John Jones better known under his nom de plume Myrddin Fardd, was a Welsh writer and antiquarian scholar born in Llangїan

Llangian

Llangian is a small village and former civil parish on the Llŷn Peninsula in the Welsh county of Gwynedd. It is located north west of Abersoch, in the community of Llanengan. The parish was abolished in 1934 and divided between Llanengan and Botwnnog. The village's church of Saint Cian is...

, Caernarfonshire

Caernarfonshire

Caernarfonshire , historically spelled as Caernarvonshire or Carnarvonshire in English during its existence, was one of the thirteen historic counties, a vice-county and a former administrative county of Wales....

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He attended Foel-gron School in Mynytho, after which he was apprenticed to a smith at Llanystumdwy

Llanystumdwy

Llanystumdwy is a village and community on the Llŷn Peninsula of Gwynedd in Wales, although it is not regarded as being part of Llŷn, but belonging instead to the local region of Eifionydd...

. He remained in the blacksmith's trade for most of his life, setting up in business at Chwilog

Chwilog

Chwilog is a village in Eifionydd on the Llyn Peninsula in the Welsh county of Gwynedd. It forms part of the community of Llanystumdwy.The village is fairly linear, built up around the B4354 which crosses the peninsula to Boduan...

, but from 1861 onwards he was also a regular competitor at eisteddfodau, both as a poet and a prose writer. He researched in parish registers and graveyards throughout Wales, and collected manuscripts and old letters, most of which are now in the collection of the National Library of Wales

National Library of Wales

The National Library of Wales , Aberystwyth, is the national legal deposit library of Wales; one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies.Welsh is its main medium of communication...

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Works

• Golygawd o Ben Carreg yr Imbill, Gerllaw Pwllheli (1858)
• Adgof Uwch Anghof (1883)
• Gleanings from God's Acre (1903)
• Cynfeirdd Lleyn (1905),
• Gwerin-Eiriau Sir Gaernarfon (1907)
• Llên Gwerin Sir Gaernarfon (1908)
• Enwogion Sir Gaernarfon (1922)

Sources

• Welsh Biography Online