William Price (4 March 1800 – 23 January 1893) 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 ...
medical doctor
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
and
socio-
political activist
A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some t ...
known for his support of
Welsh nationalism
Welsh nationalism ( cy, Cenedlaetholdeb Cymreig) emphasises and celebrates the distinctiveness of Welsh culture and Wales as a nation or country. Welsh nationalism may also include calls for further autonomy or self determination which includes ...
,
Chartism
Chartism was a working-class movement for political reform in the United Kingdom that erupted from 1838 to 1857 and was strongest in 1839, 1842 and 1848. It took its name from the People's Charter of 1838 and was a national protest movement, w ...
, and his involvement with the
Neo-Druidic religious movement. He has been recognized as one of the most significant figures of 19th-century Wales, and one of the most unusual in
Victorian Britain
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...
.
[ Powell 2005. p. 3.][ Hutton 2009. p. 253.]
Born to a lower-class household in
Glamorganshire
, HQ = Cardiff
, Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974)
, Origin=
, Code = GLA
, CodeName = Chapman code
, Replace =
* West Glamorgan
* Mid Glamorgan
* South Glamorgan
, Motto ...
, Wales, Price trained as a doctor in London before returning to Wales, becoming interested in the Chartists' ideas regarding
equal
Equal(s) may refer to:
Mathematics
* Equality (mathematics).
* Equals sign (=), a mathematical symbol used to indicate equality.
Arts and entertainment
* ''Equals'' (film), a 2015 American science fiction film
* ''Equals'' (game), a board game
...
democratic rights
Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical the ...
for all men. Following their
failed 1839 uprising, he escaped government prosecution by fleeing to
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, where he became convinced that an ancient prophecy predicted that he would
remove Wales from English rule.
Returning to Wales, Price tried reviving what he believed to be the religion of the ancient
druid
A druid was a member of the high-ranking class in ancient Celtic cultures. Druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no written accounts. Whi ...
s, the
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
ritual specialists of Western Europe. In doing so, he became one of the most prominent proponents of the Neo-Druidic movement, something that had been developing since
Iolo Morganwg
Edward Williams, better known by his bardic name Iolo Morganwg (; 10 March 1747 – 18 December 1826), was a Welsh antiquarian, poet and collector.Jones, Mary (2004)"Edward Williams/Iolo Morganwg/Iolo Morgannwg" From ''Jones' Celtic Encyclopedi ...
's activities in the late 18th century. After
cremating his dead son in 1884, Price was arrested and put on trial by those who believed cremation was illegal in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
; however, he successfully argued that there was no legislation that specifically outlawed it, which paved the way for the
Cremation Act 1902
The Cremation Act 1902 ( 2 Edw 7 c. 8) is an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The major purpose of the Act was to allow burial authorities to establish crematoria. Later revisions of the Act outlawed open air cremations ...
. Upon his death, he was cremated in a ceremony watched by 20,000 onlookers.
Known for adhering to such principles as equal democratic rights for all men,
anti-vaccinationism,
anti-vivisectionism
Vivisection () is surgery conducted for experimental purposes on a living organism, typically animals with a central nervous system, to view living internal structure. The word is, more broadly, used as a pejorative catch-all term for experimenta ...
,
vegetarianism
Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter.
Vegetarianism may ...
, cremation, and the abolition of
marriage
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...
, some of which were highly controversial at the time, he has been widely known as an "
eccentric
Eccentricity or eccentric may refer to:
* Eccentricity (behavior), odd behavior on the part of a person, as opposed to being "normal"
Mathematics, science and technology Mathematics
* Off-center, in geometry
* Eccentricity (graph theory) of a v ...
" and a "
radical
Radical may refer to:
Politics and ideology Politics
*Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change
*Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...
".
[BBC Welsh hall of fame](_blank)
A permanent exhibition and statue dedicated to him being was opened by these people in the town of
Llantrisant
Llantrisant (; "Parish of the Three Saints") is a town in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales, lying on the River Ely and the Afon Clun. The three saints of the town's name are SS ...
