Richard Davies (c. 15057 November 1581) was a Welsh

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

and scholar.

Life

He was born in north

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, and was educated at New Inn Hall, Oxford, becoming rector of

Maids Moreton Maids Moreton is a village and civil parish in north-west Buckinghamshire, England, around north of Buckingham. The village sits on top of a plateau overlooking Buckingham and is less than 1km away from the Foxcote Reservoir SSSI. Descript ...

in Buckinghamshire in 1549, and then vicar of

Burnham, Buckinghamshire Burnham is a large village and civil parish that lies north of the River Thames in Buckinghamshire, between the towns of Maidenhead and Slough, about 24 miles west of Charing Cross, London. It is probably best known for the nearby Burnham Beech ...

, in 1550; Dictionary of Welsh Biography, ''Davies, Richard (1501? - 1581), bishop and biblical translator'', article by Sir Glanmor Williams
/ref> he was married to Dorothy Woodforde. Being a reformer he took refuge at

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

during the reign of Mary, returning to England and to parochial work after the accession of Elizabeth in 1558. His connection with Wales was renewed almost at once; for, after serving on a commission which visited the Welsh dioceses, he was, in January 1560, consecrated bishop of St Asaph. He was translated, early in 1561, to the bishopric of

St David's St Davids or St David's (, , "Saint David, David's Welsh toponymy, house”) is a St David's Cathedral, cathedral City status in the United Kingdom, city in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It lies on the River Alun, Pembrokeshire, River Alun and is ...

. As a bishop, Davies was an earnest reformer, very industrious, active and liberal, but not very scrupulous with regard to the property of the church. He was a member of the Council of Wales and the Marches, was very friendly with Matthew Parker,

archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

, and was regarded both by Parker and by William Cecil, Lord Burghley, as a trustworthy adviser on Welsh concerns. Famous for his oratory abilities, he was renowned for having an embarrassing speech impediment which earned him the affectionate nickname of Biffe. The nickname Biffe derived from the ancient Celtic word for fool from which we now take the word buffoon. Another of the bishops friends was Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex. Assisting William Salesbury, Davies took part in translating the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

into Welsh; as well as helping to revise the Bishops' Bible of 1568, being himself responsible for the book of

Deuteronomy Deuteronomy (; ) is the fifth book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called () which makes it the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible and Christian Old Testament. Chapters 1–30 of the book consist of three sermons or speeches delivered to ...

, and the second book of Samuel. He also did some work on the Welsh translation of the Book of Common Prayer. He died in November 1581, and was buried in Abergwili church.

References

1500s births 1581 deaths Bishops of St Asaph Bishops of St Davids 16th-century Welsh Anglican bishops Alumni of New Inn Hall, Oxford 16th-century Welsh writers 16th-century Welsh male writers Stepney family {{ChurchofEngland-bishop-stub Translators of the Bible into Welsh 16th-century Anglican theologians