Owen Morgan

Owen Morgan
Born	Owen Morgan 1836 Rhondda, Wales
Died	16 December 1921
Occupation	journalist, author
Nationality	Welsh
Genres	theology, history
Subjects	druidism, mythology

Owen Morgan, also known by his bardic name Morien (1836 – 16 December 1821) was a Welsh journalist, historian and writer of books on the subject of neo-druidism. Morgan was heavily influenced by the writings of both Iolo Morganwg and Myfyr Morganwg, and much of his writing has been challenged by fellow academics.^[1]

Life history

The exact date and place of Morgan's birth is unknown, as Morgan himself hid the details. Although the 1881 census states his year of birth as 1839, latter studies have placed it as 1836.^[2] Born to a Thomas T. Morgan, a coal miner, and his wife, Margaret, of Penygraig in the Rhondda, research in the The Oxford Companion to the Literature of Wales states that an Owen Morgan was born to a Thomas Morgan and Margaret (née Owen) and christened in 1836. Although no explicit evidence is available, Morgan would later claim connection with the families of Morgan of Llantarnam and Thomas of Llanmihangel.

In 1870 Morgan took on a job as a writer on the Western Mail, and around the same period he began to write after taking an interest in local history. He closely associated himself with Myfyr Morganwg (Evan Davies), a self-proclaimed archdruid and Welsh writer in neo-druidry, who himself was a student of Iolo Morganwg (Edward Williams) one of the most important and controversial historians in Welsh affairs. In 1889 Morgan published Pabell Dafydd, a Welsh language book on druidism.

Notes