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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.

Gwerful Mechain
Born	Mechain, Kingdom of Powys
Occupation	Poet
Years active	fl. 1460–1502
Known for	Erotic poetry

Life

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

She is perhaps the most famous female Welsh-language poet^{[citation needed]} 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 middle." "Let songs about the quim circulate," she adjures her readers. "Lovely bush, God save it."^{[This quote needs a citation]}

She actively participated in the poetic culture of her day. Many of her surviving poems are examples of Ymrysonau,[1] or poetic or bardic contentions or debates, with contemporaries such as Dafydd Llwyd of Mathafarn, Ieuan Dyfi and Llywelyn ap Gutun.[4]

See also

•  Poetry portal

References

Further reading

• 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.
• Olsen, Kirsten (1994). Chronology of Women's History. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-28803-6.

External links

• Gwerful Mechain at Wikisource
• A short biography (archived), Gwarnant
• Cywydd y Cedor ("Poem to the Vagina"): English translation (archived) by Dafydd Johnston
• I'w gŵr am ei churo ("To her husband for beating her"): English translation by A.M. Juster

На других языках

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- [en] Gwerful Mechain

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[fr] Gwerful Mechain

Gwerful Mechain (fl. 1460–1502), est une poétesse galloise médiévale et la seule dont on sait qu'une œuvre substantielle a survécu. Elle est connue pour sa poésie érotique, dans laquelle elle loue notamment la vulve.

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