GP text:"War of the Roses"
from: 1462 till: 1500 color:PA text:" Gwerful Mechain (fl. 1462–1500)"
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The history of the Welsh language (Welsh: ''Hanes yr iaith Gymraeg'') spans over 1400 years, encompassing the stages of the language known as Primitive Welsh, Old Welsh, Middle Welsh, and Modern Welsh.
Origins
Welsh evolved from British, the Cel ...
"
16th century
Most of the earlier poets here are very much in the ''Beirdd yr Uchelwyr'' tradition. Traditional patronage dwindled in the late 16th century but a handful of bards still received patronage from the gentry into the 17th century. Free verse by individuals composing "freelance" gradually took over from the mid-16th century onwards. The free verse and strict metre poets sit rather uneasily together in this list.
* Tudur Aled (c. 1465–1525)
*Lewys Môn
Lewys Môn ( fl. 1485 – 1527) was a Welsh-language poet, one of the Beirdd yr Uchelwyr (Poets of the Nobility), from the ''cwmwd'' (commote) of on Ynys Môn (now Anglesey), north Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of ...
(fl. 1485–1527)
* Siôn Ceri (fl. early 16th century
*Meurig Dafydd
Meurig Dafydd (–95) was a Welsh bard, genealogist and historian, at one time one of the leading literary figures in Glamorgan.
However, his poetry was formal and uninspired.
Life
Meurig Dafydd was born at Llanishen near Cardiff around 1510.
He ...
(c. 1510–95), bard, genealogist and historian in Glamorgan
*Lewys Morgannwg
Lewys Morgannwg ( fl. 1520–65) was a Welsh language poet from Morgannwg, south Wales. He lived at St. Bride's Major
Lewys was one of the foremost poets of the sixteenth century. Most of his poems that have survived are eulogies and elegies ...
(fl. 1520–1565)
*Siôn Tudur
Siôn Tudur (also ''John Tudur'', c. 1522–1602) was a 16th century Welsh language poet.
After serving as a yeoman in the courts of Edward VI and Mary, Siôn returned to Wales where he was tutored by Gruffudd Hiraethog
Gruffudd Hiraethog (died ...
(1522–1602)
*Morus Dwyfech
Morus Dwyfach (fl. c. 1523–1590) – otherwise, Morus ap Dafydd ab Ifan ab Einion – was a Welsh-language poet. He was domestic bard to the Griffith family at Cefnamlwch on the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd
Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserv ...
(1523- 1590) - poet in Gwynedd writing many types of verse and also his will in the form of a poem.
*Dafydd Trefor
Dafydd Trefor (d. 1528?) was a Welsh cleric and bard. He is known to have been born in the parish of Llanddeiniolen, Caernarfonshire. Bangor parish records for 1504 refer to him as rector of Llanygrad (i.e. Llaneugrad-cum-Llanallgo, Anglesey
...
(died 1528) – whose work includes cywyddau on religious themes and an elegy on the death of Henry VII.[Rhiannon Ifans, 'Gwaith Syr Dafydd Trefor', Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies, Aberystwyth, 2006]
*Simwnt Fychan
Simwnt Fychan (c. 1530 – 1606) was a Welsh language poet and genealogist, probably born in Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd in north-east Wales.
He was a colleague of the poet and scholar Gruffudd Hiraethog.
In 1567 Queen Elizabeth I of England appointed ...
(c. 1530–1606)
* St. Richard Gwyn (c. 1537–1584) – who composed a number of odes in defence of Catholicism, while jailed.[Catholic Online Saints: http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=4599]
* Alis Wen (Alice ferch Gruffudd ap Ieuan Fychan; fl. 1540–1570) – whose surviving poems include musings on the type of man she desired to marry and on her fathers’ second marriage.[(Peniarth Manuscript. 287)]
*Catrin ferch Gruffudd ap Ieuan Fychan
Catrin may refer to:
* Catrin ferch Owain Glyndŵr, one of the daughters of Margaret Hanmer and Owain Glyndŵr
* Katheryn of Berain, Catrin Tudor, known as 'Mother of Wales'
* "Catrin" (poem), a poem by Gillian Clarke, Welsh poet
* "El Catrin" is ...
(fl. 16th century) – whose surviving poem is on a theme of religion.
* Morus Dwyfach (fl. 1540–1580)
* Rhys Cain (c. 1540–1614)
*Llywelyn Siôn
Llywelyn Siôn (1540 – c. 1616) was a Welsh language poet and bard.
