Robert Williams (Robert ap Gwilym Ddu)

Robert Williams, bardic name Robert ap Gwilym Ddu (1766–1850) was a Welsh bard.

Life

Son of William Williams, he was born at Betws Fawr in the parish of Llanystumdwy, Caernarfonshire. His father was a small freeholder, and he succeeded him in the occupation of Betws Fawr, moving, however, towards the end of his life to Mynachty in the same district.[1]

Williams was a home-loving farmer. A close friend and the bardic tutor of his neighbour David Owen (1784–1841) ("Dewi Wyn o Eifion"), he shared Owen's mistrust of the eisteddfod authorities of the day. He died on 11 June 1850, and was buried at Aber Erch.[1]

Betws Fawr, home of Robert Williams

Works

"Robert ap Gwilym Ddu", as William was styled, became first known as the winner in 1792 of the Gwyneddigion Society's medal for the best ode on the Massacre of the Bards. He then concentrated on religious verse, and avoided eisteddfodau. His poems, almost entirely religious or commemorative, were published at Dolgelly in 1841 under the title Gardd Eifion; and include some well-known stanzas.[1]

Family

Williams married late in life. His only child, a daughter Jane Elizabeth, died in 1834, at the age of seventeen, and Gardd Eifion contains an elegy upon her.[1]

Notes
  1. Lee, Sidney, ed. (1900). "Williams, Robert (1767-1850)" . Dictionary of National Biography. 61. London: Smith, Elder & Co.

Attribution

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Lee, Sidney, ed. (1900). "Williams, Robert (1767-1850)". Dictionary of National Biography. 61. London: Smith, Elder & Co.

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gollark: They just say "but TERRORISM" to shut down any critical reasoning about it and paint anyone who disagrees as *unpatriotic* and *eeeevil*.
gollark: Wikipedia notes misuse of *non-*mass surveillance in past. Spying on everyone and everything they do online will make it worse.https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_surveillance_in_the_United_States
gollark: Oh, this too:- ignoring relevant laws and gathering data anyway until new laws can retroactively allow it- getting around limits on spying on citizens by sharing data with other "Five Eyes" nations and spying on them as foreigners
gollark: Well, it's pretty known that they do go around intercepting lots of stuff. There are many problems with this:- having private data like your internet traffic stored somewhere is kind of bad in itself.- if it's not abused yet it's basically only a matter of time.- there's no transparency anywhere and even a system of secret courts to judge things- it may help slightly to stop terrorists (no transparency so we can't check really) but is just a massive breach of privacy
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