EVANS
,
THOMAS
, or
THOMAS ab IFAN
(
fl.
1596-1633
),
poet and transcriber of manuscripts
.
He is known as
Thomas
Evans
of
Hendreforfudd
, a township in the old parish of
Corwen
, but now lying in the ecclesiastical parish of
Llansantffraid Glyn Dyfrdwy
. He was the son of
Evan ap John ap Robert ap Madoc ap Jenkin ap Griffith ap Bleddyn
and
Lowri
, daughter of
Griffith ab Evan ap David Ddu ap Tudur ab Evan ap Llewelyn ap Griffith ap Meredith ap Llewelyn ap Ynyr
. The place and time of his birth and death are unknown, but he was
transcribing manuscripts
and
writing poetry
from
1596 to 1633
. He appears to have been a
craftsman
who received an injury which made him
lame
. He could
make violin bows and sundials
. In
1615
, he was living in a house called
Yr Erw Gau
, where he built a stone chimney in that year. His brothers,
Robert ab Evan
and
Rees ab Evan
, were buried at
Llansantffraid Glyn Dyfrdwy
, the one on
26 April 1618
, and the other on
28 April 1630
. He also had a brother called
John ab Evan
. In
1606
, he wrote an elegy upon the death of
Simwnt Fychan
(q.v.)
in which he calls the bard his uncle and
teacher
. The manuscripts of
Roger
Morris
(q.v.)
,
Coed-y-talwrn
, came into his possession before
1607
(e.g.
Llanst. MS. 34
,
Mostyn MS. 135
, and
N.L.W. MS. 1553
). His earliest work is a
calendar and a collection of astronomical miscellanea
in
1596
(
Pen. MS. 187
). In his manuscript collections of
Welsh
poetry, he has included examples of his own work, which is pretty consistently dated.
Cardiff MS. 12
he wrote between
1600 and 1616
,
N.L.W. MS. 1553
, containing much of his own work, between
1604 and 1633
,
N.L.W. MS. 253
, which also contains part of the rare
Welsh
Primer
,
Llyfr Plygain
, of
1618
, between that year and
1622
, and
N.L.W. MS. 1554
, which contains a substantial collection of pedigrees, between
1631 and 1633
. In
1628
, he added a life of
S.
Margaret
to the collection of
Lives of Welsh Saints
compiled by
Roger
Morris
. He owned
Pen. MS. 157
, which contains
Welsh
poetic grammars, and added some notes to it. He was a prolific
composer of
englynion
but not always in good taste. He had at least one son,
Griffith
Thomas
.
Bibliography:
- Information gathered from the manuscripts cited.
Author:
Evan David Jones, F.S.A., (1903-87), Aberystwyth
