Moses Williams (2 March 1685 – 2 March 1742: burial date) was a Welsh antiquarian, scholar and cleric. He oversaw new editions of the Bible and the ''

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...

'' in Welsh.

Life

Williams was born the son of Samuel Williams, Vicar of

Llandyfriog Llandyfriog is a community in Ceredigion, Wales. It includes the Adpar part of Newcastle Emlyn Newcastle Emlyn ( cy, Castellnewydd Emlyn) is a town on the River Teifi, straddling the counties of Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire in West Wales. I ...

and Rector of Llangynllo, Cardiganshire, and his wife, Margaret, daughter of Jenkin Powell Prytherch, in Y Glaslyn, near

Llandysul Llandysul is a small town and community in the county of Ceredigion, Wales. As a community it consists of the townships of Capel Dewi, Horeb, Pontsian, Pren-gwyn, Tregroes, Rhydowen and the village of Llandysul itself. Llandysul lies in sout ...

Ceredigion Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cer ...

, in south-west

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. He was ordained deacon in 1708 and priest in 1713. He was married to Margaret Davies of Cwmwysg, Defynnog. Williams later served as Curate of Chiddingstone, Kent (1708–1713), Vicar of Llanwenog, Cardiganshire (1715–1742), Vicar of Defynnog (Devynock), Brecknockshire, where his name is carved on one of the attic beams of the rectory (1716–1732), Rector of

Chilton Trinity Chilton Trinity is a village and civil parish on the River Parrett, north of Bridgwater in the Sedgemoor district of Somerset, England. History Iron Age and Roman pottery have been found at Chilton village. The name Chilton implies a settlement ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, and finally Vicar of St Mary's, Bridgwater,

(1732–1742). Williams was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...

in 1719. He died in Bridgwater.

Works

Williams supervised new editions of the Bible and the Anglican ''Book of Common Prayer'' in Welsh. His library, containing many Welsh books and manuscripts, came into the possession of William Jones and then into the library of

George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield, PRS (c. 1695 or 1697 – 17 March 1764) was an English peer and astronomer. Styled Viscount Parker from 1721 to 1732, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for Wallingford from 1722 to 1727, but his ...

Shirburn Castle Shirburn Castle is a Grade I listed, moated castle located at the village of Shirburn, near Watlington, Oxfordshire. Originally constructed in the fourteenth century, it was renovated and remodelled in the Georgian era by Thomas Parker, the fi ...

. Williams worked closely with

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 ...

on the ''Archaeologia Britannica'' (1707) and with

William Wotton William Wotton (13 August 166613 February 1727) was an English theologian, classical scholar and linguist. He is chiefly remembered for his remarkable abilities in learning languages and for his involvement in the Quarrel of the Ancients and the ...

on the ''Leges Wallicae'', a parallel text edition of the

laws Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vari ...

Hywel Dda Hywel Dda, sometimes anglicised as Howel the Good, or Hywel ap Cadell (died 949/950) was a king of Deheubarth who eventually came to rule most of Wales. He became the sole king of Seisyllwg in 920 and shortly thereafter established Deheubart ...

, published in 1730.

References

1685 births 1742 deaths People from Ceredigion 18th-century Welsh writers 18th-century British male writers Fellows of the Royal Society Welsh antiquarians 18th-century Welsh Anglican priests {{Wales-bio-stub