John Morgan (also known as John Morgan Matchin or John Morgan of Matchin) (7 February 1688 – 28 February 1733 or 1734) was a Welsh clergyman, scholar and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

Life

Morgan was born at

Llangelynnin Llangelynnin (; Welsh language, Welsh for ''The church of Celynnin'') is a former parish in the Conwy valley, in Conwy county borough, north Wales. Today the name exists only in connection with the church, a school in the nearby village of Henry ...

Merionethshire , HQ= Dolgellau , Government= Merionethshire County Council (1889-1974) , Origin= , Status= , Start= 1284 , End= , Code= MER , CodeName= ...

, the younger son of the local curate. He studied at

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship S ...

, from 1704 to 1708, and is thought to have been influenced by

Edward Lhuyd Edward Lhuyd FRS (; occasionally written Llwyd in line with modern Welsh orthography, 1660 – 30 June 1709) was a Welsh naturalist, botanist, linguist, geographer and antiquary. He is also named in a Latinate form as Eduardus Luidius. Life ...

, the antiquary, whilst he was there. He was ordained in 1709 and spent a year as curate of Llandegfan,

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

. From 1710 to 1713, he was curate of

Llanfyllin Llanfyllin ( – ) is a market town, community and electoral ward in a sparsely populated area in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales. Llanfyllin's community population in 2011 was 1,532, of whom 34.1% could speak Welsh. Llanfyllin means ''church or ...

Montgomeryshire , HQ= Montgomery , Government= Montgomeryshire County Council (1889–1974)Montgomeryshire District Council (1974–1996) , Origin= , Status= , Start= , End= ...

, before becoming curate (1713) and then

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

(1728) of Matching,

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

, a position he held until his death in February 1733 or 1734. This led to his commonly being known as John Morgan Matchin. He was buried in the parish church in Matching.

Work

Morgan had a particular interest in Welsh literature, and was one of the "London Welsh", a group intent on preserving and promoting Welsh culture in the capital, from around the time of his appointment to Matching. He wrote poetry, but was also a prose writer and translator. His best known work is ' (‘Devout musings on the four last things’), first published in 1714, became a minor classic, with an eighth edition appearing in 1830, almost one hundred years after his death. Other works include a collection of

proverb A proverb (from la, proverbium) is a simple and insightful, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and use formulaic language. A proverbial phrase or a proverbia ...

s and colloquialisms and, it is thought, some translations of

Tertullian Tertullian (; la, Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus; 155 AD – 220 AD) was a prolific early Christian author from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa. He was the first Christian author to produce an extensive corpus of L ...

and

Cyprian Cyprian (; la, Thaschus Caecilius Cyprianus; 210 – 14 September 258 AD''The Liturgy of the Hours according to the Roman Rite: Vol. IV.'' New York: Catholic Book Publishing Company, 1975. p. 1406.) was a bishop of Carthage and an early Christ ...

published in 1716. He was concerned about the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

-only education policy of the

Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) is a UK-based Christian charity. Founded in 1698 by Thomas Bray, it has worked for over 300 years to increase awareness of the Christian faith in the UK and across the world. The SPCK is t ...

, saying in letters to his Oxford contemporary Moses Williams that the result would be "barbarism". He also discussed matters of literature and antiquary, and these letters were studied later in the eighteenth century by those involved in the cultural revival of Wales at that time.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, John 1688 births 1730s deaths Welsh poets Welsh scholars and academics Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford 18th-century Welsh Anglican priests