Griffith Williams (Gutyn Peris)
| Griffith Williams | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
Griffith Williams February 2, 1769 Hafod Oleu, Llanbeblig, Caernarfonshire |
| Died |
June 21, 1838 (aged 69) Llandygai |
| Resting place | Llandygai |
| Pen name | Guten Peris |
| Occupation | quarryman |
| Language | Welsh |
| Genre | Welsh Poetry |
| Literary movement | eisteddfod revival |
| Spouse | Elizabeth |
Griffith Williams (1769–1838) was a Welsh language poet. He chose Gutyn Peris as his Bardic name.
Life
He was the only son of William Williams and his wife Catherine, daughter of Morgan Griffith. He was born at Hafod Oleu in the parish of Llanbeblig, Caernarfonshire, on 2 Feb. 1769. Not long after his birth the family moved to Llwyn Celyn, Llanberis; his father died soon afterwards, and when he had been a twelve month at school he was forced to seek employment as a farm hand. After serving in various farms at Anglesey he found work in 1790 at the Penrhyn Quarry, and henceforward followed for thirty years the occupation of a quarryman, holding subordinate offices as he grew older. He married, on 21 June 1794, Elizabeth, daughter of Ellis Jones, and in a few years moved to her home at Braich Talog, Llandygai, where he spent the rest of his days. He died on 18 Sept. 1838, and was buried at Llandegai.
Works
As Gutyn Peris he won his first triumph as a bard in 1803, when the Gwyneddigion Society awarded him their medal for his ode to the memory of Goronwy Owen. In 1808 he composed for Lady Penrhyn a Welsh elegy upon her husband Richard Pennant, 1st Baron Penrhyn. Two years later he was the winner at St. Asaph eisteddfod of prizes for an ode on the royal jubilee and another to the memory of Queen Elizabeth. Some of his poems were printed by Dafydd Ddu Eryri in Corph y Gaine (1810), and in 1816 he published a volume of Welsh verse himself, entitled Ffrwyth Awen. In 1811 he again won a prize for an ode to Agriculture. During the rest of his life he was less successful; his ode on Belshazzar's Feast was second at Denbigh in 1828, but was printed with the winner's in the Transactions of the eisteddfod (Chester, 1830); at Beaumaris also in 1832 he took the second place in the competition for the best ode on the Wreck of the Rothesay Castle.
By J. E. LLoyd's assessment, "His knowledge of the Welsh metres was thorough, but he had few of the gifts of a poet."[1]
References
- ↑ (Llyod, DNB)
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Lloyd, John Edward (1900). "Williams, Griffith (1769-1838)". In Lee, Sidney. Dictionary of National Biography 61. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
References from the DNB:
- There is a full memoir, with a portrait, in the Gwladgarwr for 1839
- letters which passed between the poet and his brother bards will be found in Adgof uwch Anghof, Penygroes, 1883.