Dafydd ap Gwilym facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Dafydd ap Gwilym
Sculpture of Dafydd ap Gwilym by W Wheatley Wagstaff at City Hall, Cardiff
Born	Wales
Occupation	Poet
Period	c. 1340–1370
Genre	Love poetry, ...
Notable works	Trafferth mewn Tafarn, Y Rhugl Groen, Merched Llanbadarn, Morfudd fel yr Haul, Cywydd y gal

Dafydd ap Gwilym was a very important Welsh poet who lived a long time ago, around the 1300s. Many people think he was one of the greatest poets in Wales and even in Europe during the Middle Ages. He wrote poems that were different from others at the time, often focusing on his own feelings and adventures.

Who Was Dafydd ap Gwilym?

Historians believe Dafydd ap Gwilym was born in Wales, possibly between 1315 and 1320. He came from a noble family in a place called Brogynin, near Llanbadarn Fawr in Ceredigion. Even though his family was important, he wasn't a professional poet who worked for kings or lords. However, poetry was a big part of his family's history for many years.

Some experts think Dafydd might have died around 1350. This was a time when a serious illness called the Black Death was spreading. It's believed he was buried at Strata Florida Abbey in Ceredigion, which was a special place for monks. But some people in the 1500s thought he was buried in a different place called Talley, which is about 30 miles away.

Dafydd's Amazing Poetry

We think about 170 of Dafydd's poems are still around today. His main topics were love and nature. He was inspired by ideas of "courtly love" from other parts of Europe, especially from poets called troubadours.

Dafydd was a very creative poet. He helped make a type of poem called the "cywydd" very popular. He was also one of the first poets to use this style to praise people. But his biggest new idea was to make himself the main character in his poems!

Before Dafydd, most Welsh poets wrote about their patrons (the people who supported them). Their own feelings usually stayed out of the poems. But Dafydd's poems were full of his own thoughts, feelings, and experiences. He helped change poetry so that the poet's own ideas became more important.

Dafydd wrote some traditional praise poems, but he also wrote many poems about love and the beauty of nature. His nature poems were very deep and detailed, which was quite new for his time. He was very popular, and that's why so many of his poems were saved.

Many of his poems are about women, especially two named Morfudd and Dyddgu. Here are some of his most famous poems:

• Morfudd fel yr haul (Morfudd Like the Sun): This poem is about a woman named Morfudd, who was married to a merchant. Dafydd wrote many poems about her.
• Merched Llanbadarn (The Girls of Llanbadarn): In this poem, he talks about going to church to look at the local women.
• Trafferth mewn tafarn (Trouble at a Tavern): This is a funny poem about the problems he had trying to meet someone he liked in a tavern.
• Yr wylan (The Seagull): In this poem, Dafydd asks a seagull to carry a message to the person he loves.
• Y Rhugl Groen (The Rattle Bag): This poem tells a story where Dafydd's meeting with a young girl is suddenly stopped.

One of Dafydd's dream poems, 'Y Breuddwyd', was even translated into German. It was used as lyrics for a song called 'Der Traum' by the famous composer Ludwig van Beethoven in 1810.

See also

• Welsh literature
• List of Welsh language poets
• Dafydd ap Gwilym Society, University of Oxford