Ifor Williams
Encyclopedia
Sir Ifor Williams was a Welsh
scholar who laid the foundations for the academic study of Old Welsh, particularly early Welsh poetry.
Ifor Williams was born at Pendinas, Tregarth
near Bangor
, Wales
the son of John Williams, a quarryman, and his wife Jane. His maternal grandfather, Hugh Derfel Hughes, was a noted local historian who wrote a well-regarded book on the history of the area. He went to Friars School, Bangor
, in 1894 but had only been there for just over a year when he suffered a serious accident. This left him with back injuries that made him bedridden for several years.
Having recovered, he attended Clynnog
School in 1901 and in 1902 won a scholarship to the University of Wales, Bangor. In 1905 he graduated with honours in Greek, then in 1906 in Welsh. He spent the 1906-07 academic year at the Department of Welsh working for his M.A. degree and assisting Sir John Morris-Jones
, the Professor of Welsh, before being appointed an assistant lecturer. In 1920 a Chair of Welsh Literature was specially created for him, which he held until Sir John Morris-Jones died in 1929, when he became Professor of Welsh Language and Literature.
Ifor Williams had a life-long interest in Welsh place-names, and was probably the first to apply rigorous academic methods to this field. He published Enwau Lleoedd ("Place Names") in 1945 which is still of great value today. Many of his early publications were written in order to provide teaching material and included versions with detailed notes of a number of old Welsh tales, notably the Mabinogi in 1930. He also produced books giving the text with notes of the works of a number of mediaeval poets such as Dafydd ap Gwilym
and others in 1914 and Iolo Goch
in 1925 with colleagues.
His main field of study however was Old Welsh
and the earliest Welsh Poetry. He produced Canu Llywarch Hen in 1935 covering the poetry associated with Llywarch Hen
, then in 1938 possibly his most important work, Canu Aneirin, the text with notes of the Gododdin
attributed to the 6th century poet Aneirin
. For the first time the original text was distinguished from later additions and made comprehensible with notes, and this work has provided the foundation for all subsequent work on this poetry. Canu Taliesin in 1960 covered the work of the other 6th century poet Taliesin
. He also published works on later Welsh poetry such as the 10th century Armes Prydain
.
Williams edited the Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies from 1937 to 1948. He was also an excellent speaker on the radio, and selections of his radio lectures were published in three books. He retired in 1947 and was knighted the same year. In 1949 the University of Wales
awarded him the honorary degree of Ll.D.. He lived between 1913-1947 in Menai Bridge and retired to Pontllyfni where he died in 1965. He is buried in the burial ground attached to Capel Brynaerau, Pontllyfni.
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
scholar who laid the foundations for the academic study of Old Welsh, particularly early Welsh poetry.
Ifor Williams was born at Pendinas, Tregarth
Tregarth
Tregarth is a village near Thomas Telford's A5 London to Holyhead road between the village of Bethesda and the city of Bangor in Gwynedd, North Wales.- History :...
near Bangor
Bangor, Wales
Bangor is a city in Gwynedd, north west Wales, and one of the smallest cities in Britain. It is a university city with a population of 13,725 at the 2001 census, not including around 10,000 students at Bangor University. Including nearby Menai Bridge on Anglesey, which does not however form part of...
, Wales
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...
the son of John Williams, a quarryman, and his wife Jane. His maternal grandfather, Hugh Derfel Hughes, was a noted local historian who wrote a well-regarded book on the history of the area. He went to Friars School, Bangor
Friars School, Bangor
Ysgol Friars is a comprehensive school in Bangor, Gwynedd, and one of the oldest schools in Wales.-1557 Establishment:The school was founded by Geoffrey Glyn, Doctor of Laws, who had been brought up in Anglesey and had followed a career in law in London....
, in 1894 but had only been there for just over a year when he suffered a serious accident. This left him with back injuries that made him bedridden for several years.
Having recovered, he attended Clynnog
Clynnog Fawr
Clynnog Fawr, often simply called "Clynnog", is a village on the north coast of the Llŷn peninsula in Gwynedd, north-west Wales.Clynnog Fawr lies on the A499 road between Caernarfon and Pwllheli, at . It had a population of 130 in 1991...