, where he had lived for much of his later life.
[ Hutton 2009. p. 286.]
Biography
Early life: 1800–1821
![Young William Price](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/Young_William_Price.jpg)
William Price was born in a cottage at the farm Ty'n-y-coedcae ("the
smallholding
A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technology ...
of the hedged field, tyddyn + y + coetgae") near
Rudry
Rudry ( cy, Rhydri) is a small village and community (Wales), community located to the east of Caerphilly in Wales. As a community Rudry contains not only the village of Rudry, but also the villages of Draethen, Garth and Waterloo, Caerphilly, Wat ...
near
Caerphilly
Caerphilly (, ; cy, Caerffili, ) is a town and community in Wales. It is situated at the southern end of the Rhymney Valley.
It is north of Cardiff and northwest of Newport. It is the largest town in Caerphilly County Borough, and lies wit ...
in
Glamorganshire
, HQ = Cardiff
, Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974)
, Origin=
, Code = GLA
, CodeName = Chapman code
, Replace =
* West Glamorgan
* Mid Glamorgan
* South Glamorgan
, Motto ...
on 4 March 1800. His father, also named William Price (b. 1761), was an ordained priest of 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 ...
who had studied at
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 ...
, it is believed that he was a descendent of
Ellis Price
Ellis Price or Prys (by 1514-8 October 1594) was a Welsh administrator and MP.
He was a younger son of Robert ap Rhys of Plas Iolyn near Ysbyty Ifan, the chaplain to Cardinal Wolsey. His grandfather Rhys Fawr ap Maredudd had fought (and thoug ...
, the grandchild of
Rhys Fawr ap Maredudd
Rhys Fawr ap Maredudd (''fl.'' 1485–1510) was a Welsh nobleman chiefly known for his valour at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, where he fought on the side of Henry VII.
After Henry's landing at Milford Haven in early August 1485, his ar ...
, a Welsh nobleman chiefly known for his valour at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, where he fought on the side of Henry VII.
[South Wales Star - Friday 27 January 1893] His mother, Mary Edmunds (1767–1844), was an uneducated Welshwoman who had worked as a maidservant for his grandmother (father's side) prior to his parent's marriage. Their marital union was controversial because Mary was of a lower social standing than William, something which was socially taboo in late 18th-century British society, they married at
Machen
Machen (from Welsh language, Welsh ' "place (of)" + ', a personal name) is a large village three miles east of Caerphilly, south Wales. It is situated in the Caerphilly (county borough), Caerphilly borough within the Historic counties of Wales, ...
church, in a 'South Wales Star' article in 27 January 1893,. children of the congresspeople recalled that after the procession, William's father (who was full of glee) ran onto the road by dancing and by pointing her out, shouted: "Dwi wedi ei ddwyn hi!, edrychwch!, edrychwch!" ("I have taken her, look!, look!.") . The couple had three other surviving children, Elisabeth (1793–1872), Mary (1797–1869) and Ann (1804–1878).
The elder Price suffered from an undiagnosed
mental illness
A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...
, acting erratically and experiencing fits of violent rage. He bathed either fully clothed or naked in local ponds, and collected snakes in his pockets for days at a time. Carrying a saw around, he removed bark from trees, then burned it while muttering certain words, also spitting onto stones, believing that it improved their value. His actions led to him becoming a threat to the local community, in one instance firing a gun at a woman whom he claimed was taking sticks from his hedgerow, and in another hurling a sharp implement at another man.
At home,
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 ...
was William's primary language, but he learned to speak English at school, which was located two miles from his home, in
Machen
Machen (from Welsh language, Welsh ' "place (of)" + ', a personal name) is a large village three miles east of Caerphilly, south Wales. It is situated in the Caerphilly (county borough), Caerphilly borough within the Historic counties of Wales, ...