His instructors included Meurig Dafydd and Thomas Llewelyn. Around 1575, he is mentioned under the name Lewelyn John by Sir Edward Mansel in his ''History of the Norman Conques ...
(c. 1540–1615)
*Siôn Phylip
Siôn Phylip (1543–1620) was a Welsh language poet from the Ardudwy region of Gwynedd. In 1568, Sion was ordained as a master poet at the second Caerwys Eisteddfod
In Welsh culture, an ''eisteddfod'' is an institution and festival with seve ...
(1543–1620)
*Edmwnd Prys
Edmund (Edmwnd) Prys (1542/3 – 1623) was a Welsh clergyman and poet, best known for Welsh metrical translations of the Psalms in his ''Salmau Cân''.
Life
Prys was born in Llanrwst, Denbighshire 1542 or 1543, son of Siôn ap Rhys ap Gruff ...
(c. 1543–1623)
* Robin Clidro (1545–1580)
* Dafydd Alaw (fl. 1550) – whose surviving work includes an elegy to Lewys Môn
Lewys Môn ( fl. 1485 – 1527) was a Welsh-language poet, one of the Beirdd yr Uchelwyr (Poets of the Nobility), from the ''cwmwd'' (commote) of on Ynys Môn (now Anglesey), north Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of ...
and poems in praise of the nobility of Anglesey.[(NLW MS. (1553) Llanst. MSS. (123, 125, and 133)]
* Wiliam Midleton (c. 1550 – c. 1596)
*Morris Kyffin
Morris Kyffin (c. 1555 – 2 January 1598) was a Welsh author and soldier, brother of the poet Edward Kyffin. He was also a student and friend of Doctor John Dee. Kyffin was a member of a literary circle that included the Queen's Godson Sir J ...
(c. 1555–1598)
* Catrin ferch Gruffudd ap Hywel (fl. c. 1555) – who composed a poem in praise of Jesus Christ.[(N.L.W. MSS. 695)]
*Gwilym Gwyn (fl. c. 1560–1600) – whose surviving work includes a cywydd to St. Elian Geimiad.[(B.M. Add. MS. 14906)]
*Gruffudd Hiraethog
Gruffudd Hiraethog (died 1564) was a 16th century Welsh language poet, born in Llangollen, north-east Wales.
Gruffudd was one of the foremost poets of the sixteenth century to use the cywydd metre. He was a prolific author and gifted scholar. Tho ...
(died 1564)
* Tomos Prys (c. 1564–1634)
* Rhisiart Gruffudd (fl. c. 1569) – whose surviving work includes a poem seeking reconciliation between Sir Richard Bulkeley of Anglesey with his second wife, Agnes, who had been accused of poisoning her husband.[(Mostyn MS 144)]
*Rhys Prichard
Rhys Prichard (1579–1644) was a Welsh clergyman and poet. He was vicar of Llandovery in the west of Wales and held various posts at St David's Cathedral (being made chancellor of St David's in 1626, and later canon). He was known as "Yr Hen Fi ...
(1579–1644)
* Cadwaladr ap Rhys Trefnant (fl. 1600) – whose surviving poems in praise of noble families of Montgomeryshire are recorded in some of the Peniarth and Mostyn manuscripts.
Timeline of major poets
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from: 1465 till: 1525 color:PA text:"Aled Tudur (c.1465–1525)"
at:1495 text:"†Jasper Tudor"
at:1509 text:"†Henry VII"
from: 1520 till: 1565 color:PA text:" Lewys Morgannwg (fl. 1520–1565)"
at:1520 text:
from: 1522 till: 1602 color:PA text:" Siôn Tudur (1522–1602)"
at:1525 text:"†Sir Rhys ap Thomas"
at:1536 text:"• Henry VIII's Act of Union (English becomes official language of Wales)"
from: 1537 till: 1584 color:PA text:" St. Richard Gwyn (c.1537–1584)"
from: 1543 till: 1632 color:PA text:" Edmwnd Prys (1543/4-1623)"
at:1546 text:"• Sir John Price publishes 'Yn y Lhyvyr Hwnn'"
at:1547 text:"†Henry VIII"
at:1553 text:"†Edward VI"
at:1558 text:"†Queen Mary"
at:1568 text:"• Queen Elizabeth I orders an eisteddfod to be held in Caerwys"
from: 1579 till: 1644 color:PA text:" Rhys Prichard (1579–1644)"
at:1587 text:" †Wiliam Cynwal"
at:1588 text:"• William Morgan publishes first Welsh translation of the Bible"
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See also
References
{{Reflist
Welsh language poets
Poets
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...
Welsh poets
Articles which contain graphical timelines