GRUFFUDD LLWYD ap DAFYDD ab EINION LLYGLIW (fl. c. 1380-1410), a poet

Name: Gruffudd Llwyd ap Dafydd ab Einion Llygliw
Gender: Male
Occupation: a poet
Area of activity: Poetry
Author: Ray Looker

nephew of the poet Hywel ab Einion Llygliw, and native of the parish of Llangadfan, Montgomeryshire. According to the elegy composed to him by Rhys Goch Eryri he was a descendant of Einion Yrth; he is called in Cardiff MS. 18 (190) ' chancellor of Hereford cathedral,' but no further details or supporting proof are known. One of the most important and able of contemporary poets and well-acquainted with Welsh literature and folklore, he was entertained at some of the famous courts of his period. His work includes poems to Owain Glyndŵr, Sir David Hanmer, Owain ap Maredudd of Neuadd Wen, and Hywel and Meurig Llwyd of Nannau, love and religious poetry, and it is now certain that he is the author of the poem to send the sun to greet Glamorgan, which has also been attributed to Iolo Goch and Dafydd ap Gwilym (Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies, i, 235). The elegy composed by Rhys Goch Eryri on his death forms the opening of that poet's bardic controversy (ymryson) with Llywelyn ap Moel; Gruffudd is also praised by Llywelyn.

Author

Published date: 1959

Article Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-RUU/1.0/

The Dictionary of Welsh Biography is provided by The National Library of Wales and the University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies. It is free to use and does not receive grant support. A donation would help us maintain and improve the site so that we can continue to acknowledge Welsh men and women who have made notable contributions to life in Wales and beyond.

Find out more on our sponsorship page.