son of
Edward
Williams
of the village of
Pennon
in the parish of
Llancarfan, Glam.
He was b. (according to his own account) on
10 March 1747
. His parents moved afterwards to the neighbouring village of
Trefflemin
(
Flimston
) and that was his home, apart from short intervals, until his death. He says himself that he did not attend any school but that he learnt to read whilst watching his father
cutting the inscriptions on gravestones
. His mother was an able woman and it may be gathered that it was she who taught him in his early youth. He relates that it was a
bard
named
Edward
Williams
of
Llancarfan
who taught him the elements of the bardic craft, but he also came, when quite young, into touch with the bards of
upper Glamorgan
, such as
Lewis
Hopkin
,
Siôn
Bradford
, and
Rhys
Morgan
(qq.v.). He also
had the opportunity to
read Welsh manuscripts
.
Thomas
Richards
,
Coychurch
, and
John
Walters
,
Llandough
(qq.v.), must be listed among his teachers — and this accounts for the
great interest which he took in the vocabulary of the Welsh language
. Thus it was that he began to grow into a
Welsh scholar
. He learnt his father's craft, that of a
stonemason
. He journeyed in
North Wales
c.
1771-2
and, in
1773
, he and his brothers went to
London
. There he met
Owain Myfyr
(q.v.)
and other members of the
Society of Gwyneddigion
, and had an opportunity of attending meetings of that society and also of reading the manuscripts of the
Morrises
of
Anglesey
. He worked at his craft not only in
London
but also in
Kent
. Then, in
1777
, he returned to
Bristol
, and afterwards to
Glamorgan
. He married in
1781
, and, in
1783
, settled at
Llandaff
. He met with a difficult time and is later found
farming
some land given him by his father-in-law in the parish of
Tredelerch
(the ‘
Rumney
’ of today) near
Cardiff
. It is not easy to follow his movements during this period, but he was in
Cardiff prison
in
1787
. Afterwards he returned to
Trefflemin
. He went to
London
in
1791
and stayed there (but for one short period) until
1795
. It was now that he began to
explain the doctrines of bardism
and to
hold druidical
gorseddau
on
Primrose Hill
. He came in contact with men who sympathised with the
French Revolution
and also with
Unitarian
leaders. He returned to
Trefflemin
in
1795
, and, in
1796
, he was given work under the
Board of Agriculture
— to
describe the condition of the land and of farms
in
Glamorgan
and
Carmarthenshire
. He assisted
Walter
Davies
(
Gwallter Mechain
, q.v.)
at a later period when the latter was preparing his
report on the state of agriculture in Wales
. He was appointed as one of the
editors
of the
Myvyrian Archaiology
, and, in
1799
, he journeyed through
North Wales
to collect the materials. By this time he had become a
Unitarian
and he was the leading spirit when a
Unitarian Association
was formed in
South Wales
in
1802
; he it was who drew up the
Rheolau a Threfniadau
of that body published in
1803
. He was very little in touch with his
London
friends after about
1805
. A little later on, another generation arose which was interested in the history and literature of
Wales
— the men of the ‘
Cymdeithasau Taleithiol
’ (
Provincial Societies
) who regarded
Iolo
as one of the principal authorities on those subjects. When the
Dyfed society
held an eisteddfod at
Carmarthen
in
1819
, he succeeded in making the
Gorsedd
an essential part of its proceedings. He was urged to publish the manuscripts which he maintained he had discovered in
Glamorgan
and in his old age he was busy arranging to publish
Cyfrinach Beirdd Ynys Prydain
. He d. at
Trefflemin
on
18 Dec. 1826
. He had four children, his son,
Taliesin
Williams
(q.v.)
, became a prominent figure in the literary life of the succeeding period.
Iolo
published but little of his work although he did include many of his forgeries (or
inventions) in
Barddoniaeth Dafydd ab Gwilym
,
1789
, the
Myvyrian Archaiology
,
1801
,
1807
, and in
Y Greal
,
1805-7
. He published an elegy,
1772
, upon his
poetic teacher
,
Lewis
Hopkin
, under the title of
Dagrau yr Awen
, and two volumes of
English
poems,
Poems Lyric and Pastoral
,
1794
. He
wrote many hymns
which were published in
1812
,
1827
, and
1834
under the title of
Salmau yr Eglwys yn yr Anialwch.
He also published some minor works.
Iolo
was a versatile man. He took an intelligent
interest not only in the literature of Wales
but also in such subjects as
agriculture
,
gardening
,
architecture
,
geology
,
botany
,
politics
, the
history of religion
,
theology
, etc. He was an excellent
poet
and he has a special place in the history of romantic verse in
Wales
. The most strange thing about him was his complex mind — but it would be out of place to treat that subject here.
After the death of
Iolo
his son,
Taliesin
, bound his papers into volumes; those volumes are now in the
National Library
.
Emeritus Professor Griffith John Williams, M.A., (1892-1963),
Gwaelod-y-garth, Cardiff
