HUW MACHNO (fl. 1585-1637), poet

Son of Owen ap Ieuan ap Siôn of Penmachno, Caernarfonshire, descended from Dafydd Goch of Penmachno, an illegitimate son of David, prince of Wales. His mother was Margaret, daughter of Robert ap Rhys ap Hywel. The date of his birth is not known, but he is said to have died in 1637, and a gravestone inscribed ' H.M. obiit 1637,' in Penmachno churchyard, is believed to be his. He appears to have been a pupil of Siôn Phylip, as in his elegy upon the latter's death, in 1620, he acknowledges having received much from him during an acquaintanceship of thirty-five years. They, therefore, began their association in 1585. Richard Phylip, in a poem, complains that he lost his fellowship when he became married. He was kinsman and poet to the families of Gwydir, Llechwedd Hafod, and Dulasau, and he sang much to them. The gardener at Gwydir is said to have depicted the bard on horseback in a topiary there. He also sang to other families in Gwynedd and Denbighshire, and as far south as Gogerddan, Cardiganshire. He was engaged in a poetic contention with archdeacon Edmund Prys, and Siôn Phylip tried to reconcile them. The latter emphasized Huw Machno's learning, his knowledge of Latin, and of the bardic diction, maintaining his excellence in poems to women, in eulogy, and in descriptive verse. Over 150 of his poems have been preserved in manuscript. The following manuscripts contain examples of his autograph, NLW MS 433B , Peniarth MS 327 , Mostyn. MS. 146, B.M. Add. MS. 14998, Cardiff MS. 83 (the Book of Sir John Wynn of Gwydir), Christ Church MS. 184, and he wrote practically the whole of NLW MS 727D , which contains much of his own poetry. He gave this book to Evan Lloyd of Dulasau, father of Sir Richard Lloyd, 1606 - 1676. Among elegies composed by him are poems on the death of Katherine of Berain, 1591, John Tudur, 1602, bishop William Morgan, 1604, Siôn Phylip, 1620, and Thomas Prys of Plas Iolyn, 1634. He had at least three children, Owain (who died 1619, aged eleven, when his father wrote an. elegy upon his death), Robert, and John.

Author

• Evan David Jones, (1903 - 1987)

Sources

• Geirlyfr Bywgraffiadol o Enwogion Cymru (1870), 705
• the manuscripts cited above
• NLW Archives: Peniarth MS 288: Pedigrees

Additional Links

• Wikidata: Q20733229

Published date: 1959

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