School in 1901 and in 1902 won a scholarship to the University of Wales, Bangor. In 1905 he graduated with honours in Greek, then in 1906 in Welsh. He spent the 1906-07 academic year at the Department of Welsh working for his M.A. degree and assisting Sir John Morris-Jones
John Morris-Jones
Sir John Morris-Jones was a Welsh grammarian, academic and poet.He was born at Llandrygarn, Anglesey and educated at Friars School, Bangor. Whilst at Jesus College, Oxford, Morris-Jones co-founded the Cymdeithas Dafydd ap Gwilym...
, the Professor of Welsh, before being appointed an assistant lecturer. In 1920 a Chair of Welsh Literature was specially created for him, which he held until Sir John Morris-Jones died in 1929, when he became Professor of Welsh Language and Literature.
Ifor Williams had a life-long interest in Welsh place-names, and was probably the first to apply rigorous academic methods to this field. He published Enwau Lleoedd ("Place Names") in 1945 which is still of great value today. Many of his early publications were written in order to provide teaching material and included versions with detailed notes of a number of old Welsh tales, notably the Mabinogi in 1930. He also produced books giving the text with notes of the works of a number of mediaeval poets such as Dafydd ap Gwilym
Dafydd ap Gwilym
Dafydd ap Gwilym , is regarded as one of the leading Welsh poets and amongst the great poets of Europe in the Middle Ages. Dafydd ap Gwilym (c. 1315/1320 – c. 1350/1370), is regarded as one of the leading Welsh poets and amongst the great poets of Europe in the Middle Ages. Dafydd ap Gwilym...
and others in 1914 and Iolo Goch
Iolo Goch
Iolo Goch , , was a medieval Welsh poet or bard who composed poems addressed to Owain Glyndŵr, among others.- Lineage :...
in 1925 with colleagues.
His main field of study however was Old Welsh
Old Welsh language
Old Welsh is the label attached to the Welsh language from about 800 AD until the early 12th century when it developed into Middle Welsh. The preceding period, from the time Welsh became distinct from the British language around 550, has been called "Primitive Welsh".Many poems and some prose...
and the earliest Welsh Poetry. He produced Canu Llywarch Hen in 1935 covering the poetry associated with Llywarch Hen
Llywarch Hen
Llywarch Hen was a 6th-century prince of the Brythonic kingdom of Rheged, a ruling family in the Hen Ogledd or 'Old North' of Britain...
, then in 1938 possibly his most important work, Canu Aneirin, the text with notes of the Gododdin
Y Gododdin
Y Gododdin is a medieval Welsh poem consisting of a series of elegies to the men of the Britonnic kingdom of Gododdin and its allies who, according to the conventional interpretation, died fighting the Angles of Deira and Bernicia at a place named Catraeth...
attributed to the 6th century poet Aneirin
Aneirin
Aneirin or Neirin was a Dark Age Brythonic poet. He is believed to have been a bard or 'court poet' in one of the Cumbric kingdoms of the Old North or Hen Ogledd, probably that of Gododdin at Edinburgh, in modern Scotland...
. For the first time the original text was distinguished from later additions and made comprehensible with notes, and this work has provided the foundation for all subsequent work on this poetry. Canu Taliesin in 1960 covered the work of the other 6th century poet Taliesin
Taliesin
Taliesin was an early British poet of the post-Roman period whose work has possibly survived in a Middle Welsh manuscript, the Book of Taliesin...
. He also published works on later Welsh poetry such as the 10th century Armes Prydain
Armes Prydein
Armes Prydein is an early 10th-century Welsh prophetic poem from the Book of Taliesin.In a rousing style characteristic of Welsh heroic poetry, it describes a future where all of Brythonic peoples are allied with the Scots, the Irish, and the Vikings of Dublin under Welsh leadership, and together...
.
Williams edited the Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies from 1937 to 1948. He was also an excellent speaker on the radio, and selections of his radio lectures were published in three books. He retired in 1947 and was knighted the same year. In 1949 the University of Wales
University of Wales
The University of Wales was a confederal university founded in 1893. It had accredited institutions throughout Wales, and formerly accredited courses in Britain and abroad, with over 100,000 students, but in October 2011, after a number of scandals, it withdrew all accreditation, and it was...
awarded him the honorary degree of Ll.D.. He lived between 1913-1947 in Menai Bridge and retired to Pontllyfni where he died in 1965. He is buried in the burial ground attached to Capel Brynaerau, Pontllyfni.