Gruffudd ap Maredudd ap Dafydd facts for kids

Gruffudd ap Maredudd ap Dafydd was a Welsh bard (a poet and storyteller) who lived a long time ago, from about 1352 to 1382. He worked in Anglesey, an island in Wales. He was a special poet for the Tudors of Penmynydd, a very important family.

Gruffudd was one of the last poets from an older style called the Gogynfeirdd. He liked to stick to the old ways of writing poems, even when new styles were becoming popular. Around 2400 lines of his poems can still be read today in a famous old book called the Red Book of Hergest. His most well-known poem is "Gwenhwyfar," which is a sad poem about a young lady.

People who study literature have said great things about him. One historian called him "the finest of all the late Gogynfeirdd poets." Another famous writer, Saunders Lewis, even called him "one of the greats."

Gruffudd's Life Story

Gruffudd ap Maredudd came from a family in Anglesey who owned a lot of land. Records show that he himself owned parts of three areas: Aberalaw, Carneddawr, and Dronwy. These were in a local area called a commote, specifically Talybolion. He was also the sheriff of Talybolion, which meant he was in charge of keeping law and order there.

As a poet, Gruffudd was very close to the Tudors of Penmynydd family. You could even say he was their personal family poet. We know he was actively writing poems from 1352 to 1382. However, we don't know exactly when he passed away.

Gruffudd's Poetic Works

Gruffudd's way of writing poems mostly followed the style of earlier poets from the 1100s and 1200s, known as the Gogynfeirdd. He didn't really follow the newer styles used by poets of his own time. He preferred older poem forms like the englyn and awdl, instead of the newer cywydd style.

However, Gruffudd did use one special technique a lot, which was different from the very early Gogynfeirdd. This was a complicated system of alliteration (repeating sounds) called cynghanedd. He even used a very difficult version of it called double cynghanedd sain.

His poems often talked about the beauty of women, fancy clothes, and the lovely countryside of Anglesey. He also wrote about the sadness of beautiful young people dying too soon. His poems are special because they refer to many old Welsh and even Irish stories and legends.

Different Kinds of Poems

Gruffudd wrote many different types of poems:

• He wrote eight praise-poems. Seven of these were for members of the Penmynydd family. These included Tudur ap Goronwy; his brother Hywel, who was an archdeacon (a church official) in Anglesey; and Tudur's son, Goronwy. The eighth praise-poem was for someone important who we don't know today.
• He also wrote fifteen poems about religious topics. Some praised God, and one asked God to protect Gwynedd from the terrible Black Death sickness. He wrote a poem about the Rood (a cross) in Chester, which is considered a masterpiece and a very ambitious poem for its time. Several of his religious poems were for the Virgin Mary. This was quite new for a Gogynfeirdd poet.
• Gruffudd also wrote two love poems.
• He wrote a sad poem (an elegy) for Hywel y Fwyall.
• He wrote a political poem that supported Owain Lawgoch and his plans to free Wales from English rule.
• He even wrote four satires, which are poems that make fun of things. These were described as "technically clever but quite unpleasant."

His Most Famous Poem

The most famous of Gruffudd's works is "Gwenhwyfar." This is a sad poem, or maybe a group of four related sad poems, about a beautiful young lady who died when she was still young. This poem has been translated into English many times. Scholars have praised it highly. One expert called it one of the best poems of that time. Another said that "Seldom has the horror of early death been expressed with such skill and anguish combined." This shows how powerful and moving the poem is.