Elen Gwdman (

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

1616) was a

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female poet and writer of the early 17th-century. Very little is known of her life, but it is thought she may have belonged to a sub-branch of the Woods family from the Tal-y-llyn area, in

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. Gwdman is a rare example of a female poet of the

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Work

Only one of her poems survives, 'Cwynfan merch ifanc am ei chariad' ('A young girl's complaint about her sweetheart'), a tale of

unrequited love Unrequited love or one-sided love is love that is not openly reciprocated or understood as such by the beloved. The beloved may not be aware of the admirer's deep affection, or may consciously reject it knowing that the admirer admires them. Me ...

in the

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, but it is so finely crafted that it reveals that Gwdman was experienced in composing poetry. The subject of the poem is also very unusual, as it is a passionate love song (that can be sung to the tune 'Rogero') for a young man named Edward Wynn (d. c. 1637) of

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. From the poem he seems too noble for a girl of Gwdman's modest social status and her love affair is unsuccessful. She says that they talked often as he passed by, and that she thought he felt the same way for her as she did for him. She complains of her misfortune after the young man she loved had to marry another girl who was a more suitable partner. Gwdman vows that she will never love another and will travel to Rome to become a nun. The poem was probably written in about 1616, in which year Edward Wynn of Bodewyrd married Margaret, the daughter of Edward Puleston of Llwyn-y-Cnotie, the parson of Llanynys. Edward Wynn was

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in 1627–8, and again in 1634–5. In 1631 he paid the fine for not receiving a knight's order. He died on 9 January 1637/8, leaving two sons, John Wynn (1617–1670) and Edward Wynn (1644–1680).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gwdman, Elen 1590s births 17th-century Welsh poets 17th-century Welsh women writers People from Anglesey Welsh women poets Welsh-language poets