WILLIAMS
,
JOHN
(
Ab Ithel
;
1811
-
1862
),
cleric and antiquary
;
b. in
1811
at
Ty-nant
,
Llangynhafal
, the son of
Roger
and
Elizabeth
Williams
; his grandfather's name was
William
Bethell
, and in his later years he adopted this surname in the form ‘
Ab Ithel
’ instead of his earlier pseudonym ‘
Cynhaval
.’ He was educated at
Ruthin school
and
Jesus College
,
Oxford
(
1832
); he graduated in
1835
. His first curacy was at
Llanfor
, where he m.
Elizabeth Lloyd
Williams
(his
vicar
's niece) and where, in
1836
, he published his first book,
Eglwys Loegr yn Anymddibynol ar Eglwys Rhufain
. In
1843
he became
perpetual curate
of
Nerquis
where, in
1844
, he published his
Ecclesiastical Antiquities
of the Cymry
. In
1849
he was appointed
rector
of
Llan-ym-Mawddwy
. In the course of the campaign against the proposal to amalgamate the dioceses of
Bangor
and
S. Asaph
, he had become friendly with another opponent of this measure,
H. Longueville
Jones
(q.v.)
, and in
1846
these two started the publication of the
Archaeologia Cambrensis
(which
Williams
edited
from
1846 to 1853
); this laid the foundation-stone of the
Cambrian Archaeological Association
; in
1852
Ab Ithel
published an edition of the
Gododdin
, together with a
translation
of that work. The two friends quarrelled in
1853
— a clash of temperaments between a ‘dry,’ methodical
antiquary
and a fiery
nationalist
whose zeal outran his knowledge.
Ab Ithel
had but little scholarship; moreover, such critical faculties as he had were wrecked when he became involved in the romantic inventions of
Iolo Morganwg
(q.v.)
and his school — more particularly
Myfyr Morganwg
(
Evan
Davies
,
1801
-
1888
, q.v.)
. Unfortunately, he was by this time generally regarded, except by a few people of more balanced judgement, as the
principal Welsh scholar of his day
, and his name was considered in all seriousness for the proposed
chair of Celtic
in the
University of Oxford
. He started the
Cambrian Institute
and its periodical, the
Cambrian Journal
, which he
edited
from 1854
until his death. He became the leading light in the
Welsh Manuscripts Society
, and
edited
four of its publications; worse still, on the death of
Aneurin
Owen
(q.v.)
he was appointed by the government (
1858
) to complete the plan of
publishing the old Welsh chronicles
—
Annales Cambriae
and
Brut y Tywysogion
appeared in
1860
. His editorial work was shot to pieces by later critics — not only because he was quite incapable of
editing old manuscripts
diplomatically but because he plagiarised the ideas of men like
Aneurin
Owen
and
Thomas
Rowland
(qq.v.) without acknowledgement. But the high-water mark of his folly was the ‘
Great Llangollen Eisteddfod
’ (
1858
), organised by himself and his friends such as
Môr Meirion
(
R. W.
Morgan
, q.v.)
and
Carn Ingli
(
Joseph
Hughes
, q.v.)
, which aroused derision and shame among his fellow-countrymen — his own family ‘won’ several of the prizes, and
Thomas
Stephens
(q.v.)
was the subject of an iniquitous decision because he had the audacity to suggest that the story of
Madoc
was not true. For all that, the
1858
eisteddfod was an important milestone in the history of the national eisteddfod — no thanks to the promoters.
On the other hand, we cannot for one moment deny
Ab Ithel
's industry, both within the Church and outside it, nor his wholehearted patriotism. He was an exceedingly devoted
parish priest
, and in addition
supervised ‘Madam Bevan's’ schools
in
North Wales
, as well as the church schools in the
diocese of S. Asaph
. He was a
High-churchman
(but not a ritualist), and in
1850
he did his best to organize a protest against the decision of the
Privy Council
in the notorious
Gorham
case.
He worked so hard that he had two
nervous break-downs
— in
1849
, when he was temporarily transferred to the lighter parish of
Llangorwen, Cards.
; and in
1855
when he was forced to take sick leave for nearly two years. In
March 1862
, he was transferred from
Llan-ym-Mawddwy
(where his successor was
Daniel Silvan
Evans
, q.v.)
to
Llanenddwyn
and
Llanddwywe
in
Ardudwy
. But, by this time, his health had broken down completely, and he d.
27 Aug. 1862
; he was buried in
Llanddwywe
churchyard.
Bibliography:
-
Foster
,
Alumni Oxonienses
;
-
James Kenward
,
Ab Ithel an account of the life and writings
of the Rev. John Williams ab Ithel, M.A., B.B.D., late
Rector of Llanymowddwy, Merioneth
, Denbigh, 1871
,
1871
;
-
G. J. Williams
, ‘Ab Ithel,’ in
Y Llenor
,
1933
(216-30),
1934
(88-100);
-
J. E. Lloyd
in
A Hundred Years of Welsh Archaeology
,
Cambrian Archaeological Association
, 11-15;
-
Owen Williams
,
Llyfryddiaeth Sir Ddinbych
, three
parts, 1935-7; second ed. of part 2, 1951
, part 3, 179.
Author:
Emeritus Professor Robert Thomas Jenkins, C.B.E., D.Litt., Ll.D.,
F.S.A., (1881-1969), Bangor
