Yr Hen Iaith

Gan barhau â thema sy’n hydreiddio penodau diweddar, sef cydberthynas diwylliant llenyddol Cymraeg a gwleidyddiaeth mudiad Cymru Fydd, mae’r bennod hon yn ystyried rhai o gyfraniadau cynnar Owen Morgan Edwards (1858-1920). Ac yntau’n diwtor hanes yn Rhydychen, disgwylid iddo gyhoeddi ymchwil o bwys yn ei faes arbenigol, sef cyfnod y Dadeni Dysg a’r Diwygiad Protestannaidd, ond Cymraeg oedd iaith y rhan fwyaf o’i ysgrifau a defnyddiodd ei wybodaeth am hanes Ewrop a Chymru er mwyn llunio ysgrifau poblogaidd sy’n hyrwyddo agenda genedlaetholgar.

A nodwn wrth fynd heibio fod y modd y mae’n trafod Protestaniaeth gynnar yn arddangos y math o wrth-Gatholigiaeth sy’n hollbresennol ar dudalennau gwasg gyfnodol Gymraeg y cyfnod, er bod gan driniaethau O. M. Edwards veneer boneddigaidd. Sylwn hefyd y modd y mae’n honni bod uchafbwyntiau llenyddol Cymraeg yn ganolog i bob ‘deffroad’ cenedlaethol Cymru. Wrth gofio’i waith diflino fel golygydd sawl cylchgrawn cenedlaethol, rhyfeddwn at hyd a lled ei weithgarwch, gan gyfeirio at gofiant gorchestol Hazel Walford Davies a nodi hefyd fod O. M. Edwards ei hun a rhai o’r bobl o’i gwmpas wedi dioddef oherwydd hyn oll.

*

Continuing with a theme which is shot through recent episodes, namely the interrelatedness of Welsh-language literary culture and the Cymru Fydd movement, this episode considers some of the early contributions made by Owen Morgan Edwards (1858-1920). A history tutor in Oxford, he was expected to produce substantial research in his special field, the history of the Renaissance and Protestant Reformation, but Welsh was the language of most of his writings and he used his knowledge am the history of Europe and Wales in order to fashion popular pieces which promote a nationalistic agenda.

We note in passing that the way in which he discusses early Protestantism displays the kind of anti-Catholicism which is omnipresent on the pages of the Welsh periodical press in the period, although O. M. Edwards’ treatments have a more polite veneer. We also take note of the way he maintained that Welsh literary highpoints were and are central to each of Wales’ national ‘awakenings’. While recalling his tireless work as the editor of several national periodicals, we are amazed by the breadth and depth of his activities, referring to Hazel Walford Davies’s masterful biography and also noting that O. M. Edwards himself and some of the people around him suffered because of all of this.

Cyflwynwyd gan: Yr Athro Jerry Hunter a'r Athro Richard Wyn Jones

Cynhyrchwyd gan: Richard Martin ar gyfer Mimosa Cymru

Cerddoriaeth: 'Might Have Done' gan The Molenes

Darllen Pellach/Further Reading:

- Hazel Walford Davies, Writers of Wales: O.M. Edwards (1988).

- Hazel Walford Davies, O.M.[:] Cofiant Syr Owen Morgan Edwards (2020).

Yn wrthbwynt trawiadol i bryddestau hirwyntog y ‘Beirdd Newydd’ a drafodwyd yn y bennod ddiwethaf, dechreuwn y tro hwn gydag awdl gain John Morris-Jones (1864-1929), ‘Cymru Fydd’. Ond wrth bwysleisio’r ceinder a’r cynilder sy’n nodweddu cerddi JMJ, rhaid oedi eto a thrafod cydberthynas y mudiad cenedlaetholgar hwnnw a llenyddiaeth Gymraeg y 1890au. Gwelwn dinc iwtopaidd yn yr awdl hon yn ogystal â beirniadaeth lem ar gyfalafiaeth.

