Ebenezer Thomas (August 1802 – 17 February 1863), better known to Welsh speakers by his

bardic name A bardic name (, ) is a pseudonym used in Wales, Cornwall, or Brittany by poets and other artists, especially those involved in the eisteddfod movement. The Welsh language, Welsh term bardd ('poet') originally referred to the Welsh poets of the M ...

of Eben Fardd, was a Welsh teacher and poet. Eben Fardd was born in Llanarmon, Caernarvonshire, the son of a weaver, and educated at local schools. His elder brother, William, was a schoolmaster, and when William died, Eben Fardd took over his school at Llangybi. He won a prize for his poetry at the 1824 eisteddfod in

Welshpool Welshpool ( ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community in Powys, Wales, historically in the Historic counties of Wales, county of Montgomeryshire. The town is from the Wales–England border and low-lying on the River Severn. The c ...

. He moved to

Clynnog Fawr Clynnog Fawr, often simply called Clynnog, is a village and Community (Wales), community on the north coast of Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It is in the Historic counties of Wales, historic county of Caernarfonshire. The communi ...

in 1827, where he lived opposite the church of St Beuno in a house now called Bod Cybi, and is buried in the churchyard. In 1830, he married Mary Williams; they had three daughters and a son. In 1840, he won another prize at the

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

eisteddfod, and in 1841, his first volume of poetry, ''Caniadau'' ("Songs"), was published. In 1850, he was given a grant by the

Calvinistic Methodist Church The Presbyterian Church of Wales (), also known as the Calvinistic Methodist Church (), is a denomination of Protestant Christianity based in Wales. The Calvinistic Methodist movement has its origins in the 18th-century Welsh Methodist revival. ...

to run a school on its behalf. He had gained such respect as a poet and eisteddfod competitor that he also became an adjudicator. He also wrote numerous hymns. His collected works were published in 1873 under the title ''Gweithiau Barddonol Eben Fardd'' ("Eben Fardd's Poetical Works"). His best-known hymn, ''Crist yn Graig Ddisigl'' (Christ as an unwavering rock), also known by its opening line "O! fy Iesu bendigedig," ("Oh! my blessed Jesus"), was written in response to the deaths of three of his children and his wife, all during the 1850s.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Ebenezer 1802 births 1863 deaths Calvinist and Reformed poets Welsh-language poets 19th-century Welsh poets People from Clynnog Fawr People from Llanarmon