. Although only staying at school for three years, between the ages of 10 and 13, he passed most exams and proved himself a successful student. After spending six months living at home, he decided to become a doctor despite his father's insistence that he become a solicitor. Moving to Caerphilly, in 1814 he became apprenticed to successful surgeon Evan Edwards, and paid for his tuition with money supplied by various family members. One of these benefactors, his uncle the Reverend Thomas Price of
Merriott
Merriott is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, near the town of Crewkerne and west of Yeovil in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 1,979.
On Church Street, there is a well-preserved tithe barn, which is u ...
, Somerset, advised him to give up this education, arguing that it was putting too great a financial strain upon Price's family, but William was insistent that he should continue.
In 1820, Price's apprenticeship with Edwards came to an end, and despite his lack of funds, he moved to London in order to continue his studies. Taking up lodgings near to
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...
, he entered
The London Hospital
The Royal London Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is part of Barts Health NHS Trust. It provides district general hospital services for the City of London and Tower Hamlets and spe ...
in
Whitechapel
Whitechapel is a district in East London and the future administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a part of the East End of London, east of Charing Cross. Part of the historic county of Middlesex, the area formed ...
for a year of instruction under Sir
William Blizard
Sir William Blizard FRS FRSE PRCS FSA (1 March 1743 – 27 August 1835) was an English surgeon.
Life
He was born in Barn Elms, Surrey, the fourth child of auctioneer William Blizard. After an apprenticeship to a surgeon and apothecary in Mortl ...
. He also registered at
St Bartholomew's Hospital
St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust.
History
Early history
Barts was founded in 1123 by Rahere (died ...
, where he was under the instruction of surgeon
John Abernethy John Abernethy may refer to:
* John Abernethy (bishop), Scottish bishop, died 1639
* John Abernethy (judge) (born 1947), Australian judge
*John Abernethy (minister) (1680–1740), Presbyterian minister in Ireland
*John Abernethy (surgeon) (1764–18 ...
. Gaining employment caring for wealthy clients to help financially support his studies, Price eventually became a member of the
Royal College of Surgeons of England
The Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England) is an independent professional body and registered charity that promotes and advances standards of surgical care for patients, and regulates surgery and dentistry in England and Wales. The ...
, being awarded with a certificate signed by Blizard, Abernathy and others. Contemplating travelling to India following the culmination of his studies in London, he instead decided to return to Wales, where he worked as a general practitioner.
Welsh nationalism and Chartism: 1821–1839
Early in his career, Price returned to Wales, where he was employed at
Pentyrch Ironworks as a medical attendant, at this time he lived at a property nearby which he named 'Ynys y Llewod Duon' (Island of the black lions) which was sometimes referred to as the 'Ynys house'.
Becoming a trained doctor, he then set up his medical practice at Craig yr Helfa in
Glyntaff
Glyntaff is a small village to the south-east of Pontypridd, in the County Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales situated in the Treforest ward along with the village of Trefforest.
Education
Glyntaff is the location of the University of South Wa ...
, remaining there for seven years.
He later rented a farm in
Upper Boat
Upper Boat ( cy, Glan-Bad) is a village on the southernmost outskirts of the town of Pontypridd, within the electoral ward of Hawthorn, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, and comprises part of the Treforest Industrial Estate. Historically part of Glamorga ...
called 'Porth y Glo' (Coal port) which was owned by the son of a solicitor, Mr. Grover. Price filled his farm with goats and cattle which ate and inflicted considerable damage to green trees around the property and throughout the neighbourhood which prompted his landlord to serve him an eviction notice which William dismissed. Mr. Grover initiated an action of ejection after Price refused to leave. As a consequence and with 'Intense popular excitement', all of his animals were set loose onto the highway. Price, who was protesting his right to stay, secured himself onto his chair in the furthest room in the house refusing to leave, was carried out in his chair and was then placed outside on the road.
He subsequently moved to the newly industrialised
Taff Valley near to
Pontypridd
() (colloquially: Ponty) is a town and a community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales.
Geography
comprises the electoral wards of , Hawthorn, Pontypridd Town, 'Rhondda', Rhydyfelin Central/Ilan ( Rhydfelen), Trallwng (Trallwn) and Treforest (). The ...
