William Williams Pantycelyn

William Williams Pantycelyn
William Williams, Pantycelyn (c. 11 February 1717 – 11 January 1791), also known as William Williams, Williams Pantycelyn, and Pantycelyn, is generally seen as Wales's premier hymnist. He is also rated among the great literary figures of Wales, as a writer of poetry and prose. In religion he was among the leaders of the 18th-century Welsh Methodist revival, along with the evangelists Howell Harris and Daniel Rowland.
Life
Williams was born in 1717 at Cefn-coed farm in the parish of Llanfair-ar-y-bryn near Llandovery in Carmarthenshire, the son of John and Dorothy Williams. John died in 1742 and Dorothy later moved to the nearby farm of Pantycelyn ("Holly Hollow"). William Williams himself is often referred to as Pantycelyn.
The family were Nonconformists. He was educated locally and then at a nonconformist academy near Talgarth. He had intended to study medicine, but this changed in 1737–1738, when he was converted by the preaching of the evangelical Methodist revivalist Howell Harris in Talgarth.
For much of his life, Williams lived in the parish of Llanfair-ar-y-bryn. He died at Pantycelyn in January 1791 at the age of 74 and is buried in Llanfair-ar-y-bryn churchyard. He is also commemorated by a memorial chapel in Llandovery.
Religious figure
William Williams felt called to the priesthood; and in 1740, despite his family's links with the Nonconformist branch of Christianity, he took deacon's orders in the Established Anglican Church. (Since disestablishment in 1920, the Anglican church in Wales has been known as the Church in Wales.)
His first appointment was as curate to Theophilus Evans (1693–1767) in the parishes of Llanwrtyd, Llanfihangel Abergwesyn and Llanddewi Abergwesyn. Around this time he became involved in the Methodist movement and in June 1742 his disapproving parishioners reported his activities to the Archdeacon's Court in Brecon. Methodism was originally a reformist faction within the Church of England and was not intended to be a separatist movement or church. It was nevertheless seen as a threat to the Anglican establishment, and in 1743, when Williams duly applied for ordination as a priest, his application was refused because of his Methodist connection. Rather than a comfortable, conformist career in the Anglican Church, he chose a financially precarious, but perhaps spiritually richer life as a Methodist preacher.
The key years in the foundation of English Methodism were between 1739, when the brothers Charles and John Wesley, both Anglican priests, broke with the Moravian church and set up their own first chapel in Bristol, and 1743, when they drew up their General Rules. This was, unfortunately, the very time that Williams was beginning his own career in the Church and partly explains the hostility he experienced from his congregation and from the hierarchy. Williams paid a higher price for his beliefs than did the Wesleys. Williams was shut out of the Establishment at the start of his career, whilst the Wesleys had already been ordained.
Welsh Methodism predates 1739 and can be traced back to the conversions of the two main leaders of the Welsh Methodists, Howell Harris and Daniel Rowland, in 1735. It was an indigenous, parallel movement to its sister movement in England, and the Welsh Methodists were mainly Calvinists, who worked much more closely with George Whitefield than they did with John Wesley.
Charles Wesley declared that his own Methodism was not incompatible with his Anglicanism and he was buried as an Anglican. John Wesley's doctrine was more favourable to Arminianism than to Calvinism. In Wales, however, most Methodists followed Calvinist teaching, and this led to great tensions between the Welsh Calvinistic Methodists and the Wesleyan Methodists, especially after the Wesleyan Methodists began actively evangelising in Welsh-speaking Wales from 1800 onwards. In 1811, the Welsh Calvinist Methodists, now usually called the Presbyterian Church of Wales, seceded from the Anglican Church and ordained their own ministers. Had he lived a little longer, Williams Pantycelyn would no doubt have approved of these moves, because as a Methodist, he himself became a firm advocate of Calvinist Reformation doctrine and frequently invoked stern warnings against Arminianism, Arianism, Socinianism, Sandemanianism and other teachings. [See: G. T. Hughes: p. 7].
Williams Pantycelyn travelled throughout Wales (he is said to have partly supported his ministry by selling tea) preaching the doctrine of Calvinistic Methodism. He needed to be not only a theologian and an advocate for the new Connexion, but also an organiser and administrator. His converts gathered in (fellowship meetings). Williams had to organise, and then maintain, these as he went around the country. Each successful visit to a new locality in turn required a new . Although he was not alone in his mission, the workload and mental burden must have been considerable. By the same token, it must have been deeply rewarding to see the community grow and thrive over the years and to reflect on the alternative life he had forsaken, as the priest of some obscure rural Anglican parish in mid-Wales.
Together with Harris and Rowland, William Williams "Pantycelyn" is acknowledged as a leader of the Methodist Revival in Wales in the 18th century and as the "literary voice" par excellence of that movement.
Literary figure
William Williams Pantycelyn was not merely an important figure in the religious life in Wales, he was also one of the most important influences on Welsh language culture, not just in his own lifetime, but on into the 19th and 20th centuries. He is particularly known as a hymn writer and his ability earned him the accolade ('The Sweet Songster'), echoing the description of King David as "the sweet psalmist of Israel".
His literary output has been analysed in Saunders Lewis's book Williams Pantycelyn (1927).
Hymns
He wrote some of his work in English, but the great majority in his native Welsh. He published his first work in 1744: this was the first part of , a collection of hymns in Welsh. It was followed by further collections:
1751: (Hosannah to the Son of David).
1759: (Some hymns and divine songs).
1762: (The songs of those on the crystal sea).
1763: (Farewell seen, and welcome unseen things).
