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)
Blackwood, Caerphilly the parish of Bedwellty, Monmouthshire. He moved to Pontypridd when his son James (Iago ap Ieuan, 1833-1902) was a young boy. Evan James and his son James are credited with composing the Welsh national anthem, 'Hen Wlad fy Nhadau' ('Land of my Fathers') in 1856. Evan was a poet and it is believed that he wrote the words while his son James composed the tune. The song was published in the volume 'Gems of Welsh Melody' (1860) and soon became extremely popular. It is not certain when the song was first adopted as the Welsh national anthem. A memorial, designed