Morris Williams
Illustration — Morris Williams's gravestone at St Rhuddlad's Church, Anglesey Morris Williams (20 August 1809 – 3 January 1874) was a Welsh clergyman and writer, commonly known by his bardic name Nicander. He worked on the Welsh Prayer Book of 1841 and himself produced a metrical Welsh Psalms of David.
Morris Williams
Eric Jones · From geograph.org.uk · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Born
- 1809.
- Died
- 1874.
- Occupation
- poet and cleric.
- Education
- Jesus College.
- Languages
- English.
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Documentary basis
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wikidata · Q6913946
In this article
Early life
Early life
Williams was born at Caernarfon, the son of William Morris. His mother, Sarah, was the sister of Peter Jones (Pedr Fardd). The family moved to Coed Cae Bach, Llangybi and he went to school at Llanystumdwy. He was then apprenticed to a carpenter. Once his talent for poetry had been recognised, he was able to attend the King's School, Chester, followed by Jesus College, Oxford. He was ordained as an Anglican clergyman in 1836, and appointed Curate of Holywell, later of Bangor and Pentir, and eventually of Amlwch in Anglesey. In 1840, Williams married Ann Jones of Denbigh. They had eight children.
Bardic chair and rectory
Bardic chair and rectory
At the Aberffraw Eisteddfod of 1849, Williams won the bardic chair for an awdl on the Creation. In 1859 he became the Rector of Llanrhuddlad, with Llanfflewyn and the isolated St Rhwydrus's Church, Llanrhwydrus, in Anglesey. He won the bardic chair again in 1861 at Aberdare.
Works
Works
• Y Flwyddyn Eglwysig (1843)
Translations
Translations
• Disce Vivere (1847) • Disce Mori (1848) • Y Psallwyr Metrical version of the Psalter (Llundain: H. Hughes; 1850)
Edited
Edited
• Llyfr yr Homiliau (1847) • Works of Dafydd Ionawr (1851)
A portrait from the Welsh Portrait Collection at the National Library of Wales. Depicted person: Morris Williams – Welsh poet, called 'Nicander' (1809–1874)
D. Frabonius · This image is available from the National Library of Wales You can view this image in its original context on the NLW Catalogue
A portrait from the Welsh Portrait Collection at the National Library of Wales. Depicted person: Morris Williams – Welsh poet, called 'Nicander' (1809–1874)
D. Frabonius · This image is available from the National Library of Wales You can view this image in its original context on the NLW Catalogue
Theological literature
Williams in his theological beliefs was a follower of the Oxford Movement. Whilst serving at Holywell, he was one of four commissioners who prepared the revised edition of the Welsh Prayer Book of 1841. Later, while pastor at Amlwch on Anglesey, he translated the Book of Psalms into Welsh metre, entitling it Y Psallwyr, neu Psalmau Dafydd (The Psalter, or the Psalms of David). He wanted to make psalm singing more popular by using a wider variety of metres than Prys had done. He completed his psalter in 1850 and dedicated it to the Marquis of Lansdowne. In 1851 he began editing the new folio edition of the Welsh Bible for SPCK.
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Morris Williams (writer), revision 1329307408 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Thomas Iorwerth Ellis. Williams, Morris (Nicander; 1809-1874), cleric and man of letters. 1959.
- 2.British Library entry. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 24 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Books
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