Nodwn fod JMJ yn ddarlithydd ifanc yng Ngholeg Prifysgol Gogledd Cymru (Prifysgol Bangor bellach) a bod ei yrfa yn dechrau tuedd sy’n parhau’n rhan o’r Adran Gymraeg honno, gyda’i staff yn pontio rhwng ymchwil academaidd ac ysgrifennu creadigol. Awn ati wedyn i drafod y modd y defnyddiai’r darlithydd ifanc hwnnw ei ddysg i wasanaethu’r genedl mewn modd ymarferol hefyd, ac yntau’n gadeirydd y pwyllgor a geisiai sefydlogi orgraff yr iaith Gymraeg. Gwelwn hefyd fod rhyddiaith academaidd JMJ yn bell o fod yn sych a’i fod yn bell o fod yn burydd iaith ystrydebol!

*

A Poet’s Utopia and a Scholar’s Criticism: John Morris-Jones

Contrasting sharply with the long-winded pryddestau of the ‘New Poets’ whom were discussed in the last episode, we begin this time with ‘Cymru Fydd’, the finely-wrought awdl by John Morris-Jones (1864-1929). But while stressing the elegance and economy of language which characterizes JMJ’s poems, we must pause once again and discuss the interwovenness of that nationalistic movement (Cymru Fydd) and Welsh literature in the 1890s. We find that this awdl strikes a utopian tone as well as presenting pointed criticism of capitalism.

We note that JMJ was a young lecturer in the University College of North Wales (now Bangor University) and that his career began a tendancy which continues to be part of that Welsh Department’s culture, with staff bridging between academic research and creative writing. We then turn to discuss the way in which this young lecturer used his learning to serve the nation in a practical way as chair of the committee which sought to standardize Welsh orthography. We also see that JMJ’s academic prose is far from being dry!

Cyflwynwyd gan: Yr Athro Jerry Hunter a'r Athro Richard Wyn Jones

Cynhyrchwyd gan: Richard Martin ar gyfer Mimosa Cymru

Cerddoriaeth: 'Might Have Done' gan The Molenes

Darllen Pellach/Further Reading:

- Allan James, John Morris-Jones (2011).

- Huw Walters, John Morris-Jones, 1864-1929: Llyfryddiaeth Anodiadol (1987).

- Richard Wyn Jones, Rhoi Cymru’n Gyntaf: Syniadaeth Wleidyddol Plaid Cymru, cyfrol 2 (yn ymddangos yn 2027). Caiff mudiad Cymru Fydd lawer o sylw yn y gyfrol hon.

Cawn hwyl yn y bennod hon wrth edrych ar ysgrif gan ‘Elphin’ (Robert Arthur Griffith, 1860-1936) a gyhoeddwyd yn Y Geninen yn 1895.

Ystyriwn feirniadaeth afieithus Elphin wrth iddo fflangellu’r ‘Bardd Newydd’ a nodi bod ganddo bwyntiau difrifol iawn er gwaethaf ei ormodiaeth ddychanol. Cydymdeimlwn â dwy ochr y ddadl lenyddol hon ac awgrymwn ei bod yn fodd i bwyso a mesur cyflwr barddoniaeth Gymraeg ar ddiwedd y ganrif. Ac mae llawer o’r cwestiynau canolog yr un mor berthnasol wrth ystyried barddoniaeth Gymraeg heddiw (e.e., a yw’n bosibl bod ystyriaethau ffurfiol yn gorlywodraethu weithiau? Beth yw rôl dysg mewn cerdd? A.y.y.b.). Rydym ni’n diffinio’r ‘Bardd Newydd’ a ‘Rhamantiaeth’ wrth fynd heibio hefyd.

*

Elphin’s Whip: Poetry and Literary Criticism in the 1890s

We have fun in this episode while looking at a piece by ‘Elphin’ (Robert Arthur Griffith, 1860-1936) which was published in Y Geninen in 1895.

We consider Elphin’s gleeful criticism as he scourges the ‘Bardd Newydd’ (‘New Poet’) and note that he has very serious points despite his satirical excess. We sympathize with both sides of this literary debate and we suggest that it’s a way of assessing the state of Welsh poetry at the end of the century. And many of the central questions are just as relevant to those who consider Welsh poetry today (for example, is it possible that formal considerations sometimes dominate? What is the role of learning in a poem? And etc.). We also define the ‘New Poet’ and ‘Romanticism’ in passing.

