John Jones

Who was John Jones?

John Jones, better known by his bardic name Jac Glan-y-gors, was a Welsh language satirical poet and radical pamphleteer, born in Cerrigydrudion, Denbighshire, north Wales.

Jac Glan-y-gors was an accomplished and natural prose writer although his output was small. His best known prose works are Seren Tan Gwmmwl and Toriad y Dydd, political tracts addressed to the Welsh people which reflect the radical ideals of Thomas Payne and the author's Welsh patriotism.

His poetical output is more considerable and includes the poem entitled Cerdd Dic Siôn Dafydd. The poem lampoons those of the upwardly-mobile Welsh in London who turned their backs on their country and language in order to inveigle themselves to the English. It became one of the most familiar Welsh poems of the 19th century and is still appreciated today. The eponymous 'Dic Siôn Dafydd' has entered the Welsh language as a derogative term for any Welsh person of a similar nature, rather like "Uncle Tom" in relation to Afro-Americans.