Gruffydd Aled Williams FLSW (born 1943) is a scholar who specialises in Welsh medieval poetry and

Renaissance literature Renaissance literature refers to European literature which was influenced by the intellectual and cultural tendencies associated with the Renaissance. The literature of the Renaissance was written within the general movement of the Renaissance, ...

. He was brought up in

Dinmael Dinmael was a medieval lordship and cwmwd in north Wales which usually formed a part of the patrimony of the kingdom of Powys. The name, of Old Welsh origin, means "the King's Fort" (''Din'' "fort" + ''Mael'' "king") and probably refers to a now fo ...

, Denbighshire, and

Glyndyfrdwy Glyndyfrdwy (), or sometimes Glyn Dyfrdwy, is a village in the modern county of Denbighshire, Wales. It is situated on the A5 road halfway between Corwen and Llangollen in the Dee Valley (the river Dee is ''Afon Dyfrdwy'' in Welsh). History A ...

in the former county of Merioneth (now in Denbighshire). Educated at Glyndyfrdwy Primary School, Llangollen Grammar School (later Ysgol Dinas Brân) and the

University College of North Wales , former_names = University College of North Wales (1884–1996) University of Wales, Bangor (1996–2007) , image = File:Arms_of_Bangor_University.svg , image_size = 250px , caption = Arms ...

, Bangor, he graduated in Welsh in 1964. From 1965 to 1970 he was Assistant Lecturer in Welsh at

University College, Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

, and from 1970 he was Lecturer, Senior Lecturer (1984) and Reader (1991) in the Department of Welsh at the

University of Wales, Bangor Bangor University ( cy, Prifysgol Bangor) is a Public university, public university in Bangor, Gwynedd, Bangor, Wales. It received its Royal charter, Royal Charter in 1885 and was one of the founding institutions of the federal University of Wales ...

. In 1995 he was appointed Professor of Welsh and Head of the Department of Welsh at the

University of Wales, Aberystwyth , mottoeng = A world without knowledge is no world at all , established = 1872 (as ''The University College of Wales'') , former_names = University of Wales, Aberystwyth , type = Public , endowment = ...

(later Aberystwyth University), a post he held until his retirement in 2008. He is now an Emeritus Professor of the university. Williams is the author of over 50 articles on medieval poetry and Renaissance literature in periodicals and academic journals on medieval poetry and Renaissance literature. His book ''Ymryson Edmwnd Prys a Wiliam Cynwal'' (1986) was awarded the University of Wales' Sir Ellis Griffith Prize. In 1994 he published an edition of the poetry attributed to Owain Cyfeiliog (d. 1170). After retiring he has concentrated his research on the history of Owain Glyndŵr and the literature associated with him. He delivered the British Academy's Sir John Rhŷs Memorial Lecture in 2010 on "More than 'skimble-skamble stuff': the Medieval Poetry Associated with Owain Glyndŵr"" (published 2012), and in 2013 he contributed two articles to ''Owain Glyndŵr: A Casebook'', ed. J. K. Bollard and Michael Livingston. In 2016 his book ''Dyddiau Olaf Owain Glyndŵr'' (2015)(Talybont: Y Lolfa, 2015), pp. 224. won the Creative Non-fiction category in Literature Wales's Book of the Year competition. Williams edited ''Llên Cymru'', the leading academic journal in the field of Welsh literary history, from 1997 until 2012. He is the President of the Merioneth Historical and Record Society and a member of the Council of the

Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion The Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion ( cy, Anrhydeddus Gymdeithas y Cymmrodorion), often called simply the Cymmrodorion, is a London-based Welsh learned society, with membership open to all. It was first established in 1751 as a social, cultural ...

. He was elected to the White Robed Order of the Gorsedd of Bards in 2002 and as a Fellow of the

Learned Society of Wales The Learned Society of Wales (Welsh: Cymdeithas Ddysgedig Cymru) is a learned society and charity that exists to "celebrate, recognise, preserve, protect and encourage excellence in all of the scholarly disciplines", and to serve the Welsh nation ...

in 2014. Williams is married to Éimear (née Ní Fhloinn) and they have two sons and one daughter.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Gruffydd Aled 1943 births Living people 20th-century Welsh historians Literary historians 21st-century Welsh historians