Edward James (1569 – 1610 or later) was a Welsh Anglican priest and translator.

Life

James was born in

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

, south Wales in 1569. He was educated at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, initially

matriculating Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used no ...

as a member of

St Edmund Hall St Edmund Hall (also known as The Hall and Teddy Hall) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. The college claims to be "the oldest surviving academic society to house and educate undergraduates in any university" and was the last ...

in 1586 and later graduating from Jesus College with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in 1589 and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree in 1592. He became a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of Jesus College sometime in 1589 or 1590, a position he held until about 1596. After ordination, James's career was assisted by William Morgan, translator of the Bible into Welsh and

Bishop of Llandaff The Bishop of Llandaff is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff. Area of authority The diocese covers most of the County of Glamorgan. The bishop's cathedra, seat is in the Llandaff Cathedral, Cathedral Chu ...

after 1595. James became vicar of

Caerleon Caerleon ( ; ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in Newport, Wales. Situated on the River Usk, it lies northeast of Newport city centre, and southeast of Cwmbran. Caerleon is of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable ...

in 1596, rector of

Shirenewton Shirenewton () is a village and community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. It is located 3 miles due west of Chepstow, 5 miles (8 km) by road. The village stands around 500 feet (154 m) above sea level, and has extens ...

in 1597, rector of Llangattock-juxta-Usk in 1598, vicar of Llangattock Feibion Afel in 1599 (all in the county of

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

), and vicar of Llangattock-juxta-Neath, Glamorgan in 1603. He was appointed chancellor of the

Diocese of Llandaff The Diocese of Llandaff is an Anglican (Church in Wales) diocese that traces its roots to pre-Reformation times as heir of a Catholic bishopric. It is headed by the Bishop of Llandaff, whose seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Pet ...

in 1606. While one source gives his death date as 1610, another puts it as late as 1620.

Works

James translated the first

Book of Homilies ''The Books of Homilies'' (1547, 1562, and 1571) are two books together containing thirty-three sermons developing the authorized reformed doctrines of the Church of England in depth and detail, as appointed for use in the 35th Article of the T ...

into Welsh in 1606. These were twelve authorised sermons on fundamental aspects of Christianity to be read in churches where there was no authorised preacher. This work was inspired by the activities of William Morgan, although Morgan died in 1604 before the work was published. The linguistic style of the translation owes much to Morgan, and in its turn influenced poets such as Rhys Prichard. Further editions were published in 1817 (

John Roberts John Glover Roberts Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is an American jurist serving since 2005 as the 17th chief justice of the United States. He has been described as having a Moderate conservatism, moderate conservative judicial philosophy, thoug ...

of Tremeirchion, Flintshire) and in 1847 ( Morris Williams ("Nicander")).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Edward 1569 births 17th-century deaths Alumni of St Edmund Hall, Oxford Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford Fellows of Jesus College, Oxford Translators to Welsh 16th-century translators 17th-century Welsh translators 16th-century Welsh Anglican priests 17th-century Welsh Anglican priests