William Williams (pen name "Caledfryn" or "Gwilym Caledfryn") (6 February 1801 – 23 March 1869) 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 ...
Congregational minister, poet and literary critic born at Bryn y Ffynnon,
Denbigh
Denbigh (; cy, Dinbych; ) is a market town and a community in Denbighshire, Wales. Formerly, the county town, the Welsh name translates to "Little Fortress"; a reference to its historic castle. Denbigh lies near the Clwydian Hills.
History
...
. He was one of the leading figures in the Welsh
Eisteddfod movement and did much to raise the standards of
Welsh literature of his time.
Biography
He was from a family of weavers at Bryn y Ffynnon. He studied at
Rotherham College
Rotherham College (formerly Rotherham College of Arts and Technology shortened to RCAT) is a further education college in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England.
It was established as Rotherham School of Science and Art in the 19th century.
From ...
before becoming ordained as a minister with the
Independents in 1829. He was a prominent member of the
Anti-Corn Law League, the
Peace Society and the
Society for the Liberation of Religion which sought to separate the church from the state.
He tried to standardize Welsh as a literary language and wrote a number of articles and criticisms on
Welsh poetry, becoming popular in the first half of the 19th century. In 1851 he published ''Grammadeg Cymreig'', an important book of
Welsh grammar.
[
From 1831 to 1868 he served as an editor for numerous Welsh periodicals.][
He spent the last days of his life in ]South Wales
South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...
as minister at Groeswen Independent Chapel, near Cardiff in Glamorgan
, HQ = Cardiff
, Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974)
, Origin=
, Code = GLA
, CodeName = Chapman code
, Replace =
* West Glamorgan
* Mid Glamorgan
* South Glamorgan
, Motto ...
.
Literary work
Poetry
* ''Grawn Awen'' (1826)
* ''Caniadau Caledfryn'' (1856)
References
External links
Glamorgan Archives: Groes-wen Independent Chapel records
at archiveswales.org.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, William
1801 births
1869 deaths
Welsh Congregationalist ministers
Welsh poets
Welsh literary critics