Heddwyn

Hedd Wyn

Origin: Welsh
Gender: Male
Meaning: "Blessed peace"
Pronunciation: N/A
Other forms: Hedd, Wyn

This name did not start out the way most do. It is used in honor of the Welsh poet Hedd Wyn, born Ellis Evans in 1887. He was not particularly bright in school, but had a gift for writing poetry, and had written his first poems by the age of eleven, which were better than more established poets of the time. Hedd left school at fourteen, and began to work as a shepherd. At nineteen he took place in Eisteddfod, a festival celebrating literature, music, and performance. There he was awarded the bard's chair, one of the most important honors. His bardic name was suggested to him by a fellow poet in 1910. He was mostly inspired by Romantic poetry, and Percy Bysshe Shelley. Hedd was determined to win the bardic chair the following year.

In 1916 he was forced to enlist in, going in the place of his younger brother Robert. His sunny disposition made him well liked among his fellow men. On July, 31st, 1917, Hedd Wyn was wounded at Passchendaele. He was quickly carried to a first-post, and died at 11:00. His last words were to the doctor, "Do you think I will live?" That year at the festival, his work was entered under the pseudonym Fleur de Lys. It won, and when the author was called forth to accept his prize, someone called out saying he had died in action six weeks before. The empty chair was draped in a black sheet and given to his parents.
In 1992 the movie "Hedd Wyn" was made, and nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards.