Hedd Wyn

Hedd Wyn
Ellis Humphrey Evans, c.1910. Frontispiece in Cerddi'r Bugail (1918)
Born	Ellis Humphrey Evans (1887-01-13)13 January 1887 Yr Ysgwrn Trawsfynydd, Merionethshire, Wales
Died	31 July 1917(1917-07-31) (aged 30) Pilckem Ridge, Passchendaele salient, Belgium
Resting place	Artillery Wood Cemetery, Boezinge, Belgium
Pen name	Hedd wyn, Fleur De Lys
Occupation	Poet Shepherd/farmer Soldier
Language	Welsh
Genre	Romantic and war poetry
Notable works	Yr Arwr, Ystrad Fflur, Plant Trawsfynydd, Y Blotyn Du, Nid â’n Ango, Rhyfel
Notable awards	Bard's chair at the 1917 National Eisteddfod

Hedd Wyn (born Ellis Humphrey Evans, 13 January 1887 – 31 July 1917) 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 ([heːð wɨ̞n], "blessed peace") from the way sunlight penetrated the mist in the Meirionnydd valleys.^[1]

Born in the village of Trawsfynydd, Wales, Evans wrote much of his poetry while working as a shepherd on his family's hill farm. His style, which was influenced by romantic poetry, was dominated by themes of nature and religion. He also wrote several war poems following the outbreak of war on the Western Front in 1914.