William Nantlais Williams (30 December 1874 – 18 June 1959), better known simply as Nantlais, was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

poet and a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

minister who played a prominent role in the

1904-1905 Welsh Revival Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

Background

Williams was born in

Pencader, Carmarthenshire Pencader () is a small village in the Wales, Welsh county of Carmarthenshire, and is part of the Community and Parish of Llanfihangel-ar-Arth. It is located around 3 miles (5 km) south-east of Llandysul and 6.5 miles (10 km) south-west o ...

, the youngest of ten children. He received his elementary education at Ysgol y Bwrdd, New Inn, but because of the death of his brother he had to leave when he was twelve to take up an apprenticeship as a weaver. At the age of twenty he started to preach and in 1895 he went to the prestigious Grammar School in

Newcastle Emlyn Newcastle Emlyn ( cy, Castellnewydd Emlyn) is a town on the River Teifi, straddling the counties of Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire in West Wales. It is also a community entirely within Carmarthenshire, bordered by those of Llangeler and Cenarth ...

. From there he went on to

Trefeca Trefeca (also Trefecca, Trevecca, and Trevecka), located between Talgarth and Llangorse Lake in what is now south Powys in Wales, was the birthplace and home of the 18th-century Methodist leader Howell Harris ( cy, Hywel Harris, italic=no). It was ...

College to train as a minister, but before he finished his studies he received a call to be minister of Bethany, Ammanford, in 1900 and was ordained by the denomination (

Presbyterian Church of Wales The Presbyterian Church of Wales ( cy, Eglwys Bresbyteraidd Cymru), also known as Calvinistic Methodist Church (), is a denomination of Protestant Christianity in Wales. History The church was born out of the Welsh Methodist revival and the ...

) in 1901. By 1902 he was married to Alice Maud Jones, a relative to J. T. Job, another leader of the 1904-1905 Welsh Revival. They had three children, including

Rheinallt Nantlais Williams Rheinallt Nantlais Williams (1911–1993) was a Welsh professor of the philosophy of religion and principal of the Presbyterian United Theological College, Aberystwyth in Wales from 1979 to 1980. Rheinallt Williams was born in Ammanford in Car ...

. His grandson is Stephen Nantlais Williams. His first wife died in 1911 and he married his second wife, Annie Price, a teacher, in 1916. Bethany, Ammanford was to be his only post as he stayed there until his retirement in 1944. He is buried in front of Bethany, Ammanford, next to J. T. Job and Gareth Davies.

Nantlais and the 1904-1905 Revival

Nantlais came heavily under the influence of the

. In 1904 he was eager to be a popular poet-preacher, and at that he was already successful. He was a well sought after speaker at conferences all over

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 ...

and his

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language family, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut P ...

poetry won him various prizes including several bardic chairs and the Chair of the National

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, a ...

in 1902. Despite this success and popularity he came to feel that there was more to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

than being involved in the formal ministry and being culturally active. Nantliais came to believe that, until the 1904-1905 Welsh Revival, he has not fully engaged as a Christian minister. He was profoundly affected by the events of 4–6 November 1904, the weekend that the Revival broke out in Ammanford. From that weekend onwards Nantlais abandoned some of his preaching conferences and concentrated on his ministry at Bethany, Ammanford, which became a centre of the revival. He also put an end to his competitive work for the Eisteddfod.

Nantlais the Writer

Although he had given up the Eisteddfod by the end of 1904 he did not stop writing altogether. From 1904 onwards he largely concentrated on producing Christian literature. He was co-editor of ''Yr Efengylydd'' (The Evangelist) between 1916–1933 and ''Y Lladmerydd'' (The Interpreter) between 1922 and 1926. He was editor of ''Trysorfa’r Plant'' (Children's Treasury) between 1934 and 1947. He was an important

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

writer; 13 of his hymns were included in his denomination's ''Llyfyr Emynau'' (Common Hymn Book) in 1927, and 17 were included in ''Caneuon Ffydd'' (Songs of Faith) released as recently as 2001. He was awarded for his work by the

University of Wales The University of Wales (Welsh language, Welsh: ''Prifysgol Cymru'') is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff � ...

when he received an honorary MA in 1958.

Standing against liberal theology

Nantlais was living in an age that saw Wales, as a whole, turn against its traditional

Calvinistic Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Calv ...

theology.

Secularism Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on Secularity, secular, Naturalism (philosophy), naturalistic considerations. Secularism is most commonly defined as the Separation of church and state, separation of relig ...

was getting a stronger grip on the people of Wales and Nantlais' denomination was loosening its grip on the Doctrinal Basis they had since the

Welsh Methodist revival The Welsh Methodist revival was an evangelical revival that revitalised Christianity in Wales during the 18th century. Methodist preachers such as Daniel Rowland, William Williams and Howell Harris were heavily influential in the movement. The ...

. Nantlais ferociously opposed a report to restructure the denomination after the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

because it included the possibility of letting go, or at least the loosening of the theology given down to them from the Methodist fathers. Nantlais published a series of articles in ''Goleuad'' (the denomination's newsletter), later put together as a book, in which he criticized the moves of 1925 and attacked

modernists Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

within the Church that challenge the authority of scripture.

Conclusion

1904 was a turning point for Nantlais Williams. From there onwards his life changed and certainly his ministry changed. If there would be one criticism of him it would be his leniency towards the teaching of the Pietistic movement but the Welsh Methodist tradition held him from going to the extremes of some associated with the Keswick movement. He was an important hymn writer and will be seen in the line of descent of the Protestant Calvinistic Welsh tradition.

Sources