DAVIES
,
ROBERT
(
Bardd Nantglyn
;
1769
-
1835
),
poet and grammarian
,
born in the parish of
Nantglyn, Denbs.
He was a
tailor
by trade. In
1800
he went to
London
, where he stayed for four or five years and became a prominent member of the
Gwyneddigion Society
, being appointed
bard
and
secretary
to the society. The eisteddfodau patronized by the
Gwyneddigion
towards the end of the
18th cent.
and the provincial eisteddfodau of the
early 19th cent.
were warmly supported by him. It was he who won the prize at
Caerwys
in
1798
for an
awdl
on ‘
Cariad i'n Gwlad
,’ and in the provincial
eisteddfod of Dyfed
held at
Carmarthen
in
1819
he was
co-adjudicator
with
Iolo Morganwg
. His successes included the prize at
Wrexham
in
1820
for an
awdl
on the death of
George
III
, and several prizes at
Beaumaris
in
1832
. But his eisteddfod activities brought him also a good deal of notoriety, as it was he, together with
William Owen
Pughe
(q.v.)
and
Dewi Silin
(
David
Richards
,
1783
-
1826
, q.v.)
, who gave the prize to
Edward
Hughes
(
1772
-
1850
) (q.v.)
of
Bodfari
instead of to
Dewi Wyn
(
David
Owen
,
1784
-
1841
, q.v.)
for an
awdl
on ‘
Elusengarwch
’ at the
Denbigh eisteddfod
of
1819
. Some of his poems were published in
1798
under the title
Cnewyllyn mewn Gwisg
, which was followed in
1803
by
Barddoniaeth
, a volume consisting mostly of his own compositions, but also including some by other
poets
of the period. A selection of his works appeared under the title
Diliau Barddas
in
1827
. His best and most famous poem is the witty satire called ‘
Ewyllys Adda
.’ The treatise on
Welsh
grammar,
Ieithiadur neu Ramadeg Cymraeg
, first published in
1808
, with a second edition in
1818
and a third in
1826
, shows the influence on the author of the grammars used by the bards of the
15th and 16th cent.
, the works of
William Owen
Pughe
, and the
Egluryn Phraethineb
of
Henry
Perri
(qq.v.)
but there is also abundant evidence of
Bardd Nantglyn
's own study of the subject. At the end of the book the author printed the rules of Welsh prosody, which had been formulated by
Dafydd Ddu Eryri
(
David
Thomas
,
1759
-
1822
, q.v.)
and which
Bardd Nantglyn
published, with minor alterations, without reference to their true author. He d.
1 Dec. 1835
.
Bibliography:
-
Hanes Llenyddiaeth Gymreig, 1651–1850
.
[1893?]
, 488;
-
Y Traethodydd
,
1854
, 33.
Author:
Principal / Sir Thomas Parry, D.Litt., (1904-85), Bangor /
Aberystwyth