. It was here in 1823 that the workforce elected him to the position of chief surgeon at the Brown Lenox Chainworks in Pontypridd; he stayed in this job until 1871. In June 1823 he was also appointed medical advisor to the wealthy Crawshay family who owned the ironworks at
Merthyr
Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydf ...
and
Treforest
Treforest ( cy, Trefforest) is a village in the south-east of Pontypridd, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It is situated in the Treforest electoral ward, along with the village of Glyntaff (or Glyn-Taf). It is part of the Pon ...
. Spending time in Treforest, "a revolutionary town", he came under the increasing influence of left-wing political ideas. Being a proud
Welsh nationalist
Welsh nationalism ( cy, Cenedlaetholdeb Cymreig) emphasises and celebrates the distinctiveness of Welsh culture and Wales as a nation or country. Welsh nationalism may also include calls for further autonomy or self determination which includes ...
, Price found likeminded friends in another wealthy family, the Guests, and gave a speech on Welsh history and literature at their Royal
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 1834, which
Lady Charlotte Guest
Lady Charlotte Elizabeth Guest (née Bertie; 19 May 1812 – 15 January 1895), later Lady Charlotte Schreiber, was an English aristocrat who is best known as the first publisher in modern print format of the '' Mabinogion'', the earliest prose l ...
felt to be "one of the most beautiful and eloquent speeches that was ever heard". On the basis of it, he was invited to take up the job of judging the eisteddfod's bardic competition, with the prize being awarded to
Taliesin Williams, son of famous
druid
A druid was a member of the high-ranking class in ancient Celtic cultures. Druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no written accounts. Whi ...
and Welsh nationalist
Iolo Morganwg
Edward Williams, better known by his bardic name Iolo Morganwg (; 10 March 1747 – 18 December 1826), was a Welsh antiquarian, poet and collector.Jones, Mary (2004)"Edward Williams/Iolo Morganwg/Iolo Morgannwg" From ''Jones' Celtic Encyclopedi ...
.
Price became increasingly interested in Welsh cultural activities, which included those that had been influenced by the Neo-Druidic movement. During his life, due to his extensive research into druidism, he would often be confused with a Welsh bard;
Evan Davies (Myfyr Morganwg).
He joined the
Society of the Rocking Stone, a Neo-Druidic group that met at the Y Maen Chwyf stone circle in Pontypridd, and by 1837 had become one of its leading members. To encourage the revival of Welsh culture, he gave lessons every Sunday in the Welsh language, which he feared was dying out with the spread of English. In 1838 he also called for the Society to raise funds to build a Druidical Museum in the town, the receipts from which would be used to run a free school for the poor. He was supported in this venture by Francis Crawshay, a member of the Crawshay family, but did not gain enough sponsors to allow the project to go ahead. In anger, he issued a statement in a local newspaper, telling the people that they were ignoring "your immortal progenitors, to whom you owe your very existence as a civilised people."
Meanwhile, Price's social conscience had led him to become a significant figure in the local
Chartist movement, which was then spreading about the country, supporting the idea that all men should have the right to vote, irrespective of their wealth or social standing. Many of the Chartists in the industrial areas of southern Wales took up arms in order to ready themselves for revolution against the government, and Price aided them in gaining such weaponry. According to government reports, by 1839 he had acquired seven pieces of field artillery. That same year, the
Newport Rising
The Newport Rising was the last large-scale armed rising in Wales, by Chartists whose demands included democracy and the right to vote with a secret ballot. On Monday 4 November 1839, approximately 4,000 Chartist sympathisers, under the lead ...
took place, when many of the Chartists and their working class supporters rose up against the authorities, only to be quashed by soldiers, who killed a number of the revolutionaries. Price had recognised that this would happen, and he and his supporters had not joined in with the rebellion on that day. Nonetheless, he also realised that the government would begin a crackdown of those involved in the Chartist movement in retaliation for the uprising, and so he fled to France, disguised as a woman, there he became fluent in their native language.
