Ellis Wynne
Encyclopedia
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
clergyman and author of one of the most important and influential pieces of Welsh language literature.
Born in Lasynys Fawr near Harlech
Harlech
Harlech is a town and seaside resort in Gwynedd, within the historical boundaries of Merionethshire in northwest Wales. Lying on Tremadog Bay and within the Snowdonia National Park, it has a population of 1,952, of whom 59% speak Welsh...
, Gwynedd
Gwynedd
Gwynedd is a county in north-west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. Although the second biggest in terms of geographical area, it is also one of the most sparsely populated...
, Wynne excelled at school and entered Jesus College, Oxford
Jesus College, Oxford
Jesus College is one of the colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship Street, Cornmarket Street and Market Street...
on 1 March 1692. There is historical debate as to whether or not he graduated, and little evidence to support either claim, but local tradition suggests that he was studying law before he was convinced to take Holy Orders
Holy Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
by his friend Humphrey Humphreys
Humphrey Humphreys
Humphrey Humphreys was successively bishop of Bangor and of Hereford .-Life:He was educated at Jesus College, Oxford and was later a Fellow of the college. A patron of Welsh literature, genealogical research and of the then newly-formed Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge...
, Bishop of Bangor
Bishop of Bangor
The Bishop of Bangor is the Ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Bangor.The diocese covers the counties of Anglesey, most of Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire and a small part of Montgomeryshire...
and, afterwards, of Hereford
Bishop of Hereford
The Bishop of Hereford is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury.The see is in the City of Hereford where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Mary and Saint Ethelbert which was founded as a cathedral in 676.The Bishop's residence is...
. He was ordained a priest in December 1704. During his life, he was priest of the parishes of Llandanwg
Llandanwg
Llandanwg is a village in the Ardudwy area of Gwynedd, Wales.The village of Llandanwg is situated to the west of the coastal road between Llanbedr and Harlech, close to the village of Llanfair. Originally it was a small collection of farms to the north of the river Artro, close to where it enters...
, Llanbedr
Llanbedr
Llanbedr is a village in the Ardudwy area of Gwynedd, Wales.The village originally grew around the slate quarrying industry. Attractions in Llanbedr include Neolithic standing stones and Bronze Age hut circles. The Morfa Dyffryn sand dunes and Mochras lie nearby...
and Llanfair
Llanfair
-Places:*Llanfair, Ceredigion; a small village in Mid Wales*Llanfair, Gwynedd, a village in the Ardudwy area of Gwynedd*Llanfair Caereinion, Powys; a small town in east central Wales...
.
Although a respected priest, Welsh translator and hymn writer, Wynne is remembered today largely because of his literary output. His Gweledigaetheu y Bardd Cwsc ('Visions of the Sleeping Bard'), first published in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1703, is regarded as a Welsh language
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
classic. It is generally said that no better model exists of such 'pure' idiomatic Welsh, before writers had become influenced by English style and method. On the title page of the book, the words Y Rhann Gyntaf ('The First Part') appear; it has been suggested that Wynne had indeed written a second part - a 'Vision of heaven' - but on hearing that he had been charged with plagiarism of the first part, destroyed the manuscript. The charges of plagiarism were never substantiated and are, today, regarded as false.
Wynne's later life is as obscure as the early part of his life, and we know little of what became of him after the publication of the Gweledigaethau. He was buried under the altar at Llanfair
Llanfair
-Places:*Llanfair, Ceredigion; a small village in Mid Wales*Llanfair, Gwynedd, a village in the Ardudwy area of Gwynedd*Llanfair Caereinion, Powys; a small town in east central Wales...
(near Harlech).