Julyan Holmes was a Cornish writer, scholar, and poet.
Holmes’ works included The Prophecy of Merlin / An dhargan a Verdhin (Kesva an Taves Kernewek / The Cornish Language Board, 2001), a translation into Cornish and English of John of Cornwall’s twelfth-century Latin poem; 1000 Cornish Places Names Explained (Hyperion, 1989); Place-names in Cornwall / Henwyn-tylleryow yn Kernow (Kesva an Taves Kernewek, 1996); and the poetry pamphlet Nebes gwersyow Kernewek. He was also published in the journals Cornish Studies and Agan Yeth, the magazine Cornish Life, the newsletter An Lef Kernewek, and the 2006 anthology Nothing Broken: Recent Poetry in Cornish from Francis Boutle, among other publications.
Holmes was a member of Gorseth Kernow, Cornwall’s College of Bards, under the Bardic name “Blew Melen,” meaning “yellow hair.” He was married to Mebyon Kernow leader Loveday Carlyon and stepfather to her two daughters. For many years, he ran an art supply shop in Liskeard. He died in 2024.