propensities, which, even at that early age, he could not restrain. Some of his effusions, written during this period, have been preserved; and, whatever ingenuity they may evince, considering the years of the writer, they are by no means indicative of his filial affection. These domestic altercations caused the young bard once more to be separated from his natural guardians; and we accordingly find him, at an early age, enjoying, at Maesaleg in Monmouthshire, the friendship and patronage of Ivor Hael, a near relative of his father[1].
Ivor, deservedly surnamed Hael, or ‘the Generous,’ received his young kinsman with an affectionate kindness, which he even carried so far as to appoint him his steward, and the instructor of his only daughter, although Davyth ap Gwilym’s qualifications for these duties were not, it is probable, at that time, of the most obvious character. At
- ↑ Ivor Hael was, by both parents, of a noble lineage: by his mother’s side he was descended from Rhys ab Tewdwr. He was the owner of several houses in South Wales, one of which, the old mansion of Gwenalt in Monmouthshire, was lately, if it be not still, in existence. The house, that was the usual residence of our poet, has long been in ruins. The Rev. Evan Evans, author of Dissertatio de Bardis, has made it the theme of his muse in the following couplet:—
“Y llwybran gynt lle bu’r gân
Yw lleoedd y ddylluan.”Lo! now the moping owlets haunt
Where erst was heard the muse’s chaunt.Ivor is numbered among the ancestors of the family of Tredagar.
