Iolo Morganwg

Who was Iolo Morganwg?

Edward Williams, better known by his bardic name Iolo Morganwg, was an influential Welsh antiquarian, poet, collector, and literary forger. He was widely considered a leading collector and expert on medieval Welsh literature in his day, but after his death it was revealed that he had forged a large number of his manuscripts. Regardless, he had a lasting impact on Welsh culture, seen most notably in his foundation of the Gorsedd, and the philosophy he developed in his forgeries had a huge impact on the early neo-druid movement. His bardic name is Welsh for "Iolo of Glamorgan". Iolo is the diminutive of "Iorwerth", a Welsh name often seen as equivalent to "Edward", although neither name is a translation of the other.