Cyflwynwyd gan: Yr Athro Jerry Hunter a'r Athro Richard Wyn Jones

Cynhyrchwyd gan: Richard Martin ar gyfer Mimosa Cymru

Cerddoriaeth: 'Might Have Done' gan The Molenes

Darllen Pellach/Further Reading:

- Ann Rhian Hughes (gol.), Beirniad Llym Gynddeiriog: Ysgrifau a Cherddi Elphin (Dalen Newydd, 2026).

- Cewch ddarllen Y Geninen ar wefan Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru: https://cylchgronau.llyfrgell.cymru/browse/2354296,

Trafodwn William Thomas (1832-1878) yn y bennod hon, bardd sy’n cael ei gofio fel ‘Islwyn’.

Yn ôl Glyn Tegai Hughes, hwn oedd bardd Cymraeg gorau’r bedwaredd ganrif ar bymtheg. Ond er i Islwyn ennill enw fel bardd o bwys yn ystod ei oes trwy gystadlu’n aml mewn eisteddfodau ac ati, nid oes llawer sy’n arbennig am yr holl farddoniaeth eisteddfodol hon. Mae’r bardd hwn yn haeddu lle anrhydeddus yn hanes llenyddiaeth Gymraeg oherwydd un gerdd a gyfansoddodd, ‘Y Storm’. Ond mae’r gerdd honno’n hir iawn – dros 6,000 o linellau! Dim ond ar ôl i Islwyn farw y cyhoeddwyd y bryddest fawr, a chafodd ddylanwad mawr ar genhedlaeth arall o feirdd Cymraeg. Myfyriwn ynghylch rhai dyfyniadau dethol wrth i ni gnoi cil ar natur unigryw y gerdd uchelgeisiol hon.

**

‘And it’s Nature who’s singing its anthem to me’: Islwyn and his ‘Storm’

We discuss William Thomas (1832-1878) in this episode, a poet remembered as ‘Islwyn’.

According to Glyn Tegai Hughes, he was the best Welsh-language poet of the nineteenth century. But although Islwyn won a name as a poet of significance during his lifetime by competing often in eisteddfodau and etc., there is not much of worth in all of this eisteddfodic poetry. This poet deserves an honoured place in the history of Welsh literature because of one poem he composed, ‘The Storm. But this poem is very long – over 6,000 lines! It was only after Islwyn died that the great pryddest was published, and it had a big influence on another generation of Welsh poets. We consider a few choice quotes as we mull over the unique nature of this ambitious poem.

Cyflwynwyd gan: Yr Athro Jerry Hunter a'r Athro Richard Wyn Jones

Cynhyrchwyd gan: Richard Martin ar gyfer Mimosa Cymru

Cerddoriaeth: 'Might Have Done' gan The Molenes

Darllen Pellach/Further Reading:

- ‘Y Storm’ Gyntaf gan Islwyn, gol. Meurig Walters (1980).

- Glyn Tegai Hughes, ‘Islwyn and Y Storm’, in Hywel Teifi Edwards (ed.), A guide to Welsh literature c. 1800-1900 (2000).

- Meredydd Evans, ‘Y Storm’ gyntaf (1988).

- Alun Llwelyn-Williams, Y Nos, Y Niwl a’r Ynys [:] Agweddau ar y Profiad Rhamantaidd yng Nghymru 1890-1914 (1960).

Cawn hwyl yn y bennod hon wrth drafod campwaith dychanol Daniel Owen, Profedigaethau Enoc Huws.

Dechreuwn gyda brawddeg agoriadol y nofel – o bosibl y frawddeg enwocaf yn holl hanes ffuglen Gymraeg – ac ystyried arwyddocâd y feirniadaeth gymdeithasol y mae’n gerbyd iddi. Dyma’r nofelydd o’r Wyddgrug ar ei orau, ac yntau’n awdur a oedd yn ddigon dewr ac yn ddigon hyderus i edrych yn feirniadol ar ei gymdeithas ei hun. Mae hefyd yn dychanu diwylliant llenyddol Cymraeg cyfoes a’r traddodiad crefyddol yr oedd yn perthyn iddo. Rhyfeddwn wrth sylwi bod llawer o ddychan y nofel yn ymddangos yn hynod gyfoes, a Richard Wyn Jones yn gweld Susi Trefor fel influencer arwynebol ar y cyfryngau cymdeithasol heddiw!

