Gwerful Mechain facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gwerful Mechain
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|---|---|
| Born | |
| Occupation | Poet |
| Years active | fl. 1460–1502 |
Gwerful Mechain (fl. 1460–1502), is the only female medieval Welsh poet from whom a substantial body of work is known to have survived.
Life
Gwerful Mechain lived in Mechain in Powys. Little is known of her life, but it is generally accepted that she was a descendant of a noble family from Llanfechain.
Her father was Hywel Fychan of Mechain in Powys, her mother was named Gwenhwyfar, and she had at least four siblings (three brothers and a sister). She married John ap Llywelyn Fychan and had at least one child, a daughter named Mawd.
Work
She is perhaps the most famous female Welsh-language poet after Ann Griffiths (1776–1805), who was also from northern Powys. Her work is composed in the traditional strict metres, including cywyddau and englynion.
She actively participated in the poetic culture of her day. Many of her surviving poems are examples of ymrysonau (poetic or bardic rivalry) with contemporaries such as Dafydd Llwyd of Mathafarn, Ieuan Dyfi and Llywelyn ap Gutun.
