Siôn Cent
Encyclopedia
Siôn Cent (or 1367? - 1430?) was a Welsh language
poet, and is an important figure in Medieval Welsh literature
.
The reason(s) for the confusion regarding the name may stem from other similarly named, educated or religious people of the era, and additionally, that he is often mistakenly referred to as a Doctor in some surviving manuscripts. Other figures that add to the confusion are figures such as Dr. John Kent, of Caerleon
, who was educated at Cambridge University at the end of the 15th century and famous for his wide-ranging educational accomplishments, or Dr. John Gwent, an erudite Friar
, buried at Hereford
in 1348, a Bishop
John Kemp
, later an Archbishop of York
in 1426 and Canterbury
in 1452, and a Cardinal
, who died in 1454, and John a Kent, a raider of the Welsh Marches
in 1482/3, whose mischievous exploits were recorded by Anthony Munday
in the late 16th century in Munday's 'John A Kent and John A Cumber'.
, and wrote a eulogy of Brecknock which reveals that he was well acquainted with the area and it held a place in his affections. He is also associated with the Archenfield
area of west Herefordshire
and the Ewias or Vale of Ewyas
of eastern Monmouthshire
.
He is believed to have died at Kentchurch Court
in the River Monnow
valley, but this may be a false tradition.
An oil painting, a portrait, hanging at Kentchurch Court and said to be dated to c.1400 by the National Gallery, is said to depict Sion Cent. The portrait shows a man in late middle age, wearing monkish robes, holding an open book in his left hand and what is possibly a writing implement in the other. Behind him is a view towards a distant ruined castle on a hill and a fortified house approached via a bridge in the middle distance. A tall thin sapling grows in the garden between in the near middle distance.
The picture is said to have been painted by Jan Van Eyck
(1385–1441), the Flemish master portrait artist. The portrait has been shown on the cover of Alex Gibbon's book 'The Mystery of Jack of Kent & the Fate of Owain Glyndwr'.
It has been said to depict Sir John Oldcastle
, Sir John Scudamore, Owain Glyndwr
or Sion Cent.
Sion Cent is said to have been a chaplain to the Scudamore family, secretary to Sir John Scudamore, tutor to his children, later joining a Franciscan order abroad and returning again several years later as Chaplain once more. He was said to be highly educated, fluent in Welsh, Latin and English and he is also said to have translated the Bible into Welsh.
beliefs and standing outside the tradition of praise of Patron which was so important in Welsh poetry. He uses the cywydd
meter for his work, but in order to attack the sins of this world. His pessimistic outlook is understandable in view of the mortality of the Black Death
, wars abroad and at home and the Owain Glyndŵr
rebellion which was in full flow in Wales during his lifetime.
His cywyddau have one unique feature that marks them out - they are divided into stanzas, the last line of each being the same, and acting as the 'burden' of the poem.
It has been said of him that his best and possibly the most accurately attributable of his work concerns the uncertainties of life, all that pertains to that and the inevitability of death and the Last Judgement. He described the world as he saw it, pessimistically, though with some optimism when regarding the possibility of an eternity in heaven.
In the 1420s he attacked the work of the bard
Rhys Goch Eryri
, suggesting that his praise of worldly values were lies prompted by the Devil
.
Perhaps his most famous poem is "I wagedd ac oferedd y byd" ("In praise of the vanity and wantoness of the world"). He turns his back on the praise of nobles, which he sees as flattery and falsehood, and sets his eyes on the blessedness of heaven. Sion Kent's verse became very popular and he started a vogue for more religious Welsh poetry.
In later tradition he was connected to the Marches folklore figure John of Kent or Jack of Kent but this figure is likely to be a combination of several people rather than just him.
Sources
Charles Williams : The History of Literature in Wales.
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
poet, and is an important figure in Medieval Welsh literature
Medieval Welsh literature
Medieval Welsh literature is the literature written in the Welsh language during the Middle Ages. This includes material from the fifth century, when Welsh was in the process of becoming distinct from the British language, to the works of the 16th century....
