author
Evan Evans
1731–1788
A key figure in the 18th-century revival of Welsh poetry, this clergyman and scholar helped bring the work of the medieval bards to new readers. Writing under the bardic name Ieuan Fardd, he linked literary passion with deep antiquarian curiosity.
1 Audiobook
Some Specimens of the Poetry of the Ancient Welsh Bards
by Evan Evans
About the author
Born in 1731 at Cynhawdref in Lledrod, Cardiganshire, he was educated at Ystrad Meurig under the noted scholar Edward Richard and later studied at Merton College, Oxford. He became a clergyman, but he is best remembered as a Welsh-language poet, antiquary, and literary critic whose work helped preserve and promote Wales's older poetic traditions.
He wrote under the bardic names Ieuan Fardd and Ieuan Brydydd Hir. His best-known book, Some Specimens of the Poetry of the Antient Welsh Bards (1764), introduced English readers to earlier Welsh poetry through translations and notes, and it played an important part in the growing 18th-century interest in Welsh literary heritage.
He died in 1788, and later writers have remembered him as one of the important figures in the revival of Welsh classical poetry. For listeners interested in Welsh literature, he stands out as both a creative writer and a careful keeper of cultural memory.