*

The Tribulations of Enoc Huws: Daniel Owen (part 2)

We have fun in this episode while discussing Daniel Owen’s satirical masterpiece, The Tribulations of Enoc Huws.

We begin with the novel’s opening sentence – possibily the most famous sentence in the entire history of Welsh fiction – and considering the social critique for which it is a vehicle. This is the novelist from Yr Wyddgrug (Mold) at his best, an author who was brave enough and confident enough to look critically at his own society. He also satirizes contemporary Welsh literary culture and the religious tradition to which he himself belonged. We are amazed as we note that much of the novel’s satire appears very contemporary, and Richard Wyn Jones sees Susi Trefor as a superficial influencer on today’s social media!

Cyflwynwyd gan: Yr Athro Jerry Hunter a'r Athro Richard Wyn Jones

Cynhyrchwyd gan: Richard Martin ar gyfer Mimosa Cymru

Cerddoriaeth: 'Might Have Done' gan The Molenes

Darllen Pellach/Further Reading:

- https://www.llyfrgell.cymru/darganfod-dysgu/arddangosfeydd-arlein/llyfrau/rhyddiaith-a-nofelau/profedigaethau-enoc-huws

- Rydym ni’n deall y bydd Melin Bapur yn ailgyhoeddi Profedigaethau Enoc Huws cyn bo hir.

Wedi ystyried gwrthwynebiad rhai Cymry Ymneilluol i’r nofel mewn ambell bennod ddiweddar, cawn yn y bennod hon gyfle i ddechrau trafod Daniel Owen, nofelydd Cymraeg mwyaf llwyddiannus y bedwaredd ganrif ar bymtheg.

Nodwn fod ei waith wedi’i wreiddio yng nghymdeithas ddiwydiannol sir y Fflint a bod Methodistiaeth Galfinaidd yn ddylanwad mawr arno hefyd, er iddo ysgrifennu ffuglen ddychanol sy’n feirniadol iawn o’i enwad ei hun. Lluniodd fersiwn ffuglennol o’i dref enedigol, Yr Wyddrug, yn Y Dreflan, ac edrychwn ar nifer o ddyfyniadau sy’n enghreifftio’i ddychan afieithus a’i allu i gymeriadu’n gryno ac yn effeithiol.

Wrth drafod ei nofel boblogaidd, Hunangofiant Rhys Lewis, Gweinidog Bethel – a dechrau trafod campwaith arall ganddo, Profedigaethau Enoc Huws – nodwn y modd y tynnodd yr awdur ei hun sylw at ‘Gymreigrwydd ei gymeriadau’ gan bwysleisio’r ffaith ei fod yn cynhyrchu nofelau Cymraeg a Chymreig, yn wahanol i’r cyfieithiadau a frithai’r wasg gyfnodol ar y pryd.

*

‘The Welshness of his Characters’: Daniel Owen (part 1)

Having considered some Welsh Nonconformists’ opposition to the novel in a few recent episodes, we have an opportunity in this episode to start discussing Daniel Owen, the most succesful Welsh-language novelist of the nineteenth century.

We note that his work was grounded in Flintshire’s industrial society and that Calvinistic Methodism was another big influence upon him, although he wrote satirical fiction which is very crictical of his own denomination. He created a fictional version of his home town, Mold, in Y Dreflan, and we look at a few quotes which exemplify his vivacious satire and his ability to characterize succinctly and effectively.

While discussing his popular novel, Hunangofiant Rhys Lewis, Gweinidog Bethel – and while beginning to discuss another of his masterpieces, Profedigaethau Enoc Huws – we note that the author himself drew attention to the ‘Welshness of his characters’, emphasizing the fact that he was producing novels which were Welsh in character as well as language, unlike the translations which appeared frequently in the periodical press at the time.

Cyflwynwyd gan: Yr Athro Jerry Hunter a'r Athro Richard Wyn Jones

Cynhyrchwyd gan: Richard Martin ar gyfer Mimosa Cymru

Cerddoriaeth: 'Might Have Done' gan The Molenes

Darllen Pellach/Further Reading:

- Robert Rhys, Daniel Owen (2000).

