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Elis Gruffydd (1490–1552), sometimes known as "The soldier of Calais", was a Welsh chronicler, transcriber, and translator. He is known foremost for his massive chronicle ''Cronicl o Wech Oesoedd'' (''Chronicle of the Six Ages''), which covers the history of the world from the beginning of Adam and Eve up to the year 1552 and contains the earliest text of the ''Tale of Taliesin''.〔"Elis Gruffudd's Chronicle". llgc.org.uk (8 December 2010). Retrieved on 5 November 2011.〕 He is also well known for his eyewitness account of England's 1543 war with France in his journal transcribed in ''Elis Gruffydd and the 1544 'Enterprise' of Paris and Boulogue''. His presence on the battlefield has given insight into the development of protests against the campaign.〔Phillips, ''The Journal of Military History Vol. 65, No. 2'', p. 313-332.〕 Thomas Jones says "despite his long years of service in France and London, () was deeply interested in the oral traditions and written literature of his native land. He quotes Welsh englynion and proverbs, records a few folk-tales, and transcribes Welsh texts from such MSS as he had at his disposal".〔 Gruffydd is an excellent source in uncovering lost and obscure traditions and he serves as a harmoniser for Welsh traditions appearing in different ages by the same poet, such as Merlin and Taliesin.〔Ford, ''Viator: Medieval and Renaissance Studies'', p. 379-390.〕 == Life == Elis Gruffydd was born in Upper Gronant in the parish of Llanasa, Flintshire. More famously Elis Gruffydd began his life in Flintshire, Wales as the younger son of a cadet of a gentry's family.〔Brewer, The Fortunes of King Arthur, p. 77-91..〕 At a young age he inherited 24 acres of land from his uncle Siôn ap Dafydd.〔Evens, "Elis Gruffudd's Cronicl o Wech Oesoedd (Chronicle of the Six Ages)". celtnet.org.uk (2011). Retrieved on 5 November 2011.〕 It has been assumed that his family was related to the Mostyns, a family of considerable wealth and influence during the era. In 1510 he travelled across the border and joined the English army, fighting in Holland and Spain.〔 He may have been attracted to London because of the Tudor dynasty, whose closest Welsh cousins were the Mostyns and who offered opportunities for the Welsh. His neighbour Sir Huw Conwy of Botryddan was already high in the royal service and worked as the treasurer of Calais from 1492 to 1517.〔Morgan, Cyhoeddiadau Cymdeithas Hanes Sir y Fflint/ Flintshire Historical Society publications, Vol. 25: p. 9-20.〕 By 1518 he began working for Sir Robert Wingfield, a gentleman from Suffolk, mostly likely to solve his financial issues. The Wingfield family was one of the most distinguished families of government servants under the early Tudors.〔 In 1520 he was working at the Wingfield home in Calais, where he witnessed the Battle of the Golden Field of the Cloth. From his experience here Gruffydd left detailed soldier-eye descriptions on the conditions and men on this campaign.〔 He accompanied Wingfield on various diplomatic missions abroad, most notably around France, which accounts for his extensive knowledge on French culture and history.〔Brewer, The Fortunes of King Arthur, p. 77-91.〕 On an expedition in 1523, Gruffydd accompanies Wingfield to London, giving vivid descriptions of Thomas Wolsey in the Court of Star Chamber.〔Davies, Elis Gruffydd and the 1544 'Enterprises' of Paris and Boulogne, p. 1-41.〕 Between 1524 and 1529, he was residing in London as caretaker of Wingfield Place.〔 The nature of Gruffydd's work was never revealed. In his own ''Chronicle'' he describes duties that took him outside of London: to Essex and Kent in 1525 and to Poplar in 1527.〔Jones, Welsh History Review/ Cylchgrawn Hanes Cymru, 1:1, p. 3-16.〕 During his stay in London he observed many political figures and witnessed events at the Court of Star Chamber. It was during this time that he began penning his first extensive work ''Cardiff MS 5'', also known as ''Phillipps 10823'', which featured a collection of prose and poetry based loosely of the late medieval tradition. On 27 January 1529, Gruffydd travelled back to Calais, where his master Sir Robert Wingfield was serving as deputy governor. Henceforth he was known as "The soldier of Calais".〔 Here he wrote two more works called ''Castell yr Iechyd'', or ''The Fortress of Health'', which was a collection of Welsh translations of medical works, and ''Cronicl o Wech Oesoedd'', Gruffydd's immense chronicle of the world. This chronicle was written in Welsh, despite his long residence in England and France, consisting in large part of translations and adaptations of English and French sources.〔"Elis Gruffudd's Cronicl o Wech Oesoedd (Chronicle of the Six Ages)". celtnet.org.uk (2011). Retrieved on 5 November 2011.〕 The fact that he includes in the work a version of ''Ystoria Taliesin'', is highly significant for medievalists, as this is the earliest surviving copy of the legend of Taliesin's birth and acquisition of the gift of vision. Though he recorded it in the sixteenth century, Gruffydd gives evidence of earlier sources, hinting toward a ninth-century origination date.〔 He spent the remainder of his life in Calais transcribing various manuscripts, mostly likely from the Wingfield family library. He lived as a bachelor soldier and married a Calais girl named Elizabeth Manfielde. He inherited some property through her and they had two children together.〔 As the Protestant wave swept Europe, Gruffydd converted from Catholicism and became a convinced Protestant some time around the 1540s. Deeply influenced by Thomas Cromwell, Gruffydd was the first Welsh Protestant to leave a record of his religious views.〔 The exact date of his death is unknown, but the last date in his chronicle is 1552. It is, however, generally believed that he was still present in Calais when the city was retaken in 1558.〔Hunter, The Department of Celtic Languages and Literatures, Harvard University, p. 2-38.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Elis Gruffydd」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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