Life as an archdruid: 1840–1882
It was while in temporary exile as a political dissident in Paris that Price visited the
Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
museum, where he experienced what has been described as "a turning-point in his religious life." He became highly interested in a stone with a Greek inscription that he erroneously felt depicted an ancient Celtic bard addressing the moon. He subsequently interpreted the inscription as a prophecy given by an ancient Welsh prince named Alun, declaring that a man would come in the future to reveal the true secrets of the Welsh language and to liberate the Welsh people; however, historian
Ronald Hutton
Ronald Edmund Hutton (born 19 December 1953) is an English historian who specialises in Early Modern Britain, British folklore, pre-Christian religion and Contemporary Paganism. He is a professor at the University of Bristol, has written 14 bo ...
later remarked, "nobody else had heard of this person, or made (anything like) the same interpretation of the inscription". Nonetheless, Price felt that this prophecy applied to him and that he must return to Wales to free his people from the English-dominated authorities.
![Portrait of William Price, M](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/Portrait_of_William_Price%2C_M.R.C.S.%2C_L.S.A_%284670454%29.jpg)
Soon returning to Wales, Price set himself up as a Druid, founding a religious Druidic group that attracted a number of followers. Little is known of the specific doctrines which he preached, but his followers walked around carrying staffs engraved with figures and letters. Declaring that marriage was wrong as it enslaved women, he began having a relationship with a woman named Ann Morgan, whom he moved in with, and in 1842 she bore him a daughter. He baptised this child himself at the Rocking Stone in Pontypridd, naming her Gwenhiolan Iarlles Morganwg (meaning 'Gwenhiolan, Countess of
Glamorgan
, HQ = Cardiff
, Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974)
, Origin=
, Code = GLA
, CodeName = Chapman code
, Replace =
* West Glamorgan
* Mid Glamorgan
* South Glamorgan
, Motto ...
').
[ Hutton 2009. p. 255.] He began developing an appearance that was unconventional at the time, for instance wearing a fox fur hat (signifying his healing powers as a doctor) and emerald green clothing, as well as growing his beard long and not cutting his hair. He also began attempting to hold Druidic events, organising an eisteddfod at Pontypridd in 1844, but nobody turned up, and so, solitarily, he initiated his daughter as a bard at the event. In 1855 he then led a parade of the
Ivorites, a
friendly society
A friendly society (sometimes called a benefit society, mutual aid society, benevolent society, fraternal organization or ROSCA) is a mutual association for the purposes of insurance, pensions, savings or cooperative banking. It is a mutual org ...
that held to a philosophy of Welsh nationalism, through the streets of
Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydf ...
, accompanied by a half-naked man calling himself Myrddin (the Welsh name for
Merlin
Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...
) and a goat.
![Portrait of Gwilim Ap Rhys Meddig (4671828) (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/Portrait_of_Gwilim_Ap_Rhys_Meddig_%284671828%29_%28cropped%29.jpg)
Returning to his long-held idea of building a museum and school at Pontypridd, a local landowner, Sir Benjamin Hall, who wanted to encourage the revival of Welsh culture, allowed him to use his own land, although Price and the Halls subsequently fell out and the project was scrapped. Left with debts from the aborted project, Price once more escaped to France in 1861. Around this time, he began writing to the national press, making exaggerated statements about himself and Welsh history, for instance claiming that he was Lord of the Southern Welsh and that "All the Greek Books are the Works of the Primitive Bards, in our own Language!!!!!!!…
Homer
Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
was born in the hamlet of Y Van near
Caerphili. He built Caerphili Castle… the oldest Books of the Chinese confess the fact!!"
In 1866, Price returned to Wales, finding that his daughter had grown up to live her own life following her mother, Ann Morgan's, death. He settled in the town of
Llantrisant
Llantrisant (; "Parish of the Three Saints") is a town in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales, lying on the River Ely and the Afon Clun. The three saints of the town's name are SS ...
