William Thomas (Gwilym Marles)
Encyclopedia
Bardic name
A bardic name is a pseudonym, used in Wales, Cornwall and Brittany, by poets and other artists, especially those involved in the eisteddfod movement....
of Gwilym Marles, was a Welsh
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...
minister and poet, and the great-uncle of Dylan Thomas
Dylan Thomas
Dylan Marlais Thomas was a Welsh poet and writer, Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 11 January 2008. who wrote exclusively in English. In addition to poetry, he wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, which he often performed himself...
. Dylan was given his middle name, "Marlais", in honour of William Thomas, who is also believed to have inspired the character of Rev. Eli Jenkins in the play Under Milk Wood
Under Milk Wood
Under Milk Wood is a 1954 radio drama by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, adapted later as a stage play. A movie version, Under Milk Wood directed by Andrew Sinclair, was released during 1972....
.
Thomas was born in Brechfa
Brechfa
Brechfa is a village in Carmarthenshire, Wales that has existed since the 6th century.- Location and amenities :Brechfa is set in countryside managed by the Forestry Commission or Forest Enterprise at the top of the Cothi Valley. The village is the site of Brechfa Mountain Biking...
near Llandysul
Llandysul
Llandysul is a small town in the county of Ceredigion, Wales. The community of Pont Tyweli lies directly across the Teifi River in Carmarthenshire. It is in the valley of the River Teifi and is visited for its fishing and canoeing....
, and studied at the Presbyterian College in Carmarthen
Carmarthen
Carmarthen is a community in, and the county town of, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is sited on the River Towy north of its mouth at Carmarthen Bay. In 2001, the population was 14,648....
, but won a scholarship which enabled him to go on to the University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
in 1856. After graduating, he became a minister at Llwynrhydowen. As well as his poems, which were published in 1859, he wrote hymns and stories, and a novel which was published in 1855 in the periodical Seren Gomer
Seren Gomer
Seren Gomer was a Welsh language periodical founded in 1814 by the clergyman and writer Joseph Harris . The title means "star of Gomer".The weekly was intended to cover news from the whole of Wales, and had a religious flavour...
. An advocate of the views of Theodore Parker
Theodore Parker
Theodore Parker was an American Transcendentalist and reforming minister of the Unitarian church...
, he became a champion of Unitarianism
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
. He opened a grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
, and was politically active, supporting local farmers in a tithe
Tithe
A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...
war and campaigning on behalf of the Liberal Party in Parliamentary elections. In 1876, local landlords evicted him from his chapel as a result of these activities.