A ninnau wedi rhoi sylw i lenyddiaeth Gymraeg Gogledd America mewn cwpl o benodau cynharach, dyma gyfle i ehangu’r drafodaeth ac ystyried y modd yr ehangodd y ‘diaspora’ Cymraeg wrth i’r Wladfa – neu’r ‘Wladychfa’ – ym Mhatagonia gael ei chreu.

Ond dechreuwn trwy bwysleisio’r cysylltiad rhwng y profiadau Cymreig a Chymraeg yng Ngogledd America a hanes cynnar Y Wladfa trwy graffu ar gyfnod Michael D. Jones yn yr Unol Daleithiau. (Ac mae anghytundeb cyfeillgar ond gweddol boeth rhwng y ddau ohonom, wrth i Richard Wyn Jones geisio hawlio’r clod am ‘ddarlith ymfflamychol’ a draddododd Jerry Hunter mewn cynhadledd yng Nghaerdydd yn 2001, sef ‘Cincinnati: Crud Cenedlaetholdeb Cymreig?’). Ond canolbwynt y bennod yw degawdau cyntaf gwasg Gymraeg y Wladfa, wrth i ni ryfeddu at ymdrech i greu cylchgrawn heb wasg argraffu cyn symud ymlaen i ystyried amrywiaeth ddiddorol o gynnwys Y Dravod.

*

The Beginnings of Patagonia’s Welsh Literature

As we’ve given attention to North America’s Welsh-language literature in a couple of earlier episodes, here’s an opportunity to widen the discussion and consider the way in which the Welsh ‘diaspora’ widened as Y Wladfa – or Y Wladychfa – in Patagonia was created.

But we begin by emphasizing the connection between Welsh experiences in North America and the early history of Y Wladfa by examining the period Michael D. Jones spent in the United States. (And there’s a friendly but fairly heated disagreement between the two of us, as Richard Wyn Jones tries to take credit for an ‘inflammatory lecture’ which Jerry Hunter delivered in a conference in Cardiff in 2001, namely ‘Cincinnati: the Cradle of Welsh Nationalism?’)

But most of the episode focusses on the first decades of the Welsh-language press of Y Wladfa, as we are amazed by an attempt to create a periodical without a printing press before moving on to consider an interesting selection from the contents of Y Dravod.

Cyflwynwyd gan: Yr Athro Jerry Hunter a'r Athro Richard Wyn Jones

Cynhyrchwyd gan: Richard Martin ar gyfer Mimosa Cymru

Cerddoriaeth: 'Might Have Done' gan The Molenes

Darllen Pellach/Further Reading:

- E. Wyn James a Bill Jones (goln.), Michael D. Jones a’i Wladfa Gymreig (2009)

- R. Bryn Williams, Rhyddiaith Y Wladfa (1949)

Mae’r bennod hon yn canolbwyntio ar Sarah Jane Rees (1839-1916), y fenyw amryddawn o Langrannog a fabwysiadodd yr enw Cranogwen.

Trafodwn ychydig o’i hanes rhyfeddol, gan gynnwys ei hymwneud â diwydiant morwrol Cymru, a’r ffaith iddi herio a goresgyn rhagfarn yn sawl maes mewn cymdeithas a oedd yn rhywiaethol iawn. Edrychwn ar ddetholiad o’i cherddi, gan ddechrau â’r bryddest ‘Y Fodrwy Briodoasol’ a ddaeth yn fuddugol yn Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Aberystwyth yn 1865, a hithau wedi curo dau o feirdd gwrywaidd enwocaf y cyfnod, Ceiriog ac Islwyn. Ystyriwn ei chyfraniad pwysig fel golygydd Y Frythones a chawn gyfle i grybwyll hanes ei thaith lwyddiannus i’r Unol Daleithiau. Dyma gyfle i ystyried pwysigrwydd Dirwest yng Nghymru’r cyfnod hefyd . . . a chlywed am dueddiadau Piwritanaidd Richard Wyn Jones.

*

Cranogwen

This episode focuses on (1839-1916), the multi-talented woman from Llangrannog who adopted the name Cranogwen.

