Dafydd Jones or Dewi Dywyll (1803 – 1868) was a Welsh

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

eer. His father was a carpenter in

Llanybydder Llanybydder (, formerly spelt ''Llanybyther'', is a market town and Community (Wales), community straddling the River Teifi in Carmarthenshire, West Wales. At the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census, the population of the community was 1638 ...

, Carmarthenshire, and he was born on the estate of Dolau Bach there. He was also known as Deio'r Cantwr (Davy the Singer) and Dewi Medi (Harvest Dave). Dafydd Jones gained the name Dewi Dywyll, which means Blind Davy, due to being blinded by accident. He wrote ballads and sang them. Jones gained his fame for his impromptu singing all over Wales in an age of wandering balladeers who were popular characters. He wrote about 60 ballads — at least 70 according to the

National Library of Wales The National Library of Wales (, ) in Aberystwyth is the national legal deposit library of Wales and is one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies. It is the biggest library in Wales, holding over 6.5 million books and periodicals, and the l ...

. Jones died at

Lampeter Lampeter (; (formal); ''Llambed'' (colloquial)) is a town, community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales, at the confluence of the Afon Dulas with the River Teifi. It is the third largest urban area in Ceredigion, after Aberystwyth and C ...

in 1868.

Examples of his work

References

Welsh-language poets Welsh singer-songwriters British ballad musicians British blind musicians People from Llanybydder 1803 births 1868 deaths 19th-century Welsh male singers Welsh blind people British blind poets British blind writers {{Wales-writer-stub