, where he opened a new medical practice, which proved to be a success. He eventually he took a young farmer's daughter, Gwenllian Llewelyn, (1859–1948)
who at the time was only twenty-one years old, to be his new partner, despite the fact that he was an old man by this time. Despite his earlier pronouncements against marriage, he organised a Druidic wedding ceremony through which he married Gwenllian on 4 March 1881, on Price's 81st birthday. Taking place at the Rocking Stone in Pontypridd, it involved Price addressing the sun at noon, and women dressed as the
Three Graces were involved. The ceremony attracted a large audience, who, according to reports, found the whole proceeding amusing. Meanwhile, in 1871, he had published a book, written in his own invented form of Welsh that he believed was the true language of the ancient Welsh. In the work, which had a title that translated as ''The Will of My Father'', Price conceptualised the universe being created out of a snake's egg by a supreme Father God. However, this work was largely ignored at the time and soon fell into obscurity.
Later life and advocacy of cremation: 1883–1893
Price proclaimed himself a 'High priest of the sun grown old' and via a 'druidic prophecy' and feeling dissatisfied that he hadn't produced a son that would succeed him, he sought out a virgin to copulate with, Gwenllian (or shortened to 'Gwen'), who was 18 at the time, was chosen as his new partner. Gwen and Price's first child was born on 8 August 1883,
a son whom Price named Iesu Grist (the Welsh for
Jesus Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
) because he deemed him to be a young
Esus
Esus, Hesus, or Aisus was a Brittonic and Gaulish god known from two monumental statues and a line in Lucan's '' Bellum civile''.
Name
T. F. O'Rahilly derives the theonym ''Esus'', as well as ''Aoibheall'', ''Éibhleann'', ''Aoife'', and ...
or
Hu Gadarn
Hu Gadarn (''Hu the Mighty'') is a supposed Welsh legendary figure who appears in several of a series of Welsh Triads produced by the Welsh antiquarian and literary forger Iolo Morganwg. These triads, which Iolo put forth as medieval works, presen ...
of Britain, he expected great things from his child, some believed that the chosen name was an act of provocation against the traditional religion of the time. The infant only lived for five months when on the 10th of January, 1884 he died from an unknown cause.
Believing that it was wrong to bury a corpse, thereby polluting the earth, Price decided to
cremate
Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning.
Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre i ...
his son's body, an act which at the time was taboo, although across the country there were already several proponents of it as a form of corpse disposal. On the afternoon of Saturday 13 January 1884, men who'd been employed by Price carted wood, coal and a cask of pitch to the top of the (Caerlan) hill east of Llantrisant which price owned. In the evening of he following day which was a Sunday.. wearing white robes, he carried his son in his arms up towards the summit, placed his body down on the heap with his head facing the West, Price chanted 'a strange requiem' and then proceeded the funeral by setting the pile on fire. A number of local people who were on their way back home from church noticed the fire who then congregated around it, it was said that it was a moving sight, however upon discovering that Price was attempting to burn his infant son, Sergeant Tamblyn and his officers rushed through the crowd, snatched the baby from the fire, kicked the pile in the effort of extinguishing it and promptly arrested him for what they believed was the illegal disposal of a corpse. The body of his son, which had not yet been fully engulfed by the flames was removed from the pyre. The baby was placed in a hamper with straw in with his head facing downwards with his legs projecting upwards through the straw.
[ Hutton 2009. p. 283.]
A post-mortem was performed on Iesu's body by a local doctor, who concluded that the child had died of natural causes and had not been murdered. Price was therefore not charged with
infanticide
Infanticide (or infant homicide) is the intentional killing of infants or offspring. Infanticide was a widespread practice throughout human history that was mainly used to dispose of unwanted children, its main purpose is the prevention of reso ...
, but was instead tried in a
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
courtroom for performing cremation rather than burial, which the police believed to be illegal. Price argued that while the law did not state that cremation was legal, it also did not state that it was illegal either. The judge,
Mr. Justice Stephen, agreed. Price was freed, and returned to Llantrisant to find a crowd of supporters cheering for his victory. On 14 March, he was finally able to give his son a cremation involving his own personal Druidic prayers.
