Discussion Forum

Re: Gwerful Mechain's poem responding to Ieuan Dyfi about his poem to Anni Goch

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 23:11:42 GMT

by Maria Granda.

Such an interesting lecture and poet! Gwerful is surprising not because she breaks with the medieval tradition, but because she embodies it so fully...she is just doing it as a woman — and what is surprising is the fact that later scholars tried to erase her contributions simply for doing exactly what her male peers were praised for. Her work has, according to editor Katie Gramich, been deliberately suppressed by male Welsh scholars in the 19th and early 20th centuries because it contains erotic and indecent poetry. I can only imagine how that was perceived! For the question: Is Leslie Harries's description of her as "a whore" fair? Absolutely not. It seems she is more concerned about describing Gwerful’s work as "dirty" and foreign rather than Welsh. I will continue to look through the resources as the week progresses. Thank you!

Re: Gwerful Mechain's poem responding to Ieuan Dyfi about his poem to Anni Goch

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 05:20:29 GMT

by Natalie Grueninger.

Thank you for another wonderful discussion! I’ve really enjoyed learning about the Welsh literary/bardic tradition and Gwerful Mechain. I watched Dr Hanna Hopwood’s lecture on Gwerful and particularly enjoyed hearing some of the poetry being read out in Welsh. Such a different rhythm to the English translations! I also read Professor Cartwright’s chapter in ‘The History of British Women’s Writing’ and agree that the poetry is fascinating for the light it sheds on religious beliefs, relationships, and a woman’s lived experience. I found Katie Gramich’s intro to her book really informative and am working my way through her translations of Gwerful’s poetry. I was most struck by Gwerful’s varied subject matter! I imagine her more bawdy poems must have shocked some of the men around her. I do love that her wit, confidence and intelligence are clearly on show. As per Jane’s suggestion, I listened to the episode of the ‘Gone Medieval’ podcast on Gwerful and listened to the sample of the ‘London Review’ episode, but a subscription is needed to access the full instalment. Finally, I also read Ceridwen Lloyd-Morgan’s article, ‘More written about than writing?’ and completely agree with the author’s conclusion that while there may be little evidence of medieval Welsh women as readers, scribes and patrons, this does not preclude them being actively involved in literature production. ‘Literature need not require literacy’. Brilliant conclusion!
Natalie

Gwerful Mechain's poem responding to Ieuan Dyfi about his poem to Anni Goch

Tue, 03 Mar 2026 17:32:44 GMT

by Jane Cartwright.

Hi everyone

Good to see you today and thanks for taking part in the discussion on Gweful Mechain's poetry. If you missed the session, please post your thoughts on Gwerful Mechain's poetry in the discussion forum. Is this the kind of poetry you'd expect to find in medieval manuscripts and how unusual is she? Is Leslie Harries's description of her as 'a whore' fair and what kind of topics does she compose poetry about? If you were not able to make the live seminar today, please make sure that you are not falling behind as you should have read Gwerful's poetry (trans.) by Katie Gramich and also read my chapter on Welsh women writers in the History of British Womens' Writing (which Wendi summarized in today's lecture). I've also added a link to a podcast to the tile on Gwerful Mechain in Moodle as well as a You Tube video in which two academics review and discuss her poem 'Cywydd y Cedor'.

Next week we'll continue discussing women's medieval poetry and Gwerful's work and we'll also be discussing the requirements for assignment 1 so you can ask me any questions you might have.

See you then

Jane