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Hopcyn ap Tomos
Hopcyn ap Tomos
c1330 -1408
In Ynystawe Park , there stands a stone with a Welsh Harp engraved upon it and in front of the stone there are two stone tablets (Fig 1). The tablets, at one time, bore metal plaques stating that the stone was in memory of Hopcyn ap Tomos vab Einon . They were removed (vandalised) some time in the 1960s
The name has recently been carved on the stone and the plaques replaced
Who was Hopcyn ap Tomos?
In the middle ages, before the advent of printing, very few people could read and few would have been able to assemble a library of any kind. One exception to this was a gentleman called Hopcyn ap Tomos ,who lived near the current Ynysforgan,. Despite the similarity in name he is not to be confused with the Hopkyns family of Ynystawe .The two families seem to have had little to do with each other, although both were important locally
There is no doubt that the Hopcyn ap Tomos who was recognised by the raising of the monumental stone in Ynystawe Park in 1959, was alive in 1403. He was a wealthy landowner with an interest in poetry and literature. He was deeply learned and assembled a large collection of manuscripts. He was interested in the bardic traditions, in divining the future and was a Master of Brut, a body of Welsh prophetic lore .
What is also firmly established is that he was called to Carmarthen by Owen Glyn dwr in 1403 to prophesy what was going to happen in the ensuing conflict. More of this later
Prof. Prys Morgan (1978) has made an extensive study of the genealogy of the Hopkins family of Ynystawe who claimed descent from Rhodri Mawr .Their history will be considered in a later article .. The records in fact establish that Hopcyn ap Tomos came from a distinctly different family and was descended from a Griffith line. His grandfather , Einon Gethin , had a son Thomas who had two children Hopkyn and Rhys The bards record that their home was a Calchlys or " Limwashed (or limestone ) court by the Tawe". This was situated on the banks of the river adjacent to where the caravan park now stands. See the 1799 map by Yates which shows both Ynysforgan and Ynystawe houses (Fig 2).
It is likely therefore that Hopcyn ap Tomos, as was the custom of the gentry at the time, employed bards rather than writing his own poetry. Evidence for this has recently come from the amazing discovery of a Welsh manuscript in the public library in Philadelphia ,Pennsylvania written by Hywel the Red of Builth . It makes it clear that Hopcyn ap Tomos commissioned him, as a scribe, to copy much of the important Welsh literature currently available, all into one volume. The resulting collection became known as "The Red Book of Hergest" which is one of the treasures of ancient Welsh literature. Perhaps the collection should be called the Red Book of Ynysforgan ! The reason that it is not lies in the fact that Hopcyn ap Tomos's grandson (another Hopcyn ap Tomos ) took the side of the Lancastrian's ,with the Mansels of Gower , in the Wars of the Roses. He fought for Henry VI, on the losing side, in the Battle of Mortimer's Cross in 1461. In 1464 ,as result of being on the wrong side again, he lost his lands and possessions to the Vaughans of Tretower. Included in these possessions was Hopcyn ap Tomos' library.The book found its way from Tretower to Hergest and eventually to the Bodlean library in Oxford
There are, several odes to Hopcyn ap Tomos preserved in the Red Book , which are evidence of his patronage Furthermore whilst clearly much of what is written about Hopcyn ap Tomos is conjecture there are extant a number of awdlau (poems of praise ) written by different bards the 14th century which mention him by name, indicating his importance to them.
Interestingly there are few (or no) poems by Daffyd Gwilym. He had a rather colorful vocabulary and racy style , his subject matter was not to everybody's taste , clearly not to Hopcyn's
Hopcyn ap Tomos' son Tomos inherited the estate in 1408 which would therefore seem to be his probable date of death.
Interesting connections with modern times are in place names. Hopcyn ap Tomos' mother and eldest daughter were both called Tanglwst, the existing bridge is called Ynystanglws Bridge. An early nineteenth century house called Ynystanglwys house was situated between Ynystawe and Clydach on the low ground between the main road and the river as recently as 1960. It probably took its name from the Ynys farm across the river. Yate's map indicates such a building (see Fig2) Also of local interest is that the family had extensive lands at Cefn Park and at Vayrdreve.
Why was Hopcyn ap Tomos commemorated in Ynystawe park?
This author's interest in Hopcyn ap Tomos was aroused when he read that Hopcyn ap Tomos of "Ynysdawe" had been called to advise Owain Glyn dwr during the rebellion of 1400-14 Apparently when Glyn dwr was in Carmarthen in 1403 he was undecided on what to do next : should he go to the west and attack Pembroke ,east to Swansea and then Cardiff or to Kidwely? In those times prophecy was often invoked to help decide what to do. Hopcyn ap Tomos was called in as a "Master of Brut" (Brut was a body of Welsh prophetic lore kept by the bards ). He was given free passage from "Ynysdawe" but on arrival his forecast was difficult to interpret, and "only intelligible to the elect" (not dissimilar to the Oracles of Delphi ). Glyn dwr interpreted the prophecy as meaning that he would be captured under a black banner somewhere between Carmarthen and Gower. Having been given this advice he decided to attack Kidwely instead, as it was not on the danger route. Accordingly the prophecy did not come true but it is suggested that it did achieve another objective which was to keep the war away from Hopcyn ap Tomos' front door !
The evidence that Hopcyn ap Tomos was called by Glyn dwr comes from a letter written from the Mayor and Burgesses of Caerleon to those of Monmouth, the original of which still exists
How did the memorial in Ynystawe park come about?
The memorial stone in Ynystawe Park was raised in 1959 after Henry Lewis (1889-1968), Professor of Welsh at Swansea University and native of Ynystawe gave a talk about Hopcyn ap Tomos to local residents. The audience were so impressed that a person with such a romantic history had lived in the area that they decided to raise a memorial by public subscription The money was collected and the monument raised . Unfortunately only the harp was carved on the stone and the other details were placed on tablets nearby . These have since been stolen. In 2005 with the assistance of the Local Authority Parks Department the name with his dates has been engraved on the stone and some brief details of what has been recited above placed on the plaques, together with more information on a web site (xxxxxxxxxxx). The monument now reads :
Hopcyn ap Tomos
c 1330-1408
Hopcyn ap Tomos , Gentleman ,Patron of Welsh Culture and Learning , was famous
for his literary knowledge and for masterminding The Red Book of Hergest . A supporter of the bardic tradition and skilled in telling fortunes , he was summoned by Owen Glyn dwr, in July 1403 from Ynysdawe to Carmarthen to prophecy Owen's future .
This monument was erected in his honour by the people of Ynystawe in 1959
For more information see HTTP xyz (e.g. hopkynapthomas .com )
Bibliography
Morgan P Glamorgan and the Red Book Morgannwg XX11 1978 pp42-60
Stephens M Oxford Companion of the Literature of Wales . Oxford U Press 1986 , Red book p506
Figures 1 Photograph of the memorial in Ynystawe Park 2005
2 Detail from "A Map of the County of Glamorgan" by George Yates 1799 . reprinted 1984 by the SW Records Soc.
Acknowledgment
The author wishes to thank Professor Prys Morgan for his advice and help in preparing the above. Prys Morgan and Lindsay Morgan have both lived in Ynystawe but like the two Hopkyns families are not otherwise connected .
Lindsay Morgan
Red Book of Hergest
Send E-Mail to: ljgmorgan31@tiscali.co.uk
Copyright © 2005 Lindsay Morgan. All Rights Reserved