The case set a precedent which, together with the activities of the recently founded
Cremation Society of Great Britain
The Cremation Society of Great Britain (now known as The Cremation Society) was founded in 1874 to promote the use of cremation as an alternative means of dealing with the bodies of the dead instead of burial which until then was the only option. T ...
, led to the
Cremation Act 1902
The Cremation Act 1902 ( 2 Edw 7 c. 8) is an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The major purpose of the Act was to allow burial authorities to establish crematoria. Later revisions of the Act outlawed open air cremations ...
. In 1885 the first official cremation of the remains of
Jeanette Pickersgill
Jeanette Pickersgill (30 November 1813 – 20 March 1885) was an English painter, She was the first person to be legally cremated in the United Kingdom, at Woking Crematorium in Surrey.
Life
She was born Jeannette Caroline Grover in 1813 in Ams ...
(1814–1885) took place at
Woking Crematorium
Woking Crematorium is a crematorium in Woking, a large town in the west of Surrey, England. Established in 1878, it was the first custom-built crematorium in the United Kingdom and is closely linked to the history of cremation in the UK.
Locat ...
, and ten cremations are recorded as being performed in the following year. A crematorium opened in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
in 1892, followed by one in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
in 1895,
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
in 1896 and
Birmingham Crematorium
Birmingham Crematorium is a Protestant crematorium in the Perry Barr district of Birmingham, England, designed by Frank Osborne and opened in 1903. A columbarium was added in 1928. The crematorium is now owned and operated by Dignity plc.
O ...
in 1903.
The media interest in the court case had made Price famous, and he soon began to capitalise on this fame, selling three hundred
medal
A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...
s, each depicting the cosmic egg and the snake that laid it, commemorating his victory, which sold at threepence each. He began to be invited to give lectures and attend public functions, but these did not prove to be particular successes, with much of his audiences not understanding either his philosophies, or his attire, which was made out of red cloth and embroidered with green letters.
In late 1884, Price's wife gave birth to their second child, whom Price also named Iesu Grist, and on 27 May 1886 she then bore him a daughter, whom they named Penelopen. He believed that his son had an important future ahead of him, being the prophesied second coming of Jesus Christ, his namesake, and predicted that he would come to reign over the earth. Gwen separated from William a few years before his death but continued looking after their children. Meanwhile, in 1892 he erected a pole which was over 60 feet high, with a crescent moon symbol at its peak, on top of Caerlan hill where his first son had been cremated, and noted that he wanted his funeral to take place there as well.
[ Hutton 2009. p. 285.]
Price died at his home in Llantrisant on the night of 23 January 1893. His final words, when he knew that he was near death, were "Bring me a glass of
champagne
Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...
". He drank the champagne and died shortly afterward.
On 31 January 1893, Price was cremated on a pyre of a timber core and two tons of coal, in accordance with his will, on the same hillside overlooking Llantrisant. It was watched by 20,000 people, and overseen by his family, who were dressed in a mix of
traditional Welsh and his own Druidic clothing, it was noted, as accordance to his will and testament, that; 'no attempt shall be made to preserve the ashes of the body, but that they shall be "spread all over the earth to help the grass and flower to grow"'.
His wife remarried, this time to a road inspector employed by the local council, and she gave up her Druidic beliefs to join a conventional Christian denomination, having her two children baptised into it, and Iesu Grist was renamed Nicholas, never fulfilling the ambitious predictions that his father had made about him.
Personal beliefs
![William Price painting (2)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/William_Price_painting_%282%29.jpg)
Price held several strongly held beliefs that ran counter to the Victorian social norms of the time, and chose to promote them in a "most exhibitory fashion". Biographer Dean Powell considered him "a maverick and a rebel", but was unsure as to whether Price's eccentricity was a result of mental illness or not.
A
nudist
Naturism is a lifestyle of practising non-sexual social nudity in private and in public; the word also refers to the cultural movement which advocates and defends that lifestyle. Both may alternatively be called nudism. Though the two terms ar ...
, Price refused to wear socks, considering them to be unhygienic, and washed coins, fearing that they were a source of cross-contamination. He opposed
vaccination
Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulating ...