.
Similarity to other persons
He has also been called Sion Gwent by Gruffydd Robert and Sion Y Kent and Sion Kemp(t), Jacky Kent and Jack of Kent by others.The reason(s) for the confusion regarding the name may stem from other similarly named, educated or religious people of the era, and additionally, that he is often mistakenly referred to as a Doctor in some surviving manuscripts. Other figures that add to the confusion are figures such as Dr. John Kent, of Caerleon
Caerleon
Caerleon is a suburban village and community, situated on the River Usk in the northern outskirts of the city of Newport, South Wales. Caerleon is a site of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable Roman legionary fortress, Isca Augusta, and an Iron Age hill fort...
, who was educated at Cambridge University at the end of the 15th century and famous for his wide-ranging educational accomplishments, or Dr. John Gwent, an erudite Friar
Friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders.-Friars and monks:...
, buried at Hereford
Hereford
Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...
in 1348, a Bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
John Kemp
John Kemp
John Kemp was a medieval English cardinal, archbishop of Canterbury, and Lord Chancellor of England.-Biography:Kemp was son of Thomas Kempe, a gentleman of Ollantigh, in the parish of Wye near Ashford, Kent...
, later an Archbishop of York
Archbishop of York
The Archbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man...
in 1426 and Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
in 1452, and a Cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
, who died in 1454, and John a Kent, a raider of the Welsh Marches
Welsh Marches
The Welsh Marches is a term which, in modern usage, denotes an imprecisely defined area along and around the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods...
in 1482/3, whose mischievous exploits were recorded by Anthony Munday
Anthony Munday
Anthony Munday was an English dramatist and miscellaneous writer. The chief interest in Munday for the modern reader lies in his collaboration with Shakespeare and others on the play Sir Thomas More and his writings on Robin Hood.-Biography:He was once thought to have been born in 1553, because...
in the late 16th century in Munday's 'John A Kent and John A Cumber'.
Placing him in time and space
From his surviving cywyddau it can reasonably be deduced that he wrote between 1400 and 1430. He is traditionally associated with BrecknockshireBrecknockshire
Brecknockshire , also known as the County of Brecknock, Breconshire, or the County of Brecon is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, and a former administrative county.-Geography:...
, and wrote a eulogy of Brecknock which reveals that he was well acquainted with the area and it held a place in his affections. He is also associated with the Archenfield
Archenfield
Archenfield is the historic English name for an area of southern and western Herefordshire in England. Since the Anglo-Saxons took over the region in the 8th century, it has stretched between the River Monnow and River Wye, but it derives from the once much larger Welsh kingdom of...
area of west Herefordshire
Herefordshire
Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...
and the Ewias or Vale of Ewyas
Vale of Ewyas
The Vale of Ewyas is the steeply-sided and secluded valley of the Afon Honddu, in the Black Mountains of south Wales and within the Brecon Beacons National Park. As well as its outstanding beauty, it is known for the ruins of Llanthony Priory, and for several noteworthy churches such as those at...
of eastern Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire is a county in south east Wales. The name derives from the historic county of Monmouthshire which covered a much larger area. The largest town is Abergavenny. There are many castles in Monmouthshire .-Historic county:...
.
He is believed to have died at Kentchurch Court
Kentchurch Court
Kentchurch Court is a grade I listed stately home located near the village of Kentchurch in Herefordshire, England.It is the family home of the Scudamore family. Family members included Sir John Scudamore, who acted as constable and steward of a number of royal castles in south Wales at the start...
in the River Monnow
River Monnow
The River Monnow flows through south-west Herefordshire, England and eastern Monmouthshire, Wales.- Border River :For much of its short length it marks the border between England and Wales before it joins the River Wye at Monmouth. The Wye is also half English from Monmouth until it meets the...
valley, but this may be a false tradition.
