John Edward Lloyd

“ His first volume of hymns was issued in 1744, and at once placed him at the head of Welsh hymn-writers—a position still by general consent accorded to him. Over eight hundred hymns are ascribed to his pen, and of these a large number are still in constant use, forming, indeed, the nucleus of most Welsh collections. Williams's hymns had, like those of Charles Wesley, no small share in the dissemination of methodism, and are in doctrine and in spirit a characteristic product of the movement. ”

“ In 1873 he published a life of his ancestor, the first baron Kenyon (1732-1802) . His chief interest was the promotion of secondary and higher education in Wales, and to his enlightened zeal was largely due the passing of the Welsh Intermediate Education Act of 1889, which established the present comprehensive system of secondary schools in Wales. The bill was introduced by Stuart (afterwards Lord) Rondel, the leader of the Welsh liberal members. But the conservatives were in power, and it was Kenyon's influence which secured its passage, with some slight changes. ”

“ Both the silver crown and the bardic chair, the two chief poetic prizes of the eisteddfod, were won by him, the former at Merthyr in 1881 for a poem in free metre on ‘Life,’ and the latter at Aberdare in 1885 for an ode in the strict metres on the subject ‘The Truth against the World.’ He was also the winner of the crown at the World's Fair eisteddfod of 1893 at Chicago, the subject being ‘George Washington.’ These longer productions are not so likely, however, to preserve his memory as the lyrical and humorous poems which came so easily from his pen. ”

“ Few Welsh poets have shown a greater mastery of the language than Owen, whose classical training is reflected in the purity and suppleness of his Welsh style. He wrote entirely in the strict metres, favouring especially the ‘cywydd’ form. His letters are models of racy, idiomatic Welsh prose. ”

“ The first eisteddfod he attended was that of Aberffraw in 1849, when he was admitted to the ‘gorsedd,’ or bardic guild, and won a minor poetic prize. He won his first bardic chair in 1855 at Llanfair Talhaiarn, Denbighshire, for an ode on ‘The Exit of Israel from Egypt,’ and in the same year carried off a second chair at Llanfachreth, Anglesey, for an ode on ‘The Poet.’ The highest bardic distinction, the chair of the national eisteddfod, first fell to him in 1862, when his ode on ‘The Year’ was successful at Carnarvon. ”

“ MADOG (fl. 1294–1295) , leader of the North Welsh rebellion, is termed by Trivet ‘quemdam de genere Lewelini principis ultimi;’ Walter of Hemingburgh says he claimed to be descended ‘de sanguine principis Leulini;’ the ‘Annals of Worcester’ call him ‘Madocus ap Lewelin.’ Contemporary narratives of his rebellion only supply accounts of him, but it may safely be concluded that he was a natural son of Llywelyn, the last prince of Wales [see Llywelyn ab Gruffydd, d 1282.] The occasion of the rebellion was the heavy taxation levied in 1294 towards the king's projected expedition to Gascony. ”

“ WILLIAMS, MORRIS (1809–1874) , Welsh poet, known in bardic circles as ‘Nicander,’ was the son of William Morris of Pentyrch Isaf by his wife Sarah, daughter of William Jones of Coed Cae Bach, in the parish of Llan Gybi, Carnarvonshire. He was born on 20 Aug. 1809 at Carnarvon (Geninen, iv. 143–4) , but the family settled soon afterwards at Coed Cae Bach. After attending school at Llan Ystumdwy he was apprenticed to a carpenter; he showed at an early age much skill in writing Welsh verse, and contributed an ode to the ‘Gwyliedydd’ in 1827. ”

“ Having begun with the antiquities of Wales, Allen from 1880 gave special attention to those of Scotland also ; in 1883 he was elected fellow of the Scottish Society of Antiquaries, and in 1885 was Rhind lecturer in archaeology in the University of Edinburgh. In England, he became F.S.A. in 1896, editor of the 'Reliquary and Illustrated Archæologist' in 1893; and Yates lecturer in archæology in University College, London, for 1898. Allen had in a high degree the patience, thoroughness, and insight of the scientific archæologist. ”

“ The salient feature of Madog's career is not, however, his success against the English, but his friendship with them. During the first half of the twelfth century Gwynedd had been gradually growing at the expense of the minor northern principalities, until in Madog's time it was a formidable neighbour to Powys, conterminous with it from Machynlleth to Chester. Madog first adopted the policy, which afterwards became popular with princes of Powys, of protecting his realm by cultivating the friendship of his English neighbours. ”

“ He was known to his countrymen as a poet rich in language and with much feeling for natural beauty. But his widest repute was won as the picturesque and arresting central figure in the annual pageant of the national eisteddfod. ”

“ While still a schoolboy in Carnarvonshire Dewi Wyn showed an aptitude for composing in the alliterative ‘strict’ metres of Welsh poetry. The most prominent Welsh poets of the day were, with one or two exceptions, Carnarvonshire men, and Robert Williams of Bettws Fawr (Robert ap Gwilym Ddu) tilled a farm in the same parish as Dewi's parents. Thus the young poet lived in a congenial atmosphere, and was already a skilful composer at the age of eighteen. ”

“ Though the bardic system, of which he was the champion, is known to be a modern fabrication, it was accepted in good faith by Iolo. Other bardic papers of his were used after his death by John Williams ‘ab Ithel’ (1811–1862) [q. v.] in the compilation of ‘Barddas.’ Iolo was one of the three editors of the ‘Myvyrian Archaiology’ (1801) , for which he collected and transcribed many manuscripts; the Welsh Manuscripts Society published in 1848 what was meant by the bard to be a continuation of this work, under the title ‘Iolo MSS.’ (Llandovery, reprinted at Liverpool in 1888) . ”

