Iolo Morganwg - Early Life

Early Life

Edward Williams was born at Pen-onn, near Llancarfan in Glamorgan, Wales, and was raised in the village of Flemingston (or Flimston; Trefflemin in Welsh). He followed his father into a career as a stonemason. In Glamorgan he took an interest in manuscript collection, and learned to compose Welsh poetry from poets such as Lewis Hopkin, Rhys Morgan, and especially Siôn Bradford. In 1773 he moved to London where the antiquary Owen Jones introduced him to the city's Welsh literary community. In 1777 he returned to Wales, where he married and tried his hand at farming, but evidently met with no success. It was during this time that he produced his first forgeries.

Williams's son, Taliesin (bardic name, Taliesin ab Iolo), whom he had named after the early medieval bard Taliesin, later went on to collect his manuscripts in twenty six volumes, a selection was published under the title of the Iolo Manuscripts by the Welsh Manuscripts Society in 1848.