author
Ellis Wynne
1671–1734
Best remembered for Visions of the Sleeping Bard, this Welsh clergyman wrote one of the landmarks of Welsh-language prose. His work blends sharp satire, moral seriousness, and vivid dreamlike scenes that helped secure his lasting reputation.
2 Audiobooks
The Sleeping Bard; Or, Visions of the World, Death, and Hell
by Ellis Wynne
The Visions of the Sleeping Bard
by Ellis Wynne
About the author
Born near Harlech in 1671, he became a Welsh clergyman and is chiefly remembered as the author of Gweledigaetheu y Bardd Cwsc (Visions of the Sleeping Bard). Reference works consistently describe the book as one of the most important classics of Welsh prose, and it remains the achievement most closely tied to his name.
He studied at Jesus College, Oxford, and later served in the church in Merionethshire. The writing he is known for drew on earlier European satirical dream literature, but his version became something distinctly his own in Welsh, admired for its energy, style, and moral force.
He died in 1734. For many readers, his appeal lies in the way he joins religious reflection with lively imagination, creating a work that feels both rooted in its time and memorable well beyond it.