“ FOULKES, ISAAC (1836–1904) , Welsh author and editor, born in 1836 at the farm of Cwrt, Llanfwrog, Denbighshire, was son of Peter Foulkes by his wife Frances. At the age of fifteen he was apprenticed to Isaac Clarke, printer, Ruthin; in 1857 he entered the office of the 'Amserau' newspaper in Liverpool, and soon afterwards set up a printing business of his own in that city, which he conducted until his death. ”

“ Some fruitless efforts were made by Lewis Morris and his family to find him a place in Wales. His next move was, in 1753, to a curacy at Walton, near Liverpool, worth 35l. per annum, to which were soon added a house in the churchyard and 6l. for the superintendence of the school. Owen was now in fairly good circumstances, but he was in ill-health, and visited Liverpool taverns more frequently than was desirable. In May 1755 he accepted the post of secretary to the newly established Cymmrodorion Society of London, with the prospect of becoming minister of a Welsh church in the metropolis. ”

“ John's, Cardiff, where his abilities found a congenial field; he endeavoured to adapt the machinery of the church to the needs of a rapidly growing community, and raised no less than 30,000l. for the purpose. In 1875 he was elected a member of the first Cardiff school board. In this year he became vicar of Wrexham, where he remained until 1891, when he removed to the neighbouring vicarage of Gresford. At Wrexham, as at Cardiff, he greatly extended the activities of the church. ”

“ Madog was a contemporary of Llywelyn ab Iorwerth [q. v.] , and is at all times found acting with the minor princes whom that great ruler controlled and occasionally drove into rebellion. He joined Llywelyn, Gwenwynwyn, and the South Welsh princes in writing to complain to Innocent III of the ecclesiastical tyranny exercised by England over Wales (Giraldus Cambrensis, De Jure et Statu Menevensis Ecclesiæ, Dist. iv.) In 1211, when John invaded Wales in order to humble Llywelyn, Madog was one of the band of princes who seized the opportunity to cast off the yoke of Gwynedd. ”

“ On her death he left Glamorganshire, and for about seven years worked as a journeyman mason in various parts of England. He then returned to Wales, and in 1781 married Margaret, daughter of Rees Roberts of Marychurch. His occupation interfering with his health, he set up in 1797 a bookseller's shop at Cowbridge, but found the confinement irksome, and took to land surveying instead. Flemingston, in the vale of Glamorgan, now became his home, and from this centre he made long expeditions, always on foot, in search of manuscripts bearing on Welsh history. ”

“ He and his three brothers, called ‘Brodyr Marchwiail,’ played prominent parts in the fourteenth-century movement for the revival of Welsh poetry. Madog, according to tradition, won the chair and the birchen wreath offered for the best love song in the third of the three ‘Eisteddfods of the Renaissance.’ He was the friend of Dafydd ap Gwilym, who playfully introduces him into one of his poems as the priest of his mock marriage with Morfudd (Barddoniaeth Dafydd ap Gwilym, Liverpool edition, p.94) . ”

“ He lived sparely, dressed quaintly, and set no store by money. A keen opponent of slavery, he renounced some property left to him by slave-holding brothers in Jamaica, and in his Cowbridge shop advertised for sale ‘East India sugar, uncontaminated by human gore.’ He was a unitarian and in warm sympathy with the early revolutionary movement in France, and thus came into contact with Priestley, Gilbert Wakefield, and David Williams. ”

“ OWEN, GORONWY or GRONOW (1723–1769?) , Welsh poet, son of Owen Goronwy, a tinker, and Jane Parry, his wife, was born on 1 Jan. 1723 in a small cottage at Rhos Fawr, in the parish of Llanfair Mathafarn Eithaf, Anglesey. His father, though not without talent, was idle and drunken, and it was only through the strenuous efforts of his mother, a woman of energy and character, that Owen obtained his early education. He first attended a school at Llanallgo, near his home, which has been supposed to be one of the many circulating schools established by Griffith Jones (1683–1761) [q. v.] ”

“ Tradition, the only authority for his career, asserts that he was a Geraldine, of the Desmond branch of that family. On this assumption Sir William Betham, Ulster king of arms, thought he was in all probability a son of John FitzThomas, the first Geraldine lord of Decies and Desmond (d. 1261) . The circumstances of his settlement in Ardudwy (North-west Merionethshire) are unknown, though it may be conjectured that he was driven to seek a home in Wales by the temporary overthrow of the Geraldine influence in Desmond which followed the battle of Callan (1261) . ”

“ About 1782 he took into his own hands the slate quarry at the entrance to Nant Ffrancon, now well known as the Penrhyn Quarry, and with true business instinct set about its development. A quay was erected at the mouth of the Cegin for the shipping of the slates, and in 1801 this was connected with the quarry by means of a tramroad. In this way a marked impetus was given to the Welsh slate trade, which has since risen to very great proportions. Lord Penrhyn also greatly improved the estate by building and planting on an extensive scale. ”

“ Like most of the men who took part in the early conflicts with the English, Urien became a hero of British tradition, and so shadowy is the part he and his family play in the mediæval poems and romances that Professor Rhys inclines to the view that the historical ‘Urbigena’ and a mythological ‘Urogenos’ have united to furnish the traits of the later ‘Urien’ (Arthurian Legend, pp. 242–3) . ”