IOLO GOCH
(
c.
1320
-
c.
1398
),
poet
,
a native of the
Vale of Clwyd
, son of
Ithel Goch ap Cynwrig ap Iorwerth Ddu ap Cynwrig Ddewis Herod ap Cywryd
. According to
Hugh de Beckele
's Extent of
Denbigh
(
1334
),
Ithel Goch
rented a small portion of the family's ancient patrimony in the township of
Llewenni
where he possessed a dwelling house. He also rented from the lord small parcels of land in
Llechryd
and
Berain
. Of the works attributed to
Iolo
in the manuscripts the oldest which can be dated is the
awdl
to
Dafydd ap Bleddyn
(q.v.)
,
bishop of S. Asaph
from
1314 to 1346
, and one of the latest is the
cywydd
to
Ieuan
Trevor
II
(q.v.)
,
bishop of S. Asaph
, composed, in all probability, in
1397
. Between these two poles we can trace the following
cywyddau
written by him: panegyric upon
Edward
III
, end of
1347
; elegy upon
Sir
Rhys ap Gruffydd
who d. in
1356
(
Iolo
attended his funeral at
Carmarthen
); elegy upon
Tudur Fychan
of
Tre'r Castell
,
Anglesey
, who d. in
1367
; panegyric upon
Sir
Hywel y Fwyall
,
before 1381
; elegy upon
Ithel ap Robert
,
archdeacon of S. Asaph
, who d.
1382
; elegy upon
Ednyfed
and
Gronwy
, sons of
Tudur Fychan
(
Gronwy
was
drowned
in
1382
); panegyric upon
Ieuan ab Einion
of
Chwilog
when he was
sheriff of Caernarvon
(
1385-90
); panegyric upon
Sir
Roger
Mortimer
,
earl of March
(and
earl of Denbigh
)
, who was b.
between 1395 and 1398
; and an
awdl
calling down blessings on the court of
Hywel
Cyffin
,
dean of S. Asaph
from
1385 to 1397
. There are three
cywyddau
which he sang to
Owain Glyndŵr
, but the last of these cannot very well have been written later than
1386
. Accordingly
Iolo
belonged entirely to the
14th cent.
, and was the contemporary of
Dafydd ap Gwilym
and
Llywelyn Goch Amheurig Hen
(qq.v.), upon both of whom he wrote elegies. He also carried on a poetic controversy with
Gruffydd Gryg
(q.v.)
. His
awdlau
were written in the manner of the ‘Gogynfeirdd,’ and even his
cywyddau
bear many traces of antiquity both in respect of vocabulary and syntax. Like
Dafydd ap Gwilym
he had quarrelled bitterly with the
Grey Friars
. One of his
cywyddau
, written in the form of a dialogue between the body and the soul (an old literary device) describes a strolling poet's tour through
Kerry
,
Newtown
,
Maelienydd
,
Elfael
,
Builth
, the
upper Taff valley
,
Caeo
,
Kidwelly
,
Ystrad Towy
,
Whitland
, and
Cardigan
as far as
Strata Florida
; this tour probably took place about
1387
. One of his most celebrated
cywyddau
is that addressed to the labourer, a
cywydd
containing a magnificent description of the plough.
Iolo Goch
's principal
patron
was
Ithel ap Robert
. Most of his
patrons
were staunch supporters of the
English Crown
and his voice was never raised in rebellion.
Bibliography:
-
Lewis
,
Roberts
, and
Williams
,
Cywyddau Iolo Goch ac Eraill,
1350–1450
, 1925, 1937
(
1925
ed.), ix-lxxvii; (
1937
ed.), ix-xii.
-
[Fuller but less critical edition by Charles Ashton, 1896 — and see
Cardiff Free Libraries, Catalogue of Printed
Literature in the Welsh Department
, 1898
.]
Author:
Emeritus Professor Henry Lewis, D.Litt., (1899-1968), Swansea
