Awen female given name. It appears in the third stanza of Hen Wlad fy Nhadau, the national anthem of Wales. "Awen" derives from the Indo-European root "*-uel", meaning 'to blow', and has the same root as the Welsh word "awel" meaning 'breeze'. The first recorded attestation of the word occurs in Nennius' "Historia Brittonum", a Latin text of c. 796, based in part on earlier writings by the Welsh monk, Gildas. It occurs in the phrase 'Tunc talhaern tat aguen in poemate claret' (Talhaern the father of the muse was then renowned in poetry) where the Old Welsh word "aguen" (awen)
James James Welsh versifier who wrote under the pen-name of "leuan ab lago", moved with his family to Pontypridd, where he carried on the business of weaver and wool merchant, in about 1844. His son James assisted him in the business. James James composed the melody which was later to be known as "Hen Wlad fy Nhadau" in January 1856. Its initial title was "Glan Rhondda" (The banks of the Rhondda), giving rise to the tradition that the tune had come to James as he walked on the bank of the River Rhondda. His father, Evan James, wrote the lyrics that eventually