Gwerful Mechain | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Occupation | Poet |
| Years active | fl. 1460–1502 |
| Known for | Erotic poetry |
Gwerful Mechain (fl. 1460–1502), is the only female medieval Welsh poet from whom a substantial body of work is known to have survived. She is known for her erotic poetry, in which she praised the vulva among other things.
Life[edit]
Gwerful Mechain lived in Mechain in Powys. Little is known of her life, but it is generally accepted that she was a descendant of a noble family from Llanfechain.[1]
Her father was Hywel Fychan of Mechain in Powys,[2] her mother was named Gwenhwyfar, and she had at least four siblings (three brothers and a sister). She married John ap Llywelyn Fychan and had at least one child, a daughter named Mawd.[3]
Work[edit]
She is perhaps the most famous female Welsh-language poet[4] after Ann Griffiths (1776–1805), who was also from northern Powys. Her work, composed in the traditional strict metres, including cywyddau and englynion, is often a celebration of religion or sex, sometimes within the same poem.
Probably the most famous part of her work today is her erotic poetry, especially Cywydd y Cedor ("Poem to the Vagina"), a poem praising the vulva. In it, she upbraids male poets for celebrating so many parts of a woman's body but ignoring "the girl's middle".[5] "Let songs to the quim grow and thrive", she adjures her readers. "Noble bush, may God save it".[6]
She actively participated in the poetic culture of her day. Many of her surviving poems are examples of ymrysonau (poetic or bardic rivalry)[1] with contemporaries such as Dafydd Llwyd of Mathafarn, Ieuan Dyfi and Llywelyn ap Gutun.[7]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Koch, John T (2006). Celtic Culture: A Historic Encyclopedia Vol. 1. ABC-CLIO. p. 862. ISBN 9781851094400.
- ^ Harries, Leslie. "GWERFUL MECHAIN (1462? – 1500), poetess". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales.
- ^ Gramich (2018), pp. 7–8.
- ^ Herbert McAvoy & Watt (2015), p. 11.
- ^ Gramich (2018), p. 42.
- ^ Gramich (2018), pp. 44–5.
- ^ Howells, Nerys Ann, ed. (2001). Gwaith Gwerful Mechain ac Eraill. University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies. ISBN 0-947531-26-2.
Works cited[edit]
- Gramich, Katie, ed. (2018). The Works of Gwerful Mechain. Broadview Press. ISBN 978-1554814145.
- Herbert McAvoy, Liz; Watt, Diane (2015). The History of British Women's Writing, 700-1500: Volume One. Palgrave Macmillan UK. ISBN 978-1349313761.
Further reading[edit]
- Cocking, Lauren (9 August 2019). "On the Gleefully Indecent Poems of a Medieval Welsh Feminist Poet Gwerful Mechain". Literary Hub. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
- Cybulskie, Danièle (January 2019). "Gwerful Mechain and the Joy of (Medieval) Sex". Medievalists.net. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
- Foster, Donald W.; O'Connell, Michael; Reno, Christine; Spiegel, Harriet, eds. (2013). "Gwerful Mechain" (PDF). Women's Works. Vol. 1: 900 – 1550. Wicked Good Books. p. 466. ISBN 978-0-9882820-0-1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 August 2017.
- Gramich, Katie (2005). "Orality and Morality: Early Welsh Women's Poetry" (PDF). Cardiff University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 September 2018.
- Greig, Adelaide (2020). "The Extraordinary Medieval Woman: Responding to the Critical Reception of Gwerful Mechain's Poetry". Melbourne Historical Journal. 47: 43–55. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
- Olsen, Kirsten (1994). Chronology of Women's History. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-28803-6.
- Phillips, Rhea Seren (12 December 2019). "Medieval poet who wrote about domestic abuse, female sexuality – and in praise of vaginas". The Conversation. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
- Stone, Jon (30 October 2012). "Gwerful Mechain: Themesong from Cunt (Version of Cywydd y Cedor)". Body. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
External links[edit]
- Gwerful Mechain at Wikisource
- Gwerful Mechain at Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index
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