Nathaniel Jones (19 April 1832 – 14 December 1905) 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 peopl ...

Calvinistic Methodist Calvinistic Methodists were born out of the 18th-century Welsh Methodist revival and survive as a body of Christians now forming the Presbyterian Church of Wales. Calvinistic Methodism became a major denomination in Wales, growing rapidly in the 1 ...

minister and poet. Nathaniel Jones took his

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 ...

of "Cynhafal" from his birthplace of Llangynhafal, near Ruthin in Denbighshire, where the church is dedicated to

Saint Cynhafal In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ortho ...

. He worked as a tailor, and later as a sales assistant, before becoming a preacher in 1859. He went on to the Calvinistic Methodist College at

Bala Bala may refer to: Places India *Bala, India, a village in Allahabad, India * Bala, Ahor, a village in the Jalore district of Rajasthan * Bala, Raebareli, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India Romania * Bala, Mehedinți, a commune in Mehedinţi ...

, becoming a minister at Penrhyndeudraeth in 1865.

Works

*''Fy Awenydd'' (1859) *''Elias y Thesbiad'' (1869) *''Y Messiah'' (1895) *''Charles o'r Bala'' (1898)

Sources

* 1832 births 1905 deaths Welsh-language poets Llangynhafal 19th-century poets People from Ruthin People from Penrhyndeudraeth {{Wales-writer-stub