John Williams (

bardic name A bardic name (, ) is a pseudonym used in Wales, Cornwall, or Brittany by poets and other artists, especially those involved in the eisteddfod movement. The Welsh term bardd ("poet") originally referred to the Welsh poets of the Middle Ages, who m ...

: Ab Ithel) (7 April 1811–27 August 1862), was an antiquary and

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

priest. Born in

Llangynhafal Llangynhafal is a village and community to the north of Ruthin, in Denbighshire, North Wales. It has a thriving public house, the Golden Lion. The community includes the village of Gellifor. Llangynhafal is the home oTy Gwalia which is the no ...

Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; cy, Sir Ddinbych; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. Its borders differ from the historic county of the same name. This part of Wales contains the country's oldest known evidence of habitation – Pontnewydd (Bontnewy ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

in 1811, he graduated from

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 St ...

in 1835 to become the Anglican curate of

Llanfor Llanfor is a village in Gwynedd, Wales near the town of Bala, in the community of Llandderfel. History There is evidence of an Iron Age Hill Fort in the immediate area and Roman Castrum. In the 6th century an unknown Monk from Llanfor was repu ...

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

, where he married Elizabeth Lloyd Williams. In 1843 he became perpetual curate of

Nercwys Nercwys is a rural village and community in Flintshire, Wales, which is surrounded by open countryside. The community population taken at the 2011 census was 585. The older, Anglicised spelling of Nerquis can sometimes be found. It has a small ...

, Flintshire, and rector of

Llanymawddwy Llanymawddwy () is a village in Gwynedd, Wales, which is to the north of the larger village of Dinas Mawddwy, on the minor road which connects Dinas Mawddwy to Llanuwchllyn over Bwlch y Groes. The most notable building is the parish church dedi ...

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

, in 1849.

Writing career

For much of his early life he adopted the pseudonym Cynhaval, after his birthplace in Llangynhafal,

, however took the pseudonym Ab Ithel from the surname of his grandfather, William Bethell. His first book entitled ''

The Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

independent of the Church of Rome in all ages'', concerned the relationship between the Church of England and

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. This book was published in 1836. It was followed by another in 1844 on the

ecclesiastical {{Short pages monitor