DWNN, GRUFFYDD (c. 1500 - c. 1570), country gentleman

The most distinguished of the Dwnns of Carmarthenshire and the first to live at Ystrad Merthyr, near Kidwelly, a mansion erected in 1518. He was twice married and had eight children, the eldest of whom was 11 years old in 1533, but he lived to see his family disintegrate in the many epidemics of the period. Poets like ' Syr ' Owen ap Gwilym, Harri ap Rhys ap Gwilym, Thomas Vychan, Wiliam Llŷn, Gruffudd Hiraethog, Owain Gwynedd, and others wrote verses in honour of him, his children, and his home, and their poems are enshrined in Llanstephan MS 40 and Llanstephan MS 133 , and NLW MS 728D . He was alive in 1566 when Wiliam Cynwal addressed a poem to him, but none of the bards wrote for him after that.

Gruffydd Dwnn is important as one of the country gentlemen who in the 16th and 17th cent, undertook the work of copying and collecting manuscripts, although he is not as famous as some - such as John Jones (c. 1578 - 1658) of Gellilyfdy. The finest examples of his work are to be found in Llanstephan MS 40 and in the notes in NLW MS 3063E , but there is evidence that other manuscripts have been lost. Some very notable manuscripts were at one time in his possession, e.g. Hendregadredd, Peniarth MS 70 and Peniarth MS 109 , etc. He was obviously a patron of the bards, but it should be noted that William Salesbury also stayed at Ystrad Merthyr when he was at Abergwili.

Author

• Garfield Hopkin Hughes, (1912 - 1969)

Sources

• The Transactions of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion, 1941, 136-43
• Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies, ix, 110

Additional Links

• Wikidata: Q20733113

Published date: 1959

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