Papurau Newydd Cymru

Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru

Cuddio Rhestr Erthyglau

3 erthygl ar y dudalen hon

Hitfraturr.

Newyddion
Dyfynnu
Rhannu

Hitfraturr. SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF DAVYTH AP GWYLYM. (Continuedfroin a former number.) A full and authentic history of the life of Davytli ap Gwy- lym would he a grpat literary treasure; not only would it throw much light upon the poetry and manners of his age, it would nodotibt add to our historical knowledge. Unhappily, however, the only materials extant for such a work, consist of a few traditionary anecdotes preserved in manuscript, and the allusions to his persunalhistory contained in the bard's own poems. The exact year of his birth is involved in obscu- rity, but we possess data from which it may be conclusively established that he began and ended his days within the four- teenth century. Even the spot of his nativity has furnished food for controversy and our bard may be numbered among the men of genius whose birthplace has been a subject of patriotic rivalry accordingly, on one hand we find the island of Anglesea* strenuously laying claim to this honour, while on the other it appears to be satisfactorily proved that the poet first saw the light (about the year 1340,) at a place called Bro Gwynin, in the parish of lilanbadarn Vawr, in the county of Cardigan. It is recorded in an old poem which has been handed down to us that Taliesin, the most celebra- ted of the ancient Welsh bards, foretold the honour that awaited this spot, in being the birth-place of a minstrel whose song would be as the sweetness of wine f.' Davyth ap Gwilym was of noble origin. On the paternal side he was allied to some of the most illustrious families of North Wales his father Gwilym Gam, being a descendant of Llywarch ab Bran, head of one of the fifteen tribes' who composed the aristocracy § of that division of Wales, and related by marriage to Owen Gwynedd, a monarch no less distinguished as a patron of genius than by the valour and sagacity with which he protected the liberties of his country against the ambitious projects of Henry II, On his mother's side the poet was connected with the Magnates os the south- ern division of the principality; his mother, Ardudval, being the sister of Llywelyn ab Gwilym Vychan, of Emlyn, a per- son of considerable importance in that part of the country, and styled in some accounts I the lord of Cardigan.' Yet, whatever may have been Davydd ap Gwilym's pretensions to an illustrious descent, there is reason to believe that his birth was illegitimate, '1r, at least, that the union of his parents, if it had been previously sanctioned by legal rites, had not received the countenance of their friends. At no distant period, however, a reconciliation must have been effected, as the embryo bard was taken in his infancy under the protection of his uncle, Llywelyn ab Gwilym, who is related to have been a man of some parts. He accordingly became his nephew's tutor, and seems to have discovered in him the early indications of that particular talent, for which he was afterwards so conspicuous, and in the cultivation of which Llewylyn afforded his young pupil all the encourage- ment and assistance in his power. About the age of fifteen, Davydd ap Gwilym returned to his paternal home, where, however, he resided but a short time, owing, as it would appear, to the unpleasant bickerings that took place between him and his parents, in consequence of his satirical propensities, which, even at that early age, he could not jestrain. Some of his effusions, written during this period, have been preserved and, what- ever ingenuity they may evince, considering the years of the writer, they are by no means indicative of his filial affection. These domestic altercations caused the young bard once more to be separated from his natural guardians and we accord- ingly find him, at an early age, enjoying, at Maesaleg in Monmouthshire, the friendship and patronage of Ivor Hael, a near relative of his fathert. (to be continued.) The ground on which it has been contended that the poet was a native of Anglesea is, that there was a house called Bro Gynin in that island but it is plain that Bro Gynin in South Wales, must be the place of his birth, for, in many passages of his works, he calls himself a native of Bro Gadell, or the Country of Cadell.' Now this term is a poetical appellation for South Wales Rod i. kng of Wales, having, in 877, divided the principality among his sons, when South Wales fell to the share of his son Cadell. f Brydydd a'i gywydd fal gwin.' "These IJwythau or tribes were the nobility of North Wales. They commenced extremely early, and at different times were lords of distinct districts, and called to that honour by several princes. The latest were about the time of Davydd ap Owen Gwynedd, who began his reign in 1169. We are left ignorant of the form by which they were called to this rank. All we know is, that each of them enjoyed some office in the court of oiirpi-iiiees, which seemsto have been hereditary, and probably attendant on the honour."— Pennant's Tour in North Wales. t I voi- Hael was, by both parents, of a noble Iiiieage by his mother's side he was decended from Rhys ab Tewdwr. He was the owner of several houses in South Wales, one of which, the old mansion of Gwenallt in Monmouthshire, was lately, if it be not still, in existence. The house, that was the usual residence of our poet, has long been in ruins. The Rev, Evan Evans, author of Dissertatio de Bardis, has made it the theme of his muse in the following couplet Y llwybrau gynt lie bu'r gan Yw Ileoedd y ddylluan." Lo now the moping owlets liaunt Where erst was heard the muse's chant. Ivor is numbered among the ancestors of the family of Tredager,

For tlte Demetian Mirror.

SIR WALTER SCOTT