GRUFFUDD ap GWRGENAU, poet

Nothing remains of his work except (1) an elegiac awdl to prince Gruffudd ap Cynan ab Owain Gwynedd, who died (A.D. 1200) a monk in Aberconway abbey, and (2) a chain of englynion expressing the poet's grief at the loss of some of his friends. The awdl is quite unique among the elegies upon princes, in that it gives second place to the lineage, the exploits, and generosity of the subject. The sentiments are not those of Welsh heroic poetry, the poem being mainly a careful homily in keeping with the teachings of the Church and the monks on the brittleness of human life, the evils that beset it, and the importance of coming to terms with God. It contains well-shaped lines of great intensity of feeling which remain long in the memory. In the englynion, the poet's lost friends are addressed by name, each in turn.

Author

• David Myrddin Lloyd, (1909 - 1981)

Sources

• NLW Archives: NLW MS 6680B: Llawysgrif Hendregadredd, 24b, 25a, 76a
• The Myvyrian archaiology of Wales (Denbigh 1870), 256-7

Additional Links

• Wikidata: Q13128801

Published date: 1959

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