Mary Davies (17 October 1846 – 8 October 1882), also known as Mair Eifion, was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

poet writing in the Welsh language.

Biography

Mary Davies was born 17 October 1846, in

Portmadoc Porthmadog (; ), originally Portmadoc until 1974 and locally as "Port", is a Welsh coastal town and community in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd and the historic county of Caernarfonshire. It lies east of Criccieth, south-west of Blaenau Ffesti ...

(so spelt at the time),

North Wales , area_land_km2 = 6,172 , postal_code_type = Postcode , postal_code = LL, CH, SY , image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg , map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...

, where she resided for the whole of her life. She was the eldest daughter of Captain Lewis Davies and his wife Jennet, who ran the ''Tregunter Arms'', a public house in Portmadoc. She was educated at a private school there, maintained by a daughter of the writer William Rees, better known by his

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 ...

Gwilym Hiraethog.

Verse and appreciation

Mary Davies displayed from a young age a talent for writing poetry. Her work began to be published in the periodical '' Y Dysgedydd'', which was edited in 1853–1873 by

William Ambrose (Emrys) William Ambrose (1 August 1813 – 31 October 1873), whose bardic name was Emrys, was a 19th-century Welsh-language poet and preacher. Many sermons of his were published and some of his poems used as hymns. Ordination Ambrose was born at a Ban ...

, a mentor of hers, along with Ioan Madog (John Williams, 1812–1878). After she had begun to win prizes locally for her poems and essays, Davies was admitted to the

Gorsedd A gorsedd (, plural ''gorseddau'') is a community or meeting of modern-day bards. The word is of Welsh origin, meaning "throne". It is spelled gorsedh in Cornish and goursez in Breton. When the term is used without qualification, it usually r ...

circle at the 1875

National Eisteddfod The National Eisteddfod of Wales (Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competitors ...

Pwllheli Pwllheli () is a market town and community of the Llŷn Peninsula ( cy, Penrhyn Llŷn) in Gwynedd, north-western Wales. It had a population of 4,076 in 2011 of whom a large proportion, 81%, are Welsh language, Welsh speaking. Pwllheli is the pl ...

. After her death in 1882, William Roberts edited her works of poetry and published them under the title ''Blodeu Eifion, sef Gwaith Barddonol Mair Eifion''.

Death

Mary Davies died unmarried in

Porthmadog Porthmadog (; ), originally Portmadoc until 1974 and locally as "Port", is a Welsh coastal town and community in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd and the historic county of Caernarfonshire. It lies east of Criccieth, south-west of Blaenau Ffest ...

on 8 October 1882 and was buried at Soar, near

Talsarnau Talsarnau () or Talsamau is a village and community in the Ardudwy area of Gwynedd in Wales. Its population was 525 in 2001, and had increased to 550 at the 2011 Census. The village of Talsarnau is situated on the A496 coastal road between Ma ...

References

1846 births 1882 deaths 19th-century Welsh writers 19th-century Welsh women writers People from Porthmadog Welsh-language poets Welsh women poets {{Wales-writer-stub