Mererid Hopwood | |
|---|---|
 Hopwood in Dyfodol i'r Iaith meeting in 2019 | |
| Born | February 1964 (age 60) Cardiff, Wales |
| Nationality | Welsh |
| Occupation(s) | Writer, bard, television presenter and docent |
| Children | 3 |
Mererid Hopwood, FLSW (born February 1964) is a Welsh poet. She became in 2001 the first woman to win the bardic chair at the National Eisteddfod of Wales. [1]
Originally from Cardiff, Hopwood graduated with first-class honours in Spanish and German from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. She was a lecturer in German at the University of Wales, Swansea, and since 2001 has also been a Creative Writing tutor in the Welsh Department. She was a Spanish teacher in Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Bro Myrddin Carmarthen until January 2010, and is currently a lecturer at the Trinity University of Carmarthen.
Hopwood was appointed in October 2020 as Professor of Welsh and Celtic Studies at Aberystwyth University.
She became the first woman in Eisteddfod history to be awarded the chair at the National Eisteddfod in 2001 which was held in Denbigh. In 2003 she won the Crown at the National Eisteddfod in Meifod, [1] and in 2008 the Eisteddfod's Prose Medal for her book O Ran. She is also an S4C presenter. In 2012 she was awarded the Glyndwr Award by MOMA, Machynlleth. She now lives in Carmarthen with her husband and three children, Hanna, Miriam and Llewelyn.
In August 2009, Hopwood was put forward for the position of Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod, following the death of Dic Jones. [2] It was the first time a woman had been nominated. In November she decided to withdraw from the contest, leaving T. James Jones to fill the vacancy.
In 2023, Hopwood was elected Archdruid for the period from 2024 to 2027; she is the second woman to hold the post, after Christine James. [3]
In 2018, Hopwood was elected as a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales. [4]
Hedd Wyn was a Welsh-language poet who was killed on the first day of the Battle of Passchendaele during World War I. He was posthumously awarded the bard's chair at the 1917 National Eisteddfod. Evans, who had been awarded several chairs for his poetry, was inspired to take the bardic name Hedd Wyn from the way sunlight penetrated the mist in the Meirionnydd valleys.
In Welsh culture, an eisteddfod is an institution and festival with several ranked competitions, including in poetry and music. The term eisteddfod, which is formed from the Welsh morphemes: eistedd, meaning 'sit', and fod, meaning 'be', means, according to Hywel Teifi Edwards, "sitting-together." Edwards further defines the earliest form of the eisteddfod as a competitive meeting between bards and minstrels, in which the winner was chosen by a noble or royal patron.
Pwllheli is a market town and community on the Llŷn Peninsula, north-west Wales. It lies in the traditional county of Caernarfonshire but is currently administered as part of the unitary authority of Gwynedd. It had a population of 4,076 in 2011, the population declining slightly to 3,947 in 2021. of whom a large proportion, 81%, were Welsh speaking. Pwllheli is the place where Plaid Cymru was founded. It is the birthplace of the Welsh poet Sir Albert Evans-Jones.
Archdruid is the title used by the presiding official of the Gorsedd. The Archdruid presides over the most important ceremonies at the National Eisteddfod of Wales including the Crowning of the Bard, the award of the Prose Medal and the Chairing of the Bard. Although Iolo Morganwg was the first to preside over the Gorsedd when the National Eisteddfod came into being, his successor David Griffith, under the bardic name "Clwydfardd", was the first to be known by the official title "Archdruid".
The National Eisteddfod of Wales is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competitors typically number 6,000 or more, and overall attendance generally exceeds 100,000 visitors, the highest recently being 118,000 attending the 2022 festival. The 2018 Eisteddfod was held in Cardiff Bay with a fence-free 'Maes'. In 2020, the event was held virtually under the name AmGen; events were held over a one-week period.
This article is about the particular significance of the year 2001 to Wales and its people.
The Chairing of the Bard is one of the most important events in the Welsh eisteddfod tradition. The most famous chairing ceremony takes place at the National Eisteddfod of Wales, and is always on the Friday afternoon of Eisteddfod week. Winners are referred to as Y Prifardd. The custom of chairing the bard is, however, much older than the modern eisteddfod ceremony, and is known to have taken place as early as 1176.
The Crowning of the Bard is one of the most important events in a Welsh eisteddfod or Scottish Gaelic Mòd.
Sir (Albert) Cynan Evans-Jones CBE, more commonly known within Wales by his bardic name of Cynan, was a Welsh war poet and dramatist.
Rev. John Dyfnallt Owen was a Welsh poet, and served as Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales from 1954 until his death. He was often known simply by his bardic name, "Dyfnallt".
William Williams, better known by his bardic name of "Crwys", meaning "Cross", was a Welsh poet in the Welsh language. He served as Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales from 1939 to 1947.
Reverend Rowland Williams, commonly known by his bardic name "Hwfa Môn", was a Welsh clergyman and poet, who served as Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales from 1895 to 1905.
Andrew M. Green MCLIP, FLSW is a former librarian at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth, who held the role from 1998 to 2013. His predecessor was J. Lionel Madden. The role has been influential in Wales, since John Ballinger first took up the position in 1909.
T. James Jones is a Welsh poet and dramatist, and former Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales. He is also known by the bardic name Jim Parc Nest.
Howell Elvet Lewis, widely known by his bardic name Elfed, was a Welsh Congregational minister, hymn-writer, and devotional poet, who served as Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales from 1924 to 1928.
Christine James FLSW is a Welsh poet and academic. She served as the first female Archdruid of Wales from June 2013 until June 2016. She first presided over the ceremonies at the National Eisteddfod in the 2013 Eisteddfod in Denbigh. Like all holders, she qualified by winning a major literary prize at a previous National Eisteddfod. She was elected Cofiadur (Recorder) of the Gorsedd of Bards at the National Eisteddfod in 2017, again as the first woman to hold the post. She is a recipient of the Wales Book of the Year.
David Heslin Rowlands was a Congregational minister, lecturer and writer. Rowlands won the crown at the National Eisteddfod in 1969 and 1972, and was made archdruid in 1996.
Myrddin ap Dafydd is a Welsh writer, publisher and chaired bard. In 2018 he was elected Archdruid of Wales.
Mary Lloyd Jones FLSW is a Welsh painter and printmaker based in Aberystwyth. Her works are multilayered and use devices that reflect an interest in the beginnings of language, including early man-made marks and the ogham and bardic alphabets. She has exhibited across Wales and internationally.
Gorsedd Cymru, or simply the Gorsedd or the Orsedd, is a society of Welsh-language poets, writers, musicians and others who have contributed to the Welsh language and to public life in Wales. Its aim is to honour such individuals and help develop and promote their fields in addition to maintaining relationships with other Celtic nations and Y Wladfa in Patagonia. The Gorsedd is most prominent at the National Eisteddfod of Wales where it is responsible for the main ceremonies held.
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