Howell Elvet Lewis CH (14 April 1860 – 10 December 1953), widely known by his bardic name Elfed, was a Welsh Congregational minister, hymn-writer, and devotional poet, who served as Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales from 1924 to 1928.

Elfed was born on 14 April 1860, the eldest son of twelve children of James and Anna Lewis, of Y Gangell, near Blaenycoed, Carmarthenshire.

He had a very limited early education, but through self-study and attendance at the local chapel schoolroom he managed to gain entry to Newcastle Emlyn Grammar School at the age of 14.

[3] Apart from serving as a church minister, Elfed's ministry included two periods as chair of the London Missionary Board in 1910 and 1922.

He was one of three representatives of the Congregational Union of England and Wales invited to visit Madagascar to celebrate the centenary of the arrival of the first missionaries to the country.

[4] Elfed's literary output was prolific: he wrote essays, historical treaties, obituaries, devotional works and poetry.

[10] A number of Welsh hymns translated into English appeared in a series of articles published in the magazine Sunday at Home, and were republished in book form in 1889 by the Religious Tract Society as Sweet Singers of Wales.