We discuss some of her amazing history, including her work in the Welsh maritime industry, and the fact that she challenged and overcame discrimination in several areas in a society which was extremely sexist. We look at a selection of her poems, beginning with the long free-metre poem ‘The Wedding Ring’, which was victorious in the Aberystwyth National Eisteddfod in 1865, as she beat two of the nation’s most famous male poets, Ceiriog and Islwyn. We consider her important contribution as the editor of Y Frythones and we have an opportunity to mention her successful trip to the United States. Here’s a chance to think about the importance of the Temperance movement in Wales as well . . . and to hear about Richard Wyn Jones’s puritanical tendencies.

Cyflwynwyd gan: Yr Athro Jerry Hunter a'r Athro Richard Wyn Jones

Cynhyrchwyd gan: Richard Martin ar gyfer Mimosa Cymru

Cerddoriaeth: 'Might Have Done' gan The Molenes

Darllen Pellach/Further Reading:

- Sarah Jane Rees, Caniadau Cranogwen (1870).

- Jane Aaron, Pur fel y dur [:] Y Gymraes yn Llên Menywod y Bedwaredd Ganrif ar Bymtheg (2013).

- Jane Aaron, Cranogwen (2024).

Dyma ni’n parhau i drafod Gwilym Hiraethog yn y bennod hon, gan graffu ar garreg filltir o lyfr a gyhoeddodd yn 1853, Aelwyd F’Ewythr Robert neu Hanes Caban F’Ewythr Tomos.

Byddai rhyw wyth trosiad Cymraeg o nofel wrthgaethiwol ddylanwadol Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, yn ymddangos erbyn canol y 1850au, ond cyfrol Gwilym Hiraethog yw’r mwyaf diddorol o safbwynt llenyddoldeb, uchelgais a chreadigrwydd. Yn ogystal â chyfieithu ffuglen Saesneg i’r Gymraeg, aeth y llenor o Lansannan ati i lunio cyd-destun ffuglennol Cymreig a Chymraeg gwreiddiol er mwyn cyflwyno’r stori Americanaidd i ddarllenwyr yng Nghymru. Dyma ffuglen am ffuglen – metaffuglen o’r iawn ryw – sy’n cynnwys sylwebau miniong am y berthnynas anodd rhwng rhai darllenwyr Cymraeg a ffurf y nofel. Rhyfeddwn wrth ystyried y modd y bu i lawer o ymneilltuwyr Cymreig wrthwynebu darllen nofelau a nodi bod Aelwyd F’Ewythr Robert felly wedi helpu naddu troedle ar gyfer y ffurf lenyddol honno yng Nghymru. Ac am y tro cyntaf yn hanes y podlediad hwn, ceisiwn drafod llun yn fanwl!

**

Here we continue to discuss Gwilym Hiraethog in this episode, looking in detail at a milestone book which he published in 1853, Aelwyd Fy Ewythr Robert neu Hanes Caban F’Ewythr Tomos (‘Uncle Robert’s Hearth or the Story of Uncle Tom’s Cabin’).

Some eight Welsh translations of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s influential antislavery novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, would appear by the middle of the 1850s, but Gwilym Hiraethog’s volume is by far the most interesting in terms of literary quality, ambition and creativity. In addition to translating the English fiction to Welsh, the writer from Llansannan created an original Welsh fictional context in order to present the American story to readers in Wales. It’s fiction about fiction – proper metafiction – which contains pointed comments about the difficult relationship between some Welsh readers and the form of the novel. We wonder as we consider the way in which some Welsh Nonconformists opposed reading novels and note that Aelwyd F’Ewythr Robert thus helped carve out a foothold for that literary form in Wales. And for the first time in the history of this podcast, we try to discuss a picture in detail!

Cyflwynwyd gan: Yr Athro Jerry Hunter a'r Athro Richard Wyn Jones

Cynhyrchwyd gan: Richard Martin ar gyfer Mimosa Cymru

Cerddoriaeth: 'Might Have Done' gan The Molenes

Darllen Pellach/Further Reading:

- Gellir darllen Aelwyd F’Ewythr Robert ar wefan Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru:

https://www.llyfrgell.cymru/darganfod-dysgu/arddangosfeydd-arlein/llyfrau/rhyddiaith-a-nofelau/aelwyd-fewythr-robert

- Gareth Evans-Jones, Mae’r Beibl o’n tu: ymatebion crefyddol y Cymry yn America i gaethwasiaeth (1838-1868) (2022).

