HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Richard Davies (Mynyddog) (10 January 1833 – 14 July 1877) was a popular
Welsh-language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). ...
poet, singer, and
Eisteddfod In Welsh culture, an ''eisteddfod'' is an institution and festival with several ranked competitions, including in poetry and music. The term ''eisteddfod'', which is formed from the Welsh morphemes: , meaning 'sit', and , meaning 'be', means, a ...
conductor. The original source of the name Mynyddog is from Newydd Fynyddog, a hill near his home. Another submission is the name comes from
Mynyddog Mwynfawr {{No footnotes, date=May 2022 Mynyddog Mwynfawr (variant orthographies include: Old Welsh ''Mynydawc Mwynvawr''; Middle Welsh; ''Mynyddawg Mwynfawr'') was, according to Welsh tradition founded on the early Welsh language poem ''Y Gododdin'' (attri ...
, a character in an early Welsh poem. Use of an adopted Welsh-language pseudonym or
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 ...
(''ffug enw'') is common among Welsh poets.


Birth and upbringing

He was born at Dôl Lydan,
Llanbrynmair Llanbrynmair or Llanbryn-mair () is a village, Community (Wales), community and electoral ward in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales on the A470 road between Caersws and Machynlleth. In 2011, it had a population of 920. Description The community inc ...
,
Montgomeryshire Montgomeryshire ( ) was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was named after its county town, Montgomery, Powys, Montgomery, which in turn was named after ...
, in a farmhouse called "Y Fron". His father, Daniel Davies, was deacon and
precentor A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is ''præcentor'', from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" (or alternatively, "first ...
in Hen Gapel, while his mother, Jane, belonged to a bookish family. He was christened by John Roberts (1767–1834). When he was two years old, his parents moved to Fron in the same parish. He spent his early days as a farmer and shepherd, and was educated at the chapel school kept by the younger John Roberts (1804–1884). His open-air life in rural Wales among rural folk remained a central element of his work.


Literary career

He was a frequent competitor at the Eisteddfodau, in both the classical and modern metres, and perhaps took his bardic name, Mynyddog, from Newydd Fynyddog, a hill near his home. There is no special merit in his work in the classical metres, but his lyrics became very popular. They were tuneful, unsophisticated poems, which dealt with the joys and tribulations of the common people, the folly of pride, and the absurdity of hypocrisy. He sang these at concerts all over Wales, accompanying himself on a little harmonium. He frequently visited London to listen to the principal singers there, and he was responsible for introducing instrumental music into Hen Gapel. He was in great demand as an adjudicator, a singer, and especially as an Eisteddfod conductor, in both England and Wales. Three volumes of his works were published in his lifetime: ''Caneuon Mynyddog'', 1866; ''Yr Ail Gynnig'', 1870; and ''Y Trydydd Gynnig'', 1877 – and a fourth volume, ''Pedwerydd Llyfr Mynyddog'', appeared posthumously in 1882. Two volumes of selections from his works were published in ''Cyfres y Fil''. He contributed letters to the ''Herald Cymraeg'', the ''Cronicl'', and ''Dydd'', using the pseudonyms Rhywun, Wmffra Edward, and Y Dyn a'r Baich Drain. These letters dealt with topics of the day and criticised stupid customs. He wrote the original versions of the words of at least two popular Welsh songs:
Myfanwy ''Myfanwy'' (, a woman's name derived ), is a popular Welsh song composed by Joseph Parry in four parts for male voices, and first published in 1875. Background Sources differ as to whether Dr. Parry composed the music for an existing poem b ...
and Sosban Fach.


Later life

On 25 September 1871 he married Ann Elizabeth, daughter of Aaron Francis of Rhyl, and built a new house, Bron-y-gân, at
Cemmaes Cemmaes () is a village in northern Powys, Wales, in Glantwymyn community. The population numbered 935 in 1841, this dropped sharply between 1881 and 1891 from 946 to 729. There was a railway station in the village on the Mawddwy Railway wh ...
, Montgomeryshire. In 1876, after conducting the "Black Chair Eisteddfod" at Wrexham, he accepted the invitation of his friends to visit America for the sake of his health, but this continued to deteriorate, and he returned to Bron-y-gân, where he died on 14 July 1877. He was buried in Hen Gapel graveyard on 19 July.


Works

*''Caneuon Mynyddog'' (1866) *''Yr Ail Gynnig'' (1870) *''Y Trydydd Cynnig'' (1877) *''Pedwerydd Llyfr Mynyddog'' (1882) *
Owen Morgan Edwards Sir Owen Morgan Edwards (26 December 1858 – 15 May 1920), often known as O. M. Edwards, was a Welsh historian, educationalist and writer. Biography Owen Edwards was born in Llanuwchllyn near Bala, the eldest son of Owen and Beti Edward ...
(ed.), ''Gwaith Mynyddog'' (Llanuwchllyn, 1914)


Biography

*T. R. Roberts, ''Mynyddog'' (1909)


References


Sources


''Cyberhymnal''


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Richard 1833 births 1877 deaths 19th-century Welsh poets