When trying in order to visualise mans lives, such as those in the early in the day, it has been the small points that promote lives to life for example as an admission in order to a lecture or a great brooch – as well as 2 belongings in Amgueddfa Cymru’s collection indeed do this.
They both relate to Cranogwen, new bardic identity having Sarah Jane Rees (1839–1916) a king mariner, poet, writer, editor and you can temperance worker who, for some out-of their lifetime lived in the small city of Llangrannog, Cardiganshire. She was given birth to truth be told there and you can through the the lady lives flew from that point to be probably one afrikansk bruder of the most well-understood women in Wales from the late nineteenth/early twentieth-century. Therefore is here that this lady a few people lived, earliest Fanny Rees “Phania” (1853-1874) whom passed away aged merely 21 and soon after Jane Thomas (1850-?) just who, for the majority of the census yields is understood to be good ‘residential worker’, ‘standard servant’ or ‘charwoman’.
Cranogwen are commonly aside, working in myriad programs and you may offering lecturers however, her earliest trip started in 1866, a-year shortly after controversially winning an enthusiastic Eisteddfod poetry prize in the event it is actually shown a woman had defeated the fresh males.
An individual will understand that it had been the young girl lion who grabbed new award within Aberystwyth Eisteddfod to your tune on A wedding ring. Just after hearing you to, while having realizing that the top poets, such as for instance Islwyn and you may Ceiriog was basically competing, I happened to be a bit surprised that there are some ‘dirt on the cheese’ somewhere. [i]
Cranogwen’s concert tour centered on her behalf lecture ‘New Teens plus the Culture of its Minds’ even though this did develop later to add two almost every other lecturers, ‘Anhebgorion Cymeriad da’ (Tips a good Character) and ‘Components of Happiness’, all concerned about developments in man’s emails. Since the she talked inside the Welsh, these people were mostly included in the fresh Welsh words push towards English vocabulary news using very little interest.
Cranogwen started out from the Aberystwyth urban area thus hopefully Jane did take a trip together to incorporate some help but given that talks increased during the popularity Cranogwen flew further afield and only two months later within Swansea’s Brynhyfryd Chapel nearly a thousand anyone ended up observe this lady – a challenging choice for everyone thus hopefully Jane is actually indeed there while the really to provide assistance.
Term is actually spreading quickly and, since the a journalist in the Baner air-conditioning Amserau Cymru indexed, ‘You do not have global to consult with the newest difficulties of giving a reason of your lecture now, because it is already quite nicely recognized while in the Wales. [ii]
Everywhere she went praise was showered up on this lady, leading to one creator to ponder in the event the she you certainly will meet the hype: ‘while the we’d read particularly praise on her, we asked the lady to be an effective. But i never thought one to she is actually since skilled because she was, and thus masterful on her works.’ [iii]
Evening just after night she spoke so you can rave evaluations along with her you to definitely-hr lecture extended into several plus offered whenever regional dignitaries looked for to seem on-stage near to their, including its pennyworth. Local poets flocked to her, tend to creating englyns, many of which was in fact wrote on documentation, and you will women had been following the woman example and you will providing to the stage.
Female, such ‘more youthful girls’ (she are 27 at that time) should not be lecturing, told you the fresh new men, exactly who complained of impropriety of females public speaking. ‘The fresh population out of Southern Wales,’ ranted the brand new Cardiff Minutes, ‘are run crazy to the teenagers that lecturing throughout the the country [and] about thoughts of numerous eminent guys this is supposed as well far.