Dewi Morgan
Encyclopedia
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
bard, scholar and journalist who used the bardic name
Bardic name
A bardic name is a pseudonym, used in Wales, Cornwall and Brittany, by poets and other artists, especially those involved in the eisteddfod movement....
'Dewi Teifi', and who won the Chair
Chairing of the Bard
The Chairing of the Bard is one of the most important events in the Welsh eisteddfod tradition. The most famous chairing ceremony takes place at the National Eisteddfod of Wales, and is always on the Friday afternoon of Eisteddfod week....
at the 1925 National Eisteddfod of Wales
National Eisteddfod of Wales
The National Eisteddfod of Wales is the most important of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales.- Organisation :...
in Pwllheli with his important awdl
Awdl
An awdl is a long poem written in Welsh in one of the twenty-four strict metres, using cynghanedd. Such poems are considered among the finest work that a poet can aim to produce, and prizes are given at eisteddfodau for the best awdl....
recounting the legend of Cantre'r Gwaelod.
Biography
Born David Morgan at Bryndderwen, Dôl-y-Bont in CeredigionCeredigion
Ceredigion is a county and former kingdom in mid-west Wales. As Cardiganshire , it was created in 1282, and was reconstituted as a county under that name in 1996, reverting to Ceredigion a day later...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, opposite Capel y Babell, he was the son of William Morgan (1842–1917) and Jane James (1846–1922). He later claimed that his ancestry stretched back to Sir Gruffudd Fychan of Denbigh
Denbigh
Denbigh is a market town and community in Denbighshire, Wales. Before 1888, it was the county town of Denbighshire. Denbigh lies 8 miles to the north west of Ruthin and to the south of St Asaph. It is about 13 miles from the seaside resort of Rhyl. The town grew around the glove-making industry...
, who had been knighted in the field at the Battle of Agincourt
Battle of Agincourt
The Battle of Agincourt was a major English victory against a numerically superior French army in the Hundred Years' War. The battle occurred on Friday, 25 October 1415 , near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France...
by Henry V in 1426. Dewi Morgan moved with his family to Pen-y-garn
Pen-y-garn, Ceredigion
Pen-y-garn is a small village in the Tirymynach district of Ceredigion, Wales, approximately 4 miles north-east of Aberystwyth. Along with the hamlet of Rhydypennau, Pen-y-garn is now often considered to be part of the neighbouring larger village of Bow Street. All three places stretch in a long...
when he was two years old, after his father built and opened a grocer’s shop there called Garn House. The sign above the door of the shop read “William Morgan, General Merchant”, and as well a being a grocer, Dewi’s father sold coal and carried goods.
Dewi Morgan was largely self-taught, having had little formal education, becoming a master of the form of strict-meter Welsh poetry known as Cynghanedd
Cynghanedd
In Welsh language poetry, Cynghanedd is the basic concept of sound-arrangement within one line, using stress, alliteration and rhyme. The various forms of cynghanedd show up in the definitions of all formal Welsh verse forms, such as the awdl. Though of ancient origin, cynghanedd and variations of...
. He regularly competed at regional and local eisteddfodau, winning his first eisteddfod Chair at the age of twenty-two. Following his success at Pwllheli, he said that one of the two greatest influences on his life was the headmaster of Rhydypennau School, John Evans; the other was his great friend T. Gwynn Jones. Through his friendship with T. Gwynn Jones he deepened his understanding and appreciation of Welsh literature, but also broadened his knowledge to encompass the wider European literary tradition. Amongst his other friends could be counted many Welsh scholars and academics, including T. H. Parry-Williams
T. H. Parry-Williams
Sir Thomas Herbert Parry-Williams was a Welsh poet, author and academic.Parry-Williams was born at Rhyd Ddu, Caernarfonshire. He was educated at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, Jesus College, Oxford , the University of Freiburg and the Sorbonne...
, T. E. Nicholas and Eifion Wyn.
He encouraged many young poets and writers, particularly the young Tom Macdonald
Tom Macdonald (writer)
Tom Macdonald was a Welsh journalist and novelist, whose most significant publication was his highly evocative account of growing up in the north of Ceredigion in the years before the Great War, which was published in 1975 as The White Lanes of Summer.-Biography:Thomas Macdonald was born on 22...
who lived across the road from Dewi in Pen-y-garn. Tom Macdonald, who knew him as “Dewi Garnhouse”, makes reference to Dewi's influence upon him in his writings. For many years Dewi Morgan was sub-editor for the Welsh language newspaper Baner ac Amserau Cymru, under Prosser Rhys, as well as being on the staff of Y Tyst and the Welsh editor at the Cambrian News
Cambrian News
The Cambrian News is a weekly newspaper distributed in Wales. It was founded in 1860 and is based in Cefn Llan Science Park, Aberystwyth. Cambrian News Ltd was bought by media entrepreneur Sir Ray Tindle in 1998.- History :...
.
Family
Dewi Morgan was married three times, first to Minnie Davies on 22 September 1909; then to Olwen Jones on 9 September 1931 (who died on 2 November 1947 aged only 47 years); and finally to Sarah Margaretta (1877–1957). His second son is Lord Elystan MorganElystan Morgan
Dafydd Elystan Elystan-Morgan, Baron Elystan-Morgan , known as Elystan Morgan, is a Welsh politician.Morgan was educated at Ardwyn Grammar School, Aberystwyth and the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth...
.