1771: Gloria in excelsis.
1772: O'er the Gloomy Hills of Darkness
1774: (A few hymns).
1782: (Some new hymns).
He also published two collections of English hymns:
1759: Hosannah to the son of David.
1772: Gloria in excelsis.
Undoubtedly his best known hymn is "" (in English, "Lord, lead thou through the wilderness"). This was soon translated into English by Peter Williams: "Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah" or "Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer". It is usually sung to the tune Cwm Rhondda by John Hughes.
Poetry
His hymns were not his only major contribution to the success of Calvinistic Methodism. He wrote two long poems on theological and religious themes:
1756: (A view of Christ's kingdom). The history of salvation and God's grace in Christ.
1764: (Life and death of Theomemphus). The religious experience of conversion and Christian living.
He also wrote a series of elegies in memory of various Methodist and other Christian leaders, including: Griffith Jones of Llanddowror, Howel Davies (the Pembrokeshire preacher), George Whitefield, and Daniel Rowland.
Prose works
Williams wrote original prose works and also translated others from English. Most were intended to assist the members of the Methodist fellowships he established.
He wrote about the 1762 Revival:
1762: (Martha Philopur's letter to the Reverend Philo Evangelius her teacher), followed by:
1763: (Philo-Evangelius's reply to Martha Philopur).
These works were intended to defend and teach the significance of the 1762 revival at Llangeitho.
The 1762 revival was a powerful one, which manifested its power physically. As a result, Methodists in Wales were often known as Jumpers.
1762 to 1779: (Pantheologia, or a History of all the World's Religions).
1767: (Crocodile of the River of Egypt).
1768: (A history of the life and death of three men of Sodom and Egypt).
1774: (Aurora Borealis: The Northern Lights).
He wrote practical guides for a Christian life:
1777: (Teacher of the Nuptials or the marriage guide), and:
1777: (A gateway to the experience meeting).
These were for the converts who were members of the or societies.
References
Sources
Glyn Tegai Hughes (1983), Williams Pantycelyn. Writers of Wales series. Cardiff : University of Wales Press on behalf of the Welsh Arts Council
Gomer Morgan Roberts (1949, 1958), Y pêr ganiedydd : Pantycelyn. 2 vols. Aberystwyth: Gwasg Aberystwyth
"William Williams, (1717–1791)". In: Meic Stephens, ed. (1998), The New Companion to the Literature of Wales. Cardiff: University of Wales Press.
E. Wyn James, "The Evolution of the Welsh Hymn". In: Dissenting Praise, ed. I. Rivers & D. L. Wykes (OUP, 2011)
E. Wyn James, "'Blessèd Jubil!': Slavery, Mission and the Millennial Dawn in the Work of William Williams of Pantycelyn". In: Cultures of Radicalism in Britain and Ireland, ed. John Kirk, Michael Brown and Andrew Noble (London: Pickering & Chatto, 2013), pp. 951–12 and 1942–02.
E. Wyn James, "The Longing and the Legacy: Liturgy and Life in the Hymns of William Williams of Pantycelyn", The Bulletin of the Hymn Society of Great Britain and Ireland, No. 286, Vol. 21:5 (Winter 2016), pp. 163–78 (also in The Carmarthenshire Antiquary, vol. 55, 2019)
Eifion Evans, Bread of Heaven: The Life and Work of William Williams, Pantycelyn (Bridgend: Bryntirion Press, 2010)
Parish of the Buzzards, Bidgood. Birmingham: Gold Leaf Publishing (2000)
H. A. Hodges (ed. E. Wyn James), Flame in the Mountains: Williams Pantycelyn, Ann Griffiths and the Welsh Hymn (Tal-y-bont: Y Lolfa, 2017), 320 pp.
Derec Llwyd Morgan, The Great Awakening in Wales (London, 1988)
E. Wyn James, "Popular Poetry, Methodism, and the Ascendancy of the Hymn". In: The Cambridge History of Welsh Literature, ed. Geraint Evans & Helen Fulton (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019)
K. Jenkins, Anthem Angau Calfari: Myfyrdodau Ar Ddetholiad O Emynau Pantycelyn (Caernarfon: Pwyllgor Darlleniadau Beiblaidd Cyngor Eglwysi Cymru, 1991
External links
Williams Pantycelyn at the National Library of Wales. Gives access to a digital version of a manuscript in Williams's hand, NLW MS 77A.
The Printed Works of William Williams, Pantycelyn – National Library of Wales
William Williams at 100 Welsh Heroes
Hymns in eHymnBook by William Williams
William Williams in Dictionary of Welsh Biography
Family tree of William Williams Pantcelyn at The ApSimon & Tangye Family Forest
Further reading
Republished 1991, University of Wales Press, Cardiff
Republished 2016, University of Wales Press, Cardiff
An extensive bibliography can be found in Derec Llwyd Morgan, ed., Meddwl a Dychymyg Williams Pantycelyn (Llandysul: Gwasg Gomer, 1991).
1717 births
1791 deaths
Calvinist and Reformed hymnwriters
Welsh-language writers
People from Carmarthenshire
18th-century Welsh Anglican priests
Welsh-language poets
Welsh poets
18th-century Welsh writers
18th-century British male writers
Calvinistic Methodists
Methodist theologians
Welsh translators
Welsh Methodists
Methodist ministers
English–Welsh translators
Translators to Welsh
Welsh Methodist hymnwriters
Christian revivalists
National anthem writers
18th-century Welsh theologians
Welsh theologians
Welsh evangelicals