ROBERTS
,
LEWIS
(
Eos Twrog
;
1756
-
1844
),
musician and weaver
;
b.
9 March 1756
in the parish of
Llandecwyn, Mer.
After his marriage with the daughter of
Plas
Llandecwyn
he went to live in a house called
Pen-y-glannau
in the adjoining parish of
Maentwrog
. He was a well-known
harpist
and
player on the
crwth
, and came to be considered the best
singer
in the land to the accompaniment of the harp; although he could make verse in all sorts of ‘measures’ fit the harp, his favourite measure for that purpose appears to have been that of the
cywydd
. He took prizes at various eisteddfodau — e.g. ‘
the silver tongue
’ offered by the
London Gwyneddigion Society
at
Corwen
,
12 May 1789
, at
Carmarthen
1819
, and
Wrexham
1820
. He also served as
adjudicator
and
singer to the harp
at various eisteddfodau. In his last years he received much help from gentlefolk who admired his talent. He d.
2 April 1844
, in
Dolgelley
, at the house of his daughter; he lies buried in
Maentwrog
churchyard.
Bibliography:
-
Y Dysgedydd
,
1844
, 192;
-
Geiriadur Bywgraffyddol o Enwogion
Cymru
, ii, 512;
-
M. O. Jones
,
Bywgraffiaeth Cerddorion Cymreig
,
National Eisteddfod Association publication, 1890
;
-
R. Griffith
,
Llyfr Cerdd Dannau
. [1913.]
.
Author:
Robert David Griffith, M.A., (1877-1958), Old Colwyn
