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

Williams was born at

Caernarfon Caernarfon (; ) is a royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the eastern shore of the Menai Strait, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is ...

, the son of William Morris. His mother, Sarah, was the sister of Peter Jones (Pedr Fardd). The family moved to Coed Cae Bach, Llangybi and he went to school at

Llanystumdwy Llanystumdwy is a predominantly Welsh-speaking village, community and electoral ward on the Llŷn Peninsula in Wales. It lies in the traditional county of Caernarfonshire but is currently administered as part of the unitary authority of Gwyned ...

. He was then apprenticed to a carpenter. Once his talent for poetry had been recognised, he was able to attend the

King's School, Chester The King's School, Chester, is a British co-educational independent day school for children aged 4 to 18. It is one of the seven 'King's Schools' established (or re-endowed and renamed) by King Henry VIII in 1541 after the Dissolution of t ...

, followed by

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 ...

. He was ordained as an Anglican clergyman in 1836, and appointed Curate of Holywell, later of Bangor and Pentir, and eventually of

Amlwch Amlwch (; ) is a port town and community in Wales. It is situated on the north coast of the Isle of Anglesey, on the A5025 which connects it to Holyhead and to Menai Bridge. As well as Amlwch town and Amlwch Port, other settlements within t ...

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 ...

. In 1840, Williams married Ann Jones of Denbigh. They had eight children.

Bardic chair and rectory

At the Aberffraw ''

Eisteddfod In Welsh culture, an ''eisteddfod'' is an institution and festival with several ranked competitions, including in poetry and music. The term ''eisteddfod'', which is formed from the Welsh morphemes: , meaning 'sit', and , meaning 'be', means, ac ...

'' of 1849, Williams won the bardic chair for an ''

awdl In Welsh poetry, an ''awdl'' () is a long poem in strict metre (i.e. ''cynghanedd''). Originally, an ''awdl'' could be a relatively short poem unified by its use of a single end-rhyme (the word is related to ''odl'', "rhyme"), using cynghanedd; ...

'' on the Creation. In 1859 he became the Rector of Llanrhuddlad, with Llanfflewyn and the isolated

St Rhwydrus's Church, Llanrhwydrus St Rhwydrus's Church is a medieval church in the village of Cemlyn on the Isle of Anglesey, Wales. The building dates from the mid-12th century and underwent Victorian restoration, renovations in the 19th century. It was designated a listed buildi ...

, in Anglesey. He won the bardic chair again in 1861 at Aberdare.

Theological literature

Williams in his theological beliefs was a follower of the Oxford Movement. Whilst serving at Holywell, he was one of four commissioners who prepared the revised edition of the Welsh Prayer Book of 1841. Later, while pastor at Amlwch on Anglesey, he translated the Book of Psalms into Welsh metre, entitling it ''Y Psallwyr, neu Psalmau Dafydd'' (The Psalter, or the Psalms of David).British Library entry
Retrieved 28 June 2021.
/ref> He wanted to make psalm singing more popular by using a wider variety of metres than Prys had done. He completed his psalter in 1850 and dedicated it to the Marquis of Lansdowne. In 1851 he began editing the new folio edition of the Welsh Bible for SPCK.

Works

*''Y Flwyddyn Eglwysig'' (1843)

Translations

*''Disce Vivere'' (1847) *''Disce Mori'' (1848) *''Y Psallwyr'' Metrical version of the Psalter (Llundain: H. Hughes; 1850)

Edited

*''Llyfr yr Homiliau'' (1847) *Works of Dafydd Ionawr (1851)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Morris (Nicander) 1809 births 1874 deaths People from Caernarfon 19th-century Welsh writers Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford Chaired bards Anglo-Catholic clergy 19th-century Welsh Anglican priests 19th-century Welsh poets Anglican poets Welsh Anglo-Catholics Anglo-Catholic writers Anglo-Catholic poets