Edward James (1569 – 1610 or later) was a Welsh Anglican priest and translator.

Life

James was born in

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...

, south Wales in 1569. He was educated at the University of Oxford, initially matriculating as a member of

St Edmund Hall St Edmund Hall (sometimes known as The Hall or informally as Teddy Hall) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. The college claims to be "the oldest surviving academic society to house and educate undergraduates in any university ...

in 1586 and later graduating from Jesus College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1589 and a Master of Arts degree in 1592. He became a Fellow of Jesus College sometime in 1589 or 1590, a position he held until about 1596. After ordination, James's career was assisted by William Morgan, translator of the Bible into Welsh and Bishop of Llandaff after 1595. James became vicar of Caerleon in 1596,

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

Shirenewton Shirenewton ( cy, Drenewydd Gelli-farch) is a village and community in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. It is located 3 miles due west of Chepstow, 5 miles (8 km) by road. The village stands around 500 feet (154 m) above sea level, and has ...

in 1597, rector of Llangattock-juxta-Usk in 1598, vicar of Llangattock Feibion Afel in 1599 (all in the county of

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

), and vicar of Llangattock-juxta-Neath, Glamorgan in 1603. He was appointed chancellor of the Diocese of Llandaff in 1606. While one source gives his death date as 1610, another puts it as late as 1620.

Works

James translated the first Book of Homilies into Welsh in 1606. These were twelve authorised sermons on fundamental aspects of Christianity to be read in churches where there was no authorised preacher. This work was inspired by the activities of William Morgan, although Morgan died in 1604 before the work was published. The linguistic style of the translation owes much to Morgan, and in its turn influenced poets such as

Rhys Prichard Rhys Prichard (1579–1644) was a Welsh clergyman and poet. He was vicar of Llandovery in the west of Wales and held various posts at St David's Cathedral (being made chancellor of St David's in 1626, and later canon). He was known as "Yr Hen Fi ...

. Further editions were published in 1817 ( John Roberts of Tremeirchion, Flintshire) and in 1847 (

Morris Williams Morris Williams (20 August 1809 – 3 January 1874), was a Welsh clergyman and writer, commonly known by his bardic name Nicander. He worked on the Welsh Prayer Book of 1841 and himself produced a metrical Welsh Psalms of David. Early life Wi ...

("Nicander")).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Edward 1569 births 17th-century deaths Alumni of St Edmund Hall, Oxford Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford Fellows of Jesus College, Oxford Welsh translators Translators to Welsh 16th-century translators 17th-century translators 16th-century Welsh Anglican priests 17th-century Welsh Anglican priests