, in part due to his brother's childhood death following an inoculation, and refused to treat patients who were
tobacco smokers
Tobacco smoking is the practice of burning tobacco and ingesting the resulting tobacco smoke, smoke. The smoke may be inhaled, as is done with cigarettes, or simply released from the mouth, as is generally done with tobacco pipes, pipes and cig ...
. He was an advocate of vegetarianism, believing that eating meat "brought out the beast in man", and denounced
vivisection
Vivisection () is surgery conducted for experimental purposes on a living organism, typically animals with a central nervous system, to view living internal structure. The word is, more broadly, used as a pejorative catch-all term for experiment ...
. Price opposed marriage, which he saw as the en
slave
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
ment of women, instead advocating
free love
Free love is a social movement that accepts all forms of love. The movement's initial goal was to separate the state from sexual and romantic matters such as marriage, birth control, and adultery. It stated that such issues were the concern ...
. Price also argued many fellow practitioners were nothing but 'poison peddlers', making their money selling drugs and profiting off the sick rather than tackling the cause of the illness.
Price was also responsible for the building of the famous "Round houses" in Pontypridd. He convinced a local builder that he owned the land and these round houses were to be the gateway to his mansion. He neither owned the land nor a mansion.
Price believed that religion was often used to enslave people, and despised "sanctimonious preachers".
His religious beliefs have provided an influence on the modern druidic movement. Michell referred to him as "a natural shaman".
Legacy
Soon after Price's death, ballads commemorating him were composed and circulated throughout the local area for a number of years afterward. In 1896, an exhibition that commemorated his life was held in Cardiff, while a pamphlet biography of him was published to accompany it.
A more significant biography of Price, written by Islwyn Nicholas, was published in 1940, entitled ''A Welsh Heretic''. In 1947, the Cremation Society put up a plaque commemorating him in the town of Llantrisant, while a statue of him was unveiled in the town in 1982, depicting the doctor in his characteristic fox-skin headdress, arms outstretched. This was followed in 1992 when a memorial garden was named after him, and an exhibition about him opened in the town's visitor centre.
In a 1966 book examining the history of Llantrisant, author Dillwyn Lewis described Price as being "one of the most controversial figures of modern times." The historian
Ronald Hutton
Ronald Edmund Hutton (born 19 December 1953) is an English historian who specialises in Early Modern Britain, British folklore, pre-Christian religion and Contemporary Paganism. He is a professor at the University of Bristol, has written 14 bo ...
later described him as "both one of the most colourful characters in Welsh history, and one of the most remarkable in
Victorian Britain
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...
"
while his biographer Dean Powell considered him "the most notable individual in 19th century Wales".
A commemorative green plaque was installed at Rudry Parish Hall in 2017 near Price's birthplace.
In 2020, American actor
Robert Downey Jr.
Robert John Downey Jr. (born April 4, 1965) is an American actor and producer. His career has been characterized by critical and popular success in his youth, followed by a period of substance abuse and legal troubles, before a resurgence of ...
cited Dr William Price as his inspiration for his portrayal of
Dr Dolittle in the new Hollywood adaption ''
Dolittle''. Downey Jr. received harsh criticism for his Welsh accent: "... But when a Hollywood actor tries to do so in a Welsh accent inspired by a nudist Victorian druid, perhaps it's best that he doesn't speak at all."
References
Citations
Sources
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External links
William Priceat 100 Welsh Heroes
Ballad of the cremation of Dr William Price, 1893Dr. Price of Llantrisantby Ap Idanfryn
Price, William (1800–1893)at oxforddnb.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Price, William
1800 births
1893 deaths
19th-century Welsh medical doctors
Anti-vivisectionists
British anti-vaccination activists
British modern pagans
Chartists
Cremation in the United Kingdom
Neo-druids
People from Caerphilly
People from Llantrisant
People from Machen
People from Pontypridd
Vegetarianism activists
Welsh activists
Welsh expatriates in France
Welsh nationalists
Welsh socialists