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Llywarch ap Llywelyn
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<h2 id="life">Life</h2> <p>We have very little information about Llywarch's life apart from the evidence of his poetry. He was most probably from the <a href="/facts/Commote/ngP1G5tH">commote</a> of Is Dulas (the eastern part of the <a href="/facts/Cantref/3EXWR0Tj">cantref</a> of Rhos, near <a href="/facts/Llandulas/sw53dzHs">Llandulas</a> in the <a href="/facts/Perfeddwlad/cGLevqKD">Perfeddwlad</a>). In 1334, the survey of the <a href="/facts/Lordship_of_Denbigh/gU6us5qe">Lordship of Denbigh</a> recorded the <i>gwely</i> (in this case meaning tribal land) of <i>Prydydd y Moch</i>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> The poet may have acquired this land by the patronage of Llywelyn. Also recorded is a "mill of Prydydd y Moch", and the poet may have had significant earnings from grinding the corn of local farmers.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> </p><p>His pseudonym <i>Prydydd y Moch</i> can be interpreted in various ways. It might refer to some defiant poetic lines threatening <a href="/facts/Gruffudd_ap_Cynan_ab_Owain_Gwynedd/SySj8UgG">Gruffudd ap Cynan ab Owain Gwynedd</a>, comparing singing to that prince with "casting <a href="/facts/Pearls_before_swine/YPMFrchy">pearls before swine</a>" (<a href="/facts/Sermon_on_the_Mount/es0fPwI6">Gospel of Matthew, chapter 7</a>). Another possibility is that the poet was a swineherd, before attaining bardic status in his youth. </p> <h2 id="poetry">Poetry</h2> <p>Nineteen of his <i>awdlau</i> are extant (a total of 1,318 lines), together with 11 series of <a href="/facts/Englyn/0l23RutU">englynion</a> (462 lines). This body of poetry is second only to the work of <a href="/facts/Cynddelw_Brydydd_Mawr/Y8U0QWao">Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr</a>. His works celebrate several princes and lords of Gwynedd, as well as princes of Powys, <a href="/facts/Arwystli/HDW8R8Ho">Arwystli</a>, and the <a href="/facts/Deheubarth/Nw8eultd">Deheubarth</a>. His only known works to sing praise to someone other than his sponsors are his awdl to Gwenllïan ferch Hywel from the cantref of <a href="/facts/Gwynll%25C5%25B5g/ghmHodxK">Gwynllŵg</a>, and the 'Awdl yr Haearn Twym' ("awdl of the warm iron").<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> </p><p>Llywarch was the court poet for the <a href="/facts/House_of_Aberffraw/aeN7j6X0">House of Aberffraw</a> on the isle of <a href="/facts/Anglesey/sM0hH8pF">Anglesey</a>, and working for <a href="/facts/Dafydd_ab_Owain_Gwynedd/Rj7eHcLj">Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd</a>, and for <a href="/facts/Llywelyn_the_Great/o4JIw9Hk">Llywelyn the Great</a> he became chief poet; he wrote nine poems for Llywelyn. The poem <i>Poetry to God</i> is attested to him in the <a href="/facts/Hendregadredd_Manuscript/pUeEgb14">Hendregadredd Manuscript</a>, however both the <a href="/facts/Red_Book_of_Hergest/Q1lGR8Xt">Red Book of Hergest</a> and <a href="/facts/The_Myvyrian_Archaiology_of_Wales/YaB61yjT">The Myvyrian Archaiology of Wales</a> attribute the poem to Cynddelw.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> </p> <h3>Bibliography</h3> <ul><li>Lloyd-Jones, John (1948). <i>The Court Poets of the Welsh Princes</i>. London: G. Cumberlege. Proceedings of the British Academy</li> <li>Jones, Elin M.; Jones, Nerys Ann (9 May 1991). <i>Gwaith Llywarch Ap Llywelyn "Prydydd y Moch"</i> [<i>The work of Llywarch ap Llywelyn, 'Poet of the Pigs'</i>]. <a href="/facts/University_of_Wales_Press/zBdfm2Ta">University of Wales Press</a>. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 9780708310847.</li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li>Lloyd, David Myrddin (1959). <a href="https://biography.wales/article/s-LLYW-APL-1173">"LLYWARCH ap LLYWELYN ('Prydydd y Moch '; fl. 1173–1220); the most prominent court-poet of Gwynedd"</a>. <i><a href="/facts/Dictionary_of_Welsh_Biography/1PMbmqUj">Dictionary of Welsh Biography</a></i>. <a href="/facts/National_Library_of_Wales/r6eaY9EE">National Library of Wales</a>.</li> <li><a href="https://cy.wikisource.org/wiki/Categori:Llywarch_ap_Llywelyn">Llywarch ap Llywelyn at Wikisource</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>(Lloyd 1959) - Lloyd, David Myrddin (1959). "LLYWARCH ap LLYWELYN ('Prydydd y Moch '; fl. 1173–1220); the most prominent court-poet of Gwynedd". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. <a href="https://biography.wales/article/s-LLYW-APL-1173" target="_blank">https://biography.wales/article/s-LLYW-APL-1173</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>(Lloyd 1959) - Lloyd, David Myrddin (1959). "LLYWARCH ap LLYWELYN ('Prydydd y Moch '; fl. 1173–1220); the most prominent court-poet of Gwynedd". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. <a href="https://biography.wales/article/s-LLYW-APL-1173" target="_blank">https://biography.wales/article/s-LLYW-APL-1173</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>(Jones 1991) - Jones, Elin M.; Jones, Nerys Ann (9 May 1991). Gwaith Llywarch Ap Llywelyn "Prydydd y Moch" [The work of Llywarch ap Llywelyn, 'Poet of the Pigs']. University of Wales Press. ISBN 9780708310847. <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>"Dictionary search enging". welsh-dictionary.ac.uk. <a href="https://welsh-dictionary.ac.uk/gpc/gpc.html" target="_blank">https://welsh-dictionary.ac.uk/gpc/gpc.html</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>(Jones 1991) - Jones, Elin M.; Jones, Nerys Ann (9 May 1991). Gwaith Llywarch Ap Llywelyn "Prydydd y Moch" [The work of Llywarch ap Llywelyn, 'Poet of the Pigs']. University of Wales Press. ISBN 9780708310847. <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>(Jones 1991) - Jones, Elin M.; Jones, Nerys Ann (9 May 1991). Gwaith Llywarch Ap Llywelyn "Prydydd y Moch" [The work of Llywarch ap Llywelyn, 'Poet of the Pigs']. University of Wales Press. ISBN 9780708310847. <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>(Lloyd 1959) - Lloyd, David Myrddin (1959). "LLYWARCH ap LLYWELYN ('Prydydd y Moch '; fl. 1173–1220); the most prominent court-poet of Gwynedd". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. <a href="https://biography.wales/article/s-LLYW-APL-1173" target="_blank">https://biography.wales/article/s-LLYW-APL-1173</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>