POWEL, WATCYN (c. 1600 - 1655), gentleman, bard, and genealogist, of Pen-y-fai in Tir Iarll, Glamorganshire

Name: Watcyn Powel
Date of birth: c. 1600
Date of death: 1655
Parent: Hopcyn Powel
Gender: Male
Occupation: gentleman, bard, and genealogist
Home: Pen-y-fai
Area of activity: History and Culture; Poetry; Royalty and Society
Author: Griffith John Williams

son of Hopcyn Powel and nephew of Anthony Powel, Llwydarth. He was instructed in the bardic art; six cywyddau by him, in the hand of Tomas ab Ieuan, Tre'r-bryn, survive in N.L.W. Llanover MS. B 1. Very little is known of him but the elegies written in his memory by Edward Dafydd and David Williams (Dafydd o'r Nant) show that he, like his uncle, was a genealogist and skilled in the art of heraldry. As far as is known, however, none of his work is extant. All kinds of things are attributed to him in the manuscripts of Iolo Morganwg, but it can be concluded that they are all fictitious. It is possible, nevertheless, that some of them may be based on manuscripts which Iolo had seen in Tir Iarll and the surrounding districts.

Author

Published date: 1959

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