An oil painting, a portrait, hanging at Kentchurch Court and said to be dated to c.1400 by the National Gallery, is said to depict Sion Cent. The portrait shows a man in late middle age, wearing monkish robes, holding an open book in his left hand and what is possibly a writing implement in the other. Behind him is a view towards a distant ruined castle on a hill and a fortified house approached via a bridge in the middle distance. A tall thin sapling grows in the garden between in the near middle distance.
The picture is said to have been painted by Jan Van Eyck
Jan van Eyck
Jan van Eyck was a Flemish painter active in Bruges and considered one of the best Northern European painters of the 15th century....
(1385–1441), the Flemish master portrait artist. The portrait has been shown on the cover of Alex Gibbon's book 'The Mystery of Jack of Kent & the Fate of Owain Glyndwr'.
It has been said to depict Sir John Oldcastle
John Oldcastle
Sir John Oldcastle , English Lollard leader, was son of Sir Richard Oldcastle of Almeley in northwest Herefordshire and grandson of another Sir John Oldcastle....
, Sir John Scudamore, Owain Glyndwr
Owain Glyndwr
Owain Glyndŵr , or Owain Glyn Dŵr, anglicised by William Shakespeare as Owen Glendower , was a Welsh ruler and the last native Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales...
or Sion Cent.
Sion Cent is said to have been a chaplain to the Scudamore family, secretary to Sir John Scudamore, tutor to his children, later joining a Franciscan order abroad and returning again several years later as Chaplain once more. He was said to be highly educated, fluent in Welsh, Latin and English and he is also said to have translated the Bible into Welsh.
His verse
Siôn is most famous for using his poetry in the service of his ChristianChristianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
beliefs and standing outside the tradition of praise of Patron which was so important in Welsh poetry. He uses the cywydd
Cywydd
The cywydd is one of the most important metrical forms in Welsh traditional poetry.There are a variety of forms of the cywydd, but the word on its own is generally used to refer to the cywydd deuair hirion as it is by far the most common type.The first recorded examples of the cywydd date from the...
meter for his work, but in order to attack the sins of this world. His pessimistic outlook is understandable in view of the mortality of the Black Death
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
, wars abroad and at home and the Owain Glyndŵr
Owain Glyndwr
Owain Glyndŵr , or Owain Glyn Dŵr, anglicised by William Shakespeare as Owen Glendower , was a Welsh ruler and the last native Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales...
rebellion which was in full flow in Wales during his lifetime.
His cywyddau have one unique feature that marks them out - they are divided into stanzas, the last line of each being the same, and acting as the 'burden' of the poem.
It has been said of him that his best and possibly the most accurately attributable of his work concerns the uncertainties of life, all that pertains to that and the inevitability of death and the Last Judgement. He described the world as he saw it, pessimistically, though with some optimism when regarding the possibility of an eternity in heaven.
In the 1420s he attacked the work of the bard
Bard
In medieval Gaelic and British culture a bard was a professional poet, employed by a patron, such as a monarch or nobleman, to commemorate the patron's ancestors and to praise the patron's own activities.Originally a specific class of poet, contrasting with another class known as fili in Ireland...
Rhys Goch Eryri
Rhys Goch Eryri
Rhys Goch Eryri , was a 15th century bard who lived at Hafod Garegog, near Beddgelert in North Wales. He was acquainted with Dafydd Nanmor, who lived in neighbouring Nantmor, and it is possible that Rhys Goch was a teacher to him...
, suggesting that his praise of worldly values were lies prompted by the Devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
.
Perhaps his most famous poem is "I wagedd ac oferedd y byd" ("In praise of the vanity and wantoness of the world"). He turns his back on the praise of nobles, which he sees as flattery and falsehood, and sets his eyes on the blessedness of heaven. Sion Kent's verse became very popular and he started a vogue for more religious Welsh poetry.
In later tradition he was connected to the Marches folklore figure John of Kent or Jack of Kent but this figure is likely to be a combination of several people rather than just him.
Sources
Charles Williams : The History of Literature in Wales.