Preparing the Way
The Bible in Welsh
William Morgan
William Morgan is recorded as being born around 1545 at Tŷ Mawr Wybrnant, in the parish of Penmachno, near Betws-y-Coed, Conwy . On his memorial in Cambridge however his date of birth is given as 1541. His father was a tenant of the Gwydir estate and William was probably educated at Gwydir Castle, near Llanrwst. He then attended St John's College, Cambridge, where, amongst other subjects he studied philosophy, mathematics and Greek. He achieved his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1568 and Masters degree in 1571. He followed this with seven years of Biblical studies, including a study of the Bible in Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic. He graduated as Batchelor of Divinity in 1578 and Doctor of Divinity in 1583. At Cambridge he was a contemporary of the Welsh clergyman and poet Edmwnd Prys who had been born only 12 miles from Morgan's birthplace. Prys later assisted Morgan with his translation of the Bible. In 1567, whilst Morgan was still at Cambridge William Salesbury published his Welsh New Testament in 1567. William Morgan also firmly believed in the importance of having the Old Testament translated into Welsh and began working on his own translation in the early 1580s and published this, together with a revision of Salesbury's New Testament, in 1588.
Thomas Bray
The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge
On 8 March 1698, Rev. Thomas Bray met a small group of friends, including Sir Humphrey Mackworth, Colonel Maynard Colchester, Lord Guilford and John Hooke at Lincoln's Inn. These men were concerned by what they saw as the "growth in vice and immorality" in England at the time, which they believed was owing to the "gross ignorance of the principles of the Christian religion". They were also committed to promoting "religion and learning in the plantations abroad".
They resolved to meet regularly to devise ways to increase their knowledge of Anglican Christianity. They decided that these aims could best be achieved by publishing and distributing Christian literature and encouraging Christian education at all levels.
It continued the work of Thomas Gouge in distributing devotional books and pamphlets in Welsh and English. Clergy societies were set up in Wales including Montgomeryshire. It was decided to set up Welsh schools “that being the language which the parents best understood”.
During the period 1699 to 1740, 12 Charity Schools were established in the county of Montgomeryshire. In 1690 Bishop William Lloyd promoted a Welsh folio edition of 10,000 copies known as Beibl Yr Esgob Llwyd. From 1777 to 1789 the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge published about 100,000 People's Bibles in the Welsh language.
The work of the SPCK was continued by The Circulating Welsh Charity Schools 1738 to 1761 under the organisation and guidance of Griffith Jones rector of Llanddowror, Carmarthenshire. The object was to teach the children to read the Welsh Bible, and to learn the church catechism, to sing psalms, to pray at home and attend public worship on the sabbath. The schools moved from place to place. They were usually held in the winter and moved on after about 3 months. 87 such schools were known to have been held in 20 places in Montgomeryshire, including Aberhafesp, Llanbrynmair, Llanwrin, Penegoes and others. Thus the ground was well prepared for a religious and national revival. Many of the Welsh nation’s clergymen were moved upon to produce or translate worthy texts for their unenlightened flocks.
Mary Jones
In 1800, after saving money for 6 years, a 15-year-old girl called Mary walked 26 miles from Llanfihangel-y-Pennant to Bala to buy a Bible, a book she'd been longing to own for years. Her journey inspired the establishment of British and Foreign Bible Society.
On Sunday mornings Mary, dressed in her Sunday best, would walk to the little chapel in the village two miles away. At the front, the minister would open a large, black, leather-bound book. As he began to read, Mary would marvel at the wonderful words and store them up in her heart. After the service, she would go cautiously up to look at the impressive book. There were two words printed in gold on its cover. Mary guessed that these said ‘Holy Bible’ because she had heard the minister mention the name of the book. The words inside looked odd to her. ‘How can anyone ever make sense of these squiggles?’ she thought. ‘Oh, how I wish I could read this book for myself, or even have one for my own!’