- Jerry Hunter, ‘The Pilgrim and the Hearth in the Welsh Reception of Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progess’, yn Angelica Duran a Katherine Callowy (goln.), Global Bunyan and Visual Art (2025).

- Jerry Hunter, I Ddeffro Ysbryd y Wlad: Robert Everett a’r Ymgyrch yn Erbyn Caethwasanaeth Americanaidd (2007).

Pe bai’n rhaid dewis un llenor yn unig wrth drafod holl lenyddiaeth Gymraeg y bedwaredd ganrif ar bymtheg, mae Jerry Hunter yn dweud y byddai’n dewis Gwilym Hiraethog (1802-1883).

Ganed William Rees mewn teulu o amaethwyr cymharol dlawd ym mhlwyf Llansannan, sir Ddinbych. Ychydig iawn o addysg ffurfiol a gafodd, ond eto byddai’r dyn rhyfeddol hwn yn cyfrannu mewn llawer iawn o wahanol ffyrdd at fywyd llenyddol a deallusol Cymru. Aeth yn weinidog yng Nghapel Lôn Swan, Dinbych, gan ddilyn Robert Everett, ac yn debyg i’r gweinidog hwnnw a ymfudodd i’r UDA, roedd gwrthwynebu caethwasiaeth ymysg yr achosion radicalaidd a goleddid gan Gwilym Hiraethog. Symudodd i Lerpwl wedyn gan fynd yn un o hoelion wyth cymuned Gymraeg y ddinas honno. Roedd yn fardd amryddawn: cyfansoddodd nifer o emynau sy’n cael eu canu hyd heddiw (er mawr siom i Jerry Hunter, gwrthododd Richard Wyn Jones ganu un!), ysgrifennodd rai o gerddi caeth mwyaf poblogaidd ei gyfnod, ac arbrofodd gyda ffurf heriol honno, yr ‘arwrgerdd’.

Roedd hefyd yn un o arloeswyr y nofel Gymraeg. Fel sylfaenydd a golygydd Yr Amserau, aeth ymysg cynheiliaid pwysicaf y wasg gyfnodol Gymraeg yn y cyfnod hefyd, a chyhoeddodd lawer o ysgrifau yn y papur hwnnw a gyflwynai wleidyddiaeth Ewropeaidd radicalaidd i ddarllenwyr Cymraeg.

*

Gwilym Hiraethog

If one had to choose only one writer while discussing all of the Welsh-language literature from the nineteenth century, Jerry Hunter says he’d choose Gwilym Hiraethog (1802-1883).

William Rees was born into a family of comparatively poor farmers in the partish of Llansannan, Denbighshire. He had very little formal education, yet this amazing man would contribute in very many different ways to the literary and intellectual life of Wales. He became minister of the Swan Lane Chapel in Denbigh, following Robert Everett, and, like that minister who emigrated to the USA, opposing slavery was one of the radical causes embraced by Gwilym Hiraethog. He then moved to Liverpool and became a mainstay of the Welsh community in that city. He was a multi-facted poet: he composed a number of hymns which are still sung today (to Jerry Hunter’s great disappointment, Richard Wyn Jones refused to sing one!), he wrote some of the most popular strict-metre poetry of his period, and he experimented with that challenging form, the epic. He was also one of the pioneers of the Welsh novel.

As founder and editor of Yr Amserau [‘The Times’], he was amongst the most important people supporting the Welsh-language periodical press in the period as well, and he published many pieces in that paper which presented radical European politics to Welsh readers.

Cyflwynwyd gan: Yr Athro Jerry Hunter a'r Athro Richard Wyn Jones

Cynhyrchwyd gan: Richard Martin ar gyfer Mimosa Cymru

Cerddoriaeth: 'Might Have Done' gan The Molenes

Darllen Pellach/Further Reading:

- Thomas Roberts a David Roberts, Cofiant y Parch. W. Rees, D.D. (Gwilym Hiraethog) (1893).

- E. G. Millward, Yr Arwrgedd Gymraeg: Ei Thwf a’i Thranc (1998).

- Jerry Hunter, I Ddeffro Ysbryd y Wlad: Robert Everett a’r Ymgyrch yn Erbyn Caethwasanaeth Americanaidd (2007).