07: Gwaith Dafydd Gorlech

The poetry of Dafydd Gorlech is edited for the first time in this volume. Dafydd was a prophetic poet who sang c. 1466/70–1490, and, as his name suggests, he was associated with Abergorlech, a parish formerly in the commote of Caeo in Cantref Mawr. He was a very learned poet, and his poems are full of the themes and motifs that we associate with prophetic poetry generally, and of references to prophetic texts of the past.

Seven poems attributed to him on the cywydd metre have been preserved in the manuscripts, obviously only a small percentage of his work. Two poems are addressed to patrons, both being prophetic poems in the guise of requesting poems, and one addressed to Sir Roger Vaughan, the influential Yorkist from Tretower, requesting a steed on behalf of Morris Vaughan. The other poems are more general, with a mix of definite and indefinite prophecies.

This publication can be ordered online from: gwales.com