Then, one Sunday morning, the minister, announced that a school was to open in the village. Mary was excited. ‘Now I can learn to read,’ she said, ‘and make sense of those strange marks in the book at chapel.’
The schoolmaster, Mr Evans, and his wife moved into a farmhouse not far from Mary’s home. Mary worked extra hard to finish her chores quickly so that she could go to the Evans’ house to learn to read. Her parents saw how hard their daughter worked at both schoolwork and her duties at home.
Months passed and seasons changed, until at last Mary was asked to read from the chapel Bible one Sunday morning. She was not very tall, so a special wooden box for her to stand on so that she could see the words properly. Now the squiggles were no longer strange to her. She read perfectly. Mr and Mrs Jones were very proud of their daughter.
After the service, Mary rushed up to her mother. "I must have a Bible, I must have a Bible!" she cried. Her mother gently placed his hand on her shoulder. "But Mary, Bibles are expensive, and we haven’t much money."
’‘I know, I know, that’s why I am going to save up for one, and I don’t care how long it takes me. I’ll do jobs for other people, I’ll save all my pennies, I’ll do anything just to have my own Bible."
And that is exactly what Mary did. For six long years she saved all she could until the day came when she had enough money to buy a Bible. Mr Evans had told her that there was a man in a town called Bala who had a number of Bibles. Mary, now fifteen, told her mother that she was going to walk to Bala.
Her mother exclaimed, "Daughter, that’s nearly twenty-five miles away!" But there was no changing Mary’s mind – she had waited too long for that. So, with her purse of money and some bread and cheese tied up in a bundle, she set off.
The journey to Bala seemed endless. Mary followed many paths, crossed valleys and streams and found her way around hills. As her weariness grew and her aching limbs seemed almost too much to bear, she muttered words of encouragement to herself. "Come on, Mary, not much further now," she thought. Eventually she came to the brow of a hill from which she could see the edge of a town. Dusk was falling, and candlelight had begun to flicker in cottage windows. Mary's heart pounded with excitement. Here was Bala at last! She recognised it from Mr Evans’ clear description. With renewed energy and a new determination, she set off again down the hill.
Mary asked people for directions to find Mr Charles. After knocking on several doors and asking for directions, she found his house. She ran up the garden path and knocked loudly on the large oak door.
As it was opened, Mary made her request for a Bible, the words tumbling over themselves in her eagerness: "I’ve walked twenty-five miles to get here, I’ve saved up for six years to buy a Bible, I’ve got the money here, you can count it if you like – please can I have a Bible?"
Mr Charles was taken aback. "You had better come in and tell me all about it, but first you must have something to eat. You must be famished." He smiled kindly and beckoned the housekeeper to take Mary to the kitchen.
After she had eaten, Mary told Mr Charles everything. He was moved by her account. And he held out to her a brand new Bible. Mary stared at it for a long moment before taking it with both hands. Then she expressed her heartfelt thanks.
The next morning, Mary, clutching her treasured possession, said goodbye to Mr Charles and started on her way home. She arrived to a grand reception. It seemed as if everyone was there. Her mother threw her arms around her and hugged her. Nearby stood Mr Evans and the minister, smiling broadly and clapping their hands. Everyone was cheering and wanted Mary to show them her Bible. As she held the book up for all to see, she murmured a few quiet words. "Thank you, Jesus, thank you Mr Charles," she said.
In his study, Mr Charles remembered how the young girl had disappeared over the brow of a hill still holding the new Bible to her chest, a Bible written in her own language. He began to think of all the other Mary Joneses who must be wanting Bibles, not only in Wales but in England, Scotland, Ireland, and even in other more distant lands.
In 1804, the British and Foreign Bible Society was formed by Thomas Charles and other important men in response to needs which stories like that of Mary Jones had brought to light.
Mary Jones in her old age, with her Bible.
(engraving made from a photograph)