Llywarch ap Llywelyn

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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").[1]

Llywarch was a poet at the court of the

Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, and he is known for a number of awdlau in praise of his lord. One of Llywarch's successors in the court of Gwynedd was the poet Dafydd Benfras, who may possibly have been his son.[1]

He was a very nationalistic poet, and his fervent support for Llywelyn's policy of uniting Wales was a prominent element of his poetry.[2]

Life

We have very little information about Llywarch's life apart from the evidence of his poetry. He was most probably from the

Llandulas in the Perfeddwlad). In 1334, the survey of the Lordship of Denbigh recorded the gwely (in this case meaning tribal land) of Prydydd y Moch.[3] The poet may have acquired this land by the patronage of Llywelyn. Also recorded is a "mill of Prydydd y Moch", and the poet may have had significant earnings from grinding the corn of local farmers.[2]

His pseudonym Prydydd y Moch can be interpreted in various ways. It might refer to some defiant poetic lines threatening

pearls before swine" (Gospel of Matthew, chapter 7
). Another possibility is that the poet was a swineherd, before attaining bardic status in his youth.

Poetry

Nineteen of his awdlau are extant (a total of 1,318 lines), together with 11 series of

Gwynllŵg, and the 'Awdl yr Haearn Twym' ("awdl of the warm iron").[2]

Llywarch was the court poet for the

Llywelyn the Great he became chief poet; he wrote nine poems for Llywelyn. The poem Poetry to God is attested to him in the Hendregadredd Manuscript, however both the Red Book of Hergest and The Myvyrian Archaiology of Wales attribute the poem to Cynddelw.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c (Lloyd 1959)
  2. ^ a b c (Jones 1991)
  3. ^ "Dictionary search enging". welsh-dictionary.ac.uk.

Bibliography

  • Lloyd-Jones, John (1948). The Court Poets of the Welsh Princes. London: G. Cumberlege. Proceedings of the British Academy
  • Jones, Elin M.; Jones, Nerys Ann (9 May 1991). Gwaith Llywarch Ap Llywelyn "Prydydd y Moch" [The work of Llywarch ap Llywelyn, 'Poet of the Pigs'].
    ISBN 9780708310847
    .

External links



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